The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-07-13

'AN. l-N''A AZ vA III tlhiiNE "AiH- Ail
consequently possess-i Of the same b~elligerant right.
that belonged to the United States.
The proela nation undoubtedly conferred N the
Confedera"y a national character. and conceded to
IT the rights and p~yTriIcges Of 6eiignents. 80 far
a. it was possible to confer them without formal
recognition. This was well understood. both IN
England and Europe, and in all the debates Of
Parliament, no exceptions were taken to il. In
one Of the debates on the 18th \ of May, lsGj. we
find the following language, which clearly shows
how the matter was viewed
Lori Houghion said it was now Just four years
since the Government, by order in Council, Tecog-
"i-et as 6eiIfgerents the sO-cGiied Confederate States
Of -7neric0, and he now rose for the purpose of ask
ing the noble Lord, the Secretary Of Foreign Affairs,
the question Of which he had given notice, namely,
whether III the presence of events which had recently
occurred, IT was the intention Of the Government 10
withdraw that recognition. Lon. Times. May 10.
Earl Russell, on the other hand, with charac-
teri-tic diplomacy, argued in reply, that the
British Government did not by it, proclamation
conccde 10 the Confederacy any status which the
American Government had not already conceded.
Lord Palmcrston, however, in the 81 .e debate
distinctly acknowledged that the proclamation
= necessarily involved the acknowledgment that
the other party 1.-THE so-called :. Confederacy,' u
was also a belligerent and entitled to the rights
of a belligcrent." And yet We find the organ of
the Hawaiian Government now denying that the
neutrality proclamation issued by it recognized
any bclligcrent rights, though all Europe for six
years have admitted it.
The great mistake made by the Hawaiian Gov
ernmcnt, was the issuing of any proclamation
whatever. There rraS no necessity for any. Ii
was All .unsccInly haste" to recognize rs Il ma
tion, what was only a revolutionary faction. No
Government has Il right To recognize Il body of
rebels a. Il power. until they have clearly shown
themselves Possessed of the attributes of national
power. The United States never released its
claim Of authority over the rebellious territory,
and from the opening To the end Of the strife,
protested with England. France and Spain,
against their recognition of the rebels rs bclligcr-
cnts.
American citizens resident here ut the date of
the proclamation cannot easily forget their morti-
iicatiDn and Indignation ut the manner in which
their Nation was thus contcnptuousiy and oHi-
cially styled a pair of" contending PARTIES, and
equal rights pledged to the rebels and To- the Ma
tion with which this government had ~ long been
ON friendly relations, placing the latter ON an
equality with n rebel body, who. though they
claimed governmental powers, Possessed none. The
world saw at once the intent of the proclamation
It concedc to the rebels what they asked-a ma
tiOnal recognition.
The writer in the Gazette gravely discusses
international law, maritime jurisdiction, captures
and scizures-as if they were involved in the ques-
ton. The case before us does not involve two
reco gnized Nations, for there was but one such
engaged in the war. Every act of the rebels
was an Illegal act of rebellion, and every privatccr
or war vessel fitted out for and by them was as
much a pirate as if sent out by the unrccognizcd
chieftains of Borneo or Formosa. The rrocaina-
ton of neutrality aimed ut. and to II certain ex-
tent served the purpose of recognizing the rebels
- r~.-"- ""I -: --~s;'.-' .h~
wrong of issuing therein consisted the insult
TO the American Government. All this talk
about territorial rights and jurisdiction, channels
and headlands, may he well enough in any var
between recognized pocers; but when applied
to unrecognized and illegal powers, they are un-
meaning words and silly arguments. The law of
nations was too well known in 1851 to require
any proclamation or publicity by this Govern
ment. The law of international friendship should
have prevented any act tending to injurc Il tried
and friendly nation, and have checked any haste
in extending the right hand of fellowship to a
party of rebels, however powerful.
The Hawaiian Government was clearly bound,
by right and International usage. to favor the
American Government, and To discountenance the
rebellion. Nattcl distinctly asserts that there
d. is no reason why Il neutral State, under par
ticular connections of friendship and good neigh
bOrhood with one of the bclligcrent powers, may
not, in everything that is connected with war,
grant him all those preferences which are due to
friends Book Ill, chap. ., SllS.)
The very net pf iSsuiug n neutrality urnclnmn-
ton places the two l%articsat war on an equal foot
ing, - far Is concerns the neutral. Wheaton
says that :. the neutral is the common friend Of
both parties, and consequently is not ut liberty
to favor one party to the dctrimcnt of the other
(Ciap. iii, S3.) The Hawaiian Government,
therefore, in issuing its Proclamation, placed the
rebels, n far as lay in its power, on II par with
the American Government. If then, according to
the argument of the writer in the Gazette,
a. there was nothing to prevent the United STATES
from establishing n coal depot III this ~archipel-
ago" there was certainly nothing to prevent the
rebels from doing the same for, ON the princi-
pies of international law, the power that pro-
claims itself n neutral, .. il the common friend of
both r~arties.' l. not this sound logic?
Here was the great error of the proclamation
in placing a recognized friendly po,cr on the
same footing with an unreocgHi>ed faction of
rcyoiutionists. Had it been issued on the occa-
sion of war between Austria and Prussia, or be-
tween Spain and Chile, which are all recognized
powers, the case would have been entirely differ
ent, and the proclamation very proper, if thought
expedient To- issue it.
Some stress is laid on the fact that this Gov
crnment did not adopt the supplementary Z. in
structions,' issued by England but this is a
point of no material Importance. The uroclama-