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����������Part of Letter Reference:
1837_various-various
Letter Reference:
1837_Jun16_Jones-Kauikeaouli
Date of Letter:
June 16, 1837
From:
John Jones
To:
Kauikeaouli
Content Summary:
A lengthy letter in response to Kauikeaouli’s explanation of the Roman Catholic issue to John
Jones. Jones refutes and protests many of Kauikeaouli’s claims. Jones claims his interest is
strictly to uphold his duties and consul and represent the citizens of his country.
[Page 12 of 34]
(5)
United States Consulate
Sandwich Islands.
Sir,
Your Majesty’s letter of the 14th inst. has been
received at this consulate, & I am under the disagreeable necessity, in replying to it, distinctly to state to
your Majesty, that I consider the same as an insult
offered to me personally & to the nation I have the honor to represent. Viewing it as such, I have entered my
solemn protest against it, & shall take the earliest
opportunity of making known its contents to the government of my country. Silent indignation were perhaps better adapted for a communication like that
of your Majesty, but my feelings on this subject have
prompted me to make a few remarks in reply, in order
to show your Majesty that your “declaration”, has not
been made as you have stated “according to fact &
�truth.”
Soon after the abandonment of the Clementine by
Mr. Dudoit, in consequence of Messrs “Bachelot &
Short having been forcibly entered on board of that
vessel contrary to their wish & consent, I addressed
[Page 13 of 34]
Your Majesty officially upon the subject of the detention of said vessel, stating the injury & loss that would
in consequence be sustained by a citizen of the United
States residing on your shores, & at the same time
demanding of your Majesty ample remuneration for
the amount of such damages as might be consequently sustained. In doing this I was performing a duty
imposed on my by the laws of my country, to which
I am amendable, & by which, I have not the slightest
hesitation in assuring your Majesty, I shall be
fully sustained & firmly supported.
The communication I addressed to your Majesty was I believe; couched in terms of proper etiquette
& respect, & as the representative of an enlightened
nation, I had reason to expect a similar return from
your Majesty. I have been disappointed, however, in
this expectation, & have only to regret that I have
been so much mistaken in my conception of your
Majesty’s sense of decency & politeness. I confess that
as your Majesty stated, “I was acquainted with the rejection of Messrs. “Bachelot & Short by Kaahumanu.”
I was acquainted too with their having been forcibly driven from your shores like common malefactors, that
they “were left on the coast of California.” Yes, inhumanly
[Page 14 of 34]
& illegally left on a barren shore, far removed from the
habitation of man & exposed to all the fury of the wild
beasts of the Morals which were howling around them.
From that time to this the rejection of the two Catholics,
as you state, has been “perpetual.” This might indeed
�have been the intention of your Majesty, but it has
never been published to the world, nor has it ever been
communicated to me by yourself or any of your chiefs.
Your assertion that Kinau officially informed me of
their perpetual banishment is not correct. I was requested some years since by several of your chiefs,
in whose number was Kinau not to give these gentlemen a passage back to these island, in the vessel. I
then commanded, when she might return from California. Nothing more than a simple request was
made. Had there however been an order given or declaration promulgated at that time, I should have considered it of no import without the signature of your
Majesty. Your statement that your orders concerning the “disapproval” of the popish religion has been
handed to me, is also correct; but it is not correct
as you have asserted, that the services of such “are
not allowed in your kingdom.” The fact of your
[Page 15 of 34]
having given permission to Mr. Walsh to open a Catholic church in Honolulu for the use of foreigners who
might wish to attend, is in direct contradiction of this
assertion & will not bear you out in the assertion you
have made. Whether Kinau has acted justly or unjustly in returning the two men to the vessel in which they
came (according to your order) is not for me to judge.
The responsibility rests upon yourself, & the question must
be decided by a power from which there will be no appeal.
That you have seized & violently taken possession of the
Clementine by the law of Nations, there cannot be a doubt.
It requires no written order of yours to be produced to
this effect, to prove that she is now at your risk & that
you will be accountable for all the damages that may
in consequence ensue.”
The simple fact of you having placed two men
on board of that vessel against their inclination & consent, as well as that of captains & owners, is all that
is wanted to substantiate the fact of the illegal seizure
�of that vessel. Your affection that Mr. Charlton & Mr.
Dudoit are the persons who have detained the vessel &
not yourself, & that to them I must apply for damages sustained by the American citizen, is almost too
[Page 16 of 34]
frivolous to be taken notice of. No, Sir, do not flatter
yourself that those gentlemen are responsible for the
injury yourself have inflicted on a citizen of the United States. The government of that nation will look to
you & you only for justice, & will not be satisfied, I assure you, without the most ample remuneration. Your
Majesty has stated in your communication, that “Mr
Dudoit has broken this contract which he & the man
who chartered the vessel made between them.” In
reference to this, I have only to say that your Majesty
may be better able to judge of this fact after you have
seen that contract & known the nature of its obligations. Any opinion given before is premature & absurd.
Your inclinations that I have acted in opposition to
your Majesty by a hasty condemnation of yourself &
by supporting these men of the Pope’s religion, cannot
be substantiated. I have performed, Sir, only my duty,
(a duty that was imperative,) in officially stating to
your Majesty in the most friendly terms, the nature
& tendency of the act of aggression which had been
perpetrated by the forcibly placing of prisoners on
board of the Clementine, & the injury that would result therefrom, to a citizen of the United States, for
which injury I asked of you satisfaction. As to the
[Page 17 of 34]
support which I may have given to these men of the
Pope's religion, “I am at a loss to conjecture in what
it may consist. I am no catholic myself, neither am
I an advocate of their creed: but when I see my fellow
man persecuted & oppressed, be he christian or infidel,
Protestant or Catholic, & raise not my voice to ask
�for him mercy, or stretch not my arm to give him
succor, I conceive that the friends of humanity are
entitled to brand me with the well merited epithet
of miserable wretch. If my opposition to your Majesty consists in this such acts as these, then Sir, let
me assure you that I glory in such opposition.
I feel extremely obliged to your Majesty for the
levity you have extended to me by being willing to
attribute to my ignorance all my misguided acts in
this important affair, though at the same time, I
shall be unwilling myself to concede that your Majesty’s proceedings have in any instance relating to
that case, been conducted either understandingly or
justly. As it respects your Majesty’s declaration,
“that it is with you” to welcome strangers, & it is
with you to reject them”, as it may suit your pleasure, I have only to reply that in regard to the citizens of the nation I have the honor to represent, that
[Page 18 of 34]
I treat it with its merited contempt. It is a privilege,
Sir, that will never be granted you by the United States,
for her citizens must be allowed to come & go when
& where they please, without interference or molestation from kings & potentates.
This is a right, Sir, she claims for herself &
a right she will ever defend whilst her star spangled banner waves over her Independent Republic.
I have no desire, Sir, whatever, as you have expressed it, to condemn you or your chiefs: all I ask
for is justice, & to obtain that I shall most certainly appeal to my country; & “should it prove that
the fault be mine,” I am prepared, Sir, to meet its
consequences, & to abide by the decision of justice.
What orders Kekuanaoa may have given to Capt.
Handley, or Mr. Dudoit is no business of mine. If
any person has committed an offence by returning
the men of the Pope’s religion to these shores, it was
Capt. Handly, or the owner of the vessel at the time
�she arrived & landed them. To them only can you
look for redress & not to the vessel, which of course
could do no wrong, or to Mr. Dudoit, who was as
innocent of the transaction as yourself or any of
your chiefs. In respect to the statements, as you
[Page 19 of 34]
assert that some have made an oath, that we have
“seized the vessel”, I have no hesitation in saying
that no those gentlemen who have made this declarations
are ready & willing to prove before any court of
justice that at least they have not perjured themselves. In reference to the last assertions made in
your communication “that the American citizen
understood that Kinau had said that these rejected men were to return on board of the Clementine,
wherefore then did this man hire a vessel that
was a transgressor & load her with his goods, “I
have simply to reply that the American citizen hired
the vessel of Mr. Dudoit, sometime previous to the
return of Kinau from Mowee, & that he had never
learnt before that a vessel could be a transgressor.
Neither was he willing to believe that your Majesty would have sanctioned so unjustifiable a proceeding as the forcing of prisoners on board of the
Clementine when Kinau as well as Kekuanaoa had
always distinctly stated to Mr. Dudoit that the
French missionaries should not be forced on board
of his vessel, but if they went, it should be voluntary, of which fact there is the most ample evi[Page 20 of 34]
dence. Before closing this communication which
is much lengthier than I anticipated, I beg leave
to remind your Majesty of the conversation you then
confidently confessed to me that you were sensible
you had done wrong, that you had not intention or
wish to proceed to such extremities, & that if you had
�been present, “the French” gentleman would not have
been forced on board the Clementine. You even stated
that you believed that it would be considered an
act of piracy, or as you termed it, “the same as stealing a vessel.” You stated that you were willing to
allow the “Frenchmen” to come again on shore &
remain a reasonable time, till they could have an
opportunity of proceeding to their destination.
You also requested of me to ascertain of Mr. Dudoit & the American citizen, what damages they
would be satisfied with, & that you were anxious & willing to adjust all difficulties amicably & satisfactorily. I have no further remarks
to make, but leave it to your Majesty to say how far
this confessions & promise coincides with your communication of the 14th ult. I have only to repeat my demand
for full & ample reparations for all the injuries & los[Page 21 of 34]
ses which may be sustained by the citizen of the United States in consequence of your forcing the two prisoners on board of the brig Clementine, &
With all due regards & respect
Subscribe myself, Sir
Your obd. Servt
John C. Jones
U.S. Consul
To His Majesty
King Kamehameha III
Oahu Honolulu June 16 1837
Notes:
1. Clementine - A ship belonging to Mr. Jules Dudoit and under the command of Mr.
Handley.
2. Mr. Dudoit - Mr. Jules Dudoit was French consul in Hawaiʻi at the time of this letter and
apparently the owner of the ship Clementine.
3. Mess^rs Bachelot & Short - Two Catholic priests, Alexis Bachelot and Patrick Short,
who were forced to remain on the ship Clementine. having been expelled from the
country.
�4. Kaahumanu - Kaʻahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha I, was the kindom's first
Kuhina Nui, or regent, from 1819-1832. She converted to Christianity in 1825 and
became a strong advocate for the Protestant religion.
5. Kinau - Elizabeth Kīna‘u was a high-ranking daughter of Kamehameha and an early
convert to Christianity. Five years prior to this letter, she became known as Kaʻahumanu
II when she assumed the role of Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands from 1832-1839.
6. Mr. Walsh - Rev. Robert Walsh, an Irish priest, opened a Catholic church for foreigners
in Honolulu in 1836.
7. Mr. Charlton - Richard Charlton was a businessman and had been named the English
Consul in Hawaiʻi.
8. Kekuanaoa - Mataio Kekūanāoʻa, of chiefly descent, was first married to Kalani Pauahi
and then to Elizabeth Kīnaʻu. He was the Royal Governor of the island of Oʻahu from
1834-1868. He served as a member of the House of Nobles and Privy Council, and went
on to become the 6th Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands.
9. Capt. Handley - Captain Handly was the commanding officer of the ship Clementine.
10. John C. Jones - U.S. Captain John Coffin Jones was appointed U.S. consular agent to
Hawaiʻi in 1820.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Kauikeaouli - Ali`i Letters - 1837.06.16 - from Jones, John Coffin
Description
An account of the resource
A lengthy letter in response to Kauikeaouli’s explanation of the Roman Catholic issue to John Jones. Jones refutes and protests many of Kauikeaouli’s claims. Jones claims his interest is strictly to uphold his duties and consul and represent the citizens of his country.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Pacific Islands Missions Records, 1819-1960 (ABC 19.1-19.7). Houghton Library, Harvard University. Used by permission of Wider Church Ministries
Publisher
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Hawaiian Mission Children's Society Library at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives
Creator
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Kauikeaouli
Contributor
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Puakea Nogelmeier
Translated by Awaiaulu Foundation
Rights
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If you would like permission to publish or reproduce this material, please send your requests to archives@missionhouses.org
Date
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1837-06-16