The sun., 1893-05-18
MISUNDERSTANDING HAWAII.
um SonDHoFF's LETTERS SAID 40
CONTAIN MORE FANCY 1HtS EACE

He Had Hardly Landed before Ue Wrote .
Review OF the whole 5ituation-The Ex
Queens Refusal to Accept n Pension Safe
10 he Due TO Biount-she Has Bees
Brought 10 Comparative Poverty-Ths
Status Quo Cannot Last Amer Biount's
Report Has Been Acted Upon-Ex.Miri-
ter steveus'- Beiier that We VIII Vet
Declare for AnneSntion-The Canadian
Pne,ne BOATS to the Hawaiian I.Iand-
uoxoLuLu. May q. via SAS FRANCrsco. May ] z.
Charles Nordhoff IL tho object OF merciless
criticism hero. His first letter to the Herald
va. mailed the day after his arrival This
letter Ia neither accurate in its statements nor
fair In Its conclusions. aud bears the stamp of
having teen written without any study OF tho
situntlon hers as indeed the date proves to
have cen impossible.
Nordhoir came out as an nnti-hpnexationist
partisan. and repeatedly so declared on tho
s,enmer. When tho news was brought on
board OF tho lowering Of the flag Nord-
bon appeared to have been made very
barry. anil ostentatiously carred his
hands. Since he has been here his at
titude has ieen Just ~ little that OF
the impartial invcsti :ator. Ho lives in
retirement. and Is as much II mole In this re-
spect n. Mr.. Blount: but here the emblance
eeases for tha mountains OF information
horne is a dsnitaries and persons Of all classes.
who are proud to respond to n sum mons. come
to Mr. liount's molo hill hut AL iass Ivy that
vber, Nordhor burrows. He remains isolated
from, the avenues VIII ch lead to Information
on tn. situation and daily events as com pletey
asif he had never come here.
One man he has seen much of. too much for
his reputation ns a journalist and tho repre-
sentative OF n great and independent news
Il t..t,
whose property In southern California Nord-
hoT makes his home. Tho aUlest and most
influential evening paper had on May tho
following lenler:
ME. NoEDHoTr'S ERRORS.
Charles Nordhof-s letter to tho Np,c York
Herald. in which he tried TO decide tho PROS
and cons OF the Hawaiian question. bears the
date IT April X He arrived here on April Z
after an absence OF Two decades: and 90. in
twenty-four hours time. while his sea icGt
were yet with him. he essnyed to cover md
describe tho whole complex matter OF tho
origin and trend OF the revolution an! tho
stn'e OF public continent on the Hawaiian
Islands. The Job was n stupendons one. bat
Mr.. Ncrdhnff took hold OF 1t with all the dash
and intrepidity OF writer who was born with
out lear OF facts and without all atom OF
doubt that his own opinions o! what thing
ought to be would properly describe what tho
thing is.
Mr. Nordhofr has always been against an
nexation ard its cognate policies. We have
heard that he was opposed to the Alaskan
purchase. and We know that the plans to ac-
Quire st. Thomas and San Domingo Rwoke his
strong resentment and enlisted his rebe!lious
pen. Had he been earlier in the field we have
no doubt that he would have denounced the
Louisiana purchase. the Texas admission. and
the California seizure. all Of which happily
aided in making his country great
BE that as it may. he came here with all
avowsd prejudice against annexation which
his newspaper shared. and which he did not
intend. apparently. to permit either time or
evidence to sfface or modify. 1t was his busi-
ness and his pleasure to mako out o case
against the reform movement Fortunately
for the cause OF good government here. the
best he could do was weak in that most indis-
psnsible quality to all cases-the precise truth.
The premises upon which he based his con-
slusion were and are notoriously unsound.
ITO begin with. Mr.. Nordhon declares
that the native population is unani-
mously and strongly opposed to annex
alton. On the contrary. there are Oh
the rolls Of the Annexation Club the names OF
over 800 adult male natives. number which
would be very much larger but for the fact
that the Queen has intimdated her late SUBJ
jects BY the frequent declaration that she was
about to be restored. Instead Of '1.928 Amer
leans. men. women. and children composing
the annexation party. that body comprises
seven -eiRhths OF tho 10000 white people in
Hawaii. representative Of whom is tho active
junts Of the Annexation Club. including not
single woman. child. or non-voter in its 500
members. In this array Ia the great propor-
tton OF tho business element. exclusive OF the
6prAcklaH supar intareat which ia beliayad to
b against annexation.
Mr.. Nordhoff repeats the erroneous charge
that the revolution was an affair OF planters.
How he could have found this out In twenty
four hours. twelve OF which were given over to
rest and meals we leave 1t for him to explain.
He certainly did not learn 1t from the accounts
Of the mass meeting that preceded the revou-
don wherein tho planters advised delay and |
moderation: neither did he learn 1t from Claus |
Bpreckels. who. while the Herald corre- |
pondent was writing. had made the air |
Of Honolulu lurid with his objections |
TO tho course which tho annexation
party had pursued. He did not find names to
Justify such postulate in the organization Of
the provisional Government. wherein the
IS ny z 70 the iact9r he would
bis own leadership or seeking. ~ o'A -
Mr. Nordhofr says that the provisional
SioEiegnmSn. idsing continues to exist but slowly
stronger than 1t was before the American flag
fann came down AMI gained S5 per cent. In tho in
sRace to full discussion Of the mistakes OF
At. Nordhon, but 1t may tie enough to say that
9ls MsWhoe whole letter may be tested for truth. as
Sranano ~ tested his Dushel OF chan for grains
OF wheat and with the same result. He
SSsarSmed n, Al day ere he found them. and when
ne ,ou und them they were not worth the search"
AT, Blount has been reviewing again tho
ssasing g OF the flag by Mr.. Stevens. and there Is
teason e I 70 b.lieye that he devoted some space
X X. seMipstches Mpshes he sent Secretary Gresham by
ths msi Moihowal. Two days before the closing OF
sSm; sns mai. he examined at great length LIEUT..
Hism,noGrns. the executive Of the Boston. who
tssNt Swt0..day and who now. since the death OF !
%hs,M Mt'se is the officer in highest rank here.
Of tre"S .his inquiry has been in pursuance
~ iosh Instructions from Washin gton, or on |
out by MSr.e III h,onnnes lines OF investigation worked
q S1u nia 90 Known whether this inquiry is merely
tbs yolma eyD[,one one or whether the restoration Of
WSshin9Gtueen haS been determined upon at
Amsrisugnso Aing.oh, Although such step .seemsIo
sitcshs nero too audacious to me rit serious
Slis lisueIalon. yet it is reca lied that when roy-
tbsv ro OF restoration filed the Nil so that
snray.S ssney Sot embarrassing to Blount and he MAS
sn sv,eeu 70 break his silence by what has been