The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-04-26
ISHOULD CUMM|HS
HAVE REPAYMENT z

Editor Advertiser: In your editorial
lof yesterday you do me the honor Of
mentioning the pamphlet on the Cum
minis case just issued by me.
| If you had read it carefully you
would not have come TO the conclu-
lsion that 1.-The Queen virtually made
tool of Mr.. Cummins that landed him
lin a felon's cell" On the contrary,
Excepting his going to Washington on
a mission for the Queen in 1894, he had
no personal relations with Liliuokalani
after her removal from the throne.
| On the removal of the Queen in 1893,
on his own responsibility, he wrote to
General Schofield, who was an old
friend. and that letter went on the s.
S. Claudine, which bore the P. G.
Commissioners on their errand to
washington to tender Hawaii to the
| United States. In that letter he ex-
planned the whole recent occurrences
and asked the opinion of the General.
General Schofield answered that he
had forwarded the letter to President
Cleveland; that personally he was sor-
iry for what had occurred but that the
navy wanted Hawaii The latter was
we'll known to Mr.. Cummins for years
and is so stated in 91y pamphlet.
AS to the immediate effect of the is
Issuance of the pamphlet being an open
ing of old sores, I do not think that is
so material, at this late date, as that
lit have the effect of arousing the SYM
pathy of the legislature and community
to the grave injustice done to Mr.. Cum
minis and his inherent right to have the
wrong done to him rectified.
The truthfulness of every quotation
in the pamphlet cannot be questioned.
When the seven gentlemen who presid-
ed at the trial of Mr.. Cumn1ins say
over their own signatures that "a plea
of misprison would have fully met the
circumstances of the case and that he
was the least guilty of the persons in
volved' it is apparent that a punish
ment for the graver offense of treason
was a cruel and unusual punishment
There We're quite a number who were
tried, found guilty, fined, and discharg-
ed without payment of fine for the
reason that their evidence was valu-
able against others, as his was Mr.
Cummins was not treated in that man
ner. probably for the reason that it was
known that he could raise the money
by mortgaging his estate.
AS he had acted in accordance with
the constitution and the laws and had
sought by every possible means TO
keep out of reasonable entanglements
it was doubly severe that he should
have been incarcerated in felon's cell
and coerced into paying an enormous
fine.
You fail to quote one part OF the
pamphlet in regard to the bald report
made to Freshest Roosevelt oy Gov
ernor Dole on the case, in answer 10
a request by the former for IL report.
wherein I stated that for some Interior
reason the evidence in the case was
withheld. 1t was the whole res gestae
in the case and if it had gone forward
there is no doubt but the government
of the United States would have di-
rected that this great injustice should
be rectified.
There is no lab at the crushed old
lady" in the whole pamphlet farther
than quotations from history The COM
pairing of the mercilessness of the
Queen and the mercilessness of the Re
public of Hawaii is not "a jab at th2
crushed old lady" More was to De e~-
pected from a well advised Republic
than from a Queen who was isolated
from advice, as, had she had advisers i
present she would probably have l.een |
restored to the throne.
When 1 say in the pamphlet "as long
as he lives and this stigma remains on
his name this old Hawaiian chief /
should hang his head in shame" L
mean in shame al a government which .
would stoop to rob a citizen, not Cor !
any crime on his part. No man was /,
ever guilty of a crime unless coupled |
with an evil intention.
AS for Opening old sores there is q |
radical remedy for prevention of open |
ing old sores or of keeping them opeE. !
and that is by making atonement to the !
injured. If the authorities are convinc- |
ed that wrong was done to this old !
chief who has done SO much to enter |
tain foreign visitors and who has held |
so many prominent positions they can |
remedy the wrong as far as possible |
by returning to him the amount out |
terest during the time of its detention.
he cannot be compensated |
for the days spent in a felon's cell nor |
for the indignities heaped upon him but |
t would be soothing to the old gen
-leman to know that the community
with him.
JAS. w. GIRvIN.