Statewide County HI Archives History - Books .....Chapter 06, Pages 31-39 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/hi/hifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: J Orr orr@hawaii.com August 9, 2009, 5:18 am Book Title: The Story Of Hawaii And Its Builders Builders page 31-39 The Story of Hawaii An Historical Outline of the Hawaiian Islands By Howard D. Case Chapter VI. Page 31 FROM ACCESSION OF LUNALILO TO ANNEXATION With the death of Kamehameha V it was considered generally that Prince William C. Lunalilo was the highest surviving chief by birth. No successor having been proclaimed by the late king, the selection of a monarch was left to the legislature, which met on Jan. 8, 1873, and elected Lunalilo. On January 9 he took the oath, in Kawaiahao Church, to maintain the constitution of 1864. It was then proposed that the constitution be amended to restore the two houses of the legislature, and to abolish the property qualification for voters. The latter amendment was the only one adopted, and it went into effect in 1874. Lunalilo retained in his cabinet the Hon. L. Stirling as minister of finance. Associated with him were Charles R. Bishop, minister of foreign affairs; E. O. Hall, minister of the interior, and A. F. Judd, attorney general. Shortly after the organization of the new cabinet, it was proposed that the kingdom renew negotiations with the United States for a treaty of commercial reciprocity, and that America be offered the exclusive use of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, as a naval station. Extensive agitation resulted from the proposal, and in August the negotiations were dropped at the request of the king, whose health was failing rapidly. He moved to Kailua, Hawaii, for the benefit of his health, but returned to Honolulu on Jan. 17, 1874, where he died on February 3. He had been on the throne only a year and twenty-five days, and did not name a successor. The legislature was summoned to meet on February 12 to elect a new king. RIVALRY FOR THRONE CAUSES RIOT There were two aspirants for the throne, the Queen Dowager Emma, widow of Kamehameha IV, and David Kalakaua, between whom there arose a bitter rivalry. The legislature, at its meeting in the old courthouse at Honolulu, now used as a warehouse, elected Kalakaua by 39 votes. Only six votes were cast for Queen Emma. As soon as the election was over a mob composed of supporters of Queen Emma broke in the back doors of the courthouse and sacked the building, the representatives being assaulted and beaten with clubs. The police proved inefficient, the volunteer troops were divided in their sympathies, and the government was compelled to apply to representatives of the United States and Great Britain for aid. Marines were landed from the American ships Tuscarora and Portsmouth, and from the British ship Tenedos. They quickly dispersed the mob and took possession of the courthouse. The marines guarded government buildings, the palace grounds and the barracks until February 20. About 100 rioters were arrested and punished by the courts. On February 13, Kalakaua took the oath of office, and the following day proclaimed his younger brother, Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku, heir to the throne. Kalakaua was a direct descendant of Kameeiamoku and Keaweaheulu, distinguished counselors of Kamehameha the Great. On Dec. 19, 1863, he had married Kapiolani, a granddaughter of the last king of Kauai. Four days after taking the oath Kalakaua formed a cabinet consisting of W. L. Green as minister of foreign affairs; H. A. Widemann, minister of interior; P. Nahaoleua, minister of finance, and A. S. Hartwell, attorney general. Accepting an invitation from the United States government, the king, on Nov. 17, 1874, left Honolulu for San Francisco on his way to Washington, D.C., accompanied by H. A. Pierce, the American minister, and several others. The king was cordially received and treated as a guest of the nation. He returned to Honolulu on Feb. 15, 1875. Page 32 (photo) Page 33 RECIPROCITY BRINGS PROSPERITY As a result of this visit, and the favorable impression made, negotiations for a treaty of commercial reciprocity with the United States were reopened. In spite of strenuous opposition both in Hawaii and in America, the treaty was concluded in June, 1875, and in 1876 the laws necessary to place it in operation were enacted. This treaty was the most important event of the reign of Kalakaua, for it brought great prosperity to Hawaii. Prince Leleiohoku, the heir apparent, died April 10, 1877, at the age of 22, and on the following day Kalakaua?s sister, Princess Lydia Kamakaeha Liliuokalani, was proclaimed heir to the throne. The reciprocity treaty created a demand for labor, and on Sept. 30, 1878, the pioneer company of Portuguese immigrants, numbering 180 arrived at Honolulu. The first company of Japanese immigrants arrived Feb. 9, 1885, and consisted of 956 persons. During the year 1878 and the following six years about 2,000 Polynesians, mainly Gilbert Islanders, were introduced into Hawaii. After 1876 Chinese came to the islands in large numbers until their immigration was finally checked. On Jan. 20, 1881, King Kalakaua left Honolulu on a tour of the world, accompanied by Col. C. H. Judd, his chamberlain, and W. N. Armstrong as commissioner of immigration. One of the purposes of the trip was to study the subject of immigration and to ascertain the conditions under which foreign governments would sanction it. On this tour the king visited the United States, Japan, China, India, Egypt, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Portugal and Great Britain. He returned to Honolulu Oct. 29, 1881. In the early part of 1881 Honolulu suffered its third smallpox epidemic, and on August 10 of the same year the village of Hilo narrowly escaped destruction by a lava flow from Mauna Loa. On April 18, 1886, Honolulu was visited by a fire which caused losses amounting to about $1,500,000. Within four years occurred the deaths of the following notable Hawaiian women: Ruth Keelikolani, half sister of Kamehameha V, May 15, 1883; Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop, last descendant of Kamehameha I and in whose memory the Kamehameha Schools at Honolulu were founded, Oct. 16, 1884; Queen Emma, April 25, 1885 and Princess Miriam Likelike Cleghorn, mother of Princess Victoria Kaiulani, Feb. 2, 1887. POLITICAL CONTROVERSY ARISES Early in the reign of Kalakaua there arose a contest between two parties. The first, headed by the sovereign, favored the partial restoration of the ancient system of personal government, while the second sought to limit the power of the king and make the ministry responsible to the representatives of the people. In keeping with his policy, the king, on July 2, 1878, and Aug. 14, 1880, dismissed ministries without assigning any reasons, and despite the fact that they had been approved by a majority of the legislature. Repeated efforts were made to turn the constitutional question into a race issue, and among the measures at issue between the rival parties were the problem of a $10,000,000 loan, chiefly for military purposes; the removal of the restriction on the sale of liquor to Hawaiians, the licensing of the sale of opium and the chartering of a lottery company. In 1880 the national debt was $389,000, but by 1887 it had increased to $1,935,000. Believing that there were possibilities for the extension of his domains to include other island groups in the Pacific, the king, in 1883, sent two commissioners to the Gilbert Islands and the New Hebrides to pave the way for the establishment of a Hawaiian protectorate. In 1886 he sent a commission to Samoa, which negotiated an alliance between that nation and Hawaii. In order to strengthen the Samoan embassy, the king purchased and converted into a warship the small steamer Explorer, which Page 34 (photo) Page 35 was renamed the Kaimiloa. In July, 1887, the Samoan embassy was recalled and the Kaimiloa put out of commission in the fall. KING YIELDS TO DEMANDS Dissatisfaction which had been increasing among the people was brought to a head in 1887 as the result of scandals concerning the sale of a monopoly of the opium traffic to a Chinese concern. A mass meeting was held in the armory and a committee was sent to the king demanding radical reforms. Finding himself without support, the king acceded to the demands, dismissed his ministry, and signed a new constitution of July 7. This constitution, a revision of that of 1864, was designed to put an end to personal government, and to make the cabinet responsible only to the legislature. Office holders were to be ineligible for election to the legislature, and the members of the upper house were to be elected for terms of six years by electors, instead of being appointed by the king. Considerable opposition by the court and other sympathizers with the old order of things followed the execution of the reform measures of 1887, and on July 30, 1889, an insurrection began, led by Robert W. Wilcox. About 150 insurgents occupied the palace grounds and the government building, and fortified their position with a battery of field pieces. The king was invited to proclaim a new constitution, which, however he declined to do. Volunteer troops and other citizens surrounded the insurgents and opened fire on them, finally compelling them to surrender. Seven insurgents were killed and many were wounded. This affair intensified the bitter party feeling then existing. In November, 1890, King Kalakaua went to California in an effort to regain his health, and on Jan. 20, 1891, died in San Francisco. His body was brought back to Honolulu aboard the United States cruiser Charleston on January 29 and on the same day his sister, Liliuokalani, took the oath and was proclaimed queen. A new ministry was commissioned by the queen, consisting of Samuel Parker, minister of foreign affairs; C. N. Spencer, minister of the interior; H. A. Widemann, minister of finance, and W. A. Whiting, attorney general. On March 9 Princess Victoria Kaiulani was proclaimed heir apparent. QUEEN?S REIGN SHORT AND STORMY Queen Liliuokalani, who was a brilliant woman reigned a little less than two years, and it was a reign that was fraught with trouble almost from the very beginning. The short period during which she was on the throne forms one of the most interesting and important chapters in Hawaiian history, for it was then that there was forged the chain of circumstances which led to the abolition of the monarchy and the annexation of the islands to the United States. The actions of the queen indicated that she was determine to renew and carry on the political contest which had marked the last years of the reign of her brother, and at the same time bring about the abolition of restrictions which had been imposed upon the powers of the monarch. She was enabled to make conditions in advance with the new cabinet in order to gain control of all appointments, this being due to a decision by the supreme court which held that the term of the Kalakaua cabinet had expired upon his death. Persistent struggles between the opposing parties caused the legislative session of 1892 to be protracted to eight months, during that period there were four changes in the ministry. On May 20 several persons, including Robert W. Wilcox, who had led the insurrection during the reign of Kalakaua were arrested and charged with a conspiracy to establish a republic, but were finally discharged. The last week of the legislative session saw the passage of a bill granting a franchise for the establishment of a lottery, and on Jan. 12, 1893, the legislature voted out of office a Page 36 cabinet which is said to have been composed of extremely able and upright men. WIDE POWERS SOUGHT BY QUEEN There was now awaiting a new constitution which had been drawn up privately at the instance of the queen. This document was intended to remove the principal checks on the power of the monarch and the existing guarantees of the independence of the supreme court, and only Hawaiian subjects were to be permitted to vote. It was planned to proclaim this constitution at the palace on January 14, the day upon which the legislature was to adjourn, in the presence of the legislators, members of the diplomatic corps, and the chief officers of state. Government troops were drawn up under arms, and the palace grounds were thronged with sympathizers. But at the last moment the members of the cabinet refused to sign the document, and leading citizens were appealed to for support and advice. After a long debate with the cabinet, the queen yielded in some degree and announced to the assemblage that the proclamation would be postponed for a short time. In the meantime a Committee of Safety was appointed at a meeting of citizens who had gathered to discuss the situation. Members of this committee took steps immediately toward the formation of a provisional government, and for the reorganization of volunteer military companies which had been disbanded in 1890. A mass meeting, which it called on January 16, ratified its action. On the same day the queen published a declaration to the effect that henceforth changes in the constitution would be sought ?only by methods provided in the constitution itself.? That evening the U.S.S. Boston, which had arrived at Honolulu from Hilo two days before, landed a force of armed men to protect the lives and property of American citizens. LILIUOKALANI LOSES THRONE Organization of the provisional government was completed on Jan. 17. It consisted of the appointment of an executive council of four persons, presided over by Sanford Ballard Dole, and of an advisory council of fourteen members having general legislative authority. That afternoon the government building was taken possession of by the two councils, and the Committee of Safety issued a proclamation declaring the monarchical system to be abrogated. The document also established the provisional government, which was to exist ?until terms of union with the United States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon.? Two companies of volunteer troops were placed on duty in the palace grounds, and the queen, upon the advice of her ministers and probably in order to prevent bloodshed, surrendered her authority under protest in view of the landing of the American forces. She then appealed to the American government for her reinstatement, and shortly after surrendered to the provisional government the station house and the barracks. Jan. 19 saw the departure from Honolulu, aboard the steamer Claudine, of five commissioners en route to Washington by way of San Francisco with full authority to negotiate a treaty of union with the United States government. The commission reached Washington on Feb. 3 and was received by President Harrison. The Secretary of State and the commissioners drew up a treaty of annexation which was signed on Feb. 14. Three days later the document was sent to the senate, but was not acted upon before the end of the session. On March 9, shortly after his inauguration, President Grover Cleveland withdrew the treaty from the consideration of the senate, and two days later sent Col. James H. Blount to Hawaii to investigate the situation there, in the capacity of special commissioner. Page 37 RESTORATION OF QUEEN REFUSED In the meantime the flag of the United States had been raised over the government building at Honolulu and a provisional protectorate of the islands had been proclaimed. Blount reached Honolulu on March 29, and two days later ordered that the American flag be hauled down, and that American troops on shore be returned aboard their ships. This brought an end to the protectorate. Blount?s report was sent to the Secretary of State on July 17, and shortly after he left Honolulu for Washington. Blount?s conclusion that the recent revolution in Hawaii had been brought about with the aid of the United States minister was adopted by President Cleveland. Consequently Albert S. Willis of Louisville, Ky., was sent to Honolulu as United States minister, and was instructed to say to Liliuokalani that if shoe would grant full amnesty to those who had taken part in the revolution, it would be demanded of the president and ministers of the provisional government that they promptly relinquish to her her constitutional authority. Willis, who reached Honolulu Nov. 4, obtained the queen?s consent to the amnesty after considerable difficulty, and on December 19, demanded her restoration. Four days later President Dole informed Willis that the provisional government had declined to surrender its authority to the deposed queen. Having abandoned hope of an early annexation to the United States, a constitutional convention was summoned to meet May 30, 1894, for the purpose of drafting a constitution for the Republic of Hawaii. This work was completed on July 4 and on the following day the Republic was proclaimed with Dole as its first president. For the most part the constitution was modeled after that of the United States. The legislature was divided into tow houses, each house consisting of fifteen members and sitting separately. Qualifications of voters were similar to those provided in the constitution of 1887. It was provided further that the president be elected for a term of six years, and not be eligible for a second term. The first election of members of the legislature was held October 29, 1894. MONARCHIAL REBELLION FAILS As the year 1894 was drawing to a close a plot was fomented to overthrow the Republic and restore the monarchy. In December a cargo of arms and ammunition that had been shipped from San Francisco in the schooner Wahlberg was landed at Kaalawai, east of Diamond Head, and on Jan. 6, 1895, a large number of native royalists gathered there under the command of Robert Wilcox and S. Nowlein. It was planned that they should enter Honolulu at midnight and attack the government buildings, while the electric light plant, the telephone offices and the station house would be seized by their allies. It happened, however, that toward evening a squad of police had gone to the foot of Diamond Head to search a house, and the officers were fired upon by members of an insurgent outpost. C. L. Carter, a leading citizen, was killed and two native policemen injured. The alarm was given, and at once the military companies and citizens? guard were called out, strong guards being placed upon all roads leading into the city. Intermittent skirmishing occurred during the night. Nowlein and his insurgents intrenched themselves on a hill near the entrance to Palolo Valley, and were dislodged the next day and forty of them taken prisoner. On Jan. 8 Wilcox and his insurgents were attacked while crossing the upper part of Manoa Valley. Several were killed, three were taken prisoner, and the remainder escaped into Nuuanu Valley. Nowlein and his three lieutenants were captured near Moiliili on Jan. 14, shortly after Wilcox was captured in a fishing hut in Kalihi. Page 38 (photo) Page 39 ON Jan. 16 Liliuokalani was arrested on charges of treason against the Republic, and on January 24 formally renounced all claims to the throne, appealing to the government for clemency for those who had taken part in the insurrection. The former queen was kept a prisoner in the palace for about nine months. About 190 persons, including the former queen, were brought to trial and ninety pleaded guilty. On Sept. 7, 1895, Liliuokalani and 48 others were granted conditional pardons, and all of the remaining prisoners were freed on the following New Year?s Day. NEGOTIATIONS FOR ANNEXATION Negotiations for the annexation of the islands to the United States were renewed shortly following the inauguration of President William McKinley, and on June 16, 1897, a new treaty of annexation was signed at Washington. The Hawaiian senate ratified it on September 8, but it was not pressed to a vote in the United States senate, as the support of two-thirds of the members could not be counted upon. Finally, however, a joint resolution to the same effect was adopted by the senate and house of representatives on July 6, 1898, and was signed by President McKinley on July 7, 1898. On July 13 the news reached Honolulu, and there was general rejoicing. Formal transfer of sovereignty was made on August 12 when the flag of the United States was raised over the executive building. President McKinley directed that the officers of the Republic of Hawaii continue to exercise the powers held by them subject to further directions from him. Existing laws of Hawaii were left in force insofar as they did not conflict with the American constitution, and that portion of the public debt of Hawaii under $4,000,000 was assumed by the United States. A further proviso was that further Chinese immigration be halted except under conditions as allowed by American laws. The next act of the President was to appoint five commissioners to recommend congressional legislation for the government of the islands. This commission was composed of Senators Shelby M. Cullom and John T. Morgan, and Representative Robert R. Hitt, representing congress, and President Dole and Judge Walter F. Frear, representing Hawaii. They began their work at Honolulu in September, and in December, 1898, submitted their report to congress. Congress, in April, 1900, passed the Organic Act which established a territorial form of government in Hawaii, and which provided that the constitution and laws of the United States have the same force and effect in the territory as elsewhere in America. Sanford Ballard Dole, president of the Republic, was appointed first governor of the Territory of Hawaii, taking office on June 14, 1900, and on Feb. 20, 1901, the first territorial legislature convened. Additional Comments: The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders. With which is Incorporated Volume III Men of Hawaii. An historical outline of Hawaii with biographical sketches of its men of note and substantial achievement, past and present, who have contributed to the progress of the Territory, edited by George F. Nellist. Published by Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ltd., Territory of Hawaii, 1925. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/hi/statewide/history/1925/storyofh/chapter08nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/hifiles/ File size: 22.9 Kb