The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-04-07

powerful influence on the side OF the
Provisional Government. - May we
never forfeit their good opinion!
will begin ray story eight months
ago. 1t is true that when | reached
Washington last August, "A certain re-
action had taken place from the first
enthusiasm in our cause, while the
financial panic and the silver question
for n time engrossed public attention.
The ground gained last spring, how
ever, had never been lost. Thereswas
strong undercurrent of popular feel
ing in our favor all the time, and 1t
was surprising to see how deep and
lasting were the sentiments excited
by the hauling down of the Stars and
Stripes on April ], 1893.
There was, however, widespread ig-
norance and indifference, rather than
hostility on this subject. It was gen.
orally expected that a special message
on the Hawaiian question would be
| sent to Congress mt the special session,
together with Blount's report. The
general feeling then seemed TO be in
| favor of n protectorate of some kind,
| nobody explained what The ablest
men in Congress declared the policy
of restoration to be "unthinkable."
| At the same time the appointments of
| Minister Resident and Consul-Gen-
| eTdl seeIitu 10 SsioN tDdt iib
| ton was contemplated by the Adj
ministration. During the first week
| in September Messrs. Blount aud
Willis were both summoned To Wash
| ington, and ii was known that the
| Hawaiian question was under discus
sion in the Cabinet.
The profound secrecy which had
been strictly observed on that subject
is without precedent in diplomatic
hfot a IN ~ if.aFaa ont xr4s7.g
raised by despatch by the New
York Herald correspondent on Sep
tember Sth, setting forth the alleged
programme decided upon by President
Cleveland The substance of 1t was
that protectorate would be extended
over this Government, under which
elections would be ordered to deter
mine the permanent form of govern
ment, and that sin return for the pro-
lection thus guaranteed, the Adminis-
tration would expect the exclusive
and unreserved right to Pearl Harbor."
The absurdity of making such pro-
posal to an independent Government
was ably exposed by the New York
Sun and other papers, and the lively
discussion that took place all over the
country, showed the interest that the
American people felt in the question.
Here a word will be in place on the
course of the American press. On
this particular subject the venerable
Dana of the New York Sun is .ffaciIe
2)rinceps. 1t is his kuleana. A con-
temporary of Horace Greeley, he en-
gagged w. M. Gibson as corresponds
ent, before he had sailed for the East
Indies in the brig "Flirt." He has
"outlived and outworked four genera
tions of newspaper writer's" and is
today generally acknowledged to
| stand at the head of his profession in
America.
For six months scarcely day passed
| without an editorial article in the Sun
on the Hawaiian question, always ac-
curate, always crisp and fresh and diff
| erent from any that bad appeared be-
fore. Every phase of this many sided
subject was Illuminated by turns. Age
cannot stale his infinite variety
The New York Tribune,s services to
our cause are well known, but its
influence has been more confined
within party limits. Other influeD-
tial papers on our side are the Chicago
Tribune, the Inter-Ocean, the Phila-
delphia Press, the two leading Wash
ington papers, the Post and Star, and
the Atlanta Constitution.
1t is remarkable fact that almost
all the religious papers of the country
have solidly sustained the Provisional
Government, and among them all.
for insight and breadth of view and
convincing power of statement. the
palm must be given TO the New York
Independent. The editorial writing
in the New York Herald is notorious
ly weak, but it employs able CORES
pOndents and is q mighty organization
for gathering and disse nlinating news
1t did us much harm at first by the
circulation which it gave to Nordhoff5s
ISLANDERS. 1t took the American public
a considerable time to tsize him up,n
but he is thoroughly discredited now,
and has at last relapsed into finnocu-
Gus desuetude." The World has ALWAYS
preached non-interference. The New
York MugwUmp papers, the Evening
Post and Harper's Weekly, have been
our bitterest and most INSCRIPTIONS
enemies. The Mugwump, as Theodore
Roosevelt once said, is invariably
wrong on questions of foreign policy.
He is still Colonial in his senti-
ments.
Any pronounced American senti-
ment is bad form you know" and
the Navy is his special aversion. He
advocates sort of Corean policy of
isolation, ard shudders at the idea of
going OIL sOundings, or even Wettine
his feet in salt wafer Happily, his
influence is limited and on the de-
cline.
The extra session of Congress drag
ged on through September and Octo-
ber, and a final vote was not reached
till October 30th. Congress finally
adjourned without receiving any in
formation on the Hawaiian question
from the President
The following week the Herald cor
respondent again seemed TO have
found a leak in the State department,
and published a statement of the
Presidents Hawaiian policy, which
has since turned out TO be very nearly
correct, and which called out a storm
of discussion all over the country.
This continued for several days,
when Secretary Gresham, believing
that his carefully laid scheme had al
L.