The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-06-04

keellng ~ the House Oi Mobiles and Reurts. Natives fr sucI
person . P.Isohs as they may from time IL time appoint, to lie
DISPOSED Of in such manner as the House Of MOBILES aud Repre-
ssnSauTs may direct, and as may best promote the prosperity
Of this Kingdom and the dignity Of the Hawaiian Crown; there
fore,
4" Be it enacted by the House Of MOBILES and Representative
Of the Hawaiian Islands in Legislative Council assembled.
noble and truly royal git. we do hereby soIrInnIy consr M ,his
great act Of our good King and declare the following named
be the private lands Of His Majesty Kanehamehs III. to to
have and to hold to himself, his heirs and successors forever :;
his royal viii and pleasure, subject only to the rights Of tenants"
After the foregoing follows the acceptance by the Legislature
nent, the lands being mentioned by name.
1t is commended by the Attorney General that by the true con-
stTuctIon Of this act IT must be understood as declaring that
the lands reserved to himself by Kamehameha Ill. in the
successors on the throne. as a Royal Domain annexed 20 the
to dover.
on the other hand it is argued that by a fair construction Of
the act taken in connection with the instrument OF reservation
signed and sealed by KamehameLa III, on the sh day Of
March, 1S4s, Of which the act Of the Legislative Council was
simply = confirmation, the lands in question were declared TO
be the private property Of Kamehameha Ill, his heirs and as
dover, but distributabIe under the Statute regulating the de-
scent Of property generally like other private estates Of persons
is entitled to one.baif Of tbe es,ate n1aeT ,ha nsr9Iiar n Nv
sions Of Hawaiian law, which would pass the other half to His
Royal Highness NJ: Kekuanaoa, the surviving father of the late
The view which the Court takes Of this matter, after the most
careful examination and reflection, agrees in some respects with
the views : ably propCunded by the learned counsel for both
the royal claimants and yet as viii lie seen, differs materially
1t is conceded that the Court, in order oenabIe it to give just
construction to the act Of the 18th Of June, 1873. is at liberty to e
mehameha Ill, On the Sth Of March ls4s, which were unques-
tiouaby the foundation of the Legislative enactment, but also to
Hawaiian history, custom, legislation and poIity, as well as to
the records Of the Privy Council, and the acts of the parties
Immediately interested subsequent to the great division.
The nature OF land tenures ia this Kingdom, prior to the
viii h. fau5S very cIe,rIy e~5Iain ne in 5 h = = Prn e = 49, ~
by the Board of Commissioners to quiet Land Titles" (voI. ?
upon the most valuable testimony that could be obtained. Its
therein declared that - when the islands were conquered by
and divided out the lands among his principal warrior chiefs,
retaining, however, a portion in his own hands to be cultivated
Or managed by ms own immediate servants or attendants
Each principal chief divided his lands anew and gave them out
to an inferior order of chiefs or persons Of rank, by whom they
were subdivided again aud again after (Oten) passing through
the lowest class of tenants" All these persons were considered
to have rights in the lands, or the productions of them, the pro-
perty. whether superior landlords. tenants o r sub-tenants. owed
and paid to the King not only a land-tax, which he assessed at
pleasure, but also service which was called for at discretion, on
all the grades from the highest down: "They also owed and paid
some portion of the productions of the land in addition to the
sidered a Just cause Tor which to forfeit the lands The same
rights which the King possessed over the superior landlords
land: the King really owning the aIIo5i1m- and the nerean iU
whose t hands HI he T. tbe land ID iopdiurn It i n ,r n person Snc IN
was the nature of the tenures, and such the titles by which the
lands were held, when in 1889 protection was declared both for
person and property in the following words, =" Protection is here
by secured to the persons of all the people; together with their
Laws, page 10) 1.-The same law confirms what has been al
all lands. Section third requires that every tenant of land shall
work thirty-six days in the year for the King or Government,
title to the soil. that title remaining with the King (princi,
pies, Vol 2, stat. Laws, =. So The Commissioners proceed
to say that the King could not dispose Of the allodium to any
other person without infringing on the rights of the superior
lord, nor could the lord, if he purchased the aiIodium, seize upon
the rights Of the tenants and dispossess them 1t being
persons having vested rights ia the lands-1st the Government,
H. {. the King) 2d the landlord and 81 the tenant, it next be-
comes necessary to ascertain the proportional rights OF each
SiDnI p PFC TO- n n concinsion that shonIJ ,tn inc inc aIov ,e
the landlord onethird, to the tenant one-third, and retain one
third himself, he according to the uniform opinion Of the wit
nczsess would iniuire no one unless himself Qbd p. So } 1t
was the imperative necessity of separating and defining the
the institution of the Board of Land Commissioners, and to the
division made by the King himself with the assistance of His
At the death OF Kamehameha l., his son Liholiho, Kameha-
H. was recognized as King in accordance with his fathers ex-
all his fathers rights a ; an absolute Sovereign and az suzerain
OF Lord Paramount Of all the lands in the Kingdom, which
III upon the 10th af h- brother and predecessor.
tion in the entire poHty of the kingdom which was finally CON
1852. His Majesty Kamehameha III. began by declaring pro-
tbe highest &c to the lowest. In $40 he granted the frstt Comsti-
tuition by which he declared and established the equality before
t con lT %f III hs S soi96taii ShG Gives Sed RG1Pei a Of some n Sf T. h a
powers and attributes a : an absolute Ruler, and conferred GER
tain political rights upon his subjects, admitting them to a share
with himself in legislation and government. This was the be
ecrti 1tirf aud Political Head Of the nation tban its alb
soIute Governor. Certain kinds of public property began to be
recognized as Government property, and not as the Kings
ver collected ana set apart as a public revenue for Government
purposes, and in 1871 Ills Majesty appointed a Treasury Board
to manage and control the property and income OF the Govern,
nent. Bat the poll teal changes introduced at that period did
of those rights 1t was expressly declared that he should still
Irialh h7 'NH anus. ""' '' ta"'S ."O' ~ ~ y
ment Of taxes should revert to him (Old Laws, p. ~ Under
the first law relating to the descent of lands to heirs, a portion
OF the lands held by any landlord were at his death to be re-
stored to the Kingi and in case the landlord died leaving no
cheat odd Laws, p. 40 Kamehamoha III. gave a striking
proof OF his power as Suzerain of the Kingdom, when he resum-
ed the possession Of all the fishing grounds within his domin-
ions, for the purpose Of making a new distribution Of them, with
VS.. Montgomery, March 1859
The laws organizing the executive departments of the govern
m-nt were ePacted in the year 1916. Those laws provided
among other things for the establishment of the Board of Land
Commissioners, for the purpose Of eGecting a division Of rights
in land and of GuIetuE the titles throughout IL Kingdom.
The subject Of rights in land was one o dairy increasing M
portauce to the newly formed government, for 1t was obvious
yelopcd until the system Of undivided AMI underlined ownership
in land should he abolished. Several eXpeiients were resorted
ties. in advance of the action Of the Land Commission. With
that view tie Legislative Council on the 9Th November, 1916.
IhIasa n 20 p y r s~a - tm on q Inv Me- October term, is5SS
But a y it was a. evident that such expcdients could be OF but little
real benefit, while it must also have been forseen that the oper-
tons Of the Land Commission would occupy a long series Of
wears. and that the Commission would encounter much difficult
ty in settling the rights of the Chiefs and Konohikis. In the
in the Privy Council. The record of that discussion is of the
highest interest and has been carefully examined by the Court.
1t was finally resolved by the King in Council, to effect, through
the assistance of a Committee, a division Of lands between the
dispatch. for by the end Of February, lsiS. it was completed.
the lands previously in the possession of the Chiefs and land
lords. and the remainder had been granted TO the several
it's formal award, and capable of being converted into an alo-
His Majesty; suzerainty over the lands held by his Chiefs
and other individuals was then at an end. He stood possessed
Of the lands which were in his own hands previous to the divi-
sion and Of those resumed in the division, constituting together
royal domain. But it is evident from the minutes of the Privy
Council. that the lands comprised in that domain were net re
garded as the Kings private properly strictly speakihg- hveh
before his division with the landholders, a second division
between himself and the government or state was clearly contem-
plated. and he appears to have admitted that the lands he then
held might have been subjected to n commutaton in favor OF the
Iec o5ons o. me uT y Sre his lands lands from the burden Of being con-
ai9araJ puhIic lorrain and "a such. subjected To the danger OF