Evening journal., 1893-11-14
WAS 1T AN ACT OF WAR?
That Is Minister Hastings View
of the Hawaiian Attitude.
IF so, CONGRESS MUST REVIEW IT
The Administration stin Keeping Its Pol.
icy Secret and Withholding the Last Dis
patch From Honoluiu-Engiand sends q
warship to the Islands.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-THE state de
partinent has received a communication
from Honolulu telegraphed from San
Francisco. IL arrived by the steamer China
and was written in the navy department
cipher Experts set at work upon the dis
patch and labored over it for several hours
After securing the substance of this Of
iicial communication Secretary Gresham
took a copy Of il out to Woodley for a con
ference Ovfr rhe matter with President
Cleveland. Nothing was given out from
the state department as to the substance Of
the dispatch.
Il. +. Hastings, secretary of the Hawaiian
legation, was shown the dispatch from San
Francisco containing the news of Minister
Willis arrival in Honolulu and his ap
pointment to present his credentials to
President Dole
This news was obviously a great relief
to the minds of members Of the legation.
They declined TO talk about the matter as
usual, but the satisfaction expressed at
the presentation by Minister Willis of his
credentials TO President Dole suggested
that they might have feared that the min
lister would be found TO have been accred.
tied to the queen.
The plan of the Hawaiian representa-.
tives evidently is to stand rigidly on the
rights they have acquired by the recogni.
tion of their government Minister Thurs
ton touched the marrow of their hopes
when he said that any attempt TO over.
turn the present government by foreign
power would be an act of war.
Congress VIII Interfere.
An act of war requires the consent OF
| declaration OF congress. Congress will un.
| doubtedly take mp the subject of Hawaii
in some way Immediately upon assembling
/ in December The fight, il is said, will be
made on the administration policy on this
| line-that it has declared war without the
consent of congress and has therein done
an unlawful act
What effect it would have on this pro
posed policy if the present government
should peacefully yield to the persuasion,
of the American minister is also discussed
The question involved is whether so peace
able proceeding could be regarded as al
act Of war. IL is argued that it would bl
an act of aggression on a sovereign powe
none the less because the power peacefully
yielded TO the threat of so overwhelmingl,
superior a force.
ltstiil remains an unanswerable problem
TO those of diplomatic experience how thl
| American minister accredited to the Ha
waiian government can, Immediately upoI
presenting his credentials, set about TO dc
stroy that government.
There is a shrewd surmise in Washing
ton that the restoration Of Queen I.iliuo
kalani to the throne may not be followe,
by the entire withdrawal of the inhuenc
of the United States. but that with th
work of the last administration once un
done protectorate may be establishe,
ovzf the monarch.
One clear and certain result Of the presen
incident would seem TO be that annexation
will never be proifered to the United State
by the Hawaiians again. If there is eve
to be annexation, the movement will orig
| mate in this country