The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-03-13
Written for the P. c. ADVERTISER.

w IOT the = =. ADVERTISER.
In the clerks Office of the Supreme
Court may be found the documents in
a case which was tried a little over
twenty years ago and which appears
in the official record by the title 'fRex
VS.. Kahoalii." This case, in all its
essential features, is so pertinent to
recent events and so suggestive and
instructive withal as to make it desir-
able that the story should be retold at
the present time.
Although, owing to its intrinsic inn
portance and the then existing state of
public feeling, the case referred to at
trscted a great deal of attention, it
seems to have passed almost entirely
out of the mind and memory of those
who lived here at the time, while of
the large number of persons who have
come among us since, there are very
few who have ever even heard OF it.
For the benefit of those who may not
be familiar with the history of twenty
years or more ago, as well as to pre-
sent a more clear and connected mar
rative, it will be well to relate, as
briefly as may be, the events which
Immediately preceded and led up to
the case in question.
On the Sd of February, 1874, King
Lunalilo died after a reign of only one
wear and twenty five days, leaving no
heir and having failed during bis life
time to appoint a successor, as by the
provisions of the Constitution lie
might have done. Under these circum-
stances it devol>-ed upon the Legisla-
ture, which had Just been elected but
had not yet met, to fill the vacancy, it
being the duty of the Ministers of the
late King, who naturally held over
during the interregnum, to call that
body together for the purpose. Two
candidates Immediately declared them
selves-DaVid Kalakaua and DOwager
Queen Emma, widow Of Kamehameha
~.
Without going into details, it is suf-
ficiently accurate to say that, as a
general thing, Kalakaua was support
ed by the resident American influence
and Emma by the British. 1t was
also claimed, and was probably true,
that decided majority OF the native
electorate favored the latter.
The campaign which followed was
short but exceedingly sharp. The
fight was conducted with vigor
on both sides, and deter
mination shown to score every
point possible. The feeling en-
gendered was intense, not to say Bit
ter. The legislature was got together
with all possible haste, and on Febru-
ary 18th only nine days after the
kings death, met in the old court
house, now occupied by Messrs. Hack
field q Co. and elected Kalakaua by a
large majority. AS soon as the result
T10nh nf
the partisans OF Queen Emma, claim
ing and doubtless believing that the
election had been carried by corrupt
means and their favOrite thereby
cheated out of her right, started a
riot of formidable dimensions. They
stormed the building, drove the legis-
lature out Of doors, assaulted and beat
the obnoxious members with fists,
cluGs and any weapons which came to
hand, and proceeded to make q gen.
eral wreck of the place and its con-
tents. The outbreak was not only
sudden and violent but, so far as any
force at the command Of the local
authorities was concerned, absolutely
irresistible. 1t collapsed promptly,
however, on the landing of forces
from the British and American war
ships in port and, order having been
restored, Kalakaua made haste to
take the cODStltuClODal OaLQ anu en-
tered upon his reign. virtually under
the protection of foreign bayonets. To
what further eXcesses the mob might
have proceeded, aud what destruction
of life and property might have re-
suited but for the prOmptness OF out
side interference can only be con-
jectured. 1t may lie regarded a. GER
tain that could The mob have got
their hands on the king elect that day
the question OF the succession would
have received summary solution and
Kalakaua's lie ard reign would have
ended promptly anu simultaneously
The restoration of pubic order and
the Ieaceaisie c;,try of K .iakaus into
power ended al upt ~ Tes stance, but
ii by 10 menus ended the ,.iSsatietac
tiun. The aii'tu'!r of the defeated
party was one If enforced submission
rather than OF acquie>rsnce They
still maintained that the VIII Of the
nation had been nullitizd ar'l the
rightful succ. s-or def, atei by Il coali-
tion of unscTupul"uS foreigners with
private axes of their own to grind and
Tecreant Hawaiian~ who had been in
duced by bribery or other illegiti-
mate means to assist them. The
strong native feeling in favor of
Emma and against Kalakaua as an
iuterlOper found occasion to mani
fest itself in various ways and on