§ CAPTAIN DONELANOn behalf of the hon. Member for West Kerry (Sir THOMAS ESMONDE), I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the Republic of Hawaii is under the protection of the United States; and, whether it would be possible for Her Majesty's Government to approach the Government of the United States with a view to obtaining proper treatment for Queen Liliokuolani?
§ DR. MACGREGOR (Inverness-shire)Before this question is answered, as I happen to know the lady who was formerly Queen of Hawaii, I wish to ask the hon. Baronet whether he will allow me to join the hon. Baronet opposite in bespeaking for her kindly treatment, and whether he is aware that she is imprisoned against the will of a very large majority of her subjects?
§ SIR E. GREYI cannot add anything with regard to the imprisonment of the Queen to what I have already stated in reply to previous questions. In answer to the question on the paper, I have to say that the Republic of Hawaii is not under the protection of the United States, and no such action could be taken by Her Majesty's Government.
§ DR. MACGREGORCan the hon. Baronet not make an ad misericordium appeal to the American Government?
§ SIR E. GREYAs I have said, the Republic of Hawaii is not under the protection of the American Government, so that they are not the proper people to refer to.
§ DR. MACGREGORHas the Republic of Hawaii been recognised by the British Government?
§ SIR E. GREYYes, Sir; the present Government has been recognised.
§ MR. J. F. HOGAN (Tipperary, Mid.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether he has observed the communication of Mr. Frederick Harrison, a British subject resident for 17 years in Honolulu, in The Standard of 18th April; (2) whether any official confirmation of the outrages, alleged by Mr. Harrison to have been committed on himself and other British subjects at the instance of the Government of the Republic of Hawaii, has been received; (3) whether any protests from oppressed British subjects in Honolulu have reached the Foreign Office; (4) whether he can state the number of British subjects that have been sentenced to imprisonment for alleged complicity in the recent Royalist rising at Honolulu; (5) whether it is a fact that no British war vessel was present at Honolulu to support the protests of Major Hawes, the British Resident Commissioner, against the ill-treatment of British subjects under martial law; and (6) what steps, if any, have been taken to enforce treaty obligations with the 1624 Republic of Hawaii, guaranteeing to British subjects the protection and enjoyment of the due and regular process of law?
§ SIR E. GREYThe answer to the first paragraph is in the affirmative. Many British subjects were arrested for charges of participation in, or complicity with, the insurrection. The reports do not confirm the stories of outrages described by Mr. Harrison; but they contain numerous complaints of hardships suffered while in prison. Protests have been received from the British subjects arrested and they are being carefully considered. Besides the British subjects who have been sentenced to imprisonment, many have been dealt with under martial law and subsequently induced, under pressure as they assert, to leave the country. No British man-of-war was at Honolulu at the time of the outbreak. The proceedings of the Hawaiian Government were all taken during the interruption of the regular course of law by the proclamation of martial law, which has now ceased, and Her Majesty's Government are now considering whether the facts, when fully known, would justify them in taking any action.