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THIRD DAY.
Washington, D.C., January 3, 1894,
The committee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present: The Chairman (Senator Morgan), and Senators Gray and Frye.
Absent: Senators Butler and Sherman.
SWORN STATEMENT OF WILLIAM DE WITT ALEXANDER.
The Chairman. How long have you resided in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. I was born there in 1833.
The Chairman. How long had your parents resided there before your birth?
Mr. Alexander. About one year.
The Chairman. Was your father connected with the missionary work of the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. To what denomination did he belong?
Mr. Alexander. The Presbyterian.
The Chairman. Where did your father locate when he went to the islands?
Mr. Alexander. The first part of the time the northernmost part of the islands—at Kauai.
The Chairman. What is your age?
Mr. Alexander. Sixty.
The Chairman. So you have been fifty-nine years in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. I have spent about eight years in this country.
The Chairman. But that has been your place of residence?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, I finished my education in this country.
The Chairman. Where did you get the foundation of your education?
Mr. Alexander. At a school near Honolulu. It was a mission school, and since it has become Oahu College.
The Chairman. Is that now a flourishing institution?
Mr. Alexander. It is on a very good footing; it has a good endowment.
The Chairman. About how much?
Mr. Alexander. About $230,000.
The Chairman. From what sources was that endowment derived?
Mr. Alexander. Mostly given by residents of the islands. The largest doner was Charles B. Bishop.
The Chairman. He married a Hawaiian woman?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. She was a chiefess of very high rank.
The Chairman. How far advanced were you in respect of your education when you came to the United States to complete your studies?
Mr. Alexander. I was nearly fitted for college. I studied one summer at Harrisburg. My mother was a Harrisburger.
The Chairman. What college did you attend in the United States?
Mr. Alexander. Yale College. I graduated there in 1855. I taught at Beloit College, in Wisconsin, for a year and a half, and I taught in the college of Vincennes, Ind., for a time. Then I was persuaded to go back as a professor of languages in the Oahu College.
The Chairman. And that was your first work you did after you grew up—the first work you did in Hawaii?
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Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. How long did you remain in that institution?
Mr. Alexander. About fourteen years. The first seven years I was professor, and the last seven years I was president of the college.
The Chairman. Has the attendance in that college been large?
Mr. Alexander. Considering the smallness of the community there, perhaps it would be so regarded.
The Chairman. It has been increasing along from year to year, I suppose?
Mr. Alexander. It has its ups and downs. It has a preparatory department now of one hundred and twenty; the college proper is not much less than that;—perhaps eighty.
The Chairman. Is the tuition in the college free or what?
Mr. Alexander. About $1 a week.
The Chairman. Who are the principal patrons of this college?
Mr. Alexander. Principally the white population. There is a number of scholarships, which scholarships are conditioned on giving the natives the preference.
The Chairman. After you quit that college what was your next occupation?
Mr. Alexander. Surveyor-general.
The Chairman. Surveyor-general of Hawaii under what king?
Mr. Alexander. Kamehameha V. There was made a trigonometrical survey of the kingdom based on a survey like the Coast Survey of the United States, and on that foundation was based the boundary survey of all the landed property.
The Chairman. You first commenced with trigonometry?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. That was my advice. The ministry asked my ideas of how best to go to work, and after I had written my report they asked me if I would undertake it.
The Chairman. You made that survey first. Is that complete?
Mr. Alexander. It is not complete.
The Chairman. It is a thorough trigonometrical survey?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; it is done with the advice of the United States Coast Survey and partly with their instruments. They loaned me their base apparatus, and it was done following their best methods.
The Chairman. In addition to that you have made a survey of the lands of the interior of the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Has that survey been completed?
Mr. Alexander. Not complete.
The Chairman. Is it what we call a sectionized survey, in townships and ranges, or by plats?
Mr. Alexander. Not exactly either. The islands have been subdivided from time immemorial. They had a very peculiar landed system.
The Chairman. This subdivision was by the natives?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. The boundaries are traditional. We had to ascertain these boundaries and run them out.
The Chairman. In doing that you had to consult these traditions?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. There was a boundary commissioner for each of the judicial districts.
The Chairman. That was for the purpose of separation, I understand it, of the private holdings of the native Hawaiians from the government lands?
Mr. Alexander. There had been a division of the lands in 1848 and partial surveys. It is a large subject about that land system.
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The Chairman. Has that survey of the lands been completed?
Mr. Alexander. It is not completed.
The Chairman. Have you separated the individual holdings of the natives?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, to a very large extent. The individual holdings were surveyed in piecemeal along in the fifties. The work was badly done, but each of the homesteads issued to the natives was patented by surveyed metes and bounds. The largest lands, the chiefs' lands, were mostly awarded by name according to the ancient boundaries.
The Chairman. In the name of the tract or the name of the chief?
Mr. Alexander. The name of the tract. And every piece of land, large or small, down to the very smallest pieces, had a traditional name. It was an old country, not a new country.
The Chairman. At the time you entered upon this survey of the lands, did you find the separate holdings of the Hawaiian people established and recognized by the authorities of the Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, they were fully recognized.
The Chairman. So that what you did was to define these surveys upon paper, upon plats, and then patents would issue from the Government?
Mr. Alexander. Patents had been issued for the small holdings, for the homesteads, what the natives call kuleanas. Those were issued in the early period, beginning in the fifties.
The Chairman. Under which of the Kamehamehas?
Mr. Alexander. Kamehameha III.
The Chairman. Your work began under Kamehameha V?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. I will ask you to give some idea of the arable quality of the lands that you surveyed on the islands.
Mr. Alexander. It is very difficult to give the amount.
The Chairman. I do not expect that; it is the quality that I ask for.
Mr. Alexander. There is a large proportion of mountain and forest land. On the island of Hawaii there are large tracts overflowed with lava.
The Chairman. Were these forests large? I mean heavy forests— what kind of forests were they?
Mr. Alexander. Tropical forests; some large trees, especially in the forests of Hawaii, out of which the natives used to make canoes. But they are nothing like the pine forests of the Pacific coast.
Senator Gray. Hard woods?
Mr. Alexander. Hard woods; some very fine cabinet woods.
Senator Gray. Would they use the trunks of those, too?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Some of those trees are very large?
Mr. Alexander. Some of them are.
The Chairman. A magnificent forest, or in spots?
Mr. Alexander. Pretty dense. It has a very thick undergrowth, tropical undergrowth.
Senator Gray. Heavy timber?
Mr. Alexander. The trees are not so very large, except in some of the large forests on Hawaii. The Government has taken great pains to protect the forests.
The Chairman. Are those forests valuable for domestic uses?
Mr. Alexander. I think for cabinet wood and for fuel. The Government ought to take great pains to preserve the forests. They are
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arranging to protect them from cattle. Some of the districts have made arrangements with the private owners, planters, and others, to run a line of fences to keep the cattle out.
The Chairman. What have the cattle to do with the forests; do they eat them up?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, all the young trees, undergrowth, fern, etc. They became alarmed about that. It affects the water supply.
The Chairman. Has the Hawaiian Government taken steps to protect the forests?
Mr. Alexander. At the present time there is an arrangement made for fencing in part of the forests.
The Chairman. You mean the Government is to do it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; the Government is to pay half the expenses. The planters agreed to do that.
The Chairman. So that you have a thorough forestry system?
Mr. Alexander. Not yet; beginning to have. And the Government has tried experiments in replanting, tried different kinds of trees.
The Chairman. Has the sandal root been tried? That is no longer a valuable article of commerce there.
Mr. Alexander. It is very rare.
The Chairman. Do they make shipments of other woods?
Mr. Alexander. I think they hardly pay.
The Chairman. Do they have mills?
Mr. Alexander. A few sawmills.
The Chairman. Are any of these mills owned by native Hawaiians?
Mr. Alexander. I think not.
The Chairman. Have they any other manufacturing establishments in Hawaii—notable ones, I mean?
Mr. Alexander. I could hardly state that they have any manufacturing establishments. Sugar engrosses everything, monopolizes everything.
The Chairman. What do you think of the prospects of coffee-raising in the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Very promising; just beginning.
The Chairman. You have been all over the islands as a surveyor?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; nearly all.
The Chairman. I am speaking in a general sense. You understand what the islands contain in forests and lands?
Mr. Alexander. I have a pretty good general idea.
The Chairman. There are no minerals in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. No, not in the common sense.
The Chairman. No iron?
Mr. Alexander. Not in paying quantities.
The Chairman. No coal?
Mr. Alexander. No coal. There is a little iron, but not in paying quantities.
Senator Gray. Is wood universally used as fuel?
Mr. Alexander. Not universally. The plantations use a little coal.
The Chairman. YOU do not need much fuel for the purpose of warming your houses?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. The temperature is such that you do not need it?
Mr. Alexander. There are a few portions of the upper lands where they do use fires, but a very small portion.
Senator Gray. Is that true of the islands the year around?
Mr. Alexander. Of the year round.
S. Doc. 231, pt 6----40
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The Chairman. Are the houses built of wood?
Mr. Alexander. Very generally.
The Chairman. Between what degrees are the variations of temperature?
Mr. Alexander. Thirty degrees.
The Chairman. What is the lowest point?
Mr. Alexander. At the sea level it very rarely goes below fifty, generally not lower than fifty-five.
The Chairman. It gets colder as you ascend the mountains?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. There are two mountains quite high?
Mr. Alexander. The highest mountain is 13,820 feet. There is another mountain 13,675 feet. On those you will find snow all the year round, not covered, but more or less at the top.
The Chairman. Are those volcanic mountains?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, volcanic mountains. Snow falls on them in the winter.
The Chairman. So that, the climate is really affected or made there by the altitude?
Mr. Alexander. It is. Then we have some very fine upland, tableland, that has not yet been used for agriculture, but I think it will be.
The Chairman. What is the elevation of the table-lands of which you speak?
Mr. Alexander. In the island of Hawaii, north of Mount Kea, which has been overrun by catle, and which I think will be cultivated hereafter, the elevation is 2,500 feet.
The Chairman. Is there water on it—running streams?
Mr. Alexander. There is one running stream; but they depend chiefly on the rain.
The Chairman. It is the side of the island, to windward?
Mr. Alexander. About the center of the island.
The Chairman. The island toward the windward has rains?
Mr. Alexander. There is a difference between the two sides of the island.
The Chairman. Like the Andes?
Mr. Alexander. South America on a small scale. In the district of Hilo we average 12 feet of rain, and have for a good many years.
The Chairman. How much of the island does that rainfall cover?
Mr. Alexander. Not more than one-tenth. Perhaps I have put it rather low, to keep within bounds. In the region of the Kona district it is very dry. That has land and sea breezes, and has southerly rains. It is a fertile district, although rocky. It has very rich land between the lava flows. It has a good coffee district, although it is on the dry side.
The Chairman. What sort of fruits have they in Hawaii, tropical or semitropical?
Mr. Alexander. Tropical. We call our climate subtropical. Our climate is changed by the trade winds and ocean current from the Bering Sea.
The Chairman. From what direction do those trade winds blow?
Mr. Alexander. From the northeast.
The Chairman. During what part of the year? Are they continuous?
Mr. Alexander. They are strongest in the summer; they follow the sun.
The Chairman. In its movements north and south, do you mean?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
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The Chairman. How long do they continue?
Mr. Alexander. The trade winds blow pretty steadily during the summer.
Senator Gray. That is, the three summer months?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. During the winter they are not so steady; at intervals there are southerly winds. It is not however, like the monsoon.
The Chairman. Is there any period in the year when there is a calm?
Mr. Alexander. There are short periods, especially in the winter— January.
The Chairman. But these trade winds during the year would be reckoned as a steady blow?
Mr. Alexander. Irregular.
The Chairman. Irregular, but steady—I mean by that continuous, with greater or less force. How about that ocean current?
Mr. Alexander. We are on the edge of that current; it runs from the east; but the ocean around us is cooler than the air, and our country is ten degrees cooler than other tropical countries in the same latitude.
The Chairman. You say this current comes from the east, runs to the west?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we are on the edge of the great equatorial current.
The Chairman. It comes from the American coast and goes toward the Asiatic, the equator?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; a scientific gentleman examined the condition, and explained the coolness of the current from the Bering Sea to be on account of the Pacific Ocean being closed at its upper end.
The Chairman. Hawaii is within the flow of the great equatorial current of the Pacific Ocean?
Mr. Alexander. We are near the edge of it, so that it is rather irregular. It affects our climate.
The Chairman. I would like you to state as briefly as you can, and somewhat fully, the progress that has been made in Hawaii since your childhood in civilization, in religion, in government, in industries, and in general development. You can go on and state it your own way, covering such points as will give the committee some correct idea of the real state of the progress that has been made in that country.
Mr. Alexander. When I was a child the natives were abject slaves to their chiefs. They had no rights that the chiefs were bound to respect. They were tenants at will. They could be turned off the land at the word of a chief. Sometimes the whole of the inhabitants of a valley could be evicted at the change of the landlord—at the order of a higher chief. The country was full of natives who were dispossessed, looking around for a place, another home. They were very poor. The natives had very little foreign cloth when I was a boy—they wore the bark cloth.
Senator Gray. Made by themselves?
Mr. Alexander. Made by themselves, and not much of that. They were subject to forced labor by their chiefs. Previously to that time the sandalwood was exhausted. While the sandalwood lasted they suffered a great deal of oppression; they had to spend months in the mountains cutting sandalwood for their chiefs.
The Chairman. How would they get it down from the mountains?
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Mr. Alexander. On their backs in bundles. It was a mine of wealth for the chiefs while it lasted.
The Chairman. What was their physical stature, strength, and development; strong, or a weakly race at that time?
Mr. Alexander. I think they averaged pretty well, not quite the equal of the white race.
The Chairman. Capable of performing hard labor?
Mr. Alexander. Did a good deal of hard labor. They are the best boatmen in the world; make good seamen. I suppose that being obliged to labor for their chiefs was good for them.
The Chairman. What was the state of morality amongst them at that time, according to your understanding from your childhood?
Mr. Alexander. It was very low, so far as the sexual relations were concerned. There were very few crimes of violence, very rare, and not much stealing. A native will lie; thinks very little of being charged with a lie, but feels very angry at being charged with stealing; and I think that dates from away back. We have not yet got the habit of locking our doors, and burglaries are generally committed by Chinamen or professionals from San Francisco or Australia; not by the natives. They are a kindly race. My father and mother spent some time in Marquesas Islands. They are a Polynesian race of a different type. When my father came back he enjoyed a sense of security that was a great relief. They are a very docile people.
Senator Gray. Affectionate?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Grateful for a kindness?
Mr. Alexander. They have the name for being ungrateful; but I think it is rather because of their short memories, and impressions do not last long, either for good or for evil. They are not a revengeful people. My father was worshiped by the people of that section of the islands. He was their physician, adviser, and friend in every possible way.
The Chairman. And they were very fond of him?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. At that time they were very eager to learn, when everything was fresh and novel. To buy books they would go into the mountains and collect arrowroot to get means, and my father has often said that the whole population came to hear him. They were hungry, as he explained it, eager to drink in what he had to say.
The Chairman. Did your father speak the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Preach to them in that tongue and talk to them in it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Do you speak the language?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. I published a grammar of the Hawaiian language.
The Chairman. While we are upon that—and it is germane to the inquiry—I will ask you whether the first instruction of the Hawaiian people in letters was in the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Alexander. When the missionaries first landed they taught English for a while. They had to learn the Hawaiian language, of course. In the meantime the first schools were taught in English. When they had learned the language, reduced it to writing, they dropped the English.
The Chairman. Did they prepare schoolbooks in the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Alexander. They did.
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The Chairman. Did they use the Roman alphabet?
Mr. Alexander. Adapted the Roman alphabet.
The Chairman. NO new characters were adapted to the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. What books did they first publish?
Mr. Alexander. The first books were religious books and schoolbooks.
The Chairman. Were the schoolbooks numerous, on different subjects?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; they were.
The Chairman. Geographies.
Mr. Alexander. Geographies and readers. And then my father taught in a high school, with books in mathematics, as far as trigonometry, surveying, and navigation. They had books of general history, and in fact of political economy, published in their own language. There was a book on anatomy, a small edition. I think there was a larger library in their own language than in that of any other group in the Pacific Ocean.
Senator Frye. Am I to understand you as saying that the missionaries for the first time in the islands reduced the Hawaiian language to letters?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. They had no written language when the missionaries went there?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. These books were printed in the United States?
Mr. Alexander. No, they were printed there; the printing presses were taken with the missionaries. They afterward published the Pilgrim's Progress and quite a number of religious works besides the Bible.
The Chairman. More recently, if I understand correctly, the instruction in Hawaii is in the English tongue?
Mr. Alexander. Principally now.
The Chairman. You do not teach in the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Alexander. A few schools, probably not more than one-twentieth.
The Chairman. Is it the English tongue that is spoken in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. By the rising generation; not the adults.
The Chairman. Do they speak it brokenly?
Mr. Alexander. They are trying to give the school children the pure English, not pigeon English. Not many of the adults can speak or write correctly.
The Chairman. Among a great many people, what you call the pigeon English is in vogue there, as in China?
Mr. Alexander. It is not like China.
The Chairman. It is filled with a mixture of the English and native tongue?
Mr. Alexander. No; I could not say that they mix languages as they-do in China. The native language is a very easy language to pick up, and it is understood by all the Chinamen, and the Japs pick it up. It is easy to learn the language. It is still the language for the laws. All the laws are published in English and Hawaiian.
The Chairman. Is there an extensive vocabulary of words?
Mr. Alexander. It is not a rich language. Words had to be coined for theological purposes, for law purposes, and for mathematics.
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The Chairman. Are they teaching chemistry, etc.?
Mr. Alexander. They have never tried to teach chemistry in the Hawaiian language.
The Chairman. Were you ever in charge of the public school system in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. I have been a member of the board of education for a long time.
The Chairman. How long?
Mr. Alexander. Since 1887.
The Chairman. What proportion of the native Kanaka population over 10 years of age are now enabled to read and write, either in their own language or in the English language?
Mr. Alexander. I could not give a definite statement of the proportion of the adult Kanakas who can read and write correctly. Most of them have a smattering of the English.
The Chairman. I do not mean to read and write correctly, but to read and write in their own language.
Mr. Alexander. I think from 10 to 15 they understand considerable English.
The Chairman. Can they read and write in their own language? I am speaking of their capacity to read and write.
Mr. Alexander. In their own language I suppose nine-tenths. It is very easy to read and write the Hawaiian language.
The Chairman. I wish to know whether the art of reading and writing has been acquired by the people there, and to what extent.
Mr. Alexander. We have had compulsory education there for a good many years. If a child does not go to school he is taken up by the truant officer, and the parents are taken to account. So that the natives can read and write their own language.
The Chairman. At what age?
Mr. Alexander. I should say certainly all by 15, and probably nine-tenths of those above 10 years of age. Their language is written phonetically, so that there is no difficulty in spelling.
Senator Frye. Prof. Alexander stated the physical conditions and all that sort of thing, but he did not say what religious advancement the children made.
The Chairman. What was the religious condition of Hawaii when you were a child ?
Mr. Alexander. Very ignorant. They had the most crude ideas about religion; they were very eager to get ideas. They were very receptive at that time, and it was a great pleasure to teach them at that time.
The Chairman. What was their religion?
Mr. Alexander. They had thrown away their idols—their taboos. But they had a great deal of superstition still, particularly about sorcery. I think the most injurious superstition they have is in regard to the cause of disease—sickness. They think that diseases are caused supernaturally.
The Chairman. In your childhood was this condition of ignorance and paganism almost universal?
Mr. Alexander. Almost universal.
The Chairman. What is the degree of the improvement?
Mr. Alexander. At the present time they are all nominal Christians —Catholics, Protestants, Episcopalians, Mormons. There is yet more or less of underlying superstition spread among the natives.
The Chairman. Religion is free under your laws and constitution?
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Mr. Alexander. Entirely. The old superstitions, about the cause of sickness and about sorcery have never been rooted out.
The Chairman. Is there any connection out there between the church and state?
Mr. Alexander. There never has been.
The Chairman. Are churches found commonly in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. The population has been decreased so that there are a great many churches standing where there is no population— empty churches in some districts.
The Chairman. How about schoolhouses; have they been abundanly supplied to the people?
Mr. Alexander. At present pretty well. I joined the Board of Education in 1887. There was then a great deficiency of schoolhouses. During the reign of Kalakaua government money was diverted to other purposes. But a great many schoolhouses were built, improvements made, and at present schoolhouses are pretty well provided.
The Chairman. Are they comfortable schoolhouses?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Furnished with proper furniture?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. By American methods; furniture imported by the United States or made there in accordance, I might say, with the Hawaiian school system. They received a gold medal at the Paris Exposition.
The Chairman. What is the school age there according to law?
Mr. Alexander. Seven to fourteen.
The Chairman. Is it a part of that system that all the young population that are able to go to school, physically qualified for being taught, shall attend the school?
Mr. Alexander. Very nearly. There has been a want of school accommodation in some school districts, and we could not compel them until we had schoolhouses enough. At the present time we have pretty nearly caught up.
The Chairman. So that it might be said that the native youth of Hawaii are universally under process of education?
Mr. Alexander. Very nearly.
The Chairman. Do the Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese send their children to those schools?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; they are obliged to, except where they attend a private school. There are about eleven thousand children there in schools and three thousand of these are in the private schools. The Chinese and Japanese have not many children; a great maiority of them are adult males.
Mr. Chairman. But the Chinese and Japanese are subject to this compulsory education the same as the Hawaiian?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. The Chinese have a few Chinese schools.
The Chairman. Out of what funds are these schools sustained?
Mr. Alexander. In the first place there is a poll tax devoted to it, school tax; and the school tax of each district has to be expended in that district. The school tax is kept separate, and can not be touched for any other purpose. Even through Kalakaua's reign that was kept separate. This is not enough, and the Legislature has to appropriate largely to supplement that.
The Chairman. What is about the annual expenditure for school purposes in Hawaii—I mean Governmental expenditure?
Mr. Alexander. It is very difficult to say, the way the accounts have been kept. There is a school tax, and then there is a large amount
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of money out at interest which belongs to the board of education. And in the third place there is an appropriation by the Legislature. They appropriate by the Legislature $190,000 for school purposes for the biennial period. That is less than they generally appropriate.
Senator Gray. Was that out of the general fund?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, besides the school tax. I think you could add $100,000 more from other sources.
The Chairman. That would make $290,000 for the biennial period? Expenditures for education in the Hawaiian Islands for the Biennial period 1890-1892:
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Appropriations for Government schools |
$304,022 |
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Less unexpended |
40,653 |
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Expended out of appropriations |
257,369 |
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School tax |
151,906 |
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Receipts from other sources |
38,662 |
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Total expended on Government schools |
2) 447,937 |
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Annual expenditure on Government schools about |
224,000 |
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Annual estimated expenditure on Independent schools about |
60,000 |
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Total expended for schools per annum |
284,000 |
E. &. O. E.
W. D. Alexander.
Senator Gray. Appropriated by the Legislature?
Mr. Alexander. Appropriated. Then a number of smaller amounts.
Senator Gray. What do they aggregate?
Mr. Alexander. For new schoolbouses there was appropriated $52,500.
Senator Gray. In addition to those other sums?
Mr. Alexander. In addition to that: Industrial and reformatory school, by appropriation of 1890, $12,000; expenses of census, $12,000, and expenses of normal instruction, $2,000.
The Chairman. Is that the school census?
Mr. Alexander. The census of the islands is placed under the care of the board of education. Here is a list of the teachers and salaries.
The Chairman. Ho you think that the interest on the endowment of the private schools would amount to a sum equal to that of the Government expenses which you have been quoting here?
Mr. Alexander. No, I think not.
The Chairman. You could give, I suppose, a general idea of what was the expenditure for education in these private schools and these endowed colleges?
Mr. Alexander. They are not obliged to report their expenses to the Government.
The Chairman. I know they are not; but I want your own estimate. I want to ask you about what were the annual expenditures of the Government of Hawaii for all other purposes besides school purposes. Take that same year.
Mr. Alexander. I think their total budget for the biennial period was about $2,800,000.
The Chairman. That includes what you have just enumerated?
Mr. Alexander. Including everything.
Senator Gray. Two millions eiglit hundred thousand dollars for the biennial period?
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Mr. Alexander. Biennial period.
Senator Gray. That would be $1,400,000 a year?
Mr. Alexander. I think the direct tax will reach about a million in round numbers; then the customs dues about the same in round numbers.
The Chairman. And the balance is made out of licenses, I suppose?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; besides rents of lands, etc.
Senator Gray. You say about $2,800,000 for the biennial period of 1890 and 1891. That includes school taxes and all appropriations for public purposes?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Does that include municipal expenses?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I might say it does to a certain extent.
Senator Gray. Are there any minor districts or subdivisions that have the right of taxation?
Mr. Alexander. There are not.
Senator Gray. The city of Honolulu, for instance?
Mr. Alexander. It is governed as Washington is, by the General Government.
Senator Gray. The expenses of that city are included in the figures you have given ?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Are there any outlying districts of the Kingdom invested with the right of taxation, like our counties?
Mr. Alexander. No, there is no municipal organization. The school tax and the road tax are reserved for that district and the board of road commissioners.
The Chairman. But that is a question of expenditure?
Mr. Alexander. They elect their own road commissioners.
Senator Gray. It all comes under the general treasury?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. You have a governor of all the islands?
Mr. Alexander. They have abolished that office.
The Chairman. You have no local councils to regulate anything?
Mr. Alexander. No. The duties that formerly belonged to the governor are divided between the sheriffs and tax collectors. The main duty of the governor was to collect taxes. He was a representative of the King, a politician and wire-puller—managed elections.
The Chairman. Now, I want to ask you----
Mr. Alexander. It is a rather centralized government.
The Chairman. I want to ask you about the manner in which the general population of Hawaii are supplied with clothing; whether they are now comfortably and decently clad?
Mr. Alexander. They are generally decently clad. The climate does not require a great deal.
The Chairman. They do not use much woolen goods?
Mr. Alexander. No. The population is generally near the level of the sea, the lowlands. The upland is not inhabited much.
The Chairman. The people do not have much occasion to use woolen goods?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. Cotton is the chief article for wearing apparel?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, among the lower classes.
The Chairman. As a rule are the people well supplied with clothing?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. There is no suffering from cold in that country.
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The Chairman. No suffering for want of proper clothing?
Mr. Alexander. No; and I do not think anybody suffers for want of food.
The Chairman. I was going to ask you whether the food supply of the islands is sufficient for the population.
Mr. Alexander. Yes. One thing is, we have no poor laws, and the people take care of each other, help each other to a great extent.
The Chairman. You have no poor system at all—no system of public charity?
Mr. Alexander. King Lunalilo left lands worth some hundred thousand dollars which were devoted to the founding of a home for indigent Hawaiians. That was near Honolulu.
The Chairman. Is that home kept up now?
Mr. Alexander. Kept up now; but the natives will not go there if they have any friends left.
Senator Gray. Do they have a pride about it?
Mr. Alexander. I do not think it is so much pride as it is to avoid the restraint. They like to be with their friends and kinsmen.
The Chairman. I would like to ask whether the domestic relations of the Kanakas are characterized by an affectionate regard for each other, or whether they are indifferent to each other.
Mr. Alexander. I think they are very kindly, much more so than the other races of the Pacific Ocean, and much more so than in the olden time.
The Chairman. Have you any Government hospitals in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we have a very good hospital in Honolulu. It was founded by Kamehameha IV and his queen, founded by subscriptions and supplemented by appropriations. It is a very creditable institution. We have local hospitals in the small towns.
The Chairman, Maintained at Government expense?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. Then we have a hospital for lepers. That is out on an island by itself. They have a receiving hospital for suspected lepers, where they are kept and attended until they become hopeless cases, and then they are sent to Molokai. It is natually fenced off by nature. I think I have a map showing it. (Producing map.) The lepers' settlement is that little flat peninsula there. Here is a line of precipices two thousand and more feet in height.
Senator Gray. Is that island volcanic?
Mr. Alexander. Volcanic.
Senator Gray. Are there any settlements there?
Mr. Alexander. Along the coast there. That peninsula is cut off by precipices.
Senator Gray. Is that where that priest was?
Mr. Alexander. Father Damien? Yes.
Senator Gray. Did you know him?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Is their condition one of suffering from the disease?
Mr. Alexander. They do not suffer much; it is the nature of the disease. The Government has done everything it could for them—they are well housed, doctored, and well fed.
Senator Gray. Did not Father Damien die of it?
Mr. Alexander. He did. Most of the old residents can see how it spreads, can trace its lines. Some doctors maintain that it is not contagious.
The Chairman. But they can see how it was spread in a neighborhood?
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Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Was that disease known there in olden times?
Mr. Alexander. About 1860. It was unheard of there until I went back from this country.
The Chairman. You understand the Chinese brought it in?
Mr. Alexander. The native name for it is "Chinese disease."
The Chairman. Have you an institution or institutions for the deaf, dumb, and blind?
Mr. Alexander. Not the deaf and dumb, but we have an insane asylum—at the present time in a creditable condition, since the revolution of 1887.
The Chairman. Have you any penitentiary system?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we have a principal prison at Honolulu; then we have smaller ones in different districts. When they are sentenced they are sent out to Honolulu.
The Chairman. Persons sentenced to hard labor?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Are those institutions sustained by the Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. By the last census the number of convicts, the number of persons in prison, was about one-third of 1 per cent. That includes drunks locked up. It includes more than the regular convicts. I think it was a pretty good showing.
The Chairman. Is the administration of justice there conducted with strictness?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I think that is the best feature of our Government. The higher courts have always been above suspicion, and I think justice is more prompt and reliable than in most of the States.
The Chairman. Do they have the jury system?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; murderers are hanged.
Senator Gray. How many executions do you have a year?
Mr. Alexander. Oh, they are very rare.
Senator Gray. Do you have them as often as once a year?
Mr. Alexander. No; formerly they were very rare; of late they are more frequent, because of the foreign element that comes in. Strange to say, of late the Japanese amongst themselves commit most of the murders. The Japanese imported for labor are of the lowest class of people of their country, and the murderers have been because of gambling and quarrels about women. The murders among natives are rare in Hawaii.
The Chairman. Take your school attendance and church attendance, and the absence of mendicancy and poorhouses----
Mr. Alexander. Mendicants are unknown; tramps are unknown.
The Chairman. And the small percentage of criminals necessary to be locked up in the penitentiary, you think you have a pretty high state of civilization in Hawaii, do you not? Taking it all together, is not that your opinion?
Mr. Alexander. I think that life and property are as safe there as in any place in the world.
The Chairman. Are the people turbulent, or are they quiet?
Mr. Alexander. They are a rather quiet people. They were governed by an iron hand under the old chiefs, and they have been accustomed to obey law, and they have not lost that respect for law. They are a law-abiding people.
The Chairman. It is a country in which every right is regulated by law, protected by law, or intended to be?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
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The Chairman. I was asking you about the food supply. Do you state that it is sufficient; that is, that the native production is sufficient to sustain the population?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. We import a good deal----
The Chairman. I do not mean what you import; I mean what is the capacity of the country for producing a sufficiency of food for the nurture and comfort of man?
Mr. Alexander. Nobody there goes hungry. The resources of the country are only begun to be developed, in my opinion.
The Chairman. Do they have meat as well as farinaceous food?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. What description of animals; what do you use as meat?
Mr. Alexander. Cattle and sheep.
The Chairman. How about hogs?
Mr. Alexander. They were there before the island was discovered; they had hogs, fowls, and dogs.
The Chairman. The forests in Hawaii, I suppose, furnish sustenance for the hogs—fern and roots?
Mr. Alexander. We have wild hogs and hunt them. Some wild boars are pretty dangerous. But most of the hogs are fed, kept up.
The Chairman. On what?
Mr. Alexander. On vegetables and scrapings of taro, etc.
The Chairman. Can you take a hog and fatten him on taro?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And on other like productions of the forests there?
Mr. Alexander. Certainly----
The Chairman. Wild roots, bulbs, arrowroot. Do they eat that?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. But the arrowroot is too expensive.
The Chairman. I do not mean that. If the hog finds it in the woods, would he eat it?
Mr. Alexander. Oh yes.
The Chairman. Where are the cattle grazed?
Mr. Alexander. On the lands that are not so rich—the interior lands, generally.
Senator Gray. Do you have fine, choice stock there?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we have imported a great many from Australia and the United States.
The Chairman. Have you grazing for them?
Mr. Alexander. The grazing has been overdone by cattle, and much of it ought to be cultivated, and will be.
The Chairman. Does the grazing produce good beef and milk?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And poultry—is that an important element in human support in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. Well, they had poultry in the islands before they were discovered.
The Chairman. Do they have poultry in any abundance?
Mr. Alexander. I think so—about as in this country.
The Chairman. What grains do they raise in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. Rice the principal grain.
The Chairman. Do the Hawaiians feed their poultry on rice?
Mr. Alexander. Sometimes rice and maize, Indian corn.
Senator Gray. Do they raise good crops?
Mr. Alexander. Beginning to. All those things were neglected
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through the sugar craze. When sugar was paying so well they neglected raising these other things.
The Chairman. What I want to know is, whether they sustain the population of the country?
Mr. Alexander. Corn? I know a district where a good deal of land has been cut up under the homestead laws of the last two or three years and where they have raised a good deal of corn. It is the district of Kula. It is interesting to see it.
The Chairman. Good corn crops?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. We can raise wheat. In one district we have produced 25,000 bushels in a year. But they found out they could raise wheat in California, and they changed the production in the other direction. We now import our flour.
The Chairman. You do not import your wheat?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, for our poultry. All our oats we could raise.
The Chairman. How about sweet potatoes?
Mr. Alexander. They always had potatoes. The natives live on them to some extent in some districts.
The Chairman. It is a valuable crop in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. It is part of the crops, part of the food of the country. They do not export it.
The Chairman. I am speaking of the capacity. You could make enough Irish potatoes on the ground if you had a market for them?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. How about peas and beans?
Mr. Alexander. We have a good crop there.
The Chairman. Do the natives like them?
Mr. Alexander The natives do not consume any of them; mostly foreigners raise them.
The Chairman. Sugar cane is a native growth?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Have the natives different methods of their own of manufacturing different articles of diet out of the sugar cane?
Mr. Alexander. They never manufacture sugar.
The Chairman. I do not mean sugar—syrups. Do they make them themselves?
Mr. Alexander. I do not think they do.
The Chairman. They could make any quantity they desired, could they not?
Mr. Alexander. They could.
The Chairman. But the capability of the country is great in the production of sugar cane?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; it surpasses any other country in the world. I would not dare to say how much they raise to the acre.
The Chairman. Now we come to taro, as you call it. That is a succulent root?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. To what dimensions does it grow—the average taro bulb or root?
Mr. Alexander. From 2 to 5 pounds, we call them; sometimes more.
The Chairman. How long do they grow before maturing?
Mr. Alexander. Over a year.
The Chairman. Is there any season of the year at which you have to plant taro?
Mr. Alexander. Any season, I think.
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The Chairman. A continuous crop; so that when a man takes up a taro root he can put another in its place?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. It is said that taro will support more persons to the acre than any other article of food.
The Chairman. Is it nutritious?
Mr. Alexander. Very nutritious.
Senator Gray. Palatable?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, very.
The Chairman. Is it subject to any of the diseases peculiar to vegetables?
Mr. Alexander. Not till lately. In the northernmost island, the Kauai, there is something blighting it, and we are studying it to find out what blights it.
The Chairman. But it is a steady, reliable crop for human sustenance?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Are the natives fond of it?
Mr. Alexander. That is their staff of life. When they say food they mean taro.
The Chairman. Do they have it in abundance?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. No dearth of it, no shortness?
Mr. Alexander. In olden times they had periodical local famines.
The Chairman. Since you have been on the islands?
Mr. Alexander. They have cultivated it more regularly of late.
The Chairman. Have they had any of those famine periods there since you were born?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I remember in olden times they had periods when taro was scarce.
Senator Gray. Was there any suffering during that period?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. They were improvident; they would overproduce sometimes and neglect to plant.
The Chairman. Is that the first crop in importance?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Rice is planted for export?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, for home consumption and about ten millions of pounds a year to export.
The Chairman. At what elevation is that grown?
Mr. Alexander. It is generally grown near the sea. It is an irrigated crop, especially on the Island of Oahu, where we have artesian wells.
The Chairman. Is there a supply of wells on that island?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Are they numerous?
Mr. Alexander. I think there may be nearly a hundred by this time.
The Chairman. Are those artesian wells flowing wells in other parts of the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Not yet. They have not made a success of the artesian wells in any other island.
The Chairman. They have been trying to do it, but they have not done it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, in that island they have a head of 20 to 40 feet above sea level.
The Chairman. Is it fresh water?
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Mr. Alexander. Yes. The rice crop, I suppose, is worth about a half million dollars a year.
The Chairman. Suppose that rice crop were all consumed in Hawaii, would that be a very valuable addition to the country?
Mr. Alexander. It would.
The Chairman. Now about fruits. I believe you mentioned tropical fruits?
Mr. Alexander. The orange does very well there and the banana. We export a good many of the latter. The pineapple we export; in fact, the business is just commenced of raising them. Our chief markets would be Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
The Chairman. Have you the guava?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. It grows wild.
The Chairman. Lemons and limes?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Cocoanuts?
Mr. Alexander. To a certain extent.
The Chairman. Are they capable of being grown there to any extent?
Mr. Alexander. On a great part of the coast, the sandy part of the coast, they might plant cocoanut trees.
The Chairman. Do cocoanut trees prosper there?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. But we are pretty near the northern limit of the cocoanut. They do not do as well there as near the equator.
The Chairman. Do you raise grapes?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Is Hawaii a good grape country?
Mr. Alexander. I think it is.
The Chairman. Equal to California?
Mr. Alexander. I think not. Coffee would be one of our most important crops. The coffee is of a good quality.
Senator Frye. Mr. Spalding, who appeared before the committee, was asked by me about the coffee crop, and he suggested that it was doubtful about raising coffee successfully, because there was a blight on the trees there.
Mr. Alexander. There was a blight on them in the fifties, and the people were discouraged; but it seems now to have nearly disappeared, and it depends on good judgment in cultivation. We are not afraid of it. We never had the blight that they had in Ceylon, nothing like that; our blight is of a different character.
The Chairman. It is an insect, is it not?
Mr. Alexander. Of a vegetable nature, I think.
The Chairman. Parasitic?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. In Ceylon it was very deadly. We have made strict laws about bringing in plants, to prevent more blights. The coffee interest has now taken quite a start in Hawaii.
Senator Frye. And in your opinion it will prove very successful?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Does the Government of Hawaii take care of the production of human food by protective laws?
Mr. Alexander. We have a department established, a bureau of forestry and agriculture, which is importing and experimenting with plants, supplying them to farmers, etc.
The Chairman. You have Government farms for raising those?
Mr. Alexander. We have experimental gardens near Honolulu. In fact, we are just beginning.
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The Chairman. How about the vines—melons and pumpkins?
Mr. Alexander. They do very well there.
The Chairman. Ordinary garden vegetables?
Mr. Alexander. They all succeed there. The Chinese monopolize the market gardens, around Honolulu, at least.
The Chairman. Do they succeed in making crops?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, they succeed. With regard to the pumpkins and melons, they are cultivated by natives to a considerable extent.
The Chairman. And tobacco?
Mr. Alexander. And tobacco.
The Chairman. How about it?
Mr. Alexander. It grows there very rank, and the quality is very strong; generally supposed that it might be good tobacco if properly cured and-treated.
The Chairman. Is the raising of tobacco made a regular industry in any part of the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; but does not amount to much for export.
The Chairman. Does it amount to enough to indicate that it is a tobacco country?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. The Government proposes to institute experiments to see whether it depends on the quality of the seed. The Government at one time offered a reward for a proper method of curing tobacco to take out those strong, offensive qualities.
The Chairman. How much railroad have you in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. I do not know that I could give the figures. We have 17 miles of railroad in Oahu; have one on Mani, 15 miles; we have one in North Hawaii, something over 20 miles, and others proj ected, besides tramways.
The Chairman. You mean horse railways?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we have them in all the plantations and street tramways in Honolulu.
The Chairman. Street tramways on all the plantations, you say?
Mr. Alexander. Yes—mule tracks. And some of the plantations have them to connect them with the harbor, the landing.
The Chairman. So that your system is just being projected?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Have you telegraph communication between different parts of the island?
Mr. Alexander. Each principal island has a system of telephone running around it; but no interislaud communication, across channels.
The Chairman. No cable between the islands?
Mr. Alexander. Not yet.
The Chairman. What is the method of communication between the islands?
Mr. Alexander. We have twenty—twenty-two steamers, I think, and more than that number of sailing vessels.
The Chairman. Do the natives go from island to island in their canoes?
Mr. Alexander. In olden times they did.
The Chairman. Would those canoes be paddled or under sail?
Mr. Alexander. Both, in olden times.
The Chairman: The Hawaiians were sailors?
Mr. Alexander. Sailors. Sometimes they went out of sight of land and steered by the stars.
The Chairman. They were navigators, then?
Mr. Alexander. Naturally.
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The Chairman. Before they knew anything of the use of the compass?
Mr. Alexander. They have traditions of voyages to other groups. No doubt they made them; but they have not made them for several hundred years.
The Chairman. But they would make those voyages out of sight of land, and steer by the stars?
Mr. Alexander. By the stars.
The Chairman. And without the aid of the compass?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. You have spoken about the people being fond of water and fond of aquatic pursuits. Is that a characteristic of the islanders?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; a characteristic of the Polynesians generally. They live around the fringes of the islands, and are seamen. They make the best boatmen in the world.
The Chairman. Good swimmers?
Mr. Alexander. Universally so.
The Chairman. Women and children!
Mr. Alexander. All good swimmers.
The Chairman. All good swimmers, and begin very young. It is really taught as a part of their physical education?
Mr. Alexander. I should say so. They perform some extraordinary feats in the water, swimming and diving.
The Chairman. They are divers also?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; formerly, in early times, a great many of them went away, left the country as sailors.
The Chairman. Went away in ships?
Mr. Alexander. In the 40's it was referred to as a serious evil that so many of the young men were sailors—never came back; and they passed a law in 1850 restricting young men from leaving the country without permission of the Government.
The Chairman. I suppose if these islands belonged to the United States we might look to the native islanders as a large source of supply for seamen, could we not?
Mr. Alexander. They would make good seamen.
The Chairman. They are fond of it?
Mr. Alexander. We, as their friends, would prefer to see them in agriculture in the country. At the present time very few of them are sailors.
The Chairman. I am speaking now of the population and the capacity of those people to supply such a want as that.
Mr. Alexander. Yes, they are well adapted to that.
The Chairman. Well adapted to supplying the commercial marine and navy with sailors?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Are they obedient men on board ship?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Industrious?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Are they subservient to discipline without being rebellious?
Mr. Alexander. I think they are. They are not inclined to be mutinous.
The Chairman. Then I take it to be your opinion that a larger population than now exists on the islands, including all, could be sustained
S. Doc. 231, pt 6----41
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comfortably and prosperously upon the native capacity of the soil to produce articles of human food?
Mr. Alexander. I think probably five times the present population. There are some districts nearly uninhabited.
The Chairman. And still leave a fair margin for exportation?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. As exchange to get goods of other countries there?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; wherever we go we find abandoned taro patches and abandoned water courses overgrown with forests, at the same time showing that there was a dense population there hundreds of years ago.
The Chairman. I believe that is all I care to ask you about the general character of that country. I wish now to come to the political side.
Senator Frye. If you will allow me, right there, I want to ask a question. I have in my hand a history of the Hawaiian Islands, written for educational purposes in the islands, a book of 340 pages. Are you the author of this book?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, I am the author.
Senator Frye. Written at the request of the board of education?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. And is it to be used in the schools?
Mr. Alexander. It is used in the schools.
Senator Frye. Are you the auther of any other book there—geography?
Mr. Alexander. I was the author of a grammar of the Hawaiian language and of a good many pamphlets and separate papers.
Senator Frye. I see here that you purpose writing certain other books. Have you written any of them?
Mr. Alexander. I have not completed any of them.
Senator Frye. You had a good many conversations with Mr. Blount, did you not?
Mr. Alexander. I did.
Senator Frye. They were not taken down by a stenographer at the time?
Mr. Alexander. No ; they were informal.
Senator Frye. But you gave Mr. Blount a prepared, a written paper of the history of the incompleted annexation treaty of 1854, a history of the general causes that led to the revolution—a political history of Kalakaua's reign until 1888?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; and those have been printed.
Senator Frye. Have you read them since they have been printed?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. They are printed correctly, are they?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. Did you also prepare a constitutional history of that country since the beginning of the century?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. That has not been published yet.
Senator Frye. Did you give that to Mr. Blount?
Mr. Alexander. I gave him a copy.
Senator Frye. Has that been printed?
Mr. Alexander. No.
Senator Frye. Have you a copy of that constitutional history?
Mr. Alexander. I have the original draft.
Senator Frye. And will you furnish the committee that history?
Mr. Alexander. I will.
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The Chairman. It will not be necessary for you to repeat anything that you have stated in that history to Mr. Blount. You have furnished me heretofore a paper that I must acknowledge I have not read. It is a continuation of the sketch of recent Hawaiian politics, and treats of various things. I will read that in your hearing, and see if you are prepared to depose to it as being correct.
[The preceding narrative is published In Col. Blount's report, part IV, pp.
CONTINUATION OF THE SKETCH OF RECENT HAWAIIAN POLITICS.
THE ROYAL VETO.
"This preceding narrative ended with the revolution of 1887, which was expected to put an end to personal rule in the Hawaiian Islands by making the ministry responsible only to the people through the legislature, by taking the power of appointing the Upper House out of the hands of the Sovereign, and by making officeholders ineligible to the legislature.
"The remaining three and a half years of Kalakaua's reign teemed with intrigues and conspiracies to restore autocratic rule.
"The reform party, as has been stated, gained an overwhelming majority of seats in the legislature of 1887, and had full control of the government until the legislative session of 1890.
"During the session of 1887 a contest arose between the King and the legislature in regard to the veto power, which at one time threatened the public peace. The question whether by the terms of the new constitution the King could exercise a personal vote against the advice of his ministers or not was finally decided by the supreme court in favor of the Crown, Judge Dole dissenting."
He is the present president?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. "During the following session of 1888 the King vetoed a number of bills which were all passed over his veto, by a two-thirds vote, with the exception of a bill to encourage coflee planting.
"CONSPIRACIES.
"The King's sister, the then Princess Llliuokalani, on her return from England, had charged her brother with cowardice for signing the constitution of 1887, and was known to be in favor of the old despotic system of government."
That was the constitution under which Liliuokalani took her present attitude, or recent attitude as Queen of Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. "Two Hawaiian youths, R. W. Wilcox and Robert Boyd, whom Moreno had placed in military schools of Italy, as before stated, had been recalled towards the end of 1887. They had been led to expect high positions from the Gibson government, and their disappointment was extreme. Hence they were easily induced to lead a conspiracy which had for its object the abrogation of the constitution of 1887, and the restortation of the old regime. They endeavored to form a secret league, and held public meetings to inflame the native mind, but without much success. It is said that the royal guards were won over, and that the three chief conspirators, R. W. "Wilcox. C. B. Wilson, and Sam Nowlien, demanded the King's abdication in favor of Liliuokalani. Several members of their league, however, turned informers,
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and a mass of sworn evidence was collected, but never used against them. The leader, Robert Wilcox, was allowed to go to California, where he remained about a year, biding his time."
Mr. Alexander. The story was that those conspirators cornered the King in a room in the tower of the palace and tried to compel him to abdicate then and there, and Thurston, who was at the head of the Cabinet, stopped it.
The Chairman. Do you speak of stories, or do you speak of the current belief?
Mr. Alexander. In regard to that Mr. Thurston gave me more especial evidence. He had the conspirators examined one by one, took down their statements, and he has them locked up.
The Chairman. In what capacity was he acting at the time?
Mr. Alexander. He was minister of the interior, and virtually premier; leading member of the Cabinet.
The Chairman. Of Kalakaua's Cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. What year was that?
Mr. Alexander. I think about the beginning of 1888.
The Chairman. Then you take up the insurrection of 1889?
"Meanwhile a secret organization was being formed throughout the islands, and when some progress has been made, Mr. Wilcox returned to Honolulu in April, 1889, formed a rifle club, and began to prepare for another revolution."
Mr. Alexander. The object was to make him abdicate in favor of the Princess Liliuokalani.
The Chairman. "The meetings of the league were held in a house belonging to the Princess Liliuokalani.
"At the subsequent trial it was proved by the defense, that the King had latterly come to an understanding with the conspirators, whose object was to restore his autocratic power."
Where was the trial held?
Mr. Alexander. In her room.
The Chairman. Was it a judicial investigation?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. In what court?
Mr. Alexander. The supreme court. I think I speak of that afterward.
The Chairman. "Before light, on the morning of July 30, 1889, Robert Wilcox with about one hundred and fifty armed followers, occupied the Government buildings and the palace yard. No declaration of any kind was made, as they expected the King, who was at the seaside, to come up and proclaim the old constitution of 1864."
Senator Gray. Is that the same Wilcox who was in the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. No; that was a white man; this was a half white, who was sent to Europe to be educated—sent to school. He went to Italy and became a second lieutenant in the artillery.
The Chairman. What relation is he to the Wilcox who was in the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. No relation. His father was a white man and his mother was a native.
The Chairman. "The household troops in the barracks remained neutral, and the palace was held against the insurgents by Robert Parker, with 30 men, by the King's orders."
Is that the same Parker who was in the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. A brother of his.
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The Chairman. "The King, who distrusted the conspirators, had retired to his boathouse in the harbor to await results."
The harbor of Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. Honolulu.
The Chairman. "The volunteer riflemen promptly turned out, and many of the citizens took up arms for the Government."
I will ask you whether amongst those citizens there was the missionary party?
Mr. Alexander. Some of them.
The Chairman. Did you go into the company?
Mr. Alexander. Two of my sons were members of the rifle company. I went down to the station house and offered my services.
The Chairman. That was in support of the Kalakaua Government?
Mr. Alexander. It was Kalakaua's Government putting down the rebellion against him, although it was believed the King connived at it. You see the conspiracy was planned in Liliuokalani's house, one of her houses, and before daylight in the morning they started from her house. Nobody has any doubt that she was at the bottom of it.
The Chairman. And her purpose was to dethrone Kalakaua?
Mr. Alexander. It was thought later that they came to an understanding; they were not strong enough to carry that out.
Senator Gray. What year was that?
Mr. Alexander. July 30,1889. Kalakaua acted in such a way that, whichever way the affair went, whether success or failure, he would be safe. If they had succeeded he would have gone up and proclaimed the old constitution; as they failed, he denied that he was connected with the movement.
The Chairman. "At the request of the United States minister, Mr. Merrill, a body of marines was landed, and marched up to the legation, where they remained during the day."
Mr. Alexander. The legation was on the hotel premises, quite near to the palace.
The Chairman. "This had a great moral effect. The insurgents were surrounded and isolated from the populace outside."
Where were the insurgents assembled?
Mr. Alexander. In the palace yard. The rifles formed a cordon.
The Chairman. Full-armed?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; they established patrols before daylight.
The Chairman. The military of the two parties were in hostile array?
Mr. Alexander. The insurgents went to the barracks, got cannon and ammunition, and the troops in the barracks were ordered by the Queen to remain neutral. But they allowed the insurgents to go there and help themselves to ammunition and cannon. There was a duel took place between our artillerymen and the cavalry.
The Chairman. "The ministry drew up a written summons to them to surrender, which was served on them by Hon. S. M. Damon, but they refused to receive it, and immediately afterwards the conflict commenced between their three fieldpieces and the sharpshooters in the Opera House and other buildings commanding the palace yard. The result was that their guns were soon silenced and they were driven into a wooden building on the palace grounds, where they were besieged during the afternoon. Towards night a heavy rifle fire was opened upon them and the roof of the building burst in by dynamite bombs, which forced them to surrender."
Mr. Alexander. About the dynamite. The palace was surrounded by a stone wall 8 feet high, and the dynamite bombs were thrown from
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behind that wall by a base-ball pitcher and between 200 and 300 feet. They fell on the roof of the building and burst it in. It was covered with corrugated iron. They did not stay there very long.
The Chairman. That was what building?
Mr. Alexander. Iolani Palace.
The Chairman. "Unfortunately this was by no means a bloodless affair, as seven of Wilcox' deluded followers were killed and about a dozen wounded. It was afterwards known that 10,000 rounds of ammunitions were loaned from the U. S. S. Adams to the Government forces."
What do you call the Government forces, the rifles?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And the attacking party?
Mr. Alexander. And the attacking party.
The Chairman. "Wilcox was afterward put on trial for treason, and was acquitted by a native jury, on the theory that what they did was by and with the King's consent."
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. What was the result?
Mr. Alexander. There were three for conviction and nine for acquital.
Senator Frye. Is that regarded as a disagreement of the jury?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. Three-fourths of a jury may convict. The jury system is peculiar there. Foreigners are tried by a jury made up of foreigners, and natives and half-whites are tried by a native jury.
The Chairman. A native jury may be composed of Kanakas or half-whites?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. In late years race prejudices have influenced the juries to a great extent.
The Chairman. But the rule is that three-fourths of a jury may convict?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. I read: "He became a popular idol, and had unbounded influence over the Honolulu natives for a time. The Princess, Liliuokalani, however deserted him and denied all knowledge of the conspiracy. This unfortunate affair was made the most of by demagogues to intensify race hatred. The license of the native press was almost incredible."
I will ask you whether the press is free in Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; free.
The Chairman. Amenable only for libelous publications?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. "A project of a new commercial treaty with the United States was drawn up in the fall of 1889 by the ministry in conjunction with Hon. H. A. P. Carter. It provided for free trade between the two countries, the perpetual cession of Pearl Harbor to the United States, and a guarantee of the independence of the islands by that power. By working on the King's suspicions, Mr. C. W. Ashford, the Canadian member of the cabinet, induced the King to refuse to sign the draft of the treaty."
Is Mr. Ashford there now?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. He is a royalist at present. He took the ground that the King was not bound, because the cabinet was not unanimous. The rest of the cabinet invited him to resign and he would not.
Senator Gray. Was Mr. Ashford in the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. He was in the cabinet—attorney-general. And
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he got an opinion of the supreme court to the effect that a majority oi the cabinet should rule. But they defied the opinion of the supreme court.
Senator Gray. Who defied it?
Mr. Alexander. That is, Ashford and the King. The attorney general advised the King that that was an ex parte decision.
Senator Gray. It was not judicial?
Mr. Alexander. It was not judicial. It was not a regular decision.
The Chairman. You speak of Mr. Ashford as the Canadian member. Is he a native of Canada?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. A naturalized citizen of Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. No, I think not. But I think they had a way of issuing letters patent, to give a person the privilege of a naturalized citizen without being thoroughly naturalized.
The Chairman. That is called denizenship?
Mr. Alexander. Denizenship. I know they had to be denizens before they could practice law.
Senator Gray. Is not that the case with a great many foreigners?
Mr. Alexander. Not naturalized?
Senator Gray. Yes.
Mr. Alexander. Under the old constitution it was almost impossible for a white man to be naturalized. Under Kalakaua's reign the law required five years' residence, and it was then at the King's discretion; he could sign the naturalization paper or not. And I know cases where white men were refused on political grounds. For example, Mr. Hitt Wallace, brother of General William Wallace, his application was refused because he was opposed to Gibson in politics. Under the old naturalization laws the applicant did not abjure his own nationality; there were cases that came up before the United States commissioner where they claimed that they were still American citizens.
Senator Gray. What I ask is whether during the last few years it is not a fact that foreigners, Americans, Europeans, whatever their nationality, vote and exercise the rights of suffrage without being naturalized?
Mr. Alexander. That is true under the constitution of 1887.
The Chairman: "A copy of the treaty, including an article, canceled by the cabinet, which authorized the landing of United States troops in certain contingencies, was secretly furnished by the King to a native paper for publication, and the cry was raised that the ministry were 'selling the country' to the United States.
Owing to division in the reform party, and other causes mentioned above, a strong opposition was elected to the Legislature, and the reform ministry went out of office on a tie vote."
Mr. Alexander. That is, there were motions brought in of want of confidence. An amendment was proposed to turn Mr. Ashford out of the cabinet. The vote was taken on that amendment, and there was a majority of one for it. The speaker claimed the right to vote and made a tie. So the motion failed.
The Chairman. Was that motion against Ashford personally?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; it was an amendment to turn him out as a traitor. It failed; then the cabinet resigned, and he was obliged to.
The Chairman. "As the parties were so nearly balanced, a compromise cabinet, composed of conservative men, was appointed June 17, 1890, viz: John A. Cummins, minister of foreign affairs; C. N. Spencer,
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of the interior; Godfrey Brown, of finance; and A. P. Peterson, attorney- general."
Is that the same Peterson who is now one of the advisory council?
Mr. Alexander. No; he was a member of the last cabinet. He was the only white man who voted for the lottery bill.
The Chairman. Is he a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. Royalist.
Senator Gray. You were all royalists at that time, were you not?
Mr. Alexander. You might say he was a tory; that would be more correct.
Senator Gray. You were a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. I was not a tory; I was a whig.
Senator Gray. You were a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I was a royalist then.
The Chairman. "The King at first proposed to the new premier his old project of a ten-million loan for naval and military purposes, but met with no encouragement. He then published a pamphlet entitled 'A Third Warning Voice,' in which he urged the establishment of a large standing army."
That is the premier did that?
Mr. Alexander. No; the King.
The Chairman. "Another project favored by the King and agitated by the royalist papers was that of convening a convention, to be elected by universal suffrage, to frame a new constitution, in which the white race should be deprived of political power. With great difficulty and by the exercise of much patience and tact, this revolutionary measure was defeated, and certain amendments were proposed, lowering the qualifications required of voters for nobles, etc. After a stormy session of five months the legislature adjourned without undoing the reforms of 1887.
"In order to recruit his failing health, the King visited California in the United States cruiser Charleston as the guest of Admiral Brown in November, 1890. He received the utmost kindness and hospitality, both in San Francisco and in southern California. His health, however, continued to fail, in spite of the best medical attendance, and on the 20th of January, 1891, he breathed his last at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco.
"In spite of his grave faults as a ruler and as a man, he was kindhearted and courteous in private life, and there was sincere mourning in Honolulu when the news of his death arrived there.
"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 reactionary views and her dubious record, it was hoped by many that she had enough good sense to understand her true interests and to abide by the spirit as well as the letter of the constitution. These were destined to be disappointed. Her ideal of government was the same as that of her brother, and her determination to realize it brought on the last revolution.
"Her first demand was that the existing cabinet should resign, and leave her to appoint a new cabinet. The cabinet claimed that under the constitution no power could remove them but the Legislature. On her side it was claimed that they were the late King's cabinet and 'died with the King.'
"The dispute was referred to the supreme court, which decided in favor of the Queen, Judge McCully dissenting. This gave her an
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opportunity to make conditions with her appointees and to get control of the patronage in the interest of her favorites.
"Her first and chief condition with the incoming ministry was that C. B. Wilson, a notorious palace favorite (who had been appointed superintendent of water works at her request in 1881), should be appointed marshal of the Kingdom, with control of the entire police force of the islands. During the following year the administration of his department became a national scandal. The marshal openly associated on intimate terms with such criminals as Capt. Whaley, who was one of the owners of the smuggling schooner Halcyon, and was styled 'King of the opium ring,' and those Australian fugitives from justice who came to Honolulu in the yacht Beagle.
"He drew around him a gang of disreputable characters, and the whole police force became more corrupt than ever, while opium joints, gambling dens, and other criminal resorts flourished and multiplied, with its connivance. At the same time it was universally believed that the said Wilson exercised as much influence in the administration of public affairs as any member of the cabinet. To put an end to this state of things, was the chief object both of the members of the reform party and of the so-called liberals in the elections of 1892. " In the spring of 1892 a secret league was formed, headed by V. V. Ashford, R. W. Wilcox, J. E. Bush and others, for the purpose, as they expressed it, of promoting justice and equal rights in the political government of Hawaii."
That is a quotation?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. From what do you take it?
Mr. Alexander. Their own publications, particularly from Mr. Ashford's. They published a paper, and Mr. Ashford published a statement in it in which he used those words.
The Chairman. Used those words?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Have you a copy of that paper?
Mr. Alexander. It is printed in Mr. Blount's report.
The Chairman. It is the same paper that is printed in Mr. Blount's report, the paper to which you have called attention?
Mr. Alexander. I had nothing to do with it; it was given by Mr. Ashford himself.
The Chairman. "Their objects included the removal of all property qualifications for voters, the abolition of the monarchy, and ultimate union with the United States."
At present how many of those men—Ashford, Wilcox, and Bush - are annexationists?
Mr. Alexander. Those leaders are not annexationists. Y. V. Ashford does still claim to be an annexationist; Wilcox and Bush, who were leaders of that insurrection in 1889, to restore absent power, at this time are extreme royalists.
Senator Gray. Is Ashford a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. He calls himself a United States annexationist.
Senator Gray. Would you call him a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. Not a royalist as the other gentlemen are.
Senator Gray. You did speak of Ashford as a royalist?
Mr. Alexander. I believe that C. W. Ashford is on the side of the Queen. C. W. Ashford has changed sides so many times it would be hard to keep run of him.
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The Chairman. "These measures were then advocated in a newspaper published by J. E. Bush, who has since become a royalist."
Mr. Alexander. Bush and Wilcox were against white suffrage— white influence in the Government, all the time. That was their motive all the time.
The Chairman. "It is said that the league numbered over 300 members, mostly natives and half-whites. There is good evidence that at the same time the Queen's party were preparing a despotic constitution, similar to that of Kamehaineha V, except that it gave the Sovereign the power of dismissal and appointment of the justices of the supreme court. At first they endeavored to form an alliance with the equal-rights league, both parties being opposed, for different reasons, to the reform constitution of 1S87. Their overtures, however, having been finally rejected, the marshal proceeded to arrest the principal members of the league, under charges of treason and conspiracy. The result of the trials was that all were finally discharged, but the weakness of the league was exposed and its leaders lost much of their prestige."
Senator Gray. When was that trial?
Mr. Alexander. June, I think, 1892. Quite a number of the rank and file, principally Germans, form part of the Provisional Government's army.
The Chairman. "I do not care to give the details of the eight months legislative session of 1892. During most of the session, the liberal party, comprising most of the leaders of the above-mentioned democratic league, acted with the reform party to break the power of the palace, or Wilson party, combined, as it was, with the powerful opium and lottery rings. Three cabinets in succession were voted out, because they were considered to represent these latter elements, and to be in sympathy with the marshal."
"After a struggle of four months, the Queen temporarily yielded, and appointed a cabinet composed of conservative men of high character, who possessed the confidence of the country."
The Chairman. State who were there.
Mr. Alexander. George Wilcox.
The Chairman. Give his office.
Mr. Alexander. He was minister of the interior; P.C.Jones, minister of finance; Mark Kobinson, half-white and of high character, minister of foreign affairs; and Cecil Brown, an Englishman, attorney generai.
The Chairman. "This cabinet distinctly declared its policy in regard to the lottery fiat paper money and other subjects, but did not choose to act on the 'burning question' of the marshalship while the Legislature was in session. Its course on this point, and the fact that the radical party was not represented in it, so exasperated the leaders of the so-called liberal party that they joined hands with the palace party and voted for measures which they had denounced on the floor ot the House.
"The lottery bill, which had been referred to a committee early in the session, was brought up and passed, to the surprise and horror of the community, by lavish and shameless bribery, only one white man voting for it. By the same voters an opium license bill was passed, and the ministry was voted out two days before the close of the session."
Senator Gray. You make a broad statement there. What was the evidence of the bribery that was practiced?
Mr. Alexander. It was never brought before the courts, but it was
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notorious. There were four native members who stood fast, could not be bought nor browbeaten. One of those natives said that they were offered $300 apiece and a small annuity from the lottery company after it should become established. I think that was a thing universally admitted. One of the members most active in the support of the lottery, Mr. White—I did not hear him say it directly—he boasted that he went down there to the Legislature with $2 in his pocket and went back with $800 and plenty of clothes. And I heard of his hiring a house and a piano, and before that he had been without visible means of support. And I heard of the Queen sending for certain native members and laboring with them. That was more in connection with the voting out of the ministry. Mr. Dreier, who was a German, but who had a native wife—she labored with him without success.
The Chairman. When you say that this bill was a surprise to the community, do you mean the white community, or native, or the general population?
Mr. Alexander. Say rather the better elements, both white and native. If it had been put to a vote of the populace it could have been passed. A special election was held in October for representatives from Honolulu, and the lottery men were elected. That was the early part of October.
Senator Gray. Avowed lottery men?
Mr. Alexander. They shirked the question as it was put them. Probably the lottery was the real issue in the minds of the voters. I think the majority of the populace in Honolulu would have voted for it.
The Chairman. "The Queen immediately appointed a cabinet, three of whom were rejected members of former cabinets, and one the agent of the lottery ring in purchasing legislative votes."
Who was he?
Mr. Alexander. John Colburn.
Senator Frye. Who were the other three?
Mr. Alexander. Colburn, minister of the interior; Cornwell, minisister of finance; Sam Parker, minister of foreign relations, and Arthur Peterson, attorney-general.
The Chairman. "The liberal leaders were left out in the cold. The cabinet now consisted of S. Parker, minister of foreign affairs; W. Cornwell, minister of finance; Arthur Peterson, attorney-general, and John Colburn, minister of the interior. The public indignation was intense, but no revolutionary action was yet thought of."
Do you mean that public indignation was intense among all classes of people?
Mr. Alexander. So far as I could see all the papers had opposed the lottery bill, and the chamber of commerce had passed a very strong memorial unanimously and sent it to the Queen.
The Chairman. How about the masses of the people; were they also excited about it?
Mr. Alexander. About the lottery bill?
The Chairman. Yes.
Mr. Alexander. I think the lower class was not opposed to it. The lower class of the natives were not particularly opposed to it, and some of the half whites said that the white men had made money and the Kanakas had not made money, and it was wrong not to give them a chance. And one or two speakers in the House said the lottery "would make money plentiful in Honolulu."
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The Chairman. Were these lottery and opium bills passed in the House before the change of the ministry?
Mr. Alexander. Before the change. I remember Wilcox and Bush said they voted for it in order to compel the ministry to step out.
Senator Frye. The old ministry?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. The old ministry could not remain in oflice and execute that law. However, they did not resign, and within a day or two a vote of want of confidence was had. There was great difficulty in getting a vote of want of confidence; it required 25 votes. At last the Queen labored with different members, and Berger, a German member, who married a daughter of Mr. , having been assured that his father-in-law could have the naming of the new cabinet— although he had promised his friends that he would not vote for the bill—went over and made the twenty-fith vote. And Mr. , who had opposed the latter bill, was won over. He came in with a wreath of flowers around his neck, half drunk, and made the motion, and he and another native gave their reasons: "How can we trust this cabinet to carry out the lottery bill? How do we know that they will favor the change, the new constitution—carry out the wishes of the Queen in regard to the new constitution?" I remember that, because that alarmed the people.
The Chairman. Was that the first declaration you heard in regard to the new constitution?
Mr. Alexander. I had not dreamed of such a thing as a coup d'etat. The constitutional convention had been talked of and voted down in convention. Then this speech was made; that sounded menacing.
The Chairman. Were these bills, the lottery bill and the opium bill, signed by the Queen and any of her cabinet before the change of her ministry?
Mr. Alexander. I think not. The lottery bill passed on the 12th, the ministry was voted out the next day, the following day the new cabinet was formed. I suppose the volume of the laws of 1892 will show which minister countersigned the bill.
The Chairman. It was not the ministry that was voted out on the 13th that signed the bill?
Mr. Alexander. No. Some little time passed, because I remember petitions were carried to the Queen in the interim, begging her not to sign it. The ladies of Honolulu went to her with a petition begging her not to sign it. She received them cordially, answered their prayers, I believe, but she did not lose any time in signing the bill.
The Chairman. "The coup d'etat, which was sprung upon the country by the Queen on the following day, took the community by surprise, and found it entirely unprepared."
Do you mean by that the prorogation of the Legislature and attempt to promulgate the new constitution?
Mr. Alexander. I mean by that the promulgation of the new constitution. That was a surprise.
The Chairman. "Undoubtedly the plot had been deeply laid long before, to be executed at the close of the legislative session."
What reason have you for stating that?
Mr. Alexander. One reason is that at the trial of Robert Wilcox and Bush, particularly Wilcox, they brought in evidence to show that Sam Parker had made overtures to them on the part of the Queen to join with her to do away with the new constitution. They claimed that that had been done by a coup d'etat before the Legislature met.
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The Chairman. It was before that evidence came out, which informed the people that there was an existing purpose or plot to dispense with or overthrow the constitution of 1887.
Mr. Alexander. There was sworn evidence. The Queen, I presume, denied it.
The Chairman. That was the cause of the public belief?
Mr. Alexander. That was one cause. It was known, came out afterward, that the Queen signed the constitution very reluctantly, indeed.
Senator Frye. The old constitution?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. She said so in her statement. She was taken by surprise. The King's dead body arrived, and she was called upon to sign it. She did it very unwillingly, and with a mental reservation.
Senator Gray. Did she say "with a mental reservation?"
Mr. Alexander. She did not say so.
The Chairman. Then you go on to say: "The lottery was expected by the Queen to be a source of revenue; to render her independent of loans. It was also expected that the lottery company, being outlaws in the United States, could be relied upon to oppose any movement looking towards annexation." "The story of the revolution, which followed, will form the subject of a separate paper." Have you a separate paper?
Mr. Alexander. I did not think there was in sufficient evidence to make a judicial summary of the evidence.
The Chairman. As to the story of the revolution which resulted in the present Government?
Mr. Alexander. It is a very tangled story, and there is not enough evidence in from both sides to make a judicial story.
The Chairman. "The pains taken by the Queen to destroy all known copies of her proposed constitution show how much she dreaded the effect of its publication, but its main points are well known."
How did they become known?
Mr. Alexander. By statements of Mr. Colburn, Paul Neumann, and Ned Bush, which do not entirely agree with one another.
Senator Frye. Paul Neumann is supposed to have drafted it; that is, it is so rumored?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. Who was Paul Neumann?
Mr. Alexander. He was a German by birth. I do not know his early life. He was a lawyer in California, a member of the legislature from Sacramento. He ran for Congress and was defeated—defeated by his record, which was scandalous. He was charged with doing things for which he should have been disbarred. Soon after that he went down to the islands and became Attorney-General with Gibson, in 1883. He is supposed to have been a Spreckels man at tha time.
Senator Frye. Bright man, is he not?
Mr. Alexander. Bright, but unscrupulous—a Bohemian, and with it a bonhomie which pleases the people. They did not take him seriously. He has done things which were condoned—things which would surprise you. He is not taken seriously.
The Chairman. "Its success would have realized her dream of reestablishing a barbaric despotism in the islands, and it was to have been followed by a clear sweep of all the offices. An unfortunate feature of the easels that the lower class of the natives, from race prejudice, would prefer such a despotism to a civilized government controlled by white men."
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That is your belief, is it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; that is unfortunately true.
The Chairman. I think it would be well enough for you to sit down and prepare the paper to which Senator Frye has referred, stating your own personal observations, your own knowledge in regard to the events which succeeded the prorogation of the Legislature, commencing with that date, so that we can get the benefit of your own personal knowledge and observation of what occurred there. You are not to take up public opinion or hearsay evidence, what other people say about it, but we want to get a knowledge of exactly what you saw.
Mr. Alexander. Do you prefer it in writing?
The Chairman. I would prefer you to make it up deliberately, and the committee would not like to sit longer today.
Senator Gray. I understand the time has not arrived at which the professor could give a clear judicial history of the matter after the point at which he had arrived in his statement. Is that so?
Mr. Alexander. I could state what I saw and my means of knowing it, which is only a small part of it.
The Chairman. That is what we want. I do not care to have you write a judicial history upon the whole evidence.
Senator Gray. We want your evidence as a witness so far as it goes. If you do not know, do not say.
Mr. Alexander. I was not behind the scenes; I was not a member of the committee of safety.
Senator Gray. But you were in Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. I saw a great deal of it.
Senator Frye. You were at both meetings?
Mr. Alexander. Not of the committee of safety.
Senator Frye. But both the mass meetings?
Mr. Alexander. Mass meetings; yes.
Senator Frye. So that you can say what you saw and heard?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. You saw the troops, where they were located, and the difficulties they had of obtaining a location, and you know whether they were visible on the streets or not?
Senator Gray. Mr. Alexander will be here after he makes his statement?
The Chairman. We propose to meet tomorrow, so that he can complete his statement. The points to which I wish particularly to direct your attention are the facts—within your knowledge, of course—which show whether or not, prior to this prorogation of the Legislature and this attempted proclamation of the abrogation of the constitution of 1887 and of different constitutions, there was any understanding or agreement, any conspiracy for the purpose of overthrowing the Queen, or for the purpose of annexing Hawaii to the United States—getting rid of the monarchy as an established form of government. These are the points to which I would like you to direct your attention.
Adjourned until to-morrow, the 4th inst., at 10 o'clock, a. in.
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FOURTH DAY.
Thursday, January 4, 1894.
The committee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present: The Chairman (Senator Morgan) and Senators Butler, Gray, and Frye.
Absent: Senator Sherman.
SWORN STATEMENT OF WILLIAM DE WITT ALEXANDER—Cont'd.
The Chairman. I have a paper here prepared by Prof. Alexander. Suppose I read it to the committee, and the professor can make any corrections he may desire. It is as follows:
"PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION OF 1893.
"In continuation of my former narrative of recent Hawaiian politics, I will begin with the morning of Saturday, the 14th of January, 1893.
"That morning the Legislature held a brief session (none of the white members being present), in which it was announced that the Queen had signed both the lottery and opium license bills."
I will ask you right there whether that was before or after the vote of want of confidence in the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. The second day after.
The Chairman. What do you call that cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. The Wilcox cabinet. That was Thursday; I think this was Saturday; and it was after the formation of the succeeding cabinet.
The Chairman. The succeeding cabinet came in on Friday, and this was Saturday. What do you call the succeeding cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. The Parker cabinet.
The Chairman. "The prorogation ceremonies at noon were generally boycotted by the white people, except a few tourists, and most of the diplomatic corps were absent. A few U. S. naval officers were present, the "U.S.S. Boston" having arrived that forenoon from Lahaina. I attended the ceremony as a Government officer, and because I regarded it as an interesting historical occasion."
What office were you holding?
Mr. Alexander. Surveyor-general, and I was privy councillor.
The Chairman. "A native political society, the 'Hui Kalaiaina,' some forty in number, attended wearing black broadcloth suits and tall silk hats. I did not, however, suspect the object of their attendance."
What was the purpose of that political organization?
Mr. Alexander. It had been arranged by the Queen that they should abrogate that constitution and go through the form of asking her to proclaim it.
The Chairman. What was the nature of that political organization? Was it secret or open?
Mr. Alexander. I should say it was open.
Senator Gray. Is that a matter of your own personal knowledge?
Senator Frye. The professor said he was there.
Senator Gray. No, he was not.
Mr. Alexander. No; I was at the palace.
The Chairman. What is the name of that political society?
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Mr. Alexander. The "Hui Kalaiaina." That is the native name.
The Chairman. What does it mean?
Mr. Alexander. "Hui," society, and "Kalaiaina," political.
The Chairman. "After the ceremony they followed the Queen to the palace, together with most of the native members of the Legislature."
What palace do you speak of?
Mr. Alexander. Iolani palace, right across the street.
The Chairman. "I was not an eyewitness of the memorable scenes which took place inside of the palace that afternoon. Meanwhile I went down town, and had gone into Mr. Waterhouse's store, when I was told of a rumor that the Queen was going to proclaim a new constitution that very afternoon. I expressed my disbelief of it, saying: 'She has carried the lottery and opium bills; she has turned out an honest, independent cabinet and put in her own creatures; she has prorogued the Legislature, and now has the game in her own hands for a year and a half. What more can she want?'
"A few minutes after I met my assistant, Mr. C. J. Lyons, who had just come from the Government building, and who informed me that the rumor was true; that the household troops were drawn up in line from the front steps of the palace to the west gate, in fighting trim, with their belts full of cartridges, and that a large crowd had gathered to hear the new constitution proclaimed. On my way up I noticed that citizens were gathering at Hon. W. O. Smith's office. On arriving at the Government building I was told that a conference was going on upstairs in the attorney-general's office between three members of the cabinet and some of the leading residents. I saw Minister Stevens and Major Wodehouse get into a carriage at the east entrance of the Government building and drive off together. I was told that they had advised the cabinet to stand firm in opposing the Queen's revolutionary project.
"I then went to my office and informed some of my friends by telephone about the critical state of affairs. On returning to the Government building I found a crowd of spectators watching the palace with intense anxiety. Civil war seemed to be impending. "We saw Mr. J. Richardson and Sam Parker come over from the palace to confer with the other three members of the cabinet, who were said to be still in the attorney-general's office. It was said that they had left the palace from fear of their lives. Later on we saw the four ministers return to the palace, and the excitement among the spectators was increased. After another long interval, near 4 p.m., there was evidently a movement taking place in the palace, and the soldiers, part of whom had stacked their arms, hastily took up arms and re-formed their line. In a few minutes we saw the Hui Kalaiaina pour out of the palace and form in front of the steps. Then the Queen attended by some ladies in waiting, came out on the balcony and made a brief speech, the purport of which was repeated to us by a native, who came out of the palace yard. It gave us a sense of temporary relief. Bill White, the lottery champion, came out on the palace steps."
Senator Gray. Do you state there what the native told you was the purport?
Mr. Alexander. No. He told us that she had given way to the advice of her ministers not to proclaim the new constitution, but to go home and wait, and some one of these days she would carry out their wishes—that they could trust to her.
Senator Gray. That is the purport as it appeared to you?
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Mr. Alexander. That is what was repeated to me.
The Chairman. That is what was repeated to you?
Mr. Alexander. That is the substance; yes.
The Chairman. "And began an incendiary harangue to the assembled crowd, but was persuaded to desist by Col. James Boyd.
"We were told at the time that he had urged the crowd to lynch the ministers on the spot as traitors. The Hui Kalaiaina then marched out, carrying a Hawaiian flag, and appearing very much downcast.
"Soon after this Messrs. Parker and Cornwell came over to the Government building together, looking as if they had passed through a very severe ordeal. As they entered the building they were complimented by several persons for the stand which they had made. Mr. Thurston, who stood by, however, said: 'Must we continue to live in this way, with this peril hanging over our heads, uncertain whether we may not wake up any morning and find our liberties gone?'
"It was shortly after this that the meeting of citizens was held at W. O. Smith's office, which appointed the committee of safety, but I had no knowledge of it at the time. The next day, which was Sunday, passed off quietly on the surface, but we had intimations that a revolutionary movement was in progress.
"On Sunday afternoon posters were out calling for a mass meeting of citizens to be held at 2 p.m., the next day, at the Armory, on Beretania street. The next morning another call was issued by the ministry for a counter mass meeting on Palace Square, and between 10 and 11 a. m., a by authority notice was also posted about the streets and sent to the members of the diplomatic corps, which contained an apology for the Queen; alleging that she had acted on Saturday under stress of her native subjects, and a promise that "any changes desired in the fundamental law of the land will be sought only by methods provided in the constitution itself." This retraction came too late.
"It was considered by many as a humiliating evidence of panic on the part of the Queen's Government. Her conspiracies during her brother's reign, and her treacherous course in regard to the lottery bill had destroyed all confidence in her word, so that her promise produced but little change in the situation.
"As 2 o'clock drew near all business was suspended, stores were closed, and but one subject was talked of. I attended both mass meetings. The meeting at the Armory comprised probably not less than 1,500 persons, and the unanimity and enthusiasm shown surpassed all expectation. As a full account of the proceedings has been published I need not spend time on them.
"The so-called 'law and order' meeting on Palace Square I estimated at the time to number about 500 natives. It was a tame and dispirited meeting, the speakers being under strict orders to express themselves with great caution and moderation. A resolution was adopted accepting the assurance that the Queen would not again seek to change the constitution by revolutionary means, the very thing which no doubt most of them desired her to do. It seemed unnatural to hear R. W. Wilcox and Bill White exhort the natives to keep quiet, and not to provoke the 'haoles' to resort to violent measures.
"About 5 p. m. I happened to be near the post-office when the troops landed from the Boston, and saw them march up Fort street. A party of 30 or 40 marines went up to the U. S. legation, on Nuuanu street, and a guard was left at the U. S. consulate, while the main body marched up King street, past the Government building, and bivouacked in Mr. Atherton's grounds until late in the evening; quarters were
S. Doc. 231, pt 6----42
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secured for them in the 'Arion House,' a low one-story wooden building west of the Music Hall, a large brick building which intervenes between it and the palace. In this connection I take the liberty of saying that I can not see how Arion Hall would be exposed to fire in the event of an attack upon the Government building from the direction of the palace.
"After the mass meeting the tension of feeling was extreme. What was chiefly feared was incendiarism during the following night. To my knowledge, warnings had been given by friendly natives that preparations were making to set houses on fire. As it was, two incendiary fires were started during that night. The knowledge that the troops were on shore undoubtedly gave the white residents a grateful feeling of relief and security.
"Here I will explain that an organization of four rifle companies had been brought to a high degree of efficiency in 1887 and had crushed the insurrection of 1889. This organization, which had been disbanded in 1890, was now revived, with some changes in personnel. It embraced many of the best class of young men in Honolulu.
"On Tuesday morning 1 was informed of this fact, and that Judge Dole would lead the movement. It was rumored that the crisis would take place at 4 p. m. The Queen's supporters were believed to be panic-stricken and divided among themselves.
"I happened to visit the main Government building (Aliiolani Hall) about a quarter to 3 p. m., when I found that the proclamation of the Provisional Government was being read at the front entrance.
"I have since been told that 3 o'clock was the time originally set. Perhaps the shooting affray on Port street hastened the movement. I saw but one rifleman standing in the corridor. Several Government clerks and one native member of the legislature were also listening to the reading. As soon as it was over the new councils convened in the interior office, and proceeded to business. I walked over to my office in another building within the same inclosure, and passed Company A, a German company, under Capt. Ziegler, arriving on the double quick, in company order, to the number of 40 or 50. I told my assistants in the office what had happened, and directed them to close it for the day. On returning to the other building, I found that a large part of Company B, composed of Americans and Englishmen, had arrived. The grounds were then cleared of spectators, and guards set at the gates, and less than half an hour there were 100 riflemen drawn up in front of the building, awaiting orders. An hour later I estimated that there were about 200 present. The officers told me at the time that the United States marines had orders to remain neutral."
What officers did you speak of?
Mr. Alexander. Officers of the volunteers. Capt. Potter, of Company B, said that word had been ascertained from Lieut. Swinburne— I think that was his name.
The Chairman. "I did not see any ol them on the street, and my impression is that some of them without arms were in the veranda of Arion Hall."
Mr. Alexander. Referring to the sailors.
The Chairman. "The men were expected to fight, and their spirit and confidence was such that I had no doubt of the result."
Mr. Alexander. It should have been the volunteers. That should have been corrected. "Many of them had been in the affair of 1889, and they also believed that nearly all the foreign community would back them.
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"One C J. McCarthy had been placed by Wilson in charge of the Government building, but waited there in vain for a force that never came. Several thousand cartridges were found in the foreign office, intended for the defense of the building.
"I can not speak from personal observation of the number of men collected in the station house and barracks, but was told by eye witnesses that there were about 80 men in each place.
"For several hours it looked to us as if a bloody contest, and perhaps a siege, would be necessary. Messengers were coming and going, but when I left the place to do patrol duty in the eastern suburb it was not known whether Mr. Wilson would surrender or not.
"As much importance has been attached to President Dole's letter to Minister Stevens, written in the afternoon of January 17, in which he suggested the cooperation of the United States marines with the citizen volunteers in maintaining order during the night, I will add that the event showed this request to have been wholly unnecessary.
"During the afternoon several hundred names of volunteers had been registered. These were organized in squads and during the following night the whole district including the city was strictly patrolled, as a precaution against fires or disturbance of any kind. These volunteers were on duty some time before the surrender of the station house by Wilson was reported. The palace was given up on the morning of the 18th, and the barracks that evening."
W. D. Alexander.
"ADDENDUM.
"In regard to the Government building, Aliiolani Hall, I wish to say that it has always been considered the visible seat of Government. Together with the two smaller buildings attached to it, it contained all the offices of the departments of Government, the chambers of the supreme court and the court records, the land office and the registry of conveyances, the Government archives, and the treasury.
"The action of the late cabinet in abandoning it and seeking refuge in the station house went far to show that they had given up all hope of maintaining their authority.
"W. D. Alexander."
Senator Gray. Do you know what time that evening—can you fix precisely the time the barracks were given up?
Mr. Alexander. I heard that it was after dark.
Senator Gray. You do not know the hour?
Mr. Alexander. No. That would be in Mr. Soper's testimony.
Senator Gray. You were not present at any meetings of the committee of safety on the evening of the 17th?
Mr. Alexander. I was not.
Senator Gray. Or of the advisory councils?
Mr. Alexander. I suppose, being an officer of the old Government, they did not take me into their confidence.
The Chairman. When you speak of yourself as being one of the privy council, what were your functions in that office?
Senator Gray. Were you ex officio a privy councillor, being surveyor- general?
Mr. Alexander. No.
Senator Gray. Not necessarily privy councillor because of your being surveyor-general?
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Mr. Alexander. No. I was appointed in the previous reign, Kalakaua's reign. Their principal functions were to act as the board of pardons.
Senator Gray. You were a member of the board of pardons?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; most of the other powers had been taken away from them.
The Chairman. But as a privy councillor you were a member of the Queen's Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, and as surveyor-general.
The Chairman. You have had an acquaintance with Hawaiian affairs and with the people. I suppose your acquaintance with Honolulu is very complete; know a great many people?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Your membership in the school board would bring you in contact with the people, I suppose?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, and other ways.
The Chairman. Being surveyor-general and also a member of the board of pardons----
Mr. Alexander. I was always out of politics.
The Chairman. You were never a member of the Legislature?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. Never held any political office?
Mr. Alexander. I did not; I rather devoted myself to science; I am also some what of an antiquarian.
The Chairman. Did you hear of or are you aware of any combination amongst any of the people of Honolulu or of the Hawaiian country prior to the announcement of this new constitution by the Queen to break down the monarchy, or overthrow the constitution, or revolutionize the Government?
Mr. Alexander. I did not. I do not think there was any existing.
The Chairman. Do you think it is possible that such a movement as that could have occurred amongst what is called the missionary element in Hawaii without your having some knowledge of it?
Mr. Alexander. I should think not. I think their idea was that they had great confidence in the cabinet appointed at the beginning of November, and expected tbe Government to go on very smoothly until 1894.
The Chairman. And if any new movement was to take place in Hawaii at all it would be developed between that period and 1894. I suppose that is your meaning?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; we did not know what kind of Legislature might be elected in 1894.
Senator Gray. Was there any sentiment at all of a demonstrative character in favor of annexation prior to this emeute?
Mr. Alexander. That subject had been discussed for a good many years. It was considered ultimate destiny in the future.
Senator Gray. Was there any demonstrative action?
Mr. Alexander. No, except that conspiracy, that organization of Ashford, Wilcox, Bush, and others. That took place in the spring of 1892. But that was discountenanced by the conservative people; the best people had no confidence in it.
The Chairman. Was that a movement for annexation?
Mr. Alexander. lt was rather for a republic. The leaders were not respected. They used very gross language about the Queen.
Senator Gray. Was there any native propaganda of annexation sentiment prior to the events you have recited?
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Mr. Alexander. I should say not any native propaganda. The Advertiser, a paper published and edited there by a radical man, was challenged by the organ of the other side to define its position on the question. The editor of the Advertiser said that annexation would be better for the country; that whenever the native people wished it, were ready for it, he would favor it.
Senator Gray. He was what you call a radical annexationist?
Mr. Alexander. That is, more outspoken. Dr. McGrew and others were always in favor of it.
Senator Gray. But the general sentiment there prior to those events was one of content and quiet so far as the Government under the cabinet was concerned?
Mr. Alexander. The general sentiment was that so long as we could have a stable government, one that could paddle its own canoe, they were satisfied. They thought their own interests would be better managed by their own people, and the planters were influenced by a desire for cheap labor, whilst others did not like the McKinley tariff, did not want to come under it. They did not want to undergo again what they had undergone under Kalakaua.
Senator Gray. The state of feeling was quiescent?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. And the disposition was manifestly one to be content with the then state of things?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. In regard to this change in the form of government there, the revolution was, according to your opinion, belief, and judgment caused more by the passage of the opium and the lottery bills, or by the action of the Queen in attempting to change the constitution?
Mr. Alexander. More by the latter.
The Chairman. Do you think the people of Hawaii would have set on foot a revolution in order to get rid of the lottery bill or opium bill, or both, if the Queen had not attempted to promulgate the new constitution?
Mr. Alexander. I think not. They would have tried to remedy it in some constitutional way, within the constitution.
Senator Butler. You speak of the Queen having expressed her intention of withdrawing her purpose to promulgate the new constitution. Did you not say that in your written statement?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; she announced that on Monday morning.
Senator Gray. You heard that on Saturday afternoon?
Mr. Alexander. Her language then was only for a short time, only temporarily.
Senator Butler. Is it your opinion that that announcement by the Queen would have restored order to this interference of which you speak?
Mr. Alexander. It came rather too late, and there was very little confidence in the Queen's word, or in the cabinet.
The Chairman. Tlie people distrusted the Queen and the cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. They considered it an extremely weak cabinet.
Senator Butler. You think, then, it was too late to check the movement that had been set on foot?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Butler. Against her and against her cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Butler. You think the withdrawal of her purpose or retraction
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of her purpose, withdrawal of the new constitution, was too late to check this?
Mr. Alexander. I was at the first mass meeting and heard the first two speeches, and then went to the other. I think it was Mr. Young who spoke to the meeting. He said, "Can we trust her?" and the cry was "No," all over the hall. It was the large skating rink where the meeting was held.
Senator Gray. Are the proceedings and speeches of that meeting published in the papers?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; you have it in a pamphlet.
Senator Gray. In some document we have in print here there are extracts, what purport to be extracts from a paper in Honolulu, giving the proceedings of that meeting. Have you seen them?
Mr. Alexander. I have seen them; I presume they are correct.
Senator Butler. Is it your opinion that the lives and property of American citizens would have been put in jeopardy in the then state of feeling in Honolulu but for the United States marines?
Mr. Alexander. I think there were reasons to apprehend that at the time.
Senator Butler. You say there were reasons to apprehend it?
Mr. Alexander. At the time, yes. Looking back on it now, I think probably the white people would have been strong enough to have protected themselves. But there was sufficient reason at the time.
The Chairman. Was the apprehension based upon the fact that mobs in favor of the Crown might rise in hostile opposition to the opposing element, or was it based upon the apprehension that the transitory condition of the Government would let the evil characters loose upon the community—characters disposed to burn and mob?
Mr. Alexander. Rather the latter. The city was paralyzed. There was an interregnum in the law, in the authority on the part of the existing Government, and the new Government had not become organized, and there were warnings about incendiarism. I do not exactly like to use names.
The Chairman. Do you mean of individuals?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. A white lady has told me that a half-white lady came to her and told her that natives were putting kerosene in bottles, and getting cloth, and explained how they would use it to set houses on fire by wrapping it around the posts, etc.
Senator Gray. Did not the danger or apprehension of danger of which you speak originate in the fact that the revolutionary project had already been set on foot by this white element which afterward established a Provisional Government? I do not mean that they were dangerous characters, for I understand you perfectly that they were the better class; but that their activity and proclaimed intentions brought about the condition of things which made the danger.
Mr. Alexander. I suppose if the community had quietly submitted on Saturday the danger would not have existed.
Senator Gray. Exactly. That made the danger, and that making the danger you think was the reason for the presence of the United States troops?
The Chairman. When the resistance became a fact, then, I understand you to say, the apprehensions of danger were not from mobs rising amongst the opposing political elements of the native people or others, but from the paralysis of authority there, which encouraged the licentious classes, the criminal classes, to exploit their operations against private property and against human life?
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Mr. Alexander. Well, the race hatred. Yes, I take it that way. Race hatred might have led to the commission of isolated outrages. I did not expect any organized violence from the natives. Judge Hartwell expressed fear, and gentlemen like him might have told Minister Stevens. I never had the fear of natives that others did; I thought I knew them better.
The Chairman. Let me ask you of the general characteristics of the people of Hawaii. Are they given to forming mobs?
Mr. Alexander. Not generally. I have seen one great mob, in 1874.
The Chairman. Was that a political occasion?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; when Kalakaua was elected they mobbed the court house, where the legislature was assembled, broke in and clubbed the legislature and commenced to sack the building. The ministry had warning of danger taking place, but they made light of the danger, and when the crisis came the native police were of no use.
The Chairman. Was that mob led by white people?
Mr. Alexander. No; by the natives.
The Chairman. It was a mob composed of Queen Emma's adherents?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. They were careful not to attack the white people, except in one case, because there were two American and one English warship in the harbor. They considered that it was amongst themselves. Capt. Belknap had been informed about the danger, and so was the American minister, and they were ready. After a good deal of vacillation the ministry sent the American minister a note. Marines from the two American men-of war joined by a body of marines from the English man-of-war, perhaps 200 or more, marched up and quelled the mob very quickly. They held the city for a week.
The Chairman. Did these soldiers have any conflicts with the population?
Mr. Alexander. They made many arrests.
The Chairman. There was no violence used by the troops?
Mr. Alexander. No. The rioters were struck with fear; they ran out of the court-house like rats out of a burning building.
The Chairman. That riot was between the adherents of Queen Emma and those of Kalakaua?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And one in which the white people had no preference?
Mr. Alexander. It was considered that they would prefer Kalakaua.
The Chairman. The Legislature was in session, you say?
Mr. Alexander. The Legislature had just elected Kalakaua.
The Chairman. And was still in session?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And they were attacked by this mob of natives?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And the mob was repressed after some killings had taken place, I suppose?
Mr. Alexander. Nobody was killed; they were pretty severely clubbed over the head, and one died afterward.
The Chairman. And that was suppressed soon afterward by marines from two American ships and one British ship?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And the troops held possession of the city for a week?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And then went back to their vessels?
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Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Did the marines bring any flags with them?
Mr. Alexander. I do not remember. I gave an account of that in a paper I furnished Mr. Blount.
Senator Butler. You have been a long while in Honolulu. What is your opinion of the sentiment of the people, taking them as a whole, in regard to the form of government they would prefer, whether a monarchy or a republic?
Mr. Alexander. In Honolulu itself, I suppose a majority of the natives, at the present time, would prefer a monarchy.
Senator Butler. A majority of the natives woufd prefer a monarchy?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. By natives you mean Kanakas?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Butler. What about the whole population?
Mr. Alexander. There is always a large number of natives very indifferent, always a large number wanting to be on the winning side, whatever it may be—awaiting events. I think there is less of race feeling on the other islands than in Honolulu. That has always been the headquarters of the Palace party, and for some reason or other the race antagonisms are stronger in Honolulu than anywhere else. On the island of Kauai, for instance, the feeling might be the other way.
Senator Butler. Outside of the native population, you do not think the sentiment is or was?
Senator Gray. Was prior to this affair.
Mr. Alexander. I think that probably seven-eighths of the Americans are on the side of the Provisional Government; nearly all the Germans: all the Portuguese, without exception. In regard to the English, they are divided. I think a majority of the English would probably favor a monarchy from jealousy of the Americans.
Senator Butler. A majority of the Americans, I understood you to say, would favor the Provisional Government or more liberal government?
Mr. Alexander. Seven-eighths of them.
Senator Frye. Professor Alexander did not say a majority.
Senator Butler. What did he say?
Mr. Alexander. Seven-eighths.
Senator Butler. Seven-eighths of the American population are in favor of the Provisional Government?
Mr. Alexander. That is my impression.
Senator Gray. How many votes were in that island under the constitution that existed prior to this emeute?
Mr. Alexander. According to the census and the registration of 1890, under the constitution of 1887, there were about 13,000.
The Chairman. Are you speaking of the island of Kauai?
Mr. Alexander. No, the whole islands.
Senator Gray. How would the vote have been, in your opinion, in regard to this Provisional Government, prior to this emeute?
Mr. Alexander. I think it has varied from time to time.
Senator Gray. How do you think it would have been. Do you think a majority of those voters would have been in favor of the Provisional Government?
Mr. Alexander. At the time it was formed?
Senator Gray. Yes.
Mr. Alexander. Probably not. Later it gained in strength. Along
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about August or September the annexation club had 6,200 names on its rolls including about 1,200 natives. Probably at the present time there is a reaction the other way, among the natives, at least.
Senator Gray. Against the Provisional Government. But you think at the time the Provisional Government was formed the people who had the right to vote were in favor of it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, if you counted noses. There was a number registered. I noticed in the election of 1890 the number of votes cast was actually 11,072; in the election of 1892 it was 10,000 or 11,000 actual votes.
The Chairman. What proportion of the enlightened property-holding element in Hawaii, taking the whole of them together, do you believe was in favor of this Provisional Government at the time of its establishment?
Mr. Alexander. Well, I think about seven-eighths. I judge that from a list that was published in the papers of the tax-payers, who pay taxes on property above a certain valuation, which list gave their names. It was footed up. I remember the footing gave about that result. I think it is safe to say three-fourths.
The Chairman. You are the author of this little history of the Hawaiian people. It is by W. D. Alexander, and is a brief history. Have you carefully examined the facts upon which you have made the historical statements contained in this book?
Mr. Alexander. I have. I spared no means to verify every statement.
The Chairman. And you are satisfied that these historical statements are correct?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. In regard to your asking about the property-holding class?
The Chairman. Well?
Mr. Alexander. I would like to add one word, that the most intelligent natives, those of the best character, independence of character, were on the side of the Provisional Government when I left the islands. I think two-thirds of the native preachers and those members of the Legislature who had independence enough to vote against the lottery bill, and many of those whom I consider the best natives, are on that side. It required a good deal of moral courage on their part, because they were called names, traitors, by their fellow-countrymen, and were threatened in case the Queen came back that it would go hard witli them (and it was confidently believed that the Queen would be restored); that element of the natives has been ignored by some writers on the subject.
The Chairman. Were you in Honolulu at the time that Mr. Blount gave the order to the commander of the Boston to order the American flag hauled down and brought back to the ship by the marines?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I was a spectator.
The Chairman. Was there any commotion amongst the people on account of that order?
Mr. Alexander. There was not. There was a large crowd of spectators— the feeling was intense, but it was suppressed.
Senator Gray. What sort of feeling?
Mr. Alexander. Well, it depended upon the party to which they belonged.
Senator Gray. There were two feelings, then?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; very intense, or both sides, but suppressed. It was a very impressive scene.
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Senator Gray. The feelings of the friends of the Provisional Government against the Queen were very intense?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. On my part I thought it was a mistake to have declared a protectorate; I thought it was unnecessary.
Senator Gray. You thought it a mistake to raise the flag?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; it tended to put the Provisional Government in a false light. The events following showed it was unnecessary. But, being there, one could not see the flag hauled down without deep emotion.
Senator Butler. Then you think it was unnecessary to have hoisted the American flag?
Mr. Alexander. It was.
Senator Butler. In other words, the Provisional Government could have sustained itself without it?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. After that time, was there any outbreak on the part of the populace against the Provisional Government.
Mr. Alexander. No; there was not.
The Chairman. No disturbance of the peace?
Mr. Alexander. It was supposed that there was a class, principally composed of white men, which was only deterred by the display of force.
The Chairman. At the time of the hauling down of that flag, what was the strength of the military that was supporting the Provisional Government?
Mr. Alexander. About 200.
The Chairman. Armed men?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; and behind them a very large number of citizen reserves.
The Chairman. You say a very large number. What number do you think?
Mr. Alexander. It had not been organized until about the time I left.
Senator Gray. When did you leave?
Mr. Alexander. In August. I presume that on short notice 400 men could have been collected then.
The Chairman. In addition to the 200 already under arms?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. Later they formed an organization of the citizen guards. About the 1st of October they numbered 800 men. I presume it is larger now.
The Chairman. The Provisional Government was supplied with guns and ammunition for an army of as many as a thousand men?
Mr. Alexander. I do not think they were as thoroughly armed as that when the revolution broke out.
The Chairman. No, at the time this flag was hauled down.
Mr. Alexander. I do not know. I doubt whether they could have armed a thousand men.
The Chairman. At the time you left Hawaii, in August, could they have armed a thousand men?
Mr. Alexander. I think they could. They had imported arms. Arms were on the way when the flag was hauled down.
The Chairman. The Government was importing arms and ammunition?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I remember I heard the remark.
The Chairman. Was the Provisional Government put into possession
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of all the arms that had theretofore belonged to the Royal Government?
Mr. Alexander. That was doubted. I went to the barracks the next day after the surrender and they showed me the arms. There were 90 Springfleld rides, 75 Winchesters, 4 field pieces, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. It was rumored that some arms were kept back. I do not know whether it was true.
Senator Butler. Were there any other ammunition or arms of that Government in the hands of the Provisional Government? I mean, were the men supplied with arms and ammunition?
Mr. Alexander. Not that I know of.
The Chairman. Were there any armed forces except in Honolulu and Oahu?
Mr. Alexander. Not now.
The Chairman. The whole force of the Kingdom was concentrated at Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Were there any fighting ships, called ships of war, belonging to that Government?
Mr. Alexander. None.
The Chairman. Had the Government any ships at all?
Mr. Alexander. No, except steam tugs. These steam tugs towed vessels in and they belonged to the Government.
The Chairman. At Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And other ports there also?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. They had no revenue-marine service?
Mr. Alexander. No. To prevent the opium smuggling they needed a revenue marine.
Senator Butler. Is it your opinion that this Provisional Government could have been established without the interference of United States officials?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, I think so. But I think it is probable that it would not have been done without bloodshed.
Senator Butler. But it could have been established and maintained itself without any interference on the part of the United States officials?
Mr. Alexander. I think so.
Senator Butler. Now, there is only one point—I am speaking for myself only—on which I care to have information, and if you can give any I would be very glad to have you do so, and that is, to what extent the represenatives of the United States Goverment interfered in the affairs of Honolulu. Have you any information which you can give on that subject.
Mr. Alexander. You mean with this last revolution?
Senator Butler. Yes.
Mr. Alexander. They have interfered before on several occasions.
Senator Butler. The United States troops did?
Mr. Alexander. You refer to the last one?
Senator Butler. I refer to the last one. To what extent did the United States Government, through the diplomatic, civil, or naval officials, interfere in the affairs of Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. I suppose the landing of the troops on Monday night, which was done without asking permission of the ministers, might have been considered an interference.
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Senator Butler. When?
Mr. Alexander. Monday afternoon, at 5—-without asking permission of the ministers, the cabinet.
Senator Butler. The ministers of the Hawaiian Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Without the permission of the Queen's Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. That is the principal point. As to the right or wrong of it, it is not for me to say.
Senator Frye. The Senator asked you if the United States officials did anything.
Mr. Alexander. Simply landed. They did nothing.
Senator Frye. You were asked if they did anything to aid the Provisional Government or the Queen, or anything else.
Mr. Alexander. Their presence on shore, had a moral effect on the natives. They did not know what was going to happen.
Senator Butler. I think I understood you to say that, in your opinion, the landing of those marines was not necessary for the protection of the lives of American citizens?
Mr. Alexander. I would not be positive about that. I think there was reason enough for apprehension to justify their landing. If those things had happened which justified their landing and they had not landed the United States authorities would have been to blame. There is some difference of opinion about it.
The Chairman. Would you undertake to say that it was the opinion among the better class of citizens in Honolulu that there was sufficient occasion to require the intervention of these troops?
Mr. Alexander. I have heard that opinion generally expressed.
The Chairman. Would you say whether or not that was the general opinion there at that time, at the time of the landing of the troops and before?
Mr. Alexander. I am inclined to think so.
Senator Gray. Among that class of the people described by the chairman?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, they felt the insecurity.
Senator Gray. You say the opinion of that element was in favor of the establishment of the Provisional Government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. You spoke about the interference of the officers of the Government of the United States on previous occasions. State to to what occasions you refer.
Mr. Alexander. I had in mind the landing to quell the courthouse riot in 1874, and I had in mind the landing of the marines in 1889, in which they did not take part, however, but at which time the Wilcox insurrection was suppressed.
The Chairman. Those were two occasions. Were there any more?
Mr. Alexander. Those were the only ones prior to this.
The Chairman. Were they the only ones where the Government of the United States landed troops for the purpose of protecting the lives of people or for the purpose of protecting the public peace?
Mr. Alexander. I think so.
The Chairman. Was there more or less apparent interference on the part of these troops which were landed on the two occasions you have mentioned than there was on this last occasion?
Mr. Alexander. There was more; because in 1874 they proceeded to arrest the ring leaders of the mob, and they stood guard over the public buildings for a week.
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The Chairman. That was the mob raised to dethrone Kalakaua?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. And enthrone Queen Emma?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Well, the other occasion?
Mr. Alexander. In 1889 they went further than they did at this time, because they loaned 10,000 rounds of ammunition to the Government troops, the white troops that were putting down this insurrection.
The Chairman. Kalakaua's troops?
Mr. Alexander. Nominally, yes; really, the same men who were upholding the Provisional Government. But at that time they were the legal government.
The Chairman. They were upholding it both as against Kalakaua and Liliuokalaui?
Mr. Alexander. That is what is believed—that they connived at Wilcox.
The Chairman. That is, Kalakaua and Liliuokalani?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. That is, that they were conniving at the movement against the Wilcox cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. It was in Wilcox's report. I know there was a difference between his case and the other; I know the other two had a form of commission from the other Government.
The Chairman. What other men-of-war were in the harbor of Honolulu when these troops landed in January, 1893?
Mr. Alexander. No other men-of-war except the American man-of war.
The Chairman. No British?
Mr. Alexander. No other nation.
The Chairman. So that there was no chance to appeal to any outside power?
Mr. Alexander. No other nation represented.
The Chairman. Do you know anything about the fact of the recognition of the Provisional Government by the ministers of the other powers then located in Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. I know by hearsay and what I saw in the papers; that is, that Minister Stevens recognised it the afternoon of the 17th, and the others, the German consul and the Portuguese minister, recognised it the next morning, and Mr. Wodehouse verbally recognized it.
Senator Gray. Who is Mr. Wodehouse?
Mr. Alexander. The British consul general. He verbally told them he recognized it, but he did not send in his official recognition until Thursday afternoon.
NOTES ON COL. BLOUNT'S REPORT.
Prof. W. D. Alexander had several informal conversations with Col. J. H. Blount in Honolulu, which were not taken down by his stenographer.
At Col. Blount's request, Prof. Alexander prepared written papers on the history of the uncompleted annexation treaty of 1854, on the general causes which led to the late revolution, on the political history of Kalakaua's reign until 1888, and on the constitutional history of the country since the beginning of this century.
All of these were printed except the last. He also furnished him pamphlets on the land system, the census, etc.
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Col. Blount's sketch of the causes of the late revolution on pp. 3-15 of his report betrays a total misconception of Hawaiian history and of the nature of the political contest that has been going on during the last fifteen years or more.
E.g., on p. 5 he charges to the reciprocity treaty "a new labor system," which preceded it by twenty years, and the "alienation between the native and white races," which had shown itself long before, and the causes of which I have briefly explained in my second paper, and the "many so-called revolutions," which really had no relation to that treaty. On p. 6 is an extraordinary statement about the division of the lands in 1848, which for the first time in history is called "discreditable." He says the Kanaka at that time "generally read and wrote English," which few adults can do now.
His remarks about the descendants of missionaries seem to be borrowed from C. T. Gulick and Nordhoff. The sneering use of the term dates from the days of the "beach-combers" and Botany Bay convicts, who preceded the missionaries in those islands. The descendants of the latter are hated chiefly for their adherence to the principles of their fathers and their endeavors to preserve the constitutional lines on which the Government was administered under the Kamehameha dynasty.
Col. Blount's total misapprehension of history is shown by his astonishing statement on page 7, that the ex-Mormon adventurer Gibson was "free from all suspicion of bribery."
On page 8 he speaks of several criminal acts, proved in open court, as "alleged," and says that the "alleged corrupt action of the King Kalakaua could have been avoided by more careful legislation," when the whole difficulty lay in the autocratic power of the King, which enabled him to appoint the upper house and to pack the lower house of the Legislature. He ignores the fact that it was impossible for a white man to be naturalized unless he was a tool of the King. He passes very lightly over the outrages which caused the uprising of all white men and of the more decent natives in 1887.
On page 10 he omits the vital change made in section 20, which struck at the root of the King's power to pack or bribe the Legislature.
It also should be borne in mind that naturalization in the Hawaiian Kingdom never had included abjuration of one's former citizenship.
Col. Blount is grossly misinformed in regard to the character of the election held after that revolution, 1887. It was the first fair and free election by really secret ballot held for many years. No intimidation whatever. The law was improved afterwards, on the Australian system, by the reform party. The appointment of the upper house was taken from an irresponsible semi-savage monarch and vested in citizens possessing a moderate property qualification. Otherwise all the great financial interests of the country would have been at the mercy of an ignorant populace.
Throughout this sketch he ignores the real distinction between the two principal parties, which for fifteen years have divided the country, the one in favor of reaction in politics, religion, and morals, in favor of free liquor, hulalula dances,sorcery, gambling, gin, opium, and lotteries, and personal government; the other in favor of clean, honest, responsible, and economical government. The former may command a majority of votes in the seaport of Honolulu, but the latter is supported by the property-owners, the leaders of industrial enterprises, and by those who support and carry on all the educational, charitable, and religious work in the country.
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Statesmen will take such facts into account, as well as the anti-American animus of the reactionary royalist party.
PORTUGUESE.
Col. Blount shows a singular hostility to the Portuguese, who form one of the most valuable elements in the islands, the most moral as shown by the reports of the attorney-general and chief justice, and perhaps the most industrious people in the country, and the most easily Americanized. He even goes so far as to say that they ought not to be classed as Europeans.
A colony of these people exists in Jacksonville and Springfield, Ill., where they bear a good character. Their crime, in his eyes, may be their unanimous support of the Provisional Government and their admiration of American institutions.
KANAKA LANDS.
On the other hand, his account of the native race is surprisingly incorrect and superficial, although ample statistics relating to lands, property, occupations, accounts of native character, etc., were before him. He says the "majority (of the common people) received nothing" in the way of land. The fact was that all heads of families received homesteads, if they applied for them, and the census shows that 10 per cent of the natives, counting women and children, are even now landowners. Between 1850 and 1860 a large proportion, 40 per cent, of the Government land was sold, mainly to natives, at nominal prices, and every effort was made to encourage habits of thrift among them. Many are now living on the rents of their lands. The chiefs died out, leaving no heirs in many cases, and their lands were largely purchased by foreigners.
ON THE KANAKAS.
Of the utter incapacity of the Kanaka for business, his improvidence, instability, fickleness, duplicity, and indolence, Col. Blount must have been informed. Accustomed from time immemorial to absolute despotism, they (the Kanakas) ought not to have been expected to become fit for self-government in one generation. Besides, they have been too much petted and pauperized by the Government and their white friends, to develop habits of self-reliance.
E. g., about one-tenth of the native girls are in boarding schools, three-fourths of whom are supported by benevolent white people, with rather unsatisfactory results.
The revival of heathen superstitions under the late dynasty for a political object, is ignored by the commissioner. It is too true that their capacity and progress have been grossly overrated from various motives. They need to be cared for like children. If intrusted with supreme power, they would soon involve themselves and their white benefactors in a common ruin, as was shown in Kalakaua's reign. If it was left to them, they might abolish segregation of lepers, and vote for the lottery and fiat paper money. Of course there are honorable exceptions. In regard to the decrease of the native population Col. Blount's conclusions differ from those of all those who have made a study of the subject on the islands. The reports of births and deaths during the present year, unfortunately, show a constant decrease. It is generally
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estimated at 2 per cent per annum. In order to save them, President Dole and his colleagues have elaborated a plan for giving the Kanakas homesteads out of the Crown lands, not transferable, on condition of occupation.
CONSPIRACY OF 1892, THE "LIBERALS."
To return to Col. Blount's report, p. 14, his statement of the three parties in the late Legislature is very wide of the mark. Col. V. V. Ashford's statement might have helped him to understand it, if he had been willing to use it. I have written a brief sketch of Hawaiian politics from 1887 to 1893, but have lent or given away all my copies of it. Col. Ashford's account, which is in the main correct (although colored by personal animosity and disappointed ambition), describes the conspiracies of 1888 and 1889, in which Liliuokalani was an accomplice. Her own testimony shows how reluctantly she took the oath to the constitution, and how little conception she had of constitutional government.
The revolutionary movement of 1892 (in regard to which Mr. Stevens wrote his letter of March 8, 1892, p. 178, Sen. Doc. 77) was not countenanced by the better class of people, who considered it uncalled for, and had no faith in the unprincipled adventurers at the head of it, most of whom are now royalists. Their dream was a Kanaka democracy, in which they would hold the offices. The Queen's faction, who had a coup d'etat under consideration, tried to form an alliance with them, which was rejected. C. B. Wilson then arrested a large number of them and broke up the conspiracy.
The Queen had made it a condition in appointing her ministry in 1891, that her favorite, Wilson, the Tahitian half white, should be marshal of the Kingdom.
LEGISLATURE OF 1892.
He (Wilson) associated on intimate terms with Capt. Whaley, part owner of the schooner Halcyon and King of the opium smugglers, and with other like characters, and collected around the police headquarters a gang of disreputable individuals, while opium joints and gambling-houses flourished with his connivance, as was believed. At the same time it was well understood that his influence in the administration was greater than that of any cabinet minister.
The so-called liberals in the Legislature of 1892 joined hands with the reformers (who lacked a few votes of a majority), in order to break the power of the palace party and opium ring, and to remove their enemy, Wilson. Three cabinets were voted out as representing this latter element, and as being in complicity with the lottery.
The British commissioner took an active interest in the struggle and encouraged the Queen to resist.
After a four months' contest she yielded temporarily, and appointed a cabinet of conservative reformers, highly respected and trusted by the community.
This cabinet declared itself against the lottery bill and a fiat paper money bill, which was killed, but did not choose to act on Wilson's case till after the adjournment of the legislature. This weakness on their part and the fact that the liberals were not represented in this cabinet so exasperated the latter that they united with their enemies, the palace party, and voted for measures which they had denounced."
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The Chairman. You have prepard a statement in respect of the different constitutions of Hawaii, which statement you have in manuscript?
Mr. Alexander. I have.
The Chairman. And it is correct?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. I see Mr. Blount says: "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 200 yards from it, at the barracks, was another body of 272 troops. These forces had 14 pieces of artillery, 386 rifles, and 16 revolvers."
Are those facts?
Mr. Alexander. I could not state from personal knowledge. I think the other gentlemen who will be here can state.
Senator Frye. You stated that, so far as you had any information, there were 80 soldiers, known as the Queen's Guard, and 60 policemen.
Mr. Alexander. A gentleman will come before you as a witness by and by who was at the station house. My opinion about it would have no weight.
Senator Gray. On page 5 there is a paragraph in Mr. Blount's report which is marked "Not so."
Mr. Alexander. Those are not my marks.
Senator Gray. As your statement was read, my attention having been directed to the marks, I noticed this paragraph, it being the first one. The paragraph is this:
"From it" [that is the reciprocity treaty] "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 enrichment of the latter, and the many so-called revolutions, which are the foundation for the opinion that stable government can not be maintained."
That is the paragraph to which you took exception?
Mr. Alexander. It is erroneous in several points.
Senator Gray. Did there come to the islands after the reciprocity treaty "an intoxicating increase of wealth?"
Mr. Alexander. That is one point that is true.
Senator Gray. And was not that the source of a great many evils that followed?
Mr. Alexander. I think it was source of some evils.
Senator Gray. The source of a great many evils?
Mr. Alexander. It led to extravagance on the part of the white people and turned the heads of the natives.
Senator Gray. That increase of wealth which came after the reciprocity treaty was not very evenly or equally distributed over the islands among the population?
Mr. Alexander. Not equally; but it raised wages and increased the rent rolls. The natives as well as the white men profited by it.
Senator Gray. Then you think that paragraph is true?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I did not except particularly to that. In my history I refer to that.
Senator Gray. Then, with regard to the "new labor system and Asiatic population?"
Mr. Alexander. In regard to the labor system, it dates back to the sixties.
S. Doc. 231, pt 6----43
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Senator Gray. I find in your history the closing paragraph, page 311, you say: "It is to be feared that the recent extraordinary prosperity of the country has not been an unmixed blessing."
Mr. Alexander. I freely agree with that.
Senator Gray. And so far you agree with Mr. Blount?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; the tendency to large estates is not very good; I do not like the system of labor; but it dates back beyond the reciprocity treaty.
The Chairman. Do you think the incoming of Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese laborers into Hawaii is really a threat against the preservation and prosperity of the Kanaka race?
Mr. Alexander. I think it is injurious. For example, the mass of the Chinese and a majority of the Japanese are unmarried men. That increases the great disproportion between males and females in that country. The Chinese particularly set up little shops all over the country and sell liquor and opium when they can get customers—sell it on the sly, and do a great deal to demoralize the natives.
Senator Butler. Do the Chinese come there to remain or do they generally return home?
Mr. Alexander. Generally return home. I might say that on that point we have a pretty strict law on Chinese immigration. Since 1876 the Chinese have diminished from 23,000 down to less than 14,000—13,000 now.
The Chairman. The policy of Hawaii has been to discourage Chinese immigration?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; and in lieu of that to import Japanese.
The Chairman. Are those Japanese imported with the expectation of their becoming inhabitants of the country?
Mr. Alexander. They are under a three years' contract. The Japanese consul retains three-fifths of their wages to furnish them money to go home.
Senator Butler. Is not that because of this reciprocity treaty?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Is it true that what is called the missionary element in Hawaii really desires, and shows that it really desires, by its conduct and dealings with the people, to preserve the Kanaka race?
Mr. Alexander. Decidedly; yes.
The Chairman. You think that that is the real purpose of that element?
Senator Gray. What element?
The Chairman. The missionaries and their associates.
Mr. Alexander. I say that that element supports the charitable and educational institutions of the country.
The Chairman. Is it the disposition of that element to see the Kanaka element go out of the country, or is it their disposition to build the Kanaka element up?
Mr. Alexander. I think the missionary element comprises the strongest friends of the Kanakas.
The Chairman. Is it, according to your understanding, the real purpose or desire on the part of the missionary element to build up and sustain the Kanaka element?
Mr. Alexander. Yes, it is.
The Chairman. Was that the cause of the passage of the restrictive laws on Chinese immigration?
Mr. Alexander. That was one cause.
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The Chairman. You found that the foreign oriental population was building up the country too rapidly?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; the Chinese and the Japanese, come into competition with the white and Kanaka mechanics and shop keepers. They do not remain laborers; they serve out their contracts and try to make a living in some other way.
The Chairman. Suppose the reciprocity treaty were continued with all the benefits which were had before the arrival of the McKinley bill, which you say was a blessing in disguise to the Kanaka people----
Mr. Alexander I suppose many disagree with me about that.
The Chairman. Suppose that condition of things would produce a continuous supply of Oriental people as laborers, what would be the ultimate result of that on the Kanaka people?
Mr. Alexander. They would be displaced gradually and the islands would become a Mongolian colony.
The Chairman. And the Kanakas would disappear?
Mr. Alexander. They would decrease.
The Chairman. There is a decrease there, and you think the ultimate effect would be the disappearance of the Kanakas?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; the liquor and demoralization would hasten the decline of the Kanaka race.
The Chairman. Is there not a purpose, a policy, amongst the missionary element, the more enlightened property-holding element in Hawaii, to prevent that result?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; they are very anxious to save the native race—have made sacrifices of money, time, and labor for the natives. The paper referred to by the Chairman awhile ago is as follows:
SKETCH OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
Organization of the Government under Kamehameha I
After the conquest of the group by Kamehameha I, he consolidated and reorganized the government, and it may properly be said that an unwritten constitution existed. All the lands in the Kingdom were claimed by the conqueror and apportioned among his followers according to their rank and services, on condition of their rendering him military service and a portion of the revenues of their estates. He broke up the old system of district chieftains and appointed governors, kiaaina, over the principal islands. These governors, subject to his approval, appointed tax-collectors, heads of districts, and other petty officers. They also dispensed justice for their respective circuits. The four great Kona chiefs who had raised him to the throne and aided him in all his wars, viz, the twin brothers Kameeiamoku and Kamanawa, their half-brothers, Keeaumoku and Keaweaheulu, were his recognized counselors, and, with Kalanimoku, his treasurer, may be regarded as his cabinet. John Young and Isaac Davis also had great influence with him.
Knowing the worthless character of his heir, Liholiho, Kamehameha by his will, 1819, appointed Kaahumanu, his favorite queen, as kuhina nui, or premier, to exercise equal authority with Liholiho, with a power of veto on his acts.
A general council of chiefs was convened on several occasions, as when Liholiho left for England in 1823; again on the arrival of the news of his death in 1825, to settle the government, in order to make
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a treaty with Commodore Jones, in 1826, to enact the first written laws in 1827, and on other occasions.
On account of the long minority of Kauikeaouli, or Kamehameha III, the council of chiefs had greater weight in the government than formerly and was easily constituted a house of nobles. Up to this time the common people were not considered as having any political rights whatever.
The First Written Constitution, 1839-'40.
Kamehameha III and his chiefs early became convinced that their system of government needed to be remodeled, and wrote to the United States in 1836 for a legal adviser and instructor in the science of government. Failing to procure such a person, in 1838 they chose Mr. Richards to be their adviser and interpreter. He accordingly was released from his connection with the American mission, and entered upon his duties in 1839 by delivering a series of lectures on the science of government to the King and chiefs of Lahaina.
The declaration of rights and the first code of laws were drawn up at that time. At first a draft was made by a graduate of the Lahainaluna Seminary, section by section, at the direction of the King. This was then read to the King and several of the chiefs, who spent two or three hours a day for five days in discussing the proposed constitution and laws, after which the draft was revised and rewritten.
The revised draft then passed a second reading at a meeting of the King and all the important chiefs of the islands, at which some further amendments were made.
It afterwards passed a third reading and was unanimously approved, after which it was signed by the King and published in a pamphlet of 24 pages, June 7, 1839.
Having been composed in the Hawaiian language, the laws show unmistakable marks of their origin. (Haw. Spectator, July, 1839.)
In 1840 the first constitution was drawn up in a similar manner and approved in a general council of the chiefs. It was then signed by the King and the premier, Kekauluohi, and proclaimed October 8, 1840.
The declaration of rights plainly shows the influence of the Bible and of the American Declaration of Independence.
The whole of this constitution gives unmistakable evidence that it was originally composed in the Hawaiian language, and by Hawaiians.
The preliminary declaration of rights, published in 1839, produced a feeling of security unknown before, and formed the first step in establishing individual property in land. It also guarantied religious liberty, and led to the edict of toleration which was issued by the King June 17, 1839.
This constitution declared that no land could be conveyed away without the consent of the King. Land forfeited for nonpayment of taxes should revert to him. He should have the direction of the Government property and of the various taxes. It should be his prerogative to make treaties and receive ambassadors. He should be commander in chief of the army, and "have power to make war in times of emergency, when the chiefs could not be assembled." He should be the chief judge of the supreme court.
The singular office of Kuhina nui or premier was continued. The premier's office was to be the same as that of Kaahumanu, by the will of Kamehameha I. All business shall be done by the premier, under the authority of the King. All Government property should be reported to
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him or her, and he or she should make it over to the King. "The King shall not act without the knowledge of the premier, nor the premier without the knowledge of the King, and the veto of the King on the acts of the premier shall arrest the business." "The King could transact no important business of the Kingdom without the approbation of the premier."
The four governorships, instituted by Kamehameha I, were perpetuated. Each governor was to have the direction of the tax collectors of his island, who were appointed by the King. He had power to appoint the district judges. He was to have charge of the military and of the war material of his island, and of public improvements.
The Legislative power was vested in the house of nobles, composed of 14 hereditary nobles, together with the King and premier, and certain representatives to meet annually, to be elected by the people. The number of representatives was afterwards fixed by law at seven. The two houses could sit separately or consult together at their discretion. "No new law should be made, without the approbation of a majority of the nobles and also of a majority of the representative body," as well as the approval and signature of the King and premier. A supreme court was established, consisting of the King and premier, and four judges, to be appointed by the Legislature.
Amendments of the constitution could be made by the nobles and representatives with the King's concurrence, after a year's notice of said amendments had been given.
But at the next session, held May 31, 1841, an act was passed which gave "the King, the premier and the nobles resident near" authority in special cases to enact a law which should stand until the next meeting of the Legislature, which could confirm or amend it. Under this grant, the King and privy council often, during the next few years, exercised legislative functions.
Organization of the Government 1845-'47.
As has been seen, this first constitution was extremely simple and loosely drawn up.
On the 28th of November, 1843, the two governments of France and England united in recognizing "the existence in the Sandwich Islands of a government capable of providing for the regularity of its relations with foreign nations." But it was soon perceived by the friends of the nation that much yet remained to be done in order to organize a civilized government, worthy of such recognition.
On the 20th of May, 1845, the Legislature was formally opened for the first time by the King in person, with appropriate ceremonies, which have retained ever since. At this session Mr. John Ricord, the attorney-general, made a masterly report on "the inferences of the constitution," and the implied powers and duties of the King, showing the necessity that existed for a series of organic acts, defining the said duties, and creating five departments of the executive, viz, those of interior, of finance, of foreign affairs, of public instruction and of the attorney-general.
By order of the Legislature he afterward drafted two volumes of statute laws, organizing not only these departments but also the judiciary department, which laws were enacted in 1846 and 1847, and form the basis of the present civil code. In fact there has been little change in the machinery of the Government as then set in operation.
By the first act the privy council was constituted, to consist of the
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live executive ministers, the governors, and other honorary members appointed by the King, and its powers were defined.
By the third act the district justices' courts appointed by the governors, the circuit courts created by this act, and the supreme court, were organized, and their respective jurisdictions defined.
Thus, from the crude coustitutional sketch of 1840, a complicated system of government was evolved by the genius of this young lawyer.
On the 30th of June, 1850, an act was passed increasing the number of representatives of the people in the legislative council to 24, and entitling ministers to seats and votes in the house of nobles. Another act was then passed to regulate the elections.
Constitution of 1852.
On the 20th of June, 1851, a joint resolution was passed by both houses of the Legislature and approved by the King, providing for the appointment of three commissioners, one to be chosen by the King, one by the nobles, and one by the representatives, who were to revise the existing constitution, to publish the changes which they should recommend, on or before December of that year, and to submit the same to the next Legislature.
Accordingly the King chose Dr. Judd, the nobles John Ii, and the representatives Chief Justice Lee. The draft which had been prepared chiefly by Judge Lee, and embodied the main points of the organic acts of 1846-'47, was submitted to the Legislature of 1852, where it was discussed article by article.
After receiving several amendments, it was finally approved by both Houses of the Legislature, June 14, 1852, signed by the King and Kuhina, and went into effect December, 1852.
This constitution was well suited to the time, erring, if at all, on the side of liberality, and has served as the basis for all succeeding constitutions.
The declaration of rights in it was elaborate, consisting of 21 articles. The executive, legislative, and judicial powers were to be preserved distinct; "the two last powers cannot be united in any one individual or body."
The King was declared to be the supreme executive magistrate of the Kingdom.
His person was declared to be "inviolable and sacred." His ministers are "responsible."
"All laws that have passed both Houses of the Legislature 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, and by the minister to whose department such act may belong."
He was to be commander-in-chief of the army and navy; "but he shall never proclaim war without the consent of his privy council."
It was by and with the advice of his privy council that he should grant pardons, convene the Legislature, make treaties, appoint ambassadors, appoint and remove the several heads of the executive departments.
The office of Kuhina Nui, as a kind of Vice-King, was retained out of deference to the feeling of the chiefs. The Kuhina Nui was to be "the King's special counsellor on the great affairs of the Kingdom." "The King and Kuhina Nui shall have a negative on each other's acts." During any temporary vacancy of the throne, the Kuhina Nui should act as regent.
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Section III treats of the privy council. The members of the privy council were appointed by the King, and held their offices during his pleasure. The ministers and the governors were ex officio members of the privy council.
Section IV treats of the King's ministers, who were appointed by him and held office "during His Majesty's pleasure." They held seats ex officio in the house of nobles. Each of them was to make an annual report to the Legislature of the business of his department.
Section V treats of the governors. They were commissioned by the King, by and with the advice of his privy council, for the term of four years. The governors "by and with the advice of the justices of the supreme court," appointed the district justices of their respective islands, for the term of two years.
The Legislature was to meet annually in April. The members of the house of nobles were appointed by the King for life, but their number should not exceed thirty. The house of nobles was empowered to sit as a court to try impeachments made by the House of Representatives against any public officers.
The house of representatives should consist of not less than 24, nor more than 40 members, to be elected annually by universal suffrage. All revenue bills should originate in the lower house.
The supreme court was remodeled, to consist henceforth of a chief justice and two associate justices. They held their offices for life, subject to removal upon impeachment. Their compensation could not be diminished during their continuance in office. Circuit courts, not less than four, were ordained, the circuit judges to be appointed for life, during good behavior, subject to impeachment. The higher judges were to be appointed by the king by and with the advice of his privy council.
Amendments to this constitution had to be approved by a majority of one legislature, published for three months before the next election, and finally passed by two-thirds of both houses, and signed by the King.
The King had practically an absolute veto on legislation, but this and other theoretical powers were exercised only in accordance with English precedents by the sovereigns of the Kamehameha dynasty. For example, they never arbitrarily dismissed a minister or ministry from office, or made changes in the civil service except for good cause.
The Working of the Constitution of 1852.
During the next twelve years the constitution worked as well as ought to have been expected. The office of attorney-general was not filled from 1847 till 1863, but district attorneys were employed, while the department of public instruction was made a bureau in 1855 under the board of education.
In 1856 an amendment to the constitution was adopted, which made the sessions of the Legislature biennial instead of annual.
In the session of 1862, among other amendments approved and laid over for final action at the next session, was one which made the right to sit as representative depend on the possession of $250 worth of real estate or an income of $250 per annum.
There was considerable friction between the two houses, especially on money bills, the lower house at that time being decidedly the more business-like and dignified of the two. In 1862 it compelled the resignation of an incompetent and intemperate minister of finance.
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The royal brothers, Alexander and Lot, were extremely jealous of American influence, and had never approved of the radical changes made during Kamehameha Ill's reign, believing them to be wholly unsuited to the Hawaiian people. They were also displeased with the independent spirit shown by the lower house, and its investigating committees.
The Coup D'Etat of 1864.
Prince Lot Kamehameha had resolved never to take the oath to maintain the constitution of 1852, but to seize the opportunity to make such changes in it as would increase the power of the Crown. Accordingly, immediately after the death of his brother, on the 30th of November, 1863, he was proclaimed King, without taking the oath, under the title of Kamehameha V. He was careful not to convene the regular Legislature of 1864, but issued a proclamation May 5 for the election of a constitutional convention, to be held June 13. Meanwhile, accompanied by Mr. Wyllie, Kalakaua, and other reactionaries, he made a tour through the islands, explaining and defending the changes which he desired to make in the constitution.
The convention met July 7, being composed of sixteen nobles and twenty-seven elected delegates, presided over by the King. After a week's debate it was decided that the "three estates" should sit together in one chamber.
The next question was whether this convention had the right to proceed to make a new constitution. It was strongly argued that the "only legal method in which the constitution can be referred back to the constituting powers is prescribed in that instrument itself." "Any other method is revolution, and revolutions do not generally claim to be constitutional." After several days' debate the question was decided in the affirmative, on which four delegates resigned their seats. The convention then went on with the revision of the constitution, but on the subject of the property qualification it was found to be intractable. After a long discussion of the article the King lost all patience, and on August 13 he declared the existing constitution to be abrogated and prorogued the convention.
On the 20th of August, 1864, he promulgated a new constitution upon his own authority, which was never submitted to ratification by the people, but continued in force for 23 years.
Constitution of 1864.
The constitution of 1864 was merely a revision of that of 1852, and there were fewer changes in it than had been expected. It was understood at the time that it was drawn up by Mr. C. C. Harris, the attorney-general.
In the bill of rights, the clause guaranteeing elections by ballot was stricken out.
The clause forbidding the union of the legislative and judicial powers in one person was altered to read, "and no judge of a court of record shall ever be a member of the Legislature."
The useless office of Kuhina Nui was abolished, and provision made for a regency in case of the minority of the heir to the throne, or of the absence of the sovereign from his Kingdom. The chapter relating to governors was omitted, and the subject left to be regulated by statute. The nobles and representatives were thenceforth to sit together in
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one house, to be styled the Legislative Assembly. The number of the nobles was now limited to 20, while that of representatives remained as before, not less than 24 nor more than forty, to be elected biennially. No person should be eligible for representative unless he owned real estate within the Kingdom worth over and above all incumbrances at least $500, or had an annual income of at least $250.
Every voter was required to own real property worth over and above all incumbrances $150, or a leasehold on which the rent was $25 per annum, or to have an income not less than $75 per annum. These property qualifications might be increased by law. He was also required, if born since 1840, to know how to read and write.
In regard to the status of judges, the old constitution had provided that any judge of the supreme court, or of any other court of record, might "be removed from office for mental or physical inability by a concurrent resolution of two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature." In the new constitution the latter part of this sentence was changed to read, "on a resolution passed by two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly, for good cause shown to the satisfaction of the King."
The powers of the privy council were considerably diminished. Its approval was no longer required for appointment to office. Its chief remaining functions were to pass on pardons, grant charters, or appropriate money "when, between the sessions of the Legislative Assembly, the emergencies of war, invasion, rebellion, pestilence, or other public disaster shall arise."
The governors were given by statute nearly the same powers and duties as were secured to them by the old constitution. They appointed the tax collectors, subject to the approval of the minister of finance and district justices, "by and with the advice of the justices of the supreme court." Their chief duty under the law was to superintend the collection of taxes in their respective islands. In point of fact they acted as the King's personal agents, especially in elections.
The Constitution of 1864 under Lunalilio and Kalakaua.
Lunalilo's election was in great part due to the popular discontent with the arbitrary rule of Kamehameha V. On his accession to the throne several amendments to the constitution were approved at the special session of the Legislature held in January, 1873. The most important of these were one to abolish the property qualifications of voters and another to restore the division of the Legislature into two houses sitting separately.
The subject came before the next Legislature for final action, in July, 1874, when the former amendment was duly ratified by a two-thirds vote, but the latter failed to pass.
The number of representatives had been fixed by law at 28 in 1868. An act increasing the number of justices of the supreme court to five was passed in 1886.
The evil tendencies which had begun to show themselves during Kamehameha V's reign went on increasing during the reign of Kalakaua.
At the legislative session of 1884 a law was passed giving the King the sole power to appoint the district justices, through his creatures, the governors, by striking out the clause "by and with the advice of the justices of the supreme court."
At the elections of 1886 almost all the candidates of the King's party were officeholders.
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The personal interference of the King in politics was carried to an extent unthought of before, while the constitutional precedents of former reigns were wholly disregarded. The Government was in danger of becoming an Asiatic despotism like that of Johore, when the revolution of 1887 took place and Kalakaua was compelled to sign and proclaim a new constitution July 6, 1887.
The Constitution of 1887.
The constitution of 1887, like that of 1864, was merely a revision, but for different objects, viz, to put an end to personal government by making the ministry responsible only to the people through the Legislature, and to widen the suffrage by extending it to foreigners, who were practically debarred from naturalization under the existing law.
The declaration of rights remained unchanged except an important addition to art. 20, viz: "and no executive or judicial officer, or any contractor or employe' 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. 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."
Article 39: "The King's private lands and other property are inviolable," was dropped.
A more important change was made in article 42. The minister, instead of holding office during His Majesty's pleasure, "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."
The cabinet were to hold seats, as before, in the Legislature, with the right to vote, "except on a question of want of confidence."
The time of meeting of the Legislature was changed from April to May. In article 48 the King's veto power was limited. If he disapproved of a bill, he was to return it to the Legislature, with his objections, within ten days, and if on reconsideration it should be approved by a two-thirds vote of all the elective members it shall become a law.
The number of nobles was increased from 20 to 40. Instead of being appointed by the King for life, the nobles were henceforth to be elected for six years, and serve without pay, one-third of them going out every two years. A candidate for the office of noble was required to own taxable property of the value of $3,000 over and above all incumbrances, or to have an income of not less than $600 per annum, and to have resided in this Kingdom three years.
The same property qualifications and term of residence were required of electors of nobles.
The number of representatives was fixed at 24. No change was made in the property qualification or term of residence of representatives. The compensation of representatives was increased to $250 for each biennial term.
Article 62, on the qualifications of voters, was altered by substituting for the words "male subject, etc.," the words "male resident of the Kingdom, of Hawaiian or European birth or descent, who shall have taken the oath to support this constitution and the laws."
The above provision excluded Asiatics from voting. The other conditions of one year's residence, and of knowing "how to read and
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write either Hawaiian, English, or some European language," were waived for the first election in 1887, but have been enforced ever since.
No change was made in the articles relating to the judiciary. The privy council was retained, but was given even less power than before. Its chief remaining function is to act as a board of pardons.
A new and most important article was added as follows: "Art. 78. Wherever by this constitution any act is to be done or performed by the King or the 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 office of governor was abolished by the Legislature of 1888, and its duties divided between the sheriffs and tax collectors.
The number of judges in the supreme court has been since reduced to three.
Notwithstanding article 78, it was decided by a majority of the supreme court in 1888, that the King, under article 48, could exercise a personal right of veto, in opposition to his ministers.
After the death of Kalakaua, it was also decided by the Court, February 25, 1891, that the new sovereign had a right to demand the resignations of the former cabinet and to appoint a new one.
Most of the changes in the constitution made in 1887 are in strict accordance with the principles of representative constitutional government. That they could have been brought about by regular amendments of the constitution of 1864 is universally admitted to have been impossible.
As the constitution proposed to have been proclaimed January 14, 1893, has been sedulously concealed by its author, I am unable to give any exact information in regard to it.
Respectfully submitted,
W. D. Alexander.
Adjourned to meet on Tuesday, January 9,1894.
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WASHINGTON, D. C, January 9,1894.
The subcommittee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present, the Chairman (Senator Morgan) and Senators Butler, Gray, and Frye.
Absent, Senator Sherman.
SWORN STATEMENT OF PROF. WILLIAM DE WITT ALEXANDER—Continued.
Mr. Alexander. I have taken some pains to make a correct estimate of the expenditures for education in the Hawaiian Islands for the biennial period 1890-'92. It is to be a part of my oral testimony given the first day. The total per annum is $284,000.
Senator Butler. I suggest that the statements be printed.
Mr. Alexander. Here is the petition for the lottery. [Producing paper.]
The Chairman. I will read it to the committee. It is as follows:
"THE PETITIONS FOR THE LOTTERY.
"Mr. Nordhoff has attempted to break the effect of the passage of the lottery bill and its signature by the Queen by referring to certain
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petitions in its favor, which have been published at the end of Col. Blount's report, but without date.
"The impression which is sought to be made is that these petitions were sent in shortly before the passage of the said bill, and influenced the mind of the Queen in signing it."
Mr. Alexander. I should have inserted the words "by Mr. Nordhoff," so that it would read: "The impression which is sought to be made by Mr. Nordhoff," etc. I might give a wrong impression if those words were omitted, and I should be sorry to make an insinuation against Mr. Blount. That completes the historical part.
The Chairman. I continue:
"The facts are that these petitions were signed before the first introduction of the lottery bill, which was on the 30th of August, 1892, four and a half months before its final passage.
"The signatures were obtained by a rapid secret canvass, before publicity had been given to the movement, and before any discussion of its effects had taken place. Many signed without reflection who afterward deeply regretted it. As soon as the bill was printed a powerful opposition sprang up, which resulted in its being shelved, as was supposed, forever. Still it was known by some that the Queen and Wilson had been in favor of it from the first, and that the snake had been only 'scotched,' not killed.
Near the end of the session, in the absence of six of its opponents, the bill was suddenly revived, rushed through and signed in the face of a strong and unanimous protest by the chamber of commerce, and numerous memorials and petitions from all quarters.
"The passage of that bill, the voting out of an upright ministry, and the attempted coup d'etat were all parts of one plan to corrupt and destroy honest constitutional government in Hawaii. As it was only one white man dared to vote for it.
"W. D. Alexander."
Is there anything else?
Mr. Alexander. That is all.
SWORN STATEMENT OF LIEUT. LUCIEN YOUNG, OF THE BOSTON.
The Chairman. You belong to the Navy?
Mr. Young. Yes; I am a lieutenant in the Navy, on duty at present in the Navy Department engaged in the work of compiling the Naval War Records of the late rebellion.
The Chairman. Were you on the cruiser Boston in January, 1893?
Mr. Young. Yes; I was on the Boston during her entire stay in Honolulu.
The Chairman. When did the Boston first arrive there?
Mr. Young. On or about the 24th of August, 1892.
The Chairman. Did she remain in the harbor during all the time?
Mr. Young. She only left the harbor twice; once in October, I think it was, we went out to look up some shipwrecked Americans who had been cast upon the large island of Hawaii. We found them and brought them back to Honolulu. Then, on the 4th of January we went to Hilo, on the island of Hawaii, for target practice, and returned to Honolulu on the 14th of January.
Senator Butler. How long were you on that first trip?
Mr. Young. I think five days.
The Chairman. Did Minister Stevens go with you on your second cruise?
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Mr. Young. Yes; he and his daughter went with us.
The Chairman. The one who was subsequently drowned?
Mr. Young. Yes. I helped her into the boat as she was going ashore.
The Chairman. Where were you?
Mr. Young. Off the island of Hawaii. She had been visiting one of the sugar estates there. It was in lowering her into the boat for passage from shore to the Inter-Island steamer, which was done in a cage, that she was drowned. One of the natives told me that he believed she was killed before she struck the water; that the waves struck her and she was killed in the cage. She was to take passage for Honolulu on a little island steamer, not the Boston. We landed her at the same place where she was drowned and then proceeded to Hilo.
The Chairman. Do you remember the date of her death?
Mr. Young. I can get that. We went down on the 4th; returned on the 14th, and her death must have been on the 18th, I should say. I think the minister got the news of the death about the time the revolution was going on.
The Chairman. I will ask you whether or not at the time you first left there you had some acquaintance with the state of public feeling and the situation of affairs generally in Honolulu?
Mr. Young. Yes.
The Chairman. Was there any evidence of a commotion or outbreak?
Mr. Young. When we left none whatever, everything appeared to be settled. And that was the reason that justified us in leaving to get this target practice which we were in need of.
The Chairman. Prior to that time was there any agitation in Honolulu?
Mr. Young. Yes; a good deal of agitation in reference to the voting out of the several ministrys by the Legislature and persistent appointment by the Queen of others inimical to American interests unsatisfactory to the intelligent members of the Legislature and wealthy classes on the islands. This involved a good deal of diplomatic trouble between the American and British ministers in reference to the interests of their respective countries, and I have seen the latter on the floor of the Legislature while in session lobbying. Finally a cabinet was appointed representing the wealth and intelligence of the islands, and also in favor of American interests. When they attempted to vote them out by a vote of want of confidence they failed to do so, and it left the matter looking like they were there to stay and we went away.
Senator Frye. That was the Wilcox cabinet?
Mr. Young. Yes.
The Chairman. So that the situation when you left Honolulu on that cruise was one of quiet, peace, and composure?
Mr. Young. Yes; everything was perfectly quiet when we left the harbor.
Senator Frye. It was the expectation that the Wilcox ministry was to continue for a long time?
Mr. Young. Yes. Minister Stevens told Capt. Wiltse in my presence that he believed the Wilcox ministry would continue, but Capt. Wiltse said that he did not think so.
Senator Frye. Minister Stevens believed it would continue?
Mr. Young. Yes; so he stated to me, and Capt. Wiltse based his opinion on what I heard on shore and reported to him. I heard from
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