Jere Krischel at 00:45, 15 January 2006

2006-01-15T00:45:50Z

Jere Krischel at 04:45, 12 December 2005

2005-12-12T04:45:39Z

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784 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. State what the instructions were that were given to
you by Capt. Belknap to be executed by you in his absence.
Mr. JEWELL. The general instructions were to preserve order and
to keep myself confined as much as possible to the quarters which
had been assigned to us; not to excite the natives to opposition. I
also had orders to patrol certain streets of the town during the night,
to prevent any disorderly gathering of the people and to arrest people
who were guilty of disorder. I can not remember any specific
instructions otherwise. The idea was that order was to be preserved
in the town, and that Ave were authorized to arrest people and turn
them over to the civil authorities.
The CHAIRMAN. And you did so ?
Mr. JEWELL. We had no occasion to arrest anybody.
The CHAIRMAN. There were persons arrested, were there not?
Mr. JEWELL. Only during the first part of the riot when the troops
arrived on the ground. Then men were arrested and turned over to the
native police; but not after that.
The CHAIRMAN.* But you did arrest persons on that occasion and
under these orders f
Mr. JEWELL. Yes. Capt. Belknap was personally at the court-house
when the force arrived there.
The CHAIRMAN. Then, if I gather your position correctly, the troops
were invited by the cabinet to come ashore for the purpose of preserving
the public order.
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Was there anything in the situation that required
you to participate on the one side or the other in any conflict or civil
commotion that might occur among the people?
Mr. JEWELL. NO ; nothing whatever.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU were ordered to preserve order, no matter who
was disorderly?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. But you were there by the invitation and consent
of the then Government?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Were you placed under the command of any military
officer or authority of the Hawaiian Government?
Mr. JEWELL. NO.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU were acting under your own orders ?
Mr. JEWELL. Entirely so; yes.
The CHAIRMAN. The King did not appear on any occasion for the
purpose of taking control of the forces?
Mr. JEWELL. NO. He took the oath of office the next day after his
election, and all the troops on shore were paraded at that time.
The CHAIRMAN. Was that the day after you landed?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. They were paraded how?
Mr. JEWELL. The forces from the two American ships, the Tuscarora
and the Portsmouth, and those from the Tenedos, the English man-ofwar,
were all at the courthouse to receive the King, and all presented
arms when he passed into the building to take the oath of office.
The CHAIRMAN. Did he pass through the ranks?
Mr. JEWELL. I think he did. I do not know exactly what the form
was.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 785
The CHAIRMAN. Were there any other troops there beside the English
and American troops!
Mr. JEWELL. NO.
The CHAIRMAN. And police force?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes; I think the police were about, but not as an organized
body of troops—not in the nature of a body of troops; they
were in the crowd.
The CHAIRMAN. They were not a part of the receiving escort or force?
Mr. JEWELL. No.
The CHAIRMAN. The King came then and took his oath of office?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. After he took the oath of office did he take any control
of the troops under your charge ?
Mr. JEWELL. NO ; not the slightest.
The CHAIRMAN. You did not look to him for any orders in regard to
the conduct of the troops on the island so long as you remained there?
Mr. JEWELL. NO.
The CHAIRMAN. If Capt. Belknap had any such orders you would
have known it?
Mr. JEWELL. Oh, I think so; yes.
The CHAIRMAN. It was then a body of American soldiery, so far as
you were concerned, that was there at the invitation of the cabinet of
the former King to preserve order, to put down riot, to arrest disturbers
of the peace and those who had been assailing the Legislature?
Mr. JEWELL. NO; we were not to take any cognizance of anything
which took place before the landing; we were only to arrest people
whom we saw in the act.
The CHAIRMAN. People caught flagrante delicto?
Mr. JEWELL. Yes; we took no notice of what happened before. The
court-house was full of people; as we came into the front door they
went out of the windows. But we did not arrest any of them. Capt.
Belknap cautioned us to be discreet in anything we did, and not to
assume too much.
Senator FRYE. And you regarded what you actually did as very discreet?
Mr. JEWELL. I did; yes.
The CHAIRMAN. In how many days did you return to the ship ?
Mr. JEWELL. My impression is that I went back to the ship in four
days, when the force was reduced to one-half the original force, and I
think the rest stayed four days longer, perhaps only three days longer.
I think about a week our men were on shore.
The CHAIRMAN. DO you know on whose request it was that the
troops retired from the islands?
Mr. JEWELL. I think the first reduction of the force was made by
Capt. Belknap without any request from the Government; but, after
the new cabinet was organized, my impression is that the minister of
foreign affairs wrote to the American minister resident and said that
the occasion for the troops had passed and they might be withdrawn.
The CHAIRMAN. DO you remember whether the English forces were
withdrawn before the American forces were ?
Mr. JEWELL. I think not; I think they remained about the same
time.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU do not know, as a matter of fact, which of the
forces actually withdrew first?
Mr. JEWELL. NO. I think our force was reduced before the English
force. But to this day I do not remember seeing the English troops
• S. Doc. 231, pt 6 50

Template:784-785 - Revision history

Jere Krischel at 00:45, 15 January 2006

Jere Krischel at 04:45, 12 December 2005