New-York tribune., 1901-01-17
Mr.. HARRISON IN 1898.

Mr. Charles A. Gardiner, in his address before
the NewYork State Bar Association yesterday
probably surprised his hearers when he pointed
10 ex-President Harrison a leader in separat-
ing the flag from the Constitution and as a for
mer advocate of lust and benevolent purposes
of the United States" as a substitute for consti-
tutional rights in newly acquired territory. Mr.
Harrison has recently attracted great attention
by declaring that the man whose protection
from wrong rests wholly upon the benevoence
of another man or of a Congress is a slave" and
by denouncing the theory of the plenary power
OF the Government TO maintain separate tariff
In annexed territory as doctrine of despotisn
threatening our domestic liberty. Nevertheless
Mr.. Harrison appears to have been the inventor
of the phrase Just and benevolent purposes of
the United States and the maker of precedents
for extraconsttutional rule for territories which
President Mckinley has closely followed
One of the cases just argued before the Su-
preme Court. that of Crossman against the
United States, was brought 10 recover duties
levied in New-York on liquors imported after the
passage Of the resolution annexing the Hawaiian
Islands and before the passage of the act pro-
viding for their government The payment of
these duties is contested, in reliance upon Mr.
Harrson's doctrine that the Constitution ex-
tends of itself without legislation to the terri
tories Yet the Administration, in collecting
these duties, did exactly what Mr. Harrison at
tempted TO do when President. On February 15
1893 he sent to the Senate treaty providing
for the Incorporation of the Hawaiian Islands
Into the United States as an integral part there
of" not merely assuming sovereignty over them
with declaration against permanent annexa-
ton as an integral part of the United States, as
has been done in the of the Philippines.
Thara
considering Hawaii instantly bound by the Con-
stitution and brought within its tariff boundaries
than for so regarding the Philippines Yet that
treaty contained this provision:
Congress shall. within one year from the ex-
change of the ratification of this treaty enact
the necessary legislation to extend to the Ha-
waiian Islands the laws of the United States re-
specting duties upon imports. the internal reve-
nue., commerce and navigation; but until Con-
gress shall otherwise provide. the existing com
with the United States and foreign countries
shaH continue as regards the commerce of said
islands with the rest of the United States and
with foreign countries.
If Mr.. Harrison's new view of the Constitu-
ton is correct, he was plainly planning to gov
ern Hawaii uncOnstitutionally. The law of the
present Administration annexing the islands and
leaving their customs regulations in force pend
ing legislation extending our own is ONLY para
phrase OF Mr.. Harrison's treaty. That treaty
making Hawaii an integral part of the United
States likewise forbade Chinese living there the
right to travel into other parts of the Union. and
provided that if they broke bounds they should
De subject to the same penalties as If entering
from foreign country" Apparently in 1893 II
was possible for an integral part of the United
States TO be still treated as in some respects for
eign. 1t is also interesting to observe Article
III Of the treaty, which said:
Until Congress shall otherwise provide the ex
lstlng government and laws of the Hawaiian
Islands hereby continued subject to tbe
paramount authority of the United States
Not word here about their being Subject 10
the Constitution Of the United States" If they
had been. the local tariff laws could not have
continued In force. The islands were simply TO
De TAKEN subject TO the benevolent despotism of
the President, who, as Mr. Gardiner recalls in
his speech. part of which is printed In another
column sent a message to the Senate saying:
The treaty does not attempt to deal in detail
Win the questions that grow out of the annexa-
the Hawaiian Government have consented to
leave to the future and to the just and beneyo-
lent purposes of the United States the adjust
ment of all such questions.
Poor Hawaiians! They had not then been told
py the statesman with whom they were nego-
tiating that to hold rights upon the tenure of
another mans benevolence was not to hold
them at ALL" So they delivered themselves TO
the paramount authority Of the United States
submitting to unequal taxation regardless of the
Constitution and TO the exclusion of some of the
inhabitants of their islands from the privilege of
free travel accorded to the inhabitants of every
other part of the Union