Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 211, 28 ʻApelila 1893 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

The Holomn* must be a bolj terr>'T' A ppeeial la'r f-*r our speci«l benefit has been bunt«d up and framed iu ihe g.gantic braius uf that briliiant and uoique atatesman aud iawyer, lheatt->rQey general. Althuugn this talented dai«y of CaIifornia !and-spe.,ulatiug fame i? pop-e’jre that the country is g>iug to be aunexed in a few m>ntbe, he n<>t alone ?till coutiuuee ur a ieg!slator t>> fill a useiesfi prov -ional Btitute-b->ok wilh abs trd ai:d uniieceasary lawa. without whieh the couutry has existed and pn>a{>ered for decades, but he actually g<e« to Ō.ieen§land lo ' find la»s saitable for this cooutry, whieh according to hia own belief, will heeome a jmrt of the l uited Statep wilhin a r<hort j>eriod. The laws of the United States are not goi»d enough for hiin; they are probibly too enlightened aud ,respect freedom, and 1iberty of th(>ught, and txpresei >n, too uiiieh to suit the narmw bigoted miiula of Mr. Smith aud the provisional preascen8ora. \Vby does he not take Ihe full step whieh would best auit these medieral statesuien, and make the granting of a newapaf>er certificate oplional with tbe attorney general? Thea indeed could he triumph, arui pieveut all opposition to his administration whieh couid l>e made to appear aā ahaolutely angelic and without hlemiah by the elobbering praises of its subsidized organs. In the proposed law itself we see no hann at all in any country where there is justice and a decent procese of law. But we ehall object to a eonlinuanee of such disgraceful moek trials as that to whieh our Editor Mr. Sheldon waā «ubjected, and whieh has not heen equalled since the doys of Venice. Fancy the judges. jury, prosecutor, and prosecuting wilnesse*, constituted of the ?ame inen. Imagine a trial b.-fore a body of men who g>> on the witness-stand. (after having Ihe oath administered to thetn by the eouneel for the defence) and testify agiinst the defendant. then return u> their seats a? jurymen and render a verdict of guilty, and theu take ujH>n theraselves the ofliceof judge and pronounce sentenee. What more abominable a farce f»r the deaecration of the nameof juslice. ean the wildest imagination picture and that it could happen in our/»n de nieele under a govenuuent presideJ over by Sanford B. IX>le— a jurist, a scholar, and a gentleiuau. hen we with horror read <ib>ut the mock-trials under the reign of terrnr in the French Rovolution we shudder, and we picture to ourselves with awe the s ihliiue situati<>n where the structuros of centuries were •tricken t>» th • er »uud. aud wMre vices and virlue? alike were wij)e<l out ia blo.>d. anl where the m>noton>>«? music, from the rolling heads. salistiod the craving for blo« d in the auimals from whom ail hunfan traces for tbe time had heen effaced. But wheu we in 1893 in this lillipuiiaa aaeee io the midst of the oeean, where everything is microacopic and petly imiuie the moek trials of 100 years ago for th« purpoM of jailing *n out«pok«n and diss«nting editor for thc term of thirty d»ys. then we drop from Um iublim« to th« ridicolous, aud it i* nol the *oui-inspiring atraiua of th« UUūm we h«ar in Um air. bnt ratber tbe burleeque *ongs of La de maāame a*gU.

The Star is alway3 holding out the prosi>ectfl of the P. G. offering theif Islai)d* to Great Britain. if the Uoited Sutes shoold refu»« to c>mply with tbe wishe« of Me*srs Th<irston *nd Co, and annex u*. ( Tne I>'Ctor's age snd manifuld caivs-j>>uriialistic or marine, have evider.tly uiade him dull of c->m-prebension, if he believes ih-ii Great Bntain would «ven &« mueh *i enter int > neg<>tiations with commissioners froin the provisional gi>vernment. The United Slstes will refuse to acctpt the offer of the provisional g>verniuent. *iraply becauss that g>vernment ha* no title to the pruperty whieh they ofler. atid f r the very same reas>>ii, wiil Greal Britain rcfase to eutcrtain auy j>rop<'8ition from an unrepresenlative adruinistr.iti<>n whieh would not dare to stake its existence on a p>pular plebiscite. The Br;tish bugbear is played out, Dootor, and it neither 60ares the United States nor works worth a pill with the Cleve!and administration, who are better p»8ted on Britain’s intentions and desires than you are, or are «ver likely to be. A lit tle morecarefu lsupervision of the editorial columns of the Star woulU j>erhaps make it iess interesting reading. but it would undoubtedly tend to correct the queer b!unders in logic and facts whieh now daily disfigure il* apj>earance, and cause its few patrons aetonishmeut and dismay, as well as wonder, that the P. G. aho»jld eonlinue to subsidize its advertising eolumna when it uttere such home truths about it, asthe following. In its first eolumn of Thursday. in an article whieh laboriously tries to explain why the promised boom of tourĪ8t8 and investors ha* failed to materiaiize, it saye that this is due to the laek of a perraanent government —“that one thing whieh holds out to all new-eomana. tne promise of peaee, order. and eecurity.” “We say a permunent government. That does not mean an oligarchy or a republic any more than it does a m<>narciiy. It raeans a government the fl.ig <>f whieh will protect all who e >me heneaih its folds; one lhat em be depended on to fulfil its character, and maintain its promises.” We had thought hitherto. after hearing so often that the ProvisionaI G*'vernment was strong enough to mainlain itseif against ail comers, and that the character of its members and cfficiais was uot only, like that of Cae8ar’s wife, “above suspicion,” but equal to the best in the States or Europe, that the P. G. was just such a gjvernment, as the Star ?ays is now lacking. and that, for waut of it. the tourist and investor boom haan’l eome up to time to fulfil the Star's previous promises on its behalf. But apparently we were mistaken, because the Star says ao, and it, certainly, is better acquaiuted with Ihe mside of tlie P. G. than we are. T*> eao this, though, in its very next eolumn it asserts that we are to face this very laek of everything. whieh is to allracl tourisl travel »nd Ameriean gold for iuve«tment, for f>»ur vears Ionger or until th« quadr«nuial presidential election ahall have placed the Republican Party onee more at-the head of aff*ira in the States, and. if that does not ev«ntuat«, our P. G. are prepared to reaign in favor of Great Britain. Great Soott! And haa it eome to thi«T Are w« to b« handed over m a la*t rmort to that country whom tb« manne 8tar haa so per•ntentiy abo*ed for ita BMihod* of obtaining poeaeanon of its eolonia

and dependencies ? Leaving *side ihe facl that Great Britain has, bv s.-»leain treaty «rith France, periietua!!y bound herself to acquire no territ*>nal rights "r eoni trol in these isl%nds. doe? the Star f>»r one uiouient iui«>fine, that . after the tempting (?) morsel of the annexatiou of these islands been hawked around f>r four yeare. snd heen pawed ver and at by ali theother puppies like yoarseIl, that the British Bull-d >g wili open his j iw-j at ihe first c.il! and swallow the ttint»*d sto en property at a gulp? Not so f.ist ! If anything :ieed-d to prevent Great Britaiu desiring lo annex the islands. it would <*nly be j necesstvry to inf<>rm th t p»>wer j that the annexation iuclud-d the ; Star and its ed t »r-in-chief and its other writers aud that would be •ufticient t<> secure ihe inst int«nous rejeclion of any such oifcr. it is no wonder that. as we before said. the Star's patrons aud readers are m iinminenl danger of mental paresis in the effort to rec<ancile its logic, and its statements and retractations of its alltged faets. Go to 1 I>earu to epeak the truth at all times. aud give up tryiug to bo!ster up a fading cause in order to cheer the hearts aad empty the pockets rf your backers for honeBty is the best policy. The dismissal of Mr. E. Thrum from the Post Offioe for no c»u«e h*a created a general feeling of 5ndignation iu tho community whieh had leamed to appreciate the puhlie servicesofthi8court«oui and attentive offioial and his arbilrary and uncalled-for dismi8sal reflects badly on the new Po*tmaster General, and augurs ill for his services iu the future. The Advertiser reports that Mr. Rotbwell will also be removed, aud there ean be no doubt that tiiese changcs are made through polilieal motives. or to gratify some personal epiteof Mr. Mort Oat’a. We have never aeen any good cause why Mr. Oat »hould have becn appoinled to an oftioe for whieh he is by no meana speci*lly adapted, and hie first ?tep in removing faittiful und able clerks confirme U3 iu our belief that it was a great mistake oii the part of the g>»vernment to have picked him out of his obscuritv, and placed him at the head of a bureau where the demands for fairness, intelhgence, diplomacy. aud executiv« ahility are paramouni. There still «eems lo be a suspicious unwillingae»3 on the part of Marshal Hitchcock to bring the •coundrels who robbed the palaee and the Station house lo tnal. M'e ehould thiuk that it would be in the interests of the proviai >nal government to have the mystery c!eared up. Ugly rumors are atl>>«t linking tbe names of s >me prominent <»fficials under the presciit regime v.5th ihe matter asd if President D<>!e etill claims that he is in favor of g >od, upright, and honest government. he should eilher clear tbe namea of thesu3{>ected parties, or. if they are fouud guilty. rid the government of their •ervices. Let it be remembered tbat a ca»e like the crown jewel steal cannot be ehelved now aftsr «o many facts have leaked out and more than one person knows of it. The goverument sbould avoid being accn»ed or Buspected of abielding tbe criminals or of conniving «t their mialeaaanee or enmea. Mr. H. M. Whitney ia the editor ■ of the Planter’s Month!y and also f th« manag«r snd part prnprietor of I the P. C. Advertiser. While the

l»Uer paperha» stated and re-stated that ‘*no one would have lifted a finger in tbe !ts! revo!uti-n «xcept to obtain annexation'*anda!sothat nine-tenth« of the wealih (»d <Mt tiic •ugar-iuterest» ofthe country) was backing the r»T >!ution, H.M.Whilneyinthe PIanter’9 Monthly mik«s the fi>Ilowing remarkable. an<i we fear not wry cred.b!e. statement under the hea<i:ng a c<>rrection. j After saying that Sprecke.s had notbing tu do w.th the revolntioa. cf whieh fsct we all «re aware. he g>>es on: ’“S > aiso witl pl3nters residing in lhe»e i?lands. not one of tnem anticipated revolution, <>r dreamed that it was aroong the P 'ss b:litiee, unlil after the itte:n>t Iof the Q ieen to ab<>!ish the HaI waiiau coustitntion ,aud re;.' it with one of hsr own m.iKing whieh would have disfrauchi0ed every foreigner residing in thes i-’ands except»ng the few who are ra »rried to natives. No, sug»r had n->thmg to do with the rerolution, and had it not been for the trea?on tb!e act cf the Queen whieh no one knew of ,except a small coterie round her, har government might »till have heeu in jx>wer But aa stated before thesugar men have had no le«d>ng part in the events tranapinng here dnring the past thrae months nor h«ve these eveiita any connection wilh the sugar bounty.” IfMr.’H M. Whitney h<>nestly believe» what ha wrile? he mu*t bs •tark-blind or unwilling to grasp the »ituation. How eame then the •xtraordinary envoy Mr. J. L. Stavens to write tosecretary F<>*ter and tell him all ab»ut the sugarindustry here, and all about the great de»ire on the part of the planters lo heeome ann**xed if no idea of anv revolutiou hnd ever entered into the heads <>f our innoeeul. saccharne, bounty-seeking. Mc Kinley cursing, fellow citizens? How eame Mr. Stevens to g<> s > far even as to 8Jgge?t what bounty would be considered satisfactorv and reas»>nable for the Hawaiian plauters. after projected annexation was accomplished if the aeheme had not heen well propagatetl and ventilated araong the planters? lt is not likely that Mr Stevens would walte the valuable lime of the Umted States Secretary by fornishing him with a lot of suggestions in case of a peaceful and orderiy revolution took plaee. and more especially with suggestions in the interest of the s'igvr industry. if such revnlution and such annexation-8cheme w?8 merely chimerical and fostered in hi« own br*ins without anv co-as»ist-auee and help of the 9ug»rmen. No, Mr. H. M. Whitney, y»ur 8tatement is too thin! We believe what your ra »rning paper says th a t no on e wou 1 d have r.tised a finger except to obt*in annexation.” and webelieve that the main reas >n for the d«» re of obUining annexatiop was the prospects of the sugar bounty, and eeoondlv the ho{>e of getting rid eomehow or other of the contract with Spreckels. ls it not a g<x>d proof that such ie the case when now thaUll hope of getting the sugar bounty v*niahed that the planter’e deeire for *nnexation has alao ▼aniehed? Were not some of the leadiog spirite in the revolution sugar men? Alexander Young. H F Glade, C. Boite, W. O. Smitb, have they not staked everything in iopr and wouldn’t the boonty be a perfect godeend totheir finance« jo?t now? R«ad your Adrartieer, Mr. Whitney, «od believe io Heo-nery as an oraele, then you may avoid making

i s:uem«»nts in Tcmr sufir magazine ' whieh impair Tour chAr»ct«r tor ( tmth vcr»eity. On* of the chief reasons whieh the revolutiomsts to th«* people and goTemment the rnited Stale-» as a justifio.ition for their uj*s-tting ot’ a stuble aa«J li bera 1 ly-cond ucted gove ru men t was lhat they fc»ml tbe loss of tbe j franch as it w >u»J plaee tie ; whole uncontn»l!eii j>*)wer ot t»xation in the han»ls of the Ilawa- : iians. wh» owneii no pr.»t»erty ■ comparativelv speahing! and pa:d bat little while tbey —lht revi>lutionists—•<>wuoti oiue-tenths of the property. »nd patd ninetenths of the taxe<v and tberefore they had a r»ir.u t<» tlefend their ' property fr.)tu tl:e fe.:re.l aUaek on it. It struck us at the lime lhat ihi* w »s .t singtilarly large proj>ortion of the weallh to be iu their handē without o.;r ever h»ving snspected it all thes-‘ y \rs. C>r - sidering that in 1"M. if weremembered rigni. an oAi .al relura had heen made to the Legislalure ■howing that Hawaiians jnid iu<'re taxes tnan any other nationality, »nd that Americans paid about 10 per cent of the whole. Cousidering al#o that since 14. the Atneriean »s well aa every f<>reign p*>rtion of ihe populalion excej>t the Japanese and Chineso. had eompa ratively speaking decrease*l in prop<>rtion to the wh<>le, and that recently many meehaniea aud other amail proper y-owner». hatl lefl for want of eraployiuent; we eame to the c<>nclusu>n tnat either Ihe wealth of tha country had passed into the hands of ? few monojx>listd or that pr<>perty-owners had succeeued formerly in eoneealing most of their weallh froiu the tax-asaessors. or els tiial tii« statement was a lie iua<le <>ut <>f w hole cloth for the purjx>se of deceiving ihe Americao people. We aro now confirmed in the latter view of the qut-stiun, u» Mr. C. A. Browu, wuo certaiiiiy, with Ford’a Iilaud in the d;stance, eannol be considered u» anytbing bul a sincere anuexationi»t ai xiou» to inake the best cu»e for his^urty that lie ean, ha» made a eompilation of all the taxt<» puid by the various nationalilies in a comparatire Uhie. and from our information ofthat d<<cumeul the Hawaiiiiaii» pay quite ai mueh even ai th<<ee that he has clae»-d as Americani aud the»e latler only pay 25 per c»ut of the wholo. N >w, even &llowing, for the »<ae «>f argument, that Mr. Br <wn hai clas»ed no taxes aa ».»id by Amer* iean» except th<>ie pnd by genuine Ameneana, there is a wonderful f.iHing <jff here fr<>:n 90 to 25 per cent. It >rou'<i instructive if the Goverumeot »onId publish Mr. Br >wn’s fig ir - as well ua those of l*>e previous rcturn and let everyhody e mpare . ihem f>r them-elvs. Bat w« are ; afraid they will n<>t d<> »o »> the bubble of the imiuenee weallh . pos»essed by ihem whieh they have hlown for the admiration snd awe of the great American nalion woald eollapee so quick that all that would be ioft of it ' would be a specx of McChe»ney's soao on the *'»hoddy” uniforms of r the military. <• i —————————■———^