190 



CONGRESS. (THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII.) 



allowed to enter the United States from the Ha- 

 waiian Islands. 



" The President shall appoint five commissioners, 

 at least two of whom shall be residents of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, who shall, as soon as reasonably 

 practicable, recommend to Congress such legislation 

 concerning the Hawaiian Islands as they shall 

 deem necessary or proper. 



"SEC. 2. That the commissioners hereinbefore 

 provided for shall be appointed by the President, 

 by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 

 tttc 



"SEr. 3. That the sum of $100.000, or so much 

 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, 

 out of any monev in the Treasury not otherwise 

 appropriated, and to be immediately available, to 

 be expended at the discretion of the President of 

 the United Slates of America, for the purpose of 

 carrying this joint resolution into effect.' 



Mr. Hitt said in explanation and support of the 

 measure : 



" Mr. Shaker, the measure which is now before the 

 House for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands 

 is substantially the same as a treaty negotiated last 

 year, which is here put into the form of a joint 

 resolution. The treaty was duly ratified by the 

 Senate of the republic of Hawaii. We therefore 

 know that we are acting with the cordial assent of 

 the Government of the country proposed to be an- 

 nexed. That treaty was preceded by another nego- 

 tiated by President Harrison five years ago between 

 the two" countries, providing for the annexation of 

 the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, which 

 treaty was duly ratified by the Government of Ha- 

 waii and would probably have been ratified by our 

 Senate had it not been withdrawn by reason of a 

 change of the occupant of our Executive office. 



" This is not a novel question at all. It is not an 

 emergency proposition sprung upon us suddenly. 

 It is not a case of greed for territory and overween- 

 ing influence brought to bear by a great and pow- 

 erful Government upon one of the smallest in the 

 world to constrain it to give up its independent 

 existence and be absorbed by the other under the 

 form of a legal proceeding. There is no oppression 

 on our side, there is no unwillingness on the other 

 side. The whole proceeding is with the cordial 

 it of the duly constituted authorities of the 

 Hawaiian republic, and in accordance with the 

 terms of the Constitution of that republic. 



" It is in pursuance of a policy long discussed and 

 well known there and to our people here and to all 

 the world. It is a result often contemplated by the 

 successive governments of those islands for fifty 

 years, because the circumstances surrounding the 

 little nation in all the changes in its history have 

 plainly made this a foregone conclusion. So slender, 

 so tottering a political existence in the midst of the 

 mighty politieal powers of the world had a preca- 

 rious tenure of life. It was a continual temptation 

 to them an all-important possession of a weak 

 power. It lias often been threatened. Several 

 times it has been seized and occupied l>y a passing 

 eoinmander of a frigate by a French captain in 

 1829, by a British commander in 1843, again by the 

 French in 1849. 



"Conscious of its feeble ability to maintain indc- 

 |>endence among the nations, the subject of union 

 with our country has been contemplated long. < MIC 

 of the kings of Hawaii executed a deed of cession 

 to the United States in 1851. Another of the kings 



e-epared a draft of a treaty of annexation to the 

 nited States in IH.TI. but before it was executed 

 he died. As I have >aid. treaties of annexation to 

 the Tinted States have twice been negotiated 

 with this Government within the last five years. It 

 is the natural result of events and causes long oper- 



ating and now concluding with mutual, cordial 

 consent. 



" There is nothing that can impute to us, though 

 this is so great and mighty a nation, any purpose 

 of exercising undue pressure, as has ordinarily been 

 the case in European history where a powerful gov- 

 ernment has taken possession of, absorbed, and ex- 

 tinguished a smaller. The only question we have 

 to consider, when this little commonwealth with 

 open hands offers itself to us, is whether we would 

 be better off by taking this step ; whether it would 

 be advantageous to us to accept these islands ; 

 whether they are worth owning ; whether their pos- 

 session is of any value to us or not. 



" That is a simple question and ought to be easily 

 answered. Other nations have long since expr 

 their opinion of the value of the islands in many 

 ways. Though it is a very small nationality, a very 

 small extent of the earth's surface, not equal in 

 people to a congressional district represented on 

 this floor, yet 19 nations continually maintain rep- 

 resentatives at Honolulu to watch their interests. 

 We keep there to-day an envoy extraordinary and 

 minister plenipotentiary. Why ^ Not because they 

 are fertile and beautiful islands, not because then- 

 are a little over a hundred thousand people there. 

 No ; it is because of the supreme importance and 

 value of the islands on account of their position. 



"They sit facing our Western coast that long 

 stretch confronting the great Pacific Ocean, the 

 most extensive body of water in the world, stretch- 

 ing away for six, seven, eight thousand miles ami 

 they are the nearest point to our coast, and far. very 

 far, removed from any other point in that vast sea. 

 They are 2,000 miles away from us. That seems a 

 very considerable distance, but the immense stretch 

 beyond them to the other portions of the earth is 

 so much greater that they seem comparatively near 

 and are a part of our own system. 



" With the great change in the construction of 

 fighting ships, all of which are now moved by steam. 

 coal has become an essential of maritime war. as 

 much so as powder or guns, and across that wide 

 ocean any vessel of war coming to attack the United 

 States must stop for coal and supplies at the Ha- 

 waiian Islands before it can attack us. No ship can 

 be constructed, no battle ship exists in the world, 

 which can make the trip from the other side of that 

 wide sea to our shores, conduct any operation of 

 hostility against us, and ever get back unless it has 

 its supply of coal renewed. 



"We are all pretty familiar with the map the 

 remarkable position of these islands and the routes 

 that ships are accustomed to follow. I do not sup- 

 pose that my personal opinion is worth more than 

 that of the average of mankind who are not special- 

 ly qualified as commanders and mariners, nor that 

 any member of the House is so presumptuous as to 

 consider his own personal opinion itself an im- 

 portant fact. 



" But we have on this critical and central ques- 

 tion, which is not one of common judgment, the 

 opinions of the most distinguished, specially expert, 

 and able men of the age, the greatest commanders 

 of our armies and our fleets who are living. It is 

 an impressive and convincing fact that all have 

 given the same opinion. There lias been no diver- 

 gence. Every one has stated that the possession of 

 those islands was to us of great importance, many 

 of them say indispensable; that it will diminish. 

 not increase, the necessity for naval force, economi/.e 

 ships of war and not require more; that in the pos- 

 session of an enemy, if we shall so foolishly and un- 

 wisely act as to refuse annexation and permit them 

 to pass into the hands of an enemy, they will fur- 

 nish a secure base for active operations to harass 

 and destroy the cities of our Western coast ; that in 



