Hawaii Holomua, Volume II, Number 4, 5 January 1894 — MR. S. B. DOLE'S BRIEF. [ARTICLE]

MR. S. B. DOLE'S BRIEF.

Some Further Light on thc •*Statc ‘ Document. That •remarkable State paper (»®e Star of ye«ter<lay) otberwi*e known a« Presi«lent Dole s reply to Minister Willia’ ret|uest on behalf of the U. S. Governraent. for the Provisional Government to reeign tbeir fnnctions in fuvor of Her Majesty and the Constitntional Goveniment of Hawaii, ooutainssome remarkable *tatements whieh lea*l ns to the brief that the reports »s to its reputetl author's illness have roore fonmiation than the nsnal run of Honolnln rumors. We shall [skij> the u.snal hifnlatin, aml the appeals to garbled and misleadiug excerj>ts from documents said to contain the U. S. Government policy iu regard to these Islands. We simply content onrselves with quoting Mr. Dole’s author ities in his owu language aud then qnoting what they say in their own language. Mr. DoIe says: “This conviction isernpbasized i b> the favorable exj>ression of 1 American statesmen over a long > period in favor of anuexation, ! conspicnousamong whomare the j namea of W. L. Marcy, William H. Seward, Harailton Fish and ! James G. Blaine, all former sec- i retaries of state, and especially so by the actiou of your last administration in negotiating a | treaty of anuexation with these 'gov6rnraeut aml sending it to the , Senate with a view to its ratiti- j cation.” Here is what they say: To go back as far as 184’2. that great expouuder of the eon- j stitution. Daniel Webster, thus defined the U. S. t>olicy with regard to these Islands. “The United States, therefore, j ai-e more interested in the fate of the islands and of their government than any other nation ean 1 be, and this consideration induc- j e» the president to be <juite willing to declare the sense of the government of the United States that the governraent of the Sandwieh Islands ought to be respeted; that no power onght either to , take possession of tho islauds as 1 a conquest or for the purpose of j colonization, and that uo power ought to seek for auy exclusive ; rights or preferences with it iu j matters of commerce.’’ “In 1850 Johu M. Clayton, minister to Frauce, in speaking of the encroachments of the ■ French government. wrote thus of these Islands:” “We do not ourselves court i »overeiguty over them. We would • be content that they shou!d , remaiu uuder their present rulers. who, we believo, are dis- I po»ed to be just aml imj>artial io their dealings with ail nations.” j “It was uot lougafter this whou Mr. Webster took oceasion to ; repeat the same declaration. He * said:” “The governmontof the l aited 8tates w«s the first to aeknow- j l«dge the naiioual existnnce of the Hawaiiau goverumeut. lt [ has in no case interfemt with it i for the purj>oso of opj>osing the | course of its own iiulej>eiideut ; conduct, and it still desires to see the natiouality of the Hawai-1 ian government maintaiii 1ts independent adioinistratiou of ; puhlie «tfairs, But. while thus indisposevl to exercise auy sin- i ister induenoe over the counsels | of Hawaii, or to overawe the | proceediags of its guvernmeut by |' the actual >pplioation of ■'Uj>erior militarv force. it exj>e< ts to see i i that powerfol n»tions act in the | < *wne spirit. , The declaratiou of Mr. Web 1j ster was rejx>atml by Wm. L. I. Mait*y. that most dlstiuguishe<l j i seyretfcn- of state umier Presideut Pioree, when he saio. in his r*ferenee to these isiands; ! I 'Mhileweao uot iuteiul 4o • | attempt khe exercis« of anv ex- 2 tdasive control over them, we are I reaolved that uo other |>owur or i *tate ah&ll exact any poliiieal or j , eo«&mercial privi!eges from ihem , whieh we are are not permitkm! I to«ajoy. far le*s estab)isb anv protecU»rate over them. ’ ’ 1 Even Mr. BUine. as Ute as the elo*© of Ihe year 1891, wrote: 1 1 It (tbe l bited States goveru- I * haa decimed. %eu »t Ihe 1 1

1 reqnest of the Hawaiian neople, | j to assnrae over their anairs a , prot«ctorat« whieh wooid only be a thinly disguisevl domination and confined its tiforte and its inAuenoe to strengthen their govemraent »nd open to lheir commerce aud enterprise the read īest and most profiiab]e eon ! nection with its market>. but tbis I jx»licy bas been based upon a l>elief in ihe reai and sul»stantial ‘ I imlepemienee of Hawaii.” Thus tbc poiiey of the Ameriean govemmont was most ciearly l establishetl, as expressed bv 1 American statesmen. Tbere cou!d be no mistake about that ! policy. Evon Secretarv Foster confinued it. after Minister Stevens’ piraticat act was aeeom- j plished. wheu he wrote to him as follows: “So far, therefore, as your yonr action amoants to according at the request of the de f«cto sovereigu government of the HHwaiianIs!am!stheco operation of the moral an<! material forees i of the UuUee States for the protection of life aml proj>erty frora apj>rehende<! disorders, your action is coraroended. But so far as it may aj>f>ear to overstep j that limit bv setting the author- j ity aml power of the United States above that of the goverumeni of the Hawaiian Islands in the caj>acity of protector, or to ! imj>air in any way the indepenj <lent sovereignty of the Hawai- j ian government by substituting the Hag and power of the l'nited States as the symbol aud mani- j 1 festation of paramonnt anthority, it is disavowed. ” Now we eome to this remarkable statement of Mr. Dole’s regarding tue accej>tHnce of the U. S. as a final arbitrator on the situation on Jan. 17th. “What | Mr. Damon said to the ex-qneen he said on his individual ro- ‘ sponsibility and did not report it to us. Fortnnately the Star of yesterday j>nblisbes Mr. J. O. Carter’s ! sigued statement to Mr. Blonnt in whieh occnrs tlie fo!lowing: Sometime during the day i »f the 18th were you sent f>r tn go to the government hui!ding? A. Ye», sir. (J. What ti;ne in tlie day \vas that? A. Abont 6 o’eloek, I think. I dineat half past 5, and during dinner I was rnng np and went down to the government bni)ding with Mr. Mehrtens, who eame fur me. Q. Wore you sent f»r by the i j>arties iu this new movement? A. 1 do not know that. I was | taken by Mehrtens right to the , governraent building. (J. And brongbt into presence • of whom? A. The Provisi<>nal Government. Q. Pleaee state what occurred there? A. Therc was a deal of excite inent. 1 askcd why I had heen ■ sent for. I do not know who an8\vered me. I was told a eom mittee \vas going over to the Queen —th,it I was to go with that committee. 1 went with the eommiUee. Thoy didn’t ask you to go, jnst to!d you you were togo? A. I was told that there was a i committee to be sent to the Qneen and I \vas wanted to g<>. Q. For what purpose? A. To spite to her that the Proviaioual (iovernment had heen ; formed aml that ehe \vas de}>ostd, aiid t<> assi»t her in rnaking any j>rotest she might want to make. Q. l)id you go? A. Yes. Q. Pleaee state what occurred? A. We went int» the hine room. “ Her M«jestv and one or both of Uie Princes \\ere t!iere. Her min- 1 isters were there—Mr. \Videmann, , Mr. M icfurlane. Mr. Damon I supjx>8t* w .18 tbe oomm l'ee. I do not j kuow whether th. r« \vas raore than “ une. I weal wilh him. Mr. Da- ' uion made a few re;n >rks, in whieh j o? s;iid th.it the Pruvistonsl Gov- | «niwenl ha i btn f rmed: that she vas d«*(x>sed, »utl that sh« cou)d make a protest if she desired. There w>s n j>anse.' ! j Then there is Miu:ster Damon s 1 owu signed ststement to Mr. ' Blount in whieh the above is < corroborated, aud there is the 1 j>rotest itseh dB<lorsed by San i j fotxl B. Dole. Uhaimian of Ex-j i ecutive Uouneil of the Provisional t Government, aud tinally the nct < of Ihe Provisional Government j 1 payiug *he Qneen\s Guard of < Honor and her civi| list lill, as 1 thev reoeipt of newa ! e frora Washingtou from their five « Commission©r» that the United i States . by President Harris<>u ; t h:ul <!ecide<! to accept them *nd f ignore tbe Qtxeen’s protest. And i are we to snppose in face of all j ( this pnhhe evidence as well as t the j>rīvato as*orances of Mossrs. ' t Dole and Dtunon at the time to e Hor Maj«M»tv. her Cabinel, and j g moet inlimale friends. tbat MinU- t ter Dole is now—in plain En- a gli*h !ying. or u in » pecu]iar . b

menUi eondition. Which« It | \ is only *nother e*»mple of that ; Pnniea fiiies ol the le»ders of the 1 P. G. whieh has eTerl*»tingIy Iost | | Ihem tbat coofidence and «apī port of the Hawaiiaas whieh ' their (athew posaessed. Mr. DoIe goes on then with a long array of charges against a | 1 oaan who *ho is dead —His laie Majesty Kalakana —to sbow whv he and hi» associates heeamoe ■ disgnated with monarchy. but t whieh hare no bearing on the I situstiou on Jan. 17th escept to I show the eharacter of the revoln | tionary leaders, who «lo not stick at slandering the dead even to bolster up their atfc>mpts to • regain aml bold the power and influence lost by their own tergiversation. treacbery, and monopoly in the past. W itb these charges we have nothing | I to do. For two years Her Majestv the Queen had oeenpie*! the tbrone ami »11 Mr. I>ole ean say j is to drop specifications and to descend to generalities and say, | | “The ex-Queen’s rule was even more reckless aud retrogressive ’ than ber brother s. We notice I with approval that Mr. I)ole <loes j not back up the lib»dinous i slanders of Me?srs Thurston and Sereno Bishop, and that is the onlv matter in his document —a » 9 ■ j matter ofomission at that—whieh is at all creditable to Mr. Dole s previous repntation. Mr. Dole’s statemeut that the Queen used any inHuenee. pro per or improj»er, legitiraate or illegitimate, on any member of the Legislature to vote for the Lotterv Bill or raade anv per sonul appeal to any of them to do the sarae thing we brand as an infamous lie —whether wilful or not we leave to Dole’s eoneeienee if he hasany!eftaftercomposing this “remarkable state paper. Now comes the cream of this hnge practical joke of Mr. Dole’s as resiclents here acquainted with the mner history of events ean onlv terra it. “No man eun cor rectly say that the Qneeu owed her downfall to the interference of American forces. * * * If the Araerican forces hael been absent tbe revolntion would have taken plaee for the canse for it had nothiug # u* uo with their presence.‘ Memory calls up the night when Col. Soper and two others went to Stevens to ask if he would back them np before he would accept the coraraand of the corporal’s guard of the then would be iusurrectionists. Another pieture is of the letter signocl by the self-styled Committoe of Public Safety in whioh they entreat the lancling of United States forces to protect life anel property. It 1 mnst have been their own as even'one else was at peaee and at no time was auyone else’s in danger. r Phen the pictore of the ( further frightened reciuest to Mr. , Stevens not to land yet as they ] were not quite ready!l Theu j comes the landing of those ] earnestly desired troops. ( Then the proclamation by the ] thirteeu gentlemen who shook 1 aud shivered till they were as- , sared of the protection of the j of the United States troops, if < any attempt was made on their < scared persons. Then Minister 1 Steven' message to those troops i by C. L. Carter’s hands. Then e the surrender under protest to t those troops by the Queen. Then i their lettertoStevensaskingCrtpt. t Wilise to command the combined g forces of the United St.»tes and 1 the corporal’s guard*of the P. G. e Theo the enlistraent of criminals, e escaped $ailors. hungry boms and e loafers, «t 12 a day and grub, to i t proteot the handful of revolntion- i ists and tbat timid entreating Iet e ter of the Execntive and Advisory t ConnciIs after Ihe lapse of a r fortnight of their ruling by mar iial law to Minister Stevens. to , 3

hoist the flag of the U. S. and | deciare a protectorate over thenj, so as to protect life aod property I whieh apparentiy they fooml lhemselves nnahie to do. And | final!y on Feb. l»t. Mimster Stevens taking possessioo of tbe ; Government boilding. the treasmy. the archives and the capitol.! bositing the l'oited States ftag over it and garrisoning and ! guarding it wilh C. 8. troops ihe very things whieh their *U*ged poeaeaalon of, had caosed his origiuai recoguition of them

| as a govercment on the pert of i thu Uttited State>. What a mirror of trath must j the mind of Mr. Dole be when ' he makes thoae remark«ble state- 1 * raents in that “remarkable ’ State | paper of the Btar’s admiralion. . Plain ordinary people however \ eall snoh statements b«refaced lies. and more polished and diplorostic ooe« hint at lapses of me<oory. It is needless after ihe al>ove qnotatkms and stateraents of historical facts to satiri*e the ; foIIowing: ‘:This answer »s made not onlv apon tlie grounds hei - einbefore *et fortb. but upou onr sense of | <lnty nnd loajlt>' to the brave | | men whose commission we hohl.l who have faithfally stmxl by us | in the honr of trial aud w!iose > wi!l is tbe only earthly authority we recoguize W e cannot betrav the sacied trost they have placed l in our bands a trust whieh represents the cau»e of Christian j i civiliaztion in the iuterests of the whoie people of these is- j ; lands. Think of tbose brave (: 11) men | i —Theit own tbirteen brave selves j and the thirty-six more who made up tl»e grand army of the Pro-1 visional Government on Jan. 17tl». j Eighteen of thera haveoffices and | the majority of therest draw pay, j but as to their being the onlv earthlv anthority Mr. Dole or the others recognize we doubt it. ] Where, oh! Where are the Aunexation Club, and the IrishAraerican League, $nd the Deutscher Schutzen Verein and the Drei Hundred and the Regular »rray, O? But serioosly we rather tbink Mr. Dole and others elaimingtobe American citizens will recognize the authority of the United States on deraand, or, by referring to the Federal Revised St dntes on Treason they will see what they raay expeot.