Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka Liona Hae O Ka Pakipika

A busy life … Teacher, Noble, Legislator, Newspaper Publisher, Italian Military Trainee, Surveyor, Revolutionist, Royalist, Counter-Revolutionist, Prisoner, Home Rule Candidate, Hawaiʻi’s First Congressional Delegate … he died October 23, 1903, at the age of 48.

He was born February 15, 1855 on the island of Maui. Hapa – his father was a native of Newport, Rhode Island; his mother, a native of Maui, a descendant of royalty.

He first went to school at Wailuku at the age of 8 years. When he was 10 years old his mother died, then his father moved to ranching at Makawao. There was no English school at Makawao until 1869.

That year, the Board of Education established the Haleakalā Boarding School; he was one of the first students at that school.  Upon completion of his studies, he became a teacher at ʻUlupalakua.

In 1880, he was elected to the Islands’ legislature; he represented the citizens of Wailuku and its neighboring Maui community.

Nicknamed Ka Liona Hae O Ka Pakipika, or “The Roaring Lion of the Pacific,” Robert William Wilcox was a revolutionary soldier and politician – he was also referred to as the “Iron Duke of Hawaiʻi.”

King Kalākaua sent Wilcox to Italy to receive military training at the Royal Military of Turin, at the expense of the Hawaiian government.

In 1885, he graduated from the academy and was promoted to sub-lieutenant of the artillery; he then entered in the Italian Royal Application School for Engineer and Artillery Officers.  (Several of the old photos of Wilcox show him in his Italian uniform.)

There, he married the first of his two wives, Signorina di Sobrero, an Italian.

Wilcox stayed in Italy until 1887; he returned to the Islands that year, because of the constitutional changes that had happened at that time (Bayonet Constitution.)

Later, he and his wife moved to San Francisco in 1888 and he worked as a surveyor for the Spring Valley Water Works Co.  Wilcox came back to the Islands in 1889 and his wife returned to Italy.

On July 30, 1889, Wilcox led a rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

By the evening, he became a prisoner and charged with high treason by the government.  He was tried for treason, but was acquitted by the jury.

In 1890, he 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.

He 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.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bayonet Constitution

“A conspiracy against the peace of the Hawaiian Kingdom had been taking shape since early spring.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height with David Kalākaua on the throne. But some of the businessmen were distrustful of him.

“So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the “missionary” stores, formed a distinct political party, called the “down-town” party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

“Kalākaua valued the commercial and industrial prosperity of his kingdom highly. … He freely gave his personal efforts to the securing of a reciprocity treaty with the United States, and sought the co-operation of that great and powerful nation, because he was persuaded it would enrich, or benefit, not one class, but, in a greater or less degree, all his subjects.”  (Liliʻuokalani)

The Hawaiian League (aka Committee of Thirteen, Committee of Public Safety and Annexation Club) were unhappy with the rule of Kalākaua and used threats to force the king to adopt a new constitution.

With firearms in hand, in 1887 members of the Hawaiian League presented King Kalākaua with a new constitution. Kalākaua signed the constitution under threat of use of force. (hawaiibar-org)

The opposition used the threat of violence to force the Kalākaua to accept a new constitution that stripped the monarchy of executive powers and replaced the cabinet with members of the businessmen’s party.  (archives-gov)

The Hawaiian League came into control of the Honolulu Rifles (made of about 200 armed men.)  In June 1887, the Hawaiian League used the Rifles to force King Kalākaua to enact a new Constitution.  (Kukendall)

As a result, the new constitution earned the nickname, The Bayonet Constitution.

On July 1, Kalākaua asked his entire cabinet to resign.

The Constitution of 1887 was a revision of the constitution of 1864, just as the latter was a revision of the constitution of 1852. In the revision, the main objects sought were to take from the king the greater part of the power exercised by him under the constitution of 1864 and to make him in effect a ceremonial figure somewhat like the sovereign of Great Britain.  (ksbe-edu)

The Bayonet Constitution greatly curtailed the monarch’s power, making him a mere figurehead; it placed executive power in the hands of a cabinet whose members could no longer be dismissed by the monarch but only by the legislature; it provided for election of the House of Nobles, formerly appointed by  the monarch.  (hawaiibar-org)

As to voting rights, it extended the vote to non-citizen, foreign residents of European and American background (Asians were excluded), thereby ending Native Hawaiian majority rule in the legislature. And it required that voters and candidates for the legislature meet high property ownership or income requirements.  (hawaiibar-org)

This requirement excluded two-thirds of the formerly eligible Native Hawaiians from voting. For those who could still vote, they first had to swear allegiance to the Bayonet Constitution.  (hawaiibar-org)

“… the King asked the Diplomatic Representatives present to name a Cabinet for him which they declined to do, provided   Mr Green was allowed to do so for himself.”

“The following is the Cabinet selected by Mr Green, which has been approved by the King and they have entered upon their official duties: WL Green, Minister of Finance and Premier; Godfrey Brown, Minister of Foreign Affairs; LA Thurston, Minister of the Interior; and CV Ashford, Attorney General” (the Hawaiian Gazette, July 5, 1887)

Kalākaua signed the document July 6, 1887, despite arguments over the scope of the changes. It created a constitutional monarchy like that of the United Kingdom.

In addition, it placed the executive power, as a practical matter, in the hands of a cabinet appointed by the king but responsible to the legislature; changed the character of the legislature by making the nobles as well as the representatives elective, by redefining the qualifications of nobles, representatives and electors; and made it less easy for the king to exercise a personal influence over members of the legislature.  (ksbe-edu)

The king’s authority as commander-in-chief of the military forces was modified by a new clause providing that “no military or naval force shall be organized except by the authority of the Legislature.”

LA Thurston touched briefly on this subject in his account of the Revolution of 1887: “An allegation has been made that the 1887 constitution was not legally enacted … Unquestionably the constitution was not in accordance with law; neither was the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Both were revolutionary documents, which had to be forcibly effected and forcibly maintained.”  (kuykendall)

On July 30, 1889, Robert William Wilcox led a rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 had left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

By the evening, Wilcox became a prisoner and charged with high treason by the government.  He was tried for treason, but acquitted by the jury.

Two years later, Kalākaua retired to Waikīkī.  His health began to fail by 1890 and under the advice of his physician he traveled to San Francisco, where he was given a warm welcome. “A title was a title, and (the Americans) enjoyed him as a personality.” (Tabrah))

Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891, at the age 54, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  Kalākaua, Hawaiʻi’s last King, is said to have uttered his last words: “Tell my people I tried.”

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

John Harvey Coney

John Harvey Coney was born in June 1820 in Litchfield, NY.  He came to Hawaiʻi after participating in the 1848 Mexican-American War.  He married Laura Amoy Kekuakapuokalani Ena (she was 17) on November 27, 1860.

John, supposedly through his wife’s family’s connections with King Kamehameha IV, was soon appointed Sheriff of Hilo, where Laura’s ancestral lands were located.  (Williams)

“I stopped 3 days with Hon. Mr. (Coney), Deputy Marshal of the Kingdom, at Hilo, Hawaii, last week, & by a funny circumstance, he knew everybody that ever I knew in Hannibal & Palmyra. We used to sit up all night talking, & then sleep all day. He lives like a Prince.”  (Twain)

The Coneys lived in a long grass thatched house on the mauka (toward the mountain) side of the courthouse lot, and later built a pretentious residence which is now (1922) the County Building….”  (Williams)

Coney was “a tall handsome man, who carried himself like a soldier,” he was “titular executive head of government next to the Governess of Hawaiʻi and Lieut. Governor”.  (Sanderson)

Besides being Sheriff (and later postmaster,) Coney got into a variety of business interests.  An April 22, 1868 Hawaiian Gazette notes, “Wharf at Hilo. The landing of passengers and goods at the Harbor of Hilo has been facilitated by the building of a short wharf from the rocky point at the west end of the beach. It has been made by the enterprise of Mr Coney and Mr  Hitchcock”.

“The wharf just built is well timbered and fastened, and carries six feet of water. Its strength was tested by the great, earthquake wave of Thursday, and by a loaded scow washing upon it, and it proved equal to the strain. Wharfage, hereafter, will be one of the charges on schooners running to Hilo.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, April 22, 1868)

Wife Laura was of royal descent.  She was the daughter of Chinese merchant John Lawai Ena and Hawaiian chiefess Kaikilanialiiwahineopuna (a descendent of the Kamehameha line and the last high chiefess of the Puna district of the island of Hawaiʻi.)  She was described as “an exceptionally fine woman of high character, gracious manner, generous instincts and kind disposition….” (Williams)

The Coneys had six children:  Clarissa (Clara) Piilani Amoy Coney (lady-in-waiting to the household of Queen Kapiʻolani;) Mary Ululani Monroe Coney; John Harvey Haalalea Coney (High Sheriff on Kauaʻi, later Territorial Representative and Senator;) Elizabeth (Lizzy) Likelike Kekaekapuokulani Coney (lady in waiting to Princess Miriam Likelike Cleghorn at Coronation of Kalākaua;) Eleanor (Kaikilani) Coney (travelling companion to Queen Liliʻuokalani across US) and William Hawks Hulilaukea Coney (co-Founder with Wallace Rider Farrington of Evening Bulletin, predecessor of the Honolulu Star Bulletin.)

Laura taught her children not to speak of their aliʻi blood, to forget about high chiefs and chiefesses, and to make their own way in the world because the days of chiefs and chiefesses were gone.

A daughter-in-law once noted, “I remember a time when the king (Kalākaua) was calling on Mother Coney. He was busy at the time collecting the genealogies of the nobility and the mele (songs, chants) of the Hawaiians.”

“He said to Mother Coney, ‘Tell me, Mrs. Coney, who were your ancestors, I know that you belong to the Kamehameha line.’ ‘Adam and Eve were my ancestors,’ she replied.”  (Williams)

After about 18-years in Hilo, the Coneys moved to Honolulu; their home (which they called ‘ Halelelea,’ that they translated to ‘Pleasant House’) was just mauka of ʻIolani Palace (on the mauka-Diamond Head corner of Richards and Hotel Streets.)  It was often the setting for many of the city’s “brilliant entertainments” during the Kalākaua monarchy.  (Williams)

In the Māhele of 1848, the property had been grant to High Chiefess Miriam Ke‘ahikuni Kekauōnohi, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I and a wife of Kamehameha II. Upon her death on June 2, 1851, all her property was passed on to her second husband, High Chief Levi Haʻalelea.

Levi Haʻalelea’s second wife was Amoe Ululani Ena Haʻalelea, sister of Laura Ena Coney.  When Levi Haʻalelea died in 1864, his second wife transferred ownership of the land to her sister’s husband John Coney.

In 1889, the Coney’s home, Halelelea, played a minor role during the Wilcox rebellion to restore the rights of the monarchy, two years after the Bayonet Constitution of 1887 left King Kalākaua a mere figurehead.

The insurgents were hunkered down in a bungalow across a narrow lane from the Coney House.  The plan was to throw dynamite at the bungalow.

“No attack was expected from that quarter, and there was nothing to disturb the bomb thrower. (Hay Wodehouse) stood for a moment with a bomb in his hand as though he were in the box waiting for a batsman. He had to throw over a house to reach the bungalow, which he could not see.”

“The first bomb went sailing over the wall, made a down curve and struck the side of the bungalow about a foot from the roof … The bomb had reached them and hurt a number of the insurgents. “

Wodehouse “coolly picked out another bomb. Then he took a step back, made a half turn and sent it whizzing.  It landed on the roof … He threw one more bomb and Wilcox came out and surrendered.”    (The Sporting Life, October 16, 1889)

Another property that had been granted to Kekauōnohi and subsequently conveyed to Coney at the same time as their home was approximately 41,000-acres of land at Honouliuli.  In 1877, Coney sold that land to James Campbell, who soon started Honouliuli Ranch.  After drilling Hawaiʻi’s first artesian well (1879,) by 1890 the Ewa Plantation Company was established.

John Harvey Coney died in Honolulu on October 9, 1880, at the age of 60.  Laura Ena Coney died in Honolulu on February 24, 1929, at the age of 85.

In a funeral recitation for Laura given by the Reverend Akaiko Akana, pastor of Kawaiahaʻo Church, on February 24, 1929, Laura was referred to as “one of the old and prominent kamaʻāinas who has helped to build Hawaii, not only by her personal effort, but through her influence on her husband, children and influencial associates and acquaintances throughout these islands.”  (Williams)

There are two marble plaques in Kawaiahaʻo Church commemorating members of the Coney family, both above the mauka royal pew. Donated by her daughters Kaikilani and Elizabeth, one reads: In Memory of Laura Kekuakapuokalani Coney 1844—1929 Always a devoted member of Kawaiahaʻo Church, she often said, “Ka wahi e nele ai, e haʻawi” Where need is, there give.

The other plaque reads: “In Memory of Levi Haʻalelea 1828-1864 His wife Ululani A. A. Haʻalelea 1824-1904 and Richard Haʻalilio 1808—1844.”  (I have been told this plaque is incorrect – Levi Haʻalelea was born in 1822; the last name listed should be Timothy Haʻalilio.)

The image shows John Harvey Coney.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Music Hall – Opera House

Opera was born circa 1600 from the desire of Renaissance Italians to recreate Greek drama, pointing to various less-elevated national theatrical traditions as important contributors to the art form.  (Abbate)

Although Hawai‘i is hardly known as an international opera powerhouse, a number of native Hawaiians have been among the art form’s stars.  Most notable was tenor Tandy Ka‘ohu MacKenzie, who was born in Hāna in 1892 and went on to become a star of the international opera stage star after he was discovered by an Irish singer who happened to drop in on a performance by MacKenzie’s Kamehameha School glee club.  (Ferrar)

In 1881, a Music Hall was built across the street from ʻIolani Palace, where Ali‘i regularly joined the audiences at performances. Queen Lili‘uokalani is even said to have written her own opera.  (Ferrar)  It was built by the Hawaiian Music Hall Association.

The Wells troupe from California opened the music hall.  “Since then many companies and individual artists from abroad have trod its boards, and given more or less delight to the inhabitants.”  (Daily Bulletin, February 12, 1895)

The building was first called the Music Hall, but shortly after its transfer to new owners, the name was changed to the Royal Hawaiian Opera House.  (Daily Bulletin, February 12, 1895)

Despite its name, the Opera House was not primarily a venue for classical entertainment. Many of its bookings were melodramas and minstrel shows, two very popular forms of theater at the time.  Then, it was the first house to show moving pictures in Hawaiʻi.

The building was of brick 120 by 60 feet on the ground floor and walls forty feet high and twenty inches thick. The front door was ten feet wide, opening into a vestibule 16 by 27 feet. The seating capacity of the house was 671 persons. The stage was forty feet deep and provided with a complete set of scenery, traps and all necessary paraphernalia. (Hawaiian Star, February 12, 1895)

On July 28, 1883, the property was sold at auction to satisfy a claim. It was purchased by Mr. WG Irwin for $21,000, John D Spreckels being a partner in the deal.  (Hawaiian Star, February 12, 1895)

“Originally there were two (private) boxes. One on the right of the stage looking out was regarded as the property of the late King Kalākaua, who had subscribed liberally to the stock of the Association.  The box on the opposite side was owned by the present proprietors, Messrs. Irwin & Spreckels. About two years ago two boxes wore opened above those mentioned for letting to whomever first applied for thorn on any occasion.”  (Daily Bulletin, February 12, 1895)

The Music Hall played a role in the Wilcox Rebellion, when it was occupied by Government sharpshooters in suppressing the insurrection of Robert Wilcox in 1889.  (Daily Bulletin, February 12, 1895)

“Wilcox and I then marched towards the gate and came by Boyd’s cannon; he told us to get out of the way he wanted to fire then, because he saw some one in the Music Hall pulling down a window; Wilcox  stopped him; we walked on toward the gate when a gun fired from the Music Hall.”  (Kauhane, Hawaiian Gazette, October 29, 1889)

“Wilcox sung out to Music Hall to “stop firing! stop firing!” three or four more shots were fired from there and then Wilcox gave order to fire; cannons were then fired; think Wilcox knew that Government were gathering forces to drive us out; not my place to surrender.”  (Kauhane, Hawaiian Gazette, October 29, 1889)

It later hosted the complimentary farewell reception and ball for Captain Wiltse, commander of the USS Boston in 1893, under the auspices of the provisional Government.

The Music Hall’s “exterior was built of red brick and the facade on King street was of a modest but presentable and harmonious style. Internally it was fitted and furnished in modern fashion, with seats on a sloping floor in semi-circular rows. There were a balcony and a gallery in the second story.”  (Daily Bulletin, February 12, 1895)

Fire nearly destroyed the building.  Irwin, owner of the property, surveyed the sodden, smoking ashes from his curtained carriage. “I have had enough of music halls,” he told a questioning newsman.

He was later persuaded to rebuild, however, when it was pointed out that the only other theatrical accommodations in the city were inadequate facilities at the YMCA and the hall in Independence Park.

A commission was appointed to inquire into the strength of the walls left standing.  After a careful inspection, it was decided that three of the walls were in sound condition, and could be built upon with perfect safety.  The rear wall had to be rebuilt.  The work began.

The opening of the New Hawaiian Opera House tonight begins another epoch in the history of Honolulu and the public finds that through the action of William G. Irwin of this city and John D. and Adolph Spreckels, of San Francisco, it has a theater equal to the leading places of amusement in the United States.  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 10, 1896)

A commission was appointed to inquire into the strength of the walls left standing.  After a careful inspection, it was decided that three of the walls were in sound condition, and could be built upon with perfect safety.  The rear wall had to be rebuilt.  The work began.

The seating capacity of the New Hawaiian was about 900, but the seats were placed so far apart, in order to make it more comfortable for the patrons, that if it were necessary, two or three hundred more chairs could be placed in the auditorium without crowding. In the rear of the orchestra are two loges, each containing six chairs.  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 10, 1896)

On February 5, 1897, the Opera House displayed Edison’s Veriscope which promised to be one of the most interesting sights ever seen in Honolulu.   One of the first projections was of a fire department response to a fire.  “The crowds gather, people run hither and thither, teams pass, some block the way, the police appear, and there are seen all the usual incidents of a street lire drill.”

“It is a wonderful advance in the stereoscopic art. It projects pictures upon a white screen, in which all the figures are in motion with life-like detail. … The exhibition of the wonderful veriscope is alone worth the evening’s attendance.”  (Hawaiian Star, February 4, 1897)

The building was demolished in 1917 to make way for the Federal Building.  One of the many eulogies for the building said:  “It is historical. It is ugly. It is like a box with a few touches of ornament to make it look unlike a box. So much for the outside. On the inside, it is as cozy and comfortable as anyone could desire.”  (Gereben)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Martial Law 1895

Following the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy of Queen Liliʻuokalani on January 17, 1893, the Committee of Safety established the Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi as a temporary government until an assumed annexation by the US.

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, patriots of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the forces that had overthrown the government were engaged in a war that consisted of three battles on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.

This has frequently been referred to as the “Counter-revolution”. 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 response, President Sanford B Dole, on January 7, 1895 proclaimed martial law:

“The right of the writ of habeas corpus is hereby suspended and Martial Law is instituted and established throughout the Island of Oahu, to continue until further notice, during which time, however, the Courts will continue in session and conduct ordinary business as usual, except as aforesaid.”

During the afternoon of January 7, several of the rebels were captured, and it was learned that the insurgents were under the command of Robert Wilcox and Samuel Nowlein, with Carl Widemann, WHC Greig and Louis Marshall as Lieutenants.

Wilcox had received military instruction in Italy during the days of King Kalākaua (he previously led a rebellion in 1887.) Nowlein served in the military under the Monarchy, and after the overthrow of 1893 had lived at Washington Place as a retainer of the ex-Queen.

Widemann was the son of a judge (who was one of Liliʻuokalani’s Commissioners to President Cleveland. Greig and Marshall were young clerks in business houses in Honolulu.

On January 14, Nowlein, Widemann, Greig and Marshall surrendered themselves to the authorities, and during the afternoon Robert Wilcox was captured in the outskirts of the city.

On the forenoon of January 16, Deputy Marshal Brown and Senior Captain Parker of the police force served a military warrant on the ex-Queen at her Washington Place residence.

President Dole, as Commander in Chief, ordered a Military Commission “to meet at Honolulu, Island of Oahu, on the 17th day of January, A. D. 1895, at to A. M., and there after from day to day for the trial of such prisoners as may be brought before it on the charges and specifications to be presented by the Judge Advocate.”

The trials were held in the Legislative Hall of the Executive building and were open to the general public, special accommodations also being made for the attendance of the diplomatic corps.

One of the first moves of the lawyer for the defense was to raise objection to the jurisdiction “That no military or other law exists in the Hawaiian Islands under which a Military Commission is authorized to try any person for a statutory crime.”

“That under the proclamation of martial law the general authority of the Courts of the Republic created by the Constitution continues, and they have authority to conduct all business which comes properly before them, and have the sole authority to try persons accused of offenses such as are specified in the charges before the Commission.”

The Judge-Advocate stated that martial law is a law of necessity, in which the question of necessity rests in the discretion of the Executive and nobody can call it in question. The right had been exercised; there was nothing more to say.

During its session of thirty-six days, 191-prisoners were brought before the Commission. The most prominent persons were ex-Queen Liliʻuokalani and Prince Kūhiō. Some were acquitted, others found guilty; by January 1, 1896, the last of the prisoners was released from prison, typically under conditional pardons.

The trial of the last case brought before the Commission ended March 1; however, the Commission did not adjourn until March 18, 1895 and the martial law was lifted.

This was not the first proclamation of martial law in the Islands. On January 17, 1893, martial law was declared by the Provisional Government of the Hawaiian Islands. Later, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, martial law was in effect in the Islands from December 7, 1941 to October 24, 1944.) (Lots of information here is from Alexander and Farrington.)

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Proclamation of Martial Law-Jan_7,_1895