The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1893-10-10


hands that the request of the Provi-
sional Government of the Hawaiian
Islands for incorporation with the
United States ought to be answered
in accordance with the traditions and
practice of our Federal government.
What that practice has been is set
forth in an exhaustive and impressive
way by the Hon. Simeon d. Baldwin
in the last number of the Yale Re
view. This interesting study of the
history of the subject establishes the
fact that from the first tentative union
of the American colonies down 10 the
present time, the annexation of coun-
tries useful on geographical, CONNER
cial, or strategic grounds has been
warmly advocated and steadily pur-
sued.
The expediency OF independence it.
self was scarcely recognized mere
promptly than the Importance OF eX-
tending the area of the nascent COM
monwealth by annexation. No sooner
had the delegates of eleven colonies
met in congress at Philadelphia in Oct
ober, IVA, than the hope was eX-
pressed of finding coadiutors in all the
other British provinces on our CONT
nent. a stirring appeal to that effect
was forthwith addressed to the inhab-
itants of Quebec. and an active cor
respondence with Canadian patriots
was begun by the Massachusetts COM
mittee of safety. In May, l775, ano-
ther appeal to the inhabitants of
Canada from the pen of John Jay was
adopted by congress. Not long after
ward, an address from the inhabitants
of several parishes in Bermuda was
received. In November of the same
wear the inhabitants of a district OF
Nova Scotia applied for admission into
the association of the United Colonies.
In the course of the same twelve
months commissioners were sent to
induce Canadians to accede to union,
and to raise troops for the continental
army. The result was such q number
of enlistments that a Canadian regi-
ment was organized and a second one
was projected.
The plan brought forward by DR..
Franklin for Articles of Confedera-
ton provided for the accession OF all
the other British colonies on the con-
tinent, that is Quebec, st. Johns,
Nova Scotia, East and West Florida,
and also the Bermuda islands. 1t is true
that when this plan was reported a
year later, the provision for bringing
in the other English colonies was
stricken out, except so far as related
to Canada, which was to have the
right to admission on request. The
opinion was expressed at this time
by Samuel Adams that, had the
Declaration of Independence been
made in l775, Canada would have be-
come one of the United colonies. Per
haps Adams moderated the repellent
effect produced by the denunciation
of the Quebec act by the continental
congress, an expression OF intolerance
with respect to the Catholic faith
which it afterward tried to soften by
instructing its commissioners to guar
antee to the French Catholics the
free enjoyment of their religion. 1t
is plain, indeed, from the declarations
and proceedings of the colonies that
sectarian prejudice speedily gave way
to the desire for annexation. Nor dld
the attempts to satisfy this desire
cease when independence seemed as
sured. John Adams while in Hol
land, in l7S2, affirmed that we should
never have a real peace so long as
Canada and Nova Scotia remained in
English hands; and few days later
DIR. Franklin submitted to the British
Commissioner, Mr.. Oswald, paper
in which he argued that, in the in
terest of both countries, Great Britain
would do well to give US Canada IN
return for certain reciprocal conces-
sions. 1t is not improbable that we
should have obtained Canada at that
time, had not the influence of France
been clandestinely eXerted against us.
Thus, we see that the annexation
programme was put forth in the birth
hour of our government. 1t continued
to be advocated by the trainers and
the first administrators of our consti-
tuition. Gouverneur Morris, whose
pen put the constitution in form, eX-
blamed that 'no decree de crescendo
imperio was inserted in it, because no
boundaries could be wisely or safely
assigned to our future expansion. L
knew" he said, tas well then as do
now, that all North America must at
length be annexed to it." 1t seems
plain, indeed, that, had the intention
of the constitution been to keep the
union within the limits then existing,
an express prohibition to that effect
would have been inserted. Such was
the view taken by Gallatin when JEFF
ferson consulted him with regard to
the Louisiana negotiations. Such was
the current opinion at the time when
many authors and acceptors of the
Constitution were still living. and it
is we'll known that the purchase OF
the Louisiana territory for SIS, 100000
met with general approval. When,
sixteen years later, we bought the
Floridas from Spain for $5,00O,oOO,
John Marshall, chief justice of the
United States supreme court, decided
that the right of our federal govern
ment to wage war and make treaties
necessarily implied the right to ae-
quire new territory, whether by con-
quest or purchase.