The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-06-20
Duty on Sugar.


secret in this city that the present
Congress, in its efforts to impose u
tariff for revenue only" will place
a duty of a cent a pound on foreign
grown raw sugar. This news is par
acularly interesting locally, for the
reason that such tariff would mean
about S2,2OO,lOO year in the pockets
of the Hawaiian sugar-planters, with
out their eXerting themselves any
more than at present. At first sight
it may not be evident how the impo-
sition of a tariff of cent a pound can
be putting money in the pockets of
the Hawaiian sugar-planters and at
the same time give to the Democratic
government the revenue it seeks
through the tariff
The Mckinley tariff bill went into
effect on October 80, 1890. This bill
removed the duty of > cents a pound
from raw sugar, molasses, etc., and
cut down the revenue from that source
about SD, 100000 year, the collec-
tions for the year ending June 80, 1890,
amounting to S53, 1856, S73. The rate
in 1890 was 2.06 cents a pound, and
from 1874 had varied from 1.S0 cents
TO rs high as 2.45 cents, or nearly D
cents pound. Under the Mckinley
bill the tax was removed entirely.
"All sugars not above No. Is, Dutch
standard in color, all tank bottoms,
all sugar DRAWINGS and sugar sweep
ings, syrups of cane Juice, melada,
concentrated melada and concrete and
concentrated molasses, and molasses"
were placed on the free list. The i'm
position of a cent pound would mean
a revenue of about that collected in
1890, or in round figures S27, 100000 q
year. Thus the government would
get what it seeks. The raw sugar
which enters this country comes all
but exclusively from these sources,
Cuba, Java and the Hawaiian Islands
The price of Cuban centrifugal sugar
in New York regulates the price of
Hawaiian sugar in San Francisco to
the extent that the latter product is
invariably half cent pound cheaper
than the Cuban product Thus the |
price of Cuban centrifugal today is |
Hawaiian sugar is $40 of q cent. |
Under the reciprocity treaty with the |
Hawaiian Islands all sugar comes into |
this city free of duty. If then duty |
of cent a pound is put on Cuban CEN
trifugal the price in New York will |
be raised cent q pound, or would be |
today 500 cents, and the price of Ha-
waiian sugar landed in this city would |
ln u n
in the pockets of the Hawaiian sugar
planters. The average output of raw
sugar in the Hawaiian Islands is
10000 tons a year. a cent pound
is $50 a ton, so that the planters would
make just about S2,200,000 a year
without raising a finger.
The news which reached this city
came on indisputable author
ity and has already been fore
Swallowed by several large democratic
Eastern papers, as, for example, the
New York World. The theory of those
who know is that the present admin
istration does not intend to entertain
the annexation proposition of the Ha-
waiian merchants. Were the islands
annexed the planters would benefit to
the extent of 2-cent pound bounty,
1891. On the theory that half loaf
is better than no bread, the 1-cent
pound tariff will give the planters just
half what they hoped to get by annex
alton. At any rate the move is being
gently advocated by the eastern demo-
cratic press, and behind the talk favor
ing a tax on raw sugar is this sop to
the disappointed Hawaiian mer-
chants.
The fact that the Cuban sugar crop
is short this year and will not exceed
$50, 900 tons is just so much in favor of
the Hawaiian planter. This estimate
of the Cuban crop is about $4,000 tons
short
Sugar.
NEW YORK, June ., S93.-Cuban
centrifugals, SO degrees 4-29ets; gram
ulated, cents.
The San Francisco market contin-
ues active under good demand, the
canning season having fairly opened.
The Leprosy Question.
Mayor Ellert, it will be remember |
ed, few weeks since wrote to Claus
Spreckels, now at Honolulu, asking
him to see what could he done toward
arrangements with the Ha-
waiian Government for the shipment
to the asylum at Molokai of the Sand
witch islands lepers now at the Pest
house in this city. The Mayors pro
position was, of course, that the city |
would pay for the treatment given the
at their island home.