The Liberal, Volume I, Number 42, 4 Pepeluali 1893 — ANNEXATION. [ARTICLE]

ANNEXATION.

from the second issue of THE Liberal] BELIEVE in annexation to the United States of America. I believe can be brought about without difficulty, and that it will be of benefit to every perthese islands, as well as to the thousands who will hereafter make there homes here. It is a glorious to join a free people in a of progress and prosperity. It and expedient to secure the of a great nation, the aggressive govenrments of are prowling about the remotest corner the globe seekthey may devour. We are at the mercy of any power that equip a war vessel. Of course the great nations would protect us, but we do not want a proNo greater misfortune a country than to be the a treaty between the powers Samoa. It means to be over endowed by an irresistible power that crushes the life out of the and leaves the inhabitants in pathy of despair. We read comments of the Supreme Court of and that war vessels are to decrees and exist in the of taxes. The unhappy people of that country are doomed to subjection to that Supreme Court whether it chooses to or injustice There is no appeal, even to arms; no revolution, rebellion or constitutional amendment is possible to secure a new order of things. Most people will say that they see no danger of losing our independence. Suppose Gay and Robinson sell Niihau to Great Britain; suppose Hawaiian sells Lanai to some suppose an extravagant government gets in debt to forgeign money, the company will pay over hondholders and becomes bankrupt; suppose some dissipated monarch takes it to his head to sell out; suppose the Louisiana lottery or some gigantic trust or corporation secure control of the government; in and of these contingencies our independence would be endangered. A small government like this is naturally unstable. A revolution may overthrow it; boodlers may capture it, and money may buy it. A few persons may arrest development and paralyze industry as experience has already shown. The Hawaiians are represented as clinging to their independence as a sacred heritage. The native is not what passes for patriotism is jealousy of the foreigner and race antipathy. Even that is not very strong. Race prejudice would have been extinct if it had not been so cultivated by the native politician. The natives do not know that annexation is gaining, not lasting independence and freedom. The has been maliciously to make capital for The natives can be easily converted. The only one who earnestly desires autonomy is the Queen, and she clings, not to the country, but to the perquisites.

HAWAII has every reason to be proud of her first president. President Dole is one who has won the respect and confidence of every class of our heretogeneous and discordant population. In a country where malice and slander are indigenous, in the midst of warring factions and classing interests, if a man can occupy a most prominent position in public life for a number of years and stand in the end without a smerch on his reputation, without a suspicion against his integrity then certainly he must be a man of probiity and ability.

He has won the highest respect of every member of the bar by the soundness of his decisions and his respect for the letter and spirit of laws. No matter what the interests involved, he regarded only the law. His dissenting opinion against the conasact labor system is on record and will one day be considered among the most creditable acts of a distinguished man. The bitterest royalist, the most prejudiced native can not refer to President Dole without adding, he is a fair man. He is first by unanimous consent of all the people of these Islands. THE HOLDERS of Hawawiian Bonds are likely to realize a handsome profit by the change of flags. If the country is annexed, the indebtedness of the government will be assumed by the United States, or its bonds will be guaranteed by them. Hawaiian securities will then be as good as those of the United States. Our six per cent. bonds will sell far above par, and the holders of them will make a clear profit on their investment. By an act passed by the last legislature, persons who have money in the Hawaiian Savings Bank may receive bonds in place of their deposits. It is required that the money have been deposited three months, and that the amount be over two hundred dollars. Persons who comply with the conditions can obtain bonds an the Post Master General. THE feeling of security consequent on the American protectorate has almost stopped the notices of withdrawals that for some months embarrassed the government while things were unsettled. Those whose faith in the government remained unshaken can now secure their reward by commuting their account for government bonds bearing six per cent., and make two or three years' interest at once. The Hawaiian Bond will be better than its promise shortly. THE Honorable Paul Meuman may be fitly described as making a last meal off the monarchy, polishing the bones as it were. It is said that he received ten thousand dollars to go to Washington and make the best bargain he may for ex-Queen. As a lawyer, the Hon. gentlemen will rejoice in a full power-of-attorney to mortgage, sell, recover, release, as forever quit-claim Her Majesty's interest in the Hawaiian Islands. Doubtless Paul will make something out of it. That the Queen should at the last moment repose confidence in one of the lawyers who have aided her in wrecking the monarchy to the exclusion of able men of her own race, shows that she labors under some strange infatuation. It is another illustration of the proverb -"Whom the gods destroy. they first make mad," THE NATIVES have a superstition that when any great misfortune overtakes a chief the skies weep. They believe that the remarkably heavy rains since the hoisting of the American flag, is the consequence of the sympathetic heavens melting into tears at the final overthrow of the Hawaiian chiefs. It is said that there have been some remarkable instances of the like in Hawaiian history. If it rained only when the chiefs wept there might be something supernatural about it, but, as the skies have a way of leaking, especially in Hawaii, at all times, in and out of season, we can hardly accept it as a sign of anything but that the air above is supersaturated with water. Mr. Bush goes to Washington, not to represent the monarchy, but

the native people. If he finds the United States Government inclined to annexation then he will endeavor to secure provisions and terms as favorable as possible to the natoves. If annexation is not accomplished he will do what he can to secure guarantees of a popular government for Hawaii. Mr. Bush intends to lecture in the principle cities, and if he should catch the public fancy, which is largely a matter of accident, he might have a great deal of influence is shaping public opinion in regard to Hawaii. It is to be regretted that Mr. Bush has a grievance, and a real one, against the party in power.