The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-03-15
TIE PACIFIC
Commercial AOOrrtl5rr.
SATURDAY Y. MARCH i.
MR.. PHILLIPS ADDRESS.

TIC ~ @NNELNA- - d mp We ~ I''
address upon the political situation of the Ha-
waiian nation was received with general satisfae-
ton. His well-known abilities as an eloquent
and logical speaker, his extensive and thorough
knowledge Of public affairs and the polity Of IA
tiOns, and the high position which he has occupied
In tue Government Of the country under It's late
Sovereign, as well as the esteem in which he Is
held BY all classes of the community as i high
minded gentleman, all c~onspired TO draw together
a very large attendance Of our citizens. The spa
ciOus hall Of the Hotel Was filed on Tuesday even
ing last with an attentive audience, who listened
with ~undagging interest 70 an able speech of Over
an hour on the deeply interesting topics presented
-Reciprocity, the proposed cessiOn Of Pearl
River HarbOr to the United States, and Annexa-
ton. The address (Which we present in full in
tO-day's paper) bears the marks Of evident care
and thorough research, and while opinions may
well be divided as to some of the conclusions ar
rived at by the speaker, the address in its entirety,
must commend itself to the thoughtful considera-
ton of all, as 4 valuable contribution to the general
stock of Information and thought upon subjects of
present engrossing interest.
We have intimated that opinions differ as to
some of the conclusions deduced by the speaker.
luurs NLlAC NHc AtiNA VI 4tCIlllDNAAN dAN any
thing but pleased at the summary treatment with
which their iayorite measure was dismissed, as
e annexation in Disguise - and the idea of u
cession of Pearl River shown Ito the satisfaction
of the speaker, at all eyents) to be utterly i'm
practicable, the annexatiOnists on the other hand
were hugely tickled with the view as presented,
that that measure, . pure and simple" was the
only thing left for the country, and fairly luxuri-
ated in the glowing picture drawn Of a glorious
future under the : : stars and Stripes The more
thoughtful Of the latter generally unthinking
party, were however somewhat at a loss to under
stand how, (s was suggested) Hawaii, as an
integral part of the American Union, could still
retain Il King clothed with royal privileges and
prerOgatives, seeing that the American COnstitu-
ton distinctly guarantees a republican form of
government to all the States and territories.
Again, the advocates of Reciprocity with a ces-
sion of a harbor, point to the lallacy of the
position assumed by the speaker, that the ceded
territory would become first, an " Alsatia - for
criminals and smugglers and second, a great
centre Of ommerc and trade, while Honolulu
will dwindle into MISUNDERSTANDING the fact
that the proposed cession is for naval and military
purposes only.
Besides these two parties, there was n number
of natives who listened to the address, intelligent
men, who have n fair knowledge of the English
language. These were outspoken in the express
sion Of their indignation at the public advocacy
by a former Minister Of their dead King, (and
who possessed his confidence in an eminent
degree) of the alienation of the sovereignty of
the country. And in this respect, the address
will have a damaging effect for the friends OF an
n~exation, by arOusing and concentrating the
bitter and dangerous feeling of opposition that is
entertained by the natives for that party. The
fifty thousand native HawaIians,-who may be
reduced to forty thousand six years hence are
not to be cajoled out of their nationality, humble
as it is, by eloquent language and well rounded
periods. The speaker very emphatically said that
annexation to the United States was not to be
thought of unless Il majority of the Hawaiian
nation shall pronounce in favor of it. That
being the case, any one who knows the present
spirit and temper of the Hawaiian people, must
know that annexation is entirely out Of the ques-
ton, and therefore not worth the time expended
in talking about it and must deprecate the i'll
will that its advocacy will certainly arouse.
In the course of the address the statement was
made, that the expenditures of this Government
were not extravagant, in proportion to the popu-
lation, and that our national debt was small.
And yet, Notwithstanding this comforting assur-
ance OF a satisfactory state of things at home, we
are told that our only hope of salvation is in
annexation, pure and simple and on this
point We are urged to . show our colors." Well,
SO far as this journal is concerned, it has in the
past, and will continue in the future, to labor for
the advancement and independence of the Hawai-
ian nation, under its own chosen colors.
The lecture (Or address) may be briefly summed
up thus Reciprocity is unattainable the ces-
sion of a naval station is impracticable annexa-
ton is easily practicable, and so desirable as to
be national necessity. And from each of these
propositions we beg to enter a decided dissent.
Like a s~killfully worded appeal to a jury, the
address carries all before it, until the opposing
counsel comes to be heard.
But among all the :" thoughtful men " who,
: while the public mind is confused and uneasy
: anticipate the future with gloom and apprehen-
sion, - are there none who can correctly point out
the cause and suggest other cure than the rough
surgical operation which is advocated? After all,
does not the main cause lie nearer home than the
temporarily depressed sugar market of San Fran
cisco? And in truth, is it not to be found in
our CREDIT SYSTEM, which, like a huge cancer,
with its permeating roots of growing interest,
has been for years undermining and inevitably
destroying the bases of true prosperity? We
purpose to examine this subject in full in our next.
Previous to the delivery of the address, the
meeting was organized by the choice of Ii. a. p.
Carter, Esq. as President, DR.. j. 5. McGrew and
Daniel Foster, Esq. as Vice Presidents, and E.. P.
Adams, Esq. as Secretary. At the conclusion,
Hon. c.. c. Harris offered the following Resolu-
tions:
Rssoiued, That the thanks Of this meeting are due, and are
hereby rendered to the Hon. :. Il. Phillips for his address this
evening.
Resofued, That it is the du:y of all to take an interest in