The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-04-01
ocontinued from page II

the beach. They were treated kindly b.
the chieftain, rose to be chiefs them
selves. and gained an influence over him
an influence to their credit be it said
ever exerted on the side of humanity
and civilization.
Vancouver imported horses. sheep. cat
tie and other things which the islands
most needed. and sought to encoura &c
trade, and the pursuits of peace. He
told kamehameha too 'of the One true
God. the Creator and ruler of the Uni
verse. and promised on his return TO
England to request King George to send
him a teacher of the true religion"
Vancouver seems to have remembered
his promise, for when in England he
sought to impress on Mr.. Pitt the duty
of sending missionaries to the Islands.
But IL was time when the minds of
men were taken up with the events then
Transporting on the Continent. Napoleon
was then turning the world upside down /:
neither was it a missionary age, and
great opportunity was lost to our church.
From the period OF Vancouver's de-
par,ure, the King of Hawaii was prn-
cipally occupied in reducing the eight ISL
ands under his own undivided sway, in
/ consolidating his power, and establishing
| something like order and law in his
dominions. Gle was two years in SUBJ
DUNG the island of Kauai with 1000 ma
| tive warriors and fifty whites) White
| settlers usually received kind welcome
4 anu OF mere Cdi Ot io
doubt that growing intercourse with
civilized life. unfavorable as might be
the specimens of IL, sometimes presented
to his view. had the effect of shaking
old beliefs. and infusing into the minds
of the people a spirit of discomfort with
their heather rites and oppressive Ia
boo"
To give you an idea of the great dig
nifty of Kamehameha we will quote from
Jarves page So:
1.-THE foolish and arbitrary customs OF
the ancient Kings of Hawaii were rigid
iy enforced with such additional cere-
mony as was calculated to increase the
awe of his own subjects, and his i'm
portance in the eyes OF foreigners.
Whenever he passed. heads and shout
ders were to be uncovered; the same was
required on approaching his residence.
or any house which he had honored with
his presence When his food was car
ried TO or from him. every person within
hearing of the cry uttered by the
menials, was obliged to uncover, and seat
himself after the native manner by
squatting on his hams. Before any ar
ticle could be touched. the attendants
were obliged to strip to the malo. Meth
er the shadow of the King nor of his
house could be crossed. His drinking
water was brought from particular
springs. many miles inland. reserved for
his use; and as the carriers ran past,
the same humbling ceremony as for his
food was required.
ITO be above him, was the highest
crime. Not subject dared appear on
the part of the deck of a vessel, under
which he by chance might be. The
etiquette required from chiefs varied ac-
cording to their rank. but was of the
most obsequious character The atten-
ton required to religious duties was
equally rigid. By this system of uniform
despotism, of which he formed the sole
Of he mil
greatly ameliorated for it broke the
power of the petty lords who heretofore,
like locusts, consumed all that the storm
had spared
The changes too, which had occurred
in Tahiti in the final triumph of Chris
tianity there through the labors of the
London Missionary Society. had, IL is
said also an influence during the last
few years of Kamehameha's reign. in
exciting within him a spirit of inquiry
and a desire TO learn more of tina.
Supreme Being whom the foreigners pro-
fessed TO worship but. Jarves says,
unfortunately the whites around him
weres little able even had they been dis
rosed. to explain the sublime truths, or
tell him of the heavenly tidings of the
Gospel: and on the Sth of May, 1879
died as he had lived in the
faith of his country" His son Liholiho
succeeded him, and soon showed that he
too. had little faith left in the belief
or MS fOre1atnerS- Inc worn went
forth and the idols We're abolished by
edict and the taboo was broken. the
heiaus (sacred enclosures serving as
their temples) were thrown down, their
ruins still being seen in several spots
On the Islands,
Hewahewa the native high priest. was
the first to move in getting the taboo
and described the way in which
he felt the pulse, so to speak of the
King, on the subject, for neither cared
about telling the other that he no longer
in the idols. He said to the
boos?" The King answered with ques-
ton: do you think il well to break
them?' And the priest replied. THAT
lies with you" while the King said. 1T
is you say
1t was on the sOth of March, 1870, that
the first missionaries arrived at Ha-
wall. They Were PresbyterianS and Con-
from New England He
gave his brother-priests. as he
called them. a hearty welcome and pub
icly acknowledged his belief in one SUI
preme Being. II knew" he said, that
the wooden images of our deities, carved
oy our hands, were incapable of supply
ing our wants. but, worshipped them,
because 1t was the custom of our faith
sfs: they made not the kalo to grow, nor
sent us rain; neither did they bestow
life or health. My thought has always
been There is one only Great God
dwelling in the heavens"
The promise of Vancouver however to
endeavor TO send English missionaries,
had not been forgotten, though quar-
ter of century had passed by since ii S
was given, and consequently some little
lesita ton seems to have been felt by
the chiefs about permitting these first i
messengers of the cross TO establish
their mission. Mr.. Young was ordered
10 write to England and inform its rul- {
ers that american teachers had come I
20 labor among the people,
1t was in the year 1922 that Messrs.
Lyerman and Bennett who belonged to
the London Missionary Society arrived.
They had been ordered by this Society to
visit all missionary posts. With them
came Rev. DIR. Ellis from Tahiti, a
and these three men worked
30 well and judiciously that they in
great measure helped to remove the sus-
oicions and jealousies which the people
here felt about rival nations Intelligent
and influential Englishmen were found