The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-05-15


This volume is very mine of
useful information on all matters Of
commerce, of course, more particu
larly as relating to the American
continents, but as the business car
ried on between the different states
of the Western Hemisphere has to
be compared for illustration sake
with that between the Americas
and Europe, and for some purposes
Asia, the contents of the book ill.,
cIude great quantity of mercan-
tile matter concerning nearly the
whole world. The manner of CON-
pilation is as admirable as the mat
ter is interesting and important.
1t would be far beyond the limits
of newspaper article, or indeed of
series of articles, to deal with any
of the subjects treated in this hand
book, except such as more particu-
larly interest US in Hawaii, fore
most among which we must take
the chapter on sugar.
The first statement which at
tracts attention is that the cane
sugar crop Of 1889 was the
smallest for ten years, while the
beet sugar crop of Europe was the
largest on record. The cane crops
of Cuba and Brazil fell off materi-
| ally by reason of the unsettled
state of the labor markets., owing
to the emancipation of the slaves,
which had the effect of reducing
the output of Cuba by $4,000 tons
in 1889, as compared with the
crop before it, while the Brazilian
crop fell by 417,418 tons between
'88 and '99, and as estimated for
go, further diminution of $4,000
tons.
In the list of sugar-producing
countries of the world, Cuba comes
easily the first with $4,000 tons.
HAWAII with 10000 tons comes
seventh, with Demerara, Mauritius
and Louisiana each with 5000 tons
each in advance of US. In produc-
ton of beet sugar, Germany is far
IN excess of all others, France and
Austria following with $4,000
tons.
| Several American States that
might produce sugar are spoken of
as obliged to turn to other indus
tries on account of the very diff
culties which have always been
more or less felt here, and now that
our favored conditions no longer
exist, and Hawaii has to compete
in open market, will tell with
crushing weight on some of our
plantations. These difficulties may
be summed UP under two heads,
viz, expensive labor, and cost Of
reaching the market. In the West
Indies the work is done by coolies,
who receive an average wage OF
1915 cents day.
| In Mauritius the wage is still
less and the sugar is sold on the
island, the purchasers coming fol
the purpose from Calcutta and buy
ing not infrequently a whole
crop before a stick of i
} is cut. Mexico is about to in
troduce coolies, but all the Contra
American countries have engaged
more extensively In the cultivation
of coffee and other staples, as suga1
cannot be made to pay with higl
wages, heavy freight rates, commits
. sions, agencies, etc. For thes'
reasons, of the whole amount o
sugar imported into the Unite'
. States, only LEA per cent come
from Brazil.
There are now, it is stated, abou
two hundred and fifty thousan
East Indian laborers in the variou
|. West Indian colonies, and nea
twenty-five thousand per annun
arrive there. These are stringentl
cared for by the British Govern
ment, and though their wages ar
small, they are better off than i
!, their own homes.
n The coolie labor of Cuba is of
. different order, and so will that {
Peru and Mexico be, if those cour
tries import Chinese.
" We hope to give some notice {
the coffee and banana and fru
= trade amongst American states j
another article.