The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-12-24
An Annexationist.

To The Ettor Of the Pacific Commercial IdrerGssr.
SIR So Annexation" haCnts mems minds and
furnishes an occasional topic Of conversation IN
Hawaiian residents Of all natiOnalities, except.
perhaps, those Of pure Hawaiian descent. IL IL
little known or thought Of by most Of them. for.
as q rule, they see only what - apparently gong
On before them, few being able to penetrate be-
meath the surfaces Of the stream Of public adiirs {.
the newspapers In the vernaeular. until the EleL.
made it, appearance. having sedulOusly alb
stained from alarming them by any note Of warn
ing that danger threatened their national
existence.
By the word - annexation " absorption into
the system OF our great Anglo Saxon ueighbOr
has been clearly understood. No one has dream
ed Of our Incorporation into any other Power
IN the world. China has been named, but only
20 excite ridicule. There j. this to be said. should
the Chinese invasion continue, lands now in the
hands Of native Hawaiians may eventually be
come the property Of the invader the pSsibi-
lily Ut such a properly nursed and
fOsteTcd may yet afford an opportunity 70 an
AnnexatiOnist by his own skill and tact to carry
his measure
have been sought and hoped for by the few, an
neKltiOn has been rarely written about and is
seldom mentioned in mixed society. Its men
ton has been tabu, and except by very few, like
a dangerous animal, il has been kept carefully
out Of sight. IL has carried about with il the
EEAAA- HAAAAA N1AAH VI III 1uA hNNGEA .
revolving to the lovers Of fair play and honest
open air dealing. One has had as il were to
read between the lines to discover what was in
tended. Words said one thing. acts very often,
as plainly as they could, another totally oppo-
site when they were at variance it was neces-
sary to get at the intention TO take acts only {;
they were the key opening and laying bare the
secrets Of pO~lictical dOings.
But suddenly n change has taken place in the
pantomine. Cover has been broken. The
wuIf 80 long threatening has emerged boldly from
mi. lair into the broad honest sunshine. Articles
signed '.annexaIionist" have appeared in a news
paper 80 the existence Of such 4 party may be
taken Tor granted and the gentleman 80 signing
himself may be asked to reveal the nature Of the
advantages he has to ofe= to the uninitiated and
those opposed 70 the measure he advocates. IN
order % convert them 70 his way VI thinking.
How would annexation benefit first, native Hu-
warans second. planters third, merchants {;
fourth, all other residents? Amongst It, Grst
effects would undoubtedly be free trade with the
limited States-but on the other hand there
would be a total, or almost total, annihilaiiJn Of
All our other foreign commerce. Those foreign
merchants, not Americans, now in constant re-
receip, Of s~biplOads Of merchandise from other
Countries. must abandon the business or pay the
euyrtn5u- protective duties levied by the United
States government on all foreign merchandise en-
terinz their ports. No prophet i required 20
E,retell their fate should they persist under the
LHM -
But besides e1terminating all foreign trade other
than American, and for the sake Of argumen
NOT takiug into account the injustice Of surrcpti-
tiou.ly psrpetrating the act in opposition % the
wishes Of uawaiians, native and naturalizcd
annexation, II the writer views the matter cor
rec:ly. would eaectually destroy our system Of
agriculture without giving u ans thing IN re-
turn. Under American laws every contract
Isborer throughout the islands could r~cpudiate his
agreement with his employers the moment annex
alton was accomplished. What then would be
come Of planters, and the plantations ON the
prosperity Of which the well being Of all depends ?
Gan any one doubt that. even with the finest
Of trade with the United Sates-but without an
abundant supply OF hbJreTs prOcurable az such
a rate Of payment a. our planters can afford %
eiVe-be6rs 4 new order Of things could be e.
tablished, many, perhaps, a majority OF our
plantations would succumb@ When bankruptcy
had oysrtaken them, the others might succeed IN
prolonging q struggling and precaTi1us ex-
istencs for an uncertain term. But whence
would come future supplies Of labOrersf Who
would bring them 10? Certainly the Government
would not interfere with private enterprise
besides, Government would have done enough m
providing that no one should work under the -y=-
TEN OF contract certainly not those requiring
their services, tor after paying the bills they
could not be sure Of them
IL will not do to say that laborers would Ind