The Arizona sentinel., 1896-04-04

'IA' ne "aS Succetded by tour dIrec descen 'an's known as Kamehameh,
 IT,, III, ", V. The natives havins
 abolished ilolatry, in the year I9z(
 the n}jss enaries sen by the Ameri- can Board of Missions came to con-
 vert them. They were kindly re- ctlved hy the natives, but by thi>
 time the islands had become a ren-
 dezvouS for whaling vessels, whose
 ofbrers anl crews were lewd, lawIes.
 men, and they objected to the re- straints of religion and decency.
 The missionaries, however, had come to stay, and, in an earnest man.
 neF, began the conversion of the heathen. They were often threatened by the iawless sailors, who regarded tHeir upright lives as @ standing re buke 10 their own immortality. But, in spite oi all threats and danger. the missionaries held their ground. They had the respect and confidence of the kings, who remained their friends, and the cause of Christianity ad- vanced until all of the islands were brought under its sway. Missionar- les who came tO the islands yCun@ men, raised families of children, grew old and Gied. Children born on the islands grew up, died, and lett child Ten, natural born Hawaiians, the same as any American citizens today Is an American,
 Tine business interests of the islands soon began to tract the attention of the world. Americans came b en- gage in agriculture or mercantile pur- suits. These dots On the face of the globe aSsumeI great importance, and the Engli~h, always jealous Of any ad vance of Americans in the acquisition Of territory, began to turn their at- tention toward the islands.
 As the American Congregations alists and Presbyterians had succeed ed so weli,- the Church of England, from purely political motives it is claimed, began a religious conquest of tine islands. From this time on there was t struggle between Ameri- cans and English to control the rul-j ing mOnarchs.
 Kamehameha III gave the people the first liberal constitution. All the Kamehamehas seem to have been friendly to the Americans, as they were probably under the influence of Young aad Davis and their descend- ants.
 The anti-missionary party in time heclme the anti-Amcrican party. History shows how England has sought Ill the past to get control of the islands, and how sue objected to the annexa- ton of them to the UniteI States dur ing the Forties, as the trade st that time with the United States was in- creasing in proportions that alarmed her.
 The direct line of Kamehamehas ended with Kamehameha V. After one or two short reigns, David Kala- kaua was elected king. Tho d dis solute man; with mIny Weaknesses, he seems to have had an idel ol justice and right. But he tried to please all parties, and, of course, failed.
 By this time sugar aud rice planta- tiOns had become source of great wealth iu the islands, and Americans with pluck an1 energy were peopling the country and getting the cream oi it's industries.
 The lands hal previously been di- vided among the common people in way that was equitable to ali, the as sertious made on the floors of the American Congress to the contrary notwithstanding, Under tue old kings all land was invested in their name, as lands originally were in ! Great Britain. These kings distribut- ed them somewhat according to the feudAl system, to chiefs, reserving great tracts of what are still called ! crown lands. At the sugge ton Of ! the missionaries large quantities of lands were set apart for the common i people, and these Ian ds, tho small in acreage, composed nearly all the very best soil OF the islands. They were the taro patches and rice felIs, some oi which are to day worth five hundred dollars per acre, while there are vast tracts of lava-strewn mountain land not worth one dollar for five hundred acres.
 Among the many Americans emi- grants to the islands were shrewd | business men, who procured long ea.es on sugar lands and bought
 acts from the king British
 ;e vas brought Co bear upon
 aiakaua He ras told to be 1
 king and have D great army