The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-11-24
This hall was so situated that

the troops in it easily commanded
the Government building, and the
proclamation was read under the
protection of American guns at an
early stage of the movement, if not
st the beginning. Mr.. Stevens pro-
posed to the annexationists that as
soon as they obtained possession of
the Government building and they
read proclamation of the character
above referred to, he would recog-
nize them as &c facto government
and support them by landing a
force from our warship, then in the
harbor, and he kept that promise.
This assurance was the inspiration
of the Government, and without it
| the annexationists would not have
exposed themselves to the conse-
quences of failure. They relied
upon no military force of their own,
for they had none worthy of the
name. The Provisional government
was established by the action of
the American minister and the
presence of the troops landed from
the Boston, and its continued ex-
istence is due to the belief of the
Hawaiians that, if they made any
effort to overthrow it, they would
encounter the armed forces of the
United States. The earnest appeals
to the American minister for mill
tary protection by the officers of
the Provisional government, after it
had been recognized, shows the
utter absurdity of the claim that it
was established by a successful
revolution of the people of the ISL
ands.
These appeals were confession
by the men who made them of their
weakness and timidity. Men con-
scious of their strength do not make
such moves. 1t IS not now claimed
that the majority of the people
having the right to vote under the
constitution Of 1887 ever favored
the existing authorities or annex
alton to this or any other country.
They earnestly desire that the Gov
eminent of their choice shall be re-
stored and it's independence be
respected. Mr.. Blount states that
while in Honolulu he did not meet
a single annexationist who ex-
pressed his willingness to submit
the question to q vote of the people,
he did not talk with one on that
subject who did not insist that if
the Islands were annexed suffrage
should be so restricted as to give
complete control to the foreigners
or whites, while representative an
nexationists have repeatedly made
similar statements to the under
signed. The Government of Ha-
wall surrendered its authority under
threat of war. Until such time
only as the Government of the
United States, upon the fact being
presented to it, should reinstate
the constitutional sovereign, the
Provisional Government was Gre
ated, to exist until the terms of
union with the United States of
America have been negotiated and
agreed upon. A careful considera-
ton of the facts will, I think, con-
vince you that the treaty which
was withdrawn from the Senate,
for further consideration should not
be re-submitted for its action there
on.
Should not the great wrong done
to feeble but independent state,
by an abuse of the authority of the
United States, be undone by re-
storing the legitimate government?
Anything short of that will not,
1 respectfully submit, satisfy the
demands of justice. Can the
United States consistently insist
that other nations shall respect the
independence of Hawaii while not
respecting it themselves? Our gov
eminent was the first to recognize
the independence OF the islands,
and it should be the last to ac-
quire sovereignty of them by force
and fraud.-Respectfully submit
ted,
(Sgd.) w. .. GRESHAM.
IL 4