Hawaii | Page 457 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

July 9, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St Martin de Tours Chapel

Some would suggest that Catholicism started in Hawaiʻi with the arrival of Don Francisco de Paula Marin (Manini) to the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

In 1819, Kalanimōku was the first Hawaiian Chief to be formally baptized a Catholic, aboard the French ship Uranie. Shortly thereafter, Boki, Kalanimōku’s brother (and Governor of Oʻahu) was baptized.

“The captain and the clergyman asked Young what Kalanimōku’s rank was, and upon being told that he was the chief counselor (kuhina nui) and a wise, kind, and careful man, they baptized him into the Catholic Church.” (Kamakau)

It wasn’t until July 7, 1827, however, when the pioneer French Catholic mission arrived in Honolulu. It consisted of three priests of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Father Alexis Bachelot, Abraham Armand and Patrick Short. They were supported by a half dozen other Frenchmen.

Their first mass was celebrated a week later on Bastille Day, July 14, and a baptism was given on November 30, to a child of Marin.

On April 17, 1837, two other Catholic priests arrived. However, the Hawaiian government forced them back onto a ship on April 30. American, British and French officials in Hawaii intervened and persuaded the king to allow the priests to return to shore.

Catholic Christian worship in Hilo was as early as 1839. The first chapel located on bay front was made from pili grass and was called Saint Martin de Tours. Father Charles Pouzot, SCC became the first pastor of the parish in 1845.

By 1848 the small grass chapel was replaced by a new wooden structure. The Tabernacle to preserve the Eucharist was placed in the sanctuary in 1849.

Gradually the worship space was adorned with statues and stations of the cross. A bell donated in 1850, was a gift from sailors serving on the American man-of-war Independence.

In 1852 the chapel was enlarged due to the generosity of sailors from another American warship whose spiritual needs had also been served in Hilo.

In 1862 the parish of St. Martin de Tours had once again outgrown its place of worship. A new larger church was built in the area of Kalākaua Park on Keawe and Waiānuenue Avenue.

On July 9, 1862 Bishop Louis Maigret, Bishop of Honolulu dedicated the new church to Saint Joseph. That same day 30 more people were baptized and about 300 more were confirmed to become full members of the Saint Joseph Catholic Community.

In the 1880s an increase in the number of Portuguese immigrants from the Madeira Islands more than doubled the Catholic Christian population in Hilo.

Father Puozot already fluent in English, French and Hawaiian, learned Portuguese and began to preach his sermons in Portuguese as well as in English and Hawaiian.

Fr. James C. Bessell, SSCC was assigned as pastor at Saint Joseph in 1909. Father’s zealous effort to reach many families resulted in increasing devotional opportunities and an increase in the numbers of parishioners.

By 1911, Hawaiʻi had 85 priests, 30 churches and 55 chapels. The Catholic population was 35,000; there were 4 academies, a college and 9 parochial schools established by the mission, and the total number of pupils was 2,200.

A new, larger church was needed in Hilo. Father Beissell purchased the property on the corner of Kapiʻolani and Haili Streets from the First Hawaiian Company in 1915.

The large community of active faithful including, among others, Hawaiian and Portuguese families worked together to build their new church.

The cornerstone was laid in 1917 and the church was dedicated at its present location in February 1919. (St Joseph)

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Waianuenue-St Joseph’s in background (left of center)-Bertram

Hilo-St Joseph’s at far right-Bertram

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July 7, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Thomas Waterhouse

John Thomas Waterhouse “was born in Berkshire, England, in 1816, and went to school at Wood House Grove boarding school in 1825. The school was a Methodist preacher’s son’s school. I attended that until I was 13 years of age.” He became a businessman.

“I will tell you how the spirit of trade first came upon me. A man was allowed to come on the play ground once a week, Saturdays, to sell notions, etc. I used to invest my little money in sundries which I bought from this man, and sell them again to my playmates during the week at an advance, on credit.”

“Well, I had made a little money, and had heard of the United States, and concluded to cross the Atlantic to (the US.) I had become infatuated with reading the life of John Jacob Astor, and I started out from England, April, 1833, with a determination to become a John Jacob Astor”. (Hawaiian Gazette, September 24, 1889)

Later, his father “was asked if he would head all of the missions of the South Pacific … and he said, ‘All right. I will take the position if I can take all of my family with me.’ Well, he had ten children and some of them were already married, so they all went down to Australia, where he had a Methodist Mission”. (Waterhouse)

Waterhouse “was in business in Hobert Town, Tasmania, for ten years, owning a large number of vessels, and I was a very active man in business there.”

“I had very poor health and was recommended to go to Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands. Well, I went there in one of my own vessels and purchased the property where I now live.”

“That was in 1851, and from San Francisco I travelled backward and forward a great deal and improved very much in health, and I wish to say right here that the Sandwich Islands are really as fine islands as you can find anywhere in any part of the Pacific, and are known as the ‘Paradise of the Pacific.’” (Hawaiian Gazette, September 24, 1889)

He “started a general merchandise store (JT Waterhouse and Company) here in Honolulu. Had quite a few stores. … (He) was very fond of animals but he wanted to turn this to his benefit so he brought in a camel and he put it in the back yard of the store and if anybody bought so much merchandise, they were allowed to see the camel.”

“He used to make trips every year to England to buy merchandise and one night he had a dream of a carpet – a design on a carpet – so when he went to England, he had that made and he brought them back and sold them as “Waterhouse Dream Carpets” and they sold like hotcakes.”

“He also brought this lokelani (rose) pattern here – in china – and his friends there said, ‘Oh, what’s the good of bringing that cheap china to the Islands?’ He said, ‘I think it could go.’ And it did.” (Waterhouse)

He, “was very fond of animals but he wanted to turn this to his benefit so he brought in a camel and he put it in the back yard of the store and if anybody bought so much merchandise, they were allowed to see the camel.” (Waterhouse)

“There being no recognized coinage indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands, in 1862. JT Waterhouse began issuing tokens redeemable only at his facilities.”

“About the size of a silver dollar, they were of ‘white metal,’ one side bearing a portrait of King Kamehameha IV, the other bearing a beehive with the words ‘John Thomas Waterhouse, Importer’ encircling it, and the words ‘Hale Maikai’ (good house) below the beehive. The tokens were worth fifty cents at Waterhouse’s establishments. (HABS)

“(W)hen he went across the United States on a trip back to England, he noticed that Chicago was a very booming town and Cedar Rapids was a very booming town. He wanted to buy some property in one of the towns and he considered buying some property on Michigan Boulevard in Chicago but he couldn’t decide which town he should invest in, so he tossed a coin and it came out Cedar Rapids.” (Waterhouse)

He was “the owner of some of the finest blocks and most desirable property in and around Cedar Rapids, such as the ‘Waterhouse Block,’ ‘Grand Hotel,’ considerable residence property in the city, and residence with thirty-five acres northwest of city limits, etc.” (History of Linn County)

He owned several pieces of property in the downtown area, among them buildings on Queen Street, retail stores on King and Fort Streets, and a warehouse on Merchant Street. In addition, he was referred to as a “collector of halls,” being the owner of the Lyceum and Olympic Halls, which he lent for lectures and assemblies. (HABS)

“One time, when he thought the taxes were getting too high, he wrapped himself in English rags – so the story goes – and refused to pay his taxes. And so then he went away, back to England, and moved back to England himself but his family were left here.”

“He went back to England and he rented an estate somewhere in England and everything was going fine until the fox hunting season arrived and then they drove the hounds over his grounds and he was so furious he sold everything and came back to the Islands.” (Waterhouse)

“His personal success has been brilliant. His signal achievements spurred emulation, enriched the country and benefitted all. As a business man was a marvel.”

“In Hawaii he found opportunities and made the most of them. Mr. Waterhouse from a small beginning reached the top of the ladder commercially. In the wider field of the business arenas of the United States or Europe he could not but have become a conspicuous figure.”

“His matchless energy and rare abilities stamped him as a man in a million. … Mr Waterhouse is very wealthy. His fortune is estimated at several millions. He is one of the heaviest tax-payers in Honolulu; has investments in California and New York and owns much property at Cedar Rapids, la. He practically created that town.”

“Of the four children living two his sons, John and Henry, conduct the large establishment of JT Waterhouse; while the third son, William, is now in Cedar Rapids, where he manages his father’s affairs, and conducts the leading hotel that flourishing city, which included his father’s possessions. Their daughter, the wife Hon HW Rice, is a resident of Kauai.” (Hawaiian Star, January 5, 1895) He died at his home in Nuʻuanu on January 8, 1895.

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John Thomas Waterhouse-Token

July 6, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Was There a Missionary Political Party?

“Nothing resembling political parties developed in the Islands until the reign of King David Kalākaua in 1874. Over the next 20 years, prior to the overthrow of the kingdom, they existed as relatively unstable organizations with shifting memberships, and acted as rallying points for individuals and groups opposed to or in support of the monarchy.” (Pratt & Smith)

Some suggest from then, on, there was a ‘Missionary Party’ – suggesting it was made up of missionaries, and/or their descendants. That is not true; there was no formal ‘Missionary Party’ – in fact, in part, “(Native Hawaiians) sarcastically termed Americans ‘the Missionary Party.’” (LaFeber)

“By Missionary party is not meant that the members of it are missionaries, but that they are descendants of the early missionaries who went to the islands and because of the opportunities offered them became very rich. The descendants are not missionaries, but are mostly politicians and business men.” (Honolulu Republican, September 19, 1901)

“The Anglo-Saxon has made this country; he has not only improved his own condition, but he has that of the native as well … If the Anglo-Saxon has done all this, if he has so benefitted the native race, there should be some recognition of his services at the present he is ignored, the man who has done everything for this country is slighted and put aside; his wishes are systematically opposed.”

“An attempt has been made to try and call the Anglo-Saxon party, or better the commercial and agricultural party, the Missionary party, and papers abroad have been weak enough to be taken in by the claptrap.”

“There is no ‘missionary party’ any longer, that is a thing of the past: the opposition to the present administration, the opposition to the Palace party is composed of anything but so called ‘missionary’ elements, it is made up of the hard headed, hard handed pioneers of our national industries: …”

“… all that these men want is to have their due share in the direction of affairs; bearing the burden and heat of the fight they demand, and they have a right to demand that their views should receive careful attention.” (Hawaiian Gazette, August 23, 1882)

“The Anglo Saxon race have always been a pushing race and the Americans are the most pushing of all. When Americans get the treasury and the resulting power about a dozen of them could control the world. Why is it that those islands are ruled by the smallest minority that over controlled a nation?”

“We hear considerable about the ‘missionary party.’ Now there are two meanings to the term missionary. The first missionaries went there filled with a zeal and fire to save the people; they were the cream of the Earth.”

“But they took their families with them – and missionaries are usually blessed with large families and these young men born and brought up upon the islands soon gained the confidence of the natives gained riches and became more and more arrogant as the time wore on.”

“They sought power and the natives were soon deprived of their natural rights. We are apt to condemn the fathers for the sins of the children and to this day the term missionary party is tided as a reproach.”

“The children are very different from the noble band of Christian workers who came from Boston seventy or more years ago and are wealthy, powerful and arbitrary. The whole history of the political changes of the islands is the history of the progress of these sons and daughters of missionaries and the simple natives have been so influenced and over awed that today they are strangers in their own halls of legislation.” (The Independent, Match 26, 1897)

“It is admitted on all hands that the term ‘missionaries,’ so far as the word applies to Christian missionaries, is very far from applicable or appropriate … This name may not be literally applicable …” (Letter Opinion, Daily Bulletin, September 4, 1888)

“(There is a) political weapon of the vulgar and reactionary prejudice against what is popularly but improperly termed the ‘missionary party,’ this phase of the Government’s Polynesian policy will appear in its true light as the rankest hypocrisy.” (Daily Bulletin, January 22, 1886)

The Hawaiian Islands Mission Ended in 1863

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 184-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

At its General Meeting from June 3, 1863 to July 1, 1863, the Sandwich Islands Mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) met to discuss the future of the Mission. They formed the “Board of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association”.

“After twenty-one days of debate, the result was reached with perfect unanimity, and the Association agreed to assume the responsibility hitherto sustained by the Board. This measure was consummated by the Board in the autumn following, and those stations no longer look to the American churches for management and control.” (Missionary Papers, 1867)

In effect, “The mission has been, as such, disbanded and merged in the community.” (1863)

Control was passed to the Hawaiian Evangelical Association (which was formed in 1853); in 1959 it joined the United Church of Christ and later became known as the Hawai‘i Conference United Church of Christ.

Rufus Anderson, Foreign Secretary of the ABCFM, in his July 6, 1863 letter to Kamehameha IV notes, in part: “I may perhaps be permitted, in view of my peculiar relations to a very large body of the best friends and benefactors of this nation, not to leave without my most respectful aloha to both your Majesties.”

“The important steps lately taken in this direction are perhaps sufficiently indicated in the printed Address …. I am happy to inform your Majesty that the plan there indicated has since been adopted, and is now going into effect, — with the best influence, as I cannot doubt, upon the religious welfare of your people.”

“My visit to these Islands has impressed me, not only with the strength, but also with the beneficent and paternal character of your government. In no nation in Christendom is there greater security of person and property, or more of civil and religious liberty.”

“As to the progress of the nation in Christian civilization, I am persuaded, and shall confidently affirm on my return home, that the history of the Christian church and of nations affords nothing equal to it.”

“And now the Hawaiian Christian community is so far formed and matured, that the American Board ceases to act any longer as principal, and becomes an auxiliary,— merely affording grants in aid of the several departments of labor in building up the kingdom of Christ in these Islands, and also in the Islands of Micronesia.”

“Praying God to grant long life and prosperity to your Majesties, I am, with profound respect, Your Majesty’s obedient, humble servant, R. Anderson”

Elections and Formal Political Parties

The following list the subsequent elections, candidates and associated political parties.

Election of Lunalilo (1873) – Lunalilo vs Kalākaua
Election of Kalākaua (1874) – Kalākaua vs Queen Emma
Election of 1884 –National (Hawaiian) vs Independent (Foreign)
Election of 1886 –National (Government) vs Independent (Opposition)
Special Election of 1887 – Government (Anti-Reform) vs Reform Party
Election of 1890 –National Reform Party vs Reform Party
Election of 1892 –National Reform Party, Reform Party, Liberal Party & Native Sons of Hawaii

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July 4, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Independence Day

Today, Americans celebrate the anniversary of the signing of America’s Declaration of Independence.

Independence Day celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

However, the freedoms, rights and privileges we share because of this event continue to be protected by the sacrifices of many men and women across the globe; we honor and celebrate their service, as well.

At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolutionary War was already underway (1775-1783.)

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson’s most enduring monument.

The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.

What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Fifty-six men from each of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence – they mutually pledged “to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers and two were cousins. Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers and four were doctors. Twenty-two were lawyers and nine were judges.

The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70; the youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr of South Carolina at 27.

The British captured five signers during the war. Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward and Arthur Middleton were captured at the Battle of Charleston in 1780. George Walton was wounded and captured at the Battle of Savannah; Richard Stockton was incarcerated at the hands of British Loyalists.

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis’s New York home was razed and his wife taken prisoner. John Hart’s farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey, and he died while fleeing capture.

Fifteen of the signers participated in their states’ constitutional conventions, and six – Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Benjamin Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson and George Reed – signed the US Constitution.

Here are some other brief Revolutionary War highlights (and some other July 4 events:)

1775
March 23 – Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech
April 18 – The rides of Paul Revere and William Davis
April 19 – Minutemen and redcoats clash at Lexington and Concord “The shot heard round the world”
June 17 – Battle of Bunker Hill (Boston) – the British drive the Americans
Throughout the year, skirmishes occurred from Canada to South Carolina

Initially, fighting was through local militias; then, the Continental Congress established (on paper) a regular army on June 14, 1775, and appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief.

The development of the Continental Army was a work in progress, and Washington used both his regulars and state militia throughout the war.

1776
January 15 – Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy
March 17 – the British evacuate Boston

1777
April 26 – Sybil Ludington (16 years old) rode through upstate New York to warn militia that British troops were raiding and burning Danbury, Connecticut

Ultimately, on September 3, 1783, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. The treaty document was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay (representing the United States) and David Hartley (a member of the British Parliament representing the British Monarch, King George III).

On June 21, 1788, the US Constitution was adopted (with all states ratifying it by that time.)

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Charles Carroll were the longest surviving signers of the Declaration of Independence. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; Carroll was the last signer to die – in 1832 at the age of 95.

“As is apt to be the case wherever on earth or at sea there are Americans, Independence Day was celebrated. At Honolulu, Saturday, July 4, 1818 …”

“… there was a dinner provided by Mr. Warren, at which were about twenty white men and the principal chief of the island, Bokee. There were a number of appropriate toasts drunk to American Independence. The day and evening were spent in mirth and harmony.” (Hunnewell)

On July 4, 1894, the Republic of Hawai‘i was established at Ali‘iōlani Hale; Sanford B. Dole became its first president.

July 4, 1913 – Duke Kahanamoku established three new West Coast records in swimming, winning the 50-yard, 440-yard and 220-yard races in a San Francisco regatta.

“He started in five events, won them all, established new records and, besides this, won the last lap of the relay race, which of necessity gave him another victory, though in this he was aided by his other three mates.” (San Francisco Call, July 6, 1913)

Following statehood of Hawaiʻi, the new flag of the United States of America, containing a union of 50 stars, flew for the first time at 12:01 am, July 4, 1960, when it was raised at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Declaration of Independence

July 3, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Learning Western Governance

The Reverend William Richards came to Hawai‘i in 1823 as a member of the second company of missionaries sent to the Islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He was stationed at Lahaina. where he engaged in the usual multitudinous duties of the missionary of the day.

It was a time of transition. when the Hawaiian people were faced with the difficult task of adjusting themselves to changing conditions. They turned to their teachers, the American missionaries, for guidance along this intricate path.

The king and chiefs, acknowledging their own inexperience, had sought for a man of probity and some legal training who could act as their advisor in matters dealing with other nations and with foreigners within the Islands.

They asked Mr. Richards to become their teacher. chaplain and interpreter. Richards accepted this appointment, beginning his service on July 3, 1838. His resignation from the Mission as of that date was accepted by the American Board.

The classes in political economy held by Mr. Richards for the chiefs must have laid the foundation for the political reforms started soon after. Indeed. it can be said that Mr. Richards exercised a profound, though somewhat intangible, influence on Hawaii’s evolution towards a constitution form of government.

William Richards prepared a report to the mission following his first year in government service (1838-1839). Portions of the report follows:

“According to those engagements, l was to devote my time at my discretion to the instruction of the King & chiefs, as far as l could and remain at Lahaina, and do the public preaching. l was also to accompany the King to Oahu if important public business called him there.”

“As soon as the arrangements were completed, l commenced the compilation and translation of a work on political economy, following the general plan of Wayland, but consulting Lay, Newman and others, and translating considerable portions from the 1st mentioned work.”

“l also met [the] king & chiefs daily when other public business did not prevent, and as fast as l could prepare matter read it to them in the form of lectures. l endeavored to make the lectures as familiar as possible, by repeating them, and drawing the chiefs into free conversation on the subject of the Lecture.”

“They uniformly manifested a becoming interest in the school thus conducted, and took an active part in the discussion of the various topics introduced in the Lectures.”

“The Lectures themselves were mere outlines of general principles of political economy, which of course could not have been understood except by full illustration drawn from Hawaiian custom and Hawaiian circumstances.”

“The conversation frequently took so wide a range that there was abundant opportunity to refer to any and to every fault of the present system of government. But when the faults of the present system were pointed out & the chiefs felt them & then pressed me with the question, ‘Pehea la e pono ai.’ ((How will it be bettered?)”

“l have often felt that it is much easier to point out the defects of an old system than it is to devise a new one, suitable to take its place.”

“The Chiefs proposed themselves to publish the work which I have compiled, & they are to have the Copy Right & defray the expense of the publication.” (The book was known as No ke Kalaiaina.)

“All my intercourse with the king and chiefs has been of the most pleasant character, at least, I have found them uniformly ready to listen to instructions, and they have manifested a becoming wish to reform the government in those particulars where it is inconsistent with true Political Economy.”

“I have far greater fears at present that there is not sufficient skill to devise a truly wise policy than I have that the chiefs will not sanction it when devised.”

As part of this initial process, a system of laws had been written out by Boaz Mahune, who was directed by the King to conform them to the principles of Political Economy which they had learned.

(Mahune was a member of the first class at Lahainaluna Seminary, graduating in 1835 after four years there. He was considered one of the school’s most brilliant scholar and was one of the ten chosen to remain as monitors, teachers in the children’s school and assistants in translating.)

The laws were signed by Kamehameha III on June 7, 1839 and referred to as He kumu kanawai, a me ke kanawai hooponopono Waiawi, no ko Hawaii nei pae aina. 1839 (Declaration of Rights (1839). All of the above came from Richards’ report, dated May 1, 1839; HHS, 1943.

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No Ke Kalaiaina