The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-02-04
The HAWAIIAN TREATY
Again Under Discussion in the Senate-A
Motion to Po.ipoas Def at@d Friends of
the Measure Expect the Necessary Sixty


the Measure Expect the Necessary Sixty
Votes
Washington, February 1.-The con-
dition in the senate respecting the
Hawaiian annexation treaty a great
ly improved, and the friends Of the
treaty, including Senator Davis. chair
man of the foreign relations committee,
are confident that sixty senators. whose
votes are necessary for a two-third
majority, will vote for the ratification
Confidence in the changed condition Is
found in the determination OF the
friends of ratification to press
forward the treaty to a fnal vote
This feeling was shown from the pro-
ceedings OF the senate on n treaty in
executive session today. Senator
Thurston made a motion for the post
ponement of further consideration OF
the treaty until the asst of March. The
motion was not discussed at length,
and was voted down viva o
Senator Platt, of Connecticut, opened
the debate with a carefully
argument in favor of annexation. he
spoke for about an hour and a nall
and dwelt particularly upon h i'm
portance OF the acquisition of the is
land from a commercial point of view.
He contended that u would
in all cases follow our civilization and
urged that we should use every legit-
innate method to extend our trade with
outside nations, as by pursuing TINS
cause we would also extend u anStl-
tutions and ideas of government. The
Hawaiian Stands he regarded as es-
sential to the OF the trafnc
on the Pacific ocean No nation in the
worlds history had ever become pros
porous or really great that had not as
s~iduously built up it's foreign COM
merce. Senator Platt charged that the
sugar trust was opposed to
He said that money was being used to
defeat the annexation. He did not
charge, he said, that there was n
effort to corrupt congress-, but ne
thought that some interests had been
unduly Influenced.
Senator Pettigrew took the floor as
soon as Senator Platt had concluded,
devoting himself especially to replying
to the Connecticut senator's remarks
concerning the present government or
the islands, He made a careful analy-
sis of the constitution under which the
Dole government exists, showing that
IL JIdu bCCIl dIOHICU NY ~
ed an alleged constitutional convention,
composed, ne said, of nineteen MEM
bers, one of whom was Mr.. Dole, who
had been a member of the committee
on safety which played such a promd-
nent part during the revolution and OF
eighteen other delegates. He argued
that while these latter delegates had
been elected by what was called a
popular vote, such was not the case.
OF 1000 persons entitled to vote only
1000 had voted for them.
Senator White, of California, also
spoke in opposition to h ratification
of the treaty. His was in tine main a
constitutional argument intended to
show that the annexation elf territory
which would require a navy to defend
it had been from the beginning opposed
to OUT theory of government. He read
liberal extracts from Secretary Sher-
mans book, in which tine secretary
dwells upon the unwisdom of making
the stands a part of the United States
and he laid special stress upon the Sec
retary's remarks in the latter part of
his book to the effect that (he hoped
that there would he no further effort
to annex the islands during his life
time.
Senator White had not concluded his
arguments when the senat adjourned.
He took occasion to remark in reply to
Senator Platt'S statement that the
sugar trust was opposed to the treaty,
that most of the senators who were
popularity believed to be interested in
the sugar trust were favorable to the
treaty.