Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-11-12


~ morning not only snaps the last stronc link be
tween the monarchy and the territory of Hawai-
but closes life whose final years won for this last
Hawaiian ruler an affection and respect which pol
/ itical antagonisms had earlier denied her,
- In recent years, as the queens failing health
brought her steadily down into the valley OF the
shadow. there has disappeared entirely the oppos
tions which sprang up so thickly during her active
career The storms of the early ninetles, develop
ing into the revolt against the policy of the queen
and her infuencers then into the provisional gov
eminent and thus into annexation ana the eslap'
lishment of the territory-these changes TIRED
political and social conditions to the dept anu
produced animosites whose bitterness it is now al
!. most i1npe 5ble to believe.
90 Some of the very men most active III taking an
-,open stand against the queen-a stanL which meant
conflict and the downfall of one party or anether'
have since been among the queens slncerest anu
most trusted advisers. And though many or the
r men who helped set up the provisional government
in January $685. have preceded her to the grave,
there remain many others who now feel uIaHected
regret at the passing Of this last ruler OF Hawaii
l. From the storms of revolutionary times Hawaii
emerged into the sunshine and sweetness OF
brighter a kindlier day, day in which the queen
received her full measure of respect and was treat
with sympathy but with great Difference and cere-
, monal courtesy.
~. For this the queens personality and talents as
we'll as birth and former regal status were respoh:
sble. Dethronement did not forfeit for her
strong hold upon the liking of the public. 1t did
not rob her of friends nor of wise counsel nor of
high place in the community. In fact she never had
truer friends during her eventful reign as queen
than she has had since then. In every court some
of the courtiers are true and some false; around
every monarch there are advisers who are unselhsh
and those who are mercenary. Some are far seeing
some are short-sighted No king in all history has
ALWAYS been able to distinguish between wise and
unwise counsel. -.a-
.a Queen LiliuokaIani would have been more than
human had she always been able to choose the wiser
advice It is not generally known, yet youched for
on the best authority, that for time Iiliuokaanl
was disposed against the thing which was perhaps
the largest factor in her undoing-her reported de-
cision to promulgate new constitution without re-
gard to the fundamental law of Hawaii This mod
crate counsel if taken and followed out in its log
zeal sequences might have dissipated the gathering
clouds of opposition. But, after period of in
decision which appears to have covered SOME weeks,
the queen seems to have been won over by the
radicals
Her activities following this proved the covert
acts that precipitated organized revolt in which the
best sentiment and best interest of Hawaii joined
to preserve civil liberty and to insure the progress
and security of the islands. Viewed through a vista
of Years public opinion is likely to hold the queen
advisers as much to blame as herself and likely to
see the change from monarchy to territory as one
turn in the inevitable cycle of political evolution.
Looking at the events of the nineties through per-
spective wherein many intervening years have play
ed their part, it is difficult to discern the fric
lions which then prominently, like stones in
the path; difficult to remember, much less to-
revive. any semblance of the excitement and the
smarting bitterness with which the queens policies
were received by the strong and substantial elements
of society here who organized the revolt
Had the queen died at or shortly after the period
of storm, she might have figured in Hawaiis history
in much less favorable light than will now be the
case She has remained for more than score Of
years during which many traits have come. to pub
lie attention to emphasize her innate kindness her
broad sympathy, her attachments and her force Of
character Had she died at the time she was depos-
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