The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-06-08
HAWAII I'm
THE PUBLIC EYE
How the Legislature Has Inn
pressed the Outside
Newspapers.

Those who object to Governor Aliens
(of Porto Rico) view that the standard
form of Territorial government, while
apply successfully to Porto Rico. and his
recommendation that the colonial form of
government be continued, should COM
pare the admirable results attained by
that form in Porto Rico with the diff
culties encountered in ruling Hawaii as
a full-fedged Territory. Hawaii was sup
posed to be Americanized, and some even
of our own people were rash enough to
talk about giving 1t Statehood. Public
opinion here would have condemned at
tempts to rule this former republic as a
colony in tutelage much more seriously
than it was in ignorance at first inclined
to condemn the Porto Rican establish
ment. The experiment of making this
distant islam group a Territory was
tried. and so far the results have been
anything but encouraging to the advo-
Gates OF light-hearted extension OF
American institutions" as a short cut
to bringing the millennium 10 lands
which may fall under our dominion. The
Hawaiian Legislature has acted like a
lous bills, refused to perform It's legiti-
mate duties. and involved itself in a
quarrel with Governor Dole, VINO tried to
keep 1t in order. That sacred Anglo
Saxon institution, the jury system, has
also broken down in Hawaii. Experience
in Porto Rico has also emphasized the
lesson of the folly of putting unframed
peoples to working our complicated con-
stitutional machinery of justice.
Probably Hawaii will in time learn to
manage a Territorial government reas-
onably well, but its difficulties warn US
that we cannot make American Terri
tories and States by the simple process
of extending our laws and constitution
to them. The colonial government, which
sentimentalists ignorantly think a viola
ton of all our ideals of liberty and hu-
man rights. may be the best guarantee
of liberty and human rights to peoples
who do not know how to handle our in
struments of government without hurt
ing themselves. Full justification of the
so-called imperialism of Porto Rico and
Philippine legislation is found In the
abuse of Territorial privileges by the
Hawaiians, though they are much better
fitted to profit by them than the inhab-
itants of our other islands could possibly
be.--New York Tribune.
THE BUNGLING LEGISLATURE.
The Legislature Of Hawaii is roundly
condemned by the whites of the islands,
and Governor Dole has officially branded
the body as inefficient and "wasteful Of
both time and money" Doubtless the
natives have made slow and bungling
work of 1t, but there is this to be said
on the other side: The session was the
first one under the new Territorial gov
eminent. and 1t was limited to two
months Now the Massachusetts and
Connecticut Legislatures began their
present sessions the first week in jan
uary, and they have not yet reached an
adjournment, although four and one-half
months have elapsed. Queen Elizabeth
once asked the Speaker of the House
what had passed in the Commons, and he
answered. Five weeks, Your Majesty"
1t is no new thing for legislative bodies,
new and old, In the most advanced coun-
tries to waste time, not to mention mon
ey. The Hawaiian Legislature ought GER
tainly to be allowed more than sixty days
for the initial legislative work of a new
government. before being unqualifiedly
condemned. Back of all. else, however,
in Hawaii, is the political antagonism
between whites and natives arising from
the forcible overthrow of the native gov
eminent in 1893. The Legislature and
the Executive are at swords points.
which explains somewhat the failure of
the first session.-Springfield Republican.
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