The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-02-09
THE POPULAR SCHEME.
Judge Hart Writes of the Rights
Men Have to Opinions.

MR.. EDITOR:-In recent leading
article, one of your contemporaries
gave expression to the following quo
tation touching the attitude taken by
the New York Nation towards these
Islands: The fact is that the Nation is
| Intensely anti anneXationist 1t does
not know why. Those who control ii
don't want to bother with
their brothers and sisters who are supt
porting the glory and honor of theft
country in the distant ends of the
earth A nation must stag
nate or progress" May l, sir, say with
out offense to any that, there are many
who think the honor and glory of
the United States, at the present time,
are in no way connected with the ques-
ton of the annexation of Hawaii. Your
contemporary thinks the New York
Nation does not know why it is anti
annexationist. "Quidquid recipitur, re-
cipitur ad MEDIUM recipients" and
that the Nation has it's own view of
annexation, founded upon the same
facts that either lead or misguide your
contemporary, is not an improbable or
extrayagant supposition.
There are, understand, persons in
our own community who give express
sion to the view that, an American
cannot be opposed to the annexation of
these Islands to the United States, and
be a loyal citizen of that great country
that has given to the world Washing
ton, a Lincoln and Cleveland, and
they deprecate any expression of opin-
ion, either viva voce, or otherwise, by
persons holding views opposed to their
own.
If men are to be branded with ugly
names for valuing and using liberty of
opinion on the annexation question,
what becomes of the principle for which
men and women left the old world
and landed on the rock-bound shores
of New England's coast? Is not liberty
of thought and the privilege of ex-
pressing the same in decent language
that shall not offend by its coarseness,
as great a boon now, as in those long
passed days? OF a surety it is so, and
in the name of common sense and JUS
tice to all, to citizens of the great, as
we'll as of this small Republic, why
should the use of such right be de-
cried? For, in words of Milton, who
ever knew truth put to the worse in
| free and open encounters"
The late Sir John Seeley, professor
of Modern History in the University
of Cambridge, and member of the His
torical Society of Massachusetts, says
in his lectures on the expansion OF
England: I'm the United States we dc
indeed see a boundless dominion sue
cessfully guided under a democratic
system. But the territory in this case
extensive though it be, is all compact
and continuous, and the population
however large it may come to be, viii
still be in the main homogeneous. Il
the United States should come into
possession of countries separated from
her by the sea, and of different nation
ality, her position in the world would
be at once essentially altered.
The supreme happiness for a countr!
of course is to be self-contained, t.
have nc need to inquire what otheI
nations are doing. Very wisely die
Washington advise his countrymen t.
retain this happiness as long as the!
could"
III, sir, any are attempted TO argu'
that the material greatness of tn
United States necessitates the annex
alton of these islands and that the tim
has come when her sons must, ex ne
cessitate, seek for the expansion of tina
"boundless dominion whose shore
are washed by two mighty oceans, o
emulating it may be the wondrou
colonial experience of the mother conn
try, consider it wise and patriotic t
seek the absorption of Hawaii, then
say, let them consider calmly an,
without passion the profound, striking
} aye. almost phenomenal differences be
! tween the two countries.
When / say profound, striking an,
almost phenomenal, refer not to eth