Resolution a flimsy excuse for another holiday
On June16, the Hawaiian County Council unanimously approved a request to the state Legislature to provide us with another holiday — this one for the restoration of the Kingdom of Hawaii in July 1843. This is the flimsiest of excuses for a holiday I have ever heard.
On Feb. 10, 1843, British Naval Capt. Lord Paulet, full of himself and perhaps too much rum, entered Honolulu Harbor and made outrageous demands on the government. On Feb. 25, still full of himself and perhaps too much rum, the captain threatened to level Honolulu with canon fire if he was not given control of the government. He was, and the Union Jack replaced the Hawaiian flag.
Five months later, which was a short time in the early days of sea voyage, British Adm. Richard Thomas, recognizing how out of line his Capt. Paulet had been, restored the Kingdom of Hawaii. It was late July 1843.
For this we should have a holiday?
The Hawaiian monarchy, under the strong influence of the Protestant ministry, had outlawed Catholicism and persecuted and imprisoned Catholics.
On July 9, 1839, the French warship Artemis under the command of Capt. Cyrille Laplace entered Honolulu Harbor. Capt. Laplace threatened military action unless five demands were met, including the release from jail of all Catholics and a deposit of $20,000 to be held by the French to ensure compliance with the other demands.
His demands were met by King Kamehemeha III and in 1846, the $20,000 was returned to the kingdom as part of a treaty signing.
In my opinion this attempt to separate religion from government would be a better reason, however flimsy, for a holiday.
Michael Robinson
Kailua-Kona
Why is there no policy on stray cats at resort?
My family and I just spent a lovely week in the Waikoloa area, staying at the Hilton’s Kings’ Land resort. We were greeted by a total of six sweet but wary cats on our patio. Noticing that none of them had notched ears to indicate they were spayed or neutered, I contacted the Hawaii Island Humane Society to ask if they were involved in curtailing the propagation of this colony.
Donna Whitaker, the executive director of the Hawaii Island Humane Society, wrote me back to say they do not have a TNR (trap-neuter-release) program but an organization called AdvoCats does. That’s when it got interesting.
Cindy Thurston returned my call and told me that AdvoCats is not allowed on the property at Kings’ Land per the directive of its general manager. That surprised me, given that advocacy groups often provide free services to mitigate stray populations and minimize the suffering of domesticated animals that have been abandoned to fend for themselves.
I inquired about the stray cat situation at the Kings’ Land front desk because I wanted to know what community organizations they are working with if they aren’t permitting AdvoCats on property. The assistant general manager told me they don’t share their policy regarding the stray cat population. One wonders what their mystery policies are and why they aren’t shared.
Given that we observed six cats, I’m certain that in short order Kings’ Land will have 60. Hopefully, management will be encouraged to work with the community services available in order to minimize the stray cat colony at Kings’ Land.
Lynn Elliott
Abingdon, Va.