The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-01-25


North Pacific" The Senate of the
United States, with full realiza-
ton OF this fact, refused to consent
to renewal Of the reciprocity treaty
of 1875 with Hawaii, when it had
expired, until right to use this
station had been granted to our
Government.
But while it is not necessary to
underrate the value of Pearl River
harbor, there are two facts i'm
portant just now to notice. One
is that we do not hold the harbor
by perpetual cession, but only
under a grant limited to the life of
the treaty. The other is that the
treaty term will expire at time
not far distant, and that Mr.. Cleve-
land, Paramount Blount and Mr..
Gresham have been trying to
destroy the Government which
could renew the right to occupy
that harbor.
That this right is terminable
with the reciprocity treaty of which
it forms a part is clear from its
language, but has been put beyond
doubt by special declarations.
When the treaty was discussed i'll
Honolulu its ratification was OBJ
iected to on the ground that the
| United States might insist that the
grant of Pearl River harbor was
perpetual. This objection having
been put by the Hawaiian Minister
in Washington before Secretary
Bayard, the latter, on the 23rd of
September, 1887, replied that he
found in the treaty no language
that could give longer duration
to the article providing for
the grant of Pearl River
Harbor than to any other part of
the agreement. II can see no
cause" he added, "for misappre-
hension by your Government as to
the manifest effect and need of the
amendment in question. there
: fore trust it will be treated, as it is
rendered, in simple good faith, and
accepted without a doubt or hesita-
ton" Thereupon Hawaii ratified
: the treaty, and King Kalakaua, i'll
, announcing its renewal to the
, Legislature, properly declared that
it had been agreed and understood
with the United States that the
grant of the Pearl River harbor
t privilege is "coterminous with the
treaty."
The exchange of notifications
was completed November 9, 1887,
and the term Of seven years will
therefore expire November 9, 1894.
, The provisions may be continued
until the expiration of twelve
months after either party gives
notice of wish to terminate them,
but that notice may be given at
the end of the seven years term or
at any time thereafter. 1t is there
fore clear that, whatever the STRAIT
egic value of Pearl River harbor as
a substitute for the annexation of
the Hawaiian Islands, it is value
over which we may have no
control whatever a short time
hence. The abusive terms
with which the present Ha-
waiian Government has been
assailed by Mr.. Cleveland and his
friends, its authority in ruling
being denied, and its members and
supporters being represented as a
small party of aliens and greedy
SONS of missionaries overturning a
lawful government, might well
make the renewal Of the Pearl
River harbor grant to the Cleveland
administration a matter of doubt.
Fortunately, the abiding faith Of
Hawaii i'll the warm sympathy and
sense Of justice Of the American
people, no less than the inseparable
mutual interests OF the two coun-
tries, will presumably insure the
continuance of cordial treaty re-
lations.
But why should we content our
selves with Pearl River harbor, as
suming that the right to it may be
renewed, when we can have the
port of Honolulu, all ready for &C.
cupancy, and the entire group of
islands? In order to use Pearl
River harbor for our large war YES
sells, costly work must be laid out
in breaking up the coral reef which
now bars the entrance to all but
light-draught crafts. The delay in
beginning this work has been
natural, with the life Of the treaty
continually growing less, and the
far better solution of annexing Ha-
wall in prospect. Even should the
reef be broken up and the harbor
made available for a naval station,
what assurance should we have that
at the end of the treaty term under
which it had been accomplished,
the harbor with all its improvements
would not pass wholly out of our
hands? We want Hawaii, with all
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