Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 2011 — 1894 newspaper describes hope for Queen's restoration [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

1894 newspaper describes hope for Queen's restoration

By Kau'i Sai-Dudoit n 1893, Lorrin Thurston organized a group under the name "The Committee of Safety." The group's objectives were simple: first, a complete takeover of the Hawaiian government, and second, to hand over the kingdom to the United States, but they could not have succeeded without the help of the U.S. resident Minis-

ter John L. Stevens who, as part of the plan, would order the landing of U.S. marines in Honolulu, providing protection for the treasonous insurgents. Stevens' role in the overthrow would tip the halanee of power in favor of the Committee of Safety and on the morning of Jan. 17, 1893, the Committee of Safety declared itself to be the Provisional Government, headed by Sanford Dole. With American cannons and maehine guns trained on 'Iolani Palaee, members of the Committee of Safety stood on the steps of the royal palaee and proclaimed the Provisional Government of Hawai'i. They placed the Queen under house arrest and on Feb. 14, a treaty was signed between the Provisional Government and Secretary of State James Blaine. President Benjamin Harrison thereafter submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification, in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, however, the election for the U.S. presidency just a few months earlier saw the defeat of Harrison by the president-elect, Grover Cleveland. Upon entering office, President Cleveland received notice by Hawaiian envoys commissioned by the Queen that the overthrow and so-called revolution of the Hawaiian Kingdom government derived from the illegal intervention by U.S . diplomats and military personnel, and he immediately withdrew the treaty from further consideration. He appointed James Blount, U.S. Rep. from Georgia, as special commissioner to investigate the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and to report his findings. Commissioner Blount arrived in Hono-

lulu in April of 1893 and his first act was to fire the U.S. Minister to Hawai'i, John L. Stevens, and then he ordered American troops off of Hawaiian soil and further ordered the removal of the American flag and the raising of the Hawaiian flag. From April to October 1893 he would conduct hun-

dreds of interviews and found that the United States legation assigned to the Hawaiian Kingdom, together with U.S. Marines and Navy personnel, were directly responsible for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Government in a document known today as the Blount report. The report also detailed the culpability of the United States government in violating international laws concerning Hawaiian State territorial sovereignty. President Cleveland committed to the Queen that he would restore the government of the Hawaiian Kingdom if the Queen would provide amnesty for the revolutionaries. Initially Lili'uokalani resisted the idea of pardoning the usurpers involved in the overthrow but after some dialogue with the President and his representatives, she eonsented to the terms and conditions of the agreement and waited patiently for the President to take action, but powerful polkieal forces with dreams of an American empire, made it impossible for Cleveland to follow through on his commitment to reinstate the lawful Hawaiian Govemment. Without the assistance of President Cleveland, the Queen and her country was left to suffer under the eontrol of the American puppet regime. ■ Ho'oīaupa'i: Hawaiian Language Newspaper Project is a collaborative partnership among the Bishop Museum, Awaiaulu ine., Alu Like ine. anel Hale Kuamo 'o to utilize moāem technology to preser\>e anel provide access to the voluminous writings in the Hcrwcnian language new>spapers for free access at nupepa. org. Kau 'i Sai-Dudoit has been the Project Manager ofHo 'olaupa 'i since 2002.

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