Summary of McCandless' Testimony

Testimony was taken in two parts: following a short first session with McCandless the Committee turned attention to Mr. Stevens who was elderly, ill, and wanting to leave Washington to return home. The second session with McCandless was very lengthy.

John A. McCandless, age 40, was born in Pennsylvania of American parentage. He went to Hawaii in 1881 to run a business boring artesian wells for sugar plantations, almost entirely on Oahu. He has been active in politics, but only as a private individual. He joined the Honolulu Rifles in 1887 as merely a "private" but he was also one of its political committee of 13. That organization was so disgusted with the corrupt Kalakaua that they wrote a constitution so severely limiting his powers that they thought no self-respecting man would sign it and they would then create a Republic on the spot. A mass meeting of 1200 supporters was held. They gave Kalakaua an ultimatum to sign it within 24 hours. The King did sign it, and they decided to give him one last chance to reform his ways.

"Mr. McCandless. There is now invested in artesian wells in the Hawaiian Islands about a half million dollars. We have ourselves done $100,000 worth of the work, and it is quite an industry. ... On both sides of the island of Oahu. ... We find [water] in the lava formation of the islands.

"The Chairman. I will ask you now to state briefly what you found to be the condition of those people as to the comfort of living at their abodes. Mr. McCandless. They lived in the country there just about as the poor do in any country that I have ever been in, except, perhaps, they are more indolent than the poor of our country. The Chairman. Does nature furnish a larger supply of food to the natives of the Hawaiian Islands than it does to the natives of most countries, to relieve them of the necessity for labor? Mr. McCandless. Yes; it does in this way: The taro patch (that is the food there)—I judge an acre of taro land, perhaps a half acre— will keep a large family in food the year round. That is in addition to the fish they catch. The Chairman. Are fish abundant off the coast of those islands? Mr. McCandless. Yes; but fish commands a higher price in Honolulu than in any seaport town I have ever lived in. That is because the native will not go fishing unless the price of fish is high.

"The Chairman. They are expert fishermen? Mr. McCandless. Yes. The Chairman. And they have control of the fisheries? Mr. McCandless. No; the Chinese have most of the fishing rights. There is a peculiar condition of affairs there in regard to the fisheries. The water front of the islands is owned by the landlords—the people who own the land—and the privilege of fishing on this water front is leased out. ... By the owner of the soil. So that the Chinese have been rather encroaching on that privilege and getting most of the valuable fishing rights. ... The Chairman. In this way the Chinese and Hawaiians have what we term a practical monopoly of the fishing industry, and will not fish unless the market price justifies them in going out? Mr. McCandless. Yes; that is the case with the Hawaiians; but the Chinese do not stop at all, they fish right along. ... I was going to say in regard to the natives, to show their indolence in regard to their crop, I have found it the case that the natives have leased out their taro patch to a Chinaman, and the Chinaman has worked it and paid the Hawaiian in taro, and still made a living off it himself. I have seen it many times.

The Chairman. What connection had you with political movements in Hawaii, and when did you first become associated with any political movement in Hawaii?

"Mr. McCandless. My first connection was in 1887. During the winter of 1886 and 1887 there was organized, under the laws of the Kingdom, an organization called the Honolulu Rifles, and it suddenly became very popular with all the foreigners and whites of the islands. I joined that military organization, and continued to be a member of it until 1888, when I made a visit to the States. ... I was nothing but a private. I was one of a committee of thirteen of the political organization. ... That was an organization to compel the King to grant a new constitution, or it was organized with the intention of forming a republic, making a republic—that is, deposing the King, making a republic with a view of annexing the islands to the United States.

"The Chairman. Then why was not that purpose persisted in, or was it abandoned? Mr. McCandless. It was persisted in that a great many people thought we should give the King one last show to redress the wrongs that he had committed, and take a great many of the prerogatives away from him, and perhaps he would do better. That spirit prevailed to such an extent that a mass meeting was called and strong resolutions were drawn up. They were made so strong that they did not think that any man of self-respect could accede to the demands of the resolutions, and so soon as he should refuse they would start the revolution. ... a mass meeting of 1,200 people. ... 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. ... he proclaimed the new constitution which we wrote out. 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. ... 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. ... 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. ...

"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. Now, at what time did you personally get the first information that Liliuokalani had discarded the constitution of 1887, or intended to do so? Mr. McCandless. So soon as she came on the throne, or so soon as the remains of Kalakua came back (of course that was the first information that we had of his death), rumors were circulated that she did not intend to, or would not, take the oath under the constitution of 1887. We had information that she hesitated, and that the chief justice urged her, and the friends urged her, to sign the constitution, and she did so with hesitancy. Then, probably in the fall of 1892, my brother came to me with the information that the Queen had a programme. This information came to him, I think, from Mr. Peterson, but I am not sure on that point—that is, her late attorney-general—that the programme was to give the opium to the Chinese, which would win the Chinese; to give the lottery to the gamblers, which would win the gamblers, and to grant a new constitution to the Hawaiians. All that was then left were the missionaries, who could go to Hades. That was the programme that was given to me in the fall of 1892. But we did not believe it. There were rumors of that kind constantly through the Legislature during the term of the Legislature of 1892. But anything aside from that—it came to me about half past 1 on Saturday afternoon, the 14th of January. ...

[Details of the political and military events of January 14-17, 1883.]

"The Chairman. What did you say was the nature of the message which had been sent? Mr. McCandless. To know what support the ministers could get from the white people as against the Queen. They went into the office----... of W. O. Smith. Someone took a piece of office paper, brown paper such as lawyers use, the size of a sheet of legal cap, and then wrote a heading in lead pencil stating that, "We hereby agree to stand by the ministers against the encroachments of the Queen"—something to that effect. It was only a line or two, and the people as they came in signed that. ...There may not have been more than a hundred. That included most of the lawyers there. Paul Neumann---- and Mr. Cecil Brown, an Englishman, who was very much wrought up over the matter. There was scarcely anyone who entered the office, and whom I knew, but signed the paper. ... About 2 o'clock in the afternoon two of the ministers came down. ... Saturday. ... Colburn and Peterson. ... Came down to Smith's office. By this time there were probably 700 or 800 people around there. Of course, there is a very complete system of telephone, and the news was telephoned all over the city. Mr. Colburn came in and someone said, "Make us a speech," and he said, "Do you want a speech?" and they said, "Yes; tell us the story." Mr. Colburn ... Minister of the interior. ... said he had information that morning that the Queen intended to promulgate the new constitution. He said that he immediately carried the news to Judge Hartwell and Mr. Thurston. They had been political enemies, of course, and they had advised the ministers to resist—that is, to refuse to countersign the new constitution, and to do all they could with her to keep her from signing the new constitution. After the Legislature had been prorogued they proceeded to the palace, right across the street, and there she made the speech (which of course is a matter of history) to the effect that she proposed to give the people a new constitution. She asked the ministers to countersign it, and they refused to do so. Mr. Colburn told the story of her becoming very angry, and Mr. Peterson made the remark that the constitution was faulty in some respects, whereupon she replied: "You have had it in your posession for a month and you returned it without any comment, and I took it that it was all right." ...Mr. Colburn ... stated that they had escaped from there and thought that their lives were in danger; that she had sent for them again, and that at this time she had concluded not to promulgate the new constitution.

"Mr. McCandless. In regard to Mr. Colburn. "Now," said he, "gentlemen, we want to know what support we can get as against the Queen, because she is apt to do this at any time." ... He said that the only reason she had desisted was that she was unable to get them to sign the constitution. She got it into her head that it would not be legal unless countersigned by the cabinet, and if she could get the cabinet to sign she felt that she had a legal constitution. ...

"Mr. McCandless. The hardware stores closed at 1 o'clock; but about half past 2 o'clock they all opened again to deal out ammunition and guns to the people, to those who wanted to buy them. Cecil Brown, who had been in the Wilcox cabinet, come to me and said: "You can get all the ammunition you need, if you have not enough." He said: "I have just got my arms." We began to gather up arms and ammunition. I sent my brother to the country to catch a late afternoon train and bring up his arms and ammunition. He had a cattle ranch about 7 miles from town. He went down and returned to town about 7 o'clock with his gun and ammunition. So we began as early as that to prepare to resist; the conclusion was arrived at—of course, it did not come off immediately— at that meeting. It was half past 4 or 5 o'clock when the committee of safety was appointed, and we appointed a committee to see what arms we could get. We discussed the situation and decided that we would go right on now, if we had the entire support of the white population— that we would go ahead and proceed to organize a provisional government. ... Sunday morning ... At W. R. Castle's. ... We held the meeting, and one of the first things we decided was to hold a mass meeting and ascertain whether the public of Honolulu was in accord with that sentiment. If it was, we would go ahead and perfect the organization in the meantime as much as possible, and if, at the mass meeting, the whites showed they were anything like they were in 1887, we would proceed with the revolution. The first thing we did at the mass meeting was to send one of the members to a printing office for the purpose of putting out posters immediately. ...

On Saturday afternoon the old officers of the Honolulu Rifles were there among the first men, and they hunted up the rosters of 1887 and hunted up every man they could find, to see how he was fixed for arms and ammunition. ... It was dissolved in 1890. It consisted of four companies— a battallion. The old officers began to get the men together and hunt up the arms and ammunition. ... We were satisfied of that on Monday morning from the reports of the officers of the different companies, and we were satisfied in this way; almost every man we went to said, "What is this for; annexation, or is this a repetition of 1887?" That would be the first question asked us, or asked anyone who was recruiting or talking on the subject. We said, "Of course, there is but one answer to it— provisional government, annexation, and wipe the monarchy out;" and they said they would be with us. Many of us were there in 1887 and took the same stand. ...

There was not a business house in Honolulu that was not closed. All the business houses closed up and the heads of the firms came to the meeting; all factories stopped, all machine shops, all business stopped just as in 1887. There were some events that transpired on Monday morning, the 10th, before the mass meeting. ... the committee of safety met in Mr. Thurston's office. Just as I was going in Marshal Wilson came out of the room with Mr. Thurston. He took him into his private office, and they stayed there some minutes, and Mr. Thurston came back and reported what the conversation was between them. The report in regard to that was that Marshal Wilson said to Mr. Thurston, "Can't this thing be stopped?" ... Thurston said, "I do not think it can." Marshal Wilson said, "Well, I will guarantee that she won't do that any more; if she attempts it I will lock her up before she can attempt anything again." Mr. Thurston said, "We can't stop on any such guarantee as that; it has gone too far now; we can't stop it." ...

Senator Gray. Two members of the cabinet had been before the committee, and said they did not agree with the new constitution, and were at outs with the Queen. That is so? Mr. McCandless. That is so—down at the public meeting. But there was at that time, as we afterward ascertained—did not know it then—a proclamation drawn up by the ministers, and it was even signed—I think drawn up and in their possession ready to be proclaimed at any time—declaring the Queen deposed and reorganizing the Government. This letter from the cabinet to Thurston, asking for the conference, was in regard to the ministers taking charge of the Government and deposing the Queen entirely, and their entering into the movement with us, we supporting them. ...

That was the proclamation drawn up on Saturday afternoon. ... by Judge Hartwell and Thurston, and probably W. O. Smith and the cabinet. ... Peterson, Colburn, Parker, and Cornwall. ... declaring that the Queen had violated the constitution, and declaring the throne vacant. ...I understand it was signed by the ministers and ready to be proclaimed if the Queen resisted any further. ... Deposing—declaring the throne vacant. I think that it is rather a mistake; it would be deposing her and wiping the government out of existence as a monarchy. It was together with a movement for annexation. ... The ministers on Sunday night had a meeting and came to the understanding that, as the Queen had receded from the position she had taken, their best plan was to try to stop this revolution if they could, at least throw cold water on it, and they still continue as ministers of the Queen. ...

"The Chairman. We are trying to find out why that proclamation, which you say was drawn, and which you say was signed by the ministers, was not issued. Mr. McCandless. Simply because this element that had backed the Queen, had been her supporters from the time she had been on the throne, was against the white element of Honolulu. They had not been political friends, and if there was any way in which they could get out of it they would do it. ... Macfarlane, Joe Carter, and Paul Neumann were present, they decided that their safest place was to go back on the side of the monarchy. ... their personal interests lay in the direction of maintaining this Queen on the throne, and that they were attempting to get and did get from her a declaration that she would carry out the constitution of '87 ... and would not attempt to promulgate the new constitution again. ...

All the business houses were shut up, and the whole white population of Honolulu came to the mass meeting. ... The male population; the women did not go, because they were in a terrible state at home. ... State of apprehension; because before this we had rumors that the half whites proposed to burn the town. ... I should judge from 1,000 to 1,200. ... I have a complete account here: "Two weeks of Hawaiian history, from January 14 to the 28th." One of the printing houses printed that. I have read it, and it is a very correct statement. The Chairman. Are you willing to submit this as your statement of the facts that occurred during that time? Mr. McCandless. I should not like do that now, without reading it over very carefully.

"The Chairman. Were any resolutions adopted at that meeting? Mr. McCandless. Yes. The Chairman. What were they? Mr. McCandless. The resolutions are as follows:

"1. Whereas Her Majesty, Liliuokalani, acting in conjunction with certain other persons, has illegally and unconstitutionally, and against the advice and consent of the lawful executive officers of the Government, attempted to abrogate the existing constitution and proclaim a new one in subversion of the rights of the people;

"2. And whereas such attempt has been accompanied by threats of violence and bloodshed and a display of armed force; and such attempt and acts and threats are revolutionary and treasonable in character;

"3. And whereas Her Majesty's cabinet have informed her that such contemplated action was unlawful, and would lead to bloodshed and riot, and have implored and demanded of her to desist from and renounce such proposed action;

"4. And whereas such advice has been in vain, and Her Majesty has in a public speech announced that she was desirous and ready to promulgate such constitution, the same being now ready for such purpose, and that the only reason why it was not now promulgated was because she had met with unexpected obstacles, and that a fitting opportunity in the future must be awaited for the consummation of such object, which would be within a few days;

"5. And whereas at a public meeting of citizens, held in Honolulu on the 14th day of January, instant, a committee of thirteen, to be known as the 'committee of public safety,' was appointed to consider the situation, and to devise ways and means for the maintenance of the public peace and safety, and the preservation of life and property;

"6. And whereas such committee has recommended the calling of this, mass meeting of citizens to protest against and condemn such action, and has this day presented a report to such meeting, denouncing the action of the Queen and her supporters as being unlawful, unwarranted, in derogation of the rights of the people, endangering the peace of the community, and tending to excite riot, and cause the loss of life and destruction of property:

"Now, therefore, we, the citizens of Honolulu, of all nationalities, and regardless of political party affiliations, do hereby condemn and denounce the action of the Queen and her supporters;

"And we do hereby ratify the appointment and indorse the action taken and report made by the said committee of safety; and we do hereby further empower such committee to further consider the situation and further devise such ways and means as may be necessary to secure the permanent maintenance of law and order, and the protection of life, liberty, and property in Hawaii."

"The Chairman. Was that resolution adopted by the meeting? Mr. McCandless. It was, unanimously. ... We knew we had the support of the whole white population in the movement on foot. In the morning, at the morning meeting, before this mass meeting, we had drawn up a paper and asked the American minister to land troops to protect life and property. ... Those who were thinking of their property and their families, and the families of the whole white community, were anxious that the troops should land on account of a fear that the city might be burned and looted, and knowing that the troops were ashore nothing of that kind would take place. On the other hand, there were other members of the committee who felt that if the troops came ashore it would make a changed condition, and we did not know just what the result would be. The Chairman. Were they apprehensive that if the troops came ashore they would support the Queen, or what were they apprehensive about? Mr. McCandless. We were absolutely ignorant on that point. ... The Chairman. By precipitating a crisis did you think the troops would attack you? Senator Frye. The Queen's troops, encouraged by the United States troops? Mr. McCandless. Yes. We did not know anything about that.

"Senator Frye. A committee was sent to Minister Stevens to request him not to land the troops then? Mr. McCandless. Yes; we did not feel certain that night, and thought we would get our strength better in a day or two. ... Mr. Thurston and W. O. Smith. ... The report was that Mr. Stevens said, owing to the unsettled state of affairs he was going to land troops.

"The Chairman. What took place at the meeting at Mr. Waterhouse's house? Mr. McCandless. At that meeting when we proceeded to appoint the members of the advisory council and the members of the executive council, we sent a committee of one, Mr. Bolte, to Judge Dole asking him if he would take the position of president of the Provisional Government. Mr. Dole, at that time Judge Dole, knew no more of the workings of the committee of safety than any other outsider, and Judge Dole gave Mr. Bolte no encouragement at all. But finally, after entreaties on the part of Mr. Bolte, he came and said he did not care about that at first; finally he said he would come to the meeting. Judge Dole came to the meeting, and of course we stated to him at the meeting that we desired him to become president of the Provisional Government which we were about to inaugurate. At first he declined entirely; that is, at first, he could not see his way clear. He finally made the statement, after talking quite a while, that he had not arrived at the conclusion yet that that was the only solution of the matter— that is, a provisional government looking to annexation. Then he was asked what his opinion was. He said, my opinion is—of course Llliuokalani is out of the question; she has started this revolution, and can not be trusted any longer—my opinion is that Kaiulani would be best for us; to have Kaiulani on the throne with a regency until she is of age. That was Judge Dole's statement to the meeting on Monday evening at 8 o'clock. That was argued with him, and finally before he left he agreed to take it under advisement and consult with his friends and let the committee know the next day.

"Mr. McCandless. Tuesday morning... we had before us the programme for the Provisional Government, and Mr. Damon had been selected as one of the members of the advisory council. That morning he was at our meeting for the first time, and he made a statement to the committee that he had just come from the palace. He stated his interview with the Queen, and he stated that he said to Her Majesty, "On former occasions you have called on me for advice, and I now come unasked to give you some advice; you can take it or reject it just as you choose." He said, "Heretofore I have defended the monarchy, and thought it was possible to get along with it; but it has got to that point now, after your actions on Saturday, that I have to change my standard, and I have joined the forces who propose to annex these islands to the United States of America;" and he said, "It would be useless for you to resist; if you do there will be bloodshed and a great many killed; you will probably be killed, and we will win in the end, because we are determined to carry this through." She assured him that she would give up.

Mr. McCandless. ... At half past 1 we had finished everything; the proclamation was signed, and all the papers in relation to the Government were signed and delivered. There was nothing to do then but to get to the Government building and take it, and launch the new Government. About that time Judge Dole came to me and said, "McCandless, will you go and get the troops ready; we are ready;" and of course I said, "yes." So I started out. If I had a map I could show just exactly the course I took in getting to the Government building. I started from W. O. Smith's office, at the corner of Fort and Merchant streets. Just as I came out of the door a car was passing that went right past the armory on the corner of Beretania and Punchbowl streets, and of course that was our headquarters. That was where we had agreed upon to rally the troops before starting for the Government building. When I got to the corner of King and Fort streets the car was passing. The streets are very narrow at that point; there is only room for a carriage to pass. I heard a policeman's whistle. I ran to the rear end of the car, and found that John Goode had come out of E. O. Hall's with guns aud ammunition, and a policeman was trying to stop him. There was a dray that blocked the way, and the policeman was trying to get on the wagon. There is where I cried out to Goode to shoot, and he did. And I hollered for them to shut up their shops and get their guns, and they came right out lively. When I got to Beretania street I saw this first company making for the armory. They had been in the building from 6 o'clock in the morning. It was Ziegler's company, A. They started for the armory all together, with Winchesters and everything. When I got there I jumped off the car, and told them of the shooting of the policeman. They double-quicked to the armory, and Goode with his load of ammunition had gone up that street there, and along there down to the armory. [Indicating on diagram.] By this time our friends were arriving in all directions, coming in there single and double, with arms. ... Just as soon as there were enough arrived to take care of what we had collected, the wagonload, the first company was sent to the Government building with Capt. Zeigler. They marched down to this corner into the Government building yard. I stayed there [indicating on the diagram].

Senator Gray. Which front of the Government building was the proclamation read from? Mr. McCandless. On the front steps of the Government building, facing the palace. I stayed there until the third company marched down. I came down with the third company. There were four companies and all the men conveyed the arms to the Government building. When I arrived there they had finished reading the proclamation. This is police headquarters, just a block from where we were, and all through these streets here were full of people—2,000 or 3,000 people in the streets. When that shot was fired the people left and came down town...

"Mr. McCandless. I was sent off on other business. That is a statement up to the proclamation. When I got up to the Government building, just as fast as the men came in and the guns came in they were given to the men, and they organized the Provisional Government. They immediately wrote letters to all the foreign ministers there, stating that they had organized a government, and had charge of the public buildings and archives. ... I know the first gentleman who called there was Maj. Wodehouse, the English minister. When he came in President Dole was sitting at a table about the size of this, at one end of it, and the members of the council around through the room. Mr. Wodehouse came in on that side and came around to President Dole and shook hands. I did not hear what was said; but the statement of President Dole afterwards was that the minister hoped the Government would protect Englishmen— see that the English subject's property was not jeopardized. And the Japanese minister was right behind him. He came in and spoke to President Dole, and did not speak afterwards.

"Senator Frye. When did you send a communication to Mr. Stevens that you had proclaimed your government? Mr. McCandless. They were all sent together. Senator Frye. When you sent the messages to the other ministers? Mr. McCandless. Yes. That was between 2 and 3 o'clock. Senator Frye. When did you get your answer from minister Stevens? Mr. McCandless. I think it came from him about half-past 4. Senator Frye. After the English minister and the Japanese minister had called? Mr. McCandless. Yes. ... Mr. Canavara came later. ... The Portuguese minister.

"Senator Gray. Did you have any communication, or any of the officers, with the commander of the U. S. troops? Mr. McCandless. No; I do not think there was any one who had communication with the officers of the U. S. troops. ...

"Mr. McCandless. In a short time all the Queen's ministers came to the Government building, and on behalf of President Dole a demand was made on them for the surrender of the barracks and the surrender of the police station. They said they would go over and see Her Majesty, and that some one should accompany them. Mr. Damon accompanied them. The ministers went over to the palace and stayed there an hour—between an hour and an hour and a half. In the meantime we moved from the interior office and went to the finance office so that this front office might be turned over to the military; that is, the council did. Then Mr. Damon came back with some one representing the Queen. I think it was Parker. This protest was written out, and it was presented to Judge Dole, and he was asked to acknowledge the receipt of it. He acknowledged the receipt of the paper just as any officer or anyone would acknowledge the receipt of a paper. ... The paper was handed to President Dole. He made a statement; said, "Here is a protest they want to file, and I do not see any objection to acknowledging the receipt of it."...and the paper was indorsed and handed back to Parker. He took it off. He wrote the words there, I do not remember what they were, just acknowledging service. Then it got to be pretty nearly 7 o'clock, dark, and they said that the police station was surrendered, and everything was surrendered, and they deputized Soper, who had been appointed commander-in chief, to go down and demand the surrender of the police station, and take it, and there were 20 men deputized under Capt. Ziegler to accompany us. We marched down Merchant street. ... and halted the troops in front of the post-office, in the line of Bethel street, probably within 75 feet of it. We, Col. Soper and I, had to force our way, the streets were jammed, and the troops were halted there. We marched forward into the station house and the marshal's office, and demanded the surrender. They had their Gatling gun and had commenced to take it apart to get it away. The doors were so narrow tbey could not get it from one part of the building to the other without taking it apart.

"Senator Gray. Who was there? Mr. McCandless. Mr. Wilson. Senator Gray. Was there any order from the Queen? Mr. McCandless. I do not know that there was. Senator Gray. Do you know of any order from the Queen? Mr. McCandless. No. Senator Gray. Do you not know that Marshal Wilson received an order from the Queen? Mr. McCandless. I do not; I never heard of it. He then invited us into the deputy marshal's office, and we talked over the details of the government, and he ordered the men to assemble below. It was just as strong there of liquor as any place I was ever in—to get up Dutch courage. They had a barrel down there. Senator Gray. What sort of liquor did you drink? Mr. McCandless. The natives prefer gin. We went down below in the back yard, and Marshal Wilson made a speech to the men and Col. Soper made one to them, and that ended the formal turning over of the station house to the Provisional Government. I then went out into the street and told Capt. Ziegler to march his men in. We marched them into one of the rooms, took charge of it, and went back. Senator Gray. How many Gatling guns were there? Mr. McCandless. One. Senator Gray. How many cannon? Mr. McCandless. The cannon were at the barracks.

"The Chairman. Did the affairs move along as smoothly under the Provisional Government as they had before? I mean the ordinary routine of the Government? Mr. McCandless. Yes; we had taken the precaution to put men over the fire department. The Chairman. I am not speaking about mob violence, but the civil government. Did it go on before? Mr. McCandless. Yes, one of the first things was to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and declare martial law. That was Tuesday evening. The Chairman. Who did that? Mr. McCandless. The Provisional Government. The Chairman. By proclamation? Mr. McCandless. Yes; by proclamation.

"The Chairman. From that time and as long as you remained in Honolulu, was there any outbreak or any mob violence, or any assemblage of citizens that appeared to be riotous? Mr. McCandless. No, with the exception of one night. One night, probably I can not give that night, it was after the Garnet, an English war ship, came in. The United States men had liberty and the Englishmen had liberty, and very late at night, 9 or 10 o'clock at night, the streets on which most of the saloons are, a great many half whites got around there and got to talking with these English sailors; got to patting them on the back and telling them to go for the Yankee sailors, and so the Englishmen attacked some of the Americans. The Chairman. A sort of sailors' fight? Mr. McCandless. I think there were some natives. The Chairman. Was any force used to put down that fight? Mr. McCandless. No; the native people are not a hard people to handle at all, and if the marshal had done his duty there would not have been much of that. Senator Gray. When was that? Mr. McCandless. That was probably the middle of February. I can not say the date. ...

"Mr. McCandless. We sent the commissioners to San Francisco. When we found that annexation had not taken place under Mr. Harrison's administration we felt that our interests were in just as good hands under President Cleveland. We did not see how the dial could be turned backward.

"The Chairman. Do you know whether the Kanaka population, the native population, sympathize in that sentiment? Mr. McCandless. In '87 they did. Nearly the whole native population was on our side—sympathized with the movement. Of course there were none of them taken into the organization. The Chairman. Was that distinctively an annexation movement in'87? Mr. McCandless. Oh, yes. The Chairman. What change, if any, has occurred since that time? Mr. McCandless. The natives were completely captured with the idea of the lottery being there, and that there would be no further trouble about having all the money they needed if they could get the lottery. They were carried away with that idea. The native is like an Indian; he will spend all the money he can get to gamble.... They do not care for cards. They have a Chinese game there called "Paka Pia" and che-fah. There were as high as fifteen to twenty games running in the city at a time. That consisted of going in and buying the tickets, guessing a number or a word. It was a Chinese game, and they were very fond of it. It was a very common report that the marshal's office was receiving $500 a week to allow that game to continue—receiving the money from these different banks. The Chinese cook that I had at my place told me of it. The Chinese do not think anything of bribing, and the games are controlled by the Chinese. He said that the marshal got $500 a week and the deputy marshal so much, and the others still less, making about a thousand dollars a week that was paid.

"Senator Gray. Where is your family? Mr. McCandless. I have two homes—one in Honolulu and the other in the State of Washington. I brought my family with me. The Chairman. Your citizenship is in the United States? Mr. McCandless. Yes; a citizen of both countries. The Chairman. You are a citizen of the United States and vote under the Hawaiian constitution? Mr. McCandless. Yes. The Chairman. But your visit to the United States had no connection with the maintenance of the Provisional Government. Mr. McCandless. No. The Chairman. You had no political mission over here? Mr. McCandless. No; just on my private affairs.

"Senator Frye. As a member of the committee of safety did you expect at any time, from the commencement of the revolution down to its close, to receive any support whatever from the American minister or the troops of the Navy? Mr. McCandless. No. Senator Frye. If the troops of the Navy had remained on board their ship, in your judgment, would it have made any difference in the result? Mr. McCandless. None whatever; I do not think.

"Senator Frye. Did Minister Stevens, or anybody else connected with the American Government, any officer on board the ship, or anybody in authority, convey to your committee of safety any assurances or intimations that the marines would aid the revolutionary movement? Mr. McCandless. Not that I am aware of. ... I do not know of an American who was not proud of him as a citizen and as the American representative. I happened to have a conversation with him just the day before the flag was taken down; had business with him. I went up to call upon him to talk about some matters. That was the 31st day of March, 1 think. It was either that or the 30th. At all events it was the day before the flag was taken down. We talked of the situation some, and he stated that he was very well satisfied with everything as it was; and the flag was mentioned, I am quite sure it was, among other things, and he said the flag would never come down, and that afternoon or that day, at 11 o'clock, Mr. Blount called on President Dole and said he was going to take the flag down at 4 o'clock that afternoon. Of course, it was very much of a surprise; and it was agreed that the flag should come down the next day.

"Senator Frye. In your judgment is there any danger that the royal party may recover the possession which it had and restore the Queen? Mr. McCandless. I do not think there is any danger. There is only one element that is irreconcilable in the Hawaiian Islands, and that is the anti-American and the half whites.

"Senator Frye. What is the trouble with the half whites? Mr. McCandless. They, of course, believe themselves a good deal better than the natives, and they have been given a great many positions under the Government that it will be impossible for them to have with the white people controlling it. The part the full natives take in the Government, the positions they have they will continue to have— the Provisional Government have no quarrel with the Hawaiian people. ...

"Senator Frye. When the Provisional Government took possession of the Government building, were there any American soldiers drawn up in sight of the Government building, in martial array? Mr. McCandless. Not that I know of. Senator Frye. When you went there was there any in sight? Mr. McCandless. No. ...

"Senator Frye. You were there while Mr. Blount was there? Mr. McCandless. Yes; for some time after he arrived. Senator Frye. Did the various members of the committee of safety call on Mr. Blount with any communication? Mr. McCandless. The committee of safety called on him—not the advisory council—called on him in a body to pay our respects to him, and he was informed there that any members of the committee of safety or advisory council were ready at any time to come before him. Senator Frye. Were they invited? Mr. McCandless. Not that I am aware of. Senator Frye. You were not invited? Mr. McCandless. I was not invited. The only one that I know of being invited before I left the islands was Mr. Bolte. ... He was a member of the committee of safety and member of the advisory council, and still of the advisory council. ... He is a German. He is at the head of the American house of Gimbaum & Co., of San Francisco.