The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-14

Washington. January 1o.-In accord
ance with his previous notice. Senator
Davis. chairman OF the senate commit
tee on foreign relations, brought UP the
subject OF the ratification OF the Hawai-
ian annexation treaty in the senate to-
day. HIS motion was made soon after
the disposal OF the routine morning bus
mess and the entire remainder OF the
days session. except the time given to
confirmation OF nominations. was devoted
10 the consideration OF the question as
10 whether the treaty should be consid-
cred in open session or behind closed
doors in executive session. After a de-
bate of almost two hours upon this
point, an informal vote was taken, the
yeas and nays not being demanded. The
decision was overwhelmingly against an
open session.
The motion for open sessions was made
by Senator Gray. OF Delaware, who pre-
scented his reasons in a speech of about
five minutes length, urging that the
question was one OF public concern, in
volving no entangling complications with
other nations and one which IL was,
therefore, eminently proper should be
considered before the public gaze.
Senator Davis replied TO Senator Gray,
contending fer the observance OF prece-
dents in this matter and Directing quite
~strenuously, though in calm and moder-
ate language. to the proposition that the
senate should take the public into its
conference on considering the treaty. He
took issue with enator Gray on the
proposition that there were no general
questions involved affecting our diplo-
matte relations with other countries and
predicted that the discussion would take
a wide range before it's conclusion.
Speeches in favor of the GRAY rpSOlu-
ton were made by Senators Caffery,
White, Mason and Morrill,, and in oppo-
sition by Senators Morgan, Hoar, Spoon
er and others.
Senator Morgan was the principal OPP
ponent of the Gray proposition. He talk
ed at length upon the Importance of OBJ
serving the senate rules in discussing
this question, contending that as the
senate was acting only in an advisory
capacity to the executive it would be an
act of bad faith for it to throw open the
doors to the public.
Most Of the senators who spoke in OPP
position to open session referred to the
probability that the action of the Euro
pean powers in their evident purpose Of
partitiCning the territory of China, would
form the basis of much of the debate on
the question of Hawaiian annexation.
All VINO referred to this phase of the
question manifested a disposition to re-
gard 1t as a delicate and complicated one
and one which it were better should be
ventilated behind closed doors. 1t was
also intimated that the Monroe doctrine
would come in for a fair share OF dis
cussion before the close of the debate. 1t
was asserted that this was a question
which could be more freely discussed in
executive than in open session.
Senator Mason took advantage of the
opportunity to max a speech directed
generally against executive sessions. He
announced his intention to support the
motion for an open session, and said that
he would take advantage of all such
openings to exercise his influence to
break down the senatorial rule for secret
sessions. He asserted that the rule was
out of date, out of keeping with the pro-
gressive tendency of times. moss-grown
and obsolete and argued that it should
be abolished. If, as many people be-
lieved, the senate was out of sympathy
with the public, the requirement Of the
discussion of so many important ques-
tons in executive session was, more
than any other reason, responsible for
this condition of affairs. He hoped that
not only the Hawaiian treaty, but all
other questions in which the public was
interested, would be discussed in the
presence of the American public.
Senator Davis announced his purpose
to call up the treaty again tomorrow and
press it as rapidly as possible.
The anneXationiStS now claim fifty-nine
votes. for the treaty, lacking only one of
the number necessary to ratify it. On
the other hand, the opposition say the
r%atifiers will fall short from three to five
votes.