His Majesty's Letter to Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. [A]
Great and Good Friend:—Believing that Your Majesty takes a sincere interest in every thing which concerns the Hawaiian nation, I doubt not but that You will partake in my sorrow for the loss of my Predecessor, Kamehameha III., who died on the 15th of December last.
In accordance with the will of the late King, and the Constitution of my Realm, I have succeeded to the throne of my forefathers. My anxious endeavor will be to rule for the good of my subjects, and of all foreigners residing within my jurisdiction; and, in so doing, I shall rely, under God, upon the sympathy and good will of Your Majesty, and of the British nation.
Your Good Friend,
By the King.
In accordance with the will of the late King, and the Constitution of my Realm, I have succeeded to the throne of my forefathers. My anxious endeavor will be to rule for the good of my subjects, and of all foreigners residing within my jurisdiction; and, in so doing, I shall rely, under God, upon the sympathy and good will of Your Majesty, and of the British nation.
Your Good Friend,
| (Signed,) | KAMEHAMEHA |
| (Signed,) | R. C. Wyllie. |
[A] The same letter, mutatis mutandis, was sent to their Majesties the Emperor of the French, the Emperor of Russia, Kings of Denmark, Prussia, Sweden and Norway, Presidents of the United States, of Hamburg, Bremen, Chile, and Peru. [Pg 19]
Reply by His Majesty to the Address of Hon. D. L. Gregg, Commissioner of the United States, on Presentation of the Letter of the President of the United States, condoling with His Majesty on the Death of His Predecessor, and congratulating Him on His Accession to the Throne.
I trust it is almost unnecessary for me to assure you, Mr. Gregg, that the letter you have just delivered to me from the President of the Great American Republic could not have reached me through a more agreeable channel than the hands of the United States' Commissioner.
I will not do my own feelings the injustice of attempting to disguise the fact that, at the present moment this communication from the Head of your Government, according to my appreciation of it, loses entirely its formal character, and appears to express only the sentiments of a Friend, who has proved himself worthy of that high name. The Treaty recently negotiated between my Envoy at Washington and Mr. Marcy, on the part of the Government of the United States, is indeed but one link in the chain that binds the two countries in relations of the most happy kind. But it is a convention of the greatest importance not only to those who are numbered among my subjects, but to every American citizen who has any interests upon these islands. I do not doubt but that its effect will be to call hither more of your enterprising countrymen, and direct towards the now partially developed resources of this archipelago, the attention of your judicious, but ever ready capitalists. Under this treaty we may expect to see American citizens raising the produce which American ships will carry to an American market. But their prosperity will be ours. Indeed, the mutual interests of the two countries are so interwoven in this regard, that it would be a difficult task to define a line between them.
Whatever may be the future in store for these islands, it will be impossible for any Hawaiian while the nation exists to forget or undervalue the fostering care which your Great Country, as a Parent, has extended towards them; and among the names of individual Americans that will stand out prominently, I foresee a high place assigned to those of Mr. President Pierce, and the gentleman I have the pleasure to address.
I will not do my own feelings the injustice of attempting to disguise the fact that, at the present moment this communication from the Head of your Government, according to my appreciation of it, loses entirely its formal character, and appears to express only the sentiments of a Friend, who has proved himself worthy of that high name. The Treaty recently negotiated between my Envoy at Washington and Mr. Marcy, on the part of the Government of the United States, is indeed but one link in the chain that binds the two countries in relations of the most happy kind. But it is a convention of the greatest importance not only to those who are numbered among my subjects, but to every American citizen who has any interests upon these islands. I do not doubt but that its effect will be to call hither more of your enterprising countrymen, and direct towards the now partially developed resources of this archipelago, the attention of your judicious, but ever ready capitalists. Under this treaty we may expect to see American citizens raising the produce which American ships will carry to an American market. But their prosperity will be ours. Indeed, the mutual interests of the two countries are so interwoven in this regard, that it would be a difficult task to define a line between them.
Whatever may be the future in store for these islands, it will be impossible for any Hawaiian while the nation exists to forget or undervalue the fostering care which your Great Country, as a Parent, has extended towards them; and among the names of individual Americans that will stand out prominently, I foresee a high place assigned to those of Mr. President Pierce, and the gentleman I have the pleasure to address.
PROCLAMATION BY THE KING.
We hereby proclaim Our pleasure that Tuesday, the first of January next, be kept as a day of solemn Thanksgiving to Almighty God for His numberless blessings to Our kingdom and people.| (Signed,) | KAMEHAMEHA |
Notes of an Address by His Majesty, at the Formation of the Hawaiian Agricultural Society, reported to the Polynesian .
In due course of time His Majesty addressed the meeting. The difficulty of taking short-hand notes in English of what is being said in the native dialect, the construction of which is peculiar, a sentence often beginning at the end and ending in the middle, must be our apology for doing so little justice to the eloquent language and sound common-sense ideas expressed by the President.
After an opening sentence or two, the King spoke to the following effect:
Convinced of the importance of this undertaking, I consented to address you to-day. I should not however, have done so, had I not been fearful that a refusal on my part might have induced others of more information and better acquainted with the particular object we have united to foster, to decline in like manner. At the same time I cannot help thinking and hoping that my few remarks will be eclipsed by the weight and breadth of those of other speakers who are to stand before you on the closing day of this month and other specified days, according to a resolution passed at our last meeting.
We also caught the following sentence, which, although it may appear a little disjointed here, was neatly introduced, and bore upon the argument then being used:
One of the greatest prospective advantages that we see in the assiduous pursuit of agriculture, is the reformation it would work amongst the people. It is not in the ranks of modern farmers that you must look for the most ignorant or the most immoral men. We all know that when an individual enters upon an undertaking of the mode to accomplish which he is ignorant, he applies for information where it may be found, having learnt that a man unqualified for his task must fail in it. Having acquired this much experience, and being solicitous for the prosperity and happiness of his children, he will on no account omit sending them to school, so that they may not be trammelled in after years by ignorance as their father was. Thus the rising generation is prepared for its work. The children find themselves on starting in life possessed of the information necessary to success, whereas their father had to struggle on his way in the midst of darkness and misapprehension. Suppose a step similar to the one I have described were made by the young people from one end of the islands to the other. Would not ignorance give way to intelligence? Would not darkness become light? Would not inexpertness succumb to proficiency? The general result could only be a largely increased sum of individual and national prosperity.
The King, who has of late been residing a few miles from Honolulu superintending some agricultural operations of his own, we believe up[Pg 21]on the very spot which his great predecessor, Kamehameha I., cultivated before him, spoke with animation of our natural advantages:
Who ever heard of winter upon our shores? When was it so cold that the laborer could not go to his field. Where amongst us shall we find the numberless drawbacks which in less favored countries the working classes have to contend with? They have no place in our beautiful group, which rests on the swelling bosom of the Pacific like a water-lily. With a tranquil heaven above our heads, and a sun that keeps his jealous eye upon us every day, whilst his rays are so tempered that they never wither prematurely what they have warmed into life, we ought to be agriculturists in heart as well as practice.
The following sentence contains a truth to which thousands can testify:
I wish to allude to a bad custom which prevails amongst us. I mean the foolish hospitality extended everywhere towards the lazy and good-for-nothing equally with those who are worthy of it. A young man, able bodied and fit for work, lies in the house upon which he confers the honor of a visit, whilst his friends go out to labor. When they come back they share with him their scanty meal, and he is not ashamed to eat of it. Is that as it should be? Is it not a thing which we ought to feel as a disgrace—a custom that reflects upon the heads of the old and the hearts of the young? I am well aware that the sharing of food with every stranger and visitor that comes along is dignified with the name of ancient Hawaiian hospitality. I now tell you it is not true hospitality. Can that hospitality be correct in theory or practice which sends old men and sick men to work under a hot sun, whilst lusty young people lie in the house playing at cards.
There is a very wholesome tone in this remark:
At present we are a poor people, for the surplus produced by the few who work is consumed by the many who claim at their hands the rights of your boasted hospitality. Never close your doors on those who are hungry through sickness, misfortune, or the wrongs they have received; but on the other hand never help those who are too lazy to help themselves.
Another nail is most decidedly hit on the head in the following:
I will allude to another bad feature in the native mind; I mean the idea in which too many of you indulge, that a fortune if not made in a day, ought to be acquired in a very short space of time. If a man does not get rich in the first few months of his endeavoring to do so, he suddenly relaxes in his exertions, subsides into his native indolence, and becomes a laughing stock to those whose ideas are in advance of his own. You say commonly, everything a foreigner touches he turns into money. But the fact is that if you worked and persevered as the foreigners do, then you would grow rich like them. There are three essentials to success in cultivating the soil. The first is a place to cultivate—the second, the hands to work with—and the third, perseverance. You have all your patches granted you by law; your hands are not tied either by natural or artificial bonds—but as cultivators you do not succeed, because you have no perseverance.
[Pg 22]The concluding sentence was almost word for word as under:
The great sources of poverty amongst Hawaiians are laziness and the want of perseverance. I know that what I now say is a matter of which you and I also have cause to be ashamed. But placed in the position I occupy, and as a Father to my people, I cannot hide the fact.
The King's address was listened to with great earnestness, and every now and then we heard subdued expressions of Oiaio no (True, true,) from different parts of the house. At present we see no cause to doubt that much good will result from the new society, and to those who interest themselves in it we hope to see the honor given which they undoubtedly deserve.His Majesty's Remarks to the Hon. W. L. Lee, on his being officially presented and resuming his Seat in the Privy Council, after his return from the Embassy to the United States.
I take great pleasure, Judge Lee, in your return to my islands, and I extend to you on behalf of myself and Chiefs a hearty welcome. Your valuable services in the United States have been such as to merit our warmest thanks and approval, and I trust the success of your mission may strengthen the friendly relations existing between the United States and my Kingdom. It is my desire that you should resume the duties of your department as head of the Judiciary, as soon as convenient, but that in so doing you should make your labors secondary to the improvement of your health.
His Majesty's Speech on the Occasion of the Opening of the Session of the Hawaiian Legislature of 1856.
Nobles and Representatives:—I have convoked you to meet this day under the provision of our Constitution now in force, which provides for an Annual Session of the Legislative Body; and with humble thankfulness to the Ruler of Nations, I felicitate you upon the prosperity which has attended us, as a people, during the past year.
I am happy to inform you that since your last meeting I have received from the Heads of nearly all the first class Powers of the present century, assurances of friendship, accompanied, in some instances, with promises of assistance should occasion require it. Never did I consider our hope of stability as a nation so well founded as they are at this moment.
[Pg 23]I am happy to inform you that since your last meeting I have received from the Heads of nearly all the first class Powers of the present century, assurances of friendship, accompanied, in some instances, with promises of assistance should occasion require it. Never did I consider our hope of stability as a nation so well founded as they are at this moment.
One of the most important features in my Foreign Relations during the past year, is that of the Mission upon which my Special Envoy, the Honorable William L. Lee, proceeded to Washington, where he was most cordially received, and whose exertions have been attended with the happiest results. They have opened, in the minds of our agriculturists and those who study the progress of our people as producers, hopes, which only need the confirmation of the Senate of the United States to become permanently realized, and greatly conducive to our prosperity.
Negotiations have, for some time past, been in progress between my Ministers of Foreign Relations and Finance, and the Commissioner of the Emperor of France, for a new Treaty between that Sovereign and myself. For farther particulars regarding my Relations abroad, I refer you to the Report of my Minister of that Department.
My Minister of War will furnish you a Report showing the appropriation, necessary to be made for the support of the Military during the ensuing year.
The administration of Justice, during the past year, especially in the higher Courts of Judicature, has been such as to give general satisfaction.
Respecting the business of the Judiciary Department, I would refer you to the Report of my Chancellor. The measures he proposes are worthy of being seriously deliberated upon, and I earnestly recommend to your early consideration that for the suppression of intoxication. It is painful to notice the increase of this evil in Honolulu, arising principally from the sale of cheap and noxious compounds. In connection with this subject, I would call your attention to the evil arising from the sale of opium to Chinese Coolies, which, unless speedily checked, I fear may spread among our own race.
In the Report of my Minister of the Interior you will not fail to observe a valuable suggestion proposing a fundamental change in the appointment of the officers intrusted with the making and preserving of our public roads. It is to the effect that persons chosen for their ability be appointed by the executive, in lieu of the Superintendents elected at present by the tax payers of each district, a system the experience of several years has proved to be accompanied with many abuses.
I recommend to your notice the several other points contained in that Report, especially that asking for an authorization to grant Title Deeds to persons who have proved their claims before the Land Commission, but received no Patents, in consequence of surveys not having been made of the Kuleanas to which they were entitled, and to Konohikis whose lands are described in the Book of Division, but who have not received their Awards. Also, the continuation of the Inter-island Mail Carrier service, and, above all, an appropriation for the purchase of a proper steamer, to assist intercourse between the Islands of this group, and encourage industry.
You will perceive by the detailed Report of my Minister of Finance that the liabilities of my Treasury have been promptly discharged and the public credit fully sustained, notwithstanding the large expenditure made for important public improvements. The law for the more just and equal collection of Taxes, passed at your last Session, has operated favorably on the national finances, although I am of opinion that some alterations in its provisions would still further improve it.
[Pg 24]Negotiations have, for some time past, been in progress between my Ministers of Foreign Relations and Finance, and the Commissioner of the Emperor of France, for a new Treaty between that Sovereign and myself. For farther particulars regarding my Relations abroad, I refer you to the Report of my Minister of that Department.
My Minister of War will furnish you a Report showing the appropriation, necessary to be made for the support of the Military during the ensuing year.
The administration of Justice, during the past year, especially in the higher Courts of Judicature, has been such as to give general satisfaction.
Respecting the business of the Judiciary Department, I would refer you to the Report of my Chancellor. The measures he proposes are worthy of being seriously deliberated upon, and I earnestly recommend to your early consideration that for the suppression of intoxication. It is painful to notice the increase of this evil in Honolulu, arising principally from the sale of cheap and noxious compounds. In connection with this subject, I would call your attention to the evil arising from the sale of opium to Chinese Coolies, which, unless speedily checked, I fear may spread among our own race.
In the Report of my Minister of the Interior you will not fail to observe a valuable suggestion proposing a fundamental change in the appointment of the officers intrusted with the making and preserving of our public roads. It is to the effect that persons chosen for their ability be appointed by the executive, in lieu of the Superintendents elected at present by the tax payers of each district, a system the experience of several years has proved to be accompanied with many abuses.
I recommend to your notice the several other points contained in that Report, especially that asking for an authorization to grant Title Deeds to persons who have proved their claims before the Land Commission, but received no Patents, in consequence of surveys not having been made of the Kuleanas to which they were entitled, and to Konohikis whose lands are described in the Book of Division, but who have not received their Awards. Also, the continuation of the Inter-island Mail Carrier service, and, above all, an appropriation for the purchase of a proper steamer, to assist intercourse between the Islands of this group, and encourage industry.
You will perceive by the detailed Report of my Minister of Finance that the liabilities of my Treasury have been promptly discharged and the public credit fully sustained, notwithstanding the large expenditure made for important public improvements. The law for the more just and equal collection of Taxes, passed at your last Session, has operated favorably on the national finances, although I am of opinion that some alterations in its provisions would still further improve it.
In addition to the ordinary expenses of the Government, you will see the necessity of appropriations sufficient to complete the public works already commenced, even though it should be necessary to resort to the loan authorized by the law of the last Session.
My Minister of Finance has also called your attention to the important subject of a Usury law, which I commend to your favorable consideration.
He has likewise alluded to a proposed mode of payment for the steamer before mentioned, which may, I trust, preclude all embarrassment to my Treasury.
You cannot, at present, regard the law imposing duties on imports passed at your last Session, as a basis for appropriations, because it is uncertain whether it will go into effect.
The state and progress of Education among my people during the past year, you will learn from the Report of the President of the Board of Education. The change in that Department, by an Act of the last Legislature, has proved, thus far, to be beneficial. It is particularly gratifying to know that instruction in the English language is prosecuted with so much success among my native subjects. I recommend you to make as liberal a provision for the support of this class of schools as the state of my Treasury will admit.
I feel so keenly the necessity of some new stimulus to agriculture, in all its branches, that I very seriously call your attention to that point, and shall be happy if in your wisdom you can devise any measures to promote so important an object. The Native Hawaiian Agricultural Society, lately instituted, needs your fostering care in the form in which you have manifested it towards the sister Association. The decrease of our population, and the means of staying it, occupy many of my thoughts; and a subject so important cannot fail to receive your serious consideration. Intimately connected with the subject last alluded to, is the still unaccomplished wish of all the true friends of the nation to see a Hospital established, and I sincerely hope that those who have foretold difficulties opposed to the success of such an institution, will at last allow the experiment to be made. Fearful, as we all must be, of the introduction of any new diseases to decimate us again, I beg of you to consider by what means, under Providence, such a calamity may be averted.
I sincerely trust that the Ruler of all will guide your deliberations to a result beneficial to the nation.
Reply by His Majesty to the Congratulations offered by the House of Representatives upon His approaching Marriage.My Minister of Finance has also called your attention to the important subject of a Usury law, which I commend to your favorable consideration.
He has likewise alluded to a proposed mode of payment for the steamer before mentioned, which may, I trust, preclude all embarrassment to my Treasury.
You cannot, at present, regard the law imposing duties on imports passed at your last Session, as a basis for appropriations, because it is uncertain whether it will go into effect.
The state and progress of Education among my people during the past year, you will learn from the Report of the President of the Board of Education. The change in that Department, by an Act of the last Legislature, has proved, thus far, to be beneficial. It is particularly gratifying to know that instruction in the English language is prosecuted with so much success among my native subjects. I recommend you to make as liberal a provision for the support of this class of schools as the state of my Treasury will admit.
I feel so keenly the necessity of some new stimulus to agriculture, in all its branches, that I very seriously call your attention to that point, and shall be happy if in your wisdom you can devise any measures to promote so important an object. The Native Hawaiian Agricultural Society, lately instituted, needs your fostering care in the form in which you have manifested it towards the sister Association. The decrease of our population, and the means of staying it, occupy many of my thoughts; and a subject so important cannot fail to receive your serious consideration. Intimately connected with the subject last alluded to, is the still unaccomplished wish of all the true friends of the nation to see a Hospital established, and I sincerely hope that those who have foretold difficulties opposed to the success of such an institution, will at last allow the experiment to be made. Fearful, as we all must be, of the introduction of any new diseases to decimate us again, I beg of you to consider by what means, under Providence, such a calamity may be averted.
I sincerely trust that the Ruler of all will guide your deliberations to a result beneficial to the nation.
It is with much pleasure that I receive the congratulations of the Representatives of my People, upon the contemplated event of my marriage. Your voice is that of the Nation speaking through its Representatives, and it is a great satisfaction to me to have your approval of the important step I am about to take.
[Pg 25]
You express the hope that the union may be the means of perpetuating our Sovereignty and promoting the welfare of the nation, and I sincerely unite with you in that hope.
In conclusion, I thank you, Representatives, for the kind, prompt and unanimous manner in which you have responded to my Message.
His Majesty's Speech upon Proroguing the Session of the Legislature of 1856.[Pg 25]
You express the hope that the union may be the means of perpetuating our Sovereignty and promoting the welfare of the nation, and I sincerely unite with you in that hope.
In conclusion, I thank you, Representatives, for the kind, prompt and unanimous manner in which you have responded to my Message.
Nobles And Representatives:—At the close of a Session which has been marked by so much unanimity as that about to terminate, and during which so much that displays the wisdom essential to success in legislation has been observable, I cannot but feel a gratification in meeting you.
The appropriations you have made for the expenses of my Government during the next two years, and the zeal you have displayed to render especially efficient the Bureau of Public Works, meet with my sincere approval.
In the matter of one appropriation only, do I entertain any doubts; but if by any possibility the military establishment can be maintained upon such a scale as to ensure a promise of security, no exertions will be wanting on the part of my Government to do so, without overstepping the amount by you provided.
To the members of the House of Representatives I would express my sincere acknowledgments for the readiness with which they have interpreted the public feeling, and provided for my establishment under the new relations which I am about to assume.
I have no expectations that any necessity will arise for calling you together before the stated session of 1858, and I trust that the interim will be full of prosperity to you and the nation, the blessing of God making fruitful those exertions from which I now release you by proroguing the session.
The appropriations you have made for the expenses of my Government during the next two years, and the zeal you have displayed to render especially efficient the Bureau of Public Works, meet with my sincere approval.
In the matter of one appropriation only, do I entertain any doubts; but if by any possibility the military establishment can be maintained upon such a scale as to ensure a promise of security, no exertions will be wanting on the part of my Government to do so, without overstepping the amount by you provided.
To the members of the House of Representatives I would express my sincere acknowledgments for the readiness with which they have interpreted the public feeling, and provided for my establishment under the new relations which I am about to assume.
I have no expectations that any necessity will arise for calling you together before the stated session of 1858, and I trust that the interim will be full of prosperity to you and the nation, the blessing of God making fruitful those exertions from which I now release you by proroguing the session.
THANKSGIVING.
PROCLAMATION BY THE KING.
We, Kamehameha, King of the Hawaiian Islands, hereby issue our Proclamation agreeably to former custom, that:[Pg 26]
Whereas, during the year now drawing to a close, we have enjoyed, as a people, numerous and great blessings; peace and tranquility have prevailed throughout our islands; we have been not only free from dangers from abroad, but have continued to enjoy the most friendly assurances of protection in our independence from the most powerful governments in the world; although the times have been hard through the scarcity of money, and our people have suffered from a drought almost unparalleled, neither our agriculture nor commerce has entirely failed; both begin to revive; the crops in most places have been good; perhaps we have never enjoyed a year of more general health; our laws have been sustained; religion and education have been free and prosperous: For all of which numerous and invaluable blessings we owe, as a nation, a formal, general and heartfelt tribute of thanksgiving to the Almighty, on whose favor all prosperity, whether individual or national, depends.
We do, therefore, with the advice and consent of our Privy Council of State, designate and recommend Thursday, the 25th day of December next, as a day of general and public Thanksgiving to God, our Heavenly Father, throughout our islands; and we earnestly invite all good people to a sincere and prayerful observance of the same.
Done at our Palace this 3d day of November, A. D., 1856.
His Majesty's Address at the Stone Church, before the Meeting of the Native Agricultural Society, from the Polynesian of Dec. 13.
Our reporter caught only some of the more prominent ideas embodied in the King's address, which was delivered in the pure idiom of the elder chiefs, by which device he connected, as it were, modern science with ancient feeling. His train of discourse was nearly as follows:
It were useless, his Majesty said, to make further suggestions, for to hear is not always to obey. If only a tenth part of all the practical hints that had been given from time to time, by persons standing where he then stood, had been systematically pursued, the usefulness of the Society would have been more apparent. Not but that the Society had done much good, and awakened an interest, in the minds of many besides its members, which might be considered as the dawn of a brighter day. His intention was briefly to examine the actual condition of agriculture science and practice; to show, not what we might be, but what we are.
[Pg 27]
His Majesty spoke of the short-comings of the people as an agricultural population, and though he set down naught in malice it is equally certain that he extenuated nothing. This plain speaking tells with the Hawaiians, especially when it falls from the lips of their hereditary rulers. In the first place allusion was made to the almost universal want of perseverance which marks the character of the laboring classes more than that of any other. The King showed in few words how necessary it is to make agriculture an absorbing pursuit, the only pursuit in fact of the man who engages in it, proving that the intermission of a day may often render nugatory the labor of a month. No man in fact having put his hand to the plough ought to look back, till the last process of all dependent upon ploughing has been brought to the best possible issue. In the next place, the want of capital was touched on, and spoken of as a very serious draw-back, though not an insurmountable objection to the pursuit of agriculture. In a country like this where the necessaries of life are so easily supplied, one man's steady labor will always produce very much more than one man's sustenance, and the overplus with ordinary thrift—or what would be considered such in other lands—becomes so much capital with which to increase the scope of an individual's exertions, and provide those means and appliances which by reducing labor add to profit. A carelessness to observe and communicate the results of observation as to seasons and localities, was another peculiarity common amongst the Hawaiians. The natives are too much inclined to make an attempt without first gaining all the information procurable in regard to the particular plant or vegetable they intend to cultivate. Slight variations in the altitude of different fields above the level of the sea, and differences in the quality of the soil, produce oftentimes no less results than failure on the one hand and success on the other. But the Hawaiians are too apt to make an essay without previous enquiry, and afterwards to keep to themselves the result of the experiment. This should not be in a country which is visited weekly in its whole length and breadth by a newspaper intended, more than for any other purpose, to spread a knowledge of practical agriculture and afford a medium for intercommunication upon points interesting to persons engaged in the original pursuit of our race. The King enforced this idea with great earnestness, begging his hearers to look upon themselves as links in the chain of improvement, dependent upon the past, as future laborers would depend upon them for such experience as to seasons, methods and localities as might be worthy of record and transmission to another generation.
The absence of methodical habits in the tillers of the soil was adverted to. Whilst on this subject, the King spoke of the utter disregard showed for any regularity in the hours of commencing and leaving off work. This desultory system is greatly aided by the want of stated hours for taking food and retiring to rest. If there were a common hour for breakfast and dinner, the hours for labor would be regulated and understood. The want of economy, not of time only, but of material, too, and labor, was then touched on. His Majesty seemed to be hinting at the old saying that "a stitch in time saves nine," a fact usually disregarded by the natives of this country. One gap in a fence is generally a prelude to its total destruction, whereas half a day's work might save it for years to come, and prevent the outlay at some future day of the labor and material necessary to build a new one. But we cannot follow the line of illustration used to enforce this point; suffice it to say that the matter was made intelligible and the value of economy fully vindicated. After some remarks on roads and means of communication by water, in which steam was spoken of as one of the agents to which our agriculturists must look for a helping hand up the hill that leads to competency and opulence, the King strongly recommended the planting of fruit trees, and went into some practical details of the method now pursued by the natives of Kona, Hawaii, who as a class bid fair not long hence to be, perhaps, more comfortably off than the people of any other district. Coffee, oranges, lemons and grape-vines were more particularly recommended to the fostering care of the audience. Allusion was also made to Dr. Hillebrand's very able remarks on the advantages of shade trees. His Majesty then brought his address to a close with a few general remarks that told home, breathing as they did the spirit of his often repeated exhortation to his people to remember that none will help those who will not help themselves—that responsible men must not, like children at their games, sit down to "open their mouths and shut their eyes," and "see what God will send them."
[Pg 28]The absence of methodical habits in the tillers of the soil was adverted to. Whilst on this subject, the King spoke of the utter disregard showed for any regularity in the hours of commencing and leaving off work. This desultory system is greatly aided by the want of stated hours for taking food and retiring to rest. If there were a common hour for breakfast and dinner, the hours for labor would be regulated and understood. The want of economy, not of time only, but of material, too, and labor, was then touched on. His Majesty seemed to be hinting at the old saying that "a stitch in time saves nine," a fact usually disregarded by the natives of this country. One gap in a fence is generally a prelude to its total destruction, whereas half a day's work might save it for years to come, and prevent the outlay at some future day of the labor and material necessary to build a new one. But we cannot follow the line of illustration used to enforce this point; suffice it to say that the matter was made intelligible and the value of economy fully vindicated. After some remarks on roads and means of communication by water, in which steam was spoken of as one of the agents to which our agriculturists must look for a helping hand up the hill that leads to competency and opulence, the King strongly recommended the planting of fruit trees, and went into some practical details of the method now pursued by the natives of Kona, Hawaii, who as a class bid fair not long hence to be, perhaps, more comfortably off than the people of any other district. Coffee, oranges, lemons and grape-vines were more particularly recommended to the fostering care of the audience. Allusion was also made to Dr. Hillebrand's very able remarks on the advantages of shade trees. His Majesty then brought his address to a close with a few general remarks that told home, breathing as they did the spirit of his often repeated exhortation to his people to remember that none will help those who will not help themselves—that responsible men must not, like children at their games, sit down to "open their mouths and shut their eyes," and "see what God will send them."
His Majesty's Reply to the Address of S. N. Castle, Esq., on Presenting a Bible on behalf of the "American Bible Society."
The volume you present me in behalf of the American Bible Society, and the letter with which it is accompanied, I receive with a mingled feeling of pleasure and reverence. When I remember the moral illumination and the sense of social propriety which have spread throughout these islands, in proportion as the Holy Scriptures have been circulated, I cannot but admire and respect the human agency through which Providence has effected its benign purpose. But of all the members of the institution, there is none with whom I could more gladly find myself in communication than the Secretary, whose labors have won for him a name among Christian philanthropists which might excite a world to emulation.
I will not attempt to echo the tone of fervent admiration and gratitude with which you allude to the happy changes effected by the dissemination of God's Holy Word. But from the position I occupy, the facts meet me whichever way I turn my eyes. I see them every day and every hour. I see principles taking root among my people that were unknown and unintelligible to them at that dark period of our religious history to which you have referred. They have now a standard by which to judge of themselves and of each other as members of society. Without that standard no law but the law of autocratic power could have ruled them. Its absence would have rendered the gift of free institutions, such as they now enjoy, a worse than useless act of magnanimity on the part of my predecessors. The commerce and intercourse with other countries to which we owe our present prosperity would have been checked by numberless difficulties. In one word, we see through all our relations the effect of those aspirations and principles inculcated by this sacred volume.
I should be wanting to myself did I not express the gratification I feel at seeing here present some of those who were the first to labor in the vineyard. Although they look for their reward elsewhere, they will not reject my passing tribute of respect. Their labor has been long and their anxiety great, but their constancy and patience have equaled the emergency. The result of their life's work may even disappoint them if they judge it by the anticipation of their more sanguine years. Yet, in their decline of life, they see some of the fruits they prayed for, and they will not complain when they remember that the measure of their success is from above.
[Pg 29]I will not attempt to echo the tone of fervent admiration and gratitude with which you allude to the happy changes effected by the dissemination of God's Holy Word. But from the position I occupy, the facts meet me whichever way I turn my eyes. I see them every day and every hour. I see principles taking root among my people that were unknown and unintelligible to them at that dark period of our religious history to which you have referred. They have now a standard by which to judge of themselves and of each other as members of society. Without that standard no law but the law of autocratic power could have ruled them. Its absence would have rendered the gift of free institutions, such as they now enjoy, a worse than useless act of magnanimity on the part of my predecessors. The commerce and intercourse with other countries to which we owe our present prosperity would have been checked by numberless difficulties. In one word, we see through all our relations the effect of those aspirations and principles inculcated by this sacred volume.
I should be wanting to myself did I not express the gratification I feel at seeing here present some of those who were the first to labor in the vineyard. Although they look for their reward elsewhere, they will not reject my passing tribute of respect. Their labor has been long and their anxiety great, but their constancy and patience have equaled the emergency. The result of their life's work may even disappoint them if they judge it by the anticipation of their more sanguine years. Yet, in their decline of life, they see some of the fruits they prayed for, and they will not complain when they remember that the measure of their success is from above.
Allow me to thank you for your personal share in the presentation, and through you to express my kindest acknowledgments to the American Bible Society.
BY ORDER OF THE KING.
It is hereby proclaimed that Thursday, the 31st of December ensuing, be kept as a day of solemn fasting and humiliation for sin, and of thanksgiving to Almighty God for numberless unmerited mercies and blessings received during the year that expires on that day.His Majesty's Reply to the Address of Capt. Davis, of the U. S. Sloop St. Marys, upon the eve of her Departure for San Francisco.
I can heartily assure you, Captain Davis, that it would have been a source of unfeigned regret to me, had circumstances prevented my having this last interview with you before your departure from these waters. When I say last, I mean the last during the visit of the St. Marys, for I sincerely hope to see you here again, and when you do return, I hope you will bring with you the same officers whose sojourn here with you has contributed so much to the social enjoyment of the last few months.
Your desire to increase the good understanding existing between my Government and your own has been so conspicuous that I cannot but congratulate the latter upon the happy circumstances that in sending a ship here, for the preservation of safety and order, the command of that vessel devolved upon no other than you. That you have been successful in your object, must be a matter of pride to you, and I do not think you will hear with indifference from my lips the simple announcement, that I and every member of my Government have appreciated those exertions, but no one more so than I, whose opportunities of judging of your intentions have, I am happy to say, been more numerous than those of some others.
[Pg 30] Your desire to increase the good understanding existing between my Government and your own has been so conspicuous that I cannot but congratulate the latter upon the happy circumstances that in sending a ship here, for the preservation of safety and order, the command of that vessel devolved upon no other than you. That you have been successful in your object, must be a matter of pride to you, and I do not think you will hear with indifference from my lips the simple announcement, that I and every member of my Government have appreciated those exertions, but no one more so than I, whose opportunities of judging of your intentions have, I am happy to say, been more numerous than those of some others.
Replies by His Majesty to the Congratulatory Addresses on the Birth of a Son and Heir to His Throne, by A. P. Everett, Esq., for himself and other Foreign Consuls; by H. R. H. Prince General Kamehameha; by the Rev. Mr. Damon and other Clergymen; and by the U. S. Consul, A. Pratt, Esq., for Foreign Residents generally.
His Majesty replied as follows:
Gentlemen:—I very kindly thank you for the congratulations you have just offered to the Queen and myself, and for the kind wishes you have expressed for the prosperity and happiness of the infant Prince. I also thank you for the many expressions of sympathy and good will which you have employed towards my people and Government, and for the prosperity of both. I assure you that the prosperity and happiness of my country, and of all who live within my rule, are subjects dear to my heart. And there is no greater encouragement afforded me that the hopes so often expressed by the friends of the Hawaiian people will be fulfilled, than the knowledge that I have the support and sympathy of the great and powerful nations whose officers I rejoice to see before me on this, to me, particularly happy day.
Prince and Soldiers:—The expressions of loyalty you have just uttered are very welcome to me. There is no tie between the head of a government and his troops like that of mutual good wishes and a common object. Such exists between us, and may it never cease to exist. So long as it does we have nothing to fear of one another, but every thing to hope. In the Queen's name and that of our infant son I thank you kindly for your generous wishes.
Turning to Mr. Damon and the other reverend gentlemen present His Majesty observed:
Gentlemen:—For your valuable present allow me to thank you in the name of my son, whose advent into this life has been greeted so kindly, so heartily, by the community at large, but by none more sincerely, or with more ardent wishes for his real happiness than by yourselves—of that I am sure. The birth of the young Prince has placed me in a relationship to which I have hitherto been a stranger, and it has imposed upon me new responsibilities. I trust that in my conduct towards him throughout my life, I may remember the particular offering which your affection deemed most proper, and that as this Bible is one of my boy's first possessions, so its contents may be the longest remembered. In the Queen's name and my own I thank you, and it shall be the task of both of us to teach our first-born child to kindly regard you.
Then addressing himself more particularly to Mr. Consul Pratt, and from him to the assembly in general, His Majesty added:[Pg 31]
Gentlemen And Friends:—I receive your congratulations on this occasion with mixed feelings of pleasure and pride. I take pleasure in knowing that the event which has given so much happiness in my own domestic circle, has caused a pleasure in this whole community and brought to my house these unmistakable marks of sympathy and good will; and I cannot but feel pride, at such a time as this, in knowing that my first-born child, the destined heir to the position I now occupy, enters the world amidst your hearty acclamations. I thank you for those expressions towards the Queen and myself, which are reiterations of feelings often expressed, and more often manifested than expressed, but which come doubly welcome at a time when every parent's heart has a yearning for sympathy. Gentlemen, you see me a proud father, and by these manifestations of your love for me and mine you make me a proud King. Such occasions as these make a throne worthy of any man's envy, whilst the feelings uppermost in my heart will establish and seal from this time forth a new tie between me and every man who, like myself, can say he has a child.
Reply by His Majesty to the Address presented to Him by the Lodge of Free Masons and the Royal Arch Chapter of Honolulu.
Most Excellent High Priest, Companions and Brethren:
Bound together as we are in a holy league of brotherhood, I should not be doing justice to the feelings which actuate me in my relationship with yourselves, and operate amongst us all, did I deny that I almost expected you would seek a special occasion to felicitate me in the character in which we now appear. For all your kind wishes I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and among the many blessings for which I have, at this time, especial reason to be thankful to our Supreme Grand Master, I do not reckon this the least, that I enjoy the sympathy of a Fraternity whose objects are so pure, and whose friendships so true as those of our Order. I will not multiply words, but believe me, that when I look upon my infant son, whose birth has been the cause of so much joy to me, and of so much interest to yourselves, the thought already crosses my mind that perhaps one day he may wear these dearly prized badges, and that his intercourse with his fellow men, like his father's, may be rendered more pleasant, and, perhaps, more profitable, by his espousing those solemn tenets which make the name of a Freemason honorable throughout the world.
Replies by His Majesty to the Hon. D. L. Gregg, Commissioner of the United States, and to the Hon. James W. Borden, his Successor, upon his Presentation as the new Commissioner.Bound together as we are in a holy league of brotherhood, I should not be doing justice to the feelings which actuate me in my relationship with yourselves, and operate amongst us all, did I deny that I almost expected you would seek a special occasion to felicitate me in the character in which we now appear. For all your kind wishes I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and among the many blessings for which I have, at this time, especial reason to be thankful to our Supreme Grand Master, I do not reckon this the least, that I enjoy the sympathy of a Fraternity whose objects are so pure, and whose friendships so true as those of our Order. I will not multiply words, but believe me, that when I look upon my infant son, whose birth has been the cause of so much joy to me, and of so much interest to yourselves, the thought already crosses my mind that perhaps one day he may wear these dearly prized badges, and that his intercourse with his fellow men, like his father's, may be rendered more pleasant, and, perhaps, more profitable, by his espousing those solemn tenets which make the name of a Freemason honorable throughout the world.
His Majesty, turning to Mr. Gregg, replied:
[Pg 32]
From the renewed assurances of sympathy and good will towards this Kingdom which, on the part of the President of the United States of America, you have just expressed, I cannot but derive the liveliest gratification, reminding me as they do of the long course of years during which the successive Heads of your Government have offered, through their Representatives here, similar professions of amity, without one interruption having occurred to mar the retrospect. I should be sorry were the President, or you, to suppose for one instant that I regard these professions merely as a civil form of words called for by the occasion.
The Government of the United States has never flattered me or my Predecessors with expectations of more than it intended to perform; the action has always followed true to the word, and we know by experience the value of such assurances as those to which I have just listened with so much satisfaction.
It is, indeed, a fact worthy of notice and of remembrance, that the relations existing between the two countries were never more happy, or more calculated to inspire the smaller nation with a sense of independence and an appreciation of the fact that its future is in its own hands, than at this very moment, when, after having faithfully watched the interests intrusted to your care for more than four years, you are resigning that honorable duty into other hands. You have shown that strength of purpose may be united with courtesy of manner, and have justified your appointment by proving that their rights are best guarded, whose representative, being honest in his own intentions, does not without cause doubt the faith of the Government to which he is accredited.
Although I am afraid you over-estimate the actual value of the marks of courtesy and attempts to make agreeable your residence and that of your family upon these islands, which we have sought to offer, I thank you for the kind expression of your acknowledgments, and trust that you will always believe that my object, and that of every member of my Government, was but poorly carried out by any manifestations which it has been in our power to make. But, Mr. Gregg, not to seem to claim more credit than we deserve, allow me to add that the attempt was by no means a disinterested one, for in all the relations of society, those persons are most welcome who ornament it most and are themselves the most courteous.
I have too much confidence in the good will and sympathy of the Government of the United States, and faith in the wisdom of the President, to allow of a single doubt as to the course which your successor will pursue. It shall be my endeavor, and that of my Government, to regard him as the honored Representative of a great nation, and a good Friend. I believe that his dealings with us will be generous, that he will pursue the policy which in the hands of his predecessors has so largely helped to make this nation what it is to-day, and that if, coming after you, he cannot increase the feelings of kindness, and on one side of gratitude, which already exist here and in the United States, he will at least maintain them.
Then addressing himself to Mr. Borden, the King spoke as follows:The Government of the United States has never flattered me or my Predecessors with expectations of more than it intended to perform; the action has always followed true to the word, and we know by experience the value of such assurances as those to which I have just listened with so much satisfaction.
It is, indeed, a fact worthy of notice and of remembrance, that the relations existing between the two countries were never more happy, or more calculated to inspire the smaller nation with a sense of independence and an appreciation of the fact that its future is in its own hands, than at this very moment, when, after having faithfully watched the interests intrusted to your care for more than four years, you are resigning that honorable duty into other hands. You have shown that strength of purpose may be united with courtesy of manner, and have justified your appointment by proving that their rights are best guarded, whose representative, being honest in his own intentions, does not without cause doubt the faith of the Government to which he is accredited.
Although I am afraid you over-estimate the actual value of the marks of courtesy and attempts to make agreeable your residence and that of your family upon these islands, which we have sought to offer, I thank you for the kind expression of your acknowledgments, and trust that you will always believe that my object, and that of every member of my Government, was but poorly carried out by any manifestations which it has been in our power to make. But, Mr. Gregg, not to seem to claim more credit than we deserve, allow me to add that the attempt was by no means a disinterested one, for in all the relations of society, those persons are most welcome who ornament it most and are themselves the most courteous.
I have too much confidence in the good will and sympathy of the Government of the United States, and faith in the wisdom of the President, to allow of a single doubt as to the course which your successor will pursue. It shall be my endeavor, and that of my Government, to regard him as the honored Representative of a great nation, and a good Friend. I believe that his dealings with us will be generous, that he will pursue the policy which in the hands of his predecessors has so largely helped to make this nation what it is to-day, and that if, coming after you, he cannot increase the feelings of kindness, and on one side of gratitude, which already exist here and in the United States, he will at least maintain them.
[Pg 33]
In welcoming you as the Representative of the United States, allow me to say, Mr. Borden, that I anticipate nothing but the most satisfactory intercourse between you and my Government. The country from which you are accredited has afforded too many tokens of good will, and manifested too lively an interest in all that concerns this archipelago, and that for too long a succession of years, to leave any question possible as to its future policy.
So long as such feelings exist on your side, and we retain gratitude enough to remember with acknowledgments the benefits we have already received from the Government and people of the United States, and can appreciate the advantages continually derived from the friendship and countenance of such a nation, there is little chance that the harmony now happily existing will be disturbed. I thank you for the kind terms in which you have alluded to the birth of the Prince, my son—an event which has filled me with the greatest pleasure and gives rise to many hopeful anticipations.
Published by Authority in the Polynesian, May 29, 1858.So long as such feelings exist on your side, and we retain gratitude enough to remember with acknowledgments the benefits we have already received from the Government and people of the United States, and can appreciate the advantages continually derived from the friendship and countenance of such a nation, there is little chance that the harmony now happily existing will be disturbed. I thank you for the kind terms in which you have alluded to the birth of the Prince, my son—an event which has filled me with the greatest pleasure and gives rise to many hopeful anticipations.
ROYAL LETTERS PATENT.
Know all men that we, Kamehameha, by the Grace of God, of the Hawaiian Islands King, by virtue of the power and authority in us vested as Sovereign of these realms, and in accordance with Article XXXVII, of the Constitution of our Kingdom, have decreed, and do, by these our Royal Letters Patent, constitute, establish and declare the following to be the style and title of our infant Son, born on the twentieth day of May, instant, the Hereditary Heir Apparent of Our Throne, viz:"His Royal Highness The Prince Of Hawaii."
He, Our said infant son, from now and henceforth to assume, and to receive the aforesaid style and title for himself, and, in the event of his succeeding Us in the Throne, and having male issue of his body lawfully begotten, then, the said style and title shall descend to, and be the style and title of his first-born son, as being the nearest hereditary and Constitutional Heir to the Throne of the Hawaiian Islands.Done at the Palace, in Honolulu, this twentieth day of May,
A. D. 1858, and in the 4th year of Our Reign.
| (Signed,) | KAMEHAMEHA |
His Majesty's Speech at the Opening of the Session of the Hawaiian Legislature of 1858.
[Pg 34]
Nobles And Representatives:—Since the Legislature was last in session, it has pleased Almighty God to bless me with a son. The birth of an Heir to the Throne is an event which you, now congregated to pass measures, not for the temporary only, but for the permanent prosperity of the Hawaiian Islands, under a Constitutional Monarchy, cannot but regard with solemn interest. Not only the continuance of his life, but the characteristics which the Prince may develop as he grows to manhood, and the education to be imparted to him, are matters in no small degree inseparable from the future of our country's history—from that distant part of it in which I, and many, if not all of you, will take no share. Gentlemen, the child is yours as well as mine; the circumstances that attend his birth deprive me of an undivided interest in him, for if such be the will of Divine Providence, he will one day be to your sons what I am to their fathers. Destined as he is to exercise a paramount influence in years to come, I consecrate him to my people, and with God's help, I will leave unused no faculty with which I am indued to make him worthy of your love and loyalty, and an ornament to the Throne of his great Predecessor who only did battle to establish peace and lay the foundations of order.
I have called you together according to the requirements of the Constitution. Having thus fulfilled the duty imposed upon me, I would suggest to you, Nobles and Representatives, the propriety, under existing circumstances, of confining the business of the present session to providing, by a Joint Resolution, or otherwise, for the financial necessities of the Government, and appointing a Joint Committee to report after an adjournment and as soon as practicable, to their respective Houses, upon the New Code, or such portions of it as may be ready for presentation by the Commission appointed by the Legislature of 1856 to prepare it.
The reasons for such a course will appear in the fact that the Commissioners selected to revise, codify and amend the laws now in force, partly on account of the ill health of one of the members, now deceased, and partly from the laborious nature of the task imposed upon persons whose time was already occupied by the duties of office, have been unable to perfect their work within the time, which before the undertaking was commenced, was deemed sufficient. The Joint Committee could only receive and proceed to review such portions of the Revision as are already prepared, and receive more as the Commissioners progressed. By means of a little inquiry, the time when their report upon the whole would probably be forthcoming might be ascertained, when the two Houses could meet again to review the Report and proceed with the general business of the country.
The suggestion I have made demands further consideration from the fact that a new Treaty, negotiated between me and the Emperor of the French, has lately been returned from Paris, accompanied by the formal ratification of the Emperor. It now awaits a similar concurrence, on my part, to render it effective. In accordance with the provision of our Constitution, this Treaty is now under consideration by me, in my Privy Council of State. The provisional Act, therefore, which a former Legislature passed, will become operative or otherwise, according to the result of those deliberations I refer to, and until that result becomes known the Minister of Finance cannot make to you a satisfactory showing of the probable receipts of the Government for this and the next fiscal year; and without such data to go by you will hardly be able to dispose of the strictly financial business of the country.
[Pg 35]
So, too, in regard to the Civil Acts, the passage of which draws so largely upon the time of your two Houses. It would be nothing less than a waste of labor to alter, by separate enactments, those laws which the Revised Code will amend, or to sanction new provisions, in that Compendium already provided for, and which temporary enactments would, therefore, become valueless almost as soon as they should have been promulgated.
Believing, gentlemen, that you will coincide with me in seeing the necessity for a speedy adjournment, after having made the provisions I have pointed out, I forbear to call your attention to the general business and details to which I should otherwise direct your notice.
I have called you together according to the requirements of the Constitution. Having thus fulfilled the duty imposed upon me, I would suggest to you, Nobles and Representatives, the propriety, under existing circumstances, of confining the business of the present session to providing, by a Joint Resolution, or otherwise, for the financial necessities of the Government, and appointing a Joint Committee to report after an adjournment and as soon as practicable, to their respective Houses, upon the New Code, or such portions of it as may be ready for presentation by the Commission appointed by the Legislature of 1856 to prepare it.
The reasons for such a course will appear in the fact that the Commissioners selected to revise, codify and amend the laws now in force, partly on account of the ill health of one of the members, now deceased, and partly from the laborious nature of the task imposed upon persons whose time was already occupied by the duties of office, have been unable to perfect their work within the time, which before the undertaking was commenced, was deemed sufficient. The Joint Committee could only receive and proceed to review such portions of the Revision as are already prepared, and receive more as the Commissioners progressed. By means of a little inquiry, the time when their report upon the whole would probably be forthcoming might be ascertained, when the two Houses could meet again to review the Report and proceed with the general business of the country.
The suggestion I have made demands further consideration from the fact that a new Treaty, negotiated between me and the Emperor of the French, has lately been returned from Paris, accompanied by the formal ratification of the Emperor. It now awaits a similar concurrence, on my part, to render it effective. In accordance with the provision of our Constitution, this Treaty is now under consideration by me, in my Privy Council of State. The provisional Act, therefore, which a former Legislature passed, will become operative or otherwise, according to the result of those deliberations I refer to, and until that result becomes known the Minister of Finance cannot make to you a satisfactory showing of the probable receipts of the Government for this and the next fiscal year; and without such data to go by you will hardly be able to dispose of the strictly financial business of the country.
[Pg 35]
So, too, in regard to the Civil Acts, the passage of which draws so largely upon the time of your two Houses. It would be nothing less than a waste of labor to alter, by separate enactments, those laws which the Revised Code will amend, or to sanction new provisions, in that Compendium already provided for, and which temporary enactments would, therefore, become valueless almost as soon as they should have been promulgated.
Believing, gentlemen, that you will coincide with me in seeing the necessity for a speedy adjournment, after having made the provisions I have pointed out, I forbear to call your attention to the general business and details to which I should otherwise direct your notice.
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