New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-19
TpY TELEGRAPH To TIE TRIBCNE.i


sage Of surrender sent by President Cleveland
to Congress to-day forms a fitting climax In the
opera -bouffe policy Of monarchcal restoration IN
| Hawaii which the Administration has covertly
pursued since March last more ludicrous
or QuixOtic diplomatic fasco than that which
Mr.. Cleveland now humby ends by an appeal
70 the Judgment of Congress could scarcely be
| found in the topsy-turvical librettos Of MI Gill
bert The President and his Secretary or state
are exhibited in the disclosures made to-day as
| endeayorng in pursuance of lofty moral
| duty" to restore a dissoute and sem-barbarous
Queen. who declines, on the terms offered, to
| be reinvested with authority, and to depose, by
| diplomatic Establishments. an estaohshed ana
| recognized friendly government which politely
| refuses to commit the necessary political hari-
| kari.
These unfortunate dramatic complications,
Joined with incidental embarrassment arising
| from a lack Of cooperation among the various
| agents Of the State Departments idylic pro
| gramme, have made necessary an abandonment
| of the Illuminated tabeiu of Hawaiian Royalty
| Restored" planned by Mr.. Cleveland ana Mr.
| Gresham as the crowning stroke Of their first
| experiment In Utopian diplomacy. Cntoward
| circumstances have. in fact, compelled the com
! plete retirement Of the opera-boufe, staged with
such secrecy and care by the President and his
"cuckoo' diplomatsts. and with the reluctant
| announcements of to-days message the curtain
may be said to be definitely rung down on the
puppet show In which for some months past
| Blount Willis Gresham and 'the queen have
been the leading mimic characters. AS tEe
President himself gravely puts It, difficulties
lately created both here and in Hawaii having
dampened interest In the comedy OF 'restora-
| ton" advertised by the Administration. the Ha-
waan stage is hereby entirely abandoned as
nd
the whole Hawaiian question is transferred TO
the broader authority and discretion or con-
gress."
| HOW THE SCHEME WAS WORKED
The unconditional capItulation to the sentiment
| Of Congress and the public on the Hawaiian ques-
ton contained in the opening and closing para
graphs of to-day's message marks the last stage
in the astounding and almost humilia.ing change
OF attitude to which the Administration has been
| forced within the last month. Up TO the middle
| Of November Mr.. Cleveland had thought 1t OF no
| consequence whatever even to communicate to
| Congress his plans for the settlement OF the Ha-
| waan difficulty. The treaty OF annexation was
| abrlptly withdrawn from the Senate last March,
"pararnount'' Blount an unconfrmed and Iurtvc
| diplomatic agent. was sen; in March on his voy-
age Of investigation: the restoration OF Queen
IAiuokalani and the overthrow of the Hawaiian
| Provisional Government were determined upon
in August or September: Minister Willis
| dispatched to Honolulu to re-establish the queen
and to read the death-warrant OF the de facto
| President and his Cabinet.
All the details Of this extraordinary pro-
gramme were arranged in the most candid dis
regard both Of every known principle Of inter
| national law and Of every proper limit of the
| Executives power Of initiating war against a
| friendly nation. Congress was In session con-
| tnuously while the scheme OF restoration was
hatched and developed but the President and
his advisers saw to 1t that not even whisper
| Of their intentions should be heard until after
| both branches had dispersed and Minister Wills
! had presumably reached Honolulu and carried
out the Administrations arbitrary orders, even
| in the face OF the almost universal condemnation
Of Secretary Gresham's memorandum made pub
lie about the middle of November
The President maintained throughout the tone
Of arrogance and self-assumed power which he
| had adopted from the very beginning. Though
| coroross and the country looked for the fullest
| noss,ble information about the Hawaiian policy
| in tho Presidents annual message sent to both
| houses on December 4. all proper and natural
| expectation disappointed by the meagrc
| and unsatisfactory statement or MS policy
| vouchsafed by the Executive. Briefly and cava-
| uerlv Mr. Cleveland announced that upon the
| facts DEVELOPER it seemed to him the only
| honorable course for our Government to pursue
was to undo the wrong that had been done"
and to "restore as far as practicable the status
existing at the time Of our forc!ble interven-
tton" The bare notice followed that 'our pres
| ont Minister at Honolulu has received appropr-
ote instructions to that end" Further informa-
tion WAS promised when IL should suit the Ad
| ministrat ton to send It in. II was no wonder
that the Senate responded to this vague and
| almost insulting message by passing request
for all diplomatic correspondence bearing on the
restoration project. So strong. indeed. was the
resentment of the "conhdential' branch of Con-
gress that it passed within two days, by
unanimous vote the sweeping resolution offered
| nv Mr. Hoar the few Cuckoo friends OF the
Administration not daring to risk a division or
| 10 resist action, except by few speeches for de-
lay.
A REMARKABLE CHANGE OF ATTITUDE.
Two weeks have led to a remarkable alteration
in the tone and attitude Of the President and his
| advisors The miserable failure of their nine
months underground labors "to right the
| vrongs'' OF Liliuokalani seems at last TO have
| broken the spirit Of airy self-connderce In which
the renovation Of the Hawaiian monarchy was
| embarked upon last spring II am convinced.
saws Iiliuokalani's great and good friend" in the
| opening paragraphs Of his downcast message
that the difficulties lately created both here and
in Hawaii and now standing in the way OF
solution through Executive action OF the problem
presented. render 1t proper and expedient that
the matter should be referred TO the broader
authority and discretion Of Congress" and In
the final paragraph. in the light of his sad ex-
periences with migrate Queens and hard-hearted
Provisional Presidents. he meekly adds the as
| surance that he shall be much grathed 10 CO.
operate In any legislative plan which may De
devised for the solution of the problem Deiore
us"
With this melancholy confession or error ana
promise OF reformation on the part Of the Presi-
dent. the poeticaL scheme OF monarchical restora-