Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1893-12-21


were present or took any part whatever
in the proceedings. No public recogni-
tion was accorded to the provisional gov
ernment by the United States minister
until after the queens abdication and
when they were in effective possession of
government buildings, the archives, the
treasury, the barracks, the police station
and all the potential machinery of the
government.
Protest of the Deposed Queen.
But a protest also accompanied said
treaty, signed by the queen and her min
listers at the time she made way for the
provisional government, which explicitly
stated that she yielded to the superior force
of the United States, whose minister had
caused United States troops to be landed
at Honolulu and declared that he would
support such provisional government
he truth or falsity Of this protest was
surely of the first Importance. If true,
nothing but the concealment of it's truth
could induce our government to negotiate
with the semblance of government thus
created, nor could treaty resulting from
the acts stated in the protest have been
knowingly deemed worthy of consideration
by the senate Yet the truth or falsity OF
the protest had not been investigated
| conceived it to be my duty therefore
to withdraw the treaty from the senate
for examination, and meanwhile to cause
an accurate, full and impartial lnvesti-
cation to be made of the facts attending
the subversion of the constitutional gov
ernment of Hawaii, and the installment
~, i,,..
l selected for the work Of investigation
the Hon. James H Blount, of Georgia,
whose service of eighteen years as MEM
Der of the house of representatives and
whose experience as chairman of the
= committee of foreign affairs in that body
:, and his consequent familiarity with inter
:, national topics, joined with his higi
- character and honorable reputation
seemed to render him peculiarly ittej
for the duties intrusted to him.
Review of the Situation
u President Cleveland submits the reports
Z of Commissioner Blount, the features of
which have already been given in these
dispatches, and reviews in detail the Cir
cumstances OF the revolution which re-
suited In the establishment Of the provis-
5 ional government. Regarding Minister
Stevens, the president says;
- 1t is unnecessary to set forth the reas-
e ons in which in january, 1893, led con
u siderable proportion of American and
q other foreign merchants and traders rssid
ing at Honolulu to favor the annexation
Of Hawaii to the United States. 1t is suf-
. ficient to note the fact and to observe that
tha al %
promoted by the minister representing the
United States in that country. He evil
IDENTIFY had an ardent desire that it should
be fact accomplished by his agency AMI
during his ministry and was not incon-
veniently scrupuious as to the means EN-
7 ployed to that end. On the 10Th day of
November, 1892, nearly two months before
the first overt act tending toward the sub
version of the Hawaiian government and
the attempted transfer of Hawaiian terri :
tory to the United States. he addressed a
long lie tier to the secretary of state in
which the case for annexation was
elaborately argued on moral, politi-
cal and economical grounds. He
refers to the loss to the Hawaiian
sugar interests from the opera.
tion of the Mckinley bill, and the ten
dency to still further depreciation of sugar
property unless some positive measure of
; relief is granted. He strongly inveighs
against the existing Hawaiian govern
ment and emphatically declares for annex.
alton.
Zeal for Annexation.
, Several letters of Minister Willis to the
4 state department are quoted decrying the
monarchy, and showing what the presl-
dent terms zeal for annexation" AS n
further illustration of the activity of this
d diplomatic representative, attention i:
er called to the fact that he issued procla
he nation whereby Tin the name of the
to United States" he assumed the protection
ly of the Hawaiian islasds and declared that
n said action was taken pending and sub
IN ject to negotiations at Washington" Oh
7, course this assumption OF protectorate
+, was promptly disavowed by our govern
n ment, but the American flag remained
l. over the government building at Honolulu
s and the forces remained on guard until
'e April, and after Mr.. Blounts arrival on
l. the scene when both were removed.
lg When our minister recognized the pro.
us vlsional government, the president contin
es tinues the only basis on which it reste d
was the TACT that the committee of safety
m had declared it to exist. 1t was neither "A
m governmtnt de facto nor de jure. That
re. it was not in such possession of the gov
IN ernment's property and agencies as entitled
ty it to recognition is conolusively proved by
he note found in the files of the legation n,
US Honolulu addressed by the declared head
lc- of the provisional government tosMiniste
s, Stevens dated Jan. II, 1893, in which h
ot acknowledges with expressions OF appre
ut citation the minister's recognition of til
u- provisional government, and states tina
it is not yet in the possession of the station
Of house (the place where large number {
,ct the queens troops were quartered) thoug
.or. the same had been demanded of the queen
v officers in charge, Nevertheless, tn
on ".onsiui recognition by our minist'
placed the government of the queen in
DOSltiOn of n