https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/f51b9c547497ca338d8deb53db366fdc.pdf eb326f55bfefc4a169c12171964d8a21 PDF Text Text ���������Letter Reference: 1839_Jan12_Kinau-VanBuren Date of Letter: January 12, 1839 From: Kinau [Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, Kaʻahumanu II] To: President Martin Van Buren of the United States Content Summary: A letter from Kīna‘u to the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren regarding the conduct of the American consul in the Hawaiian Islands with regards to the marriage law and including letters about the incident on the part of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Typescript: [Page 1 of 9] 43 Translation Honolulu Oahu, Jan 12 1839 To Martin Van Buren, President of the United States of America, Salutations of friendship & uninterrupted peace. Allow me to trouble you with a letter, for we have met some difficulty which I desire to explain to you. The American Consul, John C. Jones, has refused to submit to the laws of these islands, an account of which I will give you, together with our proceedings in the business, which have been adjusted as correctly as we could with our knowledge on the subject. Some years ago, perhaps thirteen, the said consul took to himself a wife, Hannah by name, altho' he was not married by a clergyman, as that custom was not then established among us & some of our own people were doing the same. In the year of our Lord 1827, a law was enacted, declaring that “christian marriage was proper �for men & women, but if a woman regard her man as her only husband, & the man regard his woman as [Page 2 of 9] his only wife, they are legally husband & wife, but if the parties are not married, nor regard themselves as husband & wife, let them forthwith separate. This law was translated into English, printed & put into circulation, October 7, 1829. Many of the chiefs & people now live united in marriage by this law, & would be punished if they should separate, although they have never been formally married by a clergyman. When Kaahumanu I ascertained that Mr. Jones had many women, contrary to law, she made known to him the law, & in the presence of Hannah, asked him which woman he would choose for his wife. He pointed to Hannah, & said “this one”. Kaahumanu then asked Hannah whom she would choose for her husband, & she said “this man.” Then Kaahumanu said to the consul, “you must put away all your other women, this one is your wife.” & he assented to her words. Hannah likewise assented. Mr. Jones lived with this woman, occupying the same house, their daughter being well grown, when the kingdom was confirmed to Kauikeaouli & the agency of government to me. When I heard that Mr. Jones had another woman besides Hannah, I enquired [Page 3 of 9] of him, which was the woman of his choice. He replied, “Hannah.” I said to him, “Let her be your wife, you must have but one.” I accordingly regarded her as his wife forever, & they continued to live together until he made a voyage to California, from whence he returned on the third of December 1838. Hannah then wrote me, informing me of his arrival with another wife - a Spanish woman whom he had married, & making complaint to me against him. I �accordingly summoned the consul on the 13th day of December by the following letter. Salutations to you John C. Jones, the American Consul. Your wife Hannah has complained to me that you have married another woman in a foreign land, & have brought her to Honolulu, & that you do not return home to her. She therefore demands that we restore to her, her lawful husband to live with her as before, & that you separate from the new woman. You will therefore come to my house, & settle this business tomorrow, at three o’clock P.M. We shall be at leisure when we will meet you & have a talk. When you receive this, let me know what you mean to do. Yours, &c Kaahumanu II [Page 4 of 9] When the consul had read this letter he said to the bearer of it, “I will answer it this evening.” Four days passed away, but he did not answer my letter nor comply with my summons, then I wrote to him again as follows Honolulu Fort, Dec 17, 1838 To John C Jones Sir, We waited for your letter on the 13th but did not receive it & for your attendance at my house on the 14th but you did not meet us & the time passed by. I now summon you to appear immediately before me & answer to the complaint of your wife Hannah that you have married another wife in a foreign land & brought her to this place. I must know the truths of this charge, & we must settle it together. But I do not wish you to increase your offence, nor can a settlement of this accusation of Hannah your wife be any longer delayed. You will therefore appear before me tomorrow at three o’clock �P.M. & we will set apart that time from all other business. Do not treat this with contempt lest your offence be greatly augmented. Desiring your good, I am with salutations, Kaahumanu II [Page 5 of 9] When the time appointed for trial had passed by without the Consul making his appearance, the governor sent an officer after him, but he did not come: he repeated the message in vain, & while we were considering whether we should send soldiers & fetch him, he came on our sending the officer the third time. There were assembled chiefs, judges, Hannah & the witnesses. I required him to return to his wife Hannah, but he refused, saying he had married another woman in a foreign country & that she was his wife. This would have been right if he had not already a wife here. Then I declared to him that Hannah was his lawful wife, that they had lived together many years like our own people who have not been united in christian marriage & when the laws were established, their union was confirmed. You two are in the same circumstances. The consul then said, “I knew not the law”. There was much said on this occasion, which it was unnecessary to repeat. The time expired before the meeting business was closed. I therefore required him to appear on the 20th day of December at three o’clock P.M. for another talk to which he consented, but he returning to his place, has never made his appearance since. [Page 6 of 9] After a few days had been allowed to pass, I wrote to him the following letter, of which he took no notice. Honolulu Fort, Dec 25, 1838 To John C. Jones �Sir, We have looked in vain for your appearance before us on the 20th of this month - & the governor has likewise sent his officer several times to summon you to a further trial, but you have not seen fit to pay the least attention to our demand. You have brought yourself into greater difficulty by this contemptuous treatment of us. Although we first addressed you in kindness, yet you would not regard it? But be cause of my great desire that this business may be amicably adjusted come to-morrow at three o’clock P. M. & we will bring it to a conclusion. Do not absent yourself. If you do not appear at the time appointed, I will talk no more with you & you will have no further opportunity to make any plea, I shall after that talk only with Hannah, for on the evening of the 19th of December, it was evident to me that you are really married to another woman from a foreign country, according to the accusation of Hannah which she said before us. And when I demanded of you that you return to Hannah, your lawful wife, you refused in the presence [Page 7 of 9] of us all, saying, “I will not live with her again, I had rather die than return to her. This you said, but what have I to do with that? You have forsaken your wife, of whom Kaahumanu the I said to you at a certain time, “Hannah is your wife.” likewise the law which binds all persons and aims that a man must not have two wives, nor a woman two husbands. I myself once asked you what woman you chose to take according to the law, & you replied, “Hannah is my wife.” This reply you made to me in conversation we had before you went to California. Under this government all persons have not had the ceremony of marriage performed who have long lived regularly with their wives; for when the law was passed, such connections as that of you & Hannah became legally ratified. But you have denied before me that you knew of any such law. That �was very strange language to my ears that I heard from you. How can you deny your knowledge of a law which was everywhere understood? You cannot. This is what you are now required to do: return to Hannah, otherwise you must be deprived of a wife while you live under this government, just the same as any other person against whom our laws grant a divorce. This however, does not rest entirely with me: it will be for Hannah to ask a bill of divorcement. This is what [Page 8 of 9] I have to communicate Yours &c Kaahumanu II The consul not making his appearance before me, I wrote to my king who is living at Lahaina informing him of what I had done, & asking his judgement on this case. When the king received this information, he together with his Counsellors, gave the subject due considerations & the result of their deliberations was that the consul is a very great offender, that an American consul ought not to conduct himself on these islands as he has done, & that we ought not to suffer it. One duty only appeared plain for us to do in order to wipe off the stain from both governments, namely to refuse to acknowledge him any longer as consul. The king therefore sent him the following communication: To John C. Jones You have long enjoyed the consulship at these island with the consent of this government. You have often treated this government with contempt, & recently have been guilty of the crime of bigamy; when under trial for that crime, you treated my government with new contempt. Wherefore I refuse [Page 9 of 9] �any longer to know you as the consul from the United States of America. Respect for the government of your country as well as respect for my own, compels me to do this. Kaamehameha III Lahaina January 8, 1839 Such has been the course in regards to your officer which we have pursued, believing it to be both just & honorable, but if you think otherwise, please inform me by letter, for we have not yet acquired much knowledge. We have no books which give us information respecting the customs of foreign governments & how we ought to conduct ourselves towards their consuls. I have the honor to be with respect & consideration, By authority of the King, Yours, (signed) Kaahumanu II Notes: 1. Martin Van Buren - Martin Van Buren was the 8th President of the United States who served from March,1837 to March, 1841. 2. John C. Jones - U.S. Captain John Coffin Jones was appointed U.S. consular agent to Hawaiʻi in 1820. 3. Hannah - Hannah was a Hawaiian woman who Capt. Jones chose as his wife in 1829 when the laws had been enacted and translated into English declaring that "Christian marriage was proper for men & women." 4. Ka‘ahumanu -The favorite wife of Kamehameha I, Kaʻahumanu was the first Kuhina Nui, or co-regent, from 1819-1832. She was a convert and a strong advocate for the Protestant religion. 5. Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) - Kauikeaouli, also known as Kamehameha III, was the second royal son of Kamehameha Paiʻea. Kauikeaouli ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1825 to 1854. 6. Ka‘ahumanu II - Elizabeth Kīnaʻu was a high-ranking daughter of Kamehameha I and an early convert to Christianity. After the death of Kaʻahumanu, Kīnaʻu became known as Kaʻahumanu II when she assumed the role of Kuhina Nui of the Hawaiian Islands from 1832 - 1839. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kinau - Ali`i Letters - 1839.01.12 - to Van Buren, Martin Description An account of the resource A letter from Kīna‘u to the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren regarding the conduct of the American consul in the Hawaiian Islands with regards to the marriage law and including letters about the incident on the part of the Hawaiian Kingdom. 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 An entity responsible for making the resource available Hawaiian Mission Children's Society Library at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Kinau Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Puakea Nogelmeier Translated by Awaiaulu Foundation Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource If you would like permission to publish or reproduce this material, please send your requests to archives@missionhouses.org Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1839-01-12