The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-05-24
REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF FOR
EIGN AFFAIRS.

We have already sketched the con-
tents of the report which His Excellency
Mr.. Gibson presented to the Assembly
as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and COM
mented upon some OF the more impor-
tant portions Of its voluminous appendix.
We have now to consider what this re-
port discloses to us OF the policy which
has animated the Minister in his con-
duet OF the foreign relations of the King
dom
In the preamble, after abiding to the
fact that the foundations of the State
have been established and chiefly main
tanned by native genius, the "aim and
policy of the Administration is declared
to be ''tO cherish and maintain the
Kingdom of Hawaii as native indie
pendent State That this aim and
policy is very obnoxious to some people
here, not all of whom are aliens, is i
well known fact, and it is fortunate for
the country that very little political
power is in the hands of men OF this
stamp, and that the day when they could
hope to secure any leading part in guild
ing the destinies of the Kingdom is past 4,
never to return How this aim and
policy has been carried out in connection
with our foreign relations is shown in
the clearest manner in this report. AS
we have already said, nothing is kept
back; all that has been done and at
tempted is set forth openly and with out
hesitation.
The first subject dealt with in the re-
port is the Reciprocity Treaty between
this country and the United States. We
have already expressed our opinion on
the attitude of the Government in this
matter. If anyone has doubts about
either the honesty or the wisdom of this
policy, we commend to him a perusal OF
Mr.. Gibson's report, where the whole
question is carefully reviewed. That
the course taken will be amply justified
by results we do not for a moment
doubt.
The report then passes on to the
affairs of Polynesia, in regard to which
so natural, and lat the same time, so phil
anthropic an interest has been taken by
the King and His Ministers. Everyone
who can take an unprecedented view of
the matter must regret that the effort
now being made to stay the hand of for
eign aggression in the Pacific was not
made years ago. There can be little
doubt that something important might
then have been accomplished. 1.-THE policy
of the Government receives the support of
the Legislature, there is still no mean work
to be undertaken. And if undertaken,
there can be little doubt of a successful
issue. No one can read Mr.. Gibson's
letters to Mr.. Carter, the Memorandum
on the relations of Hawaii with the
Southern and Western Pacific" and
the letter from the Rev. A.
o. Forbes, con the influence ex-
erted mainly through missionary
effort by Hawaii in Micronesia, - without
being convinced that Hawaiian Com
missioner will be welcomed and listened
to with respect wherever he may go
among the still independent islands OF
the Pacific. Equally assuring on this
point are the letters from Sovereign
chiefs of various islands to King Kala-
kaua, which are published in the appen-
dix to the report. Throughout the nego-
tiations which have been going on with
foreign Powers the absolute disinterest-
edness of Hawaii in this matter is dis
tinctly conspicuous. To quote the words
L. I. I ~
1886, to Mr.. Carter, in this endeavor tc
save the independence of Island com
munities, ellis Majesty has no personal
aims, seeks no extension of territory OF
extension of dominion. He has entered
upon the matter from the sense of the
duty owed by the most privileged section
of the Polynesian race to kindred people
not yet so happily placed as are the Ha,
waiians; but nevertheless, in His opin-
ion, as capable as the latter of ad
vancing to high rank OF civilization