Hawaii | Page 341 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 24, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bones for Shipment to China

“‘I was walking along on Fort street and had just come to Chaplain lane,’ said Lieutenant Needham last night, ‘when I saw what appeared to be a large black dog curled up on the sidewalk. As I got closer I found that the object was not a dog but a black valise.’”

“The valise which Lieutenant Needham found evidently has a history. The officer thought nothing wrong upon finding it and carried it toward the police station, thinking some drunken person had left the valise on the sidewalk.”

“Researching a Chinese store on Fort street, Lieutenant Needham noticed something peculiar about the valise and stopped to investigate. He became suddenly aware of the fact that the word ‘Dynamite’ was printed in white paint across one side of the valise.”

“He stood paralyzed not knowing whether to run the risk of putting it down or throwing it from him. But calm judgment suggested that There was a joke somewhere.”

“Carrying the valise to the police station he opened it and found the contents to be human bones with a decidedly earthy smell. Two skulls wrapped in white cloth and tied with strings to match, were found on the top of the pile. The other bones were wrapped in brown paper and tied with various kinds of strings.”

“There were some Chinese cards, chop sticks and messages written on Chinese paper, were found in the satchel.”

“The bones were in a very good state of preservation, and showed recent removal from the grave. The supposition is that they had been prepared for shipment to China—a custom much practiced by the Chinese”. (Hawaiian Gazette, January 24, 1896)

“Situated just at the foot of Hotel street and a little back of the buildings fronting on the land now being built up by the dredger mud, silt and sand, is a very rough 8×12 structure of most unpromising appearance.”

“It stands on four posts about four feet from the ground and looks for all the world like a top-heavy pigeon coop. To look at its exterior would mean nothing to the observer, but to know of its inside workings would make everything about it interesting at once.”

“It is known as the Chinese club house. Whenever a Chinaman has a bag of human bones to prepare for transportation to China it is inside the very narrow limits of this structure that the work of scraping away dried-up skin fragments and other unnecessary matter is done.”

“A peep in at the window close on to the hour of midnight in the dark of the moon is perhaps the best mode of receiving a lasting impression on seeing a couple of Chinamen seated on the floor, each with a pile of bones in front of him and working by the dim rays of a peanut oil lamp.”

“A broken sickle in the hands of one serves to cut away the unnecessary dried skin and ligaments, while a cocoanut grater in the hands of the other, does good work toward removing what the sickle has failed to do.”

“A couple of black oil cloth valises constitute the receptacles for the bones which are done up, some in cloth and others in brown paper. Such portions as the skull are always wrapped in cloth while the legs and arms suffer the indignity of brown paper.”

“A pile of scrapings here and there furnish the only decorations that the room affords. Cracks in the walls serve, on a windy night, to make peculiar noises, which seem a fitting accompaniment for the work of the industrious ones inside.”

“Ever since the Chinese first came into the country has this custom been observed, and as long as they remain here will the same thing go on.”

“No matter if the law says they shall not dig up the dead from places of burial, they will continue to do it some way or other. If the present club houses is removed they will have recourse to another place.”

“The former position of the club house was where the dredger pipes are now emptying their mud. It will be remembered that Nu‘uanu stream was in a very decidedly marshy condition at that point before the introduction of improvements.”

“Then, as now, Chinamen made nightly visits to the place and scraped the bones of their relatives preparatory to transportation, but instead of carrying all waste material as they have to do now, they simply dumped this into the stream to be carried out to sea or to settle among the bulrushes.”

“The work of the preparation of bones for transportation is done openly and anyone who wishes may satisfy his curiosity by paying a visit to the place on most any night of the week.”

“Of course at the present time the Chinese are too much taken up with their new year to even think of the bones of their relatives, but it is very probable there will be a number of skeletons ready to be exhumed next week.”

“The sight is well worth seeing and should be taken advantage of by people interested in unusual scenes. To visit the place during the day would be folly for nothing is done then.”

“All that can be seen at that time is a couple of oil cloth bags, a cocoanut grater, a sickle and a pile of waste material.” (Hawaiian Gazette, February 14, 1896)

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Bones for Shipment to China-tenement

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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August 20, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Robert Wilcox’s Quest for Statehood

In 1890, Robert Wilcox was elected to the Legislature in the Islands. Following the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893, the Committee of Safety established the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi as a temporary government until annexation by the United States.

The Provisional Government convened a constitutional convention and established the Republic of Hawaiʻi on July 4, 1894. The Republic continued to govern the Islands.

From January 6 to January 9, 1895, in a “Counter-Revolution,” patriots of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the forces that had overthrown the constitutional Hawaiian monarchy were engaged in a war that consisted of battles on the island of Oʻahu.

It has also been called the Second Wilcox Rebellion of 1895, the Revolution of 1895, the Hawaiian Counter-revolution of 1895, the 1895 Uprising in Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Civil War, the 1895 Uprising Against the Provisional Government or the Uprising of 1895.

In their attempt to return Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne, it was the last major military operation by royalists who opposed the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The goal of the rebellion failed.

Wilcox was court-martialed and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to thirty-five years. While in prison in 1895, Pope Leo XIII granted an annulment of their marriage. The Italian Consul and the Catholic Bishop at Honolulu confirmed this action.

In January, 1896, he was given a conditional pardon and became a free man; later that year, Wilcox married again, this time to Mrs. Theresa Cartwright. In 1898, President Dole gave him a full pardon.

With the establishment of Territorial status in the Islands, Hawaiʻi was eligible to have a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives.

Wilcox and others formed the Independent “Home Rule” Party and Wilcox ran as a candidate for the Delegate position (against Republican Samuel Parker and Democrat Prince David Kawānanakoa.) Wilcox won, and served as the first delegate and representative of Hawaiʻi in the US Congress.

Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently and conspicuously noted, related to the overthrow, “Queen Lili‘uokalani brought these evils upon herself and the country both by her personal corruption, and that of her Government.”

“She surrounded herself with bad advisers, and seemed determined to drive the nation to destruction. Good people had no influence over her whatever, for she indignantly refused to listen to them.”

“I believe that if we can be annexed to the United States, the rights of all of our citizens, and especially those of the native Hawaiians, will be protected more carefully than they have ever been under the monarchy.”

“My countrymen, with the exception of the most intelligent among them, do not understand much about these things. They need to be educated. They have so often been told by designing men that the United States was their enemy that they are naturally suspicious.”

“Politicians who have sought to use the natives simply as so many tools have deceived them. When they understand from the lips of disinterested men and patriots what annexation means, and become acquainted with the benefits that it will bring them, they will be as much in favor of the movement as any of our other classes of citizens.”

“They are naturally somewhat prejudiced against (the Provisional Government), as monarchy is the only form of Government with which they are familiar, but this feeling will quickly wear away as the Hawaiians are led to see that the Government is friendly to them and their interests. They already have confidence in the integrity and patriotism of President Dole.”

“I have repeatedly (advocated annexation to the United States) in public meetings held in this city. … but I am compelled to move cautiously or I shall lose my influence over them. I believe I am doing a good work by constantly conversing with them on the subject.

“I have told my countrymen that the monarchy is gone forever, and when they ask me what is the best thing to follow it I tell them annexation, and I firmly believe that in a very short time every Hawaiian will be in favor of that step.” (Wilcox interview with Hoes; Reports of Committees of the Senate of the United States, 1893-1894)

“Washington. July 3 (1901). Delegate Wilcox, of Hawaii, announces here that at the very opening of the next session of Congress in December he will introduce a bill granting statehood to the territory of Hawaii. Mr. Wilcox says that he does not fully expect that the bill will become a law next winter, but he predicts early statehood for the territory.”

“‘Of course I realize,’ says Mr. Wilcox, ‘that this proposition will meet with opposition on the ground that we have but recently been incorporated Into a territory and that we should wait, but I shall Introduce the bill just the same and commence working upon it.’”

“Mr. Wilcox also says that he is going to introduce a bill to provide for the laying of a cable between Honolulu and San Francisco as soon as Congress meets. There are several bills of that sort already on tap, but another will do little harm.”

“The statehood bill that Mr. Wilcox says he is going to bring forward will result In nothing but a discussion of the political conditions In Hawaii. There is no chance whatever that during the term for which Mr. Wilcox has been elected to sit in Congress he can get a statehood bill through for the territory.”

“Arizona and New Mexico have for years been trying for statehood, and they are today apparently as far from it as ever, although the Congressional committees have again and again recommended the passage of the bills.”

“In the case of Hawaii more objections than Mr. Wilcox has mentioned will be raised. I remember that before the Hawaiian annexation resolution was passed Senator Hoar, of Massachusetts, went to the White House one day and told the President that he would let that resolution go through if it could be understood that Hawaii should not be admitted into the Union as a State.”

“Hoar wanted that incorporated into the annexation resolution. This could not be done, because It would have been unconstitutional. But the promise was then and there given that if Hawaii should apply for statehood she would be refused for years to come, and that is the general understanding of the matter In Washington.”

“Expansion would not have taken place on so broad a scale if it had been understood that an application would so soon come from one of the island possessions for Statehood. Porto Rico is almost possibly not quite as well qualified for statehood as is Hawaii.”

“The island of Luzon with the city of Manila, is about as well qualified from the standpoint of general civilization and enlightenment as is Hawaii. The bars will not be let down for a long time to come to any of these territories.”

“It will take a very long probationary period to qualify the Territory of Hawaii for statehood in the minds of the American government officials. The recent political dildoes that have been cut there do not help the case.”

“Dole and his outfit have put Hawaii fifty years further from statehood than it was on the day that Congress finally passed a resolution annexing the Islands to the United States. Their continuation in office there for a few years more will put Hawaii everlastingly outside the pale of American political civilization.”

“The Administration thought when It annexed Hawaii, that it had got an asset: it finds that with Dole thrown in, Hawaii is a political liability. E. S. L.” (Honolulu Republican, July 17, 1901)

“What we are all looking forward to is Statehood and anything that will lead toward that end must be helped along by us. We will not mind much about the Governor then for it will be the people who will be paramount.” (Delegate Wilcox’s Impassioned Address to Hawaiians, The Independent, July 10, 1902)

Wilcox ran for re-election, but lost to Republican Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Piʻikoi (Prince Kūhiō served from 1903 until his death in 1922.)

Wilcox returned to Washington to finish out his term (November 6, 1900 to March 3, 1903,) but was very ill. He came back to Hawaiʻi in 1903, and died October 26, 1903. He is buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street.

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