No. 5.
Mr. Gresham to Mr. Thurston.
Washington, January 20, 1895.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of this date, in which, referring to the uprising in Hawaii, you say that although your Government is and will continue in the future, as it has in the past, fully able to maintain itself against the attacks of all domestic enemies, in view of the serious nature of the charges now pending against a large number of both foreigners and natives, and of other complicating conditions, the state of affairs at the islands is critical, and that, owing to its limited police and military force, your Government may not be able, in sudden contingencies, to afford protection to foreign citizens and their property for the time being.
On receipt of a dispatch from Mr. Willis yesterday morning on the subject of the uprising, which was immediately given to the press, a war ship was at once ordered to proceed from San Francisco to Honolulu to afford needed protection to any Americans entitled to it. That fact was also announced by the press Saturday afternoon and this morning, and I naturally supposed that the announcement had attracted your notice.
Accept, sir, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration.