380 



HAWAII. 



The Queen's Surrender. After receiving 

 the official recognition of the United States min- 

 ister, Mr. Damon and another representative of 

 the Provisional Government went over to the 

 station house, where the Queen's ministers were 

 with her armed forces. Mr. Damon and J. 0. 

 Carter, representing the Provisional Govern- 

 ment, and the four ministers accompanied the 

 Queen to the palace, where a conference was 

 held, at which two young princes, H. A. Wide- 

 mann, Paul Neumann, and E. C. McFarland 

 were present also. Mr. Damon informed the 

 Queen that she was deposed and a provisional 

 government established, and asked her to submit 

 quietly and sign an abdication. The ministers 

 counseled this course, but she refused, and was 

 at first upheld by Judge Widemann and Paul 

 Neumann. Damon told the Queen that she 

 could surrender under protest, and assured her 

 that her case would be reviewed and adjudicated 

 upon by the Government at Washington. Car- 

 ter suggested that peaceful submisison to force 

 would help her case. Her legal counselors ad- 

 vised her to surrender under protest, Judge 

 Widemann predicting that the result would be 

 the same as in 1843, when Great Britain restored 

 the Hawaiian sovereign and flag. At last she 

 gave way, and signed a paper reserving all her 

 rights as Queen under the Constitution, protest- 

 ing against all acts done against herself and the 

 Constitutional Government by " certain persons 

 claiming to have established a provisional gov- 

 ernment," declaring that she yielded " to the 

 superior force of the United States of America," 

 whose minister plenipotentiary " has caused 

 United States troops to be landed at Honolulu, 

 and declared that he would support the said Gov- 

 ernment," and resigning her powers in the fol- 

 lowing terms : 



Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces and 

 perhaps the loss of life, I do, under this protest, and 

 impelled by said force, yield my authority until such 

 time as the Government of the United States shall, 

 upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action 

 ot its representative and reinstate me in the authority 

 which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the 

 Hawaiian Islands. 



Mr. Damon accepted this agreement as con- 

 taining the best terms he could make with the 

 Queen, and took it to Judge Dole, the President 

 of the Provisional Government, who indorsed it. 



The station-house and barracks were still in 

 the possession of the Queen's forces. When a de- 

 mand was made that Marshal Wilson should sur- 

 render the building, arms, and ammunition and 

 disband his force, he refused to do so except 

 upon the written command of the Queen. The 

 order was then prepared and her signature ob- 

 tained, and when this was taken to the Marshal 

 he surrendered the station house and military 

 barracks, about half past seven o'clock. 



After the surrender of the Queen's Govern- 

 ment the Provisional Government was formally 

 recognized as the existing de facto Government 

 within two or three days by the French, Port- 

 uguese, British, and Japanese representatives. 



Proclamation of an American Protect- 

 orate. Agitation on the part of whites op- 

 posed to annexation, coupled with the efforts of 

 one English and two native newspapers to block 

 the efforts of the Government, created a situ- 



ation of danger which the new rulers felt unable 

 to meet. They were therefore impelled to ask 

 for the direct assistance of the United States 

 Government in the preservation of public security 

 and order. At their invitation, Minister Stevens 

 and Capt. Wiltse decided to establish a protect- 

 orate over the Hawaiian Islands, and when the 

 flag of the United States was raised at nine 

 o'clock on Feb. 1, the United States minister is- 

 sued the following proclamation to the Hawaiian 

 people : 



At the request of the Provisional Government of 

 the Hawaiian Islands, I hereby, in the name of the 

 United States of America, assume protection of the 

 Hawaiian Islands for the protection of life and prop- 

 erty and occupation of public buildings and Hawaiian 

 soil, so far as may be necessary for the purpose speci- 

 fied, but not interfering with the administration 

 of public affairs by the Provisional Government. 

 This action is taken pending and subject to negotia- 

 tions at Washington. 



Early in the morning a force of United States 

 marines was drawn up before the Government 

 building, and after the flag was hoisted over it 

 the proclamation was publicly read. In a dis- 

 patch announcing the assertion of a protectorate, 

 Minister Stevens said : 



The Hawaiian pear is now fully ripe, and this is 

 the golden hour for the United States to pluck it. 



On the receipt of his dispatch Secretary Fos- 

 ter wrote, Feb. 11, disavowing the minister's ac- 

 tion so far as it implied " the establishment of a 

 protectorate, which is in fact the positive erec- 

 tion of a paramount authority over or in place 

 of the duly constituted local Government, and 

 the assumption by the protector of the especial 

 responsibilities attached to such formal protec- 

 tion," or so far as it impaired " in any way the 

 independent sovereignty of the Hawaiian Gov- 

 ernment by substituting the flag and the power 

 of the United States as the symbol and manifes- 

 tation of paramount authority." 



You are authorized, upon the receipt of these in- 

 structions, to arrange with the commanding naval 

 officer for the continued presence on shore of such 

 marine force as may be practicable and requisite for 

 the security of the lives and property interests of 

 citizens of the United States, and the repression of 

 lawlessness and public disturbance threatening them, 

 whenever in your judgment it shall be necessary so 

 to do, or when such co-operative measures may be 

 sought for good cause by the Government of the Ha- 

 waiian Islands; being, however, always careful to 

 make due discrimination between those functions of 

 voluntary or accorded protection and the assumption 

 of a protectorate over the Hawaiian Islands by the 

 United States. No step should be taken by you, or 

 will be sanctioned by this Government, which might 

 tend to derogate in any way from the independence 

 of the Government of the Hawaiian Islands, which the 

 United States have recognized as sovereign, and with 

 which they treat on terms of sovereign equality. 



The flag was kept flying and the American 

 garrison maintained until after the Democratic 

 Administration came into power at Washington. 

 Capt. Wiltse was recalled, and Rear-Admiral 

 Skerrett, who had landed troops in Honolulu in 

 1874, being appointed commander of the Pacific 

 squadron, was ordered to Hawaii by command 

 of President Harrison. Secretary of the Navy 

 Tracy told him, before he took his departure, 

 that the Government would " be very glad to 



