The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1898-03-17
How Are We to Govern Hawaii

IN his temperate and welghty artl-
Gle in the Forum, is the difficulty Of
our governing OF such a country,
and especially such population,
once annexed. The point will bear
elaboration. 1t has been entirely
blinked in both the treaties-treated
as "mere matter of detail" when
it is really the marrow Of the whole
affair. President Harrison recon-
mended the Senate to ratify his
treaty Of annexation, saying that
the Hawaiians, as respects the form
OF their subsequent government,
were willing to trust "the just and
benevolent intentions of the United
States" Mr.. Mckinley, for his part
was content to leave all such puzzles
to "the wisdom of Congress-" But
the only way we can recognize just
and benevolent intentions is in some
form OF expression; and the wisdom
OF Congress we can believe in more
easily when, with Alice in Wonder
land, we see it written down. In
stead of lodging or deferring the
question OF governing the islands,
it should be made the first question
OF all.
Now, the first thing that con-
fronts us when we come to this
"mere matter Of detail" (Which is, as
usual, the real orux Of the business),
is the fact that the Hawaiian Gov
eminent confesses that the inhabit-
ants Of the islands are not capable
Of governing themselves This is
official. In the report of the Ha-
waiian Senate committee, which was
adopted at the same time the treaty
was ratified, it was explicitly stated
that good government cannot be
permanently maintained in these
islands without aid or assistance
from without" II this is true-and
far be it from us to question an Off
cial deliverance of the Hawaiian
Senate-it is, or ought to be,
a fatal bar to annexation. The
theory Of our government from
the ordinance of of 1887 down
has been that the expansion of the
United States was to be sole
ly by the addition OF self-governing
communities to self-goyerning COM
munities. Saying nothing now of
contiguity of territory, it is safe to
affirm that if, at any time within the
first one hundred years of our gov
eminent, group Of 100000 people
had come confessing their inability
to govern themselves, and asking us
to take care Of them, they would
have been sent about their business
with snorn. They would have been
told that this nation is a federation
of self-governing States, and that to
admit Stale unable to govern itself
was nonsense.
What government machinery have
we TO set up in Hawaii Obviously
only the government of State or
else Of territory. But nobody now
urges the admission of Hawaii as a
State. The alternative of terri
torial government seems easy, but is
it? We have great body of special
acts and general legislation affect
ing territories, but it may be search
ed from end to end, from the ordin-
ance Of 1857 down to the admission
of Oklahoma in 1890, without find
ing the shadow of warrant for any
such government as the circum-
stances OF Hawaii require. In every
case the expectation has been that
local government was to be set up
by universal suffrage-and that kind
OF government, it is confessed on all
hands, cannot be set up in Hawaii.
If universal suffrage were to rule
there, the islands would vote against
annexation itself.
1t may be well to put together
here some of the provisions Of past
territorial legislation, TO show how
absolutely inapplicable they are to
Hawaii, and what complete break
with our past we shall have to make
il we attempt to govern that coun-