Difference between revisions of "Template:Nhsc-v1-274"

Latest revision as of 00:48, 24 April 2006

appears that American nationals (that is, "American expatriates") comprised only a small part of the membership of the Committee of Thirteen since: 70/ "The feeling of dissatisfaction with the government and the desire for a change was shared by haoles of all nationalities and by some native Hawaiians." 71/ The editors of major newspapers in opposition to Kalakaua were largely British nationals. With respect to petitions that nationals sent to the American and British Ministers, there appears to be "no reason to believe that any of the governments appealed to would have ventured to interfere in the internal politics of Hawaii." 72/

H. A. P. Carter, the Hawaiian Minister in Washington, held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Bayard on July 6, 1887, in the United States. Carter told Bayard that:

...the state of affairs In Hawaii was very critical, and he wished to know what would be the action of the commander of the United States vessels that might go there, or the action of the U.S. Minister, in case the other foreign powers were to land forces for the purpose of protecting their citizens against what he called "the mob" ...that if that was done, Major Wodehouse, British Minister,... who is an aggressive man, would no doubt move promptly to the defense of his people.... I [Bayard] said it was simply impossible for me to tell; that I could give no information upon a purely supposititious case...73/

Apparent American opposition (at least on the part of the U.S. Minister in Hawaii) is revealed in a letter written by Carter's son, Charles, to Bayard in 1894. He states:

In June, 1887, my father...came to...Michigan, to attend my graduation...He was compelled to leave in the midst of the festivities because...he learned that it was the intention of the United States Government to send the warship Adams to Honolulu to protect the late King Kalakaua a his government from the anticipated Revolution predicted in the then latest despatches and he further told me that in consequence of his assurances to you, that the revolution was being conducted by his friends and would be in the best interests of Hawaii, that the orders to [U.S.] Minister Merrill and the warships at Honolulu were not to interfere with those conducting the revolt ...I have since learned from those [in] Honolulu that up to a short time before the revolt [was] consummated, Minister Merrill was indifferent if not hostile to the party of reform, but at the last moment changed in his expressions and did not interpose as had been feared...74/

Already confronted with considerable opposition to its financial policies and its "Oceana supremacy" aspirations (also known as the "Samoan policy"), in 1887, the Gibson Administration confronted an additional problem—rumors of bribery and graft concerning the granting of licenses to import opium. The Hawaiian Gazette, on May 17, 1887, printed a synopsis of twelve affidavits, including one by T. Aki, a Chinese rice-planter who failed to receive a license, even though a "present" of $75,000 had been given to the king. 75/ British Commissioner Wodehouse had informed his government five weeks earlier about these charges