The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1893-03-07
HAWAIIAN HISTORICAL so.
CIETY.
Mr.. Atkinson Lectures on Spanish
Explorations in the Pacific.

Historical Society was held in the
Y. M. G. a. hall yesterday evening.
Considering the large roll of mem
bership the attendance was disap-
pointingly small. A few heads of
families, few professors, few pro-
fessional men, few students of
Oahu College-aggrcgating perhaps
50-were spread through the hall.
Mr.. Jos. S. Emerson, vice-presi-
dent, called the meeting to order.
Rev. DR.. Hyde, recording secretary,
read the minutes of the previous
meeting, held in Queen Emma hall,
which were more than minutes, be-
ing a comprehensive report of the
entire proceedings. He also sub
mitted the following amendments to
the laws of the society, which we're
accepted mem. con-:
|. Candidates for membership to
be approved by the board of man
ayers.
2. Three vice-presidents to be
elected instead of one.
3. Life members may be elected
on payment of S25 at one time.
A donation of S400 to the society
by Mr.. Theo. H. Davies was report
ed, for which the managers had re-
turned a letter of thanks.
A list of twenty-six candidates
for membership was accepted, and
the following corresponding mem
bers we're enrolled: General James
Grant Wilson, Senator w. E. Chand-
ler, Senator Morgan and Mr.. V. L..
Tenney of Brooklyn.
Rev. r. r. Hoes, Chaplain U.S.N.,
rendered his resignation as librarian,
owing to his projected departure
from the islands.
On motion of DR.. Emerson, duly
seconded, the resignation was ac-
cepted and the corresponding secre-
tary instructed to draft letter to
the retiring librarian, expressing
the society's appreciation of his SER
vices.
Mr.. Hoes nominated DR.. G. T.
Rodgers as his successor, and, the
nomination being seconded by Mr..
A. F. Cooke, DR.. Rodgers was unan-
imously elected. The newly-elected
librarian made short speech.
Iol. w. -. aleAduuer, COTIeS-
ponding secretary, read an interest
ing letter from Mr.. Theo. H. Davies
corresponding member in England
giving particulars of the visit OF
Kamehameha ii. and Queen to the
Court of st. James, their presenta.
tion to George w., etc. 1t was
ordered to have the letter and its
enclosures printed with the next
number of the society's papers.
On motion of Mr.. Hoes, seconded
by Mr.. A. f. Cooke, it was resolved
that the board of managers have
power. without reference to gen
eral meeting, to fix the salary of the
librarian.
MR.. ATKINsoN's PAPER.
Mr.. A. T. Atkinson, Inspector
General of Schools, was called OF
} to deliver the lecture of the even
, ing. He remarked that he cam,
, forward with some diffidence, as h,
had only agreed to fill blank causet
, by the unreadiness of DR.. Emerson
} 1t was with the idea that it was
| popular lecture which was wanted
r that he had consented to appear, in
, stead of regular paper for preserv
alton in the archives of the society
They must not expect the result o
7 great original research, such as coul'
3 be given by President Dole, Pro-
Alexander or DR.. Emerson. Wha
he had prepared was a compressio
of course of reading, begun il
1871 and dropped about 1880, ant
taken up desultorily at times since
t His sources of information wer
! open to all, and he had simply cor
r. densed and arranged the material.
: Nothing could have been NOR
i fascinating to the youth of the lot
! century," the lecturers paper be
e gan, "than that mysterious oceal
,. called by Magellan, the Pacific.
J. People of this day who have know
!: edge of every quarter of the gloh
/ laid out for them in cheap encyclc
n pedias can form but faint idea {
e what feeling must have been arouse
s by the discoveries in the Pacifi
II He had talked with "forty-niners
Il of California and men who ha
Y gathered wealth from the Austr;
y Ian gold fields, and both sets {
: men had shown him what vista {
;s wealth was opened out suddenly b.
% fore them, and how that reacted W
n on their characters and their action
d But what were the gold fields
:, California and Australia in tn
# present century to the apparent
~ illimitable possibilities and wealt
le opened out between 1900 and 100
1t 1t must have been, to the people
o that time, what it would be to tho
" of ours if we got communicate
:, with the planet Mars and opene
III out new field into illimitab
e, space. The world broke its bond
he A new world had been discovere
le and why should there not be 9th
n worlds to discover? The men
= that day knew of the Pacific Ocea
u Marco Polo, mighty shrewd o
Mt Venetian, had told about the Yves
We ern shore of the Pacific as far ba'
fh as 1898, and a couple of hundr'
- years or so thereafter the Portugue
u were comfortably established in t.
lr- Moluccas. But it was not till t.
Is time of Bulboa that people beg
is to think of the unknown possibi
=, ties of the ocean. Gold and jews
" and fine estates had been won
ct Cortez, and why should not othe
4 1 Il.