Griggs courier., 1898-10-13
A PROBLEM TO SOLVE.
TAe Aaaexatasn of Hawaii Nay Give
the ConuissSonees Some
Teouble.

The Annexation 0f Hawaii May Give
the Commissioners Some
Teoable.
In half the troubles of Hawaii. and
1t has had its share since Capt. Cook
masqueraded in the feathers of God
Lono, there has been one catch-word,
the rallying cry of the element of the
making toward something
better, making successfully toward
constitutional monarchy, toward pro-
visional government, toward republic,
toward being part of the American
state sisterhood. 1t has been the cry
of citizenship.
The beachcomber. the runaway
whaler of the early days, did not care
for citizenship. So long as he had
his share, or could grab his share, of
the things which attracted him to the
islands he was content to become q
subject of savage monarch in q
feather cloak. But others settled who
were less easily satisfied, men who
came from America as missionaries of
civilization, who brought the church.
the school and the store, and set them
side by side in every hamlet of un-
reclaimed sayagery. They had some-
thing to lose, some respect to main
tain; they could not rest happy as
subjects of any sort, having been born
citizens, least of all could they be sub
jects of any Kamehameha, drunk or
sober, but most commonly drunk. Still
less could they content themselves
with neutral state in which the saw
age and the beachcomer could legis-
late foolishly or wickedly, just as whim
might dictate.
Through their discomfort was de.
veloped system of denizenship. The
better class remained citizens of the
United States in the foreign land. By
becoming denizens of Hawaii, they ac-
quired the right to a voice in its af-
fairs, without casting off their rights
as Americans. Denizens could vote,
could hold Office. The real cause of the
overturning of Liliuokalani was her
attempt to take away the rights of the
denizens, to force them to dilemma
| choice, either to renounce their cher
ished American citizenship or to leave
them with no voice in affairs and help
less.
Now, the conditions being reversed,
the Hawaiians themselves will become
interested in discovering their civil
status. So far as the law stood on the
day before annexation was accom-
plished, the Hawaiian could not be-
come citizen of the United States,
because he was not eligible under the
constitution-his race barred him out.
This was the decision of the supreme
court of Utah while it was still ter.
ritory. A male Hawaiian of full age,
satisfying all the conditions of suffi-
cient residence and necessary famii.
iarity with the principles of the gov
ernment, applied for papers of natural
ization. He was rejected by the lower
court to which he made his applica-
ton, and on appeal the decision was
upheld by the supreme court. That de-
cision has to stand unless overturned
by the supreme court of the United
States.
His race barred him in this particu-
lar. The constitution provides that
citizenship may be attained by white
persons and those of African birth or
descendants; no others. The two
courts held that the Hawaiian was
not in any sense an African, also not in
any sense white person. The court
did not undertake to settle just what
race the Hawaiian did belong to. But
it firmly settled on one thing. that
this Hawaiian, and by legal conse-
quence, every other Hawaiian, could
not become citizen of the United
States.
On that question the Hawaiians, an.
nexed but not citizenable, will de.
mand to be heard. This is thing the
commissioners on annexation willhave
to figure out to some satisfactory so.
luton. On one side the constitution
and courts of law against civil rights;
on the other, some $4,000 citizens OF
Hawaii by birth and race now sudden.
ly become citizens of nowhere.-N. Y,
Sun.