The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-03-24
MARCH "A, 1888.

character, although it affords IL no certain
indication as to the future. In a war, such
as that in which we have been forced TO Ell
gage, il j. something to have won the first
campaign. Those wavering spirits that
love TO side with what i apparently the
stronger party ought to be brought over 10
our side now. Politicians who have been
against us on theoretical grounds, and who
have no personal interest Of their own or
Of their friends to serve in opposing the
maintenance Of the Treaty will probably
be less ready To be drawn a second time into
the fight. Those who nave been our friends
viii feel their hands strengthened, and will
be more than ever ready to use their influ-
ence in our favor and to give us the benefit
Of their experience in political maneuver-
ing Hence, although defeat during the
closing days Of the session might not have
meant final and irrevOcable disaster, we
have a great deal to be thankful for. 1t is
a very great mistake to undervalue what
has been done, as some people seem to be
disposed to-day, or to attribute it to the
spontaneous good feeling and friendship Of
the United States. This good fortune with
which the seasonal campaign was closed
was won, as all real victories are, by hard
work and sound judgment combined. We
have had the help of some good friends in
the States, but it has been by our own rep
resentatives that this help has been turned
to such good account. And the services
which AVE thus been done for them ought
to receive eminent recognition at the hands
of the people Of this country.
1t is worth while to recount the story of
the closing scenes of the campaign, if it
were only to fix on the minds of our readers
these two facts: LIST, that the danger was
real and imminent and IDLY, that but for
the watchfulness and ceaseless activity of
those who had charge of our interests our
enemies must certainly have been success
full. In the House of Representatives mat
tiers had gone on very seriously against Us,
a decided opinion having been expressed
that great notifications ought to be made
in the treaty the ground taken being that
the treaty had ceased to be fair and reel
prOcal," the very proposition which we on
our part have from the first set ourselves to
disprove. This decision against us on the
part of the Lower House was rendered
harmless for the time being by Mr.. Bel
mOnt's attack on the Treasury officials and
the Diplomatic and Consular representa-
tives of the United States in Hawaii. But
Mr.. Belmont and those who have sided
with him are also quite Of the opinion that
in its working the treaty has not been 'fair
and reciprocal" They think the evil is in
its administration and not in the language
of the treaty itself, and are in fact, more
thoroughly inimical to our interests than
the trainers of the House Foreign Commit
tees Report have shown themselves. All
this adverse work happened in the House
of Representatives in the latter part of Janu-
airy, whilst in the Senate when the real mis-
chief was expected, there prevailed one of
those caIms of which the weatherwise al
ways say that they "portend n storm"
Things were kept so quiet by the known
opponents of the treaty that our worthy
Commissioner DIR. Mott Smith lived from
day to day in a condition of anxious suspi-
pieion that must have been quite painful
running about from one to another, aTTang-
ing tactics to meet Il surprise, and always
on the outlook for indications Of what was
coming. The days wore on, and the last
week Of the session had arrived, and yet no
sign was made. Suddenly on the Tuesday
morning at the meeting of the Finance
Committee, Senator Morrill,, having Sc
cured the attendance there OF those on
whom he could rely, pulledfrom his pocket
a written document containing a wither-
ing denunciation OF the treaty, put to-
gether with considerable skill, and repro
ducing all the old p%rejudiced arguments and
untruths which we have been combating
for so long, with the addition of one we
have not met with before, viz that a
Treaty, such as hiatt in question, restrained
the right of raising revenues given by the
Constitution to the House of Representa-
tives, and that, therefore, it was u%nconsti-
H.. lg.-rg1 Gaunfnr Morrill, not tho
committee to accept most of his manuscript
as its report. The clause about the uncon-
s~titutionality of the Treaty, andsome other
consideration concerning the foreign policy
of the United States, were struck out, be-
ing too much for even this obsequiOus COM
mittee to stomach, but Senator Morrill, and
two of his friends signed them and sent
them up as a minority report. With
in an hour after the adoption of the
report by the committee, the astute
Senator had presented it to the Sen
ate. This sudden u-nannounced attack
might have been successful had DIR.
Smith and his friends, whom he and the
late Minister Allen nave succeeded in max
Ing for ouI cause in the Senate, been less
wary AMI watchful. Only the day before
our Commissioner had sought out Senator
Miller and other friends, and asked them to
be on guard, and had suggested the plan
afterwards successfully adopted of proposing
to send Senator MorrilPs report to the Com
mittee on Foreign Relations for cOnsidera-
ton, and again, when this reference had
been carried, DIR. Smith was actively en-
gagged, earnestly praying the chairman of
the Committee to let the matter sleep, and
give our enemies in the Senate no further
chance to attempt anything and also, so
as to be armed for all occasions, presenting
n careful argument for the Committees
consideration. Happily, his case was
crowned with success. Senator Window,
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, was friendly, the time was
allowed to slip by, and presently the 18th
Congress closed, and nothing to- hurt us has
come out of its labors. Indeed we may
hope that what has been done will hereafter
be turned to our advantage. The reports