Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1893 — CLEVELAND AND HAWAII. [ARTICLE]

CLEVELAND AND HAWAII.

The President Submits the Ills Message—The Queen Refuted to Accept the Conditions imposed— A - Curhma Complication. The PresMcnt, on thr, ISth. submitted to Congress his long expected message on the Hawaiian affair. Following Is the text of the document; • To the Senate and House <>f Representatives: In my recent annua! message to Congress! brieiiy referred to our relations with Hawaii, and expressed the. intention of transmitting further information on the subject when additional advices permitted. Though lam not, able now to re- j port a definite change in the actual situa- i tion, l am convinced that the difficulties j lately created both here and in Hawaii, and now standing in the way of a solution. through executive action of the problem presented, rentier it proper and expedient that the matter should be referred to the broader authority and dis-. j crellon of Congress, with a full expliiiTation of the endeavor thus far made, to deal with the. emergency and a statement of the considerations; which have governed my action. 1 supple tiiat right and justice should determine file path to be followed in treating this'subject. If National honesty is to be disregarded, and a desire for territorial extension of dissatisfaction with a form of government not our own, is to regulate our conduct, I have entirely misapprehended the mission and character of our Government: and the behavior which the conscience of our people demands of their public servants. When the present administration entered upon its duties the Senate had under consideration a treaty providing for the annexation of the Hawaiian islands to tho territory of the United States. Surely under our constitution and laws the enlargement of our limits is a manifestation of the, highest attribute of sovereignty, and, if entered • unon as an executive act. ail things relating to the transactions should be clear and free from suspicion. Additional importance is attached to this peculiar treaty of annexationjbecause it eon- 1 templated a departure from unbroken ■'Amirican tradition in providing for addition id our territory of islands of the sea. move than two thousand miles removed from our nearest coast. These considerations might, not-of themselves call for interference with the completion of a treaty entered upon by a previous administration. But it appeared from the documents accompanying the treaty when submitted to the Senate, that the ownership of Haw aiia i was tendered to us by a provisional government set up to succeed the constitutional ruler of tho islands who had bei n dethroned, and it did not appear that such provisional government had the sanction ofeitherpupalar revo. lution or suffrage. . SOMK V.T. MARK ABLE FACTO. Two other remarkable features of the transaction naturally attracted attention. One was the extraordinary haste—not to say precipitancy—characterizing all the transactions connected with the treaty. It appeared that a so-called committee of safety, ostensibly the source of tho revolt against the constitutional government of Hawaii, was organized on Saturday, the 14th day of January; that on Monday, the 16th, the United States forces were landed at Honolulu from a naval vessel lying in its harbor; that on the 17th the scheme of a provisional government was perfected and a proclamation naming Its officers was on tho same day prepared and read at the government buildings; that immediately, thereupon, the United States minister recognized the provisional government thus created; that two days afterward, on thelffthdayof January, commissioners representing such government sailed for this eountry in a steamer especially chartered for the occasion, arriving in San Francisco on the Kith day of January, and in Washington on the 2d day of February; that neVt day they had their first interview with the Secretary of State and another on the lith, when tho treaty annexing the islands was practically agreed upon, and that on the 14th it was formally concluded, and on the 15th transmitted to the Senate. Thus between the Initiation of the scheme for a provisional goverment in Hawaii, on tho 14th of January, and the submission to tho Senate of the treaty of annexation, concluded with such government, the entire interval was thirty-two days, fifteen of which were spent by the Hawaiian commissioners in their journey to Washington. In the next place, upon the face of the papers submitted with the treaty, it clearly appeared that there was, open and undetermined, an issue of fact of the most vital importance. The message of the President accompanying the treaty declared that “the overthrow of the monarchy was not in any way promoted by this government.” But a protest also accompanied said treaty signed by the Queen and her minis- i ters at the time she made way for tho provisional government which explicitly stated that she yielded to the superior force of the United States troops, whose minister had caused the United States troops to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support such provisional government. The truth or falsity of this protest was surely of the first importance. If true, nothing but tho concealment of its truth could induce our Government to negotiate with the semblance of a government thus created, nor could a treaty resulting from the acts stated in the protest have been knowingly deemed worthy of consideration by the Senate. Yet the truth or falsity of the protest had not been Jnvriv'g’ tod.

MR. BLOUNT’S REPORT, I conceived It to bo my duty, therefore, to withdraw the tready from the Senate for examination, and, meanwhile, to muse an accnrato full and impartial investigation to be made of the facts attending the subversion of the constitutional government of Hawaii and the installment in its place of the provisional government. I selected for the work of investigation Hon. .Tames H. Hlount. of Georgia. His report detailing liis action undrlho instructions given to him, and the conclusions derived from his investigation accompany this message. Thcso conclusions co not rest for their acceptance entirely upon Mr. Rount’s honesty and ability as a man, nor upon his acumen and Impartiality as an investigator. They are accompanied by the evidence on which they aro based, which evdence is also herewith transmitted, and from which, It seems to me, no other deductions could possibly bo reachod than those arrived at by the commiasioncr. The report, with its accompanying proofs and such other evidence as is now before Congress, or is herewith submitted, justifies. in my opinion, the statement that when the president was led to submit the treatv to the Senate with the declaration that “the overthrow ot tho monarchy was not in any way promoted by this Government.” and when tho Senate was Induced to receive'and discuss it on that basis, both President and Senate were misled. The attempt will not be made in this communication to touch upon nil tho facts which throw light upon the progress and consummation of this scheme of annexation. A verv brief and imperfect reference to the facts and evidence at hand will exhibit its character and tho cdo t In which It had Its birt ; It Is unnecessary to set forth the reaso, a wliich.in .1 anuary, 1893, led a considerable portion.of American and other foreign merchants and traders at Honolulu to favor the annexation of Hawaii to the United States. It Is sufficient to note the fact and to observe that the project was one which was zealously promoted by the

j minister representing the United States in that country. On the 19ta day ‘of November, 139 T, nearlv two months fcelore thd first overt act lending toward the subversion of the Hawaiian government and the attempted transfer of Hawaiian territory to the United States, he addressed a long letter to the Secretary of State, in which the cause for annexationfwas elaborately arj garni on moral, political and economical ~grw.njpr~TTh refers to tho l oss to fßcTlavatian sugar interests from the operation of the McKinley bill, and the tendency to a still further depreciation of sugar property unless some positive measure of relief is granted. He strongly inveighs against the existing Hawiian government, and emphatically declare for annexation. ; Those declarations certainly show a I disposition and condition of mind which may lie usefully ‘recalled, then interpret- , I ing the significance of the minister’s con- i j ceded acts, or when considering the prob- | abilities of sucli conduct oil his part as i may not be admitted. The President, to snstain his assertion

that Stevens was an annexationist.qnotes a letter from the ox-Minister to Secretary Blaine, in which Mr. Stevens asks for instructions as to-how far he could deviate from established usage, aod shows by other correspondence that on the dav -the letter was written he had issued a proclamation assuming control and protection of the islands. Proceeding the . President includes in his message a detailed account o« the revolution in Hawaii, which is substantially the same that has Already been repeatedly given to the Public, and again asserts that the acts of Minister Stevens were wholly unjustifiable. Continuing the Presjdcatsays: „ _ _ -K- - --- Nevertheless, this wrongful recognition by our Minister placed the government of the Queen in a position of most perilous perplexity. On the one hand,,She iiad possession of the palace, of the ‘barracks and of the police station, and had at iter command at least five hundred fully armed men and several pieces of Artillery. The President refers to to the annexation of Texas and the incidents leading thereto and the delay of President Jackson in recognizing Texas, independence and says: This is in marked contrast with the hasty recognition of government openly and concededly set up for the purpose of tendering 10 us territory annexation. I believe that a candid and thorough examination of tho facts will force the conviction that the provisional government ovyes its existence to an armed invasion by the United States. Fairminded pcopleuvvTth the evidence before them, will hardly claim that the Hawaiian government was overthrown by the people of the islands, or that the provisional government lias ever existed with their consent. Ido not understand that any member of this Government claims that the people would uphold it by their suffrages if they w'erc allowed to vote on the question. While sympathizing with'all efforts to establish a republican form of government, in iha present instance our duty docs not, in my opinion, end with refusing to consummate this questionable transaction. It has been the boast of our Government that it seeks to do justice in all things, without -regard to the strength or w eakness of those with whom it. deals. I mistake tho American people if they favor the odious doctrine that there is no snch thing as international morality. The United .State; can rnn fail to vindicate its honor and its great sense of justice by an earnest effort to make all possible reparation. These principles apply’to the present case with Irresistible force when the the special conditions of the Queen’s surrender of her sovereignty are recalled. She surrendered not to the provisional government, but to the United States. She surrendered, not absolutely and permanently, but temporarily and conditionally. MINISTER WILIJS’S INSTRUCTIONS. Actuated by them desires and purpose, and not unmindful of the inherent perplexities of the situation, nor of the limitations upon my power, I frmtriieted Minister Willis to" advise the Queen and her supporters of my desire to aid in the restoration of the status existing before the lawless landing of tho United States forces at Honolulu, on the 16th of January last, If such restoration could be effected upon terms providing clemency as 'well as justice to all parties concerned. Theso conditions have not proved acceptable to tho Queen, and though she has been informed that they will be insisted upon and that, unless acceded to, tho efforts of the President to aid in the restoration of her government will cease, I have not thus far learned that she is willing to yield and give them her acquiescence. The check which my plans have thus encountered has prevented their presentation to the members of the provisional government, whilo unfortunate public misrepresentations of the situation and exaggerated statements of the rentlmcnts of our people havo obviously injured tho prospectsof successful executive mediation. I therefore submit this communication with its accompanying exhibits. In commending this subject to the extended powers and wide discretion of tho Congress, I desire to add tho assurance that I shall bo mnch gratified to co-oper-ate in any legislative plan which may be devised for the solution of tho problem before the United States which is consistent with American honor, integrity and morality. Grover Cleveland. Executive Mansion, December 18, 1893.