The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-08-19
Egotism and snobbishness.

In a late number of Frank Lesle'S illustrated
Newspaper, we find a portrait and a pen and ink
sketch of Edward NJ. McCook, the present Gov
ernor of Colorado Territory, and whilom Ameri-
can Minister Resident of the United States in this
Kingdom. Gen. McCook it will be recollected,
was appointed to this mission in 1866, and COM
ing among US with the prestige OF bis military
record in the war of the rebellion, he was cordi-
ally welcomed and handsomely received not only
by his own countrymen, but by all classes of our
residents. The advocates of the long-cherished
project of a Reciprocity Treaty between this
| Kingdom and the United States, iancied they saw
in McCook the agent who was to bring about It's
consummation, and it is well known that he
strongly encouraged their hopes, and to no small
extent pecuniarily profted by the confidence he
had inspired. But circumstances which have
since transpired, lead to the belief that those who
placed their faith in him, were the q victims of
misplaced confidence" In the short sketch of
his life before us, which the editor says is fur
nished by his own hand, we have ample proof of
his supreme egotism. The letter " " occurs in
every line, while describing his wonderful exploits
during the war,-how " fought them till even
ing; - 81 cut my way through their lines - 81
swan the river - IS L was in the battle of Shiloh,
Stone River, Perryville, &c., &C., ad nauseom.
His snobbishness is set forth when he flip
PANTY talks of his mission to these islands, and
grossly maligus and misrepresents the community
which trusted and favored him, by characterizing
the people as g lotus-eating Migrants" Those of
his co~untrymenswhO appealed in vain for official
aid, may now understand that this official snob
regarded them as simply Migrants" And the
malicious insinuation as to the habits of His
Majesty the King, ptterly baseless as it is well
known to be, still more clearly betrays the official
snob. We copy the closing paragraphs:
In 1866 l resigned my commission in the army to accept the
appointment of the United States Minister Resident at The
Hawaiian (SaRdwich) Islands, and was entrusted with the ne
gotiation OF a reciprocity treaty and treaty of annexation. l
but he wouldn't treat at all-the way L wished him to treat.
However. l succeeded in negotiating a treaty of commercial
reciprocity, which, after hanging in our Senate for three years,
was rejected last winter.
Upon the whole, | had rather a good time among the lotus
eating Migrants of these most wonderful islands, and though L
partially failed as a treatist, owing to the fact that Z" His
Majesty " had not the same passion for dealing in real estate
which infatuated Seward, yet l flew the honored bird of our
country TO q much greater altitude during my incumbency
than he ever reached before, or probably ever will again.
1 became tired of foreign missionary life and respectable ex-
lie, and in 1869, at the request of President Grant, accepted
the Governorship of Colorado, and assumed my duties June
18th Of that year. OF course, in these Z" piping times of peace"
my administration has not been a peculiarly eventful one but
l have managed to keep the Indians quiet, and have done more
than my share toward attracting public attention TO the re-
sources of the Territory.