Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-12-15
About King KaIRkaus and His Do
IFsfnEOua

The newspapers quite generally make the
mistake OF styling King Kalaksua the ''Ktny
OF the Sandwich Island" His title il King of
Hawaii, but "a the Sandsich Islands form the
Kingdom OF EaEaii the mistake l. natural. His
cOmiDiODs consist Of twelve small islani4 sit1
ated near the middle Of the Pacific ocean, 70
thousand miles southwest of San Fran ,izso. and
about equi-dstant from San Francisco, Mel
bourne and Canton. They thus form al oasis
in the middle OF q wide ocean route, and offer
convenient stations for the refresh m ent aud re-
pair of the merchantmen and vhalers that
traverse the Pacific. The names and areas of
the eight principal islands OF tire group are:
Hawaii, formerly Owhyhee,) 900 square miles.
Maui, co; Oahu, $50. Kaui, 500; MOlOkai 167;
Lanai, 100; Niibau, about 20; and KahoolanI
about 60 squsre miles. The Islands are of VOL
canic origin, and contain the larzes: volcanoes.
both active snd quiescent, in the world. The
most prominent physical features Of the grOup
are the two lofty mountain peaks of Hawaii,
Hauna kea and Mauna LOs, each of which II
1i,0GO feet N height, within 500 feet Of the
IOftiest CT the Alps.
Though situated within the tropics, the Sand
1ieh Islands boast climate that is temperate,
rather than tropical At Honolulu, the ex-
ueues Of temperature in the shsie during
twelve years were 90 and 80 and the diurnaI
IsDge il = The soil, the constituent parts OF
which are mainly sCOEia-decOmp0Sst lava aai
sant-ts generally thin and poor, but Sc tue
bases Of the mountains and In the varsys where
abrasion, dI-iOtsgrstiOn, and the accumulation
OF vegetable mOCld, have gone Oa for ages
there are extensive tracts as fertile az hey are
beautiful. The upland slopes OF the mountain,
are covered with dense forests; and lower do xn,
are grassy plains, and sugar and coffee planta-
tons.
King KalaEaUa's subjects number 50 COO IA
hyes, and FIVE or six thousand foreigners
American, Eng ish, German and CEiuess His
capital is Honolulu, beautiful city OF about
fifteen thousand Inhabitants, sitaa:ei on the
sescOast, emit Owered in palm, tamsrinI aud ALL
the luxurisnt foliage OF the tropics. Though il
Is as small nation the machinery of the govern
ment Is the same as that of large nation. The
King has his Cabinet, Ministers of Finance, of
Foreign Affairs, OF the Interior, Attorney G enc
raj, &c Each inhabited island has a governor.
The Parliament consists OF two b0diss-House
Of Commons or Representative, elected BY thu
people, and House of NObles-members OF the
royal family, and others who have received
patents OF nobility from the King.
The IOysl line of Kamehsmehas ended with
the fifth Of that name, then William LunaIilo
reigned year. He died last February without
naming successor, preferring that the people
should choose their monarch BIZ ballot from tina
eligible members OF the royal family. There
were two candidates for the crown, or-ous
should ssy-fOr the yellow leather clio Ak OF Kau,-
ehaneha, since that is the insignia of ROYALTY
Prince David Kslsksua and Queen Emma
widow of Kamehamehs ". The merits and
claims Of the opposing candidates were zealousIy
discussed by their adderents. Party spirit raa
high, and though Prince David was elected
king on the 18th of February, 1874 by the
national egislature, BIZ large majority, receiy-
ing in fact, all bat six votes the adaerents of TIA
Dowsger Queen attempted 10 resist the election,
and made mob assault upon the legislators
These retreated to the upper story and barred
the doors. The mob obtained access TO all tina
lower rOoms, broke up the furniture DESTROYED
the books and commenced beating in the doors
Messengers were sent a. full speed by the King
TO the men-of war in the harbor, the English
ship IenedOs, ana the two United States ves-
sells, Portsmouth and Tuscarora, requesting
Immediate aid toward quellinz the riot. Mean
while those inside the building reached the up-
Per story, and expressed their opinion of tue
members by beating them, throwing them out
the windows, Sc. In a few minutes a file of
armed marines appeared in sight, and the
crowd around the building dispersed. The
rioters inside were captured and q1iet
restored. After matters in the capital
became serene, the King, accompanied bya
large suite, made the tour of the different
islands. and with few exceptions was en-
Enthusiastically welcomed wherever he stopped.
Since then kiE2 haiskaua's authority has been
fully established. As he has no children,
Prince william Pitt Leleiohoku has been pro-
claimed successor TO the throne OF Hawaii. and
Las been declared regent during the absence of
the King on his foreign tour; which, it is init
mated, may be extended to Europe. The quii-
nurcs have already rushed to the conclusion
that q mission to which so much Importance
seems TO be attached by our government, as
well Is by the Hawaiian government, must
have some deeper import than merely the ne
gotlanon OF a reciprocity treaty; and their
guess Is that the Cat under the meal Is a pro-
ject fcr the annexation Of theSand sich Islands
TO the United States 1t is pretty certain, how
ever, that the Hssaiians have really the
reciprocity treaty very much at heart;
and, further, il Is hardly probable thas
King KalskaUs would willingly give up his
distinguished t;tular and other honors To BE-
SURE, If his kingdom was annexed he rnirht
come to the United States Senate. ssSenstor
kalakaua" wouldn't sound badly; and though
his advent in Washington under that title
wouldn't be apt to bring out Secretaries Fish,
Robsson and Belknsp with the marines and the
marine band to meet him, or supply hi m with
suite OF twenty rooms at the Arlington, he
would still ind some compensation in the long
run. In view OF contingencies. and as there
seemed to be considerable diversity OF pronunci-
aticnof the Kings name in the Congressional
debates yesterday, it may be proper to add that
the correct pronunciation Is Kc- ah -kosg al with
the accent On the third syllable.
King kaiskaua's capital city of Honolulu, we
should mention, has two very good weekly
pspers-the Commercial Advertiser and the HI-
1caiiaH Gazette. Scanning these we see that the
Kingdom has baseball matches, kerosene accI-
dents, gift concerts, church fairs, national
thanksgiving days, full details OF the Bsecher
scandal, and other signs OF civilization and
progress.