The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-05-01
Hawaii May Suffer by
the New Law.
10 Statutes Prohibit Certain Foreign
Vessels from Doing Uncle
Sans Work.

One OF the questions which people are
discussing nowadays is whether or not
Foreign steamers coming here from San
Francisco will be allowed to bring the
mails from the United States. The
coasting trade laws are to be extended
To Hawaii at the same time as the rest
OF the bills provisions, and there is gen
eral uncertainty as to whether under
the operation of these the mails can be
carried between here and the mainland
by the boats of the Togo Kisen Kaisha
and the Occidental and Oriental lines. 1t
Will be a source of great annoyance if
this cannot be done, for Honolulu has
none too many mails as it is.
A study of the United States naviga-
ton laws seems to show that it is en-
tirely legal for mails between ports in
the United States to be carried in for
eign bottoms. Section 1909 of the Re
vised Statutes of the United States,
which deals with this point, reads as
follows:
For transporting the mail between
the United States and any foreign port,
or between the ports of the United
States touching at a foreign port, the
postmaster general may allow as com
pensation, If by United States steam
ship, any sum not exceeding the sea
and United States inland postage; and
If by foreign steamship or by a sailing
vessel, any sum not exceeding the sea
postage, on the mail so transported"
This statement plainly contemplates
the carriage OIL United States mails be-
tween different ports of the United
States by foreign steamships under GER
tain circumstances not definitely stated
and specifies the rate of compensation
in their Casa different rate from that
in the case of American vessels.
This statute was amended nine years
ago by the following, which is now Sec
ton 400S of the Revised Statutes:
"The mail between the United States
and any foreign port, or between ports
OF the United States touching at a for
eign port shall be transported in steam
ships; but the postmaster general may
have such transportation performed by
sailing vessels when the service can be
facilitated thereby"
This section uses the word steam
ships" not the expression american
steamships" This, like the other, seems
to contemplate the idea of having these
mails carried in foreign steamers. 1t is
to be noted that in both these sections
the decision is left to the postmaster
general.
TIE only stumbling block in these
sections is the five words touching at
a foreign port" 1t is almost impossible
to imagine what the phrase means. Pre-
sumably, the adjective touching"
agrees with and modifies 1.-The noun
mail" so the sentence would seem to.
refer to mail borne in steamers which
at some point in their trip touch for-
eign port. So far so good; now the
point is whether this expression neces-
sarily includes the idea of touching BIT
a foreign port between the two ports of
the United States.
IL IL does it will prevent Hawaii get
ting mail from the States by the Togo
Kisen Kaisha and the Occidental and
Oriental, though the boats of those lines
can, of course, continue to carry mail
passengers and freight beween here and
China and Japan and beween San Fran
cisco and the Orient. But there Is moth
ing to show an intent to convey this ex-
act meaning; 1t does not appear why a
foreign vessel which touches at a for
eign port at some point on its regular
trip should be debarred under this law
from carrying the United States mail
from one American port to another. The
discretion seems to be left to the post
master general. and a liberal iaterpre-
tation would settle the matter ir Ha-
waits favor.
These boats, however, are unquestion-
ably debarred from carrying passengers
and freight between here and the Coast
On this point the navigation laws are
clear and unmistakable. They can car
~ both from the Coast or from here to
the Orient, or vice versa, but persons
wishing to travel or to ship freight from
Hawaii to San Francisco, or from the
Coast to these Islands, must rely on the
Pacific Mail and the Oceanic boats and
sailing vessels. Section 4347 of the Re-
vised Statutes reads:
NO merchandise shall be transported
by water, under penalty of forfeiture
thereof, from one port of the United
States to another port of the United
States, either directly or via a foreign
port, or for any part of the voyage. in
any other vessel than a vessel of the
United States. But this section shall
not be construed to prohibit the sailing
of any foreign vessel from one to an
other port of the United States. Pro-
vlded, that no merchandise other than
that imported in such vessel from some
foreign port. which shall not have been
unladen, shall be carried from one port
or place In the United States to an
other"
Another law originally passed in 1886
was reinforced two years ago last Feb
ruary to read: mo foreign vessel shall
transport passengers between ports or
places in the United States. either d.
rectly or by way of a foreign port, under
a penalty of two hundred dollars for
each passenger so transported and