The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-08-28
THE QUEENSLAND
WHITE LABOR SIJGTR
RESULT OF ABOLITION or KAMA
KA" LABOR BY LAW is SUCCESS
WITH WHITES.

inc aDOllJlOn OF kaudka ldDoI III the
Queensland cane fields by legislative
enactment, and the repatriation OF
these islanders to their native homes,
have caused public attention to be fix
ed rather closely upon the Queensland
sugar industry, in view of possible de-
velopments. There is no doubt that
sugar is a source of much wealth, botn
to the State and to the Commonwealth
and to give an idea of its importance
it may be as well to state that it is es-
timated that the crop for 1906 will be
approximately $4,000 tons This will
constitute a record for Queensland,
the nearest approach to it being the
output for the year 1898, when 1863 ,734
tons were produced Coming to the
value of the estimate for 1906, It may
be set down in round numbers as g.
100000, or a little more than half the
total revenue Of the State, consider
ably more than double that received
by way of taxation through the Gus
toms, and about eight times the value
of the income tax. AS was stated by
public man in Queensland recently,
the contrast exhibited by these fig
ures is most interesting and impress
sive, and will be more than sufficient
to emphasize an absolute need for our
fostering and safeguarding the sugar
industry to the best of our ability"
Coming to the Commonwealth, few
figures will show to what extent the
production of sugar directly affects it's
finances. In 1923, the excise received
was G277517, the bounty paid G50,S26,
the Treasury surplus thus being &226,-
691 in 1904, excise e3O6, 100, bounty
paid G9O,S96, surplus G215,324; in
| 1904-5, excise received G453, 627, boun-
ty paid G121 400, surplus e332,2lS; in
1866, excise received $500, 34S, boun-
ty paid G15S, JOG, surplus C 346,27S; in
1867 estimate only, excise 9506,0 900.
| bounty G27S,5OO, surplus G227,5 500.
This makes a total of excise G2,047,>
65S, bounty G699,647 and Treasury
surplus 81 ,34S,011. From that it will
| be read that the Commonwealth in
come receives a very handsome contri-
button annually from the industry, the
yearly average for the five years being
&260,000 In regard to the amount of
bounty, mentioned in the foregoing Ia
BILE, it may be as well to state that
the duty on sugar is Sc a ton, and the
excise is GA, thus giving net protec-
ton of G2 per ton. If. however the
sugar be grown by white labor, there
is the additional protection afforded by
the bounty of e3 per ton, which brings
the protection, in such cases, up to &5
ton, or practically a 25 per cent ad
valorem duty.
The embargo placed upon the Kama
ka by the Federal Government has
| caused many complications to arise,
some of which were anticipated, and
some of which were not. 1t was con-
/ tended by those whose capital was en-
parked in the business that the with
drawal of the colored laborers would
bring about a shortage in the labor
market, and this seems to have been
fully realized, as the proceedings of
the recent conference on Labor in the
| Cane Fields" held at Townsville show.
Bundaberg is the head center of the
white grown sugar industry in Queens
land, and the illustrations which ap-
pear on this page will afford some idea
| Of ,faft nh Df Nrfa
of the "Old Order (Kanaka) and the
| New (white)." The sugar industry in
the Bundaberg district has been di-
vided into three periods-"the pioneer
from the sixties; 1.-The progressive, -
which dawned in 1878; and "the panic,
in 1890, caused by the passage of the
Polynesian Laborers Amendment Act
Great discussion followed, and a fur
Their term of the subsidiary labor was
conceded which soon resulted in
things returning to their normal con-
dition
The present prosperous condition OF
the industry will be made clear by a
few statistics of last seasons crop,
when Bundaberg's crushing totalled
100000 tons ;of this 346, 31S tons were
grown by white labor, on which the
bounty paid was G76,354. AS it took
about 10 tons of cane to make a ton
of sugar, it thus appears over 10000
tons of sugar was last seasons out
put; which, from present appearances,
is likely to be largely exceeded by
next seasons crop. The following is a
complete list of the mills 40 by
which this fine harvest of the Bunda-
berg cane fields was treated: Annes-
ley, Ashfield, Ashgrove, Bingera, Bon
ma, Fairymead, Gin Gin, Invicta, Mi
ara, Millaquin, Noonduna, Pemberton
Qunaba, Springfield, Sunnyside, Wa
terloO, and Windermere.-Tow and
| County Journal.
WEATHER MAN RIVALS.