When King Kalākaua began his reign on February 12, 1874, the monarch was constitutionally empowered to appoint and remove the Kingdom of Hawaii cabinet ministers. The four cabinet positions were Attorney General, Ministrer of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior. The royal cabinet ministers were also ex-officio members of the House of Nobles in the legislature and the Privy Council of State, a larger body of advisors.
The 1875 Reciprocity Treaty with the United States eliminated tariffs on the kingdom's sugar exports, bringing an accelerated upswing in the Hawaii's economic prosperity. The criteria for appointment to the cabinet changed from being qualified to advise the head of state, to being willing to enable the monarch's chosen course of state. Kalākaua and Legislative Assembly Finance Chair Walter Murray Gibson responded with reckless spending and grandiose schemes.
Frustrated by his cabinet, the king dismissed them all on August 14, 1880. Samuel Gardner Wilder was replaced by John E. Bush as Minister of the Interior. Attorney General Edward Preston was replaced by W. Claude Jones. Minister of Finance Simon Kaloa Kaʻai was replaced by Moses Kuaea.[1] Celso Caesar Moreno was denied recognition by the diplomatic corps stationed in Hawaii when he replaced Minister of Foreign Affairs John Mākini Kapena. Moreno resigned on August 18.[2]
Gibson was appointed to the cabinet in 1882, and would eventually become its Prime Minister. Concerns were addressed in a written statement from businessmen to Kalākaua, "... the course of Your Majesty's present Ministry is not conducive to the public interest, nor the interest of Your Majesty ..."[3] They accused the Ministry of influence peddling in elections and manipulation of legislative governance. The warning was brushed off by Gibson, with no response from Kalākaua. The Gibson cabinet dissolved July 1, 1887, ushering in the so-called Reform Cabinet.[4] The Committee of Thirteen business men drafted what became known as the Bayonet Constitution, codifying the legislature as the supreme authority over actions by the monarch. Kalākaua was given no alternative but to sign the document on July 6.
The Reform Cabinet eventually fell to internal discord, replaced with a new cabinet on June 17, 1890, consisting of Attorney General Arthur P. Peterson, Finance Minister Godfrey Brown, Foreign Affairs Minister John Adams Cummins, and Interior Minister Charles Nichols Spencer. When Kalākaua died on January 20, 1891, Peterson, Brown and Cummins were held over until Queen regnant Liliʻuokalani replaced them on February 25. Spencer remained in her cabinet until September 12, 1892, when he was replaced by Charles T. Gulick.
| Name | Portrait | Cabinet post | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luther Aholo | Minister of the Interior Oct 13, 1886 -July 1, 1887 | Represented Lahaina, Maui in the legislature, vice president of the Legislative Assembly 1876–1886; Postmaster General of the Kingdom 1886. | [5] | ||
| William Nevins Armstrong | Attorney General Nov 29, 1880 – Jan 17, 1881 Nov 5, 1881– May 19, 1882 | Kalākaua's classmate at the Chiefs Children's School; graduate of Yale University law school; he took leave as Attorney General to join Kalākaua's 1881 world tour. | [6] | ||
| Clarence W. Ashford | Attorney General July 1, 1887 – June 14, 1890 | Reform cabinet; he was exiled to California for his support of Liliʻuokalani following the overthrow of the kingdom. | [7] | ||
| Jonathan Austin | Minister of Foreign Affairs Dec 28, 1887 – June 17, 1890 | President of Paukaa Sugar Company | [8] | ||
| Charles Reed Bishop | Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan 10, 1873 – Feb 17, 1874 | Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet; husband of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop; businessman and philanthropist; at Kalākaua's bedside when he died January 20, 1891. | [9] | ||
| Godfrey Brown | Minister of Foreign Affairs July 1 – Dec 28, 1887 Minister of Finance June 17, 1890 – Feb 25, 1891 | Reform cabinet (as Minister of Foreign Affairs); after Kalākaua's death, Brown remained as finance minister until Liliʻuokalani installed Herman A. Widemann in the position. | |||
| John Edward Bush | Minister of Foreign Affairs (acting) Aug 19 – Sept 22, 1880 Minister of Finance May 20 – Aug 8, 1882 Minister of the Interior Aug 8, 1882 – May 14, 1883 | During the Gibson regime, Bush was special envoy to Samoa in an ill-fated attempt to form a Polynesian alliance with Samoan King Malietoa Laupepa. | [10] | ||
| Henry A. P. Carter | Minister of Foreign Affairs Dec 5, 1876 – Mar 1, 1878 Attorney General (during Armstrong's absence) Jan 17 – Nov 5, 1881 | Career diplomat; majority owner of C. Brewer & Co sugar plantation. | [11] | ||
| William Richards Castle | Attorney General Feb 15 – Dec 5, 1876 | A member of the Committee of Safety that requested American intervention in overthrowing the monarchy. | [12] | ||
| Robert James Creighton | Minister of Foreign Affairs June 30 – Oct 13, 1886 | Friend of Claus Spreckels who arrived from San Francisco in 1885 to be editor of the Pacific Commercial Advertiser; his son Charles F. Creighton briefly served as Liliʻuokalani's Attorney General. | [13] | ||
| John Adams Cummins | Minister of Foreign Affairs June 17, 1890 – Feb 25, 1891 | Maternal link to Hawaiian royalty; wealthy businessman with global social ties; after Kalākaua's death, Cummins remained until Liliʻuokalani installed Samuel Parker in the position. | [14] | ||
| Samuel Mills Damon | Minister of Finance July 22, 1889 – June 17, 1890 | Son of missionaries; became business partner of Charles Reed Bishop. | [15] | ||
| John T. Dare | Attorney General July 1- Oct 13, 1886 | Legal counsel to Claus Spreckels; Assistant District Attorney of San Francisco prior to arriving in Hawaii. | |||
| Walter M. Gibson | Minister of Foreign Affairs May 20, 1882 – June 30, 1886 Oct 13, 1886 – July 1, 1887 Attorney General (acting) May 14- Dec 14, 1883 Sept 18, 1884 – Aug 3, 1885 (ad interim) Minister of the Interior (acting) May 14, 1883 – Aug 6, 1883 June 30, 1886 – Oct 13, 1886 Prime Minister June 30, 1886 – Oct 13, 1886 | Enabled Kalākaua's excessive spending and grandiose schemes; as Legislative Assembly Finance Chair: $50,000 for a new palace, $10,000 for a coronation, and $10,000 for a statue of Kamehameha; as Prime Minister: $15,000 for the king's birthday jubilee; he encouraged a Polynesian confederation, with the king as the head: $100,000 to buy a steamship, with $50,000 for operating expenses, and $35,000 for foreign missions. | |||
| William Lowthian Green | Minister of Finance July 1, 1887 – July 22, 1889 Minister of Foreign Affairs Feb 17, 1874 – Dec 5, 1876 Sept 22, 1880 – May 20, 1882 Minister of the Interior (acting) May 28, 1874 – Oct 31, 1874 | Geologist and businessman; the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 was ratified while he was Minister of Foreign Affairs; Kalākaua requested Green choose a new cabinet to replace the Gibson cabinet. | |||
| Charles T. Gulick | Minister of the Interior Aug 6, 1883 – June 30, 1886 (acting) Minister of Finance Sept 1, 1885 | Nephew of missionary Peter Johnson Gulick, he supported the monarchy and would later be sentenced for his participation in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion. | [16] | ||
| Edwin Oscar Hall | Minister of the Interior Feb 12, 1874 – Feb 17, 1874 | Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet; replaced by Hermann A. Widemann; printer, editor and businessman, he was part of the Seventh Company of missionaries that arrived in Hawaii in 1835; served as Minister of Finance under Kamehameha III. | |||
| Alfred S. Hartwell | Attorney General Feb 18 – May 28, 1874 Dec 5, 1876 – July 3, 1878 | Justice of the Supreme Court Sept 30, 1868 – Feb 18, 1874 The July 3, 1878 cabinet dismissal was due to pressure from Gibson, whose "want of confidence" resolution failed in the legislature, as well as pressure from Claus Spreckels who wanted water rights for his Maui plantation, and generally from Kalākaua's dissatisfaction with them. | |||
| W. Claude Jones | Attorney General Aug 14, 1880 – Sept 27, 1880 | An adventurer who had various careers and political connections in Missouri, New Mexico and Arizona before relocating to Hawaii in 1866; objections to his appointment as Attorney General were based on his "second-rate standing as a lawyer"; replaced by John Smith Walker. | [17] | ||
| Albert Francis Judd | Attorney General Feb 12- 19, 1874 | Hold-over from Lunalilo cabinet; appointed Associate Justice of Supreme Court of Hawaii on February 1, 1874, becoming Chief Justice on November 5, 1881. | [18] | ||
| Simon Kaloa Kaʻai | Minister of Finance July 3, 1878 – Aug 14, 1880 Aug 8, 1882 – Feb 13, 1883 Minister of the Interior May 20, 1882 – Aug 8, 1882 | After the Moreno affair, Kaʻai defended Kalākaua's right to choose his ministers. | |||
| Paul Puhiula Kanoa | Minister of Finance June 30, 1886 – July 1, 1887 | Membership in Hale Nauā Society, founded by Kalākaua and others to foster native Hawaiian leaders in governmental and public service. | |||
| John Mākini Kapena | Minister of Finance Dec 5, 1876 – July 3, 1878 Feb 13, 1883 – June 30, 1886 Minister of Foreign Affairs July 3, 1878 – Aug 14, 1880 | The July 3, 1878 cabinet dismissal was due to pressure from Gibson, whose "want of confidence" resolution failed in the legislature, from Claus Spreckels who wanted water rights for his Maui plantation, and generally from Kalākaua's dissatisfaction with them. | [19] | ||
| John Lot Kaulukoʻu | Attorney General Oct 13- Oct 23, 1886 | Membership in Hale Nauā Society, founded by Kalākaua and others to foster native Hawaiian leaders in governmental and public service. | |||
| Moses Kuaea | Minister of Finance Aug 14 – Sept 27, 1880 | Pastor of Kaumakapili Church, with no political background. | |||
| William Luther Moehonua | Minister of the Interior Oct 31, 1874 – Dec 5, 1876 | Member of the 1874 legislature which elected Kalākaua Chamberlain to the Royal Household, 1874 Resigned in 1876 to become Governor of Maui | [20] | ||
| Celso Caesar Moreno | Minister of Foreign Affairs Aug 14–19 1880 | Resigned when denied recognition by the diplomatic corps stationed in Hawaii; traveled to Italy as guardian of four youths studying under Education of Hawaiian Youths Abroad; removed of his guardianship when it was discovered he misrepresented them as Kalākaua's family. | [21] | ||
| John Mott-Smith | Minister of the Interior December 5, 1876 July 3, 1878 | Editor of the Hawaiian Gazette, and supporter of the monarchy. The July 3, 1878 cabinet dismissal was due to pressure from Gibson, whose "want of confidence" resolution failed in the legislature, and from Claus Spreckels who wanted water rights for his Maui plantation, and generally from Kalākaua's dissatisfaction with them. | [22] | ||
| Paul Nahaolelua | Minister of Finance Feb 17 – Oct 31, 1874 | Former Governor of Maui, President of the Legislative Assembly 1870–1874 | |||
| Paul Neumann | Attorney General Dec 14, 1883 – June 30, 1886 | Attorney and California politician alleged to be on the payroll of Claus Spreckels; appointed to the cabinet by Gibson. | [23] | ||
| Arthur P. Peterson | Attorney General June 17, 1890– Feb 25, 1891 | After Kalākaua's death on January 20, 1891. Peterson remained as finance minister until Liliʻuokalani installed William Austin Whiting in the position. | |||
| Edward Preston | Attorney General July 13, 1878 – Aug 14, 1880 May 19, 1882 – May 14, 1883 | Resigned over what he perceived as the Cabinet's racial favoritism towards native Hawaiians. | [24] | ||
| Antone Rosa | Attorney General Nov 15, 1886 – June 28, 1887 | Membership in Hale Nauā Society, founded by Kalākaua and others to foster native Hawaiian leaders in governmental and public service. | |||
| Charles Nichols Spencer | Minister of the Interior June 17, 1890– Sept 12, 1892 | Held over in Liliuokalani's cabinet after Kalākaua's January 20, 1891 death | |||
| Richard H. Stanley | Attorney General May 28, 1874 – Nov 5, 1875 | Died in office | [25] | ||
| Lorrin Andrews Thurston | Minister of the Interior July 1, 1887 – Sept 27, 1888 Oct 27, 1888 – June 17, 1890 | Reform cabinet; grandson of Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston, of the first company of Christian missionaries in Hawaii; one of the authors of the 1887 Bayonet Constitution. | [26] | ||
| John Smith Walker | Minister of Finance Oct 31, 1874 – December 5, 1876 Sept 27, 1880 – May 20, 1882 Attorney General Nov 5, 1875 – Feb 15, 1876 | Mercantile; import-export business | [27] | ||
| Hermann A. Widemann | Minister of the Interior Feb 17, 1874– May 28, 1874 | Justice of the Supreme Court July 10, 1869 – Feb 18, 1874 Appointed by Kamehameha V | [28] | ||
| Samuel Gardner Wilder | Minister of the Interior July 3, 1878– Aug 14, 1880 | Business magnate and political supporter of Kalākaua, he achieved success in the steamship business, as well as sugar plantation railway transportation. | [29] | ||
37 pages relating to the Bayonet Constitution
"A List of All the Cabinet Ministers Who Have Held Office in the Hawaiian Kingdom"
