by Rosella Leonhardt

Consul Charlton complained to Lord George Paulet, commander of the British ship "Carysfort" about the way he was treated in Hawaii. Consul Charlton was concerned about Hawaii becoming independent. He did not want Hawaii to be recognized as an independent government.

In 1841, an American company called Ladd and Company signed an agreement with the government where they would obtain leases of valuable land for sugar cultivation.

Peter Brinsmade went to England, France, and the U.S. to get guarantees of Hawaiian independence. He was concerned about who had enough authority . So William Richards and Timothy Ha'alilio, formal commission members, sailed o London in July ,1842.

Consul Charlton made his complaint to Lord George Paulet about the rudeness of Hawaiians to the British. Admiral Richard Thomas, commander of British naval forces in the Pacific, sent Lord George Paulet to Hawaii to check ithe situation out .

When Paulet arrived in Hawaii, he made many demands of the King. Dr. Judd advised the king not to oppose the demands, but to allow the British Government to take over the islands on February 17, 1843.

The British took over Hawaii and the Hawaiian flag no longer flew above the islands. Laws of the kingdom were changed whenever Lord George Paulet wanted to change them.

Judd secretly sent the story of what the British were doing to Washington and London, secretly. The Hawaiian government knew Paulet would have stopped them if he found out.

Secretly, James Marshall, an agent of Ladd & Company, was given formal papers addressed to the Queen of England and other documents prepared by Dr. Judd.

To maintain secrecy, Judd did his work in the royal tomb using Ka'ahumanu's coffin as a desk. The king of Hawaii's signature was needed before Simpson and Marshall set sail for Washington and London so a canoe was sent to Maui for him. The king slipped into Waikiki, signed the papers and headed back for Maui. Simpson and Marshall set sail together in March 1843. They went their separate ways at Vera Cruz, Mexico. Marshall raced for Washington and Simpson for London. After telling his story in Washington, James Marshall joined Richards and Ha'alilio in London. While in London, a reply was prepared regarding the accusations of Simpson and Charlton against the Hawaiian government.

In July, the United States ship, Constellation arrived from China. Commander Kearney, the ship's captain, made a protest against Paulet's actions.

On July 26, Admiral Richard Thomas arrived from Valeparaiso, Chile. The news spread along the waterfront that he had come to restore the independence of the islands. He had interviewed the king in a very well-mannered way, and a flag raising ceremony was held on July 31, 1843.

After the ceremony, joyous Hawaiians later named the site of the ceremony, Thomas Square (named after Admiral Richard Thomas). When the king stated that the independence had been restored,he used the words which are familiar to Hawaii... "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono" , i t means " the life of the land i s preserved by righteousness". This became the Kingdom of Hawaii's national motto... today it is Hawaii's state motto.