New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-11-16
TIE GREAT WRONG REDRESSER


has inst been inaugurated by President Cleve-
land and Secretary Gresham In the restoration
of Oueen Liliuokalani to the sovereignty or Ha-
vail Secretary Gresham having been citi-
zen of Indiana, they naturally take pride in
the fact that the credit of initiating Il pohcy 80
humane, so generous, so just ana so accoru''n,
with the principles Of morality ana the spirit
of Christian civilization. belongs in great
measure to MIN. They realize. OF course mat
the nlacrity with which he took up the Ha-
Waan affair with the first penrui OF INK ne
spilled in the State Department, ana the zeal
he has manifested in urging forward the pro-
ceedings which have resulted In the active III
reference Of our Government, are open 10 the
suspicion Of having been melted by the Secre
tary's relations with the eminent citizen Oh III
diana under whose Administration the steps
were taken which are now to be re'raccu. for
the reversal Of the policy of preceding Au-
minjstratiOn i'm an International affair or his
sort is very unusual and interference by which
n republican form of government is thrown
down and n monarchy restored in its place Is
absolutely without precedent. But they read
that Secretary Gresham was determined 10
Undo a great wrong" and they take new
pride In him on account OF the high, inc uh
commonly high standard Of political morai''y
he has set up for the admiration OF his couh
trymen. the emulation OF governments admihis-
tered upon the principles of genuine ai'r''ishi
and the despair of all the rowing, trading sell
seeking nations of the earth. They recognize
too in the transaction by which Hawaii Is IN
effect handed over to English domination ana
control. the same generous and self-sacrlhchg
spirit which surrenders 10 Great britain our
own markets
And vet there cannot fail TO be uneasincss III
Indiana when the logical consequences OF the
poicy of undoing great wrongs are thoughtfuily
weighed. There are wrongs and wrongs. The
wrong which Secretary Gresham has so prompt
" rghted had been perpctrated upon Il woman.
She was not wise woman, To be sure; neither
was she virtuOus woman. But she was ue
scendant Of great chief who ruled over Inc
islands by virtue Of conquest He dled Ill 1917"
He was 80 much esteemed by his people that
at an assembly Of chiefs to deliberate wnat 10
do with his body one of them proposed that
they should eat him. Hawaii being troplcal
and the natives warmhearted and scantily clad,
their genealogical trees sometimes get gharicd
and twisted, but this woman was believed 10
be either directly or colaterally OF the relgnihg
family, and consequently was Queen In that
capacity she lived royalty and Jared sumptu-
Ously The Queen business did not take much
Of her time 80 she occupied her mind with
having fun, and cndearcd herself to several
white persons by generous distribution of the
royal exchcouer. She had right 10 do this by
virtue of her descent from the great chief who
10 tl,nt of fbnm
wanted to eat him up. But the taxpayers ana
traders and people who wore clothes began to
grumblc They said that as they had all the
bills to pay they ought to choose their own
government; that Queens came too high: that
this kind of Queen was dear at any price: that
she didn't earn her board, and, in fact, was no
more tit TO bc Queen than Mauna I.oa was for
q powderhouse. SO they asked her to retire
She did sO-under duress. Then the persons
who wore clothes organized government ana
asked to he admitted to the American Union
Pending an answer Mr.. Cleveland came In as
President and Mr.. Gresham as Secretary OF
State. Both of them said Immediately that
great wrong had been done 10 Queen " ILL.,
They are now undOing it, They are putting
the old girl back
1t is Il very touching spcctaclc-this redress
ing of a great wrong. The Indiana people are
quite struck by It. 1t makes them thoughtful
however For 1t is u matter Of some interest
TO them TO know where The undoing Of great
wrongs il going TO stop. Strictly speaking there
Is not an acre Of land in that or several other
Western States the title TO which is not cloud
cd by great wrong, compared with which the
wrong TO the dusky Hawaiian Queen now being
righted by President Cleveland, Secretary
Gresham and the United States Navy might
seem prodigal generosity. The Indian titles to
Indiana lands were finally eXtinguishcd In JS26
II was made possible by the policy Of President
Jefferson. which. Mr.. Henry Adams says. in
nractice offered Il reward for Indian extinction.
since he not only claimed the territory Of every
extinct tribe OH the doctrine OF paramount
sovereignty. but deliberately ordered his In
dian agents to tempt the tribal chiefs into debt
in order to Obligc them To sell the tribal lands
which did not belong to them but 10 their
tribes" 1t il not unnatural that In this state
of things the citizens of Indiana. seeing the
caccrncss with which Secretary Gresham has
nlungcd into the business Of rctlrcssing great
wrongs. should inquire with some anxiety where
the line would be drawn, and whether the
great wrong which clouds their land titles was
TO be righted by the restoration Of the heirs Of
Tccumsch and the Shnwance COnfcdcracy.
They are strengthened somewhat In their po-
stion by the fact that Jefferson. the author Of
the great wrong. Is Mr.. Clcyclands patron
saint. but against that arises the fact that the
President has stood II. jefferson on his head
IN adopting the anti-annexailon policy. in spite
of the fact that Jcfrersons reputation AZ Il
statesman rests largely upon his acquisition Of
territory by means which he himself admitted
to be unconstitutional. Then again II Is to be
borne in mini that Benjamin IInrrIson's grand
father was the military commander who de-
fcated Tecumseh and his Indians and made it