Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 173, 6 March 1893 — NEUMANN'S MASTER MOVE. [ARTICLE]

NEUMANN'S MASTER MOVE.

Washington, Feb. 20th, I89i<. ‘*Bof'>re Mr. Neumann left his hotel this morning he reviewed the situation and determined on a master move. He decided that Prince David should go to Lakewood and throw himself and hia poor country on the raercy of Pre-sident-elect Cleveland. lt was not a bad idea to semi the Prince lo Lakewood, and Neumann packed him off by the 9:30 train in charge of E. C. Macfarlane. Even to a plain democrat like Mr. Cleveland tbere is always a sort of halo about a priuce that makes him interesting and there was every reason to believe the Presi-dent-elect would at ieast listen to the nephew of ex-Queen Liliuokalani, and if he did it was hkely he might grant th« Prince’s simple plea. It would seera such a trifle that Prince David had to ask.” The gist of the Prince’s pleaean be expressed in these lines: “We reepectfully beg to urge upon your noliee. the fact that the treaty before the Senate has been prepared without consultatiou with the peopie of Hawaii, and we submit to your sense of justice our respectful request not to permit final action to be taken until the Commissioner of the Crown shall have been permitted to present his side.” “While Prince David and Maefarlane were flying East on the limited escorted by Mr. Wilkinson who is well acquainted with Mr. Cleveland, Paul Neumann was making a canvass of Senators known to be dubious about acceptine the treaty. Paul is certainly a diplomat. He made a careful estiraate ol the temper of the Senate and acted accordingly. He thought it was due to the genenisity and couscience of tbe American nalion that, in prepariug the treaty, they had more inf>rraation than the fx-parte statemcnts of a little baud of iuterested geutlemen who did not represent the islands or anv faction of their inhabītants « • respectable in size. He W0Uld not ask the Senate to aeeepl his side of the question, but wou!d ask the Senate to apnoint a eommiuee of wise and learned diplomats to pr> ceed to Honolulu and make such iuquirivs into theneeds and wisbea of ihe people as the subject deserved.” So mueh has bern said in Honolulu in regard to Neumann going to Wasbingtoa * to seU out” and rumors to that effect have been rife here partly emanating from

a h : gfa jotiici.il officiaI. Lct us c f »mpare th-rum >r? with Paul Neununn'? t5 quoted by tfae Eximiner: *‘He ?.ii t • ihe Senat'r5 thit he had not c >me fr >m the Qneen lo niake any demand or decide for an &nnuity for her or for *ny c>msideration m her account. > »e wjs jirej xred f>r anything thal m:sr'nt c»me a d h:id h>wed her h“:id t > the ineritable. As for the * Cr >\vn lands the\ were i trust 1 from K nn Kamehamehi III. f>r ( the use >>f the crown ar.d when the 1 I trv>( ex:ūred they must in law revert i > t'ie c<>rporal heirs of Kamehameha. Tiie c-urts of the U:iited St.U»s couid decide as to who thos- helrs wtre and n > treaty could extiu"ui»h their rightor m>)dify th*-m. The tjueen did not ask him t>i opj>05e annexation nor to get any money for her but hiul eent him to mnke n plen Jor her poor people. It was not fair to them to pass a treaty of whioh they had no knowledge and wh;ch would be ratitied hy a Pr »visional Government in whoseselectionthey had no voice. Eight thousand intelligent kanakas who had always voted were to be disfr»nchised and treated a» though they were ignorant and illiterate savages. The customs of hundreds of years whieh were the breath oflifeto themweretobe wiped out m a second and they were t>> bt> governed by men who knew toem not and who had no sympathy with them. \Vould it look well hereafter to show the world that the United States had taken a c»untry from a kiiul aud hospitable Chnstian people without giving them a hearing? He asked that a eommittee go to the islands and ascerlain the facts and for such delay as the g od sense of the Senate felt was decent and orderly.” “Tbis afternoun it looked as though Neumann had inade an impression for a secret poll laken by the friends of the Administration showed a change in the sentiments of the Senate. Only five democrats favored the immediate acceptance of the treaty and three Republicans opposed it. This poll took no account of thirteen senators who are absent and it was very significaut that John Sherman who represents the Administration did not move for an executive session as was exj)ected at 2 p.m. The day passed and Hawaii was nut mentioned in the Senate.” How Thurston feels ean be seen from the following lines : "The Annexation Commissioners are uneasy. They are anxious about the reception that will be given ihe treaty in Honolulu. There is a nervous &pprehension io Thurston’s mind that the band will not play, “See ihe Conquering Hero Comes” when he marches up tbe avenue that leads to the Governraent House. Said Paul Neumann to-night : *‘It wou!d be funny if the Provisional Government should decline to ratif\ the treaty after it was pre§ented to them, bul jt wouid not l>e strai^g c> and that is what is worrying r * Thurston. The natives have got nothing, the planters bave got nothing, the fruitgrowers have got notbing, and when they eome t« figure out where they are they mav demand a change of the eonditions that will send*the entire matter back to the Unite*J 3tales for deliberate consideration.” Tbe annexationists here were very elated, ‘*because Neumann had f*iled to keep an appointroent wiih 3ecretary Foster. and cocse-

quently been snubbed by the secretary.” Thef '.!.»wi; » > tt..n:ch what the Examiaer's Washington o*>rr- - • - F 21-* -u. •' • - - ’ doubtfui who w.is moetIy •‘-nul>bed” of tbe two gentleiuen. **If Paul Neumaim has causcd - ’ - - . \ ‘ , ‘ M _ ■ ■ ia - the other -ide. It - ems as if his ba>l luek had all eome at one liiue i and th.it now the other ehinu :s ' workinr. Secretary Foster wm i so:uewhat di-apj -int*>i at his ; fiiiure to meei .Mr, Neumann traveled *l>Sund*y j uig(>t. and all d\y yesterday from North< . N ! apjx>iQtment to meet him at the S ■ ■ He alao • lep*rtment this m>>ruing an hour after the *asembiing ; the Ca order to give Mr. Neumann * hearing in case he siiould eall at tbe department, but he \vas disaj>pointed in both instances and has heard ur seen nothing of the representative of Hawaiian RoyaIty since he called on Acting >*■• retary Wharton last Fri>lay. an*l arranged a meeting with Seoretary F*>ster. When lie failed to appear the Secr : iry fe*ring, he might h*ve ! mistaken thetime or | >ss;bly b*-en misinf >rm> »1 sent his private s cretary t» tlie h>>tel to notify Neumann thut he was waiting to receive hini. but Neuman was n>>t at liis hoiel. nor was anytiiing heard from him this mormng, so the imj>ression grew that he ha>l abandoned his mission a!tog>-th* r so far at ieast as the Exeoutive branch of the government was concerued. This ioformation was given out at the States Department during the aftern*K)n, and it showcd that Secretary F‘>eter uns rather more anxinus to meet the encoy <>/ the Queen than he would hnre cared to admit. But the envoy had not abandoned his inlenlion to eall on the Secretary of State. His failure t<o meet the Secretary was due to the ii)terference of the g>xliless of Chance who seems to have the affairs of Hawaii in her epeeial keeping. When Neumann called on Assistant Secretary Wharton, that gentleman made an app»intment and wrote Mr. Foster’s address on a card that Neumann might know where to find him. Neumann however read the address wrong and drove to the wrong plaee that eveni»g. Neumaun read the card and had the haekmau read it to make sure, he had not made a mistake, and when he cal!ed at the State I>ej)artmeiit this afternoon and finally met Foster, he had the card with him. The Secretarv binted āom**thing alxjut a broken engageraent, and Neumann said that i/ the ,-!.■<>iofan( Secretnry had u sed a typewriter the trouble wonld n*jt hare occurred. Mutual expressinns o/ regret /oUovccl and then th*v had a talk. “Neumann’a frien<ls may be pleased to learn th»t th« astute Secrel*ry of State found the lawyer from Honolulu quite a match for him.” That the missionary insurgents here are not going to have their own way as easily as they seem to have expected ean be gleaned from the f>)llowing statement in the Examiner : “Neomann is alive to ihe importance of having the Provisional Government thoroughly anderstand all th»t ha* been done *nd might h*Te be«n done, and will see to it th*t Macfarlane st*rts for the West aa soon as he gets b*ck

frotn New Y.Tk Tiie betweeu the t»'» s«ets of plenip<»teut aru>» is very inter«?tinj. Mact' irUne wīll have the of ihe it U ila trvaty »s it «t-u.*is •! ««:? not pn>tect the planten> tn any way. He will a;s » l»e ahle t » tell theui th.»t if the treaty is ratiri--<l the H •;-“ oi Hepr<'-entatives has ini Jeclaretl th<i( it ir ill <!<1ay in i.. iUty to protidf for a (iocrr<, it for HaiC'iii an l u ill »o< pio any bill for ih'- ad nUfioa •/ II nr utan pro<luc(sjWf. This has l>een snd in ihe most forvible and plain»-t manner. The Houee i» .mgry and has s.iid so hy f»rmal resolutions onee at the attempt l*» pa?s aueh a treaty as this without the eoueunenee of the Houae. ll ie knowu that ut the pr<>p»T lime Outhwaite, Tucker, Sonnger and others, will ;ntrovluce a rea<>lution l<> ascertam whv a treaty that will involve this Government in eon»iderable eapenae and wili re uire Ihe raising of reveniu - by its >wii term» ha» been snbmitted to the Senate with<>ut heinp *u:>mit:»ul to the Hnuee. The Hnuse consider» jt has heeu »tTr»nted and prop ses to mate 9omebody suffer. There is not mueh real opp.>sition to aunexati<»a, but t!iere is »eriou» and angry opjH*sitiun tn the tactics of the Admini»tration, aiui all the force of Cleveland’s name that ha» been freely used to press tho H»nse to take no aelion is likely lo prove ineffeetual.’' Senator Alliaon has joined the opiK»sition !•> the treaty. and it i» the opinion of the b« st po«ted men that it will fail to secure the nec**9•ary two-thirds vote. Geary bf Califorma who has opposvd the treatv all along is making a new point 8gainst it on account of the proposed steamship line of Lycurgus and Camarinoe to Puget Sound whieh will be injunous to the interests of San Francisco. - JL ■-!»- ULL ■ Ī9