In this he sent a cargo of sandal-wood to
Canton, having discovered that the foreign merchants trading
with him made large profits on this wood, shipped by them
from the islands to the Chinese markets. The ship was manned
by natives, but the officers were Englishmen. She
accomplished her voyage, and returned in safety to the
islands, with the Hawaiian flag floating gloriously in the
breeze. The king hastened on board, expecting to find his
sandal-wood converted into crapes and damasks, and other
rich stuffs of China, but found, to his astonishment, by the
legerdemain of traffic, his cargo had all disappeared, and,
in place of it, remained a bill of charges amounting to
three thousand dollars. It was some time before he could be
made to comprehend certain of the most important items of
the bill, such as pilotage, anchorage, and custom-house
fees; but when he discovered that maritime states in other
countries derived large revenues in this manner, to the
great cost of the merchant, "Well," cried he, "then I will
have harbor fees also." He established them accordingly.
Pilotage a dollar a foot on the draft of each vessel.
Anchorage from sixty to seventy dollars.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101