The Hawaiian gazette., 1889-01-08
A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS AND DUTIES
ON SUGAR.

of Congress, the Senate, which is
Republican, matured and passed a
bill of their own, reforming the
tariff according to Republican ideas.
This was intended as a political off
set to the Mills bill which had passed
the lower House, where the Demo
Gratis have a majority, and which
makes very extensive reductions and
additions of duties, especially upon
raw materials. One of the most no
table differences in the two bills was
in dealing with raw sugars. The
Democratic House had left the pres
ent heavy duty untouched. The Re-
publican Senate reduced it one half.
The Democratic majority was com
posed mainly of Southerners who
chung to protection for the heaviest
southern staple requiring it. The
Republican majority in the Senate be-
ing northern, cheerfully slaughtered
the sugar interest, as the easiest way
of securing a large reduction of
revenue, which was the leading oh.
ject sought in tariff reform.
Hawaii is profoundly interested in
the issue of this matter. By the
treaty of Reciprocity, which admits
our raw sugars into the United
States ports free of duty, we shall
share with Louisiana in any loss of
the protective duties on sugars.
Should the Republican measure pre-
vail, we shall suffer loss of from
twenty to thirty dollars ton on the
price of our sugars, or between two
and three millions of dollars upon
our yearly crop. We believe this to
be larger sum than the average
profits hitherto realized by the own
ers of Hawaiian plantations. In so
disastrous an event, much could no
doubt be saved by pinching econ
omy, and severe cutting of salaries
and wages. Those plantations which
possessed the best machinery and
methods of cultivation might con-
tinue to pay a small profit. Others
would succumb. The whole output
would suffer heavy shrinkage carry
ing with it shrinkage of plantation
values as well as of all property and
business. What then are the proba-
bilities, pro and con, of the proposed
reduction of duties being carried
into effect.
The next Congress is quite well
assured to be Republican in the
House as well as in the Senate. The
majorities in both cases will be small,
though sufficient to carry any Re
publican measure upon which that
party is fully determined. 1t is by
no means clear, however, that the
party is keenly anxious for that re-
duction of revenue, which President |
Cleveland declared to be so neces-
sary. If, however, they are SO, then
sugar presents a tempting object for
sacrifice, since a reduction of one
half the duty would cut off about |
S23,000,000 of revenue, while the
thereby destroyed would
be comparatively small one. The
moreover, might enjoy
the clamor to be raised by the anti
protection Southerners when an i'm
portant interest of their own is at
tackled by their favorite theory of
On the other hand, our sugar peo-
pie will have an important ally in
5he incipient and very promising
beet sugar interest, now just assum-
ng prominence. There exists a
lively hope that the States will ulti-
nately supply the whole of their
,wn consumption from this new
source. Consistent protectionist
must require this infant
enterprise to be well fostered by
ugh duties. California members
nay be expected to insist upon it.
Another strong hope is in the invari-
lble efficiency of powerful minority
o prevail against small majority
n any matter where the latter are
somewhat Indifferent and the former
re determined. The Southern min
,rity will do their utmost to save the
ugar interest Their Northern
Democratic allies will help them.
They will have the aid of California
members. They can al
ways trade off a few votes on other
TENS with Northern Republican