Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Part 21 - The Ancients ************************************************ 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: by Darlen6 E. Kelley November 28, 2006 http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Hawaii Keepers of the Culture Influence of Foreigners on Hawaii Part 21 -- Birth of a Constitutional Government - Influenced by Foreigners - William Richards in service of the King. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 21 - The repeated bufferings by foreign officers and ships of war, to which the king and chiefs were subjected, had two important effects. The rulers were compelled to give way somewhat before the demands of foreigners and to put in writing inthe form of treaties a statement of their concessions. From the standpoint of the foreign business men in the islands, this was pure gain. Their attitude is reflected in comments of American merchant Henry A. Peirce in August of 1837; " Property is much safer here now than formally -- the visits of the American, English, and French men-of-war during these sixteen months have established inviolability of property and persons, and the natives taught and made to fear the " Laws of Nations "; and that a sovereign and a government come under the ban of laws as well as subjects or individuals." In the second place, the blows they had received made the chiefs painfully aware of their lack of knowledge and experience, and they began to see that these foreigners could neither be kept off nor treated in the way in which the Hawaiians were accustomed to being treated. In the month in which Peirce wrote the words quoted above, David Malo expressed, in a letter to Kinau, some thoughts which recent happenings had awakened his mind: " I have been thinking that you ought to hold frequent meetings with all the chiefs --- to seek for that which will be of the greatest benefit to this country: you must not think that this is anything like olden times, that you are the only chiefs and can leave things as they are ....... This is the reason. If a big wave comes in, large fishes will come from the dark Ocean which you never saw before, and when they see small fishes, they will eat them up: such also is the case with large animals, they will prey on the smaller ones. The ships of the white man have come, and smart people have arrived from the great countries which you have never seen before, they know our people are few in number and living in a small country; they will eat us up, such has always been the case wth large countries, the small ones have been gobbled up ....... God has made knownto us through the mouths of men of the man-of-war things that will lead us to prepare ourselves ...... Therefore get your servant ready who will help you wen you need him." Some idea of this kind, either originating in their own thoughts or suggested to them by others, had led the chiefs in 1836 to ask their friends in America to send them " a teacher of the chiefs in what pertains to the land, according to the practice of enlightened countries, " i.e., a teacher of economics and political science. William Richards, one of the missionaries, who returned to the United States in 1836 for a visit, carried the request of the chiefs and interested himself in the subject, but without success. The experience of the twelve months ending in July, 1837, made more evident than before the need for a competant foreign advisor for the rulers of the nation. In the early days of August, 1837, P.A. Brinsmade, an American businessman very friendly to the government, suggested to the chiefs the institutin of a school, " for the instruction of the King and chiefs in the science of political economy and law." He pointedout th importance " of their being enlightened on points of civil policy and laws of nation --that they might know how to meet public officers and how to advocate their own cause and maintain their own rights." The chiefs thought well of the idea and invited Rev. Lorrin Andrews, principal of the high school at Lahainaluna, to become their teacher. They offered to give him a salary of six hundred dollars a year and to furnish him a house and a piece of land for cultivation. Andrews' missionary associates approved his acceptance of the proposal and it was thought he would accept, but for some reason, he failed to do so. When William Richards came back from the United States in 1838 the king and chiefs learned that no teacher was coming for them in response to their request, they immediately turned to Richards himself and urgently invited him to take up the work. He wrote, " After considering the subject for several weeks and discussing the subject thoroughly with the king and chiefs, I at length accepted the appointment and now act as the " Chaplain, Teacher and Translator." for the king. They also expect from me free suggestions on every subject connected with government and on teir duties as rulers of the nation, and in all important cases I am to be not onlt translator, but must act as interpreter for the king. " Richards hoped that his new duties would not necessitate his separation from the mission, but the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, while approving his course, decided that his conection with the board should be dissolved, as of July 3, 1838, the day on which he entered the employ of the king. It may be pointd out that Richards' position was purely instructional and advisory, and not executive or administrative; he did not consider that he was a government officer in the ordinary sense of the term. That Richards was specially qualified for this new post can hardly be maintained; he was, however, about the only one available for it, and was no doubt as well qualifed as any of his associates. He had been stationed at Lahaina since his first arrival at the islands in 1823; he thoroughly understood the Hawaiian people and was unselfishly devoted to them; and there was probably no one who possessed the confidence of king, chiefs and people more fully than he did. Richards' initial service in his new position was a course of lectures to the chiefs on political economy and the general science of government. Writing just a week after he had began his new work, he stated: " I lecture to the chiefs on Political economy, every day at 10 o'clock, making use of Waylands system as the foundation .... I endeavor to propose some practical subject every day." In th letter from which this is quoted, Richards sought advise as to the feasibility of the chiefs; engageing extensively in the manufacture of sugar and entering into commercial operations The qustion uppermost in the minds of the chiefs and to which Richards had to give immediate attention was that relating.to the land and fixed property in the possession of foreigners and the privilege claimed by the foreigners of transferring these things from one to another. The subject had first been brought home to the chiefs in 1836. While they had been compelled to recede a little from the extreme postion taken by them at the outset, they were still determined that full title to land should not be granted to foreigners. This is clearly brought out in a document drafted by them several months before Richards returned from the United States. So far as we can judge from his own statements, Richards' views on this point were very nearly identical with those of the chiefs. Shortly after he entered the service of the king, a project of a general law relating to foreigners was drawn up, dealing with such subjects as property rights and taxation of foreigners and the conditions under which foreigners might marry Hawaiian women. This document asserted the official view that all the land, including that occupied by foreigners, belonged to the king, but it promised that no foreigner should be deprived of his land until after he had occupied it for ten years. " And if any houselot of a foreigner is taken away, the Governor shall reimburse him for the house built by him thereon." This project, however, was not enacted into law. At about the same time, the Hawaiian authorities inaugurated a movement to place the relations between Hawaii and the United States upon a regular treaty basis, a draft of a proposed treaty being written out and signed by the king and the Kuhina-nui.[ prime minister.] In this draft were included stipulations in regard to land and property very simular to those in the project of law just mentioned. The proposed treaty was sent by Richards to the attorney general of the United States, Benjamin F. Butler, with the request that he lay it before the president and use his influence to have it accepted and ratified. But before Butler received the communication, he had ceased to be attorney general, but he forwarded Richards' letter and the propose treaty to the secretary of state. The documents were filed in the archives,but apparently no further action was takenon them. Of greater significance than the questions at issue with the foreigners were the constitutional cahnges wich occurred within the next few years. From the time of appointment of Richards, the course of internal development went straight on to the declaration rights ( 1839 ) and the constitution of 1840. Beore taking up those subjects it may be well to review briefly the developments which had already taken place. Until the propulgation of the constitution of 1840, the form of government was not officially defined and it was difficult, at any moment, to give a clear explanation of it because it was constantly changing. In the tme of Kamehameha the government was a feudal autocracy. The power of the king was nearly absolute, with only the limitations imposed by immemorial custom and the necessity of having subordinate executive officers. But even Kamehamheha had his councl of chiefs, which he consulted on important questions. In view of the weakness of his son and successor, Kamehaameha instituted the office of kuhina-nui, and after his death this weakness of Kamehameha II and the long majority of Kamehameha III not only enhanced the importance of that office but also enabled the chiefs to encroach upon the authority of the king. From bing a mere advisory council, whose advice could be totally disregarded by the king, they came to have actual legislative power. The council of chiefs thus evolved, rather rapidly, into a legislative council, of which the king and kuhina-nui were also members. In 1825 the council of chiefs settled the succession to the throne and provded for the continuance of the regency. After 1835 we find various laws enacted by the king in council with his chiefs, though they were not called a legislative council. In some laws appears the phrase, " I with my chiefs," have enacted so and so. One law of 1838 begins with the clause. " Be it enacted by the King and Chiefs of the Sandwich Islands. in council assembled." At the same time the higher chiefs continued to constitute an advisory council. By 1838, therefore, we find the powers of the national government to be, in actual practice, divided between three agencies, the king, the kuhina-nui, and the council of chiefs. It thus appears that some part of the power of the absolute king had been transferred to the chiefs, whose status was thereby improved. But up to 1839 this distribution of power had not extended beyond chiefs. The common people were still under complete subjection to the alii and had practically no rights that the chiefs were bound to respect, except that of removing to the land of another chief. There had been no essential modifcation of the old feudal land system, and no formal organization of the government along lines familiar to foreigners. Bt the minds of the king and chiefs had been prepared for further change by various influences which may be mentioned briefly. First in importance, perhaps, was the general enlightenment resulting from the teaching of the missionaries and from the contact with foreigners. Especially important was the education of young Hawaiians, both chiefs and commoners, at Lahainaluna and elsewhere, such men as Daniel Ii, John Ii. Timothy Haalilo, David Malo, Boaz Mahune, and others. These young men became companions and advisors to the king and the older chiefs. Malo has been already sveral times before mentioned. Haalilo was for a umber of years the private secretary and business manager for the king. Of him, just after his death in 1844, Richards wrote: " Besides acquaintance with mercantile transactions, he also acquired a very full knowledge of the political relations of the country. He was a strenuous advocate for a constitutional and representative government, and aided not a little in effecting those changes by which the rights of the lower classes have been secured. He was well acquainted with the practical influence of the former system of government, and considered a change necessary to the welfare of the nation." A writer, believed to be William Richards, stated in the Hawaiian Spectator that among the influences leading to the declaration of rights " not the least ....... is believed to have been the articles published in the Kumu Hawaii [ Hawaiian Teacher ], written ..... mostly by the graduates and undergraduates of the seminary " or high school at Lahainaluna. Although the missionaries were by their instructions strictly enjoined to withhold themselves " entirely from all interference and intermeddling with political affairs and party concerns of the nation," it was not easy for men steeped in New England traditions to observe in silence the undemocratic character of the Hawaiian political system and the abuses to which it was susceptible. and in view of the constant and urgent appeals to them by the chiefs, it was impossible for them to avoid altogether the giving of information and advice on political matters. Some of them may even at times have exceeded the bounds of discretion in their addresses to the people. Dr. Judd wrote in October, 1838: " There is much agitation on the public mind. The infuence of the missionaries especially those lately arrived, is very decided against the ancient system of government. The "rights of men," " Oppression, " " blood and sinews " are much talked of, and a sort of impatience is preceivable that changes are made so slow. The probable consequence is that people and the chiefs will not come up to our expectations as to reform ad we, at least some of us , will be looked upon with suspicion." He then gave a translation of an article written by one of the missionaries and publihed in the Kumu Hawaii, in which a very sharp contrast was drawn between the condition of the people, couched in language which, if it had come from a native, would have been little short of seditious. Another very weighty infuence was the advice received from foreign visitors and commanders of ships of war. Beginning with Captain Finch in 1829, there was scarcely one of the foreign navel commanders who visited Hawaii down to 1838 who did not offer the king and chiefs advice on some subject. The general tenor of this advice, so far as it touched on the political and economic institutions of the country, was that a more systematized and liberal policy should be pursued, the people be made secure in the possession of the land they occupied and cultivated, allowed to enjoy the fruits of their labor, to accumulate property, and not be burdened by oppressive taxation, and that just laws be enacted and published for the information and guidance of all. Even those commanders who made demands on the king usually accompanied them with suggestions as how the rulers might prevent a recurrance of such demands in the future. Reference should likewise be made to the excellent advice given to the king by General William Miller in 1831 and by James Hunnewell in 1835. And from 1835 onward, the agricultural enterprise carried on at Koloa, Kauai, under the sponsership of Ladd and Company, furnished a practical illustration of the benefits of a more liberal system. In the next few year there were many changes made as you shall see in the next part of this study -- The Declaration of Rights and Laws of 1839; Toleance Movement and liquor legislation; Religious Toleration; French Treaty; and the constitution of 1840 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Continued in part 22.