COMMERCIA.L FISHERIES OP THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 759 



Although pi-acticall}' nothing is linown of the history of the people for some 

 time after they first settled on the islands, it is probable that they lived in a patriarchal 

 manner, followed later on by a tribal or communal system. In the meantime certain 

 men by force of character and natural talents had become recognized as chiefs, and 

 these men gradually usurped the rights of the common people and in time came to 

 own everything. When a king or chief died his successor claimed the right, and 

 exercised it in most cases, of redistributing the land amongst his own friends and 

 adherents. This continued during the reigns of many petty chiefs and kings until at 

 last all the islands fell through conquest under the sway of Kamehameha I. The king 

 at once divided the lands among his principal warrior chiefs, retaining, however, a 

 considerable portion for himself. Each chief divided his lands among his inferior 

 chiefs, who subdivided them again and again down to the lowest class of tenants. 

 When Kamehameha II ascended the throne he wanted to redistribute the lands as of 

 old, but during the long reign of Kamehameha I the landed interests had become so 

 strong that he found it impossible to disturb the existing order of things, except in a 

 few instances. Trading in lands now became common, but it was not until 1839 that 

 the ownership of land became vested in others than the king. In the bill of rights 

 which Kamehameha III issued on June 7 of that year, occurs the following rather 

 vague paragraph relating to land tenures: 



Protection is hereby secured to the persons of all the people, together with their lands, their 

 building lots, and all their property, while they conform to the laws of the kingdom, and nothing 

 whatever shall be taken from any individual except hy express ])rovision of the laws. Whatever chief 

 shall act perseveringly in violation of this declaration shall not longer remain a chief of the Hawaiian 

 Islands, and the same shall be true of the governors, officers, and all land agents. But if anyone who 

 is deposed should change his course and regulate his conduct by law, it yhall then be in the power of 

 the chiefs to reinstate him in the place he occupied previous to his being deposed. 



It was not, however, until 1848 that land tenure was put upon a solid legal basis 

 by the division of the lands between the king, the chiefs, and the tenants, and vesting 

 the titles in each. 



Each island was divided into "moku,'' or districts. The subdivisions of a 

 "moku" were "ahupuaa," which is really a unit of land in the islands. An 

 "ahupuaa" was generally a long, narrow strip, running from the mountain to the 

 sea, and included the mountain, the plateau, and the shore, and extended a certain 

 distance out to sea. This distance was to the reef, if there was one; if not, to one 

 geographical mile from shore. The owner of this portion of the sea naturally had 

 the right to control it, so far as the fishing was concei'ned, the same as he did his 

 land. When he placed a tabu on it branches of the hau tree were planted all along 

 the shore. The people seeing this token of the tabu respected it. With the removal 

 of the hau branches, indicating that the tabu was lifted, the people fished as they 

 desired, subject only to the tabu daj's of the priest or alii, when no canoes were 

 allowed to go out upon the water. 



In accordance with a law which went into effect June 14, 1900, the fishery rights 

 ceased on June 14, 1903. Some of these rights are of considerable value. Close to 

 Honolulu are two, belonging to one person, which bring in a yearly rental of $1,375. 

 The fisheries on Oahu are the most valuable, owing to the excellent market at 

 Honolulu. On Kauai only a few of the fisheries are of sufiicient value to be rented, 

 these being mainly around Waimea and Hanalei. One of them rents for |200 a year. 



