#227 in the Moʻolelo series
Albert Wilcox was a former Premier under the queen, and had joined the Committee of Safety because he felt aggrieved and being dismissed from this position. But when the committee of safety voted to overthrow the queen and apply for annexation to the United States, Wilcox voted against that Resolution which had been forwarded by Lorrin Thurston. The next day he resigned from the Committee of Safety and he wanted nothing to do with the overthrow of the monarchy. This shows that, like Iʻm finding with people such as John F. Colburn, motives of the actors in this drama were complex. Of the 13 members of the committee four were American, four were Hawaiian citizens born of American parents, two were German, one was Scottish and one was Australian.
Note: Lorrin Thurston borrowed the name “Committee of Safety” from the French Revolution, which he was a student of, and thought of himself as a revolutionary in a similar vein.
The letter from this “Citizens’ Committee,” reprinted here from The Hawaiian Kingdom blog, included the names of the “insurgents” as the blog describes them:
Hawaiian Islands,
Honolulu, January 16, 1395.
To His Excellency John L. Stevens,
American Minister Resident:SIR: We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Honolulu, respectfully represent that, in view of recent public events in this Kingdom, culminating in the revolutionary acts of Queen Liliuokalani on Saturday last, the public safety is menaced and lives and property are in peril, and we appeal to you and the United States forces at your command for assistance.
The Queen, with the aid of armed force and accompanied by threats of violence and bloodshed from those with whom she was acting, attempted to proclaim a new constitution; and while prevented for the time from accomplishing her object, declared publicly that she would only defer her action.
This conduct and action was upon an occasion and under circumstances which have created general alarm and terror.
We are unable to protect ourselves without aid, and, therefore, pray for the protection of the United States forces.
Henry B. Cooper,
P.W. McChesney,
W.C. Wilder,
C. Bolte,
A. Brown,
William O. Smith,
Henry Waterhouse,
Theo. F. Lansing,
Ed. Suhr,
L. A. Thurston,
John Emmeluth,
Wm. B. Castle,
J.A. McCandless,Citizen’s Committee of Safety.
the umiverse 