The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-10-17

IMPERIAL DUTIES AND REsPoNsIBI-
LITIEs.
It is wise as we watch the growth
of the republic to study the lessons
of history. The great war which
eliminated at Waterloo was caused
by England's refusal to abandon
Malta. Napoleon did not want the
island for France. He was willing
to have it under Russian protection,
to allow the Knights TO govern it,
to neutralize it-anything but re-
main with England. Pitt saw as
clearly as Napoleon that Malta was
the key of the Mediterranean and
that it could only pass from Eng
lands hands to menace her posses
sion of India. No persuasion, no
threat would release his hold. The
treaty of Amiens was denounced,
Napolean exclaimed at the "per-
fidy" of England, and, marching
his armies against her allies at
Austerlitz and Ulm, began the war
which ended at Waterloo.
This tenacity is of that imperial
temper which has founded and
welded the empire of England.
There are other Maltas in other
seas. From Heligoland England
watches Germany and the Baltic
From Gibraltar she commands the
entrance to the Mediterranean.
Cyprus brings her nearer to Egypt.
Alden is her sentinel post to the
Red sea. Hongkong is the south
ern gateway to China, and she will
probably resume her control of Port
Hamilton in the North China seas,
and thus come nearer to Japan and
Corea. She holds sway in the West
Indies and watches the United
States, as we learned to our cost
during the rebellion, from Nassau.
There is not one of these sentinel
posts she would surrender without
war. They are links in her chain
of empire, and to break link is to
break the chain.
On our own far Pacific coasts,
sweeping from the tropic to the
temperate, and, if we included
Alaska, to the frigid zone, we have
an empire which during the lives
of those now living will be the
home of many millions of men. 1t
is within three, perhaps two, weeks
of teeming Asia, whose commerce
has been the envy and the aim of
civilization since the days of Solo
mon. The inevitable destiny of
this commerce, unless we throw
away the advantage of nature and
the teaching of science, is to the
United States. We owe it to our
fellow-citizens on the Pacific coast,
who with strenuous energy are
building this empire, to see that
their commercial relations with
Asia are usurped by no other
Power. This belongs to what might
be called the imperial duties of
sovernment-such duty as led
us to buy Louisiana and the Missis-
sippi river for the West, to fight
Mexico and win Texas for the
South, and to overturn the Southern
Cenfederacy for the general interest
of all-especially the conquered
members of that Confederacy.
These duties, from which we did
not shrink when the national well
fare was concerned, are now in
volved in the safeguard of our Pa
cifc section and the commerce of
the Pacific seas.
Hawaii is the Malta Of the Pa
cifc. Her commerce is almost
entirely with the United States.
We are bound to Hawaii by a
treaty of reciprocity. So long as
she is Independent or free from
foreign influences we are content
that she should govern herself in
her own way, under an innocent,
simple government. When that
government becomes so helpless as
to tempt the cupidity of the mari
time Powers it is then our duty to
shelter it under an authority which
the navies of the world will respect.
We take it for granted that Mr..
Cleveland has made it known to
the maritime Powers that the indie
pendence of Hawaii, so far as they
are concerned, and its dependence
on the United States must be ac-
cepted and respected. This is SO
obvious that we cannot doubt that