CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF HAWAII
(by Henry E. Chambers 1896)
Transcribed for Genealogy Trails by
Barbara Ziegenmeyer
The Hawaiian Islands constitute the most
important of the Polynesian groups. Their position in the Pacific Ocean being a
central one, they occupy a point of vantage commanding the whole west coast of
America from Bering Sea to Cape Horn. They are situated almost upon the direct
commercial route between San Francisco and Australia; and vessels plying between
the proposed Panama and Nicaragua canals and the ports of Japan and China will
find them directly in their course. The principal members of the group are eight
in number, their names being Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau
and Kahoolawe. Although known at one time by the name bestowed upon them in
honor of the Earl of Sandwich, the name of the largest island has come to be
attached to the whole group.
The discovery of the Hawaiian Islands is generally attributed to the famous
navigator, Captain James Cook, who in 1788, during the course of his third
voyage around the globe,
sighted Oahu and visited several of its
neighbors, finally meeting his death at the hands of the natives upon a second
visit. But historical research has of late revealed the fact that they were
known at a much earlier day. While Gortez was completing the conquest of Mexico,
Magellan was sailing upon his famous voyage across the Pacific. It was not long
after this that the Philippines of Asia and the Spanish countries of America
were in communication with each other.1 The Bulletin of the Geographical Society
of Madrid, published in 1877, is authority for the statement that one, Juan
Gaetano, a Spanish navigator, made known the existence of Hawaii as early as
1555.
Up to the beginning of the present century Hawaiian history is but a narrative
of inter-insular discord, petty wars between savage and feudal chiefs, relieved
by occasional visits
of famous navigators, such as Cook, Portlock,
Dixon, La Perouse, Vancouver, Boughton and others. At times whalers made
Hawaiian harbors places of rendezvous in which to refit for a continuation of
their quest. Sea traders soon found the Kanaka trade very profitable. In time a
white element began to mingle with the native population. At first this element
consisted for the most part of licentiously inclined deserters who escaped from
visiting vessels and who were hospitably harbored by the natives. In time a
better class of whites, adventurous spirits and bona fide home seekers, began to
arrive. The seeds of antipathy against these last were sown at an early day,
discord being fomented by the earlier comers or depraved whites, who viewed with
hostility the encroachment of the higher morality and civilization which the
newcomers introduced.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNMENTAL UNITY.
The beginning of the present century found all
the islands united under one king in the person of Kamehameha I. The process by
which this union was brought about is an interesting
though rude illustration of the important
bearing facility of communication and transportation has upon political
progress. When Vancouver visited the islands in 1792 Kamehameha was king of the
single island of Hawaii. His savage heart yearned for a vessel of the European
type. Upon Vancouver's third visit a keel was laid and a small craft constructed
for the king. In ten years Kamehameha had twenty vessels ranging in size from 25
to 50 tons burden. These plied among the islands and a rude commerce developed.
The enterprising chief had long been encouraging a warlike spirit among his
subjects. He next introduced fire-arms. This with his formidable little navy
soon gave him considerable power, which he successfully exercised in the
conquest of the other islands.
Kamehameha instituted a form of personal government which indicated some
organization. The lands of the conquered islands were regarded as crown lands,
and the king apportioned them to his followers according to rank and upon purely
feudal principles. He exacted in return fealty, military service and a portion
of the revenues of each estate granted. The king appointed a governor for each
island, who in turn appointed the tax-collectors, heads of districts, and other
petty officers, subject in all cases to the king's approval.
Four great chiefs had aided him in his wars, Keeaumoku, Kameeiamoku, Kamarawa,
and Keoweahoula, and these he constituted his counselors, a savage cabinet as it
were. At
times a general council of chiefs was called to
discuss matters of State. This council is known to have assembled in 1823, when
the heir apparent set out upon a visit to England, and
again in 1826, to ratify a treaty made with
Commodore Jones of the American Navy.
Recognizing the utter worth lessness and inability of his heir to wisely govern
and hold together the realm he had consolidated, Kamehameha established by will
in 1819 a very peculiar institution in the office of premier or Kuhina Nui, who
was to exercise equal authority with the king and veto the king's acts when the
good of the kingdom required such action. Kaahumanu, his favorite queen, was
designated as the first Kuhina Nui.
It must be said that for a savage this first king of the Hawaiian Islands was a
person of marked ability, wise enough to accept good counsel, and able enough to
enforce good order and obedience throughout his kingdom. His laws made no
discrimination between whites and natives. When he died the governmental affairs
of the island were in such a state of organization as to pave the way for
advancement towards Christianity and civilization.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE MISSIONARIES.
The first arrival of the missionaries took place in 1820. The records of
missionary life in Hawaii reveal innumerable instances of fervor, heroism, and
self-dedication to the cause of spreading the gospel of Christ. Their advent
worked a great change. They stood as mediators between antagonistic elements,
thwarting the baser instincts of such whites as were criminally inclined and
fostering the nobler qualities of the more intelligent of the natives. Their
work still endures. Hawaii is the bright particular star in the galaxy of
missionary enterprise. With more than one-ninth of its entire population
enrolled in the public schools ; with its system of postal savings banks whose
deposits aggregate nearly $1,000,000, and its post-offices doing a money order
business of more than a million dollars annually ; with its magnificent sugar
estates whose assessed value reaches nearly thirty million dollars and whose
output approximates 130,000 tons of sugar annually ; with its annual imports of
$5,550,000 and its exports of $13,000,000 ; 1 with a population of 90,000 and a
public debt
of only $3,000,000 ; with its merchant marine
of no insignificant proportion ; its commercial, agricultural, and mercantile
enterprises ; its churches, colleges, schools, cities, and villages, Hawaii is
indeed civilized, and the founders of its civilization built better than they
knew.
THE FIRST HAWAIIAN CONSTITUTION.
Four kings of the same name and dynasty followed Kamehameha I. During the long
minority of Kamehameha III, the Council of Chiefs attained great importance in
the administration
of governmental affairs ; and in the course of
time we can readily see how it developed into the House of Nobles, which
afterwards constituted the upper house of the legislative branch of the Hawaiian
Constitutional Government.
The events leading up to the adoption of the first constitution are of singular
interest. Contact with civilization had convinced Kamehameha and his council
that their form of government was not in accord with the times, and they came to
the conclusion to remodel it. I must confess I am very much impressed with the
wisdom manifested by them in the manner in which they set about their task.
First they recognized their own ignorance, and then they decided upon taking a
course of instruction in the science of enlightened government. They sent to the
United States for a legal adviser and instructor ; and failing, for some cause
or other, to procure one, they chose a Mr. Richards, who was connected with the
American Mission. Mr. Richards was released from his religious work and entered
at once upon his duties. This was in the year 1839.
The king and council resolved themselves into an appreciative audience, and Mr.
Richards delivered a course of University Extension Lectures, as it were, upon
politics and administration. It cannot be said that the lecturer was a
specialist in his line; nor did he bring to his almost impromptu undertaking
that grasp of subject exercised by more modern minds in the full light of the
advance which has been made in political science. But the lecturer chose two
very good sources and authorities, to which he confined himself quite closely
the Bible and the American Declaration of Independence.
More enlightened communities might profit by the example set by this savage
seminary of politics holding its session on that far-off Pacific island. Suppose
when it is determined by one of our American States to adopt a new Constitution
that the convention, before exercising the sovereign authority entrusted to it,
would send to Ann Arbor, Princeton and Cambridge, and procure the best and
maturest thought of those who have mastered the problems of institutions,
governmental control and functions, and administrative sciences, what tremendous
results would follow. Then a Constitution would mark a positive advance and be
something more than a lawyer- made copy of pre-existing models slightly modified
to suit some special purpose for which the new Constitution was deemed
necessary.
Upon the completion of Mr. .Richards' duties the king and chiefs proceeded to
discuss thoroughly the matters lie had brought to their attention. The service
of a native graduate of the Lahainaluna Seminary was now procured, who drew up
in the native Hawaiian language a Bill of Rights and a
Code of Laws. Each section was read to the king
and council, by whom it was discussed and revised. The process was repeated, and
after the third reading the results were published in a pamphlet of twenty-four
pages, copies of which are exceedingly rare. This pamphlet bears date of June 7,
1839. October 8, 1840, this first Constitution was promulgated.
The origin and growth of the first Hawaiian Constitution is a singular instance
of a process of Constitution making, the reverse of that by which modern
Constitutions have become what they are. In most instances constitutional
liberty has been a growth from below upwards, as the common people attained and
held from time to time rights and privileges wrested from reigning sovereigns.
In this case it was a growth downward at least during its formative phases.
There had been no formal demand for the first Hawaiian Constitution. The king
was a savage arch-chief who ruled unquestioned in his own way. The Constitution
was purely a concession upon his part, and the motive which actuated him in
making the concession was no doubt the impulse to ape and imitate which lower
races seem as a rule to possess. When contact with foreigners brought to him a
dim knowledge of political forms he determined to pattern by them. In granting
this first Constitution the king surrendered no part of his power. He continued
the chief element in the executive, legislative, and judicial departments of the
kingdom; and thus was seemingly blended the one-man power of despotism with the
forms and separated functions of a constituted government.
FIRST WRITTEN CONSTITUTION.
The Constitution which went into effect in 1840
provided for
(1) An Executive Department composed of King, Kuhina Nui, and Subordinate
Governors appointed by the Crown.
(2) A Legislative Department composed of King, Kuhina Nui, House of Nobles, and
House of Representatives.
(3) A Judiciary composed of King, Kuhina Nui, four Chief Justices appointed by
the Legislature, and District Judges appointed by the Subordinate Governors,
subject to the King's approval.
The King :
Commanded the army and navy, received ambassadors, and made treaties ; Permitted
or prohibited transfers of lands and estates ; Directed the collection and
disposition of the taxes ; Was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Kuhina
Nui: Performed duties of Premier ; Supervised Government property ; Approved or
vetoed acts of the King ; Required the approval of the King for his own acts.
King and Kuhina Nui served as constitutional checks upon each other. In the
language of the Constitution literally construed, " The King shall not act
without the knowledge of the Premier, nor the Premier without the knowledge of
the King ; and the veto of the King upon the acts of the Premier or the veto of
the Premier upon the acts of the King, shall arrest the business."
Governors :
Appointed by and were subordinate to the King ; Had charge of the military
matters and war material of their respective islands ; Appointed district tax
collectors and judges ;Supervised public improvements of a local nature.
Legislatures :
Composed of House of Nobles and House of Representatives.
House of Nobles,
Membership hereditary ;
Number as first constituted, 14.
House of Representatives,
Elected by the people;
Number limited by law to seven ;
Sessions of the Legislature, annual ;
Two houses sat separately or conferred together ;
Approval and signature of King and Premier necessary
for legislative acts to become laws. "
No new law shall be made without the approbation of a majority of the Nobles and
of a majority of the House of Representatives, as well as the signature and
approval of the
King and Premier."
Judiciary :
Supreme Court,
Composed of King, Premier, and four Justices appointed
by the Legislature ;
Jurisdiction, original and appellate.
District Courts,
Judges appointed by the Island Governors ;
Local jurisdiction only.
Method of amending Constitution :
Legislature could amend the Constitution by giving a year's notice of the
proposed amendment. All amendments were subject to the King's approval.
Crude and loosely drawn as was this Constitution, it was beneficent in its
effect, for it gave rise to a feeling of security unfelt before, and the whole
kingdom responded to an impulse
in the direction of prosperity. By it a modified form of individual land tenure
was established, religious toleration proclaimed, and it introduced a
rudimentary kind of legal form and judicial procedure. It was not very long
after this that the powers of Europe recognized the existence " in the Sandwich
Islands of a government capable of providing for the regularity of its relations
with foreign nations."
THE ORGANIC ACTS OF 1845.
Hawaii's first Constitution was only a beginning, and much remained to be done.
The ingenuity displayed by the advocates of good government in amending without
re-submitting
the whole question of Constitution adoption is certainly interesting to note.
The legislature which assembled May 20, 1845, was attended by a Mr. John Ricard,
described as "a young lawyer of promising genius," who delivered a so-called
masterly address upon the " Inferences of the Constitution and the Implied
Powers and Duties of the King."
Mr. Ricard proposed that certain alterations be made, and his suggestions were
adopted. These alterations were not made by amendment, but they are described as
" Organic Acts passed by the Legislature."
These acts created
(1) Five Executive Departments, viz: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Public
Instruction, and Attorney General.
(2) A Privy Council, composed of the heads of the five departments as given,
together with the Governors of the several islands and certain honorary members
appointed by the King. (3) A third of these Acts organized more thoroughly the
Judiciary, so that it consisted of District, Circuit and Supreme Courts, the
jurisdictions of which were defined. In addition Mr. Ricard, by order of the
Legislature, drafted two volumes of statutes, which have served ever since as
the basis of Hawaii's Civil Code.
The next important constitutional event was the passing of a law June 30, 1850,
raising the number of Representatives of the people in the Legislature from
seven to twenty-four,
and empowering the Ministers to sit in the House of Nobles and take part in its
proceedings. This paved the way for Ministerial responsibility, which was
subsequently engrafted.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1852.
By the year 1852 constitutional ideas were pretty thoroughly disseminated. In
this year it was determined to revise the existing Constitution, making it
conform more to the needs of the rapidly growing kingdom. Joint resolutions were
passed by the Legislature and approved by the King providing for the appointment
of a Commission of three on Revision.
According to the terms of these resolutions the king appointed Mr. Judd, the
Nobles, John II, and the Representatives, and Chief Justice Lee.
The Constitution as drawn up by this commission was practically a new one,
although it embodied the main points of the Organic Acts of 1845. It contained,
however, much more that was in line with a positive advance in constitutional
development. It was ratified by the Legislature, approved by the king, and was
promulgated June, 1852, going into effect the December following.
Declaration of Rights :
Consisted of twenty-one Articles.
Most significant feature, specified that the Executive, Legislative
and Judicial powers were to be kept apart and no two of them were to be united
in one individual or body.
The King :
Powers,
The right of absolute veto;
Was Supreme Executive Magistrate of the Kingdom ;
Commanded Army and Navy ;
Convened the Legislature ;
Granted Pardons ;
Made Treaties ;
Appointed and received Ambassadors ;
Appointed and removed the several Heads of Departments.
Limits to Power,
Acts had to be approved by
(a) Kuhina Nui; or
(6) Privy Council ; or
(c) Kuhina Nui, Privy Council, and Minister to whose department said
act specially referred.
Kuhina Nui :
Retained out of deference to the wishes of the Nobles ; King's
Special Councilor ;
Acted as Vice-King ;
Served as Regent while Throne was vacant.
Privy Council :
Honorary Members appointed by the King ;
Ministers and Governors members ex officio ;
Legalized or nullified acts of the King.
Cabinet Ministers :
Appointed by the King ;
Sat and voted in the House of Nobles ;
Made written reports annually to the Legislature.
Governors :
Commissioned by King with and by advice of Privy Council ;
Term of office, four years ;
Appointed District Judges with the advice of Supreme Court Justice.
Legislature :
Met annually in April.
Nobles,
Number not to exceed thirty ;
Sat as Court of Impeachment.
Representatives.
Number not less than twenty-four nor more than forty ;
Elected annually by universal suffrage ;
Originated all revenue bills ;
Judiciary :
Supreme Court,
Composed of Chief Justice and two Associates;
Justices held office during life or good behavior.
Circuit Courts,
Number, four ;
Judges appointed by King with and by consent of Privy Council ;
Term of office for life or during good behavior.
District Justices,
Appointed by Island Governors, with advice of Supreme Justice ;
Term of office, two years.
Subsequent Amendments :
1856, Legislative sessions made biennial;
1862, Property qualifications exacted of Representatives. (Annual income of
$250.)
The Constitution of 1852 was a decided advance in the direction of popular
liberty, for it granted universal suffrage, differentiated the functions of
government, making them coincide
with the three departments into which constitutional government is usually
divided ; and placed certain checks upon the hitherto unlimited power of the
king. The Lower House now attained to considerable importance. From observation
made at the time it was said to be " decidedly the more dignified and
business-like of the two." were to check its further development. Just as
England had her Tudor period, during which kingly power was reasserted and
strengthened, followed by a Stuart period, in which absolutism was wrecked upon
the rocks of revolution, so we find parallel instances in the history of these
islands.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1864.
The Constitution of 1852 remained in effect until 1864, by which year Prince Lot
had ascended the throne under the title of Kamehameha V. This prince was
somewhat jealous of the American influence which was making itself decidedly
felt about this time, and in his observations of the practical workings of the
existing Constitution had come to the conclusion,
first, that the Crown had too little authority ; second, that the people were
not yet prepared for universal suffrage. Prince Lot was proclaimed king November
30, 1863. He assumed the throne without taking the customary oath to support the
existing Constitution. Instead of convening the Legislature that was to meet
that year, he issued a proclamation for a constitutional convention, the date of
election of members being fixed as June 13. In the meanwhile he visited the
several islands in company with his retinue and explained in public and private
speech the changes which lie desired to have made.
The convention assembled July 7. It accomplished nothing. Strife and discord
were precipitated at an early stage into its proceedings. Its methods were
declared by the friends of the existing Constitution to be revolutionary. It
continued its deliberations, however, until the suffrage clause was reached.
Here a split occurred upon the question of property qualification. The king
losing patience, prorogued the convention, declared the existing Constitution
abrogated, and immediately proceeded to have one of his own drawn up.
The New Constitution was promulgated August 30, 1864. Its only title to
existence was by authority of the king.Although having no conventional sanction
and no endorsement
by the people, it continued in force twenty-three years. That it encountered no
serious opposition is due to the fact that it contained fewer changes than what
the people had been led to expect.
The most significant of the changes wrought by the Constitution of 1864 were as
follows :
Bill of Rights,—
Clause guaranteeing vote by ballot stricken out.
Clause prohibiting dual governmental functions to repose in one
person or body substituted by, " No Judge of a
Court of Record shall ever be a member of the Legislature."
Kuhina Nui:
Office abolished and provision made for a regency pending the king's
absence from his kingdom, or minority of heir.
Legislature :
Nobles and Representatives were to sit in one house and to be styled
the Legislative Assembly ;
Number of Nobles limited to twenty ;
Property qualification of Representatives required $500., or annual
income of $250.
Right of Franchise :
Property qualification : Voter required to own property free of all
encumbrances to the extent of $150., or
Leasehold on which the rent was at least $25. per annum, or
Annual Income of $75.
Educational qualification : Every voter born since 1840 required to know how
to read and write.
Judiciary :
Removable upon two-thirds vote of the Legislative Assembly upon cause
satisfactory to the king.
Privy Council :
Powers of, greatly diminished ;
Approval of, no longer required in appointments to office by King ;
Voted appropriations in cases of necessity during adjournment of
Legislative Assembly.
Governors :
Provisions concerning, removed from the Constitution and fixed by
Statute.
THE REVOLUTION OF 1887.
The Kamehamehan dynasty became extinct with the death of Kamehameha V. The
election of his successor devolved upon the Legislative Assembly, who chose
Lunalilo. This monarch reigned but little more than a year, when he was
succeeded by Kalakaua, who ascended the throne in 1874. Now was come the period
when the best people of the island, foreign and native born, found it necessary
to unite for determined action to resist the encroachments of the Crown that had
been multiplying for a number of years.
The experiment of carrying on a constitutional government of the Anglo-Saxon
type in a country with as mixed a population as these islands possessed was a
difficult and doubtful
one. We cannot but admire the rare ability and unselfish patriotism of the men,
both whites and educated natives, who undertook the experiment and for more than
thirty years made it fairly successful. It seemed for a while that these islands
would give to the world a lesson in the art of combining widely different races
under one form of government. The kings of the Kamehamehan line were, as a rule,
sincere patriots having some conception of their position as constitutional
sovereigns, and of the true policy to be pursued towards the foreigners.
Kalakaiui, however, seemed to be blind to the course events were taking, and to
the true interests of his people. His chief ambition seemed to be to change the
character of the
government once existing and make it similar in character to one of the several
minor Asiatic despotisms, such as Johore for instance. The citizens of foreign
extraction who had done so much towards the up building of the civilization and
material prosperity of the islands were termed by him white invaders, and the
king determined that they should have no further voice in the administration of
affairs. Systematic attempts were made to demoralize the natives by reviving
heathen rites and customs, and to foment race jealousy and hatred under the
guise of promoting national feeling. The king was thoroughly vain, dishonest,
selfish, and unscrupulous. Scandal and corruption marked his administration from
beginning to end. The extravagance and unnecessary expenditures of his
government were flagrant. Jobs of the most notorious character were constantly
being brought to light through the press.
Whenever protests and complaints were made to the king and his appointed cabinet
they calmly smiled and complacently asked the complainants the usual question, "
What are you going to do about it ? "
The first efforts of those who earnestly desired to have a clean, honest
government above them were directed to securing a Legislature composed of men
having some due regard not only for their own importance as an element in a
constitutional government, but who would, to some extent, represent the
intelligence and wealth of the islands. Their efforts failed, however. The king
was in control of a governmental machine that in its manipulation of elections
was calculated to strike envy in the breast of the toughest ward politician of
any American ring-ruled municipality. Bribery and ballot-box stuffing prevailed
and the king's party was successful.
The Legislative Assembly that was returned held session from April 30 to October
16, a period of 170 days. It voted appropriations to the amount of four and a
half millions, although the annual revenues were but two and a half millions.
The limits of the people's patience were reached when it was brought to light
that the king had received a bribe of $71,000. for granting the monopoly of
opium selling on the islands. This precipitated the crisis, and events took
place which are known to history as the Revolution of 1887.
An indignation meeting attended by more than 2500 citizens, representative of
every class, condition and race upon the islands, was held in Honolulu, June 30,
1887. Condemua- tory resolutions were passed and demands were drawn up to be
presented to the king.
The substance of these demands were as follows :
1. That existing defects in the Constitution be at once remedied.
2. That he dismiss his obnoxious Cabinet and select a new one more in
sympathy with the interests of the people.
3. That he restore the bribe of $71,000. he had taken and dismiss from
office the official concerned in negotiating same. (Kaae, Register of
Conveyances.)
4. That he will not directly or indirectly interfere in any future election
of Representatives.
5. That he will not interfere with or attempt to unduly influence
Legislature or Legislators.
6. That he will not interfere with the constitutional administration of his
Cabinet.
7. That he will not use his official position or patronage for private ends.
Meanwhile the king, in his palace near by, somewhat alarmed at the turn affairs
had taken, dispatched a note to the chairman of the meeting, in which he
anticipated several of the demands that were to be made upon him, and promised
to accede to them. His note was read publicly and rejected as insufficient. A
committee of thirteen waited upon the king, who by this time was thoroughly
demoralized, presented the resolutions and demands, and received a written
acquiescence to each specifically. Thus was brought about the revision of the
existing Constitution, the new one being known as the Constitution of 1887.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1887.
The revisers of the king-made Constitution of 1864 accomplished successfully
four objects :
(a) A limit was put to the power of the king ;
(b) An end was put to personal government ;
(c) The franchise was extended to foreigners who had hitherto been
practically debarred from naturalization ;
(d) The Ministry was made responsible to the people through the
Legislature, instead of to the king as formerly.
The significant features of the new Constitution which brought about these
results were as follows :
King:
Must act by and with the consent of his Cabinet (exception subsequently
made by decision of the Supreme Court in regard to his personal right of veto ;
)
Private lands and property of, no longer held inviolable;
Eight of veto limited ; veto nullified by re passing bills by two-third
vote ;
Power withdrawn
To appoint Nobles ;
To dismiss Cabinet (this feature modified by Act of Legislature,
February 25, 1891, so that a new King or Queen could dismiss Cabinet of
predecessor).
Legislature :
Eligibility to, denied
(a) Any judicial or executive officer ;
(b) Any contractor or employee of the Government ;
(c) Any person in receipt of Government salary or emolument ;
Appointment of Legislators to civil office prohibited (exception made in
respect to Cabinet appointment.)
Time of convening changed from April to May.
Nobles :
Number increased to 40 ;
Elected for six years instead of appointed for life ;
Property qualification,
Must have $3,000. of taxable property ; or
Annual income of $600.
Residence qualification,
Must have been three years in kingdom.
Salary, none.
Representatives :
Number fixed at 24 ;
Salary $250. per biennial session.
Ministry :
Made responsible to Legislature instead of to King ;
Made removable by majority vote of " want of confidence ; "
Eligible to seats in the Legislature, and empowered to vote upon all
questions except " want of confidence."
Privy Council :
Powers restricted to concurrence in granting pardons.
Suffrage :
Electors of Nobles to have same qualifications as Nobles themselves;
Electors of Representatives to be
Of Hawaiian or European birth or descent (to exclude Asiatics) ;
Must know how to read and write Hawaiian, English, or some European
language (after election of 1887) ;
Must take oath to support the Constitution and the laws.
Subsequent changes :
Governorships abolished and duties of same divided between the sheriffs
and tax-collectors ;
Number of Justices of the Supreme Court reduced to three.
Although Kalakaua had made full accession to the demands of the people, yet the
remaining three years of his reign were filled with intrigues and conspiracies
to restore autocratic authority to the hands of the King. Nothing but
watchfulness upon the part of his subjects thwarted him in his attempts. Upon
his death he was succeeded by his sister, the present
deposed Queen, Liliuokaulani. For a time it was thought that the Queen would
profit by the experience of her brother ; and whatever apprehensions were
aroused at the time of her assuming the crown were allayed by the promptness
with which she took the oath to support the Constitution of 1887. But as time
wore on she leaned more and more to the policy of Kalakaua. There is no doubt
but that she was largely influenced by certain adventurers who had succeeded in
ingratiating themselves in her favor. Legislative intrigues, in which the Queen
was personally concerned, became common again. The appearance upon the scene of
the lottery and opium rings complicated matters. Violations of the Constitution
became more and more flagrant. The Cabinet that interposed serious objections to
these violations was, by the Queen's machinations, voted out of office, and a
new one more plastic to her manipulations appointed in its stead.
At length, grown contemptuous of the protests of her people, as her brother had
grown before her, the Queen took the final step that precipitated her downfall.
This was the announcement that she was about to proclaim a new Constitution.
Kamehameha V had done the same thing in 1864, with some degree of success. But
the times had advanced since then, and the intelligent people of the islands did
not propose to have any of their liberties abrogated, nor suffer the demise of
representative government under which their lives and property were secure. It
needed but the rumor that the constitution which the Queen proposed to put into
operation would deprive the people of all voice in the selection of the Upper
House, that the Cabinet was to be subject to her will only, that natives were to
be exempt from all taxation, and that all whites save those married to native
women were to be deprived of the franchise, to arouse the people to decided
action.
Back to History
Home Page
Back to Hawaii Home Page
Transcribed by Barbara Ziegenmeyer
