Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, dated New York, December 28, 1884. In the year 1880, as appears from the census returns, there were employed in all the sugar and molasses refining establishments of the United States five thousand eight hundred and thirty-two men and twenty-five children. The wages paid were $2,875,032. The refined product for the year was worth the enormous sum of $155,484,915. The total cost for materials was $144,698,499, and, adding the cost of wages, the total cost of the manufactured product was $147,573,531, leaving the sum of $8,000,000 for the interest on capital invested and for profit.

But objections also were made to the treaty on the ground that as Cuba and Porto Rico supplied us with only about two-thirds of the amount of sugar used, the price of sugar in the market, to the consumer, would remain about the same so long as any amount whatever paid duty, and the result would be that the revenue which the United States gave up by taking off the duties on Cuban and Porto Rico sugar would simply go into the hands of the Spanish planters in the shape of increased profits. In one sense this is true, but it could only remain true until Cuba and Porto Rico were enabled to supply us with the whole amount of sugar that we need, or until other similar commercial treaties were made with other

sugar-producing countries. These last are chiefly

three other Spanish possessions, especially the Philippine Islands, the British West Indies and Guiana, and Brazil. It was claimed by many who were conversant with the subject that the impulse given to the sugar industry in Cuba and Porto Rico would be sufficient within one, or at most two years, to supply us with the whole amount that would be consumed, although with cheaper sugar its use would be greatly extended.

It would be wrong to consider the commercial treaty with Spain as standing alone, but it should be considered as forming part of a system. A similar treaty was concluded at about the same time with St. Domingo, and another one was in process of negotiation with the British West India Islands. Unfortunately these negotiations all took place toward the close of an administration, and another party coming into power was unwilling to be hampered by the acts of its predecessor. The result was that the Spanish treaty was withdrawn from the Senate before being acted upon, for further consideration and possibly amendment; and when this occurred the British government broke off negotiations for a similar treaty with their West India Islands.

The question as to whether it is desirable entirely to take off the duties on sugar, which are a convenient means of raising revenue, is not my province to discuss; but if those duties are either to be removed or

lowered, it would seem better to use them as a means of obtaining concessions from other powers, rather than to throw away all the advantages which we now possess, by lowering or abolishing the sugar duties by a general law.

INDEX.