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Sale 33
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Lot 1
(Hawaii - Bayonet Constitution). The Bayonet Constitution was an 1887 constitution imposed on King David Kalakaua at the point of a bayonet July 6, 1887 by a group of American planters and businessmen who wanted political, as well as economic, control of the kingdom. The purported aim of the group, which had formed a secret organization (the Hawaiian League) was to "reform" the monarchy. The group was organized and led by Lorrin A. Thurston (1858-1931), the Hawaiian-born son of American missionaries and Minister of the Interior under Kalakaua. Thurston drafted the Bayonet Constitution, which stripped the monarchy of its authority, making the king a mere figurehead, and gave full voting rights to Americans and Europeans who were not legal Hawaiian citizens. The requirements for voting: making $600 USD annually and owning at least $3,000 in private property, deprived a large percentage of native Hawaiians of any say-so in the government. The constitution was put into effect without any vote. Many of the same group of men would be involved in the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani six years later, in 1893, and the push for the annexation of Hawaii by the United States, which took place in 1898.
Galley proof of the Bayonet Constitution, 6 pp, 5 of them 26"x6½" and 1 13"x6½". The pages are lightly toned, with minor foxing. Each page is hand numbered, with the name "N.B. Emerson" at the top. The pages hold numerous penciled additions, corrections, and deletions in the hand of Emerson (1839-1915), a physician, historian and ethnologist who was born into a missionary family in Hawaii, went to Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, enlisted in the First Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, was wounded twice at Fredericksburg and once at Chancellorsville, then fought at Gettysburg and in all of the regiment's battles from Rapidan to Richmond. He studied medicine at Harvard and at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, graduating in 1869. He returned to Hawaii in 1878 as general inspector of "lepers and leper stations," was president of the Board of Health (Sept. 1887-Dec. 1889), and was prison physician from 1894 until his death in 1915. Emerson published Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth from Hawaii and Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula, as well as many papers and articles dealing with Hawaii.
Dr. Emerson made extension corrections on this copy of the constitution. For example, the phrase "The King with the advice of the Cabinet" appears in several places. Dr. Emerson marked through "with the advice of the Cabinet" in each place, making it look as if the King could still make the decisions; however, Emerson inserted an additional article on page 6, which made it clear that the King was merely a figurehead: "Whenever by this Constitution any act is to be done or performed by the King or the Sovereign it shall, unless otherwise expressed, mean that such act shall be done and performed by the Sovereign by and with the advice and consent of the Cabinet." The changes Emerson made, some of which were substantial, were all incorporated into the final constitution. (A copy of the text of the final constitution is included for comparison, taken from a pamphlet printed in 1887 by the Hawaiian Gazette Publishing Co.) This corrected galley proof is a fascinating, historic document. It will be a highlight in any collection of political and historical Hawaiian memorabilia.
Estimated Value $5,000 - 10,000.
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| Realized $12,650 |
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