The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-03-21
WELCOME HAWAII.

Secretary OF State Foster can de-
part for Europe in glee. He has
helped his country to annex Hawaii
IN the shortest possible time COM
patible with diplomatic etiquette.
President Harrison's message TO the
Senate is model Of concise good
sense, and as the most important act
Of his administration will tipge its
last days with the roseate hue of a
great but peaceful victory. The few
Congressman who still denounce an
nexation as an outrage can retire
within themselves and submit like
good citizens to the will of the major
ity. Time will open eyes which
would have needed no opening had
their possessors studied the needs of
the Pacific Coast at a shorter range
than three thousand miles. There is
no legislator so hopeless as he who
has never travelled outside of his own
bailiwick. 1t is one thing to repre-
sent district, quite another to repre-.
sent nation extending across a
continent and bounded by the worlds
great oceans.
1t is a strange delusion to claim
that the late Hawaiian revolution
was inspired by Mr.. Claus Spreckels.
That this gentleman owns sugar
plantations in Hawaii is true enough;
it is equally true that he knew nothing
about the upheaval of the monarchy
until the news reached San Fran
cisco. The Queen alone is to blame
for her own overthrow. As already
stated in this review, she wanted
more power, and certain favorites
helped her to believe that it could
readily be obtained by coup d etat.
Monarchs are never told the truth by
their courtiers, who retain place by
burning the grateful incense of fiat
terry. 1t is almost certain that one or
two of the Cabinet gave the Queen
assurances of support, and that she
reckoned on the final adhesion of
all. At the eleventh hour Queen
Liliuokalani learned that subjects
can be as changeable as sovereigns,
and great was the fall thereof.
There is no denying that ever
since the passage of the Mckinley
bill there has been great discomfort
in Hawaii because there has been
poverty. The planters have had no
as they make the wealth of
the islands, nobody has had money.
But this discomfort never would have
resolved itself into revolution, be-
cause the taxpayers are too intelli-
gent to believe that two wrongs make
a right. They looked forward hope
fully to repeal of the tariff their
reason taught them could not last;
consequently they saw no particular
bait in a sugar bounty sure to go
down with tariff that created it.
President Harrison's endorsement
of Minister Stevens shows how we'll
the latter has fulfilled the expecta
tions of Mr.. Blaine, whose friend he
was and to whom he owed his ap-
pointment. As Minister to Sweden
and Uruguay, Mr. Stevens had al
ready won his spurs in diplomacy,
while as man of letters he had
shown capacity in his Life of Gus
tavus Adolphus." Journalists should
rejoice that it should have
fallen to one of their guild to add SO
bright star to the flag of our Union.
Mr.. Stevens succeeded Mr.. Blaine as
editor of the Kennebec Journal and |
s one more proof that the pen is
nightier than the sword.
What sort of government Hawaii |
has eventually may be safely left to |
Congress. The dominant element in
hese beautiful islands is too Ameri
IAN and too conservative to need !
much government of any sort. ALI !
hey want are stability and liberty to
mind their own business, unhampered |
~ irresponsible despotism. Alaska
las gone on for twenty-six years with |
10 government to speak of, yet five
thousand Americans have ventured
o settle in an arctic province morere-
note from the Republic than our
lewly-acquired islands. 1t matters
ar less what form of government is
Idopted than what manner of men
administer that government. Ad-
'enturous carpet-baggers are many
md persevering. Let Uncle Sam {
,eware of repeating the mistakes
made in the South at the close of the
ivil war. Send statesmen, not
,reedy politicians, to Hawaii. Let
Tome rule prevail as far as compati-
lie with wisdom Kate Fields
Washington.