Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 162, 13 July 1894 — The Hawaiian Constitution. [ARTICLE]

The Hawaiian Constitution.

There is not very miieh democracy iu the new constitution whieh tbe provisional government of Hawaii has submitted to the; conventiou now in session in Honolulu. The power of the people in the new government is raade secondaty and indirect in its applieaiion, while the eon- j 1 troling iuAuenee of the wealtby minority is made dominant. To all intents and pnrposes the new' government of Hawaii under this constitution will be an oligarchy,i 1 so drastic are the propertv reqnirements by way of qualificacatiou for tbe sntfrage and for seats in tbe Legislature. Tbe | Senate is on the wLole tbe most j powerful elemeni in the proposed new government. and no oue ean vote for senators who does not i own property worth $3000 and has not an ineome of at least $9001 a year. Senators themselves j mnst possess at least $5000 and, j bave an ineome of at least $1800. : These requirements shnt ont the i great majority of the people of | tbe islands from voting for members of sitting in the npper hoose, while the lesser reqnirements demanded of votera and candidates for the lower hoose are aiill so great as to be beyond most &awftiian8.

The Sonate has all the inllaenee otoi legiaIation vhich our Senate has. anvl >d addition practically ' controls the e!ection of the presi-. dent of tbe repoblic. The presi- i dent is not chosen by the people directiy. but by tbe national Legislature, as iu France. A majority of the Senate must. however. consent to the election of a candidate for president in order to mako that e!ection legal. , The Senate,compose<l of comparatiTely vrell-to-do members, and elected by comparatĪTely well-to-do Toters, ho!ds the gOTernment in its bands, for tbe president whieh it elects cannot select bis cabinet without its consent. The Senate has also the gOTerning Toice in the appointraent of the adTisory eouneil, a body whieh is to haTe i functions mneh like those of our own goTernor’s eouneil, bnt raore like tbose of the eouneil in several of the British colonies. This adTisoiy eouneil is to 15 members, five of whom are to be appointed by the governorand the remaining 10 by the Legisla- i ture. Ordinarily this eouneil will consider all applications for pardons, and under certain eonditions, as in case of war or internal uprisings, its powers are to be mueh enlarged. The constitution seems to bo admirably adapted to first secure and then mainlain the grasp of the wealthy merchants, planters and laud-holdars upon the government. It was evidently draft ed by men who are either determined to retain all power in the hands of the privileged classes, or who do not dare trust the Huwaiian people as a whole to govern ! themselves. Prob«bly this latter is the true explanation of the oligarchical featares of the new constitution. The edncational tests of sutfrage whieh the constitution establisbes confirm this opinioa. Applicants for snffrage mnst be able to read and write the English langnnge or be able to understand the constitution when read to them, besides having the property qualifications reqnired. If it to be the case tbat tbe Hawaiian people eannol be trusted with universal suffrage with only the educational quali,flcatioa. this fact is a safficiont answer to all argnments in favor of annexation. — Springjield Re- . puhlie. ‘