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7 Haw. J.L. & Pol. 1 (2025)

handle is hein.journals/hwijlp7 and id is 1 raw text is: Editor's Notes - Volume 7 Volume Seven of the Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics continues its unique and important mission as an interdisciplinary, double-blind, peer reviewed journal rooted in the legal fact of the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom nation-state. As the only publication of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics is committed to exploring the details of our government, law, history, culture, and politics with rigor toward a better understanding of the events of our past, and the decisions required for our future. This volume starts with an important look at the petitioning mechanism of government by the general populace in the Hawaiian Kingdom in an article by Dr. Susan Corley entitled An Historical View of Palapala Ho'opi'i as a Legislative Force, 1840-1854. Corley details that upon the opening of the very first legislative session in April 1841 the first petition comes into the legislature from several maka'ainana at Lahaina seeking pounds built to secure stray pigs and other animals. The House of Nobles passed a law entitled A Law Respecting Mischievious Beasts (1841), which created ten poundmasters to handle these matters across the islands. Corley notes that the early success of this petition encouraged many more petitions of its kind. Maka'ainana began to petition the higher government on matters usually handled by the konohiki at their local level. The 1852 Constiution further strengthened the institutionalization of the petitioning mechanism when it, explicitly affirmed the people's right to address a petition directly to the lawmakers. Meaning that petitions were not a symbolic getsure of position on political matters as many are seen in U.S. politics today, but rather, were a politcal right that could merit governmental investigation and response. Corley details the exercise of this right by the maka'ainana, and the changing evaluation process of petitioning in the legislators. Examining numerous palapala ho'opi'i (written petitions) in the government records and legislative investigation and responses, Corley details an important aspect of early governmental change in the Hawaiian Kingdom. She looks at the arrangement and structure of petitions over time, noticing specific concerns that arose on matters of discriminatory treatment, liquor and 'awa, judicial appointments, tax burdens, konohiki edicts and power, livelihood matters. Corley also begins an examination of petitions on major political events of the time including the 1845 petitioning campaign concering the appointment of three haole cabinent ministers, land sales to aliens, and the rumored annexation to the U.S. in 1854.1 On the topic of petitions in the Hawaiian Kingdom, this article stands alone as an excellent example of high level primary source research and analysis into an important 1 Dr. Susan Corley provides the most thorough primary source examination to date of the 1845 petitioning campaign concerning the appointment of haole cabinet ministers, and land sales to aliens in her book Leveraging Sovereignty: Kaukikeaouli's Global Strategy for the Hawaiian Nation, 1825-1854 (2022: University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu) 1