Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen (20 page)

A
FTER
my husband's death, my retainers at Waikiki (to each of whom I had set apart a lot of land, so that each family might have its own home, and, further, that these might be handed down for the use of their children and children's children), proposed to come and stay with me in the city. So I accorded to each family one week, that all might have a share in this kindly office. This rule was laid down by me, and carefully observed from the date of my husband's death.

This will be, perhaps, the place to mention a matter which has been made use of in an evil way by certain of my enemies. On my accession to the throne my husband had been made prince consort, and after my brother's burial I had proposed to him that he should move to the palace; but in his feeble health he dreaded the long stairs there, which he would be obliged to climb, so I proposed to have the bungalow put in repair, and that the entire house should be placed at his service.

With this proposition he was much pleased, and hopefully looked forward to the time when, recovering from his illness, he would be able to take possession of his new home. He asked that there might be a small gate opened near the bungalow, so that he might easily come and go without being obliged to go through the form of offering to the sentry the password required for entrance by the front gate. His wish was immediately granted, and instructions given to the Minister of the Interior to that effect. The bungalow was handsomely fitted up, and all things were made ready for his occupation; but owing to his continued and increasing ill-health he never moved into it.

Mr. C. B. Wilson and his wife (seeing that she was one of my beneficiaries, and in her younger days one for whom my husband and I had great consideration) asked if they might come and be near me. In response, I told them that they might take the room that had been occupied by the Princess Poomaikalani in the bungalow. That was all that passed between us about the matter. Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Clark were in constant attendance upon me as ladies in waiting.

Mrs. Eveline Wilson from her childhood had professed a great fondness and love for me, and with two other young ladies, Lizzie Kapoli and Sophie Sheldon, had made my home theirs. Bright young girls, with happy hearts, and free from care and trouble, they made that part of my life a most delightful epoch to me. It was then that Mr. Wilson first sought the hand of pretty little Kittie Townsend. Thus we had known Mr. Wilson quite well as a young man when he was courting his wife. My husband and myself had warmly favored his suit; and, with his wife, he naturally became a retainer of the household, and from time to time they took up their residence with us. But one cannot always tell what a young man of promise may be when he arrives at full manhood.

Mr. Samuel Parker called on me one day, and, after discussing some cabinet affairs, asked me directly, if there was any truth in the report that I had called in the advice or sought the assistance of Mr. C. B. Wilson in public affairs. To this I very naturally demanded the reason why he should ask such questions. He replied that Mr. Wilson had told persons "down town that he knew of matters which were connected with the cabinet, and that it was through his advice that certain measures had been carried through. On the strength of these remarks, occasion had been taken by Mr. J. E. Bush and Mr. R. W. Wilcox to publish in their newspapers articles calculated to prove injurious to my reputation. I answered Mr. Parker that I consulted no one outside of my cabinet, and that no measures had ever been consummated excepting such as had been advised by the ministers. He recognized the truth of this statement, and communicated the substance of our conversation to his colleagues.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Wilcox at the very commencement of my regency had openly asked for billets of office; a favor I had scarcely the power, and certainly not the intention, to grant, because all the offices were then filled by men whom I thought were good, loyal, and true to the crown. Mr. Bush had further published articles in his paper which did not meet with my approval, for they were attacks upon my brother, the king. Was he at work with the opposition party at the time he solicited office? Whether this was so or not, his subsequent actions showed at least the deepest ingratitude towards myself, who had showered favors on him and on his family, educated his children, and kept them all from poverty. Mr. R. W. Wilcox I have spoken of elsewhere. It will be seen that he had also become one of my enemies.

I was recently told that Mr. Wilson, at the time of Mr. Wilcox's attempt in 1889, would enter the meetings which were held at the king's barracks, and then, leaving the assembly, would stealthily go around to the house of Mr. A. F. Judd, and report all that had transpired. I have had no experiences more painful than the evidences of ingratitude among those I have had reason to think my friends; and I sincerely hope that in this case I have been misinformed.

One evening, shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had moved into the bungalow, he presented himself at the Blue Room of the palace, and then first mentioned the idea that a new constitution should be promulgated. About two days after this suggestion I received a call from Mr. Samuel Nowlein, who alluded to the same matter. A few days after Mr. Joseph Nawahi, with Mr. William White, had an interview with me by their request, and called my attention to the same public need. Until these conversations, it had not occurred to me as possible to take such a step in the interest of the native people; but after these parties had spoken to me, I began to give the subject my careful consideration. Twice Mr. White spoke to me on the matter before I told him that I would like to have a conference with all, to listen to an expression of their views.

Accordingly a meeting was called to be held at Muolaulani Palace, at which there was to be an opportunity for them to compare their opinions and discuss them in my presence. I heard what the opinions of the gentlemen were, but gave them no intimation of my own ideas or intentions, for I had really come to no definite conclusion. When the assembly was opened, I noticed that Mr. Wilson was not present, nor did he attend any of the meetings which were held for the consideration of the matter of constitutional reform, but came singly and alone to speak to me on the subject. But it seems that all this time, while I was simply reflecting on the situation, each of them was going forward and engaging in the preparation or draft of a new constitution.

When completed, I was handed by one party a copy of that it proposed, and by Mr. Wilson I was given a copy of the one on which he had been engaged. After reading both over, I employed a young man, simply because he was a very neat penman, to make copies; his name was W. F. Kaae, but he was usually called Kaiu. This is worthy of mention, because I subsequently discovered that, while upon this work for me, he took copies to Mr. A. F. Judd for the examination of that gentleman. It can readily be seen by what kind of persons I was surrounded; it must be remembered that I now write with a knowledge of recent events, but that then I had the fullest confidence in the loyalty of those who professed to be my friends.

The election of 1892 arrived, and with it the usual excitement of such occasions. 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 thQ Hui Kalaaina, who in turn indorsed 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.

My first movement was to inquire of the parties active in the matter what they had' to propose. I asked the Hui Kalaaina if they had any draft of a constitution prepared for my examination. The committee replied that they had not. After leaving my presence, they applied to Mr. W. R. Castle, and requested him to draw one out for them. Soon after the committee again entered my presence, this time bearing a neatly written document; but whether it had been drawn by Mr. Castle or by others, it is difficult for me to say. This I handed back to the committee, telling them to keep it until some future day, when I would ask them for it; because I did not intend at that moment to make any announcement of my purposes.

September Ist, 1892, witnessed the opening of the legislative assembly. There was nothing lacking of that pomp and display which had been first inaugurated in the days of Kanikeaouli, the third of the Kamehamehas. These forms and ceremonies were suggested and taught to the Hawaiian people by Dr. G. P. Judd, Mr. W. Richards, and Mr. R. Armstrong, men who originally came to Hawaii with no other avowed object than that of teaching the religion of Jesus Christ; but they soon resigned their meagre salaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and found positions in the councils or cabinets of the Kamehamehas more lucrative and presumably more satisfactory to them.

Lunalilo had an official staff, and many of his aids-de-camp were white men, as also happened with Kamehameha V., Kalakaua, and all the recent Hawaiian sovereigns. Dr. E. Hoffman, Mr. W. F. Allen, Mr. M. T. Monserrat, Mr. Prendergast, and many others whose names I might mention, have been perfectly willing to wear the uniform of the crown, to display their gilt lace and brass buttons on state occasions, and to ride richly caparisoned horses with shining accoutrements through our streets; and as long as the missionary party chose the men that were to be thus decked out, honored, and exhibited, it was never alleged that the Hawaiian kings loved display, and sought pomp and fuss and feathers. Yet what had our earlier monarchs ever done for the public good? Individually, nothing. They had acquiesced in the course laid down for them by the missionaries. The government established by these pious adventurers was the government of the day.

Those of their number who were able to get into government service drew their salaries faithfully, and spent or saved as they saw fit, but observed a truly "religious" silence as to the folly of spending money on public displays. This is the more remarkable, because there were other ways, even then, of securing treasury deficiencies. I remember that when G. P. Judd, W. Richards, and R. Armstrong were cabinet ministers, a deficiency so inexplicable occurred that the cabinet was required to resign immediately, and to one of the retiring members the popular appellation "
kaitka-kope-kala"
subsequently adhered pretty tenaciously. I refrain from translating, as the title is not one of honor; but it still clings to the family as an heirloom.

It is more to the point that Kalakaua's reign was, in a material sense, the golden age of Hawaiian history. The wealth and importance of the Islands enormously increased, and always as a direct consequence of the king's acts. It has been currently supposed that the policy and foresight of the "missionary party" is to be credited with all that he accomplished, since they succeded in abrogating so many of his prerogatives, and absorbing the lion's share of the benefits derived from it. It should, however, be only necessary to remember that the measures which brought about our accession of wealth were not at all in line with a policy of annexation to the United States, which was the very essence of the dominant "missionary" idea. In fact, his progressive foreign policy was well calculated to discourage it.

And for this reason, probably, they could not be satisfied even with the splendid results which our continued nationality offered them. They were not grateful for a prosperity which must sooner or later, while enriching them, also elevate the masses of the Hawaiian people into a self-governing class, and depose them from that primacy in our political affairs which they chiefly valued. They became fiercely jealous of every measure which promised to benefit the native people, or to stimulate their national pride. Every possible embarrassment and humiliation were heaped upon my brother. And because I was suspected of having the welfare of the whole people also at heart (and what sovereign with a grain of wisdom could be otherwise minded?), I must be made to feel yet more severely that my kingdom was but the assured prey of these "conquistadores."

As I have said, the legislature was opened, and began its daily sessions. The usual measures were brought in, one after another, for consideration by the representatives of the people. But all other matters were persistently thrust aside in order to give time for the repeated dismissals of cabinets. By the account given by me of the revolution of 1887, it will be noticed that the constitution forced upon my brother at that date made the sovereign inferior to the cabinet. The ministry must be appointed by the monarch, but once appointed had absolute control over every measure, nor could the monarch dismiss them, and only a vote of the legislature could deprive them of their portfolios. That provision made the cabinet, as I have shown in previous pages, a perpetual foot-ball in the hands of political parties.