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Joint resolution; signed by Liliʻuokalani 

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Joint resolution; signed by Liliʻuokalani 

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When the Hawaiian islands were formally annexed by the United States in 1898, the event marked the end of a lengthy internal struggle between native Hawaiians and non-native American businessmen for control of the Hawaiian government.

In 1810, King Kamehameha had unified all of the Hawaiian Islands into one royal kingdom. Later, the traditional Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in favor of a constitutional monarchy. Eventually, the monarchy itself was abandoned in favor of a government elected by a small group of enfranchised voters, although the Hawaiian monarch was retained as the ceremonial head of the government.

During the 19th Century, Western influence grew. David Kalākaua was the last king of Hawaii, ruling from 1874 to 1891. In 1885, following a tradition of treaties favoring the United States, he signed a trade reciprocity treaty with the United States. This free-trade agreement made it possible for sugar to be sold to the U.S. market tax-free.

By 1887, when the Reciprocity Treaty was renewed, the Kingdom of Hawaii was overrun by white landowners, missionaries, and businessmen. The king promoted Hawaiian culture and traditions, but Hawaiian sovereignty suffered. U.S. sugar plantation owners came to dominate the politics of the islands. Their presence impacted social and economic life as well - the landholding system changed, and many aspects of traditional culture were prohibited, including teaching the Hawaiian language and performing the native Hula dance.

On July 6, 1887, a militia affiliated with the Hawaiian League, a non-native mostly U.S. businessmen's political party opposed to the king, under the leadership of Lorrin Thurston, threatened King Kalākaua. He was forced to sign a new constitution stripping him of his power and many native Hawaiians of their rights. It also replaced the cabinet with non-native politicians and businessmen. The new constitution came to be known as the "Bayonet Constitution" because Kalākaua signed it under duress.

When King Kalākaua died in 1891, his sister Lili'uokalani succeeded him. Though she introduced a new constitution that would restore her power and Hawaiian rights, she would be Hawaii's last monarch. Her move was countered by the "Committee of Safety," a group of non-native U.S. businessmen and politicians with sugar interests. Led by Sanford Dole, they had monetary reasons for doing so - they feared that the United States would establish a tariff on sugar imports, endangering their profits, and wanted to protect Hawaii's free-trade status. The United States was the major importer of Hawaiian agricultural products.

Supported by John Stevens, the U.S. Minister to Hawaii, and a contingent of Marines from the warship, U.S.S. Boston, the Committee overthrew Queen Lili'uokalani in a bloodless coup on January 17, 1893. The Committee of Safety proclaimed itself to be the Provisional Government. Without permission from the U.S. State Department, Minister Stevens recognized the new government and proclaimed Hawaii a U.S. protectorate. President Benjamin Harrison signed a treaty of annexation with the new government. Before the Senate could ratify it, however, Grover Cleveland replaced Harrison as president and subsequently withdrew the treaty.

Dole sent a delegation to Washington in 1894 seeking annexation. Instead, President Cleveland appointed special investigator James Blount to look into the events in the Hawaiian Islands. The Blount Commission found that Lili'uokalani had been overthrown illegally, and ordered that the American flag be lowered from Hawaiian government buildings. Lili'uokalani never regained power, however. Sanford Dole, leader of the Committee of Safety and the president of the Provisional Government of Hawaii, refused to turn over power. Dole argued that the United States had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of Hawaii. The Provisional Government then proclaimed Hawaii a republic - the Republic of Hawaii - in 1894, with Dole its first president.

The overthrow of Lili'uokalani and imposition of the Republic of Hawaii was contrary to the will of the native Hawaiians. In fact, there had been a series of rebellions by Native Hawaiians since the imposition of the Bayonet Constitution in 1887. On January 5, 1895, during the "Wilcox Rebellion," an armed revolt was suppressed by Republic of Hawaii forces. The leaders of the revolt were imprisoned along with Queen Lili'uokalani.

In March of 1897, William McKinley was inaugurated as President of the United States. McKinley was in favor of annexation, and the change in leadership was soon felt. On June 16, 1897, McKinley and three representatives of the government of the Republic of Hawaii - Lorrin Thurston, Francis Hatch, and William Kinney - signed a treaty of annexation. President McKinley then submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification.

Queen Liliuokalani and her fellow citizens successfully protested the annexation by petitioning Congress. Native Hawaiian groups organized a mass petition drive. They hoped that if the U.S. government realized that the majority of native Hawaiian citizens opposed annexation, the move to annex Hawaii would be stopped. In the fall of 1897, a Petition Against Annexation was signed by 21,269 native Hawaiian people - more than half of the 39,000 native Hawaiians and mixed-blood persons reported by the Hawaiian Commission census that year. A Hawaiian delegation brought the petition to Washington, DC; and the delegates and Lili'uokalani met with Senators. Their petition was read to the Senate and formally accepted. By the time the delegates left Washington in February 1898, only 46 senators were willing to vote for annexation and the treaty was defeated.

Other events, however, immediately brought the subject of annexation up again. On February 15, 1898, the U.S. Battleship Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor in Cuba. The ensuing Spanish-American War, part of which was fought in the Philippine Islands, established the argument that the Hawaiian islands would be strategically valuable as a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval installation.

The pro-annexation forces in Congress submitted a proposal to annex the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution, which required only a simple majority vote in both houses. This controversial approach eliminated the 2/3 majority needed to ratify a treaty; as a result, the necessary support for annexation was in place. House Joint Resolution 259, 55th Congress, 2nd session, known as the "Newlands Resolution," passed Congress and was signed into law by President McKinley on July 7, 1898 - the Hawaiian islands were officially annexed by the United States. Sanford Dole became the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii.

In a last, unsuccessful attempt to return control of her homeland to native Hawaiians, Queen Lili'uokalani sent a letter of protest to the U.S. House of Representatives. She stated that her throne had been taken illegally, and that any U.S. efforts to annex Hawaii without the due process of law would be unacceptable.

As a territory, Hawaii had little power in the U.S. government, holding only one, non-voting representative in the House of Representatives. The territory status allowed rich, white plantation owners to import cheap labor and export their products to the mainland with low tariffs. These landowners used their power to keep Hawaii in territorial status. Native Hawaiians and non-white Hawaiian residents, however, began to push for statehood. These residents wanted the same rights as U.S. citizens living in one of the 48 states. They wanted a voting representative in Congress and the right to elect their own governor and judges, who were currently appointed.

Over the course of the next 50 years, the Territory of Hawaii worked to achieve statehood. The legislature sent multiple proposals to Congress including a joint resolution requesting statehood in 1903, only to be denied. Other resolutions were similarly ignored. In 1937, a congressional committee found that Hawaii met all qualifications for statehood and held a vote on statehood in Hawaii. Although this resulted in a vote in favor of statehood, the attack at Pearl Harbor paused all talks as the Japanese population in Hawaii came under suspicion by the U.S. government. After the war, Hawaii's territorial delegate, Joe Farrington, revived the battle for statehood. The House debated and passed multiple Hawaii statehood bills, but the Senate did not vote on them. Hawaiian activist groups, students, and political bodies sent in letters endorsing statehood in hopes of spurring congressional action. Then in the 1950s, Congress combined Hawaii's statehood bid with Alaska's. Congress ultimately decided to first grant statehood to Alaska, a then-Democratic leaning territory, in early 1959. With this new Democratic state, Congress was now open to granting the then-Republican leaning Hawaii statehood to restore political balance.

Finally, in March 1959, a Hawaii statehood resolution passed both the House and the Senate, and President Eisenhower signed it into law. That June, the citizens of Hawaii voted on a referendum to accept the statehood bill. On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the official proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state, marking the end of over half a century of work for Hawaiian statehood.

Transcript

Fifty-fifth Congress of the United States of America;
At the Second Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the sixth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven.
Joint Resolution To provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States.
Whereas, the Government of the Republic of Hawaii having, in due form, signified its consent, in the manner provided by its constitution, to cede absolutely and without reserve to the United States of America, all rights of sovereignty of whatsoever kind in and over the Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies, and also to cede and transfer to the United States, the absolute fee and ownership of all public, Government, or Crown lands, public buildings or edifices, ports, harbors, military equipment, and all other public property of every kind and description belonging to the Government of the Hawaiian Islands, together with every right and appurtenance thereunto appertaining: Therefore,

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That said cession is accepted, ratified, and confirmed, and that the said Hawaiian Islands and their dependencies be, and they are hereby, annexed as a part of the territory of the United States and are subject to the sovereign dominion thereof, and that all and singular the property and rights hereinbefore mentioned are vested in the United States of America.

The existing laws of the United States relative to public lands shall not apply to such lands in the Hawaiian Islands; but the Congress of the United States shall enact special laws for their management and disposition: Provided, That all revenue from or proceeds of the same, except as regards such part thereof as may be used or occupied for the civil, military, or naval purposes of the United States, or may be assigned for the use of the local government, shall be used solely for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands for educational and other public purposes.

Until Congress shall provide for the government of such islands all the civil, judicial, and military powers exercised by the officers of the existing government in said islands shall be vested in such person or persons and shall be exercised in such manner as the President of the United states shall direct; and the President shall have power to remove said officers and fill the vacancies so occasioned.

The existing treaties of the Hawaiian Islands with foreign nations shall forthwith cease and determine, being replaced by such treaties as may exist, or as may be hereafter concluded, between the United States and such foreign nations. The municipal legislation of the Hawaiian Islands, not enacted for the fulfillment of the treaties so extinguished, and not inconsistent with this joint resolution nor contrary to the Constitution of the United States nor to any existing treaty of the United States, shall remain in force until the Congress of the United States shall otherwise determine.

Until legislation shall be enacted extending the United States customs laws and regulations to the Hawaiian Islands the existing customs relations of the Hawaiian Islands with the United States and other countries shall remain unchanged.

The public debt of the Republic of Hawaii, lawfully existing at the date of the passage of this joint resolution, including the amounts due to depositors in the Hawaiian Postal Savings Bank, is hereby assumed by the Government of the United States; but the liability of the United States in this regard shall in no case exceed four million dollars. So long, however, as the existing Government and the present commercial relations of the Hawaiian Islands are continued as hereinbefore, provided said Government shall continue to pay the interest on said debt.

There shall be no further immigration of Chinese into the Hawaiian Islands, except upon such conditions as are now or may hereafter be allowed by the laws of the United States; and no Chinese, by reason of anything herein contained, shall be allowed to enter the United States from the Hawaiian Islands.

Sec. 1. The President shall appoint five commissioners, at least two of whom shall be residents of the Hawaiian Islands, who shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, recommend to Congress such legislation concerning the Hawaiian Islands as they shall deem necessary or proper.

Sec. 2. That the commissioners hereinbefore provided for shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Sec. 3. That the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to be immediately available, to be expended at the discretion of the President of the United States of America, for the purpose of carrying this joint resolution into effect.

Transcript of the letter of protest that Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii sent to the House of Representatives:

The House of Representatives of the United States:

I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii, named heir apparent on the 10th day of April, 1877, and proclaimed Queen of the Hawaiian Islands on the 29th day of January, 1891, do hereby earnestly and respectfully protest against the assertion of ownership by the United States of America of the so-called Hawaiian Crown Islands amounting to about one million acres and which are my property, and I especially protest against such assertion of ownership as a taking of property without due process of law and without just or other compensation.

Therefore, supplementing my protest of June 17, 1897, I call upon the President and the National Legislature and the People of the United States to do justice in this matter and to restore to me this property, the enjoyment of which is being withheld from me by your Government under what must be a misapprehension of my right and title.

Done at Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, this nineteenth day of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight.

[Endorsement]

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Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States (1898)

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: Joint Resolution to Provide for Annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, July 7, 1898; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress; General Records of the United States Government, 1778-1992; Record Group 11; National Archives. View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View the Letter from Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, to the U.S.

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Hawaiian Kingdom - Gresham Letter to Cleveland, Oct. 18, 1893

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The Web site of the acting Hawaiian Kingdom Government presently operating within the occupied State of the Hawaiian Islands.

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Liliʻuokalani letter to William Mckinley

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Liliʻuokalani letter to William Mckinley

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I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii, by the Will of God named heir-apparent on the tenth day of April, A.D. 1877, and by the grace of God Queen of the Hawaiian Islands on the seventeenth day of January, A.D. 1893, do hereby protest against the ratification of a certain treaty, which, so I am informed, has been signed at Washington by Messrs, Hatch, Thurston, and Kinney, purporting to cede those Islands to the territory and dominion of the United States. I declare such a treaty to be an act of -wrong toward the native and part-native people of Hawaii, an invasion of the rights of the ruling chiefs, in violation of international rights both toward my people and toward friendly nations with whom they have made treaties, the perpetuation of the fraud whereby the constitutional government was overthrown, and, finally, an act of gross injustice to me.

BECAUSE the official protests made by me on the seventeenth day of January, 1893, to the so-called Provisional Government was signed by me, and received by said government with the assurance that the case was referred to the United States of America for arbitration. BECAUSE that protest and my communications to the United States Government immediately thereafter expressly declare that I yielded my authority to the forces of the United States in order to avoid bloodshed, and because I recognized the futility of a conflict with so formidable a power.

BECAUSE the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and an envoy commissioned by them reported in official documents that my government was unlawfully coerced by the forces, diplomatic and naval, of the United States; that I was at the date of their investigations the constitutional ruler of my people. BECAUSE neither the above-named commission nor the government which sends it has ever received any such authority from the registered voters of Hawaii, but derives its assumed powers from the so-called committee of public safety, organized on or about the seventeenth-day of January, 1893, said committee being composed largely of persons claiming American citizenship, and not one single Hawaiian was a member thereof, or in any way participated in the demonstration leading to its existence.

BECAUSE my people, about forty thousand in number, have in no way been consulted by those, three thousand in number, who claim the right to destroy the independence of Hawaii. My people constitute four-fifths of the legally qualified voters of Hawaii, and excluding those imported for the demands of labor, about the same proportion of the inhabitants.

BECAUSE said treaty ignores, not only the civic rights of my people, but, further, the hereditary property of their chiefs. Of the 4,000,000 acres composing the territory said treaty offers to annex, 1,000,000 or 915,000 acres has in no way been heretofore recognized as other than the private property of the constitutional monarch, subject to a control in now way differing from other items of a private estate.

BECAUSE it is proposed by said treaty to confiscate said property, technically called the crown lands, those legally entitled thereto, either now or in succession, receiving no consideration whatever for estates, their title to which has been always undisputed, and which is legitimately in my name at this date.

BECAUSE said treaty ignores, not only all professions of perpetual amity and good faith made by the United States in former treaties with the sovereigns representing the Hawaiian people, but all treaties made by those sovereigns with other and friendly powers, and it is thereby in violation of international law.

BECAUSE, by treating with the parties claiming at this time the right to cede said territory of Hawaii, the Government of the United States receives such territory from the hands of those whom its own magistrates (legally elected by the people of the United States, and in office in 1893) pronounced fraudulently in power and unconstitutionally ruling Hawaii.

Therefore I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii, do hereby call upon the President of that nation, to whom alone I yielded my property and my authority, to withdraw said treaty (ceding said Islands) from further consideration. I ask the honorable Senate of the United States to decline to ratify said treaty, and I implore the people of this great and good nation, from whom my ancestors learned the Christian religion, to sustain their representatives in such acts of justice and equity as may be in accord with the principles of their fathers, and to the Almighty Ruler of the universe, to him who judgeth righteously, I commit my cause.
Done at Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America, this seventeenth day of June, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-seven.
Source = U.S. Presidential files(?) Scanned phtocopies of microfilmed original (English) and newspaper report (Hawaiian)

Olowalu Ka Moa Ua Ao Hawaii -- Hoone eo Liliuokalani na Iliili o ka Papa Konane o Hawaii
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University of Hawaii at Manoa Hamilton Library

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Annexation of Hawaii | University of Hawaii at Manoa Library

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I, Liliuokalani of Hawaii, by the Will of God named heir-apparent on the tenth day of April, A.D. 1877, and by the grace of God Queen of the Hawaiian Islands on the seventeenth day of January, A.D.

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History Notes by Marion Bance

Many moons ago a friend and retired Town Planner told me the story of how he had been approached by a woman wanting to secure a Blue Plaque for a house in Cambridge Road, Hove where, during the late Victorian period, a Hawaiian princess had lived. Nothing came of the application and the story might have disappeared into the annals of Brighton's history had it not been for Jane Couldrey who, in 2014, made an installation artwork, including a short film, for exhibition in Hove Museum all about Princess Ka'iuluni's life: a life full of thwarted expectations. I was intrigued and thought that there might still be some local people for whom the story would be new and interesting.

Victoria Kaʻiulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawekiu i Lunalilo Cleghorn was born on the 16th October 1875, the only child of Princess Miriam Likelike and Scottish businessman Archibald Cleghorn. As niece to King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani, she was heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Hawaii and held the title of Crown Princess.

Her early years were happy and secure, surrounded by the certainty of her family's place in the world and their right to the throne. But, when Ka'iulani was just 11 years old, her mother became seriously ill and, suddenly, all that this young girl knew and expected changed. It is said that before Likelike died a large school of bright red fish - an omen of death in her family - massed close to shore and she predicted her daughter would never marry and never become queen!

Without the guidance of her mother, it was decided that the best way to prepare Ka'iulani for her future role was to send her to England to be 'properly' educated. So, at the age of 13, Ka'iulani was enrolled in Great Harrowden Hall, a private finishing school in Northamptonshire. Here Ka'iulani flourished, excelling in her lessons, and accepting of her exile, sure in the knowledge that it would only be for a year.

However, not long into her stay at the school, King Kalākaua died, and her aunt, Liliuokalani, took the Hawaiian throne. Now Ka'iulani was next in line to be queen and the pressure on her to stay in England longer and study harder was increased.

In February 1892, Theophilus Harris Davies, a respected Hawaiian businessman and the princess's guardian in England, made the decision to move Ka'iulani to Hove to live and study with Mrs Phebe Rooke, a relative of Queen Emma (Queen of Hawaii from 1856 to 1863).

"I have left Great Harrowden Hall for good. Mr Davies has kindly found a lady who will look after me and be a sort of mother to me while I am in Brighton. I believe Mrs Rooke is a thorough lady... I shall take lessons in French, German, Music and English, especially grammar and composition."

Despite missing Hawaii, she enjoyed her new surroundings, "Brighton is such a nice place, [and] although I have only been here a month, I can find my way about quite easily. I think that I will profit from my stay here...The air is very pure and bracing, and already my appetite shows me that it suits me."

Demonstrating a maturity, perhaps beyond her years, Ka'uilani wrote to her aunt explaining that her workload kept her from charitable activities - the duty of all upper-class Victorian women - and how, when famous people arrived in Brighton, she resisted the temptation to break away from her lessons to go and see them. She noted, "The Duke of Connaught [Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria's seventh child] and Princess Christina are coming down sometime next month to open some place, if I can I shall try to be present, though my studies interfere with a great many things, still they must come first".

The strain Ka'iulani felt under to prepared for the day she would become a "worthy" queen was very real, but there was another side to her life beyond her studies. A tutor described her as exuberant, light-hearted, independent with a real strength of character. She described herself as athletic, loving dancing, riding, cycling, canoeing and swimming.

As for all Native Hawaiians, the sea played an important part in Ka'iulani's life. Some accounts even suggest that she was the first female surfer in the British Isles. Disappointingly, the Museum of British Surfing does not verify this, they state, "the only tangible evidence - so far - is a letter in which she wrote that she enjoyed 'being on the water again' at Brighton".

An exhibition of British surfing history on show in the Brighton Fishing Museum in 2004 speculated about Ka'iulani being on the water at Brighton, "Imagine the local fishermen's surprise as they saw a long-haired foreign dignitary stood on a thin strip of wood, riding the waves."

There is no doubt that the "resort by the sea" pleased the princess and sustained her enthusiasm for England and her studies, but this could not last forever. And, as the years went by, she became homesick until, eventually, word arrived that plans were being made for her return to Hawaii and "coming out" into society as the heir apparent. Heady news for the teenage princess, but unbeknown to her the political situation in Hawaii had changed. Dark clouds were gathering, and the queen's enemies were beginning to challenge her right to the throne.

Then in January 1893, a telegram arrived in Cambridge Road telling Mrs Rooke that the island and its people were in political turmoil, it read: 'Queen Deposed', 'Monarchy Abrogated', 'Break News to Princess'.

A month later, Ka'iulani left Hove in the company of her guardian to travel to America. Davies was convinced that Ka'iulani's presence - as both a regal Hawaiian princess and educated Victorian young lady - would prove to the American people that the Hawaiian monarchy should be restored. She made speeches and public appearances denouncing the overthrow of her government and the injustice toward her people. While in Washington, D.C. she met President Grover Cleveland, but her efforts were in vain.

Overwhelmed by sadness, Ka'iulani drifted among the European aristocracy, relatives and family friends in England, Wales, Scotland and Paris, before finally returning to Hawaii in November 1897. During this time, she became distanced from the island's politics and suffered recurring bouts of ill health.

On the 12th August 1898, the day Hawaii was annexed as a territory of the United States, citizen Ka'iulani and her aunt, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, wore funeral clothes as a protest against what they considered an illegal transaction.

Ka'iulani died a year later, on the 6th March 1899 of inflammatory rheumatism, she was 23 years old. And, just as her mother had foretold, she never married and never became queen.

Jane Couldrey's work on the life of Princess Ka'iulani can be accessed via: Dance event : vimeo.com/manage/videos/104870097
and vimeo.com/587557406

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Many moons ago a friend and retired Town Planner told me the story of how he had been approached by a woman wanting to secure a Blue Plaque for a house in Cambridge Road, Hove where, during the late Victorian period, a Hawaiian princess had lived.

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This year marks the 129th year since the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani, affectionately known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha. In this Kūkahekahe, we examine her extraordinary fortitude in the days surrounding this devastating event, as well as her great aloha for her people.
On Jan.17, 1893, Queen Liliʻuokalani was deposed from the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The events of that day were the result of political tension that had been building for some time, which were brought to a crescendo by the queen's attempt to adopt a new constitution in accordance with the desires of her subjects. In "Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen," Liliʻuokalani wrote:

"Petitions poured in from every part of the Islands for a new constitution; these were addressed to myself as the reigning sovereign. They were supported by petitions addressed to the Hui Kalaiaina, who in turn endorsed and forwarded them to me. It was estimated by those in position to know, that out of a possible nine thousand five hundred registered voters, six thousand five hundred, or two-thirds, had signed these petitions. To have ignored or disregarded so general a request I must have been deaf to the voice of the people, which tradition tells us is the voice of God. No true Hawaiian chief would have done other than to promise a consideration of their wishes."

The so-called Provisional Government was proclaimed with the support and landing of American troops by the United States Minister to the Hawaiian Kingdom, John L. Stevens. To avoid the very real threat of bloodshed, Queen Liliʻuokalani was advised by her ministers to surrender and yield under protest submitted to both the Provisional Government and the United States Government in Washington. Her protest read:

"I Liliʻuokalani, by the Grace of God, and under the constitution of the Kingdom, Queen, do hereby solemnly protest against any and all acts done against myself and the constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a provision government of and for this Kingdom.

"Then I yield to the superior force of the United States of America, whose minister plenipotentiary, His Excellence John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed at Honolulu, and declared that he would support the said provisional government.

"Now, to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do, under this protest and impelled by said force, yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon the facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representative, and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands."

The Queen's protest was printed in its entirety the very next day in the Hawaiian language newspaper, "Hawaii Holomua:"

"KUKALA KUE A KE ALIIAIMOKU. "O wau, Liliʻuokalani, ma ka lokomaikai o ke Akua, malalo o ke Kumukanawai o ke Aupuni Hawaii, Moiwahine, ma keia ke hoike paa nei i Koʻu kue i kekahi hana a mau hana paha a pau i lawelawe ia e kue ana Ia'u iho a me ke Aupuni Kumukanawai o ke Aupuni Hawaii e kekahi poe e koi ana ua kukulu lakou he Aupuni Kuikawa no ka manawa no keia Aupuni. "Ke ae wale nei no Au mamuli o ka mana oi ikaika o Amerika Huipuia nona hoi ke Kuhina Elele Nui, ka Meamahaloia John L. Stevens, ua kauoha aku i na koa o Amerika Huipuia e hoopae ia mai ma Honolulu, a ua kukala ae e kokua no oia i ua Aupuni Kuikawa 'ia no ka Manawa i oleloia. "Nolaila, i mea e kaupale aku ai i na hookuia ana o na puali i hoolawa ia me na lako kaua, a malia paha o hoopoino ia ke ola; nolaila, malalo o keia Kuahaua Kue a i kauhola ia hoi e ua mana ikaika 'la, ke ae wale nei no Au e panee aku i Koʻu Mana a hiki i ka manawa a ke Aupuni o Amerika Huipuia, mamuli o na mea oiaio e waiho ia aku ai imua ona, e hoololi ai i na hana a kona Luna Aupuni a e hoonoho hou Iaʻu maluna o ka mana Aʻu e koi nei ma ke ano Aliiaimoku o ka Paeaina Hawaii." "Hanaia ma Honolulu, i keia la 17 o Ianuari, M. H. 1893." [Kakauinoaia:] LILIʻUOKALANI, R.

In the days, weeks, and years following the overthrow, many kingdom subjects expressed their aloha and support for the queen as well as for the aupuni Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian government. From kapa kuiki, beautiful quilts sewn with designs featuring the hae Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian flag) and kalaunu (crown), to hundreds of newspaper articles, petitions drives, marches and more, the outpouring of aloha then and now remains a testament to a lāhui that is ʻonipaʻa, steadfast, resolute, and determined.

Read "Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen" here:

In 2013, Hui Hānai, an auxillary organization of the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children's Center, reprinted a beautiful version of "Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen," which includes additional material and annotations from David Forbes. In 2020, Hui Hānai also published "The Diaries of Queen Liliʻuokalani," which included personal diaries that were confiscated from Liliʻuokalani by the Republic of Hawaiʻi. We encourage you to check out these incredible resources!

A kapa kuiki hae Hawaiʻi, a Hawaiian flag quilt named "Kuʻu Hae Aloha" (My Beloved Flag) held by Mrs. and Mr. Frank Aseu Young. The quilt was probably made by Mrs. Aseu Young. Circa 1935. Photo courtesy of the Hawaiʻi State Archives.

"He Wehi no ke Kalaunu," a mele for written for the Kingdom and Monarchy by Mrs. L. K. Kahilikapu on April 21, 1893. Published in the "Hawaii Holomua" on April 29, 1893.

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Kūkahekahe: The overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani

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Examining the extraordinary fortitude in the days surrounding the event and the queen's aloha for her people.

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Kingdom of Hawai`i Constitutions: 1840 - 1852 - 1864 - 1887
This document is purported to be the text of the draft constitution presented by Queen Liliuokalani on January 14th, 1893, which was never ratified. Opposition to the promulgation of this constitution, primarily from American business interests and missionary family descendents who owned large areas of land ("small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, includingcitizens of the United States" PL 103-150), resulted in the treasonous overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on Jan. 17, 1893, with the support of the American Minister to Hawaii. See the Apology Resolution and the article Overthrow of the Monarchy for more information.
PREAMBLE
Whereas the constitution of this Kingdom contains many provisions inconsistent, ambiguous and contradictory in its terms, and is subversive and restrictive of civil and popular rights, and incompatible with enlightened constitutional monarchical government; and Whereas the prayers of my people, coming in the form of petitions from all parts of this Kingdom, to myself and to the Legislature, asking for a new constitution embodying in it provisions equal rights among all my subjects; which prayer to the Legislature of this Kingdom has not been duly recognized by that body through undue and unjust influences; and Whereas it has become imperative in order to restore order and tranquility, and to gratify the just demand of my subjects for a new constitution to be remodeled upon the most liberal and popular form of Constitutional Monarchical Government, that a new constitution be at once promulgated.
Now, therefore, I, Liliuokalani, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands, in my capacity as Sovereign of this Kingdom, and as the representative of the people, and in accordance with their almost universal desire, and in conformity with their wishes, do annul and abrogate the constitution promulgated by Kalakaua on the 7th day of July, A.D. 1887, and do proclaim and promulgate this constitution.

CONSTITUTION

Article 1.
God hath endowed all men with certain inalienable rights; among which are life, liberty, and the right of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and of pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Article 2.
All men are free to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences; but this sacred privilege hereby secured shall not be so construed as to justify acts of licentiousness or practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the Kingdom.
Article 3.
All men may freely speak, write, and publish their sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right, Hand no law shall be enacted to restrain the liberty of speech or of the press, except such laws as may be necessary for the protection of Her Majesty, the Queen, and the royal family.
Article 4.
All men shall have the right, in an orderly and peaceable manner, to assemble, without arms, to consult upon the common good, and to petition the Queen or legislative assembly for redress of grievances.
Article 5.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus belongs to all men, and shall not be suspended, unless by the Queen, when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety shall require its suspension.
Article 6.
No person shall be subject to punishment for any offense, except on due and legal conviction thereof in a court having jurisdiction of the case.
Article 7.
No person shall be held to answer for any crime or offense (except in case of impeachment or for offenses within the jurisdiction of a police or district justice, or in summary proceedings for contempt), unless upon indictment, fully and plainly describing such crime or offense, and he shall have the right to meet the witnesses who are produced against him face to face; to produce witnesses and proofs are reduced against him face to face; to produce witnesses and proofs in his own favor; and by himself or his counsel, at his election, to examine the witnesses produced by himself and cross-examine those produced against him, and to be fully heard in his defense. In all cases in which the right of trial by jury has been heretofore used, it shall be held inviolable forever, except in actions of debt or assumption in which the amount claimed is less than $50.
Article 8.
No person shall be required to answer again for any offence of which he has been duly convicted, or of which he has been duly acquitted.
Article 9.
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Article 10.
No person shall sit as a judge or juror in any case in which his relative, by affinity, or by consanguinity within the third degree, is interested, either as a plaintiff or defendant, or in the issue of which the said judge or juror may have either directly or through such relative any pecuniary interest.
Article 11.
Involuntary servitude, except for crime, is forever prohibited in this Kingdom; whenever a slave shall enter Hawaiian territory he shall be free.
Article 12.
Every person has the right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his house, his papers, and effects; and no warrants shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and describing the place to be searched and the person to things to be seized.
Article 13.
The Queen conducts her government for the common good, and not for the profit, honor, or private interests of any one man, family, or class of men among Her subjects.
Article 14.
Each member of society has a right to be protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to law, and therefore he shall be obliged to contribute his proportional share to the expense of his protection and to give his personal services or an equivalent when necessary; but no part of the property of any individual shall be taken from him or applied to public uses without his own consent or the enactment of the legislative assembly, except in time of war or insurrection; and whenever the public exigencies may require that the property of any individual should be appropriated to public uses, he shall receive a reasonable compensation therefor.
Article 15.
No subsidy, duty, or tax of any description shall be established or levied without the consent of the legislative assembly, nor shall any money be drawn from he public treasury without such consent, except when between the sessions of the legislative assembly the emergencies of war, invasion, rebellion, pestilence, or other public disaster shall arise, and then not without the concurrence of all the cabinet and of a majority of the whole privy council; and the minister of finance shall render a detailed account of such expenditure to the legislative assembly.
Article 16.
No retrospective laws shall ever be enacted.
Article 17.
The military shall always be subject to the laws of the land, and no soldier shall in times of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by the Legislature.
Article 18.
Every elector shall be privileged from arrest on election days, during his attendance at election and in going to and returning therefrom, except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
Article 19.
No elector shall be so obliged to perform military duty on the day of election as to prevent his voting, except in time of war or public danger.
Article 20.
The supreme power of the Kingdom in its exercises is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial; theses shall always be preserved district , and no executive or judicial officer or any contractor or employee of the Government or any person in the receipt of salary or emoluments from the Government shall be eligible to election to the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom, or to hold the position of than elective member of the same, except members of the privy council, notary public, attorney at law, and agent to take acknowledgement. And no member of the legislative assembly shall, during the time for which he is a member, be appointed to any civil office under the Government, except that of a member of the cabinet.
Article 21.
The government of this Kingdom is that of a constitutional monarchy, under Her Majesty Liliuokalani, her heirs and successors.
Article 22.
The Crown is hereby permanently confirmed to Her Majesty Liliuokalani and to the heirs of her body lawfully begotten, and to their lawful descendants in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to Her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria Kaiulani and the heirs of her own body lawfully begotten, and their descendant in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to His Royal Highness the Prince David Kawananakoa and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and their descendant in a direct line; failing whom, the Crown shall descend to His Royal Highness the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and their lawful descendant in the direct line. The succession shall be to the senior male child and to the heirs of his body; failing a male child the succession shall be to the senior female child and to the heirs of her body. In case there is no heir, as above provided, then the successor shall be the person whom the Sovereign shall appoint, with the consent of the nobles, and publicly proclaimed during the Sovereign's life; but should there be no such vacancy, shall cause a meeting of the legislative assembly, who shall elect by ballot some native alii of the Kingdom as successor to the throne; and the successor so elected shall become a new stirps for a royal family; and the succession from the Sovereign thus elected shall be regulated by the same law as the present royal family of Hawaii.
Article 23.
It shall not be lawful for any member of the royal family of Hawaii who may by law succeed to the Throne to contract marriage without the consent of the reigning Sovereign. Every marriage so contracted shall be void, and the person so contracting a marriage may, by the proclamation of the reigning Sovereign, be declared to have forfeited his or her right to the Throne, and after such proclamation the right of succession shall vest in the next heir as though such offender were dead.
Article 24.
Her Majesty Liliuokalani will, and her successors upon coming to the Throne shall, take the following oath: "I solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God to maintain the Constitution of the Kingdom of whole and inviolable, and to govern in conformity therewith.
Article 25.
No person shall ever sit upon the Throne who has been convicted of any infamous crime, or who is insane, or an idiot.
Article 26. The Queen is the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and of all other military forces of the Kingdom by sea and land, and has full power by herself, or by any officer or officers she may appoint, to train and govern such forces as she may judge best for the defense and safety of the Kingdom. But she shall never proclaim war without the consent of the legislative assembly.
Article 27.
The Queen, by and with the consent of her privy council, has the power to grant reprieves and pardon, after conviction, for all offenses, except in cases of impeachment.
Article 28.
The Queen, by and with the consent of her privy council, convenes the Legislature at the seat of Government, or at a different place, if that should become dangerous from an enemy or any dangerous disorder; and in case of disagreement between Her Majesty and the legislative assembly, she adjourns, prorogues, or dissolves it, but not beyond the next ordinary session; under any great emergency, she may convene the legislative assembly to extraordinary sessions.
Article 29.
The Queen has the power to make treaties. Treaties involving changes in the tariff or in any law of the Kingdom shall be referred for approval to the Legislative Assembly. The Queen appoints public minters, who shall be commission, accredited, and instructed agreeably to usage and law of nations.
Article 30.
It is the Queen's prerogative to receive and acknowledge public ministers; to inform the Legislative Assembly by royal message, from time to time, of the state of the Kingdom, and to recommend to its consideration such measures as she shall judge necessary and expedient.
Article 31.
The person of the Queen is inviolable and sacred. Her ministers are responsible. To the Queen belongs the executive power. All laws that have passed the Legislative Assembly, shall require Her Majesty's signature in order to their validity.
Article 32.
Whenever upon the decease of the reigning sovereign the heir shall be less than eighteen years of age the royal power shall be exercised by a regent or council of regency, as hereinafter provided.
Article 33.
It shall be lawful for the Queen at any time, when she may be about to absent herself from the Kingdom, to appoint a regent or council of regency, who shall administer the Government in her name; and likewise the Queen may, by her last will and testament, appoint a regent or council of regency to administer the Government during the minority of any heir to the throne, and should a sovereign decease, leaving a minor heir, and having made no last will and testament, the cabinet council at the time of such decease shall be a council of regency, until the Legislative Assembly, which shall be called immediately, may be assembled, and the Legislative Assembly, immediately that it is assembled, shall proceed to choose by ballot a regent or council of regency, who shall administer the Government in the name of the Queen, and exercise all the powers which are constitutionally vested in the Queen, until she shall have attained the aged of eighteen years, which age is declared to be the legal majority of such sovereign.
Article 34.
The Queen is Sovereign of all the chiefs and of all the people; the Kingdom is Her.
Article 35.
All titles of honor, orders, and other distinctions, emanate from the Queen.
Article 36.
The Queen coins money and regulates the currency by law.
Article 37.
The Queen in case of invasion or rebellion can place the whole Kingdom or any part of it under martial law.
Article 38.
The national ensign shall not be changed, except by act of the Legislature.
Article 39.
The Queen's private lands and other property are inviolable.
Article 40.
The Queen can not be sued or held to account in any court or tribunal of the realm.
Article 41.
There shall continue to be a council of state, for advising the Queen in all matters for the good of the state, wherein she may require its advice, and for assisting her in administering the executive affairs of the Government in such manner as she may direct; which council shall be called the Queen's privy council of state, and the members thereof shall be appointed by the Queen, to hold office during Her Majesty's pleasure.
Article 42.
The Queen's cabinet shall consist of the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of the interior, the minister of finance, and the attorney-general of the Kingdom, and these shall be the Queen's special advisers in the executive affairs of the Kingdom; and they shall be ex-officio members of the Queen's privy council of state. They shall be appointed and commissioned by the Queen, and hold office during the Queen's pleasure, subject to impeachment, or upon a vote of want of confidence passed by a majority of all the members of the legislative assembly. No act of the Queen shall have any effect unless it be countersigned by a minister, who, by that signature, makes himself responsible.
Article 43.
Each member of the Queen's cabinet shall keep an office at the seat of Government, and shall be accountable for the conduct of his deputies and clerks. The ministers hold seat ex-officio, as nobles, in the legislative assembly with the right to vote, except on a question of want of confidence in them.
Article 44.
The minister of finance shall present to the legislative assembly, in the name of the Government, on the first day of the meeting of the Legislature, the financial budget, in Hawaiian and English languages.
Article 45.
The legislative power of the three estates of this Kingdom is vested in the Queen, and the legislative assembly, which assembly shall consist of nobles appointed by the Queen, and the representatives of the people, sitting together.
Article 46.
The legislative body shall assemble biennially, in the month of April, and at such other time as the Queen may judge necessary, for the purpose of seeking the welfare of the nation. This body shall be styled the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
Article 47.
Every member of the legislative assembly shall take the following oath: I most solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will faithfully support the constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and conscientiously and impartially discharge my duties as a member of this assembly.
Article 48.
The Legislature has full power and authority to amend the constitution, as hereinafter provided, and, from time to time, to make all manner of wholesome laws not repugnant to the provisions of the constitution.
Article 49.
The Queen shall signify her approval of any bill or resolution which shall have passed the legislative assembly by signing the same. If she approve not, she shall return it with her objections to the legislative assembly, which shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it shall be approved by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the legislative assembly, it shall be presented again to the Queen, and she shall sign it, and it shall therefore be a law. In all such cases the vote shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill or resolution shall be entered on the journal of the Legislature.
Article 50.
The legislative assembly shall be the judge of the qualifications of its own members, and a majority shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as the assembly may provide.
Article 51.
The legislative assembly shall choose its own officers and determine the rules of its own proceedings.
Article 52.
The legislative assembly shall have authority to punish by imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, every person, not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the assembly, by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence; or who, during disorderly for contemptuous behavior in it s presence; or who, during the time of its sitting, shall publish any false report of its proceedings, or insulting comment upon the same; or who shall threaten harm to the body or estate of any of its members, for anything said or done in the assembly; or who shall assault any of them therefor, or who shall the assault or arrest any witness or other person ordered to attend the assembly, in his way going or returning, or who shall rescue any person arrested by order of the assembly.
Article 53.
The legislative assembly may punish its own members for disorderly behavior.
Article 54.
The legislative assembly shall keep a journal of its proceedings; and the yeas and nays of its members, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal
Article 55.
The members of the legislative assembly shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the sessions of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same; and they shall not be held to answer for any speech or debate made in the assembly, in any other court or place whatsoever.
Article 56.
The representatives shall receive for their services a compensation to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the public treasury, but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the year in which it shall have been made; and no law shall be passed increasing the compensation of said representatives beyond the sum of five hundred dollars each for each biennial term.
Article 57.
The Queen appoints during life, shall hold their appointments during life, subject to the provisions of article 53; but their number shall not exceed twenty-four.
Article 58.
No person shall be appointed a noble who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one years and reside in the Kingdom five years.
Article 59.
The nobles shall be a court with full and sole authority to hear and determine all impeachments made by the representatives, as the grand inquest of the Kingdom against any officer of the Kingdom, for misconduct or maladministration in their offices; but previous to the trial of every impeachment the nobles shall respectively be sworn truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question according to evidence and the law. Their judgment, however, shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification to hold or enjoy and any place of honor trust or profit, under this Government; but the party so convicted shall be nevertheless liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to the laws of the land. No minister shall sit as a noble on the trial of any impeachment.
Article 60.
The representation of the people shall be based upon the principle of equality, and shall be regulated and apportioned by the Legislature according to the population to be ascertained, from time to time, by the official census. The representatives shall not be less in number than twenty-four nor more than forty-eight, who shall be elected biennially.
Article 61.
No person shall be eligible for a representative of the people who is insane or an idiot, nor unless he be a male subject of the Kingdom who shall have arrived at the full age of twenty-one years, who shall know how to read and write, who shall understand three years, the last of which shall be the year immediately preceding his election; and who shall own real estate, within the Kingdom, of clear value, over and above all incumbrances, of at least five hundred dollars, or who shall have an annual income of at least two hundred and fifty dollars derived from any property or lawful employment.
Article 62.
Every male subject of the Kingdom who shall have paid his taxes, who shall have attained the age of twenty years, and shall have been domiciled in the Kingdom for one year immediately preceding the election, and be possessed of real property in the Kingdom, to the value over and above all incumbrances of one hundred and fifty dollars, or a leasehold property on which the rent is twenty-five dollars per year, or of an income of not less than seventy-five dollars per year, derived from any property or some lawful employment and shall know how to read and write, if born since the year 1840 and shall have caused his name to be entered on the list of voters of his district as may be provided by the law, shall be entitled to one vote for the representative or representatives of that district. Provided, however, that no insane or idiotic person, nor any person who shall have been convicted of any infamous crimes within this Kingdom, unless he shall have been pardoned by the Queen, and by the terms of such pardon have been restored to all rights of a subject, shall be allowed to vote.
Article 63.
The property qualifications of the representatives of the people, and of the electors, may be increased or decreased by law.
Article 64.
The judicial power of the Kingdom shall be vested in on supreme court and in such inferior courts as the Legislature may, from time to time, establish.
Article 65.
The supreme court shall consist of a chief justice and not less than two associate justices, any of whom may hold the court. The justices of the supreme court shall hold their offices for a term of six years, during good behavior, subject to removal upon impeachment. Provided, however, that any judge of the supreme court of any other court of record may be removed from office on a resolution passed by two- thirds of the legislative assembly, for good cause shown to the satisfaction of the Queen. The judge again whom the legislative assembly may be a bout to proceed, shall receive due notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the abuses alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the day on which the legislative assembly shall act thereon. He shall be heard before the legislative assembly.
Article 66.
The judicial power shall be divided among the supreme court and the several inferior courts of the Kingdom in such manner as the Legislature may from time to time prescribe, and the tenure of office in the inferior courts of the Kingdom shall be such as may be defined by the law creating them.
Article 67.
The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and equity arising under the constitution and laws of this Kingdom and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority to all cases affecting public ministers and council and to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.
Article 68.
The chief justice of the supreme court shall be the chancellor of the Kingdom; he shall be ex officio president of the nobles in all cases of impeachment, unless when impeached himself, and exercise such jurisdiction in equity or other cases as the law may confer upon him, his decisions being subject, however, to the revision of the supreme court on appeal. Should the chief justice ever be impeached, some person specially commission by the Queen shall be president of the court of impeachment during such trial.
Article 69.
The decision of the supreme court, which made by a majority of all the justices thereof, shall be final and conclusive upon all parties.
Article 70.
The Queen, her cabinet, and the legislative assembly, shall have authority to require the opinions of the justices of the supreme court upon important questions of law and upon solemn occasions.
Article 71.
The queen appoints the justices of the supreme court and all other judges of court of records; their salaries are fixed by law.
Article 72.
No judge or magistrate can sit alone on an appeal or new trial in any case on which he may have given a previous judgment.
Article 73.
The Queen also appoints and commission the governors of the several islands; the governors hold office for the term of four years, subject to impeachment.
Article 74.
The following persons shall not be permitted to register for voting, to vote, or to hold office under any department of the Government, or to sit in the legislative assembly, namely: Any person who is insane or an idiot, or any person who shall have been convicted for any of the following named offenses, viz: Arson, barraty, bribery, burglary, counterfeiting, embezzlement, felonious branding of cattle, forgery, gross cheat, incest, kidnapping, larceny, malicious burning, man slaughter in the first degree, murder, perjury, rape, robbery, sodomy,. treason, subornation of perjury, and malfeasance in office, unless he shall have been pardoned by the Queen and restored to his civil rights and by the express term of his pardon declared to be eligible to office of trust, honor, and profit.
Article 75.
No officer of this Government shall hold any other office or receive any salary from any other Government or power whatever.
Article 76.
The Legislature votes the appropriations biennially, after due consideration of the revenue and expenditure for the two preceding years and the estimates of the revenue and expenditures of the two succeeding years, which shall be submitted to them by the minister of finance.
Article 77.
The enacting style in making and passing all acts and laws shall be: "Be it enacted by the Queen and the legislative assembly of the Hawaiian Islands, in the Legislature of the Kingdom assembled."
Article 78.
To avoid improper influences which may result from intermixing in one and the same act such things as have no proper relations to each other, every law shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in its title.
Article 79.
All laws now in force in this Kingdom shall continue and remain in full effect, until altered or repealed by the Legislature; such parts only excepted as are repugnant to this constitution. All laws heretofore enacted, or that may hereafter be enacted, which are contrary to this constitution, shall be null and void.
Article 80.
This constitution shall be in force from the _____ day of _____, in the year ____, but that there may be no failure of justice, or inconvenience to the Kingdom, from any change all officers of this Kingdom, at the time this constitution shall take effect, shall have, hold, and exercise all power to them granted, until other persons shall be appointed in their stead.
Article 81.
Any amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in the legislative assembly, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the members thereof, such proposed amendments shall be entered on its Journal, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and referred to next Legislature; which proposed amendment or amendments shall be published for three months previous to the next election of Representatives; and if in the next Legislature such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members of the legislative assembly, and be approved by the Queen, such amendment or amendments shall become part of the constitution of this country.

We have read the document purporting to be a copy of the constitution presented to us by Queen Liliuokalani on January 14th last, and we deem it to be almost identical, except as to Article 62, which, according to our recollection, did not contain any property qualification for voters for representatives.

We are yours, respectfully,
SAMUEL PARKER,
A. P. PETERSON,
WM. H. CORNWELL.

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Kingdom of Hawaii Draft Constitution of January 14, 1893

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Return to the Hawaiian Independence Home Page or the Legal Documents Index Kingdom of Hawai`i Constitutions: 1840 - 1852 - 1864 - 1887 This document is purported to be the text of the draft constitution presented by Queen Liliuokalani on January 14th, 1893, which was never ratified.

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The Diaries of Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi

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The Diaries of Queen Liliʻuokalani of Hawaiʻi

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David W. Forbes

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Helena Allen