HAWAII. 



415 



H 



HAWAII, a constitutional kingdom embrac- Communications. The number of domestic 

 ng the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands in the letters that passed through the post-office in 1888 

 Pacific Ocean, 2,100 miles southwest from San -<--** - 

 Francisco. Kalakaua I was elected to the throne 

 by the people in 1874. On his death he is suc- 

 ceeded by his eldest sister, Kamaheha Liliuo- 



was 1,125,548; of foreign letters, 667,282. A 

 telegraph line of 40 miles opened on the island 

 of Maui in 1878 has since been extended over 

 the whole surface of the island. There are lines 



kalani, born Sept, 2, 1888, whose husband is John also on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii and an 

 0. Dominis, of American origin.* 



Under the new Constitution of July 6, 1887, the 

 Upper House or House of Nobles is an elective 

 chamber, all male citizens having a vote who are 



extensive system of telephoning, and the islands 

 are to be connected with cables. Honolulu, the 

 capital, a place of 20,487 inhabitants in 1884, is 

 provided with electric lights and street railroads. 



qualified by the possession of a certain amount The length of steam railroads on the three prin- 

 of property and the standard of education that cipal islands is 56 miles. Steamers connect 

 is the sole requisite for electors to the House of Honolulu with San Francisco and with the ports 

 Representatives. Formerly the King nominated of China and Australia. In 1889 the number of 



vessels entered was 271 ; tonnage, 218,785. Of 



the" members of the House of Nobles. Each 

 house consists' of 24 members. Representatives 

 are elected for two years and members of the 

 Upper House for six years, one third of the 

 House being renewed biennially. They unite to 

 form the Legislature, in which the ministers 

 have seats and can vote on all matters not in- 

 volving a question of confidence. The Legis- 

 lature meets once every two years. A treaty 

 made in 1889 gives the control of the foreign 

 relations to the United States. The ministry at 



these 192, of 129,095 tons, were American ; 20, 

 of 19,138 tons, English ; 6, of 4,197 tons, Ger- 

 man ; 12, of 11,542 tons, of other foreign nation- 

 alities ; and 41, of 54,813 tons, Hawaiian. The 

 number of vessels registered as Hawaiian in 1889 

 was 57, of 15,403 tons, of which 22 were steamers. 

 Finances. The budget for the two years 

 ending March 31, 1890, makes the total receipts 

 $2,862,505, including a cash balance in the 

 treasury of $209,655. The receipts from 



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the beginning of 1890 was composed as follows : toms are estimated at $1,048,100 ; internal reve- 



Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonathan Austin ; 

 Minister of the Interior, Lorin A. Thurston ; 

 Attorney-General and Chief of Police, Clarence 

 W. Ashford ; Minister of Finance, S. M. Damon, 

 successor to W. L. Green. 



Area and Population. The area of the isl- 

 ands is 6,677 square miles. The population in 

 1888 was estimated at 87,647. The immigrants 

 in 1889 numbered 3,704 and the emigrants 1,391, 

 a net immigration of 1,391, against 2,642 in 

 1888, 2,220 in 1887, 1,536 in 1886, 3,605 in 1885, 

 and 2,713 in 1884. Most of the immigrants are 

 Chinese and Japanese laborers. There were 189 

 schools in 1888, with 8,770 pupils, of whom 5,320 

 were Hawaiians and 1,227 were of mixed blood. 



Commerce and Production. The total 

 value of the imports in 1889 was $5,439,000, of 

 which $4,306,000 came from the United States, 

 $675,000 from Great Britain, $201,000 from 

 China and Japan, $116,000 from Australia, $91,- 

 000 from Germany, and $50,000 from elsewhere. 

 The total value of exports was $13,874,000, of 

 which $13,841,000 went to the United States and 

 $33,000 to Australia. The sugar exported was 

 valued at $13,089,302. The only other article of 

 any degree of importance was rice of the value 

 of $451,134. United States gold was imported 

 to the amount of $1,146,925, while the export 

 was $40,477. Since 1884 gold coins of the 

 United States have been the only legal tender 

 for more than $10, and Hawaiian and American 

 silver coins for smaller sums. Of $34,000,000 

 invested in sugar plantations, about $27,000,000 

 is American capital. 



* King Kalakaua died of Bright's disease, at the age of 

 fifty-four, in January, 1891. He was seized with illness at a 

 hotel in San Francisco shortly after he had landed for the 

 purpose of making a tour through the United States. 



nue, $796,500; taxes on commerce, $186,450; 

 sales, $511,800; fines and costs, $110,000. The 

 total disbursements are reckoned at $2,781,814, 

 of which $86,200 are for the civil list ; $25,300 

 for legislative expenses ; $173,582 for the admin- 

 istration of justice, $161,350 for the diplomatic 

 service, $1-,183,262 for the post-office, public 

 works, roads and bridges, sanitation, and other 

 expenses of the Department of the Interior; 

 $659,640 for financial administration ; $285,780 

 for police ; and $206,700 for public instruction. 

 The public debt, which was consolidated by 

 means of a loan issued in England in 1886, 

 amounted on April 1, 1890, to $1,934,000. 



Political Crisis. The Cabinet which was 

 imposed upon the King by the revolution of 1887 

 has not been homogeneous from the first. Its 

 prestige was impaired when the King vetoed 

 the liquor and police bills and the bill abolish- 

 ing the office of governor against the advice of 

 a majority of the Cabinet, about six months 

 after the adoption of the new Constitution, cur- 

 tailing his prerogative, and his right, of veto 

 was sustained by the Supreme Court. At that 

 time it was rumored that the Attorney-General 

 planned to overthrow the throne by a military 

 insurrection, and was only restrained by the 

 presence of American and British men-of-war in 

 the harbor. Mr. Ashford was accused of paying 

 illegal fees to members of the Legislature, and 

 complaints were made against Minister Thurston, 

 who was another leader of the revolution. A 

 vote of censure was passed upon the Attorney- 

 General, and yet he retained his place. Later 

 the coiirse of Premier Green and his Cabinet on 

 the Chinese question excited displeasure. After 

 the Legislature met in 1890 recriminations 

 passed between members of the Cabinet in con- 



