Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-12-19

i
| justification, either as an occupation
by consent and an occupation necessi-
tated by dangers through threatening
American life and property. 1t must
| be accounted for In some other way
and on some other ground, and its real
| motive and purpose are neither obscure
nor far to seek. The United States
forces being now on the scene and Ia
yorably stationed, the committee pro-
ceeded TO carry out their original
scheme. They met the next morning,
Tuesday the 18th, perfected the plan OF
| temporary government, aud hxed upon
| its principal officers, ten OF whom were
| drawn from the thirteen members OF the
committee OF safety. Between one ana
two O'Clock, by squads and by different
routes to avoid notice, and having hrst
| taken the Drecaution OF ascertalnlng
whether there was any one TO oppose
them, they proceeded to. the govern
ment building to proclaim the new gov
eminent.
No sign of opposition was manifested,
and thereupon an American citizen be-
gan to read the proclamation from the
steps of the government building, al
most entirely without auditors IL is
said that before the reading was finish
ed quite a concourse of persons, vari-
ously estimated at so to 100, some armed
and some unarmed, gathered about the
committee to give them aid and conf
dence. This statement is not impor-
taut, since the controlling factor in the
whole affair was unQuestionably the
| United States marines, who, drawn up
under arms, and with artillery in readi-
ness only seventy yards distant, domi'
mated the situation. The provisional
government thus proclaimed was by the
terms Of the proclamation ito exist un'
| til terms of
UNION WITH THE UNITED STATES
had been negotiated and agreed upon.
! The United States Minister, persuani
! 10 prior agreement, recognized this gov
eminent within an hour after the read
ing OF the proclamation, and before five
o'clock, ia answer to an inquiry on be
bali OF the Queen aud her Cabinet, an
nounced that he had done so. When
our minister recognized the provisional
! government the only basis upon
which it rested was the fact
! that the Committee OF Public Safe
ty had, in the manner above stated, de-
! clared ii TO exist. 1t was neither
government de facto nor dejure. Tha'
it was not in such possessions the gov
eminent property and agencies as en-
! titled it to recognition is conclusively
proved by note found In the files oil
! the legation at Honolulu addressed by
the declared head of the provisional
government TO Minister Stevens, dated
! January II, 1898, in which he acknowl
edged with expressions of appreciation
the minister's recognition of the pro
vsiOnal government, aud states, ut /:
! not vet in the possession OF the station
| house, the place where a large number
! of the queens troops were quartered,
! though the same had been demanded
! of the queens officers In charge.
! Nevertheless this wrongful recognition
! by our minister placed the government
| of the queen in a position OF most peril
Gus perplexity. On the one hand she
had possession OF the Island, OF the bar
racks and OF the police station, anc
had at her command at least five hun
dred fully armed men and
SEVERAL PIECES OF ARTILLERY.
| Indeed the whole military of her king
dom was on her side and at their dis
! posal while the committee of safety by
actual search, had discovered that there
were but very few arms in Honolulu
that were not in the service OF the gsSs'
| eminent. In this state OF things il ~,
I Queen Coulu hive dealt With the -
surgents alone, her course would havt
| been plain and the result unmiStakable
But the United States had allied itself
with her enemies and recognized them
as the true government OF Hawaii and
! had put her and her adhereuts in the
position of opposition against Lawful
| authority. she knew that she could
not Withstand the power OF the United
States, but she believed that she might
! safely trust to its justice. Accordingly
| some hours after The recognition Of the
provisional government by the United
States minister, the palace, the barrack;
and the police station with all the mill
! tary resources of that country were
delivered by the Queen upon the
| represeDtion made TO her thai
her cause would thereafter be review.
! ed at Washington and while protest
! ing that she surrendered to the superior
force of the United States, whose Min
lister ordered United States troops to be
landed at Honolulu and declared that
! he would support the provisional gov
| eTnment, and that she yielded her au
thority TO prevent the use Of armed
forces and loss Of life, and only Until
| such time as the United States, upOI
the fact being presented to it, should
undo the action of its representative
and reinstate her in the authority she
claimed as the constitutional sovereign
of the Hawaiian Islands. This prOtes
was delivered to the chief Of the pro
visional government. who endorsed thu
| acknowledgment of its receipt. The
terms Of the protest were read without
| dissent by those assuming TO constitute
the provisional government, who were
certainly charged with the knowledge
that the Queen, instead of finally aban
doninR her power, had appealed TO the
! United States for reinstatement In heI
authority. And yet the provisional gov
eminent with this unanswered protest
IN it's hand has tried TO negotiate with the
United States for the permanent ban
ishment OF the Queen from power anC
for a sale of her kingdom. Our coun
try was in danger of occupying the posi-
tiou Of having actually set aside tempo
rary government on foreign soil for tht
purpose of acquiring through tina
agency territory which we had wrong
fully put in our possession. The con
troll Of both sides of bargain acquired
in such a manner is called by
FAMILIAR AND UNPLEASANT NAME
when found in private transactions. w,
are not without a precedent showing
how scrupulously we avoided such oc
casions in former days. After the peo
pie Of Texas had declared their indie