Communication 19.2 from Dwight Vicente re Resident Population

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98 Stolen Kingdom in Washington,Thurston credited Stevens with having"the fullest knowledge of the facts,"and for being"an enthusiastic advocate of annexation."31 I About the same time,Secretary of Navy Tracy told Admiral Joseph Skerrett,who was preparing to embark on a return assign- ment to Hawaii: "Commodore, the wishes of the Government have changed (in the last 20 years). They will be very glad to annex Hawai'i...(through)legal means...."12 Native Hawaiians Seek a New Constitution No single political party won the 1892 election with a clear majority of legislative seats. This resulted in an eight month struggle to secure a stable Cabinet. As a result, four different Cabinets were appointed and removed, depending on whatever political coalitions were forged among the three major political parties. Little was accomplished during the turmoil of the longest- ever, 171-day Legislature. By the year's end, the Legislature finally considered three controversial bills: to establish a lottery, to regulate and license opium sales,and to call fora constitutional convention. Vigorous opposition of the Queen's Cabinet could not deter the Legislature from passing the lottery and opium bills. The Queen signed both bills into law. The new laws would inject a permanent source of up to several hundred thousand dollars of annual revenue for the Kingdom,and would relieve the Govern- ment from continually borrowing money. The Queen and a majority of legislators felt it was better to regulate and tax the underground opium business than to allow illegal smuggling to continue unchecked. Finance Minister William Cornwell, an opponent of the lottery bill, admitted that it was"._ supported by nearly all the Americans in Honolulu,the very men who revolted and now claim the lottery was the cause of the revolution."-1-1 Radicals Seek Power 99 Regarding the constitution,it was no secret thatLiWuokalani, as had Kalakaua,felt severely limited by the restrictions placed on the monarchy by the Bayonet Constitution, Now,feeling that she had the will of the people who backed the Liberal Party's call for a new constitution,Lili'uokalani felt confident to exert leader- ship. She was ready to give a majority of the voters what they wanted — a new constitution. During the 1892 election campaigns,Lili'uokalani acknowl- edged,"Petitions poured in from every part of the Islands for a new constitution" signed by about two-thirds of the registered voters(6,5(X)of 9,000 electors). "To have ignored or disregarded so general a request,"the Queen said she would have to be"deaf to the voice of the people...."3d Buoyed by the strength of the Liberal Party in the 1892 election, and the native support for a new constitution, Queen Lili'uokalani quietly drafted a new constitution in October 1892. This new constitution would free the monarchy from the shackles of the Bayonet Constitution.It would give the monarchy greater power, give the vote to Hawaiian-born or naturalized citizens, remove certain property qualifications that prevented native Hawaiians from voting for the House of Nobles,and would make Cabinet Ministers subject to.removal by the Legislature. The Queen told her Cabinet Ministers about the draft consti- tution. At least two of her four Ministers promised their support prior to their appointment. The Queen asked Attorney General Arthur Peterson to review the draft constitution and to make recommendations,but he never did. He told the Queen he never read her document. Queen Lili'uokalani decided to proclaim the new constitution immediately after the Legislature adjourned. Every constitution -- 1840,1852, 1864,and even 1877 — was granted by the ruling monarch,not the Legislature. In her autobiography, Queen Lili'uokalani wrote emphati- cally about the monarch's power: