Prince Kuhio’s speech at Lihu‘e Hall On Oct. 10, 1912, Prince Kuhio gave a speech at Lihue Hall on Rice Street while campaigning for reelection as Hawaii’s delegate to the United States Congress. Lihue Hall stood where Lihue Chevron is
Prince Kuhio’s speech at Lihu‘e Hall
On Oct. 10, 1912, Prince Kuhio gave a speech at Lihue Hall on Rice Street while campaigning for reelection as Hawaii’s delegate to the United States Congress.
Lihue Hall stood where Lihue Chevron is now located. Built in 1903 between the properties of William Hyde Rice and C. H. Bishop, it was a long, wooden building with surrounding lanais used for meetings, socials and dances. It was demolished in 1925.
What follows are excerpts of Henry Waiau’s Oct. 15, 1912 report of Prince Kuhio’s speech.
“To depend on the younger generation of aliens to work on the plantation in the future will be a theory of doubt, for Hawaii is educating them and to go back into the plantation and work will only be a menace to their proper education. What shall they do? They will leave the plantation and start other businesses.
“The distributing of the three, four, five, more or less acres to homesteaders of today is considered a failure. How can any man or men make a living on three acres of land? Why isn’t the full administration of the Territory enforced to its full extent? The homestead law requires each homesteader to acquire 85 acres of land, doesn’t it?
“The introducing of the bill for Nawiliwili Harbor four years ago was a failure in each and every time the bill was presented. The trouble was due to the Kauaiites. They kept on nagging and chewing for two places and consequently the work was delayed. It is this one thing Kaua‘i ought to do. Get together, pull together and by having a unanimous approach on one certain port, you will get it very quickly.”
Prince Kuhio was reelected in November of 1912. He was Hawai‘i’s delegate to Congress from 1902 to 1922.
