The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-09-23
Washington Star Correspondent
Gives His Ideas.
No RETURN TO MONARCHY
Where Opposition 10 Annexation Among Plan
tiers Exists-What Might Happen if An
nexation Fails Stability of Government is
What is Needed. and Must be Obtained.

The Honolulu correspondent of the
Washington Star writes as follows on
annexation:
Attention has lately been drawn to
certain utterances of James B. Castle |
in an interview with reporter, and to
the comments thereon of the San Fran
cisco Chronicle. Mr.. Castle is Collector
General here and younger brother of
our late Envoy to Washington, w. r.
Castle. He is reported to have said that
a majority of our planters are opposed |
to annexation, because of it's expected
cutting off of the supply of Asiatic Ia
borers. This statement of Mr.. Castle is
considered here to be not quite accu
rate. 1t is doubtless true that large
number of the planters, but not ma
| jority, take that view. This is mostly
| true of planters of British origin, and
of many. Germans. Most American
| planters are undoubtedly anxious for
annexation. There can be no doubt that
the prosperous condition of this Re-
public has of late much weakened in
the minds of many people the urgent
sense of need for annexation which
was previously felt as being indispens-
able to stability of government. Many
| feel that we are doing exceedingly well
without annexation, and may as well
continue independent. Thinking men
are hardly deceived in this way.
A conclusion drawn by the Chronicle
from Mr.. Castles alleged admission is
certainly unsound; namely, that any
view of a majority of the sugar planters
would necessarily prevail, as being the
! ruling class in these Islands. 1t is true
that the planters and agents, as men of
wealth, and with superior organization,
can and do greatly influence legislation.
| There is, however, a very large and
powerful class of the leading support
ers of the Republic who are antagon-
| istic to any domination of the planters,
and who are reSOlutely in favor of an
nexation. Any outspoken opposition by
planters to annexation would at once
arouse the strongest hostility of this
great majority.
| | am certain that our best and ablest
men do not regard as possibility" in
any sense a return of Hawaii to mon
| anybody else on the throne. For any
end of securing liability, monarchy
would be the most hopeless possible
| resort. The only strength which it
| could be imagined to contribute to a
government would in it's christening
| the support of a majority of the ma
| tives But their support could lend
no appreciate strength to any govern
ment in Hawaii. AS an element Of po
irrhf in he ~ hn
great body of the natives count for
little more than do your school chill
dren, because of their general mental
| weakness and childiShneSS. The ideas
and policies of administration charac-
teriZing the natives are puerile, caprici-
Gus and wholly incompatible with the
necessities of an active civilization and
commerce such as have taken posses
sion of this queen group of the Pacific.
Native administration and native mo-
narchy has long survived usefulness.
1t fell because it was rotten and de-
crepit. 1t can no more be restored
| than can an old and decayed house
after it has been pulled to pieces.
The whites do and must dominate
here, because they alone possess the
capacity and disposition to conduct
civilized and capable administration of
government. They alone are endowed
|
moral instincts for such duties. These
whites certainly have not the remotest
earthly use for a Kanaka king or
| Queen on their own account The stu
| pidity, the willfulneSS, the capriceS OF
| such a parsonage would at once clog
all the machinery of government At
| ter having once experienced the order,
the reasOnableness, the quiet of civil
| lied republican government, controlled
| Ix-TI ,a1 will Of ho hoe If 4bo
! pie, no one is going back to the old
regime. Were it conceivable that our
people, in moment of faulty, should
| set up Kaiulani, they would speedily
hasten TO relegate her again to private
| life. Any attempt of that sort lends
no hope of stability in government
! Restored monarchy would be the least
| stable of all conceivable situations
| But no one is going to attempt to gal
! vanize into life that last years corpse.
! 1t may be very conceivable that if an
nexation be finally refused by the Unit
ed States we shall be impelled to turn
to Great Britain in pursuit of the pO-
litical stability which is SO greatly de-
sired, and to accept a colonial position
under Great Britain, with local self
government. This would indeed be very
distasteful to the predominating Am
erican portion of our people. But with
the immense excess of British steam
ers in the Pacific this would not be an
unnatural destiny for the Hawaiian
Islands The British amply subsidize
their steamer lines. The United States
do not. Therefore British commerce
possesses the oceans. With the not dis
tant opening of the Nicaragua canal, |
that commerce must immensely multi |
ply in this ocean, and British COM
meTcial houses must greatly increase |
in Honolulu. Without a very positive |
and decided policy Oh the part of the |
United States the Hawaiian Islands /