Kauikeaouli | Page 4 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

December 23, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Deserters, Debts … and a Treaty

“The petition of sundry merchants and others engaged in the whale fishery, from the Island of Nantucket, has been referred, by the president of the United States, to this department …”

“… I am directed to inform you that the subject has been considered, and that instructions will be given to commodore Hull to visit the Sandwich Islands, when the public interest will permit his absence from the South American coast for a sufficient period.” (Samuel L Southard, Secretary of the Navy, April 28, 1825)

A second petition from ship owners quoted an American who recently returned from Hawai’i, who reported: “When I left the Sandwich Islands, there were over one hundred and fifty seamen (principally deserters from the whale ships) prowling about the country, naked and destitute, associating themselves with the natives, assuming their habits and acquiring their vices. …” (Gapp)

A third petition, sent by ship owners of New Bedford, Massachusetts complained about the British influence in Hawai’i, declaring that they spread the rumor: “The English have men-of-war, but the Americans have only whalers and trading vessels.” (Gapp)

Pointing out that they had separate whaling fleets canvassing both the northern and southern hemispheres of the Pacific, the ship owners asked for protection at the two berthing stations used by the fleets and requested “one or more armed vessels to proceed to the Sandwich and Society islands, with instructions to render such protection, and afford such aid, to American shipping distributed at those places, as circumstances may render necessary and proper.” (Stauffer)

In response, the Secretary of the Navy gave orders to Commodore Hull to sail to the Islands, report back on what he learned, banish the bad-attitude sailors and maintain cordial relations with the Hawaiian government … “the manner in which you shall endeavor to accomplish them, must be left almost entirely to your own discretion and prudence.”

Hull, in turn, decided to stay and ordered Commander Thomas ap Catesby Jones and his ‘Peacock’ to undertake the duties assigned by the Naval Secretary.

For the most part Hull’s orders to Jones merely relayed the instructions from the shipowners and the Navy Department, but also noted that there were debts to address, “claims for property belonging to citizens of the United States, on persons now residing at the Sandwich Islands.” (Stauffer) Jones went first to the Society Islands; then arrived in Honolulu on October 22, 1826.

“The object of my visit to the Sandwich Islands was of high national importance, of multifarious character, and left entirely to my judgment as to the mode of executing it, with no other guide than a laconic order, which the Government designed one of the oldest and most experienced commanders in the navy should execute”. (Jones, Report of Minister of Foreign Affairs)

“Under so great a responsibility, it was necessary for me to proceed with the greatest caution, and to measure well every step before it was taken ; consequently the first ten or fifteen days were devoted to the study and examination of the character and natural disposition of a people who are so little known to the civilized world, and with whom I had important business to transact.”

“The Sandwich Islanders as legislators are a cautious, grave, deliberate people, extremely jealous of their rights as a nation, and are slow to enter into any treaty or compact with foreigners, by which the latter can gain any foot-hold or claim to their soil.”

“Aware of these traits in the character of the Islanders with whom I had to negotiate, I determined to conduct my correspondence with them in such a manner as at once to remove all grounds of suspicion as to the object and views of the American Government, and to guard against misrepresentation and undue influence”.

“(I also wanted to) give the Chiefs and others in authority, the means of understanding perfectly the nature of my propositions, I took the precaution to have all official communications translated into the Oahuan language, which translation always accompanied the original in English”.

“(B)y giving them their own time to canvass and consult together, I found no difficulty in carrying every measure I proposed, and could I have been fully acqainted with the views of my government, or been authorized to make treaties, I do not doubt but my success would have been complete in any undertaking of that character.” (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

Jones’s first order of business was the matter of the deserters; after initial discussions with local Hawaiian officials about a comprehensive treaty, Jones proposed on October 31, 1826, that a ‘rule’ be established, “which ought never to be departed from”’ regarding foreigners in Hawai’i.

Under the proposed ‘rule,’ all American sailors who had deserted their ships would be immediately removed from the Islands no matter under what circumstances or how far back in the past the desertion had occurred. Secondly, any American otherwise living in Hawai’i who had no “visible means of making an honest livelihood” would be removed. Finally, Jones proposed that “all other foreigners who did not support a good character” should likewise be banished.

Governor Boki, as well as both the American and British representatives were in favor of the proposal. He then approached the issue of ’debts’ (on November 4, 1826) – these primarily dealt with the ‘payment’ of sandalwood that was promised to traders for goods given. The chiefs agreed to pay off all the ‘debts’ in full. (Staffer)

Then on November 13, “The communication … which accompanied some regulations of general interest to our commerce in the Pacific was not less successful”. (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

On December 23, 1826, the US signed a treaty (Articles of Arrangement) with the Kingdom of Hawaii thus indirectly recognizing Hawaiian independence. (State Department Historian) It is generally referred to as the Treaty of 1826 and was Hawaiʻi’s first treaty with the US.

It “received the signatures of the Ruling Princes and Chiefs, in testimony of their approbation of them, and as a pledge of their sincere friendship and confidence in the American Nation, and their earnest desire to remain neutral and take no part in any foreign wars.” (Jones Report to Navy Department, 1827)

The meeting considered the ‘Articles of Arrangement,’ a trade agreement between the US and the Hawaiian Kingdom, which was accepted and signed by Thomas ap Catesby Jones, and Elisabeta Kaʻahumanu as Queen Regent, Kalanimōku as Prime Minister, and the principal chiefs Boki, Hoapili, and Lidia Namahana. (Gapp)

Its articles included, “peace and friendship subsisting between the United States, and their Majesties, the Queen Regent, and Kauikeaouli, King of the Sandwich Islands, and their subjects and people, are hereby confirmed, and declared to be perpetual.”

“(S)hips and vessels of the United States … shall be inviolably protected against all Enemies of the United States in time of war. … (and) Citizens of the United States … engaged in commerce … shall be inviolably protected in their lawful pursuits (and may sue) … according to strict principles of equity, and the acknowledged practice of civilized nations.” (Treaty of 1826)

“Jones, as a public officer, carefully sought to promote the interests of commerce and secure the right of traders, pressed the rulers to a prompt discharge of their debts, and negotiated articles of agreement with the government for the protection of American interests”. (Hiram Bingham)

Kamehameha_III,_1825

October 20, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Capital Punishment

Pā‘ao (ca 1300,) from Kahiki (Tahiti,) is reported to have introduced (or significantly expanded) a religious and political code in old Hawai‘i, collectively called the kapu system.

The kapu system was the common structure, the rule of order, and religious and political code. This social and political structure gave leaders absolute rule and authority. This forbid many things and demanded many more, with many infractions being punishable by death.

Shortly after the death of Kamehameha I in 1819, King Kamehameha II (Liholiho) declared an end to the kapu system. In a dramatic and highly symbolic event, Kamehameha II ate and drank with women, thereby breaking the important eating kapu.

This changed the course of the civilization and ended the kapu system, effectively weakened belief in the power of the gods and the inevitability of divine punishment for those who opposed them. The end of the kapu system by Liholiho happened before the arrival of the missionaries; it made way for the transformation to Christianity and westernization.

While Liholiho’s brother Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) ruled as monarch (with shared authority with the Kuhina Nui,) he, too, took bold steps in changing the structure of governance. Kamehameha III initiated and implemented Hawaiʻi’s first constitution (1840) (one of five constitutions governing the Islands – and then, later, governance as part of the United States.)

Included were also published “penal laws,” which outlined classes of offenses and punishments for the same – with the death penalty being allowed for acts of murder.

“Many foreigners had predicted that whenever it became necessary to enforce the Penal Laws this enacted and promulgated, leniency would be shown towards chiefs of high rank.” (Bennet)

Then, there was enforcement and execution of the new laws on someone of rank, Kamanawa II (his father was High Chief Kepoʻokalani.)

Kamanawa, born during the days of the ancient customs with an unstructured approach to marriage, had found it difficult to live according to the increasingly Christian ways of his peers. When “one-to-one” marriage had been declared the law by royal order, his roving habits were not changed, and whenever he was attracted to a new love he followed his old ways. Kamokuiki (his wife,) adhering to the new faith, had little sympathy with his wanderings and finally went to the chiefs seeking a divorce. (Gutmanis)

As early as 1825, the chiefs in various districts had issued edicts of law that, following Christian teachings, included prohibitions against adultery and the biblical relief of divorce and the right to remarry given the injured party. And so it was with Kamokuiki whose divorce, dated August 16, 1840, stated: because Kamanawa has repeatedly committed adultery, his wife Kamokuiki has requested a separation. (Gutmanis)

There is no record of how Kamanawa received the decree, but six weeks later on September 26, 1840 Kamokuiki was dead. Murder being instantly suspected, an autopsy was performed and the stomach found to be “much inflamed while every thing else was in order.” (Gutmanis)

Kamanawa and his friend Lonopuakau, captain of the Hawaiian vessel Hooikaika, confessed that Kamanawa had administered the fatal dose and that the Captain had prepared the mixture of ʻakia, ʻauhuhu and ʻawa that caused Kamokuiki’s death.

“She survived but three hours, medical assistance being of no avail. As soon as she was dead, which was about midnight, the news immediately spread and a terrible wailing commenced, which was quickly born to the other side of the island. It was so loud, so prolonged and so sudden as to awake at once almost all the residents, and at that hour, as its sepulchral cadences rose and fell, and were lost in the distance, the effect was startling and mournful in the extreme.” (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894)

Justice was swift; on September 30, 1840, a jury of 12 chiefs was empaneled to try Kamanawa and Lonopuakau.

On “Wednesday morning a court was held at the Fort, for the trial of Kamanawa and Lono, captain of the schooner Hooikaika, for the murder of Kamokuiki, wife of the former. Governor Kekūanāoʻa was the presiding Judge, the King and high chiefs being present.” (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)

“The court being organized, the trial commenced, when the following facts were developed: The first-mentioned person, it appears, had been divorced from his wife for some time past, but could not marry again while she was living: Having conceived a violent passion for another woman, he determined to rid himself of his wife, and applied to Lono, who was said to be skilled in preparing poisons. Lono also wishing to destroy his wife, the two agreed to poison both”. (The Polynesian, October 3, 1840)

The jury found the two guilty and sentenced to hang on October 20th.

On the October 24, The Polynesian carried a short item that succinctly summed up the execution of the sentencing: “The murderers Kamanawa and Lonopuakau expiated their crime on the scaffold on Tuesday last, at the Fort in the presence of a large concourse of people.”

The site of the execution was over the gate of Fort Kekuanohu (Fort Honolulu – that once stood at the bottom of Fort Street;) the gallows was erected above the gate, so it could be easily seen for some distance.

After the hanging, either one or both of the bodies were buried at the cross-roads, in accordance with the old English custom of burying executed criminals where they would be out of the way, and the burial places be forever unknown. It is believed that the cross roads selected were at the junction of King and Punchbowl or Queen and Punchbowl streets.

I should note – Kamanawa II was no ‘ordinary’ ranking chief.

He was the grandson of Kameʻeiamoku, one of the ‘royal twins’ (uncles of Kamehameha the Great and his counselors in the wars to unite the Islands.) He was named after his famous grand uncle, the other royal twin. (The twins are on Hawaiʻi’s Royal Coat of Arms; Kameʻeiamoku is on the right holding a kahili and Kamanawa on the left holding a spear.)

Oh, one more thing … Kamanawa II and Kamokuiki were parents of Caesar Kapaʻakea. In 1835, Caesar married the High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole; they had several children.

Most notable were a son, who on February 13, 1874 became King Kalākaua, and a daughter, who on January 29, 1891 became Queen Liliʻuokalani (they were grandchildren of Kamanawa II, the first to be charged and hanged under Hawaiʻi’s first modern criminal laws.)

It is said that after Kalākaua came to the throne, he had the body of Kamanawa taken up and the bones removed to Mauna Ala in Nuʻuanu. This is positively stated by the natives. (Hawaiian Gazette, October 12, 1894) Kamokuiki was buried at Kawaiahaʻo Church.

October 1, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

‘E hoi kaua, he anu.

Let us return; ‘tis cold.’

The following is an account written by Hiram Bingham and his ascent with Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) in 1830 to the ‘frigid apex of Mauna Kea.’ What follows is pulled directly from Bingham’s ‘A Residence of Twenty-One Years in the Sandwich Islands.’

(T)he king set out with a party of more than a hundred, for an excursion further into the heart of the island, and an ascent to the summit of Mauna Kea. To watch over and instruct my young pupil, and to benefit my health, I accompanied him. The excursion occupied nearly five days, though it might have been accomplished much sooner.

Crossing in a southerly direction the plain of Waimea, some on horseback and some on foot, the party ascended a small part of the elevation of the mountain, and being in the afternoon enveloped in dense fog, they halted and encamped for the night.

The next day they passed over the western slope of the mountain to the southern side thence eastward along a nearly level plain, some seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, to a point south of the summit, and encamped out again, in the mild open air.

In the course of this day’s journey, the youthful king on horseback, pursued, ran down, and caught a yearling wild bullock, for amusement and for a luncheon for his attendants. A foreigner lassoed and killed a wild cow.

The next day was occupied chiefly in ascending in a northerly direction, very moderately. Our horses climbed slowly, and by taking a winding and zigzag course, were able, much of the way, to carry a rider. Having gained an elevation of about ten thousand feet, we halted and encamped for the night, in the dreary solitudes of rocks and clouds.

When the night spread her dark, damp mantle over us, we found ourselves in the chilly autumnal atmosphere of the temperate zone of this most stupendous Polynesian mountain. Below us, towards Mauna Loa, was spread out a sea of dense fog, above which the tops of the two mountains appeared like islands.

We found it a pretty cold lodging place. Ice was formed in a small stream of water near us, during the night. As the company were laying themselves down, here and there, upon the mountain side, for sleep, I observed that the king and Keoniani, subsequently premier, and a few others, having found a cave about four feet high, ten wide, and eight deep, made by a projecting rock, which would afford a shelter from a shower, and partially from wind and cold, had stretched themselves out to sleep upon the ground in front of it.

I was amused to see that their heads protruded somewhat more than six feet from the mouth of the cave, and asked, “Why do you not sleep under the rock, which is so good a sleeping house for you?”

Keoniani, always ready, replied, “We don’t know at what time the rock will fall.” Whether the apprehension that the firm rock might possibly fall upon the head of the king that night or their unwillingness that any ignoble foot should walk above it, or some other fancy, were the cause of his declining the shelter, did not appear.

In the morning we proceeded slowly upwards till about noon, when we came to banks of snow, and a pond of water partly covered with ice. In his first contact with a snow bank, the juvenile king seemed highly delighted. He bounded and tumbled on it, grasped and handled and hastily examined pieces of it, then ran and offered a fragment of it in vain to his horse.

He assisted in cutting out blocks of it, which were wrapped up and sent down as curiosities to the regent and other chiefs, at Waimea, some twenty-eight miles distant.

These specimens of snow and ice, like what are found in the colder regions of the earth, excited their interest and gratified their curiosity, and pleased them much; not only by their novelty, but by the evidence thus given of a pleasant remembrance by the youthful king.

After refreshing and amusing ourselves at this cold mountain lake, we proceeded a little west of north, and soon reached the lofty area which is surmounted by the ‘seven pillars’ which wisdom had hewed out and based upon it, or the several terminal peaks near each other, resting on what would otherwise be a somewhat irregular table land, or plain of some twelve miles circumference.

Ere we had reach’d the base of the highest peak, the sun was fast declining and the atmosphere growing cold. The king and nearly all the company declined the attempt to scale the summit, and passing on to the north-west crossed over, not at the highest point, and hastily descended towards Waimea.

John Phelps Kalaaulana, who had been in New England, the only native in the company who seemed inclined to brave the cold and undertake the labor of reaching the top, accompanied me, and we climbed to the summit of the loftiest peak.

The side of it was composed of small fragments of lava, scoria, and gravel lying loose and steep. The feet sank into them at every step. Our progress was slow and difficult, by a zigzag and winding course. Respiration was labored, and the air taken into the lungs seemed to supply less aid or strength than usual.

I repeatedly laid myself down panting to take breath and rest my exhausted muscles. On gaming the lofty apex, our position was an awful solitude, about 14,500 feet above the level of the sea, where no animal or vegetable life was found. No rustling leaf, or chirping bird, or living tenant of the place attracted the eye or ear.

Maui could be distinctly seen at the distance of one hundred miles over the mountains of Kohala. The immense pile of lava, once chiefly fluid, which constitutes the stupendous Mauna Loa, rose in the south-west, at the distance of thirty miles, to a height nearly equal to that of Mauna Kea, where we stood. Very light clouds occasionally appeared above us.

Down towards the sea over Hilo and Hamakua the clouds were dark and heavy, floating below our level, and towards the north, were apparently rolling on the earth to the westward towards Waimea and Kawaihae, while the wind on our summit was in the opposite direction.

As the sun disappeared the cold was pinching. We occasionally cringed under the lee of the summit for a momentary relief from the chilling blast. While taking some trigonometrical observations my fingers were stiffened with the cold, and Phelps repeatedly cried out with emphasis, ‘E hoi kaua, he anu. Let us return; ’tis cold.’

The image is a drawing of Mauna Kea, as seen from Waimea (Harry Wishard.)

Mauna Kea Wishard

May 5, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Haʻalilio

Timothy (Timoteo) Haʻalilio was born in 1808, at Koʻolau, Oʻahu. His parents were of respectable rank, and much esteemed.

His father died while he was quite young, and his widowed mother subsequently married the Governor of Molokai (after his death, she retained the authority of the island, and acted as Governess for the period of some fifteen years.)

At the age of eight years, Haʻalilio moved to Hilo where he was adopted into the family and became one of the playmates of the young prince Kauikeaouli (later, King Kamehameha III.) He travelled around the Islands with the prince and remained one of the most intimate companions and associates of the King.

At the age of about thirteen, he learned to read, and was a pleasant pupil and made great proficiency. There were then no regularly established schools, and, consistent with the wish of Kamehameha III, he was a private pupil of Hiram and Sybil Bingham.

In April or May, 1821, the King and the chiefs gathered in Honolulu and selected teachers to assist Mr. Bingham. James Kahuhu, John ʻĪʻi, Haʻalilio, Prince Kauikeaouli were among those who learned English. (Kamakau)

In addition to English, Haʻalilio learned to read Hawaiian and was taught arithmetic and penmanship, and was soon employed by the King to do his writing – not as an official secretary, but as a clerk.

On June 7, 1826, Haʻalilio married Hannah Hooper (Hana Hopua;) wedding entertainment was served at the house of Kīnaʻu, at which several of the members of the mission were present. (Chamberlain)

In 1831, the Lahainaluna School was founded, and Haʻalilio continued his education there.

During the brief conflict with Captain Cyrille-Pierre-Theodore Laplace and his fifty-two-gun frigate L’Artemise to Hawaiʻi in July, 1839 – where Laplace issued a ‘Manifesto’ “to put an end either by force or by persuasion to the ill-treatment of which the French are the victims at the Sandwich Islands” – Haʻalilio was taken hostage by the French. He was later exchanged for John ʻĪʻi who went on board the L’Artemise.

“The Kings and Chiefs could not fail to see the real value of such a man (Haʻalilio,) and they therefore promoted him to offices to which his birth would not, according to the old system, have entitled him.”

“He was properly the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of Oahu, and regularly acted as Governor during the absence of the incumbent. He was also elected a member of the council of Nobles.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

When the Hawaiian government needed to raise funds, as early as 1842, certain government lands were set aside to produce revenue for government needs.

To support this, a Treasury Board was formed, Haʻalilio severed on the Board with Dr. Gerrit Judd and John ʻĪʻi; they accepted taxes paid into the treasury. (Van Dyke)

King Kamehameha III recognized the need for his kingdom to be recognized internationally and he decided to send abroad a first-class delegation composed of Haʻalilio and William Richards.

Although neither individual was a professionally trained or experienced diplomat, both were men of the highest intelligence and trustworthiness who had the unequivocal backing and confidence of the King.

The importance placed on this diplomatic mission by Kamehameha III was apparent in his choice of Haʻalilio, whose integrity and lofty reputation among native Hawaiians gave enormous respectability and political clout to the monarchy’s latest international endeavor. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence, of good judgment, of pleasing manners, and respectable business habits. Few men are more attentive to neatness and order, at home, on shipboard, or in foreign climes, than he; and few public officers possess integrity more trustworthy. (Bingham)

The other half of Kamehameha’s frontline team was William Richards, the American missionary who was the primary architect of the Hawaiian monarchy’s campaign for legitimacy and international acceptance. Prior to this mission, in recognition of talents and service to the Crown, Richards was chosen in 1838 to be the principal counselor to the King and his chiefs. (Crapol)

Haʻalilio had acquired a very full knowledge of the political relations of the country. He was a strenuous advocate for a constitutional and representative government. He was well acquainted with the practical influence of the former system of government, and considered a change necessary to the welfare of the nation. (Richards)

“In the month of April 1842, (Haʻalilio) was appointed a joint Commissioner with Mr. Richards to the Courts of the USA, England and France. (He and Richards sailed from Lāhainā, July 18, 1842, and arrived in Washington on the fifth of December.) …”

“After spending a month at Washington, and having accomplished the main objects of embassy there (and subsequent US recognition of the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom,) he proceeded to the north.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While on the continent, a newspaper noted a note Haʻalilio passed to a friend: “We are happy that our Christian friends have so much reason to congratulate us on our success in the prosecution of our official business at Washington.”

“May the cause of righteousness and of liberty, and the cause of Christ every where be prospered. (Signed) T. Haalilio, William Richards.” Boston Harbor, Feb. 2. (The Middlebury People’s Press, Vermont, February 15, 1843)

On February 18, 1843, Haʻalilio arrived in London and within six weeks “after accomplishing the object of his embassy to England, he proceeded to France, where he was received in the same manner as in England, and …”

“… succeeded in obtaining from the French Government, not only a recognition of independence, but also a mutual guarantee from England and France that that independence should be respected. (Similar responses were made from Belgium.)” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

While in London, Haʻalilio commissioned the College of Arms in London to prepare the Hawaiʻi Coat of Arms (following his design;) a May 31, 1845 story in the Polynesian newspaper reported that the National Coat of Arms was adopted by the Legislative Assembly.

Haʻalilio was a man of intelligence and judgment, of agreeable manners, and respectable business habits. While employed on his embassy, he read his Hawaiian Bible through twice.

The proofs of his piety appeared in his love for the Scriptures, for secret and social prayer, for the Sabbath, and for the worship of the sanctuary. He was gratified by what he saw of the regard for the Lord’s day in the United States and England, and was shocked in view of its desecration in France and Belgium. (Anderson)

After fifteen months in Europe, he returned to the USA and prepared to return to the Islands.

“On his arrival in the western part of Massachusetts, was attacked by a severe cold, brought on by inclemencies of the weather, followed by a change in the thermometer of about sixty degrees in twenty-four hours. Here was probably laid the foundation of that disease by which his short but eventful life has been so afflictingly closed.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“On Sabbath evening, just before his death, he said; ‘This is the happiest day of my life. My work is done. I am ready to go.’ Then he prayed; ‘O, my Father, thou hast not granted my desire to see once more the land of my birth, and my friends that dwell there; but I entreat Thee refuse not my petition to see thy kingdom, and my friends who are dwelling with Thee.’” (Anderson)

Timothy Haʻalilio died at sea December 3, 1844 from tuberculosis. He was 36 years old.

“Great hopes had been entertained both among Hawaiians and foreigners, of the good results that would ensue to the kingdom from the addition of its councils of one of so intelligent a mind, stores as it was with the fruits of observant travel, and the advantages derived from long and familiar intercourse in the best circles of Europe and the United States. … (Upon news of his death) every attention affection or sympathy could suggest was afforded the deceased.” (Polynesian, March 29, 1845)

“Let us not forget that Haalilio was permitted to live to accomplish the great objects of his mission, that he had represented his country with honor, and with a dignity which had inspired respect for him abroad both as an individual and as the Representative of (Kamehameha III.) …”

“In his death the nation has ample cause for mourning, and has met with a heavy loss, which time cannot repair.” (The Polynesian, April 12, 1845) (Lots of information from Polynesian, Richards, Chamberlain, Crapol and Kamakau.)

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March 21, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pūʻali Inuwai

The first whalers (1819) and missionaries (1820) arrived in Hawaiʻi at about the same time. That is about the only thing a lot of them had in common.

One of the areas of the great divide between them had to do with drinking liquor.

The first temperance movement emerged in New England as clergy began to equate drinking alcohol with sins like Sabbath breaking and blasphemy. In 1808, the first temperance society was formed, but it singled-out hard liquor, such as rum, as its only target.

Very early in the temperance movement a Presbyterian minister by the name of Reverend Thomas P Hunt organized a children’s organization called “The Cold Water Army.”

In 1831, the large and influential American Temperance Union urged everyone to only drink cold water (not alcoholic beverages) thereby taking a Cold Water Pledge.

In Hawaiʻi, King Kamehameha III and most of the chiefs pledged themselves to total abstinence, and, in part, became zealous preachers of temperance; the king himself frequently addressing the people on the subject.

Temperance Pledge:
“1. We will not drink ardent spirits for pleasure. 2. We will not deal in ardent spirits for the sake of gain. 3. We will not engage in distilling ardent spirits. 4. We will not treat our relatives, acquaintances, or strangers with ardent spirits. 5. We will not give ardent spirits to workmen on account of their labor.” (Missionary Herald)

King Kamehameha III signed the abstinence pledge in 1842. On putting his name to the pledge, the young king said: “I am one who wish to sign this pledge. I have thought of this before, and the evil of drinking rum was clear to me. I am constituted a father to the people and the kingdom, and it belongs to me to regulate all the other chiefs. I have therefore become really ashamed, and I can no longer persist in rum-drinking. This is the reason why I subscribe my name to this pledge.” (The Friend, 1887)

Although he broke it regularly, he made intermittent appeals for abstinence among his fellows. For some years in the forties, no liquor was served at official functions. (Daws)

On the 1st anniversary of signing the pledge, “When the king signed the pledge, a quantity of rum, brandy, wine, etc, remained in the cellar. After lying there untouched for a year, various casks and bottles containing the poisonous mixtures were brought forth.”

“After discussing for some time the question: ‘What shall be done with them ?’ the king said, ‘Pour them into the sea.’ To this all agreed; the casks were rolled to the seaside, and the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters.” (The Friend, 1887)

In March 1838, the first license law was enacted, which prohibited all selling of liquors without a license under a fine of fifty dollars for the first offense, to be increased by the addition of fifty dollars for every repetition of the offense. (The Friend, December 1887)

All houses for the sale of liquor were to be closed at ten o’clock at night, and from Saturday night until Monday morning. Drunkenness was prohibited in the licensed houses under a heavy fine to the drinker, and the loss of his license to the seller. (The Friend, December 1887)

Pūʻali Inuwai (“The water drinking host”) was formed on March 15, 1843; the Cold Water Army – Hawaiʻi’s version of the Temperance Movement.

Following the model elsewhere, they first looked to the children, suggesting: if you had 100 drunkards and tried to reform them, you would be lucky to save maybe 10; however, if you had 100 children and taught them temperance from a young age, you could save 90 out of the 100. Hawaiʻi youth were encouraged to join.

“The churches were crowded with willing worshippers. Thousands of children were taught in Sunday schools. The ‘cold water army’ embraced legions of valiant champions, who mustered occasionally in holiday dress, and marched with flaunting standards of ‘Down with Rum!’ ‘Cold water only!’” (Judd, 1840 in The Friend, December 1887)

Thousands of children enlisted in the ‘cold water army.’ Once a year they came together for a celebration. They had a grand time on these anniversary occasions. (Youth’s Day Spring, January 1853)

“Even the kings, despite their tendency to backslide, could be induced to forego alcoholic beverages and otherwise importuned to live exemplary lives. Kamehameha III toasted the King and Queen of France with a glass of water on board Rear Admiral Hamelin’s flagship.” (Meller)

“Three years earlier, in 1843, after the renunciation of sovereignty by Great Britain and the return of the Islands to his control, the King similarly partook in the festivities by drinking cold water.” (Meller)

Interesting … not knowing the actual date, Kauikeaouli selected St Patrick’s Day as his birthday. St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the “hard stuff” on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as “drowning the shamrock”, the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.

The Cold Water movement apparently saw some early success. “Recruits to strengthen the ranks of the cold water army, adds real force to this nation; and not-only to this nation, but to every other nation where the principles of total abstinence are making progress. Formerly the Sandwich Islanders were a nation of drunkards; but, as a nation, they are now tee-totallers.” (The Friend, 1843)

However, as time went on, prohibition waned. From the 1850s, it was legal to make wine. In 1864-1865, acts were passed permitting legal brewing of beer and distillation of spirits under license at Honolulu. None of these enterprises produced quality products; all were economic failures. (Daws)

Up through the 1870s, Honolulu was the only place in the kingdom where liquor could be sold legally (another instance of the attempt to isolate vice,) but contemporary comment and court reports make it clear that the illegal liquor traffic was brisk everywhere, from Lāhainā and other port towns to the remotest countryside. (Daws)

At a 1910 prohibition rally, HP Baldwin related an early boyhood event at Lāhainā when a band of over 1,000-people, called “Ka Pūʻali Inuwai” paraded the streets singing songs, and gathered at Waineʻe Church where speeches were made against the evils of the use of liquor. Under the Kamehamehas from the earliest times no liquor was allowed to be sold to Hawaiians until 1882, when the law was changed under Kalākaua. (Maui News, 1910)

Honolulu’s The Friend newspaper began as “Temperance Advocate.” Then, it meant to many, moderate-restrained-use of liquor. Not so in all these years. “It meant total abstinence – nay, even prohibition before there was any such term.” (The Friend, 1942)

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