Liliʻuokalani's Cabinet Ministers

Liliʻuokalani was the first queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The queen ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after the death of her brother Kalākaua, and inherited his cabinet ministers. The four cabinet positions were Attorney General, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior. The ministers were ex-officio members of the House of Nobles in the legislature and the Privy Council of State, a larger body of advisors.

Liliʻuokalani in 1891, prior to accession to the throne

The Bayonet Constitution that Kalākaua had been compelled to sign in 1887 allowed the monarch to appoint the cabinet, but transferred the power of their removal to the legislature alone. A legislative "resolution of want of confidence" would force the resignation of an entire cabinet. The new law allowed non-residents to vote, but economic and literacy restrictions disenfranchised a majority of Asians and native Hawaiians.[1] After her brother's funeral, the queen demanded the resignations of his ministers, causing a legal challenge when they refused. The case was decided in her favor by the Supreme Court of the kingdom.[2]

Shortly after her accession, Liliʻuokalani began to receive petitions through the political party Hui Kālaiʻāina and the National Reform Party to re-write the constitution.[3] The proposed constitution co-written by the queen and two legislators, Joseph Nāwahī and William Pūnohu White, would have restored the power to the monarchy, and voting rights to the disenfranchised population.[4][5]

Attorney General Arthur P. Peterson, Minister of Finance William H. Cornwell, Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Parker and Minister of the Interior John F. Colburn were specifically appointed on January 13, 1893, because the queen believed they would support her promulgation of a new constitution, but they refused to sign the document.[6] On January 17, 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaii fell to a coup d'état, planned and executed by the Committee of Safety, mostly foreign-born residents in Honolulu, whose goal was the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.[7]

Cabinet ministers January 29, 1891 – January 17, 1893
Name Portrait Cabinet post Notes Ref(s)
Cecil Brown
Attorney General
Nov, 1892 – Jan 12, 1893		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on January 12, 1893, ousting the Wilcox cabinet [8]
Godfrey Brown
Minister of Finance
Jan 29 – Feb 25, 1891		 Hold-over from Kalākaua administration; until Liliʻuokalani installed Herman A. Widemann in the position. [9]
John F. Colburn
Minister of the Interior
Jan 13–17, 1893		 Jan 17 overthrow of the Kingdom triggered by Colburn, Cornwell, Parker and Peterson refusing to support the queen's promulgation of a new constitution. [6]
William H. Cornwell
Minister of Finance
Nov 1– 8, 1892
Jan 13–17, 1893		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on November 1, 1892, ousting the new cabinet on its first day.
Jan 17, 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom triggered by Colburn, Cornwell, Parker and Peterson refusing to support the queen's promulgation of a new constitution.		 [10][11]
Charles F. Creighton
Attorney General
Nov 1–8, 1892		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on November 1, 1892, ousting the new cabinet on its first day.
Exiled for his part in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion to restore the monarchy. The son of Kalākaua's Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert James Creighton		 [12][13][11]
John Adams Cummins
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Jan 29 – Feb 25, 1891		 Hold-over from Kalākaua administration, until Liliʻuokalani installed Samuel Parker in the position [14]
Charles T. Gulick
Minister of the Interior
Aug 6, 1883 – June 30, 1886
Sept 12 – Oct 17, 1892
Nov 1– 8, 1892		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on November 1, 1892, ousting the new cabinet on its first day.
Exiled for his part in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion to restore the monarchy.		 [15][13][11]
Peter Cushman Jones
Minister of Finance
Nov 8, 1892 – Jan 12, 1893		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on January 12, 1893, ousting the Wilcox cabinet [8]
Edward C. Macfarlane
Minister of Finance
Premier
Sept 12 – Oct 17, 1892		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on October 17, 1892 [16]
John Mott-Smith
Minister of Finance
July 28 – Oct 17, 1891		 Editor of the Hawaiian Gazette, and supporter of the monarchy. [17]
Joseph Nāwahī
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nov 1– 8, 1892		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on November 1, 1892, ousting the new cabinet on its first day. [12][11]
Paul Neumann
Attorney General
Aug 29–30, 1892
Sept 12 – Oct 17, 1892		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on October 17, 1892 [18]
Samuel Parker
Minister of Finance (acting)
Mar 10 – June 28, 1891
Oct 17, 1891 – Jan 28 1892
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Feb 25, 1891– Nov 1, 1892
Jan 13–17, 1893		 Jan 17 overthrow of the Kingdom triggered by Colburn, Cornwell, Parker and Peterson refusing to support the queen's promulgation of a new constitution. [19]
Arthur P. Peterson
Attorney General
Jan 29– Feb 25, 1891
Jan 13–17, 1893		 Hold-over from Kalākaua administration
Jan 17 overthrow of the Kingdom triggered by Colburn, Cornwell, Parker and Peterson refusing to support the queen's promulgation of a new constitution.
Exiled for his part in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion to restore the monarchy.		 [20][13]
Mark P. Robinson
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Nov 8, 1892 – Jan 12, 1893		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on January 12, 1893, ousting the Wilcox cabinet [8]
Charles Nichols Spencer
Minister of the Interior
Jan 29, 1891 – Sept 12, 1892		 Hold-over from Kalākaua administration [21]
William A. Whiting
Attorney General
Feb 25, 1891 – July 27, 1892		 Resigned over conflict with Samuel Parker [22]
Hermann A. Widemann
Minister of Finance
Feb 25 – Mar 10,1891
July 28 – Sept 12, 1892		 Justice of the Supreme Court
July 10, 1869 – Feb 18, 1874
Appointed by Kamehameha V
Minister of the Interior under Kalākaua		 [23]
George Norton Wilcox
Minister of the Interior
Nov 8, 1892 – Jan 12, 1893		 Legislative "resolution of want of confidence" passed the legislature on January 12, 1893, ousting the Wilcox cabinet [8]

See also

References
  1. MacLennan 2014, pp. 47–48.
  2. Kuykendall 1967, p. 476.
  3. Russ 1959, p. 67.
  4. Daws 1968, p. 271.
  5. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 582–586.
  6. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 580–583.
  7. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the Congress. US Government Printing Office. 1894. p. 2288.
  8. Kuykendall 1967, p. 579.
  9. Lydecker 1918, pp. 172, 178, 287.
  10. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 557, 580–583.
  11. The Supreme Court of the Hawaiian Islands December 23, 1892 court case challenging whether or not Creighton was actually Attorney General, to sign an indictment on November 7, due to the legislature's November 1, 1892 want-of-confidence vote on the cabinet. Opinion of the court by justices Richard F. Bickerton, Sanford B. Dole and Albert Francis Judd held that the cabinet remained in place until their successors were appointed on November 8."The Queen vs. John Costa and Anna Costa". The Hawaiian Gazette. January 3, 1893. p. 12, cols. 3–5. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  12. Kuykendall 1967, p. 557.
  13. "They All Went Willingly". The Pacific commercial advertiser. February 25, 1895. p. 3. Retrieved December 28, 2018.; "Wail Of The Hawaiian Exiled". The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. March 18, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2018.; "Death of R. J. Creighton". The Hawaiian Gazette. June 6, 1893. Retrieved January 8, 2019.; "R. J. Creighton Dead". The Hawaiian Star. June 1, 1893. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  14. Lydecker 1918, pp. 127, 178, 182, 288.
  15. Kuykendall 1967, p. 557;Lydecker 1918, pp. 152, 156, 182, 289
  16. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 553, 555.
  17. Lydecker 1918, pp. 51, 107, 109, 117, 121, 136, 139, 143, 147, 152, 156, 297;"The Story of Hawaii and Its Builders". USGenWeb Archives.
  18. "Neumann, Paul office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2010.; "Abdication of Queen Liliuokalan: Safety at the Price of a Kingdom, of Little Moment Now for the Cause of the Royalists is a Lost Cause". The Morning Call. San Francisco. February 7, 1895. Retrieved January 1, 2019.; Kuykendall 1967, p. 555
  19. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 581, 580–583.
  20. Lydecker 1918, pp. 178, 188, 298; Kuykendall 1967, pp. 580–583
  21. Lydecker 1918, pp. 178, 182, 299.
  22. Kuykendall 1967, p. 550.
  23. Kuykendall 1967, pp. 12–13; "Widemann, Hermann A. office record". state archives digital collections. state of Hawaii. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2018.

Bibliography

Further reading
"A List of All the Cabinet Ministers Who Have Held Office in the Hawaiian Kingdom"
37 pages relating to the Bayonet Constitution
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