The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-08-10
WASHED SUGARS.

Letters have been received by leading mer-
chants here from their correspondents at San
Francisco to the effect that the customs authorI-
ties of that port have given notice that " here
after all washed sugars from the Islands will be
subject to duty Our readers will remember
that this point was raised a year and q half ago.
Duties were paid under protest, and an appeal
taken to the Secretary of the Treasury, who de-
cided, in effect, that they were refined sugars,
and not made free by provision of the Treaty.
The Treaty specifies sugars from these Islands
9 known in the California and Oregon markets as
Sandwich Islands sugars" The Secretary, after
inquiry, came to the conclusion that our washed
sugars were not generally known as " Sandwich
Islands sugars and that, consequently, they
must pay the duty. At the anne time, he adj
mitted that sugars which did not come up to No.
20, Dutch standard, in color, must be admitted
free. 1t is well known here that we produce
sugars considerably below the standard, No. 20,
which would 60 in free had not the planter
thrown a bucket of water into the centrifugal
for the mere purpose of improving the color,
not with any idea of refining the sugar. The
water simply removes some of the coloring matter
held by the sugar, but does not remove any of
the impurities which combine with it. We con-
ceive that all that is necessary is to convince the
Secretary and Customs authorities of this fact,
when they will readily concede the point that
washed sugars are not refined sugars.
The various processes followed on our planta-
tions produce sugars varying in grade, color and
crystal, although differing but little as to saccha-
rine or polarizing standard and at the prices
rul;o. ~ Cav, Ero1o;Soo - mould rof nov, opr
planters to bestow the labor necessary to produce
an article which would be properly considered
refined sugar. There is no doubt that our
grocery grades are growing in favor on the Coast
as a family sugar, and this fact may have pro-
voked opposition to their introduction by interests
with which they come in conflict.
The announcement of this determination of the
revenue officers at San Francisco takes us some
what by surprise, and we shall have to pay the
duty demanded, which will probably be done
under protest. We have no doubt the matter
can be satisfactorily adjusted by proper applica-
ton to the Courts Of the United States. We do
not believe the United States Government has any
desire to turn from US a single one of the benefits
which it was supposed, and was intended, that
we should derive from the working of the Reel
proclty treaty. Inc main argument III congress
for the accomplishment of that Treaty was that
it would tend to lessen the price of sugar to the
consumer, especially in California and Oregon.
But any such action on the part of the Treasury
Department at Washington as that referred to
would certainly be in the opposite direction, by
driving Hawaiian grocery grades from the market.
The interests involved, so far as they affect
business here, are of no little importance. Large
sums of money have been expended in procuring
the best machinery for the purpose of improving
the quality of our sugar, and as our planters have
eminently succeeded in producing a quality of
raws that is likely to become a formidable COM
petitor to refinery grades, they do not like to see
the prize escape from their grasp. They have a
higher ambition than to be simply feeders to the
San Francisco sugar refneries.