Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 187, 13 August 1894 — THE QUEEN'S PROTEST. [ARTICLE]

THE QUEEN'S PROTEST.

A Masterly Document. Dolc Outdone. Hoiolulu. H I.. •lane 28th. 1H94. To SlR : — HaTing ia mind the aiuir.ib)o rel;itioiiH hitherto ex- 1 ihliii}; between t!.e gr»vernTncnt uhieh v>a htre re|-resent, ana the goverumcnt of Hewaii, a» evi«lenre.] lv m.»ny years of frien<llv intercoar*e, an«l, being de«iir«>ns <*f l*ringif*g to the att« nti"n of vour t»ovornnieut the f«cts here, fullowing: I Liliuokalani, by the gri»ct* of 0 *1 «nd nnder the Cnustitntion <>f the Hiwaiian Kingdom, Queeo. il<> herfcby soleinnly pro-te-t that I am now, aml have contiuiii asl' been since the 20th dnr of Janoary, A. 1). 1891, tbe Constitational Sovereign r.f the H iwaiiau Kiugdoui. thst on tho J7t!i dav (f Jannary, A. D 1803 (in tbc rd«. of the I’resideut of the l>nited StntcB liiins<?lf). ‘Dy an nct <>f i'»r, cominittcd with the participation of a diplornatic representative uf the Unitod St;iles. aud withont the anthonty o{ (\>ngr< -s, the governuient of a feehle but friend!y »nd confiding people lias beon overthrown. A 8iibstanti.il wrong has thus been done whieh a due regard for our natioual character as well as the rights of the iujured people reqnires «o should endenvor to repair;’ tliat on said date, I, and my goverument, prepaied n writton prot«*st ngaiust any and -all acts against niyaelf and the C6nstitutional Govermneut of the llawaiian Kingdom by certain P rsousJclaiming to have established a Provisional government of, and for this Kingdotn, thnt sai«l j*rotcsl was forwanled to tho Prcsidont of tho Unitcd States, also to Sanford II. Dolc, the Ohainnan of tho Executive C«>uncil of the said Provigional governmeut, and was by letter duly acknowledged; thnt in responao to said j*rotest, tho Presideut of the United States. sent a sj*eeial commissioner iu the pers"** of Hon. Jaraes H. 13!(*uut, to Honolulu to mike nu accurate, full, and impartial iuvostigation of the facts attending the *snbvorsion of the Constitutional Govornraent of Hnwaii, and the iustalltrent in its plaeo of the Provisional goverument; that said Comraissionei arrivod in Honolulu, on the 29th day of March, A D 1893, aud fullfilled his dutics with untiring diligence and with rare tact und fairncss;, that said Comraissiouer found that the Governraont of Hawaii surrendorod its autuoritv undor a threat of war. until such time only as the governraent of the United States. upon tho fucts beiug j*reseuted to it, should reinst«te the Constitutional Sovcreign, and tho Provisional governmeut was created to exist nctil teruis of nuion with the Uniloil Statos of America have been negotiated and agreed apon, also that but the law!ess oeeapation of Honolulu. onder false j*retexts bv United States forces, aud but for the l*niteil States Minister‘s reeognition of the Provisional govemment, when the Uniled States forces were its j sole aaj*port *nd coustitated its only mi!itarv strengtb, I, and ray govemracnt woold never ha\e yielded to the Provisioual gov- j emmeul, even for a timo, aud fcr the sole parj*ose of submitting j my eaae to the enlighiened, justice of ihe Unitod States, or J for any parpose; aiso, that the great wroug done to this feeble j but iudepeudent state by an { abuse of tbe authority of the | United States, sboa!d be uodoue by restoriog the legitim*te gov - j emmenl. Tbat, siuco tbe bappeuiug of i aaid eveuts, the £xecutive and i the Congress of tbe Umted!

Stalea have forraal!y dfxliued the | orertnris of the said Provi»»,onal govert,ment fōt the «^aenlion * of the Hawaiian lsl»iids to the Unīted States Th*t Dot«itij»linding «aid recitcd fwcte, *»aid PruvisiooaI j governmeiit has coutinued to exercise th« fanotion of govern ■ mcut in tbis Kiugdom to the present date, aod that its eoarse, from the tiroe of its ineepiion to ' tbe present, hae been marked by a succesaionof arbitrary. illiberal and dispotic aots, and by tbe euactment and enforcement of pretende«l laws subversive of tbe first principles of free goverament and attor*y at variance with the tr.vditions, history, habits nnd wishes of the Hawaiian people. That said Govemment has nmv recectly c«mivened and is now holding what it is plea.sed to tenn a coustituti«*nal conveution, coinposed of nineioen (19) solf-appointed nienibers, l*eing the President and Executive and Advisorr Conncils of said Provisional G -vermnent, and eighteen 18] delegatcs elected bv less than ten per cent (I0percent) of the legal voters of the Kingdom, consisting almost cntirely of aliens, and chietly of such i a!iens as have no permaneut hoine <>r inte*rt-sts in Hawaii, . nnd whieh said convention is uow considering a draft of a e .nstitution [copy of wliieh is herefh anne\ed] sabmitted for its approvaI by the Executive 0’ouneil of said provisionalgovcminent cona:sting «>f tlie President and Ministers thereof. That it is the expressed purIK,*se of the said provisionaI » govemtneuttopromulgate such Constitution as ; hall be ap1 pn*ved bv said convcntionwithi l • out submitting it to a vote «>f I the people, or of any of the poople, and to thereupon pro- . el&im a government under such i constitution, and under the * name of the liopuhlie of Ha- ‘ waii. t .... That tho ani«l provisional government has not assumed a . republican or other Constitu- , tional form, but l'as remained I a mere executive eouneil or r oligarchy, set up with«*ut the assent of the people; that it has not sought to Hml a per- , manenl basis of jK*pular suj>jK*rt, and hasglven noevidence , of an mtention t*> do so; ihat its - rej*resentatives assert that the ; people of Hawaii are unHt for ■ j*oj*ular government and franklv avow that thcv eun l*e hest ruled by arbitrarv or despotic ; I powcr, and that the proposed | [ constitution, so submitted by 1 said executivo eouneil of the 1 > j>rovisional governraeot for the | •** approval of said convention * does not j*rovide for a eoutemplate a free, popular or repuhliean formofgovernment,— , hut does contemplate and provide for a form of government I of arl*itrarv and oligarehicaI 1 • O po\vers, concentrated in the | hands of a few individuals 5r- 1 resj*onsible to the people, or to j the representative« of the j*eoj*le, and whieh is opposed to j all modern ideas of froo govemmeot. Wherefore, I. the constitu- j tloual sovereign of the Hawaiiaa Kiugdom, ou behalf of my- j sidf aiui the jxx*ple of my said Kingdom do hcrebv again most solomnly protcst against the act aforesaid. and against any and all other acts done against myself, roy people and the eonstitutional government of ihe Hawaiian Kingdom, and I do j hereby most eamestly request, that the government represent-1 ed bv vou will not extend 5ts j * * I recognition to any pretented govemment of the Hawaiian Kingdom under whatever' name it may apply for such : ; recognition, otlier than the ! constitutional govemment so

desj»aeed as aforesaid, —except such g«>vemoi-fUt ahail shew its ūtle to ex st by the will of the j>eople of Hawaii, expressed at an elect ; on whervin the whole jieopl«.- shall haVe had an opportuo5ty, unembarrased by force and endeterred by fearor fraud. to register their preferences as to the form of govem- j ment under whieh they will live. . With assarances of my esteem, I am. Sir, (Signed) Lililokalam.