The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1910-03-18


for discussion in the United States sem
ate on February "a, and some interest
ing speeches were made by Depew and
others, Opposition was developed 10
the sections of the bin raising salaries
of judges and territorial officials, and
authorizing the territorial government
to loan money to homesteaders. The
following are extracts from the debate:
Mr.. Depew. The political history of
the Islands is not different in the
development of government from the
experiences of European nations. Among
the petty kings there appeared in 1890
one of those geniuses who arise among
all primitive peoples called Kamehame-
ha. He conquered the Islands, over
threw all the petty kings, and con-
centrated supreme authority in him
self. Though he had no rules for
guidance and knew no history, never
theless he established feudal govern
ment like that which existed in France
during the middle ages. In 1920 the
American Board of Commissioners of
Foreign Missions sent seven married
men with their wives to Honolulu. The
| coming of these men and their families
was the turning point in the political
and religious history of Hawaii and
its social conditions. In ten years they
and other brethren who came Afterwards
converted the entire population to Chris
| tianity. Hawaii today with it's high
civilization, its very small percentage
of illiteracy, smaller than in any State
or Territory, its free government, its
peaceful and orderly subsection to law,
its intelligent exercise of all the powers
of government through an elective legis-
lature, its common-school system, and
its commercial and Industrial progress
is monument to the work, devotion,
and genius of the missionary spirit. If
the missions needed any defense, the
Hawaiian archipelago, separated from
the world by thousands of miles of
ocean, and owing its changed condi-
tons from savagery to civilization en-
tirely to the efforts of the missionaries,
is permanent and magnificent exhibit
of their spiritual and temporal bless
ings. The sovereign and the mobiles,
after ten years of Christian teaching,
devolved upon the people self-govern-
ment and divided their authority with
Legislature consisting of two houses.
| These early converts, in a rude effort
to conform to the teachings of their
spiritual instructors, adopted as their
first constitution and bill of rights the
Ten Commandments. Except for the
efforts of succeeding sovereigns to re
gain autoeratic power, which ultimate
ly led to the overthrow of a monarchy
and the establishment of republic, the
Islands were wisely, intelligently, and
conservatively governed. All the great
nations of the world saw the value of
the Hawaiian Islands and endeavored
20 secure exclusive privileges through
the favor of its sovereign. The British
carried the King and Queen, as far
back as about 1926, to Great Britain as
the guests of the nation. King Kala-
kaua was received by all the govern
ments of the world, including our own.
| From San Francisco to New York his
| journey was sort of triumphal march
in the reception which he received from
commercial bodies, who saw great ad-
vantages in securing for the United
| States the commerce of Hawaii. An
incident in this trip was one of those
rare contributions to the sedate move
ment of history, which promotes good
fellowship by adding to the gayety of
| nations. Chicago received the King
with impressive ceremonies on his ar
rival. After a weary day of paradcs
and reviews, the then mayor of the
metropolis of the West found King
on his hands. He wished, of course, to
promote the commercial interests of The
city over which he presided. At the
same time kings were not in his line,
nor was he familiar with their at
tributes or customs of court or the