Junius Kaʻae (September 17, 1845 – December 19, 1906) was a
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
politician of the
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...
. In 1887, he was implicated in the infamous bribery scandal involving King
Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
over the sale of an
opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
license to
Tong Kee.
Life and career
Kaʻae served many positions during the Hawaiian monarchy. He worked as a notary public and agent of labor contract for the island of
Kauai
Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands.
It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
, receiving his first appointment on December 13, 1877, and a later reappointment on January 13, 1879.
On April 29, 1882, he was appointed by King
Kalākaua
Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, reigning from February 12, 1874, u ...
as a member of the House of Nobles, the upper house of the
Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom () was the bicameral (later unicameral) legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term Legislat ...
. He served from 1882 to 1886 until the 1887
Bayonet Constitution removed all appointed nobles and made both legislative chambers elective. Around this time, he also served as Registrar of Conveyances from October 30, 1886, to July 13, 1887, and a member of the Hawaiian Board of Health on February 16, 1887.
The latter was a brief governmental organization in charged of licensing ''
kahuna
Kahuna (; ) is a Hawaiian word that refers to an expert in any field. Historically, it has been used to refer to doctors, surgeons and dentists, as well as priests, ministers, and sorcerers.
Background
A may be versed in agriculture,Archiv ...
'' or practitioners of traditional Hawaiian medicine.
In the capacity of Registrar of Conveyance, Kaʻae was implicated in a corruption charge leveled on the king by his opponents. It was reported that Kaʻae had convinced a Chinese rice planter named
Tong Kee, alias Aki, to make a bribe of $75,000 (of which only $71,000 was actually paid) to the king, in order to secure the grant of an
opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
sales license. It was rumored that the large sum of cash was smuggled into the palace in baskets and handed to Kaʻae. When the license was awarded to
Chun Lung, another Chinese immigrant, Aki demanded the money back and when the money was not returned he outed the king and Kaʻae in twelve affidavits detailing the controversy.
The opium bribery scandal was satirized in the political satirical pamphlet, the ''Gynberg Ballads'' published by
Alatau T. Atkinson, editor of the ''Hawaiian Gazette'', and possibly coauthored by
Edward William Purvis
Colonel Edward William Purvis (July 4, 1857 – August 16, 1888) was a British army officer and settler of the Kingdom of Hawaii who served as Vice-Chamberlain during the reign of King Kalākaua. After resigning from the royal household, Purvis ...
, a former member of the king's military staff. Shipments of the ballads arrived from
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on May 13, 1887, and was distributed widely despite attempts by the government to seize the printed pamphlets. One of the parts titled "The Opium Racket" summarized the scandal although changing the names of the participants. Aki became "You Lie", the king was transformed into the "Gynberg Duke" and Kaʻae became "Kiyi". This became one of the corruption charges which led to the coup of the king by the
Reform Party and the signing of the 1887 Bayonet Constitution which restricted his executive power. Kaʻae was forced to resign.
He was later appointed to the Privy Council of State, the advisory council for the monarch, on December 14, 1886, by King Kalākaua, and continued in this role even after the opium license controversy. The king died in 1891 and was succeeded by his sister
Liliʻuokalani
Queen Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of th ...
. After her accession to the throne, the new queen reappointed Kaʻae to her Privy Council on March 7, 1891. Records of the Privy Council indicate that he only served one year before ceasing to sit in this body in 1892.
[; ]
Personal life
He married three times. With his first wife Kukakina, he had a son named William F. Kaʻae (1870–1938), who became a county official for the
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...
. His second wife was Kamehaokalani, a relative of
Queen Kapiʻolani, and they had three children. His third wife Jessie Kapaihi Lane (1857–1934), sister of Honolulu Mayor
John C. Lane, survived him.
In later life, Kaʻae attempted to claim, on behalf of his deceased second wife, the lands of
Kealiʻiahonui
Aaron Kealiʻiahonui (1800–1849) was member of the nobility of the Alii nui of Kauai, Kingdom of Kauaʻi and the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaii. He is often called Keliʻiahonui, a contraction of Kealiʻiahonui. His name was given to him by ...
, the son of the last independent king of Kauai
Kaumualiʻi. His suit stating that the last will of Kealiʻiahonui was forged was rejected by the courts.
In 1893, almost immediately following the
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Ame ...
, the Kaae petition was accepted and the probate of Kealiʻiahonui was reversed by the provisional government as the first case heard by Dole after the overthrow.
Kaʻae died of
blood poisoning
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells.
Blood is compo ...
at
Queen's Hospital in Honolulu. His funeral was held at the
Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace and he was buried at the
Kawaiahaʻo Church cemetery.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaae, Junius
1845 births
1906 deaths
People from Lahaina, Hawaii
Native Hawaiian politicians
Hawaiian Kingdom politicians
National Party (Hawaii) politicians
Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles
Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council
Burials at Kawaiahaʻo Church
Hawaiian Kingdom Roman Catholics