Template:534-535
|
Mr. Emerson. Yes; I was ordained in 1871. I was settled in the ministry first here, and was called in January, 1889, to take this position.
The Chairman. Do you speak the Hawaiian tongue?
Mr. Emerson. I do. I preach in it and think in it as well as in English, so far as the limitations of the language are not concerned.
The Chairman. Is your father living?
Mr. Emerson. NO; he died in 1867.
The Chairman. Have you relatives living in Hawaii?
Mr. Emerson. I have three brothers living in the city of Honolulu.
The Chairman. Was your father ever connected with the Government of Hawaii?
Mr. Emerson. No. He was for a while road supervisor of the district, because there was no one else to take the position, and also acted as surveyor of the district, which he surveyed, plotted, and divided to give the natives land to plant. He was several years doing that.
The Chairman. Have you ever had any connection with the Hawaiian Government?
Mr. Emerson. I have not.
The Chairman. Has either of your brothers been connected with the Hawaiian Government?
Mr. Emerson. My brother, Dr. Emerson, was connected with the board of health; Joseph Emerson with the survey. He was a civil engineer. My brother, Samuel Emerson, was one of the postmasters of the district where his home was.
The Chairman. You have spoken of having been in the missionary school. Where did you complete your education?
Mr. Emerson. I entered the sophomore class of Williams College, and took my three years' course in the theological seminary of Andover.
The Chairman. Were your brothers educated in Hawaii?
Mr. Emerson. We were educated in the preliminary Oahu College, at Punahou, and then my brothers came on to this country to be educated.
The Chairman. Were you in Hawaii during the month of January, 1893?
Mr. Emerson. Yes; I was in Honolulu.
The Chairman. Were you residing in Honolulu at that time?
Mr. Emerson. Yes, my home was in the city.
The Chairman. How long had you resided there?
Mr. Emerson. Since January 23, 1889—since my connection with the secretaryship of the Hawaiian Board of Missions.
The Chairman. When did you first become aware of the existence of revolutionary purposes amongst the people of any of the cities of Hawaii or of Honolulu? By Hawaii I mean the entire group of islands, the whole country.
Mr. Emerson. I think the whole thing culminated the last week of the Legislature. The first significant utterance I know of was a remark made by a gentleman after the passage of the lottery bill. He said: "Rather than have that lottery bill pass and become a law of the land I would be willing to take up my musket and fight."
The Chairman. That was the last week of what?
Mr. Emerson. That was the last week of the Hawaiian Legislature.
The Chairman. When was that?
Mr. Emerson. Saturday, the 11th of January, was the last day of the session.
The Chairman. Was the Legislature prorogued?
|
Mr. Emerson. It was prorogued at noon.
The Chairman. That was the first intimation you had that there was a revolutionary intent existing in the minds of any persons there?
Mr. Emerson. I should say that was the first clear intimation; but there was a constant feeling in the air—talk during those days when the Queen and Legislature were coming out more and more in support of the opium, the distillery and the lottery bills.
The Chairman. How many days was this before the 14th of January that you heard this remark made?
Mr. Emerson. I think it was two or three days. I can not recall exactly; but it was during that week. It was while the lottery bill was being considered—I think it was either Thursday or Friday that that bill was signed by the Queen.
The Chairman. Did you hear any other persons make use of expressions of a similar character before the time that the outbreak occurred?
Mr. Emerson. A great many times I talked the matter over with my brother, the surveyor. I heard him speak with a good deal of vehemence against the Queen, feeling that the time might come, before long, when there ought to be a change. And in fact this talk had been the talk since 1887—not a very common talk.
Senator Gray. Not a very common talk?
Mr. Emerson. Not a very common talk, although among some perhaps it was more common than among others. I had not made up my mind that there should be a change, so long as the Queen lived, until Saturday.
Senator Frye. The 14th of January?
Mr. Emerson. The 14th of January.
The Chairman. Did you contemplate, and did you know that others contemplated, that at the death of the Queen there would be an effort made to establish a new form of government in Hawaii?
Mr. Emerson. Nothing that had crystallized into shape, nothing that I knew of that had crystallized into a plan.
Senator Frye. I would like to know, if the committee have no objection, what determined Mr. Emerson to change his mind and conclude that the Queen ought to be deposed, he having been a royalist up to the 14th of January.
The Chairman. Let me ask first whether Mr. Emerson was in sentiment a royalist up to the 14th of January.
Mr. Emerson. I will say that, from the beginning of the reign of the Queen until the very last—I would not say the last week, but toward those last days—until the Queen's Legislature and the powers of the court seemed to go the wrong way, I was a supporter of the Queen, honestly so, and spoke in favor of her, not believing that she was a moral woman, but, perhaps, as a ruler not so bad as some might think. But during those last days I saw more and more clearly, until Saturday, when it was plain to me that the change must come.
The Chairman. During that period of which you speak, were you in favor of a monarchy in Hawaii, or were you desirous of having a republic established?
Mr. Emerson. I think I felt a good deal as Judge Judd said, so long as our Hawaiian chiefs lived, that is, those who were really of the line, and they continued to reign—so long as they behaved themselves, I felt that I was a royalist, a loyal man to the Government; yes, sir.
Senator Gray. Because you thought it best for all interests?
Mr. Emerson. We did not see how we could----