Jere Krischel at 04:54, 23 December 2005

2005-12-23T04:54:29Z

Jere Krischel at 04:53, 12 December 2005

2005-12-12T04:53:56Z

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888 HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
intended—she intended to have all the foreign officials there, with all
the eclat possible. There were only five minutes left, and she had
already gone into the palace. If we had been two hours earlier, we
could perhaps have gotten at her and accomplished something. I did
not go to the palace with the other foreign officials. Being absent on
the Boston when the cards of invitation were sent out, 1 had received
none to go to the palace, nor to the proroguing of the Legislature at
12 o'clock that day.
And only those present in Honolulu could know how thoroughly the
monarchy was dead after the Queen's revolutionary attempt to proclaim
a new constitution on the afternoon of July 14. I have already given
account of the mass meeting, mostly of white citizens, of the appointment
of a committee of safety, and of their request of us to land the
naval force.
The CHAIRMAN. YOU say " u s . " Whom do you mean?
Mr. STEVENS. Myself and Capt. Wiltse.
The CHAIRMAN. DO you mean that they made a joint request of you,
or separate?
Mr. STEVENS. They made the request to me.
The CHAIRMAN. And not to Capt. Wiltse?
Mr. STEVENS. Not to Capt. Wiltse. They always make it to the
diplomatic officer.
The CHAIRMAN. In what form is that request made?
Mr. STEVENS. In a note.
The CHAIRMAN. By whom?
Mr. STEVENS. The committee ot public safety.
The CHAIRMAN. Addressed to you, where?
Mr. STEVENS. At the legation.
The CHAIRMAN. HOW long before you had arrived there?
Mr. STEVENS. I arrived there on Saturday, and this meeting of the
committee of public safety was on Monday. After the committee of
public safety had been chosen, they made this request.
The CHAIRMAN. Was there any reason for making the request for the
landing of the troops?
Mr. STEVENS. Only the fears of the citizens.
The CHAIRMAN. I want to know whether any request had been made
upon you before that time?
Mr. STEVENS. NO, only so far as individual citizens made representations
of the danger.
The CHAIRMAN. Individual citizens did appear before you to represent
the danger?
Mr. STEVENS. Yes. Especially did I have a note from Eev. Mr.
Bishop, a man 65 years of age, born on the islands. He has everybody's
confidence. He informed me on Sunday that the Kahunas of the
Queen, the sorcerers, were evidently around the Queen, and there were
serious times ahead. He did not ask me, but he stated that that I
might know the danger. I learned from other sources, of persons who
knew perfectly well, if I did not do so, the legation would be crowded
with many people fearing what might happen during the night.
The CHAIRMAN. They would come there lor protection?
Mr. STEVENS. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. WHIO is this Eev. Mr. Bishop of whom you spoke?
Mr. STEVENS. He was born on the islands; his father was a missionary;
he was educated at a New York college. He has been identified
with the islands for sixty-five years.
The CHAIRMAN. There is another Mr. Bishop who is very wealthy!
Mr. STEVENS. He is a banker.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 889
The CHAIRMAN. Are they related?
Mr. STEVENS. No. Mr. Bishop, the banker, is a native of New York;
the other, I rather think, is the son of a Connecticut man.
The CHAIRMAN. A missionary?
Mr. STEVENS. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. IS this man, the Eev. Mi. Bishop, of whom you
speak, a man of substance and property?
Mr. STEVENS. He has some property; I do not know how much.
The CHAIRMAN. Any wealth?
Mr. STEVENS. Not wealthy.
The CHAIRMAN. IS he reputable?
Mr. STEVENS. Highly reputable. He is known outside of the islands
as a man of science.
The CHAIRMAN. In addition to Mr. Bishop did other persons come
to you and admonish you of the state of danger?
Mr. STEVENS. Prior to my arrival—I had left one daughter at home
and my wife
The CHAIRMAN. YOU were informed of that on your return ?
Mr. STEVENS. Before we returned, for many hours, persons in anxiety
had been coming to the legation, hoping for the Boston to come back,
lest something should turn up. The royalists were divided into two
cliques, and loyalists came to the legation in anxiety as well as others.
The CHAIRMAN. TO make it a little more clear, I will ask you whether,
on your arrival, your family, including your wife, informed you that
persons had been there to inform you in regard to the state of the public
mind!
Mr. STEVENS. Precisely; and of their anxiety that the Boston should
return.
The CHAIRMAN. Did they give you that information immediately on
your arrival ?
Mr. STEVENS. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Did they seem to be concerned about it?
Mr. STEVENS. Yes; they thought they were safe when the Boston got
there and I got back.
The CHAIRMAN. After your arrival there, and after receiving this
information from your family, you spoke of Mr. Bishop coming to talk
with you personally. Were there other persons who came to talk with
you?
Mr. STEVENS. I came in contact with a good many persons.
The CHAIRMAN. At the legation ?
Mr. STEVENS. At the legation, where I kept myself except for two
or three hours that I was at the Government buildings, for the new
ministers had got frightened and they sent to me. They sent to Mr.
Wodehouse and the other diplomatic representatives to come to the
Government building, and we went there and waited two hours.
The CHAIRMAN. What ministers do you speak of?
Mr. STEVENS. Foreign ministers.
The CHAIRMAN. Representatives of foreign governments.
Mr. STEVENS. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Were they all invited?
Mr. STEVENS. They all came over to the Government building while
all this wrangling was going on about the Queen's constitution.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you join that party?
Mr. STEVENS. I went over that afternoon to hear what they had to
say, to find out about the constitution and obtain other information.
The CHAIRMAN. Did you meet them at the Government building?

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Jere Krischel at 04:54, 23 December 2005

Jere Krischel at 04:53, 12 December 2005