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possession, and have troops here to protect us." Then he took a look around, and politely bowed and left.
During this time we had sent for the old cabinet and they came in. They sent word that they were afraid to come, but we sent word that everything was perfectly safe, so Cornwell and Colburn came, then the other two. We told them what had been done and gave them a copy of the proclamation and demanded the surrender of the Queen and the station house and barracks. They asked for time to go and see Her Majesty. We positively refused to let their guards patrol the town during the night. Mr. Damon went with them to the palace. We refused to let them have time until the next day.
During all this time, in response to our call for volunteers, they were coming in pretty thick, and presently word came back from the palace that the Queen surrendered, but wanted ten minutes' time for Marshal Wilson to get out of the station house; a protest came, too, which Mr. Dole received. Captain Wiltse came in just before the surrender, and said he had come to see if we had possession. He said, "Have you got possession of the palace, barracks, and the station house?" Mr. Dole said, "No, not yet; we are now arranging that." "Well," he says, "you must have them before we can recognize you as a power; we can not recognize you when there is another Government across the street." While he was speaking a tap came on the door and the others were returning with the Queen's surrender.
About this time Mr. Stevens's recognition came, and then Mr. Wodehouse, the British minister, came to see if we had possession and what we were doing. We told him and gave him a copy of the proclamation.
Then we went ahead getting ready for the night. We tried to get things in shape before dark as near as we could. I recollect I came out just before dark when we were talking about preparing for the night in case of trouble, as it had been threatened that the town would be burned. We began getting guards to go out over town, and as I looked around I counted at least 150 men there. Before dark we sent 20 men to the police station with Capt. Ziegler. There were so many things happening between 15 minutes to 3 until dark that it is hard to tell what came first.
During our meetings from the 14th to the 17th we had been looking up men, arms, and ammunition, and in every meeting had reports. We had figured up about 200 of the old Honolulu Rifles besides from 400 to 600 citizens that would shoulder a gun if it became necessary. We had to make estimates, as we could not expect to succeed without backing. We counted on those men as ready in squads around town to be at the building at 3 o'clock.
As to the causes which led to the revolution at the time the Jones cabinet was fired I know positively, for I was on the street all the time, that there was awful indignation about it all over town, and the question was raised then as to what would become of the country, and that the citizens would have to take care of themselves, something would have to be done. I took part in the revolutions of 1887 and 1889 both. It was always the brains and moneyed men of the country against the King and the ignorant. The best class of people took part in all three revolutions. They started the revolution of 1887, and they defeated the revolution of 1880, protecting the King when they thought he was trying to do what was right. When the news came that this Queen had tried to give us a new constitution I knew that the good citizens would have to take hold and do something.
At the time the Queen adjourned the Legislature in the way she did
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I first got the idea of actually starting in and using force to dethrone her. As soon as that kind of talk became general we began to hear threats of having our property burned. We called on the minister to bring the troops ashore to protect lile and property, by which we meant to prevent any fires which we expected and had been threatened.
We never agreed in council nor was the question ever brought up that the Provisional Government would join with the Queen in submitting a controversy to the Government of the United States. The controversy was settled then and there when the Queen surrendered.
F. W. McChesney.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 5th day of December, A. D. 1893
[SEAL.]
Alfred W. Carter,
Notary Public.
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WASHINGTON, D. C, January 15,1894.
The subcommittee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present: The chairman (Senator MOrgan) and Senators Gray and Frye.
Absent: Senators Butler and Sherman.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF PROF. WILLIAM DEWITT ALEXANDER.
The Chairman. I want to ask you some questions about your supreme court. I do not know whether in your constitutional paper you have said anything about the supreme court.
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I have.
The Chairman. The supreme court consists of five judges?
Mr. Alexander. Three at present.
The Chairman. Is that the law at the present time?
Mr. Alexander. At present.
The Chairman. It has been changed from five to three?
Mr. Alexander. In 1880 the law was passed increasing the membership of the supreme court bench to five, and afterward a law was passed which provided that no vacancy should be filled until the membership was reduced to three, and that it should remain at three.
The Chairman. Has the membership been reduced to three?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. At the last session of the legislature a bill was passed reorganizing the courts on a new plan.
The Chairman. And provision was made in that law for the supreme court?
Mr. Alexander. The supreme court in the last bill was made a final court of appeal, and provided that no judge should have a case to come before him in which he had previously sat.
The Chairman. Does the supreme court consist of a chief justice?
Mr. Alexander. And two associate justices. Before that the supreme court judges held circuit courts, and there was complaint about that.
Senator Gray. On the ground that it was an appeal from Caesar to Caesar?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; they abolished that system.
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The Chairman. Who were the supreme court judges of Hawaii?
Mr. Alexander. A. F. Judd, R. F. Bickerton, and W. Frear. The first is chief justice and the other two are associate justices. They are in for life—good behavior. They can be impeached.
The Chairman. Mr. Dole, the present President of the Government, was a member of that court?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; he resigned.
The Chairman. Did he resign during the reign of Liliuokalani?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; the last day of her reign, or the day of the revolution.
The Chairman. On the 14th or 16th of January?
Mr. Alexander. I think it was the morning of the 17th.
The Chairman. To whom did he address his resignation, to the Queen?
Mr. Alexander. To the cabinet.
The Chairman. Are you positive about that?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. It was to Liliuokalani or her cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. Undoubtedly.
The Chairman. He did not resign to the Dole Government?
Mr. Alexander. No.
The Chairman. You are sure of that?
Mr. Alexander. I think so; but that is rather an inference on my part. The fact can be accurately ascertained. The new Government had not been organized. I think there is reason for believing it was to the old government that he resigned.
The Chairman. Did Mr. Dole's resignation leave 3 judges on the bench?
Mr. Alexander. No ; it would leave 2.
The Chairman. You have just stated that the court consisted of three members, and you gave their names.
Mr. Alexander. The question, then, is when Frear came on to the supreme court bench.
The Chairman. Did Frear take Dole's place?
Mr. Alexander. I think he did; yes, sir.
The Chairman. Who appointed him?
Mr. Alexander. Frear had been appointed during the Queen's reign to the position of circuit judge when Jones and his colleague were ministers.
The Chairman. The Wilcox cabinet?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I think they appointed him circuit judge.
The Chairman. When did Frear become a supreme court judge?
Mr. Alexander. He was appointed to take Mr. Dole's place.
The Chairman. By the House?
Mr. Alexander. By the present government, I think.
The Chairman. I would like to have those facts accurately, if I can get them.
Mr. Alexander. I can verify it when I go home.
The Chairman. I wish you would; I would like to get those things down right. Have you any knowledge of a case where a clerk of the supreme court was removed because of disloyalty?
Mr. Alexander. I have heard of a case.
The Chairman. Who is the party?
Mr. Alexander. F. Wunderberg.
The Chairman. Is he a man who had been previously connected with some of these political affairs?
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Mr. Alexander. Yes; he took an active part in this last revolution.
The Chairman. On which side?
Mr. Alexander. On the side of the revolution. He was one of the committee of safety. He was employed to look up arms.
The Chairman. Is there any other person of his name who has been connected with these political affairs?
Mr. Alexander. No; he was tried before the court on this charge.
The Chairman. Before what court?
Mr. Alexander. The supreme court.
The Chairman. Was he the clerk of the supreme court?
Mr. Alexander. He was clerk of the supreme court.
Senator Gray. When was he tried?
Mr. Alexander. Well, it was recently.
The Chairman. Under the Dole government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Frye. It was treason under the Dole government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes. He had a hearing before the court, and I think he had an attorney. I think C. W. Ashford assisted him as attorney. The case was argued before the court.
Senator Gray. What was the result of the trial?
Mr. Alexander. I know the judges removed him.
The Chairman. For disloyalty to the Dole government?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Was some one appointed in his place?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; but I am not certain now who it was.
Senator Gray. What sort of trial was it? Do you mean it was an indictment for a criminal offense, treason, and regularly prosecuted?
Mr. Alexander. No; I think it was not a trial.
Senator Gray. It was an examination before the judges, who had the power of appointment to that position, for the purpose of determining whether they would remove Mr. Wunderberg—that sort of trial.
Mr. Alexander. Yes. Then he said he must have a public hearing, a chance to defend himself in open court. I think it was not a criminal trial.
Senator Gray. Do you know Mr. Wunderberg personally?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. How old a man is he?
Mr. Alexander. I should think he was 40.
Senator Gray. Is he the man whom the Provisional Government offered to make collector of customs?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. The information in that case was printed in the newspapers in Honolulu?
Mr. Alexander. I think so.
Senator Gray. Was Mr. Wunderberg a man of good character?
Mr. Alexander. He was a man who was honest in business matters— financial matters.
Senator Gray. Did he bear a good reputation for honesty in the community in which he lived?
Mr. Alexander. I think he had a fair reputation for honesty; he had been politically a singular man.
Senator Gray. I am not talking about that. I know you gentlemen have very intense feelings in politics. Separating that entirely, is his character for honesty and fair dealing between man and man good or bad?
Mr. Alexander. I think it was.
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Senator Gray. You think it was good? Am I to understand you as saying that?
Mr. Alexander. Yes; I think so. He had been on several different sides; he changed sides several times in politics.
The Chairman. Is there any method of contesting the election in Hawaii for members of the Parliament or Legislature; any way provided by law?
Mr. Alexander. For contesting elections?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. Those questions are decided by the House?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
The Chairman. By the house to which the man claims to be elected, or by both houses in conjunction?
Mr. Alexander. I do not quite understand you.
The Chairman. Is the vote as to the qualification of a member, his election to a seat, taken in the house of nobles, if he claim election as a noble, or the house of representatives, if he claim election as a representative?
Mr. Alexander. Both, I think; they act as one chamber.
The Chairman. Both houses vote in cases of contested elections?
Mr. Alexander. Yes.
Senator Gray. They vote separately?
Mr. Alexander. No, they sit together.
The Chairman. Is the vote called separately?
Mr. Alexander. Called separately for the nobles and representatives.
Senator Gray. But they do not count separately; it is hotch-potch.
Mr. Alexander. That was fixed in the constitution of 1864, and they allowed it to remain. I have verified the statement I made about the supreme court. Hon. Walter Frear was appointed judge of the first circuit of Oahu by the Wilcox-Jones ministry in December, 1892; Hon. S. B. Dole resigned his position on the bench of the supreme court on the morning of January 17, 1893, placing his resignation in the hands of Sam Parker, the then premier.
Adjourned to meet on Wednesday, the 17th instant, at 10 o'clock.
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WASHINGTON, D. C, Wednesday, January 17, 1894.
The subcommittee met pursuant to adjournment.
Present: The chairman (Senator Morgan) and Senators Gray, Sherman, and Frye.
Absent: Senator Butler.
SWORN STATEMENT OF LIEUT. COMMANDER W. T. SWINBURNE.
The Chairman. What is your age and rank in the Navy?
Mr. Swinburne. I am 46 years of age, and am lieutenant-commander in the U. S. Navy.
The Chairman. You were attached to the ship Boston at the time of her visit to Honolulu, in 1892?
Mr. Swinburne. I was; I was executive officer of the Boston up to the 29th of April, 1893.
The Chairman. When did the Boston arrive in the harbor?
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Mr. Swinburne. I am not precise as to that date; either the 23d or 24th of August, 1892.
The Chairman. You left her there when you were detached?
Mr. Swinburne. Yes.
The Chairman. Had you been in Hawaii before that?
Mr. Swinburne. Many years before. I stopped there in 1870, when returning from a cruise in the Pacific in the Kearsarge.
The Chairman. Did you spend much time in Hawaii?
Mr. Swinburne. Only a week.
The Chairman. Between your visits did you discover that there was much progress made in Hawaii?
Mr. Swinburne. Very great progress; the town had grown enormously; in every way a great change in the place.
The Chairman. When you got back to Honolulu in 1892 what, in your opinion, was the condition of the people there as to quietude and the peaceful conduct of their industries and enterprises and associations?
Mr. Swinburne. Everything seemed to be perfectly quiet. The Legislature was in session, and the principal topic of conversation among the people was the prospective lottery bill. Everybody seemed to be much exercised over the lottery bill, which was a bill about to be presented to the Legislature, granting a charter to certain men to establish a lottery, or, at least, these men had the right to control all lotteries in the islands, and for that right they were to pay, my recollection is, something like $500,000 a year, and lay a cable between the United States and Honolulu. The Legislature, as I say, was in session; the Queen at that time had a ministry in power who were assumed to be favorable to the lottery scheme and some other schemes which she favored, and the majority of the citizens—when I speak of citizens I mean the white citizens or the moneyed interests of the place—opposed. The principal topic of conversation on shore was the necessity of having a responsible ministry, so that foreign capital might be attracted there. Business was very dull.
I remember one interest in particular which people were hoping might be established there—the extension of the railroad around the island of Oahu. Gen. Willey, from San Francisco, during the time I was there and some time before January, visited the island in the interest of a British syndicate. He was favorably and hopefully impressed with the whole situation, but timid on the subject of the insecure— not exactly the insecure, but the want of responsibility in the ministry. The people talked of hard times, and seemed to feel that something was necessary to attract money, to make capital come there and help them. The Legislature dragged on; one ministry was deposed; that is, a vote of want of confidence was brought in against this ministry of the Queen; another was appointed, and a vote of want of confidence was brought against them. Finally, after quite a length of time a ministry in every way favorable to business interests and to all the commercial interests of the place, known as the Wilcox-Jones ministry, was appointed by the Queen. Everybody seemed to be satisfied with it, and everything looked hopeful. In fact, my own personal opinion is that if the Wilcox-Jones ministry had remained in the Queen would have been on the throne to-day. Everybody was satisfied with the Wilcox-Jones ministry. They were opposed to the lottery bill.
The Chairman. Were they voted out?
Mr. Swinburne. Yes. On the 1st of January Capt. Wiltse began to talk about his target practice; we had no target practice for nine
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