The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-20
STEVENS Side OF IT.
His Story of Affairs in Hawaii
Told to the Senate Sub
Committee.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 90, S94.-The witness
before the Senate Committee Investigating
Hawaiian Relations today was exMinister
Stevens, who is charged with having cocerced
the Hawaiians and contributed towards the
establishment of the Provisional Govern
ment by the use of the United
States troops. The committee was
somewhat late in getting together, the
witness, who came to the Capital with
Senator Frye, being present long before a
quorum of the subcommittee made its
appearance For short time Mr.. Stew
ems was in the room chatting informally
with Mr.. Morgan and Mr.. Frye: but when
Prof Oleson, who was on the stand yester
day arrived, for the purpose of revising
his testimony, Mr.. Stevens went up
stairs and did dot return until he came, to
take the stand During his absence DR..
Gray appeared and the quorum was made
up. When Mr.. Stevens came down to the
committee room again he carried in his
hand bundle of documents that had an ex-
ceedingly voluminous look and presaged a
sitting of some length.
1t is needless to give an abstract of the tes-
timony of the ex-Minister. His side of this
international controversy has been stated
fully in the press and through addresses
made by Mr.. Stevens that the public is more
or less familiar with it. The only thing
necessary to be done was for Mr..
Stevens to put under oath the
matters of which the committee
had been advised unofficially and to enter
cussed in public. This latter phase of Mr..
Stevens testimony was by far the most inn
portant, and every precaution was taken by
the committee to prevent any inkllng of
what this character of evidence was from
reaching beyond the committee room.
ATTITUDE OF THE ENGLISH MINISTER
There has been much speculation since the
Presidents message was sent to Congress as
to the contents of the message from Mr..
Stevens to the State Department that was
withheld by the President on the ground of
public policy. 1t is understood that this let
ter was one of those confidential COM
munications from diplomatic agents
touching upon the so-called intrigues of
other Governments. Mr.. Stevens today
gave the committee what he supposed to be
the letter referred to, and it can be said in a
general way that it related to the atti-
tude of the English Minister in con-
Islands and his relations with the
court of the deposed Queen. 1t is
understood that the English minister was,
perhaps, as near to the Queen as any one on
the islands, and was able thereby to exercise
great influence over her. His son, Mr..
Wodehouse, is the husband of the
half-sister of Princess Kainlani, who
throne in the event that the
deposed Queen should be restored. With this
Princess subsequently on the throne and a
British subject related to the Royal Family
and enjoying the power and in
fuence that such relationship would give
it could be easily seen, Mr.. Stevens said,
what the effect would be upon American in
terests, and how they would be subordinated
to everything that was British. The
British Minister had lived on the
islands for years, his family had inter-
married to some extent, and naturally he
would be opposed to any scheme that looked
to the overthrow of the Queen, and, worst
of all, annexation to the United States. 1t
was said by Mr.: Stevens that the
British Minister, Mr.. Wodehouse, was
favorable to the disposition of the Queen,
and that he entertained an opinion of
her that was In keeping with the opinion of
other well informed and progressive
citizens; but while he wanted her off
the throne, he was equally as deslrous
that Kaiulani should succeed her. The
methods used in disseminating this idea
among the people and the part played by the
British Minister is said to have been an in
teresting feature of the evidence given by
Mr. Stevens.
PERSONAL CHARACTER OF THE QUEEN.
Mr. Stevens also went into the subject of
the personal character of the Queen and
those whom she gathered about her and gave
testimony to the effect that all the
reports limited at were more than
true and that the condition of affairs
about this Royal Court were in utter an
tagonism to the ideas of morality that COM
commend themselves to modern civilizati on.
He also gave in detail the events happening
long prior to the revolution and fur.
nished the committee with data and
statistics pertaining to the commercial
wealth of the islands, their Importance from
military standpoint, and information con-
cerning the intelligence and condition OF the
people so far as it might relate to the subject
of self-government.
Mr.. Stevens was on the stand for a long
time, and, it is understood, made strong
denials of very many of the positive state
ments of Mr. Blount. He was cross-examined
closely by Mr.. Gray, the examination-in-
chief being conducted by Mr.. Morgan
a'