The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-11-15
HAWAII AND THE UNITED STATES.


Important Letter OF Admiral POrter's
Written Tyvcnty-Tbree Years Ago.
Washington Letter in New York Sun.
The Official announcement of the ex-
traordinary policy Of the executive depart
ment of the government in respect to Ha-
wall seems to provoke only one comment
even in this city where the cuckoo ele-
ment always fourishes to the best adj
vantage. The necessary tendency of the
discussion of this subject in Congress will
be TO recall the utterances of the eminent
Americans of the past, not one of whom
has favored the adoption Of a British policy
for these islands.
Among the u~tterances of these distin-
guished Americans, 1 find an interesting
letter from the late Admiral Porter. dated
May 9. 1870. to Cyrus w. Field, advocating
the project of a submarine telegraphic
cable by way of the Sandwich Islands to
China. In this communication Admiral
Porter says:
Honolulu is bound to be the principal
stopping place between China and Cali
fornia, and a point or great importance to
American commerce, especially il the Sand
wich Islands become, as i have no doubt
they ultimately will, a part of the United
States. We could not afford TO let so inn
Dortant an outpost fall into the hands Of
any European power, and we must, there
fore, of necessity, absorb it into the Union,
as we have been invited TO do on several
occasions.
"The matter on which you desire infor-
nation is in regard to the advantage a
telegraph from California to China would
be to the United States government.
In the first place it would give us a con-
tinuous line from our country to China,
whereas, we have not, at present, an inch
of telegraphic cable outside the limits Of
our territory over which the United States
government has any control whatever. In
49, 49, -A~,.Il ho nlxy IN N wa Uyifh
England or France, as matters now stand,
VIC should be instantly cut off from all
telesraphic communication with Europe;
States to Shanghai or Hong Kong this
could not happier.
Our small ieet in the China sea has nee
essarily to be scattered ali over the station
TO enable il to do the work required. In
case the vessels were desired TO act In
concert it could only be done through the
medium of the future American t~elegraphlc
cable. which, connecting with the contem-
plated Russian line to the mouth of the
AmOor river, with the line running through
the Philippine Islands. Borneo, Sumatra,
Java, Australia, and outlying islands, and
with the lines touching at Shanghai. Can
ton 0oaaieSr9n111a.n Df fhe Most perfect Control
over the ships of the Asiatic fleet"
The Admiral further speaks of the great
for our people in the great race for COM
marcial supremacy" in China. He says
the steam routes all converge to the Cnited
oICNC 90 u 1870
the proper class of steamers are put on
between California and China the Pacific
railroad will be the greatest route for
travel and trade between Europe and the
East" and the passage from Canton via
New York will be made in thirty-two days.
This letter was written some twenty
three years ago, and embodied the ideas
OF a great American naval commander
anxious for the commercial and political
supremacy of his country in the north Pa
cihc seas. In some respects the letter is
prophetic, but Admiral Porter did not have
the lights of some of our modern states
men. 1t seems never to have occurred to
him that the short cut to all the grand
results he hoped for could be best attained
by installing a dynasty at the Sandwich
Islands TO be controlled by British influ-
ence, and overthrowing by force and in
trigue an existing government always TO
be counted on for its cordial devotion TO
the ideas and interests Of this country.
This scheme is so monstrouS, audacious,
and unprecedented that i hear intelligent
men to-day asking one another what in
iuence blinded it's authors or promoters
to the storm of public Indignation that is
bound to follow the contamination OF the
Mot