582	                      HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS.
form, in having the King proclaim that constitution on the recommendation of the cabinet, which he had been 
prevailed upon by a committee from the mass meeting to appoint.
The leaders of the movement urged the members of the Queen's cabinet not to resign, feeling assured that until 
they had done so the Queen would not feel that the power rested in her alone to proclaim a new constitution. In 
order to give further evidence of her purpose to abandon the design of proclaiming it, a proclamation was 
published on the morning- of the 16th of January, signed by herself and her ministers, pledging her not to do 
so, and was communicated to Minister Stevens that morning.
The following papers were among the flies of the legation when turned over to me:
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,
Honolulu, H. I., January 16, 1893.
SIR: I have the honor to inclose to your excellency a copy of a " By Authority" Notice issued this morning by 
Her Majesty's ministers under Her Majesty's sanction and approval.
I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, your excellency's obedient servant,
SAMUEL PARKER,
Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
To His Excellency JOHN L. STEVENS,
United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Honolulu.
BY AUTHORITY.
Her Majesty's ministers desire to express their appreciation for the quiet and order which have prevailed in this 
community since the events of Saturday, and are authorized to say that the position taken by Her Majesty in regard 
to the promulgation of a new constitution was under stress of her native subjects.
Authority is given for the assurance that any changes desired in the fundamental law of the land will be sought 
only by methods provided in the constitution itself. Her Majesty's ministers request all citizens to accept the 
assurance of Her Majesty in the same spirit in which it is given.
LILIUOKALANI. 
SAMUEL PARKKR, 
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
W. H. CORNWELL, 
Minister of Finance.,
JOHN P. COLBURN,
Minister of the Interior.
A. P. PETERSON, 
Attorney- General.
On the same day a mass meeting of between fifteen hundred and two thousand people assembled, attended by 
the leading men in the liberal and national reform parties, and adopted resolutions as follows:
Resolved, That the assurance of Her Majesty the Queen contained in this day's proclamation is accepted by the 
people as a satisfactory guaranty that the Government does not and will not seek any modification of the 
constitution by any other means than those provided in the organic law.
Resolved, That accepting this assurance, the citizens here assembled will give their cordial support to the 
administration, and indorse them in sustaining that policy.
To the communication inclosing the Queen's proclamation just cited, there appears to have been no response. 
On the next day, as if to give further assurance, the following paper was sent to Mr. Stevens:
SIR: The assurances conveyed by a royal proclamation by myself and ministers yesterday having been 
received by my native subjects, and by them ratified at a mass meeting, was received in a different spirit by 
the meeting representing the foreign population and interests in my Kingdom. It is now my desire to give to 
your excellency, as the diplomatic representative of the United States of America at my court, the solemn 
assurance that the present constitution will be upheld and maintained by me and my ministers, and no 
changes will be made except by the methods therein provided.

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