Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 196, 27 August 1894 — ARE THEY HONEST ? [ARTICLE]

ARE THEY HONEST ?

As we have stated in fomaer i*8ne«, tbe Hawaii&n political eitoatioo of todar is so. that it will D«ce*aitate the people to deeide wLat is to be done and make themselves recognired as the motor powerof theircoantn'. j The spectacle of a people lying qnietly cn iheir backs, and, like Micawber. waiting forsomething to turn np. is a mo«t disgnfiiing sigbt to any man who belicvee in the prosperity of his coontiy and the right of a nalion. We — advisedly ne say ice —aro in in the majority. W hatever tho caoses were. that bronght on the revolntion and the ' pfeaent situation; whoever was ; or i« to blame. who nre the sufferers iu Ihe past or in the future are matters ol uo importanee todav. The q4iestion is not whut we could have said or done, the question is what now ean be said and done to further the prosperity of the coontry and of eien' soul — bo it embodied in a brown, black, yellow or white shell—who tod«y calls this fair land h;s home. Mr. Busb «av tbnt he doesn’t know what we moan by the prnying — and waitiug business. He is remarkable obtose in this instar.ee. We mean that the golden opportunity has gone by in whieh the royalists should, aud eoukl have made a successful raove whereby their prestige in this country would have been assured. We prodicted the failure of tho royalist commission to Washington, becauso they wout. there represcntiug an individual and not u party or a poople. : Our prediction has eome out right. Tho oxistence of lettors j from the commissioners received by the Arawa may yel be used as 1 a moans of deluding the uatives who raid Mr. Bush’s paper, but we enn state on the very bcst authority thut no lelter was received iu any quarters from Bere- j lania s(reet to tbe l’lain. However, we do not desire to qnarrel with the Ku Leo or the i narrow - minded or ignorant fol- 1 lowers of Bush. We want to talk | business to the A<hrr(isrr the oftioial organ of the republic. lu | this raorning’s issue it has one of | its verv niee feline editorials in t whieh it exteuds its paw ostensibly clothed in velvet, but, like the principle of the paper, a very eheap velvet through whieh the point of the claws is felt. Our ! E, C. savs: ■ Tho Adveriiser earnestly hopes I that all good aud honomhle men among iho royalist faction will ! hastou to nccept the Eepuhlie, to : aeeepl it frankly and without resorve, and that thoy will join with the party whieh creuted the j Kopnhlio, iu *the effort to promote ; tho welfare of Hawaii. The \ vale of a Constitutional oj*position is all thut reraains to the royalists, who are nlso patriots. To remain louger without. is to prefer factiousness aud sedition to the eonimon good. We fully agree with the official organ and we have no doubt that Hawaiiaus and foreigners more •specially the kamaainas — will be wil!iug to “accept thc republie, frankly aml without reserve and join tbe party in the eftort to promole tbe wclfare of Hawaii.” That has been our main objeot ■9 far although our ideas of the welfare of Hawaii do dit&r from those of the official organ. The following paragraph in the -4<it«r(iaer proves to us that the party represented by it is not sincere or honost but that it has got down from ita Iofty pedesial of a)Ieged honor, and bnilt on repnblican principles and now takee its refuge in trickery aud < political ambigu>ty. lt says: i “The vale of a constitntional op- ' poeition is all tbat remains to * the royalists who are also pat- « riota.’' ’ Perhaps so. But that vale 1 isn’t open to ihe men who elaim > that they are as good or bettcr 1 paihoU ihan are the Adi*rti«r -

• cliqoe or the sanx>rteM of tb« repablic. Tbe “patnot« oo oor «ūle are wfo«ed recoga>t»OD »* , vot<*r« i d tbi« coantnr. Tbe Hav»iiaos ean regi«ter and vote Tbe • cōiistitatioDal conTention i <lid not b*re aafficient etfronterj‘ ; to bar them. The foreigners who j might join a loyal oppoeiiion are i disfranchised. And for that i | reason we believe that there are no bouest iulenlieua ou tbe part ( of the government to exist aa a popaiar, n jast and a honorable republie'in whieh eTery qnalified taxpayer bas the right to let hit opiuion be known and felt nevar mind whether he pāya $3 or $3000 a year taxes. The following 8ections from the ccnstitntion of 1894 show tbat we are jostified in oar suspicions aa to the bonesty,of the ralmg powers We qnote; Art:cle 74. Sec. 1. order to be elipihle to vote for RepreaeutAtiVes u person sball;) Be h mi»le citizen of the Rapublic. and if naturalized prior to Jao17th 1893, be a native of a eountrv baving, or having had treatv re'lations with Hawaii. Compare that seeiioc with the fo)lowiog and see where we arer Article 18, See. I. The naturnlization of aliens shall be eiclusively within the jarisdiction of the Justices of the Sapreme • Coort. The procedure shall be sach as niay be provided by law. Niw, we elaiin that tbe two sections above pnblished finally deprive tho haniaaina who did not natm<ili,ze nnder the government,from qualifying as a voter. There was no reason in iho&e daya wby a man shoold n«turalize. Since 1887 cverybody oould regi«ter under an electoral or*th nnd oxercise his right as a voter. Consequently nobody took the trouble to heeome subjects of Hawaii. And that provision was made by Thurston and company. Now the very men who provided forthese thiugs iul887 elaim that they have opened the door for us to enter and ask us to step np and becomo a constitutional opposition. Are the government and its organs trying to be facetious’ Are they asking the taxpayers of this country to make fools of themselves by knocking at a door whieh eannol be ‘opcnod ? lf tho government meaus to be honest let it preseut a bill to the councils on noxt Thursday whieh will provide for “the p*rocedures” necessary for natar*lizatioD. If that is done and tho field 0{>en to every qualified man to become a citizon and a votor, we will be • ready to believe that tho government is acting iomi h<le aud that the expressed sentiments of the Adverti&r are a little more than they now seem to be — the apotheosis of BOSH!