The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-02-06
CURRENCY.

lnaL may ne expected from tle
victorious party in next Legisla-
ture will be an attempt, mt least, TO
repeal the gold law. This is the
currency policy foreshadowed in
this mornings advertiser. The
leading article is replete with the
usual fallacies with which the readers
of that paper are already familiar.
The article is headed "Our Cur
rency," but consists of an introduce
ton i'm which the "debts of the
country" are willfully, for purposes
of Misrepresentation, confounded
with the debts of individual persons
and firms. We were as well aware
rs need be that Hawaii " is to-day"
commercially, ga creditor and not
a debtor" but we have never had
the wool over our eyes, so thick, rs
our contemporary has, not to see
and know that the debts of our
business men abroad are not paid,
as the IdUeniSer recklessly alleges,
by our produce exports. What we
do know and what every merchant
and mechanic in this kingdom knows
to his cost, is that the currency of
the kingdom is not really legal
tender for the thousand and one
imported articles of every day con-
sumption that may properly be de-
signated the necessarics of life.
Goods are imported into the king
dom by dry goods men, grocery
men, machinists, carriage makers,
harness makers, printers and other
mechanics; and these goods are
sold in the currency of the king
dom, but exchanges in payment of
foreign invoices are purchased at
heavy rates of discount. Our con-
temporary, in citing Canada as an
illustration of its views, knocks
away most effcctually the very
ground it tries to stand on. Canada
certainly has little or no gold in
circulation. So far Canada and
Hawaii are alike. Another simi-
larity is that the legal standard OF
currency value is identical with
that of Hawaii - the United States
gold dollar. The money in cir.
culation consists of treasury and
bank notes OF the denominations OF
81, So, S4, So, $40, $40, $50 ant
500, with Canadian silver coins
for purposes of change, of 80 cents
20 cents, 10 cents and 3 cents, ant
bronze coins of / cent. Silver anC
paper are legal tender, accordin:
to denomination, for amounts vary
ing by graduated scale. Anc
here is where the illustration intro
duced by the .A1Uortiser shows tn
fallacy of our contemporaries argu
ments, and destroys its case entirely
Canadian ''rag money" is con
vertible, to any required extent, ant
at any bank, into United States ex
change, dollar for dollar, and int
English sterling exchange at th
usual rate of S4.S7 per pound, at ;
very small expense. Can this b.
said of the Hawaiian currency
While the Hawaiian silver dollar i
identical in value with the America
silver dollar, why is it, reasonin
from the 1dCertiSer'S point Of view
that one hundred Hawaiian dollar
cannot be passed at any bank i
Honolulu to meet one hundre
United States dollars on the face {
a San Francisco or Boston invoit
of goods, as they certainly woul
do, less a trihlng brokerage, if OF
currency were on a sound CONNIE
cial basis? 1t is well enough fl
our contemporary to say, sour oW
business men and politicians woul
do well to profit by the example
Canada" but he fails to show ho
they can do so, with a surplus circ'
lation of SG00,00O silver coin owe
and above what the requirements
the population would be, provide
the Canadian system of currenc
would be adopted. Withdraw 5000