: i ' Ji \J v^ P '•. .", ':' ^ ,;. • ROSTER-:;, -^y ..LEGISLATURES OP HAWAII , " ' ', ''.18414918 . ' ^ . \ . eONSTITUTIONS OF MONARCHY 'aND- REPUBLIC ; . SPEECHES OF SOVEREIGNS AND PRESIDENT . B:"\^: r ih-: r, li;:-- ^1. I lil tllMlBWB!BMWlli.liJ ,IIIM,4iyMI | ^ J^W''iMl.il,„y.JPJI,lnl|l|lrllJ In^Jn^^mory of r STEPHEN SPAULDING CI ASJ of IJ^'AJ ^UNIVER^ITY'ofMICHIGAK '^)\>\-^\VcVy,,,V\ \y'-7 7q 7q Publication No. 1 Archives of Hawaii ROSTER LEGISLATURES OF HAWAII 1841-1918 CONSTITUTIONS OF MONARCHY AND REPUBLIC SPEECHES OF SOVEREIGNS AND PRESIDENT COMPILED FROM THE OFFICIAL RECORDS BY ROBERT C LYDECKER librarian. PUBLIC archives PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC ARCHIVES C. P. lAUKEA Chairman and Executive Officer A. Q. M. Robertson M. M. Scott Commissioners Honolulu: The Hawaiian Gazette Co., Ltd. 1918 KINGDOM OF HAWAII SOVEREIGNS Name. Birth. Accession. Death. Kamehameha I Nov. 1736 . 1795 ...May 8, 1819 Kamehameha II 1797. .May 20, 1819 ...July 14, 1824 Kamehameha III Aug. 11, 1813. .June 6,1825 ...Dec. 15, 1854 Kamehameha IV Feb. 9, 1834.. Jan. 11,1855 . Nov. 30, 1863 Kamehameha V Dec. 11, 1830.. Nov. 30, 1863 ...Dee. 11, 1872 William C. Lunalilo. .Jan. 31, 1832. .Jan. 8, 1873 . Feb. 3, 1874 David Kalakaua Nov. 16, 1836. .Feb. 12, 1874 ...Jan. 20, 1891 LiLiuoKALANi Sept. 2, 1838. .Jan. 29, 1891 . Monarchy abro- gated Jan. 17, i<^ 1893 1^ %- /f^2 C^ '^ ^ - *A : v[ CT>x.. to r L \ «i I _ j^ NOTES BY THE COMPILER The lirst declaration of the creation of a law-making body is contained in a proclamation by the King dated October 7, 1829. It named the King and regent and ten chiefs as entitled to sit in Council. This council was the forerunner of the legislature proper. Previous to its establishment the laws were mostly cus- tomary, many having their origin in the edicts of early Kings. General laws were made by the King and subordinate laws by the chiefs for their respective jurisdictions. Important laws were proclaimed by the fcng after consultation with his counsellors, the high chiefs, who formed a sort of embryo legislative body. They were made known by heralds, and preserved by a class whose sole duty was to memorize, teach and hand them down to succeeding generations. The first law printed and published was one relating to the entry and clearance of vessels, the desertion of seamen, and harbor and pilot dues at the port of Honolulu, dated June 2, 1825. With the uniting of the islands under one government by Ka- mehameha I, the country was divided into four parts, correspond- ing in the main with the former Kingdoms, and governors were appointed over them, who had legislative and other powers almost to the extent of the Kings whom they succeeded. Due to the weakness of his son and successor, Liholiho, Kamehameha I established the office of Premier, or Kuhina Nui, as it was called, the occupant of which had power almost equalling that of the King and a veto power over his acts. This office was abolished by the Constitution of 1864. Four high chiefs were selected as special counsellors, as were also "four wise men" to assist in the deliberations of the council ; others were called in from time to time, and on important occasions the governors and high chiefs from the other islands were summoned to a National Council. Following the arrival of the missionaries, and as their teach- ings and influence began to be felt, the chiefs and the more in- telligent of the common people began to realize that they must have more definite and enhghtened laws, if they were to main- tain themselves as a nation in contact with a superior white race. The weakness of Kamehameha II, and after his death in 1824 the youth of his successor, were primary causes favoring a growth in power of the council of chiefs, which power was gradually assumed; the council grew in importance as a law- making body, and more salutary statutes began to be made. During this period efforts were made to instruct the people in regard to contemplated laws, and in some instances those enacted were more in the nature of advice than of strict law. Advance notice of proposed laws was given as late as 1838. 429058 As the country grew in enlightenment a Bill of Rights, aptly called Hawaii's Magna Charta, was proclaimed, June 7, 1839. This was the forerunner of the First Constitution, though it might be so designated itself, promulgated October 8, 1840, por- tions of which were incorporated into that document. This con- stitution did not create the House of Nobles; it merely continued the old council of chiefs, who were already Members of the Council, to sit in council with the King and Premier, as hereto- fore, and provides that additional members were to be made so by law. Members of this Council were called Nobles, and as such were a degree higher in the rank of chiefs. Provision was also made for choosing annually "certain persons to sit in Coun- cil with the Nobles and establish laws." The mode of choosing, and the number to be decided by law, which was done November 2, 1840, when the council passed a law providing for the elec- tion of two representatives each from Hawaii, Maui and Oahu, . and one from Kauai. This law also provides for the method of their election, which was by writing personally to the King or by petition to him. The form of letter is given, and the statement made, "Even should there be many such letters written it will be well, for the person who has the most names in those letters will be the person chosen"; also, "In these ballot letters there may be a great number of signatures to the same letter. The names of all who vote will be counted, and the persons having a majority will be the ones who are chosen." Forgery and dupli- cation of names is provided against, and a penalty provided for these oi¥enses. This was the first election law. While Representa- tives were thus provided for, the people did not seem to make much use of their privilege. In a compilation of the early laws, under the heading "Respecting the new meeting of the Nobles," the following statement is made: "On the first day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, the Nobles met at Luaehu, in Lahaina, according to the requirements of the Constitution, and afterzvards three persons came forzvard ap- pointed by the people, and joined the Council of Nobles" The journal of the session of 1841 makes no mention of this; in fact, the representatives are not mentioned in any way until April 28, 1842, on which date the journal of that session records, "At the hour of .two the Nobles again assembled together with the Repre- sentatives." This is the first mention of them, and later they are referred to from time to time up to the session of 1845, when their names are recorded for the first time, and thereafter from five to seven are recorded as present and taking active part in the proceedings of the several sessions up to that of 1851. The requirement of the constitution that the two houses should meet separately, seems to have been a dead letter, for there is no record of the representatives having met, up to 1851, other than with the Nobles, but advantage seems to have been taken of that : clause in the constitution which allows the two houses to unite at their discretion, at such times as they shall think it necessary. This necessity of joint meeting seems to have been the rule rather than the exception. During this period the Representa- tives had little or no influence and took but a minor part in leg- islation. This was doubtless partly due to their forming such a small minority, but probably the principal reason was their def- erence to the Nobles, all of whom ranked as Chiefs, and the privi- lege, as members of the legislature, of meeting, on the same level, those whom for generations they had been taught to regard as superior beings, could not at first be grasped, and the great differ- ence in rank done away with to the extent of making them feel on the same footing as the Nobles, when engaged in the legisla- tion of the country. The power of the old Council of Chiefs as a law-making body, however, did not cease entirely with the creation of the Legisla- tive Council. One of the laws passed during the session of 1841 was as follows "The Constitution declares that no new law shall be enacted without the consent of a majority of the House of Nobles, and Representatives. This is well, as the chiefs believe, but here is a little further explanation. If His Majesty the King, the Premier and the Nobles resident near perceive any particular evil, and on that account think best to pass a new law, they may do it, and that law shall stand until the next meeting of the Legislature, when it shall be at the option of the Nobles and Representatives to confirm or annul it." The Legislative journals began with the session of 1841, held at Lahaina, and the Council continued to meet there until the session of 1845, when, on April 2, it met for the first time at Honolulu, by which time it had become generally known as the Legislature, and its branches as the House of Nobles and the House of Representatives, respectively.