Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 1988 — Remembering Strong, Beautiful Kaʻiulani [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Remembering Strong, Beautiful Kaʻiulani

by Jalna Keala Fresident, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs Following are excerpts from a speech made on October 16 at Mauna 'Ala, on the anniversaiy of Ka'iulani's birth in 1875. By her 17th birthday in 1892, Ka'iulani had left Harrowden Hall and was in Brighton taking lessons in French, music, singing, Kterature, and history and was quite fluent in German. Although she was still carrying on a regular correspondence with Aunt Lili'uokalani, she was not fully aware of the thunderclouds that were building at home in Hawai'i between the Royalists and the Annexationists. Papa Cleghorn was Governor of O'ahu those fateful January days of 1893 when Lili'uokalani was deposed as Queen, but strategizing with the Queen's cabinet was ineffective when compared to heavy eannon and well trained United States Marines. Cleghorn was understandably distraught at the tum of events, as the throne for whieh Ka'iulani was being prepared under British influence was swept away by American forces.

In England, Ka'iulani was stunned, and listened as her guardian, Theophilus Davies suggested she travel to Washington to plead Hawaii's case with the new Fresident, Grover Cleveland. She agreed to go accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Davies and arrived in New York on March 1, 1893 to be greeted by swarms of newspaper reporters and curious spectators who wanted to glimpse the Hawaiian Princess. 1 would like to read a part of the statement Ka'iulani made upon her arrival. "Unbidden I stand upon your shores today where I had thought . . . to receive a royal weleome ... I hear the Commissioners from my land have been for many days asking this great nation to take away my little vineyard. They speak no word to me, and leave me to find out . . . from the rumours of the air that they would leave me without a home — or a name — or a nation . . . "Today, I, - • • with not one of my people near me, and all these statesmen against me, have strength to stand up for the rights of my people. Even now I ean hear their wail in my heart, and it gives me strength and courage and I am strong . . . strong in the faith of God, strong in the knowledge that I am right, strong in the strength of 70 million people who in this free land will hear my »» cry . . . The critics in Honolulu laughed at Ka'iulani's appeal, but the mainland newspapersspoke kindly of her personal beauty and the favorable impression she portrayed. The Princess was received at the White House by President and Mrs. Cleveland and treated with respect. Ka'iulani, meanwhile, believed that her background and impeccable protocol would disprove the Provisional Government propaganda that called Hawaii's rulers "undisciplined savages." On the same morning that Ka'iulani visited the White House, President Cleveland announced that he would appoint and send a special investigator to Hawai'i to review the situation first hand.

The Annexationists knew that this would block their plans to immediately bring Hawai'i under the American flag and were furious. The harsh and derogatory criticism aimed at the Hawaiian monarchy by the Annexationists started to look ridiculous in the face of growing support by Am^riean newspapers. Kaiulani returned to England to take up her studies onee more in mid-1893, and crossed the ehannel to travel in Germany and France in the next few years. She was in Paris in 1897 when Lili'uokalani wrote that her half-sister Annie Cleghom had passed away, and Ka'iulani herself was suffering from nervousness and headaches. Politically, William McKinley had become President of the United States and submitted the Hawaiian Annexation Treaty to the Senate in June, 1897. When she received this news, Ka'iulani realized that she was free to return home rather than remaining in "exile." She wanted to be with her people, whatever the future might bring, that they might share it together.

Kaiulani returned to 'Ainahau, her white pony, peacocks and the love of the Hawaiian people for only one year and four months of happiness before she became seriously ill. Using all of their medical skills, doctors were unable to stem her decline. At age 23 years, five months, Ka'iulani was brought to Mauna Ala to join her ancestors, where today we pay tribute to her memory.