The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1876-06-03
DEBATE ON THE RESOLUTION OF
WANT OF CONFIDENCE.

- Ministry. kSce proceedings OF mat uay)-
The Hon. Godfrey Rhodes wished TO ask one ques-
ton. He would enquire of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs whether a statement which be found in a San
Francisco newspaper was correct The Hon. Noble
read the paragraph, which was to the effect, that
the Americans had obtained by the Reciprocity
Treaty some special rights or privileges in Hawaiian
ports which would enable them to establish q naval
station TO the exclusion OF other foreign powers.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that he had
seen the paragraph within an hour of the arrival of
the mail, and he was happy to inform the Hon. Noble
and the House that there was not one word Of truth
in it, from beginning to end. That in fact there was
not a shadow of ground for any such statements
The Minister said that he had had so far no oppor-
tunity Of explaining TO the House anything about
the Reciprocity Treaty. 1t has latterly appeared so
uncertain whether the necessary law TO carry it into
operation would pass Congress, that 1t lad been con-
sidered better to leave any explanation until some
more definite news arrived.
Mr.. Chairman, the smoke of the guns had hardly
cleared away which announced the arrival of the
vessel bringing the glorious news of the passage of
that law in the House of Representatives in Wash
ington, when the Hon. Noble stepped down from the
Presidential Chair and brought this resolution before
the House, of want of confidence in His Msjesty's
Ministers for not referring that Treaty to this Assem-
bly,.
1 will now endeavor to explain to the Assembly
what the Ministers have done in this matter, but the
Assembly will no doubt bear in mind that the present
Attorney General has only recently arrived, and is
not responsible for what has been done-indeed this
matter is especially in my Department, and am
quite prepared TO take the responsibility connected
with it.
To go back two years. 1 may say at the opening of
the Legislative Assembly of 1874, L was not sanguine
about our being ever able TO get a Reciprocity Treaty
with the United States. and | therefore rather threw
cold water on the attempt to obtain it, moi Mr..
Chairman, because | did not believe that the Tresty
would be a good thing for this country, but because
1 considered it so good for this country that l feared
we should never get it. and as we have been twenty
years trying to get it without any result, was afraid
that it would be wasting our energies and our time
to continue trying for something We should never
obtain. But, Mr.. Chairman, several A EGan gen.
tlemen assured me that there was still s nance
of getting q Treaty, and as l relied u. = .'dg-
ment l said, well let US try once more. q SIN
ment then went in heart and soul to IS the
Treaty, and Mr. Chairman, we have obtains : but
l take this opportunity to disclaim any credit for
myself, for if the Treaty had depended upon my
action. uninfuenced by others, We should have had
no Treaty to-day. All the credit l do claim in the
matter is that l was not obstinate in my opinion,
but trusted to those whom l considered should know
the views of their countrymen better than [ did.
Let us pause a moment to enquire what this Reel
prOcity Treaty really is, for l am aware many people
in this country and probably many Hon. Members
dislike the idea of q Reciprocity Treaty with the
United States. l confess l am not altogether sur
prised at this, for the idea is now almost inseparably
connected in many peoples minds with the Pearl
River scheme, in which a cession of territory was
proposed, and of which [ never approved. But, Mr..
Chairman, there is no Pearl River about this Treaty.
AS many non. members Will remember Wnen the Dill
to facilitate the negotiation of a Treaty of Reciproc-
ity was introduced last session, 1 then stated to the
Assembly and it was distinctly understood by them
that no cession of territory whatever should be con-
nected with it; and it was very we'll known that
neither the people nor the Ministers favored any such
idea.
- Now what does this country gain and lose by this
Treaty! The least amount of gain is easily calcula-
ted. 1t cannot be less than 100000 clear gain for
every year it lasts. This is no wild statement. Our
exports of sugar last year were 5 1000, 900 pounds.
The whole of this will now go to the United States.
The increase of price which we shall get for this
sugar on account of the remission of duties in the
United States has been estimated at not less than
two cents per pound. This alone would show a gain
to this country of $500, 900. Then there is the ar
ticles of rice which almost every Hawaiian in the
Kingdom can grow if he likes and which takes little
or no capital to start. The savings of duties in rice
by this Treaty will, at two cents per pound, be
almost $4,000 a year, even at the present rate Of
production; but much more can be grown, and this
will perhaps be better for the people generally than
the remission of the duties on sugar, because almost
everybody can directly partake of the benefits. 1t
will be necessary now to allude to the other articles
of Hawaiian production of smaller importance, on
which the dnties will be taken off in the United
States.
But it has been said. we lose $50, 900 in revenue
on the duties on American goods. Mr.. Chairman, it
is true we shall have to look TO some other source for
this $50, 900 of revenue, but in point of fact this
country does not lose a cent of revenue as can be
explained in q moment. It is a well understood
principle that in almost every instance the consumer
pays the duty. That is to say that although the i'm
porter may 60 to the Custom House and pay the
duty, he charges it to the consumer; so that this
$50. 900 duty on American goods is really a tax
upon our own consumer. Therefore, under the Re-
ciprocity Treaty, the consumers of these goods will
be relieved of q tax which will have to be placed on
something or somebody else. Now if we take this
list of American goods which come in free under the
Treaty, we shall find they are almost all articles Of
necessity, or as it were, raw material. and on
coryp6 fraa frodo nripafplnS fhov ahnnlH aOpna IN frao
any way. If l had the arranging Of our tariff, l
would take of the duties on all the articles in that
schedule of the Treaty, admitting certain articles
Of duty. except those in the last sentence. They
mostly the articles which every Hawaiian wants,
so that it is evident the country loses nothing, and
there is about it is, that by a different arrange
-lent of duties and other taxes, the 100000 may be
caised from those who can better afford to pay it.
The poorer classes will gain in two ways by this
Treaty, they will get their lumber, their -four and
bread and other necesse les of life at a lower price,
whilst the labor Of their hands will be at a higher
price and worth more to them.
But, Mr.. Chairman, l do not think there are two
members of this Assembly who do not admit that
this Treaty viii be a great gain to this country, and
to every single man in it.
But to 90 back to the action Of the government.
What says the Act Of 1874? To facilitate the nego.
tiation Of a Treaty or Treaties Of Reciprocity. You
have all got it before you, aud have no doubt read it
and over again. / need not quote the words,
what does it say in effect? Why ii says, " We
want a Treaty of Reciprocity with the United States,
90 ahead and make one, and ratify it without waiting
to have it approved of by the next Legislature.
This Legislature approves Of 1t now. and by this sp-
prevail, the 29th Art. of the Constitution is obeyed."
The Treaty, Mr.. Chairman, was negotiated in
Washington on the Sd day of Jan. 1875, between
Fish, United States Secretary of State on
the ono part, and His Honor Chief Justice Allen
the Hon. H. a. P. Carter, on the part of this
country. 1t passed the Senate Of the United States
IN the 18th of March with certain amendments. 1t
sent here for ratification in April, and on the
18th of the same month His Majesty, with the advice
IF the Cabinet, ratified it. Notifications were ex-
changed in Washington on the Sd day of June, 1875.
This country then became bound to this Treaty
rrevocably. All that was left TO be done was that
The United States Congress should pass a law in ac-
with the 9Th Art. of the Treaty to carry it
INTO operation. Congress met in December of the
;sme year, aud in November His Honor Chief Justice
Allen. our Envoy, who had negotiated the Treaty,
vas despatched to Washington to look after its final