The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-01-11
"rOETICAILN Pine

Policy tharitahlN Dubbed as Won /
strunus aud innocent of Justice.
The Administration has at last |
promulgated its policy i'll the mat
ter of Hawaii 1t came out last
Friday in the form OF a letter by
Secretary of State Gresham adj
dressed to President Cleveland. In
this letter-as a matter of fact not
50 much written to as written by
the President - ground is taken
that the late revolution was organ
lied with the connivance of the
American Minister (Stevens) and
that a display of armed force on the
part of the American Government
was factor in bringing it about.
In plain words he says that the
Provisional Government was estab-
lished by the action of the Ameri-
can Minister and by the presence
of troops landed from the warship
Boston, and its continued existence
is due to the belief Of Hawaiians
that i'll the effort to overthrow it
they would encounter the armed
forces of the United States. This
assumption, as to the facts of the
revolution is based upon the report
of Special Commissioner Blount,
who says. that the Boston's forces
were landed before the act of revo-
luton, and that the whole formal
proceeding was transacted under
the range of American guns and
that the thing could never have
been done if such had not been
the facts. Arguing from these
Prescriptions, Mr.. Gresham (that
is the President) holds that
great wrong has been done
a feeble independent State by
an abuse of the authority Of the
United States; and he proposes, as
the easiest way to right this wrong,
to restore the conditions which pre-
vailed before the revolution; or, in
other words, to re-establish the
deposed Queen upon the Hawaiian
throne. The assumption is that the
present Minister to Hawaii and the
naval forces now there have been
ordered to carry out the closing
suggestion of this latter-that is,
to forcibly re-establish the deposed
Queen upon her throne-but moth
ing is given out at Washington,
and there is no means of finding
out what is going on at Hawaii, so
the public mind is i'll state of IN
terested suspense. Naturally this
matter has made great sensation.
Mr.. Stevens declares Mr.. Blount's
account Of the revolution to be
wholly and grossly false; that he
| (Stevens) had nothing to do with
the movement in its inception or
organization or execution; that his
relation to it was that of all inter
ested spectator; that his ordering Of
troops ashore was simply to protect
American property; that the troops
did not, in fact, land until the de-
position of the Queen was an es-
tablished fact. An issue of veracity
is thus raised between Mr., Blount
and MIR. Stevens. The administra-
ton accepts the Blount story; the
public is at liberty to make its choice
as between the witnesses.
There is something POLITICALLY
fine in the attitude Of a great and
powerful nation declining to make
its advantage out of an injustice
done to a small and weak one but,
OH the other hand, it is very far
outside of the American idea to
employ the armed or even the
moral power of the United States
Government in the cause of mon
archy, and especially in the cause
of the least efficient, least respected
and most ridiculous monarchy on
the face of the earth. 1t strikes
the American people as being both
absurd and monstrous; lift did not
it would be sign that we had lost
the spirit and political virtue of the
founders OF the republic. If, as
the administration assumes, q
wrong was done, then the course
rightly to be followed is to disclain
it and decline to profit by it; but
, go further and by force or by in.
, fluence to reseat upon the Hawa
iian throne that mountain Of un.
clean fat called Queen Liliuokalan
; would be an act unnecessary, silly
and shameful. 1t would bring the
blush to every American cheek and
| make our Government the butt o
, universal contempt. 1t is not credit
: able either to Mr., Gresham oil
his chief that the proposition
has been made and if, as co amor
assumption has it, orders have
/. been given to carry it into effect, &
great outrage has been done, Thi,
matter of American policy as &c
Hawaii is not Mr.. Clevelands bust
ness, but the business of Congress
Congress has been in session and
might be in session now if Mr.
Cleveland wished it. If he has,
indeed, ignored Congress and done
the arbitrary and foolish act ac-
credited to him, there will be an
accounting by the people in way
to make future presidents remember
that the people rule this country
We are frank to confess preju
dice against exMinister' Stevens
His whole course as we view il
gives the lie to his disclaimer of in.
terest or part in the Hawaiian revo-
luton. He thought he saw, we
believe, a chance to do brilliant
stroke and attempted to do it at the