Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-05-28
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS AND FRANCE.


mating the desire of that Government to take pos
been extensively republished and commented on
and the Union of this city had an article on this
subject, in which the editor, admitting the proba-
biiy that the statement of the Journal may in the
main be true, whilst erroneous in some of its de-
tails gives the following succinct narrative of the
causes Of dispute between the Government of France
and that of the Sandwich Islands:
The story of the discovery the Hawaiian group of
islands by the famous navigator Capt Cook the 10Th
day Of January 1778, and of his melancholy end is ia
miar to the intelligent reader The advantages Of the
group as rendezvous for vessels cruising in the Pacific
ocean, brought its heather inhabitants into frequent
tact with the merchants OF civilized nations OF ex
ceedngy tractable and docie nature the islanders read
yielded to the influences of christian civilization in
somuch that the first corps of American missionaries found
them in 1920 equally eager to eject their old system Of
doatrous superstition and to escape from the backness
Of barbarsm The traffic of the merchants prepared the
way for the Gospel Of the missionary and in less than m
teen years the faith Of the Protestant christian became
the established religion of the people and the Government
Meanwhile the whole group of islands had been reduced
to one dominion by the great chief Kamehameha the
Napoleon of the Pacific, who was much loved and
reverenced by his subjects that the pous proposition of
enthusiastic mourner to eat him raw would have been
undoubtedly carried into effect but for the nterposton
of the missionaries, who procured for the deceased
arch q more decent and christian burial.
g About the year 1889 company of French Catholics
arrived in the islands, and began to teach with that sue
cess which has attended their missionary abors in all
quarters of the globe The Government took offence at
their nroads the established religion of the Kingdom
banshed the Catholics and prosecuted their
Subsequently the system Of persecution abandoned
and the Catholic missionaries were allowed to return to
the islands, but under certain disabilities. just about
that time Capt Lapace ofthe French fgate Artemise
arrived at Honolulu and under threats Of immediate hos
ttes extored for the Catholics the same privileges en-
joyed by Professionals and also buied Government into
treaty for the admission of French wines and brandes at
very low duty For the faithful performance of these
stipuations he extorted security of twenty thousand
dollars OF the British authorities would not be
outdone by the French in 1843 Lord George Paulet
Of her Majestys ship Carysfor went bowshot beyond
the insoence of Capt Lapace and made such demands
upon the King that in utter despair he abdcated his au
thory and surrendered his domnions Queen Victoria
The cesson was accepted by Lord George Pau and the
government of the islands put into commission The SUI
premacy of the English of brief Duration for on the
3lst of July, l843 Rear Admiral Thomas cancelled the
acts of Sir George Paue and restored the dominion of
the islands to their legitimate sovereign The Govern
ment of Kamehameha ILL., has since been formally ac
knowledged by the United States England France Rus
STA, and possibly by other Powers.
The concessions to the French commander especially
regard to the admission of wines and brandes into the
Hawaiian kingdom, they made under the pressure
of compuson have been very reluctantly and mperfecty
carried out if not formally revoked In consequence the
French Government has repeatedly manifested an I'M
friendly disposition towards the Hawaiian kingdom and
1T is not at all improbable that the report of hostile ex
petition against the islands has foundation in fact
The manner in which the French Government seized upon
the Society Islands does not at all the suspicion
of their designs against the Hawaiian group"
The " Union" then expresses itself in the follow
ing terms respecting the policy of the National Adj
ministration in reference to this affair :
tits manifest that the native government of the Sand
wich Islands exists only by suferance. 1t is equally
e.,
which nothing arrest In 1898 the aboriginal popu
laton of the Hawaiian Islands was but little less than
100000 In 1880 was but $50 900 and by the census
of 1850 was computed at scarcely 900 souls In the
preceding year the of deaths births was
$685. AT this rate of decrease the native population of
the islands will become extinct by the end of the century
As the native population disappears the is filed
up by immigration chiefly from the United States The
education the religion, the trade and even the govern
ment of the islands, already under American control
The relations between this country and the Hawaiian
kingdom are analogous to those which existed between
the United States and the Republic of Texas The Hawa
an Government has more than proposed sort
of political connection with the United Stateswhether
the surrender Of its domnions and formal annexation
cannot be determined until the publication of the official
correspondence the subject 1t understood that the
proer whatever its nature rejected by the late Ad
minstraton. The Senate sought information on the ma
ture of the negotiations but President Fillmore declined
to publish the correspondence between the two Govern
ments.
Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the
proper Interpretation Of the Monroe doctrine nil are
agreed that under circumstance this Government
suffer the dominion of the Sandwich Islands be
ferred to any other Power Such transfer could be
made but by violence and in disregard the wishes Of
the people well of the Government of the islands
The present King has announced his intention in diff
hculty with foreign Power, to throw himself upon the
protection of the American Government In such an
emergency the duty of this Government would be suf
GENTLY obvious The possession of the Sandwich Islands
is essential to the protection of our rapidly increasing
commerce in the Pacific. Lying midway between Cali
forna and China in the path Of the American and Asac
commerce-consttutng convenient raying point for
our whaling vessels and necessary station for the relief
and supply of the steamships which distant day will
run from San Francisco to Shanghai and Jeddo-they
could pass under the dominion of any one of the chief
maritime nations without manifest and serious detrment
to American interests Reclaimed from paganism by the
jealous efforts of American missionaries introduced to
the comforts and renements of civilization by the enter
prise of American merchants their system of religion Of
education and OF sustained by the generous
aid of American citizens is surprising that the Ha
waan natives in escaping from the rapacty Of foreign
Powers should seek shelter under the protecting wing of
the American Union"
The Charleston Mercury rdcules these views of
the Union" and says:
The statements Of the Unisn touching the history
Of the Sandwich Islands are authentic They seem to
us, however, to offer but feeble support to its
views that the United States have peculiar claims to
the possession Of these islands, that their possession
is desirable to When they first discovered by
Capt Cook they populous savage and warlike In
the of three quarters Of century they have be-
come chrisanzed SCOTTISH imbecile, and their numbers
reduced to oneh Of what they These results
not very fattering to patronage.
And what do want Of them? Four thousand miles