It
cannot be done."
An angry reply came from the queen, and an animated
discussion followed, in which the cabinet officials said
that a meeting had just been held with the foreign
representatives and that if she persisted there was danger
of an insurrection.
"It is your doing," she replied. "I would not have
undertaken this step if you had not encouraged me to do so.
You have led me to the brink of a precipice and are now
leaving me to take the leap alone. Why not give the people
this constitution? You need have no fear. I will bear the
brunt of all the blame afterwards."
The cabinet stood firm, Mr. Peterson, the Attorney General,
repeating:
"We have not read the constitution."
"How dare you say that," she exclaimed, "when you have had
it in your possession for a month."
The dispute grew more violent as it went on. The cabinet
declined to resign when asked by her to do so, whereupon she
threatened that if they would not accede to her wishes she
would go to the palace door and tell the mob outside that
she wished to give them a new constitution but that her
ministers had prevented her from doing so.
At this threat three of the ministers left the room and
escaped from the building. They remembered the fate of
certain representatives who fell into the hands of a
Hawaiian mob in 1874.
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