The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1898-03-25
Continued from 1St page.)

nous expenditure OF money and the
great naval equipment necessary in
order to maintain it in all it's in
tegrity,
Mr.. Chairman, | antagonize the
pending treaty for another reason.
1t sets a precedent, a vicious pre-
cedent; precedent which, i'm
agine, will be followed, and that, too
at very early day. You will find,
gentlemen, that in this matter Gin
crease of appetite" will "grow by
what it feeds on" This is the most
lamentable feature OF this entire
transgression, if, indeed, we are at
all disposed to take the first step in
the transgression.
To-day the cry is, "Give us Ha-
waiip Yield to this in moment of
weakness, and tomorrow you will
hear the cry, "Give US Cubap Ac-
cede to this in an hour OF irresolu
ton, and the day after you will hear
the cry, "Give us Samoal" And each
one Of these demands will be forth
fed by artful sophistries evolved
from the fertile brains OF gentlemen
who know full we'll how to pander
to the national vanity and to appeal
to the national cupidity.
And thus, sir, you will finally gain
such momentum that you can not
check your course, even if discretion
tells you that you ought to do so.
So you will 60 on till you find your
selves irretrievably committed to
policy which is not only in violation
of all our traditions, which is not
only not essential to the happiness,
prosperity, or material development
of our people, but which also leads
down a pathway strewn
WITH THE WRECK OF THE NATIONS
that have pursued such a policy,
and leads you into difficulties the
character and magnitude of which
are utterly unknown.
Mr.. Chairman, l do not deny that
the acquisition of foreign territory
is gratifying to the pride of nation
do not even deny that it some
times has its advantages; that it re-
suits occasionally in the acquisition
OF power and OF wealth. But /
nevertheless unhesitatingly affirm
on this foor-and again 1 call i'm
partial history to bear me out in the
assertion-that as general rule it
is q source of weakness rather than
of strength to a people. Such
policy excites cupidity; itprovokes
avarice; it breeds oppression; it in
ficts injustice; it levies taxes; it in
ours expenses; it stirs up strife; it
sheds human blood; it is a step in
the direction of dismembsrment;
and the inevitable goal to which the
nation tends which follows it is that
of national disintegration and decay
Mr.. Chairman, let the nations of
the Old World 60 on pursuing this
policy to their hearts content, if
they desire to do 30. Let them, l
beg you, have full monopoly of tho
evils which follow in its train. Let
them saddle their people with
enormous debts that they may equip
great navies and raise great armies
to preoipitate them into conflicts in
which they spend millions of treas
ure and shed oceans OF human blood.
LET THE MOTHER COUNTRY,
less fortunately situated than our
selvss-obliged by the narrow con-
fines of her island home to draw
upon her colonies for subsistence
and to draw upon them also largely
for her commerce and her wealth
boast, il she pleases, that the sun
never goes down upon British soil.
We can point her to the fact that
neither does the sun go down upon
the wretchedness and misery which
her remorseless policy has produced.
(Applause.)
We can point her to the reyolts in
India, to the difficulty OF maintain
ing her supremacy in South Africa