The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-03-06


against the Government entirely"
The feeling of the British residents
is also against them, as we'll as a large
part of the American population.
Japanese Problem.
ST consider that one of the future
problems of Hawaii is the presence of
the Japanese there. There are more
than p, 900 there, who are principally
men, and many of them have been
trained IN the army. There are about
10000 Hawaiians and half castles,
about 1900 Portuguese, about the
same number of Chinese, and the re
mainder of the population, which is
only very small part of it, consists
of Americans and Europeans. With
the HaWaiians left out of the govern
ment of the country the Japanese
would be the largest element there,
and they have demanded the fran
chise. [ do not see how the Republic
of Hawaii, if it lasts in its present
form, can refuse it to them. They are
intelligent and industrious, and they
have gone there to stay. The mOnar-
chical Government might be justified
in continuing to treat them as aliens
"a monarchical Government that
merely continued the old native DOM
ination of the islands. But how can
q republic refuse the franchise to the
japanese who are settlers there when
they base their institutions on the
American system, which absolutely
gave the franchise to American negro
slaves? If the Japanese get the fran
chise they will rule the islands, and
the Hawaiian group will really be-
come a dependency of japan. That is
q very serious problem, not only for
us, but also for America and Eng
land, because the result would be
large Japanese settlement compare
lively close to America and right be-
tween Canada-that is, the Western
States of Canada-and our own coun-
try. To that extent Australia is very
much interested in the country. We
are building up trade with Canada
and the route to that country is going
to be highway of considerable traf-
fic. Right on the road lie the ISL
ands."
at would be far better for us to have
them in the possession of a neutral
Power such as the Hawaiian mon
archy than to have them in the hands
of a Republic whose politics are bound
to be very uncertain. The Republic is
not based on representative institu-
tions at all. They have been three
years without calling a parliament to
gether, and they have what is called
by the President and which exercises !
all the functions of a parliament. on
can thus see that the President is |
practically the dictator of the country, |
and, according to the Constitution, !
the present President holds Office I'M
til the year 1900.
"Here is an instance of his powers
The Congress there have held that it |
is entirely within it's discretion as to
whether the ordinary law of the coun-
try shall be suspended and martial
law proclaimed at any time. This is
giving the President greater powers
than were held by the old Hawaiian
kings, or than they ever protested to
hold. The relations of the Japanese
to the Government Of these islands
constitute an important question for
pOrtance too strongly. There is an
other point that would like to men
ton. The President himself, under
stand, was away from the islands
when we were there, and we had not
an opportunity of meeting him, but /
learn from interviews with him that
have been obtained by some Ameri-
can journalists that he is in favor of
the annexation of the islands by the
United States.
sit seems to me that that is very
extraordinary position for the chief
executive officer of the nation to take |
up when he was practically the head |
of party that seized the sovereignty |
of the island. 1t is to claim that they |
are holding in trust until the Unit |
ed States relieves them. This l do |
not believe the United States will
consent to do. They will not consent |
to be the receivers of stolen property.
They have their trouble with their
own colored population in the South
ern States, and they are not likely to
add TO them. The States also have
trouble with their Indians. At present
America has all the advantages OF
trade with the islands, and the islands
have a similar advantage with the
States, so that neither party would
gain by annexation. Treaties of al
lance exist between them already, as
they were arranged in the time of the
Kings. 1t would also be danger to
America to have an outlying portion
of their territory 1000 miles distant
from San Francisco. The islands
would be the most vulnerable point
America would have in the case of
war. Besides, America would not
treat them as separate State, as
they have not sufficient population,
and to attach them to any of the ex-
listing States would be very ridiculous.
"The islands, too, would loose such
rights of autonomy which they pos
sess under the Republic and they
would also lose their contract labor
rights, which would be disastrous to
the sugar interests, for they at present
depend upon contract labor from the
Azores and Japan and China. AT all
events, it is a very nice problem, and
one which, for reasons L have stated,
possesses great interest for Austria
lians. The only solution of it in the
interests of everybody would be the
restoration of the monarchy in a
strictly constitutional form-a change
which would be most heartily well
coined by the natives and white popu-
lation of the islands"