USA > Hawaii > Honolulu: sketches of life, social, political, and religious, in the Hawaiian Islands from 1828 to 1861 > Part 16
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" Whereas, The relief of a people from bondage and a malig- nant tyranny, and a transition into the enjoyment of the delight- ful influences of liberty, free conscience, and independent actions, justify a public demonstration of joy," etc.
Sentiments which need no comment.
Relief from the cares of State, endured for years through a sea of troubles, was sweeter than the friend- ship of kings. Dr. Judd remarked one day to a friend, that he thought few generals ever came off from so long a campaign with fewer scars or less injury to their uni- forms.
XLV.
Hopes of Annexation-A Fourth of July Celebration -Death of Kamehameha 111 .- His Character-A Commoner's Biography.
N the 4th of July, 1854, the foreign community expressed their hopes of annexation by a grand celebration of the day. A car, decorated with evergreens, in which were seated thirty-two girls of Amer- ican parentage, dressed in white, wreathed in flowers, each bearing the name of a State on her sash, in large gold letters, was drawn by a power unseen. Next fol- lowed " Young America," a company of very young men in uniform, with another triumphal chariot, on which was placed a beautiful boy, the very personification of health, strength, and beauty. "Young Hawaii" was in tow, and represented by a boat gaily trimmed, in which were eight young native lads, fancifully dressed, and carelessly eating sugar-cane.
The procession marched through the principal streets to the stone church, where an eloquent address was de- livered by the American Commissioner, in which it was more than hinted that a new star was about to be added to the glorious constellation.
The signatures were yet wanting; His Majesty more determined and impatient than ever, when he was taken suddenly ill, and died in three weeks .*
* A statute was passed at this time by both Houses of the Legislature, authorizing the alienation of the sovereignty upon certain contingencies., The possibility of this happening tended, probably, more than any
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It can not be denied that the character of King Kaui keaouli was marred by grave faults. It must also be admitted that he possessed virtues, and many noble traits of heart and mind. His friendships were true and faithful. He was generous to a fault, and his heart was tender and loving as a woman's. He was merciful and shrunk from the sight of human suffering, having great regard for human life. It is a little remarkable that in all the civil dissensions and foreign raids which occurred during his reign, not one life was lost, nor a drop of blood spilt.
After his Government was established, he never com- promised the State, nor disclosed State secrets, even in his revels among designing tempters. In times of peril and difficulty, he always sought the advice of men of unquestioned integrity and unswerving virtue. He did not intrust important offices to men of loose morals
thing else, to alienate Kamehamehas IV. and V. from all those whom they thought would favor such a scheme. Late events have shown that, with a favorable Treaty of Reciprocity with the United States, the native Government can be upheld, and prosperity and security maintained. For the last twenty-five years no one has seriously de- sired annexation. An independent native sovereignty has thus far given persons of all nationalities, residing at the Islands, ample pro- tection, and every lover of the Hawaiian race must rejoice in the pres- ervation of its autonomy for these many years past. It would be dif- ficult to find a country where the sentiment of nationality is stronger than among the aboriginal Hawaiians ; but the preservation of the native Government is due, not so much to this sentiment, as to the unwavering efforts of the early foreign advisers of Kamehameha III. to maintain the Hawaiian State, independent of dictation, free from protectorates, and without "residents " of foreign powers. Between 1830 and 1850 there were several crises when a single misstep, or even a single deflection from loyalty to principle, on the part of the king's advisers, would have been fatal to the existence of the king- dom .- A. F. J.
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Kamehameha III.
or known corrupt principles. He adopted the advice of Fénelon to his royal pupil, and chose for his coun- selors men who dare contradict his opinions, and who cared more for his reputation and prosperity than his favor.
He did not profess himself to be a religious man, in the strict sense of the word, yet he fostered the element among his people by treating their religious teachers with great respect, and in attendance upon public wor- ship, where he listened with attention and reverence. He frequently addressed public assemblies, always ex- horting the people to attend to instruction, to read the Word of God, and practice what he said to them, and not to follow his example, which was wrong.
His powers of observation were remarkably keen, and the amount of general knowledge he picked up, of his- tory, men, and things, was quite astonishing, especially as his knowledge of the English language was very lim- it.ed.
Among his first public acts was a solemn dedication of his kingdom to the Lord Jesus Christ. A book of re- membrance is kept, and let the future of the Hawaiian nation be what it may, the King of kings will regard the record, when all earthly thrones, and kingdoms, and principalities are overturned, and their names blotted out.
As no exact information could be obtained as to when King Kauikeaouli was born, it was resolved in Privy Council, as before stated, that the 17th of March be ob- served as a holiday, in commemoration of the event. His mother was Keopuolani, wife of Kalaniopuu, King of Hawaii at the time of Captain Cook's visit. He was slain by Kamehameha Ist, and she became the wife of the conqueror. She was the first Christian convert, was
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baptized by Rev. William Ellis, at Lahaina, and died September 16, 1823. She left three children- Liho- liho, Kauikeaouli, and a daughter, Nahienaena. King Kauikeaouli died at Honolulu, December 15, 1854, was laid in state at the palace till January 10, 1855, when his funeral was attended with great pomp and magnificence. Wrapped in the feather cloak of his ancestors, his body was placed in the royal tomb, where he sleeps with his fathers.
The following is a scrap of native biography :
Old Hawaii is a native of East Maui. He can not tell what year he was born. Has lived with his present wife forty years. He was trained to dance the hula, and play a game of skill called moa. He did little else than prac- tice these Hawaiian accomplishments till he arrived at the maturity of manhood.
His attention was first attracted to the palapala and religious things on hearing read, in his own language, the first lines in their first printed book :
" Go and sin no more.
Cease to do evil-learn to do well."
He had suffered for several years with a diseased hand. In 1829 he had it amputated, and recovered his early vigor. His gratitude to the surgeon who performed the operation was unbounded and very remarkable. For a period of twelve years he did not fail once to bring a weekly token of it, in kalo, sweet potatoes, or sugar-cane ; and remembers his benefactor up to the present time (1861), in an occasional offering. The children call him one of their " institutions."
His piety is of no ordinary character. He has never
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A Scrap of Native Biography.
relapsed into any old habits, nor grown careless in re. ligious duties. Once, when I was very ill, he came to my room unbidden. I caught a glimpse of him as he was entering, but feeling too weak to talk, closed my eyes and feigned sleep. He stood one moment, then went to a distant part of the room, kneeled down and prayed in such soft, subdued, earnest tones, that I might be spared to my husband, children, friends, native neigh- bors, and have long years yet to fill with usefulness and devotion, that I forgave the intrusion from my heart, long before he had finished his supplications.
When we were about to break the family circle, for a short visit to the fatherland, in 1855, he came, with many others, to express his parting aloha. I said to him: " We are about to embark on the ocean, to visit lands where we shall be strangers. My heart is heavy. I have many fears, lest our family, thus broken up and separated, will never all meet again in our tropic home." He re- garded me in sober, quiet earnestness for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts, then he said: "When Dr. Judd and the young princes went to foreign lands, did not we, native Christians up the valley here, have a morning prayer-meeting all the while they were absent, in their behalf ? Did not I make a tour of this island, and Molokai also, to stir up native Christian kindred, to supplicate unitedly the blessing and protection of God for them? Did they not go and return in health and safety? God hears the united prayers of His children, and always will hear them. Now, you go right along, in the plain path of duty. Never fear if the winds blow or the sea rages around you ; nothing will harm you, for we shall bear you up like this," (holding up his one hand and mutilated arm).
I felt humbled and comforted by the expression of
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such simple trust in God in this old man, born and trained in heathenish, degrading worship of idols. Dur ing fourteen months of absence and travel, often in un tried and startling scenes, my mind reverted to old Hawaii,* and the band of Christians daily pleading for us in our far-off Pacific home.
* He died in 1875-probably a hundred years old.
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XLVI.
Honolulu in 1861-Statistics-Census-Buildings- The Queen's Hospital- Markets- Lawyers and Doctors-King Kamehameha IV .- A Free Press --- The Catholics-Amusements-Climate-Cemetery -The People-Present Wants.
A YOUNG lawyer in Brooklyn asked me, during my late visit there, " What kind of a place is Hono- lulu? I can only think of the Sandwich Islands as the place where Cook was killed and eaten, and as now containing but two classes of people-our American missionaries and the heathen." I assured him the Hawaiians were never a nation of cannibals; that they did not eat Captain Cook. His body was dissected, ac- cording to native custom, his heart placed on a tree to dry, where, as I have already said, it was discovered by a passer-by, stolen and eaten, under the mistaken idea that it was a swine's heart.
Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, is the metropolis of the kingdom. Its harbor is safe and capacious, and will always be a favorite resort for ships in the Pacific. The island itself is nearly as large as Long Island, I should think, but with high, well-wooded mountains in the cen- ter. Its rivers are mere mountain torrents, dwindling in the dry season to tiny brooks.
Honolulu contains ten thousand inhabitants, one-third of them foreigners. There are five churches, three school- houses, a few good stores, and many shops where goods are sold. It can boast of two printing-offices, a Sailor's
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Home, a steam mill, hotels, restaurants, mechanics' shops, a theater, a bank, a hospital, a palace, and a prison. The palace is not equal to Buckingham, nor the Tuileries, but is spacious and well furnished, and in keeping with the royal revenue. The best-looking buildings are the prison and the "Queen's Hospital." All honor to the noble-minded woman who devised the latter-a befitting expression truly of her pure and generous heart. And not to the sovereigns alone be accorded all the merit of this institution, but to the foreign community also, whose generous philanthropy is an ever-flowing stream, glad- dening the hearts of many a pilgrim and wandering prodigal.
The markets furnish beef which even Englishmen praise ; mutton, pork, poultry, fruit and vegetables, nice enough to suit any palate, while amateur gardeners and floriculturists produce bouquets, as fragrant and beauti- ful as ever graced the boudoir of our Mother Eve.
The town is supplied with an abundance of pure water, brought in iron pipes from the valley springs. It has been partially supplied with gas and ice, also.
There are about a dozen lawyers, some of them natives ; and as many more physicians, all of whom manage to live-some, to acquire fortunes.
To the young lady who inquired, " What kind of a person is the young king?"* I would say he is quite European in his tastes and manners. Few young men are more fortunate in command of ready compliment and good English.
He was not crowned on coming into power, like European kings, but simply inaugurated, something after the manner of the President of the United States.
*Kamehameha IV.
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Kamehameha IV.
Chief Justice Lee administered the oath of office. It was an interesting ceremony, the youthful monarch not yet twenty-one, in a handsome, heavily-embroidered uniform, bowing before the chief justice, as he solemnly pledged himself to govern according to the Constitution and laws. Judge Lee wore a suit of plain black, his honest face bespeaking his New England origin.
The press is free, and the expression of public opinion untrammeled. All religions are tolerated. The Catholics own an extensive group of buildings in the very heart of the city, where they live, worship, and where twelve Sis- ters of the Sacred Heart are employed in teaching chil- dren, both native and foreign, and in various other duties usual in such establishments. The priests are stationed all over the group, at the side of every Protestant insti- tution.
To the young lady who asked my daughter, "What amusements have you? Have you ever seen a piano before?" I would say, an amateur musical society has been established several years. Its members hold weekly rehearsals, and give a concert to invited guests once a month. They sing solos, duets, quartettes, and choruses from operas and oratorios, with piano, violin, and flute music. This society is favored at present with the in- structions of a French gentleman of the highest musical culture, who was so unfortunate as to be on the unpop- ular side of politics when the French republic became an empire. In nearly every foreigner's house in town there is a piano-forte and sewing-machine.
There are ladies, native born, who reside in elegant, well-furnished houses, entertain company, give parties, and whose affable and dignified manners would grace any court or country.
For amusements we have school festivals and exam-
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inations, agricultural exhibitions, ladies' fancy fairs, moonlight rides on horseback, sea bathing at the faslı- ionable watering - place, Waikiki, balls and parties for those who wish them, and two sewing societies. The object of one of these societies is to aid sick and destitute strangers, so often cast upon our shores; the other ap- propriates its funds to any desirable object of benevo- lence. Each of these meet monthly, and both are popular and flourishing.
It may be said, with some qualification, that our sun always shines, our trees are always green, our trade-winds always blow, our atmosphere is always pure. Yet it must be confessed that no one, even here, has discovered the secret of Calypso's fountain, where mortals can bathe and flourish in an eternal spring-time. A little way up Nuuanu Valley is a cemetery for foreigners, with its avenues of evergreens, and marble monuments, "In Memoriam." Representatives of every nation on the globe are among the sleepers in that vale of rest and equality.
The little Hawaiian kingdom is certainly an anomaly among earthly Governments. Antagonistic races dwell together on the same footing, under the same laws, justly and equally administered, and in comparative harmony. Distinction of color does not mar social intercourse, nor as yet create jealous animosities, thanks to the self-de- . nying pioneers for this felicitous starting-point.
It is to be regretted that the poor native Hawaiian could not have had a few more years for quiet improve- ment in his own way to accumulate a little moral energy (enervated as he had become by generations of absolute heathenism) before entering the lists with the Anglo- Saxon competitor, backed as he is by a long ancestry of civilized and vigorous manhood.
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The Hawaiian Character.
The Hawaiian is yielding in temper, always good- humored, generous, and gentle. But with some shrewd- ness and keen powers of observation, he lacks stamina, that reliability of character which distinguishes the peo- ple of England, old and new. He lacks thrift, that Yan- kee trait which knows how to make one dollar into two. To supply the want of to-day, is his only care. He is imitative and very susceptible to surrounding influences.
The great national want is not a standing army nor a foreign loan to meet State expenses, nor more ample provision for the support of English schools, to urge on the forcing process, nor more liberty, nor better laws, nor a lighter taxation ; but a generation of uncontami- nated Hawaiian mothers, with their Bible in their own language, their family altar, unambitious for foreign ac- complishments and luxury, and willing to perform with their own hands the humble but elevating duties of the household.
Thrice blessed is the man, or woman, whose example is safe for imitation, and who is ready to extend a help- ing hand to the Hawaiian in his efforts to climb the upward path to the attainment of a more refined civili- zation and Christianity.
٠٠باد٢
APPENDIX I.
[THE following letter from Dr. Judd to his former colleague in office, Mr. R. C. Wyllie, is an epitome of the Doctor's political life in the Hawaiian kingdom, and displays his characteristics so strikingly, that it is deemed proper to publish it here.]
HONOLULU, February 17, 1860.
MY DEAR WYLLIE :
You enquire of me respecting the agency I had in the early organization of the Hawaiian Government.
This agency commenced imperceptibly after the death of Kaahumanu, whom I always attended as physician, but who seldom required my services in any other capacity. After her death, the late King* adopted Kaomi, a Tahitian, as his counsellor and Minister, who introduced the distillation of okolehao,t the abrogation of marriage, the idea that the will of the King was the law of the land, and other evils, to please the King and flatter the people.
Kinau,# the mother of the present King, finding herself thus displaced from the office of Kuhina, which was hers by right of birth, came to my house on one occasion, requesting that Mrs. Judd and myself would receive her as a member
* Kauikeaouli, or Kamehameha III.
t "Okolehao," the native term for liquor distilled trom the roots of the ti plant (dracæna).
# Kinau, being the oldest surviving daughter of Kamehameha I., was entitled by Hawaiian custom to the office of " Kuhina" or Prime Minister, or Premier, as it was called in later times. The Kuhina originally had sovereign authority jointly with the King.
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Appendix I.
of the family. She had become disgusted with the state of things, and since the King preferred the advice of Kaomi, she had determined to retire into private life.
We endeavored to convince her that such a course was wrong; that she had a responsibility resting upon her and a duty to perform, both to the King and the nation, which required immediate and prudent action. Our arguments con · vinced her. By our advice she presented herself before the King and claimed her rights, which were acknowledged, and she was in due time proclaimed as Kuhina.
The birth of the present King,* February 9, 1834, and his immediate adoption as his heir by the King, took place in my presence, an act which secured the rights of Kinau and the fall of Kaomi. Such having been the good results of the advice she had received and followed, Kinau, from that time to the day of her death, became our warmest friend, and claimed from me the best advice and assistance I could afford on all important occasions. In March, 1834, by her urgent request, I accompanied the Princess Nahienaena on a tour of the island of Oahu. She was accompanied by Hoa- pili, Liliha, Kekauluohi, Kekauonohi and a large retinue of minor chiefs and people. The King and Kaomi were with us a part of the time (which we spent at Ewa), behaving in a most disgraceful manner, but none of the party of the Princess were led away by their example. .
After about-ten days at Ewa we took leave of the King, and went on our journey, stopping at the different villages ; and the people being assembled in great numbers, were al- ways addressed by Hoapili, sometimes by the Princess and myself, with a view of influencing them to avoid intemper- ance and give attention to instruction. All the distilleries (which were nothing more than an iron pot and a gun-barrel, or other tube) were overthrown and destroyed by the orders of Hoapili, and from that time they have been unknown on
* The late Alexander Liholiho Kamehameha IV. (See p. 249).
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Honolulu.
these islands. Kinau died in 1839. During these five years I was employed as her interpreter, aiding in a variety of matters necessary to the existence of the Government, al- though most imperfect and rude. A small building was erected, in which were opened records of decisions of jus- tices, accounts of taxes to be paid over to the King, registry of vessels, letters from consuls, etc., and the services of a number of clerks, among whom was the present Governor of Kauai,* were constantly required. Kekuanaoat was over these clerks, and I instructed him how to do their business in the Hawaiian language. Here, then, the Government had a locality. Here came the consuls to make their complaints, and the commanders of ships of war to make and enforce their demands; and although there was no treasury, and no visible means of paying debts or remunerating public officers, the Premier's office was of the utmost importance.
Kekauluohi, succeeding Kinau, continued to do business in the same manner through Kekuanaoa, to whom by this time I had become a constant assistant.
Mr. Richards entered the service of the King as interpreter, and was faithfully employed at Lahaina in delivering to the King and some of his young men a course of lectures on political economy and in arranging a constitution and laws, services highly important; but this did not silence my con- stant complaints that he should leave so important a port as Honolulu exposed to the liability of making the greatest mis- takes, endangering, if not actually causing, the loss of the King's sovereignty, unless I, who was still supported by the American Board, were constantly turned aside from my ap- propriate duties to attend to his.
During the life of Kinau and before the birth of the Prin- cess Victoria, the subject of the education of her children
* Paul Kanoa, still alive.
+ Husband of Kinau and father of Kamehamehas IV. and V., and Princess Victoria.
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Appendix I.
was freely discussed between us. One child was with the King; another, the eldest, was with the Governor of Kauai ; and the other at Maui with Hoapili. These discussions re- sulted in an understanding that, if a boarding-school could be established by the Mission for their education, she would favor and support it. This being settled, I communicated with Mr. Richards, who brought the business before the Mis- sion. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke were appointed teachers of this school, but the plan of the house, the details throughout, fell to my share-the credit to others.
With the increased intercourse of foreigners increased the difficulties of carrying on the Government and the danger to the sovereignty of the King. The English Consul, not- withstanding the proportion of British subjects was small, was most active in hostility, claiming for his Government almost the rights of a protectorate. As precautionary meas- ures, the King, to whose councils I was not yet admitted, leased to Brinsmade, Ladd and Hooker, citizens, all the un- occupied lands in the islands.
This being known to the British Consul, he increased his demands upon the Government, and wrote to the Admiral at Valparaiso for a force sufficient to enable him to obtain jus- tice. Just at this period, in the spring of 1842, it was deter- mined to send Mr. Richards to Europe, and the King sent for me to visit him at Lahaina. He there requested me to take the place of Mr. Richards while he might be absent. This I declined, not wishing to lecture; but making known my opinions as to the immediate necessity of collecting and preserving a revenue, distinct from that of the King and chiefs, for the purposes of Government and for the payment of debts, as well as some provision for the transaction of busi- ness with foreigners ; the King, with much hesitation on the part of the chiefs, adopted my plan.
This resulted in the appointment of a Treasury Board,* of
* May 15, 1842.
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which I was commissioned as a member, with general pow- ers to act as interpreter and to transact business with all for- eigners. This was better defined in 1843 by my appointment as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs .*
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