Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Land Commission
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1845-1855
History
The Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles was authorized by the second act of Kamehameha III, passed by the Hawaiian Legislature on December 10, 1845. On February 6, 1846, the Minister of the Interior in Privy Council appointed and commissioned five members to the Land Commission. On August 20, 1846, the board issued the "Principles Adopted by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles in their Adjudication of Claims Presented to Them." The Principles were approved by the Legislature by resolution on October 26, 1846.
The Land Commission dissolved on March 31, 1855. The function of issuing patents upon confirmation of land commission passed on to the following Hawaiian government agencies: Minister of the Interior. Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, Commissioner of Public Lands, and the Land Management Division upon approval by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The Land Commission was charged with investigating and adjudicating all claims to land arising prior to December 10, 1845. The board was empowered to issue leases and awards and patents in fee simple based on claims and testimony presented. The Land Commission lacked authority to separate the interests of Kamehameha III, the chiefs, the konohiki, and native tenants to lands. The mahele, or division of lands between Kamehameha III, the chiefs, and the konohiki was authorized by the Privy Council in December 1847. The mahele is a single land transaction that commenced on January 28, 1848 and ended on March 7, 1848. The transaction is recorded in the Buke Kakau Paa no ka mahele aina i Hooholoia i waena o Kamehameha III a me Na Lii a me na Konohiki ana, commonly referred to as the Mahele Book. Two additional instruments were signed and sealed by Kamehameha III on March 8, 1848 and entered into the Mahele Book. One instrument surrendered a portion of Kamehameha lll's lands to the chiefs and people and served as Kamehameha Ill's payment of commutation to the government. The lands conveyed by Kamehameha III to the government became known as 'government lands.' The second instrument conveyed perfect title to the remaining lands for the personal use of Kamehameha III. These lands became known as 'crown lands.'
The mahele was codified in 1848 and published in the Session Laws of 1848; Civil Code 1859; Revised Laws 1905 and Revised Laws 1925 volume 2, and the Indices of Awards Made by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles in the Hawaiian Islands, compiled and published by the Commissioner of Public Lands in 1929.
Mandates/sources of authority
Second Act of Kamehameha III, An Act to Organize the Executive Departments of the Hawaiian Islands, Part I - Department of the Interior, Chapter VII - of the Hawaiian Land Office. Article IV - of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles. In, Statute Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha Ill, King of the Hawaiian Islands: Passed by the Houses of Nobles and Representatives, during 1845-1846, volume I. Honolulu, Oahu: Charles E. Hitchcock, Printer, Government Press, 1846.
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Identifier of the related entity
Category of the relationship
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Dates of the relationship
Description of relationship
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Maintained by
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Second Act of Kamehameha III, An Act to Organize the Executive Departments of the Hawaiian Islands, Part I - Department of the Interior, Chapter VII - of the Hawaiian Land Office. Article IV - of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles. In, Statute Laws of His Majesty Kamehameha Ill, King of the Hawaiian Islands: Passed by the Houses of Nobles and Representatives, during 1845-1846, volume I. Honolulu, Oahu: Charles E. Hitchcock, Printer, Government Press, 1846.
Principles Adopted by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles in Their Adjudication of Claims Presented to Them. Approved by the Legislative Council, October 26, 1846.
Records of the Foreign Office and Executive. Privy Council Minute Books (Series 421). 1846-1847.
Hawaiian Organic Act: An Act to Provide a Government for the Territory of Hawaii. Act of April 30, 1900, c 339, 31 Stat 141, Sections 73, 99, and 107.
Revised Laws of Hawaii, 1925, volume 1, chapters 39, 40, 44. Volume 2 Appendix - Crown, Government, and Fort Lands. Disposition of Government Lands. Homestead Laws.
Hawaii Revised Statutes. Title 12 Conservation and Resources. Chapter 171 - Public Lands, Management and Disposition of.
Minister of the Interior Annual Reports. 1846-1862; 1880-1899.
Minister of Finance Annual Reports. 1869-1878.
Board of Commissioners of Public Lands Annual Reports. 1896-1899.
Commissioner of Public Lands Annual Reports. 1900-1910; 1915-1958.
Department of Land and Natural Resources Annual Reports. 1961-1994.
Maintenance notes
2020-11-18, Joel Horowitz: Entered into AtoM