The Coconino weekly sun., 1894-01-11
CLEVELAND'S BLUNOERS.
Partisan Practices or the Chief Executive
 In the Hawaiian Affair.

o against the integrity of his predecessor and the American minister to Hawaii, and tho insolence of opinion exhibited by him in his interpretation of the events attending the establishment of the prov isional government are alike unworthy of the occupant of the execu- tive office. Mir. Cleveland asks the country to accept his judgment as ab- solutely sound and conclusive No other conclusion, he declares, could be arrived at, in view of the facts stated, Does Mir. Cleveland expect the country to agree in this estimate of his own in fallibility? Has it never to occurred to him that President Harrison is just as honest man, just as pure in morals, just as intellectually acute, just as ju- dicial in temper, just as impervious to nasty and immoderate impulse as he is himself? Was Gen. Harrison, as an honest executive, trained to the con- sideration of large questions, and with clear con captions of duty and the linn ita;ions of the executive authority, any less capable of determining wisely the Question of Hawaiian recognition and our relation to the island kingdom upon the facts presented, than Mir. Cleveland or Mir. Gresham, or any other prejudiced official of the present admin istration, upon the ex parte testimo- ny accumulated by special commis- sioner?
 MT Cleveland mistakes if he sup. poses that the American people will suit their thinking on this subject to his particular views" Their judg- ment has been determined by the facts in the case, as presented by both sides to the controversy, and not at all by what any man chooses to think or any construction he may care to put upon the acts of the participants in it. He is equally mistaken it he imagines that hls extraordinary criticism of his pred ecessOr, going to the verge of personal atfront, will command the popular ap- prOval. Such an act of official inde- scencY has never before disgraced our annals and it will never be repeated by any executive who appreciates the amenities of public life. A distin- guished American well says: Most civilized governments attack the rcpu- tation of their enemies, if they must. It was never before known that they blackened their own national walls with posted scandals against them selves"
 Whatever may be Mir. Cleveland's honesty of purpose, and we do not call it in question, his course in this whole matter has been that of the rancorous partisan or hired advocate rather than that of an enlightened statesman His recent message is characterized by a spirit of studied hostility to the pro- vlSiOnal government in Hawaii Yet he has formally recognized that gov ernment as the only existing govern ment in the islands. He charges the last administration with treachery and conspiracy in its foreign relations, and forgets, or refuses to see, that his own policy has been one of deceit and douhlo-dealing in that while recogniz- ing the provisional government as the ,de-factO government, he was scheming to bring about it's overthrow and re- store the monarchy. While informing the queen that he would not resort to actual force to accomplish this restora- ton, he left the provisional authorities ito suppose that United States troops would be used against them if occasion required, thus creating apprehension and keeping the public mind in a state of excitement likely at any moment to flame out in acts of violence. But his offending does not stop here. He per sisted in his plan even after the queen had refused to return to power under any engagement to exercise clemency toward the members of the provisional government, thus revealing a vicious md blOodthirsty character incapable of defense or apology. It is surprising that Mir. Cleveland did not see the in- consistency of his action as to this par ticular point What right has the United States, if we are bound in jus stice to restore the queen, to impose conditions which would deprive her, when restored, of the rights of sovereignty? If she has any claim at ali upon us to right wrong" done to her, that claim is absolute and uncon- hitional, and any attempt on our part to couple tho performance of an act of justice with conditions of any sort whatever is pure impertinence.
 We have not dealt, in what has gone before, with the larger and primary question of President Clevcland's eX- traCrdinary assumption of power in dealing with this whole matter. h. deed, little needs to be said upon this point, since the better opinion of the country is practically unanimous in condeInning the arrogance which not only deied the rights of congress in undertaking policy involving possi- Utilities of war, but studiously concealed that possibility from the people so long Es there was possibility of their h. tcrference with it. That sort of thing may be done in Russia, but in this country even presidents are subject to laws and constitution, and any en- croachment upon popular rights, any assumption of autocratic powers at the expense of the legislature in which the popular will is imaged and epitomized, 1, l,,