Translate

Sunday, January 26, 2020

PIRATES OF THE PACIFIC #2a: CHARLES REED BISHOP AND FRIENDS -Attorney and Trustee William O. Smith and Brother-in-Law Judge A. S. Hartwell

PIRATES OF THE PACIFIC  #2a:  CHARLES REED BISHOP AND FRIENDS  - Attorney and Trustee William O. Smith and Brother-in-Law Judge A. S. Hartwell 


                                                                                   by Amelia Gora (2019)


Attorney and Trustee William O. Smith

-In 1893, he was a member of the Committee of Safety that seized governing powers from Queen Lili'uokalani and ended the Hawaiian monarchy.

- A member of the executive council of the provisional government.
- he was appointed attorney general and president of the board of health by Provisional President Sanford B. Dole.
Despite his role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, he was a trusted friend of Queen Lili'uokalani and one of the administrators of her estate upon her death. 

He was a trustee of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate from 1884-1886 and 1897-1929.

He was a trustee of the Lunalilo Estate, the Alexander Young Estate and the children's hospital. 

He was on the board of the Guardian Trust Company, Bishop Trust Company, Inter-Island Steam Navigation company and Alexander and Baldwin.


References:


Home >> First Years >> Trustees >> Smith
>> William Owen Smith (1848-1929)
William O. Smith was borh on August 4, 1848 at Koloa, Hawai'i. He was the son of Dr. James William Smith and Millicent Knapp, members of the Tenth Company of missionaries sailing from Boston. Dr. Smith was the only physician on the island of Kaua'i where he spent his whole life. Mrs. Smith was founder and teacher of the Koloa Boarding School. William was one of 9 children. As a youth, he worked for several years on a sugar plantation. He was educated at Reverend Daniel Dole's school at Koloa, at Punahou School and the Massachusetts Agricultural College at Amherst.
Returning to Hawai'i, he worked at the law offices of Judge Alfred S. Hartwell and served as sheriff of Kaua'i in 1870 and sheriff of Maui in 1872. In 1875, he was admitted to the Hawai'i bar and became deputy attorney general. In March 23, 1876, he married Mary Abbey Hobron of Honolulu. He retained his interest in the sugar industry and for many years was secretary and treasurer of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association.
Smith served in the Hawaiian legislature from 1878-1899. In 1893, he was a member of the Committee of Safety that seized governing powers from Queen Lili'uokalani and ended the Hawaiian monarchy. A member of the executive council of the provisional government, he was appointed attorney general and president of the board of health by Provisional President Sanford B. Dole.
Despite his role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, he was a trusted friend of Queen Lili'uokalani and one of the administrators of her estate upon her death. He was a trustee of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate from 1884-1886 and 1897-1929. He was a trustee of the Lunalilo Estate, the Alexander Young Estate and the children's hospital. He was on the board of the Guardian Trust Company, Bishop Trust Company, Inter-Island Steam Navigation company and Alexander and Baldwin.
He died at his Nu'uanu home on April 13, 1929 after catching a cold that developed into bronchial pneumonia. His funeral was held at Kawaiaha'o Church. Kamehameha Schools students were invited to attend. The Reverend Akaiko Akana officiated.
"Mr. Smith," he said, "was a kind and loving man who held a great number of responsible positions." Besides this, the speaker stated that Mr. Smith was given the task of taking charge of all financial affairs of the Bishop Trust--a task he performed nobly. The Rev. Akana then urged that Mr. Smith be known as a doer of things for the benefit of mankind and that he be remembered as a great example of man. After the speaker's eulogy, "Only Remembered," was sung by the Kamehameha Schools. -- C. Kealoha. (The Cadet, April 26, 1929)
Reference:   http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/archives/FirstYears/links/smith.php

Reference:  http://iolani-theroyalhawk.blogspot.com/2017/12/conspirators-in-collusion-or-parties-to.html


Alfred S. Hartwell

Abdication papers were prepared by Judge A.S. Hartwell for Queen Liliuokalani's signature.

Queen Liliuokalani was under stress, duress, usurpation, coercion, and intimidation.  All of this means that all transactions were Null and Void.

Also, U.S. President Gave Hawaii Back to Queen Liliuokalani in 1894 AND 1897.

He became the third wealthiest person in the Hawaiian Islands.


Reference:



The Truth About Our Queen Liliuokalani - She Was Given Back Hawaii in 1894 AND 1897

The Truth About Our Queen Liliuokalani


http://iolani-theroyalhawk.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-truth-about-our-queen-liliuokalani.html

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR QUEEN LILIUOKALANI

                                  - A Review/Summary -

                                                        by Amelia Gora (2016)

 The following is an important article found on chroniclingamerica.com :

Page  
Page  
Page  
Page 
Page

Review and Summary
Queen Liliuokalani visited Washington for a political mission.
"No Court of Equity could decide against her."
Note:  Royal persons are Not subject to the laws.
Queen Liliuokalani herself maintained that she was still the Queen.
An abdication was prepared for her signature on January 25, 1895 by A.S. Hartwell.
Background on A.S. Hartwell, a Conspirator:
He was an Honorary Brevet Brigadier General working under President Lincoln in the American Civil War 1863-1865.
He arrived in Hawaii in 1868.  He was a Harvard graduate.
- Appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Lot Kamehameha/Kamehameha V
"In 1873 he hosted a visit of some other former civil war generals, including John SchofieldRufus Ingalls, and Barton S. Alexander, when they investigated the use of Pearl Harbor as a naval base."
- Hartwell was appointed Attorney General by King Kalakaua.
_ Hartwell had eight (8) children who married some of those who conspired against the Queen and her people"
  1. Daughter Mabel Rebecca Hartwell was born April 5, 1873 and married Alfred Townsend in 1897.
  2. Daughter Edith Millicent Hartwell was born May 25, 1874 and married Alfred Wellington Carter (1867–1949) in 1895.[16]
  3. Daughter Madeline Perry Hartwell was born May 26, 1875 and married Albert Francis Judd, Jr. in 1899, son of Albert Francis Judd, and grandson of Gerrit P. Judd.
  4. Daughter Charlotte Lee Hartwell was born October 22, 1876 and married Charles Henry Chater.
  5. Daughter Juliette Hartwell was born July 27, 1879 and married Olaf L. Sorenson on May 18, 1912.
  6. Son Charles Atherton Hartwell was born November 5, 1880 and married Cordelia Judd Carter (1876–1921), daughter of Henry A. P. Carter, cousin of A. W. Carter, and granddaughter of Gerrit.[16]
  7. Bernice Hartwell was born August 15, 1882.
  8. Alice Dorothy Hartwell was born July 27, 1884 and married Ferdinand Frederick Hedemann in 1927.[17]

************
Queen Liliuokalani maintained that her legal name was Not Liliuokalani Dominis. The only legal name would have been Liliuokalani Regina:

SEARCH RESULTS

Re·gi·na
rəˈjēnə/
noun
  1. (in the UK) the reigning queen (used following a name or in the titles of lawsuits, e.g.,Regina v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones).

Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Regina

www.behindthename.com/name/regina

Means "queen" in Latin (or Italian). It was in use as a Christian name from early times, and was borne by a 2nd-century saint. In England it was used during the Middle Ages in honour of the Virgin Mary, and it was later revived in the 19th century. A city in Canada bears this name, in honour of Queen Victoria.
Popularity · ‎Name Days · ‎Comments · ‎Namesakes

*************************************

Queen Liliuokalani recorded Genocide Activities in the Hawaiian Islands:

- She 'was arrested on January 7th for no specific offense.'

- She was "confined alone, held in the Iolani Palace, named by the Conspirators as the Executive Building."

- She "was alone and ill."

- She was held prisoner by the corporation of Sugar planters and their lawyers posing as the Republic of Hawaii.  Posers aka Identity Thieves aka pirates, pillagers, conspirators, treasonous persons, racketeering deviants, etc.

A legal abdication was not made.  She was still the Queen, the lawful ruler.

- She signed the abdication under duress.  She signed because she was not fearful for her life, but "to save those she loved, she executed those documents..."

- Minister Willis was needed to 'prevent a general massacre of those of every nation who were supposed to be faithful to the constitutional monarch.  Even prisoners were kept locked up by their captors lest they be taken out and hanged by the captors calling themselves Republicans," The captors were pirates, pillagers, racketeers, conspirators, treasonous persons, genocide activists, etc., who premeditated the takeover of a neutral, friendly, non-violent nation.

About the captors:  Some of them were killed, some made into slaves and sent abroad.  An example is a Kalama who married an American Indian in Oregon and has many descendants, heirs, and whose families have oral history of their ancestor who was made into a slave, etc.

Note:  Minister Willis was "appointed Minister to Hawaii by President Grover Cleveland in 1893. Willis was sent to Hawaii on a secret mission to meet with deposed Queen Liliʻuokalani and obtain a promise of amnesty for those involved in theoverthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii if Cleveland restored her to the throne. Willis reported to the Secretary of State in Washington that she was intent on killing the culprits. There was a dispute: Willis said the Queen said "beheading"; she later said she used "execute." 

 "Willis served as Minister to Hawaii until his death in Honolulu on January 6, 1897. An elaborate state funeral was held for him in the ʻIolani Palace (temporarily renamed the Executive Building).[5] He was interred in Cave Hill CemeteryLouisville, Kentucky."

*****************************

The Hawaiian question is the "opinion of a great many of the people of the United States."

The Queen only opened her lips to pupils in Washington, not to reporters or others.  Her confidante included Julius Palmer who was her spokesperson, an American.

Kingdom of Hawaii Law:

"Ancient and common law in Hawaii shows that no chief could ever be degraded from the high office to which birth alone is the passport.  The friends of Liliuokalani in America or Hawaii are willing to stand upon the record."

Queen Liliuokalani had two (2) meetings with U.S. President Cleveland and a meeting with his wife.

U.S. President Cleveland did return Hawaii back to Queen Liliuokalani.

See:  

IOLANI - The Royal Hawk: U.S. President Cleveland Rocks ...

https://iolani-theroyalhawk.blogspot.com/2019/10/us-president-cleveland-rocks-he-gave.html
Oct 03, 2019 · U.S. President Cleveland Gave Hawaii Twice (2x) to Queen Liliuokalani - see google for article researched by Amelia Gora (2018) The Project Gutenberg EBook of Presidential Problems, by Grover Cleveland This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions ..



DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM
 Also see at:  http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9406E5D6153AE733A25752C2A9649C946597D6CF

Queen Liliuokalani remained the Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii as shown above, and remains the legal Monarch till this day.

Issues of fraud, truth, Genocide Activities documented, Conspiracies, premeditation, etc. is revealed in this article.

Research incomplete.

aloha.

References: 
The evening times. (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, February 12, 1897, Page 5, Image 5

Image provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024441/1897-02-12/ed-1/seq-5/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_S._Willis
theiolani.blogspot.com


http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/GORA8037

New-York tribune. (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, February 13, 1897, Page 2, Image 2

Image provided by Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1897-02-13/ed-1/seq-2/

Page
Page

Page

Page

Page

***************************************************






IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR QUEEN LILIUOKALANI - A Review/Summary -...
IOLANI-THEROYALHAWK.BLOGSPOT.COM|BY HWNWAHINE

Like
 Comment
Comments
*************************************************************

A PERSISTENT QUEEN LILIUOKALANI 

Became a Target for Assassination

Evidence:

The sun. (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, February 15, 1897, Page 5, Image 5

Image provided by The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1897-02-15/ed-1/seq-5/

Page 
Page 
Page 
Page

**************************************************

The Independent. (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, February 15, 1897, Image 1

Image provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa; Honolulu, HI

Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85047097/1897-02-15/ed-1/seq-1/



*****************************
In 1894 President Cleveland created two (2) letters:  (l) to S.B. Dole and (2) to put Queen Liliuokalani Back on the Throne:

Exposing False Flag Operations in Hawaii or ADDITIONAL FACTS/UPDATING THE FACTS ABOUT PIRACY(IES) ON THE HIGH SEAS BY THE IDENTITY THIEVES, THE TERRITORY TURNED STATE

                                                                                                         - In the Kingdom of Hawaii

                                                                                                                               compiled by Amelia Gora (2017)


The following shows more information which appears to have a legal effect on the conspiracy claims to assume Private Properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

An Affidavit Lien was filed in 1996 with evidence of genealogies, history, fraud, conspiracies, etc.

The following is posted for the records:



1840 - Charles Wilkes expedition moved to survey Pearl Harbor.


1893 - A premeditated, planned move by the United States to usurp Queen Liliuokalani was made documented on January 9, 1893 New York Times article.

See:  

IMPORTANT READ - Out of Queen Liliuokalani's Personal Files at the ...

Sep 11, 2011 - Note that the MORGAN bankers did criminally assume the taking of ... the taking over of the PEARL HARBOR COALING STATION, etc. with ... A small point from your "New York Times" article of January 1893 (above), quote:.

More PREMEDITATION EVIDENCE compiled by Amelia Gora ...

May 25, 2012 - Pearl Harbor is regarded by these maritime as the best site for a war-supply depot in the Pacific. ... Importantly, the Queen's Protest was written on January 16, 1893 .... a standing order to take over the Hawaii Islands........see the headlines .... Coaling Station - Imperative Necessity that the United States Take ...

Queen Liliuokalani's True Trustees Information - Part of Pamphlet Left ...

Apr 9, 2017 - see xerox 1893 Premeditation to take over Hawaii under US President .... Premeditation to Assume Pearl Harbor Coaling Station/the Hawaiian ...

1894 - Robert Ingersoll

CLEVELAND'S HAWAIIAN POLICY.


Question. Colonel, what do you think about Mr. Cleveland's Hawaiian policy?

Answer. I think it exceedingly laughable and a little dishonest —with the further fault that it is wholly unconstitutional. This is not a one-man Government, and while Liliuokalani may be Queen, Cleveland is certainly not a king. The worst thing about the whole matter, as it appears to me, is the bad faith that was shown by Mr. Cleveland—the double-dealing. He sent Mr. Willis as Minister to the Provisional Government and by that act admitted the existence, and the rightful existence, of the Provisional Government of the Sandwich Islands.

When Mr. Willis started he gave him two letters. One was addressed to Dole, President of the Provisional Government, in which he addressed Dole as "Great and good friend," and at the close, being a devout Christian, he asked "God to take care of Dole." This was the first letter. The letter of one President to another; of one friend to another. The second letter was addressed to Mr. Willis, in which Mr. Willis was told to upset Dole at the first opportunity and put the deposed Queen back on her throne. This may be diplomacy, but it is no kin to honesty.

In my judgment, it is the worst thing connected with the Hawaiian affair. What must "the great and good" Dole think of our great and good President? What must other nations think when they read the two letters and mentally exclaim, "Look upon this and then upon that?" I think Mr. Cleveland has acted arrogantly, foolishly, and unfairly. I am in favor of obtaining the Sandwich Islands—of course by fair means. I favor this policy because I want my country to become a power in the Pacific. All my life I have wanted this country to own the West Indies, the Bermudas, the Bahamas and Barbadoes. They are our islands. They belong to this continent, and for any other nation to take them or claim them was, and is, a piece of impertinence and impudence.
So I would like to see the Sandwich Islands annexed to the United States. They are a good way from San Francisco and our Western shore, but they are nearer to us than they are to any other nation. I think they would be of great importance. They would tend to increase the Asiatic trade, and they certainly would be important in case of war. We should have fortifications on those islands that no naval power could take.
Some objection has been made on the ground that under our system the people of those islands would have to be represented in Congress. I say yes, represented by a delegate until the islands become a real part of the country, and by that time, there would be several hundred thousand Americans living there, capable of sending over respectable members of Congress.
Now, I think that Mr. Cleveland has made a very great mistake. First, I think he was mistaken as to the facts in the Sandwich Islands; second, as to the Constitution of the United States, and thirdly, as to the powers of the President of the United States.
Question. In your experience as a lawyer what was the most unique case in which you were ever engaged?
Answer. The Star Route trial. Every paper in the country, but one, was against the defence, and that one was a little sheet owned by one of the defendants. I received a note from a man living in a little town in Ohio criticizing me for defending the accused. In reply I wrote that I supposed he was a sensible man and that he, of course, knew what he was talking about when he said the accused were guilty; that the Government needed just such men as he, and that he should come to the trial at once and testify. The man wrote back: "Dear Colonel: I am a —— fool."
Question. Will the church and the stage ever work together for the betterment of the world, and what is the province of each?
Answer. The church and stage will never work together. The pulpit pretends that fiction is fact. The stage pretends that fiction is fact. The pulpit pretence is dishonest—that of the stage is sincere. The actor is true to art, and honestly pretends to be what he is not. The actor is natural, if he is great, and in this naturalness is his truth and his sincerity. The pulpit is unnatural, and for that reason untrue. The pulpit is for another world, the stage for this. The stage is good because it is natural, because it portrays real and actual life; because "it holds the mirror up to nature." The pulpit is weak because it too often belittles and demeans this life; because it slanders and calumniates the natural and is the enemy of joy.
The Inter-Ocean, Chicago, February 2, 1894.


1897 - Opposition to Annexation was made by Queen Liliuokalani and her loyal subjects:

Reference:  

Liliuokalani Preventing U.S. Annexation - Hawai'i Digital Newspaper ...

https://sites.google.com/a/hawaii.edu/ndnp.../liliuokalani-preventing-us-annexation

News Room · Subject and Topic Guides ... Cleveland, who opposed annexation and Liliuokalani's "good" friend, was no longer president. ... "Queen Liliuokalani's Mission: Seeks the President's Aid to Overthrow the Dole Regime" The San ...

The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii | National Archives

https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/hawaii-petition

Aug 15, 2016 - In 1893 the last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili'uokalani, was overthrown by party of businessmen ... The 1897 Petition Against the Annexation of Hawaii .... Other events brought thesubject of annexation up again immediately.

1897  U.S. President Cleveland Gave Hawaii Back to Queen Liliuokalani --- for the 2nd Time!






































































1898 - The Claim to Annexation of Hawaii is a Fraud.

Reference:  http://iolani-theroyalhawk.blogspot.com/2017/09/williamson-changs-darkness-over-hawaii.html

1899 - The United States of America became two (2) Nations:  (1) United States and (2) the American Empire.

Reference:  First Circuit Court Case Peacock vs. Territory of Hawaii

1912 - The Attorney General of the Territory of Hawaii claimed that 'the territory is the successor of the Kingdom of Hawaii'.

Reference:  First Circuit Court PA PELEKANE case, HAWAIIAN REPORTS, Supreme Court Law Library/Archives/Main Library, Honolulu, Hawaii

1915 - The Pan Pacific Club/Hawaii Tourism Authority placed Queen Liliuokalani back on the throne for a day.  They also made her sign illegal contracts.

Reference:  PAN PACIFIC MAGAZINE, Main Library, Honolulu, Hawaii.

1917 -  Queen Liliuokalani died.  She denied signing a Trust Deed with the usurpers.  She maintained that she did not sign a Trust Deed in her Will.

               Prince Kuhio took an Out of Court settlement to the claims of Queen Liliuokalani and he received her Waikiki Beach property by the usurpers.

1918 -  The Pan Pacific Club/Hawaii Tourism Authority granted themselves the right to purchase lands in the Hawaiian Islands.

Note:  Kamehameha III granted Alodio to kanaka maoli only, and to Aliens/foreigners he allowed Fee Simple or less than alodio or 30 year leases.

He also documented that the United States and England could Not purchase lands.


1959 - U.S. President Eisenhower signed an Executive Order to make Hawaii a State of the United States.

Note:  Opposition to Statehood by a Kamehameha descendant named Harold Abel Cathcart was made and recorded.  

1993 - Apology PL 103-150 - Admission of Crimes.  
Note:  Apology was Not Accepted by the Royal Families.

Reference: 


[PDF]107 STAT. 1510 PUBLIC LAW 103-150—NOV. 23, 1993 Public Law ...

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-107/pdf/STATUTE-107-Pg1510.pdf

23, 1993. Public Law 103-150. 103d Congress. Joint Resolution. Nov 23 1993 "^^ acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the Jtinuary 17, 1893 overthrow of the.

[PDF]LIST OF PUBLIC LAWS

uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/103/176.pdf

PUBLIC LAW. 103-121 . ... Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 1994 ... 103-150 .... To acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the January 17,.


1996 - Affidavit/Lien filed on 12/17/96 (281 pages) at the Bureau of Conveyances by Amelia Gora.  I was told that if anything in the document were true, it was a lien on all of the Islands/Hawaiian Islands.

The lien covers who are the Crown Land owners, genealogies of the Royal Families, Premeditation to assume the Hawaiian Kingdom with reports of plans made in Makua Valley, evidence of the fear of Japan and the role of the Americans in Hawaii who planned and paid for a cable to help the United States which would inform them that the Japanese were passing by the Islands.  The United States feared that it would take more than 10 years to get the Japanese out of San Francisco Bay, etc.  Strategic maps were also posted showing the Hawaiian Islands sphere, the Samoan Islands sphere, and Aetearoa/New Zealand sphere.  Frauds, criminal deviance also documented.  Some of our Royal Families evidence also documented.

Reference:  IOLANI - The Royal Hawk news on the web, articles, books, pamphlets by Amelia Gora.

The Valor Of Ignorance By Homer Lea - Thebookishblog

Homer Lea pdf The Valor of Ignorance, then you've come to the loyal site. We have The ... WorldCatHome About WorldCat Help Feedback. Search. Search for ...

The valor of ignorance, with specially prepared maps : Lea, Homer ...

Oct 2, 2007 - The valor of ignorance, with specially prepared maps ... This is in some sense a prophetic volume, as Lea correctly sees the inevitability of a ...

The Valor of Ignorance: Homer Lea: 9781142699284: Amazon.com ...

The Valor of Ignorance [Homer Lea] on Amazon.com. *FREE* ... by Homer Lea (Author). 3.2 out of 5 ... In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home. A thriller ..


2009 -







Global Legal Monitor







United States: Supreme Court Rules that U.S. Apology for Overthrowing Hawaiian Monarchy Does Not Affect Hawaii Public Lands

(Apr. 10, 2009) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 31, 2009, that a 1993 Congressional resolution apologizing for the role of the United States in overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 does not affect the right of the State of Hawaii to sell public lands.
U.S. officials participated in the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1898, the U.S. annexed Hawaii and obtained ownership of all public and crown lands. In 1959, when Hawaii became a state, the U.S. granted the state government all lands it had obtained in 1898, to be held by the state as a public trust. Hawaii state law authorizes the state to sell the public lands, provided the proceeds are held in trust for Hawaiian citizens. A 1993 joint resolution by the U.S. Congress apologized for the role of the U.S. in overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy. The resolution provided that nothing in the resolution was “intended to serve as a settlement of any claims against the United States.” (Joint Resolution to Acknowledge the 100th Anniversary of the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Public Law No. 103-150, 107 Stat. 1510 (1993), available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=103_cong_bills
&docid=f:sj19enr.txt.pdf
.)
Hawaii's Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HFDC) received approval to remove a tract of former crown land from the public trust and redevelop it, upon compensating the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), which manages funds from the use or sale of ceded lands for the benefit of native Hawaiians. Relying on the apology resolution, OHA demanded that, in addition to monetary compensation, the payment include a disclaimer preserving native Hawaiian claims to the lands. When HFDC declined, citing the difficulty in obtaining title insurance when land title is clouded, OHA sued to enjoin the sale of the parcel until final determination of native Hawaiians' claims. The state trial court entered a judgment against OHA. The Supreme Court of Hawaii vacated that judgment, ruling that the 1993 apology resolution dictated that it enjoin all sales of lands ceded to the U.S. in 1898 until resolution of the claims of native Hawaiians to those lands. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
The Court first ruled that it had jurisdiction in this matter, because the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision rested on federal law, the 1993 apology resolution. The Court then held that the apology resolution did not strip Hawaii of its sovereign authority to sell the lands the U.S. granted the state upon its admission to the Union. The Court said that neither of the two substantive provisions of the apology resolution – one that apologized for the role of the U.S. in overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy, and another that disclaimed that the resolution served to settle any claims against the U.S. – affected Hawaii's right to sell the land granted it by the U.S. when Hawaii was admitted as a state. The Court also ruled that the numerous “whereas” clauses at the beginning of the resolution did not have operative effect on Hawaii's rights to sell public lands. (Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, No. 07-1372 (Mar. 31, 2009), available at http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1372.pdf..)

No comments: