Liliuokalani, Lydia Kamakaeha Kaolamalii, Queen of Hawaii

Autograph letter signed ("Liliuokalani") and initialed twice ("L."), 2–page bifolium (10 x 8 in.; 255 x 203 mm) on stationery with the royal seal of the former kingdom, Washington Place [Honolulu], 1 October 1903, to J.[oseph] O.[liver] Carter, requesting him to look into payment of bills for herself and for a schoolboy she has enrolled at school, to book 4 berths on board the "Corea," and to borrow $100.

Liliuokalani instructs Carter to look into a bill that was sent to her from C. Spreckles & Company for $500 which she had borrowed from Allen Herbert. Additionally, Liliuokalani has enrolled Charley Nihoa Aea into a school and has paid all his bills up until this time. As she is planning a trip aboard the "Corea" in early November (for which she has asked Carter to book four berths), she instructs him to settle any bills submitted by Charley's teachers in her absence. She also asks Carter for $100 as she is planning a long weekend at Wailalua, on the north shore of Oahu.  

The letter is written on stationery bearing the royal seal of the former kingdom with the motto "Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Aina i ka Pono." The motto was instituted by Kamehameha III in 1843, after a failed attempt by an overzealous British navy admiral to overthrow the monarchy.  Translated into English, the phrase means: "The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."