Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1899-10-23
THE EHAWAIANLANDS
Dissatisfaction caused bV
Governments Attitude.
Attorney General GriagS TO Be
Asked TO Review an Opinion As
TO the Disposition of a Part of
The Public Domain

Washington, Oct. 22.-Attorney Cen
eral Griggs, it is probable will
be asked to review an opinion render
ed to the president on September 9
as to the power of the local authori-
ties of the Hawaiian islands to dis
pose of portions of the public domain.
The president will at the same time be
asked to revoke a proclamation issued
directing that all proceedings for the
| disposition of public lands be discon-
tinued; that the sales which have
been made are null and void. and that
! the money paid to the local authori-
ties on account shall be refunded.
This proclamation was issued on the
! opinion of the attorney general, and
as a result of the proclamation there
is a great deal Of. dissatisfaction
among portions of the Hawaiian pop
ulation.
| General A. S. Hartwell is expected
| III Washington to place the tangled
matter before the president and the
administration. He Will claim that a
great deal of injustice has been done
to hundreds of people in the islands
and that the present Hawaiian gov
| ernment has been placed in en-
barrassing position
The opinion of Attorney General
Griggs was that under the resolution
annexing the islands to the United
States, together with the principles of
public law governing the subject OF
territory ceded by one government to
another, the public lands of the Ha-
waiian islands became the property of
the United States and could be dis
posed of thereafter only by special
act of congress The attorney general
was so positive in his views that he
said that it was easy to arrive at a
conclusion.
The claim of the Hawaiian people
and those newspapers which consider
the presidents action unjust is that
after the act of annexation was passed
the Hawaiian government requested
the government here to answer a num-
Der of questions as to what should be
done in the islands pending legislation !
by congress. One of the questions /
propounded was specifically in rela- |
ton to land patents and deeds by |
President Dole.
In the answer which was received by |
the Hawaiian government the specific
question was not definitely answered,
but the Hawaiian authorities were in
structed that the municipal legisla-
ton of Hawaii generally should re-
main in force
1t is claimed that, acting on these
instructions, the Hawaiian govern
ment proceeded to deal with lands as
hitherto until the state department
addressed q letter, in August, to the
Hawaiian government calling atten-
ton TO the protests of 'squatters
against the sale os government lands.
1t is further claimed that an answer
was prepared TO this communication,
and that it left Honolulu September 1,
reaching Washington after the proc
lamation of the president. 1t is held
that the government here should have
waited for information from Hawaii
before taking such radical action.
1t is said in Hawaii that large
number of persons and two or three
large sugar concerns will be affected
by the decision of this government
It will be impossible to fully repay $
he purchasers of the land when many t
If the properties have been greatly i'm i
proved. Two railroads are involved l
md will suffer damage. 1t is said +
hat the United States courts will be t
to. and that the matter will
lnaIly come to the supreme court OF
his country, unless the government
'evol1es its action. n
There is of course another side to
he case, and this is the side that has
,een presented fully at the depart
nent of justice. 1t is from the squat
ers'' on government lands in Hawaii L
They are poor people, and claim that L
hey have been illegally elected and S
heir lands sold to people who are
riends of the existing government. o
Iany officials of the administration v
ave been led to believe that there is u
close. compact among Hawaiian o
1icials, and that they have been ex-
ending favors to friends whenever o
ossible. h
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