His public support of the monarchy put him in the position of being the target of ridicule and harassment by those favoring annexation, which included most of the established newspapers in Hawaii.

After release from her imprisonment, Liliuokalani recruited Palmer as her personal assistant when she was in residence at Boston and Washington D. C., protesting the annexation of Hawaii.

[10] Young Julius chose a career sailing the seas, beginning as an ordinary sailor and in succeeding years working his way up the ranks to become captain of his own vessel.

According to his account in The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, he held credentials as Master mariner (professional qualification of captaincy), and had once commanded both the clipper ship USS Nightingale and the Island Home steamer.

[14] He spent a number of years in and out of San Francisco, where he was involved with Chinese immigrants, and wrote to the Boston Advertiser trying to dispel public misconceptions of them as a labor force.

[21][22] Some people in Hawaii believed that the subsequent series of articles appearing in the Boston Commercial Bulletin, which bore the pseudonym "A Cape Horner", had actually been written by Palmer.

With some sarcastic introductory comments, The Pacific Commercial Appeal ran an excerpt of Palmer's memories, wherein he speculated that Hawaii would never be taken over by the United States.

[25] Palmer visited Hawaii that year and socially met Liliuokalani twice, once in her own home when he was accompanied by Archibald Scott Cleghorn, the father of Princess Kaʻiulani.

Allowed to edit his own words before publication, Dole referred to "our forefathers" of the American Revolution and compared the overthrow of Liliuokalani to the actions of Union Army during the Civil War in the United States.

[30] Palmer alleged government censorship of the Hawaiian news media, and stated that the motivations for the overthrow were financial greed and a lust for power.

"[32] Presbyterian minister Sereno E. Bishop, ally of Lorrin A. Thurston and the men who overthrew the monarchy, was asked to make a rebuttal to Palmer's book.

Liliuokalani was imprisoned at Iolani Palace for her alleged involvement in the 1895 Wilcox rebellion,[35] and the government denied Palmer's request to interview her.

[37] The Pacific Commercial Advertiser published Palmer's stated purpose of his visit, but subtitled it "The Skipper Punishes the Public With Egotistical Elucidations".

[39] When Palmer left Hawaii in May, The Pacific Commercial Advertiser labeled him as the skipper of "The Lying Dutchman", accusing him of searching for "liars and freaks" and using statements "of pure malice and cussedness".

[40] In response, The Daily Bulletin of Hawaii branded that editorial a "vial attack" and countered that The Pacific Commercial Advertiser was a paid mouthpiece for the government.

The San Francisco Call noted its bias against the Republic's government, and its emphasis on restoring the monarchy with Princess Kaiulani on the throne; however, they declined to dismiss Palmer's assertions and suggested a wait-and-see approach to the unfolding historical events.

[45][20] Palmer's responsibilities as her assistant included arranging for tickets in the diplomatic gallery of the United States Senate for the March 4, 1897 inauguration of William McKinley.

Both methods of disseminating information to the general public reflected the queen's viewpoints, but shielded her by showing only Palmer as the sole interviewee or author.

[51][52] During May, Palmer acted as a royal escort accompanying the queen's lady-in-waiting Elizabeth Kahele Manawaola St. John (Mrs. Kia Nahaolelua) to California to return to her family in Hawaii.

Author Neil Thomas Proto noted that Palmer stressed in a letter printed in the New York Times that due to a portion of the land recognized as the Crown's private property, Liliuokalani's consent was required for annexation.

He was her literary support in the 1897 publication of the Kumulipo translation, helped her in compiling a book of her songs, and assisted her as she wrote her biography (Hawaii's Story).

[57][58] In an interview with The Boston Globe shortly after his service to her ended, he spoke of his employment with her, of his relationship with her dating back to their first meeting, his loyalty to her, and his respect for her.