CONGRESS. (ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY.) 



201 



Islands into citizenship of the United States, nor 

 is it intended to permanently annex said islands 

 as an integral part of the territory of the United 

 States; but it is the intention of the United 

 States to establish on said islands a government 

 suitable to the wants and conditions of the in- 

 habitants of said islands to prepare them for 

 local self-government, and in due time to make 

 such disposition of said islands as will best pro- 

 mote the interests of the citizens of the United 

 States and the inhabitants of said islands." 



This resolution was fully discussed, as were 

 the other declaratory resolutions, and by a spe- 

 cial agreement with those who had united in 

 favor of the ratification of the treaty of Paris 

 it was brought to a vote Feb. 14. Mr. Bacon 

 moved as an amendment the following clause, 

 taken from his own resolution: 



"Resolved further, That the United States 

 hereby disclaim any disposition or intention to 

 exercise permanent sovereignty, jurisdiction, or 

 control over said islands, and assert their deter- 

 mination, when a stable and independent govern- 

 ment shall have been erected therein, entitled in 

 the judgment of the Government of the United 

 States to recognition as such, to transfer to said 

 government, upon terms which shall be reason- 

 able and just, all rights secured under the ces- 

 sion by Spain, and to thereupon leave the gov- 

 ernment and control of the islands to their 

 people." 



The vote on the amendment was as follows: 



YEAS Bacon, Bate, Berry, Caftery, Chilton, 

 Clay, Cockrell, Faulkner, Gorman, Gray, Hale, 

 Harris, Heitfeld, Hoar, Jones of Arkansas, Jones 

 of Nevada, Lindsay, McLaurin, Martin, Money, 

 Murphy, Perkins, Pettigrew, Pettus, Quay, Raw- 

 lins, Smith, Tillman, Turner 29. 



NAYS Allison, Burrows, Carter, Chandler, De- 

 boe, Fairbanks, Frye, Gear, Hanna, Hawley, Kyle, 

 Lodge, McBride, McEnery, McMillan, Mantle, 

 Morgan, Nelson, Penrose, Platt of Connecticut, 

 Platt of New York, Pritchard, Ross, Shoup, 

 Simon, Stewart, Teller, Warren, Wolcott 29. 



NOT VOTING Aldrich, Allen, Baker, Butler, 

 Cannon, Clark, Cullom, Daniel, Davis, Elkins, 

 Foraker, Gallinger, Hansbrough, Kenney, Mai- 

 lory, Mason, Mills, Mitchell, Pasco, Proctor, 

 Roach, Sewell, Spooner, Sullivan, Thurston, Tur- 

 ley, Turpie, Vest, Wellington, Wetmore, White, 

 Wilson 32. 



The Vice-President cast the deciding vote 

 against the amendment, and it was lost. The 

 McEnery resolution was then adopted by the 

 following vote: 



YEAS Allison, Burrows, Chandler, Deboe, Fair- 

 banks, Faulkner, Frye, Gear, Gray, Hale, Hanna, 

 P Harris, Kyle, Lodge, McEnery, McLaurin, McMil- 

 lan, Mantle, Mason, Nelson, Perkins, Pettus, 

 Platt of New York, Quay, Sullivan, Teller 26. 



NAYS Bacon, Bate, Caffery, Carter, Clay, 

 Cockrell, Hawley, Hoar, Lindsay, McBride, Mar- 

 tin, Money, Morgan, Murphy, Pettigrew, Platt of 

 Connecticut, Rawlins, Ross, Simon, Smith, Stew- 

 art, Warren 22. 



NOT VOTING Aldrich, Allen, Baker, Berry, 

 Butler, Cannon, Chilton, Clark, Cullom, Daniel, 

 Davis, Elkins, Foraker, Gallinger, Gorman, Hans- 

 brough, Heitfeld, Jones of Arkansas, Jones of 

 Nevada, Kenney, Mallory, Mills, Mitchell, Pasco, 

 Penrose, Pritchard, Proctor, Roach, Sewell, Shoup, 

 Spooner, Thurston, Tillman, Turley, Turner, Tur- 

 pie, Vest, Wellington, Wetmore, White, Wilson, 

 Wolcott 42. 



Feb. 6, 1899, the House of Representatives sus- 

 pended the rules and passed an act extending to 

 the Hawaiian Islands the act approved Feb. 25, 



1885, "to prohibit the importation and migra- 

 tion of foreigners and aliens under contract or 

 agreement to perform labor in the United States, 

 its Territories, and the District of Columbia, 

 and the acts amendatory and supplemental 

 thereto." In the Senate the measure was re- 

 ferred to the Committee on Territories, then to 

 the Committee on Education and Labor, and 

 finally to the Committee on Immigration. It 

 was reported back with amendments, but never 

 brought to a vote, though it came close to an 

 issue on the last day of the session, and was 

 long enough before the Senate for a strong state- 

 ment to be made in explanation of it. Mr. Petti- 

 grew, of South Dakota, said: 



" Mr. President, we annexed the Hawaiian 

 Islands on the 12th of last August, and made 

 them a part of the United States. In the debate 

 which then occurred the opponents of annexa- 

 tion stated that the climate was a tropical cli- 

 mate, and therefore that it would not be peo- 

 pled by Americans or races of our blood; that 

 the population would remain a tropical popula- 

 tion; that the population would be such as to 

 be incapable of maintaining self-government 

 under our Constitution. 



" I do not now wish to discuss the question, 

 but I wish to put in the Record certain facts with, 

 regard to the immigration to Hawaii since an- 

 nexation. On the 23d of December, 1898, there 

 were 14,397 Japanese and Chinese contract la- 

 borers or slave laborers employed upon the Ha- 

 waiian sugar plantations, and there were 7,601 

 day laborers so employed. 



" Since our flag went up in Hawaii, from Aug. 

 12, 1898, to the 6th day of January, 1899, there 

 have been imported 7,630 contract laborers. Since 

 the 6th of January and up to the 2d of Febru- 

 ary of this year there have been 2,782 contract 

 laborers brought to the Hawaiian Islands, or a 

 total to Feb. 2, 1899, of 10,412. This labor is 

 slave labor. The laborers are under contract for 

 a term of service. They are liable to be whipped 

 and imprisoned. To-day Europeans, shipped 

 there under contract since our flag went up, are 

 working on the streets with all sorts of crimi- 

 nals because they refuse to subject themselves 

 to the punishment of their taskmasters. 



" I offered an amendment to the resolution an- 

 nexing Hawaii embodying the repeal of the con- 

 tract-labor law. That amendment was voted 

 down in this Senate. We have waited eight 

 months, and here is the first effort to repeal the 

 contract-labor law. We have tried to pass this 

 bill for days, but its consideration has been ob- 

 jected to by one of the commissioners who went 

 to Hawaii to frame laws for the government of 

 that unfortunate and unhappy country. 



" We find, then, this situation : The contract la- 

 borer is filling the place of the day laborer; the 

 sugar planters are bringing in their help at the 

 rate of 3.000 a month; and now it is proposed 

 that they shall be permitted to continue to im- 

 port slaves until Congress meets again. 



" No American free laborers have gone there 

 since annexation, and those who had gone there 

 before have been unable to find employment,, 

 while 10,400 Asiatics have been brought in, and 

 yet the Administration, representing the Repub- 

 lican party, the party that owes its being to its- 

 protest against slavery, is responsible for this 

 condition of affairs, and has refused to furnish 

 legislation for the government of that Territory. 



"They have refused to repeal the slave-labor 

 laws of Hawaii. What would Abraham Lincoln, 

 Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, or Charles- 

 Sumner say if they were asked to indorse this- 



