Kuokoa Home Rula, Volume VII, Number 27, 2 July 1909 — The Claim of Liliuokalani Former Queen of Hawaii [ARTICLE]

The Claim of Liliuokalani Former Queen of Hawaii

St;\temkn r -uii; Gkorgk 11 McCi.fi i \n Bkfore Tiie LOMMIH'EK Mi McClell.vi 1 wouia une to ask that the petinon whieh been pi epared hy the (oimer queen some lime ago, anel bi'j,ned hei, may bc prmted īn the recoid of theso hearyisjs. The CH\iRM\N rh.it is all rijjht, pa? 1 ; it lo the stenopraphei. Mr McCl.El IW' Now would like to preface my remarks, Mr Chairman aiul gentlemen of the commitl.ee, by a statenieut thu neiih r Hatch not i?iyself are )etained as counscl (or tho q'ieen in this elaim. We hav<- absolutely no fin.iiu't.il con,iPction with this elaun, and we appear heie simply as citi of Hawan, expiessing the general sentiment of thc conimunit} ot Hawan m regard to this matter, and to pre-,vt tbe merils o{ the case. First I \\ould hke to answer one or two questions whieh were raised by llie of the committee m regard to the obligatiou ot ihe United States toward this elaim, in view of .the fact t!i.it the Territory of Hawaii receives the incoraetron eio vn lands I want to say it would be emmently sattsfactoiy to the claimant īn this case if the United Siatcs Gommoent were to pass an act providmg that appraiserb bc appointed to appraise the value of such parts ef the crown laneh as have taken by theUnited States Gavernment u°.elf tor its own uses, and pay her the appraised value of these In other words, yieldmg all of that part of 1,000,030 ac-05 to whieh Judg; T ī itch has sought to show you the fc-mer rnorarch has s ii.jht if you would eltminate all that part and simply appraise, or condemn by proce'jb ol the court, those parts oi the crown land, whieh have been actually taken by this Government, and are us?d to-day by tlns Goi'emment foi its fortificatbns and its mili~ ary posts ind us naval station at Honolulu, she would thave a compensation of about four times the amount whieh is covered by the pendmg bill, and if this rommittee is prepared to indicate that the United States would be glad to do justicc by simply paying for the property whieh it itself has takcn foi its own useand purposes, we would very gladly changc our bill to conform to that*by authorizing the condemniation of these lands whieh this Government has taken, by executive proclamation, and is usmg to-day for its own goveinmental purposes. I would say that this land includes the entire navat station at Honolulu, whieh includes two valnable wharves, and very va'uable frontage on the harbor e.xtending some half nule; it includes the land on whieh the quartermaster's depot is located īn Honohilu, whieh is valuable city property, it mcludes the entire military post Shaltcr, and it includes the land of Wai-anae-uka, some 15,000 acres wlueh this Governmentis now improving as an additional nuhtary post Now, gentleman, as regards the claimant's contention that this Govcrnment was responsible as the moving force in tbe downfall of the monarchy we wisli to cal( your attention to certain governmcnt documents, v.oncetning some of the events that occuired and the way īn whieh they occurred, leading up to and forming a part of the overthrow of the then reigning monaieh of the Hawaiian Islands. First. I'iyant to rcfer you to the letter of Mr. Stevens, found on page 996 īn the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for January and March, 1894, sett<ng !o|-th the attitude of tno. res:dent mimster, Steveni>, rwo rponths befoie ihis revolution oocurre4. He wcite9, to ihe SSecretary of State, John W. FōSītr that he eonsiders īi his duty to make this extensive report, and says' An īnlulliKon/ ai.el etanunat>ion of ibe facts < tit lnir<lly fiul to lfai.l to thocoiiclusi<iii thaL thoielationa an<l polK'i of Ihn Unik'il Stnt(>B tow«ul Ilnwiui «i]l aouii ilemund h.huo ii not tho uimplion o| iluL'ihno meaaun?», with the ann to Becure Amonenn intcreals anil fntuie auj)ruimioy by «ikoui ag»ng tj(iwmian elewlopiuenl nml aulm.? to iuomote ioajion&iblv jjovti :mient in thtstfi> mlaiKla Thi« wai» wiillen two mantha bpl'ote hostilnies heg=m ChaiE.MAN. Were you living īn Hawaii then? Mr. McCLELLAN No, sir. The ChaIRM'VM. llow long have you hvcd there? Mr. McCLEL 1./iN Ten ye:irs Tle goes oii tu aclvise, on page 1002 of this report (vol. 2, Senate Reports, 1893, to March I§94J, t(Amcncanize Lhe jsl#nds, āaaqme of thc c;own |ands," etc., iia4 goes on lo piaboiate the pohcy. I will not attempt to ;ead m full, but mere|y show that two months before this ievoiution the Amenean minister residcnt isreporting to the Secretaty of Smlk of this Govcmmcnt and advuinj; that ( 'We- procecd't) AniPiiennūe the blands and aE3Urr,'j eonfcroJ of the qowii