The San Francisco call., 1897-10-10
The Great American Republic
Has Land Enough
Already.
JUDGE MYRICK'S POTENT RGUMENTS.
We Need More Unselfsh, God Fearing
American Statesman
ship,

One OF Calltornla5 most QlSlD gulShed
iurists, ex-Supreme Court Justice Milton
ID. Myrick, recently uttered some powerful
and unanswerable arguments against
Hawaiian annexation in an address before
the L nit arian Club of San Francisco. The
salient points OF that address are here re-
produced from the Pacific Unitarian. 1t
supports in a clear, forcible manner
the stand taken upon this important
question by the labor organizations OF
California:
In lS4S. or 1919, when l was a stu
dent in town OF Michigan, a gen.
tleman living there went to the Ha-
wailan Islands as a missionary, or was
sent by the missionaries. He was a law
yer. At that time the islands were intab-
lied by and under the control of the ma
tives, whose ancestors were there when
captain Cock met with that accident of
his, IN the eighteenth century. Mission
aries and their friends were invited as
appliances of the civilization then dawn
Ing upon the islands. \ OF long after lS49.
L think about 1854 or 1850, that gentle
man from Michigan was appointed by
King Kamehameha 20 be his attorney
general. The American and other foreign
born population was small, and had no
voice except as permitted. The less than
fifty years have produced a change
native population reduced from IS, coo to
3l,o00-and the very change which has
followed the advent there of my friend
and others, is now used as great argu-
ment for absorption. The very govern
ment of the islands is in the hands of
Americans not invited there ior that pur-
to preach the holy religion of the Divine
Master, to ''do justice and TO love mercy"
m their wake went the usual sequences
of the strong, the vices of the worst, and
while those vices were taking hold and
working off" the natives, the pushing
business men, so-called pioneers OF civili-
zation, got foothold after foothold, by
gradual aggressions, and now, having
gotten control-by popular vote" it is
said-but by vote popular" only with
those who 'agree with u" having dis
played 'the strength of civilization with
out its mercy" they are asking the Gov
ernment OF the United States to ratify,
indorse and adopt what they have done.
1t is all very we'll 10 talk of the "old
flag g'-tne glory of the nation as the ad-
vance guard, the outpost OF civilization;
the words have ringing sound; but, there
can be no true civilization, unless it be
founded on the eternal principle OF right.
The people OF Hawaii, collectively. that
is the native-born people, are, as nation,
10 Us, persona wrong done 10 that peo-
pie is moral wrong, as much as if done
to an individual. If We as a nation, be-
cause OF our strength, take from them
without their consent something that be-
longs to them. namely, their sovereignty,
We commit moral wrong against them.
If they had a government, or a right to
have government-no matter if it be not
according TO our ideas-if it suited them
and their conditions-or, if that govern
ment has been forcibly taken from them
and we bargain with the despoiler, what
are we by the code of morais? We have
in our language 4 maxim as to the guilt of
the receiver-why does not that applyP
This question Of Hawaiian annexation.
is In the minds of many simply this:
Progressive business men have gone there
and gotten business interests-honestIy
let US hope. The government there did
not give them the scope they desired nor
such stable protection as they wished
other peoples were also getting foothoIds-
they now desire annexation that our Gov
eminent may protect them according to
their ideas.
Even conceding, which L do not, that
we would be justified, in right, in annex
ing the islands, there are two objections
which l wish especially to present:
l. The kind OF people we would take.
The question of citizenship.
FiIst-As to the people. The tables
show the entire population to be I09 OOO-
about one-third the number OF this CITY.
Thirty-one thousand are native Ha-
waiians, $500 part Hawaiians, 5000 Ameri-
cam, 2200 British, 1900 Germans. about
800 French, Norwegians, South Sea and
others; and then comes the list-take no.
tice-2l, 500 Chinese, "a, 600 Japane-e. IL 600
PortugueSe-these three more than half of
the whole. Out of total of 72. 500 males
there are $4,000 Chinese, 10000 Japanese
(more than hall of the whole(, and less
than 1000 Americans. OF the American
population one-third are females, OF the
Japanese 5000 females to 19. 600 males. and
of the Chinese 2500 fem ales 10 10 600 males
We know that the British do not, as
rule. leave their own country to esta blish
homes elsewhere; therefore, of the 10000
OF foreign birth there are but 5000 Ame-i-
cans, 1900 Germans and 400 Norwegians
who have presumably located there per-
manently-less than 5000 out OF 70. 900.
n
When we talk about annexation we
must know what annexation is; then,
what is to be annexed to what; then the
results.
In this country we have had but little
experlence in annexation; the louisiana
acquisition was purchase; Alaska was
purchase; the Gadsden transaction 1as a