The morning call., 1891-01-21
LOOK OUT FOR THE ISLANDS.

The death of King Kalakaua will
revive the discussion of the future of
the Hawaiian Islands. Under the old
constitution OF the Hawaiian monarchy,
which in this particular is apparently still
in force, reigning King has right to
designate his successor, as is the case In
| China and under certain conditions In Rus-
| STA. Thus each of the five hamehamehas
! was selected to fill the throne by the mon
| arch whom lie succeeded. But the last OF
| the name either purposely or inadvertently
| departed from the usual practices he made
no nomination of a successor, and that sue
| cessor-Lunalilo-fo lowed his example. In
both cases an appeal was taken to the people
and they elected a sovereign. BY the last of
| these appeals. which took place in 1874, the
present sovereign, David Kalakaua, was
chosen by large majority over Queen
| Emma, tine widow of Kamehameha ~. AT
| the time of his election it was also decided
| by popular vote that in the event OF his
| death he should be succeeded by his sister
| Princess LiliuokOlani. Thus, If the hihS
| should now die and there should be no rev
| olution in the islands, the throne "oulu
| hepceforth be occupied by this lady, VINO is
of native blood, mddle-aged and not widely
known outside Of her home.
By the constitution of 1887 the King was
deprived of legislative authority, was for
bidden to nominate members OF the Upper
House, and was partially stripped of con-
troll over the army and finances of the king
dom. The real power was placed in the
hands of his Ministry. who are, TO be sure.
nominated by the King, but must be removed
by him on a vote OF want of confidence in
the Legislature. Under this charter the
purposes mere fgurehead. Public affairs
are administered by the people; but prop
erty and educational qualifications have been
so deXlerouSly adjusted that the weight of
the native kanakas is less than that of the
white residents, and the Chinese, who num-
Der oue-auarter of the whole population, are
disfranchisel.
To say that this constitution fails to give
satisfaction is merely to repeat what Adj
miral Brown reported to his Government on
his recent visits 10 the islands. The resi-
dents of Honolulu live in daily apprehen-
sion of revolutionary outbreaks. 1t is
indeed quite probable that disturbances
would already have occurred but for the
constant presence in the harbor of vessels of
war, whose commanders have stood ready
to land their marines in case of trouble.
should De made to crown his sister it is
fairly likely that the incident might serve
as an occasion for an uprising either of the
kanhkas or of the whites.
1t looks as though the United States might
be forced to intervene whether they choose
or no. Intervention in the affairs OF foreign
countries is not to our taste; but if the in
habitants of the islands take to cutting each
others Threats somebody viii have TO inter-
vene, and that somebody will have TO be
American. Nearly half n century ago the
hanakas engaged in civil war and put to
death a number of French missionaries
Lord George Paulet. who commanded a
British feet at Honolulu, landed marines,
put stop 10 the fighting and annexed tue
Islands to the British Empire. But Sir
Robert Peel was far too wise to embroil
Engiana with this country Tor the sake of
a few volcanic peaks and coral atolls III the
Pacific. He signed a trpartite treaty in
1913 by which England, France and the
United States acknowledged the independ-
Pnce of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Lord
Salisbury would probably pursue an
equally unselfish policy to-day But it is
well not to leave important matters to
chance. Germany, like a certain famous
parsonage, is wandering up and down the
earth in search of countries to devour. 1t
would be easier to stop her getting into
Hawaii than to get her out if she once made
lodgment there. 1t has not been observed
that the United States gained much by the
Samoan treaty.
kilograms state that the Navy Depart
ment is concerning itself about the dispatch
of war ships to Valparaiso, where the
natives are INDUCING in one OF their usual
snindies. Perhaps the ships might be more
useful if they were anchored of the reef
which covers the APP roach to Honolulu.