The Hawaiian gazette., 1895-10-22
COLLECTOR GENERALS REPORT.


wear ending December 81, 1885,
. presents interesting, and, indeed
startling figures regarding the trad
, of these islands. Ii may be said
; generally, that no country exhibit
such general prosperity, and nearl.
all countries, not excepting Grea
, Britain, fall below it in apparen
prosperity,
The total imports of goods amour
to S5.I044S1+S, while the export,
amount TO s9l40,794.56, leaving
balance Of trade in our favor o
! S4.OS6,SlSIS. What becomes o
this vast, for us, balance of trade
Ii does not come 10 us in coin, fol-
our imports of coin amounted tC
only S60S,0O0. Who gets it -? AL
our machinery, provisions, dry
goods, and other articles of con-
sumption are paid for, and there is
this balance left over. 1t amounts
to ) per cent. on SSO,OO0,00O, or 10
per cent. on 100000. Some OF
it is paid out TO the holdes of pri-
waite and public securities. Some OF
it is invested by those TO whom it
is credited, in foreign securities.
What becomes of il?
1t may be claimed that this was
the national profit of the year 1894.
But a mere balance of trade is not
the exact profit. There would be
profit here if we had no trade, if we
only traded among ourselves. There
were great profits" in Japan when
that country was barricaded against
foreign commerce.
Taking the total inhabitants OF
the islands at 100000, which is
above the correct number, it APP
pears that the imports amount to
$50 per head. If the people OF
the United States were to
import at the same rate. the value
of the imports would reach annu-
ally the sum of S3,250,000,0O0,
while as a matter of fact in 1894
they only reached S654,944,622.
If the people of the United States
were to export at the same rate as
the Hawaiian people export, which
is S91 per head, the total foreign
exports of the United States would
reach S5.915,000,OOO. Such figures
would be startling. The actual
exports OF the United States for the
year 1894 were valued at 1858. 204.-
931, or about S13 per head OF the
population. The people Of these isl
ands have, therefore, an apparent
balance Of over 100000, appear
ing in the balance Of trade" which |
Is a balance greater in proportion
than that which any mercantile
nation Of the world has. This
must be reduced, however, by vari-
Gus payments made to the foreign
account, but of which we can find
no official returns, important as
they are.
The par value of the stock OF our
sugar companies is $27.964. go.
This with the value of the unincor-
porated. cane planting companies.
may amount to s30,OO0,OOO. An
average dividend of 8 per cent. on
the entire amount, less the S1O.-
100000 of stock of the Hawaiian
Commercial Company, would re-
luire s1,200,OO0. There still re-
mains, If these dividends were sent
abroad q credit TO the islands of
3 $4,000 Out of this, freight.
insurance and money RENTED to
)ther countries must be deducted.
Much OF the money RENTED to
China and Japan by the merchants
md laborers Is RENTED by drafts
IN this balance, but We can find no
.ecord Of it. Probably a sum
approaching half a million Is an
lually expended by our people in !
raveling. I
The figures show a strong ten
lency to send money out OF the
ountry, which does not look we'll
or our own prosperity. If the isl {
nds are to become simply a source &
i revenue to absentees, they are
indeed on the downward grade, and {
! would finally involve CONNER
ial and moral decadenee- A close
tudy OF the financial situation as l