The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-04-25
THE TOWN AGOG OVER THE
QUESTION.
sewall Said to Have the Inside Track
Until Two Days Before the Moana
Stakeholder Talk

The whole town was agog this morn
ing on the arrival of the Moana, to
know, first what the situation of the
Hawaiian bill was when the steamship
left San Francisco, and second, who Is
to be the first governor of Hawaii.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to
say the first inquiry was about the
governorship, and the second about the
bill, for it was assumed that II the bill
was not passed, it soon would be.
Information as to the bill was more
definite than information as to the gov
ernorship. Cecil Brown had very de-
definite information about that and
gave it to all inquirers. But he dis
claimed any such definite information
about the governorship, and certainly
made public none.
However, there was not lacking plen-
ty of reports on that subject, and it
was not long before a large number of
people were very positive that Harold
M. Sewall is to be the first governor,
that in fact he is as good as appointed,
and that his commission only awaits
the approval of the bill. Bets were
freely offered to back this belief.
Considerable information on the sub
ject did come down by the Moana. 4
large number of people received adj
vices on the subject, more or less con-
Jectural, as in the nature of such things
they must be. There was however a
certain amount of consistency and cor
Toboration in these various advices
conflicting though they We're in many
particulars.
The two or three points on which
these adViCeS all converged were a
general statement that President Dole
would not be the governor and that
up to a day or two before the Moana
sailed there seemed to be a certainty
that Sewall would, but that at the last
moment something came up that cloud
ed his chances. Just what that some
thing is no very clear indication is
given, though two intimations are Civ
en-. One of them is that the provision in
the bill as 1t passed the House, of
which there are no advices that it has
been changed in committee, requiring
that the governor shall be citizen OF
the Territory of Hawaii, has been
sprung to defeat his candidacy, the
question being whether his presence in
the Islands as an official of the United
states, accredited to the State of Maine
constitutes such residence as is requir-
&c by the House bill to constitute citi-
| zenship in the territory.
! The other intimation is that ]. Add.
son Porter, who has recently resigned
as private secretary to President Nc.
Kinley and who had some aspiration
| for the goVernorship of Porto Rico has
come into the field at the eleventh hour
as the man with the longest pole whc
| Knocks the persimmOns." To the prob.
ability of this intimation however there
can be raised the same objection to ]
Addison Porter, that it is intimateC
has been raised to Harold M. Sewall
On the subject of citizenship ths
| House bill, which the press reports say
was substantially accepted by the Sen
ate conferees, has this provision: "Tha
all persons who were citizens of tho
Republic of Hawaii on August II, 1898
are hereby declared to be citizens o.
the United States and citizens of tn,
Territory of Hawaii. And all citizen,
of the United States who were residen
! in the Hawaiian Islands on or since
August 12, 1898, and all citizens of tn,
United States who shall hereafter re
side in the Territory of Hawaii for on
year shall be citizens of the Territory
of Hawaii"
On the subject of the other offices il
the territory, there was a general ton
among many of the advices received
that they would all or most of then
be filed by people living here, excep
as to the Federal offices. Among thes
it was stated that the Judge of tn
United States court would be a Cali
fornia man, though no names wer
mentioned