Edward Preston

Edward Preston (17 February 1831 – 17 January 1890) was a lawyer and judge originally from England who served in the Kingdom of Hawaii.

In 1852 he sailed to Melbourne, Australia, and then practised law in Christchurch, New Zealand in the firm Wynn Williams & Co.[1] He married in 1852, and came to the Hawaiian Islands with his wife in 1870.

Working as a clerk for the judge in the legislature was John Mahiʻai Kāneakua who would sign the memorial from the Hawaiian Patriotic league to restore the monarchy in 1893.

On 7 July 1885 Preston was appointed to the supreme court of the kingdom under chief justice Albert Francis Judd.

One incident that led to the downfall of Gibson was a Chinese planter T. Aki who said he had made a "gift" to Kalākaua expecting to receive a license for opium trading.