The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-08-11
Ignorance

II has BetI -lstltu III a DuAilllOuS SUI "
way that we did not know what we were
talking about when we said in last Satur-
days WEEKLY PACIFIC COMMERCIAL AID
vERTIsER that "this country only desires
to borrow for purposes which are directly or
Indirectly reproductive" The public has
been further informed that not a single OBJ
ject mentioned i'm the Loan Act 'is directly
reproductive" 1t is not surprising that any
person who is so ignorant As to make such
a statement as this should be ready to ac-
cuse his neighbors Of ignorance Here,
as elsewhere, the objects for which public
debt IS incurred are chiefly reproductive in
an Indirect way. But there are exceptions
10 his rule and our Loan Act provides for
several. Taking them in their order as
they appear on the Act we have the follow
ing:
Reclaiming Water Lots in WaikahaIulu. : $4,000
Marine Railway, Honolulu. 10000
Telephone and Telegraphic Communica-
tons. lOO,OOO
These are items from the expenditure of
which direct revenue will result. The water
lots will be sold or leased the Marine Rail-
way Is leased, and if the Government should
hereafter establish Geographic communica-
ton with the other islands we nave no
doubt n good revenue will be returned from
the investment. Anyway, We know of
more than one Syndicate that is anxious to
get a concession to undertake this work.
So much for "'direct' reprOductiveness-
there is not one item in the Loan Bill which
would not be indirectly reproductive in the
way Of actual revenue to the country, ire
sPective of the gains of citizens through
the expenditure. We doubt indeed whether
it is right to speak of the immigration Ex-
penditure as only Indirectly reproductive.
Every adult we import pays annually to
the Customs Revenue a large interest OD the
cost of his or her importation and in the
case of male immigrants we collect 81 a
mead from them in taxes irrespective of
their contributions to other forms of Reeve
nue..
Then again we are taken to task for dis
playing Ignorance when we say ''fOr just
such purposes as these, other countries,
newly settled by white men, have been bor-
rowing" We are gTavely told " no Brit
ish) Colony has ever dared to ask for a loan
for works not directly reproductive, such as
railways, wateTwOrks etc, bringing in a di-
rect income except in very small sums.
We must confess to- surprise when we read
such q statement in a paper known to- be
owned and conducted by persons who have
resided in Australia and New Zealand. 1t
is totally in disaccOrdance with the truth.
Scarcely any of the debts Incurred by Brit
ish Colonies nave been for money spent in
directly reproductive works with the single
exception of the loans appropriated TO rail-
way wOrks-Only n minor portion of the
whole of their debts. The rest of their loans
has been spent for all sorts of purposes, in
Guiding many which could not be said
to be reproductive even in the vaguest
sense Of that word. For defensive or ag-
gressive wars against native tribes; for pub
lie offices; for roads, and sewers, and protec-
tive works for harbOrs, all returning no
revenue in direct taxes OH those who use
them; and for 4 hundred minor things
which are not even Indirectly reproductive
in a revenue sense. and which often enough
fail to advance the interests of anybody
whatever; for such things this, that, and
the other colony have borrowed, and are
borrowing to-day, and will borrow again;
and this i'm spite Of the large incomes they
derive from the waste lands they are always
selling, the proceeds of which go TO swell
their Ostensible annual revenue.
''And again says this writer "what col
ony or country, has asked At one time for a
loan exceeding two years revenue ?" To
which We way say that on the one hand
Hawaii has not proposed to borrow at one
time a sum-"eXceeding'' two years revenue
and on the other hand that scores of coun-
tries and colonies, and even cities, road
boards, harbOr boards ami such like bodies,
nave borrowed at one time three, SIX and
even ten times their annual revenue, with
perfect safety and with most beneficial re-
SultS-