Evening star., 1894-01-10

rhat Hawaii be annexed to this country
then the government will maintain itself
as a republic.
Another matter on which Mr.. Blount was
reported to have expressed opinions.
namely, as to the PARTITION of lands under
kamehameha Ill, which he described as
'an act alike discr rsditabe to the king, the
chiefs and the whites who participated
therein. was traversed by Mr.. Alexander,
who said:
The facts are that previous to the parti-
ton IN lSiS the common natives were the
tenants at will of the Ia chiefs. having no
right which these chiefs were bound to re-
spect- They were. in fact. abject servants.
Periodically they were robbed often of
nearly everything they possessed by these
feudal chiefs, and at no time could they
feel secure in the possession of whatever
they might raise on their lands.
The partition was a grand act, honorable
aIke 70 the king. the chiefs. the mission
long to bring 1t about.
Previous to 1s4S the native had no
incentive to raise a surplus OF crops. for
ne was almost sure to be despoiled of them
but after that time he was encouraged in
habits Of thrift and economy, and thence
Forward made good progress toward inde-
pendence, and as an additional incentive
nearly one-ffth of all tine government lands
were sold to them during the next ten
years at nominal price"
Replying to the criticism that the whites
In Hawaii. and especially the Americans,
cultural lands of Hawaii, Mr.. Alexander
SAID, In explanation, that the families Of
the Ia chiefs rapidly became extinct. many
OF them dying in debt. and in settling up
their estates their lands were very often
sold to the highest bidder, and SO came
into the possession Of the whites In 1878
kirg Lunalilo died and left his estate of
several hundred thousand acres to found a
nome Tor INDECENT native Hawaiians. These
lands were sold. largely to the whites. and
the funds invested. These were some OF
the reasons and the principal ones why
islands.
Representative Hermann's Views,
Representative Hermann Of Oregon speak
ing OF the Hawaiian matter. said to a Star
reporter today: in view of the fact that
President Cleveland had remitted this whole
question to Congress-. / am greatly aston
fshed that the administration should have
gone on to carry out the policy on the lines
originally proposed. We had a right to sup
pose that the people in Hawaii would be
permitted to rest in peace until Congress
had acted in the matter, if any action was
10 be taken. l do not speak of this in a
partisan manner. i regard il as a matter
above partisanship. involving the honor and
dignity OF our country. The people in Ore
son, regardless of party, reprobate the
course of Mr.. Cleveland. Our relations
with Hawaii have been quite intimate
Many of the business men in Portland have
interests in the Hawaiian Islands. and
there Is an exchange of commodities be-
tween the islands and Portland.
We get most of our sugar from there
and some of our commodities are sold
there. Our sympathies are all with those
who are now struggling to secure a per-
manent and respor sible government and
the course of Mr.. Cleveland. which 1 regard
as scandalous. is universally condemned in
my state. L think that immediate action
should be taken by Congress to insure the
people in Hawaii of our sympathy and that
they are in no danger of Interference on
the part of the United States to destroy
the existing government and put up a
monarchy. The moral influence of an
assurance of this sort would be extremely
beneficial to the island and encourage the
responsible authorities there to hold out
for good government 1t is our duty at
once to relieve them from the apprehen-
sion which the course of the administra-
tioI. has subjected them to. / have served
in Congress with Mr.. Willis and have the
highest opinion of him. i know him to be
a just, fearless and honest and independ-
ent man. and / do not believe he has done
one thing in this affair which was not
strictly in accordance with the commands
which he received from the President 1
therefore believe that Mr.. Cleveland's con-
duct toward Congress has been deceptive.
! regret to say this about the President of
our republic and i do not say II In any par
tisan bitterness. Surely the public senti-
ment In this country is opposed to any
covert attempt on the part of this great
nation to impose upon and to terrortze a
weaker government. Another thing-it is
rcpulsive to the patriotic American that the
stars and stripes should be hauled down.
This Is thing which fires the blood of
every American and which will not be toll
Grated except in the most extreme neces-
sity."