New-York tribune., 1873-01-09
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
CONCLUDING VIEWS OF MARK TWAIN.

To the gdttor Of The Trfbwne
SIR. Having explained who the 5000 whites are,
and what sort of people the 10000 natives are, viii
now shovel in some information as TO how this toy
realm, with its toy population, Is governed. Bya.
constable and six policemen BY a justice of ths
peace and jury By mayer and board OF al
dermen Oh no. But by King-and Parla-
ment--and Minstry-and Privy Council-anda
standing army 200 solders-and o navy steam
ferry-boat and raftD-and grand bench Of su-
preme iustices-and lord high sheriff on each
island That is the way it is done. 1t IS like pro-
pelling a sardne dish with the Great Eastern's ma
chineTy.
Something over 30 years ago the natives by sud
den impulse which they could not understand them
selves burned all their idols and overthrow the an
cent religion of the land. Curiously enough, our
first invoice Of missionaries were sailing around the
Horn at the tme and they arrived just IN season TO
furnish the people new and much better means OF
grace They baptized men, women, and children a.
once and by wholesale. and proceeded to instruct
them in the tenets of the new religion immedratey
afterward. They built enormous churches,land re-
celved into communion as many 5000 people in a
single day. The fame OF it went abroad Ia the
earth, and everywhere the nations rejoiced; tho
unworldly called it a great awakening"
and even the unregenerated were TOUCHED.
and spoke of it with admiration. Inc
missionaries learned the language, translated tho
Bible and other books into it, established schoos'
and even very complete colleges, and taught tho
whole nation TO read and write; the princes and
mobiles acquired collegiate educations. and became
familiar with half dozen dead and living Ian
guages. Then, some twenty yehs later the ms
sionares framed constitution which became inc
law of the land. 1t lifted woman up to level with
her lord it placed the tenant less at the mercy Of
hal sraf and
tenn Of taxation it introduced the ballot ard uni
versal suffrage it defined and secured 10 king,
chiefs, and people their several rights and pdvi-
leges and it instituted parliament in which all
the estates of the realm to be represented and
if remember rightly 1t gave this parliament power
to pass laws over the Kings veto
TIE ROYAL FIGURE-HEAD."
Things went on swlnmingly for several years, and
especially under the regIo the late Kings brother
an enlightened and libeTal-mnded prince; but when
he died and Kamehameha V. assembled tho throne,
matters took a different turn. BE was one of your
swell grace of God Kings, and not the figure
head" some have said he was; indeed, he was the
biggest power in the Islands all lis days and his
royal will was sufficient to create Law any time or
overturn one.
He was master in the beginning, and at the mid
de and to the end The Parliament was the figure
head,p and it never was much else in his time. One
of his very first acts was TO fly into splendid passion
when his Parliament voted down some measure Cf
his and tear the beautiful Constitution into
shreds and stamp on them with his royal
No 1851 And his next act was to violently prorOgue
the Parliament and send the members about their
business. lie hated PaIliameDts, as being a raspng
and useless incumbrance upon a king. but he
allowed them to exist because as an obstruction
they were more ornamental than real. lie hated
L 1Ca
took the insdes out of it and left the harmless fig
ure. lie said he would not have beggars voting
industrious peoples money away, and so be COM
PEELED the adoption of o cash qualification to vote.
He surrounded himself with an obsequ0us royal
Cabinet of American and other foreigners, and ho
dictated his measures to them and, through them,
to his Parliament; and the latter institution Op-
posed them respectfully not to say apologetcally.
and passed them.
This is but sad kind of royal figure head" He
was not fool. He was wise sovereign he had
seen something of the world he educated and
accomplished, and he tried hard to do well by his
people, and succeeded There was no trivial royal
nonsense about him; he dressed plainly, pokedabOut
Honolulu, night or day. on his old horse, unat-
tended he was popular, greatly respected, and even
beloved. Perhaps the only man who never feared him
was 4" Prince Bill" whom have mentioned hereto
fore. Perhaps the only who ever yentured TO
speak his whole mind about the King, In Parliament
and on the hustings the present true heir to the
throne-if Prince Bill is stiA alive, and have not
heard that he is dead. This go-ahead young fellow
used to handle His Majesty without gloves. and
wholly indifferent to consequences and being
shade more popular with the native masses than the
King himself; perhaps, his opposition amounted TO
something. The foregoing was the common talk Of
Honolulu SIX years ago, and set the statements
down here because / believe them to be true, and
not because know them to be true.
WORD ABOUT "PRISCE BILL"
Prince William is about 35 years of age now.I
should think. There is no blood relationship be-
tween him and the house of the Kamehamehas. He
comes of older and prouder race; race of impe-
rious chiefs and princes Of the Island OF Maui who
held undsputed sway there during several. hundred
years. He is the eleventh prince in the direct de-
scent and the natives always paid peculiar homage
to his venerable nobility. which they never vouch
safed to the mushroom Kamehamehas He is con-
sidered the true heir to the Hawaiian throne, for
this reason, viz: A dying retiring king name
his own successor, by tho law of the land-he can
name any child of his he peases, or he his
brother or any other member of the royal
family. The late king has passed away
without leaving son. daughter, brother, uncle,
nephew, or father This father never was king-bs
died year or two ago., and without appointing
successor. The Parliament has power now to
elect king and this king be chosen from any
one of the twelve chief families. This has been my
understanding of the matter, and am very sure
am right. In rank Prince William overtops any
chief in the Islands about English royal duke
overtops mere earl. He is the only Hawaiian, out
side of the royal family who is entitled to bear and
transmit the title of Prnces and he is so popular
that if the scepter We're pat to popular vote hs
would walk over the track"