Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 87, 14 April 1894 Edition 02 — Creating an Oligarchy. [ARTICLE]

Creating an Oligarchy.

The kinJ of i-epublioan ideas that prevails among the revolutionist Governraent of Hawaii is illustrateJ both by the sketch of the new Constitntion that is proraulgateJ for the futnre governraent anJ by the raetbod of adopting it. It is stated that the t Constitution “is substantially settled upon.” No representative Constitutional Convention has been held; no forra of submitting the Constitution to the vote of the Hawaiians has been thonght of. A cfique of men consulting in secret have drawn up a Constituj tion and say to the Hawaiians, •‘This is vour form of government.” Tbat is alleged to be a republican method of procedure. The reasons for stickingclosely to this conrse of enactraent by | oligarchic Jecree raay bo Jiscerned in the Constitutiou itself. A Lower House is provided, the raembers of whieh are to be by voters whose chief qnalification is the abilih>’ to read and write English. The advancement of the Hawai’ttns is testihed to in the admission that “the native and half-white vote will largely predominate in this branch." But the empty nature of this concession to the Hawai-1 ian people is disclose<l by the statement that special powers, will be conferred upoa the Executive and Upper tloos©, whieh will enabie them acting in concert to preveut ihe obstruction of legislation by the Lower Honse. Tbe £xecntive and Upper House are elected only by voters h*ving “a considerable ēducational aad property qualification.” As another report more frankly pots it,

“ • this will 'relegate the ruling power to the whīle*." Thns we see tbe znnch boasted Hawaiian repnblic taking on the formal assertion of the prinoiple j that ali polāieal power most be concentrated in the hands of weahh. The fircamstance8 nnder whieh this is doce make the act pecnliarly cffensive to any one who thinks there sbon!d be such a thing as conscience in pnblic atfairs, Tbe whites have eome to Hawaii and have been so hospitably treated by the Hawaiian Government that in two generations they have possesseil themselves of nine-tenths of the property there. Having got the Hawaiian Iands the next thing is to take away the polhieal rigbts of the Hawaiians, and to an* nonnee tbat henceforth that the whites will do the ruling. Fortnnately the UniteJ States has nothing to do with the last travesty on popular government. Dat the adiliation of tbe whites who are doing this sort of thing with an element of onr population sbonld render all futare talk about ‘ the glorious spretd of popular ideas impossible to anyone eapahle of a sense of shame. —Pittfburg Dtspatcfi.