Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 393, 19 February 1892 — The Transient Nature of the Hawaiian Monarchy. [ARTICLE]

The Transient Nature of the Hawaiian Monarchy.

I [No. 2.] In returning to the cCNQatderation of this Bubject, let us briefly v«fjrto some of the more recent cha*g's whieh have eome aboot aod o#te their sigr ; ficance. Let those who are huggiiig the delnsive pha&iom ofa permanent Hawaiian monar©hy, with a native chief upon tbo thst>&e look, the &ct#squarely i& the face. Let ihem consider tbe sitsation seriously and judge how vai& are their hopee, how baseloss their expectations, and how utter]y hope> Ipss of realuation. It is oniy about a vear si nee Kalakaua, the last male of the preeentdynasty. passed awayp dying at an age when a man of his fino physique and great &atural vigor ought to be at the perfection ot his bodily and mental powen, Upon the throne to whieh Kalakaoa left was no dlrect heir, there sits h ? f only surviving sister. a chiidless widow, now well past middle life and without hope of issue. Her health is generrffly believed to be somewhat precarious and her probable tenure of life not a long one. Her nieee. the daugnter of a de* ceased eister a aomewhat delicate girl of half foreign lineage, is the | onJy otber member, by blood, ofthe present royal family.

Tuit yoODK who is oow abroad at schooJU has b*en duiy proclaimed P8 heir-apparent io the manner prescribed io the confitilutioo. Bhe is aboot »iztcei» ja&rs old, with the advantages of good looks, and a fair i»h&re of that cfigmty «nd grace of manner whieh is the almost invariable attribute of Hawaiiane who haye any educational or «oeial advantages. Of her charaeter and eapahili tee. her mental and moral traits. the puhlie fenows very little, but it is impoaaible lor any wt?ll informed resident not to be aware thut the great-jr part of her life h<ts becn pagstd amid surroundi»igs. aiui under influences. but iiiy calculated to deve!op or foBtei the q,iālites noedfijl iii a sovereigr, of the moderu eo: - stitutionai type. Nooth«r tvpe of sovereign ean be long toleVattd— weusethe wnrd advisediv—ih tl>t-se ie!ai,ds. A person who is to re:gn succesBfully in tnis couniry a<s it now is, and 6tiil, u)ore as )t is coaiing to b*>, mu»t haVe \>rv dififerent ide«6 of gcvj»rnu;ent, r.ud wi_ll need to «hape his or her pt;biie nnd privatt life upoo very Jifler» ent models from tho§e th\t have heei» heret'»fore, and »re stii' doiii:ii2lll ut th«f HawniUn court Eveo shouUl Liliookakni end l.ier jygn in peao», and h*r aioee h* au!y vproc!aimed. the lattar would euter upon ber high onder many dtsadvantagea. To youUj, in«zpa?Hmoa, imporlMt traio*

ing, and early surro«Ddings, *aA tbe slroog pro4Mbility of ihe inh*> rlUnee of ucide«i»bki moni wonid be adddd tb« ix>feei*»t liial* UiiioiM of her wz. The woman QDdertake« what i» geoera]l7 a man'i work, aiid wjio ha» to eoadoet her government and canry out ber ideas by and through men, en* tm opon. her iaek heavily handieapped. How apt the sexoal ele&aent ia to con»e in to warp the jodgmeat of female rulers in pare>. 1y oAeial and pnblie matter» aU ] )iistory tella. It tella not the leaal anrel? how great,are these dangera, I and how often the »upremacy of pmml&i £vvoritiam over piblio eoiirid«stlone haa invoWed both aof«iign and fevonte io one eommon ruin. present Queen w'aa general!y nKtfded< previous to feer aoeeaaion. aa a woman of eseeptional foree of ehafacter t good aenee and aelf eon* trol. 6he eame to a pocition to whieh ahe had been the *egal heir for aome fourtewn yeam, to whieh! ahe muat bave habitual!y looked fbnrard v and to the diacharge of whoae duties she muet have ghren mueh thought and prepāration. Yet at the very outeet of her ehe eame peri]ously near recking her whole futnre upon the rock of her femininity, defying the recently czpreased will of the legis]ature, be]ieving the confident predictioita of her admirers, se;nou9ly alarming her beat frienda, nnd inviting a eotiatitutional cnsis whieh might have reeuited in di?aetrcus eonaequencea. Another element of weakneee ie the £aet that Kaiulani haa no near blood relative exoept her father. This person haa reeided here for a good aaany yeare, and through hia eonneetion with the roval fami!y, haa been brought into oonsiderab!e prominenee. Hie official career, hia buaineafc record and hie peraor<al habits are too well known to eall for any eztended eommeni. It ie aa!eto aay« and the statement is well within the truth that neither in his public nor private capacity doea he enjoy the confidence or reapect of this community.

Tfcat the beir-apparent is on]y half n&tive is a faet whoee eignifieanee shoula noi be overlooked. So far as the mere »eDtiment of per®onal loyalty is concerned—®entimental Joyalty to tbe sovereign distingainhed from intelligent obedience to law and respect for duly constituted authority — tEe main depeudence of the thro>ne iniiBt be npon the native Hawaiiane. It is nt>: to be expejted that the inherited and ingrained reverence for tbe *ucient chieftaingbip t and thal enthr.?instic and unreasoning #1 devotion whieh wen< out in s»ch uufiticted measure tosrarus Lunaliio and Kings of the Kaītehameha line ahould b* tran#ferred intaet ta a half-white girl wbote de»cenu even on the mother'B eide, ig not froui as high a grade of chief« as just named. Her aceetsion would be extreoielv distastefui to a ]arge and influentia) partion of tbē fw eign commanity. At th t sam? time it wo jld caote no satifii«ction and excite no inthuftifistn among tbe narives. Tke unpopu!aritjr of her father wouM owly sggravate the situation.