Evening star., 1898-03-31

seek the advice OF honest and capable men.
All that was demanded of her was
decent government. She cid not have sense
enough to see It. In this she shared by
Inheritance the defects of her brothers
character. She went too far The whites
demanded absolutely, stable government.
In her book She gives the best and most
powerful reasons for her overthrow She
undertakes seriously and solegnnly to hold
the right OF the Hawaiian monarchs to re-
ject constitutions and give others in their
place. This is fatal to any possibility of
restoration. The chief value of this
book Is in the argument she makes against
! her own cause. She has done it better than
another could do. it,
The foregoing are the CHIEF points brought
out in this review of the ex-Queen's curious
book, made by a formerly devoted friend of
the Hawaiian monarchs. The book SO
briStles with misStatements that 1t pos
sesses no historical value whatever. except
as 1t mirrors the real character of a his
statements, two may be mentioned; one is
where the ex-queen in defending her own
approval of the opium license bill, charges
w. F. Allen and Henry Waterhouse with
having surreptitiously dealt in opium. Such
a charge meets only derision in Honolulu.
Beth these gentlemen have the highest
character ana social position, and are above
suspicion of shady transactions.
The other charge Is against q well-known
gentleman. whose name she does not give,
but whose guest she says she was
Kauai during her royal progress on that
island In 1871. She had made him governor
of that island. She tells that in the revo-
luton Of 1887 he headed a party to search
Mr. Gibson's house at Wafkike, and threw
iasso oyer his daughter. Mrs. Hayselden!
Fave Mrs. Hayselden's own word that
she was not personally molested in that or
any other way, except by being very un-
&C tremendously questioned as to her hus-
bands whereabouts. and the house being
rarsacked.
Unreliable as n History.
1t is not quite easy to define the structure
or mind which could publish SO many
atsurdly untrue misstatements as her book
abounds in. They necessarily recoil upon
her. The most probable theory seems to
be that Of strife between the old barbarian
nature and the veneer of civilization, in
the course of which necessity for con-
slant descending has existed, and tie
neral sense has become so darkened that
reckiessness has arisen in the habitual
use of untruths. Between the heather ele-
ents which largely perva6ed this per-
scnage's private life among her native re-
tainers. and her outward sembiance Of
ladyhood in the white society in which she
was intimate, habit of duplicity became
established. She was living double life.
To those dealing with her in later years.
and especially during the last. months of
her reign, this element Of gross dissimula-
ton became painfully apparent.
In thus writing of Liliuokalani, do not
forget to credit her with many interesting
and amiable qualities. She is q most at
tractive woman. Her greatest faults are
due to heredity and heather inheritance,
and to the exigencies of her royal position,
as she misguidedly conceived them. She is
more to be commiserated than blamed.
To Modify the Oath of Allegiance.
Last week an incident occurred in the
legislature which is of interest as bearing
upon the relations of this republic to roy
alistic sympathies among the natives. Loeb
enstein Of Hilo, who is a pronounced op-
ponent of the administration had brought
in a proposition to amend the constitution
by omitting from the oath required of
voters and officials the following words:
And will not either directly or indi-
rectly, encourage or assist in the restora-
tion or establishment of a monarchical
form of government in the Hawaiian
Islands,"
The proposer urged that this clause was
mere surpiusage; that it affronted the SEN
t.ments of many OF the natives who were
we'll disposed toward the republic, and pre-
vented them from taking the oath to sup
port it; that it was important to conciliate
these people. This oath cut them off from
participation in the government, and by
that much impaired its representative
character and confidence in it abroad. He
challenged the government to oppose the
amendment.
The challenge was promptly taken up by
AiHlSteF COOpeT. AOHlttiNS lnat IL Is sur
plusage. there could be no valid objection
to taking this part of the oath. The fact
that many refuse to take it goes to show
that 1t Is necessary. To strike it out now
would be misunderstood 1t would give en-
couragement to the disaffected, and dis
couragement to the friends of the republic,
who might feel it to be weakening of ad-
herence to the republican form of govern
ment.
The proposition was defeated by a MAJOR
ity of two-thirds. Some of the most en-
phatic opposition to 1t came from native
representatives, who best know their own
people. They knew that the moral effect
upon both the opposing parties among the
natives would be disastrous. The natives
commonly believe that restoration of
monarchy would be the signal for reprisals
upon all native opponents of the queen. In
the debate, Loebenstein was reproached
with being at heart a royalist. A more
common estimate of his views is that -e is
merely aiming to curry favor with natives
in hope of future votes from them.
To Repeal Labor Contract Law.
A more desirable measure than the fore
going is before the senate, and quite sure
to carry. 1t is a bill to repeal the labor
contract law. This law has existed for
forty-five years. By it laborers could enter
under penal obligation to serve their en-
ployers for not over three years 1t is SIM
liar to the existing laws for sailors in all
countries. Laborers so contracted are al
ways said to be shipped Formerly near
ly all the Hawaiians, who formed the bulk
of the laborers on the few plantations then
existing shipped in that way, for the
sake of the advance of $40 to $40 thus Sc
cured. Latterly the advance wages have
been used to pay the immigration COM
panies for collecting and transporting the
laborers from China or Japan. A cnief
benefit of the contract law to both en-
ployer and labcrer has been its furnishing
the means OF paying the passage of the la
borers. Many thousand Portuguese were
thus brought from the Azores some years
ago and served their time on the planta-
tions. Many hundreds of Germans and of
Norwegians have come in the same way
Other reasons making the contract law
desirable to employers have been that 1t
prevented strikes in the midst of taking OF