The Portland daily press., 1894-03-02
HOW BLOUNT TOOK TESTIMONY.
Senator Frye and ''My Paramount
Commissioner


Yesterdays Installment Devoted to a
scathing Review of Mr.. Blounts
Course in Hawaii.
Washington, March 1.-Senator Frye
resumed his speech on the Hawaiian
question today. He had heretofore, he
said, expressed the belief that there was
not one plain. unprejudiced and unvar-
nished particle Of truth in MIR. Blount's
report. He did not now desire to revise
that opinion. He could not account for
Mr.. Blount's report or his methods OF
investigation. He did not know where
Mr.. Blount's prejudice came from unless
it was from that old bitter feeling be-
tween the cavaliers and roundheads.
The facts were there to be found by Mr..
Blount, but Mr.. Blount did not seek
them where they were to. be found. He
did not seek them from President Dole
or memb bers of the provisional govern
ment who were familiar with all the
facts. Mr.. Blount went for his facts to
the men who had eaten the crumbs from
the Queens table. He went to her
parasites. He went to the British
sympathize1s on the islands, Over sixty
of those men had come. beore Mr.. Blount
He called upon the mem bers of the
Queens cabinet, on Colburn, Sam Parker
and Cornwell. These were the men who,
when the Queen was undertaking to pro-
mulgate new constitution, fled from
her angry presence for fear, as they said,
that they would lose their lives; who
fed to the committee on safety, asked
protection and informed them of all
their Queens secrets; who, when they
found there was to be no bloodshed on
the part OF the committee of safety, re-
turned to the Queen and proceeded to
plot against the provisional government.
These, as tbennchairman of the committee
on foreign .elations said, were wretched
men, and in them truth did not lie.
They deceived Commissioner Blount and
led him to deceive the President of the
United States. 1t was thus that the
chairman of the committee on foreign
relations excused Mr.. Blount and excused
the President. Another person whom
Mr.. Blount had gone to for facts was
Paul Neumann,a bright, smart attorney,
SAID to be as INSCRIPTIONS as bright and
smart. Paul Neumann Was the Queens
attorney and spent months in Washing
ton trying to barter and sell her crown
for mess of pottage Mr.. Blount had
taken six pages OF testimony of Mrs.
Dominis, the late Queen of the Hawaiian
facts to the officers of the United States
ship Boston, lying there. Her officers
were intelligent men, who would never
tell an untruth; as Mr. Blount knew,
they had been part;cipators In the entire
affair; they had been on shore jnvesti-
eating from the time it commenced until
it closed, and they could have told him
all about it, Mr.. Blount never asked
Minister Stevens a single question He
had taken the testimony OF witnesses
dlsparaging to Mr.. Stevens and never
communicated to him one word of what
they said.
Mr. Frye proceeded to discuss the
question whether there had been any
conspiracy to provoke a revolution. The
President of the United States, he said
had asserted that there had been. Mr..
Frye argued that there was no proof of
it, and denied that there had been any
conspiracy.
After reading numerous extracts from
the testimony. Mr.. Frye continued. IF
what | have read is not absolutely over
whelming, then | cannot understand the
English language. The committee on
foreign relations made no selection of
witnesses. 1t simply asked the attend
ance of men known to have been in the
islands during the revolution. In all
these witnesses and all the affidavits be-
fore the committee there was no conflict
Whatever eXCepG Ill burGS lIlSCaQC6S
There was Mr. Reeder of Iowa, who ap-
peared as witness at his own request.
The committee could find out moth
ing from him, and he was so stupid that
even my friend from Delaware, (Mr.
Cray who thought there was something
in him which might be pumped out,
gave it up in utter dispair, yet the next
day after that witness appeared, the
had the most astonishing re-
ports of the statement made by him be-
fore the committee" Mr.. Frye, in con-
clusion, apologized for having wearied
the Senate with such extensive extracts
from the testimony, and said, "If any
weight is to be given to character be-
hind words, if there is any such thing as
preponderance of testimony. then the
ON which President Cleveland
builded his structure has disappeared
and the edifce has fallen forever"
Mr.. Gray, Democrat of Delaware, said
he thought something ought to be said
in relation to the very honorable and
able ger rtleman, (Mr. Blount) who had
been attacked by the Senator from
Maine, for the manner in which he con-
Quoted most important public duty.
Mr.. Gray then readMr. Blount's statement
denying that he sought evidence only on
one side of the question.
The mattar then went over.