demand for them. Wherever they are wanted there they will go, their movements differing from even breadstuffs, where movements are affected one way or the other on account of tariffs. I don't know but there was once a duty on the precious metals, but it did not work; no country has yet succeeded in controlling by law the movements of the precious metals. Gold and silver flow like the atmosphere and are governed by a law like the law of graviation.Ex-Senator George F. Edmunds before the House Committee on Banking and Currency.

BLAND BILL FIXED THE GOLD CLAUSE.

"Be it enacted, etc., That there shall be coined at the several mints of the United States, silver dollars of the weight of 412% grains Troy of standard silver, as provided in the act of January 18, 1837, on which shall be the devices and superscriptions provided by said act; which coins, together with all silver dollars heretofore coined by the United States of like weight and fineness, shall be a legal tender, at their nominal value, for all debts and dues, public and private, except where otherwise provided by contract; and any owner of silver bullion may deposit the same at any United States coinage mint or assay office, to be coined into such dollars, for his benefit, upon the same terms and conditions as gold bullion is deposited for coinage under existing laws.

"SEC. 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed."

Amended in the Senate, and became a law February 28, 1878, but was known as the Bland-Allison act.--Record, vol. 6, p. 241.

HAWAII.

Legislative History of the Annexation Measure.

On June 11, 1898, the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House, reported the following joint resolution in favor of the annexation of Hawaii:

To provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.

Whereas the government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also to cede and transfer to the United States the absolute fee and ownership of all public, government or crown lands, public buildings or

edifices, ports, harbors, military equipment, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereto appertaining; therefore,

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That said cession is accepted, ratified and confirmed, and that the said Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies be, and they are hereby, annexed as a part of the territory of the United States and are subject to the sovereign dominion thereof, and that all and singular the property and rights hereinbefore mentioned are vested in the United States of America.

The existing laws of the United States relative to public lands shall not apply to such lands in the Hawaiian Islands; but the Congress of the United States shall enact special laws for their management and disposition; provided that all revenue from or proceeds of the same, except as regards such part thereof as may be used or occupied for the civil, military, or naval purposes of the United States, or may be assigned for the use of the local government, shall be used solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands for educational and other public purposes. Until Congress shall provide for the government of such islands all the civil, judicial, and military powers exercised by the officers of the existing government in said islands shall be vested in such person or persons and shall be exercised in such manner as the President of the United States shall direct; and the President shall have power to remove said officers and fill the vacancies so occasioned.

The existing treaties of the Hawaiian Islands with foreign nations shall forthwith cease and determine, being replaced by such treaties as may exist, or as may hereafter be concluded between the United States and such foreign nations. The municipal legislation of the Hawaiian Islands, not enacted for the fulfillment of the treaties so extinguished, and not inconsistent with this joint resolution nor contrary to the Constitution of the United States, nor to existing treaty of the United States, shall remain in force until the Congress of the United States shall otherwise determine.

Until such legislation shall be enacted extending the United States customs laws and regulations to the Hawaiian Islands the existing customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States and other countries shall remain unchanged.

The public debt of the Republic of Hawaii lawfully existing at the date of the passage of this joint resolution, including the amounts due to depositors in the Hawaiian Postal Savings Bank, is hereby assumed by the Government of the United States; but

the liability of the United States in this regard shall in no case exceed $4,000,000. So long, however, as the existing government and the present commercial relations of the Hawaiian Islands are continued as herein before provided said government shall continue to pay the interest on said debt.

There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands, except upon such conditions as are now or may hereafter be allowed by the laws of the United States; and no Chinese, by reason of anything herein contained, shall be allowed to enter the United States from the Hawaiian 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 herein before provided for shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

SEC. 3. That the sum of $100,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to be immediately available, to be expended at the discretion of the President of the United States of America, for the purpose of carrying this joint resolution into effect.

It passed in the House June 15th by a vote of 209 to 91, not voting 49, the opposition being made up almost entirely of Democrats. The vote was as follows:

Yeas, 209-Acheson, Adams, Aldrich, Alexander, Babcock, Baker (Ill.), Baker (Md.), Barham, Barney, Barrows, Bartholdt, Belden, Belford, Belknap, Benner (Pa.), Bennett, Berry, Bingham, Bishop, Booze, Botkin, Boutell (III.), Boutelle (Me.), Brewster, Broderick, Bromwell, Brown, Brownlow, Brucker, Brumm, Bull, Burleigh, Butler, Cannon, Capron, Chickering, Clark (Iowa), Clarke (N. H.), Cochran (Mo.), Cochrane (N. Y.), Codding, Connell, Connolly, Cooper (Wis.), Corliss, Cousins, Crump, Cummings, Curtis (Iowa), Curtis (Kans.), Dalzell, Danford, Davenport, Davidson (Wis.), Davison (Ky.), Dayton, De Vries, Dingley, Dolliver, Dovener, Driggs, Ellis, Ermentrout, Faris, Fenton, Fischer, Fletcher Foote, Foss, Fowler (N. J.), Gibson, Gillet (N. Y.), Graff, Green (Mass.), Griffin, Griffith, Grosvenor, Grout, Grow, Hager, Hamilton, Hawley, Heatwole, Hemenway, Henderson, Henry (Conn.), Henry (Ind.), Hepburn, Hicks, Hilborn, Hill, Hitt, Hooker, Hopkins, Howe, Howell, Hull, Hurley, Jenkins, Johnson (N. Dak.), Jones (Wash.), Joy, Kelley, Kerr, Ketcham, Kirkpatrick, Knowles, Knox, Kulp, Lacey, Landis, Lawrence, Lewis (Ga.), Lewis (Wash.), Linney, Littauer, Livingston, Loud, Loudenslager, Lovering, Low, Lybrand, McCall, McCleary, McCormick, McDonald, McEwan, McIntire, Mahany, Mahon, Mann, Marsh, Marshall, Meekison, Mercer, Mesick, Miller, Mills, Minor, Mitchell, Moody, Morris, Mudd,

Newlands, Northway, Norton (S. C.), Olmsted, Osborne, Otjen, Packer (Pa.), Parker_(N. J.), Payne, Pearce (Mo.), Pearson, Perkins, Peters, Pitney, Powers, Prince, Pugh, Ray, Ridgely, Robbins, Russell, Sauerhering, Shannon, Shattuc, Shelden, Sherman, Showalter, Simpson, Skinner, Smith (Ill.), Smith, Samuel W., Smith, William Alden, Snover, Southard, Southwick, Spalding, Sperry, Steele, Stevens (Minn.), Stewart (N. J.), Stewart (Wis.), Stone, Charles W., Strode (Nebr.), Sulloway, Sulzer, Tawney, Taylor (Ala.), Thorp, Todd, Tongue, Updegraff, Van Voorhis, Vehslage, Walker (Va.), Wanger, Ward, Warner, Weaver, Weymouth, White (Ill.), White (N. C.), Wilber, Williams (Pa.), Wise, Yost, Young.

Nays, 91-Adamson, Bailey, Baird, Ball, Bankhead, Bartlett, Bell, Benton, Bland, Bradley, Brantley, Brewer, Broussard, Brundidge, Carmack, Clardy, Clark (Mo.), Clayton, Cooney, Cowherd, Crumpacker, Davey, Davis, De Graffenreid, Dinsmore, Dockery, Elliott, Fitzgerald, Fleming, Fowler (N. C.), Fox, Gaines, Griggs, Handy, Hartman, Hay, Henry (Miss.), Henry (Tex.), Hinrichsen, Howard (Ala.), Howard (Ga.), Jett, Johnson (Ind), Jones (Va.), Kitchin, Kleberg, Lamb, Lanham, Lester, Little, Lloyd, Love, McAleer, McCulloch, McDowell, McMillin, McRae, Maguire, Martin, Maxwell, Meyer (La.), Moon, Ogden, Pierce (Tenn.), Rhea, Richardson, Rixey, Robb, Robertson (La.), Robinson (Ind.), Sayers, Settle, Shafroth, Shuford, Sims, Slayden, Sparkman, Stallings, Stark, Stephens (Tex.), Stokes, Strait, Strowd (N. C.), Swanson, Tate, Underwood, Vandiver, Wadsworth, Wheeler (Ky.), Williams (Miss.), Wilson.

Paired in favor of the resolution-Royce, Sprague, Lorimer, Evans, Reeves, Castle, Gillett (Mass.), Greene (Nebr.), Burton, Beach, Colson, Odell, Harmer, Barrett, William A. Stone, Arnold, Overstreet, Quigg, Brosius, Gunn, Sturtevant, Walker (Mass.), and Tayler (Ohio). Vincent absent, would vote yea.

Paired and against passage-Zenor, Lentz, Campbell, Smith (Ky.), Talbert, Hunter, Terry, King, Norton (Ohio), Brenner (Pa.), Fitzpatrick, De Armond, Allen, Cooper (Tex.), McClellan, Cox, Miers (Ind.), Crawford, Otey, Burke, Sutherland, Catchings, and Barlow. The Speaker (Mr. Reed) absent sick; if present would vote "nay."-Congressional Record, p. 6,664.

Debate in the Senate began June 20, and was continued desultorily, with a view on the part of the opposition to talk the resolution to death, until July 6, when it was passed by a vote of 42 to 21, as follows:

Senators for Annexation-Allison, Baker, Burrows, Cannon, Carter, Clark, Cullom, Davis, Deboe, Elkins, Fairbanks, Foraker, Frye, Gallinger, Gorman, Hale, Hanna, Hansbrough, Hawley, Hoar, Kyle, Lodge, McBride, McLaurin, Money, Morgan, Nelson, Penrose, Perkins, Pettus, Platt (Conn.), Pritchard, Proctor, Sewell, Shoup, Sullivan, Teller, Warren, Wellington, Wetmore, Wilson, Wolcott-42. Republicans, 33; Democrats, 6; Silver Republicans, 2; Independent, 1.

Senators Against Annexation-Allen, Bacon, Bate, Berry, Caffery, Chilton, Clay, Daniel, Faulkner, Jones (Nev.), Lindsay, McEnery, Mallory, Mitchell, Morrill, Pasco, Pettigrew, Roach, Turley, Turpie, White-21.

Democrats, 17; Populists, 1; Republicans, 1; Silver Republicans, 1; Silverites, 1.

There were twelve pairs, as follows, the names of those who would have voted in the affirmative being given first in each instance: Rawlins with Butler, Chandler with Vest, Murphy with Cockrell, Quay with Gray, Stewart with Mills, Smith with Gear, Aldrich with Jones of Arkansas, McMillan with Kenney, Mantle with Martin, Platt with Spooner, Turner with Thurston, and Mason with Tillman.

Senators Harris and Heitfeld were absent unpaired, but the announcement was made by their respective colleagues that if present they would vote for the resolutions.

The resolutions received the President's signature July 7, and were immediately forwarded on their way to Honolulu for ratification by the Hawaiian Congress.

HISTORY OF PREVIOUS OFFERS OF HAWAIIAN ANNEXATION-EVENTS UNDER THE CLEVELAND ADMINISTRATION.

Those who assume that the present prominence of Hawaii in American affairs is something comparatively novel, and that the proposition for the annexation of these islands is of recent origin, are not familiar with the facts. Ever since Hawaii was of sufficient importance to be a factor in international politics, American statesmen and all political parties have regarded its commercial and military advantages of such peculiar value to the United States that they deemed it necessary to adopt and enforce the policy of not allowing any foreign power to interfere with, control or colonize it.

As long ago as December 19, 1842, Hawaii applied to the United States for recognition. Secretary of State Webster at that time defined the attitude of this Government toward the Sandwich Islands by stating that we would oppose their seizure by any foreign power and that we were determined to respect their independence. England seized them in 1843, and on June 13 of that year Secretary of State Legare notified the American minister at London that owing to the peculiarly close relations between Hawaii and the United States, this country might go to war to prevent its retention by any European power, and England subsequently relaxed its grasp upon the islands. France repeatedly attempted to take them, and on June 18, 1851, Secretary of State Webster instructed the American minister at Paris to inform the French Government that the further enforcement of the French demand against Hawaii "would be tantamount to a subjugation of the