The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-01-16
THE SUGAR BOUNTY.
King KaIakaua'S Chamberlain
Says Hawaii Wants 1t.
He Thinks that Two Cents Per Pound
for Four Years Is an Tqui-
table Claim.

AT the Palace Hotel, Monday, the
following statements were made by
Colonel Macfarlane, Chamberlain to
King Kalakaua:
"The idea in the whole treaty of
reciprocity between the Hawaiian
Government and the United States
was the tariff protection that would
be given the Hawaiian Islands, and
our object was to place the sugar
growers on the same plane as the
American sugar growers. In return
for this we were willing to remit the
duties on all American products and
discriminate against every coun-
try except the United States.
Under the treaty we have
received the compromising advan-
tage of protection that the tariff
on sugar afforded the American
producer. This protection has
amounted on the average to about
two and half cents per pound for
all the Sandwich Island grades. We
first entered into solemn treaty obi
cations with the United States for a
period of seven years. A protest was
lodged by Great Britain against our
making such treaty and thereby dis
eliminating against English goods.
The British Government also claimed
under the general treaty of friend
ship, amity and commerce, and un
der the most-favored nation clause,
right to make a similar treaty for
Canada and the Australian colonies,
the tariff on sugar in those countries
being only about one-half what it
was in the United States.
The Hawaiian Government
claimed that the commercial advan-
tages offered by the United States
could not be equaled by Great Bri-
tain. For this reason the British
protest has been allowed to sleep,but
it was never withdrawn. We, on our
part, have maintained the treaty with
the United States inviolate, all
through these years, even to extend
ing it through a second term of
seven years, with one years notice
of abrogation. The first serious
breach has occurred on the part of
the United States. The breach was
not Intentional. It never occurred
to the Congress of the United States
that the Mckinley bill would work
such injustice to the Hawaiian
treaty. In fact Mr.. Mckinley 80 Mr..
Carter, the Hawaiian Minister at
Washington informs me, voted in
committee against the repeal of the
sugar duties.
"The whole basis of our treaty, so
far as the terms offered by the
United States are concerned, was the
sugar schedule, which placed our
sugar growers and the American
sugar-growers on the same footing.
The removal of the sugar tariff takes
away all the benefits we, on our part,
have derived from the treaty, while
the free admission of all American
| goods into our country remains the
same as heretofore, This is now an
entirely one-sided affair. It was
never intended that the smaller
country should give all the benefits
away to the larger country; and it
is no secret that the United States,
by making the treaty with us, not
only expected to control the trade
and commerce of our rich group of
islands, but indirectly to secure poll
tical advantages as well. Under the
renewal of our treaty for the second
term Of seven years, we granted an
exclusive right to the United States
for a coaling station in one of our
best harbors, Pearl River Harbor
This exclusive.right, however, term
mates whenever the treaty is abro-
gated. It would be out of all reason
to expect the United States to re-
store the sugar tariff, but as our
treaty provides that our sugar grow
ers shall be on the same footing as
the American sugar growers, the
only compromising advantage the
United States can give US for the
removal of the sugar duties is the
bounty they have given the Amer.
lean growers in lieu of the protec-
ton afforded by the sugar duties.
"We feel that we have an equit-
able claim for this bounty of two
cents per pound as given the Amer.
lean producers. These views are
practically the views of the people
of the Hawaiian Islands, largely
shared by King Kalakaua, but the
precise instructions given to Min
lister Carter, who leaves immedi-
ately for Washington. will not be
known until the Minister has met
the President and Administration.
Minister Carter, as diplomatic rep
resentative at Washington, is not In
position to be interviewed, and in
a diplomatic capacity he must be
very non-committal. am free to say,
however,that his Majesty's wish is for
his Minister to enter into such an
arrangement as will embrace the
widest commercial relations between
the Hawaiian Islands and the
United States. It is also his wish
that proper representation of the
facts shall be made by Mr. Carter,
our Minister, to the Administration
and Congress, so that our country
will suffer no injustice. For the re-
naming term of the treaty, namely,
for about four years, there can be nc
question but that we have an equit-
able claim for the bounty. At the
end of that time the United
States has the right to abrogate the
treaty if the Government shall Sc
, L L