Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-01-18
PRESS COM MENTS.
The Crime and Confession Of the President.
New York SUM-

(NeW 1Ofh sun
The scathing review of Mr.. Cleveland's
completely In the Hawaiian royalist con-
spiracy, which we reprint from one of the
leading Democratic journals of the West
paints the crime in colors not shade too
dark The chief of the royalist plotters
happens to be the President of the Uni
ted States and in confessing that as
President of the United States he under
took to overthrow friendly and sover-
eign government in diplomatic relations
with our own, Mr. Cleveland consciously
or unconsciously furnishes all the evil
dence that would be needed for the success
full prosecution of Impeachment proceedings
against him.
This is no exaggeratiOn of the signlh-
canoe of the Presidents letter of August
last to the three commissioners from LII
iuokalani They asked him squarely
whether there was any hope of his doing
anything more to destroy President Dole S
government and to establish throne
again in Hawaii for the benefit of their
principal, Mrs. Dominis He replied, as
squarely: No; he had tried and failed ;he
had turned over the whole matter to Con
gress. The exact words of this astound-
ing declaration are these: Fully appre-
ciating the constitutional limitations OF
my executive power, and by no means
unmindful of the hindrances that might
arise, undertook the task Having failed
in my plans, l committed the entire sub
iect to the Congress of the United States,
which had abundant power and authority
in the premises.
. Now, Mr. Cleveland confesses not only
n. L. l. 10
mcnt recognized by our own and by the
other nations of the earth, but that he
undertook the task" with full apprecia
tion of the constitutional limitations of
his executive power. He went into the
conspiracy with eyes wide open. He knew
that it was an enterprise in which the
power and authority to involve the United
States rested with the Congress and not
with himself The constitution vests in
Congress and not in the executive the au-
thority which Mr. Cleveland undertook to
exercise without consulting Congress,
and without referring the subject to Con-
gress for its judgment and action until
after his own independent and unconstl-
tutional efforts to destroy the Hawaiian
government had failed. His confession
of completely in the secret plots against
the legitimate and recognized govern
ment of a sovereign power is also confes-
sion that he did not engage in the con-
spiracy in ignorance of the laws he was
violating, the oath he was breaking. 1t
was not until the plot had failed, through
circumstances wholly beyond his control,
that the President respected the constitu-
tional limitations of his office and perform
ed his constitutional duty by referring
the subject to the Congress, the only
branch of government as he himself ad
mits, which has authority to decide and
to act.
Since the United States government
came into existence there has not been a
clearer case of executive usurpation.
Since the United States constitution was
written there has been no more defiant
disregard of its letter and spirit by any
one of the twenty three executives who
have sworn to obey and uphold it. The
usurpation would be none the less defiant
if the purpose had been meritorious, and
the object in view conSonant with the
honor and interests of the nation. The
full measure of Mr.. Cleveland's offence
is apparent when we consider the charac-
ter of the conspiracy in which he engaged
with his eyes open, as he confesses, to
constitutional limitations. He plotted to
strangle new born republic; to restore
semi-civilizod monarchy; to bctray men
of American blood and American sym
pathies into the clutch of bloodthirsty
savage of the female sex in order that she
might send them to her executioner
This is the task Mr.. Cleveland undertook,
and in which, thank Heaven he igno-
miniously failed
The President will probably not be i'm
peached, although on his own confession
he richly merits impeachment. His pun
ishment will be of another sort, in the
long run perhaps not less humiliating to
personal pride or less effective as deter
rent and warning to his successors in of
flee.