Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-02-02
naHAiLax ANNcrarInN.
Uncle Sam Has No Need of Running Owe
tho Seas in Search of New Pensiunerl

DAfit F'thA mus W. pNttu VI hEFtT
tho Seas in Search OF New Pensioners.
N. Y. Evening Post, January 80.
In the year 1875 treaty of reciprocity,
so called, was made between the United
states and his majesty the King of the
Hawaiian Islands, the principal feature of
which was the admission Of Hawaiian
sugar free of duty 10 this country. As the
Islands could not produce more than one
tenth of the sugar imported by us, the re-
mission OF the duty TO them exclusively
was equivalent to bounty of two cents
per pound on all they could produce. The
sugar industry became very ilourshing
and passed into the hands of few rich
people in san Francisco. They managed
to send lis from 2JD,O0O,000 to 2jOU0J,U U0
pounds per year, In 1883 our importa.
tons from Hawaii were 2i3O1OuN0
pounds. The bounty to the producers
Tor That year was nearly S50D,0jn. There
was constant complaint among the
people of the Pacific coast during all this
time that they got their sugar no cheaper
than before, but that on the contrary they
were required u pay the market price of
the east plus the freight charges for all
that they used. This was not the only
complaint. The eastern reiiners before
the lays Of the sugar trnst) alleged, and
no doubt, truly that Mr. SprGCkols was
enabled to lay down sugars i'll the Missis-
slppt valley in unfair competition with
them. since he got his raw sugar at two
cents per pound less than they were re
quired to pay. All this was quite natural.
air. ~preckels was not in the sugar business
tor the fnn of the thing. II the govern.
nlent had created situation by which he
could make lot Of money, he would have
been . fool not to avail himself OF it.
1t would would be useless now to discuss
the wisdom or unwisdom OF the treaty of
1870. Other considerations than those of
planting entered INTO it. For better
or for worse, the treaty ran along until
the Mckinley tariff was passed, The re-
peal Of the duties on raw sugar put the
Hawaiian Islands once more on the same
footing Us other foreign countries. Their
bounty was cut oil. 10 stop a regular in
come of Si,OOO,OuU or 100000 from a
little group OF islands, or rather from Il
cOterie IN that group, is Il serious matter.
Something was sure to happen in Conse-
luenee, ard something has happened.
There has been a revolution" The
queen of the sandwich Islands has been
overthrow. Tyranny is in the dust. The
people (about 5U,uuJ natives and 5000
Americans and Eurupeans} have asserted
the sacred right Of splfgovernment. There
are nearly rs many Chinese coolies, called
contract lHDorerS," On the islands as there
are of the native Hawaiian stock. OF
course these have had nothing TO do with
tho revolution, nor for that matter, haze
the natives, The upheaval is in the Ameri-
can quarter altogether 1t is a revolution
on strictly cash basis.
When the Mckinley tariff put raw sugar
on the free list it gave bounty OF two
cents per pound to the producers of sugar
in the United states, This was sufficient
to revuluIion1e the Hawaiian Islands any
day. The sugar-pantcrs want that bounty.
They have delegation, or an embassy.
ne "a h.s ~ an a
to Washington city now to place the
sovereignty Of the kingdom at our dis
pUSal and the sugar Bounty at their dis
posal, II Is rs plainly q private speculation
as was the attempted annexation OF SantO
Domingo during General Grants admins
tration. Although the affair has come
about suddenly, il is not likely To be dis
posed of suddenly.
Certain belated patriots, whose prime
has been passed in the nations callow
period, are tor asserting manifest destiny
and the Monroe doctrine and showing up
orr new navy, and making the eagle
scream This is to be expected. of course,
but the nation ought to be now beyond the
periis Ol infancy, and really is so unless
cast unexpectedly into u predicauent from
which there is no easy escape Happily
the annexation of foreign territory, as
was shown in the cases of San Domingo
and st. Thomas, requires time and gives
abundant opportunity for reflection. 1t
would be as presumptuouS to pronounce
hasty Judgment against annexation as for
it, and we are far from saying that the
proposal ought not to bo entertained. We
insist, however, that the project is prima
facic a private speculation on the part OF Il
few sugar-planters who have found their
bounty suddenly cut off and who want to
have it renewed. Uncle Sam has enough
to do taking care Of his own pensioners,
without running over seas in search of
new ones. Moreover, the chances are that
we shall stop paying sugar bounties to our
own people before any treaty of annexa-
ton can secure a two.thirds majority of
the Senate.