The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-11-22
Letter from Mr. Davies.

publication of the letter you did me
the favor to print on the 18th inst.
The three letters to which | will par
ticularly allude, are the courteous
communications from Mr.. Hartwell
and MIR. Z. l.. Carter, and the char
acteristic letter from Mr.. Thurston,
who has apparently been bitten by
mad Englishman, and whose letter
must have been very painful reading
for his friends. Mr. Emmeluth has
also written, but his letter was based
entirely on an erroneous statement
OF MIR. Hartwell's, to the effect that [
had expressed views hostile to free
trade with the United States. My
letter did not express any opinion at
all on that subject, as Mr.. Hartwell
will see if he will do me the favor to
refer to my letter again; and Mr..
Hartwel's appeal to mechanics and
others to take note of my free
trade views, is without any justifica-
ton OH my part. The fact is that
what Mr.. Hartwell, Mr.. Emmeluth
and the rest Of us want, Is not free
trade but large protected market
such as we have for rice, have had
for sugar, and desire to have for
fruits and other products.
The only point upon which l wrote
was Mr.. HartwelPs recommendation
of the cession of Pearl Harbor to the
United States as a naval station; and
this subject, for some inscrutable
reason, Mr. Hartwell declines to dis
cuss, leaving it, as he says, "to
others" Cession, as | understand
it, on one side, means annexation on
the other; but find myself entirely
at a loss to reconcile Mr.. hartwell and
Mr.. Thurston on the use of the
word "cession." Mr.. Hartwell de-
clares that in 1873 the Hawaiian
King and four Hawaiian Ministers,
with the endorsement of the Chief
Justice and Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court (of whom [ believe
Mr.. Hartwell was then one) desired
to cede Pearl Harbor to the United
States as naval station"
MIR. Thurston as solemnly declares
hat sit never has been proposed that
any territory should be coded to the
United States at Pearl Harbor
River"
1t is impossible for me to know
which of these statements Is anthem
tic,butI happen to remember very dis
tinctlY that in 1873 a meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce was called, at
which it was proposed that the
Chamber should urge on the Cab
met the cession of Pearl Harbor to
the United States. The President of
the Chamber was asked whether this
involved the offer Of the ce5sion or
the Sovereignty" of Pearl Harbor.
Upon his replying that it did involve
he sovereignty, the Chamber de-
2ed to omit any reference to Pearl
Harbor in their conference with the
Cabinet This is particularly i'm
pressed on nay memory by my recol-
lection of the qualification which
Chief Justice Allen expressed, in the
presence of the Ministers, at the
avoidance by the Chamber of any
reference to cession of terri
tory. Under these circumstances
l am inclined to think Mr.. Hart
wells memory may have led him
astray with regard to the desires OF
the statesmen and judges whose
names he publishes. Be that as il
may, Mr.. Thurston now declares that
what has been proposed In the past
and what is now proposed, is simply
that the Hawaiian Government shall
grant to the United States franchise
similar in principle to those granted
to the Wilder Steamship Co. and tC
the Oahu Railway & Land Co.
If this is all Mr.. Hartwell meant
when he said that the King, Cabine
and Supreme Court desired to ced'
Pearl Harbor to the United States a
naval station, it seems almost 1
pity that he and Mr.. Thurston die
not talk it over together and agree
upon the terms by which their view
should be described. The words uset
should have been concession" which
everybody understands, and witt
which everybody would have beer
satisfied. [ now gather that you
correspondents meant by "cesslon o
Pearl Harbor," concession at Pear
Harbor," and that appears to me t
settle the whole question, and the.
ought to feel grateful to me for tn
opportunity l have given for the eS
PLANTATION. A concession such as MI
Thurston describes of depot for tn
repair and reftting of ships of wal
in return for advantages which tn
United States can give to Hawai-
appears to me to be natural, politl
and fully consistent with the satisfaC
tory and statesmanlike declaration Q
policy which the Cabinet has recent
" issued. II it had not been for tn
cloudy and vague language whic
has been so loosely used for year
past, there would have been no nee
for the explicit announcement wit
which the Ministerial declaratio
opens, and for one hail the aces
sion of this Cabinet as one of th
very best Hawaii has ever had.
Mr. G. L. Garter must have rise
from the perusal of Mr.. Thurston
letter with a singular sensation, fC
after publishing an elaborate defens
of the position that, under stress {
circumstances, pearl Harbor mus
GO" he finds that the position ht
been vacated by his friends, or els
has never been occupied by them.
But MIR. Carter is man of gre
promise, and is marked out by Dirt