The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1889-11-20
Che @aily q llletin.
THE MINISTRY IN THE ELECTIONS.


tissue of 10Th inst. } of my
on the unpracticability of
"reconstructing' the Cabinet under
the "want of confidence" vote, is
far from expressing the scope or in
tent of my objection. My eds
sent" to such proposition Gas TO
its practicability) on the part of the
BULLETIN is not based, as you sup
pose, on the fact that "the King
shall appoint the Cabinet, etc. !"
but on this proviso OF the constitu-
ton taken in connection with the
condition precedent that vote of
want of confidence necessarily i'm
plies the dismissal of the entire
Cabinet, and not any particular per-
ton of them. This proposition 40
one has ever thought of denying:
therefore, for the purposes of this
argument, the BULLETIN's claim that
two members of the Cabinet of June
3Oth have already resigned, and
their places been successfully filed
Ivy men who were the appointments
of the balance of the Cabinet, and
not of the King, has no weight. If
the BULLETIN wishes what might be
called judicial authority for the tru-.
ism that "thc Cabinet" means all
members of the Cabinet for the time
being, and not any one, two or three
individuals thereof (and this, espe
cially on the subject of "want of
confdence) these are at hand in the
parliamentary records of every gov
ernmental jurisdiction assimllated
TO the English system. Did ever
anyone hear of Parliament voting
"want of confidence" in an individ-
ual member of any Cabinet? Pueril-
ity in politics could scarce go fur
Their than suggest such thing.
Therefore, l respectfully insist that
it is not only impracticable, but i'm
possible, by adhering to the Consti-
tuition and parliamentary rules, TO
reconstruct" the Cabinet by any
legitimate action of "the majority of
the Legislature" When there is
nc Cabinet-when they are removed
when "the King shall appoint,
etc. how, or by whom is the
Kings choice to be directed or re-
strained?
The only possible method would
involve previously arranged COM
pact-intrigue is the better word
between the King and said "major-
ity." As is well known, such plot
was tried during the session of 1887,
and again in 'SS. The scheme in
volved giving the King two MEM
bers of the Cabinet, and the mis-
sionary- planter element the other
two. Each faction was to be let
alone by the others to run tits little
quarter-kingdom as only such q
cabal, the progeny of such an in
trigue, would or could. The object
was to annihilate, as q governmental
factor. every element of representa-
ton of or by the working men, the
men who had actually carried the
revolution into effect. Had the plot
succeeded the missionary-planter
element, by appeasing the King
with (say) the Finance and Foreign
Affairs departments, intended (and
would undoubtedly have carried the
intention into effect) before the
pending election to have fastened
their grasp so firmly on everything
worth having in the country, that
their removal by constitutional
means would have been utterly i'm
possible. 1t is not positively known
to those outside the "deal'' whether
the failure of this nefarious plot was
by reason of the Kings refusal to
have anything to do with the dirty
job, or whether the manipulators in
side and outside of the Legislature
failed to "work" the majority of
that body. But IN its utter failure
we see cause why every good citizen
should be thankful for at least this
small favor which our Constitution
does give us, viz: that such ere
construction" of the Cabinet-even
with the powerful missionary-planter
interest so earnestly enlisted in its
supports impossible here, except
under a combination of circumstan-
ces which are very unlikely to con-
cur, but which, if they ever should
combine, would illustrate, if it did
not force into action, what some
one has well named the "sacred
right of revolution"
BYsTANDER.