Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-23
HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS.
EX-Minister Stevens Tells the Story
of the Revolution.
THE ISLANDS AND PEOPLE DESCRIBED.
Their Claims for the Protection of
Our Flag.
AN INTERESTING RECITAL.

Elk. United States Minister John L. Ste
vens gave a lecture last evening in a ly
ceum course at West Somerville. Mass, to
crowded audience, on Hawaiian affairs.
Before beginning his address he remarke ed
that during his thirteen years service as
United States minister. under five Presi-
dents, he had invariably refused to recog
nize political parties in his own country,
that on all questions involving his action
he had known the United States as a unit,
believing that in our foreign relations our
policy should be national and continuous,
always with united front to our foreign
| rivals. He had firmly refused to consider
the Hawaiian question a partisan question
in any sense. If others saw fit to make it
So they did so on their own responsibility.
Mr.. Stevens then went on 10 say: Our
interest in Hawaii appertains to at least
three questions, more or less distinct from
each other. though they cannot be con-
sidered entirely separate.
There is the question of Christian civili-
cation, there is the question of American
future commercial power in the Pacific, and
the third involves the issue of responsible
government under the American flag, in
harmony with pledged American faith, the
best American antecedents, and the plain
logic Of American history and American
| opportunities.
| Value Of Hawaii.
What is the intrinsic value of the Ha-
waiian group? What are their resources,
how much civilized population can they
sustain, and what are and can be her
| figures in the American commercial world ?
The islands are of volcanic formation, hav-
ing been thrown up by internal fires many
centuries ago, and around them floats one
of the most genial climates of the world.
|
about the size of Connecticut and Rhode
Island united. The chief value of the group
is in the five islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui,
Kauai and Molokai. Well governed and
well cultivated they are capable of sustain
ing population of a half million souls.
They are adapted to the production of
sugar, coffee, bananas, rice, oranges, lemons,
pineapples, and Indian corn, and the high
lands to the raising of cattle, horses and
sheep. Though sugar is now the leading
product, the amount of lands capable of
producing coffee of a superior quality is
believed to be larger than that devoted to
sugar culture. An important consideration
relative to coffee culture is that II can be
done by small farmers, not necessarily re-
| Quiring large holdings and much combined
| capital, as does the raising of sugar The
| increase of freeholders. farmers and fruit
| cultivators is the aim of the present pro-
visional government, which has resolved to
cut up the crown and government lands and
| dispose of them to men of limited means,
who wish to make for themselves perma-
nent homes and become responsible citizens
on American lines of development. Under
the monarchy these crown lands were leaS-
ed out, often 20 palace favorites, at much
| less than their real value and not unfre-
quently We're the means of political cor
ruption. Which of these two policies shall
be maintained as to dealing with these
lands, Is of great Importance to the future
of the islands"
| After kalakaua's Defeat.
/
tured. he had never assented to the consti-
tuition in good faith. He sought opportuni-
ties TO change it and to regain his lost
power. Dying in January, $780, his sister
by his appointment became the sovereign.
She had strongly disapproved of her broth
er's assent to the reform constitution Of 1887.
She was known to have been in the Wilcox
plot and armed revolt of 1889, for the over
throw of the constitutional government. In
capable OF ruling, self-willed to extreme OBJ
stinacy, she soon fell into the hands of the
unworthy, openly defying public and pri-
vate morals by installing in her palace a
Tahitian half-white fayorite, who had long
sustain ed scandalous relations to her.
LiliuOkalani's Overthrow.
Scoring the opinions and advice of all
the best men of the islands, both of her own
race and the whites. she finally united her
political fortunes with the opium ring and
those who were leagued to carry through
the legislature a sweeping lottery charter
of the Louisiana type, which, If it's origina-
tors could have been successful in their
plans. would have given the palace adven-
turers the opium ring and the lottery gang
complete control of the Hawaiian govern
ment and made Honolulu not only a secure
opium depot, but strong fortress from
which the lottery men could prey on the
American, Canadian and Australian people.
| Deem ha
coX-JoneS ministry, whom all the best men
| of the islands wished to continue, she
signed the lottery. and opium bills, appoint
| ed to her cabinet the men who had been the
chief parties in bribing the lottery bill
through the legislature, Immediately fol-
| lowed by her attempted coup detat, call
ing worthless mob of retainers to her as
sistance and trying to proclaim a constitu-
| ton giving herself arbitrary power, over
turning an incorruptible and capable su-
preme court and giving to herself the ap-
poin tment of new judges, with the final
appeal to herself.
This was Saturday, January IA. From
that hour the Hawaiian monarchy was abso-
lutely dead. and no restoration is possible
except by the exercise of some outside and
| foreign force.
AT the date of her downfall the mis-
guided and unworthy Liliuokalani was
without sympathy and aid of the best of
| the native Hawaiians and of all the re-
spectacle and responsible white residents of
the islands Not a hand was lifted in de-
Tense of the semi-barbarian throne when it
fell, conclusively disproving the assertion
Of the INSCRIPTIONS agent of the fallen
queen, sent to Washington to secure as
large a sum of money as possible for con-
veying to our government all her right and
title to the Hawaiian throne and to the
crown lands, to which she had never had
any other claim than to the income so long
as she reigned. This agent before embark
| ing for Washington made sure of a large
advance fee of thousands of dollars, which
| the fallen queen paid out of her own purse
and he thought it might help his case by
the use of the utterly baseess statement
| that the United States minister and naval
| commander had deprived Liliuokalani of
her throne, and Claus Spreckles, who wants
weak Hawaiian monarchy for his tool
| though he was 1000 miles away when the
queen fell, sees fit to repeat this absurd
story Of the queens lawyer, who happens
| to be one who had formerly served
Spreckles in California, and whom the un-
scrupulous sugar king makes use of in
Hawaii
| Claim for Admission.
I'm presenting themselves for admission
into the American Union. The islands come
under more American aspects than any of
our previously annexed states or territories.
as the facts 1 have lust stated abundantly
attest WHY should thav NOT no ;,,ol