The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1880-01-24

II. r bickeTtOn IOr flalntlHs anu >. ID DOIe
for Assignees.
Honolulu, October 25th. 1879.
Prom the Washington Chronicle. Aug. %. 1851
The Trans-Paeife Cable.
About one only Of the unexceptionabIe acts of
the late session OF Congress was the passage of
the bill granting the privilege to lay a telegra-
phic cable across the Pacific from California TO
Asia, which, when completed, will in a very
great measure, break up the monopoly of the
present British Ocean Cable Company, a combi-
nation that does pretty much as it pleases with
certain business men dependent upon ocean tele-
graphy, and that has held the entire Pacific
coast subject to its ~exactioDs ever since its organ
ization by compelling It to travel a distance Of
Is 600 miles in order to reach China by cable,
whereas, by the proposed new line, it will be en-
abled 70 reach the same point in a distance Of
5000 miles. The bill as il passed the Senate
was subject TO a good deal of annoyance through
the fundamentally Of the British Ocean Cable
Company, not only the last session of Congress,
but for a series of eight years of hard struggle on
the part of It's friends. On two occasions Mr..
Cyrus Field was served by a consideration Of the
vote in the Senate, by which he was enabled to
gain time and defeat its passage in the House.
This sort Of tactics worked so far this session as
to bring the bill before the House SO late that no
action could reach it except by unanimous con-
sent, and IN order to give some sort Of fairness TO
the single objection that was threatened, and
which would have laid the bill over, by Mr..
Hewitt, the sOn-in-law of the president of the
British Atlantic Company, he induced the mod
ern Socrates Of the West, Mr.. Holman. 10 play
the part that he was afraid to play himself, so
that this pseudo reformer gave notice that he
would use his privilege in the interest of this
British monopoly unless he was allowed to so
amend the bill as TO allow any other company to
share the same enthusiastically to make his
movement a very liberal one, but In reality to
defeat the measure itself. The friends of the
Pacific Cable bill, however, accepted the situa-
ton, and as it will constitute no particular OBJ
stacle to the gentlemen who are in earnest about
the project, We consider the legislation, so far as
It has gone, a great triumph over British capital,
as well as over it's paid agents in this country.
We mention this circumstance only to show the
utter hypocrisy of old Holman, who, while pre-
tending to be a great friend of the people, and a
living embodiment Of reform IN all things, lends
himself as the tool of the most rapacious mono
poly IN existence; and, as il never forgets small
favOTs, who knows but what the consideration
was a few 8 barrels - OF New York money to in
huence the Indiana elections, and, doubtless, to
help keep together his own constituents?
However. the Pacific Cable. Company has now
an existence, ana We hail it as the first success
full movement against the British Atlantic Com
pany, as well also as the first substantial effort
toward the consolidation of American interests
in Asia.
Prominent in this new enterprise Is it's proiec-
tor, Captain Celso Caesar Moreno, a gentleman of
vast experience in AsIatic affairs-with its Ian
guage as well as its great resOurces-and who
will be TO this new project what Morse was orr
ginally to the telegraph, Fulton to the steam
engine, De Lesseps to the SueZ canal, like Lord
Give to the East Indies, or any of the great pio-
neers Of this century IN the development of the
material resources Of mankind. Like these men.
Captain Moreno has had many obstacles to en-
counter in the last eight years in trying TO open
the eyes Of American craftsmanship 10 the rich
- Hha - - L-I - - -...L 81
encouragement that such men as Mr.. Sumner,
Mr.. Seward, and Mr.. Burlingame tried to instil
among American capitalists in his favor. the first
railroad IN China would not have been built by
the British, bat we would have utilized the work
50 ably begun by Burlingame 10 the immeasur-
able benefit OF all branches Of our industry.
Such was not only the opinion Of the men re-
ferred TO, but 50 greatly were the leading papers
Of this country impressed with Capt. MOreno's
wonderful book, published eight years ago, on
American interests IN Asia, that they, without
exception, pronounced him Une OF the remarkable
men Of the aye, and devoted columns of their
space IN urging American capital and enterprise
to utilize the opportunities he 80 fOrcibly pre-
sented TO them. AS Is generally the case. our
people were slow TO respond. until some of the
mIllIOnaires Of the Pacific slope agreed to join
him in the construction OF an ocean telegraph
across the Pacific. binding the two nations to-
gether, and the legislation necessary thereto was
at last contaminated during the session of Con-
gress Just closed, and to Captain Moreno alone is
due the credit Of so much OF the work. In say
ing this, however, we mean no disparagement of
the Efforts Of members Of Congress from the
Pacific States OF Senator'S Sargent and Booth, Of
California, Kelly and Mitchell, of Oregon, and
Jones, Of Nevada, with their Representative assO-
ciates, Page. Lutrell, and WiggintOn, of the
former State. and Lane and WOodburn, Of the
two latter for to these men is due all credit for
their hearty cooperation IN effecting this long
desired legislation, and we congratulate their
constituents on the new era Of prosperity it pro-
misses. The struggle was a hard one, not exactly
with Congress, but with the arrogant British
monopoly that stood in the way. and at last Mr..
Cyrus Field found his match and, unless we are
very much mistaken, be will, before g great
while. acknowledge more than his equal in Cap
tain Moreno, and be glad OF the opportunity of
cOnceding to his untiring industry the success, so
far. of the Pacific Cable Company.