Difference between revisions of "Template:1008-1009"

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Mr. STALKER. No; just the reverse of that condition I should say was true of them.  
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Mr. STALKER. Yes.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. Do they seem to be a happy people at home?  
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The CHAIRMAN. What was the first intimation you had, or first idea grasped by you, that that might result in a complete revolution of the Government?  
  
Mr. STALKER. Quite so, I think.
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Mr. STALKER. I think it was other than this. I had formed a conjecture of that kind a day or two earlier from some little matters that I had observed that I could not interpret the meaning of any other way. I refer now to the fact of being in one or two hardware stores in town and seeing ------
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The CHAIRMAN. Did you ascertain from your observations whether they were living in a comparative degree of comfort, as other persons in a similar situation in life in other countries?  
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Senator GRAY. Was that on Monday?  
  
Mr. STALKER. I think they are. It requires comparatively little in that country to make one reasonably comfortable.  
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Mr. STALKER. This was Monday, and possibly as early as Saturday observing some citizens getting fixed ammunition, cartridges—saw a number of citizens come in and rather quietly procure ammunition and go out with it.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. Did they impress you as a misgoverned, depressed, and downcast people?
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The CHAIRMAN. Then you began to think that they would have use for that ammunition in some emeute or disturbance that was to take place?
 
Mr. STALKER. No; I would not say that.
 
  
The CHAIRMAN. I suppose their holdings of land are quite limited, small?
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Mr. STALKER. I began to regard that as a possibility. I knew nothing but what I saw, and began to wonder why there were so many citizens wanting fixed ammunition.
  
Mr. STALKER. That is the result of my observation, that the holdings of a great majority of natives are comparatively small, although I think the aggregate number of holdings is a good deal larger than that of any other nationality.
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The CHAIRMAN. And it was not until Monday, if I gather your recollection about it, that you discovered there was an actual and combined movement in that direction?
  
The CHAIRMAN. Did those small holdings seem to be sufficient for the maintenance of the families who were residing upon them?
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Mr. STALKER. Yes.  
  
Mr. STALKER. They seemed to be.  
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The CHAIRMAN. About how many persons do you think were at the meeting which you mentioned as having taken place in Honolulu on Monday?
  
The CHAIRMAN. To what do you attribute that they can live on so small an area of land?  
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Mr. STALKER. Twelve hundred or 1,400.
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The CHAIRMAN. Did it seem to be an intense meeting in its exhibition of feeling?  
  
Mr. STALKER. In the first place, as I have already stated, one can live in that country better than in an inclement country, such as ours, in clothing and houses, and, to some extent, food. The country is wonderfully productive in some of its vegetable growths. They have access to the sea, which is literally swarming with fish in addition to a small plat of ground to be cultivated in taro. It is possible to support a family in reasonably good condition off what would seem to be exceedingly slender opportunities in this country.  
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Mr. STALKER. A good deal.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. As a class, would you say the people are expert fishermen?  
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Senator GRAY. You, yourself, were at the meeting?  
  
Mr. STALKER. I doubt whether my observation on that subject would make me a very good witness. I should say hardly, in a large sense, as their fishing is carried on for private purposes.  
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Mr. STALKER Yes.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. The native Kanaka depends upon his skill as a fisherman, rather than endeavoring to carry on any large enterprise?  
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Senator GRAY. There were other tourists, like yourself, who helped to make up that number?  
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes; I saw no enterprise like that carried on by the natives in a large way.  
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Mr. STALKER. Yes; I might say I saw people there from our hotel.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. Were you in Honolulu in the latter part of the year 1892 and the first part of the year 1893?  
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The CHAIRMAN. Speeches were made and resolutions adopted?  
  
 
Mr. STALKER. Yes.
 
Mr. STALKER. Yes.
 
The CHAIRMAN. When did you get back to Honolulu from your visit down to Hawaii?
 
  
Mr. STALKER. I doubt whether I can give that date. I think I went down about the first of the year and was gone seven or eight days. I returned some days prior to the so-called revolution; the date I can not just recall.  
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The CHAIRMAN. Were there demonstrations of applause and cheering about the meeting?
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Mr. STALKER. Applause and cheering were pretty vociferous at the time the speeches became of a rather sensational and exciting nature.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. When you returned to Honolulu, what would you say was the situation of the people there in respect to projected or contemplated legislation upon the subject of opium and the lottery; in a state of excitement or quietude?  
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The CHAIRMAN. You have seen assemblages of that kind—not that kind particularly, but many public assemblages—would you say from your observation that that was an enthusiastic and strongly exciting, intense meeting?  
  
Mr. STALKER. There was a good deal of excitement in the assembly; or, at least, a good deal of acrimonious discussion; I would not say intense excitement; I would say hot-blooded discussion.  
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Mr. STALKER. I can hardly say that they were intensely excited. It was a pretty enthusiastic meeting; a good deal of vociferous cheering greeted the speakers, but there was no excitement, no disturbance.  
  
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The CHAIRMAN. Did the meeting impress you with the idea that there was a resolute purpose to carry out the end?
  
The CHAIRMAN. Did you hear the debates in the assembly, the Legislature?
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Mr. STALKER. Yes; it did.  
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes.  
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The CHAIRMAN. What was that end, as you gathered it from the meeting; what was the purpose they had in view?
  
The CHAIRMAN. Were the newspapers engaged in considering, discussing these questions?
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Mr. STALKER. I believed then, for the first time, certainly that a
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes; the newspapers were pretty actively interested in those topics.
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The CHAIRMAN. How about the responsible citizens of Honolulu; were they also concerned in these matters?
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revolution was in contemplation, although that was disclaimed in the speaking.  
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes; I think they were.
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The CHAIRMAN. In the speeches was it stated, or did you understand it to be advocated as an attitude of the meeting, that in the event they could get a guaranty of their constitutional rights they would not overthrow the Queen or revolutionize the Government?
  
The CHAIRMAN. Were you made aware while you were there of an alleged effort to press these bills through by getting a change in the ministry of the Queen so that she could get a ministry or cabinet to sign the bills with her on their passage?
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Mr. STALKER. As I recall it there was no policy, no promise of anything outlined. It was rather a declamatory style of speaking, in which the existing Government was severely criticised, different speakers saying: "We are not here as revolutionists, but to talk about grievances." I can not recall a single speech where so much as a single word was said about changing the form of the Government. I can not recall anything of the kind.
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes; that charge was made in the public press. I had no other means of knowing; I had no private information on that subject.
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The CHAIRMAN. And yet you were conscious all the time that that would be the result?  
 
The CHAIRMAN. Was that a subject of anxious discussion amongst the people of Honolulu?  
 
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes; there was a good deal of talk on that subject.  
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Mr. STALKER. Yes; when I went to my hotel immediately after the meeting I said to some of my friends, "There will be an attempt at revolution here inside of three days;" I was laughed at.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. Were you there at the time the ministry was changed by a vote of want of confidence?  
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The CHAIRMAN. Suppose that the Hawaiian people had been left to settle this matter in their own way, without the intervention of the United States or any other country, could you state it as your opinion that the popular demonstration which you witnessed at that meeting and the persons who were engaged in it and the purposes which actuated them were sufficiently strong and the people were sufficiently powerful to carry their end against the real government? In other words, did you believe from all the surrounding circumstances that the revolution then inaugurated would be successful aside from the intervention of the United States?  
  
Mr. STALKER. Yes.  
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Mr. STALKER. I am not prepared to say I believed the Hawaiian citizens who were most enthusiastic in this meeting would of themselves conduct a successful revolution; but I had been led to believe by some remarks of citizens that the men were coming from the ''Boston''.  
  
The CHAIRMAN. Did that change in the ministry produce any very decided impression upon the people?
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The CHAIRMAN. State what those remarks were, and who were the men who made them, and when they were made as well as you can remember.
  
Mr. STALKER. I can not say that I appreciated any marked change outside of the atmosphere about the Government building among the public officers, members of the assembly. They manifested a pretty high state of interest and some intensity of feeling on the subject. I can not say that I appreciated anything of the kind among the common people, especially on the streets.
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Mr. STALKER. If I remember correctly, it was a friend of mine, a Mr. White, who was a member of the revolutionary party, a nice gentleman. He said to me on this day----
  
The CHAIRMAN. Did you then have the impression that a change in the ministry and the passage of the opium and lottery bills would be likely to result in a revolution in the Government? I am speaking now of the time when the change took place.
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The CHAIRMAN. What day?  
  
Mr. STALKER. No; I am sure that did not manifest itself to my mind.
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Mr. STALKER. I think this was Monday—"If you want to see some fun get up early to-morrow; there will be an end of Kanaka Government."
 
The CHAIRMAN. Did you hear of any association or conspiracy or any other voluntary combination of men in Honolulu at that time for the purpose of revolutionizing the Government, dethroning the Queen, and annexing the islands to the United States, in consequence of the passage of the opium bill and the lottery bill?
 
  
Mr. STALKER. No; I did not.  
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The CHAIRMAN. What time of day was that remark made to you?
  
The CHAIRMAN. Was there any mob demonstration or military demonstration there to indicate that there was deep-seated or a violent state of feeling amongst the people in regard to these projected measures?
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Mr. STALKER. I have been trying to recall that, and I am not quite able to say whether this was in the forenoon or afternoon.
  
Mr. STALKER. No.  
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The CHAIRMAN. That was on Monday?
  
The CHAIRMAN. When did you first become aware that a revolution was on foot in Honolulu?
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Mr. STALKER. Yes; I am sure this was on Monday.
  
Mr. STALKER. If I remember correctly, it was on Monday, the 16th.
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The CHAIRMAN. Where were you when Mr. White made that remark?
  
The CHAIRMAN. About what time?
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Mr. STALKER. I met him on the street.  
  
Mr. STALKER. I attended a mass meeting at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and had some conversation with some citizens, I believe, earlier in the day, which led me to believe that there was an organized plan being developed to change the Government.
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The CHAIRMAN. Do you remember whether it was before or after the the mass meeting which you attended?
  
The CHAIRMAN. When you say "being developed," do you mean in process of development?
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Mr. STALKER. I can not say as to that.
  
S. Doc. 231, pt 6------ 64
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The CHAIRMAN. You have stated what he said. Have you stated all or is there something else you wish to add?

Revision as of 16:43, 2 February 2006

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Mr. STALKER. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. What was the first intimation you had, or first idea grasped by you, that that might result in a complete revolution of the Government?

Mr. STALKER. I think it was other than this. I had formed a conjecture of that kind a day or two earlier from some little matters that I had observed that I could not interpret the meaning of any other way. I refer now to the fact of being in one or two hardware stores in town and seeing ------

Senator GRAY. Was that on Monday?

Mr. STALKER. This was Monday, and possibly as early as Saturday observing some citizens getting fixed ammunition, cartridges—saw a number of citizens come in and rather quietly procure ammunition and go out with it.

The CHAIRMAN. Then you began to think that they would have use for that ammunition in some emeute or disturbance that was to take place?

Mr. STALKER. I began to regard that as a possibility. I knew nothing but what I saw, and began to wonder why there were so many citizens wanting fixed ammunition.

The CHAIRMAN. And it was not until Monday, if I gather your recollection about it, that you discovered there was an actual and combined movement in that direction?

Mr. STALKER. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. About how many persons do you think were at the meeting which you mentioned as having taken place in Honolulu on Monday?

Mr. STALKER. Twelve hundred or 1,400.

The CHAIRMAN. Did it seem to be an intense meeting in its exhibition of feeling?

Mr. STALKER. A good deal.

Senator GRAY. You, yourself, were at the meeting?

Mr. STALKER Yes.

Senator GRAY. There were other tourists, like yourself, who helped to make up that number?

Mr. STALKER. Yes; I might say I saw people there from our hotel.

The CHAIRMAN. Speeches were made and resolutions adopted?

Mr. STALKER. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Were there demonstrations of applause and cheering about the meeting?

Mr. STALKER. Applause and cheering were pretty vociferous at the time the speeches became of a rather sensational and exciting nature.

The CHAIRMAN. You have seen assemblages of that kind—not that kind particularly, but many public assemblages—would you say from your observation that that was an enthusiastic and strongly exciting, intense meeting?

Mr. STALKER. I can hardly say that they were intensely excited. It was a pretty enthusiastic meeting; a good deal of vociferous cheering greeted the speakers, but there was no excitement, no disturbance.

The CHAIRMAN. Did the meeting impress you with the idea that there was a resolute purpose to carry out the end?

Mr. STALKER. Yes; it did.

The CHAIRMAN. What was that end, as you gathered it from the meeting; what was the purpose they had in view?

Mr. STALKER. I believed then, for the first time, certainly that a

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revolution was in contemplation, although that was disclaimed in the speaking.

The CHAIRMAN. In the speeches was it stated, or did you understand it to be advocated as an attitude of the meeting, that in the event they could get a guaranty of their constitutional rights they would not overthrow the Queen or revolutionize the Government?

Mr. STALKER. As I recall it there was no policy, no promise of anything outlined. It was rather a declamatory style of speaking, in which the existing Government was severely criticised, different speakers saying: "We are not here as revolutionists, but to talk about grievances." I can not recall a single speech where so much as a single word was said about changing the form of the Government. I can not recall anything of the kind.

The CHAIRMAN. And yet you were conscious all the time that that would be the result?

Mr. STALKER. Yes; when I went to my hotel immediately after the meeting I said to some of my friends, "There will be an attempt at revolution here inside of three days;" I was laughed at.

The CHAIRMAN. Suppose that the Hawaiian people had been left to settle this matter in their own way, without the intervention of the United States or any other country, could you state it as your opinion that the popular demonstration which you witnessed at that meeting and the persons who were engaged in it and the purposes which actuated them were sufficiently strong and the people were sufficiently powerful to carry their end against the real government? In other words, did you believe from all the surrounding circumstances that the revolution then inaugurated would be successful aside from the intervention of the United States?

Mr. STALKER. I am not prepared to say I believed the Hawaiian citizens who were most enthusiastic in this meeting would of themselves conduct a successful revolution; but I had been led to believe by some remarks of citizens that the men were coming from the Boston.

The CHAIRMAN. State what those remarks were, and who were the men who made them, and when they were made as well as you can remember.

Mr. STALKER. If I remember correctly, it was a friend of mine, a Mr. White, who was a member of the revolutionary party, a nice gentleman. He said to me on this day----

The CHAIRMAN. What day?

Mr. STALKER. I think this was Monday—"If you want to see some fun get up early to-morrow; there will be an end of Kanaka Government."

The CHAIRMAN. What time of day was that remark made to you?

Mr. STALKER. I have been trying to recall that, and I am not quite able to say whether this was in the forenoon or afternoon.

The CHAIRMAN. That was on Monday?

Mr. STALKER. Yes; I am sure this was on Monday.

The CHAIRMAN. Where were you when Mr. White made that remark?

Mr. STALKER. I met him on the street.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you remember whether it was before or after the the mass meeting which you attended?

Mr. STALKER. I can not say as to that.

The CHAIRMAN. You have stated what he said. Have you stated all or is there something else you wish to add?