Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-10-27

| Investigation. They returned in August, and
their report has been published by the treasury
department. John T. Scarlcs IT,, treasurer %
the IIayemcyer Sugar Refining Company Of
| this city, was one Of the commissioners On
being asked by Herald reporter how long the
commissioners remained on the islands. he &c.
piled: 1--WE were there fifteen days, Of which
three or four were spent in Ilonolulm and the
remainder in visiting the dificrcn, plantations,
Of which there are large number scattered
over the different Islands. We met many Of
the planters and merchants and talked with
them very freely ON the subject Of the treaty.
1t is understood said the reporter, "that
your commissioners report that there have been
no frauds in the administration Of the treaty"
"That is true" said Mr.. Searles. The
sugars imported since the treaty arc the same
substantially as those imported before the
treaty, except that in 1876, when it was being
negotiated, they made low grade sugars. The
fraud is in the treaty itself Our government
meant one thing; the Hawaiian government
meant another. The treaty lets in free Of duty
sugars Of low grade but such sugars had moi,
been made there for twenty years. The Ian.
guage deceived she eastern sugar trade, and |
believe that congress was misled The result
was that Hawaiian sugars Of high grade came
in at once without duty
| GREAT PROSPERITY.
"Whnt is the condition Of affairs in the
| islands"
Commercially there is vcS great pros.
pcri,y. The treaty is bonanza. There are
about ninety sugar planters there and the
amount Of duty remi,ted to them last year was
about $1,000, 900. That is, each planter gets
on the average about $4,000 Of bonus ou,
of the United States Treasury every year.
There is nothing like that in the commercial
history OF the world. We are giving these
men all the advantages OF our protective
system. We tax our people annually about
$40, ,ooo, 600, partly in order to help the sugar
industry Of louisiana and the Southern States.
Then we let the Hawaiian planters, who have
an immense advantage in climate and soil,
come in and compete with these states with
chinese labor. The consequence is tha, there
is wonderful prosperity there. The sugar lands
Of the islands have gone up to enormous prices
and there has been boom there since 1877.
The taxes are only threc.quartcrs of one per
cent and ye, the total revenue of the govern
ment amounts to $40 for each inhabitant.
Here our total revenue, large as our taxation
is, including tariff receipts, amounts only to
SIS for each inhabtant. Some of the pIanta-
tons have paid dividends Of Is per cent in a
single year. Men have bought shares in
plantations and made fortunes in one or two
years. Planters who were bankrupt before the
treaty became rich the moment the treaty was
signed"
What do the planters say about this big
bonus p
| They lay great stress on the fact that the
trade Of the United States has greatly increased
under the treaty; that they are importing more
goods from this country than before the treaty
was made. They remind me OF the boy who
got so cents out Of an old apple woman, then
spent half it in buying her apples and told her
she ought to be very thankful that he was help.
ing her to do such fine biSsiness The duties
remitted by our government to the 10000
people there amount as have said, TO over
So, 6oo, 600 every year, OF 500 for each man,
woman and child on the islands. Now, il we
had reciprocity treaty with some great
country which would give us the same benefits
(which the Hawaiians get out of their treaty
with us it would in one year pay our national
debt and leave handsome balance in our
treasury"
| DIFFICULT QUESTION.
''What do you understand was the oblec, Of
the United States in entering into such a
treaty2"
"That is difficult question to answer"
said Mr.. Searlcs. "There seem to have been
mixed motives in making it. Some say i, was
done to help the missionaries; others say it
was done 10 develop our commerce, and still
others say it was done TO secure dominant
American influence in the islands, so tha, no
other nation would get foothuld there. In
the debates in congress previous to the signing
OF the treaty 1t appeared that there was some
|
standing the fact that we didn't wish to get
possession Of the islands ourselves. But no.
tice that no European nation for forty years has
shown the slightes, intention of taking the isl.
ands. sometimes suspect that the idea Of
foreign interference was gotten up by the
planters in order to force the treatyP'
| "llas the treaty built up American influence
there 7"
| "No, think not. l believe that, on the
contrary, it has greatly lcssened American in.
luence. You can see for yourself from these
figures. In 1873 the number Of American
residents in the islands was about I,,oo
There were $4,000 natives, 5000 Chinese and
500 Englishmen. Now, after lapse Of five
years, there are probably not over Z, 1000 Ameri.
cans there. The native have rapidly decreased
while the number Of Chinese has gone up to
20 900, as learn from the Planters Monthly.
Besides this, during the last three years the
planters have brought into the country over
1000 Portuguese. In fact, more Portuguese
have gone there during the last three years
than Americans in sixty years.
CHINESE CHEAP LABOR.
"Are not 10000 Chinese rather an over
whelming number for such a small country 2"
Certainly. They now amount TO about
one'thrd of the entire population, and. so far
as abe.bodied men are concerned, they are in
a majority. To illustrate: New York State
has over 100000 Of people. Suppose we
imported about 100000 Chinese and distrib.
uted them over the State; and, further, sup
pose that these 2,ooo, 600 Chinese were able
bodied men, ouinumbering all the other able.
bodied men in the State, you would then have
case just parallel with that Of the Hawaiian
Islands to-day. When 1900 Chinese gath.