The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-09-09
A LEAF FRoM HISTORY.

The little paragraph in The Repuo-
Iican Of Saturday morning speaking u
the executive council" as Catal and
saying that Instead OF but five mem
bers. as the original Cabzl had. this
body had seven, led reader TO inquire,
as 60 the meaning OF the word Csbal as
used b. this paper and what vas the
original Csbal-
The meaning OF the word Cabai as
given by the Standard Dictionary. an
acknowledge authority. is "Cabai-
4 number OF persons secretly united
for efecting by intrigue some private
OF party purpose Synenyms-com-
binations, oonfederzcy, conspiracy. fac
ton, gang 4 conspiracy is eombin-
alton Of persons for an evil purpose or
/ the act Of so combining Conspiracy
is distinct crime under common. and
generally under statotury, law. Cabal
generally denotes a conspiracy of lead
ers.~
So much for the definition of the
word. Here is what Macaulay. tfe
great English historian, had to say of
the original Cabal in Vol /. page 1s5:
Few things in our history are more
curious than the origin and growth
OF the power possessed by the cabinet
II became too large for despatch and
secrecy. The sovereign on the most
important occasions resorted for adj
vice TO a small knot of leading min
listers During many years old-fash-
ioned politicians continued TO regard
the cabinet as an unconstitutional and
dangerous board. Nevertheless 1t con-
stautly became more and more impor-
tant. The names of the noblenen and
gentlemen who composed 1t were
never officially announced to the pub
tic No record kept of its meetings
and resolutions; nor its existence ever
recognized by any act uf parliament.
How like the existing condition CT
affairs in Hawaii this reads The cab
met" or executive" as the powers
that be now style it, maintained by
the governor of Hawaii and his Cabal
was never officially recognized by
Congress, or any one else excepting
the members composing it. yet IL goes
on meeting three days each week just
as though it had legal standing, just as
the Cabal Maeauley describes. But let
us read little further from this In
teresting English writer. Continuing,
he says:
1T happened by whimsical eoinci-
dence that. in l671. the cabinet consist
ed of five persons the initial letters-of
whose names made the word Cabal-
| Clifford. Arlington. buckingham, Ash
ley and Lauderdale.
| The Cabal. holding power at a time
when our government was in a state
of transition. united in itself two diff
ferent kinds of vices belonging TO two
different ages and two different sys-
TENS. AS these five English counsel
iors were among the last English
statesmen who seriously thought of
destroying the parliament, SO they
were the first English statesmen who
attempted extensively to corrupt 1t.
Meanwhile rapid strides were
made towards despotism. Proclama-
tions dispensing with acts of parlia-
ment, or enioining what only parlia-
ment could lawfully enjoin, appeared
in rapid succession"
Here in Hawaii We have had the
spectacle of the Cabal known as the
executive council dispensing with
the duties of the courts and issuing or
ders which could only emanate from
the courts legally. We have seen il
assuming the powers of the Territorial
legislature and dispensing with the
acts of Congress in its arbitrary die
tion of affairs in this Territory 1t is
indeed q taking of leaf out of history
when one stops to consider what this
Hawaii Cabal is and what 1t is assum-
ing that it has the power TO do.
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