Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1884-09-13
SrltI M M pIsrrSsrp.

as the historical records OF other coun-
/ tries have been looked to tor prcccdcnts
IN th, matter 10 may not here bc imiss
TO quote from English history illus
'tr1tlonS Of what has been actually said
/ of the sovereign there and been legally
held us privileged For the purposes
uf the present debate and for the iusti-
. fcalion, by comparison, OF the generally
moderate tone OF the opposition press
OF this country, perhaps a few extracts
from the letters OF Junius will suffice.
Speaking of luniu> letter "To the
Printer of the Public Advertiser,
. Goodrich SAYS IL was elaborated
with great care but its most striking
peculiarly was the daring spirit of per-
sonal attack by which it was ohaac
tgulcd Juuius, for the first time,
broke through the barriers thrown
around the monarch by the maxim,
the king can do no wrong. He
as,lllcd him like any other man
From this hour his name was rs tam.
Ililrly known in every part of the king
/ dom as that OF Chatham or of Johnson.
/ Il was Il name ot terror to the king and
/ his ministers The king had con
-,ractcd debts beyond the allowance
made for his expenses in the civil list
and had applied TO parliament for
grant to pay them of and in other ways
was acting in a reckless and eNtravaglnt
manner, and inviting opposition by
retaining in office a ministry who had
become generally detested by the
people. Such extracts from his writings
as follow will show not only their fear
less character but the prepared state of
| the people to receive them and the
powerlessness OF the government to
either prevent or punish such language
In his letter to the Public Advertiser,
he says Outraged and oppressed as
we are, this nation will not bear, after a
six years peace, to see new millions
borrowed without any eventual dimi
mutton of debt or reduction of interest.
The attempt might rouse a spirit of re-
sentiment which would reach beyond the
sacrifice of a minister think
it i'll becomes the royal dignity to have
the debts ot prince provided for, like
the repairs of a country bridge or a
decayed hospital. The management of
the kings affairs in the house of com
mons cannot be more dsgraced than it
has BEEN The inuendo of the re-
mark that the resentment of the
people might reach beyond the sacri-
fee OF a minister is plainly significant
of the possibility that such resentment"
might reach even the crown itself That
such a meaning was intended is made
more apparent by his subsequently
published letter. "To the King" "
Junius thus begins his letter "Sir-
1t is the misfortune OF your life, and
originally the cause of every repHach
and distress which has attended your
government, that you should never
have been acquainted with the langu-
age of truth until you heard it in the
complaints Of your people. 1t is not,
however, too late to correct the error
OF your education We are still in
clined to make an indulgent allowance
for the perniciouS lessons you received
in your youth, and to form the most
sanguine hopes from the natural bencv-
olence OF your disposition. We are
far from thinking you capable of a
direct, deliberate purpose to invade
those original rights of your subjects
on which all their political liberties
depend. Had it been possible for us
to entertain a suspicion so dishonorable
to your character, we should long since
have adopted a style of remonstrance
very distant from the humility OF com
plant. Your subjects, sir, wish
for nothing but that, as hhey are reason
able and afectionate enough to sep.
aratc your person from your govern
ment, so y0H, in your turn, should dis
tinguish between the conduct which
becomes the permanent dignity of a
/. king and that which serves only to
promote the temporary interest and
miserable ambition of a minister.
After describing the general feeling OF
approval with which the king was sur
rounded by his loyal and confding
! subjects at his accession to the throne,
he contrasts that feeling with the senti.
ment of dissatisfaction that existed at
3 the time of writing, thus They did
not wait to examine your conduct, nor
to determine by experience, but gave
YOU generous credit for the future
blessings OF your reign, and paid you in
advance the dearest tribute of their
) affections. Such, sir, was 0R6e the dis
position of people who HO51 surround
your throne with reprcaches and com.
' plants" He tells the king that at his
accession to the throne the whole
system OF government had been altered
; and in the severest irony asserts that
; cit was not from wisdom or delibera
ton, but because it had been adopted
by your predecessor" And after refer
, ing to the "removal of the ablest ses
, wants OF the crown" through "a little
= personal motive OF pique and resent
ment,' he concludes But it is not in
b mis- country, sir, that such men can be
, dishonored by the frowns of a king
In another place he tells the king that
J while he believes that he has person
ally no designs against the constitution,
yet by his acts in persistently holding
on to an obnoxious ministry and pro
longing the session OF venal parlia
ment he is hazarding the affections O
aH his English subjects, and says tc
5 him "You relinquish every hope O.
rcpose to yourself and you endangel
the establishment OF your family for
, ever All this you venture for nc
object Whatsoever or for such an OBJ
+ jeot as it would be an afront to you to
name Men of sense will examine
e your conduct with suspicion; while
those who are incapable OF compre
hendInp 10 what eXient they are In