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The Chairman. You identify this book, Two Weeks of Hawaiian History, of which you spoke in your examination?
Mr. McCandless. I read the resolutions of that.
The Chairman. Now, this book you will take with you and examine carefully, and see if you have any statements to make to the contrary of anything therein contained, on your own knowledge or information.
SWORN STATEMENT OF DEWITT COFFMAN—Continued.
Senator Gray. Were you on duty on the Pensacola at Honolulu in the fall of 1891 and during January and February, 1892?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Were you frequently on shore?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
The Chairman. On the Pensacola?
Mr. Coffman. I served on both ships.
Senator Gray. Were you frequently on shore?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Did you mix with the people of Honolulu?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. So that your acquaintance with Honolulu was not confined to the few days that you were attached to the Boston, at the time of this revolution?
Mr. Coffman. I was there very nearly six months, the first time.
Senator Gray. After the passage of what was known here as the McKinley bill, the tariff bill of 1890, did you find from your contact with business people there that the prosperity of those islands had been affected by the provisions of that bill in regard to making sugar free in the United States?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; generally so.
Senator Gray. And was that very generally marked?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; I have heard it stated that they thought the monetary trouble they were laboring under at the time was generally due to the fact that the United States Government, by the passage of the McKinley bill, had killed, to a certain extent, if not altogether, the sugar industry of the islands.
Senator Gray. Now, what I was going to ask you is, did that have its effect on annexation sentiment?
Mr. Coffman. I believe that is at the bottom of it.
Senator Gray. Did it, to your knowledge, have the effect of creating a sentiment of annexation?
Senator Frye. For or against it?
Senator Gray. Have you knowledge that it did create annexation sentiment?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Did you hear any persons who before that were opposed to it say they were in favor of it?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. You have already testified that you commanded one of the companies of the battalion that was landed on Monday, the 16th of January, 1893?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. You landed at the wharf. What did you do at the wharf, so soon as you got out of the boats ?
Mr. Coffman. So soon as we landed we formed our battalion.
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Senator Gray. Did you form immediately?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Was it understood before you left the boat where you were to march?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; I think our route of march was mapped out before we left the ship.
Senator Gray. Who piloted you, if anybody?
Mr. Coffman. When we got to the Government building, after detaching the marines, Mr. Hugh Gunn, I think, guided us to Mr. Atherton's place.
Senator Gray. What relation did he have to the Provisional Government, if any?
Mr. Coffman. He commanded a company of volunteer soldiers of the Provisional Government after that, and was known as one of the Provisional Government men or people.
Senator Gray. Was there, to your knowledge, any other building suitable for the use of the troops of the Boston than the opera house and Arion Hall?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Where?
Mr. Coffman. On Nuuanu avenue, a little more than halfway between the United States consulate and the American minister's residence.
Senator Gray. What sort of building was that?
Mr. Coffman. It was a large three-story, brand-new hotel, and unoccupied.
Senator Gray. Do you know who owned it?
Mr. Coffman. Mr. John Thomas Waterhouse, who was present while our troops were standing in the street waiting to find out where Mr. Atherton's was.
Senator Gray. Do you know whether that building was obtainable?
Mr. Coffman. I have no doubt in the world that it was obtainable.
Senator Gray. Is that simply an opinion?
Mr. Coffman. That is my opinion.
Senator Gray. Did you hear Mr. Waterhouse say anything about it?
Mr. Coffman. I heard Mr. Waterhouse say that he was glad to see the troops, and marched down in front of us after we had halted. He said, "I am glad to see this," and passed on in front of our troops as much as to say he was glad to see our troops.
Senator Gray. He owned that hotel building?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Is the situation of that building in a more thickly built up part of the town?
Mr. Coffman. I can not say more thickly built up; but there are fine residences around there, and it is more accessible to the business portion.
Senator Gray. Was it nearer to what you considered the property of American citizens than Arion Hall?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. More so, or how?
Mr. Coffman. It was nearer to the residence portion, which was the part which would be attacked in any incendiary work to go on.
Senator Gray. Will you point on that map where it is?
Mr. Coffman. On Nuuana avenue.
Senator Gray. You say it is on Nuuana avenue, a little more than half way between the U. S. consulate and the U. S. legation?
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Mr. Coffman. Yes. (Indicating on diagram.) There is Nuuana avenue; that is the legation; it is about here-the house is not down here.
Senator Gray. It was a new and unoccupied building?
Mr. Coffman. It was a new and unoccupied building.
Senator Gray. Large enough to have accommodated your force?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Did any one suggest the use of that building?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; I did myself.
Senator Gray. Where and when?
Mr. Coffman. When the troops were drawn up; I think first when they were drawn up in the street, and certainly afterward, when we were waiting for a place to go.
Senator Gray. Whom did you suggest it to?
Mr. Coffman. To the officers in general. Mr. Swinburne was present when I spoke of that place as a good place.
Senator Gray. What was said, if anything, in reference to that?
Mr. Coffman. My impression was that they thought it was not as good a location as farther down town.
Senator Gray. You have spoken of Mr. Gunn and Mr. Waterhouse. After you landed did you see any others who were connected with the committee of safety or afterward with the Provisional Government?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Who was it?
Mr. Coffman. I remember Mr. Carter.
Senator Frye. Mr. Charles Carter?
Mr. Coffman. Mr. Charles Carter; yes. I remember Mr. Castle. I do not know what his first name is; he is a brother to the commissioner, a tall nervous man with a red beard, I remember. I do not believe I could call the names, because it is a question of testimony. Those men I was acquainted with; I knew who they were, and Mr. Gunn I knew pretty well.
Senator Gray. Was that at the landing place?
Mr. Coffman. No, up the street.
Senator Gray. What part of the street?
Mr. Coffman. It was first when we halted, and the second time while we were waiting to go to Mr. Atherton's when I saw Mr. Gunn, and later I saw Mr. Carter. I was informed that Mr. Carter had obtained Arion Hall for our barracks. I also saw Mr. Carter at Arion Hall that night, and to my mind he was the moving spirit for providing for the quarters of the troops and their comfort-little things as they needed, such as sinks or latrines for the men. And they hauled in their sand late at night. I am quite sure that Mr. Carter made the arrangements, or Mr. Swinburne and Mr. Carter spoke about the condition of the sinks for the men. In fact, there was only one sink.
Senator Gray. Did that continue until the next day?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Thoughtfulness for your comfort?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. By members of the Provisional Government?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; they were back and forth into the Government building. Our officers knew a great many of them, and they used to talk to a great many. They used to come to the fence and come to the gate, and I am quite sure that there were some of the officers who, while they did not allow persons to come into the grounds unless they were passed in by an officer, all of them were recognized by the officers and allowed to come and go back and forth.
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Senator Gray. Was anything said in your hearing by any of these people about expecting you over to the grounds of the Government building?
Mr. Coffman. Yes. The day they took possession was one of the first intimations, and caused me to commence to think-the fact that one of their men came over to our house, one of their officers or one of the sympathizers, and in conversation with other persons expressed surprise that our troops had not gone into the grounds of the Government building when they took possession.
Senator Frye. Who was that?
Mr. Coffman. I think it was Mr. Gunn, who commanded one of the volunteer companies.
Senator Gray. How long was this after the proclamation of the Provisional Government, if you can recollect?
Mr. Coffman. I do not think it could have been more than two hours, or perhaps not so long, or a little longer.
Senator Gray. Where were you when the Provisional Government was proclaimed from the front of the Government building?
Mr. Coffman. I was in the yard of Arion Hall, in command of my company.
Senator Gray. Could you see the proceedings from where you were?
Mr. Coffman. No.
Senator Frye. Which front did you understand afterwards was it that the proclamation was made from?
Mr. Coffman. From the front of the building.
Senator Frye. There is only one front?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; only one front.
Senator Frye. Which way does that face?
Mr. Coffman. It faces the palace.
Senator Frye. And not Arion Hall?
Mr. Coffman. No; the positions of the two buildings are like this [illustrating]. Arion Hall is there and the Government building there, with a narrow street between them.
Senator Gray. The proclamation was proclaimed from the north front of the Government building?
Mr. Coffman. I should say so; yes. That was the main entrance.
Senator Gray. Where were you when the proclamation was read?
Mr. Coffman. In here, at Arion Hall, back of the opera house.
Senator Gray. So that you could not see that?
Mr. Coffman. No.
Senator Gray. Were there any troops in here [indicating]?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; and perhaps Mr. Laird; I do not know whether he was here [indicating]. That is where the artillery were and that is where Mr. Young was [indicating].
Senator Gray. Does this recall to your recollection the position of the troops?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; my recollection of the troops is that they were a little differently arranged from that. I do not know; I may be mistaken on account of the points of the compass; but I think my company was drawn like this [indicating]. I think it stood here [indicating] and Mr. Young's right in here [indicating].
Senator Gray. That [indicating] would not indicate that the troops were along here?
Mr. Coffman. No; only here-sentries.
Senator Frye. The other officers testified that no troops were there but the sentries.
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Senator Gray. Where were the guns?
Mr. Coffman. My recollection is that one gun was here [indicating], pointed toward the building; the other gun here [indicating,] pointing out here. But my impression is that you can see the palace from this street here [indicating].
Senator Gray. Is this a street [indicating]?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; it comes out onto the street. There is a fence along there, where my men used to come from this yard here [indicating].
Senator Gray. Is there a gate at that point [indicating]?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. You say that the next day these gentlemen provided for your comfort-Mr. Carter and others who seemed to be of the Provisional Government.
Mr. Coffman. I got the impression that everybody seemed on our side of the question, seemed to be in sympathy with them, and seemed naturally to look to those people for anything that was wanted done, no matter what it was.
Senator Gray. You say that you were somewhat familiar with the people of that city and with the condition of things there. From your observation of matters about this time, and what you knew of those people, what is your military opinion as to whether that Provisional Government could have been established at that time in the way it was if the United States troops had not been landed in Honolulu?
Mr. Coffman. I do not think it would have been.
Senator Gray. Did or did not that seem to be the accepted opinion in Honolulu?
Senator Frye. Mr. Coffman has not laid the foundation for such an opinion as that.
Senator Gray. No; I freely confess that all this examination has been outside of the rules that govern the courts, but the latitude here is greater than in court practice. Still, I think that is a proper question. I will ask you if you had the opportunity, after as well as before you landed, in your contact with the people of Honolulu, to get an impression and form an opinion as to what their sentiments were in regard to the matter I have just mentioned?
Mr. Coffman. I think so.
Senator Gray. Did you meet the people?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. Where?
Mr. Coffman. At their private houses.
Senator Gray. Did you go to the club?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; and at the hotel and on the streets.
Senator Gray. Have you extensive acquaintances in Honolulu?
Mr. Coffman. I think I know almost everybody in Honolulu; while not intimately, I know them pretty well.
Senator Gray. Was the revolution and proclamation of the Provisional Government a topic of conversation?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; but not until after we landed.
Senator Gray. You heard it frequently spoken of?
Mr. Coffman. Very frequently.
Senator Gray. I will ask you whether you gathered from the opportunities which you have described a definite opinion as to what the impression was in regard to the matter which I have just asked you about?
Mr. Coffman. My opinion is that everybody believed that the entire
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American force and American minister were in accord and sympathy with the movement, and I do not think the movement would have been undertaken had they not thought so beforehand.
Senator Gray. Do you think that is the opinion?
Mr. Coffman. I think that is the opinion. If you say to them, "Would you have taken possession of that building had you not known that the sympathy of the United States troops and minister was with you," some of them will say, "Well, perhaps not: but they were there."
The Chairman. You say they would say that?
Mr. Coffman. I heard Mr. McCandless say so, and I heard Mr. Gunn.
Senator Gray. Have you heard other people say so?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; I have heard other people say so; and in my mind I am thoroughly convinced that those men thought and felt if there was necessity our troops would aid them. I do not say they would have done so by firing or anything of that sort. At the time the thing came on me so suddenly I did not give it much attention; but after that time, after it simmered down, I came to that conclusion.
The Chairman. How could you aid them except by firing?
Mr. Coffman. The moral presence of the troops, which is very great on an occasion of that kind, and the position in which they were placed.
Senator Gray. Your position is, that while these troops were there to protect life and property there was a general impression in Honolulu that carried the purpose of their presence far beyond that.
Mr. Coffman. Yes; I believe that.
Senator Gray. I will ask you whether the people of the Queen's party did not to your knowledge generally (and if you do not know say you do not know) entertain the opinion that the presence of the United States troops was in sympathy with the movement?
Mr. Coffman. They did; and I have heard them say such things after the thing was over.
The Chairman. Did they include you amongst the sympathizers with the Provisional Government?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
The Chairman. Was that an improper estimate of your attitude?
Mr. Coffman. No.
The Chairman. You were in sympathy with them?
Mr. Coffman. Yes. I was there to do whatever I was ordered to do, so long as it was a legitimate order from my commanding officer, and if it was I would have carried it out.
The Chairman. After you had been there sometime you had the same feeling?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; right straight through.
The Chairman. So that you have been ready at any time heartily to enter into the movement to overthrow the Queen?
Mr. Coffman. I would have entered into any order that was given me properly.
The Chairman. I am talking of your preferences?
Mr. Coffman. Yes. While we have no sympathy with the Queen, I have contended with my shipmates that the manner in which it was done was the only question. That is the only question I ever brought up.
The Chairman. Did you express your views there as being favorable to annexation?
Mr. Coffman. Oh, yes.
The Chairman. You have expressed them openly?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; to everyone.
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The Chairman. And as being opposed to the Queen and her monarchy?
Mr. Coffman. As opposed to the Queen and her monarchy. That question never came up. I had no opinion of the old Queen, and I would be glad if she lost her place.
The Chairman. Do you think that a proper estimate to form of the Queen?
Mr. Coffman. I think it is, because I do not think, from what I have seen recently, that she is a fit person to have hold of the reins of the Government.
The Chairman. As an officer, and while you were there, did you form an opinion that the Queen was conducting a fair, honest, and reputable government?
Mr. Coffman. That is a question I did not form an opinion upon.
The Chairman. Did you have an opinion on the subject?
Mr. Coffman. No; not prior to this trouble.
The Chairman. I mean during the trouble?
Mr. Coffman. No; can not say that I had.
The Chairman. Upon what ground did you form the opinion that the Queen was not a proper person to be in charge of the government?
Mr. Coffman. In what I have seen later in the letter replying to Mr. Willis's question.
The Chairman. I am speaking of the time you were on shore as an officer of the Navy. I understood while you were there you gave expression to the opinion that the Queen was not a proper person to be at the head of the government.
Senator Gray. Did Mr. Coffman give expression to that opinion?
Mr. Coffman. In fact, I can say that I said at times that she would not be restored.
The Chairman. Did you make use of that expression while you were there as an officer?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
The Chairman. Upon what did you base that opinion that the Queen could not be restored?
Mr. Coffman. I based it upon the rush with which it was carried on. That was before Mr. Blount came out there, before any investigation; what we saw from the press, that the President had negotiated the treaty and sent it into the Senate, and we saw the discussions in the Senate.
The Chairman. Was that an estimate of the Queen's power based on her want of military resources?
Mr. Coffman. Yes. I believe after her military resources were taken from her she did not have the means to procure them again; I do not mean money means, but that the Provisional Government would prevent her getting hold of the means for her restoration.
The Chairman. And that is the ground on which you base your opinion that the restoration of the monarchy was not likely to take place?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
The Chairman. Now, comparing the people there, the main supporters of the Queen as you knew them, with the main bodies of the citizens there engaged in this adverse movement, which would you say were the more intelligent and better class?
Mr. Coffman. I should say, as a man, those who are in the Provisional Government are much more intelligent, that is, much better educated, and I think that they have a greater number, a majority of those
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who are conceded to be the best people in the island; although I must say that there are men who are supporters of the Queen, and whom I know personally, whose integrity I believe as good as any man's in the Provisional Government.
The Chairman. I am speaking of the general masses.
Mr. Coffman. Yes. The natives, you might say, are almost as a unit opposed to the Provisional Government.
The Chairman. Without reference to whether they are property holders or not?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
The Chairman. It is a question of sentiment and devotion to their own institutions?
Mr. Coffman. A question of sentiment and devotion to their own institutions.
Senator Gray. I omitted to ask one question. Why were you of opinion that another place than Arion Hall or the Opera House should have been selected for the troops?
Mr. Coffman. For the reason that the Government building would be the point of attack, and that unless we were to be in the way of any firing that might be going on, it might be better to be placed at a point which I considered at that time needed more protection than any property around Arion Hall-that portion of the city which is the residence portion.
The Chairman. Were there any troops located in the Government building?
Mr. Coffman. There were none there when we went there.
The Chairman. No; I mean at the time you considered the controversy between the Hawaiians and the Provisional Government would involve, necessarily, the United States troops?
Mr. Coffman. Prior to that time I formed this opinion-prior to the time they went into the Government building, and I had it more strongly after they went in there.
The Chairman. Was there any garrison in the Government building at the time your troops were first stationed there?
Mr. Coffman. No.
The Chairman. Where was the garrison?
Mr. Coffman. There was none, except that of the Queen's troops, which was back of the palace.
The Chairman. Well, an attack by the populace upon the Provisional Government, or by the troops of the Provisional Government upon the Queen's forces, would have been made at the barracks where the forces were?
Mr. Coffman. No; I do not think they had any idea of attacking the Queen's people. I think they thought the Queen's people would attack them.
The Chairman. Suppose they had the idea of attacking the Queen's people, would they or not have made it at the barracks?
Mr. Coffman. I think they would have gone and taken possession of the Government building, feeling if any attack were to be made the Queen's people would make it.
The Chairman. From anything you saw there at that time, was there any demonstration on the part of the Queen's troops to indicate that they would make an attack upon the Government building or on any of the troops about the Government building?
Mr. Coffman. No; not that I saw.
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The Chairman. Then there was no danger of a collision that you could see?
Mr. Coffman. None, except that they had taken place there before.
The Chairman. You mean on former occasions, several years before?
Mr. Coffman. Yes; several years before.
The Chairman. The Government building was not a fortified place, was it?
Mr. Coffman. No.
The Chairman. Was it constructed of wood or brick?
Mr. Coffman. I think it is coral, and perhaps brick; not wood.
Senator Frye. What is the color of the coral?
Mr. Coffman. Light color; gray color.
Senator Frye. Does it harden?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. After you left Arion Hall was anything done for your comfort—after you went into Camp Boston?
Mr. Coffman. Yes.
Senator Gray. When did you go into Camp Boston?
Mr. Coffman. My recollection is that we remained three nights at Arion Hall, the 16th, 17th and 18th, and the forenoon of the 19th. When we went into Camp Boston we were furnished with beds, matresses, mosquito bars, and mosquito netting for the men, all furnished by the Provisional Government, which at that time had taken possession.
Senator Gray. Did they keep on furnishing you coffee?
Mr. Coffman. No; I do not think they did; I think a short time after that we got our own cooking arrangements and cooked our own provisions.
Senator Gray. How did you get these things; what was the mode?
Mr. Coffman. We had a lot of requisition blanks which were furnished to the camp, and the adjutant—of course, I do not refer to provisions, because when we got there we got our ship's cook—would make a requisition upon the commissary of the Provisional Government, Mr. Hall, and if not through him, Mr. McCandless, who was one of the military committee.
Senator Gray. Did you have sheds?
Mr. Coffman. There were wash sheds for the men to wash their clothing, an officers' kitchen built, and bunks afterward. Bunks were put in the guardroom for the men who remained on shore. My recollection is that was afterward.
The Chairman. You did not decline any of the hospitalities that were offered you?
Mr. Coffman. I never heard of it.
The Chairman. Had the same hospitalities been tendered by the Queen's government would they have been equally acceptable?
Mr. Coffman. I think I would have accepted.
The Chairman. Everything was fish that came to your net?
Mr. Coffman. I think so.
Senator Frye. Are mosquitoes plentiful on the islands?
Mr. Coffman. I did not sleep a wink that night.
Senator Frye. How many months of the year are they troublesome?
Mr. Coffman. The whole year round.
Adjourned until Thursday, the 25th instant, at 10 o'clock a. m.
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WASHINGTON, D. C, Thursday, January 25, 1894.
The subcommittee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present: The Chairman (Senator Morgan) and Senators Gray and Frye.
Absent: Senators Butler and Sherman.
SWORN STATEMENT OF M. STALKER.
The Chairman. State your age and place of residence?
Mr. Stalker. I am 52 years of age and my residence is Ames, Iowa.
The Chairman. When did you last visit the Hawaiian Islands?
Mr. Stalker. I arrived in the Hawaiian Islands the 17th of December, 1892.
The Chairman. When did you come away from there?
Mr. Stalker. I left there the 1st day of February following.
The Chairman. Had you ever before that visited the Hawaiian Islands?
Mr. Stalker. No.
The Chairman. What was your purpose in making that visit, generally speaking?
Mr. Stalker. I went simply for a pleasure trip, winter's outing, and to consider the customs of the people.
The Chairman. What is your profession?
Mr. Stalker. Professor in the Agricultural College of Iowa.
The Chairman. And it was an interest in your profession that led you to look up the habits and customs of the Hawaiian people?
Mr. Stalker. No; no connection with the college whatever.
The Chairman. Had you ever been there before?
Mr. Stalker. No.
The Chairman. What islands did you visit?
Mr. Stalker. Oahu and Hawaii.
The Chairman. Oahu is the one upon which Honolulu is situated?
Mr. Stalker. Yes.
The Chairman. Did you go to Hilo?
Mr. Stalker. Yes.
The Chairman. Did you go out into the country?
Mr. Stalker. Yes.
The Chairman. Just visited the volcanoes, or make an exploration amongst the people?
Mr. Stalker. I saw comparatively little of the people on the islands. I was there several days and visited the people of Hilo and some of the prominent men of the town, and talked with them.
The Chairman. Did you make any examination of the homes and farms of the common people of Hawaii while you were out there?
Mr. Stalker. Yes; to rather a limited extent—made a number of short excursions from Honolulu and vicinity to some places more remote.
The Chairman. What opinion did you form of the native population of Hawaii, as to their docility, disposition to be quiet and good citizens?
Mr. Stalker. My estimation of them is that they are an exceptionally quiet, docile people.
The Chairman. You would not regard them then as being an aggressive military people, or aggressive in political efforts or ventures?
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