The times., 1898-06-20
The COMMERCE OF HAWAII
Remarkable Growth of Trade in
Twenty Years.
CHIEF ARTICLES PRODUCED
Done With the United States, the
Principal Exports Being Sugar,
Rice, Coffee and Fruit-Interest-
of Statistics.

The Hawaiian Islands, their commerce,
finance, productions and population form
the subject of a series of tables which will
appear in the next number of the Sum-
mary of Finance and Commerce issued by
the Bureau of Statistics.
From these it appears that the United
States has, since the reciprocity treaty of
1876 had a large share of the commerce
of these islands. Prior to 1876 our an
nual sales to the Hawaiian Islands had
never, save in two exceptional cases,
reached s1.000,0Q0. With 1871 however the
million dollar line was permanently pass
ed and since that date our exports TO
the islands have steadily grown, passing
the two million dollar line in 1879, exceed
ing $4,000 coo in 1883, ST. 600, 600 in 1880, pass
ing the IS, 600, 600 line in 1891 and promising
to reach nearly $6,OO0oOO this year.
OF the total imports by the Hawaiian
Island in 1875, a little over one-third was
from the United States In 1876 the reci-
procity treaty went into operation and in
1877 the United States supplied one-half
of the imports into the Hawaiian Islands.
which then amounted to $1,000, 900. BY 1880
the imports had increased to over 50, 500, 900,
of which over 81 O0O, 900 worth came from
the United States; in 1854 they were over
$500. .0G0 of which more than $1,000, 900
were from the United States; in 1890 $685., :
600, of which A,711,0O0 came from the
United States, and in 1886 Sc, 900, of
which about %000, 600 came from the
United States
or 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 exports from the Hawaiian
Islands came TO the United States. In
1871 the year following the treaty.
over so per cent. came from the United
States. and has since continued in about
the same proportion. OF the 5000. .Og0 600
worth of exports from the Hawaiian
Islands since the reciprocity treaty of
1876, more than sls0, 100000 have come to
the United States, and OF the 800, COO 900
worth of imports into the Hawaiian
Islands during that time, about $40, 900 900
were from the United States
Sugar, of course, appears as the chief
article of expectation from the islands,
though rice has been for years an item
of considerable value. and OF late coffee,
pineapples and bananas have taken i'm
portant rank in the expectations of the
islands. OF the SIS SOC, O0J worth of ex-
ports in 1896. almost SIS, 900, 900 worth was
sugar. though in addition TO this there
was exported over 100000 pounds of rice,
225. OoO pounds OF coffee 126, 600 punches of
bananas and 147. coo pineappIes.
The increase IN sugar and coffee has
been rapid in the past few years, coffee
increasing from $500 pounds in 1887 to
.255, 600 in 1896, and sugar from PIP, coo 900
pounds in 1887 TO 1890 600 pounds in 1896
The tendency in the past twenty years
has apparently been TO q reduction in the
number 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, whalebone, ivory, salt, sperm
oil, and many ether articles, but now
sugar, rice. coffee. bananas and pine
! apples are the chief exports, though the
total value in 1886 was six times that of
1876 when the articles Were much more
numerous
The imports as above indicated are
mostly from the United States, those of
1876 being divided among the great na-
| tions as follows: United States. S., ,464 900;
| Great Britain, s755, 600; China S299. 900; ia
pan, s27e goo; Germany, s14SOOO Australia,
| $ll4,0VO. The largest items in the list of
| imports are groceries and provisions,
| S52O,SS5; machinery, $343, Jos; fertilizers
S2,23s; cotton goods, s311.S clothing,
| s292, ,559; hardware and agricultural imple-
| ments, s27S,267; grain and feed, s273, ,753: /:
| Timber, s255,242: tobacco, sl94 ,S36; -four,
$169, ,000, building materials, s102, $50, and be-
sides these scores of articles ranging in
values from s100000 downward.
The population at the latest census was
| in round numbers 10000, of whom 81 600
| were Hawaiians, 24,000 japanese, q 900
| Chinese. 15 GOO Portuguese, $500 Americans,
2.250 British and 1,43O German. The re-
| ceipts of the government are about
| $20O0,000 annually, of which about one
| third is gathered by tariff taxes one
| third by internal taxation, and one-third
| from miscellaneous sources, the expendi-
| lures being slightly less than the receipts
| Our commerce with the islands extends
| over more than half a Gentry, one of the
| tables which will be presented showing
| imports from them as early as 1926 and
| exports TO them as early as 1887 though
the latter seem to have been only occa-
sional prior TO 1853, when they amounted
! to S,406, and by 1863 had increased to
! S04S,730. In 1873 they were S672 191, passing
the s1,0O0,O00 line in 1877, Immediately after
| the enactment of the reciprocity treaty
| the s2,O00000 line in 1S79 the s., ,0OO. 900 mark
in 1882, the 100000 stage in 1890, the IS OOO