The sun., 1893-12-21

has been formally recognized not only by
President HARRISON and Mr.. CLEVELAND
himself. but by the heads Of other for
eiRn powers.
The existence Of q de 6dcto Government at
Honolulu being acknowledged, what busi-
ness had Minister WILLIS, without the su-
thority OF Congress. 10 take the first step
looking 10 its overthrow? It was for Con-
grees. not for Mr.. CLEvELASD. to decide.
after careful study Of the facts. whether
such a wrong had been committed by an
American Minister at Honolulu In January.
as would now Justify this country In making
war upon a friendly Government. What
right, then. had Mr.. WILLIS TO inform the de
Tdcto Hawaiian Government, A. Mr.. GREsH-
AM ordered him TO do, that Mr.. CLEVELAND.
by his own fat. had assumed TO determine
questions which should have been reserved
for the decision Of the American Congress
What business had he TO tell the executive
head of a friendly power that he was ex-
pected promptly to relinquish his authority
TO the woman who had been dethroned nine
months before7 Such a declaration would
have been grossly insolent, even had 1t
been accompanied with the assurance that
IL was purely academic Mr.. CLEVELAND
being powerless to enforce his views with
out the authority OF Congress-. But Minis
ter WILLIS was not ordered to give any
such assurance to the Provisional Gov
ernment. On the contrary, his declaration
was intended to have all the weight Of .
command, backed as Il was by the Ameri-
can war ship In the harbor Of Honolulu.
Mr.. CLEVELAND and his Secretary Of State
seem to have considered It next to impos-
slble that the Hawaiian Government, when
thus commanded by the President OF the
United States to commit suicide. would de-
cline to do 30. In that scarcely credible
contingency. Minister WILLIS was ordered
to report the facts and await further direc-
tions from Washington.
Mr.. WILLIS soon discovered that 1t would
require not only Q threat Of force. but the
actual use Of force. by the United States to
upset the Hawaiian Government. Under
the circumstances, he very shrewdly re-
Trained from complying with his original
orders. and sent despatch for further In
structions, which despatch Mr.. CLEVELAND
has withheld from Congress on the curious
plea that its publication would be detri-
mental to the public interest. Its publica-
ton would certainly be helpful to the
public knowledge. It is evidently In reply
to this despatch that Mr.. GRESHAM. on
Dec. 8. the day before Congress was to
meet. and when It was certain that the
Hawaiian business would be the subject OF
sharp investigation. makes the perfume
tory admission that the President cannot
use force without the authority OF Con-
gress." Upon reading this tardy confes-
sion. or shall we say discovery. on the part
OF Mr.. GRESHAM. his representative must
have wondered why on earth he was sent
to Honolulu. since no Government that ever
existed would dissolve itself. except under
the impact OF force or OF the threat OF force.
The attempt to restore eLILIUoKALANI has
failed. luckily for oil concerned in It; but it
failed simply because the Hawaiian Govern
ment declined to be bluffed by Mr.. CLEvE-
LAND. The sanctlmonious pretence that the
projected restoration was abandoned be-
cause the ex-Queen refused to promise an
amnesty to all those concerned In the revo-
luton Of last January. Is positively sicken-
ing. What would the woman's agreement
have been worth. and how could Mr.. CLEvE-
LAND have enforced 1t after she had recov-
cred power in Hawaii Evidently. he could
enforce 1t only by withdrawing the support
OF IHb lulIeu necessary
for her maintenance upon the throne.
LILIUoKALANI very properly demanded
that, II. to please Mr.. CLEVELAND. she
must grant an amnesty to her political
enemies, Mr. CLEVELAND. on his part. must
guarantee her protection against them. The
ex-Queen. plainly. understood the weakness
OF her own position much better than did her
would-be patron. She knows that the up
right and intelligent men who overthrow
her. must be eexterminated. root and branch.
or else that she must be sustained In power
by American bayonets.
No candid man can read the Presidents
message and the accompanying documents
in the light Of the information accessible
from other sources. without the conviction
that nothing but the sound common sense
OF Minister WILLIS has stopped the Presi-
dent from committing a breach Of the Con-
stitution. for which the American people
would have held him to rigorous account.