The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-02-02

american Governments
grwf p-n
Honolulu, Jan. 17.-LCopyrighted, 1894.
by the Associated Press.]-Since the
last advices. but little Of Importance
has happened here. The people are
preparing for grand blowout in cele-
bration Of the anniversary of the es-
Establishment of the provisional govern
ment, which was established year
ago today. The Annexation club and
the American League have gone into the
celebration with a will and there is
little doubt but it will be a great sue
cess.
Adverse comment has been created by
the fact that, yesterday afternoon. no
tice was sent to the United States
minister by the provisional government
that the 18th of January was a ma
tional holiday and asking him if ne
would honor it with public notice
and salutes from the United States
warships in the port. This latter in
vitation included two others, addressed
to the captains of the United States
steamers Philadelphia and Adams. ask
ing them to join in the celebration.
At 4 o. m. yesterday, a reply was re-
ceived, which greatly startled the gov
eminent.
The substance of Willis reply is I'M
officially given as follows:
''I have received your notice OF yes
terday and am obliged to say the Unit
ed States finds it impossible at present
to participate in the celebration of the
national independence as proposed by
tI,o f-io cyOUernToonf Of Hawaii
l, therefore, decline to take part In
such a celebration on the part of the
United States"
Upon the receipt Of this message
the widest excitement prevailed in
government circles. They had thought
had acknowledged the provisional gov
eminent the United States was pre-
pared to stand by its guns.
The situation at the present writing
is one in which the anneXationists are
standing shoulder to shoulder. Ihs
1styalist question remains: Can this
Estrained condition of affairs last2 It
will be hard to decide, with both
I PARTIES claiming vantage. Minister
/ Willis has undoubtedly decided against
/ the American party, and on the other
hand the American party has decided
aga. ust Willis and Consul-General
Mills. The fight is still on and the re-
] suit will be interesting.
/ The old charge that the royalists are
! better posted than the annexationists
was revived yesterday, when the ex-
queens paper, the Holomua, published
! the fact, several hours before it
was known to the annexationists. that
! Willis had refused to burn powder in
honor of the celebration on the 17th
of January.
Every preparation is now complete
tinued throughout the day and a mass
meeting will be held tonight at Union
Square formerly the Palace Square,
A number of prominent speakers de-
livered addresses. Chief among these
was a speech by Walter G. Smith, can
didate and leader of the American
League and party in Hawaii. Smith,
in his speech, called attention to
the fact that on the 18th Of
lbeheaded a despotic king. Hundreds
of years from that day, here in Ha-
wall the last independent sovereign
on the western hemisphere, lost her
throne. The 18th OF January has,
therefore, gained the right to be known
as one of the worlds democratic holt
days. Speaking of the provisional
governments recent defiance to Pres
iident Cleveland, in refusing to Surren-
der its power to the queen, Smith said
there is nothing more inspiring in the
lannalS of 1876 than the unwavering
front which you presented in your
great emergency. On one side was the
chief of $4,000, 900; here was an armed
body of a paltry thousand. There
was the strongest of the modern DOW
ers with an army and fleets; here
were a few lone rocks in the ocean.
without a fort upon their pinnacIes
and without a gun upon a deck. There
was great government, whose presf-
dent had declared our dethroned
queen should reign again; here was a.
little band of men who said "She must
pass over their dead bodies first"
There in our harbor were the broad
lsides of possible foes; here on the
lshore was a battalion behind its sand
bags. The odds were great, but the
patriots of Hawaii took them
Smith urged that the idea IF an
Inexation should not be given I'D, but
every energy be used toward that end.
: If annexation be defeated, he advo-
) Gated government on the American
plan until such time as Hawaii was
taken into the Union. He concluded
: as follows: Standing here on the
) ground once cOnsecrated TO the Domp
!, of monarchy. knowing that no Tag is
, so dear as the Stars and Stripes, we
appeal to our countrymen to open
their gates to US of kindred blood; but
we pledge ourselves if that cannot be
done, to at least be worthy of the
service by the work we shall do on
this soil for the glory Of American
principles.