Nuhou, Volume II, Number 8, 8 August 1873 — OUR POLITICAL SITUATION. [ARTICLE]

OUR POLITICAL SITUATION.

At ilie iīemise of His lale Majcsty King Kamehameha V. anel on the accession of His Majesty King Lunalilo just seven iiionths ago, the condition of the business of ihosc was, to all appearances, extlhe same that it is now; anel yet there ls a widc differencē in the estimation by certain parties of the condition of the country at two periōds, There was some depression then 3 and evident need of some commercial advantage to he obtained abroad, but not a whisper of what is so loudly of now, that the imminent ruin of the country necessitated aii alienation of a part; or all of our territory, in order to procure advantages to stop this ruin;' .Wheii His Majesty was called to the Throne, he having hael no experience in public affairs, decliired, with a patriotic ieeling, to consider His preferences, and yielded the ehoiee of the infiuential menibers of the Cabinet to the Chief Justice and other esteeme<J influential counselors. The gentlemen selected represented no ideas ? or measures, and. with one exception,- no constituency. They were all inexperienced in puhlie aflairs ? but their extreme of cautibn indieated more a conseious deficiency of than mere want of experience. \Fo y months they made no sign of any governmental action, and the-y were censured 011 all sides for their poliiiea] ineilia. After a lime, ia connection with the diseussion of a Reciprocity Treaty with America, whieh has been the especial feature of our politics fbr five years past, it was suggested by our press that Hawaii 'Would do well to cede some of her territoiY in order to stimulate Ainerica to give a fav(fla&le consideration to our request to grant us a frec market in her ports ; and Pearl Ha4>pr out as a desirable bonus to o(ler to our great 1 The Ministers appeared at first quite re[uctalit to act upoh the suggestion. It was evion mmored"upōh apparently good fbundaiion, that they said there was a certain ioreign pressure whieh would preyent taking intd considēration such a pr6|)osa| as the basis of a Tieat}. We ceusured theni at the iime, not so mueh on account of not actiiu ni 4he matter, because tliey were dispotud io pay Aeference to any fbreign pressure whatever, At last being moved by ihe clamor of a u fhv. interested"parties > and without- consid|ring in tho slightcst degrec \vhat might be the of the native' people whieh is so very largely ihe c!uef po!iticd! clement of t!n- country, thoj ! ted themselves to the measurc, and an-' nounced their intontion to propox to the United Sta(cs to cedo Poarl Haiki as a naval station a- the basis of a Tro\t\ of Ee* ciprocity* This was announeeii in an -oAieial iK-

claration " dated llie 7th July; and during the month that has elapsed, we eah eonfidently say that the whole of the native people of proportion of the ]lerhaps iully one-half, if tested by ballot, have indicated a decided determination to oppose the cession of Pearl Harbor, or the alienation of one foot of Hawaiian territory to a foreign power. The parties who advocate the cession are chieflv enterprising foreigners wlio consider that the immediate success of their industries be paramount to every other consideration. But it is well to'consider that the fifty thousand native inhabitants oi these īslands have become to some extent enlightened; that they are assiduous readers of newspapers; that they have heeome accustorned to Parliamentary Government j that they afe somewhat familiar with the political condition of other countries; that they cherish their dwit archipelago and national organiza- ; and have an enduring hope, notwithstanding the sad decline of their people— that the hand of death may yet be stayed ; that thēy may yet grow and endure as an independent people, and be ruled overby the chiefs of their land, All this sentiment is regarded as nothing in vie\v of the pressing needs of the sugar interest; it being argued that sugar being made remunerative } all interests must be benefitted,' wages increased, and the native improved and increased; notwithstanding that he has declined steadily, as wages have advanced. Gf course anincrease of prosperity must be rēgarded as a favorable condition for both physical and moial improvement, but the Hawaiian nee'ds an opportunity for regenēration, whieh meio gokl as applied to his personal wants cannot supply. He needs an inftision of fresh blood. Kindred people might be brought here to help repeople these islands and establish a Polynesian race on a

permanent basis< The jndependence of Hawaii must be desirable to every eivilized po\ver. She 'woukl maintain and regulate an entrepot of the Pashe would be too insignificant politieally td give umbrage to any maritime State aM bēing ahvays reeognixed in hev neiUi'al, independent position } would of!er all the opportunities for commerce in the Pacific that ean he desired; a|id by maintaining her auionomy $avē the responsibility and expendit«re that woukl atteiul the possession other arehipelago by a continental power.