Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-07
Liliuokalani, the Former Queen Of
Hawaii.
APPEARANCE OF A new DEFENDER
Some Statements That Will Not
Bear Scrutiny.
THE RECORD OF HISTORY
Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

y
a writer of high repute. Mrs. Spofford APP
pears to have been so deeply impressed by
the gracious bearing of her ex-majesty as
to have unguardedly accepted as truth all
representations of fact made by herself or
her secretary. Julius A. Palmer. She has
thus been misled into making number of
marvellous mfsstatements in her Bazaar ar
tfcle, which have created much of both
Indignation and amusement in Honolulu,
where the facts are well known and the
Bazaar is much in vogue among the ladies.
1t seems fitting to refLte some of these
misleading errors, although a somewhat
ungracious task.
AS Liliuokalani has assumed the position
of attacking the present government of
Hawaii, and opposing annexation in the
name OF the Hawaiian people, she must
accept the natural penalties of her under
taxing, in case of departure from the truth,
Mrs. Spofford's highly enthusiastic de-
scrlption OF the ex-queens external graces
inaccurate. Mrs. Domiris was adopted in
INFANCY by members of the royal family
ara passed all her years in court circles.
Sne mas always teen accustomed to meet
IRON time to time noble or princely visitors
10 Hawaii. persons often of exquisite grace
or manner. She also visited Queen Victor
Ia court In the jubilee of 1887, where she
Mas Mas cordiaily entertained. Her opportuni-
nave been exceptional, and she has not
failed to improve them.
Next comes this sentence: There are
a rev .s,,s women on thrones today who are as
eht'reiy royal In descent as Liliuokalani.
she has no other blood in her veins than
the blood of kings" Again, 1.-The oueen
ner niece. the lovely Kaiulani, and two
houslhs are !, no now the last of the Kane
hamehas. The well-known facts are that
none OF the individuals named possesses
any except some very distant and jndis.
t;nct relationship to the Kamehameha fam
. ny or 10 any other branch of former royal
1amilles in these islands. The executions
are the two young gentlemen commonIv
known as Prince Jonah and Prince Cnnid
VINO are remotely descended from King
haumualfi of Kauai. who died seventy
lily of Kamehameha. These "princes' are
nepheWs of Kalakauas widow, and are NOT
otherwise related to Liliuokalani. Kala
naua ana the ex-aueen were children Of
whose husband was Kapaakea, of similar
rank The mother, like all third-grade
chlefs, could trace descent from royalty
somewhere from six to ten generations
pie contradiction, the natural son. not Of
hapaakea, but Of a jamaica cuadroon
John Blossom. who fiourished in Honolulu,
nearly neS sixty years ago. Liluokalani is
origin possessing therefore three-eiehths
"nlte blood and one-eighth negro, which
betrays itself in her wavy hair which 10
hot ,o IKE the straight Polynesan locks
survives in this city. who strikingly re-
sembles both Kalakaua and LiliuokalanI
So much for Mrs. Spoffords accuracy
about the royal descent.
Inc ex-queen may be distantly related
as Mrs. spofford alleges, to tn, excellent
heroic and gentle lady, Kapiolani, whom
Iennyson sang as the defer of the terrible
hre goddess Pele. Mrs: spofford says 'Liluo-
same thing" Unfortunately, about twelve
years years, ago she did precisely ;he opposite
thing. After, as heir apparent, royalty pa
tronizing a great Sunday school conven-
ton or the natives at Hilo, she proceeded
with her retinue to the Volcano Hotel and
descended to the great Fire Lake. Instead,
however, of defiantly f1inging in stones.
Ike kapiolani in 1925, she threw in a live
goddess, accompanying the act with heath
en- chants by her attendants. This I state
upon the personal testimony Of a guide,
VINO carried the pig and witnessed the sac
hotel. who knew all about it. Mrs. Dom
inis afterward endeavored to parry the
charge by explaining 1t as harmless
conformity to ancient customs, like stand
however, too many cases well known Of
her otherwise participating In gross heath
en- ceremonies when visiting country dis
tricts. She may not have been personally
things solely for the political purpose Of
winning to herself. as she succeeded in
doing. the firm support Of the large heather
party among the natives, who are now the
strongest element among the royalists. 1t
was this gross tampering with the ancient
1dolatry which set so many of the best and
ablest native pastors against her when de-
throned.
"Guilelcss and kindly" Queen.
Her majesty" Mrs. Spofford ram
bles on. lis of a simple and kindly and
nature" But it seems to
have been the gifted lady interviewer who
" as so simple and unsuspicious. The occu-
pants of thrones are rarely guileless per-
sons. In the arts of discrimination they are
generally past masters, and her ex-majesty
is hardly an exception. So thought our ex-
cellent ladies Of the w. c. T. u, whose APP
peals against the proposed lottery and
opium bills she used so tearfully to res
pond to. all the time that she was diligent-
ly bribing the native legislators to vote for
them, just before she was dethroned. If
the royal lady has any one accomplish
ment more perfected than another it is
better understood by all experienced resi-
dents of Honolulu, native or foreign.
Mrs. Spofford next boldly touches a deli
cate subject. "She has lived a spotless
at considerable length. On the whole. it
seems best to refrain from specifically dis
cussing this subject. 1t is an unsavory
one; it Is one where 1t Is difficult to dis
tinguish between fact and scandal; it is one
as to which women of Hawaiian birth are
entitled to the most forbearing and toler-
ant judgment. in view of the utterly differ
ent ethical standard of the race as COM
pared with that Of Europe It does not
seem unjust. however, to refer to a viru-
lent adverse statement Of her then bitter
enemy, Col. v. v. Ashford, which embodied
the worst allegations then made against
the queen. That statement Is to be found
In Blounts Report, on pages 20S-21O. SINH
lar charges were made daily by John e.
Bush and Robert Wilcox in the legislative
debates of 1892, and in Bush's Hawaiian
and English daily, Voice of the Nation.
These three men, Ashford, Wilcox and
Bush. were steady haters Of tie reform"
or missionary party, but just at that
time were temporarily hostile to the queen
and her alleged favorite, Marshal Wilson.
They only gave open voice to what had
long been current scandal, whether true or
not.
The queen did not appear implacably to
resent these charges. Two years later,
when preparing the instruction of Janua-
ry. 1895, Mrs. Dominis not only accepted
the services of Wilcox as a military leader,
she also SO far condoned the outrageous
published vilifications Of v. v. Ashford
(Which he had printed in the San Fran
cisco Chronicle) that In reward of his