{"1": {"fulltext": "", "height": "5076", "width": "3364", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0001.jp2"}, "2": {"fulltext": "rj", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0002.jp2"}, "3": {"fulltext": "7^\\nte\\nANNEXATION OF HAWAII,\\nSPEECH\\nOP\\nHON. EDWIN C. BURLEIGH,\\nOF MAINE,\\nIN TH^\\nHOUSE OF RKPRKSENTATIVK3,\\nWednesday, June 15, 1808.\\nVSrASHINGXO?^.\\n1898.", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0003.jp2"}, "4": {"fulltext": "i*\\n72936", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0004.jp2"}, "5": {"fulltext": "SPEECH\\nHON. EDWIN 0. BUELEIGII\\nOn tlic joint resolution (H. Res. 259) to provide for annexing tlie Hawaiian\\nIslands to the United States.\\nMr. BURLEIGH said:\\nMr. Speaker: I am heartily in favor of tlie annexation of\\nHawaii. I have long been convinced of the advisability of this\\nmove. It is one, in my judgment, in which this Government has\\nmuch to gain and nothing to lose. It is not to be wondered at\\nthat foreign nations look with amazement at the opposition in\\nthis country to the securing of a vantage point of such immense\\nstrategic importance in protecting the vast interests of our Pa-\\nj cific coast.\\nThere is not the slightest doubt as to what the course of any one\\nof them would be under similar circumstances, and it is not surpris-\\ning that they should view our delay and hesitation in securing\\nthis rich prize which is ready and anxious to come to us without\\nmoney and without price as a conclusive evidence of American\\nshortsightedness. Europeans are slow to comprehend the condi-\\ntions which may operate, in a country like ours, to blind people\\nto the obvious demands of self-interest and lead them to ignore\\nthe very laws of national life.\\nWestward the course of empire takes its way, and events are\\nalready demonstrating the prophetic wisdom of Secretary Seward\\nwhen he declared that the Pacific Ocean, its shores, its islands,\\nand the vast regions beyond were destined to become the world s\\ngreat theater of events. Had the spu it which to-day opposes\\nthe annexation of Hawaii jn-evailed with our fathers, we should\\nnot have more than quadrupled our territory, and instead of the\\n3,600,000 square miles that now constitute our magnificent domain\\nwe should to-day be limi ted to the 800, OCO square mi cs secured from", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0005.jp2"}, "6": {"fulltext": "Great Britain in the struggle for independence. Since the birth\\nof the Republic we have added 2,800,000 square miles to our terri-\\ntory.\\nLouisiana, Florida, Texas, the territory secured from Mexico in\\n1848 and 1853, and Alaska have in turn extended the area of the\\nnation. Out of the great domain thus acquired have come twenty\\nstates of the Union, and yet no additions have ever been made to\\nour territory that were not the occasion of severe criticism,\\nand the most of them have called forth bitter denunciation of the\\nAdministration then in power. The greatest of all our acquisi-\\ntions of territory was the purchase of Louisiana in 1803.\\nOut of the country thus secured have come, in whole or in part,\\ntwelve prosperous States of the Union, represented in this Con-\\ngress by eighty-four Senators and Representatives. The purchase\\nof Louisiana is easily the greatest single achievement of American\\nstatesmanship, and yet it was the occasion of bitter protest from\\nmany citizens of the country whose range of vision did not extend\\nbeyond the narrow limits of their own day and generation.\\nMr. Blaine, in his Twenty Years of Congress, says:\\nIt seems scarcely credible that the acquisition of Louisiana by Jefferson\\nwas denounced with a bitterness surpassing the partisan rancor with which\\nlater generations have been familiar. No abuse was too malignant, no epi-\\nthet too coarse, no imprecation too savage, to be employed by the assailants of\\nthe great philosophic statesman who laid so broad and deep the foundations\\nof his country s growth and grandeur.\\nThere is not a patriotic citizen of the United States to-day who\\nwould favor the relinquishment of a single foot of the territory\\nwhich has been added to the original area of the Republic, not\\none who would seriously question to-day the wisdom and fore-\\nsight of the statesmen who seized the opportunities presented for\\nbuilding up our present great country, with its immense extent of\\nterritory and enormous wealth of resources.\\nIn the light of events the dire disasters to the nation which have\\nbeen predicted by the various opponents of territorial expansion,\\nbeginning with those who thought the area originally secured\\nfrom Great Britain ample for all possible needs of the Republic,\\npresent and future, and coming down to those who opposed the\\npurchase of Alaska as fraught with portentous dangers to our\\ncountry, are certainly amusing. They show what poor prophets\\nthose who have trained in this school of ultraconservatism have\\n:?527", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0006.jp2"}, "7": {"fulltext": "been, and also how contracted was their conception of the coun-\\ntry s future.\\nA number of the same old ghosts have been conjured up to do\\nduty in this Hawaiian controversy; but I do not believe that they\\nwill cause any fright in Congress or out. In the pride of its energy\\nand strength, its noble hopes and aspirations, our country will still\\nturn its face to the future and head its undeviating course in the\\nway of progress. I have not heard, thus far, an argument against\\nthe securing of Hawaii that would not have applied with greater\\nforce to the securing of Alaska.\\nI do not share in the fears expressed by the opponents of annex-\\nation. My only apprehensions are of evils which might easily\\nbefall us if through our shortsightedness we allowed our present\\nopportunity to pass unimproved and permitted the beautiful\\nHaw^aiian Islands, the key to the Pacific, to pass into the pos-\\nsession of some foreign power. We can not pursue a dog-in-the-\\nmanger policy toward them. We must take them or leave them\\nfor some nation that, with vastly smaller interests at stake, is pos-\\nsessed of more enterprise.\\nThe civilization of these islands is an American civilization. At\\na great cost of money and labor, American missionaries reclaimed\\ntheir natives from barbarism. American capital has developed\\ntheir rich material resources, and more than 90 per cent of their\\ntrade is with the United States. Far in the Pacific, they consti-\\ntute an outpost of American thought and hope and aspiration\\nfacing on one side the vast and rapidly developing resources of\\nour long Pacific coast, and on the other the far east where forces\\nare already at work whose results bid fair to be world-wide in\\ntheir interest and whose ultimate scope no man can now foresee.\\nThe best naval authorities of this country have repeatedly urged\\nthe great strategic importance of these islands, and the events of\\nthe present war with Spain have fully demonstrated the sound-\\nness of their views. I firmly believe that a failure on our part to\\nsecure these islands would be a grave mistake and one which in\\nyears to come might result in dangers and complications vastly\\ngreater than any that opponents of annexation have thus far\\nventured to prophesy.\\nThe people of my own city have long felt a deep interest in this\\nquestion of Hawaiian annexation. Two of its former distin-\\n3527", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0007.jp2"}, "8": {"fulltext": "6\\nguished residents, Hon. Lnther Severance and Hon. John L.\\nStevens, served with conspicuous fidelity and ability as United\\nStates ministers to Hawaii\u00e2\u0080\u0094 Mr. Severance under the Administra-\\ntions of Presidents Taylor and Fillmore, and Mr. Stevens under\\nthe Administration of President Harrison. Prior to his selection\\nfor this position Mr. Severance had served with distinguished suc-\\ncess as a member of the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Con-\\ngresses. It was the hope that their salubrious climate might prove\\nbeneficial to his health, which had become somewhat impaired,\\nthat led him to accept the appointment to the Hawaiian Islands.\\nOf his service at Honolulu, Mr. Blaine, in a memoir written\\nafter the death of Mr. Severance, in January, 1855, says:\\nDuring Mr. Severance s residence of two years and eleven months as the\\ndiplomatic representative of the United States Government at the Hawaiian\\nKingdom he attained a reputation perhaps never excelled by any man on\\nthose islands. His urbanity of manner, his readiness to do good to all who\\nstood in need of his services, and the admirable knowledge he exhibited on\\nevery topic of political interest which came before the people of that remote\\nGovernment, made him an especial personal friend a ^d, so far as interna-\\ntional proprieties would permit, the confidential adviser of the King and his\\ncabinet.\\nThe strongest mark of his esteem and confidence was manifested by the\\nKing s offering Mr. Severance the highest official position within his gift\\n(that of secretary of foreign affairs) if he would consent to remain as a resi-\\ndent at Honolulu. His rapidly wasting health and his attachment to his old\\ntome, in which he desired to die, forbade Mr. Severance entertaining even\\nfor a moment the honorable proposal. It was during Mr. Severance s com-\\nmissionership that the subject of the annexation of the Sandwich Islands to\\nthis Government was first prominently agitated.\\nIn response to a communication from the State Department at Washing-\\nton, Mr. Severance prepared a paper on the subject which was extraordina-\\nrily minute and accurate in regard to the resources and capabilities of the\\nislands in a commercial point of view, and at the same time analyzed in the\\nprofoundest manner the political effect of their annexation. Although he\\nretained a copy of this paper, his sense of propriety would not allow him to\\nmake it public after it had become the property of the State Department of\\nthis Government. Should the subject ever again be agitated and this paper\\nbe called for by Congress, it would doubtless be found to convey more of per-\\ntinent and valuable information on the subject than anything which has yet\\nbeen published.\\nAs a result of Mr. Severance s observation, he returned to his\\nnative country a firm believer in the great importance, from many\\npoints of view, of the Hawaiian Islands to this country, and with\\nthe firm conviction that they would some day be annexed by us. It\\nmay be worth noting here that Mr. Severance, Mr. Blaine, and\\nMr. Stevens were close personal friends. Each was at one time a\\npart owner in the State paper at Augusta, the Kennebec Journal,\\n35::7", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0008.jp2"}, "9": {"fulltext": "and each in turn served as its editor. For three years Mr. Blaine\\nand Mr. Stevens were associated in the ownership and conduct of\\nthe paper, and the friendship then formed, based upon mutual\\nconfidence and esteem, continued unbroken through life.\\nThe first issue of the paT)er under the editorship of Mr. Blaine\\ncontained a vigorous editorial from his pen urging the importance\\nof annexing Hawaii, and I will add that he was to the day of his\\ndeath a firm believer in the wisdom of this policy.\\nMr. Stevens was appointed minister to Hawaii by President\\nHarrison upon the recommendation of Mr. Blaine. In making it\\nthe Secretary of State declared that he regarded this as one of the\\nmost important diplomatic positions in the gift of the Govern-\\nment, and that, owing to the obvious trend of events in the Ha-\\nwaiian Islands, it was important that the place should be filled by\\nan able and experienced man. Such a man was John L. Stevens,\\nHe had already served his country with signal ability and suc-\\ncess, first as its minister to Paraguay, and later as its minister to\\nSweden.\\nNo man was ever better qualified both by nature and attain-\\nments for the delicate and exacting duties of an important diplo-\\nmatic position. With great tact he combined an unusual degree\\nof caution. He had the instincts of a scholar and was the master\\nof an English style of rare strength and grace. No man in public\\nlife understood more clearly than he the proprieties of his official\\nposition and none was more punctillious in observing them. While\\nextremely careful in his expression of opinion, he was neverthe-\\nless a man of strong convictions and was never lacking in the\\ncourage of them.\\nHe was a man of sound judgment, a fine type of the clear-\\nheaded, patriotic American. During the latter years of his life it\\nwas my good fortune to sustain close business and social relations\\nwith him. We were near neighbors. I corresponded with him\\nduring his stay at Honolulu and was thrown much in his society\\nafter his return. I have no dejire at this time to reopen that\\nodorous chapter of duplicity and shame which has passed into\\nhistory under the late Charles A. Dana s characterization as The\\npolicy of infamy. Fortunately for the good name of our coun-\\ntry, the overwhelming sentiment of the American people sufficed", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0009.jp2"}, "10": {"fulltext": "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS\\n019 944 325 2\\nto frustrate its evil designs, and none of its authors now have\\nany share in the direction of national affairs.\\nThe assaults of these men upon Minister Stevens\u00e2\u0080\u0094 as faithful\\nand efficient a public servant as ever represented this country in\\na foreign land\u00e2\u0080\u0094 were instituted partly for political purposes and\\npartly to cover the chagrin of their own undoing. The records\\nof these assaults are of interest now simply as showing the length\\nto which reckless mendacity may go in an effort to gain partisan\\nends.\\nI should be false to the memory of a true friend and a true man if\\nI did not take this opportunity to say, and say emphatically, that\\nduring the time John L. Stevens served this country as its minister\\nto Hawaii he performed the exacting duties of his position with\\nconspicuous ability and scrupulous fidelity. He was, as Mr.\\nBlaine well said, one of the ablest and most experienced diplomats\\nin the service of the country. During his stay at Honolulu he\\nperformed no act or spoke no word incompati^^le with the strict\\nproprieties of his official position. He did his duty promptly, fear-\\nlessly, and well. His record was a creditable one, and the Ameri-\\ncan people will honor him for it.\\nI believe, Mr. Speaker, that the annexation of the beautiful\\nislands of the Pacific that he loved next to his native land will\\n\u00e2\u0080\u00a2oon be an accomplished fact. The trend of events is irresistibly\\nin that direction.\\nI shared in the general humiliation when our flag was pulled\\ndown under the Cleveland Administration, and I shall rejoice to\\nsee it raised there again in permanency and in pride.\\nSuch a move will establish an ocean fortress for the protection\\nof the great and growing interests of our Pacific coast and bring\\nnothing but benefits to the American people.", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0010.jp2"}, "11": {"fulltext": "", "height": "4410", "width": "2711", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0011.jp2"}, "12": {"fulltext": "uiBRflR^ \u00c2\u00b0^\u00e2\u0080\u009e2SSl\\n\u00e2\u0096\u00a0Hl44.325 2 i\\nHoUinger Corp.\\npH8.5", "height": "5175", "width": "3254", "jp2-path": "annexationofhawa00burl_0012.jp2"}}