Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-01-13
sit a BIunder or Worse?

The latest news Honolulu shifts the
ground OF the Hawaiian controversy.
The question of what Minister Stevens
did or did not do year ago in connec.
ton with the overthrow of the Kama
ka throne is submerged i'll a torrent OF
infinitely darker and more imperative
significance. 1t is no longer the pos
sible blunder of subordinate officer
of the government that is at issue; il
is possible bad faith and usurpatior
that loom like hideous and threaten.
ing cloud between the country and it,
peace.
There are just four items of infor.
nation which the American peopl,
want at present, and want without de.
lay
I. What were the instructions sent
Mr.. Willis by the Corwin?
?. Had the President on the day thai
the Corwin sailed made up his mind
as to the character of the special mes
sage relative to Hawaiian affairs then
in contemplation and subsequently,
sent Congress?
3. If he had made up his mind,
were his instructions to Willis in har
mony with his assurances to Congress.
on the 18th of December?
4. If he had not made up his mint
in Il Inc to advise Willis accordingly,
and il, on the contrary, the message
by the Corwin was one of urgency OF
the original line Of restitution, why did
the President tell Congress that he re.
terred the matter to that body on
day when, by every reasonable prob
ability, his representative at Homo
lulu must have been demanding tn,
lbdication of the provisional govern
ment?
We know what Mr.. Cleveland sal
to Congress in his special message OF
the 18th Of December. After explain
ing that his original plans had beer
set at naught by the Queens refusa
to accept the conditions accompanying
them. he said:
In commencing this subject to tn,
extended powers and wide discretion
Of the Congress, desire to add tho
assurance that shall be much graft
fed to cooperate in any legislative plar
which may be devised for the solution
of the problem before us which is con
) stent with American honor, integri-
ty, and morality"
And we know, further, that on the
| 10Th of December-the day next after
that in which the President had form
ally commended the whole subject
to Congress. Mr. Willis called upon
the provisional government TO surren.
/ der.
We know, therefore, that while Con.
gress believed that the President haG
[ relinguished the matter to them ard
we're proceeding upon the faith Of
that understanding. the Presidents
representative in Honolulu was hard
at work urging the provisional gov
eminent TO abdicate and clamoring for
the restoration Of the Queen. There
can be no doubt as 10 these things
hone whatever Whether by de-
sign or accident, whether By deliber-
ate ccntrivance or the blind workings
Of stupidity, the people and their rep
resentatives in Congress have been
befooled and outraged. And Just here
/ IS where the country wants to be en-
lightened. Did Mr.. Willis receive in.
structions BY the Corwin authorizing
him to proceed upon the lines origin
ally laid down, If so, why did the
President IN his message Of the 18th
Of December declare that he com
mended the subject to Congress,
Did Mr. Willis on the contrary, re-
ceive advices by the Corwin 10 tie
effect that the President was about to
commend" the matter to Congress,
II so. why did he at once and with re-
doubled energy resume his opera
tons against the provisional govern
mentS There has been a blunder some
where. if not crime. Whose fault is
iit2
These are questions Of infinitely
greater importance than any that can
/ possibly attach to the uprising Of an
uaTy. 1893 The worst that can be
said of ex- Minister Stevens is that
| he committed an error Of judgment:
| that in his sympathy with civilization
and decency he was betrayed into
an excess Of zeal. But here we are
confronted with an enormity which
can borrow no excuse from hot blood
and no palliation from excitement.
Here We have the spectacle Of the
United States official accredited to a
foreign and friendly nation plotting
the destruction Of that nation's estab-
lished government while the President
of the United States is assuring the
Congress that he has referred the
matter to them and will take no steps
save by their advice. Is it a blunder
or worse Have we been made a
laughing stock for the world through
a conjunction OF incredible follies and
imbecilities or has it ceme to pass
that our very institutions have been
jtrodden under foot and scorned3--