ship and friendly support of the United States, and bonds of good will and mutual esteem have long and firmly united Japan and America. "This country has never shown any inclination to discriminate against Japanese subjects in its legislation heretofore, nevertheless the matter so far as the present question is concerned must be left entirely to the legislative action by the proper department of this Government after annexation, if that should occur. The Executive has no right to conclude the Congress, or to make any compact that would assume to do so. "In the interviews which Mr. Hoshi has had with Mr. Sherman and Mr. Day, it has been pointed out to him that, in the event of annexation, or in any event, there would be but a short interval before the 17th of July, 1899, the date of the taking effect of the new treaty between the United States and Japan, which, as Mr. Hoshi concedes, secures and defines the rights of Japanese subjects in this country. If, during this brief interval, the Hawaiian Islands should be admitted to become a part of the domain of the United States, much would have to be done in the way of determining the conditions of their union. The pending treaty of annexation, as Mr. Hoshi is probably aware, does not determine the future political status of the islands. Everything, even as to the character and form of their government, is left to be prescribed and regulated by legislation, the details of which yet remain to be considered. With so large and important a task before it, hasty or improvident action by the Congress is not to be apprehended in any matter, especially if affecting the well being of the newly acquired domain and the encouragement and development of its industries and natural resources, in which the material interests of this country and of its citizens are already so intimately concerned. It is not to be apprehended that the Executive would advise any such action. "In conclusion, Mr. Sherman points to the intimation, contained in the President's annual message to the Congress at the opening of their present session, as to the uprightness and sincerity of the purpose of this Government to deal with all possible ulterior questions affecting the rights of Japan in the Hawaiian Islands in the broadest spirit of friendliness." Memorandum of Mr. Sherman, Sec. of State, to Mr. Toru Hoshi, Jap. min., annexation, July "Pending the consideration by the Senate of the treaty signed June 16, 1897, by the plenipotentiaries of the United States Joint resolution of and of the Republic of Hawaii, providing for the annexation of the islands, a joint resolution to accomplish the same purpose by accepting the offered cession and incorporating the ceded territory into the Union was adopted by the Congress and approved July 7, 1898. I thereupon 7, 1898. directed the U. S. S. Philadelphia to convey Rear-Admiral Miller to Honolulu, and intrusted to his hands this important legislative act, to be delivered to the President of the Republic of Hawaii, with whom the Admiral and the United States minister were authorized to make appropriate arrangements for transferring the sovereignty of the islands to the United States. This was simply but Transfer of sover- impressively accomplished on the 12th of August last, by the delivery of a certified copy of the resolution to President Dole, who thereupon yielded up to the representative of the Government of the United States the sovereignty and public property of the Hawaiian Islands. eignty, Aug. 12, 1898. "Pursuant to the terms of the joint resolution and in exercise of the authority thereby conferred upon me, I directed that the civil, judicial, and military powers theretofore exercised by the officers of the Government of the Republic of Hawaii should continue to be exercised by those officers until Congress shall provide a government for the incorporated territory, subject to my power to remove such officers and to fill vacancies. The President, officers, and troops of the Republic thereupon took the oath of allegiance to the United States, thus providing for the uninterrupted continuance of all the administrative and municipal functions of the annexed territory until Congress shall otherwise enact. "Following the further provision of the joint resolution, I appointed the Honorables Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois, John T. Morgan, of Alabama, Robert R. Hitt, of Illinois, Sanford B. Dole, of Hawaii, and Walter F. Frear, of Hawaii, as commissioners to confer and recommend to Congress such legislation concerning the Hawaiian Islands as they should deem necessary or proper. The commissioners having fulfilled the mission confided to them, their report will be laid before you at an early day. "Under the provisions of the joint resolution, the existing customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States and with other countries remain unchanged until legislation shall otherwise provide. The consuls of Hawaii, here and in foreign countries, continue to fill their commercial agencies, while the United States consulate at Honolulu is maintained for all appropriate services pertaining to trade and the revenue. It would be desirable that all foreign consuls in the Hawaiian Islands should receive new exequaturs from this Government. "The attention of Congress is called to the fact that our consular offices having ceased to exist in Hawaii, and being about to cease in other countries coming under the sovereignty of the United States, the provisions for the relief and transportation of destitute American seamen in these countries under our consular regulations will in consequence terminate. It is proper, therefore, that new legislation should be enacted upon this subject, in order to meet the changed conditions." President McKinley, Ann. Message, Dec. 8, 1898. See the report of the The Treasury Department issued, Aug 4, 1898, a circular relating to trade "Some embarrassment in administration has occurred by reason of the peculiar status which the Hawaiian Islands at present occupy under the joint resolution of annexation approved July 7, 1898. While by that resolution the Republic of Hawaii as an independent nation was extinguished, its separate sovereignty destroyed, and its property and possessions vested in the United States, yet a complete establishment for its government under our system was not effected. While the municipal laws of the islands not enacted for the fulfillment of treaties and not inconsistent with the joint resolution or contrary to the Constitution of the United States or any of its treaties remain in force, yet these laws relate only to the social and internal affairs of the islands, and do not touch many subjects of importance which are of a broader national character. For example, the Hawaiian Republic was divested of all title to the public lands in the islands, and is not only unable to dispose of lands to settlers desiring to take up homestead sites, but is without power to give complete title in cases where lands have been entered upon under lease or other conditions which carry with them the right to the purchaser, lessee, or settler to have a full title granted to him upon compliance with the conditions prescribed by law or by his particular agreement of entry. "Questions of doubt and difficulty have also arisen with reference to the collection of tonnage tax on vessels coming from Hawaiian ports; with reference to the status of Chinese in the islands, their entrance and exit therefrom; as to patents and copyrights; as to the register of vessels under the navigation laws; as to the necessity of holding elections in accordance with the provisions of the Hawaiian statutes for the choice of various officers, and as to several other matters of detail touching the interests both of the islands and of the Federal Government. "By the resolution of annexation the President was directed to appoint five commissioners to recommend to Congress such legislation concerning the islands as they should deem necessary or proper. These commissioners were duly appointed and after a careful investigation and study of the system of laws and government prevailing in the islands, and of the conditions existing there, they prepared a bill to provide a government under the title of "The Territory of Hawaii." The report of the Commission, with the bill which they prepared, was transmitted by me to Congress on December 6, 1898, but the bill still awaits final action. "The people of these islands are entitled to the benefits and privileges of our Constitution, but in the absence of any act of Congress provid ing for Federal courts in the islands, and for a procedure by which appeals, writs of error, and other judicial proceedings necessary for the enforcement of civil rights may be prosecuted, they are powerless to secure their enforcement by the judgment of the courts of the United States. It is manifestly important, therefore, that an act shall be passed as speedily as possible erecting these islands into a judicial district, providing for the appointment of a judge and other proper officers and methods of procedure in the appellate proceedings, and that the government of this newly acquired territory under the Federal Constitution shall be fully defined and provided for." President McKinley, Third Annual Message, Dec. 5, 1899. By an executive order of Sept. 11, 1899, President McKinley directed that all A government for the Territory of Hawaii was provided by the act of Congress See H. Report 305, 56 Cong. 1 sess. As to the extension of the laws relating to commerce, navigation, and merchant As to the extension of customs and internal-revenue laws over the islands, see Information as to the Hawaiian land system may be found in S. Doc. 72, 56 Provisional meas- "The United States minister at Honolulu ceased to consular discharge his diplomatic functions on July 4, 1898.” ures; representation. Mr. Hay, Sec. of State, to Mr. Buchanan, min. to Argentine Rep., Nov. 17, 1898, For. Rel. 1898. The date in this quotation should be August 12, 1898. On that day the ceremonial transfer of sovereignty took place, and Mr. Sewall, United States minister at Honolulu, his diplomatic functions ceasing, was provisionally invested with the character of agent of the United States, pending further legislation by Congress. December 9, 1898, the embassy of the United States at Berlin reported that some time previously, no official information having been received of the annexation of the islands, it had declined to grant a passport to a citizen of the Hawaiian Islands, although it was known that a law had been passed to make them a part of the United States. The applicant subsequently obtained a passport from Mr. Glade, the Hawaiian chargé d'affaires and consul-general in Berlin. The embassy also reported that at the then recent opening of the Reichstag, to which the diplomatic corps received a formal invitation, the Hawaiian chargé was present, and that his name still appeared in the official list of the diplomatic corps. The embassy requested instructions. The Department of State replied: "As stated in my telegram of the 4th instant, the diplomatic functions of the Hawaiian representative as chargé d'affaires ceased upon the annexation of the islands. With reference to his commercial capacity, I enlarge upon my telegrams as follows: "By the joint resolution of Congress, approved July 7, 1898, providing for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, it is provided that 'until legislation shall be enacted extending the United States customs laws and regulations to the Hawaiian Islands, the customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States and other countries shall remain unchanged.' "This Government had regarded that provision of law as continuing the commercial relations of the Hawaiian Islands with other states pending such legislation by Congress concerning the Hawaiian Islands as may be deemed necessary or proper, and consequently the United States continues to conduct its commercial business through its own consular officer at Honolulu as a de facto commercial agent, while the Hawaiian consuls in this country continue to act in a similar capacity. Until the commercial dependency of the Hawaiian Islands upon the United States shall be regulated by law, it would seem desirable that the present representatives of the Hawaiian Islands should continue to discharge their commercial functions as such agents in foreign countries, and until such laws shall be passed this Government is not prepared to commission those consular officers as full consular officers of the United States or to merge their functions in those of existing consular representatives of the United States in the same localities. "With regard, however, to the consular officers of foreign governments in the Hawaiian Islands the case is somewhat different, and inquiries on this point have been, in several instances, answered by expressing the opinion of this Government that it would be desirable for the existing foreign consuls in the Hawaiian Islands to receive new commissions from their governments, upon which this Government H. Doc. 551-33 |