Economy | Page 147 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Barony de Princeville

Kauai is the oldest of the eight main Hawaiian islands, and the island consists of one main extinct shield volcano( estimated to be about 5-million years old), as well as numerous younger lava flows (between 3.65-million years to 500,000-years old). The island is characterized by severe weathering. (DLNR)

Historically, the Island was divided into several districts and political units, which in ancient times were subject to various chiefs – sometimes independently, and at other times, in unity with the other districts. These early moku o loko, or districts included Nāpali, Haleleʻa, Koʻolau, Puna and Kona (Buke Mahele, 1848; Maly)

Located along the north coast of Kauai, Haleleʻa today is commonly referred to as the Kauaʻi “north shore”, which today encompasses the communities of Kilauea, Kalihiwai, ‘Anini/Kalihikai, Princeville, Hanalei/Waiʻoli, Wainiha and Haʻena.

Some suggest Hanalei ahupua‘a extended up onto the bluff to the east; others suggest Pupoa appears as the ahupua‘a in this area (between ʻAnini Beach to the east and Hanalei Bay to the west).

In 1831, Richard Charlton, British Consul to the Hawaiian Islands, leased lands between Hanalei and Kalihiwai from Governor Kaikioewa of Kauai to be used as a cattle ranch. Charlton brought in longhorn cattle from “Norte California,” and by 1840 the herd numbered 100 head.

In 1842, British sea captain Godfrey Rhodes (1815-97) and his partner, Frenchman John Bernard, established the first commercial coffee plantation on Kauai at Hanalei, on 150 acres of government-leased land along the banks of the Hanalei River. (Soboleski; TGI)

By 1846, Rhodes’ plantation and Yankee Charles Titcomb’s neighboring plantation had more than 100,000 coffee trees in cultivation. (Soboleski; TGI)

Yet, beginning in the late-1840s, coffee production suffered. Flooding damaged the coffee crop in 1847, workers were lost to the California Gold Rush beginning in 1848, a severe drought struck in 1851 and epidemics killed Native Hawaiian laborers.

By the time the rains finally returned and immigrant Chinese had eased the labor shortage, a blight caused by aphids ruined the coffee crops in Hanalei. (Soboleski; TGI)

In 1845, Charlton sold the ranch to the Dudoit family (later French consular agent). By this time, the number of cattle increased to an impressive 1800 head. The Dudoits salted beef locally to sell to whalers as well as shipped cattle to Honolulu for beef.

In 1855, Robert Crichton Wyllie (a Scottish physician who served as foreign minister under Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V) bought the Rhodes Coffee Plantation, which included 1700 acres in Hanalei.

He continued to acquire land and in 1862 purchased the remaining ranch lands as well as Titcomb’s Hanalei Sugar Plantation. (PrincevilleRanch) Wyllie abandoned the entire coffee planting of Hanalei and planted the land in sugar cane.

By 1860, coffee literally disappeared from Kauai and the decline continued in the other islands in the Kingdom. Sugar took its place. (Goto)

In 1860, Robert Crichton Wyllie, hosted his friends King Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma and their two-year-old son, Prince Albert at his plantation estate for several weeks.

In honor of the child, Wyllie, founder of the plantation, named his estate the “Barony de Princeville,” the City of the Prince (Princeville on Kauai.)

Alexander Liholiho and Emma had hoped to have Albert christened by a bishop of the Church of England. However, the prince became ill. As Albert became sick, and the bishop’s arrival was delayed; he was baptized on August 23, 1862 by Ephraim W. Clark, the American minister of Kawaiahaʻo Church. (Daws)

On the 27th of August, 1862, Prince Albert, the four-year-old son of Alexander Liholiho and Emma died, “leaving his father and mother heartbroken and the native community in desolation”. (Daws)

Albert Spencer Wilcox (1844-1919, son of eighth company of missionaries Abner Wilcox (1808-1869) and Lucy Eliza (Hart) Wilcox (1814-1869) was born in Hilo on Hawai‘i Island and grew up at Waiʻoli in Hanalei, Kauai.

He worked with his brother George Norton Wilcox (1839-1933) in a sugarcane business in Hanalei, before working as the manager of Hanamāʻulu Plantation; for many years (1877-1898) he managed that section of Līhuʻe plantation.

In 1892, Albert purchased an interest in the Princeville Plantation, and by 1899 had complete ownership; he sold the Princeville lands in June of 1916.

Līhuʻe Plantation expanded in 1910 with the purchase of controlling interest in Makee Sugar Company. Expansion again occurred in 1916 when Līhuʻe Plantation and WF Sanborn purchased the 6,000-acre Princeville Plantation.

Today, Princeville is a 2,000-acre resort and residential community along the sea cliffs between ʻAnini Beach to the east and Hanalei Bay to the west.

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August 25, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Farming in the Time of Kamehameha

“The flat land along shore is highly cultivated; taro root, yams, and sweet potatoes, are the most common crops; but taro forms the chief object of their husbandry, being the principal article of food amongst every class of inhabitants.”

“The mode of culture is extremely laborious, as it is necessary to have the whole field laid under water; it is raised in small patches, which are seldom above a hundred yards square …”

“… these are surrounded by embankments, generally about six feet high, the sides of which are planted with sugar-canes, with a walk at top …”

“… the fields are intersected by drains or aqueducts, constructed with great labour and ingenuity, for the purpose of supplying the water necessary to cover them.”

“The ground is first carefully dug and levelled with a wooden spade, called maiai, which the labourers use, squatting on their hams and heels. After this, it is firmly beat down by treading it with their feet till it is close enough to contain water.”

“The plants are propagated by planting a small cutting from the upper part of the root with the leaves adhering. The water is then let in, and covers the surface to, the depth of twelve or eighteen inches …”

“… in about nine months they are ready for taking up; each plant sends forth a number of shoots, or suckers, all around.”

“This mode of culture is particularly laborious, and in all the operations those engaged are almost constantly up to the middle in the mud.”

“Notwithstanding this, I have often seen the king working hard in taro patch. I know not whether this was done with a view of setting an example of industry to his subjects.”

“Such exertion could scarcely be thought necessary amongst these islanders, who are certainly the most industrious people I ever saw.”

“The potato and yam grounds are neatly inclosed by stone walls, about eighteen inches high.”

“In addition to these native productions, Indian corn, and a great variety of garden stuffs have been lately introduced, and are cultivated with success, chiefly by the white people.”

“When the islands were discovered, pigs and dogs where the only useful animals they possessed; but Tamaahmaah has paid so much attention to the preservation of the breeds left by Vancouver, and other navigators, that in a short time the stock of horned cattle, horses, sheep, and goats, will be abundant.”

“At Owhyhee I was informed that there were many hundreds of cattle running wild, and several in a domestic state. The king had introduced the breed into Wahoo; and at the time I was there he had a herd of nine or ten upon the north side of the island.”

“Sheep and goats are already very numerous. Several individuals had large flocks of them. The queen had one, consisting of about one hundred and fifty; and Manina had several hundreds on the island in Pearl-river.”

“The king had five horses, of which he was very fond, and used frequently to go out on horseback. I was informed there were still more at Owhyhee.”

“The cattle lately introduced are pastured upon the hills, and those parts of the country not under cultivation, the fences not being sufficient to confine them. The hogs are kept in pens, and fed on taro leaves, sugarcanes, and garbage.”

“The chiefs are the proprietors of the soil, and let the land in small farms to the lower class, who pay them a rent in kind, generally pigs, cloth, or mats, at four terms in the year.” (The entire text is from Archibald Campbell; he arrived in the Islands in 1809.)

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August 23, 2018 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Niu

Past cultural practices along the region of Wai‘alae to Kuli‘ou‘ou are generally associated with habitation, farming, fishing, gathering, religious activities and burials. During the early post contact period, this area was well-populated and several settlements, fishing villages and fishponds lined the coast.

Niu was noted in early records for a number of inland caves used for burials. “Sometimes the bodies of chiefs were placed in small canoes, or parts of a canoe, and hidden in roomy caverns, watched over by devoted guards.”

“This was done at Niu, where decayed remnants of canoes can still be seen. … On O‘ahu the caves of Niu … were abundantly used for burial.” (Westervelt; Thrum)

Here, areas along streams and springs were used for taro patches while other areas were used for dry land cultivation or pasture. Cultural practices associated with former fishponds in the region were significant prior to development of the area.

Fishponds played an important role in Hawaiian culture, providing a definite supply of food. Hawaiian fishponds were usually constructed in estuaries where freshwater streams flowed into the ocean.

Kūpapa Pond or Niu Fishpond (the former fishpond at Niuiki Circle) had water-worn walls 3-feet high and 8-feet wide that formed a 2,000-foot long semicircle around several acres. (By 1933, the pond had been filled and used for agriculture. In 1953, the pond was filled and developed for residential use.)

In 1826, the missionary Levi Chamberlain took a tour of the island of O‘ahu, traveling through the southern coast of O‘ahu westward from Makapu‘u.

He recorded a settlement of eighteen houses at Maunalua, with three additional settlements between Maunalua and Wai‘alae. These settlements were probably at Kuli‘ou‘ou, Niu and Wailupe.

In 1828, Chamberlain made a second tour of southeastern O‘ahu, this time traveling eastward from Waikiki. He arrived at Wai‘alae, reporting a school with at least 30 scholars. The next stop was at Niu.

“At a quarter before 9 o’clock we arrived at the pleasant settlement of Wai‘alae, distant on a straight line from Waikiki in a NE direction, about 4 miles, but much farther following the circuitous path along the sea shore.”

“This place is rendered agreeable by a grove of cocoanut trees and a number of branching kou trees, among which stand the grass huts of the natives, having a cool appearance, overshadowed by the waving tops of the cocoanuts, among which the trade winds sweep unobstructed.” (Cultural Surveys) This is Niu.

Niu literally means “coconut”; it was named for a woman who husked coconuts (He ‘o niu kana hana). Niu is variously described as an ‘ili in the ahupua‘a of Waikīkī or an ahupua‘a in the district of Kona. It extends from the border with Wailupe on the west to the border with Kuli‘ou‘ou on the east, and from the sea to the Ko‘olau Mountains.

Niu is divided into two valleys, separated by Kūlepeamoa (flapping of chicken) Ridge. On the west is Pia (arrowroot) Valley and on the east is Kūpaua (upright clam) Valley. The two streams of these valleys merge into Niu Stream near the coast.

This was the home of Alexander Adams. Kamehameha had awarded Adams control of over Niu Valley (much of which is still under the control on his descendants).

It is part of a tract of 2,446-acres that was once a summer home of Kamehameha I and which later claimed by Alexander Adams under Claim No. 802 filed February 14, 1848, with the land commission at the time of the Great Māhele.

The claim states: “From the testimony of Governor Kekūanāoʻa … it appears that the claimant was created lord or konohiki of this land, in the time of Kamehameha I, and that he has exercised the konohikiship of the same without dispute ever since the year of Our Lord 1822.”

It further appears that the claimant obtained his rights in this land, in the same way that he obtained his rights in the land comprised in the Claim No. 801 (in Downtown Honolulu,) namely in remuneration for services rendered the king as sea captain or sailing master.”

Captain Alexander Adams was born December 27, 1780; he left Scotland in 1792 to begin a life of working on the sea. This eventually led him to Hawaiʻi, where he arrived in 1811 on the American trading ship the ‘Albatross’ from Boston.

He became an intimate friend and confidential advisor to King Kamehameha I, who entrusted to him the command of the king’s sandalwood fleet. He became the first regular pilot for the port of Honolulu.

Adams is credited with helping to design the Hawaiian flag – a new flag for Hawaiʻi was needed to avoid confusion by American vessels (prior to that time, Hawaiian vessels flew the British Union Jack.)

“The Hawaiian flag was designed for King Kamehameha I, in the year 1816. As the King desired to send a vessel to China to sell a cargo of sandal-wood, he in company with John Young, Isaac Davis and Alexander Adams …”

“… made this flag for the ship, which was a war vessel, called the Forrester, carrying 16 guns, and was owned by Kamehameha I.” (Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, January 1, 1862)

On March 7, 1817, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi sent Adams to China to sell the sandalwood. When he sailed to China, it was the first vessel under the flag of Hawaiʻi.

To enter the Chinese harbor, the ship was heavily taxed in port charges. Upon returning October 5, 1817, at Hilo and hearing of the amount Adams had to pay, King Kamehameha decided Hawaiʻi should also generate revenue from port charges. This was the origin of harbor dues in the islands.

Captain Adams was sent to Kauai by Kamehameha I to remove the Russians from Fort Elizabeth that had been set up in 1817. His words reportedly were, “upon arriving they were soon dispatched”. Adams raised the Kingdom of Hawai‘i flag over the fort in October 1817.

Adams stood on the shore with John Young at Kailua-Kona when the first American Christian missionaries anchored off shore on April 4, 1820. He helped convince the King to allow the missionaries to come ashore and take up residence in Hawaiʻi.

When the HMS Blonde arrived in 1825, Adams helped the Scottish naturalist James Macrae distribute some plants he thought would be commercially successful in the tropical climate.

In 1828, Queen Kaʻahumanu gave Adams over 290-acres of land in Kalihi Valley (on the island of Oʻahu) in connection with and in gratitude for his services. The area was called Apili.

Adams married three times, his first was to Sarah ‘Sally’ Davis, daughter of Isaac Davis; two of his wives were the Harbottle sisters (Sarah Harbottle and Charlotte Harbottle,) who were reared by Queen Kaʻahumanu and were favorites at court. According to his personal account, he was the father of 15 children, eight of whom were by his third wife.

After 30 years of piloting, Adams retired in 1853, grew fruit on his land in Kalihi Valley, and was great host to visitors. He also had a home on what was named Adams Lane (in 1850,) a small lane in downtown Honolulu off of Hotel Street named after him (near the Hawaiian Telephone company building.)

Adams died October 17, 1871. He is buried next to his friend and fellow Scotsman Andrew Auld in the Oʻahu Cemetery. Their common tombstone contains the following inscription in the Scots dialect: “Twa croanies frae the land of heather; Are sleepin’ here in death th’gether.”

His estate in Niu Valley was held by his granddaughter Mary Lucas, who started subdividing it in the 1950s. The area created by the filling of Kūpapa Fishpond is now the site of numerous oceanfront homes.

Niu Valley used to house the Dairyman’s (later known as Meadow Gold) dairy in the Niu Shopping Center area, and was the home of “Lani Moo,” their mascot. Most of Niu valley was dairy pasture with some small ranches and nurseries in the interior.

Prior to 1954 when the first residents of the Niu Valley subdivision moved into their new homes, Kalaniana‘ole Highway was a three lane road (one lane was for turning) leading to pig and cattle farms and fishponds. Niu Valley used to be a dairy farm and back then was considered the ‘country.’

Niu Valley Middle School first opened its doors in 1955 with just a seventh grade and a staff of only six members. Since then, it has grown from one building to 15 and now accommodates almost 800 students in grades sixth, seventh and eighth. Niu Valley Middle School is the only middle school in the Kaiser Complex (pop. 30,670). (Niu Valley Playground)

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Map of the island of Maunalua, O’ahu from 1938

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August 22, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Manduke

The first Baldwin on Maui, Rev. Dwight Baldwin was with the Fourth Company of missionaries to Hawaiʻi; he arrived at Honolulu, June 7, 1831. Though not a cowboy, he set out on a mule to treat those in the far reaches of Maui. (Equitrekking)

On September 1, 1888, Haleakala Ranch was incorporated in the Kingdom of Hawaii during the reign of King David Kalakaua. Shortly following incorporation, Henry Perrine Baldwin, co-founder of Alexander & Baldwin, became a shareholder and was also elected as the Ranch’s president. (Haleakala Ranch)

As the Ranch moved into the 20th century, Harry Baldwin became the Ranch’s president and his brother Sam was manager. In 1925, the two consolidated ranch ownership.

Until the 1920s Haleakala Ranch extended to the summit, and cattle were driven up the steep slopes and into the crater to graze on the grass at Paliku, near the eastern crater wall. (Decker, Dartmouth)

In 1927 the Baldwin brothers agreed to a land exchange that would allow the Territory of Hawaii to acquire Haleakala Crater from the Ranch to create Haleakala National Park. (HR) In exchange, the ranch received land in lower Waialua and lower Kama‘ole on an acre-for-acre basis.

“Shipping cattle to market back in the 1930s also involved long rides, mostly in the dark early morning hours. Loading them from the wharf onto the Humu‘ula, the Hawaii Meat Company’s cattle boat, and especially getting the first ones started up the gangplank, presented a problem. … Once started, the rest of the group followed the tracks of those on board, and it didn’t take long to finish loading.”

“Following the end of World War II, the ranch purchased surplus equipment, including a bulldozer and four-wheel-drive trucks, from the military. From this time on, ranch cattle work became more mechanized, with less dependence on horses and the associated long rides.”

“The bulldozer made short work of clearing the lower lantana and panini land, including creation of a system of dirt roads helpful in maintaining pastures and water systems.” (Baldwin)

Samuel Baldwin was manager of Haleakala Ranch for most of his life and president for the last three years, before he died in 1950, his son, Richard, the third-generation member of the Baldwin family to run Haleakala Ranch, took over as president in 1968. (Advertiser)

Richard Hobron Baldwin was born on a koa table at the family home in Mānoa Valley, the oldest son of Samuel Alexander and Kathrine Baldwin, and grandson of Henry P. Baldwin.

“My first experience with ranch work, aside from riding mostly around the yard at the ranch house on my pony named Jack, was branding some calves, offspring of the milk cows at ranch headquarters.”

“This was about 1918 or 1919, and it was exciting when, with the help of a cowboy, my rope got on the neck of a calf. Nothing much happened because these dairy calves just stood there”.

“Aside from the milking herd, which I believe produced milk for all employees, most of the cattle were not too tame. My earliest recollections of cowboy work involved cattle drives in nearby pastures, the biggest event being rounding up half-wild cattle at Pi‘iholo.”

“Following this came branding drives at Olinda, then later drives higher on the mountain at ‘Ukulele, which served as a base camp, with four old houses and corrals for our horses.”

Baldwin married Harriet Barbara ‘Haku’ Damon in May 1936 (they shared the same birth day, August 21; Baldwin in 1911, she in 1913).

The consummate horsewoman, Haku was intimately involved in racing and training the ranch’s thoroughbreds, including many champions who won at the Maui Fair track. (Notes son Peter, the word haku means ‘boss’ in Hawaiian – she earned this nickname while she was growing up.)

“Besides being an aggressive sportsman – he was proficient in golf, tennis, polo, fishing and hunting – he was a winner. … On the ranching side, he was one of the best pasture men we ever had here. He taught me that we were not really raising cattle, we were raising grass, and cattle were the harvesting machines.” (Rice)

Early visitors to the ranch included writer Jack London, General George Patton and Olympic swimmer and surfing pioneer Duke Kahanamoku. (Siler) It’s the latter that leads to the nickname for Baldwin …

He acquired his nickname at an early age, recounts his son Peter. Richard was about three years old when legendary Hawaiian swimmer Duke Kahanamoku was gaining worldwide fame as an Olympic gold medalist and record holder.

As Richard dog-paddled across a swimming pool, an onlooker exclaimed, ‘There goes the man, Duke!’ The name ‘Manduke’ stuck, and all who knew him used it. “He was even listed as Manduke in the Maui phone book.” (Peter Baldwin, Harrison)

‘Cattleman of the Century’ is how the Hawai‘i Cattleman’s Association honored Manduke Baldwin in 1988. (Harrison) Consummate rancher, fisher, polo player, Manduke Baldwin died on Christmas Day 2002. He was 91. (Lots here from Anchval and Harrison.)

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August 21, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaii State Constitution of 1950

“In January 1948, the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs directed Senator Cordon of Oregon to make an investigation of Hawaii’s statehood qualifications.”

“The investigation was made in January, 1948. Senator Cordon supported the recommendations of previous congressional committees and himself recommended that the United States Senate take immediate action favorable to statehood.”

“His report stated in part. ‘Any other recommendations would be inconsistent with the facts and evidence disclosed during the investigation, the desires of Hawaii’s people and the conclusions reached by the last two Congressional Investigating Committees.’”

“Additional hearings were held by the Senate SubCommittee on Interior and Insular Affairs on April 15, 1948, but no report was issued.”

“An effort was made by Senator Knowland of California, by resolution, to discharge the committee and to have the statehood issue come to the floor directly. On May 20, 1948, the Senate voted 21 to 50 against Senator Knowland’s resolution discharging the committee.”

“In anticipation of statehood, and prior to the passage of Act 334 by the 1949 territorial legislature, authorizing a constitutional convention, the Hawaii Statehood Commission in 1948 established a number of subcommittees to prepare general materials dealing with the problems involved in the drafting of a constitution.”

“These subcommittees met and submitted reports dealing with major constitutional areas, which were discussed with various groups. The Legislative Reference Bureau of the University of Hawaii prepared a number of reports in connection with the work of the subcommittees.”

“These reports, drafted by the Bureau from 1948 to early 1950, became part of a 400-page publication, which was later made available to members of the constitutional convention, entitled Manual of State Constitutional Provisions.”

“The work of the subcommittees established by the Hawaii Statehood Commission served to create a great deal of interest in the convening of a constitutional convention. It also resulted in many of the committee members seeking election as delegates to the Constitutional convention.”

“Act 334 provided for the election of 63 delegates from all of the islands which constitute the Territory of Hawaii. The delegates were to be elected at a primary and then general elections, similar to the normal political elections in Hawaii.”

“The elections were to be held throughout the islands and all qualified voters of the islands were eligible to run for office. The use of the election procedure adopted by the legislature indicated a desire to provide broad representation from the community and for opportunity for full discussion, particularly important since this was to be the first State Constitution for Hawaii.”

“The delegates first met on April 4, 1950, and the document which they agreed upon was signed on July 22, 1950. More than 110 days elapsed during the period of the deliberation of the delegates to the convention.”

“Of this period 78 days were devoted to actual working sessions, which included the debates and other formal actions leading to the formulation and adoption of the constitution.”

“The convention kept a complete verbatim transcript by means of electronic tape recordings of all of the plenary and Committee of the Whole sessions after April 9, 1950. More than 365 reels of recording tape were used. This is about 87 miles of electronic tape.”

“It was estimated by the engineers that approximately 5 million words were spoken during the floor debates, apart from those spoken in the various committee meetings. (During the 15 weeks of the convention, there were an average of some 20 to 30 committee meetings per week.)

“Only some 14,000 words, however, are to be found in the constitution and of these approximately 4,000 are in the “schedule” which describes the political districts to be used in the initial elections and for subsequent reapportionment every ten years. The constitution proper, therefore, is only about 10,000 words in length, a measure of brevity achieved by only eight other state constitutions.”

“The document signed by 62 of the 63 delegates (one delegate refrained from signing the document on the grounds that it improperly ‘constitutionalized’ the provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920) reflects the thinking of the community as expressed by the elected delegates.”

“The constitution is substantially ahead of its time (recall that it was prepared in 1950) in reducing the voting age from 21 to 20 – only one other state, the State of Georgia, then had a voting age of less than 21.”

“It includes a provision guaranteeing the right to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining, a constitutional protection which had been included in only three states prior to 1950, in New York, Missouri, and New Jersey.”

“The constitution of the State of Hawaii was signed by the delegates in a public ceremony at lolani Palace, Honolulu, on July 22, 1950. The document then went before the territorial legislature under the terms of the 1940 act which had established the constitutional convention.”

“(W)hen the legislature met in special session on September 29, 1950, it found (in joint Resolution 1) that the constitution was ‘acceptable in its entirety to the Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii,’ and proposed no changes or alternatives.”

“This joint resolution set forth the form of the plebiscite ballot on the proposed constitution, submitted to the voters at the general election of November 7, 1950. At that election, 82,788 ballots were cast in favor of adopting the proposed constitution, against 27,109 ‘no’ votes, a favorable ratio of approximately three to one.”

It was a little over eight year later, “in the wake of Alaska, Hawaii was admitted into the Union, under Public Law 3 of the 86th Congress, signed by President Eisenhower on March 18, 1959.”

“Public Law 86-3 made three relatively minor changes in the provisions of the Hawaii constitution. One was the deletion from the boundaries of the state (Article XIII, Section 1) of Palmyra, a small atoll lying some 960 nautical miles south of Honolulu.”

“Second, the article on Hawaiian Homes lands was ‘deemed to include’ a section of Public Law 86-3, which listed the provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act which could be amended only with the consent of the United States.”

“The third change was to reduce from two to one the number of Representatives in Congress to which Hawaii the state was initially to be entitled (Article XVI, Section 10), subject to increase at the next reapportionment of the House of Representatives.”

“The admission act also required that the people of Hawaii again vote on statehood. A three-question plebiscite was prescribed, each requiring an affirmative majority vote if Hawaii were to be admitted to the Union: (1) Shall Hawaii be admitted? (2) Are the state boundaries set by the act approved? (3) Are the provisions of the act with respect to the disposition of public lands in Hawaii approved?”

“The three-fold proposition was submitted to the Hawaii electorate at the primary election of June 27, 1959, at which time the people also balloted on the first state officers. Some 140,000 persons cast valid ballots on each portion of the plebiscite. In each case the result was approximately identical: a 17 to 1 vote in the affirmative.”

“On July 28, 1959, the voters of Hawaii elected their first state governor, lieutenant governor, members of the state legislature, two federal senators and a representative in Congress.”

“The results of the election were certified to the President of the United States, as required by Public Law 86-3. On August 21, 1959, President Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting Hawaii as the 50th state of the American Union of states. Thereupon, this constitution became effective.” (Roberts, Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of Hawaii 1950)

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