The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-10-26

/ AhCltC DclNttu THESE ISld0US ana 10
mestice ports must be carried in Amer
lean bottoms, and the establishment
of this commerce would necessarily ex-
| tend TO all the South Sea Islands and
10 the Orient.
The products of the Islands and Of
the United States were naturally sup
| Elemental. 1t was an instance where
the commercial relation was purely
reciprocal and not competitive.
! Annexation began with the landing
of American missionaries in 1920.
The geographical relation of the
country showed that Yokohama is the
next nearest great commercial empor-
ium. New conditions enforced new
policies. In the early history of the
country the policy of acquisition relat-
ed only TO contiguous territory, but
every portion of the world now sus-
tains more intimate relation to every
other portion than in former times.
| Commercially we are nearer to the
! Sandwich Islands than the CONNER
| cial distance between New York and
New Orleans at the time of the acuui-
sition of New Orleans and the Louisi-
ana Territory.
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1887 con-
| firmed the declaration of President
Tyler and accomplished commercial
annexation. The rise of a Republic
upon the Islands was historically an
accomplished fact The speaker anti
cipated the argument of the negative
by declaring that the objection would
be raised that the Republic was not
founded in right. He quoted the Rev
DR.. Stebbins as saying that "Individ-
ual wrongs become historic rights. 8"
He referred TO the fact that the Or
iginal thirteen Colonies overthrow the
r1ghtful authority of the King of Eng
land; that all the Spanish
Republic achieved their independence
by successful rebellion against the
rightful sovereignty of Spain. The
territory of the United States acquired
from Mexico had belonged to the lat
ter by right of conquest against the
Spanish crown. Texas, by successful
revolution, overthrow the power of
Mexico and wrested the territory of
Texas from Mexican rule More than
half of the Pacific territory of the
United States was acquired from Mex
leo as the spoil of war. The inhabi-
tants of the territory acquired by the
United States were not consulted as to
whether the territory they occupied
should be purchased or annexed Their
individual wrongs had long since been
lost in the higher consideration of the
historic rights of mankind.
1t would be said that a protest
against annexation had been made by
the native inhabitants of the Hawaiian
Islands. Ignorance always protested
against the encroachment of knowl-
edge; paganism against enlighten-
ment; tyranny against liberty; mon
archy against the right of self-govern-
ment; barbarism against the advance
ment of civilization. The Hawaiian
Islands and the United States were
already commercially one One in Ian
guage, one in religion, one in political
institutions, the speaker could see no
reason why there should not be indis-
solluably one in destiny.
Mr.. Sheldon G. Kellogg discussed
the questions of ability of the United
States to defend the Islands in case of
war: the colonial policy of the United
States; whether or not annexation
would be in opposition to the wishes of
the people of the Islands. On the sub
ject of defense he said: "In case of
war between the United States and
country in possession of the Islands,
it would be much more difficult to de-
fend our Pacific Coast and Alaskan
territory. Americans can never for
get the damage wrought to their At
lantic coast and commerce by English
vessels using the Bermudas as a base
of operations in the war of 1872, or by
Confederate cruisers, obtaining their
supplies in the West Indies during
our civil war A better illustration
still is the case of the Shenandoah,
which destroyed, in one weeks time
in 1865, the entire whaling feet of the
Pacific, valued at 100000 In our
possession, the Hawaiian Islands would
become not only the center of our Pa
cific Ocean commerce, but also the
headquarters of our Pacific naval
squadron.
mo novel colonial policy will result
from the acquisition of the Islands.
They will be annexed during the COM
ing winer with no more friction or
change in our domestic or foreign pol
icy than resulted from the occupation
of California or the purchase of Alas
ka Their present constitution, pat
termed closely after our own, may be
continued in effect, with only such
notifications as their loss of sover-
eighty and the paramount authority
of the United States will necessitate,
and they be left free to advance in
wealth, population and intelligence
until such time as, in the judgment of
Congress, they are ready to become a
State. Utah had a population more
than double that of Hawaii before she
attained statehood.
Even if we can retain Pearl Har-
Dor without anpexation-and our peo-
pie will never knowingly consent to
abandon tive shall still be obliged to
improve and fortify it, and is it not
less expensive, and far less likely TO
lead to international complications,
and in every way better to annex the
Islands entire? We are not entering
upon any dangerous experiment; we
are not about to annex some large. |
populous, alien country like Brazil or
Mexico, or even Cuba; we are simply |
coming into our natural inheritance
a territory little smaller than Massa-
chusetts, where the English language
is spoken, where Thanksgiving and |
the Fourth of July are celebrated |
where the most advanced American
ideas are incorporated in the consti-
tuition and the laws. and where no