The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-22
CROWN LANDS.
History Of What Ex-Queen
Lii Lays Claim To.

ff.arsr u.
Aiie SaA eeli iidlh olS the lohS-contlnueu
HaWallan question now appears in
formal claim madam tba Sanata of tba
Trnitad c+a+os o.. : :sI...-,Y-,,
y, ~ - Y eteeii, i'iiiuohdldni
LOT the return Oh the crown lands to
her possession, or for compensation
from tta ,,,,l,lio +,.aos.,,,.,.
~ ~ oiieir loss'
Aie pNct VI the clailn ana us presenta-
ton was obscured by the news of the
conclusion of nesce nAootia+io,,s a.
ra,.;. ~ -
81 10 00' ~ ~ nevertheless an inter-
estlnS question, and one which will
doubtless provoke considerable discus-
sion at wssbirorto,
Inc so-callea crown lands of Ha-
wall comprise about 100000 acres Of
land, for the most part unoccupied, and
chiefly lying ON the largest island of
the Hawaiian group which island gives
its name to the archipelago. The lands
are chiefly uplands, and. composed as
they are mainly of decomposed lava
are admirably adapted to the cult,1re
of coffee. The ternperature of tha IL.
lands at this elevation is also -exactIv
suited to the growth of the coffee miami
and many successful plantations are
already in operation in this repion
The history of these lands is inter-
esting, and will exert a strong iriiu-
ence in the decision which shall he ar
rived at in the matter of the claims
of the ex-uueen. Previous to the in
PRODUCTION OF civilization into the isl
ands, the entire landed surface was tba
property of the chiefs, and later after
the conquest of the islands Nv Ka,,,e-
hameha L., the property of the KING.
The subjects throughout the islands
who had established themselves in
homes and laid out their little garden
patches of taro, were simply suuatters,
or tenants in sufferance. THE fee
simple of the lands rested in the king.
The third Of the Kamehameha DIV
nasty determined TO inaugurate a svs
TEN of land tenure, and to him are now
traced all Of the land titles in the ISL
ands. BY a royal decree he divided
the lands of the islands into three sorts
the lands of the people, the lands of
the government and the lands of the
crown. The lands of the people were
apportioned formally to those who al
ready occupied them, and to these
We're given deeds in fee simple. The
government lands were set apart and
PUBIC treasury, and for the support
OF the government.
me income of the crown lands was
devoted TO the maintenance of the royal
state. Inc two classes of public lands
We're afterward regarded as one nnda,
the general designation of public lands
None OF these lands we've sold, but
Chey We're granted on long leases, at
falr rentals, to whomsoeVer chose to
apply for them for agricultural pur-
poses.
from kamehameha III. these lands
descended, in the same title, to his
successors upon the throne They were
mus held and controlled by Kameha-
mena ~. and by Lunalilo the last
named being so distantly related to his
predecessors by blood that in the fail
ure OF the dynasty, he was not allowed
to succeed by right of birth. but was
elected to be king by the legislature
The reign of this monarch was ex-
ceedingly brief and at his death RESORT
was again had to an election. There
was now but one person living who
could claim even a remote descent from
the Kamehame This was fine late
Princess Bermice Pauahi the wife of
the Hon. Charles r. Bishop, now of
San Francisco. To her the annoi,,t-
c Tes oiIered by Lunalilo, as death Wa
etooe upon hlfn. A solicited delay until
t,l0i ing tndt she consult with her hus-
paiiu peIofe accepting the offer was ia
L. L. ~ ene pan, Iol IN the morning the
A nm was dead without provision for
tn e, succession.
Inen came the we'll remembered con-
TEST 1or the throne between the adher-
elits Oh Queen Emma, the half-white
WlaoW OF Kamehameha w., on the one
hand, and those of David Kalakaua
On the olher. The latter was a descen-
uanI OF one Of the subject chiefs of one
Oh the lesser Islands, and not even re-
motely descendant by blood of the
ancient dynasty. He was the success
ful contestant in the legislature, and to
MN, by election, passed the sovereign
W OF Hawaii. With that sovereignty
passed to his control for it's mainten-
ance the crown lands now claimed.
Kalakaua, after an inglorious reign
was succeeded by his sister, Liliuo-
kalani, who, under the constitutional
privilege, had been appointed by the
king to be his successor. TO her.
therefore, as the reigning sovereign.
passed the control and custody of the
crown lands, and for the maintenance
of her royal state was their income
devoted.
--
IF is tbus soon +ba+ H. ,,,,
were an apnurtenanca Of th I'm i ,nana1
state and sovereignty, and not of The
person of the reigning monarch. I'm
der the rule of the descent of land fem
L. J l.