The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-04
ABOUT REVENUE AND DEVELOPMENT

ABOUT REVENUE AND DEVELOPMENT.
Everyone must perceive that the
operation of the Reciprocity Treaty
is gradually killing our import trade
with countries other than the United
States. Direct imports from Eng
land and Germany have almost
ceased, and with the exception of UNI
important lines of goods, outside
spirits and beer, American imports
pay no duty. At present, therefore,
the Custom House must not be re-
garded as prolific source of revenue.
And by all appearance this condition
is more likely to be permanent than
temporary. The settled policy of the
country is towards free trade, although
it is called by another name. But
whether it be Commercial reci-
procity" or "free trade" it comes to
precisely the same thing, judged by
the standard of revenue.
We are very far from regretting
this. On the contrary, we think it
sound economic policy, and if we had
our way, which of course is impos-
sible, there would not be Custom
House in the world. Commerce is
always vitalized by the removal of
restrictions upon it, and in our .judg-
ment the extraordinary industrial de-
velOpment of the United States is not
due to its protective tariff, but to its
a1fn Tn 70 ioI,
possible the distribution of the varied
products of it's entire continental
area without toll or embargo of any
kind. For this ''the Fathers of the
Country" the great men who de-
vised the Constitution and prohibited
the imposition of export duties as
well, are to be thanked. They were
far-seeing statesmen, as far superior
to modern politicians as may we'll be
imagined.
Ina small way our own inter-island
trade is being developed upon pre-
cisely similar lines as the Interstate
trade of the great Republic, has been
developed. Nevertheless, industrial
ness our machine shops, foundry, and
allied Industries. The great sugar
industry has been built up, singu-
larly enough, by sacrificing revenue.
In other words, free trade with the
United States has built up the sugar
industry of these Islands, while a pro-
tective policy would have kept it in
struggling condition. These are
points which must not be lost sight
of, and which are very suggestive
Social economists will not fail to read
the lesson they teach, although it
may be missed by not few who are
engaged in guiding public opinion
and even in the practical work of
legislation.
We see that industrial and COM
mercial development is not only pos
sible with free trade, but that so far
as our experience goes in this King
dom, it is a direct result of free trade,
limited, lis true, to one country, but
which country is big enough to alb
sorb all our surplus products. Does
it not logically follow, therefore, that
an extension of this policy would still
further stimulate the production of
those special commodities in the
raising of which we have decided
local advantages? We think this
position cannot be controverted; but
public policy is not always guided by
rigid logic. Expediency is the prime
factor in State craft. A State expe-
dent, while it serves the purpose,
may not be exactly logical. AS a
matter of fact, our relations with the
United States are of such character
as to forbid an application of the free
trade principle embodied in the Reel
procity Treaty to other countries, and
therefore that point may be dis
missed without further considera-
ton. The only question that can
arise in this connection is whether
we should not be prepared to make
further concessions to the United
states, that is, whether the products
and manufactures of the two coun-