The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-11-22


Mr.. EDIToR:-If the slightest trust could be placed
in the utterances of the Government Organ, we
ought to believe lat the Ministers are enjoying a fine
time under the general approval which is to meet the
official announcement in to-day's paper, and that
their 'discreetly adopting the only course left for
them-to abandon the policy which the almost unan-
imous sentiment of the foreign population had led
them to adopt, would be hailed as a great and
mastery stroke of craftsmanship, so great indeed, as
only to be exceeded by that other one of resigning
their offices one day and resuming them the next; but
we, who are behind the scene, know that the general
approval does not follow their retrograde step, but
that the direst denunciations are leveled at them
for their vacillation by some of their quondam abet-
tors and friends: these, however, are wrong; do they
not understand that by the Ministers retaining office
they can arrange another little plan, purely for the
benefit of the native people, to transfer the country
entire, instead of piecemeal, to some foreign power ?
They will have learned to manage matters better next
time, having gained experience by defeat; unless, in
deed, they are called to account by the next Legisla-
ture.
Let us now see where this mad scheme of cession
might have landed us had we fairly embarked in it.
We are at present independent, and it is pretended
we should have retained our Independence after the
cession of Puuloa. In that case We should still be
bound by treaty stipulations. and might be called
upon by every other foreign nation with which we
had a treaty containing the g parity . clause, to give
up another portion Of the national territory. Thus
Honolulu might go to one power, Hilo to a second,
Lahaina to a third, and so on until nothing was left
to give by the fortunate Hawaiians. The whole
matter is so absurd that it is n mere waste of time to
discuss it; but if the above be not the true showing
of the case, Of what value are treaties with foreign
governments2 But the Kings advisers should have
foreseen all this before they consented to adopt the
policy of dismembering the country, and if for no
other reason than for their own honor and fair char
acter, they should have Stunned the ~intrigues as they
would q venomous reptile. Their not having done so,
has brought them into their present difficulty. If the
Ito k0A rranf n Iclnn1a Chn n 80 ~ nnA
to take them; but [ for one will not believe that she is
capable Of substituting might for right, or Of cOun-
tenancing for the sake of territorial extension the
crooked schemes Of some dozen of her too patriotic sons.
Those few individuals who have shown the natives
what would be the consequences following the cession
of PuulOa, can well afford to be called by the hard
names bestowed upon them by the Editor of the Ga
zette, because there is no more truth in them than in
his wholesale SANDER of these people, for instance
that three-fourths of them are diseased with leprosy.
There is undoubtedly more truth in his saying that
the rupture between natives and foreigners would
have been &c unquestionably the result which certain
parties have been seeking to bring about, rather than
see the measure canvassed before the people," but
these certain parties :" were not the men whom he
at once misrepresents and honors by calling them un-
principled demagogues for his tongue or pen. as far
as they are concerned, inficts no injuries) but those
who during that eveT-memorable mutiny, sought to
land armed men from the ship Of war then lying in
our harbor. HAWAII.
MR.. EDITOR ."AlOSl Oh inc people III LONU were
taken by surprise last Wednesday morning at the
announcement in the Gazette that this Government
had Withdrawn its proposal to treat with the United
States upon the basis of the cession of Pearl River
Harbor as a naval station and then. for the rea-
sons given, that it could not pass the Legislature,
as the natives were so generally against it. If the
Legislature had acted upon it and rejected it, then
it would have failed l~egitimately and without any
disrespect to the United States, but not so now.
The Ministers assume that it could not pass, and
act upon that assumption without trial, and with
out respect to the other party which has rights in
the case in its present position. (unless this Gov
eminent reserved the right to, at any time before
acceptance, Withdraw its ofer) and the Ministry
should have so advised His Majesty. After an
offer Is made by an Individual or Government,
then the right of acceptance or rejection rests 1ciM
the Dlrtu 10 trhOu he offer IS made. until he has
an opportunity to act to accept or reject unless
the parties Offering reserve the right to withdraw
their offer al any time before acceptance. In the
present instance, unless such a reserve was
made, the offer could not honorably, even if law
fully. be Withdrawn until the United States had
the opportunity to reply.
Whether such Il measure could have been passed
through the Legislature here if it had passed the
United States Senate. cannot now he certainly
known. The hostility to the measure has been
aggravated. if not entirely produced, in the Ha-
Waiian mind by The ideas which they have got