The members of the upper House of Nobles (Hale ʻAhaʻōlelo Aliʻi) were appointed by the Monarch with the advice of his Privy Council.

The members of the lower House of Representatives (Hale ʻAhaʻōlelo Makaʻāinana) were elected by popular vote from several districts in the Kingdom.

Revenue-oriented bills were issued through the House of Representatives, and it also served as the "grand inquest" of the Kingdom.

The subsequent 1887 Constitution, known as the "Bayonet Constitution," restored the two chambers as a bicameral legislature and made the revived upper House of Nobles elected to six-year terms, with higher property ownership requirements.

[3] Following the contentious 1892 Legislative Session of the Hawaiian Kingdom, tensions grew between some members of the Legislature and Queen Liliuokalani.