The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-30
Our San Francisco Letter.
SAN FRANcIsco, December Is.

a EHANC1SCO, tCculO o
Congress has settled down to work, and con-
siderable progress has al sady been made. The
leading SUBJECTS of legislation are the tariff, in
ternal revenue, civil service, the postal de-
partment and the revival of American shipping
interests. The latter is likely to be encouraged
by a rebate of the amount of duties on the
material OF American built ships. and possibly
by a law permitting foreign built ships to obtain
American registry. A strong party in the in
terest of wooden ship builders oppose these
measures in toto, while the iron tuilders are dis
posed o favor tue former and oppose the latter.
Our postal department having become self sus-
tanning Their is likelihood that letter postage will
be reduced to two cents. Civil service is again
to the fore with a bill providing for examination
of applicants. promotion by seniority, ETC., etc.
Whether anything will he accomplished is doubt
full. The Democrats after their late success are
confident of carrying the next general election,
aud with that in view they are slow to adopt a
measure that is likely to fill up the departments
with Republican employees on q life tenure of
service. They think that having been ont in the
cold for u quarter of century, they should get a
seat near the fire when the doors are opened to
them in 1884.
The leading fight however, is over the tariff.
The measures recommended by the Tariff Com
mission, tending to largely reduce duties are now
under active consideration by the committee on
Ways and Means, and good progress is being
made. OF course, the sugar question so far as
affected by the tariff is the object OF first interest
to your readers. Many prominent Eastern re-
HHtIS VIII oppose tHe pIOfoSiliOh Vi ne IfpOiL
of the Tariff Commission on the ground that a
reduction of fifteen per cent. of the present duty
is entirely too little to amount to anything and
that, to afford re1ief at lcu5t fifty per cen should
be taken of. On the Other hand the Louisiana
planters oppose any reduction as a blow at their
interests-as a matter of fact they produce almost
about eight per cent of the sugar consumed in
the country.
1t was supposed that before this the House
Committee on. Foreign affairs would have taken
n vote ON the question of the abrogation of the
Hawaiian Reciprocity T Treaty. The New York,
Boston. and philadelphia refiners sent on u COM
mite to Washington last week to urge it's abro-
cation, and in this they were backed by the
Louisiana interest. The House Committee met
to consider the question, but without a~ffording
the representatives of thu sugar ~interes: any OPP
portunity to be heard, they postponed further
consideration of the II after until the holiday re-
cess, stating that they required further informa-
tioLtfrom the State and Treasury department be-
fore taking any action. The committee is re-
ported to be evenly devided on the question of
abrogation.
Last week Secretary Folger decided a question
of much interest to the sug. T trade-a consig-
ment of andwich Island sugar was levied upon
for duty in New York on the ground that it was
different in quality from the kinds covered by
the provision of the treaty. FOlger decided that
the sugars now made in Hawaii are not different
within the meaning of the law, from those made
at the time the treaty was sign d, and ordered
the consignment admitted. The ruling indi-
rectly affect duties upon sugars amounting to
about So. 900. 900.