Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-06
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letters and Dispatches on the Hawaiian
Question
That Have Not Before Been Given 10
the Public From Mr.. Willis and
Minister Thurston.

| the Public From Mr. Willis and
Minister Thur.ton.
The following additional extracts from
the Hawaiian correspondence submitted
to the House by the President at the be-
ginning of this session will be of interest
at this time. A confidential communities ton
from Minister Willis TO Secretary Gresham
dated Honolulu. November IL, 1893, says:
ION the 9TH instant, at IL O'Clock. l pre-
scented TO the provisional government Mr.
Blount's letter of recall and the letter ac-
crediting me as his successor. The time
since then has been occupied with the re-
ception of executive. judicial and diplomatic
representatives Of the provisional and for
eign governments. / have not therefore.
had an opportunity Of executing more fully
your instructions, nor was fuller action ad-
visable while the excitement was so great.
1 expect on next Monday morning. Novem-
! Der IL, to have an interview with the queen,
which, IL satisfactory, will be followed i'm
mediately by one with the provisional gov
eminent / have, therefore. Enclosed a teie-
gram TO your dispatch agent at San Fran
cisco, as follows: Report can be sent to
Congress on the 10th November it being
my understanding that you desired to have
action here.
THE Alameda, the next vessel leaving
here after next Monday, will not reach San
Francisco until November %, during which
interval IL is hoped some definite result
may be secured
The Interview with the queen. first had,
was evidently not Satisfactory" for on
the 18th of November Mr.. Willis teiegraphed
Secretary Gresham as follows:
Views of first party so extreme as to
require instructions
(SlgnedD WILLIS"
To Protect the Queen.
Mr.. Willis. in his confidential dispatch of
November IL, intimated that the question
as to whether the United States was pre-
pared to protect the person of Mcqueen had
been officially asked of him by the British
minister. Major wodehouse. Mr.. Willis
says:
II replied Ito the British minister that.
without reference to her royal claims, the
queen stood in such relations to the United
States that she was entitled to and would
receive the amplest protection at their
hands. AS a matter of fact, / had already
ascertained that, at present she did not
desire our protection. After next Monday.
however, and earlier If necessary, / shall
insist on her coming to the legation"
The domiciling OF Queen Liliuokalani In
the American legation appears to have
been another of Mr.. Willis original inten-
There is also included in the correspon-
dence a ve-y significant letter from Minis
ter Thurston to Secretary Gresham. Reply
Ing to the statement of the Presidents no.
sition as based on Mr. Biount's report MIR
Thurston, under date as recent as Decem-
Der last Zone day after the assembling of
Congress and just before he started back
to Honolulu), writes as follows;
Minister Thurston's Letter.
in opposition to such proposed action, 4
hereby on behalf Of the government L rep
resent, submit:
There is nothing lacking to constitute
the present government of Hawaii a full
free and independent sovereignty, subject
to all the obligations and entitled to all the
rights, privileges and courtesies accorded
by the United States government to the
most favored nations with whom Il Is I'm
treaty relations.
THE government of the United States
has acquired no jurisdiction over the indie
pendent sovereign state of Hawaii. There
being two distinct sovereignties, jurisdic-
ton by the United States can only be OBJ
tanned In three ways, viz: % By conquest;
% by treaty; t3) by voluntary submission
to the decision Of the United States govern
ment in the nature of arbitration.
There is no claim made that the SOW
ereignty OF Hawaii Is subordinate to that
OF the United States by reason of CONQUEST
nor has IL been surrendered by treaty
There is suggestion however in the COM
munfcation by yourself to the President
above referred to, that authority by volun-
tary submission In the nature Of a power
to arbitrate has been conferred upon the
government OF the United States. / refer
TO that portion wherein you state that The
government of Hawaii surrendered its au-
thority under a threat of war, until such
time as the government of the United
states, upon the facts being presented to
It, should reinstate the constitutional SOW
ereign: and the provisional government was
exist Of,
the United States of America have been
negotiated and agreed upon.'
submit that no such authority has been
conferred, and in support of such contention
present the following reasons:
l. III the parties in Hawaii contending
for the control of the government had in
tended to submit their differences to the
arbitration Of the United States a formal
statement of such differences and the points
to be settled would have been drawn IN
and signed in the usual form Of an agree
ment for arbitration.
No such action has been taken
=. An arbitration Is essentially a judicial |
proceeding, the elemental eatures of which |
under the principles and forms of procedure
in use botn in the United States and Ha-
wall, are. first, notice Of the charges made
or points at issue; second. opportunity to |
hear md cross-exam.ne evidence produced
by the opposing party; third. opportunity |
10 produce evidence In support of claims /
made to meet that Of the opposing party; |
fourth, full and fair hearing accorded
to both parties in open court
In no particular have these particulars
fundamental to the just and equitable de-
clsion of the simplest judicial issue been |
observed In this Admirably complicated |
question. ."
1t is an axiom of law that no man NAV |
take advantage of his own wrong. The fact
that the United States minister with or (
without the authority of his government.
may have tresspassed upon the interna-
tional rights Of Hawaii, does not thereby |
confer jurisdiction upon the government
or the United States to now again. and de- |
liberately trespass Upon such rights.
IF the United States minister or naval
oincers have exceeded their authority or |
violated their instructions they are re-
s2onsible to their government therefor I
The Hawaiian government had no control |
over them 1t Is not responsible for what
they did. and is not ami cannot be held |
answerable to the government of the United !
States for their acts nor to have forfeited |
any of its attributes of independent SOW
ereignty by reason Of their actions, whether
the same were right or wrong. authorized |
or unauthorized"