Mr. Olney to Mr. Hatch.
Washington , January 20, 1897 .
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note you addressed to me under date of the 19th instant, wherein, anticipating the instructions of your Government, you express to me the deep regret felt both by the Hawaiian Government and by the community of Honolulu at the death of Mr. Willis.
The brief telegraphic advices thus far received, joined to the earlier dispatches written during the illness of Mr. Willis, have abundantly acquainted me with the marks of tender sympathy and high personal appreciation on the part of your Government and countrymen which were shown during the last hours of the minister and which followed him to his temporary resting place on the island.
I have apprised the President of your present communication, and in his name and my own I wish to convey, through you, adequate expression of the appreciation felt by this Government and by my countrymen for the touching tributes of friendship and respect offered by the Hawaiians to the representatives of a friendly state.
Accept, etc.,