Evening star., 1898-06-21
COMMERCE WITH HAWAII
About Two-Thirds Of Its Imports Are From
the United States.
This Country Has Also Had the Lions
Share Since the Reciprocity
Treaty of 1875.

The Hawaiian Islands. their commerce,
finance productions and population, fern
the subject of series of tables which will
appear in the next number Of the summary
| Of finance and commerce issued by the bu-
reau Of statistics. From these it appears
that the United States has, since the reci-
procfty treaty of 1876, had large share OF
the commerce of these islands Prior to
1876 our annual salss to the Hawaiian Is
lands had never. save in two exceptional
| cases. reached 100000. With 1877, how
ever, the mllion-dollar line was perman-
emily passed, and since that date our ex-
ports to the islands have steadily grown,
passing the wo-million-dollar line IN 1879
exceeding $3,OO0,0OO In 1883, $4,OOOOOO in
1880, passing the s5,O0o,0oO line in 1891 and
promising to reach nearly 100000 this
year. OF the total imports by the Hawaiian
Islands in 1916 a little over one-third was
from the United States.
In 1876 the reciprocity treaty went into
operation, and in 1877 the United States
supplied one-half of the imports into the
Hawaiian Islands, which then amounted to
$25OO,O00. By 1880 the imports had increas-
ed to over $3,5O0,0O0, Of which over s., ,0U0 600
worth came from the United States; in 1854
they were over $4,5OOO0O, of which more
than SOO0,O0O were from the United States
in 1880 $6,962,O00. of which $4.711 900 came
NJ
OOO. of which about $4,OO0O0O came from the
United States.
Of.the exports from the Hawaiian Islands
the United States has also had the lions
share since the reciprocity treaty of 1876
In 1875 only about 81 per cent of the ex-
ports from the Hawaiian Islands came to
the United States. In 1877, the year fol-
lowing the treaty. over 30 per cent came to
the United States, and has since continued
in about the same proportion. OF the $780,
100000 worth of exports from the Hawaiian
Islands since the reciprocity treaty Of 1876,
more than S1SOO00,UO have come to the
Of imports into the Hawaiian Islands dur
ing that time about ST0,000,00O were from
the United States.
Chiefly Sugar Exported.
Sugar of course appears as the chief ar
ticle Of expectation from the Islands, though
rice has been for years an item of consid-
erable value, and of late coffee, pineapples
and bananas have taken important rank in
the expectations of the islands. OF the
S1o.5OO,oO0 worth of exports in 1896 almost
Sl5,OOO,OD worth was sugar. though In addi
ton to this there was exported over 5,OO0,-
600 pounds OF rice, 90 00O pounds of coffca,
10000 punches of bananas and 147 600 pine
epples. The increase in sugar and coffee
has been rapid in the past few years, coffee
increasing from $500 pounds. in 1887 to 2J5,-
GO in 1886, and sugar from 212, ,000, go
pounds in 1887 to 443, 100000 pounds in 1896.
The tendency in the past twenty years has
apparently been to reduction in the num-
Der of articles produced In 1876 the list of
exported articles included besides sugar and
rice, wool, tallow, molasses, peanuts, hides,
goat skins, sheep skins, whale Oil, whale
bone, ivory, salt, sperm oil and many other
articles. but now sugar, rice, coffee, ba-
EanaS and pineapples are the chief exports,
though the total value in 1896 was six times
that of 1876, when the articles were much
more numerous.
Imports to Hawaii.
The imports, as above indicated, are
mostly from the United States, those of
1876 being divided among the great ma
tions as follows: United States, SIS, ,464, 900;
Great Britain, $755, 900; China. s299, 900; Ja-
pan. $4,000; Germany sl4s,O0O; Australia,
$4,000 The largest items in the list Of
imports are groceries and provisions, $780,
$50; machinery. s3i3. 105; fertilizers, $332, ,239;
cotton goods, $3ll ,S9l; clothing. 292,550;
hardware and agricultural implements,
s27s,2 ,267 grain and feed, 1913, 1913; lumber,
$255, 2I2 tobacco, $194, 1886: flour, $169, ,000;
building materials. s102,639. and besides
these scores of articles, ranging in value
from 100000 downward. The population
at the latest census was, in round numbers,
100000, of whom 31,ooo were Hawaiians,
4,OO0 Japanese. u 900 Chinese, 1900 Por-
tuguese, 500 Americans, 2,25O British and
1,430 German. The receipts of the govern
ment are about s2000,00o annually of
which about one-third is gathered by tariff
taxes, one-third by internal taxation and
one-third from miscellaneous sources, the
expenditures being slightly less than the
receipts.
Our commerce with the islands extends
over more than half a century, one Of the
tables which will be presented showing inn
ports from them early 1926 and
ports to them early as 1887, though the
latter seem to have been only occasional
prior to 1853, when they amounted to ST.,
4o6, and by 1863 had increased to $54S, 73o
In 1878 they were s672, 19t, passing the ST.
100000 line in 1877, Immediately after the
enactment of the reciprocity treaty; the
1882, the Sf.0U0,O00 stage in 1890, the 5,00O.-
000 in 1891 and promising to be nearly
$4,000 this fsca! year; while our imports
from the islands will this year be the high
est on record, despite the general reduc-
ton Of imports from other parts Of the
world, the total for the year being likely
to exceed $15000,000. against $13, ,6S7, 900 last