Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 168, 24 February 1893 — Untitled [ARTICLE]

Wheu the Heform Partv and the anr.exationiet» and their followers have pot through crving hurrah and einging the Te Deum over the suj>poeed of the;r eonspirHcy with the Americ>tn Kepuhliean adrainistration, il will be time f>r them to look c!ocely into what they are to gaiu bv the propoeed change. They. as well anybody else, are to be deprived of all self government and all voice in the affairs of the country, if the program of Mes~rs Thurston <t Co. 's to be carried out. Dave they any idea what Alaeka and t!ie government there is ? \\e doubt it, beeauee we believe that the inborn conceit in them would bar them from courtmg the degradation involved by such a form of goveruruent, and by the companson necessary to be drawn between them and ihe inhabitants of the District of Alaska. For their kind consideration and comfort, we will give them a few factsabout Alaska. Alaska was bought through a treaty between the United States and Kussia f>r $7,200,000 in 1569 or 70. If the States. by the way, were willing to pay such an amount for that (4od forsaken eountrv, this countrv should certainly have fetched a bigger price, and our reverend commisioners could have pocketed a big eommieaion for the benefit of their mortgageholders. The inhabitants of Alaakan numbered 29.097. Ofthese 26,843 were Natives, 1.421 were half-bred, 483 Russians, and 350 Ameneana and *‘other nationalities, M Out of the tchoIe popnlati>yn only 1,300 eould he eonsidered eieilistd. It was b«)th just and reaeonahle, that no form of self-gov-ernment could be granted to such a mtscelIaneous, baVbarian horde, and the country was lurned into a milit»ry and collecting district with he»dquarters at Sitka. On May the I7th 1884, Alaska was by act of Congress created a civil and judicial District. A Governor, District Judge. Clerk of Diftrict Court, District Att>rney and Marshal were provided for. The Clerk of C*)urt is ex ofiieio Secretary of the District and Trea•urer, recorder of deeds and mortgages, and registrar of willa. The Diatrict C*>urt sits twice a year in two diflerent Four Coramissioncrs are appointed who, be•ideg the ptiwers and jurisdiction of Commissioners of the United St*tea Circuit Courts, exercise duties ajd powers. civil and criminal. now conferred on justices of peaee under the general iaws of ihe Stale of Oregon so far as applicable. They alao have testameut aud prob*te jurisdiction. subject to •upervieioo of tbe Distnct Judge, and the powers of notaries puhlie. The marshai appoints four depu* iiee f»r 4 diflVrent localities. witb uames made up of all tbe consonants in tbe Alphabet and no woweia, where they cx oOieio act as consUb!es The general laws of Oregon are in forc« so far as applieahle. The above mentioned officen are appointed by and with tbe advtce *nd consent of tbe Senate. Tbe Uovernor and judge are eacb paid 63,000 a year, th« o«ber oAeīal* 12,500. How wnold eoek arrangement •uit ihe citiren« of tbeee Iilands who for decades have raled their

' own affairs to the welfare and ' prosperitv of the country ? D) any of them real;y and honest!y i be,icve. that this country under guch government will make any 1 pr‘£rt-s towards further prosperity and g icctsi ? Is not ihe propoeition as strong a retrograde move as ean be imagined ? Are the inh ib;tants here to be considered ihe light of ihe Aiaekan p<opul* t;on, eonuinine only 1.30() civi- . lize«i helngs. oul of wniehone third are Rus=ians‘ ;> Let us look at their apjjropriation. bll lhat stronger tbau anything eise will ahow that there ean be no justice or eommon sense in likening them to us. Thisis what they annually need to run the Alaska g<>vernment: $25.000 f>r education of chiidren irrespec- j tive of race, $1.500, for industrial aehoola for lndians, $24,000 for expenses for the governmeut, $5<J0 for compilation of laws and 128,- i 350 fjr supervisicu of seal fisheries. i Why ! they haven ; t eveu got an 1 appropriatiun for an Alaskan army or volunteer forces nr uniforras for the staff officers or for a band or for the entertainment of California Keporters,or any other items whieh cou!d tend to show their grade of civilization! aud we are to be treated as such — Did our planters ever look into the contracts helween themselves and their Japanese laborers ? It has heen very amusing to see Mr. Thurston ia \Vashington give lots of assurances in regard to our eontract laborers. It was a question of small importance. The present coutracts would remain in force to their expiration, and we would make no new onee. How niee 1 But wasn’t Mr. Thurston in makirg his oalculations overlooklng a factor of sorae importance—the laborers themselves ? It so happena that the Japane9e labor-contracts are made principally between the Japanese Imperial Goverument and the Hawaiian Royal Government, and 8econdarily helween master and servant. As the Hawaiian Royal Government has ceased to exist, it is not unrea3onable for the Japaneae Imperial Government to hold that ita contracts with that government also have ceased to exist and it may now be left to the opti«u of the men, if they should wīsh to returu t*> Japan or work here as free men. If it should turn out that the Japaneae repreaentative to Hawaii thiuka aa we here have insinuated the planters ean prepare theu>selvea to me«t thegolden era promised ua by the Adverliaer, in whieh ftve men will work on and the wealthy augarbarous have the satisfaclion of paying $30 or $40 a monlh for j their work. Should our Proviaioual Government in*Ut ou the Japanese carrying out their eontracts, and begin to loek them up, the chances are thal tne Japanese Governmeut uiight remon»trate with if in a most perauaaive manner. aud convert it or what is left of it to the Japanese view of things. We lruat, of course, that notbing of the kind will happen, but through reaumg tne Advertiser’s editoriais lately, we have i heeome gIuomjaaud take & peeai- , raistic view of everything, even of Henry*s journalĪ9tic ability. The Japaneae man-of-war. Naniva, whieh eame mto port yeaterdar n a very fioe T9—L If ab« only is oot on a eniiae, ahe moat have heen m a great deol of hurry to finish tbe craise, as ibe got here

in the «ame time a« the mailgteamer generall_v take«. It n»y be that some Japane?e w u anxiou? to have a seat in tbe Advisorv Couueil. and being well posted hurned down before the seat of Mr. Andrew Brown was 0f course everybodv knew that Mr. Brown wou!d be appointed'Suj>erintendent f Water-Works. and everybody’s prediction has eome true. i We are 1 th to be!ieve that there is any polilieal jobbery in the d;smiss.il of the present - iperintendeut Mr. White, ai.d in the appoinlmei t oi* Advisory CounseIlor Brown, but, as we have always heard the :l»r.ner genlleman’s abihty spoken of in tbe very bighest of terms, it would be of public interest to have Mr. J. A. King give reasons for the change iu that j iraportant bureau. By the way we should advise ihe rest of the i advisory boys to hurry up and get theirjobd. After the annexation ia cornpleted, and we are Americans, their show for ulliee will be — in the smoke. Soldiers on dnty marching in squad3 through the streets should 1 not march on the sidewalks. e eall the attention of all the eom-manders-in-chiefs to this little military rule, after having witnessed a sqad of men with cart-ridge-belts and sidearms jostling the people on the sidewalks betweeu the Poliee Station aud the Barracks. Until the “Anny” is given into the charge of somebody who knows soraething about the rudiments of military rules and behaviour, we shall be pleased to furnish the minister of war with tbe necessary points, and do it free, gratis, for notbing. We hope that this pieee of patriotism will be duly appreciated by the fourteen Great Powers in Advisory Council assembled, and that we eome day may be transferred from the Holoml'a stafl' to the elaA 1 of the Oeheime —Miiitair— KommiUee — Rath. Our admiration for the actions of the Provisional Government is ever-increasing. In the “Advertiser’s” only truth-telling eolumn. the By Authority Column, we see that the government have sent Messrs Emmeluth, Waterhouse and Cooper to the insane asylum, to give a general report ou that institution. Ah ! there —Stay there! We didn’t expect that the Advertiser would like the article. whieh we reprinted yesterday from “The Natick Cititen,” a paper pubi lished right in our missionaries' original horoestead. For the special b€nefit of the Reform Party’s organ we will give some quotations from the “Sacramento Bee,” written by a prominent San Fr*ncisco lawyer, Matt Clarkea. There are lots of food for digestion in the article in question. and it may open the eye3 of the Adver-tiser-man to ihe fact that there ia «ome opposition to the anneialion eeheme rigbt in California. In regard to ihe whole propo«itiou th« “Bee” says; Wbetb«r newad m iu poliiieal, eommercial. aueial or moni upeeli we ean arnre at no other onhiaaeii eoneloaion tban thax tbw propoaed eeheme ia both dangerooa and impolilie and a wrong to aaH, greater tbaa it la to Hawaii—tb* GoTemment of whieh, br maae», uĀw iaAoenee or phraical force, we aie ealled npon to overthrow!

Ahml the Americans l:ving here the following oi>inion is ; given: Now, the maj\jrity of th'.>se L'-eallwl j Amer'.cans iivmg in Hawaii arv iortune ' or poiii eai place-hunters. many of 1 whom have volnntari!y an<l f><r years ; res:deii ou ihe i«land.-. an.l ii tney liave not denationai:zed thems*ivts bv f.>rmally 8wearias allegiancc n t! e Li.wemmea; of Hawaii, the most of them have virtualiy *bjared American citizensaip by shirtin< dntie> and res:' 'usib.lities during a protr.tcted seii expatriation in parsuit of tne alm ghty doiiar The author;tv of thc Provisional Cotumissioners is treated iu the followiug lines : In tnis pr ject of the HawaiiaaAmerican Co'umissioners, the subver- • si <n >>f r. fore;gn Ltovernment i« flnderUian au.l the immed;ate annexation of | a heter«geueous i>eoi'le proposed without their sanct:on <>r eoasent. But itis prop>.sed to have thrir acts hereaft--r ratified by the pe>>p.e of Hawaii. That is au admisaion of the want of that authonty whieh they shuuld possess l>efore submitting the proposition of anuex8ti«>n. Katification of their illegal acts, iniiiaiel in wrong and doue in usurped authoritv. wonld be valueless wiluoul a restoralion ■ the 8titus existing prior to the 9o-called provigioual gjvernment. The weight to be placed on ihe opinioua of naval authonties eoincide very mueh with the sentiments exnressed in the Holomua a few days ago. This is huw the “Bee” haa it: If this annexation sc leme is succe8sful, the Navy ship bmlder« and eontractors ithose patriotic gentlemcn who have a bappy faculty of feeling a Nat;on’s pulse and purse at the same time) will be in clover aud ready lo experiment in constr cting war ships fit for the dry docks. This 8ystem of navy building is like kicking at a nightmare; it e*haasts the bodr engaged in the oeeupaikm without any Batisfsetory reaulte—and ie a tvrannous tax —and m its present aei>ect8, Hke ihe penaiou fraud, a robbery of the people w thout reas<jn, excnse or jastitication. Po«■ibiy this exten«ion of oar territorv and the addition to our Navy made necee«ary thereby, may afford amueement and junxeting expeditions for crews of navy odicers, but this luxury ia one in whieh we siionId n<<t indulge. however eerioas the b!ow might prove to red tape, upper ten and the strutting martinet. And here are some very good common-sense remarks for tbe epeeial consideration of the alleged Aniericans here • If tbe Government of Hawaii d<>e« not suit the Amenean resident there, let him l*>ave. or, if it injure him in penon or prooerty, let him se*<k redre«e in U« Court«. If he is injured by any act cogniaable by tbe law uf Naiiuna ur aay treaty, thi* government will protect him. lf §o supremely powerful there it is a *ad e »mmentary on existing affair« that tbe American eiem«nt oould not direct the Governmeot of Hawaii aa well as the nativ s have done, withoat appeai to the Untted Stares. lf, as ia elaime-l, American interes f s overehadow all othere and they control ninety cent. of the Hawaiian trade, why, in the name ol eom.non sen«e. do tney wieh to grasp the otber ten per cent. by an expensiv<* annexation • eeheme. Tne fact >■ that the S*n iw.eh Ī8landa have Oeeome tue rendexvous, the poMleo commerctal gambling den, the favorite Monaeo-Meoea —refuge of a elaee of speculatirg agitatora in political and commerctai atlaira —tbe rear guard of that sy»tem of civllizatioa whieh, from respectable caoniba!iem, has reduced the natlve element to beeome in ita turn a tit morael for the poliūeal glatton and the nnaneial cor moraat. Unf <rtunately tbe wnt«r to the “Bee” '.8 not Secretary of Sute. bec*u»e thia ia how he woaid har« acted *nd thereby been eatitled to the greatest sympathy and support of any party : Coited Miih Minieiw Swvan ra!*ed the Ameiiean flag in Honoialu, and elaima tr aeeemea the right. at invita- '' tk>n ot the Proviaiooal Gov«rnment, lo

prv>t*cs th»t u»ar- t >ed »uthor.tr. ing nc«"ti»»k>n« st W"«#h;nift >n. H<? •h»uid b«f neeulW at enee. *n»a*i»«d, i a idved *n<l laheloi in th»t Ianj» eolltVtion of pol:t!C*J rcli«-s. who jp> eoaim:M; >ned t>* other e >untn«*e repre- | waUtiv> - t>f our Oorernment. who m!do«» know tneir dr.:;e? an<l r»re’.y p«*rform t!u*m —yet naanaee t-> eom* h»>me with «wollen heaa# an ’. p«vke:<. An>l M to Commander Wilu. or Wi!t*e, of the Bo?ton. who I-m<i>*d his f>raa on :h* tsl«ad Ln ab*en.i.«- :h« Uni; d 'ta:es Min:?:er, he s»hoQld be c**'iiered (r>ni the servioe. It p«ius to be « j->ke on the |«rt nf 8.>:ne o! our snp*r serri> ie■ble navy ot}ioers to ma«ijiier«d*» wi:h «« mueh show «nrt pi>mpo«'.fy in fore;cn w*;ers *s >f they w> r» ..r\ , eri!ii{ cv>rn l*eef haeh at Oelnumieo'». It >:even« an-1 11 iit!*e had een hanoe'l to a c>>*oo«nui tree by the Ka- • naka*. it is donbtful if Uii* l»overn|ment could have «xaoted indemnitf for the «xh biti<>n. N«uher «* 01(110*« of »hi» Government nor as priTat« cit xena had they «ny rijfht. by eiolenee or show of artns. to inv«do or aoeep» ihe invitation of any power in the iaiands to invade that territ<>rv to i>rot«ct or uphold any f.>nu of Hawaiian government. They have no itreater n»tht to aot in the assunu“d cq acity of con«ervttor» o( the peaee in thee« isl«nds than the repreaent«tive* of Japan or Uhina wtu>«e sabjects oatnumber the belhgervnt s*>-calle>l Auierioans d miciled there. May the wriler‘s final e.\pression be heanl and find eeho in the hearts of the Ainerican People : Let not America inra<le tho«e is!ands to diitnrb the oourse of ev«nts by assuming to direot their <le*:iny ! Ia>: the [>« <ple cling t‘> their homea, !»«< an*l traditions umil (iod’» providence deoreea their disaoIution in the natural course of human events. Let tbem not be betrayed by the friends penuit:e*I to oocupy tbe>r homes an<l who have grown rich on the fertility »<f their soil! Let the Hawaiian race llve on, free from American imenemion, and if 8nccumb it must. let it dn<w»ily, peaeefullv and in ecst*tic indiiference croon nnniole»ted t*> th« netots uf iu cor«! »tr*nd» tor the eenlle voice whieh will c«II it henee to the »;leno>> of oblivion.