The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-04-14
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY. APRIL IA.

by the amount of his pay. We can afford to smile and look on
ignorance AMI malice are performing on the bones. the noise be-
comes a nuisance and we must interfere; Mr.. Gresg owes as
self and certainly has shIwn n great deal more oft. He is a citi-
Relations. and so mas that great and good man. Chief Justice
Lee. Why should that darken the character Of Mr.. Gregg which
threw no shadow on the path of usefulness Of Mr.. Lee T-Poiyn.
Were another argument wanted to show the
supreme folly of the governments attempting to
be its own newspaper advocate and apologist, the
above paragraph furnishes it. We hardly know
which to pity most, the government which en-
ploys 50 weak an advocate, or the Ignorance, IT
not stupidity, of the persons employed. Aside
from its incorrectness in fact, it enunciates a
principle which strikes at the existence of every
sovereignty. We did not say that Mr.. Gregg
stoves no allegiance but that he had not taken
the oath of allegiance, and was simply a denizen.
As the matter is of some interest just now, let us
ask what is a denizen. Noah Webster defines it:
I'm England, an alien who is male a subject by the Kings
letters patent, hoLliny a middle state between an alien and a
natural born subject lie may take land BY purchase or devise,
A stranger admitted to reid-nce in Il foreign country"
Brande's Enc, clopedia defines it:
"DEsIzES.-In law, an alien horn, who has received, er dona-
He may take lands by purchase and devise but cannot enjoy
Office and trusts, &c, or receive a grant Of Land from the crown"
Consequently, while "A denizen, he is not and
cannot be a full subject and bear full allegiance
to the sovereign of the country in which he may
reside. To assert THAN denizen IS owes as much
faith, allegiance and loyalty ass IA subject, is
promulgating an error, and betrays an ignorance
of the relation which denizens and subjects bear
to the sovereign. The cases referred to, of Mr..
Wyllie and the late Chief Justice Lee, are not
analogous. The state of things when those gen.
tlemen came to reside here in 1916 or 6, was far
different from what it is now. The oath of allie
glance required then, was obnoxious to most
foreigners, and has since been modified. Besides,
neither of those gentlemen, (more particularly
the latter) intended to remain here any length of
time, and were urged to take Office here against
their previous plans. There was at that time a
necessity for the royal acts in their favor which
does not now exist.
Letters of denizenship in no other country al
low a person to hold office under the sovereign.
The reason is plain-because they do not con-
vey to a person the full rights and obligations
of a subject. What may be the precise wording
of the letters of denizenship in use here we know
not, but until they are shown to convey a more
extended Specification than those of other coun-
tries, we must contend that it is detrimental to
the interests of the kingdom to place denizens on
the same footing in erry respect as subjects. If
IL ~ " 10 ANNS why W.
oath at once. and lie. all foreigners enjoy the same
privilege.
The former condition of this kingdom may
have justified an issue of letters of denization, for
the purpose of obtaining the counsel of intelligent
foreigners, but that necessity no longer exists,
and we maintain that it is derogatory to the state
to resort to it in the present condition of affairs,
when good and loyal subjects are in sufficient
number, who do not disdain the oath, and
who are ready and willing, with full allegiance
to the sovereign, to assume whatever duties he
may require of them.
The speech of Mr.. Gregg on the tariff, first pub
lished in the government organ and reprinted in
our last issue, has created much comment among
our business men and brought out the severest
censure on the Minister. 1t is perfectly natural
that so bold and unqualified an attack on 50 large
and influential a class as are the importers and
merchants of the kingdom, should meet with
such a reception.
To understand the subject more fully, it is ne
cessary to go back and show what is the origin of
the remarks of the Minister. 1t will be remem-
bered that during the first session of the present
Legislature in June, 1853, when the subject of a
tariff was brought up, the Chamber of commerce
met, and passed a series of resolutions on the sub
ject, which were presented by a committee to
both Houses of the Legislature. 1t should be
stated here, however, that the tariff as then
framed, was on the discriminating basis, and not
like the present one, uniform in its rate on all
articles of merchandise. Wecopy the resolutions
below as they appeared at the time:
RESOLUTIONS
Passed at the First Meeting of the Chamber Of Com
merce, Honolulu, June 10, 1858.
Fnsr observation-disclosures by Capt. Thomas Spen-
GER, and seconded by Florens Stapenhorst. ESQ.,
RESOLVED, That this Chamber learns with regret that His
Majesty's Government have IL in contemplation to declare the
New Tariff Bill Of 1855, to be operative, by which the duty will
be seriously raised on many Of the necessaries Of lie, on raw ma
teFials Indispensable for the development Of our home produc-
tons, and en- articles required by native and foreign whale ships
SECOND REsoLurIoS-Moved by W. L. Green, Esq,
and seconded by Gustav Melchers, ESQ.,
ReseiUed, That this Chamber considers the proposed New
rAri6 70 be constructed on principles at variance with those re-
commended by the Minister of Finance, In his Report cf 1884,
when bringing IL forward, and Inconsistent with any true princi-
pie o. taxation that 1t exhibits a leaning and favoridsm to =
particular class Of the community, at the sacrifice Of the general
and yin Lad to constant disputes between the importer and the
Cuseom zIonse authorities and finally, that vhist jeupardfxing
tie beS< iufegesfs OF the country, It will probably dissppoint the
expeE1nfioO q he Government, in its main otjec4, that is in The
haupe ofthe revenue-
Tn1p Rn1oEu1loxs-8ioved by A. J. Cartwright.
EEse>ond seconded ~ Ernest Krull, Esq.,-
D~f ~ ~ EX1&1u1-soo~ fhfs Chamber that ~nu.fea