Perhaps everyone knows that this newspaper is being printed on the 28th of this month, November, and likewise, all of you probably know what occured on this day, making it a day to remember; that being this.
1. This day, the 28th of November of every year, is a fitting day under the Constitution and Laws of the King, and a fitting day for all Hawaiians to celebrate; for this is the day upon which the great nations of Great Britain and France agreed to the independence of the Archipelago of Hawaii, under the protection of each of their Sovereigns, and that Hawaii join the other great independent nations as per international law.
2. This day, the last Thursday of November, the 28th of this month, is the day decided upon by the American Board of Missionaries, to be a day to honor the Trinity, while giving thanks and appreciation for the blessings He bestowed upon us, and a day to ask Him what we would like to be done by Him from here forth.
Upon these two ideas are the basis of what the newspaper Hoku o ka Pakipika wants to expound upon for all readers, while we feel hesitant about our words lest they be spit back out by those who call themselves perfect; but being that the time has come for the newspaper to speak about this day, it steps forward to speak, for there will be no other opportunity in its first volume where the date of November 28th will appear; and in the following second volume, it will once again speak to you about the 28th of this month. Therefore, it desires to speak and make clear the important reasons this day is set aside, and it will begin with the first stated reason, thus:
1. This day, the 28th of November… is the day upon which the great nations, Great Britain and France agreed to the independence of the Archipelago of Hawaii, under the protection of each of their Sovereigns…
From the very beginning when Hawaiians began living in these islands, and from when the alii first ruled and governed over our Hawaiian lahui until the rule of beloved King Kamehameha III who passed, there were none of this type of holidays celebrated by the Hawaiians; there were no days of celebration of this kind that were held near and far; but other days were commemorated, those being the days of parading of the chiefs, the days to display their grandeur, the days of offerings, and the days that the makahiki were celebrated, perhaps like the Hapi Nuia (the New Year of today; those were the only days similar to what we have now); but the other days, they were not regularly celebrated on the days of the months in the year.
This was so until the death of Harieta Nahienaena, the sister of the King who passed, when a memorial was held, a day to grieve and to reminisce on her passing—no other day was commemorated nor celebrated, until the year 1843, when the 31st of July was celebrated for the return of the sovereignty of the land.
During that time, the Nation of Hawaii was in great turmoil; there was much tumult and disorder caused from the outside, for we were not an independent nation in those days, and did not associate with the other great nations, as with international law.
Therefore, because of the great desire of the deceased King to have an independent nation, during the years of 1840 and 1841, he sent Ministers to go to the great nations, however independence was not obtained. Yet the kindhearted King who passed did not falter, he sent Ministers once again, because of his aloha and his idea to make his rule independent along with us makaainana, and to give us rights under international law.
In the year 1842, he once again sent Ministers, they being George Simpson and William Richards, and sent also from the side of the King was Timoteo Haalilio, to seek this independence; they went, worked, and achieved the right. And this 28th of November is the fruit of their journey, that being the day on which the Rulers of Britain and France, by the names of their Kings, agreed to validate and to make binding, the independence of the Nation of the Hawaiian Islands; and therefore we celebrate on this day, and rejoice in the obtaining of our rights and our high position as a great nation counted amongst the great nations of the world.
The year that this was approved, it became a day of celebration for us, and there perhaps was no other year as troublesome as this year for the King. There was some difficulties in 1839, but there was just some money taken while the one who took the money promised to return it, and it was returned; however, this year, it was the most problematic, because while the Ministers were away dealing with the rights of the Nation and asking for independence, a warship arrived and took the sovereignty of the land and took control of the nation while rejecting some of the laws and taking and distributing the money in the Treasury; our King, however, carried out his claim to petition the Nation of Britain. The Admiral arrived, but our independence was not clear; and on the 28th of November 1843, the Heads of State approved and affixed their signatures in London, certifying our independence and that it was binding, and that is how we are today.
The King who accomplished this has passed; and the officers who went and fought for this, they have gone on the same journey; and some of our people who were here in past November 28s, they too have gone; and the kingdom has been inherited by our present benevolent King; and to the other alii; and to we makaainana as well; for these blessings were not sought just for them, but for all of us who came after living today, and for those who will come after us, and for all eternity.
Therefore it is good reason for us to rejoice for all of our rights, and to remember our beloved King, the one who first sought out independence for our archipelago so that he would have authority from Hawaii to Kauai, and then kindly give us a place for us to live peacefully under his care, and under his progeny to whom he passes the throne, as we see now. And we must thank our present King and the royal family for their efforts and desire to perpetuate these rights; and we must also thank the great nations for their aloha and for their kindness in agreeing to count us amongst the famed people of the earth.
This is the eighteenth 28th of November celebrated by us in response to this reason of independence, and there are many good activities for us to do. One of them is to hold meetings while selecting speakers to talk about the blessings we received on this day. Because the blessings received as a result of the actions done on this day from the start, they are so great that we cannot totally fathom it; as a result of these blessings, should we land on the other side of the world, we will see the Flag of our land of birth waving in London; and should we fly in a balloon, it will be fluttering on the shores of California and Spain; and it will be streaming everywhere. There are many reasons we should rejoice and commemorate the 28th of this month with love and joy.
That is not all. You know by the second idea shown above that it is important for us to give thanks to God for the blessings we received these years while humbling ourselves before Him, while asking for his kindness and patience, and quietly beg of Him to watch over us always, and to bless our King and Queen and Ka Haku o Hawaii, and the Royal grandchildren of Kamehameha, and all of the alii; ours, and all of the land, and to give us a treaty.
For this reason, let us participate, go, eat, and drink while celebrating those for whom we should remember on this day.
[Sorry for being a whole week late, and for the particularly rough state which this is in. This definitely needs a finished translation! I hope you all set aside time to celebrate La Kuokoa in your own way!]
(Hoku o ka Pakipika, 11/28/1861, p. 2)
Ka Hoku o ka Pakipika, Buke I, Helu 10, Aoao 2. Novemaba 28, 1861.
