The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-09-01
CITIZENS SHIP.

As far as the general public is con-
cerned the open meeting held by the
Commissioners yesterday was the
most interesting event since they or
gained. outside of the speeches de-
livered during their tour through the
windward Islands. Those speeches
settled one thing, once for all, in
the minds of Hawaiians, and that was
that annexation was an irrevocable
act and that it was no war measure,
as they had been led to believe. This
has had a wonderful effect upon the
native Hawaians, and they have unit
ed their iarring parties to make a
united front to ask for the franchise
and other matters that they desire.
There is no harm in asking. What
will be obtained is an entirely differ
ent matter, but there can be no doubt
of the wisdom of laying aside the bick-
erings of divided sfactions for the pres
ent, and quarrelIing afterwards if
necessary.
The open meeting of yesterday was
chiefly occupied by f. NJ. Hatch in an
argument for the citizenship of those
Chinese who have already been natur-
allied here, and those children of
Chinese who have been born here, in
many cases of Hawaiian mothers. \
memorial lad been presented to the
Commission, on behalf of Goo Kim,
the Chinese Commercial Agent, and
accompanying it was a memorandum
drawn up at the Chinese legation in
Washington, which has already been
commented upon in these columns.
Senators Cullom and Morgan put
most of the questions to Mr.. Hatch
during the session, and the trend of
those questions showed that the Com
mission was thinking very carefully
upon the question of citizenship and
that it was by no means the easy
matter to settle that some people
think it is. American citizenship is a
most important matter. Hawaiian
citizenship was easily acquired, and
moreover we had the quasi-citizenship
of denization, which allowed many
rights with few responsibilities One
naturally thinks of st. Paul's citizen
ship when the Centurion said to him
with a great price did | acquire
this" and st. Paul's reply, but I was
a Roman born The right to say
'Civis Americans sum- is as pre-
cious as ever it was to say "Civis Ro-
manus sum-" and the Congressional
committee is going to guard that
right with very great care.
Senator Morgan's remark that the
Commission with the help of the for
mer Foreign Office, would have to de-
termine who are citizens, is signifi-
cant. 1t begins to look as if a mum
Der who have been counting on citi-
zenship will be disappointed. In these
matters a great country like the Unit
ed States does not look at what may
seem eXpedient, it acts upon what it
considers are its presidents, and its
rights. 1t acts, moreover, as it knows
its people desire it by a large major
ity.
In the matter of Chinese citizenship
public opinion is distinctly against it,
and it has been unfortunate for the
Chinese that their government agents
are the people who are asking that
they should have the rights of citizen
ship, for the very fact that these ag-
ents interest themselves in them,
shows that the Chinese government
still considers that there is tie which
calls for interference
Neither the British Commissioner
nor the French Commissioner is COM
ing forward to press the claims of
either British or French individuals
who may have become Hawaiian citi-