Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 142, 19 June 1894 — MAKING A "REPUBLIC." [ARTICLE]

MAKING A "REPUBLIC."

— Hav*ii. baving eeaaed to be a footba!l in tbe great field game of the t»o political parties in tb is coantry, bas had no fartber attention tban a corner in the newscoInmn occasionally. wherein accoonts were given of the progress of the scheine of the! missionaries- and specalators to i «ecnre for themselTe«, their heirs and ass'gns. the soie dominion over the isUnds and tbe people native to them. We have been tlms advise l that, reiinquishing all hopea of anuex «tion, at Ie»st doring tbis admin istration, the “prov sional>' have gone on in tbe boiiding r.n of <» . rv;'oblic, as>uring to tl.e benighted people of tbat sea-girt laud inelTible blessings of a fre‘< an<l enlightened goveranveut ’ of the people by the j>eop’ti an<l for the people. snch as that whion f makes this the home of tbe free aiui the l.md of the brave aml tbe best governraent the snn ever shone ai>on, and mneh m >re to the sauie etfect. 1

MereU' as an interesting stmlv iu the prob!em of repnblic baildmg. the methods adopted bv our late fellow-citizens, or better, I fellowsresident in Kawaii—forthe ■ most of them ret*in their citizenship in this conntry—and especi- 1 ally ns showing hnw the nien and the children of the men who went there to teach tl»e semi : barbarous natives the sweet doctrine of the brotherhoo*l of man and the fatberhood of God whieh makes all men of »11 races and colorsandconditions br >(hers and equals, regard their darkerskinned brothers when the ques tion ceases to be oae of elhics aiul othodoxy and becoines a practical one of governing, the progress of their plau i.s wortby of a little space for comment. We are now advised that the delegates elected on the 3rd instant will meet on the 30th to frume a constitutiou for what w ill be calied the Republic of Hawaii. Former brief statemeut« have told us how these delegates were chosen. They were elected by the people, of course. But there were soiue prudeutial limitations of the frauchise. If all the peo- i ple were permitU-d to v.ote, there : was danger that the missionaries and their sons wou!d be outvoted by tbeir darker-hned men and brothers, who, with a remarkabie

perverseness, refused to rajr»ni i with fiivor the uuseltisii eri’>rts of tliese truly good meii to re»leom them from their political aml iuoral »legr:»»lutiou. So it was reqnired tl>al all j>ersons oHering * to register as voters shoul»l tirst take an oath of ailegiance to the provisional goVerumeut. This had the etl‘ect of disconr- ! agiug the uatives from taking | any part in the constrnction o£ this new repnldic, an etlect »loubtless antiuipated by the j trnly goo»i men at the bead of the | movement, and the registration c’osed with barely 1,600 v i »inalified to vote for »lelegates. As th«*re are some ten or twelve thousand uative mates of voting age iu the isiands to be governed, but who will have no voice in the goveruing, it woukl seem to »ny oue possessed of the old fashioued notions of rej>ublics as if this were a somewhat radical de parture £rora the estabSisbed metho»ls «nd models With that trne paternal instinot whieh led thcse worthv mo». first to go there to convert the natives to the religon of Christ. and iheu I to convert them from a belief iu an efi» cte monarcby to the worship of a governmeut wbose kev- j stone is the eqaality of a!l men, j they bave prepared for the the constitntiou they There aro some | visions in tliKs Kadvma»le co(stitution whieh stnky eilu-eai of our republie as strange. whieh. donbtiess, are doe to the exigencies of the sitnation. Senators, for inst »noes. may be ’ reside:\ts meiely of the isiands; bnt the assembiyman must be a citizcn of Hawaii, or of some i eoaatry having relations witfa Hawaii. Senators must bave 1 fo,000 worth of property andjan ineome of $1,200 a year; bnt the ■ iasemblymen need only to knuw ■ how to read aud write £ng)isb,. 5r, by way of coacession to the! aatives. Hawaiian. lt might be |

I , ' ,p inferred that ihe senators are exempl from tbis qoaIificatioo, bnt perbaps that wou!d be thuaing matters āomewbat. After tbis we are prepared for the statement tbat it Ls tbe intention. when this ready-made constitntion is adopted, to reappoiat President I>oie for a term of two or six years, after whieh presidents will be elected, tbe “repnblic” by that time having become firmly seat*Hi. An»i this exp!«n,.tion of bow thev make a repub ie out there prep«re us. a!»>, f r the cSosing stateoient that »t is expected tbat when this “republic’' isdecl*red then »tiv-? s will rise n;> aud declare th «t thev will have none of it; and. shool»l :hey «io so. wo are free to «dmit th >t they will show maeh more of the spir.t whieh niikes repnbhcs p<»ss:ble than does this re•uaik ble instrument calle»i a constitution. buililed in this f extraordinary and unrepublican ai»nner. — Sf. Pa>,l !} >,'!>/ 0 ,