The Hawaiian gazette., 1888-01-03


to some of the necessary results of
the Kings attempt to recover the
irresponsible powers of which he was
shorn by the present Constitution,
particularly in the way of preparing
mems minds to receive and credit the
substance, at least, of current rumors
pointing to an intended counter
revolution. Among the other inevi-
table consequences of his course,
which we have heretofore alluded to,
incidentally, there is one in particu-
lar to which the King and his hackers
will do well to give their very serious
consideration. We refer to the intro
duction of the Kings name and acts
into the arena OF active politics, with
all that such introduction neeessitates
and implies Although this cannot
be matter of Indifference to any
friend of our present system, or to
any well-wisher of the cause of con
stitutional monarchy, it is something
which most PARTICULAR concerns the
sovereign and those who uphold him
in his present course, and who assume
to be his especial friends. Power and
responsibility must go together, and
they must be in some degree com
mensurate. It is idle to expect that
sensible, practical men, possessed of
a decent share of character and self
respect, and having any reputation at
stake, will consent to accept the re
sponsibility for policy which they
do not advise and cannot control. 1t
is true there have been men too
many of them-whO were willing to
hold Cabinet positions on such I'M
manly and degrading conditions.
But nobody ever thought of giving
them credit for a scrap of principle,
or regarded them as anything but
set of poor creatures, who were will
ing to do any amount and kind of
dirty work in exchange for the emo
luments of Office. Such was the kind
of men, who, up to less than six
months ago, composed our national
administration. The aroused public
spirit of an injured and indignant
people having driven this disreputa-
BILE crew from office, constitutional
safeguards were erected which it was
hoped and intended should render it
impossible for them, or any like
them, to ever again defile the seats of
power in this country, at least during
the lifetime of the present genera
ton. Even under the system which
has been overthrown, and with Minis
tiers servile enough to change their
protested opinions from day to day to
suit the varying within of their mas
ter, and ready to eat their own words
whenever required, the fiction of
royal responsibility was sufficiently
transparent. When Gibson, Neu-
mann, Creighton and the rest of them
came before the Legislature to advO-
cate measures which they had al
ready publicly condemned, OF to ask
large appropriations for objects
which they had solemnly assured the
House should not cost cent, the
real nature of the performance
was too plain to deceive any
one. Instead of furnishing the
King with a decent screen for
his acts, they only covered them
selves with contempt The diff
culties of the case We're inherent, and
such as neither they nor any other
set of men, however INSCRIPTIONS
and however ardent, could possibly
overcome. The fact is that the policy
of the King was SO entirely destitute
of anything like craftsmanship, and
his measures so absurd and impracti
cable, that no Ministry could father
them without sacrificing everything
like consistency, and even plausi-
bility If, then, with men in office
who were willing to go to any lengths
IN the way OF acting as scapegoats, 1t
was impossible to preserve the
royal reputation, or save their theory
Of royal responsibility from painful
dilapidation, how must it be with a
Ministry who positively refuse to
lend themselves to any such purpose,
and who, when the King opposes
their measures, or refuses to accept
their advice, do not hesitate to state
the fact plainly in the face of the
world. The answer is very plain.
The King having chosen to enter the
field of politics in opposition to his
Cabinet and Legislature, will have
to take his chance in the arena of
discussion and criticism precisely as
any other politician, without the
Pigment of Ministerial re-
sponsibility behind which to hide
himself. His acts will have to stand
solely on their merits whenever they
have any-his motives will be open
to the same aspersions and suspicious
as other peoples, while his state pa
pers of all kinds, including his so
called veto messages, will be required |
to display decent grammar and some /
regard for sense, just as though they F
were written by common people. We /
do not suppose that he realizes in I
any degree how ill-ftted he is to Z