The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-11-17

/ part shruid pfecipitate conflict with that
force. that she could not, with hope 6f SUCCESS,
engage I'm war with the United States, and
that resistance would result in useless sacri-
| hgeuf life.
Submission q Duty.
Mr. DaIeton, one ~ the ieadefs of The move
nneRt sAd afterwards vice-president Of the pro-
visional government, informed the Queen that
she could surrender under protest and her case
would be considered iatef at Washington. Be
| iic:ihg that, under The circumstances, submis-
sion was duty, and that her case would be
fairly considered by the president of the United
| States, the queen finally yielded and sent TO
the Fyovisiohai government paper which
! reads.
1, Lilioukalani, by the grace Of God and uhceF
\ the constitution Of tho Hawaiian kingdom
! queen, da heSeDy solemnly protest against any
enc all acts done against myself and th9 con-
StiJutional government OF the Hawaiian king
dom by certain persons claiming 10 nave es-
tablished prcfis.5aai government OF and for
tkiS kingdom.
That / yield to the superior force OF the
/ United States Of America, whose minister
vens. has cPpsed sse United States troops to
/ be larted 81 Honolulu, and declared that he
would support the provisional government.
| Now, TO avoid any collision of armed forces
and perhaps the loss OF life, ]. do, under this
protest and impelei by aaid force, yield my
authority ytstii Such time as the government of
| the United States shall upon the facts being
presented TO il, undo the actions of its repre-
sentative lt % and rei9state me gnd the authority
|
4 OF the HawaiiGh islands"
The Protest Unchallenged.
| When this paper was prepared at the con-
| clusion OF the conference, and signed by the
queen and her ministers, number df pefs5ns,
including one or more Representatives of the
| provisional government. were present and un-
defstood its contents, and by their silence, at
least, acquiesced in its statements, and when
| ii was carried TO President Dole he fndorsed
upon it: Received frcn the hands OF the late
NJ
| challenging the truth OF any OF its assertions.
Indeed it was not claimed on the fTtn day of
| January. or for some time thereafter, by any
Of the designated officers of the provisional
| government, or any annexationists, that the
queen surrendered otherwise than stated in
| her protest.
Recognised By Minister Stevens.
In his dispatch to Mr.. Foster of January IS,
describing the so-caled revolution, Mr.. Ste
vens says,
The committee OF public safety forthwith
archives and treasury and installed the pro
vfsional government o. the head of the respec
tive departments. This being an accomplished
fact, I promptly recognized the provisional
government as the de facto government of the
Hawaiian islands
Secretary Fosters Statements.
In Secretary Fosters communication of Feb
uary Is, to the president, laying before him the
treaty of annexation with the view to obtain
ing advice and consent of the senate thereto,
he says
At the time the provisional government took
possession m 8d the sqSenmenC @ pSHdng & no
present, or took any part whatever in the pro
ceedings. No public recognition was accorded
to the provisional government by the United
States minister until after the queens abdica-
tfon, and when they were in effective posses
sion OF the government building the archives
the treasury, the barracks, the police station
and all the potential machinery of the govern
ment.
CT.
addressed to Secretary Foster on February 8,
by the special commissioners sent to Washing
ton by the provisional government TO negotiate
a treaty of annexation.
Utterly at Variance with the Evidence.
These statements are utterly at variance
with the evidence. documentary and oral, con
tained In Mr. BlountS replies. They are con-
tradicted by declarations and letters of Presi-
dent Dole and other annexationists, and Mr.
Stevens own verbal admissions to Minister
Blount The provisional government was rec
ognized when il had little other than a paper
existence, and when the legitimate govern
ment was in full possession and control of the
palace the barracks and the police station,
Mr.. Stevens well-known hostility and the
threatening presence OF the forces landed from
the Boston were all that could have caused
serious apprehension in the mind of the queen.
her ofi GERS and loyal supporters.
Deceived by Stevens and the Special
Commissioners.
IL is fair to say that Secretary Fosters
statements were based upon information which
he had received from Mr. Stevens and the spe-
cial commissioners, but ] am unable to
that theg were deceived. The troops were
landed, not to protect American life and prop
erty but to aid in overthrowing the govern
ment. Their very presence implied coercive
measures against it.
In statement given to Mr.. Bleunt by Ad-
miral Skerrett. the ranking naval ofice at
Honolulu, he says:
Admiral Skerrett Remarks.
II the troops were landed simply to protect
American citizens and interests, they were
badly stationed in Arion hall: but If the inten-
tion was to aid the provisional government
they were wisely stationed.
Read Under the Protection of American
Guns.
This hall was so situated that the troops in
it easily commanded the government building
and the proclamation was read under the pro-
lection of American guns. At an early stage
OF the movement il not ut the beginning, Mr..
Stevens promised the annexationists that as
soon rs they obtained possession of the gov
. ernment building and read proclamation of
the character above referred to, he would at
-onee recognize them as de facto government,
and support them by landing force from our
war ship then in the harbor, and he kept that
promise. This assurance was the inspiration
Of the movement, sand without it the annexa-
tionists would not have exposed themselves to
the consequences OF failure.
They relied upon no military force OF their
own for they had none worthy OF the name.
The provisional government was established
by the action of the American minister and
the presence OF the troops landed from the
Boston; and it's continued existence is due to
the belief of the Hawaiians that if they made
anefrort to overthrow it, they would encounter
the armed orces of the United States.
The Absurdity of the Claim.
The earnest appeals to the American minis
terfor military protection by the officers Of the
provisional government after it had been rec
ognized, show the utter absurdify of the claim
that ii was established by successful reyolu-
tion of the people OF the islands. The appeals
were a. confession by the men who made them
Of their weakness and timidity. Courageous
men, conscious OF their strength and the JUS
tice Of their cause. do not thus act.
tits not now claimed that majority OF the
stitution OF 1887, ever favored the existing au-
thority OF annexation to this or any other coun-
try. They earnestly desire that the govern
ment OF their choice shall be restored and its
independence respected
Afraid to Submit the Question to the
Natives
Mr.. Blount states that while at Honolulu he
did not meet a single annexafionist who ex-
pressed willingness 70 submit the question to
a vote Of the people, nor did ne talk with one
on that subject who did not insist that IL the
islands were annexed suffrage should be so re-
stricted to give complete control to for
eignerS or whites, and representative annexa-
tionists have repeatedly made similar state
ments TO the undersigned