The San Francisco call., 1897-06-18

obligations abroad, has been put 10 tttS Peend a.
Recognized by the powers OF tne o so. ~, r,oSnact
Ing and receiving enYoys, enIoI c1NS tSSi,bip its
for the Law and maintaining peace w 'I4;tad
island borders, Hawaii SENDS 10 tne ~
States not commission representing ,eni
cessful revolution, but the accreaLIeu s' ppstah.
potentiary of q constituted ana nrmly &c see1 So,
lished sovereign State. However eCIi lISo =
may have been the authority OF the CoIiLL CSLI Us
sioners with whom the United states uot(t a
ment treated IN 1893, and however 90 =;
the President may tnen have peeu OF t@Hell @
power to offer the dom ain OF the HaWaI!amiI m
Islands to the United States, the TACT remains
that what they then rendered was terrlloI1' :
rather than established Government,
country whose administration had been cast
down by bloodless but q com plete reVoiuuoh
aad community in 8 state OF poAtlca4 trAA-
sItion.
Now. however, the republic of Hawaii Up,
proaehes the United States an equal ano
points for its authority to that provision OF
Article XXI OF the constitution promul-
gated July "a. 1894: 1.-The President, with the
approval of the Cabinet, is hereby expressly
authorized and powered TO make a tres ty
of political or commercial union between the
republic of Hawaii and the United States of
America subject TO the ratification OF the
Senate'
The present negotiation is, tn erefore. as has
been said, not mere renewal of the tender of
the Hawaiian territory made in 1898, but has
responded TO the purpose declared in the
Hawaiian constitution, and the conferences
OF the plenipotentiaries have been oil
Tected 10 weighing the advantages of
the pOlltlcaI ana the commercial union after
native proposed here, relatively considering
the scope and extent thereof. 1t soon ap
peared to the negotiatorS that q purely COM
mercial union on the lines of the German zoll-
VereIn could not satisfy the problems OF the
administration between the islands and the
United States.
Such commercial union would on the one
hand, deprive the Hawaiian Government OF
lis chief source OF revenue from customs du-
ties by placing its territory in q relation of
free exchange with the territory of the United
al nj T.
ply, while on the other hand 1t would entail
upon Hawaii the maintenance of an internal
United States or else involve The organization
OF corresponding branch of our revenue
service within a foreign jurisdiction.
We have had with hawaii since 1875 a
treaty oil commercial union which practically
asslmtiates the TWO territories with regard to
many OF their most important productions
and excludes other nations from endowment
OF lis privileges, yet, although that treaty has
ouulved other less favored reciprocity
schemes, its permaneney has at times been
gravely lmperiled. Under such circums tances,
10 enter upon the radical experiment OF a
complete Commercial union between Hawaii
and the United States as inde pendenuy sove-
reign, without assurance OF permanency and
with perpetual suojectioD 10 the vicissitudes
ot public sentiment in the two cou II tries, was
not 10 be thought Of
Turning then to the various practical forms
OF political union, the several phases of a
pFotectorste, an offensive ard defensive alli-
ance and national guarantee were passed in
IeNleN. IN all OF lneS6 the Independence OF
the subordinated State is the distinguishing
feature, and with it the assumption by the
param cunt State OF respons Ibility without
domain. The disparity of the relative inter
ests and the distances separating the two
countries could not fail 10 render anv form of
protective association either unduly burden
some or llIusory In Its benefits, SO lar as the
protecting State is concerned, while any at
tempt to counteract This by tributary de-
pendence of a measure toward q feudal or
colonial establis hment is alike inexpedient t
lQcOll VI r Ma nj M
There remained, therefore the annexation
OF the Islands and their complete absorption
into the political system OF the United States
as the only solution satisfying all the given
conditions and promising permanency and
mutual benefit. TGe present treaty has been
framed on this basis, thus substantially re-
Verting TO the original proposal OF 1893, and
necessarily accepting many of the features OF
that arrangement. AS to most OF these the
negottators have been constraip ed and linn
lie by the constitutional powers OF The Gov
ernment of the United States.
AS In previous instances, when the United
States has acquired territory by treaty, it has
visions Tor the action of Congress II this was
quisite in the case of the transfer to the
United states OF part of the domain of titu-
lar sovereign as in the cession of Louisiana by
France, Ct Florida by Spain or OF Alaska by
Russia, 1t is more requisite wGen the act is
not cession, but union. iuVo.ving the complete
Incorporation OF an alien sovereignty into the
body polite of the United States. For this
the only precedent of our political history is
ISuHu III tne unconl pleted treaty concluded
during President Grants ad ministration No
vember %, 1869, for the annexation OF the
Dom inican republic to the United States.
Following that example, the treaty now
signed by the plenipotenti of the United
States and the Hawaiian Republic leaves 10
the Congress OF the United States the determi-
nation OF all questions affecting the form of
government or the annexed territory, the citi-
zenship and elective franchise OF It's inhabi-
tants, and the manner in which laws of the
United States are to be extended 10 the islands.
IouN SuEpMAN