rºº Tº
University of Michigan BUHR
-



f
*
º

No.300
PAPERS RELATING TO THE MISSION OF JAMEs H. BLOUNT, UNITED
STATES COMMISSIONER TO THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
PART I.-CORRESPONDENCE. i
No. 1.
U.SDEPARTMENT of STATE,
- Washington, March 11, 1893. ,
Hon. JAMES H. BLOUNT, etc.:
SIR: The situation created in the Hawaiian Islands by the recent
deposition of Queen Liliuokalani and the erection of a Provisional
Government demands the fullest consideration of the President, and
in order to obtain trustworthy information on this subject, as well as
for the discharge of other duties herein specified, he has decided to
dispatch you to the Hawaiian Islands as his special commissioner, in
which capacity you will herewith receive a commission and also a letter,
whereby the President accredits you to the president of the executive
and advisory councils of the Hawaiian Islands. .
The comprehensive, delicate, and confidential character of your mis-
sion can now offly be briefly outlined, the details of its execution being
necessarily left, in great measure, to your good judgment and wise dis-
Cretion. *
You will investigate and fully report to the President all the facts
you can learn respecting the condition of affairs in the Hawaiian Islands,
the causes of the revolution by which the Queen's Government was over-
thrown, the sentiment of the people toward existing authority, and, in
... general, all that can fully enlighten the President touching the subjects.
of your mission. -
To enable you to fulfill this charge, your authority in all matters.
touching the relations of this Government to the existing or other gov-
ernment of the islands, and the protection of our citizens therein, is
paramount, and in you alone, acting in coöperation with the commander
of the naval forces, is vested full discretion and power to determine
when such forces should be landed or withdrawn.
You are, however, authorized to avail yourself of such aid and
information as you may desire from the present iminister of the United
States at . Honolulu, Mr. John L. Stevens, who will continue until
further notice to perform the usual functions attaching to his office, not
inconsistent with the powers entrusted to you. An instruction will be
sent to Mr. Stevens directing him to facilitate your presentation to the
head of the Government upon your arrival, and to render you all
needed assistance. .*
. The withdrawal from the Senate of the recently signed treaty of
annexation, for reëxamination by the President, leaves its subject-matter
in abeyance, and you are not charged with any duty in respect thereto.
It may be well, however, for you to dispel any possible misapprehen-
sion which its withdrawal may have excited touching the entire friend-
liness of the President and the Government of the United States toward
the people of the Hawaiian Islands or the earnest solicitude here felt
for their welfare, tranquility, and progress. -
Historical precedents and the general course of the United States
authorize the employment of its armed force in foreign territory for
the security of the lives and property of American citizens and for the
repression of lawless and tumultuous acts threatening them; and the
wers conferred to that end upon the representatives of the United
tates are both necessary and proper, subject always to the exercise
of a sound discretion in their application.
In the judgment of the President your authority, as well as that of the
commander of the naval forces in Hawaiian waters should be, and is,
limited in the use of physical force to such measures as are necessary
2
to protect the persons and property of our citizens; and while abstain
ing from any manner of interference with the domestic concerns of the
Islands, you should indicate your willingness to intervene with your
friendly offices in the interest of a peaceful settlement of troubles within
the limits of sound discretion.
Should it be necessary to land an armed force upon Hawaiian terri-
tory on occasions of popular disturbance, when the local authority may
be unable to give adequate protection to the life and property of citi-
zens of the United States, the assent of such authority should first be
obtained, if it can be done without prejudice to the interests involved.
Your power in this regard should not, however, be claimed to the exclu-
sion of similar measures by the representatives of other powers for the
protection of the lives and property of their citizens or subjects residing
in the Islands.
While the United States claim no right to interfere in the political
or domestic affairs or in the internal conflicts of the Hawaiian Islands
otherwise than as herein stated, or for the purpose of maintaining any
treaty or other rights which they possess, this Government will adhere
to its consistent and established policy in relation to them, and it will
not acquiesce in domestic interference by other powers.
The foregoing general exposition of the President's views will indi-
cate the safe courses within which your action should be shaped and
mark the limits of your discretion in calling upon the naval commander
for coöperation. -
The United States revenue cutter Rush is under orders to await you
at San Francisco and convey you to Honolulu.
A stenographic clerk will be detailed to accompany you and remain
subject to your orders. -
It is expected that you will use all convenient despatch for the
fulfillment of your mission, as it is the President's desire to have the
results before him at the earliest possible day. Besides the connected
report you are expected to furnish you will from time to time, as occasion
may offer, correspond with the Secretary of State, communicating
information or soliciting special instruction on such points as you may
deem necessary. In case of urgency you may telegraph, either in
plain text or in the cipher of the Navy Department, through the
kind offices of the admiral commanding, which may be sent to Mr. W. A.
Cooper, United States dispatch agent at San Francisco, to be trans-
mitted thence.
Reposing the amplest confidence in your ability and zeal for the reali-
zation of the trust thus confided to you,
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
W. Q. GRESHAM.
[Inclosure.]
President Cleveland to President Dole.
Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of America, to his excellency
Sanford B. Dole, President of the executive and advisory councils of the Pro-
visional Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
GREAT AND GOOD FRIEND: I have ºvade choice of James H. Blount, one of our
distinguished citizens, as my special commissioner to visit the Hawaiian Islands
and make report to me concerning the present status of affairs in that country.
He is well informed of onr sincere desire to cultivate and maintain to the fullest
extent the friendship which has so long subsisted between the two countries, and
in all matters affecting relations with the Government of the Hawaiian islands his
authority is paramount. My knowledge of his high character and ability gives me
entire confidence that he will use every endeavor to advance the interest and pros-
perity of both Governments and so render himself acceptable to your excellency.
I therefore request your excellency to receive him .# and to give full
credence to what he shall say on the part of the United States and to the assurances
which I have charged him to convey to you of the best wishes of this Government
for the prosperity of the Hawaiian Islands.
May God have your excellency in His wise keeping.
Written at Washington this 11th day of March, in the year 1893. tº *
Your good friend,
- GROVER CLEVELAND.
By the President:
W. Q. GRESHAM,
Secretary of State
3
No. 2. '
Mr. Gresham to Mr. Stevens.
DEPARTMENT of STATE,
Washington, March 11, 1893.
SIR: With a view to obtaining the fullest possible information in
regard to the condition of affairs in the Hawaiian Islands the Presi-
dent has determined to send to Honolulu, as his Special Commissioner,
the honorable James H. Blount, lately chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Blount bears credential letters in that capacity, addressed to
the President of the executive and advisory councils of the Provisional
Government, and you are requested to facilitate his presentation.
In all matters pertaining to the existing or other Government of the
Islands the authority of Mr. Blount is paramount. As regards the
conduct of the usual business of the legation, you are requested to con-
tinue until further notice in the performance of your official functions
so far as they may not be inconsistent with the special powers confided
to Mr. Blount. You are also requested to aid him in the fulfillment of
his important mission by furnishing any desired assistance and informa-
tion, and the archives of the legation should be freely accessible to him.
Mr. Blount is fully instructed touching his relations to the command-
ing officer of the United States naval force in Hawaiian waters.
I am, &c.,
W. Q. GRESHAM.
No. 3.
Mr. Gresham to Mr. Severance,
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, March 11, 1893.
SIR: With a view to obtaining the fullest possible information in
regard to the condition of affairs in the Hawaiian Islands, the President
sends to Honolulu, as his Special Commissioner, the honorable James
H. Blount, lately chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
You are requested to aid Mr. Blount in the fulfillment of his impor-
tant mission by furnishing any desired assistance and information;
and the archives of the consulate-general should be freely accessible
to him.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
W. Q. GRESHAM.
No. 4.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 1.]
HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, April 6, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inform you that about noon on the 29th
ultimo the Rush anchored at Honolulu. I was immediately met by the
American minister, Mr. Stevens. He informed me that the annexation
committee, which came on board with him, had rented one of the most
eligible residences in the city for my use; had provided servants, among
others an American steward, and a carriage and horses, etc., for my
use. I could pay whatever I wanted to for it, from nothing up. He
urged me very strongly to accept the proposed arrangement.
I replied to him that I could accept no favors at the hands of any
parties in the islands, and that I should immediately go to a hotel.
The annexation committee then came up and insisted that I should
take the accommodations which they had seen fit to provide on the
terms already indicated by the American minister. I again declined,
stating that I should resort to a hotel and make my arrangements there.
At this time there was an immense collection of natives on shore,
men, women, and children, evidently in a state of joyous expectation.
One of the annexation committee said to me: “When you reach the
shore the natives will desire you to take their carriages and allow them
4
to escort you to your hotel.” This was said with anxiety. I replied:
“I shall go to my hotel in my own carriage.”
Soon after this a Mr. Robertson appeared on the scene as the Queen's
ex-chamberlain, to request that I would accept her carriage to convey
me to my hotel. I returned thanks to her, but stated that I would use
my own conveyance. -
On Thursday, March 30, at 4 o'clock in the evening, in company with
the American minister, I called on the President of the Provisional
Government. I communicated to him the friendly disposition of our
Government towards his and towards the Hawaiian people. I assured
him of its purpose to avoid any interference with the domestic concerns
of the islands unless it became necessary to protect the persons and
property of American citizens. I then offered my letters of credence,
which were accepted by President Dole, accompanied with expressions
of great friendship for my Government and confidence in myself.
The Daily Pacific Commercial Advertiser of March 31, 1893, reports
the proceedings of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, from which the
following is taken: “Mr. Joseph Nawahi, one of the speakers, said
that all Hawaiians were in favor of monarchy, and then he asked his
hearers if they wanted their queen to be restored. They all answered
“yes,” as a matter of course. He then went on to say that the Com-
missioner was sent here to feel their pulses, and for all Hawaiians to
ask him for a return of the old order of things. He told the people to
show by their actions that they did not want annexation, and as a
greater power than the Government had arrived among them, a memo-
rial would be read without fear of arrest.” -
The resolutions adopted by the meeting are as follows:
Whereas His Excellency Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of
America, has honored the Hawaiian Nation by sending to us the Hon. James H.
Blount as a special commissioner, to find ont the true wishes of the Hawaiian people
as to the proposed annexation of their country to their great friend the United
States: Therefore, we, the people of the Hawaiian ſslands, in mass meeting assem-
bled, take this mode of submitting our appeal and expression of our unanimous
wishes to the people of our great and good friend the Republic of the United States
-of America, with whom we always entertained the most cordial relation, whom we
have learned to look upon as our patrons and most reliable protectors, and in whose
honor, integrity, and sense of justice and equity we have ever confidently relied for
investigation into the grievous wrongs that have been committed against us as a
people, against the person of our sovereign and the independence of our land;
And while we are anxious to promote the closest and most intimate political and
commercial relations with the United States, we do not believe that the time has
yet come for us to be deprived of our nationality and of our sovereign by annex-
ation to any foreign power; -
And, therefore, we do hereby earnestly and sincerely pray that the great wrong
committed against us may be righted by the restoration of the independent auton-
omy and constitutional government of our kindgdom under our beloved Queen Lil-
# ºlami, in whom we lave the utmost confidence as a conscientious and popular
©r.
Previous to this, accompanied by Mr. Stevens, the American minis-
ter, I had called upon the President of the Provisional Government
and briefly stated the friendly disposition of our Government towards
the Hawaiian people. Care had been taken on this occasion to avoid
any reference to the use of the American troops. It had seemed to me
up to the action of the aforesaid meeting that it would be wise to take
a few days to ascertain the situation of affairs before causing the troops
to be removed to the vessels and the ensign hauled down.
A Major Seward called on the morning of March 31, desiring to know
when it would be convenient for me to receive a committee from the .
mass meeting of the preceding evening, which desired to present the
resolutions adopted. It was quite clear that in the mind of that
assemblage, there were apprehensions that I was here vested with
power to reinstate Queen Liliuokalani.
The reception of a committee so avowedly hostile to the existing
Government raised a question as to whether this would consist with
a recognition of existing authority and the policy of noninterference.
The messenger was informed that the subject would be taken into con-
sideration and that he might call at 2 o'clock of the same day for Iny
reply.
Very soon after his departure I called on President Dole, and called
his attention to the meeting and resolutions. I said that, under exist-
ing circumstances, I deemed it proper at once to say to him that I should
“cause the ensign of the United States to be hauled down, and the troops
“ordered on board their respective vessels. I informed him further that
they would be used only to protect the persons and property of Amer-
5
ican citizens, and that our Government would not acquiesce in the
interference by any other Government in the establishment or mainte-
nance of any form of Government on the islands. He desired to know
when the troops would be removed and the ensign hauled down. I
replied, to-day or to-morrow. He expressed a preference that it should
be done on the morning of the following day, April 1. To this I agreed.
I asked if he was satisfied he could preserve order when our troops
were withdrawn. To this he replied that he had no doubt of it. He
added that when the troops were first furnished they could not have
gotten along without their aid. He was given to understand that this
question was not intended as a guide to me in the removal of the troops,
but simply to ascertain whether disorders were likely to occur.
Soon afterwards the following order was issued to Admiral Skerrett:
HoNolulu, March 31, 1893.
SIR: You are directed to haul down the United States ensign from the Govern-
i. Building, and to embark the troops now on shore to the ships to which they
ong.
This will be executed at 11 o'clock on the 1st day of April.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
* JAMFs H. Blount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
Rear Admiral J. S. SKERRETT,
- Commanding Pacific Squadron.
On the afternoon of this day (March 31) I informed the messenger of
the mass meeting that I would receive them at 4 o'clock on the follow-
ing day. This was done in order that when the committee called, the
ensign would have been hauled down and the troops ordered aboard of
their vessels, and I could state freely to the committee that it was not
my purpose to interfere in their domestic concerns; that the United
States troops would not be used to maintain or restore any form of
government, but simply to protect the persons and property of Ameri-
can citizens. This reply I hoped would allay any action on the part of
the people based on erroneous impressions as to my future conduct.
On the night before the flag was taken down, the American minister
came to me with a Mr. Smith, correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle, whom he introduced as a gentleman of intelligence and high
character desiring to make an important communication to me. This
gentleman claimed to know that it was the purpose of the Japanese
commissioner, who had learned that the American flag was to be hauled
down and the troops sent on board their respective vessels, to enter
Hºlº with troops for the purpose of restoring authority to the
Ulee Il. -
This story was credited by the American minister, who urged that I
should not take down the flag until diplomatic intercourse between the
Government of the United States and the Government of Japan should
determine the correctness of this information.
Very little observation had satisfied me that all sorts of rumors arise
in this community almost every hour, aud are credited without refer-
©nce to the probabilities.
Conscious of the power and policy of our own Government in these
islands, and that of these the Japanese Government was well informed,
I maintained my purpose to insist upon the order to Admiral Skerrett.
At 4 o'clock on Saturday, April 1, a committee, consisting of nine-
teen members, very intelligent, respectable half-castes, called at the
headquarters of the commission. The spokesman, Mr. John E. Bush,
stated that at the mass meeting of the natives resolutions had been
adopted which they desired to present to me to be transmitted to the
President of the United States. He declared the high esteem and
affection his people had for the people of the United States, and spoke
*Of the friendly disposition our Government had always manifested
towards them. He said that up to my arrival the people had borne
patiently the existing condition of things, trusting in the disposition of
the American Government to do absolute justice by them. I replied
that he did not misinterpret the kindly feeling of the Government and
people of the United States for all classes of citizens in these islands. I
said I would accept their resolutions in no other sense than as I would
any other fact to be communicated in the way of information-to the
President of the United States; that I could not discuss with them the
objects of my mission, nor the purposes of my Government. To this,
response was made by Mr. Bush, that this was all they could reasonably
expect.
6
I append herewith a copy of a letter, marked Inclosure 1, from Admi-
ral Skerrett, containing a statement of the circumstances attending
the hauling down of the ensign and the removal of the troops.
I also append a copy of a letter from Capt. Hooper, of the Rush
(Inclosure No. 2), a very intelligent gentleman, whom I had asked to be
present on the occasion and report the circumstances.
Mr. Parker, the last secretary of state under the late Queen, a half-
caste of wealth and intelligence, called on Monday morning, April 3.
In his conversation he stated that he and other leaders of the Kanaka
population, loyal to the Queen, had been very active in impressing
upon their followers that the lowering of the flag and the withdrawal
of the troops must be accepted by them without any manifestations of
their opinions or feelings.
On Sunday, April 2, I called on the American minister. While there
he related that he had had a conversation with the Japanese minister,
and satisfied him that our Government would not consent to Japanese
interference in these islands. I was glad to find that he himself was
not suffering from any apprehensions over the flag incident.
The American minister and consul-general seem to be very intense
artisans for annexation. I do not yet see how they will embarrass me
in the purposes of my Imission. While they seemed to give out the
impression that the troops will be brought back here in the event of
trouble, my presence discredits the authority of their statements. I
have uniformly stated that the troops would only be used for the pur-
pose of protecting the property and persons of American citizens;
that I could not tell in advance what specific contingency would justify
me in doing so. At this time I think I may pursue all my inquiries in
the midst of peaceful surroundings.
Since my arrival visitors are constantly calling upon me and Mrs.
Blount. It appears to be a manifestation of regard on the part of all
classes of political opinion and of all races towards the Government
of the United States. Most of my time has been occupied in this way.
I do not know that it could have been employed more usefully. I
think I shall cautiously but surely find my way to the political feeling
of all classes. I shall commence soon to make inquiry in regard to
the various questions naturally arising in connection with the relations
of the United States to the Hawaiian Islands from persons whose
opinions I shall have decided are of any valuable significance.
I feel assured that I can successfully ascertain much valuable infor-
mation in this way.
I have, &c.,
JAMES H. BLount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount.
|Inclosure 1 in No. 1.]
No. 110.] U. S. S. MohicaN, FLAGsHIP of the PACIFIC STATION,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 1, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inform Special Commissioner Blount that in obedience to
his directions, the United States ensign over the Government building was lowered at
11 a.m. of this date, and the force withdrawn from the building and the place desig-
nated as Camp Boston, at the same hour. I learn that quite a number of people congre-
3. about the Government building at the time. The force of marines stationed
here were relieved by a force of the Provisional Government. There was no demon-
stration * by the populace present. No cheering nor any other signs of either
Joy or grief.
¥ went on shore this afternoon and saw quite an access in numbers of those who
were wearing the Annexation club badge. There has been no evidence shown of
unruly or riotous characters. j. there appears to be peace and quiet.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. S. SKERRETT,
Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy, Commanding U. S. Naval Force, Pacifto Station.
* *
[Inclosure 2 in No. 1j
Capt. Hooper to Mr. Blount.
U. S. REvºNUE STEAMER Rush, Honolulu, April 2, 1893.
MY DEAR SIR: I witnessed the .# down of the American flag and the raising of
the Hawaiian flag over the Government building at this placeyesterday, and was sur.
prised not only at the absence of any indication of the violent and partisan feeling
7
which I had been led to expect, but by the apparent apathy and indifference of the
native portion of the assembled crowd, and also their politeness and evident good
feeling towards Americans. As I passed freely around among them, accompanied
by my son, we were kept busy returning their friendly salutes. The greatest good
order prevailed throughout. There were no demonstrations of any kind as the
American flag came down, and not a single cheer greeted the Hawaiian flag as it
was raised aloft. The native men stood around in groups or singly, smoking, and
chatting and nodding familiarly to passing friends or leaning idly against the trees
and fences, while the women and children, which formed a large proportion of the
assemblage, were talking and ºś good-naturedly. As the hour for haulin
down the American flag approached, many people, men, women, and children, coul
be seen approaching the Government square in a most leisurely manner, and show.
ing more interest in the gala day *: of the crowd than in the restoration of
their national flag. The air of good natured indifference and idle curiosity with
which the native men regarded the proceedings, and the presence of the women and
children in their white or bright colored dresses, was more suggestive of a country
“fair” or horse race than the sequel to a “revolution.”
Even the presence of the “armed forces” of the Provisional Government, num-
bering perhaps 200, parading the corridors of the Government house, failed to elicit
* sign of a feeling of anger or resentment.
n half an hour after the exchange of flags had been made the crowd had dispersed
, and only the “force” of the Provisional Government, which I was told was neces-
sary to prevent mob violence, remained to indicate that a “revolution” had
recently taken place. While among the crowd I looked carefully for indications of
“ arms” upon the persons of the natives, but saw none, although with the thin
clothing worn by them, the presence of a revolver or such an arm could easily have
been detected.
If any danger of mob violence on the part of the natives existed, all outward
signs of it were carefully concealed. Only evidences of the greatest good feeling
were apparent.
Hoping that this short statement of the facts as they appeared to me may prove of
interest to you,
I am, etc.,
C. L. Hooper,
Captain U. S. Revenue Marine.
No. 5.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 2.] HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, April 8, 1893.
SIR: I send you by the steamship China the following documents:
Report of the president of the Bureau of Immigration to the Legisla-
ture of 1892;
Constitution of the Hawaiian Islands for 1887; *
The Honolulu Almanac and Directory for 1886, containing the Consti-
tution of 1884, and
The Hawaiian Annual for 1892.”
These contain much valuable information, which may be useful in
properly understanding the political movements and the disposition of
different classes of persons in these islands. I forbear any comment
now. It seems to me important to gather all the information I can, in
every direction, before permitting myself to reach conclusions or indulge
in comments. I am conversing with many persons of all shades of
political opinion. Some of these conversations I have in writing. They
will cover much space, and, unless especially desired by you, I will not,
as a rule, forward them by mail.
I send a conversation between Admiral Skerrett and myself, taken
down by my stenographer and approved as correct by Admiral
Skerrett. (Inclosure No. 1.)
I inclose a copy of a letter from Mr. Thurston to Mr. Antone Rosa,
the original of which I have seen... Also an explanation of Hawaiian
words used in Mr. Thurston's letter. (Inclosure No. 2.)
I inclose also a copy of a letter written by Mr. Thurston to Mr. J. T.
Colburn, who was in the last ministry of the Queen. (Inclosure No. 3.)
I think the annexation party is endeavoring to impress the Royalists
with the belief that, although the American ensign has been hauled
down and the American troops ordered to their vessels, under color of
protecting the persons and property of American citizens the troops
will be returned, if need be, to suppress an outbreak against the exist-
ing Government.
As a class, American citizens here have been the most active in
aethroning the Queen, and are active in maintaining the existing
Government. If they are thus to participate in the affairs of these
+
* Omitted from present publication.
8
islands, and when force is used to suppress such movements on their
part the forces of the United States are to be called in to protect their
persons and property, it does seem that our Government encourages
them to lawlessness, and its good faith is impugned. -
My present impression is that the existing Government owes its
being and its maintenance to this perverted influence. Of course, time
and further inquiry may furnish a different and better opinion.
It is not easy for me to impress persons here with the complete idea
of our noninterference policy, coupled with exceptions. The protection of
the persons and property of American citizens here has come to mean
aid to or enforcement of the laws whenever force is used against exist-
ing authority. This may be used to create a new Government and
maintain it.
To meet the situation here may require a clear, defined, and thor-
oughly advertised announcement of when and how our troops are to be
used. I know much must always be left to the sound direction of the
representative of the United States here. Any suggestion or instruc-
tion to me, additional to what has been already given, would be very
helpful.
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
United States Commissioner.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 2.]
Interview between Admiral Skerrett and Mr. Blount.
APRIL 8, 1893.
Col. Blount. When did you come to the islands?
Admiral Skerrett. February the 10th of the present year.
Col. BlogNT. Were you in Washington prior to that?
Admiral SKERRETT. Yes; I was in Washington on the 31st day of December, or the
30th day of December. -
Col. BioUNT. Did you have any conversation with the Secretary of the Navy about
coming down here?
Admiral SKERRETT. Yes.
Col. Blount. Please be kind enough to state it.
Admiral SKERRETt. I called at the Navy Department on the 30th of December to
see Mr. Tracy, the Secretary of the Navy, to ask him if he had any final instructions
for me, as I was going to leave the next day for San Francisco to assume command
of the Pacific squadron. He replied: “Commodore, I have no instructions to give
you. You will go there and perform your duty, as I know you will, and everything
will be satisfactory.” I remarked: “Mr. Tracy, I want to ask you about these Ha-
waiian affairs. When I was out there twenty years ago I had frequent conversa-
tions with the then United States minister, Mr. Pierce, on the subject of the islands.
i was told then that the tinited states government did not wish tº annex the islands
of Hawaii.”
He replied: “Commodore, the wishes of the Government have changed. They
will be very glad to annex Hawaii.” He said as a matter of course none but the
ordinary legal means can be used to persuade these people to come into the United
tates.
I said: “All right, sir. I only wanted to know how things were going on as a
cue to my action,” and I bade him good-bye.
Col. BioUNT. Admiral, please give me your opinion as to the disposition amongst
the opponents of the existing Government to resort to force.
Admiral SKERRETT. The only means I have of knowledge is what I glean from
newspapers. I am never in conversation with any of the party; never been brought
in contact with them or anybody I knew to be opposed to the annexation movement,
Col. BLou NT. Do you see any symptoms of any disposition to resort to force of
any kin
Hºl SKERRETT. I have never since my arrival—and I have been on shore
many times—seen any indications of such a disposition.
Col. BLOUNT. Up to this time?
Admiral SKERRETT. Up to this time.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 2.]
Mr. Thurston to Mr. Rosa.
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16, 1893.
FRIEND Rosa: Yonrs of March 1st is duly at hand. I am º that the band
boys have taken the course which they have. It is certain that they can not get
work enough in Honolulu to support themselves from the receipts of an independent
band, as there are not people enough there who could afford to pay for a band of
that size to give the boys a living.
With regard to my taking charge of them in Chicago, I thank you for the interest
you have taken in the matter, and their confidence in me; but for several reasons I
9
would be unable to do it. In the first place, the expenses of so large a number of
men are very heavy, and it is only by a systematic arrangement that the business
part of the trip could be made a success. This would require the laying out of a
regular series of entertainments, with detail arrangements with theaters, fairs, etc.
This time I can not possibly give to them, as my own business at Chicago will neces-
sarily take a great deal of time. In the second place, I should not think of such a
thing as undertaking to engineer such a combination as the Hawaiian band with-
out a thoroughly competent musical leader such as Berger. I think they will make a
great mistake if they go on there under the leadership of the Manila man that
you speak of, or any of their own members. It requires something besides the abil-
ity to blow in the end of a trumpet to conduct a band. You yourself know how
rapidly the band has always deteriorated when Berger has been away. Of course
there are other men in the world just as fº. as Berger, but the boys are a peculiar
lot, and I know of no one who has been able to handle them or get music out of them :
as he has." I should, therefore, very seriously doubt the advisability of their going
at all unless they can get him as a leader.
I hope that something can be done by which their differences with Berger and the
Government can be fixed up so that they can go to Chicago, as I think their pres-
ence there would be of great benefit to Hawaii. You can tell º of those gentle-
men in Honolulu, who you say are interesting themselves to keep the band out of my
control, that they need not worry themselves any longer about it. If the band comes
to Chicago I : do everything in my š. to assist them and forward their inter-
ests, and shall be glad to employ them during part of the time to play at the Volcano
building. Further than this I have no desire nor intention to have anything to do
with, or any control over them, although I presume this will be difficult for some
of our peanut-souled friends, who can not imagine anyone doing anything except
for private gain, to understand.
I am glad you have succeeded in settling up the Aylett suit with the Bishop
estate. I will write to W. O. Smith to represent me in the matter, as the proba-
bility is that I will be unable to come back until after the opening of the fair, and
after that my movements are uncertain. -
You say that you hope that we will do what is fair for all of you here. You ought
to know by this time that we desire nothing else. I think, Rosa, that you have got
an opportunity now to take a stand that will not only will be beneficial to yourself, but
in the highest degree beneficial to your people. I desire to say a few words to you
on the subject, knowing that from your superior education and associations you can
º: the logic of events and what the future is likely to bring forth, as very few
of those who look to you for guidance and as a leader can. What is done within the
next month or two is going to affect the future of Hawaii for a great many years. . A
vast number of natives will look to you and Colburn and a few others for their opin-
ions and information, and whether you take a narrow view of matters or a broad one
is going to be a radical factor in the settlement of the question at issue. There are
several things which are settled and determined, and if we all recognize them and
act upon that basis the results will necessarily be very different from what they
otherwise will be. One of these certainties is that the monarchy is pau. The Queen
and her immediate partisans may not appreciate this, and will probably continue to
labor under the delusion that there is a possibility of her restoration. T. H. Davies
is over here now maundering about the restoration of Kaiulani, but there is no more
possibility of it than there is of the restoration of Dom Pedro to Brazil.
It is a simple waste of energy on the part of anybody to spend their time in
attempting to restore what #. fallen through its own weakness. Neumann
recognizes this condition fully here, and is now confining his fight to get as much
money as he can out of it for the Queen. The question for you and me and the
others of us who expect to continue to live in Hawaii to consider is, what is coming
next? If the native leaders hang back in a sullen way and oppose annexation tooth
and toe nail, it may very likely have some influence upon the immediate adoption
of an annexation treaty. It will only cause delay, however, but can not interfere
with ultimate annexation. It will also generate much ill-feeling and perpetuate
differences of opinion on race lines, which of all things is the one which we ought
to do the most to discourage. As I said, the most that opposition to annexation will
succeed in affecting is delay. That is to say, the Provisional Government will
remain in power. The United States recognizes it as the Government and will con-
tinue to do so until some other understanding is arrived at by mutual agreement.
If through native *}”. annexation does not take place, a protectorate will
be the result; as I said before, this will not be a protectorate of the Hawaiian Gov-
ernment under the monarchy, but will be a continuation of the present Government
under the protection of the United States. In either case, that of simple delay or
of the protectorate, a continuation of the present autocratic system of Govern-
ment will result, which is a thing which neither you nor those you represent, nor
the Provisional Government desire. It means a government of force with the attend-
ant probable conspiracies, against it, and general unsettlement of business and
degeneration of values which will prevent business enterprise from development and
be injurious to us all, while no .# of personal and party differences and hard feel-
ing will be generated. If the Provisional Government and its leaders were bent on
the rule or ruin policy, with no other object in view but to secure control of the
Government, which Peterson and his boodle friends are always harping upon, we
would want nothing better than the protectorate proposition which would leave us
in control of the Government with Uncle Sam's troops to keep order. We want
nothing of the kind, however, and have resisted all propositions from the Govern-
ment bere looking to a government on that basis, although we could secure a treaty
of that description without difficulty, as the entire opposition in the United States
to annexation advocates freely the execution of a treaty on the line above indicated.
As I have stated above, however, we have no desire to perpetuate any government
of this description, nor to secure any laws, terms, or conditions which would operate
to establish any differences between the citizens of Hawaii on a color or race line.
We do not propose to ask for nor accept any legislation which shall apply to either
natives or white men that does not apply equally to the other. If, instead of a
protectorate, with its attendant evils, we secure absolute annexation, one thing is
certain, the natives and white men equally will have no less liberties as American

10
citizens than they did as Hawaiians; while, as far as their financial condition
concerned, there is no . of the two situations. With annexation Hawaii
will inaugurate such a condition of commercial development as will put the develop-
ment of 1876 and succeeding years entirely in the shade; no one class in the com-
munity will reap the benefit of it.
It may be said that the treaty which we have proposed does not cover a number
of points which ought to be covered, to wit, a removal of duties, prohibition of
carpet-baggers, securing American citizenship to Hawaiian citizens, and similar
points. . In reply, I would say that once we become American territory, there is not
the slightest reason to believe that we will be treated in any manner differently
from other portions of the United States. All the ...}. spoken of are matters of
detail legislation, which have to be covered by legislation passing both houses of
Congress, and are not covered by the treaty for that reason, as that would have
caused delay which we are seeking to avoid. As to the offices being given to
Malibinis there is no reason to believe that there would be such difficulty, as it has
become an unwritten law in counection with the territories that the offices shall be
filled from local residents, and with very few exceptions that rule is now and has
been for a number of years carried out. If you and others will take hold and
frankly work with us, explaining to the natives the situation, and doing what you
can to correct the impressions being given out by the demagogues, I believe that with-
in a year from now we will have a prosperous, contented community, with no more
thought of revolution or conspiracy than there is in Washington; but that if the
agitation against annexation and the accompanying stirring up of the Kanakas
against the Haoles goes on, it will result in a situation disastrous to business inter-
ests, if not dangerous to the peace:
I hope you will show this to Colburn, Bob Wilcox, and any others whom you may
choose, and that you will take it in the spirit in which it is intended, that is, the
forwarding of the common interests of our country and people. I have got no ax
to grind, do not want and will not accept any office, and am actuated by no impulse
but to secure the advancement of Hawaii and her people to a freer º and
more prosperous commercial condition than she has ever occupied before. I write
to you because, although we have been of opposite pºlitical parties, I believe you
can see through a grindstone when there is a hole in it, and that if yon believe
that the best interests of the natives lie in the direction of annexation, you will
use your influence in that direction, even though it may not be the popular side
among them to begin with.
Me ke aloha nui ia oe a me ke one hanau o kaua, Owau no,
L. A. THURSton.
Definition of Hawaiian words used in Hon. L. A. Thurston's letter to A. Rosa,
of March 16, 1893:
“Pau” means “finished,” or “over with.”
**Malihinis” means strangers.
“Kanakas” means “men,” but generally applied to native Hawaiians.
“Haoles” means “white foreigners.” -
“Me ke aloha nui ia oe a me ke one hanau o kaua, Owau no.”
“With much love to you and the land of our (two) birth, I am,”
L. A. Thurstos.
|Inclosure 3 in No. 2.]
Mr. Thurstoº to Mr. Colburn.
WASHINGTON, D. C., March 16, 1893.
FRIEND Colburn: I have just written to Antone Rosa on the subject of annexa-
tion, and asked him to slow you the letter. Please consider that portion of the
letter written as much to you as it is to him.
Whatever our political differences may have been in the past, I give you credit
as I believe you do me, for acting as you thought best in the interest of Hawaii and
the Hawaiians. I see by the P. that your name is more, or less connected with
that of Ashford, Peterson, and other political agitators of that stripe. Without any
rsonal animosity against either of those gentlemen, I do feel that their past
istory, which is known to you as well as it is tome, is indicative of their disinterest-
edness in the advice which they now give and action which they now take. A tre-
mendous responsibility rests upon you and others who have been identified with
the opposition in the recent movement, but who, from their knowledge of the situ-
ation, must know the ultimate advantages of annexation to the United States. Your
influence thrown against it will, of course, tend to perpetuate the race feeling now
existing; if thrown in favor of it, while it may not be immediately popular, will,
under the circumstances, have a very strong effect. With annexation there will,
of course, come a temporary reconstruction period, during which the necessary legis-
lation is being formulated for the reconstruction of the government, and when the
government will not be carried on under representative lines; but, if we are within
the United States system, this can be but temporary. In the long run we will
receive all the benefits and privileges of American citizens, and it behooves us to
look to the future, and not be governed entirely by the immediate present.
With aloha nui, I remain, etc.,
- L. A. THURSTON.
This is a correct º of the letter written to me by L. A. Thurston, and received
by me Thursday, April 7, 1893.
JOHN F. COLBURN.
11
|No. 6.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 3.]. HoNolulu, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, April 26, 1893.
SIR: On the 7th instant the Alameda reached this place. Among
its passengers were Dr. William Shaw Bowen and Mr. Harold M.
Sewall. The San Francisco papers announced that they had refused
to say that they were not joint commissioners with myself to Honolulu.
The former represented himself to me as a correspondent of the New
York World, and said he would be glad to give me any information he
could gather here. Thinking it a mere matter of courtesy, I thanked
him. On Sunday, the 16th instant, I was out walking and met him on
the street, riding in a buggy. He left his buggy in the hands of his
friend, Mr. Sewall, and joined me in a walk of some length. Before it
was concluded he said to me that he and Paul Neumann were arrang-
ing a meeting between President Dole and the Queen, the object
being to pay her a sum of money in consideration of her formal
abdication of the throne and lending her influence to the Provisional
Government with a view to annexation to the United States. He
repeated this statement frequently, at intervals, to which I made no
response.
Finally he asked me if I did not think it would simplify the situation
very much here and facilitate annexation. Suspecting that my answer
was designed to be used to induce the Queen to yield to solicitations
to abdicate: I replied “I have nothing to say on this subject.” Dr.
Bowen said: “I did not ask you officially, but simply in a private way.”
I responded: “I am here as a Commissioner of the United States and
must decline to converse with you on this subject.”
The next morning early I had an interview with President Dole. I told
him that I had seen in the San Francisco newspapers intimations that
Dr. Bowen and Mr. Sewall were here as representatives of the Presi-
dent of the United States; that the former told me that he had
arranged to bring him and the Queen together on that morning; that I
desired to say to him that neither Dr. Bowen nor Mr. Sewall, nor any
other person was authorized to act for the Government in that or any
other matter relating to the present condition of affairs in the islands
save myself; that I did not know absolutely that these two gentlemen
had claimed to have such authority. He replied that he had been
informed that they were here representing the Government. He did
not give his authority.
He said that there had been some approaches from the Queen's side
with propositions of settlement; that he had responded: “I will con-
sider any reasonable proposition.”
I told him I would not permit the Government of the United States
to be represented as having any wish in the matter of any negotiations
between the Queen and the Provisional Government. He asked if I
would be willing to authorize the statement that I believed it would
simplify the situation. I replied that I was not willing to do this,
that I was not here to interfere with the opinions of any class of persons.
Since this interview with President Dole I have heard that Dr. Bowen,
when asked by newspaper people if he represented the President of the
United States, declined to answer, saying that all would be revealed
hereafter.
He is representing himself in various quarters as an intimate friend
of the President. , I can but think that these statements are made to
create the impression that he is here authorized to bring about nego-
tiations for a settlement between the Queen and the Provisional Gov.
ernment.
On the day before yesterday Dr. Bowen came over to my table to say
that a meeting between the Queen and President Dole had occurr
and terms were agreed upon. I said I did not care for him to talk with
me on that subject.
On the 21st instant Mr. Claus Spreckels called to see me. He said
that he suspected there was an effort at negotiation between the Queen
and the Provisional Government, and that he had urged the Queen to
withdraw her powerofattorney from Paul Neumann. I inclose herewith
a copy of that power of attorney (Inclosure No. 1) which Mr. Spreckels'
says was derived through the agency of Mr. Samuel Parker, the last sec-
retary of foreign affairs. He told me that Paul Neumann would leave
12
for Washington by the next steamer, under pretense that he was going
to the United States and from there to Japan. How much or how little
Mr. Spreckels knows about this matter I am unable to say, as I do not
know how to estimate him, never having met him before. He promised
to see me again before the mail leaves for the United States on next
Wednesday and give me such information as he could acquire in the
meantime. -
I believe that Dr. Bowen, Mr. Sewall, and Mr. Neumann have pre-
tended that the two former knew the opinions of Mr. Cleveland and
assured the Queen that annexation would take place, and that she had
better come to terms at once.
Mr. Neumann leaves here on the next steamer, probably with a
power to act for the Queen, with authority derived from her out of
these circumstances.
The question occurs to my mind whether, if the United States
desired the adjustment as probably agreed on, it had better not be
accomplished through its representative here, either myself or the suc-
cessor of Mr. Stevens as minister here, that assurance might be had
that the action of the Government was free from any suspicion of indi-
rection in the transaction.
I know the American minister, Mr. Stevens, has said that he had
learned that Mr. Blount believed that such a settlement as indicated
would simplify the situation. I called on him yesterday and told him
that I did not think it was proper for him to speak of my views on the
subject; that declarations of that solt coming from him would give rise
to the suspicion that the Governinent of the United States was behind
Dr. Bowen and Mr. Sewall in whatever they might see fit to represent
in regard to the views of the President. During this interview I called
his attention to the following conversation between Mr. Spreckels and
myself on the 21st instant: -
Mr. BLount. Please state whether or not you have had any message from the
American minister, and whether any conversation with him.
A. I have. -
Q. Be kind enough to state it.
A. He sent down on Tuesday about 3 o'clock, whether I would be kind enough to
come up to his house to see him. I took a carriage and saw him at 4 o'clock that
Tuesday afternoon. He told me that Mr. Parker had no influence with the Queen
but that Paul Neumann could control her, and, if I would, I could control fami
Neumann; that Paul Neumann tell the Queen that she be in favor of annexation,
and tell the Kanakas, who follow her, to go all for annexation. He said that he
expected to be here only thirty or forty days, and he would like for annexation to be
§. he left. Some words to that effect.
He said he thought Mr. Spreckels misunderstood him as to his decla-
ration that he wanted to finish up annexation before he left. I then
told him that I felt assured that it would be displeasing to the Secre-
tary of State and the President if they were informed that he was seek-
ing to mold opinion here on the matter of annexation of these islands;
that I was here instructed in part to inquire into that very subject;
that it was certainly very unseemly, while I was making the inquiry,
for him to be urging annexation; that he must know by the fact of my
presence alone that he was not authorized to represent the views of
the present administration in relation to any matter growing out of the
sition to annex these islands to the United States. At first he
said that his position had been made known through the publication
of his dispatches, and that he never could go back on them. -
To this I replied that the proposition of going back on his dispatches
was one thing, and that his undertaking to form public opinion here
on the subject of annexation at this time for an-Administration not of
his own political party, and when I was present to represent it especially
in such matters, scarcely seemed fair in the light of the courtesy which
had been manifested towards him. I said to him that I hoped in future
that he would not undertake to advance or retard the cause of annexa-
tion or to represent the Government in any way in that connection,
and that whenever it was necessary for him to speak on the matter
that he would refer persons to me. This he agreed to. All this colloquy
was characterized by kindliness on my part, and, so far as I could
observe, by courtesy on the part of Mr. Stevens. He complained some-
what that I did not confide in him and did not seek his opinion about
men and things here. I replied that I was engaged on certain lines of
inquiry and might in the future find occasion to seek his ‘gº.
Tuesday, the 18th instant, President Dole sent Mr. k Hast-
ings, his private secretary, to say that Mr. Stevens had requested, on
13
application from Admiral Skerrett, permission for the United States
troops to land for the purpose of drilling, and said that he thought
proper, before consenting to it, he should make this fact known to me.
I replied that I did not desire the troops to land. I then sent for
Admiral Skerrett and told him that there were circumstances of a
political character which made the landing of the troops for any pur-
pose at this time inadvisable. This was entirely satisfactory to him.
On the 21st the aforesaid Mr. Hastings called and asked low he
should answer Mr. Stevens' note for permission to land the troops. I
replied by simply saying that the Commissioner had informed him that
he disapproved of it. - •
The landing of the troops, pending negotiations between the Queen
and President Dole, might be used to impress the former with fear that
troops were landed to lend force to the Provisional Government in
bringing her to an adjustment. I did not think proper to communi-
cate this reason to Mr. Stevens or any other person, save Admiral
Skerrett, and to him confidentially.
A great many hearings have been given to persons classed as Iteform-
ers or as Royalists. The former justify the dethronement of the Queen,
because of her revolutionary attempt to subvert the constitution of
1887, and by proclamation to create a new constitution in lieu thereof,
containing provisions restoring to the Crown the right of appointing
nobles and of appointing ministers responsible only to it. In speak-
ing of the controversy they refer to one party as whites and the other
as natives. They represent the political contests for the last ten or
twelve years as running parallel with racial lines. A confidence is
sometimes expressed that the revolution of 1887 taught the whites that
whenever they desired they could do whatever they willed in determin-
ing the form of government for these islands, and had likewise taught
the natives that they would be unable to resist the will of the whites.
It is urged that the aid of the Government of the United States was
not needed to make the revolution successful. Closer scrutiny reveals
the fact that they regarded the revolution as successful when they
should be able to proclaim a constitution from some public building,
believing that the presence of the United States troops signified their
use for the preservation of public order, which latter, in the minds of
the people of Honolulu, means the prevention of hostile combat between
opposing parties. Whatever may be the truth, I am unable to discover
in all the testimony any apprehension that the troops would be inimi-
cal to the revolutionary movement. In all of the examinations of per-
sons thus far this fear has never manifested itself for an instant. The
natives, on the other hand, insist that the Queen never contemplated
proclaiming a new constitution without the assent of the ministry.
They argue that the establishment of a new constitution by the procla-
mation of the Queen was as justifiable as that of 1887, in which a mass
meeting of whites in the city of Honolulu extorted the proclamation of
a new constitution from King Kalakaua, which had never been ratified
by any vote of the people. They represent that the proclamation of a
new constitution by the Queen was founded on the universal wish of
the native population, which is in overwhelming majority over other
races participating in the affairs of this Government.
They allege that on the day the Queen sought to proclaim a new con-
stitution a committee representing the Hui Kalaiaina were waiting on
her by direction of that organization. They represent that various
petitions had been presented to the Queen and to the legislature for a
series of years, asking for a new constitution similar to that existing
prior to the revolution of 1887. Testimony on these two lines of
thought has been taken. In addition to this, very much evidence has
been given in the form of voluntary statements as to the causes of the
revolution and the circumstances attending it, especially as to how far
the whites compelled the Queen to acquiesce in their movement on the
one side, and on the other as to the entire success of the movement of
the whites, depending on the action of the United States troops and the
American Minister in support of this movement.
It is not my purpose at this time to enter into an elaborate consider-
ation of the evidence which has been adduced, because many other
statements are yet to be made, which will be considered.
I invite your attention to the following copy of a memorial from the
Hui Kalaiaina, because of its striking disclosure of the native Hawaiian
mind in its aspirations as to the form of government, and, in connec-
14
tion with that, a colloquy between myself and a committee of - ...
organization taken down by a stenographer and approved by them:
Statement of facts made by the Hui Kalaiaina (Hawaiian Political Association) in
behalf of the people to J. H. Blount, the United States Commissioner, showing why the
people urged the Queen to promulgate a new constitution for the Hawaiian people.
To the Honorable J. H. Blount, the United States Commissioner, *::::::::
We, the Hawaiian Political Association, in behalf ºf the people of the Hawaiian
islands—an association organized in the city of Honolulu, with branches organized
all over these islands, which association has been in existence since the overthrow
of the constitution of Kamehameha IV by the descendants of the sons of mission-
aries who are seeking to usurp the º of our Queen for themselves—
And for this reason the people did ask King Kalakaua to revise the constitution
of 1887 now in force, and during his reign many petitions were made to him and to
the Legislature with thousands of signatures attached, but the desire of the people
was never fulfilled.
Therefore, the people petitioned to him for redress according to these statements
now submitted to you :
First. This constitution deprived the Crown of Hawaiian Islands of its ancient
prerogatives.
Second. This constitution based the principles of government on the forms and
spirit of republican governments.
Third. This constitution opens the way to a republican government.
Fourth. This constitution has taken the sovereign power and vested it outside of
the King sitting on the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Fifth. This constitution has limited the franchise of the native Hawaiians.
For these five reasons was King Kalakaua petitioned by his people to revise the
constitution, but it never was carried out until the time of his death.
During the reign of Queen Liliuokalani, the same thing happened. . Numerous
etitions were laid before her by and from the people, and from this association to the
gislature and to the Queen. These petitions contain over eight thousand names,
and this Hawaaian Political Association did repeatedly lº the Queen to revise
and amend or to make a new constitution, to which she finally consented to lay this
request from her people before the cabinet, but the wishes of the people were not
carried out.
On the 14th of January, 1893, at the time of the prorogation of the Legislature, in
the afternoon, this political association came and petitioned Her Majesty #.
to issue a new constitution for the people, to which she consented, with the intention
of listening to the desires of her people, but her cabinet refused.
A short while afterwards the descendants of the missionaries came forward in
their second º: to usurp the Kingdom of our Queen Liliuokalani, and said
attempt would not have succeeded had it not been for the support given it by the
American Minister Stevens—therefore our Queen yielded the Kingdom into their
hands through the superior force presented by the men of the American warships,
who had been landed on the Hawaiian soil.
Queen Liliuokalani yielded her Kingdom into their hands, not with good will, but
because she could not defend it, and because the Queen did not desire to see the
blood of her Hawaiian people shed on this land of peace.
Therefore, we submit to you our humble petition and statements, as you are in
F. of vast powers in your mission to do justice to the Hawaiian j. OUllr
ndependence, the throne, and the Hawaiian flag; we beg you to restore our beloved
Queen Liliuokalani to the throne with the independence of the Hiawaiian people, as
you have restored thr Hawaiian flag.
Submitting these statements and petitions to you we pray that the Almighty God
would assist you in your responsible duties, that the prayers of our people may be
granted, that continued friendship may exist between us and the American nation.
We, the undersigned subscribers of the Hawaiian Political Association.
W. L. HOLOKAHIKI,
Chairman.
John KEEU1,
J. ALAPAI,
J. AKAHOONEI,
J. B. KURHA,
J. KEAN,
D. W. KANOELEhuA,
T. C. PohikAPA,
Committee.
In accepting the copy of the resolutions Mr. Blount responded as follows:
GENTLEMEN: Very much of the duties of my mission I cannot communicate to you:
I will say, however, that your papers which have been presented I will accept and
forward to the President in the nature of information indicating the opinions of
your people in these Islands in reference to the inclination on your§: to ºp.
the existing condition of things—that is to say, whether you are in favor of the Pro-
visional Government and annexation, or whether your preſerence is for royalty... I
am gathering information on these lines for the purpose of submitting it to the
President. That is the extent of what I can say to you by way of response. I would
like to ask, however, a few questions. Which is the chairman of your committee?
INTERPRETER. W. L. Holokahiki, of Honolulu.
These questions were given and answered through the interpreter.) e
. On the day of the prorogation of the Legislature a number of natives are
reported to have gone in to see the Queen—about thirty in number—and that their
; ya. to ask for a new constitution. Was that a committee from this organi-
228,510 ſh
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many voters—people who vote for representatives—are there in this order?
A. Some thousands; as we have it in our books about 3,000 of native Hawaiians.
Q. What did the Queen say in response to your request?
15
A. That she was quite ready to give a new eonstitution, but her cabinet is opposed
to it. Her cabinet refused it so that she could not do otherwise. She told the peo-
ple that they had to go home quietly and wait for the next session of the Legislature.
Q. When would that be if the Government had not been overthrown? .
A. The time, according to our laws, was two years, and that would run us up to
4 -
Q. Then the information was that nothing could be done under two years on account
of the disapproval of the cabinet!
A. Yes; the Queen could do nothing.
Q. She said she could do nothing?
A. Yes; because the constitution said she could do nothing without being approved
by her Cabinet.
Q. What did the committee do when they went out? Did they give this informa-
tion to the native people?
A. Yes, sir. This committee shortly after they came out—they told the people
they could do nothing now; that they would have to wait until the next session.
Also, the Queen came out and told the people she could not give them any constitu-
tion now because the law forbids.
A great many petitions were exhibited—sometimes they were to the Queen and
sometimes to the Legislature—asking for a new constitution.
A book was also shown containing the names of members of the organization
throughout the island, and giving the numbers as follows:
ahu, 2,320; Maui, 384; Hawaii, 266; Kauai, 222, and Molokai, 263.
Q. (to interpreter.) Why don't other natives join the organization?
A. They sometimes go to meetings. When anything happens they go together.
Q. These are active members of the organization?
A. Yes.
Q. In matters of this sort the natives followed the lead of this organigation?
A. Yes, sir.
Prior to the constitution of 1887 the nobles were appointed by the
Crown and the representatives were elected by the people, with but
little obstruction in the qualification of the elector. The number of
nobles was 20 and the number of representatives was 28, and these,
constituting one body, enacted the laws. The cabinet was only respon-
sible to the King. The majority of voters was overwhelmingly native.
It is easy to understand how completely the native people could, if
they desired, control the Government as against the white race.
Under the constitution of 1887 the number of nobles and representa-
tives is equal. The qualification of an elector of a noble required him
to own property of the value of $3,000, unincumbered, or an income of
$600. Practically this vested the power of electing nobles in the white
population, or, as it is sometimes termed, the reform party. A cabinet
could not be removed by the Crown except on a vote of want of confi-
dence by the Legislature. The ability to elect a small number, even
one of the representatives, enabled the white race to control legisla-
tion and to vote out any ministry not in accord with them. This
placed the political power in the hands of the white race. I use the
words “white” and “native” as distinguishing the persons in the polit-
ical contests here, because they are generally used by the people here
in communicating their views to me.
I had supposed up to the appearance of this memorial that the real
demand of the native was for a just proportion of power in the election
of nobles by the reduction of the money qualification of an elector.
This I had derived from interviews with some of the intelligent half.
castes. This memorial indicates an opposition to the new constitution
because it takes away from the Crown the right to appoint nobles and
the right to appoint and remove cabinets at will. There is no aspira-
tion in it for the advancement of the right of the masses to participate
in the control of public affairs, but an eager, trustful devotion to the
Crown as an absolute monarchy. I had wondered whether or not this
face of people, which up to 1843 had no rights of property, and over
whom the king and chiefs had absolute power of life and death, had
fully cast off the old system and conceived the modern ideas in the
United States of the control of the government by equal participation
by every citizen in the selection of its rulers. Up to the appearance of
this memorial Ihad received but little satisfaction on this lineof thought.
In this connection I invite your attention to Inclosure No. 2, being a
copy of resolutions presented on the 16th instant by a committee of the
“Hui Aloha Aina”—the Hawaiian Patriotic League.
Taken in connection with the foregoing memorial of the Hui Kalaiaina,
it is strongly suggestive of blind devotion to arbitrary power vested in
the crown worn by a person of native blood. I have forwarded these
two documents because they present a phase of thought which had not
been so well defined in anything I had seen in publications relating to
these islands. They seem to go very far in the matter of the capacity
of these people for self-government.
16
I have received communications from every source when offered, not vo
support any theory, but simply to see what might be derived from them
in the way of information. I have studiously avoided any suggestion
that the President contemplated the consideration of the restoration
of the Queen, the support of the existing Government, or the question
of annexation on any terms. I have intended to invite the freest ex-
pression of thought without any indication that it was to be consid-
ered with a view of guiding the action of the Government in the de-
termination of any proposition. In all this I find my action most
heartily approved by both whites and natives.
In Several local papers, beginning with the 13th instant, editorials
have appeared advising in terms somewhat indefinite, and yet pointing
to the extreme action which should be taken towards the Queen and
her adherents, and deploring the want of such action on the part of the
Provisional Government. On the night of the 14th instant a promi-
ment half-caste called upon me. He had always assured me hitherto of
the quiet intention of the native population. On this latter occasion
he said: “We are in trouble. It is said the Queen is to be put out of
the way by assassination, and her prominent followers to be prosecuted
for treason or deported.”
These apprehensions naturally grew out of the editorials alluded to.
I said to him I had no idea there was any foundation for his fears in
: * of the Government. Before he left me he seemed to be
Telle Ved.
On the morning of the 15th I called on President Dole, and invited
his attention to the newspaper articles above referred to and to the
visit of the lalf-caste, with his expressions of fear and my response.
I said to him that perhaps I had gone farther than propriety would
suggest in my opinion to the half-caste on the evening before, but
that I was impelled solely by that humane feeling which would regret
to see disorder and bloodshed inflicted on any portion of the com-
munity. I also intimated that if he deemed it desirable, owing to the
kindly feeling the native population had manifested towards me, I
might, without pretending to represent the Government, allay their
anxieties and coutribute to the public peace by assuring them that
the extreme measures advocated by the press I did not believe were
approved by the Government. To this he responded that it would be
very gratifying to him and to those in political accord with him for
me to act as I had suggested. He furthermore declared that it was
the purpose of the Government to confine its action only to the pres-
ervation of order, and to take no extreme steps against any parties
here unless it should be to meet a forcible attack on the Government.
When the ensign was hauled down and the troops ordered to the ves-
sels there was some comment on the omission to recite in the order or
by some public declaration the exact import of this action.
In the above conversation I referred to the subject and said that at
the time I believed that any speech or written declaration might be
liable to many and false constructions, and that the action of hauling
down the ensign and the removal of the troops would in a few hours
tell with more simplicity and accuracy and with better results than any
utterances of mine could do. e
To this he replied that at first there was some criticism, but that all
minds had come to the conclusion that I had taken the wiser course.
He took occasion to say to Ine that all men everywhere could only
think that I was governed by the highest motives in all my actions here.
At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 22d instant Mr. Spreckels called
to see me. He assured me that Mr. Neumann was going to San Fran-
cisco and then to Japan. I said to him: “But he is going to Washing-
ton.” He said: “Yes; but in order to take some dispatches from Mr.
Stevens to the Washington Government.”
On the 21st, in the conversation with Mr. Stevens, to which reference
has already been made, he told me for the first time of a letter he had
written to you concerning certain matters which had passed between
him and the Japanese commissioner at this place. The extent of it
was that by representations that the United States was opposed to the
presence of a Japanese war vessel here that it was determined that
the Japanese Minister should ask his Government to cause the afore-
said vessel to be withdrawn.
In view of my instructions, I felt bound to give assurances to the
Japanese commissioner that the present Administration does not view
with displeasure or suspicion the presence of one of her war vessels here.
17
Mr. Paul Neumann is generally regarded here as a bright, plausible,
unscrupulous person. Permit me to suggest that if the Administration
should entertain any proposition from Mr. Neumann in connection with
a contract between the Queen and the Provisional Government in the
matter of her abdication, the consummation of it is surrounded by so
many circumstances indicating that the Government of the United
States has been made to appear to the Queen as favoring such action
on her part that it would be far better to decline to entertain anything
from Mr. Neumaun, but for the Government to accomplish its purpose
in a more direct manner. If such an adjustment is desirable, instruc-
tions to the American representative liere to endeavor to bring about
such an arrangement would be a much more honorable course on the
part of the United States.
The representatives of the Provisional Government are conscious
that the movement inaugurated on the 14th of January last for the
dethronement of the Queen and annexation to the United States is a
much more desperate one than they then realized.
The white race, or what may be termed the Reform party, constitute
the intelligence and own most of the property in these islands and are
desperately eager to be a part of the United States on any terms rather
than take the chances of being subjected to the control of the natives.
With them we can dictate any terms. The feeling of the natives is that
while they do not want annexation, if the United States does it will be
accomplished, and they will acquiesce. The situation is so completely
under our control that I should regret to see Mr. Neumann's agency in
the matter of abdication of the Queen, with his connection with Dr.
Bowen and others and the attendant circumstances, recognized by the
Government. You will readily understand that this is not intended as
impertinence, but only as a suggestion.
Since writing the foregoing portion of my letter relating to attempts
to represent the views of the President of the United States by unau-
thorized persons in connection with the subject of an agreement between
ex-Queen Liliuokalani and the Provisional Government, I have deemed
it proper to have an interview with the former in order to understand,
as far as I might, from her whether any negotiations had been author-
ized by her, and if so, how far they had gone. Before doing so, I called
on President Dole and informed him of my purpose to see her in con-
nection with this subject, stating to him that I was not willing that
persons should make fraudulent representations to her as to that mat-
ter. I told him that I had abstained from seeing her lest my visit might
be construed in a way to produce disorders, but now I felt all danger of
this had passed. He concurred in my views as to the propriety of my
calling, if I saw fit to do so.
I said to the ex-Queen that I had been informed that certain persons
had sought to impress her with the idea that the President desired
some such adjustment as indicated to be made; that I wished to say
that no person was authorized by the President nor by myself to place
the Government of the United States in such an attitude; that, while
I would interpose no objection to such negotiation, I wanted her to
know that whatever she did in the matter was free from any moral
influence from the Government of the United States. I further said to
her that I desired to be able to inform my Government whether she
had been engaged in such negotiations or contemplated them, or
whether anybody was authorized to act for her in any such matter;
that I wished the information simply to put the Government at Wash-
ington in possession of the true state of facts.
She replied that parties who had represented her in other matters
had talked to her on the subject; that she had declined to indicate any
disposition to act in the matter; that she had said to some of them
that she would wait until President Dole came to see her in person,
and had heard what he had to say; that she did not intend to enter
into any negotiations until the Government at Washington had taken
action on the information derived through my report. She said she
had sent Mr. Neumann to Washington to prevent the ratification of
the treaty and to have a commission sent out here, and he reported
that he had been successful in both. I then asked her what she desired
me to say to the Government at Washington as to her purpose in the
matter of this negotiation. She expressed a wish that I should Bay
from her that no one was authorized to act in her behalf in this matter
and that she should take no action until the Government at Washing-
ton had passed upon the information derived through the Commissioner.
•
3
18
Lest she might make improper inferences from my visit or some
thing I had said I told her that one of the objects of my visit was to
get all the facts connected with her dethronement and the disposition
of the people of the Islands in relation to the present Government;
that she could readily see that that was a matter to be hereafter con-
sidered by the Goverument in such manner as it saw fit. Without any
apparent connection with what had been said, she remarked that much
depended on Mr. Spreckels as to the future; that he and Mr. Bishop
had been in the habit of furnishing money to the Government, and that
if Mr. Spreckels did not advance to the Government she thought it
would go to pieces. To this I made no response. It is evident that .
she is being impressed with the idea that the present Government
could not get money enough to run itself long.
I am not sufficiently informed to express any views ou this proposi-
tion at this time. - g
I think the operations of Dr. Bowen and Mr. Sewall have been con-
ducted through Mr. Neumann. I shall, perhaps, know more before
closing this communication.
I send you a map, marked Inclosure No. 3. You will find it useful
in considering the location of the various military forces connected
with the revolution, to which I may refer in this and especially in sub-
sequent communications. 4.
I send you a written statement from F. Wundenburg (Inclosure No.
4), who says that his information is derived from being personally
present in all the conferences of the committee of safety and that his
utterances are based on liis personal knowledge. He appears to be an
intelligent man. He says that he acted with the committee in good
faith until the American flag was hoisted, and then he ceased com-
munication with them. He is at this time deputy clerk of the supreme
court. I think in my next communication I may be able to give you
information strongly corroborating all that Mr. Wundenburg has said.
I may say that the peaceful surroundings of the revolution are con-
firmed by all persons with whom I have communicated, and that Judge
Cooper, who was and is an intense annexationist, let drop, in answer to
a question of mine, that when the Government building was entered by
the committee of safety and the proclamation dethroning the Queen
and establishing the new Government was read by him there was not
a soldier of the Provisional Goverinent or of the Queen on the ground.
I send you, in original, a communication from Mr. William H.
Cornwell, a member of the Queen's cabinet at the time of her dethrone-
ment (Inclosure No. 5).
I also send you, in original, a communication from Mr. John F. Col-
§§ a member of the Ex-Queen's cabinet and a half-caste (Inclosure
o. 6).
These are forwarded in advance of the testimony or voluntary state-
ments in response to interrogatories by himself, because they present
the views of these gentlemen as to the circumstances attending the
revolution and which do not appear in any of the papers relating to
the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands printed by the United States
so far as I have been furnished with them.
It is my purpose to examine them in person so as to have an oppor-
tunity of thoroughly sifting them.
I inclose you a copy of a communication from the committee of pub-
lic safety—which conceived and executed the dethronement of the
Queen—addressed to the American Minister (Inclosure No. 7). On
page 12 of Executive Document No. 76, Fifty-second Congress, second
session, this paper issimply referred to in the following language:
“A copy of the call of the committee of public safety for aid is
inclosed.” It appears significant enough to have justified its being
printed in full. To be imploring protection from the Government of the
United States on the 16th and establishing the provisional govern-
ment and dethroning the Queen without firing a gun on the next
day—without any reference to the presence of United States troops—
is quite a draft on my credulity.
This paper may have been overlooked, and hence my calling your
attention to it.
I send you a pamphlet, entitled “Papers of the Hawaiian Historical
Society No. 3” (Inclosure No. 8),” on the subject of the evolution of the
Hawaiian land tenures. To this I will add further information in rela-
tion to the tenure of lands in these islands. It appears from all infor.
* Footnote omitted on account of length.
19
mation attainable that the great mass of the natives have at all times
had but little interest in real property. This will throw some light on
the little development attained by them, and how the real property
has, by virtue of the operation of these laws, resulted in the ownership
by İarge landed proprietors, mostly of foreign birth.
I see in the newspapers that the War Department is issuing in a
documentary form information of various sorts in relation to the
islands. In one of them it is stated that the natives generally speak
the English language. This is quite contradictory to my information
from intelligent persons here and my own observation. In Honolulu,
where the situation is most favorable to development, the groups of
children playing along the streets use their native tongue. The
natives of mature age whom you meet are generally unable to converse
with you in English or to understand what is said to them. They
learn in the schools the English text-books as an American child would
learn the Latin or Greek languages. This done, their capacity to think
or speak English seems very slight.
I am very much impressed with a belief that a large majority of the
people of these islands are opposed to annexation and that the proofs
being taken will verify this opinion.
I have not indicated any purposes of the United States on the sub-
ject of annexation in seeking to ascertain the sentiment of the people
towards existing authority. A response to this necessarily involves
the question of how the people feel towards annexation. The Provi-
sional Government being avowedly a part of a scheme towards annexa-
tion, and the opposition taking the form of opposing it, I have from
necessity been compelled to put my inquiries more or less in a form
answering to this division of sentiment. I have never claimed to mold
the disposition of the administration on that question nor indicated my
OWI1.
The condition of the public mind is very peaceful. I think it
important to maintain this situation that a representative of the United
States should be here before my departure who will maintain the atti-
tude of noninterference in local affairs which I have observed. The
contrary course on the part of an American representative would imme-
diately produce much bitterness and discontent in one or the other
of the parties now dividing the people. I can see no advantage in
my remaining here longer than the month of May. I trust that you
will consent to my return at such time during the month of June as I
may choose. I prefer to write my report on my return to Washington
rather than while here. Interruptions on the part of people who are
constantly seeking my attention make this preferable.
It is difficult to get passage from here to the United States on account
of the great amount of travel, and arrangements must be made some
weeks in advance.
Please be kind enough to telegraph me in response to the subject of
my return. .
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 3.1
Power of attorney for Mr. Neumann.
To all persons and to the Government of the United States of America and to all
other Governments whatsoever: To all bodies corporate as well as bodies politic,
and more especially to the President and to the Secretary of the Department of State
of the United States of America, I, Liliuokalani, of the city of Honolulu, in the
Island of Oahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands, send greeting:
Whereas on the seventeenth day of January, A. D. 1893, at the city of Honolulu
aforesaid, I did yield to the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands my
authority as Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands under protest;
And whereas by so doing I claim to be entitled by international law and in the
high forum of conscience and equity to receive consideration and provision both for
myself and family and for Kaiulani, who was my legally appointed successor as
such Sovereign;
And whereas it is my intention and desire by these presents to authorize, secure,
accomplish, and finally complete and to ratify by such arrangements as may con-
duce to the greatest welfare and benefit of all the people of the Hawaiian Islands
and also of myself and family and the said Kaiulani; :
And whereas I repose the fullest confidence in the ability, integrity, and fidelit
of Paul, Neumann, esq., of the city of Honolulu aforesaid, counsellor at law, an
have entrusted him with full power and authority to act for me in the premises;
20
Now, therefore, know ye, that in consideration of the premises, I, Lilioukalani,
aforesaid, have unade, constituted, and appointed, and by these presents do hereb
make, onstitute, and appoint the aforesaid Paul Neumann, esq., my true, lawful,
and sufficient attorney, for me and in my name, place, and stead, to negotiate, arrange,
and agree with the United States of America and the President and the Secretary of
the Department of State thereof, and with any other (if ...} representative or offi-
cial thereof having authority in the premises for such official, or the consideration,
benefit, and advantage as in the opinion of my said attorney shall, may, or can be
obtained from the United States of America as well for myself and family as for the
said Kaiulani, in consideration of existing conditions and circumstances. And if no
official consideration for myself or said Kaiulani sh ºll in the opinion of my said
attorney be attainable from the United States o' America, then and thereupon, and
in such case to arrange and agree upon such pecuniary considerations, benefits, and
advantages as can or may be secured for myself and family, and for said Kaiulani,
from the United States of America, and whether the same shall be in the form of
payment at one time of a sum of money to myself for of distinct sums of
money to myself and said Kaiulani, or in payment of stated sums of
money annually, or oftener, for a fixed period or periods of time, and
upon ascertaining that such pecuniary considerations, benefits, advantages,
or payments of money from and on the part of the said inited states
can be secured to agree upon, receive, and accept the same, and in my name
and behalf to make, execute, and deliver such agreements, releases, and acquit-
tances of all Iny claims, demands, and pretensions whatsoever upon the throne of
the Hawaiian Islands and upon the Government of the United States of America, as
well as of the Hawaiian Islands and upon all persons having imad anything to do with
or having been or being in any way concerned in the said Provisional Government
as shall be requisite to accomplish and secure such pecuniary considerations, bene-
fits, advantages, and payments, or which shall be required therefor by the President
or the Secretary of the Departinent of State ºil. or by any other (if any) rep-
resentative or official of the United States authorized to act or agree in the premi-
ses, and all that my said attorney shall do or cause to be done in the premises I do
hereby for myself and my successors, executors, administrators, and assigns ratify
and confirm, and further I do hereby covenant with my said attorney and his execu-
tors and administrators and with the President of the United States of America
and with any other person and persons representing the said United States of
America in the premises, and with each of them, and with their respective suc-
cessors both jointly and severally that all and whatsoever my said attorney shall
in my behalf agree to do or cause to be done or agreed upon by virtue of
these presents #"...in and my successors, heirs, executors, and administrators shall
ratify and confirm, and that I will at any time thereafter execute, sign, seal,
acknowledge, and deliver such other and further releases, acquittances, assur-
ances and instruments in writing, as shall in the opinion of my said attorney
or in the opinion of the President of the United States of America or of any officer
or representative thereof having the matter in charge be requisite and proper in
order to carry out the full intent and meaning of these presents.
In witness whereof I hereunto and also to two other instruments of the same
date and time have set my hands and seals at the city of Honolulu aforesaid this
day of in the year A. D. 1893.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 8.]
Hawaiian Patriotic League to Mr. Blount.
We, the women of the Hawaiian Islands, for our families and the happiness of our
homes, desire peace and political quiet, and we pray that man's greed for power and
spoils shall not be allowed to disturb the otherwise happy life .#. islands, and
that the revolutionary agitations and disturbances inaugurated here since 1887, by
a few foreigners, may be forever suppressed. g
To that effect we believe that, in the light of recent events, the peace, welfare, and
honor of both America and Hawaii will be better served, for the present, if the Gov-
ernment of the great American Republic does not countenance the illegal conduct
and interference of its representatives here and the rash wish of a minority of for-
eigners for annexation.
herefore, we respectfully but earnestly pray that Hawaii may be granted the
preservation of its independent autonomy and the restoration of its legitimate native
monarchy under our Queen Liliuokalani, in whom we have full confidence.
And we liope that the distinguished citizen, who so wisely presides over the
United States, may kindly receive this our petition, for which we shall evermore
pray for God's blessing on him and his Government.
MRS. JAMES CAMPBELL, President.
Mrs. J. A. CUMMINs, Vice-President.
Mrs. AL. FERNANDEz, Treasurer.
Mrs. C. K. StillMAN, Secretary.
Mrs. Joseph NAUAH1,
MRs. JUNIUS KAAE,
Miss HATTIE HIRAM,
MRs. M. KAHAI,
M Rs. LULIA AHOLO,
Mrs. L. KEKUPUwolor MAHELoNA,
Mrs. W. H. ALDRICH,
MRs. M. A. LEMON,
JExecutive Committee.
They were evidently persons of intelligence, and refined in their deportment.
After reading the papers handed to me I responded that I would forward them to
my Government as a matter of information, but that I could not enter into any dis-
eussion of the situation; that I would accept and transmit their papers, as I did all
other facts, for purposes of information. To this they respond at they did not
expect me to communicate anything to them as to my views or the disposition of
the Government of the United §.
21
|Inclosure 4 in No. 3..]
A report from Mr. Wundenburg to Mr. Blount.
The committee of safety met at the office of W. O. Smith in Fort street, Honolulu,
at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, the 16th day of January, 1893, for the
Pº. of discussing the necessary steps to be taken in forming a new government.
Shortly after the committee met it was decided that they were not ready for the
landing of the American troops, and a committee of three, with Thurston as the
chairman, was immediately dispatched to the American legation to prevail upon
Mr. Stevens to delay the landing of the Boston's inen. The committee returned
shortly and reported that Mr. Stevens had said to them: “Gentlemen, the troops of
the Boston land this afternoon at 5 o'clock, whether you are ready or not.”
The foregoing report of Mr. Stevens's reply to the committee is as near literal as
can be remembered, and gives a correct idea of the meaning conveyed. The com-
mittee of safety adjourned to meet the same evening, at 7:30 o'clock, at the house of
Henry Waterhouse, in Nuuanu Valley. The American troops landed at 5 o'clock, as
Mr. Stevens luad told the committee they would, and marched up Fort street to
Merchant, and along Merchant street, halting in King street, between the palace and
Government building.
At the time the men landed the town was perfectly quiet, business hours were
about over, and the people—men, women, and children—were in the streets, and
nothing unusual was to be seen except the landing of a formidable armed force with
Gatling guns, evidently fully prepared to remain on shore for an indefinite length of
time, as the men were supplied with double cartridge belts filled with ammunition,
also haversacks and canteens, and were attended by a hospital corps with stretchers
and medical supplies. The curiosity of the people on the streets was aroused, and
the youngsters, more particularly, followed the troops to see what it was all about.
Nobody seemed to know, so when the troops found quarters the populace dispersed,
the most of them going to the band concert at the hotel, which was very fully attended,
as it was a beautiful moonlight evening, all who were not in the secret still won-
dering at the unilitary demonstration,
The committee met at Mr. Waterhouse's residence, according to adjournment,
at 7:30 o'clock p.m. of the same day, January 16. The formation of some sort of
government was under discussion, and it was decided that a commander in chief of
the forces supporting the proposed new government should be appointed. The
E. was offered to Mr. John H. Soper, who demurred, as he did not see any
acking whatever to support the movement. Mr. Soper was answered by members
of the committee that the American minister would support the move with the
troops of the Boston. Mr. Soper still doubted, so a couple of the committee
escorted him over to the legation, which, by the way, was in the adjoining premises,
and the three came back after a time, reporting that Mr. Stevens had given them
the full assurance that any proclamation of the Government put forward at the Gov-
ernment building, or any other building in Honolulu for that matter, would receive
his immediate recognition and the support of the Roston's men. This assurance
seemed to satisfy Mr. Soper, and he accepted the position.
On Tuesday afternoon, January 17, the committee of thirteen, or committee of
safety, proceeded from the office of W. O. Smith up Merchant street to the Govern-
ment building and read the proclamation of a new government at 2.40 o'clock, there
being practically no audience whatever. . As the reading proceeded a dozen or so
loungers gathered, and near the close of the ceremony about thirty supporters,
variously armed, came running into the side and back entrances of the yard and
gathered about the committee.
At this moment the United States troops, in the temporary quarters in the rear
of the Music Hall (less than 100 ſº rom where the committee stood) appeared
to be under arms and were evidently prepared for any emergency.
During all the deliberations of the committee, and in fact throughout the whole
proceedings connected with plans, for the move up to the final issue, the basis of
action was the general understanding that Minister Stevens would keep his promise
to support the movement with the men from the Boston, and the statement is now
advisedly made (with a full knowledge of the lack of arms, ammunition, and men,
also the utter absence of organization at all adequate to the undertaking), that
without the previous assurance of support from the American minister and the
actual presence of the United States troops no movement would have been attempted,
and if attempted, would have been a dismal failure resulting in the capture or death.
of the participants in a very short time.
(Having been present at the several meetings referred to in this statement, I hereby
-certify that the same is correct in every essential particular. F. WUNDENBURG.)
(Note.—This person appears to be highly esteemed here. He was tendered the
#:. of collector of customs recently by the Provisional Government and
clined it. I send an extract from the Daily Pacific Commercial Advertiser, show-
ing its esteem of him.): e
A PROJECTED APPOINTMENT,
It is stated that the council at its meeting yesterday recommended the appoint-
ment of F. W. Wundenberg as collector-general of customs. The appointment
would be in all respects a worthy one. Mr. Wundenberg is thoroughly qualified by
long business experience for the position. He is a man of t energy and char-
acter, and of unimpeachable integrity. . If made collecter he may be trusted to
Imake no compromise with evil, but to fight it to the bitter end.
Mr. Wundenberg was identified with the revolution from the 14th of January until
the danger was over. He was placed in charge of the police station at a time when
-everything depended on reliable leadership, and if an uprising should occur he
would follow the cause into the cannon's mouth to-day. As a recognition of valu-
able service at a critical moment his appointment would be peculiarly appropriate.
Mr. Wundenberg has an abundant crop of enemies. In this he does not differ from
most men of positive traits. The fact will recommend him to all who desire to see
a strong and fearless man collector-general.

*
22
|Inclosure 5 in No. 3..]
Mr. Cornwell to Mr. Blount.
HoNoLULU, April 24, 1893.
The following statement does not purport to be an exhaustive or full history or
report of the resolution of the 17th day of January, but are simply plain facts re-
lating to that political incident as they came within my personal knowledge and
observation as a minister in Her Majesty’s cabinet. -
On the 14th of January Her Majesty prorogued the Legislature, with the usual
cereluony pertaining to such occasiou. It was noted that the foreign members of
the Legislature absented themselves as an expression of their disapproval and oppo-
sitiou to the cabinet, thereby indicating their threatening attitude against the Gov-
ernment and giving color to the rumors, which already, then, had reached us, that
the reform party was conspiring to take some steps to, if possible, recover their lost
power. After prorogation Her Majesty informed the cabinet that she wished to see
then at the palace, and we responded to her order at about 1:30 p.m. After our
arrival the Queen stated to us that, at the request of some 8,000 of her native sub-
jects, she had decided to promulgate a new constitution, in which the grievances of
er petitioning subjects would be remedied, and she asked us to sign the document
with her. We all declined to become a party to this move and refused to comply
with her request, and we earnestly advised her to give up her intention, although
we were well aware that more than two-thirds of the electors of the country were in
favor of the change, and that nearly all the representatives in the Legislature were
elected on a platform in which the main plank was a new constitution. However,
after talking with her and explaining, the impossibility of taking such a step, she
admitted that we were in the right, although calling our attention to the precedent
which the Reform party had created by the revolutionary constitution which was
promulgated in 1887.
The Queen then told the people's delegates, who were assembled in the throne
room, that she could not grant their request at this time, but asked them all to
return home quietly and await in peace the time when a proper course could be
adopted to carry out the will of the people. The people dispersed quietly, and in a
short time there were no Hawaiians in the palace grounds. A few remarks were
made by the Hon. Willian White, the representative for Lahaina, to the effect that,
while the people ºff. the Queen's inability to grant the wishes of the people,
they º accept the assurances of the Queen and await the proper time, which, if
they were successful at the next election to be held, would be at the meeting of the
Legislature in 1894. The insurgents have falsely reported the remarks of Mr. White,
and in their press and otherwise represented him as making an incendiary and
threatening speech. The falsehood of such statement, well known to us who were
witnesses at the scene, will shortly be proven in the courts of justice, as Mr. White
has retained counsel for the purpose of bringing a damage suit for malicious libel
against the Pacific Commercial Advertiser, the principal organ of the reform party.
Saturday evening and night were as peaceful and quiet as at any other time, but
the conspirators were at work. -
On Sunday monning, January 15, Mr. Thurston, the head of the revolutionary
party, called on my colleagues, Ministers Colburn and Peterson, and asked them to
join with himself and others in deposing the Queen, assuring them that such move-
ment would be perfectly safe, as Minister Stevens had promised them the support
of the United States forces and also that he would recognize and support a provi-
sional government as soon as such a step could be taken. My colleagues naturally
refused to entertain the infamous proposition of Mr. Thurston, and immediatel
communicated with myself and Minister Parker. The cabinet held several consul-
tations, with leading citizens of known loyalty to the Queen, and, knowing the
strength of our forces, we felt confident that we easily could cope with any insur-
rection of the few malcontents.
On Monday, the 16th, we were informed that the conspirators had decided to estab-
lish a revolutionary government, giving as a reason that Her Majesty had attempted
to violate the constitution, but the cabinet still felt sure that no such attempt could
succeed if the insurgents depended on their own forces. . The cabinet then advised
the Queen to issue a proclamation to the people, in which she explained her reasons
for dosiring to promulgate a new constitution, and at the same time assured them
that she would not make any further attempt or proposition to #" that object.
This was done, and at 11 a.m. the proclamation was printed and distributed all
over town. Assurances to a similar end were also sent to the foreign representa-
tives and accepted as satisfactory. In the afternoon two mass meetings took place,
one at the armory, where the actions so far taken by the so-called safety commuittee
were indorsed, and one on Palace square, where the proclaimatiou of the Queen was
accepted and responded to in a resolution.
I will here state that of the large number of citizens who gathered at the armory
meeting, perhaps not fifty understood or desired that any further steps should or
would be taken. Of this I have been assured by a number of prominent citizens
with whom I am on terms of friendship, although differing with them politically,
and who went to that meeting simply for the purpose of giving a public expression
that the community disapproved of the step which the Queen had desired to take,
and who believed that the matter would be dropped right there. . The issue of the
Queen's proclamation was done after a consultation which the cabinet held Monday
morning with the foreign representatives. We stated to the members of the corps
diplomatique, who were present, what we intended to do, and were told that it was
considered a wise step which they believed would be satisfactory. Present at the
consultation were the representatives of England, France, Japan, and Portugal.
Minister Stevens declined to be present, which did not surprise us, knowing his sym-
§. for the revolutionists. At about 4 p.m. we were informed that the United
tates forces were landing.
Ministers Parker and Peterson immediately called upon Minister Stevens and gave
him to understand that the Government was perfectly able to take care of the situ-
ation, and requested him to keep the troops on board. He answered that he had
landed the troops for the protection of American life and property and proposed to
23
keep them ashore. The troops then marched up by the palace, passed as far out on
King street as the residence of Mr. J. B. Atherton, a distance of about 600 yards,
and later on returned and quartered for the night in the Arion hall, a building
opposite the government building and the palace. It is noteworthy that the Arion
hall and all the buildings in the immediate vicinity are not Aluerican property, so
if the troops were landed solely for the protection of American property, the placing
of them so far away from the center of the property of Americans and so very close
to the property of the Hawaiian Government was remarkable and very suggestive.
On Tuesday, the 17th, we were informed that the insurgents would proclaim a
rovisional government in the afternòon, and the cabinet, called upon Minister
§º. asking him if he would afford any assistance to the legal and lawful Gov-
ernment of the country to which he was accredited in case that such assistance should
be required. He refused in unmistakable terms, and made us understand that he
should acknowledge and support the revolutionary government as soon as it was
established. We then proceeded to the station house, where we held a council of
war. Our forces were enthusiastic, and volunteers enrolled so rapidly that it became
necessary to close the doors of the station house. A little after 3 o'clock p. m. we
were informed that a handful of citizens had entered the government building and
that a proclamation had been read “...; that a provisional government had been
established and that the Queen was deposed, and also that the United States forces,
under command of Capt. Wiltse, were marched up ready for action, with sharp
loaded cannon and guns.
The Government had decided not to place forces in the Government building, as
the immediate vicinity of the United States * would endanger the lives of the
men from the Boston in case of a conflict with the rebels, and the Government
desired, at all hazards, to avoid giving Minister Stevens any excuse or pretense for his
hostile actions. . After the information relating to the establishing of the Provisional
Government had been received the cabinet wrote a letter from the station house to
Minister Stevens and sent it to him by Mr. Charles Hopkins, a noble of the Legisla-
ture. The letter was a request to the American minister to inform the Queen's Gov-
£rnment if he intended to recognize or support the lawful Government or the revo-
lutionary government, which it was claimed was in existence. Mr. Stevens received
the letter, and, through his daughter, informed Mr. Hopkins that he would answer
it in due time. Mr. Hopkins demanded, cautiously but firmly, an immediate answer,
and after considerable waiting a letter was handed to him addressed to His Excel-
lency Samuel Parker, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which Mr. Stevens stated that
he had recognized the Provisional Government because they were in possession of
the Government building, and that he intended to support them.
We realized then that any steps from our side to dislodge and arrest the rebels
would unavoidably lead us into a conflict with the United States forces, and we
decided to surrender to the Provisional Government with the full understanding
that such surrender was under protest, the United States Government to decide if
the action of their minister and the use of their forces to destroy a friendly Govern-
ment was justifiable and according to American principles. The conference between
the Provisional Government was carried on by Mr. S. M. Damon on their behalf and
the cabinet on behalf of the Queen. Other stipulations were agreed upon, the
Provisional Government showing itself ready to promise anything so long as a fight
could be avoided, but all such stipulations and promises were º ignored after
the surrender was made. It was after 7 o'clock p. m. when finally the arms and
ammunition of the Queen's Government were turned over to the Provisional Govern-
ment, or about three hours after Minister Stevens had acknowledged that he had
recognized the revolutionary government.
As a man who, for years, has taken an active part in Hawaiian politics, and as a
practical sugar planter of many years’ experience, it is not difficult for me to realize
the true cause for the late revolution and for the subsequent desire for annexation.
The depression in the sugar business which, since the passage of the McKinley bill
bas made havoc with the handsome dividends which we have enjoyed since 1875 and
the loss of power by the reform party were the only and true reasons for the revo-
lution. The prospects of the sugar bounty was and is the main motive for the
desire to be annexed on the part of the handful of responsible men who still desire
such step to be taken. That such plans were fully in accord with the policy of the
late American Government, from which Mr. Stevens received his instructions, was
the only reason why the scheme became feasible. The very idea of losing their inde-
pendence as a nation is distasteful to the Hawaiians, and I say unhesitatingly,
although I am an American citizen, to a large contingent of the foreign residents
©re.
The Queen's attempt to give a new constitution is not the only reason which is
§. by the insurgents as an excuse for the revolution. The passage of the lottery
ill and the opium license bill has also been used both by Mr. Stevens and the insur-
gents as extenuating circumstances. I opposed and voted against the lottery bill,
although it was a measure of my party, because I do not believe in the principle of
such º But the measure was favored and supported by nearly all the Americans
in Honolulu, the very men who revolted and who now claim that the lottery was
the cause of the revolution. &
On the day of the prorogation of the Legislature Minister Stevens returned to town,
after a visit to Hawaii, too late to be present at the ceremony of the prorogation
but he called at the Government building where he saw Minister Parker and myself.
After having made his excuses for not attending the prorogation he asked if the
Queen had signed the lottery bill. Answered in the affi mative, he became very
-excited, and striking the table with his clenched fist he exclaimed, over and over
again: “Gentlemen, this is a direct attack on the United States Government.” I
told him that the Queen had signed the bill because the measure seemed to be the
wish of the people, and that the petitions favoring the bill from Honolulu contained
a large number of names of prominent and responsible men, and although I was
personally opposed to the bill I did not consider it justifiable for the cabinet to advise
the Queen to veto it.
The opium license act I consider a wise measure, and as an employer of a large
number of men I claim that the regular sale of opium is of greater advantage to all
-classes than the prohibition of it; which no government can enforce owing to the
24
facility for smuggling offered by the large territory of coast on the islands. The
opium license law was passed not alone as a revenue measure, but for the purpose
of checking the wholesale corruption which the sumuggling of the drug carried
with it, and was, if anything, a mueasure in favor of the morality of the count
rather than a measure of corruption. The bill wits supported by many of the lead-
ing men in the present Government and also by many plauters, irrespective of polit-
ical sentinents or party.
In concluding this statement I wish to call attention to the fact that Minister J.
L. Stevens, in one of his official dispatches to Secretary Foster, now published
has expressed himself to the effect that I am entertaining feelings of hostility and
enmity towards him. I am not aware of ever having given Mr. Stevens any reason
for making such an assertion, which is utterly without foundation, and I only call
the attention to the matter to avoid a possible impression that anything which I
have here stated should be construed as biased or influenced by any private motives
or the result of any alleged unfriendly relations with the American minister.
WM. H. CORNWELL.
[Inclosure 6 in No. 3..]
Mr. Colburn to Mr. Blount.
HoNolt LU, April 15, 1893.
SIR: As a member of Her Majesty Liliuokalani's cabinet that was deposed with
her by a handful of citizens backed by the troops of the good ship Boston of the U.
S. Navy, I called on you on the º of Saturday, April 8, and paid my respects
to you. You received me kindly, and during our conversation you asked me to pre-
pare for you a statement of the facts connected with the Hawaiian revolution and
all that was incident to it, and other important matters in re II awaii, from my own
knowledge and observation.
In response to your request I submit to you the following, trusting that it may be
of value to you in summing up your conclusions in all that has happened, and the
position of Queen Liliuokalani and the Hawaiian people.
In opening up my statement, I desire first to introduce myself thoroughly to you
so that you will recognize at once that I propose to take the responsibility of aii
that I write, and will produce to the extent of my ability, all such evidence as you
may require, to corroborate what I write should you so desire it.
My name in full is John Francis Colburn. I was born on the 30th day of Septem-
ber, 1859; my father was an American and my mother a Hawaiian. My father died
when I was but 2 years of age, and I, with my brother and sister, was brought up
by my mother, who labored and toiled for our support with a sewing machine. I
have received the whole of my education right here and have never traveled further
than beyond San Francisco, Cal., when my presence was called there on business,
and I made four different trips to that large city. At the age of 16 years 1 entered
into ...; receiving such from the firm of Lewers & Cooke, the latter being
one of the commissioners of the Provisional Government who went to Washington to
secure annexation. At the age of 20 years I was married, and have living to-day
five children; for the last seven years I have conducted a large hay, grain, and feed
business on my own account, and am still following that pursuit. } omitted to men-
tion that I had a large number of relatives on my father's side residing in different
parts of the United States, chief among them being the husband of my father's own
sister, J. H. Gans, residing in Red Bud, Ill., a strong Democrat and an applicant to
Fresident Cleveland for the position of American minister to this country in place of
J. L. Stevens. My great grandfather, Thomas Colburn, was the first man killed at
the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, fighting as a patriotic American.
Liliuokalani was proclaimed Queen of the Hawaiian Islands January 29, 1891; her
first cabinet had º Sainuel Parker as premier; he and his colleagues were
voted out by a resolution of want of confidence, introduced by Mr. W. C. Wilder,
one of the commissioners to Washington to seek annexation. After they were voted
out the Queen appointed and commissioned a cabinet with E. C. Macfarlane as
premier; they reported to the legislature and immediately upon sight L. A. Thurs-
ton moved an sº for two days. After adjournment, and when the mem-
bers had taken their seats, W. O. Smith, the present attorney-general of the Provi-
sional Government, introduced a resolution of want of confidence. After a long and
heated discussion a vote was taken, and only twenty-four members responded to
adopting the resolution; it was only lost to be resurrected again at another day. Time
rolled on, and two weeks after another resolution of want of confidence was intro-
duced against this same cabinet, but this time, through the intrigue of Thurston
and his party, it was brought in and read by a native member. A vote was taken
and a sufficient number of votes were cast to oust them.
They retired and the Queen, appointed another cabinet,’of which W. H. Cornwell
was premier. This cabinet, as soon as it presented itself to the house, was voted
out on sight; the reason of it was, that the intrigue was worked so well on some of
the native members of the legislature by paying them bribes and a weekly support,
that they agreed with Thurston and his faction to vote out any cabinet the Queen
chose to send to the legislature, unless it be a certain four of their own party, who
they wanted to get in as the cabinet, and control the affairs of the country. The
funds É. up for this purpose was partly by S. M. Damon and C. Bolte, also by Mr.
H. P. Baldwin, a large sugar plantation owner. When the Cornwell cabinet was
voted out the Queen was puzzled as to what to do. She looked upon this reform
f: who was doing all this work, as bringing about a conflict with her and the
egislature; this reform party wanted to dictate to the Queen who the cabinet
should be, and she, on the other hand, did not wish to recognize them to that
extent, because the whole of the opposition, who had been voting cabinets out,
were a mixture of three different political parties, and she was well informed that
bribery was at the bottom of the whole affair. .
25
She stood the Legislature off for a week or ten days; in the meantime she asked
several well-to-do conservative business men to cousult with her as to what course
she should pursue, and considerable advice was given her to make the appointments
of the persons whom the reform party was clamoring for, so as to bring about quiet
and contentment in the business community, who was worked up to a certain pitch
about the fact that the only work the Legislature was doing was to oust cabinets,
and it was affecting business. The Queen paid heed to this advice given, and com-
missioned what was known as the Wilcox or the missionary cabinet. They reported
to the Legislature, and to show you that they were not a popular cabinet, twenty-
five members were ready to vote them right out, and it was only through the influ-
ence of some of us that the resolution was not introduced then, so that this cabinet
could have a fair trial. It staid in power two months when, on the 12th day of
January, 1893, a resolution was introduced and they were voted out. The reform
party or the missionaries, as they are better named and called, were disgruntled
and dissatisfied and discouraged at this work, and openly said we will get even
with you, meaning the Hawaiians. They knew this vote meant their losing their
power and influence in this country for years to come, and they were hostile. How-
ever, the majority of the people were satisfied that they were voted out, and looked
to the É. of the Queen appointing a cabinet with at least two Hawaiians in
it, so that the race prejudice which had been created for quite a while would wear
away and the Hawaians and foreigners would work together; the Queen also real-
ized this matter as of great importance, and on Friday, January 13, 1893, she sum-
moned and appointed the writer, minister of interior; Samuel Parker, minister of
foreign affairs; W. H. Cornwell, minister of finance, and A. P. Peterson, attorney-
#. the first two of us being the Hawaiian representation and the last two
O. Fºlſº ºne
wºpaired to the Legislature who was waiting for the Queen's new cabinet, and
as this cabinet approached the Government building from the palace the former was
thronged with people who were anxious to see the new cabinet and extend their
congratulations to us. That was a scene that has never before been witnessed upon
the appointment of former cabinets; however, we arrived at the Legislature and
amidst great cheering we took our seats. The house went through its work and
then adjourned. The next day was the time that had been previously set for pro-
roguing the Legislature. At 10 o'clock of that day, January 14, 1893, Mr Peterson
#: me that he had heard it rumored that it was the Queen's intention to pro-
mulgate a new constitution. I replied to him that she was making a mistake and I
WO *. her if she really intended to do it. I called out to Messrs. Parker and
Cornwell, and the four of us consulted over the matter. We all agreed that if the
Queen was determined upon doing this work, and pleasing only the native element,
we would oppose her. Mr. Parker went over at once to the palace to find out cor-
rectly if there was any truth to this rumor, but he was unable to see her, as she was
reparing herself to prorogue the Legislature. He returned and informed us that
could not see her, and we decided to wait until the closing of Parliament.
In the meantime, however, I felt as though we should place ourselves in the right
light before the foreign element of the community, and to get their view on the
matter in case the Queen's intentions were really as rumored and she would make it
an issue with us, I left my colleagues at the Government building and repaired at
once with all haste to the office of A. S. Hartwell, an old and esteemed friend of
mine, and told him about the rumor we had heard, the consultation we had had, and
the position we would take if the Queen could not be guided by our advice, and
that was to resign. He asked me if he could ask Messrs. Thurston and Smith (the
Provisional Government commissioner at Washington and the present .#.
eral of the Provisional Government) to be together with him, and we would all con-
sult the matter over together. I consented and he summoned them. When they
arrived I went over what I had told Mr. Hartwell a short time previous and when,
I got through Thurston spoke up and said, “Colburn, don't you resign under any
conditions; if the Queen makes this an issue with you, we (meaning the foreign
element) will back you up and I feel sure Minister Stevens will.” He further asked,
“are you alone in your stand?” and Ireplied, “no, I was positive Peterson took the
same view as I did.” He spoke up again, “bring Peterson down here; we want to.
talk to him.”
I repaired at once to the Government building, told Peterson what I had done,
and asked him to come down to Hartwell's office with me. He consented, and we
both came down. . Upon arriving there we held a consultation. Thurston submit-
ted in writing a plan for action in case the Queen was going to carry out her desire.
We took the document, which was written by Thurston himself, and told him we
would await developments. We then left them and went to the Government build-
ing. This was now approaching the noon hour. At 12 m., precisely, the Queen
arrived at the Government building and prorogued the Legislature. Immediately
after the Queen had left to return to the palace, Mr. Parker came up and said to us.
that the diplomatic corps wanted to have an interview with us at once in the foreign
affairs office. We all consented and went directly upstairs to meet them.
After we were all seated, Mr. Wodehouse opened the conversation by asking us
if we knew that a knew constitution was to be promulgated that afternoon by the
Queen? Mr. Parker replied that the cabinet were not aware of it, but they had
heard rumors of it; he asked again what position the cabinet would take if the
Queen did attempt to promulgate a new constitution, and Mr. Parker replied that
the cabinet would oppose it. The conversation then drifted into their inquiring as
to what reason could prompt the Queen to do anything like this, if the rumors that
they and ourselves had heard were true, and we answered that it must be from the
petition the natives had got up, signed, and presented to her. , Mr. Wodehouse then
said the Queen must not promulgate a new constitution, and if she had any idea of
it she must abandon it. We assured him we would do all in our power to avoid
anything of this kind happening. During all this conversation Mr. J. L. Stevens,
who had kept º quiet, not saying anything, spoke up now and asked if the
Queen had signed the lottery bill? Mr. Parker replied in the affirmative; he asked
again, did the cabinet advise the Queen to sign it? Mr. Peterson replied that the
Ş. considered that the bill having passed the Legislature by a majority she
should sign it as she had no reason for vetoing it, and the cabinet acquiesced in her
4
26
action. Mr. Stevens instantly raised his cane and stamped it on the floor and saic
the passing of the lottery bill and the signing of it by the Queen is a direct attack.
upon the United States; and he picked up his hat and walked out of the room, but
before he was fairly out he spoke up and said, he wanted the cabinet to inform
him at once if the Queen was going to attempt what we had a little while before
discussed; we replied to him that we would, and we parted company.
The cabinet then went directly from the Government building to the palace where
there was in waiting the Queen, members of the legislature, members of several
political societies, and a large number of the public. Upon our arrival at º:
we entered the blue room and met the Queen. After seating ourselves she said to us
that she had received a petition º by nine thousand of her native subjects ask-
ing her for a new constitution, and she thought this was an opportune time to grant
them their prayer and asked us to countersign her signature that she wanted to place
on the document. Each one of us got up, one after the other, and told her that we
could not accede to her wishes, and advised her to abandon the idea. She was very
determined at first, and said she should promulgate it anyway. We reasoned with
her and left her to think the matter over again, and at the same time take rest.
Messrs. Cornwell, Peterson, and myself left the palace and went to the Govern-
ment building; we held a consultation and sent a message to each of the diplomatic
corps; they all arrived and we entered into consultation again. The gentlemen of
the diplomatic corps urged us very strongly to return to the palace and inform Her
Majesty that she must abandon the idea at once. While this was going on at the
Government building, Thurston, and others who had heard of this matter were
enrolling, names down town with the avowed object of supporting the Cabinet in
their positions and the stand they had taken. Thurston then came up to me and
said to oppose the Queen's intention as the foreign element of the community did
not want a new constitution, and we could receive support, all that we wanted,
even if it was necessary to depose her. At 3 o'clock, of that day we left the Govern-
Inent building again, and started over to the palace as the Queen had just sent us a
message she wanted to see us at once.
As we were hurrying over there, and just before I had * out of the gate at the
entrance of the Government, building yard, W. O. Smith, the present attorney-
general, came rushing in in a hack very much excited, and said, “Colburn, don’t be
alarmed; buck the Queen all you can; the troops of the Boston will assist in support-
ing you in your stand; make all the hate you can. Mr. Stevens has sent an order
to the captain of the Boston, and his men with their guns and ammunition are
already in the boats of the ship ready to come ashore at once.” I made no reply to
him except .# him we were then on our way to the palace. He left me and I
.# out to my colleagues, and told them what Smith had said to me. We arrived
at the palace, and the Queen, who was waiting for us, asked us if we would read the
new constitution she wanted to promulgate, and compare it with the one forced
upon the late King Kalakaua by the Reform party in the revolution of 1887, and
also the one promulgated by Kamehameha V in 1864. We replied that we would,
sat down, and after conparing it we found some defects in it and pointed them out
to her and advised her again to abandon the idea. After a little while she spoke
up, and asked us if we were a unit in our advice, and we all replied yes. She then
said she would pay heed to it and would inform her people who were still waiting,
that she could not give them what they wanted, and to endure their grievances
(this implied to the Constitution of 1887). She did so, and the people departed for
their homes.
Mr. Peterson and myself went down town to the office of W. O. Smith, where there
was a large gathering of the foreigners, and they asked me to speak to them. I did
so and told them all that happened; some of them asked if we did not think the
Queen would promulgate it at some other time, and I assured them we would never
allow her to do it as long as the people who lived here were not a unit on such a
subject. A little later about 4:30 p.m. of that day, Mr. Thurston came to me with a
document written out by him ...? said, “Colburn, this is a request on Minister
Stevens and Capt. Wiltse to land the troops from the Boston and render you support;
you and Peterson and Cornwell must sign it and place it in my hands so that in case
you are imprisoned by the Queen's orders that she can put this project of hers through,
then this letter cau be delivered.” I replied to him that I did not think it was neces-
sary, as I felt sure the Queen had abandoned the idea altogether; he insisted on my
taking it, and I took it and handed it to Peterson; where it now is I do not know,
but we never signed it, as there was no reason for it.
The next morning, Sunday, January 15, 1893 at 6 a.m., Thurston came to my house
and asked me to go with him to Peterson's house. I asked him what he wanted with
us at such an early hour, and his reply was, pressing business. I consented and
at companied him to Peterson's house. Upon our arriving there we entered the room,
and when we were seated, the three of us, he said that he represented a committee of
safety who had had a meeting at his house on Saturday evening and decided to send
him to us with a proposition, and that was that we, Peterson and Colburn, should
depose the Queen. We asked him who this committee of safety was, and he replied
thirteen gentlemen picked out from all those that had enrolled to support the cabi-
net in opposing the Queen against her desires in re new constitution. We asked
him to furnish their names and he did so. He then said, it is the desire of this com-
mittee you two should depose the Queen and declare a provisional government.
l'on't say a word abont it to Parker and Cornwell, as Parker is a treacherons liar,
and Cornwell is not fit for anything, and simply does what Parker tells him to do.
He went on to say that it was their desire to get a division in the cabinet, and the
deposing of the Queen should appear to be done by a part of her own cabinet, or a
§§. of the Goverment itself; and he went on to say that he could inform us that
r. Stevens had given this committee the assurance that if we two signed a request
to him to land the troops of the Boston he would immediately comply with the request
and have them landed to assist in carrying out this work; and further, that if we did
not agree to the proposition that we could not receive aid and support from them in
the future if we needed it. We told him that we would have to take the matter
under advisement and would inform him as to our conclusions later on. He pressed
for an answer then, but we refused to give it to him.
Aftor his departure we sent for º and Cornwell, and imparted to them what
Thurston had proposed to us, and we entered into consultation. We decided to sum-
mon at least six responsible and conservative business men of the community to con-
27
sult with us, and to get their views. We did so, and, at 1:30 p.m. of that Sunday,
the following gentlemen met us: Messrs. F. A. Schaeffer, J. O. Carter, S. M. Damon,
W. M. Giffard, S. C. Allen, and E. C. Macfarlane. We told them what Thurston, oli
behalf of the committee of thirteen, had proposed, and asked them for their views.
Each one asked if the Queen had given up the idea of promulgating a new consti-
tution altogether, and we replied in the affirmative. They said, in that case the
Queen and cabinet should issue a proclamation, giving the community the assurance
that this matter was at an end.
We asked them to dictate a proclamation and they did so; they one and all deci-
ded that we should inform this committee that we could not consider their proposi-
tion, and ask them to accept the assurances that were to be given in the proclamatiou.
They also asked if the Government was in a position to suppress any uprising, and
we told these gentlemen that the Government was ready and able to cope with any
emergency that might happen, and to suppress any revolt. Mr. S. M. Damon spoke
up and said the troops of the “Boston” are going to be landed. Before proceeding
further, I may say right here that Mr. Damon's remark seemed insignificant at the
time, but as things turned out he was in with the revolutionists and knew perfectly
well the attitude af Mr. Stevens, and when he made the remark at our meeting it
º a good deal; it meant that those forces were going to depose Queen Liliuo-
kalani and place the situation of the country in the position that it is in to-day.
The next day (Monday) the proclaimation dictated by these gentlemen was printed
and posted and distributed all over town. Later on in the #. two mass meetin
were held, one by the native element and the other by the foreign element. At the
former the natives accepted the proclamation, although it was directly contrary to
what they wanted (a new constitution), and the latter denounced the Queen and
left everything in the hands of the committee of safety spoken about. At 5 p.m.
of that day the troops of the Boston were landed. Immediately upon the informa-
tion being conveyed to the cabinet that such was the case, Mr. Fº and myself
drove with all haste to the residence of J. L. Stevens. When we arrived there, we
asked him the reason the troops were being landed, and his reply was that lie had
received a request frºm a committee of safety, and he had consulted with Capt.
Wiltse. He went on to say that there were a number of women and old men in the
town besides children that were alarmed with the rumors of a revolution, and he
wanted to offer protection. Mr. Parker replied that the Government was in a posi-
tion to offer everyone protection, was able to suppress any rebellion, and would
offer protection to him (Stevens) and noted his protest. Mr. Stevens replied that he
was informed that the Government was in a strong position to suppress any revolt,
but he could not help the matter of landing, and as the troops were ashore they
would stay ashore. I asked him if he intended to annex the country and he replied
“No,” and further said those troops are ashore to preserve the Queen on her throne,
Yº. gentlemen in your offices, and to offer protection to the community at large.
e told him again we did not want the troops aslıore, and we could preserve law
and order ourselves. He replied by saying make your protest in writing, and if you
make it in a friendly spirit I will answer in the same tone.
On Tuesday information was conveyed to us that the Queen, was to be deposed
and a Provisional Government declared; we got everything in readiness to sup-
press the revolt expected; we had under arms 600 men with rifles, and 30,
rounds of ammunition, 8 brass Austrian field cannon, and 2 Gatling guns. A little
before 2 p.m. of that day the cabinet drove up to Mr. Stevens's residence to inquire
of him as to the position he was going to take in this matter, as we were informed
and suspected from all that Thurston and his followers had said that the American
troops were going to assist these usurpers, who everyone knew would not attempt
to bring about any such change as they were going to if they were not assured of
support by the American forces. We arrived at Stevens's house and after talkin
quite awhile with him he gave us no definite answer and we left him and return
to the police station to make our headquarters there and to write to Mr. Stevens
about his position. While the letter to Stevens was being dictated by Mr. Peterson,
information was brought to us that about 30 unarmed men had taken possession of
the Government Building, had read their proclamation, and had committed acts of
treason.
We paid no attention to them but sent our letter with all haste at a few minutes
before 3 p.m., by Mr. C. L. Hopkins to Mr. Stevens. After Stevens read the letter,
he told Hopkins to go away and come back again in an hour. Hopkins replied that
the cabinet had instructed him to bring a reply forth with, so that they would
know how to act, and Stevens refused. Ile kept Hopkins *...* on his veranda
one hour and then handed him a reply to us. hile Stevens was keeping Hopkins
waiting, the usurpers were preparing to resist the Government in case of attack,
and we did nothing, but kept our men ready for action. The letter from Stevens
carried by . to us reached us 5 minutes of 4 p.m., and after reading its con-
tents, we concluded to surrender and yield to America.
I want to impress upon you that we never surrendered the palace, police station,
and barracks till after we had received Stevens's letter, and not until we had filed our
protest with the Provisional Government. The surrender was a little after 6 in the
evening; these usurpers could never have overthrown the Government, as they did
not have sufficient arms and ammunition; and on the other hand, it will be admit-
ted by themselves, I think, that the munitions of war that we had would have
annihilated them were it not for the United States troops and Minister Stevens.
I remain, etc.,
John F. COLBURN.

(Inclosure 7 in No. 3.]
Citizens’ committee of safety to Mr. Stevens.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
SIR: We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully repre-
sent that, in view of recent public events in this *ś. culminating in the
revolutionary acts of Queen Lilioukalani on Saturday last, the public safety is
28
menaced, and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and the United
States forces at your command for assistance.
The Queen, with the aid of armed force, and accompanied by threats of violence
and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new
constitution; and, while prevented for the time from accomplishing her object,
declared publicly that she would only defer her action.
This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circumstances which
have created gº. alarm and terror.
We are unable to protect ourselves without aid and therefore pray for the protec-
tion of the United States forces.
HENRY E. Cooper,
F. W. McCHESNEY,
W. C. WILDER,
C. Bolte,
A. BROWN,
WILLIAM O. SMITH,
HENRY WATERhouse,
THEo. F. LANsixG,
ED. SUHR,
L. A. THURSTox,
John EMMELUth,
WM. R. CAsti.E,
J. A. MCCANDLESS,
Citizens' Committee of Safety.
No. 7.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Greshamn.
No. 4.] HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, May 4, 1893.
SIR: Up to the period of the hauling down of the United States
ensign from the Government building there had been inaction on the
part of those opposed to annexation. Since then, inspired by that
fact, the natives have seemed to act with freedom in expressing their
views on the subject of annexation and of the revolution dethroning
Liliuokalani. Annexationists and antiannexationists have been active
in procuring subscribers to declarations in favor of and against annex-
ation.
I have abstained from any indication of my opinion or wishes con-
cerning the question. When memorials and petitions have been pre-
sented, I have made it a rule to state substantially that I would accept
the papers simply as a fact in the situation in the Islands, but could
not enter into any expression of views thereon.
At this time the indications are unmistakable that a large majority
of the people of the Islands are utterly opposed to annexation. I do
not look for any change from this situation through future informa-
tion. I shall be careful, however, to keep myself free to entertain any
and all facts in relation thereto, that I may report with accuracy to
you.
There is a strong disposition on the part of the annexation element
to suppress expressions against annexation by social and business
hostility.
I inclose you herewith a newspaper extract containing proceedings
of the executive and advisory councils on the subject of the restora-
tion of the monarchy (Inclosure No. 1).
The morning following, delegations from all the Islands were to
assemble for the purpose of presenting resolutions to the United States
Commissioner indicating their opinion on the present political situation.
The reform party are in favor of annexation. The opponents of this
party are generally in favor of the restoration of Liliuokalani, but a
small minority are inclined to an independent Republic.
I send you a memorial presented to me by a committee of delegates of
all the branch associations of the Hawaiian Patriotic League (Inclosure
No. *} It was presented by a committee composed of John Richard-
son, J. A. Akina, Ben. Nankana, J. R. Kaihiopulani, and S. H. K. Ne.
To this memorial I made response, taken down by our stenographer,
Mr. Mills, in the language following: .
I will accept it, as I have all memorials, as a matter of information. I can not
enter into a discussion of it with you. I am glad to meet you, gentlemen.
It was this body which incited Mr. Emmeluth to offer his resolution,
I presume.
I have five petitions signed by natives in favor of annexation, but
always coupled with a condition that the right to vote is to be pre-
29
served to them. This is the feeling of all the natives who have signed
petitions for annexation. It is by assurances that the right of suffrage
will be preserved to them that some are induced to sign the petitions.
In the future all petitions presenting the views of the people will be
fully reported.
I send you an interview with Mr. S. A. Damon, president of the
advisory council (Inclosure No. 3); also one with Mr. Henry Waterhouse,
a member of the advisory council (Inclosure No. 4); also a letter, in orig-
inal, from Mr. J. O. Carter; also a copy of a letter from Lieut. Swin-
burne, and affidavits from Messrs. Charles L. Hopkins, I. F. Colburn,
and A. B. Peterson.
These are sent simply as indicating something of the elements which
brought about the dethronement of Liliuokalani. I will endeavor to
dissipate all the mists connected with this subject before a great while.
I think it will be shown that the American minister recognized the
Provisional Government when the chief points of defense of the Queen,
to wit: the station house and barracks, had not surrendered, and would
not have surrendered but for that recognition. It is unquestionably
the fact that Liliuokalani was induced to sign the protest already com-
municated to the State Department by Mr. Stevens and to surrender
her forces by the belief that she could not successfully contest with
the United States, which appeared to her unind to be a party in the
impending conflict of arms. She was induced to believe that she would
have a hearing on the merits of the interference by the American min-
ister, and gave to it doubtless the fullest faith.
The mail leaves in two and a half hours from now, and this makes it
necessary for me to avoid any attempt to elaborate on the condition of
affairs at this time.
I am, etc.,
J. H. BLou NT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
Since closing the foregoing dispatch I have received an affidavit
from Charles B. Wilson, which I send as Inclosure 10. I shall gather all
the evidence on this subject which I can obtain from both sides touching
the question as to whether the recognition came before or after the sur-
render of the forces of Liliuokalani. This Wilson is the man described
in Minister Stevens's dispatches as the paramour of the Queen. What-
, ever there may be in these charges (concerning which I have little
information), I alm very much inclined to think his affidavit is sub-
stantially true. J. H. B.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 4.]
HAwaiiAN DAILY STAR, MAY 1, 1893. –PROVISIONAL LEGISLATURE.
$º * * * * * tº
Mr. Emmeluth moved a resolution that agitation in favor of the restoration of the
monarchy be declared as coming under the terms of the sedition act.
Mr. Waterhouse moved that the resolution pass. It was high time to take action
when treason was being conducted under their noses. Here were natives coming
from the other islands to agitate for restoration, and receiving encouragement from
the Queen, who told them to have hope and courage.
Mr. Emmeluth held that as annexation was the object for which this Provisional
Government was formed, it should be **. as treason for anybody to discuss
restoration or an independent republic. It would be only justice to the ignorant
Hawaiiaus to give a clear expression of the Government on this matter. He related
an instance of ºil. among the natives. A Hawaiian neighbor of his died
after four days' illness, and his widow asked the speaker what her late husband had
done that the Government pººl. should had done that to him 7
Mr. Young was one who would go the farthest towards toleration, but he
believed Mr. Emmeluth was right in the main. It was time they knew whether
they were to have a government or not.
inister Smith said the question had come before him in requests for advice from
sheriffs. The Government should deal with the matter cautiously, as there was
danger of going too far. Peaceful discussion of the situation he did not think came
within the category of sedition. It was certainly lawful under the constitution.
Mr. Brown counseled going slow. Mr. Blount was sent here, it was understood,
tº ascertain the sentiment of the Hawaiian people, and nothing shonlú be done to
obstruct his investigation. Hawaiians loved their flag above everything else. They
were like children. If they could retain their flag they would not think much about
the loss of the monarchy. Were the monarch of the Kamehameha line it might be
ifferent. As it was he theught only a few in Honolulu were wanting restoration,
and these because they believed in that event they should ceme on top.
Mr. Emmeluth was not for suppressing those who were misled, but those who
were misleading the Hawaiians.
30
Mr. Damon thought if the Government was weak it ought to jump on any move-
ment looking toward restoration. The freedom of speech and the freedom of the
press was favorable to safety. . The Government surely had sufficient standing by
this time to be past the necessity for extreme measures.
Mr. Young withdrew his motion to pass, and the resolution was referred to the
executive council.
The council went into executive session at 3:35.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 4.]
Petition of natives.
Whereas His Excellency, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of
America, has honored the Hawaiian nation by sending to us the Hon. James H.
Blount as a Special Commissioner to find out the true wishes of the Hawaiian people
as to the proposed annexation of their country to their great friend the United
States; therefore,
We, the people of the Hawaiian Islands, through the delegates of the branches of
the Hawaifanºatriotic League of all the districts throughout the kingdom, in con-
vention assembled, take this mode of submitting our º. and expression of our
unanimous wishes to the people of our great and good friend, the Republic of the
United States of America, with whom we always entertained the most cordial rela-
tions, whom we have learned to look upon as our patrons and most reliable protect-
ors, and whose honor, integrity, and sense of justice and equity we have ever con-
fidently relied for investigation into the grievous wrongs that have been commi
º* as a people, against the person of our sovereign, and the independence of
OUIt låm Cls
And while we are anxious to promote the closest and most intimate political and
commercial relations with the United States, we do not believe that the time has
yet come for us to be deprived of our nationality and of our sovereign by annexation
to ". foreign power. e
And therefore we do hereby earnestly and sincerely pray that the great wrongs
committed against us may be righted by the restoration of the independent auton-
omy and constitutional government of our Kingdom under our beloved Queen Liliu-
okalani, in whom we have the utmost confidence as a conscientious and popular
ruler.
DELEGATES ISLAND OF HAWAII.
S. T. Piihonua.
j. H. Halawale.
S. H. K. Ne.
W. E. N. Kanealii.
C. G. Naope.
ISLAND OF MAUI.
R. H. Makekau.
J. K. Kealoalil
D. Kanaha.
John Richardson.
Thomas Clark.
Thos. Benj. Lyons.
John Kaluna.
J. Kamakele.
S. D. Kapers.
S. W. Kaai.
ISLAND OF MOLOKAI.
J. N. Uahinui.
J. K. Kaipeopulani.
Approved:
HoNolulu, March 2, 1893.
ISLAND OF MOLOKAI-Continued.
D. Himeni.
J. P. Kapoehaale.
Kekoowai.
S. K. Kahalehulu.
S. K. Piiapoo.
ISLAND OF OAHU.
|F. S. Keike.
C. Keawe.
John Kapamawaho Prendergast.
Enoch Johnson.
Sam K. Pua.
S. K. Kanpu. -
D. W. Keliiokamoku.
S. W. Kailieha.
Benj. Naukana.
Kimo.
ISLAND OF KAUAI.
Chas. Kahee.
Geo. W. Mahikoa.
Akina.
i.N.Kamaliikaue.
Sam P. Kaleikini.
J. Molokui.
Joseph NAwano,
President Patriotic League.
[Inclosure 8 in No. 4.]
Interview between Mr. Damon and Mr. Blount.
Mr. Blount. How long have you lived here?
HoNolulu, April 29, 1893.
Mr. DAMON. I was born here in 1845... I have been away several times—perhaps
to the extent of three or four years in that time.
Q: Where were you on the 14th of January, 1893, at the time the proclamation
dethroning the Queen and establishing the Provisional Government was read?
31
. I was at Honolulu. I was one of the members of that body who went up.
. The paper was read by Mr. Cooper?
º #. Judge Cooper.
. How many of you were there in that body which went up—about?
dvi The whole body. There would be four of the executive and fourteen of the
advisory.
Q: Please look at this paper and see if they are the persons (Senate Ex. Doc. No.
76, Fifty-second Congress, second session).
. Thurston was not present, and I do not think Wilhelm was there.
Q. Where did you start from?
A. From W. O. Smith's office on Fort street.
Q. And what street did you take going from there?
A. We walked up directly to the Government house on Merchant street. It was
suggested that a part should go by the way of Queen street, but a majority of us
went by way of Merchant street,
Q. What was the idea for dividing the committee?
A. So that it should not attract so much attention, and it would be safer per-
haps to have it divided than going in mass.
§ Wa. it because it occurred to them that it might invite attack if they went in
InāSS
A: That was partly the idea—that it was more prudent. I think we, most of us,
walked together—not compactly, but together.
Q. Any crowd following you?
A. No; the crowd was attracted to the corner of Fort and King streets, owing to
the shot that was fired by Mr. Good at a policeman. In fact, the crowd cleared
from the Government house and was attracted there. From all directions they cen-
tered at the corner of Hall's store.
Q. You found, then, scarcely anyone at the Government house when the commit-
tee arrived? -
A. Scarcely anyone there except porters. . After Mr. Cooper began to read the
proclamation—then different ones came out of the offices—clerks and officials—while
the proclamation was being read.
Q. Some of the Provisional Government troops, or rather troops raised at the
direction of the Committee of Safety, came on the ground before the reading of the
proclamation was finished?
hen we arrived there was but one man with a rifle on the premises, Mr.
Oscar White; but some little time later they commenced to come in from the
armory, troops that were under the supervision of Col. Soper.
Q. Was that before or during the reading of the proclamation?
A. During the reading. Toward the end of it.
Q. How many troops came in? Do you have any knowledge of the number you
had enlisted? *
. There were enough came in to make us feel more decidedly at ease than before
they arrived.
Q. You could not say how many there were 1
A. No; they kept coming in right along. They got to be quite a body.
Q. After the reading of the proclamation the late ministers were sent for?
A. After the reading of the proclamation we adjourned to the office of the Minister
of the Interior, and then we commenced to formulate our plans and get ourselves
into working order. Mr. Dole was at the head. While we were there in consultation
Mr. Cornwell and Mr. Parker came up there from the Station House and held a
conference with us. ©
Q. What was the purport of that conference? .
A. The result of that conference was that Mr. Bolte and myself were requested to
return with Mr. Cornwell and Mr. Parker to the Station House and recommend and
urge upon the parties in power at the Police Station to surrender to the Provisional
Government. We had a conference with the ministers in the room occupied gener-
ally by the deputy marshal. There were present Messrs. Peterson, Colburn, Parker,
Cornwell, Bolte, and later Mr. Neumann, who was asked to come in. After consul-
tation of the matter of their yielding up their power to the Provisional Government
they asked to be let alone for a few monients, and I went into one of the rear cells in
the corridor with Marshal Wilson and urged him very strongly to give up any hope
or any thought of making any attack, or resistance, more properly.
Q. What reason did you give him?
A.. I can not remember at the present moment giving him a reason, but I remember
distinctly saying to him: “Now, if you will coöperate with us, if in future I can be
of service to you I will do so.
Q. Was there any suggestion of sympathy on the part of the United States Min-
ister in your movement 7
A. While I was in the Station House a man by the name of Bowler said to me:
“We are all prepared, but I will never fight against the American flag.”
Q. Was there anything in the conversation between you and him in which º
intimation direct or indirect that the United States Minister was in sympathy wit
you or the United States troops and officers?
A. I can not remember any definite thing, but from Mr. Bowler's remark they must
have thought that the United States troops were here for some purpose.
e §. Bowler with the Queen's party f
A. He was. He was part of the force in the Station House.
Q. Did you say anything at all indicating an opinion that there was any sympathy
On ; part of Mr. Stevens or Capt. Wiltse with the movement for the new govern-
Iment
A. I can not remember. I may possibly have said so.
Q. Did you think so at that time?
A. I may have had an impression, but I know nothing about it.
Q. What was your impression? -
A. My impression was, seeing the troops landed here in this time of excitement
and turmoil, that—well, I suppose I might say that they could not stand it any longer
—the Americans could not stand it any longer.
;
32
Q. Your impression, then, was that the American Minister and Captain Wiltse a
the troops were in sympathy with the movement of the white residents here in t---
pending controversy between them and the Queen?
A. While we were in the Government building and during the reading of the proc-
lamation and while we were all extremely nervous as to our personal safety, I asked
one of the men with me there: “Will not the American troops º: us?” Finally
I asked one of the men to go over and ask Lieut. Swinburne if he was not going to
send someone over to protect us? The man returned and said to me, “Capt. Wiltse's
orders are “I remain passive.’” That is all I know of what passed between us.
Q. You speak of your impression. That relates to a particular conversation
between two or three persons; but what was your impression as to the matter of
whether or not the American Minister and the American naval officers were in sym-
pathy with the movement?
A. I was perfectly nonplussed by not receiving any support. I could not imagine
why we were there without being supported by #:#. troops, prior to the troops
coming from the armory. We were not supported in any way.
ti Q. ! ou had not been in council with the Committee of Public Safety up to that
IIºlº
. No.
Q. Well, the troops were—how far off from the reading of the proclamation?
A. They were over in that yard known as Gilson yard in the rear of the music
hall. They were quartered there.
Q. #. artillery!
A.. I think they had a small gun—Gatling gun and howitzer.
Q. Where were they pointed—in what direction?
A. I can not tell you.
Q. You were surprised that they did not come into the grounds while the procla-
mation was .#. Is that what you mean by not supporting #.
A. I had no definite information what the movement was, as I told you before in
a private interview, but knowing that they were on shore I supposed that they
would support us, and when they did not support us, and we were there for fifteen
or twenty minutes I was perfectly astoni that we were in that position without
* *:::::: tº g
: How far would you say, in yards, it was from where the proclamation was being
read to where the nearest troops were?
A.. I think about 75 yards.
Q. Was there a piece of artillery in the street between the building the troops
were stationed in and the Government building?
A. The only piece of firearms of any kind in that street was Oscar White's rifle.
We met him as we came around the corner.
Q. Did you have occasion to look there to see? & -
A. We . before turning into the side gate to converse with Oscar White,
before proceeding into the Government "...#
Q: Are you sure there was not a piece of artillery in that street before the reading
of the proclamation?
A. I can not tell you; but the only gun I could see was Oscar White's. Iremarked:
.# this is not so very prudent for you to be here with only one rifle in this
street.
Q. Where did you see the troops first?
A.. I came up from Monolalua by a back street and turned into Nuuana street,
one house above Mr. Stevens', and as I turned the corner I saw the American troops
marching up towards Mr. Stevens' house, and directly in front of his house.
Q. Did you meet Mr. Henry Waterhouse?
A. I met him there at that time.
Q. What conversation passed between you?
A. I think I said: “Henry, what does all this mean?” If I remember rightly
now, he said: “It is all up.”
Q. And what did you understand by the expression, “It is all up?”
A. I understand from that that the American troops had taken possession of the
island. That was my impression.
Q. And was that favorable to the Queen or favorable to the other side, as you
understood it?
A. That was distinctly favorable to the foreign element here.
Q. You mean the movement for a Provisional Government?
A. Yes.
Q. Did {. see Mr. Stevens that day?
A. No; I did not see him that day.
Q. What is Mr. Waterhouse doing now?
A. Henry? He is a member of the council.
Q. Was he a member of the Committee of Public Safety?
A. If I remember right, he was.
sº Is #" his signature [exhibiting letter of Committee of Public Safety to Mr.
©Venſ,
The letter is as follows:
HawaiiAN Islands, Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
SIR: We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully repre-
sent that in view of recent public events in this Kingdom, culminating in the
revolutionary acts of Queen Liliuokalani on Saturday last, the public safety is
menaced, and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and to the United
States forces at your command for assistance.
The Queen, with the aid of armed force and accompanied by threats of violence
and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new
constitution, and while prevented for the time from accomplishing her object,
declared publicly that she would only defer her action.
This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circumstances which
have created general alarm and terror.
*
33
. . We are unable to protect ourselves without aid, and therefore pray for the pro-
tection of the United States forces.
HENRY E. Cooper,
F. W. McCHESNEY,
W. C. WILDER,
C. Bolte,
A. BROWN,
WILLIAM. O. SMITH,
HENRY WATERHouse,
THEO. F. LANSING,
ED. SUHR,
L. A. THURSTON,
John EMMELUTH,
WM. R. CASTLE,
J. A. McCANDLESS,
Citizens’ Committee of Safety.
His Excellency, John L. STEPHENs,
American Minister Resident.
A. Yes, it is.
Q. Did he seem then pleased or alarmed?
A. He was very much strained and excited. There was no pleasure in it, but still
there was a feeling of security. That was it. He evinced a feeling of security. He
was not smiling or joking.
Q. It was not a joking time. Well, you say there was nothing in the first visit
of yours to the Station House to indicate any impression on your §. that you
believed the United States Minister or the United States troops, or both, were in
sympathy with the movement of the committee of safety?
A. I was nonplussed. I did suppose they were going to support us.
Q. You did not say anything to the people in the Station House to lead them to
suppose you were hopeful of aid
A. I can not remember saying it now; I might have done so.
Q. Did you say it at any place?
A. I do not remember; I may have said it.
Q. Was there an effort on the part of those who were moving for a change of gov-
ernment to make that impression?
A. I think there was.
Q. Was that impression among the whites generally. -
A. That I can not say. I know there was that impression. Some of the members
tried to convey that impression.
Q. On what occasion
A. Many occasions. One particular occasion was while we were in the Govern-
ment building the day the proclamation was read.
Q. What was said, and who said it?
A. Charles Carter said to me: “After you are in possession of the Government
building the troops will support you.”. I think that was his remark.
. Was he on the committee of public safety?
A. I think so.
Q. Was he in the party that went up to read the proclamation?
A. He was present there during the time it was read. Whether he went up with
us or not I do not remember. -
§: º was during that time he made that remark?
- e8.
Q. Was he an active promoter of the movement?
A. I think he was.
Q. Has he any connection with the Government to-day?
A. No, except he is one of the Commissioners in Washington.
Q. You have been in previous revolutions here?
A. I have been in the Wilcox revolution. I took quite a prominent part in its
suppression. I was one of the ministers at the time.
§: You had a conversation with Mr. Carter about the time the proclamation was
being read?
A. Yes.
Q. You were somewhat anxious as to whether or not you would be supported by
United States troops?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you express any fear in the presence of Mr. Carter?
A. Well, no man likes to tell he was afraid.
I do not mean in a cowardly sense.
Well, with others, I was convinced that we were in a position of danger.
What did Mr. Carter say?
He gave me to understand that we would be protected.
By ë. States troops? -
Yes; and when we were not protected by them I wanted to know the reason why.
Do you mean by that that you expected them to march over?
A. I was under the impression that they would.
Q. What did you accomplish by that first visit to the Station House—any agree-
ment
A. We accomplished this—that it was a virtual giving up.
Q. What was said? What did the ministers say?
A. This is my impression of it to-day: That if they had only to contend with the
Provisional Government and the forces of the Provisional Government that they
wonld not give up. That was the impression that I gathered from them; that they
felt themselves equal to the occasion so far as the Provisional Government went.
Q. Then having that sort of feeling, what did they propose to do?
A. They proposed to immediately deliver up. Then they went up, four of them,
and had a parley with Mr. Dole and the Provisional Government. They & to
desist, but said they must go to the Queen and get her to confer with them.
i
5
34
§sº far as they were concerned they were willing to yield, provided the
W88
A. Yes. Then I went along with them to the palace. We all met in the Blue
Room. There were present the Queen, two YºgJºãº the four ministers,
Judge Widdeman, Paul Neumann, J. O. Čarter, . C. McFarland and myself. We
went over between 4 and 5 and remained until 6 discussing the situation.
Q. In that conversation you asked for a surrender of the forces, and the ministers
advised it?
A. The different ones spoke and they all recommended it. Each one spoke. At
first, Judge Widdennan was opposed to it, but he finally changed his mind on the
advice of Mr. Neumann. Mr. Neumann advised yielding. Each one advised it.
Q. Was this advice of Neumann and the cabinet based on the idea that the
Queen would have to contend with the United States forces as well as the forces of
the Provisional Government?
A. It was the Queen's idea that she could surrender pending a settlement at
Washington, and it was on that condition that she gave up. . If I remember right I
spoke to her also. I said she could surrender or abdicate under protest.
Q. And that the protest would be considered at a later period at Washington?
A. At a later period.
Q. Did the cabinet in recommending her to yield to the Provisional Government
ive her to understand that they supposed that the American minister and the United
tates troops were in sympathy with the Provisional Government or with the Com-
mittee of Public Safety f -
A. I know it was the Queen's idea that Mr. Stevens was in sympathy with this
movement.
Q. But I am asking now as to what reasons the ministers gave for her acquies-
CôIlCes
A. It was their idea that it was useless to carry on—that it would be provocative
of bloodshed and trouble if she persisted in this imatter longer; that it was wiser
for her to abdicate under protest and have a hearing at a later time. That the
forces against her were too strong.
Q. Did they indicate the United States forces at all in any way?
A. I do not remember their doing so.
Q. Do yon know whether or not at that time they were under the impression that
the United States forces were in sympathy with the revolution?
A. Beyond an impression I know nothing definite.
Q. What was the result of this conference with the Queen? What was agreed on 7
A. She signed a document surrendering her rights to the Provisional Government
under protest.
Q. Is this the protest on page 22, Ex. Doc. No. 76, 52d Cong., 2d Sess?
A. Yes. This was written out by Mr. Neumann and J. O. Carter while we were
resent. She was reluctant to agree to this, but was advised that the whole sub-
}. would come up for final consideration at Washington. -
Q. Did you at the time cousent to recommend this proposition or not?
A. I was there as a member of the Provisional Government, but I did not advise as to
the wording of it. I did tell her that she would have a perfect right to be heard at
a later period.
Q. § the United States Government f
• Y 88
Q. You, yourself, at that time, before consulting with your colleagues, were ſavor-
ably impressed with that settlement?
A. Well, it was the only settlement that could be brought about. Personally I
was satisfied with it.
Q. And you took that back to the Provisional Government?
A. ©8.
Q. And they rejected it f
A. It was received and indorsed by Mr. Dole.
Q. Nºw, was there any message sent to the Queen after that ?
A. No.
Q. No message declaring that they would not accept it f
Q. The surrender was then made on that proposition ?
A. Yes; well, then she sent down word through Mr. Peterson to Mr. Wilson to
deliver up the Station House. That wound up the whole affair. ...We immediately
took possession of it. It was not delivered up until after this conference.
Q. Now how long after that was it before the Provisional Government was recog-
nized 7
A. Mr. Stevens sent Cadet Pringle; his aid, and Capt. Wiltse sent one of his
officers to personally examine the building and report if the Provisional Govern-
ment was in actual possession of the Government.building. That was done that
afternoon.
Q. What time?
A. Between 4 and 5.
Q. What time was the interview with the Queen?
A. After 4, and ended at 6.
Q. You took reply?
A. Mr. Neumann took the reply to Mr. Dole. N.
Q. Now, when this interview was going on between you, the cabinet ministers,
and the Queen, it was known then that the Government had been recognized?
A. That the Queen knew it? I do not think she was told. I do not remember of
it being spoken of.
. Didn't you know it?
think I knew it.
Q. Didn’t these ministers know it them?
A. They may have been present. I can not say. The Provisional Government
were all present when Mr. Stevens recognized it as the de facto government.
Q. What I mean is this: Befere you took the message of the Queen back—this
protest—the Provisional Government had been recognized?
A. Yes; that is my impression.
35
Q. Had that been done at the time you left the Government house to go with the
cabinet ministers to talk with the Queen?
A. If my memory serves me right, it had.
Q. Did not the cabinet officers know of it at this time?
A. I can not say.
iš. what do you know about the contents of the constitution she wanted to pro-
Clºlnºl
* A. It is too long to write down. I can tell you my connection with it.
Q. Have you seen it
A. No.
Q. What is the aspiration of the native mind as to the form of government?
A. I think that their ambition is to obtain the power through the vote. They
have tasted what it is to hold the control by the vote, and they are very tenacious
of that right. They are to a certain extent clannish in that idea; but the trouble
comes in that they have not used that power wisely, and it is the fact of the Polyne-
sians combining in their votes to retain the power—and forgetting the intelligent
ower of the Anglo-Saxons, even when in a minority—that has caused the trouble.
The real break in the Hawaiian system of government commenced at the time of
Kamehameha V, when he took away their old constitution and gave them a consti-
tution of his own making. That started revolutions in this country. There is the
starting point where the roads diverged which has brought about the succession of
unrest in different governments from that day to this. Now, the Hawaiians from
that date, or within close proximity to it, commenced to feel what it was to have
the vote, and what influence they could exert, and naturally the Hawaiian, as the
weaker race, have attempted in every succeeding Legislature to work together, but
there has always been a disintegration in every Legislature. They could not hold
themselves together compactly as a body. Whenever they have had the opportunity to
exercise this power it lias not been at the level of the intelligent Anglo-Saxon idea
of making laws or carrying out a system of government. It has chafed the Anglo-
Saxon. He would not tolerate it. He has found that he could control it indirectly,
if he could not directly, by his superior education and intelligence. The Hawaiians
had grown to a feeling of independence, and in company with the Queen they wanted
to throw off that Anglo-Saxon domination which has been with them and controlled
them all these years. When it came to that point that they felt that they could do
it, then the clash came. Of course there are other reasons which brought it about.
But it is the clashing of two nationalities for supremacy.
Q. ...; was the great underlying cause? The financial questions were incidental
uestions
q A. That was the underlying cause—the Hawaiian thinking, because he had a
...'. of votes, that it gave him power. He didn't recognize that the intelligence
and strong will of the Anglo-Saxon would beat him every time.
Q. The Hawaiian Almanac and Annual for 1891, states that in the general elec-
tion for 1890 the total vote for nobles throughout the islands was 3,187, and that the
total vote for representatives was 11,671. That is about correct?
A. I should judge so—that is a very correct source of information.
Q. That would make 8,484 more for representatives than for nobles?
A. Yes. - - -
Q. Does that difference grow out of the fact that there is no moneyed qualifica-
tion to vote for representatives, but for nobles there is required a property quali-
fication of $3,000 (unincumbered) or an income of $600?
A. Unquestionably. That disparity of numbers, if it had been carried to a fine
point, would have been very much larger, but there was and is a laxity in the
admittance of many people to vote for nobles.
. Now, that 3,187 votes for nobles was generally a white vote, was it not?
A. There was a good many Hawaiians in that vote for nobles.
Q. What proportion would you say as between whites and natives?
A. I think those statistics could be got for you. It would not be wise for me to
, say. I should think about 25 per cent.
. Native vote?
i
698.
. The balance was a white vote?
e8.
th. º was in the power, then, of the whites united to elect the body of nobles, was
it not
A. The whites as a rule used all their influence to control the noble vote.
Q. Why did the whites use all their influence to control the noble vote?
A. Because it was their only hope of controlling or influencing legislation.
Q. How many nobles and how many representatives were there under the con-
stitution?
A. Equal—about 24 each. -
Q. If the whites could get the 24 votes of the nobles, then they had an absolute bar
to any action by the representatives or the King?
A. That was the intention.
Q. If they got two or three representatives they had control of legislation so far
as that legislative body was concerned?
A: If it had been carried out to its logical conclusion it would have been so, but
as the result proved, they were not able to entirely control the noble vote.
Q. Now, if they had been able to entirely control the noble vote, and to get some
of tº presentative, they could have determined the question of the cabinet?
• { 698.
Q. They could have removed any cabinet that did not suit them?
A. Yes; provided all the whites had banded together.
Q. I suppose sometimes the whites didn't keep banded together—and the natives
in all things?
A. Yes.
$: #. had within yourselves those sources of power?
• (68.
Q. That was the principal cause of agitation for many years in elections?
A. Yes. Where the Hawaiian felt that his cause was weak, and it was to that point
that, so far as they were able, they were striving so as to maintain the .."
36
Q. Now, Mr. Damon, do you think that you could have good government here
on the basis of an educational qualification for voters, so as to allow everybody who
could read and write to vote? º
A. Yes; provided there was some strong power, as one might say it—as in an
unruly school— to preserve order.
Q. Do you think that you could maintain a state government like the states of
the American Union with that sort of suffrage?
A. My personal opinion is that we could fº. up into that by a period of trial,
until the voter appreciated what a vote really meant.
Q. How long do you think that would take to get the native population up to the
. *dard of the whites on that question? Can you see any time definitely or
Clear
A. H am of this opinion—that they have had so much given to them in this coun-
try—everything has been so free to them, that they have not appreciated the advan-
tages that they have; but when they get to be deprived of the franchise for a period
of, say, five years, until they have wrestled for it and waited for it, that when it is
given to them eventually they will appreciate it.
Q. Do you think that in five years after annexation you could give to every native
who could read and write the right to vote?
A. Yes; provided the franchise was exteuded to other nationalities here.
Q. What other nationalities here? &
A. There is a growing Portuguese element here. There is a growing intelligent
Japanese element here of the better classes, and those Chinese who are born in the
country and have interests here.
Q. What sort of interests?
. A. Either commercial, agricultural, or professional.
Q. You make the same qualification as to votes for all of them?
A. Yes.
Q. Suppose the Chinese were not allowed to vote—then what?
.A. They have not the same desire except in isolated cases for voting that the
Hawaiians, Portugese, and Japanese have. They have not been accustomed to it.
. Do you allow any Japanese to vote here now 7
. No; not at present.
I mean before the revolution?
N
0.
Any Chinese allowed to vote?
No
. Is there anything you desire to say Mr. Damon other than what you have said?
I would say that I was born here, brought up here, and have a sincere regard
for the Hawaiian people, because they have many good traits. They have shown a
desire, especially the generation which is now and that which is coming on, to put
themselves forward if they knew how, and though they may be a diminishing race
they are a hopeful race that have not given up the struggle to keep up the Hawaiian
name. If we are going to educate them it is just so much thrown away unless they
can have some hope held before them that they will be recognized as men in future,
and if there is anything I could do to assist them, especially the young and upright
Hawaiians, I would like to do it, because they have invariably treated me—whether
sovereign, chief, or common Hawaiian—with such invariable kindness that I should
be lacking in manhood if I did not want to help them up if possible.
Q. As to integrity in business matters, how do they compare with people in their
condition in life generally
A. I think the mistake has been made that you take a Hawaiian and compare
him with the Anglo-Saxon standard and exnéct }. to be up even with him when
he has not had time and opportunity to fit himself for that standard. You should
compare the Hawaiian with what he is to-day and what he was fifty years ago.
Q. It is better to compare him with some race that exists to-day.
h *: He does lack what is called backbone to carry out to a finish any project that
© 188.
Q. Business or otherwise?
i
q. But would you say that generally he was an honest man?
A. I should say so; yes..
Q. Is there any fear of violence to the persons of women on the part of the natives?
A. I think he is in advance of what is called the ordinary white man in that
respect. -
3. That is a striking feature in his make up, and that is always appreciated by
the best elements here?
.A. Yes; and why it is so is that it is only a few years since he looked to the white
men as a superior race, and he at heart feels that they are a superior race to-day.
Q. Now is that entirely correct?
A. A more powerful race, perhaps.
Q. Well now, as to another point let me ask you: Wilson lived in the bungalow
with his wife and children f
A. His son is in California. He has no other child.
Q. He lived with his wife then 7
A. Yes. I have heard that he had a strong influence over the Queen for man
years, because Dominis, her husband, was a weak man. Wilson is a †.
powerful man, and she has looked to him as a protector.
Q. He was is in command of the police forces f
A. Yes; at the time, and ever since she was Queen.
Q. The Palace gates have been guarded ?
A. Always.
Q. Who commanded the guards 1
A. Nowlein and Wilson commanded the police force. Both were intimate friends
of the Queen. -
Q. He lived in the Palace?
A. He lived in the bungalow—report said so. He has his own dwelling about a
mile from here. -
Q. You do not understand that he and his family lived in the Palace proper, with
the Queen f
37
A. No; they had a house in the yard.
Q. If the question of annexation was submitted to the people of these islands
with no property qualification, but only the qualification that the elector should
read and write, and conducted on what is sometimes termed the Australian-ballot
law, what do you think would be the result of a free expression of the people in the
matter of annexation at this time?
A. The sentiment is a growing sentiment, but at this time I think a majority
would not vote in favor of it, but, given time to realize it, they would.
Q. How much time do you think would be necessary to bring about such a con-
dition of things in these islands?
A. I think if the Provisional Government is kept in very long they will home to
it very quick. They do not like the Provisional Government, for the reason that it
is a government that has not been placed there by their votes. I am quite sure I
have given you a correct answer.
º §: 㺠the time of the dethronement of the Queen was it known in the other
1818 in Olš
• N 0.
Q. They knew nothing of it until after it was accomplished?
A. They did not.
Q. * it was accomplished by the Honolulu movement?
A. Yes.
Q: What is your condition here as to the matter of acquiescence of the natives
with existing authority—their observing order?
A. If they had a real, able leader, in whom they had perfect confidence, he could
collect quite a force to follow him.
Q. To attack the existing Government?
A. Yes.
Q. You do not apprehend any such movement? -
A. No, unless that in a period of excitement it should spring up; and, therefore,
I have advised a strong force being retained, because we did not know but in some
moment of excitement somebody would take advantage of it and make trouble.
Q. What number of troops have you under pay?
A. One hundred and seventy in all.
Q. The artillery is hardly to be spoken of-but one company?
Q. How many pieces?
A. They have some eight or ten pieces, but, from motives of prudence, they have
locked *: the intricate parts in vaults.
8,
e §: r as you know, the natives have no artillery?
O.
. No arms!
No great quantity. They have scattered rifles and pistols.
. Do they amount to anything in case of contest?
... We have no means of telling at this time.
;
TUrsday, May 2, 1893.
Q. Mr. Damon, at the time of the writing of the protest of the Queen on the 17th
day of January, 1893, signed by herself and Ministers, had the Provisional Govern-
ment been recognized by the American Minister, Mr. Stevens?
A. It is my impression that it had been, but I can not say positively. ;
Q. Would the conversation you had with the Queen on that day aid you in deter-
mining that fact?
A. I do not think it would.
Q. In referring to Mrs. Wilson living with the Queen, in a previous part of this
statement, did you mean to say that she stayed with her at night.
A. I meant to say that she was with the Queen a great deal of the time—both day
and night.
Q. As a companion?
A. Yes; as a personal friend and companion.
Q. But where do you suppose she slept—at the bungalow or palace?
A. My impression is that her quarters were with her husband in the bungalow.
I have carefully read through the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate report
of the two interviews between Mr. Blount and myself. S. M. D
. M. DAMON,
[Inclosure 4 in No. 4.]
w Interview between Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Blount.
HoNolulu, May 2, 1893.
Mr. Blount. How long have you lived in Honolulu'ſ
A. I came here in 1851.
Q. Born where?
A. In Tasmania.
Q. What nationality were your ancestors?
A. My father and mother were from the old country—from England.
Q. How old were you when you came here?
A. Six years old.
?. You have lived here ever since?
• YOS,
Q. In this city?
A. Yes, in Honolulu.
Q. Where were you on January 14, 15, 16, and 17, 1893? w
A. I was in Honolulu.
Q. What was the cause of the revolution that resulted in the dethronement of
Liliuokalani?
A. It started from the lottery bill and the opium bill and the bribery and corrup-
tion we had heard of. It came to me first through minister of finance John F. Colburn.
38
That was the first intimation I had. There was no idea of the dethronement of the
Queen at that time. That did not come until after the committee of safety was
formed on Saturday. That was the first time we anticipated anything of the kind
but before that, on Tuesday, we called upon Mr. P. C. Jones, minister of finance. f
told him what was going to happen. This information came from Mr. Colburn, the
last minister of finance. I do. not know that I ought to mention it. It came from
Marcus Colburn, brother of John F. Colburn. He was feeling troubled. He said,
“I want to tell you, Henry, that it is of importance that the ministry should under-
stand what John, my brother, is up to. Do not give me away. If you do I will be
discharged from the office.” He said in substance that Mr. P. C. Jones was to
receive an anonymons letter from his brother, and he wished me to say to Mr. Jones
not to be alarmed, but at the same time not to tell who it was that gave him this
information; also that the Queen was going to promulgate a new constitution, and in
case she was not able to get out the Wilcox ministry the plan was, after the proro-
gation of the legislature, to invite the four ministers over there—that is, the Wilcox
ministry—and lay before them a constitution that she had prepared and in case
they didn't sign they would be held prisoners. That was the information I gave to
Mr. Jones. Of course he acted upon it.
The ministry after that was put out by a vote of the legislature. I can state right
here that the vote was carried by bribery. The money was placed in Mr. Sam
Parker's hands, son.e. $7 000, to assist in voting them out. Quite a number of
members of the legislature–Hawaiians—came down to talk to me, those who were
against putting out the ministry, and also those who were in favor of doing so.
One in particular—Hoapoli—told me what he wanted was good, stable government,
and he felt sure if we kept the Wilcox ministry in we would have it. He was sent
for by the ex-Queen and she persuaded him. She said if he had any love for her
that he would vote against the ministry. Quite a number of the other members
came and asked if I would assist them in money; said that they were getting short;
had been down here so long. I told them no; that was not my business. I did not
º: to advance them any money. A few days after they all seemed to be quite
ush, and after the legislature was prorogued they went home. They had new
furniture and seemed to be well Fº for in every way.
On Saturday, about 10 o'clock, John Colburn, minister of finance, came down to
the office
Q. What office?
A. My office ou Queen street. He was very anxious to talk with me. I was out.
When I came back I went over to his office. He had left word with his brother to
say that the Queen was going to promulgate a new constitutiou immediately after
the prorogation of the legislature, and wanted me to know. Between i and 2
o'clock I was up near W. O. Smith's office. That seemed to be the center then to get
the news. News came down that the ex-Queen was attempting to force the ministry
to sign the new constitution.
Q. Who did this news come by ?
A. It was sent by Mr. Colburn to the office of W. O. Smith.
Q. By whom?
A. I can not state. There were so many there at the time. They met in the back
office of W. O. Smyth. There were a great many in front of the office at the time to
talk over the situation. I sat beside Paul Neumann. We were all very much
excited, feeling that our rights were being taken away from us, and we decided
then and there we .# not submit to it. After a short time we heard that
the ministers had gone back to the Government house. The way they put it—they
ran away. The parties who came from the Government house put it in that way.
I remember stating to Mr. Neumann that I was glad we were at last of one opinion.
He said this was a thing we ought not to tolerate. After discussing the matter for
some time John F. Colburn and the attorney-general, Mr. Peterson, both came
down. Mr. Colburn made a statement that the ex-Queen had got them into the
room and had requested them to sign this new constitution, and, after talking with
her sometime he said they had asked her for half an hour's time to think over it.
In the meantime the natives were talking quite loud and as Mr. Colburn expressed
it, he thought it was about time for him to get out of it. So they went out the back
way back to the Government house.
Q. The back way was the direct way to the Government house?
A. No; but if they had gone out the front way the natives were all in front, and
they were afraid. He wanted to know if the merchants would support them in
their position. After discussing the matter there was a committee of safety
appointed. They considered it very important that such a committee should be
appointed. There was a great deal of talk that came to the ears of certain parties
in regard to the way in which the natives had been talked up—inflammatory talk—
and we all felt that it was very important we should keep a strict watch on their
movements.
Q. Did you think they were in sympathy with the Queen?
A. There was what they called the Hui Kalaiaina, a lot of old men. They for-
merly met right opposite our office, on Queen street. They were in sympathy with
her principally. After the committee of safety had been appointed we met and
talked over the situation and decided to call a mass meeting.
During the meeting on Monday we were threatened that if we held any more
meetings we would be arrested. Marshal Wilson came right up and said to Mr.
Thurston that we would be arrested. Mr. Thurston answered right up and said if
he wished to arrest us we were ready. We were not doing *...* against the
Government, that it was for the interest of the country that we had been appointed
as a committee of safety. All that we were doing was talking in regard to a mass
meeting. We had not decided when it was to be held. We decided afterwards to
call a public meeting on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock—that was the 16th.
Q. You mean you decided that on Saturday?
A. No; we decided that on Sunday after talking it over. It was to talk up the
situation and to make a report from the committee of safety. The meeting was held
at 2 o'clock Monday. In the meantime Marshal Wilson had sent around to all
Government employés to muster in the station house, and after the meeting they all
seemed to be quite demoralized on account of the number that turned out and was in
39
sympathy with the committee of safety. The question that was uppermost in their
minds was stable government. They had fully made up their minds not to allow their
rights to be trampled on. After the meeting the committee of safety met again to
consider what should be next done, as power had been given them by the meeting
which had been held that afternoon. . After discussing §. matter we decided that
the only course to do was to call out those who were in sympathy with us and take
possession.
Q. Of what?
A. Of the Government house and take possession of the Government. That was
on Monday afternoon. Monday evening we met again at my house on Neumann
avenue. We there planned what should be done on Tuesday, the 17th. We met
#. on Tuesday morning, when the proclamation was discussed for the first time.
That was the first time we had it before us. I do not remember having it before.
Of course we had a committee to frame the proclamation. We met again on Tuesday
...i and decided to take possession at 2 o’clock that afternoon. At 2 o'clock we
marched up to the Government house, expecting to have them resist us, as we had
heard the report that there was to be a #.; men up there under Mr. McCarty.
We arrived up there and took possession. While we were going into the door the
various volunteers kept coming into the yard with their rifles. That is as far as I
know of that. Where do .." want me to go from there f
Q. Just go on and tell the whole story. '
A. Then the council met, after we had taken possession of the Government house,
and decided to take the station house. We had only possession of the Government
house and had to take the station house, where all the arms were. They had taken
all arms there from various houses, so as to have them ºn hand. After discussing it
we sent word. I think Mr. Damon went down and had an interview with the four
ministers in the station house. -
Q. You were not present? -
A. No, I was not present. I know nothing in regard to that. Afterwards part
of the ministers came up to the Government house to talk with the council.
Q. You were a member of the council?
A. I am. I was then. I was a member of the committee of safety also. They
agreed to give up the station house. We took possession. -
Q. Do you mean that that happened just that way 7. That they agreed to give it
mp and you took it? Do you mean that those things followed right after one another
just as quick as you relate them?
No. Mr. Damon had to go down to the station house and Hopkins came up.
The ministers were afraid to come up. They thought that it was a trap to get them
up there. When they came up they said: “It does not seem to us that we need be
afraid. You seem to be acting in a square, friendly manner in regard to treating
us as men.” They spoke of that at the time. The first thing that was done we
declared martial law. That was one of the first acts.
Q. Do you know what hour the station house was given upf
A. I can not say. I was very much excited that day. I think it was somewhere
near 5 o'clock.
Q. Have you anything to help you fix 5 o'clock in your mind?
A. I know we were afraid of its flºg dark, and it would be much harder for us
to take the building after dark, and were we planning what to do in case of dark-
ness. That is what makes me think it was somewhere near that time.
Q. You spoke of the causes of the revolution being lottery and opium legislation
and bribery. Now, as to the lottery bill, do you know of money being used there?
A. Of course I could not go on the stand and say that there was, but men who
ran it were very flush.
Q. Is that what you judge from ?
A. Yes. **
Q. The same as to the opium bill?
A. Well, that was supposed to be a measure from the outside, as some of those in
the Legislature expected to get money from the Chinese.
Q. Was that a supposition, or did you have any evidence of the fact of the use of
money to pass the opium bill in the way of bribing members?
A. That is just a supposition.
Q. You spoke of money being used for purposes of bribery. Did you mean in the
sense that you just stated—that it was supposition that it was done?
A. I stated it from what a party said, who could substantiate what he said.
Q. Who was he?
A. Cecil Brown.
Q. Did he tell you he wonld be able to prove that money was used for the purpose
of getting out the ministry?
, ( 08.
Q. Did he tell you who furnished the money?
A. From the ex-Queen.
Q. He told you it came from her? -
A. Yes.
Q. Have you had any knowledge of any money being used by the other side—by
the reform party—in controlling votes at any time on any of these questions or any
question?
A. Only what I saw in opposition papers. I do not know anything of my own
knowledge.
Q. Do you know it on any information you had from others?
A. John Colburn told me that he had used money.
Q. Who did he say he got it from?
A. It was from his own money. He was trying to get the McFarland cabinet out.
Q. He was acting as a liberal?
Ye
Q. And the liberal and reform party were acting together in the matter of getting
out this cabinet?
A. I do not know about the reform so much. I dro out from the reform
party when they joined with the liberal. . We were all split up then,
Q. Conld you have voted out that cabinet unless you had had the reform party'
and the liberal party combined?
40
We could not. It took both parties to vote them out.
Did Colburn tell you he was using his own money?
He claimed that he had promises from other parties.
Who did he say they were 7
. He did not give me names. I was going away to the States at the time.
. You say on Monday Wilson came and notified the committee of safety through
Mr. Thurston that he intended to arrest them?
A. He did, and Mr. Thurston replied—told him to go ahead if he saw fit to arrest us.
Q. Your statement was that he could arrest you if he wanted to—that you were
doing nothing against the Government?
A. Yes; I said that... We were only discussing the meeting.
Q. were you discussing the question of the dethronement of the Queen?
A. We were not then. We were discussing in regard to the meeting to be held.
Q. Had you in your Saturday's meeting or any time in your meetings debated the
matter of the dethronement of the Queen?
A.. I think we had spoken of it. We all felt we could not stand the monarchy.
We had made up our minds to that.
Q. Then the expression that you were doing nothing against the Government was
a strategic expression?
A. Yes. , Wilson, of course, wanted very much to declare martial law then, but
Cleghorn declined tº sign the declaration.
Q. Who was Cleghorn?
A. He was governor.
Q. You held a mass meeting at 2 o’clock?
A. Yes; 2 o'clock on the 16th.
Q. There was no declaration for dethronement in that meeting?
A. I do not know if it came out. You could understand by expressions that they
were all there for good government. Of course, they did not come right flat-footed
out.
Q. How many troops had you then organized and armed; can you state accurately?
A. I can not.
Q. About how many; have you any information?
A. I have not. We were backed up by the mass meeting. . Nearly all were ready
at a moment's notice. Those who backed up the committee of safety were willing to
back them up in everything they did.
Q. Did you poll the uneeting to see how many would support you?
A. I think so. I think that they got the signatures of quite a number.
Q. How many 7
A. I can not tell you.
Q. You could not say that the whole of the mass meeting signed?
A. I conlol not.
Q. Could you say that as many as half the mass meeting signed?
A. I should think so.
Q. Have you examined the signatures?
A. No. There were various committees. I was a committee for a portion of the
rally and went around to their residences to see what arms they had and if they
were prepared in case of trouble.
Q. In case of any trouble, did you tell them that you were going to dethrone the
Queen and ask if they would be ready in case of resistance? Did you say that
when you got signatures?
A. When I went around I did’nt get signatures. I got it verbally from them to
find out if they had arms and were ready to support the committee of safety.
Q. Did you mention to them the purpose to dethrone the Queen?
A. That was understood.
Q. Did you communicate to them in reference to arms?
A. The fact of the case is I did not know exactly what we were going to do.
Q. So that when you went around, you simply wanted to know if they had arms,
in the event of trouble?
A. Yes. -
Q. It was in that way that you judged of their sentiments in the matter of support-
in; º committee of safety in the effort to dethrone the Queen? -
. It eſſ,
Q. After the mass meeting what did the committee do?
A. The committee of safety met that afternoon shortly after the mass meeting.
Q. What did you do in that afternoon meeting?
A. We discussed the matter. We did not have a very long session in the after-
noon. In the afternoon, at first, we were all going right up then and there, but
afterwards considered it... The fact is, we hadn't our papers all ready. It was get-
ting dark. We thought it was better to have daylight on our side. We decided to
meet again on Monday evening and get everything in shape. It was after the mass
meeting that we fully decided to take the step.
Q. What hour of Monday did you determine to take the stepf
A. It was immediately after the mass meeting. e e
Q. Did anybody communicate the determination to the American minister?
A. I cannot say. He must have seen by the way the people were excited that day,
and the incendiary talk among certain of the other side in regard to their setting
fire to buildings.
Q. How many times did you hear it?
A. A great many times.
Q. How many f
A. People would keep coming into the office and meet me and say: “We are going
to have trouble.”
Q. Did you hear any persons say they proposed to fire the town?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many; I mean the people opposed to you?
A. No; I did’nt hear the people actually say it. It was rumors from outside. It
was not direct from them of they would have been locked up.
. You do not know anything at all of anybody .# talked to Mr. Stevens
about the situation on Monday in regard to the movement that you were all making
i
41
or contemplated making. Was there anybody who said in the meeting that Mr.
Stevens knew anything of what was gºing on 7 º,
A. I guess he must have kept posted.
Q. I want to know whether there was anything said by Thurston or anybody else
of Mr. Stevens's knowledge of the movement 7
A. I can not say positively.
Q. What is your impression?
A. My impression is that there was... I can not remember what it was that was said.
Q. ya. it to the effect that he had knowledge of the movement of the reform
arty
p A. I do not remember. It just comes upon me as a flash.
Q. What is the impression you say you have?
A. I do not see how he could have helped it.
Q. I will ask you again. In the meeting of the committee of safety in the after-
noon of Monday, after the mass meeting had adjourned, was there anything said on
the part of Mr. Thurston, or any other member of the committee of safety, indicating
that the American minister knew anything of the movement of the reform party?
A. Yes; 1 should say that there was.
Q. By whom?
A. Either Carter or Thurston.
Q. What did they say? -
A. I can not state. There was something said. It does not come to my mind now.
Q. Was the purport of it that he knew of the movement
A. Yes, it was; that is, after the meeting.
Q. How did they know that he knew of the movement?
A. I suppose they had had an interview with him. I can not say for certain.
Q. Did they say as much?
A. That is what I understood at the time.
Well, now, in that meeting was the subject discussed of asking him to land
the American troops?
A. I think that was done by the committee of safety before.
Q. Were you present when they asked for the troops to be landed?
W818.
Q. The troops were ordered here on Monday and this mass meeting was on Tuesday?
A. No; the mass meeting was on Monday; the troops came on shore Monday evening
just about dark. I might say that it was a surprise to us to hear that the troops
were coming on shore.
Q. You expected them to come ashorelater?
A. No; I didn't know when they were coming ashore.
Q. But you expected them to come ashore
A. Yes; I expected they would come.
Q. By reason of any communication with the American minister?
A. No; I think it was by request of the committee of safety.
Q. I have a copy of the communication from the committee of safety of January
16, 1893—Monday.
A. Yes; Monday afternoon.
Q. What time Monday afternoon?
A. After the mass meeting.
Q. How long after?
A. I think about 5.
Q. It was after the adjournment of the mass meeting you say the request to land
troops was made? - #
A. I think it was about 4 o'clock.
Q. What time did the mass meeting adjourn?
A. A little after 3.
Q. And then the committee of safety met?
A. We met immediately; walked down from the meeting to Smith's office.
Q. * then you took up the subject of calling on the American minister to land
troops
ºs.
Q. Who took that communication to him?
A. I think it was Charlie Carter. I can not be positive.
Q. Is he one of the present commissioners?
A. Yes.
Q. How long was he gone?
A. Not long.
. Q. What did he say when he came back?
A. He said the marines would be landed.
Q. Did he say whether they would support the Provisional Government movement
if they took the public buildings?
He came back and said the troops were coming ashore. That was as far as I
could remember now. e
Q. He brought no response in writing?
A. I do not think so.
Q. Did the committee of safety want the troops brought on shore?
A. They felt that it would be for the welfare of the town to have them ashore.
We felt as a committee of safety that we had this matter in our hands and would be
held responsible. -
Q. Di §: expect that the presence of the troops on shore would have a quieting
effect on the natives and prevent any demonstration”
A. It was thought so.
Q. That was your idea?
A. Yes. *
Q. You expected that when they got on shore that any hostile movement would be
bººt to a standstill by their presence?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Suppose they had not come on shore, would you have been able to have pro-
tected yourselves?
A. I think so; but I think there would have been a great deal of bloodshed.
6
42
Q. Did not you always expect that American troops would be landed in case of
conflict or threatened conflict? *
A. Yes.
Q. And therefore you did not much expect a conflict after they landed?
A. No; I thought that naturally Wilson would try to do something. I expected
there would be bloodshed before we got through.
. Unless American troops were landed ?
A. Yes, sir. Of course I didn’t know whether they would attempt it then.
Q. You had a meeting you say on Monday night at your house. Who was present?
A. There were the committee of safety.
Q. Who were they?
A. Cooper was there. I think Wilder was not there. There was Brown, Smith,
and º I do not think Suhr was there." Dole was there. "we sent for pole.
Carter and Loper were there.
. Q. What was the object in sending for Mr. Dole?
A. To ask him if he would accept the position he now holds.
Q. What did he say?
A. He debated in his mind... He wanted to think over it until morning.
Q. What was Loper doing there?
A. Loper was invited there. He was to take charge of the forces.
Q. Was that agreed upon that night?
A. That was agreed npon.
Q. P: ou and Mr. Loper and Mr. Carter go to the American minister that night?
A. idn’t.
Q. Did anybody go from your meeting?
A. Nobody that I know of. If anyone went I know nothing about it.
Q. Was there any hesitution on the part of Loper to take command that night?
A. Yes; he did hesitate.
Q. What reason did he give?
A. That he would rather be with the marshal.
Q. Was there anything said as to the probability of a conflict the next day?
A. We talked over the matter with Loper; discussed what could be done. He
started out to get the men together.
Q. After he left the committee of safety?
A. Yes.
Q. Where were they to be placed?
A. They were to meet at the old armory here, and from there go right down to
the Government house.
. Didn't you think the impression that these marines would have on the natives
would be that they would not be in sympathy with them, and that they would be in
sympathy with the white people?
A. That is what I think.
Q. You were amongst the committee of safety that went up to take charge of the
Government house?
A. Yes.
Q. How many of you were there?
A. I think there was fourteen, but we did not all go up.
Q. Where did you start from ?
A. We started from W. O. Smith's office, on Fort street.
Q. Which street did you go up going to the Government building?
A. ye went up Queen street and up to the Government house—Mr. Wilder and
yself.
Q. What street did the others go on?
A. They went on Merchant street.
Q. When you got to the Government building who was the first person you saw?
A. Hassinger.
Q. Is he a porter?
A. He is first clerk of the interior department.
Q. When you got there was the proclamation read immediately?
A. The proclamation was read by Mr. Cooper.
Q. Were there any troops there during the reading of the proclamation?
A. I could see one or two coming in.
Q. By the time it was concluded how many men did you have?
A. It would be impossible for me to say how many. I was so excited at the time.
Q. 1)o you remember the bringing of a paper to the Provisional Government, dated
January 17, 1893, signed by Liliuokalani and her several ministers, and printed in
this ºnent (Senate Ex. Doc. No. 56, Fifty-second Congress, second session)?
A. O.
Q. You were then in possession of the Government building?
A. We were.
Q. Any other buildings at that time?
A. Only the Government building at that time.
Q. How long after that before you got Mr. Stevens's letter of recognition?
A. It was shortly after the station house was given over.
Q. Are you not mistaken about that?
A. No; I believe I am not. I do not think I am.
Q. What about the barracks; had they been given up?
A. They had.
Q. Who were at the barracks?
A. Nowlein.
Q. Where was Wilson? -
A. He was at the station house. ë
Q. And he gave that up before you had notice of the recognition?
A. According to my best knowledge and belief. - .
Q. Was there any communication, by writing or by word, from any member of the
committee of safety, or any other person by their authority, to Mr. Stevens that you
planned taking the Government building? - - -
A. Not as far as I know. It is from hearsay.
Q..Who did you hear say it?
*
43
A. It would be impossible for me to answer that.
Q. Was it nnderstood in the committee of safety on Monday night, by anybody,
that he knew you intended to take the Government building
A. Not unless somebody left the meeting afterwards and told him.
Q. Was there anything said by any person at the meeting at your house the night
before the building was taken indicating that Mr. Stevens knew of the move to
take the Governument building the next day? t
A. I do not remember.
Q. What was your impression—did you think that he knew of your movement?
A. I did; I was in hopes that he did.
Q. Why did you think he knew of your movement?
A. It was common talk.
Q. Common talk Monday, as well as Tuesday?
A. Yes.
Q. It was common talk before the troops were landed on Monday?
A. It was common talk that we were going to make a move—that the committee
of safety were urged upon to make a move.
3. º: you all understand that Mr. Stevens's sympathies were with you?
• I &S,
Q. How did you get the idea that his sympathies were with you?
A. From remarks made by different persons in regard to certain matters that had
come up; and we felt that we had been wronged.
Q. What matters do you refer to ?
A. All during the last few days and also during the session of the Legislature.
Q. He would manifest his approval and disapproval of acts of the Queen and her
adherents in matters of legislation? - p
A. Whenever it was against the interests of the American people. Of course, a
few days before that, up to Saturday, he was not here. We had a great deal of taſk.
ing during that time. . He lost all that.
3. He participated freely in political discussions without exciting comment?
A. I do not know that he discussed it. People would naturally come and talk to
him and open their hearts to him.
$. And in that way they got to feel that he was in sympathy with them?
©8.
Q. Was there ever any suggestion on his part to the committee of safety to desist
from their movement º the Queen?
A. I have never heard of any.
Q. Was there any expectation when the troops landed that they were to enforce
the authority of the ğ. in bringing order in the city on the part of the com-
mittee of sa ..
A. I did not hear any rumor that led me to think that. The way I understood it
was that they were here to preserve order. -
Q. Now, in the matter of preserving order, if the Queen's forces and the Provi-
sional Goverument forces got to fighting, would that mean that he was to interfere
and stop the fighting?
A. I thought he was only to protect American interests here.
Q. How would he go about it?
A. I suppose that inost of the Americans would naturally go for protection on
** ground, and I suppose that would be up at his place or around the con-
sulate.
Q. You expected he would protect them in those places?
A. Yes; I inight say, after the meeting on Monday, there was a falling off in the
ranks of the Queen's party and they felt that the stronger elements were against
them. The mass meeting brought things to an issue.
Q. You anticipated that the American troops expected to protect at the consulate
and American legation American citizens who resorted there for protection?
A. That is what I expected they would do, but I did not know how far they would
have gone in case there was bloodshed.
id you expect them to confine theimselves to operations around the legation
and consulate?
No; I would have expected if the Queen's people overpowered us that they
would, of course, have to protect her. If we came out on the top and asked for pro-
tection we would get the protection, and we felt we would be strong enough.
Q. You ºf him to land his troops and protect American people at the lega-
tion and consulate until you whipped the Queen or the Queen whipped you? *
A. I do not know that.
Q. Did you expect him to do more than protect American citizens who resorted to
the consulate or legation for protection?
A. That in case there was any bloodshed that they would, if called upon, protect
the party in º: and I expected we were going to be in power forthwith.
Q. How did you expect to get into power without a little bloodshed?
A. We knew the feeling of those who were in power then—that they were cow-
ards; that by going up with a bold front, and they supposing that the American
troops would assist us, that would help us out.
Q. Assist whom?
A. The committee of safety.
Q. That was the general calculation?
• (68.
Q. In the conference? w
A. Yes. They felt that their being there would be a great help to them. Even
their presence ashore would have done that.
Q. When did you first determine to take the building?
A. Monday.
Q. º: you talk over it at Monday afternoon session?
º ©S.
Q. And did you then determine to do it?
A. That afternoon. We were on the #: of going up that afternoon, but thin
were not ready and it would take until dark and we thought we had better wait
until the next day.
44
Q. Was that the purpose you had, to get the influence of the troops for the purpot
of preventing resistance on the part of the Queen's Government?
A. That was not in my mind at all.
Q. What did you want troops for? What was in your mind?
A. In my mind it was going to stop bloodshed. The very presence of them here.
Q. You expected, then, if you got them on shore that you could go on with the plan
of taking possession of the Government building and other properties withont blood-
shed? That was your idea?
A. That was my idea.
Q. Was that the impresssion of the committee of safety f
A. I think that they felt just the same as I did in regard to it.
(Before leaving Mr. Waterhouse was shown the letter of January 16, from the
committee of safety to Mr. Stevens, and identified it.) The letter is as follows:
HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, HoNolulu, January 16, 1893.
His Excellency John L. STEvens,
erican Minister Resident:
SIR: We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully repre-
sent that, in view of recent public events in this Kingdom, culminating in #. TOVO-
lutionary acts of Queen Liliuokalani on Saturday last, the public safety is menaced
and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and the United States
forces at your command for assistance.
The Queen, with the aid of armed force, and accompanied by threats of violence
and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new
constitution; and while prevented for the time from accomplishing befobject declared
publicly that she would only defer her action.
This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circumstances which
have created general alarm and terror.
We are unable to protect ourselves without aid and, therefore, pray for the pro-
tection of the tºfStates forces. -
HENRY E. Cooper,
F. W. McCHESNEY,
W. C. WILDER,
C. Bolte,
A. BROWN,
WILLIAM. O. SMITH,
HRNRY WATERhouse,
THEO. F. LANsing,
ED. SUHR,
L. A. THURStoN,
John EMMELUTH,
WM. R. CASTLE,
J. A. McCANDLEss,
Citizens’ Committee of Safety.
I have read the foregoing carefully, and pronounce it a correct report of my inter-
view with Mr. Blount.
HENRY WATERHOUSE.
[Inclosure 5 in No. 4.]
Mr. Carter to Mr. Blown f.
HoNolulu, HAwaiiAN Islands, May 3, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. Blount,
Commissioner of the United States of America :
SIR: At your request the following statement is made of incidents of the 17th day
of January last, as they came under my observation:
After dining that day (dinner hour being 5:30 o'clock, say between 6:30 and 6:40
o'clock) Officer Mehrten, of the police force, drove up to my residence in a hack, and
said to me that my presence was required at the Government building, and that he
would give me a seat in his carriage if I was ready. I was at once driven to the
building and taken to the room of the minister of finance, where I met quite a con-
course of men, among which I now recall gº S. B. Dole, Charles L. Carter, Capt.
James King, Rev. S. G. Beckwith, Hon. S. M. Damon, and some twenty or thirty
other leading members of our community.
ere was a deal of excitement and earnest discussion going on among groups of
ersons, and while standing among them I overheard among other things that Min-
ter Stevens had recognized the new government and that a steamer was to be
made ready at once to carry to San Francisco, en route to Washington, commissioners
of the new government. I asked what was required of me, and was told that a
committee was to be sent to the palace to inform Her Majesty the Queen that she
was deposed, and to assist her in making any protest she desired to make, and that
I was to be of the committee. I joined the party headed by Mr. Damon, and pro-
ceeded to the palace, where, in the blue room, was Her Majesty, one or both of the
oung gº the Hon. H. A. Widerman, and Paul Neumann, Her Majesty's min-
ters, E. C. Macfarlane, and others. Mr. Damon informed Her Majesty of the
‘establishment of a provisional government, and of her being deposed, and that she
might prepare a protest if she wished to. An awkward pause followed, which I
broke by addressing Her Majesty, expressing sympathy, and advised her that any
demonstration on the part of her forces would precipitate a conflict with the forces
of the United States; that it was desirable that such a conflict be avoided; that her
ease would be considered at Washington, and a peaceful submission to force on her
#. would greatly help her case; that the persons in command of her forces at the
arracks and police station should be ordered to surrender. The Hon. H. A. Wider-
45
man then addressed Her Majesty, fully indorsing my advice, and adding that he
believed that the result would be a repetition of the scenes of 1843, when the sovereign
and flag were restored to Hawaii by Great Britain.
I was moved to advise Her Majesty as I did because it was reported on the street
that Minister Stevens had said if the revolutionists obtained possession of a govern-
ment building that he would recognize them as a government. I saw that the build-
ing was in possession of armed men, and knew that the forces of the U. S. S. Boston
were near at hand, and heard that recognition was a fact.
The Hon. Paul Neumann was requested to prepare the protest for Her Majesty's
signature, and I was also requested to assist in preparing the document. While
the protest was in course of preparation word was sent to Marshal Wilson to disband
the force at the station house and surrender the building, arms, and ammunition.
After the protest had been signed by Her Majesty and the ministers word was
brought that Marshal Wilson refused to give up the station house except upon the
written command of Her Majesty. The order was prepared, signed by the Queen,
and sent to the marshal. The protest of the Queen was placed in the hands of Presi-
dent Dole, and I saw that he indorsed the document as received in due form.
Very respectfully, yours,
J. O. CARTER.
[Inclosure 6 in No. 4.)
Mr. Swinburne to Mr. Blount.
HONOLULU, HAwaiiAN IslaxDs, May 3, 1893.
Hon. J. H. Blount,
Special Commissioner of United States:
SIR: In response to your verbal request for a written communication from me re-
garding certain facts connected with the recognition of the Provisional Government
of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States minister to that country on the after-
noon of January 17, 1893, I have to state as follows:
On the afternoon in question I was present at an interview between Capt. Wiltse,
commanding the Boston, who was at that time present in his official capacity with
the battalion then landed in Honolulu, and Mr. Dole and other gentlemen represent-
ing the present Provisional Government, in the executive chamber of the Government
building. During the interview we were informed that the party represented b
the men there present was in complete possession of the Government building, the
i. and the treasury, and that a Provisional Government had been established
y them. *
In answer Capt. Wiltse asked if their Government had possession of the police station
and barracks. To this the reply was made that they had not possession then, but
© ted to hear of it in a few minutes, or very soon. To this Capt. Wiltse replied,
“Very well, gentlemen, I can not recognize you as a de facto Government until you
have possession of the police station and are prepared to guarantee protection to
life and property,” or words to that effect. Here our interview was interrupted by
other visitors, and we withdrew and returned to the camp at Arion Hall. As far as
I can recollect, this must have been about 5 o'clock p. m. About half-past 6 Capt.
Wiltse left the camp, and as he did so he informed me that the United States
minister to the Hawaiian Islands had recognized the Provisional Government estab-
lished by the party in charge of the Government building as the de facto Govern-
ment of the Hawaiian Islands. About half-past 7 p. m. I was informed by telephone
by Lieut. Draper, who was then in charge of a squad of marines at the United
States consulate, that the citizen troops had taken possession of the police station,
and that everything was quiet.
Very respectfully,
WM. Swinburne,
Lieutenant-Commander, U. S. Navy.

[Inclosure 7 in No. 4.)
Affidavit of Mr. Hopkins.
HONOLULU OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, as: * -
º now comes Charles L. Hopkins, of Honolulu, aforesaid, and upon oath deposes
and says:
That on the 17th day of January, A.D. 1893, he arrived at the police station in
Honolulu aforesaid about 2:30 p.m. o'clock and saw Mr. Antone Rosa writing a let-
ter addressed to John L. Stevens, United States minister, and said letter was after-
wards signed by Her Majesty's ministers and handed to your affiant to be delivered
to the said American minister with instructions to wait for an answer. Your affiant
left said police station at about 2:40 p.m. of said ". in a carriage, arriving at the
legation about 2:45 p.m. He saw on the verandah Miss Stevens, to whom the letter
of Her Majesty's ministers was handed. She asked if an answer was required; your
affiant said “Yes.”
Miss Stevens then went into the house and about ten minutes afterwards returned
saying, “My father is too unwell to write an answer now, but if you will go and
return in about an hour's time he will have the answer ready.” Your affiant replied
that his instructions were to wait for an answer, npon which she went in the honse
again and then came out and said, “My father will try and answer the letter.” She
disappeared again, and in about ten minutes came out and handed me a letter ad-
dressed to Samuel Parker, minister of foreign affairs. Your affiant then left the lega-
tion, arriving at the police station about 3:10 p.m., and handed Mr. Stevens's letter
46
to Mr. Samuel Parker, who went into the deputy marshal's office with it. Later il
the afternoon your affiant read the letter of Minister Stevens in which he stated tha
he recognized the Provisional Government as the de facto Government of the Hawaiian
Islands.
CHARLEs L. HoPKINS.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 3d day of May, A. D. 1893.
[SEAL.] F. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial District.
[Inclosure 8 in No. 4.]
Affidavit of Peterson and Colburn.
HoNolulu OAHU, as:
We, John F. Colburn and A. P. Peterson, being duly sworn, on oath depose and say
that on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 17, 1893, we held portfolios in the
cabinet of Queen Liliuokalani and were at the station house in Honolulu; that at
2:30 o'clock the Queen's cabinet addressed a letter to his excelleny J. L. Stevens,
asking if the report then current that he had recognized the Provisional Govern-
ment was true. This letter was sent to Mr. Stevens through Hon. C. L. Hopkins.
Shortly after 3 o'clock Mr. Hopkins returned with an answer from Mr. Stevens to
the Queen's cabinet, stating that he, Mr. Stevens, had recognized the Provisional
Government as the de facto Government of the Hawaiian Islands. Shortly after,
Mr. S. M. Damon and Mr. C. Bolte, members of the advisory council, came to the
station honse to consult with the Queen's cabinet as to the situation. Mr. Damon
stated that Mr. Stevens had recognized the Provisional Government and that the
United States forces would assist them and that it was useless for us to resist, but
asked us in the interest of peace and to save bloodshed not to do so. Mr. Damon
handed us a º of the proclamation of the committee of safety, which was read
aloud by A. P. Peterson.
ś after 4 o'clock, nothing definite having been arrived at, the Queen's
cabinet, at the request of the Provisional Government, went with Mr. Damon and
Mr. Bolte to the Government building to consult with the executive council. We
were in the Government building fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time Mr.
S. B. Dole, President of the Provisional Government, said that he esired us to give
up the station , house, and other Government property, under our control, in
the interests of law and order. We answered that it would be necessary for us to
consult first with Queen Liliuokalani... We then left the Government building and
together with Mr. S. M. Damon went direct to the palace. At the palace, after some
consultation the Queen's cabinet came to the conclusion that it was not advisable
to oppose the United States forces, Mr. Stevens having already recognized the Pro-
visional Government, and so advised the Queen to surrender to the superior force
of the United States, because of the course of Mr. Stevens, American minister, and
of such recognition. At this time, 5:30 o'clock, the Queen's Government had Pos-
session of the station house, barracks, and palace, nine-tenths of the arms and
ammunition on the island except that in the possession of foreign governments, and
a large body of men under arms. The Queen accepted the advice and her protest
was immediately drawn up and signed, and she instructed her cabinet to attend to
all necessary matters, which was then done.
The reply of Mr. Stevens, stating that he had recognized the Provisional Govern-
ment, was placed in the hands of Hon. Paul Neumann, who carried it with his other
documents on his mission to Washington, and although we have made every effort
to procure the same have been unable to do so and do not know its whereabouts at
the present time.
JOHN F. Colburn.
A. P. PETERSON.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 3d day of May, 1893.
[SEAL.] J. H. THOMPSON
Notary Public, Island of dahs.
[Inclosure 9 in No. 4.]
Interview between Hawaiian Patriotic League and Mr. Blount.
MAY 2, 1893.
[Committee of delegates of all the branch associations of the Hawaiian, Patriotic League: John
Richardson, chairman; J. A. Akins, Ben. Naukana, J. K. Kaihiopulani, S. H. K. Ne.
Q. Mr. Richardson, are you chairman of this delegation?
• ( 88,
Q. How are delegates from these Islands selected?
A. They are selected by meetings in different districts held by people who have
become members of local clubs.
Q. Organized for what purpose?
A. Organized for the purpose of beseeching the maintenance of their independence,
and also the perpetuation of a monarchical form of government and against annex-
ation. - w -
Q. How many persons are in these several clubs.
A. The number varies in each club, but the approximate total of the various clubs
represented here is to the tune of about 7,000 voters.
Q. How do you get at that number?
A. We have had rolls from the different clubs, and as the Central Club wishes to
get time to have the names recorded in the register of the Central Club in Honolulu
r
47
we have been unable to bring with us the original document holding the list of the
Lºlºlò8.
. How do you get the figures 7,000?
By taking the total from each club.
. Have you had the totals from each club?
Yes. .
. And putting them together makes an aggregate of 7,000?
Yes.
. Are they all voters?
They are all voters.
Mr. BLOUNT. I will accept it as I have all memorials as a matter of information.
I can not enter into a discussion of it with you. I am glad to meet you, gentlemen.
i
[Inclosure 10 in No. 4.]
Affidavit of Mr. Wilson.
HoNolulu, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, ss:
º now comes Charles B. Wilson, of Honolulu aforesaid, and upon oath deposes
and says:
That on the 17th day of January, A.D. 1893, between 3:30 and 4 p.m., of that day
while he was in charge of the police station as marshal of the Kingdom, he saw an
read a letter from the American Minister Steveus addressed to Her Majesty's minis-
ters, wherein Minister Stevens stated that he had recognized the Provisional Gov-
ernment as the de facto Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
CHAs. B. WILSON.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 4th day of May, A. D. 1893.
[SEAL.] F. J.TEsta,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
No. 8.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 5.] HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs,
May 6, 1893.
SIR: Since my last dispatch I examined Mr. Bolte, a member of the
advisory council. He and Mr. Waterhouse, whose evidence Iforwarded
to you, stated positively that the station house and barracks were
delivered up before Mr. Stevens recognized the Provisional Government.
The manner of their testimony caused me to suspect their truthfulness.
I had learned from members of the cabinet of the ex-Queen of corre-
spondence with Mr. Stevens which contradicted these assertions. Some
weeks ago I had called upon him for the legation records, and was fur-
nished with a book containing correspondence with the State Depart-
ment. This threw no light on the question of fact I was seeking to settle.
On the 5th instant I went to the legation, feeling that such papers
must be there in some form.
In the conversation he spoke of a paper from the Queen which was
in his files; said that these files were put in a volume when there were
enough to make up one. I said I would like to have the volume for
January. He said it had not been made up. I then asked him if he
had a paper which the ministry had addressed to him inquiring if he
had recognized the Provisional Government. He went out to look for
it and returned with a book entitled “Correspondence with Hawaiian
Government.” In this he showed me a memorandum he had made of
a reply to a communication from the ministers, a copy of which I send
(Inclosure No. 1).
Believing that he must have the communication itself, this morning
I sent my secretary, Mr. Mills, to ask for it. He returned with the
paper saying that before giving it to him Mr. Stevens seemed to be at
a loss as to whether he had such a paper. This same difficulty occurred
when I called upon him for the communication from the committee of
safety asking for the landing of the troops of the Boston.
I inclose herewith a copy of the letter in question (Inclosure No. 2).
You will see that in the memorandum referred to he says the letter
was received about 4 or 5 p.m. on January 17 and that he informed
them that he had already recognized the Provisional Government.
In the conversation I had with him when he turned over the record
of the correspondence with the Hawaiian Government he said he had
48.
recognized the Provisional Government before the barracks and station
house had been surrendered; that he did not consider their surrender
of any importance.
In my last dispatch Lieut. Swinburne fixes the surrender of the sta-
tion house at about half-past 7 o'clock. This morning he called and
informed me that Lieut. Draper had said to him yesterday that the
station house was not surrendered until after dark. I sent for Lieut.
Draper and obtained from him a statement, which I inclose (Inclosure
No. 3).
I consider that it is now established beyond controversy that Mr.
Stevens recognized the Provisional Government before the barracks
and station house had been surrendered or agreed to be surrendered.
Before the committee of thirteen went up to proclaim the Provi-
sional Government they sent a gentleman to see if there were any
troops in the Government building. On learning the fact that there
were none, the committee quietly went up in two or more squads and,
uniting at the Government building, read their proclamation.
Without making any demand for the surrender of the palace, in
which were the Queen and her friends, with some 50 soldiers; the bar-
racks, a little beyond the palace, with about 80 men, well equipped
with small arms and artillery, and with the station house, some 600
yards off, occupied by some 200 men, well armed and equipped,
they asked and obtained from the American minister recognition as a ,
Government de facto. On this basis the minds of the cabinet and
Queen were operated upon to give up the barracks and station house
and to have her surrender to the Provisional Government. In this
way the revolution reached its solution.
I invite your attention to a letter, dated on the 16th of January, 1893,
from Mr. Stevens to Mr. W. M. Giffard, as follows:
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Bonolulu, January 16, 1893.
Mr. W. M. GIFFARD:
SIR: Please allow Capt. Wiltse and his men the use of the opera house hall for
a fair compensation for the same.
Yours, truly,
JOHN L. STEVENS.
This letter was obtained from Mr. Giffard, who had charge of the
building as agent for Spreckels & Co. He declined to let Mr. Stevens
have it, because, he said, if any damage occurred while the American
troops occupied it it would affect the insurance, as the building was
liable to be damaged; that in the fnsurrection of 1889, when Wilcox
and his followers had obtained possession of the palace, the Govern-
ment forces had used the upper portion of this building to fire on the
insurrectionists and that more than $1,000 worth of damage was then
done to it by the cannon used by Wilcox and his followers.
This building, Lieut. Swinburne informs me, was agreed upon on
board the Boston before the troops were landed as the best place for
the location of the Boston's men. He suggested on shipboard that the
troops be quartered near the wharf, so as to be near to their base of
supply, the same having been so done when Admiral Skerrett landed
troops in 1874. Capt. Wiltse and Mr. Stevens thought it was better
that they should be located in the opera house. Failing to get this
building, Arion hall, which is on a line with it and adjoins it, and
is across the street from the Government building, was obtained
for the location of the troops. The men were placed in the rear of
Arion hall, but in . full view of the palace. A street intervened
between the Government building and the palace. It was about 350
yards from one of these buildings to the other.
The American troops were on the same side of the latter street with
the Provisional Government troops, which did not probably number
100 men. ... You will see from the map prepared by Mr. Loevenstein,
which I have previously forwarded to you, the location of Arion
hall, the Government building, the palace, the barracks, the station
house, and the armory. If the Queen's troops should have attacked
the Provisional Government troops our men were in danger of being
injured, which might have brought them into collision with the Queen's
troops. The same is true if the Provisional Government troops had
advanced on the palace. If the American troops were landed to pro-
tect Almerican property and the persons of American citizens, their
location at this place, unfortunately, signified a different purpose.
49
The Queen, her cabinet, and her followers undoubtedly believed,
from the location of the American troops and the quick recognition of
the Provisional Government by Mr. Stevens, that the United States
. would aid the Provisional Government forces in the event of a
conflict.
The request of the committee of safety, on which the landing of the
troops was made, did not ask for the protection of the property and
persons of American citizens. This paper you have already in your
possession. It was signed by Germans, Americans, and natives. Mr.
W. O. Smith and Mr. L. A. Thurston, the leading men signing this
paper, are natives of these islands, and seemed to be concerned to have
the troops protect themselves and all others in the islands from the
operation of the Queen's forces.
In one of the local papers, yesterday morning, there appeared an
alleged interview with Mr. Loud, a member of Čongress from Cali-
fornia, in which he is reported as criticising the authorities for not hav-
ing arrested and sent Liliuokalani out of the island. In view of your
telegraphic instruction of the 25th ultimo (which was received by me
on the 4th instant) and the possibility that Mr. Loud's alleged advice
might be pursued and that hostile collision between the friends of the
Queen and the Provisional Government might grow out of it, I had an
interview this morning with the attorney-general, Mr. W. O. Smith,
in which I invited his attention to the reported interview with Mr.
Loud. I asked him if he felt free to say to me whether or not the
arrest of the Queen was contemplated; that I desired the information
because such action on the part of the Provisional Government might
produce a condition of affairs which required action on my part. He
said that this action was not contemplated by the Provisional Govern-
ment, but that they were prepared, in the event of hostilities, to take
care of certain prominent persons amongst the Royalists. Iasked bim
if those included the Queen. He answered, “confidentially, Yes.”
The feeling of the annexationists is very intense, and doubtless the
Provisional Government is very much pressed to take action against
the person of the Queen by confinement or deportation. Should this
occur I believe that it will produce a bloody conflict.
It is my purpose soon to announce to American citizens that if they
participate in any conflict in behalf of either party I shall direct that
the American troops shall not be used for their protection. This, Ithink,
to be in line with your views. I believe that it will tend to prevent
extreme action on the part of the Provisional Government.
I have not and shall not intimate any desire to the Provisional Gov-
ernment as to what they should do with the Queen or with any other
person connected with the royal cause.
I do not see any occasion for my remaining longer here for the pur-
pose of making further inquiry as to the condition of affairs in the
islands. I believe, however, that my departure prior to your sending
out a successor to Mr. Stevens would result in serious trouble. The
attorney-general said to me this morning there would be no trouble
while I remained here, but he had some apprehensions if I should
leave.
The native population seem to have great respect for me, growing
out of the idea that I represent the President of the United States in
an effort to get at the causes of the revolution and a hope that out of
that investigation they will regain the political power they have lost.
I have been careful every moment to avoid making an impression on
either party that I was here to interfere in their domestic affairs or for
any purpose other than that of inquiry, or to indicate what disposition
you or the President might make of any information I should report.
Do not infer from these observations that I have any desire to remain
here any longer. -
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
P. S.—Since closing the foregoing dispatch the affidavits marked 4,
5, 6, 7, and 8 have been handed to me.
(Filed with other affidavits.)”
* Published with affidavits.
50
[Inclosure 1 in No. 5.]
Extract from records of the United States legation.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH HAWAIIAN GOVERNMENT.
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
About 4 to 5 p.m. of this date—am not certain of the precise time—the note on file
from the four ministers of the deposed Queen, inquiring if I had recognized the
Provisional Government came to my hands, while I was lying sick on 3. couch.
Not far from 5 p.m.—I did not think to look at the watch—I addressed a short note
to Hon. Samuel Parker, Hon. Wm. H. Cornwell, Hon. John F. Colburn, and Hon. A. P.
Peterson—no longer *...; them ministers—informing them that I had recog-
nized the Provisional Government.
John L. STEvens,
United States Minister.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 5.]
Queen’s ministers to Mr. Stevens.
DEPARTMENT OF Foreign AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. Stevens, -
nvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary:
SIR: Her Hawaiian Majesty's Government having been informed that certain per-
sons to them unknown have issued proclamation declaring a Provisional Govern-
ment to exist in opposition to Her Majesty's Government, and having pretended to
depose the Queen, her cabinet and marshal, and that certain treasonable persons at
present occupy the Government building in Honolulu with an armed force, and pre-
tending that your excellency, in behalf of the United States of America, has recog-
nized such Provisional Government, Her Majesty's cabinet asks respectfully: Has
your excellency recognized said Provisional Government? and if not, Her Majesty's
Government, under the above existing circumstances, respectfully requests the as-
sistance of your Government in preserving the peace of the country.
We have the honor to be your excellency’s obedient servants,
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister % Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
John F. Colburn,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERSON,
Attorney-General.
[Inclosure 3 in No. 5.]
Statement of Lieut. Draper.
May 5, 1893. Herbert L. Draper, Lieutenant Marine Corps, attached to Boston:
I was at the United States consulate-general at the time the Provisional Govern-
ment troops went to the station house and it was turned over to them by Marshal
Wilson. It was about half past 7 o'clock. The station house is near the consulate-
general on the same street. As soon as it happened I telephoned it to the ship. I
lº." my commanding officer to know, as I regarded it as an especially important
Ilºſe
I #s. the commanding officer at the consulate-general. There was no other
United States officer there at the time excepting myself.
The above is a correct statement.
HERBERT L. DRAPER,
First Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps.
No. 9.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 6.] HoNoLULU, H.I., May 9, 1893.
SIR: There has appeared in annexation papers on several occasions
innuendoes of an offensive character relating to myself. It has been
my custom to give no attention to them, because of the greatness of
our own Government and the weakness of the Provisional Government
of the Hawaiian Islands.
On my arrival here—the opinion obtaining through the newspapers,
especially of American origin, that I was to investigate, amongst other
things, the disposition of the people of the Islands towards annexation—
51
a campaign in the form of signatures to petitions for and against annex-
ation commenced, and has been continuing until this hour.
Manifestation of the native element soon became very pronounced
against annexation, whereupon the papers of the annexationists began
to charge the ex-Queen with treason and to insist upon her arrest and
trial for treason or her deportation. With this I had nothing to do.
. This state of opinion of a majority of the people against annexation
has become so well defined as to renew the cry for her arresti nmore
ardent temper.
Yesterday afternoon the Hawaiian Star, the organ of the annexa-
tion club, contained an article, a copy of which is inclosed herewith.
(Inclosure No. 1.)
I felt aggrieved at the dishonorable implication as to my own con-
duct with the Queen contained therein. I immediately addressed a
letter to President Dole, a copy of which is inclosed. (Inclosure No. 2.)
Four hours afterward I received a reply from Mr. Dole, a copy of
which I send. (Inclosure No. 3.)
The language used is not only objectionable in its offensive reference
to myself, but was designed to intimidate antiannexationists in com-
municating their views to me, and so prevent any successful acquisition
of the true state of the public mind in these Islands in its relation to
the Provisional Government. e
This latter criticism I did not communicate to the Provisional Gov.
ernment, regarding it as inconsistent with my instructions not to inter-
fere in domestic controversies here.
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 6.]
Extract from the Hawaiian Star, Monday, May 8, 1893.
WHAT OF THE QUEEN ?
. . The ex-Queen professed to have yielded her throne to the “superior force of the
United States,” and has kept up that pretense since. Her present attitude is one of
waiting. Before doing anything further she desires to know whether or not the
United States means to take the islands. From such an attitude it follows that if
President Cleveland and Congress should decide to keep their hands off Hawaii, then
Liliuokalani will deem herself absolved from her obligation to stay quiet. It must
be noted that she has never yet surrendered directly to the Government, or even
entered into an armistice with it. She calls herself Queen, and rarely signs her Tººlſ lº
to a letter without the royal R. It is her hope, that if annexation is defeated, to be
restored, and she is now the center and nucleus of all the royal politics in the islands
which look to that end.
So long as things remain in their present shape the ex-Queen is not particularly
dangerous; but # the Hawaiian question should be left to stew in its own juice,
then she might become an unpleasant quantity to deal with. The United States
would have formally refused to accept her surrender. She would have yielded to no
one else, and would be at liberty to negotiate with, say, the Japanese for a pro-
tectorate. Certainly, her right to treat with a foreign envoy has not been denied,
as witness her unhindered interviews with Commissioner Blount. Out of such a
conjunction of affairs as this might come a vast amount of political trouble and
expense. Even if Liliuokalani did not seek foreign help-as she was quick to do at
the beginning of her troubles in a letter to Queen Victoria—her presence here would
continually breed mischief, provoke unrest, alarm capital, excite the emotions of
her old party, harass the existing Government, require a large military force to be
sustained, and cause an impression to go out that if the new ſºme should at any
time be caught napping the old order of things might be restored.
It is pretty generally admitted now that it was a mistake not to have shipped the
ex-Queen abroad when she was deprived of her throne. That was one of the errors
of a hurried time which, if it had been avoided, would have left the annexationist
cause in much better shape than it is. But what is past can not be mended. Onl
that which is to come may be kept from the need of mending. º
The Star believes it to be the duty of the Government to protect itself and the people
from the danger that Liliuokalani's presence here might breed by sending her out of the
country under the act—which may be enlarged if necessary—that deals with “unde-
sirable residents.” This course might, it is true, work a certain hardship, but com-
pared with the hardship that the ex-Queen's continuance on this soil would visit
upon property and business interests, it would hardly be worth noting. Its severit
might, of course, be modified by some provision for the expenses of travel abro
but this is a matter of detail. The main thing is to have the disturbing influence of
the royal pretender ont of the way when the time comes to tranquilize the country
and get it ready for the responsibilities of its future. No better preliminary to that
status could be had than the deportation of the woman at once." This would afford
almple time, before the American decision could be had, to get the country perfectly
in flaud and to meet anything that might happen.
52
There need be no fear that such an act would make a bad impression in the United
States or elsewhere, as it is one of the unwritten laws of popular uprisings that
when the people overthrow the throne, the occupant of it must leave the country.
So far as #. is concerned every sensible politician in America would justify
deportation under the existing circumstances. .*
1Inclosure 2 in No. 6.]
Mr. Blount to Mr. Dole.
HONOLULU, HAwaiiAN ISLANDs, May 9, 1893.
His Excellency SANFord B. Dole, -
President of the executive and advisory councils
of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
SIR: In the Hawaiian Star of May 8, an editorial headed “What of the Queen?”
to which I invite your attention, uses this language:
“Certainly her right to treat with a foreign envoy has not been denied, as witness
her unhindered interviews with Commissioner Blount.”
It has been my purpose to studiously avoid any word or act calculated to produce
on the mind of any individual an impression of a disposition on my part to inter-
fere with the political affairs of these islands. In this article I am made to hold
unhindered interviews with the ex-Queen Liliuokalani. These alleged interviews
with me are treated as treasonable on her part. This can not be true without an
implication of dishonorable conduct on my part. As such, it is insulting to the
Government of the United States. -
I have held one interview with the ex-Queen, of which you had knowledge
before and afterwards. This is the only one. I can not believe that the editorial
in so far as it relates to ºil, can be approved by the Provisional Government. f
respectfully request a reply.
With assurances of the highest consideration, I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. Blount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 3 in No. 6.]
Mr. Dole to Mr. Blount.
DEPARTMENT OF Foreign AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, May 9, 1893.
| Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of even
date calling my attention to an editorial in last evening's issue of the Hawaiian
Star touching on your interviews with the ex-Queen.
The Government sincerely regrets the publication referred to in your communica-
tion, and I hasten to assure you that it is in no way responsible for the expressions
of that or any other paper, and thoroughly disapproves of anything that may be
published that can be taken as implying any action on your part that is not entirely
consistent with your mission.
The management of the Star have promised to make the amende honorable in this
evening's issue.
With the sincere hope that nothing may arise that will in any way disturb the
cordial and amicable relations that exist between the authorities of the Provisional
Government and yourself as the honored representative of a nation that is our near-
est and greatest friend, I have the honor to be with the highest respect and con-
sideration, -
Your most, etc.,
SANFORD B. Dole,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLount,
8pecial Commissioner of the United States, Honolulu.
No. 10.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gregham.
No. 7.] HoNoLULU, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, May 24, 1893.
SIR: Recurring to the correspondence between President Dole and
myself in relation to the article in the Hawaiian Star, I inclose here-
gº a copy of an additional letter which I wrote to him. (Inclosure
O. l.
sºund, Vice-President Damon called to see me in relation to
the matter, and I said I should not ask the atténtion of the Govern.
ment hereafter to any articles of an offensive character in that paper;
that I would forward any offensive matter contained therein to the
State Department, with the statement that it was the organ of the
annexation club, and that the Government was unable to control its con-
duct. A similar statement was made by me to the Attorney-General,
53
Mr. Smith. In the conversation with me he deplored the article and
added that the editor had told the cabinet some days before that he
*::: positive proof of two long interviews between myself and the
U106°El.
Since this correspondence with President Dole this paper has
changed its tone into one of frequent compliment to myself. I pre-
sume the Annexation Club found that my reporting their offensive
articles was not likely to advance their cause, and changed what had
been the uniform course of the paper theretofore. The demeanor of
this paper was doubtless intended to impress the native population
with the idea that they could not only dominate them, but could insult
the representative of the United States with impunity. I shall prob
ably have no more trouble in this direction.
More than 8,000 names have been signed to memorials by the
Women's Hawaiian Patriotic League, asking for the restoration of
Queen Liliuokalani.
Memorials have been signed against annexation by 7,500 native
voters. The delegates of the latter organization report that the
request for the restoration of the Queen was omitted because they
feared that if inserted in their memorial they would be arrested for
treason.
The Annexation Club inform me that they have on their books
5,180 names for annexation. This is signed generally by American
citizens whether they have registered here as voters or not. Some
natives have signed this last document, who are on the police force
and occupy other government positions—doubtless in order to hold
their places. Other natives who have signed are the hired laborers
of sugar planters, having been systematically worked upon to do so,
and, feeling largely dependent upon the planters for employment, fear
discharge. -
I have put this question to several leading annexationists, whose
statements have been taken in writing and certified to by them: “If
the question of annexation were submitted to the people of these
Islands, who were qualified to vote for representatives under the Con-
stitution of 1887, under the Australian ballot system, which has been
adopted by your legislature, what would be the result?” They have
almost without exception declared that annexation would certainly be
defeated.
Threats to arrest the Queen and deport leading natives have been
repeatedly urged in the annexation organs, and have caused the native
people uneasiness and alarm. It has restrained outward manifesta
tions of interest on their part. These threats were founded on charges
that the Queen and these natives were engaged in treasonable conduct
in urging the natives to vote against annexation.
There is not an annexationist in the islands, so far as I have been
able to observe, who would be willing to submit the question of annex-
ation to a popular vote. They have men at work in all of the islands
urging the natives to sign petitions for annexation. ...They seek to im-
press them with the opinion that if annexed they will be allowed the
right to vote. Quite a number of petitions have been signed by natives
asking for annexation, provided they were allowed the right to vote.
In other instances delegations made up of white men and natives have
brought in small petitions signed by natives, and on being asked if
the natives were in favor of annexation without the right to vote
have always answered that they were not. While this is done I have
never yet found an annexationist who did not insist that stable govern-
ment could not be had without so large a restriction of the native vote
as would leave political power in the hands of the whites.
I have had ample opportunity to observe the feeling of the native
population on the question of annexation. There is no doubt that the
whole race—men and women—are deeply concerned about the independ-
ence of their native land. Their mind is not turning to England or to
any other country for protection. Their devotion to the United States
is continually asserted. If the question of annexation by the United
States should be made to depend upon the popular will in these islands
the proposition had as well be abandoned at once. There are a great
many whites here in addition to the natives who are opposed to annex-
ation, and who are now preparing to sign memorials of this character
to the President of the United States.
While I have presented these observations I wish here to assert that
I have abstained from expressing any wish for or against annexation
54
to any person in these islands. I have by no act of mine sought to
influence opinion on this subject, either one way or the other.
Hereafter I shall discuss this matter from official data, and from the
evidence of persons who have filed certified statements with me.
There frequently occurs in Mr. Stevens' correspondence with the
State Department the allegation that the Queen has for a paramour
ex-Marshal Wilson. Ordinarily such scandalous statements would
be unworthy of attention. Its use to prejudice the minds of the
American people against her in connection with the question of annexa-
tion has caused me to make some inquiry into the subject. A number
of reputable gentlemen have stated in writing their utter disbelief in
this allegation. She has been received with apparent admiration
through all the years of her reign in the most refined circles in this
city. The white population have resorted eagerly to the palace to par-
ticipate in its Social enjoyments without any reserve on account of the
Queen's character.
On April 19, 1892, the American minister gave her a breakfast, to
which a number of prominent persons were invited.
Wilson is ten years the junior of the ex-Queen. He married a girl
who was reared by her and lived with her at the time of his marriage.
He has never lived in the palace. He lived in the palace grounds
with his wife, in a building 75 yards from the palace, where the Queen
resided. They were moved into this building after the death of the
Queen's husband at the instance of the Queen. Wilson is universally
recognized as a brave man and loyal to the Queen. The frequent revo-
lutions here on the part of the whites doubtless caused her to make him
marshal, and put him at the head of the police force, which was the
real military force of the Kingdom. , Because of his marriage with a
native woman, and her connection with the Queen, and her confidence
in his courage and fidelity, she trusted him rather than any of the
whites in this position.
I forbear any further statement on this subject at this time. Evi-
dently this charge against the Queen has for its foundation the loose-
ness which comes from passionate and vindictive partisan struggles in
Honolulu.
On the 16th instant 1 published my instructions in full, accompanied
by the following statement:
While I shall abstain from inteference between conflicting forces of whatever
ºlity for supremacy, I will protect American citizens not participating in such
conflict. -
I send you newspaper comments on the instructions and the forego-
ing declaration, in the nature of an interpretation of my instructions.
(Inclosure No. 2).
From what I can learn many American citizens intensly active in the
late revolution in these islands, and promoters of the cause of annexa-
tion, and supporters of the Provisional Government, took offense at
the iaiter language. It seems very difficult for that class of persons to
understand why they can not be permitted to participate in political
and military movements on these islands with a guarantee of protection
from opposing forces by the troops of the United States.
On the 19th instant I published your dispatch of May 9 in relation
to my appointment as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten-
tiary of the United States. I believed it calculated to produce an
impression on the minds of the people claiming to be American citizens
that under no false pretense of preserving order or protecting American
citizens could they be allowed to command the services of American
troops to promote political schemes here.
I invite your attention to a communication and plat from Admiral
Skerrett, which I inclose herewith. (Inclosure No. 3.)
The plat should have shown Music Hall immediately on the corner of
the block, and the side of Arion Hall next to the Music Hall nearly on
a line with the front line of the Government building. -
It is easy to see that any attack on the Government building by the
Queen's troops from the east would have exposed our men to their fire.
Any attempt to occupy Music Hall and Arion Hall by the Queen's
troops for the purpose of taking the Government building would have
encountered the American troops. Any attempt by the Queen's troops
i. the direction of the palace would have exposed our troops to their
T0.
In the insurrection of 1889, Music Hall was occupied by sharpshoot-
ers of the Government, who contributed more to the suppression of the
55
insurrection than any other forces. This place Mr. Stevens sought to
obtain for the United States troops on the 16th of January last, and
failing in this, selected Arion Hall.
Admiral Skerrett well says that the place was well chosen if the de-
sign of Mr. Stevens and Capt. Wiltse was the support of the Provisional
Government troops. It was certainly suggestive of this design to the
Queen and her adherents.
I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 7.]
Mr. Blownt to Mr. Dole.
HoNolulu, H. I., May 10, 1893.
Hon. SANFORD B. DOLE,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honolulu, H. I.
SIR: Your communication of the 9th instant, in reply to my letter of the same
º: ...'s a reflection upon myself as Commissioner of the United States, is .
&CRnOW -
It gives me pleasure to be assured, of what I had previously believed, that a most
cordial feeling on the part of your Government existed toward myself as the repre-
sentative of the Government of the United States, and that the article referred to
would not be approved of by your Government.
The jº. the Star of yesterday did not at all meet the situation. I shall
not ask any further action in relation thereto, preferring to content myself with your
communication rather than to expose my Government to the charge of ungenerous
action in the present condition of affairs in these Islands, by insisting on further and
fuller apology on the part of the managers of the Star.
With assurances of the highest consideration,
I am, etc.
JAMEs H. Blount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 7.-Hawaiian Star, May 16, 1893.]
Blount's instructions.
Three mooted points were settled as follows by the text of the instructions given
Commissioner Blount by Secretary Gresham:
I. The Commissioner brought with him no authority to restore the ex-Queen, nor
to interfere in any way with the domestic *. of the Provisional Government.
II. The power of the United States will be exercised against foreign aggrandize-
ment upon these islands.
III. The settlement of annexation does not fall within the scope of the Commis-
sioner's duty, but is especially reserved to the President and Congress.
As to the announcement made by Commissioner Blount that he will not interfere
in any struggle that may arise locally for the possession of this Government, except
to protect Ánherican citizens not participating in the conflict, and to keep forei
powers from taking a hand in it, we do not see why it should excite either surprise
or indignation. It is not the business of the United States, except where the Mon-
roe doctrine is threatened, to concern itself in the internal quarrels of any forei
country. Neither is it considered the right or privilege of any nation to shield its
citizens who may be in the military or civil service or in the political activities of a
foreign state from the legal consequences of their acts. America gave no protection
to Americans who aided the Cuban revolutionists; and during the civil war Great
Britain never raised a protest if an English-built blockade runner, commanded by a
subject of the Queen, manned by British sailors, and loaded with Birmingham con-
signments, was shelled and sunk by the United States blockading fleets. By these
examples it is easy to see that Mr. Blount merely tiº. a principle of interna-
jº. in the appendix to his instructions; and that the statement of his exact
position, far from being a superfluous hint to the “abhorrent and forbidden forces.”
in Hawaiian politics to do their worst, was a proper recognition of his duty to his
own Government and countrymen, serving a useful purpose here, in that it showed
the annexation party its exact bearings and forewarned it that it might beforearmed.
By way of side comment, it may be well euough to say that in the remote event of a
political éneute on these Islands, there will be no necessity for Commissioner Blount
to land forces to protect any American's property. No citizen of the United States
worthy of the name will need to appeal to him for such assistance here. The Gov-
ernment is in American hands, and so long as the United States is pledged by its
“consistent and established policy” to keep foreign powers from interfering with
it, the existlng administration may be relied upon to maintain its place against :
and i. comers, and to see that the homes and families of its citizens are hel
inviolate.
[Extract Hawaiian Daily Bulletin, May 16, 1893.)
Mr. Blount's instructions.
“Hon. James H. Blount's instructions from the 5. of State of the United
States, which the Bulletin had the honor of presenting for the first time to the
public, contain nothing contrary to the opinions held, from the first until now, by
56
the opponents of the revolutionary scheme of annexation regarding the Special
Commissioner's mission to these Islands. It was from the opposition side that the
intimation came, in advance of any mention in the United States press, that a
commission of investigation was to be sent here by President Čievºianá. "This
news was contemptuously denied by the press of the party of violence, but next
mail steamer brought its definite confirmation. Among other things to be investi-
ated the instructions denominate “the causes of the revolution by which the
ueen's Government was overthrown.” This certainly includes the question of
whether or not the United States diplomatic representative and the naval com-
mander acting with him contributed aid to that revolution. An answer in the
affirmative to this question returned by the Commissioner as a result of his investi-
ation would lead inevitably to possibilities of the nature of those that the revo-
utionary press is in unwise haste to declare are beyond the scope of the Commis-
sioner's power.
“The instructions published are only the original ones, and they inform the Com-
missioner that he is expected to correspond with the Secretary of State, “commu-
nicating information or soliciting special instruction on such points as ” he “may
deem necessary.” As there will by to-morrow’s expected mail have been ample
time for a º to voluminous information communicated to Washington, doubtless
coupled with the solicitation of special instructions based on the facts as reported,
it is only the usual rashness of the revolutionary press from the beginning which
seeks to impress its readers with the view that this, that, or the other thing is absurd
and impossible. The fact stands out, more prominent than almost anything else,
that the United States Government, contrary to the desires and in spite of the
strenuous efforts of the Provisional Government and its agents, has with all respect
received the protest of the deposed Queen, and will adjudicate thereupon strictly on
the merits as well as in accordance with the traditional policy of fairness and
friendliness toward weak and friendly neighbors which has hitherto been among the .
glories of the great Republic.
“Mr. Blount's instructions bring out in high relief the policy of his Government in
º to the occasions when the landing of troops on Hawaiian territory is justi-
fiable. There is small comfort in them for those who have been laboring to justify.
the fact and the manner of the investment of Honolulu by United States naval
troops on the 16th of January. Until the facts on this point, as ascertained by the , ,
impartial investigation of Mr. Blount, see the light, however, assertion and com-
ment, beyond what has been given already, would only be in the line of the example
set by the Government organs, which have tiresomely asserted from the first that
the Commissioner could find out nothing which had not been reported at Washington
by the Provisional Government's commissioners, supplemented by the prejudiced
and well-stuffed communications of newspaper correspondents. More interesting, if
not more important, than the contents of his instructions from the Secretary of
State is the terse prescription given by the Commissioner himself, in his communi-
cation to the Hawaiian people, of the status of American citizens participating in
any conflict between parties for supremacy on these Islands. . This is in conformity
with the law of nations in similar cases provided, with which citizens and subjects
of different powers, who desire to know, were made acquainted at the crisis of 1887.
“To what extent American citizens who took up arms for overthrowing the Govern-
ment of this country, friendly to their own, were encouraged to rely on the support
of their nation's strong arm, and by whom any such º: might have
been proffered, are other questions that may as well be left to Mr. Blount's inquiry
for solution. in this, as in other respects, the opposition can afford to maintain its
unvarying coolness and patience, joined with confidence that the United States will
not uphold wrong committed in her name, and the subsidized and mercenary press
might, with advantage to its feelings at a later stage, try to imitate the same condi-
tion of equanimity. Americans who are opposed to filibustering and violence will
be prouder of their great nation than ever as they read the words in which Presi-
dent Cleveland's representative assures the law-abiding and P. of his
fellow-citizens on this foreign strand that they will be protected in any emergency.
“While I shall refrain from interference between conflicting forces, of whatever
nationality, for supremacy, I will protect American citizens not participating in
such conflict.” N
[Daily Pacific Commercial Advertiser, Tuesday, May 16, 1893.].
Political developments.
“At present it would be useless to speculate as to the causes which have determined
Commissioner Blount to publish his instructions from the State Department at
Washington under which he is acting. That he has reached a point in his investiga-
tions which justifies his action none will doubt. That there is more or less signifi-
cance in the publication at the present state of affairs must be admitted by all
accustomed to studying the course of international diplomacy. . In any event the
publication will serve to throw light upon many points doubtful heretofore, and
will dash some of the baseless hopes and wilder theories regarding Commissioner
Blount's intentions and alleged instructions which have passed current in royalist
circles from the moment the United States steamer Rush entered the harbor.
“It is not our purpose to attempt an analysis of Commissioner Blount's instructions.
They are certainly plain enough to need no commentary, as they are full enough to
exclude all doubts as to his future action. The fullest inquiry here and report to the
United States Government will be made. In the meantime the existing treaty of
annexation will be held in abeyance; but the United States will, pending investiga-
tion and settlement, give adequate protection to the life and property of citizens of
the United States, and, if necessary, will repress any lawless and tumultuous acts
threatening them. * - -
“Commissioner Blount's note at the end of his instructions corresponds fully with
what he stated on his arrival to the Provisional Government, and seems to us the
act of a wise and cautious diplomat, such as he is reported to be.
“There is one point deserving of notice in the document, and that is while the
inquiry into Hawaiian affairs in detail is left to the wisdom and sound discretion of
Commissioner Blount, final decision on the merits of the case is tacitly if not
57
directly reserved. The instructions, in fact, throw no special light upon the
subject of annexation. Pending the settlement of the question, however, the docu-
ment is decisive and outspoken. The United States will adhere to its consistent
and established policy and will not acquiesce in domestic interference by foreign
powers.
As to the effect which will be produced by the publication of the instructions
there can be little or no doubt. Both the Provisional Government and Americans
generally have fully and freely intrusted the annexation cause to Mr. Blount, sub-
†. to any investigations he might see fit to make under his instructions. At no time
ave they attempted to anticipate his action or lead him to prejudge the case.
They have at all times rigidly adhered to the argument of facts and figures, coupled
with evident national conditions and tendencies backed by the moraſ and political
forces of the community, which they believe to be jº. for the establishment
of stable government and the future welfare of the Islands. They hopefully retain
this stand, and the text of Commissioner Blount's instructions now gives them surer
hope in doing so.
The publication of Coimmissioner Blount's instructions is a severe blow to the
political tactics of the ex-Queen's following. For some time it has been known that
the royalist cause has been bolstered principally by allegations made upon the Com-
missioner's power and instructions to restore the monarchy, The whole mainstay
of the royalist cause :...ºf falls to the ground with the publication of the
document, itself. Within the last fortnight the ex-Queen actually told a prominent
native citizen of Mani to go home and continue to support her cause, as she would
be restored to the throne by the middle of July. Just so long as the contents of the
Commissioner's instructions remained unknown the royalists were enabled to hold
the natives to their cause with hopes and promises which they knew had no foun-
dation in fact.
An incident of the raising of the American flag in California, similar to the raising
of the flag in Honolulu, has been recalled by the early settlers there. In 1842 Com-
modore Jones of the U. S. Navy, under the impression that the United States were
at war with Mexico, took forcible possession of Monterey, hoisted the Stars and
Stripes, and proclaimed California a Territory of the United States. Discerning his
mistake the following day he hauled down the flag and made such apology as the
circumstances would admit. A few years later, however, the flag was raised again
and remained up.”
[Inclosure 3 in No. 7.]
Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount.
No. 167.] U. S. S. Boston, FLAGsHIP of the PACIFIC STATION,
HoNolulu, HAwari AN ISLANDs, May 20, 1893. "
SIR: I have examined with a view of inspection the premises first occupied by the
force landed from the U. S. S. Boston, and known as Arion Hall, situated on the

W-Fº
Palace. (
2-N_
N->’
2–
#3
Government
Building.
#
35.
west side of the Government building. The position of this location is in the rear
of a large brick building known as Music Hall. The street it faces is comparatively
8
58
a narrow one, the building itself facing the Government building. In my opinion
it was unadvisable to locate the troops there, if they were landed for the protection
of the United States citizens, being distantly removed from the business portion of
the town, and generally far away from the United States legation and consulate-
general, as well as being distant from the houses and residences of United States
citizens. It will be seen from the accompanying sketch that had the Provisional
Government troops been attacked from the east, such attack would have placed them
in the line of fire.
Had Music Hall been seized by the Queen's troops, they would have been under
their fire, had such been their desire. It is for these reasons that I consider the posi-
tion occupied as illy selected. Naturally, if they were landed with a view to sup-
port the Provisional Government troops, then occupying the Government building,
it was a wise choice, as they could enfilade any troops attacking them from the pal-
ace grounds in front. There is nothing further for me to state with reference to
this matter, and as has been called by you to my attention—all of which is submit-
ted for your consideration.
Very respectfully,
J. S. Skerrett,
Bear Admiral U. S. Navy, Commanding U. S. Naral Force, Pacific Station.
Col. J. H. Blount,
U. S. Minister Plenipotentiary and Enroy Extraordinary,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands.
NO. 11.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 8.] HoNoLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, June 1, 1893.
SIR: The population of the Hawaiian Islands can but be studied
by one unfamiliar with the native tongue from its several census
reports. A census is taken every six years. The last report is for the
year 1890. From this it appears that the whole population numbers
89,990. This number includes natives, or, to use another designation,
Kanakas, half-castes (persons containing an admixture of other than
native blood in any proportion with it), Hawaiian-born foreigners of all
races or nationalities other than natives, Americans, British, Germans,
French, Portuguese, Norwegians, Chinese, Polynesians, and other
nationalities.
Americans number 1,928, natives and half-castes, 40,612; Chinese,
15,301; Japanese, 12,360; Portuguese, 8,602; British, 1,344; Germans,
1,034; French, 70; Norwegians, 227; Polynesians, 588; and other for.
eigners 419.
It is well at this point to say that of the 7,495 Hawaiian-born for-
eigners 4,117 are Portuguese, 1,701 Chinese and Japanese, 1,617 other
white foreigners, and 60 of other nationalities.
There are 58,714 males. Of these 18,364 are pure natives, and 3,085
are half-castes, making together 21,449. Fourteen thousand five
hundred and twenty-two are Chinese. The Japanese number 10,079.
The Portuguese contribute 4,770. These four nationalities furnish 50,820
of the male population. " * * * - -
* Males
The Americans furnish.----------------------------------------------------- 1,298
The British--------------------------------------------------------------- 982
The Germans --------------------------------------------------------------- 729
The French:---------------------------------------------------------------- 46
The Norwegians ------------------------------------------------------------ 135
These five nationalities combined furnish 3,170 of the total male pop-
ulation.
The first four nationalities, when compared with the last five in male
population, are nearly sixteenfold the largest in number.
The Americans are to those of the four aforementioned group of
nationalities as 39 to 1—nearly as 40 to 1.
It is as convenient here as at any other place to give some facts in
relation to the Portuguese. They have been brought here from time to
time from the Madeira and Cape Verde Islands by the Hawaiian Gov.
ernment as laborers on plantations, just as has been done in relation
to Chinese, Japanese, Polynesians, etc. They are the most ignorant of
all imported laborers and reported to be very thievish. They are not
pure Europeans, but a commingling of many races, especially the
negro. They intermarry with the natives and belong to the laboring
classes. Very few of them can read and write. Their children are
being taught in the public schools, as all races are. It is wrong to
class them as Europeans.
59
The character of the people of these islands is and must be over-
whelmingly Asiatic. Let it not be imagined that the Chinese, Japan-
ese, and Portuguese disappear at the end of their contract term. From
the report of the inspector in chief of Japanese immigrants on March
31, 1892, it appears that twenty “lots” of Japanese immigrants have
been brought here by the Hawaiian Government, numbering 21,110.
Of these 2,517 have returned to Japan; 8,592, having worked out their
contract term, remain, and 9,626 are still working out their contract
term. More than 75 per cent may be said to locate here permanently.
There are 13,067 Chinamen engaged in various occupations, to wit:
8,763 laborers, 1,479 farmers, 133 fishermen, 74 drivers and teamsters,
564 mechanics, 42 planters and ranchers, 776 merchants and traders
164 clerks and salesmen, 12 professional men and teachers, and iosé
in various other occupations.
The number of merchants and traders in the entire country is 1,238.
Of this number 776 are Chinamen and 81 are Americans.
The largest part of the retail trade seems to be conducted by China-
IleIl.
Of 20,536 laborers on sugar plantations only 2,617 are Chinese. Of
this latter number only 396 are contract laborers.
The Portuguese population in 1884 amounted to 0,377 and in 1890 to
8,602—a loss of 775. These have been leaving in considerable numbers
for the past eighteen months, making their way generally to the United
States. In 1890 the males were classified as to occupation thus:
Laborers, 2,653, farmers, 136, fishermen, 3, mariners, 10, drivers and
teamsters, 63, mechanics, 167, planters and ranchers, 17, merchants and
traders, 56, clerks and salesmen, 13, professional men and teachers, 11,
other occupations, 123; total, 3,266. On the cane plantations there are
of male Portuguese, 277 under contract and 1,651 day laborers.
Of the population in 1892, 20,536 were laborers on sugar-cane plan-
tations, 16,723 being Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese. Of the whole
number 10,991 are contract laborers. The remainder are designated
as day laborers. The total number of laborers in the islands by the
census of 1890 was 25,466.
In 1890 there were 23,863 male laborers. Of this number 18,728 were
Chinese and Japanese. At this period there were 41,073 persons of all
occupations. Of this number 24,432 were Chinese and Japanese.
Of the total number of persons in the various avocations, of European
and American origin, it appears that 1,106 were Americans, 819 Brit-
ish, 518 Germans, 45 French, and 200 Norwegians, making a total of
2,688 persons.
The natives furnished 8,871 persons and the half-castes 884.
The Hawaiians, therefore, may be said to have furnished 9,755.
There are 196 persons designated as planters and ranchers. Of this
number 18 are Americans, 30 are British, and 6 are Germans. The
remainder are principally Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Hawaii-
8. Il S.
There are 5,181 persons designated as farmers. Of these, 3,392 are
natives and half-castes, and 1,500 are Chinese. These two furnish
4,779, leaving a residue of 402 taken from all other nationalities. Of
these, 26 are Americans.
For a more minute examination of the avocation of the people, I
append a tabular statement from the last census year, 1890. (In-
closure No. 1.) -
It will be interesting, if not pleasing, to examine the number of the
various sexes by nationalities. -
The grand total of the population is 89,990. The male population is
58,714; the females are 31,276.
The natives and half castes furnish 21,449 males and 19,174 females.
The Chinese furnish 14,522 males and 779 females. - -
The Japanese furnish 10,079 males and 2,281 females.
The Portuguese furnish 4,770 males and 3,832 females.
The American males are 1,298, females 630.
The British males are 982, females 362.
. The German males are 729, females 305. -
This disparity of the sexes applies to all nationalities, save the
native race. - • . -
The most striking feature is that the Chinese men outnumber the
women by more than 18 to 1. * * * .
The Japanese men outnumber their women by nearly 5 to 1. In all
foreign nationalities the males largely exceed the females in numbers.
60
The natives and half-castes furnish nearly two-thirds of the women.
. For a moment let us see how far this disparity of sexes in 1884 com-
pares with that of 1890:
In 1884 there were 51,539 males, 29,039 females, and a total popula-
tion of 80,578.
In 1890 the males numbered 58,714, the females 31,276, and the total
number was 89,990.
The males increased from 1884 to 1890, 7,175. The females increased
from 1884 to 1890, 2,237.
During this period there appears to have been the following gains
and losses by nationalities:
Gains: Half-castes, 1,968; Hawaiian-born foreigners (mostly Portu-
guese), 5,455; British, 62; Japanese, 12, 244.
Losses: Natives, 5,578; Americans, 138; Germans, 566; French, 122;
Portuguese, 775; Norwegians, 135; Čhinese, 2,638; folynesians, 368.
The net gain is 9,412. , Had it not been for the large importation of
Japanese for plantation laborers there would have been a net loss of
There was a net loss of Europeans and Americans combined number-
ing 899. -
While the population is increasing in numbers the per cent of females
is largely decreasing.
In 1866 the percentage of females was 45.25 per cent; in 1872 it was
44.37; in 1878.41.19; in 1884 36.04; in 1890 34.75.
This condition has been reached by the importation of contract labor
by the Hawaiian Government for the sugar plantations.
In 1890 there was in the island of Oahu a population of 31,194. Of
this number 1,239 were Americans.
There was in the island of Hawaii a population of 26,754. Of this
number 289 were Americans.
In the islands of Molokai and Lanai there was a population of 2,826.
Of this number 23 were Americans.
In the island of Maui there was a population of 17,357. Of this
number 211 were Americans.
In the islands of Kanai and Niihau there was a population of 11,859.
Of this number 112 were Americans.
The total population was 89,990. Of this number 1,928 were Ameri-
CàIMS,
It appears that in 1890, the period of the last census, that in a popu-
lation of 89,990 persons 51,610 were unable to read and write. . The
natives and half-castes, numbering 40,622, had 27,901 able to read and
write.
The Chinese, with a population of 15,301 persons, had 13,277 unable
to read and write.
The Japanese, with a population of 12,360, had 12,053 persons unable
to read and write. e
The Portuguese, with a population of 8,602, had 6,276 unable to read
and write. These are mostly children.
For more minute examination reference is made to the table inclosed
herewith, from the census report of 1890. (Inclosure No. 2.)
The total number of registered voters at this period was 13,593.
Of these 9,554 were natives and half-castes; 146 Hawaiian-born for.
-eigners, 637 Americans, 505 British, 382 Germans, 22 French, 2,091
Portuguese, 78 Norwegians, 42 Polynesians, and other nationalities 136.
From this it appears that the Hawaiians exceeded all other nation.
alities of voters 4,039.
The Portuguese of an age to vote generally can not read and write.
The natives alone had this restriction. Place this upon the Portuguese
and other nationalities and the natives would have nine-tenths of the
VoteS.
The minister of finance informs me that the taxes paid by Ameri-
cans and Europeans amount to $274,516.74; those by natives, $71,386.82;
half-castes, $26,868.68; Chinese, $87,266.10; Japanese, $67,326.07; other
nationalities, $729.82.
A very large proportion of the Americans and Europeans paying
these taxes are antiannexationists. -
He also informs me that the acreage on which taxes are paid by
'various nationalities is: Europeans and Americans, 1,052,492 acres;
natives, 257,457 acres; half-castes, 531,545 acres; Chinese, 12,324 acres;
Japanese, 200 acres; other nationalities, none. -
º
61
The surveyor-general reports the crown lands for 1893 as containing
915,288 acres. Of these he reports 94,116 acres available for lease. Of
this latter number only 47,000 acres are reported to be good, arable
land. He likewise reports the Government land as containing 828,370
acres. He reports these, estimated in 1890, to be worth $2,128,850. The
annual income from them is $67,636. of this income $19,500 is from
wharfage and $7,800 from rent of land with buildings thereon.
The cane and arable land is estimated at 35,150 acres. -
It is important here to recall his statement made to the Legislature
in 1891 in the following language: “Most Government lands at the
present time consist of mere remnants left here and there and of the
worthless and unsaleable portions remaining after the rest had been
Sold.” And in the same communication he declares that between the
years 1850 and 1860 nearly all of the desirable Government land was
sold, generally to natives. -
In 1890 the census report discloses that only 4,695 persons owned
real estate in these Islands. With a population estimated at this
time at 95,000 the vast number of landless people here is discouraging
to the idea of immigrants from the United States being able to find
encouragement in the matter of obtaining homes in these Islands. .
I shall in a future report endeavor to inform you of the legislation in
relation to the lands—the distribution of them and such other matters
as would be interesting in connection therewith in the event they should
figure in the consideration of future political relations with the United
States. -
It may be proper here to say that the landless condition of the native
population grows out of the original distribution thereof by the laws
of the country and does not come from its shiftlessness.
On the 30th ultimo the attorney-general and marshal called to see
me. They informed me that the order of the community was threat-
ened, according to the reports of their detectives, with a movement on
the part of the antiannexation whites to take possession of the Gov.
ernment and rostore the Queen. After some considerable presentation
of details I was informed that part of the scheme was to drug me.
It so happened that during the afternoon of the preceding day a
white man called to ask my opinion as to the propriety of a contem-
plated meeting on that evening to protest against a movement believed
to be on foot by the Provisional Government to propose a new form of
treaty with the United States. He said that certain white men were
movers in it and he was debating whether he should advise the natives
to attend; that he could see no reason for it; that they were awaiting
the action of the Government of the United States on the various ques-
tions connected with the formation of the present Government, and
believed that was the attitude for them to occupy. Of course I declined
to express any opinion. He left me saying that he would see the natives
did not attend. There was no meeting.
I said to the attorney-general that I was satisfied from communica-
tions made by the natives that they would not coöperate in any disor-
derly action, preferring, as they say, to submit their cause to the deci-
Sion of the Government of the United States.
A meeting of half-castes, which seemed to be a part of the cause
of alarm to the attorney-general and marshal, I said to them was, I
believed, nothing more than an effort to prevent the aforesaid meeting.
This they accepted as the probable solution of it, and finally assented
to the idea that there was no ground for a belief that there would b
any disturbance such as was indicated. -
On the 31st ultimo President Dole called on me and informed me
that there was a petition signed by fifty persons—British subjects—
requesting the British minister to prevent the sailing of the English
war vessel Hyacinth, which has orders to leave here to-morrow. This
seemed to occasion him some uneasiness. He finally said that the peti-
tion was being carried around by a man who had been in the military
service of the Provisional Government, and had left it on account of
inability to get an office which he desired.
I informed him that two nights ago the British minister had expressed
to me his gratification that the vessel was going to leave; that its pres-
£nce here simply furnished the opportunity for some persons to avow
some unfriendly intention of his Government.
I further said that I was assured by the British minister on his own
motion, in a desire to manifest his friendly disposition, that in no event
would the British troops be used to advance the interests of any politi-

62
cal movement here. He seemed to accept this as a relief from any
apprehension.
The Provisional Government officials are excited by many groundless
rumors, and communicate them very freely to me. I have not indi-
cated any line of conduct which I should pursue in the event of a conflict
other than that I have communicated to you.
A great deal of testimony in relation to the causes of the revolution
and the circumstances attending it has been taken.
The physical inability of the stenographer up to the present time to
transcribe the whole of the mass of notes which has accumulated has
Fººd me from fully considering them and presenting my opinions
thereOn.
I hope to be able to furnish you with much of interest as soon as
this difficulty has been overcome.
I think the condition of the public mind here is just as formerly
reported. -
The universal feeling towards me so far as I can gather is one of
kindness and respect. This is due in largest measure to my absten-
tion from expressing my views on political questions.
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
P. S.–Since closing the foregoing communication the inclosure
(marked No. 3) has been handed to me by Mr. Samuel Parker, the
genuineness of which I do not question.
99
~
gun"TV 9.6%. 889 || 91%. 88z't 961 wº 999 || 707 || IW8 || 181 'g' 99W ‘gz]******* Tºjo, puerº)
*::/º. # |f|, |:... ..., |g. zI we | 2001 ||----------- solvuloy tºolſ.
026'88 088 ‘g 28W £0. £82 “I 86? | 069'z 999 || W97 || 628 180 ‘g 898 “gz|************* setsu: Iwºol,
813 || 99 || || 6 9I | 9 99 || 8 8I | 8 II | y, I-------- ----- Tºyol,
y ------ I . . [------ I 2 soleuetſ
WLZ | 99 || 9 6 WI | 9 99 || 8 8I | 8 LI 21, I--------------- sets
; borºnteuopyuu req90.
988 || OI I |------ 6 & 2 2 9 $98 |------------- Tºol,
98 I ç8 || -- - - setuumoy uepsouſtod.
008 || 6 I j------ 6 || 2 || 8 || Z || 9 || 692 ("****** soluu uupsoulſiodſ
gºz"II. 621 0& | 12 - * * * * * &W y g 8 98 || 696'0I]------------- Tºolſ,
8TV “I | WI WO? I |------- soleuloy esoured up
128 ‘6 gLT | 82 1z ------ zy 3 8 98 || 999'6 |*** ****** setsu esouwder
99T 'gil 990 “Il 8I 79L | 1.1.1, gy || Wºg | V |****** cer | 009 "I Lºg ‘8 |************* Tºol,
86 0I z ------ I I?...] 3, ... [........ ºnºmº, ºg
L90 'gll 990 “Il 9T | W9I | 91. zy | 799 || W. " " " " " - 221 | 6.9"Il 29, '9 |********** soleum oseupu O
002 | 1.8 - " " " " - z | 8 |z 18 || 6 || 1 |------ gz | 6 |------------- Tºol,
- - welvuºy uwpºonaion.
002 | 1.8 °- " " " " 2 8 | & T8 || 6 b. ------ gz 60 ° --- *** setsu uspºonanoRI
Lz'8 || $2I | II | 98 || 99 || LI 191 | 89 || 0 || 8 98.I 999 “g |******* ------ Tºol,
II g **** setsunoj osenīn; Iod
992'8 || 8LI | 0 || 98 || 99 || LI 991 || 29 || 0 || 8 99T | 899"g |****** uſ osenzinºxodſ
gy 9 W2 I I ------ 9 |------ 2 ------ & z ------------- Tºolſ,
g| |------ gſ I------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|- -----|--------- setsuay qouer iſ
08 9 6 I I ------ 8 |------ 2 ------|z & & ſº tº gº º e º º ºs & s soleur nouen, I
819 || 80T | 2 | tv | 9 || Llt i oz ol z II | Zg |------------- Tºol,
WI 8 9 J
709 || 00I | 0& 79 || L7 || 9 9EI | 93 || 0I 2 II z9 |---------- solvuſ uvuliet)
618 LVI | Wº. 88 zy | 08 || Weg | 78 || 82 | ***** gT | 12 -------- ***** Tºo L
W8 WI 8 9 8 --------- soretuoy qºp, pigſ
98L | 68L | 09 || 98 || zy | 08 || 828 || 78 82 |****** gſ | 72 |***** ****** setsui qapºpig
90I 'I | 9LT | ILI g81 | 18 || 81 | 692 || 69 & 98 |-------- •---- Tºol,
8D, 9I L9 9 ------| I setsuo, ueopleury
820 “I 191 | VII 1zI I Ig | LI 698 || 6′g & 98 *******-soluu usepleury
692 || V8 || 6 || 8 || 6 || 6 68 || || g I------ 9I Iz |------------- Tºjo,
8% I & 8 I soreulog
ußjewo, unoq-truſſeau.H.
Tø £8 || 9% 0 || 6 || 6 68 || A z ------ 9I 02 --------- tº º º ºs ºs e º ºs ſº
ußialog unoq-uuppaau PI
W8 || 8LI Ig | 6 || 22 || VI | 0éz z8 || VI gz gTL | 9TL |************* Tºol,
09 8 92 I 9 ****** solvuloy onseo-JTuRI
W8 || 0LL | 93 || 8 || 28 || WI | 06Z | 28 || WI gz | 80I | 911 |***** *** soleum oºseo-Juhº
IL8 ‘8 || 106 || G8I | 69 || 28L | 99 || 99p | Lºz 288 | 899 || 612 ‘g 892 & |************* Tºolſ,
LI3 || 9, &I | 1 8 & 80I º, | 89...] Qº... [...I.I.I.I. setsuoy eansN.
Ygg ‘8 IE8 || 2DI | 89 62T | Ig | 899 || Lºz 228 i 999 || IIz'g| cla", " " " " " " " " " " " setsu eaguN
Hº!
#| 3 | ºf #| || || 5 || || 5 | #. ; º
3 £| # # #| #3 || 5 | # 3 # | # #
#2 | #| |f| 3: |##|g;| = | #| || à | # ;
#g|#3 |##|##|##|##| # | #| | | | | * | º
5.5 | * 3 | #5, º :=\ | * :* -, g
= 3 E. # gº º g §
*#| E | F : # t! E.
; ºf E! e = | }. H
"woºpdnooo fiq aroe pup firstvuotypu wono ſo wonvoyſłssolo—’9 higv|I.
['8"on up I eunsolouſ]

64
[Inclosure No. 2 in No. 8.]
TABLE 7.-Classification of each nationality and sex by social condition, education,
school attendance, possession of electoral franchise, and otonership of real estate. --

# # # , | #3 |?, ?
§ = | f | f | 3 || | |##| 35 | ##|##
t E 3 3 © T. § 5 . •e l = : #3
es E. •º- egº º © * * re ſº 3: gº Tºš
à || 5 || 3 || 3 || 5 || 5 || 3 ||34 || 5 |3
Native males ..........----------- 6,836 || 9,578 |...... 1,829 || 121 18,364 2,980 13,756 2. 504 || 8,777
Native females .........---------. 7,556 6, 806 |1,616 |...... 94 ić 072 2,822 ro, 311 767 |......
Total.-------------- tº e a e s = e - I 14,392 |16,384 |1,616 1,829 215 [34,436 5,302 24,067 3,271 | 8,777
Half-caste male.......... - - - e º ºs e -- 669 2,341 ...... 66 9 8,085 883 1,914 240 TT7
Half-caste females......---------- 754 || 2,219 i 105 [...... 23 3, 101 + 875 1,920 155 |......
Total ......... tº e º 'º e º 'º º e º & © tº º 1,423 4, 560 / 105 66 32 6, 186 1,758 || 8,834 395 777
Hawaiian-born males............. 219 8,689 |...... 1 i------ 3,909 || 605 692 67 146
Hawaiian-born foreign females...| 157 || 3,416 || 11 ||------ 2 3, 586 489 || 599 || 88 ....:-
Total ----------------------- 876 || 7, 105 11 1 2 || 7,495 |1,094 | 1,291 || 105 146
American males .................. 528 609 |...... 64 7 1,298 62 | 1,197 || 147 637
American females ---------------- 324 251 55 630 59 527 80 l-----.
Total....---------- • a s = ºn s e s tº 852 950 65 64 7 1,928 || 121 | 1,724 || 177 637
British males.-------------------. 433 498 l...... 44 7 982 30 897 || 143 505
British females.------------------ | 193 116 53 362 83 $68 26 ------
Total --------------- e e s e s a tº e 626 614 63 44 7 | 1,844 60 | 1,206 || 160 $0.5
German males..........---------- | 804 898 l...... 22 § 729 74 655 53 882
German females --------- tº e º e º & sº tº el 184 118 8 305 44 260 4 ----- º
Total ----------------------- 488 511 8 22 5 | 1,034 118 913 57 982
French males.......-------------- 17 18 1. ----- 10 1 46 l------ 88 8
French females ------------------- - 5 17 2 |------|------ 24 H------ 24
Total ----------------------- 22 || 85 || 2 || 10 || 1 || 70 [...... 62 || 8 || 22
Portuguese males...--------------- 2,455 2,238 |...... 76 1 4,770 | 720 | 1,513 224 2,091
Portuguese females.-------------- 2,443 | 1,822 65 |...... 2 3,832 550 918 10 |......
Total ----------------------- 4,898 3,560 65 76 3 || 8,602 (1,270 2,426 234 2,091
Norwe 60 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 69 * - 4. 2 155 19 132 10 78
Norwegian females --------------- 16 1 72 6 60
Total ----------------------- | 124 96 l 4. 2 227 25 192 10 78
Chinese males ------------ ........] 2,869 (12,049 |...... 96 8 |14,522 51 | 1,971 224 |..... ->
Chinese females ------------------ 559 201 19 779 26 51 ? ------
Total ----------------------- | 2,928 12,250 19 96 8 15,301 71 || 2,022 226 |......
Japanese, males.----------------- | 2,964 7,069 |...... 50 6 |10,079 21 270 4 ----- ->
Japanese, females ---------------- 2, 101 148 29 |------ 8 2,281 12 37
Total ----- - - - - - tº e º ºs - - - - - ....[ 5,065 || 7,207 29 50 9 |12,360 83 807 4 ſ------
Polynesian, males ---------------. 150 ſ 235 ...... 19 I------ 404 9 61 G 42
Polynesian, females.-------------- 133 45 6 184 § 24
Total ----------------- © e º s e e 283 280 6 19 |------ 588 14 §§ () M2
Other nationalities: -
* * * * - - - - - - - - - - - - --------I 162 181 l......I 26 2 871 2 217 28 136
Females ------------------ tº e - e. 33 11 4 48 I 33 5 ------
Total 195 192 4 26 2 419 9 250 $º 136
Total males.------------ as a e s is a e ..[17, 175 39,068 |...... 2,807 || 169 |38,714 (5.458 23,818 (3,658 |13,50s
Total females------ • * * * * * .........|14,497 ||14,681 (1,974 l...... 124 |31,276 K1,416 |15,067 (1,687 |......
Grand total.-------- ........|31,072 53,744 1,074 2,807 || 293 89,900 (2,872 (28,880 & eos rs,50s
[Inclosure 3 in No. 8.]
Queen's ministers to Mr. Blount.
HoNodulu, May 31, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLount,
Special Commissioner of the United States to Hawaii:
SIR: On §§ afternoon, January 13, about 2 o'clock, we, Samuel Parker, W. H.
Cornwell, J. F. Colburn, and A. P. Peterson were called by Her Majesty to the palace
and asked to accept positions in a new cabinet, the Wilcox cabinet having tendered
their resignations the day previous... We accepted and were handed our commissions,
and took the oath of office before Chief Justice Judd in the blue room. It was then
thought advisable that the announcement be made to the Legislature, which was ac-
cordingly done, after which the cabinet went *ś to the palace to consult with
Her Majesty as to what bills, º passed the Legislature, should be signed by her.
Her Majesty asked the advice of the cabinet as to whether'she should sign the lot-
tery bill, the opinm bill, and the registration act, which laws were then before her.
At the same time she expressed a desire to satisfy her lady friends by vetoing the
opium bill, and also expressed doubts as to the advisability of signing the registra-
65
tion act. The cabinet advised that as a majority of the Legislature and the mass of
the people were in favor of the lottery and opium bills it was the duty of the Sov-
ereign to sign them, and also that as the registration act was deemed imp., rtant to
the planting interests, although opposed very strenuously by a large number of
people, it would be advisable to sign that also, as no bill of importance had been
vetoed during the session and it was not advisable to do so. -
The next day, Saturday, the Legislature met at the usual hour and transacted the
business which remained, and adjourned until 12 o'clock the saune day for prorogation.
Both at the morning session and at the ceremonies attending the prorogation the
members of the Reforin party in the Legislature, to a man, were conspicuous by their
absence, although occasionally one of their number would show himself and then
report proceedings down town. Immediately after the ceremonies the cabinet were
notified that the foreign representatives desired to meet them, and accordingly a
meeting was held in the foreign office, all of the foreign representatives being pres-
ent. r. Wodehouse, the English commissioner, stated that they were informed
that Her Majesty intended to promulgate a new constitution upon that day, and
asked what the cabinet intended to do about the matter, if this proved correct. Mr.
Parker replied for the cabinet, and stated that he had heard of the matter and that,
the cabinet had decided to advise Her Majesty against such a course.
This reply was satisfactory to all the representatives except to Mr. Stevens, the
American minister, who became excited, and dropping the subject under discussion,
E. his cane upon the floor and stated in a loud voice that the United States
ad been insulted, and that the passage of the lottery bill was a direct attack upon
his Government. The other representatives tried to change the subject, and, finally
succeeding, the meeting broke up after several of them had disclaimed any appro-
bation of Mr. Stevens's remarks. The cabinet then went to the palace and met the
Queen in the blue room, where she stated that at the desire of a large number of
her subjects she wished to promulgate a new constitution. The cabinet then spoke
of the meeting just held with the foreign representatives and advised Her Majesty
not to do it, as they considered the time inopportune and the action inadvisable. The
Queen, after considerable hesitation, finally yielded to the advice of her ministers,
and so notified the people who were assembled in the palace and throughout the
grounds. Early Sunday morning the cabinet met at Mr. Cornwell's residence to con-
sider the situation. Mr. W. M. Giffard, manager of W. G. Irwin & Co., and of Mr.
Spreckels's business in Honolulu at that time, notified them that it had been agreed
between their bank and the bank of Bishop & Co. that they would render such
financial assistance as the Government might need.
It was also reported by Mr. Colburn and Mr. Peterson that an organization known
as the “Committee of Safety” had been formed the night before at the house of Mr.
L. A. Thurston, and had made overtures to then as members of the cabinet to assist
them in dethroning the Queen. That they intended to go ahead and that Mr.
Stevens assistance, together with that of his Government, had been guaranteed them.
This statement was from Mr. Thurston himself. It was finally decided to ask a
number of the most influential merchants and citizens to meet the cabinet and dis-
cuss the situation. The meeting was set for 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and in the
meantime the cabinet repaired to the station house to consult with the marshal as
to the best means of keeping the peace. . Everthing was found to be in readiness for
any disturbance that might arise. At the appointed time the cabinet met in the
foreign office with Mr. W. M. Giffard, representing Claus Spreckels; Mr. S. M. Damon
representing Bishop & Co.; Mr. J. O. Carter, representing C. Brewer & Co.; Mr. S.
C. Allen, representing Allen & Robinson and the Robinson estate; Mr. F. A. Schaefer,
of F. A. Schaefer & Co., and E. C. Macfarlane. The situation was then discussed by
all present and methods proposed which would relieve it.
During this #.º. S. M. Damon remarked, the subject having been brought
up by the information as to the intentions of the committee of safety, that the
Boston's troops would land whether the Government liked it or not. It was finally
decided that the best course to allay §. feeling, and one which must be satis-
factory to the people at large and the business interests generally, was for the cab-
‘inet to procure from Her Majesty a statement that no further attempt would be made
to promulgate a new constitution. This was accordingly done, and the next day,
Monday, such statement was sent to the different members of the diplomatic corps,
as well as printed and circulated throughout the town. Sunday evening Mr. Parker
and Mr. Peterson reported to the cabinet the result of an interview between Mr.
Stevens and themselves in which Mr. Stevens had stated that he would not assist
the Government as long as Mr. C. B. Wilson remained marshal, and a number of
other statements made by him showing his hostility toward the Government and
bearing out the information which had previously been received as to his friendly
attitude toward the committee of safety. On Monday morning, after the assur-
ance of Her Majesty that no new attempt would be made to promulgate a new con-
stitution was made public, a feeling of satisfaction was generally manifested and
an attempt was made by a number of leading citizens to postpone the mass meeting,
which had been called for that afternoon, as being unnecessary; but Mr. Thurston
protested and thought the meeting should go ahead and at least express their dis-
approbation of the course pursued by the Queen.
After the people attending the two mass meetings had quietly dispersed to their
homes, and the city was as quiet as Sunday, the cabinet were informed, late Monday
afternoon, that troops, º with rifles and bringing Gatling guns, were being landed
from the U. S. S. Boston. They immediately asked Mr. Stevens what this landing of
troops meant, he not having asked the usual permission from the Government, and
he, although sending a written reply, did not answer the question, but evaded it.
The Boston troops took up a position commanding the Government building and the
Talace, and a position which commanded no American property. , Monday evening
was exceedingly quiet, the only disquietness *# caused by the landing of foreign
troops, which was generally disapproved of. On Tuesday information was received
that the committee of safety were recruiting troops for the purpose of forming a pro-
visional government, and were indncing men to enlist with them on the promise
that the Boston’s troops would interfere and assist them without it being necessary
for them to fire a shot or incur any risk. Shortly after noon Mr. Parker and Mr. Peter-
son returned from an interview with Mr. Stevens, and reported that he (Mr. Stevens)

66
had said that if any number of what he called responsible citizens slıould take pos-
session of any building in town and forin a Fºl government he should recog-
nize them and assist them to the extent of his power, and that he should refuse any
assistance to the Queen's Government. The cabinet then made the station house
their headquarters, as has always been the custom in any troublous times, the Gov-
ernment building always having been considered untenable. They then sent for a
number of prominent citizeus to consult with them.
Although being satisfied as to Mr. Stevens's position it was deemed best by the
cabinet to get something from him in writing, and accordingly they sent a letter to
him between 2 and 3 o'clock, asking whether the report was true that he had recog-
nized the Provisional Government. In a little over half an hour his reply was
received which stated that he had done so. Shortly after this Mr. S. M. Damon and
Mr. C. Bolte came to the station house as messengers from the Provisional Govern-
ment to consult with the Queen's cabinet as to an amicable settlement of the diffi-
culty without resort to arms. Mr. Damon during the interview said it would merely
be a waste of blood to resist, as the Boston aud the Boston's troops stood ready to
assist the Provisional Government. The cabinet gave them no reply but agreed to
go with them and consult with the executive council of the Provisional Govern-
ment at the Government building, which they accordingly did. At this meeting
President Dole stated that it was their desire to have the matter settled without
any resort to arms, and asked the Queen's cabinet to deliver up to them what Gov-
erninent property was in their possession. The cabinet replied that before any
answer could be given it would be necessary to consult with Her Majesty. This
was agreed upon, and the cabinet, accompanied by Mr. S. M. Damon, proceeded to
the palace and met the Queen. There were present at that time, besides Her Majesty
and her ministers, H. A. Widelmann, Paul Neumann, E. C. Macfarlane, J. O. Carter,
and S. M. Daumon.
The question as to the surrender of the Queen was discussed by nearly all present,
and Mr. Stevens's attitude and letter recognizing the Provisional Government were
also spoken of, and the unanimous opinion of those present was, that although the
Queen's Government had possession of the station house, the barracks, and the pal-
ace, together with the greater part of the arms and ammunition in the Kingdom,
and all the Gatling guns and field pieces except those under the control of foreign
nations, and men enough, both foreign and native, to make them absolutely impreg-
nable so far as any force which could be brought against them from people resident
within the Kingdom was concerned, and with force enough to put down any disturb-
ance and to keep the peace of the country, unless such disturbance was assisted by
foreign troops. Considering the position taken by the representative of the United
States it was useless to make war against that country, which any resistance on the
part of the Queen's Government plainly meant, and that the wiser course to pursue
was to surrender the Government property under a protest to the United States, the
superior force of that country having brought about the situation. The protest was
inninediately drawn and signed by Her Majesty and her ministers and taken to Presi-
dent Dole, who indorsed the receipt of it. At a little after 7 o'clock that evening
the Provisional Government took possession of the station house and other Govern-
ment buildings and of the arms and aminunition then in possession of the Queen's
Government.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Colts well,
Minister of Finance.
JOHN F. Colburn,
Minister of Interior.
A. P. PRTERSoN,
Attorney-General.
In view of the facts stated above, which can not be controverted, and in view of
the fact that your investigations concerning the matter are shortly likely to ter-
minate, we, Liliuokalani and her cabinet, who formed the Government of the
Hawaiian Islands on the 17th of January last, having surrendered that Government
to the superior force of the United States of America, now most respectfully ask
that you use your good offices in undoing the acts of a representative of your great
country and place the Government of the Hawaiian Islands as Mr. Stevens found
them. Believing that the principle of justice which has ever dominated American
action will prevail in this instance, we remain,
Yours, respectfully, -
LILIUOKALANI, R.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
John F. Colburn,
Minister of Interior.
A. P. PETERson,
Attorney-General.
No. 12.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 9..] HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, June 6, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to report that the political conditions of the
Islands do not import any conflict of arms. The Government is very
alert in watching every movement which threatens it. Almost any
trifling assemblage of natives at night is the occasion of alarm.
67
The natives are favoring public order, and looking for some action
on my part favorable to them. Notwithstanding the publication of
my instructions, and my previous declaration that I had no power to
restore the Queen, there remains in the native mind a strong faith
that, owing to the interference of the American minister and the
American marines, resulting in the surrender to the Provisional Gov-
ernment by the Queen of her forces, the United States will ultimately
restore her to power.
The action of Admiral Thomas, in 1843, in restoring the Hawaiian
flag is written deeply in the minds of the native people. A public
square has been set apart and beautified in honor of his memory and
action. This, and the friendly relations between our Government and
that of these Islands, seems to be the inspiration of buoyant hope in
their final independence.
Should this fail them, and they be left free from interference by for-
eign powers, the peace of to-day may change into warlike action against
the existing order of things.
It can not be truthfully stated that the present peace is the result of
the power of the Provisional Government.
I deem it proper at this time to indulge in some observations in rela-
tion to landed property here.
To understand the present distribution it is necessary to understand
the ancient system of land tenure as well as the modern.
And now as to the first:
Each island was divided into several districts. The next subdivision
is the Ahupuaa. Typically this is a long narrow strip extending from
the sea to the mountain, so that its chief may have his share of all the
various products of the mountain region, the cultivated land, and the
sea. It was generally, though not always, subdivided into ilis, each
with its own name and carefully defined boundary.
There were two kinds of 'ilis. The first was a mere subdivision of the
Ahupuaa for the convenience of the chief holding the same, who
. ſº revenues from his agent. The other class did not pay tribute
to a chief.
The ilis were again subdivided, and many of the larger patches had
individual names.
The patches cultivated exclusively for the chief were called koele or
hakuone. The tenants were obliged to work for him on Fridays. In the
“principles adopted by the land commission to quiet land titles,”
approved by the legislative council October 26, 1846, it is stated that—
When the islands were conquered by Kamehameha I, he followed the example of
his predecessors, and divided out the lands, among his principal warrior chiefs,
retaining, however, a portion in his own hands to be cultivated or managed by his
own immediate servants or attendants. Each principal chief divided his lands
anew and gave them out to an inferior order of chiefs, by whom they were subdivided
again and again, often passing through the hands of four, five, or six persons from the
King down to the lowest class of tenants. All these persons were considered to have
rights in these lands, or the productions of them, the proportions of which rights.
were not clearly defined, although universally acknowledged. All persons pos-
sessing landed property, whether superior landlords, tenants, or subtenants, owed
and paid to the King not only a land tax, which he assessed at pleasure, but also
service, which was called for at discretion, on all the grades, from the highest down.
They also owed and paid some portion of the productions of the land, in addition
to the yearly taxes. A failure to render any of these was always considered a just
cause for which to forfeit the lands. The same rights which the King possessed
over the superior landlords and all under them, the varions grades of landlords pos-
sessed over their inferiors, so that there was a joint ownership of the land, the Kin
really owning the allodium, and the persons in whose hands he placed the #
holding it in trust.
The land taxes were really rents and went to the King as his private
income. The idea of a nation or government as distinguished from the
person of the King first began to be recognized in the Constitution of 1840.
When the labor tax first began to be regulated by law, every tenant
was required to work one day in every week (Tuesday) for the King,
and one day (Friday) for the landlord.
The long reign of Kamehameha evolved greater permanency and
security in the possession of the lands.
On the accession of his son Liholiho no general redistribution of
lands took place.
The common people were merely tenants at will, liable to be dispos-
sessed at any time, and even to be stripped of their personal property
at the will of their chiefs.
Laws were passed in 1839 and 1840 to prevent evictions without
cause and the wanton seizure of the property of tenants.
68
The King and chiefs resolved to divide and define the shares which
each held in undivided shares of the lands of the Kingdom. The fol.
lowing rules were noted by the privy council December 18, 1847:
Whereas it has become necessary to the prosperity of our Kingdom and the proper
physical, mental, and moral improvement of our people that the undivided rights at
present existing in the lands of our Kingdom shall be separated and distinctly defined;
Therefore, We, Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands, and his chiefs, in
§§ council assembled, do solemnly resolve that we will be guided in such division
y the following rules:
1. His Majesty, our most Gracious Lord and King, shall, in accordance with the
constitution and laws of the land, retain all his private lands as his own indi-
yidual property, subject only to the rights of the tenants, to have and hold to him,
his heirs and successors forever.
2. One-third of the remaining lands of the Kingdom shall be set aside as the prop-
erty of the Hawaiian Government, subject to the direction and control of His Majesty
as pointed out by the constitution and laws, one-third to the chiefs and konohikis
in proportion to their possessions to have and to hold, to them, their heirs and suc-
cessors forever, and the remaining third to the tenants, the actual possessors and
cultivators of the soil, to have and to hold, to them, their heirs and successors forever.
3. The division between the chiefs or the konohikis and their tenants, prescribed
by rule 2d, shall take place whenever any chief, konohiki, or tenant shall à. such
division, subject only to confirmation by the King in privy council.
4. The tenants of His Majesty's private lands shall be entitled to a fee-simple title
to one-third of the lands possessed and cultivated by them; which shall be set off
to the said tenants in fee simple whenever His Majesty or any of said tenants shall
desire such division.
5. The division prescribed in the foregoing rules shall in no wise interfere with
any lands that may have been granted by His Majesty or his predecessors in fee
º to any Hawaiian subject or foreigner, nor in any way operate to the injury
of the holders of the unexpired leases.
6. It shall be optional with any chief or konohiki, holding lands in which the
Government has a share, in the place of setting aside one-third of the said lands as
Government property, to pay into the treasury one-third of the unimproved value
of said lands, which payment shall operate as a total extinguishment of the Govern-
ment right in said lands.
7. All the lands of His Majesty shall be recorded in a book entitled “Register of
the lan's belonging to Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands,” and depos.
ited with the registry of land titles in the office of the minister of the interior; and
all lands set aside as the lands of the Hawaiian Government shall be recorded in a
book entitled “Register of the lands belonging to the Hawaiian Government,” and
fee-simple titles shall be granted to all other allottees upon the award of the board
of commissioners to quiet land titles.
The division between the King and his chiefs was settled by a com-
mittee March 7, 1848. The book containing a record of this divisiou.
also contains releases signed by the several chiefs to the King, of the
lands they surrendered, and releases by the King to the several chiefs
of his feudal rights in the land remaining to them as their shares.
These formal awards were made, after evidence of title, which could
be converted into allodial title by payment of the consideration provided
for in rules 6 and 7, above cited.
On the 8th of March, 1848, the King set apart for the use of the Gov-
ernment the larger part of his royal domain, specified by name, and
reserved the residue for himself, his heirs, and successors. On June 7,
1848, the legislative council passed an act confirming and ratifying
what had been done by the King.
In 1850 most of the chiefs ceded a third part of their lands to the
Government to obtain an allodial title. This was accepted by the privy
council the same year.
The Crown lands received their designation from the cession by the
King of his share, founded on rule 1, above cited, to the Government.
The Government lands were derived under rule 2 and from cession
from the chiefs in 1850.
In all awards of ahupuaas and ilis the rights of tenants are reserved.
The acts of August 6, 1850, and July 11, 1851, protect the common
people in the right to take wood, thatch, kileaf, etc. They were also
guaranteed the right to water and the right of way, but not the right
of pasturage on the land of the konohiki, or chief. The right of fish-
ing in the sea appurtenant to the land and to sell the fish caught by
him was secured to every bona fide resident on land. The fee-simple
title, free of all commutation, to all native tenants was secured finally
by º act of August 6, 1850. The right of lords over tenants was thus
ended.
Mr. W. D. Alexander, superintendent of Government surveys,
defines Government lands in this language:
The great mass of the Government lands consists of those lands which were sur-
rendered and made over to the Government by the King, Kamehameha III, and which
are ennmerated by name in the act of June 7, 1848. To these must be added the
lands ceded by the several chiefs in lieu of commutation, those lands purchased by
the Government at different times, and also all lands forfeited to the Government by
the neglect of their claimants to present their claims within the §. fixed by law.
By virtue of various statutes, from time to time sales of these lands have taken place.
69
The same authority says that between the years 1850 and 1860 nearly
all the desirable Government lands was sold, generally to natives. The
total number of grants issued before April 1, 1890, was 3,475.
In 1850 one-twentieth part of all the lands belonging to the Govern-
ment was set apart for the purposes of education. Most of these have
been sold.
Mr. Alexander says: “The term ‘Crown lands’ is applied to those
lands reserved by Kamehameha III, March 8, 1848, for himself, his
heirs, and successors forever, as his private property.”
Kamehameha III and his successors dealt with these as with their
private property, selling, leasing, and mortgaging the same, and convey-
ing good titles.
The supreme court held that the inheritance to the Crown lands was
limited to the successors to the throne, and at the same time that the
possessor might regulate and dispose of the same as his private property.
Subsequently an act of the legislature made them inalienable and
declared that they should not be leased for a period to exceed thirty
years.
When the division of lands was determined upon the chiefs and tenants
alike were required to make proofs of the lands they occupied. Failing
in this, their rights were barred.
In view of the principles laid down for a division of the land, the infer-
ence is that the common people received their share of one-third. Now,
what are the facts? Before this division many natives lived with chiefs
and occupied no land. Others occupied small parcels for taro patches,
and took fish from the waters, and thus obtained their food. These
patches did not generally exceed 1 acre, and were designated as
kuleanas in the native tongue. Proof of this occupation of land had to
be made before the land commission, involving such forms and proofs
that the ignorant native failed in many instances to comply with the
regulations, and so lost his property. These little holdings were all
that they ever obtained. -
The historian of land titles (quoted here as the highest authority)
omits this great fact. In examining his work with him, he admits what
I have asserted in relation to the lands assigned to the common people.
This is also confirmed to me by the present minister of finance, Mr.
Damon (formerly vice-president of the advisory council).
Much is said here of the natives being wasteful, and in consequence
becoming landless. To my mind, when Japanese, Chinese, and Portu-
guese cheap labor was substituted for his own and he sought employ.
Iment in other avocations more remunerative and turned from these
insignificant possessions, he followed only the suggestions which would
have come to any person of any race.
Subsequently natives purchased Government land under a law pr
viding for the sale of portions of them to residents in lots from 1 to 50
acres. To this I shall recur hereafter.
The lands here are designated as Crown lands, Government lands,
the Bishop lands, and those owned by private parties.
The Government lands contain 828,370 acres; the Crown land
915,288 acres; the Bishop lands (a gift from a native, Mrs. C. R. Bishop
are devoted to educational purposes and contain 406,829 acres. The
private lands amount to 1,854,018 acres. Of these Europeans and
Americans, now own 1,052,492; natives, 257,457; half-castes, 531,545;
Chinese, 12,324 acres; Japanese 200 acres; other nationalities, none.
The Bishop lands mentioned above are included in the 531,545 acres
taxed as belonging to half-castes. *
Mr. Albert Loebenstein, of Hilo, Hawaii, in a conversation with me,
written out and certified by him, says: º
The Crown lands generally are leased to corporations for cane culture and graz-
ing, at a very low price for a long term of years. Most of the Government iands
are in the hands of sugar-planters.
He estimates the award of kuleanas to natives at about 11,000 acres.
He estimates that the Government has sold 290,000 acres of land to resi-
dents, and that two-thirds of this was sold to natives, and is now
owned by corporations for cane culture. He thinks the natives sold
on account of their improvidence in encumbering themselves with debt.
It appears to me that, with small holdings and no right of pasturage,
they could find but little opportunity for a good living on them. They
are certainly engaged in labor in various employments offering a life of
more comfort. *
70
lf American laborers can not compete with Chinese and Japanese
contract labor it is not a sign of indolence that the Kanaka should fly
from its crushing competition. It is still less so when he sees his own
Government seeking cheap labor for cane-growers and enforcing its
efficiency by laws intended to conſpel them to fulfill their contracts.
Mr. C. R. Bishop tells in his statement the simple story of the land
division on which the real property of the country rests. He says a
land commission was created for the purpose of giving title to all the
people who had claim to lands. The King and chiefs made this divi-
sion in 1847. It was agreed that the people should have their small
holdings, which they occupied and cultivated since 1839. That year
was fixed because it was the year in which the first draft of the con-
stitution defining the rights of the people was made.
The principle upon which the lands were divided he states thus:
The chiefs had been given lands by former kings, by Kamehameha I, especially.
They could not sell or lease them without the consent of the King and premier.
There were other lands supposed to be the King's private lands. When the division
was made these lands, which he claimed were his own, were set apart and called
crown lands. That was his private estate really, and the others belonged to the Govern-
ment, the chiefs, and the people. The people got theirs out of the Government land,
the King's land, and the chiefs' land. These were called kuleanas. The King's
lands were called Crown lands, from which he derived his support. The Govern-
ment lands were for the support of the Government. The King had a right to and
did sell Crown lands at his pleasure until 1864.
In the division of lands the Crown lands were large in amount, the Government
received a large share, and the largest part of the remainder went to the chiefs.
The Government lands are nearly sold out. The kuleanas would not average more
than 2 or 3 acres. A great many natives were seamen, mechanics, fishermen,
teachers, and followers of chiefs, who received no land. The children of these
awardees of kuleanas generally have no land. The sugar planters derive their
titles from the Government and the chiefs.
The King and the chiefs were extravagant; got into debt, and then had to pay.
When they got the title to their lands these debts were paid by many of the chiefs
with lands. During their lifetime they got rid of a great deal of land. The planta-
tions have come nearly altogether from the Government and the chiefs, and con-
sideralle of the land is leased from Crown lands.
Mr. Bishop's statement, which will be duly reported, though freed
from the technicalities and formalities of a trained lawyer, brings out
all that is practical and vital in the origin and progress of the land
system of the Hawaiian Islands.
Attention is here invited to the character of the early surveys and
surveys of grants from a report made by the Surveyor-General to the
legislature in 1891:
CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SURVEY'S,
First in order are the old surveys made under the direction of the land commis-
sion, and commonly known as “kuleana” surveys. These had the same defects as
the first surveys in most new countries. These defects were, in great part, owing to
the want of any proper supervision. There was no bureau of surveying, and the
president of the H. commission was so overwhelmed with work that he had no
time to spare for the superintendence of the surveying. As has been truly said
there was little money to pay out, and little time to wait for the work. Politica
reasons also added to the haste with which the work was pushed through, and barely
completed before the death of Kamehameha III.
No uniform rules or instructions were given to the surveyors employed, who were
practically irresponsible. Few of them could be regarded as thoroughly competent
surveyors, while some were not only incompetent, but careless and unscrupulous.
The result was that almost every possible method of measurement was adopted.
Some used 50-foot chains, and others the 4-pole chain divided into links; some
attempted to survey by the true meridian, others by the average magnetic meridian,
while most made no allowance for local variations of the needle. There are somé
surveys recorded which were made with a ship's compass, or even a pocket compass.
Few of them took much pains to mark corners or to note the topographical features
of the country. Rarely was one section or district assigned to one man. It is said
that over a dozen were employed in surveying Waikiki, for instance, not one of
whom knew what the other surveyors had done or tried to make his surveys agree
with theirs where they adjoined one another. As might be expected, overlaps and
gaps are the rule rather than the exception, so that it is º impossible to put
these old surveys together correctly on paper without ascertaining their true relative
positions by actual measurements on the ground.
The board of commissioners to quiet land titles were empowered by the law of
August 6, 1850, not only to “define and separate the portions of land belonging to
different individuals,” but “to provide for an equitable exchange of such different
portions where it, can be done, so that each man's land may be by itself.” This, how-
ever, was rarely done, and the kuleanas very often consist of several sections or
“apanas” apiece, scattered here and there in the most irregular manner imaginable.
No general rules were laid down in ºf. to the size of kuleanas, though mere
house lots were limited to one-quarter of an acre by the act just cited, section 5.
The consequence was that the responsibility was mainly thrown upon the surveyors,
and there was the greatest variety of practice among them in different districts.
The act above mentioned provided that fee-simple titles should “be granted to
71
native tenants for the lands they occupy and improve.” This was differently inter-
preted by different surveyors, so that in fact the “kuleanas” vary from 1 to 40
acres in extent. General maps of whole districts, or even ahupuaas, exhibiting the
exact location of all the #ºn: claims contained within them, were scarcely
thought of, and hardly could have been made with the inſerior instruments and
defective methods used by most of the kuleana surveyors of that time.
Surveys of grants were of a similar character to those of kuleanas. Formerly it
was not the policy of the Government to have Government lands surveyed as
wholes, or to have their boundaries settled. Portions of Government land sold to
private persons were surveyed at the expense of the purchaser. It was seldom the
case that an entire “ahupuaa’ was sold at once. The pieces sold were of all sizes
and shapes, sometimes cutting across half a dozen ahupuaas, and were generally
surveyed without reference to the surveys of adjoining land sales or awards. Hence
most Government lands at the present tilue consist of mere remnants left here and
there, and of the worthless and unsalable portions remaining after the rest had been
sold. It follows that, even * all the outside houndaries of a Government
land to have been surveyed and duly settled by the commissioner of bounda-
ries, it would still be necessary to locate on the ground all the grants and awards
contained within the land in question in order to ascertain how much of it is left.
Nothing short of a general survey of the country will bring to light all these facts,
will exhibit the Government lands in their true position in relation to other lands,
and enable the minister of the interior as well as applicants for land to judge of
their actual value. It was considerations like these which induced the then minis-
ter of the interior, Dr. Hutchinson, to institute the Government survey in 1871.
An account of that survey, its objects, methods, and results, was published in pam-
phlet form in 1889.
W. D. Alexander,
Superintendent of Government Survey.
In view of the foregoing observations it appears to me that if a
bumane feeling towards the native population of these islands is to
have place in American thought there will arise a conviction that in-
stead of inviting immigrants from the United States or other countries
to these islands in the hope of obtaining homes, whatever of lands
may be used in this way are more than needed by the native popula-
tion. They seem morever, to suggest that if the native has not
advanced in mental and moral culture up to the highest standard it
can not be denied that the policy of the Hawaiian Government in the
distribution of its lands has been a great hindrance to him.
His advancement in the future under the conditions now surrounding
him are by no means encouraging. If his advancement should reach
the most desirable stage there will in all probability arise a discontent
well calculated to unsettle any social fabric which sought to give it
permanency.
It has been made to appear in official reports of the Hawaiian Gov-
ernment, and in magazine and newspaper articles, that the native pop-
ulation was dying out and would in a few years become extinct. The
best opinion I can obtain here is that the death rate no longer exceeds
the birth rate, but that there is a gradual increase in the native popu-
lation. The extinction of the native, therefore, can no longer afford
any excuse for any distribution of the land of the country on that
account.
Out of a population of 40,622 natives and half-casts, 23,473 are offi-
£ially reported as able to read and write. They are generally allied in
their religious affiliations with the Protestant and Catholic churches.
Mr. Sereno E. Bishop, an ardent annexationist, and with an eye
quick to discern all their faults, in 1888 uses the following language:
The Hawaiian race is one that is well worth saying. With all their sad frailties,
they ale a noble race of men, physically and morally. They are manly courageous,
enterprising, cordial, generous, unselfish. They are highly receptive of good. They
love to look forward and upward, though very facile to temptations to slide back-
ward and downward. In an unusual degree they possess a capacity for fine and
ardent enthusiasm for noble ends.
Cau a Christian civilization doom such a people to annihilation by
any policy of legislation?"
I see in the letters from here to the New York World and Sun state-
ments that I had expressed my own opinions in reference to political
questions in these islands, and declaring the opinion of the President
on the subject of annexation.
I send you herewith the statement of Mr. Fred. Wundenberg. He
is a gentleman of excellent sense and character. It touches upon sev-
-eral questions with so much aptness that I have thought it perhaps
might interest you.
I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLount,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
72
(Inclosure 1 in No. 9..]
Interriew of Mr. Wundenberg.
MAY 15, 1893.
Where were you born ?
. On the island of Kauai.
How long have you lived in the Islands?
I was born in 1850 and have lived here ever since.
What are you engaged in f
At present I am deputy clerk of the supreme court.
Have you been recently offered the position of collector-general of customs?
8,Ve.
Did you decline it?
I did.
I
. I see in the correspondence between the American minister at this point and
the State Department the allegation that Mr. Wilson is the paramour of tº: Queen.
What kuowledge have you of the relations between these parties?
A. Queen Liliuokalani, before she was Queen was in the habit of providing for a
number of Hawaiian girls—in some cases educating them at her own expense;
º; them into society, and teaching them manners, dancing and all that
sort of business and providing them with suitable husbands. Miss Townsend, the
present wife of Wilson, is one of her beneficiaries, and her marriage with Wilson
was brought about in the same way. Mrs. Wilson was Emmeline Townsend. She
was a particular personal friend of Liliuokalani—always attended her—acted as a
sort of maid of honor, and that relation has existed right up to the present time.
Wilson, in that way became the intimate acquaintance and friend of Liliuokalani,
and he also was the personal friend of Dominis. Wilson was fond of horse racing
and fond of shooting and rowing—and the old governor was a great sportsman. He
was fond of boats; he had the best boats. He tried to have the best horses;
prided himself on the best guns. Wilson was an admirer of all that sort of thing,
and they naturally drifted together in that way. That was prior to Liliuokalani
being Queen. After she became Queen, Dominis was in ill health, and the revolu-
tion of 1887 had taken place; the Wilcox riot had taken place, and the woman Wºº,
in constant dread of something of the kind, and Wilson, being near to her person,
and a reliable friend of hers, and a man of known courage, it was the most natural
thing in the world that she would want him to be marshal. She insisted upon it.
Loper at that time was marshal. Loper, as well as most of us, had taken a
hand in the affair of 1887. She wanted things in shape that she could feel she
had control of things. The station house was an arsenal. They kept arms there,
and ordnance; cannon, Gatling guns, etc., had been relnoved in 1887 down there and
placed under the charge of Marshal Loper, who was in sympathy and connection
with the 1887 party. So when she came in power it was one of the first demands
she made, that some of her friends should be placed in charge of that institution.
I was postmaster then, and one of the demands made was that I should be removed,
and I was removed on acconut of my affiliation with the 1887 party.
. Q. The change from Loper to Wilson gave offense to the other side—the Reform
party
A. There was a little interregnum in which another man named Hopkins, was put
in temporary charge before Wilson formally took office, but practically Wilson fol-
lowed Loper. This little administration of Hopkins did not amount to anything.
Q. Wilson going in there gave offence to the Reform party?
A. No; nothing seemed to be said about it. . After they began to find things were
going against them, and the results of the elections of 18 the National Reform
party swept the field—then they began their old games of attacking through the
ress. . They attacked everybody and everything—not only Wilson, but everybody.
f a chicken thief was caught, Wilson was held up for ridicule. For every drunk,
robbery, etc., Wilson was blamed. . They attacked hira broadcast through the press.
Q. Any efforts made to impeach him?
A. I do not think so; not to my knowledge. -
Q. Where was he born ?
A. Wilson is the son of the English consul at Tahiti, by a Tahitian chieftess.
Q. Did he come here as a boy?
A. Yes. He is about the same age I am. ... I am rather better informed than any-
body else regarding Wilson. My mother, the daughter of missionaries, was born in
Tahiti and was .# acquainted with the Wii on family.
Q. How old was he when he came here?
A. His father was interested in shipping ventures, and among other places of trade,
I think either owned totally, or in connection with other parties, Fannings Island.
He had interests there, and it was in one of these trading voyages that he was lost.
Old Capt. English, who is here now, took the two boys—the brothers—and carried
them to Fannings Island. They lived there, atd when they were old enough, the old
man bronght them here and put thern to school. That was in the early fifties. I
think they went to school with Captain Smith.
Q. How old would that make him.
A. About 43 years old. As was usually the case with half-whites of that class,
they did not have the best opportunities for education. After they got the ordi-
nary rudiments they would be put to a trade. He was put to a trade. He learned
the blacksmith's trade. He was a man of strong character and ability. He dropped
that and went into Government employ. He was made superintendent of water-
works and made a good one.
Q. What sort of marshal did he make?
A. An exceptionally good one.
Q. Was that generally the opinion?
A. I do not think they have ever had a marshal here at any time who could equal
him, and I think it would be a hard matter to get anyone—with this one exception—
like most of the natives Wilson was careless in money matters. I have to admit
that Wilson was careless. *
Q. Behind in his accounts?
A. In his business arrangements he has been careless. When he was superintend-
ent of waterworks he got behind considerably. I saw his difficulties. There was
73
a shortage of something like nine or ten thousand dollars. We advanced the money
for him, ºnyself and the present Queen. That transaction was open to explanation.
I think Wilson was made the residuary legatee of a long series of old fossils. It had
been considered a place of no importance. They kept accounts very badly. They kept
a system of receipt books with stubs. The investigation was held by Gulick.
These stubs were added up and Wilson was made to account for it. I can not say
whether he was responsible for it. Blſ. EMA
Q. Did he ever live in the palace with the Queen?
A. I do not think Wilson ever lived in the palace. Wilson and his wife occupied
the bungalow. biºt-
Q. How far is that from the palace? **
A. It is located in the corner of Richard and Palace Walk, in the palace yard.
I know that Wilson and his wife occupied some of the apartments. The other
apartments were occupied by others of her household, servants and retainers. She
occupied the palace herself, or lived in her own place, at Washington Place.
Q. How far is the bungalow from the palace?
A. Sixty or 100 yards. I used to visit him at times. The palace stands in the
middle of the square. o
. Have you ever heard it stated from any reliable source that Mr. Wilson was
lodged in the palace
A. Never.
Q. How was the Queen received here in society?
A. She was always received with the greatest respect.
Q. Please illustrate what you mean by that?
A. No entertainment of any importance—reception, ball—was considered com-
Fº without the presence of the Queen. The chief justice on one occasion gave a
all or entertainment of some kind; I think it was a reception to Armstrong. I was
present. The Queen was there. The chief justice was very attentive to the Queen.
W. R. Castle gave an entertainment not a §º while ago at his residence to some
children, which the Queen attended. Castle was extremely attentive to her. In
fact, whenever the so-called missionary party gave any entertainment they were
always desirous of having the Queen. She received the most marked attention from
©Iſle
Q. Were these ladies active in social life about the palace?
A. }: whenever the Queen would give entertainments these people always
attended.
Q. With as much freedom as other classes of people?
A. I think so.
Q. You spoke of the Queen educating Hawaiian girls. At what school?
A. At a number of schools. The school I am most acquainted with is Kawaiahas
Seminary.
Q. Who were the teachers there?
A. Miss Bingham was the principal. Latterly they have been compelled to send
abroad to get assistance. The management was always in the hands of the mis-
sionaries. It is a missionary institution.
Q. Did she generally prefer that institution for these girls?
A. I think most of the girls have been educated there. I think she has had sev-
eral educated at Maui, at Makawaco Semiuary, another institution. - *||
Are you a man of family f §HºFHW
A. No, sir; I am not a married man. We are a very large family. Ihave a num-
ber of sisters living here. g
Q. #. they associate with the Queen without reserve, as other people here?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you feel like they were with a reputable person?
Yes; I never felt anything out of the way. In fact, I know that a great many
people at times would feel slighted if they did not receive invitations to attend enter-
tainments there.
Q. Were you one of the active participants in the revolution of 1887?
A. I was an active participator in the events of 1887. I was not a leader.
Q. Please tell me the cause of that revolution.
A. I want to say that the reasons, and causes that actuated different participants
were no doubt numerons. The mainspring was this same Missionary party. They
were smarting under defeats they had sustained repeatedly from Gibson. They had
used large amounts of money in *...*.* to control the elections, but Gibson
seemed to have a strong influence on the King and defeated them and held his
power, I think, over a period of six years, and the King, under his direction, was
allowed to go into all iii. of follies. This “Kaimiloa” escapade was one. The King
had the idea in his head for some time previous of causing a confederation of the
Pacific Islands. I have never heard him say he was ambitious of becoming Emperor
of the Pacific, as has been attributed to him. Gibson, who was too astute and far-
seeing to believe in anything of the kind, still felt it was necessary to humor him
in a number of these projects, of which this was one. That escapade is familiar with
everybody. They sent Bush down there and it resulted in disaster. That was
made one of the ostensible reasons. Also the opium scandal. There had alwa
been a great deal said regarding the opium, business; some thought it should be
•ntirely prohibited others thought it was impossible to do so. They favored
licensing the business. A bill passed the Legislature authorizing licenses. Then
the Chinese began to bid for these licenses and that resulted in what is known as
the Ah Ki scandal, in which it is claimed that the King received sixty or seventy
thousand dollars to let a certain Chinese firm have the license. That was another
cause put forward.
Q. Did they make him pay that back?
A. Yes; his estate paid that back, eventually.
Q. Was it generally believed that he acted corruptly in that matter?
A. Yes; those are the ostensible reasons put forward, and general extravagance
and misumanagement of finances. That led up to this business.
* what do you mean by ostensible reasons; were there any other reasons behind
©S6
A. I do not know that I would have any right to put forward convictions and
beliefs which lead from way back. I do not think that these reasons, though they
74
were powerful agents at the time, were the only cause. I think it was the persist-
ent determination of a clique here to get the power again which Gibson had wrested
from it.
Q. They had been directing public affairs up to Gibson's time?
A. Yes.
e ©S
Q. And during that time lost control?
A. Yes. To go back a little farther: The same party had held power in various
forms and degrees up to about 1853. I think then that the decline of Dr. Judd's
power began. He held despotic sway under Kamehameha III. In 1853 a committee
of thirteen, representing people who had become tired of this arbitrary rule of Dr.
Judd, waited on the King and demanded his removal from power. From that time,
over a period of twenty years, is where the country received the very best adminis-
tration it ever got, from men like Robert C. Wiley, Judge Lee, and, in later days,
Harris and Hutchinson—men of that style. That carried through the reigns of
Kamehameha IV and V. The missionaries were out of power. These men would
not tolerate them at all.
Q. Was there extravagance then?
A. That was the ve st period of Hawaiian history. That was the foundation
of the Hawaiian Islands being received into the family of nations. She took her
standing under the guidance of Wiley and Harris. At the death of Kamehameha W,
Lunalilo came in and the missionaries regained their power through him. He was
the highest chief living, but an intemperate fellow. He was as good a fellow as
ever lived. He was a drunkard. Missionaries went into Fº under him. He
lived a year, then came Kalakaua. They continued their hold on affairs during the
early part of Kalakaua's reign, until Gibson came in. He overthrew them, I think,
in 1880. Gibson reigned supreme in 1880. He was returned to the Legislature in
1880 and held power to 1887. Kalakaua was extravagant, and Gibson, in order to
hold his power, had to yield to a good many of the King's foibles in that way. If
Gibson had received generous support from outside he would have been able to hold
the King in check, but in order to hold his power he had to yield to the King in
order to hold his position against opposition. The chamber of commerce, the
Planters’ Labor and Supply Company—everything combined against him. It is a
marvel how he managed to hold his own against the tremendous odds that were
used against him.
iſe the natives had, as a rule, generally yielded the Government into the hands
of the whites, still they always felt that they should have some sort of representa-
tion in the Government, and a native Hawaiian usually occupied one of the cabinet
positions. In addition to the native Hawaiian there was a new element coming on
the field, which consisted of native born of foreign parents, and somewhere around
about 1884 we began to feel that we should have representation as well as the foreign-
ers, and placed the pronosition before Kalākaua. He recognized the justice of this,
and C.T. Guick was made minister of the interior in compliance with the wishes of
this element. This cabinet was overthrown in 1886 by Mr. Spreckels' influence. Mr.
Spreckels had advanced large sums of money to the Government, and demanded the
deeding over of the wharfage, the city front from the Pacific Mail to the Oceanic docks,
the Honolulu waterworks, and other governmental property in town. This propo-
sition was acceded to by Gibson, but resisted by Gulick, who succeeded in frus-
trating the whole scheme, but which resulted in the overthrow of the cabinet
finally through Spreckels' influence. Spreckels was instrumental in forming a new
cabinet composed of Gibson, John T. Dare §: lawyer he brought from San Frau-
cisco), and, I think, Robert Creighton, and they put one Hawaiiau in—some old
dummy, I forget now who he was. This was naturally, offensive to the Hawaiian
element previously alluded to, and we reproached Gibson for his action in the
matter, and when the events of 1887 turned up, a large majority of the element
alinded to joined the movement to overthrow Gibson, and of course the other party
were only too glad to have additions to the strength of their party. I think that
answers the question why I joined the movement of 1887.
Q. What was the demand made upon Kalakaua as far as a new constitution went 7
A. They made a demand that he should grant them a new constitution, which he
agreed to immediately.
Q. And that is the present constitution?
A. Yes; that is the present constitution.
Q. What sort of cabinet did he appoint then?
A. He appointed a cabinet to their d.ctation: L. A. Thurston, W. L. Green, C. W.
Ashford, and Jonathan Austin.
Q. Is Mr. Thurston native-born?
A. Yes.
Q. Educated here?
A. Yes; most of his education. He went abroad to study law.
. His life has been spent here?
. Yes; he is identified with this community.
as he been an active member of the Planters’ Labor and Supply Company?
. He has always been invited to their meetings. He never was a planter.
. Might he not have owned stock?
A. He may have owned some little stock.
Q. He is not an American citizen?
A. No, sir; he is a Hawaiian.
Q. Where is Mr. Green from?
A. He is an Englishman. He came here in early days. He is head of the firm of
Janior, Green & É. any. -
q. where is Mr. Ashfºrd from 1 $
A. Ashford is a Canadian. He arrived here in the early pºrt of 1880.
Q. Was he especially active then in military movements
A. Yes; very active in 1887.
. He commanded troops?
A. His brother, Volney W. Ashford; he was the man who put it through.
Q. What do you mean when you say that he was the man who put it through?
A. W. W. Ashford was the organizer and guide of the whole of the movement
which was expected to have operated in the event of any open resistance having,
10
i
75
occurred. Of course, the Missionary party—Thurston, Smith, Dole, and others—
were organizers of the movement, but when it came down to actual working W. W.
Ashford was one. He was colonel of the existing forces—four or five companies of
Hawaiian rifles, and this riffraft that you find around the Provisional Government
to-day—that was the crowd that flocked in around them. They were the ones that
would have been used. Whenever danger was in the way they were scarce, but
when it came to asking positions, they were there.
Q. Who was Jonathan Austin?
A. He was an American—a New Yorker, I think. He was a brother of H. L.
Austin, of Hawaii. He was a comparatively newcomer.
Q. None of these were of native blood?
A. None of them.
Q. They continued in power how long?
A. From immediately after the 30th of June, 1887, up to the Legislature of 1890.
The elections were in February. The house met in April or May, 1890. Shortly
after the house went into session they passed a vote of want of confidence.
Q. The reform element had been beaten in elections?
A. Yes.
Q. And that brought about an antireform cabinett
S
• (68, -
Q. Now in the Legislature of 1892 there was a continual turning out of cabinets;
was that a struggle for power?
A. It was a struggle for power. This same reform or missionary element was
fighting to regain the reins of government. They united with a faction known as
Liberals. These two elements put together could vote out the other crowd, and
they voted them out until the G. N. Wilcox cabinet was formed. -
Q. With this cabinet the Reform party was content?
w #. did the Liberals take it—did they get offended?
#: they make a combination with the National Reform party?
W. the Wilcox cabinet voted out as a result of that combination? .
#. Wilcox cabinet was voted out on the 13th of January, 1893?
q. #. Legislature was prorogued on the 14th
i
Y
g ©8.
Q. If this cabinet had not been voted out before the prorogation of the Legisla-
ture the Reform element through this cabinet would have had control of the Gov-
ernment for two years?
A. Yes.
Q. How did # receive the voting out of the Wilcox cabinet!
A. It was not liked.
$: º: they feel like they had lost power?
g ©S.
isº, Were you at Mr. W. O. Smith's office at the meeting on Saturday, January 14,
Yes; I was there in the afternoon.
Was the subject of the dethronement of the Queen discussed?
0.
W. the subject of annexation discussed?
O.
i
N
What was in the mind of that *::::: anything definite?
No; nothing definite. The idea was that this attempted proclaiming of a new
constitution was the cause of unsettling affairs, and that there was danger for the
public safety. This committee of public safety was organized for that purpose.
Q. §ything said about landing troops?
A. No
Q. There were subsequent meetings of the committee of safety. Did you attend
*: of them? Were you invited?
16th I attended one that was held at Henry Waterhouse's on Monday evening, the
t
Q. Did you attend any of any earlier date?
A. I attended one at Thurston's house on Saturday evening.
Q. Was the subject of the dethronement of the Queen discussed there?
A.. I would not like to give any information regarding anything that took place
at Thurston's house that night, as I considered it as confidential. Thurston reposed
confidence in me, and I should not like to betray it.
ere was the other meeting?
. The only other meeting I attended was the meeting at Waterhouse's.
. Who was present? Any members of the present Provisional Government?
. Most of the members of the committee of safety were there.
. Please&: the names of such as you can remember.
A. H. E. oºper, I think, was there; Andrew Brown was there; J. A. McCandless
was there; T. F. Lansing was there; f think john Emmeluth was there; C. Bolte
was there; Henry Waterhouse was there; F. W. McChesney was there; W. O.
Smith was there; C. L. Carter was also present.
Q. Any others connected with the Government? -
A. Mr. Dole was sent for and invited to be present and he attended.
Q. Was there anything said at that .# on the subject of aid by the troops of
the United States and the American minister 4.
A. Yes; the general impression and the general talk all through the business was
the fact that they would obtain or receive both moral and material assistance from
the United States minister and from the troops from the Boston.
Q. Did they expect to º
A. No; I do not think they did. & -
§ *::::: idea was that the sympathy of the American minister and troops was
W] ©ºn
i
76
A. Yes; the people knew if the United States minister, or any vessel in port, moved
in the matter that would be the end of the matter. If they sent one marine ashore it
would end the matter.
Q. Was that the drift of the meeting?
A. Yes; everybody knew that and felt that. - *
Q. Was there any portion of that meeting that went to see the American minister?
A. Yes. Mr. Loper was offered the position of commander in chief of what forces
they might get together. He did not see his way clear; he did not want to assume
any position which was not tangible, and the arguments put to him were about this
support we would receive.
... What sort of supportf
A. The support from the United States minister and from the Boston. Loper still
hesitated. He did not feel satisfied with the assurances. It was ºft. that he
go over and see the minister himself, which he did in company with some of the
others. I think C. L. Carter was one—I do not know for certain.
Q. Henry Waterhouse was one?
A. I think so, but I do not know. I have an impression that Waterhouse and
Carter went there.
Q. Did they come back?
A. Yes.
Q. What did they report f
A. I understood them to say that Mr. Stevens had told them that if they would
take possession of the Government building and read their proclamation he would
immediately recognize them and support them, or, failing to get the Government
building, any building in Honolulu. They deny that, but I understood any buildin
º #. utw. Anyway, from what Mr. Loper heard he was satisfied and accepte
the office.
Q. Was the city quiet when the troops came in 7
A. Yes; quiet as Sunday.
Q. Women and children on the streets f
A. Yes; the public at large did not know what was going on. The band played
at the hotel. F. not think anyone knew what was going on except the politicians
and those who were behind the scenes, as you .. say.
Q. How long after the proclamation was read before Mr. Stevens recognized the
Provisional Government?
A. That I do not know. The current report around there was that it was between
3 and 4 o'clock. I understood the United States minister had recognized the Govern-
ment. -
Q. Who said that?
A. It is impossible for me to say. It was common talk.
Q. How long after that before the station house and barracks were surrendered?
A. Somewhere, I should judge, between 6 and 7 o'clock. The lamps were lighted.
Loper said Wilson had agreed to turn over the station house. He said: “Will you
go down and take possession?”. I said: “No; I have nothing to do with this con-
cern.” He said: “We must have someone to go down, there.” I said: “Take
some of your own folks; take McCandless down.” He did." He had not been gone
long before he º up, “I want you; you must come down; McCandless won’t
stop.” I think before I started I met McCandless. He said: “Loper wants you
down there.” I don’t want to stop there. I considered the matter. A number of
friends of mine wanted me to go. They said: “It is a critical moment. We want
a Hawaiian who can talk to the natives and prevent any friction between the
natives and foreigners.” I said: “In the interest of law and order I will go down.”
I went down. Most of the force that Wilson had was retiring. This guard of 20
men that *:::: had taken down of this “German 500,” had marched in. I went
in and was placed in charge. The street lamps were lighted.
Q. What was the occasion of your separating from the people who were at the
meeting at Mr. Waterhouse's f
A. #. first proposition was made by Thurston himself. . He asked me if I was
willing to stay in the movement for maintaining law and order, and try to preserve
the fundamental law of the land? I told him I would. We went over to the
attorney-general's office and met the cabinet, who had come over from the polls. I
heard the statements of Parker, Peterson, and Colburn. It was then proposed by
Thurston and others that we should º the cabinet against the overt acts of
the Queen, and that meeting at Smith's office was for that purpose. Peterson went
there.
Q. You separated from them, then, when it was developed that they meant to
overthrow the Queen?
Yes. I stopped on Wednesday, when I found it .. to develop. I began
to be suspicious. I simply went to this meeting at Waterhouse's and was a listener.
I was interested in affairs of the country.
Q. You took no part in the organization of the Provisional Government?
A. None whatever. te
Q. How many troops did they have there at the time the proclamation was read?
A. When the proclamation was read there were two policemen taken off an ammu-
nition wagon and put at the front door.
3, how many troops did they have at the close of the reading of the proclama-
tion
A. None, excepting those two.
Q. How long after that before other troops arrived? -
A. Just about 3 o'clock. This Capt. Zeigler, with about 30 men, marched in the
back way, indifferently armed. . -
Q. Then other troops came in afterwards?
A. After that another body of similar number–25 to 30—made up of young fellows
from around various offices, marched in. That was all there were. It was not until
it was sº known that the United States minister had recognized the Govern-
ment that the crowd eame flocking in—mostly men discharged from the station.
house by Wilson. They jumped in there with a view of being paid. They enlisted
after being discharged by Wilson.
Q. #: those fellows in the service now?.
A. Yes.
77
Q. Making part of the Provisional forces at this time? -
A. Yes; and a great many of the citizens, those who compose the Annexation
Club, when they saw the thing was sure, the United States forces within pistol shot,
and that Wilson had given up the station house, and that the barracks would be
surrendered, then they wanted to be on the top side. They came in.
Q. Before that they had been quiet?
A. Yes; then they rushed in.
§: W. you at the mass meeting on Monday?
• (68.
Q. How many people were there?
A. I should judge about 700 or 800, possibly 900.
Q. What nationalities?
A. #.º.
Q. Many Portuguese?
A. A great many.
Q. How is the white population in this city on the subject of annexation?
A. It is very hard to arrive at an exact statement. You can only get it by mak-
ing your own views known. ... You will find out that men who are pretending to be
in with a party are really at heart opposed to it.
Q. How many people are not pretending to be with the party in power and are
opposed to annexation?
A. I should judge about half and half.
Q. People who are frank about their views? e
A. Yes. You take the independent Americans who are not under the influence of
the Missionary faction, they are as a rule opposed to it, as are most of the English
people and some Germans, and almost all foreigners outside of the particular Ameri-
can class who are under the influence of the missionaries and planters.
ti Q. M. part of the United States is this American element who favor annexa-
1On ITOIn
A. The New England States, generally.
Q. Are they in point of numbers in a majority of the Americans here?
A. I do not know. I do not think that they are, but their influence is the largest
in account of wealth.
Q. And intelligence?
A. I won't add intelligence; I beg to be excused from that.
Q. Do you know whether or not the committee that went up and organized, the
Provisional Government sent anybody to the Government building to see if there
were any soldiers there or not? -
A. I can not say that. I reunained in my office until I felt something was going
9n, and then I walked out on the street. What they did after leaving Water-
house's I don't know.
Q. Was everything quiet at the Government building at the time the proclama-
tion was read?
A. 3. yes. All the offices were running right along very quietly; nobody knew
3. nVºIllinſº.
-> §, of the officers knew of the movement?
A. I do not think they did. Everything was going on just the same as usual.
They knew there were rumors, but I do not think much attention was paid to it.
The presence of the United States troops was a matter of curiosity and comment.
Q. Well, then, so far as the reading of that proclamation dethroning the Queen
was concerned it was known to very few people that it was to be done?
A. 1 do not think it was known to anybody except themselves. The whole thing
was a surprise to everyone. Wilson might have had some inkling of it. He was
; his best to keep posted, but of course his actions would have been guided
<ntirely by what information he got regarding the attitude of the United States
troops.
JUNE 5, 1893.
Mr. Blount. Mr. Wundenberg, I omitted to ask you as to the feeling of the
natives on the subject of annexation at the former interview. Please tell me now.
A. To the best of my knowledge and belief—and I am well acquainted with the
natives—I do not think there is a native in favor of annexation. Many may have
declared themselves so, but it is my belief that they have dene so under pressure—
that is, their interests were controlled by those who desire annexation; they are
afraid of º.; them and of being deprived of privileges they now possess.
Q. What sort of privileges?
A. In a number of cases they have stock running on lands of large landowners
who would make them remove them, and that would deprive them of their means of
livelihood. Some of them hold positions under planters and others.
Q. Any of them in Government employ?
A. A good many of them are in Government employ. There is only one that I know
•f who openly comes out and advocates annexation—a young man by the name of
Notley, who is employed in the waterworks. Others do it in a subdued manner. If
they advocate the matter at all they do it as a matter of policy. The natives have
the same love of country as you will find anywhere. The term they use is Aloha
aima.
Q. Are there any whites in the islands against annexation?
A. A great many.
Q. What proportion of them—I mean Americans and †:
A. I think if a fair canvass was made that you would find fully one-half opposed
to it.
Q. Suppose the question of annexation was submitted to the people of these
islands, or such of them as were qualified to vote for representatives under the con:
stitution just abrogated, and with the Australian ballot system which you had
adopted, what would be the result of the vote?
A. It would be overwhelmingly defeated—almost to a man by the native Hawaii-
ans, and I think a great many of the foreigners who now are supposed to be in favor
•of annexation would vote against it.
Q. What would be the proportion of annexationists to anti-annexationists t
78
A., All the native voters, with very few exceptions, would vote against it. ... I
think most of the native-born of Hawaiian parents would vote against it, with the
exception possibly of those few that are mixed up in the annexation movement here.
think most of the foreign element that are independent and outside of what is
known as the Missionary party would vote against it, and I think a great many of
those who are now on the rolls of the Annexation Club would vote against it. T#:
names appear there simply for policy.
I have carefully read the foregoing and find it to be an accurate report of my in-
terviews with Mr. Blount.
F. WUNDENBERG.
HoNolulu, June 5, 1893.
No. 13.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 10.] HONOLULU, HAwari AN ISLANDs, June 17, 1893.
SIR: To-morrow, June 18, the China leaves here for San Francisco.
Your letter of the 26th ultimo, informing me of a desire for my final
report, was received. Up to this time I have devoted myself to the
study of various questions here and the taking of testimony. The lat-
ter has been necessarily slow, because Mr. Mills had no aid in tran-
scribing notes, which occupied a great deal of time.
I had supposed it was your wish that I should not undertake to pre-
pare a report until the lapse of two or three months, in order that I
might assure myself of a correct comprehension of the situation here.
So little had been said in your correspondence with me that I feared
to commence too early lest you should suppose I was acting hastily.
Some recent information has made it well that this delay has taken
place. I will immediately commence my report and devote myself to
it continuously until it is completed.
There is nothing of special importance occurring here now. There
is no indication of any movement against the Provisional Government.
There seems to be a universal acquiescence on the part of all parties
§ the idea of awaiting the action of the Government of the United
tates.
It may be of interest to you to know that in an examination this
afternoon of Col. Soper, commanding the military forces of the Pro-
visional Government since the 17th of January last, he stated that at
a meeting at the house of Henry Waterhouse, on the night of the 16th
of January, composed of members of the committee of safety, and some
persons called in, he was offered the command of the military forces;
that he declined to accept it until the next day; that in this meeting it
was accepted by all as true that Mr. Stevens had agreed that if the
persons seeking to dethrone the Queen got possession of the Govern-
ment building and proclaimed a new gº. he would recognize
it as a de facto government, that he (Soper) never accepted the com-
mand until after he had knowledge of this fact; that he is a citizen of
the United States and claims allegiance thereto.
I send you a copy of the oath Col. Soper and other foreigners take in
order to participate in public affairs in these islands.
I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLou NT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
No. -e
HAwarıAN ISLANDs, Island of , District of , 88;
I, --—, aged –, a native of , residing at , in said district,
do solemnly swear, in the presence of i. God, that I will support the consti-
tution of the Hawaiian º romulgated and pººl. on the 7th day of
July, 1887, and the laws of said Kingdom, not hereby renouncing but expressly
reserving all allegiance and citizenship now owing or held by me.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this — day of , A. D. 18–
Intepector of Election.
79
No. —.
HAwamAN ISLANDs, Island of , District of , 88:
I, the undersigned, inspector of election, duly appointed and commissioned, do
hereby certify that , aged —, a native of , residing at , in
said district, has this day taken, before me, the oath to * the Constitution of
the Hawaiian Kingdom, promulgated and proclaimed on the 7th day of July, 1887,
and the laws of said Kingdom.
—,
Inspector of Election.
— —, 18—.
No. 14.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 11.] HoNolulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs,
June 28, 1893.
SIR: On yesterday I found amongst the unfiled papers of the legation
a document, of which the inclosure sent herewith is a true copy.
My final report will be completed within the next ten days, probably
much earlier. It will be forwarded by the first opportunity.
In my dispatch to the Department of April 26 I said: “Mr. Paul
Neumann is generally regarded here as a bright, plausible, unscrupu-
lous person.” I desire now to say that so far as the expression “unscrup-
ulous” is concerned a better knowledge of public opinion satisfies me
that I was not justified in its use. I deem it my duty to place this on
the records of the Department.
Three persons have been arrested for conspiracy to overthrow the
Government. They are whites of the laboring class.
I see no reason to think that there is likely to be any movement
against the Provisional Government or the peace of society at this
time.
On the 18th of this month 1,757 Japanese contract laborers were
landed here for the sugar plantations. Of this number 1,410 were men
and 347 women. ©
I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLou NT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure in No. 11.]
Mr. Dole to Mr. Stevens.
- GoverNMENT BUILDING,
Bonolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. Stevens,
ài. States Minister Resident:
SIR: I acknowledge the receipt of your valued communication of this day, recog-
nizing the Hawaiian Provisional Government, and express deep appreciation of the
Qālīlós
We have conferred with the ministers of the late government and have made
demand upon the marshal to surrender the station house. We are not actually yet
in possession ef the station house, but as night is approaching and our forces may be
insufficient to maintain order, we request the immediate support of the United
States forces, and would request that the commander of the United States forces
take command of our military forces so that they may act together for the protec-
tion of the city. e
Respectfully, etc.,
SANFord B. Dole,
- Chairman Executive Council.
(Note of Mr. Stevens at the end of the above communication: “The above request
not complied with.-Stevens.”) -
No. 15.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
No. 12.] HoNolulu, HAWAILAN ISLANDs,
July 7, 1893.
SIR: The steamer Peru leaves Honolulu for San Franciscoto-morrow.
It will take me three or four days longer to complete my report, which
3. be forwarded to you by the first steamer leaving here after that
6.
•tº
'80
Recalling to your mind the letter from Mr. Dole to Mr. Stevens (a
copy of which was sent with my last dispatch) I ask you to examine a
statement made by the commissioners of the Bawaiian Provisional
Government on page 41 of Senate Executive Document, No. 76, Fifty-
second- .#. second session, designated as the “sixth.” in the
statement of facts by them. :
• I wrote President Dole a communication asking for a copy of Mr.
Stevens's-reply to this letter, omitting therefrom its reference to his
recognition. - sº
Verbally he says he does not recollect writing the letter and has not
been able to find the reply. I have asked him for his reply in writ-
ing, which he has promised to give me after making a more thorough
503rCºle *
The annexation element have endeavored to utilize the celebration
of the Fourth of July in the advancement of their cause.
I.am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
No. 16.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham. .
HoNolulu, HAWAIIAN IsLANDs,
‘No. 13.] & July 17, 1893.
, SIR: The report which is forwarded herewith has been delayed by
the slowness of movements of persons interested in either Pº by
the difficulty of communication with the several islands, and by 5 dé.
sire to assure myself of the true import of the facts testified to "from
time to time by a great number of persons. * * * *
, Public documents had to be examined, as well as the testimony of a
great number of witnesses, which was delayed in being, transcribed
'from the stenographic notes from lack of clerical aid. This testimony
will be promptly forwarded. * 4 * * *
Few quotations have been indulged in lest this paper should attain
inconvenient length. e
I am, etc., º
* * JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
No.300 3:
No. 18.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
HoNoLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs,
No. 14.] July 19, 1893;
SIR: On the 28th ultimo I sent through Mr. Mills a communication
to President Dole, a copy of which is inclosed herewith.
Mr. Mills reported that President Dole said he did not remember the
letter to Mr. Stevens; that he would examine his papers and see if a
reply to such communication could be found. He asked if such a paper
was in the legation.
A copy of the letter in question was sent to you with my No. 11 of
the 28th ultimo.
The omission of a reference to the admission of Mr Stevens's recog-
nition was done to avoid informing him of my knowledge of this fact.
A great effort has been continuously made to suppress such informa-
tion. Absolute falsehoods have in some instances been 1 esorted to by
men of whom better conduct would have been expected.
Since Mr. Mills's conversation with President Dole I called on him in
person and asked him if he would not give me a reply to my letter. He
said he desired to talk with Mr. Damon, who had charge of some of their
private papers, which he had locked up in his bank, before he answered
Iłłę.
This was several days ago and I presume I shall hear nothing fur-
ther from him on the subject.
Mr. W. O. Smith said to me on one occasion that he thought Mr.
Stevens had given to President Dole the letter of recognition of the
Provisional Government to be used on the happening of some event.
He represented that the matter was in his mind vaguely. This was
repeated on another occasion. It is quite possible that this reply may
to furnish it.
There is a habit of mind amongst all people here, no matter how
careful of their conduct in other respects, to exaggerate and mislead in
political questions, and especially in relation to the present condition
of affairs.
Some of the papers from the United States arriving here contain a
letter of ex-Queen Liliuokalani to Mr. Stevens, dated January 17,
1893, published as part of his speech in Augusta, Me., on the 29th
ultimo.
It was a legation paper, and I can not understand by what means
he acquired permission to make it public, and so have deemed it my
duty to call your attention to it,
I am, etc.,
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure in No. 14.]
Mr. Blount to Mr. Dole.
LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATEs,
Honolulu, June 28, 1893.
SIR: Please be kind enough to send me a copy of Mr. Stevens's º to a letter
addressed to him by you as chairman of the executive council on the 17th of Janua
last, in which you request the immediate support of the United States forces, an
that the commander of those forces take comunand of your military forces so that
they * act*gether for the protection of the city.
am, © & &
y -- JAMEs H. BioUNT,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Unjied States.
His Excellency SANFORD B. Dole, -
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
s
in some way bring out other facts, and for that reason it is not desired
}
*
1A. -
2
No. 19.
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
HoNOLULU, HAWAILAN ISLANDs,
No. 15.] te July 26, 1893.
SIR: On the 28th ultimo I forwarded to you a copy of a letter from
President Dole to Mr. Stevens. On it was the entry, “The above
request not complied with. Stevens.” *
On the same day I addressed a communication to Mr. Dole, asking
for Mr. Stevens's reply to this letter. *
On the 20th instant Mr. Dole inclosed me the communication annexed
hereto, (Inclosure No. 1). -
This reply of Mr. Stevens is nowhere to be found in the legation
records or files. * *
I inclose also a communication (Inclosure No. 2) containing infor-
mation from the archives of the Hawaiian Islands, sent me by Mr.
* Pºlexander, at my request, thinking it might be of some histori-
Cà V8, U16, .
The public in the United States has been led to believe that Mr. Marcy
had shown great individuality and sagacity as secretary of state in
his well-nigh consummated treaty of annexation of these islands.
These Hawaiian papers disclose that the project originated with the
King of the Hawaiian Islands from fears of the loss of their indepen-
dence through various causes.
I am, etc.,
JAMEs H. BLounT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 15.]
Mr. Dole to Mr. Blownt.
DEPARTMENT or Foreign AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, July 20, 1893.
SIR: Your communication of June 28, requesting a copy of Mr. Stevens's reply
to a letter addressed to him by me, as chairman of the executive council, on the
17th of January last, in which I request the immediate support of the United
States forces and that the commander of these forces take command of our forces,
so that they may act together for the protection of the city has been received.
delay in replying has been in consequence of my failure to find the letter mentioned
and my hope of eventually procuring it. To-day I have succeeded in finding this
letter and here with forward you a copy thereof,
have, etc.,
SANFORD B. Dole,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His Excellency JAMEs H. Blount,
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Honolulu.
[Inclosure in inclosure 1 in No. 15.]
Mr. Stevens to Mr. Dole.
UNITED STATES LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
Think Capt. Wiltse will endeavor to maintain order and protect life and property,
but do not think he would take command of the men of the Provisional Government.
Will have him come to the legation soon as possible and take his opinion and
inform you as soon as possible.
Yours, truly,
JOHN L. STEVENS,
*
[Inclosure 2 to No. 15.]
W. D. Alexander to Mr. Blount,
SIR: I have the honor to submit to you the following account of the circumstances
attending the uncompleted º of annexation, negotiated in 1854 between Hon.
D. L. Gregg, representing the United States, and his excellency, R. C. Wyllie, repre-
sentin : King of the Hawaiian Islands. g
I will first briefly mention some of the causes which led to the §. made
by Kamehameha III and his cabinet in 1854 for annexation to the United States.

THE Application For A PROTECTORATE IN 1851.
The subject of annexation to the United States was first seriously considered in
the islands in 1851. M. Em. Perrin had been sent to Honolulu as commissioner of
3
France, in the corvette Serieuse, which arrived at Honolulu December 13, 1850, and
remained in port three months without exchanging salutes with the fort.
He persisted in pressing again the famous ten demands, presented by Admiral De
Tromelin in 1849, and his attitude was so menacing that thé King and privy council
were finally driven to seek P;. from the United States.
As is stated in my “Brief History of the Hawaiian : if: 270, they passed a
proclamation, March 10, 1851, placing the islands provisionally under the protec-
tion of the United States. -
. On the next day a conditional deed of cession of the Kingdom to the United
States was drawn up, signed, and delivered in a sealed envelope to Hon. L. Sever-
ance, the commissioner of the United States, by two of the King's ministers. This
was to be º and acted upon only in case of an emergency, the signal of which
was to be the raising of the flag of the United States above that of Hawaii over
the fort. In that case the sovereignty of the islands was to be ceded to the United
States, to be held in trust until a settlement of their relations with France, “com-
patible with the King's rights as an independent sovereign,” could be made, and if
this should be found to be impracticable the said protectorate was to be declared
erpetual. .
P #. U. S. S. Vandalia, Capt. Gardner, was in port at the time. The deed of
cession was accepted by Mr. Severance provisionally, and referred to his Govern-
ment. Mr. W. C. Park, the marshal, was directed to have the Hawaiian and
American flags sewed together, and, kept in readiness to be hoisted at a moment's
notice. He remained in the fort night and day, on the watch, during the 15th and
16th of March. By some means, the British consul-general learned of what had been
done, and informed M. Perrin, who thereupon withdrew the most obnoxious of his
demands; and a joint declaration, comprising four articles, was signed by both
parties March 25.
It appears, however, that M. Perrin nsed language in his later dispatches which
threatened to reopen questions that had been supposed to be closed. An appeal to
the President of the United States was therefore drawn up and pºsiº to Mr.
Severance, which was taken to Washington by Hon. E. H. Allen, then United States
consul, who sailed on this mission April 4, M. Perrin left for Paris May 24 to obtain
fresh instructions, and did not return until January 8, 1853. Nothing more was ever
heard of the rest of the ten demands. Mr. Webster, the United States Secretary of
State, made strong representations to the French Government on the subject, but
directed Mr. Severance to return to the Hawaiian Government the deed of cession,
which had been placed in his keeping.
A joint resolution was passed by both houses of the Hawaiian Legislature June
21, 1851, confirming the action of the privy conncil, and empowering the King
and privy council to place the Kingdom under the protection of some friendly power,
if necessary, “to shield it from insult and oppression.”
In the following year, in framing the new constitution, a clause was inserted in
Article 39, which empowered the *# by and with the approval of his cabinet and
rivy council, to even alienate his Kingdom “if indispensable to free it from the
insult and oppression of any foreign power.” This shows that the º;. of
some impending danger was still present to the minds of the King and his advisers.
&
FILIBUSTERS,
The discovery of gold in California in 1848, which led to the speedy settlement of
that State and to the opening of new routes across the American continent, ushered
in a new era in the history of the Hawaiian Islands. It opened a new market for
their productions, and brought them into closer commercial relations with the
United States. Communication became frequent between them and California, and
American capital began to be largely invested here.
At that time California was resorted to by numerous lawless adventurers, who
planned a number of raids or filibustering expeditions into the º COUlº-
tries. The notorious Gen. Walker headed a raid of this kind into Lower California
in 1853, and others into Nicaragua in 1855 and in 1861, in the last of which he was
taken prisoner and shot.
The #. Government received many warnings in the fall of 1851 that a band
offilibusters was being organized to invade this Kingdom. At the request of the
cabinet the U. S. S. Vandalia, Capt. Gardner, was kept at Honolulu ready to
seize any suspicious vessel, and a body of 100 native troops was drilled for several
months by Lieut. Read of the Vandalia.
About 25 suspicious characters, headed by Sam Brannan, came down from San Fran-
cisco in November 1851, in the ship Game Cock. During the .. the mail bag
was rifled by members of the party and the letters thrown overboard. They were
under the false impression that this country was ripe for revolution, and that the
King was ready to sell his Kingdom and to retire from the cares of state. But they
soon found that they had been deceived in regard to the feeling of the natives, and
that the officers and men of the whaling fleet were also hostile to them. They were
; watched; the King declined to see them, and the expedition ended in a
§§CO,
During the years 1853–54 the country was disquieted by frequent rumors of fili-
bustering expeditions being fitted out, and British and American ships of war were
kept in port much of the time as a safeguard. Mr. Wyllie strongly advocated the
plan of *...* a force of 5,000 militia; to consist of natives armed with pikes,
and a small contingent of cavalry, together with 100 regular troops, for defense
against filibusters, but it was rejected by the privy council.
THE Political Agitation of 1853.
During the years 1851–54 a considerable immigration from California took place.
It embraced many restless, ambitious spirits, some of whom came for the purpose of
exciting revolution. They found the foreign community already split into factions,
between which bitter feuds existed of long standing. Many of the newcomers
naturally joined the opposition party, which claimed to be the liberal and progress-
ive element in the country. *
A. § -º-º:
*3
4.
. . The plan of the leaders of the new movement seems to have been to reconstruct
the Government, and then to turn it over to the United States. A secret rommittee
of thirteen was appointed to carry out their designs. Their first object was to bring
about the removal of two of the ministers, viz: Messrs. Armstrong and Judd. The
unsuccessful attempt to make political capital out of the smallpox epidemic of 1853
was disgraceful to all engaged in it. At the same time an active agitation was com-
menced in favor of annexation, and the two obnoxious ministers were accused of
being an obstacle in the way of it. -
Threats were freely used to intimidate the King and chiefs into dismissing them.
In August a memorial in favor of annexation was presented to the King, which
was signed by seventeen respectable residents, who were supporters of the cabinet.
This called out a card, published September 10, signed by Revs. E. W. Clark and
P. J. Gulick, declaring that “the Protestant missionaries at the islands have never
engaged in any scheme of annexation. It has been their cherished wish that the
Government may remain independent under the present constitution and rulers.
Whatever may have been done by merchants, planters, and others, the Protestant
:... at the islands have neither advised nor signed any memorial to the King
touching annexation.” In a letter published in August, 1864, Mr. Clark stated that at
the annual convocation in May, 1853, he had frequent conversations with other mis-
sionaries on this engrossing subject. “Not one of them expressed an opinion in its
favor, but on the contrary, they did express doubts as to its expediency, and grave
apprehensions of disaster to the natives from the influx of lawless and unprincipled
foreigners.” With this agreed the known views of the French Catholic priests.
The memorial created no little excitement among the British and French resi-
dents. The representatives of Great Britain and France solicited an audience with
the King and privy council, which was granted September 1, when they presented
a joint address to the King, protesting against any attempt to annex the islands to
any foreign power as in contravention of existing treaties, as well as unconstitu-
tional. This was replied to in an able dispatch addressed to the minister of for-
eign affairs by the United States commissioner, September 3.
A few days later the whole Cabinet resigned, but were all ºr. with the
exception of Dr. Jndd, who was succeeded by Hon. E. H. Allen, whose Rººf.
gave general satisfaction, and caused no change in the policy of the cabinet. The
result was a virtual defeat of the schemes of the “thirteen.”
growth of ANNExAtroN SENTIMENT, 1854.
Hon. L. Severance, the United States commissioner, returned to the United States
in December, 1853, and was succeeded by Hon. D. L. Gregg, of Illinois, who arrived
in Honolulu January 6, 1854.
Meanwhile the sentiment in favor of annexation seems to have been growing in
strength. There were strong commercial reasons in its favor. Three-fourths of
the business was in the hands of Americans, and the chief market of the islands was
then, as now, the Pacific coast of the United States. The hope of it stimulated
speculation, and led to new enterprises, some of which were afterwards albandoned.
The fearful decrease of the native population (several thousands of whom had
been carried off by the fatal epidemic of 1853), the rapid extinction of the order of
chiefs, who were the natural leaders of their race, the relapse of the King into
habits of gross intemperance, and the perils from without overhanging the feeble
Government disheartened many true friends of the nation and led them to favor the
preliminary steps then taken towards annexation. The objections of the mission-
aries to that measure have already been stated. They feared that the rights of the
natives might be trampled upon and their interests sacrificed. A new and liberal
constitution had just been adopted (in 1852) and they fondly hoped that the natives
would soon learn how to use their newly-granted lands and political rights.
The ministry, as a whole, favored annexation, but Mr. Wyllie acquiesced in it
unwillingly and ouly as a last resort in the case of an emergency. During the two
º: reigns he developed a decided antipathy to American influence and Ameri-
Can 101689.
The King, however, strongly favored annexation. He had long been harassed by
the threats of foreign powers; he had once been dethroned by a British naval force;
he had repeatedly been compelled to make humiliating concessions at the cannon's
mouth; he had recently seen his fort dismantled and his beautiful yacht carried off,
and his difficulties .# France still remained unsettled. At the same time he was
kept in a state of alarm by rumors of filibusters from abroad and threats of con-
spirators at home to overturn his Government. He was deeply grateful for the
constant and generous friendship of the United States and for the benefits which
his º: had received from American citizens. Besides, he had reason to expect
for himself and his chiefs a sum equal to the revenue of his Kingdom and for his
people all the rights of a free State in the Union. As far as is known, most of
the high chiefs agreed with him.
The heir *ś. Prince Alexander Liholiho, however, was at heart opposed to
the treaty, and interposed every possible delay to its completion. It is said that he
and his brother, Lot Kamehameha, never forgave some incivility which they had
experienced on account of their color when traveling in America. He was also
moved by a laudable pride of country, a natural desire to reign, and a partiality to
Pºlº, and her institutions.
he mass of the native population was never consulted, and was indifferent on
the subject. Race *ś. had not yet been º: to any extent. A news-
paper in the Hawaiian language, called the Nuhou, edited by a Mr. Marsh, was
started in February, 1854, to prepare the native mind for annexation, and was con:
tinued for six months. Another memorial on the subject, numerously signed, was
presented to the .# in January, 1854. It is singular that hardly an allusion to the
subject can be found in the Honolulu papers of the time, and none in any of the
official reports of the minister of foreign affairs.
NEGOTIATION OF THE TREATY,
In February, 1854, the matter took a more definite shape. On the 6th of that
month, in view of danger from filibusters and conspirators, the King commanded
5
Mr. Wyllie to ascertain on what terms a treaty of annexation could be negotiated to
be º as a safeguard to meet any sudden danger that might arise. . Every proposi-
tion was to be considered by the cabinet and Prince Lilloliho, and the treaty as a
whole was to be submitted to His Majesty for his º modification, or rejection.
The negotiations were carried on between Mr. Wyllie and Mr. Gregg with the
utmost secrecy. At the second meeting, February 11, Mr. Gregg agreed to pro-
ceed with a negotiation ad referendum, and wrote to the United States Secretary of
State for instructions.
A basis for negotiations, framed by Judge Lee and approved by the King and his
ministers, was afterwards presented to Mr. Gregg, guarantying to Hawaiian sub-
jects all the rights of American citizens, providing for the admission of the Hawaiian
slands as a State into the Union, for a due compensation to the King and chiefs,
and a liberal smm for the support of schools. The amount of compensation to be
asked for had been referred to a committee, who recommended that a lump suin,
viz, $300,000, be distributed in the form of annuities by the King and his council.
At their sixth meeting, June 1, Mr. Gregg stated that he had received full powers
and instructions from his own Government. At Mr. Wyllie's i. he then pro-
ceeded to draft an outline of the treaty. He was furnished with detailed statements
of the property owned by the Hawaiian Government and of the salaries paid by it.
An interval of two months followed, during which the treaty made very little prog-
ress. • ,
In a private letter from Mr. Wyllie to Judge Lee, dated June 23, he says: “The
treaty is now before Prince Liholiho, with all the amendinents suggested by you.
To be able to save the King, and chiefs and people at a moment's warning it is
desirable that the treaty should be concluded diplomatically—I mean signed by the
plenipotentiaries, but subject to future ratification.” Again, July 11, Mr. Wyllie
writes to Judge Lee as follows: “Liholiho keeps ont of the way, and he has not
returned the treaties, though I have often asked him for them. of my draft I have
no copy.” -
The Fourth of July was celebrated at Honolulu this year with unusual enthusi-
asm, and in Mr. Gregg's oration allusion was made to the prospect that a new star
would soon be added to the constellation of States.
On the 17th of July a combined British and French fleet of eight vessels arrived
from Calluo, on their way to attack the Russian fortress of Petropaulovski. The two
admirals and their officers had a reception at the palace, at which the French
admiral said, at M. Perrin's suggestion, that he hoped there was no thought of alien-
ating the sovereignty of the Kingdom, as that would lead to difficulties with France
and England, which it would be wise to avoid. The King made no º:
In a letter from Mr. Gregg to the United States Secretary of State, dated July 26,
he states that “a meeting was held on the 17th, at which Prince Alexander was pres-
ent, when it was agreed that the minister of foreign affairs should in mediately
proceed, if possible, to arrange and sign a treaty to be submitted to the King for
ratification. Mr. Wyllie called on me the next day and we had several conferences,
but without as yet arriving at any definite result. Prince Alexander is responsible
for all past delay and he will not hesitate to incur the responsibility of still more,
unless his mind is brought to the conviction that it is impossible for him ever to wear a
crown. * * * If a treaty is once signed he will not oppose its ratification directly
and openly, but strive to postpone it to the last moment compatible with safety.”
The two principal difficulties were, first, the objection of the Hawaiian authorities
to a territorial form of government, and, secondly, the question as to the amount of
the annuities to be paid, the Hawaiian Government insisting on $300,000 as a sine
wa non. One article provided for the payment of $75,000 per annum for ten years
or educational purposes, one-third of which was to be capitalized for the support
of a college or university.
Judge Lee expressed his views in regard to the treaty, in a letter to Mr. Wyllie,
dated August 29, in which he stated that it was “the wish of the King and chiefs
to be admitted as a State, and they must not be deceived by any ambiguity in the
phraseology of the treaty. They wish by this article to shield the nation from
slavery, and it would be dishonorable to leave so vital a question involved in any
doubt.” At that time the repeal of the Missouri compromise had begun to be agi-
tated in Congress and party feeling was intense. . It is said that Senator Sumner
wrote to an injaſ missionary, in the islands warning the King aud natives
against annexation on the ground that it would lead to the introduction of slavery
into their country. An article to this effect appeared in the New York Tribune of
July 20, 1854, and caused much excitement at the islands.
Mr. Gregg conceded the two disputed points, “ad referendum;” and a copy of the
treaty as completed was laid before the King in cabinet council September 4 and
fully explained to him in all its details. He fully approved of it, but wished to
consult a few of his chiefs before taking final action. Near the close of the legisla-
tive session of 1854, August 4, Mr. Kaholeku offered a resolution in the house of
...'. º: the minister of foreign affairs to inform the house
whether the King had applied for annexation to the United States on account of
trouble with France and England, as reported in the New York Herald. The sub-
ject was referred to the committee on foreign relations, who never reported on it.
On the 26th of August Prince Liholiho, in the house of nobles, asked the minister
of foreign affairs whether it was true that England and France were making trou-
ble, so as to force the King to annex his Kingdom to the United States.
In reply, Mr. Wyllie denied the statement, asserting that those powers were anx-
ious to maintain the independence of the islands, but he said that in the internal
condition of the Kingdom there was danger, and there was no saying what changes
that danger might lead the King to submit to.

PROCRASTINATION AND FAILURE OF THE TREATY.
On the 18th of September Gen. Miller, the consul-general of Great Britain, had
an audience of the King, when he delivered a tirade of more than an hour in length
tºtion and in denunciation of the Government and people of the
Ill
He read in full the article in the New York Tribune of July 20, to show that
the designs of the United States were unfriendly to Hawaiian interests. The King
6
in his reply said that he much preferred that such communications should be made
in writing, in order to prevent misunderstandings. **
Meanwhile the Crown Prince Alexander remained at Hawaii to avoid signin
the treaty. , Weary of the delay, Mr. Gregg wrote, September 12, complaining o
the procrastination and threatening to withdraw from further negotiations and to
declare those which had already taken place to be at an end. The prince was sent
for, but did not come. -
Mr. Gregg wrote again November 1, remonstrating against further delay in the
conclusion of the treaty. He used the following language: “The strong arm of the
United States has been solicited for your protection. It has been kindly extended
and held out until at length self-respect must soon dictate its withdrawal.” This
was regarded as a menace and gave much offense.
The # S. S. Portsmouth, Capt. Dornin, and the St. Mary's, Capt. Bailey, were in
fact detained in port during the fall of 1854, awaiting the result of the negotiations.
The United States frigates Susquehannak and Mississippi also called on their way
home from Japan, in the latter part of October, 1854, and remained a week off the
port of Honolulu.
It would seem that an attempt was now made to intimidate the King into signing
the treaty at once. Mr. Wyllie afterwards stated that on the 12th of November he
was informed that there was inaminent danger of a revolution; “that there were
dangerous men from California, well armed, who insisted on the King's immediate
sanction of annexation to the United States, without waiting for the arrival of the
Crown Prince or the consent of the Legislature; that they would be joined by 300
or more of the American residents here; that, if unsuccessful then, they would be
joined º men of the same dangerous character, who were to arrive from Califor-
nia by the America, and 50 who would arrive by the Ianthe; that if we attempted to
resist a force so determined, the King's Government would be upset, private and
public property plundered, and perhaps the town set on fire.” “That three indi-
widuals should have a private conference with the King instantly, so as to convince
His Majesty of the truth of these dangers, and that he could only avoid them by an-
nexation to the United States.” A cabinet council was then called, at which Mr.
Wyllie was ordered to make these threats known to the representatives of the three
eat maritime powers. Mr. Gregg had already written to Mr. Wyllie to assure
it that the forces of the United States were ready to coöperate “in repressing any
unlawful attempts of reckless adventurers, claiming to be American citizens, against
the peace and dignity of His Majesty's Government.” Mr. Wyllie immediately ap-
plied to the representatives of France, Great Britain, and the United States, and was
promised the aid of 200 men from the United States ships Portsmouth and St. Mary's,
of 100 men from Her Brittanic Majesty's ship Trincomalee, and of 500 men from the
French frigate Artemise.
He further improved the opportunity to declare that “negotiations should be
suspended until they could be honorably resumed after every trace of coercion
had been removed.” (See his letter of November 26, to Judge Lee.) . On the 13th of
December he issued a proclamation in the King's name, declaring that His Majesty
had accepted the assistance of the three powers named above, and that his “inde-
pendence was more firmly established than ever before.” This called out from Mr. Gregg
a dispatch denying that the United States had any intention of entering into ºny
tripartite protectorate of the King's Government, or that his and Capt. Dornin's
offers should be taken as equivalent to *: guaranty of its independence.
The expected filibusters never appeared. The Crown Prince Alexander Liholiho
arrived at last from Hawaii December 1, and it is stated on good authority that he
agreed to sign the treaty and that a day was set for the ceremony.
The King is said by Mrs. Judd to have been “more eager than ever” to complete
the business, when he was suddenly taken ill, and expired in five or six days, on the
15th of December, 1854, in the forty-second year of his age. His untimely, death
was undoubtedly hastened by excessive intemperance towards the last. Aside from
this unfortunate failing he had many noble traits.
As Mr. Severance truly said, “his º to Americans has always been strong
and it will be º, conceded that by his death they have lost a faithful and
honorable friend.”
His adopted son and heir, Alexander Liholiho, was immediately proclaimed King,
under the title of Kamehameha IV. Soon afterwards he expressed his wish that
the negotiations that had been begun with Mr. Gregg should be broken off, which
was done.
As Mr. Marcy afterwards stated, in his letter to Mr. Gregg of January 31, 1855, the
President would never have approved of a treaty admitting the islands into the Union
as a State, to say nothing of other objections of minor importance. In fact, the
whole movement, as we now look back upon it, seems to have been premature and
unnecessary. But, as I have elsewhere said of Kamehameha III, “his purpose,
though it happily fell through, yet insured to his successor a more secure possession
of their inheritance.”
W. D. ALEXANDER.
HoNolulu, July 18, 1893.

APPENDIX.
PROTECTORATE PROCLAMATION,
Honolulu, March 10, 1851.
We, Kamehameha III, by the grace of God, of the Hawaiian Islands King:
By and with the advice and consent of our Kuhina Nui and council of native
chiefs, finding our relations with France so oppressive to our Kingdom, so incon-
sistent with its rights as an independent state, and so obstructive of all our
endeavors to administer the government of our islands with equal justice to all nations
and equal independence of all foreign control, and despairing of equity and justice
from France:
Hereby proclaim as our royal will and pleasure that all our islands, and all our
rights as a sovereign over them, are from the date hereof placed under the protec-
7
tion and safeguard of the United States of America until some arrangements can be
made to place our said relations with France upon a footing compatible with our
rights as an independent sovereign under the law of nations and compatible with
our treaty engagements with other foreign nations; or, if such arrangements should
be found impracticable, then it is our wish and pleasure that the protection afore-
said under the inited States of America be perpetual.
And we further proclaim as aforesaid, that from the date of the publication hereof
the flag of the United States of America shall be hoisted above the national ensign
on all our forts and places and vessels navigating with Hawaiian registers.
(Sigued by the King and Kuhina Nui.)
MARCH 10, 1851.
B.
Resolution about the joint declaration March 20, 1851.
Whereas in view of the declaration of the commissioner of France in his memo-
randum of Feb. 1st, and in his dispatch No. 12 of Feb. 27th, that the difficulties with
France lºcaused to two, viz, the liberty of Catholic worship and the trade in
spirits; an
Whereas the joint declaration sanctioned comprises a settlement of these two ques-
tions in the view of the King and council:
olved, That the minister of foreign relations is authorized and instructed to
sign the four articles of the said declaration, and to refer to the sole decision of the
President of the French Republic the i. of indemnity to the King, as trans-
mitted to Mr. Perrin in Mr. Wyllie's despatch No. 21, on the understanding that
this reference is to be acted upon only after the President similiave admitted that
all pending difficulties are thus settled.
C.
Joint declaration.
The President of the French Republic and the King of the Hawaiian Islands, ani.
mated by an equal desire to terminate the adjustment of pending difficulties between
the two countries, and to prevent their return for the future by assuring the just
and complete execution of the convention of the 26th of March, 1846, in regard to
the points in controversy, through a new official act, destined to interpret it, have
chosen for this purpose the undersigned commissioner of the French Republic and
the minister of foreign affairs of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the signers of the treaty
above mentioned, who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good
form, have a to the teruns of the following declaration:
1. The treaty of the 26th of March, 1846, will be faithfully adopted and interpreted
in the two texts, French and Hawaiian, the only ones officially signed. It remains
agreed in all the cases where the foreign judges not understanding French have to
decide the text of the English treaty, officially declared identical, under reserve of
the III article, shall be considered as an exact translation.
2. Without admitting that by the establishment of a custom-house duty of $5 per
gallon upon spirits the Hawaiian Government have gone beyond the exclusive power
which France herself has granted to them, through the means of the wording of the
VI article of the treaty above mentioned (an assertion in regard to which the
undersigned French commissioner makes all reserves), and after having proved
that the effocts of that duty have beenº to France and hurtful to the English
and American trade in spirits, the # of the Sandwich Islands declares him-
self disposed to submit the question of the rednction of duty to $2.50 per gallon, as
a maximum to the legislature, which is to assemble next month, as a measure of
political economy, which the chamber of commerce of Honolulu have recommended
on strong grounds.
3. The Government of the King can not recognize, on the part of any foreign
nation, the right of dictating or prescribing laws to them on matters which affect
only the religious belief or secular education of the native subjects of the King.
Nevertheless, disposed to admit the third of the demands presented by M. Perrin,
on the 1st of February last, as a friendly suggestion, destined for the examination
of the Legislature which is to assemble this year, the Hawaiian Government will
#. these assemblies in a position to decide whether the equality between the
rotestants and the Catholics, under the protection of the constitution and the laws,
of which numerous proofs have been furnished, does not yet require something for
its perfect application.
4. Documents presented by French citizens, in their own language, will be received
in all the cases in which documents in the English language are received; but in
the cases where the employees whose duty it is to make use of these documents do .
not understand French it shall be incumbent, provisionally, on the party interested
to furnish a translation of the document produced, which, to prevent all error and
discussion, shall be certified by him as true. *
Honolulu, 25th Marck, 1851.
R. C. WYLLIE,
Minister of Foreign Relations.
La Commissaire de la République Française, EM. PERRIN.
D.
Appeal to the President of the United States.
The undersigned, minister of foreign relations of His Majesty the King of the
Hawaiian Islands (having), unavoidably produced to the undersigned, commis-
sioner of the United States, an imperative order, under the great seal of the
Hawaiian Kingdom, in Hawaiian and English, signed both by His Majesty and sealed
º
8
by the royal signet and countersigned by His Highness Keoni Ana, the “Kuhina
ui,” and both dated the 28th of this month, proceeded to make the following
statement to the undersigned commissioner:
That the King and chiefs, remembering the events of 1839 and 1849, distrust
France and fear her. -- -
That they consider that France has not kept her engagement with Great Britain
of the 28th November, 1843, and does not mean to treat this Kingdom as under the
protection of international law. - -
That their fears had been abated, but were again revived by Monsieur Perrin's
despatch No. 18, of the 22d. inst., and his “verbal note” of the 15th, to the under-
signed minister, which were laid before His Majesty and his cabinet on the 28th. .
hat the King from a conversation with Her Britannic Majesty's consul-general,
believes that Great Britain is so fettered with France that she can afford him no
certain hope of present relief.
That the King, therefore, unable to protect the large American and other national
interests in this Kingdom, appealed in his helplessness to the Commissioner of the
United States, and now solemnly appeals to the President.
1. King would prefer the following alternatives in the order in which they are
aced: -
p 1. To secure those large interests equally against all possible danger from foreign
powers, under the safeguard of the Republic of the United States, and (if it can be
arranged by the President of the United States without unsafe delay), under the
safeguard of Great Britain, also, and of France. . g -
2. Unless the last conform with the other two, then under the protection of the
United States and England only.
3. If England do not consent, then of the United States only.
4. The King would prefer that this Kingdom be received as an independent state,
under protection merely from foreign aggression.
If that can not be done, rather than continue to be the victim of foreign aggres-
sion, the mere shadow of a King without the power, but with responsibilities meas-
ured out by the ar 'itrary rule of the strong, we will resign the º of these
islands into the hands of the United States, under their guaranty of his private
rights and hereditaments, a due provision for himself, his Queen, the heir apparent,
his chiefs, his high officers, all private property and rights, and of all engagements
of whatsoever kind lawfully incumbent upon him to fulfill and discharge.
6. The King desires that a secret arrangement be made with the authority and
consent of the United States on the basis of one or other of these alternatives, to be
instantly acted upon on the emergency of any sudden danger, and not to be acted
upon or even mentioned, if through the good offices of the President of the United
States, France and other maritime P. will engage to let him alone, with power to
govern and seek the protection of his people in his own way, and to protect for-
eign residents and their interests, without persisting in exacting of him greater re-
sponsibilities than can be required of any sovereign under the laws of nations.
7. The King, with the full experience of Capt. Laplace in 1839 and of Admiral
de Tromelin in 1849, acknowledges his utter want of power to protect the citizens
of the United States and their large interests in his islands under a repetition of
such lawless invasions; and as he has no confidence that they will not be repeated
on the most trifling complaint against his Government, His Majesty would be glad
to see such a provisional occupation of his islands by the armed forces of the
United States, as may in the §§. of the President be adequate to the pro-
tection of all citizens of the United States and their interests, until time be affordéd
to mature some permanent arrangement in one or other of the ways hereinbefore
mentioned.
The undersigned, Commissioner of the United States, having heard and considered
these solemn ...” made in the name and by imperative order of His Majesty
King Kamehameha III, agrees to transmit a copy thereof immediately to the Gov-
ernment of the United States, asking for full power and authority how to act, and
that in the meanwhile the utmost possible secrecy shall be observed, and that he
will contiuue to do all in his power for the protection of American interests and to
uphold the King's dignity and rights as an independent sovereign in friendly rela-
tions with the United States and appealing to them for protection.
Done in duplicate in the city of Honolulu this 31st day of March, 1851.
His official seal.] UTHER SEVERANCE.
Seal of foreign office.] R. C. WYLLIE,
Minister of Foreign Relations.
- E.
Joint resolution.
Be it resolved by the Nobles and Representativos of the Hawaiian Islands in legislative
council assembled, That in the sense of this House the demands of France are so
clearly unjust and contrary to the laws of nations and to treaty, and the course pur-
sued by her so incompatible with the existence of a regular independent govern-
ment in these islands, if France should persist in such a course it will be the duty
of the King to shield himself and his Kingdom from insult and oppression by plac-
ing this Kingdom under the protection of some friendly state; and that should such
emergency be so urgent as not to admit of the legislative council being convened,
it shall be left to His Majesty by and with the advice of his privy council, under
such emergency, to consult the honor and safety of his Kingdom according to
*. .." best judgment; and that whatever he may do will be binding upon
© Cºl Ole
assed both houses of the Legislature June 21, 1851.
W. L. LEE,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
EONI ANA,
President of the House of Nobles.
KAMEHAMºHA.
... Rhoni ANA. . .
Approved by the King August 4, 1851.
9
F.
Order of the King to Mr. Wyllie, February 6, 1854.
Whereas it has come to our knowledge through the communications made to us
by divers discreet men, who we have reason to believe are true friends to the
Hawaiian nation, and through various other sources, that plans are ou foot inimical
to the e of our Kingdom and the welfare of our people, and such as if carried out
would be wholly subversive of our sovereignty, and would reduce us to the most
*:::::::: of all states, a state of anarchy; and
hereas exigencies, may arise of such a nature as to render it imperative upon
us for the security of the just rights of our chiefs and people that we j seek the
alliance of the United States of America:
We do hereby command you, our minister of foreign relations, to take such imme.
diate steps as may be necessary and proper, by negotiation or otherwise, to ascertain
the views of the United States in relation to the annexation thereto of these islands,
and also the terms and conditions upon which the same can be effected, with the
object of being fully prepared to meet any sudden danger that may arise threaten-
ing the existence or independence of our Kingdom.
(Signed)
KAMEIIAMEHA III.
JOHN YOUNG.
Liholillo consents to the above royal command.
Approved by Wm. L. Lee.
G.
Extract from instructions of February 21, 1854.
You will immediately enter upon a negotiation ad referendum with the Commis-
sioners of the United States, the object of which is the annexation of our Kingdom
to the United States of America, in case of necessity, and which shall, fully secure
our rights and the rights of our chiefs and Fº being assured by the protocol
No. 2, submitted to us, of the willingness of the Commissioner of the United States
to enter npon such negotiation. The constitution of our Kingdom has made our
ministers special advisers in the executive affairs of the Kingdom, and therefore
you will submit to their consideration every proposal and every proposition that
may be interchanged between you and the Commissioner of the United States, and
your conduct will be fº by their decision.
Prince Liholiho will join in the deliberations of the cabinet council, vote therein,
and make his views known to us. When the treaty ad referendum, as aforesaid, is
completed, you will submit the same to us, which will be subject to our approval,
modification, or rejection, and, in case we shall deem it wise and necessary, to sub-
mit it to the representatives of our people, subject also to their approval.
(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA III.
I hereby approve of the above instructions.
LIHOLIHO.
Signed by KEoNE ANA,
and all the ministers.
H.
PROTOCOLS.
Protocol No. 1.
WEDNESDAY, February 8th, 1854.
The undersigned met this day at 12 noon in the house of the commissioner of the
United States. Mr. Wyllie submitted the written commands of the King to him.
of the 6th instant, also the letter of same date from the Hon. Wm. L. Lee, chan-
cellor of the Kingdom, and invited Mr. Gregg to exchange powers with him, with a
view to the objects expressed in the King's command aforesaid.
Mr. Wyllie further submitted to Mr. Gregg the appeal to the President of the
United States of March 31st, 1851, signed by him and the late commissioner, Mr.
Severance.
Mr. Gregg stated to Mr. Wyllie that he was in possession of no formal powers to.
negotiate or declare the views of the Government of the United States upon the
matter submitted for his consideration; that from the peculiar circumstances of the
case it was impossible for the Government of the United States to anticipate the
necessity of special replies to such questions, or the existence of a state of affairs.
making it desirable on the part of the King to bring up for discussion with him.
(Gregg) a subject of such magnitude and interest to both nations, without, an
opportunity of referring to the authorities at Washington, which he trusted could
readily be done without prejudice. But if the exigencies of the present or future .
i. demand it, he was willing to negotiate ad referendum on the subject embraced
in the commands of the King, but not otherwise.
Mr. Gregg further stated, that having been verbally informed yesterday by Mr.
Wyllie of this matter, he had written to the State Department at Washington rela-
tive thereto, with the expectation of obtaining the views and instructions, of his
Government as early as might be practicable. Mr. Wyllie begged Mr. Gregg to send
a duplicate of his letter and to enclose copy of the commands of the King, that the
President might understand exactly what His Majesty desired, for which purpose
he left a certified copy with Mr. Gregg. Mr. Wyllie also left with Mr. Gregg the
appeal of 31st March, 1851, before alluded to, for Mr. Gregg's fuller information.
2A
10
The undersigned, on behalf of their respective Governments, agreed to consider the
rotocol as the initiation of a negotiation with the Government of the United States
or the purpose expressed in the King's command to his minister of foreign affairs.
The undersigned agreed to adjourn till they should have occasion to meet again.
D. L. GREGG, etc., etc.
R. C. WYLLIE, etc., etc.
Protocol No. 2.
SATURDAY, February 11, 1854–13 p.m.
The undersigned met in the house of the Commissioner of the United States. Mr.
Wyllie stated that he had, by the advice of Prince Liholiho and the cabinet, to add
to the King's orders of the 6th instant the signatures of His Majesty's chief justice
and of his ministers approving thereof.
Mr. Gregg, with reference to what he said in protocol No. 1, stated that in view of
his declaration therein contained, and the matters contained in the #. to the
King's commands to Mr. Wyllie, bearing date on the 6th instant, he felt himself justi-
fied in declaring explicitly that if it was the wish of His Majesty's Government to
negotiate ad referendum he was willing to enter upon such negotiation at any time
that might be a d on for that purpose.
He also said that although he had no formal powers to that effect, yet from his
...'. of the views and policy of his Government, derived from the highest
sources, he considered himself warranted, under the state of facts expressed in said
preamble and by the exigency of the case, to discuss for reference, the terms of an
arrangement between the two powers of the charactor indicated in such commands.
Mr. Gregg further remarked to Mr. Wyllie that after careful consideration he had
deemed it advisable to make this specific declaration in order that no wron
impression might exist as to the nature of the authority with which he regarde
himself invested on the part of his Government, to act ad referendum, in regard to
the exigencies contemplated in His Majesty's commands to Mr. Wyllie.
R. C. WYLLIE.
D. L. GREGG.
Additional instructions.
HoNoLULU, February 21st, 1854.
SIR: We have examined the protocols, numbers 1 and 2, executed by our minister
of foreign affairs and the Commissioner of the United States initiated by our
minister, in pursuance of our comulands of the 6th of February; and more ſº to
carry out the ... and intentions thereof, we hereby give you the following
instructions additional. ...You will immediately enter upon a negotiation with the
Commissioner of the United States of a treaty ad referendum, the object of which is
the annexation of our Kingdom to the United States of America, in case of necessity,
and which fully secure our rights and the rights of our chiefs and people, being
assured, § the protocol No. 2, submitted to us, of the willingness of the Commis:
sioner of the United States to enter upon such negotiation.
The constitution of our Kingdom has made our ministers special advisers in the
executive affairs of the Kingdom, and therefore you will submit to their considera-
tion every proposal and every §: which may be ...F. between you
and the Commissioner of the United States, and your conduct will be governed by
their decision.
Prince Liholiho will join in the deliberations of the cabinet council, vote therein,
and make its views known to me. -
When the treaty ad referendum, as aforesaid, is completed, you will submit the
same to us, which will be subject to our approval, modification, or rejection, and in
case we shall deem it wise and necessary to submit it to the representatives of our
people, subject also to their approval.
(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA.
Approved by Liholiho, W. L. Lee, aud the cabinet.
Protocol No. 3.
THURSDAY, March 23rd, 1854–2 P. M.
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United States, and
after comparing the two originals of Protocol No. 2 of the date of February 11th,
1854, which since that time had been in the hands of His Majesty the King for con-
sideration and approval, respectively, signed and exchanged the same.
Mr. Yºlº at the same time communicated to Mr. Gregg the further orders of the
King to him (Mr. Wyllie), bearing date on the 21st day of February last, but signed
by His Majesty yesterday, and countersigned by His Royal Highness the Crown
Prince, His Highness the Kuhina Nui, the chief justice, and by His Majesty's min-
ister of state.
Mr. Gregg ..º. the same, expressed a wish to have a .# thereof for
transmission to his Government on account of the close relation of such instructions
to the à: commands of the 6th of February last, a copy of which he had already
†lſº tº e
The undersigned then adjourned to meet again as occasion might º:
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE.
D. L. Gregg.
Protocol No. 4.
SATURDAY, March 25th, 1854–10 a. m.
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United States, and
*::: comparing the originals of protocol No. 3, respectively signed and exchanged
© tº Thºe *
11
Mr. Wyllie, in accordance with Mr. § ...]." as expressed in protocol No. 3
produced the King's additional orders of the 22nd of February last, of which a #.
Was taken for Mr. Gregg's nse, and duly verified by comparison with the origin
Mr. Wyllie then read the following brief memorandum, submitted to him yesterday
by Mr. Gregg, for consideration, viz:
“1. The cession of the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.
“2. The most ample guarantee of all the personal and private rights of the King,
the chiefs, and #. securing to them the footing of citizens of the United States,
on terms of perfect equality with all other American citizens.
“3. As a consideration in part for such cession, a suitable provision for the King,
the Queen, the Crown Prince, those declared next in succession, the chiefs, etc.
“4. A provision for the support of schools and education.
** 5. A provision for the fulfilment of all *ś. lawfully incumbent upon
the King's Government to fulfil or discharge. Mr. Gregg said he had submitted the
preceding brief memorandmm for Mr. Wyllie's consideration in order to elicit his
views on the subject and as a very general basis of the discussions between them,
which must necessarily arise in providing for the objects expressed in the King's
commands of the 6th and 21st of February last.
“Mr. Wyllie then presented and read a memorandum, which he proposed as a basis
for *ś. in the following terms:
“1. The admission of the Hawaiian Islands as a sovereign State into the American
Union, subject to the Federal Government, the same as the State of Massachusetts,
and extending to the King and chiefs, and all his subjects, the same rights, civil,
political, and religious, as are enjoyed by that State.
“2. A due provision to be made for the King, the Queen, the proclaimed heir to
the throne, those declared next in succession by the King's will, the high chiefs
enjoying salaries, all the salaried officers of the King, with some regard to the len
of service, and for the exercise of the King's bounty in those cases where he may w
to exercise it.
i.* #. rights of possession, inheritance, or expectancy to be respected and pro-
vil e -
“4. All engagements, of whatever kind, lawfully incumbent upon the King or the
nation to discharge, to be religiously fulfilled.
“5. The existing constitution to be maintained, subject only to those alterations
without which the islands could uot be admitted as a sovereign State into the Union.”
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE.
l). L. GREGG.
Protocol No. 5.
Friday, April 21st, 1854—9 a.m.
The undersigned met in the house of the commissioner of the United States, and
º rotocol No. 4.
r. Wyllie submitted the following bases of arrangement which had been framed
by the King's chief justice and had been approved of by the Princes of the blood,
the Kuhina Nui, and the members of the King's cabinet, viz:
“1. The admission of the Hawaiian Islands into the American Union as a sover-
§ State, subject to the Federal Government, the same as any other State of the
Tºll Oºle
“2. The most ample guarantee of all the rights of the King, the chiefs, and the
people, whether civil, political, or religions, and securing to them all the privileges
of citizens of the United States, on terms of perfect equality with other American
citizens.
“3. A suitable provision to be made for the King, the Queen, the proclaimed heir
to the throne, those declared next in succession by the King's will, the chiefs, and
all other persons for wholm provision should be made.
“4. A provision for the faithful fulfillment of all engagements of whatsoever kind
lawfully incumbent upon the King's government or the Hawaiian nation to discharge.
“5. A provision for the support of schools and education.”
Mr. Wyllie stated that the members of the King's cabinet on the 29th of March
had agreed to refer the amount of compensation to be determined by a select com-
mittee composed of the two Prinčes of the blood, the Kuhina Nui, and the King's
;..." and chief justice, the Hon. W. L. Lee, who had reported yesterday as
OTIOWS -
“The undersigned, a committee appointed to fix upon the amounts to be asked for
compensation to the King and chiefs, under the new treaty contemplated with the
United States, º; report: That they have found great difficulty in every attempt
they have made to fix a just ::::::::::::: for the several chiefs, who, including
the second class, number upwards of thirty persons; and therefore they would res
fully recommend that a sum, say three hundred thousand dollars, be asked for,
to be distributed among the King and chiefs, in the form of annuities, as they may de-
termine, it being expressly understood that from the above sum of three hundred
thousand dollars no deduction whatever shall be made on the plea of any claim or
claims alleged against the Hawaiian Government or authorities by any American
citizen, or on any other pretense whatever.
“Signed by Liholiho, Lot Kamehameha, Keoni Ana, and W. L. Lee.”
Mr. Gregg remarked to Mr. Wyllie that, so far as the basis of arrangements just
submitted was concerned, he had then no objection to interpose, unless it might be
to the first clause, which he thought was capable of a construction inconsistent with
the Constitution of the United States (act 4, section 8). But iſ, as he supposed
robable, its intention was simply to provide for the admission of the Hawaiian
ands into the American Union as a State, as soon as might be consistent with the
rinciples of the American Constitution, it was free from the difficulty suggested.
or the purpose, however, of removing all cause of doubt, he would propose as a
substitute for such clause the following:
“The incorporation of the Hawaiian Islands into the American Union, and their
admission, as soon as may be consistent with the principles of the Federaiconstitu.
tion, to sil the ri hts, 5.º. and immunities of a sovereign State, the same as
any other State of the Union.’ . . . . . *
A.
12
Mr. Gregg further remarked that, although the amount fixed by the committee as
a compensation was considerably higher than he had anticipated, and more, he
feared, than would be regarded reasonable by his Government, yet he would for the
present assent to it as the basis for the formation of a treaty ad referendum, reserving
to himself the right, however, of submitting a counter proposition, if he should
deem it incumbent upon him so to do, at any time before the final arrangement of
the terms of such treaty.
For the purpose of enabling him to form a satisfactory opinion on this subject of
compensation, he begged Mr. Wyllie to cause him to be informed as to the names
and ages of the parties to whom annuities were proposed to be paid, the quantity
and character of the public land and other public property, the resources i capaci-
ties of the islands, &c., &c. The undersigned .. to meet as occasion might
require.
(Signed)
R. C. WYLLIE.
D. L. GREGG.
Protocol No. 6.
.The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United States at 2
R. m. on the 1st of June.. The undersigned compared the two originals of Protocol
to. 5, but agreed not to sign it till the King's pleasure thereon be made known to
them. Mr. Gregg stated that since the date of Protocol No. 5 he had been advised
of the views of § Government in regard to the King's orders of the 6th of February
last, and had received full powers, which he now produced in exchange for those
previously presented by Mr. Wyllie. The undersigned proceeded to verify and com-
wº their respective powers and exchange the same. Mr. Gregg stated to Mr.
yllie that, under the powers now conferred upon him, he was ready to proceed
immediately to the discussion of the measure contemplated alike in the powers held
by him and in the powers held by Mr. Wyllie, and to conclude the same in conformity
with the wish of the two high contracting parties.
Mr. Wyllie replied that so soon as he could obtain the data requested by Mr.
Gregg in protocol No. 5, he would be prepared to enter upon the negotiation, and
with a view to save time snggested that Mr. Gregg should draft the outline of a
treaty, leaving blanks for the details which were wanting, so as that Mr. Wyllie,
knowing Mr. Gregg's views, might carefully consider them with the assistance of
his colleagues, of the princes of the blood, and of the King's chief justice, for sub-
mission to His Majesty the King, along with proctol No. 5, to which his sanction
was still to be obtained. -
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE.
DAVID L. GREGG.
Protocol No. 7.
The undersigned met in the house of the Commissioner of the United States on
Wednesday, the 7th of June, at 1 p.m. *
The undersigned compared and executed protocol No. 6, leaving it and protocol
No. 5 still unsigned, until after the approval of the King shall have been obtained.
Mr. Wyllie stated that the King's chief justice and the other ministers of the
sº on the 2nd of June, had concurred in the view that the powers of Mr. Gregg and
Mr. Wyllie, which they had exchanged on the 1st of June, were equal and sufficient
for the formation of a treaty ad referendum for the annexation of the Hawaiian
Kingdom to the United States of America, agreeable to the King's instructions to
Mr. Wyllie of the 21st of February, 1854, approved by the Crown Prince, by the
Kuhina Nui, by the King's chancellor and chief justice, and by all of His Majesty's
ministers on the 22nd of March, 1854.
With a view to enable Mr. Gregg to proceed in the preparation of the draft of
such a treaty, so as that the transfer of sovereignty may be beneficial to the King
and all his subjects, and if possible, not prejudice the interests of any of such sub-
jects, Mr. Wyllie with the full approval of the Kuhina Nui and of his colleagues,
delivered to Mr. Gregg the following, viz:
No. 1. Civil list.------------------------------------------------------ $32,900.00
2. List district justices.----------------------. -------------------- 9,550.00
3. List circuit jndges. -------------------------------------------- 4,
4. List clerks of governors---------------------------------------- 1,200.
5. List tax collectors......... ------------------- * = tº s = e s tº sº s & º ºs e º ºs e is 7,000.00
Total.----------------------------------------------------------- 55,450.00
Also No. 6, a statement of Government houses, forts, lands, bonds, &c., transfera-
able to the sovereignty of the islands, amounting to $1,522,379.
No. 7. Claims on Franco.-------...---------- * * * g e s sº as ºn as a e e s a s e s is a sº º º & & $462,372.73
8. Claims on Great Britain. -------------------------------------- 32, 101.61
Total of Nos. 6, 7, and 8----...------------------------------------- 2,016,853. 34
Mr. Wyllie ºft. Mr. Gregg to understand distinctly that he could neither make
himself nor the Hawaiian Government responsible for the correctness of the items
forming the above sum of $2,016,853.34.
Mr. Wyllie further delivered to Mr. Gregg No. 9, being a list of annuities payable
by this Government, amounting to $2,040.00 per annum; and stated that he had still to
receive and deliver to Mr. §: a list of natives employed in the department of
public instruction, who would lose the amounts of their respective salaries under a
surrecder of the native sovereignty. To save time Mr. Wyllie delivered all these
documents in the original requesting. Mr. Gregg to return them after making the
use of them intended in protocol No. 6.
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE.
DAVID L. GREGG.
*.
*
13
Protocol No. 8.
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United States on
Thursday, the 17th day of August, 1854. *
Mr. Wyllie begged to make known to Mr. Gregg the following agenda founded on
instructions from his colleagues and the Crown Prince, viz:
1st. That a treaty should be forthwith concluded according to diplomatic usage,
and submitted to the King.
. That the second article of Mr. Wyllie's draft of a treaty should be adopted
with the addition of the following words, viz.: “But the King of the Hawaiian
Islands reserves to himself the power to ratify it, in any moment of danger.”. Such
article also to express in clear and specific terms, the admission of said islands, as a
sovereign State in the usual sense of State sovereignty.
3. The payment of seventy-five thousand dollars per annum, for a period of ten
years, for the benefit of schools, one-third of which to be capitalized, and the inter-
est annually applied to the support of a college or university, and fifty thousand
dollars appropriated to the use of common schools, in the discretion of the legisla-
tive authority of the Hawaiian Islands, when admitted into the Union as a State.
The substitution in Article VIII of the words “and all others whom the King may
wish to compensate or reward,” in place of the words “and other persons now in .
the service of the Hawaiian Government or formerly in such service.” -
Mr. Gregg therenpon stated that he would take into consideration the different
points contained in such agenda, and submit his remarks and conclusions thereon
with the least possible delay. The undersigned then adjourned, to meet as occasion
might require. *
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE,
D. L. GREGG.
mºm,
Protocol No. 9.
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United States on
the 18th of August, 1854, at 9 a. m. Mr. Gregg read a memorandum on Mr. Wyllie's
agenda, which he had submitted to Mr. Wyllie yesterday afternoon, as follows viz:
“Mr. Gregg has carefully considered the agenda submitted to him. by Mr. Wyllie
this day as expressing the views of the Hawaiian cabinet and of the Crown Prince
upon the drafts of a treaty of annexation under consideration. From conversations
with Mr. Wyllie and other members of the cabinet he fully understands and appre-
ciates the object proposed to be accomplished by the addition of the following
words, viz.: “ISut the King of the Hawaiian Islands reserves to himself the power to
ratify it in any moment of danger.” There are grave and serious objections, as he
believes, not only to the article as origiºually drawn up, but to the *: and
indefiniteness of the additional clause. . In regard to the former he has already
taken occasion to indicate to Mr. Wyllie his views,
He is convinced that the President and Senate of the United States would regard
it as so objectiouable that any treaty containing it would be rejected on that account,
and he can not, therefore, assent to it. He suggests that the object pointed at in
the clause proposed to be added could be better reached by the º of the nego-
tiation, or by a separate and perhaps secret article, and he submits to Mr. Wyllie a
proposition to that effect, and also a modification of said article No. II, as follows,
V12 : º
“The Kingdom of the Hawaiiam Islands shall be incorporated into the American
Union as soon as, in the judgment of Congress, it can be done in consistency with
the principles and requirements of the Federal Constitution, with all the rights,
privileges, and sorereignty of a State, the same as, and on terms of perfect equality
with, the other States of the United States.” To this part of Mr. Gregg's memo-
randum Mr. Wyllie replied that no disrespect or distrust whatever was intended to
apply to the United States in the words which the colleagues and the Crown Prince
had agreed should be added to the second article of his draft of the treaty. The
intention was to provide instantly and effectually for the sudden danger contem-
plated in the preamble. He admitted that that great object could be as well or bet-
ter effected by a separate and secret article; but he added that his instructions have
ing been precise as to the. addition of these ipsissiºns verba, he could not take upon
himself to make any change without a further reference to his colleagues and to
the Crown Prince. Mr. Gregg then continued lais memorandum as follows, viz:
Mr. Gregg has no hesitation in assenting to the substitution in Article VIII of the
words “and all others whom the King may wish to compensate or reward,” in place
of the words “and other persons now in the service of the Hawaiian Government,
Qr formerly in such service.” In order to approach unore nearly to the views of Mr.
Wyllie, the cabinet, and the Crown Prince he (Mr. Gregg) is willing to modify the
latter part of said article so as to make it read as follows:
As a further consideration for the session herein made, and in order to place within
the reach of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands the means of education, pres-
ent and future, so as to enable them the more perfectly to enjoy and discharge the
rights and duties consequent upon a change from monarchial to republican institu-
tions, the United States agree to set apart and pay over the sum of $75,000 per
annum, one-third of which shall be applied to constitute the principal of a fund for
the benefit of a college or university, or colleges and universities, as the case may
be, and the balance for the support of common schools to be invested, secured, or
applied as may be determined by the legislative authority of the Hawaiian Islands,
when admitted into the Union as aforesaid.”
Mr. Gregg thinks the term of five years ample to secure an adequate provision for
schools, especially in connection with the appropriation of lands to a similar object.
But few states are as well provided ſor in this respect. He can not recognize the
propriety of limiting the proceeds of this college or university fund to a single in-
stitution, but he is willing to leave their appropriation open to legislative discre-
tion. So far as other questions were concerned, Mr. Wyllie was in possession of his
views already, and he did not deem it necessary to enter upon their discussion at
present. Aug, 17, 1854. e -
The undersigned then adjourned to meet again when Mr. Wyllie had consulted his
colleagues and the Crown Prince in regard to the foregoing views of Mr. Gregg.
14
Protocol No. 10.
The undersigned resumed their meeting at the house of the commissioner of the
United States on the 18th of August 1854, at 4 p. m. Mr. Wyllie stated that, havin
conferred with his colleagues on the subject of Mr. Gregg's observations in Protoco
No. 9, he had to make known their views as follows, viz:
1. that the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for schools must be
for ten instead of five years. - -
2. That his colleagues and the Crown Prince decline to admit Mr. Gregg's pro-
posed substitute for Mr. Wyllie's recent article, and propose the following amend-
ment to stand in its place, viz:
“The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorporated into the America’t
Union as a sovereign State and admitted as such as soon as it can be done in con-
sistency with the principles and requirements of the Federal Constitution to all the
rights, privileges, and immunities of a State, as aforesaid, and perfect equality with
the other States of the Confederation.”
Mr. Gregg expressed dissatisfaction with the £º of the proposed amend-
ment, but promised to take the *:::: into early consideration and to advise Mr.
Wyllie fully of his views thereon. Mr. Wyllie then stated that Protocols 5, 6, and 7
had been submitted to the King, and they were therefore signed in accordance with
Protocol No. 6. The undersigned thereafter adjourned to meet again as soon as Mr.
*::: has maturely considered the amendment proposed to the second article.
onolulu, 27th September, 1854.
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE.
D. L. GREGG.
Protocol No. 11.
The undersigned nuet at the office of the minister of foreign affairs at 10 a.m., on
August 19th , and proceeded to settle the terms of the treaty of annexation re-
ferred to and discussed at the rººf conferences.
Mr. Gregg expressed ºf: still dissatisfied with the terms of the amendment
submitted to him yesterday as the agreement of the cabinet and Crown Prince for
the second article of the treaty. He did not object to the omission of the words “in
the t of Congress,” as contained in his original draft and the one Mr. Wyllie
had proposed, as it was well understood and agreed by all the parties to the negotia-
tion that the power of admitting new States into the Union is vested by the Consti-
tution solely in the Congress, and it was not intended to attach to the article any
other sense.
He thought the expression “sovereign State” inaccurate and exceptional. The
tes were, it is true, sovereign in a limited sense; they had full jurisdiction and
control over their own local and domestic affairs. But the national sovereignty was
vested in the General Government alone, and he thought it improper to designate a
State, in a public treaty, by terms not strictly applicable in the sense of the Federal
Constitution. He also objected to the word “confederation,” as being at least of
doubtful propriety, and proposed “union” as a substitute. The following was
finally agr º and adopted, as being within the meaning of and subordinate
to section III of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States, viz:
“The kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorported into the American
Union as a State, enjoying the same degree of sovereignty as other States; and
admitted as such, as soon as it can be done, in consistency with the principles and
requirements of the Federal Constitution, to all the rights, privileges, and immuni-
ties of a State, as aforesaid, with the other States of the Union.”
When Article VIII came up for consideration, Mr. Gregg renewed the proposal
heretofore made by him to insert $100,000 instead of $300,000 as a suitable amount
to be paid in annuities. Mr. Wyllie stated in reply that the revenue of the King-
dom was in rapid augmentation; from $48,842 in 1843, it had increased in only 8
years to $315,735 in 1851; that in 1853, notwithstanding the fearful ravages of the
smallpox, it was $326,620; that this increase had taken place without any develop-
ment of the agricultural resources of the country worthy of the name; that only
capital and labor were wanted to develop them to a t extent whereby the
revenue would be proportionately inc , and that he (Mr. Wyllie) saw no rea-
son to doubt that in ten years from this date the revenue of the islands would ex-
ceed $1,000,000 annually.
Mr. Wyllie added that for this reason he did not consider $300,000 an extravagant
demand for .#. considering the present and prospective value of the
islands intrinsically, and much less in view of their political value to any t naval
and commercial power, since the treaty effected with Japan. Mr. Wyllie added his be-
lief that this value was fully understood, and that a higher compensation for thirty
ears might be§". by a surrender of the sovereignty to another great nation.
esides the $300,000 had been fully agreed upon by the King's cabinet and the
crown prince, and further $75,000 for the pººr. of education, to be continued for
10 years, and he (Mr. Wyllie) did not think they would recede from these terms.
Mr. Gregg said that, as the negotiation was ad referendum, he felt himself, under
the peculiar circumstances of the case, authorized to assent, although he did
it with reluctance, to the insertion of the sums proposed by Mr. Wyllie, leaving his
Government to consider and determine whether they were responsible and proper or
not. The same consideration would lead him to a to the time fixed by the
. and Crown Prince for the continuance of the payment for the benefit of
schools, etc. -
But he objected to the F.º. of the the first paragraph of this Article VIII,
which he thought did not express clearly and definitely enough the idea which was
in the mind of all parties, viz, that the aggregate amount of annuities should be
apportioned once for all by the King and privy council and to remain appor-
tioned forever—each annuity falling off on the death of the party entitled to it and
the *** sum being diminished to the extent of such annuity or as each life
falls in. Any other construction would be different from that intended and lead to
misunderstanding and difficulties, which should be clearly provided against.


15
Mr. Wyllie stated that it undoubtedly was the understanding that the annuities
were to be “... life annuities, terminable with the life of each annuitant, although
he himself would have preferred that the annuities should have been for a given
F. of time, so as that in the probable case of the early death of any annuitant,
he benefit of his or her annuity might go to his or her children or other heirs for
the years or period of time that the annuity might still have to run. But as his
colleagues and the Crown Prince had waived the point, Mr. Wyllie had yielded to
the general sense that the annuities were to be life annuities .# with the sole
exception of that of the immediate heir to the throne which is specially provided for.
The article was finally, after some amendments, assented to by Mr. Gregg.
The draft of a treaty having been completed to the mutual satisfaction of the
undersigned, it was agreed that three *. should be made in English and three
in Hawaiian, and that the same should be signed and sealed as soon as convenient
in the presence of the Crown Prince and members of the cabinet, and if possible
with the approval of the chief justice. The said treaty having been negotiated
and drawn up in the English language, it was understood and agreed that all dis-
putes arising under it, should be decided by the English text.
The nndersigned further agreed that a separate and secret article should be framed
and added to the treaty, providing effectually for the prevention of anarchy and
the preservation of peace and order, in case the emergency º: in the pre-
amble should suddenly occur, without which the treaty itself would fail in one of
its main objects.
Honolulu, 27th of September, 1854.
(Signed) R. C. WYLLIE,
D. L. GREGG.
Protocol No. 12.
The undersigned met in the office of the minister of foreign affairs at 2 p.m. on
Monday, September 4th. The undersigned compared their respective * of the
treaty, which they had agreed to, subject to the King's approval on the 19th of
August.
#ºdiately afterwards they discussed and agreed to the separate and secret article
provided for in Protocol No. 11, and added the same to the said copies of the treaty.
Whereupon the undersigned *:::::: that the treaty was completed for submission
to the King, in conformity with His Majesty's instructions to Mr. Wyllie of the 21st
of February, 1854, and they adjourned to meet again as occasion may require.
(Signed)
HoNolulu, September 27, 1854.
From appendix to Protocol 7, containing civil list, as follows:
The King----------------------------------------------------------------- $10,000
The Queen.---------------------------------------------------------------- 1,000
H. R. H. Liholiho---------------------------------------------------------- 2,000
Prince Lot Kamehameha -------------------------------------------------- 800
C. Kanaina-------------------------------------- tº dº is s s a e º 'º º me tº e s = * * * e º ºs º ºs º ºs 800
K. Kopaakea-------------------------------------------------------------- 800
B. Namakeha ------------------------------------------------------------- 800
I. Kaeo ------------------------------------------------------------------- 800
A. Paki (chamberlain).---------------------------------------------------- 1,000
John Young (minister of interior). -------. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * tº e s tº e º e e s sº e º e º e º is e 4,000
M. Kekuanaoa (governor of Oahu).--------------------------------------- y
P. Nahaolelua (governor of Maui). ---------------------------------------- 1,
G. L. Kapeau (governor of Hawaii).------------------------------------ ... 1, 200
P. Kanoa (governor or Kauai)--------------------------------------------- 1, 200
John Li (second associate justice supreme court) --------------------------- 2,000
J. Kekaulahao (second associate justice supreme court).------------------- 1,500
J. Piikoi (clerk Honolulu Market).---------------...... ------------------ 1,000
32,900
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letter from Wyllie to Lee of March 8, 1854.
[Extract.]
At the last privy council on the 6th I announced the fact that the consul-general
Miller and Mr. Perrin had received by last mail º: from their respective
Governments fully approving of their joint address of the 1st of September, stating
that each Government had written to the United States Government on the subject,
inviting the latter to join Great Britain and France in a tripartite treaty to su
port the º: and neutrality of this Kingdom, and ordering the consul-
general and Mr. Perrin to act in concert. -
Mr. Wyllie then speaks of an alleged conspiracy of Government elerks in the
legislature to oust him from office, of which C. C. Harris was said to be the leader.
He adds: “I think a feeling is being industriously p gated that I am the only
bar to annexation. Upon that point, I believe, my opinion and sense of duty agree
fally with your own, and, as far as I can judge, Prinee Liholiho and all mycol-
leagues agree with us.” s
16
Wyllie to Lee, June 23, 1854.
The treaty is now before Liholillo, with all the amendments suggested by you. To
be able to save the King and chiefs and §. le at a moment's warning, it is desira-
ble that the treaty should be concluded diplomatically, I mean signed by the pleni-
potentiaries, but subject to future ratification. Armstrong's zeal presses the letter
with indiscreet haste, and I fear makes everything known to J. and B. Armstrong's
grand idea is that you and I should go to Washington with the treaty ratified here,
to have it ratified there. &
It wonlú, no doubt, be very convenient to some people to get rid both of you,
me, and of Allen, too; but the question is, would the King's honor and the rights of
the natives be as safe in other hands, or when a treaty is made as a safeguard against
sudden treason or rebellion, is there any P. so proper for the King's ratification
as his own court, where the danger would first be felt, or any form more proper or
decorous than that the act of ratification should be witnessed and signed by all who
have signed the powers and protocols from the first by the King's own desire. To
my mind the treaty admits of no dispute whatever, but I should like to know yours.
Lee to Wyllie, July 5, 1854.
[Private.]
The treaty should be concluded at once, so that we may be prepared for emergen-
oies, but I agree with you about the final ratification.
Wyllie to Lee, July 11, 1854.
[Extract.]
Liholiho keeps out of the way and has not returned the treaties, though I have
often asked for them. . Of my draft I have no copy. Unless I perform the duty
which on the 6th of February was º: on me imperatively, if any sudden emer-
gency were to occur, I would be subject to blame. Therefore one of two things;
either I must perform that duty or the royal order must be withdrawn. The fina
ratification is quite another matter. That I would be as unwilling to press on the
King, except in the presence of an immediate emergency, as you would .
Under such a clear necessity colonial subjection to any European power would not
be so favorable to the interests of the islands as their admission as a sovereign State
of the United States. There are no markets in Europe likely to afford such a con-
sumption of island produce at high prices as those of California and Oregon.
Besides, contiguity and the superior magnitude of present interests in the islands
are considerations not to be overlooked. This view of mine I made known to the
consul-general fully and frankly in 1851 or 1852. In judging of such abstract ques-
tions I know of no nationality whatever. Under a pressing necessity I would advise
the King to annex himself and his Kingdom to Japan if I thought that it would be
best for him, the prince, the chiefs, the Hawaiians generally, and the future inter-
ests of the islands as an agricultural and mercantile state.
But to the treasonable creation of a necessity for the extinction of the native sov-
ereignty I never will be a party. As the house of representatives is going on it
appears to me that they will bring on the necessity soon enough, although all we
ministers remain faithful to our ;: up to the very moment of its supervention.
Such are my views, and from what I can recollect of our confidential conference
at Rosebank, in January last, I think you will not be far different. Hoping soon to
hear that you are better or to see you here, I remain, my dear Lee,
Yours, truly,
R. C. WYLLIE.
P. S.—Before the 6th of February last my idea of saving the King from sudden
treason and rebellion was always to hoist the united flags of the United States, Great
Britain, and France. But our dangers are internal, and a tripartite treaty would
fail to ::R. King permanently on his throne unless each of the powers were to
consent to keep up a permanent garrison of, say, 100 men, in all 300.
Wyllie to Lee, August 23, 1854.
MY DEAR LEE: * * * I am anxious to have your º: before I sign. Re-
flecting upon the matter, it is a most deplorable thing that we should be driven to
give up at the time when our means of governing independently, and that well, too,
are so much greater than they were in 1843, our revenue being increased from $18,843
yearly to $326,620. -
Our constitution, our laws, and our land tenure are vastly improved since you have
been the King's chief justice. The administration of justice compares favorably with
that of California or any of the Southwestern States. Education is more generally
diffused than it is in many old nations of great civilization, and the King's rights of
º and neutrality are fully acknowledged by the great powers of the earth.
Yet all these advantages and ameliorations go for nothing against the secret mach-
inations and agitation of wretches whose loyalty, whose conscience, and whose
religion are at the bottom of their pockets, instigated by some half dozen traitors
*
17
that one month of a strong, energetic government would clear the country of for-
ever. Yet, looking to the King's safety, and the absence of all physical force to
insure it, we have yet to take things as they are, not as they ought to be.
Mem.—Letter about annexation in the New York Tribune July 20, 1854. Gen.
Miller and Mr. Perrin much excited by it.
From the King to Wyllie, August £9, 1854.
SIR: Referring you to my orders and instructions relating to the treaty with Mr.
Gregg, hearing that it is nearly completed, I order you to send me a copy in native
and a copy of all the protocols in native, that I may consider what amendments an
suggestions I may have to make before you sign the treaty.
(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA III.
Lee to Wyllie, August 29, 1854. Torbertville. (Ulupalakua, Mani.)
MY DEAR WYLLIE: Mr. Ii has just touched here on his way to Hilo, leaving me
your notes of August 20 and 28, with a copy of the treaty. You wish, before sign-
ing, to have my views of the treaty, and I will give them to you, though I have
very little time for reflection. They are briefly as follows: I see no objection to
the treaty, except the second article, which strikes me as being indefinite, ambigu-
ous, and, to a certain extent, contradictory. This article is intended to secure a
very important point, the most important, in my opinion, involved in the whole
treaty, and, as it is now framed, it seems to me to dodge the question, or at least to
leave room for future controversy.
It is the wish of the King and chiefs, so far as they have spoken on the subject,
to be admitted as a State and not as a Territory, and they must not be deceived by
any uncertainty of expression in the treaty. fhey wish by this article to shield the
nation from slavery, and it would be as dishonorable to us as unjust to them to
leave so vital a question involved in doubt.
I may not rightly understand this article, but, as I read it, it is left to the Ameri-
can Congress to say when we may be admitted as a State, and that may be one, ten,
or twenty years hence. Much as I am in favor of a treaty of this kind, yet know-
ing as I do the views of the King, chiefs, and people on this subject, it would be
treacherous and criminal in me §§§ this point pass unnoticed. In my opinion the
article should read that the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorporated into the Ameri-
can Union, not as a Territory, but as a State, etc., and omitting the clause “and ad-
mitted as such as soon,” etc.
The conditions and requirements precedent to our admission as a State, if any,
should be distinctly specified. In my opinion, as the article now stands, it leaves
room for any amount of delay and double dealing, and does not meet the wishes of
the King and chiefs.
In what I have said I mean no reflection whatever on Mr. Gregg, who doubtless
intended and understands this article in a sense fair and just to the Hawaiian
nation, but it may be left to others, perhaps less honorable than himself, to give it
a construction. I can not tell you how much I should regret *.*.*. slightest
obstacle in the way of the conclusion of this treaty, but I should be false to my
own conscience and to the nation I serve, to keep silence.
The treaty has been greatly modified since I saw it, and perhaps for the better in
all respects, except the article above mentioned. fam sorry you did not send me
a copy of it at an earlier date. I shall write to Liholiho, giving him authority to
act as my proxy, and referring him to this letter for my views. I shall return to
Honolulu in two or three weeks, and if there is no pressing emergency, why not
postpone the matter until I can make my views more fully known 7 ôf course I
write you this in confidence, but I wish you to show it to Mr. Allen, Mr. Armstrong,
Liholiho, and Mr. Young. f should not say “in confidence,” if I had not heard from:
several fºrce. that the doings of the cabinet and Mr. Gregg in this matter were
town talk.
• Wyllie to Lee, November 14, 1854.
[Extract.]
We seek from the United States some other remedy than revolvers at our ears and
bowie knives at our breasts. If the United States authorities can not protect us
from such comforters before annexation, what hope we reasonably after annexation?
. is the common-sense view of the case, and I wonder that Gregg and Dornin
on’t see it.
sºme
Wyllie to Lee, November 15, 1854. ſº
MY DEAR LEE: While in the middle of my preceding note of this same date Mr.
Young brought down a fresh order from the King dated i. suggesting cer-
in amendments in the treaty. We had a meeting of the cabinet upon the order,
and have requested Armstrong to prepare a careful translation of it, to be consid—
ered to-morrow at 10 a. m. º,
The effect will be to justify Mr. Gregg in assuming that if the amendments sug.
gested by the King be adopted he virtually pledges himself to ratify the treaty.
3 A
18
Now, are we prepared for this, after the new phase given to things by Mr. Gregg
and Capt. Dorrin themselves, well known to you—commented on in my accompa-
nying note, especially after the alternative, put to us by Mr. Gregg himself in the
separate dispatch of the 22d September (which you saw), to be either off or on with
the treaty f
How otherwise can we understand the following : -
“I am authorized to insist upon the conclusion of such negotiations according to
diplomatic usage. The alternative seems to me plain and imperative. This result
must be consummated or I shall feel myself obliged to withdraw from any further
negotiations, and to declare those which have already taken place at an end.”
• And still more objectionable is the following, because it seems to i.p. a threat
and license for the fillibusters to overthrow us: “The strong arm o #. United
States has been solicited for your protection. It has been kindly extended and held
out, until at length self-respect must soon dictate its withdrawal.” What think
ou of that? I must confess that I regret that the King has sent me the order (which,
owever, with the consent of my colleagues, I will respectfully obey) before we had
all in presence of the King, Liholiho, and yourself, considered whether “self-respect”
after undisguised intimidation attempted, does not require us to do something very
different to what they would drive us to by intimidation.
We never in this world will have such an opportunity to take dignified ground.
We can take it now with absolute safety to the King and national sovereignty. But
good has arisen out of intended evil. Are we to miss the opportunity or turn it to
the King's advantage? I have no time to write to Liholiho, |. you will inform him
of everything. Let me know as soon as possible what you think. , Mr. Young and
I unite in begging you not to attempt so much labor in one day. Calculate carefully
your strength, and measure your work accordingly.
Yours, truly,
R. C. WYLLIE.
P. S.—Yesterday Consul-General Miller and Perrin promised to send instantly,
when required, all the disposable force of the Trincomalee and Artemise, and to-day
Mr. grºss handed to me a mote from Capt. Dornin, promising to land 200 men, fully
& TIll001.
Wyllie to Lee, November 26, 1854.
The effect of the application authorized by the cabinet and by the King for assist-
ance, when the danger threatened, has been to elicit from the commissioners of
France and the United States and the consul-general of Great Britain such assur-
ances as to amount virtually to a tripartite military protectorate of the King, if
His Majesty should be pleased so to understand the official offers severally made.
Would it not be well for the King to take that ground, to proclaim the fact, to
make the treaty public (which Mr. .# it appears, has already submitted, to the
cognizance of the United States officers here, of American residents here, and even
of filibusters from California), and to advise as to his present and future policy with
the Governments of the three great naval powers of the werld? If we take this
ground we sacrifice no right of the King, we do not necessarily lose the treaty, we
free ourselves effectually from all violence and threatenings of violence, and we
obtain another and, I think, a very good chance of preserving the King and the
§: ºnasts in the enjoyment of their natural rights as the sovereign rulers of
this land.
After the threats made and the ridicule thrown upon our means of resistance, we
hººd to make something of a military demonstration on the anniversary of
the 28th.
There is not one of us who doubts our present perfect safety, and the promises offi-
cially made to us. We now stand on strong ground; we can breathe freely; we can
efficient y put down all filibusters, rebels, and traitors. Are we to show ourselves
equal to the *. or not? . This is for you and the privy council to con-
sider, aud for us all to consider. * * *
If the negotiation is to go on with Mr. Gregg one thing I must insist upon, which
is, that º the negotiation he, as Çommissioner of the United States, must bind
himself to keep American citizens quiet. No treaty can be made under duress. If
made so it is not valid. e
R. C. WYLLIE.
Letter from Mr. Gregg of September 12.
[Memoranda.]
Complaining of procrastination in regard to the treaty which he said was com-
pleted August 19 satisfactorily.
Remonstrates again November 1 as above.
Wyllie to Capt. Dornin, November £7, 1854.
MY LEAR SIR: It was only this day that I heard that you were to leave us so soon.
I am sorry that ſº departure has become necessary, and having the utmost regard
for you personally I am anxious that you should not retire under a wrong impres-
sion of my feeling in consequence of the communications made to me on the 11th
and 12th instant.
1: one hundred and fifty-seventh section of Wattel, chapter 12, book 2, is as fol-
OWS :
“A treaty is valid if there be no defect in the manner in which it has been con-
cluded; and for this purpose nothing more can be required than a sufficient power
n the contracting parties, and their mutual consent sufficiently declared.”
19
Therefore, by international law the highly confidential and delicate negotiation
between Mr. Gregg and me, in progress since the 6th of February, became sus-
pended under the coercion made known on the 11th and 12th instant.
Who is it who has seen the proclamation of the President against filibustering to
Cuba, his proclamation of the 18th of January, 1854, against unlawful expeditions
in the Pacific, his inaugural message, and the official declarations of preceding
administrations relating to these islands in particular, that could doubt for one
moment that if the President, had he heard what I heard on the 11th and 12th, he
would not instantly have ordered that all negotiations should be suspended until
they could be honorably resumed after every trace of coercion had been removed
. . King's liberty to consent or not to consent fully and unquestionably reës-
tablished. -
The only course that I could pursue under circumstances, the parallel of which, as
far as I know, is not to be found in the history of any other nation, and certainly
never in the past experience of this humble Kingdom, is unmistakably designated
in the above quotation of Wattel, and in Chapter xv.111, sections 200, 201, 202.
Respect to the United States Government, duty to the King and to my colleagues
and, I may add, to myself, all alike required, in the most imperative manner, tha
the unlawful threats of foreign intruders should be instantly met by the most deter-
mined resistance. -
In less than forty-eight hours we were prepared effectually and certainly to put down
the insurrectionary attempt that was threatened, even had it come upon us in the
formidable shape in which it was represented. With the assistance kindly promised
by yourself, through the Hon. David Gregg, and that which was promptly promised
by others, the result of a struggle could not have been doubtful, the rights of the
King would have been vindicated, and from all I have seen of the generous and mer-
ciful character of His Majesty I would venture to say that the prisoners would have
experienced at his hands a clemency so much beyond what the law and usage of
nations allow in such cases as would have filled them with remorse for having ever
attempted and conspired to overturn his throne.
I speak in the supposition that such men can be susceptible of generous and enno-
bling sentiments, which, considering the designs imputed to them where they neither
had suffered nor could have ºff. any wrong whatever, may be very doubtful. Ever
since I have been on these islands I have welcomed the ingress of American citizens;
I have made it a rule, even in political debate, never to be wanting in personal
respect to those who held diplomatic or consular commissions from the President;
but I have no such feeling of respect or consideration for filibusters; and if for that
I am to be blamed, then let the censure commence with the President himself, for
my sentiments correspond with his proclamations, and so, I hope, will ever my acts.
n a private note like this I am forced to speak of myself only; I have no right to
put words in the mouths of my colleagues, but I know them to be at heart gentlemen
and men of honor, and if you believed them to be such in every point of their official
duty to the King, you can foretell precisely what course they will pursue. I am
º: sure that you, whose º: and energetic conduct in the Peninsula of “Bassa
alifornia” will be rº in history as one of the brightest pages, in a moral
sense, of the annals of the brave American navy, can never blame those gentlemen
born in your own country, who act with me as the joint depositaries of the confi-
dence of King Kamehameha III, for uniting their efforts with mine, with the protec-
tion of God and of all the friends whom the Almighty had given to us to repel with
loathing, disgust, and indignation all filibusters who may come among us with the
insolent pretension of throwing the weight of their revolvers into the balance of
our honorable deliberations. -
Since the 12th you have several times remarked that I was too much excited. I
beg to assure you that neither then nor since have I known any excitement what-
ever, beyond that of a strong indignation. As for fear, I never had one particle of
it; but I can assure you that, had I yielded to such an unworthy impulse and
debased myself to the degree of surrendering the King's rights under the threats
of filibusters, and in accordance with the advice of those residents, seemingly act-
ing in connivance with them, my own dearest relations in Scotland would have
shunned me as a filthy thing, and if my American-born colleagues had permitted me
to make that ignominious surrender, more plainly to perpetrate the treason, the
stigma of Arnold wonld have clung to them and to me in every part of the United
States during life.
I hope negotiations will soon be resumed on the honorable basis on which they
were commenced, and free from the influence or control of gº. who never ought
to have known anything about them. It was to you only that I approved of cogni-
zance being given.
I remain, my dear sir, yours ever truly,
R. C. WYLLIE.
Gregg to Wyllie, January 26, 1856.
SIR: It is my duty to inclose to you a copy of a letter addressed to me yesterday
by Commander Bailey, of U. S. S. St. Mary's, relative to the proclamation of the late
King, issued on the 8th of December last. I can not suppose that there is any mis-
understanding on the part of the Hawaiian Government as to the precise extent and
meaning of Capt. Dornin's offer of aid. It had reference to the special emergenc
apprehended about the middle of November, and, of course, fell to the ground wi
the dangers which it was designed to ward off. Neither hºnor ſhad any authority
to enter into an arrangement looking beyond the crisis then supposed to be imme-
diately impending.
Our action was strictly prokac vice and to that extent alone. Popular construc-
tion gives to the proclamation a sense which could never have been officially
intended. It bears date long after the apprehensions of violence had ceased to
exist, and when the independence of the Islands was supposed to be “more firml
established than ever before.” The formal acceptance of offers of assistance made
A.
20
three weeks previously could only have been designed as an act of courtesy and
acknowledgment to the powers whose friendly intentions had been manifested on an
occasion when they were F. j.
Such was my view of it, founded, as I supposed, upon a just appreciation of facts.
Had I thought that the existence of a permanent tripartite protection was designed
to be intimated, my protest *g. such an inference would have been prompt
imperative, and unqualified. Such a thing was never thought of on my part, and
could not have been understood from any circumstance which transpired, officially
or otherwise. As the proclamation is still kept standing in the columns of the
“Polynesian” newspaper, I must beg to inquire how far it is to be understood as
assuming an existing guaranty of protection by the United States of America. I
am anxious to remove all occasion of misapprehension and to preserve unimpaired
...”. the substance but the semblance of entire good faith and perfect con-
cord, etc.
(Signed ) DAVID L. GREGG.
Capt. Bailey wrote as follows:
“It would appear from the proclamation that England, France, and the United
States had agreed to a joint protectorate of the late King. Such an agreement
would have been directly º to the policy that has ever been maintained by
the United States, and would be in direct violation of the course adopted in refusing
to unite, with England and France in securing the possession of Cuba to Spain.
Proclamation.
Whereas it has come to my knowledge from the highest official sources that my
Government has been recently threatened with overthrow by lawless violence, and
whereas the representatives at my court of the United States, Great Britain, and
France, being cognizant of these threats, have offered me the prompt assistance of
the naval forces of their respective countries, I hereby proclaim my acceptance of the
aid thus proffered in support of my sovereignty. My independence is more firmly
established than ever before.
KEONI ANA. KAMEHAMEHA III.
PALACE, December 8, 1854. R. C. WYLLIE.
Extract from an address delivered by Judge Lee before the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural
Society in August, 1850.
Until within the last year the Hawaiian held his land as a mere tenant at suffer-
ance subject to be dispossessed at any time it might suit the will or caprice of his
chief or that of his oppressive luna. Of what avail was it to the common people to
raise more than enough to supply the immediate wants of their subsistence? Would
i. surplus belong to them, or furnish the means of future independence? Far
Tom it. tº
It would go to add to the stores of their despotic lords, who claimed an absolute
right in all their property, and who periodically sent forth their hordes of lunas to
scour the country and plunder the people, without the shadow of right or mercy.
Often did these ravagers, these land-pirates, leave the poor makaainana (peasant) with
little else than his maro (breechcloth), his digger, and his calabash. I thank God
that these things are now at an end, and that the poor Kanaka may now stand on
the border of his little taro patch, and, holding his fee-simple title in his hand, bid
defiance to the world. Yes, F. God that He has moved the hearts of the King
and chiefs of these islands to let the oppressed go free.
[Personal.]
Mr. Blount to Mr. Gresham.
HoNodulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, July 31, 1893.
DEAR SIR: The condition of parties in the islands is one of quies-
cence. The action of the United States is awaited by all as a matter
of necessity. This condition, it can be assumed, will remain until the
proposition to annex is accepted or rejected. In the latter contingency
no sudden movement is likely to occur. The present Government can
only rest on the use of military force, possessed of most of the arms in
the islands, with a small white population to draw from to strengthen
it. Ultimately it will fall without fail. It may preserve its existence
for a year or two, but not longer.
My own private affairs make it necessary for me to return home.
The distance between us, and consequent difficulty of communication,
is too great for me to wait for any further correspondence. It is not
pleasant to reveal one's private affairs, nor do I intend to do so now. I
assume that neither you nor the President under existing circum-
stances could urge my further continuance here. -
I have discharged my duty the best I could considering 1 was sur-
rounded by persons interested in misleading me, and in my inability to
compel answers from witnesses.
! sin, etc.,
JAMEs H. Blount.
21
No. 1.
Statement of Volney V. Ashford.
HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs,
April 8, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLount,
United States Ambassador to Hawaii:
DEAR SIR: I inclose herewith a review of the political situation here,
from the formation of the constitution of 1887 to its attempted abroga-
tion by Liliuokalani on January 14 last. I can scarcely say that this
covers all the points discussed, or upon which you requested informa-
tion, though it probably includes most of them.
There is, however, a strange circumstance which I now see I omitted,
to wit, that the men, as individuals and as a class, into whose hands
fell the executive offices and entire control of this movement, are those
who (aside from the thick-and-thin apologists of monarchy at all haz.
ards) have always heretofore been the bitterest enemies of those who
were suspected of favoring annexation. Dole himself, though a mem-
ber of the revolutionary league of 1887 and a member of the “Council
of Thirteen” therein, tried his best to “throw” the whole scheme just
as the Supreme moment arrived. Failing in this, he resigned his place
on the council and deserted the league, and tried his best to pull others
out. He did manage to pull out P. C. Jones, who was also a member
of the “Thirteen,” which position he resigned and deserted the league
the same as Dole had done.
About the same time W. O. Smith, who, through his great personal
intimacy with Dole, Jones, and others of the league, was acquainted
with the general plan, and had given his adhesion to it and arranged
to swear in before the council, but had deferred it several times, did
come before that body. After hearing a part of the oath repeated, he
drew his hand from the bible, made a contemptible, cowardly speech
in favor of the continuance of monarchy, and withdrew, and never
became a member of the league. Other prominent members of the
Missionary party worked with all their energy against the cause. It
was subsequently learned that just about the time of the withdrawal
of Dole and Jones, the King, suspecting the dangerous strength of the
league, made overtures, through prominent members of the Missionary
Colony, to recede from certain objectionable positions he had assumed,
to dismiss the Gibson cabinet, and form one from the Missionary party.
The above desertions, the consequent narrow escape of the league from
ruin, and the resulting enforced modification of the entire plan (as
referred to in my statement) only saved the leading non-Missionary
leaguers from the gallows, as we then, and always since, believed.
It is needless to say that this perfidy of that political element, at
the supreme moment, convinced the non-Missionaries that treachery
was the moving cause. When the demands for reform were made,
under the compromise agreement, only the abject cowardice of the
King and his chief advisers saved us from a bloody battle, in which,
on account of delay resulting from the Missionary defection above,
the King would have had an overwhelming advantage, having thereby
time to fortify and strengthen his position. When the new constitu-
tion came into effect, the cabinet soon became a Missionary body, by
pressure brought upon the King in making appointments to fill the
vacancies of Godfrey Brown and W. L. Green, who resigned, and their
whole line of official conduct to the time of their resignation, in June,
1890, was a series of insults and abuses to all the non-Missionary
members of the league, and the filling of all the important offices of the
kingdom between their brothers, the uncles and the cousins, etc., on
the one hand, and the most vicious favorites of royalty on the other.
One of these latter was C. B. Wilson, whom Thurston, as minister
of interior, kept in the office of superintendent of waterworks—
though he had already been proven guilty of serious embezzlements
(as related in “statement”); and although Thurston, then an opponent
of Gibson, had said from his place in the legislature that Gibson, by
retaining Wilson in that very office, was harboring a criminal who
should be breaking stones, with a ball chained to him, Thurston con-
tinued to make this vagabond his chief favorite, and it was to save
him, as a member of the “Dominis conspiracy,” that he refused to pros-
ecute the conspirators, as heretore stated. Of course, this was with a
view to control Mrs. Dominis, when she should come to the throne.
22
Such conduct as the above helped to alienate the non-missionary whites,
who had belonged to the revolutionary or “Reform” party.
So long as the Missionary party could hold all the political offices,
Kalakaua, and after him Lilioukalani, were good enough, and it was only
when that faction lost all hope of a prevailing influence over royalty
that royalty became unbearable. During the organization of the
Hawaiian Patriotic League, a year ago, one of the leading missionary
politicians said to me: “Your charges against Liliuokalani are, no
doubt, true; but what does it matter so long as we have the prevailing
influence over her. A republic or annexation would lead to the domi-
nance of the natives.”
This party, almost without exception, tried to hunt down all partici-
pators in the attempt against the monarchy last year. I have heard
from several sources, though not able to prove it juridically, that Dole,
then justice of the supreme court, was in conference with Wilson
many times, advising him what course to pursue, and what line to
work up against us. Finally, he was the one who issued the warrants,
a thing unheard of in the Hawaiian criminal practice, our criminal
cases then all originating in the police or district courts. Mr. Justice
Dole not only violated this precedent, but issued the warrants, (and
then tried the cases) without consultation with any of the other
judges, and against the advice (to Wilson—and known to Dole, as is
said) of almost every attorney in town, and on the same statement of
facts as were laid before himself. During the examination which
lasted (with intermissions) for three weeks, he overruled every ruling of
the common law courts of the United States and England—both on
points of admission and rejection of evidence, as well as of construc-
tion—against the defense, and invoked the rulings of the courts of
Bloody Mary and her times, in construing the law of treason, especi-
ally as to what constituted an overt act. His hatred to any and all
who favored a change from monarchy was so marked as to excite gen-
eral comment. And a chain of known facts points most strongly to
the conclusion, at that time very generally believed, that the discharge
of most of the defendants (including myself) was in accordance with a
secret understanding that Wilcox and I should not expose at the trial
the complicity of the Queen and her negotiations with the league in
regard to their assisting her in promulgating a revolutionary and retro-
gressive constitution.
Of the “Councils” who now “rule” the country under the Star
Chamber process, there are only three men, at most—possibly not a
single one—who are independent of the sugarring. In fact, fifteen of
eighteen, in addition to all the commissioners, are either entirely or in
very great measure dependent upon sugar for their very existence,
commercially speaking. This class has always been bitterly opposed
to any ideas tending to an abolition of monarchy. The cause of their
change may be correctly judged from an American point of view, but
this I can not help saying, that my personal knowledge of these people
refuses to admit that “Americanism” has anything to do with it; and
I have the word of many of them to the effect that they would prefer
England to the United States, unless the latter give them terms which
will exclude the Hawaiians from the franchise, and any apparent ten-
dency they or any of them have recently exhibited towards admission
of º: to vote has been caused by the lesson they have learned
as to the sentiments of people in the United States.
The natives distrust the whole missionary element, and it is very
doubtful if those now at the helm can “deliver the goods,” except
under some process of compulsion.
In expressing this want of confidence in the governing faction, I
desire to say that it is fear for annexation, through the mismanage-
ment of the present régime, which induces me to speak on this subject.
I am, and always since my advent here, have been an annexationist,
from both a Hawaiian and American standpoint. I openly spoke,
wrote, and acted in favor of annexation, when annexation meant
treason, and when Dole, the present President, judicially construed
8, ºuston of the possible future necessity for the same as an “overt
805,
I hope these additional points may be of some service or interest to
you as bearing on the whole case under review.
And I remain, yours truly,
WOLNEY V. ASHFORD.
23
No. 2.
Statement of Volney W. Ashford.
HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, March 8, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLounT,
United States Ambassador to Hawaii:
SIR: You ask me to put in writing the substance of my information
to you in re. Hawaiian affairs on the 3d instant. In order to fully
understand the situation, it seems necessary to refer to political develop-
ments which led to the conditions existing on January 14 last past.
Since the time of King Kamehameha V, in 1864, the political status
of the Hawaiian Islands was that of a constitutional monarchy with
succession to legitimate heirs, failing which, the sovereign nominated
his own successor, such nomination to be ratified by the majority of the
nobles. Failing both these alternatives, it rested with the entire Legis-
lature (nobles and representatives) to elect a new sovereign. This
latter was the case upon the death of Lunalilo, known as the last of
the Kamehamehas, in 1874. The candidates were Kalakaua and the
Queen Dowager Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV. The latter was
the favorite of the natives, while Kalakaua was selected by the foreign
element—then chiefly American—who feared the islands would drift to
England if under the rule of Queen Emma, who had spent much time
in visiting that country, and was anti-American in all her sentiments.
Kalakaua was not selected for his virtues, but simply because he
could be controlled. The Legislature, which was chiefly composed of
natives, was bribed to vote for Kalakaua, whose election was thereby
secured, but the native population created a riot which resulted in
Several fatal casualties and was only quelled by the intervention of
British and American men-of-war's men in port. Thus the late King
began his reign, under conditions accomplished by fraud and sustained
by foreign force, with the bitter hostility of the great majority of his
countrymen. His extravagances and corruptions, as subsequently de-
veloped, helped him but little with the natives, who looked on him as
a usurper and outside the real chiefhood, while the foreign popula-
tion became gradually more estranged, until the ante-revolutionary
condition of 1887 stared the country in the face. But with all the King's
recklessness he was careful to keep within the letter of the law, though
continually violating its spirit. He was enabled to do this from the
peculiar privileges and prerogatives allowed by the then constitution.
The legislative body consisted of two so-called “houses” (though
they sat together in one). Half the Legislature consisted of the
“nobles,” appointed for life by the sovereign. This process, abused
to favor royal lickspittles regardless of their merits, gradually changed
the general character of the house of nobles, so that the great major-
ity of them were absolutely the creatures of the King, whose powerful
influence over the majority of the representatives also, through his
manipulating and distributing offices, and all kinds of public favors
among them, gave him the literal ownership of the entire Legisla-
ture in pushing all his corrupt measures through Parliament, so that
revolution became the only possible remedy. All government patron-
age was in the King's hands, through his power of appointing and dis-
missing his ministers at will. Such a thing as independence of Parlia-
ment was utterly unknown; while laws were passed at the King's nod
appropriating vast sums for such revels and indecencies as his lewd
and extravagant tastes suggested; while orgies, debauchery, hulas
and “sounds of revelry by night,” made the neighborhood of the royal
palace offensive to all but the royal debaucheós.
The plan of the movement of 1887, into which the distracted populace
were thus driven, embraced the establishment of an independent re-
public, with the view to ultimate annexation to the United States. All
foreigners, even the British, were practically unanimous in this, while
the natives stoodby, and said to us: “This is not our king; he is yours.
You forced him upon us against our protest. Do with him as you will.”
Had it not been for this passive attitude of the Hawaiians, it is doubt-
ful if the movement of 1887 would have succeeded.
Even as it was, the movement came well nigh dismal failure by rea-
son of the desertion of several of the “missionary” wing of the revo-
lutionary league, when the time for action arrived. The term “Mis-
sionary” party is now used in the islands in a political sense. It con-
24
sists of the early white inhabitants and their immediate descendants,
who have become a family compact in religious, social, commercial,
professional, and political matters, in which they are opposed to the
larger part of the white population, and almost all the natives.
The Inissionary deserters, and the influence the deserters forced upon
the balance of the league, resulted in a compromisein shape of a demand
for certain political rights from the King, preliminary to actual revolt
(June 30, 1887). He promised to grant the concessions demanded; and
thereupon in pursuance of such promise, so wrested from him, he
promulgated a new constitution (July 7, 1887), which deprived the
sovereign of many prerogatives, chief of which were (1) the right to
appoint nobles; (2) the power to dismiss ministers without consent of
the legislature; (3) the absolute right of veto. The general franchise
for representatives (composed of twenty-four members from an equal
number of electoral districts), was extended to all residents, aliens
included (except Asiatics), who registered within certain dates, etc.,
regardless of property qualifications. Twenty-four nobles were also
to be elected in sets, or series, by those of the general or representa-
tive electors, who owned $3,000 worth of real estate unincumbered, or
received $600 of income. Thus, the election of one-half the Legislature
was put in the power of a small minority of aliens, most of whom had
been enfranchised by the new constitution; for the conditions were such
that very few natives had the required amount of property left, and
few Hawaiians received from personal services the amount of $600 per
annum. Practically all aliens, however (except Asiatics) received
much more. Thus, the control of the Legislature passed to aliens
most of them without any property interests, but servants in ăifferent
lines of the planting and commercial element, who all belong to the
Missionary party, and were hostile to the native Hawaiians.
The nobles and representatives sat and voted together; and, though
the Native party were to the revolutionary or Reform party, as four
or five to one, yet the latter succeeded, by the differentiaſ franchise, in
controlling, by a large majority, the Legislature returned next after the
revolution. This condition naturally exasperated the Hawaiian people,
while many white men took up the native cause, some from sentiments
of pure justice, others as a matter of political expediency, to restore
domestic contentment, yet the tremendous advantage given by condi-
tions which enabled a small minority to elect half the Legislature clear,
and gave them even chances in the election of the balance, has kept
political power in the hands of the few, and the country has continued
in a constant and growing state of ferment.
When the revolution of 1887 took place the ex-Queen Kalakaua's sis-
ter was absent in England at the Victorian jubilee. On and after her
return she evinced, on every opportunity, her disgust at the turn of
affairs, and her determination to reëstablish the royal prerogatives at
the first opportunity. She did not await her own succession. She
eagerly accepted a proposition from friends of the then cabinet to
enter into a conspiracy to force the King to abdicate. The intention
of the cabinet of the day was to intimidate the King by a division
in the royal family, he being then unmanageable, and continually
violating the conditions of the new constitution respecting the veto,
during the legislative session of December, 1887.
The object being accomplished by the submission and promised loy-
alty of the King, Mrs. Dominis continued the conspiracy to a point
where some 300 armed conspirators, all natives, had assembled in the
barracks of the royal guards (the guardsmen having already been won
over) and sent a committee to the King to demand his abdication. This
was in January, 1888. The King induced this committee to give him
forty-eight hours to deliberate. During the interveningtimethe conspi-
racy was discovered by a Government official by the purestaccident. The
leaders were quietly brought one by one before notaries and sworn con-
fessions taken which are now among the Government archives. On
account of personal relations between Mr. Thurston (then minister of
the interior) and some of the half-white leaders in this affair, the Gov-
ernment did not prosecute anyone, or even divulge the facts to the
public, only insisting that Wilcox, one of the leaders, should leave the
country. This was done, but events showed that the then princess.
immediately reëmbarked in a further conspiracy in the same direction,
and which resulted in the Wilcox insurrection of July 30,1889. Besides
Wilcox, the committee who, on theoccasion above mentioned, were sent
by the conspirators to force the King's abdication, were Maj. Nowlein
25
and C. B. Wilson. The latter had been for many years notoriously one
of Liliuokalani's paramours. The former was commanding officer of
the Second Battalion, Hawaiian volunteers, an organization of native
Hawaiians, which was subsequently disbanded by the Government for
disloyalty, disobedience, and insubordination in refusing to turn out to
suppress the insurrection of 1889; and later on (until the abrogation
of the monarchy) was commander of the royal guard.
Ever since the year 1887 the political record of R. W. Wilcox has
been so closely interwoven with Hawaiian events that it is proper to
make a passing reference to him at this point. A native of the island
of Maui, of mixed Hawaiian and American parentage, his father came
from the State of Connecticut, and still follows the occupation of a
rancher on Maui. The young man taught school in his youth, and at
20 years of age (which is legal age in Hawaii) represented his native
district in the Legislature. He was subsequently selected by the Gov-
ernment as one of the young Hawaiians to be sent abroad to be scien-
tifically educated at the public expense, according to the line of policy
then in vogue, and had been seven years in the best military and en-
gineering schools of the Italian Government, and was serving in the
Italian artillery as a subaltern when the revolution occurred. There-
upon our Government issued an order of recall to a number of their
students abroad, and with others Wilcox returned to Honolulu in No-
vember, 1887. Being refused employment by the Government and
boycotted by the “Missionary” party, he readily fell in with the ideas
of the Princess Liliuokalani, as above stated.
After going to California, on the failure of the first or “Dominis”
conspiracy, he sought employment as engineer in the Spring Valley
waterworks till April, 1889, when Liliuokalani called him back to again
assist her to “restore the rights of the native chiefs.” He at once
responded and, arriving at Honolulu in April, 1889, took up his abode
at the princess Palama residence where she herself then lived apart
from her husband. Here he organized the movement, held revolution-
ary meetings, gathered arms and munitions, collected men for the expe-
dition, and moved out in regular military order on the early morning of
July 30, 1889, with about 100 armed men to the Government head-
quarters. After taking possession of the parliament buildings and
palace grounds, recruits were collected by messengers hastily sent out,
and by daylight (which was the first the authorities knew of the move-
ment) he had possession of everything, with an armed force of 400 to
500 men.
In addition to this, the royal guard were all on his side, although
their captain held immediate possession of the palace itself with 30
men, and with orders from the King to allow none to enter till further
instructed. Kalakaua was in the conspiracy. He had joined issues
with his sister (the princess), the plan being to restore, by force, the
constitution of 1864. His suspicions as to his sister's iona fides had
been strongly aroused, however, and on the preceding evening they
had been confirmed by some native friends, who persuaded him that
Liliuokalani's real object was to compel his abdication as soon as the
act of promulgating the proposed constitution should be carried out.
He thereupon, at midnight, moved from the palace to Honuakaka, his.
Queen's private residence, taking 12 of the most trustworthy men
of the guard, leaving 30 men at the palace, as above stated, and when
the report came that Wilcox was on the move, he took refuge in his
boathouse in the harbor, but a stone's throw from the U. S. S. Adams.
In this position he could avoid aii chances of capture, as the only
access to the boathouse was over wooden causeways of considerable
length, giving him time to escape to the Adams on the least alarm.
There he remained till the battle was over and the insurgents dis-
persed or captured.
Two days previously the King himself had taken Wilcox through
the palace and barracks, and showed him the position of the cannon,
reserve small arms, ammunition, etc., and on the afternoon of the 29th
of July he sent word to Wilcox to move at once, as, for certain rea-
sons connected with a quarrel which happened the day previous
between the King and cabinet, in regard to the transfer of Gatling gun
carriages from the royal guard to the police authorities, and which the
King refused, he considered immediate action necessary. When, there-
fore, the expedition arrived at the palace, and Wilcox found the King
had gone, leaving instructions for the guard to hold the palace subject
to his further orders, he was paralyzed. However, he seized every
4A g
26
point of vantage, posted cannon, and sent a message to the King thus:
“Your Majesty: We are here, at the palace, according to the plans
agreed upon;” to which Kalakaua replied: “Remain there and com-
plete your part of the undertaking. I will be there when the proper
moment arrives.” The above was developed at the subsequent trial of
Loomens, a Belgian ex-artilleryman, for treason for participation in the
insurrection. He was convicted, sentenced to death, had his sentence
commuted to life imprisonment, and was subsequently turned loose on
condition he should leave the Kingdom. At the same trial the letter
mentioned above, from Liliuokalani to Wilcox calling him home to
“restore the chiefs, etc.,” came to light. It was discovered in a pocket
of his clothing, in Liliuokalani's house, upon search being made on the
night of the 30th July, after the defeat of the movement and Wil-
cox's capture.
After this, the princess deserted Wilcox, denied all knowledge of
his plans and of the conspiracy, and showed her entire willingness
that the men who had taken their lives in their hands at her solicita-
tion should now hang. This treacherous conduct of the woman was
the beginning of Wilcox's conversion from “chief” rule to the rule of
the people. His disgust for her was also heightened by her treachery
to her brother, whose place she was ready at any mounent to occupy by
any means necessary to replace him. In fact, her conduct succeeding
the failure of the Wilcox insurrection alienated many of her old-time
friends, and was the beginning of her downfall in the affections of
the natives. Naturally Wilcox has ever since been an advocate of
annexation to the United States, although his idea was to accomplish
this end by first establishing an independent republic, and proceeding
as in the case of Texas.
It should be here mentioned that some 10 Hawaiians were killed in
the action, or died of wounds, and as many more wounded; the above-
named Loomens was the only man convicted by the courts, most of
the others having been either acquitted or discharged, while a few
§. guilty to minor charges and received light sentences. Wilcox
imself, after his acquittal, became the acknowledged leader, bothin and
out of parliament, of the Hawaiian people, who composed the great
bulk of the new Liberal party, whose shibboleth was equal civil rights.
Under this as a first principle, the Liberals rolled up an immense
majority of the entire vote at the general election of February, 1890,
and actually secured a handsome imajority of the legislature, with which
they succeeded in ousting the so-called Thurston cabinet, in June of
the same year. But a number of those foreigners whom the natives
had elected on the Liberal ticket deserted to the “Missionary” party,
and, forming a coalition cabinet, carried on the Government in a way
which increased the discontent of the people, till the death of the
King, in San Francisco, on January 20, 1891.
The magnificent manner in which the King—alive and dead—had
been treated in America by the governments of the Republic and of the
State of California, by the city of San Francisco, and by the people at
large, mollified in very great measure the hereditary aversion of the
Hawaiians towards American political affiliation—a feeling growing
out of their dislike for the mercenary land-grabbing qualities of the
“missionaries” on whom they mistakenly looked as specimens of Amer-
icanism. For although their aloha for the King was not the aloha they
formerly bore to their real chiefs, yet each Hawaiian seemed to look
upon the ourtesies of Americans to the sovereign as a personal compli-
ment to himself. It was long well known that large numbers of both
whites and natives had determined that Kalakaua should be the last
Hawaiian monarch. But the surprise accompanying his almost tragic
return completely balked any organization till his successor was
nailed won, as it were. It was also well known that Liliuokalani was
determined that the constitution of 1887 should be abolished, at latest,
on the moment of her accession. But the same surprise had a similarly.
opposite effect (if the term be allowable) upon her.
The cabinet of the day, realizing that delay wonld cause a movement
for the abolition of monarchy on the one hand or the reëstablishment
of the royal prerogatives on the ether, promptly went in a body to the
then Princess Regent and compelled her to take the oath to the exist-
ing constitution. She has since repeatedly said that she was so taken
by surprise that she was cowed into obedience, especially as some of
the ministers threatened her that in case of refusal a republic would
be at once established and she would become a political prisoner. She
27
has further stated to friends that she would have refused and at once
proclaimed a new constitution, containing all the old (and added)
prerogatives, had she but received sufficient warning to prepare her-
self; but, even as it was, that she swore with a mental reservation.
This, then, was the status of monarchy in Hawaii when Liliuokalani
became Queen—a reigning sovereign who had at least twice striven to
supplant her brother even at the expense, if necessary, of walkin
over his strangled corpse to the throne; a woman notoriously .#
with the grossest social vices, such as had contributed so largely to
the late King's downfall in 1887, but still strongly upheld by the
majority of the native people, who believed her professions and prom-
ises to restore them to an equal franchise; possessed, as her friends
claimed, of qualities of justice, firmness, and courage, which events
proved to be but selfishness, mulishness, and savage ignorance; a
hater of whites and a promoter of race prejudices; an idolatress, a
kahuna worshiper, and an advocate of the most abominable methods
which distinguished the ante-Christian epoch. The natives soon turned
from her in disgust.
The so-called “Reform” party, consisting chiefly of the “Mission-
aries,” could do nothing with her. Foreigners, generally, feared and
hated her. She gradually began to interfere in official appointments
and Parliamentary elections, and to usurp autocratic authority in all
directions. Her dismissal of Government officials and appointment of
known thieves, vagabonds, and vicious ignoramuses from among her
rsonal favorites and paramours to the most lucrative and responsi-
le positions exasperated everyone outside her personal following.
Her tour in state about the islands (as is the custom of Hawaiian mon-
archs upon their succession) was marked by the studied absence or the
open insults of the great body of the Hawaiian people. Her retainers
could not procure a supply of food from the natives and had to rely on
the whites, while the hookuou, or giving of presents (an ancient
Hawaiian custom), was a pitiable failure, only participated in by offi-
cials, or those otherwise dependent on royal favor. Secret leagues were
formed, both among the whites and the Hawaiians, to remedy the
existing conditions. Of these the Hui Hawaii Alohaaina (Hawaiian
Patriotic League) was the most prominent, from the arrest of nearly one
hundred of its members and their trial for treason.
I was myself a member and one of the organizers of this league, as
also of a white league (under the same name), among the latter of
whose members were most of those who actually “carried guns” in the
overthrow of the monarchy last January. The mass of Hawaiians had
by this time become possessed of a bitter hatred to the ruling dynasty.
Of the most stable class of natives, the following sentiment, related to
me by one who, under Kalakaua, had held in succession all the most
distinguished positions in public and political life, is a sample of the
then prevailing thought: “I have been trained from childhood to love
and obey my alii (chiefs); no one would more gladly give his very life
for them. But the days of the alii are past; they are no more; their
successors are unworthy the name; my aloha for them has withered.
I weep for Hawaii. The Kingdom must come to an end; and who can
say what will be the best for our country—annexation or a republic?”
And amid such sentiments the “Hui Hawaii Alohaaina” came into
existence the 1st day of March, 1892.
But before entering into the details of this league, reference may be
made to some of the Queen's official acts which had a strong bearing
upon its origin and development. Though she took the oath to the
constitution as above, the event proved it to be with a mental reserva-
tion, as she had claimed to her friends, and she at once laid plans to
overturn it. She first refused to recognize the ministers, on the ground
that they were the King's cabinet and “died with the King”, thus
voiding the constitutional provision rendering it necessary to precede
dismissal by a vote of want of confidence of the legislature. Then fol-
lowed several weeks of practical anarchy, political unrest, and severe
business stagnation, during which the opposing parties literally slept
on their arms. Finally, at the importunities of the mercantile class,
who were most anxious to avoid such troubles as would ruin commerce,
the cabinet were induced to refer the matter to the supreme court,
under a constitutional provision which permits such reference by either
the sovereign or cabinet, although the opinions promulgated in such
instances are not conclusive, but merely advisory. The decision went
against the cabinet, on the ground that as the constitution made no
A
28
provision for the contingency the cabinet died with the King and the
prerogative of appointment lay with the sovereign. *
The Queen's obstinacy was caused by her determination to appoin
C. B. Wilson to the portfolio of interior, where the great bulk of the
public moneys are controlled and expended. This scheme was so
grossly objectionable to the people, however, that, fearing a revolution
if she carried it out, she selected men who were either personal friends
of Wilson, or from whom she obtained a promise in advance that they
would appoint Wilson to the marshalship of the Kingdom. This offi-
cial had, by law, absolute command of the entire police force of the
Kingdour, complete and unrestrained power in all appointments in
that department, and practically controlled the administration of jus-
tice. Both his appointment and dismissal must be by the attorney-
general, “by and with the advice and consent of the cabinet,” accord-
ing to law passed by the revolutionary (or “reform”) legislature of
1887–88. It was openly stated at the time that she compelled the
.incoming attorney-general to sign a commission for Wilson in advance,
before receiving from her his own commission as a minister, though
the attorney-general subsequently denied this charge on the floor of
Parliament.
Wilson’s “pull” on the Queen consisted in the fact that for many
years he has been her favorite paramour (she has several). He openly
and in the most shameless manner assumed family relations with her
years before the death of her husband; and, although himself a man
with a family, he moved into the dead man's own house and occupied
his bed almost before his corpse was cold. The Queen had a private
gateway cut through the palace wall immediately contiguous to her
apartments in the “bungalow,” that he might alone enter by a near
and more convenient way—a scandal at which even the most obtuse of
the native people drew the line. The pair openly lived together in the
Queen's cottage at Waikiki (a suburb of Honolulu) during and suc-
ceeding the “sandbag” episode at the palace, just preceding the
descent upon the league. This place was formerly an assignation house,
built by the Queen, and openly used for that purpose, under the per-
sonal charge of her business manager, formerly her native coachman.
All these and many other equally scandalous acts are matter of public
notoriety at the capital, and have been aired and commented upon in
scathing terms by the native press of Honolulu; but the English press
were either gagged by the palace party or kept silent to avoid the
effects of the scandal abroad. -
Through the Queen's influence over her brother (during his absolute
power of official patronage) Wilson was given the superintendency of
the Honolulu waterworks, though he was utterly ignorant of all theory
regulating hydraulics, and the real work was necessarily done by
another highly paid official. Wilson collected the water rates, however,
and an investigation being demanded by a member of the Legislature
of 1886, a parliamentary committee found he had stolen in the neighbor-
hood of $16,000 from the receipts. Then through the same influence
the cabinet of the day entered into a stipulation whereby the matter
was compromised, Wilson repaying into the treasury $10,000. The
princess paid over $5,000 of this amount in cash, and by her further
influence, exerted in the same direction, prevailed on the Legislature to
pass an “act of indemnity” restoring to her the $5,000 out of the public
funds. To save further scandal, friends of the ministry indorsed Wil-
son's notes for another $5,000 on the Government's pledge to retain one-
half of his salary till the amount was recouped, while he himself of
course retained the office, although members of the Legislature, from
their place on the floor of the house, expressed the opinion that he
should be breaking stones on the street with a ball chained to him.
At the revolution of 1887 the fellow was a spy on both sides.
Whether he gave truthful information to either is hard to say; but the
King subsequently informed friends that he at least betrayed him into
the enemy's hands as soon as the revolutionary cause began to promise
success. He was in the “Dominis conspiracy,” so-called, in 1888, already
described, and was the man to run over his coconspirators to first
reach the Government officials and betray his comrades when he sus-
pected the plot was discovered. Unless the official documents were
stolen while he and his tools were in power, there are still confessions
of his own, under oath, in the Government archives, “which would
Thang him”—to use the words of the then minister of the interior. The
particulars of this conspiracy were suppressed by the Government of
29
the day to prevent a lowering of Hawaiian bonds then selling in
London on a two-million dollar loan, and for other reasons already
stated. He was in the Wilcox insurrection of 1889, but kept out of
harm's way; and it was developed at the trial of Loonens that it was
he who introduced Loomens to the King, and sent him, by the King's
order, to join the conspirators.
During the Queen's reign and his incumbency of the marshal-
ship he was the absolute dictator in Hawaii. It is known that no act
of importance in governmental functions transpired without either
emanating from him or receiving his approval. He over and over
again insulted the people, the Legislature, and the cabinet by openly
commanding the Queen to disregard the premier, on behalf of the cab-
inet, when that minister was urging upon her the adoption, modifica-
tion, or rejection of contemplated public acts. (By the way, the law
recognizes no “premier,” but the Queen insisted on o calling that
minister who officially communicated with her outside her meetings
with the entire cabinet.), Boodle, thievery, blackmailing, bribe taking,
and general disregard of the laws were alarmingly common, and gam-
bling houses, dives, illicit liquor dens, opium joints, and the wholesale
importation of that deadly drug have been positively traced to his
acquiescence for monetary considerations. He kept a body guard
about him, composed in part of fugitives from justice from other
countries, accused of all degrees of crime. He is a half-breed Tahi-
tian, who, as a waiſ, was brought to Honolulu by an old Hawaiian sea
captain. He grew up here, learned the blacksmith trade, and followed
it till his physical development attracted the attention of Mrs. Dom-
inis, who at once procured a Government office for him and advanced
him as occasion offered. Though physically large, active, and well-
proportioned, he is morally and intellectually of a low order—a cir-
cumstance which is true of all the ex-Queen's favorites, and illustrates
her savage tastes.
The feeling of disgust resulting from the palace scandals, as well as
the general repugnance to having the laws maladministered by such
notorious corruptionists and worthless paramours, combined to origin-
ate the league “to promote justice and equal rights in the political
government of Hawaii” (as the oath expressed it)—the exact means
being left to the development of events and the personal directions of
the league leaders, to whom all swore obedience, but to include in any
event the suppression of the monarchy, with close political connection
with the United States as the ultimate object. Among the wrongs to
be remedied was of course the differential franchise; and it was this
belief of the Hawaiian leaguers that annexation would mean equal
civil rights, which most strongly tended to bring the annexation view
into prominence among them as the true solution of the question. At
first the palace party encouraged the league. They thought to use
them in the promulgation of a new constitution by throwing to them
the sop of “equal rights” in exchange for their actual cóoperation in
the Queen's intended coup; or at least relied on their non-interference,
or perhaps upon their preventing the reform party from interfering,
while the Queen's party, supported by the royal guard and the
Honolulu police (both under direct command of tools of the Queen,
Nowlein and Wilson), would proclaim the instrument and set matters
running thereunder.
The constitution was prepared, being identical with that which Her
Majesty attempted to promulgate on January 14, so far as evidence of
the latter's contents can now be furnished. It was practically the con-
stitution of Kamehameha V, with the added prerogative of dismissal
and appointment of the supreme court at will—a project dear to Lil-
iuokalani since long before her accession—as that body had always
been regarded, both by sovereigns and people, as the bulwark against
unconstitutional encroachment upon the liberties of the masses by
Hawaiian monarchs. The league preferred to take chances of getting
equal rights by their own methods, especially as one of their greatest
complaints had been as to certain unconstitutional acts already exer-
cised by the Queen, through her hated paramours, with the connivance
of a servile cabinet—acts involving interference in official appointments
and with the administration of justice. The league, however, did not
at once openly quarrel with the Queen's representatives, but “negotia-
ted” at arm’s length, with the object of being left unmolested by the
authorities, or, rather, by Wilson, who was directing the “new consti-
tution” conspiracy, from the Queen's side, and giving only such infor-
30
mation to the ministers of the Government as the Queen's party chose
they should know.
The league rapidly increased in numbers, and included many of the
best natives and half-whites in the country. By May 1st there were over
300 sworn members. There was a quasi-military organization, con-
trolled mostly by ex-officers or non-commissioned officers of late native
volunteer companies, or of the guard; spies reported that the leaders
of the league had arranged for a large supply of arms, to be landed
by smuggling from small craft at out-of-the-way points; the Legislature
was about to meet, and it was the Queen's plan that the new order
of things must be inaugurated in time to prevent its meeting. Evi-
dently something must be done, and done quickly. The introduction,
also, of a large nuinber of “Queen Emma” men into the league—men
who were known to be hostile to the house of Kalakaua–increased
the suspicions of the palace party, and Wilson instructed his spies to
report the “arms” story, to compel the Government to move, as soon as
he became satisfied that the league was against the monarchy. The
members of the Government were strongly opposed to it at first, but suc-
cumbed to the personal pressure of Wilson and the Queen. Certain
of the ministers told me this themselves, and others sent their personal
friends to me to assure me of the fact. They said, in effect, “Wilson
is the Queen; the Queen is absolute; we cannot control Wilson.” One
member of the cabinet used those very words.
On the morning of May 19th two confidential friends of the Queen,
Kanui and Kekipi, both defeated parliamentary candidates on the
Queen's side at the elections in the previous February, came to Wilcox
(representing the league), and the three had a long interview. These
emissaries represented that they had been authorized and instructed
by Her Majesty to request his immediate presence at the palace to con-
sult with Her Majesty in regard to the new constitution which she had
prepared, and which she now held for his perusal and advice before its
promulgation; further, that the time had arrived when the league
must commit itself positively and irrevocably to this plan, or be con-
sidered enemies of the Crown. It is now positively known that Kanui
and Kekipi came directly from the Queen's presence when they visited
Wilcox, who was taken by surprise by this ultimatum, and tried to
hedge by further “negotiating,” there being special reasons why he
should not at that time give a positive refusal. The Queen's men, how-
ever, forced the game, and finally the natives and Wilcox quarreled
and a definite answer being insisted upon under a threat; and, Wilcox
thereupon sent to Her Majesty a positive refusal, accompanied by a
defiance, upon which, being reported at the palace, warrants were
immediately made out for every member of the league whom the spies
had “ located ”—some 87 in number.
Plans were laid to attack and shoot down in cold blood the executive
council of the league, who were (according to information from spies) to
hold a meeting at my rooms that night. This was to be done under
cover of an alleged but bogus resistance to arrest in face of warrants;
and to make the thing complete, martial law was to be at once declared,
and the “disturbing element,” who were not already assassinated, to be
disposed of by court-martial, composed of officers of Her Majesty's per-
sonal staff and the royal guard. But the league had friends in the
palace and at the headquarters of most of the Government departments,
and were from time to time informed as to what was there transpiring;
so the meeting did not take place; but, instead, Wilcox and other
league leaders attended a public meeting of the liberal party on that
evening and denounced the Government, the Queen, and royalty in the
bitterest terms. If there was basis for the “arms” story no evidence
was found in the searches by the police of residences of all known to
belong to the league. But the details of the first move having failed,
it was still contemplated by the Queen to remove at all hazards those
she considered her enemies. It is positively known that a proclama-
tion of martial law was drafted by one of the advisers of the Queen, and
passed for revision through the attorney-general's office, and was
carried for some days in the pocket of one of the Queen's staff, while
the authorities were busily engaged in hunting up more evidence.
The palace party calculated to stifle all necessity for such evidence
as would convict in a court of justice by establishing a “military”
court composed of ignorant kanaka partisans and body servants of
the Queen. In this search for evidence (after the arrests) the author-
ities threw parties into prison without warrant or form of law, kept
31
some without food for days, plied prisoners with promises of reward
and offices if they would perjure themselves in such way as to make a
“case” against the liberal leaders, and with threats of death in case of
refusal, and used means to extort “evidence” of the kind they wanted
in a manner which would disgrace brigands. These facts were proven
at the trial by witnesses for the prosecution. But the failure of the
Queen to destroy all opposition to her abominable course is due chiefly,
after all, to the interference of Maj. Wodehouse, British commissioner
(now minister), on my behalf, as a Canadian, by compelling the Gov-
*rnment to try the conspirators in one of the courts of law instead of
by a so-called military tribunal.
Passing over the trying period of danger and uncertainty of the leg-
islative session, and the bitter fight of the Queen against the constitu-
tional party, we come to the 14th of January and succeeding events, so
near in time (and therefore in memory), coming down to the status in
quo. The existing facts imply a Provisional Government treating with
the Government of the United States for “annexation.” Now, what
is annexation? It has been years discussed in this country as a possi-
ble outcome of the near future, but always on the basis that it would
necessarily include equal civil rights in the management of all affairs
not in their nature under Federal control—as, for instance, in Texas,
or in the Territory of Arizona. There is in this country a bitter objec-
tion on the part of the majority against any unusual system such as
proposed in the treaty laid before the United States Senate. This I
firmly believe—and such, I feel sure, is the belief of the great major-
tiy—that a governing cominissioner (say) from Washington would, may
must, be influenced by the missionary party here, and that it would
result in a plutocratic rule of a half dozen or dozen men of a political
family compact, who came here poor to serve the cause of religion on
starvation salaries, and have developed by their superior thrift into a
moneyed aristocracy, owning all the valuable lands and industries of the
Country.
This class has always been considered the enemies of not only the
native race, but of all classes denizened in the islands who are not ef
themselves. Their attempted monopoly of politics; their alternative
subservience and hostility to the monarchy, according to their hold on
office for the day; their changing to the cause of “Americanism,” or
their “Hawaiian patriotism,” according to whether they are begging
for differential duties, or fixing “a deal” with royalty; their contemptible
airs of superiority over those not so rich as themselves; and their con-
tinually repeated efforts to grind the natives to inferior political posi-
tion have alienated all classes against them. But having stolen in,
like jackals, on the executive offices under the present régime, a great
number of annexationists fear to openly object to their unethods, lest
it place the whole plan of annexation on the basis of swapping horses
while crossing the strealm. The commissioners arrived at San Fran-
-cisco with the war cry, “Down with the Hawaiians.” This has turned
nearly all Hawaiians against annexation, many hundreds of whom
were formerly open and active in its advocacy. If even now assured
that annexation would make them American citizens, as such is the
case in say Texas or Arizona, they would forever abandon the thought
# royalty and hail annexation with delight as the ultimate destiny of
$W&II,
Will the people of the United States, as represented in Congress or
either branch thereof, permit the vast majority of the Hawaiian people
to be driven by armed force into a distasteful political condition by
a handful of political jackals of the missionary party, simply because
the Hawaiians are poor and the other own the property? And this is
Tyrrctically the reason advanced by the commissioners. Does the
action of the United States Government on the Samoan question indi-
-cate that America will use her armed forces to permit a minority of
foreigners to coerce a majority of the native people; and would such
a course be creditable to the American people? Would it be an expo-
nent of the American principle of justice to the weak? But the entire
uestion could be settled by forming a treaty which would remove
the objections referred to, by interfering with no vested rights, and by
giving political privileges to the rich and the poor alike. And while
this might not altogether please the Bnonopolists, an accommodation
which would give equal eivil rights te the Hawaiians in the manage-
ment of local Hawaiian affairs is tire one only which is just, bene-
ficial, or practical from the standpoint of the fature, from either the
American or Hawaiian point of view.
32
It is not necessary to refute the arguments of that portion of the
American press which opposes annexation on sentimental or economical
grounds. That issue I assume to be already settled. It will be a sorry
day for both America and Hawaii if annexation should now be
deferred. Nevertheless, it will be a source of great grief to Hawaii
and of future disgrace to the proclaimed political righteousness of the
American people if the latter refuse us conditions which represent a
fullness of political rights. The only hope of a condition of affairs
which will make Hawaii a country in which a white man of self-respect
and loving liberty can live and prosper is annexation, accompanied by
an equal franchise to Hawaiians in matters of local administration.
Referring to the idea of an American protectorate, this would be
bitterly repulsive to the great majority of the Hawaiian people, native
and foreign, as many degrees worse, if possible, than “annexation”
under the Thurston-Harrison treaty, with carpetbag government con-
trolled by the family-compact oligarchy. It would, to our minds, mean
the presence of a foreign armed force to bayonet into submission any
resistance to tyranny, however great, if only perpetrated in the name of
law and by the authority of the Government for the time being. It
would mean the engrafting of a moneyed aristocracy into place and
power, who, representing only the Missionary party, could, by their
unlimited wealth, drown the cries of the people of this country from
consideration of any man or body of men holding the power of review.
Our appeals would not likely reach the Congress. This is the view
which caused the unanimous uprising of the people against what is
generally known as the “Blaine treaty” in 1889–90.
This was a treaty drafted, as was said, by Mr. Blaine, then Harri-
son's Secretary of State, and brought from Washington by H. A. P.
Carter, then Hawaiian minister to the United States. A majority of
the cabinet were in favor of it, and tried to force the King to sign it;
but C. W. Ashford, who was attorney-general, resisted it on the
ground that it contained a “troops” clause, permitting the United
States to land forces to “preserve law and order,” which, he contended,
would place in absolute power, backed by a foreign military force, any
cabinet for the time being in office. The provisions of the proposed
treaty having leaked out mass meetings were held, at which the entire
plan was denounced by all classes, and in order to save forcible ejec-
tion by the populace the majority of the cabinet were obliged to
repudiate the entire undertaking. Later development proved the whole
scheme to be one for the establishment of all power in the hands of an
oligarchy of the Missionary party, with practical disfranchisement to
all other classes of Hawaiians, whether native or foreign. This expe-
rience satisfied everybody, including the Missionary party, that any
“protectorate,” from whatever source, must be imposed upon the Hawa-
iian people by superior force.
Regarding the protectorate proclaimed by Minister Stevens truth
compels the statement that under no rule of international law or mili-
tary or other necessity was there any cause for such action. On
many statements of facts not materially differing the Provisional
Government was stronger on February 1st than April 1st, for at the
former date all annexationists were united (if the Government's claim
is true), while at the last-named day disintegration was fast creeping
in as a result of the methods pursued in relation to the annexation
question—the opinion being very strong now in Honolulu, that the
Brovisional Government have thus far thrown serious impediments in
the way thereof by their treatment of the native side of the question
and their mugwumpery, if not, indeed, their treachery, in , official
appointments. The threatening aspect of the Japanese question had
not entered into the calculations, because no knowledge or suspicions
existed on February 1st of the pending arrival of the Naniwa from
Yokohama.
It is not the intention to herein discuss the arguments in favor of
annexation from an American standpoint; but in this connection some
reference should be made to the attitude of Japan. The possibilities
from that quarter, as well as the chances of an English occupation (in
case annexation falls through), have no doubt been given due weight
from the American side. But observation of developments on the spot
has convinced most people here that the invasion from Yokohama, which
commenced some seven or eight years since, was designed as a means
of turning Hawaii into a Japanese colony. As long as four years ago
I had written articles, which appeared in Eastern and European news-
33
papers, pointing out the approaching danger from Japan, and outlining
8, trend of events which has been fully justified by developments to date.
I notice the American press has not apparently considered that any
jumportance attacles to this question; but nothing seems more certain
than this, that these islands must, upon any refusal of the United
States to take advantage of the supreme moment now at hand, at once
become an advance post of the empire of the rising sun and a hostile
sentinel over the American Pacific coast. This is on the supposition
that England would not interfere. But supposing she does interfere;
what is the difference, in case the United States let go, whether
Hawaii falls to a rival (and perhaps hostile) power of the old civiliza-
tion or the new, when the power which dominates Hawaii will domi-.
nate the Pacific, the future home of the world's commerce?
To revert, in conclusion, to the purely Hawaiian side of the case,
monarchy is now dead, and Hawaii knocks for admission to America's
door. . Give us not an oligarchy. Give us democratic government.
Give us a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
Iremain, yours truly, -
5 WOLNEY V. ASHFORD.
A. -
No. 300
LIST OF AFFIDAWITS.
John F. Colburn and A. P. Peterson.
John F. Calburn and A. P. Peterson, May 3, 1893, printed with Mr. Blount's No.
4, dated May 4, 1893. \
William H. Cornwell. -
John A. Cummins and W. T. Seward.
Charles L. Hopkins. -
cº- L. Hopkins, May 3, 1893, printed with Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4,
1 w
John Lota Kaulukou.
E. C. Macfarlane.
Paul Neumann.
Samuel Nowlien.
P. M. Rooney.
John Ross. -
13. Charles B. Wilson, May 4, 1893, printed with Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.
14. C. B. Wilson, 6th May, 1893, 6th May, 1893.
15. C. B. Wilson, 6th May, 1893, May 9, 1893.
;
PART II—AFFIDAVITS.
- No. 1,
Affidavits of J. F. Colburn and A. P. Peterson.
HoNoLULU, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, ss:
J. F. Colburn and A. P. Peterson, being duly sworn, on oath depose and
say, that on Sunday, January 15, 1893, they were members of Her Majesty's
cabinet, and that on that Sunday morning at 6:30 o'clock Mr. L. A.
Thurstón came to the house of Mr. Peterson and stated in the presence of
Mr. Peterson and Mr. Colburn that he wished to have a talk with them.
. He said that the committee of safety had had a meeting the night
before and had come to the conclusion that things could not go on as
at present, and that the committee had decided that the Queen should
be dethroned and a Provisional Government established. He said that
Mr. Stevens, the American minister would land his troops and support
the movement, if a proclamation to that effect was issued from any
building in town. -
He then asked Mr. Peterson and Mr. Colburn if they would, without
consulting with their colleagues, as he said they were not to be trusted,
take control of the situation and in their own names ask the American
minister to assist in carrying out their programme and stated that the
document already drawn up by him, a copy of which is annexed, could
be changed to suit this proposition.
/ JoHN F. Col.BURN,
A. P. PETERSON.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of June, 1893.
(SEAL.] F. J. TESTA,
Notary Pablic First Judicial Circuit.
* Amºnºmº
To His Excellency JNo, L. STEvans, American Minister Resident, and
Captain —WILTSE, Commandor U. S. S. Boston: + w
GENTLEMEN: On behalf of the Hawaiian cabinet, you are hereby
informed that certain persons, without authority of law, have prepared
and caused to be promulgated a document purporting to be a new eon-
'stitution subversive of the rights of the people and contrary to the law
and constitution of the land. . . . . . -
That such illegal action is taken in the name of Her Majesty Lili-
uokalani, and is proposed to be supported by force. That the cabinet
2
maintain that such action is revolutionary and treasonable, and th .
hereby request the assistance of the United States troops to maintain
order and support the Government.
No. 2.
Affidavit of John F. Colburn and A. P. Peterson, May 3, 1893, printed
with Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.
No. 3.
Affidavit of William H. Cornwell.
His Excellency J. H. BLounT,
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary:
SIR: In supplementing the statements which I have already had
the honor to present to your excellency, I beg to represent the follow-
ing facts as they came within my personal observation during the late
disturbances here:
On Monday, the 16th of January, the cabinet met at 10 o'clock a.m.
and made the necessary arrangements providing for the Queen's proc-
lamation, in which she gave her assurance, guaranteed by us, her con-
stitutional advisers, that no further attempts would be made in regard
to obtaining a new constitution except by the way provided in the con-
stitution itself.
The proclamation as presented to your excellency was issued, and
the two political meetings took place. About 5 p.m. the cabinet re-
ceived information that American forces were being landed from the
U. S. S. Boston, and after a short consultation among the members of
the cabinet, Messrs. Parker and Colburn, with Hon. A. S. Cleghorn, the
governor and commander in chief of Oahu, departed to interview Min-
ister Stevens to ask for an explanation of this remarkable and uncalled-
for step of the American representative, and to protest against the land-
ing of the troops as being contrary to international law, courtesy, and
custom. Mr. Parker returned shortly afterwards and told us that he and
fhe other gentlemen mentioned had performed their mission and that
Mr. Stevens had answered them that he knew “what he was doing,” and
that the troops had been landed at the request of an alleged committee
of safety and that he would file the protest of the ministers. Mr. Par-
ker immediately went to his office and issued a protest in writing to the
above effect. Later, a meeting of the “law and order” committee sup-
porting Her Majesty's Government was held at the Government build-
ing, at which the cabinet were present. After some discussion, it was
decided to encourage the Hawaiians to keep quiet and await further
developments.
On Tuesday, the 17th, the cabinet met in the morning and arrange-
ments were made for calling a meeting of the diplomatic corps to take
place at noon. The different foreign representatives, except Minister
Stevens, who sent his excuses, met together at the time appointed.
Shortly after I saw Marshal Wilson, who emphatically told me that
from a military standpoint he was perfectly able to cope with the sit-
uation, and that he and his followers were ready to stop any insurrec-
tion, and, if necessary, prepared to resist and successfully fight (as he
expected to have to do) the United States forces then ashore. Having
the fullest confidence in the good judgment of Marshal Wilson, I con-
curred with his ideas, and from that moment advised my colleagues to
resist by force any attempt that might be made to overthrow the Gov-
ernment. About 2:45 p.m. we were informed that a proclamation had
been issued to the effect that the Queen had been deposed and that her
ministers and the marshal had been dismissed.
The cabinet immediately proceeded to the American legation.
Messrs. Parker and Peterson went into Minister Stevens's office while
Mr. Colburn and myself remained in his sitting room. Our colleagues
soon returned and told us that Minister Stevens could grant us no
assistance, as the committee of thirteen representing, as he said, the
respectability and wealth of the community, had requested his support.
Upon a straight question of the attorney general he answered that if
called upon for assistance by the alleged newly-established Government
he would respond to such call with the forces at his command. A little
3
after 3 p. m. Mr. Charles Hopkins was sent to Minister Stevens from
the station house (where the cabinet had taken up their headquarters)
with a letter in which the cabinet wished to know in black and white
how Minister Stevens proposed to act in the matter.
Mr. Hopkins returned about half an hour later and brought Minister
Stevens's answer, in which he informed us that he had already recog-
nized the Provisional Government because they were in possession of
the departmental buildings, the archives, and the treasury, and that
he would stand ready to support them as the de facto government.
Messrs. E. C. Macfarlane and Neumanu were then in eonsultation with
the cabinet in regard to what action should be taken. About this time
Messrs. Samuel M. Damon and C. Bolte came to the station house and
asked the cabinet to go with them to the Government house, that the
º of the Provisional Government wished to talk over the situation
with us.
Mr. Parker and I went there and found Messrs. Dole, Damon, W. O.
Smith, and others, and we were told that the Provisional Government
had been recognized by Mr. Stevens, and we were asked as true Ha-
waiians to do the best for our country and surrender, to avoid bloodshed.
We told them that we could give them no answer before seeing Her
Majesty the Queen, and were then requested to go to the palace and do
our best to induce the Queen to surrender. Shortly after 5:30 p.m. we
went to the palace and found the Queen in the blue room, and soon
after Messrs. J. O. Carter, H. A. Widemann, Paul Neumann, and E. C.
Macfarlane arrived. There were also present my colleagues, Messrs.
Colburn and Peterson, and the two princes.
Mr. Damon was likewise present representing the Provisional Gov-
ernment. The Queen told us that she had sent for the gentlemen pres-
ent to consult with them in this crisis, and requested them all to remain
with her until everything was settled. Mr. Damon stated that he was
sent by the Provisional Government to inform the Queen that she had
been deposed, that her ministers and marshal had been dismissed,
and that the Provisional Government had been recognized formally by
Mr. J. L. Stevens, the U. S. Minister. As a friend and also as a privy
councillor, he urged her to surrender peaceably, and expressed the opin-
ion that it would perhaps be well to surrender under protest to the
United States. Mr. J. O. Carter then expressed his views at some
length. He saw no other course for the Queen to pursue after the
recognition of the new government by Mr. Stevens and the landing of
the United States troops.
In his opinion, any resistance under the circumstances would be
equivalant to a declaration of war against the United States. Ile
advised making the protest and leaving the matter in the hands of
the United States. After a short consultation, in which all present
took part and all concurred in the remarks of Mr. Carter the Queen
agreed to surrender under a protest, and the necessary docu-
ment was drawn up by Messrs. Neumann and Carter. Mr. Carter
and I thereupon proceeded to the Government building, where we
presented the protest to Mr. Dole, who indorsed it as having been
received, noting the date and time it was received. We then
requested the attorney-general to go to the Station House and inform
the marshal, who was there, of what had taken place' at the Palace,
and to notify him to surrender the forces under his command. We
were informed shortly after that Marshal Wilson refused to act upon
such instructions, demanding a written order from the Queen and
Cabinet before he would surrender. He reiterated that he was fully
prepared to cope with the situation, and was ready to fight the
insurgents and the forces of the United States, then ashore, and
would do so, unless he should first receive such written order for his.
surrender.
The whole cabinet then proceeded to the station house and in the
presence of Mr. Neumann, and others handed the written orders to the
marshal and explained the situation to him. He thereupon dismissed
his forces with a short address. The large crowd of Hawaiians
gathered outside of the station house were dispersed ‘. after a
short address in Hawaiian by one of the police captains, by order of the
imarshal, after which we left the station house, but up to the time of
leaving no officer of the Provisional Government had taken charge.
WM. H. CORNWELL.
Subscribed and sworn to this 27th day of June, A.D. 1893, before me,
{SEAL.] F. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
4
No 4.
f Affidavits of John A. Uummins and W. T. Seward.
HAwari AN ISLANDs, Island of Oahu, City of Honolulu, as:
On this 19th day of June, A. D. 1893, personally appeared before me
John A. Cummins and Major W. T. Seward, who being by me duly
sworn, deposed and said, that on Saturday, the 14th day of January, A.
D. 1893, the city of Honolulu was perfectly quiet, there being nothing
unusual and no signs of disturbance; that on Monday, the 16th day of
said month of January, a small faction of foreign residents called a
meeting in the Rifles Armory, on Beretania street, at 2 o'clock p.m.,
which was attended by from six to seven hundred persons, a large pro-
portion of whom were neither voters nor taxpayers; that at the same
hour a mass meeting attended by about twenty-five hundred persons
(mostly Hawaiians) was held in Palace square, at which resolutions
were unanimously passed and ordered to be presented to Her Majesty
the Queen assuring her of the loyalty and cordial support and sympa-
thy of her people; that both of said meetings were orderly, and no
sign or threat of disorder was seen or heard anywhere throughout the
city; that, at about five o'clock on the same afternoon, a strong force was
landed from the U. S. S. Boston and quartered on property belong-
ing to an Englishman; that no portion of the force landed was as-
signed to the protection of either American lives or property; that
said forces were camped in virtual possession of the Government
building, within less than one hundred yards of the front entrance of
said building; that the landing of the American forces was a matter
of great surprise to the public generally; that a band concert was
held at the Hawaiian Hotel at eight o'clock in the evening which was
very largely attended by the general public, men, women, and chil-
dren turning out in large numbers to enjoy the music, as it was a
beautiful moonlight evening; that no disturbance or breach of the peace
occurred at any time now under consideration, except the shooting of a
policeman while in the discharge of his duty at Hall's corner by a man
in the employ of the conspirators; that said policeman was endeavor-
ing, in accordance with orders, to prevent the transportation of arms
from Hall & Son's store to the armory on Beretania street, and was
unarmed; that the Provisional Government did not issue their procla-
mation til after they had consulted with both Minister Stevens and
Captain Wiltse.
J. A. CUMMINS,
W. T. SEwARD,
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 19th day of June, A. D. 1893.
|SEAL.] CHARLES T. GULICK
Notary Public, Island of Öahu.
No. 5.
Affidavit of Ch. L. Hopkins.
HoNolulu, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, 88:
And now comes Charles L. Hopkins, a subject of the Hawaiian King-
dom, and upon oath deposes and says:
That after the delivery of Minister Stevens's answer to Her Majesty's
cabinet's letter, your affiant remained at the police station until Mr.
J. H. Soper, at the head of the Provisional troops, numbering about 30
men, arrived at the police station, which was about 7:40 p.m. of the
17th day of January, 1893. Marshal Wilson and J. H. Soper made
addresses to the police in the yard, and on the return of J. H. Soper in
the marshal's office your affiant shook hands with him and then took
the 8 p.m. street car for home.
* CHARLES L. HoPKINs.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of May, A. D. 1893.
A. ROSA,
Notary Public, First Jud. Circuit.
5
No. 6. tºº.
(Affidavit of Charles L. Hopkins, May 3, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.) *
No. 7.
Affidavit of John Lota Kaulukou.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Honolulu, Island of Oahu, 88:
And now comes John Lota Kaulukou, and on his oath deposes and
says: That he is a native Hawaiian by birth and is a resident of Hon-
olulu for a long time last past; that he is a lawyer by occupation and
at present practicing law in Honolulu aforesaid; that on or about 2:30
p.m. of the 17th day of January last, it had been declared in front of
the Government building a new form of government for Hawaii nei
known as the “Provisional Government;” that at the said time the
troops of the Boston were lined between the Government building and
the Arion Hall, and well supplied with ammunition and Gatling guns,
which were faced to the palace, where Her Majesty the Queen, was then
residing; that the Provisional Government at the aforesaid time had
only 50 armed men, more or less, and it could have been suppressed by
the guards of the Queen's Government in a short time; that at the
aforesaid time Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani was residing in the
palace and had charge of that building, the barracks, the guards, and
the ammunition, and also the police station, where Marshal Chas. B.
Wilson, the constables, and those who lent their assistance to Her
Majesty the Queen's Government, who have been well armed.
That at the aforesaid time the said buildings, the police force, and
the other public buildings were not under the charge of the Provi-
sional Government, and that in or about 2:45 p.m. of said date, one
Chas. L. Hopkins took a communication from the Queen's cabinet
from the police station, where they were then, to J. L. Stevens, envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States of
America, residing at the court of the Hawaiian Islands; and that on
or about 3:15 p.m. of said date the said Chas. L. Hopkins returned to
the said police station with a letter from said J. L. Stevens; and that
after that it had been announced to the public, who were there then,
that said United States minister, J. L. Stevens, had recognized the
Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, and will back and
help the said Provisional Government, and not to Her Majesty the
Queen's Government.
That at the recognition of the Provisional Government of the Hawai-
ian Islands by the said J. L. Stevens, United States minister in
Hawaii nei, the Fº was in the possession of Her Majesty Queen
Liliuokalani, and she was living in there; and under the charge and
authority of the Queen's Government were the barracks, the guards,
and the ammunition; under the care of Capt. S. Nowlien, the police
station; under the charge of Marshal Chas. B. Wilson, as aforemen-
tioned, the custom-house, the Oahu prison, and other public buildings,
and º the protection of the lives and property of the people without
trouble.
JoBIN LOTA KAULUKOU.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 18th day of May, A. D. 1893.
GEO. LUCAs, Deputy Clerk, Supreme Court.
No. 8.
Affidavit of E. C. Macfarlane.
I hereby depose that on Tuesday, the 17th day of January, 1893, at
about 4 p.m. of that day, I was present in the station-house at Hono-
lulu, when Mr. S. M. Damon came to me and asked me to use my
influence with Mr. C. B. Wilson (the marshal of the Kingdom) to sur-
render the station-house, which was the stronghold of Her Majesty's
Government, urging that any attempt to resist the Provisional Gov-
6
ernment, which had already been proclaimed, would result in bl
shed and considerable loss of life. I agreed with Mr. Damon that
was the only course to pursue, inasmuch as the United States minister,
Mr. Stevens, in a letter to the Queen's cabinet, which letter had been
shown to me by Mr. A. P. Peterson, the attorney-general, had already
recognized the Provisional Government, and I felt sure that the U. S.
forces from the Boston would undoubtedly resist any attempt made
to dislodge the Provisional Government, who were already in pos-
session of the Government building.
I was convinced that it would be useless for the marshal to offer any
resistance, for such an attempt would most certainly bring about a
conflict with the United States forces, and accordingly I urged Mr.
Wilson to give up the station house. He stoutly refused, saying that
he was prepared for any conflict which might arise, and that under no
circumstances would he surrender unless by written instructions of the
Queen and her ministers.
Toward sundown I was summoned to the palace and there met the
ministers and other gentlemen whom Her Majesty was consulting
about the situation. .
Beside the ministers and the two princes there were present Mr.
Damon, H. A. Widemann, J. O. Carter, and Paul Neumann. In a few
words Her Majesty said she had sent for them to advise with her upon
the situation—that the Provisional Government, which had been recog-
nized by the United States minister—had madé a demand to surrender
the station house and the barracks and asked their advice in the matter.
Mr. Damon said that he was sent as a committee from the Provisional
Government to inform Her Majesty that she had been deposed, her
ministers dismissed, and likewise the marshal, Mr. Wilson; that the
Provisional Government was established and recognized by the United
States minister and a demand made by the Provisional Government
that the station house and barracks be surrendered.
For himself he would advise her to that course, suggesting that she
could make a protest if she desired to do so.
Mr. Carter stated that, in his opinion, there was only one course to
pursue, and that was for Her Majesty to comply to the demands, stat-
ing that the Provisional Government having been recognized by the
United States minister, any attempt to resist would undoubtedly bring
about complications with the United States Government. He favored
peaceful submission and advised that she make a protest and leave the
matter in the hands of the United States Government.
Mr. Widemann advised to the same effect, and referring to the res-
toration of the islands by Admiral Thomas in 1843, expressed the
opinion that the United States, upon a proper representation of all the
facts leading up to the present situation, would in the end repeat the
* the British Government and restore the independence of
a Wall,
The protest was prepared by Mr. Neumann and Mr. Carter.
Written instructions were then addressed to the marshal, Mr. Wil-
son, signed by the Queen and her four ministers, notifying Mr. Wilson
that he must surrender the station house to the Provisional Govern-
Iment.
This letter was taken to Mr. Wilson by Mr. Peterson. I accom-
panied him to the station house. The letter was handed to Mr. Wilson
with a verbal message from the Queen that he should make a brief
statement to those with him that the Queen had yielded under pro-
test, relying upon the justice of the United States Government to re-
store her authority, and that she wished her supporters to disperse
peaceably and keep quiet. Mr. Wilson spoke a few words to that
effect. I remained in the building for some time afterwards and left
about 7 o'clock, up to which time no agent of the Provisional Govern-
ment had arrived to take possession of the station house.
I have the honor to remain, etc.,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of May, 1893.
F. J. TESTA.
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
7
No. 9.
Affidavit of Paul Neumann.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, Island of Oahu, ss:
Paul Neumann, being duly sworn, on his oath deposes and says:
That he is a citizen of the United States of America, residing at
Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, and that he has resided there during
the last nine years prior to this date.
Affiant says that he was in Honolulu on the 14th, 15th, 16th, and
17th of January, 1893. That on the 14th day of January, about 2
o'clock p. m., Hon. W. O. Smith, the present attorney-general of the
Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, invited this affiant
to come to his (Smith's) law office, where a number of other citizens
called shortly after affiant's arrival, and the persons assembled were
then informed that the Queen had requested her cabinet to join her
in proclaiming a new constitution, which the cabinet refused to do,
and wished to know whether the community would sustain the min-
isters in their refusal. A unanimous expression of those present
followed that they would sustain the ministers in their course.
Some one then suggested that Mr. Stevens be requested to land troops
from the Boston to assist the people in resisting the desire of the Queen.
A few of the persons present opposed this movement, and affiant can
not state what steps. if any, were taken by those who sought the armed
intervention of the United States forces.
The persons assembled as aforesaid prepared a list of those who
decided to sustain the Queen's cabinet in their course, and said list was
signed by a number of persons, including affiant, at that time and place.
On Monday, the 16th of January, in the afternoon, troops of the U.
S. S. Boston were landed, and after one squad had been left at the U.
S. consulate and another at the U. S. legation, the main body, includ-
ing the battery, were stationed between the government building and
the palace, at the instance, as we were informed, of Mr. John L. Stevens,
then U. S. minister plenipotentiary, etc.
On the preceding Saturday and Sunday, and on the Monday when
the troops were landed, as well as at all times thereafter, the town and
country was in profound peace and tranquillity, and the sudden and
unexpected landing of a large body of troops and the battery created
great surprise, and was ascribed generally to the intention of Mr.
Stevens and Captain Wiltse to assist in the establishment of a Pro-
visional Government, a movement which had been hinted by Wiltse
and Stevens at various times, accoording to the information which a
number of people had at that time.
The pretext that the troops were landed to protect American lives
and property was spurious and false; both lives and property were as
safe here and as unlikely to be threatened or disturbed as in Kennebec,
Maine, and the sole object of Mr. Stevens and Captain Wiltse was to
abet and assist, not alone by intimidation, but by actual violence the
revolutionary movement headed by Mr. L. A. Thurston and other per-
sons belonging to his party.
In making this statement affiant refers to the replies of Mr. Stevens
to the protest of the cabinet and of the governor of Oahu, copies of
which affiant believes are in the possession of the U. S. Government.
Mass meetings of foreigners and natives were respectively held on
Monday afternoon, which in themselves showed that no outbreak of
any kind was impending, and both meetings had peaceably and quietly
adjourned before the Boston forces were landed.
On Tuesday, the 17th of January, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Parker,
members of Queen Liliuokalani's cabinet, about 3 o'clock in the after.
noon,informed affiant that Mr. Stevens had told them categorically that
he would support with the Uniedd States forces a Provisional Govern-
ment if such were proclaimed, and Mr. Peterson, when asked by affiant
what reply Mr. Stevens had made to their protest against the landing
of the Boston forces, showed to affiant the letter from Mr. Stevens
recognizing the new government.
The following is a copy of Mr. Stevens' reply to Mr. Cleghorn:
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, Jan. 17th, 1893.
SIR: Yours of yesterday, the 16th, regarding the landing of the United States
naval force at Honolulu, is received. I have carefully read its terms and import.
My responsibility as the United States minister plenipotentiary at this critical time
8
in Hawaiian affairs it is impossible for me to ignore. I assure you that, in whateve
responsibility the American diplomatic and naval representatives have assumed or
may assume, we shall do our utmost to regard the welfare of all persons and interests
concerned.
Yours sincerely with kindest consideration,
John L. STEVENs.
Hon. A. S. CLEGHoRN,
Goternor of Oahu.
Affiant suggested to Peterson and Parker to obtain from Stevens a
written declaration of his intention to support the revolutionary move-
ment by the U. S. troops, but affiant can not state if such a declaration
was delivered to them. About two hours after affiant had been made
aware of Mr. Stevens's attitude toward the lawful Hawaiian Govern-
ment, and of his instantaneous recognition of the revolutionary govern-
ment, if in fact that recognition was not made and delivered to the leaders
of the revolution before any Provisional Government was at all pro-
claimed, affiant was requested to call at the Palace, when he met the Queen
and her Cabinet and a number of citizens, including Mr. J. O, Carter, Mr.
Macfarlane, Judge Widemann, and Mr.S.M. Damon, who discussed the
situation, and after the statement was repeated that Mr. Stevens had
unqualifiedly stated that he would by force of arms sustain the Provis-
ional Government, and had in fact given it official recognition before it
had a lawful existence, and the further fact was stated to affiant that
the U. S. legation had been at various times the meeting place of the
persons who conspired to overthrow the Hawaiian Government, affiant
among others advised the Queen to accede under protest to the request
of Mr. Dole to surrender the station house and barracks, and advised
to disband the persons who had been sworn in and armed to preserve
law and order.
Affiant drafted the protest, and after Mr. Dole, the President of the
revolutionary faction, had acknowledged in writing the receipt of the
Queen's protest, the order was given to the marshal, who thereupon,
between 7 and 9 o'clock p.m., disbanded the men and subsequently
but whether that night or the next day affiant does not know, delivered
the possession of the station house and its contents to some representa-
tive of the Provisional Government. Affiant can not state when the
barracks were delivered to the revolutionary party but believes that
it was done on Wednesday the 18th of January.
PAUL NEUMANN.
Subscribed and sworn to this 27th day of January, A. D. 1893, before
II].0, CHAS. T. GULICK
Notary Public, Island of Öahu.
No. 10. o
Affidavit of Samuel Nowlien.
HoNoLULU, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, ss:
And now comes Samuel Nowlien, a subject of the Hawaiian Kingdom,
and upon oath deposes and says:
That he was captain commanding the Household Guards and was
stationed at the Government Barracks and was also in control of the
royal palace on the 16th and 17th days of January, A. D. 1893, with a
total armed force of 272 men of all ranks, of which 72 men were regu-
lars of the Household Guards and 200 men were native Hawaiian vol.
unteers, fully armed and equipped with 12 breech-loading rifled can-
nons (Austrian make) and one Gatling, 111 Springfield rifles (U.S.A.),
and 165Winchester repeating army rifles, with 21,580 rounds of ammu-
nition. That your affiant was in possession and in charge of said bar-
racks and the palace yard up to and between 4 and 5 o'clock p.m. of
the 18th of said January, when said premises were turned over to J.
H. Soper and the regulars were then and there disbanded.
SAMUEL Now LIEN.
Subscribed and sworn to this 8th day of May, A. D. 1893, before me,
(SEAL.] . J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
9
No. 11.
Affidavit of P. M. Rooney.
HONOLULU, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, 8s:
And now comes P. M. Rooney, an American citizen, and a resident of
Honolulu aforesaid, and upon oath deposes and says that he was a spe-
cial police on the 16th and 17th days of January, A. D. 1893, having
been engaged by Marshal Wilson as such; that your affiant was at the
police station up to 7 o'clock p.m. of the 17th day aforesaid, and up to
that time Marshal Wilson was in possession and in charge of the police
station aforesaid with all of his men. The Provisional troops had not
at that time taken charge of the place.
P. M. Rooney,
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of May, A. D. 1893.
A. ROSA
Notary Public, First Judicial circuit.
--
No. 12.
Affidavit of John Ross.
HoNolulu, June 20, 1893.
His Excellency JAMES H. BLOUNT,
U. S. Minister, etc., etc.
SIR: I am again enabled to present to you, on behalf of truth and
justice, an affidavit from a Captain John Ross, for four years, and lat-
terly an executive officer, in the four years' war of American Revolution.
Believing it to be useful he has placed the affidavit at my disposal,
which I have given him to understand shall be sent to you immediately.
He is in communication with me, and can be seen any time you should
so desire further acquaintance of the gentleman. I have the honor to be
Your obedient, humble servant,
JNO. E. BU, H.
From an experience of twenty years' residence in the Hawaiian Is-
lands I hereby state, without bias or prejudice, that there was no dem-
onstration or disturbance or threats made that there would be dis-
turbance on the sixteenth day of January, 1893, that would call for
the landing of troops either to protect life or property; in fact the
landing of men from the U. S. S. “Boston” was so unlooked for that
when the report came to the Hawaiian Hotel, where I was at the time
of their landing, about 5:30 p. m., that it was received as a canard
until the battalion was seen marching past on King street and came to
a halt on the sidewalk east of the main entrance to the Royal Palace
and facing the south. About 7 p.m. the battalion formed and marched
eastward about three-quarters of a mile to the suburbs and broke
ranks on the premises of J. B. Atherton, where it appeared they were to
bivouack for the night. Next morning they occupied Harmony Hall, a
small wooden building about eighty feet west of the Government build-
ing. The Hawaiian Government l and played as usual its Monday
evening concert to the populace and the usual assembly of men, women,
and children were there as well as on the streets. e
The circumstance of the landing of the marines was generally ac-
cepted as part of the schemes of the Revolutionists or Missionary party
as understood to be arranged between them and Mr. Stevens and Cap-
tain Wiltse of the U. S. S. “Boston,” as shortly before the battalion
landed Messrs. Thurston, W. R. Castle and Henry Waterhouse were
seen going to the U. S. legation, and returning from there, and to the
office of L. A. Thurston and W. O. Smith's office, the headquarters of
the Revolutionists. But at no time before, on, or after the 16th of Jan-
uary was life or property in danger more than ordinary. Such is my
belief and statement. -
JOHN ROSS.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 19th day of June, 1893.
[SEAL.] CHAs. T. GULICK,
Notary Public, Island of Oahu.
B—2
10
No. 13.
(Affidavit of Charles B. Wilson, May 4, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.)
No. 14.
Affidavit of Charles B. Wilson.
HONOLULU, OAHU,
Hawaiian Islands, ss.
And now comes Chas. B. Wilson of Honolulu, aforesaid, and upon
oath deposes and says:
That on the 17th day of January, A. D. 1893, between the hours of
7 and 8 p.m. of that day, he surrendered, by order of the Queen and
Cabinet to Jno. J. Soper, as commander-in-chief of the forces of the Pro-
visional Government, and representing that Government, the police sta-
tion with all the arms and munitions of war, the control of the police
force and Oahujail, together with all Government property under his
control as marshal of the Kingdom.
CHAS. B. WILSON.
Sworn and subscribed before me this 6th day of May, A. D. 1893.
F. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
No. 15.
Affidavit of Charles B. Wilson.
HoNOLULU, OAHU, Hawaiian Islands, ss.
And now comes Chas. B. Wilson, of Honolulu, aforesaid, and upon
oath deposes and says:
That he was at the police station and had full charge and control of
the station, Oahu jail, and the police force throughout the kingdom on
the 17th day of January, A. D., 1893, as marshal of the Kingdom of
Hawaii; that on the date aforesaid at about 2 p. m. he had at the
police station under his control a total of two hundred and twenty-
four (224) men fully armed and equipped for active service, one hundred
and ten (110) of said number having been instructed in military tactics
and drilled in the use of firearms for nearly two years last past, who
also had practice at target shooting and have contested in team shoot-
ing with the household troops, and were victorious, winning the team
trophy and all prizes competed for during the contest.
That on the aforesaid day were armed with Springfield rifles (of
late U. S. A. pattern) and one Gatling gun with twenty thousand
and five hundred (20,500) rounds U. M. Co.'s fixed ammunition. That
one hundred and fourteen (114) of the 224 were volunteers armed with
repeating rifles, 74 of which were of army pattern, 20 army carbines
and 20 sporting, all of the Winchester make, with (9,000) nine thou-
sand rounds of fixed ammunition, also two thousand (2,000) rounds
of fixed ammunition loaded with buckshot for 10 and 12 gauge breech-
loading shotguns for the use of extra men.
The make-up of the force under his control is as follows: From the
regular patrol, 74; special reserve force, 36; volunteers, 114. Total
armed force at police station on the aforesaid date (224) two hundred
and twenty-four.
CHAS. B. WILSON.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 9th day of May, A. D. 1893.
[SEAL.] F. J. TESTA
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
LIST OF STATEMENTS AND INTERVIEWS.
1. W. D. Alexander.
2. Same.
3. Same.
4. W. D. Alexander, July 18, 1893, (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 15, dated July
26, 1693, ante).
5. Wolney W. Ashford. w
• Sºlºl.0,
7. H. P. Baldwin.
8. C. R. Bishop.
9. S. E. Bisbop.
10. William Blaisdell.
11. Same.
12. C. Bolte.
13. W. P. Boyd.
14. J. Q. Carter, May 3, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4,
1893, ante).
15. J. O. Carter.
16. H. Center.
17. D. W. Coffman.
18. John F. Colburn.
19. W. H. Cornwell.
20. S. M. Damon.
; Lieut. Herbert L. Draper (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 5, dated May 6, 1893,
ante).
22. C. T. Gulick.
23. Same.
24. Same.
25. F. H. Hayselden.
26. C. M. Hyde.
27. C. P. Jankea.
28. A. F. Judd.
29. Hui Kalaiaina.
30. J. W. Kalua.
31. J. Kanoho,
32. John Lot Kaulukou. g
33. Queen Liliuokalani.
34. A. B. Loebenstein.
35. Curtis J. Lyons.
36. Same.
37. E. C. Macfarlane.
38. George Mundon.
39. Samuel Parker.
40. Hawaiian Patriotic League.
41 Same.
42. Hawaiian Patriotic League, May 2, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 4,
dated May 4, 1893, ante).
43. A. P. Peterson.
44. Wm. Hyde Rice.
45. Antone Rosa.
46. M. M. Scott.
1s: Admiral Skerrett, April 8, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 2, dated April 8,
, ante).
48. W. O. Smith.
* e pe º
50. Claus Spreckels.
51. Same.
52. Lieut. Commander William Swinburne, May 3, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's
No. 4, dated May 4, 1893, ante).
53. L. A. Thurston, March 16, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 2, dated April 8,
1893, ante).
54. Dr. Trousseau.
55. Henry Waterhouse, May 2, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No.4, dated May 4,
1893, ante).
56. C. B. Wells.
57. H. A. Widemann.
58. Same.
59. Robert W. Wilcox.
60. C. B. Wilson.
61. F. Wundenberg. *
62. F. Wundenberg (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 3, dated *g. 26, 1893, ante).
1.; F. yºs. ay 15, 1893 (printed with Mr. Blount's No. 9, dated June 6,
, ante).
12
PART III INTERVIEWS AND STATEMENTS.
No. 1.
Statement of W. D. Alexander.
A STATEMENT OF FACTS RELATING TO POLITICS DURING KALAKAUA’s
REIGN.
It is true that the germs of many of the evils of Kalakaua's reign
may be traced to the reign of Kamehameha V. The reactionary policy
of that monarch is well known. Under him the “recrudescence” of
heathenism commenced, as evinced by the Pagan orgies at the funeral
of his sister, Victoria Kamamalu, in June, 1866, and by his encourage.
ment of the lascivious hulahula dances and of the pernicious class of
kahunas or sorcerers. Closely connected with this reaction was a
growing jealousy and hatred of foreigners.
INTRIGUES DURING LUNALILO's REIGN.
During Lunalilo's brief reign, 1873–74, this feeling was fanned into
a flame by several causes, viz, the execution of the law for the segre-
gation of lepers, the agitation caused by the proposal to cede the use
of Pearl Harbor to the United States, and the famous mutiny at the
barracks. This disaffection was made the most of by Kalakaua, who
was smarting under his defeat in the election of January 8, 1873.
Indeed, his manifesto previous to that election appealed to this race
prejudice. Thus he promised, if elected, “to repeal the poll tax,” “to
put native Hawaiians into the Government offices,” to “amend the consti-
tution of 1864,” etc. “Beware,” he said, “of the constitution of 1852,
and the false teaching of the foreigners, who are now seeking to obtain
the direction of the Government, if Lunalilo ascends the throne.”
Walter Murray Gibson, formerly Mormon apostle and shepherd of
Lanai, then professional politician and editor of the scurrilous paper,
Nuhou, was bitterly disappointed that he had been ignored in the forma-
tion of Lunalilo's cabinet. Accordingly he took the role of an agitator
and attached himself to Kalakaua’s party. They were both disap-
pointed at the result of the barracks mutiny, which had undoubtedly
been fomented by Kalakaua.
THE ELECTION OF KALAKAUA.
Upon Lunalilo's untimely death, February 3, 1874, as no successor
to the throne had been appointed, the Legislature was summoned to
meet on the 12th, only nine days after his death. The popular choice
lay between Kalakaua and the Queen-Dowager Emma. The cabinet
and the American party used all their influence in favor of the former,
while the English favored Queen Emma, who was devoted to their
interest. At the same time Kalakaua's true character was not gener-
ally understood. The natives knew that his family had always been
an idolatrous one. His reputed grandfather, Kamanawa, had been
hanged, October 20, 1840, for poisoning his wife, Kamokuiki.
Under Kamehameha V he had always been an advocate of abso-
lutism, and also of the removal of the prohibition of furnishing alco-
holic liquors to natives. While he was postmaster a defalcation occurred,
which was covered up, while his friends made good the loss to the Gov-
ernment. Like Wilkins Micawber, he was impecunious all his life
whatever the amount of his income might be. He was characterized
by a fondness for decorations and military show long before he was
thought of as a possible candidate for the throne.
It was believed, however, that if Queen Emma should be elected
there would be no hope of our obtaining a reciprocity treaty with the
13
United States. The movement in favor of Queen Emma carried the
day with the natives on Oahu, but had not time to spread to the other
islands. It was charged, and generally believed, that bribery was used
by Kalakaua's friends to secure his election. Be that as it may, the
Legislature was convened in the old court-house (now occupied by
Hackfeld & Co.) and elected Kalakaua King by 39 votes to 6.
THE COURT-HOUSE RIOT.
A howling mob, composed of Queen Emma's partisans, had sur-
rounded the court-house during the election, after which they battered
down the back doors, sacked the building, and assaulted the represent-
atives with clubs. essrs. C. C. Harris and S. B. Dole held the main
door against them for considerable time. The mob, with one exception,
refrained from violence to foreigners, from fear of intervention by the
men-of-war in port.
The cabinet and the marshal had been warned of the danger, but
had made light of it. The police appeared to be in sympathy with the
populace, and the volunteers, for the same reason, would not turn out.
Mr. H. A. Pierce, the American minister, however, had anticipated the
riot, and had agreed with Commodore Belknap, of the U.S. S. Tuscarora,
and Commodore Skerrett, of the Portsmouth, upon a signal forlanding the
troops under their command. At last Mr. C. R. Bishop, minister of
foreign affairs, formally applied to him and to Maj. Wodehouse, H. B.
M.'s commissioner, for assistance in putting down the riot.
A body of 150 marines immediately landed from the two American
men of war, and in a few minutes was joined by one of 70 men from
H. B. M.'s corvette Tenedos, Capt. Ray. They quickly dispersed the
mob, and arrested a number of them without any bloodshed. The
British troops first occupied Queen Emma's grounds, arresting several
of the ringleaders there, and afterwards guarded the palace and bar.
racks. The other Government buildings, the prison, etc., were guarded
by American troops until the 20th.
INAUGURATION OF KALAKAUA.
*
The next day at noon Kalakaua was sworn in as King, under the
protection of the United States troops. By an irony of fate the late
leader of the anti-American agitation owed his life and his throne to
American intervention, and for several years he depended upon the
support of the foreign community. In these circumstances he did not
venture to proclaim a new constitution º: in his inaugural speech
he had said he intended to do), nor to disregard public opinion in
his appointments. His first minister of foreign affairs was the late
Hon. W. L. Green, an Englishman, universally respected for his integ-
rity and ability, who held this office for nearly three years, and carried
through the treaty of reciprocity in the teeth of bitter opposition.
THE RECIPROCITY TREATY.
The following October Messrs. E. H. Allen and H. A. P. Carter were
sent to Washington to negotiate a treaty of reciprocity.
The Government of the United States having extended an invitation
to the King, and .placed the U. S. S. Benicia at his disposal, he em-
barked November 17, 1874, accompanied by Mr. H. A. Pierce and
several other gentlemen. They were most cordially received and
, treated as guests of themation. Aftera tourthrough the Northern States,
the royal party returned to Honolulu February 15, 1875, in the U. S. S.
Pensacola. The treaty of reciprocity was concluded January 30, 1875,
and the ratifications were exchanged at Washington June 3, 1875.
The act necessary to carry it into effect was not, however, passed
by the Hawaiian Legislature till July 18, 1876, after the most stubborn
opposition, chiefly from the English members of the house and the
partisans of Queen Emma, who denounced it as a step toward annex-
ation. It finally went into effect September 9, 1876.
THE ADVENT OF SPRECKELS.
The first effect of the reciprocity treaty was to cause a “boom” in
sugar, which turned the heads of some of our shrewdest men and
nearly caused a financial crash. Among other enterprises the Haiku
irrigation ditch, 20 miles in length, which taps certain streams flowing
down the northern slopes of East Maui and waters three plantations,
14
were planned and carried out by Mr. S. T. Alexander, in 1877. About
that time he pointed out to Col. Claus Spreckels the fertile plain of
Central Maui, then lying waste, which only needed irrigation to pro-
duce immense crops. Accordingly, in 1878, Mr. Spreckels applied to
the cabinet for a lease of the surplus waters of the streams on the
northeast side of Maui as far as Honomanu. They flow through a
rugged district at present almost uninhabited. The then attorney-
general, Judge Hartwell, and the minister of the interior, J. Mott
Smith, refused to grant him a perpetual monopoly of this water, as
they state it. Up to this time the changes in the cabinet had been
caused by disagreement between its members, and had no political
significance.
In the meantime, Mr. Gibson, after many months of preparation, had
brought in before the Legislature a motion of want of confidence in the
ministry, which was defeated June 24 by a vote of 26 to 19. On the
night of July 1 Messrs. Claus Spreckels and G. W. Macfarlane had a
long conference with Kalakaua at the Hawaiian Hotel on the subject
of the water privilege, and adjourned to the palace about midnight.
It is not necessary to give the details here, but the result was that let-
ters were drawn up and signed by the King, addressed to each member
of the cabinet, requesting his resignation, without stating any reason
for his dismissal. These letters were delivered by a messenger between
1 and 2 o'clock in the morning. ... Such an arbitrary and despotic act
was without precedent in Hawaiian history.
The next day a new cabinet was appointed, consisting of S. G.
Wilder, Minister of the Interior, E. Preston, Attorney-general, Simon
Kaai, Minister of Finance, and John Kapena, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The last two positions were sinecures, but Kaai as a speaker and poli-
tician had great influence with his countrymen. The new cabinet
granted Mr. Spreckels the desired water privilege for thirty years at
$500 per annum. The opium-license and free-liquor bills were killed.
The actual premier, Mr. Wilder, was probably the ablest administrator
that this country has ever had. He infused new vigor into every
department of the Government, promoted immigration, carried out
extensive public improvements, and at the legislative session of 1880
was able to show cash in the treasury sufficient to pay off the existing
national debt. But his determination to administer his own depart-
ment in accordance with business methods did not suit the King.
Meanwhile Gibson spared no pains to make himself conspicuous as
the soi-disant champion of the aboriginal race. He even tried to
capture the “missionaries,” “experienced religion,” held forth at Sun-
day prayer meetings, and spoke in favor of temperance.
CELSO CESAR MORENO.
The professional lobbyist, Celso Cesar Moreno, well known at Sacra-
mento and Washington, arrived in Honolulu November 14, 1879, on the
China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company's steamer Ho-chung, with
the view of establishing a line of steamers between Honolulu and China.
Soon afterwards he presented a memorial to the Hawaiian Government
asking for a subsidy to the proposed line. He remained in Honolulu
about ten months, during which time he gained unbounded influence
over the King by servile flattery and by encouraging all his pet hob-
bies. He told him that he ought to be his own prime minister, and to
fill all Government offices with native Hawaiians. He encouraged his
craze for a 10 million loan, to be spent chiefly for military purposes,
and told him that China was the “treasure house of the world,” where
he could borrow all the money he wanted. The King was always an
active politician, and he left no stone unturned to carry the election of
of 1880. His candidates advocated a 10 million loan and unlimited
Chinese immigration. With Moreno's assistance he produced a pam-
phlet in support of these views, entitled “A reply to ministerial utter-
8 DNCCS,
THE SESSION OF 1880.
In the Legislature of 1880 was seen the strange spectacle of the King
working with a pair of unscrupulous adventurers to oust his own con-
stitutional advisers, and introducing through his creatures a series of
bills, which were generally defeated by the ministry.
Gibson had now thrown off the mask, and voted for everyone of the
King and Moreno's measures. Among their bills which failed were the
10-million loan bill, the opium-license bill, the free-liquor bill, and
15
especially the bill guaranteeing a bonus of $1,000,000 in gold to Moreno's
Trans-Pacific Cable Company.
The subsidy to the China line of steamers was carried by the lavish
use of money; but it was never paid. Appropriations were passed for
the education of Hawaiian youths abroad, and for the coronation of
the King and Queen.
At last on the 4th of August, Gibson brought in a motion of “want
of confidence” which after a lengthy debate was defeated by the
decisive vote of 32 to 10. On the 14th, the King prorogued the Legisla-
ture at noon, and about an hour later dismissed his ministers without
a word of explanation, and appointed Moreno premier and Minister of
Foreign Affairs; J. E. Bush, Minister of the Interior; W. C. Jones,
Attorney-general, and Rev. M. Kueea, Minister of Finance.
FALL OF THE MORENO MINISTRY.
Moreno was generally detested by the foreign community, and the
announcement of his appointment created intense excitement.
For the first time the discordant elements of this community were
united, and they were supported by a large proportion of the natives.
The three highest and most influential chiefs—Queen Dowager Emma,
Ruth Keelikolani, and Bernice Pauahi Bishop—joined in condemning
the King's course. Two mass meetings were held at the Kaumakapili
Church, and a smaller one of foreigners at the old Bethel Church, to
protest against the coup d'état. The diplomatic representatives of the
United States, England, and France—Gen. Comly, Maj. Wodehouse,
and M. Ratard—raised their respective flags over their legations, and
declared that they would hold no further official intercourse with the
Hawaiian Government as long as Moreno should be premier. On the
side of the King, R. W. Wilcox, Nawahi, and others harangued the
natives, appealing to their jealousy of foreigners. The following mani-
festo is a sample:
WAY-UP CELSO MORENO.
To all true-born citizens of the country, greeting: We have with us one Celso Cesar
Moreno, a naturalized and true Hawaiian. His great desire is the advancement of
this country in wealth, and the salvation of this people, by #. tlue leading
positions of Government in the hands of the Hawaiians for administration. The
great desire of Moreno is to cast down foreigners from official positions and to put
true Hawaiians in their places, because to them belongs the country. They should
hold the Government and not strangers. This has been the cause of the decrease of
the people. Positions have been taken from Hawaiians and given to strangers. , C.
C. Moreno desires to throw down these foreigners and to elevate to high positions
the people to whom belongs the land, i. e., the red-skins. This is the real cause of
jealousy on the part of foreigners, viz., that Hawaiians shall be placed above them
in all things in this well-beloved country. C. C. Moreno is the heart from whence
will issue life to the real Hawaiians.
After four days of intense excitement, the King yielded to the storm.
Moreno's resignation was announced on the 19th, and his place filled
ad interim by J. E. Bush. On the 30th Moreno left for Europe, with
three Hawaiian “youths” under his charge, viz., R. W. Wilcox, a
member of the late legislature, 26 years of age, Robert Boyd, and
James K. Booth. It was afterwards ascertained that he bore a secret
commission as minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to
all the great powers, as well as letters addressed to the governments of
the United States, England, and France demanding the recall of their
representatives. A violent quarrel had broken out between him and
his disappointed rival, Gibson, who purchased the P. C. Advertiser
printing office with Government money September 1, and conducted
that paper thenceforth as the King's organ.
Mr. W. L. Green was persuaded to accept the vacant place of min-
ister of foreign affairs September 22. In a few days he discovered
what had been done, and immediately notified the representatives of
the three powers concerned of the insult that had been offered them.
A meeting was held at his office between the foreign representatives
on the one side and himself and J. E. Bush on the other, at which the
letters in question were read. The result was that Mr. Green resignèd
and compelled the resignation of his colleagues.
THE GREEN-CARTER MINISTRY.
**
Mr. Claus Spreckles, who arrived September 5, took an active part
in these events and in the formation of the new ministry, which con-
sisted of W. L. Green, Minister of Foreign Affairs; H. A. P. Carter, Min-
16
1ster of the Interior; J. S. Walker, Minister of Finance, and W.N. Arm.
strong, Attorney-general.
The first act was to annul Moreno's commission, and to send dis-
patches, which were telegraphed from San Francisco to Washington,
London, and Paris, disavowing the demands which he had sent.
Moreno, however, proceeded on his journey and finally placed the
Hawaiian youths, one in a military and two in a naval school in Italy.
THE KING's TOUR AROUND THE WORLD.
The King immediately began to agitate his project of a trip around
the world. As it was known he was corresponding with Moreno, it was
arranged that Mr. C. H. Judd should accompany him as Chamberlain,
and Mr. W. N. Armstrong as Commissioner of Immigration. He was
received with royal honors in Japan, Siam, and Johore. On the King's
arrival in Naples, Moreno made an audacious attempt to take posses-
sion of His Majesty and dispense with his companions, but he met with
more than his match in Mr. Armstrong. The royal party visited nearly
all the capitals of Europe, where the King added a large number of
decorations to his collection, and took particular note of military mat-
ters and court etiquette. An Austrian field battery which took his
eye afterwards cost this country nearly $20,000. During the King's
absence his sister, Mrs. Dominis, styled Liliuokalani. acted as regent.
He returned to Honolulu October 29, 1881, where he had a magnificent
reception, triumphal arches, torches blazing at noonday, and extrava-
gant adulation of every description.
TRIUMPH OF GIBSON,
During the King's absence he had kept up a correspondence with
his political workers at home, and after his return he produced another
pamphlet in Hawaiian, advocating a ten-million loan. Gibson's paper
had been filled with gross flattery of the King and of the natives, and
had made the most of the smallpox epidemic of 1881 to excite the pop-
ulace against the ministry.
Just before the election of 1882 a pamphlet appeared, containing a
scathing exposure of his past career (especially in connection with the
Morman Church), backed by a mass of documentary evidence. Gib-
son's only reply was to point to his subsequent election by a large
majority of the native voters of Honolulu. Only two other white men
were elected on the islands that year. It was the first time that the
race issue had superseded all other considerations with the native
electorate.
SESSION OF 1882.
The Legislature of 1882 was one of the weakest and most corrupt that
ever sat in Honolulu. At the opening of the session Minister Carter
was absent in Portugal, negotiating a treaty with the Government of
that country. It was soon evident that the ministry did not control a
majority of the House, but that the King did. After an ineffectual
attempt to quiet Gibson by offering him the Presidency of the Board of
Health with a salary of $4,000, they resigned, May 19, and Gibson
became Premier.
His colleagues were J. E. Bush, lately of Moreno's cabinet; Simon
Kaai, who drank himself to death, and Edward Preston, attorney-gen-
eral, who was really the mainstay of the Cabinet.
One of their first measures was an act to convey to Claus Spreckels
the crown lands of Wailuku, containing some 24,000 acres, in order to
compromise a claim which he held to an undivided share of the crown
lands. He had purchased from Ruth Keelikolani, for the sum of $10,000,
all the interest which she might have had in the crown lands as being
the half sister of Kamehameha IV, who died intestate. Her claim had
been ignored in the decision of the Supreme Court and the Act of 1865,
which constituted the crown lands. Instead of testing her right by a
suit before the Supreme Court, the Ministry thought it best to accept
the above compromise and carried it through the Legislature.
The prohibition against furnishing intoxicating liquor to natives was
repealed at this session, and the consequences to the race have been
disastrous. The ten-million loan bill was again introduced, but was
shelved in committee and a two-million loan act substituted for it.
The appropriation bill was swelled to double the estimated receipts of
the Government, including $30,000 for coronation expenses, $30,000
wº.
17
for Hawaiian youths in foreign countries, $10,000 for a Board of Genes
alogy, besides large sums for the military, foreign embassies, the pal-
ace, etc.
At the last moment a bill was rushed through giving the King sole
power to appoint district justices, through his creatures, the gov.
ernors, which had formerly been done only “by and with the advice of
the Justices of the Supreme Court.” This was another step toward
absolutism. Meauwhile Gibson defended the King's right to be an
active politician, and called him “the first Hawaiian King with the
brains and heart of a statesman.”
At the same time it was understood that Claus Spreckels backed the
Gibson ministry and made them advances under the Loan Act.
THE CORONATIONs
Kalakaua had always felt dissatisfied with the manner in which he
had been sworn in as King. He was also tired of being reminded that
he was not a king by birth, but only by election. To remedy this defect
he determined to have the ceremony performed over again in as impos-
ing a manner as possible. Three years were spent in preparations for
the great event, and invitations were sent to all rulers and potentates
on earth to be present in person or by proxy on the occasion. Japan
sent a commissioner, while England, France, and the United States
were represented by ships of war. The ceremony took place February
12, 1883, nine years after Kalakaua's inauguration. Most of the regalia
had been ordered from London, viz, two crowns, a scepter, ring, and
sword, while the royal feather mantle, tabu stick, and kahili or plumed
staff, were native insignia of rank.
A pavilion was built for the occasion, as well as a temporary amphi-
theatre for the spectators. The Chief Justice administered the oath of
office and invested the King with the various insignia. This ceremony
was boycotted by the high chiefs, Queen Emma, Ruth Keelikolani, and
Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and by a large part of the foreign com-
munity, as an expensive and useless pageant intended to aid the King's
political schemes to make himself an absolute monarch. The corona-
tion was followed by feasts, a regatta, and races, and by a series of
nightly hulahulas, i. e. heathen dances, accompanied by appropriate
Songs. The printer of the Coronation Hula programme, which con-
tained the subjects and first lines of these songs, was prosecuted and
fined by the court on account of their gross and incredible obscenity.
&
EMBASSIES, ETC.
During this year Mr. J. M. Kapena was sent as Envoy Extraordinary
to Japan, while Mr. C. P. Iaukea, with H. Poor as secretary, was sent
to attend the coronation of the czar Alexanderiff at Moscow, and
afterwards on a mission to Paris, Rome, Belgrade, Calcutta, and Japan,
on his way around the world, .*
Kalakaua was no longer satisfied with being merely King of Hawaii,
but aspired to what Gibson termed the “Primacy of the Pacific.”
Capt. Tripp and F. L. Clarke were sent as royal commissioners to the
Gilbert Islands and New Hebrides, to prepare the way for a Hawaiian
protectorate; a parody on the “Monroe doctrine” was put forth in a
grandiloquent protest addressed to all the great powers by Mr. Gibson,
warning them against any further annexation of islands in the Pacific
Ocean, and claiming for Hawaii the exclusive right “to assist them in
improving their political and social condition,” i. e., a virtual protec-
torate of the other groups.
THE HAWAIIAN COINAGE. *
The King was now impatient to have his “image and superscription”
on the coinage of the realm, to add to his dignity as an independent
monarch. As no appropriation had been made for this purpose,
recourse was had to the recognized “power behind the throne.” Mr.
Claus Spreckels purchased the bullion, and arrangements were made
with the San Francisco mint for the coinage of silver dollars and frac-
tions of a dollar, to the amount of one million dollars’ worth, to be of
identical weight and fineness with the like coins of the United States.
The intrinsic value of the silver dollar at that time was about 84 cents.
It was intended, however, to exchange this silver for gold bonds at par
under the loan act of 1882. On the arrival of the first installment of
B—3
18
the coin the matter was brought before the Supreme Court by Messrs.
ole, Castle, and W. O. Smith. After a full hearing of the case, the
court decided that these bonds could not legally be placed except for
par value in gold coin of the United States, and issued an injunction to
that effect on the Minister of Finance, December 14, 1883. The Privy
Council was then convened, and declared these coins to be of the legal
value expressed on their face, subject to the legal-tender act, and
they were gradually put into circulation. A profit of $150,000 is said
to have been made on this transaction.
Thk FIRST RECONSTRUCTION of THE Gibson cABINET, 1883.
Mr. Gibson's first cabinet went to pieces in a little over a year.
Simon Kaai was compelled to resign in February, 1883, from “chronic
inebriety,” and was succeeded by J. M. Kapena. Mr. Preston resigned
the following May from disgust at the King's personal intermeddling
with the administration, and in July Mr. Bush resigned in consequence
of a falling out with Mr. Gibson. For some time “the secretary stood
alone,” being at once Minister of Foreign Affairs, Attorney-General,
and Minister of the Interior ad interim; besides being President of the
Board of Health, President of the Board of Education, and member of
the Board of Immigration, with nearly the whole foreign community
opposed to him. The price of government bonds had fallen to 75 per
cent with no takers, and the treasury was nearly empty. At this junc-
ture (August 6), when a change of ministry was looked for, Mr. C. T.
Gulick was persuaded to take the portfolio of the Interior, and a small
loan was obtained from his friends. Then to the surprise of the public,
Col. Claus Spreckels decided to support the Gibson cabinet, which was
soon after completed by the accession of Paul Neumann.
THE LEGISLATURE OF 1884.
Since 1882 a considerable reaction had taken place among the natives,
who resented the cession of Wailuku to Spreckels, and felt a profound
distrust of Gibson. In spite of the war cry “Hawaii for Hawaiians,”
and the lavish use of Government patronage, the Palace party was
defeated in the elections generally, although it held Honolulu, its
stronghold. Among the Reform members that session were Messrs.
Dole, Rowell, Smith, Hitchcock, the three brothers, Godfrey, Cecil, and
Frank Brown, Kauhane, Kalua, Nawahi, and the late Pilipo, of honored
memory.
At the opening of the session the Reform party elected the speaker
of the house, and controlled the organization of the committees.
The report of the finance committee was the most damaging expo-
sure ever made to a Hawaiian Legislature. A resolution of “want of
confidence” was barely defeated (June 28) by the four Ministers them-
selves voting on it.
THE SPRECKELS BANK CHARTER.
An act to establish a national bank had been drawn up for Col.
Spreckels by a well-known law firm in San Francisco, and brought
down to Honolulu by ex-Governor Lowe. After “seeing” the King,
and using the usual methods in vogue at Sacramento, the ex-Governor
returned to San Francisco, boasting that “he had the Hawaiian Legis-
lature in his pocket.” But as soon as the bill had been printed and
carefully examined, a storm of opposition broke out. It provided for
the issue of a million dollars' worth of paper money, backed by an equal
amount of Government bonds deposited as security. The notes might
be redeemed in either silver or gold. There was no clause requiring
quarterly or semiannual reports of the state of the bank. Nor was a
minimum fixed to the amount of cash reserved in the bank. In fact,
most of the safeguards of the American national banking system were
omitted. Its notes were to be legal tender except for customs dues.
It was empowered to own steamship lines and railroads, and carry on
mercantile business, without paying license fees. It was no doubt in-
tended to monopolize or control all transportation within the Kingdom,
as well as the importing business from the United States.
The charter was riddled both in the house and in the chamber of
commerce, and indignation meetings of citizens were held until the
King was alarmed, and finally it was killed on the second reading by
19
an overwhelming majority. On hearing of the result the sugar king
took the first steamer for Honolulu, and on his arrival “ the air was
blue—full of strange oaths, and many fresh and new.” On second
thought, however, and after friendly discussion he accepted the situa-
tion and a fair general banking law was passed providing for banks of
deposit and exchange, but not of issue.
THE LOTTERY BILL, Etc.
At the same session a lottery bill was introduced by certain agents
of the Louisiana company. It offered to pay all the expenses of the
leper settlement for a license to carry on its nefarious business, besides
offering private inducements to venal legislators. In defiance of the
public indignation, shown by mass meetings, petitions, etc., the bill
was forced through its second reading, but was stopped at that stage
º mºrewº, as is claimed, by Col. Špeckels personal influence with
the King.
Kalakaua's famous “Reportof the Board of Genealogy” was published
at this session. An opium license bill was also killed, as well as an
eight million dollar loan bill, while a number of excellent laws were
passed. Among these were the currency act and Dole's homestead
law. The true friends of the native race had reason to rejoice that so
much evil had been prevented.
PRACTICAL POLITICS UNDER GIBSON.
During the next few years the country suffered from a peculiarly
degrading kind of despotism. I do not refer to the King's personal
immorality, nor to his systematic efforts to debauch and heathenize
the natives to further his political ends.
The coalition in power defied public opinion and persistently endeav-
ored to crush out, buy out, or disarm all opposition, and to turn the
Government into a political machine for the perpetuation of their power.
For the first time in Hawaiian history faithful officers who held commis-
sions from the Kamehamehas were summarily removed on suspicion of
“not being in accord” with the cabinet, and their places generally filled
by pliant tools. A marked preference was given to unknown adven-
turers and defaulters over natives and old residents. Even contracts
(for building 'bridges, for instance) were given to firms in foreign
countries.
The various branches of the civil service were made political
machines, and even the Board of Education and Government Survey
came near being sacrificed to “practical politics.” All who would not
bow the knee received the honorable sobriquet of “missionaries.”
The demoralizing effects of this régime, the sycophancy, hypocrisy,
and venality produced by it, have been a curse to the country ever
since. The Legislature of 1884 was half composed of officeholders,
and wires were skillfully laid to carry the next election. Grogshops
were now licensed in the country districts, to serve as rallying points
for the “National party.” The Gibsonian papers constantly labored
ºnt race hatred among the natives and class jealousy among the
whites.
Fortunately, one branch of the Government, the Supreme Court, still
remained independent and outlived the Gibson régime.
THE ELECTION OF 1886,
The election of 1886 was the most corrupt one ever held in this King-
dom, and the last one held under the old régime. During the canvass
the country districts were flooded with cheap gin, chiefly furnished by
the King, who paid for it by franking other liquor through the custom-
house free of duty, and thereby defrauding the Government of revenue.
amounting to $4,749.35. (See report of attorney-general for 1888, and
the case of the King vs. G. W. Macfarlane, 1888.) Out of 28 Govern-
ment candidates 26 were officeholders, one a last year's tax assessor,
and one the Queen's secretary. A list of them is appended herewith.
There was only one white man on the Government ticket, viz, the pre-
imier's son-in-law.
20
List of Government candidates for the election of 1886 for representatives.
Island. I)istrict. Name. Office.
Hawaii........., ºs e is e e | North Kona......... J. K. Nahale........ Tax collector.
+ South Kona... ... ... D. H. Nahinu....... Deputy sheriff and tax collector.
Kau ---------------- Kaseamoku. ------.
Puna A. Kekoa Tax collector.
Hilo.--------------- Kaulukou ---------. Sheriff.
Hilo.... A. Pahia Tax collector.
Hamakua........... Kaunamano ........ e
Kohala A. Kalai ------* * * * * * District judge.
Maui----------------- Lahaina.----------- L. Aholo. ----------. olice iu.
Lahaina. --. -------. Kai Nahaolelua..... Tax collector.
Hana $. W. trict judge
Makawao. ---------. J. Kamakele........ Tax collector.
Wailuku. ----------- | G. Richardson...... Road supervisor and tax collector.
Kaanapali J. Kaukau #º sheriff and tax collector.
Molokai and Lanai Nakaleka.-...------ Tax collector.
Knnihea District *:
‘Oahu----------------- | Honolulu ........... F. H. Hayselden....] Secretary of the board of health
and tax assessor.
Honolulu ----------. James Kean.------. Poi contractor.
Honolulu ----------- Lilikalani ---------- 8. secretary.
olulu. ---------- aker--------- aptain of King's guards
Ewa and Waiamae... J. P. Kama........ District e
lauloa ---------. ahikana ........ Tax collector
Koolaupoko ........ F. Kaulia........... District judge.
Waialua ---...------ J. Amara.----------. Deputy sheriff and tax collector.
JKauai ---------------- Hanalei.------------ Palohau -----....... Do.
Koloa--------------- T. The - - - - - - - -
Waimea ------------ E. Kauai. ---------. | District judge.

In order to prevent Pilipo's election, the King proceeded to his dis-
trict of North Kona, taking with him a number of soldiers and attend-
ants (who voted at the election), besides numerous cases of liquor. He
took an active part in the canvass, and succeeded in defeating Pilipo
toy a small majority. The King's interference with the election nearly
provoked a riot, which was averted by Pilipo's strenuous exertions.
The matter was investigated by a Legislative committee, whose report
is on file. Mr. E. Kekoa, the member elected from Puna, was after-
wards tried and convicted of gross violations of the election laws, but
the house refused to declare his seat vacant.
Only ten Reform candidates were elected, viz: Messrs. Cecil Brown,
TW. R. Castle, C. H. Dickey, S. B. Dole, J. Kauhane, A. Kauahi, J.
Kalua, A. Paehaole, L. A. Thurston, and J. Wight.
THE SESSION OF 1886. º
The session of 1886 was a long one, and a vacation of two weeks was
taken, from July 26 until August 9, to allow the tax assessors in the
Legislature to go home and nominally perform the duties of their office.
...About this time certain creditors of the Government in San Francisco
bröught pressure to bear upon the ministry to cede or hypothecate the
Bonolulu waterworks and part of the wharves to a California com-
pany. The pressure became so great that the ministers opposed to
the project were requested by the King to resign, and a new cabinet
was formed June 30, 1886, consisting of W. M. Gibson, Minister of the
Jnterior; R. J. Creighton, a journalist, lately arrived from California,
Minister of Foreign Affairs; J.T. Dare, another recent arrival, Attorney-
General; and P. P. Kanoa, Minister of Finance, in place of J. Kapena,
who had succumbed to the same failin g that had destroyed Simon
The two new members of the cabinet were respectable gentlemen,
but soon found themselves in a false position.
*
THE ÖPIUM BILL,
An opium-license bill was introduced towards the end of the session
by Kaunamano, one of the King's tools, and after a long debate carried
over the votes of the ministry by a bare majority. It provided that a
license for four years should be granted to “some one applying there-
for" by the Minister of the Interior, with the consent of the King, for
$30,000 per annum. The object of this provision was plainly seen at
the time, and its after consequences were destined to be disastrous to
its author. Mr. Dole proposed an amendment that the license be sold
at public auction at an upset price of $30,000, which, however, was
defeated by a majority of one, only one white man, F. H. Hayselden,
voting with the majority.
Another act was passed to create a so-called “Hawaiian Board of
Health,” consisting of five kahunas, appointed by the King, with power
to issue certificates to native kahunas to practice “native medicine.”
21
THE LONDON LOAN.
The King had been convinced that, for the present, he must forego his
pet scheme of a ten-million loan. A two-million loan bill, however, was
brought in early in the session, with the view of obtaining the money in
San Francisco. The subject was dropped for a time, then revived again,
and the bill finally passed September 1.
Meanwhile, the idea of obtaining a loan in London was suggested to
the King by Mr.A. Hoffnung, of that city, whose firm had carried on the
Portuguese immigration. The proposal pleased the King, who consid-
ered that creditors at so great a distance would not be likely to trouble
themselves much about the internal politics of his little Kingdom. Mr.
H. R. Armstrong, of the firm of Skinner & Co., London, visited Hono-
lulu to further the project, which was engineered by Mr. G. W. Macfar-
lane in the Legislature.
Two parties were now developed in that body, viz, the Spreckels
party, led by the Ministry, and the King's party, which favored the
†. loan. The small knot of independent members held the balance
or power.
The two contending parties brought in two sets of conflicting amend-
ments to the loan act, of which it is not necessary to give the details.
As Kaulukou put it, “the amendment of the Attorney-General provides
that if they want to borrow any money they must pay up Mr. Spreck-
els first. He understood that the Government owed Mr. Spreckels
$600,000 or $700,000. He has lent them money in the past, and were
they prepared to say to him, ‘We have found new friends in England’—
to give him a slap in the face?”
On the other side, Mr. J.T. Baker “was tired of hearing a certain gen-
tleman spoken of as a second king. As this amendment was in the
interest of that gentleman he voted against it.” Allusions were also
made to the reports that the waterworks were going to be pledged to
him. When the decisive moment arrived the independents cast their
votes with the King's party, defeating the ministry by 23 votes to 14.
The result was that the cabinet resigned that night, after which Gib-
son went on his knees to the King and begged to be reappointed.
The next morning, October 14, to the surprise of everyone and to
the disgust of his late allies, Gibson reappeared in the house as
premier, with three native colleagues, yiz, Aholo, Kanoa, and Kaulu-
kou. . But from this time he had no real power, as he had neither
moral nor financial backing. The helm of state had slipped from his
hands. Mr. Spreckels called on the King, returned all his decorations
and shook off the dust from his feet. The Legislature appropriated
$100,000 for a gunboat and $15,000 to celebrate the King's fiftieth birth-
y.
In this brief sketch it is impossible to give any idea of the utter
want of honor and decency that characterized the proceedings of the
Legislature of 1886.
The appropriation bill footed up $3,856,755, 50, while the estimated
receipts were $2,336,870.42.
W. D. ALEXANDER.
[Second part.]
SKETCH OF POLITICS IN KALAKAUA’s REIGN.—continued.
THE SEQUEL OF THE LONDON LOAN.
From the report of the Minister of Finance for 1888 we learn that
r. H. R. Armstrong, who had come to Honolulu as the agent of a
London syndicate, was appointed agent of the Hawaiian Government
to float the loan. He was also appointed Hawaiian Consul-General
for Great Britain, while Mr. A. Hoffnung, previously referred to, was
made Chargé d'affaires.
In the same report we find that the amount borrowed under the loan
act of 1886 in Honolulu was $771,800 and in London $980,000. Of
the former amount $630,000 was used to extinguish the debt owed to
Col. Spreckels. By the terms of the loan act the London syndicate
was entitled to 5 per cent of the proceeds of the bonds which they
disposed of as their commission for guaranteeing them at 98 per cent.
But it appears that in addition to this amount £15,000, or about
22
$75,000, was illegally detained by them and has never been accounted
for. The Legislature of 1888 appropriated the sum of $5,000 to defray
the expenses of a lawsuit against their financial agents to recover the
$75,000 thus fraudulently retained. The matter was placed in the
hands of Col. J. T. Griffin, who advised the Government that it was
not expedient to prosecute the case. The $75,000 has therefore been
entered on the books of the treasury department as a dead loss. Since
then Mr. Armstrong's name has ceased to appear in the Government
directory among those of the Consuls-General.
ROYAL MISRULE.
As before stated, the King now acted as his own prime minister,
employing Gibson to execute his schemes and defend his follies. For
the next eight months he rapidly went from bad to worse. After
remaining one imonth in the cabinet Mr. Kaulukou was transferred to
the Marshal's office, while Mr. Antone Rosa was appointed Attorney-
General in his place and J. M. Kapena made Collector-General. The
limits of this brief sketch forbid any attempt to recount the political
grievances of this period. Among the lesser scandals were the sale
of offices, the defrauding of the customs revenue by abuse of the royal
privilege, the illegal leasing of lands in Kona and Kau to the King
without putting them up to auction, the sale of exemptions to lepers,
the gross neglect of the roads, and misapplication of the road money,
particularly of the Queen street appropriation.
Efforts to revive heathemism were now redoubled under the pretense
of cultivating “national” feeling. Kahunas were assembled from the
other islands as the King's birthday approached, and “night was made
hideous” with the sound of the hula drum and the blowing of conchs
in the palace yard. A foreign fortune teller by the name of Rosen-
berg acquired great influence with the King.
THE HALE NAUA ALIAS TEMPLE OF SCIENCE, ALIAS BALL OF Twin E SocIETY.
This was founded September 24, 1886. A charter for it was obtained
by the King from the Privy Council, not without difficulty, on account
of the suspicion that was felt in regard to its character and objects.
According to its constitution it was founded forty quadrillions of years
after the foundation of the world and twenty-four thousand seven
hundred and fifty years from Lailai, the first woman.
Its by-laws are a travesty of Masonry, mingled with pagan rites.
The Sovereign is styled Iku Hai; the secretary, Iku Lani; the treasurer,
Iku Nuu. Besides these were the keeper of the sacred fire, the anointer
with oil, the almoner, etc. . Every candidate had to provide an “oracle,”
a kauwila wand, a ball of olona twine, a dried fish, a taro root, etc.
Every member or “mamo” was invested with a yellow malo or pau
§. and a feather cape. The furniture of the hall comprised three
ums, two kahilis or feathered staffs, and two puloulous or tabu sticks.
so far as the secret proceedings and objects of the society have
transpired it appears to have been intended partly as an agency for
the revival of heathènism, partly to pander to vice, and indirectly to
serve as a political machine. Enough leaked out to intensify the gen-
eral disgust that was felt at the debasing influence of the palace.
KALAKAUA's JUBILEE.
The sum of $15,000 had been appropriated by the Legislature of 1886
towards the expenses of the celebration of His Majesty's fiftieth birth-
day, which occurred November 16, 1886.
Extensive preparations were made to celebrate this memorable occa-
sion, and all officeholders were given to understand that every one of
them was expected to “hookupu” or make a present corresponding to
his station. At midnight preceding the auspicious day a salute was
fired and bonfires were lighted on Punchbowl hill, rockets were sent
up, and all the bells in the city set ringing.
The reception began at 6 a. m. Premier Gibson had already pre-
sented the King with a pair of elephant tusks mounted on a koa stand
with the inscription: “The horns of the righteous shall be exalted.”
The Honolulu police marched in and presented the King with a book
on a velvet cushion containing a bank check for $570. The Govern-
ment physicians, headed by F. H. Hayselden, Secretary of the Board
of Health, presented a silver box containing $1,000 in twenty dollar
23
gold pieces. The Custom-House clerks offered a costly gold-headed
cane. All officials paid tribute in some shape. Several native benevo-
lent societies marched in procession, for the most part bearing koa
calabashes. The school children, the fishermen, and many other
natives marched through the throne room, dropping their contributions
into a box. It is estimated that the presents amounted in value to
$8,000 or $10,000.
in consequence of the Hale Naua scandal scarcely any white ladies
were seen at this reception. In the evening the palace was illumi-
nated with electric lights, and a torchlight parade of the Fire Depart-
ment took place, followed by fireworks at the Palace.
On the 20th the public were amused by a so-called historical proces:
sion, consisting chiefly of canoes and boats carried on drays, containing
natives in ancient costume, personating warriors and fishermen, mer-
maids draped with sea moss, hula dancers, etc., which passed through
the streets to the Palace. Here the notorious Hale Naua or “Kilokilo”
society had mustered, wearing yellow malos and paus or aprons over
their clothes, and marched around the Palace, over which the yellow
flag of their order was flying.
On the 23d a luau or native feast was served in an extensive lanai
or shed in the palace grounds, where 1,500 people are said to have
been entertained. This was followed by a jubilee ball in the Palace on
the 25th. The series of entertainments was closed by the exhibition
of a set of “historical tableaux” of the olden time at the opera house,
concluding with a hulahula dance, which gave offense to most of the
audience. No programme was published this time of the nightly
hulahulas performed at the Palace.
THE SAMOAN EMBASSY.
In pursuance of the policy announced in Gibson’s famous protest to
the other great powers, and in order to advance Hawaii's claim to the
“primacy of the facific; Hon. J. E. Bush was commissioned on the
23d of December, 1886, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo-
tentiary to the King of Samoa and the King of Tonga, and High Com-
missioner to the other independent chiefs and peoples of Polynesia.
He was accompanied by Mr. H. Poor, as Secretary of Legation, and J.
D. Strong, as artist and collector for the Government museum. They
arrived at Apia January 3, 1887, and were cordially received by King
Malietoa on the 7th, when they drank kava with him and presented
him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Oceania. Afterwards, at
a more private interview, Bush intimated to Malietoa that he might
expect a salary of $5,000 or $6,000 under a Hawaiian Protectorate. A
house was built for the Legation at the expense of the Hawaiian Gov-
ernment.
A convention was concluded February 17 between King Malietoa and
the Hawaiian Envoy, by which both parties bound themselves “to enter
into a political confederation,” which was duly ratified by Kalakaua
and Gibson, “subject to the existing treaty obligations of Samoa,”
March 20, iš87.
“The signature was celebrated,” says Robert Louis Stevenson, “in
the new house of the Hawaiian Embassy with some original ceremonies.
Malietoa came attended by his ministers, several hundred chiefs
(Bush says 60), 2 guards and 6 policemen. Laupepa (Malietoa), always
‘decent, withdrew at an early hour; by those that remained all decency
appears to have been forgotten, and day found the house carpeted with
slumbering grandees, who had to be roused, doctored with coffee, and
sent home. * * * Laupeparenarked to one of the Embassy, “If you
have come here to teach my people to drink, I wish you had stayed
away.” The rebuke was without effect, for still worse stories are told
sof the drunken orgies that afterwards disgraced the Hawaiian embassy.
THE KAIMILOA
About this time Mr. J. T. Arundel, an Englishman, engaged in the
copra trade, visited Honolulu in his steamer, the Eaplorer, a vessel of
170 tons, which had been employed in plying between his trading sta-
tions. The King, who was impatient to start his new Navy, to main-
tain “Hawaiian, primacy,” had put the reformatory school under the
charge of Capt. G. E. Jackson, a retired navigating lieutenant in the
British navy, with the view of turning that institution into a naval
training school. The old Explorer was purchased for $20,000, and
24
renamed the Kaimiloa. She was then altered and fitted out as a man-
of-war at an expense of about $50,000, put into commission March 28,
and placed under the command of Capt. Jackson. The crew was
mainly composed of boys from the reformatory school, whose conduct
as well as that of their officers was disgraceful in the extreme.
The Kaimiloa sailed for Samoa May 18, 1887. On the preceding
evening a drunken row had taken place on board, for which three of
the officers were summarily dismissed. The after history of the expe-
dition was in keeping with its beginning. As Stevenson relates: “The
Raimiloa was from the first a scene of disaster and dilapidation; the
stores were sold; the crew revolted; for a great part of a night she
º: the hands of mutineers, and the Secretary lay bound upon the
©CK,
On one occasion the Kaimiloa was employed to carry the Hawaiian
embassy to Atua, for a conference with Mataafa, who had remained
neutral, but she was followed and watched by the Germancorvette, Adler.
“Mataafa was no sooner set down with the embassy than he was sum-
moned and ordered on board by two German officers.”
Another well-laid plan to detach the rebel leader, Tamasese, from his
German “protectors,” was foiled by the vigilance of Capt. Brandeis.
At length, Bismarck himself was incensed and caused a warning to be
Sent from Yº to Gibson, in consequence of which Minister
Bush was recalled July 7, 1887. Mr. Poor was instructed to dispose of
the legation property as soon as possible, and to send home theattachés,
the Government curios, etc., by the Kaimiloa, which arrived in Hono-
lulu September 23. She was promptly dismantled, and afterwards sold
at auction, bringing the paltry sum of $2,800. Her new owners found
her a failure as an interisland steamer, and she is now laid up in the
“naval row.”
THE OPIUM BRIBE.
The facts of this case were stated in the affidavit of Aki, published
May 31, 1887, and those of Wong Leong, J. S. Walker, and Nahora
Hipa, published June 28, 1887, as well as in the decision of Judge Pres-
ton in the case of Loo Ngawk et al., executors of the will of T. Aki, vs.
A. J. Cartwright et al., trustees of the King (Haw. Rep., Vol. vii, p. 401).
I have already spoken of the opium license law, which was carried
by the Royalist party in the Legislature of 1886, and signed by the
King in spite of the most vigorous protests from all classes of the com-
munity. As this law had been saddled with amendments, which ren-
dered it nearly unworkable, a set of regulations was published October
15, 1886, providing for the issue of permits to purchase or use opium
by the Marshal, who was to retain half the fee and the Government the
Other half.
The main facts of the case, as proved before the court, are as fol-
lows: Early in November, 1886, one Junius Kaae, a palace parasite,
informed a Chinese rice-planter named Tong Kee, alias Aki, that he
could have the opium license granted to him if he would pay the sum
of $60,000 to the King's private purse, but that he must be in haste
because other parties were bidding for the privilege. With some dif.
ficulty Akiraised the money, and secretly paid it to Kaae and the King
in three installments between December 3 and December 8, 1886.
Soon afterwards Kaae called on Aki and informed him that one Kwong
Sam Kee had offered the King $75,000 for the license, and would
certainly get it, unless Aki paid $15,000 more. Accordingly Aki bor-
rowed the amount and gave it to the King personally on the 11th.
Shortly after this another Chinese syndicate, headed by Chung Lung,
paid the King $80,000 for the same object, but took the precaution to
secure the license before handing over the money. Thereupon Aki,
finding that he had lost both his money and his license, divulged the
whole affair, which was published in the Honolulu papers. . He stopped
the payment of a note at the bank for $4,000, making his loss $71,000.
Meanwhile Junius Kaae was appointed to the responsible office of reg-
istrar of conveyances, which had became vacant by the death of the
lamented Thomas Brown.
As was afterwards ascertained, the King ordered a $100,000 gunboat
from England, through Mr. G. W. Macfarlane, but the negotiations for
it were broken off by the revolution.
On the 12th of April, 1887, Queen Kapiolani and the Princess Lili-
uokalani, accompanied by Messrs C. P. Iaukea, J. H. Boyd, and J. O.
25
Dominis, left for England to attend the celebration of the jubilee held
upon the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of Her Majesty Queen
Victoria. They returned on the 26th of July, 1887.
THE REFORM LEAGUE.
The exposure of the two opium bribes and the appointment of the
King's accomplice in the crime as registrar of conveyances helped to
bring matters to a crisis, and united nearly all taxpayers not merely
against the King, but against the system of government under which
such iniquities could be perpetrated.
In the spring of 1887 a secret league had been formed in Honolulu
with branches on the other islands, for the purpose of putting an end
to the prevailing misrule and extravagance, and of establishing a civ-
ilized government, responsible to the people through their representa-
tives. Arms were imported, and rifle clubs sprang up all over the
islands. In Honolulu a volunteer organization known as the “Rifles”
was increased in. numbers, and brought to a high state of efficiency
under the command of Col. W. W. Ashford. It is supposed that the
league now numbered from 800 to 1,000 men, while its objects had the
sympathy of the great majority of the community. It was at first
expected that monarchy would then be abolished, and a republican
constitution was drawn up.
As the time for action approached, the resident citizens of the United
States, Great Britain, and Germany addressed memorials to their
respective governments, through their representatives, declaring the
conditions of affairs to be intolerable. As is the case in all such move-
ments, the league was composed of average men, actuated by a variety
of motives, but all agreed in their main object. Fortunately, the
“spoils wing ” of the party failed eventually to capture either branch
of the Government, upon which a number of them joined the old Gib-
sonian party and became bitter enemies of reform.
THE GREAT REFORM MEETING.
Some members of the league, including Col. Ashford, were in favor
of a sudden attack upon the Palace, but this advice was overruled, and
it was decided to first hold a public mass meeting to state their griev-
ances and to present specific demands to the King. Accordingly, on
the afternoon of the 30th of June, 1887, all business in Honolulu was
suspended, and an immense meeting was held in the armory, on Bere-
tania street, composed of all classes, creeds, and nationalities, but
united in sentiment as never before or since. The meeting was guarded
by a battalion of the Rifles fully armed. A set of resolutions was passed
unanimously declaring that the Government had “ceased through
incompetency and corruption to perform the functions and to afford
the protection to personal and property rights for which all govern-
ments exist,” and demanding of the King the dismissal of his cabinet,
the restitution of the $71,000 received as a bribe from Aki, the dismis.
sal of Junius Kaae from the land office, and a pledge that the King
would no longer interfere in politics.
A committee of thirteen was sent to wait on His Majesty with these
demands. His troops had mostly deserted him, and the native popu-
lace seemed quite indifferent to his fate. He called in the representa-
tives of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Portugal, to
whom he offered to transfer his powers as King. This they refused,
but advised him to lose no time in forming a new cabinet and signing
a new constitution. Accordingly he sent a written reply the next day,
which virtually conceded every point demanded. The new cabinet, con-
sisting of Godfrey Brown, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; L. A. Thurston,
Minister of the Interior; W. L. Green, Minister of Finance, and C. W.
Ashford, Attorney-General, was sworn in on the same day, July 1.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1887.
As the King had yielded the republican constitution was dropped.
and the constitution of 1864 revised in such a way as to secure two.
principal objects, viz, to put an end to autocratic rule by making the
Ministers responsible only to the people through the Legislature and
to widen the suffrage by extending it to foreigners, who till then had
been practically debarred from naturalization. I have given the
details in another paper.
B—4
26
Mr. Gibson was arrested July 1, but was allowed to leave on the 5th
by a sailing vessel for San Francisco. Threats of lynching had been
made by some young hot heads, but fortunately no acts of violence or
revenge tarnished the revolution of 1887.
An election for members of the Legislature was ordered to be held
September 12, and regulations were issued by the new ministry, which
did away with many abuses, and secured the fairest election that had
been held in the Islands for twenty years. The result was an over-
whelming victory for the Reform party, which was a virtual ratification
of the new constitution. During the next three years, in spite of the
bitter hostility and intrigues of the King, the continual agitation by
demagogues, and repeated conspiracies, the country prospered under
the most efficient administration that it has ever known.
W. D. ALEXANDER.
APPENDIX.
FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE AKI CASE.
It has been seen that on the 30th of June, 1887, Kalakaua promised
in writing that he would “cause restitution to be made” of the $71,000
which he had obtained from Aki, under a promise that he (Aki) should
receive the license to sell opium as provided by the act of 1886.
The Reform cabinet urged the King to settle this claim before the
meeting of the Legislature, and it was arranged that the revenues from
the Crown lands should be appropriated to that object. When, how-
ever, they ascertained that his debts amounted to more than $250,000
they advised the King to make an assignment in trust for the payinent
of all claims pro rata. Accordingly, a trust deed was executed No-
vember 21, 1887, assigning all the Crown land revenues and most of
the King's private estate to three trustees for the said purpose, on con-
dition that the complainant would bring no petition or bills before the
Legislature, then in session.
Some three months later these trustees refused to approve or pay
the Aki claim, on which Aki's executors brought suit against them
before the Supreme Court.
After a full hearing of the evidence, Judge Preston decided that the
plea of the defendants that the transaction between Aki and the King
was illegal could not be entertained, as by the constitution the King
“could do no wrong,” and “can not be sued or held to account in any
court of the Kingdom.” Furthermore, as the claimants had agreed to
forbear presenting their claim before the Legislature in consideration
of the execution of the trust deed, the full court ordered their claim to
be paid pro rata with other approved claims. W. D. A
No. 2.
Statement of W. D. Alexander.
A BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE CAUSES WHICH LED TO THE LATE
REVOLUTION IN HAWAII NEI.
The writer of the following statement, a citizen of the islands by
tirth, is a conservative both in principle and by natural inclination.
It is generally admitted that revolutions are not justifiable except as
a last resort when all constitutional methods of redress have been
thoroughly tried and failed and when the most vital and necessary
rights of citizens are at stake. Hence, we condemned the coup d'etat
of Kamehameha V in 1864 because it was unnecessary, and because it
unsettled the foundations of the Government.
The experiment of carrying on constitutional government of the
Anglo-Saxon type in a country with a mixed population like that of
these islands was a difficult and doubtful one, but it was entered upon
by men of rare ability and unselfish patriotism, and for thirty years it
was fairly successful.
It was then well understood that in order to maintain an independent
government it was necessary to combine the foreign and native elements
in one common organization for the good of all classes.
27
The Kings of the Kamehameha dynasty were sincere patriots and
had some conception of their position as constitutional sovereigns and
of their true policy towards foreigners.
It seemed for awhile as if these islands would give the world a lesson
in the art of combining widely different races on equal terms in one
government. The Government in those days has been called an
oligarchy, but if so, it was a just and beneficent oligarchy.
It was simply the legitimate influence exercised by superior intelli-
gence and character, without which the experiment would have failed
in the outset. Undoubtedly Kamehameha V was right in saying that
privileges and duties had been bestowed upon the common people for
which they were wholly unprepared.
During his reign from various causes a retrograde tendency began
to show itself among the native population and the former good under-
standing between the races began to be inpaired.
One cause was the partial withdrawal of the American board from
its mission to these islands, the evil effects of which have been felt mor-
ally, socially, and politically. There has passed away a class of white
1esidents devoted to the interests of the natives and possessing their
confidence, who acted as mediators between them and that portion of
the white population which had less regard for the rights and the wel-
fare of the aborigines.
Another cause was the premature extinction of the order of chiefs,
who were the natural leaders of their race, and whose part could not
be filled by plebians or foreigners.
The scourge of leprosy, which compelled the enactment of severe
segregation laws, helped to widen the breach between the races.
The consequences were first seen in the lawlessness and race hatred
which broke out during Lunalilo's brief reign, 1873–74.
The next reign was signalized by an extraordinary development of
the resources of the country, produced by foreign enterprise and capi-
tal and by a large increase of the foreign element in the population.
King Kalakaua, however, seemed to be blind to the course of events
and to the true interests of his people. His chief object appears to
have been to change the system of government into an Asiatic despot-
ism on the pattern of Johore, in which the white “invaders,” as they
were called, should have no voice in its administration.
In pursuance of this policy systematic efforts were made, with too
much success, to demoralize the native population by the revival of
heathen superstitions and the encouragement of vice, and to foment
race jealousy and hatred under the guise of “national” feeling. The
patronage of the Government was abused without stint, and the cor-
rupt arts of Tammany were employed to carry elections and to pack
legislatures with subservient officeholders.
A number of patriotic “sons of the soil” of both races labored with
small success to stem the tide of corruption and to avert the impending
ruin of their native land.
At last affairs reached such a crisis that on the 30th of June, 1887,
an uprising of nearly the whole foreign population, supported by the
better class of natives, took place, which compelled the King to sign
a constitution that was intended to put an end to personal rule. By
this instrument the administration of public affairs was placed in the
hands of a Cabinet, responsible only to the Legislature, while office-
holders were made ineligible to seats in that body.
The remaining three and a half years of his reign teemed with
intrigues and conspiracies to restore autocratic government. One of
these ended in the deplorable insurrection and bloodshed of July 31,
1889, which did much to aggravate the ill-feeling existing between the
two races, and was made the most of by reactionary politicians to fire,
the native mind. *
In spite of Kalakaua's faults as a ruler he was kind-hearted and
courteous in private life, and there was mourning in Honolulu at the
news of his death, received January 29, 1891.
Grave apprehensions were then felt at the accession of his sister,
Liliuokalani, which, however, were partially relieved by her promptly
taking the oath to maintain the constitution of 1887. Notwithstanding
her past record it was hoped by many that she had sufficient good sense
to understand her position and to abide by the spirit as well as the let-
ter of the constitution. This hope has been disappointed. Her ideal
of government is the same as that of Kalakaua, and her determination.
to realize it has cost her the Throne.
28
I have not the heart to recapitulate the shameful story (with which
the newspapers are filled), of the protracted struggle in the late Legis-
lature, culminating in the triumph of the lottery and opium rings,
allied with the Crown, and in the attempted coupd'état of the 14th
instant.
The experiment spoken of in the beginning of this article, seems to
have broken down at last.
The utmost efforts of able and patriotic men have only prolonged its
life a few years.
Considering the character of our mixed population, the intensity of
race jealousy, the concentration of one-fourth of the population, com-
prising its most turbulent elements in the capital city, it seems vain to
expect a stable, self-governing, independent state under such condi-
tions. It is time one of the great Powers should intervene, and it is
needless to ask which power has its hands unfettered by conventions,
and already holds paramount interests and responsibilities in this
archipelago.
W. D. ALEXANDER.
JANUARY 28, 1893.
No. 3.
Statement of W. D. Alexander.
HAwari AN GovKRNMENT SURVEY,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 12, 1893.
DEAR SIR: By the permission of the attorney-general, I take the
liberty of inclosing a brief statement on the title of the Crown lands
of this country.
If you desire further information on this or other subjects, I am
entirely at your service.
I remain yours faithfully,
W. D. ALEXANDER.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT.-
HoNolulu, March 31, 1893.
His Excellency W. O. SMITH,
Attorney-General:
f i. SIR: In regard to the status of the crown lands, I beg leave to report as
ORIOWS 3
The term crown lands is applied in this country to certain lands reserved by
Kamehameha III in the great division of lands March 8, 1848, “for himself, his heirs,
and successors forever.’
The circumstances were briefly as follows:
Under the ancient feudal system the allodium of all lands belonged to the King,
not however, as an individual, but “as the head of the nation, º: his corporate
right,” to quote the language of the land commission. The constitution of 1840
declared that the land of the Kingdom was not the private ;". of Kamehameha I.
“It belonged to the chiefs and people in common, of whom Kamehameha I was the
head, and had the management of the landed property.”
Thus all lands forfeited for nonpa nt of taxes reverted to him. His consent
was necessary for any transfer of real estate in the Kingdom, and for real mortgages
also, and for the seizure of land for debt. (Old laws, p. 179.)
When the labor tax first began to be regulated by law every tenant was required
to work one day in every week (Tuesday) for the King and one day (Friday) for his
landlord. But this was afterwards reduced to thirty-six º in the year for the
King and an equal number for the landlord. (Old laws, F: 27.)
The idea of a government as distinct from the person of the King first began to be
clearly recognized in the constitution of 1840.
From that time it was seen more and more clearly that the King held a two-fold
character—first, as an individual chief, and, secondly, in his official capacity as head
of the Government.
It was in virtue of both titles that the land commission decided that one-third of
the lands in the Kingdom belonged to the King. It is hardly necessary for our pres-
ent *::::: to give the history of the land commission and of the great division of
1848. Suffice it to say, that in 1848 a committee was appointed to effect the division
between the King as feudal suzerain and the chiefs, his feudatories, which com-
pleted its work in forty days. , Partition deeds were signed and sealed by the King
on one side and the several chiefs on the other side, who were then entitled to
receive awards from the land commission for the lands thus partitioned off to them.
At the close of this division the King held in his possession about half of all the
lands in the Kingdom.
But it was evident, to quote from the decision of the Supreme Court (in the mat-
ter of the estate of His Majesty Kamehameha IV) in 1864, that the lands held by
the King at the close of the Mahele, were not regarded as his private property,
strictly *. . Even before his division with the landlords a second division
between himself and the Government was clearly contemplated, and he appears to
29
have admitted that the lands he then held might have been subjected to a commu-
tation in favor of the Government, in like manner with the lands of the chiefs.
Accordingly, on the very day after the Mahele, or division with his chiefs, was closed,
viz, the 8th day of March, 1848, he F. “to set apart for the use of the Gov.
ernment the larger part of his royal domain, reserving to himself what he deemed
a reasonable amount of land as his own estate.”
This latter class of lands “he reserved for himself and his heirs forever" as his
own private estate, and they are now known as Crown Lands. º
on the 7th day of the following June, 1848, the legislative council passed the “act
relating to the lands of His Majesty the King and of the Government,” which con-
firms and ratifies the division which had already been made by the King, thus mak-
ing it an act of the nation through its representatives. In this act the said lands
are designated by name, and declared “to be the private lands of His Majesty
Kamehameha III, to have and to hold to himself, his heirs, and successors forever;
and said lands shall be ºff. and disposed of according to his royal will aná
pleasure, subject only to the rights of tenants.” &
It is well known that both Kamehameha III, and his immediate successor, Kame-
hameha IV, dealt with these lands as their private property, selling, leasing, or
ruortgaging them at pleasure. These royal deeds of sale constitute titles equally
valid with Royal Patents.
At the death of Kamehameha IV, it was decided by the Supreme Court, in April,
1864, that the lands reserved to the Sovereign by the act of June 7, 1848, “decend in
fee, the inheritance being limited, however, to the successors to the throne, and that
each successive possessor may regulate and dispose of the same according to his
will and pleasure as private property, in like manner as was done by Kamehameha
At the same time the Court decided that Queen Emma was lawfully entitled to
dower in the said lands, there being nothing in said act, taking away her right to
dower in the lands therein named.
Afterwards an act was passed January 3, 1865, “to relieve the royal domain from
encumbrances and to render the same inalienable.” This act provided for the
redemption of the mortgages on the estate by the issue of exchequer bonds not to
exceed $30,000, and enacted that so many of the lands reserved by the act of June 7
1848, as remained at that time unalienated, should be thenceforth “inalienable, an
descend to the heirs and successors of the Hawaiian Crown forever:” and that “it
shall not be lawful hereafter to execute any lease or leases of said lands for any
term of years to exceed thirty.” A board of commissioners of crown lands was then
created, “to consist of three persons, to be appointed by the King, two of whom
should be appointed from among the members of his cabinet council, and serve with-
out any remuneration, while the other should act as land agent, and be paid out of
the revenues of said lands such sum as may be:Fº to by His Majesty the King.”
The foregoing acts were approved and signed by Kamehameha V, who was the
heir to the estate as well as successor to the throne.
He thereby renounced for himself and his successors the power to alienate any of
the crown lands, in consideration of the payment by the Legislature of the debts
with which the estate had become encumbered, and of the settlement of a permanent
annuity upon Queen Emma in lieu of her claim of dower in the royal domain.
By the same act he concurred with the Legislature and the court in constituting
them a class of national lands, set apart for the successors to the throne, instead of
being governed by the general laws of inheritance.
The correctness of the foregoing settlement has been contested by some of our
best º: They have denied that it carried out the intention of Kamehameha
III, and have even held it to have been unconstitutional, and that an action in
equity might be bronght in behalf of the heirs of the estate of Kamehameha III.
On the death of Kamehameha V his half-sister, Ruth Keelikolani, inherited his
private lands, but the Crown Lands were held by the commissioners for the benefit
of his successors.
Col. Claus Spreckels, ...; desirous of obtaining a fee-simpletitle for the Hawaiian
Commercial Company to the lands of Wailuku, Maui, and having taken legal advice,
urchased from Ruth Keelikolani, the sister and heir of Kamehameha V, all her
interest or claim in and to the Crown Lands for the sum of $10,000.
The conveyance is dated September 13, 1880, and is recorded in Wol. 64.
After due investigation, the Gibson cabinet agreed to compromise this claim with-
out taking it before the Courts, and an act was carried through the Legislature of
1882, and approved July 21, 1882, by which the commissioners of crown lands were
authorized to convey to Claus Spreckels “the Ahupuaa of Wailuku, Mº. the
Ilis therein or thereunto belonging, which were estimated to contain 24, acres,
or thereabouts.”
Accordingly, on the 11th of August, 1882, Mr. Spreckels executed a deed, releasing
to the Commissioners of Crown Lands all of the undivided interest claimed by him
in said lands by virtue of the conveyance made to himself by Ruth Keelikol
At the same time a royal patent, viz, No. 3343, for the Ahupuaa of Wailuku, was
signed by the King and delivered to Claus Spreckels.
his transaction satisfied any claim on the crown lands that could be raised by
any heirs of Kamehameha III, and no further claim on them has been raised since
that time.
They have remained, as was settled in 1865, National Lands, tole administered for
the benefit of the occupant of the throne, ºhn is entitled to receive the revenues of
said lands only by virtue of his or her official position as chief magistrate.
The Kalakaua dynasty had no claim on them whatever by the general law of
inheritance. In fact no claim of that kind exists at present.
In the Legislative Session of 1890 it was suggested that the vested rights of the
reigning Sovereign in the crown lands should be provided for by issuing bonds; the
interest upon which shonld be equal to his annual receipts from said land, and which
should expire at his death. *
The object of this pro was to enable the Government to open these valuable
lands. embracing about 876,000 acres, to settlement by industrious farmers of small
In 180 nº.
30
In view of the above facts it would seem that, upon the abolition of the office for
which the revenues of the Crown Lands were appropriated, the lands would escheat
to the Government, and it would then be in order for the Legislature to repeal the
act of January 3, 1865, and to use the said lands thenceforth for the purpose of build-
ing up a class of industrious and thrifty farmers, owning their lands in fee simple.
Such a class is the mainstay of every free country.
I remain, yours, respectfully,
* W. D. AlexanDER,
Surveyor-General.
No. 4.
(Statement of W. D. Alexander, July 18, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 15, dated July 26, 1893.)
*
No. 5.
Statement of Volney W. Ashford.
HoNoLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, March 8, 1893.
Hon. JAMES H. BLOUNT,
United States Ambassador to Hawaii:
SIR: You ask me to put in writing the substance of my information
to you in re. Hawaiian affairs on the 3d instant. In order to fully
understand the situation, it seems necessary to refer to political develop-
ments which led to the conditions existing on January 14 last past.
Since the time of King Kamehameha V, in 1864, the political status
of the Hawaiian Islands was that of a constitutional monarchy with
succession to legitimate heirs, failing which, the sovereign nominated
his own successor, such nomination to be ratified by the majority of the
nobles. Failing both these alternatives, it rested with the entire Legis-
lature (nobles and representatives) to elect a new sovereign. This
latter was the case upon the death of Lunalilo, known as the last of
the Kamehamehas, in 1874. The candidates were Kalakaua and the
Queen Dowager Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV. The latter was
the favorite of the natives, while Kalakaua was selected by the foreign
element—then chiefly American—who feared the islands would drift to
England if under the rule of Queen Emma, who had spent much time
in visiting that country, and was anti-American in all her sentiments.
Kalakaua was not selected for his virtues, but simply because he
could be controlled. The Legislature, which was chiefly composed of
natives, was bribed to vote for Kalakaua, whose election was thereby
secured, but the native population created a riot which resulted in
several fatal casualties and was only quelled by the intervention of
British and American men-of-war's men in port. Thus the late King
began his reign, under conditions accomplished by fraud and sustained
by foreign force, with the bitter hostility of the great majority of his
countrymen. His extravagances and corruptions, as subsequently de-
veloped, helped him but little with the natives, who looked on him as
a usurper and outside the real chiefhood, while the foreign popula-
tion became gradually more estranged, until the ante-revolutionary
condition of 1887 stared the country in the face. But with all the King's
recklessness he was careful to keep within the letter of the law, though
continually violating its spirit. He was enabled to do this from the
peculiar privileges and prerogatives allowed by the then constitution.
The legislative body consisted of two so called “houses” (though
they sat together in one). , Half the Legislature, consisted of the
“nobles,” appointed for life by the sovereign. This process, abused
to favor royal lickspittles regardless of their merits, gradually changed
the general character of the house of nobles, so that the great major-
ity of them were absolutely the creatures of the King, whose powerful
influence over the majority of the representatives also, through his
manipulating and * offices, and all kinds of public favors
among them, gave him the literal ownership of the entire Legisla-
ture in pushing all his corrupt measures through Parliament, so that
revolution became the only possible remedy. All government patron-
age was in the King's hands, through his power of appointing and dis-
missing his ministers at will. Such a thing as independence of Parlia-
ment was utterly unknown; while laws were passed at the King's nod,
31
appropriating vast sums for such revels and indecencies as his lewd
and extravagant tastes suggested; while orgies, debauchery, hulas
and “sounds of revelry by night,” made the neighborhood of the royal
palace offensive to all but the royal debaucheás.
The plan of the movement of 1887, into which the distracted populace
were thus driven, embraced the establishment of an independent re-
public, with the view to ultimate annexation to the United States. All
foreigners, even the British, were practically unanimous in this, while
the natives stood by, and said to us: “This is not our king; he is yours.
You forced him upon us against our protest. Do with him as you will.”
Had it not been for this passive attitude of the Hawaiians, it is doubt-
ful if the movement of 1887 would have succeeded.
Even as it was, the movement came well nigh dismal failure by rea-
son of the desertion of several of the “missionary” wing of the revo-
lutionary league, when the time for action arrived. The term “Mis-
sionary” party is now used in the islands in a political sense. It con-
sists of the early white inhabitants and their immediate descendants,
who have become a family compact in religious, social, commercial,
professional, and political matters, in which they are opposed to the
larger part of the white population, and almost all the natives.
The Inissionary deserters, and the influence the deserters forced upon
the balance of the league, resulted in a compromisein shape of a demand
for certain political rights from the King, preliminary to actual revolt
(June 30, 1887). He promised to grant the concessions demanded; and
thereupon in pursuance of such promise, so wrested from him, he
promulgated a new constitution (July 7, 1887), which deprived the
sovereign of many prerogatives, chief of which were (1) the right to
appoint nobles; (2) the power to dismiss ministers without consent of
the legislature; (3) the absolute right of veto. The general franchise
for representatives (composed of twenty-four members from an equal
number of electoral districts), was extended to all residents, aliens
included (except Asiatics), who registered within certain dates, etc.,
regardless of property qualifications. Twenty-four nobles were also
to be elected in sets, or series, by those of the general or representa-
tive electors, who owned $3,000 worth of real estate unincumbered, or
received $600 of income. Thus, the election of one-half the Legislature
was put in the power of a small minority of aliens, most of whom had
been enfranchised by the new constitution; for the conditions were such
that very few natives had the required amount of property left, and
few Hawaiians received from personal services the amount of $600 per
annum. Practically all aliens, however (except Asiatics) received
much more. Thus, the control of the Legislature passed to aliens
most of them without any property interests, but servants in different
lines of the planting and commercial element, who all belong to the
Missionary party, and were hostile to the native Hawaiians.
The nobles and representatives sat and voted together; and, though
the Native party were to the revolutionary or Reform party, as four
or five to one, yet the latter succeeded, by the differential franchise, in
controlling, by a large majority, the Legislature returned next after the
revolution. This condition naturally exasperated the Hawaiian people,
while many white men took up the native cause, some from sentiments
of pure justice, others as a matter of political expediency, to restore
domestic contentment, yet the tremendops advantage given by condi-
tions which enabled a small minority to elect half the Legislature clear,
and gave them even chances in the election of the balance, has kept
litical power in the hands of the few, and the country has continued
in a constant and growing state of ferment.
When the revolution of 1887 took place the ex-Queen Kalakaua's sis-
ter was absent in England at the Victorian jubilee. On and after her
return she evinced, on every opportunity, her disgust at the turn of
affairs, and her determination to reëstablish the royal prerogatives at
the first opportunity. She did not await her own succession. She
eagerly accepted a proposition from friends of the then cabinet to
enter into a conspiracy to force the King to abdicate. The intention:
of the cabinet of the day was to intimidate the King by a division
in the royal family, he being then unmanageable, and continually
violating the conditions of the new constitution respecting the veto,
during the legislative session of December, 1887.
The object being accomplished by the submission and promised loy.
alty of the King, Mrs. Dominis continued the conspiracy to a point
where some 300 armed conspirators, all natives, had assembled in the
32
barracks of the royal guards (the guardsmen having already been won
over) and sent a committee to the King to demand his abdication. This
was in January, 1888. The King induced this committee to give him
forty-eight hours to deliberate. During the intervening time the conspi-
racy was discovered by a Government official by the purestaccident. The
leaders were quietly brought one by one before notaries and sworn con-
fessions taken which are now among the Government archives. On
account of personal relations between Mr. Thurston (then minister of
the interior) and some of the half-white leaders in this affair, the Gov-
ernment did not prosecute anyone, or even divulge the facts to the
public, only insisting that Wilcox, one of the leaders, should leave the
country. This was done, but events showed that the then princess
immediately reëmbarked in a further conspiracy in the same direction,
and which resulted in the Wilcox insurrection of July 30, 1889. Besides
Wilcox, the committee who, on theoccasion above mentioned, were sent
by the conspirators to force the King's abdication, were Maj. Nowlein
and C. B. Wilson. The latter had been for imany years notoriously one
of Liliuokalani's paramours. The former was commanding officer of
the Second Battalion, Hawaiian volunteers, an organization of native
Hawaiians, which was subsequently disbanded by the Government for
disloyalty, disobedience, and insubordination in refusing to turn out to
suppress the insurrection of 1889; and later on (until the abrogation
of the monarchy) was commander of the royal guard.
Ever since the year 1887 the political record of R. W. Wilcox has
been so closely interwoven with Hawaiian events that it is proper to
make a passing reference to him at this point. A native of the island
of Maui, of mixed Hawaiian and American parentage, his father came
from the State of Connecticut, and still follows the occupation of a
rancher on Maui. The young man taught school in his youth, and at
20 years of age (which is legal age in Hawaii) represented his native
district in the Legislature. He was subsequently selected by the Gov-
ernment as one of the young Hawaiians to be sent abroad to be scien-
tifically educated at the public expense, according to the line of policy
then in vogue, and had been seven years in the best military and en-
gineering schools of the Italian Government, and was serving in the
Italian artillery as a subaltern when the revolution occurred. There-
upon our Government issued an order of recall to a number of their
students abroad, and with others Wilcox returned to Honolulu in No-
vember, 1887. Being refused employment by the Government and
boycotted by the “Missionary” party, he readily fell in with the ideas
of the Princess Liliuokalani, as above stated.
After going to California, on the failure of the first or “Dominis”
conspiracy, he sought employment as engineer in the Spring Valley
waterworks till April, 1889, when Liliuokalani called him back to again
assist her to “restore the rights of the native chiefs.” He at once
responded and, arriving at Honolulu in April, 1889, took up his abode
at the princess Palama residence where she herself then lived apart
from her husband. Here he organized the movement, held revolution-
ary meetings, gathered arms and munitions, collected men for the expe-
dition, and moved out in regular military order on the early morning of
July 30, 1889, with about 100 armed men to the Government head-
§. After taking possession of the parliament buildings and
palace grounds, recruits were collected by messengers hastily sent out,
and by daylight (which was the first the authorities knew of themove.
ment) he had possession of everything, with an armed force of 400 to
500 men.
In addition to this, the royal guard were all on his side, although
their captain held immediate possession of the palace itself with 30
men, and with orders from the King to allow none to enter till further
instructed. Kalakaua was in the conspiracy. He had joined issues
with his sister (the princess), the plan being to restore, by force, the
constitution of 1864. His suspicions as to his sister's bona fides had
been strongly aroused, however, and on the preceding evening they
had been confirmed by some native friends, who persuaded him that
Liliuokalani's real object was to compel his abdication as soon as the
act of promulgating the proposed constitution should be carried out.
He thereupon, at midnight, moved from the palace to Honuakaka, his
Queen's private residence, taking 12 of the most trustworthy men
of the guard, leaving 30 men at the palace, as above stated, and when
the report came that Wilcox was on the move, he, took refuge in his
boathouse in the harbor, but a stone's throw from the U. S. S. Adams.
.*
33
In this position he could avoid all chances of capture, as the only
access to the boathouse was over wooden causeways of considerable
length, giving him time to escape to the Adams on the least alarm.
There he remained till the battle was over and the insurgents dis-
persed or captured.
Two days previously the King himself had taken Wilcox through
the palace and barracks, and showed him the position of the cannon,
reserve small arms, ammunition, etc., and on the afternoon of the 29th
of July he sent word to Wilcox to move at once, as, for certain rea-
sons connected with a quarrel which happened the day previous
between the King and cabinet, in regard to the transfer of Gatling gun
carriages from the royal guard to the police authorities, and which the
King refused, he considered immediate action necessary. When, there-
fore, the expedition arrived at the palace, and Wilcox found the King
had gone, leaving instructions for the guard to hold the palace subject
to his further orders, he was paralyzed. However, he seized every
point of vantage, posted cannon, and sent a message to the King thus:
“Your Majesty: We are here, at the palace, according to the plans
agreed upon;” to which Kalakaua replied: “Remain there and com-
plete your part of the undertaking. I will be there when the proper
moment arrives.” The above was developed at the subsequent trial of
Loomens, a Belgian ex-artilleryman, for treason for participation in the
insurrection. He was convicted, sentenced to death, had his sentence
commuted to life imprisonment, and was subsequently turned loose on
condition he should leave the Kingdom. At the same trial the letter
mentioned above, from Liliuokalani to Wilcox calling him home to
“restore the chief etc.,” came to light. It was discovered in a pocket
of his clothing, in Liliuokalani's house, upon search being made on the
night of the 30th July, after the defeat of the movement and Wil-
cox's capture.
After this, the princess deserted Wilcox, denied all knowledge of
his plans and of the conspiracy, and showed her entire willingness
that the men who had taken their lives in their hands at her solicita-
tion should now hang. This treacherous conduct of the woman was
the beginning of Wilcox's conversion from “chief” rule to the rule of
the people. His disgust for her was also heightened by her treachery
to her brother, whose place she was ready at any moment to occupy by
any means necessary to replace him. In fact, her conduct succeeding
the failure of the Wilcox insurrection alienated many of her old-time
friends, and was the beginning of her downfall in the affections of
the natives. Naturally Wilcox has ever since been an advocate of
annexation to the United States, althou#. his idea was to accomplish
this end by first establishing an independent republic, and proceeding
as in the case of Texas.
It should be here mentioned that some 10 Hawaiians were killed in
the action, or died of wounds, and as many more wounded; the above-
named Loomens was the only man convicted by the courts, most of
the others having been either acquitted or discharged, while a few
pleaded guilty to minor charges and received light sentences. Wilcox
himself, after his acquittal, became the acknowledged leader, bothin and
out of parliament, of the Hawaiian people, who composed the great
bulk of the new Liberal party, whose shibboleth was equal civil rights.
Under this as a first principle, the Liberals rolled up an immense
majority of the entire vote at the general election of February, 1890,
and actually secured a handsome majority of the legislature, with which
they succeeded in ousting the so-called Thurston cabinet, in June of
the same year. But a number of those foreigners whom the natives
had elected on the Liberal ticket deserted to the “Missionary” party,
and, forming a coalition cabinet, carried on the Government in a way
which increased the discontent of the people, till the death of the
King, in San Francisco, on January 20, 1891.
The magnificent manner in which the King—alive and dead—had
been treated in America by the governments of the º: and of the
State of California, by the city of San Francisco, and by the people at
large, mollified in very great measure the hereditary aversion of the
Hawaiians towards American political affiliation—a feeling growing
out of their dislike for the mercenary i. qualities of the
“missionaries” on whom they mistakenly looked as specimens of Amer-
icanism. For although their aloha for the King was not the aloha they
formerly bore to their real chiefs, yet each Hawaiian seemed to look
upon the ourtesies of Americans to the sovereign as a personal compli-

B—5
34
ment to himself. It was long well known that large numbers of both
whites and natives had determined that Kalakaua should be the last
Hawaiian monarch. But the surprise accompanying his almost tragic
return completely balked any organization till his successor was
nailed won, as it were. It was also well known that Liliuokalani was
determined that the constitution of 1887 should be abolished, at latest,
on the moment of her accession. But the same surprise had a similarly
opposite effect (if the term be allowable) upon her.
The cabinet of the day, realizing that delay would cause a movement
for the abolition of monarchy on the one hand or the reëstablishment
of the royal prerogatives on the other, promptly went in a body to the
then Princess Regent and compelled her to take the oath to the exist-
ing constitution. She has since repeatedly said that she was so taken
by surprise that she was cowed into obedience, especially as some of
the ministers threatened her that in case of refusal a republic would
be at once established and she would become a political prisoner. She
has further stated to friends that she would have refused and at once
proclaimed a new constitution, containing all the old (and added)
prerogatives, had she but received sufficient warning to prepare her-
self; but, even as it was, that she swore with a mental reservation.
This, then, was the status of monarchy in Hawaii when Liliuokalani
became Queen—a reigning sovereign who had at least twice striven to
supplant her brother even at the expense, if necessary, of walking
over his strangled corpse to the throne; a woman notoriously loaded
with the grossest social vices, such as had contributed so largely to
the late King's downfall in 1887, but still strongly upheld by the
majority of the native people, who believed her professions and prom-
ises to restore them to an equal franchise; possessed, as her friends
claimed, of qualities of justice, firmness, and courage, which events
roved to be but selfishness, mulishness, and savage ignorance; a
ater of whites and a promoter of race prejudices; an idolatress, a
kahuna worshiper, and an advocate of the most abominable methods
which distinguished the ante-Christian epoch. The natives soon turned
from her in disgust.
The so called “Reform” party, consisting chiefly of the “Mission-
aries,” could do nothing with her. Foreigners, generally, feared and
hated her. She gradually began to interfere in official appointments
and Parliamentary elections, and to usurp autocratic authority in all
directions. Her dismissal of Government officials and appointment of
known thieves, vagabonds, and vicious ignoramuses from among her
rsonal favorites and paramours to the most lucrative and responsi-
le positions exasperated everyone outside her personal following.
Her tour in state about the islands (as is the custom of Hawaiian mon-
archs upon their succession) was marked by the studied absence or the
open insults of the great body of the Hawaiian people. Her retainers
could not procure a supply of food from the natives and had to rely on
the whites, while the hookuou, or giving of presents (an ancient
Hawaiian custom), was a pitiable failure, only participated in by offi-
cials, or those otherwise dependent on royal favor. , Secret leagues were
formed, both among the whites and the Hawaiians, to remedy the
existing conditions. Of these the Hui Hawaii Alohaaina (Hawaiian
Patriotic League) was the most prominent, from the arrest of nearly one
hundred of its members and their trial for treason.
I was myself a member and one of the organizers of this league, as
also of a white league (under the same name), among the latter of
whose members were most of those who actually “carried guns” in the
overthrow of the monarchy last January. The mass of Hawaiians had
by this time become possessed of a bitter hatred to the ruling dynasty,
Of the most stable class of natives, the following sentiment, related to
me by one who, under Kalakaua, had held in succession the most
distinguished positions in public and political life, is a sample of the
then prevailing thought: “I have been trained from childhood to love
and obey my alii (chiefs); no one would more gladly give his very life
for them. But the days of the alii are past; they are no more; their
successors are unworthy the name; my aloha for them has withered.
I weep for Hawaii. The Kingdom must come to an end; and who can
say what will be the best for our country—annexation or a republic?”
And amid such sentiments the “Hui Hawaii Alohaaina” came into
existence the 1st day of March, 1892.
But before entering into the details of this league, reference may be
made to some of the Queen's official acts which had a strong bearing
35
f
upon its origin and development. Though she took the oath to the
constitution as above, the event proved it to be with a mental reserva-
tion, as she had claimed to her friends, and she at once laid plans to
overturn it. She first refused to recognize the ministers, on the ground
that, they were the King's cabinet and “died with the King”, thus
voiding the constitutional provision rendering it necessary to precede
dismissal by a vote of want of confidence of the legislature. Then fol-
lowed several weeks of practical anarchy, political unrest, and severe
business stagnation, during which the opposing parties literally slept
on their arms. Finally, at the importunities of the mercantile class,
who were most anxious to avoid such troubles as would ruin commerce,
the cabinet were induced to refer the matter to the supreme court,
under a constitutional provision which permits such reference by either
the sovereign or cabinet, although the opinions promulgated in such
instances are not conclusive, but merely advisory. The decision went
against the cabinet, on the ground that as the constitution made no
provision for the contingency the cabinet died with the King and the
prerogative of appointment lay with the sovereign.
The Queen's obstinacy was caused by her determination to appoint
C. B. Wilson to the portfolio of interior, where the great bulk of the
public moneys are controlled and expended. This scheme was so
grossly objectionable to the people, however, that, fearing a revolution
if she carried it out, she selected men who were either personal friends
of Wilson, or from whom she obtained a promise in advance that they
would appoint Wilson to the marshalship of the Kingdom. This offi-
cial had, by law, absolute command of the entire police force of the
Kingdom, complete and unrestrained power in all appointments in
that department, and practically controlled the administration of jus-
tice. Both his appointment and dismissal must be by the attorney-
general, “by and with the advice and consent of the cabinet,” accord-
ing to iaw passed by the revolutionary (or “reform”) legislature of
1887–88. It was openly stated at the time that she compelled the
incoming attorney-general to sign a commission for Wilson in advance,
before receiving from her his own commission as a minister, though
the attorney-general subsequently denied this charge on the floor of
Parliament.
Wilson’s “pull” on the Queen consisted in the fact that for many
years he has been her favorite paramour (she has several). He openly
and in the most shameless manner assumed family relations with her
years before the death of her husband; and, although himself a man
with a family, he moved into the dead man's own house and occupied
his bed almost before his corpse was cold. The Queen had a private
gateway cut through the palace wall immediately contiguous to her
apartments in the “bungalow,” that he might alone enter by a near
and more convenient way—a scandal at which even the most obtuse of
the native people drew the line. The pair openly lived together in the
Queen's cottage at Waikiki (a suburb of Honolulu) during and suc-
ceeding the “sandbag” episode at the palace, just preceding the
descent upon the league. This place was formerly an assignation house,
built by the Queen, and openly used for that purpose, under the per-
sonal charge of her business manager, formerly her native coachman.
All these and many other equally scandalous acts are matter of public
notoriety at the capital, and have been aired and commented upon in
scathing terms by the native press of Honolulu; but the English press
were either gagged by the palace party or kept silent to avoid the
effects of the scandal abroad.
Through the Queen's influence over her brother (during his absolute
power of official patronage). Wilson was given the superintendency of
the Honolulu waterworks, though he was utterly ignorant of all theory
regulating hydraulics, and the real work was necessarily done by
another highly paid official. Wilson collected the water rates, however,
and an investigation being demanded by a member of the Legislature
of 1886, a parliamentary committee found he had stolen in the neighbor-
hood of $16,000 from the receipts. Then through the same influence
the cabinet of the day entered into a stipulation whereby the matter
was compromised, Wilson repaying into the treasury $10,000. The
princess paid over $5,000 of this amount in cash, and by her further
influence, exerted in the same direction, prevailed on the Legislature to
pass an “act of indemnity” restoring to her the $5,000 out of the public
funds. To save further scandal, friends of the ministry indorsed Wil-
son's notes for another $5,000 on the Government's pledge to retain one-

ſº 36
half of his salary till the amount was recouped, while he himself of
course retained the office, although members of the Legislature, from
their place on the floor of the house, expressed the opinion that he
should be breaking stones on the street with a ball chained to him.
At the revolution of 1887 the fellow was a spy on both sides.
Whether he gave truthful information to either is hard to say; but the
King subsequently informed friends that he at least betrayed him into
the enemy's hands as soon as the revolutionary cause began to promise
success. He was in the “Dominis conspiracy,” so-called, in 1888, already
described, and was the man to run over his coconspirators to first
reach the Government officials and betray his comrades when he sus-
pected the plot was discovered. Unless the official documents were
stolen while he and his tools were in power, there are still confessions
of his own, under oath, in the Government archives, “which would
hang him”—to use the words of the then minister of the interior. The
particulars of this conspiracy were suppressed by the Government of
the day to prevent a lowering of Hawaiian bonds then selling in
London on a two-million dollar loan, and for other reasons already
stated. He was in the Wilcox insurrection of 1889, but kept out of
harm's way; and it was developed at the trial of Loomens that it was
he who introduced Loomens to the King, and sent him, by the King's
order, to join the conspirators. * *
During the Queen's reign and his incumbency of the marshal-
ship he was the absolute dictator in Hawaii. It is known that no act
of importance in governmental functions transpired without either
emanating from him or receiving his approval. He over and over
again insulted the people, the Legislature, and the cabinet by openly
commanding the Queen to disregard the premier, on behalf of the cab-
inet, when that minister was urging upon her the adoption, modifica-
tion, or rejection of contemplated public acts. (By the way, the law
recognizes no “premier,” but the Queen insisted on eo, calling that
minister who officially communicated with her outsid her meetings
with the entire cabinet.). Boodle, thievery, blackmailing, bribe taking,
and general disregard of the laws were alarmingly common, and gam.
bling houses, dives, illicit liquor dens, opium joints, and the wholesale
importatien of that deadly drug have been positively traced to his
acquiescence for monetary considerations. He kept a body guard
about him, composed in part of fugitives from justice from other
countries, accused of all degrees of crime. He is a half-breed Tahi-
tian, who, as a waif, was brought to Honolulu by an old Hawaiian sea
captain. He grew up here, learned the blacksmith trade, and followed
it till his physical development attracted the attention of Mrs. Dom-
inis, who at once procured a Government office for him and advanced
lim as occasion offered. Though physically large, active, and well-
proportioned, he is morally and intellectually of a low order—a cir-
cumstance which is true of all the ex-Queen's favorites, and illustrates
her savage tastes.
The feeling of disgust resulting from the palace scandals, as well as
the general repugnance to having the laws maladministered by such
notorious corruptionists and worthless paramours, combined to origin-
ate the league “to promote justice and equal rights in the political
government of Hawaii” (as the oath expressed it)—the exact means
being left to the development of events and the personal directions of
the league leaders, to whom all swore obedience, but to include in any
event the suppression of the monarchy, with close political connection
with the United States as the ultimate object. Among the wrongs to
be remedied was of course the differential franchise; and it was this
belief of the Hawaiian leaguers that annexation would mean equal
civil rights, which most strongly tended to bring the annexation view
into prominence among them as the true solution of the question. At
first the palace party encouraged the league. They thought to use
them in the promulgation of a new constitution by throwing to them
the sop of “equal rights” in exchange for their actual cóoperation in
the Queen's intended coup; or at least relied on their non-interference,
or perhaps upon their preventing the reform party from interfering,
while the Queen's party, supported by the royal guard and the
Honolulu police (both under direct command of tools of the Queen,
Nowlein and Wilson), would proclaim the instrument and set matters
running thereunder. d
The constitution was prepared, being identical with that which Her
Majesty attempted to promulgaté on January 14, so far as evidence of


37
the latter's contents can now be furnished. It was practically the con-
stitution of Kamehameha V, with the added prerogative of dismissal
and appointment of the supreme court at will—a project dear to Lil-
iuokalani since long before her accession—as that body had always
been regarded, both by sovereigns and people, as the bulwark against
unconstitutional encroachment upon the liberties of the masses by
Hawaiian monarchs. The league preferred to take chances of getting
equal rights by their own methods, especially as one of their greatest
complaints had been as to certain unconstitutional acts already exer-
cised by the Queen, through her hated paramours, with the connivance
of a servile cabinet—acts involving interference in official appointments
and with the administration of justice. The league, however, did not
at once openly quarrel with the Queen's representatives, but “negotia-
ted” at arm’s length, with the object of being left unmolested by the
authorities, or, rather, by Wilson, who was directing the “new consti-
tution” conspiracy, from the Queen's side, and giving only such infor-
mation to the ministers of the Government as the Queen's party chose
they should know.
The league rapidly increased in numbers, and included many of the
best natives and half-whites in the country. By May 1st there were over
300 sworn members. There was a quasi-military organization, con-
trolled mostly by ex-officers or non-commissioned officers of late native
volunteer companies, or of the guard; spies reported that the leaders
of the league had arranged for a large supply of arms, to be landed
by smuggling from small craft at out-of-the-way points; the Legislature
was about to meet, and it was the Queen's plan that the new order
of things must be inaugurated in time to prevent its meeting. Evi-
dently something must be done, and done quickly. The introduction,
also, of a large number of “Queen Emma” men into the league—men
who were known to be hostile to the house of Kalakaua–increased
the suspicions of the palace party, and Wilson instructed his spies to
report the “arms” story, to compel the Government to move, as soon as
he became satisfied that the league was against the monarchy. The
members of the Government were strongly opposed to it at first, but suc-
cumbed to the personal pressure of Wilson and the Queen. Certain
Qf the ministers told me this themselves, and others sent their personal
friends to me to assure me of the fact. They said, in effect, “Wilson
is the Queen; the Queen is absolute; we cannot control Wilson.” One
member of the cabinet used those very words.
On the morning of May 19th two confidential friends of the Queen,
Kanui and Kekipi, both defeated parliamentary candidates on the
Queen's side at the elections in the previous February, came to Wilcox
(representing the league), and the three had a long interview. These
£missaries represented that they had been authorized and instructed
by Her Majesty to request his immediate presence at the palace to con-
sult with Her Majesty in regard to the new constitution which she had
prepared, and which she now held for his perusal and advice before its
promulgation; further, that the time had arrived when the league
must commit itself positively and irrevocably to this plan, or be con-
sidered enemies of the Crown. It is now positively known that Kanui
and Kekipi came directly from the Queen's presence when they visited
Wilcox, who was taken by surprise by this ultimatum, and tried to
hedge by further “negotiating,” there being special reasons why he
should not at that time give a positive refusal. The Queen's men, how-
ever, forced the game, and finally the natives and Wilcox quarreled
and a definite answer being insisted upon under a threat; and, Wilcox
thereupon sent to Her Majesty a positive refusal, accompanied by a
‘defiance, upon which, being reported at the palace, warrants were
immediately made out for every member of the league whom the spies
had “located”—some 87 in number.
Plans were laid to attack and shoot down in cold blood the executive
<ouncil of the league, who were (according to information from spies) to
hold a meeting at my rooms that night. This was to be done under
cover of an alleged but bogus resistance to arrest in face of warrants;
and to make the thing complete, martial law was to be at once declared,
and the “disturbing element,” who were not already assassinated, to be
<disposed of by court-martial, composed of officers of Her Majesty's per-
-Sonal staff and the royal guard. But the league had friends in the
palace and at the headquarters of most of the Government departments,
and were from time to time informed as to what was there transpiring;
so the meeting did not take place; but, instead, Wilcox and other
38
league leaders attended a public meeting of the liberal party on that
evening and denounced the Government, the Queen, and royalty in the
bitterest terms. If there was basis for the “ armsh story no evidence
was found in the searches by the police of residences of all known to
belong to the league. But the details of the first move having failed,
it was still contemplated by the Queen to remove at all hazards those
she considered her enemies. It is positively known that a proclama-
tion of martial law was drafted by one of the advisers of the Queen, and
passed for. revision through the attorney-general's office, and was
carried for some days in the pocket of one of the Queen's staff, while
the authorities were busily engaged in hunting up more evidence.
The palace party calculated to stifle all necessity for such evidence
as would convict in a court of justice by establishing a “military”
court composed of ignorant kanaka partisans and body servants of
the Queen. In this search, for evidence (after the arrests) the author-
ities threw parties into prison without warrant or form of law, kept
some without food for days, plied prisoners with promises of reward
and offices if they would perjure themselves in such way as to make a
“case” against the liberal leaders, and with threats of death in case of
refusal, and used means to extort “evidence” of the kind they wanted
in a manner which would disgrace brigands. These facts were proven
at the trial by witnesses for the prosecution. But the failure of the
Queen to destroy all opposition to her abominable course is due chiefly,
after all, to the interference of Maj. Wodehouse, British commissioner
(now minister), on my behalf, as a Canadian, by compelling the Gov.
ernment to try the conspirators in one of the courts of law instead of
by a so-called military tribunal.
Passing over the trying period of danger and uncertainty of the leg-
islative session, and the bitter fight of the Queen against the constitu-
tional party, we come to the 14th of January and succeeding events, so
near in time (and therefore in memory), coming down to the status in
quo. The existing facts imply a Provisional Government treating with
the Government of the United States for “annexation.” Now, what
is annexation? It has been years discussed in this country as a possi-
ble outcome of the near future, but always on the basis that it would
necessarily include equal civil rights in the management of all affairs
not in their nature under Federal control—as, for instance, in Texas,
or in the Territory of Arizona. There is in this country a bitter objec-
tion on the part of the majority against any unusual system such as
proposed in the treaty laid before the United States Senate. This I
firmly believe—and such, I feel sure, is the belief of the great major-
tiy—that a governing commissioner (say) from Washington would, nay
must, be influenced by the missionary party here, and that it would
result in a plutocratic rule of a half dozen or dozen men of a political
family compact, who came here poor to serve the cause of religion on
starvation salaries, and have developed by their superior thrift into a
moneyed aristocracy, owning all the valuablelands and industries of the
country.
This class has always been considered the enemies of not only the
native race, but of all classes denizened in the islands who are not of
themselves. Their attempted monopoly of politics; their alternative
subservience and hostility to the monarchy, according to their hold on
office for the day; their changing to the cause of “Americanism,” or
their “Hawaiian patriotism,” according to whether they are begging
for differential duties, or fixing “a deal” with royalty; their contemptible
airs of superiority over those not so rich as themselves; and their con-
tinually repeated efforts to grind the natives to inferior political posi-
tion have alienated all classes against them. But having stolen in,
like jackals, on the executive offices under the present régime, a great
number of annexationists fear to openly object, to their methods, lest
it place the whole plan of annexation on the basis of swapping horses
while crossing the stream. The commissioners arrived at San Fran-
cisco with the war cry, “Down with the Hawaiians.” This has turned
nearly all Hawaiians against annexation, many hundreds of whom
were formerly open and active in its advocacy. . If even now assured
that annexation would make them American citizens, as such is the
case in say Texas or Arizona, they would forever abandon the thought
# royalty and hail annexation with delight as the ultimate destiny of
8 Wºll,
Will the people of the United States, as represented in Congress or
either branch thereof, permit the vast majority of the Hawaiian people
39
to be driven by armed force into a distasteful political condition by
a handful of political jackals of the missionary party, simply because
the Hawaiians are poor and the other own the property? And this is
prºctically the reason advanced by the commissioners. Does the
action of the United States Government on the Samoan question indi-
cate that America will use her armed forces to permit a minority of
foreigners to coerce a majority of the native people; and would such
a course be creditable to the American people? Would it be an expo-
nent of the American principle of justice to the weak? But the entire
question could be settled by forming a treaty which would remove
the objections referred to, by interfering with no vested rights, and by
giving political privileges to the rich and the poor alike. And while
this might not altogether please the monopolists, an accommodation
which would give equal civil rights to the Hawaiians in the manage-
ment of local, Hawaiian affairs is the one only which is just, bene-
ficial, or practical from the standpoint of the future, from either the
American or Hawaiian point of view.
It is not necessary to refute the arguments of that i. of the
American press which opposes annexation on sentimental or economical
grounds. That issue I assume to be already settled. It will be a sorry
day for both America and Hawaii if annexation should now be
deferred. Nevertheless, it will be a source of great grief to Hawaii
and of future disgrace to the proclaimed political righteousness of the
American people if the latter refuse us conditions which represent a
fullness of political rights. The only hope of a condition of affairs
which will make Hawaii a country in which a white man of self-respect
and loving liberty can live and prosper is annexation, accompanied by
an equal franchise to Hawaiians in matters of local administration.
Referring to the idea of an American protectorate, this would be
bitterly repulsive to the great majority of the Hawaiian people, native
and foreign, as many degrees worse, if possible, than “annexation”
under the Thurston-Harrison treaty, with carpetbag government con-
trolled by the family-compact oligarehy. It would, to our minds, mean
the presence of a foreign armed force to bayonet into submission any
resistance to tyranny, however great, if only perpetrated in the name of
law and by the authority of the Government for the time being. It
would mean the engrafting of a moneyed aristocracy into place and
power, who, representing only the Missionary, party, could, by their
unlimited wealth, drown the cries of the people of this country from
consideration of any man or body of men holding the power of review.
Our appeals would not likely reach the Congress. This is the view
which caused the unanimous uprising of the people against what is
generally known as the “Blaine treaty” in 1889–90.
This was a treaty drafted, as was said, by Mr. Blaine, then Harri-
son's Secretary of State, and brought from Washington by H. A. P.
Carter, then Hawaiian minister to the United States. A majority of
the cabinet were in favor of it, and tried to force the King to sign it;
but C. W. Ashford, who was attorney-general, resisted it on the
ground that it contained a “troops” clause, permitting the United
States to land forces to “preserve law and order,” which, he contended,
would place in absolute power, backed by a foreign military force, any
cabinet for the time being in office. The provisions of the proposed
treaty having leaked out mass meetings were held, at which the entire
plan was denounced by all classes, and in order to save forcible ejec-
tion by the populace the majority of the cabinet were obliged to
repudiate the entire undertaking. Later development proved the whole
scheme to be one for the establishment of all power in the hands of an
oligarchy of the Missionary party, with practical disfranchisement to
all other classes of Hawaiians, whether native or foreign. This expe-
rience satisfied everybody, including the Missionary party, that any
* protectorate,” from whatever source, must be imposed upon the Hawa-
iian people by superior force.
Regarding the protectorate proclaimed by Minister Stevens truth
compels the statement that under no rule of international law or mili-
tary or other necessity was there any cause for such action. On
many statements of facts not materially differing the Provisional
Government was stronger on February 1st than April 1st, for at the
former date all annexationists were united (if the Government's claim
is true), while at the last-named day disintegration was fast creeping
in as a result of the methods pursued in relation to the annexation
question—the opinion. being very strong now in Honolulu that the

**
40
Provisional Government have thus far thrown serious impediments in
the way thereof by their treatment of the native side of the question
and their mugwumpery, if not, indeed, their treachery, in official
appointments. The threatening aspect of the Japanese question had
not entered into the calculations, because no knowledge or suspicions
existed on February 1st of the pending arrival of the Naniwa from
Yokohama.
It is not the intention to herein discuss the arguments in favor of
annexation from an American standpoint; but in this connection some
reference should be made to the attitude of Japan. The possibilities
from that quarter, as well as the chances of an English occupation (in
case annexation falls through), have no doubt been given due weight
from the American side. But observation of developments on the spot
has convinced most people here that the invasion from Yokohama, which
commenced some seven or eight years since, was designed as a means
of turning Hawaii into a Japanese colony. As long as four years ago
I had written articles, which appeared in Eastern and European news-
papers, pointing out the approaching danger from Japan, and outlining
a trend of events which has been fully justified by developments to date.
Inotice the American press has not apparently considered that any
importance attaches to this question; but nothing seems more certain
than this, that these islands must, upon any refusal of the United
States to take advantage of the supreme moment now at hand, at once
become an advance post of the empire of the rising sun and a hostile
sentinel over the American Pacific coast. This is on the supposition
that England would not interfere. But supposing she does interfere;
what is the difference, in case the United States let go, whether
Hawaii falls to a rival (and perhaps hostile) power of the old civiliza-
tion or the new, when the power which dominates Hawaii will domi-
nate the Pacific, the future home of the world's commerce?
To revert, in conclusion, to the purely Hawaiian side of the case,
monarchy is now dead, and Hawaii knocks for admission to America's
door. Give us not an oligarchy. Give us democratic government.
Give us a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
I remain, yours truly,
VOINEY V. ASHFORD.
Ammºm.
No. 6.
Statement of Volney V. Ashford.
HoNorulu, HAwan AN ISLANDs,
& April 8, 1893.
Hon. JAMES H. BLOUNT,
United States Ambassador to Hawaii :
DEAR SIR: I inclose herewith a review of the political situation here,
from the formation of the constitution of 1887 to its attempted abroga-
tion by Liliuokalani on January 14 last. I can scarcely say that this
covers all the points discussed, or upon which you requested informa-
tion, though it probably includes most of them.
There is, however, a strange circumstance which I now see I omitted,
to wit, that the men, as individuals and as a class, into whose hands
fell the executive offices and entire control of this movement, are those
who (aside from the thick-and-thin apologists of monarchy at all haz-
ards) have always heretofore been the bitterest enemies of those who
were suspected of favoring annexation. Dole himself, though a mem-
ber of the revolutionary league of 1887 and a member of the “Council
of Thirteen” therein, tried his best to “throw” the whole scheme just
as the supreme moment arrived. Failing in this, he resigned his place
on the council and deserted the league, and tried his best to pull others
out. He did manage to pull out P. C. Jones, who was also a member
of the “Thirteen,” which position he resigned and deserted the league
the same as Dole had done.
About the same time W. O. Smith, who, through his great personal
intimacy with Dole, Jones, and others of the league, was acquainted
with the fº. plan, and had given his adhesion to it and arranged
to swear in before the council, but had deferred it several times, did
come before that body. After hearing a part of the oath re eated, he
drew his hand from the bible, made a contemptible, cowardly speech
in favor of the continuance of monarchy, and withdrew, and never
&
41
became a member of the league. Other prominent members of the
Missionary party worked with all their energy against the cause. It
was subsequently learned that just about the time of the withdrawal
of Dole and Jones, the King, suspecting the dangerous strength of the
league, made overtures, through prominent members of the Missionary
Colony, to recede from certain objectionable positions he had assumed,
to dismiss the Gibson cabinet, and form one from the Missionary party.
The above desertions, the consequent marrow escape of the league from
ruin, and the resulting enforced modification of the entire plan (as
referred to in my statement) only saved the leading non-Missionary
leaguers from the gallows, as we then, and always since, believed.
It is needless to say that this perfidy of that political element, at
the supreme moment, convinced the non-Missionaries that treachery
was the moving cause. When the demands for reform were made,
under the compromise agreement, only the abject cowardicé of the
Ring and his chief advisers saved us from a bloody battle, in which,
on account of delay resulting from the Missionary defection above,
the King would have had an overwhelming advantage, having thereby
time to fortify and strengthen his position. When the new constitu-
tion came into effect, the cabinet soon became a Missionary body, by
pressure brought upon the King in making appointments to fill the
vacancies of Godfrey Brown and W. L. Green, who resigned, and their
whole line of official conduct to the time of their resignation, in June,
1890, was a series of insults and abuses to all the non-Missionary
members of the league, and the filling of all the important offices of the
kingdom between their brothers, the uncles and the cousins, etc., on
the one hand, and the most vicious favorites of royalty on the other.
One of these latter was C. B. Wilson, whom Thurston, as minister
of interior, kept in the office of superintendent of waterworks—
though he had already been proven guilty of serious embezzlements
(as related in “statement”); and although Thurston, then an opponent
of Gibson, had said from his place in the legislature that Gibson, by
retaining Wilson in that very office, was harboring a criminal who
should be breaking stones, with a ball chained to him, Thurston con-
tinued to make this vagabond his chief favorite, and it was to save
him, as a member of the “Dominis conspiracy,” that hérefused to pros-
ecute the conspirators, as heretore stated. Of course, this was with a
view to control Mrs. Dominis, when she should come to the throne.
Such conduct as the above helped to alienate the non-missionary whites,
who had belonged to the revolutionary or “Reform” *.
So long as the Missionary party could hold all the political offices,
Kalakaua, and after him Lilioukalani, were good enough, and it was only
when that faction lost all hope of a prevailing influence over royalty
that royalty became unbearable. During the organization of the
Hawaiian Patriotic League, a year ago, one of the leading missionary
politicians said to me: “Your charges against Liliuokalani are, no
doubt, true; but what does it matter so long as we have the prevailing
influence over her. A republic or annexation would lead to the domi-
nance of the natives.”
This party, almost without exception, tried to hunt down all partici-
pators in the attempt against the monarchy last year. I have heard
from several sources, though not able to prove it juridically, that Dole,
then justice of the supreme court, was in conference with Wilson
many times, advising him what course to pursue, and what line to
work up against us. Finally, he was the one who issued the warrants
a thing unheard of in the Hawaiian criminal practice, our criminai
cases then all originating in the police or district courts. Mr. Justice
Dole not only violated this precedent, but issued the warrants, (and
then tried the cases) without consultation with any of the other
judges, and against the advice (to Wilson—and known to Dole, as is
said) of almost every attorney in town, and on the same statement of
facts as were laid before himself. During the examination which
lasted (with intermissions) for three weeks, he overruled every ruling of
the common law courts of the United States and England—both on
points of admission and rejection of evidence, as well as of construc-
tion—against the defense, and invoked the rulings of the courts of
Bloody Mary and her times, in construing the law of treason, especi-
ally as to what constituted an overt àct. His hatred to any and all
who favored a change from monarchy was so marked as to excite gen-
£ral comment. And a chain of known facts points most strongly to
the conclusion, at that time very generally believed, that the discharge

B—6
42
of most of the defendants (including myself) was in accordance with a
secret understanding that Wilcox and I should not expose at the trial
the complicity of the Queen and her negotiations with the league in
regard to their assisting her in promulgating a revolutionary and retro-
gressive constitution.
Of the “Councils” who now “rule” the country' under the Star
Chamber process, there are only three men, at most—possibly not a
single one—who are independent of the sugar ring. In fact, fifteen of
eighteen, in addition to all the commissioners, are either entirely or in
very great measure dependent upon sugar for their very existence,
commercially speaking. This class has always been bitterly opposed
to any ideas tending to an abolition of monarchy. The cause of their
change may be correctly judged from an American point of view, but
this I can not help saying, that my personal knowledge of these people
refuses to admit that “Americanism” has anything to do with it; and
I have the word of many of them to the effect that they would prefer
England to the United States, unless the latter give them terms which
will exclude the Hawaiians from the franchise, and any apparent ten-
dency they or any of them have recently exhibited towards admission
of Hawaiians to vote has been caused by the lesson they have learned
as to the sentiments of people in the United States.
The natives distrust the whole missionary element, and it is very
doubtful if those now at the helm can “deliver the goods,” except
under some process of compulsion.
In expressing this want of confidence in the governing faction, I
desire to say that it is fear for annexation, through the mismanage-
ment of the present régime, which induces me to speak on this subject.
I am, and always since my advent here, have been an annexationist,
from both a Hawaiian and American standpoint. I openly spoke,
wrote, and acted in favor of annexation, when annexation meant
treason, and when Dole, the present President, judicially construed
8 discussion of the possible future necessity for the same as an “overt
act.
I hope these additional points may be of some service or interest to
you as bearing on the whole case under review.
And I remain, yours truly,
VOLNEY V. ASHFORD,
43
INTERWIEWS ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY.
ſº
No. 7.
Interview with H. P. Baldwin, Maui, April 26, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. Please give me your name and residence.
Answer. H. P. Baldwin. I live really on Maui, where I am interested
in two plantations, and also one in Makaweli.
Q. Suppose you were cut off from the power to make contracts to
bring lºor into this country; what would be the effect on your plan-
tations
A. Some of the planters, consider it absolutely essential for us, to
have contracts, but I think that in order to bring about annexation
most of them would be ready to yield that point.
Q. How would they get labor?
A. That is one of the most difficult questions to the planters here.
The people have the same prejudice against the Chinese that you have
in the United States. We imported a large number of Portuguese and
a great many have left. I think if we were allowed Japanese and Por-
tugese we might get along. We got Norwegians here. They stood
it fairly well for awhile, but they got ill working in our hot cane fields.
The Portuguese have been very good labor for us.
Q. With the property qualification, such as now obtains, and add
thereto a qualification requiring that the voter shall read and write,
what sort of a local government would you have here? Could you have
a satisfactory government?
A. I do not think we would have a satisfactory government—as I
said in my letter to you. I am convinced that it would be a very diffi-
cult thing to form a local government to stand.
Q. Suppose you were admitted as a State into the Union, what sort
of Government would you expect?
A. I think a State government would be undesirable for us.
Q. Well, what would you think, in the event of annexation, the
form of government should be?
A. My choice would be for a Territorial government. I mean the
governor and secretary of state to be appointed by the Federal Gov-
ernment, the legislature elected by electors with a limited franchise.
Q. Giving the controlling vote to the intelligent classes?
A. As far as possible.
I have read the foregoing and pronounce it a correct report of my
interview with Mr. Blount.
H. P. BALDWIN,
HoNodulu, H. I., June 13, 1893.
No. 8,
Interview with O. R. Bishop, of Honolulu, April 27, 1893,
Mr. BLount. How long have you lived in these islands?
Mr. BISHOP. Since October 12, 1846.
Q. You have spent your life here since then?
A. Mostly. A year and four months is the longest time I have been
away. I was here twenty years before I went away at all. I was mar-
ried in 1850.
Q. To whom?
A. Bernice Pauahi. She was a high chief's daughter. Her mother
was a descendant of Kamehameha I. *
Q. You have large landed interests here? .
44
A. Yes; I owned considerable land at times. I had control of large
land interests.
Q. And your wife had large interests?
A. Yes; you might call it large interests. Quite large interests by
inheritance not very long before she died.
Q. You have had occasion then to give more than ordinary attention
to lands in the kingdom? *
A. Yes; I think so. I was intimately associated with Judge Lee,
who was president of the land commission. We came here together.
We roomed together.
Q. You spoke of the land commission; for what purpose was it
created?
A. It was created for the purpose of giving title to all the people
who had claims to land—the chiefs and the people.
Q. On what principle did they act in giving title?
A. The King and chiefs made this division in 1847. It was then
agreed that the people should have the small holdings which they had
occupied and cultivated since 1839. That was conceded by the King
and chiefs on the advice of the foreigners in the Government and the
friends of the natives outside. g
Q. Why do you say it was occupied since 1839?
A. That date was fixed upon because it was the year in which the
first draft of the constitution defining the rights of the people was
made at Lahina. That is the reason why they took this date as a
starting point. That was only the draft made there as I understand
it. The land commission was for the purpose of giving titles to the
chiefs and to the people for the lands which belonged to the chiefs,
and which came to the natives under this concession.
Q. What was the principle upon which the lands were divided?
A. The chiefs had been given lands by former kings—by Kame-
hameha I, especially. They could not sell or lease them without the
consent of the King and premier. There were other lands supposed
to be the King's private lands. When the division was made these
lands which he claimed were his own were set apart and called crown
lands. That was his private estate really, and the others belonged to
the chiefs and the people—the Government, the chiefs and the people.
The people got their's out of the Government land and out of the King's
land and out of the chiefs' land. These Kuleanas—it did not matter
whether in the King's land, the chiefs' land or the Government land—
they got them all the same by putting in a claim and having them sur-
veyed. There were days set for them to come to prove claim. The
land commissioner took down evidence and made awards according
to evidence.
Q. What do you designate lands which belonged to the King as his
private estate?
A. They were called crown lands.
Q. Well, Government lands wereintended to support the King in his
administration of public affairs?
A. No; he was expected to support himself mostly out of crown land.
The appropriations made for the King were comparatively small. The
expenses of Government would be paid out of sales of land, rents
taxes, and duties. The Kings down to 1864 had the right and did sei
more or less of these lands. They were really their private property.
Q: Well, in this division you speak of made by this land commission,
the lands went to what class of persons?
A. They confirmed only the rights of the people to whom mostly the
lands belonged. The crown lands was a large amount; the Government
; : large share, and the largest part of the remainder belonged to the
CD101S,
I § #on make a distinction between Government lands and crown
2M101S
A. The crown lands belonged to the sovereign. The Government
lands belonged-to the Government for the support of the Government.
Q. Were the Government lands leased out?
A. Yes, they were leased and they were sold. You might say they
are nearly sold out. The Government appointed land agents in nearly
every district of the islands, with authority to sell small pieces of land
to the natives. It was intended to give land to the natives who were
not entitled to lands under the law giving them lands occupied since
1839. It was intended to give them an opportunity to purchase lands,
They cut up a large number of the large lands into small holdings, and
45
sold them to natives at very low prices. A large part of them were
sold at half a dollar an acre.
Q. Where one had already a holding did they sell to him, too?
A. Yes; I think so. I do not think it was confined strictly to those
who did not own lands.
Q. Now, you spoke of the small holdings of land occupied by the
natives from 1839 onwards being confirmed by this commission. Did
the native occupiers of these Kuleanas generally take steps to have
their lands set apart, or did many of them lose their lands by failure to
comply with the mode of asserting and fixing their titles?
A. Most of them put in their claims, and had the lands surveyed and
got their awards.
Q. You said a moment ago that the government sold land to natives
at low prices on account of the fact that they had not gotten the lands
assigned to them under the distribution authorized in 1839?
A. No; not lands assigned to them, because in most cases they had
not shown any right to take lands,
Q. You mean to say that they were not occupiers of land?
A. They had not been occupiers and cultivators—that is, all the
time since 1839, if at all.
Q. Then the natives, under that arrangement, who had not been
occupiers of land were homeless?
A. Let me say this: Before this division and before this concession
to the natives, allowing them to put in claims which would give them
the title to land, they had certain understood rights in the places
where they lived, for which they were to do a certain amount of work
for the chief, and so long as they did that they had the right to stay
where they were, and that has always been recognized. It is even
now. There were three days a month of labor. He had no land that
he could dispose of.
Q. Was not that true as to all the common class of natives?
.A. Yes, that was the title they all had. There would be a family—
a number living together. The head of the family would put in a
claim for the land which he had occupied and cultivated. Then
he had grown-up sons who would want land, and this sale of land to
natives gaye them an opportunity to become land owners—and gave
an opportunity to those who had not been constant occupiers and cul-
tivators of land to buy land for themselves.
Q. Up to that time they had no land?
A. They had no land.
Q. Can you give me some idea of what proportion of the people were
not occupiers of land at the time of this sale of lands—1839?
A. That would be difficult; I don't know that I can.
Q. I do not expect a definite, mathematical answer.
A. But I can not do it. The natives never would have put in these
claims and followed them up, if they had not been advised and urged
to it mainly by American missionaries and other friends. They were
pretty well satisfied to live on in that old-fashioned way. They were
slow in sending in these claims and time was extended more than once
to give them opportunity to make their claims. I should say that a
very large proportion of the heads of families got land either by put-
ting in their claims, or by purchasing small holdings.
Q. Please let me invite your attention to this question. You have
alluded to a class of persons who were occupiers of land and those who
were not occupiers of land. What was the mode of life of the persons
who were not occupiers of land? Were they migratory?
A. More or less so. A good many of them were a sort of servants—
attachés of some chief, and there were a considerable number of them
sailors. Some were mechanics and fishermen. Some were educated
and employed as teachers.
Q. What per cent would you say were not located on lands?
A. There were a good many people who lived about with one another.
The natives were very free with each other's calabashes. A good many
lived together—one man having the land and the others living with
him. They were exceedingly liberal with each other. One man had
plenty of food and the other hadn't any. The man who had any shared
with the man who had none. It was as with the Indians—so long as
there was food in camp they all had some. There was a class who
spent a large part of their time in fishing, and I do not think that these
were cultivators of land, not many of them. The people in the early
times before my time became cultivators and fishermen. Those who
were fishermen did not do much cultivating.
46
Q. What was the theory upon which these lands were divided be.
tween the King, chiefs, and people—in what proportion?
A. I do not know as to proportion.
Q. About what amount of land was there in a kuleana?
A. All the way from half an acre to ten acres. Some of them per-
haps more than ten acres.
Q. What would you say the average was?
A. I should say the average would be between two and three acres.
Q. Was this division in which the native got his first title brought
about through the influence of the missionaries with the Crown or Gov-
ernment?
A. Largely by the missionaries and by other foreigners in the Gov-
ernment or out of the Government. It was a foreign idea. They were
given in addition half an acre on which to build a house. They could
not build on taro land. They had in addition to the land which they
cultivated the right to go to the mountains for timber for house and
fence building and for the ti leaf and for thatch grass. The ti leaf
is used in cooking and in packing food and carrying it. They also
had the right to fish in the sea belonging to the land of the chief,
within certain limits and to certain kinds of fish.
Q. You mean that they got this under this 1839 settlement?
A. Yes; they had all that defined in the law.
Q. He lived principally upon his taro patch and fish?
A. Yes, principally; but in some districts they had some lands on
which they cultivated sweet, potatoes and bananas. Taro, fish, and
sweet potatoes were the principal thing. They raised hogs.
% What was their clothing made of?
. The clothing was formerly made of tapa. At the time I speak of,
1839, they used mostly foreign material—cotton and woolen goods.
Q. Were they generally clothed, or were most of them in a compara-
tively nude state?
A. In towns they were pretty generally clothed. In the country,
except on Sunday, they were partially clothed. They wore very littlé
clothing. You would see a well-educated native in the morning with
his malo (a strip of tapa or cloth worn around the loins). After he
had gotten through with his work he would wash himself and put on
something of clothing. If he was a teacher he went to his school com-
pletely clothed, but very likely barefooted—most likely barefooted.
The clothing in the country was a good deal a matter of ornament and
show. On Sunday they dressed up and went to church and came
home and threw off their clothing.
Q. Do the natiyes own much land?
A. There are a good many natives who do.
Q. º do not refer to the descendants of chiefs—I mean the common
people.
A. There are a large number of the common people who own lands.
Q. What per cent of them, would you say?
A. That is very difficult to say. These small holdings that were ac-
quired at the time I speak of were too small to be divided–generally
were not divided. The young men who have come on since that time
do not own land. Many of them have not tried to get any land. These
small holdings have descended to heirs, and in many cases are still in
possession of the heirs of the original holders.
Q. You do not know the percentage of the land owned by the natives?
A: I do not. The tax collector or assessor could give you a pretty
good estimate by taking a little time.
Q. These lands were divided originally so that the Crown got a por-
tº: º: chiefs a portion, and the common people a portion.
e ©S.
Q. These great sugar-planters—from whom do they derive their title?
Who were the original patentees of these lands?
A. Mostly the Government and the chiefs; and those chiefs are
nearly all of them dead. Scarcely one of them from whom these lands
have come is living.
g % Do you mean that they have died without making a will or leav-
1ng neirs *
A. In very few instances have they any heirs remaining. Some of
them made wills and some didn't. The high chiefs who received these
titles and their heirs are mostly dead.
Q. And the lands themselves have gone where?
A. Many of them were sold by those chiefs themselves.

47
Q. To whom?
A. To different foreigners; to graziers Some natives bought land.
Q. Much?
A. Not so very much.
Q. The bulk of them were sold or given to foreigners?
A. They were not given; they were sold, to a large extent.
Q. I saw some statements in some of your publications that the
chiefs generously gave away large areas to foreigners.
A. I do not remember any such case. Kamehameha I gave land to
Young and Davis and to other chiefs. He gave them lands, but I do
not think Kamehameha III or other Kings or the chiefs ever gave very
much land to foreigners. The chiefs were an extravagant people.
They had very little idea of economy, and lands to them had but little
value. Large tracts of land had but small value. They were not used
for anything. They were covered, many of them with grass or ferns,
or shrubbery of some sort, and the first use to which these large tracts
of land were put was for grazing. The horses increased rapidly; the
cattle increased, and a good many lands were occupied for grazing.
The chiefs from the first were careless about property. They had
no idea about saving. They got into very extravagant habits during
the sale of sandalwood. There was a large sandalwood trade from
1810 to 1825. Traders came here and tempted them with all sorts of
handsome goods—sold them vessels and sold them goods. The kings
and chiefs got very much into debt, and then had to pay. Thé only
thing they could pay with was sandalwood. I believe the trade here
one year amounted to something like $400,000 in sandalwood. . They
bought broadcloths and satins and vessels and all manner of things—
and a good deal of liquor. They got into extravagant habits. They
kept on with that kind of habit. They kept getting into debt, and
when they got the titles to the land so that they could dispose of them
many paid their debts by selling land. They would sell large tracts of
land without surveying—sell them by name. The chiefs took titles to
their lands by name.
The land commission awarded them by name. The chiefs themi-
selves, during their lifetime got rid of a great deal of land. Some of
them left, when they died, debts to be paid. I had the settling of my
wife's father's estate. He did not own as much land as many of the
chiefs. He built a house where the Boston's sailors have been stay-
ing on King street. He built many houses for his people. He was a
popular chief and very kind to his people, who were attached to him.
He supported a company of soldiers. He had quite a large company
—perhaps fifty to one hundred men. So in building and in fine cloth-
ing, horses, furniture, etc., they got into debt. I had to sell off in set-
tling his estate quite a quantity of land—fish ponds, and so forth, to
get the estate clear. The plantation lands lave come nearly alto.
gether from the Government and the chiefs, and considerable of the
land is leased.
Q. Who owns what is called the Bishop estate lands? .
A. It is in the hands of five trustees for the purpose of establishing
and maintaining two schools; one for boys and the other for girls.
Q. How many acres are there in these lands?
A. About 430,000 acres, a good deal of which is of no value.
Q. What is the income derived from them?
A. About $50,000.
Q. They were lands left by your wife?
A. Yes.
Q. You have been out of the country for some time?
A. Yes; six months.
Q. You were not here during the period of the revolution?
A. No.
Q. What is the feeling of the masses of the people towards the Pro-
visional Government and annexation—those two ideas seem to run
together—or have you been here enough to be able to answer?
A. Do you mean natives or people generally
Q. You can answer it as to people generally.
A. Well, I should think that a large majority of the natives would
be against annexation if left to them. Of course the Chinese and
Japanese don't think much about it one way or the other. The Portu-
guese seem to be in favor of it. As near as I can get at it a large pro-
portion of Americans, a considerable number of Germans, and some
English are in favor of it.
48
Q. If it was left to the people to pass on under your Australian-
ballot system, with the present qualification of a voter for the house
of representatives, that would likely be the result?
A. They would vote against annexation, I think. They would vote
against annexation unless they could see some immediate personal
advantage in some way. I do not think they would consider very
much what the advantage or disadvantage would be to them. It is a
sentiment against any change.
Q. Is there anything of a race feeling in it; that they would rather
the Government be under native princes
, A. Yes, I think so. Their preference would be to be ruled by their
own people even if everything went to the bad. Things might go to
the dogs, they would adhere to that.
Q. Well, your political contests which you have had since 1886–
have they been largely on the lines of a struggle for power between the
mative and the white races?
A. That has been growing. For a long time back there has been
something of that disposition on the increase. That feeling has been
growing. It has been used more or less through native newspapers
and in the elections.
Q. º to the constitution of 1887 the Crown appointed nobles?
A. Yes.
Q. Then it was quite easy, with the native vote outnumbering the
white, for the Crown and native people to control the legislative body,
was it not?
A. Yes; if they had so determined.
Q. weii, in 1886 was not the legislature in control of the crown and
native people?
A. I do not remember now how they stood. We have always had a
considerable number of foreigners as nobles, and a number always have
been elected to the house of representatives. Some years the number
of foreigners has been pretty large, and then again not so large. Kala-
kaua was inclined more to appoint natives. I was made a noble in 1860.
I sat in the house when there were two houses for several sessions.
Q. Well, the complaint in the revolution of 1887—one of the com-
plaints—was against his exercise of that power of appointing nobles,
was it not?
A. I do not remember.
Q. The constitution of 1887 took it away?
A. Yes. That is, the power which he got partly through the appoint-
ment of nobles. . They felt he was abusing the power which he had.
They eomplained of him for interfering in the elections and for getting
people who he thought would favor any schemes of his, and also in in-
terfering in the appointment of all the minor officers—like tax assessors,
tax collectors, and district justices—getting everything as much as
possible into his own hands, and of his extravagance. Through such
a legislature he could get appropriations made to suit him.
Q. The revolution of 1887 was to change that?
A. Yes; it was to change that. Now, a man can not be elected who
is holding any office at all. Giving men these minor offices was one
way of paying them.
3. Has there been discontent with the constitution of 1887 on the
part of the Crown and native population more or less since then?
A. Yes; but I do not think the people generally were discontented
if they had been let alone. The Crown was discontented all the time
from the time of the revolution. It wanted to get power back again.

The shorthand notes of the foregoing have been read to me by Mr.
Mills, and it is a correct report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
CHAs. R. BISHOP.
S (Mr. * was on ‘the point of leaving Honolulu for the United
tates.
*
No. 9.
Interview with Sereno E. Bishop, Honolulu, Tuesday, April 11.
Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Bishop, will you be kind enough to tell me—be-
cause I know you are a thoughtful man—the causes immediate and
remote which led to the recent revolution?
49
Mr. BISHOP. The immediate cause was a succession of aggressions
tupon liberty and good government by the Queen, and the final act of
attempting to overthrow the existing constitution by violence.
Q. Will you be kind enough to refer to these acts specifically?
A. The first definite act was the refusal of the Queen to appoint a
cabinet in accordance with the chbice of the legislature.
Q. What day was that?
A. I can not give you the precise date. There was a series of these
proceedings from, I think, August to November, during which time
the legislature rejected, successively, three Cabinets which she had ap-
pointed by vote of want of confidence, she persisting in sending in
again and again men that the legislature considered unfit for the office.
Q. You mean by that that the individual members of a cabinet were
repeatedly rechosen and rejected?
A. In some cases the same individuals were rechosen, but generally
not more than one at a time. Other men equally objectionable were
substituted in their places. They were men in whom the business
community had no confidence. The next act of distinct importance
was the manifest collusion of the Queen with the lottery ring. It
finally appeared that the passage of the lottery bill was a definite part
of her policy by which to render herself independent of the business
people by means of a subsidy of $500,000, which that lottery paid to
the government.
Q. How would that render her independent?
A. It would furnish a means of revenue of such an amount that she
hoped to be able to dispense with the support of the banks.
Q. Get along without taxation of other property?
A. No; not get along without taxation, but to get along without the
support of the business men, which was necessary to supply money in
case of stringency, which has often arisen here.
Q. Well, please proceed on that line.
A. The matter culminated during the absence of the American Min-
ister and the ship-of-war Boston by the passage of the lottery bill,
driven through the House in the absence of several of the best mem-
bers, and especially by the removal of the excellent Cabinet, in which
all had great confidence, and which had restored financial confidence
in the government and business prosperity. They were removed by a
vote of confidence, the vote of the same men who passed the lottery .
bill. The Queen proceeded immediately to appoint another cabinet
composed of the worst elements of previous cabinets which had been
successively rejected by the House.
Q. Can I interrupt you here? Who were the members of that ob-
jectionable cabinet?
A. They were four men—Parker, Colburn, Cornwell, and Peterson;
every one of which men, I am compelled to say this—
Q. I want to know the truth.
A. Not one of these men possessed any confidence of the public.
They were men of notorious character in some respects, especially as to
their business reliability. Not one of them could by any means at his
command have raised $10,000 for his own use, owing to his personal
deterioration of character and failure in business. That was the gen-
eral character of them.
Q. Were they truthful men in their ordinary relations?
A. I should speak differently about different ones. I should say that
Mr. Parker might be regarded, for anything. I know, as an honorable
man in his ordinary relations, but a prodigal man. Mr. Colburn, the
minister of the interior, was notably a falsifier in business matters, so
that he would not be trusted in any business matter.
Q. What do you mean by falsifier?
A. He would give false weights and measures.
Q. What was his business?
A. He was a feed dealer. The next man was Cornwell, minister of
finance; I should say that he was a wreck financially and morally in
every way. As to his character for truthfulness, I do not know.
Q. What do you mean by a wreck morally?
A. I mean that he was so far degraded in his personal character as
to licentiousness and fº. that he had lost the ordinary shame
which men possess. ... I am sorry to speak in that way, but you wish to
be answered truthfully.
Q. I do. I want to see the situation. I don't care what it is. I
want to see it.
B—7
50
A. He was in possession of large property which he has wasted.
He has to my knowledge—not to my personal observation, but to my
knowledge—displayed himself in public matters in a very gross way
personally—particularly in connection with Hula dances.
Q. You mean going to see Hula dances?
A. No; but in cheering and publicly commending the vilest por-
tions of it before the people present. Licentiousness is a common
practice in a country where most of the women are weak, but he car.
ried it to an excess of grossness. He has run through his property,
so that he has hardly anything left.
Q. And the next man?
A. The fourth man, Peterson, is of very old family—a native of the
island, I believe. He was one of our promising lads, but when he
came back here from the United States he fell into association with the
lottery and opium rings, and he lost character and lost ground.
Q. On that account?
A. On that account mainly. 'I do not know of any individual trans-
actions of his. I never heard of any that indicated dishonesty, but he
was associated with them in their proceedings and he was supposed
to have dealings with them in opium smuggling. I do not know what
the facts are about that. He was intimately associated with them, es-
pecially with Paul Neumann, who was the reputed chief of that company
and has been for a long time. Paul Neumann was for many years
the chief adviser of the King. He was a back stair adviser—a private
counsellor of King Kalakaua in all his arbitrary proceedings toward
the establishment of arbitrary power. It is unpleasant for me to speak
evil of men. I said before, the culminating act was one which took the
H. by surprise. It was the drawing up of the household troops in
ine in front of the palace, which I personally witnessed, and the at-
tempt to promulgate an entirely new constitution by arbitrary means.
Q. What do you mean by attempt to promulgate a constitution by
unlawful means?
A. I mean that she presented such a constitution to her ministers
and they demurred. She used violent language toward them. They
fled, and after several hours of contest with them she finally yielded so
far as to give an announcement to the natives that she would not pro-
mulgate it—to her intense regret. She added it was her intention to
promulgate that constitution in a short time. She gave the people
hopes that she would do it. That act of the Queen put her in a posi-
tion which practically wrecked her Government; that is, no further con-
fidence or reliance could in any way be placed in her or her administra-
tion from that time on. It was felt by the whole intelligent community
to have gone to pieces. There was an absolute necessity for substitut-
ing some other government in its place. I became informed of an ele-
ment in the Queen's proceedings which awakened an apprehension in
my mind of some fanatical excitement. I heard that she was under
the influence of Kahunas; that she had been for two weeks in consul-
tation with Kahunas before her endeavor to submit the constitution,
and that on that very day she was conducting sacrificial worship.
Q. How did you get that?
A. I do not remember how the information came to menow. There was
a good deal of excitement about the idolatrous doings in the palace.
I was going on to say that my alarm was excited, that I handed in a
note to Mr. Stevens on Sunday expressing my sense of the probable
need of protection from the American forces for fear of some kind of a
fanatical uprising among the natives. I never heard from Mr. Stevens
on the subject. I do not know what he thought of it or what influence
it had upon him. I was only speaking of my own apprehensions. I
would say that it had been the custom on previous occasions to have
the American forces landed for protection and public safety. On two
previous instances, in 1887 and 1889, American forces were landed by
the American Minister.
There was a determined resistance of every effort to remove the
marshal (who has the reputation of being her present favorite),Marshal
Wilson, and this opposition was led more by John E. Bush than any
other person in the legislature. A majority of the legislature was in-
sisting upon it. It was one of their grounds for voting out ministers—
because she would not agree to remove Wilson,
Q. What was their objection to Wilson?
A. It was not so much that he was her personal favorite, but that
he was obnoxious to them, especially to Wilcox. He had been active in
& 51
the arrest of Wilcox for conspiracy. I do not know whether the
grounds of opposition were sound or not. I know Mr. Thurston was
not very ardent in the matter of having him removed. It was John
E. Bush and Wilcox. John E. Bush was in the habit of calling her
all kinds of foul names.
Q. What is your opinion of the credibility of Bush?
A. He has no character for veracity or morality of any kind. It is
as bad as it can be. I have known his record for a long period. He
has about as bad a record as anybody in these islands in every respect.
I will say about Bush that his earlier progress in public life was owing
to the fact that his wife was at the King's service entirely. That was
the secret of his success. It was a notorious fact.
Q. What country was she from ?
A. She was a native.
Q. Dead?
A. Yes. When she died his influence with the King somewhat de-
clined. In reference to this matter of the marshal it should be added
that the Queen declared publicly to a committee sent to ask her to keep
Wilson in office that he should be kept in office. It was an unconsti-
tutional declaration. I give this as one of her unconstitutional acts.
Q. The Provisional Government was established on the 17th 1
A. The 17th.
. Q. Three days, then, afterwards it was the avowed purpose to seek
annexation with the United States?
A. Yes; that is a matter of record.
Q. Out' of what did that declaration in favor of annexation come?
Did it come out of the moment, or had there been a progress of opinion
for years on the line of connecting this country with the Government
of the United States?
A. There had been a progress of opinion growing for a good many
years in favor of annexation to the United States, and looking to it as
a certain event of the future. I would say that the royalist paper
“Bulletin” distinctly avowed that as a certainty in a year—either last
year or the year befole.
Q. Now, was there a feeling in the mind of the people in that meet-
ing reaching back through a period of months, looking forward to some
opportunity of connection with the Government of the United States?
A. There was nothing said about annexation in that meeting.
Q. I do not know that I gave you my idea.
A. As to what feeling existed among individuals or among leaders in
that meeting—I suppose that is what you wish to know—it would be
a matter of opinion with me. I should say that at that meeting there
was no definite thought about annexation among the people; that that
was an afterthought which grew up perhaps during the next day—
that is, of actually proposing annexation as an immediate thing. I
know that it was not in my own mind. I was not thinking about that.
I was thinking about what kind of a government would be put up. It
was quite evident there was going to be a change. Annexation might
or might not come. People had to act and think rapidly. We had had
Some training in the revolution of 1887. That had been an education
to our leading men. gº
Q. What do you mean by education? In what particular?
A. An education in planning for a form of government. An educa-
tion in prompt action of the right kind.
Q. What do you mean by prompt action of the right kind?
A. Imean such action as was actually taken. Experience had taught
the people that no confidence was to be placed in any royal promise;
that there was only one thing to be done—to make clean work an
sweep the monarchy away. The people here had a very distinct educa-
tion in what may be termed the strategy of a revolution.
Q. Do you mean that the white element here had learned what they
could accomplish by courage and organization?
A. Yes; exactly. I would add to that also that the native popula:
tion got an education in the impossibility of resistance to a determined
action on the part of the whites.
Q. Now, Mr. Bishop, was this change of Government brought about
# .# action from the other islands—or was it done entirely on this
lSan
A. Entirely. There was no time to communicate with the other
islands. The white population of the other islands were as thoroughl
in sympathy as the white population of Honolulu.
52
Q. Did they have any knowledge of it?
A. None.
Q. Did the native population on the other islands know anything of
the movement? A
A. I think they knew of the movement to proclaim a new constitution.
Q. That is not what I mean—
A. Well, they could not. The whole thing was done so rapidly,
There was no vessel going up to the other islands during those days.
I think no vessel went up during that period.
Q. In the education you say the whites received here and the natives
received in connection with revolutions, was there in the minds of the
whites to enable them to succeed, and in the minds of the natives to
induce them to submit, any calculation as to the aid of the forces of
any foreign government?
A. I should say there was none whatever. I was myself fairly inti-
mate with the public sentiment in that matter, and I am bertain that
there was no calculation of any such aid. There was a calculation on
the maintenance of the usual practice of landing troops to maintain
order against mob violence, and to protect the property of citizens.
There was an expectation of that,
Q. How was that force to be applied? The Queen's Government was
in existence up to the time of your recognition?
A. It may be said to have had no manner of existence. It had no real
existence. It was wrecked by the panic produced by the unconstitu-
tional acts of the Queen. All persons had ceased to look to it; at
least, all owners of property and intelligent people.
Q. Then you did not expect the use of troops to enforce or sustain
any action on the part of the Queen?
A. We did not expect they would. We did not regard the Queen's
Government as a source of order. The attitude of the Queen herself,
as shown on the morning of that Monday, the 16th, in this terrified
proclamation, showed that they themselves were in a state of panic.
Q. The people then did not expect that in the use of foreign troops
that the Queen's Government would derive any support from that
uarter.
q A. No; they did not. Mr. Stevens' sympathies were well known by
various manifestations. They were known to be in favor of the prog-
ress of constitutional government. He had so declared himself on
public occasions like the 4th of July.
Q. What do you mean by that. Please be more specific.
A. I mean that on at least two public occasions—one of which was
the 4th of July—Mr. Stevens had made addresses in which he spoke of
the necessity of the Hawaiian monarchy conforming itself to constitu-
tional progress.
Q. How did that apply to any condition of things here?
A. It applied because Kalakaua's Government and the Queen's Gov.
ernment were manifestly seeking to establish absolutism.
Q. And the condition of things here induced the interpretation of
these two speeches to mean that—
A. He was heartily in sympathy with the movement of constitutional
government. He was going to show himself as a good American. It
was kindness in him to exercise his influence as the American repre-
sentative.
Q. You did not think the forces were going to be used when they
came on shore in the interest of protecting the property and persons
of American citizens in connection with the Queen's government, or in
support of it.
A. I was well satisfied they would not be used to support that gov-
ernment.
Q. Did you think that the new government was likely to be recog-
nized and that in the protection of person and property the troops
would likely act on a line in harmony with the new government?
A. I did not suppose—I had some indications that led me to believe
that the troops would not be used in any way to assist in establishing
the Provisional Government. They would be left entirely to their
prowess or strength to accomplish the end.
Q. Were the troops landed before that government was recognized?
A, They were landed before the government was formed. They were
landed on the evening of the 16th. The government was not formed
until the morning of the 17th.
Q. Now, suppose disorders had broken out in that condition of
53
things—in executing the power—the purpose of protecting persons and
property here—what was expected as to the tendency of the action of
these troops—that it would be with the white population or with the
native element—with the new political movement or with the Queen's
Government?
A. Well, it was expected that they would repress any mob violence
whatever—that they would assist in preventing any incendiarism in
town, or attacks upon private property.
Q. Suppose there had been a conflict on the streets—a battle on the
streets—what side do you suppose the United States would have taken?
A. My belief was at that time that the United States would have
iºned entirely neutral. I have no doubt of that. I had no doubt
©Ile ſº
1% pia you look for any trouble at the time these troops were put on
Shore
A. We were apprehensive at that time of secret disturbance—at-
tempts to create insurrection and disturbances. We were apprehensive
about incendiarism.
Q. Insurrection against what?
A. Attempt on the part of the natives to injure the whites.
Q. You mean race conflict rather than insurrection?
A. Well, I do not mean any organized insurrection—we were afraid
of local disturbances in town. We were in a state of uncertainty and
apprehension. We felt we needed protection. We had not organized
Government forces.
Q. You wanted these forces here to preserve order until you had
organized?
A. And after that if they chose. We were accustomed to have such
forces landed—Mr. Merrill had had such forces.
Q. I am not questioning the propriety of it, but I am trying to find
out the public mind in this situation.
A. I understand. Now I am expressing what my own view is as an
intelligent person, knowing what the customs and proprieties of things
would be internationally. I am only giving you my opinion.
Q. I am only asking your opinion. I am inquiring from you because
you have the reputation of being an intelligent man, a man of charac-
ter. These troops were landed at the instance of whom? -
A. I understand that they were landed at the request of the com-
mittee of public safety—organized before the Provisional Government
was organized. It was felt that the community was in great danger,
and it was necessary to take immediate steps.
Q. The protectorate was established to continue during the progress
of negotiations, was it not? ‘.
A. So far as it was a protectorate. I do not know how far it was
entitled to be called a protectorate. I think the proclamation of Mr.
Stevens settles that matter. I do not know anything outside of that.
I think it was pending orders from the United States Government.
Q. Was there a fear here that were the troops aboard, the govern-
Iment would not be able to protect property—the Provisional Govern-
Iment
A. The troops had been on shore all the time to assist in maintain-
ing order. They took no active part then and were always confined to
their barracks. }
Q. Do you think that during all that period and up to the establish-
ment of the protectorate that these troops were necessary on shore in
drder that order might be preserved?
A. Well, it is hard to say. I cannot judge. I will say this: I know
from my personal knowledge of volunteers of the force that they con-
sidered themselves very hard worked in controlling the town, and while
they encountered hardly any signs or disposition to make disturbance
they had a sense of insecurity. They were called off from their business
to a degree that was a great trial to them, and the putting up of the
American flag enabled martial law to be dispensed with and gave a
feeling of general confidence and security which was agreeable to us all.
Q. Martial law and the United States troops you felt necessary to
; adequate protection and restore confidence here. Is that true or
Inot
A. I should not say that the presence of the United States troops
was a necessity. It was very desirable. I think that the Provisional
Government could have maintained our security without them.
Q. Mr. Bishop, there has been a controversy (if I am not correct you
54
can correct me) for a good many years on the part of the people of the
white race here and the native race in the matter of governing the
country. Is that true or not?
A. It is true.
Q. Have the political alignments here been as a general rule racial—
white race against other races?
A. Not until recently.
Q. How recently?
A. My first recollections of any indications of such an alignment I
should say were early in the reign of Kalakaua, about eighteen or twenty
years ago.
Q. And did it take shape in the form of questions of taxation, or
what form did it take? *
A. In the shape of appointments to public office. They claimed that
natives should hold a larger proportion of public office than they had
been accustomed to.
Q. And the other side did not like it?
A. The other side did not feel that the natives were fit for office.
They were notoriously incompetent. The first indication I remember
of such a feeling was one day seeing Samuel Parker—then a young
man—landing at Lahaina from a vessel from Honolulu and proclaiming
loudly that Kalakaua was going to do the right thing by the Hawaiians
—give them a proper share in the Government.
Q. What had been the share before this announcement of Parker?
A. It had been customary to have one or two natives or half whites
in the King's cabinet of four.
Q. How about the court?
A. The supreme court?
Q. Yes.
A. It has always been customary to have three white judges.
Q. Because they were learned in the law?
A: Yes; the natives were incapable of being learned in law.
Q. That had for some time been accepted as proper?
A. It has ever since it has been the rule. It has never been changed,
Q. How are your judges selected?
A. Appointed by the Sovereign with the advice of the cabinet.
There has been a very satisfactory administration of law and justice.
Q. How about your foreign ministers—any rule obtained?
A. They were always white men.
Q. And appointed by the Crown?
A. Yes.
Q. On confirmation by anybody else?
A. The cabinet, I think.
Q. Not confirmed by the legislative body? ׺f
A. No; a large part of the offices sought to be occupied by natives
were subordinate civil offices.
Q. Was that what Parker had in mind, or did he want to enlarge it?
A. He wanted to enlarge it, to have more natives in the cabinet.
Q. In the constitution of 1887 did the qualifications of electors leave
the whites in the majority in the election of nobles, or the natives?
A. The whites in the majority; that is, a majority of nobles.
Q. The constitution allowed citizens of other countries who were liv-
ing here at that time to vote, not thereby forfeiting their citizenship in
other countries. Was that intended to strengthen the white vote?
A. It was intended to strengthen the white vote by enabling them
to vote, as they were not willing to renounce their citizenship.
Q. With a view of giving the white element strength in political
controversies? le
A. Yes; to give them adequate representation in the legislature, so
: they should not be entirely overridden by the native representa-
WeSe
Q. This constitution was extorted from Kalakaua by a mass meeting?
A. Yes; by force of public sentiment manifested through a mass
meeting. That demonstration of the determination and unity of the
white citizens so terrified him that he was ready to do what he was
wanted to do.
Q. Now, is it to he inferred from transactions like that that the intel-
ligent people here are of the opinion that the native population as a
mass are qualified for government, capable of carrying on a government?
A. I should say quite the contrary.
Q. Referring to the mass meeting which extorted the constitution
i
55
from Kalakaua and to the recent mass meeting which brought about
the change here—are we to believe from these that the intelligent
classes in this community—the whites—do not believe that the mass of
the native population are capable of self-government?
A. Not without assistance.
Q. What is your view about that ? I do not know these people at
all. I am trying to get at the inside facts of the case.
A. My view is that, while the native people here are lacking in ade-
quate intelligence and force of purpose to conduct self-government
long, they are so well disposed that with a sufficient power of white
guidance—white coöperation—and the removal of racial contention,
which has been sedulously cultivated by the late dynasty, they will use-
fully coöperate in republican government. They possess sufficient in-
telligence and good disposition so to do.
Q. On that point of being led by the white element, and easily in the
absence of attempts to excite racial feelings, could you trust to uni-
versal suffrage?
A. Without limitations we could not.
Q. What limitations could you trust to in the matter of suffrage?
A. I think the limitations would have to be quite high, as to educa-
tion and property qualifications.
Q. What would you put them at?
A. As to education, I should require a good knowledge of the Eng-
lish language—sufficient to enable the voter to read and understand
the Constitution of the United States.
Q. In regard to property qualifications?
A. I think it should be made so high as to exclude unskilled laborers.
Q. You have about 9,000 voters among the native population—how
many would that exclude?
A. The educational qualification would exclude two-thirds—the
number qualified would rapidly increase.
Q. What property qualification?
A. The same property qualification as now required of voters for
nobles—$600 income. That would exclude unskilled laborers.
Q. How many skilled laborers do you think would vote?
A. I do not know. There has been very great carelessness in admit-
ting such voters. I think the number of such voters having that prop-
erty qualification would be about one-fifth.
Q. That is your opinion ?
A. Yes; my private opinion.
Q. What would you think would be the opinion of the intelligent
people here on this question ?
A. I think they would generally agree with it, except as they are
governed by a strong American prejudice of universal suffrage.
Q. A majority of the whites, would they adopt your opinion or the
manhood suffrage idea!
A. I think the great majority of the whites would adopt my idea as
a matter of necessity, although contrary to their theoretical principles.
They would sacrifice their theory for obvious necessity.
Q. Mr. Bishop, what would be the effect on values here if you were
to go into the United States—property values?
A. I think there would be an appreciation of most property values
within two years of at least 50 per cent.
Q. Why do you think that?
A. On 4ccount of the immediate restoration of financial confidence.
It would put into operation at once a great variety of new enterprises,
such as the proposed railroad around Oahu, which is now waiting for
the result of the present negotiations.
Q. Anything else?
A. Yes; there are other causes. The rapid immigration here of ener-
getic whites from America, from the United States, which would follow
annexation.
Q. What would bring them?
A. The sense that they were going to be in the United States, that
...” coming to their own country—the protection of the Ameri.
can flag.
h *They have that already there. I mean what would bring them
ere
A. Attractions of land. Opening to enterprise. They are deterred
from doing so now by the political uncertainty of the country.
Q. Any other causes?
56
A. I think those are the main causes.
Q. The sugar bounty—has it had any influence at all in the matter?
A. In promoting annexation?
Q. Yes.
A. Ever since the bounty has been put on it has increased, I think,
the desire for annexation, but at the same time there was an apprehen-
sion that the bounty. would soon be removed, so that it was not a very
powerful influence.
Q. What would be the effect on your labor here?
A. Very unfavorable to sugar-planters. It is apprehended it would
be. I think it would be. I think the planters would suffer a good deal
in reference to their contract labor. ©
Q. Suppose they had no contract labor, could not they bring Japan-
ese here and Portuguese in sufficient quantities to supply plantations?
A. Their passage would have to be paid by the planters.
Q. You think they would not do that unless there was a contract?
A. No; they could not get their money back unless they were bound.
Q. That would seem so to me. I saw a statement from Mr. Paul
Neumann, in which he took a different view, but did not give his rea-
sons for it.
A. Paul Neumann would say anything that would suit the occasion.
Q. You think the contract labor system would be done away with
if there was annexation?
A. It is so understood.
Q. When these contracts are out do the laborers leave the country?
A. Not necessarily.
Q. Some of them—the Chinese—would have to go back, would not
they, under your last legislation? r
A. I am not very familiar with the last legislation. My attention
has been taken up with other political aspects.
Q. Do you think the Chinese would remain here?
A. They have remained here in very large numbers. There has been
a very large decline in Chinese population.
Q. Would you expect the United States Government to permit the
Chinese population to remain here in the event of annexation?
A. Just as they permit the Chinese population to remain in the United
States. I suppose on the same terms. Q
Q. The Japanese population—would you expect them to remain
mostly when their term of service was out?
A. I believe the Japanese are under some obligation to their own
Government in the matter, which may constrain them.
Q. Do you think if that is not true that they would like to remain—
most of them?
A. I think they would.
Q. Well, the Portuguese element—is that permanent here?
A. I think it is—unless they are compelled to leave here for want of
employment.
. Now, taking your native population—the Portuguese Fºl.
‘and the Japanese population that remain here—it would be over-
whelming in point of numbers against the white element? ~ *
A. The Portuguese we count as whites. They are whites. They are
whites in intelligence when they receive education.
Q. I do not care whether you call them whites or not.
A. I am disposed to insist that they are whites. They have the
European Christian ethics. They belong to Christian civilization by
inheritance.
Q. With the Japanese population living here, and the Portuguese
population here, and the white population here, what would you do
with the question of suffrage? Would you be inclined to the lines you
have already indicated in that condition of things?
jºr A. Well, it would establish English as an absolute condition of suf.
age.
Q. And the property qualification?
A. Yes; but the English would exclude the ignorant Portuguese,
and exclude the Japanese and Chinese almost entirely.
Q. You mean the qualifications for reading En fish would exclude
most of the Portuguese and most of the Japanese
A. Yes; it would exclude Portuguese who were not educated. I was
going to say that it is my opinion that there should be an exception
made from the educational qualification in reference to all persons who
had voted hitherto for a considerable number of years—say fifteen. It
57
would be an injustice to a large class of intelligent and excellent natives
not to let them exercise suffrage.
Q. You desired to express some views a while ago on some subject?
A. On the question of the expectation of intelligent people here in
respect to the action of the troops of the Boston. On the Sunday fol-
lowing the establishment of the Provisional Government Mr. P. C.
Jones, the minister of finance, and myself held a conversation on the
steps of the Stone church, where we were about to conduct Bible
classes. Mr. Jones expressed himself confidentially to me about his
feelings on the occasion of assuming office. He stated to me. that he
thought he had never had such a sense in his life of personal peril he
felt at the time when he and the other members of the Provisional
Government left Fort street to proceed to the Goverument house for
the purpose of seizing the Government. From that I am convinced that
the members of the Provisional Government expected no assistance
whatever from the United States forces.
Q. What day was this?
A. It was the Sunday following the day they took the Government—
was Tuesday, the 17th. It was the 22d of January.
Q. The American flag was then up?
A. No; the American flag was not put up for two weeks afterwards.
Q. Were the troops on shore all the while.
A. Yes; they were on shore all the time. They were out of sight
mostly on the premises which they occupied. My son in-law, Jonathan
Shaw, was active as a volunteer from the moment of the assumption of
power by the Provisional Government. He has always spoken to me
of experiencing a great sense of danger at the time that he took up arms
to assist the Provisional Government in occupying the government
house. He had no expectation of support at that time from the United.
States troops. He is a bookkeeper and general business man of intel-
ligence. I would urge the point that the proclamation made by the
Queen and her cabinet on Monday morning, the 16th, demonstrated a
condition of panic on the part of the Queen's Government. It was a
most humiliating proclamation for her to make. It proves that the Gov-
ernment had practically gone to pieces—and this supports the theory
that the reason why not the slightest opposition was offered by the
large force assembled and armed on the Queen's side to the Provisional
Government. It was due entirely to a state of panic on the part of the
natives.
Q. The natives here in the city of Honolulu;
A. The organized native forces. They could not possibly have been
brought up to face the whites. This feeling was enhanced by actual
experience they had had of being shot down by the whites in the insur-
rection of 1889, in which no white man was wounded. Twelve natives
were shot down.
Q. Was that the Wilcox insurrection?
A. Yes.
k Q. Now let me ask you there, was that an insurrection against Kala-
3U18,
.A. It is hard to say what the inside intention of the revolution was,
but my opinion is that Kalakaua was privy to it. It was purely an
attempt to restore the old constitution in the interests of absolutism.
Q. Where was he at the time; was he at the palace?
A. No; he was not at the palace; he was at his house on the beach,
and at an early hour he went on board the American ship-of-war, which
was in port.
Q. For what purpose?
A. For safety.
Q. From whom?
A. I do not know. His royal guard in the palace was instructed to
keep Wilcox and his men out of the palace so as to save the palace from
injury. Wilcox made no attempt to gain possession of the palace,
although he went to the barracks, in the rear of the palace, and ob-
tained all the rifles and cannon he could use. They were freely given
to him by the King's forces in the barracks, *
Q. Now, did the whites suppress the insurrection?
A. Yes; it was done entirely by the whites. . It was done by authority
of the Thurston cabinet. The King's own cabinet suppressed the insur-
rection as being an insurrection against the King. They understood it
Very well that the King was conniving at it. It was also stated that
Liliuokalani aimed to destroy the King and put herself on the throne.
B—8
58
Q. How much was that believed here among the white people 1
A. I think the general concensus of opinion was in favor of the former
theory that the King was privy to the whole thing.
Q. Now, you say that the shooting down of the natives on the part of
the whites in the Wilcox insurrection was probably the cause of the
panic in the royal troops in the late movement 1
A. I think it contributed to it. No native would face a combination
of white volunteers. The men who shot down the natives were volun-
teers—not organized, but riflemen gathered for the moment.
Q. Mr. Bishop, I notice in correspondence between the minister here
‘and the State Department a letter in which he speaks of arms being
landed here from San Francisco for the whites in connection with the
movement of 1887?
A. Yes; there was. . That was an organized movement.
Q. What became of those arms? I do not want you to answer it
: * feel perfectly free about it. Were they retained by private
C11ºl2008
A. My impression is that they were retained by private citizens. I
think they were owned by private citizens.
Q. Is it true or not that the white people here with a view to their
own security keep themselves supplied with arms in their houses? I
mean as a general rule?
A. I think it is quite extensive, but I do not think it is universal.
Q. That would indicate a feeling on the part of the whites that it
was necessary for them to be in a condition always to protect them-
selves by force, although they might never have it to do?
A. That is the feeling undoubtedly.
Q. I was led to ask you that question by a man named Lillie. He
spoke of keeping arms in his house.
A. I would say that apprehension is felt solely in regard to the
adherents of royalty. There is no fear from other sources.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
º
SERENO. E. BISHOP.
HoNoLULU, May 12, 1893.
No. 10. ”
Interview with William Blaisdell of Kealia and Kapaa Kauai, Wednes-
day, April 19, 1893.
Mr. BLounT. Mr. Blaisdell, please tell me your occupation?
Mr. BLAISDELL. I am a plantation manager.
Q. What plantation?
A. The McKee Sugar Company.
Q. What is the amount of capital involved?
A. About $1,000,000.
Q. How many hands employed?
A. An average of 700.
Q. Where are they from—what race?
A. Principally Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Hawaiians, and a few
South Sea Islanders.
Q. How many Japanese?
A. About 400.
Q. About how many Chinese?
.A. About 100.
Q. About how many Portugese?
A. Something like 120.
Q. How many natives?
A. Not more than about 75 or 80 at present.
Q. You are here representing an annexation organization?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As a delegate?
A. Yes.
Q. Who were the gentlemen who came up with you representing the
annexation organization on the island?
A. H. P. Baldwin, George N.Wilcox, George Mundon, and J. Konoho.
Q. What is the occupation of Mr. Baldwin?
59
A. He is a sugar planter.
Q. Do you know anything of the capital he represents?
A. He represents from that island a capital stock of something like
2 tº
Q. foes he represent any interest on any other island?
A. Yes; he is the principal owner of several plantations on Maui.
Q. Is he from the State of Maine?
A. I do not know. His father was one of the original missionaries.
Q. Well, Mr. Wilcox, is he interested in sugar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is his business?
A. He is a planter,
Q. How much capital does he represent?
A. Well, in the sugar business he is estimated at being worth some-
thing like $1,000,000, and his plantation business I should think is
something like half a million.
Q. Do you mean in addition to his sugar interest?
A. No, sir; his sugar interest would amount to about half a million
dollars. He has other interests besides. He is a principal shareholder
in the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company. . In fact, he has in-
terests all over the islands. He has a great deal of sugar stock outside
of his own plantation,
Q. You are speaking of Mr. Wilcox?
A. Yes.
Q. He is the principal owner of the steamship line also?
A. I don't know that he is the principal owner. I know he owns
considerable stock.
Q. Is he the Wilcox known in connection with the phrase, “Wilcox
Cabinet?”
A. Yes. His father was one of the early missionaries.
Q. What is the business of those two natives who came with you?
A. George Mundon does a little business in the way of hauling wood,
cutting wood, and supplying wood to the plantations.
Q. What plantations?
A. Ours principally.
Q. Is he in your employ?
A. Not directly—well, I suppose he is.
Q. The other native. His business?
A. He is a minister of the Gospel.
Q. You all came in together yesterday evening. Did you represent
the same organization?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you represent the same locality?
A. No, sir; we represent about the whole of the island.
Q Q. Wu you tell me the causes which led to the dethronement of the
U100m
A. Well, poor government.
Q. could you not be more specific? Poor government is a very loose
phrase, and won't carry much information with it.
A. Öf course it was something that has been coming for some time,
but what decided the question was the Queen's wishing to put a new
constitution on the people—force a new constitution on the people.
*What do you mean by the phrase, “has been coming for some
time
A. Things had been drifting into disorder and corruptness in gov-
ernment matters.
Q. What sort of disorder?
A. Mismanagement.
Q. Well, was life and property safe?
A. No, sir; well, I won't say that altogether, but things were drifting
that way. we felt that property at least was not safe.
Q. Was there a looking forward to a change of government on ac-
count of the discontent with the political condition in the islands?
A. Well, I do not think so. Of course we are not as well posted on
the other islands, away from the capital here.
Q. You were not here during the scenes immediately preceding and
during the dethronement of the Queen?
A. N.O) sir.
Q. Then, on that question you can not answer?
A. No, sir.
3. #. have already said you are representing annexionists?
• Y eS.
60
Q. What is your opinion as to the feeling in favor of the existing
Government with a view towards annexation?
A. When the Queen was first overthrown there were very few in
favor of annexation, very few of the planters especially. I was one
that did not see that we could be improved, especially in view of the
contract-labor system which is our mainstay,
Q. You mean mainstay for sugar interests or for the islands f
A. Well for the islands, because it is the main industry of the islands;
but as things developed, and after looking over the matter carefully
and talking over the matter with other interested parties—that is,
planters principally—we came to the conclusion that we would rather
take our chances on the labor question than to take the chances of an
independent government. We were in hopes that if annexation was
secured that the United States would take our labor question into con-
sideration and allow us some privileges in that way.
Q. In what way?
A. In bringing in Asiatic labor or not interfering with our present
system of labor. We feel, of course, that good government is the
foundation of prosperity, and that without good government we have
no use for labor. I think if we could have been assured of a good in-
dependent government we should have preferred it.
§ What sort of an independent government?
A. A thoroughly reliable home government.
Q. Without annexation?
A. Yes, sir; because the benefits we might get are very obscure. We
didn't feel that we could depend on that at all.
Q. What would be a reliable government here do you think?
A. I do not think it is possible to have good government and free
*f;
Q. Just there I would be glad if you would give me your views with
precision.
A. Knowing the native race as well as I do—have worked them for
years, was raised among them and had them in responsible positions—
I know their character and know they can not be relied upon. They
are not educated to it.
Q. They are not educated to what?
A. To manage themselves—to govern themselves.
Q. You mean for participation in governmental affairs?
A. Yes; a native can never conduct any business for himself. In no
instance that I know of has a native attempted to go into business for
himself and made a success of it—that is, any business of any extent.
He has always been associated with some foreigner and the foreigner
at the head always. It is very hard for them to understand business.
They have not got the knack of acquiring, and what they do acquire
they can not hold on to. They are very weak in this matter.
Q. Well, now, when it comes to voting, how are they?
A. Very easily led, one way or the other. Up to within the last
three or four sessions of the legislature they were very indifferent about
it, but since then there has been a little race prejudice.
Q. For ten or twelve years?
A. I won't go back as far as that. I will say six years. Of course
it was anything to beat the Howle (the white man). Very often now in
elections, especially outside of Honolulu, you ask them how they ex-
pect to vote, they say, “Oh, it makes no difference to us. As long as
the plantations are running of course we can always expect employ-
ment, and we look to the plantations for support.”
Q. How long is it since the Australian ballot law was enacted?
A. Only the last election.
Q. In your legislature you have nobles and representatives. Now I
want to speak as to representatives. Were a majority of the repre-
sentatives elected to the last legislature in sympathy with the reform
party or against them?
A. Against them.
Q. What was the effect of the Australian ballot system on the native?
Was he more or less easily influenced under this system as compared
with the former?
A. I think that if the candidate was a Hawaiian; that is, if there
were two candidates, a white man and a Hawaiian, he would, of course,
vote for the Hawaiian.
Q. Under the secret ballot system?
A. Yes, sir; that is, speaking of the majority.
•g. 61
Q. Suppose the question was left to the native population to deter-
mine by ballot under the Australian system whether they desired to
return to royalty orannexation, what do youthink that vote would show?
A. I think it would show a return to royalty—that is at the present
time. In talking with natives I found a great many were in favor of
annexation, but they are afraid that they would lose their civil rights,
that is, they think they would have to forfeit that.
Q. Let me ask you if this is the situation. That when they are
approached by their employers, desiring to be in accord with them, they
declare themselves willing for annexation subject to an expression of
fear that they will lose the right of suffrage?
A. I do not quite get your question.
(Question repeated.)
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In other words you think you can influence a considerable native
vote by reason of the relations existing between you, but for the fear
that they would lose the right of suffrage under annexation?
A. I can hardly answer that. Of course there is their regard for
their Queen on the one hand. They feel that anrexation is inevitable—
a good many of them—and they would express themselves as in favor
of annexation provided they were allowed their free suffrage. But I
think under any circumstances if it was put to a vöte and no financial
interests involved, if they were not dependent upon others for support,
they would vote against annexation.
Q. Do you think they are in favor of the restoration of the Queen?
A. A majority of them? No, sir. You cannot depend upon the Ha-
waiians. They say one thing to-day and another to-morrow.
Q. Now, the class of men they elect to the legislature—are they in-
telligent, reliable people?
A. Not always; no, sir.
Q. Your constitution provides that a voter for nobles shall have un-
incumbered property of the value of $3,000 or an income of $600?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. If the nobles were elected by persons having the same qualifica-
tions as those who elect representatives, would that place the control
of the nobles in the hands of the native voters?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have said that they elect a majority of the representatives?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The same thing then would obtain as to the nobles?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then that body would likely sustain a ministry in accord with
native ideas?
A. Yes, sir, decidedly.
Q. And that would leave the property of the Kingdom and the rights
of foreigners to the disposition of native voters?
A. Yes, sir, entirely. Property would not be secure.
Q. Property would not be secure?
A. No, sir.
Q. Please tell me why?
A. I would have to answer that in a general way—that no property
can be secured under bad government. *.
Q. You think a body elected in the way last indicated would be a cor-
rupt body of men? ‘s.
A. Ldo.
Q. You think it would be an ignorant body of men?
A. Yes, sir; as regards the science of government.
Q. You think the business conditions of the islands would be disre-
garded in legislation?
A. Yes, sir; I think the natives would be controlled by unscrupulous
people. The natives are very easily influenced, one way or another.
Q. po you think the animosity towards the white people would con-
tinue
A. I have no doubt of it.
Q. Please tell me this—do you think that it is necessary to the pre-
servation of order and the making and enforcement of good laws that
; º element should give direction to political affairs on these
1Sland S
A. Yes, sir; I do. Of course, in speaking of the Hawaiians, Ispeak
of the majority, There are exceptions, of course. There are somevery
good Hawaiians that I have a great deal of respect for, but their not
62
~-yr.
being interested to any extent financially—having nothing to lose in
that way and being dependent upon others for support—they are not
careful, they are easily influenced.
Q. Are they easily influenced with liquor in elections?
A. Since the Australian ballot system was adopted, not so much so.
Previous to that and previous to the formation of the Reform Party, it
was a custom for the candidates outside of the polling places to have
feasts—laaus—and the native would get a free feed and a free glass of
gin provided he would vote for a certain representative. His ballot
would be handed to him and he would go to the polls and put it in.
There was a great deal of that. I think that was one of the main rea-
sons for the formation of the Reform Party.
Q. Were there a majority of them subject to this influence you have
just spoken off
A. Yes, sir. I have seen it open and aboveboard.
ti 3, That thing, then, often determined the election of a representa-
lye
A. Yes, sir. *
Q. Was that generally the case in elections for representatives prior
to the Australian ballot law?
A. I think it was a good deal so.
Q. Well, is there anything else you want to add?
A. We have been charged as sugar men with being at the bottom of
this movement. I want to contradict that emphatically.
Q. Was it not really a Honolulu movement?
A. Yes, sir. Although of course we felt that something of the kind
might happen. . In talking over matters with our president, Colonel
Spaulding, I told him I thought something might be done to oust the
Wilcox cabinet. He said he didn’t think the Queen would dare to do it.
* Well, if she did oust them did you expect any trouble to come out
of it
A. I did. Things had gone so far and we had had so much of it,
that I felt sure something would come of it. At the same time I was
surprised that she did do it.
Q. That she did remove the Cabinet?
A. Yes, sir; and that she signed the lottery bill and the opium bill.
Q. You think the peace of the islands depends on the power of the
white element to direct this government?
A. Yes, sir; I think so, I feel so—decidedly so. Of course, we are
at a little disadvantage, as property holders with large interests away
from Honolulu. We feel at a disadvantage compared with the Hono-
lulu people. There we are pretty much at the mercy of the people at
large, that is, the natives, and our property being scattered over thou-
sands of acres, and being very easily destroyed by fire, of course we
feel concerned. We can not call for protection from any force—naval
force or anything of that kind. A few natives with a match could de-
stroy thousands and thousands of dollars' worth of property in a short
time. Fire in the sugar cane is very hard to fight. . A great deal of
property would be destroyed in a short time. Therefore, of course, we
feel justified in asking for annexation or for protection against civil
disorder.
Q. Is there anything else you want to add?
A. I want to deny again the charges made, that the planters are at
the bottom of this movement. You can easily see how annexation
would affect us. It would undoubtedly do away with our contract sys-
tem of labor.
I §: What would be the effect on you of laws prohibiting contract
2MOOT
A. It would require 25 per cent more labor to keep up the supply.
Q. Suppose the United States should prohibit contracts being made
by corporations with people in Asiatic countries, what would be the
effect of that 7
A. It would raise the price of labor.
Q. What would the effect be on crop products 1
A. It would increase the cost of a ton of sugar.
Q. Can you get any European labor of any amount here; could
'you look to Europe as a source for labor?
A. No, sir... We have tried that. It was a failure. We got some
German families, but we had to give it up. They did not seem suit-
able. They could not stand working in the sugar cane.
~~~~~~~~–~~r--~~~~~~
63
I have carefully read through the foregoing and pronounce it a cor-
rect report.
W. BLAISDELL.
HoNoLULU, April 20, 1893.
No. 11.
Statement of William Blaisdell.
KEALIA, KAUAI, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS,
May 9, 1893.
DEAR SIR: I hereby take advantage of the privilege granted me by
you to communicate by letter anything of interest in addition to my
statement made to you a fortnight or so ago.
If I remember rightly, Iforgot to reply, in answer to a question asked
me, “Whether the planters had introduced any other nationalities than
Asiatics in this country as laborers,” that for several years during the
time we received 2 cents a pound for our sugar several thousands of
Portuguese families were induced to come to the Islands from Azores
under contract to this Government, and then transferred to the planters.
They proved to be the best and most reliable class of laborers brought
to this country; no other class of labor has given as good satisfaction.
But when the price took such a tumble and we were obliged to make
sugar for $40 a ton less, we were compelled to look elsewhere for less
expensive laborers, or go to the wall.
The first cost of importing Portuguese was a considerable expense as
the distance is so great between the two countries; that expense had
to be borne by the planters. They also received higher rates of wages
than any other class of labor in the country, and, in addition, were fur-
nished free house room, fuel, medical attendance for the whole family.
Notwithstanding their greater expense to the Planters as laborers
than the Japanese or Chinese, they were, on the whole, a more desirable
class of employés than any other class of labor, and I hope that, if we
are annexed to the United States of America, our circumstances will
be so much better, financially, that we can again encourage the immi-
gration of that class of labor to this country. There may be some
trouble in getting them here, if the contract-labor system is abolished,
for they have not the funds wherewith to defray the expense of bringing
their families out here, let alone themselves. The Planters, therefore,
would have to advance them that much, and the binding of the laborer
to serve for a certain time is the only security the employer can obtain
for the refunding the amount of the advance, which is deducted from
his wages in monthly installments, and as the new settler can spare
but a very small portion of his earnings each month, he is as a rule two
years working out the debt. º
Much has been said against the contract-labor system by people who
do not understand it; much more can be said in its favor by those who
do. As a rule the contract laborer is better off in every respect than
the noncontract man, A contract man is free to do as he pleases when
his ten hours of work are over. It is true he is compelled to work
when physically able, and if a man claims to the contrary, he reports
to the physician, and if, after an examination, the physician finds the
least thing ails the laborer, he is excused from work, and if, on the
contrary, he is sound in health, is lazy, and feigns illness for an excuse
to get a day or two to idle or gamble, he is ordered to work, which
order should he disregard, he is taken before a magistrate, and, if he
fails to prove that he is physically unable to work, he is ordered by the
court to go to work, and, should he still refuse, he is sent to jail, there
to remain until he agrees to do as ordered.
It is a common rule on all plantations to occasionlly grant a leave of
absence for several days to a man who has proved himself worthy of it.
A good man is seldom, if ever, denied that privilege.
The fact of the laborer being compelled to work when able, enables
him to earn more wages than the noncontract men. He, therefore,
always has money laid by for a rainy day; whereas the day laborer or
noncontract man does not work more than 80 per cent of his time, and
spends that time, when not at work, in idleness and gambling, and in
running from one part of the country to another.
I maintain that where there is a large number of the lower class, as
there is in this country, and also where the rate paid to the laborer is so
64
far in excess of what it costs them to live, that some such system is
necessary in order to discourage idleness and its consequent evils. In
fact, it is as necessary as compulsory education is in this country. *
Every Government school has a truant officer and he is kept busy
bringing in truants and recruits. That will explain my reason for the
statement made you that “if the contract-labor system is abolished
we will require 25 per cent more laborers in the country to supply the
demand as well as it is supplied at present.”
Since my return from Honolulu I have been from one end of this dis-
trict to the other (50 miles) to ascertain as near as possible what the
sentiment is among the natives in regard to Annexation. The Royalist
politicians have sent several agents down here from Honolulu to influ-
ence the natives against it by every means possible. A certain Capt.
Ross, a noted character, of whom, no doubt, you have heard much, was
One of them. The misleading statements that he has made to these
simple-minded people regarding America, its people, and form of govern-
ment, and saying everything possible that a base-hearted person can say
to encourage race prejudice, is enough to disgrace him in the eyes of
every American, or anyone else that can boast of having an enlight-
ened mind.
He has told them that America can not take care of her poor people
of which there are many thousands in every city in the Union, an
that they are dying off by the hundreds for the want of something to
eat. It is that class of people, he has told them, that the United
States will send here among you, and as they have nothing, they will
kill off you natives in order to get your lands, etc. You will be treated
like slaves, and run over by the white people. The above is only a
sample of what he told the natives, and although the better class do
not place much confidence in all that he told them, yet they are some-
what alarmed at what he said, and do not know which way to turn.
As they are not directly interested in any of the industries and enter-
prises of the Islands, and are only small landowners, they therefore
feel that they can not be materially affected by bad government, and
that it would be better for them to take their chances in that, rather
than Annexation and its doubtful benefits. And, again, the exciting of
race prejudice, which has been intensified by the Royalists, has been
an important factor in influencing them against desiring to annex their
country with that of a white man. They are a timid and simple-
minded lot of people as a rule, and are therefore easily influenced
against anything foreign that they imagine may do them harm.
Almost all of the better educated natives are officeholders, such as
district judges and policemen, and they, for fear of losing their posi-
tions under a new form of government, do all they can to encourage
their less fortunate countrymen against annexation, and this is not a
difficult task when you understand that they have never read the Con-
stitution of the United States, and all they know of America is that
there is such a place some 2,000 miles away from the Islands, where all
manner of crime is committed, and that there is a possible chance of
such criminals coming to the islands to flee from justice, consequently
the islands will be overrun with all sorts of bad characters; this, in
fact, has been told them by the Royalists. $
I have worked hard to explain away such delusions and stories, and
am also having the Constitution of the United States translated into
the Hawaiian language, and will distribute copies of same to all natives
On the Island, and will have it explained thoroughly to them. I feel
sure that this course will do much to dispel many points of doubt that
they now adhere to. I also feel sanguine that, after a few years of
Annexation, and they enjoy all the benefits and privileges thereof, few,
if any, will be willing to give it up.
But to ask them to decide in favor of it under the present circum-,
stances would be very similar to asking the Indians of America a hun-
dred years ago whether all the white people should be allowed to remain
in that country or not, and if they had had an idea that their decision
would result in expelling the whites, every one of them would have had
to emigrate from whence they came. The result would undoubtedly be
the same in the present case here on the Islands if the question of Annex-
ation were put to a popular vote, as the natives and dependents upon
Royalty are in the majority.
But it must be acknowledged by the whole world that the foreign-
ers or white people have done all in their power to educate the
Hawaiian race to rule and govern their own country; made all efforts
65
to guide them on to prosperity and develop their resources; acted as
their advisors and only took part of managing the affairs and occupy-
ing such positions themselves as the natives were incapable to con-
duct. A number of attempts have been made in the course of the last
fifty years by the white people to place well-educated Hawaiians in
those positions, but for the lack of strength of character (a natural
failing of the whole Hawaiian race) the experiments have proved
utter failures, and the positions filled again by honest and reliable
white men.
All positions that natives were competent to fill have been given
them; even then they would have disgraced themselves were they not
held in check by the white men at the head of the several depart-
ments in which they were employed. But a short time ago, not over a
month, it was proved beyond a doubt that the deputy sheriff of this
district and subordinates (all Hawaiians) were paid a regular salary
by keepers of Chinese dens to wink at their operations, and to permit
the carrying on of same, free from molestation. One of the gambling
dens was in the house owned by the deputy sherift and rented to Chi-
Inese for that express purpose by him.
A proprietor of one of the dens refused to pay the sum of money
won by one of his countrymen at one of their games; the cheated party
threatened to expose the place if he did not get the money due him,
but the threat did not alarm the offender, inasmuch as he thought the
matter would be reported to the deputy sheriff, the landlord, with whom
he felt secure. But the injured party knew of the local police being
bribed and reported the whole matter to Mr. Wilcox, the sheriff of the
Island. He sent a constable from another district to make a haul on
the den. They succeeded in doing so and exposed the whole matter.
The foregoing is an illustration of the character of a native, even when
placed in a responsible position.
Is it a matter of wonderment that the white people, and especially
those who have so much at stake in this country, and whose patie, ce
has been so sorely tried and confidence abused, have at last taken
Tnatters into their own hands and ask for protection from those whom
we are sure can give it.
Any independent form of government will not stand very long under
existing circumstances; we can not see any way out of the predicament
than annexation with the United States. Those who have extensive
investments in this country can not depend upon the future security
against corrupt legislation until the United States has the management
of public affairs and the handling of the revenues of the Islands; and
I claim that we have the right and are justified to ask the United
States to protect us, and to accept the trust, for patience has ceased
to be a virtue.
As an example to illustrate how far the native will allow his feelings
to be influênced by race prejudice, I will mention a circumstance that
occurred here in this district, and, as I am familiar with every detail
connected therewith, I have no hesitancy in giving it to you as a fact.
During the last election for representatives for election in this district
two candidates were in the field, one a Hawaiian-born white man, Mr.
A. S. Wilcox, brother to G. N. Wilcox, of the “Wilcox cabinet,” and
in opposition a native by the 1 ame of Kahilina. A. S. Wilcox was
nominated by the foreigners and those natives of the better class.
Kahilina was asked to ruit by the Queen.
A. S. Wilcox is a man with an irreproachable character and his con-
duct as a man throughout his life is an honor to human nature. He
was born and raised in this district, where he has always lived, and
has been a sugar-planter for the past twenty-five years, employing
natives in preference to any other class of labor, and his conduct
toward them has won their love and respect. He has never let an
opportunity go by to do the native a favor.
A few years ago a number of natives in the neighborhood of his
home, Hanalei, desirous of replacing their grass huts with wooden
houses, and not having funds to carry their plans into effect, went to
Mr. Wilcox for aid, as has always been their custom in such cases.
He gave them the necessary funds and as security for the payment
of same they gave him mortgages on all their lands and other property.
They built their houses and, native-like, the time for the redeem-
ing of their mortgages came around and found them unprepared to do
so. Mr. Wilcox allowed the matter to go on for years and finally, tir-
ing of carrying it along on his books, he canceled all the mortgages,
B—9
66
on which he had never received a cent of interest let alone the prin-
cipal. Likewise in many other instances, too numerous to mention, he
has befriended the native and does so to this day.
The other candidate, Kahilina, is a full-blooded Hawaiian, well
educated. For a while he held a position as district judge in Hanalei,
Kauai. But that position was taken from him before many months
had elapsed, as it was proved that he accepted bribes and appropriated
court funds for personal use and lived in open adultery. This is the
character of the man that the Queen and her party put up as their
representative to run against Mr. Wilcox. I may here state that Mr.
Wilcox refused the nomination, but when he learned that Kahilina
was to run for election, and rather than to have such a man go to the
Legislature to represent a district where the foreigners had invested so
many millions and had so much at stake, he consented to contest the
-election against Kahilina. The first thing Kahilina did when he found
that Mr. Wilcox was in the field against him was to run down the
white man, and did all in his power to excite race prejudice, as he cºuld
find nothing in the character or past life of Mr. Wilcox with which to
weaken his chances with the natives.
Prior to the day of election Kahilina went into the precinct where
Wilcox was born, and among the natives he had befriended, as men-
tioned above, knowing that there Wilcox was a favorite, and there he
told the natives not to vote for a white man. “Wilcox may be all right,
and a good man himself, but he represented the white people, and they
would treat the natives as the white people treated the Indians in Amer-
ica; they were overrunning the country and would soon gobble up all
their land.” This had the desired effect. When the election was over
and the count made of the votes cast in each precinct of the district it
was found that very few natives voted for Mr. Wilcox, and none of those
whom he had befriended. Mr. Wilcox was elected, but by only the for-
-eigners, Americans, English, Germans, and Portuguese. When the
natives were upbraided for voting against Mr. Wilcox, after all his kind-
ness toward them, they acknowledged their indebtedness to him for all
past favors, but they did it “because he was a haole (white man) and
represented the white people.”
Only in political matters is that sentiment expressed; outside of that
the natives acknowledge their dependence upon the foreigner, and
will go to them first to ask a favor in preference to one of their own
nationality. There is not a foreigner on this Island, and I will go as
far to state on any of the Islands, but what feels that the native is a
special charge and do all in their power to administer to their comfort
and welfare. A visit through the Islands would convince you of that
fact at every step. Leave the race to themselves and they would
drift right back to where they were fifty years ago. They would do so
now were it not for the fact that the foreign element is continually tug-
ging at the other end. They have no conception of the great watch-
word of the enlightened world, “progress;” they have no objection,
however, to be carried along with it so long as they are pampered like
a lot of children.
To a person who thoroughly understands the character of a Kanaka
it is no surprise that matters have taken the turn that they have in the
past two months. According to all rules of progression, it had to come
some time, and now that it has arrived, we who have the welfare of
the country at heart, and for the good of all concerned, feel that there
is no hope for domestic tranquillity in, the future unless the United
States will accede to the prayers of the respectable people of this
..country. Left to ourselves domestic strife is inevitable, and will ruin
the whole country in a very short time. This must not be permitted.
It is the unquestionable duty of the United States to ward off that
-danger and consequent destruction of homes and interests of thou-
sands of her citizens, and if she should not do it she would be shrinking
from a duty that she would always regret. She will have to do it
sometime and probably not at a time so favorable to all concerned.
*A stitch in time will save nine.”
This country's resources can be increased tenfold if the large tracts
of Government and crown land were taken out of the hands of large
leaseholders and divided up among enterprising citizens as homesteads.
There are thousands of acres of the richest land to be found on the face
of the globe in the hands of a few, and only a small portion of which is
under cultivation, whereas if settled upon by enterprising people with
small means, they can be made to produce millions of dollars annually, as
67 *
sugar and rice are the only products that are admitted into the United
States free of duty. Those industries alone have received attention, con-
Sequently on an extensive sugar estate there are thousands of acres of
land that could be made to produce almost anything else under the sun,
but are given up to cattle grazing, because they are not altogether
suitable for either cane or rice.
Upon such lands thousands of families could build beautiful homes
live in a climate second to none on the face of this globe, where flowers
bloom and all kinds of vegetables grow all the year round. This will
surely come about with good government and an available market for
all products of the Islands.
I would give much if you could visit this, the garden Island of the
Group; you would then learn from your own observations the truth of
the above statements. You could see from your carriages some of the
grandest scenery to be found on the Islands—a beautiful country
covered with verdure from the tops of the mountains to the water's
edge, and an abundance of water everywhere, and yet there are miles
and miles of this beautiful country unsettled, with the exception of the
rich valley bottoms.
I shall regret very much if you leave this country without honoring
us with a visit; you could do it and be absent from Honolulu only three
or four days. I therefore on the part of all the people on Kauai cor-
dially invite yourself and party to pay us a visit. Everything possible
in a quiet way will be done for your comfort, etc. I fear that I have
already imposed too much upon your patience and valuable time, and
will therefore close, trusting that you will do all in your power to gain
for us the protection that we feel so much the need of and is our only
hope for future prosperity.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
W. BLAISDELL.
Col. JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
United States Commissioner, Honolulu.
sº
No. 12.
Interview with Crister Bolte, of Honolulu, May 5, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. What is your occupation, Mr. Bolte?
Mr. BOLTE. I am a merchant in the corporation of Grinbaum & Co.
Q. Are you connected with the Planters’ Labor and Supply Asso-
sociation?
A. I am.
Q. Are you a stockholder in sugar plantations?
A. I am.
Q. Is the Planters’ Labor and Supply Association made up of per-
sons interested in planting, either directly or by owning stock?
A. Yes; it is made up of persons owning stock in plantations and
plantations themselves. There is hardly any person of property in
this country who is not an owner of some sugar stocks.
Q. Are the members of this Planters' Labor and Supply Company
all owners of sugar stocks?
A. I believe so.
Q. Wºº you here on the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th of January, 1893t
A. Yes.
ºrieue tell me what you know about the occurrences during that.
time
A. Previous to the 14th of January we had a cabinet consisting of
Wilcox, P. C. Jones, Cecil Brown, and Mark Robinson. These were
all people of intelligence, integrity, and property. They commanded
the confidence of the whole community. Various attempts had been
made by the legislature to get rid of them. Finally, on the 13th of
January, they did oust them. *
The cabinet, consisting of Sam Parker, Billy Cornwell, John Colburn,
and Peterson, was appointed by the Queen, and on the 14th of January
the legislature was prorogued. These people did not command the con-
fidence of the business community. Sam Parker has squandered away
all his money. He is considered a big boy; no stability in him. Billy
Cornwell is of the same character also; has no property. John Colburn
is a man of property, but of very doubtful character—not considered
68
honest and straightforward. Peterson is an able lawyer. He has had
the best of chances here to be a respectable man, but he seems natu-
rally inclined towards associating with a class of people who have no
respectability to them.
Q. What do you mean by the word “respectability?”
A. A man who leads a pure family life, pays his bills, keeps his
word, and various other ways.
Q. What is his business t
A. He is a lawyer. He goes off on carousals. Does not go home at
night. There is trouble in his family. Now to proceed : The legisla-
ture was prorogued on the 14th at 12 o'clock, and before that time news
came down town that the Queen was going to proclaim a new constitu-
tion and abrogate the old one. The business men down town came to-
gether and talked matters over.
Q. At what place?
A. W. O. Smith's office. They came to the conclusion that if the
Queen can alter the constitution to suit herself she might as well alter
any other law to suit herself. Anyway through altering the constitu-
tion alone she would get perfect centrol of the affairs of the country,
because, in this constitution it says—as Minister Colburn told us at
this meeting—that she intended to appoint the nobles, which is one-
half of the legislative body. We decided to let things go on for a
while to see how it would end up. At 4 o'clock we had another
meeting, which was largely attended.
Q. At the same place?
A. At the same place. It was then stated by Minister Colburn and
Minister Peterson that she had not proclaimed a new constitution; had
told the people to go home, abide their time, be of good cheer, and she
would give them a new constitution anyhow. At the first meeting
Paul Neumann was present and said the Queen was going to proclaim
a new constitution. At this last meeting it was decided that the
people who were there could not be satisfied with the Queen just with-
drawing from this as if nothing had happened, and they came to the
conclusion that the people must have guarantees for the future. and
appointed a committee of thirteen people, of which I was a member, to
devise ways and means by which such guarantees could be gotteu,
This committee met several times at various places, and decided that
the only perfect safeguard against future occurrences of this kind
would lie in annexation to the United States, or in a protectorate, or
in anything of that kind, but that we could not go on with the form of
government as it was then. They decided to call a mass meeting of
citizens on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock, and see what people there
would say about it. At this meeting were various speakens, some of
the committee of thirteen and also others. The people were asked by
the speakers if they were satisfied with the promises the Queen had
made and let the matter drop—let everything go on as it was before,
or if they wanted a change and guarantees for the future. They
desired guarantees for the future, and appointed the committee of
thirteen—or rather continued the committee—to take such further
steps as might be necessary.
Q. Let me ask you what you meant and what people meant by say,
iug they wanted guarantees?
A. I uneaut a change of government. What the people meant I can
not say, but I am fully convinced that they meant the same as it has
been very often spoken of during the last few years.
Q. What has been spoken of so often?
A. Annexation to the United States has been advocated publicly in
the papers—I meant change of government.
Q. Why didn't you use language that conveyed distinctly the idea—
dethronement of the Queen and unnexation to the United States?
A. The Hawaiian Government, as it was then, was still in existence,
and in stating there publicly we wanted to dethrone the Queen and
have a government of our own with an iutention of being annexed to
the United States, might be going a little too far. &
Q. You mean making you liable to interference on the part of the
local authorities?
A. Yes.
Q. And that you were trying to avoid at that time?
A. Yes, especially for this reason. We did not know whether the
action of the committee would be indorsed by this large majority of the
geople at the mass meeting. We thought it would.
69
Q. Was there any expression in that meeting asking for guarantees
for the future in a shape of a vote?
A. Yes; the resolution was all prepared.
Q. It was a resolution indorsing the report of the Committee of
Safety?
A. Yes. The meeting dispersed, aid the committee of safety went
back to W. O. Smith's office to talk matters over.
Q. What time in the day was that?
A. About half past 3. After talking mattels over and seeing that
the Queen had concentrated her forces—meaning thereby that the
soldiers were all in the barracks—the palace barricaded with sand
bags and the station house barricaded—-
Q. How about the Government house?
A. I didn't notice anything going on there. The station house has
always been considered the stronghold of the Government. It looked
as if there might be trouble. So we came to the conclusion to ask Mr.
Stevens if he would protect the life and property of the citizens by
sending some soldiers ashore, stating that we considered the situation
very grave—even dangerous. After a short while Mr. Stevens sent
his answer that he would.
Q. Sent it to the meeting?
A. Yes; sent it to the meeting, and then at 5 o'clock the soldiers
came ashore. . They were quartered at various places. That same
evening, Monday, January 16, the Committee of Safety had another
meeting.
Q. Where?
A. At Mr. Henry Waterhouse's house. They called in, besides the
Committee of Safety, a few other gentlemen.
Q. Who were they? ---
A. Mr. Young, Fred Wundenburg, Cecil Brown, and John H. Soper.
We talked matters over to see what would be best to do, and cauſe to the
conclusion we would form a Provisional Government and ask Mr. Dole
if he would be the President, and that this Provisional Government
should try to get annexation with the United States, because so far as
we could make out at that time that was the only solid basis on which
we could safely rely. Mr. Dole was not at the meeting. I had my
horse with me. I was detailed to speak to Mr. Dole. I arrived at his
house about half past 8, I think.
I vold him what decision we had come to, and asked him if he would
accept such an office. He was utterly surprised at it. He had had
nothing to do with the affair before, only had been at second meeting
at W. O. Smith's. He said he could not then quite see that the view
we had was quite correct, but still he had not given the matter much
consideration. After a lengthy discussion I induced him to go along
to the meeting, so that he could hear what they had to say. After
everything at the meeting had been thoroughly explained to him and
discussed with him he said that he felt it was his duty, as well as the
duty of any other citizen of these islands, to do all they could to get
pure and stable government, but he was not quite convinced then that
it was necessary to take so railical a step as to overthrow the old Gov-
ernment. Later on, at about 12 o'clock that night, he had come to the
conclusion we could not go on the way we were, but whether he would
become President or not he would not say until 10 o'clock the next
morning.
The next morning at 10 o'clock we met at W. O. Smith's office, and
he said he had resigned his position as judge and would do what he
was requested to do by us. We then proceeded to form the Govern-
ment. It took us up to about 12 o'clock. We made all the necessary
arrangehments and adjourned to meet again at half past 1. . At half-
past 1 we talked all matters over again for a little while and went to
the Government house and took possession of it. At the Govern
Tment house there was nobody, no armed men, supporters of the
Queen. except Charles McCarty, who was doing some clerical work for
the lately adjourned legislature. He said he was waiting for some.
body to come to help him defend the Government house.
Q. To you?
A. No.
Q. You don’t know that he said it?
A. Only from friends who told me.
Q. Whe did he tell?
A. I think Andrew Brown.
70.
Q. What does he do?
A. He is a coppersmith. He worked in the Honolulu Iron Works.
Lately became superintendent of the water works. At 2 o'clock when
we arrived at the Government house there came our supporters—
brought their rifles and pistols with them.
Q. Do you mean at the same time, or do you mean that they got
there a little before or a little after you?
A. There was preconcerted action. We told them we would go to
the Government house at 2 o'clock.
Q. Had you commenced to read the proclamation before your troops
, got on the ground?
A. I do not recollect distinctly. They were there before we finished
reading the proclamation. The chief clerks at the different depart-
ments were called in to confer with the newly-appointed ministers.
among them Mr. Hassenger and Mr. Hastings. They were told to go
right on with their work. Letters were written at once to the repre-
sentatives of foreign countries informing them that the Provisional
Government was now the Government of the Hawaiian Islands. After
a short time they answered, recognizing this Government.
Q. That same day?
A. Mostly the same day. When we arrived at the Government house
the ministers were not there. Mr. Hassenger, chief clerk of the inte-
rior department, said he believed they had gone over to the palace.
He telephoned for them, but he got no answer, or they answered they
were not there. Later on in the afternoon-f should think about 4
o'clock—Deputy Marshal Mherton came to the Government house to
ask some question of Mr. Dole. I forget, now what the question was.
He then said, incidentally, that the ministers were at the station
house, and he was handed a copy of the proclamation to give it to the
old ministers. They had not been officially informed of anything,
because we could not find them. Also a verbal invitation was sent to
them to come over to the Government house to talk. Sam Parker
came over to the Government house. He said in effect this: “You
have possession now. We can not do anything.” He was asked to get
his colleagues. He said they did not like to come, but would some of
us come to the station house and talk there? *
Q. Had you then been recognized by the United States minister?
A. No. We had not been recognized by anybody at that time. Sam
Damon and I were appointed and we went there to talk with them.
Q. To try to induce them to give up?
A. Yes.
Q. What reason did you give them?
A. That we had possession of the Government house now and that
ºwould be useless shedding of blood if we got into a fight over this
thing.
Q. Did you give any other reason?
A. No; only just stuck to facts.
Q. Any mention of United States troops on your part or the part of
anybody during that conversation?
No; I did not say anything about it.
q. Did anybody;
A. I can not say whether Sam Damon said anything.
? g; they say anything to anybody in your presence?
• N 0,
Q. How did they answer you? Did you have no discussion?
A. Not there. We invited them to come to the Government house
and talk with Mr. Dole.
Q. Did they make any agreement with you, or did they postpone it
and go to the Government house?
A. Peterson said if we would guarantee-him his liberty—
Q. Safe-conduct?
A. Yes. We promised him that and all went together to the Gov-
ernment house.
Q. What time of day was this?
A. About 5 o'clock.
Q. What time is it dark at that season of the year?
A. Between 6 and 6:30. At the station house was Ned Macfar-
lane. He said to me that he thought the old government would give
up or the Queen would give up if we would accept a protest of her.
He said, “I know such a protest does not amount to anything, but still
she wants it and so you had better accept it.” I told him that so far as
71
I Wººdconcerned in the matter they could put all the protests they
WąIlúð01,
Q. Was this conversation at the barracks or Government house?
A. At the station house. The four ministers, Sam Damon, and I took
two hacks and went to the Government house. All said about the
saine thing, that they would have to give up, but they wanted to enter
a protest. Then Sam Damon went with the ministers to the Queen.
He reported after he came back that the Queen had said in substance
the same thing.
Q. What time was it when they came back?
A. Fully 6 o'clock. º
Q. About quarter of an hour before sunset?
A. Yes. Very soon after Billy Cornwell came over bringing the
protest that you know of Mr. Dole acknowledged the receipt of the
protest on the back of it, stating the hour, and he then said the Queen
would send orders to the station house that her people should vacate
the premises. Very soon after that Captain Zeigler with a number of
our men went to the station house and took possession, and the others
went away leaving their arms.
Q. Who was in command of the station house?
A. Charles B. Wilson, marshal.
Q. What do you mean by very soon after? What time was the sta-
tion house given up?
A. About five minutes after Billy Cornwell delivered the protest.
Q. º do you know that? Were you at the station house?
A. No.
Q. You did not know then what time it was given up?
A. We heard immediately. They telephoned from there.
Q. How long after?
A. I can not say. It was all done in a short time. I went home and
got dinner. I was home about 7 o'clock.
Q. You said that same day Mr. Stevens and all the foreign govern-
ments recognized your Government. At what "time in the day did
they recognize you?
A. First came Mr. Woodhouse and Mr. Fuji.
Q. What time was that?
A. Four o'clock.
Q. What time in the day did Mr. Stevens send his recognition?
A. I can not say.
Q. Won't you try to approximate?
A. I can not.
Q. Had the sun set or liot?
A. If Mr. Pringle brought the letter then the sun had set, and I think
he was the one to bring the letter. *
Q When did you learn of the recognition? How long before you
went home?
A. Just before I went home. That was what I was waiting for.
Q. How did you learn that?
A. By letter being read aloud.
Q. Who had the letter?
A. Mr. Dole.
Q. Do you know how long he had that letter?
A. He did not have it until—I think—Mr. Pringle brought it in.
Q. Are you sure about that?
A. I am not positive about that.
Q. You do not know that Pringle brought that letter at all?
A. No; but I am under that impression. I believe he delivered the
letter, but I did not see him hand it over.
Q. Now will you say how long before you went home before you
heard of that letter?
A. I was waiting for that letter to go home.
Q. You do not know who brought the letter?
A. I think Mr. Pringle.
Q. You do not know but what that letter was there half an hour
before that 1
A. I did not see the letter unless it was Pringle who brought it.
Q. You do not know but what that recognition was delivered to Mr.
Dole sometime before you knew of it f
A. No; but I have reason to believe not, because some way or other
I know that they said we can not be recognized as fully in possession of
the Government until we had the station house and barracks in our
72
possession. We were among ourselves wondering why Mr. Stevens did
not send his recognition. This was what my friends said.
aft What friends? Mr. Dole didn't say that—Mr. W. O. Smith
dn’t
A. He may; I don't know who.
Q. Did Mr. Thurston tell you anything of that sort?
A. It is impossible to tell you what individuals said. There were so
many there; it was not like a regular well conducted quiet meeting.
Q. How many attempts were made to oust the Wilcox cabinet before
it was voted out?
A. Only one definite attempt.
Q. You were speaking of the character of members of the last cabinet
of Liliuokalani. What do you say as to Mr. Parker's character for
truth and veracity? 6.
A. I do not know. I have never had dealings with him.
Q. What is his reputation?
A. I do not know. Nobody expects very much out of him. They
look upon him as an overgrown boy. -
Q. What do you say as to Mr. Peterson's reputation for truthfulness?
A. I would say myself that I do not believe he is a truthful man.
Q. What is his general reputation in that way?
A. That question I do not like to answer. I would rather state from
personal knowledge.
Q. What about Mr. Colburn? What is his reputation for truth?
A. His truthfulness and honesty is very poor, I know.
Q. What is Cornwell's reputation for truth and veracity?
A. The same as Sam Parker's. He is considered a boy. With re-
gard to truthfulness I can not say.
Q. How many persons were present in Mr. Smith's office at Satur-
day’s first meeting?
A. Perhaps thirty.
Q. How many at the second meeting?
A. More than one hundred. People standing out in the street.
Could not get in there.
Q. You talked of annexation to the United States in there, did you
or did you not, on Saturday?
A. Yes.
Q. Why did you think of annexation to the United States; was there
a disposition of that sort in the country?
A. Yes; it has been discussed openly in newspapers over the signa.
ture or name of various people, among them, Hartwell, Sereno Bishop,
and others.
Q. Was that the general disposition amongst the whites in this
country 1
A. It is.
Q. Was it at that time !
A. It was.
Q. So you felt sure of that on that day—Saturday?
A. We knew that was the feeling of all who were at the two meet
ings on Saturday, as well as the large meeting in the skating rink.
Q. Before that, was it the general inclination of the whites in the
Hawaiian Islands?
A. Yes; I should consider it so.
Q. You had a meeting on Monday about 3 o'clock of the committee
of safety, after the mass meeting?
A. Yes; about half past three.
Q. You were present?
A. Yes.
Q. At that time how many arms did you have?
A. They were not collected, but they were all over town. I had seen
some of my friends on Saturday, and at one house they told me that
they had between 50 and 60 men armed.
Q. Of course you made some estimate of your arms. How many
men do you think you had and how many guns do you think you had Î
A. I can say what I thought myself. My own opinion was that we
could have three or four hundred easily.
Q. You appointed a committee to wait on Mr. Stevens and ask that
troops be brought on shore?
A. Yes.
Q. Who carried that communication to Mr. Stevens?
A. I am not sure. I think Thurston and Waterhouse. I am not
sure. It may have been somebody entirely different.
73
Q. º you see Mr. Stevens that day?
A. No.
Q. Who reported Mr. Stevens' reply about troops?
A. The same committee.
ū. What did they say?
A. They said that Mr. Stevens had heard their request and con
versed with them about matters, and he considered that the situation
was sufficiently dangerous to send troops ashore.
Q. Was he informed of the purposes of the mass meeting?
A. He did know about it. Everybody in town knew.
Q. And knew of the purposes of the movement?
A. I can not say.
Q. You say everybody in town knew?
JA. That we desired annexation had not been said by us at the mass
meeting. We said we wanted stable government. The committee was
to devise ways and means to get stable government.
Q. Was it known that one of the methods of getting it was to get rid
of *§ºen! Was that the impression of the meeting?
• Y &S.
Q. That meeting was composed of a large class of whites, and it is a
fair inference that the white people here knew what it meant?
A. Yes; I think so.
Q. The meeting that called for troops—they determined then and
there to dethrone the Queen—the meeting after the mass meeting?
A. After the mass meeting we said we have to decide what to do
about this, and the first thing we have to do is to get things into safety,
and it was only in the evening on Monday, the 16th of January, at
Henry Waterhouse's house, that we definitely made up our minds
which course to pursue.
Q. What course?
A. The course we have pursued—dethroning the Queen and forming
the Provisional Government.
Q. Your committee that met after the mass meeting were all in favor
individually of dethroning the Queen? ©
A. Yes, individually.
Q. Why did not you determine to do it then instead of postponing
it until night?
A. Because we wanted to go home to get our dinner and come back
after dinner. *
Q. Then, the night meeting was a continuation of the discussion
which began after the mass meeting, and concluded with the determina-
tion to dethrone the Queen and establish the Provisional Government?
A. The night meeting was an adjourned meeting of the 3 o'clock
meeting.
Q. What did you do at the 3 o'clock meeting?
A. We said we are a committee of safety. We must get things safe
first. We will appoint a committee to wait upon Mr. Stevens and ask
him to send soldiers ashore.
Q. And having done that you adjourned?
A. We waited until the committee came back. The committee said
Mr. Stevens was willing—the soldiers would come ashore at 5 o'clock.
Then we adjourned to meet in the evening.
Q. Was there any communication between any of the gentlemen who
met at Mr. Waterhouse's house that night and Mr. Stevens?
A. None to my knowledge.
Q. No committee went to see him?
A. No.
Q. Why did you want the troops to come on shore? What was the
idea of the committee?
A. The idea of the committee was this: The natives were armed—
at least the soldiers and friends of the Queen were all armed—that
evening. We didn't have any armed forces in readiness. Each indi-
vidual had his own arms, but we had no organized forces; so in case
of a row we would not be able to resist anything.
Q. Suppose they had made an attack on the committee of safety,
what would you have done?
A. We could not have done anything. They would simply have
caught us. We had our men out watching. We were afraid of an
attack.
Q. By the government troops?
A. No, by the natives, because there were some among the natives
who had been preaching for them to set houses on fire.
B—10
74
Q. You wanted troops to keep them from setting houses on fire?
A. Yes; as soon as the natives in this country know that there is a
strong force anywhere which they can not subdue or will show real
fight it is then their character to be very quiet and keep still. t
Q. If the troops had not been landed you would not have been safe?
A. We would not have considered ourselves safe.
Q. If you had not gotten a favorable answer from Mr. Stevens about
the landing of the troops, what would you have done then?
A. That is impossible to answer, because we had not made any plans.
Q. You were not willing to do anything until you got the answer.
A. That is a question I can not give an answer to. We did not
decide about it.
Q. You said you met to do one thing—to ask for troops and to stay
there until you got Mr. Stevens's answer, and then you adjourned. Is
that correct.
A. Yes.
Q. Having gotten that answer and the troops on shore you assem-
bled at night, and at that night session you determined to dethrone
the Qº. and establish the Provisional Government?
A. Yes.
Q. You never took up that subject until you got the troops on shore?
A. At previous meetings. Saturday afternoon we were appointed.
Sunday we had a meeting. At this meeting we talked over matters.
The general feeling was that annexation to the United States would be
the best solution of the whole question, and this, of course, would neces-
sitate the overthrow of the Queen's Government.
Q. º was known at Saturday's meeting and at Sunday’s meeting?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you have any meeting before the mass meeting on Monday?
A. We had another meeting ori Monday morning.
Q. And still the same feeling?
A. Yes.
Q. Was there anything said in this meeting with reference to the
use of troops? "
A. No; although I can not state so positively.
Q. Was anything said on Sunday about the use of troops?
A. Only that we expressed the wish that we could get the troops to
make things safe.
Q. Then on Monday before the meeting, was there anything men-
tioned about the troops?
A. It was still said if we could get annexation to the United States
and have United States troops on shore there would be no trouble.
Q. You thought if you got troops on shore everything would be
quiet? $
A. Y º
Q. Did you think it at the mass meeting?
A. Yes; still thought the same thing.
Q. And you thought at night when you assembled and determined
on dethroning the Queen that you would have no trouble, the troops
being on shore?
A. Exactly so.
Q. You thought the presence of United States troops—an organized
armed body of men—would prevent any hostile movement on the part
of the government forces?
A. Not of the forces, but of an excited mob.
Q. You went up to the government building—the troops were near
by. Did you still feel that the presence of those troops would likely
restrain hostilities?
A. No; I can hardly say that. I expected that there would be
.." in the Government building—that there might be some for-
malities.
Q. What sort of formalities?
A. The same formalities as we have had before at the 1887 revolution.
They trotted out with their guns and talked.
? #: expected there would be a talk and they would surrender?
• Y. &S.
Q. The opinion you have expressed about the presence of troops—
was that the general opinion in the meeting of the committee of safety?
A. The committee of safety thought that as soon as the United
States troops were on shore the property of everybody would be safe—
no house-firing; no plunder.
75
Q. When the troops came on shore what did you expect of them in
the event of a conflict between the Provisional Government forces and
the Queen's Government?
A. We did not expect them to do anything.
Q. Just to stand and see the fight?
A. I do not know. My opinion is that they came on shore to protect
life and property. Their presence would avoid any attack upon
property or life. *
Q. How would they accomplish it? You are proposing to depose the
Queen; she has armed forces. Suppose those forces had gotten into
battle. What did you expect the United States troops to do in the
way of protection of person and property during the battle?
A. This is a peaceable country. We only scare one another. No
blood shedding happens here. This is the third revolution since I am
here. At the first revolution not a shot was fired. At the second
there were two or three young native men who had had a military
training in Europe. They fired a few guns that they had. There
were seven or eight native people killed—wounded and killed. As
soon as these people had been wounded and killed the rest of the
natives ran away. Hid away in the house in the palace yard—the
bungalow it is called. During the whole afternoon was kept up a
fusillade from both sides. Nobody was hurt. In this instance I per-
sonally expected there would be something similar to either the first or
second revolution.
Q. What were the deliberations of the committee of safety in that
meeting?
A. No further than this: We must get the soldiers on shore. Their
very presence on shore without doing the least thing will make life and
property safe. We did not expect any resistance, because we had as
many men as they, or more. But their being there, there would not be
any tºle at all. But even without them we did not expect any
frouble.
Q. Then why did you determine to try to get them there before you
determined to dethrone the Queen?
A. Because we wanted to protect property.
Q. What need had you of the protection of property if you did not
expect the people to fight? Suppose the troops had not been on shore,
what danger was there to property? You just expected to march up
and take the Government building without fighting?
A. Yes; but we wanted to have the troops.
Q. And you determined to ascertain whether you could get the
troops before you went further. Is not that true?
A. Yes; if we could not get them we must make our own arrange-
ImentS.
Q. Do you mean to say that if Mr. Stevens had said you should not
have the troops you had determined to go on anyway?
A. We didn’t come as far as that, we were waiting for Mr. Stevens's
answer before we decided anything further.
Q. If you did not think the natives would fight, whether the troops
were on shore or off shore, why did you need the United States troops
to prevent the burning of houses and other riotous acts?
A. We wanted them to stay over night, because things of that nature
are generally done at night.
Q. wa. it your idea that those troops were just to protect you that
night
A. No; it was our idea to have them on shore and keep them on
shore as long as possible, until everything was quiet again.
Q. Now let me ask you, did the committee or not, in their delibera-
tions, consider the presence of those troops on shore as important to
your success in the effort to dethrone the Queen and set up a new gov-
ernment?
A. When we asked for them we had not made up our minds to
dethrone the Queen. We had not made up our minds to anythin
definite. A change of government was to come, but we had not decid
as to what means should be taken.
Q. They had to be quartered somewhere. You had to have a large
house. What did you do?
A. Arion Hall was vacant. It was the handiest place and we chose it.
Q. Did you all think that was the best place?
A. Yes.
Q. To whom does it belong?
76
A. Arion Hall belongs to Mr. Waller.
Q. And in the meeting after the mass meeting you concluded that
was the best place to put them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you all think that the natives and the Queen and her follow-
©I'S ºld think that those troops were in sympathy with your move-
Iment
A. I do not know what was in their minds.
Q. You said the meeting of the committee of safety in the afternoon
“Mºy was assembled to do its first work, to wit, to ask for troops.
e €8.
Q. Was it not the idea in the minds of you gentlemen at that time
to do away with the royal government?
A. Why certainly. It has been in our minds for many years.
Q. Did it show itself in your discussions?
A. At the very first meeting at W. O. Smith's office they talked
about such things.
Q. I invite your attention to the meeting of the committee of safety
at half past 3 o'clock on Monday afternoon. In the interchange of
views that took place there was there an expression in favor of the land-
ing of the troops, and of taking up in the night session the question of
dethroning the Queen?
A. What is our first duty? It is to make things safe. For that
purpose we must ask Mr. Stevens to let us have his soldiers. The
* came back and said the soldiers would be on shore at 5
O'ClOCK,
Q. Was not anything said in that meetin ; about taking steps towards
dethroning the Queen at the night session
A. Not by me or to me, nothing definitely said, but it was the pre-
vailing idea since the first meeting.
Q. It was in the minds of the mass meeting and in the minds of the
committee of safety at the time that call took place, so that there was
110 * to interchange any opinion on that subject at that time?
A. Yes.
Q. So, understanding each other, your object was first to get the
troops on shore. Is that true?
A. Yes; to get things safe. I say that the intention of getting
: on shore that afternoon was only considered from a standpoint
of safety. &
Q. And that consisted in the fact that you thought the presence of
the troops would prevent the burning of houses.
A. Or any disturbances of any kind.
Q. Suppose the Queen's troops should have been ordered to arrest
people, what would you expect?
b #: We knew most likely they would not be ordered to arrest any-
Ody.
Q. But suppose they had commenced to make arrests of the com-
mittee of safety and other persons, or commenced to fight against the
followers of the committee of safety, what did you expect the troops
to do at such a moment f
A. Nothing. Ifully understand the situation. These people did not
come to prevent anything by the existing Government, but knowing the
character of the Hawaiian people so well there was small risk that we
took.
Q. what time did the committee of safety adjourn on Monday after-
In OOO.
A. I think about halfpast 4 or quarter to 5; something like that.
Q. What time did it assemble in the evening?
A. Half-past seven, about.
Q. In your evening session after the troops were landed, did you
take up the question of dethroning the Queen?
A. We did.
Q. And determined to dethrone her, and determined on a Provisional
Government for the purpose of annexation?
A. We did then definitely determine these things, and more especially
decide upon the manner in which it should be done, but about annex-
ation was spoken at the first meeting at W. O. Smith's,
Q. At whose house was this meeting?
.A. Henry Waterhouse's.
Q. How far is that from the American minister's house?
A. Next door.
77
Q. What is the distance between the houses?
A. Twenty yards—maybe thirty yards.
Q. Were many Americans in this movement in the mass meeting?
A. People of all nationalities.
Q. Which nationality had the largest number there?
A. I believe Americans.
ſº. How many Americans do you think were there?
A. It is impossible to say.
Q. Would you say that the great body of Americans in Honolulu
were there—all the men?
A. I believe so—I can not say. It is impossible to recognize each
person. I will say that I saw many Americans, many Germans, many
English, and some Portuguese.
Q. How many Portuguese.
A. I took a Portuguese friend of mine, Mr. Mendonça. There were
not many Portuguese. Some of them do not understand English very
good. There was a large crowd of people, which has been estimated
by different people at different numbers. I estimated it at 1,200.
9. claimed there were more. How they were divided I do not
OW.
? g; you ask any other power to send troops on shore?
• NO,
Q. Anything said about it in the meeting of the committee of safety?
A. Nothing that I know of. There were no other warships anyway.
Q. Well, you had troops on shore on Monday night, and your idea
was to prevent the burning and destruction of property that night?
à For the future. Not only for that night, but until things were
settled.
Q. º: you mean until you could organize the affairs of government?
A. Yes.
Mr. Bolte was at this point shown the letter from the committee of
safety to Mr. Stevens—dated January 16, 1893—and asked in regard to
the nationality of the signers thereof.)
Q. What nationality is Mr. Cooper?
A. American.
Q. Mr. McChesney?
A. American.
Q. Mr. Wilder.
A. American. *
Q. Mr. Bolte?
A. German.
Q. Mr. Brown?
A. American.
Q. Mr. W. O. Smith?
A. Hawaiian.
Q. Mr. Waterhouse?
A. Hawaiian.
Q. Mr. Lansing?
A. American.
Q. Mr. Suhr?
A. German.
Q. Mr. Thurston?
JA, Hawaiian.
Q. Mr. Emmeluth?
A. American.
Q. Mr. Castle?
A. Hawaiian.
Q. Mr. McCandless?
A. American.
Q. Do they all vote here?
A. Yes; they all vote here. #.
Q. This was a call, then, from Germans, Hawaiians, and American
citizens for troops, was it not?
• YCS, *
3. #. they were landed to protect all classes?
s ©S,
Q. Who drew up the application to the American minister?
A. Either Mr. Thurston or Mr. Smith.
$: In this paper you set out your reasons for your application?
& ©S,
A. With a requirement, that each elector shall be able to read and
write could you have stable government on these Islands?
&
78
A. What language?
Q. Either Hawaiian or English.
A. We could not.
Q. Tell me why.
A. Because the Hiwaiians are indolent people. They do not want to
do any work to earn moſſey. They prefer easy jobs, such as Govern-
ment offices of any kind—either as clerks in the Government house, as
judges, sheriffs, policemen, poundkeepers, or anything of that nature.
That gives them a living and also a sort of authority—a sort of power
of domineering over others—which they like immensely. They know
that they can get this power only by keeping together and getting a
government of Hawaiians—whether they be brown-skinned or white-
skinned—I mean with Hawaiian sentiment. They want to domineer
over people who have some property. They let their horses go into the
sugar cane of others, let their cattle run on the pasture of others, and
various things of that sort. You cannot get justice when they are
brought into court. Hawaiian judges will let them go, or fine them
such a small amount that property holders do not care to go into court.
You cannot get justice in jury cases with Hawaiian jurymen. They
never convict anybody on testimony. They judge by sentiment.
Q. Do you think you could have and maintain an independent gov-
º here with the population you have without aid from outside
power
A. I do not think so.
W
hy?
A. Ever since 1887 there have been attempts at revolution from the
native Hawaiian side. One real outbreak occurred in 1889–the Wilcox
insurrection. At that time the people whe were implicated in this
revolution were found not guilty in court by a jury of their own coun-
trymen, and only one man of the revolutionists, who was a Belgian or
German, I do not remember now, was found guilty by a white jury and
punished. You will see anywhere and on all occasions that the native
element runs together like mercury to confront anything that comes
from the side of the white people.
Q. You mean in politics?
A. In anything, and it is a very strange thing to see that the half-
whites almost invariably go with the natives.
Q. Do you ever have any white men of intelligence and courage and
ºn for place—without property—who will go with them and lead
©In
A. We have men of ambition, intelligence, courage, and no property.
The last point I can not say, but the first three applies to V. V. Ash-
ford. There are others. I could give you a whole string.
Q. I only wanted to know if the native population could get and
accept that class of white men as leaders of their race and party?
A. They would, because they have done so already.
Q. Have you been troubled much with this class of men f
A. Very much indeed.
Q. For how long 1
A. Ever since I have been in the country—since 1879.
Q. Aend for these causes you have felt that to have stable govern-
ment you have to look to some power outside the islands?
A. Yes.
Q. You still feel that way?
A. I do.
Q. Now, without indicating anything by my question as to the dis-
position of the United States (for I have no right to do so), suppose
you should undertake annexation to the United States, what form of
government would you think necessary in order to maintain order,
security, life, and property in these islands?
A. I should prefer personally an oligarchy—submitting my interests
to the judgment of respectable men.
Q. Appointed how?
A. I suppose after we were annexed the President of the United
States would appoint a governor, and let this governor or the Presi-
dent of the Unites States appoint three or four secretaries and let them
º advisory boards, but I do not think that would satisfy the
people.
Q. what property qualification would you consider sufficient for a
Voter
A. I think a man ought to earn $2 or $2.50 a day.
79
Q. That would be about how much in the course of a year?
A. Between $600 and $750 a year.
Q. Would that disqualify enough of the natives to give you political
power?
A. I think if it was about $2.50 a day that it would, because people
who earn $2.50 day are mechanics, and people who earn less than that
are mostly laborers. Mechanics are naturally of a higher class than
laborers.
Q. Are there matty mechanics among the natives?
A. Very few in proportion to their large number.
aë. What proportion of them would you say are mechanics—one in
y
A. No; one in twenty-five.
Q. What would be your idea about the American notion of not allow-
ing anybody to hire labor from abroad?
A. I want stable government first. Annexation to the United States
in any way, and I will take my chances as to the rest.
Q. Suppose you were not allowed to send agents abroad and the in-
dividual citizen was not allowed to send abroad to bring laborers to the
sugar plantations, what would be the result on the value of the product
and the value of the property?
A. The United States laws permit a board of immigration to make
known in other countries how things are there with reference to
laborers, what wages they may expect, and how much work there is.
The haws also permit that people may come as free immigrants; also,
that personal friends and relatives may assist their friends and relatives
to come to this country, and I know a good many people among the
laboring classes here who are willing and ready to do so. I think there
are a great many among the Japanese as well as the Portuguese, who
are most desirable classes, who would assist their friends to come here,
but it will be necessary that these people should he entitled to a small
piece of land after they have been in the country for a certain number
of years; say three or five years. They do not require much.
A Portuguese family would be satisfied with a piece of three acres.
We would establish villages all over the country in the neighborhood
of plantations. The men and boys would go down to the plantation to
work, and the women and children stay at home to look after the
garden, etc. The men go home from their work at 5 o'clock, so there
are almost two hours of daylight. They can do whatever hard work
there is after that time.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate re-
port of my interview with Colonel Blount.
HoNolulu, June 10, 1893. C. BOLTE.
(This page was handed in by Mr. Bolte June 21, 1893):
The answers which I have given to Mr. Blount's questions, “When
was for the first time anything said about deposing or dethroning the
Queen.” might lead to misunderstandings in reading this report. I
desire, therefore, to hereby declare as follows: Words to the effect that
the Queen must be deposed or dethroned were not uttered to my
Knowledge at any meeting of the committee of safety until Monday
evening, January 16, 1893; but at the very first meeting of citizens at
W. O. Smith's office, on Saturday, January 14, at about 2 p.m., or even
before this meeting had come to order, Paul Neumann informed the
arriving people that the Queen was about º: a new constitu-
tion. The answer then given him by Mr. W. C. Wilder, by me, and by
others was: That is a very good thing and a splendid opportunity to
get rid of the whole old rotten Government concern, and now to get
annexation to the United States. Paul Neumann thought that that
might be going a little too far. At the second meeting at W. O. Smith's,
between 3 and 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, January 14, 1893, when
the committee of safety was appointed, sentiments of the same nature
that this is a splendid opportunity to get rid of the old régime, an
strong demands for annexation, or any kind of stable gºvernment
under the supervision of the United States, were expressed.
Therefore, even if the words that the Queen must be deposed or
dethroned were not spoken, surely the sentiment that this must be
done prevailed at or even before the very first meeting, on January 14,
C. BOLTE.
HONOLUDU, June 10, 1893.

80
No. 13.
Interview with W. Porter Boyd, consular clerk, Honolulu, Tuesday, June
13, 1893.
Q. Mr. Boyd, what is your occupation?
A. I am in the consular service.
Q. In what position?
A. I am a consular clerk and vice-consul-general at this place.
Q. Were you at your office on the 16th of January, 1893?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Were you on the streets on that day?
A. Not until the afternoon about the time of the meeting.
Q. Where was the meeting held?
A. At the armory.
Q. Was there any signs of disturbance on the streets?
.A. No, sir.
Q. Business going on as usual?
at: Yes, up to the time of the mass meeting, when they closed to go
©ºe,
Q. Women and children on the street as usual?
A. I think there were very few women and children about.
Q. Was there any excitement looking like disorder?
A. No; I do not think there was. I didn't see any of that.
Q. Was there any suggestion of disorder except what might come
from the movements of the committee of safety?
A. So far as I know there was not.
Q. What I wish to know—was there anything exciting the public
mind except those events growing out of the movement of the com-
mittee of safety?
A. I should say there was not.
Q. Was there any indication of hostility manifested by the carrying
of arms or threats on the part of what may be termed the royalists?
A. To my knowledge there was not.
Q. Did you attend the mass meeting?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As an observer?
A. Yes.
Q. How many people do you suppose were there?
A. I should say from eleven to twelve hundred.
Q. Many Portuguese there?
A. I can not answer. I do not know.
Q. What did you understand to be the object of that mass meeting
from what you saw and heard?
A. It was first to hear the report of that committee of thirteen, and
then take other steps for the protection of the persons and property of
citizens of the islands.
Q. What did you understand them to mean by the protection of the
persons and property of citizens?
A. I understood that it was to prevent the change of the Constitution.
Q. Did you understand that it was to dethrone the Queen and set
up another government?
A. That was not my understanding at the time.
Q. Was that the understanding in the community so far as you can
gather from contact with people?
A. I should say that of the very pronounced annexationists that was
their wish—that was their object—but whether this meeting was for
that purpose I do not know. *
Q. There was no expression in the crowd, so far as you could gather,
containing the idea that this was a movement to dethrone the Queen
and set up another government?
A. No, sir.
Q. Had you heard of any meeting of the committee of safety before
that meeting? {
A. I bad heard that they had had meetings, and that they had a
report to make,
Q. Did you hear what it was to be?
A. No, sir; and I do not believe any one else did.
Q. After the mass meeting, what did the people do? Did they go
to work again that afternoon?
A. I think they did—I think the stores were open.
81
Q. Don't you know?
A. No; but that is my impression now. On second thought I am
sure that they opened their places again.
Q. Do you think that the crowd that came to that meeting and then
went away and went back to their business had any impression that
the Queen was going to be dethroned the next day?
A. I do not believe that they thought that. Everything was left in
the hands of the committee. The mass meeting gave the thirteen
power to go ahead and do what they thought best; and only that thir-
teen knew, so far as I can learn.
Q. But there was no mention that the power to do what they thought
best went so far as to dethrone the Queen?
A. Not any further than the way they denounced the action of the
Queen on the Saturday before.
Q. But would that indicate that they meant to dethrone her by de-
nouncing her action?
A. Yes; it was my impression that it would be either that or she
would remain on the throne under certain restrictions.
Q. Was there any excitement when the troops landed that evening
other than that growing out of the fact of seeing troops landed?
A. Yes; of course much more than if troops had been landed as they
have been before for drill.
Q. Were many people down at the wharf when they landed?
A. I do not think so. They did not seem to know until the troops
were landed. Both central offices rang us up and asked us why the
Boston troops were landed. ſº
Q. Was it understood that they landed at the request of the com-
mittee of safety?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Why did the committee of safety want them to land if every-
thing was quiet?
A. They knew what they were going to do, and they feared some *
trouble or some interference in their plans.
Q. Now, was it understood, so far as you could gather by both annex-
ationists and antiannexationists, that those troops were friendly to the
movement of the committee of safety?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was it encouraging to one side and depressing to the other?
A. I should say it was—for the reason that it was at the request of
this committee, and the others did not know what it was for.
Q. Did antiannexationists seem to be depressed when they found
the troops had been landed?
A. Yes.
* & Were they apprehensive that they would be favorable to the other
$1010
A. I should say they were.
Q. Wº: this a continuing feeling up to the dethronement?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, Mr. Boyd, in view of what you have stated and what you
observed that day, would you suppose that this feeling restrained
action on the part of the Queen and her friends against the committee
of safety?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. º you see Mr. Stevens on Monday, the 16th of January?
A. ©S,
Q. Had he been aboard the Boston f
A. I was told he had been there all afternoon.
Q. By whom?
.A. Mr. Severance.
Q. How did Mr. Severance know it?
A. Mr. Stevens, I believe, had told him.
. Did he say what he was there for?
. No, he didn't.
. Was Mr. Stevens at the consulate?
Yes. He said the Boston boys were going to land and would de-
tail a guard for the consulate.
Q. Had Mr. Severance any desire for it?
A. No; it was the first knowledge he had of it.
Q. Had you any uneasiness at the consulate-general?
A. None whatever.
Q. Did you hear anything from the telephone or otherwise in refer.
ence to the landing of the troops?
B—ll
#
82.
A. Only that they were landing, and asked why they were landed.
Q. Who asked?
A. The central office asked first.
Q. Did the people in the city make any inquiry?
A. Yes; some.
Q. Did it seem to be a surprise generally?
A, Yes.
Q: Was it a surprise to you?
A. It was,
Q. There was nothing in the city to indicate the need of military
*::: far as you could see?
A. Nothing, so far as I could see.
Q: Did you have any conversation with Judge Hartwell January 14
1893; did you hear any conversation between him and Lieut. Young;
A. Not further than that he said that something would drop about
3 o'clock, and asked if he was going to be aboard. He said all the
officers, will know.
Q. Are you sure that was on Saturday?
A. That was immediately after the prorogation on Saturday.
Q. Did, Mr. Atherton say anything on the day of the proclamation
dethroning the Queen? What did he say?
A. Mr. Draper, I think, Mr. Severance, and myself were with some
others in the office, as was Capt. McCullough of the W. G. Irwin. We
were all impatient. Everybody was anxious to know what was going
tº: He said something was going to happen about 3 or 4
O'CIOCK,
Q. He didn't say what it was?
A. No. I had no idea what it was. Of course I had some idea. "
Q. Were you not thinking about dethronement?
A. Yes; I was.
Q. Is this Mr. Atherton, the man in whose yard the Boston men
stopped when they first landed?
A. Yes, sir.
Q: After they landed they went up by the palace?
A. Yes. The main body went on up to Atherton's yard. They
stopped there a few hours. It was after dark before they went back to
Arion Hall—back of the opera house.
h Q. º Mr. Atherton, seem to be satisfied over what was going to
appen
A. Yes. He seemed to be satisfied that everything was coming out
as he wished.
Q. Any excitement on the street before the pistol shot?
A. No; just the ordinary crowds walking about.
3. Did they seem tº know what was going on?
O
. No.
Q. Were the stores open?
A. Yes.
Q. Any ladies on the street?
A. Very few.
Q. Any children?
As I do not know that I noticed any children.
Q. What time did they close the stores!
, A. They closed them when the report of the pistol was heard, so far
as I remember.
Q. What did they do then f
A. They went out on the street, towards where the shot was fired.
Q. Did they go armed 1
A. Not to my knowledge.
§ As if they were going to fight, or only as if to see what was going
•Ol
A. Just for curiosity.
Q. No manifestation of any hostile movement 1
A. None whatever. A Mr. Paris, connected with the “Advertiser,”
was our authority. We used to question him, and his used to tell us
what was going on. In the afternoon he told us there were three dif.
ferent places where they were enlisting to support any movement the
committee wished to make.
Q. Did those men who were enlisted have arms?
A. He didn't say so, or where they were going to get them.
Q. Was that after the proclamation or before?
A. It was before.
83
Q. Did he say what they were enlisted for?
A. To carry their point. He did not say what it was.
I have read the foregoing and it is a correct report of my interview
with Mr. Blount.
W. P. BOYD.
HONOLULU, June 13, 1893.
No. 14.
(Statement of J. O. Carter, May 3, 1893, printed with Mr. Blount's
No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.)
*
No. 15.
Interview with J. O. Carter, Honolulu, May 13, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. Are you a brother of the Mr. Carter who was at one
time minister to the United States?
A. I am.
Q. What business are you engaged in?
A. I am a sugar factor and commission merchant.
Q. I see in the correspondence between the American minister at
this point and the State Department, during Mr. Harrison's adminis-
tration, reference to the relations between the ex-Queen and Mr. Wil-
son, the ex-marshal. Please tell me what you know of the character
of the Queen.
A. So far as I know I have always found her to be a gentlewoman,
very kindly and generous, and I do not know anything against her,
except what parties have circulated in Honolulu.
Q. Do you give any credit to these stories?
A. No; knowing this community as well as I do, I do not credit them.
Q. In what way do you mean?
A. There is more loose talk about men and women in this town than
any place I have ever seen in my life. I never knew such a place for
loose talk.
Q. Was she invited to private houses to entertainments by Ameri-
cans and Europeans?
A. She was.
Q. Did the ladies of these nationalities resort freely to the palace
and manifest respect for her 7
A. They did to my certain knowledge.
Q. To any considerable extent?
A. It was limited only by her.
Q. She was welcome at any house?
A. I never knew anything against her being invited. She was most
certainly welcome.
Q. What is the foundation of these rumors against her character?
A. I suppose the fact that Wilson and his wife resided in that bun-
5. and resided in the cottage at Washington Place when she was
there.
*Q. Did they live in the house with her?
A. Not to my knowledge. I understand that Wilson and his wife
}:in the bungalow at the palace and in the cottage at Washington
.#
Q. The bungalow was 30 or 40 yards from the palace?
A. Certainly; all of that.
Q. Did Mr. Wilson and his wife live in that bungalow 1
A. I understand so. I never called on them.
Q. What were the relations between the Queen and Mrs. Wilson?
A. I think she very largely brought Mrs. Wilson up. Mrs. Wilson
was the daughter of an American, John S. Townsend. He deserted
his wife and family, and the Queen showed her kindness to the girl.
But that was before she was Queen; before she was heir apparent,
Natives have a way of bringing up children in that way.
Q. She took this Mrs. Wilson up at about what age 1
A. I can not say; but at quite an early age. There are two kinds
of children among the natives—Keikehanai and Keikehaman.**The lat-
ter is a child of the body the former an adopted child.
84
Q. Has she (Liliuokalani) ever had a child?
A. She never had any children.
Q. What do you know of Mr. Wilson?
A. I know that he is reputed to be half Tahitian; that he was a
blacksmith and that he was marshal of the Kingdom.
Q. His father was of what nationality?
A. I do not really know.
Q. Does he seem to be about the same type of person as the half-
castes are?
A. Just about.
% #. associations generally are with those people?
a Y &S.
Q. Did he come here as a child?
A. That I can not tell you.
Q. What reason did the Queen have for appointing this person to
the office of marshal and for having him to live in the palace grounds
when she was at that place and in the cottage when she was at Wash-
ington Place?
A. She believed thoroughly in his loyalty. He has the reputation of
being courageous, and she believed that he would protect her against
persons who were disposed against her.
Q. Protect her in what sense? Was she apprehensive of any assault?
A. I think she has been from all that I could gather.
Q. Of what?
A. Of this party of revolutionists.
Q. Do you mean that she has not felt sure but what some movement
would be made looking to her dethronement?
A. Whether it was that or overturning of the State I can not say.
Q. And you think that was the reason, in connection with Wilson's
.# to her and his courage, that she persisted in holding him in
Office
A. I can not think of any other reason.
Q. What was the reason of the desire on the part of the opposition
or Reform party to get Wilson out of that place? What sort of officer
did he make?
A. He was in charge of the police. He was a very good marshal,
and the proof of that is that when the Reform party came into power
they did not put him out.
Q. In 1887 7
A. I do not mean that. I mean lately—in the Legislature they did
not put him out. Mr. Neumann invited them to come before him and
a committee and make their complaint about Mr. Wilson; said that he
would listen to them, and if they gave sufficient reason why he should
be deposed they should do it. Neumann told me so himself.
Q. What reason do you suppose they had for the attacks on Wilson?
A. He was in their way.
Q. In their way in what thing 1. Do you imagine that there was any
annexation movement in the minds of the Reform party?
A. Individuals in the party were always pronounced annexationists.
Hartwell was; Mr. Gren was; Mr. Thurston—l won't say that of Thurs-
ton. The only insight I got as to his feelings was that he remarked to
me one day that he believed in bringing things to a smash.
Q. How long ago was that?
A. During the session of the Legislature. It was at a meeting of the
company we were in. He said, “I believe in bringing things to a smash
and then we will rebuild.” &
Q. What is your interpretation of all that turning out of cabinets
and putting in of cabinets? Did it illustrate that smashing-up policy?
A. Thurston was a ringleader in all that work and I believe it was
to that end.
Q. How in point of intelligence did the Wilcox cabinet compare with
the Macfarlane cabinet, take them as a whole?
A. In point of intelligence there was not much difference. In the
matter of having the confidence of men of wealth the Jones-Wilcox
cabinet was undoubtedly the superior.
Q. What is the character of Mr. Samuel Parker as to truthfulness?
A. I have never heard it questioned. He is a frank, open sort of
person, and such persons are not liars as a rule.
f § Pºe, he circulate in the best society in Honolulu, he and his
amily
A. Yes, they can circulate wherever they want to.
85
Q. He and his wife are both half-castes?
A. They are.
Q. What is Mr. Peterson's character as to truthfulness?
A. I would always accept his statements.
A.
Q. Is that generally true here?
That I can not tell you.
Q. Do you know his general reputation for truth and veracity?
A. I think I do.
Q. From that character would you believe him on oath?
A. I would.
Q. Do you regard him as a truthful man?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you know the general reputation of Cornwell as to truth and
veracity?
A. I have never heard it questioned.
Q. From that reputation would you believe him on his oath?
A. Certainly.
Q. How about Mr. Colburn; from your general knowledge of his
reputation for truth and veracity, would you believe him on his oath?
A. He has the reputation of being sharp in business practices, I
am loath to say I would not take his word under oath.
Q. Has it been the practice of any foreign nation or nations to land
troops here in case of disturbance?
A. Inever saw it done except on the part of American forces. When
Kalakaua was put on the throne both English and American forces
were landed. Admiral Skerrett was the captain of the Portsmouth.
Q. What effect was produced on the mind of the native population
by the landing of American marines on the 16th of January, 1893?
A. The effect was to intimidate them.
Q. Was that intimidation helpful to the movers in the revolution ?
A. Most certainly.
Q. Could they have succeeded without the impression that they
were backed by the United States forces? ſº.
A. They would not have undertaken it without. I feel sure of that.
*What was the condition at that time h the city as to peaceful-
In OSS
A. It was the most peaceful, law-abiding community you would see
anywhere.
Q. The stores open as usual?
A. Yes. They closed the stores on the 16th so as to let everybody
attend the mass meeting.
Q. Yºº women and children going about on the streets as usual?
A. Yes.
Q. Did the people go back to their stores after the mass meeting?
A. I think not. It was late in the afternoon.
Q. Was it on account of the lateness of the hour that they did not go
back to their stores?
A. Yes; that was the only reason. There was no disorder. Women
and children on the street.
Q. The next morning, the morning of the 17th, were people going
about as usual? g
A. I saw no difference. Our place opened up and Ithink all the rest
of the places on Queen street opened up.
Q. Sometime during the day of the 17th were you sent for to go to
the Government building?
JA. Yes, sir.
Q. What time in the day was that?
A. About 6 o'clock, I think. I dine at half past 5, and during din-
ner I was rung up, and went down to the Government building with
Mr. Mehrtens, who came for me.
Q. Were you sent for by the parties in this new movement?
A. I do not know that. I was taken by Mehrtens right to the Gov-
ernment building.
Q. And brought in the presence of whom?
A. The Provisional Government.
Q. Please state what occurred there?
A. There was a deal of excitement. I asked why I had been sent
for. I do not know who answered me. I was told a committee was
going over to the Queen—that I was to go with the committee. I
went with the committee.
Q. They didn't ask you to go, just told you you were to go?
86.
A. I was told that there was a committee to be sent to the Queen
and I was wanted to go.
Q. For what purpose 1
A. To state to her that the Provisional Government had been formed
and that she was deposed, and to assist her in making any protest she
might want to make.
Q. Did you go?
A. Yes.
Q. Please state what occurred?
A. We went into the blue room. Her Majesty and one or both of
the princes were there. Her ministers were there—Mr. Widemann,
Mr. MacFarlane. Mr. Damon I suppose was the committee. I do not
know whether there was more than one. I went with him, Mr. Damon
made a few remarks, in which he said that the Provisional Govern-
ment had been formed; that she was deposed, and that she could make
a protest if she desired. There was a pause. I spoke up and said it
was an unpleasant thing to be present on such an occasion. She
had my sympathy; that it was a question of yielding to force; that if
she would accept my advice she would yield and counsel her people to
be quiet and orderly; that I should advise the surrender of the sta-
tion house and barracks; that in case she acted in the line I marked
out, I believed her case would be a better one for presentation at Wash-
ington.
Q. What force did you refer to?
A. The forces of the Provisional Government, backed by the Boston.
Q. Was it your impression that the Boston forces would coöperate
with the Provisional Government forces?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Had the Provisional Government been recognized?
A. That is a matter of hearsay. It was commonly reported so on the
street.
Q. You were in the crowd at the Government building when they
sent for you ?
A. I overheard that Mr. Stevens had recognized the Provisional Gov-
ernment.
Q. Was it the common acceptation in that crowd, so far as you could
See or hear?
A. In the afternoon it was the understanding on the street that Mr.
Stevens had recognized the Government. I heard a rumor that Stevens
had recognized the Government and that a steamer was to be char-
tered and sent with commissioners to Washington.
Q. That occurred on the streets?
A. Yes; I heard it on the streets before I went to dinner.
Q. In a conversation with me you referred to certain newspaper
articles pointing to the character of the Queen. What were they?
A. A sermon in the Commercial Advertiser of February 17, 1893,
preached by the Rev. E. G. Beckwith on the accession of the Queen.
Q, Who is he? 3.
A. Pastor of the Central Union Church.
Q. Is he an Englishman?
A. An American. $.
Q. What denomination is his church.
A. Congregational.
Q. What was the other article?
A. A leading article in the same paper of February 5, 1891, and the
Bulletin of June 26, 1891, containing an account of the Oahu College
jubilee, naming the persons present, among whom was the Queen,
Q. Did you ever attend a breakfast given by the American minister
to the ex-Queen?
A. I did, with my wife.
Q. When was that?
A. April 19, 1892.
Q. Who was present besides the Queen?
A. Hon. Jonathan Austin; Hon. S. M. Damon and wife; Hon. and
Mrs. Samuel Parker; Mr. Haines, of San Francisco; Mr. and Mrs. H.
W. Severance; Mr. and Mrs. Mizner, late United Štates minister to
Guatemala; Hon. and Mrs. W. G. Irwin; Lieut. Dyer, U. S. Navy; Dr.
Clarke, U. S. Navy; Mrs. Henry Waterhouse and others.
Q. These people were invited to meet the Queen, were they?
A. Yes, sir. *
87
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it to be an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
* J. O. CARTER.
HoNoLULU, June 10, 1893.
*
No. 16.
Interview with H. Center, Honolulu, June 24, 1893.
Q. Where do you reside?
A. Spreckelsville, Maui.
Q. What is your occupation.
A. Manager of the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company.
Q. How long have you been in the Hawaiian Islands?
A. Nearly sixteen years.
Q. When a laborer works carelessly, what remedy have you under
the law to compel him to work?
A. We sue him for damages in court. If I can prove what is a
proper day's work, and a man does not do it, I can sue him for the
amount of work not performed. You can not deduct by law from their
pay. We do sometimes deduct and the man stands it because he es-,
capes thereby the cost of court, which is about $3.50 in addition to the
loss of pay, If they were paid 50 cents a day, if he did only half a
day's work, we should only sue him for 25 cents, but if he lost his case
he would have to pay $3.50 in addition.
Q. If a laborer leaves his employer during the contract term what
remedy does the law furnish to compel him to return to his employer?
A. Upon producing the contract before the district judge and enter-
ing a complaint the judge issues a warrant, which is served by the
Government police, and the party must be tried forty eight hours after
being put in jail. ºf convicted and it is his first offense on that cont.
tract he will be reprimanded, ordered back to work, and charged costs.
On the second offense on the same contract he is fined or imprisoned
and charged costs if convicted, and after the expiration of his im-
prisonment ordered back to work. The third offense he is fined or
imprisoned three months, and all further offenses are punished at the
discretion of the court.
Q. Can the natives generally read and write?
A. Yes; it is very seldom you find a native who can not read and
write very well. Generally the Kanaka language, but very frequently
English. They are learning more English now.
Q. What is the disposition of the native population towards the
Provisional Government
A. Hostile, altogether hostile, so far as I have come in contact
with them. They dread to lose their ancient customs and rights, and
also because there was an attempt made to disfranchise them.
Q. What is their general character for uprightness? -
A. They are honest and straightforward. They are remarkably ture
to any one who is true to them. They would steal nothing.
Q. How do they compare in finess for the use of the elective fran-
chise with the laboring class of the United States?
A. They compare very well indeed.
Q. If the question of annexation were left to the people of these
Islands by a ballot under the Australian system, with the qualifica-
tion of reading and writing, what, in your opinion, would be the result?
.A. There would be an overwhelming majority against annexation.
No native who was not influenced would vote for it.
Q. Can you get labor here from European countries to work your
plantation successfully?
A. We can not to raise sugar at the world's price. Of course tunder
the protection of the United States it might be a little better for us.
We have now no advantage from the United States.
The shorthand notes of this interview have been read to me by Mr.
Mills and they are correct.
H. CENTER.
HoNolulu, June 26, 1893.
88
No. 17.
Statement concerning number of troops landed and returned to the Boston,
Guns landed: One 37 m H. R. C.; one Gatling.
I have looked the log over and find the following to be a pretty ac-
curate account of the forces landed from the U. S. S. Boston at Hono-
lulu, January 16, 1893, together with those landed from and returned
to the ship at different times:
Landed at 4:30 or 5 p.m., January 16:
ree (3) companies of bluejackets, 36 each............................... 108
One (1) eompany of marines and (2) music------..........................
Music for battalion * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * ~ *
Officers (9 naval, 1 marine) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * 10
Extra men landed:
January 24, for Camp Boston - tº si è tº e e s tº a e º e s e e s tº e dº e s we s e e s e e s sº tº e ee e. e. e. e. e. e.
February 16, for Cam Boston • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • & © e º e º e º e s is
March 15, for Marine uard * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is e º se as e is a tº e s as as a e s sº e º sº,
March 17, for Camp Boston---- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1
i
1
8
80
Total number of men and officers landed for service...................... 1
Returned on board:
anuary 2 Iºnel e -e, a e º e º e º a mi e a e s see s m e º see e^e e tº e e º sers e º e s as a e s e e s tº sº dº e º e s e is a we we
January 30, Iſlem • . . . . • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * e e s sº e < * * * * * * * *** * * *
February 8, Lieut. Young's company * ~ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 3, officers • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **we e s is as hºt dº e º t e º a e º sº º ºxe tº e º ºs e ºr
February 23, Inen < * *-* - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *s is e
February 27, The ſº • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
February 28, The ºl (1), mari C (1), bluejacket-------------- ------------ * e º dº
Marc 1, In 18 ºn • ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * s s • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~ *
March 13, Iºlòll * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
March 15, men - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - is º ºs e s e s is e a e º 'º e º sº e s a ss ºr
March 18, Tººl tº e º e º e - - e - - - - - e º e tº e º e * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * e s sº e a ste e º 'º e º tº we see a se e s is e
March 20, Lieut. Coffman's company • *** * * * * * * * * * * * * de • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *s-s
March g O CB S • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *ws º' - * * * * * * * * * * * * de • *w is & a se e = ** * * * * *
March 22, men - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----4----- * -------- * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Total number of men and officers returned before April 1................. 89
Total number of men and officers landed before April 1... ---------............. 180
Total number of men and officers left on shore March 20, 1893-...--------------. 91
On February 15 Lieut. Young's company landed for the Admiral's
review, and returned after the review the same day. There were 36
men in the company and two officers.
The total number of men at Camp Boston April 1:
©It * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • A- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * •e e i e s were it - a we e 52
Officers...... • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * ~ * * * * * * * * * * * *** *** * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * *
º -
Marines at Government building...---- • * * * * * * * * * * * * * e e is a tº dº &e tº see tº e s ereº we s a 33
Marine officer.----- • * ** *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * 1
Total force withdrawn from on shore April 1, 1893----------------------- 92
I think this is very near a true state of facts.
Yours, etc.,
D. W. COFFMAN.
*
No. 18.
(Statement of John F. Colburne, April 15, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 3, dated April 2, 1893.
No. 19.
(Statement of William H. Cornwell, April 24, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 3, dated April 26, 1893.)
*
No. 20.
N sº§: S. M. ºn, April 29, 1893, printed with Mr. Blount's
0.4, dat ay 4, 1893.)
*
89
º No. 21.
(Statement of Lieut. Hebert L. Draper, May 5, 1893, printed with
Mr. Blount's No. 5, dated May 6, 1893.)
No. 22.
Interview with Charles T. Gulick, Honolulu, May 13, 1893.
Q. What is your occupation, Mr. Gulick?
A. Notary public and business agent. *
Q. For whom?
A. General; that is carrying on business agency. Agent for Pitt
and Scott's express, and for the Burlington railroad. My business is
also negotiating loans as well as real estate.
Q. Have you been a minister in any reign?
A. Under Kalakaua, 6th of August, 1883, to 30th of June, 1886.
Q. At any time since then?
A. Under Liliuokalani from September 12, 1892—about two months.
Q. I see in the correspondence between the American minister and
the State Department some statements as to Wilson, the ex-marshal
being the paramour of the ex-Queen. I wish to ask you as to your
knowledge of her character in point of chastity?
A. I would say to begin with that I know nothing against her char-
acter in that line.
Q. Was she received in all of the best families in this city—among
the whites?
A. She was; she always has been.
Q. Were they pleased to have her accept invitations to their enter-
tainments?
A. They always have been.
Q. Did they accept invitations to entertainments at the palace?
A. Not only accepted them, but were always anxious to get them.
Q. Did you ever hear of anybody keeping away from there on ac-
count of her character?
A. I have not.
? P} you know anything of the history of Mrs. Wilson?
• 1 010,
Q. Please state it.
A. Mrs. Wilson is a half white woman who, at the early age of 10
or 12 was taken by the present Queen and educated. Was admit-
ted into her household as a member. As she grew to womanhood
Charles B. Wilson, her present husband, met her, took a fancy to her,
and, with the approval of the Queen, he married her. When the
Queen came to the throne Mrs. Wilson became one of her ladies in
waiting, which position she held up to the overturn of the Govern-
ment.
Q. Where did Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live?
A. In the bungalow.
Q. That is a building in the palace yard?
A. Yes.
Q What distance between the bungalow and the palace?
A. Two hundred and fifty feet I should think.
% #. have heard some scandal about the Queen and Mr. Wilson?
• Ilê V8,
Q. Did they grow out of the political campaigns here or did they
have a firmer basis?
A. I think they grew out of the political campaign entirely.
MonDAY, June 19, 1893.
Q. When the American troops were landed here on the 16th of
January, 1893, was there any indication of disorder on the part of the
population?
A. None whatever.
Q. Were ladies and children on the streets as usual?
A. They were.
Q. When it was known these troops had been landed, what was the
impression made on the minds of the royalists by that fact
A. There was a feeling of bewilderment, as they were unable to
B–12
90
account for it. The people in the streets followed along inquiringly
and people in their offices went out. I was at my office. I went out
to see what it all meant. Nobody seemed to know how to account for
it—what the object could be. It inspired all who were royalists
with concern and apprehension.
Q. Apprehension of what sort?
A. Apprehension of some impending disaster to the nation or
encroachment upon their rights and independence. The feeling at that
time was vague.
Q. The next day what was generally the feeling on the part of the
Royalists?
A. There was a feeling that it was a high-handed, unjustifiable move,
and that there was no call for it.
Q. Was there any opinion that it was in aid of the movement of the
committee of safety?
A. I may say that that was the general impression; but matters at
that day had not formed themselves, had not crystallized, so that every-
one was looking around and asking his neighbor and inquiring as to
what would come next.
Q. Was that the condition of mind the day after the troops were
lauded?
A. I think I may safely say it was.
Q. What was the feeling on the part of the foreign element here 1
A. My communication was principally confined to those who were in
‘sympathy with my own feelings and views. All of us who were in
sympathy with the Government and country and desired to see its
perpetuation as an independent country were, as I said before, im-
pressed with the fact that it was a high-handed move. With regard to
the other people, those who might properly be considered revolution-
its, there was an activity apparent on the street which would seem to
indicate that they were making preparations for some definite move.
This was in the forenoon of the 17th, the day following the landing of
the American troops.
Q. What was the impression made on your mind when the troops
were landed on the 16th as to the object of their being landed?
A. The impression left on my mind was that they were landed in
support of a revolutionary measure having in view the overturning of
this Government.
Q. What time did that impression obtain generally in the commu-
nity; did it commence before the Provisional Government was pro-
<laimed?
A. Yes; early in the day.
Q. How long before the proclamation of the Provisional Government
dethroning the Queen?
A. To my knowledge six or eight hours. I would qualify that by
...; that it is altogether likely a number had that view the night
efore,
Q. When the American protectorate was proclaimed here, was the
condition of the public mind one of quiescence, awaiting the action of
the Government of the United States, or otherwise?
A. I should say that the public was quite ready to await the result
-of deliberations in Washington.
Q. Was there in the minds of the opponents of the Provisional Gov.
•ernment any disposition to commence hostilities against it?
A. Not at all.
I have read the foregoing and they are accurate reports of my inter-
views with Mr. Blount.
(Mr. B. said it was unnecessary for Gulick to certify to this.-E. M.)
No. 23.
Statement of Charles T. Galick.
Col. J. H. BLOUNT,
United States Commissioner, etc.:
DEAR SIR: I send you by bearer a very hastily prepared sketch of
..some features of Hawaiian History with our present condition in view.
Time has not permitted of as careful an arrangement and compari-
91
son of facts and analysis of motives as I could have wished, but if the
sketch assists in the most humble way in arriving at a true under-
standing of our situation, my object will be fully attained.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
CHAS. T. GULICK.
MAY 8, 1893.
A FootNOTE To HAWAIIAN HISTORY-MAY 8, 1893.
In order to arrive at anything like a true understanding of the pres-
ent condition of affairs in our little Kingdom and the conflicting
influences and interests to which may be attributed the unfortunate
order of things now existing, it would seem necessary to take a brief
glance at the last seventy years of the nation's history with that object
II, VIOW.
In the year 1820 a little bandof Puritan missionaries, in number four,
with their wives, landed on these shores, the ostensible object of their
visit being to evangelize the heathen, or, in the words of a quotation
frequently made by themselves from their principal text-book, to
preach “glad tidings of good things.”
They seemed to wish it understood that they were actuated by a self-
sacrificing charity and devotion rivaling, if not superior to, that of Paul
and his associates and followers when he started out on a similar
errand, and this view of the case does not seem so unreasonable when
we take into condsideration the fact that our Puritan friends were tak-
ing their chances in what was to them a veritable terra incognita, while
the first apostle, instead of pointing for Scythia with his momentous mes-
sage, preferred to work the most brilliant centers of ancient civilization,
where he would be much more likely to find people and conditions con-
genial to his cultivated tastes.
The worldly goods of the newcomers were few indeed, and their
intellectual stock in trade was almost as beggarly, consisting for the
most part in a number of trite quotations from the Puritan Bible, worn
threadbare with constant and injudicious use. They were welcomed
by a race of incomparable physique, open-hearted, generous, and hos-
pitable to a fault, qualities which to the average New Englander (such, for
instance, as were sent here with the Redeemer's message seventy years
; accustomed to the withering narrowness and penury of his native
land, were as strange as a quadratic equation to a Hottentot. In fact,
the newcomers were so overshadowed by the importance of their
“message,” as well as themselves, that they had no time to throw away
on the amenities of life which aré so highly valued under conditions of
our more advanced civilization, and not wholly despised by even bar-
barous people.
They found the Hawaiian in that state of mental evolution, which
would have gladdened the heart of the earnest philosophical teacher.
He had already realized that he had outgrown the trammels of his
idolatrous religion, and that the mysteries and mummeries of its priest-
hood were worse than folly, and had just returned from a gleeful dance
around the bonfire of the trumpery connected with the superstitions of
the past. He received the newcomers with open arms, in the sim-
plicity of his heart, not doubting but that they would give him some-
thing better than what he had just thrown away that would satisfy,
morally and mentally, the craving of his better nature.
Our Puritan friends were more fortunate than their brethren of the 4.
South Seas, where tradition would have us believe that missionary on.
toast was a favorite delicacy.
They had no war to wage against the Prince of Darkness, no settled
evil notions and vices to combat, no idolatrous or pagan religion to
overturn, no conquest to make conquering “foot by foot from barbar-
ism,” as Gen. Armstrong would have us believe in his letter to the
New York Independent, of May 30, 1889.
They found the door wide open. A pleasant expectant face and beckon–
ing hand encouraged them to enter; they did not hesitate a moment,.
but dropping their manners outside with that exasperating brusque-
ness which they have taken fine care to hand down to their children's
children even to the present day, they bounced right in.
The simple islanders crowded around them, loaded them with
presents, gave them lands of their own selection, built them houses
and churches, furnished them with food, and besought them for instruc-
. 92
tion. The immense council houses of the chiefs were not large enough
to hold the vast throngs which assembled to hear them relieve them-
selves from time to time of a portion of the “message;” consequently
open air meetings were resorted to, the size of the audiences being
limited only by the range of the speaker's voice, and as the stomach
and lungs of our friends were the best developed organs of their
equipment, they sometimes spoke to immense gatherings.
The mental development which prompted the Hawaiian to destroy
his wooden deities and relegate the priests to more useful employment
enabled him to discover at a very early stage that something was lack-
ing in the new teachers. To his disgust, he found that the veneering
was very thin and that from his standpoint at least, in accepting the
new doctrines and forms in place of those just cast aside, he was trad-
ing one set of mummeries for another without any perceptible gain or
advantage. He found that the new teachers were not only human
{j of course he expected, as the day when his grandfather had
ooked upon Capt. Cook as a deity had long gone by), but he found,
also, that they were prompted by motives and guilty of actions which
he and his race ºp. and was endeavoring to rise superior to.
His knowledge of the world, outside of his own people, being limited
to the few visitors who had touched on his shores during the twenty or
twenty five years preceding the advent of the newcomers, and the still
fewer foreigners who had made their homes with him during that time,
did not help him to determine where the difficulty lay, whether in the
teachers, the doctrines taught, or in both, and he desired to see some-
thing of the outside world for himself.
The King and a strong delegation were accordingly sent to England.
While there it was learned that there were other teachers equally capa-
ble or possibly better, and other religions more ancient and very likely
more satisfying to the hungry soul than those he had so rashly taken
to his bosom in 1820. These things could not be known without a trial
and accordingly an invitation was extended to the Catholics to send
teachers, who in due course of time arrived at the islands.
Our Puritan friends had about ten years the start of their Cath-
olic brothers in the race to deliver the “message” to the simple
islander, during which time they had made good use of their opportu-
nities. Notwithstanding this great advantage, they did not look with
favor on the advent of their Catholic brethren. In the first place there
was one quotation from their text-book peculiarly applicable to the
present case (and they were nothing, if not strong on quotations),
which was, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me,” and then the
Catholic brother had a little different version of the “message.” The
encouragment which our Puritan friends had received at the start had
made them aggressive, and they had, by successive steps, directed
with more skill than has been shown by any of their descendants,
secured the virtual control of the Government, which has, however,
been continually denied by them all until the appearance of Arm-
strong's letter in the Independent of the 30th May, 1889, referred to
above. The Government at that time (about 1830) was a monarchy
assisted by a council of Chiefs.
During the decade following 1830, the little original band of “mes-
sage” bearers received very considerable additions to their ranks, all
being recruited from the same uncompromising, intolerant stock from
which the first were drafted, the recruits, with one or two exceptions,
being of the $200-a-year class of New England Parsons. They were
never noted for individual aggressive courage, but numbers, as with
(baser mortals), gave them assurance, and a taste of power sharpened
their cupidity. The Catholic (or anyone, for that matter, outside their
own pale) was an interloper who must be routed at all hazards. This
they endeavored to do through the agency of the chiefs, while keeping
themselves in the background, so that should odium or failure attend
their efforts, they could disclaim any responsibility in the matter.
Their machinations resulted in the disastrous occurrences of 1839, 1843,
and 1848, the details of which can be gleaned from the newspapers and
histories of those times, and are entirely in keeping with the recorded
characteristics of the gentle Puritan from the first day that his dirty
paw smudged the pages of European history.
They managed in a degree, hardly comprehensible at this date, to
retain their hold on not only the chiefs but the common people, and their
dictum was supreme in every sphere, social, moral, governmental,
and even individual. As a consequence some of the most absurd regu-
93
lations were promulgated, the ears and claws of a few still showin
themselves in the Hawaiian statutes of to-day. The country was dotte
all over with unnecessary churches, Kawaiahao among the number,
built by the painful labor of the uncomplaining native to satisfy the
wishes of his teachers and everything was subordinated to the one
idea of religion as they taught it. The advantage of teaching their
willing pupils any of the arts of civilization and at the same time
instructing them how to avoid the pitfalls of the new order of things
never seems to have entered their heads. The consequence was that
as far back as 1840 there were graduates of Lahainaluna (the mission
high school on Maui) who had passed creditable examinations in Conic
sections, who had to don the malo and go into the taro patch if they
desired to earn an honest living, not having been taught a single
practical idea which would assist them in earning a living in a civilized
way.
As a matter of fact such genuine benefactors of the Hawaiian race
as Locke of Waialua, Oahu, Goodrich of Hilo, Whitney of Waimea,
Kauai, and Shipman of Kau, Hawaii, who endeavored to teach the
people of their respective districts to work as civilized men, with mod-
ern tools, and to improve their homes and take a civilized and intelligent
care of their families, were frowned upon and denounced by the balance
of their devout brethren for neglecting the all-important “message.”
The unwavering loyalty of the people to their teachers, under the cir-
cumstances, speaks volumes for the constancy of the old time Kanaka.
About the beginning of the decade commencing with 1840, the com-
mercial interests of the country demanded a more formal government
and governmental methods conforming in a measure to those of the
nations with whom it was in communication. Persons capable of
assisting in the work of reorganization were not plentiful and the
chiefs naturally looked to their spiritual advisers for assistance, as
they had been instructed from the beginning that there was nothing
on the earth or in the heavens above or in the waters under the earth
beyond their ken.
Again luck favored our Puritan friends. It would never do to have
it appear that they sought secular employment and preferment. Equally
impossible would it be for them to permit any except the Lord's anointed
to embrace such an opportunity. Consequently, under cover of the
plea of the necessity of getting the permission of the A. B. C. F. M.
which at that time took a whole year, they perfected their plans, and
Judd, Richards, Armstrong, and Andrews rather ostentatiously severed
their outward connection with the mission and took positions under the
Government, or more properly speaking, took the Government. This
was just into their hands; nothing could have been finer. And from
this time on, through all the various changes and vicissitudes of for-
tune, they looked upon the little kingdom as the veritable promised
land, and taught their descendants to recognize and claim it and all
belonging to it, together with the reversion and reversions, remainder
and remainders, rents, issues, and profits thereofas their rightful heri-
tage for all time.
The development of the whale fisheries of this ocean and the increased
commerce resulting therefrom brought to these shores quite a number
of visitors of various nationalities during the decade under considera-
tion, some of whom became permanent residents. Many of these people
. men of education, knowledge of the world, and more than usual
ability.
These were confronted by a singular social condition of things not a
little puzzling to the uninitiated. Our Puritan brethren had by this
time increased in numbers to such an extent as to form a community
of their own, and, as before remarked, were drafted from a stratum of
society which was not only destitute of the advantages of social train-
ing and polish, but which with genuine loyality to their creed and
their history, affected to despise the manners and courtesies which
• amongst civilized nations are the evidences of good breeding. With
them the sum of all the virtues consisted in the exhibition of those
Puritanical characteristics so familiar to the reader of English his-
tory, and the moral obliquity which prompted them to haze the
Catholic out of the vineyard caused them to surround themselves with
a barrier of social exclusiveness as impenetrable as an East Indian
caste. An exception, however, was made in favor of those who were
sufficiently hypocritical to make a pretense of adopting their creed and
outwardly conforming to their ways.
te
94
These being the conditions of social recognition, it will be readily
seen that the recruits from what they were pleased to term the “world’s
people” were, with scarcely an exception, the most unworthy sneaks
whom greed of #. had tempted so far from home. And in some
cases, family and business alliances the most incongruous were made
with persons of more than doubtful morality, if judged by the Puri-
tan standard. It must not be forgotten, however, that deviations
from their generally exclusive rule had, in almost all cases, solid mate-
rial advantages to commend them—considerations which the Puritan
has never yet been known to ignore.
The Hawaiian, at this }. presents many interesting and curious
features to the student of history. The memories of the great Kame-
hameha had not lost their influence, and the ruling chiefs, in many
cases, proved themselves not unworthy successors to the founder of
Hawaiian unity, giving evidence of firmness, moderation, and judg-
ment which challenge the admiration of all who are acquainted with
the complicated problems demanding their solution at this stage of
their national existence.
Their reception of the white men was altogether unique. History
furnishes no parallel. While in all time and in every part of the world
the colonization of a superior race has been vigorously resented and
repelled by force of arms, usually resulting in the ultimate subjuga-
tion or extinction of the aborigines, the Hawaiian welcomed his white
visitor, encouraged him to remain, adopted his religion and dress, aped
his manners, sought his instruction, and finally asked his assistance in
framing a government on a civilized model. A reception so unusual
was quite to the taste of our “message” bearing friends, who did not
fail to make the most of it, while some of the world's people were more
modest, as appeared at the time of the election of representatives to
the first Legislature in 1845, when the Hawaiians urged their white
friends to accept their suffrages and show them how to carry on the
business of legislation, they themselves being desirous of learning the
methods of representative government before assuming any responsible
part in its management.
All the lands, without exception, belonged to the Crown and to the
heads of the powerful chiefly families. Without hesitation the chiefs
enfranchised the common natives and divided the lands between the
Government, themselves, and the people, giving titles in severalty on
terms which have commanded the approval of all acquainted with the
conditions.
Up to this time the nation had encountered no serious difficulties
excepting those occasioned by following the advice and instructions of
the “message” bearers, which were prompted by a selfish jealousy of
all others in the field. d
In arranging the machinery and perfecting the methods of govern-
ment it was very soon discovered by everyone outside their own follow-
ing that the unassisted efforts of the “message” bearers were wholly
unequal to the task; consequently the services of such men as Wyllie
Robertson, Record, Lee, and others, professional men, not of the fold
however, were secured, and the little nation very soon took its place in
the great family of independent states by virtue of treaties negotiated
with rare tact and good judgment, chiefly through the efforts of Wyllie,
By 1853 the little ship of state was fairly under way. Representative
Government was running smoothly, and the common people were
learning their duties as freeholders, and taking such part in public
affairs as their intelligence fitted them for. Honolulu had become an
important shipping port not unknown in the business centers of the
world. The permanent white population of the city and the Kingdom
had rapidly increased, and in cultivation and general intelligence was
probably above the average of communities of its size, as people who
go to settle so far away from home are, usually the most enterprising
among their fellows. This class of people was sufficiently numerous in
the city itself to form a separate community or society, as it were, who
were in the habit of thinking and acting for themselves, and to whom
the little country owed most, if not all, the standing it held abroad.
This class lived on the best of terms with the Hawaiian chiefs and
people, some of them having formed matrimonial alliances with the
native families of the higher grades. Our Puritan friends did not look
with any more favor on this class than they did on the Catholics, met-
ing out to them but scant courtesy, and but little, if any, of that Chris-
tian charity of which they were presumed to be the exemplars. In


95
fact, they had no use for anyone whom they could not bully and brow.
beat into a cringing sycophant or a willing tool. They took the most
offensive ways of reminding people of their supreme hold on the King
and Government, quite in keeping with their early training, or the lack
of it, wholly and contemptuously ignoring such men as Wyllie and
Robertson, who had done the work and gave character to the Govern-
ment under the new conditions.
This state of things could not last long and resulted in the appoint-
ment, after several popular meetings, of a committee of 13 citizens
some of them now living), who waited on His Majesty Kamehameha
II, demanding the dismissal of Judd and his associates. This was
readily acceded to, but not without some expressions of surprise on
the part of the King and his native advisers at the existence. of
such a bitter antagonism between people of a race claiming so great a
superiority to the Hawaiians. The common natives were bewildered at
the exhibition. They attended the meetings without taking part. As
their fathers, shortly after welcoming the first sky pilots, saw reason
to repent of their rashness, the sons began to entertain grave doubts
with regard to the wisdom of the new tinkers in Governmental affairs,
as well as to the results of their tinkering. The effect on our “mes-
sage” bearers was indescribable. Each one of the 250 odd men,
women, and children belonging to their guild looked upon the down-
fall of the Judd cabinet as a personal calamity. They realized that
the heritage was in danger. This was the first genuine setback they
had ever experienced.
For the next twenty years the Government, while by no means per-
fect, was, under the virile rule of the last of the Kamehamehas, admin-
istered with evenhanded justice, having regard for the interests of all
and endeavoring to secure the greatest good to the greatest number.
During this time the most capable men in the realm, regardless of
nationality or creed, were called upon to assist the head of the nation
with their counsel. This call did not, however, at any time during this
period include any member of the Puritan guild, whose interests were
not by any means ignored, as some of their members were honored
with subordinate appointments, where they could do no harm. During
all this time—to the annointed an eternity, to the rest of the nation a
respite—there was no publication which would admit their drivel but
was loaded with their complaints, and no pulpit into which they could
climb but resounded with their wails and maledictions.
Another page of history is completed and the Puritan is again in
luck. The last of the Kamehamehas is gathered to his fathers at the
close of 1872, and as the Hawaiian saw the last representative of his race
who had strength and genius enough to keep ahead of the wheels of the
juggernaut of human progress enter the family mausoleum there is little
wonder that his grief was inconsolable and that he gave himself up to
despair. . Poor Lunalilo, a weak, but in some respects brilliant, offshoot
of the old stock, was unanimously elected to the vacant throne, as by
law provided. Our “message,” bearing friends, all but famished from
their long fast, were at his collar in a moment and never let go their
hold till they dropped him in the grave, after only one brief year of
power. As was their traditional custom, they had again made the most
of their opportunities, securing as many as possible of the subordinate
offices, positions on the various boards, Privy Council, House of Nobles,
etc.
During the reign of Lunalilo the course of events was somewhat
modified by an element not altogether unknown, but exceedingly dis-
tasteful to our friends, in the person of Walter Murray Gibson.
The throne was again filled by the election of Kalakaua in 1874.
As Prince Lunalilo was, according to the Hawaiian standard, of a
chiefly rank superior to that of any one living at the time of his elec-
tion to the throne, he had no competitors, and his elevation to an
heretofore hereditary throne by a popular election seemed in no way
to affect the current of events. The position was looked upon as
almost his by right of inheritance, and was cheerfully confirmed to
him by legal formalities. When, however, it became necessary to fill
the throne a second time in the same way the whole situation was
quite different.
The oft repeated statement that “Paris is France” might with per-
fect propriety be paraphrased to apply, during the period under con-
sideration, to the little capital city of Honolulu, which, in almost every
sense, was to all intents and purposes the Hawaiian Kingdom. The
96
only safe harbor for deep-water vessels was here, all the business
#. were located here, and all the enterprises throughout the
ingdom centered in and were controlled from the city. During the
twenty years since we last noticed the make-up of its society, the con-
...had somewhat changed and should claim our attention for a
In OInent,
Social and business methods had, so to speak, crystallized; several
commercial.houses had been established, which, in all respects, would
compare favorably with the best in any large seaport; a bank had been
º: having correspondence with all the principal business centers
of the world; newspapers in the Hawaiian and English languages had
been established, and had a wide domestic circulation; foreign churches,
benevolent societies; Masonic and other lodges were organized and in
a flourishing condition; the American, English, and German people
had representatives amongst the permanent residents of the city from
almost every grade of society in their respective nations; in fact, the
city was as fairly a representative cosmopolitan community on a small
scale as San Francisco or New York.
The whaling business had declined, and attention of late had been
directed to agricultural and grazing ventures which were fairly remu-
nerative, and if the American tariff were not in the way (European
markets being beyond our reach) would to all appearances be opulence
itself. Serious efforts had therefore been made for several years to, in
some way, get over this tariff by annexation, reciprocity, or a remission
of duties on Hawaiian products entering American markets. The first
method was not popular with the Hawaiian nation at large, the third
was impossible from an American standpoint, consequently the inge-
nuity of the best contrivers in the little Kingdom was strained to the
utmost to convince American statesmen that 2 and 2 made 5, and that
great material advantages would inure to the Republic through a
commercial treaty of reciprocity with Hawaii. The native Hawaiian
understood little or nothing of the force of the project, and failed to
see wherein he would be benefited, but as his white friend and guest
so greatly desired its consummation, he, as usual, , good-naturedly
assented and rendered such assistance as he could to bring about the
desired end.
The foregoing in brief was the condition of things, business gener-
ally slack, profits uncertain, and the reciprocity treaty hanging fire in
Washington, when the 12th of February, 1874, arrived. This was the
day appointed by Ministerial proclamation for the Legislature to assem-
ble and fill by ballot the place made vacant by the death of Lunalilo.
The Legislature met. There were but two candidates, Queen Emma
and David Kalakaua.
Queen Emma was the choice of the native Hawaiian population
almost to a man; but saint and sinner for once met on common ground
and decided to, if º, defeat the wish of the people by securing
the election of Kalakaua. The reasons for the union of effort, on the
part of people so radically antagonistic, to compass the election of
Kalakaua are worthy of attention. As has been heretofore mentioned,
a recipocity treaty with the United States, or something equivalent
thereto, had for some time been looked upon by the majority of the
business community as being the only salvation. This view had been
almost universally adopted by the American Missionaries, their descend-
ants and associates. It may be here remarked as a significant fact
that with two exceptions, the children of the missionaries neglected
to enter the chosen field of their fathers, they seeming quite content
to let the souls of the gentle islanders take their chances, while for
themselves they generally preferred lines which gave promise of more
tangible rewards for thrift and energy.
The wisdom of their choice being at the present time amply demon-
strated by the enormous annual gains of some of their number, which
far outrun the wildest dreams of romance, as for instance, Baldwin,
with a net gain for the year 1889 of over $300,000, followed closely by
the Wilcoxs, Bailey, Alexander, Castle, Cooke, Rice, and a number of
others hardly less fortunate. It may also be remarked at this time that
the term “missionary,” which to those acquainted with the general
relationship of individuals, business enterprises, etc., is quite clear and
definite, to the uninitiated is likely to be misleading and requires a word
of explanation. The nature of their society and the methods of recruit-
ing from the “outside world” have been before alluded to, and with this
in mind it will be readily seen that the missionaries, at the time of which
97
we are treating, included in their fold a large number who could lay no
claim to this designation except in so far as they acted with the saints
when the balance of the world was to be beaten, and made a pretense
of covering their moral nakedness from time to time as suited their
convenience with a cloak of religious hypocrisy.
The members of this guild, more especially the original missionaries,
considered themselves and taught their children to feel that they
occupied a moral and social plane far above not only the native
Hawaiian, but all “outsiders” of their own race. In fact, the mission-
ary placed between his own family and the generous hearted islander
whom he came across the sea to pilot the way to everlasting life, a
chasm far more difficult to bridge than ever existed between the
“haughty” Southerner and his African slave. Fortune favored the
guild with material wealth, and it might with truth be said that the
financial resources of the country were practically in their hands. It
did not take long for this class to be designated the “Missionary
party,’” by which term it is now generally known. This is, however,
periodically resented by members of their guild in the newspapers of
the day—sometimes snappishly, and at others with a whine.
The foregoing little digression seems necessary to explain the situa-
tion and, to be brief, the Missionary party espoused the cause of
Kalakaua with the view of reinstating themselves in the position they
enjoyed before the downfall of Judd, not doubting that the new King
would prove a willing tool to act their bidding. David's impecuniosity
and other social disabilities seemed to them sufficient ground for
believing that ordinary gratitude, if no other motive, would induce him
to heed their instructions. On the other hand, Queen Emma was sur-
rounded by and under the control of individuals and influences not
only inimical to the “Missionary Party,’” but to a treaty of reciprocity
with the United States, or, in fact, any other compact which might,
even remotely, threaten the autonomy of the Kingdom.
She was a member of the Anglican Church in Honolulu, and her
principal advisers and associates were British people, all of whom were
opposed to any American alliance, excepting a certain few whose inter-
ests were such as to be favorably affected by a modification of the
tariff on Hawaiian products entering American ports, in their case self
interest triumphed over patriotism and they either remained silent or
sided with the “Missionary Party” which was, by the way, at this time,
the only class which deserved the name of a “party”, all others were
simply “outsiders”.
By law, the election was in the hands of the Legislature, consisting
of about fifty members, over two-thirds of whom were native Hawaiians.
This simplified the manipulation of the business very much, and for
the first time in the history of the nation the white man applied to the
most important election ever held in the Kingdom the methods so
common in the ward politics of New York and other American cities
thereby grossly deceiving the people, controverting the popular will
and ultimately gaining the desired end by the election of Kalakaua.
For the first time in his experience, more than fifty years after he
had first welcomed his white brother to his shores and besought his
instruction in the ways of civilization and religion, the Hawaiian
found himself face to face with the bugbear of race prejudice. It was
a new and strange element to him which he did not understand and
for which he was not responsible. The men like Wyllie, Robertson,
Harris, and their associates who had formulated for him methods of
government, forseeing the possibility of the intrusion of this prejudice
in the affairs of state, had diligently guarded against such a catas-
trophe and as long as their counsels prevailed the danger was averted.
From this time on the internal relations of the heterogeneous com-
monwealth rapidly changed, and the aboriginal Hawaiian, who had
been so long the subject of prayerful solicitude was forgotten, his inter-
ests and rights ignored and despised, and as from time to time he
appeared in the Legislature of his native land, he was either cajoled,
bullied, or bought into supporting the schemes of his white brother.
The basket of loaves and fishes was small, the hungry maws numerous,
manners scarce, aud consequently the scramble for spoils and plunder
was savage. Our Puritan friends and their allies, with the sentiment
strong within them of rightful inheritance to everything in sight, were
not to be indifferently dealt with. After the usual wire pulling the
game was called and the saints showed up with the practical control
in almost every branch of the public service, Cabinet, Supreme Court,
Board of Education, Bureau of Surveying, etc.
B—13
•98.
The inchoate American reciprocity treaty was a matter of so much
importance, meaning as it did success or failure to almost every enter-
prise in the Kingdom outside of the capturing of fish and the manu-
facture of poi, that after the first grab and snarl over the plums, all
whose interests were to be affected by the change of tariff, united in
-as cordial a manner as might, for instance, the fiercer animals of a
menagerie when confronted by a common danger in a supreme effort to
secure its ratification. The aged Chief Justice Allen, of the Supreme
Court, was relieved of his duties on the bench and dispatched to Wash-
ington armed with a high-sounding title to represent the interests of
the little country (or rather its moneyed and planting interests), and
Jurge on the treaty to its final ratification. A better choice could not
have been made, as Judge Allen was a typical American politician of
large experience in his native land before coming to Hawaii, and both
training and self-interest united in causing him to put forward his best
efforts to ensure the success of the mission entrusted to his care A
trump card in the game was to send the King to Washington and
show to the Republicans the anomaly of (as Barnum would have put
it) the only King on earth who owed his throne to, and reigned by the
will of the people, and not by the grace of God.
Accordingly the King, accompanied by a staff of officers selected
for the trip, visited America's capital, also several other principal
cities, and for the time being, in physical proportion to say the least,
was a “bigger man than Grant.”
During the period of waiting for Uncle Sam to make up his mind to
grant their request, out little insular community put in the time pull-
ing faces at one another, intriguing for and securing positions for
themselves and their favorites. In this contest the Missionary party
were generally consistent and loyal to themselves, whilst outsiders had
to fight their battles singly, having only the support of their personal
friends. The Honolulu newspapers of the years 1875 and 1876 contain
some spicy reading of a personal nature, giving evidence of more than
usual bitterness, which, in the Legislature of 1876, culminated in an
open feud. A majority of the assembly was native Hawaiians, with
six or seven British, and the remainder Americans, German, and half.
Caste.
The native Hawaiian leaders were not all dead, and some of the
brightest then living were in the house; amongst them were Aholo and
Pilipo. The quarrel was confined to the white members, and took the
form of a determined effort to unseat the cabinet. The wrangle was
boisterous, filled with bitter personalities, and in every way unseemly.
It continued for three days, the native members remaining mute spec-
tators during the whole time. In the afternoon of the third day, all
the contestants being blown, question was called. The native mem-
bers glanced around to Pilipo as one who might say a word for them
touching the situation. Pilipo arose with great deliberation, addressed
the chair, asked the indulgence of the house for a few moments, and
reminded the interpreter that as what he was about to say was intended
especially for his “white brethren,” he wanted his views made very
Clear to them.
Pilipo proceeded, and as he warmed to the subject, his few moments
extended to an hour and a half, compassing one of the most scathing,
eloquent addresses ever heard in the house, and what proved to be
almost the last effort of the kind by a Hawaiian Orator worthy of
notice. The interpreter did his duty well, and the word pictures pre-
usented for the consideration of Pilipo's “white brethren” were very
sharply outlined and anything but flattering to their vanity. The
•orator briefly reviewed the history of the intercourse of foreigners with
his own race, something after the fashion of this sketch, amplifying
where it best suited his purpose. He dwelt at length on the errand of
the missionary to these shores and his agency in instructing the
BHawaiian in the ways of religion and civilization. He painted in vivid
colors the picture of the three days’ wrangle just past, making sarcas-
tic comparisons and comments on the whole.
The effect of the speech was indescribable. Those of his hearers who
Thad not taken part in the quarrel could scarcely restrain themselves
from violating the dignity of the house by giving the orator an ovation.
Even at this time the Hawaiian did not realize that his “white brother”
and guest had got tired of him, and had been so long the recipient of
his hospitality that he looked upon his privileges as vested rights and
preferred to enjoy them to the exclusion of the host.
99
At last the good news came. The treaty was a reality. Then came
the rejoicing, firing of guns, display of fireworks, and the like. Those
who were to be the most benefited by it and who made the most noise
over its consummation never in the wildest flights of fancy dreamed of
the success in store for them. Had they been told that they, descend-
ants of shirt sleeves, with no more claim to a pedigree than a Govern-
ment mule, would, each one of them, be within a decade in the yearly
receipt of ans annual income equal to many of the noble families of
Europe, who trace their lineage through a host of distinguished ances.
tors for hundreds of years back, they would have been offended as being
made game of.
This, however, is the fact, and until “the frost, the killing frost,” of
the McKinley bill “nipped their root” there was every prospect of a
very material increase of their prosperity from year to year as long as
the terms of the treaty were in force. Goal Oil Johnny's success has
had several counterparts in the Paradise of the Pacific, not followed,
however, by Johnny's improvidence, as it is hardly likely that should
the descendants of the pehurious New Englander suddenly find that
the earth beneath his feet had turned to gold he would spurn it on
account of its abundance. This phenomenal good fortune was turned
into the laps of the few, however, the many having to be coutent with
the crumbs, so that the condition of the little paradise is in many
respects somewhat similar to that of Athens under the thirty tyrants.
In the struggle for position and power the churchman forgot his
creed and the sinner gave rein to his passions, while both ignored the
interests and rights of the Kanaka. These facts were seized upon by
Gibson (of whom mention has already been made) and shown up in
both Hawaiian and English newspapers with great clearness and skill.
The thorough literary Bohemian that he was, he also possessed a much
greater knowledge and experience of men and affairs, diplomacy, and
statesmanship than people of his class usually have, and, in fact, had
forgotten more moves and tricks in the game now on the board than
all the rest of the players ever knew. Among the native Hawaiian
population he, of course, very soon gained a large following, which was
supplemented by a not inconsiderable portion of the foreign residents
of various shades of opinion, who supported his views to a greater or
less degree. It hardly needs mentioning that the missionary party from
the first looked with aversion and distrust on his appearance in the
political arena.
These sentiments in a short time ripened into enmity and hatred, and
for the genuine, consistent passion there is hardly a shadow of doubt.
the Puritan stands ahead, more especially when it is directed against
an opponent of greater ability than he possesses himself, or, in other
words, who draws too much water for him. Gibson was elected to the
assembly in 1878, and, being returned each session till called upon to
form a cabinet, he displayed many of those qualities which are so
essential to the success of the political worker, and worried the souls
of all the saints and quite a number of the sinners without rest or
intermission. The prizes were getting larger and the points of vantage
more important every day, and the contest waxed fiercer all the time.
Lands, contracts, and franchises were increasing in value and must be
secured at all hazards—by fair means if possible, by foul if necessary.
Fair means were out of the question, as the arena was so small that
no move could be made without the knowledge of all the contestants,
and the native officials and legislators soon learned a new lesson (new
to them) in politics, to wit, that official position had a money value,
conveniently measured by the purses of those requiring their assist-
ance. In a short time the native Hawaiian, from the most obscure voter
to the King himself, was so thoroughly debauched by the white man's
gold that his standard of right and wrong was almost if not wholly
destroyed, and his moral sense of personal rectitude was completely
dulled by sophistry, gin, and coin, "A truly deplorable condition, for
which saint and sinner are about equally responsible.
As an example of the methods adopted by those who would violently
resent the charge of anything bordering on dishonorable conduct or
unfair means, it may be mentioned that one of the numerous minis-
tries (cabinets) of this period, one that was as fairly representative as
any that ever filled the position, and who were earnestly endeavoring
to perform their duties, while consulting with and receiving advice
fromº: members of the business community were being under-
mined by the very men with whom they were in communication, and
100
who were fairness itself to the faces of the cabinet. Compensation
came, however, in a singular way. The two-faced gentlemen did not
feel themselves strong enough to carry out their plot single-handed, so
they made overtures to Gibson, making all sorts of fair promises, which
#. * knew better than Gibson himself were never intended to be ful-
©01.
They were not wise in approachin g a player so far their superior in
a game of this kind. After playing one crowd against the other until
he learned what each held, Gibson, with the most bland and easy man-
ner imaginable, dropped both sides, stepped in and took the bun with-
out any trouble whatever, formed a cabinet of his own, much to the
amusement of the native Hawaiian, who as heretofore was not a party to
the contest. The disappointment and rage of the defeated contestants
were truly pathetic. . To be beaten was bad enough, but to be caught
in one's own trap, sold, and laughed at by even the Kanakas was too
much. “Eternal enmity to Rome and fealty to Carthage” was but an
empty vow in comparison with the oath by which the schemers bound
themselves each to the other to compass the final ruin of the man who
had held them up to public ridicule.
Fort Street Church (now Central Union Church) was organized in
1852, the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce a few years later, and the
Planters' Labor and Supply Company soon after the ratificatign of the
treaty, the three together containing the whole of the missionary
party, together with a small sprinkling of those who did not wholly
sympathize with their views and aspirations. On the accession of
Gibson to position and power a general tarpauline muster of all the
brains in the crowd was made, committees were appointed, resolutions
passed, memorials prepared, appeals and petitions drawn; in fact the
maggot bed had a spasm which threatened as serious consequences to
the patient (i. e., the maggot bed) as sometimes follows a congestive
chill. They appealed to the American Minister resident (Daggett),
carried in solemn procession their memorials and petitions to the King,
and prayed to the Lord Almighty—all without any apparent result.
Gibson compassed the whole in replies and dispatches which were
respectful, polished, and diplomatic, and which might have served as
forms for them in their future correspondence. He remained unshaken.
It very soon became apparent that he was the rallying point for the
native Hawaiians, who, under his guidance and tutelage, were begin
ning to learn, and in a measure appreciate the relation of matters
and to assert their rights in the land of their birth. No sooner did
the Missionary party understand this new featture of the game than
without hesitation they unblushingly proclaimed that the Kanaka must
go. They conveniently forgot the errand which ostensibly brought
their forefathers to these shores, despised the rights of hospitality,
and, blinded by cupidity, worked themselves up to the point where
they were prepared to override and trample upon any and all rights
and interests not in harmony with their own. In short, certain of their
number did not hesitate to say that the money and thrift of the white
men having made the country what it was, it was high time that it
should be made in fact, as well as appearance, a white man's goven-
ment.
This was the attitude assumed in the face of the fact that ever since
the foundation of the Government under its present form, the chief
judicial, executive, and diplomatic offices had been voluntarily con-
ferred upon foreigners, the Hawaiian having a laudable desire to be
represented by at least one position in the cabinet.
p to this time no demand on his generosity had been refused. The
sugar plantations of his white brother required cheap labor. He, with-
out hesitation, voted from the public treasury large sums to defray the
expense of scouring the world to satisfy the demand. China, Japan
the South Seas, Germany, and Norway, were in turn thoroughly tri
as sources of supply. The demand far exceeded the supply, and at the
urgent request of his white brother, he threw open the flood gates in
1881 and thousands of Chinese swarmed on his shores in a yellow tide
that brought with it not only all the vices of the pagan Asiatics, but
also an epidemic which laid 300 native Hawaiians corpses forever to rest
in the sands of the quarantine station at Honolulu, and cost the pub-
lic treasury $110,000 in cash.
The production of sugar by Chinese coolies was not looked upon
with favor by our California friends, but labor must be had, and the
Hawaiiau was again called upon to lend his assistance to the intro-
101
duction of the less objectionable Japanese. Again he yielded, only to
find that he had at last practically voted away º avenues of occupa-
tion for his own countrymen, and had, at the crafty solicitation of
those whom he had supposed to be his friends, filled his country with
a heterogeneous horde of pagans and worse, far outnumbering his own
people, with whom they had little or nothing in common, and who,
like his white brother, were beginning to look upon the Hawaiian as an
intruder on his own soil.
To the saintly Puritans and their successors all this had no weight and
was unworthy of their notice. There was too much in the pot to run
the risk of any accidents, and the only sure way to success was to
blow out the lights, snatch the pot, and jump the game. But while our
friends of the “Missionary party” possessed wealth enough to corrupt
the Russian Empire, and were actuated by all the sentiments required
to overturn the world, they yet lacked two very essential elements to
success, which were intelligent leadership and pluck sufficient to carry
the scheme into execution. While they longed for the possession of
the coveted prize, they were in no hurry to risk their own precious car-
casses in securing it, and consequently cast about for some accommo-
dating cat to reach after the chestnuts for them. The right kind of a
cat was not just to hand, and our friends had to content themselves,
for a few years longer, with putting up their money lavishly on elec-
tions and subsidizing every vagrant Bohemian blackguard within
reach to write libelous matter for the local and foreign press, denoun-
cing the Government and every one connected therewith.
By continual hammering, a sentlment of antagonism to the Hawaiian
Government and more especially to the native Hawaiians themselves
was propagated, chiefly amongst comparatively new comers who knew
nothing, and cared less, of the history of the country and who were
quite ready to look upon the native much in the same way as the
western pioneer does on the Comanche Indian. A suitable cat was at
last found in the person of a Canadian adventurer, who possessed the
necessary ability to organize and encourage, to execute the plans of
asurpation, and whofar surpassed his employers in the possession of the
common honesty to frankly avow at the start that, while glory might
have had some attractions for him in his tender youth, coin was at
present his strongest incentive to action, and that his zeal would be
measured by the amount in sight. All was satisfactorily arranged with
little delay, the cat receiving a handsome subsidy from both side with-
out the knowledge of the other, and the conspiracy was in running
order in a short time.
Our missionary conspirators justified their course with the hollow
pretense that they were seeking the adoption of governmental reforms
which could be secured in no other way than by violence. They raised.
their hands in holy indignation and horror at such ill-advised schemes
as the “kaimiloa” the genealogy board, and royal cemeteries, and
words failed them in expressing their detestation of the Aki opium
swindle and kindred irregularities. While little or nothing can be said
in defense or extenuation of the follies referred to, it would seem not
out of place to note the fact that, from a moral and financial standpoint,
their injury to the commonwealth was trifling in comparison to the
damage done by the eccentricities of the conspirators' favorites, which
left their marks on the waterworks of Nuuanu Valley, the reservoir, ,
and land damages in Makiki, the quarantine graveyard at Honolulu,
the South Sea immigration-venture of the barque Hawaii, the
“Likelike” and bellows opium business, and a score of other outrages
of a similar nature which were hushed up, whitewashed, or hidden from
the public as far as possible.
During the first half of the year '87 the conspirators were busy per-
fecting their plans. A league was formed, a large fund subscribed, and
members sworn in, at first with some care, but as their numbers grew
they gained confidence and relaxed their circumspection. Waifs from
all parts of the world, temporarily stranded on these shores, were
attracted by all sorts of impossible promises of official employment as
soon as the move became a success. The “Honolulu Rifles,” a battalion
of four companies, wholly composed of Europeans, armed and equipped
at the expense of the Hawaiian treasury, was organized and drilled
incessantly. Arms and ammunition in large quantities were imported
and distributed. Mention should not be omitted of the fact that dur-
ing all the excitement of these stirring times the quality of thrift was
not for a moment lost sight of by the saints, as they generously
imported military equipments, costing $6.50 per man, which they sup-
plied to the members of the league and such others as they thought
could be trusted at $18 and upwards.
Nor must it be lost sight of that the sentiment of self-preservation
:
102
was always strong in the breasts of the saints, and on this occasion
was developed in a rather quaint and amusing way. When their com-
mander began making assignments to duty he overlooked this quality
in a portion of his band and made a pardonable mistake of distribu-
ting to some of our friends tasks the fulfillment of which might be
attended with a possibility of personal danger. He was quickly
reminded that in great enterprises affecting the fate of nations it was
not usual to expose the Marlboroughs and Napoleons of the movement
to the possibility of being snuffed out; in other words, our friends
recognized themselves as the brains of the crowd, and they did not pro-
pose to run any personal risk, but would at all times hold themselves
in readiness to give chin music in unlimited quantities, seasoned from
time to time with small allowances of coin.
The organization of the conspiracy was much more complete perhaps
than movements of this kind usually are. It had its military com-
mander; council of thirteen, otherwise known as the committee of
“public safety,” and which was the fountainhead for all orders; its
military force, uniformed, fully equipped, and drilled, ready at a
moment's notice to obey without question any orders from the com-
mittee of “public safety;” a large body of citizens, fully armed and
supplied with ammunition, who had familiarized themselves with the
use of their weapons by frequent target practice during several months
past—in fact, it was as completely organized as the Hawaiian Govern-
ment itself, and, as it turned out, much better handled. Of all the fore-
going the Government was from time to time fully informed, and the
indifference or pretended disbelief of Gibson in the existence of any.
thing out of the usual course, or which would be likely to make trouble,
is difficult to reconcile with his habitual astuteness.
However, this was about the condition of things during the latter
days of June, 1887. Fully prepared as the organization was for
immediate action, the leaders were at a loss just how to begin. The
country was apparently at peace with all the world, and more especially
with itself. All the functions of the Government were being performed
as usual, the courts were disposing of the business brought before
them without interruption, and to a stranger just arrived nothing
unusual would appear to be in the wind. . it was not
quite clear how to proceed. A committee of public safety was bent
double with the weight of an indefinable responsibility, and yet it was
not quite apparent just what they were called upon to save, as the
public peace and safety did not somehow appear to be in any immediate
danger, unless from the committee themselves and their satellites.
But something must be done, and that very soon, as it would never do
to allow of even a little time for thought, which would inevitably lead
to a reaction, when all would be lost.
In order to make the initiatory movement appear to the outside
world as springing from a popular demand for the correction of abuses,
it was decided to hold in the Rifles, Armory, on the 30th of June, a
public meeting to which all were invited without regard to nationality,
and in order to guard against any miscarriages in their designs the
Rifles in uniform, with arms and ammunition, were on hand, ostensibly
to preserve order. Some of the speakers addressed the assembly while
in uniform, holding their weapons in one hand, while they frantically
sawed the air with the other and ranted about reform. The subject
introduced, and on which they intended to º their course, was a
wholesale amending of the faulty, constitution of 1864. This, by the
way, was the hollowest of all their hollow pretenses, as a constitution
had already been prepared by them for a republican form of govern-
ment, and which, of course, contemplated the deposition of the King
and complete remodeling of the governmental machinery.
The meeting was attended pretty generally by the European resi-
dents, and a few Hawaiians, attracted by curiosity as their fathers had
been on a somewhat similar occasion thirty-four years before. It was
quite evident from the very beginning that there was no intention on
the part of the conspirators to permit of anything like a free discussion
of the subjects of public interest, as a speaker was listened to and per-
mitted to speak only so long as he echoed the sentiments of the league.
Any suggestion of a constitutional convention or of a submission of a
constitution to a vote of the people was immediately drowned in angry
yells. (See “Sketch of Recent Events,” p. 15.) The object which the
meeting was advertised for, to-wit, discussion, was not allowed. A
number of harangues, sounding strangely in these latter matter-of-fact


193
4.
years of the nineteenth century, were followed by the reading and
adoption of an already prepared set of demands on the King, which were
intended to be so exacting as to ensure their immediate rejection. The
meeting adjourned, and the committee presented the demands to the
King, who immediately yielded to them all without modification. The
“committee of public safety” charged themselves with the care of the
town, and the little pretorian guard of the Honolulu Rifles were assigned
to various points.
The ready acquiescence of the King to their demands seriously dis-
concerted the conspirators, as they had hoped that his refusal would
have given them an excuse for deposing him, and a show of resistance
a justification for assassinating him. Theu everything would have
been plain sailing for their little oligarchy, with a sham republican
constitution.
Now, the only thing to be done, so far as they could see, was to make
without delay a constitution conforming to their demands and submit
it for his (the King's) signature. This was no small job for the class of
workmen at their command. There seemed to be no help for it, and
the maggot bed took another spasm. The little hole in the corner,
self-constituted constitution-framers tackled the business off hand and
wrestled with their self-imposed task for a whole week. “Parturient
montes,” etc., was distances, and on the 6th of July, 1887, they pre-
sented a constitution which was signed by the King with as little delay
as he had shown a week previous—a constitution which, until signed
and promulgated, had not been seen even, to say nothing of being
studied and discussed, by more than two score of people, and these
being exclusively conspirators.
This hardly deserves the qualifying statement that the conspirators'
constitution was shown to some of the judges of the Supreme Court
before it was signed and promulgated, as it was shown to them in
about the spirit that many people seek advice from their friends when
they have no intention of following any advice at all at variance with
their own views.
A cabinet from the “committee of public safety” took the portfolios.
Gibson aqd his son-in law lieutenant were arrested and placed under a
guard of the Rifles and league, which were now in undisputed possession
of the Government and all belonging to it.
The anomalous condition of affairs now for the first time began to
dawn on the more thoughtful participants in the conspiracy, a number
of whom had gone into the scheme with an honest desire for reform
and a general correction of abuses, and to whom the awkardness of their
Tosition now became apparent.
The ease with which the overturn had been effected proved a source
of embarrassment to the revolutionists, who found themselves in posses-
sion of everything in sight without striking a blow or firing a shot, and
the heterogeneous crowd now began to eye each other suspiciously with
the view of determining who could be dropped out in the distribution
of the spoils.
The instincts of the Puritan marred the success of the scheme almost
from its birth. The native Hawaiians had no part in the business, and
within a week after the promulgation of the new constitution the saints
were devising methods for ridding themselves of the inconvenient part-
nership of these of their own race who were outside the pale, but whose
Presence and help had made the undertaking possible,
During the whole period of incubation of the precious conspiracy they
(the saints) held meetings to which only the elect were called. These
select gatherings were continued after their accession to power, and at
one of them, held on the 7th or 8th of July, 1887, Dole (the present chief
of the Provisional Government) made the remark, while treating of the
unfortunate necessity to which the Lord's anointed had been subjected
of accepting the assistance of the unwashed, that in a short time, as
Soon as they had settled themselves fairly into the saddle, they would
be able to get rid of the presence of the Canadian “as one would throw
away a dirty dishrag,” accompanying the remark with a fitting gesture
and suggestive grimace.
The only justification of the revolutionists for seizing the reins of
power and overturning the Government was the crying necessity for
the correction of abuses and the immediate prevention of continued
malfeasance in the administration of the several departments, Con-
Sequently they lost no time in employing an expensive staff of experts
and proceeding to an exhaustive examination in every direction which
104
would be likely to prove anything irregular against either or both the
King and his prime minister, Gibson. In spite of their most strenuous
efforts, extending over a period of more than two months, the scheme
resulted in a miserable failure, as their ferrets could find nothing on
which to base a charge. -
But they were not to be foiled in their determination to get revenge
on the man who had so long held them at bay. An adventurous strumpet
was induced by them to bring a suit for $10,000 damages for a breach
of promise of marriage against Gibson, he being out of the country at
the time. A jury was easily found to assist in the fraud, and the
amount claimed was awarded in full. A greater outrage on an indi-
vidual, or a more abominable travesty of justice, never before received
the sanction of a Hawaiian court.
The new cabinet, backed by the pretorian guard of “Honolulu
rifles,” decided on making a show to the world and at the same time
demonstrating to the native Hawaiians how insignificant a factor they
had become in the land of their birth. A general election of members
of the Legislature was ordered for the 15th September, 1887, within the
lines of the new constitution, and under regulations which the revo-
lutionists were confident would preclude the possibility of any failure
in their schemes. The division of the whole country into “districts,”
“wards,” and “precincts,” and the organization of political clubs, with
the peculiar technical slang of the ward bosses, were new and novel
features in the Paradise of the Pacific; but the business was pushed
forward with a zeal worthy of a better cause, and a whole crop of
McLeans, McLeods, McStockers, O'Raffertys, and the like, bloomed out
like magic as managers and instructors in the science of how to beat
an overwhelming majority of the honest citizens at the polls.
Nor were any of the minor details overlooked. The swaggerin
gait, tilted hat, humped shoulder, and leering stare of the .#
bosses made the stranger from New York and San Francisco feel quite
at home, and gave unmistakable assurances of our being fully abreast
of the age. The missionary of the present generation became an
apt pupil of the scoundrel, who was an adept in all the black arts
by which the will of the people is defeated at the ballot box. In due
course the election was held, and the results showed how perfectly the
organization of the revolutionists had been carried out: . Only two
independent native Hawaiians out of forty eight elected members
were returned to the assembly, and these two were practically under
the control of the machine. The average standard of intelligence of
the Legislature was much lower than that bf any Hawaiian Legislature
either before or since, and included such men as Notley, Wall, Make
the two Dowsetts, father and son, the Wilcox brothers, George an
Albert Deacon, and the like; men who were selected because they could
be depended upon to vote straight without any danger of their giving
trouble by having views of their own.
The mental and moral obliquities of the lawgivers were plainly out-
lined in their physical deformities, as seven-eighths of the whole num-
ber were either pigeontoed, knock-kneed, or bow-legged, and served as
excellent illustrations of the well-known physiological principle or
truth of the general harmony of mental and physical attributes. The
history of the session and the character of the work done did not in
any way disappoint those at all acquainted with the personnel of the
honorable body. The speakers and leaders in the Assembly, without
exception, were members of or under control of, the Missionary
party, and the whole business of the session was carried through on
the “cut-and-dried” principle. The main object in view was to em-
phasize their contempt for the King, his native subjects, and all others
who were not in sympathy with the revolutionists, and at the same
time to strengthen, by suitable legislation, their hold of the situation.
When they felt they had attained their object they adjourned, “sub-
ject to the call of the President of the Legislature,” avoiding proroga-
tion, thereby still further showing their determination to arrogate to
themselves all the functions of government.
The community, the nation at large, soon realized that instead of
being ruled over by one king, who, however injudicious he might be
at times, never failed to realize that he was the first gentleman of the
realm, they were being ruthlessly dominated by four kings who were
personifications of arrogance and boorish ignorance. Their manage-
ment of the several departments, distribution of patronage, and haughty
indifference to the wishes of those who had helped them to power
105
caused an inevitable revulsion amongst their own adherents, to say
nothing of the increased alienation of the native Hawaiians, who now
began to understand and feel the indignities heaped upon them.
It was plain to be seen that the coming election, not far distant,
would show a decided change very likely disastrous to the saints. In
the meantime a few ill-advised natives, with R. W. Wilcox at their
head, and secretly supported and encouraged by some disaffected
foreigners, made an abortive attempt to emulate the example of the
Missionary party by presenting to the King a constitution which would
restore the conditions previous to June 30, 1887. The leaders had
reckoned without their host. They led a few hundreds of natives to the
palace before daylight in the morning, expecting by 7 o'clock they
would have several thousands to support them. In this they were dis-
appointed, as the movement was not popular with the Hawaiians gen-
erally. And by 8 o'clock those in the palace yard realized their situa-
tion and would have gladly surrendered to anyone having authority
to demand it.
When the news of the affair spread over town our missionary friends
were dismayed, and had no idea of what to do, as there seemed to be
little inclination on the part of the public to help them out. . However,
their old tactics stood them in good service, and by 10 o'clock in the
forenoon, by the time-honored trick of promises and coin, they got
together a motley body of sharpshooters to attack the comparatively
defenseless people in the palace grounds. The attacking party occu-
pied the buildings surrounding the palace yard, and from safe point of
vantage began a fusilade fatal to the Kanaka, the missionaries them-
selves taking the greatest delight in “picking them off,” as Dole and
and others of his ilk who participated in the sport expressed it.
If the Hawaiian needed any further proof of the true sentiments
cherished for himself by the descendants of the old missionary teachers,
the savage alacrity with which they seized the first opportunity to shoot
him like a rat in a hole from safe cover would seem to have been suf.
ficient to dispel any remaining doubt.
The general election of 1890 came offin due time, and, as was antici.
pated, a cold wave swept over the hopes and plans of the revolutionists
and left them without a majority in the house. They plainly saw that
all their expenditure of time and pains and (what to them was the most
heartsickening of all) money was a total, dismal failure, as, with all
their talk about free and representative government, they had no
grounds for complaint if they could not control the necessary votes.
Consequently they immediately began to scheme on a different line,
having in view the extinction of the nation, as such, and accordingly
laid their plans for annexation to the United States. Just exactly
what advantages the saints expected to secure to themselves by such
a move is not quite clear when it is remembered that the very essence
of the Government of the great republic is that the voice of the major-
ity shall rule.
It can only be presumed that they had their own selfish ends alone
in view, as in this respect they had always been thoroughly consistent,
and their past history precludes the possibility of supposing that any
consideration for the welfare of the nation had cut any figure in their
scheme. It has been suggested that the 2 cents per pound bounty made
their mouths water. To imagine this to have been the prompting
motive would be to place them on about the same plane of intelligence
with the African ostrich with his beak in the sand, or the Irishman who
sawed off the limb on which he was standing, between himself and the
trunk of the tree. Whatever the true causes may have been which led
to this course, the fact remains that they bent their energies with untir-
ing zeal to the accomplishment of the object, and Col. Spalding, Judge
Hartwell, and Thurston, each in turn, made special visits to Washing-
ton on this errand, with what success the public, of course, never
learned; but from later developments there would seem to be reason
for believing that the revolutionists' emissaries found some comforting
warmth in the bosom of that statesmanship which conceived, and
endeavored to put in force, the peculiar views with regard to the Mon-
roe doctrine a dozen or so years since and the Pan-American scheme of
a later date.
As soon as they found that the Queen was not disposed to yield, a
blind obedience to their bidding the saints transferred to her all the bit-
ter malevolence which they had heaped upon her brother (notwithstand-
ing the fact that she had very lately been so much of a favorite with
B—14
106
them that they had seriously contemplated setting her up in his place)
and the measure of their vindictiveness knew no bounds. They had
cheerfully accepted her always liberal contributions to their church,
educational, and charitable objects, and no sacred or social function
Was complete without her presence, and for years past they had sought
her membership of all their benevolent and church societies.
The greatest show of deference and obsequious homage was always
made by them all when before her, and no opportunity was lost by
any of them to secure invitations to the palace, and they took especial
pains to have strangers understand that they were on the best of
terms with the head of the nation. But when their emotional tide
turned there was nothing too gross for their devilish ingenuity to lay
to her charge. Moral depravity and superstition too coarse for descrip-
tion by any except their own filthy scavengers were imputed to her
and paraded in their publications in the most offensive and loathsome
manner. As an example of what the motherly members of the Central
Union Church have been in the habit of retailing to strangers with
regard to her, the following choice bit may serve as a type:
or several years passed the Queen has supported at her own expense
upwards of 20 destitute native Hawaiians girls at Kawaiaho and
other mission schools, and when they graduated, in many cases, she
settled them in life, assisting them in securing homes with suitable
husbands. When the saints frowned on her they could see nothin
but the most contemptible motives back of her philanthropy, an
they did not hesitate to say that the girls were merely supported
by the Queen for the sole purpose of being distributed amongst her
favorites when their charms were sufficiently developed.
Illustrations like the foregoing might be multiplied indefinitely.
The feature most difficult to account for in the attitude of the saintsis,
that while the Queen might naturally come in for a large share of their
ill-will as having been a marplot to their schemes, why should they
show hatred for the native Hawaiian race. Their iocai publications,
the Friend, Gazette, Daily Advertiser, etc., seldom appeared without
containing some heartless libel or ungenerous slur against the Hawa-
iians either as individuals or as a race or nation. Descendants of the
old stock, such as S. E. Bishop, S. C. Armstrong, H. M. Whitney, W.
R. Castle, and a number of others, who screened themselves from identi-
fication by writing anonymously-prepared elaborate libels on the Hawa-
iian people for publication in American periodicals. They worked
with the genius of inspiration and the industry of honest men to in
every way defame the people for whom one would think they could
entertain only the most friendly and generous sentiments to the latest
generation.
A notable example of their efforts in this line is the screed prepared
by Bishop entitled (See page 3 of pamphlet herewith) “Why are the
Hawaiians dying out?” The author endeavored to shield himself from
criticism behind the specious pretext of “scientific investigation,” and
first made public his diatribe by reading it before one of the numerous
admiration societies controlled by the saints in Honolulu, known as
the “Social Science Association.” The document is a model of ingen-
ious combination of truth and falsehood, which are sufficiently well
interwoven to give a certain air of severe scientific fairness to the
heartless production. Affecting a display of analytical acumen, the
author proceeds to divide up and classify the reasons for his belief
that the final extinction of the Hawaiians (so devoutly hoped for by
him and his friends) is near at hand. First amongst the causes selected
is “unchastity”—under which heading he tells us that “the Hawaiian
female was aggressive in solicitation,” and that this astounding and
unseemly peculiarity “was a matter of good form.”
The writer hereof can only say, in reply, that a continuous residence
of over forty years in this #ingdom and an intimate association with
the natives of every grade from the peasant to the head of the nation
has discovered to him no such custom or weakness, and it would seem
not unreasonable that the author of the libel should be called upon to
raise his hand and make affidavit whether at any time during his long
experience—from tender infancy § unfortunately he was born here)
to the hoary old age now vouchsafed to him—he ever met an Hawaiian
damsel who had so far forgotten the instincts of womanhood as to vol-
untarily seek his loathsome embraces. It is altogether unlikely that
the aged traducer would face the proposition. The charge coming
from this source seems all the more gratuitous when it is remembered
107
that a large number of half-castes of both sexes, ranging from infancy to
middle age, throughout the Kingdom are living proofs of the moral
weaknesses of some of the annointed and their white descendants.
If the saints prove anything they would seem to prove too much by
their continued efforts to belittle the Queen and her race. If she and
her people are as bad now as they represent them to be what is to be
said of all the prayerful work of the good missionary fathers and
mothers during the last seventy years? If their picture is a true one
then the million and a half of money, made up from 5 and 10 cent
American sabbath-school subscription, together with a few death-bed
legacies of Puritan fanatics, which has been expended for the evangeli-
zation of the Hawaiians would seem to have been worse than wasted.
The impartial observer is not, however, led to this conclusion. He
finds that the Hawaiian has made very commendable progress on the
road to civilization during the two and a half generations last past;
that for a half century he has had a representative government, which,
so far as he himself (the Hawaiian) is concerned, would compare favor.
ably with that of any nation on the face of the globe; that the little
Kingdom occupies an honored position in the family of nations, having
treaty relations with all the commercial nations of the earth and being
a member of the Universal Postal Union, with a representative in the
congress at Geneva; that the standard of intelligence amongst the
native Hawaiians is higher than that in any other nation in the world,
illiteracy being practically unknown; and that, above all, he finds thé
native Hawaiian a peaceable, law-abiding citizen, not nearly so prone
to violence and riot as his white brother. He finds further that, not-
withstanding their unfortunate experience with some of the foreign
residents in their midst, the people are endowed with a genial friend-
liness and hospitality, frankness and courtliness of manner, which, in
many respects, makes them the peers of any race living, and strikes
the stranger with wonder who has become familiar with the libelous
charges so industriously circulated against the Hawaiians.
Returning to the political attitude of the saints, we find that the
arrival of United States Minister Stevens gave a new impulse to their
machinations. On his first presentation to the King, he presumed to
give His Majesty a lecture in such an offensive manner as to tempt the
King to abruptly terminate the interview and to request his recall.
Actual rupture on the occasion was, however, narrowly avoided and,
from this time on the American legation was the rallying point for the
missionary annexation party. During the session of the Hawaiian
Legislature of 1892, Hartwell, Smith, Castle, Waterhouse, Thurston,
Dole, Judd (the chief justice), and other leaders of the party were in
the habit of meeting there from time to time to plan the overthrow of
the monarchy without endangering their own precious carcasses. They
had secured, at no little expense, the services of a cat in 1887 to get the
chestnut for them, which through ignorance and carelessness they sub-
quently lost. It had been an expensive and sorrowful lesson to them.
Now if they could only induce Stevens to take the part of the cat in
the new venture it would be a great improvement on their first effort.
In the first place it would be much less expensive (which to the saints
was of prime importance), and in the next place, they imagined that
the backing of the ūnited states troops would give greater assurance
of success than the undisciplined and ungovernable rabble of volun-
teers, of whom they had had a disagreeable experience in the times
subsequent to their first revolution. Stevens was only too glad of the
opportunity to act as the cat, and with a powerful war vessel in com-
mand of a willing tool, the setting of the game was easily completed.
The attitude of the American minister and his satellite, the Com-
mander of the U.S. S. Boston, also the clandestine meetings at the Amer-
ican legation above referred to, were matters of public notoriety and
as early as August or September of last year it was at first mysteri-
ously hinted and later more openly asserted that the American minis-
ter would recognize without delay any movement for the overthrow of
the monarchy and would give it the physical support of the men from
the Boston, and it was further generally understood and spoken of,
that the revolutionary annexationists, with Stevens and Wiltse (the
commander of the Boston) at their backs, or more properly in the
lead, were only waiting for a favorable opportunity to strike. The
opportunity, or excuse, came on the 14th of January, A. D. 1893, cul-
minating in the events of the 16th and 17th days of the same month.
The revolutionists proclaimed a Provisional Government from the steps
108
of the Government building at 2:40 o'clock in the afternoon of the last
named day, which was immediately recognized by Stevens with the
assurance that the new Government would receive the support of the
Boston's men who had been quartered the day before alongside of and
in practical possession of the Government building.
The revolutionary annexationists, in justification of their action, have
raised the old cry of 1887, of the necessity of stable government, proper
representation, honest administration, prevention of riot and blºod.
shed, maintenance of law and order, etc., when as a matter of fact there
is not now, and never has been, the least danger of disorder or opposi-
tion to law except at the hands of revolutionists themselves. The rant
in the speeches at their meeting in the Rifles' armory on the 16th of
January, and in their “proclamation,” and the mock heroic utterances
of Wilder (see Two Weeks of Hawaiian History, pages 15 and 16) when
he assumed the chairmanship of the meeting are amongst the poorest
examples imaginable of a stale herring drawn across a trail. There has
been no fraud discovered nor malfeasance unearthed, nor great wron
righted; on the contrary thefts and spoliations have been committ
under the very noses of the Provisional Government with apparent
impunity, the probability being that exposure would be disagreeable,
as it woºid be likely to implicate more or less distinguished members
of their own precious crew.
The bald fact stands out in plain view to-day, exactly as it did in 1887,
that the sole prompting motive of the missionary revolutionists was in
both cases a lust of power coupled with a desire to possess themselves
of the property of another without giving compensation therefor, sen-
timents which they enjoy in common with the vulgar highwayman and
his more gentlemanly prototype, the filibuster. As they could not
have held together for an hour without the assistance of the United
States officials and forces, the singular spectacle is presented of a
United States naval commander in Honolulu protecting a band of fili-
busters with the forces under his command while they overturn and
destroy a Government between which and his own country special
treaty relations of amity and commerce were in full force and unim-
paired, and at the same date, due east about 5,000 miles as the crow
flies, another naval commander, under the same flag, blockades a fili-
bustering force in Key West to prevent it from making a descent on a
friendly power. The question naturally arises: Why this difference?
What had little Hawaii done that she should merit such treatment?
About 5 o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, the 16th day of January
A. D. 1893, a large detachment of marines and sailors from the timited
States ship Boston, lying in the harbor of Honolulu, landed without
permission or request from the Hawaiian Government, and took position
in King street between the Government building and the palace. The
United States troops were fully armed and carried double cartridge
belts filled with ammunition, also haversacks and canteens, and were
accompanied by a Gatling gun battery, also a field hospital corps.
Between 7 and 8 o'clock the same evening the force was quartered in
the building immediately in rear of the Music Hall, being within half
pistol shot, and in practical possession of the Government building.
At the date above mentioned, and for many years immediately pre-
ceding the landing of this force, the Hawaiian Kingdom was at peace
with all nations. With all the great powers, and with many of the
smaller Governments, Hawaii sustained treaty relations which were in
full force and effect. This was more especially true in the case of the
United States, with whom the most friendly relations of amity and com-
merce had existed from the date of the first treaty, dated December 23,
1826, to the above-mentioned date, and for whom little Hawaii (rulers
and people alike) had always cherished the most friendly feelings.
Diplomatic and consular representatives of various countries were
accredited to the Hawaiian court and raised the flags of their respec-
tive governments in Honolulu. The Hawaiian Government was repre-
sented at various capitals and seaports throughout the world by diplo-
matic and consular agents duly recognized and accepted by the several
gºment, to whom they were accredited by the Hawaiian foreign
Office,
The Hawaiian Kingdom held an honorable position in the family of
nations as an independent government. The courts of justice through-
out the Kingdom were disposing of the business brought before them
without menace, let, or hindrance. Business of all kinds was being
carried on as usual without interruption. The banks, newspaper offices,

109
and commercial houses were attending to business in their several lines
without unusual incident. Perfect quiet and good order existed through-
out the city, there being not even a suggestion of disorder or danger to
the life or property of either citizen or alien. A band concert was given
at the Hawaiian Hotel at 8 o'clock in the evening, which was largely
attended by men, women, and children of all classes, as it was fine
weather and near full moon.
At 2:40 o'clock p.m. on the following day, January 17, 1893—nearly
twenty-four hours after the American troops landed—thirteen white
men, several of them lately arrived in the country and not entitled to
vote, appeared in front of the Government building, and the leader
proceeded to read a proclamation deposing the Queen and establishing
a provisional government. The only audience to this function was com-
posed of a few loungers in the corridors of the building. Near the
close of the reading some twenty-seven armed men ran in from the
back and side entrances of the premises and gathered around the thir-
teen men above mentioned, apparently as supporters of the movement.
This supporting force was composed of vagrants and ex-convicts who
were at that moment under police surveillance, deserters from merchant
ships in port, and the like, only two or three being known as residents
of the town. Before the arrival of the thirteen men in front of the
Government building the American troops quartered nearby (as already
described) were under arms; the crews of the Gatlings were handy by
their respective places; everything seeming to indicate complete readi-
ness for any emergency.
At the time when the proclamation was being read the Hawaiian
Government had 87 regular troops at the barracks, well drilled, officered,
and equipped, having a battery of breech-loading field guns and a
large supply of extra arms and ammunition for all arms. There was
also a very efficient police force, drilled as a military company, and a
large supply of arms, equipments, and ammunition, including a Gat-
ling gun, with boiler-plate shield, at the station house in Honolulu.
The commander at the barracks and the marshal were ready and
anxious to proceed Immediately to take the Government building and
arrest the parties in possession. But the presence of the American
troops, and certain rumors with regard to the attitude of the American
minister, caused the Hawaiian cabinet to confer with that official before
taking action. They learned from him in writing that he recognized
the Provisional Government and would support it with the United
States troops. tº
As any action on the part of the Hawaiian troops or police meant a
collision with the United States troops, the cabinet decided to surrender
to the United States and await a settlement of the case on a presenta-
tion of the facts to the authorities in Washington. The surrender was
made about sundown, at which time there had assembled at the bar-
racks over a hundred and fifty members of the old volunteer companies
disbanded in 1887 by the Reform cabinet, and between one hundred and
fifty and two hundred citizens, accustomed to the use of arms, many of
them old soldiers, assembled at the station house, volunteering their
services to the marshal. There was an ample supply of arms and
ammunition at both the barracks and station house to supply all comers.
At the time of the surrender there were, all told, over five hundred men
ready and anxious to assist the Hawaiian Government in enforcing
law and order.
The foregoing statement of facts can be easily supported by affidavits,
if necessary, and would seem to show plainly that the movement can
in no sense be justly termed a revolution, but was simply the action of a
handful offilibusters made possible only by the active coöperation of the
Jimerican minister and the American troops, and that the Hawaiian
Government was at the time fully prepared and capable of regulating
its domestic affairs, maintaining order, and giving ample protection to
life and property within its borders. Consequently, as the defiance of
Hawaiian laws, the deposition of the sovereign, aid the spoliation of
the treasury were effected—in fact were only possible—through the active
agency of the American officials and troops, it seems but just that a full
and complete restoration of affairs to the statu quo of January 16, 1893,
previous to the landing of the United States troops, should be.pnade
with as little º as possible, as each day's delay is adding to the
legal and financial complications which will have to be met and com-
posed by the Hawaiian people and their rulers.
* CHAs. T, GULICK.

110
&
HAwal.[AN ISLANDs, Island of Oahu, ss:
Charles T. Gulick, being duly sworn, on his oath deposes and says,
that during the ten years from A. D. 1869 to A. D. 1879 he was chief
clerk of the interior department of the Hawaiian Government; that dur-
ing the period from August 6, 1883, to June 30, 1886, he was minister of
the interior of said Hawaiian Government, that during the above-named
periods the rolls (or polling lists) of qualified voters for members of the
Legislature were returned to said Interior Department; that from the
opportunities thus offered for gaining information on the subject, affiant
is confident that less than 20 per cent of American and European for-
eigners (i.e., foreigners other than Asiatics) domiciled in the Kingdom
#. to the revolution of 1887 became naturalized under the Hawaiian
2\WS,
CHAs. T. GULICK.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 7th day of July, A. D. 1893.
[SEAL.] J. H. THOMPSON
Notary Public, Island of Oahu.
WHY ARE THE HAWAIIANS DYING OUT OR ELEMENTS OF DISABILITY
FOR SURVIVAL AMONG THE HAWAIIAN PEOPLE P
By Rev. S. E. Bishop.
[Read to Honolulu Social Science Association, November, 1888.1
Mr. Darwin supplied an expression which has been much in vogue, “The survival
of the fittest.” This is . applicable in the present case, since in Hawaii
there is no competitive “struggle for existence” between weaker and stronger races
of men. The Hawaiian Islands have been far more than sufficiently productive for
the ample supply of the needs of all the people living here since the beginning of
this century. So far all the different races have lived in plenty, and in amity with
each other. A crowded condition might be conceived as possible in the future,
when the thrifty and capable classes would push the inefficient and improvident
classes into penury. In such case, one would think the Chinese to be the best fitted
for the ** º: for existence,” and the Polynesian the least fitted. The former
inherits an education of hundreds of generations in living on the minimum of nec-
essaries, also an unequaled patience of industry and tactful thriftiness for procuring
those necessaries. The latter, thriftless and indolent in comparison, would be
crowded out of the land.
No such conditions exist. . There is no struggle to find subsistence. One race is as
fit to survive as another, so far as obtaining §: is concerned, in a country where
the wages of one day's unskilled labor will purchase all indispensable food and
raiment for a whole week. Neither is the climate of Hawaii less favorable to the
health of one race than to that of another. It is comparatively a perfect climate,
absolutely devoid of extremes of i. free from humidity, swept by the
ever purging ocean airs; and seemingly incapable of long harboring malarial or
zymotic diseases. Possibly an Esquimaux might not thrive here. For all other
races it is an Eden in º:
Yet it is the strange fact-iñview of the amiable and attractive qualities of Polyne-
sians, the distressingly sad fact that, simultaneously with the arrival of white men
in these islands, the Hawaiian people began rapidly, to melt. away, and that this
waste has continued up to the present with substantial steadiness. At the date of
the discovery, Captain Cook estimated the population at 400,000. Later historians
have leaned to the more moderate estimate of 250,000. My father who was one of
the first party of white men to travel around Hawaii in 1824, then observed such
evidences of recent extensive depopulation in all parts of that island that he very
decidedly supported the estimate of Cook. There are now less than 40,000 pure
Hawaiians surviving. . The later counts have been taken with reasonable accuracy.
One is led to suspect that the earlier ones omitted considerable numbers, when
one observes the comparative sparseness of native population in every district, as
compared with the relatively dense population fifty years ago, when only 125,000
were counted, or little more than three times the present number. With the excep-
tion of the towns of Honolulu, Hilo, and Wailuku, every large and populous town
in the islands has dwindled to a hamlet since my boyhood, and the then frequent
and considerable hamlets scattered everywhere, have almost all disappeared. The
recollections of fifty years since are of throngs and swarms of natives everywhere.
Yet even then all the talk was of how the islands had become depopulated; even
then, in traveling, the deserted sites of villages and hamlets with abandoned plan-
tations were constantly pointed out. Have we now one in six of the ancient num-
bers of natives, or have we only one in ten. It is immaterial; the fact remains of
an enormous depopulation.
And yet, in the total absence of any struggle for existence, all the more or less
civilized races migrating here appear to thrive and multiply abundantly, and the
children surpass their children in health and stature. At first sight these foreigners
do not average as equal to the Hawaiian. The Chinaman is vastly his inferior in
strength, in stature, in #. and in apparent soundness. But the Chinaman
lives and propagates, while the Hawaiian dies easily,and leaves few or no offsprings.
The Caucasian also comes with his family,and multiplies amain.
The º then is, under what peculiar disabilities does the Hawaiian labor, as
to vitality and power of propagation, from which the foreign races living here are


111
exempt? This inquiry is farther complicated by the fact that these disabilities,
whatever they are, seem to have first sprung into efficiency upon contact with the
white race. The coming of that race appears to have introduced new deleterious
influence, and created new conditions, under which the Polynesian, somewhere
weak, succumbs. We are to seek to clearly define what these unfavorable condi-
tions are, and wherein the weakness of the native race to withstand these adverse
influences, consists.
I here limit our inquiry to the Hawaiians, because with this people only do we
possess any intimate acquaintance. A similar state of things prevails more or less
throughout Polynesia, and ultimate extinction appears to threaten the native popu-
lation of most of the groups of Polynesia. We are to endeavor to define the precise
canses of depopulation. We should strive to indicate exactly what adverse influ-
ences have been steadily at work for five generations to kill off the Hawaiian people.
There has been a great deal of vague generalization—of indefinite talk about a
weak race succumbing to the stronger. e want to quit vagueness and generali-
ties, and find the answer to the question, “In what respects, *::::. and pre-
cisely, are the Hawaiian people weaker than their white, or their Mbngoloid guests?”
This will prepare us for the further inquiry, by what means can this weak race be
so invigorated that it will again multiply? ... Our first effort—perchance unskilled
and misdirected, is to diagnose the deadly malady which is slaying the people.
As the leading and most efficient element of weakness in the Hawaiian race, tend-
ing to physical decay, we predicate:
(1) Unchastity."—This has always been *. among females as well as males.
The Hawaiian ſemale was, like males of other races, aggressive in solicitation. It
was matter of good form that all proposals should be expressed by the female. It is
still so, except to the extent that foreign ideas have permeated society. The records
of Cook's discovery of the group indicate that state of things as originally existing.
The account written by Dr. Ellis, Cook's chief º; states how at Kauai, where
they first touched, Captain Cook was determined, on account of serious disease
among his men, to permit no intercourse with the women, so as not to introduce
disease among the Hawaiians. It was, however, impracticable to prevent the women
from swarming over the ships. The native account received from participants by
the early missionaries, states that it was arranged in public council that the women
should take this course, as the easiest way of obtaining iron and other prized articles
from the ships.
Proceeding from Niihau to Alaska, and returning nine months later, Cook's ships
made the coast of Hamakua, Hawaii. He again sought to keep the women from his
crew, but discovered that they were already infected with the *†. So promis-
cuous were the habits of the people, that from the first center of infection at
Waimea, the malady had in nine months, spread like a fire to the other extremity
of the group. This, again, is corroborated by the information obtained by the early
missionaries as to the spread of the disease. Dr. Ellis describes, in words undesir-
able to here reproduce, the grossly aggressive and impetuous action of the females.
It was the universal practice of ordinary hospitality to visitors to supply them
during their sojourn with the women of the family. Such a matter-of-course tender
was a frequent cause of annoyance to the early missionaries in their tours in remoter
districts, enjoying the cordial hospitality of the most well-to-do poople, in their
neat thatched cottages. I am not prepared to say how far this heathen custom has
now lapsed into disuse. It is certainly one of the old customs sought to be main-
tained and revived together with the hulas and idolatrous practices. One of the
Fº experiences of missionaries in the out districts, was to heat of this practice
eing carried out in the chief households of his parish when some great man came
along with his suite. I speak from repeated personal experience as a missionary
*Stor,
p It may be said in general that chastity had absolutely no recognition. It was
simply a thing unknown and unthought of as a virtue in the old domestic life of
awaii. A woman who withheld herself was counted sour and un ious. This
did not exclude more or less of marital proprietorship, involving an invasion of the
husband's right in enjoying his É. without his consent. There was no impu-
rity in it any more than among brute animals.
here was, nowever, a salutary limitation of some importance in a frequent strin-
gent guarding of early virginity. Young maidens were quite commonly put under
tabu for first use by the chief, after possession by whom all restriction ceased. No
sense of a sacredness in chastity seems to have been involved in this, nor any sense
of profanation in the contrary. It was only the .#. of a special choiceness in
an article that was fresh and unused. In the tremendous disturbances of life ensu-
*ś the advent of the white man, even this solitary restriction perished.
o severe moral reprobation is due to the primitive Hawaiian for what seems to
have been an ignorant innocence of easy, promiscuous living,1ike the free life of
animals, without sense of evil. None the is must we deem this social condition
more than any other to have incapacitated the Hawaiians from holding their own
after the advent of the white man. During the simplicity of aboriginal life, and in
the total absence of sexual diseases, the evils resulting from promiscuous intercourse
would be minimized. Procreative force remained largely in excess of mortality, so
that the teeming population was kept down by infanticide. But to them a lady which
the white man imported, the unguarded social condition was as tow to the flame.
The seorching and withering disease ran like wildfire through the nationa Multi-
tudes died at once, while the survivors remained with poisoned bodies and enfeebled
constitutions.
A general impairment of constitutional vigor in the people by venereal disease
caused them to fall early victims to other maladies, both native and foreign. All
diseases ran riot in their shattered constitutions. They became especially incapac-
itated to resist pulmonary maladies. The greatly increased prevalence of colds and
consumption is doubtless due to this syphilitic diathesis rather than to change of
habits as to clothing, although the latter may have had some unfavorable effect-
Probably the pestilence called Okwu, whatever its nature, which carried off such a
º: of tºpulation in 1804, owed most of its virulence to the impaired physique
or the people.

& X_i & º Af
* See “Foot-note to Hawaiian history,” page 85.
112
Another destructive effect of the syphilitic taint is believed to have been an
inflaming of sexual passion. It may have acted as a ferment thrown into the
former more quiet pool of promiscuous social living. There can be no doubt that
the advent of foreigners in large numbers was attended by an immense increase of
debased and bestial living. Ten thousand reckless seamen of the whaling fleet
annually frequented these islands and used it as their great brothel. This enor-
mously º: and inflamed the normal unchastity of the people. In the pres-
ence of the white hordes life became hideously brutalized. To multitudes of young
women, tºº. into the seaports for *::::: from half the households in the coun-
life became a continuous orgie of beastly excess. All the former slender limi-
tations and restrictions upon an indiscriminate commerce fell º: The stormy
and reckless passion of the white man, exulting in his unwonted license, imparted
1tself to the warm but sluggish Hawaiian nature. Life became a wasteful riot of
impurity, propagated from the seaports to the end of the land. There was thus no
defense against the new and trying conditions of life through any existing senti-
ment of the sacredness of chastity. The inevitable consequence was depopulation.
The population of brothels and slums has no internal power of multiplying.
In the report on the subject of purity, adopted by the 144 bishops convened in
the late Pan-Anglican Conference at Yambeth Palace, are the following words:
“We solemnly record our conviction that wherever marriage is dishonered, and sins
of the flesh are lightly regarded, the home life will be destroyed, and the nation
itself will sooner or later decay and perish.” The source of this lººse will
lend it great weight. The Hawaiian nation is a sad witness to their truth.
One of the most destructive consequences of the new physical taint was the enfee-
blement of infancy, rendering it difficult for the diseased babes to survive the igno-
rant and careless dealing of their nurses. The largest increase in the mortality of
the Hawaiians was undoubtedly among their infants. The external influences
adverse to infant survival among Hawaiians are very great. , Chief among these are
the practice of feeding with unsuitable nutriment in early infancy, the prevalence
of unchecked cutaneous maladies, general lack of watchful care, and evil doses
administered by ignorant or superstitions friends. Healthy and vigorous infants,
as of the old times, would in good numbers survive all these hostile conditions.
Those born into the taint of syphilis, with its inward and outward corrosions, had
little prospect of surviving other maltreatments, unless some missionary or other
beneficent foreigner came to their aid with his º: regimen and alleviations.
Under this general head of unchastity, as the chief cause of the depletion of the
race, a considerable share must be attributed tº the extensive loss ºf procreative
power in the males. This loss was probably due in part to syphilitic tailut, but is
mainly owing to early sexual excess during puberty. In the aboriginal condition
there would seem to have been less tendency to very early indulgence among
the males. The nervous irritations of the syphilitic taint aud the exciting excesses
E.; native society may have been causes extending debauching influences
even to the children. It is certain that in many districts deplorable excesses have
been found to exist among the school children. It seems to be true that a majority
of young Hawaiian men never have children. Those placed early under the disci-
pline of foreigners, in boarding schools or otherwise, show exceptions to the common
rule. The incapacity seems to be mainly on the part of the males. Young women
united to Chinamen or white men are usvally quite as fruitful as women of other
races. Per contra, it is to be noted that such men are apt to select the best-condi-
tioned females, also that they are accustomed to restrain and to protect their wives,
as Hawaiians do not, and so keep them in healthier condition,
The common record of Hawaiian families is few or no children born, or perhaps
several born, most or all of whom die in infancy. It is exceedingly rare to find a
large family surviving to adult age. Nearly all such that I have known were families
under the immediate and very parental control of some missionary, with whom the
parents had lived from early youth, learning habits of industry, self-control, and
civilized domestic living. They were themselves, kept in vigor and health, their
children were well cared for, and well doctored in sickness, Natives so situated very
º not only raised large families, but by means of their *...* industry,
skill, and thrift acquired considerable substance. Being . placed in a high
social rank among their countrymen, it has too commonly resulted that most of their
children became dissolute, like the children of the wealthy elsewhere, and the fam-
ily failed to be cohtinued. & º , º, ºf
Among other disastrous effects of the universal syphilitic taint was the frequency
of miscarriages. It has been the testimony of missionaries and physicians that a
very considerable proportion of native births have been prevented by that cause.
In my inquiries in native households this, has been assigned as frequently as any
other as the cause of the absence of children. To make such inquires is indeed
melancholy. . One becomes glad to hear that even one or two children are surviving
in a household.
Abortion is often attributed to active horseback exercise during pregnancy. As
native females used to be continually galloping about, no doubt this has contributed
to the evil since 1850, when the common people began generally to possess horses.
Nº. developement of good roads, wheels are now coming into very common use
y aii classes. *
º Drunkenness.-This should be assigned to no inconsiderable place among dis-
abling conditions. Before the kaole arrived the favorite narcotic was awa (piper
methysticum), more commonly known throughout Oceanica as kava. A beer of some
strength was made by #. sweet potato...The sirupy Ki-root (Dracona Ti)
was also macerated and fermented, becoming still more alcoholic than the potato.
This was less acceptable, tending to produce irascibility, while the sour-potato
swill only inflamed sexuality. No great orgies of drunkenness resulted from the use
of any of the ; he vice existed only in mild forms. Awa in excess
tended to waste and paralyze the system.
With the foreigner came the products of the still. § then did drunkenness
begin to reign. ken orgies were an essential part of the beach-comber's É.
dise on Hawaiian shores. He found the Hawaiian an apt disciple, save that, like all
savages, he did not know how to stop. The story of the early missionaries is one of
constant impediment in their labors from the inebrity of the King and chiefs and

*
113
of frequent annoyance and disturbance from the riotous orgies of the common people.
While Kamehameha lived he put considerable check upon both his people and him-
self as to temperance. His youthful successor, Liholiho, plunged, with his people,
into a carnival of excess.
The contribution of drunkenness to depopulation was mainly indirect, although
powerful. It tended to overturn and destroy whatever remains of wholesome social
order and domestic life survived the general wreck consequent upon foreign inter-
course. It stimulated the passions; it solved the remaining bonds of self-restraint;
it flung #. to the winds; thus it enhanced the effectiveness of the causes pre-
viously described. Intemperance 1s always a chief ally of impurity. The gin-iuill
and the brothel are close partners.
(3) Oppression of the chiefs.-There was a considerable mortality during the first
quarter of this century, when the sandal-wood trade was active, caused by the
heavy exactions of the King and chiefs upon the common people to procure this
recious commodity where with to liquidate their immense debts to the traders,
incurred for yachts and costly luxuries. Great numbers of men were driven into
the mountains upon this errand, passing many nights in cold and rain with slight
protection and little food. The result was great waste of life and the almost entire
extirpation of the precious tree. Other severe exactions of labor were common.
Great levies of labor and supplies were frequently made at a chief's caprice from the
tenants of remote estates, to be brought to the island capital. This was an evil
much increased by the temptations of foreign trade. No doubt it materially con-
tributed to the decimation of the people. Oppression by chiefs has ceased to be
an operative cause for nearly half a century, or since constitutional government
began to exist.
(4) Infectious and epidemic diseases.—These have largely added to the destruction
of the population...There seems to be good reason for accepting the theory that new
diseases attack with more severity and greater fatality races who are unaccustomed
to them or to their like. No doubt any race becomes in time somewhat hardened to
the diseases which infest it, the weaker and more susceptible individuals being
weeded out, and the hardier ones transmitting their resisting power to descendants.
Measles first appeared here in 1849. Great numbers died in all parts of the group.
The excess of mortality was attributed to the patients' bathing in order to alleviate
the external heat and irritation of the malady.
Smallpox first arrived in 1853. Before vaccination could be efficiently adminis-
to the natives the infection had spread over the island of Oahu, and one-
half, or 15,000, of the people on that island, perished in a few weeks. After their
manner they rushed to visit their friends. when attacked by the disease. Isolation
and precaution against infection is foreign to their natures. By the energy of the
then “missionary” Government quarantine measures were vigorously enforced
on the other islands, and the people thoroughly vaccinated, so that only a few hun:
dred * occurred. Foreigners were all promptly vaccinated, and nearly all
escaped.
Malarial and other epidemics have been repeatedly introduced, and from time to
time have produced extensive mortality among the natives. The admirable climate,
with its sea air and the ozone of the mountain land breezes, seemed in each case
rapidly to mitigate the virulence with which earlier cases of the new malady would
be characterized, later cases assuming milder forms, until the disease seemed to
slowly die out. This was very marked in the instance of what was known as the
“boo-hoo” fever, which attacked all newly arrived foreigners. It was quite severe
at its first appearance in 1851, but by 1857 had become a very trifling malady.
Deprosy has been something of a scourge. Probably 4,000 lepers have died in these
Islands during the past thirty years. The number at present suffering from the
disease can not be more than 1,500, or 4 per cent of the native population. For
more than a year, or since the end of 1887, there has been a radical improvement in
the work of ::ffff:::::: the lepers. There seems reason to believe that soon nearly
every leper will have been renoved to the excellent asylum at Molokai. The lepers
are nearly all natives. The disease very rarely appears among the white or the Mon-
#. races living here, owing to their carefully avoiding intercourse with lepers.
awaiians, on the contrary, mingle freely with lepers in the most intimate daily
intercourse. They commonly regard the segregation of their leprous relatives as a
cruel and uncalled-for severity. This is only one illustration of the habitual indif-
ference of this people to sanitation, whether in physics or in morals.
Indeed, the idea of disease being a product of natural agencies and a thing to be
averted by physical preventives, seems to be one quite foreign to the Hawaiian's
mind and contrary to his modé of thoughtr In common with other uncivilized
races the world over they were accustomed to attribute all diseases to the immedi-
ate agency of some * demon, who enters the patient and malignantly dis-
sses and destroys him. This brings us to another and one of the most destruptive
of the agencies contributing to the tº: of the Hawaiian people.
(5) Kakunas and sorcery.-The kahuna is the medicine man. He is properly a sor-
cerer or wizard, whose chief reliance for the relief of disease is the employment of
supernatural agencies although he will also perhaps use drugs and hygienic treatment.
From ancient times these men and their arts have been powerful agencies of death,
although not seldom effecting a species of “faith cure.” When a Hawaiian is ill,
his superstitious relatives and friends immediately seek to persuade him that his
sickness is owing to the malign presence of some demon, who must either be propi-
tiated or expelled by force. §. kahuna is called in to accomplish this object. H
is believed to enjoy special power with some patron demon, who may be the one
needing to be propitiated, or whose agency may be called in to expel and overcome
the perhaps less powerful agent of the disease. If one kahuna proves insufficient to
the task others must be found who possess the special influence needed. The proc-
esses employed are always expensive to the patient, and very commonly quite severe.
There are sacrifices of pigs and fowls; there are complex incantations. There are
doubtless various efforts afied to mesmeric or hypnotic phenomena, Violent sweat-
ings and purgings are frequently used to promote the expulsion of the demon, with
great physical severities of different kinds, such as often are of themselves fatal to
the patient. The tension of anxiety and dread is terrible and very weakening.
great mortality results directly from this violent and terrifying treatment. Fur-

B—15
114
thermore, there is a large mortality caused by pure mental apprehension where no
disease originally existetl. The sufferer is told that a sorcerer is at work against
him; he at once sickens, and is prostrated, and soon dies. Or he is solemnly warned
by a learned kahuna that he has symptoms of dangerous disease impending. Or
he is conscious of having committed some act, such as the violation of a vow, which
has offended the family deity, or aungkwa, and through, mental º: the
satne effect of sickening ensues. All these things play into the lands of the medi-
cine man, bring him dupes and victims, increase his revenue, and multiply the mor-
tality of the people. It is difficult to determine to what extent these superstitious
agencies are still at work. There is a painful reason to believe that their activity
has been greatly revived of late #. There is much ground for thinking that a
large proportion of the more intelligent and educated Hawaiians, when they fall ill,
are prone to succumb to the inherited superstition. It is commonly remarked that
the Hawaiian, when sick, shows a strange lack of recuperative power. He dies
easily. . He becomes depressed and surrenders where other men would recover.
Probably in most such cases the cause is his superstitious belief in a demon whom
he feels working at his vitals and whom it is hopeless to resist.
(6) Idolatry.—This is intimately connected with the above-named agency. Its
chief importance, however, in this discussion, is in its character as the most efficient
of all the agencies that disorder the mental and debase the moral action of the
people, and which frustrate and neutralize remedial influences. It resembles drunk-
enness in this respect, but I think very far exceeds it in its evil ethical efficiency.
All thinkers, of whatever creed or type of skepticism, consider a people's religion
to have an immense formative power upon them. The institutions,the customs, and
the conduct of a people are certain to be shaped and patterned, in a great degree,
after whatever embodiments of moral ideals they believe in, such as deified heroes,
and deities of whatever sort whom they fear and worship. If the gods of any
nation, like those of early Egypt, are understood to exercise substantial justice, to
rewari virtue; purity, and temperance, and to punish vice, treachery, and cruelty,
such a nation will continue to cherish the higher and to despise the baser qualities.
#. has the sanction of religion, and the nation grows and prospers. The
Polytheisms of Egypt, of Greece, of Rome, of Chaldea, in their earlier andless cor-
rupted forms, exalted much of the higher elements of character; hence a good
degree of civilization became possible under these religions. This was also true of
the earlier Brahminism of the Vedas. There is strong evidence that these religions
were all corruptions from an original Monotheism, retaining something of that
earlier religious recognition of the righteousness and benevolence of the Heaven-
Father, the Dyaus-Pitar, Zeus-Pater, or Jupiter of the Aryan races. It is most
noticeable how, from debased races, these nations imported successively the worshi
of evil gods—the Baals, Molochs, Astartes, Kalis, gods of lust, cruelty, falseh
debauchery. . These fastened as parasites upon the earlier and cleaner Polytheisms,
and so corroded and poisoned the social and political life of those great nations.
Whether, as Formander maintains, any traces of an ancient monotheism can be dis-
cerned in the Polynesian Pantheon, may be considered doubtful. It is certain,
however, that the prevailing characteristics attributed to even the highest F.
such as Fornander's Trinity of Ku, Kane, and Kanaloa, were wretchedly evilſ and
unclean. There are not .# strong tendencies to animalism and cruelty, with
frequent lapses into crimes of lust and revenge, such as disfigure Greek mythology,
These gods of the Hawaiians become absolute embodiments of bestiality and
mallignity, like Moloch and other gods of the Canaanites.
The impure and malignant essence of Hawaiian deities is visibly embodied in
their images. In contrast to the personal beauty of the Greek £º. the ailm and
the effort of the carver is to depict an extreme of malignity and sensuality. The
lineaments are made as revolting and horrific as the artist can combine them from
vicious types of animal savagery, such as the shark or the boar. The first impres-
sion is a just one, that a people who worshiped such deities as these images repre-
sent could not be otherwise than profoundly perverted in their ethical sentiments.
The various legends of the chief gods abound in attributes of the most excessive
bestiality. They are generally incapable of being printed without extensive expur-
gation. A loathsome filthiness is not mere incident, but forms the groundwork of
character, not merely of the great hog-god Kamapuaa, but even of the more human-
like Ku and Kane of the chief Trinity.
The moral ideas of the worshipers of such gods could not fail to suffer extreme per-
version. Justice and purity were in contempt. Cruelty and lust were exalted into
religion. The late Matthew Arnold, eliminating personality from the idea of the
God of Christendom, defined Deity as “The stream of tendency in the universe that
makes for righteousness.” If we could eliminate these horrific personalities from the
Hawaiian Pantheon, we might well count the ideal residuum to stand for the stream
of tendency that makes for all wickedness. It was an embodied diabolism.
a shaping force upon character, and a moving force upon conduct, this dia-
bolic religion takes its energy from sorcery. Sorcery brings these evil gods down
as living active powers interposing in all circumstances of life. By the arts of the
kahunas the É. were held, and, to a considerable extent, are still held, in habit-
ual fear of these powerful gods and their º: demons. Their lives are con-
tinually threatened by them. Every internal sense of illness is the deadly touch,
sensibly felt, of a g So the people were held in abject slavery to their gods,
and to the #: who could influence them. Slaves to such unclean beings, the
tend to be like them; their moral sentiments are overturned; evil becomes º
and good evil. Lewdness, prostitution, indecency, drunkenness, being god-like,
are exalted into virtues. Recent practical illustrations of this are not lacking.
One of the foul florescences of the great poison tree of idolatry is the kula. This
is most intimately connected with the whole system, and forms an essential part of
its services, just as sacred music does of Christian worship. The kula dances are
habitually idolatrous in practice, having their special patron, gods, whom the
dancers invoke and worship. The chief posturings and movements of the hulae are
pantomimes of unnameable lewdness, illustrated and varied with elaborate art, and
accompanied with chants of unspeakable foulness of diction and description. This,
the sacred music of idolatry, its opera and its drama. The multitudes of men, .
women, and children who throng to these royal kula operas there drink in the
115.
Yeathen ethics of social life in unmitigated directness and grossness, made sensa
tional with vivid pantomime of beastliness, and embellished with rouſ it and rest
in song, extolling and dramatizing impurity. Against such schooling, it must be a
É. civilizing force that cau make head and redeem any Hawaiian homes from
ecoming brothels.
. (7), Wifeless Chinese-This is an evil of recent growth, which acts most perni-
ciously upon the social life of Hawaiians. There are some 20,000 Chinamen of the
lowest class, without their women, distributed throughout the islands in close con-
tact with the natives, and in many districts outnumbering the Hawaiian males.
The effect is necessarily very destructive to the purity of native families, although
not more so than the presence of a similar number of unmarried whites would be.
There is no doubt but that many native households in all parts of the country are
maintained in comparative aftluence by the intimacy of Chinese with their females.
Some of the heads of these families are members in good standing in the Protestant
churches, whose easy-going native pastors lack the energy and authority to deal
with the offenders, while the moral sentiment prevailing both within and outside of
the church is too feeble to put them to shame.
The catalogue of destructive elements making for the death of the Hawaiian
people, as enumerated above, is an appalling one. It certainly suffices to account
for any amount of infertility and mortality. . On the other hand there are many
sanative and restorative agencies at work which inspire hope for the repression
of these evils and afford prospect for the reinforcement and augmentation of healing
agencies. I briefly name some of the most efficient:
(1) Government medical aid.—Paid physicians are within reach of most of the
łº, whose services to them are free of charge. . Their help should save many more
ives than they do, or than they will, so long as the people are taught idolatry and
to trust in the kakunas. It is not in itself a very easy thing for a skilled physician
to gain the confidence of the native people in the degree that he needs for any con-
siderable success. It is nearly impossible for him to do so, when contending as he
generally is with active superstition, in the minds of his patients and their friends,
and with the army of kahunas working with all their arts against him. His pre-
Ҽ. will very commonly be neglected and his injunction disobeyed.
I have not the slightest doubt that a hearty reception by the Hawaiian people of
the medical aid now provided, discarding their kahunas, would at once cause births
to preponderate over deaths.
(2) Hygienio instruction.—There has been a great deal of instruction given upon
the laws of health and simple remedial treatment in the schools and churches and
by means of books. Dr. Judd's translation of Cutter's Anatomy and Physiolog
was printed nearly fifty years ago and used as a text-book in the leading #.
school. Such instruction has done great service. It has proved insufficient, how-
ever, to make head against the inveterate belief in the supernatural cause of disease.
# is likely to continue inadequate, so long as the kakunas are encouraged to ply
eir arts.
§ School education.—Book knowledge, and even the much vaunted education in
English, have sadly failed to arm Hawaiians against succumbing to superstition
its kindred impurity, either in the ranks of the lowly or the lofty.
Domestic and industrial training in boarding schools has accomplished much
more, and is doing excellent work for both sexes by their practical training in the
ethics, the conduct, and the º of Christian civilization. Several hundred
outh of each sex are now enjoying the advantages, of such schools conducted by
otestants, Anglicans, and Catholics. Adversely, the youth who go out of these
schools are at once plunged into a sea of indescribable temptation. Yet much of
our best hopes for the future of the race is in the increasing numbers of these well-
trained Hawaiians. They tend to form an elevated and civilized social class of their
own. This is op and disintegrated by a Hawaiian social leadership, whose
tendencies are all adverse.
(4) Christian instruction will continue to be regarded by earnest believers in
Christianity as the chief effective agency in healing the nation's maladies. They
hold that faith in Christ has power to emancipate from fear of demon-gods; they
believe that the implanting of the high ideal of righteousness, of which Jesus of Naz-
areth is the source, will in the end erect in all minds a standard of integrity and
urity which will be more effectual than anything else in securing moral and healthy
iving among the ple. Probably the most of the many true and earnest friends
of right living who do not accept the supernatural element of Christian doctrine
would agree that for the Hawaiian, in his present mental stage of development, such
a faith º be a more efficient antidote than any scientific or philosophical teach-
Rººf COil 8.
fit be asked why sixty-eight years of Christian teaching has not availed to lift
the Hawaiian people out of the mire of impure living if it be thus efficacious, its
teachers would point to the great increase of adverse influences for the last thirty
years and to the direct fostering of sorcery and hulas by authority *:::::: time
and latterly to the promotion of hardly concealed worship of the gods. . They woul
also point to the immense growth of foreign elements whose unfavorable influence
has been illustrated in the case of the Chinese. They would also call special atten-
tion to the fact that during the period of powerful missionary ascendency, say from
1833 to 1853, while nearly the whole people became nominal adherents of Christianity,
only a minority become actual members of the churches, while the great majority,
although outwardly assenting, remained wedded to their habitual vice and secretly
to their superstitions, and that the more Christian minority gave place by death to
another generation far less strongly impressed and less fervid in religious interest.
In accordance with the foregoing statement of facts, as I clearly understand them,
and whose substantial correctness I think can not be gainsaid, there seems to be no
radical remedy for the two great causes of infertility and mortality, viz, unchastity
and sorcery, except a system of .*. extirpating those two allied agencies in
Which they generate and are nourished, the hulas and the kahunas. Both are purely
heathen institutions of the most pronounced and detestible type, and are totally
incompatible with any true and wholesome civilization. They should both be hunted
down and exterminated like the venomous reptiles, that they are, poisoning and
slaying the people. Until this is done with determined thoroughness I see little
prospect of arresting the decrease of the Hawaiian people.
116
The Hawaiian race is one that is well worth saving. With all their sad frailties,
they are a noble race of men physically and morally. They are manly, courageous,
enterprising, cordial, generous, unselfish. They are hº receptive of good. They
love to look forward and upward, even though very facile to temptations to slide
backward and downward. In an unusual degree they possess a capacity for fine
and ardent enthusiasm for noble ends. Should the Hawaiian people leave no poster-
ity, a very sweet, generous, interesting race will have been lost to the world. They
can be saved. They have deserved too well of mankind—they have been too kindly,
too friendly, too trustful and magnanimous not to merit the most devoted efforts to
avert their threatening fate and to set them forward in a hopeful course. It seems
as if this might most easily be accomplished if there were only a wise and resolute
purpose to do it.
TWO WEEKS OF HAWAIIAN HISTORY.
[A brief sketch of the revolution of 1893. Illustrated, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. Published by
the Hawaiian Gazette Company, 1893.]
A BRIEF Sketch of the HAwarraN REvolutiox of 1893.
PREFATORY,
The course of Hawaii's political development has in general been peaceful.
Under the reign of Kamehameha III the fundamental changes in social organiza-
tion, in the private rights of individuals, in the tenure of land, and in the constitu-
tion of government were effected without disturbunce or bloodshed. The reign of
the third Kamehameha witnessed the beginning and the completion of the great
series of changes which transformed Hawaii from a feudal and savage despotism
into a free and civilized state. Without the cordial coöperation of an º:
. these reforms could not have been, as they were, speedily and peacefully
effected,
With the failure of the Kamehameha line, a change came over the spirit of the
monarchy, and the new dynasty refused to waii in the footsteps of the old. The
sound sense which had tempered the despotic spirit of Kamehameha V was want-
ing to Kalakaua, and his reign brought with it a long series of extravagances and
abuses which finally exhausted the patience of the people. The uprising of 1887
resulted in the promulgation of a new and more liberal constitution, but the
patience and moderation of the people gave to royalty one last chance, and left the
monarchy standing.
Five years of bitter *: under the new régime have proved that the revo-
lution of 1887 had one fatal fault. . It did not go far enough. The constitution
which it secured was indeed liberal, its guarantees of political and private right
appeared sufficient, it seemed to introduce a system of government, for and by the
#. responsible to the people. Had the throne been filled by a ruler like Kame-
ameha III, the expectations founded upon the new instrument would not have
been ºº:: and Hawaii might perhaps have continued for a generation
to enjoy the substantial blessings of prosperity and freedom under a monarchical
form of #. The constitution was, however, so drawn that a willful and
stiff-necked sovereign might easily obstruct its workings. Immeuorial usage had
neither defined its intent nor fixed its meaning beyond the reach of quibbling sub-
terfuge and cavil. White men were found to misinterpret its provisions, and per-
vert its plain meanings in the interest absolutism. The closing years of Kalakaua
were occupied with a stubborn resistence by the King to his cabinet, and while the
opening days of Liliuokalani gave birth to fairer hopes, it was soon obvious that
the Queen had all the despotic instincts of her brother, with far more than his
tenacity of will. She was determined to govern by herself without consulting the
will of the people, and had no idea of accepting the rôle of the constitutional head
of a free state.
Such is a brief sketch of the events which serve as a prologue to the revolutionary
drama which was soon to be enacted. This can not be fully understood, however,
without an account of the events, or rather, of the secret intrigues, which led to
the downfall of the Wilcox cabinet.
EVENTS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE REVOLUTION.
The Wilcox cabinet was appointed November 8, but it was not until about
Christmas time that rumors commenced to circulate in town, that the relations
existing between the Queen and her cabinet were not as smooth as they might be.
She § attempted to dictate to them, an interference which they resented, and the
first rumors were that she wanted to get rid of her eabinet on the pretense that
they were under the influence of the American and Annexation party, fearing that
if they remained in power after the prorogation of the Legislature she would be
sure to lose her throne. These fancies were found to have been instilled into her
mind by the opium and spoils ring which had been making such a fight for exist-
ence during the term ; the legislative session. The leaders of this ring were
..clever enough to perceive that their influence with the Queen lay in using the mar-
shal as a cloak for their designs, and, making friends with him, they held the key
to the situation. But they still lacked strength, and cast about for ineans to carry
out their designs. Some self-seekers joined their ranks, and the Queen now com-
1menced to take an active part in affairs, and her minions, notably Captain Nowlein,
..of her guard, were in constant communication with the native members of the
House.
The Queen's legal advisers were in constant consultation with her, and engaged -
in the preparation of a new constitution. At the same time the lottery bill was
...?and used as a #. and promises of money payments for the passage of the
first, second, and third reading of appointments as agents in the several districts and
p
117
of blocks of stock soon brought a change over the native members. The Queen was
now engaged in making personal appeals to these members, cases being reported of
her fortifying her entreaties with tears. She sent for prominent white members
Whom she thought she could influence and asked outright for their support against
her ministers. Expostulations were in vain, and she showed her determination to
brook no delay; still not much fear as to the stability of the cabinet was felt, as
without C. O. Berger's vote she could not secure the necessary 25. It was
clearly explained to Mr. Berger what her actions meant, and he was told who would
constitute a new cabinet if she succeeded in getting the Wilcox one out, and he
romised not to lend his assistance to such schemes. He was advised to consult his
ather in-law (Mr. Widemann), and it is a notable fact that after doing so Mr. Ber-
ger went to the Palace, and to the consternation of the ministerial supporters,
appeared in the House after swearing he would never go near it again during the ses-
sion. The 25 votes necessary to pass a resolution of want of confidence were thus
obtained, and on Thursday, January 12, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Wilcox
ministry was voted out of office,
The downfall of the cabinet was received with nniversal disgust throughout the
community, but when the following day the places of the ministers were º:
by the parker-Peterson Colburn-Cornwell cabinet, the disgust was seasoned with
indignation of the strongest kind. The universal feeling found, however, only
peaceable expression, and none thought of anything but law-abiding acquiesence in
the change, fraught with injury to the public interest though it was known to be.
THE FIRST DAY,
Saturday, the 14th of January, 1893, dawned clear and beautiful, and no one
dreamed that it was to be one of the eventful days of Hawaiian history. The pro-
rogation of the Legislature was to take place at noon, and the members opposed to
the new cabinet, though they absented themselves from the ceremony, had no idea
of º, anything against the ministry. It did not seem possible that the
Queen, after having gained everything for which she had been striving, would
imperil her gains by violating the constitution. And yet she did.
THE RUMORS.
Saturday afternoon, between 1 and 2 o'clock, the community was startled by the
information that a coup d'état was in progress, and that the Queen was endeavoring
to force her cabinet to sign a new constitution, which she then proposed to promul-
ate immediately to the people. The information was at first disbelieved by some,
ut it was speedily confirmed.
The political changes of the past few days, the renewed vote of want of confi-
dence, the secret attempt made by the Queen to secure the overthrow of her minis-
ters, her secret interviews with Noble Dreier and others, the signing of the opium
and lottery bills, coupled with the rabid talk of certain native members in the
house, had produced a feeling of great unrest in the community. The remarks of
Kamanoha in the house were felt by some to give a hint as to what was to be looked
for in the future, and many shared these forebodings. On Saturday morning rumor
was busy, and it was freely stated that a new constitution was to be promulgated
in the afternoon. At a meeting of business men, held in the room of the chamber of
commerce, reference was made to this possibility, but still it was not generally believed
until in the afternoon the unexpected happened, and doubt was transformed into
certainty.
THE HISTORY,
Three days before the coup d'état was attempted, a gentleman who enjoys the
confidence of the Queen told one of the members of the newly º cabinet
(who was then in private station) that the blow was to be struck, and that the
persons of the ministers would be secured. In the anticipation that the new cabinet
would not make any resistance to the revolutionary blow, the precaution of arrest-
# them was not taken. Saturday morning one of the ministers received positive
information that a blow was to be struck that afternoon. He immediately p
to consult two prominent citizens on the course to be taken. After a conference,
the gentlemen referred to advised the cabinet to refuse to sign a new constitution
and to decline to resign if their resignations should be demanded. . The prorogation
of the legislature was the last chapter in the story of the morning. It went off
tamely and quietly enough, but those who were acquainted with the real situation
felt that the Government and the nation were sleeping on the crest of a volcano.
THE AFTERNOON:
In the afternoon, immediately after the Legislature had been prorogued, the Hui
Kalaiaina (a native Hawaiian political society), marched over to the palace in order
to present a new constitution to the Queen, with the petition that the same be pro-
mulgated to the people as the fundamental law of the land. The matter of the new
constitution and petition had been prearranged, and there was little spontaneity
about it. It really originated with the Queen and a few of her adherents. Activ-
ity had been noted for several days among some of the native retainers of Her
Majesty. Several have since stated that they were ordered to appear before her and
ask for a new constitution. One case particularly worthy of note is that of an old
native resident of Nuuanu Valley, who was seen going home on the evening of the
rorogation in an old working suit of clothes. §. being asked where his tall hat,
ongblack coat, and black pants were, he replied, “In the basket,” pointing to one
which he was carrying on his arm. Proceeding, the native said that he, with
others, had been ordered to go and ask for a new constitution, and went prepared
to ask, never dreaming of having the request É. but before the delegation
could present the petition the Queen intimated that their prayer would be granted,
without giving them time even to read the petitions. The old man said, he knew
that was treason, and he thought he had better get home. So he got his wife to

* 118
bring him his old clothes again, which he immediately .# shuffling his finery
into the basket. He further stated that he and the rest had no desire for a new con-
stitution.
* LIFTING THE HAMMER FOR THE COUP.
In the meantime a large crowd of Hawaiians had gathered around the palace gates
and in the grounds near the great flight of steps, and natives were also gathered in
large groups in the ...; yard and elsewhere in the neighborhood.
The Queen retired to the blue room and summoned the munisters, who repaired at
once to the palace. The Queen was at a table, still dressed in the magnificent cos-
tume of the morning, and sparkling in a coronet of diamonds. She at once pre-
sented them with the draft of the new constitution, demanded their signatures,
and declared her intention to promulgate" the same at once, Attorney-general
Peterson and Minister of Interior Colburn decidedly refused to do so, and Ministers
Cornwell and Parker, though more hesitatingly, joined their colleagues in this refusal.
All the cabinet now perceived the expediency of advising Her Majesty not to violate
the law, but she was not to be dissuaded from her mad course. Bringing her clenched
hand down upon the table Queen Liliuokalani said: “Gentlemen, I do not wish to
hear any more advice. I intend to promulgate this constitution, and to do it now.”
Proceeding, she told the cabinet that unless they abandoned their resistance at once
she woul É. out upon the steps of the palace and tell the excited crowd there
assembled that she wished to give them a new constitution, but that her ministers
were inside the palace, hindering her from doing it. The ministers remembered the
riot at the court house, and the fate of the unlucky representatives who fell into
the hands of the mob. They knew what the threat might mean, and before it could
be put into execution they retired from the palace.

THE APPEAL TO THE CITIZENS,
From the Government building, the ministers immediately sent word down town
asking the citizens what support the cabinet could expect in its resistance to the
revolutionary movement begun by the Queen. Leading citizens of every political
complexion hurried together at Hon. W. O. Smith's office, and, while their numbers
were every instant angmented by fresh accessions, held a hurried consultation as to
the course to be pursued. There was but one mind among all those gathered together.
Tradesmen, lawyers, mechanics, merchants, were of one opinion. A unanimity of
sentiment reigned such as has not been witnessed here for years, and it was agreed,
without a dissenting voice, that it was the duty of every good citizen, without dis-
tinction of party, to support the law and the liberties of the people and to resist the
revolutionary encroachments of the Queen. A message to this effect was at once
dispatched to the cabinet.
A NEW STRUGGLE WITH THE QUEEN.
The ministers now revisited the palace, not without the apprehension that their
persons would be taken into custody even if they suffered no bodily harm. Great
pressure had been brought upon Her Majesty to induce her to go no farther and to
retrace the revolutionary steps she had already taken. While her troops stood
drawn up before the palace, waiting for the final word of command, the Queen hes-
itated and hesitated. The conference in the blue room was a long one. For two
hours the result trembled in the balange. She could not be induced to give up her
unlawful project, but finally consented with bitter reluctance to a temporary post-
ponement of the premeditated coup.
THE QUEEN’s SPEECH.
The Queen was a very angry woman, when at 4 p.m. Saturday she returned to the
throne room, where were assembled the Hui Kalaiaina with most of the native
members of the Legislature, the cabinet, the governor of Oahu, the young princes
Chief-Justice Judd and Mr. Justice Bickertoº, the staff, ladies of the court, kahi
bearers, etc. She ascended the dais and spoke substantially as follows:
“PRINCEs, Nobles, AND REPREskNTAtives: I have listened to the thousands of
voices of my people that have come to me, and I am prepared to grant their request.
The present constitution is full of defects, as the chief justice here will testify, as
uestions regarding it have so often come before him for settlement. . It is so faulty
that I think a new one should be granted. I have prepared one, in which the rights
of all have been regarded—a constitution suited to the wishes of the people. I was
ready and expected to proclaim the new constitution to-day, as a suitable occasion
for it, and thus satisfy the wishes of my dear people. But, with deep regret, I :
that fhºe met with obstacles that prevent it. "Return to your homes peaceably [All
quietly and continue to look towards me, and I will look towards you. Keep me
ever in your love. I am obliged to postpone the granting of the constitution for a few
ys. I must confer with my cabinet, and when, after you return home, you may
E60 i; receive it graciously, You have my love, and with sorrow I now dismiss
OUI.
Mr. White replied, thanking the Queen and assuring her of the love of the people,
and that they would wait patiently until their desires should be fulfilled, to which
the Queen responded with thanks, and left the throne room.
Mr. Kaunamano then began in a loud voice an inflammatory harangue which was
suppressed. He demanded the lives of the members of the cabinet who had opposed
the wishes of Her Majesty, and declared that he thirsted for bloodshed.
A few moments later the Queen went out upon the upper balcony of the palace and
addressed the crowd. She told them that on account of the perfidy of her ministers
she was unable to give them the constitution which she had promised them, but
that she would take the earliest opportunity of procuring it for them. (The crowd
then gave three cheers.)
Representative White they proceeded to the steps of the palace and began an address.
119
He told the crowd that the cabinet had betrayed them, and that instead of going home
peaceably they should go into the palace and kill and bury them. Attempts were
made torstop him, which he resisted, saying that he would never close his mouth
until the new constitution was granted. .# he yielded to the expostulations
of Col. Boyd and others, threw up his hands and declared that he was pau, for the
present. After this the audience assembled .. *
The constitution which the Queen wished to force upon the people deprived them
of all voice in the choice of the house of nobles, the appointment of which was vested
in the sovereign. The system of cabinet responsibility was abolished, the choice
and removal of ministers being vested solely in the Queen... Native Hawaiians
were to be exempt from the payment of personal taxes, and all white men were to
be deprived of the franchise except those who were married to native wives.
News was brought to the citizens down town that the attempt to carry the revo-
lution through had for the moment failed. The meeting, however, appreciating the
fact that the trouble had but just begun, did not break up, but continued the con-
sideration of the emergency. A committee of public safety was formed, to which
the further consideration of the situation was delegated, after which the assembly,
which had been animated by one heart and soul from the beginning, dispersed.
The committee of public safety did not delay in their performance of the task
intrusted to them by the citizens, but proceeded to hold a confereuce on the spot.
At first everything was in the air, there being no definite plan of operations. The
•ommittee adjourned at 6 p.m. to meet again on the following (Sunday) morning.
On this occasion the situation was discussed in all its bearings, and it was decided
to call a mass meeting, to make a report, and then to ask this general gatherin
of all the citizens to confirm the appointment of the committee of safety, an
to authorize it to take whatever steps might seem necessary to further the public
welfare and secure the rights of the people from aggression once and for all. It
was the unanimous sentiment of the members of the committee that a proclama-
tion should be issued º the monarchy, and a provisional government
established, if the tone of feeling developed at the mass meeting should clearly indi-
cate that such a course would be in accord with public sentiment. In case the
expectations of the committee as to the state of public feeling were realized, it would
be necessary to be prepared to take immediate steps. The committee, therefore, con-
tinued its meetings and began the work of organization and preparation. Monday
morning it was decided to request the American minister to land roops for the pro-
tection of property, and a request to that effect was forwarded to the American min-
ister.
THE QUEEN’s PARTY.

In the meanwhile the Queen's party were not idle. They were frightened at the
tone of feeling manifested in the city, and began to cast about for means of avert-
ing the catastrophe which seemed to threaten the throne. The Queen patched up a
F. with her cabinet and forgave them, for the time being, for their “perfidy.”
n the morning of Sunday she held a meeting at the palace, and charged the native
astors present to pray for her, as evil-minded foreigners were endeavoring to
eprive her of her throne. In the evening a secret meeting was held at the office of the
attorney-general, in the government building, at which, besides the cabinet, Paul
Neumann, Marshal Wilson, Hon. R. W. Wilcox, E. C. Macfariane and Anton, Rosa
were present, besides some others. At this meeting Marshal Wilson proposed the
arrest of the committee of thirteen, but Paul Neumann and others opposed the
roposition on the ground that it would cause friction. Posters for the mass meet-
ng of citizens being already out, it was decided to call a counter mass meeting of
Hawaiians at Palace Square, and the one to be adopted at this meeting was decided
upon. A “by authority” notice was drafted, to besigned by the Queen and cabinet,
announcing that her intention to abrogate the constitution by force had been aban-
doned, and that in future auy changes she might desire would be affected by
constitutional means only. In accordance with the terms of this announcement,
the speaking at Palace Square was to be temperate and peaceable.
Monday morning the Advertiser appeared with a long account of the coup d’etat
attempted by the Queen on Saturday, and with an editorial counseling the people
to stand firmly by their rights. Late in the morning the “by authority” notice above
referred to was distributed. It was as follows:
BY AUTHORITY.
Her Majesty's ministers desire to express their appreciation for the quiet and order
which has prevailed in this community since the events of Saturday, and are author-
ized to say that the position taken by Her Majesty in regard to the promulgation of
a new constitution was under the stress of her native subjects.
Authority is given for the assurance that any changes desired in the fundamental
law of the land will be sought only by methods provided in the constitution itself.
Her Majesty's ministers request all citizens to accept the assurance of Her Majesty
in the same spirit in which it is given.
LILIUOKALANI.
, SAMUEL PARKER
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
W. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
John F. Colburn,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERsóN,
Attorney-General.
Iolan, PALACE, January 16, 1893.
THE CITIZENS MASS MEETING,
* . At 2 p.m. Monday, January 16, the Honolulu Rifles Armory was the scene of the
largest and most enthusiastic mass meeting ever held in Honolulu. It was called
by the committee of public safety for the #. of protesting against the revolu-
tionary aggressions of the Queen. At -past 1 citizens began to assemble,
120
and before 2 o'clock the large building was crowded to its utmost capacity, 1,260
being present by actual count, while many others came later. Every class in the
community was fully represented, mechanics, merchants, professional men, and arti-
sans of every kind being present in full force. The meeting was intensely enthusi-
astic, being animated by a common §§ se and feeling, and most of the speakers
were applauded to the echo. Hon. W. C. Wilder, of the committee of safety, was
the chairman.
Mr. WILDER said:* Fellow-citizens, I have been requested to act as chairman of
This meeting. Were it a common occurrence, I should consider it an honor, but
to-day we are not here to do honor to anybody. I accept the chairmanship of this
meeting as a duty. [Applause..] We meet here to-day as inen—not as any party
faction or cr but as men who are bound to see good government. It is weli
known to you all what took place at the Palace last Saturday. . I need not tell you
the object of this meeting, and no such meeting has been held since 1887. There is
the same reason now as them. An impromptu meeting of citizens was called Satur-
day to take measures for the public safety. The report of the committee will be
read to you. We do not meet as revolutionists, but as peaceful citizens who have
the right to meet and state their grievances. [Loud §: We will maintain

our rights and have the courage to maintain them. niversal cheers.]
Noble Thurston, being introduced by the chairman, read the following
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY,
To the citizens of Honolulu:
On the morning of last Saturday, the 14th instant, the city was startled by the
information that Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani announced her intention to
arbitrarily promulgate a new constitution, and that three of the newly-appointed
cabinet ministers had or were about to resign in consequence thereof.
Immediately after the prorogation of the Legislature, at noon, the Queen accom-
anied, by her orders, by the cabinet retired to the palace; the entire milita
orce of the Government was drawn up in line in front of the building and remaine
there until dark; and a crowd of several hundred native sympathizers with the new
constitution project gathered in the throne room and about the palace. The Queen
then retired with the cabinet, informed them that she intended to promulgate it,
and proposed to do so then and there and demanded that they countersign her sig-
nature.
She turned a deaf ear to their statements and protests that the proposed action
would inevitably cause the streets of Honolulu to run red with blood, and threat-
ened that unless they complied with her demand she would herself immediately go
out upon the steps of the palace and announce to the assembled crowd that the rea-
son she did not give them the new constitution was because the ministers would not
let her. Three of the ministers, fearing mob violence, immediately withdrew and
returned to the Government building. They were immediately summoned back to
the palace, but refused to go on the ground that there was no guarantee of their
personal safety. d
The only forces under the control of the Government are the household guards and
the police. The former are nominally under the control of the minister of foreign
affairs and actually under the control of their immediate commander, Maj. Now-
lein, a personal adherent of the Queen.
The police are under the control of Marshal Wilson, the open and avowed royal
favorite. Although the ſaarshal is nominally under the control of the attorney-
general, Her Majesty recently announced in a R. speech that she would not
allow him to be removed. Although the marshal now states that he is opposed to
the Queen's proposition, he also states that if the final issue arises between the
Queen and the cabinet and people he will support the Queen.
The cabinet was absolutely powerless and appealed to citizens for support.
Later they reluctantly returned to the palace, by request of the Queen, and for
nearly two hours she º endeavored to force them to acquiesce in her desire, and
upon their final refusal announced in a public speech in the throne room and again
from the upper gallery of the palace that she desired to issue the constitution but
was prevented from doing so by her ministers and would issue it in a few days.
The citizens responded to the appeal of the cabinet, to resist the revolutionary
attempt of the Queen by gatherin at the office of William O. Smith.
Later in the afternoon it was felt that bloodshed and riot were inhminent; that
the community could expect no protection from the legal authorities; that on the
contrary they would undoubtedly be made the instruments of royal aggression. An
..º.º. meeting of citizens was held, which was attended by the attorney-gen-
eral and which was addressed among others by the minister of the interior, J. F.
Colburn, who stated to the meeting substantially the foregoing facts.
The meeting unanimously j a resolution that the public welfare required the
appointment of a committee of public safety of thirteen to consider the situation
and devise ways and means for the maintenance of the public peace and the protec-
tion of life and property.
Such committee was forthwith appointed, and has followed its instructions.
The first step which the committee consider necessary is to secure openly, pub-
licly, and peaceably, through the medium of a mass meeting of citizens, a condem-
nation of the proceedings of the party of revolution and disorder, and a confirma-
tion from such larger meeting of the authority now vested in the committee.
For such purpose the committee hereby recommends the adoption of the following
REsoluTION:
1. Whereas Her Majesty, Liliuokalani, acting in conjunction with certain other
persons, has illegally and unconstitutionally, and against the advice and consent of
the lawful executive officers of the Government, º: abrogate the existing
constitution and proclaim a new one in subversion of the rights of the people;
* See “Foot Note to Hawaiian History,” p. 38.
121
*&-.…
2. And whereas such attempt has been accompanied by threats of violence and
bloodshed and a display of armed force; and such attempt and acts and threats are
revolutionary and treasonable in character;
3. And whereas Her Majesty's cabinet have informed her that such contemplated
action was unlawful, and would lead to bloodshed and riot, and have implored and
demanded of her to desist from and renounce such proposed action;
4. And whereas such advice has been in vain, and Her Majesty has in a public
speech announced that she was desirous and ready to promulgate such constitution,
the same being now ready for such purpose, and that the only reason why it was not
now promulgated was because she had met with unexpected obstacles, and that a
fittin º in the future must be awaited for the consummation of such
object, which would be within a few days;
5. And whereas at a public meeting of citizens, held in Honolulu on the 14th day
of January instant, a committee of thirteen, to be known as the “committee of pub-
lic safety,” was appointed to consider the situation, and to devise ways and means
for the maintenance of the public peace and safety, and the preservation of life and
roperty;
p gº And'whereas such committee has recommended the calling of this mass meeting
of citizens to protest against and condemn such action, and has this day presented a
report to such meeting, denouncing the action of the Queen and her supporters as
be *ś. unwarranted, in derogation of the rights of the people, endanger-
ing the peace of the community, and tending to excite riot, and cause the loss of
life and destruction of §§
Now, therefore, we, the citizens of Honolulu, of all nationalities, and regardless
of political party affiliations, do hereby condemn and denounce the action of the
Queen and her supporters;
And we do hereby ratify the º: and indorse the action taken and report
made by the said committee of safety; and we do hereby further empower such
committee to further consider the situation and further devise such ways and means
as may be necessary to secure the permanent maintenance of law and order, and
the protection of ; liberty, and property in Hawaii.
Mr. THURSTON said: Mr. Chairman, Hawaii is a wonderful country. We are
divided into parties and nationalities and factions, but there are moments when we
are united and move shoulder to shoulder, moved by one common desire for the pub-
lic good. Three times during * twelve years this has happened—in 1880, 1887
and to-day. They say it is ended, it is done, there is nothing to consider. Is it so?
[Calls of Not No! I say, gentlemen, that now and here is the time to act. . [Loud
cheers.] The Queensays she won't do it again. [Cries of humbug!]. Fellow citizens,
have you any memories? Hasn’t she once before promised—sworn solemnly before
Almight to maintain this constitution? at is her word worth? [Calls of
Nothing! Nothing!] It is an old saying that a royal º: is made to be broken.
Fellow citizens, remember it. We have not sought this situation. Last Saturday
the sun rose on a peaceful and smiling city; to-day it is otherwise. Whose fault is
it—Queen Liliuokalani's? It is not her fault that the streets have not run red with
blood. She has 5. a proclamation expressing her repentance for what she has
done, and at "the same time—perhaps sent out by the same carriers—her organ
prints an extra with her speech with bitterer language than that quoted in the
Advertiser. She wants us to sleep on a slumbering volcano, which will some morn-
ing spew ont blood and destroy us all. The constitution gives us the right to assem-
ble peacefully and express our grievances. We are here doing that to-day without
arms. The man who has not the spirit to rise after the menace to our liber-
ties has no right to keep them. Has the tropic sun cooled and thinned our blood,
or have we flowing in our veins the warm, rich blood which makes men love liberty
and die for it? I move the adoption of the resolution... [Tumultuous applause!]
Mr. H. F. GLADE: The Queen has done an unlawful thing in ignoring the consti-
tution which she had sworn to uphold. . We most decidedly protest against such
revolutionary proceedings, and we should do all we possibly can to prevent her
from repeating actions which result in disorder and riot. We now have a promise
from the Queen that proceedings as we experienced on Saturday shall not occur
again. But we should have such assurances and guaranties for this promise as will
really satisfy us and convince us of the faith and earnestness of the promise given,
of which we now have no assurance. What such guaranties and assurances ought
to be I can not at this moment say or reeommend. This should be referred to the
committee of safety for their careful consideration. I second the motion.
Mr. A. YoUNG, in addressing the meeting, spoke as follows: , Mr. Chairman and
fellow citizens: In June, 1887, I stool on this same platform and addressed an audi-
ence almost as large as the one now before me. At that time we had met to con-
sider a resolution that looked toward a new constitution, which proposed constitu-
tion was considered the most effectual method of removing some flagrant abuses in
governmental affairs practiced by the King and his cabinets prior to the time that
the constitution was promulgated. To-day we have met to consider the action of
Her Majesty in attempting to set aside the constitution we all worked so hard to
have promulgated, in the best interests of the Sovereign and the people at large, as
well as for the redemption of the credit of the kingdom abroad. It has long been
reported that at some favorable opportunity the Queen would spring a new con-
stitution upon the people and place matters even more in the hands of the Sover-
eign than they were before the revolution of 1887. Some did not believe the rumors
but the actions of the Queen in the last few days have convinced the most skeptical
that the rumors were well founded, and that she had been pregnant with this
unborn constitution for a long time, but it could not be born till under the propi-
tions star. The Queen's Kahunas, together with her would-be advisers, had no
doubt told her that the auspicious time for the advent had arrived. In trying to
promulgate this long-promised constitution, the Queen has therefore premeditatedly
committed a breach of faith with one portion of her subjects, in order to satisfy the
clamors of a faction of natives urged by the influence of a mischievous element of
foreigners who mean no good to the Queen or the people, but simply for the purpose
of providing avenues for carrying out more perfectly the smuggling of opium and
diverting the contents of the treasury into their own pockets. A “by authority” cir-
cular has now been handed around, setting forth that the Queen and her cabinet had

B—16
122
decided not to #. the promulgation of a new constitution, but can we depend on
this promise of Her Majesty! ls this promise any more binding upon her than the
oath she took before the Almighty God to support and maintain the present constitu-
tion? Has not the Queen resorted to very questionable methods in an underhanded
way to remove what, to the people, was one of the most acceptable cabinets ever
commissioned by any . in this Kingdom, in order that four other ministers
might be appointed that would carry out her behest, treasonable or otherwise, as
might be most conveniently within their scope. I say, have we any reasonable
assurance that the Queen and her ministers have abandoned finally the new con-
stitution promulgation scheme? [Roars of No! from the audience..] ... My fellow-
citizens, while the Queen and her cabinet continue to trifle with and play fast and
loose with the affairs of state there can be no feeling of security for º fam-
ilies residing within these domains. There can be no business prosperity here at
home, and our credit abroad must be of the flimsiest and most uncertain nature.
And you business men who are toiling honestly for your bread and butter will have
to put up with thin bread and much thinner butter if this farcical work is continued.
In order that matters may be set to rights again and that honest, stable, and honor-
able government may be maintained in Hawaii, I support the resolution, and trust
that it will be passed unanimously by this meeting.
Mr. C. Bolte. Since the resolution which was read here has been written things
have changed. On Saturday the Queen promised the native people that she would
ive them a new constitution under all circumstances; she did not say º when,
ut as soon as possible. This morning a proclamation was issued, in which she
says that her attempt to promulgate a new constitution last Saturday was made
under stress of her native subjects, but that she will not do it again. An attempt
to change the fundamental law of the land is a very serious matter, a matter that
requires a good deal of consideration, and I am well convinced that this matter has
been weighed and considered for more than a day by the Queen, and that there was
no acting on the spur of the moment under the stress of her native subjects about
it. It was her well premeditated conclusion that she would change the constitu-
tion, so as to suit herself, on the day of prorogation of the Legislature. Many peo-
ple knew this several days ago, but there have been so many rumors about all sorts
of things that not very much attention was 3. to it; it was expected that she
might change her mind before that day would come. But she did not change her
mind as soon as that; she told the native º that she was ready to give them a
new constitution right then and there, but that she could not do it because her ministers
would not let her. Now she has changed her mind; she makes a sort of excuse for
what she did, and says she will never do it again. It seems to me that the question
that your committee has to ask now, and which is for you gentlemen here in the
meeting to decide, is this: Are you satisfied with the assurance given in to-day's
proclamation signed by the Queen and the four ministers, and will you consider this
matter ended, or do #. desire greater and *** guarantees for the safety and
preservation of your life and liberty and property? I am one of the citizens’ com-
mittee of public safety; my views on the situation are expressed in the resolutions
which have just been read, and I trust that you will show that you are of the same
mind as the committee by adopting these resolutions.
on, H. P. BALDw1N. I feel with the rest of you that actions of the Queen have put
the country in a very eritical situation. Before this revolutionary act of Her Majesty
we were getting along. Aministry had been appointed which would probably have
been able to pull us through. The McKinley bill had put the whole country into a
critical situation. We were working up new industries. Mr. Dillingham is trying
to build a railroad around this island. The Queen seems to have blinded herself to
all these things. She has followed a whim of her own—a whim of an irresponsible
body of Hawaiians—and tried to establish a new constitution. We must stop this;
but we must not go beyond constitutional means. I favor the resolution, but think
the committee should act within the constitution. There is no question that the Queen
has done a revolutionary act—there is no doubt about that. The Queen's proclama-
tion has not inspired confidence; but shall we not teach her to act within the con-
stitution? [Loud calls of “N º Well, gentlemen, I see that you do not agree with
me; I am ready to act when the time comes.
j. Enºurs wished to say a few words on the situation. He had heard the
Queen's speech at the palace, and noted the expression of her face. It was fiendish.
When the petitioners filed out he reflected on the fact that thirty men could para-
lyze the business of the community for twenty-four hours. It was not they that
# it, but the schemers behind them, and perhapé a woman, too. It was not the
Hawaiians that wanted the new constitution; not those who worked. This was the
third time that he had shut his doors, let his men go, and come up to this !.
It would be the last time. If we let this time go by we would deserve all we would
et. . An opportunity came once in i.; lifetime. It had come to us, and if we fin-
ed as we should, a repetition of last Saturday would never occur in this country
again. [Applause..] ... We must stand shoulder to shoulder. There was but one
course to pursue, and we would all see it. The manifesto of this morning was bosh.
“I won't do it any more; but give me a chance and I'll do it again.” That is the
real meaning of it. If the Queen had succeeded last Saturday myself and you would
have been robbed of the privileges without which no white man can live in this com-
munity. “Fear not, be not afraid,” was written in my Bible by my mother twenty-
five years ago. Gentlemen, I have done. As far as the Hawaiians are concerned I
have an aloha for them, and we wish to have laws enabling us to live peaceably
together.
§: J. GREENE. Fellow citizens, among the many things I never could do was to
make an impromptu speech. I have tried it over and over again and never succeeded
but once, and that was after five weeks' preparation. Onr patience has been
exhausted. We all agree about the case. The question is the remedy. John Greene,
of Rhode Island, entered the war of the Revolution and served throughout. His
son, my father, served through the war of 1812, until that little matter was settled.
In 1862 John Greene, º father, stood before a meeting like this, and said he had
four sons in the war, of whom I was the youngest, and would serve himself if he
was not too old. This experience has biased my judgment as to some matters of
civil government. It is too late to throw obstacles across the path of its progress
123 *
here. I have adopted this flag and am loyal to it, but I am not willing to go one *
step back in the matter of civil liberty, and I will give the last drop of Rhode
Island blood in my veins to go forward and not back. ICheers.]
Chairman WILDER read the latter part of the resolution.
It was passed by a unanimous standing vote, without a dissenting voice and amid
tremendous cheers, after which the meeting broke up.
AT PALACE SQUARE.
While the mass meeting was in session at the armory a counter demonstration was
attempted by the Queen's party at Palace square. The speakers had been carefully
coached and advised to express themselves with the utmost caution. The tone was
an unnatural one and the enthusiasm correspondingly small. A resolution was adopted
::::::::::: the royal assurance that she would no longer seek a new constitution by
revolutionary means. The same meeting, however, expressed by cheers its approba-
tion of the attempt by the Queen to carry out her coup d'état, and one of the speakers
gave vent to the expression of a wild thirst for bloodshed.
MORE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
Immediately after the mass meeting a session of the committee of public safety
was held. All the members felt that their action had been more than indorsed by
the citizens, and that the moment a Provisional Government was established the
foreign community would rally to its support.
It should bave been mentioned that Marshal Wilson had warned all persons from
attending the mass meeting. The indications of approaching trouble were serious,
and at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Minister Stevens deemed it ºr. to comply with
the request of the committee of safety, and at the hour named the ship's battalion
under Lieut. Commander William T. Swinburne, landed, and troops were stationed
for the protection of the consulate and legation, while a detachment encamped at
Arion Hall. . The presence of the troops did much to prevent disorder and to tran-
quilize the fears of the timid.
In the evening the committee of safety again convened, and elected the executive
council and officers. In the morning, the members of the executive council con-
sented to serve, and John H. Soper was induced to accept the responsible position
of military chief of the new Government. º Sanford B. Dole, the new execu-
tive head, sent his resignation to the cabinet, and this act was, so to speak, the first
shot of the counter revolution. At 1 p.m., the formation of the advisory council
was complete, and shortly after the proclamation was signed by the committee of
safety. e first act of the Provisioual Government was then to sign the commis-
sion of J. H. Soper as commander of the forces. Just as the committee had finished
considering the question when the coup should take place, and had decided on
immediate action, a shot was fired on Fort street, a crowd ran up to the spot, the
story flew through the street, “Good has shot a policeman,” and the committee has-
tened to the Government building.
THE SHOT ON FORT STREET,
The shot fired on Fort street precipitated the revolution. In order to understand
this event, it is necessary to return a little and pick up a new thread in the narra-
tive. In the morning J. Good had been appointed ordnance officer, and in the dis-
charge of his duty it became necessary for him to gather up the guns and ammuni-
tion available at the different stores, and transfer them to the armory. Half-past
2 in the afternoon was the hour set for the removal of the ammunition from E. O.
Hall & Sons. Mr. Good selected Mr. Benner, of Castle & Cooke's, to drive the wagon,
detailing Edwin Paris and Fritz. Rowald as guards. The ammunition had been
packed in the morning, the packing having been more or less supervised by some
policemen who were hanging around with instructions to watch closely what was
going on. At 2:20 Mr. Good proceeded to execute the transfer, and ordered Mr. Ben-
ner to drive rapidly out of the rear entrance. As the wagon came out of the gate, a
policeman grabbed at the reins and ordered a halt. As the order was disregarded
the officer blew his whistle, which was immediately answered by four or five other
policemen who came running up and join d in the effort to stop the wagon.
The Fort street car had just crossel King and alongside of it was a dray. This
completely barred the progress of the wagon. One of the policemen seized the bit,
but was warned off by Mr. Good, revolver in hand. Another endeavored to climb
up but received a smart cut with the .. from Mr. Benner. In the meanwhile
two policemen in the rear had been kept off by Paris and Rowald. On the rear plat-
form of the street ear were J. A. McCandless and Mr. Martin, the tailor. The latter
covered one of the officers with his revolver, but did not fire. In the meantime came
from McCandless on the street ear, from E. O. White at Hall's and others, calls of
“Pull, pull.” Warned by these, Mr. Good now faced square around. One of the
officers was coming up at a run, and when a few feet distant, put his hand behind
him as though to draw a revolver. The indications being that some one would be
shot, Mr. Good promptly fired and the man fell, with a bullet in the shoulder. This
ended the effort to capture the gmmunition. The horses started forward and the
wagon proceeded up. Fort street, followed by two policemen in a hack who were
kept at a respectful distance by Paris, who leveled his rifle at them. The wagon
pººl. up Fort to School stieet, aná then down Punchbowl to the armory, where
ey were glad to see Zeigler's men already in line.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT OECLAIRED,
In the meantime the committee of public safety with the members of the provi-
sional Government had proceeded to the Government building, Judge Dole and Mr.
Cooper leading the way up Merchant street. All the committee were nnarmed.
When the building was reached, inquiry was made for the ministers but they were
* 124
"not to be found. ... Mr. Cooper then made demand upon Mr. Hassinger, the chief clerk
of the interior office, for possession of the building, and the demand was immediately
complied with, there being no force with which any resistance could have been
made. The committee now proceeded to the public entrance, and Mr. H. E. Cooper
read to the gathering crowd the following proclamation: &
PROCLAMATION,
In its earlier history, Hawaii possessed a constitutional government honestly and
economically administered in the public interest.
The Crown called to its assistance as advisers able, honest, and conservative men,
whose integrity was unquestioned even by their political opponents.
The stability of the Government was assured; armed resistance and revolution un-
thought of; popular rights were respected and the privileges of the subject from time
to time increased and the prerogatives of the Sovereign diminished by the voluntary
acts of the successive kings.
With very few exceptions this state of affairs continued until the expiration of the
first few * of the reign of His late Majesty Kalakaua. At this time a change was
discernible in the spirit, animating the chief executive and in the influences sur-
rounding the throne. A steadily increasing disposition was manifested on the part
of the King to extend the royal prerogatives; to favor adventurers and persons of
no character or standing in the community; to encroach upon the #. and privi-
leges of the people by steadily increasing corruption of electors, and by means of the
power and influence of officeholders and other corrupt means to ..º. influ-
ence the elections, resulting in the final absolute control of not only the executive
and legislative, but to a certain extent the Judicial departments of the Government
in the interest of absolutism.
This finally resulted in the revulsion of feeling and popular uprising of 1887, which
wrested from the King a large portion of his ill-gotten powers.
The leaders of this movement were not seeking personal aggrandisement, political
power, or the suppression of the native Government. If this had been their object
i. easily have been accomplished, for they had the absolute control of the
situation.
Their object was to secure responsible government through a representative cab-
inet, supported by and responsible to the people's elected representatives. A clause
to this effect was inserted in the constitution and subsequently enacted by law by
the Legislature, specifically covering the ground that, in all matters .# the
state the sovereign was to act by and with the advice of the cabinet and only by
and with such advice. &
The . willingly agreed to such proposition, expressed regret for the past, and
volunteered promises for the future.
Almost from the date of such agreement and promises, up to the time of his death,
the history of the Government has been a continual struggle between the King on
the one hand and the eabinet and the Legislature on the other, the former con-
stantly endeavoring by every available form of influence and evasion to ignore his
promises and agreements and regain his lost powers.
This conflict upon several occasions came to a crisis, followed each time by sub-
mission on the part of His Majesty by renewed expressions of regret and promises
to abide by the constitutional and legal restrictions in the future. In each instance
such promise was kept untilafurther opportunity presented itself, when the conflict
was renewed in defiance and regardless of all previous pledges.
Upon the accession of Her Majesty Liliuokalani for a brief period the hope pre-
vailed that a new policy would be adopted. This hope was soon blasted by her
immediately entering into conflict with the existing cabinet, who held office with
the approval of a large majority of the Legislature, resulting in the triumph of
the Queen and the removal of the cabinet. The appointment of a new cabinet
subservient to her wishes and their continuance in office until a recent date gave no
opportunity for further indication of the policy which would be pursued by Her
ajesty until the opening of the Legislature in May of 1892.
The recent history of that session has shown a stubborn determination on the part
of Her Majesty to follow the tactics of her late brother, and in all P. ways to
secure an extension of the royal prerogatives and an abridgment of popular rights.
During the latter part of the session the Legislature was jº. with corruption:
bribery and other illegitimate influences were º utilized to secure the desir
end, resulting in the final complete overthrow of all opposition and the inauguration
of a cabinet arbitrarily selected by Her Majesty in complete defiance of constitu-º
tional principles and popular representation.
*ains such result the defeated party peacefully submitted to the situ-
&\lºlºlºs
Not content with her victory, Her Majesty proceeded on the last day of the session
to arbitrarily arrogate to herself the right to promulgate a new constitution, which
proposed among other things to disfranchise over one-fonrth of the voters and
the owners of nine-tenths of the private property of the Kingdom, to abolish the
elected upper house of the Legislature, and to substitute in place thereof an appoint-
ive one to be appointed by the sovereign,
The detail istory of this attempt and the su ceed.ng events in connection.
there with is given in the report of the committee of public safety to the citizens
of Honolulu, and the resolution adopted at the mass meeting held on the 16th
instant, the correctness of which report and the propriety of which resolution are
hereby specifically affirmed.
The constitutional evolution indicated has slowly and steadily, though ºf
and regretfully, convinced an overwhelming majority of the conservative an
responsible members of the community that independent, constitutional, represent-
ative, and responsible government, able to protect itself from revolutionary upris-
ings and royal aggression is no longer possible in Hawaii under the existing system
of Government.
Five uprisings or conspiracies against the Government have occurred within five
years and seven months. It is firmly believed that the culminating revolutionary
attempt of last Saturday will, unless radical measures are taken, wreck our already
*
*
125
damaged credit abroad and precipitate to final ruin our already overstrained finan-
cial condition; and the guarantees of protection to life, liberty, and property will
steadily decrease and the political situation rapidly grow worse.
In this belief, and also in the firm belief that the action hereby taken is, and will
be for the best personal, political, and property interests of every citizen of the land,
We, citizens and residents of the Hººſiºn Islands, organized and acting for the
public safety and the common good, hereby proclaim as follows:
1. The Hawaiian monarchial system of Government is hereby abrogated.
2. A Provisional Government for the control and º: of public affairs
and the protection of the public }. is hereby established, to exist until terms of
union with the United States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon.
3. Such Provisional Government shall consist of an executive council of four
members, who are hereby, declared to be S. B. Dole, J. A. King, P. C. Jones, W. O.
Smith, who shall administer the executive departments of the Government, the
first named acting as president and chairman of such council and administering
the department of foreign affairs, and the others severally administering the
department of interior, finance, and attorney-general, respectively, in the order in
which they are above enumerated, according to existing Hawaiian law as far as
may be consistent with this proclamation; and also of an advisory council which
shall consist of fourteen mem who are hereby declaréd to be S. M. Damon, A.
Brown, L. A. Thurston, J. F. Morgan, J. Emmeluth, H. Waterhouse, J. A.
McCandless, E. D. Tenney, F. W. McChesney, F. Wilhelm, W. R. Castle, W. G. Ashley,
*§ º C. Bolte. Such advisory council shall also have general legislative
*Ultº AO fºllº’s
Such executive and advisory councils shall, acting jointly, have power to remove
any member of either council and to fill such or any other vacancy.
4. All officers under the existing Government are hereby requested to continue to
exercise their functions and perform the duties of their respective offices, with the
-exception of the following-named persons:
Queen Liliuokalani.
Charles B. Wilson, marshal,
Samuel Parker, minister of foreign affairs,
. H. Cornwell, minister of finance,
John F. Colburn, minister of the interior,
Arthur P. Peterson, attorney-general,
who are hereby removed from office.
5. All Hawaiian laws and constitutional principles not inconsistent here with shall
-continue in force until further order of the executive and advisory councils.
Signed) HENRY E. Coopert, Chairman.
ANDREW BROWN,
THEODoRE F. LANSING,
John EMMELUTH,
C. Bolte,
Ed. Suhr,
HENRY WATERHouse,
W. C. WILDER,
F. W. McCHESNEY,
WM. O. SMITH,
LoRRIN A. THURSTON,
WM. R. CASTLE,
J. A. McCANDLEss,
Committee of Safety.
HoNodulu, HAwaiiAN Islands, January 17, 1893.

During the reading of the proclamation armed adherents of the Government began
to gather, and it is stated that Oscar White was the first man in the grounds with a
º By the time that the reading was finished Capt. Ziegler reached the spot with
Iºlºne
THE WOLUNTEER FORCES.
The armory on Beretania street was the spot selected for the assembling of the
volunteers, and here arms and ammunition were furnished to those who required
them. The first body of men who were ready for active work was a company com-
posed of German citizens who were under command of Capt. Charles Ziegler.
They were at the spot about 2:30 o'clock, just one-half hour earlier than the
appointed time, but they were soon joined by two companies which were rapidly
formed until a good-sized detachment was made up. The last-mentioned companies
were under the command of George C, Potter and J. H. Fisher. Eachman was armed
with a rifle and had a º: belt around his waist. When they were mustered
together, an order came from Commander J. H. Soper to march at once to the Govern-
ment building to prevent anyJ. uprising. The companies at once repaired in
squads to Aliiolani Hall. Orders were given to clear the yard and sentries were at
the gates to prevent outsiders from entering.
As soon as it was generally known about town that a new Government was estab-
lished, citizens of all classes rallied to its support, and before nightfall, four com-
F. under arms were organized to uphold the new order and carry it through.
uring the afternoon a .# military organization was formed, with J. H.
Soper at the head. He named as his aids, George F. McLeod, D. B. Smith, John
Good, Fred. Wundenberg, and J. H. Fisher. Captains Hugh Gunn, George C. Potter,
Charles Ziegler and J. M. Camara jr., were p in command of the different
companies.
Pickets were at once stationed all over the city to carry out the provisions of mar-
tial law which had been proclaimed by the new Government.
After the reading of the #. the new Government at once took posses-
ision of the treasury and all the departments. The followiug orders were issued:
HoNoltſlu, H. I., Jan. 17, 1893.
126
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
[Orders No. 1.)
All persons favorable to the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands are
hereby requested to forthwith report to the Government at the Government building
to furnish the Government such arms and ammunition as they may have in their
session or control, as soon as possible, in order that efficient and complete protec-
tion to life and property and the public peace may immediately and efficiently be
put into operation.
(Signed) SANFORD B. Dole,
J sº A. KING,
P. C. Jones,
W. O. SMITH,
Executive Council of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
John EMMELUTH,
ANDREw BRowN,
C. Boltº,
JAMEs F. MORGAN,
HENRY WATERHouse,
S. M. DAMON,
W. G. AshLEY,
E. D. TENNEY,
F. W. McCHESNEY,
. C. WILDER,
J. A. McCANDLEss,
W. R. CASTLE,
LORRINA. THURSTON,
F. J. WILHELM.
Advisory Council of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
HoNolulu, H. I., Jan. 17, 1893.
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
[Order No. 3.}
It is hereby ordered and decreed that until further ordered, the right of the writ
of habeas *::::: is hereby suspended, and martial law is hereby declared to exist
throughout the Island of Oahu.
SANFORD B. DoDE,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
J. A. KING,
Minister of the Interior.
P. C. Jones,
Minister of Finance.
Wrlliam O. SMITH,
Attorney-General.
Executive Council of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
*
THE ROYALIST SURRENDER.
The cabinet were summoned to surrender the palace, police station, and barracks.
They endeavored to gain time, but the Provisional Government insisted upon an
immediate unconditional surrender. The police station was accordingly given up at
once, the Queen retiring from the palace and the barracks being taken into posses-
sion the next day. The cabinet noted the following protest:
I, LILIUOKALANI, by the Grace of God, and under the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against
myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain per-
sons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.
That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose minister
plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused the United States troops
to be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional
Government.
Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do under
this protest, and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the
Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the
action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the
constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Done at Honolulu this 17th day of January, A. D. 1893.
(Signed) LILIUOKALANI, R.
(Signed) SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
(Signed) WM. H. Cornwell,
& JMinister of Finance-
(Signed). JNo. F. Colburn,
Minister of the Interior.
(Signed) A. P. PETERson,
...Attorney-General.
To 8. B. Dole, Esq., and others composing the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands. [ }
Received º the hands of the late cabinet this 17th day of January, 1893.
(Signed) SANFORD B. Dole,
Chairman of Executive Council of Provisional Government.
127
BUSY DAYS,
Wednesday, the 18th, was another busy day about the Government building.
Recruits kept constantly pouring in from all quarters until about 500 names were
‘enrolled, which spontaneous action on the part of the citizens proved that the new
Government had the sympathy and support of the general community.
In the meantime the taking of the barracks and the police station furnished the
Government with a large amount of ammunition and arms, which were immediately
distributed among the forces of the Government.
The interior of the Government building was transformed into a barracks through
the efforts of W. W. Hall, who had been appointed commissary, Beds and bedding
were supplied for the men, and arrangements were made with the different hotels to
provide food for the volunteers. The legislative hall and other rooms in the build-
ing were assigned as quarters for the members of the different companies and every-
thing possible was done for their comfort.
For days everything went along with military precision, and on the 23d the
executive and advisory councils of the Government decided to organize a national
ard of four companies, one company to be a permanent force under pay and to
consist of 100 men, while three companies were to be volunteers. On the same day
commissions were issued to J. H. Soper as the commander of the forces with the
rank of colonel, John Good as ºr. and Arthur Coyne as first lieutenant.
On the 24th, the active work of enlisting men for the permanent force commenced
in Arion Hall, where Chief-Justice Judd, Associate Justice Bickerton, and Circuit
Judges Whiting and Frear were present to administer the oath of allegiance.
On the same day additional appointments were made as follows: J. H. Fisher as
lieutenant-colonel; George F. McLeod as major; W. W. Hall as quartermaster;
W. P. Tilden as ordnance officer; Ira A. Burgess as second lieutenant of the regular
forces.
On the same evening, at the Government building, an important event took place
when the three volunteer military companies were organized. Each eompany will
probably consist of 100 men. They will be uniformed and armed with rifles, and as
soon as possible meeting places will be provided for the companies.
Following is the list of officers:
Company A.—Captain, C. W. Ziegler; first lieutenant, A. Gartenberg; second
lieutenant, Karl Klemme. &
Company B.-Captain, Hugh Gunn; first lieutenant, Arthur Brown; second lieu-
tenant, L. T. Kenake.
Company C.—Captain, J. M. Camara, jr.; first lieutenant, J. M. Vivas; second
lieutenant, A. G. Silva, jr.
TRI. BOSTON MEN.
The battalion from the Boston was composed as follows:
Marine Guard.—First Lieut. H. L. Draper, commanding, 30 men armed with
Springfield rifles.
Artillery Company.—Lieut. Lucien Young, commanding,34 men, with two gatlings.
Lº: Company Infantry.--Lieut. Charles faird, sommanding, 34 men armed with
©8,
Lº: Company Infantry.—Lieut. D. W. Coffman, commanding,34 men armed with
ºlīle&e
Adjutant of the battalion, Lieut. W. R. Rush, *
When the battalion fell in line it marched up Fort street to the office of Mr. H. W.
Severance, consul-general for the United States, when a halt was made. One com-
pany was detached and sent to guard the American legation on Nuuanu street. A
ard was also left at the consul’s office, after which the battalion moved out
erchant street to King, and came to a halt in front of Mr. J. A. Hopper's resi-
dence. About sundown another move was made to Mr. J. B. Atherton's residence in
the same street, and after a stay of several hours a return march to Arion Hall was
made, where the battalion made its headquarters for several days. In the mean-
time the old Bishop premises on King street had been prepared for the officers and
men, and on Thursday, January 19, they were installed, and they have been there
•6V6T Sln C6,
THE NEw GoverNMENT REcoGNIZED.
As soon as the Provisional Government was in possession, it sent notifications of
the situation to all the representatives of the foreign powers. Recognitions began
to pour in as soon as it became clear that the Government was a genuine de facto one,
until all the powers had accepted the situation. The list includes Sweden, Ger-
many, the United States, Austro-Hungary, Belgium, Russia, Peru, Italy, the Nether-
lands, France, England, Japan, China, Portugal, Chile, Denmark, Špain, and Mexico.
It was also decided to dispatch the Claudine to San Francisco with a commission
-empowered to negotiate a treaty of union with the United States. She left this port
Thursday morning at about half past 9 o'clock for San Francisco with the special
-commission to Washington on board. The Wilder dock was crowded with people to
witness the departure of the vessel, and when she left the dock three hearty cheers
were given for Messrs. Thurston, Wilder, W. R. Castle, Marsden, and Carter, the
gentlemen who compose the special commission. . Many prominent citizens were
present on the dock to bid the 5. good luck and a successful mission. The
vessel had been carefully #. ed for a couple of days previously to prevent any
rstowaways from getting on board, and on her departure a thorough search was made.
The voyage was prosperous. Saturday morning, January 28, the commissioners
landed in San Francisco, proceeding on the following day to Washington.
The eleven days immediately following the departure of the Clawdine were not dis-
tinguished by any event of *. importance. The Provisional Government was
busily occupied in adjusting the administration to the new conditions. A few bills
were p but no legislation has been attempted except such as was called for by
the exigencies of the situation. A strong guard was kept upon the Government
building, as well as at the palace, barracks, and police station. The neighborhood
—of the Government building was also picketed, and a regular street patrol, horse and
128
foot, was maintained during the night. One or two fires, suspected to be of incen-
diary origin, were started, but they were promptly extinguished, and no damage
resulted. Under martial law the streets of the city were quiet as they seldom have
been before. The saloons were at first closed, but everything remained so quiet that
even this simple measure was found unnecessary. The excitement of the first two or
three days passed away, and business resumed its customary course. Recruits flowed
in steadily, though no special effort was made to obtain them.
THE PROTECTORATE,
This state of things lasted eleven days, when the Government resolved upon a new
move, which had been the subject of àeliberation for several days. The incessant
agitation on the part of certain whites of the class who have always been the curse
of this country, coupled with the efforts of one English and one or two native news-
papers to discredit the Government, to block its efforts toward the establishment of
order, and in general to bring it into disrepute and contempt, had been the chief
agency in spreading through the town a feeling of uneasiness and disquietude. It
was thought wise, therefore, to secure the direct assistance of the United States Gov-
ernment in the º: of property and the maintenance of order, and a request
was forwarded by the Government to the American minister to establish a protec-
torate pending the settlement of the negotiations at Washington.
In accordance with the terms of this request, at 8:30 a.m. February 1, Capt. Wiltse
roceeded to the Government building, and a few moments later the battalion of the
. S. S. Boston, under Lieut. Commander Swinburne, marched up the street, entered
the grounds, and drew up in front of the building.
Detachments from the three volunteer Companies A, B, and C were drawn up in
line, under the command of their respective captains, Ziegler, Gunn, and Camara.
just before 9 o'clockieut. Rush reai in aioud voice the following proclamation,
and punctually at 9 o'clock, amid the breathless silence of all present, the flag,
saluted by the troops and by the cannon of the Boston, was raised above the tower
of Aliiolani Hall.
The following is the text of the proclamation:
To the Hawaiian people: #
At the request of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, I hereby,
in the name of the United States of America, assume protection of the Hawaiian
Islands for the protection of life and property and occupation of public buildings
and Hawaiian soil, so far as may be necessary for the º: specified, but not inter-
fering with the administration of public affairs by the Provisional Government.
This action is taken pending, and subject to, negotiations at Washington.
JoHN L. STEvens,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States.
UNITED STATEs LEGATION, February 1, 1893.
Approved and executed by
G. C. WILTse, Captain, U. S. N.,
Commanding the United States Ship Boston.
The wisdom of the Government's course in requesting the protectorate was jus-
tified by the result, A, .# of general relief spread itself throughout the com-
munity. The maintenance of the citizen soldiers, many of whom could ill spare
the time and strength which they required for their daily bread, had been some-
what burdensome. While these soldiers were willing to support the Government
as long as necessary, most of them were §§ to be able to return to the ordinary
occupation. The power of the Provisional Government to maintain itself against
all comers was never doubted for a moment, but it was naturally felt that the safest
course was to be in constant readiness for an attack, even though the probability of
any being made might be very small. As a matter of fact, it is not likely that an
armed attempt to overthrow the Government would have been made.
On Sunday, the 5th of February, martial law was abrogated and the right of the
writ of habeas corpus restored. No use had been made of its suspension, and no
political arrests of any kind were found necessary. t
The steamer arrived from San Francisco February 10, ºº:: news that the
propositions of this Government were very favorably received by the press and
people of the United States. The arrival of this intelligence produced a feeling of
general satisfaction º: the community, which was raised to the highest
i. when the China came in Monday, February 30, six days from San Francisco, and
brought the further news of the arrival of the commissioners in Washington, their
favorable reception, and formal recognition by the administration, and the rapid
progress of negotiations for an annexation treaty at Washington.
On Washington's birthday the Australia arrived, .# previous dispatches
and adding to them the fact that the treaty had been signed by the President, an
that it would be submitted to the Senate for ratification immediately. The result-
ant state of feeling is one not merely of the keenest personal satisfaction, but of
general security. Business confidence is being restored, º: stocks are recoverin
the money market is easier, and there is a well-founded anticipation among
classes that Hawaii, as a part of the American Union, is about to enter upon a
career of prosperity without a parallel in her history.
THE MEN WHO DID IT,
The foregoing sketch, brief as it is, would not be complete without a word or two
as to the character of the men who have brought the cause to a successful issue. Of
Lorrin A. Thurston it is not necessary to speak. Hisindomitabl lution and ener
are recognized by all as prime factors in the movement. The proclamation, whic
may well be called the new eharter of Hawaiian liberty, he dictated from a sick bed
but its ringing words have nothing in them but the health and strength of faii
manhood. e fact that Sanford B. Dole is the executive head of the Government
has furnished from the beginning one of the strongest guarantees of its success. No
129
man in all the Hawaiian commonwealth is the object of more universal respect.
FIe stands for equity, for moderation, for prudence, and for firmness as well, in all
the actions of the executive.
The military department possesses a thoroughly reliable head in John H. Soper.
The pluck and determination of J. Good, captain of the regulars, who fired the
first and last shot of the revolution, have been invaluable to the cause. Capt.
Ziegler, with his Germans, has been a host, and the zeal of Captains Gunn and
Camara, of the volunteers, who have devoted day and night to the service, as well
as the officer's of the commander's staff, is above praise. With the police station
in the charge of Fred Wundenberg, during the first doubtful and trying days,
everyone felt that stronghold to be safe.
No attempt is made here even to enumerate more than a fraction of those who
have served the cause with devotion. Many of those chiefly worthy of mention
must R. unnamed. The host of volunteers, though their roll is not called here,
should not be forgotten, for their service, though humbler, was not less necessary
than the service of the leaders.
*
A SKETCH OF RECENT EVENTS.
IBeing a short account of the events which culminated on June 30, 1887, together with a full .* of
the#: reform meeting, and the two constitutions in parallel columns. Honolulu: Published by
A. M. Hewett. Hawaiian Gazette Print, 1887.]
A RETROSPECT,
The origin of the events which had their culmination in the revolution of July 1,
1887, must be sought for in the Moreno episode of 1880. The teterrima causa, of course,
was the vicious and worthless constitution of 1864; but, as,the Hon. C. R. Bishop
said in the now historical meeting of June 30, 1887, he had lived under it during the
reign of five Kings and had not found out that it was a bad one until the last few
years when it had been so thoroughly misused. We may, for the moment, dismiss
that, and concentrate our attention on the last º years, when it became patent
to one designing mind how the “worthless rag” of a constitution might be used by
an unscrupulous man for private aggrandizement.
C. C. Moreno came here in 1880 with a scheme for a transpacific cable and a plan
for a set of Chinese steamers, which were to touch here on their way between San
Francisco and the Flowe Ringdom. He soon found his way to the ear of the j;
and put before him some dazzling schemes...Moreno was a keen politician, and made
use of Mr. W. M. Gibson, who was then leading the opposition in the Legislature, to
further his views in the house, and also learned Gibson’s plans, some of them, accord-
ing to his story, very *::: ones, for acquiring power. The cabinet at that time
consisted of Messrs. S. G. Wilder, interior; J. M. Kapena, foreign affairs, Simon
Kaai, finance, and Edward Preston, attorney-general. An attempt was made to
overthrow this cabinet in the Legislature by a vote of want of confidence, but it
was defeated and the session came to a close within a few hours after the pro-
rogation the cabinet was summarily dismissed by the King, and commissions were
signed.(August 14) for John E. Bush, interior, C. C. Moreno, foreign affairs, Kaai,
finance, and Claude Jones, attorney-general. The change called forth a perfect
storm. A mass meeting was held, the diplomatic corps intervened, and the most
objectionable feature in the ministry, C. C. Moreno, was forced to resign August 19,
and left for San Francisco in the Ho Chung, a steamer belonging to the Chinese
Navigation Company. By September 27, 1880, an entirely new ministry was formed
with Messrs. W. L. Green, H. A. P. Carter, J. S. Walker, and Mr. W. N. Armstrong
joined them later as attorney-general.
This was but an episode, but it showed what could be done. If a stranger could
drop, as it were, from the clouds and do what Moreno had done, why should not
another, who was a resident here, do likewise? The seed sown by Moreho took rapid
hold in the mind of Gibson, and from the moment of Moreno's fall he resolved to
work on the lines of the wily Don. e
It took some time to organize his scheme, but Gibson kept his aim steadily in view.
On May 19, 1882, during the first weeks of the legislative session, the Green-Carter
ministry resigned, and Gibson was called to the head of affairs. His colleagues were
essrs. Simon Kaai, interior; J. E. Bush, finance, and Edward Preston, attorney-
neral. From 1882 to June 30, 1887, a system of gº extension of *::: preroga-
ives, a using of the E. funds for private ends, has steadily gone on. The changes
in the cabinet have been so frequent that it acquired the name of kaleidoscopie; but
whatever change took place, one central figure always remained, and that was W.
M. Gibson. During his career he occupied every place in the cabinet, and on one
‘occasion he filled three positions at the same time, viz, foreign affairs, interior, and
the attorney-generalship.
The policy at first adopted was to play upon the King's vanity, and for that pur-
#. a gorgeons coronation pageant was arranged, which took place February 14,
883. The bills incurred on that occasion were enormous, how large has never
yet been learned, but at the sesion of 1886 the outstanding accounts under this head
still amounted to some $20,000. The coronation, however, was but the thin end of
the wedge. In every way that could add to the timsel and glitter of the Kingdom,
money was spent.
It became very clear that to do this it was necessary to “hold” the Legislature,
To this end political heads were chopped off in all directions and the places of the
former incumbents filled by men devoted to the new régime without reference to
their fitness for the positions. Thus Mr. Godfrey Brown was summarily dismissed
from the finance office and Col. Allen from the collector-generalship of customs,
while the board of education, consisting of Messrs. C. R. Bishop, E. O. Hall, Godfrey
Rhodes, and J. Kawainui were turned out in an insulting manner. The name and
influence of the King were freely used in the elections, and the Government candi-
dates for election were chosen from among tho office-holders. In the Legislature of
1884 an effort was made to meet the evil but the opposition was not united enough;
B—17
130
it needed that the governing powers should more plainly show their evil qualities
before all men would unite in a solid phalanx against them.
The appropriation bill of 1884 far exceeded any previous one. Money was voted
for many useless things; the expenses of the privy purse were swelled; so was the
military vote, the vote for foreign missions, and, *:: the whole session and
long after it, the Spreckels' influence was supreme. The following two years told
the same tale of extravagance only the Government were becoming unore bold.
Jobs of the most flagrant description were constantly being brought before the pub-
lic through the press, and the cabinet calmly smiled and asked the complainauts
what they were going to do about it?
The leprosy question, also, had been growing into a crying evil. Lepers were let
free, either on the authority of Mr. Gibson or the King, and these permits were used
for political purposes. To i. the feeling in this łirection for it was growin
serious, Dr. Arning, a specialist, was sent for from Germany. He came, institu
a set of valuable experiments, and then, proving only a scientific man and not a
political tool, was *.*.* circumstances which are fresh in the minds of
all our readers. Debt, too, began to accumulate ºnly, and to bolster their
failing finances, loans were obtained from Mr. Spreckels.
For the Legislature of 1886 a gallant fight was made to have a body of men elected
who would vote money with solile sense of its value, and who should, in some degree,
represent the capital and brains of the .# The effort was abortive. Every
scandalous means was used to secure a victory for the men in power. Bribery was
employed, liquor was allowed to run in a tide, promises of office were given, intim-
idation was resorted to, and in one district a number of soldiers were taken up to
º: º opposition candidate, while in another the voting lists were openly tam-
ered with.
p With a Legislature composed of such materials, and obtained by such means, it is
not surprising that the right of free speech was cut off, and that a reckless disregard
for the rights of capital and brains reigned supreme.
The session lasted from April 30 to October 16—a period of 170 days. The results
were an appropriation bill of somewhat over four and a half millions of dollars,
the income of the country being about two millions. A loan bill was passed author-
izing the Government to borrow $2,000,000, the affair to be managed by a *::::
in London. A free-liquor bill had been passed in the Legislature of 1884, and that of
1886 gave an opium bill, which was so framed that bribery eould be freely used
to obtain the license. The results of this bill will be seen later on. Then there
was an army bill, authorizing the expenditure of a very large sum of money, and
creating generals, colonels, intelligence officers, and no end of frippery. The buying
and fitting out of a man-of-war was authorized, and the vote for foreign missions
was still further increased. One thing was made clear, during the session, and that
was the ministerial view of the constitution. . In open debate the question was
argued: “Where lies, or should lie, the preponderating, the actual ruling power?”
One of the independent members maintained “In the legislature;” the ministry
held “In the crown;” and the latter theory was acted upon.
Great dissatisfaion was felt at the close of the Legislature; but matters were not
se bad yet as to cause all men to unite. What the 8:a: intended to do soon
began to be developed. An embassy, under charge of John E. Bush, was sent at
ſ: *: to Sauroa. A large sum of money was expended over festivities in
nor of the King's birthday. The Explorer (re-na the Kaimiloa)—a vessel
totally unsuited for the purpose—was purchased by the Government for $20,000,
and some $50,000 or $60,000 were expended in turning her into a man-of-war.
The crew was largely made up of boys from the Reformatory School, and
their conduct, together with that of some of the officers, &reated a perfect scandal.
On the evening before the day appointed for the sailing of the vessel a mutiny broke
out, and several of the officers were summarily dismissed. . Meantime, money was
very scarce, the loan was bungled, and though the money had been subscribed in
England, it was not forthcoming in Hawaii. The roads all over the group were in a
terrible condition; the harbor had not been dredged for months, no funds being
forthcoming for the Fº the landings were neglected and Government indebt-
edness was not liquidated.
So bad had things become that men set seriously to work to right them, and early
in the present year a number of gentlemen in Honolulu and on the other islands
began to consider the best means for putting an end to the then state of affairs, and
placing the Government of the country on a basis which should for the future do
away with the system of º: and fraud which had ruled so long. For this
purpose arms were imported, and every preparation made beforehand. The organ-
ization took the name of the Hawaiian League, and had enrolled among its members
some of the weightiest men in the city.
The agitation was progressing favorably, when a weapon was put into the hands
of the patriotic party which served to unite the whole population as one man against
the régime under which such iniquities could be perpetra
We have º: above of the opium law which was passed in the Legislature of 1886,
and which had received the King's signature in spite of the most vigorous protests
from all classes of the community. The bill provided that a license for the sale of
opium, at the rate of $30,000 per annum, should be given to whomsoever the minis-
ter of the interior might choose. *
The facts in the matter, furnished on undeniable authority, were published in the
Hawaiian Gazette of May 17, and from that paper we quote. The paper said:
“Early in November, 1886, one Junius Kaae, heretofore conspicuous for nothing
except being a “palace hanger-on” (since promoted to the office of register of
deeds), went to a Chinese rice-planter named Aki and esked him if he did not want
the opium license. Aki said he did. Kaae then informed him that he could help
him to *: it, and that the first step necessary was to pay the King the sum of
$60,000, but that he must hurry up about it, because there were others trying to get
the King to give it to them. After some discussion, Aki agreed to act upon Kaae's
suggestion. About the 6th of December, in the afternoon, $20,000 were taken to the
p in a basket. The King, seeing others around, told the bearers to come in the
eveaing. They eame in the evening and met the King, who directed them to see
Kaae. Kaae, being present, eonferred with the King, and then went to the King's

gº 131
#: office, and he there received the $20,000, and put it in the King's private
wer. A few days after, the King stated to the owner that he had received the
$20,000., Shortly after a check on the bank for $10,000 was handed to the King
personally. The same day Kaae returned it, saying that they P. coin to
checks. The same evening the coin to that amount was deliveted to Kaae. A day
of two later $30,000 in gold coin and certificates of deposit, in two baskets, were
taken to the palace and delivered, º: with a present of a little baked pig, to
the King personally. This completed the $60,000, Finding how easily $60,000 was
made, probably there were some qualms of conscience about ºf the license go
so cheap. ; Aki was therefore informed by Kaae that John S. Walker was backing
another Chinaman, and that unless $15,000 more was forthcoming, Walker's China-
man would get the license. Aki reluctantly raised the amount, and it was paid to
the .# personally.”
Shortly after this, Aki heard that the license had been given to another Chinese
syndicate, at the head of which was Chun Lung.
The fact that he had lost his money and his license, made Aki tell, and the whole
circumstances, were drawn up in a series of affidavits. On May 31 the Gazette
published Aki's affidavit, giving the matter more fully in detail, and likewise
i. an illegal land transaction in which the minister of foreign affairs, W. M.
Gibson, while acting minister of interior, had been en§:
It had also transpired that the minister of interior, J. Aholo, had drawn a sum of
money out of the treasury, certifying that it was for the work done on the continu-
3. of Queen's street, when it was known , for a fact, that no such work had been
On 9.
These publications created an immense sensation, and the entire press united in
denouncing the venality and corruption of the Hawaiian Government. Preparations
were made for holding a public iº on Monday, June 27, but it was deemed
advisable to postpone the meeting. till Thursday, June 30. Early on Tuesday,
June 28, it was rumored that the ministry had resigned. This was found to be a
fact. During that day and the next the ex-attorney-general made efforts to #.
together a coalition i." but without success, and on Thursday, June 30, the
mass meeting was held. he account of it, which appeared in the Gazette, is
reproduced here, corrected by the accounts published in the Commercial Advertiser
and Herald. It reads as follows:
THE GREAT MASS MEETING,
The most enthusiastic, largest, and 3. most orderly meeting ever held in Honolulu
took place on Thursday afternoon, June 30. The meeting had been adverti
June 29 by posters in English, Hawaiian, and Portuguese, and long before the
appointed hour, 2 p.m.; the approaches to the armory of the Honolulu Rifles,
corner of Punchbowl and Beretania streets, were thronged with crowds of people
“Of all classes, hurrying to the rendezvous. All the stores in town were closed by 1
.m., and all work on buildings or in machine shops was brought to a close. Pass-
g the palace a considerable stir was noticed, and as the Gazette reporter p ©
tº:with half a dozen rifles on his shoulder was proceeding thither from the
ibºrrºCKS,
Outside the armory the Honolulu Rifles were drawn up under arms with fixed
bayonets, and each man carrying fifty rounds of ammunition. Our citizen soldiers
looked a fine body of men, “ready,” as one of the speakers afterwards said in the
meeting, “to defend their rights or enforce them.”
In the armory seats had been arranged, and by 2 o'clock the building was filled in
every part, while, a large crowd blocked, up every º The platform was
#. on the mauka or land side of the building. On the table was the Hawaiian
ag, while at the back the flags of the United States and Great Britain were inter-
: fit emblems of the mother and daughter country standing shoulder to
& 10thCl3 ſ.
Those who ... assemblage was thoroughly rep ū w
ics, merchants, day-laborers, §. professional men, all were there. Of nation-
alities there were Americans, Britons, Colonials, Germans, Hawaiians, Portuguese,
Chinese, and Japanese. In numbers, a good many estimated the crowd as being
about 2,500. With but a few exceptions, all were animated by the same feelings,
the same determination, to put an end, once and for all, upon the presentiniquitous
system of misrule and extravagance.
The following list of names was compiled by Mr. Dan Logan, of the Herald, Dr.
Emerson, and Mr. Alatau T. Atkinson, of the Gazette, and though necessarily imper-
fect, itſ serve to show the materisi of which the meeting was composed:
epresentative names.—Jonathan Austin, Hon. W. F. Allen, Alatau T. Atkinson,
J. B. Athertou, L. C. Ables, H. J. Agnew, L. Asen, F. E. Atwater, W., Alexander,
Hon. C. R. Bishop Maj. Benson, U. S. Army; Hon. Cecil Brown, Godfrey Brown,
Frank Brown, W. P. A. Brewer, Rev. Dr. Beckwith, W. R. Buchanan, P. Butler, J.
E. Brown, J. Bushee, Rev. S. E. Bishop, Geo. C. Beckley, A. J. Cartwright, sr., H.
W. Schmidt, R. J. Creighton, Hon. John A. Cummins, James Campbell, Hon. W. R.
Castle, G. P. Castle, Kwong Hang Cheng, Yuen Chong, J. O. Carter, E. S. Cunha,
Lau Chong, Robert Catton, C. K. Cooke, E. C. Damon, M. Dickson, W. E. H. Dever-
J. A. Dower, J. Dowsett, Dr. N. B. imerson, G. D. Freeth, W. š. Forsyth, Chas.
Foster (Maui), W. E. Foster, C. J. Fishel, Hon. W. L. Green, H. F. Glade, Sir A.
Gooch (England), Robt. Gay, R. Jay Greene, W. Robinson, R. Grieve, Capt., W. B.
Godfrey, Chr. Gertz, Frank Čertz, Walter Hili, A. *; (England), Julius Hot-
ing, Major Hills, C. Hammer, F. M. Hatch, W. W. Hall, W. L. Holokahiki, C. W.
art, Thos. Hughes, W. E. Herrick, § :*::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-Jaeger, P. C. Jones, £. W. Jordan, W. A. Kinney, Geo. Kim, A. Kraft,Capt. J. King,
Prince Albert Kunuiakea, M. Louisson, R. W. Laine, D. Logan, H. R. Macfarlane,
E. G. Maria lane, Freiw, Macfarlane M. McInerny, Kev, w8. Merritº, Alex McKib.
bin, Capt. Mist, R. N., E. Muller v. Alex Mackintosh, Dr. J. S. McGrew, A.
º: J. A. McCandless, M. D. Monserra, Dr. Robt. Mckibbin, captain Macau:
ay, John Nott, P. Neumann, Rev. W. B. Oleson, Hon. Sam Parker, R. W. Purvis,
iºn #. Fºw. & Peacock, w. H. Ricº, Mº. F. Robinson, Dr. G.T.Rodger, H.

4 - 1.3 * -
l
{
T
132
Riemenschneider, H. Renjes, Capt. Ross, L. F. Stolz, Capt. Harry S. Swinton, J. H.
Soper, S. Sayidge, F. M. Swanzy, G. M. Stillman, Dr. Tucker, H. S. Tregloan.J. G.
Tucker, T. G. Thrum, Fred Turril, H. S. Townsend, R. von Tempsky, . M. Vivas,
3.T. waterhouse, E.'M, waish, William C. wilder, j. Haywoºoºº, H.M. whº
ney, Henry waterhouse, G.I. white, j. A wide, T. Rºn waii.e., & L wilco:
Rºº. George waiiace, d. B. Wilson, R.N. webster, Chief Engineer’ whittaker, ºf
S. Army; A. S. Wilcox, A. Young.
At the reporters table were Messrs. Daniel Logan, editor of the Daily Herald; Wal-
ter Hill, editor of the Bulletin; Alatan T. Atkinson, editor of the Gazette; Messrs.
Taylor and Gilbert, of the P. C. Advertiser; Mr. S. Kaaikaula, of the Pae Aina; Mr.
Ho Fon, of the Chinese News, and Mr. F. J. Testa, of the Elele.
The meeting.—Shortly after the stroke of 2 Hon. S. B. Dole came on to the platform
and calling the meeting to order, nominated Mr. P. C. Jones as chairman. The nomi-
nation was accepted unanimously, and amid loud applause the É. gentleman,
who has presided over so many a social gathering, took charge of the most important
meeting that has ever been known in Hawaiian history.
Mr. Jones, on ascending the †. said: I feel honored at being nominated
chairman of this, the largest and most important meeting that has ever assembled in
this city. , We have assembled in a constitutional manner, and propose to conduct it
in a constitutional manner. We are here for the purpose of asking for good govern-
ment, a thing we have not had, but which we earnestly desire. e, representatives
of all nations, are assembled here and we can afford to conduct ourselves in a firm and
dignified manner, because we are firm and determined in what we ask. º
set of resolutions have been prepared, which will be read to you by Mr. L. A
Thurston, and also a communication from the King which has just been received by
the Hon. C. R. Bishop. Then there will be short speeches. As there are many speak-
ers and the place is warm and we are warmed up, they will be limited tº five min-
utes. We must make the work short, sharp, and decisive. [Loud ‘...]
Hon. Lorrin Thurston apologized for appearing in uniform, but he had been so
i. by his commanding officer, and he obeyed his orders. He then read the fol-
owing:
RESOLUTIONS.
We, the citizens, residents, aud º of Honolulu, acting, as we firmly believe,
in sympathy with and in behalfor right-minded citizens, residents, and taxpay-
ers of this Kingdom, and being assembled in mass meeting in the city ofHonolulu, on
the 30th day of June, 1887, do resölve as follows:
1, That the administration of the Hawaiian Government has ceased, through
corruption and incompetence, to perform the functions and afford the protection to
personal and property rights for which all governments exist.
2. That while some of the evils of which we complain cannot be at once adequately
redressed and their recurrence prevented, and many others are incurable except by
radical changes in the present constitution, yet there are some evils which we feel
must be remedied at once, before a permanent reform movement can be inaugurated
with any reasonable prospect of success.
8. Holding these views, we request of the .#
First. That he shall at once and unconditionally dismiss his present cabinet from
office, and we ask that he shall call one of these persons, viz, William L. Green,
Henry Waterhouse, Godfrey Brown, or Mark P. Robinson to assist him in selecting
a new cabinet, which shall be committed to the policy of securing a new constitution.
nd. That Walter M. Gibson shall be at once dismissed from each and every
office held by him under the Government.
Third. In order, so far as possible, to remove the stain now resting on the Throne,.
we request of the King that he shali cause immediate restitution tº be made of the
sum, to wit, seventy-one thousand dollars ($71,000), recently obtained by him in
violation of law and of his oath of office, under promise that the persons from whom
the same wasºtained shall receive the license to sell opium, as provided by statute
of the year 1886.
F.}. Whereas one Junius Kaae was implicated in the obtaining of said
seventy-one thousand dollars ($71,000), and has since been, and still is, retained in
office as registrar of conveyances, we request, as a º: to the property inter-
ests of the country, that said Kaae be at once dismissed from said office, and that the
records of our land titles be placed in hands of one in whose integrity the people
Cºn ºº::
Fifth That we request a specific pledge from the King-
(1) That he will not in the future interfere either directly or indirectly with the
election of representatives.
(2) That he will not interfere with or attempt to unduly influence legislation or
legi
lators.
§ That he will not interfere with the constitutional administration of his cabinet.
4) That he will not use his º or patronages for private ends.
solved, That Paul Isenberg, W. W. Hall, J. A. Kennedy, W. H. Rice, Capt. Jas.
A. King, #.H.Thomas, H. 6. Reed, john Vivas, w. F. A. Brewer, w. B. Oleson,
Cecil Brown, Capt. John Ross, J. B. Atherton, are hereby appointed to present
the foregoing resolutions and requests to the .# and said committee is hereby
instructed to request of the King that a personal answer to the same be returned
within twenty-four hours of the time when the same are presented; and to further
inform the King that his neglect so to answer the same within said time will be
construed as a refusal of the said requests.
Resolved, That said committee, in case of the King's refusal to grant said requests,
or in case of his neglect to ; to the same, is authorized to call another mass
meeting at this place on Saturday, July 2, at 2 p.m., to further consider the situa-
Oil,
When the second request, relative to the . dismissal of Walter M. Gibson,
was read, a perfect storm of cheers swept through the building. -
Hon. C.R. Bishop then read the communication he had received from the King,
premising that it had reached him at 1 p.m.
f

133
THE KING's LETTER.
Hon. C. R. Bishop,
Member of the House of Nobles, Privy Councillor of State, etc.:
MY DEAR SIR: Reposing especially confidence in your loyalty and sound ºši
ment as a councillor, and knowing your regard for our people, we are moved to ca
upon the Hon. W. L. Green to form a eabinet and a ministry which he may select
and will be acceptable to the respectable and responsible majority of our people, will
be welcome to us; and any guaranties which may be reasonably required of ns under
the constitution and laws of our Kingdom will be at once conceded to such admin-
istration.
Your friend,
KALAKAUA.
The chairman reread the letter for the benefit of those who were far off, Mr.
Bishop's voice not being strong enough to reach the whole assemblage.
Mr. W. A. Kinney read a translation of the resolutions in Hawaiian, the reader
being frequently ... by applause. jº
Hon. W. L. Green, on being called, was received with great applause. He said a
speech from him was impossille. He could not tell, no one could tell, what the
course of events would be. He knew no more than any one present about the letter
from the King. The meeting had assembled to express themselves as to the past
and in regard to the future, and he urged upon the speakers to keep their language
firm and decisive. He remembered a meeting held some three years ago, he thought,
at the Lyceum. It was a large meeting, though not so large as this, and its object
was to protest against the maladministration of the Gibson cabinet. He was not
there, not being well, but sent a letter, in which he expressed himself in strong lan-
ge. He need not go into the details—that could be done better by others; but
they were met againſ to-day, because from that day to this that same administration
had been getting worse and worse until at last it had become intolerable. He con-
sidered that their united attitude to-day was one which would teach His Majesty
that he must turn over a new leaf, and see that this country is governed as a con-
stitutional monarchy. He thought the King's letter precluded his saying anything
further on this point. If he should be called upon to head a ministry, it should be
one pledged to the common good, and which would carry out the resolutions passed
there that *:
Mr. W. A. Kinney, before addressing the meeting in Hawaiian, spoke in English.
He said that he had been born here and F. God he was going to die here, and
would try to live here under this flag, but he wanted that flag to be clean. It would
not be clean unless they went much further than the removal of the Gibson admin-
istration. He had been reminded of the words of Lord Chatham, “It is time that
the Crown were addressed in the language of truth.” It is the height of folly to put
four men into a hostile sº and support the tension to try and keep them there.
(Mr. E. M. Walsh—“We will support them!”) The speaker had a great deal of
confidence in Mr. Walsh, but he preferred a good constitution, a new constitution,
every time, and anything less than a new constitution would not suit him.
The miserable rag of a constitution we had did not afford adequate representation
nor impose £º r restrictions upon the power of the Throne. He believed it was
written on the hearts of those before him, “a new constitution, and that speedily.”
It was the height of folly to suppose that commercial men and others in the commu-
nity could stand, and hold these men in their places. We had tried this kind of
things for the last six years. With a good constitution we would have peace-peace
flowing like a river. The franchise will be reconstructed and the king will have
Fº: as great as the Queen of Great Britain, and that ought to be enough for him.
f to his own rights he wants to add the rights of 75,000 subjects he is not going to
have them. The revolution of thought would be followed by a revolution of arms,
as it always had been, if our reasonable requests were not granted. He pledged his
life, every cent that he possessed, and his sacred honor under that flag that shel-
tered him from his birth. (Cheer.). If the men would not put this thing through
the women would. He referred to the mental agony the women had endured these
}. years for want of proper protection against disease, many having had to iso-
ate their children in foreign lands. No man can stop or stay this movement now.
e sails are set, the ship is in motion; we can not go back. sh her forward into
the open sea. (Cheers.)
Mr. Kinney then spoke several minutes in Hawaiian.
Hon. S. B. Dole, being called upon, said: Fellow citizens: There are two thoughts
to which I will call your attention in our constitution. First, “The King conducts
his Government for the common good.” The second is like unto it, “All men are
allowed to assemble to consult upon the common good.” . We have a right to be here,
and we have assembled according to law; but we would not be here to-day if the
King had conducted the Government for the common good. He has not done so.
This meeting has come together to consider the public interests, and is composed of
men who are determined to have#. government. As I understand the situation,
this meeting is called to give the Ki #". chance to fall intoline for political reform-
Just one chance. I do not say he will take the chance. I am not here to talk about
the ministers, but about the King (loud cheers), for he is not conducting the Gov-
ernment for the benefit of the people. I need not detail the fact of bad government
by the King to you; it relates to all departments of the administration; interference
with everythin ; to º: has been his rule, and he has sold his
sacred oath of office to the highest bidder. We are here for no unlawful purpose; we
are here to demand that the King cleanse the Government, and that he return this
money—which every man, woman, and child in the country believes he took unlaw-
fully—not for the sake of the parties to whom it belongs, but to show that the
Government is to be conducted henceforth upon clean principles. We remember the
last six years, during which the rights of the people have been *. under foot,
the representative principle of tº. has been practically destroyed, the prin-
ciple of ministerial responsibility interrupted, and public moneys recklessly squan-
ered. These things cannot go on. This movement means political reform, and it
has gone so far that, from the talk I hear as I go along the street, opposition or
hostility to it is in the public mind something akin to treason.

134
Mr. J. A. McCandless, whom the chairman introduced as a gentleman who went
down into the bowels of the earth, spoke next. He said he supported these resolu-
tions, and in doing so he believed that he represented some 1,500 people. He was
ready to º: them with the last drop of his blood. All were united—merchants
mechanics, laborers, and all. He believed that there was a unanimity which h
never before been attained. Fifteen hundred persons had been disfranchised for no
other reason than they were white men, and they were not going to have this much
longer. They had a right to have their franchise granted unconditionally. [A
voice, We'll take º He was afraid there were some among them who were
weak-kneed. One man had got his gun and taken it home, and left a note upon the
table with the words “Good-bye; shall be out of town till next Sunday.” That
there were some who wanted bracing up. There were men among them the grand-
children of those who had fought at Waterloo, and made it what it was, of the noble
six hundred at Balaklava. They had among them some of the heroes of Appomattox,
and also of the Franco-German war. These were the kind of men this community
is made up of. Abraham Lincoln had remarked on the eve of the late war, “it may
be necessary to set the foot down hard.” And a great newspaper correspondent who
was present said that he knew then for the first time that the great North was
ready, and, concluded the speaker, from what I see here to-day I know that we
are ready to put onr foot down. (Applause.)
Hon. C. R. Bishop said: This is unquestionably an . meeting, the most
important ever held in Honolulu. I see beforeme mechanics, merchants, professional
men. They are not here for amusement, but because they feel that the course of
affairs calls for prompt and determined action. We should discuss matters in a peace-
able manner without any threats; we do not need any threats. The fact that so
many men have come here shows that we do not need any threats. I came here in
1846, became naturalized in 1849, and have lived under five kings. We thought we
had really a liberal constitution, because those ; did not encroach upon the
rights of their subjects. But we have found out within the last few years that our
constitution is defective, partly on account of bad advice to the King, but largely on
his own account. The King has encroached on our rights. We have had very few
mans meetings, but when we have one like this I believe it means either a new con-
stitution or one with material reforms, which I am sure we shall have. I come here
as a Hawaiian, not for any class or clique. If it was any class or clique, I would not
come here at all. (Applause.)
Mr. Henry Waterhouse spoke in native in substance as follows:
Fellow-citizens of Hawaii nei-Hon. C. R. Bishop says the constitution is full of
faults. If so, let us have a new constitution. Therefore, let us stand by the reso-
lutions. We shall see from those who stand by these resolution who are the friends
of the Hawaiian people. My counsel is to stand firm and go before the King with-
out fear, and make our demands fearlessly.
Mr. R. Jay Green said: Gentlemen, fellow-citizens, friends, neighbors, and
brothers: I was not aware that I should be asked to speak here or Ishould have
put on my other coat. But the boys left me to come here, and I had to follow them,
and all I want to say is that I expect to keep on *...*. boys, (Applause.)
on, L. A. Thurston said: Gentlemen, you and I have been waiting a long time
for this day, but it has come. It is a long lane that has no turning, but we have
Some to the turning of our lane. There are persons here to speak to all of you, but
I am here to speak as a Hawaiian. My ancestors came here in the º of Kameha-
meha I.. I was born and brought up here, and I mean to die here. Hawaii is good
enough for me. ... I speak for Hawaiians, because you foreigners can speak for your-
selves and can look out for yourselves, but many of these Hawaiians are ignorant
and have been deserted by their leaders. I am the representative of the constitu-
eney of Molokai, and speut some weeks there last summer, and I wish to say that
the Hawaiians on Molokai are with us to a man. It may be that this letter from
His Majesty was meant to head off these resolutions. I *_ ding somewhere
of a man who was going to shoot a coon, and the coon said, “Don’t shoot; I'll come
down.” The King is the coon and this meeting the gun., [Great applause..] His-
tory repeats itself. We all remember the King's message to the Legislature in 1884,
recommending economy, and asking that it should begun with His Majesty's privy
purse. That message was accepted in good faith, and there was a grand º:
procession to the palace to thank him—I carried a torch in that procession myself
-but it was followed by appropriations enormously in excess of the revenue. And
#. in 1886, came another message for retrenchment, but this time it didn't wash.
There was a meeting during the Moreno time to protest against bad government,
and into the midst of it someone came and said, “It's all right; the #: has a
poin a new ministry,” and there were three cheers for the King, and that was
the last of it. Are there any cheers to-day? (Loud cries of No! No!) The King
was taken at his word. , 1 noticed that there were no cheers proposed for the King
to-day. It is not sufficient to have the King accept these resolutions; we must
have a new constitution, and must have it now. A constitution is a contract, and
if the King and the people both agree to change it, there is no violation of constie
tutional rights and no revolution. If we have let things come to this pitch, and
take the King at his word, it is to rely on wind. Let a change in the constitution
be the first and last and only request, if necessary, but let that be the one to be
insisted on till the last moment.
* Hon. Paul ...; said that on many points he agreed to these resolutions, but
as far as the new constitution was concerned he was somewhat doubtful. Let it be
done legally. The subject had been broached the i. day of his entering a
new ministry. If so, he would not be a party to pushing a new constitution through
in a hurry. It would not be legal unless carried by the Legislature. (Dr. §§
Rodgers: What assembly gave us our present constitution?) We could have an ex-
tra session to pass the constitution, and another extra session to ratify it. (Hisses
and ...} He hoped all would be ful and not hasty.º. (A yoice: We have
been waiting six years.) If so, we could very well wait another. (Great uproar
and cries of “No, no.” Dr. Emerson: “We won't wait another year.”. A voice:
“We mean to have it now.” Cries of “Sit down.”) The speaker took his seat.
i *See “Footnote to Hawaiian History,” p. 27.
x-
135
H. L. Swinton said, in Hawaiian: I am not going to speak in the English lan-
guage, because the haoles all think as I do. It has been said that this meeting is,
Čalled to incite to kill the Hawaiians. I have always been called a rebel. This is
because I am not afraid to speak my mind, and my mind is firm and clear that the
Government is false and corrupt. My advice is to stand by the resolution for a new
constitution, and let us not be satisfied with promises by the King. Let us not be
satisfied when the King tells us he has turned out the eabinet, what more do you
want. Let us follow the lead of Thurston, and demand a mew constitution.
Mr. Alexander Young, who represented the Honolulu Iron Works, said he was
proud to stand upon the platform and look so many honest men in the face. They
were men who not only looked what they meant, but meant what they looked. He
was no speaker, but a thinker. He came here twenty-three years ago, and at one
time, when traveling, he was proud of living here. , Lately he had done some trav-
eling, and had to hide his face when he found this flag stinking abroad. He repre-
sented a large class of men not only in this country, but all over the world. The
class he represented were the horny-handed sons of toil, who earned their
honest dollar and could lie down and sleep without it burning them. He was
ready to shoulder a musket to defend Kalakaua, and not a kuave. Some had
counseled them to wait; but he said wait not, strike the iron while it is hot. Kala-
kaua had had a great many years to let us see whether he was a man or not. The
tension about our hearts had long been strained, and to-day the strings had broken,
and we must express ourselves. He was not a lawyer, and could not tell whether
we could have a constitution in five minutes; but necessity was the mother of inven-
tion, and we must get it as soon as possible. There was not a coward in that assem-
bly—not one, though it was not always wise to rush into mischief. If the King
would not do what was wan he must be made to do it. . Let us exercise patience
and put the matter in the hands of people able to deal with it. Let us have a new
constitution, and if it is not legal, the same power would make another.
I)r. Tucker said that when he came to this country there were mutterings of dis-
content, and it was all Walter Murray Gibson. We arraign the King. He does not
know that this assembly-largely composed of men who think that kings are not of
much account anyway-he does not know that if it was not for the wise connsel of
men in this movement his head would have been off before this. . They could not
wait any longer for reform. The King had better be a saint while he is well, as well
as when he is sick.
Mr. L. C. Ables, who represented the clerks, said that he had come here to seek
his fortune, but had not seen it. He was an American; the stars and stripes was his
flag, but the Hawaiian flag would suit him as well, and he was going to stay by it.
The class whom he represented wanted a new constitution, and they were going to
have it. He was not a lawyer, but he had been told by lawyers that the constitu-
tion was promulgated by a king. . It could be done again. Some would ask, “Are
you going to get it?” In illustration of his determination to have it, he related an
anecdote about a certain youth who had evinced an indomitable determination in
hunting for a woodchuck where with to regale the appetite of a hungry Methodist
preacher." The boy chased the woodchuck into his hole. A man came along and
asked the boy if he could get him, “Mister,” said the boy, “I’ve got to get him;”
and for the constitution, we've got to have it!
Hon. Cecil Brown said, in Hawaiian: “Perhaps you ask, why is this meeting of
citizens? Perhaps the thought may enter that it is to º to do evil to
waiians. Not so... I am an Hawaiian, and was born under this flag, and under
it my bones shall be buried. Has there ºfº”. in the past few years?
No. Has the legislative right been respected? No. We want, then, a new consti-
tution. We want the King to think of the public good, not of personal ends. We
have just seen the jubilee of Queen Victoria, and if Kalakaua would follow her
example, he might reign as long. But if Queen Victoria were to act as badly as,
Kalakaua, she would not live an hour. Let us, then, #. for a new constitution.
Mr. E. M. Walsh, manager of the Paia plantation, Maui, said that he represented
the planters, who, he felt sure, would indorse the sentiments so ably expressed. In
1882 a deputation representing the plantations on the other islands waited on the
King to petition His Majesty to give them honest government. . The result was they
were snubbed. The King afterwards went to North Kona, and with the assistance
of his soldiers defeated Pilipo in the election. They did not want to use threats,
but to-day they were º. and would not be again insulted. He believed it
would be wise to change the constitution. He did not know the best way of doin
it, but in view of the consummate skill which had brought this movement forwa
he was ready to leave it to the thirteen gentlemen to see that it was done right.
It seemed to him, however, that this was a time to have the voice of the people.
From Maui all were with them. In 1882, as he had said, the Kinglet them gowith false
promises. They took his word then. Now, let us prepare a constitution and say
this is what we want and what we must have. (Applause.)
Mr. J. M. Vivas then read the resolutions in Portuguese, and made a speech which
evidently went to the hearts of his coun © ºe
Mr. J. G. Tucker said they had heard talk about this flag and that flag, but they
had gone into this thing as rº of all nationalities merged into Hawaiians. They
had come and meant to stay till they 5. what they wanted.
Mr. W. H. Rice, of Kauai, spoke in the native language, as follows:
Hawaiian citizens, from Hawaii to Niihau; from northwest to southeast; we want
to clean up the Government. Has the Government been clean? No! The roads are
wasting and fº from one end to another of the land. Where is the money
for the roads! Sent on an exploration with the Kaimiloa. If we go ºf for
bread, shall we be satisfied with stones? Some one asked me to-day if I had my
#. Well, yes; I am a cattle-drover, and I need one. It has been well said that
he ship of this movement has been launched, the anchor is weighed, the sails set,
now let us take the helm and steer.
Lieut. C. W. Ashford was the last speaker. He appeared upon the platform in
* end armed with a rifle sad belt of cartridges. He stated that he was under
military orders, and had been commanded by his superior officer not to indulge in a
p. speech . He had not had the privilege of listening te all the speeches, but
out reports, which had been carried to the corps outside, he understood that a

136
gentleman representing vast moneyed interests here had counselled the meeting to
wait another year for a new constitution.
Here the rifle company marched round the outer edge of the building and took
up their position inside to hear the speech of their comrade, and as they did so, three
rousing cheers and a tiger were given for the “boys.”
Lieut. Ashford, resuming, acknowledged the compliment on behalf of the
corps. He had joined it three years ago in anticipation of trouble such as they saw
that day. Returning to Mr. Isenberg's remark, he said that º in view of
his position, would naturally have an aversion to anything having a tendency to
disturbance. He (the speaker) did not want to fight, but by heaven if we did—.
If we set about getting reform under the º: constitution we might wait till
our grandchildren were gray. He felt sure Mr. Isenberg did not express the senti-
ments of that meeting, certainly not those of the Honolulu Rifles. At the same
time he had the greatest respect for the great nation that gentleman represented.
He thought that Germans were pretty well decided not to submit to dictation
abroad, however much they might at houne.
The German heart is strong and true,
German arm is stron
The º
The German foot goes º: back
Where armed foemen throng.
If armed foemen should throng here, he did not think the German foot would go
back. He wished to say a few words on the merits of a new constitution. It has
been objected that we could not have it at once, because such a thing would be
unconstitutional and illegal. He would show the fallacy of that argument. In 1864,
when Kamehameha V couvoked his legislature, it was thought that a new consti-
tution was wanted. After some weeks they failed to a upon one satisfactory to
His Majesty. The Legislature was arbitrarily dismissed, and the King, without even
saying “By your leave,” forced upon them a new constitution. That was the con-
stitution we were living under to-day, and some people had the gall to say we were
living under a constitutional government. He held that nothing was constitutional
which was forced upon the people without their consent. The present constitution
did not adequately protect personal rights, and it gave the King power which no
monarch in a civilized country in the present day possessed. Who had ever heard of
an absolute veto by the monarch anywhere in recent years? King Kalakaua had a
great many very pleasant qualities, and many which were not so pleasant. Person-
ally, he had behaved in a very friendly manner to the speaker when he came herº,
and perhaps would still if he were to truckle to him as some did. Cries of “Time
being heard, he concluded by urging upon all not to let the matter drop until some
sensible and concerted action was taken. (Applause.)
Hon. W. R. Castle moved the adoption of the resolutious, seconded by Dr. Emer-
son and many others. . On being put to the meeting they were carried unanimously,
there being a roar of ayes, and dead silence when Mr. Jones put the question:
“Contrary minded!”
The chairman stated, as the meeting was dispersing, that he had been requested
to say that Mr. Gibson had sent for a squad of the Honolulu Rifles to go down to his
house and protect him against the Hawaiians.
The committee immediately waited on the King, who stated that he was willing
to give an answer offhand; but the committee informed him that they would leave
the documents in his hands, and expect a reply in writing.
The meeting was thoroughly orderly throughout, but it was strong and determined.
After the meeting the committee of thirteen proceeded to the palace and presented
the resolutions to the King, requesting a reply.
The next day the King called a meeting º of the American minister, W.
errill; the British commissioner, James Hay Wodehouse; the French com-
missioner, Henri Feer, and the Portuguese commissioner, A. de Souza Canavarro, to
whom he offered to transfer the powers vested in him as King. These gentlemen
refnsed to accept the trust, but advised the King to lose no time in forming a new
eabinet and signing a new constitution, which would meet the demands of the peo-
ple. Accordingly, in the afternoon, the following reply was forwarded to the citi-
zen's committee: g
THE KING's REPLY.
To Honorable Paul Isenberg and the gentlemen composing the committee of a meeting of
subjects and citizens.
GENTLEMEN: In acknowledging the receipt of the resolutions adopted at a mass
uneeting held yesterday and presented to us by you, we are pleased to convey through
you to our loyal subjects as well as to the citizens of Honolulu our expression of
good will and our gratification that our people have taken the usual constitutional
•º in presenting their grievances.
o the first proposition contained in the resolutions passed by the *:::::: whose
action you represent, we reply that it has been substantially complied with by the
formal resignation of the ministry, which tookº: on the 28th day of June, and
was accepted on that date, and that we had already requested the Rºon...W.L. Green
to form a new cabinet on the day succeeding the resignation of the cabinet.
To the second proposition we . that Mr. Walter M. Gibson has severed all
his connections with the Hawaiian Government by resignation.
To the third proposition we reply that we do not it the truth of the matter
stated therein, but will submit the whole subject to our new cabinet, and will gladly
act according to their advice, and will cause restitution to be made by the parties
found responsible.
To the fourth proposition we reply that at our command Mr. Junius Kaaeresigned
the office of registrar of conveyance on the 28th day of June, and his successor has

been º: $
To the fifth proposition we reply that the specific pledges required of us are each
severally ed to.
We are pleased to assure the members of the committee and our loyal subjects that
we are, and shall at all times be, anxious and ready to coöperate with our council-
137
lors and advisers, as well as with our intelligent º. citizens in all matters
touching the honor, welfare, and º of our Kingdom.
Given at our palace this first day of July, A. D. 1887, and the fourteenth year of
our reign. KALARAUA, REX.
The new cabinet, consisting of Messrs. W. L. Green, finance; Godfrey Brown,
foreign affairs; Lorrin A. Thurston, interior, and C. W. Ashford, attorney-general,
were sworn in the same day, and the revolution was practically over. It only
remained to sign the new constitution. This document was prepared with great
care, a large number of the members of the Hawaiian league being present and
taking part in the debutes. The document was ready on Wednesday, July 6, re-
ceived the King's signature at 6.15 p.m. of that day, and was duly proclaimed on the
next, copies being sent forward to the other islands.
Without the organization known as the Hawaiian league, this revolution could
never have taken place. The luoment that the members were called upon they were
ready and well armed. Without the assistance of Major W. W. Ashford, who had
command of the Honolulu rifles, order could not have been kept. To the gentlemen
who form that corps the citizens of Honolulu owe a deep debt of gratitude. For
two days Honolulu was under martial law, and yet the mostº. order was kept,
the banks and business places were open, and there was perfect security to both º;
and property. It was the most peaceful and most complete of revolutions, but it
W88 SO *:::::. the power was there to sustain it.
A word or two about Mr. Gibson. He was arrested by the military on the morn-
ing of July 1, and was handed over to the civil authorities on a charge of embez-
zlement on the evening of the Saturday. . He was permitted to remain in his house
under guard, but on July 5 was removed to the prison. When brought before the
police court the attorney-general entered a nolle pros., and Mr. Gibson quietly got
on board the brigantine John D. Spreckele, which was leaving that same day, and
sailed for California. Thus, bringing one of the most unpleasant episodes in
Hawaiian history to a conclusion.
* THE TWO CONSTITUTIONS.
Constitution of 1864.
Granted by His Majesty Kamehameha
V., by the grace of God, King of the
Hawaiian Islands, on the twentieth
day of August, A. D. 1864.
ARTICLE 1. God hath endowed all men
with certain, inalienable rights, among
which are life, liberty, and the right of
acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property, and of pursuing and obtaining
safety and happiness.
ARTICLE 2. All men are free to worship
God according to the dictates of their
own consciences; but this sacred privi-
lege hereby secured shall not be so con-
strued as to justify acts of licentiousness,
or practices inconsistent with the peace
or safety of the Kingdom.
ARTICLE 3. All men may freely speak
write, and publish their sentiments on aii
subjects, being responsible for the abuse
of that right, and no law shall be enacted
to restrain the liberty of speech or of the
press, except such laws as may be neces-
sary for the protection of His Majesty the
King and the royal º:
ARTICLE 4. All men shall have the
right, in an orderly and peaceable man-
ner, to assemble, without arms, to consult
upon the common good, and to petition
the King or Legislative assembly for
of grievances.
ARTICLE 5. The privilege of the writ of
kabeas corpus belongs to all men, and shall
not be suspended, unless by the King,
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the
public safety shall require its suspension.
ARTICLE 6. No person shall be subject
Constitution of 1887.
WHERRAS, the constitution of this
Kingdom, heretofore in force, contains
many provisions subversive of civil rights
and incompatible with enlightened con-
stitutional government.
.AND whereas, it has become impera-
tive, in order to restore order and tran-
#. and the confidence necessary to a
urther maintenance of the present Gov-
ernment, that a new constitution should
be at once promulgated:
Now, THEREFORE, I, Kalakaua, King
of the Hawaiian Islands, in my capacity
as sovereign of this Kingdom, and as the
Tepresentative of the people hereunto by
them duly authorized and empowered,
do annul and abrogate the constitution
promulgated by Kamehameha the Fifth,
on the 20th day of August, A. D. 1864,
and do proclaim and promulgate this con-
stitution.
ARTICLE 1. God hath endowed all men
with certain_inalienable rights, amon
which are life, liberty, and the right o
acquiring, possessing, and protecting
property, and of pursuing and obtaining
safety and happiness.
ARTICLE 2. All men are free to worship
God according to the dictates of their
own consciences; but this sacred privi-
lege hereby secured shall not be so con-
strued as to justify acts of licentiousness,
or practices inconsistent with the peace
or safety of the Kingdom.
ARTICLE 3. All men may freely speak
write, and publish their sentiments on aú
subjects, being responsible for the abuse
of that right, and no law shall be enacted
to restrain the liberty of speech or of the
press.
ARTICLE 4. All men shall have the
right, in an orderly and peaceable man-
ner, to assemble, without arms, to consult
upon the common #. and to i.
the King or Legislature for of
grievances.
ARTICLE 5. The ºft, of the writ of
habeas corpus belongs to all men, and shall
hot be *::::::::: unless by the King,
when, in case of rebellion or invasion, the
public safety shall require its suspension.
ARTICLE 6. No person shall be subject
B—18
138
to punishment for any offense, except on
due and legal conviction thereof in a
court having jurisdiction of the ease
ARTICLE 7. No person shall be held
to answer for any trime or , offense
Kexcept in cases of impeachment, or for
offenses within the jurisdiction of a police
or district justice, or in summary proceed-
ings for contempt), unless upon indict-
ment, fully and plainly describing such
crime or offense, and he shall have the
right to meet the witnesses who are pro-
duced against him face to face; to pro-
duce witnesses and proofs in his own
favor ; and by himself, or his counsel, at
his election, to examine the wituesses pro-
duced by himself, and cross-examine
those produced against him, and to be
fully heard in his defence. In all cases
in which the right of trial }. jury has
been heretofore used, it shall be held
inviolable forever, except in actions of
debt or assumpsit in which the amount
claimed is less than fifty dollars.
ARTICLE 8. No person shall be required
to answer again for any offence of which
he has been duly convicted, or of which
he has been duly acquitted upon a good
and sufficient indictment.
ARTICLE 9. No person shall be com-
pelled, in any criminal case, to be a wit-
ness against himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due
rocess of law.
ARTICLE 10. No person shall sit as a
judge or juror, in any case in which his
relative is interested, either as plaintiff
or defendant, or in the issue of which
the said judge or juror may have, either
directly or through a relative, any pecu-
niary interest.
ARTICLE 11. Involuntary servitude, ex-
cept for crime, is forever prohibited in
this Kingdom; whenever a slave shall
enter Hawaiian territory he shall be free.
ARTICLE 12. Every person has the right
to be secure troin all unreasonablesearc
and seizures of his person, his house, his
apers, and effects; and no warrants shall
ue, but on probable cause, supported
by oath or affirmation, &nd deseribing the
place to be searched and the persons or
things to be seized.
Article 13. The King conducts his
Government for the common good, and
not for the profit, honor, or private
interest of any one man, family, or class
of men * his subjects.
ARTICLE 14. Each member of society
has a right to be protected by it, in the
enjoyment of his life, liberty, and prop-
*rty, according to law; and, therefore,
he shall be obliged to contribute his pro-
portional share to the expense of this
protection, and to give his personal
services, or an equivalent when neces-
sary; but no part of the property of any
individual shall be taken from him or
applied to public uses without his own
consent or the enactment of the legisla-
tive assembly, except the same shall be
necessary for the military operations of
the Kingdom in time of war or insurrec-
tion; and whenever the public exigencies
may require that the property of any
individual should be appropriated to
public uses he shall receive areasonable
compensation therefor. .
ARTICLE 15. No subsidy, duty, or tax
of any description shall be established or
levied without the consent of the legis-
lative assembly; nor shall any money be
drawn from the public treasury without
such consent, except when between the
sessions of the legislative assembly the
emergencies of war, invasion, rebellio
pestilence, or other public disaster sh
arise, and then not without the concur-
rence of all the cabinet and of a majority
to punishment for any offense, except on
due and legal conviction thereof, in a
court having jurisdiction of the case.
ARTICLE 7. No person shall be held to
answer for any crime or offense (except
in cases of impeachment, or for offenses
within the jurisdiction of a police or dis-
trict justice, or in summary #. ings
for tº: unless upon indictment,
fully and plainly describing such crime
or offence, and he shall have the right to
meet the witnesses who are produced
against him face to face; to produce wit-
nesses and proof in his own favor; and
by himself or his counsel, at his election,
to examine the witnesses produced by
himself, and cross-examine those pro-
duced against him, and to be fully heard
in his own defence. In all cases in which
the right of trial º has been here-
tofore used, it shall be held inviolable
forever, except , in actions of debt or
assumpsit in which the amount claimed
is less than fifty dollars.
ARTICLE 8. No person shall be required
to answer again for an offense of which
he has been duly convicted, or of which
he has been duly acquitted.
ARTICLE 9. No person shall be com-
pelled, in any criminal case, to be a wit–
*688 *. himself, nor be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due
process of law.
ARTICLE 10. No person shall sit as a
judge or juror, in any case in which his
relative, by affinity, or by consanguinit
within the third degree, is mºre
either as plaintiff or defendant, or in the
issue of which the said judge or juror
may have, either directly or through such
relative, any pecuniary interest.
ARTICLE ll. Involuntary servitude, ex-
cept for crime, is forever prohibited in
this Kingdom. Whenever a slave shall
enter Hawaiian territory he shall be free.
ARTICLE 12. Every person has the right
to be secure from all unreasonable searches
and seizures of his person, his house, his
#. and effects; and no warrants shall
ssue, except on probable cause, snpported
by oath or affirmation, and describing the
place to be searched and the persons or
things to be seized.
ARTICLE 13. The Government is con-
ducted for the common good, and not for
the profit, honor, or private interest of
any one man, family, or class of men,”,
Articis 14. Each member of society
has a º to be protected in the enjoy-
ment of his life, .# and §
according to law; and, therefore, he s
be obliged to contribute his proportional
share to the expense of this protection,
and to give his personal services, or
an equivalent, when necessary. Private
º; may be taken for public use
ut only upon due process of law an
just compensation.
ARTICLE 15. No subsidy, duty, or tax
of any description shall be established
or levied without the consent of the Leg-
islature; nor shall any money be drawn
from the public treasury without such
consent, except when the sessions of the
Legislature, the emergencies of war, in-
vasion, rebellion,*::. or other
public disaster shall arise, and then not
without the concurrence of all the cabinet
and of a majority of the whole privy

139
of the whole privy council; and the min-
ister of finance shall render a detailed ac-
count of such expenditure tº the legisla-
tive assembly.
y
ARTICLE 16. Noretrospective laws shall .
ever be enacted.
ARTICLE 17. The military shall always
be subject to the laws of the land, and
no soldier shall, in time of peace, be
quartered in any house without the con-
sent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by the
Legislature.
Árticle: 18. Every elector shall be
3. from arrest on election days
uring his attendance at election, and
in going to and returning therefrom,
except in cases of treason, felony, or
breach of the peace.
ARTICLE 19. No elector shall be so
obliged to perform military duty, on the
day of election, as to prevent his voting,
except in time of war or public danger.
ARTICLE 20. e supreme power of
the Kingdom in its exercise is divided
into the executive, legislative, and judi-
eial; these shall always be preserved dis-
tinct, and no judge of a court of record
shall ever be a member of the legislative
assembly.
ARTICLE 21. The Government of this
Kingdom is that of a constitutional mon-
archy, under His Majesty. Kamehameha
W, his heirs and successors.
Article 22. The Crown is hereby per-
manently confirmed to His Majesty Kam-
ehameha V, and to the heirs of his body
lawfully begotten, and to their lawful de-
scendants in a direct line; failing who
the crown shali descend to Hºt Roya
Highness the Princess Victoria Kamama-
lu #. and the heirs of her body
lawfully begotten, and their descendants
in a direct fine. The succession shall be
to the senior male child, and to the heirs
of his body; failing a male child, the
succession shall be to the senior female
child, and to the heirs of her body. In
case there is no heir as above provided,
then the successor shall the person
whom the Sovereign shall *. with
the consent of the nobles, and publicly
roclaim as such during the King's life;
ut should there be no such appointment
and proclamation, and the throne should
become vacant, then the Cabinet Council,
immediately after the occurring of such
vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the
łºś. assembly, who shall elect by
ballot some native Alii of the Kingdom
as successor to the throne; and the suc-à
cessor so elected shall Omé & IlêW.
Stirps for a royal family; and the suc-
cession from the Sovereign thus elected,
shall be regulated by the same law as
the present royal family of Hawaii.
ARTICLR 23. It shall not be lawful for
any member of the royal family of
Hawaii who may by law succeed to the
throne, to contract marriage without
the consent of the reigning sovereign.
Every marriage so contracted shall be
void, and the *. so contracting a
marriage may, by the proclamation of
the reigning Sovereign be declared to
have forfeited his or her right to the
throne, and after such proclamation, the
right of succession shall vest in the next
heir as though such offender were dead.
*
counc l; and the minister of finance shall
render a detailed account of such expen-
diture to the Legislature.
ARTICLE 16. No retrospective laws shall
ever be enacted.
ARTICLE 17. The military shall always
be subject to the laws of the land, and
no soldier shall, in time of peace, be
quartered in any house without the con-
sent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner prescribed by the Leg-,
islature.
ARTICLE 18. Every elector shall be
privileged from arrest on election days
during his attendance at election, and in
oing to and returning therefrom, except
in case of treason, felony, or breach of
the peace.
ArtICLE 19. No elector shall be so
obliged to perform military duty, on the
day of election, as to prevent his voting,
except in time of war or public danger.
ARTICLE 20. The supreme power of the
Kingdom in its exercise is divided into
the executive, legislative, and judicial;
Athese shall always be preserved distinct,
and no executive or judicial officers, or
any contractor or employee of the Gov:
ernment, or any person in the receipt of
salary or emolument from the Govern-
ment, shall be eligible to election to the
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom,
or to hold the position of an elective mem-
ber of the same. And no member of the
Legislature shall, during the time for
which he is elected, be appointed to any
civil office under the Government, except
that of a member of the Cabinet.
ARTICLR 21. The Government of this
ingdom is that of a constitutional mon-
archy, under His Majesty Kalakaua, his
heirs and successors.
ARTICLR 22. The Crown is hereby per-
manently confirmed to His Majesty Kala-
kaua, and to the heirs of his body law-
fully begotten and to their lawful des-
cendants in a direct line; failing whom
the Crown shall descend to Her Royal
Highness the Princess Liliuokalani, and
heirs of her body lawfully begotten, and
their lawful descendants in a direct line.
The successio shall be to the senior male
child, and to the heirs of his body; fail-
ing a male child, the succession shall be
to the senior female child, and to the
heirs of her body. In case there is no
heir as above provided, the successor
shall be the person whom the Soverei
shall appoint with the consent of the
nobles, and º proclaim during the
Sovereign's life; but should there be no
such appointment and proclamation, and
the throne should become vacant, then the
Cabinet immediately after the occurring
of such vacancy shall cause a meeting
pf the Legislature, who shall elect by bal-
lol some native Alii of the Kingdom as
successor to the throne; and the succes-
sor so elected shall become a new Stirps
for a royal family; and the succession.
from the Sovereign thus elected shall be
regulated by the same law as the present.
royal family of Hawaii,
ARTICLE 23. It shall not be lawful
for any member of the royal family
of Hawaii who may by law succeed
to the throne, to contract marriage with-
out the consent of the reigning Sov-
ereign. Every marriage so contracted
shall, be 'void, and the person son con-
tracting a marriage may, by the procla-
mation of the reigning Sovereign, be
declared to have forfeited his or her right
to the throne, and after such proclama-'
tion, the right of succession shall vest in ,
the next heir as though such offenderº
were dead.
*
140
ARTICLE 24. His Majesty Kameha-
meha V will, and his successors upon
coming to the throne shall, take the fol-
lowing oath: I soleum.nly swear, in the
presence of Almighty God, to maintain
the constitution of the Kingdom whole
and inviolate, and to govern in confor-
mity there with.
ARTICLE 25. No person shall ever sit
upon the throne who has been convicted
of any infamous crime, or who is insane
or an idiot.
ARTICLR 26. The King is the com-
mander-in-chief of the army and navy,
and of all other military forces of the
Kingdom, by sea and land; and has full
power by himself, or by any officer or
officers he may appoint, to train and
govern such forces as he may judge best
for the defense and safety of the King-
dom. But he shall never #.". War
without the consent of the legislative
assembly.
ARTICLE 27. The King, by and with the
consent of his privy council, has the
power to grant reprieves and pardons,
after conviction, for all offences, except
in cases of impeachment.
ARTICLE 28. . The King, by and with
the consent of his privy council, cou-
venes the legislative assembly at the
seat of Government, or at a different
#. if that should become dangerous
om an enemy or any dangerous disorder;
and in case of disagreement between
His Majesty and the legislative, assem-
bly, he adjourns, P. ur dissolves
it, but not beyond the next ordinary ses-
sion; under * great emergency, , he
may convene the legislative assembly
to extraordinary sessions.
ARTICLE 29. The King has the power
to make treaties. Treatles involving
changes in the tariff or in . law of
the Kingdom shall be referred for ap-
roval to the legislative assembly. The
ing appoints public ministers, who
.# be commissioned, accredited, and
instructed agreeably to the usage and
law of nations. y
ARTICLE 30. It is the King's *...
tive to receive and acknowledge public
ministers; to inform the legislative
assembly by royal inessage, from time
to time, of the state of the Kingdom, and
to recommend to its consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary
and expedient. - e.
ARTICLE 81. The person of the King is
inviolable and sacred. His ministers
are responsible. To the King belongs the
executive power. ... All laws that have
passed the legislative assembly shall re-
unre His Majesty's signature, in order to
3. validity.
ARTICLE 32. Whenever, upon the de-
cease of the º sovereign, the heir
shall be less than 18 years of age, the
royal powershall be exercised by a regent
or council of regency, as hereinafter pro-
vided.
Africte 33. It shall be lawful for the
King at any time when he may be about
to #: himself from the Kingdom, to
appoint a regent or council of regency,
who shall administer the Government in
his name; and likewise the King may, by
his last will -
ent or council of regency to administer
#. Government during the minority of
any heir to the throne; and should a sov-
ereign decease, leaving a minor heir, and
having made no last will and testament,
the cabinet council at the time of such
decease shall be a council of regency un-
til the legislative assembly, which shall
tº cºisièmediately, may be assembled,
and testament, appoint a re-
ARTICLE 24. His Majesty Kalakaua
will, and his suecessors shall, take the
following oath: I solemnly swear, in the
presence of Almighty God, to maintain
the constitution of the Kingdom whole
and inviolate, and to govern in conform-
ity therewith.
ARTICLE 25. No person shall sit upon
the throne who has convicted of any
#.” crime, or who is insane, or an
iot.
ARTInLE 26. The King is the comman-
der-in-chief of the army and jº.
of all other military forces of the King-
dom, by sea and land. But he shall never
roclaim war without the consent of the
gislature; and no military or naval
foºhail be §§. except by the
authority of the Legislature.
ARTICLE 27. The King, by and with the
advice of his º council, and with the
consent of the Cabinet, has the power to
nt reprieves and pardons, after con-
viction, for all offenses, except in case
of impeachment.
ARTICLE 28. The King convenes the
Legislature at the seat of Government
or at a different place, if that should
become insecure from au enemy or any
dangerous disorder, and prorogues the
same; and in any, great emergency he
‘may, with the advice of the privy conn-
cil, convene the legislature in extraor-
dinary session.
ARTICLE 29. The King has the power
to make treaties. ... Treaties involving
changes in the tariff or in any law of the
Kingdom, shall be referred for approval
to the Legislature. The King appoints
public ministers, who shall be commis-
sioned, accredited, and instructed agree-
ably to the usage and law of nations.
ARTICLE 30. It is the King's preroga-
tive to receive and acknowledge j.
ministers; to inform the Legislature by
royal message, from time to time, of the
state of the Kingdom, and to recommend
to its consideration such measures as he
shall judge necessary and expedient.
ARTICLE 31. The person of the King is
inviolable and sacred. His ministers
are responsible. . To the Ring and the
cabinet belongs the executive power. All
Jaws that have passed the Legislature
shall require His Majesty's signature, in
order to their validity, except as provided
in article 48.
ARTICLE 32. Whenever, upon the de-
cease of the reigning sovereign, the heir
shall be less than 18 years of age, the
royal power shall be exercised by a regent
: council of regency, as hereinafter pro-
ARTICLE 33. It shall be lawful for the
King at any time when he may be about
to º: himself from the Kingdom, to
appoint a regent or council of regency,
who shall administer the Government in
his name; and likewise the King may, by
his last will and testament, appoint a re-
gent or council of regency to administer
the Government during the minority of
any heir to the throne; and should a sov-
ereign decease, leaving a minor heir, and
..º. no last will and testament,
the cabinet at the time of such decease
shall be a council of regency until the
Legislature, which shall be called imme-
diately, be assembled, and the Legislature
141
~ry rº-------—
and the legislative assembly immediately
that it is assembled shall proceed to
choose by ballot a regent or council of
regency, who shall administer the Gov-
ernment in the name of the King, and ex-
ercise all the powers which are constitu-
tionally vested in the *f; until he shall
have attained the age of 18 years, which
:#. is declared to be the legal majority
of such :*
ARTICLE 34. The King is sovereign of
all the chiefs and of all the people; the
Kingdom is his.
ARTICLE 35. All titles of honor, orders,
and other distinctions emanate from
the King.
ARTICLE 36. The King coins money
and regulates the currency by law.
ARTICLE 37. The King, in case of in-
vasion or rebellion, can place, the whole
flºom or any part of it under martial
W,
ARTICLE 38. The national ensign shall
not be changed, except by act of the
Legislature.
ARTICLE 89. The King's private lands
and other property are inviolable.
ARTICLE 40. The Kin
or held to account
tribunal of the realm.
can not be sued
n any court or
ARTICLE 41. There shall continue to
be a council of state for advising the
King in all matters for the good of the
state, wherein he may require its advice,
and for assisting him in administering
the executive àffairs of the Government
in such manner as he may direct, which
councinnail be called the King's privy
council of state, and the members thereof
shall be appointed by the King to hold
office auring His Majesty's pleasure.
ARTICLR 42. The King's cabinet shall
consist of the minister of foreign affairs,
the minister of the interior, the minister
of finance, and the attorney-general of
the Kingdom, and these shall be His Maj-
esty's special advisers in the executive af-
fairs of the Kingdom; and they shall be
ex: officio members of His Ma esty's pri
council of state. They shall be appointe
and commissioned by the King, and hold
officé during His Majesty's pleasure, sub-
ject to impeachment. No act of the King
shall have any effect unless it be counter-
signed by a minister, who, by that signa-
ture, makes himself responsible.
ARTICLE 43. Each member of the
King's cabines shall keep an office at
the seat of Government, and shall be
accountable for the conduct of his §:
uties and clerks. The ministry , hold,
seats ex officio as nobles in the legis-
Intive assembly,
ARTICLE 44. The minister of finance
shall present to the legislative assembly,
in the name of the Government, on the
first day of the meeting of the Legisla-
ture, the financial budget, in the Ha-
waiian and English languages.
Article 45."rhe legislative power of
the three estates of this Kingdom, is
immediately that it is assembled shall
proceed to choose by ballot a regent or
council of regency, who shall administer
the Government in the name of the King,
and exercise all the powers which are
yested in the King, until such heir shall
have attained the age of 18 years, which
age is declared to be the legal majority of
such sovereign. &
ARTICLE 34. The King is sovereign of
all the chiefs and of all the people.
ARTICLE 35. All titles of honor, orders,
and other distinctions emanate from the
IIMſ,
TÉricts 36. The King coins money
and regulates the currency by law.
ARTICLE 87. The King, in case of in-
vasion or rebellion, can place the whole
Kingdom or any part of it under martial
W.
ARTICLE 38. The national ensign shall
not be changed, except by act of the
Legislature.
ARTICLE 89. The King can not be sued
or held to account in any court or
tribunal of the Kingdom,
ARTICLE 40. There shall continue to be
a council of state for advising the King
in all matters for the good of the state,
wherein he may require its advice, which
council shall be called the King's privy
council of state, and the members
thereof shall be appointed by the King
to hold office during His Majesty's
pleasure, and which council shall have
and exercise only such powers as are
given to it by the constitution.
ArtICLE 41. The cabinet shall consist
of the minister of foreign affairs, the
minister of the interior, the minister of
finance, and the ºrney general, and
they shall be His Majesty's special advis-
ers in the executive affairs of the King-
dom; and they shall be ex officio members
of His Majesty's privy council of state.
They shall be appointed and commis-
sioned by the King, and shall be removed
by him only upon a vote of want of confl-
dence passed by a majority of all the
elective members of the Legislature, or
upon conviction of felony, and shall be
subject to impeachment. No act of the
King shall have any effect unless it be
countersigned by a member of the cabi-
net, who, by that signature, makes him-
self responsible.
ARTICLE 42. Each member of the cabi-
net shall keep an office at the seat of Gov-
ernment, and shall be accountable for the
conduct of his deputies and clerks. The
cabinet hold seats ex officio in the Legis-
lature, with the right to vote, except on
a question of want of confidence in them.
ARTICLE 43. The minister of finance
shall present to the Legislature, in the
name of the Government, on the first day.
of each biennial session, the financial
budget, in the Hawaiian and English
languages.
ARTICLE 44. The legislative power of
the Kingdom is vested in the King and
the Legislature, which shall consist of
the nobles and representatives sitting
together,
ARTICLE 45. The legislative body shall
be styled the Legislature of the Hawaiian
vested in the King, and the legislative • Kingdom, and shallassemble, biennially,
142
assembly, which assembly shall consist
of the nobles, appointed .# the King, and
of the representatives of the people,
sitting together.
ARTICLE 46. The legislative bod
shall assemble biennially, in the mont
of April, and at such other time as the
King may judge necessary, for the pur-
#. of see º the welfare of the nation.
is body shall be styled the Legislature
of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
ARTICLE 47. Every member of the
legislative assembly shall take the fol-
lowing oath: I most solemnly swear, in
the presence of Almighty God, that I
will faithfully support the constitution
of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and conscien-
tiously aud, impartially discharge my
duties as a member of this Assembly.
ARTICLE 48. The Legislature has full
power and authority to amend the con-
stitution as hereinafter provided; and
from time to time to make all manner of
wholesome laws not repugnant to the
provisions of the constitution.
ARTICLE 49. The King shall signify
his approval of any bill or resolution
which shall have passed the legislative
assembly, by signing the same previous
to the final rising of the Legislature.
But if he shall object to the passing of
such bill or resolution he will return it to
the legislative assembly, who shall enter
the fact of such return on its journal,
and such bill or resolution shall not be,
brought forward thereafter during the
same session.
Article 50. The legislative assem-
bly shall be the judge of the qualifica-
tions of its own members, and a majority
shall constitute a quorum to do business;
but a smaller number may adjourn from
day to day, and compel the attendance of
absent members, in such manner and
under such penalties as the assembly mayº,
provide.
ARTICLE 51. The legislative assembly
shall choose its own officers and deter-
mine the rules of its own proceedings.
ARTICLE 52. The legislative assembly
shall have authority to punish by impris.
onment, not exceeding thirty days, every
person, not a member, who shall be
in the month of May. The first regular
session shall be held in the year of our
: eighteen hundred and eighty-
e e
fºrcis 46. Every member of the
Legislature shall take the following oath:
I solemnly, swear, in the presence of
Almighty God, that I will faithfully sup-
ort the constitution of the Hawaiian
ingdom, and conscienciously and im-
p. discharge my duties as a mem-
er of the Legislature.
Article 47. The 'Legislature has full
power and authority to amend the Con-
stitution as hereinafter provided; and
from time to time to make all manner of
wholesome laws not repugnant to the
constitution.
Article 48. Every bill which shall
have passed the Legislature shall, before
it becomes law, be presented to the King.
If he approve he shall sign it and it shall
thereby become a law, but if not, he shall
return it, with his *}. to the
Legislature, which shall enter the objec-
tions at large on their journal and pro-
to reconsider it. If after such re-
consideration it shall be approved by a
two-thirds vote of all the elective mem-
bers of the Legislature it shall become a
law. In all such cases the vote shall be
determined by yeas and nays, and the
names of the persons voting for and
against the bill shall be entered on the
journal of the Legislature. If any bill
shall not be returned by the King within
ten days (Sunday excepted) after it shall
have been presented to him, the same
shall be a law in like manner as if he had
signed it, unless the Legislature by their
adjournment prevent its return, in which
case it shall not be a law.
ARTICLE 49. The Legislature shall be
the judge of thequalifications of its own.
members, except as may hereafter be pro-
vided by law, and a majority shall con-
stitute a quorum to do business; but a
smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and compel the attendance of absent
members, in such manner and under such
penalties as the Legislature may provide.
ARTICLR 50. The Legislature shall
choose its own officers and determine the
rules of its own proceedings.
ARTICLE51. The Legislature shall have
authority to punish by imprisonment, not
exceeding thirty days, every person, not
a member, who shall be guilty of disre-
spect to the Legislature by any disorderly
Of *I. behavior in its presence;
or who, during the time of its sitting,
shall publish any false report of its pro-
ings, or insulting comments upon the
same; or who shall threaten harm to the
body or estate of any of its members for
...; said or done in the Legislature;
or who shall assault any of them therefor;
or who shall assault or arrest any wit.
ness, or other person ordered to attend
the Legislature; on his way going or
returning; or who shall rescue any per-
son arrested by order of the Legislature.
ARTICLE 52. The Legislature may pun-º
; its own members for disorderly §.
Of.
143
guilty of disrespect to the assembly, by
any disorderly or contemptuous behavior
in its presence; or who, during the time
of its sitting, shall publish any false
report of its proceedings, or tº ºf
comments upon the same; or who shal
threaten harm to the body or estate of
any of its members, for *::: said or
alone in the assembly; or who shall
assault any of them therefor, or who shall
assault or arrest any witness, or other
person ordered to attend the assembly,
in his way going or .# or who
shall rescue any person arrested by order
of the assembly.
ARTICLE 53. The legislative assembly
may punish its own members for disor-
derly behavior,
ARTICLE 54. The º: assembly
shall keep a journal of its proceed-
ings; and the yeas and mays of the mem-
bers on any question shall, at the desire
of one-fifth of those present, be entered
on the journal.
ARTICLE 55. The members of the leg-
islative . shall, in all cases,
except treason, felony, or breach of the
peace, be privileged from arrest during
their attendance at the sessions of the
Legislature, and in going to and return-
; from the same; and they shall not be
held to answer for any speech or debate
made in the assembly, in any court or
place whatsoever.
ARTICLE 56. The representatives shall
receive for their services a compensation
to be ascertained by law, and paid out of
the public treasury, but no increase of
compensation shall take effect during the
year in which it shall have been made;
and no law shall be º: increasing the
compensation of said representatives be-
§ the sum of one hundred and fifty
ollars for each session.
ARTICLE 57. The King, appoints the
nobles, who shall hold their appoint-
ments during life, subject to the pro-
visions of Article 53; but their number
shall not exceed twenty.
ARTICLE 58. No person shall be ap-
pointed a noble who shall not have
attained the age of twenty-one years and
resided in the Kingdom five years.
ARTICLE 53. The Legislature shall keep
a journal of its proceedings; and the
yeas and nays of the members, on tº.
question, shall, at the desire of one-fift
:those present, be entered on the jour-
Yıği,
ARTICLE 54. The members of the Leg-
islature shall, in all cases, except treason,
felony, or breach of the peace, be privi-
leged from arrest during their attendance
at the sessions of the Legislature, and in
going to and returning from the same;
provided such privilege as to going an
returning shall not cover a i. of over
twenty days; and they shall not be held
to answer for any s h or debate made
in the Legislature, in any court or place
whatsoever,
ARTICLE 55. The representatives shall
receive for their services a compensation
to be determined by law, and paid out of
the public treasury, but no increase of
compensation shall take effect during the
biennial term in which it shall have been
made; and no law shall be passed increas-
ing the compensation of representatives
beyond the sum of two hundred and fifty
j. each for each biennial term.
RTICLE 56. A noble shall be a subject
of the Kingdom, who shall have attained
the age of twenty-five years, and resided
in the Kingdom three years, and shall be
the owner pf taxable property in this
Kingdom of the value of three thousand
dollars over and above all encumbrances,
or in receipt of an income of not less than
six hundred dollars per annum.
ARTICLE 57. The nobles shall be a
court, with full and sole authority to
hear and determine all impeachments
made by the representatives, as the grand
inquest of the Kingdom, against any
officers of the Kingdom, for misconduct
or maladministration in their offices; but
previous to the trial of every impeach-
ment the nobles shall respectively be
sworn, truly and impartially to try and
determine the eharge in question, accord-
ing to evidence and law. Their judg-
ment, however, shall not extend further
than to removal from office and disquali-
fication to hold or enjoy any place of
honor, trust, or profit under this Govern-
ment; but the party so convicted shall
be, nevertheless, liable to indictment,
trial, judgment and punishment accord-º
* o the laws of the land.
RTICLE 58. Twenty-four nobles shall
be elected, as follows: Six from the island
of Hawaii; six from the islands of Maui
Molokai, and Lanai; nine from the island
of Oahu, and three from the islands of
uai and Niihau. At the first election
held under this constitution the nobles
shall be elected to serve until the general
election to the Legislature for the year of
our Lord 1890, at which election, and
thereafter, the nobles shall be elected at
the same time and places as the repre-
144
ARTICLE 59. The nobles shall be a court
with full and sole authority to hear and
determine all impeachments made by the
representatives, as the grand inquest of
the Kingdom, against any officers of the
Kingdom, for misconduct or maladmin-
istration in their offices; but previous to
the trial of every impeachment the nobles
shall iº sworn, truly and
impartially to try and determine the
charge in question, according to evidence
and the law. Their judgment, however
shall not extend further than to remova
from office and disqualification to hold or
enjoy any place of honor, trust, or profit,
tunder this Government; but the party so
convicted, shall be, nevertheless, liable
to indictment, trial, judgment, and pun-
ishment according to the laws of the
1and. No Minister shall sit as a noble
on the trial of any impeachment.
ARTICLE 60. The representation of the
people shall be based upon the principal
of equality, and shall be regulated and
apportioned by the legislature according
to the population, to be ascertained, from
time to time, by the official census. The
representatives shall not be less in num-
ber than twenty-four, nor more than
forty, who shall be elected biennially.
ARTICLE 61. No person shall be eligible
Jor a representative of *::::::: who
is insane or an idiot, nor unless he be a
male subject of the Kingdom, who shall.
have arrived at the full age of twenty-
one years, who shall know how to read
and write, whoshall understand accounts
and shall have been domiciled in the
Kingdom for at least three years—the last
of which shall be the year immediatel
pr ing his election—and who sh
own real estate within the Kingdom of
a clear value, over and above all incum-
g-
sentatives. At the election for the year
of our Lord 1890 one-third of the nobles
from each of the divisions aforesaid shall
be elected for two years, and one-third
for four years, and one-third for six years,
and the electors shall ballot for them for
such terms, respectively; and at all sub-
sequent general elections they shall be
elected for six years. The nobles shall
serve without pay.
ARTICLE 59. Every male resident of the
Hawaiian Islands, of Hawaiian, American
or European birth or descent, who shali
have attained the t; of twenty wears
and shall have paid his taxes, and shali
have caused his name to be entered on
the list of voters for nobles for his dis-
trict, shall be an elector of nobles, and
shall be entitled to vote at any election
of nobles; provided,
First. That he shall have resided in the
country not less than three years, and in
the district in which he offers to vote
not less than three months, immediately
F. ing the election at which he offers
o vote.
Second. That he shall own and be pos-
se-sed, in his own right, of taxable prop-
erty in this country of the value of not less
than three thousand dollars over and
above all encumbrances, or shall have ac-
tually received an income of not less than
six hundred dollars during the year next
preceding his registration for such elec-
1OIA,
Third. That he shall be able to read
and comprehend an ordinary newspaper
printed in either the Hawaiian, English,
or some European language.
Fourth. That he shall have taken an
oath to support the Constitution and
laws, such oath to be administered by
any personauthorized to administer oaths
or by any inspector of elections.
Provided, however, that the require-
ments of a three years' residence and of
ability to read and comprehend an ordi-
nary newspaper, printed either in the
Hawaiian, English, or some European
language, shall not apply to persons re-
siding in the Kingdom at the time of the
promulgation of this constitution, if they
shall register and vote at the first elec-
tion which shall be held under this con-
stitution.
ARTICLE 60. There shall be twenty-
four representatives of the people elected
biennially, except those first elected
under this constitution, who shall serve
until the general election for the year of
our Lord 1890. The representation shall
be based upon the principles of equality
and shall be regulated and apportione
by the Legislature according to the popu-º
lation to be ascertained, from time to
time, by the official census. But until
such apportionment by the Legislature,
the apportionment now established b
law shall remain in force, with the fol.
lowing exceptions, namely, there shall
be but two representatives for the dis-,
tricts of Hilo and Pnna, on the island of
Hawaii; but one for the districts of Laha-
ina and Kaanapali, on the island of Maui;
and but one for the districts of Koolau.
loa and Waialua, on the island of Cahu.
ARTICLE 61. No person shall be eligible
as a representative of the people unless
he be a male subject of the Kingdom
who shall have arrived at the full age of
twenty-one years, who shall know how
to read and write either the Hawaiian,
English, or some European language, who
shall understand accounts, who shall
have been domiciled in the Kingdom for
at least three years—the last of which
shall be the year immediately precedin
his election—and who shall own rea
estate within the Kingdom of a clear
145
brances, of at least five hundred dollars,
or who shall have an annual income of
at least two hundred and fifty dollars,
derived from any property or some law-
ful employment.
ARTICLE 62. Every male subject of the
Kingdom, who shall have paid his taxes,
who shall have attained the age of twenty
years, and shall have been domiciled
in the Kingdom for one year immedi-
ately preceding the election, and shall
be possessed of real property in , the
Kingdom, to the value, over and above
all encumbrances, of one hundred and
fifty dollars, or of a leasehold property
on which the rent is twenty-five dollars
per year, or of an ineome of not less than
seventy-five dollars per year, derived
from any Pº. some lawful employ-
ment, and shall know how to read and
:*: born since the year 1840, and
shall have eaused his name to be entered
on the list of voters of his district as may
be provided by law, shall be entitled to
one vote for the representative or rep-
resentatives of that district: Provided,
however, That no insane or idiotic person,
nor any person who shall have been con-
victed of any infamous erime within this
Kingdom, unless he shall have been par-
doned by the King, and by the terms of
such pardon have been restored to all the
rights of a subject, shall be allowed to
vote.
Arricly, 63. The property qualification
ef the representatives of the people, and
of the electors, may be increased by law.
ARTICLR 64. The judicial power of the
Kingdom shall be vested in one supreme
court and in such inferior courts as the
Legislature may, from time to time,
establish.
ARTICLE 65. The supreme court shall
consist of a chief justice and not less
than two associate justices, any of whom
may hold the court. The justices of the
supreme court shall hold their offices
during good behavior, subject to removal
upon impeachment, and shall, at stated
times, receive for their services a com-
3. which shall not be diminished
uring their continuance in office: Pro-
vided, however, That any judge of the
supreme court or any other court of
record may be removed from office, on a
resolution passed by two-thirds of the
legislative assembly, for good cause
shown to the satisfaction of the King.
The judge against whom the legislative
assembly may be about to proceed shall
receive due notice thereof, accompanied
by a copy of the causes *::::: or his
removal, at least ten days before the day
on which the legislative assembly shall
act thereon. He shall be heard before the
legislative assembly
ARTICLE 66. The judicial power shall
be divided among the supreme court and
the several inferior courts of the King-
dom in such manner as the legislature
may, from time to time, prescribe, and
the tenure of office in the inferior eourts
of the Kingdom shall be such as may be
defined by the law creating them.
ARTICLE 67. The judicial power shall
extend to all cases in law and equity,
arising under the eonstitution and laws
of this Kingdom, and treaties made, or
which shall be made under their au-
value, over and above all encumbrances,
of at least five hundred dollars, or who
shall have an annual income of at least
two hundred and fifty dollars, derived
from any property or some lawful em-
ployment.
ARTICLR 62. Every male resident of
the Kingdom, of Hawaiian, American, or
European birth or descent, who shall
have taken an oath to support the con-
stitution and laws in the manner pro-
vided for electors of nobles, who shall
have paid his taxes, who shall have at-
tained the age of twenty years, and shall
have been domiciled in the Kingdom for
one year immediately, preeeding the
election, and shall know how to read and
write either the Hawaiian, English, or
some European ºff. (if born sinee
the year 1840), and shall have caused his
name to be entered on the list of voters
of his district as may be provided by law.
shall be entitled to one vote for the rep-
resentative or representatives of that
district: Prorided, however, That the re-
qnirements of being domiciled in the
Kingdom for one year immediately H.
eeding the election, and of knowing how
to read and write, either the Hawaiian,
English, or some European language,
shall not apply to persons residing in this
Kingdom at the time of the promulgation
of this constitution if they shall register
and vôte at the first election which shall
be held under this constitution.
ARTICLE 63. No person shall sit as a
noble or representative in the Legisla-
ture unless elected under, and in coa-
formity with, the provisions of this eon-
stitutiºn. The property or income quali-
fication of representatives, of nobles,
and of electors of nobles may be in-
creased by law; and a property or income
qualification of electors of representa-
tives may be created and altered by law.
.ARTICLE 64. The judiciary power of the
Kingdom shall be vested in one supreme
court, and in such inferior courts as the
iſºlature Inay, from time to time, estab-
S
ARTICLE 65. The supreme court shall
consist of a chief justice, and not less
than two associate justices, any one of
whom may hold the court. The justices
of the supreme court shall hold their
offices during good behavior, subject to
removal upon impeachment, and shall, at
stated times, receive for their services a
compensation, which shall not be dinnin-
ished during their continuance in office:
Provided, however, That any judge of the
supreme court or any other court of reco
may be removed from office on a resolu-
tion passed by two-thirds of all the mem-
bers of the Legislature, for good cause.
shown to the satisfaction of the King.
The judge against whom the Legislature
may be about to proceed shall receive.
notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of
the causes alleged for his removal, §:
ten days before the day on which the Leg-
islature shall act thereon. He shall be.
heard before the Legislature.
ARTICLE 66. The judicial power shall.
be divided among the supreme court and
the several inferior courts of the King-
dom, in such manner as the Legislature
may, from time to time, prescribe, and
the tenure of office in the inferior courts.
of the Kingdoin shall be such as may be
defined by the law creating them.
ARTICLE 67. The judicial power shall.
extend to all cases in law and equity,
arising under the constitution and laws,
of this if". and treaties made, or
which shall be made under their au-
B—19
146
thority, to all cases affecting public min-
isters and consuls, and to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jº.
Article 68. The chief justice of the
supreme court shall be the chancellor of
the Kingdom. He shall be ex officio presi-
dent of the nobles in all cases of impeach-
ment, unless when impeached himself,
and exercise such jurisdiction in equity
or other cases as the law may confer upon
him; his decisions being subject, how-
ever, to the revision of the supreme
court on appeal. Should the chief jus-
tice ever be impeached, some person
specially commissioned by the King shall
be president of the court of impeach-
ment during such trial.
ARTICLE 69, The decisions of the su-
preme court, when made by a majority of
tha †: thereof, shall be final and
conclusive upon all parties.
ARTICLE 70. The King, his cabinet, and
he legislative assembly shall have au-
thority to require the opinions of the jus-
tices of the supreme court upon impor-
tant questions of law and upon solemn
OCC&S101ge
ARTICL871. The King appoints the jus-
tices of the supreme court and all other
judges of courts of record. Their salaries
are fixed by law.
ARTICLE 72. No judge or magistrate
can sit alone on an appeal or new trial
in any case on which he may have given
a previous judgment.
ARTICLE 73. No person shall ever hold
any office of honor, trust, or profit under
the Government of the Hawaiian Islands
who shall, in due course of law, have
been convicted of theft, bribery, perjury,
forgery, embezzlement, or other high
crime or misdemeanor, unless he shall
have been Fº by the King and
restored to his civil rights, and by the
express terms of his pardon declared to
be appointable to offices of trust, honor,
and profit.
ARTICLE 74. No officer of this Govern-
ment shall hold any office or receive any
salary from any other government or
power whatever.
ARTICLE 75. The Legislature votes the
appropriations biennially, after due con-
sideration of the revenue and expend-
iture for the two preceding years, and
the estimates of the revenue and expend-
iture of the two succeeding Y. which
shall be submitted to them by the min-
ister of finance.
ARTICLE 76. The enacting style in mak-
ing and passing all acts and laws shall
be: “Be it enacted by the King and the
legislative assembly of the Hawaiian
Islands, in the Legislature of the King-
dom assembléd.”
ARTICLE 77. To avoid improper influ-
ences which may result from intermix-
ing in one and the same act such things
as have no proper relation to each other,
•very law shall embrace but one object,
and that shall be expressed in its title.
ARTICLR 78. All laws now in force in
this Kingdom shall continue and remain
in full effect until altered or repealed by
the Legislature, such parts only excepted
as are repugnant to this constitution.
All laws heretofore enacted, or that may
hereafter be enacted, which are contrary
*...* constitution shall be null and
volol.
thority, to all cases affecting public min-
isters and consuls, and to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 68. The chief justice of the
supreme court shall be the chancellor of
the Kingdon. He shall be ax officio presi-
dent of the nobles in all cases of impeach-
ment, unless when impeached himself,
and shall exercise such jurisdiction in
equity ºr other cases as the law may con-
fer upon him; his decisions being subject,
however, to the revision of the supreme
Court on *: Should the chief jus-
tice. ever be impeached, some person
specially commissioned by the King shall
be president of the court of impeach-
ment during such trial.
ARTICLE 69. The decisions of the su-
preme court, when made by a majority of
the †. thereof, shall be final and
conclusive upon all parties.
ARTICLE 70. The King, his cabinet, and
the Legislature shall have authority to
require the opinions of the justices of the
supreme court upon important questions
º: and upon solemn occasions.
ARTICLE 71. The King appoints the jus-
tices of the supreme court and all other
judges of the courts of record, Their
salaries are fixed by law.
ARTICLE 72. No judge or magistrate
shall sit all alone on an appeal or new
trial in any case on which he may have
given a previous judgment.
ARTICLE 73. The following persons
shall not be permitted to register for vot-
ing, to vote, or to hold office under any
department of the Government, or to sit
in the Legislature, namely: Any person
who is insane or an idiot, or any person
who shall have been convicted of any of
the following-named offenses, viz: Arson,
barratry, bribery, burglary, counterfeit-
ing, embezzlement, felonious branding
of cattle, forgery, gross, cheat, incest,
kidnapping, larceny, malicious burning,
manslaughter in the first degree, murder,
perjury, rape, robbery, sodomy, treuson,
subornation of perjury, and malfeasance
in office, unless he shii have been par-
doned by the King and restored to his
civil rights, and by the express terms of
bis pardon declared to be eligible to
offices of trust, honor, andF:
ARTICLE 74. No officer of this Govern-
ment shall hold any office or receive any
salary from any other government or
power whatever.
ARTICLE 75. The Legislature votes the
appropriation biennially, after, due con-
j of the revenue and expend-
iture for the two preceding years, and
the estimates of the revenue and expend-
iture of the two succeeding years, which
shall be submitted to them by the minis-
ter of finance.
ARTICLE 76. The enacting #. in mak-
ing and passing all acts and laws shall
be: “Be it enacted by the King and the
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom.”
ARTICLE 77. To avoid improper in-
fluences which may result from inter-
mixing in one and the same act such
things as have no proper relation to each
other, every law shall embrace but one
object, and that shall be expressed in its
title.
ARTICLE 78. Wherever by this consti-
tution any act is to be done or performed
by the King or the Sovereign, it shall, un-
less otherwise expressed, mean that such
act shall be done and performed by the
Sovereign by and with the advice and
consent of the cabinet.
147
Article 79. This constitution shall be
inforcefrom the twentieth day of August,
in the year one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four, but that there may be no
failure of justice or inconvenience to the
Kingdom from any change, all officers of
this Kingdom at the time this constitu-
tion shall take effect shall have, hold, and
exercise all the power to them granted,
until other persons shall be appointed in
their stead.
ARTICLE 80. Any amendment oramend-
ments to this constitution may be pro-
fº. in the legislative assembly, and
the same shall be agreed to by a ma-
jority of members thereof such pro d
amendment or amendments shall be
entered on its journal, with the yeas and
nays taken thereon, and refe to the
next Legislature; which proposed amend-
ment or amendments shall be published
for three months previous to the next
election of representatives; and if in the
next Legislature such prop amend-
ment or amendments shall be a d to
by two-thirds of all the members of the
legislative assembly, and be approved by
the King, such amendment or amend-
ments shall become part of the constitu-
tion of this country.
KAMEBAMEHA R.
Article 79. All laws now in force in
this Kingdom shall continue and remain
in full effect until altered or repealed by
the Legislature, such parts only excepted
as are repugnant to this constitution.
All laws heretofore enacted, or that may
hereafter be enacted, which are con-
trary to this constitution shall be null
and void.
Article 80. The cabinet shall have
power to make and publish all necessary
rules and regulations for the holding of
any election or elections under this con-
stitution, prior to the passage by the
Legislature of appropriate laws for such
urpose, and to provide for administer-
ing to officials, subjects, and residents
the oath to support this constitution. The
first election hereundershall be held with-
in ninety days after the promulgation of
this constitution, and the Legislature
then elected may be convened at Hono-
lulu, upon the call of the cabinet, conn-
cil, in extraordinary session at such time
as the cabinet council may deem neces-
sary, thirty days' notice thereof being
previously given.
AkTICLE 81. This constitution shall be
in force from the 7th day of July, A. D.
1887; but that there may be no failure of
justice or convenience to the Kingdom.
from any change, all officers of this King-
dom, at the time this constitution shall
take effect, shall have, hold, and exercise
all the power to them granted. Such
officers shall take an oath to support this
constitution within sixty days after the
promulgation thereof.
TICLE 82. Anyamendment or amend-
ments to this constitution may be pro-
posed in the Legislature, and if the same
shall be a to by a majority of the
members thereof, such proposed amend-
ment or amendments shall be entered on
its journal, with the yeas and nays taken
thereon, and referred to next Legislature;
which Fº amendment or amend-
ments shall be published for three months
previous to the next blection of repre-
sentatives and nobles; and if in the
next Legislature such proposed amend-
ment or amendments shall be agreed
to by two-thirds of all the members
of the Legislature, such amendment or
amendments shall become part of the
constitution of this Kingdom,
KAUA REX.
By the King:
W. L. GREEN,
Minister of Finance.
Honolulu, OAHU, ss.
I, Kalakaua, King of the Hawaiian
Islands, in the presence of Almighty God,
do solemnly swear to maintain this con-
stitution whole and inviolate, and to
govern in conformity there with.
KALAKAUA REX.
Subscribed and sworn to before me.
this sixth day of July, A. D. 1887.
A.F. JUDD,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
and Chancellor of the Kingdom.
&
148
No. 24.
Statement of Charles T. Gulick.
AGENCY of UNITED STATES MINISTER stEVENS AND CAPT. WILTSE,
COMMANDING U.S. s. BosTON, IN THE over THRow of THE HAWAIIAN
Government, which was EFFECTED JANUARY 17, 1893.
When Mr. Stevens presented his credentials to His Majesty, Kala-
kaua, as United States minister resident near the Hawaiian court, he
gave the King a lecture on his duties as a sovereign, and at the same
time hinted, in an ambiguous way, at the possibilities of the future. The
subject matter of the address, and the manner of Mr. Stevens, were so
offensive as to very nearly produce disagreeable consequences, as the
King was on the point of abruptly terminating the interview and
demanding the recall of Mr. Stevens. The unpleasant episode passed,
however, without subsequent notice.
Col. G. W. Macfarlane and Dr.G.Trousseau will confirm the foregoing.
On the occasion of the Fourth of July celebration in 1891, Mr. Stevens
delivered an oration at the music hall in which he took the §§.
to show his very thinly veiled contempt for the Sovereign and Govern-
ment to which he was accredited. His sentiments were more distinctly
emphasized in his speech on Memorial Day, 1892, leaving no room for
doubt with regard to his real meaning. fn October, 1892, the Daily
Bulletin, a newspaper published in Honolulu, contained a criticism on
Mr. Stevens' tardiness in causing a search for a missing boat's crew
(supposed to be somewhere to windward of the island of Hawaii) belong-
ing to an American vessel which had burned at sea.
Mr. Stevens called in a rage at the foreign office and in his interview
with the minister of foreign affairs endeavered to fasten on the cabinet
responsibility for the comments in the Bulletin and demanded, as he
termed it, “full satisfaction.” His mainer and language were in the
Inighest degree undiplomatic and offensive, and he would accept no
explanation. He immediately followed up the insult by demanding an
audience with the Queen without the usual formality of the presence
of the minister of foreign affairs. The audience was accorded, and
trembling with passion, he reiterated his demand for “ satisfaction.”
leaving it somewhat vague as to the form or kind of “satisfaction”
he desired. The impression left by him in both interviews was that it
was not so much “satisfaction” that he was after as it was an oppor-
tunity to pick a quarrel with, and embarrass, the cabinet who were
then under fire in the legislative assembly.
Hon. Samuel Parker, Hon. Paul Neumann, and Maj. J. W. Robert-
son can give more fully the details of the foregoing.
Very shortly after Mr. Stevens' arrival in the Kingdom he made it
generally known that he considered annexation to the United States
as not only the ultimate or “manifest” destiny of the little country,
but that it would be just as well to hasten the event, and the Ameri-
can legation immediately became the rendezvous or headquarters of
the annexation leaders, such as Hartwell, Judd (the chief justice),
Thurston, Dole, Castle, Smith, and others, who frequently met there
for the purpose of discussing plans for bringing about the desired end.
On one occasion M. d’Anglade, the then French commissioner, and
M. Canavarro, the present Portuguese chargé d'affairs, were invited
to dinner at the American legation, and much to their surprise found
several of the above-named gentlemen present, and as the dinner pro-
ceeded were not a little annoyed to find that they had been invited for
the express purpose of being sounded with regard to annexation.
Señhor Canavarro and Dr. Trousseau, the latter being an intimate
friend of M. d’Anglade, the French commissioner (who is not now in
the Kingdom), can throw light on the above if they will submit to an
interview.
During August, 1892, the tension became so great in the Legislature
that the cabinet was voted out, and a new one was appointed on the
12th day of September. A vote of “want of confidence” in the new
cabinet was immediately introduced, and the speeches of Thurston,
Smith, Ashford, and their associates on the motion showed that the
meetings at the legation were beginning to bear fruit. Mr. Stevens
was present during a part of the debate on the motion, also Capt.
Wiltse, who just after one of Mr. Thurston's speeches called at the
* interior office and took occasion to inform the then minister of the
149
interior (C.T. Gulick) that he considered Mr. Thurston a “very able
man,” and that his “views on the situation, and particularly those on the
monarchy, were very sound.” It may be observed that Thurston had
Very plainly shown in his speech supporting the motion that he and
his supporters would leave no stone unturned in order to destroy the
monarchy and get the reins of power into their own hands.
As Thurston and his party were known to be annexationists, his
expressions seemed to please Capt. Wiltse very much. About this
time (September, 1892) it was a matter frequently spoken of that any
move for the overthrow of the Government would receive the official
recognition of Mr. Stevens and the material aid of Capt. Wiltse.
Annexation was so freely discussed in public that T. T. Williams, of the
San Francisco Examiner, polled the Legislature on the subject, and when
they found that their views were likely to be published they denounced
annexation to a man.
The meetings at the legation continued, and Stevens and Wiltse
(the latter more particularly) called frequently at Hartwell's office dur-
ing the day. Wiltse told people that he kept himself thoroughly
posted with regard to affairs, as he “was constantly in communication
with Hartwell, who was the best informed man in the Kingdom on the
situation.”
The Boston's troops were landed at about 5 o'clock p.m. on Monday,
the 16th day of January, A. D. 1893, and were quartered at Arion
Hall, a position which practically commanded the Government building
and the palace. The Hawaiian Government protested against their
presence. The foreign diplomatic representatives called at the legation
and entered their protest against the procedure as being wholly
unnecessary. The town was perfectly quiet. Mr. Stevens's excuse was
that the troops were ashore for the purpose of protecting the lives and
property of Americans. They were quartered, however, on property
belonging to an Englishman (at that time occupied by an Englishman
and the Japanese inspeetor of immigrants under leases), and was sur-
rounded by property belonging to the Hawaiian Government and native
Hawaiians.
During the forenoon of Tuesday, the 17th day of January, 1893, it
was freely remarked and frequently repeated on the streets that a
move for deposing the Queen and overturning the Government would
be made during the day, and that “it was all right, as Stevens had prom-
ised to support the movement.”
Thirteen men, calling themselves a committee of public safety (all
foreigners and some of brief residence in the country), proceeded from
the office of W. O. Smith up Merchant street to the front of the Gov-
ernment building, and Cooper, the leader, at about 2:40 o'clock p.m.,
read a proclamation deposing the Queen and establishing a “Provi-
sional Government.” Just before the arrival of the committee at the
building, Charles L. Carter rode up hastily on horseback to Arion Hall
and delivered a letter to Capt. Wiltse, who was himself in charge of
the American troops. Wiltse was seen to tear open the envelope and
read the letter, nodding his satisfaction to Carter, who then withdrew.
As the committee turned the corner of the Music Hall on their road up,
Mr. Cooper hastened forward to Arion Hall and delivered a letter to
an officer (who apparently stood in readiness to receive it) and rejoined
the committee.
At this time, i.e., before the proclamation was read, the American
troops were under arms, strong picked guards were posted at the cor-
ner of the Music Hall on King street and at other points around their
quarters; the Gatling guns were placed in commanding positions and
the crews were to attention or handy by.
"The position of the American troops and their attitude, also the
delivery of the letters above mentioned, can be verified by several dif,
ferent people, each one seeing different parts of the procedure. Dr. G.
Trousseau, T. A. Lloyd, H. F. Poor, Norie, Pond, de Woll, and others
were eyewitnesses of the matter above referred to.
By half past 3 o'clock it was generally reported on the streets that
Stevens had recognized the Provisional Government and had assured
the Queen's cabinet that he would support their action with the troops
of the Boston.
The police department in charge of the marshal of the Kingdom was
surrendered at dusk-lamps were lighted indoors, but there was still
daylight on the streets; it was probably about 7 o'clock in the evening,

*
150
i.e., some three and a half to four hours after Stevens's action was gen-
erally known to the public. The barracks were not surrendered till
near night of the following day.
CHAS. T. GULICK.
HoNolulu, May 12, 1893.
No. 25.
Interview with Fred. H. Hayselden, Lanai, April 11, 1893.
Q. What is your occupation?
A. I am a stock raiser.
Q. How much land have you?
A. I control about 100,000 acres.
Q. What do you mean by that?
A. It is my wife's property left in trust to my children.
Q. How many whites on that island?
A. Only my family and four white men.
Q. How many natives?
A. About 250.
Q. What is the disposition down there towards the revolution—
towards the new Government?
A. The natives are entirely opposed to it.
Q. What is the reason of that opposition?
A. Simply personal, I believe.
Q. Don't like the people?
A. No; because they feel that they aré shut out in everything.
Q. Are you well acquainted in Honolulu'ſ
A. Yes.
Q. What is the feeling here towards the present Government?
A. I should imagine among a majority of the whites it is in favor of
the Provisional Government, for the sake of business.
Q. Are there any whites here opposed to the existing Government?
A. A great many.
Q. How many would you suppose?
A., I should suppose there are one-third of the whites.
§: #. you include in that estimate Portuguese or Japanese?
• NO.
Q. You mean people of American descent?
A. American, English, German, and French.
Q. What type of people are they—people of education and means?
A. Yes; all of them."
Q. What does their opposition consist in?
A. They are opposed because they think they are run by a coterie.
That is one reason. ſº
Q. Any other?
A. The other reason is that they want to force annexation on this
country and to put them down to the position of serfs.
fr Q. Po you mean by that that they meant to deprive them of suf.
age
A. Yes.
Q. Are there many of the natives here who have signed petitions for
annexation?
A. I have heard that there are quite a considerable number of those
who have been forced to do so by storekeepers and others—for bread
and butter. I have asked them why they signed. They said: “On
account of our food.” I said: “Do you really mean that?” They said:
“Heart is here—mouth is there.”
Q. You were not here at the time of the revolution?
A. No., I was in Lanai; was sheriff there at the time. I had the
bonor of being the first one selected for dismissal.
Q. They dismissed you on account of your political views?
A. Yes. I came down to W. O. Smith's office and asked why I was
dismissed. He said: “Simply because you are a friend of the Queen.
You and the circuit judge are looked upon as enemies to our arrange-
ment and we do not think it right to have two prominent officials
against us.” I asked him: “Do you want a republic here?” He said:
“No.” I said: “Are you quite sure of what you are saying? I have
heard it reported on the street that you do.” He said: “I give you
151
my word of honor I do not.” He said: “We want annexation.” I
said: “Do you want it pure and simple?” He asked what I meant. I
said: “To give the natives franchise.” He said: “Oh, no; we could
not do that.” I said: “You will never get it unless you do. I could
go out and get 1,000 signatures for annexation if I could guarantee the
franchise. You could not get one.”
Q. As a matter of fact are they not getting signatures?
A. There is no question about that. My personal interests would be
advanced 100 per cent by annexation.
Q. How?
A. Because we only get 10 cents a pound for our wool. If we had
annexation we would get 20 in California. We have to send it to Lon-
don and ship it through the United States.
Q. What do you think were the causes of the revolution?
A. Simply 2 cents a pound on sugar—to get some treaty or some
arrangement with America. They did not see their way clear to get it
in the face of the McKinley bill. They thought Harrison would be
rečlected and the Republican policy would be continued.
Q. But at the time of the revolution Harrison had been defeated?
A. Yes; but this thing was marked up long before that. They wanted
to force it upon the Harrison administration, if they could, before the
inauguration of Mr. Cleveland. §
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate re-
port of my interview with Col. Blount.
(Mr. Blount didn't care to have this certified.—E. M.)
No. 26.
Statement of C. M. Hyde.
HoNolulu, April 3, 1893.
Hon. J. S. BLOUNT,
Commissioner, etc.:
Since I saw you at your residence last Saturday afternoon, it has
occurred to me that it might be advisable for me, occupying such a posi-
tion as I do at the islands, as the only resident missionary of the A. B.C. '
F.M., to write out for your information and consideration such a state-
ment of facts as might assist you in arriving at just conclusions in
regard to the political and social condition of affairs, and the proper
course for the United States Government to take at this juncture. ,
I have no occasion and certainly no desire to appear as either advo-
cate or assailant of any persons or parties here. Nor have I any author-
ity to act as the representative of the American board in matters out-
side of my special province as principal of the training school of
Hawaiian pastors and missionaries, except sofar as it has its bearings on
my instructions “to induce in the Hawaiians more of the sentiments of
personal independence and self-reliance, and to develop that strength
of character which shall enable them to withstand the unfavorable
influences that have hitherto depressed them, and still exist from their
contact with so large aforeign Fº
You will pardon me in what I have to say if I introduce more of the
personal element than you would meet in ordinary diplomatic corre-
spondence. It is this very element that throws upon any such question
those side lights that give the aspect of vitality and reality to what
else might be only abstract discussion of abstruse principles of govern-
ment and social order.
When I arrived here June 1, 1877, and began to study the situation,
I found that I must first disabuse myself of the notion that it was
Hawaiian civilization and a Hawaiian government under which I was
to live. Such nomenclature was right and proper, but the church and
state, nominally Hawaiian, was really managed by the few foreigners
who had the direction of affairs. Not that the foreigners were exerr
cising an usurped authority and the natives simply subject to their
beck and call, but rather this, that the management of affairs of church"
and state was under the direction of the missionaries in the one case,
and trusted advisers in the other; and that without such direction;
not to say control, both churches and government would disintegrate
152
*
speedily because of utter lack of the needful ability to maintain au.
independent organic existence.
The number of superannuated missionaries has constantly diminished
till now there are only three surviving, only one of these an ordained
preacher. The management of the churches has fallen entirely into
the hands of the native pastors, with no direct continuous personal
supervision. What I can do by correspondence or by chance visits
and what Mr. Emerson can do by similar means (only in his case these
are official and in some places semiannual,)—this constitutes all that
we two workers can well do for the 57 Hawaiian evangelical churches,
with their membership of 5,427 communicants out of a total population
º of 34,436, with only one foreign pastor (Rev. H. H. Parker, of
awaiajao Church, Honolulu) among the whole number (34) of pastors.
The native churches are growing poorer and feebler each year, less able
and willing to support the native pastorate.
One reason for this growing unwillingness is the demoralization of
our churches under the influence of the native govereign Kalakaua.
It was his custom to appoint natives to office without regard to fitness,
but rather because of social position among their own people and sub-
serviency personally to himself. In this way, as our church members
are among the better class of Hawaiians, they were selected as officials,
but made to feel that their tenure of office depended upon his own.
pleasure. As there were not offices enough to give to all jealousies arose,
and removals were necessary to make places for some whom it was the
necessity of the moment to placate. In this way a greed for office-
holding was introduced and fostered, till in perversion of the native
translation of 1 Corinthians, 1231, office seeking was made to seem
the duty of every church member (seek the “highest offices for your-
selves”). -
Another means of demoralizin g the native churches was the idea
instilled assiduously by the King, that a State church was the desir
able religious establishment for Hawaii. He was to be the head, and
each pastor was to receive his salary from the Government treasury
promptly, and amply sufficient for all his needs.
It is this same element of personal rule which the King cherished
and constantly pushed forward in politics. In this he was helped by
the style of political management which was introduced under the
sugar-planting interests. Soon after I arrived there occurred the first
advance made by the King in this direction. The Haiku Sugar Com-
pany had succeeded in building a canal to bring water from the wind-r
ward side of Maui down to Kiamakuapoko to irrigate their cane fields
there. Another company wanted to build a canal higher up, of course
cutting off the water supply of the upper gulches that fed the Haiku
ditch. The cabinet refused them a charter.
A loan to the King of $40,000 was effected, and at this place that
cabinet was dismissed at midnight and a ministry more favorable to
the other party appointed, and fhe influence of money rather than
principle became paramount. From that time onward the King pushed
his schemes of personal aggrandizement as fast and as far as he dared.
In Mr. Gibson he found a willing tool, who, for the sake of retaining
his official position, did the King's bidding, and put through one iniqui-
tous and ruinous measure after another. The foreign community
remonstrated and yielded, remonstrated, opposed, and yielded, till finally
forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and the situation became so embar-
rassing, perilous to all business, social, moral, and political interest,
that an uprising of the sensible and intelligent and respectable part
of the community (commonly stigmatized as the missionary element
led to the promulgation of the constitution of 1887, which abridg
the power of the King, and was intended to make the cabinet,
appointed by approval of the Legislature, the responsible organ of
legislative and executive authority.
I refused to join the league under whose management this constitu-,
tion was secured because it was a secret organization, whose leaders
might initiate measures to which I could not consent. I published in
the newspapers over my own name, however, the first and only public
complaint that was thus openly made of the conduct and character of
the King, and asked for a public meeting to formulate demands that
would secure good government for the benefit of the community and
end the misrule which was ruining the natives and scandalizing the
foreign community. The common talk at that time was about shoot-
ing the King at sight, but I could not be convinced that a stable gov-
ernment would ever be secured by assassination.
153
The special occasion for the very vindictive feeling at that time was
the eonduet of the King in getting an opium license passed by the major-
ity of the Legislature, then under his personal control, selling the license
to one Chinaman without delivering it, but pocketing the money"
($75,000 or thereabouts), selling it afterwards to another Chinaman,
whe' was shrewd enough to secure first the delivery of the license. All
this was supported by sworn affidavits published in the newspapers, toº
which the King made no reply.
Another fact that incensed the community was the revelation about
that time of the King's use of old superstitious practices and abomi-
nable orgies to degrade the Hawaiian people and make them the more
ready tools to accomplish his purposes. In seeking a charter for the
secret society he had formed (the Hale Nana, a mixture of Free Masonry,
Mormonism, and diabolism) the character of that institution came to be
quite generally known. You can obtain information about it from reli-
able sources. Suffice it for me to say that part of the exercise was the
worship of the King as divine. It was affirmed that as a god he could
do no wrong, and by a curious Hawaiian perversion of logical reasoning
he did various things that no one would hesitate to call vile as well as
wrong to prove that he was a god.
It was hoped that the new constitution would give us a change.
But largely through various judicial decisions the royal prerogatives
and not the constitutional limitation of Hawaiian sovereignty have
been assigned the supremacy. It has been one series of dissapoint-
ments after another. The late Queen was in England when the con-
stitution of 1887 was promulgated. She was bitteriy disappointed at
what her brother had done. Taking advantage of the vexation felt by
many in the community at the various developments of royal prerog-
ative, she sent for R. W. Wilcox to head a revolution, with the idea
that Kalakaua would be compelled to abdicate and she would be
placed upon the throne. But this scheme failed.
When she became Queen the first act was one to disappoint those
who were ready to support a constitutional monarchial government
with a responsible ministry approved by the Legislature. She claimed
the privilege of nominating her own cabinet. The point was yielded.
but the Legislature prorogued January 14, 1893, was of such a complex-
ion and so manipulated that there was constant friction between the
Queen's adherents and the supporters of representative constitutional
government. Yet forbearance was exercised again and again; hopes
were cherished in spite of convictions to the contrary from evident
tendencies and attempts. These culminated in the transactions of
Jº 10–17, with which you are familiar from the published state-
Idents, tº
The point to which I wish to call your attention is this; that the
political system under which thus far Hawaiian affairs have been
managed is utterly unfitted for the present changed conditions. It
answered fairly well under the Kamehamehas. But the last Kame-
hameha (though older than his brother Kamehameha IV and passed by
in Kamehameha III's election of his successor, because of personal
unfitness) was restive under constitutional limitations and arbitrarily
set aside the constitution under which he was appointed. The native
element in the population at that time was too dominant an element to
be successfully resisted.
Now, business and commerce have brought to these islands so large a
foreign element that their interests are virtually the controlling element,
politically and socially. But while they are the controlling element,
and that fact can not be gainsaid, there has not ever been, nor is there
now, so far as I am able to judge, any disposition to do any injustice to
the natives. The present movement has been under the management
of those who are and always have been the best friends of the natives
and in seeking to secure and support their own rights they seek and
secure the true rights and the highest interests of the native population.
The organization of a constitutional government originated in the desire,
of the chiefs for a more stable tenure of property titles than simply the
pleasure of the sovereign. When attempts to secure from abroad com-
petent persons for this work had repeatedly failed, the American mis-
sionaries were requested to aid in this work. Interested in all that.
concerned the welfare of the Hawaiian people, they consented, but first
resigned their commissions as missionaries of the American Board.
They sought no emoluments for themselves nor their families, and the
records of those days show how faithfully, tirelessly, self-sacrificingly
B—20
154
they discharged the duties of their new and responsible positions, which
no one then would have taken up with all their disabilities except those
intent with all singleness of purpose in elevating and sustaining a
Christian nation here.
In 1870 the American Board withdrew from all supervision of the work
here. Other influences have come to the front with the opening of com-
merce from the Pacific coast States. Howintimate those relations have
come to be, the statistical reports will show. Permit me to allude, in
closing, to the changed social condition of the Hawaiian people. It is
often asserted that a fundamental mistake was Iuade in mission work
by not (from the very outset) instructing the people in the English
language. But those who take that view are persons who do not stop to
think under what different conditions mission work was begun seventy
years ago. English text-books and teachers were impossibilities then;
they are not yet the great success, which had been hoped, when the
experiment was begun in 1876 of making English the medium of instruc-
tion in the Government schools. There are no pure Hawaiians at this
day, so far as I know, who have been instructed in these Government
schools who would be considered promising candidates to be trained
for a collegiate course.
In all my intercourse with young Hawaiians I have met only one
whom I would call worthy the name of a student, capable of abstruse
thought, the study of principles, the acquisition of scientific or philo-
sophical methods. Hawaiian is still the language of the Legislature
and the judiciary, and every biennial period the attempt is made to
make the Hawaiian, not the English language, the authoritative
language of the statute book. The Americanization of the islands will
necessitate the use of the English language only as the language of
business, of politics, of education, of church service; and open the wide
field of English literature to a people who have only poorly edited
newspapers and a meager number of very rudimentary manuals as
their text-books in science, or their highest attainments in culture.
The desire for official position without proper fitness for it is an ele-
ment to the great disadvantage of the Hawaiian. Money thus easily
made is foolishly as well as quickly spent for momentary enjoyments.
Young people ruin themselves, their lives, their property, their families,
in sensual enjoyments, and it is almost impossible to train them to
habits of industry, thrift, forethought under the temptations about
them to vice, idleness, extravagance. When Rev. Mr. Kuaea was made
minister of finance, with every bank note he signed, he delighted in
saying “How rich I am making this country.”
In changing the political system of the country there is no abandon-
ment of the original idea of the American mission, nor any betrayal of its
high aims. I came here at the expense of the American board. To kind
friends among the foreign residents I am indebted for the comfortable—
not luxurious—home their hospitality has provided for an overburdened
worker interested in everything that concerns the welfare of the com-
munity.
I have shirked no responsibility nor any burden of toil and care in
doing all I could for the Hawaiian people. They have at times misin-
terpreted my actions, but they have never doubted the sincerity of my
purposes, nor withheld their expressions of appreciation and approval.
They may have expected too much, but they have always been ready
to listen to any words of advice or warning I have had occasion to
utter. It is as natural for them to follow a leader whom they think
they can trust as for an Anglo-Saxon to take his stand independently
whether others come to his support or not. They have not yet learned
the rudimentary principles of government and independent citizen-
ship. Their lawyers can not grasp the details nor the generalizations
that are necessary for the successful advocate or judge. Their minis-
ters in our Christian churches may know how to shepherd the flocks in
Tastures, fenced and barred; but to beat off cunning and fierce
destroyers they need other qualifications than a kindly spirit and a
devoted attachment. There is no educated physician of native race in
Practice of his profession at the islands. There is no artisan, nor
mechanic, nor trader in business for himself. As masters of the smaller
coasting craft they have risen higher above their fellows and done
better for their employers than in any other line of business.
It will take time and patience and devotion to righteousness and
truth as well as genuine sympathy to uplift and adopt and then to
adapt American political system to this community, but I believe that
155
the foregoing statement of facts will show that it is, in the line of past,
procedure, the only hopeful way out of present difficulties, a necessity
and an urgency.
We, who have lived some length of time in the country, know the
weaknesses of the Hawaiian race, as well as their many excellent char-
acteristics. The evidences that have shown such weaknesses are
cumulative. The incidents that have developed such weaknesses, have
not often been made matters of record and so can not at a moment's
notice be recalled to substantiate such statements as might be made in
regard to the unfitness of the Hawaiians for such predominance, polit-
ically and socially, as has hitherto been accorded to them.
Here is one incident of recent occurrences: The acting pastor of a
church on Maui found that the Sunday-school superintendent was
drinking heavily of sweet-potato beer and was often drunk. He
brought the case before the deacons, but they decided that they would
do nothing about it, for two reasons assigned: (1) Sweet-potato beer
was the common food of the people; (2) drunkenness was so common
that it could not be treated as an offense. Thereupon the pastor on
the succeeding Sunday proceeded to read a long proclamation after
the fashion set by the Provincial Government, deposing the Sunday-
school superintendent for reasons assigned, as unworthy of his official
position.
The people of Kaumakapili church in this city who do not like the
well-known opposition of their pastor to the late Queen and her mis-
rule presented a petition for his removal. The chief reason assigned
was that they had not paid him his salary in full for the last two years,
and this violation of their contract they acknowledged and made it the
basis of their petition that he should be removed from the pastorate.
You will find that such is the childishness of this people, only two
generations removed from lowest barbarism and heathenism, that the
working of the political system is utterly unreliable. If voting is their
privilege, it is sufficient to pose as a special friend of Hawaiian prejudices
to secure an overwhelming majority for any such partisan. No matter
how many times he may have deceived them, any demagogue who will
promise whatever they may foolishly desire at the moment is the one
whom they will follow. In this desire to perpetuate what is Hawaiian,
and make that predominant, they are easily led to go back to heathen
practices and ideas. To break up this tendency, for their own best
welfare I know nothing better than to Americanize the political system.
They will then be free to choose what is for their best good, not bound
to cling to what is old and effete,
ial regeneration is as necessary as individual regeneration to
Christianize a nation. The individual instances of Christian charac-
ter have not had for the last twenty years the environment favorable
for any legitimate and proper development; and this has been largely
owing to the political system. Instead of simply saying that the
King's advisers, not the King, would be held responsible for mistakes
in political management, the old constitution positively asserted that
the King is not amenable to law. It was too much like the old
Hawaiian idea of autocratic rule, limited only by fear of assassination.
To get rid of the spirit of submissiveness to despotic authority, and
substitute for it the Christian principle of obedience to righteous rule
is absolutely essential to the proper development of the national an
individual life.
The old system will not work in its want of adaptation to the present
civilization of the country. We can not trust business interests to the
decision of a Hawaiian jury. In the management of the Kamehameha
estate, of which I speak from personal knowledge as one of the trustees
under the will of the late Mrs. C. R. Bishop, we are forced to put up
with an inefficient administration of much of the property, because
no Hawaiian jury would be likely to give us a verdict according to the
law and evidence. Take what occurred at the last session of the circuit
court in Kau. A Hawaiian jury brought in a verdict standing 10 to 2.
The judge said that it was proper; according to the law 9 to 3, would
accepted as valid. On the next case, when the jury came to a.
decision they were unanimóus. But some sapient juror remarked that
the judge had just said a verdict of 9 to 3 was valid, so they talked and
talked till finally three jurors changed their votes, and then their ver-
dict was reported to the judge.
In the change of the political system, that seems to me now unavoid-
able and imperative, I see no other first step than annexation. Then
156
let other matters be made the subject of careful consideration. We
can not go on any longer under the old political system. I had hoped
that we could. I did not believe annexation was wise or expedient, and
have always said so to Mr. Stevens, whose views of the situation here
had convinced him of the immediate necessity of such a step. The
Queen did not show out her true character fully until the last week of
the last parliamentary session. The logic of events has forced me to
the conclusion that the old political system can not be made to work
satisfactorily or endurably even any longer. In seeking for a politi-
cal system that will meet the requirements of the case, I see nothing
better than immediate annexation. That will settle forever many
things that now militate against the stability of any political system
for the islands as the people are now. Other political questions must
be left for future deliberation.
I think that intelligent Hawaiians, who have at heart the best inter-
ests of the country and the people, are very generally of that opinion.
Give us annexation, and plans will be at once pushed for such a devel-
opment of the conntry as can not be even thought of under any other
Circumstances. Talk about a protectorate is idle. We have had enough
of legal fictions. The institutions and connections of the country are
mainly American. Let us have the name, as well as the appearance;
the real power as well as the nominal acquiescence, and the Hawaiians
will accept the situation. They will have to make the best of it, what-
ever may be decided upon for them. The best thing for the whole peo-
ple is now to make American citizens of themselves as fast as they can.
Those who know that they are aiming at the highest possible ideal can
afford to wait with patience for its realization. The overthrow of an
obstructive and ruinous social and political system is the best prepa-
ration for the spread of the Gospel of Christ, and the enjoyments of its
privileges and blessings.
Yours respectfully,
C. M. HYDE.
NoRTH PACIFIC MISSIONARY INSTITUTE.
No. 27.
Statement by Col. C. P. Jaukea, late of Her Majesty's personal staff.
On arriving at the palace shortly after the landing of the United
States forces, I found Her Majesty's household in a state of nervous
excitement. The Queen, although calm and collected, showed signs of
uneasiness. This feeling soon increased to one of grave alarm and
apprehension when, a few minutes later, the troops were seen moving in
the direction of the palace, and, without warning, immediately take
a position a short distance from, and in full view of, the palace and
Government building.
This unexpected show of force right under the palace walls deeply
impressed Her Majesty; and when on the day following the United
States forces were seen encamped in the Arion Hall, adjoining the
Government building premises, and commanding the palace, it at once
became evident that they were landed for some other purpose than
the protection of life and property.
When therefore during the afternoon of the same day the revolution-
ists took possession of the Government building no resistance was
offered by the Queen's forces, it being impossible to successfully resist
them without precipitating a conflict with the United States forces.
. Q. P. JAUKEA,
Late of Her Majesty's Personal Staff.
&
No. 28.
Interview with Chief Justice A. F. Judd, Honolulu, May 16, 1893.
Q. Please state where you were born.
A. In Honolulu, January 7, 1838. tº
Q. Has this always been your home? A.
A. With the exception of four years in the United States, twe at
Yale and the other two at Harvard law school, and on occasional
157
visits to the States and a trip to Europe. I entered the practice of
law in this country in 1864, and was elected twice to the Legislature—
in 1868 from South Kona, Hawaii, and again for Honolulu in 1870, and
in 1873 I was appointed attorney-general by Lunalilo, and on his death
in 1874, on the election of Kalakaua, I went onto the bench as asso-
ciate justice of the supreme court. I continued on the bench until
now, having held different positions. I took the position of first asso-
ciate justice in 1877, and was appointed chief justice in 1881. I have
been in judicial life since my first appointment as judge in February,
1874, and have had my office in the Government building during all
that time, and am somewhat familiar with political changes that have
taken place.
Q. How were your judges selected prior to the constitution of 1887?
A. They were appointed.
Q. How selected prior to 1887?
A. They were appointed by the King. The supreme judges have
always been appointed in that way, and, whatever has happened to this
Acountry, I think the sovereigns have always aimed to give us good men
as judges.
Q. Who did Kalakaua appoint first as judges?
A. Judge Allen was chief justice under a former appointment—he
being in the United States at the time of Kalakaua's election, of course
was merely continued in office. The other judges were Hartwell and
Widemann. Hartwell was appointed attorney-general and Widemann
as minister of the interior. Judge Harris was then made first asso-
ciate justice and I second associate justice.
Q. None of these were men of native blood?
A. None.
Q. Were they men of substantial character?
A. Yes; all of them. We have had two judges of native blood on
the bench.
Q. Appointed by whom f
A. By Kamehameha III and Kamehameha V. The first was Judge
Ii. He was a pure native. The other judge of native blood was R.
G. Davis. He was half-white.
l§how was your Legislature made up prior to the constitution of
A. It consisted of one body—nobles appointed by the Crown and
representatives elected by the people. w
Q. How many nobles?
A. Twenty.
Q. How many representatives?
A. It seems to me twenty four—perhaps twenty-six—I do not know
positively. -
Q. The number of representatives exceeded the number of nobles
prior to 1887?
A. I do not remember, but I think so.
Q. How were nobles selected?
A. Appointed by the King on nomination by the cabinet.
Q. And the representatives were—
A. Elected by the people.
Q. What suffrage qualification had you?
A. Under the constitution of 1852 there was no property qualifica-
tion. The Legislature consisted of two houses that sat separately.
Ring Kamehameha V refused to take the oath to that constitution
when he took the throne in the fall of 1863, and he called a convention
of delegates to revise the constitution, with the purpose of limiting the
power of the people and strengthening his own prerogatives. I was sec-
retary in that convention, and after a very warm discussion the King
was unable to agree with the delegates as to the measure of that prop-
erty qualification. He then dismissed the convention and proclaimed
the constitution of 1864, which prescribed a small property qualifiea-
tion for
Q. What was the amount of that property qualification?
A. Two hundred and fifty dollars a year, I think.
Q. Was that property qualification for voters the main point on
which the King and the convention disagreed?
A. It was.
Q. Prior to that there was no property qualification?
º ©er
Q. This constitution of 1864 then came by virtue of a proclamation
of the King? 4.
158
A. It did. The people acquiesced in it after awhile, and, although
there was a good deal of dissatisfaction felt, the people voted under it
and agreed to it, and a good many believed that it was wise—that is,
making the Legislature of one house and not of two.
Q. Prior to the constitution of 1864 how were nobles appointed;
A. By the King. &
Q. What support had the King in reducing the franchise of the
native population of the islands?
A. He had the support of his cabinet, and I think that is about all.
Q. What was the disposition of the more intelligent people here?
A. They considered it very arbitrary. The King at that time was
very much opposed to the growth of Américan influence and republi-
can ideas. He was very bitterly opposed to the influence of the Ameri-
cans, and especially American missionaries. His aim was to strengthen
the royal prerogatives.
Q. But if he cut off the number of native votes by property qualifi-
cations would he accomplish any addition to his strength?
A. He had one house then only, and there could be no negative
action on any affirmative action of his. It was not necessary for him
to have a majority of each house. *,
Q. Were the bodies equal in number?
A. I think not; I think the representative body was larger. It
was proportioned according to the population of the districts.
Q. Under the constitution of 1864 did you have a property qualifi-
cation?
A. We did for a while.
Q. How long?
A. For several elections. It was finally eradicated by amendments
to the constitution.
Q. In what year?
A. I can only speak from Imemory, but certainly before 1870, but I
certainly can not say without reference to books.
Q. How was that brought about? What state of opinion brought
that about?
A. It was mainly the feeling that this was an encroachment. Public
sentiment did not feel the necessity for it. Demagogism was then not
prevalent. I think the Hawaiians voted better then than they do now.
That is, demoralizing influences had not set in.
Q. At that time, I suppose, it was somewhat of a struggle between
the King and the people?
A. Yes, precisely.
Q. And they were attempting to recover a part of the power they
had lost under that constitution ?
A. Yes.
Q. I see in the compilation of your laws, page 220, section 780, the
following:
For the island of Hawaii, eight, that is to say:
One for the district of North Kona, beginning at and including Keahualono, and
extending to and including Puuohao; one for the district of South Kona, beginning
at Punohao and extending to and including Kaheawai.
One for the district of Kau.
One for the district of Puna.
Two for the district of Hilo.
One for the district of Hamakua.
One for the district of Kohala.
For the island of Maui, seven, that is to say, two for the district composed of
Lahaina, Ukumehame, and Kahoolawe.
Qne for the district composed of Kahakuloa and Kaanapali.
One for the district beginning with and including Waihee and extending to and
including Honuaula.
One for the district beginning with and including Kahikinui and extending to and
including Koolau.
One for the district beginning with and including Hamakualoa and extending to
and including Kula.
Two for the districts composing the Islands of Molokai and Lanai.
For the island of Oahu, eight, that is to say: Four for the district of Honolulu,
beginning with and including Maunalua, and extending to and including Moanalua.
nd one for the district composed of Ewa and Waianae.
One for the district of Waialua.
One for the district of Koolauloa.
One for the district of Koolaupoko.
For the island of Kauai, three, that is to say: One for the district of Waimea, be-
ginning with and including N uniolo and extending to and including Hanapepe, and
also including the island of Niihau.
One for the district of Puna, beginning with and including Wahiawa, and extend-
ing to and including Wailua.
3. for the district of Hanalei, beginning with and including Kapaa, and extend-
ing to and including Awa-awa-puhi.
ſº 159
Please say how may representatives you had under that?
A. Twenty-six.
Q. When was that established?
A. There have been laws of this character altered little by little, but
a law of this general character has been in existence from very early
times—that is from 1852. There would be occasional changes, adding
one representative to one district and taking one away possibly from
another district.
Q. I ask your attention to section 774 of your compilation of laws:
The house of representatives shall be composed of not less than twenty-four nor
more than forty members, who shall be elected biennially.
º to 1887 you had in a legislative body twenty-six representa-
tives
A. Yes.
Q. Was it ever larger than that?
A. I think not.
Q. That gave them a popular element in the Legislature—a majority
over the power of the King as represented in the nobles?
A. That is the way it was generally exercised. The King never
appointed his full number.
Q. But the constitution itself provided that he might appoint thirty
and that the representatives might be forty?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The fact was he generally appointed twenty, and the representa-
tives were twenty-six?
A. Yes.
Q. So that there remained from this an excess of political power in
the representatives in the legislative body as against the Crown?
A. That is true; but they rarely ever divided on that issue—nobles
on one side and representatives on the other. Some of our best legis-
lation was accomplished through the nobles. They were excellent men.
Q. What class of men generally?
A. Such men as Mr. C. R. Bishop, S. G. Wilder, and Mr. Dowsett.
They were appointed by Lunalilo, who filled up the body to twenty.
Q. Were they generally appointed from the class of men who repre-
ºd the intelligence and wealth and morality of the community or
not *
A. In those days they were nominated to the King by his cabinet,
and they were representative of the property of this Kingdom, combin-
ing also a fair representation of character and intelligence, until the
middle of Kalakaua's reign, when, as vacancies occurred, he would
appoint natives generally who did not have these characteristics of
wealth, character, and intelligence.
Q. How was a ministry appointed and removed? sº
A. Under every constitution prior to 1887 the ministers were
appointed by the King and removed by him; but until Kalakaua's reign
it was a very rare thing that any King changed his ministry. They
had a pretty long lease of political life. My father was minister for
nine or ten years, and Mr. Wyllie for a longer period. It was a very
rare political occurrence, and made a great sensation when a change
was made. Under Kalakaua things were different; I think we had
twenty-six different cabinets during his reign.
Q. How long was his reign?
A. From 1874 to 1891.
Q. What were the property qualifications of electors prior to 1887?
A. None—no property qualification.
Q. They had to be 20 years of age, and to be able to read and write?
A. If born since 1840 they had to be able to read and write, but this
* rarely applied. If born before that there was no qualification
at all.
Q. Under the constitution of 1887 the same qualification of an elec-
tor for representative was continued?
A. Yes; substantially the same.
Q. Was there any very considerable change in the matter of the
qualification of a voter for representative under the constitution of
1887 in the matter of allowing foreigners to vote?
A. There was.
Q. Please state it.
A. Previous to that time only citizens could vote; that is, native
born or naturalized, or those who had received letters of denization.
The constitution of 1887 allowed all residents, if they had those quali-
160
fications, excepting Asiatics, and they were not allowed to vote, even
those who were citizens by naturalization.
Q. Did that cover the Portuguese element?
A. We allowed Portuguese to vote.
Q. Then the races that were excluded under that from the privilege
of voting were the Chinese and the Japanese?
A. Yes. .
Q. How about the qualifications to read and write for that class of
voters—I mean the Portuguese, Americans, and Europeans who were
allowed to vote? Did the qualifications as to reading and writing apply
to them?
A. It did.
As* there many Portuguese then voting under the constitution
Of 1887
A. A good many voted. Not having the statistics before me I can
not say what proportion.
. Q. Under that constitution of 1887 were the number of nobles and
representatives the same?
A. Exactly the same—twenty-four nobles and twenty-four rep-
resentatives.
Q. The cabinet was appointed by the Crown?
A. Yes.
Q. And how removable?
A. º nly by vote of want of confidence passed by a majority of elected
IſløIn OÖIS,
Q. What was the character of the increased power of the cabinet
under the constitution of 1887 over that of 1864?
A. It made the ministerial responsibility clearer, I think, than it.
existed under the constitution of 1864.
Q. In what way was it made clearer? \
A. By express provision after 1887, if I mistake not, saying that
whenever any act was to be done by the sovereign it was to be done
by and with the advice of the cabinet. That the supreme court has
held to be the advice of a majority of the cabinet.
Q. Would that be so in the matter of the exercise of the veto power?
A. We thought not... That is, the justices of the supreme court
thought not. Under the constitution, which made the legislative.
power consist of the King and the legislature, we felt that this act in
approving or vetoing a bill was a legislative and not an executive act.
Q. What did the word signify, then, in relation to the power that the
King could only do it with the advice of the cabinet?
A. We construed that power of the King which could only be exer-
cised through the ministry as applying solely to executive and not to
legislative acts.
Q. He could do nothing, then, without the sanction of a majority of
the cabinet in the matter of administration?
A. No, sir.
Q. A single member of the cabinet would not answer?
A. No, sir. The Thurston ministry broke upon that principle, Ash-
ford advising the King, contrary to the advice of the supreme court,
that he was not bound to act unless all the members of the cabinet
advised a certain measure. That led to a serious difference in the
cabinet, which resulted in breaking it up.
3. T. court held that it required a majority?
• Y CS,
Q. Which Ashford was that?
A. C. W. Ashford. After his return from Canada he seemed to be
very much changed.
Q. Your house of nobles was equal in number to the representa-
tives. What was the qualification of an elector for nobles?
A. The property qualification was an income of $600 a year, or unin-
cumbered real property of the value of $3,000. We held that where a
man was paid wages and his board that his board was not to be inclu-
ded; that he must have a clear income of $600.
Q. I wish to ask you the reason for these changes—what they were
intended to accomplish—and I wish to ask you because of your high.
official position as chief justice and because of your high character?
A. The main grievance was this: The Legislature was composed of
officeholders. I mean the representatives prior to 1887. The district
justice, nominated by the governor of each island, would use his judicial
influence by making it very easy with the offenses of the people. The
*
161
same thing was true of deputy sheriffs, tax assessors, tax collectors,
and all minor officials. When once in the Legislature they could be
very easily controlled either by threats of withdrawing the offices from
them, or by promises of other offices. As was well expressed by Mr.
Gibson, who was premier at one time, the King was the larger part of the
Legislature. That is, his influence exerted through these agents
became paramount. . He could accomplish, against his ministry even,
almost any measure he chose.
Q. Did he appoint all these officers to which you referred?
A. Not directly, but the governors, being appointed for four years,
and being his favorites, would appoint any officials he suggested, and as
a matter of fact Kalakaua nominated, directly or indirectly, the mass of
the officials in this country.
Q. Do you mean to say that by the appointment of governors who
were personal friends of his there came to be appointments of subor-
dinate officers who were in sympathy with the King in his political
views and his general wishes?
A. I do, and more especially to carry out the money votes which he
was very eager for in order to pay his debts, the expenses of his tour
abroad, of his coronation, of the military embassy to Samoa, and other
extravagances which every respectable person thought very unwise.
I recommended in my report to the Legislature a change in this
respect, i.e., in the qualifications of candidates to the Legislature,
excluding judges, etc. Another cause, hardly second in importance,
was the matter of the removal of ministries. I have said that up to
that time there had been twenty-six changes of cabinets. It had
unsettled the community so greatly and gave opportunity for what is
called “backstairs cabinets” by adventurers and others that there
was very little stability in the Government. It was almost impossible
for any ministry to carry out any settled policy, certainly any policy
that did not please the King.
Q. You changed the constitution so as to guard against that im-
proper mode of the appointment of inferior officers?
A. It forbade any person being appointed to office during the whole
time for which he was elected, and also forbade the election of any.
body who held any office under the Government.
Q. Then you cut off that power of the King in the use of his
patronage?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. As to the appointment of nobles, the idea was to take that away
from him?
A. The nobles were elected by what was supposed to be the wealthy
and influential class.
Q. That was taken away from the King and placed among the
wealthy and influential classes 1
A. Yes, so that they could have representation in the Legislature.
Q. Under that a minority of the natives only could vote for hobles?
f A. Only a minority of them could vote; it gave them great dissatis-
action.
Q. Any other changes of consequence?
A. I think not.
Q. You say this new manner of selecting nobles gave the natives
great dissatisfaction?
A. It did. The first election held under the constitution was very
satisfactory. The natives voted well. Good men were elected. Then
they were told that the white people had advantages, by reason of
their wealth, over them, and this idea at election time, that they were
put in an inferior position, was always forced upon them.
Q. Will you be kind enough to state how this new constitution was
established?
A. The two events which brought this matter to a culminating point
were (1) the opium steal of $71,000, by which a Chinaman named Aki
was made by the King to pay him a bribe of $71,000 of hard coin in
order to obtain the exclusive franchise for selling opium, and (2) the
expense of the expedition to Samoa in the Kaimiloa. . A secret league
was formed all over the islands, the result of which was, the King
was asked to promulgate a new constitution containing those provi-
sions that I have before alluded to. It was very adroitly managed by
the Ashfords, and more especially by W.W. Ashford, who obtained the
confidence of the King and Mr. Gibson. He was the colonel of the
rifles, and he assured them that if he was paid a certain sum of money
B—21
162
and made minister to Canada that he would arrange it so that the
movement would be futile.
Q. How was he to do that?
A. By preventing the use of the military I *::::: And he
arranged with the military authorities and Capt. Haley that they
should be called out to preserve public order, although it was this large
and well-drilled force which made the King fear that if he did not yield
things would be very critical for him.
Q. Was that a Government force?
A. It was organized under the laws.
Q. A volunteer organization?
A. Yes.
Q. So that the men in sympathy with the movement of this secret
league went into it and censtituted it under form of law?
A. Of course I do not know what was told the King privately, but I
know that he felt it would be very dangerous to refuse to promulgate
the new constitution. I have no doubt that a great many things were
circulated which came to his ears in the way of threats that were
unfounded.
Q. What was the outside manifestation?
A. One great feature of it was its secrecy. The King was frightened
at this secrecy. It was very well managed. The judges of the
supreme court were not told of it until just before the event took place.
I think it was the 2d or 3d of July, 1887.
Q. Was there then a mass meeting?
A. There was a large mass meeting held, and a set of resolutions was
resented to the King, requiring that a new ministry beformed, by Mr.
- L. Green and one other person whose name I have forgotten.
Q. Was there any display of force?
A. The Honolulu Rifles were in detachments marched about in dif.
ferent portions of the town, having been called out by the legal military
authorities.
Q. Who were the legal military authorities?
A. The governor of the island, Dominis, and Capt H. Burrill-Haley,
the adjutant-general.
Q. Were they in sympathy with the movement?
A. No, sir; the officers of the corps were in sympathy with the move-
ment.
Q. Who were they?
A. Ashford and Hebbard; I do not remember all.
t1% Bia the governor order them out, not knowing of this state of
S
As I think he did. I think he knew it; but it was to prevent as I
.* something worse happening. As I said, there were threats
Inā010,
Q. Of what sort?
A. I understood that at one time there was a very strong feeling
that the King should be forced to abdicate altogether, and it was only
the more conservative men born here who said that the King and the
Hawaiians should have another opportunity,
Q. Were there not two elements in that movement, one for a repub-
licºthe other for restraining the power of the King?
• Y &S.
Q. Were there not two forces in this movement coöperating together
up to a certain point, to wit: those who were in favor of restraining the
King by virtue of the provisions of the constitution of 1887, and those
who were in favor of dethroning the King and establishing a republic?
A. I understand that there were, and that the more conservative
view prevailed.
Q. And the men who were in favor of a republic were discontented
at the outcome?
A. They were, and they didn't want the Hawaiians to vote at all; and
the reason that the Portuguese were allowed to vote was to balance
the native vote. *
Q. Whose idea was that, was that the idea of the men who made the
new constitution?
A. Of the men who made the new constitution.
Q. It was to balance the native vote with the Portuguese vote?
A. That was the idea.
Q. And that would throw the political power into the hands of the
intelligence and wealth of the country?
163
A. That was the aim.
Q. How was this military used?
A. It was put about in squads over the city.
Q. The officers of the corps were really in favor of the movement for
the new constitution, and were called out by Governor Dominis to pre-
serve order?
A. Yes. After the affair was over he was thanked by a military
order from headquarters.
Q. º you suppose he was gratified with thanks, under the circum-
stances
A. Haley said to me when he showed me the order, “It is a little
º, to thank a man who kicked you out, but I suppose I’ve got to
o it.
Q. The King acceded to the demand for a new constitution and of a
cabinet of given character?
A. In the first place he acceded to the proposition to make a new
cabinet named by Mr. Green. The former cabinet, consisting of Mr.
Gibson and three Hawaiians, had just resigned a day or two before. In
three or four days the cabinet waited upon him with the constitution.
Q. What cabinet?
A. The cabinet, consisting of Mr. Green, minister of foreign af.
fairs; Mr. Thurston, minister of the interior; Mr. C. W. Ashford, at-
torney-general, and Mr. Godfrey Brown, minister of finance. I was
sent for in the afternoon of July 5, to swear the King to the constitu-
tion. When I reached the palace they were all there, and the King
asked me in Hawaiian whether he had better sign it or not. I said “You
must follow the advice of your responsible ministers.” He signed it.
Q. This ministry had been appointed as the result of the demand of
the mass meeting 1
A. Yes, sir. .
Q. And then, having been appointed, they presented him with the
constitution of 1887 ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And he signed it !
A. He did.
Q. Was that constitution ever submitted to a popular vote for rati-
fication?
A. No; it was not. There was no direct vote ratifying the constitu-
tion, but its provisions requiring that no one should vote unless he had
taken an oath to support it, and a large number voted at that first
election, was considered a virtual ratification of the constitution. jºr
Q. If they voted at all they were considered as accepting it?
A. Yes, sir. I do not think any large number refused to take the
oath to it.
Q. It was not contemplated by the mass meeting, nor the cabinet,
nor anybody in power, to submit the matter of ratification at all?
A. No; it was not. It was considered a revolution. It was a suc-
cessful revolutionary act.
Q. And therefore was not submitted to a popular vote for rati-
fication?
A. Yes, sir. It had mischievous effects in encouraging the Wilcox
revolution of 1889, which was unsuccessful. I think it was a bad prec-
edent, only the exigencies of the occasion seemed to demand it.
Q. was there discontent with that constitution on the part of Kala-
kaua'ſ Was he ever satisfied with it?
A. He was very skillful in concealing his views. I do not think he
was satisfied with it.
Q. Was the ex-Queen ever satisfied with it?
A. I think much less satisfied with it than he was, and commenced
movements against it even before her brother àied while she was
princess. From my intimate acquaintance with her, I knew that she
ran away with the idea that she was Queen only of the native Hawaiians
and not of the whites, even though born here.
Q. Have the natives as a race been discontented with these changes?
A. As shown in their public utterances in the Legislature, at elec-
tion times, and through their native newspapers, I should sayyes; but
from my acquaintance with them personally, I am unable to see that
it has worked to their injury, and I do not see evidences of their dis-
satisfaction.
Q. Were they in this secret league to which you had made reference?
A. I think there was only one person of mixed blood in the league.
164
Q. Did your politics take on anything of a racial form at any time;
if so, when?
A. Occasionally a native in the Legislature would lose his head and
say severe things against the whites as a class. It is generally frowned
down upon by the most respectable of the natives and the foreigners.
; . however, been made a much more prominent feature in politics
Of late.
Q. Did Gibson use that race feeling to obtain power, and to main-
tain himself in it?
A. He did; and he also used flattery to the King to exalt his posi-
tion. He fostered in the King's mind the idea of proclaiming himself
emperor of the Pacific in connection with the Samoan affair,
Q. But in dealing with the natives in the matter of suffrage did he
play on the matter of race feeling?
A. Somewhat. His emissaries generally looked to other means—
gin among them.
Q. Was he in the habit of abusing the whites, those who are called
missionaries? -
A. Yes; the first mischief he did was in thwarting the treaty of
reciprocity.
Q. In what year was that?
A. In 1873.
Q. Before Kalakaua was King?
A. Yes; and the ministry of which I was a member, Mr. Bishop being
leader, owing to the fact that King Lunalilo was in consumption, felt
that it was prudent to abandon it.
Q. You were going to speak of race feeling in regard to politics?
A. It has been almost impossible to elect any kind of a decent white
man in Honolulu for many years.
Q. Why?
A. I once had a conversation with a very prominent native and
asked him why they never succeeded in electing a good white man in
Honolulu. He said:
The man whom you regard as the best man the natives oppose just because you
want him elected, &
Q. I suppose you were not with the committee of safety during the
late revolution?
A. I was not informed of any of their proceedings. They kept me
out.
Q. Did you know that a constitution was going to be proclaimed in
1893 before it was done?
A. I had heard hints during some years before that the Queen was
anxious to proclaim a new constitution, but I did not hear of her pres-
ent intention until the morning of Saturday. Shortly before the pro-
rogation, at 10 o'clock in the morning, a gentleman told me that
immediately after the prorogation Mr. William White, the lottery
advocate in the Legislature, was going to the palace with a large num-
ber of people and that the Queen was going to proclaim a new consti-
tution. I mentioned it to my associates on the bench. They didn't
credit it. I mentioned it to a few others, among them the French
consul. It disturbed me very much. Immediately the Legislature was
prorogued I looked out from the balcony and saw a large number
of natives dressed in black and wearing beaver hats marching over to
the palace with banners and carrying a parcel.
I said to myself that is the new constitution. Being invited by the
chamberlain to go over there, which is customary after prorogation, I
urged my associates to accompany me. Judge Dole had an engage-
ment and could not go. Judge Bickerton and I ment over. We
stayed until 4 o'clock and saw the whole thing, except we were not
in the private room with the Queen when she had her ministry there.
The speech that she made, when she said she had designed to promul-
gate a new constitution but had met with obstacles and was prevented
for the present, I wrote from memory. She said it in Hawaiian. I went
home that evening, wrote it down from memory, and furnished it to the
press.
Q. What was the point of it?
A. She was under great emotion. I never saw her in such a state
of agitation. At the same time she controlled herself. It was really a
magnificent spectacle. She said she had listened to thousands of voices
demanding a change in the constitution—demanding a new constitu-
tion—and she thought the opportunemoment had come. The constitution
165
was very defective, and she turned around to defer to me as her wit-
ness, because I had had occasion so often to construe it. She had pre-
pared a new constitution which she thought would meet the pur-
poses required and would please the people; but she said with great
sorrow: “I am obliged to tell you that I can not do it now. I have
met with obstacles, but I ask you to go home; continue to love me, and
I will continue to love you, and in a few days you will have your wishes
gratified.” Immediately a member of the Legislature, the throne room
being full of the Hui Kalaiainas, turned around and said: “What
shall we do with these men whoprevent the gratification of our wishes?”
meaning the ministry. We hushed him up; told him to keep quiet,
and I left the palace.
Q. What do you suppose she meant that in a few days they would
be gratified?
A. She hoped to overcome the objections of her cabinet. Parker
told me that the reason he stayed by her without leaving her all
that afternoon was that he was afraid she would break away from the
cabinet, go out on the balcony, and say to the people: “The ministers
won’t approve it, and my chief justice won’t swear me to it. Here is
your constitution. Now look out for these men.” We stayed there
not under any physical compulsion. I sent in two messages by the
chamberlain asking to be excused, but she sent word asking me to
remain. Evidently she expected that thing done then and there. Mr.
Wilson, the marshal, was in a great state of excitement, and told me
that he had been fighting the battle alone all the morning with her, and
wanted me to go in and use my influence to prevent her from doing it.
I said that if the Queen asked me to come into her council I should be
glad to do it, but I could not swear her to the new constitution.
Q. Have you any personal knowledge of improper relations between
Wilson and the ex-Queen? g
A. I know this as a fact, that when the supreme court decided that
on the death of Kalakaua she could require the resignation of the cabi-
net appointed by him and could appoint her own cabinet, that she
made three conditions with the new cabinet, and one of these condi-
tions was such that Mr. Peterson would not consent to resume office
under her. The three conditions were these: That Wilson was to be
marshal, a native boy named Joe Aea was to be made turnkey of the
prison, and that Wundenberg was to be dismissed as postmaster-gen-
eral. Wundenberg had dismissed Henry Poor from a clerkship in the
post-office, whose mother, living on Emma street, was a very strong
friend of the Queen.
They were schoolmates together with me, and she, Mrs. Poor, is in
charge of two boys. One of the boysis Dominis's own son by a woman
named Mary Purdy. She is married to the messenger of the foreign
office, named Kamiki, and the other child is a son of Joe Aea, and
rumor says it is the Queen's own child. I do not know whether it is
the Queen's child or a child of Aea's wife. I got it from Kamiki, who
was deprived of the service of his wife from being Dominis's mistress.
When Dominis died he died with one hand in the hands of the Queen
and the other in Mary Purdy's hands. On one occasion I went to her
about the morality of the palace, and she professed to me to be in favor of
religion and morality. I went to her on account of a great deal of scan-
dal in regard to the character of the palace invitations.
Q. Did Wilson live in the bungalow?
A. Yes.
Q. And when she went back to Washington Place he always had a
cottage there?
A. Yes.
Q. He was marshal?
A. Yes; he had been clerk of the waterworks before that.
Q. Judge, you have a good many races of people here. Could you
establish stable government here on the basis of a qualification that
they should read and write the English language?
A. That would limit the number qualified to vote very much. It
would exclude nearly all the old Hawaiians. It would exclude the
Portuguese, except the younger class that have been to school here,
and, of course, the younger Hawaiians, who are now taught English
exclusively.
Q. What would be the proportion between the white and native
vote, putting the English test?
A. I can not say.
166
Q. Would it leave the native vote in excess or not?
A. I think it would.
Q. Now, on the basis of reading and writing English, could you
establish a permanent form of government?
A. I doubt it very much.
Q. Could it maintain a government such as obtains in the States of
the United States—New York, for instance?
A. It depends upon the character of the imperial government over it.
Q. What do you mean?
§: * that a republic of our own would not be at all successful.
* y
A. Because our natives are so likély to be influenced by demagogues,
and more especially such influences as obtained in the last Legislature,
such as the lottery—such schemes as that. The natives joined with the
lower class of whites. They have not sufficient character to resist.
Q. Could you establish one that would make life and property safe
and preserve order?
A. I doubt it very much.
Q. Would you be willing to take your chances on that sort of
government?
A. No sir. As a property-holder and a man of family I would not
like to take my chances.
Q. Could you maintain a good government here as a State in the
Federal Union, like the State of New York?
A. I have not thought that was possible, because I do not suppose
#. º States would ever consent to have two Senators from a place
© UIllS,
Q. I am not talking about what they would consent to, but as to what
you consider the qualifications of the Hawaiians to vote. I do not want
tºly that the Government of the United States means to do any-
thing.
A. Yes, I believe we could.
Q. What is the character of the Hawaiian as a voter? Is he an
intelligent voter?
A. That is a matter of comparison, of course. He is easily influenced.
Q. In what way?
A. When his prejudices are excited, and when he is told the usual
election/stories; that something is going to happen unless they vote
for such and such a man.
Q. Is he in the habit of selling his vote?
A. I believe there has been a good deal of bribery in this way, paying
a man's taxes for him—there being a qualification that a man shall
have paid his taxes.
Q. Are they influenced much in elections by liquor?
A. Until the Australian ballot went into effect. The election of 1886
was largely managed by gin.
Q. What is their character as to honesty?
A. So far as they are concerned, they are not especially addicted to
lºg,
Q. Not more than the white race?
A. No; I have lived in my present residence twenty-one years; have
never had a theft; we live with our houses very loosely fastened.
Q. What is the moral character of the race?
A. The seafaring class are very much addicted to the use of liquor.
Q. What is the character of the Hawaiian women for chastity
A. They are not chaste. At the same time they do not expose their
immorality to public view. I think strangers would see scarcely any-
thing of it. There is an outward observance of the laws of decency
and morality.
Q. Why do they observe it outwardly and not practice it in secrecy?
A. I think it is the influence of their religious teaching. It is a
source of profit to them.
Q. How?
A. Sailors and mechanics visit them, and that is what supports their
families very largely in the low part of the town.
Q. Is that the character of the Hawaiian women generally?
A. I must except many very good, virtuous women.
Q. I do not mean exceptions.
A. They are accessible.
Q. As a race they are not chaste?
.A. Their instincts are towards the sexual desire.
167
ºn the domestic circle is not marked by chaste conversation
3001 IIIC) &
A. They are very careless in their conversation before their children.
Q. There is a good deal of intermarriage between the whites and
natives here. What is the result of that? Is it a better type?
A. It is a more intelligent type.
Q. Are they not better morally?
A. As a class, no. "
Q. Are the half castes generally the result of matrimonial alliances?
A. There are a large number that are not.
Q. What social recognition have these half-castes?
A. They have always received social recognition. They have always
been sought after by strangers.
Q. How in social life here; are they received among the whites?
A. Those of good character are. There are several large families
received on terms of perfect equality.
3. º Portuguese population here, is that leaving much?
• Y 8S,
Q. To what extent; rapidly, would you say?
A. Yes. On account of their inability to obtain land.
Q. Why can not they obtain land?
A. A great many lands have been tied up by long leases, although
the Government has commenced the system of throwing open lands to
homesteaders.
Q. But still the tendency is to leave?
A. Yes; they want to go to California—to America.
Q. Then is it the land only?
A. No; it is the desire to go to America; it is their El Dorado.
l §: the Japanese population is probably your future reliance for
2,00P
A. Yes; but I think the Chinese make the best laborers.
Q. But the authorities who have been controlling the Islands have
taken the view that it was best not to allow the Chinamen to come in
in large numbers ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the action of the Government has been toward restricting
that, and looking to Japan for laborers ?
A. Yes; that has been the policy of the country for a long time.
Q. Are these Japanese beginning to get the desire for suffrage.
A. I only hear it through the newspapers.
Q. What do you hear?
A. I hear that they will in time demand suffrage.
Q. What do you think of them as voters?
A. I think they would vote as the consul wanted them to vote.
They are an inferior class, brought up with the idea that they must
obey their superiors.
Q. They belong to the lowest class of the Japanese population?
A. Yes; they have very great deference for their superiors.
Q. * they learning to read and write the English language to any
extent
A. Those who remain in the field do not have the opportunty,
Their children go to school and learn English.
Q. Your native population—do they understand generally how to
read and write the uative tongue?
A. Lately they are losing the ability to speak Hawaiian well, by
reason of their minds being directed in school to English.
Q. What books have they in the Hawaiian language?
A. Very few books outside of school books and religious books, and
a few trashy novels.
Q. º have the Bible and the Pilgrim's Progress?
A. Yes.
Q. You indicated a desire to make a statement in reference to certain
occurrences in the legislature of 1892.
A. The body of Kalakaua arrived here on the 29th of January,
1891. At 2 o'clock that day Liliuokalani took the oath to support
the constitution of 1887, which I administered. Kalakaua's cab-
inet consisted then of Cummins, C. N. Spencer, Godfrey Brown, and
'A. P. Peterson. There was a great deal of discussion and wire pulling
as to whether that cabinet should have the right to continue. Finally
the opinion of the court was asked and it was held that she had liberty
to ask for their resignation. They resigned and she appointed Parker,
168
minister of foreign affairs; Widemann, finance; Spencer, interior, and
Whiting, attorney-general.
At the general election which took place in 1892 all the represen-
tatives of the island of Oahu were elected from the Liberal party, of
which Robert W. Wilcox was the leader (with one exception, W. R.
Wilder), who was elected for one of the districts of Honolulu. The Legis-
lature was opened on the 20th of May. On the 6th of June a vote
was taken to expunge MacFarlane's resolution, which was directed
º: Minister Stevens, which was carried by 33 to 13. On the 30th
of August the Parker ministry was voted out by 31 to 10. There
was no new cabinet appointed until the 12th of September. That
was E. C. MacFarlane, minister of finance; Parker, foreign affairs;
Gulick, interior, and Neumann, attorney-general. On the 15th of
September there was another vote of , want of confidence in this
MacFarlane cabinet. It received 24 votes against 21. The question
as to whether that was a sufficient constitutional number to pass it was
referred to the judges of the supreme court, who decided that 25 votes
Were neCeSSary.
Meanwhile, on the 4th of October, there was a special election held on
this island, and Maile, a native from the fish market, and Hopkins, a
half-white, were elected as nobles, by a very large majority, over two
very respectable men, M. P. Robinson and H. Waterhouse, by the
so-called lottery faction; that is, people who were bound to carry the
lottery bill through.
On the 17th of October there was another vote of want of confidence
introduced in the MacFarlane ministry, and it passed 32 to 15. On the 1st
of November, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the Queen appointed Cornwell
minister of finance, Gulick minister of the interior, Nawahi minister
of foreign affairs, and Creighton, attorney-general. At half-past 12
they were voted out—26 to 15, the same day. The 4th of November,
rumors prevailed that the Queen would agree to appoint G. N. Wil-
cox minister of the interior, Cecil Brown attorney-general, P. C. Jones
minister of finance, and M. C. Robinson minister of foreign affairs.
On the 8th of November this cabinet was appointed and sworn in.
Then the country felt easy. The next important event was on the 6th
of December, when the Legislature sent a request for an opinion to the
justices of the supreme court upon the question whether an amendment
to the constitution which had passed two successive Legislatures
required the approval of the Queen. We answered that it did not.
Q. What was the constitutional provision?
A. It was something with reference to allowing legislation restricting
the residence of Chinese here. The idea was that any laws that might
be passed restricting terms of residence or rights of Chinese here would
Inot be held unconstitutional,
Q. At that time was there any restriction on Chinese immigration?
A. Oh, yes; there were restrictions that had passed the Legislature
with reference to their entering the Kingdom, but when once in the
Kingdom they had the rights of all residents under Hawaiian law, and
by our constitution no class legislation would be permissible under the
constitution. The object of this amendment was to allow legislation of
that character.
Q. Do you have reference to legislation providing that the Chinese
should not reside here after the contract term had expired?
A. Yes; I think also as to the character of the employment they
should engage in. It was the desire to pass that law which gave rise
to this submission to the court. The constitution of 1887 left out all
the provisions which had previously existed as to the sovereign signing
an amendment to the constitution. The only popular reference was
that any amendment that had passed one Legislature would have to be
published three months previous to the election, and then if it passed
the second Legislature it became a law.
Q. Was there no direct submission to the people?
A. Only in that way. On the 21st of December this ministry, which
had the confidence of the people, began to have difficulty with the
Queen with reference to the appointment of circuit judges under the
DeW act.
Q. In what way?
A. º nominated Mr. Whiting and Mr. Frear.
Q. And she was not willing? &
A. At first she was. The appointment of circuit judges was not to
go into effect until the 1st of January, but it was deemed advisable
169
that these gentlemen, who were in the practice of law, should be noti-
fied beforehand to arrange their business, as terms of the circuit court
would begin with the new year. She first agreed that she would make
these appointments. Then she said she did not care to appoint Mr.
Frear. but wanted Mr. Rosa. I had a long talk with her. I told her
that Mr. Rosa's habits would make him unfit; that he got drunk. She
finally on the 3d of January appointed those two judges. On the 29th
of December there was talk all over town and in the lobby of the Leg-
islature that there would be a vote of want of confidence against the
Wilcox ministry, and on the 4th of January Mr. Bush introduced one.
It failed, 19 to 22. On the 10th of January the lottery bill, which
everyone supposed was dead, was moved up by C. L. Hopkins, who
had just been elected by the lottery people.
Q. What is he doing now?
A. He is in the fishing business. I can not say he is in the opium
business. It passed on the second reading to the astonishment of
everybody by 20 to 17. It was hurried right along and passed its third
reading on the 11th of January, 23 to 20. Six of the members of the
house had gone home. On the 12th at half past 1 Kapahu intro-
duced a vote of want of confidence in the Wilcox cabinet, and it passed,
25 to 16. Noble C. O. Beyer being the twenty-fifth man and he voted
that way because Mr. Widemann was promised by the Queen that he
should form a new cabinet. On the 13th of January there was no
quorum in the morning. At half past 2 the cabinet came in—Par-
ker, Cornwell, Peterson, ard Colburn. That was Friday. That night
ouite a number of members tried to get their forces together to intro-
duce a vote of want of confidence in that ministry. People said no, it
it is no use. Saturday morning Mr. Peterson announced to the Legis-
lature that the Queen had signed two bills that had interested the
community for a long time—the bill licensing the sale of opium and
the establishing of smoking joints, and the lottery bill, giving an exclu-
sive franchise to these individuals for a term of twenty-five years to
establish a national lottery, for which they were to give the Government
$500,000 a year.
Q. Did the bill provide how it should be used?
A. It provided that a certain sum should be used for the laying of a
cable between here and San Francisco.
Q. Any other public work?
A. I do not now remember.
Q. Did you participate in the ...ºf of the committee of safety
on 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th of January
A. I did not, being a judge.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
A. F. JUDD.
No. 29.
Interview with the Hui Kalaiaina, Friday April 21, 1893.
At half past 3 a committee of the Hui Kalaiaina called at the head-
quarters of the Commission and presented resolutions from that society,
which were read by the interpreter, Mr. Solomon Kaleiope.
f i. accepting the copy of the resolutions Mr. Blount responded as.
Ollow8:
GENTLEMEN: Very much of the duties of my mission I can not com-
municate to you. I will say, however, that your papers which have
been presented I will accept and forward to the President in the nature.
of information indicating the opinions of your people in these islands
in reference to the inclination on your part to support the existing con-
dition of things; that is to say, whether you are in favor of the Pro-
yisional Government and annexation, or whether your preference is
for royalty. I am gathering information on lines of that sort for ther
F. of submitting it to the President. That is the extent of what
can say to you by way of response. I would like to ask, however, a.
few questions. Which is the chairman of your committee?
INTERPRETER. W. L. Holokahiki, Honolulu.
B—22
'170
(These questions were given and answered through the interpreter:)
Q. On the day of the prorogation of the Legislature a number of
natives were reported to have gone in to see the Queen—about
in number—and that their object was to ask for a new constitution.
Was that a committee from this organization?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many voters, people who vote for representatives, are there
in this order,
A. Some thousands as we have it in our books; about 3,000 of
native Hawaiians.
Q. What did the Queen say in response to your request?
A. That she was quite ready to give a new constitution, but her
cabinet is opposed to it. Her cabinet refused it, so that she could not
do otherwise. She told the people that they had to go home quietly
and wait for the next session of the Legislature.
Q. When would that be if the Government had not been overthrown?
A. The timeſ according to our laws, was two years, and that would
run us up to 1894.
Q. Then the information was that nothing could be done under two
years on account of the disapproval of the cabinet?
A. Yes; the Queen could do nothing.
Q. She said she could do nothing?
A. Yes; because the constitution says she can do nothing without
being approved by her cabinet.
Q. What did the committee do when they went out; did they give
this information to the native people?
A. Yes, sir. This committee shortly after they came out they told the
people they could not do anything now. That they would have to wait
until the next session. Also the Queen came out and told the people
she could not give them any constitution now because the law forbids.
(A great many petitions were exhibited; sometimes they were to
the * and sometimes to the Legislature, asking for a new consti-
tution.
(A book was also shown, containing the names of members of the
organization throughout the Islands, as follows:) é
Oahu, 2,320; Maui, 384; Hawaii, 266; Kaai, 222, and Molokai, 263.
& §. interpreter.) Why don't other natives join the organization?
A. They sometimes go to meetings. When anything happens they
go together.
Q. These are active members of the organization?
A. Yes.
Q. In matters of this sort the natives followed the lead of the organ-
ization?
A. Yes, sir.
We have read the foregoing and pronounce it to be a correct report:
A. SOLOMON KALEIOPU, Interpreter.
W. C. HOLOKAHIKI.
J. ALAPAI.
JOHN KANUI.
J. A. KAHOONEI.
J. B. KUOHO.
J. KEEUI.
T. C. POLIKAPA.
D. W. KANAILEHUA.
No. 30.
Interview with J. W. Kalua, president of the Anneration Club, and others,
May 1, 1893.
Q. Please give the names of the delegates and the islands they rep-
resent?
A. Interpreter J. W. Kalua, president of the Annexation Club and
chairman of the delegation, Rév. A. Pali, C. E. Coe, W. F. Pogue, C. F.
Horner, and E. H. Bailey, all-of Maui.
Through interpreter.) p
. Mr. Kalua, were you chosen by a convention of delegates from
171
various districts chairman of the delegation to present their wishes on
the subject of annexation?
A. I was.
Q. Are the natives you represent in favor of annexation unless they
have the right to vote?
A. They are not.
Q. Are they in favor of it with any property qualifications?
A. They are not in favor of it.
Q. Have the annexation speakers in addressing them conveyed the
idea to them that the right to vote would be preserved to them if they
went into the American Union?
A. It has been said to them in speeches.
Q. If the right to vote is preserved to them they are willing to give
up the Crown and become annexed to the United States?
A. They are.
Q. Mr. Coe, were you born in the Island?
A. 1 was born in Grant County, Wis.
Q. How long have you lived here?
A. Twelve years this coming fall.
Q. Are the natives in favor of annexation unless the right to vote
is preserved to them?
A. I think not.
Q. Would they be in favor of annexation with a property qualifi-
cation?
A. No, sir.
Q. With the right to vote preserved to them, they prefer to be a part
of the United States rather than to be under the Crown?
A. Yes, sir, thinking that thé progress of the country would be
advanced by being part of the United States.
Q. Provided the right to vote is preserved?
A. Yes, sir.
% º; Horner, is that your understanding of the situation?
• Y. &S.
Q. Mr. Pogue, is that your understanding?
A. It is.
Mè. Mr. Kalua, how many voters do you represent on the island of
3Ull
A. Taking the annexation list for me to go by—the foreigners rep-
resent three-fourths and the natives represent one-fourth of the lists.
of the annexation club—in all 700,
(The interpreter, Mr. Kalua, says there are more names on the lists.
than 700, but they have not all been opened yet. He does not know
the exact number. He says the people have not all subscribed who.
will subscribe, owing to the short time the club has been started—they
have not had the opportunity.)
(The notes of the foregoing were read over to the interpreter and
others and pronounced correct.—E. M.)
No. 31.
Interview with Rev. J. Kanoho, of Lihue, Kauai, Wednesday, April 19,1893.
Mr. George Mundon, interpreter.)
r. BLOUNT. What is your qccupation?
A. I am a minister of the Gospel.
Q. How many members of your church?
A. Sometimes 30 and sometimes 50.
Q. Do you belong to the annexation club?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many members are there in that club 7
A. I can not state exactly how many.
Q. Well, about how many 1
A. I think about 200.
Q. Are they in favor of annexation?
A. They are in favor of annexation.
Q. Are they in favor of annexation without having the right to ballot?
A. No, sir; they are hot in favor of annexation without they get
their right tº vote.
172
Q. How do they feel towards the Queen?
A. A portion of them would like to have the Queen replaced. Those
who have not signed for annexation would like to have her back.
Those who have signed are not in favor of having her returned.
Q. Have most of them signed in favor of annexation or not?
A. Yes; a majority of them have signed annexation papers.
The foregoing has been translated to me by Mr. George Mundon, and
I pronounce it a correct report.
J. KANOHO.
HoNodulu, April 19, 1893.
No. 32.
Interview with John Lot Kaulukou.
HoNodulu, Thursday, April 13, 1893.
Mr. BLount. Where do you live?
A. In Honolulu.
Q. Were you in the city on the 14th of January last?
A. I was.
Q. Will you please give me a statement of the causes of the revolu-
tion which resulted in the dethronement of the Queen?
A.. I will tell you what I know. On the 14th of January, the Queen
dismissed the Legislature—discharged every member of the house at 12
o'clock. The Queen went into the palace with several people. On
that day it was the first time I heard of the Queen's intention to
declare a new constitution. Since 1887, after the decree of that consti-
tution, the people were asking and filing petitions to the legislatures of
1890 and also 1892. There were many names on the petitions to his
late Majesty Kalakaua, and when he died his sister came on the throne.
The people sent petitions to the legislature and to Her Majesty the
Queen to make a new constitution, because the people wanted to have
a new constitution—a constitution for equal rights between everyone
in this community.
Q. You mean by equal rights everybody to have the privilege to
vote who were twenty?
A. Yes. The constitution of 1887 is to take away the rights of the
natives to vote for the nobles. For instance, if I had property of
$2,999.99 I had no right to vote for nobles under that constitution, but
a man who had an income of $600, without property, he had that right.
In these islands there were nine nobles and that man with an income
of $600 had a right to vote for nine nobles, and a man of property of
$2,999.99, he had no right to vote for noble, except one representative
in the ward where he lived.
Q. You mean to vote for a member of the house of representatives
instead of nobles.
A. Yes; and this man, with an income of $600, he had a right to
vote for nine nobles in these islands and also a representative in the
ward where he lived. He voted for ten men. For that reason the
people claim it is not right.
Q. These petitions to the legislature and to the Queen, what did
they ask for in the matter of the election of nobles? Did they ask
that he Crown should appoint them or the people be allowed to elect
them &
A. That the people be allowed to vote for all—to give everyone
an equal vote for both noble and representative. That was the
intention of the petitions.
Q. Do you know what this constitution the Queen intended to pro-
claim contained in that connection?
A. No one in this community knows.
Q. You do know that the demand from the people was for the elec-
tion of nobles by all classes of the people?
A. Yes; without any qualification.
Q. Well, please go on with your statement.
A. Many people went into the palace to see the Queen and also
Kalakaua, and they sent a petition to the Queen and also to the legis-
lature, and called a mass meeting, and that is the only reason Wilcox
173 *
is elected; also Mr. Bush and Antone Rosa, and also the reason why
they were elected in 1890.
Q. On the idea of making a new constitution on the ground these
petitions asked for?
A. Yes; and also in 1892.
Q. In the elections of 1890 and 1892 the line of division amongst the
people was upon that question of a new constitution, giving everybody
the right to vote for nobles and representatives?
A. Yes; for any candidates running to oppose that view it was
impossible for that man to go to the legislature in 1890 and 1892. They
did not want the idea of taking all the power from the Queen. Under
this constitution they took every power from the Queen.
Q. What power did they want to give the Queen?
A. In regard to veto. They wanted to give some power to the
Queen. A bill goes to Her Majesty. They want to give that privilege
to the Queen; if she thinks a bill not proper, not right, she should
have the right to veto it.
Q. She did have that power and exercised it, didn't she?
A. After the case came before the court, the court decided in favor
of her power to veto.
Q. When was that decision made?
A. I think about 1888 or 1889. It was after 1887.
Q. If that was settled by the court in 1888 or 1889, it would hardly
be in the campaign in 1890 and 1892?
A. The real object of the people was for the constitution. They did
not care about the veto question. They claimed the constitution was
forced on Kalakaua. The people wanted a new constitution.
Q. You say the constitution was forced on Kalakaua. How was it
forced on him?
A. He did not like this constitution.
Q. Why did he proclaim it?
A. People told him “if you don't sign this constitution we will over-
throw you.”
Q. What people?
A. White men—foreigners. &
Q. Where did they live?
A. Here.
Q. And in the other islands?
A. In this island and in the other islands. I saw some from other
islands.
Q. How many?
A. Saw only one that I remember.
Q. Any natives in the meeting which demanded the new constitution
of Kalakaua?
A. Very few. About thrée or four natives went there.
Q. The native population is in the majority. Why didn’t they stand
by him—by Kalakauai. He did not expect them to help him or he
would not have yielded to the whites,
A. The Government had many soldiers and also volunteers. Wol-
unteers supported the view of the new constitution in 1887. Many
Portuguese. The officers had commissions from King Kalakaua. Gov-
ernment furnished guns and ammunition for them. Those people are
the very people to oppose the King and go in favor of the new consti-
tution. The Portuguese officers and men were opposed to the King.
Q. Do I understand you to mean that the desertion of these Portu-
guese officers and troops left him without the military power to oppose
this movement of the whites?
A. The Portuguese officers and Portuguese soldiers went together
with the volunteers at that time. There were two kinds of volunteers,
white men, really white men, and the Portuguese joined together with
the Thurston crowd and opposed the King.
Q. Were they volunteers?
A. Yes.
Q. How many soldiers had the Thurston crowd?
A. Including Portuguese, about 300.
Q. How many had the King?
A. I think the King had 700 or 800.
Q. Was the King with S00 troops afraid of Thurston with 300?
A. He was not afraid. His Majesty wanted to go and fight, but so
many of his friends would go back on him.
174
Q. Why did they go back on him?
A. I don't know.
Q. Who were they?
A. Haley was one of them. He was an Englishman, I understand.
The King did not want to have bloodshed, so he signed his name on
that constitution. I have no doubt in my mind that if the King had
opposed this crowd we would have no more town of Honolulu. There
would have been property lost and lives lost—great many.
Q. You mean in 1887?
A. Yes.
Q. But he did not want to see that?
A. No; he didn’t.
Q. Well, please go on where I interrupted you.
A. After that we got a new constitution, and every one of us took
oath to ºr. it. I myself do not like the constitution—the way of
getting it—but the regulation issued from the interior office if any one
of the natives did not take the oath to support that constitution he
had no right to vote. For that reason I myself and all the rest of my
native friends took oath to support the constitution. So we lived under
that constitution, and the people did not like it; I mean the natives.
They did not like it, not because everything in the constitution is bad,
but they did not like the way of getting it. They were disgusted by
the way of getting it. Part of that constitution is really part of the
constitution of Kamehameha V.
In the election of 1890 Wilcox was a leader, and Bush and several
others. Their platform to go before the people is that they want a
new constitution. Part of their crowd came in and joined the natives
and said they must have a new constitution. At that time, if I remem-
ber right, McCarty—Charlie McCarty (he was one of the volunteers
against the King in 1887)—was one of the candidates for noble in 1890
to oppose the constitution, and by uniting of foreigners and natives
the whole island on that principle elected members of the House of
Nobles and Representatives.
§ How did they manage to elect nobles with the property qualifica-
tion
A. As I told you, whoever had an income of $600 had a right to vote
for nobles.
Q. Were a majority of the nobles elected in 1892 for or against the
constitution?
A. They did not want this constitution.
Q. You do not understand my question. In 1892 you elected nobles.
Now, were a majority of the nobles elected in 1892 for or against the
constitution?
A. They were against the constitution of 1887. They wanted to
have a new constitution. Some of them say, all I want is amendments,
but a majority of the people wanted a new constitution. So you see a
majority of the people wanted a new constitution. I suppose that is
the reason the Queen wanted to have a new constitution.
Q. Now, a majority of the nobles and representatives being in favor
of a new constitution, why didn't they pursue the plan laid down in
the constitution? le
A. The trouble was at that time, before the election they came for-
ward to the people with the idea of a new constitution, but when they
go inside the house some of the people go back on their constituents
and they turn around. Some of them, like Wilcox. He was strongly
in favor of a new constitution, but he never did anything in the house
to get a new constitution. Some of them introduced a bill to make a
new constitution, and some people say that is against the constitution.
But yet people talk outside “new constitution new constitution!”
When we go before the house we never get constitution. They never
did anything. That is the reason we did not get a new constitution.
The people wanted to have a constitution for equal rights.
On the 14th of January I was in the palace myself, and before I
went into the palace I heard the Queen intended to proclaim a new
constitution. I went in to see if it was true or not, While there I
saw Chief Justice Judd. He asked me, what is all this? I said I
didn't know. I heard the Queen was going to proclaim a new consti-
tution. He asked me what sort of a constitution? I said I didn't
know. He said he would give $50 for a copy of that constitution.
We stayed there about an hour, perhaps two hours, and then the
Queen came from the blue room.
175
Q. What you call the throne room?
A. Yes. She said:
My º I am sorry to say I can not proclaim a new constitution to-day,
because of the advice from my cabinet not to do so. Therefore, my people, I want
you to go home. Behave yourselves and keep quiet. Do not make any disturbance.
The people went home.
Q. Was that speech made in the throne room?
A. Yes; so the people went home quietly. On Sunday morning the
first I knew there were some posters on the street, the committee of
Safety calling for a mass meeting on Monday. There were no names on
it; just committee of safety calling mass meeting at the armory on
Beretania street. Sunday was a very quiet day—no, disturbance, no
riot; no reason to make any one believe a revolution had come on
Saturday and Sunday—and Monday morning I saw another poster to
have another mass meeting for natives on Palace square at 2 o’lock. I
was at this meeting on Palace square.
Q. How many people were there?
A. I think, including foreigners and natives, about 5,000. There
were many foreigners there.
Q. How many foreigners?
A. I think more than 500, between 500 and 1,000, the rest were
natives. They made speeches and thanked Her Majesty, the Queen,
for her intention to proclaim a new constitution. She could not do
anything now because her cabinet had advised her not; but the meeting
thanked her for her idea to proclaim a new constitution. They adopted
resolutions as follows:
Resolved, That the assurance of Her Majesty, the Queen, contained in this day's
proclamation, is accepted by the people as a satisfactory guaranty that the Govern-
ment does not and will not seek any modification of the constitution by any other
means than those provided in the organic law.
Resolved,. That accepting this assurance, the citizens here assembled will give
: cordial support to the administration and indorse them in sustaining that
policy.
The meeting adjourned and the people went home. They made no
disturbance. Saturday the Queen ordered the people to go home
quietly. The natives always listen. They always obey. On this day
Monday, Bush and Nawahi told the people to go home quietly and
calmly. They did so. I went home. Several others went home with-
out any idea of any revolution to come after that. About 5 o'clock
in the afternoon was the first time we had news of the landing of the
Boston's troops on shore—on the same landing you came the other day.
We went down to see. Heard that some marines and bluejackets
were there.
If you were here at that time you could hear foreigners and natives
asking this question: “What does this mean? For what reason do
these people come ashore?” From there they marched on Fort street,
turned their right on Fort street and came up to the consul-general's
office—Mr. Severance. I suppose there were twenty of them formed
there. There were perhaps twenty or twenty-four went over to the
minister's; the rest of them marched over to King street, the front
of the palace. They went over with guns, Gatling guns.
Q. The soldiers had Gatling guns?
A. Yes; they had everything ready to meet their enemies.
Q. How long did they stop in front of the palace?
A. I think they stopped in front of the opera house about three or
four minutes, and from there they went over to the front of the palace.
When they got there they saluted the flag.
Q. What flag?
A. The Queen's flag. The Queen generally had the flag up when she
was in the palace. From there they went over to the corner of the
palace. They remained there.
Q. How long?
A. About five minutes. From there they went over to Atherton,
the place where the consul-general lives. I was there myself. I saw
them sitting down smoking. After that I came to the Government
house. While I was there, I think they came from King street and
took charge of Arion Hall for that might.
Q. Who did the building belong to?
A. Mr. Gilbert J. Waller.
Q. They got it from him for occupation that night?
A. I do not know. I heard they went in without permission. They
remained there for the night.
176
Q. How long, altogether were the troops about the palace; how
much time did they stay there?
A. They stayed in front of the Opera House about five minutes and
Went over to the end of the palacegate and stayed another five minutes.
wº * they show any signs of being mad in any way—of wanting
ght
A. What I understand is this: I saw their guns like this (holding
his hands in a position to show that the weapons were ready for use),
facing them towards the palace. Their intention I do not know. That
evening everything around the town was very quiet. If I am not
mistaken there was a band playing at the hotel that evening. A very
important question in the minds of the people was: “Did you see the
troops of the Boston come? What does this all mean?”
Q. Who were talking in this way, whites or natives?
A. Whites and natives too. I said nobody knows. Perhaps they
have come to support the Queen's Government. I do not know.
will go back a little On Monday the white men held their meeting at
the armory. I was not there myself. There was nobody there except
foreigners and some Portuguese.
Q. When you say foreigners, do you mean whites?
A. Yes, Germans, Americans and different nationalities. I think,
from what I heard, there were only five natives there—Kanakas.
* Q. Who were º
A. One of them, I understand, is the editor of a newspaper under
the control of the Serano E. Bishop—J. U. Kawainui. I heard there
were five others.
Q. Was Wilcox there?
A. No, he was one of the speakers at the Palace square.
Q. Is he the man who headed the Wilcox revolution 1 ,
A. Yes. Wilcox says like this: “Any man who insults a lady is noth-
ing but a pig and a hog, and more especially a man who insults the
dignity of his Queen. He is nothing but a pig and a hog.” At that
time Wilcox had nothing to do with foreigners. He was strongly
opposed against them. Tuesday morning the town is very quiet.
The only question is this: What is all this? We never had any idea of
a revolution or disturbance. About afternoon the only excitement I
know we heard the news of the shooting of a man by Capt. Good, cap-
tain of the guard now at the barracks. He was sent to carry an order
from the station house to stop the man to carry guns and ammunition
that day. So Good shot him. People then saw there was some trouble
coming up. Before that I saw some of these people here. I mean
Thurston, C. L. Carter, W. L. Castle going around the streets. What
they did I do not know. I saw Charlie Carter before 12 o'clock go over
to Arion Hall and meet with one of the officers of the Boston's troop.
The conversation I do not know. That evening, about half past 2, we
heard the news of the proclamation of the Provisional Government and
the overthrow of the Queen.
Q. What time was that? §
A. About half past 2, I think. I did not look at my watch. I was
there myself. A gentleman, now a judge on the bench, Mr. Cooper, he
read the proclamation with his hand shaking.
Q. What day was this?
A. Tuesday the 17th. The marines of the Boston were lying between
the fence of the Government house. They were lying there when the
new government was proclaimed. Lying between the Government
house and Arion Hall.
Q. How far is Arion Hall from the Government house?
A. About 50 or 60 feet.
Q. When that mass meeting was in session on the 16th where were
the troops? Were there any troops on shore?
l à .o. After that, about 5 o'clock of the same day, the troops
all Cl601.
Q. What did that mass meeting determine on that day?
A. The day the troops landed?
Q. Yes.
A. I can not tell you positively what was the object of their meeting. "
As I heard it, they wanted to overthrow the Queen because she was
against her oath by her intention to proclaim a new constitution.
Before Cooper read his proclamation for a new government, the marines
of the Boston were lying at the same place. I was at the station house
at that time with plenty of foreigners and also natives—plenty of white
177
men and also natives ready to support Her Majesty the Queen's Gov-
ernment. We could have gone up there and cleaned those soldiers of
the Provisional Government out in fifteen or twenty minutes. We had
everything ready to go and fight. We could have cleaned up every
one of them in fifteen or twenty minutes.
The barracks were in the hands of someone for Her Majesty the
Queen. The station house was in the hands of foreigners and natives
under control of the Queen's Government. So you see the Government
building was the only place taken by the Provisional Government at
that time. The barracks, the Queen's palace, and the station house
were in the hands of the Queen's friends. I was one of the soldiers
ready to support the Queen's Government. I think about 500 of us
were there that day. Sa n Damon came down there. He went out to
Bill Cornwell, minister of finance; I saw him with Sam Damon.
Sam Parker was down at the station house. Peterson, the attorney-
general, was there; Antone Rosa was there; in fact, the whole cabinet
was there. The marshal was there; Deputy Marshal Martin was there,
and a large crowd ready to go up to the Government house against
the Provisional Government. While I was there I saw C. L. Hopkins
in a carriage with a letter, and he went up to his excellency Mr.
Stevens's residence. About half an hour afterwards Hopkins returned
to the station house again with his answer to that letter.
The answer was, I understand, I am not positive, “I recognize the
Provisional Government at this time.” That is my understanding. I
do not want you to think I saw the letter. We thought before Hopkins
went up there that his excellency Mr. Stevens was in favor of Her
Majesty's Government. When Hopkins arrived at the station house
and some of the members of the cabinet read the letter they told us
his excellency Mr. Stevens was in favor of the Provisional Government.
He would not support Her Majesty's Government. For that reason we
could not do anything, because we did not want to fight with the United
States Government.
Q. When this man came back from the American minister with the
letter recognizing the Provisional Government was the Queen then in
possession of the barracks and the palace and the station house?
A. She was in control of the palace, in control of the barracks, and
the station house. She was ready to meet the Provisional party. I
assure you if Mr. Stevens had never sent any letter of that kind that
evening I have no doubt the people in the Government building would
have to clean out.
Q. How many were there?
A. About 50.
Q. Who knows how many troops the white people had there then—
who else besides yourself knows about it?
A. Antone Rosa knows it; Henry Poor, he is three-fourths white;
Charles Hopkins, and several others. At the time that man returned
from Minister Stevens's house the station house, the barracks, and the
palace were in control of the Queen.
Q. Was the Queen in possession of the barracks, station house, and
palace when the proclamation was read?
A. Yes; I am sure. When we had news from Mr. Stevens in
favor of the Provisional Government, then some of our friends said:
It is no use for us to go and fight the Americans. There are few soldiers here but
there are 65,000,000 of people behind. It is no use to fight.
If Mr. Stevens had never sent that letter to recognize the Provi-
sional Government I say Her Majesty would have remained on the
throne to-day.
Next morning I read a letter from Minister Stevens in the newspaper.
He said:
I recognize the Próvisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, because it takes
the palace, the station house, and the barracks. That is my reason why I recognize .
the Provisional Government.
Now he had recognized the Provisional Government before they had
taken charge of the station house, the palace, or the barracks. There
was only the Government house in the hands of the Provisional Gov-
ernment. We could not fight the United States. If Mr. Stevens had
never sent any word of that kind, if he had never interfered, you would
see these people cleaned out in fifteen or twenty minutes, and the Queen
remain on her throne till to-day.
Q. How do you know what was in the letter which Mr. Hopkins
carried to Mr. Stevens?
B—23
178
A. I do not know, I saw Antone Rosa write a letter and Hopkins
took it to give to his excellency, Mr. Stevens.
% º: letter Mr. Rosa wrote in the station house?
• Y &S,
Q. When Hopkins came back he brought an answer. To whom?
A. To the members of the cabinet, because they remained in the
station house. W
Q. Where is the letter?
A. I suppose Sam Parker or the Queen has it.
Q. Will you find out and furnish me with the letters?
A. I will try.
Q. I want the letter taken by Mr. Hopkins and given to Mr. Stevens
and the reply.
A. Yes.
Q. Well, please continue your narrative.
A. Her Majesty the Queen did not surrender her Government to the
Provisional Government, but to the United States Government.
Q. How do a majority of the people feel towards the Provisional
Government?
A. They are against it.
Q. # what majority, if there was a vote on the Australian ballot
system
A. I do not think the Provisional Government would get one-tenth
of the native people from the Island of Hawaii to Niihau.
Q. That is the native people?
A. Yes.
Q. How about the whites?
A. I say I think nearly a majority of the white men in town is
against the Provisional Government, or perhaps half and half.
Q. I have heard a good many natives were signing papers here and
in other islands in favor of annexation. If that is true, how do you
account for it?
A. I think some of them have signed their names in favor of annex-
ation. I will give you the reason: Because their horses run in pasture
of very people in favor of annexation. Some of them work under
them on plantations. So they have control of them. Some natives sign
because they are afraid of being turned out from their work. They say
they will have no bread and butter; but if you declare an election like
the Australian law, when their master or boss would have no control
of them, it would differ.
. I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Col. Blount,
J. L. KAULUKOU.
No. 33.
Statement of Liliuokalani.
His Excellency JAMEs H. BLount:
SIR: On the morning of the 26th of November, 1890, I went to Iolani
palace, where I met His Majesty Kalakaua's ministers, Mr. J. A. Cum-
mins, C. N. Spencer, G. Brown, and A. P. Peterson, awaiting the
appearance of His Majesty.
We did not have to wait long and were ushered into the library, the
King seating me in his chair and formally introduced his ministers to
me. After exchanging assurances of fidelity to each other and faith-
fulness in the discharge of their official duties, the ministers left, and
the King and I were left to talk over matters.
He told me of things that had transpired a few months back. That
some of the ministers had thrown guns and ammunition into the sea from
the steamer Waimanalo. It was done to prevent him from having them,
and had evidently been directed by the reform party with whom a
portion of his ministers were in accord, instead of keeping them for his
protection and safety. These ministers were working with a party of
conspirators, who are the very same parties who have been the means
of the overthrow of my government on the 17th of January, 1893.
They are called the missionary or reform party. The King went on
to say that his guards had been reduced to twenty men and they were
barely sufficient to protect me if there should be any disturbance. He
179
had requested Mr. Cummins, minister of foreign affairs, to send back
to the palace all the guns that were at the station house and that the
carriages had been sent to the palace but the guns themselves had
been kept back. It was an insult by his cabinet and he felt keenly
his weakness; that he had no more power or influence since his cabinet
was working against him. He explained all these things because he
wanted me to study my situation so as to be able to cope with it.
The time for his departure on the U. S. S. Charleston drew near and
he bade the Queen and myself farewell, and I felt in my own heart
some misgivings that I would never see him again.
I spent a few nights in the palace and realized the insecurity of the
situation. Every two or three nights there was an alarm of some kind.
There was a fear that something was going to happen; what that some-
thing was no one could tell. Mr. Cummins had heard of some con-
spiracy but could not prove anything.
During the session of 1890 the Honolulu Rifles were disbanded, but
the members of that company were still allowed to carry arms in the
streets and to wear the uniforms.
I asked my husband, the Hon. John O. Dominis, how all this could
be allowed. He referred me to the minister of foreign affairs. On in-
quiring of the minister he said that they were part of the Knights of
Pythias and were permitted to carry arms. This was very unsatisfac-
tory, and my husband and I concluded that there must be some under-
handed dealings somewhere. After that I preferred to remain at
Washington Place, only going to the palace during office hours.
A few weeks passed, and during that time grand preparations were
made to receive the King on his return; but the morning of the 29th
of January, 1891, the city was startled with the news that the U. S. S.
Charleston was in sight with the Hawaiian flag flying at half mast.
I was so shocked by the news that it seemed as if I was in a maze,
especially as those things which took place on that day was all done
;d hurry by my ministers, of whom Mr. Godfrey Brown seemed to be
©8,010 r. ſº
Things that might have been put off for a day or two were all done
that day, and I had no time to think wisely of my situation, or to
realize the sad grief that had fallen on Kalakaua's Queen and myself
and on the whole nation.
On that day, at 11, I was told that I was to take the oath. I sent a
note immediately to my husband (at Washington Place) who was lying
on a sick bed, and told him of the arrival of my brother's remains, and
of all that had transpired, and he came to the palace weak as he was.
We conversed on the subject before us; also about the constitution.
I told him I did not wish to sign it, as there was a general feeling in the
community, and principally amongst the native Hawaiians, that it was
not a good constitution, as it had been forced on the King and the
.* people, but my husband persuaded me to sign it, and I
opeyed.
At 2 o'clock p.m. we entered the room where all the privy councillors
were assembled and there, in their presence, I took the oath of office
and swore to abide by the constitution of 1887. As we left the room
and waited in the blue room to receive congratulations as well as con-
dolences, just before the members came in a piece of paper, hurriedly
written, was thrust in my hand, on which was written, “Do not sign the
constitution; I shall soon explain why.” But the deed was done. Chief
Justice Judd was the first who came forward, but instead of con-
gratulations, said in an undertone, “Should your ministers come up,
say to them that they may keep their portfolios.” I suspected some-
thing wrong and kept my countenance.
After all the others had come and gone their turn came. Mr.
Cummins, as head of the cabinet, said: “Your Majesty, we wish to say
that we are not quite sure that we can hold our commissions.” Then
Mr. Brown finished the sentence for him by saying that the constitution
distinctly states that the cabinet could only be dismissed by the Legis-
lature; therefore, all that was required would be to have new commissions
made out for them. It will be seen there is no clause in the con-
stitution providing for the cabinet in case of the demise of a sovereign.
I asked them each to keep their portfolios until after the King's funeral,
and at that time I would discuss the matter. On the 15th of February,
1891, the funeral took place, and on Monday, the 16th, at 9 a.m., Mr. Cum-
mins and I had a private conference. He evidently wanted to know
what my decision would be. Itold him I thought they ought to resign,
and I would give him another position.
180
At 10 I met the following gentlemen in the cabinet council: Mr. J.
A. Cummins, Mr. C. N. Spencer, Mr. G. Brown, Mr. A. P. Peterson. I
told them I had studied over the situation, and concluded that they
could not remain as my cabinet; that they ought to resign. They
said they had also considered the question and concluded that I ought
to give them new commissions, and asked me to give them more time
to consider, and it was granted them. It took two weeks before it was
finally settled.
At 12 m. of the same day an audience was granted to Admiral
Brown, as he intended to sail soon. When the hour for the reception
arrived, I was surprised when the American minister, J. L. Stevens,
came also, as no notice had been previously given to my chamberlain
that it was his intention to come.
After the usual form of presentation was over Mr. Stevens took the
opportunity to make an address, which I thought was not at all suited
to the occasion. It was the first step that Mr. Stevens took to inter-
fere, and I felt at the time that he would take some future occasion to
make trouble. Two days after Admiral Brown remarked to me that I
did not seem overpleased with Mr. Stevens's speech and that my eyes
flashed fire.
Two weeks elapsed, when the cabinet consulted the supreme bench,
and was told that they could not hold their seats or positions without
I gave them new commissions, so they resigned.
The reading of the King's will took place, and Admiral Brown was
invited by the Queen dowager to be present. I appointed my new
cabinet. They were Mr. S. Parker, minister of foreign affairs; Mr. C.
N. Spencer, minister of interior; Mr. H. A. Widemann, minister of
finance; Mr. W. A. Whiting, attorney-general. 1 also appointed Mr.
C. B. Wilson marshal.
Before I appointed my ministers Messrs. Bush and Wilcox called
and offered their services, but as Mr. Bush had shown his ingratitude
to the late King, and Mr. Wilcox a disposition of disobedience on the
occasion of his revolution of 1884', I felt I could not have such men for
ministers, and appointed others, which made them very angry.
I began a tour to the different islands with my husband and quite a
large retinue. It took us nearly six months to make a complete tour,
now and then returning between times to Honolulu on business mat-
ters, and in the month of July my husband was taken sick and on the
27th of August, 1891, he breathed his last. I felt his loss very much,
as his experience of several years' service with Kamehameha IV
and V, and also under Lunalilo and Kalakaua's reign, proved valu-
able to me. He was a kind and affectionate husband, a man of honor,
and esteemed by all who knew him. To those whom he gave in charity
it was never spoken of His death was a severe loss, for I needed him
most at that time to advise with in the affairs of state.
Soon after the appointment of my ministers I asked my husband to
come to the palace and stay. He did not wish to because he had to
climb those long stairs; so I told him I would have the bungalow put
in repair and furnished, and Mr. Robertson, my chamberlain, had
instructions to that effect, and to see that it was done.
My husband made a request that when the ministers were ready to put
up the iron fence around the palace grounds (for which the Legislature
of 1890 had given appropriations) he would like to have a wicket gate
made for his own convenience. I told him to speak to Minister Spen-
cer, which he did, but the gate was not finished until 1892, and it had
never been used by anyone except Mr. Robertson, my chamberlain, to
let the young ladies and gentlemen of the Minuet Club pass through.
Here I will state that in 1889 that palace walls had just been
completed at a great expense to the Government and after the Wilcox
revolution, this very L. A. Thurston, the agitator, who was in the cabi-
net that year, saw fit without any regard to the heavy amount expended
.0n the wall, ordered the whole wall to be torn down; hence the appro-
priation of 1890 for an iron fence. The missionary ladies' party clapped
their hands with glee as they stood outside the post-office and said,
“Thank the Lord the country is ours.” Had their fathers left a dying
request that they should eventually control and hold power over these
1slands? One would suppose so from the actions of their sons and
daughters.
I return to the events which took place after my husband's death.
I asked my cousins Princes Kawananakoa and Kalauiauole to come
and stay at the bungalow, but they did not seem inclined to do so, so

181
one day Mr. Wilson asked if he and Kitty, his wife, might not come
and stay with me, as he thought that it was necessary I should have
some one near me to protect me, as he was fearful that some evil-
minded person might do me harm, as there were parties who did not
hesitate to make hateful remarks about me in his presence. Perhaps
I was the obstacle to the full accomplishment of their wishes—that is
02.067°.
p Mr. Wilson is a man of great decision and firmness of character, and
as he had been appointed marshal of the Kingdom, I thought it would
not be out of the way if I did accept his offer. I regretted in one sense
shortly after that, that I had consented, because he was not the same
person I had known as a boy. He was 19 years of age when he courted
Evaline, a young girl who had almost grown up in our household, and
my husband and I encouraged their marriage; but many years had
flown by, and he had been through rough experience in his duties and
exhibited now and then how well suited he was to the appointment of
gºal. He had a brave heart and his wife I have a great fondness
Or,
The Legislature, Mr. Wilson said, was about to convene, and it was
necessary for him at such a time to be near me, and I thought it best
to let them remain till after the prorogation.
The day arrived for the opening of the Legislature, and I felt that
my troubles had commenced. With such a party of men as those who
comprised the Reform party, and with such unscrupulous men as
Thurston, W. O. Smith, Alex. Young, J. Marsden, W. C. Wilder, and
Henry Baldwin, as leaders, I knew that my cabinet would find it a
difficult matter to contend against such a party.
Laws were made mostly for their special benefit, and others that
would prove injurious to the Hawaiians and other nationalities. They
brought in measures which only tended to prolong the session and to
give them time for their scheme of annexation to ripen. In the mean-
time Thurston took a trip to the States to attend to his cyclorama, and
at the same time try to make stipulations for annexing these islands.
In the month of August the Reform party began their policy of dis-
missing the ministry. They made promises to Mr. Cummins, of the
National Reform, and Bush, Wilcox, and Ashford, of the Liberal party
and P. P. Kanoa of seats in the cabinet if they joined their party, and
they did so, besides taking Kamauoha, losepa, and another member
with them, which made the Reform party very strong. On the 31st of
August, for no good cause, the Parker ministry was voted out inaccord.
ance with a clause in the constitution of 1887, that any minister could
be voted out by a majority of the members of the House for “want of
confidence.” It had been decided by myself and cabinet that our policy
should be one of economy and retrenchment. This had been our course
from the commencement of my reign, binding ourselves strictly to and
guiding our course according to the laws and regulations of our King-
dom. The Parker ministry had no sooner gone out than twenty-five
Hawaiian members of the House petitioned me to appoint Mr. Parker
again. Next day Mr. Baldwin asked for audience and came with a
request that I would receive the Hons. Kanoa and Kauhane and ask
them to form a cabinet for me.
I received those gentlemen, but they brought with them a petition
with a list of names, principally of the Reform party, that I would
nominate from those names my cabinet. They called the [sic] a con-
stitutional principle. I knew if I yielded to their request i would be
yielding my own right under the constitution, which gave me the right
to appoint and the house to dismiss.
Two weeks passed and I appointed Minister Parker, Gulick, Macfar-
lane, and Neumann. The policy of this ministry was retrenchment in
all directions, and Mr. Macfarlane, as minister of finance, immediately
set to work with that purpose in view, and laid many satisfactory plans
for them to pursue. In order to carry out the rigid economies prepared
by Mr. Macfarlane, I consented to a reduction of $10,000 in the appro-
priation for my privy purse and further reductions in “household
expenses, state entertainments, and the military.”
They had, however, been in office only a few days when the American
minister, J. i. Stevens, made a request through Minister Parker that he
would like to call on me the next day, the 16th of October, and that he
would bring his secretary with him. The hour was set for 11 and a
cabinet council was called to sit at 10. When the hour arrived, the
cabinet rose to depart. I asked them to remain, but Mr. Macfarlane
182
begged to be excused, as he had once, while as noble in the house,
brought in a resolution against Mr. J. L. Stevens on account of a speech
he made on the 30th of May, reflecting on the administration in Hawaii.
Mr. Gulick and himself were excused and Mr. Parker and Mr. Neumann
remained. Mr. Parker went to the door and received Mr. Stevens and
at the same time asked what was the purpose of his visit, that he
might apprise me. Mr. Stevens said he would mention it to me in per-
son. They entered, followed by Mr. H. W. Severance. He seated
himself in a manner which no gentleman would in the presence of a lady,
and drew from under his arm a document which he read, stating that
my. Government had grossly insulted him, the ambassador of the
United States and minister plenipotentiary for that nation, and hold-
ing them responsible for an article which appeared in the Bulletin
reflecting upon his indifference in sending relief to the captain and
crew of a shipwrecked American vessel.
He then read a clause in international laws relating to a minister's
position in foreign lands. While he was reading he seemed to be labor-
ing under great excitement and anger, and when he finished reading I
rose and said my cabinet would give the matter their best considera-
tion, whereupon Mr. Stevens and Mr. Severance took their leave. Was
be seeking to make trouble? I remarked to Mr. Parker and Mr. Neu-
mann that it appeared that way. Next day a lunch was given by the
ladies of the Central Union Church; the occasion was to help pay for
the new church on Beretania street. Mr. Henry Severance took the occa-
sion to say to me that he was entirely ignorant as to the intention of
Minister Stevens before they arrived at the palace, as he had not told
him of the object of the visit and was surprised at Mr. Stevens's con-
duct. I did not answer. Some correspondence passed between Mr.
Stevens and my ministers, which resulted in the cabinet entering a suit
§. libel against the Bulletin, which was afterwards withdrawn by Mr.
tevens.
It was during this month that a meeting was held at the residence
of Mr. Alexander Young, and a discussion arose as to my obstinacy in
not appointing one of their number. They called this “constitutional
principle.” At this meeting it was proposed to dethrone me. The
question was asked how it was to be accomplished, when it was stated
that Capt. Wiltse of the Boston would assist.
Changes of ministry followed rapidly. The Cornwell cabinet lasted
only one hour. Its members were W. H. Cornwell, J. Nawahi, C.T.
Gulick, and C. Creighton. Without giving this cabinet any trial they
were immediately voted out.
Here I must mention that when the Mafarlane ministry was voted
out I wished to send them back to the house again, but Mr. Macfarlane
and Mr. Neumann advised to the contrary. I felt loath to give up a
cabinet composed of men in whom I had reason to know the community
i. confidence that their transactions would be straightforward and
onest.
The Wilcux {. cabinet came next. They were appointed by
stratagem, as I found out afterwards. The policy of this cabinet was
retrenchment, no changes in the monetary system of the country, and
to make a commercial treaty which would bring us in closer relation-
ship with the United States.
Their first policy they failed ro carry out, as they went into all sorts
of extravagant measures, such as $5,000 for sending a commission to
Washington—and that commission were to consist of Thurston, Wil-
cox, and others—with the purpose of annexing these islands; $12,000
to send the band to Chicago, and $50,000 for the Volcano road. All
these measures were for Mr. Thurston's private benefit, but were passed
in the house. It had always been customary for the ministry to con-
sult the King or sovereign in cabinet council on any measure of impor-
tance, but in this instance and on all occasions the cabinet had already
decided on those measures, and simply presented them to me for my
signature. I had no resource but to acquiesce.
henever I expostmlated their answer was generally “We have
consulted the chief justice, and are of one opinion.” I found that I was
simply a nonentity, a figurehead, but was content to wait patiently
until the next session, when probably they would be voted out.
It required diplomacy to overthrow the Wilcox cabinet and the Lib-
erals used it. The cabinet felt secure because those who worked
amongst the members as wire-pullers were so sanguine about their
success, but where corruption is practiced there is no stability, and such
it proved in this instance.
183
A short time before the overthrow of the Wilcox cabinet Cummins,
Bush, R. W. Wilcox, Ashford, and their followers, finding that their
hopes of being in the cabinet would never be realized, left and turned
to help the Liberals once more, and with the aid of some of the Nationals
they were successful. They did not like the actions of the cabinet when
it became known that the ministry had no consideration for the Queen
and were carrying things in such a high-handed way.
These members had been deceived by the Thurston party, and they
now combined to help the Liberals. Mr. White was the introducer of
the bill providing for a constitutional convention; also the opium and
lottery bills. He watched his opportunity and railroaded the last two
bills through the house, but he failed in regard to the first bill.
A vote of want of confidence was then brought in. Three days
before members flocked in at Washington Place and wanted to know
if I wanted to get rid of my ministers. I said “No, it is not my priv-
ilege,” they departed and others came and went. Mr. Colburn and
Ashford called and said they understood it was my wish. I answered
• them as I did the others. Mr. Ashford said “I see, Mr. Colburn, we
have made a mistake, but Your Majesty, should it be your desire to be
rid of your cabinet, we can be of great service in bringing it abou
but we would expect to have a representation in the new cabinet.”
asked who of their number they would put forward, and Mr. Ashford
replied “Mr. Cummins, Bush, and myself.” I made no further reply,
and they left.
It was a practice among some of the native members to sell their
votes for a consideration. This was taught them by the Thurston
party. They would come to me and then return to that party and
repeat all that was said, for which they were usually paid something.
The Liberals won and the cabinet was voted out, partly because they
were so sure of their success and on account of their own corrupt prac-
tices.
Mr. Geo. N. Wilcox and Mr. Robinson I have a high consideration
for. Mr. P. C. Jones is a hearty sympathizer with his party, while I
think Mr. Cecil Brown capable of doing anything that the Reform
party directed him to do. Mr. Berger's vote was the casting vote. It
was decided between Mr. Parker and myself that Mr. Widemann was to
be a member of the next cabinet and for that reason Mr. Berger voted
against the Wilcox cabinet. And so it was, for Mr. Widemann
gave his consent and afterwards he withdrew. The next day Mr. Par-
ker, Cornwell, Colburn, and Peterson were appointed. These gentle-
men were accepted by the majority of the people in the house, who
applauded them on their entrance, because they were men of liberal
views, although they were not considered representative men, because
they were not backed by moneyed men.
The same day of their appointment they advised me to sign the
opium and lottery bills. I declined at first, as I wanted to please my
lady friends, but they said there should be no hesitation on my part, as
the house had passed those bills by a large majority, and they had
been signed by the President and committee. I had no option but to
sign. It took place on the 13th of January, 1893.
During the month of November, 1892, a private note was sent me in-
forming me of the intentions of the American minister, J. L. Stevens,
with the aid of some of our residents, to perfect a scheme of annexation
and that the cabinet had knowledge of the fact, but I gave little heed
to it at the time.
On the 17th of December, 1892, another note was received, of which
the following is a copy:
Her Majesty Queen LILIUOKALANI, may it please your Majesty:
MADAM: Referring to the confidential communication I took the liberty of address-
ing your Majesty a few weeks ago, about the attitude and utterances of the Ameri.
can representatives here. the perfect correctness of which have been confirmed by
subsequent information, I now beg to be allowed to state, that through the same
trustworthy source I have been informed that in a Y.: late moment of effusion
some American official gave to understand that he had instructions to press ani
hurry up an annexation scheme, which he confidently expected to carry through at
no distant date, with the help and assistance of the present cabinet.
If your Majesty will kindly weigh this information by the side of the bold open
declarations and annexation'campaign made at the present time in the Bulletin, by
the Rev. Sereno Bishop, the well-known mouthpiece of the annexation party, I
think that your Majesty will be able to draw conclusions for yourself, and realize
not only that there is yet danger ahead, but that the enemy is in the household, and
that the strictest watch ought to be kept on the members of the present cabinet.
This again in strictest confidence from
our Majesty's humble and faithful servant.

184
The above was written by a gentleman in whose word I have great
confidence as a man who had the best interest of Hawaii at heart.
It was on the receipt of this note that I sent for the British com-
missioner, James H. Wodehouse, and asked his advice on the matter.
I asked whether he thought it would be wise for me to invite all the
foreign representatives of the diplomatic and consular corps fearing that
a disturbance might arise over the political situation. He said he
should notinterfere with our local matters, and he dissuaded me from the
idea, as he said it was like acknowledging that there was actual danger.
“Did I think there was any danger?” I answered, “there might be.”
The morning of the 14th of January, 1893, arrived with all prepara-
tions for the closing of the Legislature. At 10 a. m. I called a cabinet
meeting for the purpose of apprising them of their positions in the
house and other preliminary instructions. I told them it was my inten-
tion to promulgate a new constitution. The cabinet had to meet the
Legislature and we adjourned. At 12 m. I prorogued the Legis-
lature. I noticed that the hall was not filled as at the opening. There
were not many ladies present in the audience, and I also noticed that
several members of the Legislature belonging to the Reform party were
not there. This looked ominous of some coming trouble.
On entering the palace I saw Mr. Wilson at the entrance of the blue
room. I went up to him and asked if all was ready. He replied,
“Yes.” Then I said, “You will have to be brave to day,” and I passed
into the blue room and sat awaiting my ministers. A half hour passed
and they did not come. After a little longer delay they arrived. I
immediately judged from their countenances that something was
wrong. I had a few days before planned that I would sign the consti-
tution in the throne room and in the presence of the members of the
Legislature, the majority of whom had been elected by the people for
the purpose of working for a new constitution.
At the commencement of my reign petitions were sent from all parts
of the kingdom asking for a new constitution. . Mr. Iosepa, of Hani;
Kauhi, of Ewa; Nahinu, of Molokai; Kanealii, of Waihee; Kamauoha,
of Kohala, and other members came to me repeatedly and asked for a
new constitution. Mr. Parker, from the commencement of his ministry,
advocated a new constitution, as well as most of my friends, but I was
cautious in my answers to them; but to Mr. Parker I had always said
it would be a good thing, and he said he would sustain me when the
proper opportunity arrived.
A month later I met two members of the Legislature, and started in
to make up a new constitution from Kamehameha V and that of 1887.
After completing it, I kept it till the month of October, when I placed
in the hands of Mr. A. P. Peterson, and asked him to correct it, and
if he found any defects to strike them out and to put in such clauses
as he thought would be good for the people and for the country. He
took it and kept it a whole month. To my knowledge he consulted
many lawyers and others in regard to many points of interest in the
document. When it was returned I looked it over and found no
changes had been made, so I concluded that it was all right.
A week before the closing of the Legislature I asked Mr. Peterson
to make a preamble for my new constitution, but up to the day of pro-
rogation he had not made one.
Early in January I mentioned to Capt. Nowlein, of the household
guards, and Mr. Wilson, the marshal, my intention to promulgate a
new constitution, and to prepare themselves to quell any riot or out-
break from the opposition. They assured me they would be ready, and
I gave strict injunctions of secrecy and showed Mr. Wilson a plan of
the throne room on the day of the signing.
Mr. Parker and Mr. Cornwell had given me assurances of their
support before their appointment as ministers, while Mr. Peterson
understood that such was my intention, and although I had not men-
tioned it to Mr. Colburn, he had heard of it already from Mr. Peterson.
It appears that immediately on their learning of my intentions Mr.
Colburn, on the morning of the 14th of January, immediately acted the
part of a traitor by going to Mr. Hartwell, a lawyer, and informed him
of my intentions, an’, of course received instructions from him to strongly
advise me to abandon the idea. &
This, then, was the cause of the delay and my long waiting in the
blue room. The members of the diplomatic corps had been invited;
also the members of the supreme bench and members of the Legislature,
besides a committee of the Hui Kalaiaina. The latter were invited to
be present because it was through them that many petitions had been
185
sent to me. When the ministers arrived I told them everything in the
throne room was ready and the guests were awaiting our presence;
that we must not keep them waiting. I was surprised when the cab-
inet informed me that they did not think it advisable for me to take
such a step, that there was danger of an uprising, etc. I told them
that I would not have undertaken such a step if they had not encour-
aged me. They had led me out to the edge of a precipice and now were
leaving me to take the leap alone. It was humiliating. I said, “Why
not give the people the constitution and I will bear the brunt of all
the blame afterwards.” Mr. Peterson said, “We have not read the con-
stitution.” I told him he had had it in his possession a whole month.
The three ministers left Mr. Parker to try to dissuade me from my
purpose, and in the meantime they all (Peterson, Cornwell, and Col.
burn) went to the Government building to inform Thurston and his
party of the stand I took. Of course they were instructed not to yield.
When they went over everything was peaceful and quiet, and the
guests waiting patiently in the throne room.
The ministers returned and I asked them to read the constitution
over. At the end I asked them what they saw injurious in the docu-
ment. Mr. Peterson said there were some points which he thought
were not exactly suited. I told him the Legislature could make the
amendments. He begged that I should wait for two weeks; in the
meantime they would be ready to present it to me. With these
assurances I yielded, and we adjourned to the throne room. I stated
to the guests present my reasons for inviting their presence. It was
to promulgate a new constitution at the request of my people; that the
constitution of 1887 was imperfect and full of defects. Turning to the
chief justice I asked, “Is it not so, Mr. Judd’’ and he answered in the
affirmative, in the presence of all the members assembled.
I then informed the people assembled that under the advice of my
ministers, I had yielded, as they had promised that, on some future day
I could give them a new constitution. I then asked them to return to
their homes and keep the peace.
I noticed the look of disappointment in their faces when I retired.
During all that transpired in the blue room from, 1 o'clock p.m. to
4 p.m., I was not at all agitated; was as calm as could be expected
under the circumstances. When I reached the landing of the upper
hall I heard a commotion below in the yard, so I hurried to the front
veranda, accompanied by Prince Kawanauakoa and Kalaniauaole,
and from there I addressed the people, saying that their wishes for a
new constitution could not be granted just then, but will be some
future day. They must go home and keep the peace and to pray for
me, which they have done ever since.
There was a dinner prepared, at which forty persons sat down;
everything was orderly and without confusion in the palace, and
everything remained so all night. At 11 a.m. Sunday, the 15th, Mr.
Parker came in to say that there was a meeting taking place in the
Government building by the Reform party, but he did not say of
what nature. *
All Sunday everything seemed quiet until Monday morning. Even
if any great commotion had been going on I would have remained
indifferent; the reaction was a great strain, and all that took place
after that I accepted as a matter of course. It was the disappointment
in my ministry.
At about 10 a.m. Monday, the 16th of January, notice was issued
by my ministers, stating “that the position I took and the attempt I
made to promulgate a new constitution was at the earnest solicitation
of my people—of my native subjects.” They gave assurances that any
changes desired in the fundamental law of the land would be sought
only by methods provided in the constitution itself and signed by
myself and ministers. It was intended to reassure the people that
they might continue to maintain order and peace.
At about 5 p.m., however, the troops from the U. S. S. Boston were
landed, by the order of the United States minister, J. L. Stevens, in
Secret understanding with the revolutionary party, whose names are
L. A. Thurston, Henry Waterhouse, W. R. Castle, W. O. Smith, A. F.
Judd, P. C. Jones, W. C. Wilder, S. B. Dole, Cecil Brown, S.M. Damon,
C. Bolte, John Emmeluth, J. H. Soper, C. L. Carter. Why had they
landed when everything was at peace?
I was told that it was for the safety of American citizens and the
protection of their interests. Then why had they not gone to the resi-
dences instead of drawing in line in front of the palace gates, with


B—24.
186
#. #inted at us, and when I was living with my people in the
2,1300
p I was sitting alone in the blue room when Mr. Widemann and Dr.
Trousseau came in hurriedly to inform me of the approach of the
ãºid I asked them to go out and tell the people to be quiet, which
they did.
There was no intention on the part of the Hawaiians to harm them or
to raise any disturbance of any kind, nor was the life of any American
citizen in danger. These revolutionists, having their wicked plans
and objects in view, and feeling sure of the support from the American
minister, had worked their feelings to such a state of excitement that
they called a meeting of the citizens and met at the armory at Punch
Bowl street on Monday at 2 o'clock p. m. There may have been 1,200
present, but the majority of those present simply went to see and hear
what the revolutionists had to say, and had no sympathy with them or
their ideas. At the meeting they made incendiary remarks and
appointed what they called a committee of safety. The Hawaiians
called a massmeeting and passed resolutions supporting the actions
of the Queen. It was a movement intended to reassure the people
and to ward off the danger which they saw was approaching.
The troops remained in front of the palace until dark, when they
withdrew to the Arion Hall.
That evening the Royal Hawaiian Band played as usual at the
Hawaiian Hotel, and a large crowd of people met and eyerything around
was quiet and peaceful. Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock Mr. S. M. Damon
called at the palace. He told me that he had been asked to join a revo-
lutionary council, but that he had declined. . He asked me what he
should do and whether he should join the advisory or executive coun-
cils, suggesting that perhaps he could be of service to me; so I told him
to join the advisory council. I had no idea that they intended to estab-
lish a new Government.
At about 2:30 p.m. the establisment of the Provisional Government
was proclaimed, and nearly fifteen minutes later Mr. J. S. Walker came
and told me “that he had come on a painful duty, that the opposition
party had requested that I should abdicate.” I told him that I had no
idea of doing so, but that I would like to see Mr. Neumann. Half an
hour later he returned with the gentleman, and I explained to him my
position, and he advised that I should consult my friends. I immedi-
ately sent for Mr. J. O. Carter, Damon, Widemann, Cleghorn, my
ministers, also Mr. Neumann, Walker, and Macfarlane being present.
The situation being taken into consideration and found, that since the
troops of the United States had been landed to support the revolution-
ists, by the order of the American minister, it would be impossible for
us to make any resistance. Mr. Damon had previously intimated to
Mr. Parker that it was useless to resist, their party was supported by
the American minister. Mr. Damon also said at the meeting that it
was to be understood that I should remain at the palace and continue
to fly the royal standard. At 6 p.m. I signed the following protest:
I, Liliuokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against
myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain
rsons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this King-
Iſl,
O
That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose minister
£º His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops
be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional
Government.
Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do,
under this protest and impelled by said forces, yield my authority until such time
as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it,
undo (?) the action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which I
claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Done at Honolulu this 17th day of January, A. D. 1893.
§ LILIUOKALANI R.
(Signed SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister#ſ Foreign Affairs,
(Signed) WM. H. CoRNwell,
Minister of Finance.
(Signed) JoHN F. Col.BURN,
Minister of Interior.
(Signed) A. P. PETERson
Attorney- General.
Addressed) *
o S. B. DóLE, Esq., and others composing the Provisional Govern-
ment of the Hawaiian Islands.
ºr
187
A letter was sent to the marshal of the Kingdom requesting him to
deliver everything to the Provisional Government.
All that night and next day everything remained quiet.
At 10 a.m. the 18th, I moved to Washington Place of my own accord,
preferring to live in retirement.
On the 19th of January, I wrote a letter to President Harrison, mak-
ing an appeal that justice should be done.
His Excellency BENJAMIN HARRIsoN,
President of the United States :
MY GREAT AND Good FRIEND: It is with deep regret that I address you on this
occasion. Some of my subjects, aided by aliens, have renounced their loyalty and
revolted against the constitutional Government of my Kingdom. ... They have
attempted to depose me and to establish a Provisional Government in direct conflict
with the organic law of this Kingdom. Upon receiving incontestable proofs that
his excellency the minister plenipotentiary of the United States aided and abetted
their unlawful movement and caused United States troops to be landed for that
purpose, I submitted to force, believing that he would not have acted in that man-
ner unless by authority of the Government which he represents.
This action on my part was prompted by three reasons, the futility of a conflict
with the United States, the desire to avoid violence and bloodshed and the destruc-
tion of life and property, and the certainty which I feel that you and your Govern-
ment will right whatever wrongs may have been inflicted upon us in the premises.
In due time a statement of the true facts relating to this matter will be laid before
you, and I live in the hope that you will judge uprightly and justly between myself
and my enemies.
This appeal is not made for myself personally but for my people who have hitherto
always enjoyed the friendship and protection of the United States.
My opponents have taken the only vessel which could be obtained here for the
purpose, and hearing of their intention to send a delegation of their number to pre-
sent their side ef this conflict before you I requested the favor of sending by the
same vessel an envoy to you to lay before you my statement as the facts appear to
myself and my loyal subjects.
his request has been refused and I now ask you that in justice to myself and to
my people that no steps be taken by the Government of the United States until my
cause can be heard by you. I shall be able to dispatch an envoy about the 2d day
of February, as that will be the first available opportunity hence, and he will reach
#. with every possible haste that there may be no delay in the settlement of this
Iº
ter.
I § you, therefore, my good friend that you will not allow any conclusions to be
reached by you until my envoy arrives.
I beg to assure you of the continuance of my highest consideration.
Signed) LILIUOKALANI R.
It appears that President Harrison could not have taken notice of my
appeal, or perhaps he was as anxious as the Provisional Government to
annex these Islands, for the 16th of February I find he sent a message
to the Senate transmitting the treaty, with a view to its ratification,
without having first investigated or inquired into all the conditions or
points of our situation, or that of the United States itself. I will not
attempt to write the President's message, as you are already aware of its
text.
I also wrote a letter to Mr. Cleveland, dated the 31st of January, 1893.
His Excellency Grover CLEvelAND,
President-elect of the United States:
MY GREAT AND Good FRIEND: In the vicissitudes which happened in the Hawaiian
Islands, and which affect my people, myself, and my house_so seriously, I feel com-
forted the more that, besides the friendly relation of the United States, I have the
boon of your º and good will. w”
The changes which occurred here need not be stated in this letter; you will have
at the time at which it reaches Y. the official information, but I have instructed
the Hon. Paul Neumanh, whom I have appointed my representative at Washington,
to submit to you a précis of the facts and circumstances relating to the revolution in
Honolulu, and to supplement it by such statements which you may please to elicit.
I beg that you will consider this matter, in which there is so much involved for my
people, and that you give us your friendly assistance in granting redress for a "...#
which we claim has n done to us, under color of the assistance of the nava
forces of the United States in a friendly port. Believe me that I do not veil under
this a request to you the fulfillment of which could in the slightest degree be con-
trary to your position, and I leave our grievance in your hands, confident that in so
far as }. deem it proper we shall have your sympathy and your aid.
am, your good friend, -
LILIUOKALANI R.
On the 31st of January the Hon. Paul Neumann received his appoint-
ment as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United
States of America. On the 1st of February he departed for Washing-
fon, with Prince David Kawanauakoa to accompany him on his com
mission, to negotiate for a withdrawal of the treaty and to restore to
us what had been taken äway by the actions of the revolutionists. At
d
188
my request Mr. E. C. Macfarlane kindly consented to accompany the
commission.
Happily, Providence ordered otherwise than as was expected by the
revolutionists. Man proposes and God disposes. My commissioners
arrived in time to stay the progress of the treaty. The members of the
Senate became doubtful as to the correctness of the actions of the com-
missioners of the Provisional Government.
President Harrison's term expired, and President Cleveland's inau-
guration took place, and I hailed it as a good omen, having met him in
1887 while he occupied the Presidential chair that year, and I have not
been disappointed.
President Cleveland's first act has been to yithdraw that annexa-
tion treaty; the second, to send a Commissioner to investigate the
situation in Hawaii Nei.
Your arrival in this country has brought relief to our people and
your presence safety. There is no doubt but that the Provisional
Government would have carried out extreme measures toward myself
and my people, as you may have already seen ere this, by their unjust
actions. If the President had been indifferent to my petitions I am
certain it would have brought serious results to myself and tyranny to
my subjects. In this I recognize the high sense of justice and honor
in the person who is ruler of the American nation.
In making out this lengthy statement I will present the main points:
(1) That it has been a project of many years on the part of the
missionary element that their children might some day be rulers over
these islands and have the control and power in their own hands, as
was the case after the revolution of 1887. Mr.W.W. Hall openly stated
that they had planned for this for twelve years. It was a long-thought-
of project, a dream of many years. So also said Mr. F. S. Lyman, of
Hilo, in his speech to the people in the month of January. He said,
ºd ºn long years we have prayed for this, and now our prayers aré
(*3POls
The disposition of those appointed to positions of authority, to act
with the missionary element, tends to make the Government unstable,
i. because they found I could not easily be led by them, they do not
© In 62,
(2) The interference of the American minister, J. L. Stevens, in our
local affairs and conspiring with a few foreign people to overthrow me
and annex these islands to the United States, and by his actions has
placed me and my people in this unhappy position.
(3) My attempt to promulgate a new constitution. It was in answer
to the prayers and petitions of my people. They had sent petitions to
the late King, and to the Legislature ever since 1887.
The Legislature is the proper course by which a new constitution or
any amendments to the constitution could be made; that is the law.
But when members are bribed and the Legislature corrupted how can
one depend on any good measure being carried by the house? It is
simply impossible. That method was tried and failed. There was
only one recourse, and that was, that with the signature of one of the
cabinet I could make a new constitution. *
There is no clause in the constitution of 1887, to which I took my
oath to maintain, stating “that there should beho other constitution
but this,” and article 78 reads that—
Wheresoever by this constitution any act is to be done or performed by the King
or Sovereign it shall, unless otherwise expressed, mean that such act shall be done
and performed by the Sovereign by and with the advice and consent of the cabinet.
The last clause of the forty-first article of the constitution reads:
No acts of the King shall have any effect unless it be countersigned by a member
of the cabinet, who by that signature makes himself responsible.
My cabinet encouraged me, then afterwards advised me to the con-
trary. In yielding to their protest I claim I have not committed an
unconstitutional or revolutionary act, and having withdrawn, why i.;
; Reºrm party have gone on making preparations for war, as they
l
(4 and lastly.) That on the afternoon of the 16th of January, at 5p.m.,
the United States troops were landed to support the conspirators, by
orders of the United States minister, J. L. Stevens;
That on Tuesday, the 17th of January, 1893, at about 2:30 o'clock p
m., the Provisional Government was proc imed, and Minister Stevens'
assured my cabinet that he recognized them, that Government; that at
189
6 p.m. of the same day I yielded my authority to the superior force of
the United States.
We have been waiting patiently, and will still wait, until such time
as the Government of the United States, on the facts presented to it,
shall undo the act of its representative.
I hope and pray that the United States and her President will see
that justice is done to my people and to myself; that they will not
recognize the treaty of annexation, and that it may forever be laid
aside; that they will restore to me and to my nation all the rights that
have been taken away by the action of her minister; that we may be
permitted to continue to maintain our independent stand amongst the
civilized nations of the world as in years gone by; that your great
nation will continue those kind and friendly relations that have always
existed for many years past between the two countries. I can assure
that Hawaii and her people have no other sentiment toward America
and her President than one of kindest regard.
The Provisional Government, instead of being under the guidance of
the President and cabinet, as the responsible heads of the nation, are
virtually led by irresponsible people, who compose the advisory coun-
cils and “provisional army,” and who set the laws of the land at defi-
ance. A continuance of this state of things I consider dangerous to
life and to the community.
I pray, therefore, that this unsatisfactory state of things may not con-
tinue and that we may not suffer further waste, justice may be
(speedily granted and that peace and quiet may once more reign over
our land, Hawaii Nei.
LILIUOKALANI,
*
*
No. 34.
Interview with Albert B. Loebenstein, of Hilo, Hawaii, surveyor and
civil engineer, Tuesday, April 11, 1893.
Mr. BLou NT. What is your business?
Mr. LOEBENSTEIN. I take charge of lands belonging to the Govern-
ment in réspect to rents and suggestions I am pleased to give relative
to their reservation, whether best to sell them or what disposition.
Iº Will you tell me in whose hands the lands of the islands gener-
ally are
A. Government lands?
Q. The whole land system?
A. The Crown lands, the Government lands. The amounts of
Government land is about 873,000 acres and of Crown over 900,000
acres, throughout the group.
Q. Who owns the residue?
A. Bishop estate and private parties?
Q. What is the amount owned by private parties?
A. I can not say. The report of 1890 will give the figures of that.
Q. Can you tell me as to the holdings of the Kanaka population?
A. They are very small indeed.
Q. Can you give me any figures? *
A. I can not. The tax returns would give that most accurately.
Q. To whom should I apply for that?
A. To the minister of finance. I know it is very small, and each
year diminishes in amount.
Q. By leases and sales?
A. Mostly by mortgages, which foreclose by nonpayment of interest
and principal. The Chinese have a large amount of lands which were
originally assigned to Kanakas on these islands.
Q. Have they absolute title?
A. In most instances they hold by lease.
Q. They are not lands which belonged to the chiefs 1
A. No; they are lands which come under the head of Kuleanas–
Small holdings, seldom over 5 acres in extent, and on these islands
they are the principal lands which form taro patches and receive irri-
gation. They are now controlled by the Chinese.
Q. The Chinese are not owners of sugar plantations, are they
A. No; I believe there is but one sugarplantation owned by Chines
and that is on the island of Molakai. That has since been sold, an
190
now the only plantation interest owned or controlled by Chinese is one
on the island of Hawaii, and more particularly the plantation of
Pepeekeo, in the district of Hilo, of which one-third of the capital stock
is owned by one C. Afong.
Mr. LOEBENSTEIN continuing at 11 o'clock Wednesday, April 12.
Mr. BLOUNT. This is a map of Hawaii?
Mr. LOEBENSTEIN. Yes.
Q. What do the various colors represent?
A. The yellow represents land belonging to the Crown, the green
that owned by the Government.
Q. And the remainder? •
A. The remainder represents individual ownership and other owner-
ship, including lands conveyed by the Government, and also Kuleanas,
which represent small parcels conveyed to the original tenants, who
resided on the land at the time that the land system was established.
Q. By whom?
A. By Kamehameha III. They were conveyed by the King on con-
firmation of the land commission subsequent to 1848.
Q. Were not some of them conveyed to chiefs?
A. No; all the lands which were conveyed to the chiefs were merely
in reward for services rendered by their ancestors at the time of the
conquest by Kamehameha I.
Q. Now, what part of the lands, outside of the Government lands
and the crown lands, belongs to what is known as Kuleanas, and what
part belongs to individuals and corporations?
A. At the time the awards were made about 11,000 acres in all were
conveyed as Kuleanas by the King and privy council. Subsequent to
that, and I might say for a short time preceding, sections of land were
sold by the King, and subsequently by the Government, and royal
patented to individuals—Hawaiians and foreigners—about 290,000 acres
in all.
Q. What part of the 290,000 acres did the natives get?
A. On the Island of Hawaii, two-thirds; this is approximate. I want
to be on the safe side, giving the Hawaiians the benefit of the ratio.
Then there remained, of course, the lands which are still owned by the
Government, and also those which come under the crown lands proper.
On figuring up the area of the crown lands of Hawaii, allowing for
those lands whose area is not correctly known, I should say there
were over 625,000 acres of crown lands on the Island of Hawaii. There
are nearly 600,000 acres of Government land. There are lands which
come under the head of unassigned lands, and also those which have
not yet been investigated, that I should say were nearly 150,000 acres
In OTO,
Q. What do you mean by unassigned?
A. At the time the land system was established a list of lands was
made out. Certain lands were to be given to chiefs; others were
reserved by the King, and the remainder were to form what has since
been called Government lands. Certain lands were overlooked, and
have since come under the head of unassigned lands. The larger por-
tion of the crown lands are now under lease for long terms of years.
Q. What is the limit?
A. Thirty years, allowed by law. A number of these leases have
lately been made, which of course throws them out of any calculation
for development by small settlers for sometime to come.
Q. To whom are they leased?
A. Corporations.
Q. And for what purpose?
A. Grazing purposes and cane cultivation. That land is only suita-
ble for that purpose and also for the needs of planters.
Q. What do you mean by the needs of planters?
A. They felt that they required land for the purpose of planting
cane, and they offered so much a year, and generally they got it—
sometimes far below the actual value. I know of several instances
yº. leases have been executed for crown lands far below their actual
Walue,
Q. To corporations?
A. Yes. Of course a large quantity part of this crown land is abso-
lutely worthless. A reference to the map will show that most of these
crown lands converge towards the backbone of the island. Then there
is a large amount of lava and other volcanic country unfit for anything,

. 191
but enough remains to be applicable to purposes of farming, especially
small farms. In the higher altitudes crops can be raised which are
grown in temperate zones, and nearer the level of the sea tropical
products. ... I should say that of these 625,000 acres 50 per cent can be
made available, after the leases which now tie them have expired. I
think the value of the crown lands has been very much overrated.
Q. You speak of the natives owning Kuleanas, and then of their
having gotten lands sold by the Government.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The latter class; are they in small parcels or not?
A. The largest amounts of land sold to the native Hawaiian by the
Hawaiian Government are seldom over 100 acres in extent. There
are some which are of larger area, and when so have generally been
purchased by a number of individuals pooling together.
Q. Well, now, the pooling of these lands; who owns them?
A. To-day?
Q. Yes.
A. Individuals.
Q. For sugar culture?
A. Yes, and for grazing. I should say that by far the larger part is
now in the hands of foreigners.
. Did the natives sell it?
. They sold it and they raised money on it by mortgage, and in
some instances lost it by foreclosure.
Q. Have they conveyed away in that way the larger proportion of
their holdings?
A. I should say that not over 10 per cent of the land originally con-
veyed to the Hawaiians or purchased by them from the Government
has remained in their hands to-day.
ti Q. Fle lands sold then are generally in the hands of these corpora-
OnS
A. Yes, sir. I should state, in this connection, that the larger portion
of the iands sold by the Government is situated in the districts of Kohala,
Hamaqua, and Hilo, the three districts on the island of Hawaii
which now produce over one-half of the crop of the Hawaiian Islands,
over 60,000 tons. The districts of Kona and Kau in the olden times
were mostly settled by Hawaiians. The fishing was good, and they
preferred to live there in preference to living on the windward side of
the Island. As the plantations throughout the group expanded and
their needs for land increased, it gradually assumed control of these
little sections.
Q. By purchase?
A. The process would...be this: The Hawaiian would get hard up.
He wanted to raise money on his property, and of course the planta-
tion was always ready to advance that money; or if he went to other
parties it would sooner or later be transferred to the plantation. The
man who had made him advances would want hisinterest or principal, and
in the natural course of events it always came over to the corporation,
i.this is how they managed to obtain the whole or larger part of the
3DOle
Q. N*w, the lands on the leeward; who are they owned by now
mostl
A. #he ownership is about even between the descendants of the
original awardees and the others who have obtained control in the
manner I have just stated.
Q. What are they used for?
A. For grazing lands and sites for dwellings. The leeward side is
largely volcanic—very rough and rocky—and the lower contours are
unfit for anything but grazing. The higher contours are generally on
larger awards, which are now owned by others. This condition holds
good with the other islands as on Hawaii, only more emphatically so.
Q. You mean to say that these changes of title are more emphatic
than on Hawaii?
A. Yes; Hawaii is only a sugar-producing island of comparatively
i. date, while Maui and Kauai were the initial points of the sugar
industry.
Q. How about this island?
.A. Sugar on this island is of comparatively recent date. The total
amount of land owned by Hawaiians on these islands does not exceed
7,000 acres. I am giving approximate figures.
Q. How much is owned by other parties?
192
A. The remainder. I think the area of this island is about 340,000
or 350,000 acres.
Q. And the remainder, after taking out the amount owned by
natives?
A. About 65,000 acres is owned by the Crown; a small tractis owned
by the Government and the Bishop estate, and private parties, mostly
foreigners, come in for the remainder. Of the 7,000 acres I have
given 1,200 acres or thereabouts is now under cultivation by the
Chinese in rice and taro patches.
Q. Did they get that from the natives?
A. Yes. The remaining 6,000 is what is called Kula land, or plateau
land. It is all heavily mortgaged.
Q. About what rate of interest is charged?
A. The legal rate is 9 per cent.
Q. Suppose more than that is charged?
A. If it is with the consent of the mortgagor, he is held.
§ Loebenstein here presented a map of the island of Maui.)
. Will you please tell me what opportunity you have had for get-
ting this information you have been giving this ºf:
A. I have been a surveyor for a number of years and I am constantly
traveling over all the islands of the group. I have taken great inter-
est in the land system here and given it a careful study. I know the
Hawaiian language thoroughly—I speak it, read it, and write it.
Q. How long have you been in the islands?
A. Off and on, fifteen years. I was born at Macon, Ga.
? § have not been south since you have been away?
• JN 0.
Q. Your surveying has been done at the instance of private parties
or the Government?
A. Both. The Government has frequently retained me for work
when their own corps was insufficient to carry on the work, but I am
not a salaried Government official.
Q. You have perhaps found it more profitable to have private
employment?
A. Oh, by far.
Q. When employed by the Government you get the same rate of
ay?
A. I. charge the same rate as I do to private parties. I would say
this—that I also hold an appointment as Government land agent for
the island of Hawaii, and my duties are to maintain an oversight and
supervision of Government lands. I have always endeavored to look
out for the interest of the people as against the grasp and greed of
other parties—that is in respect to fair figures for rentals, and setting
apart such lands as I think should be set apart for homestead settlers,
so as to give the experiment of small farming in the country a fair
trial. Of the lands set apart for homestead purposes on the island of
Hawaii there are about 7,000 acres in all, which have been laid out in
tracts not exceeding 20 acres.
Q. Now, going from the land question, do you know anything about
the causes which led to the dethronement of the Queen and the estab-
lishment of the Provisional Government?
A. I believe I have kept myself posted on the events of the day. I
believe I understand to some extent how the crisis was brought about.
Q. Please give me your views.
A. Since the forcing of the new constitution upon Kaulakaua there
has been a constant endeavor on the part of the Sovereign to under-
mine those constitutional checks which were set against the royal pre-
rogative. That of course led to constant collision.
Q. You mean force? e
A. No; constitutional collision. In many instances the constitu-
tional side of the question, as I understand it, was set aside. That is
to say, by opinions and decisions from the highest court in the land—
the supreme court. The sovereign was generally sustained. All these
different results and different tendencies finally combined in making
the issue very plain and broad. Then again the Hawaiian looks upon
the Government and upon official position as a legitimate source from
which to fill his pocket. In other words, he is naturally corrupt.
The younger generation have only the one ambition—to become Gov-
ernment employés. For this reason the sovereign has generally been
able to depend on that element in its encroachments on constitutional
liberty. These different streams all converged into that revolution of
193
#
a few months ago, which set aside the Queen. I know, of course, that
at times there must have been a private understanding and differences
of opinion which were adjusted in order to maintain a peaceful condi-
tion of affairs.
Q. Who were these private understandings between?
A. In this statement I am giving my own individual opinion. I have
nothing authoritative, but events have occurred at times which any
lover of constitutional liberty, or anything which meant the independ-
ence of white men, would grit his teeth over and still find things would
remain the same.
Q. Did these differences run along the race line generally?
A. I could answer that in this way—that what differences there have
been have generally resulted in the race line being sharply drawn, and
the Hawaiian would of course use his vote in strengthening his side of
the case. There has been no working in harmony between the two
races for the last ten years.
Q. The difference then practically has been between the whites and
the Crown and the natives on such questions as you have already
indicated 1 Is that true?
A. It is undoubtedly so.
Q. Did there seem to be a general sentiment amongst the whites for
annexation?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. When did that get to be pronounced?
A. You mean as a public enunciation?
Q. You can state it both ways.
A. It became a public enunciation January 16, and before that time
there had been several. I know of one instance where the same move-
ment was in force to bring about annexation.
Q. What time was that?
A. Between the months of March and October of 1892.
Q. Was that the Ashford-Wilcox movement?
A. Yes; I was requested to join the movement. It was a secret
conspiracy at that time.
Q. The object being to dethrone the Queen? &
A. To overthrow the throne and have annexation. I won’t say to
what republic. It was the initial step to evolve a system of annexa-
tion.
Q. Why did it fail?
.A. In the first place the officials nabbed the head conspirators before
the thing was ready. My personal conviction is that the time was not
ripe; that capital, which is proverbially timid and slow to accept a new
order of things, was unwilling to embarkin the scheme.
Q. Did the leaders of that movement have anything to do with the
failure of the capitalists to join?
A. Yes, sir; I believe it was the want of responsible men—who were
known as men of, financial standing in the community—that was the
cause of the failure. Some of the leaders who were then annunciating
annexation are now violently opposed to it.
Q. And were they on the 16th of January 1
A. I know of two who in public utterances opposed the movement.
Q. What is your judgment as to the disposition on the part of the
people toward the Provisional Government?
A. Hawaiians, you mean?
Q. You can take the several classes in such order as you want.
A. I believe the feeling among the whites generally is in support of
the Provisional Government. There are exceptions, but I think I have
a right to say they do not represent the respectable element in the
community.
Q. How are they in point of numbers? What percentage of the
white population?
A. I know there are very few.
Q. There is an English element here. How is it disposed towards
the present Government?
A. Equally divided as to annexation and nonannexation.
Q. Is it true or not that they and the whites generally are looking at
the matter from a business standpoint?
A. In my conversations with a number of leading sugar-planters
and managers who represent owners, they have advanced sever
reasons like this: We are fully aware that the bounty is a thing that
can be knocked in the head. We do not care. We want better gov-
B—25
194
ernment. And as for the contract labor, we can get along without it.
We have enough Japanese in the country now. Some of them look at
the thing from a financial point of view, and might be unwilling to
express these views.
Q. What do they desire and expect if they entered into union with
the United States?
A. Stable government.
Q. What do you mean by stable government?
A. A government which is not under the pleasure of a sovereign
whose mere will or wish or pleasure will overthrow constitutional rights.
Q. The larger part of the population here is not white?
A. No, sir; they are not—whites only a small minority.
Q. Well, then, if the Portuguese and the Japanese and the Kanakas
were allowed suffrage, would they not overthrow the political power of
what is called the best people here?
A. The Hawaiians alone would do it without the aid of the other
elements.
Q. With that in view, what is the expectation of the better class as
#.. Question of suffrage in connection with their desire for annex-
8tºion
A. The original intention was—which is a matter of history—to apply
for union with the United States and to be accepted by them under a
territorial form of government.
Q. And so avoid the suffrage question?
A. Yes.
Q. Looking to the fact that, as you have said, the native population
would overwhelm the better elements in any political contest if manhood
suffrage was adopted, what condition, what relation could they hope to
have with the Government of the United States to protect them from
that situation? º
A. A territorial form of government, formed on lines parallel to the
government of the District of Columbia. That was the original idea
and expectation when the Queen was dethroned.
Q. After the Provisional Government was established?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You say that was the original idea?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is the idea now—any change of feeling or belief or hope?
A. I do not think so. I think the feeling remains the same; but, in
view of the opposition, which this has brought forth, the matter has
now evolved into a desire to give them civil rights.
Q. Who?
A. The Hawaiians.
Q. To what extent?
A. Votes.
Q. Without qualification?
A. That has not been entered into, so far as I know.
Q. Do you think, in view of what you have said about the Govern-
ment being overwhelmed by a popular vote, would you suppose they
would be satisfied to go into the Union, giving unqualified suffrage to
the native population?
A. I do not think they look that far ahead. I believe that the suf-
frage given to the Hawaiians would make them a football and an
object which different political parties would try their best to get
hold of. At the same time the Hawaiian has no love for the present
dynasty of sovereigns.
Q. And if the question of annexation was submitted now?
A. It would be overwhelmingly defeated.
Q. By whom?
A. By the Hawaiians.
Q. Have you thought over that, and are you giving me your deliber-
ate opinion?
A. I have studied the matter carefully.
Q. Then I will ask you why it is that so many of the native popula-
tion are signing petitions in favor of annexation?
A. It illustrates the natural instability and unreliability of the
Hawaiian character. He signs petitions in favor of one thing to-day
and repudiates it by signing a different one to-morrow.
Q. Then how could you feel assured that if submitted to a ballot he
would vote against annexation?
A. He is in the hands of political leaders of his own race.
195
Q. And their leaders are against it?
f A. Their leaders are at present against it. Personally, he is indif.
erent.
Q. The revolution of 1887, from which came the constitution of that
}. * that accomplished by the people about Honolulu and on this
Slaſh
A. The practical part of it was accomplished by the people of this
town. There were divisions and auxiliary branches sworn to bring
about the same results on the other islands.
Q. Made up of what race of people?
A. Whites, entirely.
Q. They did not participate in the actual movement in Honolulu at
the time of the overthrow of the Queen?
A. No; it was purely and simply a movement by the people of Hono-
ll.
Q. Was there any participation on the part of anybody on any other
island than this?
A. Only a moral support.
Q. I mean any physical force which was resorted to?
A. No; but a number of them were prepared to exert it if necessary
to do so. I was one of them. *
Q. You say there had been an organization in existence for some
time for that purpose among the whites?
A. For annexation?
Q. No; I am speaking of the movement of 1887.
A. Yes, sir; it was conceived some time in January, 1887, and culmi-
nated in June, if my recollection is correct.
Q. The object of it was to wrest from the King the authority to
appoint nobles?
A. Well, the object was to bring about a cleaner condition of affairs
and to check his tendency to absolutism.
Q. Where did they get their arms from?
A. From San Francisco, and they were supplied by varions mercan-
tile firms in this town. f would say that there were in existence sew.
eral militia companies who had arms and ammunition for sometime.
Q. In the movement of the 14th of January had there been any
Fººtion in the way of the white people possessing themselves of
3. TºS
A. I can only speak from hearsay and reading the papers.
Q. What did you believe? \
A. That there was no preconcerted action whatever.
Q. They went to the armory, it appears from some proceedings fur-
nished at Washington, and got arms. Do you know anything about
those arms? \
A. They were taken there after the mass meeting had been held in
town protesting against the action of the Queen.
Q. From what source taken there?
A. From several mercantile houses here.
Q. What kind of arms?
A. Rifles—Winchester and Springfield, and whatever guns were
there. Private citizens who had arms in their possession responded
and delivered them over to the committee of safety. When we heard
of this on the other islands we put our guns in order. I had several.
Q. * it the practice on the other islands to do as you did to have
§IIDS
A. No, it is not; but very few had been as prominently identified as
myself in matters of this kind. I had several rifles given to me at the
close of hostilities in 1889. There was fear that an outbreak might
occur on one of the other islands and naturally these arms and a lot of
ammunition were given to me.
Q. And were they distributed about town in the same way?
A. I do not believe they were. It was for fear hostilities might arise
and it was deemed best to distribute them there. A number there are
of men who frequently go hunting and as a rule have a rifle or two in
the house. But the Hawaiian is not naturally bloodthirsty. He is too
indolent, and any crisis or issue which would have to be fought out by
force of arms with native Hawaiians pitted against white men would be
merely the result of demagogue teachings.
Q. Is it not generally accepted here that the superiority of the
white race always suppresses the inferior races?
A. Yes; that is the feeling among white people.
$4.
196
Q. Is not that true?
A. Yes; emphatically true. e
Q. Whenever you get to an emergency and the people are thor-
oughly aroused there is a feeling on the part of the white people that
they can exert their will?
A. Certainly; and the average Hawaiian does not care.
Q. He is not disposed to fight?
A. No; it is not in him, but the leaders and half-castes—they are
the dangerous element in the community.
Q. Well, but in a contest with the whites have they ever been able
to successfully rally this native force?
A. No. I speak from experience, gathered in 1889, where a compara-
tively small body of whites were able to cope with an immeasurably
superior force of natives. The average Hawaiian really does not care
in this contest for annexation, but in any case at issue between his
color and white men he will side with his own race. Get the leaders
out of the way and the Hawaiians would very soon be reconciled. A
few leaders keep alive the race issue.
Q. Is it not easy in a legal way to get rid of these leaders?
A. They can be influenced by financial considerations.
Q. Then, in order to control popular elections here, it would be neces-
sary to resort to the use of money with the leaders?
A. I know it would be necessary or else give them places. The
younger men are the ones on whom these demagogues depend. The
younger ones really have a hatred of white men.
Mr. BLOUNT. Thank you. I will not detain you longer.
My father arrived in United States in 1848 from Germany. He was
more or less mixed up with political matters there. He was traveling
in Macon at the time I was born. I was brought up in New York
City—graduate of Cooper Union—as a civil engineer and mechanical
engineer. I was born in Macon in 1857, when my father, who was a
musical artist, was traveling.
I have carefully gone through the foregoing interview between Col.
J. H. Blount and myself and pronounce it to be an absolutely accurate
report.
ALBERT B. LOEBENSTEIN.
HoNolulu, April 17, 1893.
*
No. 35.
Interview with Curtis J. Lyons, assistanton Government survey, Honolulu,
Wednesday, April 12, 1893.
Mr. BLou NT. Mr. Lyons, I ask you to give me what you conceive to
be the causes of the revolution—the causes of the dethronement of the
Queen and the establishment of the Provisional Government?
Mr. Lyons. The revolution of 1887 was the spontaneous rising of
the better elements here against the ultramonarchical government of
Kalakaua.
Q. Let me interrupt you here. What do you mean by the better
element of the people?
A. By the better element I mean the leading element in society and
in business.
Q. And what nationalities would cover that?
A. Americans, English, and Germans.
Q. Please proceed.
A. The influence of the King over the Legislature was one of the
grievances, and the meddling of Kalakaua unnecessarily with foreign
matters in the Pacific, which would naturally lead us into trouble.
Q. What foreign matters?
A. Samoan matters. Then the taking of a large bribe from the
Chinese for an opium license was especially aggravating. To illus-
trate the meddling of the sovereign in the Legislature. At a previous
Legislature I have seen—
§. Previous Legislature to what? -
A. Previous to i887—I have seen the King in the noon interim for
lunch go with a body of legislators to the house of Mr. J. E. Bush,
then minister of the interior, to arrange things for the afternoon
session. It was the acknowledged object of their meeting there. The
*
197
feeling in 1887 became very great. A body of volunteer riflemen was
drilled.
Q. By whom?
A. By one of the Ashfords.
Q. They were not organized by the Government?
A. They were organized under the volunteer act; that is, volunteer
companies were allowed, and under that act this volunteer company
was drilled. Clubs for rifle practice were formed. The revolution was
accomplished by means of a mass meeting which included the larger
part of the foreign population of Honolulu. The rifle company was
called out ostensibly to preserve order.
Q. By whom?
A. As I understand it, Antone Rosa, the attorney-general. He was
requested to order it out. I do not know the details. At that time I
was in charge of the survey office. I did not deem it honorable to join
the movement, although my sympathy was with it. The rifle company
came over to the Government building ostensibly to protect the life of
William M. Gibson. A committee was sent to Kalakaua.
Q. Who was William M. Gibson? .
A. He was then premier, minister of foreign affairs. The commit-
tee went to the King with demands, the main feature of which was
the appointment of a new ministry which should prepare a new consti-
tution. The ministry was appointed and the constitution promulgated
in one week. This constitution had three notable features of reform.
The first, that no executive officer of the Government should be elected
to the Legislature nor any member of the Legislature appointed to exec-
utive office during the biennial period for which he held office. That
the nobles in the Legislature who had previously been appointed by the
; should be appointed by a restricted vote having a property quali-
cation.
Q. What was the property qualification?
A. It was a yearly incomeof$600, or property of $3,000 in real estate.
The third important feature: the King was not to dismiss a ministry
without a legislative vote of want of confidence. The vote for repre-
sentatives which had been previously enjoyed was untouched. The
vote for nobles was an entirely new feature which had never been
enjoyed by any onepreviously. After this revolution—the Reform party
which sustained it— *
Q. Will you wait one moment? With a property qualification of
$3,000 or an income of $600 to vote, how would the number of native
voters compare with the number of white voters?
A. That could be settled by reference to the great register. My
impression is that about 25 per cent of the voters would be Hawaiians.
Q. And the balance would be whites?
A. That is my impression.
Q. The result of that would have been to have given—if the whites
were united—the election of nobles to them?
A. If they had been united it would.
Q. Was that the object of the change in that particular?
A. The object of the change from the King's appointment to the
‘electoral appointment was to limit the power of the King.
Q. The effect would be the disqualification of the mass of the native
population, so that there would not be more than 25 per cent of them
baving the right to vote as against 75 per cent of the whites. So that
the proportion was fixed in order to give the white element the greatest
power in the selection of the body of natives [nobles]? .
A. It was not done with any reference to whites or Hawaiians. It
was simply on the general principle of giving to those who had suffi-
-cient intelligence to earn $600 per year the predominating influence.
Q. Conceding that principle, was it not expected that the principle
applied would result in the whites having the power to select the body
of nobles?
A. I can not say that was the exact intention as between the
whites and the Hawaiians. *
Q. Was it the expectation of the intelligent people on the islands
that the application of this principle would mark out somewhat about
What you have stated—25 per cent of the votes for the nobles by Hawaii-
ans and the remainder by the whites—was that in the minds of the
ruling class here then?
A. Any reflecting person of that class would see that that would be
, the consequence.
198
Q. Please resume.
A. After the successful ending of that revolution, matters went on
well for some months, but there gradually developed a disruption.
Q. Of what?
A. The elements that carried the revolution through. What was
called the National Reform party originated in opposition to what was
called the Reform party. It gathered to itself a large element of the
Hawaiian strength. It didn't sympathize with the main movement,
and the Legislature of 1890 secured the ministry of that party.
Q. What party?
A. The National Reform party as opposed to the original Reform
party. It is hard to define the elements of party in this little com-
.."; There was more or less complaint about the constitution
of 1887.
Q. In what way—the matter of the election of nobles?
A. Principally in regard to the election of nobles.
Q. What was the exact point of complaint?
A. That the property qualification was too high. The Reform party
claimed that the Hawaiias, the complaining party, had never had the
privilege of voting for nobles anyway. Therefore they were not
deprived of anything. The Legislature of 1892 may be characterized
largely as a struggle for the possession of the ministry for the Govern-
ment. It revealed, too, to thinking people the weakness of the system.
I mean the ministerial system.
Q. What weakness did it reveal?
A. The change of government being placed so entirely in the hands
of the Legislature it became a temptation to gain possession of the
Government by manipulation.
Q. On the line of vote of confidence or want of confidence?
A. Yes. That Legislature lasted about seven months. The com-
munity generally became weary of the long struggle.
Q. Do you mean all classes and all races?
A. Yes. Several critical measures were hanging over the commu-
nity. One was for unlimited paper currency—a paper currency based
upon real estate, and practically unredeemable.
Q. What became of that currency bill?
A. It was defeated.
Q. By what vote?
A. I do not remember. I think it was not a very large majority.
A. (Continuing.) There was a bill for legalizing a lottery scheme
which was favored very largely by the Hawaiians in the community as
well as in the legislature. There was also a bill for renewing the opium
license. Later in the session, about four months after the beginning
of the session, a ministry was secured which commanded the respect
of the business part of the community. Later on in the session there
were attempts made to oust this ministry. The party which may be
characterized as the reform party opposed this. They said that such
a measure would tend to weaken the whole system of government, and
it might perhaps bring on a crisis.
Q. In the form of debates in the legislature?
A. No; as outside advice. There was a feeling that if the Govern-
ment didn’t maintain its superiority that foreign interference might
take place." The advice of these people who were in favor of what
afterwards became the annexation movement, was to retain that min-
istry, and my opinion is that if it had been retained the Queen would
have been on her throne to-day.
Q. Do you mean by that that the condition of that ministry would
have been in accord with the views and feelings of the Reform party?
A. No, sir; but the displacement of that ministry produced alarm
and resentment. It produced a feeling that the Government was unre-
liable. There was a withdrawal of business confidence. With referenee
to annexation ideas at that time, I would say that the general feeling
as understood among planters and others was againstit for this reason,
that contract labor system, which has been considered almost essential,
would doubtless be broken up; and in the second place the United States
tariff coming into effect here would affect business unfavorably in many
respects; in the third place there was little confidence that the sugar
bounty would be continued and inthefourthplaceit was persistently said
that the United States would not take us. I have favored annexation
in a quiet way, so far as it was courteous for a person in my position,
for a great many years. One attempt was made to oust the ministry,
*
199
which is known as the George Wilcox ministry, which might be char-
acterized as the Reform ministry which failed. Later on the º
bill was passed by a very small majority, only one white man, as
remember, voting for it. I myself remonstrated with one of the mem-
bers of the Legislature against making that a race issue, as the
Hawaiians appeared to be making it so.
Q. Will you explain to me what you mean by making it a race issue
as the Hawaiians appeared to be doing?
A. They seemed to regard it as somehow intended to benefit them.
Q. What was the exact idea they had as to how it would benefit them?
A. I do not know. I do not comprehend, myself. There is an
instinctive tendency on the part of the Hawaiians to take the crown
side upon questions of this sort. On one occasion in the Legislature
the argument was seriously brought forward in favor of a bill that
the Queen favored it. I forget what bill it was.
Q. Brought forward by some man making a speech?
A. Yes. (Continuing.) The lottery bill passed and there was a doubt
in the minds of its supporters whether the ministry would carry it out.
They took occasion of that to oust the ministry. That was the day
before the closing of the Legislature.
1é This was the 13th of January, the Legislature adjourned on the
A. Yes; the lottery bill passed on Wednesday the 11th. The vote
of want of confidence in the cabinet passed on the 12th, 25 to 16. On
the 13th, in the afternoon, the new ministry took their seats. There
was an unusual amount of enthusiasm in the audience at the time this
ministry was voted out.
Q. The Wilcox ministry?
A. Yes; I noted the enthusiasm among the Hawaiians with great
COIncern.
Q. What was the occasion of your concern; what disturbed you?
A. I felt that the Hawaiian element had taken advantage of its
majority and its ability to coalesce with other parties, and had taken
the weak and vicious side—that it would bring trouble.
Q. What sort of trouble?
A. Indefinite, I could hardly say what. I thought that they would
i. bankrupt—not have money to carry on the Government,
possibly.
Q. Did you think of it possibly creating a revolution?
A. No ; I did not, because there was no intention of a revolution
at that time. To put it plainly, we expected to grin and bear it until
something turned up. On Saturday morning it was known generally
that the lottery and opium bill had been signed by the Queen. The
prorogation of the Legislature was set for noon. My own statement of
the case was that it was time for the Hawaiians themselves to step
down and out. I have always been a friend to the Hawaiians and tried
to do what I could for them always. I have felt that they were wreck-
ing their own Government, as a man might steer a ship to destruction.
Nothing was generally known at the prorogation of a new constitution.
There had been some abortive attempts to secure a constitutional con-
vention in the Legislature. It resulted in nothing.
Q. Any petition to the Legislature on the subject of the constitution?
A. There had been many petitions.
Q. What was the substance of the petitions; what was wanted by
the petitioners?
A. A large reduction in the property qualification or abolition of it.
My recollection is that there were other important changes wanted
to which I paid little attention.
Q. Where did these petitions come from?
A. The natives.
Q. From all the islands?
A. I can hardly say. It was deemed that the oath to support the
constitution among legislators precluded a constitutional convention.
Q. The opposition to the constitutional convention was placed by
the opponents on the ground that there was no authority to call a con-
vention?
A. Yes; that there was only one way—to amend it—and that was
Specified in the constitution itself.
Q. #. that was by a vote of two successive legislatures?
©S.
Q. Are you familiar with the affairs of Saturday afternoon?
200
A. I was simply a spectator. I left my office half an hour after the
legislature closed, rather wondering why the band continued playing
at the palace. I passed legislature hall. I saw men talking. I said
to myself the circus has begun. I saw soldiers drawn up in line from
the palace gate.
Q. How many of them?
A. I should say 75. or about that number. The palace yard was
full of natives waiting on the grass, and many out in the street. I saw
a small flag held at the foot of the palace stairs.
Q. What kind of flag?
A. A small Hawaiian flag. The flag of the Hui Kalaiaiua (the last
word means statesmanship). A man met me at the palace gate. He
said the ministers had just resigned. In fact, that they had just fled
from the palace over to the Government building.
Q. How do you know they had fled?
A. I do not personally know. That was what was always stated
and never contradicted.
Q. Do you mean that somebody was trying to arrest them, or that
they went away from the Queen because they were uuwilling to coöp-
erate with her in this movement?
A. The general statement made was that they were intimidated;
that there were threats made in case they did not yield to the command
of the Queen to assent to the constitution.
Q. What sort of threats?
A. That they would be placed under arrest, and there was an opinion
that the natives might use mob violence.
Q. Whose opinion?
A. That was understood to be the fear of the ministers then.
Q. Do you know of any of them having said so?
A. I do not know. I should say, from their general demeanor that
afternoon, they were very much perturbed. They appeared like men
who were afraid. I went immediately down town. The news was just
spreading that the crisis was taking place at the palace. Citizens came
‘up to the Government building to see what was going on.
Q. Do you mean by citizens white people?
A. Yes. I saw Mr. Cornwell, Mr. Peterson, and Mr. Colburn. I
believe Mr. Parker remained at the palace. I returned to the Govern-
ment building to watch the progress of events. I was there when the
Queen's messenger, Col. Richardson, came over and commanded the
ministers to go back and wait upon the Queen.
Q. What was the form of the command? Do you know whether it
was a command or an invitation?
A.. I called it a command because that is the term usually applied to
the Queen's orders to her ministers.
Q. It is an official phrase?
A. Yes. I stood at the front door of the Government building when
Mr. Thurston stood there. He said: “This thing must not be
repeated.” . He intimated—though I can not say what words he used—
that it would continually be repeated under the present state of things.
After some time we saw the society of the Hui Kalaiaina file out from
the palace. The leader threw out his hands to intimate that they had
not obtained what they wanted.
Q. What time in the day was this?
A. About 3 o'clock.
Q. How many were there of that organization present 1
A. I should say about thirty in uniforms—in black with dress hats—
carrying a flag at their head.
Q. Was it a committee from that society 1
A. I do not know how they were appointed.
Q. That did not cover the number of that political organization in
the islands !
A. It had been a large organization. It was first organized by Dan
Lyons, who edited a paper a year or two previous. His main idea was
to make public officers elective, but it had become entirely independent
of his management and control. The size of the organization at that
time I know nothing about.
Q. Would you suppose there were more than thirty persons in the
islands connected with it?
A. I have no means of forming an opinion. I paid little attention
to the society, thinking it amounted to nothing. They first formed in
the front of the palace, until the Queen came out on the upper balcony
and made a speech to them.
201
Q. Did you hear the speech?
A. I did not; I was too far off. I also saw at the same time a
Hawaiian, who I was told was White, of Lahaina, come to the front steps
. begin to speak in an excited manner. He was led back into the
palace.
Q. By whom?
A. I think by Col. James Boyd. The soldiers thenbroke up and the
audience gradually dispersed. There was great excitement among the
foreign lookers on. I quietly went home myself.
Q. You were not at the meeting at Mr. Smith's house Saturday?
A. I was not. I met a prominent citizen Sunday noon. I said: “I
believe annexation is the only thing to cure this.” He said to me: “I
believe a great many are now coming to feel that way.” I had said two
weeks before in a private conversation with Judge Judd that I believed
annexation was the only cure for this. He shook his head. He said:
“I do not know.” About this same Sunday he acknówledged to me
that I was right.
Q. Who did?
A. Judge Judd. It was about that time. I will not be sure whether
it was Sunday or Monday. The Boston came into port on Saturday
morning from Hilo. Monday morning after reading the paper and
noting the call for the two mass meetings in the afternoon, I said to
my wife: “The situation is very serious indeed. It is more serious
than it was in 1887. That with the arms and men at the disposal of
the Queen they might use force to put down the other mass meeting
or there might be a riot between the two elements outside of that.” I
also said—not knowing about any plans—that it would be wise for the
Boston to land her troops to preserve order.
I went down to my office. I heard of the manifesto of the Queen dis-
avowing her conduct of Saturday. About half past 9 a messenger
from Mr. Colburn's office came to our office with the orders that if
any trouble ensued that the staff of the survey office should report to
the station house for service. Our names were taken down. I went
over to the minister's office. I simply said to him, “I am not in a state
of health for active service.” His reply was, “We shall expect a very
good excuse if you are not there.” I left him, saying that perhaps I
should be there. I attended the mass meeting at the armory or skat-
ing rink. It was very crowded. I felt it was a very critical moment.
It would seem as if the Government forces might at any time be
sent to disperse the meeting. The speakers all carried the main idea
that the community must not again be exposed to this continual dan-
ger of revolution; that something must be done to put a stop to
events which would lead at any time to revolution. This state of
things kept our families in a state of alarm, injured business, and could
not be endured longer. Nothing was said about annexation.
Q. Anything said about dethronement?
A. Nothing, directly. The speeches are reported, and correctly, in
the papers of the succeeding day.
Q. So that was the spirit of the meeting?
A. Dethronement?
Q. Yes.
A. It was not so stated. It was to denounce the Queen's action;
; steps must be taken to prevent any recurrence of that state of
things.
3.What sort of steps were in the minds of the speakers and audi-
©nC0 *
A. There was evidence of very intense feeling and determination.
Q. To do what? *
A. The vote was to sustain the committee of safety.
Q. In what?
A. In such steps as they might see fit to take. The meeting ad-
†. quietly and the history of the landing of the troops is well
†IOWIle
Q. Now I will ask you on another branch; if the matter of the sup-
port of the Provisional Government was left to the people who had the
privilege of voting under the constitution of 1887 on the question of
sustaining the Provisional Government, what would be the result
under the Australian ballot system?
A. I am inclined to think it would be against it.
Q. How much?
A. I can not say. I know there has been a growth of annexation feel-
ing among the Hawaiian population.
B—26
202
Q. I simply want to know, taking the test by popular vote, what
would be the results?
A. So far as I could judge I should say it would be against them,
judging from my general acquaintance with the population.
I have carefully read through the foregoing and pronounce it an
accurate report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
CURTIS J. LYONS.
g
No. 36.
Statement of Curtis J. Lyons.
HAWAIIAN LANDS. ©
The entire area of the Hawaiian Islands was anciently divided up
into ahupuāas or small districts, each of which had its individual dis.
tinctive name. These divisions were either valleys, or strips of land
between gulches, or strips with artificial boundaries, which were well
Conserved.
The feudal system under which these were held is described in Prof.
Alexander's Brief History of Land Titles, in President Dole's Histori-
cal Paper on the Evolution of Land Titles, and in the accompanying
series of papers by the writer of this, published in 1875 on Land
Matters in Hawaii.
In brief, the actual history of the transition from the feudal system
to the fee simple system which took place in the period from 1846 to 1850
may be stated as follows: It being premised that while the theory of
the division of lands differed more or less from the actual practice, the
ends attained were virtually the same.
The chiefs, under Kamehameha III, were holding lands in fief, vary.
ing in the number of those held by any individual chief from forty or
more to one, according to rank or past service of the holder. The com-
mon people were tenants of these chiefs, or else of the King when living
op his private lands.
Each chief made a division in writing with Kamehameha III as sov-
ereign, in which the chief relinquished all right in about one-half of the
lands held by himself and received from the sovereign a similar relin-
quishment in toto of the said sovereign's claim on the remaining half.
This transaction was entered on the opposite pages of the book called
the mahēlē book (mahēlē meaning division), one page bearing the deed
from the King to the chief of the half of the lands by name enumerated,
and the opposite pagé the relihguishment, by the same chief, of ali
claim on the other half.
The next step was the assignment by the King of much the larger
portion of the half which remained in his hands to the Government or
public domain. The third step was for the chiefs to also give up a
small portion of their half to the same public domain.
Thus the property known as the Government lands became estab-
lished, land which has ever since been more or less in the market, and
of which the choicest portions were by especial effort placed by sale at
nominal price in the hands of native Hawaiians. . . .
The next step was for the chiefs to have their individual titles con-
firmed by the land commission. It was a subsequent matter to obtain
formal royal patents. P
The lands reserved by Kamehameha III, as above mentioned, with
the choice lands which had been previously regarded as his own, were
united in theory, and treated by himself and by Kamehameha IV as
private lands. Kamehameha V and the Legislature coöperating with
him, made them inalienable, and created the board of crown commis.
sioners to take charge of them. Thus they became national property,
the income of which, however, belonged to the occupant of the throne,
and has never been accounted for to the Legislative Assembly. These
are now known as the crown lands.
As an undercurrent to all these transactions, the small feudal hold-
ings of the common people who had been tenants of the King on his
private lands, and of the chiefs on their lands, and of the Government
on its lands were made fee simple titles by what is termed the Kuleana
system under the authority of the same land commission that con-
firmed the titles of the chiefs. The word Kuleana means primarily, “an
203
interest in,” and now is the name of a small holding awarded as above.
†.word Evant is used for all patents based on sales of Government
land.
The above is a brief résumé of the essential points in reference to
Hawaiian land matters as treated at length in the papers alluded to
above. It is hoped that this succinct statement will aid in a study of
the subject.
CURTIs J. LYONS.
HoNolulu, April 12, 1893.
LAND MATTERS IN HAWAII.
By C. J. Lyons.
(Published in the Islander, Honolulu, 1875.]
No. 1.
The change from barbarism to civilization that has taken place on these islands
has in no respects had more material importance than as régards land matters.
more generally diffused understanding of some subjects connected with these mat-
ters may tend to benefit the community, especially as it may enable some to compre-
hend, and grapple with certain difficulties that are universally felt to exist, and
which however seem to be beyond the combined skill and executive ability of any
one individual to remove.
The particular kind of civilization that took root on Hawaii was not of the kind
that destroyed all that preceded it. It might have crushed out all ancient vested
rights, ignored ancient subdivisions of land, and created a carte blanche upon
which to begin, de novo the marking out and mapping off of real estate; ibl
endeavoring to introduce the monotonous rectangles of a United States public sur-
vey among the valleys and ridges of this diversified country.
uch a civilization would have treated the Hawaiian language as too paltry to put
into print. Yet one is sometimes tempted to wish that not quite so much deference
had been paid to the conservative side of the question. More of this hereafter.
The ancient divisions of land will therefore be our first subject to attend to. The
islands were, if the phrase may be allowed, tremendously peopled in many portions
thereof. I can think of no word to éxpress the swarming state of population
that must have existed in localities. Even had Cº. Cooke made no estimate, the
evidences of such population are unmistakable. In general principles there must
have been an inevitable diminution of the people with the advent of civilization,
from the simple fact that the resources of the country would not support those same
people so soon as their wants were increased. They were already industrious; what
more could they raise from the soil, or furnish any way, save as they pandered to
vice, in return for the accouterments of a new civilization. These are pertinent
reasonings; certainly so to those who moralize on the diminution of races, though
to follow them out would be a digression from our present subject.
Consequences of a long occupancy of this soil by a dense population, minute sub-
division of land, and nomenclature thereof. Every piece of land had its name, as
individual and characteristic as that of its cultivation.
The unit of land, so to *. seems to have been the ahupuda. Its name is derived
from the ahu or altar (literally pile, kuahu being the specific term for altar),
which was erected at the point where the boundary of the land was intersected by
the main road, alaloa, which circumferented each of the islands. Upon this altar at
the annual progress of the akua makahiki (year god) was deposited the tax paid by
the land whose boundary it marked, and also an image of a hog (puaa) carved out
of kukui wood and stained with red ochre. How long this was left on the altar I
do not know, but from this came the name (ahupuia) of the pile of stones, which
title was also given to the division of land marked thereby. Manya time have I set
§§ compass on ancient landmarks of this sort, especially on Hawaii. One near Hono-
lulu may still be seen on the north external slope of the crater of Salt Lake. This,
besides i.; the boundary of the Halawa and Moanalua, marked also the limits
of the Kona and Ewa districts. Near by I picked up an ancient ulu maika, the roll-
ing stone of the old bowling game of maika. The more common name of the altar on
the island of Oahu was kaananiau.
The ahupuia ran from the sea to the mountain, theoretically. That is to say, the
central idea of the Hawaiian division of land was emphatically central, or rather
radial. Hawaiian life vibrated from uka, mountain, whence came wood, kapa for
clothing, olona for fishline, ti-leaf for wrapping F.” ie for rattan lashing, wild
birds for food, to the kai, sea, whence came ia, fish, and all connected there with.
Mauka and makai are therefore fundamental ideas to the native of an island. Land,
as we shall see in a subsequent article, was divided accordingly.
No. 2.
In a previous article we have seen that the old Hawaiian system of dividing lands
was preserved under the new system of titles; that in populous portions the sub-
division was very minute, and that the unain idea of the ahupuaa, or primary
division, was to run a strip from the shore to the summit of the mountain, in order
to give an equable share of all the different products of the soil and sea.
he ahupuāa, however, was by no means any measure of area, as it varied in sizé
from 100 to 100,000 acres, and on the almost worthless wastes of interior Hawaii
attained to an even greater extent than this. Taking the above-mentioned island
first in order, the common ahupuāa is found to be a strip say of 1,000 feet average width,
and running from the seashore, not by any means to the top of the mountain, butto.
*
204
the zone of timber land that generally exists between the 1,700 feet and 5,000 feet.
line of elevation. . The ordinary ahupuia extends from half a mile to a mile into
this belt. Then there are the larger ahupuias, which are wider in the open country
than the others, and on entering the woods expand laterally so as to cut off all the
smaller ones, and extend toward the mountain till they emerge into the open interior
country; not however to converge to a point at the tops of the respective moun-
teins. ônly a rare few reach those elevations, sweeping past the upper ends of all
the others, and by virtue of some privilege in bird-catching, or some analogous.
right, taking the whole mountain to themselves,
Thus Mauna ſloa is shared by three great lands, Kapapala and Kahuku from Kau,
and Humuula from Hilo. Possibly Keauhou from Kona may yet be proved to have
had a fourth share. The whole main body of Mauna Ke a belongs to one land from
Hamakua, viz.: Kaohe, to whose owners belonged the sole privilege of capturing
the ua'a, a mountain-inhabiting but sea-fishing bird. High up on its eastern flank,
however, stretched the already mentioned land of Huniuula, whose upper limits
coincide with those of the manane, a valuable mountain acacia, and which, starting
from the shore near H.P. extends across the upper ends of all other Hilo
lands to the crater of Mokuaweoweo.
These same lands, generally, had the more extended sea privileges. While the
smaller ahupuaas had to content themselves with the immediate shore fishery,
extending out not further than a man eould touch bottom with his toes, the larger
ones swept around outside of these, taking to themselves the main fisheries much in
the same way as that in which the forests appropriated. Concerning the latter, it
should here be remarked that it was by virtue of some valuable product of said
forests that the extension of territory took place. For iustance, out of a dozen
lands only one possessed the right to kalai waa, hew out canoes from the koa forest.
*...* embraced the wauke and olona grounds, the former for kapa, the latter
Or tº SD Illne,
On East Maui, the division, in its general principles, was much the same as on
Hawaii, save that the radial system was better adhered to. In fact, there is pointed
out to this day, on the short spur projecting into the east side of Haleakala crater,
a rock called the “Pollaku oki aina,” land-dividing rock, to which the larger lands
came as a center. How many lands actually came up to this is not yet known.
On West Maui the valleys were a . marked and natural mode of division.
The question suggests itself as to how the isthmus would be appropriated. Some
º chiefs of Wailuku and Waikapu seem not only to have taken the isthmus;
ut to have extended their domain well up the slope at the foot of Haleakala. So
that there is the rare case of a long range of lands in Kula, East Maui, without any
sea coast.
On Molokai and Lanai, there are exceptional cases of lands extending directly
across, from sea to sea.
On Oahu the i. seems to have been oftentimes quite extended. Waikiki,
for instance, stretches from the west side of Makiki Valley away to the east side of
Wailupe, or nearly to the east point of the island. Honouliuli covers some forty
thousand acres on the east slope of the Waianae Mountains. Generally speaking,
however, the valley idea predominates. Thns Nuuanu (with its branch Pauoa),
Kalihi, Moanalua, Halawa, etc., are each the limits of single lands. So Waimanalo,
Kailua, Kaneohe, Heeia, etc., are ahupuaas. The long, narrow strip so common on
Hawaii is less frequent on this island, excepting in Ewa district. Singularly
enough the ahupuaa of Waianae mounts the summit of the Kaala range and
descends into the table-lands between Ewa and Waialun, and sweeps on up to the
summit of the Koolau Mountains. One would suppose that naturally that table-
land would be divided between Ewa and Waialua.
On Kauai, the writer is not familiar with the general divisions. Probably the
intelior of the island belongs to a few large lands, while narrow and rather short
::. are quite common along the shore, interspersed with large or first-class
anupuaas.
No. 3.
The next subject that claims attention is that of the subdivision of the abupuaa:
The subdivision of the Ahupuaa were called ili. Some of the smallest ahupuaas
were not subdivided at all, or at least seem not to have been, while the larger ones
sometimes contained as many as thirty or forty ilis, each, of course, named with its
own individual title and carefully marked out as to boundary. the word is the
same as that used to designate surface, and, in latter times, area.
There were two features of the ili, referred to by the terms lele and ku, which are
worthy of notice. The former is its desultory character, like unto that of the states
of Germany. That is to say, the ili often consisted of several distinct sections of
land—one, for instance, on the seashore; another on dry, open land, or º another
in the regularly terraced and watered kaio atch or aing loi district, and another
still in the forest, thus again carrying out the equable division system which we
have seen in the ahupuaa.
ese separate pieces were called, lele, i.e., “jumps,” and were most common on
Oahu. Indeed I know of none on the island of Hawaii. Some remarkable examples
occur near this town. Punahou had anciently a lot on the beach near the Kakaako
Salt Works; then the large lot with the spring and kalo patches where is now the
school, and again a forest patch on the steep sides of Manoa Valley. Kewalo mean-
while had its eacoast adjoining Waikiki, its continuous kula on the E. and one:
half of Punchbowl Hill and its kalo land in Pauqa Valley. Kaakaukukui held
Fisherman's Point and the present harbor of Honolulu; then kalo land near the
resent Kukui street, and also a large tract of forest at the head of Pouoa Yº The
H. lands of Wailupe are in Pauos Valley. In Kalihi and also in Ewa are ilis with
from eight to ten different leles, a most prolific kind of land, and now furnishing a
truly desultory job for a surveyor to map out. . º -
These different pieces were called variously, either by their own individual name,
* or by that of the whole ili, thus puzzling one sadly when attempting to obtain infor-
mation with respect to them
The second feature is referred to in the word ku, short for ill kupono. There were
two kinds of ili; the ili of the ahupuaa, and the ili kupono. The ili of the abupuaa
205.
was a subdivision for the convenience of the chief holding the ahupuaa; alii ai aku-
Pttaa.
The konokikis of these divisions were only the agents of the said chief, all the reve-
nues of the land included going to him, and the said land, in Hawaiian parlance,
& 4 º to the ahupuaa.”
The ili kupono, on the contrary, was nearly independent. The transfer of the ahu-
puaa to a new chief did not carry with it the transfer of the ili kupono contained
within its liniits. The chiefs, previously holding the ili kupono, continued to bold
them, whatever the change in the ahupuaa chief, having their own koeles (chiefs'
º worked by their retainers. There was, however, a slight tribute of work
ue to the ahupuaa clief; sometimes one or two days in a month, sometimes even
less, or only certain days in the year. The ilis which were used as places of refuge,
and those of the god Kaili, did not render even this tribute. Such were Kaahumanu's
ilis is Waikiki.
On the ili kupono, Waimea on Hawaiia furnishes an eminent example. Nine-
tenths of this ahupuaa are taken up with the independent ilis of Puukapu and
Waikoloa, to say nothing of half a dozen small ones of the same kind. Accordingly
when a Waimea ahupuaa was declared in late years a crown land, it was necessary
to declare Puukapu also a crown land, as though not included in Waimea.
Waikoloa was given by Kamehameha I to Isaac Davis, and it has remained in the
Davis family ever since. When therefore the limits of waimea were settled by the
boundary commissioner, the Crown commissioners knew hardly more than they
had previously of where the Crown land was situated. How much labor and con-
fusion this principle has brought about remains yet to be seen.
Within the ilis all large kalo patches seem to have had specific names, especiall
on Oahu, which was the most microcosmic of the Islands. The koeles, br chief's
patches, more particularly. Kihapai's, i. e., dry land patches, with their intervenin
ridges of small stones, or earth weeds, had also their appellation. These ridges o
cultivation, often rows of sugar cane, too, were in cultivated sections, very frequently
the boundaries of the ahupuaa, called iwi, bone—short for iwi kuamoo, backbone-
and curviñg enough they are. Sometimes changed in ancient times, amidst fierce
battling between the clans each chief could summou from his lan
The date of this division is fixed about twenty generations back in Hawaiian tra-
dition, the names of the chiefs establishing it being given. The moku or district
was fixed at the same time, such as Kona, Kau, Puna, Hilo, Hamakua, and Kohala
on Hawaii. On Maui are some smaller divisions than the moku, called kalana, Laha-
ina being one of these. Wailiku, Waikapu, Waiehu, and Waihee were independent,
belonging to no moku. On the map it is necessary to form a new district, and c
it Wailuku, Nawaieha being too cumbersome and ill-understood. , Olaa on Hawaii,
it is said to have been independent of Puna and Waimea of Kohala. Otherwise the
district division was very exact and comprehensive.
One other anomaly remains to be noted here. A large tract of forest land in Hama-
kua, Hawaii, was once cut off from a number of ahupuaas for the use of the whole
district, and is called Kamoku to this day, becoming at the time of the “mahele,”
which must come next in our way, Government land.
No. 4.
We now come in regular course to a brief notice of the mahele.
The mahele was a phenomenon in national history not often repeated. The
mahele was, in one sense, a revolution. In another sense it was most eminently a
conservative movement.
To write a full history of this change would require more leisure, or, more corectly
speaking, more time and strength than most persons in our community and in active
life have at their own command. It will only be in place here to indicate its main
features. I am very well aware that there may be widely different views on this
subject among those of the legal profession, and those put forth here may be called
decidedly unprofessional. It may be suggested, however, that occasionally the
unprofessional opinion has the advantage. This is often the case with respect to
theological matters, sometimes decidedly so in medical matters, and the common
sense of honest jurymen frequently cuts at once through the entanglements of legal
questions on both sides to the desired point of equity and justice to both sides.
The mahele was simply an endeavor on the part of the majority of the Hawaiian
chiefs, and especially on the part of Kamehameha III, to secure to all parties what, on
the ordinary principles of acquiring property, seemed to belong to them. It was
tºry with the organization of the department of the Hawaiian Government
n 1845-46.
The theory which was adopted in effect was this, that the King, the chiefs, and
the common people held each undivided shares, so to say, in the whºleianded estate.
Whatever the legal deduction from the status under the former feudal system might
be, the fact in equity was acknowledged that whoever had a share in making the
land valuable held an interest in that land. Legally speaking, the title of the
whole was in the King. The King who conquered the whole, viz, Kamehameha I,
had partitioned the lands among his warrior chiefs, retaining a certain revenue from
them, in default of payment of which the land was forfeited. These chiefs did the
same to those below them.
Kamehameha III for the common good waived his title to the whole, under con-
ditions—conditions that "those under the chiefs should be treated in like manner
and, moreover, that a certain portion, one-third, should be given to a common lande
estate, called Government lands, the proceeds of which were to go to the public
treasury, and which should furnish that facility for the acquirement of real estate
in fee simple which is so necessary for the growth of a community. g
In other words, the Hawaiian nation agreed to divide as individuals their as yet
undivided inheritance, the kilf taking a share proportioned to the general idea of
the dignity of his position. (It should be stated that the word mahele signifies
division.) It was moreover agreed that there was to be a portion devoted to the
general good in two ways, viz, by rendering it obtainable to those who desired land
and by using the proceeds for the benefit of the public treasury. It will be seen
206
that there was a double mahele—first of all amongst themselves, and second, of
each with the general treasury,
This last was the trying point with the chiefs. . It required no little effort to bring
about its accomplishment, and no little self-denial and resolution on the part of
those who thus gave up what they regarded as their lands. The scenes in the
meeting of the council for this purpose have been described by eyewitnesses as
thrillingly interesting. . Almost everyone of those who took part in thus peaceful
but patriotic revolution has gone from the presence, we hope not from the remem-
brance, of this community. Among the ranks of these noble dead are Kamehameha.
III, and Kekuanaoa, Paki, Kekauonohi, John Ii, who was most active in bringin
about the change, and a host of lesser chiefs. Messrs. Richards, Judd, Ricord, an
afterwards Lee, were the leading spirits in inducing the chiefs to see the benefits
of the new policy and system.
There were two great sacrifices made by the chiefs. . The division with the Gov-
ernment we have noticed. Far be it from anyone to º: these Govern-
ment lands, thus conscientiously given up by the old Hawaiian chiefs for the
national good. The other sacrifice was that of the kuleana, or land of the small
tenant. . These small tenants were permitted to acquire a full title to the lands
which they had been improving for their own use. In the true view of the case
this was perfectly a measure of justice, for it was the labor of these people and
of their ancestors that had made the land what it was. This subject will lead us to
consider the land commission.
No. 5.
The laríds having been divided, as we have seen in the last article, it became
necessary in order to establish the real estate business of the Kingdom on a practical
basis to give some formal evidence of title sanctioned by the law of the land. The
mahele was an anomaly. The land commission, appointed to carry out the prin-
§: i: the mahele, was another. Both were eminently practical and just in
©l 1010&le
Five gentlemen, John Ricord, William Richards, Z. Kaauwai, James Young
Kanhehoa and John Ii, were appointed by the King in February, 1846, to hear testi-
mony upon the claims of individuals, and to issue awards to the claimants for the
land claimed by metes and bounds. These commissioners drew up a careful state-
ment of principles to guide their conduct in making the awards.
This statement was approved by act of Legislature and made law. It was further
ordained that no claim should be valid unless approved by them, and unless pre-
sented before a certain time. The only appeal was to the supreme court. The com-
missioners took the oath of office and held their first meeting for regular business in
March, 1846. The first claim upon and award signed was to James Voss, on the
lot at the south corner of Hotel and Alakea streets. The taking of testimony was
an herculean task, when we consider that the unmber of claimants were over 10,000.
It was found that the taking of testimony, the surveying of boundaries, and the
making final award would each have to be separate stages of work. Accordingly,
while the first volume of land commission records contain lengthy masses of testi-
mony attached to each award, in the second volume awards only are given, the
testimony being thereafter by itself in another series of separate volumes. The
commissioners worked with most commendable energy, going to every part of the
islands to meet the people and prepare for awarding the kuleanas.
Kuleana means, originally, a property or business interest in anything. The com-
mon people were in former times assigned certain portions of the chief's lands, to
occupy at the will of the chief. Generally speaking, there was a good degree of
#. in this occupancy, provided that service was duly paid to the superior.
n 1839 a law was promulgated that no one should be deprived of his land without
due cause, which law was a preliminary step to the subsequent one of giving to all
those common people who would come forward, present their claim, their testimony
and pay the expenses of .# the whole matter a fee simple title in their improved
lands. In the town of Honolulu all lots were to be subjeet to a commutation fee of
one-fourth of their unimproved value to the Government. Elsewhere the award
was in fee simple, without commutation. These awarded claims came to be known
by the term “kuleana.” 4.
After the testimony in regard to their existence was taken the next step was to
scatter a horde of surveyors all over the Kingdom, with memoranda of claims, to
survey each separate one by itself, and send in the survey to the jº. Oth
a sheet of foolscap paper. At the office they were copied in huge, unwiel y volumes-
volumes, however, ten in number, of infinite value to the real-estate interests of
this little Kin gdom. . Of the surveys, more hereafter, They were f. paid for
by the piece, at the cheap rate of $2 to $3 per kuleana. The total expenses for the
land commission expenses were all borne by the claimants, and amounted to from
$6 to $12 to each kuleana. Cheap enough; yet the poor natives were often a long
time in collecting the amount to pay over to the agent who distributed the papers
containing award.
In fact, it seemed all like a dream to the common people, so long serfs under masters.
All sorts of reports would spread through the country to the effect that the whole
thing would be knocked in the head; that such and such lands were to have no
kuleanas taken out of them, etc.
Then there was a vast deal of haphazard about the matter. In kalo patch
land it was comparatively easy to determine where and where not the kuleana
should extend, though many a contest between the claimant and konohiki chief's
man took place even there. It was impossible for the commissioners to go upon
the ground, so that responsibility in a large measure depended on the surveyor. In
dry or kula land, where the soil has to remain fallow for years between crops, it
was difficult to decide what a kuleana should contain, and, as we shall see, there was
much variety of practice'

No. 6.
Mention was made in the last number of the haphazard or lack of unform rule in
establishing the boundaries and extent of kuleanas. The best illustration of this
may be derived from an example. Three surveyors were sent to Hawaii to as many
207
different districts to measure and report kuleanas. Directions, “to include what
the claimant has cultivated and improved.” Surveyor No. i, a stranger to the
country, found the people, cultivating on the kula land, say, two or three acres of
upland £aio. Notting into account the fact, alluded to in our last number, that
it was necessary for the land to lie fallow for two or three years before another cro
of kalo could be produced from it, he surveyed merely the amount under actual cul-
tivation. The kuleanas were awarded accordingly, the poor people having no one
to take their part, and as a consequence in many cases abandoning their newly-
acquired property as utterly insufficient for their needs.
o. 2, a native Hawaiian, was assigned to a district where the resident American
missionary was one who took an active interest in the new order of things, and who
believed—and not without some reason—that the people had the main right to the
land anyway, on general principles. The consequence of this was that surveys
were sent in from 15 to 30 and even 40 acres in extent, and were awarded.
Surveyor No. 8, meanwhile, after an arduous campaign among the kalo patches,
with an ever-watchful konohiki to contest his progress, and to whom the reply to
appeals for advice to the land commissioners was sent “Do the best you can,” came
out into the kula lands of his district. , Multiplying the amount under actual culti-
vation by the number of seasons in which it would have to lie fallow, the estimate
was made of from 6 to 12 acres as the ordinary run of upland kuleanas, and surveys
were sent in accordingly. Reports of what was going on in the neighboring dis-
tricts soon came in and, rather puzzled thereby, our man lay on his oars for a few
wears to see what would turn up. Finding that his surveys, too, were approved of
he went on through the district on his own principles.
In defense of the above inconsistency the plea may be urged that the commis-
sioners hail such a mountain of business to dispose of that “anyway to get through”
might well be their motto. To resurvey in all these cases was next to impossible
also to obtain full information. Then, while there lived a King who thus favore
his subjects, it was expedient to make all speed possible lest a change might intro-
duce worse confusion.
Another inconsistency was in the awarding of titles below high-water mark and
on reefs in soune instances and not in others. The immediate vicinity of Honolulu
. as compared with Pearl River and Kaneohe Bay furnishes a notable instance
of this.
After the awards of the kuleanas came the awards to the lesser chiefs and to for-
eigners to whom lands had been given of the ilis which we have described above.
They were generally though not uniformly awarded by their external boundaries,
expressly stating in the award and in the patent based thereupon the excepting of all
kuleanas contained therein. *
The a hupuaas were awarded to the chiefs to whom they belonged in a similar man-
ner, the exception including the ilis awarded as above, and also such ilis as by the
statute law were declared on the basis of the mahele, as we have previously seen to
be either crown or Government lands. Of course, when the mahele was made the
division took place; the ahupuaa to one chief, or to the crown or Government, as
the case might be, and the ili kupono, described in a previous number, to other
chiefs, or the crown or Government, as the case might be. The crown and Govern-
mentianas were expressly set forth by name in the statute at the same time that
the land commission was created.
It is this existence of titles within titles unseparated one from another by especial survey
that creates the unmitigated state of confusion that now exists on these islands. It
might as well be confessed and made public that adequate steps may be taken if
possible to clear up the confusion, heightened as it is tenfold by the fact that all
the kuleanas are recorded each by its own individual configuration and extent with
no general map of any district. In the prospectus, so to call it, of the land com-
mission, it was declared necessary to know the “configuration and extent of the
several claims.” The very important item of location was omitted. It was prob-
ably impossible to have carried out any general system of measurement which would
have secured this, when we take into account the imperfect instruments employed
by most who were employed in this really national work.
Another example from actual experience may come in here, perhaps to advantage.
In Kalihi, Oahu, is an Ili of Government land. A large part of it was taken up, as
usual with the kuleanas of the people resident thereon. The remainder was in all
conceivable shapes, mixed in the interstices of the kuleanas, and including, how-
ever, some very valuable land. For some years the sovereigns of the country
diverted this land to their own use. When, afterwards, it was deemed advisable
to use or dispose of the land to the benefit of the Government, a survey was neces-
sary to find where the Government land was situated. To this end every single
kuleana lot, to the number of fifty or thereabouts, had to be resurveyed and located,
errors, inaccuracies, and magnetic variation all to be taken into account, and their
descriptions made out of what remained, to agree with the adjoining kuleanas,
the whole involving about two months ofíabor.” The resultant remainder of gov-
ernment lots of land were worth somewhere near $1,500. More of this hereafter.
No. 7.
To sit in judgment on the past is not always advisable. It is easy, in the light of
subsequent events, to perceive what would have been the wiser course. But it is
not always easy to put ourselves in the places of our predecessors; to realize what
difficulties may have beset them and what obstacles may have prevented the carry-
*# ont of their own conceptions of what should have been done.
his remark applies to the work of the land commission. The following imper-
fections in their work are very noticeable:
t. That already noticed, including titles within titles, kuleanas within ilis
ilis within ahupuaas, and so on, without distinct specification of what was expected
within. It has frequently occurred that persons have purchased estate on the basis
of the acreage of the whole, and then found, to their dismay, that one-fourth or
even one-half of the area specified was taken up in kuleanas, titles in fact just as
good as that of the larger estate around them. This has been a standing grievance
208
3. purchasers in this Kingdom, and has tended to bring the kuleana system into
avor,
Second. The-land commission ought to have been continued till all the land had
been properly apportioned and award passed thereon by the commissioners, includ-
ing in these awards also the crown and Government lands. The object aimed at,
viz: the settling, for once at least, of titles, would then have been gained. The
omission of the crown and Government lands has created uncertainity all over the
group as to boundaries even to this day. The almost unlimited powers of the com-
missioners should have been used to put matters in a practical and accessible shape.
Third. The number of steps requisite to procure a full title has been too great.
First the mahele, then the award, then the royal patent. Now, in the town of
Honolulu, we will say, A and B have adjacent lots. A procures his award, and
immediately goes on, pays the Government commutation, and receives a royal
atent. B merely contents himself with the land commission award, leaving the
ture to look out for the payment of commutation. A and B both sell to C. C
ents up his property into small lots and sells. Now in some or other of these lots
there will be at the same time, land commuted for, and land as yet uncommuted for.
D, who has purchased one of these heterogeneous titles, wishes a full title, and is
obliged to hire surveyors, lawyers, and what—not to find the imaginary line in his
property, dividing the patented portion from the *. describe the unpatented
portion, and take out his “R. P.” for the same in the name of the original awardee,
dead, say twenty years ago. It would seem as if this threat of a government one-
fourth ought to have been disposed of at the start.
Fourth. While the surveys were carefully recorded and indexed, there was an un-
accountable lack of uniformity in the methods followed in making them. It would
seem as though a person having the practical knowledge possessed by the late
Hon. W. L. Lee, for so many years president of the commission, would have issued
eertain uniform rules to the persons employed. Instead thereof, we have every pos-
sible method of measurement adopted, every conceivable seale employed, meridians
pointing everywhere, non-marking of corners; in short, everything left to the sweet
will of the man who was hired at from $2 to $3 per knieans to do the measurement.
Nor was one district assigned to one man. No less than a dozen tried their hands
at waikiki, no one being required to guide himself by the notes of another. Of course
overlaps and interlayers are the most common things imaginable. It has been the
ractice heretofore to regard the person holding the earlier award to take prece-
ence in the case of an overlap and the one holding possession in the case of an in-
terlayer. Some doubts in high quarters have been expressed, however, on this
matter. t- e
As we have said above, the real reason for all this looseness lies in the fact that
there was little money to pay out and little time to wait for the work. It may be
added that there was not then a single thoroughly competent land surveyor on the
ground. The grounds for this assertion may be stated hereafter. Civil engineers
there were, and amateur smºor, but no thoroughly competent land surveyor.
To hasten the “quieting of titles” it was enacted by the Legislature that all claims
not presented before a certain date should revert to the Government. This date was
postponed several times. The land commission itself was driven to the Fº of
awarding titles by ancient boundaries, without survey—that is to say, simply by the
name of the ahupuaa or ili, leaving the owners to fix the boundaries as best they
could. In that way it was enabled to close its labors at the time prescribed by
statute, viz, on the 31st of March, 1855. The receiving of evidence was finally closed
on the 30th of December previous.
Even then an act had to be passed in 1862 “for the relief of certain Konohikis,”
enabling some such who had received land at the time of the mahele to receive an
award from the interior department for the same, up to a certain date, beyond which
the land, in unawarded, was to revert to the Government.
The question now comes up: Will these lands thus unawarded now be claimed by
the Government? And, moreover, will similar lots in town be thus claimed? The
view of the case taken at the time was this: “For the good of the community,
land owners must be sº to go through certain forms of law, failing in which
:* are forfeit.” as or was not this, in the circumstances, a constitutional
act
No. 8.
The land in the Hawaiian Islands was considered at the time of the mahele as
belonging to the nation. It was divided off according to principles deemed equita-
ble and titles were given, emanating really from the Government, representing the
nation, by the King as the executive power. This, I think, is the true theory of the
then new departure in land matters. The power to whom were given the Crown
lands was not the power that gave legality to the new titles. The Crown lands
were set aside for the private emolument of the King. The Government lands were
for the benefit of the whole, for the parties as a whole, that divided the land.
When, therefore, the rule was made, or law passed, that lands not awarded should
vest in the Government, it would seem to have been perfectly in the power of those
making the law so to enact. It hardly seems proper, therefore, at the present day
to assume that such lands should revert to the wn as "drown iaidº They
should revert to the Crown as the representative of the Government, not for the
private use of the King, but for that which the King represents in his official
capacity.
here parties have been a long time in actual occupation of such lands, it would
seem as if some liberal terms might be adopted which would facilitate the obtaining
of a title, without waiving the right of the Government, against which the statute
of limitations, i. e., of twenty years' occupation, does not hold.
e government lands about the year 1850 were put into the market throughout
the islands. Previous sales had been made in a few localities, especially in Maka-
wao and Manoa Nº. *. were appointed in the different districts to receive
applications, to attend to the surveys, and to report; also to collect the money for
the land and forward to the interior office. The same desultory system of survey-
ing was followed as in the case of kuleanas. Probably, between the years 1850 and
209
1860, nine-tenths of the available government land was taken up. The agents were,
some of them, the American missionaries, who considered it not inconsistent with
their position to assist the ple in obtaining lands in advance of mere specula-
... tors. A commission was allowed; in at least one case it was declined, all service
being rendered gratis.
After all this selling of land the Government were perfectly in the dark as to
what remained. A lull in the business took place, and when in after years some of
the remnants were *: for, it was impossible to proceed with any confidence in
disposing of them. In addition to this, a new policy came in, with another adminis-
tration, of refusing to sell land, partly from the revival of the ancient theory that
the King was the Government; partly from a feeling that a fixed revenue might be
derived from the remainder; partly from the cropping out of the ever-prevalent
dislike of seeing lands § into the hands of foreigners; and partly from the diffi-
culty of proceeding intelligently to work.
For instance (and this is from actual experience), a tract of, say, 10 acres, in Palolo
Walley remained to the Government. It lies at the foot of the steep valley side, and
may or may not extend up that side or pali to its summit. The land above was.
awarded by survey, gnd to find how far down the face of the mountain it may extend
it is necessary to run all the old lines of that upper land; probably two or three days.
of hard work would be none too much to do this in a reliable manner. In fact, one
can be sure of nothing in such cases without surveying all the adjoining lands. A
perfect incubus this has been on the disposal of the remaining government lands.
It was this state of things, as much as anything else, that led the late minister of
interior, Dr. F. W. Hutchison, to institute the Government survey. A general
survey seemed the only possible way tº get at the facts of the case. It would be.
perfectly impossible to-day for the Government to state definitely what land it pos-
sessed in any one district.
Add to this the need of general maps for business purposes, for assessment of taxes,
for any discussion of schemes for the benefit of the country, for searching of records,
for the information of courts of law, of strangers, especially of scientific men, to
say nothing of navigators, and one sees abundant reason why a general survey
should be made.
Moreover, the Government failed in one important part of its duty, namely, in
locating its own grants and awards. It is but fair that it should undertake that
work as far as is practically useful and is possible without too great expense.
Another demand for general maps lies in the fact that while a person may in a
few years become a walking encyclopedia of information respecting localities and
titles, etc., in a district, he is liable to leave at any time, when all his stores of
knowledge become annihilated in a moment, no record thereof being left for the
benefit of his successor.
There is now remaining to be noticed the “boundary commission” business. As
was stated before, a large number of ahupuaas and ilis were awarded by name only.
The land commission having ceased to exist, it became necessary to provide some.
means of º the lines of boundary between awarded lands wherever they
had not been awarded by survey. This and nothing else is the business of the
boundary commission. It is not concerned with boundary disputes as such. It is
only when the locality of an award, and in a very few cases of a royal patent, has.
nothing but the ancient traditions and testimony founded thereon to determine it
that the commissioner is called upon by the owner fö issue a “certificate” defining
it, “either by survey, by natural topographical features, or by permanent boundary
marks.” It will be seen that a description by means of ancient names of locali-
ties—“waht pana”—is not in the limits of the statute.
The act for the appointment of boundary commissioners was passed in 1862. At
first there were two for each gubernatorial district, the police or district justice
in each place acting as umpire in case they disagreed. This, as might be expected,
was a failure, and º the late G. M. Robertson, of the supreme bench,
became sole commissioner for the group. In 1868 the law was modified, since which
time there have been four commissioners, one in each main district. Their work has
progressed very slowly owing to various causes.
It is a matter of regret that there has been so little uniformity in their methods of
#. Of a large number of lands thus defined no maps whatever have been
led in the interior department. Complaints often arise that sufficient notice is not
given to parties concerned residing, as they oftentimes do, at a distance. The best
way of procedure would seem to be this: Maps of the lands in question, prepared
from good surveys by persons approved at the interior office, and containing such
full information as to be intelligible to all concerned, should be on file in some public.
office, say for ninety days previous to the decision, and due notice given thereof in
order that all parties may consider the matter at their leisure.
A better º: land office is very much needed. The general clerk of the
interior office has too great a . of business to give due attention to it. Ther
second clerk is mainly occupied in making out royal patents on awards and furnishing
copies of documents. The surveyor-general has the topographical survey on his
hands, while his assistants are bandled about from one kind of job to another, the
whole groaning under the weight of the entanglement of old and new that has been
previously pointed out in these papers.
The object aimed at should be that the Government should know the location of
its own F. for land, and be able to furnish information concerning the same.
It should know, too, what is left unpatented, and it was more for this object than
any other that the then minister of interior, F. W. Hutchison, instituted the Gov-
ernment survey in 1870.
B—27
210
No. 37.
Statement of E. C. Macfarlane.
HoNolulu, May 9, 1893.
MY DEAR MR. BLOUNT:
I hand you herewith the statement you desired me to make as to the
causes leading up to the dismissal of the several cabinets of the last
Legislature. In this statement I have confined myself entirely to the
bare facts you ask for, without attempting to introduce any of the argu
ments brought out in the debates. I have copies of all the procéedings
in the Legislature, if you should want to read them at anytime, and I
hope to have another opportunity before your departure to talk over-
Hawaiian affairs with you.
I leave for Hawaii to-day to attend to some impôrtant matters in
connection with the Volcano House Company, returning on Wednes-
day of next week. All of the papers in connection with the lottery
petitions, will be in proper shape upon my return. I am only waiting
for the clerk of the Legislature to make his affidavits.
In haste, Q
Very respectfully,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
HONOLULU, May 6, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLount,
United States Commissioner, etc., Honolulu:
SIR.: Shortly after the commencement of the last session of the
Legislature, it was an open secret that the Volney-Ashford-Wilcox
party were planning a revolutionary movement, which had the support
of the annexationist element, and that the latter element had the sym-
pathy of the United States minister. I was firmly of the opinion that
such a conspiracy was on foot and that it had the sympathy of Mr.
Stevens, and a speech made by him on Decoration Day afforded mean
jºrity to bring the matter before the assembly in the following
• Inquiry:
SIR I am constrained to ask Her Majesty's constitutional advisors whether they
intend taking any steps to rebnke the unwarrantable action of the United States
minister on a recent public occasion—an action which could only be intended to
interfere with and obstruct the administration.
This was replied to by the minister of foreign affairs as follows:
Hon. J. S. WALKER,
President of the Legislature:
Sir : In answer to the question propounded by the honorable noble for Honolulu,
E. C. Macfarlaue, I would say, that Her Majesty’s Government has given the matter
•careful consideration and has already taken action in the premises.
The following day I addressed the house upon a question of priv-
ilege, as follows:
Mr. PRESIDENT: My attention has been called to an editorial in a morning paper
triticising my question asked yesterday of his excellency the minister of foreign
affairs.
I do not intend to be placed in a false position by the Advertiser, hence the priv-
ilege of which I avail myself. Let it be understood that I yield to no one in
admiration of the great Republic in respect for its generous, liberty-loving people;
neither do I fail to appreciate the generosity covered by our treaty of jº
In a sense, the American minister represents that Republic and its people, but it is
only when he conducts himself within the lines laid down for diplomatic repre-
sentatives.
I maintain that if this Government and people desire to retain the respect of the
governments and peoples of the world they must be self-respecting and must resent
all interferences, with our affairs, when conducted with a proper regard for other
nations, by foreign representatives. I have said that the American minister repre-
sents the American people, but I must again qualify this assertion by saying that he
best does so when he refuses to interfere in our domestic affairs at the instance of a
faction in this community, whose organ is the Advertiser, whose leaders are ex-min-
isters of Hawaii, who, like the followers of Moses, are longing for the flesh pots of
Egypt, and whose purpose seems to be to rule or ruin. Against this faction every
friend of the Hawaiian people must stand arrayed.

The inquiry by the minister of foreign affairs went so far as to call forth
from Mr. Stevens a disclaimer of any intention to interfere with our
domestic affairs. The matter was discussed with the Hawaiian mem-
bers of the house in caucus, and they were made to believe that unless
the objectionable matter was expunged it would embroil the country
211
*
in complications with the United States, which would likely lose them
the independence of their country.
Of this action in caucus I was informed by several of the Hawaiian
members, and the following day Representative Kamauoha introduced
a resolution to expunge from the records of the assembly all references
to the matter, which resolution was carried.
In accordance with an understanding with the leaders of the Reform
party, the conservative element in the National Reform party joined with
the former and voted out the Parker-Widemann cabinet. The want
of decision on the part of that cabinet in dealing with the Horner
banking act (which proposed an unlimited issue of irredeemable paper
money) was the principal reason for desiring the change. The unac-
countable failure of that ministry to act vigorously and promptly in
this matter created a strong opposition to the members throughout the
whole business community.
On Saturday, September 3, 1892, the leaders of the Reform party
called a caucus of the members of the assembly and passed the fol-
lowing resolution:
Be it resolved, That whereas a resolution of want of confidence in the cabinet was
passed by the Legislature on August 30 last, such resolution being passed by a vote
of 31 to 10; and
Whereas, by reason of the adoptio tof such resolution, the constitutional necessity
has arisen for selecting a new cabinet;
Now, therefore, we, members of the Legislature, feeling this to be a fit occasion to
more firmly establish the constitutional principles upon which our system of gov-
ernment is based, do hereby, º: of previons party affiliations, declare that,
under the principles of responsible representative government established in this
Kingdom, Her Majesty should summon a leading member of the Legislature who
voted in favor of such resolution of want of confidence, to form the new cabinet,
thereby recognizing the constitutional principle that the cabinet should possess the
support and contidence of, and represent the majority of, the Legislature, the elected
representatives of the people;
And resolved further, That we do hereby pledge ourselves to govern our future
action, as members of this Legislature, in support of this constitutional principle.
This resolution was sent to Her Majesty and called forth the follow-
ing reply: *
Iolani PALACE, September 7, 1892.
Hons. ALExANDER YouNg, J. N. S. WILLIAMs, and WM. O. Smith:
GrisTLEMEN: As the bearer of a resolution passed upon by certain members of the
Legislature, Her Majesty was pleased to grant you an audience and graciously prom-
j to reply to the subject-matter of the resolution. I am now directed to say that.
Her Majesty is pleased to note the desire on the part of the gentlemen whom you,
represent “to more firmly establish the constitutional principle upon which onr sys-
tem of government is based, recognizing the principle that the cabinet should pos-
sess the support and confidence of, and represent the majority of, the Legislature, the
elected representatives of the people.”
The opinion is expressed that Her Majesty should summon a leading member of the
fºre who voted in favor of a resolution of want of confidence to form a new
cabinet.
Sincerely desiring to meet the wishes of the representatives of her subjects, it has
F. Her Majesty to summon the Hon. A. P. Peterson to assist in the formation of
a cabinet.
Her Majesty trusts that the acceptance of the suggestion to call a member of the
majority of the Legislature to form a cabinet will bring about the result sought for.
Her Majesty also desires to *::::. her appreciation of the courtesies received at
the hands of the gentlemen of the committee.
I have the honor to be, gentlemen, yours respectfully, *
JAMEs W. Robertson,
Her Majesty's Chamberlain.
Mr. Peterson endeavored in every way to meet the wishes of the cau-
cus in the formation of a cabinet, but the reform faction were irrecon-
cilable, and would not agree to anything that he suggested. The res-
olution above quoted is misleading. I will not say designedly, for the
contention was persistently made in caucus by Mr. Thurston, the framer
of the resolution, that upon the defeat of a ministry, not only should
Her Majesty send for a leading member of the victorious opposition,
but that the opposition should select a cabinet, and send their nomina.
tions to the Queen for her acceptance, insisting that she should recog-
nize this course as a constitutional principle.
I and a few others objected to the establishment of such a precedent,
urg ingthat under the constitution the Queen had the right to name
her cabinet, which could only be removed by a want-of-confidence vote
of the majority of all the elective members of the Legislature. See
article 41 of the constitution, which reads:
The cabinet shall consist of the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of the
interior, the minister of finance, and the attorney-general, and they shall be His
Majesty's special advisers in the executive affairs of the Kingdom; and they shall be
212
was officio members of His Majesty's privy council of state. They shall be appointed and
commissioned by the King and shall be removed by him only upon a vote of want of con-
fidence passed by a majority of all the elective members of the Legislature, or upon con-
viction of felony, and shall be subject to impeachment. No act of the King shall
have any effect unless it be countersigned by a member of the cabinet, who by that
signature makes himself responsible.
I see no good reason for departing from the meaning of this clause
of the constitution so plainly expressed, and there was at least one
good reason for doing so—the possibility of a majority of the Legislature
which contained no material from which to form a cabinet outvoting
that part of the Legislature from which a cabinet would naturally be
selected. And again, it implied that Her Majesty could not go outside
of the house to select her ministers. I consider it a decided advantage
in the community that the Sovereign should have the privilege of select-
ing his or her advisers from the whole country.
The meaning of the constitution is plainly that it is the Queen's
prerogative to appoint a cabinet, and that of the Legislature to dismiss
tºº by any scratch vote, but by a majority of all the elective mem-
©I'S.
Over a week passed without arriving at any settlement in the matter
of forming a cabinet, during all of which time Mr. Peterson and myself
met the members in caucus, from time to time, without reaching any
result.
Mr. Peterson failing to form a cabinet, Her Majesty called upon me
on a Saturday, to do so, saying to me that a ministry must be forme
to meet the house on the Monday morning following, as the tension
upon the community was becoming too great. It would have given
me satisfaction could I have arranged a cabinet to satisfy a majority of
the caucus, but in the limited time given me it was impossible to do so,
it being evident that Mr. Thurston and his friends did not intend to
permit the house to be prorogued without having a ministry selected
from their faction. Accordingly I formed a cabinet which I thought
would be acceptable to a majority of the assembly and to the community.
Mr. Thurston and his friends at once attacked the cabinet and imme-
diately brought in a resolution of want of confidence,which failed to carry.
In the meantime an election was called to fill the seats made vacant by
the resignations (on taking cabinet positions) of Mr. Paul Neurhann and
myself as nobles for the island of Oahu. The clear-cut issue in this elec-
tion was to indorse or not to indorse the ministry. The result of the
election was the return of Messrs. Maile and Hopkins, who went before
their constituencies as supporters of the ministry, and who were elected
by an overwhelming majority—the cabinet thereby receiving the indorse-
ment of a large majority of the electors for nobles of the island of Oahu.
No better expression of approval could be asked for by members of a
representative government than that thus accorded to our cabinet,
immediately following the defeat of a no-confidence resolution in the
house.
This expression of confidence at the polls was the more emphatic,
coming from the electors of the island of Oahu, who are accorded nine
noble representatives out of the twenty-four, in deference to their
property-and-income qualification, and might have been expected to
lessen the virulence of the opposition.
Despite this verdict of the noble voters for the island of Oahu,
which certainly represents the wealth and intelligence of the Kingdom,
the unreconciled minority persistently pursued their tactics to force out
the ministry.
As minister of finance, I had arranged with the two local banks for
the protection of the depositors in the Postal Savings Bank, and on
October 12 I informed the assembly that on the following Monday I
would present the appropriation bill, outlining the financial policy of
the ministry, and at the same time bringing forward additional reve-
Jntle Inea,SureS.
On the Monday morning, October 14, before any opportunity had
been given to introduce the promised bills, a vote of want of confi-
dence was introduced. Following is a copy of the resolution which
was introduced by Representative Waipuilani;
Whereas the present cabinet has not announced or given any intimation or evi"
dence of any financial policy which will extricate the country from its present dan-
gerous financial situation; and
Whereas it is essential to the commercial progress of the country that more favor-
able treaty relations with the United States be obtained, whereby our products can
obtain a free market in that country; and
ereas the present cabinet has shown no disposition to favor any such policy,
213
and the present head of the cabinet has displayed such conspicuous hostility toward
the representative of that country in this, Kingdom, and the general, tone of the
administration has been and is one of opposition and hostility to the United States of
America and American interests, thereby rendering it improbable that any *
in eur treaty relations favorable to Hawaii can be negotiated by this cabinet; a
Whereas the cabinet has given no evidence of any intention to attempt to remedy
existing scandals in the police department, and have otherwise failed to evince any
ability to successfully guide the nation through the difficulties and dangers sur-
rounding it: Therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Iſegislature hereby expresses its want of confidence in the
present cabinet.
The debate on this resolution was almost altogether taken up with
the attitude of the cabinet towards the American minister, who had a
grievance against the Bulletin newspaper for publishing reflections on
his not sending out the Boston in search of a missing American boat's
crew. Mr. Stevens seemed to think that the cabinet controlled the
Bulletin—which it did not—and a rather lengthy correspondence took
place between him and the foreign office on the subject, which ended
in the attorney-general's entering a suit for libel against the paper,
after the editor's refusal to publish an apology dictated by the Ameri-
can minister.
During the debate I was anxious to have this correspondence read,
which would have shown that we had tried to meet Mr. Stevens's wishes
in every way, but the house would not allow the correspondence to be
read. I regret that I can not here reproduce the letters, which would
show a conspicuous absence of the hostility dilated on in the resolu-
tion.
I have already said that I was prepared with a financial statement;
as to the other count in the indictment—alleging scandals in the police
department—this resolved itself into a demand for the dismissal of the
marshal; but, though much was said, nothing was proved against him.
When the reform cabinet took office, the members of it seemed to
forget how very scandalous the marshal was, for they retained him in
office during the whole term of their incumbency.
On Tuesday, November 1, the Cornwell-Nawashi cabinet took office
and was voted out the same day, no opportunity being afforded to out-
line a policy.
On Friday, November 4, Her Majesty called upon Cecil Brown to
form a cabinet, Mr. Brown not being at the time a member of the
assembly. This fact, however, did not call forth from Mr. Thurston
and his friends any protest, as it was well understood that he (Mr.
Brown) would form a ministry that would be acceptable to the reform
party; the “constitutional principle” which Mr. Thurston and his
friends had contended for being easily forgotten when occasion
required. They continued in office simply because they allowed the
assembly to do as they pleased with the appropriation bill, the result
being that the grand total of the budget alarmed the assembly and
produced disaffection, leading up to a vote of want of confidence. The
vote, however, failed to carry, but a second attempt was made soon
after, and the cabinet was voted out on the 11th of January, 1893.
Two days later the Parker-Colburn cabinet took office, and the house
was prorogued the following day.
During the time I had a portfolio frequent conferences with Her
Majesty satisfied me that she was anxious to promote legislation and
to keep down expenses of government, going so far as to suggest to
me that the first reduction in the appropriation bill should be made in
her privy purse and royal state.
In reference to the lottery bill, about which so much has been said
derogatory to the Queen, it should be said that Her Majesty was quite
willing to see it fail; but a majority of the members of the Legislature
had been worked upon by individuals who had circulated petitions
favoring the establishment of a lottery, and the bill having passed,
Her Majesty declined to exercise her prerogative in vetoing the bill,
a prerogative which she refused to avail herself of, excepting upon the
advice of her constitutional advisers.
In this connection I should say that the lottéry bill was, during my
brief ministry, in the hands of a committee and did not come up at
all for discussion. My colleagues and myself were, however, a unit
against it, and in negotiating financial assistance for the Government
I distinctly said so, both to Mr. Damon and Mr. Irwin, the representa-
tives of the local banks.
In the matter of the opium bill, there was a division of sentiment on
the part of the Brown-Wilcox cabinet (reform), two ministers voting
214
for and two against the measure, it being a question upon which there
might be an honest difference of opinion, the opinion being held by a
large portion of the community that prohibition did not prohibit.
What followed the prorogation of the Assembly it is not my purpose
to touch upon.
I have the honor to remain, sir, your most obedient servant,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
Q
NO. 38.
Interview with George Mundon, of Kealia, Wednesday, April 19, 1893.
Mr. BLou NT. Do you work for Mr. Blaisdell?
(A. I am hauling wood for him.
Q. Do you belong to the Annexation Club.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are you for annexation?
A. Yes, sir.
** fre you for annexation if your people are not allowed free suf-
age
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Are a majority of the native population that way?
A. No, sir.
Q. They are opposed to annexation unless they are assured they
have the right to vote?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Then, is that the case of those in your club?
A. Yes, sir; that is the case as long as they get their franchise.
Q. Well, outside of the club, are a majority of the natives for or
against the Queen, if they had their choice?
A. I can not say.
Q. Do not you mingle with them?
A. Well, before the overthrow of the Government the majority were
against the Queen's action.
Q. About the new constitution?
A. No, not particularly the new constitution, but the way she carried
OIls w
Q. Did they want her dethroned?
A. I can not say they wanted her dethroned, but they were talking
against her political actions.
Q. You were not here during the revolution?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you know anything of the sort was likely to take place?
A. I did not think it was going to take place as soon, but I thought
it would take place.
Q. What made you think it would take place?
A. In regard to the way the Government was carried on. It was
against the wishes of the people.
Q. What people?
A. Hawaiian people and whites. There was a good deal said about
it. She would appoint her favorites to office—her cabinet officers.
Q. What time was this?
A. I am talking about the time the last legislature was sitting.
She would appoint ministers—that is her cabinet—the legislature
would vote them out, and she would take a part of them back again.
I think we had four of five changes in that way. That was talked
about greatly. It was against the wishes of the people—and one par-
ticular point I want to say—it was against my wishes and a majority
of the Hawaiians, the retaining of our marshal, Charlie Wilson. He
was always in office. We thought he was an incompetent man. The
Wilcox cabinet was approved by all of us. We thought it was a good
cabinet. Through some bribery they were voted out.
Q. Were you here?
A. No, sir; but I take and read the papers.
Q. Was it from the newspapers you heard there was bribery?
A. I heard it from friends. We knew our representatives were not
very good men—men of no standing—and especially one named Akina.
He is half Chinese. He is a lawyer. He came up here with a salary
of $250. He had a family to support. He was up here six or seven
months. We knew he could not live on $250, and on his return he
must have brought down $300 or $400 worth of furniture.
215
Q. Any more persons you think were bribed?
A. I can not say positively that he was bribed; but there was one of
our natives, Paul Kanaa–I won't say he was bribed, but he voted
against the party he went for.
Q. Did the Reform party elect him?
A. Yes, sir. He even voted out the Wilcox cabinet.
Q. Did he help to vote out any other cabinet before that?
A. I can not say, but I think that he did. Rumors were sent out to
Kealia that the United States would send out a Commissioner; that the
United States flag was going to be taken down and the Commissioner
was going to put back the Queen. They felt sorry for the Queen and
wanted her put back—some of them, not all—some of the ignorant
people. Down where we live they are not all well posted.
Q. Are they mostly ignorant?
A. I can not say they are ignorant. They can all read and write.
Q. Do they generally speak English or native?
i. Native; but some of them understand English and speak very
We
Q. How are they generally occupied?
A. They plant taro; some work on plantations—bullock drivers and
SO On.
Q. Do they make their own living generally; they do not beg or
live at public expense?
A. No, sir; they all earn their own living.
Q. Is it generally true of the native population that they do not begſ
nor steal but make their own living?
A. Yes, sir; they all make their own living. We have no stealing.
It is a very rare case to have a native up for larceny.
Q. Who generally commits larceny?
A. The Chinese.
Q. How about the Portuguese?
A. The Portuguese are very seldom brought before the court. I do
not think we have Portuguese brought before the court once in a year.
Q. How about the Japanese?
A. Well, very seldom.
Q. º they (the Chinese) intermarry with your people some?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Is that generally agreeable to the native population?
A. No, sir; it is against the wishes of the native population.
Q. Is there much of it done?
A. Well, yes; they manage to get some of the young girls by bribing
the parents with money.
Q. To pay for the girls?
A. They do not exactly pay right out, but by giving presents to the
parents and girls.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount.
GEO. MUNDON.
HoNoLULU, April 19, 1893.
No. 39.
Interview with Samuel Parker, Honolulu, Thursday afternoon, April 6,
893,
Mr. BLOUNT. Mr. Parker, you are a Royalist, I suppose?
Mr. PARKER. I am.
Mr. BLOUNT. Will you be kind enough to give me your views of the
causes which led up to the establishment of the present Government?
Mr. PARKER. My honest opinion is this: I think it never would
have taken place if the Reform ministry had not been put out. When
the Wilcox ministry went in the Reform party controlled the Govern-
ment. I mean by this what they called the Reform ministers. The
cabinet council consisted of four ministers and the sovereign—the
Queen. That is my reason for saying when that ministry went in that
that meant the Government.
Mr. BLOUNT. In other words the action of the Queen was controlled
by the ministry?
216
Mr. PARKER. Yes; by the ministry.
Mr. BLOUNT. Now, why did the removal of the Reform ministry lead
to the deposition of the Queen as you understand it?
Mr. PARKER. The four ministers that came in were not Reform min-
isters, but were what might be called a fair ministry, being comprised
of two Hawaiians and two Americans. There was the opium bill and
the lottery bill—both helped the downfall. They were passed through
the house during the Wilcox ministry, which was called the Reform
administration. This opium bill and fottery bill had passed the Legis-
lature. When we went in we advised the Queen to sign the opium
bill and the lottery bill. The Queen signed it, and it was counter-
signed by the minister of the interior, and became a law.
Mr. BLount. What were the reasons for passing the lottery bill?
Mr. PARKER. The same reasons that there were for passing the
opium bill. There was a money franchise of $500,000 to be paid the
Government every year. Out of that $500,000 certain aulounts were
to be given to different public institutions. It was to be divided up
into parts—to the leper hospital so much; I do not remember the
sum. A proportion was for a telegraphic cable between the United
States and the Islands. It was to be divided up in that way. We
thought it would be a benefit to the country.
Mr. BLount. In the way of revenue for the purposes to which it
was to be appropriated?
Mr. PARKER. Yes; it was in the bill. Out of the $500,000 there
must be so much to this institution and so much to that; so much for
a railroad, etc. I do not remember the sums.
Mr. BLOUNT. Who was this franchise voted to?
Mr. PARKER. It was given to four or five men—people living on
these islands. The franchise was in their name. It was reported to
us that it would go to the Louisiana Lottery people, but that was not
known in the franchise. It was the supposition it was to go to the
Louisiana Lottery people, or to some syndicate in the United States.
Mr. BLount. What were the reasons for the opium bill?
Mr. PARKER. The opium bill was for giving a revenue. Now, as
there is no license, there is a certain amount of opium being smuggled
into the Islands. We do not have force to protect our shores. We
have no revenue cutters as you have in California, and we thought that
as opium was coming into the country all the time, it would be better
for the Government to derive some benefit from it; to have the license
put up at public auction and sold to the highest bidder. It would be
estimated at from $100,000 to $200,000 a year. It was discussed thor-
oughly by the Legislature and carried by a big majority. The Reform
ministry was divided on that—two in favor and two against it. It
passed the house by a big majority.
Mr. BLount. Is it your opinion that this movement would haye
occurred if there fiad been no effort to proclaim a new constitution?
Mr. PARKER. I think it would.
Mr. BLount. Why do you think so?
Mr. PARKER. A majority of the capitalists of the town had no confi-
dence in our ministry. I think it would have come about any way.
Mr. BLOUNT. Come about soon?
Mr. PARKER. It would have come about, because even when this
attempt of promulgationof the new constitution was made, wé were told
that they would support us for what we had done—for holding out
against the Queen in requesting us to sign the new constitution. This
was said to us at that time—at the time when the Queen was asking us
to sign it. During the day they had a meeting of the citizens. Imean
such men as Thurston, Hartwell, and leaders of the Provisional Gov-
ernment. They told us they would back us up. They admired us for
our pluckin holding out against the Queen's wish.
Mr. BLOUNT. Would this imply a disposition to take action towards
dethronement?
Mr. PARKER. I think it came from the McKinley bill—the first action
was on account of the McKinley bill.
Mr. BLou NT. What do you mean by action?
Mr. PARKER. They said that unless something is done—closer rela-
tions with the jº States—we are bankrupt. That was long before
the Legislature came in session. When I first went into the cabinet.
Mr. BLount. Who do you mean said this?
Mr. PARKER. A majority of the sugar men. Those now at the head
of the Provisional Government—capitalists and planters. They said
©
217
that something must be done to get closer relations with the United
States to hold us up; with sugar down to $45 and $50 a ton, something
ought to be done; a commercial treaty or something ought to be negoti-
ated with the American people.
Mr. BLount. The question of annexation was not presented then,
was it?
Mr. PARKER. No; the question was how could we get any commer-
cial treaty with the McKinley bill in force. That was the talk of a
commercial treaty with the United States to benefit these islands.
First the opium bill; then came the lottery; then came the promulga-
tion of the new constitution. That, perhaps, hurried matters. I was
the trusted party on one side, and it was never broached to me in that
way. I suppose those causes brought it about. You see our Queen
had already issued a proclamation, countersigned by our ministry, that
she would never do anything.
Mr. BLOUNT. Of what sort?
Mr. PARKER. Of bringing about a new constitution. This was on
Saturday or Sunday morning.
Mr. Parker here presented this memorandum of Mr. Peterson:
On Sunday evening, January 15, 1893, at 6:30 o'clock, Mr. L. A. Thurston came to
my house in eompany with J. F. Holburn; minister of the interior. He said he
wished to have a talk with me. He said the committee on safety had had a meet-
ing the night before and had come to the conclusion that things could not go on as
at º and that the coininittee had decided thut the Queen should be dethroned
and a provisional government established. He said that Mr. Stevens would land
his troops and support the movement, if a. proclamation tº that effect was issued
from any building in town. He then asked Mr. Colbert and me if we would, with-
out consulting with onr colleagues, take control of the situation, and in our own
i. ask the American minister to assist in carrying out their proclaiuation. We
eclined.
Mr. PARKER. In the memorandum of the meeting I omitted the
statement he (Mr. Colbourn) made about “Parker being a treacherous
liar, etc.” Did not want to think we were trying to take advantage.
I told them not to put that in the memorandum.
Mr. BLOUNT. Was there any movement, any effort on the part of
the Queen or her ministers or friends to induce Mr. Stevens to take
action in the interest of her Government?
Mr. l’ARKER. Yes; Mr. Peterson and myself called on Mr. Stevens.
As to what occurred in this connection this memorandum discloses:
On Sunday evening, January 15, at half past 7 o'clock, Mr. Samuel Parker, Her *:
esty's minister of foreign affairs, and myself, as attorney-general, called upon J.
Stevens, American minister. at his residence, to talk over the situation and to obtain,
if possible, from Mr. Stevens the stand he, on behalf of his Government, would take
in the event of an armed insurrection against the Queen's Government, at the same
time informing him that Her Majesty's Government were perfectly capable of deal-
ing with the situation. Mr. Stevens stated that he desired to protect the Govern-
ment, and advised Her Majesty's Government not to resign, but said, in answer to a
direct question put to him by me, that in case the Government called upon him for
assistance he did not see how he could assist them as long as C. R. Wilson remained
marshal of the Kingdom, *g Mr. Wilson a scoundrel.
The only reason given by Mr Stevens for this position taken ... was that Mr.
Wilson had cansed the arrest of his (Mr. Stevens's) Chinese coachman for carrying
concealed weapons, although Mr. Stevens stated that he had other matters against
Mr. Wilson which he did not state. After which Mr. Parker and myself left.
On Tuesday afternodn, January 17, at 2 o’clock, Mr. Parker and myself again
called upon Mr. Stevens at his residence in Nuuanu Valley to learn if possible the
truth of the statements made publicly by the leading members of the so-called coln-
mittee of safety to the effect that Mr. Stevens had promised that if a proclamation
déclaring a provisional government was issued he (Mr. Stevens), on behalf of his Gov-
ernment, would immediately recognize such Government and support it with the
United States forces at his commºnd. I asked Mr. Stevens what ºtion would be
taken by him (Mr. Stevens) in case the insurgents attacked Her Majesty's Govern-
ment and the Government ealled upon him for assistance.
Mr. Stevens replied that in that case he could not come to the assistance of the
Government. I then asked Mr. Stevens what his action would be in case Her Majes-
§: Government should treat the insurgents as rebels and attack them and arrest
them. Mr. Stevens replied that in that case he should feel it his duty to interfere
with the force at his command. Mr. Stevens further said that he had made up his
mind that if any number of what he considered responsible citizens should ask his
assistance in establishing a provisional government he should grant that assistance
and should recognize them as such and support them. Mr. Stevens, during this con-
versation, was lying on a sofa in his private office and spoke with diſſºurº, as if in,
a weak and exhausted state. At 2:30 o'clock Mr. Parker and I left Mr. Stevens and
I..." to the station house, the headquarters of Her Majesty's cabinet and Goy-
©TThD10Int,
A. P. PETERson.
Mr. PARKER. At 5 o'clock Monday the troops were landed. When
I found out they were on shore I went up to the club and found the
governor.
B—28
218
Mr. BLou NT. Who was the governor?
Mr. PARKER. Mr. Cleghorn. There was a little complication in our
military law. We were realy both at the head of the military.
Mr. BLOUNT. You were secretary of state?
Mr. PARKER. I was secretary of the foreign office—what we called
minister of foreign affairs. I was responsible for all money paid out to
the military, but the governor was supposed to be commander in chief.
Our military laws are complicated in that way.
Mr. BLOUNT. You went up to protest against the landing of the troops
to Mr. Stevens. What did Mr. Stevens say?
Mr. PARKER. I said: “What does this all mean?” He said: “I
gave orders.”
Mr. BLOUNT. The next thing was your formal protest, and that you
will hand us.
Mr. PARKER. I do not know whether I can do it.
Mr. BLOUNT. What was the substance of it?
Mr. PARKER. The substance was that he ought to have notified us
in accordance with international law. Hastings wrote it. 1 got the
governor to make a protest, too, so that he could not say he got author-
ity. This was on Monday evening.
Mr. BLOUNT. What day was the Provisional Government proclaimed?
Mr. PARKER. On Tuesday.
Mr. BLOUNT. At what hour.
Mr. PARKER. About 4 o'clock, I think.
Mr. BLOUNT. When that was done, what action was taken by the
Queen—when the troops were landed?
Mr. PARKER. The troops were landed on Monday and the protest
was made on Tuésday, and on Tuesday I had a meeting of the Diplo-
matic Corps. I invited them to come. There was Mr. Woodhouse, the
British minister; Mr. Carnavara, the Portuguese minister; Mr. Viz-
avona, the French minister, and Mr. Fugii, the Japanese minister,
present. We asked their advice on the subject. The advice from
them was to offer no resistance. Mr. Stevens did not come. He sent
word that he was not well enough.
Mr. BLount. Was that after the proclamation?
Mr. PARKER. No; before.
Mr. BLOUNT. In this consultation it was assumed that the Provi-
sional Government would be proclaimed and you were advised to offer
no resistance.
Mr. PARKER. I think that was it. We had heard there was going
to be trouble.
Mr. BLOUNT. You said the Diplomatic Corps advised no resistance.
Mr. PARKER. Yes; not to have any bloodshed, because they all knew
we had a big force. We had seen Mr. Stevens before. Mr. Stevens
had told us that they would not assist us.
Mr. BLou NT. Did he say who he would assist?
Mr. PARKER. I think that will appear in our memorandum. He con-
sidered the committee of safety represented the capitalists—represented
the people—the responsible people.
Mr. BLOUNT. Does that appear in your paper?
Mr. PARKER. I think so.
Mr. Blount. Won't you please state the circumstances attending
the conference between the cabinet and the Queen about signing the
new constitution?
Mr. PARKER. Before the Legislature met that Saturday morning we
were asked to come there and meet her, in the first part of the day.
Mr. BLount. You had met her in the morning?
Mr. PARKER. No; this was the day when the Legislature was pro-
rogued. In the morning she asked us to come there to talk about this
situation. I arrived there first, but my colleagues were late. I
waited for them. Nine o'clock or ten, I do not remember exactly, was
the hour for the Legislature to meet at Legislature Hall. When my
colleagues arrived we had to go right out without having a meeting.,
In the meantime she had stated that she wanted us to come there in
order to sign the new constitution. I said: “Your Majesty, we have
not seen the new constitution.” It will be time enough, she said, when
you come here. I will show it to you and your colleagues. She asked
me to be there soon after the prorogation of the Legislature. Just
then my colleagues came up to the palace. I said: “Your Majesty, we
have no time. We have to be at the Legislature now.” I told my
colleagues we had to go right over to the hall. We left her.
219
On the way, I told them that the Queen was requesting us to be
there at such and such a time for the promulgation of the new consti-
tution; I said I had not seen it and that I had told her we could not
do anything until we first read it. That was what I told my col-
leagues. After the Legislature was prorogued someone said to me
that the diplomatic corps would like to meet the cabinet before they
went over. Of course, I did not know what was up. It seemed that
a rumor had got down town that the Queen was going to promulgate
a new constitution. Rumors got out, and the diplomatic corps
wanted to ask me if it was so. I/said it was a fact. I had not seen
the constitution, but the Queen had requested me to be there with my
colleagues. I told them I had not seen the constitution and had no
idea what kind of document it was. We all assured them that we
would not consent to sign the constitution and then we went over to
the palace.
We went into the blue room. She said “I sent for you gentlemen
I was requested by my people to promulgate a new constitution. f
want you gentlemen to sign it or to consent to it.” They all looked to
me. I said: “Your Majesty, we have not read the constitution, but
before we read it, you must know it is a revolutionary act. It can not
be done.” She said: “Read it; see what it is.” On that point we
said, after we had read it: “We advise you to give it up—not to think
any more about it.” By that time she got pretty well excited, and
some of my colleagues said: “If you insist upon it, we will resign.” I
said: “Now, gentlemen. if you will walk out into the next room, I
will have a few words with her Majesty.” They went out. I talked
to her, but of course she said that it was her people's wish, and so
many thousand signatures had been sent in. She said: “I have
thought over the matter carefully, and think that I ought to give them
a new constitution.”
I told her I would not and my colleagues would not agee to it.
There were a good many words passed between us. She said: “Why
don't you resign.” I said I would not resign unless it was according to
law. When I got down to Government house there was Mr. Thurston,
Mr. Hartwell, and Mr. Smith, the attorney-general there, and a great
many others for consultation in regard to this. They all complimented
us; said they would give us all assistance, etc. I told my colleagues
they might as well go over with me. They went over and persuaded
her (the Queen) to give it up.
Mr. BLount. Was this Monday?
Mr. PARKER. This was Saturday.
Mr. BLOUNT. She agreed to give it up that night?
Mr. PARKER. Yes; that day. I do not know exactly the words she
used. On Sunday we called on some influential people around town,
Mr. Damon, vice-president of the Provisionial Government, and half a
dozen other prominent men. We knew they were friends of the Queen
and friends of the people, and they thought if the Queen would come
with some proclamation of some kind and assure the people that she
would give up all idea of the promulgation of a new constitution that
they thought the people would be satisfied. That was on Sunday after-
moon. Some thought we ought to have the committee of thirteen
arrested, but I thought it was not necessary. *
On Sunday night we prepared a document for her to sign, and Mon-
day morning I went there about half past 8. She was at break-
fast. I showed her this document. I said I wanted her to sign; the
cabinet advised her to sign the proclamation, and I would have it
brought up. I had had it set up at the printing office, so that it would
be ready to be struck off by thousands. The copy was made out at my
office, She signed it and it was given out to the public and a copy sent
to the diplomatic corps. A little later on they thought that we ought
to have sent a special one to the diplomatic corps. So we got up another
in a little different wording and sent them to the diplomatic corps
addressed to them.
Mr. BLOUNT. When was the Provisional Government determined on 1
Mr. PARKER. I do not think it was given out to the public. There.
was nothing spoken of in public about the Provisional Government.
That was kept secret. They had a meeting on Saturday night. We
got hold of it that they were talking about this dethronement, and on
Sunday it was substantiated. I for one have talked to the people and
have also advised the Queen not to make any demonstrations whatever
against the Provisional Government, as it was understood that it was
220
only to be a temporary government until the matter was settled by the
United States. If it was permaneut I do not think it will work.
Mr. BLou NT. Why?
Mr. PARKER. The head is all right, but it does not go to prove that
what they do will be heeded by him. Now, the parties that consist of
that Provisional Government outside of Damon, Dole, and Allen, and
one or two others, are not unen of standing, men of such stamp as would
not carry weight in any country. That is the kind of men who are
making our laws. I do not think the representative men here would
want to live under such a government, with such men at the helm, if
it was permanent. I was a member of the board of health. I would
not take the oath to support this Provisional Government. I was min-
ister under the Queen. I was using all my influence among my peo.
ple to keep quiet, to keep the peace, and to assist all we can in keeping
everything quiet until it is settled for annexation, protectorate, or
whatever the case may be.
Mr. BLOUNT. What is the feeling of the majority of the people here?
Mr. PARKER. Among the Hawaiians it is for the restoration of the
Queen. That is my own feeling, and I think I speak for the people, too.
Mr. BLOUNT. You have a table of the registered native voters for
1890. What is the total vote there? g
Mr. PARKER. About 9,000 votels.in all. Out of that I will say if it
was secured—a valid vote—out of 9,000 there would be 8,000 in favor
of restoration.
Mr. BLOUNT. Native population?
Mr. PARKER. Yes.
Mr. BLOUNT. How would you class all other voters besides those
you have named !
Mr. PARKER. Foreign voters. I think they would be divided. I
would not want to express my opinion. The majority would be for
annexation. That is my opinion—among foreign voters.
Mr. BLOUNT. What would be your opinion as to the majority, if the
13,000 votes were all polled; how many of them would be for royalty,
and how many against?
Mr. PARKER. I say in regard to royalty—I suppose out of 13,000, I .
would put it 10,000 for restoration.
Mr. BLOUNT. Suppose you take a little time and make some figures.
Mr. PARKER. There are 9,000 native voters. When I speak of
natives I know, but when I talk of foreigners I am at a loss. I know
most are for annexation, except perhaps a few English and other
nationalities. The Englishmen are naturally prejudiced. I can
speak for Hawaiians, but would not want to give my opinion on for-
eigners. I would put it, out of 9,554 native voters 8,500 would be in
favor of it (royalty) and 1,000 againstit, among Hawaiians. One-fourth
of the foreigners would be for the restoration of the Queen, I think,
but it might not be as much as that.
Mr. BLOUNT. You wanted to qualify a while ago in what you said
about the restoration of the Queen.
Mr. PARKER. The restoration of the Queen under an American pro-
tectorate would be a more stable government than the old régime.
There is a feeling that unless we are under some country like the
TJnited States it would be the same old revolutionary trouble coming
up all the time. I do not think it would be a very stable government.
There is a certain class of people here—a certain class like the Ger-
mans and Portuguese. They say, “Give us a revolution and it will give
tus something to do—give us a dollar and a half or two dollars a day.”
I *...; the Provisional Government is paying $40 a month and
found. That class of people would sooner have a revolution night in
and night out. So that I say I do not think it will ever be a stable gov-
ernment unless we are under a protectorate. If we are under a pro-
tectorate I say let it be the United States. I do not say this because
you are the American Commissioner.
Mr. BLou NT. Your idea is that a majority of the people are for the
Queen, but that if the Queen were reinstated she would not be able to
maintain permanent order here without the sanction of her authority
by a protectorate, say, of the United States?
Mr. PARKER. That is what I think. I have not talked with the
Queen on the subject; that would be my advice to her. I would not
accept the same position I had before the revolution unless there was a
otectorate. If she said: “I want you to be in the same position you
#. before this revolution took place-minister of foreign affairs,” I
221
would say, “no; unless you have it under a protectorate.” It is no use
looking to England, Japan, France, or Germany. All our benefits are
derived from the United States.
Mr. BLOUNT. What is the feeling of your people on the question of
their right of suffrage? *
Mr. PARKER. The right of suffrage means of course a great deal to
the Hawaiian people. If they were admitted as the District of Co-
lumbia, which has no vote, the natives would not like it. It would be
an eyesore to them. They want suffrage.
Mr. BLOUNT. Is there any apprehension in their minds about the
question of suffrage?
Mr. PARKER. Yes; they are very well posted on that.
Mr. BLOUNT. Is there any apprehension that the friends of the Pro-
visional Government contemplate any deprivation of the right of
suffrage?
Mr. PARKER. Yes; it was given out that the natives could not be
trusted and it was out in native papers just as quick as it was in other
papers. There was a howl when they heard that; when young men,
nursed by Hawaiian women, as they said, would ever live to work
against the interests of Hawaiian people. I said to the people that
we could not expect to be under a monarchical government all the
time; a change is bound to come some day. Every day this thing
becomes more apparent. The native race is decreasing every year.
Mr. BLOUNT. Would you please state the cause of that?
Mr. PARKER. That has been brought up in the legislature year after
year, and all the conclusions we could come to was that we are like all
dark races—that they go out when the white man comes in. It is a
problem why we should die out. I have eight children, and many
others have as many. If all other Kanakas should have two children
each we should increase very much. I can not aboount for the decrease.
Mr. BLOUNT. Is it a fact that they do not have so many children as
other people here?
Mr. PARKEE. Oh no; I can show you a dozen of my stamp. I have
eight children, another five, and so on. I am seven-eighths native; my
wife is seven-eighths. That is nearly all Hawaiian, with little foreign
blood in it.
Mr. BLount. Children are born, but not raised?
Mr. PARKER. Yes; they are careless. It is a customary thing for
Hawaiian women to give birth to a child this morning and then ride
out horseback in the afternoon. The better class, though, go under
proper treatment. I have been married twenty-one years. With our
first child my wife was in bed nine days. My aunt said, why should
she lie in bed so long? When she gave birth to her first child she was
out the next day.
The Hawaiians are good breeders, but they are careless. When the
children get fevers they give them cold baths. When the smallpox
was here, about 1881, some 400 or 500 natives died. Other nation-
alities very few. Natives will sit in draft or jump into a bath if they
are fevered. They are very careless in that way.
Mr. BLount. You said awhile ago that the native vote, as expressed
in secret ballot, would not show the same opinion as if they were asked
to sign a petition.
Mr. PARKER. It would never be the same.
Mr. BLounT. Why?
Mr. PARKER. You take the plantations. Every plantation has more
or less men under them. . They look up to the owner of an estate as to
a little king, or as their guardian, and they would sign any petition
that he wanted them to do. Mr. Spreckles has 300 native laborers.
They would all favor the side he did. Mr. Rentre was in favor of
restoring the Queen. Everyone of the people on his plantation signed
a petition for restoration. They worshiped him. If I was for annex-
ation, every one of the people in my employ would sign it. All laborers
would do exactly as the overseers wanted. They say the Queen is our
Queen. But supposing they had to do it in secret ballot; they would
say, we want restoration. The Wilder Steamship Company, rank annex
ationists, employ natives. They could intimidate these uatives. If you
gave them a secret ballot they would vote as they felt.

I have carefully read the foregoing and find it to be a correct report
of my interview with Col. Blount. e
After the troops were landed I met Mr. Thurston, and laughing at
y
222
me, he said, “Who ordered those troops ashore?” ... I replied, “I don't
know. I suppose your committee of safety had it done.”
My impression was that they were landed in the interest of the
movement of the committee of safety.
i.e. SAMUEL PARKER.
HoNolulu, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, June 15, 1893.
No. 40.
Statement of the Hawaiian Patriotic League. *
His Excellency GROVER CLEVELAND,
President of the United States of America: tº
SIR: The undersigned are the officers and executive committee of
the Hui Hawaiian Aloha Aina (Hawaiian Patriotic League), a political
association, with branches in every district of the Kingdom, repre-
senting, together with a large following of foreigners, over 7,500 native-
born Hawaiian qualified voters throughout" the islands (out of a total
of 13,000 electors), and to which is annexed a woman's branch of over
11,000 members.
This league was formed for the purpose of uniting the efforts of all
who love this country as an independent commonwealth, and of insur-
ing by all legitimate methods the perpetuation of the autonomy of the
Hawaiian Kingdom and the restoration of its legitimate sovereign,
Queen Liliuokalani, who was ruthlessly and wantonly deposed by a mob
of foreign filibusters, abetted by the United States minister resident
and shielded by the United States forces, which were by him landed
on their behalf, in violation of all international laws.
The Queen, though having ample force to quell the insurgents,
yielded her throne, not to them, but “to the superior forces of the
United States,” in order to avoid useless bloodshed. She then appealed
to the Government of the great Republic for justice and redress, and
she carefully instructed her people to quietly submit to the rule of the
usurping Plovisional Government pending the result of her appeal.
Our patriotic league, following the Sovereign's intentions, has also
repeatedly warned its members to keep the peace, under every prov-
ocation, and await with patience the judgment of the United States
Government; and while we can boast of having up to the present time
successfully subdued every popular tendency for agitation or armed
resistance, we must also proclaim, to the credit of the Hawaiian peo-
ple, that they have behaved with a discipline, a decorum, and a fore
bearance which we believe no other nation on earth would have shown
under similar circumstances, that of a country not conquered, but con-
fiscated by a faction of aliens.
But it is now already several months that the Provisional Govern-
ment have assumed the reins and instated, under the protection of the
American flag, a true pretorian tyranny, without any regard for pop-
ular rights and wishes or for constitutional principles. And the peo-
ple's patience is wearing out, looking anxiously for a solution from the
United States Government (hitherto our great friend and constant
protector) and expecting by every incoming mail some action, no sign
of which is yet forthcoming.
In the mean while the situation here is growing º unsatisfac-
tory—every day worse—and loud complaints are heard from all sides.
The Provisional Government have succeeded in making themselves
unpopular even with their adherents, and their rule is becoming daily
more odious to the natives, who are not even granted the shadow of a
representation in their councils. The Hawaiians generally are being
dismissed from public service to make room for hungry foreigners,
adherents of the Provisional Government; and, as if to incite a revolt,
the native feelings have been purposely aggravated by the desecration
of the royal palace and by numerous other instances of petty despo-
tism, which can not fail to be galling to the real citizens of this country.
In their administration they are exceeding all the possible rights of a
provisional government in repealing statutes made by the lawful rep-
resentative Legislature and enacting an interminable string of new
laws, some of which are simply useless or childish though vexatious,
others really obnoxious. In their financial policy the Provisional
223
Government compromise the future to meet the present extravagant
wants, hoping that “Uncle Sam will pay the bills.”
All public works and improvements are virtually at a standstill,
whilst they are squandering the public funds in the maintenance of a
mercenary soldiery, recruited from runaway sailors, escaped criminals
from other countries, or other bad characters from the slums of San
Francisco, who are extravagantly paid and live luxuriously at the
expense of the honest taxpayer. And the money thus wasted could
be used to much better advantage at the present time by furnishing
useful.work to the deserving and suffering laboring classes.
All these and other substantial grounds for the general discontent
make it an uncontrovertible fact that the Provisional Government are
incapable of maintaining themselves in power except through the
help and propping up of the United States Government. Left to their
own resources they would not be saved, even by their large force of
alien mercenaries, who are their only supporters, but who remain so
prudently, cautiously, intrenched in the royal palace, trembling every
night for fear of some attack, the idea even of which has never yet
been entertained by the royalists.
But the obvious and utter weakness and unpopularity of our self.
assumed administration have thrown a general veil of uncertaiuty and
uneasiness on the whole country, whereby all transactions are para-
lyzed and the value of real estate reduced to naught, even the Gov-
ernment bonds, which have always been above par, having lost neally
10 per cent. Every kind of business has become seriously depressed,
the working classes are suffering for want of work, and the wheels of
progress and industry are stopped, threatening stagnation and dis-
aster, whereby all classes are becoming impatient, the natives chafing
under the insults of the Provisional Government and beginning to talk
of revolt, and the foreign element of our league beginning to press for
relief from a situation which has evoked many bitter enmities.
To render the matter still more serious the time is waxing near when
the taxes are becoming due, and there is a general disposition to refuse
to pay any money to the present government until things are settled
by the United States' decision. Of course a general refusal of taxes
would precipitate serious complications; but, as the situation is now,
already it is only through the greatest vigilance that the patriotic
league manages to repress the feelings of its members. And if the
present condition continues a while longer the result may be an out-
burst that the patriotic league, hitherto the leading influence of the
country, will be unable to prevent, and lives and property may be
jeopardized.
Truly, therefore, may it be said that the situation is growing intoler-
able and delay unbearable; and there will be, there cau be, no relief
until the United States Government has determined our future, and
thereby a permanent legal government has been put in power here.
Under the circumstances, which the public press openly and justly
Qualifies as “disastrous and deplorable,” we, the undersigned, are
moved, in answer to our league's wish, to take the liberty of address-
ing your excellency, through your accredited minister here, Hon. J. H.
Blount, and of respectfully saying that since the fate of our little
kingdom and its inhabitants is in your hands, we do humbly pray
that a speedy solution may be reached to avoid impending calamities,
and so that we may once more enjoy the blessings of peace, prosperity,
and a proper government.
That the natives have as yet been quiet, apparently apathetic, must
not be construed as meaning that they are gradually accepting the
new order of things, by which they are deprived of all their rights in
their own country. They are simply waiting, in their simple faith in
the generosity and honor of the most liberal and honorable Govern-
ment of the world; and they expect justice, id est, restoration of their
legitimate sovereign. And the American Government must now be
sufticiently well informed of the enormous injustice committed against
this defenseless and peaceful nation, so that it seems to us that little
or no doubt can yet be entertained by any impartial mind as to what
ought to be the proper course for dealing with the “faits accomplis”
here, and no doubt as to the true royalist sentiments of the large
majority of our people.
But owing, as we represent, to the gathering storm, all good citi-
zens are anxious that no more delay than actually unavoidable should
now occur in the settling of this matter; and, therefore, if it is consid-
º. 224
ered by your Government necessary for the question to be referred to
Congress, we do respectfully, but most earnestly, fervidly beseech, in
the name of our people, that it be submitted if possible to this now
coming extra session.
And we further pray that Almighty God will vouchsafe you and
your Government his divine guidance in assisting you to deal fairly
and justly with an unhappy nation, whose sole hope lies in you.
Most respectfully, your excellency's humble servants,
(Signed) J. A. CUMMINGs, Honorary President.
JOSEPH NAWAH1, President. º
JNo. E. BUSH, Vice-President.
J. W. BiHIKANA, Vice-President.
JoHN LOLE KAULUKou, Vice-President.
J. E. KAUNAUIANO, Vice-President.
JAMES K. MERSEBURG. -
JOHN KAPUMAWAHO PRENDERGAST,
ABRAHAM K. PALEKALUHL.
SAM’L K. A.K.I.
H. S. SWINTON.
JAS. K. KAULIA, Secretary.
S. M. KAAUKAI.
W. L. HOLOKAHIKI. sº
JNO. SAM. KIKUKAHIKO.
L. W. P. KAUEALII.
J. KEKIPI.
F. S. KEIKI.
J. MAHIAI KANEAKUA.
HoNodulu, July 15, 1893.
No. 41.
Statement of the Hawaiian Patriotic League.
MEMORLAL ON THE HAWAIIAN CRISIS.
I.—Generative causes.
The strongest argument of the men who, for personal aims, crave for
the overthrow of the Hawaiian national monarchy, is that the natives
are incapable of self-government, and to this flimsy and false argu-
ment the United States, minister resident, J. L. Stevens, as a com-
plaisant echo, adds that the natives are always “misled by unscrupu-
lous hoodlum foreigners,” “unscrupulous hoodlum” being apparently
Mr. Stevens' pet diplomatic qualification for every man who does not
agree with his diplomatic friends and accomplices.
The historian's ready answer to these calumnies is that ever since
the pacification of the country, which followed Kamehameha's con-
}. the natives when left alone have had a most satisfactory, peace-
l, and progressive Government, while all the dissensions, riots, and
troubles recorded in the annals of these islands have ever been by or
through foreigners seeking to wrench the power and wealth from the
poor natives, these being ever the peaceful and patient sufferers thereby,
not “misled,” but terrorized and oppressed.
As it can be seen, even in Alexander's Brief History, all political
difficulties experienced by our native Government in the past, up to
the present one, have been through foreign extortion and violence, begin-
ning with the outrages committed by whalels and lawless sailors or
adventurers down to the intemperate domineering pretensions of for-
eign representatives, so that a rapid review of ancient history will
serve to shed a true light on the present situation.
The unjustifiable seizure of the islands by Lord Paulet (1843), some
features of which are not very different from our present situation, was
brought about by the high-handed enforcement of trumped-up charges
and claims by the English consul Charlton, and the French incident
in 1849 was caused by Consul Dillon's arrogance. As Alexander's
history states it, “for years the Honolulu community was kept in a
state of turmoil by consular grievances,” and in 1846 a table of such
grievances, prepared by order of the Legislature, “formed a roll 120
feet long.” Every consul, and more prominently at one time the United
225
States Commissioner Brown, insisted on “the right of diplomatic inter-
ference with the internal affairs of the Kingdom,” and of “ready access
to the person of the Sovereign.” (Alex., 261.) It would now seem that
in those early times the various powers represented here were vying
with each other to seize any pretext which might give them a shadow
of right for taking possession of these desirable and coveted islands,
so that the late policy of Minister Stevens and Capt. Wiltse, of lying
in ambush and waiting for the most trival pretext to jump on the native
Government, has not even the merit of being original with them.
Fortunately, in the past, the various great powers have been gen-
erous, disinterested, and honorable enough to disown the political cupid-
ity of their agents, and this is one of the reasons why the natives
to-day are so patient and peaceful; they know that the great American
Republic is the most honorable and generous of all nations, and takes
the lead in all just and liberal ideas, moreover they have such an inborn
faith in and respect for the United States Government, whom they
have been taught by their early teachers to regard as their best friend
and natural protector, that they can not be otherwise than confident
that history will only repeat itself and that their precious independence
will not be less respected by America than it has been by England
and France.
This confidence is all the more justifiable, as this is not the first
time that the country has been disturbed by some annexation craze.
In 1853 things here reached such a crisis that the foreigners then
living in Honolulu, and “especially men recently arrived from California
thought that “the times were ripe,’ and organized with the view of
forcing on. King Kamehameha III, annexation to the United States;
*petitions in favor of it were circulated and signed and strong commer.
cial interests used for its furtherance;” and stranger yet to say th
King got to be “so tired of demands made on him by foreign powers,
~and of threats by filibusters from abroad, and by conspirators at home
to overturn the national government” that he himself declared in favor
of annexation “as a refuge from impending dangers.” . (Alexander.)
But fortunately, at that time, the last remaining faithful missionaries
of the old stock strongly opposed the º; “that its effects
would be disastrous to the native race” (Alex., 277), and the honest
American diplomats of the period indorsed that opinion. And here,
let it be said to their homor, the early American missionaries have ever
been found on the side of the rightful native authorities, advising them
and helping them to resist foreign aggressions, and being allowed in
consequence full political control. Even to-day, faithful to their orig-
inal mission, the Roman Catholic and Anglican clergies are still found
on the side of the native independent government.”
But the descendants of the early American missionaries have turned
against the honorable traditions of their fathers; they only attend to
the natives now to negotiate some ironclad mortgage deed, and they no
longer care whether or not the “effects of annexation would be disas-
trous to the native race,” although the old reasons therefor are just as
patent now as forty years ago. Further than that, they have not only
ceased to be the trustworthy advisers and helpers of royal authority
but they have been bent solely on using all their moral and financial
influence to grasp the administrative power for the furtherance of their
own ends and interests, and from these men arise all the present
troubles. i-º-º-º-x---—k *,
*The fact of these two . denominations not being favorable to annexation
may make it interesting to add here a statistical note about the approximate distri-
bntion of the population according to religious beliefs, and it must be taken as very
significant that, in the last census, the religions element was left out altogether,
for the reason that the missionary party who presided over the operations of the
census could not allow their decline to be made public together with the ascend-
ancy of their rivals. In the absence of other authorities; the Catholic clergy claim
80,000 adherents on these islands, about 18,000 º natives, out of a total of 40,000;
and as the Anglicans, Mormons and Seventh-Day Adventists also claim quite a num:
ber of converts, it is thus seen that very considerably less than 22,000 natives remain
under the spiritual sway of the annexationists' faction, and, moreover, it could easily
be ascertained from the missionary publications that, within the last few years, the
Hawaiian communicants re by their churches have aiminished in the H.
tion of about 90 percent (2,200 against 21,000), the reason of this is solely the anti-
patriotic anti-Hawaiian anti-loyal attitude assumed by the missionary churches and
their schools, wherein teaching the children to pray for the country and severeign
has been discontinued. Even in the Kamehameha industrial school, founded with
the mºney ºf the last of that illustrious native family, the pupils are taught rank
republicanism and disloyalty to their country and race, and forced to sign the
annexation pledge.
B—29
226
This change in the morality of the missionary descendants came to
its climax through sugar, and it may here be said that sugar has been
a curse to these favored islands, making some few men—foreigners—
immensely rich, but impoverishing the masses, the natives especially,
and bringing about corruption and greed, and political venality
unknown to the converts of the early missionaries.
The sugar greed was of long and gradual growth, the early efforts to
give it an impetus by appealing to American generosity having repeat-
edly failed through the prudence of Congress; and it can be safely said
that just prior to the season of extraordinary financial prosperity that
followed the treaty at last granted in 1876, by the kindness of our great
and good friend, the Republic of the United States of America, all the
old foreign complications had worn out, so that the native Government
was running smoothly and our people at large were living in peace and
in.. harmony than they have ever since. It was a time when we
had less wealth and less selfishness, but more quiet contentment.”
The divergence of sentiment and lack of harmony came about through
the ambition, the sordid desire of foreign residents and sons of mission-
aries to accumulate great wealth and grow suddenly rich. To accom-
plish this end the few who had the advantage in lands, money, and
friends saw that the main point for them was to control the Govern-
ment, so as to secure the special legislation necessary to carry out their
designs, and especially to procure the indispensable cheap labor and
keep them down under labor laws equivalent to slavery. To this fac-
tion this country owes the undesirable and un-American introduction
of Chinese, Japanese, and the still more ignorant and illiterate Portu-
guese. Millions of public money, under the fallacious pretext of
“encouragement to immigration,” have been spent for the sole purpose
of bringing in laborers for the planters, and even the voyage around
the world of King Kalakaua was made use of to try to obtain Indian
coolies under British jurisdiction, which would have made this country
practically an English colony, had it not been for the veto of the
American Government, and yet the idea was not entirely abandoned,
for only a year ago Mr. Marsden, one of the commissioners who went
to Washington to beg for annexation, was sent to India to try to revive
the matter, and he reported in favor of it.
This goes to show the reason why so many annexationists in the
country have alternately shifted from loyal Hawaiians to rank annex.
ationists, according to what appeared most expedient for their purposes
or gain; thus it can be safely said that few indeed is the number of
those who want annexation for mere patriotism; for the majority, it is
•ssentially a question of dollars and cents they think they can make
Qut of Uncle Sam, and even to-day, many of the hottest annexationists
would turn right over to any other power if they had any prospect of
making more money by such a change.
Through the American reciprocity treaty of 1876, which was granted
essentially with the idea of benefiting especially the aborigines,
American gold began to roll in by millions into the coffers of the plant.
ers, who were thus enabled to pay usurious interests to our bankers
and capitalists, large commissions (as high as 7 per cent) on all sales
and purchases to the commission merchants, the balance of the profits
still constituting princely incomes, with which the planters were enabled
to travel abroad with their families, while the silent authors of this
untold wealth—the poor laborers—got barely enough to covertheir naked-
: and food enough to give them sufficient strength for their daily
task.
This inhuman and immoral system could not last eternally, and the
masses, including the foreign laborers, realizing its injustice, grad-
ually obtained control of the Government; this, moreover, culminating
in 1886, in the Gibson anti-missionary administration.
When the planters and their missionary friends realized that the
administrative power was slipping out of their hands, through the fact
that the Kanaka, in spite of all coaxing and bribery used, would not
always vote to suit the selfish wishes of that class, nor submit himself
to their greedy tyranny, it was deemed a necessity to down them, and
from that time dates the determination on the part of the wealth
foreign class to gradually rob the native of his political manh
which he knew too well how to use; and this policy culminated in the
assertion made by Commissioner Thurston, in the states, that hence-
forth Kanakas must be totally disfranchised and not allowed to vote,
otherwise the infinitely small minority of the sugar revolutionists
227
would be swamped. And this is how and why the Kanakas are in-
capable of self government.
At the same time the sugar oligarchy began to look out for a political
change that would bring their waning power back to them. They
thought that they would find the desired goal in annexation, through
which they could use the United States as their supporter. Öonspir.
cies were then initiated for the purpose of bringing about annexation,
and were continued for over three years against the same King Kala-
kaua who had been instrumental in obtaining the long-wished-for
treaty for the planters. This flagrant ingratitude culminated in 1887
by the first revolution, planned and carried out exclusively by a hand-
ful of foreigners at the instigation of the missionary sugar-planters and
capitalists, who formed that party afterwards known under the decep-
tive name of “reform party.” Through the adroitness of the King,
this movement was only partially successful, inasmuch as the overthrow
of the monarchy, then contemplated, could not be accomplished.
It, however, gave a very severe blow to public liberties and to equal
rights, because a reactionary constitution was forced upon the masses,
which has since been the law of the land without having ever been sub.
mitted to the approval or ratification of the people; and its modification
has been strenuously opposed by our plutocrats, because they knew,
from its inception, that the said document was a fraud and a snare. It
professed to be liberal, but it was about as deceptive a document as the
character of the men who inspired it. It disfranchised a large number
of natives, while it gave to utter strangers, and to all the illiterate Por-
tuguese then under the influence of sugar-planters and others, the
unprecedented right of voting without having to take any allegiance to
the Government. The reaction, which naturally followed the violent
inauguration of such a retrogade factum, led to the second revolution,
attempted in 1889, by some natives under R. W. Wilcoxºne only
instance in Hawaiian history in which the natives tried to assert them-
selves politically without foreign help. *
The failure of this movement did not deter the natives, but aroused
in the masses a strong feeling of opposition to the reform cabinet then
in power, which was formed by the very same men who headed the
present rebellion. This opposition of the masses showed itself very
emphatically in the regular elections following, notwithstanding the
inequalities of the franchise, which virtually gave the wealthy classes
the control of half of the law-making power of the land; the Hawaiian
people, whom the missionary sugar-planters had aimed to control in this
manner, repeatedly carried a majority at the polls in all the elections
since 1890, and the only method left to the reform party to attain the
ends to control the Government has been by bribery and corruption,
with that very wealth which the generosity of the American people had
given to Kalakaua for the general benefit of all his subjects. Thus the
good that the great American nation had intended for the Hawaiians
turned out in the hands of a few greedy foreigners to be the means of
oppressing those very same natives.
The flagrant inequalities thrust by this revolutionary constitution
on the native people, thus disfranchised in their own country, has been
the bone of contention ever since. The Hawaiians have been as a
unit at the polls in carrying the representative seats for the special
object of obtaining a new constitution doing away with the injustice
embodied in the present one. They have, for four years, demanded the
enactment of a law by the Legislature, authorizing the election of dele-
gates to a constitutional convention, for the framing of a really liberal
organic law. In seeking a new constitution, the natives do not want
to disfranchise anyone or put any qualification upon a voter other than
that he should be a resident in the country for a certain period of time
and should know how to read and write in his mother tongue; but they
do want equal rights for all.
However, every honest effort made by the native Hawaiians to secure
a liberal change of this nature, a change that would give freedom and
equality to every soul that came freely into this country, has been
defeated by the most unprincipled means that men can be capable of
employing; and to their shame, the missionary sugar planters, the
descendants of men who preached the eternal principles of good morals
and claimed freedom and equality as their birthright, are the very men
who stani in the way of the fulfillment of these liberal principles.
But the very people who have been represented to the great American
nation as being illiterate, illiberal, and not worthy of sympathy, not
*
228
worthy of the manly right to vote, are about the only ones here who
are struggling for liberty and equality to-day, and these are the much
traduced Hawaiians. Thus the political situation here for years past
can be clearly defined as follows: The Hawaiians have been patiently
and peacefully contending to regain by legal means a just political
status, whereby all the foreigners would also enjoy equal liberal rights;
while the reform party have been intent on realizing, by violent and
arbitrary ways, the gradual but total disfranchisement of the natives,
and accessorily the control of the poorer classes of foreigners, by capri-
cious property qualifications.
In other words, the sugar oligarchy have sought to override all true
constitutional principles and to realize the un-American phenomena of
creating a plutocracy of their class, to whom all other classes and
interests should be politically and materially subservient.
In this they may have been encouraged by the docility of the Hawai-
ians in general; but certainly neither the revolution of 1887 nor the
coup de main of 1893 have in any way been revolts against unfair,
oppressive administration, while they may be fairly characterized as
desperate grabs for personal power, which the plutocratic faction could
not obtain by fair, honest means at the ballot box.
Furthermore, the policy of the reform party may be said to be one
of gross ingratitude, in the sense that the native legislators—of whom
it is safe to say that they always acted with decorum and intelligence
equal to any State legislature in the Union—have never refused to
enact laws or appropriations for the benefit of the sugar industry,
which has been fostered in every practical way. Our statute books
are full of liberal laws, and in nowise oppressive, showing ample evi-
dence of the intelligent and progressive character of our Governmen
and of generous provisions for the protection of foreign capital an
fostering of industries conducted here by foreign investors. In no
other part of the world, under aboriginal rule, have foreigners pros-
pered so well as here. Even the system of taxation ought to satisfy
any men but selfish Fº for it is the masses, the poor people,
who bear the principal weight of direct and indirect taxation (which
is heavier than in the United States), while taxes on property are very
light and easily evaded; planters have never been taxed anywhere
near to a just proportion to the actual yalues, and, moreover, their
taxation has been reduced by 25 per cent since the McKinley act
came into effect, while no reduction of any kind has been granted to
the other classes.
Having regained temporary possession of the power, through the
revolution of 1887, the sugar missionaries dropped for a time their
annexation schemes, and merely tried to use the United States to keep
themselves in power, reserving annexation as a desperate expedient.
This is proved by the treaty which they attemptod to negotiate in
1889–90, in which aspecial clause, now known as the “bayonet clause,”
allowed them to call at any time for the landing of the United States
troops, to protect them and any cabinet they might uphold. This treaty
was rendered impossible by the turn of the elections in 1890, in which
the sugar planters and missionary influence combined were ãowned by
the strong will of the natives, allied with the foreign workingmen and
mechanics, who opposed thé coolie-labor policy of the wealthy class.
The reform party then turned again to their old schemes of plotting
for annexation. Rumors of conspiracies and expected uprisings on their
part have been rife evet since 1890, and the liberal results of the various
elections of 1892 only increased their desperate activity. Mr. Thurston,
the reform star, was openly accused of being the leader of these con-
spiracies, one positive manifestation of which was the movement insti-
ſº by the reform party in May, 1892, which lead to the arrest of
W. Wilcox and W. W. Ashford, both of whom were saved from
legal punishment through the influence of the leaders and “respectable
men” of the sugar missionaries, who feared being exposed and impli-
cated in the movement.
Unfortunately the popular party was divided into two factions, mak-
ing three with the j. missionary reform party. These divisions
rendered the last Legislature utterly impotent to carry out strict party
Imeasures, and was the means of prolonging the session to an unprece-
dented length of time, about eight months. It also raised the expec-
tations of the annexationists and plotters to the highest pitch, which
increased when they found a willing abettor in the person of the United
States minister, Stevens. Hence they resolved to seize the first plausi-

229
ble excuse, the first practical reason for another revolution; and unfor-
tunately this apparent reason and pretext was given to them by the
Queen herself, in her endeavors to meet the popular will. º
It must be inserted here, that it was only because the immortal prin-
ciples of justice, liberty, and equality were violated or ignored in the
Bayonet Constitution of 1887 that the Queen to satisfy her own people
undertook to suggest to her constitutional advisers, the cabinet, the
promulgation of a new constitution embodying these desirable features
and addressed to the masses, not to a mere faction. Upon the advice
of her ministers she withdrew the proposition and requested her peo-
ple to be patient, to forbear, to wait until a legitimate time, when she
hoped they would be enabled to secure the object of their wishes.
This act of the Sovereign, too liberal to be forgiven by the reactionary
reform party, drove them to a desperation, because it would have for-
ever thrown the control of the Government out of the hands of the
wealthy minority. Therefore the missionary offsprings and their
plutocratic friends and followers used it as a pretext for robbing the last
and only vestige of right left to the Hawaiian in his own country, his
independent nationality, his flag, denying him even the claim to be 8,
human being.
Now to show what authority the instirgents had to dictate in the
matter it will be in order to resort to statistical points. The last offi-
cial census, made in 1890, corrected to date, puts the total population
of the group at 96,075. Out of this number 15,570 are Chinese, 18,474
Japanese—two races not allowed as yet to take a share in local politics,
though the Japanese Government now claims for its citizens equal
rights with other foreigners. The balance of the population is distrib-
uted into natives and half-castes, 40,622 plus 7,495 Hawaiian born of
foreign parents and into 13,912 foreigners, among whom the Americans
count only a total of 1,928 “of all ages and sexes,” the British 1,344,
the Germans 1,034, the Portuguese 8,602, and other nationalities 1,004.
Thus the total American element all over the islands amounts to only
about two-hundredths of the whole population and one seventh of the
total number of foreigners.
More especially in Honolulu, which is only part of the country that
participated in the insurrection, the Americans number only 767 males,
as against 2,003 other male foreigners (among which are no less than
529 English; and against 6,902 male natives. Furthermore, all our
American residents are not in favor of annexation; it is only a fraction
of this small number of 767 Americans, with a few Germans and Portu-
guese (therefore a minority unsupported by the rest of the population),
who have accomplished the overthrow of the recognized native Govern-
ment, through, the American official influence.
Can it be possible that so small a faction, and so heterogeneous at
that, whose only force is to be loud-mouthed and utterly regardless of
veracity, should be allowed to impose their whims on the rest of the
population, and rule it contrary to all American ideas of popular gov-
ernment?
To cover their numerical weakness, the annexationists' faction have
tried to awaken American sympathies by alluding to the necessity of
protecting American capital, which they claim to be solargely invested
in these islands. To give plausibility to this assertion, tables have
been prepared, purporting (on estimations, not on any positive docu-
ments) to show that the total capital engaged in sugar § corporations
and monincorporated plantations) amounted to $33,420,990, out of
which $24,735,610 were claimed to be American, or about four-fifths;
$6,038,130 British, $2,008,600 German, $226,280 native, and $299,
of other nationalities. This fantastic array is contradicted by the mere
fact that out of a total of $537,757 for internal taxes, Americans paid
only $139,998 (official #. or one-fourth, while, according to the
above statement, American plantation stock alone, outside of commer-
cial firms and other American taxable property, ought to have pad
over $247,000. But even allowing that a large portion of the sugar
interests may be apparently in American hands, it is far from correct
to call it American capital.
It is an undeniable fact that outside of Mr. Claus Spreckels, of Cali-
fornia, no American has ever brought into this country any capital
worth mentioning, but many have sent away fortunes made here; most
of our present American capitalists, outside of sons of missionaries,
came here as sailors or school-teachers, some few as clerks, others as
mechanics, so that, even if now they do own or manage, or have their
230
names in some way connected with property or corporations, this does
not make their wealth of American origin. Those who are now inde-
pendent run their plantations or business firms on money made here,
out of the Hawaiian people and from Hawaiian soil, through coolie
labor; the others are simply running on capital, borrowed principally
from English or German capitalists, and their concerns should be
more justly called English or German capital because, in case of bank-
ruptcy, such capital would really be lost, not American capital.
The local Croesus, American by birth, the banker, C. R. Bishop,
came here poor and started his fortune by marrying the wealthiest native
princess, whose lands and income allowed him to duplicate it by bank-
ing on Hawaiian capital; surely his can not be termed American capi-
tal. The conclusion of all this must then be, that certainly American
capital and interests here can be cheerfully acknowledged as very large
and important, and entitled, like all other foreign capital and interests,
to every consideration and protection; but American annexation can
Inot be justified on the sole ground of the asserted extreme preponder-
ance of such American capital, or on the pretension of that capital to
be entitled to special or exclusive protection Ör favor, not any more
than German or English planters would be entitled to ask for annexa,
tion to their countries on the same grounds.
II.-Development.
The phase by which the budding conspiracies of the reform party
bloomed out into open rebellion can not be better compared than to the
filibustering schemes of the well-known Walker and other historical
desperadoes, with this difference, however, that all those expeditions
were made without participation of any United States official, the
United States Government, on the contrary, making every effort to
check and frustrate those attempts against international laws, whilst
the Hawaiian crisis has been helped, promoted, precipitated, encour-
aged, and countenanced by two representatives of the United States
Government. Moreover, it can be boldly asserted that the Honolulu
filibusters (for they repeatedly admitted it themselves) would never
have dared to attempt their uprising without the moral stimulus and
promises of the United States minister, nor would they have had
strength to carry it out successfully against the Queen's well-armed
forces and the numerous volunteers ready to fight for her, nor could
they have maintained themselves one day in power, without the mate-
rial armed support of the United States troops on shore and the guns
of the U. S. S. Boston trained on the town.
Therefore, this military interference and aid to a mob of filibusters can
only be qualified as an overt act of piracy by a United States officer
against a defenseless friendly government. The whole proceedings are
the most outrageous example known in modern times of naval forces
abusing their power without urgent cause and without previous decla-
ration of war. If sustained by the American Government the action of
Capt. Wiltse will be a precedent that will set to naught all interna-
tional rights, all security of weak powers against their more powerful
neighbors; henceforth any group of lawless, quarrelsome foreigners
residing in any port of other nations will be justified in raising a riot on
the most flimsy pretext, and then calling on warships of their own nation-
ality to help them to take possession of, “annex” the place, against the
rights and wishes of the aborigines. It will then only be a question of
the survival of the strongest, of possible application wherever a weak
native government or a pacific population can be cowed by a foreign
element sufficiently strong or enterprising; but what renders the facts
still worse in our case, is that they have been the result of a long pre-
meditated policy.
The extreme intimacy of Minister Stevens with the various members
of the Reform party, to the exclusion of all men belonging to other par-
ties, had been remarked even before Kalakaua's death, and it was com-
mon talk that plotting accompanied dining at the United States legation
in Nuuanu street. It was whispered with glee by the Reform partisans
that Stevens had been sent here purposely to promote annexation, which
the death of Kalakaua seemed to facilitate, hence it is not surprising
now to note that, from the start of her reign, Stevens shows himself
inimical to the Queen, evidently as reflecting the opinions of his Reform
friends. Far from acting like the representative of a friendly gov-
ernment, his relations with the Hawaiian administration were ever

231
unfriendly, meddling, and quarrelsome to such a degree that, at one
time, the chairman of the committee on foreign affairs of the Legisla-
ture suggested that he be given his passport, and it is greatly to be
deplored that the suggestion was not acted upon. The address he had
the presumption of making to the Queen, on her accession, was of the
nature of a threatening lecture from a rigid Sunday-school teacher to a
very vicious child, and was as ungentlemanly as it was undiplomatic,
according to the universal rule which prohibits every diplomatic agent
to interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign country.
Then claiming the old forgotten assumption of “ready access,” so
abusively used here by consuls fifty years ago, he took the pretext of
Solne flimsy newspaper article to make a display of his ignorance of
common etiquette as well as of his spiteful feelings, by forcing himself
on the Queen and trying to make Her Majesty and her ministers per-
sonally responsible for that article, which eventually did not justify any
ordinary legal proceedings.
During the various changes of cabinet that marked the end of the
Legislature, Mr. Stevens was satisfied only when reform missionary
men were chosen for ministers, and his extraordinary antimonarchic
oration on Decoration day, as much as his attitude towards the Parker
cabinet, during the days that preceded the revolt, plainly show how
biased he was, and bent on embarrassing the Hawaiian Government.
e other actor in our tragedy, Capt. Wiltse, from the time Admiral
* n left him in charge of the station, made no secret of his purpose
to secure annexation, and boasted that he would not leave before it
was accomplished; if he did not keep his word in its entirety, it is cer-
tainly not through any fault of his. During the parliamentary changes
of cabinet he openly stated that, in case the Queen did not select for
her ministers Reform men, or men º to that party and to
Minister Stevens, the Boston troops would be landed to interfer e, and
thereby bring about annexation. Even the foreign diplomats were
aware of those boasts. Unfortunately Wiltse's utterances we e not
taken into sufficient consideration and treated seriously by the
Hawaiian Government, but were deemed only to be expressions of
intemperate language of an eccentric officer, not to use any harsher
term, whom the American correspondents were making fun of.
But there is no doubt now that at all times he has been an extremely
industrious intermeddler in Hawaiian politics, frequently lowering his
high position by interviewing hackmen on the streets on local affairs.
Further than this, the officers of the Boston will probably testify to the
fact that several times during the legislative period, and evidently in
accord with a preconceived plan of seizing any favorable incºdent or
pretext, the United States troops were kept in readiness for landing
when there was not the smallest sign of disturbance or even excitement
in town or in the Legislature. *
And it must here be recorded that Capt. Wiltse made a veritable
debauch of military demonstrations during the Legislature, landing
troops and guns several times a week, and parading them through the
town as no other foreign vessel had ever done before, with the undoubted
intention of intimidating the native population and preparing future
events.
After the exhaustive accounts that have been published of the facts
of the revolution, and especially after the printed statements made by
the Queen and her envoy, P. Neumann, and by the attorney-general,
Peterson, the various details of which appear to us perfectly exact and
correct, we do not deem it to be in our province to offer a new narra-
tion, but simply to point out certain facts and their signification in the
interest of the people we represent.
Of the new constitution, which has been the apparent motive for ‘the
explosion of the long prepared revolution we have already stated, that
it was desired and demanded by nine-tenths of the native population;
moreover, to make the position of the Queen plainer, it may be well to
recall the fact that in this country all previous constitutions had been
granted by the free will of the different sovereigns, until the last one
I887, was extorted out of Kalakaua by an armed mob of foreigners led
by the same men who directed the present º that the Queen
might have considered herself perfectly justified by the local prec-
edents as to her power of granting a néw constitution at the request of
Ther own people. º
Rumors of this new constitution had been current during the session
of the Legislature, so that the surprise assumed by thereform party was
232
not genuine, and it may be well to ask what there was in the document
prepared for the Queen so utterly obnoxious to the reform party, and
how they could possibly know what its contents were, since its text
has not been published? &
The first outcome of the Queen's attempt to proclaim her new consti-
tution (Saturday, January 14), was a meeting in the office of W. O.
Smith, of about 70 members of the reform party, which afterwards
they had the impudence of calling a public meeting (!) and in which it
was decided to support the cabinet against the Queen (for the main.
tenance of the old constitution), and to exact from Her Majesty “guar-
antees” against any further move in the matter on her part. But this
conservative decision did not satisfy the firebrands who wanted annex-
ation, and who immediately held another meeting secretly, about two
dozen of them, at Mr. Thurston's house, in which a secret “committee
of public safety” was appointed, composed of about the same incorrigi-
ble demagogues who had concocted and led the “1887 revolution.”
This committee then ordered a mass-meeting at the armory (Monday,
18th), to which from 700 to 800 foreigners responded, many of whom
were utter strangers, tourists, sailors from the merchantmen in port,
and many others only present through mere curiosity, so that it is safé
to say that in this meeting (which was going to have such an influence
on the political destiny of the whole country) not half of the men pres-
ent were legal voters, the natives especially being absolutely absent and
assembled elsewhere. The object of this meeting was clearly stated as
merely to give authority—or a shadow of it—to the self-appointed 13
members of the “committee of public safety,” and to empower this
committee to demand and obtain from the Queen “assurance and guar.
antees of a better government,” id est, a promise to respect the 1887
bayonet consititution, this pet offspring of the reform party. Nothing
more was demanded of the public at the meeting, as the perusal of the
speeches there made by the most responsible speakers, Messrs. Wilder,
Glade, Young, and others, will conclusively show. Not the smallest
allusion was made to an impending change of government, and not
one man in the audience, outside of the leaders, did guess that the
resolution then submitted for approval meant anything beyond “guar-
antees from the Queen for good government and preservation of order.”
And certainly not one dreamed that in the innocent looking tail of this
tresolution, running as follows: “And we do hereby further empower
such committee to further consider the situation and further devise
such ways and means as may be necessary to secure the permanent
maintenance of law and order, and the protection of life, liberty, and
property in Hawaii,” there could be meant a dethronement of the
Hawaiian monarchy by a clique of foreigners without any submission
to or indorsement by the voters at large; and worse than that, a sub-
sequent wild rush for annexation to the United States without even
consulting the whole foreign element. We claim that, had this meeting
realized that such were the intentions of the self-appointed committee
of public safety, the revolution would not have been carried, or at least
only an infinitesimal iminority would have backed it. But this meeting
in itself was only representative of a mere fraction of the population,
for, at the same hour, at Palace Square, another meeting of between
five and six thousand natives and loyal foreigners cordially supported
the Queen, accepting her apology for withdrawing her constitution and
her promise of leaving the matter to be accomplished constitutionally.
Thus the majority of the population of the town was plainly with the
monarchy, and the Provisional Government, which was subsequen
appointed by the committee of public safety, represents but the arbitrary
assumption of a clique, with no popular backing... We claim that they
ean sustain themselves through force and only so long as no appeal is
made to the electors, but soon as an election be held not one of the
members of the Provisional Government would receive even a decent
minority of votes, for they only represent the old reform party—that
party defeated at the polls in 1890 and 1892, and who is now in power
through a surprise under false pretenses. The utter weakness of the
Provisional Government and of the party back of it was unmistakably
shown on the day of the proclamation (Tuesday, 17th), when the whole
population ought to have been in arms if they had been in sympathy
with the insurgents (as falsely represented in America); while on the
contrary, it was with the utmost difficulty that fifty ill-armed men could
be mustered to march on the Government house, for a cash considera-
tion, and with the positive understanding that in case of failure they

233
could take refuge behind the files of United States marines, and from
there on board of the Boston.
What was the attitude of Minister Stevens during the leavening
of the revolution will be better gathered from the official documents
and affidavits of the Queen, her ministers, and her marshal. We
need only, in the name of the people, ask that this diplomat should be
made to answer positively why he ordered the landing of the Boston
troops, right after the two meetings above mentioned had so peacefully
transacted their business and so quietly dispersed? There was not the
smallest sign of excitement, the whole population Inanifested only the
most pacific disposition, everyone being under the impression that,
with the work of these two meetings and the adoption of their resolu-
tions, the whole matter had come to an end, and that things would be
satisfactorily and peacefully settled between the Queen, her ministers,
and the self appointed committee of public safety.
Especially the natives, from whom alone any fear could have been
entertained of “riot or danger to persons and property” (for such has
been Mr. Stevens' flimsy excuse) were exceptionally quiet or even
indifferent, and they are not a fighting race; no groups were seen in the
streets, the royal troops had quietly laid their arms as usual in the
barracks; there was no display of police forces, and not a shadow of
danger breathed in the whole atmosphere, so that the United States
troops had no business on shore. Mr. Stevens then refused to give
officially any reasons for this landing, and it has since been said that
it was executed at the request of the self-appointed committee of public
safety, who had yet no legal standing, this going to show that, at that
early date (16th) Stevens was already disposed to acknowledge their
authority and attend to their wishes in preference to deferring to the
regular and legal Government.
The landing was made without any previous official notification, an
act contrary to all international rule, and it was evidently precipitated
by the fear that, in the meantime, the Queen might have proclaimed
martial law, which would have made the position more embarrassing,
and probably would have prevented any further complication. ©
say, therefore, that the landing of the troops was a direct violation of
all civilized laws, and ordered for no other purpose than that of help-
ing the brooding insurrection. The further facts of the force bein
made to occupy the Arion Hall, alongside the Government houses an
opposite the palace, when other buildings (the two armories, and the
new shed in construction on Merchant street) were available, shows
that the intention was to command the Royal Palace and interfere with
the movements of the Royal troops, so as to render possible the seizure
of the public treasury, and the farce of proclaiming the new Govern-
ment, although it was reported that Mr. Stevens had promised to recog-
. their proclamation whenever it was made from any building in
Wn.
The official documents and the examination of witnesses will show
that when the proclamation was made by the armed mob at the Gov-
ernment house, and there recognized by the United States representa-
tives, the Queen's full force, with artillery and Gatling, were still in
possession of the palace and barracks and of the strong police station,"
and this last could not have been taken without a severe siege which
the Provisional Government alone was utterly incapable to undertake
and carry out; therefore, the legal Hawaiian Government was still de
facto in power and able to maintain their situation, and Mr. Stevens
has willfully prevaricated in his assertion to the contrary. It was only
when it became known that Mr. Stevens had declared that he would
recognize and protect against the Queen any government formed by
any group of what he would consider (as to him) “responsible citizens,”
that the Queen, her Government, and her numerous partisans surren-
dered to avoid useless bloodshed, and surrendered under protest, not
to the insignificant Provisional Government, but to the superior forces
of the United States warship.
At that time, the natives would have shown fight, but all their lead-
ers urged upon them to keep quiet, as everything was left in the hands
of their constant protector, Uncle Sam, who would see that justice be
duly rendered; and most admirably, most deservedly, quiet they have
kept ever since, under severe provocation, but confident in American
honor and impartiality, that justice would be done.
As soon as all danger had disappeared by the surrender of the
Hawaiian Government, a couple of hundred men, all foreigners, and
B—30
234
principally penurious Germans and Portuguese, flocked to help the new
Provisional Government and take the place of the disbanded Hawaiian
guards; but this was not done out of sympathy for the movement, and
still less out of a wish for annexation (the possibility of which had not
et permeated the public as being the saving anchor for a weak usurp-
ing Government). No, the adhesions to the Provisional Government
were merely out of personal convenience, and their number only goes
to show, not the popularity of the reform filibusters, but simply how
many men there were in town out of employment, who gladly jumped
at the chance of gaining a salary.
As the “Liberal,” an uncontrovertible authority in the matter, said:
“The revolution was a Godsend to many people out of work (from the
results of decrease in business through the McKinley bill), who for
weeks had been destitute; they shouldered their guns to fight for
bread as much as anything else, and while the guard was maintained
(by the Provisional Government) they had a very congenial employment
and a good pay.” Very good indeed for these foreigners, but we Ha-
waiians take this occasion for protesting against the lavish expendi-
ture of public funds, made from a nearly bankrupt treasury, for the
maintenance of an extravagantly large, useless, and dangerous military
establishment of armed aliens who have no vested interests in the
country, mere mercenaries, officered by men known for the hatred they
bear against the Hawaiian people. We protest all the more because
the very men who thus squander the people's money on several hun-
dreds of unnecessary play soldiers, are the very same ones who, in the
last legislature, ridiculed and opposed a total of sixty men for the
Queen's guard and purposely reduced the police force.
We must here dwell on the fact that no Hawaiians, even from among
those few who are said (with great flourish of trumpets) to favor the
insurrection, enlisted in the Provisional Government Army, in spite of
all pay and uniform allurements; but, on the contrary, we must take
good note of the fact that the Hawaiians of the old royal band refused,
to a man, to continue their service under the Provisional Government,
preferring starvation prospects to perjuring their loyalty; they started
an independent organization, with instruments paid with their own
money, and the people show their appreciation of the boys' noble and
disinterested fidelity by patronizing their concerts in unusual crowds.
And this may be taken as a good sign of the general feelings of the
natives against the Provisional Government sprung on them by their
old enemies. the Reform party.
But eight days had not yet elapsed before the loyalty, fidelity and
patriotism of the incongruous, discordant crowd, who supported the Pro-
visional Government manifested itself by dissensions running riot, to
such a point that the only manner of saving the new order of things
was to implore Mr. Stevens for a declaration of American protectorate.
Since this protectorate has been withdrawn the Provisional Government
have certainly had no trouble in maintaining themselves, but simply
through the fact that the natives are quietly and peacefully awaiting
for the decision of the United States.
It would be foreign to our aim here to follow the Provisional Govern-
ment in its subsequent career of despotism and intimidation practiced
in the name of American liberty and under the protection of American
bayonets.
It will suffice to say that we, Hawaiians, do not and can not con-
tentedly acknowledge the right of a faction of turbulent foreigners to
dictate in our country for the satisfaction of their greedy selfishness
and lust of power; but we are ever ready to bow and submit to the
rule of the majority, whenever legally expressed, and we would wil-
lingly abide by the decision of a plebiscite, honorably and fairly carried
out, if such was the will of America. Therefore, we proclaim that we
have not and never will recognize the present Provisional Governmen
a government sprung out of a coup de main, abetted and shielde
by foreign intervention and run by a clique who do not enjoy the con-
fidence of the people, their unpopularity being so thoroughly known to
themselves that they expected to maintain themselves only by dis-
franchising the whole nation. They rule only by the force of bayonets,
through martial law and the Draconian treason laws they enacted for
their support, and we do protest against their arbitrary assumption
of legislation, repealing old laws and making new ones of odious nature,
thereby exceeding all rights that a provisional administration can dare
to assume.
235
Of the men of the present Government we have nothing to say,
except that they are politicians repeatedly defeated at the polls who
want to rule or ruin, or mere boys utterly unknown and of no weight,
chosen for the fact of their being willing to jump into a harum-scarum,
break-neck policy; but we do protest against their pretention of per-
petuating themselves in power without reference to the people; and
we most solemnly protest against their high-handed policy of gagging
the press, of intimidating officials into taking the oath of allegiance, and
signing annexation petitions and club rolls against their free convic-
tions; of spitefully discharging others, especially Hawaiians and old
residents (conveniently accused of being “royalists”) to make room for
foreigners, new comers, Hawaiian haters, and of calling to the supreme
bench and other high public offices aliens of brief residence, whose sole
. is that they carried a gun under the protection of the Boston
SalloFS.
But all coercive measures are of no avail, for the Hawaiians remain
Hawaiian, true to our race. To us, Hawaii and our native government
are just as dear as America is to every true-born American, and no
loyal and patriotic subject of the glorious stars and stripes can blame
us for being imbued with a similar patriotism, for loving the dear land
of our birth, and even preferring our modest flag to any other, however
glorious it unay be.
We do not believe that the times and circumstances warrant the
present movement of annexation; our people are not yet ripe for it, and
we prefer remaining under the paternal rule of our own monarchy that
understands our wants and wishes, and under which we claim to be
quite capable of self-government. Nevertheless, we want it well under-
stood that we Hawaiians have no objection against America or the
Americans; on the contrary, we have been brought up to honor and re-
spect our great and good neighbor, and through American teachings
more than half century of civilization and experience of self-govern-
ment have given us an intelligent appreciation of the political doctrines
and democratic principles of constitutional government, with America.
and Great Britain as chief patterns.
More particularly do we value, respect, and comprehend the funda-
mental principles of the American Constitution, such as “no taxation
without representation,” “the rule of the majority,” and “government
of the people, by the people, and for the people;” and we have tried
to follow those principles, when not disturbed by an intriguing, bribing
plutocracy of foreigners who repudiate such liberal principles and wish
to make peons or pariahs of us. Without past political experience of
American institutions we could not accept contentedly any such forms
of restricted government as the Provisional Government commissioners
to Washington, without any authority from the people, have tried to
obtain from the United States in order to keep their clique in power.
If annexation is to be accomplished with any justice it must be by the
consent of the majority, not at the beck of a few adventurers or greedy
plutocrats, men who, to further their private ambition or avoid impend-
ing bankruptcy, have remorselessly thrown on the United States the
responsibility of a very dishonorable action, that of robbing a people
of their nationality, men also who, through their annexation scheme,
would entangle the United States Government with some foreign prob-
lems of difficult solution—the Japanese one especially -
It has not yet been clearly demonstrated that annexation would
benefit either this country or America, and to us it seems as if both
sides may have much to lose and little to gain by it. In what concerns
America we can not presume to pronounce on military or strategic
reasons, but we do agree with many eminent American writers that
annexation would rather be a source of danger, a cause of weakness to
the United States, without giving them better commercial advantages
than such as can be more safely and easily obtained by intimate treaty
relations with an independent government here. On our side, the gain
from annexation to such a distant country is also difficult to prove,
while the fiscal policy of the United States may at times place our
sugar, rice, coffee, and other tropical products at a disadvantage by
binding us to rival interests and preventing our seeking freely the
most advantageous outlets.
For all the above reasons and others too long to enumerate, we pro-
test against the present movement in favor of doing away with the
independence of our country; we protest against the effort made to
force annexation to the United States without consulting the people,
236
and we especially protest against the interference of the United States
minister, Stevens, in Hawaiian politics and his violation of our sover-
eign rights by the unjustifiable landing of the United States troops and
the biased recognition of the insurgents.
We particularly resent the presumption of being transferred like a
flock of sheep or bartered like a horde of untutored savages by an
unprincipled minority of aliens who have no right, no legal power, no
influence over us, not even a claim of conquest by fair-handed warfare,
and we can not believe that our friends of the great and just American
nation could tolerate annexation by force against the wishes of the
majority of the population, for such an annexation would be an eternal
dishonor, an indelible stain on the pure escutcheon of the leading
nation of the world.
It is therefore with the utmost confidence in the wisdom, honor, and
impartiality of the United States Government that we respectfully
but earnestly pray for our independent autonomy and the restoration
of the Hawaiian Monarchy; and our gratitude will ever bind us more
indissolubly to the great Union by a stronger tie than any enforced
annexation could ever realize.
God save Hawaii Nei.
God bless the great Republic and its magnanimous and just leader,
President Cleveland.
J. A. CUMMINs
JOSEPH Nawºr,
JNO. E. BUSH,
For the Hawaiian Patriotic League.
KA HUr Hawaii ALOHA AINA.
[Hawaiian Patriotie League.]
Kº: KUMUKANAWAI.
Oiai uaikeia ae neika loliano nuiana o
ko kakou aina, he mea hoi e manaoia ai,
e hoopilikia ia ana kona Kuokoa ame na
ono Kivila o kona mau Makaainana, a
me na Kupa, a no is mea, he mea pono e
kukuluia ona Hui manao lokahi a maka-
ala mawaena o na kanaka a pau e aloha
ani i ka Aina, me ka nama ole i ka Aoao
Kalaiaina a Manaoio Hoomana paho,
O :
E hooboloia, O makou o na makaai-
mana kupaa, a me na Kupa Aloha Aina, a
makee maluhia hoi o Hawaii nei, no ke
kiai makaala ana i ko makou mau Pono
Kivila, ma keia, ke hoobui nei makou ia
makouihe makekahi Ahahui ! malalo oke
kumukanawai mahope ae nei. penei:
Inoa.
PAUku 1.-O ka inoa o keia Ahahui,
oia, “Ka Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina.”
Ra hana.
PAUku 2.-O ka hana a keia Ahahui
eia ka malama ans a me ke kakoo ana,
mana keehina hana maluhia a kne kana-
wai ole, i ke kulana Kuokoa o na Pae
Aina o Hawaii, a ina he mea hiki ole ke
malamaia ke kakou Kuokoa, alaila, o ka
sekou hana oia ka hooikaika ana i na
laana kue ole i ke kanawai a me ka mas
luhia e hoomau is ai ka Pomo Kivila o na
kanaka Hawaii a me na Kupa makaai-
Iºlº,
JNa makele.
PAuxv. 3,-Aia, iloko a keia Ahahui e
kukulu ia he hookahi #: Nui ma Hono-
lulu i kapa ia “Ka Hui Kuwaena” [cen-
tral body] a mai loko, aku oaa e kukulu
ia ai i mau Ahahui lala ma na Apana
Rohº v na Mokupuni.
CONSTITUTION.
Whereas vital changes in our country
have taken place, which may affect its
independence and the civil rights of its
subjects and citizens, thereby rendering
indispensable a compact and zealous
union between all men who love the
country, irrespective of party or creed;
Therefore, resolved, That we, the patri-
etic, peaceful, and loyal subjects and
citizens of Hawaii nei, for the pu
of E. guarding our civil rights,
do hereby form ourselves into a league,
under the following constitution:
Name.
ARTICLE 1. The name of this associa-
tion shall be the Hawaiian Patriotic
League (Ka Hui Hawaii Aloha Aina).
Object.
ARTICLE 2. The object of this associa-
i: is º ...” and *: by all
egal and peaceful means and measures,
the dent attonomy of the i
of Hawaii nei; and, if the preservation of
our independence be rendered impossible,
our object shall then be to exert º §ººs
ful and legal efforts to secure for the Ha-
waiian people and citizens the continu-
ance of their civil rights.
Divisions.
ARTICLE 3. The league shall, consist
of one central body in Honolulu, with
branches in the various districts of the
other islands.
º:
237
Na Lala.
FAUKU 4.-IA] O_na Lala o keia Aha-
ui, oia na kanaka Hawaii maoli o keia
wina, he 20 makahiki a oi aku i maker
make e hoopaa ia iakou iho malalo ong
kumuhaha o keia Ahahui, ua kupono ia
e lilo i mau hoa, a lilo hoi i mau lala
mamuli nae o ke kakau inoa ana malalo
o keia Kumukanawai.
B] O na kanaka a pau o na Aina-e, e
noho neiikeia wa he mau Pono Kiviiako
lakou iloko o keia aina a i lokahipu hoi,
na manao e kakoo i na kumuhana a keia
Hui, a i makemake e hoopaa ialakou iho
no ua Hui la ma ke kakau inoa ana
malalo o keia kumukanawai, e lilo no
lakou imau hoa Hanohano (Lala) no keia
Ahahui.
Na Hoonokonoko Ana.
PAUku 5.—O ka Hui Nui Kuwaena
[central body] o “Ka Hui Hawaii Aloha
Aina” oia ke noho mana maluna o na
Ahahuilala o kela a me keia apana koho,
a e lawelawe ia anae na Luna Nui ma-
lalo iho nei, penei:
1—Peresidena Hanohano. i—Peresi-
dena. , 2–Hope Peresidena. 1–Kakauo-
lelo. 1–Pauku a me 13 mau Hoa Kuka, a
o lakou a pau, oia ka Aha Hooko o 19
lala. O keia mau luna a pau he
kanaka Hawaii maoli, a e koho is lakou
ma ka Balota, no ka manawa a e hoaka-
kaia e na Rula o keia Ahahui.
E koho no na Ahahui Lala o na apana
koho i ko lakou Lunahoomalu, Hooe
Lunahoomalu; Kakauolelo a me ka Punt
ku, a e koho iſ hookahi Elele i wahaolelo
no lakou e hele mai ai imna o ka Ahahui
Nui (Hui Kaikawa) ma Honolulu, a us
loaa ius Elele la ke ku leana e hele ai
ma na halawai o ka Aha Hooko a mena
halawai o ka Ahahui.
Na Luna Hanohano.
PAUku 6.—O na kanaka o na Aina E,
a lilo ana i mau lala, e kohoialakou e ka
Aha Hooko no na kulana hanohano e
like me keia :
1. Peresidena Hanohano.
2. Hope Peresidena Hanohano.
2. Kakauolelo Hanohano.
3; Hoa Kuka Hanohano, a oi aku paha
e like me ka mea e hooboloia anae ka Hui
makeia hope aku;
Q keia mau Luna Hanohano oia ka Aha
Cuka [Advisory Council] enoho pu a e
koho me ka Aha Hooko.
Ma Hana a na Luna.
Pauxu 7–0 na hana a na Luna Nui,
ua like no ia me na hana maa mau e pili
ana ina Hui e ae e like me keia ano
Ahahui, a e heakaka pono ia ana, hoi maa
na rula e aponoia anama keia hope akut
e ka Aha Hooko.
Ne kalawai.
Pauru 8.—Na halawal oka Huie kshes
is no ia eka Peresidena, make kauoha, a
#" Hooko, a o ketºhima Hos paha
10: *
R. kaheais na halawai a ka Aha Hooko
• Ka Peresidena make noi a kekahi mau
hoa 3, o na Aha Hooko la;
Onahana o na halawai a pau o ka Hui
a me ka Aha Hooke e alakai is no ia ena
rula a na, anaina maikai, a me na rula
maa mau o na Ahaolálo.
Membership.
ARTICLE 4.—(A) All the natives of this
country, over 20 years of age, who are
willing to pledge themselves to the
objects of this league, are eligible for
membership thereof and may become
members by signing this constitution.
(B). All foreigners, at present enjoying
or entitled to civil rights in this eonn.
try, and in sympathy with the objects of
this association and willing to pledge
themselves to it by º § the constitu-
; may be admitted as honorary mem-
©PS,
Organization.
ARTICLE 5.—The central body of the
Patriotic League shall rule over all the
district branches, and shall be conducted
by the following officers:
1. Honorary President.
1. President.
2. Vice-Presidents.
1. Secretary.
1. Treasurer.
And 13 councillors, who together shall
eonstitute an executive council of 19
members. All these officers must be na-
tive Hawaiians and must be elected by
ballot, for such term of office as may be
provided in the by-laws of the league or
council,
The district branches shall elect their
chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and
treasurer, and shall appoint one delegate
to represent them before the eentral
body in Honolulu, which delegate shall
have a right to attend the meeting of the
executive council and of the league.
Honorary officers.
ARTICLE 6:-Foreign members shall be
elected by the executive council to the
following honorary offices: 1 honorary
E.; 2 honorary vice-presidents, 2
onorary secretaries, and 7 honorary
councillors, or more, as may hereafter be
determi by the league. These hon-
orary officers shall constitute an advisory
council who shall sit and vote with the
executive council.
Duties of officers.
ARTICLE 7.-The duties of the various
officers shall be those pertaining to the
respective offices, as is usual in all sim-
ilar organizations, and shall be more ex-
Fº defined in such by-laws as may
© * adopted by the executive
COUllCl is
Members.
ARTICLE 8.-Meetings of the league
shall be called by the president, at the
request of the executive council or of
any other ten members; e
Meetings of the executive council
shall be called by the president, at the
request of any three members of said
council;
All proceedings of meetings of the
league and of the executive council shall
be governed by the usual decorum and
rules of parliamentary usage.
238
Ripaks ana.
PAUkU 9.—O kela a me keia hoa o ka
Hui a o ka Aha Hooko paha, e hanaana i
kekahi hana e kue ana i ka manao a me
na hana a keia 'Ahahui, e kauohaia no ia
e ku imua o ka Aha Hooko, a ina ahewa
* iaia, e kipakuia no oia mai ka Hui
&Kule
Aſa whi. o ke kumukanawai.
PAUKU 10,-O na hoololi a mena pakui
ana mai i keia Kumukanawai, e hana
wale ia no ia ma ka hoobolo ana a na
halawai maulo ka Hui.
Aponoia ma Honolulu, i keia la 4 o
Expulsions.
ARTICLE 9.—Any member of the league
or of its executive council who ma
commit an act violating the spirit an
purposes of this league may be sum-
moned before the executive council, and
upon conviction by them be expelled
from the league.
Constitutional amendments.
ARTICLE 10. All amendments or addi-
tions to the present constitution must
be approved by a general meeting of the
league.
Adopted, Honolulu, this 4th day of
Maraki, 1893. March, 1893.
Peresidena Hanokano J. A. CUMMINs, Honorary President,
Peresidena J. NAWAHI, President.
JFI‘pe Persidena J. K. KAUNAMANO, Vice-President.
g &
J. W. Bipika NE/
No. 42.
Interview with the Hawaiian Patriotic League, May 2, 1893, printed with
Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.
No. 43.
Statement of A. P. Peterson.
His Excellency J. H. Blount,
Commissioner, etc.:
SIR: The causes which led to and the motives which actuated the
trouble in Hawaii are varied. In the first place the passage of the
McKinley bill and the consequences resulting led to a feeling of dissat-
isfaction among the merchants of Honolulu and the planters generally.
This feeling of dissatisfaction has also led to a feeling in favor of annex-
ation with the United States among a few, and that feeling caused them
to assist in the background the Ashford and Wilcox rebellion in the
spring of 1892. And when that failed through the arrest and trial of
the leaders, even although they were not found out and arrested, the
same feeling of dissatisfaction still led them to look about for any pre-
text to carry out their ideas and by this means serve their pecuniary
interests. …”
If the price of sugar had been higher we would have had no revo-
lution. Another cause was the feeling of the Missionary or Reform
party that they and they only possessed the divine right to rule, to
rule at all hazards, if not in one way then in another. They could not
forget the long years when they had had complete control of the Gov-
ernment, when their word had been law with the Kings of Hawaii, and
which rule had been wrested from them by a movement which had
joined together the natives, disgusted with missionary rule, and the
mechanics, discouraged at the hordes of Chinese and other Asiatic
labor brought into the country by that rule, which uprising in 1890 had
wrested from them their power. This feeling of desire to rule can best
be illustrated by Mr. Thurston's statement, made at a public meeting
in Honolulu during an election campaign in 1892, when he said: “That
to º, out their object they would join hands with the devil if nec-
essary.
This statement coming from Mr. Thurston thoroughly illustrates the
idea of rule or ruin policy which has been adopted by the Missionary
#. of which he is the leader. This idea led that party in the last
gislature to adopt a course which they did. Having been elected
practically upon a joint platform with the National Reform party, the
party which in that Legislature adopted a conservative course, and
were naturally in º the best people and the best interests
of the country, they, the Missionary or Reform party, took the first
opportunity to break loose from their natural ally, the National IReform
§ and to join with the common enemy whom then had opposed
uring the election, what was known as the Ashford and Bush wing
of the Liberal party, simply for the reason that upon the overturn of
239
the Wideman cabinet, whom all parties had agreed should go out,
they, the Missionary party, had not the appointment of the cabinet to
follow. This joining with the common enemy naturally estranged the
members of the National Reform party and forced them into an alliance
with the more conservative wing of the Liberal or native party, as no
party in the Legislature had a working majority.
After the overthrow of the Wideman cabinet the opposition, headed
by Mr. Thurston, took a position in favor of what they called the con-
stitutional principle, that the Queen should call a leading member of
the opposition to form a cabinet. The Queen did so, and called me. I
being a member of the National Reform party and not their choice,
they objected to my forming a cabinet because I had stated to them
my determination not to enter such cabinet. But they decided to
waive that point if I would name or form such cabinet as they should
nominate and select in caucus. This I declined to do and notified the
Queen that I could not form a cabinet. She then called upon Hon. E.
C. Macfarlane, another leading member of the opposition, who formed
what is known as the Macfarlane cabinet. This was still not satis-
factory to them, as they claimed, because they had been told that every
member of the cabinet had not been Mr. Macfarlane's own selection,
but in reality because Mr. Macfarlane and the majority of the cabinet
selected were not from their party.
They immediately attempted to oust them, upon the sole ground that
the constitutional principle, as they claimed, had not been adhered to.
They failed upon the first attempt, but later, having thoroughly organ-
ized and appointed a committee which had no name, but which can
only be called a corruption committee, they succeeded, by the use of a
large amount of money, in finally ousting the cabinet, having won over,
through these peculiar and almost unheard of means in Hawaii, suffi-
cient natives to carry their vote. The Cornwell cabinet which fol-
lowed, and which was the personal choice of the Queen, was within a
few hours summarily dealt with by this combination of the missionary
and the devil and put out in a few hours. This was followed by a
cabinet which was formed by the Hon. Cecil Brown, who was not a
member of the Legislature and was in no sense a leading member of
the opposition, and who but a few weeks before had been defeated for
a seat in the house, but, getting together a number of members from
the Reform party, he satisfied the desire of that party in his choice.
Although they had sworn to stand by the constitutional principle
before spoken of, as soon as a cabinet was formed satisfactory in its
personnel to this party which lacked by a considerable number a ma-
jority in the Legislature, they were perfectly willing to abandon their
constitutional principle and stand and support a cabinet composed of
their own members. When this cabinet, which they had sacrificed so
much principle for, was voted out for purely political reasons, they
realized that their hold upon the politics of the country was forever
gone unless they could by some grand coup regain their power by over-
turning representative government. In this connectien it may be said
that the charge made by the insurgents who formed the Provisional
Government, in their proclamation of corruption in the late Legislature,
was to a certain extent true. But it is no valid reason for their action,
as the Reform Party, representing as they did the planters and there-
fore a large part of the wealth of the country, were the people who
paid the money and caused the corruption and should be blamed very
much more than the Hawaiians who took their money. *ś
All these causes combined bound together a few hundred people in
Honolulu, dissatisfied malcontents, either because they were not mak-
ing as much money as formerly, or because they had not the control
of the Government, who were only too glad to take advantage of the
attempt of the Queen to promulgate a new constitution, especially
backed as they were, or as they claimed to be and as after events showed
were true, by the assurances of Mr. Stevens, the American Minister.
It is not necessary for me to go into the details of the revolt here, as
the most of it has already been told by me in a number of affidavits
already on file, and I shall confine myself to mentioning only a few facts,
which, if stated at all, have been misrepresented.
Qn Saturday afternoon, after the prorogation, and after the Queen
had declined to promulgate a new constitution, a meeting was held at
the office of W. O. Smith and over seventy of the prominent citizens of
Honolulu, most of whom were afterwards actively engaged in the
movement to dethrone the Queen, signed a document agreeing to su
º
240
port the cabinet of which I was a member in the stand they had taken
against such promulgation, and promise that that support should
exist so long as the cabinet stood by their position. In less than three
hours the meeting which formed the Committee of Safety was held at
Mr. Thurston's house, and they were determined to break their pledge
unless the cabinet would agree to dethrone the Queen and form a Pro-
visional Government. This breaking of their pledge did not surprise
the cabinet, as they could expect nothing but such a failure to keep
their word from the men who were engaged in it.
This action of the Queen in attempting to promulgate a new consti-
tution, although it was petitioned for and desired by ninety-nine one-
hundredths of her native subjects, was deprecated by her cabinet and
was entirely new to them, although statements have been made to the
contrary, and by their efforts solely the danger was averted. Upon
the promise of the citizens who had signed the agreement to support
the cabinet, they acted and advised the Queen that it was necessary
for her to issue a proclamation stating the circumstances under which
the attempt to promulgate a new constitution was made, and assuring
the foreign representative and the people that she recognized her mis-
take and that no attempt hereafter would be made to alter the existing
constitution except as provided therein. This proclamation was issued
and signed by the Queen and cabinet and assurances were also sent to
the representatives of foreign Governments that such was the Queen's
intention.
This proclamation, and especially the assurances to foreign represent-
atives, which was looked upon as a treaty with the foreign powers and
at any time could have been treated as such, was deemed satisfactory
by the majority of the prominent and wealthy merchants of the city.
The mass meeting which had been called by the insurgents and the
counter mass meeting called by the opposition were both attempted to
be stopped, but the committee of safety felt that they had gone so far
that a meeting should be held denouncing the action of the Queen in
order to avert further possible harm, it being understood among the
leaders of that party that that was the extent to which their meeting
should go. At their meeting on Monday afternoon they had less than
700 people present by actual count. The resolution presented at that
meeting was confined entirely to the action which had been proposed,
except the ending clause, which was slyly introduced by the most fiery
members of the committee of safety, giving that committee liberty to
act in any emergency which might arise. If the action which the com-
mittee saw fit to take within one hour under that resolution had been
for one moment thought of by that meeting they would not have been
able to carry their resolution.
The counter mass meeting was attended by more than six times as
many people as attended the other, and understanding that the critical
situation had ended by mutual consent, the meeting was conducted in
a peaceful and quiet manner. After the meetings the people dispersed
to their homes and matters were quieter than they had been for many
a day, until shortly after 4 o'clock word was heralded about the town
that the United States troops from the Boston had landed at the
request of the committee of safety. On Tuesday the Government was
ready to meet any emergency, which fact Mr. Stevens, the American
minister, was notified of, and were prepared to keep peace at all haz-
ards, and at any time could have arrested and dispersed the §§:
most of whom joined them only on the promise that the United States
was behind them and would protect them. The Government had well
armed and equipped more than ten men to one insurgent. Nothing
was done by the Government except to keep in readiness, as they
desired to first find out Mr. Stevens' position in the matter, which he
had indicated in his conversation with myself and Mr. Parker on Sun-
day afternoon, but which was not absolutely certain.
After our conversation with Mr. Stevens,Tuesday afternoon, which
has been detailed fully in our affidavits, and which was ended at a
little after 2 o'clock in the afternoon and before the proclamation by
the Provisional Government was issued, the cabinet came to the con-
clusion that it was absurd to think of resisting the United States, and
waited only until Mr. Stevens formally notified them of his recognition
of the Provisional Government, which he sent us in answer to a letter
from us. This letter in answer to ours reached us before 4 o'clock and
less than an hour after the issuing of the proclamation by the Provis
ional Government. After receiving his notification that he had recog-

W.
241
nized and would support the Provisional Government we entered into
negotiations with the Provisional Government, and upon their promis-
ing certain matters in connection with the Queen's protest, which by
the way they afterwards failed to carry out, we delivered up the station
house, which was then, and always has been in time of trouble here,
the headquarters of the Government, the barracks, and palace, under
the protest which has been published and which explicitly says that
we yielded to the superior force of the United States troops. y
This ended the affair as far as the Hawaiians are concerned, who
acting upon the advice of their leaders, determined to leave their case.
to the justice of the American people in dealing with the protest of
their Queen. Since that time the only danger which has menaced the
community has been that caused by the presence of the troops of a for-
eign nation guarding the sacred halls of their chiefs, and the still
greater menace of the vagabonds which the Provisional Government
called in to their assistance and organized into what they term a Pro-
visional army. These facts show that Mr. Thurston's statement that
Mr. Stevens didn't recognize them until after the surrender is false, and
also show that the whole affair was premeditated and thoroughly under-
stood between Mr. Stevens and a few of the citizens of Honolulu.
It has been stated by the supporters of the Provisional Government
that the main reasons for the movement they undertook were the pas-
Sage of the opium and lottery bills at the close of the Legislature. To
show the untruthfulness of these statements it is only necessary to call
attention to the fact that the opium bill was passed by an overwhelm-
ing majority at the desire of nearly all classes in the community, and
was supported by two members of the administration, which they have
repeatedly stated was entirely satisfactory—Mr. Robinson, minister of
foreign affairs, and Mr. Brown, attorney-general.
As to the lottery bill, from its first mention it was supported by the
Hawaiians generally, by the mechanics almost to a man, and by a
majority of the storekeepers, smaller merchants, and clerks. . It was
opposed by the banks and the larger wholesale merchants, who gave
as their reason for such opposition that it was not wise to place such
political power as the bill proposed, or which might be taken under it,
in the hands of a single corporation. The argument used in favor of
the passage of the bill was that times were hard; that there seemed no
immediate prospect of better times coming; that the poor man and
the small dealer would be forced to the wall unless some relief was
had; that while they did not believe in lotteries generally, it was the
only tangible relief in sight and as such was grasped at. In fact, the
arguments were exactly such as the same men use now in favor of annex.
ation to the United States—anything to better our financial condition.
To show the public feeling on the question of the lottery it is only neces-
sary to refer to the special election held in Honolulu last October for
the election of two nobles for the island of Oahu, when almost entirely
upon the issue of the lottery Hopkins and Maile were elected by a large
majority; they supporting the lottery, as against Mr. Brown and Mr.
Robinson, afterwards called into the Wilcox cabinet, and Mr. H.
YWaterhouse, a member of the provisional council.
The cabinet of which I was a member have been accused publicly
and privately of having favored the purpose of the Queen to promul-
gate a new constitution, and in support of that it has been said that
Her Majesty told me, at the meeting in the palace, that I had had the
constitution in my pocket for a month. What she did say was, in
answer to a remark by Mr. Parker, that we didn't know what the con-
stitution contained; that I–Mr. Peterson—had had it in my possession
for several weeks. The explanation of that remark is this: During
the early part of the session of the Legislature, some three or four
months before the prorogation, the Queen sent for me one day and
handed me a roll wrapped in newspaper, and, without saying what it
was, asked me to look it over and see if I could propose any changes.
I carried it home and looked at it and found it to be a draft of a con-
stitution. I did not read it through, and can not say whether or not
it was the same as was afterwards shown to us in the palace. Ithought
nothing of the matter at the time, as the subject of a new constitution
was then before the Legislature in the shape of a bill providing for the
calling of a constitutional convention; but as I was opposed to the
measure, and shortly afterwards voted against it in the house, I was
not desirous of assisting in the project, as I supposed this to be, and
so did not look at it again after the first day. Some two or three weeks

B—31
242
after the Queen sent Mr. Robertson for the package, which I returned
exactly as I received it, having looked at it but once, and having made
no changes.
The course the cabinet pursued during the revolution has been much
criticised, but it must be remembered that the cabinet had only been in
office but a day or two, that the most of them were green in their posi-
tions, and felt that the wisest course for them to pursue was to be
guided by the advice of more experienced men in public affairs. They
accordingly took no important step without consulting either with the
diplomatic Corps or a number of prominent citizens who kindly assisted
Her Majesty's Government, among whom were J. O. Carter, Paul Neu-
mann, and E. C. Macfarlane. These gentlemen, after learning Mr.
Stevens's attitude, were convinced, and so advised the Queen and
cabinet, that the best course to pursue was what was finally done, to
yield to the superior force of the United States.
I remain, your obedient servant,
A. P. PETERSON.
HoNoLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, July 13, 1893.
No. 44.
Interview with Wm. Hyde Rice, of Lihue, Kauai, April 28, 1893.
Q. You filed on April 20, 1893, four petitions?
A. Yes.
The petitions are as follows:
To the honorable W. H. Rice:
We, the undersigned, residents of the islands of Kauai and Niihau, Hawaiian
Islands, do hereby nominate and depute you as delegate to represent us at Honolulu
before the United States commissioners in matters concerning the annexation of the
Hawaiian Islands to the United States to endeavor to procure for us equal rights
and privileges accruing to citizens of the United States.
(Signed by 137 names.)
To the honorable W. H. Rice:
We, the undersigned, residents of the islands of Kauai and Niihau, Hawaiian
Islands, do hereby nominate and depute you as delegate to represent us at Honolulu
before the United States commissioners in matters concerning the annexation of the
Hawaiian Islands to the United States to endeavor to procure for us equal rights
and privileges accruing to citizens of the United States.
(Signed by 18 names.)
To the honorable W. H. Rices
We, the undersigned, residents of the islands of Kauai and Niihau, Hawaiian
Islands, do hereby nominate and depute you as delegate to represent ns at Honolulu
before the United States commissioners in matters concerning the annexation of the
Hawaiian Islands to the United States to endeavor to procure for us equal rights
and privileges accruing to citizens of the United States.
(Signed by 43 names.)
To the honorable W. H. Rice:
We, the undersigned residents of the islands of Kauai and Niihau, Hawaiian
Islands, do hereby nominate and depute you as delegate to represent us at Hono-
lulu, before the United States Commissioners in matters concerning the annexation
of the Hawaiian islands to the United states to endeavor to procure for us equal
rights and privileges accruing to eitizens of the United States.
(Signed by 81 names.)
Q. How did you come by these? e §
.A.-I was telephoned from the Waimeau natives asking me if I would
represent them here before Commissioner Blount. I said that I had
no wish to come, but if it was their wish I would be willing to repre-
sent them.
Q. How far from where you are?
A. About 25 or 30 miles from my residence.
Q. Then what?
A. They said they would draw up papers and send them around to
be signed at the precincts in that place,
Q. Here is the fifth petition similar in form presented this morning,
the 28th. How did you come by this?
A. It was sent up from the island of Nuphau last Sunday. They
wished to circulate them all around the islands, but hadn’t time.
Q. And you were not near when these papers were gotten up?
*
243
A. No; I was not. I have not been near any of their meetings.
Q. Were you governor, at any time, of the island?
A. Yes.
Q. When?
A. I was governor for about one year of the islands of Kauai and
Niihau.
Q. What year?
A. From the 14th of February, 1892, to the abolition of the office by
the existing Government.
lºwhere were you on the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th of January,
A. I was on the the island of Kauai!
Q. When did you learn of the dethronement of the Queen and the
substitution of the Provisional Government?
A. On the 23d of January.
Q. Was there anything known of any movement of this sort in the
island prior to its happening?
A. No. We had some rumor that there would be trouble on that
Saturday morning—that there might be some trouble, as the Wilcox
ministry had been voted out Thursday afternoon. I heard on Friday
morning.
Q. That there might be trouble?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. On account of the going out of the ministry?
A. Yes.
Q. What sort of trouble was indicated?
A. We had no idea.
§ Won did not know whether it would take the form of force or
WI13.
A. We had no idea.
Q. Was there any suspicion of the dethronement of the Queen?
A. I think not.
Q. Have you anything you wish to add, Mr. Rice?
A. I had been with the Queen when she told me of the appointment
of the Nawahi ministry; as they called it, the Nancy Hanks ministry.
She told me who the appointees were. I said: “That won't hold; you
had better have another ministry ready.”
Q. Are you interested in sugar-planting?
A. I am not a sugar-planter. I own stock in a plantation. My
business is running a cattle and horse ranch.
Q. You superintend that, but you have some investments in sugar?
A. Yes; I have stock in one sugar plantation. I inherited the stock.
I am not what is called a sugar-planter.
Q. What is your idea about annexation?
A. I think if we are not annexed to the United States I do not know
* : rºoms of us, because we are incapable of ruling ourselves.
º y
A. There are so many different factions and interests that it will
produce pandemonium if we tried to rule ourselves.
Q. Do you mean by that that the native element is not qualified for
self-government?
A. I mean that.
Q. Why? e i- * e *
A. Because no native is capable of carrying on business for himself,
and much less of carrying on government.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it a correct report
of my interview with Col. Blount.
W. H. RICE.
*
No. 45.
Interview with Antone Rosa, Honolulu, April 17, 1893.
Mr. Blount. I would like to have your opinion as to the various
causes which culminated in the dethronement of the Queen.
Mr. Rosa. The only legitimate cause—if that can be construed into
a cause—is this: The Queen signing the opium bill, which passed more
than two thirds of the house and was favored by two members of the
cabinet, and her signing the lottery bill, and the presumption on their
244
part that the Queen was using her influence in an underhand way to
oust the Wilcox cabinet. Those were the immediate causes.
Q. What were the remote causes?
A. The remote causes I should judge to be a dissatisfaction on their
part in not being able to control the Government. I mean by that in
not having their own men at the head of the Government. I do not
think they cared much about the minor offices, but the cabinet and the
principal offices of the Government they wanted to control, claiming
that they are the substantial people of the country; and I can not see
any more tangible cause than this. The Queen since her reign has not
exercised any of the powers her late brother did.
Q. What do you mean by the powers he exercised?
A. Such as meddling with politics, demanding certain persons to be
put in office, and undue expenditures of public money. She did not
have as much right to enter into politics as her late brother, because
during his reign whenever the ministry did not carry out his projects
he would dismiss them without a vote of want of confidence.
Q. Without a vote of want of confidence?
A. Yes; prior to the constitution of 1887.
Q. After that did he dismiss the ministers without a vote of want of
confidence?
A. No, he did not; he could not. He sometimes would obstruct
some of the movements of the so-called Reform party. It went so far
one time as to force the cabinet to require the King to make a pledge;
I do not think he was made to sign it.
Q. What was the pledge?
A. That he should not in anyway obstruct the proceedings of the
ministers, norinterfere in politics, but that he should acceptevery advice
from them, as they were responsible for the King's acts under the con-
stitution. I do not think he exercised any rights against the cabinet
except what he thought he had a right to; as, for instance, the right to
veto. They contended that he did not have that right personal to him-
self, but that it was a right which he should exercise by and with the
advice of his cabinet. That question was submitted to the supreme
court and they decided in his favor.
Q. By unanimous vote?
A. I can not say; but I could refer to it. It was decided in favor of
His Majesty's contention that it was a personal prerogative.
Q. What was the cause of the revolution of Wilcox?
A. The revolution of Wilcox on July 20, 1889, was a public demon-
* ºfte natives' opposition to the constitution.
* OW
A. They contended that he was the undercurrent in the attempt to
overthrow the Government, but he publicly denounced it in a letter,
written at my instance and at the instance of another friend of his.
He was then quartered at the boathouse. I personally thought he was
a party to it.
Q. That Wilcox was?
A. No; that His Majesty was. I personally felt that way.
Q. How do you mean he was a party to it?
A. I can not tell you from any direct evidence; but circumstances
appeared to me as though he was a party to it.
Q. In what way; what was the scheme he was trying to effectuate?
A. It was the overthrow of the 1887 constitution, and to be replaced
by another one which he framed. The fact of his having his Queen
removed from the palace the night before the movement; the fact of his
intimacy with certain revolutionary leaders, and other circumstances,
which I can not call to mind, make me think so. I was very intimaté
with * then, but felt that his conduct through the whole matter was
unjus
Q. You think that he was secretly promoting the movement to
undermine the Government with a view to giving him the powers he
had prior to the constitution of 1887?
A. I believe so.
Q. Was that generally entertained?
A. I believe so—by the cabinet.
Q. Who was in the cabinet?
A. Thurston, minister of the interior; Damon, minister of finance;
C. W. Ashford, attorney-general and Jonathan Austin, minister of
foreign affairs. About 1 o'clock in the morning the Ring received
a message that the movement was to dethrone him and put Liliuoka-
lani in power,
245
Q. When he received this message where was he?
A. In the palace.
Q. Was that the day before the revolution broke out?
A. It was the same morning. It was supported by the fact that W.
R. Castle and others had approached the present Queen and asked her
if she would not take the throne. This may require corroboration. It
is secret history. It is not denied that she had been approached on
that subject. I do not know whether she favored it or not, but he
distrusted it and somewhat intimated it to me personally.
Q. Now to pass on, how about the Wilcox cabinet? How did that
happen to get out?
A. It was a very satisfactory cabinet. It did not seem so to the
house. They were got out by means of some maneuvering. The
Nationalists and Liberals joined to get them out.
Q. The Liberals came over to the Nationalists?
A. Yes. And which ever way they went they tumbled out the cabi-
net. I suppose the reason is that the natives feared they were an
annexation cabinet. The natives were all afraid of them save myself.
I did not believe it, because up to that time they were all anti-annexa-
tionists, and I knew Wilcox was against it at that time and prior to
it. He has always been friendly to the aatives, always opposed to
anything that might lead to annexation, and he is a good man, partic-
ularly friendly to the natives. But he has always said if it was done
voluntarily by the natives he was willing to join in.
Q. The constitution of 1887 took from the King the power to appoint
nobles?
A. Yes.
Q. It then provided for an election by electors having $3,000 worth
of property unincumbered or an income of $600?
A. Yes.
Q. The elimination of everybody except persons having these quali-
fications left the relative strength of the foreign population in what
proportion?
A. I should presume three-fifths of the voters were foreigners and
two-fifths natives; perhaps less. The foreigners became much stronger.
Q. There was also coupled with that the permission on the part of
foreigners who claimed their citizenship in other countries to vote?
A. Yes; by registering and taking oath. It was always a danger-
ous element to the native people, because a man for the sake of a few
months' occupation could vote.
Q. The power to appoint nobles was taken from the King and con-
ferred practically upon what are sometimes termed foreigners?
A. Yes, that is true; there is no question about it.
Q. Was that or was it not a cause of discontent among the native
population?
A. Yes; I suppose it was.
Q. Do the native population want the right to vote for nobles them-
selves or do they want the power vested in the Queen?
A. I believe that they want the power in themselves, but I myself
and a few of us have always felt that it is an unsafe thing to give
them all that power, and that is one reason why it has not been
adjudged safe to give them full power—only to give them some limited
power.
Q. How far did you want to go?
A. I should go down to three or four hundred income and, say, a
thousand dollars' worth of property. I presume they would be satis-
fied if that right were given to the Queen. Then opposition would
come from the foreigners to that.
Q. You think they would be content to give up the right to vote for
nobles?
A. I believe so.
Q. Is it the desire of the native population to have the Queen appoint
the nobles rather than to have the right to vote for nobles themselves?
A.. I think so; that is, of the mass. Now, a person like me—I would
not like to see it.
Q. You want more extended suffrage?
A. Yes. I would rather the sovereign should not exercise that right.
She might be influenced to appoint persons who ought not to be
appointed—who would not fail, for instance, in the Legislature to vote
for the measure she favored or that the cabinet favored. She might
º. very good men, like Mr. Bishop, Mr. Irving, and Mr. Damon
and others.
246
Q. Is it that feeling of preferring the exercise of the power of creating
nobles growing out of the old relationship of the masses of the people
to a chief, and consequent tendency to obey a chief, rather than an
appreciation of the forms of popular government?
A. Yes; I have not the least doubt that it is the desire of more than
nine-tenths of the Hawaiian population, meaning native Hawaiian.
They have always felt that as long as a Hawaiian was at the head of
the Government—their sovereign—that they were always safe as regards
the country and its general welfare, I believe if this subject were put
to a popular vote I would be right in my view.
Q. Do you mean to say that you believe that they would favor the
*::::: of the nobles by the Queen?
O
Q. And would not care for an election of nobles by the people?
A. Yes.
Q. Is the preference for the appointment of nobles by the Queen the
result of the fear that in an election they may sometimes lose in a con-
test with foreign residents, or is it independent of any fear of foreign
residents, or is it a fear of their own ability to wisely elect nobles?
A. I do not think it is from a fear on their part to wisely elect nobles,
but it is from a fear that the foreigners will be supremein the elections.
The result of the elections so far since this right has been taken away
from the sovereign confirms what I say—the nobles nominated under
this system by the foreign element have nearly all been elected.
Q. Suppose the property qualification was reduced to moderate fig-
ures, would that make any change in the sentiment of the natives on
the question of preference between the appointment of nobles by the
Queen and voting for them?
* I hardly think so. I think they prefer that power left with the
throne.
Q. Suppose the property qualification to vote for a noble was the
same as that which obtains in the matter of electing a representative,
would the native mind prefer to create nobles in that way, or would it
prefer that the Crown should appoint them?
A. My impression is that they would prefer to have the right in their
own hands, not distrusting the Queen, however.
Q. Why would they prefer it?
A. It would be granting them rights which they never had.
Q. You think, then, if they had the right to elect in the way that I
have indicated that that old disposition to subserviency to the chief
would be replaced by a disposition to select their government by popu-
lar methods. I do not mean the dethronement of the Queen, I mean in
the way I have indicated?
A. I think they would use that privilege fairly. They would not be
ºient to the sovereign. I think they would exercise it fairly and
wisely.
Q. Then is it with them a selection between the present mode of
electing nobles and the Queen's appointing them?
A. I do not know that it would make any difference to them as to
whether they exercised the right or the Queen did, for the reason that
the subject has not been much discussed among them. They consider
it unfair that they in their own land should not have the right to vote
for nobles. That has been the contention. It has not been put in the
º you have placed it, so that I can not give you any idea in that
OTTI.
Q. Is the discontent of the native population with the mode of
selecting nobles that it takes away from the natives the right to vote?
A. Yes; there is no doubt about that. That is clearly the reason
why there is so much discontent. I have no hesitancy in answering
at.
Q. In the fear of political aggressions by foreign residents to the dis-,
advantage of the natives, is it true that the natives feel that they would
*:::: in the appointment of nobles by the Queen or by manhood
Suffrage
A. It is true that they would feel more secure if the nobles were either
appointed by the sovereign or by giving the native population the
right to vote for them without any property qualification. It is the
popular view now and the subject has been a source of discontent for
years to the Hawaiian people. It appears in the newspapers and all
over the country, in fact. The revolution of 1889, of Wilcox, was with
that view mainly.
247
Q. With a view of doing away with that mode of electing nobles?
A. Yes, sir; and to restore it to the sovereign or popular vote. Of
. this view would be very strenuously opposed by the foreign
©!CD16. In
Q. Is that the view of the mass of the population of the islands?
A. There is no question about it.
Q. How do a majority of the people of the islands feel toward the
existing government?
A. They are opposed to it.
Q. I hear—I don't know as to the truth of it—that a good many of
the native people are signing petitions for annexation, which would
indicate that they were in line with the Provisional Government?
A. I do not believe it. Those who are signing, perhaps, are those
directly affected by pecuniary considerations, such as being in the employ-
ment of persons who favor annexation, and such as being in a position
to receive money from them in any business way—in a legitimate way,
probably—and for fear that they would be dismissed from service.
Q. Suppose the matter of sustaining the Provisional Government in
its policy and purposes was submitted to a popular vote in the islands
with the qualification of a person voting for representative, what
would be the result, in your opinion?
A. I think they would be swamped.
Q. By how much? #.
A. I should say four-fifths.
Q. Of the total vote?
A. Yes. Practically speaking, they have no support. They get it
simply from a business point of view. The best test as to their sup-
port would be to see their list of citizens' oath. You will find they
have two oaths. One the citizen's oath, the other the official oath.
They have a strong list of Government employés, Hawaiians, who say
they are in favor of annexation. Certainly they would say so. The
only independent body of natives was the Hawaiian Band. They are
the only ones who stood out, notwithstanding my advice to sign the
official oath. I signed one. I am a notary public. I did not sign
the citizen's oath.
Q. Did you write the communication addressed to Mr. Stevens, the
American minister, on the 17th of January, 1893, signed by Samuel
Parker, minister of foreign offairs; William H. Cornwell, minister of
finance; John F. Colburn, minister of the interior, and A. P. Peter-
son, tº generall
º I
Q. What was done with that paper; who did you deliver it to?
A. I delivered it to Hopkins. A press copy was taken. I wrote the
address myself, and Mr. Hopkins was dispatched with it, and I left the
room. It was written in the marshal's office at the station house.
Q. Was there a reply from Mr. Stevens? g
A. I was not there when the reply was received.
Q. A reply was received?
A. Yes; a reply was received to the effect that the Provisional Gov-
ernment being in possession of the Government building, treasury, and
Government archives, he recognized them as a Government de facto.
Q. Up to that time was the Queen in possession of the barracks, pal-
ace, and station house?
A. She was.
Q. Up to that time had there been any effort on the part of the Pro-
visional Government to take possession of them?
A. No effort whatever.
Q. After the reply of Mr. Stevens came was there any demand on the
part of the Provisional Government for the surrender of these places?
A. I only know from hearsay. I saw Mr. Damon and others who
came to the station house for that purpose, quite late, about half past
six or seven.”
Q. Was that after the reply?
A. Long after.
Q. Up to that time the people who proclaimed the Provisional
Government made no aggressive movement beyond going to the Govern-
ment building?
A. None whatever.
Q. After they issued the proclamation everything remained in statu
quo º the recognition by Mr. Stevens of the Provisional Government?
©S,
248
Q
Q. Subsequent to this was the proposition on the part of the Pro-
visional authorities to the Queen to surrender?
A. Yes; I was there when Mr. Wilson surrendered. I think they
had McCandless there. Hemade afew remarks. He said that he would
only surrender on condition that the United States troops would make
demand on him, or the Queen should ask him to surrender.
Q. Now, after this response from Mr. Stevens, was there a cabinet
consultation on the subject of surrender?
A. I can not tell you, either from hearsay or in anyway. After
receiving that reply from Mr. Stevens it fell flat like a pancake.
Q. How much time intervened between the reception of that reply
and the surrender of the station house and barracks?
A. Two hours.
Q. In these two hours, where were you?
A. Around the neighborhood of the station house in my office; within
a space of say, 200 yards. Business people and everybody thronged
around the station house and by Bishop's bank.
Q. What was their object?
A. To hear the news as to whether Mr. Stevens had recognized the
Provisional Government. I remember the news was brought to me
that he had declined to recognize it. Then news came that he had
recognized it.
Q. There was an eagerness obtaining in the minds of the people, both
in the reform party and the native population, to know just what Mr.
Stevens was going to do?
A. Exactly, it was the turning point of everything...,
Q. And when that was ascertained?
JA. It fell flat as a pancake.
Q. And when that was ascertained, the minds of all persons seemed
to accept that as authority? *
A. Oh, yes. It was Mr. Stevens' attitude in the matter to which all
}. looked up. Bear in mind, Mr. Blount, that the evening before
had heard from two members of the cabinet that Mr. Stevens had told
them troops were landed to protect people and to keep the Queen in
office, and I was surprised to hear this.
Q. Who told you this?
A. Colburn and Parker. They said they had Mr. Stevens's word
that the troops were landed to protect the Queen.
Q. Where were the troops stationed at the time of the proclamation?
A. Between Arion Hall and the Government building, with their
field pieces out.
Q. At what point?
A. Right in front of Arion Hall, 50 or 100 feet from the corner of
Music Hall. They faced there while the proclamation was being read
faced, the Government building.
Q. Were the troops formed?
A. They were formed.
Q. Where was the artillery?
A. I can not tell you whether it was on that side of Music Hall or on
the other side.
Q. What street were the troops on?
A. I do not know whether it is called Wilder's lane or Gibson's lane.
It was the lane or street between Arion Hall and the Government
building.
Q. Where was the artillery? t
A. With the troops on the same street.
Q. º were not in the hall, but formed on that lane or street?
.A. Yes.
Q. And that was the situation when the proclamation of the Pro-
visional Government was read?
A. It was.
Q. And nothing further was done by the Provisional Goyernment in
the matter of taking possession of the Palace, the barracks and the
police quarters until Mr. Stevens had formally recognized it?
A. Nothing was done by it.
Q. And when that was made known, the recognition by Mr. Stevens,
there was a feeling on the part of the native population and of for-
eigners that this determined the controversy?
A. Yes; the Provisional Government had a few men around the
Government building. **
Q. Where?
249
A. Around the Government building. I think there were about 30
or 40 in the inclosure of the Government building.
Q. §y didn’t come out of the inclosures?
A. No.
Q. Mºre there any guards at the entrance of the inclosuret
A. No.
Q. Do you know anything of a visit of Mr. Parker and Mr. Colburn
to Mr. Stevens on Monday?
A. I do not know of my own knowledge, except that we often sent
them there,
Q. Were they sent on Monday?
A. Two or three times.
Q. What report did they bring back?
A. That the troops would be landed. That they would be landed to
protect the Queen.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount. A. RO
& S.A.
No. 46.
Interview with M. M. Scott.'
HoNoLULU, Monday, April 10, 1893–9:20 a.m.
Mr. BLount. Please tell me the causes, the surface and the bottom
causes of this movement, the action of the people here in establishing
the Provisional Government.
Mr. Scott. There has been a conviction since I have been here—ten
or eleven years—that under the reign of Kalakaua, with his methods of
controlling legislation under the old constitution, that with the irre-
sponsible voting and irresponsible legislators, being controlled by the
royal power, that that form of government could but lead to disastrous
results here under his reign.
Mr. Blount. You are referring to the condition before the constitut-
tion of 1887 t
Mr. SCOTT. Yes; and his notorious corruption of members of the
Legislature, especially Hawaiian members.
Mr. Blount. You now speak of prior to 1887?
Mr. Scott. Yes; that was the cause of that movement in 1887.
Well, of course after his death (Kalakaua) the present Queen came on
the throne, and, as you are perhaps aware, the first thing she did was,
the dismissal of the ministers who had been appointed by Kalakaua'; I
believe the supreme court giving a decision that she was not bound to
retain them, although this ministry had a majority in the Legislature.
I think the court decided that by his death the ministry went out.
Mr. BLOUNT. Who were the judges of the court then?
Mr. Scott. Judd, Bickerton, and Dole.
Mr. BLOUNT. Was it a unanimous decision?
Mr. SCOTT. I think it was; no, I am inclined to think, perhaps, that
Dole dissented on the grounds—well, I have forgotten what. I wilk
not testify about that. Then the people who had known the former
Queen here—Liliuokalani, as she was called—while recognizing the
fact that she was a very headstrong woman, thought that by giving
her the support of the better element of the community she might,
change her course for the better, and they did flock around her, all,
the foreign community and the missionaries.
A missionary here means, in the political slang of the day, anyone
who is not affiliated with a few of what I conceive to be the worst ele,
ments of demagogues. It makes no difference what he is, a non-
believer or a Buddhist, if he affiliates with the party for good gow-
ernment he is generally called a missionary. They related around.
here, and a paper published here by Bush and a number of his followers
declared, that the Queen had ignored the claims of her own people,
paid no attention to them. His paper was nasty, as it usually is, and
said all manner of disagreeable things about the Queen. The paper
Was the strongest advocate of annexation.
Mr. BLOUNT. What is the name of the paper?
Mr. SCOTT. Ka Leo (this means, “The Truth”). He even advocated
taking her off her throne. Then came the election for the last Legisla--
B—32
250
ture, and of course they voted out the old ministry. This man Bush
joined in with the opposition. The Queen positively declined having
anything to do with Bush or Wilcox. She wonlil not consent to give
them any place because of the way in which they had assailed her per-
sonal life. Everyone knew she could not very well do it. Then they
went along very slowly, this Legislature did, and voted out minister
after minister.
*. BLOUNT. Will you please state how many ministers were voted
Out
Mr. SCOTT. About the middle of the session they voted out the whole
ministry which she had appointed when they went in—Widdeman,
Whiting, Parker, and Spencer.
Mr. BLOUNT. When was that?
Mr. SCOTT. About the middle of the session, after they had been
going about two months.
Mr. BLOUNT. Of 1892?
Mr. SCOTT. Yes. Then, after a vacation of two or three weeks, after
political log-rolling, they tried to get her to listen to the appointment
of a good ministry. All at once there was the appointment of another
ministry, consisting of Macfarlane, Neumann, Parker, and Gulick.
Mr. BLOUNT. The former had been voted out?
Mr. Scott. Yes. They immediately took a vote of want of confidence
against it after they went in and failed by one—24 to 25. They then
went on not more than two weeks more, and brought up a vote of con-
* and carried it largely—35 to 15. The natives voted against
them.
Mr. BLou NT. Against the cabinet?
Mr. Scott. Yes, against the cabinet.
Mr. BLount. What cabinet was that?
Mr. SCOTT. That was the second one—Neumann, Macfarlane,
Spencer, Porter, and Gulick. After a vacation of some days, it is said,
she came to her senses, and really was desirous of putting in a ministry
that would please the Legislature, and a majority of the property-
holders of the country. They put in then this ministry: P.C. }ones,
minister of finance; Cecil Brown (an Englishman) attorney-general;
George Wilcox, of Ranai, one of the largest property-holders in the
country, minister of the interior, and a half-white man, Mark Robin-
son, also a large property-owner, minister of foreign affairs. That
was a ministry suitable to all classes of the community. All the bet-
ter element joined in expressing satisfaction—English, German,
Americans—all were perfectly satisfied with them.
That went on, and it was supposed, until a few days before the
adjournment of the Legislature, that that would hold. In the meantime
they declared a policy—the first ministry that had had nerve enough to
say anything about what their policy was going to be. The other min-
istry was afraid to say whether they were opposed to the bank bill or the
lottery bill. They did not know how to please the Hawaiians. They
said they should fight for retrenchment and make the expenses of the
Government come within the income. They were opposed decidedly to
the lottery scheme, to the Horner bank bill, and to the opium bill.
Then it was thought that they would hold until a few days before the
adjournment, when it was found there had been a majority got for the
lottery bill and the opium bill also. The Queen said if she could pass
these two bills her ministry would have to resign.
Three days, I think it was, before the adjournment they passed the
lottery bill and the opium bill. They let the bank bill go, becaue the
Inatives were not so particular about that. They wanted the lottery.
So that passed, and then the better element of the community here got
around these ministers and said: “Do not resign; leave it to the Legis-
lature to vote you out.” They did not resign. I had talked with some
of them. They said they could not afford to resign, and then the day
before the adjournment—the next day after they passed these bills-
she signed them immediately, although delegations here from the
Woman's Temperance Union and the churches called upon her and
asked her not to do so. Then, the night after they passed them, they
went around to Mr. C. A. Berger, a son-in-law of Mr. Widemann, to
get him to vote to put out the ministry. They told him if he would vote
for putting out the ministry they would let his father-in-law form a
cabinet for the Queen.
Mr. BLOUNT. Let me ask you a question on that point. What is the
evidence of this promise?
*
251
l Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Berger's own statement to various gentlemen around
|CITC,
Mr, BLount. Who are they?
Mr. SCOTT. I do not know that I can mention any. It was put out
at the club by Mr. Cecil Brown. I do not know that he told me so
himself. It is certainly true. It is common talk. Perhaps, however,
you do not wish to take this.
Mr. BLOUNT. I wish to take all you have to say. &
Mr. Scott. I am positive all this is true. So far as my feelings go in
the politics of this community I have no interest. After they voted
them out Mr. Widdemau was sent for. She began to name the cabinet
she had chosen. She said the office of minister of the interior was filled
by Mr. Colburn. “Oh, then,” said Mr. Widdeman, “I will have nothing
do with it. I should do all the work and get all the blame. I will
have nothing to do with it.”
Mr. Islount. Was the minister of the interior the only one named t
Mr. Scott. The minister of finance, Mr. Cornwell.
Mr. BLOUNT. Now, any others?
Mr. SCOTT. I do not know of any others.
Mr. BLOUNT. It was at this point that he, Widdeman, declared he
would have nothing to do with it?
Mr. SCOTT. Yes.
Mr. BLOUNT. How did you get that information?
Mr. SCOTT. I got it from people to whom Mr. Widemann told it. I
got it from several people who visited his house, whose veracity I can
certainly vouch for.
Mr. BLOUNT. That's enough.
Mr. Scott. Then immediately she appointed Mr. Colburn, Mr. Peter-
son, Mr. Cornwell, and Mr. Parker. Then came the morning of the
prorogation. A majority of what is called the Reform party—that is, I
think, all of them in fact did not appear at the prorogation.
Mr. BLOUNT. What was their idea for absenting themselves?
Mr. SCOTT. They were so disgusted, Mr. Blount, with the last week
or ten days of the Legislature, the means used to get the ministry out
and the substitution of a ministry that nobody had confidence in.
They made no concerted action. I do not think they went together,
but each one resolved within himself he would not appear there any
more. They saw the futility of having worked four or five or six
months of this session; they wanted to get to their business. They had
large business interests out on the Islands. They got tired and dis-
gusted with this idle talk.
Mr. BLOUNT. Will you allow me to ask you there—the men who
absented themselves—what class of people did they belong to?
Mr. Scott. They belonged to what is generally known as the Reform
palty—that is, to reform the methods of politics and legislation. Such
men as Young, of the iron works; Walbridge, of Waliuku, manager of
a plantation; Anderson, one of the nobles of Waliuku, and Al Wilcox,
of Kuai, owner of a plantation. That class of men. The most respon.
sible men in the community.
Mr. BLou NT: Generally large property owners?
Mr. SCOTT : Yes, and representatives of property interests.
Mr. BLOUNT: Who made up the other side; what class of men?
Mr. SCOTT: About fifteen natives, whose names you could not write,
down, coming from various outer districts. Did not, perhaps, repre-
sent $500 worth of property in the country. The men on this side who
&lid represent property were Cummins, who had a large property once
but, like all other Hawaiians, wasted it and is heavily in debt, and
Peterson (he was in the ministry).
Mr. BLOUNT. These were both natives?
Mr. Scott. Yes. I do not know of any white men on that side. I
i. perhaps a few, three or four, did remain just for appearance's
Sºke,
Mr, BLOUNT. Let me ask you, were they all natives on that side?
Mr. SCOTT. The side that stayed in?
Mr. BLOUNT. Yes.
Mr. SCOTT. Yes. Generally natives.
MR. BLOUNT. What else besides natives?
Mr. SCOTT. They were nearly all natives. Some few half-castes like
Mr. White, of Lahaima. They were nearly all natives or half white
men. The English, I think, and the Americans, the nobles and the
252
representative men, all absented themselves to a man. At the time I
was at Wakiki, I moved out to Wakiki, I think it was about 2 o'clock.
Mr. BLount. What day?
Mr. SCOTT: The same day. I think it was about 2 o'clock Satur-
day. ... I have forgotten the day of the month. We were startled at
Wakiki—we were all there on Saturday afternoon. We heard that
the Queen had proclaimed a new constitution. I do not know whether
the message was that she had or was going to proclaim a new consti-
tution. Everybody was on the qui vive. I did not go up at all. It
seems that she had invited a number of legislators, I do not know
how many, over to the palace to partake of some kind of a colla-
tion, but before the collation came around, I believe it was before,
she sent for the ministers. She was dressed in her robes of state.
She said she had prolaimed this constitution or was going to and
wanted them to sign it, I was told, without reading it.
I was told by men who were there. This is hearsay. When they
said they had not read it she said, “Why do you say so, when you have
had it in your pocket three weeks.” She told them she did not want to
hear any more advice. She said, “You know if I go out and proclaim
it to my people they may come in and tear you limb from limb.”
*: BLOUNT. How did you get that information? Just in the same
way
Mr. SCOTT. I got it from Chief Justice Judd. He said she looked
like a fiend.
Mr. BLOUNT. Please go on.
Mr. Scott. Well, I believe it was told me, two or more were inclined
to sign. Peterson and Colburn refused, and asked for time. They
went over to the Government building. Colburn went down to W. O.
Smith's office and asked what support they could get from the com-
munity if they refused to sign it. He advised them not to signit; said
that they would have the support of all the better element of the com-
munity.
Mr. BLOUNT. What do you mean by what support they could get
from the community?
Mr. Scott. In case they refused to sign it. They were frightened
to death—thinking of the Kalakaua riots. They went to the men they
were in political opposition to for support, knowing they were the only
men to be depended upon. They knew they had real backbone. This
was told then by Thurston, Smith, Castle, Emmeluth, and others. Mr.
Emmeluth is a mechanic. He is a man of sound sense. He told me
that this constitution was coming two weeks before. Then immedi-
ately the men around the street went into Smith's office and organized
this committee of thirteen.
Mr. BLOUNT. Yes.
Mr. SCOTT. Inoticed—I did not come to town—that there was a meet-
ing at the armory that evening.
Mr. BLounT. Before going on further, what was the size of the crowd
at Smith's office?
Mr. SCOTT. That I can not tell. There were the thirteen there. I
do not know how many more.
Mr. BLOUNT. Please go on.
Mr. SCOTT. On Monday morning I noticed there was a meeting at
the armory. The notice was to the effect that all who were opposed to
the late revolutionary methods of the Queen would meet at the
armory. I think that was at 2 o'clock. I am principal of a school of 300
white children. A great many rumors came up, one that the meeting
was going to be opposed by martial force. Mothers came in carriages
after their daughters and sons, especially the small ones. I concluded
it was better to dismiss the children and let them go home before the
excitement commenced in the streets. I did. I went down to this
meeting. It was assembled at the armory. ... I should judge there
must have been twelve or fifteen hundred people there.
Mr. BLOUNT. Were you present at the meeting? *
Mr. SCOTT. Yes; I was present at the meeting. I saw very few
Hawaiians there. I saw one or two Chinese. It was a meeting of Amer-
leans, Englishmen, and Germans. The fact is it represented the prop-
erty of the community.
Mr. BLOUNT. What institution of learning are you connected with?
Mr. SCOTT. I am principal of the Fort street school. I did not know
what the procedure was going to be. I was afraid there would be
trouble. I fully looked for it. I knew there was a determination on the
X53
part of the men. I knew they would do whatever they wished to do. -
W. C. Wilder was chairman of the meeting. There was Thurston there.
Wilder stated that it was for no clique this meeting was called. It was
for the whole community. He said they wanted to have this kind of
thing stopped. Thurston gave an outline of the proceedings from Sat-
urday up to the present time, what had occurred at the palace. The
resolutions were read, as you know, for that committee of thirteen to
take proceedings so as to insure tranquility and confidence in the com-
munity. That is the best of my recollection. I speak from memory.
The Germans were largely represented by the best Germans in the
community and after several speeches by various men and after I read
the resolutions over I knew perfectly well it meant some radical meas-
ures. We were not aware of just what it meant. Italked with no one.
I said to myself it neans business. *The resolutions were passed unani-
mously with one dissenting voice, with Mr. S. R. Walker against it.
He was vice-consul for England. He was well aware, he said, some
measures had to be taken, but he thought it left too large a latitude for "
the committee. Mr. Swanzey, his partner, voted for it.
Mr. BLOUNT. Is Mr. Walker engaged in business here?
Mr. SCOTT. He is head of the firm of Theo. Davis & Co. Mr. Davis
is in England.
Mr. BLOUNT. What sort of business?
Mr. SCOTT. A large importing house; importing goods of every
nature. It is as large a store as may be found in San Francisco or New
York. They are agents for a number of plantations—sell large amounts
of goods for the use of the laborers.
r. BLOUNT. YWhat plantations are they agents for?
Mr. SCOTT. I can not give the names of them; three or four in
Kohala. I can not name them just now; several in Hamakua, the most
productive districts; two in Hilo, very large. He is a shrewd business
man—made his fortune out of the bounty of the United States.
Mr. Blount. What bounty do you mean?
Mr. SCOTT. Sugar; the reciprocity treaty. He was as poor as Job's
turkey when he came here. He is now opposed to everything Ameri-
can. I went home. This was 2 o'clock, Monday. At 7 o'clock at night
we had three or four telephonic messages about the landing of the
troops. In this connection this committee of thirteen had got together
and had asked the minister, I believe, to take precautions against dis-
order—they did not know what might occur—to take the precaution
of landing troops. Some of them went down to Arion Hall. Next morn-
ing. I came up town about 10 o'clock. I heard they were going to
dethrone the Queen and establish the Provisional Government. At 2
o'clock—no, half past 1–I went to the Government building. I then
went up to the Rifles' armory. They were piling in arms.
Mr. BLOUNT. Who?
Mr. SCOTT. The supporters of the intended Provisional Government
and citizens. I did not know there were so many arms in the country.
The people were grouping together.
Mr. BLOUNT. Was it a Government armory?
Mr. SCOTT. No; it had been used for a skating rink and dancing
hall. It was the place the meeting was held in the day before. Then
I came down town. I was in Fort street. I heard the pop of a gun.
Doors were suddenly shut, and there was great excitement. I went
to the corner, and was told a policemen had been shot. A loaded
wagon with arms from Hall & Sons was going to the armory. The
'policeman tried to stop it. The fellow (the driver) pulled out a pistol
and shot the policeman in the arm or chest, or somewhere.
Mr. BLOUNT. What was the character of the guns at the armory?
Mr. SCOTT. They were guns, I think, that had been carried from
their homes during the movement of 1887. Generally Springfield rifles.
They had kept them at their homes since that movement. They said
they had four or five hundred. They were taken just as soon as they
were got in. Zeigler, a German, and two or three others got their
companies out and marched out to the Government building.
Mr. BLOUNT. Were these volunteer companies?
Mr. SCOTT. Yes; a great many had belonged to the movement of
1887. They were well drilled men and splendid shots. They marched
down to the Government building. I suppose there were 300. They
marched down in half an hour. Then that proclamation was read. I
stayed around there awhile. Wilcox said he thought there was going
to be a fight. He had just come from the station house. They did
254
not know what to do. He said the ministers were all in the building.
They seemed paralyzed; did not know what to do. I said, “Who is
going to fight?” He said the police. I said, “Oh, pshaw.”
Mr. BLount. Who are you talking abouti
Mr. Scott. Luther Wilcox. I stayed around some time. Finally I
saw a man from the station house come into the Government building.
Then I heard the station house was going to give up. I said to a man
afterwards, “What made you fellows give up?” He said, “We did
not know how well they were prepared.” The fact is, the Hawaiian,
when he comes in contact with the white man, looks to be directed by
him. He is loath to oppose him in any way.
Mr. BLount. Well, if you will continue with your narrative?
Mr. SCOTT. I was telling you about this police station. They said
they thought it was no use to resist. They put it on the grounds
afterwards that it was seeing the Boston's men ashore. The fact is
the Boston's presence there was nothing. I talked to the officers.
They said they had nothing to do with it beyond a matter of security.
They had no intention and there was no possibility of their taking any
part any more than they did in 1889 when they were landed for Mr.
Merrill. Mr. Soper had taken charge of the marshal's office and things
were as quiet next day as they had been before this whole thing so far
as the movement goes. Then three days after they sent this commis-
sion to Washington. That is all I know about this.
I will say this in passing, Mr. Blount: It is the people who want to
make a living and bring up families who favor annexation. They ree-
ognize the Hawaiian as going. He will be nil. They recognize the
fact that this country, left as it is, would become Asiaticized. With
the dying out of this dynasty it must become Asiaticized or American-
ized. There are eighteen or twenty thousand Japanese here—the very
3. class. Now, Mr. Blount, if you want to know anything about the
apanese—
Mr. BLount. I do not care to go into that now. I may later.
Mr. SCOTT. I want to say in regard to the report about the Boston's
men bringing this about, that the Boston had gone to Hilo ten days
before this—I am not sure how long—taking Minister Stevens and his
daughter, who was drowned, and the Boston did not get back until Sat-
urday morning. I think it was 11 o'clock when she entered—11 or after.
The fact is no one expected this. It came like a clap of thunder,
except to those on the inside.
Mr. BLOUNT. Do you think the absence of the Boston had anything
to do with the Queen selecting that time for the purpose of proclaiming
the new constitution?
Mr. SCOTT. I have heard it said. It was generally believed around
here at that time that it was so. If it had remained here perhaps she
tº. not have taken that course. I can not say, however; I do not
In OW.
Mr. BLount. I ask you for this reason: I happened to take up this
book (Senate Ex. Doc. No. 76, Fifty-second Congress, second session).
In a letter dated Honolulu, January 18, 1893, from Mr. Stevens to Mr.
Foster, Mr. Stevens says: “Immediately after the Boston and myself
had left Honolulu the unscrupulous adventurers around the Queen
improved the opportunity to push through the Legislature an astound-
ing lottery franchise, with the obvious intent to sell it out to the
Louisiana lottery men.”
Mr. Scott. I went up to Mr. Stevens. He said, in speaking of Capt.
Wiltse... that he talked a good deal, but, after all, he was a man of
unusual information here. He (Capt. Wiltse) said they were going to
pass the lottery bill and put out the iministry. "He (Mr. Stevens) paid no
attention to it. He hardly thought so, because if he had thought they
were going to pass the lottery bill he should not have gone. He said
Capt. Wiltse was perfectly sure—talked about it all the while up.
ºn they got back to Lahaina they heard they had passed the lottery
llſ.
Mr. BLount. Why would they do it in the absence of Capt. Wiltse
and Mr. Stevens?
Mr. Scott. Mr. Stevens told me that in view of the fact that the
United States Government had forbidden lottery literature to circulate
through the mails he should have protested against that bill. He told
me that himself. I am satisfied that there was a settled intention on
. . of the Queen to get this constitution and appoint that house
Of Ilolol BS,
255
jº
Mr. BLOUNT. Do you imagine they would take advantage of the
absence of Mr. Stevens to do that? Did they apprehend anything
more than a protest; or what is your opinion; or have you any knowl-
edge on that point?
Mr. SCOTT. I have no knowledge. I am inclined to think that in
view of the relations of the two governments that any protests made
by the United States ought to have a decided influence upon anything
of that kind. That is what I judge. I know nothing, of course.
Early in the session Mr. Macfarland, who is a member of the Legis-
lature, got up and asked the ministers if they had taken any measures
to rebuke something the American minister had said at a Grand Army
of the Republic meeting. They voted to table it almost unanimously.
Mr. BLOUNT. What was the point of offense?
Mr. SCOTT. He spoke about the civil war. He referred to the action
of the South; that they deemed their cause good; that the United
States Government did not arrest men for treason, or something of that
kind. Anyway, Mr. Macfarland thought he saw an allusion to the
condition of things here. No one else seemed to think so.
Mr. BLOUNT. What is the condition of opinion in the islands as to the
Provisional Government?
Mr. SCOTT. Of course it has the support in Honolulu and in the other
islands of the property owners generally and the more stable and
responsible elements of the people. There are certain men, quite a
number, who were adherents of the Kalakaua régime who do not
indorse the Queen's action. There is a good deal of bitterness here
against what is called the missionary element. “Missionary” is a very
vague terin. It has no significance at all. It is the responsible ele-
ment in a community like this. They are not liked by the natives, who
. i. follow demagogues who give them fair promises. They are
easily led.
Mr. BLOUNT. Do they always follow that class?
Mr. SCOTT. They follow it implicitly I assure you. gº
Mr. BLOUNT. Who, then, would you say were the leaders of the
Kanakas?
Mr. Sgott. There is White, of Lahina; Mr. Parker, Mr. Nahawi, of
Hilo; Mr. Bush, the editor of Ka Leo; and, I might say, Mr. R. W. Wil-
cox. There was one time when he was the greatest iesãer among them.
Mr. BLOUNT. What influence has he now? *
Mr. SCOTT. I think he has espoused the side of annexation now, and
perhaps he is not so popular; but I think they are all what might be
termed annexationists, or a majority.
Mr. BLOUNT. A majority of what?
Mr. SCOTT. Kanakas.
Mr. BLOUNT. In favor of annexation?
Mr. Scott. Yes; I said once to White, “What is your opinion on
the subject?” He said all were for annexation, but they did not wish
to be disfranchised. That is what they fear. They do not care for the
Queen. I believe two-thirds would be in favor of annexation if this
matter of the franchise could be satisfactorily explained to them. The
Princess Kauilani is not a favorite with the people; they do not want her
to reign. They have said we only wish the Queen to reign her reign out
and then we want the United States to take care of us. The English
would like to have Kauilani reign. They are a very responsible set of
men—large property owners. They wish to see good government. None
of the Queen's friends wanted Kauilani. They say the English will have
all influence with Kauilani. The old Hawaiian is an excellent man.
You put him in certain relations and let the white man give him advice.
He is a noble fellow, and looks up to the white man as to a feudal lord,
He wishes to know “What am Ito do?” He wishes to be taken careof.
Mr. BLount. What do you mean by “old Hawaiians?”
Mr. SCOTT. I mean those not mixed with foreign blood; those who
have something of the old native character. He is as simple as a
child. There are about thirty-five or forty thousand.
Mr. BLOUNT. Do you mean when you speak of the native Hawaiians,
that there are thirty-five or forty thousand?
Mr. SCOTT. Yes.
Mr. BLOUNT. That is what I want to get at.
Mr. Scott. I think probablay great many of then have a tincture
of foreign blood in them.
Mr. BLOUNT. Let me ask you: Is it generally true that the contro.
256
versies with Kalakaua prior to 1887, subsequent to 1887, and up to the
revolution largely followed the lines of a racial division?
Mr. SCOTT. Yes; he began that after—
Mr. BLOUNT. I am not asking about the time when they began to
talk cheap politics. What I want to know is this: Whether or not
prior to 1887, subsequent to 1887, and down to the revolution the con-
troversies followed, racial lines.
Mr. Scott. This present revolution?
li º: BLOUNT. Yes; were the contests generally parallel with racial
lineS
Mr. Scott. They were.
Mr. BLOUNT. Did these contests, parallel to what we have termed
racial lines, grow out of difference of opinion on questions of taxation
or questions of taxation and legislation? How did they grow?
Mr. SCOTT. No; they grew out of office. Mr. Gibson advised it,
Mr. BLOUNT. Please bring that out.
Mr. SCOTT. In the spring of 1882, when they held the election here,
he advised it. He was the originator of the phrase “Hawaii for
Hawaiians.” He was a man of marked ability. He was the president
of the board of education. He made speeches couched in careful lan-
guage when the foreigners would see or hear them. He spoke Hawaiian
well. His cry was “Hawaii for Hawaiians.” He said to the people,
the missionary has not been your friend. He leaves no opening for
you. He leaves no outlet for you. . He does not wish you to hold office.
He (Gibson) puffed up Kalakaua with the idea that he could be emperor
of all the Pacific islands. The planters and commercial community
generally were against Gibson, as being an unsafe adviser.
On leaving Mr. Scott spoke of certain statistics he had prepared
and which had been sent to Washington. Col. Blount did not care to
go into it.
* APRIL 14, 1893.
I have read over the foregoing report and pronouce it to be a correct
one in every particular.
M. M. SCOTT.
*mºmºmºm,
No. 47.
Interview with Admiral Skerrett, April 8, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 2 dated April 8, 1893.
*
No. 48.
Statement of W. O. Smith of events prior to January 17, 1893.
Mr. SMITH, About 11 o'clock on Saturday morning, the 14th of
January, i went into Mr. Hartwell's office, the corner of Fort and Mer-
chant streets, and found, Mr. Hartwell, L. A. Thurston, and John F.
Colburn, minister of the interior, in the back room talking very ear-
nestly. They requested me to sit down. Mr. Colburn, was very much
excited. They stated that Mr. Colburn had just come to see Mr. Hart-
well and Mr. Thurston and they asked him to remain, and Mr. Thurston.
stated very briefly what Mr. Colburn had told them, and Mr. Colburn
proceeded to state himself that the ministers had been informed by the
Queen that she would promulgate a constitution immediately after the
ºn- Mr. Colburn was very much excited and evidently
$19,1'Iſle (1,
Mr. J. B. CASTLE. Did he say when the Queen gave this information
for the first time—that morning, was it?
Mr. SMITH. His conversation and statements gave me the impres-
sion that, as far as he was concerned, the first they had heard of it was
that morning, but subsequently he told me himself that he did know
of the existence of the constitution the night before, and on another
occasion he told me that he had known of the existence of the constitu-
tion about a week prior to that, but that he did not know until that
morning that she was about to promulgate the constitution, and that
she expected her ministers to support her in it and for him to sign it.
(Jolburn's manner was that of a scared man—frightened—very much in
257
earnest. The conversation that was conducted after that lasted per-
haps fifteen minutes after I got there, between Mr. Thurston and Hart-
well on one side and Colburn on the other. Mr. Thurston and Mr.
Hartwell advised him, by all means, that they should not cousent to
the promulgation of the constitution, and that if they would stand to
that they would be supported by the community in that matter.
Mr. J. B. CASTLE. In their action?
Mr. SMITH, In their action.
Mr. CAS rib. Let us go back a little bit. Had the trade, if there
was such a trade, in the Legislature between the opponents to the min-
istry and the advocates of the lottery bill, grounded within it anything
whatever about a constitution?
Mr. SMITH, I did not know, but believe, from my knowledge of the
facts at the time and the subsequent events, that all, or nearly all, of
the native members of the Legislature were informed in regard to the
matter of the constitution and of its promulgation. I judge this from
their conduct in the house, and from the reports which I afterwards
learned of a meeting which a number of the native members of the
Legislature had held Friday night. It was reported that John Kaluna,
representing the district of Makawao, among others, was very violent
in his speech, stating that he could kill five or six men and would be
perfectly willing to be hung for it, or die, if he only had the opportu-
nity to kill five or six or more, in defense of the constitution.
Mr. CASTLE. One of the members made a distinct reference in the
light of subsequent events to that action to be taken on Saturday,
didn't he?
Mr. SMITH, I so understood.
Mr. CASTLE. You don't remember hearing it in the house? It was
alluded to afterward?
Mr. SMITH. Well, I say this: At various times during the session
there were at times allusions to the matter of a new constitution and a
constitutional convention and constitutional amendments. These
statements would generally be made when the subject of some one of
the constitutional amendments was brought up and with more or
less feeling, and at certain times there was some excitement; there
were insinuations, references, to something that was to be done, but we
didn't attach any special importance to it. I do not believe myself,
from what I know of the circumstances, that most of the members—in
fact, I do not know any of them had any definite idea of a plan of pro
mulgating a new constitution until very late in the session. There
were a number of amendments pending which had not been disposed
of-the question of a constitutional convention had not been disposed
of until quite late in the session.
Mr. CASTLE. Have you any doubt that when the election, one year
ago this month, took place that part of the programme of the liberal
party, so called, was a new constitution, mainly on the lines desired by
the Queen, Wilcox, Bush, and the rest?
Mr. SMITH. Speeches made in public and reported in the papers of
the camp meetings of the liberal party certainly quoted speeches—
Mr. CASTLE. You have no knowledge except from these general
Sources?
Mr. SMITH."No.
Mr. CASTLE. And Mr. C. A. Brown told me one year ago last month
that that constitution was entirely prepared and engrossed, ready for
signature, and it awaited nothing but the opportunity. I suppose that
he gained his knowledge from the inside affairs at the palace.
Mr. SMITH. I don't know.
Mr. CASTLE. I want to establish, if possible, what connection there
was between, you might say, four important bills—four important
things in the legislature—the constitution, the opium bill, the lottery
bill, and, it may sound paradoxical, but the registration act.
Mr. SMITH. You want to what?
Mr. UASTLE. I want to establish the relation that existed between
them. The registration act was desired of course, by the planting
interest, the lottery and the opium and the new constituion by the other
other interests.
Mr. SMITH. Well, there was undoubtedly some connection; it was
cónnected with a general dissatisfaction with the result of the legisla;
tion; the natives had not been able to carry their measures as they h
hoped. The Queen was disappointed in not being able to command
and eontrol the public affairs to the extent that she had wanted, and
B—33
258
it became very manifest after the appointment of Judge Frear to be
judge of the circuit court under the new judiciary act that the Queen
was determined to have a different state of affairs. She had advocated
strenuously the appointment of Antone Rosa to be judge of the circuit
eourt with Whiting. Rosa's habits were such that the ministers would
not consent to it at all. While that very matter was pending he went to
Lahaina to attend circuit court at the December term and was intoxi-
cated publicly in Lahaina and the ministers would not consent. . She
felt that was a check to her power, and from conversations with those
ministers since they have stated, and it was apparent to us, that from
that moment her determination was to have a different state of affairs
at whatever cost.
Now, going back to the events of Saturday, Mr. Colburn had to leave
Mr. Hartwell's office, because the prorogation was to take place at 12
o'clock and the ministers had to be there, and he hurried away. You
asked me about being lºresent at the chamber of commerce. I was
there, certainly. What was the snbject of that?
Mr. CASTLE. Why, I understand that the first inkling in the clam-
ber of commerce to such portion of the business community as was there
was that this thing was on the tapis. The object of that meeting was
to take action on the signature of this lottery bill, to pass that memorial
which was sent by a colnmittee to the Queen.
Mr. COOPER. That was what I understood from Mr. Glade.
Mr. SMITH. Immediately after this interview in Mr. Hartwell's office
with Colburn I went up to the chamber of commerce, at which a meet-
ing of the merchants was being held, and stated to the meeting that I
had information that a constitution was about to be promulgated by
the Queen, without giving my source of information. I told them that
I had authentic information, so authentic that certain actions which
they had before them at that time were deferred in consequence of my
statement to that effect.
Mr. CASTLE. Did you go to the prorogation?
Mr. SMITH. No; I did not go to the prorogation.
* SMITH. No white members did except Berger and Peterson, did
they
Mr. SMITH, I do not know who went; I did not go myself. In the
neighborhood of 1 o'clock on that same Saturday, John F. Colburn
came to my office again in very great excitement. He was dressed in
full dress with a silk hat, and still had his blue sash on, which minis-
ters wear on state occasions. He came along Merchant street in the
direction of Bishop's bank, and came right to my office and asked me
in a very exciting manner to come at once to the attorney general's
office, in the Government building. I said that I would, and offered to
get in the same hack with him. He said it would be better to take
another hack, and immediately told the driver to drive on, and drove
with speed to the Government building. I immediately entered another
hack and came up to to the Government building, up to the attorney.
general's office, and it may then have been half past 1. In the
attorney-general's office upstairs, in Aliiolani Hale, were the attorney-
general, A. P. Peterson, minister of finance, W. H. Cornwell, and
Minister of the Interior, J. F. Colburn. There were also present L.A.
Thurston, F.W. Wundenburg, E. C. Macfarlane, and myself. Mr. Col-
burn was the chief spokesman at first.
Mr. CASTLE. Sam Parker was not there at that meeting?
Mr. SMITH. No; Sam Parker, the minister of foreign affairs, was
not at the attorney-general's then at that time, Mr. Colburn, in an
excited manner, told about an interview at the palace with the Queen
after the prorogation, in which she had produced the proposed new
constitution and demanded that the ministers sign it with herself, and
that he as minister of the interior should sign it, I do not recollect
definitely which, and narrated how he and Mr. Peterson and Mr.
Cornwell had escaped from the palace. Mr. Thurston spoke very
emphatically, although calmly, advising that by no means should they
sign the constitution or consent to her proposition.
Mr. CoopFB. Was there not something said about their resigning
at that time?
Mr. SMITH. There was, both on that occasion and at Mr. Hartwell's
office at 11 o'clock. We advised Mr. Colburn that the ministers should
not resign, and that if they resigned it would give the Queen an opportu-
nity to appoint new ministers who would accede to her wishes, and the
complications would be greater than they otherwise would be. While
259
we were in the attorney-general's office, John Richardson, in the uni-
form of an officer of the Queen's staff, came with a message from the
palace requesting the three ministers to go over there. At that time
the whole of the Queen's guard was drawn up in front of the palace on
King street side under arms. On the Waikikki side of the main
entrance to the palace, and on the Ewa side of that entrance, was a
large crowd of natives—two or three hundred, probably.
Mr. CASTLE. Half as many more on the Makai side?
Mr. SMITH. Yes. The band was at the palace and there appeared to
be a large number of people in attendance around the palace, all the
officials and attendants that were generally about the sovereign on an
occasion of prorogation. We were also informed that the chief justice
was at the palace at the request of the Queen waiting to administer the
oath to her upon her signing the new constitution.
Mr. CASTLE. Is that the way that was?
Mr. SMITH. He was there all the afternoon.
Mr. CASTLE. He was there for that purpose?
Mr. SMITH. He was there for that purpose.
Mr. CASTLE. And he knew there was to be a new constitution?
Mr. SMITH... I was informed that he knew there was to be a new
constitution, and on that account he remained there.
Mr. CASTLE. To administer the oath.
Alr. SMITH. That was what she wanted him for.
Mr. COOPER. Bickerton was also there?
Mr. SMITH. Bickerton was there. When Maj. Richardson came with
the message for the ministers to go over, some one or more of them asked
us who were present what they should do. We told them not to go, Mr.
Thurston explaining to them that so long as they, the three of them,
were there, they constituted a majority of the Government, and that.
it might become important for them to act in regard to public affairs.
Colburn expressed his unwillingness to go, stating that he feared what
the excited mob might do. He felt that their lives were in danger if
they went back to the palace again. It was then decided by them to
send back a message by Richardson to Samuel Parker, minister of
foreign affairs, to come over to the attorney-general's office from the
palace, and shortly he did come, and the whole situation was again
discussed. Mr. Parker urged that the other ministers return to the
alace with him. It was deemed inadvisable for them to do so, but
r. Parker, who made light of the danger, said that he would go back
again and try and dissuade her from pursuing the course which she
had mapped out. There was a good deal of conversation about the
matter, and shortly after that, during Mr. Parker's absence, Thurston
and I left the Government building to return to our offices down town.
Mr. CASTLE. Where were Colburn and Cornwell at this—?
Mr. SMITH. They were here in the attorney-general's office.
Mr. CASTLE. Mow, then, tell me the connection. At half-past 2, or
yery close to half-past 2, you came out of the Government building
in a hack, and I jumped in with you. At that time Colburn and Corn-
well were crossing the street.
Mr. SMITH. That is later. Thurston and I left the Government
building to go to town, and we walked along as far as Richard street,
when we were overtaken by a messenger requesting Mr. Thurston to
return. He did return to the Government building, and I kept on to
my office. Arriving at my office I found a large number of people—?
Mr. CoopFR (interrupting). No, you met Mr. Neumann and myself
on the corner and we went into your office, three of us; that was the
first time I came down Merchant street.
Mr. SMITH. Near my office on the way I met Paul Neumann and Mr.
H. E. Cooper, and I asked them to go into my office. In my inner office.
Mr. Neumann and Mr. Cooper and myself discussed the situation and
discussed the danger of disturbance.
Q Mr. CoopFR. And that the ministers should be supported against the
l16:00,
Mr. SMITH, And that the ministers should be supported against the
Queen. We also discussed the question of under what circumstances
the troops of the American ship of war Boston would be justified in
Mr. CoopFR. Mr. Neumann stated that if the Queen persisted in
carrying out her object that it would be warrantable for foreign inter-
ence. Mr. Neumann stated that.
*
Mr. SMITH. He took the ground also that they could not land except- º
ing only upon the request of the minister of foreign affairs,
260
Mr. CASTLE. The minister of foreign affairs only?
Mr. SMITH. The Government. While we were talking this natter
over, perhaps ten minutes, several people came to this inner office, and
we requested them to retire.
Mr, CoopFR. I never left the office at all from the time I first went
in until the committee of safety had been formed and finally adjourned.
Mr. SMITH. People began to crowd into my office shortly after that,
and there was very deep feeling and considerable excitement and very
determined expression of opposition to the proceeding of the Queen,
and individuals began signing the paper,
Mr. CoopFR, I will show you how it was... Mr. Thurston wrote down
seven or eight names who were gentlemen present at that time in his
own handwriting; we did not sign it; and then he says, “I am going
out to see others, will you take this chair and take caré of this paper
and get their signature?” I said, “yes,” and when he went out several
of us got into a discussion with Mr. Neumann, and he took the ground
that the Queen had not yet committed an overt act which would
amount to treason or revolution. On our part we contended that she
had, and he then left the office.
Mr. SMITH. The expression was very strongly expressed that the
ministers should be supported in their attitude toward the Queen in
refusing to accede to her request and that they ought not to resign,
and it was requested to return to the Government building and so state
to the ministers that that was the sentiment of citizens so far as we
had been able to ascertain. I immediately returned to the Govern-
ment building. On entering the yard and before reaching the front
door of the building I met the ministers going over to the palace with
Messenger Richardson.
Mr. CASTLE. All the ministers?
Mr. SMITH. My impression is they were all four. I stopped and
gave the communication to them to that effect that they should be
supported by the community in refusing to accede to the Queen's
wishes, and they proceeded on and went into the palace yard, and I
returned to my office. At my office I found there was still a large
number of people.
Mr. CASTLE. That was the time you picked me up?
Mr. SMITH. Yes. It must have been in the neighborhood of an hour
and a half after that—
Mr. CASTLE. I got on to the quarter-hour car that goes down town
from Thomas Square at quarter-past 2. It was just about half-past 2
by the clock of this building when I noticed the crowd there in the
Government building. And looking on I saw there was one white man
here and saw that it was McStocker, and I jumped out to ask him
what was up when you drove out of the yard and beckoned to me before
I had a chance to ask him, and I jumped in the hack with you and went
down town. Colburn and Cornwell were at that moment crossing the
street. The whole affair, of course, became so tense and exciting that I
could not swear now whether they were going this way or that way.
Mr. SMITH. They were going toward the palace gate. My conver-
sation with Coburn was just before he left the Government building
yard. We returned, and down at the office were a large number of peo-
ple going and coming; a great deal of excitement. I noticed on my
return there was quite a list of names signed at the desk.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Cooper was at the desk with that list.
Mr. SMITH. Mr. Cooper had charge of that matter of the signatures
and people were asking him about it and what was to be done, and
what was going to be done, and various statements, and the offices,
both front and rear offices, became filled with people. After a little I
volunteered and did return again to the Government building to ascer-
tain how matters stood, so as to communicate with the meeting, and at
the Government building there were a good many people. Upstairs, I
noticed after awhile, there were several of the foreign representatives
and Mr. J. O. Carter and others. I understood afterwards that they
Thad been in consultation with the ministry. We waited around the
building here an hour or so, and watching the palace to see what was
to be done. ?
At this time some of the troops had stacked their arms and were
lying around on the grass. The crowd of spectators on the left-hand
side had diminished. The people at the palace, attendants. seemed to
be about the same as ever; there were people going from the interior
on to the veranda, they all seemed to be waiting. Finally there was
261
a move and commotion, and the soldiers returned and took their arms
and were drawn up in line. The crowd of people in the Government
building yard all crowded toward the gate, and many went into the
yard. I, with others, went to King street on the inside of the Govern-
ment fence opposite the palace yard gate to see what was going on.
After some further delay, there was evidently some passing to and fro
and some commotion in the palace, we saw a train of ladies pass from
the rooms on to the west side of the palace towards the throne room,
and there was another little delay for some little time. And then the
Queen and some ladies came out of the throne room and went upstairs
and came out on the balcony, and from there she made remarks. We
could not hear what she said.
Mr. CASTLE. But it was undoubtedly the speech which was after-
wards published?
Mr. SMITH. Yes. Shortly after that there was a number of repre-
sentatives and others came out of the palace on the front steps and
there several speakers harangued the audience. The meeting at the
palace seemed to be at an end, and this was now about half-past three
or a little later,
Mr. COOPER. Colburn came in and took his seat right opposite
where I was sitting, and as soon as Colburn showed bimself in the
door and commenced to speak Peterson went out.
Mr. SMITH. Mr. Calburn overtook Mr. Thurston and myself return-
ing to my office and told us the situation, how the Queen, in great
anger, had stated to the people who were assembled that she had been
unable to carry out her wishes and the desire of many; that it was her
wish to promulgate a new constitution, but that she had been pre-
vented, but she would shortly do it; and that we heard from various
sources of the violent speeches of William White, representative from
Lahaina, and others, threatening bloodshed and generally of a most
violent character, and we returned and reported this to the meeting.
My offices were crowded with people, so that it was with difficulty that
we could get into the room at all, and Mr. Colburn worked his way in.
Mr. Peterson appeared about that time or a little later, and Mr. Col-
burn made this statement briefly. What occurred was about as has been
published, and it was generally known. There were a few short
speeches made by different persons present. I made some remarks,
and one or two others, finally Mr. Thurston spoke very briefly, and
then on Mr. Thurston's motion those present organized themselves
into a meeting. Mr. H. E. Cooper was chosen chairman and W. O.
Smith secretary.
Mr. CoopFR. Then the motion was to appoint a committee of nine,
the first motion was, and then it was afterwards made thirteen, and
then by a vote of the meeting I was made a member of the committee.
Mr. SMITH. It was voted that a committee of thirteen be appointed
to form plans for action and call meetings, report any time, at their
discretion, and be called a committee of safety. At that time there
was some serious apprehension, we could not tell what, that disorder
might follow; what steps might be taken next; whether the constitu-
tion might not be promulgated that very afternoon or the next morning,
or at any time; there was simply an intense feeling of uncertainty and
a feeling that danger to the community was very imminent. She hād
practically promised it in a few days. The remarks and action were
very short—right to the point; intense feeling and determination was
manifested, and meanwhile from those present the following committee
of thirteen was appointed: L. A. Thurston, W. R. Castle, C. Bolte, W.
C. Wilder, W. O. Smith, J. A. McCandless, H. F. Glade, A. S. Wilcox,
T. F. Lansing, H. Waterhouse, Andrew Brown, F. W. McChesney, and,
by special vote, H. E. Cooper. Mr. Glade was not present, but was
communicated with—asked if he would be willing to serve.
Mr. COOPER. After the committee was formed the other gentlemen
were requested to retire. Then a message was sent for Mr. Glade and
Mr. Wilder and they came.
Mr. SMITH. And they signified their willingness to serve on the eom-
mittee. After further delay, almost immediately the others present
were requested to retire and the committee held a meeting. The situ-
ation was briefly discussed—the imminence of danger and the safety of
the city; what action should be taken for protection was the main sub-
ject of discussion. And in view of the fact that at the station house
there was a large armed force and at the barracks, and that nearly all
of the arms were in possession of the supporters of the Queen, and
262
there was no organization at the time outside of those forces, and it
was simply unknown how many arms were available, the question was
at once discussed whether a protectorate should not be sought from
the United States steamship of war Boston; that question was, of
course, first raised, whether the United States would render assistance,
or what their attitude would be, and then a special committee consist-
ing of L. A. Thurston, W. C. Wilder, and H. F. Glade were appointed
to wait upon Mr. J. L. Stevens, United States minister, and inform him
of the situation and ascertain from him what, if any, protection or
assistance could be afforded by the United States forces for the pro-
tection of life and property, the unanimous sentiment and feeling being
that life and property were in imminent danger. By that time it was
so dark that I lighted the electric light... We had to have light before
we concluded our meeting and deliberations.
Mr. Cooper. My first acquaintance with the affair was when I met
Hartwell on the street. I met him coming out of his office.
When this question came up as to whether or not what assistance
the United States troops might give, I made, the following statement
to the committee: That I had gone, at Mr. Hartwell's request, to see
the captain of the Boston, Capt. Wiltse, about half past 11, and I
informed him of the situation, and he immediately sent for Commander
Swinburne, who, in turn, sent for the officer of the deck, and all neces-
sary preliminary preparations were made, and that was Capt. Wiltse's
first news of it. He didn't know anything about it before I came
there. And Capt. Wiltse said that he was there for the purpose of
protecting life and property of American citizens, and if called upon
he would do it. I afterwards came ashore and met Mr. Smith and
Mr. Neumann and retired to Mr. Smith's office.
Mr. SMITH. During this meeting of the committee of thirteen and
the discussion of the situation, it was made manifest to us, from what
had transpired during the day and the action of the Queen, that she
was in a condition of revolution, that is, her act was entirely revolu-
tionary; that there was a feeling of perfect uncertainty of what would
take place or how great the danger was, but we were simply convinced
that established government was at an end, that we were in a state of
revolution, and with the forces in her command, and the utter disre-
gard for the constitution and laws, that we as citizens had simply got
to look to ourselves for safety and protection, that the intelligent part
of the community had got to take matters in their own hands and
establish law and order. The probabilities of what the Queen would
do were discussed; there was no certainty in regard to that, excepting
that she would undoubtedly persist in her revolutionary intentions;
what would be done, how soon martial law might be declared or any other
course would be taken, what steps would be taken, we simply could
not tell, and after discussion Mr. Thurston made the following motion:
66 That steps be taken at once to form and declare a provisional govern-
ment. º
The seriousness of the step was considered, but it was deemed,
decided unanimously by the committee that some such steps had got
to be taken for protection of life and property, and it was then, and
after Mr. Cooper's statement in regard to his visit to the Boston, that
the committee consisting of . Thurston, Wilder, and Glade were
appointed to meet the American minister, and were instructed to
report the next morning at 9 o'clock, at a meeting to be called at the
residence of W. R. Castle.
I went home about dark or a little after, and just had dinner when
Mr. Thurston called at my house on his way home, asking me to meet
the committee and one or two others at his house at 8 o'clock. I went
there and found Mr. Thurston, W. R. Castle, F. W. Wundenberg, A.
S. Hartwell, S. B. Dole, and C. L. Carter. Mr. Thurston stated that
the committee had waited upon the American minister, and that he
had said that the United States troops on board the Boston would be
ready to land any moment to prevent the destruction of American life
and property, and in regard to the matter of establishing a Provi-
sional Government they of course would recognize the existing govern-
ment whatever it might be.
Mr. Thurston stated to Mr. Stevens the proposition that was under
consideration, of establishing a Provisional Government, and in case
those steps were taken, he asked Mr. Stevens what his attitude would
be, and Mr. Stevens had told him whatever government was estab-
lished, and was actually in possession of the Government building, the
263
executive departments and archives, and in possession of the city, that
was a de facto government proclaiming itself as a government, would
necessarily have to be recognized. Everything had culminated in a
few hours, we were laboring under intense feeling, and it was arranged
that different ones of those present should begin drafting papers. Mr.
W. R. Castle undertook to draft something in the nature of a brief his-
torical statement, which would be for a preamble to the declaration.
Mr. Thurston was to work upon the matter of the form of the Provi-
sional Government. Judge Dole quietly stated that he was not pre-
pared to take part in the movement, but that he would assist, at Mr.
Thurston's request, in drafting the declaration. I was requested to
draft papers to be submitted to the American minister requesting the
landing of the troops, in case it became necessary. At a late hour we
retired, and the next morning at 9 o'clock the committee of thirteen
met at W. R. Castle's residence.
The meeting continued until noon. The committee appointed to wait
on the American minister made a report to the committee similar to the
report made to us the night before. Among the various propositions
and matters discussed was a matter of calling a public mass meeting,
and it was decided to call a meeting at 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the
next day, Monday, to be held if possible at the old rifle armory on Ber-
etania street, near the corner of Punchbowl street. Mr. Andrew Brown
was appointed a committee to procure the armory, make the arrange-
ments for the meeting, and to see to the publication of the notice, which
notice was prepared there during the meeting, and a committee of three,
consisting of L. A. Thurston, W. R. Castle, and W. O. Smith, were
appointed to arrange a programme for the public meeting and secure
the speakers. During this meeting Mr. A. S. Wilcox stated that as he
had deemed it important for him to return to Kauai that he thought it
was his duty to resign from the committee.
While he was in perfect sympathy with the movement, he felt that in
the excitement which might be created it was very important for those
who had their homes on the other islands to return and endeavor to
maintain peace and quietness in the other islands. His resignation
was accepted, and Mr. J. Emmeluth was elected to take his place. Mr.
Glade stated that owing to his position as German consul he deemed
under his instructions that it would be improper for him to continue a
member of the committee and tendered his resignation, which was
accepted, and Mr. Ed. Suhr was appointed to fill his place. At this
meeting Mr. L. A. Thurston was appointed to draw the resolution to
be presented at the mass meeting and the report of the committee.
Mr. CoopFR. That was just after Glade and Wilcox had resigned;
just when we were going to break up it was suggested as to whether
we should not go on and perfect the organization of the Provisional
Government and the form that it should take. Mr. Castle presented
his historical preamble, which was not read, but Mr. Thurston had
stated the general plan that he had in mind as to the form the Pro-
visional Government should take, stating that it should consist of an
executive council and an advisory council. The mention of names
was suggested by the meeting, that Mr. Thurston should be the leader
and the head of the Government. Mr. Thurston questioned the wisdom
of that on two grounds: First he had business arrangements which might
call him away, and on the further ground that he was considered such
a radical mover that he believed it was wise to have some one who was
more conservative. That was dropped right there. Mr. Dole's name
was not mentioned at that meeting.
Mr. SMITH. At that meeting and the previous and subsequent meet-
ings most meager minutes were kept, because of the possible danger of
our being arrested and of these records being used against us. The
night before Mr. Thurston requested Mr. Wundenberg to ascertain as
far as he could what arms were available and how many men with
arms could be depended upon. Just at the close of the meeting on
Sunday, about noon, at W. R. Castle's, Mr. Wundenberg came with Mr.
Soper, and they reported that the prospect of obtaining arms was very
discouraging, but that after making a thorough search of the town
only about sixty stand of arms were found that were not in posses-
sion of the Government.
After we adjourned Mr. Thurston and I called upon the American
minister again and informed him of what was being done. Among
other things we talked over with him what had better be done in case
of our being arrested or extreme or violent measures being taken by the
264
Monarchy in regard to us... We did not know what steps would be
taken, and there was a feeling of great unrest and sense of danger in
the community. Mr. Stevens gave assurances of his earnest purpose
to afford all the protection that was in his power to protect life and
§.º. he emphasized the fact that while he would call for the United
tates troops to protect life and property, he could not recognize any
government until actually established. He repeated that the troops
when landed would not take sides with either party, but would protect
American life and property. Thurston and I then began to arrange in
regard to the speakers, who to see. Thurston said that he would see
quite a number; among them was Mr. Swanzy, T.R. Walker, Cecil Brown
and some others. I rode down town and found James F. Morgan and
asked him to be one of the speakers. He consented to be. And I saw
two or three others and then went to the printing office and hastened
up the matter of the publishing of the posters.
At the meeting at Mr. Castle's there was considerable discussion in
regard to when to have the mass meeting; some were in favor of hav-
ing it on Sunday; a feeling too had been expressed at the meeting
on Saturday afternoon that there should be a mass meeting called
right off on Sunday, and at the meeting some thought better to have the
meeting early Monday Imorning, there being such a feeling of absolute
uncertainty in regard to what course the Queen would pursue, whether
she would proclaim the constitution and disorder and riot precipitated.
It was finally concluded, however, that the meeting should be held at
2 o'clock and that all business houses be requested to close.
Sunday evening several of us met again at Mr. Thurston's. Mr.
Thurston did not return from his interview with Cecil Brown and others
until about 8 o'clock in the evening. Meanwhile a message had been
left at my house by Colburn that the ministers would like to meet a
committee of five from the committee of thirteen. We were also
informed that the ministers had had a meeting sometime during the
day of Sunday, in which several of the citizens were present—Mr. F.A.
Schaefer, Mr. S. M. Damon, and Mr. J. O. Carter, and one or two
others. At this meeting in the evening the work was further arranged,
the different parts of it assigned, and at a late hour we returned home.
The inext morning, Monday, January 16, the meeting was held of the
whole committee of thirteen at the office of L. A. Thurston over Bish-
op's Bank, corner of Merchant and Kaahumanu streets. Mr. Thurs-
ton was ill, suffering much at times. The meeting lasted nearly all
the forenoon, subject to a number of interruptions, one interruption
being that of the marshal, C. B. Wilson, who called Thurston out into
Mr. W. F. Allen's office and protested against the holding of a mass
meeting in the afternoon. This meeting at Mr. Thurston's office dur-
ing the forenoon was held under great difficulties, there being many
interruptions, and different ones having to withdraw at various times
for various matters pertaining to the business in hand. The condition
of Mr. Thurston's health caused us a good deal of anxiety. He had
been suffering before that with a severe cold upon his lungs and from
loss of sleep and mental strain he was weak and was attacked with
dysentery.
At that meeting it was decided that he should be one of the speak-
ers at the public meeting. He had objected to it, not desiring to take so
prominent a part, fearing that it might produce unnecessary antag-
onism; more than that, his physical condition was such that he hardly
felt able. It was deemed very important that he should speak, and
the order of business at the meeting was decided upon. Mr. W. C.
Wilder reluctantly consented to act as chairman, and the matter of a
request of the ministers that a committee of five be sent to wait upon
them was considered, and a committee was appointed consisting of C.
Bolte, J. A. McCandless, W. C. Wilder, F. W. McChesney, and H.,
Waterhouse, to meet the ministers. They retired, and during their
absence other general matters were discussed. Information was being
received in regard to public matters generally.
Mr. CASTLE. Was Wilson's action there simply a pretest; it went out
that he had warned them not to have it?
Mr. SMITH. Thurston reported it as a protest against this meeting
being held. Thurston asked him why, and he said that it would pro-
voke disorder. At this meeting we were informed of the fact that
another mass meeting had been called for the same hour, 2 o'clock in
the afternoon, to be held at Palace Square, the junction of Richard and
King streets, signed by the committee on law and order, and that many
265
of those posters had been placed over our posters, and that there was
evidently an attempt to prevent our meeting or create confusion and
to mislead. Mr. Thurston had on his own authority before the meeting
prepared a poster, and it was in the process of being printed exposing
the fraud, and he had a copy of it then and submitted it to the meeting,
but it was of a nature which we considered inflammatory, and on the
whole we decided not to have it posted. *
The committee of five returned and reported that they had met the
four ministers, and the ministers stated to them that they had no com-
munication to make, and wanted to know what the committee wanted.
They talked over the situation and showed our committee a proclama-
tion signed by the Queen and the ministers stating that she would
never again attempt to force a new constitution. Before the meeting
broke up the form of the request to the American minister in regard
to the landing of the troops was adopted and signed by the committee
of thirteen, requesting the American minister to land troops, and this
request was signed by the committee of thirteen, and decided to be
delivered to the minister to be held by him but not to be acted upon
until a further request was received from the committee.
After the adjournment of the meeting fifteen or sixteen different
copies of the request were typewritten and attached with five or six
blank pages to each copy, and these were distributed among several
members of the committee before proceeding to the meeting, and the
request of Mr. Stevens was delivered to him before the meeting was
held. By 1 o'clock business began to be closed. Before 2 o'clock a
large number of people had assembled at the armory, and by 2 o'clock
a very large number was there. After Mr. Thurston had finished
speaking at the mass meeting, and while others were speaking, the
members of the committee discussed very earnestly what to ão in
regard to this petition. If it was to be circulated for signatures, some
notice to that effect would have to be given before the meeting dus-
persed; and we were in very great doubt, some being very earnestly of
the opinion that they should be signed as universally as possible, the
opinion being that they would be signed by nearly all of the twelve
hundred present, but it did not seem opportune and we waited. The
meeting was finally adjourned, as it seemed to some of us sooner than
we expected, and nothing was done about the signing of the petition,
and the committee felt somewhat at a loss what to do, but word was
passed around among us at once to meet at my office again, and within
twenty minutes after the adjournment of the meeting the committee
met.
Mr. SMITH. There was a short and earnest discussion of what was.
to be done; it was then nearly 4; our plans had not been perfected,
papers had not been completed, and after a hasty discussion, the timé.
being very short, it was decided that it was impossible for us to take
the necessary steps, and we should request that the troops be not
landed until next morning, the hour in the morning being immaterial,
whether it was 9 or 8 or 6 o'clock in the morning, but we must havé
further time to prevent bloodshed, and Mr. Thurston and I were
appointed to proceed at once to the American minister and inform him
of our decision. We proceeded at once to Mr. Stevens' house, the
United States legation, stated the case to him, and he said that as a pre-
cautionary measure, and to protect American life and property, he had
ordered the troops to be landed at 5 o'clock, and that they woºid COIn 8e
It was then decided to adjourn to meet at the house of Henry Water-
house at 8 o'clock in the evening. The meeting broke up, and some of
us went down to see the troops landed. Thurston gave up—sick. He
had to go to bed.
At 8 o'clock in the evening we met at Mr. Henry Waterhouse's. All
of the members of the committee were present except Thurston, Castle
and Wilder, they all being ill. Mr. James B. Castle was present, tak”
ing the place of W. R. Castle, and C. L. Carter taking the place or
Thurston. There were also present by invitation Alexander Young,
J. H. Soper, Cecil Brown, H. P. Baldwin, and F. W. Wundenburg.
Trevious to this meeting, beginning with the meeting on Saturday
afternoon, the suggestion of sending the Claudine to San Francisco
with dispatches to the United States Government was discussed, and
at this meeting Monday evening it was moved that she be sent at once
to San Francisco. The motion was amended that action be deferred
until after the establishment of the Provisional Government. Amendº
ment carried.
B—34
266
A committee of two, consisting of C. Bolte and C. L. Carter, was
appointed to make a list to form an executive council of five members
and an advisory council of eight members. Before this it had been
suggested that Judge Dole be chosen to act as the head of the govern-
ment. After some discussion Mr. Bolte was appointed a committee to
wait upon Judge Dole and to invite his attendance at the meeting, and
after an absence of some length Mr. Bolte returned with Judge boi.
And Judge Dole was not willing to consent at that time, stating that
he did not favor fully the idea of annexation at this time and asked if
it would not be better to have a regent here and Kaiulani declared the
Queen. But after discussion he consented to take the matter under
further consideration and let us know his decision the next day at 12
o'clock, the committee endeavoring to pursuade him. He recognized
that the logical events and manifest destiny of the island was an-
nexation, but he did not know whether it was the wisest step now.
There is no doubt that the Queen has vacated the throne.
He said that if he did decide to join us he would first resign as judge
of the supreme court. P. C. Jones, S. M. Damon, Cecil Brown, J. A.
King, and W. O. Smith were suggested to serve on the executive coun-
cil, which was contemplated as five. Mr. Cecil Brown refused. Mr.
Soper was requested to take the place of commander of the military
forces, and he accepted conditionally. A finance committee of three
was appointed, consisting of McCandless, McChesney, and J. B. Castle,
to collect the lists of arms and ammunition and buy or otherwise pro-
cure the same.
At 10 o'clock the next day, January 17, the committee met at the
office of W. O. Smith, and Mr. C. L. Carter, on behalf of the committee,
reported the names of those who had consented to go upon the execu-
tive and advisory councils. It was voted that the advisory committee
be increased from eight to thirteen, and additional names be suggested
to the committee, from whom they could select the five additional
names. Various names were suggested. It was voted that the com-.
mittee request Mr. Wilder to report if the Clawdine could be chartered
to go to San Francisco and at what cost. It was voted that the Inter-
island steamship companies be requested not to allow any vessels to
leave for the other islands before 10 o'clock on the next day. At 11
o'clock the judge came before the committee and stated that he would
accept the position as chairman of the executive council.
It was voted that the executive council be S. B. Dole, J. A. King
P. C. Jones, W. O. Smith, and C. Bolte, and that the advisory council
consist of S. M. Damon, L. A. Thurston, J. Emmeluth, J. A. McCand-
less, JF. W. McChesney, W. R. Castle, W. C. Wilder, Andrew Brown,
J. F. Morgan, H. Waterhouse, E. D. Tenney, F. Wilhelm, and W. G.
Ashley. During the meeting in the forenoon Mr. S.M. Damon cameº
in and reported that he had had an interview with the Queen, in which
he had advised her not to make resistance, but to submit, and that she
would have every opportunity for presenting her claims, and Mr. Damon
stated that he was willing to join the movement. Mr. Dole, before he
retired, signed his written resignation as a judge to the supreme court
and forwarded it to the minister of foreign affairs.
The meeting adjourned and met again at 1:30. It having been under-
stood that Mr. Dole should have the say in regard to who the members
of the executive council should be, he was asked at this final meeting
if he approved of the names that had been suggested, and he, upon
looking them over, stated that objection had been raised in regard to
the name of Mr. Bolte, and that as he himself was not very well
acquainted with Mr. Bolte that it would be better that he should not
be upon the executive council. Mr. Bolte at once expressed his
approval, that he only wished to serve in any capacity which would
further the object. , And then, after a brief discussion, it was decided
to reduce the number of the executive committee from five to four,
and that they should fill the offices of foreign affairs, interior, finance,
and attorney-general, in the order in which they were named, and it
was decided to increase the number of the advisory committee from
thirteen to fourteen and add Mr. Bolte's name to the list. The mem-
bers of the executive council and advisory committee were then finally
approved and acted upon.
The committee of thirteen then signed the proclamation, and the
executive council then signed the commission of J. H. Soper as com-
mander in chief of the forces, and three copies of the proclamation
were completed. The final signing of the papers was completed about

267
twenty minutes past 2, and after a little delay the committee of thir-
teen, with the executive and advisory councils, started to proceed to
the Government building. They had hardly reached the corner of
Merchant street before a shot was heard, and it was reported that a
policeman had been shot at E. O. Hall & Son's store, and people were
seen running from the direction of the Government building towards
the spot, and there was considerable commotion. The committee and
councils proceeded to the Government building and the proclamation
was read. Previous to starting, leaving my office, Mr. Dole requested
Mr. A. S. Wilcox to go up to the Government building and come back
and report whether there was any armed force at the Government
building. He went up and looked through and went through to Queen
street, and came back and reported that he did not see any armed men.
After the reading of the proclamation the councils convened in the
office of the minister of the interior, and subsequent events occtirred
and business was done in the following order:
Orders No. 1 and No. 2 were issued.
Liquor saloons were ordered to be closed.
Letters were sent to the members of the diplomatic and consular
corps announéing the establishment of the Provisional Government
and requesting recognition.
Mr. Wodehouse, British commissioner, and Mr.T. R. Walker, British
vice-consul, called to verify the report of our occupation, etc.
Deputy-Marshal Mehrtens came from the police station, and we sent
by him a copy of the proclamation to the ex-ministers and an invita-
tion to them to come and see us.
Mehrtens came again, asking us to go to the police station. We
declined and instructed him to tell the ex-ministers if they wished to
see us they must come to the Government building.
Ministers Parker and Cornwell came.
Messrs. Damon and Bolte returned with Parker and Cornwell to the
police station to meet the other ex-ministers.
Messrs. Damon and Bolte returned with the four ex-ministers, who
ºnested that the Queen should have an opportunity to make a pro;
St. *
Mr. Damon went with them to see the Queen.
Ex-ministers and Damon returned stating that the Queen gave up
under protest, and that Marshal Wilson had been ordered to give up
the station house. And we sent an officer with a squad of men to take
possession of the station.
As to the precise time when the letter of recognition was received
from American Minister Stevens I can not be positive. My recollection
is that it was about the time that Messrs. Damon and Bolte returned
from the police station with the four ex-ministers, but the records of
our proceedings at the time, kept by the secretary, place it after the
return of Mr. Damon and the ex-ministers from their visit to the Queen.
In any event it was very late in the day, and long after Messrs.
Wodehouse and Walker had called.
Before the letter of recognition was received from Mr. Stevens, Lieut.
Young, of the U. S. S. Boston, called upon us, and stated that he was
ordered to verify the correctness of the assurance that we were in occu-
pation of the Government building and departments.
These events occupied the time till after dark; meanwhile many
matters demanded our attention.
I sent for the attorney-general and desired to examine him in refer-
ence to to the events connected with the revolution of the 17th of Jan-
uary, 1893. He said he preferred not to be examined; that he would
bring me a paper containing a history of those events, prepared by .
himself and some other gentlemen. The next day he brought the
paper to which this is attached, saying it was a part of the record. I
asked him if he would allow me to see the whole record. He hesitated
about it and said that he would prefer to talk with Mr. Dole first. While
I have seen him frequently since he has never referred to the matter
again. When he handed me the paper he said he did not care to be
examined himself; that if there was anything in it that I did not under-
stand he would explain it to me.
JAMES H. BLOUNT.
Honolulu, July 15, 1893.
268
No. 49.
Interview with J. H. Soper, June 17, 1893.
Q. Where were you born?
A. In Plymouth, England.
Q. How long have you lived here?
A. I came here in December, 1877.
Q. Are you a naturalized citizen?
A. Of this country?
Q. Yes.
A. I have taken the oath of allegiance to this Government.
Q. Are you a British subject?
A. I am an American.
Q. How long did you live in the United States?
A. I was 4 years of age when I went there. My father was a
naturalized citizen.
|Q. What year was that?
A. 1850. I was born in 1846.
Q. How long did you live in the United States?
A. Until 1877.
Q. That would be twenty-seven years?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you take the oath of allegiance here?
A. To this Government?
Q. Yes.
A. Yes.
Q. Are you an American citizen?
A. Yes, sir. I didn't forswear my allegiance to the United States.
Q. You came here in what year?
A. In 1877.
Q. Were you in command of the military forces at the time of the
dethronement of the Queen?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How much artillery was turned over?
A. Twelve guns altogether.
Q. What were they?
A. Eight centimeter Krupp fans and four 7-centimeter guns.
Q. Were they German guns
A. They were Austrian guns, the same pattern as Krupp guns.
Q. How many small arms?
A. I can not say, from memory. I have a record of it over there. I
can not say, from memory. I would have to look over the record, in
order to be exact.
Q. Will you furnish me a memorandum soon?
A. Yes.
Q. And of the ammunition?
A. Yes.
Q. How much small arms did the committee of safety get up with a
view to the movement against the Queen?
A. I should say we had in the neighborhood of—I think I have a
record of that also.
Q. You will bring me that also?
A. Yes.
Q. What sort of arms were they?
A. Springfield and Winchester repeating rifles, called Winchester
sporting rifles.
Q. Where did they come from?
A. From hardware stores here.
Q. Were they brought here for purposes of revolution or not?
A. I do not think so.
Q. Brought here for military purposes?
A. I do not think so. I can not say as to that. They were part of
the stock in the store.
Q. What store?
A. Castle & Cooke. The largest number came from there—that is,
19 or 20 Winchester repeating rifles, model of 1886. There were quite a
number of Springfield rifles from the times of 1887 and 1889.
Q. Where had they been kept?
A. In the hands of individuals.
Q. Where were you when the proclamation was read?
269
A. In the Government building.
Q. Can you state the number of troops you had there at the time the
proclamation was read or within 20 minutes afterwards?
A. I can not say, exactly. I never kept any account. It was not
very long before we had in the neighborhood of between 150 and 200
men. I can not say exactly how long after.
Q. What was the first detachment that came?
A. The first squad that came down was about 15 men. They came
from the armory on Beretania street.
Q. How long after that before the second squad came?
A. In about 5 or 10 minutes.
Q. How many were there in that squad?
A. I should say about 15 or 20.
Q. Well, the next arrivals?
: I didn't see them. They kept coming right along at short inter-
Val S.
ti $, How many were there when they finished reading the proclama-
1OIl
A. 1 should imagine there would be about perhaps 60 or 75.
Q. And how long was it after the proclamation was read before you
had 150 men?
A. I can not say, exactly.
Q. Did you have that many in an hour?
A. The proclamation was read about half past two. I do not know
how long it took to read it. I was not paying much attention to the
time consumed in the reading, but in an hour afterwards, I should say,
we had about 150 men. *
Q. In an hour after it was finished?
A. I should think so. I have not paid any special attention to that
since that time. *
Q. Were you at Henry Waterhouse's on Monday night before that?
A. Yes; I was there.
Q. Who else was there?
A. Henry Waterhouse, C. L. Carter, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Wundenberg,
VW. R. Castle. There were a number of others. I can not say positively
inow without looking over the list of names.
Q. What list of names?
A. I should have to look over the names of the present Government
and supporters of the Government in order to pick out the entirenumber.
Q. About how many persons were there?
A. Probably twelve or fifteen. *
Q. What was the object of the meeting?
A. To ascertain what advice or assistance to give to the committee
of safety—the committee of thirteen.
Q. What advice to give to the committee of safety?
A. That is what I understood it to be. That is, to work in conjuuc-
tion with them.
Q. Many of them were members of the committee?
A. Yes; and some of those were people called in by the committee
to counsel with them.
Q. Were you offered that night command of the military forces—
solicited to take it?
A. Yes.
Q. How was that done—by a vote of the meeting?
A, I went outside for some purpose or other—I think to get a drink
-out on the veranda. When I went back the proposition was made to
me. What they did while I was out I do not know. I did not go out
at the request of any one.
Q. What response did you make?
A. I said I was not a trained military man, and was rather averse
to accepting any position I was not especially trained for, under the
circumstances, and that I would give them an answer on the following
-day; that is, in the morning,
Q. You did not give them any answer that night?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you see Mr. Stevens that night?
A. No, sir. *
Q. Did anybody in the meeting go to see him, so far as you heard?
§: Not so far as I know of. - -
. Was anything said about his agreeing to recognize the Provisional
270
Government in the event of their getting possession of the Government
building and reading their proclamation—or any other building?
A. You mean at this meeting?
Q. Yes?
A. I can not say positively as to whether I understood it at that
meeting, or the following morning. I understood he would recognize
a de facto government.
Q. What did they say was a de facto government?
A. A Government that was in possession of the Government build-
ing, archives, treasury, etc.
% º: treasury, archives, etc., were in the Government building?
• Y. &S.
Q. The understanding was then that if the Provisional Government
got possession of the Government building and read the proclama-
tion that then he would recognize it as a de facto government?
A. I believe that was the understanding.
Q. You do not remember whether it was that night or the next day?
A. It is possible that it was at that meeting that evening, but I do
not know. •.
Q. Are you inclined to believe it was that evening?
A. I won’t say positively as to that. *
§: º was either that evening or the next morning?
• Y 68.
Q. Until you heard that did you agree to accept the military com-
mand?
A. No.
Q. It was after that that you agreed to accept that command?
A. I feel pretty sure it was. The particular point which decided me
was the fact of Judge Dole agreeing to accept the position as the head
of the Government.
I have read the foregoing and it is a correct report of my interview
with Mr. Blount.
Mr. Soper was sent for several times with a view of having him read
the foregoing, but up to this time we have been unable to get him
here.—E. M.
No. 50.
Interview with Claus Spreckels, Friday April 21, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. Please state whether or not you had any message
from the American minister and whether any conversation with him?
Mr. SPRECKELS. I had.
Mr. BLOUNT. Be kind enough to state it?
Mr. SPRECKELs. He sent down on Tuesday, about 3 o'clock whether
I would be kind enough to come up to his house to see him. I took a
carriage and saw him at 4 o'clock that Tuesday afternoon. He told me
that Mr. Parker had no influence with the Queen, but that Paul Neu-
mann could control her, and, if I would, if I could, control Paul
Neumann; that Paul Neumann tell the Queen that she be in favor
of annexation, and tell the Kanakas who follow her to go all for annex.
ation.
He said that he expected to be here only thirty or forty days, and he
.. like for annexation to be before he left; some words to that
effect.
No. 51.
Interview with Claus Spreckels, June 5, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. Is this a copy of the contract made with laborers by
planters? (Copy attached hereto.)
A. It is.
Q. What means have the planters of enforcing their agreements?
As The law upholds that contract.
Q. Suppose the laborer does not work satisfactorily?
A. That brings him to the police court—make complaint.
Q. What punishment is inflicted?
271
A. I am hardly able to answer that. I do not know how they carry
out the law.
Q. Can you state—is the remedy at law for the enforcement of con-
tracts generally satisfactory to the planters? ſº
A. I would say, yes. This contract is made first with the Japanese
Government. This Government makes the contract, and this Govern-
ment makes the contract with the planters, and that is the contract
you have there between the planters and this Government.
Q. Does the Government pay any expenses in the matter of the
laborers?
A. No; the planter pays passage money and all expenses. *
Q. Who pays for the officers connected with the inspection of
laborers?
A. I am unable to answer that.
Q. #. you familiar with the lands in all these islands?
A. I am.
Q. Are they suitable for much else than sugar-cane culture?
A. That is their principal use.
Q. Could the sugar cane be grown here without cheap contract
labor?
A. No.
Q. Suppose they could not get it, what would be the condition?
A. They would have to close the plantations.
Q. What would become of them?
A. They would be cow pastures or something.
Q. The contract laborers that have been brought here, the great
mass of them, was it done under the stimulus of the reciprocity treaty
with the United States or not?
A. Yes, sir; it was.
Q. Up to that treaty there had been little done?
A. We had the first year the treaty was in force about 16,000 tons
of sugar—that is, in 1876; maybe 18,000, but I think 16,000.
Q. And after that it increased to?
A. About 140,000 tons. ... I think this year there was 150,000 tons.
Q. What amount did these islands get in the way of remission of
duties annually up to the time of the passage of the McKinley law?
A. When the plantation is in full blast they got in the neighborhood
of $5,000,000 per annum.
Q. What do you mean by plantation in full blast?
A. That is to say, as we find them now. It took some time to get
the machinery, etc., ready. They were not ready the first year or so.
Q. Were profits great, then? &
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Ranging between what figures?
A. In some plantations they never made any profit.
Q. But where they were well managed?
A. Ishould think some years they have made 50 percent and even over.
Q. How high would you say—as much as 80?
A. I do not think you could go 80 per cent. Some plantations have
not made a cent even with that treaty.
Q. How was that?
A. I should think bad management.
$Well, where it was well managed 50 per cent and upward was
AlSUl
A. I would not say every year. It depends on the price of sugar.
Q. Would not the duty itself make a large profit?
A. Yes, sir. A good plantation can hold its own and make money
at the present price of sugar.
Q. What is generally the character of the lands in these islands?
A. They are very rich lands.
Q. Is there very much of it waste land—mountain land?
A. A great deal.
Q. Where do these finelands generally lie?
A. In the valley—sometimes in the interior—most on the coast.
Q. The great mass of lands, are they arable?
A. No; not the great mass. There would be more land for sugar
cane if they had water; but the trouble is, shortness of water in places
where they have good land.
Q. Are most of the cultivated lands irrigated?
A. Most of them lie on the trade-wind side where they get the rain.
272
On the island of Hawaii there is no irrigation. On the island of Maui
there is most irrigation.
Q. Your lands there are irrigated generally?
A. Yes, and we get some rain.
Q. Have you had to expend much money there to get water?
A. I spent a million of dollars. I have about 40 miles of ditch.
Q. Before you irrigated it, were they useful for any purpose?
A. No; there were a few cattle running on them in winter time.
Q. When was it done?
A. I commenced in 1878 to build the ditch.
Q. Would you have been willing to have invested your money in
that way but for the reciprocity treaty?
A. No, sir; I would not.
Q. Has most of the irrigation been brought about under the influ-
ence of the reciprocity treaty?
A. Yes.
Q. And the profits, then, have largely come from reciprocity and
cheap labor.
A. Yes
|
Q. If both of these were abandoned, what would be the material
prospects of the islands?
A. There would be no prospects at all. We could get along—the
majority of the plantations—without any subsidy if we had labor, but
without labor we could not get along at all.
Q. #. would have to go out into the world and get cheap labor?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. You have been how long here—this last visitt
A. Since April 18.
Q. Have you met with any sugar-planters since your arrival?
A. I have.
Q. Those of them who are declaring themselves in favor of annexa-
tion, how do they look at the labor question in connection with annex-
ation? º
A. They think that the United States will make a different law for
the islands. If they could not get labor they don’t want annexation.
Q. But they are satisfied they will get such legislation?
A. Yes, sir; they think and hope the United States will do that.
Q. Tell me some gentlemen who has argued that with you?
A. Glade, of Hackfelt & Co. He is interested in sugar.
Q. Who else?
A. Mr. Shafer; he is opposed, if he can not get labor.
Q. Does he believe he can get labor?
A. He does not think so; not quite so as the others do.
Q. Who else?
A. We have about ten plantations in our control. They all do not
want it.
Q. What part of the sugar in these islands do they produce?
A. Our plantations?
Q. Yes.
A. We have 45,000 to 50,000 thousand tons a year—fully one-third—
Claus Spreckels, Irwin & Co. We have control of that much. We are
agents for 20,000 tons more.
Q. Now, other owners of plantations?
A. Baldwin does not want it if he can not get labor. He has about
20,000 tons.
Q. Does Mr. Baldwin argue that the Government of the United
States will relax the laws for these islands?
A. Yes; he believes so. They say where there's a will there's a way.
h e will get it. Now, Judge Widemann, he is against annexation any-
OW,
Q. Is Campbell a sugar-planter?
A. Yes; he has interests.
Q. Is it your impression that the calculation of all sugar-planters
who are in favor of annexation believe that the United States will
modify their general laws against contract labor so that they can
maintain a system of contract labor in the islands?
A. I would not say contract labor. ... we may have to give
*:::::::: labor, but we can get all the labor we want from Japan.
• HOW
A. They say: We send an agent there and send money and he sends
them here, and when they are here then they can make a contract with
them.
273
Q. They think in that way they can evade the labor laws of the
United States? *
A. Yes; they think they can get around it. Myopinion is that they
call not, but they think they can get around the United States laws.
President Dole called upon me the Saturday before last and asked if I
would not be kind enough to go before the ministry and talk the labor
law with them on Tuesday. I went there and I asked President Dole
whether he had studied the immigration laws and whether he found that
I was correct. He answered that he found that I was correct in that
way. “But,” he said, “I have belief that the United States will give
us a separate law that we can get laborers here.”
Q. Did that idea seem to be in the minds of other members of the
cabinet?
A. Yes; that the United States will give them anything they ask for.
Q. You have been talking politics with these people here. What
sort of idea have they as to the kind of government they want and
expect for these islands in the event of annexation?
A. Their idea is that when they are annexed to the United States
they will have a governor—some of them will be appointed by the
President—and leave it to them, so to say, to rule these islands.
Q. Do they ever speak of the Washington, D.C., form of govern-
ment as suitable? -
A. Some speak about that; that they would like to have a govern-
ment like that.
Q. Are they in favor of a system of government that allows the ha-
tives generally to vote?
A. They do not want the natives to vote,
Ç. Would they be in favor of any form of government that would
leave the natives a majority of the voters?
A. No, sir; they would not.
Q. Would they consider any such government a stable government?
A. They think it would be stable with the United States cutting out
the Kanakas so that they could not vote.
Q. This is, then, º a struggle to take political power from the
natives and put it in the hands of the whites?
A. Exactly.
Q. And that is what they hope to get in the event of annexation?
A. Exactly.
Q. What is the feeling of the natives on the subject of annexation?
A. I think that seven-eightlis at least would be opposed to it. Some
are employed by the Provisional Government. They had to sign the
annexation roll or be discharged.
Q. And they signed to hold their places?
A. Yes.
Q. Is the argument made to the native that if he is annexed to the
United States his right to vote will be preserved?
A. That I can not say.
Q. What is your opinion on this question & If a vote was had by
persons who are qualified under the constitution just abrogated to vote
for representatives under the Australian ballot system, in what pro-
portion would annexationists appear to anti-annexationists?
A. K think they would be only one-fourth against three-fourths, if
left to a vote.
Q. Have you been studying the question since you have been here?
A. I have studied it very much. sº
Q: What about whites in the islands-what proportion for and
against annexation? I mean Europeans and Americans.
A. That is hard to say; I do not think the people would be more
than half for annexation in Honolulu, but in the other islands very few.
Q. What would be the tºº in Honolulu, do you think?
A. In Honolulu, it might be three-fourths in favor of annexation,
for the simple reason that they are afraid of each other. If he did not
do it he would lose trade. He is at heart the other way.
Q. Would you say that there are as many as one-third of the whites—
Europeans and Americans—-that would be against annexation?
A. I should say so.
. Q. Where people had surplus money have they been pretty generally
investing in sugar stocks in past years?
A. I do not think they have.
Q. Is there much sugar stock owned in Honolului
A. Yes; there is a great deal owned.
B—35
274
Q. Is President Dole interested in sugar stocks?
A. I hardly think so. He may have a few shares.
Q. I notice at the mass meeting held here January 17 several per-
sons made speeches, among them W. C. Wilder. Has he interest in
sugar at all?
A. I do not think so. He may have a few shares.
Q. What is his occupation?
A. They run this Wilder Steamship Company. They sell lumber.
They are interested, therefore, in handling sugar?
Q.
JA. Yes.
Q. Mr. H. F. Glade; is he interested in sugar?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. He is consul-general of Germany?
A. I believe so.
Q. I see Mr. Young making a speech—what is he?
A. He is a sugar-planter.
Q. Is he president of the Planters’ Labor and Supply Company?
A. No; I think Mr. Irwin is.
Q. Has Bolte any interests in sugar?
A. Yes.
Q. #. H. P. Baldwin made a speech. Has he any interest in sugar?
A. Yes.
Q. Large interests?
A. Yes.
. Mr. J. Emmeluthi
A. No; he is a tinsmith.
Q. A man of any means?
. I do not think he has.
. A man of education?
. I do not know.
. Mr. R. J. Greene. Is he interested in sugar?
A. Not that I am aware of. I do not know him. He can not be of
much consequence.
Q. Mr. P. C. Jones; has he any interest in sugar?
A. Yes; some.
Q. Mr. J. A. King; any?
A. I do not think he has.
Q. Mr. W. O. Smith?
A. He has an interest.
Q. Mr. Henry Waterhouse?
A. He may have a small interest.
Q. Mr. Damon?
A. I don't know.
Q. Mr. Tenney any?
A. Some.
Q. Mr. McChesney any?
A. No; he is a groceryman.
Q. A man of any means?
A. I do not know.
Q. Any education?
A. I do not think he has.
Q. Was Mr. Young at one time president of the Planters’ Labor and
Supply Company?
A. Yes; I think so.
Q. Has there been any idea here of trying to get a treaty so as to
leºple. come into the United States at a low rate?
& ©S.
Q. Do they hope to get much out of that?
A. I really don’t know.
Q. Has there been any idea here among people as to any advantage
* out of annexation in connection with the Pearl River Harbor!
A. Yes.
Q. What do they look forward to in this connection?
A. They think the United States would take Pearl Harbor and
improve it and buy their property there for big prices.
Q. Who are interested?
A. Dr. McGrew is about the principal owner there.
Q. Any of the Waterhouses interested there?
. Yes.
Q. Is Mr. Henry Waterhouse?
A. Yes.
Q
;
275
*
~~~~z-z--—-- - - –
Q. Any others?
A. There is another, named Jake Brown, married to a native woman.
Q. Is he for or against annexation?
A. For annexation.
Q. Is there an idea amongst these people that there would be a
* º: to San Francisco if there was annexation?
• M. &S,
Q. Pretty strong feeling of that sort?
A. Yes.
Q. What is the impression amongst business people—planters—as to
the increase of the value of º in the islands by annexation?
A. The idea is that property will advance about treble, and a great
many are waiting to sell it. They calculate there would be a big boom.
Q. They are holding their property with the idea that there will be
big profits in the event of annexation?
A. That is the idea.
Q. The Planters’ Labor and Supply Company is under the control of
the planters, is it not?
f*: In some ways it is, but they have made a political machine out
OI lºs
Q. But I mean to say that the stock is owned by planters, mostly?
A. No, sir.
Q. I low is that stock generally held?
A. I really do not know.
Q. In what way is it used as a political machine?
A. Well, they use the agents for their ends. The agents give the
managers directions for the natives—how they shall vote.
Q- That is the way it is generally done?
A. Yes. And the managers will do what the Labor Supply Company
. Since 1886 I have never worried about politics. Stood entirely
CI08. I’, *
Q. Please tell me the members of the Wilcox cabinet that was
voted out before the prorogation?
A. Cecil Brown, G. N. Wilcox, M. P. Robinson, P. C. Jones.
Q. What is Robinson’s business?
Jº. He is with Allen & Robinson. They deal in lumber.
Q. Is he interested in sugar?
A. Very little.
Q. Is he interested in bananas?
A. Yes.
% Interested in the labor question mainly in that connection?
* €Se
Q. Wilcox—is he interested in sugar?
A. Yes.
Q. Largely?
A. Not very largely.
Q. Jones—has he any sugar interests?
A. Some.
Q. Cecil Brown? g
A. I do not think he has any. He may have a share or two.
Q. There is no indication at present of any hostilities between the
people and the Provisional Government, so far as you have been able.
to observe? ge
A. None whatever.
Q. What is keeping the people quiet?
A. They are waiting to see and hear the Commissioner's report that.
justice may be done to them by the President to put the Queen back,
who would have stayed there if it had not been for Minister Stevens
sending the troops ashore. I was not here, but am expressing the mind
of º people as I understand it. Samuel Parker and others have.
Iſles
Q. And that is what keeps them quiet?
A. Yes; they think justice will be done them when Cleveland hears
the report, and the truth of how the Queen was dethroned.
Q. Suppose the Government of the United States were to decline to.
annex the islands, would the Provisional Government be able to main-
tain itself without outside aid?
A. If the money would hold out and the people were willing to pay
what they pay for soldiers they could hold it.
Q. You think, with an army maintained here, that the natives would
stay quiet for all time?
236
A. They can not help themselves. They have nothing. All ammuni-
tion taken away from them. Everything like weapons forbidden. I
Cººl ; bring a rifle here. No native allowed to buy any firearms or
WOler, jº
Pº Suppose they had arms?
A. Then this Government could not stand. They would bring the
Queen back to the throne. That is my idea. The Provisional Govern-
ment would never be there if the United States troops were not landed,
and they knew that long before they landed.
Q. What class of people make up this army?
A. As far as I know, many who were in the chain gang—many who
3: in prison; fellows of character you would not like to meet after
ºf Ke
Q. The people of intelligence and wealth here don't participate much
in hostilities; they hire these fellows?
A. Yes; they leave it to them.
Q. There are very few firearms in the island other than those pos-
sessed by the Government?
A. Very few. The natives are forbidden to have them.
Q. The people, therefore, remain quiet because they have no arms.
A. Yes; they think it better for them to leave it to the President
to decide when he can see how they were wronged by Stevens.
Q. What is the weight of public opinion here on the question as to
whether or not the landing of the troops and the posting of them at
Arion Hall had to do with the success of the revolution?
A. It had everything to do with it. If the troops were not landed
there would be no Provisional Government to-day. º
Q. Is that public opinion here?
JA. It is; but, of course, the other side would say different.
Q. The wealth of the city of Honolulu—was it not largely built up
* after the reciprocity treaty with the United States?
A. Yes, about three-fourths after the treaty.
Q. Most of the nice homes built since then?
A. Oh, yes; I should think something like three-fourths have been
built up since that treaty.
Q. Well, property holders as a general thing are in favor of annex-
ation because they believe a great increase in the value of their private
estates would ensue, and that large improvements would be made at
Pearl Harbor by the United States?
A. That is what they calculated.
Q. And the cable?
A. Yes.
Q. Well, then you would say that this is a movement on the part of
property holders to enhance their private interests?
A. Yes, and a certain desire to rule this country.
Q. *: Spreckels, do you know Mr. Samuel Parker well?
•. 1 ClO.
Q. Do you know his general reputation for truth and veracity?
O
§
I
. And from that would you believe him on oath?
A. I would.
Q. P; you know Mr. Jornwell the same way?
O.
. Would you from his general reputation believe him on oath?
A.. I would; yes, sir.
Q. Do you know Colburn?
As I do not.
. Do you know Peterson?
A. I know him by sight.
. You know Parker and Cornwell well?
A. Yes; I have known them since 1876.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interview with Mr. Blount,
Honolulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs,
June 12, 1893,
Q
§:
§
CLAUS SPRECKELs.
In pursuance of the agreement.herate attached, the said laborer did arrive in this
country on the -, , and in accordance with the said agreement has been
assigned to labor for - - as a laborer at —, and has accepted such
assignment.
277
Now, therefore, the said employer stipulates and a to and with the said board
of immigration of this Kingdom, that he will fait . pay to the said laborer
twelve dollars and fifty cents per month for said period of three years, beginning
from the commencement of such service.
And the said employer hereby stipulates and agrees that he will faithfully keep
and perform all the other stipulations in the said agreements set forth, to he kept
and performed by the said board, in favor of the said laborer.
And the said *:::::. agrees with the board of immigration, that the contract
for the service of the said laborer shall not be transferred to any third party during
; ºf this contract without the consent of the said board of immigration or
agent.
And it is further understood, stipulated, and agreed, by and between the parties
to this agreement, that it shall be the right of the said board of immigration, at
any time, during the time in this agreement stipulated for its duration, upon the
the representation of the said laborer, to cancel this contract for any cause deemed
by the said board to be sufficient, refunding the said employer such proportional
sum of the amount advanced by the said employer as the unexpired portion of the
time of service agreed upon may bear to the whole time herein above set forth. .
But if the agreement shall be cancelled by a magistrate, for nonfulfillment or vio-
lation of any of the conditions thereof on the part of the said employer, then no
refunding will take place.
And it is further understood and agreed that all personal taxes levied by the Gow-
ernment shall be paid by the employer, without deducting the same from the wage
stipulated. And further, during the continuance of this agreement the said laborer
is to be properly lodged and provided with good medical attendance ivy the employer.
In “ºy, we have hereunto set our hands, at Honolulu, Oahu, this—day of
—, º
THE BOARD of IMMIGRATION,
y — —,
President.
This memorandum of agreement between the Hawaiian Government, represented
.# Robert W. Irwin, Her Hawaiian Majesty's minister resident and special agent
of the Hawaiian bureau of immigration, party of the first part and , a.
Japanese subject, party of the second part: Whereas, the said party of the second
art has expressed a desire to proceed from Yokohama to Hawaii as an agricultural
aborer; and, whereas, His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Government have given
their consent thereto; and whereas, the Hawaiian Government has agreed to furuish
the wife and two children of the said party of the second part, if they accompany
him, free transportation to Hawaii, and upon arrival there to secure for the said
party of the second part agricultural employment, and employment for his wife;
and whereas, it has been determined by and between the parties hereto, in order to
avoid any misunderstanding which might otherwise arise, to conclude at once a
. for the purposes hereinbefore recited. Now, therefore, this agreement wit-
In 68Setºn :
The Hawaiian Government, in consideration of the Fºl. hereinafter con-
tained, to be kept and performed by the said party of the second part, covenants
and agrees as follows:
I.—To furnish free steerage passage, including proper food, from Yokohama to
Honolulu, to —, his wife, -, and to his two children, if they accom-
pany him, which fact is to be noted at the bottom of this a ment, aud also to pro-
cure proper transportation for the said party of the second part and his family from
Honolulu to the place where such labor is to be performed. The vessel in which
such passage from Yokohama to Honolulu is furnished to be subject to the approval
of the Chiji of Kanagawa.
II.-On arrival at Honolulu, the Hawaiian Government agrees to obtain employ-
ment for the said party of the second part, as an agricultural laborer, for the full
period of three years, from the date such employment actually begins, and also,
proper employment for the wife of the said party of the second part. Until such
employment is obtained, the Hawaiian Government will eanse to be provided for
$he party of the second part, and his family, lodgings commodions enough to secure
health and a reasonable degree of comfort. The Hawaiian Government will, .#
the continuance of the contract, cause to be furnished to the said party of the secon
part and his family, fuel for cooking purposes free of expense.
III.-The Hawaiian Government guarantees to the said party of the second part
wages at the rate of twelve dollars and fifty cents per month, and to his said wife
ten dollars per month, payable in United States gold coin, with *ś. and an
allowance of one dollar month for each of the said two children. The said party
of the second part shall furnish blankets and bed clothing for himself and his family.
IV.-The Hawaiian Government . to cause to be provided for the said party
of the second part and his family unedicines and good medical attendance free of cost.
W.-The Hawaiian Government guarantees that twenty-six days of ten hours each
actual work in the field, or twelve hours each in and about the sugar mill and sugar
house, shall, within the meaning of this agreement, constitute one month's service
as an agricultural laborer. Work overtime exceeding thirty minutes to be paid for
at the rate of twelve and one-half cents per hour to the said party of the second
part, and eight cents per homr to his wife.
VI:-The Hawaiian Government guarantees to the said party of the second part
and his family the full, equal, and perfect protection of the laws of the Hawaiian
jº. and agrees that, during the continuance of this contract, the said party
º: the second part and his family shall be exempt arom all and every kind of personal
X,
VII.-Fifteen per bent of the sum payable tº the said party of the second part,
and to his wife, as wages, shall be remitted monthly by the employer directly to the
braneh of the specie bank (Shākin Gi kö) established at Honolulu in the name of
the said party of the second part, and for all amounts so remitted the said bank
shall issue receipts to and in favor of the party of the second part.
VIII:-The Hawaiian Government, having guaranteed emplºyment and wages tº
the said party of the second part, shall have the right to "assign, withdraw, and
278
reassign the said party of the second part to such plantations for labor as it may see
fit. ln case of such withdrawal and reassignment, all the expenses incidental
thereto shall be paid by the Hawaiian Government.”
IX.—The said H.H. of the second part agrees to proceed to Honolulu by the ves-
eel provided for him in accordance with this agreement.
.--On arrival at Honolulu, the said party of the second part agrees to accept
such employment as the Hawaiian Government may, under this contract, assign to
him, provided no valid objection thereto exists. In the matter of any such objection
he agrees to abide by the decision of the bureau of immigration.
XI.-The party of the second part acknowledges to have received from the
Hawaiian Government the sum of fifteen dollars and fifty cents silver yen to meet
his necessary expenses and for other purposes, and he agrees to repay the said sum
in monthly installments after his employment actually begins, not exceeding fifty
cents silver yen each month until the said sum is paid, which payments shall be made
by the employer to the board of immigration; but in the event of sickness,ağ.
*::::::ver twenty days in any one month, the installment for such month shall be
©10
XII.-During the continuance of this contract the said party of the second part
agrees to f all the conditions of this agreement, and to observe and obey the
laws of Hawaii, and he further covenants and agrees to diligently and faithfully
perform all lawful and proper labor which may, under this a ment, be assigned
to him by the Hawaiian Government during the full period of three years from the
date such labor actually begins.
Signed and sealed in quadruplicate in the English and Japanese languages, at
Yokohama, this November 14th, A. D. 1892. Two copies to be retained by the
Hawaiian Government, one º by the party of the second part, and one to be left
in the custody of the Chiji of Kanagawa.
‘One man
No woman
No children
W. Irwix,
R.
Her Hawaiian Majesty's Minister *:::::: Special Agent of the Bureau of Inmi-
gration.
Woluntary Emigrant.
I hereby certify that the foregoing agreement, was executed by both parties in
my presence, and that by virtue of the authority in me vested by his Imperar
Japanese Majesty's Government I have approved the same.
Kanagawa Ken Chiji. '
(Attached to this is a Japanese translation.)
No. 52.
(Statement of Lieut. Commander William Swineburne, May 3, 1893,
printed with Mr. Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.)
No. 53.
(Statement of L. A. Thurston, March 16, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 2, dated April 8, 1893.)
No. 54.
Dr. Trousseau's statements.
MAY 16, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT:
SIR: As you are not acquainted with me, I take the liberty of stating
who I am. Born in Paris, France, in 1833, I am now a little over 60
years of age. I graduated in Paris as a physician in 185°. If you ask
who *:Trousseau, you will be probably answered, why, he is one of the
Royalists.
#. 1848 when 15% (years] old I enlisted in the first battalion of the
Mobile under the Republic and fought under the presidency of Cav-
aignac on the memorable days (three) of June, 1848, when the young
citizens of Paris, three battalions, under command of McMahon, after-
wards President of the Third Republic, defeated the insurgents.
In 1852, at the coup d'état, I was a medical student, was caught fight-
ing against Nº: III, narrowly escaped being court-martialed and
shot or sent to New Caledonia.
I have been and am to this day a staunch believer in republican
279
institutions, always fought against monarchy, so did my father; I am a
great admirer of the United States Republic. Was I not a Frenchman,
I would like to be an American. Indeed, if you decide on annexing
the islands, in the straightforward, dignified way in which I know it
will be done, I will probably be one of the first to swear the oath of
allegiance to the United States. *
This is, Mr. Blount, the kind of royalist I am.
From that point de vue I entreat you to consider my memorial, and if
I have bored you, as I am afraid I have, please consider that all I am
after is justice and fair play and you will bear up with me.
Yours, most respectfully,
G. T.K.OUSSEAU.
SUNDAY MORNING, May 21, 1893.
MY DEAR NORDHOFF:
Inclosed please find a rectified list of taxpayers.
Take for granted— *
(1) That all Chinese and Japanese are against annexation.
(2) That no corporation can have an opinion, as no one knows in
ºcases who are the shareholders; in cases where it is known I have
S it.
(3) That no native estate, such as Lunalilo's, Mrs. Bishop, Queen
Emma Kalakaua, although they may be administered by annexation-
ists, can be considered as such as far as the capital is concerned.
This list, therefore, is grossly misleading and insulting to the mem-
ory of the chiefs. Now we have all the natives who pay a large amount
of taxes, some quite a sum.
The 35,000 Asiatics pay $5 apiece, say (the laborers alone) $185,000.
Some own property; anyhow they pay licenses to the extent of over
$50,000. You can, therefore, form your opinion of who really pays the
expenses of the Government mostly since Spreckels has declared him-
self to you as against annexation.
Now about my memorial to Mr. Blount.
After inquiry yesterday I find that I had no right to give it to you
to read just now. Therefore you will please not mention to anyone
that you have read it, except to Mr. Blount, as you would put me to
serious trouble indeed. It has for the present, anyhow, to be con-
sidered as of a strictly confidential nature, and therefore you will please
do so, and not use any part of it.
When the time comes I will be glad to let you have it.
Very truly yours,
G. TrousseAU.
You found out yesterday that I had not deceived you about Spreck-
els. The interview is a big thing for our side.
* { HoNoLULU, June 27, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLou NT,
United States Commissioner:
SIR: In reference to your inquiries at the hotel this morning, I beg
to state: That I was down town on January 16, 1893, a little before 5
p. m. There was a large gathering of foreigners about Fort and Mer-
chant street corners. I inquired and was told that the United States
forces would be landed at 5. Soon I saw C. L. Carter ride towards the
wharf. I followed. Boats were landing troops, guns, and ambulance
material; they were in undress campaign uniform. i saw C. L. Car-
ter hand a ſetter to the commanding officer. The forces formed,
marched up Fort street, then into Merchant street. I met Wideman;
we jumped into a hack and drove at full speed to the palace, ahead of
the forces. We met the Queen; she was composed; had already
heard of the landing of the men, and said the United States minister
means to support the committee of safety. Wideman and I said at
once it must be the case; but it would be such an outrage that surely
your Majesty will get justice from the United States Government. We
stood on the veranda facing King street. Soon the forces advanced
and formed in this manner;
We comforted the Queen; I left Widemann and others with her;
drove hastily to the club. Met Wodehouse, Canavarro, and Vezzavona
280
coming from Mr. Stevens's. They told me they had just seen him
about his reasons for landing the forces. Wodehouse said to me: “I
told Stevens that the town was as quiet as a Quakers' meeting. I
asked him (Mr. Stevens) if the Queen's Government had asked for the
landing of the troops. He answered no. What is the object then?
Protect law and order. But there is no breach of law and order.
Answer: Ladies about town are very nervous and fear trouble. Why,
said Wodehouse, ladies are driving about as usual with their children.
No answer. We left, said Wodehouse.” What is your impression, I
said. Why, said the three, no doubt but that Stevens means to help
the committee of public safety. At the same time happened the inci.
dent with Mr. Giffard and an officer of the Boston, fully related in my
memorial. That same evening after seeing Chairman Carter at the
hospital, as related also in my memorial, say about 9 o'clock, I went by
request to the Government building to meet the ministers and a num-
ber of persons friendly to the Queen's Government.
After some discussion it was decided to make no resistance, as all of
us understood that the United States forces who had then taken pos-
session of Arion Hall were there to support any movement contem-
plated by the committee of safety. Therefore, I can assure you in per-
iect good faith that there was no doubt in anybody's mind but that if
resistance was shown the United States forces would take the part of
the revolutionists. Chairman Carter's state-ment was enough to prove
that. The next day, January 17, only 25 men took possession of the
Government house. When Mr. Cooper read the proclamation hardly
that number were present. I was leaning on the fence of the Govern-
* building and saw the whole performance as related in my memo-
Tlal,
The United States troops were under arms in Mr. Nacayama's yard,
guns in position ready to advance, some of the men drawn up under the
veranda of Arion Hall, and some with, I think, one gun in the alley
from Nacayama's yard to Arion Hall.
This is, Mr. Blount, a succinct report of what I know of the facts on
January 16 and 17, 1893. For more details, I beg to refer you to the
last part of my memorial.
The men who had been instructed to provide the necessary force for
the taking of the Government building are Mr. P. Gardiner, an Eng-
lishman, and Mr. Harry Von Werthern, an American by birth, of Ger-
man origin. They are willing to give you full information about their
action, the assurance they had of the support of the United States
forces, etc.
Respectfully submitted.
G. TRoussBAU.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT:
SIR: I beg to be excused if, unbidden, I take the liberty of address-
ing you. I understand that you wish to make a thorough investigation
of our situation, and my position as a physician and old resident per-
haps enables me to throw light on some obscure points. For over
twenty years I am connected professionally with all political parties
and the royal family.
I arrived hereini&72, under the reign of Kamehameha V. His prime
minister, Dr. Hutchinson, was his physician as well. The King was
not well, and shortly after I was called to see him. I soon found out
that his condition was critical. I told his ministers that his days were
counted, and shortly after he was himself acquainted with his own
condition.
According to the constitution, which he had himself promulgated
in 1864, he had the right to appoint his successor. Urged to do so, he
demurred. His nearest kinsman was Lunalilo, a Kamehameha by his
mother. But he was addicted to drink, and somewhat of a wag. The
King hated him, the feeling being reciprocal. How well I remember
the scenes at the old palace the day before the King's death. Most of
the chiefs were there, all of the pretendants to the throne. The dying
King was urged to make an appointment; Mrs. C. R. Bishop (Pauahi)
urged her own claim. Friends of Kalakaua, of Queen Emma, widow
of Kamehameha IV., urged their respective claims. Lunalilo kept
silent, never went near the King's room. At last, in my presence, the
King said: “The throne belongs to Lunalilo; I will not appoint him,
because I consider him unworthy of the position. The constitution,
281
in case I make no nomination, provides for the election of the next
King; let it be so.” He died the next morning. Thus ended the
hereditary monarchy in the islands. &
To this very important point I beg to call your special notice, as I
will refer to it hereafter.
After a short interregnum, just long enough to get the Legislature
together, Lunalilo was elected unanimously, and his election indorsed
by public opinion, foreign as well as native. For the first time in
many years our missionary friends and their sons and relatives mus-
tered courage to recover their long-lost power. They used flattery,
claimed recognition for their support towards the election, and Mr. E.
O. Hall, father of the present W. Hall, had the formation of the new
cabinet. I was the physician and friend of the King. I did not inter-
fere in politics, and limited myself to my duties as such. I had a good
deal of influence with him, but often, when I would be away, he would
start drinking again in spite of me. Some good qualities in the man
had strongly attached him to me.
One night, after a bout on board one of the American warships in
port, he returned to Waikiki, went to sleep under his veranda, with
thin underclothing, exposed to the strong trade wind. Within twenty-
four hours pneumonia set in and for days his condition was serious.
He recovered, however, but remained suffering from chronic pheumonia
and pleurisy.
We decided on going to Kailua, Hawaii, a splendid health resort
specially for lung troubles, and a favorite place of the Hawaiian chiefs.
As soon as I decided to take the King off to Kailua, the chiefs and pre-
tendants understood that his condition had become critical, and all in-
sisted in following the King.
Mrs. Bishop (Pauahi), Queen Emma, now dead, Liliuokalani, the
deposed Queen, her sister Likelike, now dead, Kapiolani, wife of kaia.
kaua, and others, came along with us, and none left the King's side
either by day or night. We lived in a very large native hut, and I
dare say not less than 30 or 40 people slept there at night. I was the
only white man there, and it was, I assure you, interesting to watch the
chiefs, their rivalries and intrigues.
Lunalilo was constantly urged as Kamehameha V. had been, to ap-
point his successor; he had a great regard and perhaps a softer feeling
toward Queen Emma, and would, I think, have married her, had it not ,
been the influence of an old mistress, a half-white, who was also there
with us. Mr. C. R. Bishop, Dominis, Kalakaua, the cabinet ministers,
and the chief justice made flying visits to us, never remaining moré
than a day or two. All made me promise not to let the King die at
Kailua, but to bring him back in time to Honolulu. The King often
pointed out to me the maneuvers of the chiefs. He often said to me:
“If I appoint any one it would be Emma, but I shall leave it to the
people. I have been elected and the next King must be elected.” As
he did not ask me to keep the secret, I would often say to the chiefs,
to the cabinet ministers: “Please do not bother him: his mind is set:
he will make no appointment.” But they mistrusted each other and
kept at him. In the meantime he kept failing, and I saw and told him
he was nearing his end. I also said that I had promised to bring him
back to Honolulu. He said: “Why won't they let me die here?” I
answered: “You have appointed no successor; the ministers say that
there are many things to settle, signatures to give, and so forth.”
Yielding reluctantly to my entreaties, we started, the whole crowd of
us, and safely reached Honolulu, where the greatest ovation was made
to the dying King. He lived one more week, during which I never
left him either by day or night. The very same scenes that had taken
place when Kamehameha V died were renewed with perhaps more
insistence.
The premises—his father's house—were thronged day and night by
Thatives and foreigners. At last the King asked me to allow no one to
bother him and no one in his room except his immediate attendants
and Queen Emma. They made sure that Queen Emma would be ap-
pointed, but being appealed to constantly, I repeated, which I knew
to be a fact, that he would make no appointment.
Nearly the whole of the natives were in favor of Queen Emma. The
whole of the foreigners, with few exceptions, were in favor of Kalakaua
—the whole, anyhow, of the so-called missionary party. The King
died without appointing his successor.
B—36
282
The same interregnum took place. The legislature was called together
and the election got through during the greatest excitement.
All of the native members were instructed to vote for Queen Emma
by their constituents. But for the first time in Hawaiian history bribes
were used by the missionary party and only 6 Hawaiian members stood
fast for Queen Emma; the rest followed the lead of the missionary
party and Kalakaua was elected. When the result was proclaimed
from the balcony of the legislative hall, a mob of natives invaded the
bouse to punish the native members for the treachery, and had it not
been for the United States marines, commanded by Captain, now
Admiral, Skerrett, the native members would have been killed. As
it was, three or four fared rather badly. No violence was manifested
toward any white member. And here I make another strong point,
that it would be impossible to mention one single case of violence
committed by a single native against a foreigner in the whole history
of the islands, even when foreigners were absolutely at their mercy.
Capt. $ºok was the first and only victim, and he surely brought it upon
himself.
Probably Kalakaua never would have reigned, and no one can possi-
bly deny that his ascension to the throne was due to the foreigners'
influence and the quelling of the riot by the United States and English
forces. º
I wish you to make another point of this well-known fact, which
could be vouched for to you by Admiral Skerrett himself. Is this an
hereditary monarchy?
Kalakaua always thought, wrongly however, that my influence over
Lunalilo had prevented the iatter from appointing Queen Emma. Lu-
malilo's mind was settled on the subject. Kalakaua showed the great-
est friendship to me, and was, up to his death, quite confidential.
He soon found out that the missionary party who had put him in
power wanted to get the upper hand and drive the natives to the wall,
as has always been their wont.
Several times he appealed to me to form a cabinet, once coming all
the way from Kona, Hawaii, all alone, but a native retainer, to my
place 5,000 feet up Maunaloa, where I had retired for rest.
I returned with him to Honolulu, and not wishing to enter into poli-
tics, advised him to call on Mr. S. G. Wilder, now dead (brother of Mr.
W. C. Wilder, one of the commissioners of the Provisional Government
at Washington), to form a cabinet.
This was done in the middle of the night after our return from
Hawaii. Wilder was a friend of the King, just to the natives, popular
with all parties.
But although himself quite the reverse of a missionary, his family
associations (he had married a daughter of Dr. Judd) prevented him
from fully rénouncing the party.
He was a clever ran, but used his power mostly for his own benefit.
However, it is under his ministry that an impulse was made in improve-
ments that did benefit him personally, but benefited the country as
well.
But the King still resented the missionary influence and at last dis-
carded it by appointing Mr. Gibson at the head of a new cabinet.
The missionary influence ceased from that time, and Mr. Gibson be-
came a great favorite of the King and the natives. He was a man
of undoubted ability, a thorough politician, but a dreamer.
Hawaii for the Hawaiians was his motto. The missionary party
hated him, but until 1887 he matched them in every move. He pan-
dered to every whim of the King, encouraged him to extravagant and
useless schemes; hence his power in retaining office.
Nevertheless, no one can deny that it is under his detested rule, under
the Kamajameha constitution, that the prosperity of the islands came
to its height. The reciprocity treaty, the higher price of sugar, enriched
everyone, and, although the missionary party kept active and anxious
to regain power, the mass of the people did not otherwise object to
Mr. Gibson's rule and to the extravagance at the palace by which the
whole retail trade of the islands was largely benefited.
The King was fond of display; had the military craze for show more
than anything else. He organized several military companies. Our
missionary friends did not lose their 3.º.
Selecting officers that neither the King nor Mr. Gibson suspected,
they asked for the organization of the “Honolulu Rifles” and obtained
it. Mr. W. W. Ashford was the chief of the organization.
283
The secret object was the overthrow of Mr. Gibson and of the King
himself and the proclamation of a republic.
A secret league was formed; I was asked to join, but refused. The
price of sugar went down gradually from $120 to $80 a ton. This
created some discontent and helped to made successful, in a certain
degree, the revolution of 1887.
The move was an overt act of treason. The “Honolulu Rifles” had
sworn allegiance to the King; had received from him presents, favors,
and their flag. He had encouraged and helped them in every possible
way, was proud of their appearance, and reviewed them often himself.
When I was asked to join the league and refused I knew what was com-
ing; 1 knew that a constitution establishing a republic was prepared.
In refusing I had assured the leaders that I would not betray them in
giving their names, but that I was opposed to the movement, to the
overthrow of the King in particular, and that I would use whatever in-
fluence I might have in bringing about a compromise.
I advised the King to dismiss Mr. Gibson and appoint a ministry
more in accord with public opinion, and warned him that in not doing so
he was taking great risks. He thanked me but assured me that he was
prepared; that he would make no attack, but if attacked would defend
himself. I once more asked him to dismiss Gibson but failed to per-
suade him. In the meantime the fighting enthusiasm of the “Honolulu
Rifles” cooled down considerably when they heard from their spies and
myself that they would get a rather hot reception at the palace.
I then volunteered to bring about a compromise and was authorized
to ask the King to sign a new constitution. I advised him to yield,
representing to him that personal government was a thing of the past;
that if he resisted, although I did not doubt but he was able to do so,
there necessarily would be bloodshed between natives and foreigners,
and that he risked interference from the United States. He told me
that he would sign a new constitution if presented to him. I so reported
to the leaders. The constitution was hurriedly recopied, substituting
monarchy for republic, and the King signed it, and Mr. Thurston was
intrusted with the formation of the new cabinet.
In the meantime, although I admit that the power of the King re-
quired to be curtailed, the reading of the enactments of the Legislature
under this detested administration will convince you that no measure
was ever neglected or opposed that possibly could assist or forward the
interest of theforeign residents. The motto, “Hawaiifortheliawaiians”
. infringed on our rights except in the appointment to Government
Oft|C0S,
In fact the Hawaiian statute book will show from the earliest period
to this very time that always due regard has been paid to the prosperty
of the white settler, and that every care had been taken to secure their
comfort and happiness. I do not hesitate to say that the laws of this
little country, although enacted with a constant majority of native rep-
resentatives, can compare favorably with those of any other civilized
country. From 1887 has begun the real period of unrest.
The establishment of a republic with the intention of immediate an-
nexation to the United States was the object of the revolution. Ever
since the missionary party, encouraged more especially by the attitude
of Mr. Stevens, has been conspiring against the monarchy.
Coming now to more recent events, I will consider them with abso-
lute impartiability.
The Legislature of 1892 was protracted and agitated by constant
changes of eabinet. However, two measures only were passed that may
be considered as harmful. I refer to the opium license bill and the lot-
tery bill. All other measures demanded by the foreign residents as
necessary to their welfare were passed without opposition by the native
members. The missionary party alone used bribes to recover power
with the well-known object of using it to do what º succeeded only
in doing by revolution and treachery on January 16 last. Hence the
resistance of the Queen and her friends to let them gain and retain their
power.
The opium bill was carried not only by the natives, but by a majority
of the whole of the members.
When I arrived in the country, opium was licensed. Any one ac-
quainted as I am with the Chinese will know that the license is the best
and the only way to stop smuggling. Several foreign citizens, now
strong supporters of the Provisional Government and strong annexa.
tionists, whose names are in every body's mouth, have been more or
284
less connected with opium smuggling, and although the Provisional
Government itself had nothing to do with it, I am sure their chartered
vessel, the Claudine, on which the commissioners went after the revo-
lution, although manned by none but picked supporters of the Provi-
sional Government and none but white men, returned chockful of
Oplum.
Anyhow, as I said before, the opium bill was supported by some of
the best white members, strong annexationists. I now come to the
lottery bill. I believe you have seen the petition. I have seen it, as it
was brought to me to sign, which I declined to do. You will notice
that it was signed by nearly every shopkeeper in Honolulu. The mis-
sionaries proper did not sign it.
I, for one, as a Frenchman, had no particular dislike to the bill, ac-
customed as we are in Europe to the working of it. Portugal, Spain,
Italy, Austria, Prussia, and other continental nations have state lot.
teries. France has no state lottery, but any one for a charitable or na-
tional purpose can be authorized by the Government to draw a lottery.
The City of Paris, the Credit Foncier, have drawings of their bonds
every three months. Furthermore, the Louisiana lottery is still in ex-
istence in the United States and $1,000 worth of its tickets are sold
here monthly by the employés of some of our best mercantile firms.
The natives were all in favor of it. Chinese lotteries are in full swing
every day in Honolulu, and are patronized by foreigners as well as
natives. Why in presence of a petition in favor of the bill should the
§ºn, who had vetoed no bill during the session, veto this particular
l
Now, the new constitution that the Queen wanted to promulgate is
supposed to have precipitated the crisis. The constitution of 1887 in
partially disfranchising the natives and giving a vote to all foreigners,
without even a residence clause, has always been distasteful to them.
This you will readily understand. They wanted the old Kamehameha
constitution back, the one indeed under which everyone in the islands
except the natives themselves became rich and prospered.
When it was abrogated in 1887, taxation, even with the ac-
... knowledged extravagance of Mr. Gibson's regime, was only # of 1 per
cent on the value of real estate.
In the year 1887 only it had to be raised to 1 per cent—a low enough
rate you will admit. But even these low rates never have been paid,
mostly by the planters, who always managed to have their friends ap-
pointed as tax assessors, and I have known plantations which only
paid the rate on their income, or dividends, instead of on their capital.
Even then another fraud has been constantly committed with the
tacit consent of even Mr. Gibson's administration. It consisted in
this: Declarations of value have to be made on July 1, of each year;
during the last part of June all the available vessels in port would be
loaded and cleared at the custom-house before the evening of the 30th
of Juhe. Thousands of tons yearly escape taxation this way.
Returning to the new constitution, the queen was constantly pestered
by the native leaders to promulgate a new one.
Her advisers, even Mr. Wilson, who, as you probably heard, had a
great deal of influence with the Queen, entreated her to give up the
idea. Her excuse was in the constant verbal and written demands of
her people, who as a whole have no objection to personal government
as long as it is exercised by their own chiefs. The prime and perhaps
ouly real objection to the constitution of 1887 on the part of the
natives is that it was exacted from the King by an armed force and in
a revolutionary manner.
However, granting that the queen was wrong in asking her minis-
ters (she did nothing more) to help her in proclaiming the new consti-
tution, she had abandoned the idea and made, I believe, a sufficient
public retraction.
No, Mr. Blount, these were not the causes of the revolution.
The Missionary party, backed by Mr. Stevens and Capt. Wiltse,
made the revolution to regain lost power.
They were at the time backed by the planters and business men on
account of the low price in sugar and the McKinley bill.
Almost daily, to my personal knowledge, meetings were held at Mr.
Stevens' house in which the possibilities of a peaceful revolution with
the prospects of annexation were discussed. Prominent at these meet-
ings were the Chief Justice, Mr. Dole, Mr. Thurston, Mr. Hartwell,
Charles Carter, and others, also Capt. Wiltse.
285
The latter, for the last three months before the revolution a guest of
the Pacific Čiub, of which I am a member, became so offensive that I
and others took issue and expressed it to him and often asked him:
“Well, captain, when are you going to hoist the American flag?” . Fully
six months before the revolution Mr. Stevens asked Mr. George
d’Anglade, French commissioner, now consul for France in New Or-
leans, and my friend Canavarro, the Portuguese chargé d'affaires, to
dinner. They went and found the only guests besides themselves Mr.
Thurston and Mr. Hartwell. I met them the next day and they ex-
Dressed their thorough disgust at Mr. Stevens' action.
They soon found after the first course the annexation question was
slyly brought about and felt that they were asked there to commit them-
selves. They kept on their guard and as soon as dinner was over with:
drew and left Mr. Stevens and his two other guests.
I now come to the coudition of affairs on January 16, the day the
forces were landed.
After the two meetings the town was as quiet as ever it had been.
The Queen had withdrawn the constitution.
The natives “Hui Kalaiaiaina” had peacefully submitted. There
was no breach of law and order. Being down town, I noticed some ex-
citement in Merchant street by the post-office and corners of Fort street.
I inquired the cause of it w “The United States forces will land in a
short while,” I was told. A few minutes after, Charles Carter rode
down in a hack, I followed and saw him at the foot of Fort street wait-
ing for the landing of the troops. He received the commanding officer
handed him a letter, and showed him where to go. A large crowd
gººd. I went back, met Widemann, and we drove hastily to the
palace.
Soon the forces with Gatling guns, etc., marched up and formed in
the space between the palace, Kawaiaho church, and the Government
building, and halted there under arms. After comforting the Queen,
telling her that the United States could not possibly sustain Mr.
Stevens's action, I left at once to find out more about the trouble. I
drove hastily to the club, saw Wodehouse, Nanavarro, and Vizzavona in
a hack. They alighted to speak to me. As we met, Mr. Giffard, of Irwin
& Co. (Spreckels) joined us. *
They said: “We just came from Stevens to find out about the land-
ing of the forces. We asked him at whose request they landed.” He
said, “Ladies about town are very nervous and feared trouble” “Why,”
said I (Wodehouse speaking), “the town, Mr. Stevens, is perfectly
quiet, as quiet as a Quaker's meeting.” Continuing: “Were you asked
by the Queen's Government to land the troops?” “No.” “What is
your object?” “Protect law and order.” “Why,” said Wodehouse,
“there is no breach of law and order.” No answer. The Frenchman,
Vizzavona, said:
“But why are the forces occupying an armed position on the prin-
cipal square of the town commanding the palace and the Government
building?” No answer. “We left” said Wodehouse “and are satisfied
that Stevens means to assist a movement from the committee of safety.”
The five of us were standing on the sidewalk, corner of Beretania street
and Alakea close to the club. All at once rides up an officer from the
Boston and asks to speak to Mr. Giffard. After a short conversation
with the officer, Giffard returned to us and said, “What do think they
want?” Why the use of the Music Hall as quarters for the forces. I
have refused.” We went to the club. Within ten minutes the officer
jºined with a written request to Mr. Giffard for the use of the Music
&ll,
The request was from Mr. Stevens himself. Giffard answered “I can
not grant the request. The Music Hall belongs to my principal, Mr.
Irwin, who is away. And again the Music Hall commands the Gov-
ernment building and the palace. I do not feel justified in giving the
United States forces such a commanding position, entrenched at that
as long as I am satisfied that the forces are landed against the expressed
protest of the foreign representatives and of the Queen's Government.”
(We knew from the cabinet members that they had protested.) This
ended the Music Hall business,
Later on Mr. Stevens also in writing requested the use of Arion Hall,
close by, and it was granted for one night only. Instead of leaving on
the morning as agreed upon, notwithstanding a protest from Mr. Naca-
yama and Mr. Waller, the lessees of the premises, the troops held the
premises until after the event of January 17. Is it not patent that Mr.
286
Stevens and Capt. Wiltse meant them to support the movement which
took place next day at 3 p.m.!
That same evening, January 16, at about 8 o'clock, I met Charles
Carter at the hospital. I am his family physician. He asked me to go
and see his wife, who was pregnant—close to her confinement—and felt
very nervous on account of the part he, Charles Carter, was taking in
the movement. He had been to my house and heard that I was at the
hospital. I said I would go at once. I asked, “What are you about
anyhow?” He said that they had asked Stevens to land the troops;
that he would support them; that they were going to depose the Queen,
and never stop short of annexation at any cost. I represented to him
that I doubted very much if the United States would sustain Stevens.
He said, “It is all arranged beforehand, and we can carry our point
with Foster and Harrison before the new administration comes in.”
Knowing poor Charley, as I do, from his boyhood (and a big over-fat
boy he is still), I did not think it worth my while to argue with him.
However, I said, “The Queen will do what is right if asked to do
so.” He said, ºwe winot give her the chânce. We will depose her.
Annexation is the word.”
The next morning, a patient of mine, P. Gardiner by name, an
Englishman, called. He was under treatment. He said, “I am in a
hurry to-day” (the Öffice being pretty full); “try not to keep me wait-
ing.” This was about 10 a.m. He added, “To-day (January 17th) we
depose the Queen. I have to be on hand any time after 12 o'clock. The
call will be one tap of the bell. “Tower Bell.” Knowing my man well
as one of the unemployed, and knowing that his sympathies were the
other way, I said, “What do you get for that job?” “One hundred
dollars cash, $2.50 a day and board afterwards, and the promise of a
billet of not less than $100 a month.” “Who made you the promise?”
“Thurston.” The man is still connected with the revolutionists, and is
willing to make the statement to Mr. Blount himself.
I said “Do you mean fight?” Answer: “Why, the United States
forces will support us.” After 12 o'clock I kept on the lookout for that
one tap of the bell. At 2 p. m. my assistant, whom I had sent to pay a
bill to E. O. Hall & Son, rushed in and said, “John Good just came
to Hall's to get arms, got them into his express wagon; a policeman
went to stop the wagon and Good shot him in the breast.”
They drove up King street, supposed to go to the armory on Bere-
tania street. I started on foot to the armory, which is close to my
office. Saw a few men there, amongst them the man Gardiner, and
went to the club, still watching for that one tap of the bell. I got to
the club at 2:15 p.m., met there several people, amongst them C. A.
Brown, who had been prominent in the 1887 revolution, and who, I
knew by Charles Carter and others, to be one of the committee of pub-
lic safety. He had no arms and wore a morning suit.
I said: “Well, Brown, you are going to depose the Queen at the
stroke of the bell.” He said: “How do you know?” I answered
“Never mind.” I added “I understood that you will be supported by
Stevens.” . He said “Well you have got it pretty straight. That's just
how it is.” “You are waiting for the tap of the bell,” said I. (The
tower is close to the club.) He said, “Yes.”
At half past 2 o'clock I heard the one tap. He (Brown) started at
a good pace. ... I followed. He went into the Government building and
I stopped outside the fence in the street leading from King to Queen
street. My glance could uot count more than 20 people about, outside
of the Boston men who were under arms in Mr. Nacayama's yard, in
the lane between the said yard and Arion Hall and under the veranda.
of Arion Hall.
Gatling guns were drawn up in Nacayama's yard.
A few minutes before 3 p.m. an unknown person—Mr. Cooper, I heard
since, a perfect stranger—now judge—read a proclamation of which I
only heard a part.
I went to the barracks. There were the Hawaiian troops, one hun-
dred or so in number, ready for action if ordered out.
I went to the station house, and saw a number of foreigners rushing
in and putting themselves at the disposal of the marshal. Before an
hour had elapsed I found out that Mr. Stevens had already recogni
the Provisional Government and that the Queen had ordered, under
protest, the surrender of the barracks and station house to avoid blood-
shed. I can assure you, Mr. Blount, that the Queen's Government was
perfectly competent to take care of the situation; that the force in the
287
Government building had no arms nor ammunition to speak of, and that
the whole game was one of bluff, a surprise, a coup de main, as we call
it in French. Why? The clerks in the Government building were at
their desks; the routine of the various departments was going on. A
handful of filibusters, backed by Mr. Stevens and Captain Wiltse, did
the job, and the Queen and her friends, trusting to redress from the
United States, yielded to avoid bloodshed, and with the full knowledge
that if resistance was shown the United States forces would support
the rebels.
I am satisfied that by this time you have formed a correct opinion of
all facts, and perhaps you will find this long memorial rather tedious.
I will now try to conclude and spare your patience. It will be pre-
sumptuous for anyone, Provisional Government, royalists, native, and
so forth, to try to advise the United States about ourselves.
The question, therefore, simplifies itself. If President Cleveland
and yourself have made up your minds about the necessity of annex-
ing the islands, very well; we have nothing more to say, and no one
better than yourself, Mr. Blount, can bring it about. ,
You must be well aware by this time that the Provisional Govern-
ment is not a popular government. If you wish to go to the trouble,
procure the roll of the annexation club and the very complete registry
of voters made only a couple of years ago. A short comparison will
show you the comparative number of voters on the annexation roll.
.After that, take into consideration that every business firm connected
with the movement has compelled their employés under threat of dis-
missal to sign the roll and you can form a pretty correct opinion of how
the Provisional Government stands. ©
Therefore, satisfied that the Provisional Government is only a revo-
lutionary government put in power by the United States forces and
without any support from the majority of the population, the United
States can refuse to treat the question of annexation with the Pro-
visional Government.
Let the United States Government put things back where Mr. Stevens
found them on January 17; restore the queen; let her call her Legisla-
ture together and state to them, by special message, that in presence
of the necessity in which the United States are placed to secure the pos-
session of the Hawaiian Islands, she herself is prepared to abdicate in
favor of Grover Cleveland. President of the United States, and expects
the representatives of the people to make no opposition to the measure,
and at once ratify a treaty of cession as agreed upon between yourself
and herself.
Being done in that manner you will find little opposition, and all of
us will assist in bringing the matter to a safe and peaceable solution.
If, on the other hand, the United States only wish to secure supre-
macy and absolute control of the islands without anne xation, thesame
course can be safely followed.
Restore the Queen and make with her, in accord with the Legislature,
a cast iron treaty to suit yourselves.
Take for instance the treaty between France and Tunis or England
and Egypt; they are not exactly a protectorate, as the flags of the two
countries do not fly either in Tunis or Egypt, but in both countries the
native rulers and legislatures are under the complete and absolute con-
trol of the European powers, and from my reading both systems work
3. notwithstanding the jealously of France in Egypt and of Italy in
IllS,
Here, where no other power means to interfere, I think such a system
would answer. However, you are the best judges. But whatever you
wish you can get with the almost unanimous consent of this small,
nation, when, oh the contrary, if you treat with the Provisional Govern-
ment the large majority will feel that a great wrong has been committed
towards a people who have always been friendly to the United States,
. so now, and only wish to be allowed to attend to their affairs them.
SOIVOS,
A third solution is a protectorate, same as weſ.” French) had in
Tahiti, until the ruling chiefs became extinct. The French flag was
raised, but the Pomares enjoyed the use of the palace, a pension from
. Republic, and a kind of state befitting to the ancient owners
the land.
But I understand that such a protectorate would not be agreeable to
the United States statesmen.
Further back I inade a strong point of the fact that this was no more
288
on hereditary monarchy. These people are truly the elect of their sub-
jects, Kalakaua by direct vote, and Liliuokalani by his appointing her
as his successor under, not only the Kamehameha constitution, but
under the constitution 1887 made by the revolutionists themselves which
confirmed his appointment. During the King's absence to the coast,
when he died, these very people were in power, and Liliuokalani was
by them accepted as regent.
A few words now about the capital (American) invested in this
country.
J. do not hesitate to say that Mr. Spreckels represents the only really
American capital invested here.
The loan is English money, so are the tramways, and a large number
of the plantations, principally in Kohala, on the island of Hawaii.
The whole of Mr. Bisbop’s capital is Hawaiian. Mr. Bishop came
here as a poor clerk, married Pauahi, and out of the Kanaka country
made what he owns. He never lived in a house built by himself or
owned by himself until his wife died, leaving him all. Not only that,
but Mr. Bishop has invested very large sums in the States all out of
this country's resources. ge
Mr. Damon is also a creature of Mrs. Pauahi Bishop.
Mr. James Campbell came here as a journeyman carpenter.
The Ii estate—Q. A. Brown's wife is an Ii.
The Robinsons estate, the Lunalilo estate, the Bishop estate, the
Kalakaua estate, and Hawaiian capital represents a very large portion
of the tax-paying capital, and are not represented in the annexation
party. Take now the taxes paid by the Chinese and the Japanese, and
if you will go to the trouble of consulting the tax assessors' books you
will find that the annexation club does not represent the wealth and
influence of the country.
None of the American firms or planters ever brought a cent from the
United States here. In dividends and investments they have exported
millions of dollars.
As far as the missionaries proper are concerned, they brought exactly
nothing. They were housed and fed by the natives, their children tended
for them, and their churches built for them free of expense. They were
given land by the people, who served them, nursed them, cooked for them,
did all the most menial work without compensation, drew them about in
hand carts to church and to their social entertainments, and paid them
besides a tax of 10 cents a week per head for each adult all through the
districts over which they had spiritual control. When I lived in Hawaii,
Mr. Bond, a missionary and wealthy planter, still collected from the
natives of his district the weekly 10 cents himself.
The revolution was made by Messrs. Dole, Thurston, W. O. Smith,
, Q. In Carter, Judd, etc., all sons of missionaries, who owe the whole of
their social and pecuniary position to the natives.
In their respective professions as lawyers they never were able to
make a living.
Dole, Thurston, and Smith's clearest income has been as trustees of
various native estates, mentioned before. Of course all have interests
in plantations, outside, I think, of Dole and Thurston. These people
on the whole are good, enough people, honest, I dare say on any subject
in which their ambition or their interest is not directly connected.
But they are all suffering from a very serious complaint, a swelled
head, incurable I am afraid. But I must not abuse your patience any
longer, and will subscribe myself,
Yours, respectfully, sº
G. TROUSSEAU.
Since writing the above memorial I have had communication of a
pamphlet shortly to be published by Mr. Stevens. I will not discuss
the very lame apology he gives for his interference nor the absolutely
false statements in which he indulges. These I believe sufficiently
elucidated by your personal information. But his slanderous attacks
on the private character of the Queen I will not leave unehallenged.
In my memorial I referred to the undoubted influence Charles B.
Wilson had over the Queen. I will now explain that influence. Wil-
son persuaded the Queen, I believe, that she was safe in his hands.
He is a determined mau, has got plenty of personal courage, and often
told the Queen that, had he been marshal of the Kingdom in 1887, the
King never would have been compelled by the force of arms to sign
the constitution; he would have nipped the conspiracy in the bud.
Right or wrong, the Queen believed him, hence his influence.
wº
289
I have known the Queen intimately for over twenty years. When I
arrived here she had not been married long, and her husband, John O.
Dominis, an American, and an intimate friend of mine, was foudly be-
loved by her, John Dominis's character was unimpeachable—ask *:
one who knew him—Mr. C. R. Bishop, Mr. W. F. Allen, and others.
am now speaking from a physician's point of view. John was, to use a
euphemism, rather irregular as a husband—as many husbands in my
experience are. He was fond of society, sometimes took more liquor
than was good for him, and occasionally (although he never kept a reg-
ular mistress) had some love adventures. In this small community they
were reported to his wife, and I can vouch to how she suffered by it.
She was exceedingly fond and jealous of him. But, like most unfaithful
husbands, he would not have for one moment shut his eyes on even any
sign of unfaithfulness on the part of his wife. As long as he was alive,
any one slandering his wife would have, I assure you, been severely
punished. If there has been any failing in the Queen's faithfulness to
her husband it never has been known, and as far as Wilson is concerned
it is on the part of Mr. Stevens an unmitigated lie. Did I know that
Mr. Stevens would resent it as we do in my country I would to day go
and give him the lie. But he would probably have me arrested and
convicted, and, busy as Iam with my arduous profession, I can’t afford it.
Mr. Wilson has a half-white wife, an intimate friend of the Queen.
Although not a young woman, she is still attractive, and has been one
of the prettiest half-white women in Honolulu. I have also been her
physician and known her well. She is, and always has been, of a jeal-
ous disposition, and notwithstanding Mr. Stevens' abominable state-
ment, would never countenance an intimacy between her husband and
any other woman, even were she the Queen. She is now more attract-
ive than the Queen is or ever has been.
That Mr. Stevens believes these stories I strongly doubt. They suit
his purpose. If he is not wholly responsible for them, he has accepted
i. without control, from Sereno Bishop, and others who know
tter.
The whole matter, Mr. Blount, is an outrage that makes an honest
man's blood boil.
May 16, 1893.
G. TROUSSEAU.
No. 55.
(Interview with Henry Waterhouse, May 2, 1893, printed with Mr.
Blount's No. 4, dated May 4, 1893.)
No. 56.
Interview with C. B. Wells, of Wailuku, Maui, May 15, 1893.
Q. What is your business?
A. I am manager for two sugar plantations.
Q. Where were you born?
A. In the State of New York.
Q. How long have you lived in the islands?
A. Over thirteen years.
Q. Were you here on January 14, 1893?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you here during the revolution?
A. I was not in Honolulu. I was in Maui.
Q. When did you first learn about it?
A. About four or five days after it was over.
Q. Then you could not give me any information about events here?
A. None whatever.
Q. What sort of laborers do you work on your plantations?
A. Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese.
Q. How many in all?
3. It varies according to the work we have. We run as high as 425
people.
Q. How many are contract laborers?
A. About half, I think.
B—37
290
Q. What is the character of the Japanese laborer?
A. The Japanese are of very low caste indeed. I think they are the
lowest people in this country in every respect—not only in morals, but
in their relations to each other—in regard to the bond of sympathy.
Q. Are they a combative people among themselves?
A. Very.
Q. How are they gathered up in Japan—from what class?
A. Those who came to this country first were the riffraff of the cities,
º later on they have been gathered from the interior and are a better
ClàSS,
Q. Are they intelligent?
A. No.
Q. Do they bring their women to any extent?
A. No; not a large percentage. In lots of 50 there might perhaps be
13 women.
Q. What is the character of the women?
A. A majority of them loose in their morals.
Q. Do they work in the fields with the men?
A. We try to separate them; put them to light work, such as irri”
gating cane. I think a majority of the women who come here are not
married to the men; come here merely to live with them.
Q. Loose women
A. Yes; that is my impression.
Q. Why do you take them out of the fields?
A. On account of their morals. They were likely to entice men to
cohabit with them. I have caught several in the act.
Q. ls that the character of the women generally?
A. That is my impression. My impression is that a majority of them
are rather loose; that for a consideration they will sell their body.
Q. What about the Chinese women?
A. There are none here to speak of.
Q. What about the character of the men—Chinese laborers?
A.. I think as a whole they are a peaceful, quiet race of people and
reliable laborers.
Q. Do they speak the English language much?
A. No; a great many of them speak the Hawaiian language. Some
speak pigeon English.
Q. After their contract has expired do they remain here in any con-
siderable number?
A. Of late a good many have returned to their own country.
Q. Those who remain here, what do they do?
A. Some remain on plantations. A large majority of them—I don't
know how they exist. I think through opium and gambling.
Q. Any engaged in cultivating taro and rice?
j Yes. Many of them are crowding out the natives in making taro
p01).
( Q. Any engaged in fishing?
A. Not to a great extent. They are certainly getting control of the
raising of taro and the making of poi.
Q. Do any of them get to be merchants?
A. A great many of them.
Q. Now, the Portuguese.
A. They are the best class of laborers we have here. They are
extremely industrious; they are sober; they practice strict economy;
they save money and are a very desirable class of people. The only
drawback is you have to pay them more wages. They can not live as
cheaply as the Japanese and Chinese.
% #. have quit bringing them here on that account?
wº ©S.
Q. How are the Portuguese, educated or illiterate?
A. As a whole they are illiterate. The rising generation is being
educated and is quite bright.
Q. Now, about the Hawaiians. How do they work?
A. They are very good in certain work—irrigating and handling of
water and driving bullock teams.
Q. Not as good in cane fields as Chinamen?
A. Well, if they have good overseers and watch them they will do
good work.
Q. How about Chinament
A. They are faithful workers.
Q. Without overseers?
291
A. No; no laborers are, excepting Portuguese. If you send 3 or 4
Portuguese a distance to mend a fence or road they will do the work,
but Hawaiians will talk and idle. Chinamen about the same. China.
men are very good. I am doing contract work with them. I give them
watering and stripping to do at a certain figure. I find it works very
satisfactorily. They work hard, and you don't have to have any over-
Seer,
Q. If the question were submitted to the people who voted under the
old constitution with the only qualification for a voter that he should
read and write, what would be the result—for or against annexation?
A. So far as the foreigner is concerned there would be a very large
majority in favor of annexation, and the Portuguese would be a unit
for annexation. As to the Hawaiians I think that a majority would
not be in favor of it.
Q. What would be the final result of these combined votes?
A. That is a question that would be rather hard for me to answer.
Q. Suppose it was done under the Australian ballot system?
A. I am inclined to think it would be against annexation. It might
be in favor of annexation, if the Portuguese were allowed to vote.
$. º vote whether they can read and write or not; don’t they?
• Y &S.
Q. That has been so from the beginning?
A. Since 1887. I am inclined to think if the Portuguese voted under
the Australian system, as a large percentage are illiterate, that per-
haps they would be voting against annexation when they meant to
vote for annexation.
Q. Do you think you could have good government here if you only
required of a voter knowledge sufficient to read and write the English
language?
A. I doubt it very much.
Why?
e y
A. Because I think we would go back to the old order of things.
Q. What is the old order of things?
A. The state we had under the deposed Queen.
Q. What is that state? *
A. The Hawaiians getting control of the legislature and going in for
extravagance which the foreigners were having to pay for. The money
was not coming out of the pockets of the people who were voting the
money. It was coming out of other pockets. The action of the Queen
in wanting to spring this new constitution shows her feeling toward
foreigners and her deliberate intention of making them pay the fiddler, .
so to speak, and without giving them any privileges.
Q. What do you mean by privileges?
A. That we could exist here and run our plantations. I have no
doubt if she could have her way she would disfranchise every foreigner
in the country and put it wholly in the hands of Hawaiians.
Q. Why do you think that?
A. I think we have had sufficient evidence of it in her actions in the
Legislature. In removing men from the Wilcox cabinet, men of stability
of character and influence, removing them to put in men who were
irresponsible and would soon wreck us.
Q. You think then with the privilege of any native to vote who could
read and write the English language that you would drift back to the
condition of things you have just stated?
A. Yes.
Q. What would you think of the Japanese as voters?
A. I would most emphatically condemn any move toward giving the
Japanese franchise.
Q. Would it make the situation you speak of worse?
A. I think it would make it a very serious matter.
Q. The Chinese allowed to vote—still worse?
A. I do not think so. I think the Chinese would be the opposite of
the Japanese. I think the Japanese would be controlled by their Gov-
ernment. They would vote as they were directed to vote. The Chinese
are not very friendly with the Japanese, and they would vote to the
contrary.
Q. Who would control the Chinese vote?
A. I think they would be very largely controlled by their societies,
Q. How many overseers have you on your plantations?
A. Nineteen.
292
Q. Do you have to have men with every squad of hands during the
hours of labor?
A. There is an overseer with every gang of 20 or 30 people. I have
a head overseer who looks after all the different gangs.
Q. Suppose a fellow is idling in the field, what do you do?
A. Well, if he is a day man, he is discharged.
Q. If he is a contract laborer?
A. We dock him. We give him half or three-quarters of a day and
if they keep it up we resort to the law and have them arrested for
refusing to work.
Q. What do you accomplish by putting him in jail?
A. It has been rather unsatisfactory as a rule. The first offense he
is merely ordered back to his work and the plantation has to pay the
cost of the court and charge it to the man. He does not care. He has
to work it off.
Q. Well, what do you do then?
A. If he refuses to obey orders and work he is arrested again. Per-
haps a light penalty of two or three dollars fine is inflicted. That the
plantation can pay and take out of his wages, or if the plantation
refuses to do so he is put on the road to work it out. The third offense
he is likely to have three months' imprisonment. That is a new law
enacted in the last Legislature. Before that you could go on having
him arrested and paying fines. It was better to drop the man than to
go on with that.
Q. At this time most of the laborers are Japanese?
A. Yes; almost entirely. A few Chinese come in, but very few.
Q. The Portuguese cost so much you do not get them?
A. Yes. A large number leave the country and go to California. I
venture to say that 25 per cent of the Portuguese have left this coun-
try within the last eighteen months. The wages have been cut down in
order that the plantations might exist, and I doubt if they could exist if
they didn't have wives and children to work. By all working they
can get along very well. Many more would leave the country if they
had means.
Q. Then the sugar planters' best reliance for labor now is by nego-
tiations with the Japanese Government?
A. That is the only way we have now to speak of. '
Q. Are you in favor of annexation? Q
A. Strongly.
Q. What would be the effect on property here—on values?
A. Outside of sugar plantations I think lands would enhance invalue.
i. would open up our crown lands and bring a desirable class of people
©re,
Q. Are not the crown lands very largely leased out?
A. A great many of them have not been leased out.
Q. They are good ands.
A. A great many are very good lands.
Q. What is being done with them now?
A. Nothing in particular. A great deal of crown land is idle now for
the reason that there is not large enough area for plantations, but it
would be large enough for the support of a family. It would be good
for raising pineapples, bananas, etc.
Q. Well, that population coming here to engage in that business
would be a new condition of things?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What do you think about the value of sugar lands; would they
go up or not?
A. I do not think they would go up at all.
Q. Do you not think that this influx of population you speak of
would have generally the effect of increasing values of every sort?
A. Well, that would very largely depend on the arrangement regard-
ing our sugar going into the United States. If the plantation was
realizing more for sugar it would increase the value of lands. There
is no sugar land to take up. It is mostly taken up.
Q. And the additional population that would come here would en-
gage in the raising of fruit?
A. Yes; fruit and coffee. I have great faith in the coffee industry.
I think a thrifty farmer coming here could take small pieces of land.
I think some plantations would be better off if they could go into some
scheme of that character.
3. º at would involve the building of houses for these people?
• Y. &S.
o 293
Q. Then you would expect men to come with means enough to build
his house?
A. Well, I think if they only had partial means that a portion would
be advanced to them.
Q. Well, what about his supplies while he was making a crop?
A. I have no doubt the plantation would advance him a certain per-
centage while he was making a crop.
Q. Charging him interest, of course, on advances?
A. Yes; certainly. I think probably certain portions would be
advanced without interest. That would be a matter he would have to
take his chances on.
These notes have been read to me by Mr. Mills, and I pronounce them
an accurate report of the interview between myself and Col. Blount.
C. B. WELLS.
HoNolulu, May 15, 1893.
This was done because Mr. Wells was leaving the island. He could
not wait until the notes were transcribed.—E. M.
No. 57.
Interview with Judge H. A. Widemann, Honolulu, May 20, 1893.
Mr. BLOUNT. Judge, where were you born?
A. Hanover, Germany.
Q. How long have you lived here?
A. Forty-seven years.
Q. What offices have you held in that time? º
A. I have held every office this country can give. . Sheriff of the
island of Kanai in 1854; circuit judge there in 1863, and deputy gov.
ernor of that island at the salmetime. I held, also, a great many smaller
offices from 1854 to 1865—tax collector, school inspector, road super-
visor; chief clerk of the interior office in 1865; associate justice of the
supreme court in 1869; minister of the interior in 1874. During those
years I have been privy councilor; member of the board of health, and
member of the board of education. I was a noble from 1881 to 1887,
appointed by the King. I was elected noble in 1887 to 1892. Febru-
ary, 1892, I was taken ill and Mott Smith took my place, and when he
went to Washington I got well and took the place back. That brings
us up to date.
Q. On January 17, 1893, it is reported that the ministers of Liliuo-"
kalani, with the Hon. S. M. Damon, went to the palace and held a con-
Sultation with the Queen on the subject of her yielding to the move-
ment for a provisional government. Were you there?
A. I was there at the Queen's request.
Q. Will you be kind enough to tell me in a general way what was
said and done?
A. There were present besides the ministers, Samuel Damon, Judge
Carter, Paul Neumann, and myself.
Q. What was the subject-matter of the interview?
A. It was a communication from the Provisional Government touch-
ing her being turned out of office, her deposition which had been sent
her in the course of the day. I objected to reading the document; I
didn't know but it might be insulting. The Queen's Government was
then in possession of the barracks and the police station where the
arms and ammunition were. The question was, whether she should
make opposition to the Provisional Government. The advice given
was that we were too weak to oppose the United States forces, and con-
sequently that she should surrender. The police station was surren-
dered immediately after the consultation. We were there perhaps an
hour in this consultation. Whilst we were, Mr. Stevens's letter to the
Queen's ministers, saying he had recognized the Provisional Govern-
ment, was read by Sam Parker, Her Majesty's minister of foreign affairs.
Mr. Neumann and Joe Carter were appointed a committee of two to
draw up a protest for Her Majesty. We waited until they had done so.
We all approved of that protest, and then the Queen signed it.
Q. Was it dark then?
A. It was after dark; lamps were lighted.
Q. What was the condition of the city as to quiet when the troops
were landed on the day before?
294
A. There were no people on the street. It was as quiet as things
could be. I went to the palace to speak to the Queen. Itold her that
the soldiers had landed and were coming towards the palace. Fearing
lest they should attack the palace, I advised Her Majesty to be ready
to go with them if they should come to her and ask her to go with
them. I said this in my consternation upon seeing foreign troopslanded
in a peaceful country when there was no show of any disturbance.
Q. Was that consternation pretty general?
A. Most decidedly it was.
Q. Did that state of mind continue until the dethronement of the
Queen and the surrender of the barracks and station house?
A. Yes; until we heard of the establishment of the Provisional Gov-
ernment and then we knew what was what.
Q. Everything quiet after that?
A. Everything was }. There was not a dog bark or a cock crow.
Q. Were you in the Legislature in 1892?'
A. I was a member by appointment as a minister.
Q. Will you be kind enough to tell me how many parties were repre-
sented in that Legislature and by what names they were designated?
A. Three parties and some independents, National Reform, Reform,
and Liberal.
Q. How many members had each of these?
A. Nine National Reform; 14 Reform; 21 Liberals, and 4 Independ-
entS.
Q. Who were the 4 Independents?
A. R. R. Hind, J. Marsden, W. H. Cornwell, and A. Drier.
Q. How do those four gentlemen stand on the subject of annexation?
A. At the present moment?
Q. Yes. º
A. Marsden is an annexation man. Hind is not, Cornwell is not, and
Drier is not. I am sure of those two. I am not sure of Hind.
Q. ºnwave was a majority of the Legislature?
A. Yes.
Q. Did any one of these parties have that number?
*
• NO.
Q. How did it happen that so many cabinets were nominated and
voted out on want of confidence in 1892?
A. In the beginning of the session there was no possibility for unit-
ing the parties to vote out a ministry. The first cabinet held until
September. In September W. A. Whiting, attorney-general, resigned,
and Paul Neumann was appointed in his place. E. O. Macfarlane, with
several others of the National Reform party, sided with the Reform
party, and got also a few of the natives to side with them, and voted
out the first cabinet.
Q. Why did Macfarlane make this move?
A. He objected to Neumann, a party member, going into the cabinet
without the consent of the party.
Q. What party did Neumann belong to?
A. The National Reform. The Neumann cabinet did not meet the
approval of the Reform party.
Q. Who were at the head of the new cabinet?
A. Sam Parker, Neumann, Macfarlane, and a man by the name of
Gulick. It did not meet the approval of the Reform party, and, in con-
sequence, after a week or two they were voted out.
. By what parties in the Legislature?
A. Then , it was a conglomeration, party lines completely gone.
Macfarlane burst the party lines. They were voted out after a fort-
night. The Reform party laid down the principle that the Queen
should appoint a cabinet from the members of the party that voted
out a cabinet. The Reform party never voted out any cabinet because
they could not on account of lack of numbers. Then the new cabinet
was appointed. They lasted about half an hour or twenty minutes.
They were voted out again. A new cabinet was appointed which sat-
isfied the Reform party.
Q. Was that the Wilcox cabinet?
A. Yes. When I returned from San Francisco—i was gone about
two months—they were voted out. They got just 25 votes to vote \
them out.
Q. What #. voted them out?
A. The Liberal party—the native element.
Q. They must have had some other party to help them.
295
A. The National Reform party.
Q. Then a new cabinet was appointed?
A. Yes.
Q. Was that ever voted out 1
A. No.
Q. It was appointed the day before the Legislature was prorogued $
A. Yes; on Friday.
Q. What was the cause of all this turning out of cabinets?
A. The great desire on the part of a great number of the members of
the house to get into the cabinet themselves.
Q. The hope of getting into the cabinet made these combinations
possible and successful?
Yes.
Q. Who were the members who wanted to be ministers?
A. John Ena, E. C. Macfarlane, A. P. Peterson, J. A. Cummins, J.
N. S. Williams, Paul Neumann, J. Marsden, Alex. Young, W. H. Corn-
well, W.C. Wilder, C. W. Ashford, R. W. Wilcox, J. E. Bush, J. Nawahi,
william white, and wo. Smith.
$: Yº: this last Wilcox cabinet constituted wholly of Reformers?
©S.
Q. This left out of the cabinet and representation from the National
Beform or Liberal parties?
A. Yes.
* Bia that produce any dissatisfaction among aspirants for cabinet
places
A. Decidedly. It produced strong dissatisfaction among the Liberal
party. They had been told before they would come in. Bush would
have cut his throat before he would have sided with the Reformers but
for the idea that he would get in himself.
Q. Is he an annexationist now?
A. No; he is an antiannexationist.
Q. On the voting out of the second cabinet, I think, you said they
went all to pieces; there were no parties?
A, Yes.
Q: Am I to understand that they just turned loose in a sort of scram-
ble for cabinet places?
A. That was the simple reason for it.
Q. Was there ever a time when the Reform party had anything like
a majority of that body?
A. Not in 1892.
I have read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate report of my
interview with Mr. Blount,
H. A. WIDEMANN.
HONOLULU, June 10, 1893.
*
Judge Widemann, June 15, 1893.
Chief Justice Judd, who understands the native language, says “he
heard the Queen's speech on the 14th of January. She said to the
crowd she would proclaim a new constitution hereafter.” She used the
words “ma keia man la.” These words may signify a few days, a few
months, or a few years. The term is indefinite. It may be one hun-
dred years. It is equivalent to the expression, “one of these days.”
This conversation was at noon on Monday, January 16, 1893.
H. W. WIDEMANN.
No. 58.
Intervier with H. A. Widemann.
I beg to state that I lived in Honolulu in January and February last
past and took due notice of all the events that took place during those
months. In the latter days of January and on the 1st of February
everything was as quiet as could possibly be, and there was no reason
whatsoever to fear or be apprehensive of danger to property or danger
to life or limb of any man, woman, or child.
296
I did consider then, and do consider now, that the hoisting here of
the American flag at that time for the protection of life and property
was absolutely unnecessary.
H. A. WIDEMANN.
HONOLULU, July 15, 1893.
No. 59,
Interview with Robert W. Wilcoa.
HoNolulu, Tuesday, April 18, 1893.
Mr. BLount. Mr. Wilcox, where were you educated?
Mr. WILCox. Partly in these Islands and partly in Italy, at the mili-
tary academy at Turin.
Q. How came you to go there? |
A. I was sent by the Hawaiian Government.
Q. In what year?
A. In 1880; the latter part of 1880.
Q. When did you return?
A. In 1887.
Q. Are you a native?
A. I am a native. My father is an American, from Rhode Island-
Newport. My mother is a Hawaiian.
Q. . you are one-half Hawaiian and one-half white?
A. Yes.
Q. You came here in 1887. How long did you remain?
A. About four months.
Q. Where did you go then?
A. I went to San Francisco with my wife.
Q. How long did you remain there?
A. About one year.
Q. And then you returned here?
A. I returned about April, 1889.
Q. Was that the year in what occurred what is termed the Wilcox
rebellion?
A. Yes; on July 30, 1889.
Q. #. were in what was called the Ashford-Wilcox rebellion?
A. Yes.
Q. In what year?
A. In 1892.
Q. Were you in the Legislature at that time?
-A. I was in the Legislature at that time. I was in the Legislature
in 1890. I was one of the youngest men from the island of Maui.
Q. Then you have been identified all the while, from 1887, with pub-
lic affairs in these Islands?
te ©S.
Q. º: you understand the feelings of the whites and the natives?
A. Yes.
Q. What was the cause, or what were the causes, which led to the
dethronement of Queen Liliuokalani?
A. When what was called the Wilcox cabinet was ousted by the
House in January—about the 12th-I do not remember the date, and
then on Friday a new cabinet was formed by the Queen, composed of
Sam Parker, Cornwell, Colburn and Peterson. We met in the after-
noon, and members of what we call the Reform party did not come
and we decided that the house should prorogue on Saturday at 13
o'clock. At noon the Queen came in and prorogued the house. A
good many members of the house were not there—nearly all the mem-
bers of the Reform party were not there—and soon the house pro-
rogued. One of the members came to me and told me we were wanted
up at the palace. So we all went up to the palace. As soon as we
got in there we found a big body of people, what is called Kalaiaina.
We stayed in the reception room of the palace, and the English min-
ister was there, the French commissioner was there, the Portuguese
minister was there, but not the American minister. He had just come
back from Hilo that very morning. So we waited, the Queen was in
another room with the ministers.
The rumor was whispered around that there was to be proclaimed a
new constitution. The judges of the supreme court, two of them,
*
297
were there—Chief Justice Judd and Bickerton. Of course we waited
there until the foreign representatives went away. We heard the
Queen insisted that the ministers should sign and that the ministers
would not sign this document. I stayed there until the whole thing
ended, becaus’ I wanted to know what would happen. We stayed
there until between 5 and 6, when the Queen came out and gave a
little speech saying she wished to proclaim a new constitution, but was
prevented. She would proclaim one in the future if the people would
insist upon it. Then we went home. ... I went out with Mr. Parker and,
in the meantime, I heard that they had got up an organization—the
committee of safety they called it. I went home and stayed there. I
did not care to go into any side, just hold myself neutral.
On Sunday Mr. Colburn called on me. He asked me if I would
assist the Government. He said Mr. Thurston had been there and
wanted him to sign a document to call the Boston marines on shore
and to proclaim the Provisional Government. Mr. Colburn wanted
me to help them to stand by the Queen. I told him I had no objection.
I would assist them as far as I could. He said their headquarters were
at the station house. He went away. I stayed at home. I did not
- bother myself about the station house.
Mr. Colburn called on me again in the evening. He wanted me to
go to their meeting at the Government building. He took me down
there. I saw there Dr. Truseau, Mr. Gulick, Mr. Macfarlane, Paul
Neumann, John E. Bush, and Anton Rosa, and some foreigners also
were there. They were also consulting over the situation—what to do.
Marshal Wilson was there. They stood up and talked. Wilson decided
it was proper to arrest the committee of safety, but nobody seconded
his motion, and they asked my opinion. I said the only thing was to
suppress them before they made any progress. They said they are
going to have a mass meeting at the armory on Beretana street, of
the committee of safety. ' Then they came to the conclusion to have
a meeting of the people who wanted to support the Government in the
square right opposite the Government building, and some one talked
about that the Government should proclaim martial law, and stop all
these rebels and riots and all that kind of thing. Paul Neumann, who
i. present, said it would not be necessary; it would only create fric-
1OIl. *
I told Paul Neumann that if there was any bloodshed the Government
would be responsible for taking such a very weak stand. Paul Neu-
mann said there was a document to be read there to dethrone the
Queen, by the opposition party. He said, “that is no treason.” I said,
“if that is not treason we had better give up the whole thing.” Then
we came to the conclusion to have a mass meeting at the same hour
with the others. That was on Monday. I went home with Mr. Bush.
He asked my opinion. I told him, “I think you can not do anything.
I am not going to get myself in trouble. I would rather be neutral.”
So I went home. The next day—the 16th–I was called to make a
speech in the meeting. It was merely to get the people to harmonize
and keep the peace.
Q. What meeting was that? *
A. The meeting of the people to support the Queen's Government. ,
I did not make a speech. I told the people to behave and keep the
peace and order, and they passed a resolution and I was appointed to
be a member of that committee to see the Queen. So I went up that
afternoon to see the Queen at the palace. She received us. Mr. Parker
was there. She detained us a little while. Mr. Parker gave us a little
champagne, and when we left there we went out toward the Govern-
ment building. A native came up and told us the Boston men had
landed. We went down to see the Boston's soldiers, and when we got
around to the consulate we saw the Boston's men marching up. They
halted there and divided the men; sent part of them up to the legation.
Some stayed, I think, at the consulate. The main body marched up to
King street, marched up by Merchant street to the front of the Gov-
ernment building, near the eastern corner of the palace fence. They
‘stayed there awhile and then went as far as Atherton's place.
In the evening Colburn called and asked me to go to the Government
building. When we got there they were talking about the landing of
the Boston's men. I saw the representatives of other countries there.
Finally the Boston's men came back and took a house behind the Opera
House near the Government building. They stayed there until the
next day. Next day I went down town in the morning. I saw Mr.

B—38
298
Damon, the present vice-president. I asked him about it. He told
me the best thing was to take no side—neither the Government nor the
committee of safety. He didn’t want annexation, he said. He had
told me himself about that sometime previous to that. I didn’t take
any part. There were rumors around town that I was appointed com-
mander in chief of the Queen's guard. Many of my friends asked me
about it. I told them there was no truth in it. I stayed down the
city nearly all that day. People were running about—all curious about
seeing the Boston's men on shore.
The committee of safety was working hard to enlist men for the new
JProvisional Government to be proclaimed. Peterson came up to me
and asked me if I would use my services and see what is called the
“Drei Hundred,” a German element—see them and get them to take
part in this movement. I said, “What is the situation?” He said he
thought he could eucher the American minister, and it would be all
right. I said, “I think we are taking a very weak stand.” I was afraid
we were going to have bloodshed—on account of the weakness of the
Government. I went home, and then went down the city again. I saw
a cart coming from E. O. Hall's. A policeman tried to stop it. Capt.
Good, the present captain of the guard, was on the cart. He fired and
hit the native on the shoulder. They then ran up Fort street. There
were no police that day—all kept down at the station house, and the
soldiers were kept in the barracks. The streets were left at the mercy
of anybody. The “Drei Hundred” marched down on Beretania street
to the armory. They got ammunition there and went down to Govern-
ment building. I heard the new government was proclaimed in the
Government building and supported by these thirty men. I went home
and stayed home.
Q. Were those all the troops that were there?
A. All that were there then. Others came in afterwards.
Q. How long afterwards?
A. About an hour afterwards—about sunset. They kept on coming,
little by little. Dole resigned that day as justice of the supreme court
and joined in. I went home, but, of course, the news was abroad what
they were doing. The Queen and ministers consulting, they gave up
the Government under protest, which was published afterwards—next
day. Gave up to the superior force of the United States.
Q. Where were the United States troops at the time of the reading
of the proclamation?
Hå Right behind the opera house, in a buildin g they called Arion
3. e
Q. In the house or on the street?
A. Some inside and some outside. They took possession of that
quarter.
Q. Were they formed or not?
A. No; they just guarded the place.
Q. Had they arms?
A. Yes; and one or two Gatling guns—one or two, I am sure of that.
Q. At the time of the surrender of the Queen in the manner you
have stated was she not in possession of the palace, barracks, and sta-
tion house?
A. Yes.
Q. No attempt had been made by the Provisional Government to
fake them by force?
A. No.
Q. What time in the day did Minister Stevens, recognize the Pro-
visional Government—how long after it was proclaimed?
A. Nearly right afterwards.
Q. Now, when the Provisional Government was recognized by Mr.
Stevens, what was the effect on the Queen and her followers?
A. They all gave up. *
Q. And was it on account of the recognition by Mr. Stevens that
§ * no effort on the part of the Queen to take the Government
uilding
A. Yes; on account of the recognition by Mr. Stevens and the pres-
‘ence of the United States troops.
Q. Was it or not the opinion of both parties that the recognition by
Mr. Stevens ended the contest?
A. Yes; the recognition by Mr. Stevens ended the contest, because
the Queen's Goverument knew they could not go against Mr. Stevens's
recognition.
299
Q. How many troops did the Queen have in all at the time of that.
recognition?
A. She had a regular guard at the barracks; I think about 150.
Q. One hundred and fifty volunteers?
A. One hundred and fifty in all; and down at the station house some
200 or 300 men, with Wilson's police and volunteers. They were armed.
They had guns and Gatling guns.
Q. Were you in the palace on the 14th.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What troops were about there?
A. The Queen's guard.
Q. How many?
A. About 80.
Q. There were certain of the members of a certain political society
there asking for a new constitution. Was that a committee from that
society?
A. Yes.
Q. Not only from Honolulu but from the other islands?
A. Yes.
Q. Is it a large organization and has it much influence among the
native population or not?
A. So far as the question of the constitution was concerned it had
nearly all of the natives. At every election that point was talked
about by every member to secure election.
Q. Why did they want a new constitution? What was the matter
with the constitution of 18871
A. They felt that they were forced by the constitution of 1887, by
the party who got up that revolution, and that the qualification for
noble voter barred most of them from voting.
Q. Tell me how that was?
A. To vote for noble on these Islands a voter must have an income
of $600. If not an income, a property qualification of $3,000.
Q. Unincumbered?
A. Yes. Then there was a party called the Liberal party. We
didn’t mean a constitution giving all power to the Queen. "We meant
a constitution for equal rights.
Q. Do I understand you to mean this: That there was a large party
that wanted to give the Queen power to appoint the nobles, but the
Liberals were opposed to giving her the power to appoint the nobles,
but wanted freer franchise in the matter of electing nobles?
A. Yes; and the Liberals held that the Queen ought to let the strong-
est party in the House form a cabinet, and not appoint the favorites.
Q. How was the bulk of the native population on that question?
A. The bulk of the natives were Royalists. They held the old idea;
the Queen must have all power.
Q. Is that the general feeling among the native population?
A. Yes, sir; except the enlightened natives. They have a different
Oplnion.
Q. Now, your own idea. What qualification did you want for voting
for nobles;
A. The qualification of learning.
Q. What sort of property qualification, or any?
A. I wanted about one-half of the present qualification; and the
Voter to know how to read and write and understand the constitution.
Q. That was in order to É. to the native element a larger liberty
in the matter of electing nobles?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. In the desire to proclaim a new constitution did the Queen seem
* ºins the wish of the native population?
• Y &S,
Q. She had, then, in her desire to have a new constitution the sup-
port of the natives?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you see that constitution?
A. I did not. I only heard from persons who read it.
Q. What did you hear it was?
A. Joseph Nawahi–the Queen gave it to him to read.
Q. What did he report to you?
A. He reported to me that the nobles and representatives should be
elected, but one-third of the nobles to be appointed by the Queen.
Q. Who was to elect the other two-thirds?
300
A. The other two-thirds of the nobles were to be elected by the same
people who elect representatives now.
at was to be the qualification of a person who voted for nobles
under that constitution?
A. The same as that for representatives. The judges of the supreme
court were only for six years, to be recommissioned every six years.
Q. And how about the cabinet?
A. The cabinet was to be appointed by the Queen.
Q. And to go out by a vote of want of confidence?
A. Yes; and I asked him further about the exercise of suffrage. I
understood him to say the foreigners must take the oath of allegiance
and stay here five or six years, except those foreigners who came here
and were allowed to vote by royal signature.
Q. You say that since 1887 the natives have been wanting to restore
the º constitution? g
• Y 8S,
% Giving to the Queen more power?
• Y &S.
Q. º the parties been divided here on that line?
• Y &S.
Q. Why didn't the last Legislature do something in the matter of a
J.ew constitution?
A. A majority opposed it. Even some of the natives dodged around.
They said they would support the convention for the new constitution,
but when the thing came up they tried to dodge.
Q. Why did they try to dodge?
A. I suppose they were influenced by the Reform party.
Q. But if they had voted as they were expected to do by the people
who elected them, would they have had the power to make a new con-
stitution?
A. Yes; because there were two bills before the House to call a con-
vention of representative men all over the Islands to come and make a
new constitution, but it was defeated on the compromise in 1890, and
in 1892 they were defeated badly.
Q. What was the compromise of 1890? ſº
A. To go by amendment. In 1890 we passed a good many amend-
ments, and in 1892 those very people who promised to support it—they
went back on their promises—so it was defeated.
Q. What was proposed in these amendments?
A. One proposed to reduce the qualification to $300. That was the
principal point. *
Q. Are these amendments in print?
A. Yes.
Q. Y. you bring them?
• Y CS,
Q. How did the Liberals manage to get these representatives of this
new constitution movement to vote against these amendments?
A. The Reform you mean?
Q. Yes.
A. They used their influence against it.
Q. What was their influence?
A. They have a good deal of influence. Some of the men depended
upon them. Many of the Reform party were sugar planters. They held
mortgages on the property of some of the legislators; some of them
were dependent upon them for their pasturage.
Q. Tell me about the voting out of the several cabinets in 1892.
A. The first cabinet was called the Widemann-Parker cabinet.
They were only voted out by combining the Progressive Liberals with
the Reform. The Progressive joined with the Reform. They got a
majority and ousted that cabinet. That was how that cabinet was ousted.
Q. Be kind enough now to state to me the parties in the body on the
assembling of the last Legislature, the points of difference between
them, and why the first cabinet was voted out.
A. They did anything to get the cabinet out. They had no confl-
dence in it. Of course the Reform didn't like that cabinet, and the
Progressive Liberals didn't. Even the natives didn't like it. The Pro-
gressive Liberals thought that by having a new cabinet their views
would be carried out. Some of them wanted to form a convention for
a new constitution. That was not brought up before because the Reform
opposed that.
§ Both the Liberal party and the Reform party wanted a new con-
stitution? &
. 301
A. The Liberal party wanted a new constitution and the natives did,
but the Reform didn't want a new constitution.
Q. What is the difference between the Liberal party and the natives?
A. The only difference is the natives wanted to give the whole power
to the Queen. The Liberal party did not believe in that.
Q. Well, please go on. *
A. They voted out the cabinet. Then the Queen appointed another
cabinet, what is called the Macfarlane cabinet. It took a week to form
it. That cabinet was voted out.
Q. Why were they voted out?
A. They did not like them; they felt they were ignored. They laid
out a platform for the leader of the house to form a cabinet for the
Queen. ...Then another cabinet came in—Cornwell, Nawahi, Creighton,
and Gulick. We had a meeting the night before of the Reform and the
Progressive Liberals. Nearly all the men who voted out the former
cabinet were at the meeting. They worked around about using all their
influence to work upon the native members by means of promises and
money. Then the Macfarlane cabinet was voted out. The natives
stuck together to hold that cabinet in. &
Q. How was the vote on that?
A. Twenty-seven to twenty-eight.
Q. Who furnished the money?
A. Friends of the Reform people. The Reform knew that their friends
were using money to get some native votes to get that cabinet out.
Q. How do you know that money was being used?
TA. I was told so, and I know it is a fact.
Q. How do you imow it is a factº *
A. It was talked about. It was general belief.
Q. Was it generally believed, as you do, that the majority was gotten
by the use of money?
A. Yes. (Continuing.) Then this cabinet of Cornwell, Nawaki,
'Creighton, and Gulick came in. We had a meeting the previous night.
We all decided we would vote them out without ceremony.
Q. Who decided that ? Who was the meeting composed off
A. Reform and Liberal. Because we felt the Queen was ignoring the
imajority of the house.
The cabinet was voted out in three hours. Then, afterwards, it
£ook two weeks to form the Wilcox cabinet, which was composed of
ithe Reform party. The Liberal was left out this time. I was a Liberal,
but I didn't kick. I said I would keep still; I would pay them back in
Some way. Bush was a Liberal then; he was kicking. Ashford was at
Hawaii. Finally the Queen's party commenced working against this
eabinet. Mr. Parker asked me how I would vote. I told him I was
tired about the cabinet, and I asked him if he was going to be in. He
said yes. He asked me if I would take some position abroad. I told
him I could not take a position except as minister. He said we were
were going to have a new constitution. He said that as soon as they
have a new cabinet they would proclaim a new constitution.
I did not believe what he said. I think he was merely working to
get people to vote the cabinet out. I told him there was no need of a
new constitution for giving a friend a position abroad. He said they
might send me out as consul-general to Hongkong. I said the cab-
inet did not act right and could expect nothing from me. When they
brought the resolution against that cabinet Istood and explained my
vote. I explained where they stood, so we had 25 votes when that cab-
inet was voted out. On the 13th, which was Friday, the new cabinet
was formed by the Qeeen, Sam Parker, Cornwell, Colburn, and Peter-
SOIl. *
I want to explain the influence of the white population here about
voting. Macfarlane and Paul Neumann, when their places were vacant—
two candidates were put out by the Reform party, called the Mis-
sionary party, Mr. Waterhouse and Mark Robinson, and the other
party put up— e.
Q. What other party? g
A. The other foreign element here. They put up Mr. Maile and Mr.
Hopkins.
Q. What do you mean by this other foreign element? º
A. Imean nonmissionaries, as noble voters. They need to get foreign
Voters to elect nobles. All the missionaries stood solid to vote for their
-candidate.
Q. Were the whites defeated in that election?
302
A. Yes; they are generally defeated. It is a question of prejudice *
with them. When the word “missionary” is raised that party would
be defeated.
Q. Well, the missionary element is an American element?
A. Yes; Boston men. They are the sons of missionaries from Boston.
Q. Are there any other nationalities; what are they?
A. Some Portuguese, some English, some Germans.
Q. What is the feeling of the people here towards the native Govern-
ment; take the native population?
A. They are always for the native Government.
Q. §ºn they are not in favor of this Government?
A. No.
Q. How about the whites?
A. The whites in general do not favor the Government. Some of
them are for annexation, and some of them would rather have inde-
pendence of the country.
Q. Well, now, the annexationists who are not for this Government
here, why are they opposed to this Government; are they apprehen-
sive that this Government is not inclined to give the franchise to the
native people?
A. Yes; and besides they disapprove of the way it was brought about.
Q. What do you mean by the way it was brought about?
A. The way it was established. They have in mind that this Govern-
ment was put in by Minister Stevens.
Q. That is the opinion of the native population?
A. A good many whites feel the same way.
Q. There are a great many whites who feel that this Government
was set up by Mr. Stevens?
A. Yes; the landing of the Boston's men and the recognition on
the same day before they got the station house and the barracks.
Q. Was there any opinion on Saturday the 14th, or on Sunday, that
the troops were going to be landed and would be in the interest of the
dethronement of the Queen?
A. On Sunday the news came from Colburn. Thurston went up to
him with a document to get him, Peterson, and Cornwell to send for
the troops to support the Provisional Government. He assured him
that Minister Stevens would do what is right to support them if they
would only sign the document. Nobody had an idea that the troops
were going to be landed, except by the request of the Government,
until Monday evening. The 16th the troops were landed, and it was a
surprise to everybody. Nobody knows who called them.
Q. What was the condition of the city at the time as to peacefulness?
A. Peaceful; just the same as before. Nobody was thinking about
revolution. On Sunday Mr. Parker asked me if I would take the post
of commander-in-chief. I told him I would take it if I had the appoint-
ment in writing. He told me he had to see his colleague. Cornwell said
he would have to consult other members of the cabinet and let me know
the day afterwards. I never heard anything from them any more. I
met Sam Parker. I blamed them for not acting—suppressing the
people before they got in the Government building. They said the
reason was they could not do it. I said if they had appointed me I
would have suppressed it before anything happened. I would have
gone and seen Mr. Stevens myself. Mr. Stevens told them he would
not assist them.
Q. Told them on Sunday?
A. No; Monday. That is what Parker told me; the American Gov-
ernment would support the committee of thirteen, because they were
the only wealthy people of the country; would not support the Govern-
ment. He told me he did not know what to do. We could not fight
the United States. Iblamed them. I attacked them in the newspapers
on their weakness. Many of the natives accused the Government of
being slow—not energetic.
Q. Going back to the voting out of the Wilcox cabinet—the Progres-
sive Liberal party united with the native element in the Legislature
and voted out the Wilcox cabinet because they had no representation
in the Wilcox cabinet?
A. They all represented one side—the Reform side.
Q. When that shifting of the Liberal party and the native element
took Fº and the Reform element lost the cabinet, how did they
accept it
A. The Reform—they accepted it in bad grace. They never appeared
303
i. more. They quit the house. None of them appeared around
ere,
Q. Now the Legislature was prorogued, when would another assem-
semble?
A. In 1894; in two years, unless a special session be called.
$. º would leave the Queen with the last cabinet for two years?
e €S.
% #. that was the situation which offended them?
e ©S.
Q. Was there any understanding between the Liberal element and
the native element that if this Wilcox cabinet was voted out that she
was to proclaim a new constitution?
A. It was talked over.
Q. By whom?
A. It was whispered around. Sam. Parker said there would be a
#. institution. I do not like to talk. He talked confidentially as a
€I101.
Q. That is all right. This is not for local consumption.
A. And some of the members who had been up to see the Queen
told me also about the new constitution; that the wish of the people
would be fulfilled by a new constitution.
Q. Now, was the Liberal element favoring a new constitution?
A. They had already done so.
Q. Yºº they in favor of the Queen doing it by proclamation?
A. Yes.
Q. The Progressive Liberals?
A. Yes.
*
Q. They were for the native element when it narrowed down to a
Ҽy between the reform element and the native element?
• Y 08.
Q. And they were willing for a new constitution?
A. Yes; the whole thing was promised since after 1887. It was
promised by candidates running for office.
Q. Do you mean to say that popular elections were all on the line of
a new constitution?
a. Yes. In 1890 the Thurston cabinet was a strong one, but on
that alone it was defeated; a majority was elected and the cabinet was
ousted out, and of course the members did not carry out the wishes of
the people; they tried to promise the people the other way.
Q. Who did that?
A. Those in 1890 who were in the cabinet—Widemann and the others.
Q. What is the reason the whites say they do not want the natives
to have suffrage?
A. They have an idea that the natives would have control of the
Legislature. That is the whole idea. They wanted to have the whole
thing in the hands of the sugar-planters.
Q. The sugar-planters are not many in numbers. How would they
have it in their hands?
A. Of course, they have the high qualifications.
Q. Were many sugar-planters elected nobles to the last Legislature?
A. Some of them. I don’t know how many. On the islands of
Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai the nobles are controlled by sugar-plant-
•ers. This is the only island they can not control.
§ All the islands except this elected candidates of sugar-planters—
In OOICS
A. Yes. Here the most popular would be elected. Generally sugar-
planters are not popular on account of cheap labor.
Q. They do not like the sugar-planting interest because it brings
£heap labor?
A, Yes; the workingmen are against that.
Q. Do the Chinese intermarry much with natives?
A. Not very much. The Chinese merchants marry natives.
Q. How about the Japanese?
A. Not very much.
Q. Do the Portuguese and natives marry very much?
A. They marry among themselves, principally.
Q. The principal intermarriages are between the natives themselves?
A. They marry sometimes with foreigners—nearly all half-castes are
Americans—that is, their fathers are Americans.
Q. What is your attitude in the matter of the present Government?
I mean, how do you feel about it? Do you feel that it ought to becon-
tinued or ought to have been established?
304
A. For myself, I tell you frankly, I am not for the present Govern-
ment.
Q. What is your objection to it?
A. My objection is that this Government is a government de facto of
the Missionary party. It is not a popular one. It is against the wishes
of the natives and a good many white people. It was established by
Mr. Stevens, and in my heart I could say I am a lover of justice. I do
not believe in a government established by a strong hand. If I am
defeated I am all right. I am a revolutionist.
Q. What do you mean by saying “I am a revolutionist?”
A I mean that I have started several.
Q. What was your motive for the revolution of 1889?
A. The constitution.
Q. What did you want then?
A. I felt something like the people here felt about the constitution
of 1887, that it was forced upon them. Kalakaua was forced to sign it.
Q. What was your plan to change it?
A. My plan was to restore the old constitution, with some little
amendments, to suit the view of the people—not to have a high qualifl-
cation of voters.
Q. Well, to do that you took the Palace, and then, what was your
next step? ar
A. I took the Palace with a view that I would be supported by the
King's guard. Of course, if I had that I would have had everything
in my hands.
Q. Why did you think they would support you?
A. I had some understanding with them. . The King hinted to join
with the matter. Then we were to join with Ashford and have no.
opposition.
§ Did you take the Palace by an understanding with Kalakaua'ſ
A. Yes; when I got there Kalakaua went down to the boathouse.
Q. Did you see him 7
A. No. He sent word to go—that he would not allow me inside the
Palace.
Q. Who?
A. The King. He sent R. H. Baker with a message that I must not
go in the Palace—and those in the barracks told me to stay in the yard—
but do not take possession of this place. I said to Baker to go and see
Kalakaua again. He went down to see the King, and I never heard
anything until the rifles commenced around. A party of sharpshooters
took possession of the opera house. They were whites. The first thing
I was fired upon by them—fired upon without any notice. I had twelve
men who took possession of the Government building. When fired upon
some men ran away—got shot. My men were unarmed. Had only a
few arms. We sent off shell up on the opera house. I wanted to take
the Palace at that time. I had no men at that time. My men were
scattered.
Q. Why did they scatter?
A. They were fired upon and they all jumped over the wall and went
away. I went into the bungalow and stayed there.
Q. What was Kalakaua doing all this time?
A. He stayed down there until I gave up in the evening.
Q. Who was he siding with?
A. Well, I do not know. He could go back and take possession of
the whole Government.
Q. Did Liliuokalani have anything to do with it in anyway?
A. No; she was a confidential friend of mine then. She knew some-
thing about it. I told her we had a little difficulty with her brother.
I told her to go and see Kalakaua and make up the difference. I told
her if Kalakaua got it into his head that the movement was to put her
on the throne, I might be in a bad position,
Q. What has become of Baker, the go-between between you and
Kalakaua'ſ
A. He is living here.
Q. What is his position in the present Government?
A. Nothing. He was the man who went with Kalakaua, when he
died in San Francisco.
Q. There was never any understanding between you and Liliuoka-
lani that she was to take the place of Kalakaua if you were successful?
A. No; but before that the Reform people wanted to put her on the
throne. The people talked, but it was all talk.
305
Q. Is Ashford the man in whose behalf the British minister inter-
fered, in the matter of having him tried by a foreign jury, in 1892?
A. Yes; V. V. Ashford.
Q. Is he here now?
A. Yes.
Q. Where is his brother?
A. Here—Clarence—he was with him in 1892. He was a Liberal.
Q. What was the object of the movement in 1892 1.
A. The objéct was to establish a republic, with a view, when the peo-
ple were educated to it, to favor annexation with the United States.
Q. You proposed to experiment with a republic and in the course of
time to get into the American Union?
A. Yes.
Q. As a State? .
A. Yes. When I was in prison in 1892 Mr. Stevens made a speech
in my favor at some Grand Army affair.
Q. Did he want you discharged?
A. He did his best. He said they did not arrest people in America
for such things.
1% there was no force used in that Ashford-Wilcox conspiracy in
A. No; it was one object to have equal rights—that was all.
Q. It is sometimes said that natives are signing petitions for annexa-
: here, and that they are in favor of it. What have you to say about
at o
ń. It is not true; they may sign under some influence against their
W º
Q. What sort of influence? º
A. They hold positions; they would have to give up positions; they
have no other occupation. Besides, they do not like these people to
annex them.
Q. They hate the people who want to?
A. They hate the Provisional Government. " They remember what
the Commissioner said when he went to Washington.
Q. What is their idea?
A. They did not like Thurston speaking against them. He said they
were like Indians. It brought great prejudice against them.
Q. Are they suspicious that this is a movement in which they will
lose wº largely their political power?
A S.
e €
Q. And that it is intended to put the foreigners in control?
A. Some of them think so. They think they would be disfranchised,
something like Alaska Indians.
Q. The movement of 1892—did that contemplate the use of force in
overturning the Government?
A. No; we talked about education. We thought we had a big fol-
lowing and would be supported by the people. Of course, the Govern-
ment took an active part in it—took an active part in suppressing it.
Mr. BLOUNT. I think I have asked all I want to ask you. Is there
any statement you would like to make yourself in connection with this
matter?
A. No.
APRIL 27, 1893.
Q. º the natives generally have some stock—horses and cattle?
A. Yes.
Q. How do they graze them? e
A. On land; they lease it—pay so much a year.
Q. Who are the people who own the land; are they corporations or
individuals?
A. Some individuals, some corporations. These sugar-planters, they
have long leases on what is called crown lands.
Q. And the natives have no other means of grazing a cow or a horset
A. Except by letting it go on their land and paying so much a year.
Q. Does this fact enable the sugar-planters and owners of plantations
to exert any influence over the native vote?
A. They have great influence on those points.
Q. How?
A. In the election of 1892 at Kauai, Messrs. Gay and Robinson, who
owned large amount of property there, told a good many of the natives,
B—39
306
who voted against their candidate for representative, to take away
their horses and the few cattle they had on their land.
Q. What did they do with them?
A. They sold them—they had no place to keep them.
Q. Does that appear to enable them to control the native vote to a
considerable extent?
A. Sometimes, but we have secret vote in this country now. They
can not control it so well as they used to.
Q. Would that enable them to get natives to sign a petition for
annexation? &
A. In that way they sign petitions because they are obliged. They
have their horses and cattle.
Q. The only chance the native has to get his stock grazed is on land
belonging to large planters; sometimes individuals and sometimes cor-
porations.
A. Yes.
Q. Generally corporations?
A. Yes; planters, generally corporations.
I have carefully read the foregoing and pronounce it an accurate
report of my interviews with Mr. Blount.
• ROBERT W. WILCOX.
HoNoLULU, April 27.
No. 60.
Statement of O. B. Wilson.
FACTs IN RELATION TO THE REvoluTION OF 1893, AND THE CAUSEs
WHICH LED TO IT.
Two years ago the nation was preparing its decorations to joyously
celebrate and welcome the home-coming of His Majesty King Kalakaua,
who was away on a visit of business to the United States, endeavoring
to benefit his country and people by working for a modification of the
existing treaty of reciprocity with the United States, in the direction
of securing the admission of more Hawaiian products and manufac-
tures free of duty into the United States. He had gone on this errand
a sick man—at the direct instigation and strong pressure of the plant-
ers and their friends, led by Thurston and others. They hoped that
through his royal rank and genial bonhomie to gain those privileges
from the American Government which they themselves when in power
as the cabinet of 1887 had failed to secure.
On the 29th of January, 1881, the U. S. S. Charleston, bearing the
body of the deceased monarch, in charge of Rear-Admiral George
Brown, arrived in Honolulu harbor. The Charleston was draped in
mourning and her yards were cockbilled, which was the first intima-
tion to the Hawaiian people that their monarch had laid down his life
in the attempt to benefit the sugar planters. The arrangements for
the celebration of his return with rejoicing were changed to that of
mourning for Hawaii's dead.
Hurried arrangements were made to carry out the change in the form
of government that the sad circumstances had made necessary. His late
majesty's cabinet called a meeting of the privy council of state to be
held at the palace on that day at noon. To this meeting the princess
regent, now Queen, by hereditary right and the provisions of the
superseded constitution of 1865, as well as by the direct provisions of
the constitution of 1887, was summoned to be present in order to take
the oath of office and to be sworn in as sovereign, as provided for in
the constitution which had been forced on her late royal brother at
the point of the bayonet during the uprising of 1887, at the instiga-
tion of the same Thurston and his associates.
At this meeting her troubles began. Naturally and properly opposed
to a constitution promulgated by her late brother under compulsion of
force, to which she had never consented, and feeling secure in her right
to ascend the throne under the provisions of the superseded Kameha-
meha constitution, she hesitated to sign the constitution or to take the
oath which might bind her to acknowledge the validity of that docu-
ment. The chancellor of the Kingdom, Chief Justice A. F. Judd, ad-
4-
307
Yised her to sign it, as the oath was merely the same as in the previous
constitution, and hinted to her that the then ministry could not hold
office under the commissions signed by the late King. Thus induced,
she reluctantly but finally signed the document and took the oath.
Picture the scene: The dead body of her brother and late sovereign
still on board of the Charleston, no definite arrangements yet made to
bring it ashore; men at work in the very palace where they were drap-
ing it with mourning; no relatives near or far save a child niece 8,000
miles away in England and an invalid husband who died a few months
later; a subtle tempter promising—you shall do as you want if you
Willingly give in on this one point; and a grief-stricken and lonely
woman in the first pangs of mourning, bereavement, and the bewilder.
lment of a sudden change called upon to assume the duties of head of
the nation.
Could anyone doubt the result? The chief justice's advice was fol-
lowed. The oath was taken to support the Constitution of the Hawaiian
Islands, and immediately on the adjournment of the Privy Council,
the politicians both in it and out of it were at work. The chief
Justice at once stepped up to Her Majesty and whispered to her that if
the ministry resigned, as they could not legally hold their portfolios
unless commissioned by her, she should ask them to hold their portfo-
lios until after the funeral. This was indeed a mos remarkable action
of the chief justice toward a woman thus suddenly called on to attend
to matters of the most important and serious nature possible, as
well as a singular prejudgment of matters which have to, and did,
come before him in his official capacity as head of the supreme bench.
For not without a struggle did the late King's cabinet give up the
reins of power, bowing only to the decision of the supreme court. It
was appealed to, as provided for in the Constitution. It will be remem-
bered that Mr. J. A. Cummins was the minister of foreign affairs and
nominal premier in this cabinet which was now compelled to retire.
This fact accounts for much which happened later, as will be related
in due time. ... Considerable feeling ran through the community at the
time of the discussion, on the claim of right by the late King's minis-
ters to hold office in defiance of the Queen. The Thurston faction saw
that their power was slipping surely and slowly from them, and they
made every effort, privately and publicly, to prevent the Queen from
acting contrary to their wishes and plans.
However, as before stated, the supreme court decided that His late
Majesty's cabinet could not hold office by virtue of their commissions,
signed by the deceased King, and Her Majesty exercised her un-
doubted privilege of selecting new counsellors. These were Messrs.
S. Parker, H. A. Widemann, Charles N. Spencer, and W. A. Whiting.
It was a most conservative cabinet, although not at all favored by or
favoring the Thurston faction. Mr. C. N. Spencer, since deceased in
February, 1893, the minister of the interior, an American and a very
old resident of this Kingdom, was a member of the cabinet appointed
by the late King, who had just resigned on account of the decision of
the Supreme court. He had previously, however, signified both his
absolute willingness and his deliberate intention of resigning his office,
as a matter of courtesy to the sovereign, even though the supreme
court should decide that the King's cabinet had the right to continue
their offices under the Queen. §one of his colleagues had expressed
such opinions and seemed determined to hold their seats at all hazard;
this no doubt influenced Her Majesty in her determination to select
Inew advisers.
Troublous indeed were the scenes at the opening of her reign, and
now she had to meet trouble from without as well as from within.
His excellency, John L. Stevens, envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary of the United States of America, had by virtue of his
office an official audience of the bereaved and mourning sovereign in
the palace on the day following the burial of the body of the late King,
on which occasion he addressed Her Majesty as follows:
MADAM: It is my official duty to offer to Your Majesty congratulations on your
accession to the throne, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of
our Kingdom. Turning from the funeral scenes through which we have§: assed,
address Your Majesty words of hope as to the future of your .. tanding on
the border land of death and the future world, of which we have been so solemnly
reminded by what has just transpired in our midst, and reverent towards the Su-
#. God, to whom all are accountable, the minister of the United States expresses
is earnest gratification that Your Majesty has taken the firm resolution to aid in
making your reign a strictly constitutional reign, to maintain the constitutional
right of your ministers to administer the laws, and always to acknowledge their re-
308
sponsibility to the Legislature in the performance of their sworn obligations. In the
wish thus to respect the supreme authority of the constitution and the laws, Your
Majesty F. yourself in the exalted rank of the best sovereigns of the world, and
thus will avoid those embarrassments and perplexities which have so often disturbed
the peace and crippled the prosperity of countries not blessed with free and enlight-
ened constitutious. It is my earnest prayer that Your Majesty may be able to carry
out your noble resolution, and thus have full time and opportunity to discharge the
duties which Your Majesty justly regards necessary to the success of your reign and
beneficial to your whole º: In endeavoring to make good these auspicious
promises, Your Majesty will have the full sympathy and the good wishes of the Gov-
ernment which I have the honor to represent at this capital.
Picture to yourself the time and scene. An elderly editor of an ob-
scure country journal, accidentally pitchforked into the position of the
national representative of one of the greatest nations on earth—and a
republic at that—lecturing a monarch born and educated to the purple,
a woman in the hour of deepest bereavement, in the style and with the
ideas that he would have used to a Sunday school class of little children
or possibly to a benighted heathen from the depths of barbarism.
From this time forward he showed by every means in his power at
every opportunity the determination to make himself obnoxious to the
Queen and her Government by his high-handed and dictatorial actions
and speeches, both to herself personally and everyone in her Govern-
ment that he had to deal with officially.
His mode of doing this was generally characterized by pettiness, as
the following instances will show: He once asked permission of the
Queen to introduce to her two or three friends. What was the aston-
ishment of the officials to see him drive into the palace yard with all
the tourist guests of the hotel, about 30 or 40 in number. As it so
happened the Queen was indisposed, so that they had only the privi-
lege of seeing through the palace. Upon receiving the excuses of the
Queen, Minister Stevens announced the fact to his guests, and in a
few minutes afterwards withdrew, leaving the party in the charge of
the palace officials. On another occasion the Queen was holding a gen-
eral reception. Several influential and wealthy American visitors to the
Islands were desirous of being presented to Her Majesty. Minister
Stevens met them at the palace, and when he got to the door of the
throne room he left the party standing in the hallway while he marched
in alone, and standing before the Queen hastily read over a list of names
and marched out again, leaving his amazed countrymen and ladies to
their own devices, from which awkward position they were rescued by
the courtesy of the Queen's officials, and ushered into her presence.
Again, at a state dinner at the palace, he signalized himself by killing
mosquitoes, clapping both hands together with a loud report, letting
the mosquitoes fall into his soup, from which he afterward picked them
out. The onlookers and others at the table were simply paralyzed by
his coarse breach of etiquette.
Upon another occasion at a luau given on the palace grounds, to
which himself, wife, and family were invited, he created great irrita-
tion by his ungentlemanly and dictatorial insistance on having seats
placed at the Royal table, when a table had been specially set apart
for the families of diplomatic representatives, for his second daughter
and lady friends. He expressed himself in language quite unbecoming
a gentlemen of his position.
hen raiding a Chinese gambling den, the police at one-time
arrested a murderous-looking inmate of the place, armed with a spe-
cially sharpened immense sheath knife. He was placed under arrest
with a second charge of carrying a deadly weapon contrary to law.
Minister Stevens immediately insisted on his release without trial,
and the return of the deadly blade, as the Mongolian was an attaché
of the legation, to-wit, his coachman, and was therefore privileged from
arrest, notwithstanding the fact that he was not registered at the for-
eign office as such according to international law and custom. To
avoid any further fuss with the American dictator, the murderous
Celestial highbinder and criminal servant over whom had been unwar-
rantably thrown the argis of the American eagle, was released.
In April last, when V. V. Ashford, R. W. Wilcox, and others were
under arrest on a charge of treason, a vagabond hoodlum, better known
as “the bad man from Alabama,” who had been parading up and down
Merchant street, the principal business street, with cartridge belt stuck
full of º and a Springfield rifle, loudly uttering that he was
prepared to fall in when the word was given for a move to be made, on
which he was promptly arrested by a police officer. Minister Stevens
interfered in this man's behalf also, to secure his release, as he would

309
no doubt have of the rest could he have even furbished up the slightest
claim to interfere, and thus show his sympathy with revolutions and the
enemies of Her Majesty's throne and life.
When it came to attempting to search for a missing boat from the
wreck of the American ship W. A. Campbell, which contained six or
seven men, a woman, and a young child, he refused to allow the Boston
to go, on the grounds that he feared a revolution and damage to life
and property in its absence. This was during the Macfarlane-Neumann
and the Cornwell–Nawahai cabinets regime, when the Thurston faction
were in opposition. A few weeks later, when they had got into power,
he took occasion to use the Boston to convey himself and family to
Hawaii. The incident caused strong comment amongst Americans in
Honolulu on his heartlessness and cowardice in taking care of Ameri-
cans and American interests. and called forth several communications
which were published in the Daily Bulletin, a leading newspaper
owned by a private corporation. The articles referred to are as follows:
In the legislative assembly on Tuesday, the 27th of September, 1892, Noble Corn-
well, under suspension of the rules, moved the following resolution:
“Whereas, information from authoritative sources has been received that an
American vessel has been wrecked near the coast of Hawaii, and by reports of pne
boat's crew of survivors that another boat containing the captain and his wife, and
other people, was still missing ;
“Resolved, That Her * s Government is hereby requested to inquire into the
expediency of assisting the castaways, and is hereby authorized in that behalf to
employ the services of one of the Inter-island steamers for the purpose of searching"
for the missing people, to render assistance if possible;
“Resolved, further, fhat the Government bºauthorized to incur the necessary
expenses connected there with.”
n motion of Noble Baldwin the words “if deemed necessary” were added, and
the resolution passed, and referred to the cabinet.
On the 28th of September the following communication appeared:
Bditor Bulletin:
I would like to ask through your columns “of those who have the authority” why
the U.S. S. Boston is not sent out in search of the missing boat of the American shi
Wº. A. Campbell. I will venture to say that if the U.S. minister's or consul-general's
wife and child were in that boat the Boston would have steamed to sea in search of
it several days ago.
AN INDIGNANT AMERICAN.
In its issue of the 29th was this editorial:
The U. S. S. Boston leaves port this afternoon on a cruise in search of the missing
boat of the lost . Wm. A. Campbell. This movement is to be placed to the credit
of the action taken by the Hawaiian Legislature on a resolution introduced by Noble
Cornwell. While there is no certainty that the captain's party have either perished
or been picked up, there is a chance that they may be found alive on the wide ocean
by the cruiser. tter late than never that the search is instituted.
The above was one of the specifications in Minister Stevens' libel
suit. “Another Indignant American,” on the 30th says:
JEditor Bulletin:
It is just one week ago to-night since the American Minister Stevens, Consul-Gen-
eral Severance, and the U. S. S. Boston were communicated with on the subject of
instituting search for the missing boat's crew of the wrecked W. A. Campbell, a
report of which appeared in the Bulletin first on last Friday afternoon. The
answers were vague and indefinite, except snch as received from the Boston which
supplied the information that no instructions had been received. Now, this after-
noon, the Boston starts on her belated trip in the cause of humanity. The excuse
can not be offered that the attention of these officials was not drawn to the need for
humane action, nor can poverty of the nation they represent be advanced, in atone-
ment for disgusting quiescence. If the Boston comes across a ship's boat containing
fourteen grinning ghastly corpses, including those of a loving mother and her babe-
a woman and her child—it will not be a pleasant picture to contemplate, nor will it
be a source of satisfaction to Hubites when they reflect upon the odium which has
already been cast upon the namesake of the capital city of the old “Bay State,” by
the senility and Chinese-like stolidity of the man from Maine.
On October 1 “Looker-On” writes:
Editor Bulletin:
Last Friday, news was brought of a terrible disaster at sea. One boat was picked
up off the Hawaiian coast, and the exhausted survivors were able to tell of the still
more desperate condition of the occupants of another boat, supposed to be following
the first. A woman in a delicate condition and a baby were sharing the awful hard-
ships of the open sea in a small ship's boat. The vessel was American. In the port
of Honolulu was lying a ship of the much-vaunted Navy. Moreover, a large number
of local steamers were anchored in the harbor waiting for employment. Thanks to
Fº charity and generosity a short ineffectual search was made by the steamer
inaw, whose owners declined to receive remuneration for what, in their opinion, was
the performance of an act of common humanity. Meanwhile, the Boston lies calmly
as if nothing had happened. Her searchlights sweep the heavens at night, resting
for a moment on the hotel cupola, then another moment on the rising tower of the
American church, then flash away to far Waikiki or elsewhere, calculated no doubt
to strike terror into the Hawaiian breast, and to show the futility of trying to evade
the searching eye, not of Providence, but of Uncle Sam. There were those who said
310
that it had been better if that light had swept the horizon beyond Hawaii for that
speck in the wide ocean to which were clinging a mother and her child. However,
nothing .# is done, except that some theories are propounded by the Ameri-
can consul-general. Besides this, nothing.
It is said on good authority that the captain of the Boston offered his ship, but that
the American minister declined the offer. He was afraid, it is said, that something
might happen if the Boston were to leave port. Here, then, two reflections arise.
First, why is the Boston here at all? and, secondly, is it not manifest now that there
are occasions when we are deprived of the maternal protection of the United States
and need a small force of our own? Finally, seeing that humanity was being sacri-
ficed to miserable considerations of politics, a member of the Hawaiian Legislature
moves that steps be taken immediately to attempt relief to the unfortunate captain
and his family. This poor little Kingdom, not in anyway connected with the dis-
aster, was about to rescue vitizens of the United States because the representatives
of their own country would not move hand or foot. And this is the country to which
the Advertiser invites us all to address ourselves for º: protection and relief.
An English man-of-war would have been under weigh within two hours of receiving
the intelligence. The fact is, the American Republic has so much to think of at home
that it has no time to spend over such trifles as shipwrecks. And, if in an unfortu-
nate moment of mental obstruction Hawaii were ever to seek admission to the Union,
she would find that this little Kingdom would be too small to occupy the absorbing
interest which, according to the Advertiser, would be directed to her interests.
Minister Stevens took such exceptions to those articles that he forth-
with visited the minister of foreign affairs, and stated that he wished
a personal interview with Her Majesty, without informing the minister
of the nature of his proposed visit. On the appointed day and hour,
Minister Stevens, accompanied by Consul General H. W. Severance,
arrived at the palace. He was ushered into the Queen's presence with
a document in one hand, which subsequently proved to be the articles
that had been printed in the “Bulletin,” already referred to, and a vol.
ume under his other arm. He was asked politely to take a seat, and
did so, flinging one leg over the arm of the chair, and in this uncouth
position before a lady he most heatedly announced to the Queen, and
to her amazement, that he was there not as plain Mr. Stevens but as
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States
of America. Then drawing himself up to an erect posture, proceeded
in a very ungentlemanly tone to inform the Queen that it “was the
President of the United States of America addressing the Queen of
Hawaii.” He then went on to say that he was not to be insulted by
any newspapers in her realm, and said he referred to certain articles
which had been published in the “Bulletin,” copies of which he had
brought with him to place before Her Majesty. He expected an apol-
ogy from the Queen, and also that she give him redress for the insult
he had received. He then read extracts on “international law” from
the book which he had carried under his arm. He also read an
“amende honorable,” which he insisted should be published in the
“Bulletin,” but was not. It was as follows:
We desire to express our deep regret for the admission to our columns of com-
munications reflecting on official American representatives relative to the wrecked
ship Wm. 4. Campbell. We are satisfied that the insinuations and reflections con-
tained in those communications are entirely unwarranted and unjust. The United
States officials now at Honolulu are responsible to their own Government at Wash-
ington, and not to residents of foreign countries. Nor are they at liberty to explain
the reasons of their official actions in the public prints. Both the present minister and
the consul-general, so far as we know, during their residence here, have always
conducted themselves with discretion and propriety. These anonymous assaults
upon them are wholly unjustifiable, and if this paper has in any way implied a
p
reflection upon their official conduct we think itjust to withdraw all such implica-
cation, and frankly make this “amende honorable.
Their excellencies Samuel Parker and Paul Neumann, Consul Gen-
eral Severance and Her Majesty's chamberlain were witnesses to this
extraordinary scene. At the conclusion of this most insane and un-
heard of proceeding, charging her with something that she neither
knew of or had any control over—namely, the conduct of a newspaper
with which she had no connection—Her Majesty properly referred him
to her ministers. §
The cabinet, at Mr. Stevens' request and instance, commenced crim-
inal proceedings for libel against the editor of the paper in question.
The suit was afterwards withdrawn at the request of Mr. Stevens, when
he found what a scrape he had got himself into, both at home and
abroad, by his tyrannical and insolent action towards Her Majesty, and
towards suppressing the privilege of free comments of the press on
public men, which when an editor himself he had freely availed him-
self of, and which the Hawaiian, like the American, Constitution,
expressly guarantees. His violation of diplomatic etiquette, by going
direct to Her Majesty, without first stating the nature of his interview
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his violent and personally
311
insulting language, would anywhere else have caused his recall, as a
persona ingrata to the Sovereign, but the Queen good-naturedly over-
looked the insult and forgave his ignorance and ill-temper.
His actions were privately apologized for by Consul General Sever-
ance at a social at Fort Street Church, who said that if he had known
the nature of the errand he would never havé accompanied the minister.
Previous to this incident he had been selected by American residents
for the honor of giving an address at the decoration-day services. On
that occasion he took the opportunity to air his antimonarchical senti-
ments by condemning all monarchies in general, and greatly reflected
on the Hawaiian monarchy. Noble E. C. Macfarlane brought the mat-
ter up in the Legislature on a question of privilege, and a resolution was
passed calling on Minister John L. Stevens to make an explanation to
Her Majesty's Government, but influences were brought to bear, and
the subject-matter was dropped from the records, on the ground that
America might take it as an ungrateful action on the part of Hawaii,
and it might influence the safety of a pending treaty then in the pro-
cess of negotiation. He had made a somewhat similar public exposé
of his sentiments in an address at the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation Hall previously. We shall now drop Minister Stevens' pecu-
liar actions, and take up the consideration of Her Majesty's reign from
the time when he first began his uncalled for interference with herself
and her Government.
After the period of mourning the Queen went on several tours of
inspection, visiting all of the islands and the most important dis-
tricts on each. In every place she was most enthusiastically received
by the foreigners as well as by the native Hawaiians. The evidences
of her popularity with every class in every place were universal and
sincere. The only ones who expressed any dissent were disappointed
and disgruntled politicians who had failed to get any office or influence
with her, such as Messrs. J. E. Bush, R. W. Wilcox, the Ashfords, and
Rev. S. E. Bishop, but even these found the tide of popular feeling in
her favor too hard to stem and too openly expressed to be disguised or
covered up. It may be stated here that after having showered on the
Queen the most constant, and unlimited, and unparalleled abuse both
in their newspapers and in the Legislature to which they were elected
members, that towards the close of the session Messrs. Bush and Wil-
cox, with Mr. C. W. Ashford, proffered their services to help her in any
way she deemed advisable, and professsed extreme loyalty to and affec-
tion for her.
In due time the biennial election took place in February, 1892, and
when the Legislature met in May it was found that the house was
divided amongst three parties, the planting missionary element with
Messrs. Thurston, Baldwin, and Smith at their head; the liberals, and
the national reform party. The ministry" were supported by the
latter, and Thurston's party, in order to oust them and get into power,
formed an unholy alliance with their political enemies, the liberals, by
promising them a share of the power so gained and pledging themselves
not to abandon the agreement until the Queen had given into their
desires and appointed a cabinet of their nomination.
In order to give a fictitious color of constitutionality and liberty to
their nefarious office and power-seeking schemes, Mr. Thurston enun-
ciated the astonishing principles, not to be found in the Hawaiian con-
stitution, that the Queen must appoint her cabinet on the dictation of
whomsoever a majority of the legislature should nominate in caucus as
the leader to select a ministry. In pursuance of this object ministry
after ministry was rejected by a vote of these combined parties in the
house, not with any regard to the merits of the gentlemen comprising
them, but solely with a view towards compelling Her Majesty to assent
to their return to full and uncontrolled power, although they repre-
sented but a minority of both the noble and the representative voters
of the Kingdom. To secure their ends and keep their majority together
the Thurston-Baldwin faction entered on a career of the most shame-
less corruption and bribery ever known in a Hawaiian Legislature, and
by so doing defeated cabinet after cabinet. Finally, however, on a
cabinet being selected by Her Majesty, every member of which either
belonged to or strongly favored the interests of their clique, the alleged
principle vanished into thin air, and they basely deserted their quon-
dam liberal allies without compunction, having, as they thought,
i. their return to power untrammeled till the following election
in 1894.
†
312
Amongst the cabinets thus unceremoniously overthrown in their
greed for office was that known as the Macfarlane-Neumann cabinet,
consisting of Messrs. E.C. Macfarlane, Samuel Parker, Charles T. Gulick
and Paul Neumann. This cabinet for talent, executive ability, honesty,
patriotism, and integrity is probably unequaled in the history of the
Kingdom. Every man in it was American, being either an American
citizen or the descendant of one. It had the support and confidence of
the financial and business circles. Yet by unblushing bribery and cor-
ruption, to the disgust of everyone, they were forced out of office on a
second vote of “want of confidence,” after the first one had failed. At
this time, if the Queen had promulgated a new constitution and dis-
solved the Legislature she would have had an overwhelming support
both from foreigners and Hawaiians.
It is to this period that we must also go for evidence that Messrs.
Stevens and Wiltse had been for a long time engaged in conspiring to
overturn the Monarchy here; for on the failure of the first vote of
want of confidence in the Macfarlane-Neumann ministry, and before
bribery had got in its work to secure a majority in favor of a second,
a provisional government was proposed to Messrs. Stevens and Wiltse
by Messrs. J. A. Cummins and others of the then united faction of the
liberals and Thurston crowd. They pledged themselves then to sup-
port such movement with all the forces at their disposal if the move
could be made. This statement is made on the authority of a state-
ment under oath by one who was present at a caucus held at Mr. Alex.
Young's place at that time, when Mr. J. A. Cummins announced the
fact to the meeting. The movement, however, was not made, as the
public feeling of all classes at the time was so strong and bitter against
the tactics of Messrs. Thurston and Co. that they knew that they would
have suffered severely from the popular indignation if they attempted
to do anything of the kind. They went as far as to try how many
men they could enlist to serve their purpose, but met with such rebuffs
and rebukes as to cause them to desist. Most of those whom they
approached told them that they had not forgotten their behavior in
the 1887 affair.
In the mean time the bribery had succeeded, the Macfarlane-Neu-
mann cabinet were out, and after a short interval Messrs. Nawahi,
Cornwell, Gulick, and Creighton were appointed as the cabinet, but
were promptly voted out in a couple of hours after taking their seats.
Although unwilling to surrender her constitutional prerogative at the
demand of the Thurston faction, the Queen determined, in the inter-
ests of peace, to appoint her next cabinet from amongst the more mod-
erate of their number, and did so, in the vain hope that that would
cause them to run the country's business at least fairly to every party
and stop. The ministry now appointed (the Brown-Wilcox ministry)
was entirely satisfactory to the so-called reform party, but as their late
allies (the liberals) had not been consulted in its formation, and were
not represented in its composition, they refused to support it, and a
spectacle was presented of a ministry governing the country who rep-
resented a minority in the house, and these but a feeble minority of
the voters of the country. Such a state of affairs could not last, except
under the peculiar electoral conditions of Hawaii, and only by political
trickery and extensive bribery was it kept up.
Finally, however, the National Reform party and the Liberals coa-
lesced and by the jº majority, twenty-fiye out of forty-eight,
voted the Brown-Wilcox pro-missionary combination out of office.
Personally, I was sorry to see them retire from office, as I considered
them moderate men, who would exercise their power in a conservative
way until the following election in February next year, but the actions
of the Reform party had been so unscrupulous that their opponents de-
termined to force them out. They first tried to get them to resign by
passing bills obnoxious to their policy, such as the opium license law,
which was opposed by all but Cecil Brown (attorney-general), and the
lottery bill; but finding them determined on holding office they united,
as I before stated, and by appealing to the patriotic sentiments of the
Hawaiian members prevented the Reform party's gold from having any
effect, and carried the vote of “want of confidence” by a considerable
majority and by the requisite legal number (twenty-five) of members of
the House. I may now here mention the circumstances attending the
formation of the new ministry and the new Constitution proposed to
be promulgated.
My first knowledge that Her Majesty had received at this time any

313
idea of promulgating a Constitution was about the 8th of January last
when we had some conversation on the subject, in which I objected to
its suitability and feasibility at the time. Although I knew that she
thoroughly believed she was doing her duty in the matter as a Queen
toward her people, her race, and her country, and that she was right
in thus acting toward her people, who had come to her as a last resort,
having failed to get their desires after trying every other means. I
knew that she had received petitions from all sections of the group
with over 10,000 signatures, praying her to help her people with their
desires for a new Constitution.
The liberal party, which was elected on a platform in which the main
plank was the calling of a constitutional convention, were at this time
under the perfect control of the missionary wing of the reform party
under Thurston's leadership, had gone back on their pledges and refused
to grant a constitutional convention for the purpose of preparing a new
constitution satisfactory alike to Hawaiians and foreigners in a proper
and alnicable manner, and afterwards placing it before the people for
its ratification and promulgation, although the petitions in favor of it
had over 4,000 signatures of voters. To meet such treatment by the
Legislature after these thousands had signified their desire for it, was
hard for her people. The people appealed to her for redress, and she,
in her sympathy for her people, although in the beginning of her reign
was taunted as being too much in favor of and under the advice and
influence of the foreigner, and against her own people and race, deter-
mined to show them that a Hawaiian monarch's chief care was to
redress the wrongs of the Hawaiian people whenever they were in the
right, and especially as she was advised that it simply needed the royal
mandate to relieve the oppression. To find me, whom she considered
would acquiesce to her every behest, opposing her, was a severe strain
for a monarch, especially as she knew that I myself was in sympathy
with the general idea of amending the constitution by having a new
one. To be met with opposition when one expects acquiesence and
obedience, is a severe strain to anyone, but more especially to a monarch,
who is also a lady, accustomed, therefore, to have her slightest wishes
regarded as law.
As nothing further was said until the 13th, I considered that the
matter had dropped, but on that day, in talking over the matter of the
new cabinet, which was to be appointed in presence of Her Majesty,
the matter was brought up again; I again urged the objections which
I felt to the step, and, as I thought, successfully.
On the 14th of January, while at the palace waiting with the other
invited guests, after the ministers had retired for consultation, owing
to the prolonged wait, Governor A. S. Cleghorn urged me to go into
the blue room and see Her Majesty, and find out what was the cause
of the delay. I saw Her Majesty and Minister S. Parker, and, after
hearing the state of affairs, I said: “I’ll make this proposition, as you
have here only a native copy of the constitution; have you an English
version?” She replied: “Yes.” “Then send for it,” I said, “and
send for the rest of the Cabinet and let them look it over, and if they
find there is nothing radically wrong in it, you then sign it and we
will stand by its results; but if it is not right, you follow the advice of
your ministers.” To this proposition both Her Majesty and Mr. Parker
agreed, and Mr. Parker sent for the other ministers, who returned to
the palace. The English version of the constitution was sent for and
brought in by a messenger. s
The proposition was laid before the cabinet by myself, which they
accepted and began to inspect the proposed constitution. Just then I
received a message that I was wanted outside. I went out, when a
note was handed to me stating that I was required immediately at the
police station. I therefore excused myself and left the blue room. I
was met by the chief justice and others, who wanted to know what had
taken place. As I was in haste, I simply told them that the ministry
had returned and were now in the blue room with Her Majesty, and
that the rumor of their resignation was untrue. I then went on to the
station house, and on my arrival there I was informed that Messrs.
Thurston and W. O. Smith of the missionary party were organizing
and enlisting men to overthrow the Queen and her Government. After
making inquiry, I found that they alleged they were organizing simply
to support the ministry in opposing the Queen, in the event of her pro-
mulgating a new constitution, in defiance of the ministry, by force of
arms, as Minister Colburn had called upon Mr. Thurston that afternoon
B—10 *
314
for advice, and informed them that the Queen intended to promulgate
a new constitution. Mr. Thurston had advised Mr. Colburn to oppose
the measure, and not to resign; that they would render all the assist-
ance necessary. Hence they were enlisting the men at W. O. Smith's
office for that purpose.
As this seemed to me to be a legitimate purpose I did not make any
arrests, but as I saw from the excited condition of these men (Thurston,
Smith, etc.) that they saw an opportunity to raise trouble, and now
that the news had spread around town and knots of men were dis-
cussing the situation on the street corners, I felt it my duty to make
every preparation to preserve the peace and safety of the town if they
attempted to proceed to any violent acts. I therefore gave my instruc-
tions to the police and the specials to be carefully on the lookout for
any symptoms of this kind, and returned to the palace to see how
matters were proceeding there. On my way there I was informed by
those whom I met that the Queen had given way to the advice of her
cabinet and that the constitution matter was postponed.
When I arrived at the palace I found all the guests had gone except
a Hawaiian social club, who had prepared a “luau” in the basement of the
palace to celebrate the prorogation, and that Her Majesty was just
seated as I entered. I was shown to a seat opposite Her Majesty, but
had no sooner sat down than I was telephoned for to go right back to
the police station, as I was wanted on an important matter. On my
arrival at the station house I was informed that Thurston and his party
were holding another meeting at W. O. Smith's office, and were still
enlisting men. This was at 5 p.m. I therefore sent out my special
officers with instructions to report at once on the slightest sign of a
disturbance, and putting the regular police force on double duty I kept
an extra guard all night at the station house, and made every prepara-
tion necessary to quell immediately any disturbance which might arise.
Other specials were sent out to shadow the principals in the move, and
instructions were given to the police to arrest all persons on the streets
found with arms and ammunition, and to keep a strict watch on the
§. . firearms and their places of business until otherwise ordered
myself.
'º. advice and consent of the cabinet I ordered the saloons
closed at 9 o'clock p.m., two hours and a half earlier than usual, in
order to induce the usual Saturday night crowd to disperse to their
homes, and so keep the streets clear. These precautions were taken
as I could not foresee what their next move would be. As matters had
settled down to their normal condition, and peace and quietness pre-
vailed throughout the city, I could not understand why the Thurston
faction should continue to hold meetings and enlist men. Nothing oc-
curred that night to denote any signs of disturbance, except the meet-
ings of the Thurston faction, and on Sunday, the 15th, I received in-
formation from one special that a meeting had been held at Thurston's
residence the night previous, and kept up until late, at which a major-
ity of those afterwards known as the cominittee of safety were present.
I have learned since from one of those who were present that the object
of the meeting was to overthrow the Queen by force and bring about an-
nexation, Mr. L. A. Thurston being the leader. Mr. A. S. Hartwell, who
was present, opposed the move, as he thought it was not the proper
way to bring about annexation, but Thurston and the others did not
agree with him and ridiculed his objections, in consequence of which
Mr. Hartwell had withdrawn from the compact and stated that he
could not be a party to any such action, and retired from the meeting.
At this meeting Thurston stated that Minister Stevens had promised
to support them, if they proclaimed a provisional government, with
troops from the U. S. s. Boston, and that their cause could not be a
success without those troops and Minister Stevens's assistance..,
Another special brought in word that they were still recruiting and
arming, and that they could only rely on about seventy-five men and
not over eighty stand of arms. From another I received information
that L. A. Thurston, W. O. Smith, W. R. Castle, J. H. Soper, John
Good, C. W. Zeigler, H. Waterhouse, C. L. Carter, J. A. McCandless, J,
F.Morgan, A. Brown, W. W. Hall, J. H. Fisher, J. Emmeluth, W. Chan,
and C.T.Wilder were all out working the matter up round town among
§. to see how many stood on the matter; that some were on horse-
ack and others in hacks. Other specials reported that some of the
above named gentlemen were constantly in and out of Minister Stevens's
house (the United States legation), also those of W. W. Hall, L. A.
315
Thurston, F. W. Wundenberg, and H. Waterhouse. Another special
reported that Messrs. Thurston and Colburn had visited A. P. Peterson's
house early that morning, but could not learn what their course of
action was, but something serious was under foot.
On receipt of these reports, more special officers were detailed to
procure further information, and report as soon as possible. I then
sent immediately for Capt. Nowlien, and telephoned for Mr. Peterson,
‘the attorney-general, and arranged for a meeting of the cabinet at
the police station. On Capt. Nowlien's arrival I imparted to him the
information I had received, and requested him to prepare and get the
barracks and his men ready for active service, as it was evident these
people (the Thurston faction) meant business. I also asked him to lay
the state of affairs in town before Her Majesty, as I had to go myself
fo the police station immediately.
On my arrival there, I found everything in regular order and the
men fully prepared for any emergency. The attorney-general arrived
shortly after, as also did the other members of the cabinet. I laid
before them the reports of the situation furnished me by my special
officers. Threy were not much surprised at receiving such information
as they were in possession of similar facts themselves and also of
documentary evidence of the same, which Mr. Peterson produced and
which I considered was sufficient cause for the arrest of these men on
a charge of treason.
After a short consultation, I made a proposition to swear out war-
rants for the arrest of the ringleaders of the plot at once. The attor-
ney-general objected to the proposition, giving the following reasons,
stating that he had been called on by Minister Colburn and Mr. L. A.
Thurston early that morning at about 6 or 6:30 a. m., who made a
proposition to him showing a course of procedure fully prepared,
which, if carried out, would cause the overthrow of the Queen and her
Government, and the establishment of a Provisional Government in
its place. That Thurston had then stated to Minister Colburn and
himself that the American minister, Mr. Stevens, would support
such a move with the United States troops from the U. S. S. Boston.
And that he had also showed them a form or draft of a letter or
request to be sent to Minister Stevens, requesting him to land the
troops from the Boston, to assist Ministers Colburn and Peterson
under the guise of maintaining order and protecting life and property,
if they (Peterson and Colburn) would consent to sign it as attorney-
general and minister of the interior.
I could see at once that this was a bait offered them to swallow to
legalize the landing of the United States troops, and for them to nomi-.
nally remain as cabinet officers of the Queen's, but actually seceding
from her and thus dividing the executive, so that they being still in
authority would support the cause of the rebels, and it would be an easy
task for them to accomplish their ends without risking their lives, as
their rebellious act would be termed a legal resistance, and thus they
held out these inducements to Messrs. Colburn and Peterson to become
traitors to the Queen and her Government. Mr. Peterson also said that
the arrest of these parties would precipitate a conflict with the United
States troops, if Mr. Thurston's statements were true, which he (Mr.
Peterson) was satisfied they were, and that the troops would be landed
in any case. I then said we can protest against their landing, and if
they insist on landing for any other purpose than for that of protecting
the United States consulate and legation, that this Government will
resist them, and so, in other words, the United States would have to de-
clare war against this Government, and I doubt whether they would
fire a shot in that case, as I doubt that Minister Stevens has the au-
thority to declare war against a friendly nation, and furthermore we
are in a position to resist all the troops that can land, as their comple-
ment, all told, is not over 250 men, and not more than 175 of these could
be landed at the outside.
We can oppose them now with over 500 men, two Gatling guns, and
a battery of artillery of about 12 pieces (rifled Austrian breech-loaders)
with six or seven hundred rounds of ammunition, shot, shell, aná
shrapnel, and about fifty or sixty thousand rounds for Springfield and
Winchester rifles, to say nothing of what the volunteers may have. The
ministry then decided to inquire from Minister Stevens himself how
far he was supporting the plotters with the United States troops, and
to seek advice from and consult with those prominent business men
who were friendly to the Queen's government, and also with the con-
316
suls and members of the diplomatic corps. Here our interview ceased
for that morning, and Colburn, Cornwell, and Parker started off to
arrange a meeting with those just mentioned for 2 p.m. that day.
When making my rounds about the city that afternoon in a hack
with Mr. S. F. Chillingsworth, who became my deputy on the following
day, while on our way down Nuuanu avenue I, drew his attention as
also that of the hackman when passing the United States legation to
the presence of Messrs. L. A. Thurston, W. O. Smith, and A. S. Hart-
well inside, and to that of Mr. C. L. Carter on horseback outside in the
street apparently waiting for instructions. What were these people
doing there, especially at that time on a Sunday, about 3 p. Im. or a
little after?
After returning to the office Mr. Colburn came along looking for W.
O. Smith or Thurston. I told him I had just seen them at Minister
Stevens's (the United States legation). About 4 p. m. I saw posters
being put up which the conspirators had drawn up and had printed
that day, calling for a mass meeting on Monday afternoon, and signed
“committee of safety.” I met the cabinet at dinner at the Hawaiian
hotel, and they stated to me that the result of their meeting at 2 p.m.
had been satisfactory, and that they had decided that the Queen should
issue a proclamation in the morning to the effect that she would not
attempt to promulgate a new constitution again, as a guarantee of
good faith to the diplomatic and consular corps, and that the course of
the cabinet had the support of the merchants and business men who
had attended the meeting. They also informed me that they had
arranged for another meeting at the attorney-general's office for that
evening at 8 o'clock.
After dinner, a little after 7 o'clock, we all left the hotel to go to the
meeting at the attorney-general's office, excepting Ministers Parker and
Peterson, who proceeded to the United States Legation to see Minister
Stevens in regard to the situation, and get some definite answer as to
his action in the event of an uprising. The meeting did not take place
until 8:30 p.m., although Messrs. Parker and Peterson returned from
Mr. Stevens's about 8 o'clock, as we waited for the arrival of the Hon.
Paul Neumann. On his arrival at 8:30 o'clock the meeting opened for
business. Mr. Peterson stated the object of the meeting was to devise
ways and means to overcome the action of the conspirators in the event
of an uprising. He also stated that he had been to see Mr. Stevens,
the American minister, as to the stand he would take in regard to the
conspirators, and the reply which Mr. Stevens had given Mr. Parker
and himself was that he was ready to support a provisional govern-
ment with United States troops from the Boston, which meant no doubt
that he was against the continuance of the Queen's government, and
he also stated to me that I was a scoundrel. When asked the reason
of this statement, he said that it was because I had arrested his coach-
man, a Chinese, and other matters which he did not specify. We then
discussed the question of the Boston landing its troops in regard to its
legality, violation of international laws, etc. The force we had at our
disposal was also discussed, as were other matters, such as the propriety
of holding a mass meeting, the proposed proclamation by the Queen
and cabinet, the proposed $rovisional Government by the conspirators,
the subject of arms and ammunition, and other cognate matters.
More information was supplied here, as to the force and strength at
the eommand of the Thurston faction. I proposed that the ringleaders
should be arrested at once, and that all arms and ammunition in the
town be seized, and the island put under martial law till the arrests
were effected. Messrs. Peterson and Neumann both objected, on the
grounds that it would precipitate a conflict, as Minister Stevens had
already declared himself, and that we must at all hazards avoid a con-
flict with the United States troops. A committee was appointed to
draw up a resolution and to call a mass meeting in support of the
cabinet's action, and other matters. The meeting then adjourned, and
the committee met at once for the transaction of their business.
After the meeting at the attorney-general's office I went to the po-
lice station with those of my staff, and prepared a map and an outline
of defense showing the outposts and the number of the men required
to guard the town in the event of martial law being proclaimed by the
Queen. The cabinet had concluded to make the police station their
headquarters. The map also showed the number of pickets required
for each guard, also the distance to and from all important buildings,
as the station house, palace, barracks, Government buildings, and other
317
strategic points, also the U. S. S. Boston from the same points. The
police station itself was safe from the line of fire of the Boston, as there
were brick buildings full of sugar or other goods of a similar nature be-
tween the two spots, and the building was safe from being º
as the foundation is one solid mass of concrete from the coral of be
rock, and it would take months to undermine this, even with the most
improved implements. As on the previous evening, I kept an extra
guard at the police station all night. That night I received informa-
tion that a caucus had been held at Mr. Henry Waterhouse's.
The following Monday, the 16th, Ireceived information that the com-
mittee of safety were to meet at Thurston's office. I went over shortly
afterwards to Mr. Thurston's office and met him and asked of him what
they intended to do to-day, and also said to him that they had gone too
far, as the matter of the promulgation of a new constitution was now
settled and there would be a proclamation issued by the Queen to that
effect. Thurston said, “I am sorry for the country, but what guaranty
have we that this will not happen again. It is living on a volcano;
there is no telling when it will explode.” At this, I said if the foreign
representatives are satisfied with the proclamation, that you people
should be, and also as long as I was there it would not occur again in
that way. He then replied: “Suppose you were to die to-night, what
then?” I said “That is going to extremes; you are unreasonable, and we
can not come to any terms.” He said: “Charlie, it can not be helped
now; it has gone too far and there is no one to blame but herself.” I
said: “I am sorry we can not agree about that,” and left him. While I
was talking with him I could see the members of the committee com-
ing upstairs and going into the office formerly occupied by Mr. Frear,
and close the door after entering. Ithen went over to the police station
and gave instructions for the enlistment of men as special constables,
and also sent an armed guard to the attorney-general's office in charge
of Capt. R. P. Waipa, to receive instructions from the attorney-general,
Mr. A. P. Peterson.
At 10 a.m. a committee from the conspirators had a meeting with
the cabinet in the foreign office. I sent for Capt. Nowlien and told
him to enlist volunteers and to send me 75 stand of Winchester re-
peating rifles, and for him to take what ammunition was wanted for
the artillery (as it was then in my custody), and to get all the powder
he required from the Government public powder magazine, and put it in
the magazine at the barracks. By 12 m. the above was carried out and
I had 700 men and over enrolled, mostly Hawaiians ready to take up
arms in support of the Queen's Government, and a reserve of about
500 men, mostly foreigners. At about 12:30 p.m. the Queen's procla-
mation was printed and circulated throughout the city. It read as
follows: §
BY Authority.

Her Majesty's ministers desire to express their appreciation for the quiet and order
which has prevailed in this community since the events of Saturday, and are author-
ized to say that the position taken by Her Majesty in regard to the promulgation of
a new constitution was under the stress of her native subjects. Authority is given
for the assurance that any changes desired in the fundamental law of the land will
be sought º methods provided in the constitution itself. Her Majesty's minis-
ters request all citizens to accept the assurance of Her Majesty in the same spirit in
which it is given.
LILIUOKALANI,
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
W. H. Cornweli,
Minister of Finance.
John F. COLBURN,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERSON,
Attorney-General.
IOLANI PALACE, Jonuary 16, 1893.
As both mass-meetings were called for 2 p.m., I sent a squad of
police to each place to preserve the peace and keep order if necessary.
About 3:30 p.m. the meetings had both adjourned, and the city was
quiet, there were no signs of any disturbance or disorder of any kind.
The attendance at the Thurston meeting was reported to me by count
as being between five and six hundred people, mainly foreigners, and
that at the Palace Square was estimated as numbering about 3,000.
Both meetings were conducted in a very orderly manner, and there
was no call for the services of the police at either meeting. e
The meeting at the new armory, on Beritania street, was presided
over by the Hon. W. C. Wilder, a member of the Legislature, and was
#.
318
addressed in several inflammatory speeches against the Queen by the
Hons. W. C. Wilder, L. A. Thurston, A. Young, and H. P. Baldwin,
also by Messrs. H.F. Glade (the German consul), ö. Boite, J. Emmeluth,
and R. J. Greene. No hint, however, was given of the proposal to
change the form of Government, although the Queen's proclamation
was read and referred to as being of no value. The following resolu-
tions were passed at the meeting:
(1) Whereas Her Majesty Liliuokalani, acting in conjunction with certain other
persons, has illegally and unconstitutionally and against the advice and eonsent of
the lawful executive officers of the Government, attempted to abrogate the existing
constitution and proclaim a new one in subversion of the rights of the people;
(2) And whereas such attempt has been accompanied by threats of violence and
Bloodshed and a display of armed force, and such attempt and acts and threats are
revolutionary and treasonable in character;
(3) And whereas Her Majesty's cabinet have informed her that such contem-
plated action was unlawful and would lead to bloodshed and riot, and have im-
plored and demanded of her to desist from and renounce such proposed action;
(4) And whereas such advice has been in vain, and Her Majesty has in a publie
speech announced that she was desirous and ready to tºº. such constitu-
tion, the same being now ready for such purpose, and that the only reason why it
was not now promulgated was because she had met with unexpected obstacles and
that a fitting opportunity in the future must be awaited for the consummation of
such object, which would be within a few days;
(5) And whereas at a publie meeting of citizens held in Honolulu on the 14th day
of January instant, a committee of thirteen, to be known as the “committee of
public safety,” was appointed to consider the situation and to devise ways and
means for the maintenance of the public peace and safety and the preservation of
life and property;
(6) And whereas such committee has recommended the calling of this, mass
meeting of citizens to protest against and condemn such action, and has this day
'presented a report to such meeting denouncing the action of the Queen and her sup-
porters as being unlawful, unwarranted, in derogation of the rights of the people,
2ndangering the peace of the community, and tending to excite riot and cause the
loss of life and destruction of property:
Now, therefore, we, the citizens of Honolulu, of all nationalities, and regardless
of political party affiliations, do hereby condemn and denounce the action of the
Queen and her supporters;
And we do hereby ratify the appointment and indorse the action taken and re-
port made by the said committee of safety; and we do hereby further empower such
committee to further consider the situation and further devise such ways and means
as may be necessary to secure the permanent maintenance of law and order and the
protection of life, liberty, and property in Hawaii.
Many of those present did not vote, and I was informed that the
enthusiasm and applause came only from those who were previously
acquainted with the objects of the leaders and were instructed to
applaud at the proper time and place.
At the meeting at Palace Square the assembled multitude were
addressed by the Hons. A. Rosa, J.E.Bush, J. Nawahi, and R.W.Wilcox,
who severally cautioned the people against any acts of violence or
turbulence, and urged them to support the course of Her Majesty's
cabinet. The Queen's proclamation was read and heartily indorsed by
all present, and the following resolution was unanimously passed:
Resolved, That the assurance of Her Majesty, the Queen, contained in this day's
proclamation is accepted by the people as a satisfactory guaranty that the Govern-
ment does not and will not seek any modification of the constitution by any other
means than those provided in the organic law;
Resolved, That accepting this assurance the citizens here assembled will give their
cordial support to the administration and indorse them in sustaining that policy.
. A committee was appointed to present it to Her Majesty, which they
immediately proceeded to do. e
The meetings seemed to have been safety valves for letting loose
whatever excess of feeling there may have been in the popular mind,
for by 4 p.m. it seemed as if the dissatisfaction was all over, as there
was scarcely anyone to be seen on the streets. It was like a calm after
the storm. About 4:30 p.m. I got information that the Boston's men
were ordered to land. A watch was set to give the signal as soon as
signs of activity should be shown on board the Boston, and in the mean-
time I sent for the cabinet. It was difficult to find them, not having
seen or heard from them all day, and they could not be located as soon
as they might have been.
About 4:40 º m. the signal was given that the boats were being got
ready on board the Boston, and that the artillery and gatling guns
were being put into the boats, also the men were armed with small arms.
At a little before 5 º'clock they were landed at the regular landing near
Brewer & Co.'s and Charlton's wharf. I therefore sent a messenger down
to find out who permitted them to land, or requested them to do so.
The messenger returned and stated that they did not know themselves,
but that they were to receive their instructions from shore, and that
319
Mr. C. L. Carter had just got there and was giving instructions to the
officers, as he judged by their actions.
About this time the cabinet arrived at the station house, and I
reported what had taken place to them. Mr. Cornwell suggested that
Messrs. Parker and Colburn go and see Mr. Stevens and protest
against such actions. They started on that errand at once, Mr. Corn-
well remaining at the station house. A little after 5 p.m. the American
forces marched from the boat landing along Queen street and turned
up Fort street and halted at the corner of Merchant and Fort streets,
two doors off of which is the United States consulate.
There were three companies of bluejackets with Springfield rifles or
small arms, one company of blue jackets with the Gatling guns and
artillery, and a company of marines in full arms, having a total strength
of 150 to 155 men in all ranks, fully equipped for actual service, with
full belts of ammunition, and the caissons attached to the artillery
were also full. At this point the company of marines were left to
Occupy the consulate. A company of bluejackets were ordered to the
United States legation, and the remaining companies were marched
up Merchant street into Palace Square, thence along King street
between the palace and the Government buildings, and were halted in
front of Mr. Hopper's residence, on the south corner of the palace
inclosure, in full view of Her Majesty the Queen, about 200 yards away
from the palace and the Government buildings. They remained there
till after dusk, when they were marched out along King street to Mr.
Atherton's residence, a distance of about 600 yards, and then stopped
until they had some light refreshments of bananas and lemonade.
Afterwards they were marched back to town and took up quarters for
the night at the Arion Hall, a building separated from the Government
buildings by a lane known as Mililani street, about 20 feet wide, and
not more than 200 yards directly in front of the Queen's palace.
Messrs. Peterson, Parker, Colburn, and Cornwell, after returnin
from the Government building, reported to me that Mr. Stevens ha
stated that he had landed the troops at the request of Mr. Thurston
and the committee of safety, and that they (the cabinet) had protested
against the landing of the troops, and requested the U. S. minister to
withdraw the United States forces from the shore, but were refused or
did not get any reply. Then the cabinet left me to attend another
meeting of the Queen's friends. After the meeting the attorney-gen-
eral, Mr. Peterson, returned to the station house, and remained with
me there during the night. At 11:30 p.m. a special officer reported to
me that the conspirators were now recruiting at Klemme's lodging
house on Fort street, and that Mr. J. H. Fisher and J. B. Castle were
there. I again proposed to Mr. Peterson to proclaim martial law in the
morning and get out warrants for the arrest of the conspirators, and
showed him a proclamation to that purpose, ready prepared for the sig-
natures of the Queen and the governor of the island of Oahu. I also
proposed placing an armed force in the Government building, but he
thought that it was no use to send armed men there, as it was a bad
building to defend, especially if Minister Steyens insists ori continuing
to support the conspirators, as we can not afford to fight the United
States of America. Better let the matter rest until the morning and
see what may develop.
Perfect quietness reigned through the city, there being a band con-
cert at the hotel, which was attended by a large and peaceable crowd,
as usual. The city was patrolled as usual by the regular police force,
and, as before, I had a strong guard at the station house in case of a
night attack. There were no unusual incidents during the night, with
the exception of two fire alarms, neither serious, one a little before 12
m., and the other about 3 a.m., which were promptly extinguished by
the fire department, which, by order of the cabinet, had been kept
ready for immediate service ever since Saturday night, as also were the
waterworks employés kept on duty in case these people might, in the
fury of defeat or with a view of creating an occasion for the United
States troops to interfere, attempt to create an incendiary scare. Every
recaution was taken by Her Majesty's cabinet and every means that
ay in their power was made use of to secure the protection of life and
property, and nothing was lacking in this respect, so that nothing war-
ranted the landing of troops from the Boston, as the Queen's govern-
ment was in a position to put down any insurrection if left without
interference from any foreign power. On Tuesday, the 17th, everything
appeared very quiet, so much so that I dismissed the extra guards at
320
the police station, but I still kept on the watchers on the stores of the
dealers in arms and ammunition.
About 9:30 a. m. I received information that a meeting was held at
the residence of Mr. H. Waterhouse, at which were present H. Water-
house, T. F. Lansing, S. B. Dole, W. R. Castle, C. L. Carter, J. H. Soper
F. W. Wundenberg, W. W. Hail, J. A. McCandless, J. Emmeluth, and
a number of others. I afterwards learned from one who was present at
that meeting that discussion of various plans was had, and a committee
of three was appointed to personally confer with Minister Stevens, and
received his direct and personal assurance that they would get the sup-
port of the United States troops if they went on with the affair. Messrs.
Soper, Carter, and Waterhouse were the committee. They went over
to the United States legation, which is on the premises adjoining that
of Waterhouse, and returning immediately reported that Mr. Stevens
had given them such assurance. At this meeting, also, Mr. S. B. Dole,
was offered the presidency of the proposed Provisional Government.
He said that he really was not an annexationist, and asked time to con-
sider the proffer. The meeting adjourned to meet again in the morn-
ing to discuss matters, and appointed a committee to meet the Queen's
cabinet at 10 a.m. at the foreign office.
‘The conspirators had agreed to proclaim a Provisional Government
to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy perpetually, and place either
Chief Justice Judd or Justice S. B. Dole at its head, and that they were
to hold another meeting before noon. At 11 a. m. T was informed that
they had concluded to accept S. B. Dole as president of the Provisional
Government, and that they had a guarantee from Minister Stevens of
his support, backed by the troops, and that they would, make a move
on the Government House at 3 p.m. and on the police station at 4 p.m.
I also received information at the same time that they would rendez-
vous at the armory on Beritania street. I immediately sent for the
cabinet, and also for Gapt. Nowlien; Nowlien came, but there were
no signs of the cabinet. I gave Capt. Nowlien instructions to have
25 or 50 men in the basement of the palace ready for immediate service,
as I expected the conspirators would make an attempt this afternoon.
I also explained that I had been waiting for the ministers or a word
from them ever since morning, and had sent several messengers to them
but they were closeted in the foreign office in consultation, and had
received in return promises to come or send me word, but as yet there
had been no appearance of anything of the kind. Capt. Nowlien then
went back to the palace to get ready, as I told him his men might be
required to be sent to guard the Government building as soon as the
cabinet finished their meeting there, and if so I would let him know.
I then sent out word for all the volunteers to report for duty promptly
at 12 noon at the station house, and called in all of the regular police
who were off duty to be at the station house at once.
At 1 p. m. I had 224 men under arms, and more men were coming in
than I could find guns for, and fresh volunteers were coming in so fast
that I finally instructed my men in charge not to register any more, as
we had more than enough already. A little after 2 p.m. the ministers
came down to the station house, and a few minutes later word was sent
in that a police officer had been shot by John Good. A little later the
officer came down the street, supported by a brother officer and Mr.
P. M. Rooney to the station house. The officer, whose name was Leia-
loha, was at once attended to by Dr. C. A. Peterson, the police physi-
cian, who was on hand at the time. Leialoha was then sent to the
Queen's hospital. He was one of those who were on special detail,
watching the stores of the dealers in arms and ammunition, and was
shot in attempting to make the arrest of Mr Good, when he with
others was removing firearms and ammunition in a wagon from the
store of E. O. Hall & Son, limited, for the use of the insurgents. It
was a very fortunate thing for Good and the others that the police on
street duty were kept without fireams by my orders, as I had no desire
to excite or terrify the people by any display of arms or armed men on
the streets.
This occurrence, however, brought the people's excitement up to fire-
... heat, and people of both natives and foreigners flocked down to the
station house by the hundreds to volunteer, and were in such an excited
state that I was compelled to close the doors of the station house, for
fear that the mob of volunteers would interſere with the discipline of
themen already under arms, and so begin a disturbance which would end
in a conflict which foreign forces would call an opportunity to interfere
in, under the pretence of upholding law and order. At 2:15 p.m. I
321
received information that the conspirators were holding a meeting in
W. O. Smith's office, and about 2:45 p.m. Mr. C. J. McCarthy came
down from the Government building and stated that a Provisional Gov.
ernment had been proclaimed, with Mr. S. B. Dole as president. This
was confirmed shortly afterwards by Mr. F. P. Hastings, secretary of
the foreign office, and also by Mr. E. Norrie.
Previous to the proclamation of the Provisional Govel nt, the
forces from the Boston were drawn up in line of battle under command
of Capt. Wiltse, facing the side of the Government building, and that
prior to the proclamation, Mr. C. L. Carter, one of the conspirators,
afterwards one of the commissioners to Washington, rode up on horse-
back and handed a large official document to Capt. Wiltse. This con-
tained his orders from Minister Stevens presumably. I received infor-
mation a little later that the proclamation had been read by H. E.
Cooper, a lawyer recently arrived in the country, who had been an
unsuccessful candidate for the office of circuit judge, and that thirty-five
of the men, known as the “Drei Hundred,” were then armed and in
possession of the Government building.
. After hearing of these actions of the now open rebels against Her
Majesty and her Government, I proposed to the cabinet to send our
armed forces out from all quarters. surround them, and shoot them
down, as they were only a handful. Mr. Peterson, as before, urged
that it would only accelerate a conflict with the United States troops,
as he and Mr. Parker had been told by Mr. Stevens that the Provis-
ional Government would be supported by the United States forces. On
this the cabinet, with the coöperation of Messrs. E. C. Macfarlane,
A. Rosa, and others, after consultation, decided to address a letter to
1Minister Stevens at once, to find out if he had recognized the Provis-
ional Government. The ietter was as follows:
DEPARTMENt of Foreign Affairs,
onolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. Stevens,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, etc.:
SIR: Her Hawaiian Majesty's Government having been informed that certain per-
sons to them unknown have issued proclamation declaring a Provisional Govern-
ment to exist in opposition to Her Majesty's Government, and having º: to
depose the Queen, her cabinet and marshal, and that certain treasonable persons at
present occupy the Government building in Honolulu with an armed force, and pre-
tending that your excellency, on behalf of the United States of America, has recog-
nized such Provisional Government, Her Majesty's Government asks respectfully:
Has your excellency recognized said Provisional Government, and, if not, Her
Majesty's Government, under the above existing circumstances, respectfully requests
the assistance of your Government in preserving the peace of the country.
We have the honor to be your excellency's obedient servants.
SAMUEL PARKER, *
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
WM. H. Cornwell,
* Minister of Finance,
John F. Col.BURN,
Minister of the Interior,
A. P. Peterson,
Attorney-General.
HoNoLULU, January 17, 1893.
The Hon. C. L. Hopkins was the bearer of the above communication
to Minister Stevens, and was instructed to wait until he had received
a reply. He returned to the station house with Mr. Stevens' reply at
about 3:30 p.m. or later, and handed it to the attorney-general. It
. shown me by Mr. E. C. Macfarlane, and was substantially to this
effect:
That he acknowledged the receipt of the letter from the cabinet, and
that a Provisional Government had been duly constituted in the place
of the Queen's Government, and that that Government was in posses-
sion of the Government building, the treasury and the Government
archives, and was in control of the islands; and that he recognized that
Government as the de facto Government of the Hawaiian fiands. He
signed this simply as John L. Stevens, envoy extraordinary and min-
ister plenipotentiary of the United States.
e governor of the island of Oahu sent the following protest against
the landing of the troops from the U. S. S. Boston on the evening of
the 16th of January:
OFFICE Governor of OAHU,
Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
SIR: It is my duty to solemnly protest to your excellency against the landing this.
evening without permission from the #. authorities of an armed force from the
United States ship Boston. Your exceſlency'well knows that when you have desired
B—41
322
to land naval forces of the United States for the purpose of drill, permission by the
local authorities has been readily accorded. Qū the present occasion, however, the
circumstances are different, and ostensibly the present landing is for the discharge
of functions which are distinctly responsible duties of the Hawaiian Government.
Such being the case, I am eompelled to impress upon your excelleney the inter-
. questions involved in the matter and the grave responsibility thereby
&S&time Ole
While solemnly protesting to your excellency against this unwarrantable pro-
ceeding to which I have referred,
I have the honor to remain, sir, your excellency's obedient and humble servant,
A. S. CLEGHORN
Goºrººf ºaks.
His Excellency JOHN L. Stevens,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary United States of America.
Minister Stevens's reply to Governor Cleghorn was as follows:
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
SIR: Yours of yesterday, the 16th, regarding the landing of the United States
naval forces in Honolulu, is received. I have carefully read its terms and import.
My responsibility as the United States minister plenipotentiary at this critical time
in Hawaiian affairs it is impossible for me to ignore. " I assure you that in whatever
responsibility the American diplomatic and naval representatives have assumed or
may assume, we shall do our utmost to regard the welfare of all present and inter-
ests concerned.
Yours sincerely, and with the kindest consideration,
JOHN L. STEvens.
Hon. A. S. CLEGHORN,
Governor of Oakw. $.
About 4 p.m. a committee from the Provisional Government met Her
Majesty's cabinet, and made a proposition for the settlement of the
crisis. After the committee meeting Mr. S. M. Damon, on behalf of the
rebels, made demand on me to surrender, which I refused to do. He
said that Her Majesty's cabinet were willing that I should do so on the
following terms, which he proposed, viz: That the Queen be deposed
under protest, and remain in her palace with her guards until the
affair was settled by decision of the United States Government. I
stated to Mr. Damon and Mr. Macfarlane, who accompanied him, that
if Her Majesty and the ministers were satisfied with those terms I
would surrender, but only on the written order of the whole cabinet, ap-
proved by Her Majesty; and that unless I received such order in writ:
ing I would fight first, and would commence operations at once and
order Captain Nowlien, who was awaiting orders, to open fire at once
from our artillery on the Government building, and that the Boston's
men must keep out of harm's way or suffer the consequences. They then
left me to meet the cabinet again, and said they would let me know
later. About 5:30 or 6 p.m. Messrs. Peterson and Macfarlane returned
and handed me the following written order from the cabinet:
C. B. WILsoN, #. *
Marshal of the Kingdom, *
You are hereby authorized to surrender to the so-called Provisional Government this
day established, headed by S. B. Dole, esq., the police station and Oahu prison and
Government property in your possession or under your control.
Dated at Honolulu this 17th day of January, A.D. 1893.
LILIUOKALANI R.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
JOHN F. COLBURN
Minister ºf insisterior.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
. P, PETERson,
4ttorney-General.
However, I did not make up my mind to give in finally until about 7
p.m. About 6 p. m. martial law was proclaimed by the Provisional
Government. About 6.30 p.m. or later the cabinet returned to the
station house in company with Messrs. E.O. Macfarlane, P. Neumann,
A. Rosa, and others, and we held a council over the situation, as I was
not yet quite satisfied what was the best course to pursue. On the ad-
vice of the cabinet and the above-mentioned gentlemen I gave way,
and surrendered under the terms of the Queen's protest, which was
shown me by the cabinet. It was as follows:
I, Liliuokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against
myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain
ersons claiming to have established a Provisional Government of and for this
ingdom.
323
That I yield to the smoerior force of the United States of America, whose minister
Fº his excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to
e landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said Provisional
Government.
Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do
under this protest and impelled by said force yield my authority nntil such time
as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it
undo the action of its representative and reinstate me in the authority which f
claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Done at Honolulu this 17th day of Janmary, A. D., 1893.
LILICOKALANI R.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
JNo. F. Culburn,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERSoN,
Attorney-General.
To S. B. Dole, Esq., and others composing the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands.
This was received by Mr. Dole on behalf of the Provisional Govern-
ment, and indorsed as follows:
Received by the hands of the late cabinet this 17th day of Jānuary, 1893.
sºonoº. DoDE,
Chairman of Executive Council of Provisional Government.
About 7:15 p.m. I disarmed all the volunteers I had under my com-
mand at the station house, and in dismissing them to their homes I
made a few remarks to them explaining the situation, that in order to
save useless bloodshed Her Majesty had, on the advice of her cabinet
determined to submit to the United States force, and that she had
ordered me to submit also and surrender the arms, ammunition, and
other Government property to the Provisional Government, awaiting
the decision of the United States, and that I would recommend them to
go quietly to their holmes and say or do nothing to cause any tromble to
or irritation on the part of those now in power. They promised this
unanimously and gave three hearty cheers. Mr. Peterson, the attorney-
general, also made a few remarks, showing that it was not cowardice
or fear on the part of those in authority that had caused them to take
this action but simply the action of the United States representative
and troops, with whom we desired no conflict. Mr. Neumann and others
also spoke in the same strain, and after giving three hearty cheers
again, the men dispersed quietly.
About 7:30 p.m., Messrs. J. H. Soper and J. A. McCandless came to
the station house, and I formally delivered to Mr. Soper, as com-
mander-in-chief of the Provisional Government's forces, representing
the Provisional Government, the police station and the munitions of
war stored therein. At about 8 p.m., a detachment of the Provisional
Government's troops took possession. In the meantime, I introduced
Mr. Soper to the regular police force as the person from whom they
must take their orders in the future, in the following speech, which was
interpreted to the men by Capt. A. S. Mahaulu:
Officers and inembers of the police force of Honolulu: It is with deep regret that
I have to infom you that I have been requested by Her Majesty the Queen and her
cabinet to surrender to Mr. Soper, commander in chief of the forces of the Pro-
visional Government, all, arms and ammunition, the police station, and all property
under my control. •
Gentlemen, it is not because I thought that you would not stand and fight,it is
not because I could not trust yon, and not because I was afraid that we would not
win if we did fight, it was not for any of those causes, but it was in the cause of
humanity that fgave way, es iº. it was pointed out to me that we would
have to fight a great nation like the United States with her millions of men, and to
do this would only cause the sacrifice of hundreds of valuable human lives, which
this country can not afford to lose without achieving finally the result we hope for.
But, gentlemen, I was perfectly satisfied that you were ready, nay, more than ready,
Y.; to stay by me in the defense of our Queen and country. I am satisfied if
we had had a conflict to-day with the rebels we would have won, notwithstanding
the aid of the Boston's men; but what would have been the result? We would have
been forced to give way in the end, after having caused a great loss of life, and
among the victims would have been many of our personal friends, and perhaps our-
selves. It is better, therefore, to give way to the forces of the United States, and
await patiently the time until our Queen's protest shall have been heard by that
great and good nation, the American Republic, from which I have no doubt we will
receive justice, and that they will have restored to us our country and Government.
In conclusion, gentlemen, I thank you for your attention, and especially for obedi-
ence to orders änd instructions during my incumbency, and for the loyalty to your
Queen and country you have always shown, but especially to-day. And I ask of you
all to remain in the police force, to be as loyal to my successor as you have been to
me, and to assist him and the new Government in perserving the peace and in main-
;s law and order. With these words, I thank you again for your attention.
On 8,
&
324
The men then gave three hearty cheers, after which Mr. Soper took
formal charge of the police station and made a short address to the men.
This concluded the events of the day as far as I was personally con-
cerned, and I went to my home.
On Wednesday morning Her Majesty received a verbal message from
the executive and advisory councils, through her chamberlain, to the
effect that it was the desire of the councils that she should move from
the palace to Washington Place, her private residence, on Beritania
street; and also, that the royal standard was not to be hoisted. The
above action was contrary to the terms of the surrender. At about 11
o'clock a. m. Her Majesty went out for a drive and did not again return
to the palace. e
Respectfully submitted.
C. B. WILSON.
MAY 15, 1893.
No. 61.
Interview of F. Wundenberg.
Q. What were the reasons which caused the Queen to desire a new
constitution?
A. Her native Hawaiian subjects urged the measure. A great num-
ber of petitions, numerously signed, from all parts of the Kingdom were
presented to her praying for a new Constitution, and delegations of her
people waited on her, all clamoring for the restoration of the rights
enjoyed and exercised by the native rulers and people under the Con-
stitution of 1864.
§ what objection had the native Hawaiians to the constitution of
188
A. The natives looked upon the Constitution of 1887 as having been
illegally forced upon the nation, as it was not submitted to the vote of
either the people or the Legislative Assembly. They felt that it was
an outrage and denounced it as “the bayonet Constitution.” The
“Hui-Kalaiaina” (National Party) was a native organization started
shortly after the revolution of 1887, having branches in the remotest
parts of the Kingdom. The avowed object of the party was to oppose
the Constitution of 1887, and its supporters and candidates for Legis-
lative honors were required to pledge themselves to work for a new
Constitution.
Q. Was any action taken in the Legislature relative to a new Con-
stitution?
A. Several native members presented resolutions in the Assembly
having for their object the election of a Constitutional Convention.
These resolutions were either ruled out on technicalities or voted down
through the influence of the people now in power. Consequently very
strong and bitter speeches were made by several native leaders such
as Bush, Wilcox, Kaunamano, White, and others, which convinced the
Queen that a crisis had arisen which left her no choice but to give heed
to the unmistakable wish of her native subjects, or throw herself
wholly into the hands of those who had promulgated the Constitution
of 1887, and abandon forever her native subjects to their fate.
The murmurs against the Queen were growing louder from day to
day, showing a gradual alienation of the natives from their Sovereign
on account of her inaction.
Q. Did the natives thinkthé Queen had the right to promulgate a
new Constitution at her own will?
A. They most certainly did. They would have been satisfied, in fact
would have preferred, that the whole matter should have been handled
by a Constitutional Convention; but they could not see why a Consti-
tution proclaimed by their Sovereign would not be fully as legal and
binding (if not more so) as a Constitution proclaimed by a self-consti-
tuted committee and maintained by bayonets against the will of both
the Sovereign and people.
The committee of safety met at the office of W. O. Smith, in Fort
street, Honolulu, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon of Monday, the
16th day of January, 1893, for the purpose of discussing the necessary
steps to be taken in forming a new government.
Shortly after the committee met, it was decided that they were not
ready for the landing of the American troops, and a committee of
325
three, with Thurston as the chairman, was immediately dispatched to
the American legation to prevail upon Mr. Stevens to delay the land-
ing of the Boston's men. The committee returned shortly, and
reported that Mr. Stevens had said to them: “Gentlemen, the troops
of the Boston land this afternoon at 5 o'clock, whether you are ready
or not.” The foregoing report of Mr. Stevens' reply to the committee
is as nearly literal as can be remembered, and gives a correct idea of
the meaning conveyed. The committee of safety adjourned to meet the
same evening at 7:30 o'clock, at the house of Henry Waterhouse, in
Nuuanu valley. The American troops landed at 5 o'clock, as Mr.
Stevens had told the committee they would, and marched up Fort
street to Merchant, and along Merchant street, halting in King street,
between the Palace and Government buildings.
At the time the men landed the town was perfectly quiet, business
hours were about over and the people, men, women, and children were
in the streets, and nothing unusual was to be seen except the landing
of a formidable armed force with Gatling guns, evidently fully pre-
pared to remain on shore for an indefinite length of time, as the men
were supplied with double cartridge belts filled with ammunition, also
haversacks and canteens and were attended by an hospital corps with
stretchers and medical supplies. The curiosity of the people on the
streets was aroused and the youngsters more particularly, followed up
the troops to see what it was all about. Nobody seemed to know, so
when the troops found quarters the populace dispersed, the most of
them going to the band concert at the hotel, which was fully attended
as it was a beautiful moonlight evening, all who were not in the
secret still wondering at the military demonstration.
The committee met at Mr. Waterhouse's residence, according to
adjournment, at 7:30 o'clock p.m. of the same day, January 16. The
formation of some sort of government was under discussion and it was
decided that a commander in chief of the forces supporting the pro-
posed new government should be appointed. The position was offered
to Mr. John H. Soper, who demurred, as he did not see any backing
whatever to support the movement. Mr. Soper was answered by mem-
bers of the committee that the American minister would support the
move with the troops of the Boston. Mr. Soper still doubted, so a
couple of the committee escorted him over to the legation, which, by
the way, was in the adjoining premises, and the three came back after
a time, reporting that Mr. Stevens had given them the full assurance
that any proclamation of the Government put forward at the Govern-
ment building, or any other building in Honolulu for that matter,
Would receive his immediate recognition and the support of the Boston's
men. This assurance seemed to satisfy Mr. Soper, and he accepted
the position.
On Tuesday afternoon, January 17, the committee of thirteen or Com-
mittee of Safety, proceeded from the office of W. O. Smith up Merchant
street to the Goyernment building and read the proclamation of a new
government at 2:40 o'clock, there being practically no audience what-
ever. As the reading proceeded, a dozen or so loungers gathered, and
near the close of the ceremony about thirty supporters, variously armed,
came running into the side and back entrances of the yard and
gathered about the committee.
At this moment the United States troops, in the temporary quarters
in rear of the Music Hall (less than 100 yards from where the committee
stood), appeared to be under arms and were evidently ready for any
emergency.
During all the deliberations of the committee, and, in fact, throughout
the whole proceedings connected with plans for the move up to the
final issue, the basis of action was the general understanding that
Minister Stevens would keep his promise to support the movement
with the men from the Boston, and the statement is now advisedly
made º a full knowledge of the lack of arms, ammunition, and men;
also the utter absence of organization at all adequate to the under-
taking) that without the previous assurance of support from the
American minister, and the actual presence of the United States troops
no movement would have been attempted, and, if attempted, woul
have been a dismal failure, resulting in the capture or death of the
participants in a very short time.
Having been present at the several meetings referred to in this states
: I hereby certify that the same is correct in every essential par-
CUllàr.
F. WUNDENBERG.
*
326
At about 8 o'clock in the evening of January 16, 1893, a meeting of
some of the members of the Committee of Public Safety and a few others,
was held at the residence of Henry Waterhouse. As my memory new
serves me the following members of the committee were present, to wit:
Henry Waterhouse, W. O. Smith, Andrew Brown, F. W. McChesney,
C. Bolte, T. F. Lansing, J. A. McCandless, Charles L. Carter, John
Emmeluth, and H. E. Cooper. There were also present James B. Cas-
tle, Cecil Brown, John H. Soper, J. H. Fisher, and F. Wundenberg,
though not as members of the committee.
The discussion was general, no regular organization of those present
being formed, the general drift of the conversation showing the object
of the gathering to be the overthrow of the existing Hawaiian Govern-
ment and the setting up in its place of a new one of some sort, not very
clearly defined.
The choice of a leader was discussed and after a little conference it
was decided to offer the same to S. B. Dole. Mr. Dole was accordingly
sent for and invited to attend the meeting, to which he responded in
person, and later when the offer of leadership was made to him he said
he º: take it into consideration and give an answer at noon of the
next day.
The position of military commander was offered to Soper as pre-
viously described.
The general feeling of the members of the Committee of Safety, as
... repeatedly expressed by them during the meeting, was that Stevens
would recognize any move they made in forming a new government
and would support them with the U. S. S. Boston's troops.
The Attorney-generalship was offered to Cecil Brown; he declined, and
shortly after left the meeting.
Throughout the whole meeting the discussion was quite irregular,
each one speaking and interrupting without order or method.
The principal object of the meeting being the selection of a leader
and a military commander, when these two matters were disposed of
the parties separated informally.
F. WUNDENBERG.

No. 62.
(Statement of F. Wundenberg printed with Mr. Blount's No. 3, dated
April 26, 1893.)
enºmºmºsºme
No. 63.
§: with F. Wundenberg May 15, 1893, with Mr. Blount's No.
9, dated June 6, 1893.) &
327
LIST OF PAPERS–MISCELLANEOUS.
1. Letter from A. F. Judd et al. to L.A. Thurston, January 25, 1890. Subject: San-
ford B. Dole et al. on voting laws.
2. Draft of constitution of January 14, 1893.
3. Committee of Safety to Mr. Stevens, January 16, 1893.
4. John L. Stevens to William Gifford, January 16, 1893. Subject; Asking for use
of opera house for troops.
5. John L. Stevens to Mr. Walker, January 16, 1893. Subject: Asking for use of
Arion Hall for troops.
8. Samuel Parker to John L. Stevens, January 16, 1893. Subject: Protest.
7 A. S. Cleghorn; Protest. January 16, 1893.
8. John L. Stevens to Samuel Parker.
B. John L. Stevens to A. S. Cleghorn, January 17, 1893.
10. Liliuokalani to S. M. Damon, January 31, 1893.
1 : Annexation Club to Mr. Blount, March 31, 1893. Subject: Forwarding reso-
Ullºlone
12. Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount, April 1, 1893. Subject: Lowering the flag and
withdrawing the troops.
13. Capt. C. L. Hooper to Mr. Blount, April 2, 1893. Subject: Lowering the flag
and withdrawing troops.
14. R. W. Wilcox to Mr. Blount, April 6, 1893. In re Conspiracy, May, 1892.
15. R. W. Wilcox to Mr. Blount, April 7, 1893.
16. Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount, April 8, 1893.
it. Mr. Wilcox to Mr. Blount, April 13, 1893.
18. Mr. Wilcox to Mr. Blount, April 25, 1893.
19. C. J. McCarthy to C. B. Wilson, May 1, 1893. Subject: Position of Boston's
troops January 16. †:
20. J.C. Quinn: Events of May 2, 1893.
21. Edmund Norrie to C. B. Wilson. Subject: Events of January 17, 1893.
22. H. P. Baldwin to Mr. Blount, º 25, 1893. Subject: Annexation.
.. Theo. C. Porter to Mr. Blount, May 11, 1893. Subject: Land ownership, taxes,
© C.
24. J. W. Jones to Mr. Blount, May 15, 1893. Subject: Annexation.
25. A. Hassinger, June 20, 1893. Subject: In re Naturalization.
26. Thomas G. Thrum to Mr. Blount, June 20, 1893. Subject: Capital in sugar
industry; tabular statement.
21. W. D. Alexander to S. M. Damon, June 24, 1893. Subject: Lands. gº
28. John H. Soper to Mr. Blount, June 20, iš. Subject: Arms and ammunition.
29. C. J. Jaukea to Mr. Blount, June 21, 1893. Subject: Public debt.
30. J. A. º to Mr. Blount, June 22, 1893. Subject: Naturalization.
s: James W. Robertson to Mr. Blount, June 23, 1893. Subject: Landing of
oops.
32. Hawaiian corporation tables.
33. J. O. Carter to Mr. Blount. Subject: Elections prior to 1887.
34. J. W. Jones to Mr. Blount, July 9, 1893. Subject: Census. e
35. E. C. MacFarlane to Mr. Blount, July 13, 1893. Subject: Party classification
pf members of Legislature.
36. E. C. MacFarlane to Mr. Blount, July 13, 1893. Subject; Taxation.
87. E. C., MacFarlane to Mr. Blount, July 13, 1893. Subject: Statement of moneys
expended on account of immigration.
8. Lieut. Young to Mr. Blount, July 16, 1893. Subject: Events of 17th of Jan-
tº a
§ E. C. MacFarlane to Mr. Blount. Lottery petitions.
40. Memorandum of persons killed, revolution of 1889.
41. Officers of the Planters and Labor Supply Company.
42. Petitions against annexation.
328
*
PART IV—MISCELLANEOUS.
No. 1.
Mr. A. F. Judd et al. to Mr. Thurston.
sº JANUARY 25, 1890.
His Excellency L. A. THURSTON,
Minister of the Interior;
SIR: Your communication of the 23d January on behalf of the cabinet
addressed to justices of the supreme court, is received.
The first question upon which our opinion is asked is:
Whether section 24 of the act of 1888, “To amend and consolidate
the election laws of the Kingdom,” requires that in order to vote for a
noble an otherwise qualified elector of nobles must have resided in one
and only one of the “election districts” described in section 13 of the
act, or does the context prohibit such sense and does it mean that he must
have resided for three months within the district for the election of
nobles, i.e., the island of Oahu.
Subdivision first of section 24 contains the proviso that he (the voter
for nobles) shall have resided in the country not less than three years,
and in the district in which he offers to vote not less than three months
immediately preceding the election at which he offers to vote.
The first section of the act defines “district” to mean an “election
district” as prescribed in this act, unless the context prohibit such
sense. The election districts are defined in section 13; they are twenty-
four in number, and one representative is allowed for each district, and
can be voted for by only the voters of the particular district.
But the nobles, twenty-four in number, are not apportioned to be
voted for singly by the voters of the respective election districts, but
nine nobles are to be voted for by each voter (who is qualified) on the
Island of Oahu, and six by each voter on the island of Hawaii, and so
on throughout the group. For the purpose therefore of voting for
nobles, the island of Oahu is the “district” as is also the island of
Hawaii, etc. º
If all the yoters qualified to vote for nobles can vote for the number
of nobles prescribed for the islandon which the voter lives, it can make
no difference in which “election district” within the island or group of
islands he may reside, and any change from one to another of these
districts into which the island is divided can not affect his right to vote
for nobles, provided he has resided on the particular island where he
offers to vote for three months immediately preceding the election.
We are, therefore, of the opinion that the sense requires that the
word “district” mentioned in the first subdivision of section 24, re-
specting qualifications of voters for nobles, means the island or group
of islands from which the nobles are to be elected, and not the “elec-
tion districts” mentioned in section 13 of the act.
º * answering the second question we desire more time to con-
SIOI&T 1Ds
Respectfully submitted,
A. F. JUDD.
L. McCULLY.
RICH. F. BICKERTON.
SANFORD B. DOLE.
*
329
No. 2.
Draft of constitution of January 14, 1893.
PREAMBLE.
Whereas the constitution of this Kingdom contains many provisions
inconsistent, ambiguous and contradictory in its terms, and is subver-
sive and restrictive of civil and popular rights, and incompatible with
enlightened constitutional monarchical government; and
Whereas the prayers of my people, coming in the form of petitions
from all parts of this Kingdom, to myself and to the Legislature, ask-
ing for a new constitution embodying in its provisions equal rights
among all my subjects; which prayer to the Legislature of this King-
‘dom has not been duly recognized by that body through undue and
unjust influences; and *
Whereas it has become imperative in order to restore order and
tranquillity, and to gratify the just demand of my subjects for a new
constitution to be remodeled upon the most liberal and popular form
of Constitutional Monarchical Government, that a new constitution be
at once promulgated.
Now, therefore, I, Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, in
my capacity as Sovereign of this Kingdom, and as the representative
of the people, and in accordance with their almost universal desire,
and in conformity with their wishes, do annul and abrogate the con-
stitution promulgated by Kalakaua on the 7th day of July, A. D. 1887,
and do proclaim and promulgate this constitution.
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE 1. God hath endowed all men with certain inalienable
rights; among which are life, liberty, and the right of acquiring, pos-
sessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety
and happiness.
ARTICLE 2. All men are free to worship God according to the dictates
of their own consciences; but this sacred privilege hereby secured shall
not be so construed as to justify acts of licentiousness or practices in-
consistent with the peace or safety of the Kingdom.
ARTICLE 3. All men inay freely speak, write, and publish their sen-
timents on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right,
and no law shall be enacted to restrain the liberty of speech or of the
press, except such laws as may be necessary for the protection of Her
Majesty, the Queen, and the royal family.
ARTICLE 4. All men shall have the right, in an orderly and peace-
able manner, to assemble, without arms, to consult upon the common
good, and to petition the Queen or legislative assembly for redress of
grievances.
ARTICLE 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus belongs to
all men, and shall not be suspended, unless by the Queen, when in case
of rebellion or invasion the public safety shall require its suspension.
ARTICLE 6. No person shall be subject to punishment for any offence,
except on due and legal conviction thereof in a court having jurisdic-
tion of the case.
ARTICLE 7. No person shall be held to answer for any crime or
offence (except in case of impeachment or for offences within the juris-
diction of a police or district justice, or in summary proceedings for
contempt), unless upon indictment, fully and plainly describing such
crime or offence, and he shall have the right to meet the witnesses who
are produced against him face to face; to produce witnesses and proofs
in his own favor; and by himself or his counsel, at his election, to
examine the witnesses produced by himself and cross-examine those
produced against him, and to be fully heard in his defence. In all
cases in which the right of trial by jury has been heretofore used, it
shall be held inviolable forever, except in actions of debt or assumpsit
in which the amount claimed is less than $50.
ARTICLE 8. No person shall be required to answer again for any
offence of which he has been duly convicted, or of which he has been
duly acquitted.
ARTICLE 9. No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be
a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law.
B–42
330
ARTICLE 10. No person shall sit as a judge or juror in any case in
which his relative, by affinity, or by consanguinity within the third
degree, is interested, either as plaintiff or defendant, or in the issue of
which the said judge or juror may have either directly or through such
relative any pecuniary interest.
ARTICLE 11. Involuntary servitude, except for crime, is forever pro-
hibited in this Kingdom; whenever a slave shall enter Hawaiian ter-
ritory he shall be free.
ARTICLE 12. Every person has the right to be secure from all un-
reasonable searches and seizures of his person, his house, his papers,
and effects; and no warrants shall issue but on probable cause, sup-
ported by oath or affirmation, and describing the place to be searched
and the person or things to be seized.
ARTICLE 13. The Queen conducts her government for the common
good, and not for the profit, honor, or, private interests of any one man,
family, or class of men among Her subjects.
ARTICLE 14. Each member of society has a right to be protected by
it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to law,
and therefore he shall be obliged to contribute his proportional share
to the expense of his protection and to give his personal services or
an equivalent when necessary; but no part of the property of any in-
dividual shall be taken from him or applied to public uses without his
own consent or the enactment of the legislative assembly, except the
same shall be necessary for the military operation of the Kingdom in
time of war or insurrection; and whenever the public exigencies may
require that the property of any individual should be appropriated to
public uses, he shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor.
ARTICLE 15. No subsidy, duty, or tax of any description shall be
established or levied without the consent of the legislative assembly,
nor shall any money be drawn from the public treasury without such
consent, except when between the sessions of the legislative assembly
the emergencies of war, invasion, rebellion, pestilence, or other public
disaster shall arise, and then not without the concurrence of all the
cabinet and of a majority of the whole privy council; and the minis-
ter of finance shall render a detailed account of such expenditure to
the legislative assembly.
ARTICLE 16. No retrospective laws shall ever be enacted.
ARTICLE 17. The military shall always be subject to the laws of the
land, and no soldier shall in times of peace be quartered in any house
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner
to be prescribed by the Legislature.
ARTICLE 18. Every elector shall be privileged from arrest on elec-
tion days, during his attendance at election and in going to and return-
ing therefrom, except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
ARTICLE 19. No elector shall be so obliged to perform military duty
on the day of election as to prevent his voting, except in time of war or
public danger.
ARTICLE20. The supreme power of the Kingdom in its exercises is
‘livided into the executive, legislative, and judicial; these shall always
be preserved distinct, and no executive or judicial officer or any con-
tractor or employee of the Government or any person in the receipt of
salary or emolument from the Government shall be eligible to election
to the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom, or to hold the position of
an elective member of the same, except members of the privy council,
notary public, attorney at law, and agent to take acknowledgment.
And no member of the legislative assembly shall, during the time for
which he is a member, be appointed to any civil office under the govern.
ment, except that of a member of the cabinet, ,
ARTICLE 21. The government of this Kingdom is that of a constitu-
tional monarchy, under Her Majesty Liliuokalani, her heirs and suc-
CeSSOTS,
ARTICLE 22. The Crown is hereby permanently confirmed to Her
Majesty Liliuokalani and to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten,
and to their lawful descendants in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown
shall descend to Her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria Kaiulani
and the heirs of her body lawfully begotten, and their descendant in a
direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to His Royal High-
ness the Prince David Kawananakoa and the heirs of his body lawfully
begotten, and their descendant in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown
shall descend to His Royal Highness the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kala-
mianaole and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and their lawful

*
331
descendant in a direct line. The succession shall be to the senior male
child and to the heirs of his body; failing a male child he succession
shall be to the senior female child and to the heirs of her body. In
case there is no heir, as above provided, then the successor shal be
the person whom the Sovereign shall appoint, with the consent of the
Inobles, and publicly proclaimed during the Sovereign's life; but should
there be no such appointment and proclamation, and the Throne should
become vacant, then the cabinet council, immediately after the occur-
ring of such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the legislative assem-
bly, who shall elect by ballot some native alii of the Kingdom as suc-
cessor to the throne; and the successor so elected shall become a new
stirps for a royal family; and the succession from the Sovereign thus
elected shall be regulated by the same law as the present royal family
of BIawaii.
ARTICLE 23. It shall not be lawful for any member of the royal
family of Hawaii who may by law succeed to the Throne to contract
marriage without the consent of the reigning Sovereign. Every mar-
riage so contracted shall be void, and the person so contracting a mar-
riage may, by the proclamation of the reigning Sovereign, be declared
to have forfeited his or her right to the Throne, and after such procla-
mation the right of succession shall vest in the next heir as though
such offender were dead.
ARTICLE 24. Her Majesty Liliuokalani will, and her successors upon
coming to the Throne shall, take the following oath: “I solemnly
swear in the presence of Almighty God to maintain the Constitution
of the Kingdom whole and inviolable, and to govern in conformity
there with.”
ARTICLE 25. No person shall ever sit upon the Throne who has been
convicted of any infamous crime, or who is insane, or an idiot.
ARTICLE 26. The Queen is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and
Navy, and of all other military forces of the Kingdom by sea and land,
and has full power by herself, or by any officer or officers she may
appoint, to train and govern such forces as she may judge best for the
defense and safety of the Kingdom. But she shall never proclaim war •
without the consent of the legislative assembly.
ARTICLE 27. The Queen, by and with the consent of her privy coun-
cil, has the power to grant reprieves and pardon, after conviction, for
all offenses, except in cases of impeachment.
ARTICLE 28. The Queen, by and with the consent of her privy coun-
cil, convenes the Legislature at the seat of Government, or at a differ-
ent place, if that should become dangerous from an enemy or any dan-
gerous disorder; and in case of disagreement between Her Majesty and
the legislative assembly, she adjourns, prorogues, or dissolves it, but
not beyond the next ordinary session; under any great emergency, she
may convene the legislative assembly to extraordinary sessions.
ARTICLE 29. The Queen has the power to make treaties. Treaties
involving changes in the tariff or in any law of the Kingdom shall be
referred for approval to the Legislative Assembly. The Queen appoints
public ministers, who shall be commissioned, accredited, and instructed
agreeably to usage and law of nations. *
ARTICLE 30. It is the Queen's prerogative to receive and acknowl-
edge public ministers; to inform the Legislative Assembly by royal ,
message, from time to time, of the state of the Kingdom, and to recom-
mend to its consideration such uneasures as she shall judge necessary
and expedient.
ARTICLE 31. The person of the Queen is inviolable and sacred. Her
ministers are responsible. To the Queen belongs the executive power.
All laws that have passed the Legislative Assembly, shall require Her
Majesty's signature in order to their validity. \
ARTICLE 32. Whenever upon the decease of the reigning sovereign
the heir shall be less than eighteen years of age the royal power shall
*: exercised by a regent or council of regency, as hereinafter pro-
ARTICLE 33. It shall be lawful for the Queen at any time, when she
may be about to absent herself from the Kingdom, to appoint a regent
or council of regency, who shall administer the Government in her
name; and likewise the Queen may, by her last will and testament,
appoint a regent or council of regency to administer the Government
during the minority of any heir to the throne, and should a sovereign
decease, leaving a minor heir, and having made no last will and testa-
ment, the cabinet council at the time of such decease shall be a council
332
©
of regency, until the Legislative Assembly, which shall be called imme-
diately, may be assembled, and the Legislative Assembly, immediately
that it is assembled, shall proceed to choose by ballot a regent or coun-
cil of regency. who shall administer the Government in the name of the
Queen, and exercise all the powers which are constitutionally vested in
the Queen, until she shall have attained the age of eighteen years,
which age is declared to be the legal majority of such sovereign.
ARTICLE 34. The Queen is Sovereign of all the chiefs and of all the
people; the Kingdom is Her.
ARTICLE 35. All titles of honor, orders, and other distinctions,
emanate from the Queen.
I ARTICLE 36. The Queen coins money and regulates the currency by
àWe
ARTICLE 37. The Queen in case of invasion or rebellion can place
the whole Kingdom or any part of it under martial law.
ARTICLE 38. The national ensign shall not be changed, except by
act of the Legislature.
ARTICLE 39. The Queen's private lands and other property are
inviolable.
ARTICLE 40. The Queen can not be sued or held to account in any
court or tribunal of the realm. *
ARTICLE 41. There shall continue to be a council of state, for advis-
ing the Queen in all matters for the good of the state, wherein she may
require its advice, and for assisting her in administering the executive
affairs of the Government in such manner as she may direct; which
council shall be called the Queen's privy council of state, and the
members thereof shall be appointed by the Queen, to hold office during
Her Majesty’s pleasure.
ARTICLE 42. The Queen's cabinet shall consist of the minister of
foreign affairs, the minister of the interior, the minister of finance,
and the attorney-general of the Kingdom, and these shall be the
Queen's special advisers in the executive affairs of the Kingdom;
and they shall be ex-officio members of the Queen's privy council of
state. They shall be appointed and commissioned by the Queen, and
hold office during the Queen's pleasure, subject to impeachment, or
upon a vote of want of confidence passed by a majority of all the
members of the legislative assembly. No act of the Queen shall have
any effect unless it be countersigned by a minister, who, by that signa-
ture, makes himself responsible.
ARTICLE 43. Each member of the Queen's cabinet shall keep an
office at the seat of Government, and shall be accountable for the con-
duct of his deputies and clerks. The ministers hold seat ex officio, as
nobles, in the legislative assembly with the right to vote, except on
a question of want of confidence in them.
ARTICLE 44. The minister of finance shall present to the legislative
assembly, in the name of the Government, on the first day of the meet-
ing of the Legislature, the financial budget, in Hawaiian and English
languages.
ARTICLE 45. The legislative power of the three estates of this
Kingdom is vested in the Queen, and the legislative assembly, which
assembly shall consist of nobles appointed by the Queen, and of the
representatives of the people, sitting together. º
ARTICLE 46. The legislative body shall assemble biennially, in the
month of April, and at such other time as the Queen may judge neces-
sary, for the purpose of seeking the welfare of the nation. This body
shall be styled the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
ARTICLE 47. Every member of the legislative assembly shall take
the following oath: Imost solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty
God, that I will faithfully support the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, and conscientiously and impartially discharge my duties as
a member of this assembly.
ARTICLE 48. The Legislature has full power and authority to amend
the constitution, as hereinafter provided, and, from time to time, to
make all manner of wholesome laws not repugnant to the provisions
of the constitution.
ARTICLE 49. The Queen shall signify her approval of any bill or
resolution which shall have passed the legislative assembly by sign-
ing the same. If she approve not, she shall return it with her objeć-
tions to the legislative assembly, which shall enter the objections at
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such
reconsideration, it shall be approved by a two thirds vote of all the
*
333
members of the legislative assembly, it shall be presented again to
the Queen, and she shall sign it, and it shall therefore be a law. In all
such cases the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the
names of the persons voting for and against the bill or resolution
shall be entered on the journal of the Legislature.
ARTICLE 50. The legislative assembly shall be the judge of the
qualifications of its own members, and a majority shall constitute a
quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner,
and under such penalties as the assembly may provide.
ARTICLE 51. The legislative assembly shall choose its own officers
and determine the rules of its own proceedings.
ARTICLE 52. The legislative assembly shall have authority to punish
by imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, every person, not a
member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the assembly, by any
disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence; or who, during
the time of its sitting, shall publish any false report of its proceedings,
or insulting comment upon the same; or who shall threaten harm to
the body or estate of any of its members, for anything said or done in
the assembly; or who shall assault any of them therefor, or who shall
assault or arrest any witness or other person ordered to attend the
assembly, in his way going or returning, or who shall rescue any
Terson arrested by order of the assembly.
ARTICLE 53. The legislative assembly may punish its own members
for disorderly behavior.
ARTICLE 54. The legislative assembly shall keep a journal of its
proceedings; and the yeas and nays of its members, on any question,
‘shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the jour-
nal.
ARTICLE 55. The members of the legislative assembly shall, in all
cases, except treason, felony, or breach of peace, be privileged from
arrest during their attendance at the sessions of the Legislature, and
in going to and returning from the same; and they shall not be held
to answer for any speech or debate made in the assembly, in any
other court or place whatsoever.
ARTICLE 56. The representatives shall receive for their services a
-compensation to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public.
treasury, but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the
ear in which it shall have been made; and no law shall be passed
increasing the compensation of said representatives beyond the sum
of five hundred dollars each for each biennial term.
ARTICLE 57. The Queen appoints the nobles, who shall hold their
appointments during life, subject to the provisions of article 53; but
their number shall not exceed twenty-four.
ARTICLE 58. No person shall be appointed a noble who shall not
have attained the age of twenty-one years and resided in the Kingdom
five years.
ARTICLE 59. The nobles shall be a court with full and sole authority
to hear and determine all impeachments made by the representatives,
as the grand inquest of the Kingdom against any officer of the King-
‘dom, for misconduct or maladministration in their offices; but previous
to the trial of every impeachment the nobles shall respectively be
sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in ques-
tion according to evidence and the law. Their judgment, however,
shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualifica-
tion to hold or enjoy any place of honor, trust or profit, under this
‘Government; but the party so convicted shall be nevertheless liable
to Hºnº judgment, and punishment according to the laws
of the land. No minister shall sit as a noble on the trial of any im-
peachment.
ARTICLE 60. The representation of the people shall be based upon
Athe principle of i. and shall be regulated and apportioned by the
Legislature according to the population to be ascertained, from time to
i. by the official census. The representatives shall not be less in
number than twenty-four nor more than forty-eight, who shall be
-elected biennially.
.ARTICLE 61. No person shall be eligible for a representative of the
people who is insane or an idiot, nor unless he be a male subject of
the Kingdom who shall have arrived at the full age of twenty-one
..years, who shall know how to read and write, who shall understand
334
accounts, and shall have been domiciled in the Kingdom for at least
three years, the last of which shall be the year immediately preceding
his election; and who shall own real estate, within the Kingdom, of a
clear value, over and above all incumbrances, of at least five hundred
dollars, or who shall have an annual income of at least two hundred
and fifty dollars derived from any property or lawful employment.
ARTICLE 62. Every male subject of the Kingdom who shall have
paid his taxes, who shall have attained the age of twenty years, and
shall have been domiciled in the Kingdom for one year immediately
preceding the election, and be possessed of real property in the King-
dom, to the value over and above all incumbrances of one hundred and
fifty dollars, or a leasehold property on which the rent is twenty-five
dollars per year, or of an income of not less. than seventy-five dollars
per year, derived from any property or some lawful employment and
shall know how to read and write, if born since the year 1840 and shall
have caused his name to be entered on the list of voters of his district
as may be provided by the law, shall be entitled to one vote for the
representative or representatives of that district. ..", however,
that no insane or idiotic person, nor any person who shall have been
convicted of any infamous crimes within this Kingdom, unless he shall
have been pardoned by the Queen, and by the terms of such pardon
have been restored to all rights of a subject, shall be allowed to vote.
ARTICLE 63. The property qualifications of the representatives of
the people, and of the electors, may be increased or decreased by law.
ARTICLE 64. The judicial power of the Kingdom shall be vested in
one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the Legislature may,
from time to time, establish.
ARTICLE 65. The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and
not less than two associate justices, any of whom may hold the court.
The justices of the supreme court shall hold their offices for a term of
six years, during good behavior, subject to removal upon impeachment.
Provided, however, that any judge of the supreme court or any other
court of record may be removed from office on a resolution passed by
two-thirds of the legislative assembly, for good cause shown to the
satisfaction of the Queen.
The judge against whom the legislative assembly may be about to
proceed, shall receive due notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the
causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the day on
which the legislative assembly shall act thereon. He shall be heard
before the legislative assembly.
ARTICLE 66. The judicial power shall be divided among the supreme
court and the several inferior courts of the Kingdom in such manner
as the Legislature may from time to time prescribe, and the tenure of
office in the inferior courts ef the Kingdom shall be such as may be
defined by the law creating them.
ARTICLE 67. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and
equity arising under the constitution and laws of this Kingdom and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority to all
cases affecting public ministers and council and to all cases of admiralty
and maritime jurisdiction. *
ARTICLE 68. The chief justice of the supreme court shall be the
chancellor of the Kingdom; he shall be ea officio president of the
nobles in all cases of impeachment, unless when impeached himself,
and exercise such jurisdiction in equity or other cases as the law may
eonfer upon him, his decisions being subject, however, to the revision
of the supreme court on appeal. Should the chief justice ever be
impeached, some person specially commissioned by the Queen shall be
president of the court of impeachment during such trial.
ARTICLE 69. The decision of the supreme court, when made by a
**. of all the justices thereof, shall be final and conclusive upon
partles. *
ARTICLE 70. The Queen, her cabinet, and the legislative assembly
shall have authority to require the opinions of the justices of the
supreme court upon important questions of law and upon solemn occa-
[SIOllSe.
ARTICLE 71. The Queen appoints the justices of the supreme eourt
i. all other judges of court of records; their salaries are fixed by
&W,
ARTICLE 72. No judge or magistrate ean sit alone on an appear or
new trial in any case on which he may have given a previous judg-
Iment.

335
ARTICLE 73. The Queen also appoints and commissions the governors
of the several islands; the governors hold office for the term of four
years, subject to impeachment.
ARTICLE 74. The following persons shall not be permitted to register
for voting, to vote, or to hold office under any department of the Govern-
ment, or to sit in the legislative assembly, namely: Any person who is
insane or an idiot, or any person who shall have been convicted of any
of the following named offenses, viz: Arson, barratry, bribery, bur-
glary, counterfeiting, embezzlement, felonious branding of cattle, for-
gery, gross cheat, incest, kidnapping, larceny, malicious burning, man-
slaughter in the first degree, murder, perjury, rape, robbery, sodomy,
treason, subornation of perjury, and malfeasance in office, unless he
shall have been pardoned by the Queen and restored to his civil rights
and by the express term of his pardon declared to be eligible to office
of trust, honor, and profit.
ARTICLE 75. No officer of this Government shall hold any other office
or receive any salary from any other Government or power whatever.
ARTICLE 76. The Legislature votes the appropriations biennially,
after due consideration of the revenue and expenditure for the two
preceding years and the estimates of the revenue and expenditure of
the two succeeding years, which shall be submitted to them by the
minister of finance.
ARTICLE 77. The enacting style in making and passing all acts and
laws shall be: “Beit enacted by the Queen and the legislative assembly
of the Hawaiian Islands, in the Legislature of the Kingdom assembled.”
ARTICLE 78. To avoid improper influences which may result from
intermixing in one and the same act such things as have no proper re-
lation to each other, every law shall embrace but one object, and that
shall be expressed in its title.
ARTICLE 79. All laws now in force in this Kingdom shall continue
and remain in full effect, until altered or repealed by the Legislature;
5uch parts only excepted as are repugnant to this constitution. Ali
laws heretofore enacted, or that may hereafter be enacted, which are
‘contrary to this constitution, shall be null and void.
ARTICLE 80. This constitution shall be in force from the – day
-of-, in the year , but that there may be no failure of jus-
tice, or iliconvenience to the Kingdom, from any change all officers of
this Kingdom, at the time this constitution shall take effect, shall have
hold, and exercise all power to them granted, until other persons shai
be appointed in their stead.
ARTICLE 81. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution
may be proposed in the legislative assembly, and if the same shall be
agreed to by a majority of the members thereof, such proposed amend-
ment or amendments shall be entered on its Journal, with the yeas and
nays taken thereon, and referred to next Legislature; which proposed
-amendment or amendments shall be published for three months pre-
vious to the next election of Representatives; and if in the next Legis-
lature such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by
two-thirds of all the members of the legislative assembly, and be ap-
Troved by the Queen, such amendment or amendments shall become
part of the constitution of this country.
We have read the document purporting to be a copy of the consti-
tution presented to us by Queen Liliuokalani on January 14th last, and
we deem it to be almost identical, except as to Article 62, which, ac-
•cording to our recollection, did not contain any property qualification
for voters for representatives.
We are yours, respectfully,
SAMUEL PARKER,
A. P. PETERSON,
WM. H. CORNWELL.
HoNOLULU, HAwan AN IsLANDs, July 16, 1893.
The proposed changes to the Kalakaua constitution were these:
ARTICLE 20. By adding to exceptions: Members of the privy COUlú-
-cil, notary public, agent to take acknowledgements.
ART. 22. By adding Princes Kawananakoa and Kalanianaole as
heirs to the throne.
Aś 46. Changing the session of the Legislature to the month of
prl *
336
ART. 49. That the Queen shall sign and approve all bills and reso-
lutions, even to those that are voted when passed over her vote.
ART. 56. Pay of representatives raised to $500 instead $250 for bi-
ennial term.
ART. 57. The Queen shall appoint the nobles not to exceed 24.
toº.” 60. The representatives may be increased from 24 as at present
ART, 62. Only subjects shall vote, and the qualification of voters
reduced.
ART. 65. The term of appointment of the supreme court judges,
not for life, as before, but for six years.
ART. 75. The appointment of governors of each island for four
years term.
No. 3.
The committee of safety to Mr. Stevens.
No. 7.] Hawaiian Islands, Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
His Excellency JoHN L. STEVENs,
American Minister Resident:
SIR: We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Honolulu, respect-
fully represent that, in view of recent public events in this Kingdom,
culminating in the revolutionary acts of Queen Liliuokalani on Satur-
day last, the public safety is menaced and lives and property are in
peril, and we appeal to you and the United States forces at your com-
mand for assistance.
The Queen, with the aid of armed force, and accompanied by threats
of violence and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, at-
tempted to proclaim a new constitution; and, while prevented for the
time from accomplishing her object, declared publicly that she would
only defer her action.
This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circum-
stances which have created general alarm and terror.
We are unable to protect ourselves without aid, and therefore pray
for the protection of the United States forces.
HENRY E. CoopFR,
F. W. McCHESNEy,
W. C. WILDER,
C. BoITE,
A. BROWN
wn ºf Ö. SMITH,
HENRY WATERHOUSE,
THEO. F. LANSING,
ED. SUHR,
L. A. THURSTON,
JoBN EMMELUTH,
WM. R. CASTLE,
J. A. MCCANDLESS
citizens committee of Šafety.
No. 4.
Mr. Stevens to Mr. Gifford.
UNITED STATES LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
Mr. W. M. GIFFORD :
SIR: Please allow Capt. Wiltse and his men the use of the opera
house hall for a fair compensation for the same.
Yours, truly, A
JOHN L. STEVENs.
337
No. 5.
Mr. Stevens to Mr. Walker.
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
DEAR SIR: Will you let Arion Hall for use for the sleeping and
lodgment of the soldiers and marines of Captain Wiltse, of the U. S.
Boston, at a fair price? Let the bearer know.
Yours truly,
JOHN L. STEVENS
WJnited States Minister.
No. 6.
Mr. Parker to Mr. Stevens.
DEPARTMENT of FoEEIGN AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, January 16, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inform your excellency that the troops
from the U. S. S. Boston were landed in this port at 5 o'clock this
evening without the request or knowledge of Her Majesty's Govern-
ment.
As the situation is one which does not call for interference on the
part of the United States Government, my colleagues and myself would
most respectfully request of your excellency the authority upon which
this action was taken. I would also add that any protection that may
have been considered necessary for the American Legation or for
American property and interests in this city would have been cheer-
fully furnished by Her Majesty's Government.
With the highest respect, I have the honor to remain,
Your excellency's obedient servant,
SAMtVEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His Excellency, John L. STEVENs
ū. S. Envºy fºrtraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Honolulu,
N.o, 7.
Mr. Cleghorn to Mr. Stevens.
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR OF OAHU.
IIonolulu, January 16, 1893.
SIR: It is my duty to solemnly protest to your excellency against
the landing this evening without permission from the proper authori-
ties of an armed force from the United States ship Boston.
Your excellency well knows that when you have desired to land
naval forces of the United States for the purpose of drill, permission
by the local authorities has been readily accorded.
On the present occasion, however, the circumstances are entirely dif.
ferent, and ostensibly the present landing is for the discharge 6f func-
tions which are distinctly responsible duties of the Hawaiian Govern-
Iment.
Such being the case, I am compelled to impress upon your excellency
the international questions involved in this matter and the grave
responsibilities thereby assumed.
While solemnly protesting to your excellency against the unwar-
rantable proceedings to which I have referred,
I have the honor to remain, sir, your excellency's obedient and
humble servant,
A. S. CLEGHoRN
Governor of ôahu.
His Excellency John L. STEvens,
Envoy Eatraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States of America.
B—43
338
No. 8.
Mr. Stevens to Mr. Parker.
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
SIR: Yours of yesterday in regard to the landing of the United
States naval forces in Honolulu duly received and its import consid-
ered. In whatever the United States diplomatic and naval represent-
atives have done or may do at this critical hour of Hawaiian affairs,
we will be guided by the kindest views and feelings for all the parties
concerned and by the warmest sentiments for the Hawaiian people and
the persons of all nationalities.
Most sincerely, yours,
JOHN L. STEVENS.
Hon. SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
No. 9.
Mr. Stevens to Mr. Cleghorn.
UNITED STATEs LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
SIR: Yours of the 16th, yesterday, regarding the landing of the
United States naval forces in Honolulu, is received. I have carefully
considered its import. My responsibility as the United States minister
plenipotentiary at this critical time in Hawaiian affairs it is impossible
for me to ignore... I assure you that whatever responsibility the
American diplomatic and naval representatives have assumed or may
assume, we shall do our utmost to regard the welfare of all persons and
interests concerned.
Yours, sincerely, and with the kindest consideration,
JOHN L. STEVENS.
Hon. A. S. CLEGHORN,
Governor of Oahu.
No. 10. *
Liliuokalani to Mr. Damon.
HoNolulu, HAwaiiAN ISLANDs, January 31, 1893.
Mr. S. M. DAMoN, Honolulu:
Sir: You having stated that, as a condition upon which you would
only authorize the lending by your firm of Bishop & Co. to me of the
further sum of $10,000, upon certain securities that I need not specify,
I should hand to you the original new constitution that it was my in-
tention to promulgate on the day of the prorogation of the late Legisla-
ture, January 14, 1893, I assure you that I am unable to comply with
such condition, for the sole reason that such new constitution and all
copies thereof and the draft thereof have been destroyed, the original
constitution by my own hands and the copies thereof and the draft by
my orders.
LILIUQKALANI.
In presence of .
PAUL NEUMANN,
HENRY HOLMES.
No. 11.
Resolution of Annexation Club, March 31, 1893.
Mr. COMMISSIONER: An association has recently been formed here
known as the Annexation Club. The vice-presidents 6f the club—its
president being temporarily absent—its secretary and treasurer, and the
339
chairmen of its regular committees now have the honor to present their
regards to you. The first steps to form this association were taken on
the 21st of this month, and its membership now includes some 2,000 of
the residents of this city, who are, it is believed, fully representative of
the intelligence and respectability, as well as of the material interests
of this community.
A large number of the members of this association were not actually
concerned in the establishment of the present Government, but all the
members are convinced that it is essential to the safety and security of
life and property in the Hawaiian Islands, and to the permanent wel-
fare of the people here, that this country shall become an integral por-
tion of the American Union. *
The need of a strong permanent Government to steady political pas-
sions, and keep this community free from dangers both of internal dis-
cord and foreign interference, has become apparent to all of us, and we
look forward with earnest hope to the time when Hawaii can enter the
great Republic.
We have learned with profound satisfaction that President Cleve-
land has appointed you to visit these islands, as wennderstand, for the
purpose of investigating their political conditions and needs. We are
confident that the most searching examination and analysis will dis-
close the fact that the present Government was established as a matter
of necessity and duty, in the interest of humanity as well as of civiliza-
tion, and not as a scheme to promote the selfish objects of any set or
clique. The head of the recent Government having disavowed her
obligations to the only authority under which she held power, the con-
stitution of 1887, and having publicly announced her solemn intention
to govern by royal proclamation and not by law, the only course to fol-
low to preserve the body politic was to establish this Government in the
interests of law and order.
It is the hope of the members of this association that a treaty of
annexation may soon be accomplished between Hawaii and the United
States, which, while securing all the safeguards of a free and stable
government to all native aboriginal Hawaiians as well as to those of
foreign ancestry, will entail no burdens on the United States, but on
the contrary will be a source of additional strength and satisfaction.
We are aware, Mr. Commissioner, that your own views on any of
these matters will depend on the result of the observations and inqui.
ries which you will make during your visit here, and that our call upon
you must be regarded as entirely informal and unofficial.
We beg to present to you the compliments of the Annexation Club of
Hawaii, and to express the hope that your visit will not only be enjoyed
by Mrs. Blount and yourself but will result in a way which shall be
most advantageous to all of the momentous interests involved.
No. 12.
Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount.
No. 110.] * U. S. S. MoHICAN,
FLAGSHIP OF THE PACIFIC STATION,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 1, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inform Special United States Commissioner
Blount that in obedience to his directions the United States ensign
over the Government building was lowered at 11 a.m. of this date and
the force withdrawn from that building and the place designated as
Camp Boston at the same hour. I learn that quite a number of people
congregated about the Government building at the time; the force of
marines stationed there were relieved by a force of the Provisional Gov-
ernment. There was no demonstration made by the populace present;
no cheering, nor any other signs of either joy or grief.
I went on shore this afternoon and saw quite an access in numbers
of those who were wearing the Annexation Club badge. There has
been no evidence shown of unruly or riotous characters. Absolutely,
there appears to be peace and quiet. *
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. S. SKERRETT,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commanding U. S. Naval Force, Pacific Station.
Special United States Commissioner, J. H. BLount.
340
º
No. 13.
Captain Hooper to Mr, Blount.
U. S. REVENUE STEAMER RUSH,
Honolulu, April 2, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT:
MY DEAR SIR: I witnessed the hauling down of the American flag
and the raising of the Hawaiian flag over the Government building at
this place yesterday, and was surprised not only at the absence of any
indication of the violent and partisan feeling which I had been led tº
expect, but by the apparent apathy and indifference of the native por-
tion of the assembled crowd, and also their politeness and evident good
feeling towards Americans. As I passed freely around among them,
accompanied by my son, we were kept busy returning their friendly sa-
lutes. The greatest good order prevailed throughout. There were no
demonstrations of any kind as the American flag came down and not
a single cheer greeted the Hawaiian flag as it was raised aloft.
The native men stood around in groups or singly, smoking and
chatting, and nodding familiarly to passing friends, or leaning idly
against the trees and fences, while the women and children which
formed a large proportion of the assemblage were talking and laugh-
ing good naturedly. As the hour for hauling down the American flag
approached, many people, men, and women, and children, could be
seen approaching the Government Square in a most leisurely manner,
and showing more interest in the gala day appearance of the crowd
than in the restoration of their national flag. The air of good-natured
indifference and idle curiosity with which the native men regarded the
proceedings, and the presence of the women and children in their white
or bright colored dresses, was more suggestive of a county “fair” or
horse race than the sequel to a “revolution.”
Even the presence of the “armed forces” of the Provisional Govern-
ment, numbering perhaps two hundred, parading the corridors of the
Government house failed to elicit any sign of a feeling of anger or
resentment. In half an hour after the exchange of flags had been made
the crowd had dispersed and only the “force” of the Provisional Gov.
ernment, which I was told was necessary to prevent mob violence,
remained to indicate that a “revolution” had recently taken place.
While among the crowd I looked carefully for indications of “arms”
upon the person of the natives but saw none, although with the thin
clothing worn by them the presence of a revolver or such an arm could
easily have been detected.
If any danger of mob violence on the part of the natives existed all
outward signs of it were carefully concealed. Only evidences of the
greatest good feeling were apparent.
Hoping that this short statement of the facts as they appeared to me
may prove of interest to you,
I am, very truly yours
2 y C. L. HoopFR,
Captain U. S. Revenue Marine.
No. 14.
Mr. Wilcoa, to Mr. Blount.
HoNoLULU, HAwaiian ISLANDs, April 6, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT
United States Commissioner, etc.:
I beg to submit my scrap-book for your inspection, which will shed
some light on the motives which actuated me and my associates in the
conspiracy of May 1892.
You will please notice a letter from Fred. M. Somers to the San
Francisco Examiner under date of May 24, 1892, and also an extract
from the Illustrated American of December 26, 1891, and some extracts
from the P. C. Advertiser of Honolulu of the month of May 1892. In
the main these statements are correct. * *
My chief object was to establish a Republic with the view to ultimate
annexation to the United States of America.
If annexation should be rejected by your Congress, which I hope not,
341
I still believe that a Republic with the closest possible relations, com-
mercial and otherwise, with the United States would be the best for
Hawaii.
Thereestablishment of monarchy, in my humble opinion, ought not to
be considered for a moment.
Most respectfully yours,
ROBERT W. WILCox.
*
No. 15.
Mr. Wilcoa, to Mr. Blount.
HoNolūLU, HAwaiiaN ISLANDs,
April 7, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLount,
United States Commissioner, etc.:
Yesterday I stated in my letter to you the position I held for some-
time, which you will see in my scrap book, But I wish now to call
your attention to the opinion of the Hawaiians as to the treaty made
and submitted to your congress by the commissioner of the Provis,
onal Government, which President Grover Cleveland has withdrawn
from the congress. The Hawaiians are a unit against that treaty in
its present form, because it was intended by those commissioners to
disfranchise the Hawaiians.
The Hawaiians love liberty and the right of suffrage; and would only
be willing to be annexed to the Union with the understanding that they
would be taken in as citizens of the United States. In other words,
that the full privileges of United States citizens would be given to
them.
The present Provisional Government started in a way to produce
the most violent race prejudices. One thing is sure, every Hawaiian
regards the Harrison Administration with disfavor and looks hopefully
to Mr. Cleveland's Administration.
I am sure if the Congress of the Dnited States admits Hawaii as a
state of the Union, every Hawaiian will become a strong supporter of
the Democratic party of the United States.
Respectfully, yours,
ROBERT W. WILCOX.
*
No. 16,
Admiral Skerrett to Mr. Blount,
U. S. S. MoHICAN,
No. 123.] FLAGSHIP OF THE PACIFIC STATION,
- Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, April 8, 1893.
Col. J. H. BLount,
United States Special Commissioner.
DEAR SIR: I have learned that the Boston's battalion consists of
153 men and that of the Mohican's battalion is 118 men; making a total
of 271 men, who can be landed if required.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. S. SKERRETT,
Rear Admiral U. S. Navy,
Commanding U. S. Naval Force, Pacific Station.
*
No. 17.
Mr. Wilcoa, to Mr. Blount.
HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, April 19, 1893.
Hon. JAS. H. BLOUNT,
United States Commissioner, etc.
SIR: Referring to our conference of yesterday's in re “The establish-
ment of this Provisional Government,” I will submit the following
appendix for your consideration:
That this Provisional Government was fostered and made predomi-
*
342
nant only through the American force of arms of the U. S. S. Boston,
under the recognition of a decided minority of the white element, aided
and abetted by United States Minister Stevens. Prior to any move-
ment by the Queen's Government, and whilst her Government yet held
the places, to wit, palace, barracks, station house, etc., there were 150
native soldiers and 200 policemen under arms, besides about 400 natives
and foreigners who were ready to take up arms; the barracks and sta-
tion house were amply supplied with war material (8 pieces of 75 centi-
meters caliber and 4 pieces of 5 centimeters caliber cannon and also two
Gatling guns); there were also about 500 rifles, with a large supply of
ammunition for same; whilst on the other hand the Provisional Govern-
ment, before their recognition by Minister Stevens, i.e., from 3 to 6 p.m.
on January 17, 1893, had only about 100 rifles and a very limited supply
of ammunition, and it was only at 6 p.m. that their men numbered 100.
under Minister Stevens' assurance—that he recognized the Pro-
visional Government notwithstanding—the station house recapitulated
at 6 p.m. that same day, with 200 rifles and other munitions.
The white element of this city did not join in with this Provisional
Government until the morning of January 18, when they knew that the
Queen's Government had given up everything to this Provisional Gov-
ernment, and then only under protest.
I have the honor to be yours, obediently
Robert W. Wilcox.
No. 18.
Mr. Wilcoa, to Mr. Blount.
HoNolūLU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, April 25, 1893.
Hon. JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
United States Commissioner, etc.:
SIR: Referring to the amount of appropriations by the Government
on account of contract laborers or coolies, under the guise of encourag-
ing emigration, I present the following list of appropriations from 1874
to 1890, inclusive, amounting to the sum total of $1,315,000, as follows:
In 1874, encouraging agriculture and emigration.------------- ** * * * * * * * * * * $50,000
In 1876, encouraging of emigration------------------------- º e º e º 'º º & tºº sº e º º y
In 1880, encouraging of emigration--------------------------------------- 100,000
In 1882, encouraging of emigration (an act). -------------------- * * * * * * * * * B00,000
In 1884, encouraging of emigration.---------------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 390,000
In 1886, encouraging of emigration.----------. --------* * * * * * * As sº e e s = e s is a sº 150,000
In 1888, encouraging of emigration.-------------------------------------- y
In 1890, encouraging of emigration--------------------------------------. 60,000
1,315,000
In 1881 six thousand Chinese were imported. They brought with
them the smallpox, which caused the death of three hundred native
Hawaiians at Honolulu.
Nine-tenths of the above amount was spent for importing Chinese and
Japanese laborers, while the other tenth was spent for Germans, Por-
tuguese and Norwegians laborers.
he European class of laborers would be good citizens for the country,
but were unable to make homes here, on account of the close and ruin-
ous competition with the Asiatics. No men in the world can success-
fully compete with the Chinese and Japanese in most business pursuits
or as laborers. For this reason Europeans of the laboring classes have
left this country as soon as their contracts expired.
The late Legislature passed an act to limit the number of Chinese to
five thousand annually. For some time previous Chinese emigration was
stopped, Japanese being substituted for them.
If this country continues to be under the control of the sugar planters
Hawaii will be only fit to be a home for rich sugar planters and their
slaves—the paradise and inferno of the Pacific.
Yours obediently,
ROBERT W. WILCOX.
343
No. 19. *
Mr. C. J. McCarthy to Mr. C. B. Wilson.
HoNoLULU, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, May 1, 1893.
Mr. O. B. WILSON: & is
DEAR SIR: As per your request of to-day I inclose you a diagram
of the position of the Boston troops as of Monday evening, January 16,
1893. They remained in the third position for several days.
In connection with the arrival of the committee of safety, I would
say that they arrived at the Government building at 2:30 p.m. on
Tuesday, January 17, loitered about the corridor a few minutes, asked
Mr. Hossinger for possession of the building, and then Mr. Cooper pro-
ceeded to read the proclamation. He finished same at 2:40 p.m., at
X. time I received your telephone message and came to the station
OUIS0,
Yours, etc.,
C. J. MCCARTHY.
hº
2. § §
1| #s |}
# ×Nx # ;
* | * x #
§ §
§ &



i
#
[
;
|
i
£5 X
gº
g
#:
Punch Bowl Street.
Second ti block
:::::::::::::::::g
No. 20.
Statement of J. C. Quinn.
HoNOLULU, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, May 2, 1893.
A few brief notes of what I saw on January 17, 1893, the day the
Provisional Government was established, about 2 p.m.
I was driving along King street, going towards the Government
344
building; when I reached Palace square Iheard a pistol shot; I looked
back and saw a large crowd by E. O. Hall & Son. The Ininute the
shot was fired I heard fhe rumbling of wheels in the direction of Arion
Hall. I drove over that way and saw some of the bluejackets who
were camped there getting ready for action.
They ran their cannon out so that it pointed towards Palace Square.
The bluejackets stood ready for action, some at the cannons, the rest
formed in line behind the cannons with their guns in hands. I can’t
say positively whether there were two cammons or not. This detach-
ment of blue jackets that I speak of were on the northwest side of
the Arion Hall. The men and cannon, as they were drawn in line,
faced towards Palace square. I drove around the Opera House,
turned down Mililani street, which is on the southeast side of Arion
Hall. I saw a lot of blue jackets drawn tip in line, ready for action,
with their cannon and men facing towards the Government building.
The blue jackets I speak of means the ones which were landed from
the Boston on the 16th of January last. I drove down Mililani street
and around to the U. C. C. office. I saw Mr. Hall standing by his
store. I asked him what the shooting was about. He said that John
Good had shot a policeman, for trying to stop a wagon which con-
tained arms. I told him that the blue jackets were getting ready for
action. He said that was good and ran down towards the Arion Hall.
In a few minutes I drove back to the Government building and saw
some armed men standing in front of the building, armed with guns.
J. C. QUINN,
Manager United Carriage Co., Telephone 290.
*
Nå-21 #5 3.
Mr. Edmund Norrie to Mr. O. B. Wilson.
Hon. C. B. WILSON, Honolulu:
SIR: Tn response to your request to reduce to writing the verbal re-
port which I made to you on January 17 in regard to the situation at
the Government building and surroundings at the time of the proclama-
tion of the Provisional Government I beg to submit it as follows:
I entered the Government building about 1 o'clock p.m. and went to
the foreign office where I, from the window in the minister's private
office, watched the movements of the United States forces which were
stationed on the Hayselden premises. The attached roughly-drawn
diagram shows that the sailors were marched up from Kekaulike street
through the alleyway between the opera house and the Arion Hall, and
stood in the yard belonging to the premises occupied by Mr.Nakayama,
inspector of Japanese.
Two Gatling guns were placed at the entrancetothe said alley,trailed
on the main entrance of the Government building. About 1:45 p.m. the
placing of the troops was accomplished and the men stood at “attention,”
the infantry with arms “ordered,” the artillerists with the drawing ropes
of the guns in their hands ready to move. I estimated that one company
with the half battery of Gatlings occupied Kekaulike street and the
alley, while the rest of the sailors with two other s were in the yard
between the Arion Hall and Nakayama's house. I went down to Palace
Square to see if the insurgents were beginning to move on the Govern-
ment building as expected. In the gateway of Nakayama's premises
towards Palace Square stood two officers of the Boston with drawn
swords looking towards the town. I now saw Mr. Dole and a body of
men coming up through Merchant street towards the Government build-
ings. They were erossing Alake street when I saw them. The Bos-
ton officers saw them at the same time and immediately went to Arion
Hall. I returned to the foreign offiee and took up my place at the win-
dow overlooking the Arion Hall. *
I noticed that all the Boston officers had placed themselves in the
§§ positions with their men ready to make a move. At this time
. Charles L. Carter came riding on horseback very fast towards the
Arion Hall from Queen street #". by arrow on diagram] and
stopped outside the Arion Hall, dismounted and entered the gate.
Capt. Wiltse and another officer were sitting on the yeranda of the
hail facing the Government building. Mr. Carter approached Capt.
345
Wiltse and handed him a large envelope, which he opened, and after
having read the contents placed it in his pocket. He said something
to the officer with him, who left, and going among the troops spoke to
the different officers. iſ. Carter remounted and left by the same route
along Queen street. A few minutes after Mr. Dole and party turned
the corner of Palace Square and entered the Government yard from
Rekaulike street and thence to the main entrance of the building,
where they stopped and Mr. Cooper read the proclamation. As soon
as he had finished I left and reported to you.
* EDMUND NORRIE.

}
Palace,
Palace Yard,
Palace Square.



—LT—
Opera House. f
dº *
l *
Minister’s
* Room
ºf D ºn El up stairs.
D. E. E. El
D. D. E. Li
D. D. C. D. El D ºn tº D tº D tº #F
º t
*::::: *:::::::
II Dº II ºf
|- ſº tº El
E. D. C. ºf Arſen IP
El J J tº Hall. m"


346
&
No. 22.
Mr. H. P. Baldwin to Mr. Blount.
HoNodulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, April 25, 1893.
Col. J. H. BLOUNT,
American Commissioner.
MY DEAR SIR: As you remember I had all appointment to meet you
last Saturday morning for an interview as a delegate from a branch
annexation organization on the island of Kauai. I found it impossi-
ble to come to Honolulu last Saturday, hence I failed to keep my
engagement.
I called to see you Monday this week, but your secretary told me
you were out, and I have since been told by the secretary of the Hon-
olulu Annexation Club, Mr. Jones, that you will have no time for inter-
views till after the mailieaves Wednesday.
As I return to Kauai to-morrow, and will therefore have no opportu-
nity of meeting you, I will give you briefly in writing the views as I
understand them of that portion of the people of Kauai who favor
annexation.
The two branches of the Annexation Club formed on Kauai are com-
posed of all classes and include plantation men, ranchmen, tradesmen,
mechanics, and ordinary workmen. Most of those who represent the
property of the island are in favor of annexation and have joined the
organization.
When the delegates from Kauai had a short interview with you last
week I informed you that the Annexation Club from my side of the
island passed a resolution favoring annexation providing Asiatic labor,
which is considered almost indispensable for our plantations, should not
be prohibited by the United States Góvernment. Last week the organi-
zation, taking a broader view of the question, rescinded the former vote
and passed an unconditional resolution in favor of annexation, trusting
that in case annexation should take place the United States Govern-
ment would take into careful consideration our labor requirements.
The natives of the country furnish a very inadequate portion of the
labor required for the numerous operations of the country. We are
therefore obliged to draw on other countries for our labor supply. In
this tropical country white men can not work in our cane fields. We
have found that Asiatics are the most suitable and economical laborers
for our work, such as Japanese and Chinese. These are introduced
every year to take the places of those who leave, as very few of them
make this country a permanent home.
You can readily understand why the labor question is a very impor-
tant one to us and that any political change that may cut us off from
the labor supply we have heretofore enjoyed may work serious injury
to our sugar industry.
The belief that the United States would not allow Asiatics to come
into the country has prevented some of the planters on Kauai from
joining our annexation organization. The majority of those who have
joined the organization have done so after careful consideration and
because it is their firm conviction that the country can no longer main-
tain a good and stable independent government. Numerous reasons
may be given for this, but I will state only a few of the more promi-
Inent.
(I) The unfitness of a majority of the voters for representatives in
this country to have the franchise and use it for upright and pro-
gressive government.
(2) A growing jealousy among the natives of foreigners, who, they
feel, are acquiring the property and business of the country.
(3) The diversified foreign population of the country, who come from
all parts of the world. This population consists of all classes of men
who come here for different purposes, a great many to make what they
can out of the country and then leave. They compose a mixed pop-
ulation that can not and will not work together for good, honest and
substantial government-
The history of our Government during the past few years must con-
vince anyone who will give it a careful study that the late Hawaiian
monarchs, who were really less competent to manage the affairs of state
than former Kings were, are totally unfit and incompetent to guide the
affairs of the nation at this time of progress and prosperity; also, that

347
*
corruption has been on the increase amongst Government officials and
in the Legislature.
It is our belief that should this Government continue as an independ-
ent government, revolution and conspiracy, which has overturned and
disturbed the affairs of government so often during the past six years,
will increase in the future and result inevitably in anarchy.
I would add, for myself personally, that I was born in this country
and have lived here all my life. I have acquired considerable prop-
erty and represent plantations that have this year an output of about
23,000 tons of sugar. This is my home, and }. to make it the
home of my children if we can live under good government. I have
not favored annexation till this last revolutionary act of the Queen.
I share in the solicitude expressed by many of the planters relative
to the labor question and would be glad to have our Government con-
tinue independent if possible, but good government is of the first and
greatest importance to this as it is to all countries, and it is the ...;
for reasons given above, that we can not maintain good governmen
without the protection of a more powerful nation that has led me to
join the annexationists.
I remain, yours, very truly,
H. P. BALDw1N,
Lelegate Kauai Annea'ation Club.
No. 23.
Mr. Theo. C. Porter to Mr. Blount.
DEPARTMENT of FINANCE,
Honolulu, May 11, 1893.
Hon. J. H. BLount,
Special Commissioner of the United States of America:
SIR: In accordance with my communication of the 12th ultimo,
I have caused to be prepared the following inclosures, viz:
No. 1.-Tabulated statement of taxes paid by different nationalities.
No. 2–Tabulated statement of acreage owned by different nation-
alities on which taxes are paid.
No. 3.-Statement showing acreage and quality of Government lands
and where situated.
No. 4.—Statement showing acreage and quality of Crown lands and
where situated.
No. 5-Statement showing acreage and quality of Bishop estate and
and where situated.
No. 6.-Statement showing acreage and quality of Crown lands,
Where situated, and available for lease or homestead.
No. 7-Table showing a summary by nationality of the Government
pay rolls, etc.
As I understand it, this will supply the desired information. It is
not claimed that these tables and statements are absolutely perfect;
such statistics never are and never can be, but they are as accurate as
it is possible at this time and under the circumstances to make them.
They include everything except the few delinquents, and the public
lands—Government and Crown. The persons classed as “natives” are
supposed to be of pure aboriginal birth and descent.
nder the head of “Half Castes” are included all who have any
proportion of native blood, however small. Many of these are only a
quarter native, some an eighth or less. The acreage of the Bishop
estate, amounting to about 420,000 acres, is included in the “Half Caste”
column. If this estate were entirely eliminated from the calculation
that class of our population would own only 7.78 percent of the totai
taxable acreage instead of 28.67 per cent, as appears in the table. ,
The large lands and very valuable buildings and improvements known
as the Kamehameha School on the Bishop estate is free from taxation,
and materially affects the taxes in the “Half Caste” column. The
Bishop estate, together with the Government and Crown lands, amount
to 2,000,000 acres, or about one-half of the entire area of the country.
In short, these tables show that the pure Hawaiian pays $1.01 in
$739 of the taxes, owns 1 in every 7.02 acres of the taxable land, and
holds two-thirds of the offices and positions under the Government.
348
laborers
the mec
In connection with the above, the following data compiled from the
last census may be of interest:
The pure “Hawaiians and Half Castes” together constitute 45.01 per
cent of the entire population, furnish 30.98 per cent of the males over
15 years of age, 70.18 per cent of the voters, 9.30 per cent of the
13.25 per cent of the merchants and traders, 35.55 per cent of
hanics, 48.37 per cent of the drivers and teamsters, 74.57 per
cent of the seamen, and 82.40 per cent of the fishermen. The 13.25 per
cent appearing under the head of merchants and traders are fishmon-
#. fruit-venders, and the like. Such a thing as a merchant in the
arger sense of the word can not be found among the pure natives.
Should there be any other information desired of this department or
any of its bureaus, I shall at any and all times be pleased to give it to
you.
I remain, with much respect, your obedient servant,
THEo. C. PoETER,
Minister of Finance.
*
No. 1.--Table showing the amount of taxes paid by various nationalities in the Hawaiian
Islands, compiled from the reports of the tax assessors and collectors of the four divi-
sions into which the islands are divided, for the annual period of 1891–92.
Taxa- Half. Other
tion di- Islands. Natives. castes. Chinese. nation- Total.
vision. alities.
1 2.78. $220,877.97
2 640, 91, 518.68
8 138,886.08
4. *9, TT,816.50
528,094.28
Percentages of taxes.
Americans and Europ lº- *-*-*-- *-*.*.*.*.*.*.*.* – º – ~ *-*— 3. *~~~ 4- 51.98
TNativen + 13.52
Half-castes -*— - - --~ *- y- 4-# 5. 10
Chinama -º- —º- 10.63
Japanese %—º- ~ *- * - - - - - - -** – “… -- ~~~~~~3-...* - -- ~~ re. 12.75
-º-º: *-*-*—k * —º 3*-*—º---- ~~ à. -sk • 12
lſ)0.00
The above tax includes poll and school taxes.
HoNolora, May 10, 1893.
dºº
THEo. C. Port ER,
JMinister of Finance.
No. 2.-Table showing the acreage on which taxes have been paid by various nationalities
in the Hatraiian Islands, :*:::::
the four divisions into which i
*—-a- .*
— —
*—-º-º-
Jrom the reports of the tax assessors and collectors of
islands are divided, for the annual period of 1891-'92.
~~~
i
Other
Tarra- lAmericans § Half. | |
tion di- Islands. and Euro-Natives. I jºl Chinese. Fapanese: nation- Total.
vision. peams. —º. | —5. t « alities.
1 Oahu------------. in, issl ºral wººl soul w! Nonº. 1 ºn is:
& : *:: Lanai, and 22, iiş zººlo # 75,523 wº,78s None None. easts.
olokai.
* Hºº::.......] ºw.asal lºsi ºn, wel , sul None. None. I loosse
*: Ranai and Niihau. 168,825 30, 191 4,072 -8 i None. l None. 4 203,096
* Total.-------| 1,052,492 257,457 | 681, * 12,824 * None. 1, 854,018
*Mestly leased.
Percentages of acreage.
Americans and El 3. 56,77
Natives - 18.80
Half-castes re--a *~~ *-*— 28.67
Chinese & . , 66
Japanese *—s.” “At- &Ol
I00.00
Honoroka, May 30, 1898.
THEO. C. Porter,
Minister of Finance.

349
No. 3.-Summary of the Government lands for 1893.
Island. IDistrict.
Total
Kauai
Total Government lands
REMARKs.—The total area of the Government land at this date, estimated in
round numbers, is 828,370 acres. The total value, independent of buildings, etc.,
was estimated in 1830 to be about $2,128,850. The annual income at that time by-
leases, etc., was $67,636. Of this income $19,500 was from wharfage, and $7,800
from the rent of land with buildings thereon.
The Government lands at the above date were classified to quality as follows:
iºcreºle
Cane and arable land s sº sº see eit * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 35, 150
Forest land #
Grazing land of fair quality------- * * * * * * * * > * > * * *-* * * * - © tº e º e º sº me tº º ºst- tº cºe-- - - 367, 270
§.; land, barren and of little value --------------------------------- 213,800
•es • * * * * * * tº e e ºwe e ºsae erº e º e s - ºre sess ee e s e º sºw e º sº see s is e s m e e s a see e. e. e. 204,670
tu C inaecessible mountain tracts. tº -º º ºs º º ºs º ºr tº e º ſº tº º ºs e º 'º e º ºse º ºs e º 'º e º 'º - sº e 40,000
Ol h-ponds..... * * * * * * * * is see sees e e s e e s = e is s = * * * * * * * * * * *s as sees • ***** eas e 780
Valuable building 1ots •e e º e s ºs e º a sa, * a - a a aº. sº ...--A 130
Total estimated in 1890---- tºº sº detº ºse tº ete & 861, 800
A considerable portion of the land-classed above as-“ º: land” might also be
}. certain products, while much of the “forest land” is of the
finest quality as º soil and climate, but is at a higher elevation than land now
generally cultivated.
By an act passed in 1890, nine unassigned lands, which had been claimed X the
rnment under a ruling by the supreme court in a parallel case, were tran d
to the commissioners of Crown lands. These had been included among the Govern-
ment lands in the estimate of 1890.

350
No. 4.—Summary for the Crown lands for 1893.
Islands. Districts.
Total for Hawaii
Total for
Rauai
Total area of Crown lands
E. and O. E.
W. D. ALExANDER,
o Surveyor-General.
No. 5.-Summary of the lands of the estate of Bernice Pawahi Bishop.”
Islands. Districts. Areas.
Alores.
IBIawaii k Hilo - 5,848
* ºr º we - a is a 8,014
º IKohala • *- - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
North Kona -----------..... 153,290
South Kona ------------.w. " 82,478
º, • • **** *** ******* **** ***} 78, 874
|Fune wºwe & e º 'º - ºn as as a 4 seeisse a wº nº 6,790
Total for Hawaii * →-- *.x -º-º-º: *~~~~~ 288,289
Total for Maui 6,434
Total for Molokai - l 52,722
Total for Oahu —A- t 4– 60,748
Total for anal * 2- ** r *** r * -ºr w - - ºr w r Priºr *... …a ; 4,686
Graná total t —s- - - - - -i. 412,829
Aa #: → ~e
—
*Mr. Alexander now estimates the Bishop estate at 420,000 acres.--F.C. P.
The annual rents of the estate at the present time amount to about $50,000, and
are increasing.
E. and O. E.
W. D. ALExANDER,
Surveyor-General.
4-
i-
No. 6.-Crown lands available for lease, sale, or homestead.
*— i-
Island. I)istrict. Name of tract. H Area. Remarks.
IHawaii Ron Pu (about) tºº, V. d dry º
* * * **** tº * tºº tºº & sº TwºMºwrºº & ** º roc tººl lºſºe
** #." (about) ----. 1, ; #: §: &- g
Fºº......... I gº io,
• ******** **** - d -l 867 : Do,
Puna º: l *; Good *:::::::::: land.
aiako 6a-- - - - - - ---, -} Rock tººl grasin -
Kaimu (about).-------| 2,000 §: §
Hamakua.....}.Waimann (about)..... 5,000 Leap Valley.
Oahu ----------| Koolau .#: }.----------| 1,200 |Kai-Land.
Ewa ----------| Pouhala 43 Do.
Molokai Malapue (about)......] i,200 || Rocky and dry grasing.
Total 94,169
$ THEo, C. Port ER,
HoNorulu, May 6, 1893. Minister of Finance.

351
No. 7.-Monthly pay roll of the Provisional Government—summary by nationality.
Per cent
No. Nationality. Amount. I in num-
ber.
459 Hawaiians ...] $18,681.00 52.84
205 || Americans (including 77 school teachers) 18,867. 49 23.88
110 || British (including 37 school teachers) Æ 9, 148.74 12.54
19 Germans .1 1,871.38 2.17
27 | Portuguese 5 º 866, 63 3.08
18 || Scandinavians 687. 92 1.48
15 l Japanese -Ha- 762. 60 1.71
7 | Chinese ... if 426.00 , -89
8 || South Sea I 145.00 .84
1 || M. 60.00 . 11
1 | Russian 50.00 • 11
17 | Unclassifi 631.66 1.94
877 *Tntal 51,148.87 100.00
NotE.—The above is the monthly *:::::::: of the entire civil service, except the salaries of the cabinet
*ministers and the Hºſ of the police. © *º. for the pay of the police is at therate of nearly
£6,760 p. month, and the members of the force are nearly all native Hawaiians. Should they be
added to the above statement the Hawaiians will be found to hold at least two-thirds of the salaried
tions under the Government. . Should day-laborers be taken into account, the percentage of
awaiians in the Government employ would be still further increased.
THEO. C. PoETER,
Minister of Finance.
HoNolulu, May 2, 1893,
No. 24.
Mr. J. W. Jones to Mr. Blount.
HEADQUARTERS ANNExATION CLUB,
Honolulu, H. I., May 15, 1893.
Col. J. H. Blount, United States Commissioner, etc.:
DEAR SIR: Agreeably to your request, please find herein statement
of annexation clubs on the various islands, with number of names on
... rolls of each island, and total.
I would state that there are 13 rolls still in circulation on this island,
estimated to contain about 250 names. We are also informed that there
3.T0 * rolls on the other islands, which will be sent us as fast as
turned in.
of names Oil Maui * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * wees
of In ºne& OD Oahu • * * * * * * * * * * • ee tº e º e s see tº e º e º sº es use ee e i s - e s = e s s tº gº tºº use 2, 572
of names on Hawaii * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~~~~~~~~ - 922
of In ºne& Ol Kauai.----------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 531
*
Total.----. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 4, 579
Hawaii annexation clubs.-Hilo, North Kohala, South Kona, Hoo-
kena, Napoopoo, Kapalilua,
Maui annexation club.-Wailuku.
Kauai annexation clubs.-Lehui, Waimea, Kealia.
I would also state that we have lists in the Hamakua District on
Hawaii, the Lahaina, Hana, and Paia districts on Maui, and at
Kalaaº On ...i
ery respectfully
y ºw, J. W. Jones,
Secretary Anneacation Club.
No. 25.
Mr. Hassinger's certificate.
I certify that the [following] tabular statement hereon made is correct,
and is taken from the naturalization records of the interior department.
J. A. HASSINGER,
$. Chief Clerk of Department.
HoNolulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, June 20, 1893. &

352
Oath of citieen or resident.
No. —.]
Hawaiian Islands, Island of —, District of —, ss:
I aged —, a native of -, residing at —, in said district
do solemnly sweat, ; the presence of Almi hty God, that I will support the Fº
visional Government of the Hawaiian i.i. promulgated and proclaimed on the
17th day of January, 1893, not hereby renouncing, but expressly reserving all
allegiance to any foreign eountry now owing by me.
--e.
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this-day of —, A. D. 1898.
*= *
*
No. —.]
HAWAILAN ISLANDs, Island of * District of º, es:
:I, the undersigned dohereby certify that aged —, a
naïve of y residing at —. in said district, has this day taken, flººr, me,
the oath to *. the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, promul-
gated and proclaimed on the 17th day of January, 1893.
*- =e
* -, 1893.
*.
Oath of Government officer.
No. —.]
HAwarLAN Islands, Island of , District of —, sº :
I, -, aged—, a native of residing at-, in said district, do sol-
emnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God that I will ºn port and bear true
allegiance to the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian is ands, and faithfully
perform the duties appertaining to the office or employment of .
Subscribed and sworn to before me this—day of , A. D. 1893.
No. --] g
HAwanan Islands, Island of —, District of , 88 5
I, the undersigned, - do hereby certify that — —, aged —.
a native of ºws: residing at—in said district, has this day taken, *:::: me,
the oath to sup and bear true allegiance to the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands, and faithfully perform the duties appertaining to the office or
employment of —.
- -,
THE HAWAIIAN (INGDOM,
Record of naturalization.
In the department of the interior. In the matter of the naturalization of—,
Be it remembered that on this — day of—, A. D. 18—, — , an
alien; and late a subject or citizen of applied in writing to the minister of
theisterior to be aim tº is eitizen of the Haºjian Kingdom pursuant to the acts
of the Hawaiian Legislature in relation thereto, and it jº. by his said appli-
cation and by other satisfactory proofs that he has resided within the Kingdom for
two years next preceding said application and that he intends to become a permanent
resident of this Kingdom, and that he is not a pauper nor a refugee from the justice
of some other country, and his said application having been approved by the
minister of interior, and the said - having, on the - day of —,
A. D. 18-, taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance º: º before —5
thereforefºo simi, the saidº -, and declare him to be a citizen of the
Hawaiian Kingdom.
—of the Interior.
*.
In re the matter of naturalization of foreigners.
Section 1284 of the civil code requires, “It shall also be necessary to validate the
marriage of native female subjects of these Islands with male foreigners coming
here to reside, that the foreigners have become first duly naturalized by taking this
oath of allegiance.”
This section was repealed by Chapter XXIII of the session laws of 1872. Since
then, but few foreigners have taken the oath of allegiance (other than Asiatics)
except those holding ;Pºintment, under the Government, as required by Chapter
# of the laws of 1874.
353
letters patent of denization.
Nationality. Date.
Apr. 4, 1887
s tº as a tº e º ºf a ºn tº a mesºs tº e s tº usºs is a e
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
& º e º ºs º ºs º-º dº gº
•- - - - - - ----r Mar, 2, 1891
Mar. 15, 1893
May 15, 1893
Kalakaua, by the grace of God, of the Hawaiian Islands King. To all whom these
presents shall come, greeting:
Know ye, that whereas by section number 443 of our civil code the royal preroga-
tive is expressly reserved to us of granting to any alien resident abroad, or tempo-
rarily resident in this Kingdom, letters patent of denization, conferring upon such
alien, without abjuration of allegiance, all the rights, privileges, and immunities of
a citizen, which said letters patent shall render such denizen in sii respects account-
able to the laws of this Kingdom, and impose upon him like fealty to us as if he had
been duly naturalized according to law; and t
Whereas, by petition duly prº sented to us by ——, a native of -, at
present temporarily resident in this Kingdom, the said petitioner solicits of us the
issue to him of such letters patent of denization.
Now, therefore, we, reposing trust and confidence in the said --, and
believing him to be weii affected towards our person and Government, and by virtue
of the royal E. expressly reserved to and reposed in us by law, as above
recited, do, by these letters patent of denization, confer upon the said –
without abjuration of his allegiance, all the rights, privileges, and immunities of a
native Hawaiian subject, and he, the said——, is hereb declared to beinvested
with all such rights, privileges, and immunities as aforesaid, subject, nevertheless,
to an accountability to the laws of this Kingdom, and fealty to our throne in manner
and form similar to that devolving upon naturalized subjects of this Kingdom.
Witness our hand and the great seal of the Hawaiian Kingdom at our palace of
Iolani, this — day of—, A. D. 18–.
By the king:
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Premier.

B—45
354 º
Kalakaua, by the grace of God, of the Hawaiian Islands King, to all to whom these
resents shall come, greeting:
now ye, that by virtue of section 433, Article VIII of Chapter VII of the civil
code as amended by section 1 of Chapter X of the laws of 1887, and by and with the
advice and consent of the cabinet, we do by these letters patent of denization, con-
fer upon , a citizen of the , an alien temporarily resident in this
Kingdom, without abjuration of allegiance, all the rights, privileges, and immunities
of a native subject, nevertheless, in all respects to an accountability to the laws of
this Kingdom and the like fealty to our throne as if he had been duly naturalized.
Witness our hand and the great seal of our Kingdom at our palace of Iolani this
By the King:
—,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Letters patent of denisation.
Liliuokalani, by the grace of God of the Hawaiian Islands Queen, to all whom
these presents shall come, greeting:
Know ye, that by virtue of section 433, Article VIII of Chapter vu of the civil
code, as amended by section 1 of Chapter x, ef the laws of 1887, and by and with
the advice and consent of the cabinet, we do by these letters patent of denization
confer upon , a citizen of , an alien, temporarily resident of this
Kingdom, without abjuration of allegiance, all the rights, jº and immuni-
ties of a native,subject, nevertheless, in all respects to an accountability to the laws
ef this Kingdom, and the like fealty to our throne, as if he had been duly natural-
Witness our hand, and the great seal of our Kingdom, at our palace of Ioland, in
Honolulu, this — 'day of , A. D. 189—, and § the – year of our reign.
By the Queen:
-y-
Minister & Foreign Affairs.
Letters patent of denizatios.
Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God of the Hawaiian Islands Queen, to all te whom
these presents shall ceme, greeting:
Know ye, that by virtue of section 433, Article viii of Chapter vu of the civil
code, as amended by section 1 of Chapter x of the laws of 1887, and by and with
the advice and consent of the eabinet, we do by these letters patent of denization
eonfer upon — , a citizen o , an alien, temporarily resident in this
Kingdom, without abjuration of allegiance, all the rights, privileges, and immuni-
ties of a native, subject, nevertheless, in all respects to an accountability to the
laws of this Ringdom, and the like fealty to our throne, as if he had been duly
naturalized, and to our pleasure.
Witness our hand, and the * seal of our Kingdom, at our palace of Iolani,
º Honolulu, this day of -, A. D. 189—, and in the year of our
{e g
; the Queen:
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
*
Letters patent of denisation.
Sanford B. Dole, President of the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands,
to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: “
Know ye, that by virtue of section 433, Article VIII of Chapter vºr of the civil
code, as amended by section 1 of Chapter x of the laws of 1887, and by and with
the advice and consent of the executive council, I do by these letters patent of
denization confer upon —, an alien, temporarily resident in these islands,
without abjuration of allegienee, all the rights, privileges and immunities of a na-
tive, subject nevertheless in all respects to an º to the laws of the Pre-
visional Government of the Hawaiian Islands, and the like fealty to its Govern-
ment as if he had been duly naturalized.
Witness my hand, and the t seal ef the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands in Honolulu this — day ef—y A. D. 1893.
By the President,.
e * ->
Minister of the Interior.
Appºration for naturalization.
HAwari.AN Isſ. ANDs, -— 18-.
To His Excellency — -, t
Minister of the Interior:
The undersigned, a native of the city of—n district or county of -, state
of -, country —, respectfully represents that he has resided in the Hawaiian
Kingdom for — years next preceding this application; that his present place of
355
residence is —; that it is his intention :.. * º:: *:::::: of§:
Kingdom; that “he is not a pauper nor a refugee from the justice of some o
j. he prays that #. may be allowed to take the oath of naturalization
as provided by law.
e concur,
Missister of Foreign Affairs.
rºofrease.
Attorney General.
Minister of the ºrier.
Approved —, 18–.
Nationality and number of naturalizations for each biennial fiscal period from 4pril 1,
1876, to March 31, 1892.
Two years te March 81-
1878. H. 1880, 1882. 1884.
Country.
23
8
25 35 &
Two years to March 31-
1886. 1888. 1890. 1892,
8 15 22
4. T 8
2 l
Jº No. 26.
Mr. Thos. G. Thrum to Mr. Blount.
BUREAU of CONVEYANCEs,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, June 20, 1893.
His Excellency J. H. BLount,
Envoy Eatraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States:
SIR: I have the honor to hand you herewith the exhibit in detail
summary, and tabular form of the amount and nationality of invested
capital in the sugar industry of these islands, as you desired, compiled
from the last official returns, or later information of owners or agents.
With the limited time at my disposal it has taken longer than was per-
haps anticipated, but it is accurate throughout according to return
and is believed to be full and complete. With a few exceptions, a
ownerships have been verified as to nationality.

- 356
In the lists of nationalities I have purposely made divisions as to
those born here of full or half foreign parentage, rather than that an
opportunity of so valuable a showing—in case it might be required—be
lost sight of by a too general classification.
Several corporation summaries show a larger division of nationalities
than appear in their list of shareholders. This is accounted for by the
necessary proportioning of interested parties where corporations are
stockholders, as in the case of Brewer & Co.'s interests in the Hawaiian
Agricultural Company, Honomu, Onomea and other concerns.
Trusting the same will meet your approval,
I have the honor to remain, yours, very respectfully,
THOS. G. THRUM.
D.—Hawaiian sugar plantations and planting interests, not incorporated.
[Compiled from agent's latest reports.]
Hawaiian-
Estimated Norwe-
American. born British. German.
value. American. gian
$4
O
$40,000
* * * * * is sº gº sº &
§
- - - - - - - º
250,
100,
120
150,
2 X),
* * * * * * * * *
#
Total 3,000,000 415,000 500,000 | 1, 195,000 || 515,000 375,000
* * Portuguese.
E. and O. Ex.
Honolulu, June 20, 1893.
Thos. G. Thrum.
Agents’ reports of estimated value and ownership of unincorporated plantations, situation,
etc., to accompany Table D.
[Compiled June, 1893, for His Excellency J. H. Blount, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-
& tiary of United States.]
Beecroft Fº Kohala, Hawaii. Probable value two,000, owners: Executors Jas. Woods one
half, T. H. Davies one-half; British.
Eleele plantation: Kauai. Estimated value $150,000. Owned equally between Mrs. E. A. McBryde,
*†º and £º: Dreier, German.
Y P, Faye & Co.: Maus, Kauai. Estimated value $50,000. Owners: H. P. Faye and V. Knudsen;
ot"wreºtang. -
Gay § Robinson: Kauai Estimated value of §§ interests $150,000. Ownership; British.
Grºve Farm plantation. Kauai. Estimated vine sº,000, ownerº G. N. and sº wºwilcox, both
Hawaiian-born Americans.
Halawa plantation: Kohala, Hawaii. Estimated value $100,000. Owner: Dr. J. Wight; British.
Hamakua plantatisn: Hawaii. Probable value $120,000. Owners: C. Notley two-thirds, T.H. Davies
one-third; both British.
Hanamaulu plantation: Kauai. Estimated value $150,000. Owners: A. S. and H. H. Wilcox; both
Hawaiian-born Americans.
Hawi Mill and plantation: Kohala, Hawaii. Estimated value $200,000. Owner: R. R. Hind; British.
Huelo plantation: Maui. Estimated value $30,000. Owner: W. R. Watson; British.
Kekaha Sugar Co.: Kauai. Estimated value $300,000. Owners: P. O. and C. Isenberg and F. W.
Glade, Germans, two-thirds, and G. N., A. S., and S.W. Wilcox, Hawaiian-born Americans, one-third.
V. Knudsen: Waimea, Kauai. Estimated value of planting interests, etc., $250,000. Owner, Nor-
veſtºian.
#. Mill Co.: Hamakua, Hawaii. Estimated value $120,000. Owners: J. M. Horner & Sons
(Americans), and T. H. Davies (British), each one-half.
A: ‘plantation; Oahu. Estimated value $75,000. Owners: The Mormon Church of Salt Lake;
intºrican,
J. P. Mendoncat Koolau and Waialua, Oahu. Estimated value of planting, grazing, and stock inter-
ests, $75,000. Owner: Portuguese,
Meyer & se: Kauai. Estimated value, $40 000. Owners: F. W. Meyer and E. Kruse; Germans.
Niulii Mill and Plantation: Kohala, Hawaii. Estimated value, $200,000. Owner: C. F. Hart; British.
. Overend, Hamakua. Hawaii. Estimated value, $30,000. Ownert American.
Pioneer Mill, Lahaina, Maui. Estimated val ,000. Owners: C. F. Horner; American, and
P.Isenberg. German, each one-half interest.
Fºº". Rohala, Hawaii. Estiutated value, tTO,000. Owners: Kynnersley Bros. and R.
ace; tish,
A. H. Smith & Co., Koloa, Kauai. Estimated value of planting interests, $40,000. Owners: A. H. and
*# i. Hawaii; born Americans
&
E ** lantation, Oahu. Estimated value, $200,000. Owner; R. Halstead; British.
e • Jºe
Honolulu, Jnne ſº, 1893.
THos. G. Thrum.

357
..B.-Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments therein and
nationality of stockholders in each. Compiled June, 1893, from latest offiical returns
Jor his excellency J. H. Blount, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States.
Corporations. ºl British.
$750,000 $10,000
w 368, 1,000
1,000,000
240,000
800,000
:
28,000
570,417
67,725
;
.
.
500
599.
200
800,
80
480
§
H
;
:
Total.---------4--. 695 |2,960,280 | 88,900 218 196,200 160,098
* San Francisco corporations; all others Bawaiian.
E. & O. Ex,
- THOS. G. THRUM.
HoNolulu, June 20, 1895.
i
Corporations.
->
ſ
i
|
|
|
i
$57|
;
º
$3,
(0
l,
240.
:
800,
• * * **** *
#
;
s' g º ºs e º 'º we
--~~~~~ 80,
• *** *-* * *
;
250,
2,
:
.
i
#
*
84,
* San Francisco corporations; all others Swedish, 81,500; Danish. 1,000.
* Swedish, $1,000. British-Tahitian.
$ $500 Portuguese-Hawaiian. º


358
B.—Hawaiian sugar plantation orporations, showing amount of investments therein and
nationality of stockholders in each, e” –Continued.
º H º
# || #| | | | |
p : }: * -
ji 23 3: • 2 #:
Corporations. # É: ă #5 : S. #
- º tº § *
# |#" |#| | | | |##| | | #
# | f | | | | | |##| | | | | |
$ Ed Ö Pr: © OPM 94 <! º
£º: Co - - • I e º ºs e = * * 200, ...” - $750,000
#jº: **----Riº 7 6,100 23,500 ºio, *::::
tº. w T -* - - - - w 160,000
Waianae §: (Yan * 101,400 1,000 w 20, 255,000
Waiakea Mill Co r *- 300,000
Waihee Sugar Co ~r ~~ 80 º 200,000
Waikapu Sugar - - ar 250,000
Wailuku Sugar Co......... 1,307|------- 30, 12,992... r 265,000
Waimanalo º Co sº a se tes 15,409 - ºr - tº º 3,7 -4. 180,000
Waimea Sugar Mill..... ...] 70, w 70,000
Total.................[1,238,035, 89,165. 2,058. 88,991. 259,700 34,000$49,500 $3, *50|27,964,290
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation co tions, showing amount 3. investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, with summary of each, being ils to accompany fable
marked B.
[Compiled from last official feturns, or later information, at request of his excellency J. H. Blount.
envoy extraordinary and ister plenipotentiary of the United States. E. and O. Ex., Honolulu,
fº..."; : º: •º
EWA PLANTATION COMPANY, OAHU,
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $750,000, in shares of $100 par value each; 5,750 shares issued.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Walue.
firm 900 *
i
;
i
• ? • * * * * * * * * *
e e º ºs tº e s sº dº º is eas ºn s ºr tº 4 -
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
• * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * us tº &e

359
A.—Hawaiian sugar’fº. corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
EWA PLANTATION COMPANY, OAHU-Continued.
Stockholders.
*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * s
Nationality.
firm
SUMMARY.
Value.
|
5,000
*
:
.
i
57
5,
HAIKU SUGAR COMPANY, MAUI.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock, $500,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stoekholders.
Total
Hawaiian-born American
# x *
x, y,
Nationality.
American
Shares.
251
0
sº
Value.
i
25,
600,
*:::
*:::
British * ~ * * ~ * * * - - - - -
+ - *- : * ~ *-*.
HAKAEAU PLANTATION COMPANY, HAWAII.
[San Francisco corporation; capital stock, $1,000,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
* º —A £-4
*—º- $º
3. —t.
*—k-dº.
*
500,
000
Af +. —r-r
$tockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
il 3. #. *
& Sundry San Francisco stockholders ... American *i.Sº. <º 16,000 $1,000,000
–4– -
BAMAKUA MILL COMPANY, HAWAIIAN.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $240,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Davies, T. H. Tºritish 3- 200 120,000
-Jamion, D. R. An : 1, 900 $ 90,000
Renton, J. R. :---do *** 300 80,000
*** * * *
Total . $. Æ 2,400 240,000
-*.--—-





















360
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
g ality of stockholders in rein, etc.—Continued.
HANA PLANTATION COMPANY, MAUI.
[San Francisco corporation, capital stock $3,000,000, in shares of $100 par value each, 10 per cent
paid up.]
Stockholders. Nationality. islaº. Value.
Sundry San Francisco stockholders ...| American 29,600 [ 0296,000
Bolte. C •] German *4 4,000
Total 50,000 800,000
HAWAIIAN COMMISSION AND SUGAR COMPANY, MAUI,
[San Francisco corporation, capital stock, $10,000,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Sundry San Francisco stockholders ... American 96,658 $9,665,806
Baldwin, H. P.------------------------| Hawaiian-born American. --------------| 8, 162 816, 200
Campbell, T British 130 13,
w Gºn da 100 10, 000
Morrison, H da 50 5,000
Total., -, 100,000 | 10,000,000
suMMARY,
A -- ~~#2--- $9,655,800
Hawaiian-born American A- ...}} * 316, 200
Tºriſhnah --r t Sº... - *- 28,
Total ... 10,000,000.
HAWAIIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANY, HAWAII.
(Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $500,000, in shares of $100 par value eachel
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value-
1,
C., & Co. $11
M
W
i
*** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
25
46
(93
86
79
65
84
46
30
29
29
25
25
}
* * * * * is & E * * * * * * * * *
|
*
500,

361
A.-Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
SUMMARY.
$201,214
207, 560
HEELA AGRICULTURAL COMPANY LIMITED, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $150,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Sharee.
§UMIMARY.
HAWAIIAN SUGAR COMPANY, KAUAI.
[Bawaiian corporation; capital stock, $2,000,000 in 20,000 shares of $100 par value each.}
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
born American 5, 100 } $510,000
3,855 835, 500
1,015 101,500
1,915. 101,500
750 75,000
60,
55,
50,000
50,
40,
30,000
25,000
26, 500
15,
20,
::::::
10,000
;
#
#
#
§
;
i
12
8
18
* ,
8
2
2
:
12 l,
* 2u,
25 2
60 (50.00
10 10.00
10 10.00
5 5.00
2 2.00
20 20.09
5 5.00
18 18.00
5 3,00



. 362
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
HAWAIIAN SUGAR COMPANY, KAUAI–Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality.
Shares.
Value.
i
firm
i
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
f
1,
5
24
10
830
80
58
19
20
50
10
50
25
45
150
20
20
20
10
I0
25
10
10
10
4.
T0
5
l
5
5
50
50
22
20
50
200
5
10
80
100
100
10
2
5
2
10
9
100
6
2
500
000
000
000
400
000
500
106
500
500
5,000
5,000
2,200
2.000
5,000
20,000
600
1,000
3,000
10,000
10,000
1,000
200
500
200
1, (MOO
900
10,000
600
200
, 700
5,000
78 7,800
125 12,500
00 10,000
10,000
5,000
5,000
5,000
4,000
2,500
2,500
1. 500
500
000
000
7
50
l
0,
2,000,
British $570,417
Hawaiian-born British 2. 4– - • * 5,
A -a-taa- + - * 700, 840
Hawaiian-born Ameri i- t- 686, 207
German * -* º r 26,508
Hawaiin-born German f *. 10,000
Hawaiian' - - A. w *- i- $38
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) * * 90
German-Hawaiian thalf-caste) r- 10
Total . i. A---- 3. 2,000,000
HULO SUGAR COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawiian corporation; capital stock, $500,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality, Shares.
Value.
1,500
1,499
1.
3,000
149,900
100
A ****** * %. i--> • 6849, 900
TRºžňah i. —º 150,100
Total £ * º 500,000











363
A.-Hawaiian sugar plantation orations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
HONOKAA SUGAR COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian Corporation; capital stock $200,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
V
alu
©,
Shares.
firm
$1
#
000
i
;
9
;
200,
SUMIMARY.
German----------------- 2 $126, 200
German-Hawaiian (half-caste) -> 800
Bri • As Ł *i. 53,000
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) *--A- r -4 10,000
2-&-- i- - - & -> *... 10,000
*Tºtal $200,000
HONOMU SUGAR COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock, $250,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
Wt
l
Ulº,
C., & Co corporation
$
I
10 1.
2,500 250,
SUMMARY.
$70,756
73,542
79,406
21,800
680
l,000
585
65
2,166
**-
Total * Ł 4. Al- *. 250,000
º
HUTCHINSON SUGAR PLANTATION COMPANY, HAWAII.
[San Francisco corporation; capital stock, $2,500,000, in shares of $50 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
******...* * -- * * * 50,000 || $2,500,000












364
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
KAHUKU PLANTATION COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian Corporation; capital stock, $500,000, in 5,000 shares, of $100 par value.]
stockholders. Nationality. Value.
*:
;
:
;
:
i
see º ºs ºs ºs e ete e tº be is a-e we ºwe ee
i
:
#
º:
.
*
|
12
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
−10
10
10
10
10
10.
10
10
19
10
10.
10
10
5
5
5
5
5
5.
§
5
§
5
5
5
Ö
5
5
8
2
2
i
000
(900
000
000
600
000
009
000
000
900
000
000
O09
000
000
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
500
800
200
200
100
500,000
5,

365
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
SUMMARY.
A $120,000
Hawaiian-born Ameri 59, 969
British 158,000
Hawaiian-born British 9,000
British-Hawaiian (half caste) 25,000
German 49,000
Chineas 30,000
Chinese-Hawaiian (half caste).--------------> 2,500
Portuguese § 3. 17,500
Fºliº (half caste) Jºº. 3-r ~i? 500
Danis * - – - - - * – º – º £- 3 + f- *. 1,000
Hawaii 1- 1, 100
Swedish * 3. t. 1,500
Total 500,000
ROLOA SUGAR COMPANY, KOLOA KAUAI.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock, $200,000, in 200 shares of $1,000 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
200,l
i
SUMMARY.
German $187,000
Hawaiian-born German 1,000
American w 4,000
Hawaiian-born American 8,00th
*Tntal Af zoo, ooo
KILAUEA SUGAR COMPANY, KAUAI.
{Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $300,000 in shares of $1,000 par value.]
s' Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. | Value.
*::::::::: #•, Jr * #. -* 150 || $150,000
#: *ś::::::::::::::::::::::::... §ºan tº sº º ºs º º ºs ºs º ºs º ºr * * * * * * * e º sº tº tº e ::::} 150 150,000
Total º- * 800 800,000
IKIPAHULU SUGAR COMPANY, MAUL
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $80,000 in shares of $100 par value.]
# *— +3.
Hackfeld & Co--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ German frºm --~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4 409 40, 000
Pfluger, J. C. f rian * 400 40,000
Total 800 $80,
&x. ... t ... .º. -*.
000
KOHALA SUGAR COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $480,000, in shares of $500 par value.]
$
;
§
|
|
SUMMARY.
A –2 º *- $802, 000
British s -3 ES *r *g, s 158, 500-
Hawaiian-born American *... 3 -i > y _º 5,000
British-Hawaiian (half caste) r r -: ****s---s--, 8,500
German z- º * : *.i. 6,000
Total $- ry --- º 480,000


366
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
KUKAIAU PLANTATION COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $120,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. | Value.
420
260
260
260
i
#
1,200
LAUPAHOEHOE PLANTATION COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $500,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
,000
T. H. Davis | Tºrºfah e | 5,000 || $500
*—1-—-
LIHUE PLANTATION COMPANY, KAUAI.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock, $700,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
*;
* SUMMARY.
German born $325,000
German, Hawaiian born 25,000
American born !- 125,000
American, Hawaiian born 225,000
700,000
MAKEE SUGAR COMPANY, KEALIA, KAUAI.
*
[Hawaiian Corporation; capital stock, $500,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
4- º #. -
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
Spaldin g Z. S.------------------------| American ------------------------------- 4,915 $491, 500
Blaisdell. W.......-------------------| Hawaiian-born British.----4---------- tº a 80 º
Spalding, Mrs. R. C we was e eru e is a sºsłre's sel American
Total * 5,000 500,000
SUMMARY,
American born $492,000
British, Bawaiian born -4 8,000
Total * * 500,000
OLOWALU SUGAR COMPANY, OLOWALU, MAUI.
[Hawaiian Corporation; capital stock, $150,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
Walne.
886 $38,600
38 8,800
83 8,300
150 15,000
80 8,000
50 5,000
83 8,800
38 8,800
20 2,000
6 600
10 1,000
10 1,000
825 82,500
825 82,500
100
1,500 150,000
$UMIMARY.
German born * •r f *... $48,400
American born & 51,500
British born r & 40, 800
British, Hawaiian born al. 8,300
Chinese born *- aſſº * 6,000
To
tal
150,
000






















367
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
OOKALA SUGAR COMPANY, H.A.MAKUA, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock, $200,000, in 2,000 shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
400 || $40,000
29,500
28,000
24,000
20,000
8,500
7,000
T,000
9,000
5,000
4,500
8,500
2,500
2,500
2,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
200,000
SUMMARY.
Total & 200,000
ONOMEA SUGAR COMPANY, HILO, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $500,000 in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value,
Brewer & Co., C -----------------------| Hawaiian corporati wr 2,500 $250,000
.Atherton, J. B. A * ***** 4. 1,250 125,000
Casties. N...... do --------------------------------- 838 83, 300
g P------- * a tº gº tº e º sº tº & sº s e º Bawaiian-born American.......... tº e º 'º is 417 41, 700
*==
Total.--, º -g | 5,000 500,000
SUMMARY.
PAAUHAU PLANTATION COMPANY, HAMAKUA, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $1,000,000, in shares of $100, par value.]
Stockholders. | Nationality. Shares. Value.
Spreckels, Claus ----------------------| American 5,000 $500,000
Irwin, W. G. Trif:{ah : 4,999 || 499,900
Giffard, W. M. ºn º l 100
*Total * 10,000 | 1,000,000
SUMMARY.
American--, * lſ. $500,000
British {- 1. 499,900
TMn 3. ; * ~ * * 100
Total *. X. • 1,000,000







368
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing armount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.-Continued.
PACIFIC SUGAR MILL COMPANY, H.A.MAKUA, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $300,000, in shares of $100, par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
. A firm
º:
SUMMLARY.
American born w $82,600
British born 118,300
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) & 6,200
German born * 91, 900,
Total * 800,000.
PAIA PLANTATION COMPANY, MAUI.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $750,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders." Nationality. Shares.
V
alue
S.
#i
262
§
i
:
4.
1.
0.
8
4
6
43
46
18
2
6
42
10
:
7
268
18
33
12
400
2.5
}
º
10,
l
;
l
4,













369
A.-Hawaiian sugar plantation corparations, okowing amount ºf investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
PAIA PLANTATION COMPANY, MAUL–Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality.
SUMMARY,
=s*
Total twº- * * * * * * ...... 750,000-
PAUKAA SUGAR COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $170,000, in shares of $10, par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
American
4,
2,
º
**** **** * * *
Q10
0,000
SUMMARY.
American —r 3. i. $31,786
Hawaiian-born American *- 50,828
British $. *-- - -k- --&- --~~~< 1,060
Hawaiian-born British #. 109
German z- —r-y— -º-º: º —w--s rººrg 3. 3. * * 3-ºxº **** #-k t- $* 8
*::::::::iº 1.%
e *It lºw &
British-Hawaiian (half caste). …--> --> º-º-º-º-º-º-º: 103
British-Tahitian (half easte).-------------~~~~~~~ sº- xi. 3- 50.
Total ----4----- * - ~~ * ~3 84, 990
PEEPEEKEO SUGAR COMPANY, FIAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock, $750,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders.
Nationality. Shares. Value.
£50 $25,000
2,500
5,000.
12, 906.
8,000
2,000
8,000-
4,000
7,000
,000-
750,
000,























370
.A.-Hawaiian sugar plantation corporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
/
SUMMARY.
British r $580,000
A ---f º- 15,000
Hawaiian-born Ameri 5,000
Chinese...., § 200,000
*m.
Total ~! * 750,000
PRINCEVILLE PLANTATION COMPANY, HANALEI, KAUAI.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $240,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
of)
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SUMIMARY.
American - -* *. , 9154,868
Hawaiian-born American * * •º- 5,825
IBritish ‘. A------ 63,932
ſafe - - - - - 4 … k- *. 16,072
* ºr r tº 'a. T- 233
German-Hawaiian (half caste) ...}. 7
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) --- *...* 4.i. 63
****
Total º .k. ~ 1 - - 4 x **- - -n - is +. 240,000
UNION MILL COMPANY, KOHALA, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian •wºul- capital stock $160,000, in shares of $1,000 par value.]
Stockholders. , Nationality. Shares.
45
25
20
20
80
5
5
5
5
160
SUMMARY.
1&nitiah -. …}. $150,000
Hawaiian-born Iºritish. ~2 . 5,000
JBritish-Bawaiian (half-caste) f * * 5,000
Total -1 160,000
RECIPROCITY SUGAR COMPANY, MAUL.
IRawaiian corporation. Capital stock $214,800, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Value.
e $41,700
W. BI 240 #. 000
16, 400
15,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
10,000
#. 800
i



371
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation cºrporations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
RECIPROCITY SUGAR COMPANY, MAUL–Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
10 $1,000
10 1,000
10 1,000
8 800,
8 800
6 600
5 500
8 200,
8 800
8 300
8 300
2 200
2 200
l 100
l 100
1 100
•- - - - - - - -4. 2,143 214,800.
SUMMARY,
A ---Bae- —# $7,200
Hawaiian-born Americans -w r \ 116, 200
American Hawaiian (half-castes) * r- 43,700
British --------------------- * * ā- 6,000
Hawaiian-born British A * $– 1, 100
British-Hawaiian (half castes). § – ... : F * ---
Hawaiian-...-- * - – i. }- —s 6, 100
Chinese. ... ---. ×i- *. r *...... 23,800
Chinese-Hawaiian (half-castes) —1 r 10,000
German ... } 2: .# te 100
Total * -- . 214,800
º
...~ WAIANAE SUGAR COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $255,'00, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. ; Value.
American
• * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * *
500
$50,000,
4,500
700,
15,000
7,
3, 7
;
700.
700
12 1,200.
10 1,000
12 1,200,
7 700
8 300.
5 500
90 9,000
80 8,000
205 20, 590,
414 41, 400
57 5,700
730 73,000
$110 11,000
25 2,500
§ 500.
8 300,
2 200
2 200.
550
2,
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SUMMARY.
Total * ...i 3. f & tº 255,000,
WAIKAPU SUGAR COMPANY, MAUI.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $250,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholaers. Nationality. Shares. Value
$123,000
125,000
1,000
1,000
250,000






























372
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation ations, showing amoust of investments and nation-
ality ºf stockholders therein, ste-Continúed.
SUMMARY.
Ameri * * $123
#;" £. … } * *— ;:
Hawaiian-born British * * - - -aº - - - - –3 * * *** * * * * * *** * 125,000
Total ... *- 250,000
WAIHEk SUGAR COMPAMY, 1ſt Atif.
IHawaiian corporation, capital stock $200,000 in shares of $1,000 par valne each.)
Stockholders. Nationality.
Shares. Value.
& Co
$5
i
SUMMARY.
*::::
* “à
99
Total *%. is...} a & it jº’ ºf * * ~ * £- 200,000
WAIAKEA MILL COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $300,000 in shares of $100 par value each.]
§tockholders. Nationality.
WATMAN Af.4, SCGAR COMPANY, OAHU.
(Hawaiian cerperation; capital stock, ®fºe,000, he shares of $100, par value, each.)
Value.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
(half :
*:
#
• * * * * •-º-º- *** * * * * * *we e
i
;
000
















378
A.—Hawaiian sugar plantation ations, showing amount of investments and nation-
ality of stockholders therein, etc.—Continued.
ŠâMMARY.
i
wAIMEA SUGAz MILL, RAGAI.
(Hawaiian corpºratioh, cipital stock ºrd,000 ih ſhares offitº pal value each.j
stockholder. Natiohality. Šhares. | Walue.
H. W. Smidt German 706 }. $76,063
WAILUKU SUGAR COMPANY, MtAtſf.
(Hawaiian corporation, capital stock $265,000 in shares of ºltops value each.]
(limited)
2,
#
SUMMARY.
DUTIES.
I)EPARTMENT or FINANCE, Honolalu, June 19, 1893.
The duties collected at the custom-house in Honolulu for the past five"years on
goods from all ports, other than American, are as follows:
Years. Spirits, Merchandise
*— * *... Yº *... s. 7 i.
k- *...] §157,958.44 126, 248, 64
& .3 124,478.04 118, 854. 14
\º. 196,678.72 182,573
* – - 3. 4. 2,648.96
3º #- J39,289, 53 95,409.99
Total for five years k 871,048.69 ; 783,761.87
A yearly average of....... ** - - - - - - -3 * * * * * 174,209.74 146,750.26
The yearly average income for five years on spirits being $174,209.74, and the
yearly average income for five years on merchandise $146,750.26, making a total on
all goods of #. which, multiplied by É.º. the number of years that our
bonds have to run, makes a total income from duties alone, on goodé other than
American, of $6.419,200. Our public debt is $3,250,000; five years' interest on this at
$5. ečnt, as specified in bonds, is $975,000; fifteen years' intereston same at 8percent
YººHoº, and aid tº the tº public debt, sºo,000,
which makes a total of $5,687,500, will show that the income ($731,700) from emstoms
duties alone for twenty years (the term of our bonds), taken on above average, will
pay the entire interest on the § debt, together with the debt itself; and ieave
a balance in the Treasury of $731,700.



374
No. 27.
Mr. Alexander to Mr. Damon.
HAwaiian GovePNMENT SURVEY,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, June 24, 1893.
His Excellency S. M. DAMON
Minister of Finance:
SIR: In accordance with your request I have had the areas of all the
Government land sales, alias grants, to June 8, 1893, added up, making
a total of 667,317.4 acres. A recent estimate of the lands at present
held by the government gives a total of 828,000 acres. Adding this
amount to the total area sold, we obtain 1,495,317 acres as the approxi-
mate amount of land held by the Government at the end of the great
division (Mahele) in 1848.
The Crown lands at present are estimated to contain 915,000 acres,
including a few unassigned lands, which were transferred to the Crown
by the Legislature of 1890.
The kuleanas proper or land commission awards to the common
people, including a few lots awarded to foreigners (chiefly in Honolulu),
amount to 28,658.5 acres. º
These were generally either house lots or small pieces of cultivated
land. The number of L. G. awards was 11,309, which included 177
awards made to chiefs or konohikis, whose names are in the Mahele
book. Deductiug these the number of kuleanas was 11,132, averaging
2.57 acres apiece.
My assistants have also added up those konohiki (chiefs') awards,
whose areas were given in the index of land claims amounting to
133,012.6 acres. But these are only a small part of them, as most of
this class of lands were awarded by name without survey.
For example, the Bishop estate alone at present comprises about
420,000 acres. However, adding the kuleanas and the surveyed
awards to chiefs given in the index of land claims together, we obtain
a total of 161,670 acres awarded at that time by survey.
I remain, yours, very respectfully,
W. D. ALEXANDER,
Surveyor-General.
Approximate division of the lands of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1848–1855.
Acres.
Crown lands (as in 1893) • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * 915,000
Government lands (as in 1848). • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * l, 495, 000
Kuleanas tº º 'º dº º tº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - wº º * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 28, 658.5
Bishop estate for manual training schools (as in 1893).------- * * * * * * * * * * 420,
Other chiefs’ lands surveyed before 1855 • e º ºs º is sº is me • * * * * * * * * * e º gº tº dº e s we sº º is sº 133,012.6
Other chiefs' lands not surveyed before 1855 --------------------- ------ 1,018, 829
Grand total s tº * ~ * > * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 4,010,000. 1
Total of chiefs' lands, including Bishop estate............... ... ------ 1,571,341
E. & O. E.
W. D. ALEXANDER.
gºmºmº
Total area of land-commission awards.
KULEANAS.
Hawaii: |Acres.
Hilo * * * * * g. ** s s e a s e a e e s e * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 466, 35
Hamakua.-----.* * * * * * * * *.* tº ſº a tº e º a tº º & * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - - - - - - * ºr º º 2, 542
Kohala ** * * * * *-es e e s a • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * **, *s a ewe, e = *** * * * * * * * *** * * ** * * 2, 129. 16
Kona. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * tº º & Gº * * * e º sº sº a 4- 4 gº º ** * * 2, 119
Kau e sº sº tº e d = e s = * is is * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * e e is a tºº was ºn tº 2, 124. 18
Puna * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *-- * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * ** ***** * * * * • * * * * * 32. 18
Total {\reº of Hawaii Kuleanas.... * * * * * * * * * * * wa, a * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9, 412. 87
Total §ſº of Maui Kuleanas-------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 7, 379. 74
Total § tº of Molokai K ~, • * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * **** 2, 288. 87
Total area of Oahu Kuleanas.-----. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - -------------- 7,311. 17
Total Qºreº of Kauai Kuleanas.... • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * *** * 1, 824. 17
Total &\lſº of Lanai Kuleanas---------... • ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 441. 67
Grand total.--- • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * 28,658.49
375.
*
º
Total area of land-commission awards—Continued.
AHUPUAAS AND ILIS, OR LARGER TRACTS AND SUBDIVISIONS.
Hawaii: Acres.
Hilo - * * * * *e e º we ºre** * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * s dº sº e s tº e º a se e º e ºr e º e º us is us e º ºs 6,620.25
Hamakua e tº sº e º ºs e º 'º tº e º 'º * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 8,248.48
Kohala * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 33
Kona ------------- tº e º 'º e º e º 'º - º tº - ºr ſº tº tº $ tº tº º & tº gº + p & sº ºn tº sº º º e º 'º - * * * * * * * * * * * * 1,261.79
Total for Hawaii---------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 18, 063, 52
e 54, 272
Kauai • * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * e is e s e s is a se e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * y
Molokai * * * * * * * * * tº ſº e sº us tº me • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 10,343.62
Oahu • * * * * * * * * * * * * * **** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * e = * * = e e s = e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * y -
Maui * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *-e ss is e s = e e º ºs e º e º an e º sº e º e s m sº see • * * * * * 17,547.83
Total area of Ahupuaas and Ilis surveyed for the land commission... 133,012.59
E. & O. E.
W. D. ALEXANDER.
Estimate of area included in all Government grants (land sales) to date, June 8, 1893.
Hawaii: Acres. Acres.
Kohala * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * 21,520.95
Hamakua------------ e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 63, 439.41
Hilo • * * * * * * * ** * ** is e s = e s m = •* * * * * * * * tº º e º se e º ºs e tº * * * * * * * tº e - 14 884. 41
Puna --------------------------------------------- ... if, ii.75
Kau ---------------------------------- is tº e º 'º a tº tº º º tº e - • A- e. 215,538.81
Kona -------------, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1 e
388,896.47
Maui:
Lahaina • * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 364. 17
Kaanapali ----- * * * * * * * * * * * tº º tº * * * tº e º 'º e º 'º gº tº º gº tº * * * * * * * * ** 2, 675. 00
Wailu ul- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * g e is e e s a tº ºn tº * * 25,825.51
Hamakua.. tº e º 'º. tº erºs º we tº ºn e - e º - - - - © tº tº tº º * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 18,711.53
Koolau as a te e s a s sº a º a sº, º e s tº dº e º e º e º e s e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2,024.72
Hana • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * tº sº º ſº e - - - - ey 6,216.92
Kipahulu - - - - - tº e º 'º e de * * * * * * * * - - - - tº e º sº dº e & e º is sº tº sº e º 'º e º 'º - - - 1, 540,03
Kau 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - sº de is e º e - e. * * * * * 11, 534.73
Kahikinui * * * * * * * * * e s is e. e. e. e. • * * * * * * * * * is e a e = e s = • * * * * * * * * * 3,596.67
Honuaula * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 15, 100. 84
ula * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 13 054-92
100,644.04
Oahu:
Kona district-------------------------- e tº e º 'º. *rē e º dº s's tº * * 5,549.10
Ewa distric * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** - - - - - - * * * * * * ~ ** --> 7, 401. 31
Waialua district.. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 19, 596. 47
Koolau district • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 12, 321.94
Lallai 7-------------------------- - - - tº a º e ºn e s tº ge * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 735.93
Molokai....--- te e s = e º ºs e º a tº tº dº - º tº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * & º - e º 'º - - - - - e º ºs e s e s as e 55,960.90
Kauai - - - - - a se º- s º gº tº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * e º ºs e e º a • * * * * * * * = e s e = tº sº tº 15, 123.25
Niihua------------------------------------------- * * tº e - tº º - - - - - - e. • **---- 61,088
Grand total * as sº tº * * * * * * * w º ºs º ºx º' tº dº º ºs º ºs ºs * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~ * 667,317.41
The ; estimate of areas is largely increased by the inclusion of several
exceptionally large grants, viz:
JAcres.
Grant 2769 to J. P. Parker in Hamakua * * * * ---------------- tº e º s. sº e us ºn is sº se e s a st 37, 888
Grant 27.91 to C. C. Harris in Kau.----- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *we tº e s = e s is 184, 298
Grant 3343 to C, Spreckels in Wailuku................ --------------------- 24
Grant 3.146 to C. R. Bisho in W. Molokai---- we sº sº. ºº is - e º w w w e º e º e s ºr tº º ºs e s = e, e. y
Grant 2944 to J. M. and . Sinclair in Niihua * @ e º is tº eº tº sº a sº ºn sº a e º sº e º sº tº e ºste e a stºº 61,038
p
Total • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 353,724
A recent estimate of area of present Government lands gave a total, in round num-
bers, of 828,000 acres, which, together with the total amount granted, would give, in
round numbers, 1,495,300 acres as the amount originally held by the Government.
J. F. BROWN.
JUNE 8, 1893.
*ś
No. 28.
JMr. John H. Soper to Mr. Blount.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE VOLUNTEER FORCES OF THE
PROVISIONAL GoverNMENT OF THE HAwari AN ISLANDs,
Honolulu, June 20, 1893.
His Excellency JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
United States Minister:
SIR: I beg to transmit herewith memorandum of arms and ammuni-
tion, as per your request.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
JNo. H. SoPER,
Colonel, Commanding National Guard of Honolulu.
376
Memorandum of arº Gºd gºautºition in * of Provisional Government January 17,
18 Winchester repeating rifles from 4 Springfield rifles, damaged.
C Cooke. | 100 Winchester military rifles yithout
# £evalvers from Castle & Cooke. rear sights, and most of then otherwise
Winghester carbines from E. O. Hall *sº. These guns were diseasded in

Son. e
7 Winchester repeating rifles from E. O. 4 14,950 45–70 cartridges.
& 12040–60 cartridges,
arlin repeating rifles from E. O. 13 Springfield rifles.
all & Son. 96 Winchester ; ri *. but
º, ºo cartridges from E. O. Han ; rear sights and majority
e OUIU, OT TO Oğllº,
*** **s- nom P. o. Han ;rifle.
Q ifles,
; 45-70 cartridges from sundry per- 1 #: º:
7 Remington carbines rim fire.
Ilſº,
6 Springfield rifles from F. Wunden- 12 muskets, muzzle loaders.
berg. † 52 bayonets.
rifles, “private . in the 16 revolvers.
w
hands of forces most o om came sup- || 2 swords.
plied with ammunition. 1 set single sticks.
9 S i. rifles from various parties. 1 set wooden ramrods.
8 Winchester rifle; from J. T. Water-f 10 canister for 8-centimeter guns.
OUIS®, 54 shell for 8-centimeter guns.
1 Winchester rifle from J. Marsden. 1 keg powder.
1 Winchester riflé from H. Juen. 10,340.45-75 cartridges, 500-grain bullet.
1 Winchester rifle from Dr. Whitney. 8,500 45–10 cartridges, 500-grain bullet.
; brass field pieces, 8 centimeters. 4,120.45-70 cartridges, 405-grain bullet.
brass mountain pieces, 7 centimeters. 280 45–90 cartridges, 300-grain bullet
1 Gatling gun. | 640 45–60 cartridges, 300-grain, bullet.
20 cases, 8 centimeters, 120 shells. 360 Remington cartridges.
11 cases, 7 centimeters, 66 shells. 240.45-75 cartridges, 850. bullet.
2 cases, 8 centiumeters, 10 shells. 6,330 (5–75 cartridges, grain bullet.
5 cases, 7 centimeters, 54 shells. 4,600.44–40 cartriges, 217-grain bullet.
21 §. A 1,800 buckshot.
90 Springfield rifles,
No. 29.
Mr. Jaukea to Mr. Blount.
[Private.}

Honolulu, June 21, 1893.
His Excellency J. H. BLount:
DEAR SIR: Referring to our conversation of this morning in regard
to the large excess of the appropriations over the ordinary receipts
passed by the Legislature of 1886, I have the honor to hand you copy
of the minister of finance's report to the Legislature of 1887. In look.
ing over the items which make up the total of $4,567,377 the following
items for permanent public improvements appear:
Addition to waterworks • * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * - - - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * ~~~~ $75,000
Road damages * * * * * * * * * * * s se tº dº º e.e. a s = s. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 275,000
Road Nuuanu Pali * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 75,
Encouragement immigration.----------------------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
New wharves * * * * *.* tº dº º Aº tº º sº sº º is tº º ºs º tº e º 'º ºne sº * *** - - - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Purchase new tug---------- • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Interisland cable. • • *s-s • * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Electric light------------------ * * º vº º ſº • * * * * * * * * s
Com lefion IM&W olice building. • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * *
i
H
g Honol u Harbor *, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Waterworks, Hilo and Molokai..................... • * * * * * * * * * * * ~ * * * * * * * * *
Total.-------------- * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 831,000
To this total $851,000 should also be added.
National debt falling due • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * $267, 900
Interest Oth national debt # tº tº º tº s is a sº e s w = s.s.º. is e are s e s is we as s a e º seis ºwe is a es e s a s a 255
y
Subsidy Oriental Steamship Company **śº dº tºº • * * **** * * * • *** * * * * *-*. ** * * * * * *
Making & grand total of ...... • * * * *** * * * * * * * *** - e = * * * *** * * * * * * * * ~ * 1, 445, 900
This should explain why the appropriations exceeded the ordinary revenue by sugh,
a large amount.
I am afraid that I will not be able to obtain the statement by the staff officers as
requested in time for the mail. Mr. Robertson will explain personally,
*::::::::::: ** **º
377
No. 30.
Mr. J. A. King to Mr. Blount.
DEPARTMENT of THE INTERIOR,
Honolulu, June 22, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your note of to-day's
date asking what number of citizens were naturalized in these islands
between 1860 and 1878, and to say in reply that the records of this
department show the total number of foreigners naturalized between
January 1, 1860, and December 31, 1878, to be 750.
I have the honor to be, your most obedient servant,
. A. KING,
Minister of the Interior.
His Excellency JAMEs H. BLount, *
º ſº Envoy Eatraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary,
07.000?!!!!,
No. 31.
Mr. Robertson to Mr. Blount.
* HoNolulu, June 23, 1893.
His Excellency, JAMEs H. BLOUNT, º
Envoy Eatraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United
States of America.
You R ExcELLENCY: I beg to submit the following statement:
I was on duty at Iolani palace on the:16th day of January last. The
report of the landing of the United States naval forces, created a feel-
ing of surprise and excitement among the officials at Iolani palace.
Standing on the front veranda of the palace building at the time
the United States troops marched past, the scene greatly depressed
me, and the immediate impression conveyed to my mind was that they
had been landed to take possession of these islands.
Later on, and during the evening, I heard the rumor that the reason
for their landing was for the purpose of assisting the revolutionists in
carrying out their scheme for overthrowing the Queen and her Gov-
ernment. Next morning (Tuesday) on seeing the position in which the
troops were quartered, commanding both the palace and the Govern-
ment buildings, I felt assured that such was the case, and that the
troops were landed for the purpose of intimidating the Government
forces and to lend their aid to the revolutionists if it was required.
I have the honor to be, sir, your excelleney's obedient and humble
Servant
-- JAMES W. ROBERTSON
IIer Majesty's Chamberlain.
No. 32.
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations.
[From latest official returns, June, 1898. E. and O. Ex. Thos. G. Thrum.]
*s;
JHawaiian orations other than sugar plantations, showing amount of investments theretº
oorp and nationality of moºlarº.
[Compiled June, 1893, from latest official returns for His #.º. J. H. Blount, Envoy Extraore
*inary and Ministerfienipotentiary of the United states.
Capital
Corporations. º British.
$168,
l
T
y
.
,000
000
,000
000
000
150,000
000
875
000
ſ)00
900
i

378
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations–Continued.
British-
Corporations. º
• * * * * * * * * *
é e s = * * * * * *
|
|
* * tº gº tº gº tº º sº º ſº
tº e º sº tºº &
§
e 62,
Co------- 3
*
3,400
|
i
i
|
i
#
i
8
t
:
i
i
Jº. & O, Ex, THos. G.
Honolulu, June 26, 1893.


379
Bawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
C. BREWER & CO., HONOLULU, OAHU.
*
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $600,000, in shares of *100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
Value.
1,
1.
l,
*
3.
|
{
:
1,
*** **** * * *
SUMMARY,
---,
M. S. GRINBAUM & COMPANY (LIMITED) HONOLULU, 0AHD.,
(Hawaiian •orporation, eapital stock, $300,600, in shares of $100 par value."
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.



380
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations–Continued.
HAWAILAN CARRIAGE MANUFACTURE COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $45,000, h shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
F
Unaccounted for
Total
§UMMARY,
erican ----------. $44,600
Hawaiian-born British 800
* * *- :-) 1– - A - 3a H i- Wi 100
Total ‘. wº- * - 45,000
CLUB STABLES COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU,
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $25,000 in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
SUMMARY.
American.... tº e gº !. $6,800
American-Hawaiian (half-caste) i- ſa. 6,700
JBritish 12,500
Total —a ... 25,000
DAILY BULLETIN PUBLISHING COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiiah corporation. Capital stock $15,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
Shares
à.
O
p
O
re,
º
i
75
7,
SUMMARY.
British $– i- *
Hawai *...* - # - K - K. R. º
Chinaaa
l,
*i-sºtai ºils
















381
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
FASHION STABLE COMPANY (LIMITED), HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $60,000, in shares of $100 par value each.l
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
J.
J
SUMMARY.
tº- 60,000
HAWAIIAN BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY, HoNolulu, oAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $50,000, in shares of $10 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
523
562 5, 620
144 1,440
45 450
225 2,250
148 1,480
54 540
844 8, 440
273 2,790
406 4,060
(99 000
90 900
90 900
Total 5,000 50,000
SUMMARY,
British .......a 3: º3. º * $. Å. $28,670
BIawaiian-born British s * %. 2,790
3. 13,910
Bawaiian-born Ameri 3. –?. * – – º – ~ + i. 4, 180
ºr º $ *- * - - - * 4. * 450
jº *
Total *...— ...?. --...º. ** à 50, 000
E. O. HALI, & SON (LIMITED), OAHU,
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $150,000, in shares of $100 par value each.J.
Stockholders. Nationality.
:
150,
I
Total
1,




















382
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
§UMMARY.
Å -- º y— * $47,700
Hawaiian-born Ameri 65,400
American-Hawaiian (half-caste) 23,
British -----. * * * * 11, 100
Hawaiian born British. i- 800
Chinese-Hawaiian (half-caste) 500
Portuguese-Hawaiian (half-caste) 1,504
Total 150,000
HALEAKALA RANCH COMPANY, MAIU.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $220,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
†.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
Baldwin, H.P..........................; Hawaiian-born American...... tº & tºº e º 'º º is 758 $75,800
Thurston, L. A. & dan * 758 75,800
Brewer, C. & Co. ------------------ * * * * * American firm * & e º º ºs º gº = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * sl 342 34,200
Brewer, W.P.A................ * * * * * * * American 342 34,200
Total * ~ * : * * * * * ~ **.* {. & 2,200 220,000
SUMMARY,
A ----- $68,400
Hawaiian-born Ameri 151,600
Total r 220,000
HOBRON, NEUMAN & CO. (LIMITED), OAHU.
|Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $7,500 in shares of $100 par value each.j
Stockholders. Nationality-r
American
British------------ sº e º 'º e we
American
3
i
Total
7
5
SUMMARY.
Á ~! - W. 4. $3, 800
Hawaiian-born Amerienn * -- º ...} .é , 8,800
American-Hawaiian (half-easte) £. ... - 4. $4. *. $4- 100
Hawaiian-born British § Aſ *— 200
Chinese-Hawaiian ( half-easte)...a...ea ...t > <-- ~ * ~ * § 100
Tatal 4- 7,500
HAMAKUA AND S. KOHALA TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, HAWAILA.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $5,875, in shares of $25 par value each.I
Stockholders. Nationality.
• * * * * * * * * * * is essese
215|
W. SUMMARY,















383
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugarplantations—Continued.
HAWAIIAN FRUIT AND TARO COMPANY, WAILUKU, MAUI.
{Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $30,000, in shares of $20 par value each.]
p
Stockholders. Nationality.
Shares.
Value.
(half-caste)
:
:
10
63
14
68
6
8
5
15
1
5
5
5
1
10
2
5
8
2
I
5
5
12
272
3
300
2
350
60
100
|
SUMMARY.
$
I
o
i
i
—t
Total
80,
000
HAWAIIAN GAZETTE COMPANY (LIMITED), HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $40,000, in shares of $100 par value each.j
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
i
i
40,









384
Hawaiian Corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
HAWAII HOLOMUA PUBLISHING COMPANY. HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $2,000, in shares of $5 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
80
20
20
20
50
25
20
20
40
6
G
4
2
2
2
1
l
20
289
111
400
SUMMARY.
British .... gº tº a l - $350
British-Hawaiian (half-caste y ... 250
Hawaiian-born British s ** :
German-Hawaiian, (half-caste) A. i º, 200 °
Chinese-Hawaiian, (half-caste) ld nº y 2. 100
Total $- *- 1,445
HAWAILAN HARDWARE COMPANY (LIMITED), HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $75,000, in shares of $100 par value each.)
Stockholders. 1Nationality. Shares. I Value.
James $12,500
t
;
1,
i
l
7
50
7
5,
SUMMARY,
#: Ha isiºn bern *- - - - - -d *:::
W * 'a. *_* * * *-*.*.* > * – iº.s.º.º it - 2- ºr * * ** * ~ * * º
British — — — — —- 16, 200
#: Hawaiian born h _* f ::::::
11880 - - - - - • * * * * * tº e tº a e s fººt. *.
Chinese-Hawaiian (half-caste) xi- r 10, 500
ſºlarrman - -, + * -* 200
*
Total i. ,.... 75,000
HAWAIIAN RAILROAD COMPANY (LIMITED), MAHUKONA, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $227,500, in shares of $500 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Walue.
I
Wilder, S. G. (estate of)------ ******** * * American 453 $226, 500
Wilder, W. C. L - dan *> l 500
Wright, C. L. Iº --|------do … 1. 500
Total 45.5 227,500




















385
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations–Continued.
RAHULUI RAILROAD COMPANY, MAUI.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $150,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
seek se&s • * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * *
•- - - - - - - - - - - - see R - as see aee
& sº gº e º sº wº
sº e º 'º & sºme &
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. I Walue.
Wilder, S.G. (estate of).-----------....] American 1,125 || $112,500
Wilder, W.C. .... do-----> 355 35,500
wiidºw. & Mrs... da 20 2,000
Total 1. % 4 -º- 3. … - %. fºº. §.3%. 1,500 150,000
INTER-ISLAND STEAMSHIP COMPANY, OARU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $425,000, in shares of $100 par value each;
American 464 $46,400
400 40,000
255 25, 500
236 23,600
233 23,300
217 21,700
201 20, 100
181 18, 100
12,000
405 10, 500
100 10,000
00 10,000
00 10,000
100 10,000
90 9,000
*51 6, 100
6,000
tº,000
5,000
4,600
4,600
A, 200
4,099
4,000
4,000
4,000
500
500
500
800
800
000
000
000
700
500
500
60
60
50
46
46
42
40
40
40
&0
85
35
35
33
88
;
30
27
25
25
25
22
20
20
20
20
* * * * *** * * * * * ****
:
:
:

386
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
INTER-ISLAND STEAMSHIP COMPANY, OAHU-Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
American $200
100
100
100
SUMMARY.
Rºtia * - - -*. k. $78,800
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) *. º 21,400
Bawaiian-born British -* yew. 9,700
American ---------------- * . 95,800
American-Hawaiian (half-caste) r -*. 2,000
Bawaiian-born American 125,800
German A-. * g i- 57,200
Norwegi #– t * %. 9,100
Hawaiian M. ~8- 8,600
*Chinese-Hawaiian (half-caste) *— — — #. 3: * 21,100
Traneh + 1,000
Total -: -à. 425,000
BAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, LIMITED, HONOLULU, OAHU.
(Hawaiian corporation, capital stock, 20,000, in shares of 100 par value each,
*
Stockholders. Nationality. Bhares. Value.
25 $2,500
84 8,400
12 1,200
20 2,000
10 1,000
10 1,000
10 1,000
§ 500
5 509
5 600
5 500
20 2,000
l 100
5 500
4 400,
Total 171 17, 100
Shares not 29 2,900
º
SUMMARY.
A -- ~-8 º $7,400
Hawaiian-born American r j 7, 200
Tritish *. 2,000
&larman ** - i. ..} ſ 3– 500
*=x
Total # - - - 17,100
WILLIAM G. IRWIN & go.
Yºs
tRawaiian corporation. Capital stock $500,000 in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value,
2,115 $211,500
2,115 211,500
200 20,000
100 10,000
* * * * * * * * *-s º is as 100 º
,000
5,000
10,000
10,000
5,000
10 1,000
10 1,000
3,000 500,000.
American * ~ -*-*- *… .8% -----------& *
Hºlº A -- ~-r *—s & 3. *- * - - - -*-* > -ss-
$246,
10,
ritish º w & 242,
Hawaiian-born British *-*- 3. * - - - - * — » - - - - - - -º- -3°. i l,
wºmmºnsº
Total :* --> -----------> .* 500,000
*































387
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
PACIFIC HARDWARE COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $150,000 in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
SUMMARY,
*
A -a-taa- - $147,000
Hawaiian-born American *- 3,
Total *A- F- 150,000
*
HAWAIIAN TRAMWAY AND COMPANY (LIMITED), HONOLULU, OABIU.
[London corporation. Capital stock $325,000, in shares of $25 par value each.)
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. I Walue.
Iondon stockholders ..... ...----------| British 18,000 || $325,000
Dean, not reported in exhibit to interior department. 4.
HUMUULA SHEEP STATION COMPANY, HAWAII.
{Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $100,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. . . Value.
1,000 100,000 :
WAIOBINU AGRICULTURAL AND GRAzING compan Y, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $15,000, in shares of $100 par value.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares.
V
al
ulo
i
SUMMARY,”
* * * - L. L. -- * #. $8,700
Hawaiian-born Ameri * * *-*. 8,400
British + i- * + -1. 500
Bawaiian-born British 2,400
Total t + 15,000




388
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
HILO SODA WORKS COMPANY, HILO, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $5,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders.
Shares.
Walue.
Nationality.
18 $1,800
10 1,000.
2 200
2. 200
$ 300
2. 200
I 100
1, I00
5 500
5. 500
I 100
50 5,000
SUMMARY.
A ---4---- *— $4.000
Hawaiian-born American i. - 500.
British 500.
Total.... -* i– 5,000
HILO AND HAWAII TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, HILO, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; cºpital stock to,900, in shares of $25 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
C, H. $425
• * * * * * * * sº see s = e s sº e º sº e = * * *
*
#
e 50
J. 50%
Total *** * * * * **** * * is is es e e s = e tº 8,900
SUMMARY.












389
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
HONOLULU DAIRY COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $20,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
Shares.
163 $16,800
12 1,200.
5 500
5 500.
5. 500
5 500.
5 500
Total 209 20 000
SUMMARY.
Hawaiian-born British r wr $16,300
British-Hawaiian (half-caste) *** 500
(ſ rman - i l, ;
American-Hawaiian (half-caste) 500
Hawaiian 500
Chinese-Hawaiian (half-caste) 500
Total _* 20,000
HONOLULU IRON WORKS COMPANY, OABU,
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock $20,0000, in shares of $100 par value each.J.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
520 $52,000
520 52,000
260 26,000
200 20,000.
60 6,000
200 20, 000
80 * 8,000
40 4.000
129 12,000
2,000 200,000
SUMMARY.
British --- i- - - - $176,000
A maat-iana ºn - r a--- il- , 000
&arman 2. * wr 12, 000
Total . . Iº. 2. ~ * ~ *- * 200,000
KAULAI TELEPHONE COMPANY, KAUAL
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $14,700, in shares of $10 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
. (estate of)
• * * ~ * * * * * * * * ****s
5
12
5
18
I
100
100
111
*
10
It
I
10
2
1.
#
100
2
H
+
*
1
*
24
25
2?
2.
20
20.
5
§
#16
100
100.
8.

















390
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantatione–Continued.
* RAUAI TELEPHONE COMPANY., KAUAI-continued.
Stockholders. Nationality.
SUMMARY.
*Total --&- ...r... 14,700
ROYAL HAWAIIAN HOTEL COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation, capital stock, $75,000, in shares of $50 par value each.)
Stockholders. gº Nationality.
&
W.
..W.
C
#
SUMMARY,
Hawaiian-born British i. r-r $74,960
British * * * ****** * * 50
Total → r 75,000
ROHALA TELEPHONE COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $7,930, in shares of $10 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
$1
00
#
I00










391
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
IKOHALA TELEPHONE COMPANY. HAWAII-Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality,
G. P. Tullock
SUMMARY.
Total ---. 7,580
MAUI TELEPHONE COMPANY, MAUI.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $10,000, in shares of $10 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. I Value.
F. American
$
;
30
*
$
s = * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * *
0,000
*
Total i. *_ 10,000




392
Bawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
Hawaiian CoNSTRUCTION conſPANY., oahu.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $439,800, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
3. IF
H
Total gº º ºr ºº & ſº tº &º s tº ſº;
SUMMARY.
Total i. .... 223,400
MUTUAL TELEPHONE COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $100,000, in shares of $10 par value each.]
‘Stockholders. TNationality.
Wal
Ulè.
º
*
R.F
C.------
9,
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
20
20
10
10
40
20
5
5
5
998
20
79
20
80
20
20
20
I0
º
5
100
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
10
10
10
10
85
45
10
25
20
20
20
20
10
20
20
§
10
20
800
5



393
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
MUTUAL TELEPHONE COMPANY, OABU-Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality. Value.
Mrs
t
* * * * * * * * * * ***** * * * * * * * * 1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
% - 2.”.
& Co., M *** *** ******** ~ **** ***
K., Mrs
#
#
100
100.
100
#
20
60
5
40
20
20
20
20
20
5
10
10
20
20
036
40
10
20
20
10
20
20
20
20
10
10
10
8
8
20
900
7,
79,000.
SUMMARY.
;#
I
4,
==


394
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantatione–Continued.
OAHU RAILWAY AND LAND COMPANY, HONOLULU, OABU.
[Hawaiian Corporation; capital stock, $700,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
8tockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
8,542 $354,200
118, 400
24, 200
39,000
1,000
2,200
1,000
200
#%
300
1,000
1,000
1,500
100
* * * * * * *** * * * * * * * #:
400
2,100
1,600
sº as s is ºn tº as e s is s a tº s sº s vs. º tº sº e s 2 260
55 5,500
5 500
{ 700
• * * *** * * * * * * * * * *
5 §
5 500
I15 11,500
5 500
25 2,500
105. 10,500
2 200
55 5,500
I'74 17,400
2 200
60 6,000
5 500
5 500
50 5,000
28 2,800
200 20,000
26 2,600
10 1,000
10 1,000
10 1,000
7 706
10 1,000
7. 700
257 25,700
tº sº.s. sº is sº e º is sº e º e 5 500
16 || " 1,609
5 500
200 20,000
SUMMARY.
àmerican * $456,700
Hawaiian-born American ** *... § *~~ * s.v. 62,400
British.--...----... 86, 500
BIawaiian-born British... * jºi 2,600
British Hawaiian (half-caste) 118,909
German 1,200
Hawaiian born German *- * 6,000
Chinese —!-- - - - - - wº- &. 10,700
* #. 5,000
*
*Total * ā- • 700,000
PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock, blº,000 in shares of $25 parvalue each.)
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
$22 $18,050
80 750
20
18
12
20
5
5
4.
4
640
SUMMARY.
Rritish ... gº, * * x - - - -º--- y --~~~~} $18,650
American 4. <& {- *:: * * * * * * * *~ * l,
JHawaiian-born Ameri *…* W. . ." ...t º
ºntal *** **. *: * -č -º 16,000


395
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued.
«
PEOPLE'S ICE AND REFRIGERATING COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation. Capital stock $150,000, in shares of $100 par value each..]
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
$7,800.00
1,200.
2,900.00
890, 00
e - e. Yº - e. e. e. e. e. were e º nº e º 'º e s w is as us as a 100. 00
133.
4,600,
2,000.00
* 700.00
00
is e e s = e = * *
:
º
1
2
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
$,
i
l,
i
.
i
i,
**** **** * * * * * *** ** * * * * * ***
* --.
* - &-
r-
1,
• * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** *
i
i
;
Hawaiian-born Ameri *. * , --> +---- k-4.
IBri * & ºſ- ¥ F. T +
#: *:::::: British ;--- *-i--- *- ***** - 1,067.
glū- aiian (half frºm * i. *—s-k-
German w *** r 4. º i – ~~~ i. 4,000,
iºr. German r -In !---> <l jº---- 1,000.
Portuguese .......
* *
*.….. -----º- - ----------> *----------. * 150,000

396
Hawaiian corporatione other than sugar plantations—Continued.
UNION FEED COMPANY, HoNolulu, oAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $75,000, in shares of $50 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality. . . Value.
W
|
|
$75,
000
SUMMARY.
$1,500
40,000
750
14,850
7,000
... 10,000
H.
400
*
Total —3-, - ** l &: seas---4---- 75,000
WOODLAWN DAIRY AND STOCK COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
1Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $100,000, in shares of $100 parvalue each.]
3. ğ... ... : :º *.*.*. * ... º.º. t-º-º-º:
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
#
TDſſlin h B. F ---------------------- American 3.
jºé *... ºl &n
* * *
.S. . . . ." 992
* - I 8
000
Total $–. * ..ºf & *** * l, 100
000
1– à- £
—r-
WILDER'S STEAMSHIP COMPANY, HONOLULU, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $500,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
C
#
i
2,
228,
j
i
i
i
87
18
127
20
12
40
6
10
20
10
9
20
29
50
25
20
8
5
20
15
55
2
4
16
10
200
250
21
20
250
10
10
10
9
9 º
:
6
ſº
*





397
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantations—Continued,
WILDER'S STEAMSHIP COMPANY., H9NoLULU, OAHU-Continued.
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
80 $3,000
8 800
25 2,500
5 500
10 1,000
5 500
20 2,000
2 200
A 5 500
& 500 50,000
S ------- 22 2,200
20 2,000
4. 400
16 1,600
15 1,500
Total 5,000 500,000
SUMMARY.
$291,600
106,200
#;
23,500
Total .3 * - - - - -º y 500,000
q
• NORTH PACIFIC PHOSPBLATE AND-FERTILIZER COMPANY, OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $100,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Stockholders. Nationality.
American
SUMMARY.
mariran. - ..., Ahe * r $22,500
Hawaiian-born American-s----, ~3 y- 44,500
ritish 17,500
ſº ºt &- .# s's 15, 000
Sweden r 500
Total & as “ sº ****** 100,000
WOODLAWN FRUIT COMPANY (LIMITED), OAHU.
[Hawaiian corporation; capital stock, $30,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]
Shares
Stockholders. Nationality.
# ~.
C. J.
45
5
5
25
40
50
10
5
10
80
25
5
10
10
5
20
800
ſº —º
* -: * - - -4 × $ % i. *- $1,900
Hawaiian-born Ameri * *- &– – i. 2.1– * ---------- * **** 550
Bri ish -** – 3- - - ****** { Å .# * – i. 900.
Hawaiian-born British a...º.º...? * * - Y - * --~~ *- *- - - -º-º-ºxº. 3 -t-...-4- - - -*. * -&- 1,759
Chinaaa-, —w- y - ºr-r
Y sº **** *** *.*.*.*, * ~ *...* r., & º * -ºst ºf . t X: *::::: #. 300
!---
Total 3. a £ 2- * .1 } *** * * * * - --~ 5,400















398
Hawaiian corporations other than sugar plantatione–Continued.
PUULOA SHEEP AND STOCK RANCH COMPANY, HAWAII.
[Hawaiian corporation;-capital stock, $60,000, in shares of $100 par value each.]

*-i- -4-
Stockholders. Nationality. Shares. Value.
Macfalane, G. W------ • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hawaiian-born British * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *> - 600 $60,000.
*~~~~~~~<-
No. 33.
Mr. Carter to Mr. Blount.
HoNolulu, HAWAIIAN ISLANDs, July 6, 1893.
SIR: Regarding elections held in this Kingdom prior to 1887 as to
the proportion of foreign residents other than Asiatics, who were quali-
fied voters for representatives, I may say that I had a personal interest
in two elections prior to 1880, one in Honolulu, island of Oahu, and one
in Wailuka, island of Maui, and was also a candidate for Honolulu, on
two occasions between 1880 and 1887; that I was familiar with the lists.
of voters, and can safely say that less than 30 per cent of the foreign
residents were naturalized.
Very respectfully, yours,
J. O. CARTER.
His Excellency JAMES H. BLou NT,
U. S. Minister Resident, etc.
*
No. 34.
Mr. Jones to Mr. Blount.
HEADQUARTEES ANNExATION CLUB,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, July 9, 1893.
In answer to your communication of May I would say that the
names on our great register to date are 5,500 and that we are advised
of 190-odd on rolls not yet entered, on the other islands.
of those which are enteredivonijestimate that 1,218 are American,
being 90-odd per cent of the total number of Americans on the islands
and 20-odd per cent of those on the club rolls; English 251, being 2é
per cent of those on the islands, and 4 per cent of club rolls.
One thousand and twenty-two Hawaiians, being 11 per cent of those
on islands and 18 per cent of club rolls.
Two thousand two hundred and sixty-one Portuguese, being 73 per
cent of Portuguese on islands and 41 per cent of club rolls.
Sixty-nine Norwegians, being 50 per cent of those on islands and 1
per cent of club rolls.
Three hundred and fifty-one Germans, being 53 per cent of those on
islands and 6 per cent of club rolls.
Others 328, unclassified.
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
. W. Jon Es,
Secretary Annezation Club.
Hon. J. H. BLOUNT,
United States Envoy Eatraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
No. 35.
Mr. Macfarlane to Mr. Blount.
HoNolūI.D, July 13, 1893.
SIR: In obedience to your request I append herewith a list of the
members of the Legislature of 1892, classified under the political parties
fººd in that session of the Legislature, by which you will see
that the
Nationals numbered • * * * * * * * * ****** * * * * * * ~ * -, - ses sº e = i. e. 18.
Reformers numbered.--s ...- • * * * * * * * * *** **** ******* * **** **** *--- ****** - ~~~~ 17
Liberals numbered.... • * * * * * * * * * * * *** ** * * * * * * * * * * * **** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 14
Independents numbered.--- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ---------- ** * * * * * ~~ * * * *
*
Total.---------- ** * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *. 52
399
The above fifty-two members comprising a full legal legislature, viz:
Nobles------------------------------------------------------------------------ 24
-
Re resentatives s = e s = e s tº w tº e º ºs e is a • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 24
- tº -
Ca inet ministers.------------- • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*
Total...... • * ~ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * J-- 52
Of the three “Independents” noted above, two of them, Messrs. Hind
and Dreier, on every important vote joined with the Nationals and
throughout the session were always counted in the ranks of that party,
while Mr. Kauki generally followed in the lead of the Reform party.
At the commencement of the session, then, with this disposition of
the three Independent members, the House then stood:
Nationals------------------------------------------------- *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 20
eform - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18
* wº *
b ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
jºmº
Total • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 52
In organizing the House Mr. J. S. Walker (National) was elected
president by acclamation. The real contest was upon the election of
the secretary—all three parties placing candidates in nomination, as
follows: C. J. McCarthy (National), J. A. Low (Reform), D. L. Ke-
kumano (Liberal). º
On the first ballot 46 votes were cast, of which McCarthy (national)
received 22; Low (reform) received 14; Kekumano (liberal) received 10.
There was no election, a majority being required. On the second
ballot 45 votes were cast, resulting in the election of the national can-
didate upon the following vote: McCarthy (national),23; Low (reform),
20; Kekumano (liberal), 2. §
he nationals likewise succeeded in electing the balance of the officers
of the House, in spite of a fusion of the liberals and reform party.
At no time during the last session of the Legislature could the reform
party carry through any measures without the assistance of either of
the other two parties. A combination was finally effected between the
reform and liberal parties, and an attempt was made to vote out the
Macfarlane-Neumann ministry (national), but they failed to carry the
resolution of want of confidence by one vote.
A. *ond attempt was made shortly thereafter and the ministry was
retired.
The reform party then formed a ministry, but not being acceptable
to the nationals and liberals, the two latter factions combined and in
turn the Wilcox-Robinson cabinet was voted out on the day preceding
the last day of the session.
The Queen appointed a new cabinet on the last day of the session
and then prorogued the Legislature. -
The revolution followed within a couple of days thereafter.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
His Excellency J. H. BLOUNT,
United States Minister Plenipotentiary, etc., Honolulu.
Classification of the members of the Legislature of 1892, with respect to parties.
Nationals. Reform.
i. I. 1. Bipikane.
2. 2. 2. Ashford.
$. 34- 8. Aki.
4. 4. 4. S. K. Pua.
5. 5. 5. R. W., Wilcox,
6. 6. 6. Bush.
7. 7, 7. Nawahi
8. 8. 8. Koahou
9. 9. 9. ha.
10. 10. 10. Nahiun.
T1. 11. 11. White,
12. 12. 12. Kaneatis.
13. 13. 13. Akina.
14. 14. Edwards.
*Independents.-Hind, Dreler, Kauhl.



400 t
No. 36.
Mr. Macfarlane to Mr. Blount.
HoNoLULU, July 13, 1893.
SIR: In answer to your inquiry as to the rate of taxation imposed
upon real and personal property in the Hawaiian Kingdom commenc-
ing from the reign of Kalakaua to the present time, I have the honor
to inform you that the rate of taxation was three-quarters of one per
centum up to 1886, and from that time forward the rate has been 1
per centum on the assessed valuation.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
His Excellency J. H. BLount,
United States Minister, etc.
No. 37.
Mr. Macfarlane to Mr. Blount.
HoNoLULU, July 13, 1893.
SIR: Pursuant to your request, I herewith submit a statement of
monies expended by the Hawaiian Government on account of immi-
gration, which amount has been appropriated by the legislature from
time to time, as hereinbelow mentioned. The amounts so expended
were in aid of our sugar-planters, who were in need of cheap labor for
their plantations.
1864-766 • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * $3, 584.75 1880–782 * * * * * * * * • * * *** * * * * 100, 000, 00
5,000.00
1866–968 • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 9 e 1882–84 • *** * * * * ** * * * * * * * * 473, 050. 86
1868–770 s a s m ess tº it is sº a mººs e º is a s 30, 000, 00 1884-'86 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 327, 257. 81
1870-772 as a e º ºs s is a sº a sº as a “se 15, 000, 00 1886-'88 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 71, 398.90
1872-774 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1888–790 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * , 246.69
1874–776 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 16, 098. 23 1890–92 & is ºn tº ºº ſº º ºs e º sº gº * * * ** 17, 878. 23
1876–978 • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 48,997.61 *-ºs
1878–80 •'• * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 60, 807. 79 Total wºº we dº º is sº tº º ºs tº º 'º tº f $1, 181, 320. 87
The foregoing $1,181,320.87 expended for immigration was for Portu-
guese laborers from the Azores and for Asiatics, and the figures are
. from the departmental reports of the successive biennial
periods.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
E. C. MACFARLANE.
His excellency J. H. BLOUNT,
United States Minister Plenipotentiary, etc.
No. 38.
Lieut. Young to Mr. Blount.
HoNolulu, HAWAILAN ISLANDs, July 16, 1893.
DEAR SIR: During the day of the 17th of January, 1893, at Arion
Hall I was in command of the artillery.
Capt. Wiltse said to me: “I will not allow any fighting in the
city.
Very respectfully yours,
LUCIEN Young,
Lieutenant, U. S. Navy.
Hon. J. H. BLount,
Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands.
No. 39.
Mr. Macfarlane to Mr. Blount.
MY DEAR MR. BLOUNT: I send §§ the copies of the lottery gº
tions duly attested by the clerk of the Legislative Assembly (C. J.
McCarthy), whose certificate Ihave been waiting for all this time. This
is my reason for not sending these lists before.
401

*:::::::::::::: these lists I send you another list showing the names
of those who ar
e connected with the Provisiónal Government, also a
#!...;;..."...º. 9
the signers of the lottery petitions.
Also find affidavit pf Phillips and
ese lists are taken from among
Rooney, who certify to the gen wine-
ness of the signatures., . Mr. Phillips was the president of the Me-
chanics' Union and a noble of the Legislature of 1890. Mr. Rooney has
been for many years a sugar plantation manager.
Very respectfully,
His Excellency J. H. BLOUNT.
E. C. MACFARLANE.
To Hon. J. S. Walker, C. O. Berger, John Ena, Paul Neumann, J. A. Cumminsy
J. N. S. Williams, E. C., Macfarlane, A. P. Peterson, and D. W. Pua, Nobles of
the National Reform Party:
DEAR Surs: We are informed that a measure is now before the Legislature, which,
if it becomes a law, will result in the yearly expenditure of $500,000 within, or for
the benefit of, this country.
We would respectfully call your attention to the fact that we believe this offer
ean not be overlooked or refused. We hereby, as your constituents, earnestly ask
you to favor the proposed bill. We believe, if the bill becomes a law, that it will
solve the distressing financial problem which now confronts the country; we believe
it will restore the national credit; we believe it will prevent any danger of finan-
cial disaster; we believe the passage of the bill will open a new
both national and individual. *
Furthermore, we believe that the condition of the country financially is such that
all questions of sentiment must be set aside and the pro
era of prosperity
relief accepted if we
are to retain our national independence; and a proper development of our resources
can never be accomplished without the assistan
To refuse this proposition is political and commercial suicide, and we hasten to
inform you concerning our feelings on the
tendered.
uestion, and again we urge you to leave
no stone unturned to further the :::::::::::: of this project.
J. J. Williams.
W. H. Charlock, jr.
J. S. Walker, jr.,
H. G. McGrew.
#. * % hel
. J. Fishe
#. Krouse. ‘.
E. Wandoorn.
A. McWayne.
A. F. Medeiros & Co.
J. P. Rodriguez.
Joe S. Alves.
W. Miller.
L. W. Toussaint.
W. Larsen,
J. H. Hunt.
as. Hire.
Theod. H. Boehme.
S. F. Graham.
W. Lucas.
Club Stables Co.,
S. I. Shaw.
J. A. Gonsalves.
Geo. C. Stratemeyer.
J. D. Tregloan.
Chas. M. Keahinui.
Geo. W. Smith.
E. Hammer.
H. F. Lewis.
F. G. Goldsworthy.
J. T. McKeague.
B. A. Juen.
John Schleif.
F. M. Lewis.
J. W. Fernandez.
M. S. Levy.
has. L. Brown.
, R. Stackable.
W. O. Lackland.
W. R. Chilton.
Henry Congdon.
Chas. Hammer.
. Davis.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct º; of the original thereof
now on file in the archives of the legislative assembly of 189
&
CCARTHY
... J. M.
clerk legislatiºs assembly of #89e.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23d day of May, A. D. #. T
... J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
ISEAL.]
To Hon. John S. WAL
* Presiden
SIR: We, the undersi
informed and believe that there is now
#
t of the Legislature: #e
ed, citizens of H
*...*
4 º' -??– i.
t that they are
before your honorable body a bill for the
}. of granting a franchise for the purpose of establishing and maintaining an
ternational lottery for an annual subsidy $500,000 to be paid to the Hawaiian Goy-
ernment for certain purposes therein set forth w
ment and prosperity of this Kingdom.
Feeling certain that unless this measure becomes a law this improvement will
not become an accomplished fact for a great many years, if ever, owing to the finan-
cial depression, and outlook of the country, we earnestly recommend and petition
that the said bill pass and become a law as being a financial measure of necessity,
h
ichtend to the permanent improve-
J. W. MacDonald.
G. J. Cavanaugh.
W. L. Cottrell.
Peter O'Sullivan.
John F. Bowler.
J. J. Sullivan.
B. Ordenstein.
L *::::
* * 68.
W. J. Rºy.
Manual Phillips.
M. N. Kennedy.
Martin Coleman.
S. I. Shaw.
D. W. Roach.
J. Galbraith.
Ritman.
James Monkhouse.
Thomas Rewcastle.
J. Reynolds.
º * Coo Iſs
Joe. Ferreira.
D. McCorriston.
J. P. Bowen,
Robt. Waialeale.
William E. Tirrell,
J. O’Conner.
H. G. Wootten.
B—51
402
W. H. Bromley.
D. Porter Johnson.
Ralph Turner.
Henry Turner.
G. E. Barker.
J. H. Taylor.
P. Hughes.
William McLaren.
William Boyd.
H. McCubbin.
Eugene B. Lee.
A. Paaniani.
J. Kekele.
Ben Johanssan.
Gus Schuman.
J. M. Angus.
Richard Day.
Wm. F. Heilbron.
W. E. Edmondson.
F. Gondie.
J. A. McGuire.
Elias Froomberg.
jeo. W. R. King.
Wm. Love.
#, W. Patterson,
ſames Brown.
. Kea.
J. C. $º:
am. Knula.
t.A. Carlile.
2. C. Row
N. Peterson.
Fred. Harrison.
| 2dw. H. F. Wolter.
Kea.
John H. Elling.
Samuel Kekohoni.
Kalauwald.
Peter Travens.
$
§
John F. Ashworth.
S. B. Champain.
George Ward.
F. H. Redward,
J. S. Andrade.
E. F. Imhof.
J. Silva.
Wallace Jackson.
I hereby certi
Geo. Nichorls.
H. Armitage.
Fred Philp.
Chas. Nelson
Fritz Rowold.
D. H. Kahanamoku.
John C. White.
Thos. Pryce.
John Benito.
Caiu D. Wiliokai.
Geo. Lycurgus.
G. Muller.
Peter Keawe.
Antone Recard.
F. Fisher.
John Burke.
W. Kaluna.
T. A. Simpson.
W. H. Taylor.
Manuel Fruize.
E. R. Ryan.
W. T. McDonald.
W. M. Cunningham.
Querius Fernandez,
Thos. Lindsay.
P. J. Higgins.
W. M. Graham.
C. Klemme.
H. Brack.
Frank Gomes.
Nakea I. D.
W. Bix.
John Palau.
Robt. Gardner.
Thos. C Inter.
H. Kaia.
F. L. Leslie.
C. R. Dement.
Z. L. Doane.
W. Kahele,
Makaiwa.
Chas. Andrew.
Andrew Brown.
Albertus Kaunigiessen.
James Weary.
J. A. McKinzie.
H. D. Roberts.
A. Turner.
Chas. Peter.
C. Klemune.
F. J. Souza.
H. Wagesend.
J. H. Lovejoy.
Arthur White,
• J. Donnelly.
John Graham.
J. T. Sylvey.
John T. Campbell.
Thos. P. McCurthy.
James Fitzgerald.
P. McInerny.
J. T. Downey.
. P. Denison.
C. Fisher.
W. F. Sharratt.
H. T, Devoll.
G. W. Lincoln.
T. W. Matthews.
#ohn Riley.
* cy.
Benj. Whitney.
A. Huggins.
A. Harris.
J. A. Rodanet.
J. F. May.
. H. Buns.
Hugh Galbraith.
B. Bergersen.
W. H. Pond.
J. Sharon.
Thomas Carey.
Chas. Monteno.
J. E. Murty.
Hugh Munro.
William Dean.
A. Sherpard.
J. L. Tolbert.
T. H. Patterson
Edward Bedford Thomas.
G. M. Smyth.
Chas. T. Day.
C. W. Spitz.
O. Tideman.
A. R. Rowat.
W. H. Smith,119 King street.
J. Kahalekauila.
that the foregoing is a true and correct ºrſsº the original
thereof now on file in the archives of the Legislative Assembly o
C. J. McCARTHY,
Clerk Legislative Assembly of 1892.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23d day of May, A. D. 1893.
ISEAL.]
. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
To Hon. J. S. WALKER, º
President of the Legislature:
SIR: We, the undersigned, of Honolulu, respectfully represent that they are
informed and believe that the biiſ now before your honorable body for the purpose
of granting a franchise to establish and maintain a lottery is sound and good and
should not be overlooked or refused.
We, as your º: you to favor the said bill, for we believe if
it becomes a law it will solve the distressing financial problem that is now on this
country.
Aug. Dreier. M. de Avila. Peter O'Sullivan.
L. §. Sperry W. Larsen. Horatio Barber.
H. Gorman. W. A. Hardy, C. K. Flagg.
L. J. Levey, L. M. Toussaint. Harry Armitage.
J. Campbell. John Nieper. J.W. Young.
G. W. Lincolne O. Tollesson. W. H. Aldrich.
K. Podeyn. A. Rosehill. Frank Riedel.
Wm. Wright. F. Rose. C. Allen.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original
thereof º, ‘On #. file in the ...: of the Legislative A.; of 1892.
{SEAL). . C.J. McCARTHY,
Clerk Legislative Assembly of 1892.
Subscribed and sworn to this 23d day of May, A. D. 1898, *:º: T
ſº iº EST
Notary Public First judicial &uit.
403
The Hon. John S. WALKER.
President of the Legislature:
SIR: We, the undersigned merchants of Honolulu, respectfully represent that
they are informed and believe that there is now before your honorable body a bill
for the purpose of granting a franchise for the purpose of establishing and main-
taining an international lottery for an annual subsidy of $500,000 to be paid to the
Hawaiian Government for certain purposes therein set forth, which tend to the per-
manent improvement and prosperity of this Kingdom. -
Feeling certain that unless this measure becomes a law these improvements will
not become an accomplished fact for a great many years, if ever, owing to the finan-
cial depression and outlook of the country, we earnestly recommend and petition
that the said bill pass and become a law, as being a financial uneasure of necessity.
J. F. Clay. E. S. Cunha. M. G. Silva.
J. J. Williams. J. S. Martin. J. W. Fernandez.
E. E. Carey. J. E. Gomes. M. S. Levy.
has. W. Weathermax. T. E. Wall. L. C. Ables.
W. H. Charlock, jr. H. P. Jacobson of Wenner L. T. Kemake.
J. S. Walker, jr. & Co. T, Dyer.
Hart & Co. Geo. C. Stratemeyer. J. C. Cluney.
Chas. J. Fishel. E. A. McInerny. Thos. King.
Thos. Kronse. Club Stable Co. O. C. Johnson.
A. L. Cron. John S. McGrew. J. G. Thompson.
M. N. Sanders. Jas, Steiner. R. Spencer.
A. McWayne. E. Wandoorn. A. W. Howe.
A. F. Medeiros & Co. M. E. Grossman. • Fed. J. Wilkens.
J. P. Rodrigues. W. Miller. Morley Philp.
Joaquim da Silva. J. S. Alves. Geo. #.
Theod. H. Boehme. W. Larsen. , J. M. McChesney.
S. I. Shaw. L. M. Toussaint. . Lose.
J. B. Tregloan. J. H. Hunt. J. W. Leming,
Geo. W. Smith. Jas. Ald. J. Shwenck.
E. Hannuer. S. F. Graham. L. H. Dee.
H. F. Lewis. W. Lucas. Harry Miller.
F. G. Goldsworthy. A. J. Cartwright. F. Wilburton.
Hugh Gunn, Js. Tinker. S. Sachs.
F. 8. W. C. Peacock & Co., per S. E. Pierce.
Chas. L. Brown. C. A. P Henri G. McGrew.
E. R. Stackable. F. J. Kruger. C. E. Williams.
W. O. Lackland. R. French. S. W. Lederer,
W. R. Chilton. Wm. Weight. M. Davis.
Henry Congdon. John Lycurgus. Louis Adler.
Chas. Hannner. Chas. W. Zeigler. Ed. M.Marshall.
Alex. Chisholm. F. Bereke. Geo. Ordway.
F. Wilhelm, W. C. King. W. F. Reynolds.
M. Goldberg. J. A. Gonsalves. L. J. Levey.
W. H. McInerny. D. H. Davis. R. McKibbin.
C. A. Peacock. Chas. M. Keahinui. J. Lazarus,
L. de L. Ward. J. Th. McKeague. Chas. W. E. Dove.
W. S. Luce, H. lleſle J.N. Wright.
F. L. Winter. John Schleif.
I hereby certify that the ...; is a true and correct #2of the original
t tº
thereof now on file in the archives o
[seAL.]
Hon. J. S. WALKER,
e legislative assembly of 1
C. J. McCARTHY,
Clerk Legislative Assembly of 1892,
Subscribed and sworn to this 23d day of May, A. D. 1893, before ºr
sº J. ESTA,
Notary Public First Judicial Circuit.
Tresident of the Legislature:
SIR: We, the undersigned, citizens of Honolulu, repeatfully represent that they
are informed that there is now before your honorable
establishing an international lottery for an annual subsidy of $500,000
ody a bill for the purpose of
. paid.
to the Hawaiian Government for certain purposes therein set forth which tend to
the permanent improvement and prosperity of this Kingdom.
Feeling certain that unless this measure becomes a law these improvements will
not be accomplished for a great many years, if ever, owing to the financial depres-
sion and outlook of the country, we earnestly recommend and petition that the
said bill pass and become a law as being a financial nueasure of necessity.
John Rádin. George Courtney.” James W. Mitchell.
Frank Murphy. Peck. P. C. Justice.
C. Kurtz. E. M. Jones. Aleck Kelco.
Jon Keenedy. J. Dower, jr. T. L. Gagar.
Geo. Cavenagh. C. W. Cross. C. P. J. McGillicuddy-
Frank Lucewiko. W. Hunter, Timothy Madden.
M. Ferreiar. F. J. Turner. William Downer.
Wm. Davies. B. Houghtailing. John Grace.
S. S. Claudines. Ben Tenorio. H. C. Vida.
H. H. Smyth. W. Wilson, esq. E. H. Hart.
Cyrus Edison. H. J. Platts. E. Wery.
John Rice Geo. S. Harris. Harry T. Mills.
Robert Laing. T. Phillips. J. Degreaves.
A. F. Franca. A. McCabe. P. Murphy.
Henry Gregory. J. R. Marmont. H. Adams, P. H. G.
John Johns. E. K. Liikalam.
Thomas Crosby.”
E. M. Alencastre
H. Welch. tre,
404
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct of the original thereof
now on file in the archives of the Legislative Assembly §§
ciº zºa £.
tºº andºwbra \othis 234 diº, ºf May, A.b. 1898, before *.
Is. ë e T
Mouft Pºiſ, nºis.
Hons. J. S. Walker, C. o. bººks, John º
J. N. S. Witºs, E. C. Micºni, A.F.
GENTLEMEN: We Areinformed that a measureſs now
if it becomes a law, will result in the yearly expendi
the benefit of this cou
We would respectfu
can not be overlooked or refused
you to favor the pro
TWe believe if the bill becomes a
problem which how confronts the conn
º
ly c
try
d b
Natiº National Reforº Party:
before the łºś which,
ture of $500,
au your $ttentiºn tº the fact that we believe this ºffer
We hereby, as your constituents, earnestly ask
law that it will solve the distressink financial
; we believe it will restore the national
§#. 3. A. culmiss,
W. PUA,
, within or for

credit; we believe it will prevent any danger of financial disaster; we believe the
passage of the bill will open a new era of pr
Furthermore, we believe that the condition of the country
that all questions of sentiment º: be set aside
if we are to retain our national in
and the º; Yelle
ependence, ahá a proper development of our re-
osperity, both national and individual.
financially, is such
accepted,
sources ean never be Accomplished without the assistance tendered.
To refuse this proposition is political and, commercial suicide, aná we hasten tº
inform you ::::::::::::: feelings on the
no stone unturned to further the accomplis
J. J. Williams. rge Ward.
J. W. MacDonald. ..T. Wright.
J. J. Sullivan. bert Lucas,
John F. Bowler. "... H. Redward.
G. J. Cavanangh. & § ::::::::.
B. Ordenstien. £. . Sherw
W. L. Cottrell. 2. F. Imhof.
T. Honan. . Gandis.
Peter O'Sullivan. . A. McGuire.
L. A. Sykes. Wallace Jackson.
F. H. Cooper, Flia. Thoomberg.
W. J. Ramsay. George Nichorls.
Manuel Phillips. George M. R. King.
D. McCorriston. M. N. Sanders,
M. N. Kennedy. #. Armitage.
J. P. Bowen, illiam Love.
Robt. Waialeale. Fred. Philp.
James Wallace.
William G. Tirrell,
John Clark.
IO, W. Roach.
P. M. Rooney.
J. Lucas.
G. E. Barker.
P. §:
J. Galbraith.
William McLaren.
Geo. Ritman.
William Boyd.
James Monkhouse.
H. McCubbin.
Thomas Rewcastle.
Sugene B. tº
J. tºº.
J. Kekele.
C. #%.
J.M. Angus.
Gus Schuman.
l
tº
3.
gº
"
William F. Heilburn.
S. B. Champain.
W. E. Edmondson.
has. Nelson.
G. We Patterson.
; ames Brown.
eče Kahle.
Frits Rowold.
T. H. Kahanamoku.
Thos. Pryce.
ºf A. ài.
John Benito.
Cain D. Wiliokai.
N. Peterson.
C. Muller.
JEdw. H. F. Wolter.
T. impson.
Chas. An w. .
F. R. Ryan.
Andrew Brown.
W, T. McDonald.
JAlbertus Hannegieser.
W. M. Cunningham.
James Weary.
Querino Fernandez.
J. A. McKinzie.
Thos. Lindsay.
'uestion, and again we urge you to leave
ent of this project.
. D, Roberts.
. J. Higgins.
. M. Graham.
Charles Liter.
J. A. Lovejoy,
W. Dix.
Arthur White.
John Palau,
. F. Gibbs.
. McInerny.
F. L. Leslie.
J.T. Downey.
Fº C. Smith.
£. R. Dement.
gº: e P. pennison.
. L. lxoanº.
§: Fisher.,
. J. Levey.
D. McKinzie.
H.T. Devoll.
A. Brown.
John Riley,
J. D. Marlin.
Hugh Munro.
E. Lacy.
William Dean.
W. H.Smith, 119 King St.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true add correct copy of the original
ereby certify §."; §s; gi
thereof now on file in the archives o
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 2
[ssal.]
e Legislative Assembl
day of May,
D. 1893.
. J. McCARTHY,
Clerk, Legislative gº of 1892,
tº ºf e ST
* Notary Public, First Judicial circuit.
“405
Some of the members of the Annexation Club and/other annexationists who signed the
lottery petitions.

E.C. Crick, §hor *Liberal” Annexa
*ion jour; )
G. W. Lincoln.
W right,
Wiś Čºlice station house clerk,
now deputy sheriff of Hilo, Island of
Hawaii),
John Nieper.
B. Ordenstein.
F. H. Coope
M. N. Kennedy.
J. Lucas.
Henry wright.
Fredrick Freitas.
J. H. Taylor.
John McLain.
P. Hughes.
William McLaren.
Thomas Rewcastle.
§.ºn.
{} Thºulēs
Albert łº.
J. S. Andrade.
J. Sylva.
waiiace Jackson.
Geo. W. R. King oieutenant Provisional
Government army).
J. C. Quinn.
E. C. Rowe.
Danl. Lyons.
Chas. Andrew.
E. R. º;
W. M. Graham,
E. Klemme.
% #ºn. (captain police).
l g
Robº. §ardner,
Geo. P.
# Whitneys
A. Hughins.
J. L. g §ºrt (Provisional Government
army officer).
A. Harris.
B. Bergersen.
O. Tideman.
W. A. Smith (contractor).
H. C. Reid.
L. Busnell.
J. Cushingham.
W. C. Roe,
Wm. Wagener (Provisional Government
&lſº ), :
F. Hºse ſchief engineer Honolulu fire
department)
Jas. Sutherland.
#. Sanders (port surveyor),
P. A. Dias.
M. Davis.
J. H. Nye.
S. Peck.
Carl Willing (Government botanist).
E. Hopkins (Provisional Government
army).
J. M. Ferreira.
J. W. Pratt (asst sely. Annex. Club).
Louis Marks.
J. K. Wilder (brother of Comrs. Wilder).-
Robt. W. Cathcart (bookkeeper of Wil-
der & Co.).
J. W. Sims (employé of Wilder & Co.).
J. D. Marlin º uty marshal).
Geo. W. Smith (Provisional Government
§ Nºt ºf Keº,
Geo. & awe (secy. Red, White and
J. §." (Provisional government
& Tºl *,
§. F. § §y,
à: Carey (former editor Liberal).
as. W. Weatherwax.
W. H. Charlock, jr.,
§: J. Fishel.
. Krouse.
J. ; ºn (tailor provisional §ow-
ernment army).
. Hammer.
Hugh Gunn (captain Provisional Govern-
ment volunteer forces).
'c. Hammer. *
F. Wilhelm º; councillor, resign
on account ill health).
C. A. Peacock.
F. L. Winter.
J. S. Martin (tailor and recruiter for Pro-
visional Government—has contracts for
Tºº *
tº &
Geo. c. strat yer (cust house store-
e keeper).
e A.
cInerny (Provisional Government
army)
$º §: WeGrew (editor of Star and head
of annexation movement).
#. . Cartwright.
2. A. Lundy.
J. H. Hunt (first assistant engineer fire
department).
§, . Graham.
W. Lucas.
J. A. Gonsalves.
D. H. Davis. "e
H. * (captain of police, second
WºtCºl J,
L. C. Ables (member executive commit-
tee Annexation Club).

Hºy avis. º à
T. Kenake (lieutenant, Provisiona
Government volunteer forces and after-
. appointed clerk Honolulu post-
Ce
*Oil Cº.,
A. W. Howe,
F* A. Davis. 3.
Geo. McLeod (paymaster, Provisional
Government army).
J. M. McChesney (partner of F. W. Mc-
Chesney of advisory council).
S. W. Lederer.
Louis Adler.
ãº...h.
60, Ur(IWay,
Capt. J. Čiorenzen {Honolulu harbor
ilot.
wºn §: of detective force Pro-
J *:::: ºvernment).
• Ml. Wrigliº,
Richard Day *Piovisional Government
army). te
C. W. Zeigler (captain Provisional Gov-
ernment volunteer forces).
ur White,
P. M. Lucas.
W. Hickey.
W. H. Lentz. &
W. C. King (Provisional Government
*::::: se
A. D. Bolster,
John P. Coakley.
G. Muller.
H. G. McGrew, M.D. (Government phy-
sician, Honolulu).

J. E. Gomes.
Blue Annex. Club). F. Wilburton.
James W. Mitchell. Harry Miller.
Harry T. Mills. J. C. Clune
And about 40 Portuguese, nearly all of whom are in ti. Provisions Government.
army.
º, appointments noted were made after the Provisional Government $ot into
power.)
406
Sam. F. Housley.
John Neil.
L. Smith.
H. G. Cunha.
E. N. Voeller,
omas Mills.
H. Wicks.
F. Douse.
K. R. G.; Wallace.
James Sutherland.
C. H. Everett.
J. J. Sanders.
L. M. Everett.
H. English.
A. V. Inman.
A. A. Gilfillan.
William Davies.
W. R. Johnson.
Cesar Hoges.
F. J. Scott.
J. Tagus.
T. K. Clarke.
S. Davis.
W. Brede, jr.
C. H. Purdy.
S.A. Green.
º: .
*InºS Gregory,
H. F. º; ry
John Schleif.
J. W. Fernandez.
W. S. Coltrell.
Peter O’Sullivan.
D. McCorriston.
M. N. Kennedy.
W. E. Tirrell.
John Clark.
J. O. Cowen.
H. G. Woolten.
D. W. Roach.
W. D. Bromley.
D. Porter Johnson.
IMICCHANICC.
#tº º h
enry Wright.
Henry Porter.
J. H. Taylor.
Thos. Wright.
John McLain.
P. Hughes.
W. McLaren.
Thomas Rewcastle.
T. Hollinger.
Gus Schuman.
J. E. Carroll.
J. F. Ashworth.
m. F. Heilbron.
Elias Troomberg.
G. Nichols.
Geo. W. Lincoln.
Fred. Philip.
Fritz Rowold.
J. C. Quinn.
E. C. Rowe.
Fred Harrison.
G. Muller.
John H. Elling.
Charles Andrew.
James Weary.
H. D. Roberts.
H. Wegesend.
Robert Gardner.
Wm. T. O’Hallaron.
P. McInerny.
J. T. Downey.
. L. Doane.
D. McKinzie.
H. T. Devoll.
J. D. Conn.
John Riley.
Lacy.
G. M. Smyth.
J. F. May (Provisional
Government army).
J. H. Burns.
C. T. Day.
C. Galbraith.
W. H. Pond.
J. Sharon.
Thomas Carey.
J. R. Maucauley (captain).
C. J. Campbell.
T. S. Chaney.
H. i. Dows (clerk to mar-
Shººl),
Danl. Lyons.
Store, A. F. Medeiros & Co.
Store, S. I. Shaw.
Store, F. Gertz.
Store, C. L. Brown.
Store, E. R. Stackable.
Store, W. O. Lackland.
Store, L. deL. Ward.
Store, Hart & Co.
Store, Chas. J. Fishel.
Store, A. L. Cron.
Store, C. W. Spitz.
Store, J. E. Gomes.
Store, N. P. Jacobson.
Store, James Steiner.
Store, E. Wandoorn.
Store, W. Miller.
Store, J. S. Alves.
Store, M. S. Levey.
Store, S. Sachs.
§: § ...:
tore, Geo. Lycurgus.
Store, Harry sº
Store, J. S. Andrade.
Store, J. P. Bowen.
Store, J. L. Tolbert.
Store, J. H. Lovejoy.
Store, Arthur White.
Store, H. McCubbin.
Richard Day.
Benj. Whitney (custom-
house guard).
A. Harris.
J. H. McKeague (soldier
Provisional Government
army).
L. C. Ables.
R. McKibbin.
Club Stable Co.
Chas. W. E. Dove,
J. J. Sullivan.
To Hon. John S. WALxER,
President of the legislature :
SIR: We, the undersigned, mechanics, of Honolulu, respectfully represent that they
are informed and believe that there is now before your honorable body a bill for
the purpose of granting a franchise for the purpose of establishing and maintaining
an internationallottery, for an annual subsidy of $500,000, to be paid to the Hawaiian
Government for certain purposes therein set forth, which tend to the permanent im-
provement and prosperity of this Kingdom.
Feeling certain that unless this measure becomes a law these improvements will
not become an accomplished fact for a great many years, if ever, owing to the finan-
cial depression and outlook of the country, we, earnestly recommend and petition
that the said bill pass and become a law as being a financial measure of necessity.

H. C. Reid. H. Wicks. L. H. Fee.
Thos. Smith. J. Cushingham. W. Larsen.
Joseph Kela. W. C. Roe. P. A. Dias.
Sam Housley. F. Douse. J. J. Sannders.
John Neill. William Wagener. M. Davis.
S. Smith. H. N. Kahausumaikai. A. B. Scrimgeous.
A. G. Cunha. L. M. Everetty H.M. Dow.
Thomas Mills. J. C. Strow. N. Fernandez.
Dan L. Mahuka. A.V. Inman. A. S. Mahaulu.
N. Simeona. A. A. Gillfillan. B. P. Zablan.
F. Hustace. J. H. Nye. Wm. Cuellho.
F. McIntyre. . Peck. C. W. Grey.
K. R. G. Wallace. William Davies. .N.Tripp.
Chas. E. Steel. W. R. Johnsoner Dan'l Lyons.
Luiz P. Rodrigo. Caesar Koger. Geo. Irvins.
Joan Frank. F. J. Scott. D. Kaapa,
Anrik Frelas. B. H. Norton. J. M. Ferreira.
James Sutherland. G. Tyren. D. P. Kaiena.
Edwin Hughes. J. Simonson, John Paia.
Fred Smith, C. Penersen. D. Makaila.
E. Le Clair. John Dohuty: D. M. Kane.
H. W. Gahan. Harry G. Walker. Albert McGurn.
John Piggott-c C. H. Everett. Sam Ku.
Wm. Alſen, J. W. Luming. W.A. Hárdy,
L. Busnell. M. N. Sander. J.W. Pratt.
407
Louis Marks. J. D. Marlin. J. R. Macaulay.
Gibbs. H. H. Webb. H. Eberhadt.
Doyle. Jno. Crowder. M. Haws.
J. R. Wilelm. J. W. McAlbert. C. J. Campbell.
Robert Wna. Cathcart. A. M. Queque. James Gregory.
J. M. Sims. Geo. W. Smith. Frank A. Chaney.
J. C. Lorensen. Alex. Moors. Andr. Guild.
J. Tague. S. A. Green. William Mitchell.
R. Windrough. Richard N. Mossman. James Wilkinson.
T. K. Clarke. Alex. Chuk. John Grace.
Carl Willing. C. H. Clark. H. H. Wharton.
W. Brede, jr. M. R. Colburn. W. G. Stahle,
C. H. Purdy.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct ; of the original thereof
now on file in the archives of the legislative assembly of 1892.
C. J. McCARTHY,
Clerk legislative assembly of 1898.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 23d day of May, A. D. 1893.
[SEAL.] F. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
HAwaii AN Islands, Honolulu, Oahu, ea.
John Phillips and P. M. Rooney, being severally duly sworn on oath, depose and
i. That they had charge and supervision of the petitions circulated in favor of the
lottery bill. That they have gone over and revised the signatures attached to the
petitions presented to the members of the national reform party and the Legislature,
and that the same are genuine signatures of the individuals who subscribed to such
etitions. That said petitions were signed almost unanimously by the retail store-
eepers and mechanics of Honolulu.
JOHN PHILLIPs.
P. M. ROONEY.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 25th day of April, 1893.
USEAL.] F. J. TESTA,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.
No. 40.
[Daily Bulletin, August 2, 1889.]
KILLED, REVOLUTION OF 1889.
Loika, Poni, Sam Tucker, Keki, Kelelua, Kawaiwai, Tom Kapa.
Total killed, 7. And 7 wounded.
*
No. 41.
OFFICERS OF THE PLANTERS" AND LABOR SUPPLY COMPANY.
President, William G. Irwin.
Vice-president, Alex. Young.
Secretary, W. O. Smith.
Treasurer, F. M. Soranz (W. O. Smith, acting).
Auditor, j. Ö. Carter.
TRUSTEES.
J. B. Atherton, F. M. Swanzy, W. F. Glade,
W. O. Smith, F. A. Schaefer, A. Young,
W. G. Irwin, H. P. Baldwin, J. O. Cater.
List of members: Numerous. Names if wanted can be obtained.
PLANTATION SUBSCRIBERS.
Koloa Sugar Co. Kohala Plantation Co. Union Mill, Co.
Kukaiau Plantation Co., Pacific Sugar Mill Co. Waiakea Mill Co.
Lihue Plantation. Eleele Plantation. R. R. Hind.
Kekaha Sugar Co. Waimamalo Sugar Co. Hawaiian Agricultural Co.
Hanamaulu Plantation, Hana Plantation. Onomea Sugar Co.
Princeville Plantation. Hawaiian Sugar Co. Waialua Plantation Co.
Kukaiau Mill Co. Waihee Sugar Co. Waimea. Sugar Co.
Hamakua Mill Co. Wailuku Sugar Co. Honokea Sugar Co.
Laupahoehoe Sugar Co. Pioneer Mill. Kahuku Plantation Co.
C. º Hart. Grove Farm Plantation., Heeia Agricultural Co.
Honomu Sugar Co. W.Y. Horner's Plantation, Kilauea Sugar Co.
Makee Sugar Co. Pepeekeo Sugar Co. Paia Plantation Co.
Ewa Plantation Co. Hamakua Plantation Co. Haiku Plantation.
408
INDIVIDUAL SUBSCRIBERs.
W. J. Lowrie. C. Bolte. F. A. Schaefer.
J. Marsden. W. H. Ricard. S. N. Castle.
H. P. Baldwin S.T. Alexander. J. B. Atherton
Z. S. *...* W. H. Bailey. W. W. Goodale
G. E. Renton. T. R. Walker. James Renton.
Theo. H. Davies & Co. C. S. Kynnersley. C. R. Bishop
C. M. Cooke. W. W. Hall. H. M. Whitney
H. F. Glade. H. Hackfeld & Co. G. N. Wilcox.
A. S. Wilcox. L. Ahlborn. - R. D. Walbridge
P. C. Jones. J. N. S. Williams. J. G. Spencer.’
B. F. Dillingham. Alex. Young. W. O. Smith.
Y. R. Castle. S. B. Dole. V. Knudsen.
. S. Kay. W. G. Irwin. } H. Morrison.
W. M. Giffard. A. H. Smith.
No. 42.
[Petitions against annexation.]
A.
To His Excellency JAMEs H. Blount, 3.
Special Commissioner of the United States of America:
SIR: The undersigned residents and property holders of the Ha-
waiian Islands, beg respectfully to place before your excellency their
views . present important question of annexation now
pending before this community. - 4.
First. We beg to call your attention to the fact that the main industry
of these islands is the raising and manufacturing of sugar, and which
business, to be conducted successfully, and in a manner to compete
with other cane-sugar producing countries of the world, must have a
labor system such as is now maintained here, but which we under-
stand is prohibited by the existing laws of the United States, and
would have to be abolished should the islands become an integral part
of that country. -
Second. As friends of the Hawaiian race, in whose country we have
made our homes, and under whose Government we have heretofore
enjoyed prosperity and protection, we must protest against any meas-
ure which would deprive them of their civil rights as a race.
Feeling, therefore, that the terms of the treaty of annexation as
submitted to the United States Government would cripple the greatest
industry of the islands, and that no provision has been made for
securing the rights of the Bawaiians, we respectfully subscribe our
names as opposed to same. -
(Signed by 40 names.)
B.
To the Honorable JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States of America to Hawaii:
SIR:—In view of the fact that the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands is now attempting to bring about annexation of
these islands to the United States of America, we, the undersigned,
residents, taxpayers, and voters of the Hawaiian Islands, of foreign
birth or parentage, do subscribe our names as signifying our opposi-
tion to such annexation. *
(Signed by 31 names.)
c.
HAwaiian PATRIOTIC LEAGUE, FOREIGN BRANCH.
We, the undersigned, foreign residents of the Hawaiian Islands
hereby indorse the sentiments set forth in the constitution of the
Hawaiian Patriotic League, for the purpose of perpetuating the inde-
pendent autonomy of these islands, thereby opposing annexation to
any foreign power; and we therefore hereunder subscribe our names
for presentation to his excellency Blount, special commissioner of the
United States Government.
# , (Signed by 43 names).
409
D.
To the Honorable JAMES H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States of America to Hawaii;
SIR: In view of the fact that the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands is now attempting to bring about annexation of these
islands to the United States of America, we, the undersigned, resi-
. dents, taxpayers, and voters of the Hawaiian Islands of foreign birth or
parentage, do subscribe our names as signifying our opposition to such
annexation.
(Signed by 67 names.)
E.
To the Hon. JAMES H. BLOUNT
Special Commissioner of the inited States of America to Hawaii:
SIR: In view of the fact that the Provisional Government of the
Hawaiian Islands is now attempting to bring about annexation of these
islands to the United States of America, we, the undersigned, residents,
taxpayers, and voters of the Hawaiian Islands, of foreign birth or par-
entage, do subscribe our names as signifying our opposition to such
annexation.
(Signed by 80 names.)
*
Recapitulation of signers against annexation.
Petition A.------------ 40 less 1 signed other petition.
Petition B.----------- 31 less 2 signed other petition.
Petition C. ----------- 48 less 1 signed other petition.
Petition D.----------. 67 less 8 signed other petition.
Petition E.----------- 80 -
* 12
261
Less------------ 12
Total.---------- 249
B—52
%
، ، ، ، ،
*32, ±，±，±，± && aer，****
No.300
R. E POR T
OF
JAMES H. BLOUNT,
SPECIAL commissionER TO THE HAWAIAN is LANDS
- HoNoLULU, H. L., July 17, 1893.
IIon. WALTER Q. GRESHAM,
- Secretary of State, f
Washington, D.C.: .
SIR: On the 11th of March, 1893, I was appointed by the President
of the United States as special commissioner to the Hawaiian Islands.
"At the same time the following instructions were given to me by you:
DEPARTMENT of STATE,
* Washington, March 11, 1893. :
1 SIR: The situation created in the Hawaiian Islands by the recent deposition of
Queen Liliuokalani and the erection of a Provisional Government demands the full-
est consideration of the President, and in order to obtain trustworthy information
on the subject, as well as for the discharge of other duties herein specified, he has
decided to dispatch you to the Hawaiian Islands as his special commissioner, in
which capacity you will here with receive a commission and also a letter whereby
the President accredits you to the president of the executive and advisory coun-
cils of the Hawaiian Islands.
The comprehensive, delicate, and confidential character of your mission can now
only be briefly outlined, the details of its execution being necessarily left, in great
measure, to your good judginent and wise discretion.
You will investigate and fully report to the President all the facts you can learn
respecting the condition of affairs in the Hawaiian Islands, the causes of the revolu-
tion by which the Queen's Government was overthrown, the sentiment of the people
towards existing authority, and, in general, all that can fully enlighten the President
touching the subjects of your mission. - ... !
To enable you to fulfill this charge, your authority in all matters touching the
relations of this Government to the existing or other government of the islands,
and the protection of our citizens therein, is paramount, and in you alone, acting
in coöperation with the commander of the naval forces, is vested full discretion and
power to determine when such forces should be landed or withdrawn. -
You are, however, authorized to avail yourself of such aid and information as yo
may desire from the present minister of the United States at Honolulu, Mr. John L.
Stevens, who will continue until further notice to perform the usual functions
attaching to his offiée not inconsistent with the powers entrusted to you. An in-
struction will be sent to Mr. Stevens directing him to facilitate your presentation to
the head of the Government upon your arrival, and to render you all needed assist-
$1106, * e
The withdrawal from the Senate of the recently signed treaty of annexation for
rečxamination by the President leaves its subject-matter in abeyance, and you aré
not charged with any duty in respect thereto. It may be well, however, for you to
dispel any possible misapprehension which its withdrawal may have excited touch:
ing the entire friendliness of the President and the Government of the United States
towards the people of the Hawaiian Islands, or the earnest solicitude here felt for
their welfare, tranquility, and progress. 4. • { * * • *
Historical precedents, and the general course of the United States, authorize the
employment of its armed force in foreign territory for the security of the lives and
property of American citizens and for the repression of lawless and tumultuous acts
threatening them; and the powers conferred to that end upon the representatives of
2
the United States are both necessary and proper, subject always to the exercise of a
sound discretion in their application.
In the judgment of the President, your authority as well as that of the commander
of the naval forces in Hawaiian waters should be and is limited in the use of physi-
cal force to such measures as are necessary to protect the persons and property of
our citizens, and while abstaining from any manner of interference with the domes-
tic concerns of the islands, you should indicate your willingness to intervene with
your friendly offices in the interests of a peaceful settlement of troubles within the
limits of sound discretion.
Should it be necessary to land an armed force upon Hawaiian territory on occa-
sions of popular disturbance, when the local authority may be unable to give ade-
quate protection to the life and property of citizens of the United States, the assent
of such authority should first be obtained if it can be done without prejudice to the
interests involved.
Your power in this regard should not, however, be claimed to the exclusion of
similar measures by the representatives of other powers for the protection of the
lives and property of their citizens or subjects residing in the islands.
While the United States claim no right to interfere in the political or domestic
affairs or in the internal conflicts of the Hawaiian Islands otherwise than as herein
stated, or for the purpose of maintaining any treaty or other rights which they
possess, this Government will adhere to its consistent and established policy in re-
lation to them, and it will not acquiesce in domestic interference by other powers.
The foregoing general exposition of the President's views will indicate the safe
courses within which your action should be shaped and mark the limits of your dis-
cretion in calling upon the naval commander for coºperation.
The United States revenue cutter Rush is under orders to await you at San Fran-
cisco and convey you to Honolulu.
A stenographic clerk will be detailed to accompany you and remain subject to
your orders.
It is expected that you will use all convenient dispatch for the fulfillment of your
mission, as it is the President's desire to have the results before him at the earliest
possible day. Besides the connected report you are expected to furnish, you will
from time to time, as occasion may offer, correspond with the Secretary of State,
communicating information or soliciting special instruction on such points as you
may deem necessary. In case of urgency you may telegraph either in plain text or
in the cipher of the Navy Department through the kind offices of the admiral com-
manding, which may be sent to Mr. W. A. Cooper, United States dispatch agent at
San Francisco, to be transmitted thence.
Reposing the amplest confidence in your ability and zeal for the realization of the
trust confided to you,
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
W. Q. GRESHAM.
Hon. JAMES H. BLOUNT, etc. &
On the 29th of the same month I reached the city of Honolulu. The
American minister, Hon. John L. Stevens, accompanied by a commit-
tee from the Annexation Club, came on board the vessel which had
brought me. He informed me that this club had rented an elegant
house, well furnished, and provided servants and a carriage and horses
for my use; that I could pay for this accommodation just what I chose,
from nothing up. He urged me very earnestly to accept the offer. I
declined it, and informed him that I should go to a hotel.
The committee soon after this renewed the offer, which I again
declined. -
Soon afterwards the ex-Queen, through her chamberlain, tendered
her carriage to convey me to my hotel. This I courteously declined.
I located myself at the Hawaiian Hotel. For several days I was
engaged receiving calls from persons of all classes and of various polit-
ical views. I soon became conscious of the fact that all minds were
quietly and anxiously looking to see what action the Government of
the United States would take.
The troops from the Boston were doing military duty for the Provi-
sional Government. The American flag was floating over the govern-
ment building. . Within it the Provisional Government conducted its
business under an American protectorate, to be continued, according
to the avowed purpose of the American minister, during negotiations
with the United States for annexation.
3
My instructions directed me to make inquiries which in the interest
of candor and truth could not be done when the minds of thousands of
Hawaiian citizens were full of uncertainty as to what the presence of
American troops, the American flag, and the American protectorate im-
plied. It seemed necessary that all these influences must be withdrawn
before those inquiries could be prosecuted in a manner befitting the
dignity and power of the United States.
Inspired with such feelings and confident no disorder would ensue,
I directed the removal of the flag of the United States from the gov-
ernment building and the return of the American troops to their ves-
sels. This was accomplished without any demonstration of joy or grief
on the part of the populace. -
The afternoon before, in an interview with President Dole, in response
to my inquiry, he said that the Provisional Government was now able
to preserve order, although it could not have done so for several weeks
after the proclamation establishing it.
In the evening of this same day the American minister called on me
with a Mr. Walter G. Smith, who, he said, desired to make am impor-
tant communication to me, and whom he knew to be very intelligent
and reliable. Thereupon Mr. Smith, with intense gravity, informed
me that he knew beyond doubt that it had been arrranged between
the Queen and the Japanese commissioner that if the American flag
and troops were removed the troops from the Japanese man of war
Naniwa would land and reinstate the Queen.
Mr. Smith was the editor of the Hawaiian Star, established by the
Annexation Club for the purpose of advocating annexation.
The American minister expressed his belief in the statement of Mr.
Smith and urged the importance of the American troops remaining on
shore until I could communicate with you and you could have the
opportunity to communicate with the Japanese Government and obtain
from it assurances that Japanese troops would not be landed to enforce
any policy on the Government or people of the Hawaiian Islands.
I was not impressed much with these statements.
When the Japanese commissioner learned that the presence of the
Japanese man of war was giving currency to suggestions that his Gov-
ernment intended to interfere with domestic affairs here, he wrote to
his Government asking that the vessel be ordered away, which was
done. He expressed to me his deep regret that any one should charge
that the Empire of Japan, having so many reasons to value the friend-
ship of the Government of the United States, would consent to offend
that Government by interfering in the political conflicts in these
islands, to which it was averse.
In the light of subsequent events, I trust the correctness of my action
will be the more fully justified.
The Provisional Government left to its own preservation, the people
freed from any fear of free intercourse with me in so far as my action
could accomplish it, the disposition of the minds of all people to peace
pending the consideration by the Government of the United States as
to what should be its action in connection with affairs here, cleared
the way for me to commence the investigation with which I was
charged. -
The causes of the revolution culminating in the dethronment of the
Queen and the establishment of the Provisional Government, January
17, 1893, are remote and proximate. A brief presentation of the former
will aid in a fuller apprehension of the latter.
On June 14, 1852, a constitution was granted by Kamehameha III,
by and with the advice and consent of the nobles and representatives
in legislative council. . This instrument provided for a house of nobles,
holding their seats for life, and that the number should not exceed
4
thirty, and a house of representatives composed of not less than twenty-
four nor more than forty members. Every male subject, whether native
or naturalized, and every denizen of the Kingdom who had paid his
taxes, attained the age of twenty-one years, and had resided in the
Kingdom for one year immediately preceding the time of election was
entitled to vote for the representative or representatives of the district
in which he may have resided three months next preceding the day of
election.
For convenience the following extracts from that instrument are
inserted here:
ARt. 32. He has the power, by and with the advice of his cabinet, and the
approval of his privy council, to appoint and remove at his pleasure any of the
several heads of the executive departments, and he may require information in
writing from any of the officers in the executive departments, upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices.
ARt. 35. The person of the King is inviolable and sacred; his ministers are
responsible; to the King belongs the executive power; all laws that have passed
both houses of the legislature, fºr their validity, shall be signed by His Majesty
and the Kuhina Nui; all his other official acts shall be approved by the privy
council, countersigned by the Kuhina Nui, and by the minister to whose depart-
ment such act may belong.
ART. 51. The ministers of the King are appointed and commissioned by him, and
hold their offices during His Majesty's pleasure, subject to impeachment.
Art. 72. The King appoints the members of the house of nobles, who hold their
seats during life, subject to the provision of article 67; but their number shall not
exceed thirty.
Art. 75. The house of representatives shall be composed of not less than twenty-
four nor more than forty members, who shall be elected annually.
ARt. 78. Every male subject of His Majesty, whether native or naturalized, and
every denizen of the Kingdom who shall have paid his taxes who shall have attained
the full age of 20 years, and who shall have resided in the Kingdom for one year
immediately preceding the time of election, shall be entitled to one vote for the
representative or representatives of the district in which he may have resided three
months next preceding the day of election; provided that no insane person, nor any
person who shall at any time have been convicted of any infamous crime within the
Kingdom, unless he shall have been pardoned by the King, and by the terms of such
pardon been restored to all the rights of a subject, shall be allowed to vote.
ARt. 105. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed
in either branch of the legislature, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority
of the members of each house such proposed amendment or amendments shall be
entered on their journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the
next legislature; which proposed amendment or amendments shall be published for
three months previous to the election of the next house of representatives. And
if, in the next legislature, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed
to by two-thirds of all the members of each house, and be approved by the King,
such amendment or amendments shall become part of the Constitution of this King-
dom.
In November, 1863, Kamehameha V was proclaimed King, on the
death of Kamehameha IV. He issued a proclamation for the election
of delegates to a constitutional convention to be held June 13, 1864.
The convention was composed of sixteen nobles and twenty-seven
elected delegates, presided over by the King in person. That body
decided it had a right to proceed to make a new constitution. Not
being in accord with the King on the question of a property qualifica-
tion for voters, on the 13th day of August, 1864, he declared the consti-
tution of 1852 abrogated and prorogued the convention. On the
20th of August following he proclaimed a new constitution upon his own
authority, which continued in force twenty-three years.
From this the following extracts are made:
ART. 45. The legislative power of the three estates of this Kingdom is vested in
the King and the legislative assembly, which assembly shall con ist of the nobles
appointed by the King and of the representatives of the people, sitting together.
ART. 57. The King appoints the nobles, who shall hold their appointments during
life, subject to the provisions of article 53; but their numbershall not exceed twenty.
3-ºx3. , s_*…*.x. ... :----is-3-amam-º- - -
5
ART. 61. No person shall be eligible for a representative of the people who is insane
or an idiot; nor unless he be a male subject of the Kingdom, who shall have arrived
at the full age of twenty-one years, who shall know how to read and write, who
shall understand accounts, and shall have been domiciled in the Kingdom for at least
three years, the last of which shall be the year immediately preceding his election,
and who shall own real estate within the Kingdom of a clear value, over and above
all incumbrances, of at least five hundred dollars, or who shall have an annual in-
come of at least two hundred and fifty dollars derived from any property or some
lawful employment.
ART. 62. Every male subject of the Kingdom, who shall have paid his taxes, who
shall have attained the age of twenty years, and shall lave been domiciled in the
Kingdom for one year immediately preceding the election, and shall be possessed of
real property in this Kingdom to the value over and above all incumbrances of
one hundred and fifty dollars"—or of a leasehold property on which the rent is
twenty-five dollars per year—or of an income of not less than seventy-five dollars
per year, derived from any property or some lawful employment and shall know how
to read and write, if born since the year 1840 and shall have caused his name to be
entered on the list of voters of his district as may be provided by law, shall be en-
titled to one vote for the representative or representatives of that district; pro-
vided, however, that no insane or idiotic person, nor any person who shall llave been
convicted of any infamous crime within this Kingdom, unless he shall have been
pardoned by the King, and by the terms of such pardon have been restored to all
the rights of a subject, shall be allowed to vote.
ART. 80. Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in
the legislative assembly, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the
members thereof, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on its
journal, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the next legislature;
which proposed amendment or amendments shall be published for three months pre-
vious to the next election of representatives; and if in the next legislature such
proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the mem-
bers of the legislative assembly, and be approved by the King, such amendment or
amendments shall become part of the constitution of this country.
On the 18th of February, 1874, David Kalakaua was proclaimed
King. In 1875 a treaty of commercial reciprocity between the United
States and the Hawaiian Islands was ratified, and the laws necessary
to carry it into operation were enacted in 1876. It provided, as you
are aware, for the free importation into the United States of several
articles, amongst which was muscavado, brown, and all other unrefined
sugars, sirups of sugar cane, melada, and molasses, produced in the Ha-
waiian Islands.
From it there came to the islands an intoxicating increase of wealth,
a new labor system, an Asiatic population, an alienation between the
native and white races, an impoverishment of the former, an enrich-
ment of the latter, and the many so-called revolutions, which are the
foundation for the opinion that stable government can not be main-
tained.
(The deaths in all these revolutions were seven. There were also
seven wounded.)
The sugar export in 1876 was 26,072,429 pounds; in 1887 it was
212,763,647. The total value of all domestic exports was in 1876,
$1,994,833.55, and in 1887, $9,435,204. The bounty paid on sugar by
the United States to the sugar planters in the remission of customs on
sugar before the McKinley bill was passed, is estimated by competent
persons as reaching $5,000,000 annually.
The government and crown lands were bought and leased and oper-
ated by whites of American, English, and German origin, and the
sugar industry went into the hands of corporations.
From 1852 to 1876 there had been imported 2,625 Chinese, 148 Jap-
anese, and 7 South Sea Islanders, making a total of 2,780. From 1876
to 1887 there were imported 23,268 Chinese, 2,777 Japanese, 10,216
Portuguese, 615 Norwegians, 1,052 Germans, 1,998 South Sea
Islanders, making a total for this one decade of 39,926 immigrants.
* The property qualification was removed by an amendment.
6
The Government expended from 1876 to 1887 $1,026,212.30 in aid of
the importation of labor for the planters, who for the same period ex-
pended $565,547.74. It negotiated with various governments treaties
under which labor was imported for a term of years to work at a very
low figure, and under which the laborer was to be compelled by fines
and imprisonment to labor faithfully and to remain with his employer .
to the end of the contract term.
Of 14,439 laborers on plantations in 1885, 2,136 were natives and the
remainder imported labor. Generally, the rule has obtained of bringing
twenty-five women for every one hundred men. The immigrants were
of the poor and ignoraut classes. The Portuguese especially, as a rule,
could not read or write and were remarkably thievish. The women of
Japanese and Chinese origin were grossly unchaste.
The price of all property advanced. The price of labor was de-
pressed by enormous importations and by the efficiency accruing from
compulsory performance of the contract by the Government.
In the year 1845, under the influence of white residents, the lands
were so distributed between the crown, the Government, the chiefs, and
the people as to leave the latter with an insignificant interest in lands—
27,830 acres.
The story of this division is discreditable to King, chiefs, and white
residents, but would be tedious here. The chiefs became largely indebted
to the whites, and thus the foundation for the large holdings of the latter
was laid. g
Prior to 1876 the kings were controlled largely by such men as Dr.
Judd, Mr. Wyllie, and other leading white citizens holding positions in
their cabinets.
A king rarely changed his cabinet. The important offices were held
by white men. A feeling of amity existed between the native and
foreign races unmarred by hostile conflict. It should be noted that at
this period the native generally knew how to read and write his native
tongue, into which the Bible and a few English works were translated.
To this, native newspapers of extensive circulation contributed to the
awakening of his intellect. He also generally read and wrote English.
From 1820 to 1866 missionaries of various nationalities, especially
American, with unselfishness, toil, patience, and piety, had devoted
themselves to the improvement of the native. They gave them a lan-
guage, a religion, and an immense movement on the lines of civilization.
In process of time the descendants of these good men grew up in secu-
lar pursuits. Superior by nature, education, and other opportunities,
they acquired wealth. They sought to succeed to the political control
exercised by their fathers. The revered missionary disappeared. In
his stead there came the Anglo-Saxon in the person of his son, ambi-
tious to acquire wealth and to continue that political control reverently
conceded to his pious ancestor. Hence, in satire, the native designated
him a “missionary,” which has become a campaign phrase of wonderful
potency. Other white foreigners came into the country, especially
Americans, English, and Germans. These, as a rule, did not become
naturalized and participate in the voting franchise. Business and race
affiliation occasioned sympathy and coöperation between these two
classes of persons of foreign extraction.
Does this narration of facts portray a situation in a government in
whole or in part representative favorable to the ambition of a leader
who will espouse the native cause? Would it be strange for him to
stir the native heart by picturing a system of political control under
which the foreigner had wickedly become possessed of the soil, de-
graded free labor by an uncivilized system of coolie labor, prostituted
society by injecting into it a people hostile to Christianity and the
civilization of the nineteenth century, exposed their own daughters to
7
the evil influences of anoverwhelming male population of a degraded
type, implanted Japanese and Chinese women almost insensible to
feelings of chastity, and then loudly boasted of their Christianity?
On the other hand, was it not natural for the white race to vaunt
their wealth and intelligence, their Christian success in rescuing the
native from barbarism, their gift of a Government regal in name but
containing many of the principles of freedom; to find in the natives de-
fective intelligence, tendencies to idolatry, to race prejudice, and a dis.
position under the influence of white and half-white leaders to exercise
political domination; to speak of their thriftlessness in private life and
susceptibility to bribes in legislative action; to proclaim the unchaste-
ness of native women, and to take at all hazards the direction of public
affairs from the native?
With such a powerful tendency to divergence and political strife,
with its attendant bitterness and exaggerations, we must enter upon
the field of inquiry pointed out in your instructions.
It is not my purpose to take up this racial controversy at its birth,
but when it had reached striking proportions and powerfully acted in
the evolution of grave political events culminating in the present
status. Nor shall I relate all the minute details of political contro-
versy at any given period, but only such and to such extent as may
illustrate the purpose just indicated. -
It has already appeared that under the constitution of 1852 the leg.
islature consisted of two bodies—one elected by the people and the
other chosen by the King—and that no property qualifications hindered
the right of suffrage. The King and people through the two bodies
held a check on each other. It has also been shown that in 1864 by a
royal proclamation a new constitution, sanctioned by a cabinet of
prominent white men, was established, restricting the right of suffrage
and combining the representative and nobles into one body. This lat-
ter provision was designed to strengthen the power of the Crown by
removing a body distinctly representative. This instrument remained
in force twenty-three years. The Crown appointed the nobles generally
from white men of property and intelligence. In like manner the King
selected his cabinet. These remained in office for a long series of years
and directed the general conduct of public affairs.
Chief Justice Judd, of the supreme court of the Hawaiian Islands,
in a formal statement uses this language:
Under every constitution prior to 1887 the ministers were appointed by the King
and removed by him; but until Kalakaua's reign it was a very rare thing that any
King changed his ministry. They had a pretty long lease of political life. My
father was minister for seven or ten years and Mr. Wyllie for a longer period. It
was a very rare political occurrence and Inade a great sensation when a change was
made. Under Kalakaua things were different. I think we had twenty-six different
cabinets during his reign. -
The record discloses thirteen cabinets. Two of these were directly
forced on him by the reformers. Of the others, six were in sympathy
with the reformers and eminent in their confidence. The great stir in
cabinet changes commenced with the Gibson cabinet in 1882. He was
a man of large information, free from all suspicion of bribery, politi-
cally ambitious, and led the natives and some whites.
It may not be amiss to present some of the criticisms against Kala-
kaua and his party formally filed with me by Prof. W. D. Alexander, a
representative reformer.
On the 12th of February, 1874, Kalakaua was elected King by the
legislature. The popular choice lay between him and the Queen Dow-
ager.
In regard to this, Mr. Alexander says that “the cabinet and the
American party used all their influence in favor of the former, while
the English favored Queen Emma, who was devoted to their interest.”
8
Notwithstanding there were objections to Kalakaua's character, he
says: “It was believed, however, that if Queen Emma should be elected
there would be no hope of our obtaining a reciprocity treaty with the
United States.”
He gives an account of various obnoxious measures advocated by the
King which were defeated.
In 1882 he says the race issue was raised by Mr. Gibson, and only two
white men were elected to the legislature on the islands.
A bill prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors to natives was re-
pealed at this session.
A $10,000,000-loan bill was again introduced, but was shelved in
committee. The appropriation bill was swelled to double the estimated
receipts of the Government, including $30,000 for coronation expenses,
besides large sums for military expenses, foreign embassies, etc.
A bill was reported giving the King power to appoint district
justices, which had formerly been done by the justices of the supreme
court.
A million of dollars of silver was coined by the King, worth 84 cents
to the dollar, which was intended to be exchanged for gold bonds at
par, under the loan act of 1882. This proceeding was enjoined by the
court. The privy council declared the coin to be of the legal value
expressed on their face, subject to the legal-tender act, and they
were gradually put into circulation. A profit of $150,000 is said to
have been made on this transaction.
In 1884 a reform legislature was elected. A lottery bill, an opium
license bill, and an $8,000,000 loan bill were defeated.
In the election for the legislature of 1886 it is alleged that by the
use of gin, chiefly furnished by the King, and by the use of his patron-
age, it was carried against the reform party; that out of twenty-eight
candidates, twenty-six were office-holders—one a tax assessor and one
the Queen's secretary. There was only one white man on the Govern-
ment ticket—Gibson’s son-in-law. Only ten reform candidates were
elected. In this legislature an opium bill was passed providing for a
license for four years, to be granted by the minister of the interior with
the consent of the King, for $30,000 per annum.
Another act was passed to create a Hawaiian board of health, con-
sisting of five native doctors, appointed by the King, with power to
issue certificates to native kahunas (doctors) to practice medicine.
A $2,000,000-loan bill was passed, which was used largely in taking
up bonds on a former loan.
It is claimed that in granting the lottery franchise the King fraud-
ulently obtained $75,000 for the franchise and then sold it to another
person, and that subsequently the King was compelled to refund the
Salºne,
These are the principal allegations on which the revolution of 1887 is
justified.
None of the legislation complained of would have been considered a
cause for revolution in any one of the United States, but would have
been used in the elections to expel the authors from power. The alleged
corrupt action of the King could have been avoided by more careful
legislation and would have been a complete remedy for the future.
The rate of taxation on real or personal property never exceeded 1
per cent.
To all this the answer comes from the reformers: “The native is unfit
for government and his power must be curtailed.”
The general belief that the King had accepted what is termed the
opium bribe and the failure of his efforts to unite the Samoan Islands
with his own Kingdom had a depressing influence on his friends, and
his opponents used it with all the effect they could. ,
9
• * :ººk & & ººzººx
The last cabinet prior to the revolution of 1887 was anti-reform.
Three of its members were half castes; two of them were and are
recognized as lawyers of ability by all.
At this point I invite attention to the following extract from a formal
colloquy between Chief Justice Judd and myself touching the means
adopted to extort the constitution of 1887, and the fundamental changes
wrought through that instrument: -
Q. Will you be kind enough to state how this new constitution was established?
A. The two events which brought this matter to a culminating point were (1)
the opium steal of $71,000 by which a Chinaman named Aki was made by the
King to pay him a bribe of $71,000 of hard coin in order to obtain the exclusive fran-
chise for selling opium, and (2) the expense of the expedition to Samoa in the
“Kaimilea.” A secret league was formed all over the islands, the result of which was
the King was asked to promulgate a new constitution containing those provisions
that I have before alluded to. It was very adroitly managed by the Ashfords, and
more especially by V. V. Ashford, who obtained the confidence of the King and Mr.
Gibson. He was the colonel of the Rifles, and he assured them that if he was paid
a certain sum of money and made minister to Cauada that he won ld arrange it so
that the movement would be futile.
Q. How was he to do that f
A. By preventing the use of the military, I suppose; and he arranged with the
military authorities and Capt. Haley that they should be called out to preserve
public order, although it was this large and well-drilled force which made the King
fear that if he didn't yield things would be very critical for him.
Q. Was that a Government force f
A. It was organized under the laws.
Q. A volunteer organization?
A. Yes. *
Q. So that the men in sympathy with the movement of this secret league went
into it and constituted it under form of law.
A. Of course I do not know what was told the King privately, but I knew that
he felt it would be very dangerous to refuse to promulgate the new constitution. I
have no doubt that a great many things were circulated which came to his ears in
the way of threats that was unfounded. -
Q. What was the outside manifestation ?
A. One great feature of it was its secrecy. The King was frightened at this
secrecy. It was very well managed. The judges of the supreme court were not
told of it until just before the event took place. I think it was the 2d or 3d of
July, 1887.
Q. Was there then a mass meeting f
A. There was a large mass Imeeting held and a set of resolutions was presented to
the King requiring that a new ministry be formed by Mr. W. L. Green and one other
person, whose name I have forgotten. •
Q. Was there any display of force?
A. The Honolulu Rifles were in detachments marched about in different portions
of the town, having been called out by the legal military authorities.
Q. Who were the legal military authorities?
A. The governor of the island, Dominis, and Capt. H. Burrill Haley, the adjutant-
general. -
Q. Were they in sympathy with the movement?
A. No, sir; the officers of the corps were in sympathy with the movement.
Q. Who were they?
A. Ashford and Hebbard. I do not remember all.
Q. Did the governor order them out, not knowing of this state of things?
A. I think he did. I think he knew it, but it was to prevent, as I believe, some-
thing worse happening. As I said, there were threats made.
Q. Of what sort?
A. I understood that at one time there was a very strong feeling that the King
should be forced to abdicate altogether, and it was only the more conservative men
born here who said that the King and the Hawaiians should have another oppor-
tunity.
Q. Were there not two elements in that movement, one for a republic and the
other for restraining the power of the King?
A. Yes. *
Q. Were there not two forces in this movement coöperating together up to a cer-
tain point, to wit, those who were in favor of restraining the King by virtue of the
provisions of the constitution of 1887 and those who were in favor of dethroning the
King and establishing a republic?
3. *...º.º.º. ºf “$$x &?” ** Aº. *s ºr &k ºf :- ----> -->..… -->.2-
.xº~xºs ºf ºrºgºzºz ºxº
10
- A, I understand that there were, and that the more conservative view prevailed.
Q. And the men who were in favor of a republic were discontented at the out
come?
A. They were, and they didn’t want the Hawaiians to vote at all; and the reason
that the Portuguese were allowed to vote was to balance the native vote.
Q. Whose idea was that—was that the idea of the men who made the new consti-
tution?
A. Of the men who made the new constitution.
Q. It was to balance the native vote with the Portuguese vote?
A. That was the idea.
Q. And that would throw the political power into the hands of the intelligence
and wealth of the country?
A. That was the aim.
Q. How was this military used?
A. It was put about in squads over the city.
Q. The officers of the corps were really in favor of the movement for the new
constitution and were called out by Governor Dominis to preserve order?
A. Yes. After the affair was over he was thanked by a military order from head-
quarters.
Q. Do you suppose that he was gratified with thanks under the circumstances?
A. Haley said to me when he showed me the order: “It is a little funny to thank
a man who kicked you out, but I suppose I’ve got to do it.”
Q. The King acceded to the demand for a new constitution and of a cabinet of
given character?
A. In the first place he acceded to the proposition to make a new cabinet named
by Mr. Green. The former cabinet, consisting of Mr. Gibson and three Hawaiians,
had just resigned a day or two before. In three or four days the cabinet waited
upon him with the constitution.
Q. What cabinet?
A. The cabinet consisting of Mr. Green, minister of foreign affairs; Mr. Thurs-
ton, minister of the interior; Mr. C. W. Ashford, attorney-general; and Mr. God-
frey Brown, minister of finance. I was sent for in the afternoon of July 5 to
swear the King to the constitution. When I reached the palace they were all
there, and the King asked me in Hawaiian whether he had better sign it or not.
I said, “You must follow the advice of your responsible ministers.” He signed it.
Q. This ministry had been appointed as the result of the demand of the mass
meeting? -
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And then having been appointed, they presented him with the constitution of
1887 ?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And he signed it?
A. He did.
Q. Was that constitution ever submitted to a popular vote for ratification?
A. No; it was not. There was no direct vote ratifying the constitution, but its
‘provisions requiring that no one should vote unless he had taken an oath to support
it, aud a large number voted at that first election. was considered a virtual ratifica-
tion of the constitution.
Q. If they voted at all they were considered as accepting it?
A. Yes, sir. I do not think any large number refused to take the oath to it.
Q. It was not contemplated by the mass meeting, nor the cabinet, nor anybody in
power to submit the matter of ratification at all?
A. No, it was not. It was considered a revolution. It was a successful revolu-
tionary act.
Q. And, therefore, was not submitted to a popular vote for ratification?
A. Yes, sir. . It had mischievous effects in encouraging the Wilcox revolution of
1889, which was unsuccessful. I think it was a bad precedent, only the exigencies
of the occasion seemed to demand it.
Without adding other testimony on the mode of extorting the new
constitution or accepting this statement as full and unbiased, it is
enough that it brings me to a point at which I may present important
changes in the Hawaiian constitution and their application to the social
and political conditions of the time. Your attention is now invited to
the following amendments in the constitution of 1887:
ARt. 41. The cabinet shall consist of the minister of foreign affairs, the minister
•of the interior, the minister of finance, and the attorney-general, and they shall
be His Majesty's special advisers in the executive affairs of the Kingdom; and they
shall be ex officio members of His Majesty's privy council of state. They shall be
11
appointed and commissioned by the King, and shall be removed by him only upon
a vote of want of confidence passed by a majority of all the elective members of the
legislature, or upon conviction of felony, and shall be subject to impeachment. No
act of the King shall have any effect unless it be countersigned by a member of the
cabinet, who, by that signature, makes himself responsible. -
ART. 42. Each member of the cabinet shall keep an office at the Boat of Govern-
ment, and shall be accountable for the conduct of his deputies and clerks. The
cabinet hold seats ex officio in the legislature, with the right to vote, except on a
question of want of confidence in them.
ART. 47. The legislature has full power and authority to amend the constitution
as hereinafter provided, and from time to time to make all manner of wholesome
laws, not repugnant to the constitution.
ART. 56. A noble shall be a subject of the Kingdom, who shall have attained the
age of twenty-five years, and resided in the Kingdom three years, and shall be the
owner of taxable property in this Kingdom of the value of three thousand dollars
over and above all encumbrances, or in receipt of an income of not less than $600.
per annum.
ART. 58. Twenty-four nobles shall be elected as follows: Six from the Island of
Hawaii; six from the Islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai; nine ſrom the Island of
Oahu; and three from the islands of Kauai and Niihau. At the first election held
under this Constitution, the nobles shall be elected to serve until the general election
to the legislature for the year of our Lord 1890, at which election, and thereafter,
the nobles shall be elected at the same time and places as the representatives. At
the election for the year of our Lord 1890, one-third of the nobles from each of the
divisions aforesaid shall be elected for two years, and one-third for four years, and
one-third for six years, and the electors shall ballot for them for such terms, respect-
ively; and at all subsequent general elections they shall be elected for six years.
The nobles shall serve without pay.
ART. 59. Every male resident of the Hawaiian Islands, of Hawaiian, American, or
European birth or descent, who shall have attained the age of twenty years, and
shall have paid his taxes, and shall have caused his name to be entered on the list
of voters for nobles of his district, shall be an elector of nobles, and shall be
entitled to vote at any election of nobles, provided: -
First. That he shall have resided in the country not less than three years, and in
the district in which he offers to vote not less than three months immediately pre-
ceding the election at which he offers to vote;
Second. That he shall own and be possessed, in his own right, of taxable property
in this country of the value of not less than $3,000 over and above all incumbrances,
or shall have actually received an income of not less than $600 during the year next
preceding his registration for such election;
Third. That he shall be able to read and comprehend an ordinary newspaper
printed in either the Hawaiian, English, or some European language;
Fourth. That he shall have taken an oath to support the constitution and laws,
such oath to be adulinistered by any person authorized to administer oaths, or by
any inspector of elections;
Provided, however, That the requirements of a three years' residence and of ability
to read and comprehend an ordinary newspaper, printed either in the Hawaiian,
English, or some European language, shall not apply to persons residing in the
Kingdom at the time of the promulgation of this constitution, if they shall register
and vote at the first election which shall be held under this constitution.
ART.60. There shall be twenty-four representatives of the people elected bien-
nially, except those first elected under this constitution, who shall serve until the
general election for the year of our Lord 1890. The representation shali be based
upon the principles of equality and shall be regulated and apportioned by the leg-
islature according to the population to be ascertained from time to time by the offi-
cial census. But until such apportionment by the legislature, the apportionment
now established by law shall remain in force, with the following exceptions, namely:
There shall be but two representatives for the districts of Hilo and Puna on the
island of Hawaii, but one for the districts of Lahaina and Kaanapali on the island
of Maui, and but one for the districts of Koolauloa and Waialua on the island of Oahu.
ART. 61. No person shall be eligible as a representative of the people unless he be
a male subject of the Kingdom, who shall have arrived at the full age of twenty-one
years; who shall know how to read and write either the Hawaiian, English, or some
European language; who shall understand accounts; who shall have been domiciled
in the Kingdom for at least three years, the last of which shall be the year imune-
diately preceding his election; and who shall own real estate within the Kingdom
of a clear value, over and above all encumbrances, of at least $500; or who shall
have an annual income of at least $250, derived from any property or some lawful
employment. ' -
ART. 62. Every male resident of the Kingdom, of Hawaiian, American, or Euro-
pean birth or descent, who shall have taken an oath to support the constitution and
12
laws in the manner provided for electors of nobles; who shall have paid his taxes;
who shall have attained the age of twenty years; and shall have been domiciled in
the Kingdom for one year immediately preceding the election, and shall know how
to read and write either the Hawaiian, English, or some European language (if
born since the year 1840), and shall have caused his name to be entered on the list
of voters of his district as may be provided by law, shall be entitled to one vote for
the representative or representatives of that district, provided, however, that the
requirements of being domiciled in the Kingdom for one year immediately preceding
the election, and of knowing how to read and write either the Hawaiian, English,
or some European language, shall not apply to persons residing in this Kingdom at
the time of the promulgation of this constitution, if they shall register and vote at
the first election which shall be held under this constitution.
ART 63. No person shall sit as a noble or representative in the legislature unless
elected under and in conformity with the provisions of this constitution. The
property of income qualification of representatives, of nobles, and of electors of
nobles may be increased by law, and a property or income qualification of electors
of representatives may be created and altered by law.
Art. 80. The cabinet shall have power to make and publish all necessary rules
and regulations for the holding of any election or elections under this constitution
prior to the passage by the legislature of appropriate laws for such purpose, and to
provide for administering to officials, subjects, and residents the oath to support this
constitution. The first election hereunder shall be held within ninety days after
the promulgation of this constitution, and the legislature then elected may be con-
vened at Honolulu, upon the call of the oabinet council in extraordinary session at
such time as the cabinet council may deeur necessary, thirty days' notice thereof
being previously given.
Art. 82. Any amendinent or amendments to this constitution may be proposed
in the legislature, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members
thereof, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on its journal,
with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to the next legislature; which
proposed amendment or amendments shall be published for three months previous to
the next election of representatives and nobles; and if in the next legislature such
proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the
members of the legislature, such amendment or amendments shall become part of
the constitution of this Kingdom.
These sections disclose: -
First. A purpose to take from the King the power to appoint nobles
and to vest it in persons having $3,000 worth of unincumbered prop-
erty or an annnal income above the expense of living of $600. This
gave to the whites three-fourths of the vote for nobles and one-fourth
to the natives.
The provisos to the fourth section of article 59 and article 62 have
this significant application. Between the years 1878 and 1886 the
Hawaiian Government imported from Madeira and the Azores Islands
10,216 contract laborers, men, women, and children. Assume, for con-
venience of argument, that 2,000 of these were males of twenty years
and upward. Very few of them could read and write. Only three of
them were naturalized up to 1888, and since then only five more have
become so. The remainder are subjects of Portugal. These were
admitted to vote on taking the following oath and receiving the accom-
panying certificate:
No. —.
Hawaiian Islaxos,
Island of —, district of , 88.
I, , aged , a native of , residing at —, in said district, do
solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will support the constitu-
tion of the Hawaiian Kingdom promulgated and proclaimed on the 7th day of July,
1887, and the laws of said Kingdom. Not hereby renouncing, but expressly reserving,
all allegiance and citizenship now owing or held by me.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this — day of , A. D. 18–.
9
Inspector of Election.
*
13
No.—.
HAWAIIAN IsLANds,
Island of , District of , 88.
I, the undersigned, inspector of election, duly appointed and commissioned, do
hereby certify that , aged , a native of , residing at , in said
district, has this day taken before me the oath to support the constitution of the
Hawaiian Kingdom promulgated and proclaimed on the 7th day of July, and the
laws of said Kingdom.
y
Inspector of Election.
- — 18–.
These ignorant laborers were taken before the election from the cane
fields in large numbers by the overseer before the proper officer to
administer the oath and then carried to the polls and voted according
to the will of the plantation manager. Why was this done? In the
language of the Chief Justice Judd, “to balance the native vote with
the Portuguese vote.” This same purpose is admitted by all persons
here. Again, large numbers of Americans, Germans, English, and
other foreigners unnaturalized were permitted to vote under the fore-
going form.
Two-thirds of this number were never naturalized, but voted under
the above form of oath and certificate. They were citizens of the United
States, Germany, and Great Britain, invited to vote under this consti.
tution to neutralize further the native voting strength. This same
action was taken in connection with other European populations.
For the first time in the history of the country.the number of nobles
is made equal to the number of representatives. This furnished a veto
power over the representatives of the popular vote to the nobles, who
were selected by persons mostly holding foreign allegiance, and not
subjects of the Kingdom. The election of a single representative by
the foreign element gave to it the legislature.
The power of appointing a cabinet was left with the King. His power
to remove one was taken away. The removal could only be accom-
plished by a vote of want of confidence by a majority of all the elective
members of the legislature. The tenure of office of a cabinet minister
henceforth depends on the pleasure of the legislature, or, to speak prac-
tically, on the favor of certain foreigners, Americans and Europeans.
Then it is declared that no act of the King shall have any effect
unless it be countersigned by a member of the cabinet, who by that sig-
nature makes himself responsible. Power is taken from the King in
the selection of Inobles, not to be given to the masses but to the wealthy
classes, a large majority of whom are not subjects of the Kingdom. Power
to remove a cabinet is taken away from him, not to be conferred on a
popular body but on one designed to be ruled by foreign subjects.
Power to do any act was taken from the King unless countersigned by
a member of the cabinet. This instrument was never submitted to the
people for approval or rejection, nor was it ever contemplated by its
friends and promoters, and of this no man will make issue.
Prior to this revolution large quantities of arms had been brought
by a secret league from San Francisco and placed amongst its members.
The first election under this constitution took place with the foreign
population well armed and the troops hostile to the crown and people.
The result was the election of what was termed a reform legislature.
The mind of an observer of these events notes henceforth a division of
the people by the terms native and foreigner. It does not import race
hostility simply. It is founded rather upon the attempted control of
the country by a population of foreign origin and zealously holding alle.
giance to foreign powers. It had an alliance with natives of foreign
: parentage, some of whom were the descendants of missionary ancestors.
14
Hence the terms “foreigner” and “missionary” in Hawaiian politics
have their peculiar significance. -
Foreign ships of great powers lying in the port of Honolulu to pro-
tect the persons and property of their citizens, and these same citizens
left by their Governments without reproof for participation in such
events as I have related, must have restrained the native mind or
indeed any mind from a resort to physical force. Its means of resis-
tance was naturally what was left of political power.
In 1890 a legislature was elected in favor of a new constitution.
The calculation of the reformers to elect all the nobles failed, owing to
a defection of whites, especially amongst the intelligent laboring
classes in the city of Honolulu, who were qualified to vote for nobles
under the income clause. The cabinet installed by the revolution was
voted out. A new cabinet, in harmony with the popular will, was
appointed and remained in power until the death of the King in 1891.
In 1892 another legislature was elected. Thrum's Handbook of
Information for 1893, whose author, a reformer and annexationist, is
intelligent and in the employ of the Provisional Government, and
whose work is highly valued by all persons, says, concerning this elec-
tion:
The resnlt brought to the legislature three rather evenly balanced parties. This,
with an admixture of self-interest in certain quarters, has been the means of much
delay in the progress of the session, during which there have been no less than
three new cabinets on “want of confidence” resolutions.
Judge Widelmann, of the national reform party, divides the legis-
lature up thus: “Three parties and some independents. The national
reform, reform, and liberal.” There were nine members of the national
reform party, fourteen members of the reform, twenty-one liberals,
and four independents.”
The liberals favored the old mode of selecting nobles; the national
reform party was in favor of a new constitution reducing the qualifi-
cation of voters for nobles, and the reform party was in opposition to
both these ideas.
There were a number of members of all these factions aspiring to be
cabinet officers. This made certain individuals ignore party lines and
form combinations to advance personal interests. The reform party
seized upon the situation and made such combinations as voted out
cabinet after cabinet until finally what was termed the Wilcox cabinet
was appointed. This was made up entirely of reformers. Those mem-
bers of the national reform and liberal parties who had been acting
with the reform party to this point, and expecting representation in
the cabinet, being disappointed, set to work to vote out this cabinet,
which was finally accomplished.
There was never a time when the reform party had any approach to
a majority of members of the legislature.
Let it be borne in mind that the time now was near at hand when
the legislature would probably be prorogued. Whatever cabinet was
in power at the time of the prorogation had control of public affairs
until a new legislature should assemble two years afterwards and
longer unless expelled by a vote of want of confidence.
An anti-reform cabinet was appointed by the Queen. Some faint
struggle was made towards organizing to vote out this cabinet, but it
was abandoned. The legislature was prorogued. The reform mem-
bers absented themselves from the session of that day in manifestation
of their disappointment in the loss of power through the cabinet for
the ensuing two years.
The letters of the American minister and naval officers stationed at
Honolulu in 1892 indicate that any failure to appoint a ministry of the
reform party would produce a political crisis. The voting out of the
15
Wilcox cabinet produced a discontent amongst the reformers verging
very closely towards one, and had more to do with the revolution than
the Queen's proclamation. The first was the foundation—the latter
the opportunity. p
In the legislatures of 1890 and 1892 many petitions were filed asking
for a new constitution. Many were presented to the King and Queen.
The discontent with the constitution of 1887 and eagerness to escape
from it, controlled the elections against the party which had established
it. Diyisions on the mode of changing the constitution, whether by
legislative action or by constitutional convention, and the necessity
for a two-thirds vote of the legislature to effect amendments, prevented
relief by either method. Such was the situation at the prorogation of
the legislature of 1892. -
This was followed by the usual ceremonies at the palace on the day
40f prorogation—the presence of the cabinet, supreme court judges,
diplomatic corps, and troops.
The Queen informed her cabinet of her purpose to proclaim a new
-Constitution, and requested them to sign it. -
From the best information I can obtain the changes to the consti.
tution of 1887 were as follows:
ART. 20. By adding to exceptions: Members of the privy council, notary public,
agents to take acknowledgments.
ARt. 22. By adding Princes Kawananakoa and Kalanianaole as heirs to the throne.
ARt. 46. Changing the session of the legislature to the month of April.
ART. 49. That the Queen shall sign and approve all bills and resolutions, even
to those that are voted when passed over her veto.
ART. 56. Pay. of representatives raised to $500 instead of $250 for biennial term.
ART. 57. The Queen shall appoint the nobles, not to exceed twenty-four.
ART. 60. The representatives may be increased from twenty-four, as at present,
to forty-eight.
Art. 62. Only subjects shall vote.
ART. 65. The term of appointment of the supreme court judges, not for life, as
... before, but for six years.
ART. 75. The appointment of governors of each island for four-years term.
Her ministers declined to sign, and two of them communicated to lead-
ing reformers (Mr. L. A. Thurston, Mr. W. O. Smith, and others) the
Queen's purpose and the position of the cabinet. Finding herself
thwarted by the position of the cabinet, she declared to the crowd
around the palace that she could not give them a new constitution at
that time on account of the action of her ministers, and that she would
do so at some future time. This was construed by some to mean that
, she would do so at an early day when some undefined, favorable oppor-
tunity should occur, and by others when a new legislature should
assemble and a new cabinet might favor her policy, or some other than
an extreme and revolutionary course could be resorted to.
It seems that the members of the Queen's cabinet, after much
urging, prevailed upon her to abandon the idea of proclaiming a new
constitution. The coöperation of the cabinet appears to have been,
in the mind of the Queen, necessary to give effect to her proclamation.
This method had been adopted by Kamehameha V in proclaiming the
constitution of 1864. The constitution of 1887 preserved this same
form, in having the King proclaim that constitution on the recom-
mendation of the cabinet, which he had been prevailed upon by a com-
mittee from the mass meeting to appoint. .
The leaders of the movement urged the members of the Queen's cab-
inet not to resign, feeling assured that until they had done so the Queen
would not feel that the power rested in her alone to proclaim a new
-constitution. In order to give further evidence of her purpose to aban-
-don the design of proclaiming it, a proclamation was published on the
-morning of the 16th of January, signed by herself and her ministers,
16
pledging her not to do so, and was communicated to Minister Stevens
that morning. º
The following papers were among the files of the legation when
turned over to me:
- DEPARTMENT or Fokkei GN AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, H. I., January 16, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose to your excellency a copy of a “By Authority”
Notice issue l this morning by Her Majesty's ministers under Her Majesty's sanction
and approval. 4.
I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, your excellency's obedient servant,
SAMUEL PARKER,
- Minister of Foreign Affairs.
To His Excellency Joh N. L. STEvr:Ns,
United States Envoy Ertraordinarg and Minister Plenipotentiary, Honolulu.
BY AUTHORITY.
Her Majesty's ministers desire to express their appreciation for the - quiet and
order which have prevailed in this community since the events of Saturday, and are
authorized to say that the position taken by Her Majesty in regard to the promul-
gation of a new constitution was under stress of her native subjects.
Authority is given for the assurance that any changes desired in the fundamental
law of the land will be sought only by methods provided in the constitution itself.
Her Majesty's ministers request all citizens to accept the assurance of Her Majesty
in the same spirit in which it is given. -
LILIUOKALANI.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
W. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
JQHN F. Colbury,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERson,
Attorney-General.
On the same day a mass meeting of between fifteen hundred and
two thousand people assembled, attended by the leading men in the
liberal and national reform parties, and adopted resolutions as follows:
Resolved, That the assurance of Her Majesty the Queen contained in this day's
proclamation is accepted by the people as a satisfactory guaranty that the Govern-
ment does not and will not seek any modification of the constitution by any other
means than those provided in the organic law.
Resolved, That accepting this assurance, the citizens here assembled will give their
cordial support to the administration, and indorse them in sustaining that policy.
To the communication inclosing the Queen's proclamation just cited,
there appears to have been no response. On the next day, as if to
give further assurance, the following paper was sent to Mr. Stevens:
SIR: The assurances conveyed by a royal proclamation by myself and ministers
yesterday having been received by my native subjects, and by them ratified at a mass
meeting, was received in a different spirit by the meeting representing the foreign
population and interests in my Kingdom. It is now my desire t , give to your ex-
cellency, as the diplomatic representative of the United States of America at my
court, the solemn assurance that the present constitution will be upheld and main-
tained by me and my ministers, and no changes will be made except by the methods
therein provided.
I desire to express to your excellency this assurance in the spirit of that friend-
ship which has ever existed between my Kingdom and that of the Government of
the United States of America, and which I trust will long continue.
- LILIUOKALANI R.
By the Queen:
- . SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
John F. Colburn,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERson,
Attorney-General.
IOLANI PALACE,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. STEvens,
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Honolults.
r
17
On the back of the first page of this communication written in pencir
s the word “Declined.” Immediately under the signature of the at-
torney-general, also in pencil, is written “1.30 to 1.45,” aud at the end
of th? Second and last page this sentence, written in ink, appears:
“Received at the U. S. Legation about 2 p.m.” -
The cabinet itself could not be removed for two years, and the views.
of its members were well known to be against establishing a new con-
stitution by proclamation of the Queen and cabinet.
Nearly all of the arms on the island of Oahu, in which Honolulu is.
situated, were in the possession of the Queen's government. A military
force, organized and drilled, occupied the station house, the barracks,
and the palace—the only points of any strategic significance in the
event of a conflict. -
The great body of the people moved in their usual course. Women
and children passed to and fro through the streets, seemingly uncon-
scious of any impending danger, and yet there were secret conferences
held by a small body of men, some of whom were Germans, some
Americans, and some native-born subjects of foreign origin.
On Saturday evening, the 14th of January, they took up the subject
of dethroning the Queen and proclaiming a new Government with a
view of annexation to the United States.
The first and most momentous question with them was to devise
some plan to have the United States troops landed. Mr. Thurston,
who appears to have been the leading spirit, on Sunday sought two
members of the Queen's cabinet and urged them to head a movement
against the Queen, and to ask Minister Stevens to land the troops, as-
suring them that in such an event Mr. Stevens would do so. Failing
to enlist any of the Queen's cabinet in the cause, it was necessary to
devise some other mode to accomplish this purpose. A committee of
Safety, consisting of thirteen members, had been formed from a little
body of men assembled in W. O. Smith's office. A deputation of these,
informing Mr. Stevens of their plans, arranged with him to land the
troops if they would ask it “for the purpose of protecting life and prop-
erty.” It was further agreed between him and them that in the event.
they should occupy the government building and proclaim a new gov-
ernment he would recognize it. The two leading members of the com-
mittee, Messrs. Thurston and Smith, growing uneasy as to the safety
of their persons, went to him to know if he would protect them in the
event of their arrest by the authorities, to which he gave his assent.
At the mass meeting, called by the committee of safety on the 16th
of January, there was no communication to the crowd of any purpose
to dethrone the Queen or to change the form of government, but only
to authorize the committee to take steps to prevent a consummation of
the Queen's purposes and to have guarantees of public safety. The
committee on public safety had kept their purposes from the public
view at this mass meeting and at their small gatherings for fear of pro-
ceedings against them by the government of the Queen.
After the mass meeting had closed a call on the American minister
for troops was made in the following terms, and signed indiscriminately
by Germans, by Americans, and by Hawaiian subjects of foreign
extraction:
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS,
Honolulu, January 16, 1893.
To His Excellency John L. STEvexs,
American Minister Resident:
SIR: We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully repre
sent that, in view of recent public events in this Kingdom, culminating in the
revolutionary acts of Queen Liliuokalani on Saturday last, the public safety is
menaced and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and the Unlies!
States forces at your command for assistance. º:
18
The Queen, with the aid of armed force and accompanied by threats of violence
and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new
constitution; and while prevented for the time from accomplishing her object, de-
clared publicly that she would only defer lier action. -
This condnct, and action was upon an occasion and -nntler circumstances which
have created general alarm and terror.
We are unalile to protect ourselves without aid, and, therefore, pray for the pro-
tection of the United States forces.
HENRY E. Cooper,
F. W. McChrs NEY,
W. C. WILDER,
C. BOLTE,
A. Brown,
WILLIAM. O. SMITH,
HENRY WATERHouse,
Theo. F. LANSING,
ED. SUHR,
L. A. THURSTON,
John EMMELUth,
WM. R. CASTLE,
J. A. MCCANDLESS,
Citizen’s Committee of Safety.
The response to that call does not appear in the files or on the rec-
ords of the American legation. It, therefore, can not speak for itself.
The request of the committee of safety was, however, consented to by
the American minister. The troops were landed.
On that very night the committee assembled at the house of Henry
Waterhouse, one of its members, living the next door to Mr. Stevens,
and finally determined on the dethronement of the Queen; selected
its officers, civil and military, and adjourned to meet the next morning.
Col. J. H. Soper, an American citizen, was selected to command the
military forces. At this Waterhouse meeting it was assented to by
all that Mr. Stevens had agreed with the committee of safety that in
the event it occupied the Government building and proclaimed a Pro-
visional Government he would recognize it as a de facto government.
When the troops were landed on Monday evening, January 16, about
5 o'clock, and began their march through the streets with their small
arms, artillery, etc., a great surprise burst upon the community. To
but few was it understood. Not much time elapsed before it was given
out by members of the committee of safety that they were designed to
support them. At the palace, with the cabinet, amongst the leaders
of the Queen's military forces, and the great body of the people who
were loyal to the Queen, the apprehension came that it was a move-
ment hostile to the existing Government. Protests were filed by the
minister of foreign affairs and by the governor of the island against
the landing of the troops.
Messrs. Parker and Peterson testify that on Tuesday at 1 o'clock
they called on Mr. Stevens, and by him were informed that in the event
the Queen's forces assailed the insurrectionary forces he would inter-
Welle.
At 2:30 o'clock of the same day the members of the Provisional Gov-
ernment proceeded to the Government building in squads and read their
proclamation. They had separated in their march to the Government
building for fear of observation and arrest. There was no sign of an
insurrectionary soldier on the street. The committee of safety sent to
the Government building a Mr. A. S. Wilcox to see who was there, and,
on being informed that there were no Government forces on the grounds,
proceeded in the manner I have related and read their proclamation.
Just before concluding the reading of this instrument fifteen volunteer
troops appeared. Within a half hour afterward some thirty or forty
made their appearance.
-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º-º----------, -, --
19
A part of the Queen's forces, numbering 224, were located at the
station house, about one-third of a mile from the Government building.
The Queen, with a body of 50 troops, was located at the palace, north.
of the Government building about 400 yards. A little northeast of
the palace and some 200 yards from it, at the barracks, was another
body of 272 troops. These forces had 14 pieces of artillery, 386 ifles,
and 16 revolvers. West of the Government building and across a nar-
row street were posted Capt. Wiltse and his troops, these likewise hav-
ing artillery and small arms.
The Government building is in a quadrangular-shaped piece of
ground surrounded by streets. The American troops were so posted
as to be in front of any movement of troops which should approach
the Government building on three sides, the fourth being occupied by
themselves. Any attack on the Government building from the east
side would expose the American troops tº the direct fire of the attack-
ing force. Any movement of troops from the palace toward the Gov-
ernment building in the event of a conflict between the military forces
would have exposed them to the fire of the Queen's troops. In fact, it
would have been impossible for a struggle between the Queen's forces
and the forces of the committee of safety to have taken place without
exposing them to the shots of the Queen's forces. To use the language
of Admiral Skerrett, the American troops were well located if
designed to promote the movement for the Provisional Gover me nt and
very improperly located if only intended to protect America,\ em, izens
in person and property.
They were doubtless so located to suggest to the Queen and her coun-
sellors that they were in coöperation with the insurrectionary move-
ment, and would when the emergency arose manifest it by active sup-
port.
It did doubtless suggest to the men who read the proclamation that
they were having the support of the American minister and naval
commander and were safe from personal harm.
Why had the American minister located the troops in such a situa-
tion and then assured the members of the committee of safety that on
their occupation of the Government building he would recognize it as a
government de facto, and as such give it support? Why was the
Government building designated to them as the place which, when
their proclamation was announced therefrom, would be followed by his
recognition. It was not a point of any strategic consequence. It did
not involve the employment of a single soldier.
A building was chosen where there were no troops stationed, where
there was no struggle to be made to obtain access, with an American
force immediately contiguous, with the mass of the population im-
pressed with its unfriendly attitude. Aye, more than this—before any
demand for surrender had even been made on the Queen or on the
commander or any officer of any of her military forces at any of the
points where her troops were located, the American minister had
recognized the Provisional Government and was ready to give it the
support of the United States troops!
Mr. Damon, the vice-president of the Provisional Government and a
member of the advisory council, first went to the station house, which
was in command of Marshal Wilson. The cabinet was there located.
The vice-president importuned the cabinet and the military commander
to yield up the military forces on the ground that the American minis-
ter had recognized the Provisional Government and that there ought to
be no blood shed. -
After considerable conference between Mr. Damon and the ministers
he and they went to the government building. 3 º
20
The cabinet then and there was prevailed upon to go with the vice-
president and some other friends to the Queen and urge her to acqui-
esce in the situation. It was pressed upon her by the ministers and
other persons at that conference that it was useless for her to make
any contest, because it was one with the United States; that she could
file her protest against what had taken place and would be entitled to
a hearing in the city of Washington. After consideration of more
than an hour she finally concluded, under the advice of her cabinet
and friends, to order the delivery up of her military forces to the Pro-
visional Government under protest. That paper is in the following
form:
I, Liliuokalani, by the grace of God and under the constitution of the Hawaiian
Kingdom, Queen, do bereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against
myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain
persons claiming to have established a provisional government of and for this King-
dom.
That I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose minister
plenipotentiary, His Excellency John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to
be landed at Honolulu and declared that he would support the said provisional gov-
ernment, -
Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces and perhaps the loss of life, I do, under
this protest, and impelled by said force, yield my authority until such time as the
Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo
the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as
the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.
Done at Honolulu this 17th day of Jannary, A. D. 1893.
LILIUOKALANI, R.
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Corswell,
Minister of Finance.
JNo. F. Colbu RN,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERson,
Attorney-General.
All this was accomplished without the firing of a gun, without a de-
Imand for surrender on the part of the insurrectionary forces until they
Thad been converted into a de facto government by the recognition of
the American minister with American troops, then ready to interfere
in the event of an attack.
In pursuance of a prearranged plan, the Government thus estab-
lished hastened off commissioners to Washington to make a treaty for
the purpose of annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.
During the progress of the movement the committee of safety,
alarmed at the fact that the insurrectionists had no troops and no
organization, despatched to Mr. Stevens three persons, to wit, Messrs.
L. A. Thurston, W. C. Wilder, and H. F. Glade, “to inform him of the
situation and ascertain from him what if any protection or assistance
could be afforded by the United States forces for the protection of life
and property, the unanimous sentiment and feeling being that life and
property were in danger.” Mr. Thurston is a native-born subject; Mr.
Wilder is of American origin, but has absolved his allegiance to the
United States and is a naturalized subject; Mr. Glade is a German
subject. -
The déclaration as to the purposes of the Queen contained in the
formal request for the appointment of a committee of safety in view
of the facts which have been recited, to wit, the action of the Queen
and her cabinet, the action of the Royalist mass meeting, and the peace-
ful movement of her followers, indicating assurances of their abandon-
ment, seem strained in so far as any situation then requiring the land-
ing of troops might exact.
21
The request was made, too, by men avowedly intending to overthrow
the existing government and substitute a provisional government there-
for, and who, with such purpose in progress of being effected, could
not proceed therewith, but fearing arrest and imprisonment and with-
out any thought of abandoning that purpose, sought the aid of the
American troops in this situation to prevent any harm to their persons
and property. To consent to an application for such a purpose without
any suggestion dissuading the applicants from it on the part of the
American minister, with naval forces under his command, could not
otherwise be construed than as complicity with their plans.
The committee, to use their own language, say: “We are unable to
protect ourselves without aid, and, therefore, pray for the protection
of the United States forces.”
In less than thirty hours the petitioners have overturned the throne,
established a new government, and obtained the recognition of foreign
powers.
Let us see whether any of these petitioners are American citizens,
and if so whether they were entitled to protection, and if entitled to
protection at this point whether or not subsequently thereto their
conduct was such as could be sanctioned as proper on the part of
American citizens in a foreign country.
Mr. Henry E. Cooper is an American citizen; was a member of the
the committee of safety; was a participant from the beginning in
their schemes to overthrow the Queen, establish a Provisional Govern-
ment, and visited Capt. Wiltse's vessel, with a view of securing the
aid of American troops, and made an encouraging report thereon. He,
an American citizen, read the proclamation dethroning the Queen and
tablishing the Provisional Government.
Mr. F. W. McChesney is an American citizen; was coöperating in
the revolutionary movement, and had been a member of the advisory
council from its inception.
Mr. W. C. Wilder is a naturalized citizen of the Hawaiian Islands,
owing no allegiance to any other country. He was one of the original
members of the advisory council, and one of the orators in the mass
meeting on the morning of January 16.
Mr. C. Bolte is of German origin, but a regularly naturalized citizen
of the Hawaiian Islands.
Mr. A. Brown is a Scotchman and has never been naturalized.
Mr. W. O. Smith is a native of foreign origin and a subject of the
Islands.
Mr. Henry Waterhouse, originally from Tasmania, is a naturalized
. citizen of the islands.
Mr. Theo. F. Lansing is a citizen of the United States, owing and
claiming allegiance thereto. He has never been naturalized in this
country.
Mr. Ed. Suhr is a German subject.
Mr. L. A. Thurston is a native-born subject of the Hawaiian Islands,
of foreign origin.
Mr. John Emmeluth is an American citizen.
Mr. W. R. Castle is a Hawaiian of foreign parentage.
Mr. J. A. MeCandless is a citizen of the United States—never have
ing been naturalized here.
Six are Hawaiians subjects; five are American citizens; one Eng-
lish, and one German. A majority are foreign subjects.
It will be observed that they sign as “Citizens' committee of
safety.”
This is the first time American troops were ever landed on these
islands at the instance of a committee of safety without notice to the
• existing government.
22
It is to be observed that they claim to be a citizens' committee of
safety and that they are not simply applicants for the protection of the
property and lives of American citizens. -
The chief actors in this movement wel e Messrs. L. A. Thurston and
W. O. Smith.
Alluding to the meeting of the committee of safety held at Mr. W.
R. Castle's on Sunday afternoon, January 15, Mr. W. O. Smith says:
After we adjourned Mr. Thurston and I called upon the American minister again
and informed him of what was being done. Among other things we talked over
with him what had better be done in case of our being arrested, or extreme or vio-
lent measures being taken by the monarchy in regard to us. We did not know what
steps would be taken, and there was a feeling of great unrest and sense of danger
in the community. Mr. Stevens gave assurance of his earnest purpose to afford all
the protection that was in his power to protect life and property. He emphasized
the fact that while he would call for the United States troops to protect life and
property, he could not recognize any government until actually established.
Mr. Damon, the vice-president of the Provisional Government, return-
ing from the country on the evening of the 16th, and seeing the troops
in the streets, inquired of Mr. Henry Waterhouse, “Henry, what
does all this mean?” To which he says, if he “remembers rightly,”
Mr. Waterluouse replied, “It is all up !” On being questioned by
me as to his understanding of the expression, “It is all up,” he said he
understood from it that the American troops had taken possession of
the island.
Mr. C. L. Carter, at the government house, assured Mr. Damon that
the United States troops would protect them. Mr. Damon was aston-
ished when they were not immediately marched over from Arion Hall
to the government building and became uneasy. He only saw protec-
tion in the bodily presence of the American troops in this building.
The committee of safety, with its frequent interviews with Mr. Stevens,
saw it in the significance of the position occupied by the United States
troops and in the assurance of Mr. Stevens that he would interfere for
the purpose of protecting life and property, and that when they should
have occupied the government building and read their proclamation
dethroning the Queen and establishing the Provisional Government he
would recognize it.
The committee of safety, recognizing the fact that the landing of
the troops under existing circumstances could, according to all law
and precedent, be done only on the request of the existing Government,
having failed in utilizing the Queen's cabinet, resorted to the new
device of a committee of safety, made up of Germans, British, Ameri-
cans, and natives of foreign origin, led and directed by two native
subjects of the Hawaiian Islands.
With these leaders, subjects of the Hawaiian Islands, the American
minister consulted freely as to the revolutionary movement and gave
them assurance of protection from danger at the hands of the royal
Government and forces.
On January 17 the following communication, prepared at the station
house, which is one-third of a mile from the Government building
and two-thirds of a mile from the residence of the American minister,
was sent to him:
DEPARTMENT of Foreign AFFAIRs,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. STEvens,
Enroy Ertraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, etc.:
SIR: Her Hawaiian Majesty's Government, having been informed that certain per-
sons to them unknown, have issued proclamation declaring a Provisional Government
to exist in opposition to Her Majesty's Government, and having pretended to depose
the Queen, her cabinet and marshal, and that certain treasonable persons at present
occupy the Government building in IIonolulu with an armed force, and pretending
that your excellency, on behalf of the United States of America, has recognized such
23
Provisional Government, Her Majesty's cabinet asks respectfully, has your exeellency
recognized said Provisional Government, and, if not, Her Majesty's Government under
the above existing circumstances respectfully requests the assistance of your Govern-
ment in preserving the peace of the country.
We have the honor to be your excellency’s obedient servants,
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister Foreign Affairs.
WM. H. Cornwell,
Minister of Finance.
John F. Colburn,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERson,
Attorney-General.
A.
In it will be observed the declaration that the Provisional Govern-
Iment is claiming to have had his recognition. The reply of Mr. Stevens
is not to be found in the records or files of the legation, but on those
‘records appears the following entry:
UNITED STATES LEGATION,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
About 4 to 5 p.m. of this date—am not certain of the precise time—the note on
file from the four ministers of the deposed Queen, inquiring if I had recognized the
Provisional Government, came to my hands while I was lying sick on the couch.
Not far from 5 p.m.—I did not think to look at my watch—I addressed a short note
to Hon. Samuel Parker, Hon. Wm. H. Cornwell, Hon. John F. Colburn, and Hon. A.
P. Peterson, no longer regarding them as ministers, informing them that I had rec-
.ognized the Provisional Government.
John L. STEvens,
United States Minister.
This communication was received at the station house and read by
..all of the ministers and by a number of other persons.
After this Mr. Samuel M. Damon, the vice-president of the Provi-
isional Government, and Mr. Bolte, a member of the advisory council,
came to the station house and gave information of the proclamation
and asked for the delivery up of the station house, the former urging
that the government had been recognized by the American minister,
and that any struggle would cause useless bloodshed.
The marshal declared that he was able to cope with the forces of the
Provisional Government and those of the United States successfully,
if the latter interfered, and that he would not surrender except by the
written order of the Queen. -
After considerable conference, the cabinet went with Messrs. Damon
and Bolte to the Government building and met the Provisional Gov-
ernment, and there indicated a disposition to yield, but said that they
must first consult with the Queen.
The members of the Queen's cabinet, accompanied by Mr. Damon,
preceded by the police, and met the Queen. There were also present
Messrs. H. A. Widemann, Paul Neumann, E. C. Macfarlane, J. O.
Carter, and others.
As to what occurred there I invite your attention to the following
statement, made by the vice-president of the Provisional Govern-
ment, and certified by him to be correct:
Q. In that conversation you asked for a surrender of the forces and the ministers
. advised it?
A. The different ones spoke and they all recommended it. Each one spoke. At
first Judge Widemann was opposed to it, but he finally changed his mind on the
advice of Mr. Neumann. Mr. Neumann advised yielding. Each one advised it.
Q. Was the advice of Neumann and the cabinet based on the idea that the
Queen would have to contend with the United States forces as well as the forces of
the Provisional Government?
A. It was the Queen's idea that she could surrender pending a settlement at Wash-
ington, and it was on that condition that she gave up. If I remember right I spoke
7 to her also. I said she could surrender or abdicate under protest.
24
Q. And that the protest would be considered at a later period at Washington?
A. At a later period. -
* *
sº & * * {}
I knew it was the Queen's idea that Mr. Stevens was in sympathy with this move-
ment. .
Q. But I am asking now as to what reasons the ministers gave for her acqui-
escence?
A. It was their idea that it was useless to carry on; that it would be provocative
of bloodshed and trouble if she persisted in the matter longer; that it was wiser for
her to abdicate under protest and have a hearing at a later time; that the forces
against her were too strong.
Q. Did they indicate the United States forces in any way?
A. I do not remember their doing so.
Q. Do you know whether or not at that time they were under the impression that
the United States forces were in sympathy with the revolution?
A. Beyond an impression I know nothing definite.
Q. What was the result of this conference with the Queen? What was agreed on f
A. She signed a document surrendering her rights to the Provisional Government
under protest.
$º * *-*. *
She was reluctant to agree to this, but was advised that the whole sub, ect would
come up for final consideration at Washington.
tº *} tº * tº tºp ©
I did tell her that she would have a perfect right to be heard at a later period.
Q. By the United States Government?
A. Yes.
All the persons present except Mr. Damon formally state and certify
that in this discussion it was conceded by all that Mr. Stevens had
recognized the Provisional Government. This Mr. Damon says he does
not clearly recollect, but that he is under the impression that at that
time the Provisional Government had been recognized. Save Mr.
Damon, these witnesses testify to the impression made on their minds
and on that of the Queen that the American uninister and the American
naval commander were cooperating in the insurrectionary movement.
As a result of the conference, there was then and there prepared the
protest which has been cited. *
The time occupied in this conference is indicated in the following lan-
guage by Mr. Damon:
We went over (to the Palace) between 4 and 5 and remained until 6 discussing the
situation.
Mr. Damon and the cabinet returned to the Provisional Government,
presented the protest, and President Dole indorsed on the same:
Received by the hands of the late cabinet this 17th day of January, A. D. 1893.
SANFORD B. I)ole,
Chairman of the Erecutire Council of Provisional Gorernment.
After this protest the Queen ordered the delivery up of the station
house, where was an important portion of the military forces, and the
barracks, where was another force.
The statements of many witnesses at the station house and at the
conference with the Queen, that the reply of Mr. Stevens to the cabinet
on the subject of recognition had been received when Mr. Damon and
Mr. Bolte called there, and also the statements at the conference with
the Queen that the recognition had taken place, are not contradicted
by Mr. Damon; but when inquired of touching these matters, he uses
such expressions as “I can not remember. It might have been so.”
Mr. Damon says that he is under the impression that he knew when
he went to this conference with the Queen that the recognition had
taken place.
Mr. Bolte, another member of the Provisional Government, in a formal
statement made and certified to by him, shows very much confusion of
memory, but says: “I can not say what time in the day Mr. Stevens
sent his recognition.” He thinks it was after sunset. '
*&-ºs-Mºº-ºº-ººrººº-ººoºº… **
s
25
Mr. Henry Waterhouse, another member of the Provisional Govern-
ment, says: “We had taken possession of the barracks and station
house before the recognition took place.”
It will be observed that I have taken the communication of the
Queen's ministers and the memorandum of Mr. Stevens as to his reply
and the time thereof, to wit: “Not far from 5 p.m. I did not think
to look at my watch.”
This information was then transmitted to the station house, a dis-
tance of two-thirds of a mile, and before the arrival of Messrs. Damon
and Bolte. This fact is supported by nine persons present at the inter-
view with Mr. Damon and Mr. Bolte. Then another period of time
intervenes beween the departure of Mr. Damon and the cabinet, pass-
ing over a distance of one-third of a mile to the Government building.
Then some further time is consumed in a conference with the Provisional
Government before the departure of Mr. Damon and the cabinet to the
palace, where was the Queen. The testimony of all persons present
proves that the recognition by Mr. Stevens had then taken place.
Subsequent to the signing of the protest occurred the turning over of .
the military to the Provisional Government.
Inquiry as to the credibility of all these witnesses satisfies me as to
their character for veracity, save one person, Mr. Colburn. He is a
merchant, and it is said he makes misstatements in business trans-
actions. No man can reasonably doubt the truth of the statements of
the witnesses that Mr. Stevens had recognized the Provisional Govern-
ment before Messrs. Damon and Bolte went to the station house.
Recurring to Mr. Stevens's statement as to the time of his reply to the
letter of the cabinet, it does not appear how long before this reply he
had recognized the Provisional Government. Some witnesses fix it at
three and some at half-past three. According to Mr. Damon he went
over with the cabinet to meet the Queen between four and five, and,
taking into account the periods of time as indicated by the several
events antecedent to this visit to the palace, it is quite probable that
the recognition took place in the neighborhood of 3 o'clock. This
would be within one-half hour from the time that Mr. Cooper com-
menced to read the proclamation establishing that Government, and,
allowing twenty minutes for its reading, in ten minutes thereafter the
recognition must have taken place.
Assuming that the recognition took place at half-past 3, there was
not at the Government building with the Provisional Government
exceeding 60 raw soldiers.
In conversation with me Mr. Stevens said that he knew the barracks
and station-house had not been delivered up when he recognized the
Provisional Government; that he did not care anything about that,
for 25 men, well armed, could have run the whole crowd.
There appears on the files of the legation this communication:
GOVERNMENT BUILDING,
Honolulu, January 17, 1893.
His Excellency John L. STEVENS,
United States Minister Resident:
SIR: I acknowledge receipt of your valued communication of this day, recognizing
the Hawaiian Provisional Government, and express deep appreciation of the same.
We have conferred with the ministers of the late government, and have made
demand upon the marshal to surrender the station-house. We are not actually yet
in possession of the station-house; but as night is approaching and our forces may
be insufficient to maintain order, we request the immediate support of the United
States forces, and would request that the commander of the U. S. forces take com-
mand of our military forces, so that they may act together for the protection of
the city.
Respectfully yours, SANFORD B. DOLE
º y
Chairman Executive Council.
26
After the recognition by Mr. Stevens, Mr. Dole thus informs him of
his having seen the Queen's Cabinet and demaded the surrender of the
forces at the station-house. This paper contains the evidence that
before Mr. Dole had ever had any conference with the Queen's minis-
ters, or made any demand for the surrender of her military forces, the
Provisional Government had been recognized by Mr. Stevens.
On this paper is written the following:
The above request not complied with.-STEVENS.
This is the only reference to it to be found on the records or among
the files of the legation.
This memorandum is not dated.
With the Provisional Government and its forces in a two-acre lot, and
the Queen's forces undisturbed by their presence, this formal, digni.
fied declaration on the part of the l’resident of the Provisional Govern-
ment to the American minister, after first thanking him for his recog-
nition, informing him of his meeting with the Queen's cabinet and
admitting that the station-house had not been surrendered, and stat-
ing that his forces may not be sufficient to maintain order, and asking
that the American commander unite the forces of the United States
with those of the Provisional Government to protect the city, is in ludi-
crous contrast with the declaration of the American minister in his
previous letter of recognition that the Provisional Government was in
full possession of the Government buildings, the archives, the treasury,
and in control of the Hawaiian capital.
In Mr. Stevens's dispatch to Mr. Foster, No. 79, January 18, 1893, is
this paragraph:
As soon as practicable a Provisional Government was constituted, composed of
four highly respectable men, with Judge Dole at the head, he having resigned his
place on the supreme bench to assume this responsibility. He was born in Hono-
lulu, of American parentage, educated here and in the United States, and is of the
highest reputation among all citizens, both natives and whites. P. C. Jones is a
native of Boston, Mass., wealthy, possessing property interests in the island, and a
resident here for many years. The other two members are of the highest respecta-
bility. The committee of public safety forth with took possession of the Government
buildings, archives, and treasury, and installed the Provisional Government at the
heads of the respective departments. This being an accomplished fact, I promptly rec-
ognized the Prorisional Government as the DE FACTO government of the Hawaiian Islands.
The English minister, the Portugese chargé d'affaires, the French and the Japanese
commissioners promptly did the same; these, with myself, being the ouly members
of the diplomatic corps residing here.
Read in the light of what has immediately preceded, it is clear that
he recognized the Provisional Government very soon after the proclama-
tion of it was made. This proclamation announced the organization
of the Government, its form and officials. The quick recognition was
the performance of his pledge to the committee of safety. The recog-
nition by foreign powers, as herein stated, is incorrect. They are dated
on the 18th, the day following that of Mr. Stevens.
On the day of the revolution neither the Portuguese chargé d'af.
faires nor the French commissioner had any communication, written
or oral, with the Provisional Government until after dark, when they
went to the Government building to understand the situation of
affairs. They did not then announce their recognition.
The British minister, several hours after Mr. Stevens's recognition,
believing that the Provisional Government was sustained by the Amer-
ican minister and naval forces, and that the Queen's troops could not
and ought not to enter into a struggle with the United States forces,
and having so previously informed the Queen's cabinet, did go to the
Provisional Government and indicate his purpose to recognize it.
I can not assure myself about the action of the Japanese commis-
sioner. Mr. Stevens was at his home sick, and some one evidently
misinformed him as to the three first.
27
In a letter of the Hawaiian commissioners to Mr. Foster, dated Feb-
ruary 11, is this paragraph:
Sixth. At the time the Provisional Government took possession of the Government
buildings no American troops or officers were present or took part in such proceed-
ings in any manner whatever. No public recognition was accorded the Provisional
Government by the American minister until they were in possession of the Govern-
ment buildings, the archives, and the treasury, supported by sereral hundred armed
men and after the abdication by the Queen and the surrender to the Provisional Government
of her forces.
Mark the words, “and after the abdication by the Queen and the
surrender to the Provisional Government of her forces.” It is signed
L. A. Thurston, W. C. Wilder, William R. Castle, J. Marsden, and
Charles L. Carter.
Did the spirit of annexation mislead these gentlemen. If not, what
malign influence tempted President Dole to a contrary statement in
his cited letter to the American minister?
The Government building is a tasteful structure, with ample space
for the wants of a city government of 20,000 people. It is near the
center of a 2-acre lot. In it the legislature and supreme court hold
their sessions and the cabinet ministers have their offices.
In one corner of this lot in the rear is an ordinary two-story structure
containing eight rooms. This building was used by the tax assessor,
the superintendent of waterworks, and the Government survey office.
In another corner is a small wooden structure containing two rooms
used by the board of health.
• These constitute what is termed in the correspondence between the
Provisional Government and the American minister and the Govern-
ment of the United States “government departmental buildings.”
Whatever lack of harmony of statement as to time may appear in
the evidence, the statements in documents and the consecutive order
of events in which the witnesses agree, all do force us to but one con-
clusion—that the American minister recognized the Provisional Gov.
ernment on the simple fact that it had entered a house designated
Sometimes as the Government building and sometimes as Aliiolani
Hale(sic), which had never been regarded as tenable in military opera-
tions and was not so regarded by the Queen's officers in the disposi-
tion of their military forces, these being at the station house, at the
palace, and at the barracks.
Mr. Stevens consulted freely with the leaders of the revolutionary
movement from the evening of the 14th. These disclosed to him all
their plans. They feared arrest and punishment. He promised them
protection. They needed the troops on shore to overawe the Queen's
supporters and Government. This he agreed to and did furnish. They
had few arms and no trained soldiers. They did not mean to fight.
It was arranged between them and the American minister that the
proclamation dethroning the Queen and organizing a provisional gov.
ernment should be read from the Government building and he would
follow it with a speedy recognition. All this was to be done with
American troops provided with small-arms and artillery across a nar-
row street within a stone's throw. This was done.
Then commenced arguments and importunities to the military com-
mander and the Qmeen that the United States had recognized the
Provisional Government and would support it; that for them to per-
sist involved useless bloodshed. * &
No soldier of the Provisional Government ever left the 2-acre lot.
The Queen finally surrendered, not to these soldiers and their leaders
but to the Provisional Government on the conviction that the Ameri-
can minister and the American troops were promoters and supporters
of the revolution, and that she could only appeal to the Government of
the United States to render justice to her. i. -
$
28
The leaders of the revolutionary movement would not have under-
taken it but for Mr. Stevens's promise to protect them against any danger
from the Government. But for this their mass meeting would not have
been held. But for this no request to land the troops would have been
made. Had the troops not been landed no measures for the organiza-
tion of a new Government would have been taken.
The American minister and the revolutionary leaders had determined
on annexation to the United States, and had agreed on the part each
was to act to the very end.
Prior to 1887 two-thirds of the foreigners did not become natural-
ized. The Americans, British, and Germans especially would not give
up the protection of those strong governments and rely upon that of
the Hawaiian Islands. To such persons the constitution of 1887
declared: “We need your vote to overcome that of our own native
subjects. Take the oath to support the Hawaiian Government, with a
distinct reservation of allegiance to your own.” Two-thirds of the
Europeans and Americans now voting were thus induced to vote in a
strange country with the pledge that such act did not affect their citi-
zenship to their native country. The purport and form of this affida-
vit appear in the citations from the constitution of 1887 and the form
of oath of a foreign voter. See page 12.
The list of registered voters of American and European origin, in-
cluding Portuguese, discloses 3,715; 2,091 of this number are Portu-
guese. Only eight of these imported Portuguese have ever been nat-
uralized in these islands. To this should be added 106 persons, mostly
negroes, from the Cape Verde Islands, who came here voluntarily sev-
eral years prior to the period of state importation of laborers.
The commander of the military forces of the Provisional Government
on the day of the dethroning of the Queen and up to this hour has
never given up his American citizenship, but expressly reserved the
same in the form of oath already disclosed and by a continuous asser-
tion of the same.
The advisory council of the Provisional Government, as established
by the proclamation, consisted of John Emmeluth, an American, not
naturalized; Andrew Brown, a Scotchman, not naturalized; C. Bolte,
naturalized; James F. Morgan, naturalized; Henry Waterhouse, nat-
uralized; S. M. Damon, native; W. G. Ashley, an American, not
naturalized; E. D. Tenney, an American, not naturalized; F. W. Mc-
Chesney, an American, not naturalized; W. C. Wilder, naturalized;
J. A. McCandless, an American, not naturalized; W. R. Castle, a
native; Lorrina A. Thurston, a native; F. J. Wilhelm, an American,
not naturalized, -
One-half of this body, then, was made up of persons owing allegiance
to the United States and Great Britain.
The annexation mass meeting of the 16th of January was made up
in this same manner.
On the 25th of February, 1843, under pressure of British naval
forces, the King ceded the country to Lord George Paulet, “subject to
the decision of the British Government after full information.” That
Government restored their independence. It made a deep impression
on the native mind.
This national experience was recalled by Judge Widemann, a German
of character and wealth, to the Queen to satisfy her that the establish-
ment of the Provisional Government, through the action of Capt. Wiltse
and Mr. Stevens, would be repudiated by the United States Govern-
ment, and that she could appeal to it. Mr. Damon urged upon her
that she would be entitled to such a hearing. He was the representative
29
of the Provisional Government, and accepted her protest and turned it
over to President Dole. This was followed by large expenditures from
her private purse to present her cause and to invoke her restoration.
That a deep wrong has been done the Queen and the native race by
American officials pervades the native mind and that of the Queen, as
well as a hope for redress from the United States, there can be no doubt.
In this connection it is important to note the inability of the Ha-
waiian people to cope with any great powers, and their recognition of it
by never offering resistance to their encroachments.
The suddenness of the landing of the United States troops, the read-
ing of the proclamation of the Provisional Government almost in their
presence, and the quick recognition by Mr. Stevens, easily prepared
her for the suggestion that the President of the United States had no
knowledge of these occurrences and must know of and approve or dis-
approve of what had occurred at a future time. This, too, must have
contributed to her disposition to accept the suggestions of Judge Wide-
mann and Mr. Damon. Indeed, who could have supposed that the
circumstances surrounding her could have been foreseen and sanctioned
deliberately by the President of the United States.
Her uniform conduct and the prevailing sentiment amongst the na-
tives point to her belief as well as theirs that the spirit of justice on the
part of the President would restore her crown.
Attention is now invited to the following table, showing the census
of the Hawaiian Islands by districts and islands in 1890:
Latest official census of the Hawaiian Islands, taken December 28, 1890, by districts and
islands.
HAWAII.
Hilo --------------------------------------------------- 9,935
Puna -------------------------------------------------- 834
Kau --------------------------------------------------- 2,577
North Kona-------------------------------------------- 1,753
South Kona--------------------------------------. - - - - - 1,812
North Kohala------------------------------------------ 4,303
South Kohala------------------------------------------ 538
Hamakua.--------------------------------------------- 5,002
26,754
MAUI
Lahaina ----------------------------------------------- 2,113
Wailuku ----------------------------------------------- 6,708
Hana-------------------------------------------------- 3,270
Makawoo---------------------------------------------- 5,266
17,357
Molokai ----------------------------------------------- 2,632
Lanai ------------------------------------------------. 174
OAHU
Honolulu.---------------------------------------------- 22,907
Ewa---------------------------------------------------- 2, 155
Waianae ------------------------------------------------ 903
Waialua.----------------------------------------------- 1,286
Koolauloa ---------------------------------------------- 1,444
Koolaupoko ...------------------------------------------ 2,499
&aeºš
KAUAI
Waimea ---------------------------------------------- 2,523
Noihau ----------------------------------------------- 216
Koloa------------------------------------------------- 1,755
Kawaihau. -------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2,101
Hanalei ---------------------------------------------- 2,472
Lihue ------------------------------------------------ 2,792
11,859
Total population, 1890, 89,990. Total population, 1884, 80,578.
The island of Oahu, on which Honolulu is situated, appears, then, to
have had a population of 31,194. The total population was 89,970.
This total has been increased since by adding several thousand Japa-
nese contract laborers. Fifty-eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-
six, a majority of the people, lived on the other islands.
Nothing was known of the revolutionary movement at Honolulu in
the other islands until several days after its accomplishment, and no
opportunity to consider and approve or reject it has been permitted.
Lieut. Fox, of Admiral Skerrett's staff, furnishes me the following
information, in the shape of a memorandum, showing the movements
of American troops to and from American vessels in Honolulu:
Account of the forces landed from the U. S. S. Boston at Honolulu, January 16, 1893,
together with those landed from and returned to the ship at different times:
Landed at 4:30 or 5 p.m., January 16–
Three companies of blue jackets, 86 each---------------------------------- 108
One company marines and two musicians ---------------------------------- 32
Musicians for battalion---------------------------------------------------- 12
Officers—9 naval, 1 marine ------------------------------------------------ 10
162
Extra men landed–
January 24 for Camp Boston ------------------------------------------ 2
February 16 for Camp Boston ----------------------------------------- 1
March 15 for marine guard.------------------------------------------- 1
March 17 for Camp Boston -------------------------------------------- 14
— 18
Total number of men and officers landed for service...................... 180
Returned on board:
January 27, men ---------------------------------------------------------- 2
January 30, men ---------------------------------------------------------- 1
February 3, Lieut. Young's company -------------------------------------- 35
February 3, officers.--------------------------------------. * * * * * * * * * * s e s e is 2
February 23, men --------------------------------------------------------- 2
February 27, men --------------------------------------------------------- 2
February 28, one marine and one blue jacket -----------------------------. 2
March 1, men --------------------------- * = • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~ * * * * * * * * ~ * ~ * 1.
March 13, men ------------------------------------------------------------ 1.
March 15, men ------------------------------------------------------------ 2
March 18, men ------------------ • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ~ * 1
March 20, Lieut. Coffman's company.-------------------------------...--- 36
March 20, officers ------------------------------ --------------------------- 1.
March 22, men ------------------------------------------------------------ 1
89
Total number of men and officers returned before April 1....................... 89
Total number of men and officers landed before April 1.-----------............. 180
Total number left on shore March 20, 1893.-------....................... 91
On February 15 Lieut. Young's company landed for the admiral's review and
returned after the review the same day. There were 36 men in the company and
2 officers.
The total number of men at Camp Boston.—
April 1, men -------------------------------------------------------------- 52
April 1, officers ------.!---------------------------------------------------- 6
April 1, marines at Government building ........-------------------------- 33
April 1, officers ----------------------------------------------------------- 1
Total force withdrawn from shore April 1, 1893.......................... 92
31
The United States troops, it thus appears, were doing military duty
for the Provisional Government before the protectorate was assumed,
just as afterwards. The condition of the community at the time of the
assumption of the protectorate was one of quiet and acquiescence,
pending negotiations with the United States, so far as I have been
able to learn.
A few days before my arrival here news of the withdrawal by the
President from the Senate of the treaty of annexation and his purpose
to send a commissioner to inquire into the revolution was received.
An organization known as the Annexation Club commenced to obtain
signatures to a petition in favor of annexation. This work has been
continued ever since.
The result is reported on July 9, 1893, thus:
HEADQUARTERS ANNEXATION CLUB,
Honolulu, H. I., July 9, 1893.
Hon. J. H. Blount,
U. S. E. E. & M. P.
In answer to your communication of May I would say that the names on our
great register to date are 5,500 and that we are advised of 190 odd on rolls not yet
entered on the other islands.
Of those which are entered I would estimate that 1,218 are Americans, being
90 odd per cent of the total number of Americans on the islands and 20 odd per
cent of those on the club rolls.
English 251, being 26 per cent of those on the islands and 4 per cent of club rolls.
One thousand and twenty-two Hawaiians, being 11 per cent of those on islands
and 18 per cent of club rolls.
Two thousand two hundred and sixty-one Portuguese, being 73 per cent of Portu-
guese on islands and 41 per cent of club rolls. •
Sixty-nine Norwegians, being 50 per cent of those on islands and 1 per cent of
club rolls.
Three hundred and fifty-one Germans, being 53 per cent of those on islands and
6 per cent on club rolls.
Others, 328, unclassified.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
J. W. JoxEs,
Secretary Annexation Club.
Compare this with the exhibit in the following table:
The census of 1890, by age and nationality, showing number of registered voters.
|Under 15, 15 to 30 || 30 to 45 Over 45 Register-
Nationality. years. years. years. years. Total. ed voters.
10,240 9,329 6,716 8, 151 34,436 8,777
3, 427 | 1,744 742 273 6, 186 777
6,797 471 143 84 7,495 146
225 554 66 487 1,928 637
76 375 515 378 1,344 505
145 293 392 204 || 1,034 382
* = e = * = < * * * 12 22 36 70 22
2,233 2,862 2,426 || 1,091 8,602 2,091
27 102 30 7 78
261 5,951 6,919 || 2,170 15, 301 i..........
63 || 7,099 5,073 125 12, 360 |..........
25 , 244 233 86 588 42
9. 116 192 102 419 136
23,518 29, 118 24,137 || 13,217 | 89,990 || 13,593
|
Denominations, as shown by the census of 1884, were: Protestants, 29,685; Roman
Catholics, 20,072; and unreported, 30,821. Of this latter 17,639 were Chinese and
116 were Japanese. At the recent census this feature of the work was omitted.
This shows the number of registered voters and the looseness of the
method of the Annexation Club.
After my arrival the adherents of the Queen commenced to obtain
signatures amongst the natives against annexation, under attacks from
the press and annexationists of treasonable purposes. They report
7,000 signatures. In addition to this, petition against annexation by
whites, little circulated, contains 249 signatures.

32
The Portuguese have generally signed the annexation rolls. These,
as I have already stated, are nearly all Portuguese subjects. A major-
ity of the whites of American and European birth who have signed the
same roll are not Hawaiian subjects and are not entitled to vote under
any laws of the Kingdom.
The testimony of leading annexationists is that if the question of
annexation was submitted to a popular vote, excluding all persons who
could not read and write except foreigners (under the Australian-bal-
lot system, which is the law of the land), that annexation would be de-
feated.
From a careful inquiry I am satisfied that it would be defeated by a
vote of at least two to one. If the votes of persons claiming allegiance
to foreign countries were excluded, it would be defeated by more than
five to one.
The undoubted sentiment of the people is for the Queen, against the
Provisional Government and against annexation. A majority of the
whites, especially Americans, are for annexation.
The native registered vote in 1890 was 9,700; the foreign vote was
3,893. This native vote is generally aligned against the annexation
whites. No relief is hoped for from admitting to the right of suffrage
the overwhelming Asiatic population. In this situation the annexation
, whites declare that good government is unattainable.
The controlling element in the white population is connected with the
sugar industry. In its interests the Government here has negotiated
treaties from time to time for the purpose of securing contract laborers
for terms of years for the plantations, and paid out large sums for their
transportation and for building plantation wharves, etc.
These contracts provide for compelling the laborer to work faithfully
by fines and damage suits brought by the planters against them, with
the right on the part of the planter to deduct the damages and cost of
suit out of the laborer's wages. They also provide for compelling the
laborer to remain with the planter during the contract term. They are
sanctioned by law and enforced by civil remedies and penal laws. The
general belief amongst the planters at the so-called revolution was that,
notwithstanding the laws against importing labor into the United
States in the event of their annexation to that Government, these laws
would not be made operative in the Hawaiian Islands on account of
their peculiar conditions. Their faith in the building of a cable
between Honolulu and San Francisco, and large expenditures at Pearl
Harbor in the event of annexation have also as much to do with the
desire for it.
In addition to these was the hope of escape from duties on rice and
fruits and receiving the sugar-bounty, either by general or special law.
The repeal of the duty on sugar in the McKinley act was regarded
a severe blow to their interests, and the great idea of statesman-
ship has been to do something in the shape of treaties with the United
States, reducing their duties on agricultural products of the Hawaiian
Islands, out of which profit might be derived. Annexation has for its
charm the complete abolition of all duties on their exports to the United
States.
The annexationists expect the United States to govern the islands
by so abridging the right of suffrage as to place them in control of the
whites.
The Americans, of what is sometimestermed the better class, in point
of intelligence, refinement, and good morals, are fully up to the best
standard in American social life. Their homes are tasteful and distin-
guished for a generous hospitality. Education and religion receive at
their hands zealous support. The remainder of them contain good
33
people of the laboring class and the vicious characters of a seaport
city. These general observations can be applied to the English and
German population.
The native population, numbering in 1890 40,622 persons, contained
27,901 able to read and write. No country in Europe, except per-
haps Germany and England, can make such a showing. While the
native generally reads and writes in native and English, he usually
speaks the Kanaka language. Foreigners generally acquire it. The
Chinese and Japanese learn to use it and know very little English.
Among the natives there is not a superior class, indicated by great
wealth, enterprise, and culture, directing the race, as with the whites.
This comes from several causes. -
In the distribution of lands most of it was assigned to the King, chiefs,
some whites, and to the Government for its support. Of the masses
11,132 persons received 27,830 acres—about two and a half acres to an
individual—called Kuleanas. The majority received nothing. The
foreigners soon traded the chiefs out of a large portion of their shares,
and later purchased from the Government government lands and
obtained long leases on the crown lands. Avoiding details it must be
said that the native never held much of the land. It is well known
that it has been about seventy years since he commenced to emerge
from idolatry and the simplicity of thought and habits and immoralities
belonging to it. National tradition has done little for him, and before
the whites led him to education its influence was not operative. Until
within the last twenty years white leaders were generally accepted and
preferred by the King in his selections of cabinets, nobles, and judges,
and native leadership was not wanted.
Their religious affiliations are with the Protestant and Catholic
churches. They are over-generous, hospitable, almost free from re-
venge, very courteous—especially to females. Their talent for oratory
and the higher branches of mathematics is unusually marked. In per-
son they have large physique, good features, and the complexion of the
brown races. They have been greatly advanced by civilization, but
have done little towards its advancement. The small amount of thiev-
ing and absence of beggary are more marked than amongst the best races
of the world. What they are capable of under fair conditions is an
unsolved problem.
Idols and idol worship have long since disappeared.
The following observations in relation to population are presented,
though some repetition will be observed:
The population of the Hawaiian Islands can best be studied, by one
unfamiliar with the native tongue, from its several census reports. A
census is taken every six years. The last report is for the year 1890.
From this it appears that the whole population numbers 89,990. This
number includes natives or, to use another designation, Kanakas,
half-castes (persons containing an admixture of other than native
blood in any proportion with it), Hawaiian-born foreigners of all races *
or nationalities other than natives, Americans, British, Germans,
. French, Portuguese, Norwegians, Chinese, Polynesians, and other
nationalities.
(In all the official documents of the Hawaiian Islands, whether in
relation to population, ownership of property, taxation, or any other
question, the designation “American,” “Briton,” “German,” or other
foreign nationality does not discriminate between the naturalized citi-
zens of the Hawaiian Islands and those owing allegiance to foreign
countries.)
Americans number 1,928; natives and half-castes, 40,612; Chinese,
15,301; Japanese, 12,360; Portuguese, 8,602; British, 1,344; Germans,
gººººº-º-º-º-º-KSE& &3°ºmºrºººººººººººººº-ººººººº…º.º. ººººº…. …xº-ºº ºx-º-º-º-º- + $º. 3 º
34
1,034; French, 70; Norwegians, 227; Polynesians, 588, and other for-
eigners, 419.
It is well at this point to say that of the 7,495 Hawaiian-born foreign-
ers 4,117 are Portuguese, 1,701 Chinese and Japanese, 1,617 other white
foreigners, and 60 of other nationalities.
There are 58,714 males. Of these 18,364 are pure natives and 3,085
are half-castes, making together 21,449. Fourteen thousand five
hundred and twenty-two (14,522) are Chinese. The Japanese number
10,079. The Portuguese contribute 4,770. These four nationalities
furnish 50,820 of the male population.
Males.
The Americans ----------------------------------------- 1,298
The British.--------------------------------------------- 982
The Germans -------------------------------------------- 729
The French---------------------------------------------- 46
The Norwegians ----------------------------------------- 135
These five nationalities combined furnish 3,170 of the total male pop-
ulation.
The first four nationalities when compared with the last five in male
population are nearly sixteenfold the largest in number.
The Americans are to those of the four aforementioned group of
nationalities as 1 to 39—nearly as 1 to 40.
Portuguese have been brought here from time to time from the
Madeira and Azores Islands by the Hawaiian Government as laborers,
on plantations, just as has been done in relation to Chinese, Japanese,
Polynesians, etc. They are the most ignorant of all imported laborers,
and reported to be very thievish. They are not pure Europeans, but a
commingling of many races, especially the negro. They intermarry with
the natives and belong to the laboring classes. Very few of them can
read and write. Their children are being taught in the public schools,
as all races are. It is wrong to class them as Europeans.
The character of the people of these islands is and must be over-
whelmingly Asiatic. Let it not be imagined that the Chinese, Japan-
ese, and Portuguese disappear at the end of their contract term. From
the report of the inspector-in-chief of Japanese immigrants on March
31, 1892, it appears that twenty “lots” of Japanese immigrants have
been brought here by the Hawaiian Government, numbering 21,110.
Of these, 2,517 have returned to Japan; 8,592, having worked out their
contract term, remain, and 9,626 are still working out their contract
term. More than 75 per cent may be said to locate here permanently.
There are 13,067 Chinamen engaged in various occupations, to wit:
8,763 laborers, 1,479 farmers, 133 fishermen, 74 drivers and teamsters,
564 mechanics, 42 planters and ranchers, 776 merchants and traders,
164 clerks and salesmen, 12 professional men and teachers, and 1,056
in various other occupations. -
The number of merchants and traders in the entire country is 1,238.
Of this number 776 are Chinamen and 81 are Americans.
The largest part of the retail trade 'seems to be conducted by Chi-
Ilal Ilel], -
Of 20,536 laborers on sugar plantations only 2,617 are Chinese. Of .
this latter number only 396 are contract laborers.
The Portuguese population in 1884 amounted to 9,377 and in 1890 to
8,602, a loss of 775. These have been leaving in considerable numbers
for the past eighteen months, making their way generally to the United
States. In 1890 the males were classified as to occupation thus: La-
'borers, 2,653; farmers, 136; fishermen, 3; mariners, 10; drivers and
teamsters, 63; mechanics, 167; planters and ranchers, 17; merchants
and traders, 56; clerks and salesmen, 13; professional men and teach-
ers, 11; other occupations, 123; total, 3,266. On the cane plantations
35
#
there are of male Portuguese 277 under contract and 1,651 day labor-
©I'S.
Of the population in 1892, 20,536 were laborers on sugar-cane plan-
tations, 16,723 being Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese. Of the whole
number, 10,991 are contract laborers. The remainder are designated
as day laborers. The total number of laborers in the islands by the
census of 1890 was 25,466. -
In 1890 there were 23,863 male laborers. Of this number, 18,728
were Chinese and Japanese. At this period there were 41,073 persons
of all occupations. Of this number, 24,432 were Chinese and Japanese.
Of the total number of persons of European and American origin
in the various avocations, it appears that 1,106 were Americans, 819
British, 518 Germans, 45 French, and 200 Norwegians, making a total
of 2,688 persons.
The natives furnished 8,871 persons and the half-castes 884.
The Hawaiians, therefore, may be said to have furnished 9,755.
There are 196 persons designated as planters and ranchers. Of this
number, 18 are Americans, 30 are British, and 6 are Germans. The
remainder are principally Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Hawai-
18, Il S.
There are 5,181 persons designated as farmers. Of these 3,392 are
natives and half-castes and 1,500 are Chinese. These two furnish 4,779,
leaving a residue of 402 taken from all other nationalities. Of these, 26
are Americans. - -
It will be interesting if not pleasing to examine the number of the
sexes by nationalities. -
The grand total of the population is 89,990. The male population is
56,714, the females are 31,276. -
The natives and half-castes furnish 21,449 males and 19,174 females
The Chinese furnish 14,522 males and 779 females. -
The Japanese furnish 10,079 males and 2,281 females.
The Portuguese furnish 4,770 males and 3,832 females.
The American males are 1,298, females 630.
The British males are 982, females 362.
The German males are 729, females 305.
This disparity of the sexes applies to all nationalities save the native
TàCe, s
The most striking feature is that the Chinese men outnumber their
women by more than 18 to 1.
The Japanese men outnumber their women by nearly five to one.
In all foreign nationalities the males largely exceed the females in
numbers.
The natives and half-castes furnish nearly two-thirds of the women.
For a moment let us see how far this disparity of sexes in 1884 com-
pares with that of 1890: gº
In 1884 there were 51,539 males, 29,039 females, and a total popula:
tion of 80,578. -
In 1890 the males numbered 58,714, the females 31,276, and the total
number was 89,990. -
The males increased from 1884 to 1890, 7,175; the females increased
from 1884 to 1890, 2,237. -
During this period there appears to have been the following gains
and losses by nationalities: A.
Gains: Half-castes 1,968; Hawaiian-born foreigners (mostly Portu-
guese), 5,455; British, 62; Japanese, 12,244. -
Losses: Natives, 5,578; Americans, 138; Germans, 566; French, 122;
Portuguese, 775; Norwegians, 135; Chinese, 2,638; Polynesians, 368.
The net gain is 9,412. Had it not been for the large importation of
Japanese for plantation laborers there would have been a net loss of
2,832.
36
There was a net loss of Europeans and Americans combined num-
bering 899. -
While the population is increasing in numbers the per cent of
females is largely decreasing.
In 1866 the percentage of females was 45.25; in 1872 it was 44.37; in
1878, 41.19; in 1884, 36.04; in 1890, 34.75.
This condition has been reached by the importation of contract labor
by the Hawaiian Government for the sugar plantations.
In 1890 there was in the island of Oahu a population of 31,194. Of
this number 1,239 were Americans.
There was in the island of Hawaii a population of 26,754. Of this
number 289 were Americans.
In the islands of Molokai and Lanai there was a population of 2,826.
Of this number 23 were Americans.
In the island of Maui there was a population of 17,357. Of this num-
ber 211 were Americans.
In the islands of Kauai and Niihau there was a population of 11,859.
Of this number 112 were Americans.
The total population was 89,990. Of this number 1,928 were Amer-
1CallS,
It appears that in 1890, the period of the last census, in a population
of 89,990 persons 51,610 were unable to read and write. The natives
and half-castes, numbering 40,622, had 27,901 able to read and write.
The Chinese, with a population of 15,301 persons, had 13,277 unable
to read and write.
The Japanese, with a population of 12,360, had 12,053 persons unable
to read and write.
The Portuguese, with a population of 8,602, had 6,276 unable to read
and write. -
The minister of finance informs me that the taxes paid by Americans
and Europeans amount to $274,516.74; those by natives, $71,386.82;
half-castes, $26,868.68; Chinese, $87,266.10; Japanese, $67,326.07; other
nationalities, $729.82.
He also informs me that the acreage on which taxes are paid by
various nationalities is:
Europeans and Americans, 1,052,492 acres; natives, 257,457 acres;
half-castes, 531,545 acres; Chinese, 12,324 acres; Japanese, 200 acres;
other nationalities, none.
The surveyor-general reports the Crown lands for 1893 as contain-
ing 915,288 acres. Of these he reports 94,116 acres available for lease.
Of this latter number only 47,000 acres are reported to be good arable
land. He likewise reports the Government land as containing 828,370
acres. He reports these estimated in 1890 to be worth $2,128,850.
The annual income from them is $67,636. Of this income, $19,500 is
from wharfage and $7,800 from rent of land with buildings thereon.
The cane and arable land is estimated at 35,150 acres.
It is important here to recall his statement made to the legislature
in 1891, in the following language: e º
Most Government lands at the present time consist of mere remnants left here
and there, and of the worthless and unsalable portions remaining after the rest had
been sold.
And in the same communication he declares that between the years
1850 and 1860 nearly all the desirable Government land was sold, gen-
erally to natives.
In 1890 the census report discloses that only 4,695 persons owned
real estate in these islands. With a population estimated at this time
at 95,000, the vast number of landless people here is discouraging to
the idea of immigrants from the United States being able to find
encouragement in the matter of obtaining homes in these islands.
37
The landless condition of the native population grows out of the
original distribution and not from shiftlessness. To them homesteads
should be offered rather than to strangers.
The census reports of the Hawaiian Islands pretend to give the
native population from the period when Capt. Cook was here until
1890. These show a rapid diminution in numbers, which, it is claimed,
indicate the final extinction of the race. Very many of these reports
are entirely conjectural and others are carelessly prepared. That of
1884 is believed by many intelligent persons here to overstate the native
strength and, of course, to discredit any comparison with that of 1890.
All deductions from such comparisons are discredited by an omission
to consider loss from emigration. Jarvis, in his history of the Hawaiian
Islands, published in 1847, says:
Great numbers of healthy Hawaiian youth have left in whale ships and other
vessels and never returned.
The number annually afloat is computed at 3,000. At one time 400
were counted at Tahiti, 500 in Oregon, 50 at Paita, Peru, besides
unknown numbers in Europe and the United States.
In 1850 a law was passed to prohibit natives from leaving the islands.
The reason for it is stated in the following preamble:
Whereas, by the census of the islands taken in 1849, the population decreased at
the rate of 8 per cent in 1848, and by the census taken in 1850 the population de-
creased at the rate of 54 per cent in 1849; whereas the want of labor is severely
felt by planters and other agriculturists, whereby the price of provisions and other
produce has been unprecedentedly enhanced, to the great prejudice of the islands;
whereas, many natives have emigrated to California and there died, in great
misery; and, whereas, it is desirable to prevent such loss to the nation and such
wretchedness to individuals, etc.
This act remained in force until 1887. How effective it was when it
existed there is no means of ascertaining. How much emigration of
the native race has taken place since its repeal does not appear to
have been inquired into by the Hawaiian Government. Assuming
that there has been none and that the census tables are correct, except
that of 1884, the best opinion is that the decrease in the native popula-
tion is slight now and constantly less. Its final extinction, except by
amalgamation with Americans, Europeans, and Asiatics, may be dis-
pensed with in all future calculations. -
My opinion, derived from official data and the judgment of intelligent
persons, is that it is not decreasing now and will soon increase.
The foregoing pages are respectfully submitted as the connected
report indicated in your instructions. It is based upon the statements
of individuals and the examination of public documents. Most of these
are hereto annexed.
The partisan feeling naturally attaching to witnesses made it neces-
sary for me to take time for forming a correct judgment as to their
character. All this had to be done without the counsel of any other
person.
Mindful of my liability to error in some matters of detail, but be-
lieving in the general correctness of the information reported and con-
clusions reached, I can only await the judgment of others.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMEs H. BLOUNT,
Special Commissioner of the United States.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
GRADUATE LIBRARY

DATE DUE
r rIn 9 84
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
|||||||||||