At the time of Captain Cook's contact with the Hawaiian Islands the land was divided into several independent Kingdoms. By right of conquest, each King was owner of all the lands within his jurisdiction.
After selecting lands for himself, the
King allotted the remaining to the warrior Chiefs who rendered assistance in
his conquest. These warrior Chiefs,
after retaining a portion for themselves, reallotted the remaining lands to
their followers and supporters.
The distribution of lands was all on a revocable
basis. What the superior gave, he was able to take away at his pleasure. This ancient tenure was in nature feudal, although
the tenants were not serfs tied to the soil - they were allowed to move freely
from the land of one Chief to that of another.
Under King Kamehameha III, the most
important event in the reformation of the land system in Hawaii was the
separation of the rights of the King, the Chiefs and the Konohiki (land agents.)
The King retained all of his private lands
as his individual property; one third of the remaining land was to be for the
Hawaiian Government; one third for the Chiefs and Konohiki; and one third to be
set aside for the tenants, the actual possessors and cultivators of the soil.
More than 240 of the highest ranking
Chiefs and Konohiki in the Kingdom joined Kamehameha III in this task. The first māhele, or division, of lands was
signed on January 27, 1848; the last māhele was signed on March 7, 1848
(164-years ago, today.)
Each māhele was in effect a quitclaim
agreement between the King and a Chief or Konohiki with reference to the lands
in which they both claimed interests.
In each māhele for lands for the King,
the Chief or the Konohiki signed an agreement: “I hereby agree that this
division is good. The lands above written
are for the King. I have no more rights therein.”
The remaining lands were set aside for the
Chief or Konohiki and the King signed an agreement: “I hereby agree that this
division is good. The lands above
written are for (name of Chief or Konohiki); consent is given to take it before
the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles.”
The Great Māhele itself did not convey
title to land.
The high Chiefs and the lesser Konohiki
were required to present their claims before the Land Commission to receive
awards for the lands. Until an award for
these lands was issued by the Land Commission, title to such lands remained
with the government.
Even after receiving a Land Commission
Award, the recipient did not acquire a free and clear title. He was still required to pay commutation to
the government, in cash or by surrender of equally valuable lands (set at one
third of the value of the unimproved land.)
Kamehameha III divided the lands he
reserved for himself into two separate parts; the smaller portion he retained for his
personal use (“Crown” lands); the larger portion he gave ‘to the Chiefs and
people’ (“Government” lands.)
The lands identified and separated in 1848
as Crown lands, Government lands and Konohiki lands were all “subject to the rights of native tenants” on their respective
kuleana. The Land Commission was authorized
to award fee simple
titles to native tenants who occupied and improved the land (and proved they actually cultivated those lands
for a living.)
In the Great Māhele of 1848, of the
approximate 10,000 awards, around 1,000,000-acres were reserved by King
Kamehameha III as “Crown” lands, 1,500,000-acres were given by the King (as
“Government” lands) to the 'government and people', approximately
1,500,000-acres were set aside for the Chiefs (as “Konohiki” lands) and less
than 30,000-acres of land were awarded to the native tenants (Kuleana lands.)
The awarding of these completed the māhele of the lands into the Crown lands,
Government lands, Konohiki lands and Kuleana lands and brought to an end the
ancient system of land tenure in the Hawaiian Kingdom.
How is it, as you say, The Great Mahele did not convey to the land, when the heirs to the lands are brought up in the public newspapers for quit deed purposes.
ReplyDeleteNona Kaea-Medley
because they are busy leasing and then convey as owner over several decades and under system no one has any knowledge called "tax lien method" not put in trust as grants put into trust as easement no limitation to size saying natives didn't pay taxes they do not advise original owner somehow supposed to know even tax office doesn't know about it if you ask does this help
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