This would undoubtedly have been done but for the dethroned queen herself, who showed a sanguinary spirit that put poor Mr. Willis, a man of kindly nature and humane sympathies, in an embarrassing situation.  The President expected the queen, if restored, to show a spirit of forgiveness to the revolutionists and his agent was decidedly taken aback by her answers to his questions.

“Should you be restored to the throne,” he asked, “would you grant full amnesty as to life and property to all those persons who have been or who are now in the provisional government?”

The queen’s answer, slowly and hesitatingly given, was: 

“There are certain laws of my government by which I shall abide.  My decision would be, as the law directs, that such persons should be beheaded and their property confiscated.”

Here was a mediaeval decision with a vengeance.  In spite of all that Willis could plead, the savagely inclined queen stuck to her ultimatum.  The utmost she would yield was that these persons “must be exiled or otherwise punished, and their property confiscated.”

The tidings of this ultimatum put President Cleveland in an awkward dilemma.  The beheading idea was too much for him and the affair dragged on until the following December, when the ex-queen generously consented to let Dole and his friends keep their heads, on condition of leaving the country and losing their property.  Finally, when told that she could not have the throne on any such conditions, she experienced a change of heart and agreed to grant full amnesty.

When news of what was in view reached Honolulu there was intense excitement.  It was expected that marines would be landed from the warship “Philadelphia” and “Adams” to restore the queen and a determination to resist them arose.  The capital was entrenched with sand-bag breastworks, the batteries were manned and armed, and men were stationed to fight.  As for President Dole and his cabinet, they were in a quandary.  It was finally decided to make only a show of opposition to the landing of the marines, but after they had restored the queen and retired, to capture her again and resume business as a republic.

Their alarm had no real foundation.  There had never been an intention to land the marines.  The President knew well that he had no authority to land marines for such a purpose, and in his message referred the whole matter to Congress—­where it slept.

Yet the ex-queen and her supporters did not sleep.  Finding that there was no hope of bringing the United States into the squabble, they organized a counter-revolution of their own, smuggled arms into the country, and in January, 1895, the new insurrection broke out.  Great secrecy was maintained.  The night of Sunday, January 5, was fixed for the outbreak.  In the evening President Dole and his cabinet and many other officials of the republic would be at the service in the Central Union Church and it would be easy to blow up the whole government with a bomb.