Aaron S. Daggett to Randall L. Gibson, December 7, 1883

Mr. Daggett to Mr. Gibson.

Sir: I have the honor to apprise your excellency that information is in my possession showing that the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, a corporation of one of the States of the United States of America, has for some years past maintained a line of steam-vessels between San Francisco and Australia, which, both on outward and homeward trips, have regularly stopped at the Hawaiian Islands for the delivery and reception of freights, passengers, and the public mails; and has also maintained a line of steam vessels between San Francisco and China, which have at intervals stopped at these islands on their outward and homeward voyages. The Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company, a corporation organized under the laws of Great Britain, has likewise maintained a line of steam-vessels between China and San Francisco, which have also at intervals stopped at the Hawaiian Islands on their outward and homeward voyages.

On the 13th day of last July, at a meeting of His Majesty’s cabinet, a resolution was adopted rescinding a previous resolution on the subject, and authorizing the admission into the Hawaiian Kingdom of Chinese laborers to the limit of 600 in every three months. About that time a verbal agreement was entered into by the Hawaiian Government and the Honolulu agency of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company conferring upon that company and the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company the exclusive privilege of transporting such Chinese laborers to these islands. In confirmation of this agreement I respectfully refer to your excellency’s letter of instruction to His Majesty’s consul-general at Hong-Kong under date of July 14, 1883, and to your letter of August 18, 1883, to the Honolulu agents of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, in which the agreement is recognized and the assurance given “that unless some emergency at present entirely unforeseen should arise, no change will be made in the arrangements referred to without reasonable warning being given to you,” and that “the permission just granted is likely to remain in force for some time to come if the immigration taking place under it be conducted in the manner and with the discretion which the Government has reason to expect.” This agreement was made with and confirmed to the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental Steamship Companies for the reasons (expressed in your letters to His Majesty’s minister at Washington and His Majesty’s consul-general at Hong-Kong under dates of July 14, 1883) that these companies had “the only established lines of steamers at present in the trade,” and that their “steamers are always well equipped and provided, and kept in a cleanly condition, and carry experienced physicians.”

This privilege is regarded as of great consequence by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, as it would probably enable it to continue, even through the dull season, the regular trips of its vessels bearing the United States mails. But soon after it was granted, and after His Majesty’s consul-general at Hong-Kong had been instructed to give permission only to the vessels of the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental Steamship Companies to convey Chinese laborers to the Hawaiian Islands, the privilege was, without notice and without apparent cause, taken from these companies and given to the Oceanic Steamship Company, embracing a line of two steamers plying between San Francisco and Honolulu, and controlled by Mr. C. Spreckels, of San Francisco. The notice of this change was given to the Honolulu agents of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company on the 15th day of last October, in a communication from your excellency informing them that His Majesty’s consul-general at Hong Kong would “be instructed to issue permits for the transportation of Chinese immigrants to this Kingdom, after 1st of January next, only to vessels of the Oceanic Steamship Company.”

Through its attorney, Mr. Lauterbach, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company makes representation that, previous to the transfer of the privilege mentioned to the Oceanic Steamship Company, Mr. Spreckels informed the Pacific Mail Steamship Company that unless its steamers to and from Australia ceased to touch at the Hawaiian Islands he would procure the annulment of the privilege to the Pacific Mail and Occidental and Oriental Steamship Companies; that after having secured the privilege for the Oceanic Steamship Company, Mr. Spreckels offered to transfer it to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, in consideration of the withdrawal of its San Francisco and Australian steamers from the Hawaiian trade; and when this offer was declined—owning or controlling no steamers by which he could fulfill his contract with the Hawaiian Government for the transportation of Chinese to these islands—he proffered to transfer it to the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company, a corporation organized under the laws of Great Britain; and which proffer, although it has not been accepted, is still under consideration.

Under these circumstances, it is assumed by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company that the provisions of treaty obligations between Hawaii and the United States have been contravened, and relief is asked by that corporation.

The practical effect of the proposed exclusive grant or concession by the Hawaiian Government to the Oceanic Steamship Company and the transfer of the franchise to the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company would be to establish and maintain a discrimination against the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in regard to an important and profitable element of its carrying trade, and this, it is conceived by my Government, would be in contravention of the first and second articles of the treaty of December, 1849, between the United States and the Hawaiian Islands, and directly at variance with the letter and spirit of the sixth article of that treaty, the provisions of which are as follows:

“Steam-vessels of the United States which may be employed by the Government of said States in the carrying of their public mails across the Pacific Ocean, or from one port in that ocean to another, shall have free access to the ports of the Sandwich Islands, with the privilege of stopping therein to refit, to refresh, to land passengers and their baggage, and for the transaction of any business pertaining to the public mail service of the United States, and shall be subject in such ports to no duties of tonnage, harbor, light-houses, quarantine, or other similar duties of whatever nature or under whatever denomination.”

It is true that the Oceanic Steamship Company is an American corporation; but the transfer of its exclusive grant to an English company, and the instruction of the Hawaiian Government to its consul-general at Hong-Kong to grant permits to Chinese laborers to take passage alone on the vessels of the line enjoying the exclusive privilege of receiving them, accomplishes by indirection precisely what the treaty forbids being done directly, that is, the establishing of a discriminating policy in navigation and commerce against steam-vessels of the United States plying between the eastern and western shores of the Pacific Ocean and carrying its mails.

The right of the Hawaiian Government to admit to or exclude from its dominions immigrants of any nationality or race is not for a moment questioned by this; but that the exclusive privilege of carrying immigrants who are admitted to Hawaii should be accorded to any one company owning a particular line of vessels, whether American, Hawaiian, or foreign to both countries, is believed to be unjust, and, as already observed, inconsistent with the due maintenance of the treaty of 1849.

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company has no right to demand an exclusive privilege in such carrying trade, but it may, with manifest propriety, under the treaty, insist that no discriminating measures against its vessels shall be maintained or permitted by the Hawaiian Government.

In a spirit of the largest friendship, I am instructed to submit these views to His Majesty’s Government not doubting that, in its enlightened sense of justice, it will adopt such measures in the premises as may be necessary to relieve American vessels and American interests of a threatened discrimination against them.

I have, &c.,