Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 89, 17 April 1894 Edition 02 — THE HEXT STEP. [ARTICLE]

THE HEXT STEP.

Are We Fit for a Hepnhlie? WLen tLe revolut:on throngL tbe cgcncy cf Mr. J. L. Stevens Lad Leeome an acccmplīsbed fact snd Hawaii virtunlly was mled by tbe Slevens constituted Provisional Goverr.ment, a nnmber of prominent«nd wealtby citizens wore askcd botb Lere and in tbe States, if Hawaii was fit to esist under a Republican form cf governroent in ca.se tbe aunexation aeLeme sbonld full througb. Mr. C. R. Bishop, one of tbe ricbest men in Hawaii, said that u republic wasout of iLe question in j Hawaii-nei. He gave as Lis j reasons tbe cbjyacter of tbe different nationalities wLieL i never could be niade Lomogenons. 1 He furtber said that Lo would — as far as Lo could—witbdraw Lis Lnaneial interests frora Huwaii ( in cnse of tho estubhsbment of a j Kepublicfln fonn of government. i Mr. Bishop wautcd annexation. Le did not want a republic nor u mouarcLy. Mr. L.A. TLurston —tbat interesting specimen of ■ Lumnnitv, who maoe a most 1 * peculior statement regarding Lis I own virtue on tbe floor of tbe Iiegislative Hall iu 1886—stated i as soon as Lo reaclied WasLing j ton, after tbe revolution and liini IIwwtt.il nAnU Rf»VHr prosper under a republican fcrm cf govornment, but would Lave to be ruled bv a military oligarcby uuder tbe control, and in tlie ! pay of the sng ir baroas. He said that 8nnexulion wus necessary, tbat tbe returu to raouarcliy was irapossible aud tbat tbe establisbment of an iudependeut republic was disastrous. As Le spokc, so spoke the otber eomraissionors wLo were seut to "\VasLington as represoRting i Hawaii, and tbeir little say was recorded iu every pnjwr from tbe , East to tlie W cst, frora SontL to ( North. Mossrs. Dole, Damon uud even little **Billy" ’ SraitL Lave been interviewed by scores of newsjiajier men, aud tbey have all solemnly stated tbat Huwaii cannot exist under a republican form of government. Aud now theso men who Lave laid forth tLeif j>rinciples aud doctrines in i this raatter eome to tlie front and j say, ”y€s, let us establish a Republic in Hawaii.” They j are working against their own convictious, against their own : prouounced priuciples, agaiust | their better judgment; but for i the purjx>se of keepiug the brief : uuthority uow enjoyed by thera; i for the sake of—as they believe — gettmg even with tbeir j>olitieal I oj>j>onents, they destroy the; ] future prosjH?rity of tbis couutiy ; ( tbat gave them shelter and bread ‘ and j>erLaj>s wealth and (hey t wilfully ruin a nation—natives t and fore»gners alike—togetber t witb themselves. for tho mean, e low, narrow-mindeil i>urpose of «

IV' n | <U I UVIV l'Ul V/ rnliug a day, or au hour~ Tb« el«»ction of delegates t*> tba Con stitutional Couvention shows be yond doubt the future that Ha waii will be if a republic is estab' lished. Tbe quarrel amongst the Portugoese is simply a begiuniug. Under a republic the Japanese, the Chiuese. the Hawaiian* aud the vastnumber of foreigoers now standing aloof, will t*ke a haud in the fight and the first eleoiion held here w ill be pandemonium. And noconstitution, howeverfram ed, will bo able to stand against the popular sentiment that some day. earlier or later, wil! break down the attempts of making a lluwaiian republic, a Uawaiian oligarcby. The new constitutiou may or may noi for • while secure a goverument that vutual!y lMvee the control of ihe land la

tfce band of n small if wealtby minority. Tbe spectacle today ir. £ng'.and of tbe attacks agaiast the House o( Lords by a mass far more igncrant &nd far more j>olitically ur.edacated tban tbe Hawaiiacs sLccld be a lesson to tke raaking cf constitutions in tbe teeth cf tLe j eop!e and ag’.inst their wilL If Mr. Dole and Lis satellites would read and ?tcdy tbe Listory of the constitntional governments cf the wrold instead of sj>endiEg their time in empty cbeer ng of the American flag at a non pclitica! charitable fete or in condemn;ng the “puneh” that tasted well, they might learn scmething. bnt the missionaries of Hawaii are like tbe gre»t bouse of Bourbon— hi*tory teaches them nothinj. W:th unseemly baste, they are rusLing LeBd-long iuto the nbvss of anarchy. WitL them maybe goes this country their own weahh and certainly their inAnenee. But some day tbeir chi!dren and grand-children when tramping or shovel!ing snow will look back with tears in their eyes to tbe far distant, llawaii ruled or rais-ruled by a nou CLristian gacg of Asiatics and say, “Ah! thut is where our f ithers’ weallh as, and that is whero tbey, as d fools, loft it.” We Lave simj>!y tried to show tbese deludtd men thot according totheir own st..teraents, their own avowed principles, a llepuhlie in Hawaii is an impossibility and will be disastrous, aud we agiin, for the eommon good, ask thera to j>ostpone their couvention until the nation is ready to act with them : or against tbem.