The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-12-17

Majesty MmIstcfs, witch ha~ re-
suited ia great injustice and injury
to the American residents.
rnr rAmrr
The President gives some interest
ing facts regarding the operation Of
the new tariff.
at IS not my purpose lu enter at
any length into u discussion Of the
effects Of this legislation to which |
have referred, but brief eNamina-
ton of the statistics of the Treasury
and general glance at the state OF
business throughout the country will,
| think, satisfy any impartial in
qurer that its results have disap-
pointed the evil prophecies of its OPP
poneuts, and in large measure real
lied the hopeful predictions of its
| friends.
Rarely, if ever before in the his
tory of the country, has there been
time when the proceeds of one
days labor or the product of one
farmed crop could purchase such a
large amount of things that enter
into the living of the masses of the
people. | believe that full test
will develop the fact that the Tariff
Act of the Fifty-iirst Congress is
very favorable in its average effect
upon the prices of articles entering
into common use.
''During the twelve months from
October |, 1890, to September 30,
1891, the total value of our foreign
commerce (imports and exports
combined), was Sl,747, SOC, 40G,
which was the largest of any year in
the history of the United States.
The largest in any previous year was
in 1890, when our commerce amount
ed to 81, 647, 1879, 093, and the last
year exceeds this enormous aggre-
gate by over 500, 100000.
ut is interesting and to some will
be surprising to know that during the
year ending September 80, 1891, our
imports of merchandise amounted to
1924, 715, 270, which was an increase
of more than $l1,000,000 over the
value of the imports of the cores
ponding months of the previous year,
when the imports of merchandise
were large, in anticipation of the
tariff legislation then impending.
The average annual value of the i'm
ports of merchandise for the ten
years from 1881 to 1890, was $685.
1856, 522, and during the year ending
September 80, 1891, this annual
average was exceeded by 1892, ops
Ago.
"The value of free imports during
the twelve months ending September
80, 1891, was S11S,092 1897, more
than the value of free imports during
the corresponding months of the pre-
ceding year, and there was, during
the same period, decrease of $780,
S46, sos in the value of imports of
dutiable merchandise. The percent
age of merchandise admitted free of
duty during the year to which l have
reference, the first under the new
tariff, was IA. IS, while during the
preceding twelve months under the
old tariff its percentage was 1927,
an increase of 1891 per cent.
If we take the six months ending
September 30th last, which covers
the time during which sugars have
been admitted free of duty, the per
cent of value of merchandise i'm
ported free of duty is found to be
55.37, which is a larger percentage
of free imports than during any
prior fiscal year in the history of the
Government.
If we turn to exports of merchan-
disc, the statistics are full of graft
fication. The whole of such exports
of merchandise for the twelve months
ending September 80, 1891, was
1923, 091 1856, while for the cores
ponding previous twelve months it
was $500, 177,115, an increase Of
$62 ,021, which is nearly three
times the average annual increase of
exports of merchandise during any
year in the history of the Govern
ment.
The increase in the value of ex-
ports of agricultural products during
the year referred to, over the CORES
ponding twelve months of the prior
year, was S45, SAG, 1877, while the
increase in the value of exports
of manufactured products was
| SIC, ,240,
''There is certainly nothing in the
condition of trade, foreign or domes-
tic; there is certainly nothing in the
condition of our people of any class,
to suggest that the existing tariff and
revenue legislation bear oppressively
upon the people, or retard the com
mercial development Of the nation.
1t may be argued that our condition
would be better if our tariff leglsla-
ton were upon a free trade basis,
but it cannot be denied that all the
conditions of prosperity and of gen
eral contentment are present in
larger degree then ever before in our
history, and that, too, just when it
was prophesied that they would be
in the worst state. Agitation for
radical changes in the tariff and this
financial legislation cannot help, but
may seriously impede, business, to
the prosperity of which some degree