964-965
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mass meeting or combination of citizens to his longer remaining on the throne?
Mr. McCandless. There was a committee of thirteen appointed at the mass meeting to wait on the King and present the resolutions to him, and he was given 24 hours to accede to the demands or take the consequences.
Senator Frye. And you were a member of that committee?
Mr. McCandless. No; I was of the executive committee. This was a committee appointed for the purpose of carrying the resolutions to the King.
The Chairman. Did the King accede to the demands?
Mr. McCandless. He did.
Senator Gray. Did he grant a new constitution?
Mr. McCandless. Yes; he proclaimed the new constitution which we wrote out. I can tell the details of that.
Senator Frye. That was the constitution of 1887?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
Senator Gray. Did the King proclaim that by his own authority?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. Did his cabinet join him in signing it?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. Do you know whether the legislative assembly took any action in regard to that constitution?
Mr. McCandless. It was taken in this way—recognized as the law of the land, and that question was never raised.
The Chairman. The general grievances of which you have been speaking, I suppose, consisted of the King's connection with the opium bill?
Mr. McCandless. That was one.
The Chairman. What else?
Mr. McCandless. It got to that point that the Government did not exist for anything but to tax the people and give them no return for it. Money was squandered in different directions—it was squandered in an embassy to Russia to assist at the coronation of the Czar. Then there was a man-of-war bought by Kalakaua, in which there was a stealage of something like $10,000. This was common report in Honolulu.
The Chairman. That is the information upon which you were acting?
Mr. McCandless. Yes. Two of the ministers got $500 a month, but they actually only got $150 a month, and the remainder went to the King. The register of public documents, an office the same as our county recorders, whose office is carried on and supported by fees— in that office the King put a notorious man and entered into an agreement with him that he should have $150 a month and the balance of the fees to go to the King.
The Chairman. This is a general description of the nature of the abuses of which the people were complaining?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. How long was it after that reconciliation or restoration of confidence in Kalakaua that you remained in Honolula or in the islands?
Mr. McCandless. Of course, the revolution was the 30th day of June, 1887, and I remained there until the middle of July, 1888.
The Chairman. Where did you go then?
Mr. McCandless. I went over to the State of Washington and
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stayed there about a year. But my interests were the same in the islands.
The Chairman. And you returned to the islands?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. And remained there until when?
Mr. McCandless. The 1st day of June, last year.
The Chairman. Where was your place of residence on the islands?
Mr. McCandless. Honolulu.
The Chairman. Were you carrying on this business of sinking wells duning all this time?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. That was your vocation in this country?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. Did you have many men in your employ?
Mr. McCandless. The business varies there. At times I had 30 or 40 men.
The Chairman. Were these wells sunk on private account or Government account?
Mr. McCandless. Mostly on private account.
The Chairman. Did the Government have any interests in any of them?
Mr. McCandless. Yes; we have drilled wells for the Government.
The Chairman. Under contract?
Mr. McCandless. Under contract.
The Chairman. Between the period of the establishment of the constitution of 1887 and, I will say, within a year before this recent revolution, what was the state of the public mind, the public order, in Honolulu, I mean among the Hawaiian people?
Mr. McCandless. The state of the public mind from 1887 was that we had made a mistake, a serious one, that we had not carried out our intentions, because the King had no sooner proclaimed the new constitution than he began to reach out for his prerogatives, and it was a conflict from that day up to January, 1893, between the people and the sovereign.
The Chairman. During that period of time do you know of any movement to break down the constitution or of dethroning Liliuokalani or for the purpose of annexation to the United States?
Mr. McCandless. From that period up to the 14th of January of last year?
The Chairman. Yes.
Mr. McCandless. I do not; except the Ashford and Wilcox conspiracy.
The Chairman. If such an organization as that had existed in Hawaii would you necessarily have known it?
Mr. McCandless. I will state it this way: I was in the revolution of 1887, and was one of the executive committee. I was one of the committee of thirteen that made the constitution of 1887, and I was one of the committee of safety that was organized that afternoon from a large crowd, and I do not think anything of that kind could have been in existence in the Hawaiian Islands and I not know it.
The Chairman. So that your position was a prominent one in connection with this movement that you have been describing?
Mr. McCandless. Yes.
The Chairman. Now, at what time did you personally get the first information that Liliuokalani had discarded the constitution of 1887, or intended to do so?
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