Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-05-02
DELAWARE GAZETTE AND STATE JoURNAL-wILAING1

and occupying the same with UniteC
States sailors and marines. This was
continued for three months, and unit
the flag was removed and the troop;
Withdrawn by Special Commissioner
Blount. 1t is hard to conceive how the
testimony and documentary evidence il
the case could be examined by Q
patriotic American, without having the
conclusion forced upon him, that the
honor and good name of his country
had been seriously compromised by the
occurrences of january, 1895, in the
Hawaiian Islands.
The trouble has been that this evi.
dence has been too voluminous to be
read by the general public, and the
opportunity has thus been made to pre-.
possess the public mind with biased and
partisan views i'll the interest OF the an.
nexation conspirators.
Let any honest and fair-minded
American examine this evidence, or al
least read President Cleveland's message
of December 18th, 1893, and ask him.
self wherein the President was wrong
in regard to this shameful business
when he says:
mistake The American people, il they
favor the Odious doctrine that there is nc
such thing as International morality, that
there is one law for a strong nation, and
another for weak one, and THAT even by
lndlrection strong power may, with
lmpunity, despoil weak one Of its terri.
tory.
1t is charitable to believe that if Presi-
dent Harrison had possessed all the in
formation disclosed by the Investigation
SET ON foot by President Cleveland, the
treaty Of annexation would never have
been concluded by him in such hot haste.
We are told that President Cleveland
could no more reconsider bis predeces-
sor's recognition of the provisional gov
eminent of Hawaii than he could recon-
slider the recognition of the republic in
France or in Brazil. But the cases are
not parallel. The prior governments in
France and Brazil were overthrown by
citizens of those countries, not by the
naval forces of the United States; our
recognitionof the new governments was
not obtained by false assurances; and
they claimed TO possess and To exercise
the ordinary attributes of governments.
The provisional government of Hawaii,
on the othe other hand, presented the
extraordinary spectacle of II tempo
rary, revolutionary, self-constituted
committee, gotten up for the sole and
avowed purpose of handing over the
country to another power, aud of thus
depriving it OF its independence. More-
over, the Queens submission was Sc
cured with the understanding that the
matter should be heard and determined
by the government of the United States.
MIR. Damon, the Vice.President of the
provisional government, who was sent
to obtain her abdication, says SO. The
Queen herself so declares in her pro-
test, which IS. b. Dole, Esq, and Others
composing the provisional government
OF the Hawaiian Islands," to whom il
was addressed received without criticism
or dissent
Every impulse springing from sensi-
tive regard for his country's honor and
fair fame, must have constrained Presi-
dent Cleveland to seek how he might
undo the wrong that had been done
this feeble people under the sanction OF
the power and name OF the United
States. That he did so seek will remain
an enduring credit to his administration
II there were wanting an example of
civil courage and conscientious discharge
OF high public duty, the conduct of
President Cleveland in the Hawaiian
episode, in the face Of popular clamor,
excited by truculent Misrepresentation
and partisan denunciation, would fur
nish it. The responsibility for the stain
on this page of American history must
now rest with Congress.
Senator Davis charges The administers
ton with exhibiting "malign DISPOSE
ton" i'll ordering the U. S. S. Philadel-
phia away from Honolulu against the
warnings Of most competent officer,
which subsequent events justified with
the accuracy of the fulfilment of pro-
phecy." The officer referred TO is
Admiral Walker. The "subsequont
events" as detailed by Senator Davis,
are that San English vessel, which had
been smuggler of Chinese into the
United States and of opium into
Hawaii, was chartered for the kindred
work of smuggling arms from \ British
port into Hawaii to aid royalist insur-
rection," and that "revolt took place"
in which american citizens and pro-
perty were endangered" Senator Davis
says that the departure of the Philadel.
phia was 1.-THE signal and occasion for
rebellion" 1t appears, however, that
Admiral Walker was ordered away
from Honolulu on July Goth, last; the
revolt took place on the 9Th of the fol-
lowing January. From the time of his
arrival at Honolulu, on April 18th,
Admiral Walker reported nothing but
peace and order. On July 18th, he
wrote: 1.-THE Royalists must accept the
republic or attempt a counter-revolution
by physical force,and of such an attempt
there is no probability whatever" His
warnings" which were written at sea
on August nth, while he was on his
way to the United States, related solely
to the spectre of British intervention.
AS to the effect of the entire withdrawal
of foreign men-of-war upon affairs in
the islands, he declared that it would be
mot unfavorable to order and securitv,''
and that leading members of the gov.
eminent and others were "strongly of
this opinion" and had expressed "satis.
faction with the prospect of being left
for time entirely alone" Judged by
the event,the admiral's gift of prophecy
with which Senator Davis is so deeply
impressed. is yet to be demonstrated. A
revolt ultimately occurred, but there
was no British ship and no British in
tervention. Even the arms, as it now
turns out, were shipped from San Fran
cisco on an American vessel. And after
the revolt was over, President Dole ex-
pressed to our minister at Honolulu his
qualification that no national ship was
present during the disturbance, as it
gave his government IAN opportunity to
prove its ability to take care of itself,
which ii once done would probably in
sure permanent peace"
Senator Davis finds further evidence
of a "malign disposition" in the recon-.
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