Speeches of His Majesty Kamehameha Iv. to the Hawaiian Legislature

Part 1

Produced by Carla Foust and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.)

Transcriber's note

Minor punctuation errors have been corrected without notice. Several words were spelled in two different ways and not corrected; they are listed at the end of this book. A few obvious typographical errors have been corrected, and they are also listed at the end.

SPEECHES

OF HIS

MAJESTY KAMEHAMEHA IV.

TO THE

HAWAIIAN LEGISLATURE,

WITH HIS MAJESTY'S

REPLIES TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN NATIONS AND TO PUBLIC BODIES; ALSO WITH SUNDRY PROCLAMATIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO HIS ADVENT TO THE THRONE, ETC., WITH THE LAST PROCLAMATION AND AN OBITUARY OF HIS LATE MAJESTY

KING KAMEHAMEHA III.

PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

HONOLULU: PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS. 1861.

SPEECHES OF HIS MAJESTY KAMEHAMEHA IV., AND OTHER DOCUMENTS.

DECEMBER 8, 1854.

The last Public Proclamation made by His late Majesty King Kamehameha III.

PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, It has come to my knowledge from the highest official sources, that my Government has been recently threatened with overthrow by lawless violence; and whereas the representatives at my Court, of the United States, Great Britain and France, being cognizant of these threats, have offered me the prompt assistance of the Naval forces of their respective countries, I hereby publicly proclaim my acceptance of the aid thus proffered in support of my Sovereignty. My independence is more firmly established than ever before.

KAMEHAMEHA.

KEONI ANA. PALACE, 8th December, 1854. By the King and Kuhina Nui.

R. C. WYLLIE.

DECEMBER 15TH, 1854.

Public Proclamation of the Succession To the Throne of His Majesty Kamehameha IV.

PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from this world our beloved Sovereign, His late Majesty, Kamehameha III.; and whereas, by the will of His late Majesty, and by the appointment and Proclamation of His Majesty and of the House of Nobles, His Royal Highness, Prince Liholiho, was declared to be His Majesty's Successor. Therefore, Public Proclamation is hereby made, that Prince Alexander Liholiho is KING of the Hawaiian Islands, under the style of KAMEHAMEHA IV. God preserve the King.

KEONI ANA, Kuhina Nui.

DECEMBER 15TH, 1854.

DECEMBER 16TH, 1854.

Part 2

His Majesty's Address to His Privy Council of State in reply to their Condolences over the Death of His late Majesty Kamehameha III.

CHIEFS:--I have become by the Will of God, your Father, as I have been your Child. You must help me, for I stand in need of help.

To you Ministers, and other high officers of State of Our late King, I return my sincere thanks for the expressions of condolence with which you have this morning comforted me. I request of you to continue your labors, in the several positions you have hitherto held, until when my grief shall have allowed me time for reflection, I make such new arrangements as shall seem proper.

I thank the Members of this Council, in general for their condolence, who will, also, I hope, assist me with their advice, as though they had been appointed by myself.

JANUARY 11, 1855.

His Majesty's Address on the occasion of taking the Oath prescribed by the Constitution. Extr. from =Polynesian=, Jan. 13, 1855.

I solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, to maintain the Constitution of the Kingdom whole and inviolate, and to govern in conformity with that and the laws.

Immediately afterwards, His Highness the Kuhina Nui repeated the words "God preserve the King," which were re-echoed everywhere throughout the Church with loud cheers; His Majesty's Royal Standard and the National Ensign were hoisted and a royal salute fired from the fort.

Afterwards it pleased the King to make a solemn and eloquent address, in native, to His subjects, which was received by them with great enthusiasm, a translation of which is as follows:

Give ear Hawaii o Keawe! Maui o Kama! Oahu o Kuihewa! Kauai o Mano!

In the providence of God, and by the will of his late Majesty Kamehameha III., this day read in your hearing, I have been called to the high and responsible position of the Chief Ruler of this nation. I am deeply sensible of the importance and sacredness of the great trust committed to my hands, and in the discharge of this trust, I shall abide by the Constitution and laws which I have just sworn to maintain and support. It is not my wish to entertain you on the present occasion with pleasant promises for the future; but I trust that the close of my career will show that I have not been raised to the head of this nation to oppress and curse it, but on the contrary to cheer and bless it, and that when I come to my end, I may, like the beloved Chief whose funeral we yesterday celebrated, pass from earth amid the bitter lamentation of my people.

The good, the generous, the kind hearted Kamehameha is now no more. Our great Chief has fallen! But though dead he still lives. He lives in the hearts of his people! He lives in the liberal, the just, and the beneficent measures which it was always his pleasure to adopt. His monuments rise to greet us on every side. They may be seen in the church, in the school house, and the hall of justice; in the security of our persons and property; in the peace, the law, the order and general prosperity that prevail throughout the islands. He was the friend of the Makaainana, the father of his people, and so long as a Hawaiian lives his memory will be cherished!

By the death of Kamehameha III., the chain that carried us back to the ancient days of Kamehameha I. has been broken. He was the last child of that great Chieftain, but how unlike the father from whom he sprung. Kamehameha I. was born for the age in which he lived, the age of war and of conquest. Nobly did he fulfill the destiny for which he was created, that of reducing the islands from a state of anarchy and constant warfare to one of peace and unity under the rule of one king. With the accession of Kamehameha II. to the throne the tabus were broken, the wild orgies of heathenism abolished, the idols thrown drown, and in their place was set up the worship of the only living and true God. His was the era of the introduction of Christianity and all its peaceful influences. He was born to commence the great moral revolution which began with his reign, and he performed his cycle. The age of Kamehameha III. was that of progress and of liberty--of schools and of civilization. He gave us a Constitution and fixed laws; he secured the people in the title to their lands, and removed the last chain of oppression. He gave them a voice in his councils and in the making of the laws by which they are governed. He was a great national benefactor, and has left the impress of his mild and amiable disposition on the age for which he was born.

To-day we begin a new era. Let it be one of increased civilization--one of decided progress, industry, temperance, morality, and all those virtues which mark a nation's advance. This is beyond doubt a critical period in the history of our country, but I see no reason to despair. We have seen the tomb close over our Sovereign, but it does not bury our hopes. If we are united as one individual in seeking the peace, the prosperity and independence of our country, we shall not be overthrown. The importance of this unity is what I most wish to impress upon your minds. Let us be one and we shall not fall!

On my part I shall endeavor to give you a mild, and liberal government, but at the same time one sufficiently vigorous to maintain the laws, secure you in all your rights of persons and property, and not too feeble to withstand the assaults of faction. On your part I shall expect you to contribute your best endeavors to aid me in maintaining the Constitution, supporting the laws, and upholding our Independence.

It further pleased His Majesty, in accordance with a suggestion made to him, to make the following impromptu remarks, in English, to foreigners owing allegiance to him, and others residing in his dominions:

A few remarks addressed on this occasion, to you, the foreign portion of the assembly present, may not be inappropriate.

You have all been witnesses this day to the solemn oath I have taken in the presence of Almighty God and this assembly, to preserve inviolate the Constitution. This is no idle ceremony. The Constitution which I have sworn to maintain has its foundation laid in the deep and immutable principles of Liberty, Justice and Equality, and by these, and none other, I hope to be guided in the administration of my Government. As the ruler of this people, I shall endeavor, with the blessing of God, to seek the welfare of my subjects, and at the same time to consult their wishes. In these endeavors I shall expect the hearty co-operation of all classes--foreigners as well as natives.

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