The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1897-11-01
Negroes Rights for aawaiians

In the course OF MS mission 10
Hawaii Senator Morgan was asked
by one OF the native eaders to define
the status Of the natives under an
nexation The Senator replied that
they would probably have the same
rights as the negroes have now in
the Southern States
Whereupon the natives grew in
quisitive as to the scope of those
rights. They asked il the negroes
were free to vote and have their vote
effectively counted; lin Alabama,
for illustration, the Senator's own
State, there is a free ballot and a
fair count for the blacks?
To these inquiries no answer was
made. 1t is no wonder that the ma
tives seek information of this kind.
Under the constitutional kingdom
of Hawaii the natives we're electors.
The voters numbered approximately
$4,000, about as large percentage
to the population as we have in
California, After the revolution OF
1898 the franchise was restricted,
and this restriction was embedded
lin the constitution Of the so-called
republic There is perhaps lack
OF information in the United States
about the composition of the con-
vention that made that constitution.
After the revolution Dole's scheme
was called the provisional Govern
ment." That Government arranged
for the constitutional convention. 1t
restricted the suffrage so that the
number of electors fell to about
5000, but even these were not per-
mitted to control the convention.
The Provisional Government itself
appointed majority of the mem
bers Of the convention and permit
ted painfully restricted electorate
to elect the minority. Shorn Of the
right Of suffrage arbitrarily at first
by Dole, the natives saw this depriv-
alton put into the constitution by
an act purely autocratic, in which
even the restricted electorate had
no efficient voice.
Senator Morgan has said to the
Hawaiians that as long as their
country was a kingdom we did not
desire to annex it because of the
difference in the form of govern
ment, but now that it is republic
the assimilation is natural and pro-
per- But NO republic ever began by
arbitrary restriction of suffrage to
minority composed OF 2 percent
of the people interested. The
United States started in public rep
resentation based upon a wide suff-
rage. Our Constitutional Conven-
ton originated in general suffrage,
and the constitution itself provided
that it should be operative only
upon such Of the original thirteen
colonies as adopted it. In its adop
ton the people again had full and
free expression, and two States,
Rhode Island and North Carolina,
elected to stay out Of the Union
and did not enter it until after the
first Congress met and Washington
had been elected President.
The oligarchic constitution OF
Hawaii continues President Dole in
Office without submitting himself to
the vote of the people, even under
the arbitrary restriction of suffrage
Washington in the Constitutional
Convention first participated in the
establish OF general suffrage
and then submitted himself to the
whole electorate as candidate fol
the Presidency of the United States
1t is sometimes said that he received
every electoral vote, but this is not
true The independence OF the
voters is shown by the number OF
candidates voted for and the cleo
toral vote each received 1t was the
field against Washington. He re,