Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-19
He Was in Honolulu During the
Revolution.
CORRUPT CHARACTER OF TIE QUEEN,
What Led to the Uprising of the
People.
LANDING OF THE TROOPS.


and busted themselves reading the testi-
mony they had given prior to subscribing to
It. Among these officers were Lieut. Com
mander Swinburne and Lieut. Kaufman.
MI Hastings, the charge d'affairs of the
hawaiian legation, dropped into the COM
mittee room early In the day, but remained
only for a moment. Senators Gray and
Frye were late. and shortly after they
came Mr.. Sherman took his departure
leaving Messrs. Morgan. Gray and Frye to
proceed alone. Mr.. Butler being absent.
Prof. Oleson's Testimony.
The principal witness today was Prof
Wm- B. Oleson of Worcester, Mass. Mr.
Oleson was for fifteen years, from August
1873. to July, 1893, engaged as the principal
OF manual training school on the Island
Oahu. on which the city Of Honolulu is
situated Having thus been associated with
these people for so long a period prior to the
revolution. and having witnessed the over
throw or the queen. 1t would appear as IL
this witness was possessed Of opportunities
Tor observing the sentiment of the people
under favorable auspices. Prof. Oleson Is
an American by birth. and was born in
Portland. Me. 1t is understood that during
the course of his examination, in response
TO question as to what was the character
of the queen for political integrity and per-
sonai character, the witness said emphati-
cally that it was as bad as it could be-
The Queens Corruption.
After the queen came to the throne Prof
Oleson said. she very soon sought to re-
cover the absolute power that Kalakaua
had surrendered in giving the constitution
or 1887. To accomplish the abrogation of
the old constitution and the promulgatio
OF the new one, which she had prepared
she entered into an arrangement with
members of the legislature favorable to
han hnfA
one of them the chartering of the Louisiana
lottery, by which she was to sign those
Dilis, and they, in turn, were to vote ont
her ministry and permit her to appoint a
new ministry that would assist her in
promulSating the new constitution
Prof. Oleson then detailed the workings
OF this plan, the feature of the new con-
SItuIon which dfsfranchised all but native
ha"anans, and the final failure of the
queen TO secure the consent of her minis
Try, TWO OF whom fed, after refusing her
demands, and appealed to the citizens to
support them against the queen in her de-
mands. 80
No Faith I'm the Queen.
AS soon as the queen learned that a
pubic mass meeting had been called on
Monday afternoon. January 1G, she was
thoroughly frightened and promised her
cabinet that il they would stand with her
against the citizens she would do nothing
unconstitutional thereafter. Accordingly
these men and the queen signed a mani
festo to that effect and had it scattered
through the city for the purpose of de-
stroyins the effects of the approaching
mass meeting. But the citizens said Prof
oieson, put no faith in the queens prom
Uses and had no confidence in the men who
we're we're advising her Marshal Wilson. in
charge of the police forces, a man by COM
mon fame known in Honolulu as the
queens paramour for years, Commanded
the people not to attend this mass meeting.
The Mass Meeting Held.
This. however. Prof. Oleson continued.
did not deter the people. who gathered in
the largest mass meeting ever held in
Honolulu The citizens confirmed the ap-
pointment of the committee of safety and
authorized them to proceed to the secur-
ing OF a permanent and good government.
From Saturday afternoon, when the queen
attempted to promulgate her new constitu-
ton, to the time when the American troops
landed Monday afternoon-about two days
and a half-Honolulu was In an incipient
state Of anarchy. During that time the
queen had threatened her ministry with
violence; they had fed from her presence
for their lives; they had appealed to the
people to rise against the queen. and Mar
shal Wilson had Illegally transformed the
police station into an arsenal with three
hundred stand Of arms and Gatlng guns,
had armed the police and gathered a motley
crowd of men, whom he had recruited from
the streets OF the city.
The Landing of the Troops.
At the request of many American citi-
zens, who feared incendiarism and possi-
bly, mob violence In the high state of ex-
citement, Minister Stevens landed troops
from the Boston for the express purpose,
as announced in his letter to Capt. Wiltse,
to protect the United States legation, the
United States consulate and the rights
and property Of American citizens. On
Tuesday afternoon at 2:3O o'clock. contin-
ued this witness. the committee on public
safety walked to the government building
and read a proclamation abrogating the
monarchy and establishing the provisional
government Immediately citizens rallied
to the support of the new government from
every direction, because frequent occasions
during the previous years had made IL nec-
essary for them to hold themselves pre-
pared for Just such emergencies and many
of them had been members of volunteer
companies.
Prof Oleson said that these American
citizens were voters and partook of the
political life there. They were also Ha-
waiians. with the exception that they could
not hold office.
The United States government had. he
said, frequently landed troops in the past:
and standing orders had been given by the
government of the United States to protect
this class of persons. With special refer
ence to the landing Of the troops. Prof
Oleson said he did not think that they had
other. on the revolution. Marshal Wilson
fntrenched the masses in the police station
before the troops were landed. There was
ne said, no substantial difference in the To-
cation of the United States troops in this
case and in the case of the landing in
1859, except that in Minister Merrilrs time
they were in plain sight. and in the other
they were under cover.
The COntending Forces.
In regard to the comparative forces of the
contending factions, Prof. Oleson said the
queen had seventy men in the barracks
ana probably two hundred men without
Organization or drill any unifying prin-
ciple at the police station. Against this
were pitted the masses OF the people to
the number of 1,3OO. who on the previous
day had met in mass meeting There were
loo picked men who had been under fire
on previous occasions and were good
marKsmen. who were obliged to be at the
government building as soon after . O. clock
as tney could get there. Two companies OF
these men reached the building before the
reading or the proclamation was finished
w hen asked If he thought the queen would
nave been deposed if the United States
troops mad not landed. Prof Oleson said
ne SO believed. although il might not have
Deen done so easily. Under such condi-
tlons Marshal Wilson would have retained
possession OF the police station which
would have been besieged, and the conflict