The herald., 1898-02-02

persons entitled to suffrage he asserted
that only 1000, had voted for them
This convention of thirty-seve persons
thus chosen had adopted the constitu
tion and ii had never been submitted tt
a popular vote. Mr.. Pettigrew dwell
upon the fact that Mr.. Dole had beer
a member of this convention. and said
that gentleman had had himself made
president of the republic, and that in
doing so he had practically arranged
the matter so as to insure his perma-
nence in office. He read the constitution
to show that Mr.. Dole was named in it
for president. and that 1t was provided
that he should remain in that office until
1900. or until his successor should be
elected.
The successor was to be chosen by the
house and senate sitting together, and
| there was to be no election of anyone
| unless he received a majority of the
votes of the senate. He then attempted
to show how the matter was practically
in the control of Mr.. Dole and Of the
sugar growers. According to the terms
OF the constitution a senator must pos
sess $4,000 worth of property or have an
income of $l200 per year, and a person
who was not worth $500 in taxable real
estate or had an income of 5000 was
disfranchised from voting for senator.
This qualification practically. he said,
shut out all persons except those con-
nected with the sugar industry from
either becoming senators or from voting
for senators.
He held that in view of the facts he
ma hn
practically monarchy.
Pettigrew also took up the contention
that the sugar lands in the islands were
already practically appropriated and
producing and argued that to annex the
islands would mean the inevitable de-
struction of the sugar industry in the
United States.
Senator White of California also spoke
in opposition to the ratification of the
treaty. His was in the main a con-
stitutional argument intended to show
that the annexation of territory which
would require a navy to defend it had
been from the beginning opposed to our
theory of government. He quoted ex-
tensively from the works of Thomas JEFF
ferson to show that he had never con-
templated the acquisition of territory
situated as We're the Sandwich islands,
where fleet would be necessary to their
preservation. This remark did not
however apply to Cuba, which was so
near our own coast that no navy would
be necessary to its control and protec-
tion. White also read from President
Tyler's message, which he said was pop
ularly supposed to have been written by
Daniel Webster, practically maintain
ing, as the senator said. the same point.
A large part of Senator Whites remarks
were given up to quotations from the
upon Secretary Sherman's ut
terances upon the subject of annexation
Of Hawaii.
White read liberal extracts from Sher-
mans book in which the secretary |
iweils upon the unwisdom of making the |
Stands part of the United States, and
ne laid especial stress upon the secre-
-arys remarks in the latter part of his |
book to the effect that he hoped there
would be no further effort to annex the
Stands during his life time.
White had not finished his argument |
when the senate adjourned. He took oc-
'asion to remark. in reply to Senator
olatt's statement that the sugar trust
vas opposed to the treaty.