The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-02-14

in great measure, we understand,
through the influence of Messrs.
Bishop & Co., entered into an ar
rangement among themselves not to
present Hawaiian certificates for sill
yer deposits at the Treasury for re-
demption in gold, but to use them as
circulating medium as the equiva- |
lent of gold. Yet at this very time |
Messrs. Bishop & Co. had deliber- |
ately made their arrangements to in
sist on the redemption of 100000 Of
silver certificates in one lump as soon
as ever the law should come into
force! And they carried out those
arrangements with high hand. The
Government, still not willing to
clash with the chief financial institu
ton of the Kingdom, gave way when
it ought to haYe insisted on the de-
livery of the gold, and left Messrs.
Bishop & Co. to take the threatened
step of presenting their certificates at
the Treasury counter, and so demon
| strating to their customers and
friends with whom they had Joined
in the resolution of November 29th
that they had no intention of keep
ing to it, except just as it might suit
them to do so.
Then followed a pressure on the
Government to persuade it to do
what the bankers and business men
of the community ought to have
done for themselves-impOrt fur
Their quantity of gold coin to meet
the necessities of the circulation.
There was no way in which the Gov
eminent could do this, except by
melting up Hawaiian silver coins so
lately minted. Had it been known
that such a result might flow from
the new Currency Act, it goes with
out saying that the Legislature
would never have passed it. In
spired by this conviction, and by an
equally strong belief that all the Ha-
waiian silver coin in the country will
really be wanted for a subsidiary cir
culating medium, the Government
, has declined to take the step urged
upon it. Hence the curious PROPOSE
ton which we reprint in another
: article OH this subject. For the Gov
) eminent to enterin such an arrange
5 ment as was thus proposed would
A simply have been to fall into a snare.
= Such was the evident intention OF
i the proposal. It's operation was to
: be limited to three months. That is
= not a reasonable space of time in
! which to try an important financial
q experiment, even if the experiment
1 proposed in this case had been free
t from other Objectionable features. AL
Y notes that came in were to be can
8 celled instead of there being an abso-
e Lutte undertaking to keep them in cir
n culation for a definite period-eveI
the very small period of three month:
f which was the only possible wa.
,. to make the proposal useful to tn
: public. This proposition was re
: iected by the Government at once
g In point of fact, had it shone with Sc
d auctions in as great proportion as
d bristled with Objectionable points,
e would still have been rejected, be
f. cause the law did not allow it. Thel
= the Government took further ste
e to ease matters, and did what every
n body else was afraid to do-accepte
d silver coin for any debt due to il
r This alone would, in very shol
Of space of time, have put an end to an
.r difficulty which existed anon
L. -, vi 70 fI1oir rnaaiTltS r
l. silver. Immediately after comes Co
l. Spreckels on the scene, offering full
il Their accommodation to the holders {
h silver Nothing could more clearl
,r demonstrate how little redundanc
IL of silver there is in the place tina
v the fact that in all only 81, 900 weI
Of offered to Messrs. w. @. Irwin & O.
10 for exchange during the week ate
RS their arrangements were announced
is half of which business firms of Hone
n lulu were glad to get out of the
er hands again for gold.
l. Meanwhile what had been goin
:, on? A steady and rapid drain {
D. gold from the Treasury. The COMMIT
Or nifty whose principal note holders ha
IS struck hands together to keep thos
re notes in circulation draws in seve
% weeks about quarter of a million {
IS gold coin out of the hands of the Coz
E. eminent. Who did it? Az solutio
s. of that problem is best to be foun
of in the answer to another question
es "Where is that gold now?" In CT
Id culation among the people gold
sc rather less plentiful than it was {
h Christmas time. The small trader
at have found an outlet for the silve
I'd that was beginning to accumulate o
err their hands, but they have no acct
e. mutations of gold. Some of the gol
of that has passed out of the Treasur
,e may have gone to the other isla nd
ne and some may have been shippe
D. away, but the greater part of it is
eft the safes of certain number of thos
Sc who before the face of the Peep
Sc solemnly entered into a compact
re leave it in the Treasury, and WI
id have been quietly and, in many il
to stances, vicariOusly withdrawn