The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-09-21
The SANDWICH CHARACTERIZATION.

The SANDWICH EXPERIMENTATION
MAKAwAo MAUI HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
June 3, 1854.
| To tie Editor of tie National Era:
The National ErGi How could do without
the Era? How any genuine, true-hearted,
whole-sopled American citizen can think OF
| doing without it, do not see especially at q
time like this. You can testify, my dear sir,
| that hitherto have been sparing of my praise,
though have always liked the Era. But for
once, | am going to tell the readers of your
paper-not for your sake, mainly, but for the
| sake Of the cause which you advocate, and
which we all love-what think of the Era.
beg that you will let me say it. The fact is,
feel that all of us who read the paper are
prodigiously deep in your debt You are our
sentinel at a post of unwonted danger. "The
zoe, they come, they come," we hear shouted
from your wstch-tower Nor is it the wolf
story new vamped and repeated to answer
your purpose, to excite the fears Of women and
ohildren-fears which you must go to work
and allsy IS best you may. No; it ia the real
wolf, and our country is under immense obi
cations to you for pulling of the wool with
which it has concealed it's wolfship. Blessed
be God, who is enabling you to be faithful, and
who is giving you 30 much needed skill to dis
close the plots of the enemy May he spare
you to see the triumph of truth and holy Free
dom.
How much some of us at the Islands sympa-
thize with you in the struggle in which you
are engaged just now, could not tell you In O
few words Nebraska, Cuba, Indian Home
stead bill, Alliance with Russia Anything to
perpetuate slavery. Distant though / am from
you, | have read what you have been saying
on these topics, with crimson cheeks and with
bosom beating high with pity and indigua-
ton. blush for my country. Should those
schemes succeed, | should never for a moment
desire to SEQ the once fair face Of my mother
country or to Tecline upon her maternal bosom.
No, no the further from her the better. She
is now becoming by-word, tsunt, among
the nations. Who can wonder that it should
be so Indeed, |, for one greatly rejoice that
the despots of Europe taunt the United States
for their inconsistency and meanness. | wish
they would do so in one grand concert, in one
huge yell Of exultation, which should reach
| the ears of every man, both in and ont of Con-
gress, and reach and torture the conscience of
every apoOgiss of slavery, so that he could
neither eat nor sleep till nc had cordially re-
pensed Of his iniquity
said some of US deeply sympathized with
you in your struggle. | could name quite a
number who take the Era, and who bid you
God.speed-men who appreciate your labors.
could name another intelligent and devo-
ted friend of the slave, who has spent some
/ three or four years at the Islands, and who is
now member of the Hawaiian Legislature.
! AS design to make some extracts from a let
ter of his, now lying on my desk, l will not
name him. Since the opening Of the Legisls-
ture, / received friendly letter from this gen.
tleman, asking my opinion of a certain bill
| then before the House. | replied, gave him
my opinion, and, as the opportunity seemed a
good one, asked him what he thought of the
annexation of the Islands to the United States
and what of the training CT Hawaiian soldiers
for national defence, giving him at the sam,
time my own views. He soon after wrote me
thus q am opposed to annexation, too, 81
long as there is a reasonable hope Of the indie
pendence OF the nation being preserved. Bu
when the question comes-as come it must
fear-between anarchy and annexation, vii
not say that | will oppose the latter if it b.
presented in proper form. If the proposition
be coupled with any conditions that may pos
stbly open the door for slavery, l would say
sooner sink the UhOle group than compromis
with the monster. | do not wish to SEQ tn
question brought up ct present; but, when
does come, it must be judged On its own mer
itsn
Again: 4" l don't fancy gold lace, any NOR
than you. | do think, however that in tn
present state of affairs here, with q set Of des
perate villains continually plotting treason an
another set willing to let matters 20 far enousl
f to brighten the Government into annexation
with the town for half the year at the mere
of a rabble Of drunken sailors, it becomes tn
Government to keep an efficient police force o.
) hand; and if they choose to call their consts
| bles soldiers, and their head men majors an
generals, and even TO waste few hundreds il
gold lace and hens feathers, | can wonder a
their taste, but won't now say that will no
vote for the appropriation of 9 reasonable sun
for the service"
You see, my dear sir, that | am gettinl
again on to the subject of annexation vii
not detain you long there, because you hav
enough to do at home just now and myseI
feel deeper interest in the fate Of the Ne
5 braska bill than | do or can in the question G
, annexation of Hawaii TO the United State,
Still, allow me to state some things which per
haps you do not now quite understand s
that when you speak of the subject again, 70,
may speak correctly.
You say, I" If the people of the Islands,
I meaning, | suppose, native Hawaiians. ORC
| IL,
ought not TO decline the responsibility Per
haps not. Did the chiefs and people unani
m0usly desire annexation, and propose it,
! might look upon the scheme somewhat differ
/ entity from what now do. But they desir
no such thing Thousands have petitione,
the Legislature TO refuse all solicitations to an
9 nexation. | do see in late paper, giving a
account of the doings of the House of Repre-
sentativee 3 petition to annex, sent in b.
some of the people of Hawaii but being 8
unlike the great body of petitions from tina
z Island, as well as all the others, half suspee
| there is some mistake about it. 1t may hav
been got up by the resident missionary of til
, district, though | do not know that he favor
! annexation. If So, he had more success tina
c some OF his brethren. One of them on Mau
I urged the claims of annexation at a publ
! meeting of his people. Seven of the congre
CATION voted to annex, and these were ha
casts, while more than six hundred vote
against the proposition. do not think thor
, sand Hawaiians can be found who favor ar
nexat;on. Indeed, have TO see the first on
who understandingly advocates the messur,
|, So of the chiefs; no one of them, from th
highest 10 the lowest desires annexation. Wit