No. 3.
Affidavit of William H. Cornwell.

His Excellency J. H. Blount,
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary:

Sir: In supplementing the statements which I have already had the honor to present to your excellency, I beg to represent the following facts as they came within my personal observation during the late disturbances here:

On Monday, the 16th of January, the cabinet met at 10 o’clock a.m. and made the necessary arrangements providing for the Queen’s proclamation, in which she gave her assurance, guaranteed by us, her constitutional advisers, that no further attempts would be made in regard to obtaining a new constitution except by the way provided in the constitution itself.

The proclamation as presented to your excellency was issued, and the two political meetings took place. About 5 p.m. the cabinet received information that American forces were being landed from the U. S. S. Boston, and after a short consultation among the members of the cabinet, Messrs. Parker and Colburn, with Hon. A. S. Cleghorn, the governor and commander in chief of Oahu, departed to interview Minister Stevens to ask for an explanation of this remarkable and uncalled-for step of the American representative, and to protest against the landing of the troops as being contrary to international law, courtesy, and custom. Mr. Parker returned shortly afterwards and told us that he and the other gentlemen mentioned had performed their mission and that Mr. Stevens had answered them that he knew “what he was doing,” and that the troops had been landed at the request of an alleged committee of safety and that he would file the protest of the ministers. Mr. Parker immediately went to his office and issued a protest in writing to the above effect. Later, a meeting of the “law and order” committee supporting Her Majesty’s Government was held at the Government building, at which the cabinet were present. After some discussion, it was [Page 633] decided to encourage the Hawaiians to keep quiet and await further developments.

On Tuesday, the 17th, the cabinet met in the morning and arrangements were made for calling a meeting of the diplomatic corps to take place at noon. The different foreign representatives, except Minister Stevens, who sent his excuses, met together at the time appointed. Shortly after I saw Marshal Wilson, who emphatically told me that from a military standpoint he was perfectly able to cope with the situation, and that he and his followers were ready to stop any insurrection, and, if necessary, prepared to resist and successfully fight (as he expected to have to do) the United States forces then ashore. Having the fullest confidence in the good judgment of Marshal Wilson, I concurred with his ideas, and from that moment advised my colleagues to resist by force any attempt that might be made to overthrow the Government. About 2:45 p.m. we were informed that a proclamation had been issued to the effect that the Queen had been deposed and that her ministers and the marshal had been dismissed.

The cabinet immediately proceeded to the American legation. Messrs. Parker and Peterson went into Minister Stevens’s office while Mr. Colburn and myself remained in his sitting room. Our colleagues soon returned and told us that Minister Stevens could grant us no assistance, as the committee of thirteen representing, as he said, the respectability and wealth of the community, had requested his support. Upon a straight question of the attorney general he answered that if called upon for assistance by the alleged newly established Government he would respond to such call with the forces at his command. A little after 3 p.m. Mr. Charles Hopkins was sent to Minister Stevens from the station house (where the cabinet had taken up their headquarters) with a letter in which the cabinet wished to know in black and white how Minister Stevens proposed to act in the matter.

Mr. Hopkins returned about half an hour later and brought Minister Stevens’s answer, in which he informed us that he had already recognized the Provisional Government because they were in possession of the departmental buildings, the archives, and the treasury, and that he would stand ready to support them as the de facto government. Messrs. E. C. Macfarlane and Neumann were then in consultation with the cabinet in regard to what action should be taken. About this time Messrs. Samuel M. Damon and C. Bolte came to the station house and asked the cabinet to go with them to the Government house, that the officers of the Provisional Government wished to talk over the situation with us.

Mr. Parker and I went there and found Messrs. Dole, Damon, W. O. Smith, and others, and we were told that the Provisional Government had been recognized by Mr. Stevens, and we were asked as true Hawaiians to do the best for our country and surrender, to avoid bloodshed. We told them that we could give them no answer before seeing Her Majesty the Queen, and were then requested to go to the palace and do our best to induce the Queen to surrender. Shortly after 5:30 p.m. we went to the palace and found the Queen in the blue room, and soon after Messrs. J. O. Carter, H. A. Widemann, Paul Neumann, and E. C. Macfarlane arrived. There were also present my colleagues, Messrs. Colburn and Peterson, and the two princes.

Mr. Damon was likewise present representing the Provisional Government. The Queen told us that she had sent for the gentlemen present to consult with them in this crisis, and requested them all to remain with her until everything was settled. Mr. Damon stated that he was [Page 634] sent by the Provisional Government to inform the Queen that she had been deposed, that her ministers and marshal had been dismissed, and that the Provisional Government had been recognized formally by Mr. J. L. Stevens, the U. S. Minister. As a friend and also as a privy councillor, he urged her to surrender peaceably, and expressed the opinion that it would perhaps be well to surrender under protest to the United States. Mr. J. O. Carter then expressed his views at some length. He saw no other course for the Queen to pursue after the recognition of the new government by Mr. Stevens and the landing of the United States troops.

In his opinion, any resistance under the circumstances would be equivalant to a declaration of war against the United States. He advised making the protest and leaving the matter in the hands of the United States. After a short consultation, in which all present took part and all concurred in the remarks of Mr. Carter the Queen agreed to surrender under a protest, and the necessary document was drawn up by Messrs. Neumann and Carter. Mr. Carter and I thereupon proceeded to the Government building, where we presented the protest to Mr. Dole, who indorsed it as having been received, noting the date and time it was received. We then, requested the attorney-general to go to the Station House and inform the marshal, who was there, of what had taken place at the Palace, and to notify him to surrender the forces under his command. We were informed shortly after that Marshal Wilson refused to act upon such instructions, demanding a written order from the Queen and Cabinet before he would surrender. He reiterated that he was fully prepared to cope with the situation, and was ready to fight the insurgents and the forces of the United States, then ashore, and would do so, unless he should first receive such written order for his surrender.

The whole cabinet then proceeded to the station house and in the presence of Mr. Neumann and others handed the written orders to the marshal and explained the situation to him. He thereupon dismissed his forces with a short address. The large crowd of Hawaiians gathered outside of the station house were dispersed quietly, after a short address in Hawaiian by one of the police captains, by order of the marshal, after which we left the station house, but up to the time of leaving no officer of the Provisional Government had taken charge.

Wm. H. Cornwell.


[seal.]
F. J. Testa,
Notary Public, First Judicial Circuit.