The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-06-30

HONOLULU, Feb. 26.-I now know
how Mr.. Toodles felt when the partner
of his bosom returned home with what
she thought would be convenient to
have in the house. L have been to an
auction for the first time in my life.
That such a momentOus event should
transpire in the middle Of the Pacific
ocean is due TO the overthrow of the
monarchy. This sort of thing does not
happen every day, or even every year,
consequently crown relics are seldom
under the hammer. Hawaiians, how
ever, tell me that sales of the personal
effects of deceased royalty have been
so common as to have given the name
of Hawaiian opera to what we call
auctions"
why sell such things?" 1 ask. Have
these men and women no heirs?"
They have had more creditors than
heirs" is the reply. THE last Kane
hameha died bankrupt and his effects
were sold to pay his debts. Lunalilo
was equally embarrassed, and after his
death there was d great sale. Kala-
kaua's Indebtedness of 100000 did not
lead to bankruptcy, because trustees
were appointed to manage his estate
during his lifetime Out of it he was
allowed a certain sum yearly. His faith
er was an inferior chief, but from his
mother, much higher in rank, he would
have inherited large property on the
island of Hawaii, had it not been
squandered by his parents, both of
whom were addicted to drink. Their
extravaganza made Kalakaua so poor
that he was glad to obtain the position
of second clerk in the Department of
the Interior. Natives called him the
landless chief a sobriQuet so Calling
as to make him greedy for land the
moment he became king. 1t was Kala-
kaua's habit to get natives to deed
or will to him land on his promise to
grant them annuities for life. Thus
he acquired a great deal of property
and in payment kept new kind of
poorhouse. Always hard-up and bor
rowing when a clerk, Kalakaua was
equally impecunious when king, and,
but for these trustees, would have died
insolvent."
Has his widow, Kapiolani, any in
come apart from $4,000 year granted
by the Republic?" 1 asked a historian.
"Oh, yes. Kapiolani was always wise
in money matters. Many of the unpleas !
ant quarters of an hour passed with |
her husband were caused by her refus- |
al to let him make ducks and brakes of
her own property. When people try to |
belittle KapioIani by telling you that |
she was nurse to the Prince of Hawaii, |
Queen Emma's only child, they don't |
know that only women of high rank |
could hold such position. 1t is very |
loI Of+ fO
Victoria. Kapiolani was granddaugh- |
ter of the last King of Kauai, who |
made peace with Kamehameha by ac-
his supremacy rather than
be destroyed by him. Had Kapiolani's |
family inherited what should have |
come to them she would have been very |
rich. As it is, by her own shrewdness |
she has acquired real estate and gets !
a very good income from crown lands |
on Punchbowl (above Honolulu), leas- |
ed from the Government at a low rate
and sublet to Portuguese"
All About Royal Auctions.
Il see that the Portuguese are pro-
testing against increased rents. Are
their complaints leveled against the
Queen Dowager?"
Yes
1t is refreshing to learn of one Ha-
waiian who is thrifty and who is get
ting the better of foreigners. That
this Hawaiian is a woman of noble
birth adds to my satisfaction When
KapiOlani heard that one of her two
adopted sons, a nephew, was implicated
in the conspiracy of January, 1894, and
was shut up in prison. she is said to
have exclaimed, Serves him right. Let
him stay there. He wouldn't take my
advice"
When she was asked to send this
young man delicacies of the table, Ka-
piolani replied: No, salmon and poi
are good enough; let him eat with the |
rest" And he did. But to our auction. |
Have you had any other royal auctions |
since the death of Lunalilo?" l ask a |
Hawaiian.
Vest, two. When Princess Ruth died |
she left all the Kamehameha property |
to her cousin, the Princess Pahuai, who |
as you know, married c. R. Bishop. A |
more eXtravagant woman than Ruth |
probably never lived. She had not the |
faintest conception of the value of |
money. and spent it like water. When |
she wanted one fan she'd buy dozen. |
When she wanted one piece of goods |
she ordered a job lot. Linen, satins |
silks, gloves, laces, stockings were piled |
up in heaps in the closets of her fine |
new house, on which thousands of dol |
airs were squandered. Mrs. Bishop gave |
away quantities of these things to ma
Lives, but the more she bestowed the |
ess satisfaction she gave the recipients. |
and got rid of what was left at an auc- !
ion. Later, when Mrs. Bishop herself |
passed away, almost all of her personal |
property was auctiOned off for the bene- |
it of the Kamehameha School, founded |
by her. In this way we Hawaiians
probably possess more relics of our
'oyal families than any people in the
world"