354 



HAWAII. 



gent and patriotic citizens, in all matters touching the 



,. 



and fourteenth year of our reign. 



KALAKAUA REX. 



The New Constitution. Among the resolutions 

 adopted at the meeting of citizens and tax- 

 payers was one declaring that many evils were 

 incurable except by radical changes in the Con- 

 stitution. An amended Constitution was drawn 

 up by a committee of revision, consisting of the 

 ministers, the judges of the Supreme Court, 

 and a number of citizens. When completed, 

 it was submitted to the King, who affixed his 

 signature to it on July 10, and took the oath 

 to support it before Chief-Justice Judd. The 

 new Constitution establishes the principle of 

 ministerial responsibility, takes away the King's 

 right to nominate the members of the Upper 

 Chamber, and deprives him of all legislative 

 powers. It contains the following chief 

 clauses : 



All men may freely speak, write, and publish their 

 sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the 

 abuse of that right, and no law shall be enacted to re- 

 strain the liberty of speech or of the press. 



No subsidy or tax of any description shall be levied 

 unless by consent of the legislature, except when be- 

 tween sessions of the Legislature, the emergencies of 

 invasion, rebellion, pestilence, or other public disaster 

 shall arise, and then not without the concurrence of 

 all the Cabinet, and of a majority of the whole Privy 

 Council, and the Minister of Finance shall render a 

 declared account of such expenditure to the Legis- 

 lature. 



The King is Commander-in-Chief of the army and 

 navy, and of all other military forces of the kingdom 

 by sea and land, but he shall never proclaim war 

 without the consent of the Legislature, and no mili- 

 tary or naval force shall be organized except by the 

 authority of the Legislature. The King can not be 

 sued or held to account in any court or tribunal of the 

 kingdom. 



The Cabinet shall consist of a Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs, a Minister of Finance, and an Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, and they shall be his majesty's special advisers 

 in the executive affairs of the kingdom, and they 

 shall be ex-ojficio members of his Council of State tha't 

 shall be appointed and combined by the King, and 

 shall be removed by him upon a vote of want of con- 

 fidence passed bv the majority of all the elective 

 members of the Legislature, or upon conviction of 

 felony, and no removal shall have effect unless it be 

 countersigned by a member of the Cabinet, who by 

 that signature makes himself responsible. 



Thelegislative power of the kingdom is vested in 

 the King and Legislature, which shall consist of nobles 

 and representatives sitting together. The legislative 

 body will assemble biennially, commencing next May. 

 The Legislature has full power and authority to amend 

 the Constitution, and from time to time to make all 

 manner of wholesome laws not repugnant to the Con- 

 stitution. Every bill which shall have passed the 

 Legislature shall, before it becomes law, be presented 

 to the King. If he approves, he shall sign it, and it 

 shall thereby become law; but, if he does not, he 

 shall return it, with his objections, to the Legislature, 

 which shall enter the objections at large on their jour- 

 nal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such re- 

 consideration, it shall be approved by a two-thirds 

 vote of all the elective members of the Legislature, it 

 shall become law. 



The succeeding four clauses provide that a 

 majority of the Assembly shall judge of the 

 qualifications of its members, and provide for 



the election of twenty-four nobles and twenty- 

 four representatives of the people. The repre- 

 sentatives are to be elected biennially. The 

 constitution then reads : 



At the first election held under this Constitution the 

 nobles shall be elected to serve until the general elec- 

 tion to the Legislature for the year 1890, at which 

 election and thereafter the nobles shall be elected at 

 the same time and place as the representatives. At 

 the election of 1890 one third of the nobles shall be 

 elected for two years, one third for four years, and 

 one third for six years, and electors shall ballot for 

 them for such terms respectively, and at all subse- 

 quent general elections they shall be elected for six 

 years. _ The nobles shall serve without pay. 



The judicial power of the kingdom shall be vested 

 in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as 

 the Legislature may from time to time establish. All 

 laws now in force in this kingdom shall continue and 

 remain in full effect until altered or repealed by the 

 Legislature, such parts only excepted as are repug- 

 nant to this Constitution. All laws heretofore en- 

 acted or that may hereafter be enacted which are con- 

 trary to this Constitution shall be null and void. 



This Constitution shall be in force from the 7th day 

 of July, A. D. 1887, but that there may be no failure 

 of justice or inconvenience to the kingdom from any 

 change, all officers of this kingdom at the time this 

 Constitution shall take effect shall have, hold, and 

 exercise all power to them granted. Such officers 

 shall take oath to support this Constitution within 

 sixty days after promulgation thereof. 



^ The Constitution contains eighty-two sec- 

 tions in all. Article XLIX provides that in vot- 

 ing for nobles electors shall have the following 

 qualifications : 



1. That he shall have resided in the country not 

 less than three years and in the district in which he 

 offers to vote not less than three months immediately 

 preceding the election at which he offers to vote. 



_ 2. That he shall own and be possessed in his own 

 right of taxable property in this country of the value 

 of not less than $3,000, over and above all encum- 

 brances, or shall have actually received an income of 

 not less than $600 during the year next preceding his 

 registration for such election. 



3. That he shall be able to read and comprehend 

 ordinary newspapers printed in either the Hawaiian, 

 English, or some European language. No person 

 shall be eligible as a representative of the people un- 

 less he can read Hawaiian, English, or some foreign 

 language, has lived in the kingdom three years, and 

 owns real estate to the value of $500, and has an an- 

 nual income of $250, acquired from some lawful em- 

 ployment. The electors of representatives must have 

 paid their taxes, but the property qualification is 

 waived. The knowledge to speak and write the Ha- 

 waiian language is required, but will not be required 

 of any person residing in the kingdom at the time of 

 the promulgation of the Constitution and who regis- 

 ters and votes at the first election under the new Con- 

 stitution. A noble shall be a subject of the kingdom 

 who shall have attained the age of twenty-five years 

 and resided in the kingdom three years, and shall be 

 the owner of taxable property of the value of $3,000 

 or in receipt of an income of not less than $600 per 

 annum. 



Although the natives had shown themselves 

 as hostile to the Gibson ministry as the whites, 

 the new Constitution caused much dissatisfac- 

 tion among them, because, while it made many 

 white residents electors for the House of No- 

 bles who had previously had no votes, the 

 property limitation disqualified the great ma- 

 jority of the Kanakas. The Chinese were also 



