Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1883-10-13

| mere " no man IN tnc Hawaiian
Islands better fitted to grapplc with the
problem OF it's industries and It's com
mercc than is Hon S. N. Castle. In
rcprintng, by request, the following
letter which frs, appeared in the Ga
zette Of las, Wednesday, We not only
give additional currency 10 an able and
wcll.nigh exhaustive argument, but do
our readers the good service of furnish
ing certain statistics not otherwise oh
tainablc.
lIoSotutu, Oct !. iSSj
| EpfroR GAZETTE , The Advertiser ~ the
~, instant publishes the report ~ the United
States Sugar commissioners MI Garter In
his letter to Nh. Gibson saysi "Ihc report
" both lait aud unfair II h far and jusi In
! ~ admissions that no frauds had been pctpc
tfatcd this had been proved before by Uned
states ministers and con.uls, unimpoachablc
witnesses II was confirmed by the testimony
of the commission. II Is difficult io see how
any other report could have been made upon
the testimony before them. What seems IN.
| fair " The following
| "Thc statement which has been frequently
made that the greater proportion NJ the sugar
| planters arc American citizens We found to be
without foundation Careful inquiry on this
| point regarding each NJ the estates on the sl.
nnds shows that aside from the Hawaiian
| { commercial and Sugar Company Ia company
ofgnniycd in san Fmnciscol less than one.
| fourth NJ the owners ol sugar estates and per
sons engaged in the sugar business, are citi.
lcns OF the United States. With few cS.
ccpiions, the business is in the hands Of Ger
mans and English citizens OF IIawaiians,
| Among the latter arc some who were born in
the United States and have ienounccd allcgi
ancc to our government, OF who, born In the
islands Of American patcntage, claim lIa
waiian citizenship
| This pay be literally true, and ye, the i'm.
preston carried with II Is not correct. II has
never been claimed that NO citizen Of the
| United states owning property here had taken
the oath Of allegiance or that their children
were not lIawaiians by birth. These have
| been called Americans. AS British and Ger.
mans under The same conditions are called by
their original national nationality, although by
naturalization and by birth they owe a Ila.
waiinn allegiance. Vet their affiliations are
strong for their ann county, they do not sever
the ties Of blood and kindred; fcy would not
do II. Americans here, perhaps, feel no less
| interest in the welfare of their own country
than those whom they have LEFT behind. When
the life Of the nation was threatened, what
city OF hamlet in the broad land yielded up
more freely OF chcerfully its sons and daughters
aud treasures for the battle field. and caring
for the sick and wounded, and soothing the
pains and sorrows OF the dying, than the
American Ilawaiians2 Where else did any
one holding the office and position, or anything
corresponding to it, in dignity and cmolument,
as the popular Collectors General OF the LA
waiian Isles, (W. Goodalc) lay down his office
and shoulder his musket to help save the
countryp Nor was this case a solitary one,
from the bench, Judge Griswod) from college
halls, (Afmstrong and Emcrson) from almost
every honorable vocation did our American
lIawaiians rush to the rescue. Some fell in
the strife at Big Bethel in the rifle pit on the
boardcrs of Alabama and another carries the
scars received on the bloody fields Of Chan
cellorvile and Gettysburg. Where was the
mourning more sincere, when Lincoln and
Garfield fell, than right here. And where was
the JOY more genuine and heartfelt when vic
tory united again the severed states of the
Great Republic, and where is it more marked
in its unrivalled prosperity. 1t seems that the
living interests, the ready sacrifice of treasure
and blood IN the past should cnti,e Hawaiian
| Americans To the name american so generally
accorded them. They are here engaged in althc
peaceful pursuits Of civil life agricultural, me-
chanica, mercantile and professional and many
have found it expedient TO become naturalzed,
which is also true Of other nationalities, but
their love of country remains undiminshed.
| There is here organized the De Long Post
Of the Grand Army OF the Republic, and
many Americans are scattered through the
islands who fought in the war and were homo
rably discharged OF Americans such as /
have named, and OF British and Germans,
am able to make the following statements,
J from the tax list of 1881
Americans. mo. pay property tax $97,soI4i
| British .,.... BaJ.., ;, >, - 80. 1000 81
Germans a9o. " " " -. s3,sts,as
As the plantations form the largest item of
properly, i, is presumabe that is distributed
in about the above ratio OF ownership is cor
rect, in the only sense in which il was ever in
tended.
The statement "that the greater part of the
sugar machinery purchased for the islands since
the treaty, has not come from the Uuted
States, but from England or Scotland, or was
manufactured in Honolulu, decentralization
and explanation.
There is but one iron foundry in the islands
II does naturally good deal OF work, and Of
all the matf,Tai used since the treaty in its
manufactures seventy-six per cent. has come
from the United States and twenty-four per
cent from British ports, so that OF the large
amount made here, more than three -fourths
OF the material was imported from the United
States. This was not machinery, but the
material of which il was made, and should
be counted in this report as machinery i'm
ported from the United States The 1ohok Of
the machinery Of Mr.. Hopper's large rice.
cleaning establishment was imported from the
United States. These facts must materially
pao'hity this statement in the report. Blu, fur
ther explanations will show why machinery
orders went to Great Britain which would moi
otherwise have gone there or perhaps any.
where.
Soon after the treaty, member OF an en-
lterprising Glasgow house which had sold its
manufactures in all parts Of the world, visited
the islands, visiting most of the plantations,
and prospecting the unoccupied lands. To
suitable parties wishing 10 engage in the
planting business, he offered TO furnish
machinery, ON favorable terms and time Of
payment, and in some cases, even took stock
in the enterprise. In this way machinery
was brought in and enterprises started, which
otherwise most likely would no, have been
started at all. As no manufacturer OF capita
list from the United States was on the ground
to offer any such terms, these liberal terms,
offered no doubt for the express purpose of
selling the machinery, with no competing offers
from the states, swelIed largely the amount
of British machinery imported. Without these
explanations, the bare statement of the report
does not do justice to the planters or Hawai-
ians, party to the treaty.
| The report speaks Of the inc,sasei cost to
the consumer ON the Pacific Coast, OF refined
sugars, as compared with the price paid by
consumers in the Eastern States. ="
| think il will be found on examieaiion that
sugars, like other merchandise, have sold lower
on the Eastearn Coast than on the Pacific,
from It's first acquisition TO the United States,
and il is due to natural commercial causes.
II Is further from the source Of supply, and
other reasons which will not mention. This
difference in prices existed before the treaty
and exists now, but the price TO the consumers
of sugar on this coast mas not been n4yrasea
! think upon refined sugers, which can easily
be determined by reference TO San Francisco