Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 8, 1 August 1998 — BEFORE ANNEXATION Sleight of Hand [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BEFORE ANNEXATION Sleight of Hand

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By D ū v i d Keanu Sai Editor's note: Featured this month is the second oftwo parts of "Sleight ofHand," the result ofindepth research ofthefacts and legalities surrounding the 1898 " annexation." The author is the chairman ofthe history sub-group ofthe "Hawai'i Loa Kūlike Kākou" committee planning the Aug. 12 centennial observance at 'lolani Palaee. īhe Honster Petition Aprtst kmm WORD OF what had transpired in Washington soon reached the islands. Anticipating that the United States Senate would reconvene in December of that same year to eonsider this sec-

ond attempt at annexation. an aggressive campaign was initiated. intended to fortify the Queen's letter of protest. The men and women of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, also known as Hui Aloha 'āina, through the efforts of many loyal and dedicated Hawaiian subjects, launched a full scale petition drive

that lasted approximately two months. They went from island to island, from shore to shore, leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to document opposition to the proposed treaty of annexation. By November of 1 897, they had successfully gathered the signatures and support of 21,269 patriots. In a joint effort, the Hawaiian Patriotic League, also known as Hui Kālai'āina, gathered through its petition drive 1 7,285 signatures. Together there were 38,554 signatures representing more than 95 percent of the native and part-native population. Hawaiian D?!epte Mm Honster Petition to U.S.Senat? James Kaulia, President of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, and David Kalauokalani, President of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, with

John Richardson and William Auld traveled to Washington, D.C., to deliver these petitions to the United States Senate. Tr?āty of InwUon Not W?d in tk U.S. Smte As a result of these protests and other legal questions surrounding the Republic of Hawai'i, the United States Senate failed to acquire the two-thirds vote of the Senators present needed to ratify the treaty of annexation, but expansionists in the United States Congress, led by Senator Morgan, would not let the dream of annexation die. They devised a plan to bypass the requirements of their own constitution in an effort to annex the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution.

Advo«tes of kmM Devise Scheme In March of 1 898 they drafted Joint Resolution No. 55 to provide for annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States, and attached the resolution "...as an amendment to an appropriation bill." Joint Resolution No. 55, otherwise known as the Newlands Resolution, was passed by a simple majority in eaeh house of Congress and signed by President McKinley on July 7, 1898. If the United States Congress had strictly adhered to their constitution, the mere thought of annexing the Hawaiian Islands by joint resolution would not have been considered. Th? Tas^ial Jiago* In an article written in the latter part of February, 1 898, Carl Schurz, a journalist for New York's Harpers Weekly Magazine, wrote, "For the

idea of rushing through Congress a measure of such inealeulahle importance as the annexing of a distant country by such a trick is so monstrous that even the most fanatieal jingo may well recoil from it." DieSleMitoflld - On August 12, 1898, at the "annexation" ceremonies on the grounds of the 'Iolani Palaee, the self-proclaimed Republic of Hawai'i's Sanford Dole and United States' Minister Harold Sewell exchanged documents. Sanford Dole presented a "ratification" of the Treaty of 1 897. In plaee of a valid ratification by Congress, Sweall presented Joint Resolution No. 55. It should be noted that Article VII of this "so-called" treaty of annexation stated that the "...ratifications hereof shall be

exchanged at Washington as soon as possible." This provision made no reference to ratifications being exchanged at 'Iolani Palaee in Honolulu. Therefore, it must be surmised that United States President William McKinley knew he could not get away with exchanging a joint resolution in plaee

oi a launeu treaty in Washington, and opted to go through with the "exchange" at Honolulu. The l!lusion For the past 1 00 years, it has been assumed that Joint Resolution No. 55 had the power and effect of a treaty of annexation. However, according to international law and practice, that is false. Joint Resolution No. 55 is not a ratification of the treaty of annexation, but merely an internal pieee of United States Iegislation. Amenean Sover?ipty Does Hot £xist in i? Hawaiian lslands Without a treaty of annexation, American sovereignty does not exist in these islands. There was no annexation. ■

Members of the Hul Aloha 'Āina o nā Wāhine (Hawaiian Patriotic League for Women). Seated on the left is the hui president, Mrs. Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine Campbell. Standing fourth from the left is Mrs. Emma A'ima Nāwahī. We are seeking photo IDs on the others including Mālie Kaha'i and Mrs. Kahalewai Cummins.