Mr. Willis to Mr. Gresham.
Honolulu, November 16, 1893.
Sir: In the forenoon of Monday the 13th instant, by prearragement, the Queen, accompanied by the royal chamberlain, Mr. Robertson, called at the legation. No one was present at the half-hour interview which followed, her chamberlain having been taken to another room and Consul-General Mills, who had invited her to come, remaining in the front of the house to prevent interruption.
[Page 1242]After a formal greeting, the Queen was informed that the President of the United States had important communications to make to her and she was asked whether she was willing to receive them alone and in confidence, assuring her that this was for her own interest and safety. She answered in the affirmative.
I then made known to her the President’s sincere regret that, through the unauthorized intervention of the United States, she had been obliged to surrender her sovereignty, and his hope that, with her consent and cooperation, the wrong done to her and to her people might be redressed. To this, she bowed her acknowledgments.
I then said to her, “The President expects and believes that when reinstated you will show forgiveness and magnanimity; that you will wish to be the Queen of all the people, both native and foreign born; that you will make haste to secure their love and loyalty and to establish peace, friendship, and good governments To this she made no reply. After waiting a moment, I continued: “The President not only tenders you his sympathy but wishes to help you. Before fully making known to you his purposes, I desire to know whether you are willing to answer certain questions which it is my duty to ask?” She answered, “I am willing.” I then asked her, “Should you be restored to the throne, would you grant full amnesty as to life and property to all those persons who have been or who are now in the Provisional Government, or who have been instrumental in the overthrow of your government.” She hesitated a moment and then slowly and calmly answered: “There are certain laws of my Government by which I shall abide. My decision would be, as the law directs, that such persons should be beheaded and their property confiscated to the Government.” I then said, repeating very distinctly her words, “It is your feeling that these people should be beheaded and their property confiscated?” She replied, “It is.” I then said to her, “Do you fully understand the meaning of every word which I have said to you, and of every word which you have said to me, and, if so, do you still have the same opinion?” Her answer was, “I have understood and mean all I have said, but I might leave the decision of this to my ministers.” To this I replied, “Suppose it was necessary to make a decision before you appointed any ministers, and that you were asked to issue a royal proclamation of general amnesty, would you do it?” She answered, “I have no legal right to do that, and I would not do it.” Pausing a moment she continued, “These people were the cause of the revolution and constitution of 1887. There will never be any peace while they are here. They must be sent out of the country, or punished, and their property confiscated.” I then said, “I have no further communication to make to you now, and will have none until I hear from my Government, which will probably be three or four weeks.”
Nothing was said for several minutes, when I asked her whether she was willing to give me the names of four of her most trusted friends, as I might, within a day or two, consider it my duty to hold a consultation with them in her presence. She assented, and gave these names: J. O. Carter, John Richardson, Joseph Nawahi, and E. C. Macfarlane.
I then inquired whether she had any fears for her safety at her present residence, Washington Square. She replied that she did have some fears, that while she had trusty friends that guarded her house every night, they were armed only with clubs, and that men shabbily dressed had been often seen prowling about the adjoining premises—a. schoolhouse with large yard. I informed her that I was authorized by the President to offer her protection either on one of our war ships [Page 1243] or at the legation and desired her to accept the offer at once. She declined, saying she believed it was best for her at present to remain at her own residence. I then said to her that at any moment, night or day, this offer of our Government was open to her acceptance.
The interview thereupon, after some personal remarks, was brought to a close.
Upon reflection, I concluded not to hold any consultation at present with the Queen’s friends, as they have no official position, and furthermore, because I feared, if known to so many, her declarations might become public, to her great detriment, if not danger, and to the interruption of the plans of our Government.
Mr. J. O. Carter is a brother of Mr. H. A. P. Garter, the former Hawaiian minister to the United States, and is conceded to be a man of high character, integrity, and intelligence. He is about 55 years old. He has had no public experience. Mr. Macfarlane, like Mr. Carter, is of white parentage, is an unmarried man, about 42 years old, and is engaged in the commission business. John Richardson is a young man of about 35 years old. He is a cousin of Samuel Parker, the half-caste, who was a member of the Queen’s cabinet at the time of the last revolution. He is a resident of Maui, being designated in the directory of 1889 as “attorney at law, stock-raiser, and proprietor Bismark livery stable.” Richardson is “half-caste.” Joseph Nawaki is a full-blooded native, practices law (as he told me) in the native courts, and has a moderate English education. He has served twenty years in the legislature, but displays very little knowledge of the structure and philosophy of the Government which he so long represented. He is 51 years old, and is president of the native Hawaiian political club.
Upon being asked to name three of the most prominent native leaders, he gave the names of John E. Bush, R. W. Wilcox, and modestly added, “I am a leader.” John R. Bush is a man of considerable ability, but his reputation is very bad. R. W. Wilcox is the notorious half-breed who engineered the revolution of 1889. Of all these men Carter and Macfarlane are the only two to whom the ministerial bureaus could be safely entrusted. In conversation with Sam Parker, and also with Joseph Eawahi, it was plainly evident that the Queen’s implied condemnation of the constitution of 1887 was fully indorsed by them.
From these and other facts which have been developed I feel satisfied that there will be a concerted movement in the event of restoration for the overthrow of that constitution which would mean the overthrow of constitutional and limited government and the absolute dominion of the Queen.
The law referred to by the Queen is Chapter vi, section 9 of the Penal Code, as follows:
Whoever shall commit the crime of treason shall suffer the punishment of death and all his property, shall he confiscated to the Government.
There are, under this law, no degrees of treason. Plotting alone car ries with it the death sentence.
I need hardly add, in conclusion, that the tension of feeling is so great that the promptest action is necessary to prevent disastrous consequences,
I send a cipher telegram asking that Mr. Blount’s report be withheld for the present, and I send with it a telegram, not in cipher, as follows:
Views of the first party so extreme as to require further instructions.
I am, etc.