The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-02-24
DAILY, February 20-)
HOPE VS.. DESPAIR.

hOEG bO.
An intelligent gentleman, who occupies
an honorable position abroad, while on a
visit to these Islands, speaking in reference
to the political situation of the country, OBJ
served that 1.-The party, which for a long
time held political influence in this land,
has properly lost its hold for want OF hope.
Its leaders have been prophets of despair to
the native population, who are still the
chief constituents of the Kingdom" This
is true. The late Acknowledgement Arm
strong publicly said, that within fifty
years at least, the Hawaiians will have
passed . way" His brother, General Samuel
Armstrong said in a discourse uttered in
this city, that ''the Kanaka is doomed"
Other gentlemen of their party association
have said in public and otherwise, that
"the only hope for the political advance
ment of the Kingdom is the end of the na-
tive Government" and quite recently two
gentlemen, Messrs. Baldwin and Bailey,
representatives of the Planters Labor and
Supply Company, while visiting the city of
New Orleans and there interviewed, are
quoted as having said that Hawaiian
Americans look FORWARD to The time when
the country shall become a portion of the
Union" Now we must bear in mind the
fact of the recognition of the independence
of the Kingdom by the great States in a
spirit of generous sympathy towards the
Hawaiian Chieftain and his people, who
had shown a ready disposition to assimilate
with the order of civilization. The founder
of the Kingdom, the Conqueror Kameha-
meha, as soon as his character was known
abroad was held IN high esteem by foreign
n1fapfotau anl x-a he % Saap fIaf fha Zinc
of England addressed him as Majesty, and
gave orders that British commanders
in the Pacific should respect his flag
wherever met, and accord it Royal
honOrs. Now mark, that the British
Power has been notably backward in ac-
cording titles of sovereignty to the chiefs of
petty States. We see in the case of the
Sultans, Rajahs and Maha-Rajahs, of the
Malay Archipelago n Southeastern Asia,
all of whom control far greater territory
and population than the Kingdom of
Hawaii, and yet they have never been
addressed as other than "Highness,"
while the great Roman style of Majesty
was early accorded to the Sovereign Chief
of Hawaii, who had given evidence of an
enlightened spirit of political order, and
every assurance of the complete security of
SlEduBcTS Wltlln Ills OOAOcISJ b1ob lhClL
rights should be as well guarded as those of
his own native people. The spirit of justice
and right established by the founder of the
Kingdom, and faithfully maintained by all
his successors, thereby establishing in Ha-
wall an order of civilization of the first
degree, has secured for this little kingdom
an unqualified recognition of entire indie
pendence, for which immensely greater
So 49, .1,,-lk f~r - x-ofn Nnu fbn
chief n the people who obtained this re-
cognition are still here. A native sovereign,
the peaceful successor of the Great Kameha-
meha, sits on the Hawaiian Throne and,
although the Hawaiian people AVE sadly
declined since the days of the founder of
their Kingdom, yet there is a goodly rem
nant full of national spirit and hope, hold
ing in their hands, in accordance with pro-
perly-constituted order, the chief political
influence. Their ballot still mainly consti-
tutes the legislative body of the Kingdom,
N they nave not yet proven themselves
unworthy of their special privilege by any
unjust discrimination against the strangers
who live with and among them. In no
instance has the overwhelming majority of
Hawaiians in the Hawaiian Legislature
ever risen up against the foreign minor
lJy TO 90 any WIOhS u AOISiSh ihbSiCS'S'
They nave ever acted in accordance with
the spirit dictated by the founders of their
Kingdom, to live in harmony with, and
observe justice and light in their inter-
course with foreigners. Therefore, the great
political privileges accorded by foreign
powers to the Hawaiian chief and his peo-
pie have never been forfeited and we feel,
moreover, that the powers which accorded
this eminent political distinction to Hawaii,
in contrast with many much larger States,
would regret that the chiefly lines and ma
tive people to whom, the sovereign recog-
milton was accorded should utterly pass
away. We feel that the Powers recog-
missed the Hawaiian nation for its mainten-
ance. Then why should any within her bor-
ders despair, and why should they endeavor
to impress this despair upon the Hawaiian
people The Hawaiians bitterly resent
and resist such expressions of hopelessness
in respect not only to their political, but
physical existence, and it cannot be Won
dered at tina they have readily inclined
their hearts and given their voices to a
policy that was based upon hopefulness and
the continuance of the Hawaiian people
and their independence. lE<LELt.
NIL. L-oI,1-a, OF