The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-12-05

SeO VI Tue JlUe, IJS record VIII APP
pear to the average voter to be a
dlsingenuous attempt TO assume to
respond to public sentiment on the |
Chinese question, while doing just
as little as possible about it. In
fact it is no policy at all. The
policy which dictated the amend
ment, on the other hand, right or
wrong, is clear, and can be formu-
lated in few words, viz. "Give
the Legislature power to confne
Chinese immigrants hereafter to the
rice and sugar industries and stop
the Chinese now at the islands from
gravltating any further into the
general industries and occupations
of the country" The policy that
defeated this view is not known:
has never been formulated: will
never be: and finds expressions
solely in q criticism and defeat of
everything proposed without any at
tempt to suggest what ought to be
done. A party that takes any such
position as that, on any question,
inuSt expect ueIeaJ.
1t may be said that the other
side assumed to favor the amend
ment so as to put us off our guard
and to get some of us out of the
way, but that is all nonsense. They
could have mustered enough votes
to have defeated the amendment at
any stage, and the only thing that
| prevented them doing so was not
our presence, but a wholesome
dread of public sentiment in Homo
lulu, which however at the last
minute it seems they overcame. OF
course it was the backstairs infu-
ence of our Queen street friends,
eXerted at the last minute, that
caused the unexpected flop. Since
the 30th of June the backstairs have
been taken down from the Palace
and transferred to the Legislature:
and since that time it seems to me
our Queen street brethren have been
pretty assiduously ascending and
descending the same, and, as events
have Indicated, with considerable
effect.
1 understand some claim that the
reform branch of the Legislature is
not responsible for the defeat of the
amendment: for, counting out the
bribed votes, a majority of the
legislators veted for it; but there is
nothing in that. The. reform Legis-
lature is responsible for the result:
and that takes in Foster and myself,
as WE'LL for trusting the amendment
to half-hearted supporters. If the
dominant element in the Legisla-
ture had really wanted to carry the
amendment they could have done SO
easily enough. They always got
together thirty odd votes when act
ing on the veto, without the minis
terial votes. They could at least
have got majority on this.
The reform Legislature has made
its record on the Chinese question,
and must stand or fall by it at the
elections in 1890. L say the reform
Legislature, not the reform party;
for while l believe the Legislature
has departed radically, from the
principles which actuated the revo-
luton, | still feel that the reform
party is as loyal now as ever to
those sentiments. And what were
theyS To my mind, the revolution
last year turned on a single idea, viz. :
to make the white mans civilization
dominant at the islands. That one
idea was the index to all athat then
transpired. To save the country
then, only to gradually turn it 'over
to the Chinese, to be eaten out and
absorbed by them, was not the idea:
nor was it to save existing indus
tries from being hampered by ex-
travagant Government: that was a
secondary consideration, and would
not have induced class without
much property to have run the
risks they did. What brought the
men out was the purpose to make
the islands white mans country.
That did not mean the drawing of
any race lines, but it did mean
drawing line between those who
are of our civilization and those who
are not and will not adapt them
selves to it.
To accomplish this purpose we
had to do two things. 1st, make
the people supreme through their
parliament. I'd, make Western
ideas (Which now are weakening,
particularly among the natives)
progressively dominant among the
people, necessity all the more i'm
perative since the new constitution
made them supreme. The frss
duty was comparatively easy, and is
accomplished: the second was the
all-absorbing task, the pivotal point
in which was the Chinese question.
The Legislature by begging that
question has set the revolution
adrift from its premeditated course.
In fact the revolution thus far is
Hamlet with Hamlet left out. AS
the Legislature has left the affairs
of the country, there is certainly no
hope of any number of whites COM
ing TO the islands, and the mass of
| wage earning foreigners now there