Kingdom of Hawai`i Constitution of 1840

Note: As part of the formal restoration of the Hawaiian Nation, the present government and People must decide on which Constitution is to be honored along with the Flag, Monarch, Defense and other key aspects of Self-Governing such as Treasury, Agriculture, and Education.


DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, BOTH OF THE PEOPLE AND CHIEFS.

"God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth," in unity and blessedness. God has also bestowed certain rights alike on all men and all chiefs, and all people of all lands.

These are some of the rights which He has given alike to every man and every chief of correct deportment; life, limb, liberty, freedom from oppression; the earnings of his hands and the productions of his mind, not however to those who act in violation of laws.

God has also established government, and rule for the purpose of peace; but in making laws for the nation it is by no means proper to enact laws for the protection of the rulers only, without also providing protection for their subjects; neither is it proper to enact laws to enrich the chiefs only, without regard to enriching their subjects also, and hereafter there shall by no means be any laws enacted which are at variance with what is above expressed, neither shall any tax be assessed, nor any service or labor required of any man, in a manner which is at variance with the above sentiments.

PROTECTION FOR THE PEOPLE DECLARED.

The above sentiments are hereby published for the purpose of protecting alike, both the people and the chiefs of all these islands, while they maintain a correct deportment; that no chief may be able to oppress any subject, but that chiefs and people may enjoy the same protection, under one and the same law.

Protection is hereby secured to the persons of all the people, together with their lands, their building lots, and all their property, while they conform to the laws of the kingdom, and nothing whatever shall be taken from any individual except by express provision of the laws. Whatever chief shall act perseveringly in violation of this constitution, shall no longer remain a chief of the Hawaiian Islands, and the same shall be true of the Governors, officers,and all land agents.

But if any one who is deposed shall change his course, and regulate his conduct by law, it shall then be in the power of the chiefs to reinstate him in the place he occupied previous to his being deposed.

CONSTITUTION

It is our design to regulate our kingdom according to the above principles and thus seek the greatest prosperity both of all the chiefs and all of the people of these Hawaiian Islands. But we are aware that we cannot ourselves alone accomplish such an object--God must be our aid, for it is His province alone to give perfect protection and prosperity.--Wherefore we first present our supplication to HIM, that he will guide us to right measures and sustain us in our work.

It is therefore our fixed decree,

I. That no law shall be enacted which is at variance with the word of the Lord Jehovah, or at variance with the general spirit of His word. All laws of the Islands shall be in consistency with the general spirit of God's law.

II. All men of every religion shall be protected in worshipping Jehovah, and serving Him, according to their own understanding, but no man shall ever be punished for neglect of God unless he injures his neighbor, of bring evil on the kingdom.

III. The law shall give redress to every man who is injured by another without a fault of his own, and shall protect all men while the conduct properly, and shall punish all men who commit crime against the kingdom or against individuals, and no unequal law shall be passed for the benefit of one to the injury of another.

IV. No man shall be punished unless his crime be first made manifest, neither shall he be punished unless he be first brought to trail in the presence of his accusers, and they have met face to face, and the trail having been conducted according to law, and the crime made manifest in their presence, the punishment may be inflicted.

V. No man or chief shall be permitted to sit as judge of act on a jury to try his particular friend (or enemy), or one who is especially connected with him. Wherefore if any man be condemned or acquitted, and it shall afterwards be made to appear, that some one who tried him acted with partiality for the purpose of favoring his friend (or injuring his enemy), or for the purpose of enriching himself, then there shall be a new trial allowed before those who are impartial.

EXPOSITION OF THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH THE PRESENT DYNASTY IS FOUNDED.

The origin of the present government, and system of polity, is as follows: Kamehameha I, was the founder of the kingdom, and to him belonged all the land from one end of the Islands to the other, though it was not his own private property. It belonged to the chiefs and people in common, of whom Kamehameha I was the head, and had the management of the landed property. Wherefore, there was not formerly, and is not now any person who could or can convey away the smallest portion of land without the consent of the one who had, or has the direction of the kingdom.
These are the persons who have had the direction of it from that time down, Kamehameha II, Kaahumanu I, and at the present time Kamehameha III. These persons have had the direction of the kingdom down to the present time, and all documents written by them, and no others are the documents of the kingdom.
The kingdom is permanently confirmed to Kamehameha III, and his heirs, and his heir shall be the person whom he and the chiefs shall appoint, during his life time, but should there be no appointment, then the decision shall rest with the chiefs and house of Representatives.
PREROGATIVES OF THE KING.

The prerogatives of the King are as follows: He is the sovereign of all the people and all the chiefs. The kingdom is his. He shall have the direction of the army and all the implements of war of the kingdom. He also shall have the direction of the government property--the poll tax--the land tax--the three days monthly labor, though in conformity to the laws. He also shall retain his own private lands, and lands forfeited for the non-payment of taxes shall revert to him.
He shall be the chief judge of the Supreme Court, and it shall be his duty to execute the laws of the land, also all decrees and treaties with other countries, all however in accordance with the laws.
It shall also be his prerogative to form treaties with the rulers of all other kingdoms, also to receive ministers sent by other countries, and he shall have power to confirm agreements with them.
He shall also have power to make war in time of emergency, when the chiefs cannot be assembled, and he shall be the commander-in-chief. He shall also have power to transact all important business of the kingdom which is not by law assigned to others.

RESPECTING THE PREMIER OF THE KINGDOM.

It shall be the duty of the King to appoint some chief of rank and ability, to be his particular minister, whose title shall be Premier of the Kingdom. His office and business shall be the same as that of Kaahumanu I, and Kaahumanu II. For even in the time of Kamehameha I, life and death, condemnation and acquittal were in the hands of Kaahumanu. When Kamehameha I, died, his will was, "The Kingdom is Liholiho's, and Kaahumanu is his Minister." That important feature of the government, originated by Kamehameha I, shall be perpetuated in these Hawaiian Islands, but shall always be in subserviency to the law.

The following are the duties of the Premier: All business connected with the special interests of the kingdom, which the King wishes to transact, shall be done by the Premier under the authority if the King. All documents and business of the kingdom executed by the Premier, shall be considered as executed by the King's authority. All government property shall be reported to him (or her) and he (or she) shall make it over to the King.

The King shall not act without the knowledge of the Premier, nor shall the Premier act without the knowledge of the King, and the veto of the King on the acts of the Premier shall arrest the business. All important business of the kingdom which the King chooses to transact in person, he may do it but not without the approbation of the Premier.
GOVERNORS.

There shall be four Governors over these Hawaiian Islands--one for Hawaii--one for Maui and the Islands adjacent--one for Oahu, and one for Kauai and the adjacent Islands. All the Governors, from Hawaii to Kauai shall be subject to the King.

The prerogatives of the Governors and their duties, shall be as follows: Each Governor shall have the
general direction of the several tax gatherers of his island, and shall support them in the execution of all their orders which he considers to have been properly given, but shall pursue a course according to law, and not according to his own private views. He also shall preside over all the judges of his island, and shall see their sentences executed as above. He shall also appoint the judges and give them their certificates of office.

All the Governors, from Hawaii to Kauai shall be subject not only to the King, but also to the Premier.
The Governor shall be the superior over his particular island or islands. He shall have charge of the munitions of war, under the direction of the King, however, and the premier. He shall have charge of the forts, the soldiery, the arms and all the implements of war. He shall receive the government dues and shall deliver over the same to the Premier. All important decisions rest with him in times of emergency, unless the King or Premier be present. He shall have charge of all the King's business on the island, the taxation, new improvements to be extended, and plans for the increase of wealth, and all officers shall be subject to him. He shall also have power to decide all questions, and transact all island business which is not by law assigned to others.

When either of the Governors shall decease, then all the chiefs shall assemble at such place as the King shall appoint, and shall nominate a successor of the deceased Governor, and whosoever they shall nominate and be approved by the King, he shall be the new Governor.

HOUSE OF NOBLES.

At the present period, these are the persons who shall sit in the government councils, Kamehameha III, Kekauluohi, Hoapiliwahine, Kuakini, Kekauonohi, Kahekili, Paki, Konia, Keohokalole, Leleiohoku, Kekuanaoa, Kealiiahonui, Kanaina, Keoni Ii, Keoni Ana, and Haalilio. Should any other person be received into the council, it shall be made known by law. These persons shall have part in the councils of the kingdom. No law of the nation shall be passed without their assent. They shall act in the following manner: They shall assemble annually, for the purpose of seeking the welfare of the nation, and establishing laws for the kingdom. Their meetings shall commence in April, at such day and place as the King shall appoint.

It shall also be proper for the King to consult with the above persons respecting all the great concerns of the kingdom, in order to promote unanimity and secure the greatest good. They shall moreover transact such other business as the King shall commit to them.
They shall still retain their own appropriate lands, whether districts of plantations, or whatever divisions they may be, and they may conduct the business on said lands at their discretion, but not at variance with the laws of the kingdom.
RESPECTING THE REPRESENTATIVE BODY.
There shall be annually chosen certain persons to sit in council with the Nobles and establish laws for the nation. They shall be chosen by the people, according to their wish, from Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. The law shall decide the form of choosing them, and also the number to be chosen. This representative body shall have a voice in the business of the kingdom. No law shall be passed without the approbation of a majority of them.
RESPECTING THE MEETINGS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODY.
There shall be an annual meeting as stated above; but if the Rulers think it desirable to meet again they may do it at their discretion.
When they assemble, the Nobles shall meet by themselves and the representative body by themselves, though at such times as they shall think it necessary to consult together, they may unite at their discretion.
The form of doing business shall be as follows: The Nobles shall appoint a Secretary for themselves who at the meetings shall record all decisions made by them, and that book of records shall be preserved in order that no decrees affecting the interests of the kingdom may be lost.
The same shall be done by the representative body. They too shall choose a Secretary for themselves, and when they meet for the purpose of seeking the interests of the kingdom, and shall come to a decision on any point, then that decision shall be recorded in a book, and the book shall be preserved, in order that nothing valuable, affecting the interests of the kingdom should be lost; and there shall no new law be made, without the approbation of a majority of the Nobles and also a majority of the representative body.
When any act shall have been agreed upon by them, it shall thin be presented to the King, and if he approve and sign his name, and also the Premier, then it shall become a law of the kingdom, and that law shall not be repealed until it is done by the voice of those who established it.
RESPECTING THE TAX OFFICERS.
The King and Premier shall appoint Tax Officers, and give them their certificates of office. There shall be distinct tax officers for each of the islands, at the discretion of the King and Premier.
When a tax officer has received his certificate of appointment, he shall not be dismissed from office without first having a formal trial, and having been convicted of fault, at which time he shall be dismissed. Though if the law should prescribe a given number of years as the term of office, it may be done.
The following are the established duties of the tax officers. They shall assess the taxes and give notice of the amount to all the people, that they may understand in suitable time. The tax officers shall make the assessment in subserviency to the orders of the Governors, and in accordance with the taxes are to be gathered, they shall gather them and deliver the property to the Governor, and the Governor shall pay it over to the Premier, and the Premier shall deliver it to the King.

The tax officers shall also have charge of the public labor done for the King, though if they see proper to commit it to the land agents it is well but the tax officers being above the land agents shall be accountable for the work. They shall also have charge of all new business which the King shall wish to extend through the kingdom. In all business however they shall be subject to the Governor.
The tax officers shall be the judges in all cases arising under the tax law. In all cases where land agents or landlords are charged with oppressing the lower classes, and also in all cases of difficulty between land agents and tenants, the tax officers shall be the judges, and also all cases arising under the tax law enacted on the 7th of June, 1839.

They shall moreover perform their duties in the following manner: Each tax officer shall be confined in his authority to his own appropriate district. If a difficulty arises between a land agent and his tenant, the tax officer shall try the case and if the tenant be found guilty, then the tax officer, in connection with the land agent and his tenant, the tax officer shall try the case and if the tenant be found guilty, then the tax officer, in connection with the land agent shall execute the law upon him. But if the tax officer judge the land agent to be in fault, then he shall notify all the tax officers of his particular island, and if they are agreed,they shall pass sentence on him and the

governor who shall have power to try the case again, and if exceptions are taken to the decision of the Governor, on information given to the Supreme Judges, there shall be a new and final trial before them.
OF THE JUDGES

Each of the Governors shall at his discretion, appoint judges for his particular island, two or more as he shall think expedient, and shall give them certificates of office, After having received their certificates, they shall not be turned out, except by impeachment, through it shall be proper at any time for the law to limit the term of office.

They shall act in the following manner: They shall give notice before hand of the days on which courts are to be held. When the time specified arrives, they shall then enter on the trails according as the law shall direct. They shall be the judges in case arising under all the laws excepting those which regard taxation, or difficulties between land agents, or landlords and their tenants.

They shall be sustained by the Governor, whose duty it shall be to execute the law according to their decisions. But if exceptions are taken to their judgment, Whosoever takes them may appeal to the supreme judges.

Their business shall be to settle all cases of difficulty which are left unsettled by the tax officers and common judges. They shall give a new trial according to the conditions of the law. they shall give previous notice of the time for holding courts, in order that those who are in difficulty may appeal. The decision of these shall be final. There shall be no further trial after theirs. Life, death, confinement, fine, and freedom, from it, are all in their hands, and their decisions are final.

OF CHANGES IN THIS CONSTITUTION.
This constitution shall not be considered as finally established, until the people have generally heard it and have appointed persons according to the provisions herein made, and they have given their assent, then this constitution shall be considered as permanently established.

But hereafter, if it should be thought desirable to change it, notice shall be previously given, that all the people may understand the nature of the proposed change, and the succeeding year, at the meeting of the Nobles and the representative body, if they shall agree as to the addition proposed or as to the alteration, then they may make it.

The above constitution has been agreed to by the Nobles, and we have hereunto subscribed our names, this eighth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1840, at Honolulu, Oahu.

    •    (Signed) Kamehameha III.
    •    Kekauluohi

Kauikeauoli
Kingdom of Hawai`i Constitutions: 1852 - 1864 - 1887 - 1893
 

Kamehameha III

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Kamehameha III
King of the Hawaiian Islands (more...)
Reign June 6, 1825 — December 15, 1854
(&000000000000002900000029 years, &0000000000000192000000192 days)
Predecessor Kamehameha II
Successor Kamehameha IV

Spouse Queen Kalama
Issue
Prince Keawe Aweʻula-o-Kalani
Prince Keawe Awe'ula-o-Kalani II
Albert Kuka'ilimoku Kunuiakea
Full name
Keaweaweʻula Kiwalaʻo Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalaʻo i ke kapu Kamehameha
House Kamehameha
Father Kamehameha I
Mother Queen Keōpūolani
Born August 11, 1813(1813-08-11)
Keauhou Bay at North Kona, Hawaiʻi island
Died December 15, 1854(1854-12-15) (aged 41)
Honolulu, Oʻahu
Burial Mauna ʻAla Royal Mausoleum

Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli), (1813–1854) was the King of Hawaii from 1824 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweʻula Kiwalaʻo Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweʻula Kiwalaʻo Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalaʻo i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.

Under Kamehameha III Hawaii evolved from an absolute monarchy to a Christian constitutional monarchy with the signing of both the 1840 Constitution and 1852 Constitution. He was the longest reigning monarch in the history of the Kingdom, ruling for 29 years and 192 days, although in the early part of his reign he was under a regency by Queen Kaʻahumanu and later by Kaʻahumanu II. His goal was the careful balancing of modernization by adopting Western ways, while keeping his nation intact. As the years passed, Kamehameha III found himself resigned to the changing landscape of Hawaii. His rebellious nature softened as his authority was compromised by outside influences.

Contents

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[edit] Early life

Kauikeaouli was born at Keauhou Bay, on the Big Island of Hawaii. He was the second son of King Kamehameha I and his highest ranking wife, Queen Keōpūolani of Maui. The precise date is not known. Early historians suggested June or July 1814, but the generally accepted date is August 11, 1813 [1] He was of the highest kapu lineage. Kauikeaouli was about 16 years younger than his brother Liholiho, who ruled as Kamehameha II starting in 1819. He was named Kauikeaouli (placed in the dark clouds) Kaleiopapa Kuakamanolani Mahinalani Kalaninuiwaiakua Keaweaweʻulaokalani (the red trail or the roadway by which the god descends from heaven). He appeared to be delivered stillborn, but Kapihe, the kaula (prophet) of Chief Kaikioʻewa was summoned and declared the baby "alive". Kauikeaouli was cleansed, laid on a rock, fanned, prayed over and sprinkled with water until he breathed, moved and cried. The prayer of Kapihe was to Kaʻōnohiokalā, "Child of God". The rock is preserved as a monument. Kamehameha III chose to celebrate his birthday on March 17 in honor of his admiration for Saint Patrick of Ireland.

Kauikeaouli had a troubled childhood. He was torn between the Puritan Christian guidelines imposed on the kingdom by the kuhina nui (Queen Regent) who was his stepmother Kaʻahumanu, and the desires to honor the old traditions. Under the influence of Oahu governor Boki, who owned a liquor store, and a young Tahitian named Kaomi[2]:334-339 Kauikeaouli turned to alcohol in a clear rejection of the Christian standards of morality.

[edit] Reign

Kauikeaouli was only about 11 when he ascended to the throne in June 6, 1825. It had been 11 months after the death of Liholiho, who died in London. For the next seven years, from 1824 to 1832, real political power was in the hands of his stern stepmother and regent, Queen Kaʻahumanu. When Kaʻahumanu died in 1832, she was replaced as regent by Kauikeaouli’s half-sister, Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, who took the title Kaʻahumanu II. On March 15, 1833 he declared the regency ended, but retained Kīnaʻu in the kuhina nui office as more of a Prime Minister. Kīnaʻu died when Kauikeaouli was only 25, and the young king found himself consumed by the burdens of kingship.

When Kauikeaouli came to the throne, the native population numbered about 150,000, which was already less one third of the Hawaiian population at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival to Hawaii in 1778. During his reign, that number would be halved again, due to a series of epidemics.

[edit] Marriage and children

In ancient Hawaii, upper classes considered a marriage with a close royal family member to be an excellent way to preserve pure bloodlines. His brother Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) and his Queen Kamāmalu were a half-sister and brother couple. He had loved his sister Nāhiʻenaʻena and planned to marry her since childhood, but the union was opposed by the missionaries as sinful incest.[3]

It was proposed in 1832 that Kamanele, the daughter of Governor John Adams Kuakini, would be the most suitable in age, rank, and education for his queen.[4] Kamanele died in 1834 before the wedding took place.[2]:339 Instead Kamehameha III chose to marry Chiefess Kalama Hakaleleponi Kapakuhaili, of no relation, much to the anger of Kīnaʻu. Kalama's father was harbor pilot Naihekukui, giving her a much lower-ranking family background. After his sister's death in late 1836, he married Kalama February 4, 1837 in a Christian ceremony. Kamehameha III and Kalama had two children: Prince Keaweaweʻulaokalani I and Prince Keaweaweʻulaokalani II who both died while infants. He and his mistress Jane Lahilahi, a daughter of his father's advisor John Young, had twin illegitimate sons: Keoua, who died young, and Albert Kunuiakea, who lived to adulthood (1853–1902).[5]

young Hawaiian in uniform

In late 1840...


In 1838, senior advisor Hoapili convinced former missionary William Richards to resign from the church and become a political advisor. Richards (although he had no legal training himself) gave classes to Kamehameha III and his councilers on the Western ideas of rule of law and economics. Their first act was a declaration of human rights in 1839.[2]:343

In 1839, under a French threat of war, Roman Catholicism was legalized in the Edict of Toleration and the first statutory law code was established. He also enacted the Constitution of 1840, Hawaii's first. Over the next few years, he moved the capital from Lahaina to Honolulu. In September 1840 Charles Wilkes arrived on the United States Exploring Expedition. Kamehameha III was happy to support the explorers, and appointed missionary doctor Gerrit P. Judd to serve as translator. Judd treated many of the sailors who suffered from altitude sickness on their ascent of Mauna Loa. Wilkes vastly underestimated the task, and did not leave until March 1841.[6]

In February 1843, British Captain Lord George Paulet pressured Kamehameha III into surrendering the Hawaiian kingdom to the British crown, but Kamehameha III alerted London of the captain's rogue actions which eventually restored the kingdom's independence. Less than five months later, British Admiral Richard Thomas rejected Paulet's actions and the kingdom was restored on July 31.

It was at the end of this period of uncertainty that the king uttered the phrase that eventually became Hawaii’s motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono — "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness." July 31 was celebrated thereafter as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, an official national holiday of the kingdom.[7] Later that year, on November 28, Britain and France officially recognized the independence of
the Hawaiian Kingdom, and that too became a national holiday, Lā Kūʻokoʻa — Independence Day.[8]

Through the 1840s a formal legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom and cabinet (government) replaced the informal council of chiefs. The chiefs became the House of Nobles, roughly modeled on the British House of Lords. Seven elected representatives would be the start of democratic government.[9]:228 The cabinet consisted of a Privy Council and five powerful government ministers. Judd was appointed to the most powerful post of Minister of Finance. Frontier lawyer John Ricord was Attorney General, Robert Crichton Wyllie was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Richards Minister of Public Instruction, and Keoni Ana was Minister of the Interior.

His image on a coin from 1847

Kamehameha III also presided over formalization of the court system and land titles. Cases such as those of Richard Charlton and Ladd & Co. had prompted the incidents of 1843 and subsequent litigation. Lorrin Andrews became a judge for foreign cases in 1845. William Little Lee (the first to actually graduate from law school) became first Chief Justice.[10]

A commission to Quiet Land Titles was formed on February 10, 1846.[11] This led to what is called the Great Mahele of 1848 which redistributed land between the government, king, nobles, and commoners. Foreigners were allowed to own land fee simple in Hawaii for the first time. Many commoners were unaware of the program and lost out on the distribution. The domination of his cabinet by Americans (balanced only by Scot Wyllie and half-Hawaiian Keoni Ana) also discouraged the people. This was not the end of foreign conflicts either.

In 1849 admiral Louis Tromelin led a French Invasion of Honolulu. The French sacked and looted the city after the king refused his demands. In September 1849 Judd was sent with the heir apparent Prince Alexander Liholiho and Kamehameha V on a diplomatic mission. They returned with a new treaty with the United States, but failed in visits to London and Paris.

The Constitution of 1852 and subsequent legislation continued to liberalize politics. The court system was unified, instead of having separate courts for Hawaiians and foreigners. Local Hawaiian magistrates became Circuit Judges, and a Supreme Court was formed with Lee, Andrews, and John Papa ʻĪʻī as members. Voting rules were formalized and the role of the House of Representatives was stengthened.[10]

Later years


The California Gold Rush brought increased trade, but also some unwelcome visitors. Previously the long trips around Cape Horn or from Europe meant infected salors were either recovered or buried at sea by the time they arrived. The short voyage from California brought several waves of diseases that decimated the native Hawaiians who had no immunity. In the summer of 1853 an epidemic of smallpox caused thousands of deaths, mostly on the island of Oʻahu. Judd, always at odds with Wyllie, lost the backing of others who blamed him for not containing the disease (or had other political reasons to want him out of power). Judd was forced to resign on September 3, and was replaced by Elisha Hunt Allen as Minister of Finance.[9]:415

Hawaii became a popular winter destination for frustrated prospectors in the 1850s. Some were rumored to be filibusters hoping to profit from a rebellion. One of the first was a group led by Samuel Brannan, who did not find the popular support an uprising they expected. By the end of 1853 the threats, whether real or imagined, caused petitions for the king to consider annexation to the United States. Wyllie and Lee convinced the king to insist that annexation would only be acceptable if Hawaii became a U.S. State. At that time Slavery in the United States was still legal.[12]

On May 16, 1854 King Kamehameha III proclaimed the Hawaiian Kingdom neutral in the Crimean War in Europe.[13]:57 The present crises had passed, but the king's health declined, often attributed to his renewed drinking. The annexation question also did not go away. The British minister William Miller and French representative Louis Emile Perrin objected to the plan. New U.S. Commissioner David L. Gregg received instructions from Secretary of State William L. Marcy and negotiated a treaty of annexation with Wyllie by August 1854. It was never signed, and might not have been ratified by the Senate.[12] Although there was some support in the U.S.[14] it would take 105 more years before full statehood of Hawaii.

Kamehameha III died on December 15, 1854. Author Herman Melville in his book Typee painted an unsympathetic portrait,[15] although this is widely seen as reflecting the racist views of the time.[16] He was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son Alexander Liholiho, who was styled as King Kamehameha IV. In 1865 Kamehameha III was re-buried in the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii known as Mauna ʻAla.[17]

The access to his birthplace at Keauhou Bay is via Kamehameha III Road from the north from Hawaii Belt Road, at  and Kaleiopapa Street from the south at His successor described his reign:

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.[18]


 

 
 

 

THE AMENDED CONSTITUTION OF HAWAI’I 2000

Approved by the

Leg­isla­tive Assem­bly of the King­dom of Hawai’i

At its

Con­sti­tu­tional Con­ven­tion of March 10, 11 & 12, 2000

And

Rat­i­fied by the Cit­i­zenry in a Nation­wide Plebiscite on April 29, 2000

With amend­ments rat­i­fied and implemented

On April 14, 2001 and April 3, 2004

THE AMENDED CONSTITUTION OF HAWAI’I
Pro­mul­gated on the 29th of April, A. D. 2000

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS the King­dom of Hawai’i , hav­ing been in exile for one-hundred seven years due to an unlaw­ful over­throw of its Gov­ern­ment De Jure, has exer­cised Per­fect Right to reestab­lish its proper sta­tion as an inde­pen­dent nation within the com­mu­nity of nations.

WHEREAS on March 13, 1999, Na Kanaka Maoli rein­stated the high offices of the Hawai­ian King­dom, man­i­fested its inher­ent polit­i­cal author­ity, for­mally and explic­itly declared the rein­state­ment of the law­ful Hawai­ian Nation, repa­tri­ated and nat­u­ral­ized peo­ple to its cit­i­zenry, and con­ducted a gov­ern­men­tal elec­tion on Novem­ber 6, 1999.

WHEREAS the Gov­ern­ment De Jure and the Office of Sov­er­eign of the King­dom of Hawai’i hav­ing been absent for one-hundred seven years, the repa­tri­ated Peo­ple of Hawai’i do hereby annul and abro­gate the con­sti­tu­tion pro­mul­gated by David Kalakaua on the sixth day of July, A.D. 1887, and do pro­claim and pro­mul­gate this constitution.

WHEREAS this con­sti­tu­tion is the Supreme Law of Hawai’i .

Now, there­fore, the law­ful cit­i­zens do hereby pro­claim that this amended con­sti­tu­tion shall be the high­est laws of the inde­pen­dent nation also known as Hawai’i .

ARTICLE I. The Form of Government.

Hawai’i shall be a Con­sti­tu­tional Monar­chy oper­at­ing under a direct demo­c­ra­tic sys­tem of gov­ern­ment; that the cit­i­zens of Hawai’i shall pos­sess the polit­i­cal right to secure life, lib­erty, and the pur­suit of happiness.

There shall be an Office of the Monarch. The des­ig­nated respon­si­bil­ity of the Monarch is to serve as a sym­bol of the past nation known as the King­dom of Hawai’i. The Office of the Monarch man­i­fests the exist­ing rights reserved to the Hawai­ian Kingdom.

The Gov­ern­ment of Hawai’i shall be com­prised of an Exec­u­tive Branch, a Leg­isla­tive Branch and a Judi­cial Branch.

ARTICLE II. The Rights of the Citizens.

Ke Akua I Ka Lani hath endowed all peo­ple with cer­tain unalien­able rights that this gov­ern­ment shall pro­tect and uphold.

Sec­tion 1. Nat­ural Rights.

The nat­ural right to enjoy lib­erty shall be pre­served.
The nat­ural right to life of all liv­ing peo­ple shall be held sacred.
The nat­ural right to travel shall be observed.
All peo­ple resid­ing in Hawai’i are free to wor­ship God accord­ing to the dic­tates of their own consciences.

Sec­tion 2. Polit­i­cal Rights.

All peo­ple resid­ing in Hawai’i are free to speak, write, and pub­lish their sen­ti­ments on all sub­jects, being respon­si­ble for the abuse of that right.

All peo­ple resid­ing in Hawai’i shall have the right, in an orderly and peace­able man­ner, to assem­ble, with­out arms, to con­sult upon the com­mon good, and to peti­tion the Gov­ern­ment for redress or grievances.

Every cit­i­zen resid­ing in Hawai’i has the right to free­dom of expres­sion, which includes: free­dom of the press and other media, free­dom to receive or impart infor­ma­tion or ideas, free­dom of artis­tic cre­ativ­ity, aca­d­e­mic free­dom and sci­en­tific research. These rights do not extend to pro­pa­ganda for war; advo­cacy of hatred based on race, eth­nic­ity, gen­der or reli­gion; or that which con­sti­tutes incite­ment to cause harm.

Sec­tion 3. Civil Rights

Every eli­gi­ble voter shall be encour­aged to cast his or her vote in any and all gov­ern­men­tal elections.

Every cit­i­zen who shall have attained to the age of eigh­teen years and is a cur­rent res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to vote for the Nobles of their moku and the Rep­re­sen­ta­tive of their respec­tive districts.

The fol­low­ing per­sons shall not be per­mit­ted to reg­is­ter for vot­ing, to vote, or to hold office under any depart­ment of the gov­ern­ment, or to sit in the Leg­is­la­ture namely: Any per­son who is not a cit­i­zen, who is insane or an idiot, or any per­son who shall have been con­victed of any of the fol­low­ing named offenses, to wit: arson, bar­ra­try, bribery, bur­glary, coun­ter­feit­ing, embez­zle­ment, felo­nious assault, forgery, gross cheat, incest, kid­nap­ping, lar­ceny, mali­cious burn­ing, manslaugh­ter in the first degree, mur­der, per­jury, rape, rob­bery, sodomy, trea­son, sub­or­na­tion of per­jury, and malfea­sance in office, unless he or she shall have been par­doned by the Leg­is­la­ture and restored to his or her civil rights, and by the express terms of his or her par­don declared to be eli­gi­ble to offices of trust, honor, and profit.

The Leg­is­la­ture shall estab­lish civil law nec­es­sary to con­duct all gov­ern­men­tal elections.

The priv­i­lege of the writ of the habeas cor­pus belongs to all men and women, and shall not be sus­pended, unless by the Prime Min­is­ter, when in case of rebel­lion or inva­sion, the pub­lic safety requires its suspension. The dura­tion of this sus­pen­sion is not to exceed seven days with­out the approval of the Legislature. Extended sus­pen­sion shall be no longer than absolutely nec­es­sary for the pro­tec­tion of pub­lic safety with regard to the pur­pose for which the sus­pen­sion was orig­i­nally enacted.

Invol­un­tary servi­tude, except for crime, is for­ever pro­hib­ited in this Nation.

The mil­i­tary shall always be sub­ject to the laws of the land, and no sol­dier shall in time of peace be quar­tered in any house with­out the con­sent of the owner, or in time of war but in a man­ner pre­scribed by the Legislature.

Every cit­i­zen has the right to be secure from all unrea­son­able searches and seizures of their per­son, their house, their papers, files and effects; and no one may be deprived of prop­erty except in terms of gen­eral law appli­ca­tion, and no law may per­mit arbi­trary depri­va­tion of property. No war­rant shall issue, except on prob­a­ble cause where there is sub­stan­tial rea­son to believe there is ille­gal activ­ity or a threat to pub­lic health and safety, or national secu­rity, sup­ported by oath or affir­ma­tion, and describ­ing the place to be searched, and the per­son or things to be seized. No prop­erty may be per­ma­nently seized except upon legal con­vic­tion of a crime involv­ing that prop­erty unless required for rea­sons of pub­lic health, safety, or national security.

The cit­i­zens of the Nation shall have the right to bear arms for self-defense and to sup­port sub­sis­tence; this right to bear arms does not extend to the use of these arms for pur­poses detri­men­tal to pub­lic safety, health and well being, or to the destruc­tion of pub­lic or pri­vate property.

ARTICLE III. The Rights and Oblig­a­tions of Government.

The supreme author­ity of the nation in its exer­cise is divided into the exec­u­tive, leg­isla­tive, and judi­cial; these shall always be pre­served dis­tinct, and no exec­u­tive or judi­cial offi­cers, or any con­trac­tor or employee of the Gov­ern­ment, or any per­son in the receipt of salary or emol­u­ment from the Gov­ern­ment, shall be eli­gi­ble to elec­tion to the Leg­is­la­ture, or to hold the posi­tion of an elec­tive mem­ber of the same. And no mem­ber of the Leg­is­la­ture shall, dur­ing the time for which he or she is elected, be appointed to any civil office under the Government.

The Gov­ern­ment will review, amend, enact and exe­cute the civil and penal laws of the Hawai­ian King­dom to serve as the domes­tic laws of Hawai’i .

No offi­cer of this Gov­ern­ment shall hold any office or receive any salary from any other gov­ern­ment or power whatever.

Sec­tion 1. The Office of the Monarch.

The Monarch shall serve the nation as a sym­bol of the con­sti­tu­tional monar­chy and the gov­ern­ment of Hawai’i . The Monarch shall have no Power of State. The Office of the Monarch is removed from the Exec­u­tive Branch of this Government.

No per­son except a repa­tri­ated cit­i­zen of Hawai’i who is of abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian ances­try, has attained to the Age of thirty-five years and is a res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to the Office of the Monarch.

The Monarch will be elected by the cit­i­zens of Hawai’i . The term of the Office of the Monarch is five years. No per­son shall be elected to the Office of the Monarch more than twice. In the event of the removal of the Monarch from the Office, or of his or her death, res­ig­na­tion or inabil­ity to per­form the duties of the said office, a suc­ces­sor will be appointed by the Leg­is­la­ture to serve the remain­der of the term.

It is the duty of the Monarch to serve as the Spe­cial Rep­re­sen­ta­tive for Cul­tural Affairs for the cit­i­zens and gov­ern­ment of Hawai’i.The Monarch will over­see all pub­lic efforts within this nation towards the Recla­ma­tion and Preser­va­tion of the abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian culture.

The Monarch will con­sult on leg­isla­tive acts that per­tain to Hawai­ian cul­tural issues. The Monarch will be con­sulted on appoint­ments to com­mit­tees tasked with mat­ters of cul­tural affairs by the Legislature. The Monarch shall appoint a sec­re­tary to assist him or her in the duties of the said Office.

The Monarch must observe and uphold all laws of Hawai’i. The Monarch is installed by means of an inau­gural cer­e­mony where he or she must take an oath of fidelity to the nation. The per­son elected to the Office of the Monarch shall make the fol­low­ing oath: “I solemnly promise, in the pres­ence of Almighty God, to abide by the arti­cles of the con­sti­tu­tion of Hawai’i, and to serve the cit­i­zens of this nation in con­for­mity therewith.”

No per­son shall be eli­gi­ble for the Office of the Monarch who has been con­victed of any infa­mous crime, or who is insane, or an idiot.

The Leg­is­la­ture estab­lishes the com­pen­sa­tion owed to the occu­pant of the Office of the Monarch, and that Office’s secretary.

The Leg­is­la­ture sets the bud­get of the Office of the Monarch. The Monarch will sub­mit a pro­posed bud­get for the fol­low­ing year to the Leg­is­la­ture every pre­vi­ous June.

The expenses of every annual bud­get will be audited by a qual­i­fied finan­cial offi­cer from the Depart­ment of Finance.

Sec­tion 2. The Exec­u­tive Branch — The Office of the Prime Minister

The exec­u­tive author­ity of the nation shall be vested in a Prime Min­is­ter. No per­son except a repa­tri­ated or natural-born cit­i­zen of Hawai’i of abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian ances­try who has attained to the age of thirty-five years and is a res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is required that the Prime Min­is­ter be learned in the usage of the law of nations.

The cit­i­zens of Hawai’i shall elect the Prime Min­is­ter. The House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives and the House of Nobles shall estab­lish the qual­i­fi­ca­tions and ver­i­fi­ca­tion process for all can­di­dates to the Office of Prime Minister. The Leg­is­la­ture shall estab­lish an Exec­u­tive Review Com­mit­tee to review all poten­tial can­di­dates and make their rec­om­men­da­tions for the place­ment of the nom­i­nees on the ballot.

The Prime Min­is­ter super­vises the admin­is­tra­tion of the affairs of state and the affairs of the government. The Prime Min­is­ter, with the aid of the Min­is­ters of the Cab­i­net, shall per­form the fol­low­ing func­tions: Con­duct for­eign affairs; Admin­is­ter the law faith­fully and man­age domes­tic affairs of state; Super­vise pro­grams safe­guard­ing the national lands; Pre­pare the bud­get of the exec­u­tive branch for review by the Leg­is­la­ture; and Over­see all defense efforts, civil and otherwise. To pur­sue these respec­tive goals, the Prime Min­is­ter will be aided by a Min­is­ter of For­eign Affairs, an Attor­ney Gen­eral, and a Min­is­ter of the Inte­rior, a Min­is­ter of Finance, and a Min­is­ter of Defense.

The Cab­i­net Min­is­ters shall be nom­i­nated by the Prime Min­is­ter and receive their com­mis­sion from the Legislature. The Prime Min­is­ter will decide on the rec­om­men­da­tions of his or her min­is­ters with regards to the For­eign Min­is­ters of the Diplo­matic Corps, the Mar­shal and Sher­iffs of Law Enforce­ment, Assis­tant Min­is­ters of the Inte­rior, the Assis­tant Min­is­ters of Finance and the Offi­cers of the Defense Depart­ment, both Civil and Military. Only those res­i­dents who are repa­tri­ated or natural-born cit­i­zens of abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian ances­try are eli­gi­ble to hold the Offices of the Exec­u­tive Cabinet. A min­is­ter shall be removed by the Prime Min­is­ter only upon a vote of want of con­fi­dence passed by a major­ity of all the elected mem­bers of the Leg­is­la­ture, or upon con­vic­tion of a felony.

Before he or she enter on the exe­cu­tion of the Office, the Prime Min­is­ter will take the fol­low­ing Oath: ““I do solemnly promise, in the pres­ence of Almighty God, that I will faith­fully sup­port the Con­sti­tu­tion of Hawai’i, and con­sci­en­tiously and impar­tially dis­charge my duties as the Prime Min­is­ter of Hawai’i ”.” The Cab­i­net Min­is­ters shall take a sim­i­lar oath respec­tive to their offices.

The Prime Min­is­ter and the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net, for the term or terms of ser­vice to their coun­try, shall receive a com­pen­sa­tion from the Peo­ple, which shall be defined by the Leg­is­la­ture and paid out of the national treasury. This com­pen­sa­tion shall nei­ther be increased nor dimin­ished dur­ing their term or terms in office, and they shall not receive any other pay­ment within that period made in def­er­ence to their high offices. No indi­vid­ual who holds office in the exec­u­tive branch may hold another posi­tion in the gov­ern­ment and receive income for such for the dura­tion of his or her service. On the first day of each bien­nial ses­sion, the Prime Min­is­ter shall present to the Leg­is­la­ture, in the name of the Gov­ern­ment, the finan­cial budget.

The Prime Min­is­ter and all offi­cers of the exec­u­tive branch shall be removed from office on impeach­ment for, and con­vic­tion of, Trea­son, Bribery, or Vio­la­tions of the law of nations. Each mem­ber of the Cab­i­net shall keep an office at the seat of gov­ern­ment, and shall be account­able for the con­duct of his or her deputies and clerks.

The Prime Min­is­ter, upon enter­ing office, will state the pref­er­ence as to which of the Cab­i­net Min­is­ters shall suc­ceed as act­ing Prime Min­is­ter in the event that the Prime Min­is­ter can­not ful­fill his or her incumbency. On the occa­sion of the inabil­ity of the Prime Min­is­ter to dis­charge the duties of the office, or of his or her death, res­ig­na­tion, or removal, the Leg­is­la­ture may by law declare which Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net Min­is­ter shall act as Prime Min­is­ter, and such offi­cer shall act accord­ingly, until the dis­abil­ity be removed from the Prime Min­is­ter or a new Prime Min­is­ter be elected.

The Prime Min­is­ter is the com­man­der in chief of the army and navy, and of all other mil­i­tary forces of the nation, by sea, air and land. But, he shall never pro­claim war with­out the con­sent of the Peo­ple via the Leg­is­la­ture: and no mil­i­tary or naval force shall be orga­nized except by the author­ity of the Legislature.

The Prime Min­is­ter, by and with the advice and con­sent of the cab­i­net, has the power to grant reprieves and par­dons, after con­vic­tion, for all offenses, except in case of impeachment.

The Prime Min­is­ter has the power to make treaties. Treaties involv­ing changes in the tar­iff or in any law of the nation must be referred for approval to the Leg­is­la­ture. The Prime Min­is­ter appoints pub­lic min­is­ters, who shall be com­mis­sioned, accred­ited, and instructed agree­ably to the usage and law of nations.

It is the Prime Minister’s pre­rog­a­tive to receive and acknowl­edge pub­lic min­is­ters; to inform the Leg­is­la­ture of the state of the nation and to rec­om­mend to its con­sid­er­a­tion such mea­sures as he sees nec­es­sary and expedient.

The Prime Min­is­ter, in case of inva­sion or rebel­lion, can place the whole nation, or part of it, under mar­tial law.

Sec­tion 3. The Leg­isla­tive Branch

Of the Mana Kau Kanawai. The leg­isla­tive author­ity of the nation is vested in its leg­isla­tive assem­bly known as the Mana Kau Kanawai. It shall con­sist of two sep­a­rate Houses — The House of Nobles and the House of Representatives. It shall assem­ble, bian­nu­ally, in the month of January. The first reg­u­lar ses­sion shall be held in the year of our Lord two thou­sand one.

This leg­is­la­ture shall choose its own offi­cers and deter­mine the rules of its own proceedings. It may pun­ish its own mem­bers for dis­or­derly behavior.

Before assum­ing office, every leg­is­la­tor shall take the fol­low­ing oath: “I do solemnly promise, in the pres­ence of Almighty God, that I will faith­fully sup­port the con­sti­tu­tion of Hawai’i, and con­sci­en­tiously and impar­tially dis­charge my duties as a mem­ber of the Legislature.”

In the event that a leg­isla­tive office is vacated, the Leg­is­la­ture shall elect a cit­i­zen from the respec­tive moku or dis­trict to serve in the vacated office until the next gov­ern­men­tal election.

The Mana Kau Kanawai con­venes at the seat of gov­ern­ment in Hon­olulu, or at a dif­fer­ent place, if that should become inse­cure from an enemy or any dan­ger­ous disorder. The Prime Min­is­ter may, in any great emer­gency, con­vene the Leg­is­la­ture in extra­or­di­nary session.

No per­son shall sit as a noble or rep­re­sen­ta­tive in the Leg­is­la­ture unless elected under and in con­for­mity with the pro­vi­sions of this constitution.

The Leg­is­la­ture shall be the judge of the qual­i­fi­ca­tions of its own mem­bers, except as may here­after be pro­vided by law.

The Leg­is­la­ture is empow­ered to coin money and reg­u­late the cur­rency by law. This cur­rency will be backed by a commodity. This power is not trans­fer­able to any other entity.

The Leg­is­la­ture shall have author­ity to pun­ish by impris­on­ment not exceed­ing thirty days every per­son not a mem­ber who shall be guilty of dis­re­spect to the Leg­is­la­ture by any dis­or­derly or con­temp­tu­ous behav­ior in its pres­ence; or who, dur­ing the time of its sit­ting, shall pub­lish any false report of its pro­ceed­ings or insult­ing com­ments upon the same; or who shall threaten harm to the body or estate of any of its mem­bers for any­thing said or done in the Leg­is­la­ture, or who shall assault any of them there­fore; or who shall assault or arrest any Wit­ness or other per­son ordered to attend the Leg­is­la­ture on his way going or return­ing; or who shall res­cue any per­son arrested by order of the Legislature.

No sub­sidy, duty, or tax of any descrip­tion shall be estab­lished or levied with­out the con­sent of the Leg­is­la­ture; nor shall any money be drawn from the pub­lic trea­sury with­out such con­sent except when the ses­sions of the Leg­is­la­ture, the emer­gen­cies of war, inva­sion, rebel­lion, pesti­lence, or other pub­lic dis­as­ter shall arise, and then not with­out the con­cur­rence of all the cab­i­net; and the min­is­ter of finance shall ren­der a detailed account of such expen­di­ture to the Legislature.

The Leg­is­la­ture shall keep a jour­nal of its pro­ceed­ings, and the yeas and nays of the mem­bers on any ques­tion shall be entered into the journal.

The mem­bers of the Leg­is­la­ture shall in all cases, except trea­son, felony, or breach of the peace, be priv­i­leged from arrest dur­ing their atten­dance at the ses­sions of the Leg­is­la­ture, and in going to and return­ing from the same; pro­vided such priv­i­lege as to going an return­ing shall not cover a period of over twenty days; and they shall not be held to answer for any speech or debate made in the Leg­is­la­ture in any court or place whatsoever.

The Leg­is­la­ture votes the appro­pri­a­tion bien­ni­ally, after due con­sid­er­a­tion of the rev­enue and expen­di­ture for the two pre­ced­ing years, and the esti­mates of the rev­enue and expen­di­ture of the two suc­ceed­ing years, which shall be sub­mit­ted to them by the min­is­ter of finance.

Of the House of Nobles. Twenty-four nobles shall be elected, as fol­lows: seven from the island of Hawai’i , five from the island of Mau’i, one from the island of Moloka’i, eight from the island of O’ahu, and three from the islands of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau.

No per­son except a repa­tri­ated or natural-born cit­i­zen of Hawai’i of abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian ances­try who has attained to the age of eigh­teen years and is a res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to run as can­di­date to the House of Nobles. It is required that the Nobles be learned in the usage of the law of nations.

The Cit­i­zens of the island shall elect by bal­lot their choices for Noble. The term of ser­vice shall date from the gen­eral election.

The Nobles, for the term or terms of ser­vice to the coun­try, shall receive a com­pen­sa­tion from the Peo­ple, which shall be defined in the gen­eral pub­lic law of the nation, and paid out of the national treasury. This com­pen­sa­tion shall nei­ther be increased nor dimin­ished dur­ing their term or terms in office, and they shall not receive any other pay­ment within that period made in def­er­ence to their high offices. No indi­vid­ual who holds office in the leg­isla­tive branch may hold another posi­tion in the gov­ern­ment and receive income for such for the dura­tion of said service.

Fail­ure to com­ply with the oblig­a­tions of a Noble will result in the removal from office by the Legislature. In the event of removal or any such vacancy of one of the Nobles from office, the Leg­is­la­ture shall by a major­ity vote appoint a qual­i­fied cit­i­zen of the moku to the vacant posi­tion to serve only the remain­der of the term of the vacated office.

Of the House of Representatives. There shall be twenty-four Rep­re­sen­ta­tives for the Nation, who shall be elected from the dis­tricts stated in the gen­eral pub­lic law, one mem­ber returned from each.

No per­son except a repa­tri­ated, nat­u­ral­ized or natural-born cit­i­zen of Hawai’i who has attained to the age of eigh­teen years and is a res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to run as can­di­date to the House of Representatives. It is required that the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives be learned in the usage of the law of nations.

The Cit­i­zens of the dis­trict shall elect by bal­lot their choice for Representative. The term of ser­vice shall date from the gen­eral election.

The Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, for the term or terms of ser­vice to the coun­try, shall receive a com­pen­sa­tion from the Peo­ple, which shall be defined in the gen­eral pub­lic law of the nation, and paid out of the national treasury. This com­pen­sa­tion shall nei­ther be increased nor dimin­ished dur­ing their term or terms in office, and they shall not receive any other pay­ment within that period made in def­er­ence to their high offices. No indi­vid­ual who holds office in the leg­isla­tive branch may hold another posi­tion in the gov­ern­ment and receive income for such for the dura­tion of said service.

Fail­ure to com­ply with the oblig­a­tions of a Rep­re­sen­ta­tive will result in the removal from office by the Legislature. In the event of removal or any such vacancy of one of the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives from office, the Leg­is­la­ture shall by a major­ity vote appoint a qual­i­fied cit­i­zen from the dis­trict to the vacant posi­tion to serve only the remain­der of the term of the vacated office.

Sec­tion 4. Terms for Cre­at­ing Addi­tional Districts

The Leg­is­la­ture shall con­sider the admit­tance of addi­tional dis­tricts within the islands of the nation every four years. A sim­ple major­ity of the full leg­isla­tive body is required to for­ward the pro­posal to the cit­i­zens for consideration. A plebiscite shall be con­ducted in all dis­tricts of the nation to vote on the expansion. A major­ity of two-thirds of all the dis­tricts is nec­es­sary to autho­rize the new district. The pro­posed dis­trict must have a defined area agree­able to its imme­di­ate neigh­bor­ing dis­tricts, and no less than one thou­sand of the cit­i­zens in the area must be of abo­rig­i­nal Hawai­ian ancestry.

ARTICLE IV. The Leg­isla­tive Process.

No per­son other than the mem­bers of the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net, the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, and the mem­bers of the House of Nobles may intro­duce a bill for con­sid­er­a­tion by the law-making body of this nation. If found to be con­trary to the Con­sti­tu­tion of Hawai’i , a Bill shall be sub­ject to review. If that bill fails the scrutiny of a com­mit­tee appointed to its review, it is sub­ject to dismissal.

To avoid improper influ­ences which may result from inter­mix­ing in one and the same act such things as have no proper rela­tion to each other, every bill shall embrace but one object, and that shall be expressed in its title.

All bills, resolved by the Leg­is­la­ture, shall be iden­ti­fied as belong­ing to a spe­cific cat­e­gory of domes­tic law of Hawai’i . They are either an Act of Law, an Ordi­nance Law, a Res­o­lu­tion or an Act of Finance.

Sec­tion 1. Types of Bills.

A) A Bill for an Act of Law upon being passed and assented to shall be directly entered into the Civil Laws or Penal Laws of Hawai’i .

  1. All bills passed, as an Act of Law shall be entered into either the Civil Code of Law of Hawai’i or the Penal Code of Law of Hawai’i .
  2. An Act of Law is bind­ing upon all per­sons resid­ing or vis­it­ing Hawai’i .

B) A Bill of Ordi­nance Law upon being passed and assented to shall be directly entered into the Ordi­nance Code of Law of Hawai’i.

  1. An Ordi­nance Law is bind­ing only upon the con­duct and affairs of the offi­cers of this gov­ern­ment, their employ­ees, and the depart­ments, agen­cies, ad hoc agen­cies, com­mis­sions and com­mit­tees des­ig­nated by this gov­ern­ment and upon all per­sons resid­ing and con­duct­ing busi­ness in the Hawai­ian archipelago.

C) A Bill of Res­o­lu­tion upon being passed and assented to shall be directly entered into the Com­piled Res­o­lu­tions of Hawai’i .

  1. A Res­o­lu­tion is an Act of Law with a spe­cific appli­ca­tion or func­tion that may be either annulled or con­tin­ued under amend­ment by the Legislature.

D) A Bill for an Act of Finance upon being passed in con­junc­tion with an Act of Law, Ordi­nance Law or Res­o­lu­tion will be entered as an attach­ment of the appro­pri­ate law into the Civil Code of Law, the Penal Code of Law, the Ordi­nance Code of Law, or the Com­piled Res­o­lu­tions of Hawai’i .

Sec­tion 2. Authorizing a Bill.

A) A Bill for an Act of Law

  1. Must be spon­sored by a mem­ber of the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net or a mem­ber of the Legislature.
  2. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  3. Must be sur­ren­dered to a Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles and the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  4. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor onto the floor of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review.
  5. Will be dis­trib­uted by the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives to the cit­i­zens in their respec­tive dis­tricts to either accept or reject in its entirety.
  6. Will be passed or defeated by sim­ple major­ity vote of the cit­i­zens of the respec­tive districts.
  7. Will have a lim­i­ta­tion of twenty-eight days after its intro­duc­tion to be accepted or rejected by the cit­i­zens in every district.
  8. Will be passed into law only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the total num­ber of districts.
  9. Upon being passed and assented to, shall be enacted and observed imme­di­ately unless stip­u­lated oth­er­wise within the text of the bill.

B) A Bill for an Ordi­nance Law

  1. Must be spon­sored by a mem­ber of the Leg­is­la­ture or a mem­ber of the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  2. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  3. Must be sur­ren­dered to a Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles and the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  4. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor onto the floor of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives or the House of Nobles after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review.
  5. Will be dis­trib­uted by the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives to the cit­i­zens in their respec­tive dis­tricts to either accept or reject in its entirety.
  6. Will be passed or defeated by sim­ple major­ity vote of the cit­i­zens of the respec­tive districts.
  7. Will have a lim­i­ta­tion of twenty-eight days after its intro­duc­tion to be accepted or rejected by the cit­i­zens in every district.
  8. Will be passed into law only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the total num­ber of districts.
  9. Upon being passed and assented to, shall be enacted and observed imme­di­ately unless stip­u­lated oth­er­wise within the text of the bill.

The enact­ing style in mak­ing and pass­ing an Act of Law and an Ordi­nance Law shall be: ““Be it enacted by the Cit­i­zens and the Leg­is­la­ture of Hawai’i”.

C) A Bill for a Resolution

  1. Must be spon­sored by a mem­ber of the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net or a mem­ber of the Legislature.
  2. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  3. Is time-specific in its usage and must state the period of time it can be used and its date of expiration.
  4. Must be sub­mit­ted to a Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles or the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  5. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor onto the floor of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives or the House of Nobles after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review.
  6. Once intro­duced, is sub­ject to dis­cus­sion and crit­i­cism by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives and the House of Nobles.
  7. Will be passed and assented to only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the mem­bers of both houses.
  8. Shall be used or declared imme­di­ately after its approval unless spec­i­fied otherwise.
  9. Shall be re-introduced before its date of expi­ra­tion for vote of renewal, amend­ing or maturity.

The enact­ing style in mak­ing and pass­ing a Res­o­lu­tion shall be: “Be it enacted by the Leg­is­la­ture of Hawai’i.”

D) A Bill for an Act of Finance

  1. Must be spon­sored by a mem­ber of the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net or a mem­ber of the Legislature.
  2. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  3. Must accom­pany all Bills for Acts of Law, Bills for an Ordi­nance Law and Bills of Res­o­lu­tion, which require or request financing.
  4. Must be sub­mit­ted to a Com­mit­tee of Finan­cial Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles and the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  5. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor to the Leg­is­la­ture after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Finan­cial Review.
  6. Once intro­duced, is sub­ject to dis­cus­sion and crit­i­cism by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives and the House of Nobles.
  7. Will be passed and assented to only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the mem­bers of both houses.

Sec­tion 3. The Process of Amend­ing Acts of Law and Ordi­nance Laws.

A) A Bill for Amend­ing an Act of Law

  1. May be intro­duced by a mem­ber of the Leg­is­la­ture other than the spon­sor of the orig­i­nal bill.
  2. Must indi­cate in its intro­duc­tion if that Act of Law should be amended or repealed.
  3. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  4. Must be sur­ren­dered to a Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles and the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  5. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor onto the floor of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review.
  6. Will be dis­trib­uted by the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives to the cit­i­zens in their respec­tive dis­tricts to either accept or reject in its entirety.
  7. Will be passed into law by a sim­ple major­ity vote of the cit­i­zens of the respec­tive districts.
  8. Will have a lim­i­ta­tion of twenty-eight days after its intro­duc­tion to be accepted or rejected by the cit­i­zens in every district.
  9. Will be passed into law only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the total num­ber of districts.
  10. Upon being passed and assented to, shall be enacted and observed imme­di­ately unless stip­u­lated oth­er­wise within the text of the Bill.

B) A Bill for Amend­ing an Ordi­nance Law

  1. May be intro­duced by a mem­ber of the Leg­is­la­ture other than the spon­sor of the orig­i­nal bill.
  2. Must indi­cate in its intro­duc­tion if that Ordi­nance Law should be amended or repealed.
  3. Must be sub­mit­ted before the first of Sep­tem­ber for place­ment on the leg­isla­tive cal­en­dar of the fol­low­ing year.
  4. Must be sur­ren­dered to a Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review appointed by the mem­bers of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives, the House of Nobles and the Exec­u­tive Cabinet.
  5. Will be intro­duced by its spon­sor onto the floor of the House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives or the House of Nobles after its approval by the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review.
  6. Will be dis­trib­uted by the Rep­re­sen­ta­tives to the cit­i­zens in their respec­tive dis­tricts to either accept or reject in its entirety.
  7. Will be passed into law by a sim­ple major­ity vote of the cit­i­zens of the respec­tive districts.
  8. Will have a lim­i­ta­tion of twenty-eight days after its intro­duc­tion to be accepted or rejected by the cit­i­zens in every district.
  9. Will be passed into law only upon gain­ing the major­ity of a sim­ple vote from the total num­ber of districts.
  10. Upon being passed and assented to, shall be enacted and observed imme­di­ately unless stip­u­lated oth­er­wise within the text of the Bill.

Sec­tion 4. Impeachment.

The nobles shall be a court, with full and sole author­ity to hear and deter­mine any charge of impeach­ment made by the rep­re­sen­ta­tives as the grand inquest of the nation, against any offi­cers of the nation, for mis­con­duct or mal­ad­min­is­tra­tion in their offices; but pre­vi­ous to the trial of every impeach­ment the nobles shall respec­tively be sworn truly and impar­tially to try and deter­mine the charge in ques­tion, accord­ing to evi­dence and law. Their judg­ment, how­ever, shall not extend fur­ther than the removal from office and dis­qual­i­fi­ca­tion to hold or enjoy any place of honor, trust, or profit under this gov­ern­ment; but the party so con­victed shall be, nev­er­the­less, liable to indict­ment, trial, judg­ment, and pun­ish­ment accord­ing to the laws of the land.

ARTICLE V. The Judi­cial Branch.

The judi­cial author­ity of the nation shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such infe­rior courts as the Leg­is­la­ture may, from time to time, establish.

The Supreme Court shall con­sist of a chief jus­tice and not less than two asso­ciate jus­tices, any one of whom may hold the court. The jus­tices of the supreme court shall hold their offices dur­ing good behav­ior, sub­ject to removal upon impeach­ment, and shall, at stated times, receive for their ser­vices a com­pen­sa­tion, which shall not be dimin­ished dur­ing their con­tin­u­ance in office: Pro­vided, how­ever, That any judge of the supreme court or any other court of record may be removed from office on a res­o­lu­tion passed by two-thirds of all the mem­bers of the Leg­is­la­ture. The judge against whom the Leg­is­la­ture may be about to pro­ceed shall receive notice thereof; accom­pa­nied by a copy of the causes alleged for his removal, at least ten days before the day on which the Leg­is­la­ture shall act thereon. He shall be heard before the Legislature.

No per­son except a cit­i­zen of Hawai’i who has at least attained to the age of twenty-five years and is a res­i­dent shall be eli­gi­ble to the Office of Jus­tice of the Supreme Court. It is required that the Jus­tices be learned in the usage of the law of nations.

Before assum­ing the Office, the Jus­tices will take the fol­low­ing Oath: ““I do solemnly promise, in the pres­ence of Almighty God, that I will faith­fully sup­port the Con­sti­tu­tion of Hawai’i, and con­sci­en­tiously and impar­tially dis­charge my duties as a mem­ber of the Judiciary”.”

The Jus­tices, for their term of ser­vice to the coun­try, shall receive a com­pen­sa­tion from the Peo­ple, which shall be defined in the gen­eral pub­lic law of the nation, and paid out of the national treasury. They shall not receive any other pay­ment within that period made in def­er­ence to their high offices. No indi­vid­ual who holds office in the judi­cial branch may hold another posi­tion in the gov­ern­ment and receive income for such for the dura­tion of said service. The judi­cial author­ity shall be divided among the Supreme Court and the sev­eral infe­rior courts of the Nation, in such man­ner as the Leg­is­la­ture may from time to time pre­scribe, and the tenure of office in the infe­rior courts of the Nation shall be such as may be defined by the law cre­at­ing them.

The judi­cial author­ity shall extend to all cases in law and equity aris­ing under the con­sti­tu­tion and laws of this Nation, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their author­ity; to all cases affect­ing pub­lic min­is­ters and con­suls, and to all cases of admi­ralty and mar­itime jurisdiction.

The chief jus­tice of the supreme court shall be ex offi­cio pres­i­dent of the nobles in all cases of impeach­ment, unless when impeached him­self; and shall exer­cise such juris­dic­tion in equity or other cases as the law may con­fer upon him, his deci­sion being sub­ject how­ever, to the revi­sion of the supreme court on appeal. Should the chief jus­tice ever be impeached, some per­son spe­cially com­mis­sioned by the Prime Min­is­ter shall pre­side over the court of impeach­ment dur­ing such trial.

The deci­sions of the Supreme Court, when made by a major­ity of the jus­tices thereof shall be final and con­clu­sive upon all parties.

The Prime Min­is­ter, the Exec­u­tive Cab­i­net, and the Leg­is­la­ture shall have author­ity to require the opin­ions of the jus­tices of the Supreme Court upon impor­tant ques­tions of law and upon solemn occasions.

The Prime Min­is­ter nom­i­nates can­di­dates to the posi­tions of the jus­tices of the Supreme Court and all other judges of the courts of record. The can­di­dates are appointed by the cit­i­zens through their Rep­re­sen­ta­tives in the Legislature. The salaries of the jus­tices of the Supreme Court and all other judges of the courts of record are fixed by law.

No judge or mag­is­trate shall sit all alone on an appeal or new trial in any case on which he may have given a pre­vi­ous judgment.

ARTICLE VI. Of Due Process.

All men and women shall have the priv­i­lege to due process of law. No per­son shall be com­pelled in any crim­i­nal case to be a wit­ness against him­self nor be deprived of life, lib­erty and the pur­suit of happiness.

No per­son shall be sub­ject to pun­ish­ment for any offense, except on due and legal con­vic­tion thereof, in a court hav­ing juris­dic­tion of the case.

No per­son in Hawai’i shall be held to answer for any crime or offense unless upon indict­ment fully and plainly describ­ing such crime or offense, and he or she shall have the right to meet the wit­nesses who are pro­duced against him or her face to face; to pro­duce wit­nesses and proof in his or her own favor, by him­self or her­self or their coun­sel, at his or her elec­tion, to exam­ine the wit­nesses pro­duced by him­self or her­self and cross-examine those pro­duced against him or her, and to be fully heard in his or her own defense. In all cases in which the right of trial by jury has been hereto­fore used it shall be held invi­o­lable for­ever, except in actions of debt or assump­sit in which the amount claimed is less than fifty dollars.

No man or woman shall be required to answer again for an offense of which he or she has been duly con­victed or of which he or she has been duly acquitted.

Pri­vate prop­erty may be taken for pub­lic use by the gov­ern­ment, but only upon due process of law. Just com­pen­sa­tion shall apply accord­ing to the man­date of civil law.

No per­son shall sit as a judge or juror in any case in which his or her rel­a­tive by affin­ity, or by con­san­guin­ity within the third degree, is inter­ested, either as plain­tiff or defen­dant, or in the issue of which the said judge or juror may have, either directly or through such rel­a­tive, any pecu­niary interest.

ARTICLE VII. Terms of Allegiance.

Each per­son in Hawai’i has a right to be pro­tected in the enjoy­ment of life, lib­erty, and prop­erty, accord­ing to law. Therefore, they shall be obliged to per­pet­u­ate Hawai’i’s inde­pen­dent sov­er­eignty and to con­tribute their pro­por­tional share.

ARTICLE VIII. Laws Retrieved from Suspension.

All laws com­piled by the gov­ern­ment de jure prior to its unlaw­ful over­throw in 1893 shall be brought out of sus­pen­sion, then altered or repealed by the Legislature. All laws hereto­fore enacted, or that may here­after be enacted, which are con­trary to this con­sti­tu­tion shall be null and void.

ARTICLE IX. Symbols of the Nation.

The Motto of this Nation is Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The Sov­er­eignty of the Land is Always Righteous).

The Flag of this Nation is [under construction].

The Great Seal of this Nation is [under construction].

The Anthem of this Nation is Hawai’i Pono’i.

The Pledge of Alle­giance to this Nation is [needs to be composed].

ARTICLE X. The Rat­i­fi­ca­tion Process.

The Leg­is­la­ture has the author­ity to amend the con­sti­tu­tion accord­ing to the dic­tates of the law.

Any amend­ment or amend­ments to this con­sti­tu­tion may be pro­posed to the Leg­is­la­ture, and shall be sur­ren­dered to the Com­mit­tee of Con­sti­tu­tional Review. Upon clear­ing the com­mit­tee, the amend­ment shall be intro­duced to the full leg­is­la­ture by either a noble or a dis­trict rep­re­sen­ta­tive or an exec­u­tive min­is­ter. A sim­ple major­ity of the full leg­isla­tive body is required to for­ward the pro­posed amend­ment to the cit­i­zens for consideration. A plebiscite shall be con­ducted in all dis­tricts of the nation to vote on each amendment. A major­ity of two-thirds of all the dis­tricts is nec­es­sary for the pro­posed amend­ment to become part of the con­sti­tu­tion of this nation.

The Leg­is­la­ture shall con­sider amend­ing the con­sti­tu­tion every even num­bered year begin­ning in 2004 A.D. Prior to that date, the Leg­is­la­ture may con­sider amend­ments to the con­sti­tu­tion at every con­ven­ing of the Mana Kau Kanawai.

This con­sti­tu­tion shall be in force on the 29th day of April, A.D. 2000.

 

 
 
 

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