The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-09-20

"a IT, 1917 49, '- 49, 1890 --N-~-
the Ministers permit their Organ 70 coolly En-
deayOr 70 persuade tine public that no response
bility whatever attaches 70 them in this matter,
but that it all belongs to His Majesty the King,
The mere enunciation Of such 4 doctrine by the
Ministry, were there no other causes for com
plant, is amply sufficient to prove their u~nftness
for their posts. We remember but recently the
disposition manifested u drag the Royal Name
too freely into politics. but We were certainly not
prepared for this astounding population Of MIN
isterial responsibility in the weighty matter Of
maintaining the public peace and tranquility.
If Ministers are not u be held responsible for
this, but are allowed to throw upon the King the
duty Of suppressing every . petty military or
other emeute, OF what possible use are the Minis
try? or what force are the words Of Article 81
Of the Constitution The person Of the King
IS inyiolabIe and sacred. HIS Ministers are re-
spoHsble 49,? Or the provision Of Article 40
8 No act Of the King shall have any effect unless
it be countersigned by a Minister, who by that
signature makes himself responsible"
The attempt is made To show that the House
hold Troops,-as the Government military force
has by custom been designated, -was n sort Of
private body guard Of the King, entirely indie
pendent Of and amenable 10 no law but the per-
sonal direction Of the Sovereign. Such n start
ling theory as this, put forth by anybody a
month ago, would doubtless have thrown the
Organ into fits Of patriotic fury but in its pres
ent anxiety to get its principals ont Of the seri-
Gus difficulty into which they have fallen, it
chokes at nothing. 1t is indeed strange that this
Ministerial a~pologist should have forgotten that
NJ .v.-r-r,r vrovsa.c, Of fh. Fundamental laU
Of the land since 1852 has been that-"The
Military shall Arrays he subject to the hi0 Of The
Land.''
Now in order 10 illustrate our theory Of tine
responsibility of the Ministers for the = late I'M
pleasantness which the Gazette denies--and the
great gravity Of the crisis through which this
community and the country has just passed
which the Gazette ignores-let us suppose n case.
We will suppose that on the afternoon of the
9th instant, the Rifles being drawn up in front of
the Barracks held by the mutinous soldiery, rash
eounsels had prevailed and an attack had been
made. The immediate consequence would have
been tine sacrifice of the two dozen or more
young men composing the Rife corps, who would
have had 10 contend with the bayOnets of the sol
diers in front and the clubs and stones of the
mob III the rear, that was ready to take the part
Of the former. The subsequent consequences
throughout the town and the country of the
commencement of an internecine war ut the Bar
racks, are easily imagined, and fearful to contem-
plate, and We will not dwell upon the subject.
Foreign Intervention, and finally the loss Of ma
tiOnal independence would follow as matters of
course. VIII any one have tine 8 pretentiOus
hypocrisy to say that the Ministry would not
have been held responsible for the failure to
queIl the emeute in the beginning? And the
attempt 10 shift the moral responsibility Of the
inevitable catastrophe on to the shoulders of the
King, confined by illness to his room Mt Waikiki,
would have been properly branded rs meanly
p-usillanimous-
The fact that the country has narrowly escaped
such a fate as we have shown was impending
over it, is not once recognized by the Ministerial
Organ, and possibly it may now have the temer-
ity to deny that there ever was any great danger,
or claim that it has been exaggerated. One of
the most serious Of the charges that lie against
the Ministry is this evident failure to appreciate
the serious nature Of the situation.
The Gazette deprecates any change in the Min
istry because, ioTsOoth, it will tend to weaken
the Government. Pray how much weaker can 4
Government become than ours has Just shown
itself to be? IL has not been afforded, says its
Organ, an opportunity for testing its ability. 1t
is difficult to imagine n more pregnant opportu-
nifty for the display of administrative ability and
governmental tact than was stolidly neglected by
the Ministers the other day.
Says the Organ, The country does not pos
sess the material from which to construct Il new
Cabinet. -" This may indicate ore of two
propositiOns-either that the editor has Il very
exalted idea of the ability required to make 4
Cabinet Minister, or else that be has 4 very poor
opinion Of the capacities Of his compatriots.
Yet nc tells the world that although he did not
approve of the present Ministry ut the outset, he
was however content to set aside his : personal
objections, which must certainly have been 4
great sacrifice ON his part. Moreover, at that
time he did not appear to think so meanly of the
available talent of the country, the material out
Of which TO construct Cabinets, seeing that
through his native journal, the RuOkOa, he put
forth 4 number Of names as eligible for Cabinet
positions. From whence the cloud that now
hides those names from sight? Has indeed expe-
r1ence ut length weakened his wOnted yerween
ing confidence in his own Judgment, or does self
interest enter into the present championship of
the Ministry?
We have invariably, from the day OF which
they first took Office, freely and cheerfully ac-
corded to the individual members of the Cabinet
the possession Of the high qualities of unim-
peachable integrity, prudence and sincerity.
They are eminently respectable men in the COM
munity, not only rs regards their personal quail
---- -. -
which last the Organ evidently considers the
highest Of all qualifications for a Minister. But
1t Is a mischievous error to suppose that because
4 man has arrised At the distinction among his
fellows of being a successful merchant, Il prudent
banker, or a fair lawyer, therefore he must be
fitted for the role Of a statesman. Men endowed