The Sandwich Islands, in common with a vast number of others in the Pacific Ocean, have doubtless been formed by volcanic action, in connexion with the operations of the coral worm. Doubts may reasonably be indulged in relation to the causes which have produced the present form of many other portions of the globe, but there can be none concerning the manner in which the Sandwich Islands first emerged from the bosom of the deep. That they have been thrown up by volcanic eruptions is evident, from the numerous old craters which appear on all parts of the islands; from the vast quantities of congealed lava everywhere observable; from the nature of the soil, it being nothing more nor less than decomposed lava, and from the present existence of an active volcano on the principal island of the group. This burning mountain, known by the name of the volcano of Kilawea, is situated on the island of Hawaii, or Owyhee, as it was formerly called; and from its continued action in casting up immense quantities of lava, stones, and dirt, which in some instances have been known to roll down the sides of the mountain in such vast quantities, as, in their progress, to fill up the deep ravines washed in the sides of the mountain, and sometimes to bury up the cottages of the natives with their occupants, and extending quite to the ocean, enlarging even the island itself, must be viewed as disclosing the principal cause of the formation of this interesting collection of the Pacific Isles. Though the crater of this mountain is the only flue now open through which the subterranean fires discharge themselves, yet doubtless all the old craters have, in their turn, served the same purpose; and from their appearance one is led to suppose that many of there may have been in action at the same time.

There are different opinions entertained concerning the formation and continued enlargement of the coral reefs by which all the islands are surrounded. The prevailing opinion is that they owe their origin to the constant action of what is called "the coral worm." Though it appears evident that the above mentioned two causes have produced the Sandwich Islands, yet, after all, perhaps these are mere speculations, and they may have existed nearly in their present form since the period when the waters of the deluge were gathered to their original bed, and the ark rested on Mount Ararat.

Be this as it may, there are ten of these isolated spots of earth embraced in the group known by the name of the Sandwich Islands. They are distinguished by the names of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, Kawai, Molokai, Lanai, Niihau and Kahoolame. The two I have not mentioned are of no note, being a small and barren, and containing no permanent inhabitants.

The existence of these islands first became known to the civilized world in 1778. Captain James Cook, the celebrated English navigator, is entitled to the credit of the first discovery of this interesting group, to which he gave their present name, in honor of Lord Sandwich, his principal friend and patron in the British government. He was on one of his voyages to the north-west coast of the American continent, for the purpose of searching for a north-west passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean, when he fell in with these islands. On a subsequent visit to them, it is generally known that he fell a victim to the barbarity of the savages, the existence of whom he had revealed to the world. When Captain Cook first arrived at the islands, he was received by the natives with great veneration as a supreme being. This, in part, arose from the following singular tradition. The Hawaiians have, from time immemorial, entertained a belief in a deity, or, goddess, which they called Pele. She, they believed, had the control of the volcano of Kilawea.

Lono, one of the chiefs, was the friend of Pele, but when once he happened to insult her, she was angry and began to pursue him. He fled in great terror, and passing his home in his flight, he cried, "Aloha, Aloha," to his wife and children, but could not stop, for Pele was near in pursuit. Shortly, he came to the shore where he found a man just landing in a fishing canoe, and, to escape the vengeance of Pele, he immediately siezed the canoe and pushed out to sea. When Captain Cook first arrived he forthwith received the name of Lono, the people supposing him to be the same personage who had left in a canoe, now returned in a much larger vessel. But the reverence which they manifested for Cook did not long continue. From an unrestrained intercourse with them, they found him to be a man like themselves; and conceiving a strong dislike for him on account of some supposed injuries which be and his men had inflicted upon them, they resolved upon his destruction, and accordingly he fell beneath the weight of a Hawaiian club, near the village of Kadmaloa, on the shore of Kaalakekua Bay, and on the island of Hawaii. A stick of cocoa set up in the fissure of the rocks a few feet from the water’s edge, marks the place where the gallant navigator met his untimely fate.

The population of the lands, when first discovered, as estimated by Captain Cook, was four hundred thousand. If this was a correct estimates during the forty-five years following Cook’s ‘discovery, we find a decrease in the population of two hundred and fifty-seven thousand nine hundred and fifty; for in 1823 we find a population of only one hundred and forty-two thousand and fifty. A census was taken in 1832, and it was found that the decrease for the nine previous years amounted to eleven thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven, leaving a population at that time of one hundred and thirty thousand three hundred and thirteen. Another census Was taken in 1836, which revealed the astonishing decrease of twenty-one thousand seven hundred and thirty in four years. One of the missionaries, the Rev. W. P. Alexander, in 1838, calculated that there were annually, in all the islands, six thousand eight hundred, and thirty-eight deaths, and only three thousand three hundred and thirty-five births. I have frequently conversed with missionaries who have been for many years upon the islands, and they all agree in stating that the yearly deaths at the present time bear about the proportion to the yearly births of seven to three; and that only about one-half of the marriages lead to offspring. Allowing that there has been twenty thousand decrease from 1830 to 1846, and it will not fall short of this, there is now a population of eighty-eight thousand five hundred and seventy-nine. This brings us to the lamentable result, that since the discovery of the island in 1778 there has been an average annual decrease of four thousand five hundred and eighty. The astonishing rapidity of the decrease of Hawaiian population, is, perhaps, without a parallel in the history of nations, not excepting the ill-fated Indians of North America.

In beholding the downward career of the Hawaiians in respect to population, one is led to inquire for the causes which have produced these astonishing results. These are numerous, and among the principal are the sweeping pestilence which raged with singular fatality during the years 1803 and 1804, the destructive wars of Kamehameha the first, and the almost universal prevalence, and uncontrolled progress of a disease said to have been introduced by the vicious crew belonging to the vessel of Captain Cook, and as fatal in its ravages, as it is loathsome to contemplate. The laxity of native morals, which has always existed among the Hawaiians, is a sufficient cause why this disease should prevail among them to an unusual extent; and this very cause adds to the effect of the disease in preventing offspring. Hitherto all the efforts of the missionaries and the medical men in the islands to stop the ravages of the disease, have been ineffectual, and it is extremely doubtful whether any means can be devised sufficient to roll back the tide of death which threatens the destruction of the Hawaiian nation.

Great changes had taken place in the political and religious history of the Hawaiian nation previous to the arrival of the first missionaries. Many of these resulted from the free intercourse of the people of other nations with the islanders, so soon as their existence became known to the civilized world. When they were first discovered, the islands were governed by a number of independent chiefs, and all the people were hold under the iron control of a system of idolatry, called the Tabu system. After a few years’ intercourse with foreigners, beholding their vast superiority over themselves, arising, as they supposed, from the difference of their religion, there arose a party among the natives who rejected their ancient Tabu, and embraced in theory so far as they understood it, the religion of the foreigners. At first this party was small, but continuing to increase, it at length embraced nearly one half of the nation. Kamehameha was the first chief to declare himself openly against the Tabu system. At that time he was a petty chief, controlling but a small portion of the island of Hawaii. But being more enlightened than his country-men, and withal ambitious and enterprising in his habits, he resolved to attempt the accomplishment of a revolution in both the government and religion of his country. But the cruel system of idolatry against which Kamehameha had arrayed himself, strengthened as it was by ages of uninterrupted growth, was not to be destroyed without a powerful struggle, its friends and supporters still being more numerous than its enemies. The most violent enmity had grown up betwixt the two parties, and at length Kamehameha found himself involved in the most bloody war. All the principal chiefs were upon the side of the Tabu, and it became necessary for Kamehameha to fight them successively. He first turned his attention to the subjugation of his own native island of Hawaii, and meeting the chiefs with their forces in battle, his own superior skill and prowess prevailed, and he soon found the island of Hawaii, containing then more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, prostrate at his feet, Here establishing his authority by the wise use of every necessary precaution, he prepared for the invasion of the other islands. He met the adherents of the Tabu on the islands of Maui, Kauai, Lanai, and Morokai, in battle, and in every instance triumphed over them. Those of his enemies who escaped took refuge on the island of Oahu. Here an army of men as large as that which Kamehameha had drawn to his standard, had collected, and resolved to make one more desperate stand, to support their favorite Tabu. At length the conquer-chief effected a landing on the island of Oahu, and the opposing forces met in the rear of the city of Honolulu, and fought the last and bloodiest battle of the whole war. The victory of Kamehameha was complete, his enemies were annihilated, and he was forthwith proclaimed king of the Hawaiian nation.

Providing for the government of Oahu, Kamehameha returned to Kailue on his native island, and in a proclamation to the nation announced that the old Tabu system was at an end. Thus fell idolatry on the Sandwich Islands, and thus all the group were connected together under one government. At the head stood the victorious chieftain who had effected the revolution, under the title of King Kamehameha the First.

It was in this condition that the first missionaries found the islands on their arrival. Providence had prepared the way for them in the destruction of the bloody system of idolatry which had reigned over the islands for ages, and accordingly the first news that saluted them on approaching Hawaii, was, "Karnehameha is king, and the Tabu is destroyed."

It was on the 4th day of April, 1820, that the brig Thaddeus, from Boston, with seven male and seven female missionaries came to anchor in the bay of Kailua, and on the 8th the king and chiefs consented to their landing and residing on the island.

Three years afterwards a reinforcement arrived, consisting of seven males, and six females. A second reinforcement of six males and ten females, arrived in the spring of 1828; a third, of four males and four females, in the spring of 1831; a fourth, of ten males and nine females, in the spring of 1832; a fifth, of two males and two females, in the spring of 1833; a sixth, of three males and five females, in the spring of 1835; a seventh-fifteen males and seventeen females, in the spring of 1837; an eighth, of four males and four females, in the spring of 1841. In January, 1842, one male and one female joined the mission at the islands from the Oregon Mission. A ninth reinforcement, of two males and two females, from the United States, arrived in September, 1842. This makes an aggregate of sixty-one males and sixty-seven females who have been employed on the mission since its first establishment twenty-six years ago. Of these a number have died, some have returned to the United States, some have become disconnected with the mission and remain at the islands, and others continue their labors as missionaries in behalf of the Hawaiian race.

The greatest number of laborers in the field at one time, has not exceeded about eighty adults, or forty families, and this has been near the average number for the last ten years. Of course, to sustain so large an establishment, the expenditures must have been very great. These have been incurred in supporting the missionaries, and providing them with dwellings; in the printing and binding of books for the seminary and other public schools; in the erection of churches and schoolhouses, and in the circulation of books. The entire amount expended, from the first establishment of the mission up to 1844, according to the report of the financial agent, amounted to six hundred and eight thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five dollars. Fifty thousand dollars of this was furnished by the American Bible Society; nineteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-four dollars by the American Tract Society, and five hundred and thirty-nine thou-sand and ninety dollars by the A. B. C. F. M.

Eighteen mission stations have been established, and continue to be occupied; six on Hawaii four on Maui, four on Oahu, three on Kauai, and one on Morokai. In addition to two printing offices and a bindery, a commomodious seminary, school-houses, and churches, forty permanent dwelling-houses have been erected for the accommodations of the missionaries, that in appearance would not disgrace any of the villages of Western New York.

The results of all this immense labor and expense are sufficient to establish in every reflecting mind the utility of christian missions. The great object held in view in the missionary enterprise, is the conversion of the heathen to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their final salvation in the kingdom of heaven. As it regards the first, by missionary effort, Christianity has been introduced into the Sandwich Islands, and adopted as the religious system of the nation. Twenty-three Christian churches have been gathered, and embraced, on the first of April, 1843, twenty-three thousand eight hundred and four members in regular standing. In addition to this, the Hawaiian language has been systematized and reduced to writing; fifty thousand copies of the New Testament and twenty thousand of the Old Testament have issued from the Hawaiian press; seventy different works, scientifical, historical, and religious, have been translated and published; one-half of the adult population have been taught to read, and nearly all of the children of the islands, are now gathered into the schools. A mission seminary where the higher branches are taught, has been in operation for years, and usually numbers about one hundred and thirty students. A female seminary of a similar character numbers about eighty pupils. These are on the island of Maui. A boarding school for boys numbering sixty scholars, and one for girls of about twenty-five, are in operation on Hawaii. And a number of boarding school for the young chiefs, throughout the select schools at the various stations t islands, and under the care of gentlemen and ladies belonging to the mission. Reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration, surveying, navigation, algebra, history, phylosophy, &c., are taught in these schools, some of which are already beginning to rank with the academies of New England.

These are some of the direct benefits resulting from missionary efforts, as they exhibit themselves on the Sandwich Islands; and in viewing them we can form some conception of the value of those efforts which have accomplished this work, considered with respect to time. But who can estimate the value of a soul, the redemption of which cost the infinite price of a Redeemer’s blood? When I take a view of the small amount of money and labor expended, the little suffering endured, and the few lives sacrificed in the missionary cause, and connect them as instrumentalities with the eternal salvation of souls as the object, I am led to exclaim, my God! how trifling are the means used in comparison, to the great end accomplished! And yet thousands from the Sandwich Islands will share in the blessedness of the first resurrection, because, these instrumentalities have been used in their behalf, and the Divine blessing has accompanied the efforts which have been made.

In addition to the results of these efforts, as already stated, it may be proper to remark that the government has assumed a much more stable and consistent character than it formerly possessed. Written laws have been enacted by which the people are better secured from oppressive exactions on the part of their rulers, and encouraged to cultivate industrious and virtuous habits. The security, stability, and value of property have, been greatly enhanced. Diplomatic intercourse has been opened with other and greater nations, among which are England, the United States, and France, all of which have acknowledged the independence of the islands, and express an interest in their prosperity. Indeed, a great change for the better has taken place, and, though it is true that, still Hawaiian society is in a very crude state, and is susceptible of vast improvement, it is not the less true that the wonderful change through which it has passed since the cross was first planted upon the islands, is without parallel in the history of ancient or modern times.

There are few subjects presenting themselves to the visitor at the islands, more interesting than the Seaman’s Chaplaincy, at Honolulu. The fact that the American Seaman’s Friend Society’ in addition to many other places in the world, have directed their pious benevolence to the greatest seaport of the Sandwich Islands, should be regarded as evidence of the importance of the place as well as of the discrimination of the managers of that society. They have here erected a chase on a most eligible site, which is conveniently fitted up to accommodate two or three hundred bearers. In the basement there is a depository for Bibles and Tracts, which may here be found in English, German, French, Danish, and most other European languages, and are carefully and liberally distributed. The Bethel Flag floats from a staff elevated from the top of the steeple, inviting the mariner to the house of prayer. Public worship is performed every Sunday morning and evening; there is a meeting every Thursday evening for prayer and religious conference, and a monthly seamen’s concert for prayer; both held in the vestry, and well attended. The chaplain also invites all seamen to his private residence, where he instructs, advises, reproves; and exhorts, as occasion may require, and distributes Bibles, Tracts, &c., to those who attend, with great assiduity as they are received with many thanks by the sailors, and open sources of unspeakable consolation to many of them, while prosecuting their hazardous employment.

The society has been peculiarly fortunate in their choice of chaplains for this important post. The resent incumbent is the Rev. Samuel C. Damon who has officiated since the death of his predecessor, the Rev. John Diell. Mr. Damon is well qualified for the place he is called to fill, and his performances in the pulpit are alike creditable to himself as a clergyman and man of letters, and well adapted to the varied circumstances of his hearers. His audience is frequently composed of English lords and knights, consuls and consul generals, admirals and rear admirals, the king of the islands and his suite, the ardent votaries of wealth in the character of merchants and sea captains, naval officers of different nations, common seamen and Kanakas. His subjects are well chosen to arrest the attention of all these, nor does he shun to declare unto them all the counsel of God. In addition to his ordinary labors as chaplain, which alone are very arduous, he is the edit-or of a very interesting and useful paper called "The Friend of Temperance and Seamen." About four hundred seamen annually visit him at his study, to receive religious instruction, and advice. From a consideration of these facts, I am led fully to the conclusion that the seaman’s chaplaincy at Honolulu in every way worthy to be sustained.

Since the French compiled the Hawaiians to receive with their brandy, Roman Catholic missionaries, Catholicism has been making rapid advances among the natives, and thereby presenting a great obstacle in the way of the final success of the Protestant missionaries. According to the best information I could obtain, there were nine Catholic priests on the islands, and the baptized members of the church amounted in all to about twelve thousand five hundred, besides those who were under preparatory training.

They have one hundred schools established, containing upwards of three thousand scholars. These are under the direction of priests, sisters of charity, and native teachers. The catholic cathedral is by far the most sightly looking church in Honolulu, and is under the charge of the Rev. the Abbe Maigret, of the Society of Piepus, in Paris. In connection with the cathedral there is a school of three hundred scholars, of both sexes, under the superintendence of the Abbe himself, whose services are without charge to those who belong to his communion. Some time in 1849 a vessel sailed from France, containing a bishop for the islands, seven priests, and twelve sisters of charity; but she has never been heard of since she left the coast of Brazil, and is supposed to have been lost in the vicinity of Cape Horn.

King Kamehameha III and his small court have for several years resided chiefly at Lahaira, in the island of Maui, but in June, 1844, they removed their residences to the city of Honolulu, on the Island Oahu. At this place a palace has been recently erected in a conspicuous part of the city, and when "the public grounds surrounding it are property improved and ornamented, will present an imposing appearance, and constitute a suitable residence for the royal family.

Until recently, it has been extremely doubtful whether the Hawaiian government would continue in existence for any length of time, but now his majesty Kamehameha III, is recognized as belonging to the family of independent sovereigns, and efforts are being made by his ministers to place his court; and organize his tribunals on a footing corresponding with his present situation. As the ministers of the king are principally Americans, and of course unaccustomed to the forms of ceremony observed in royal palaces, it may be expected that the code of court etiquette which they have adopted, may be somewhat defective. If by some strange metamorphosis, a republican is transformed into an aristocrat, he generally surrounds himself with an excess of ceremony, and on this ground fault has been found with the code of etiquette which the ministers of Kamehameha III. have thrown around the court. Formerly the king was approachable on all occasions, and by every body; now a routine of ceremony must be observed before even a sea captain can gain an audience. This is peculiarly trying to those English and American residents who have formerly had free access to the royal presence. Though this privilege is now denied the people generally yet, on proper application being previously made, the representatives of foreign powers, are, at all times, admitted to a personal interview with the king, for the purpose of submitting to his majesty any case of well founded grievance which any of their countrymen may have against the authorities of the land.

The character of the king since he came to the throne, has undergone a very great change. Formerly he was adicted to low and degrading vices., among which intemperance was one of the most prominent, but some ten or twelve years ago, a thorough reformation took place in his majesty, and he is now not only a consistent temperance man, but also a member of the church of Christ. Though there are a few individuals al Honolulu who are disposed to censure, and find fault with everything, and everybody in the islands, yet none seem inclined to complain of his majesty Kamehameha III. The general testimony is favorable to the goodness of his disposition, the uprightness of his intentions, and his clemency and kindness to his subjects. None accuse him of cruelty or tyranny, and many, qualified to judge, concur in ascribing to him considerable native talent, and much acquired information. His majesty is an example of sobriety to his subjects, regular in his attendance at church, and zealous in the discouragement of all Pagan rites, and the establishment of the Christian religion in the nation.

He is now thirty-three years of age, and was married in 1837 to Kalama, by whom he has no offspring. In the probable event of his having no lineal successor, the crown will devolve on Alexander Liholiho, whom the king has adopted for that purpose. He is an active and promising lad, now in the twelfth year of his age.

A very singular custom prevails in the Hawaiian monarchy of appointing a female prime minister of the kingdom. It is said this custom originated in the will of Kamehameha I, which declared his son Liholiho his successor in the throne, but that Kaahumanu, his favorite queen, should be his minister. The present premier is Kekauluohi, who is about fifty years of age very dignified in her appearance, and much respected by all classes. Her prerogatives are nearly equal to those of the king, and whatever she does in the realm, is to be considered as executed by his authority; but the king has a veto on her acts, while, on the other hand, his own are not binding unless approved of by her. She has an interesting son, William Charles Lunalilo, about twelve years Of age, but his sex disqualifies him from being her successor; consequently, Victoria Kamamalu, who is eight years of age, is the reputed heir to the premiership.

Alexander and Victoria are both the children of Kekuanaoa, the present governor of Oahu, by Kaahumana the former premier of the kingdom. These children, with all the other young chiefs of the realm, are under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, who are members of the mission, and who spare no pains to fit them, through a proper education and training, for the high functions which they are destined to fill. To the missionaries belongs the merit of having excited the king and chiefs of the islands to desire a school for the systematic education of those children into whose, hands would fall the future destiny of the government. By the request and concurrence of the king and chiefs, in 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke were selected by the mission as suitable persons to undertake the education of the young chiefs. The building occupied by this school of the chiefs, is situated in a retired part of the city of Honolulu, and, though it cost but two thousand dollars, being constructed of sun-dried adobes, is commodiously arranged to secure the purposes of its construction. It contains seventeen rooms in all, of various dimensions, opening into a court in the centre thirty-six feet square, the outside of the building being seventy-six feet square. The school room is very conveniently arranged, and books, maps, stationery, and globes terrestrial and celestial, are at all times accessible to the scholars, and there is also an excellent apparatus to illustrate the movements of the planets which compose our solar system. The scholars are fifteen in number, seven males and eight females, and each of them has from two to six native attendants in the character of grooms, tailors, washers, &c., according to the rank, age, and sex of each. These attendants are all under the direction of John Li and his wife, who are both very respectable natives, and who co-operate with Mr. and Mrs. Cooke in excluding these attendants from any intimacy with the young chiefs which might prove prejudicial to their welfare. Reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography, history, drawing, music, vocal and instrumental, are the principal branches of education which these future rulers of the islands are receiving at the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke. These interesting youth, in every department of education, show a tractability quite equal to any other children of the same ages, and under similar circumstances; and it is quite evident that, under the excellent government and tuition of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, these young chiefs will be prepared to go forth into the world and fill their respective stations, with a fund of knowledge vastly superior to that of their predecessors; and it is equally obvious, that the administration of these future rulers, must be immeasurably more enlightened than any that has ever before existed in the islands. Yet the tongue of calumny has represented the appointment of Mr. and Mrs. Cooke to their responsible station, as a measure having no higher object, than the selfish policy of priestcraft.

As might be expected, the missionaries, from the position they have occupied have exerted a controlling influence in the councils of the Hawaiian government, for many years, but the first appointment from among them to any office in the government was that of the Rev. William Richards in 1838 to the office of teacher or counsellor of the chiefs. This appointment was made in accordance with a request of the king and chiefs, and accepted by Mr. Richards at first, but for one year. Subsequently he received a higher appointment, and filling the different offices of privy counsellor, secretary of state, and ambassador to a foreign court, he has been one of the principal actors in the government since his first appointment.

Another appointment to a responsible office in the government took place from among the missionaries in 1842, which became a matter of much serious controversy in the islands, and perhaps of some wilful misrepresentation. This was that of Dr. Gerritt P. Judd. This gentleman was solicited by the king to accept of the office of interpreter, and giving up his connexion with the mission, he identified himself with the Hawaiian government. Some of the foreign residents, and particularly the English, took occasion from this, to charge upon the missionaries a disposition to domineer over the king and people for the benefit of themselves and of the American residents. If it was necessary to appoint a foreigner to this office, doubtless Dr. Judd, from his thorough knowledge of the native language and character, was as well qualified as any man; and from his having voluntarily officiated, and possessing a high reputation among the natives, it was natural that the choice of the king should fall on him. In his new functions, the Doctor appears to have given great satisfaction, at least to the king, for during the troubles of the government with the English, he was appointed by the king to represent his person, and after the restoration of the islands from British rule, he was elevated to the high and responsible office of secretary of state for foreign affairs.

A third appointment from among the missionaries took place in 1845. This was that of the Rev. Mr. Andrew to the office of supreme judge. As these three appointments were made from among themselves through the influence of the missionaries, it has been charged upon them by the enemies of the mission, that, forgetting their appropriate calling, they had used the extensive influence they had acquired in the nation to arrogate to themselves all the important offices of state, and the emoluments arising from such offices. But, as it is the business of the journalist to state facts, and neither to condemn nor attempt a justification of the important transactions narrated, it will not be expected that I shall appear on either side of the unhappy controversy which has proved the source of so much disquietude to the foreign residents of the Sandwich Islands.

In accepting the reins of government, when proffered to them, doubtless the missionaries acted under the influence of a justifiable fear for the safety of the Protestant faith, which they had been instrumental in establishing in the islands; and it was natural for them to prefer a Christian Protestant to either an immoral or a Catholic domination.

The history of the Sandwich Island government during the short space of two hundred and seventy-six days, in 1843, presents three of the most remarkable and important events that ever transpired in a nation, in the same length of time.

The first was the cession of the islands, by his majesty Kamahamaha and the Premier, on the 25th day of February, 1843, to the Right Hon. Lord George Paulet, on the part of her Britanic Majesty, Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland; the second was the restoration, of the islands to their native sovereign on the 31st of July, 1843, by Rear Admiral Thomas; ; and the third was the united declaration of Great Britain and France, dated on the 28th Nov., 1843, acknowledging the islands as an independent State, and mutually engaging never to take possession, neither directly nor under the title of protectorate, or under any other form, of any part of the territory of which they are composed. Kamehameha III was driven to cede his sovereignty to Great Britain provisionally, in consequence of charges being preferred against hint by British subjects which he was utterly unable to meet, and which in fact were founded in great injustice. Under the influence of wise counsel the king preferred to lay aside his crown rather than act a disgraceful part by complying with the exorbitant demands of the British Lord, and await for the final decision of Great Britain to announce that the Hawaiian government had passed away, or that the crown was still on the brow of Kamehameha III. While the question of the life or death of the Hawaiian government was pending, the British ensign was waving over the islands, and the reins of government were seized by Lord George Paulet in the name of her majesty, Queen Victoria. His Lordship had the honor of standing at the head of the government of the islands during one hundred and fifty-six days but on the arrival of Rear Admiral Thomas, in the Collingwood line of battle ships, amid the investigation of the grounds of the difficulty by the Admiral, the course pursued by Lord George was unceremoniously condemned, and the decision of the British government was anticipated by Rear Admiral Thomas. The king was restored to his just rights on the 31st of July, in a way calculated to preserve the respect due to royalty and restore confidence and good feeling among all the foreign residents. On the issuing of his proclamation, declaring that Kamehameha III still reigned, Rear Admiral Thomas was hailed as the deliverer of the nation, and the people were as loud in his praises as they were vociferous ‘in their reproaches of Lord George; and the 31st of July was registered as a day to be observed as a national festival to commemorate the restoration of Kamehameha to the throne of the Sandwich Islands, from which he had been unjustly driven.

Since the settlement of these troubles and the acknowledgment of the independence of the islands by three great nations under an unusual engagement, the king appears to submit the government principally into the hands of his foreign ministers. The cabinet, with the exception of the premier, is composed of foreigners, three of whom were formerly members of the American mission, and two arrived at the islands as mere private gentlemen. One of them John Ricord, Esq., was a young adventurer from New York, who crossed the continent by the way of St. Louis and the Rocky Mountains, and came down to Oregon in the fall of 1843, professing that his sole errand to the Pacific was to seek a fortune. Not finding it readily along the coast of the Pacific, he resolved to commit himself to its winds and waves. Confined in Baker’s Bay by a succession of storms which lasted forty days and forty nights he at length began to suspect that "Old Neptune" was suspicious that his motives for invading his dominions, were not of the purest kind; but finally his doubts of the favor of Neptune, subsided, as the angry elements were hushed to silence, and the gentle breeze wafted him through the gateway across the bar of the Columbia. Twenty-four days brought him along side of Oahu, the sight of which he hailed with transport, as he felt that confidence which is the harbinger of success. Remaining in a voluntary quarantine for a day or two, in consequence of the dilapidated state of his wardrobe, which he found it necessary to repair before appearing in public, he at length received an introduction to some of the members of the cabinet as a qualified member of the bar, from the Empire State. Possessing the advantages arising from a gentlemanly appearance, ready wit, and considerable suavity of manners, he succeeded immediately in ingratiating himself into the good will of the members or the government, and on the ninth day after his arrival he took the oath of allegiance to Kamehameha III, and received the insignia of his appointment to the honorable and responsible office of Attorney General of the Sandwich Islands, with a salary of two thousand dollars per annum.

The other was a Scotchman by the name of Robert Crichton Wyllie, who came to the islands in the company of General Miller, her Britanic Majesty’s Consul General for the islands of the Pacific. Probably Mr. Wyllie owes his promotion to his present distinguished office to the interesting "Notes" on the population, religion, agriculture and commerce of the islands, which he published soon after his arrival. In these notes the missionaries are very highly commended, and some very wise suggestions are made concerning the future policy of the Sandwich Islands’ government.

The cabinet of Kamehameha III, at present stands as follows: Dr. G. P. Judd, Minister for the Interior, Rev. Mr. Richards, Privy Counsellor, Rev. Mr. Andrews, Supreme Judge, Hon. John Ricord, Attorney General, and Robert Crichton Wyllie, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. These five functionaries constitute the government of the Sandwich Islands, for every thing goes, according to their direction. In all the great transactions of the nation in its intercourse with other nations, and alto in most of its internal affairs, the king in reality has no more power than one of his inferior chiefs. He says himself, that he is a mere "paper king," that his foreign ministers do the business, and bring him the papers to sign, and all he has to do is to obey them. In consequence of this apparent assumption of power on the part of the foreigners connected with the government, it has been charged upon them by some, that they are actuated by motives of selfish ambition; that they artfully dupe the king and his native suite, by filling them with a sense of their own importance, when in reality they are mere cyphers, and in this way succeed in promoting their own aggrandizement. But the truth is that, with all the improvement the islanders have made, they still remain grossly ignorant, especially on the great principles of government; and, so extensive is their intercourse with other nations, and so complicated the business to be transacted, that the king finds it indispensably necessary to put the helm of government into the hands of enlightened foreigners; and thus far he has been peculiarly fortunate in the selections he has made,. judging from the course which has been pursued. For while his ministers have been careful to guard their own reputation, they have acted as though they believed, that their success in this depended on their faithfulness in guarding the honor and interests of the king.

As a matter of course, since the recognition of the Sandwich Islands as belonging to the great family of kingdoms, the ministers, and all the public functionaries are putting on much of the dignity and importance of royalty, but on some of them who have been altogether unaccustomed to such high honors as result from their offices, the garments of court etiquette hang but loosely; nevertheless they maybe considered as skillful politicians if they steer the government ship so as to escape the Sylla on the one hand, and Charybdis on the other, to which she is continually exposed. Now that the three greatest naval powers on earth have entered into a mutual understanding never to take possession of the islands under any pretence whatever, the safety and perpetuity of the government depend upon the course which shall be pursued with other nations. So long as no just grounds of hostility are accorded, the engagement betwixt the three great powers would lead them to remonstrate effectively against any aggression which might endanger the existence of the government. If the, astonishing mortality which has prevailed so long among the natives, can by any means be checked, an the fountains of life be purified, so that children shall again be multiplied in the islands, and the decrease of numbers be effectually staid, then may we expect to see, in the future history of the Sandwich Islands, a satisfactory proof of the ability of the copper-colored race to govern themselves, and to become truly civilized. But if the tide of death shall continue to sweep on for fifty years to come, the Hawaiian nation will be numbered among the things that have been.

In connection with this view of the government, it may be proper to consider their means of protection.

Commanding the anchorage is a fort mounting seventy guns varying in calibre from the long brass thirty-two pounder down to the four pounder. T he fort is nearly a quadrangle, with the guns painting on all sides, and consequently few in proportion, pointing to seaward. A small naval force would be sufficient to silence the guns of the fort, in a short period. As the fort affords no adequate means of protection from an attack by sea, the money laid out for its erection and the purchase of the guns mounted upon it, one of which cost the Hawaiians the sum of ten thousand dollars, was very foolishly expended. So far as their being able to defend themselves by this fort is concerned, they may as well melt down their big guns and cast them into poi-pots as to continue the fort as it now is. It will probably soon be demolished, and another one will be erected on the reef, seaward of the present one, which, under the direction of a skillful engineer, will serve a much better purpose.

There is a remarkable hill in the rear of Honolulu which overlooks the city and harbor, called b the natives Puawana, and by foreigners Punch Bowl Hill. The top of this hill is concave, the center of it being from forty to fifty feet lower than the outer edge. It is one of those extinct volcanoes, whose former active operation is satisfactorily established, by the different strata of vitrified lava descending from the top of the hill on all sides, at the depth of from four to six feed from the surface of the soil. On the almost circular edge of this hill, on the side next to the city, are planted eleven large guns, pointing different ways; but lying on the ground, and being at too great a distance from the harbor, they are entirely useless as a means of defence. Of this the government are fully aware; but they continue the guns in their present elevated position for the purpose of firing salutes on the king’s birth-day, and on other great occasions. These being all the visible means of protection which the Hawaiians have, it is obvious that they will owe their safety, not so much to any martial array they can muster, whether on land or water, as to an impartial administration of justice to all nations with whom they have intercourse.

The prosperity of the islands is entirely dependent on their commerce, and the annual visits of whalers and ships of war. The commerce of the port of Honolulu, in 1843, was as follows, viz: twenty-five American vessels, nine British, four French, one Spanish, and one German. During the same year the port was visited by one hundred and nine whalers, and ten ships of war. The merchant ships left goods to the amount of upwards of one hundred and fifty-six thousand dollars, and the whale ships to twenty-one thousand eight hundred dollars. It is estimated that the visit of every whaler is worth to the islands from eight to fifteen hundred dollars, and every ship of war considerably more. Besides the amount of vegetables, &c., sold to the various ships touching at the port, there was exported, in 1843, in the produce of the island, consisting of sugar, molasses, Kukui oil, bullock-hides, goat-skins, arrow-root, and mustard-seed, the amount of ninety-one thousand two hundred and forty-five dollars.

The net revenue of the kingdom in the same year, embracing duties, harbor dues, &c., amounted to fifty thousand dollars. But, as the islands depend mainly upon the whale ships that annually flock to their ports, for their prosperity, it is obvious that, were the whale fishery to fall off, or were the vessels engaged in it to abandon the islands for some port on the main land, the Sandwich Islands would relapse into their primitive insignificance.

The diversion of whalers to some other port has been a subject of alarm to the Hawaiian government, especially since it has been obvious that Upper California, with its splendid bay of San Francisco, would soon become the property of the United States. So long as this noblest harbor of the Pacific coast is blockaded against whalers by the enormous port charges enforced by the mistaken policy of Mexico, the Sandwich Islands have nothing to fear; but, when Mexico shall relinquish her hold on California, and a large commercial city shall adorn the shore of San Francisco, whose quiet harbor, free of charges, shall invite the weather beaten whale-man, then a fatal check will be given to the prosperity of the islands, and much of their present importance will disappear.

The great value of this fishery to those places where the ships are under the necessity of putting in to procure supplies, will appear if we consider its amazing extent. Take for instance one single year. Of. six hundred American whalers that were in active operation on the different oceans, three hundred and sixty-seven visited the two ports of the Sandwich Islands, Lahaira and Honolulu in 1843, some of them twice in the same year. Surely no nation ever sent out such an immense fleet of whalers as now sail from the ports of the United States. Bold and adventurous, the Americans carry this enterprise into every portion of the world frequented by the object of their perilous search. There is no sea that is not whitened with their canvass, and no climate that does not witness their toils. While we look for them among the icebergs of the arctic regions, they are seen crossing the antarctic circle, and hovering around the south pole. They explore the vast extent of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, while the Carzette Islands, New Holland, and New Zealand are witness to their hardy and persevering industry. And as the immense fleet of whalemen sailing from the United States around Cape Horn have been dependent upon the Sandwich Islands for their supplies, so they have given to the islands much of the importance which they now possess; and if the inhabitants of the islands wish to preserve the valuable trade arising from this fishery, they will find it necessary to remove all the disadvantages of port charges under which whalemen now labor, in visiting their harbors.

Few portions of the world afford a greater variety of productions than the Sandwich Islands. As the temperature in the different parts varies from forty to ninety degrees in the shade, so nearly all the productions of the temperate and torrid zones, here come to maturity. In the Hawaiian markets of their own production, may be found arrow-root, sugar-cane, Kukui oil, castor oil, mustard seed, coffee, indigo, cotton, cabbages, pineapples, pumpkins, melons, oranges, bananas, figs, grapes, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, onions, taro, Indian corn, wheat, rice, tobacco, beef, pork, goats, turkeys, fowls, cocoanuts, mangoes, and bread-fruit. Though the productions are thus various, the staff of life amongst the natives is the taro-root. This root is cultivated on patches of ground wholly covered with water, so that the plant is wholly immersed, excepting the large green leaves. It grows to the size of a large potato; is boiled by the natives; prepared in the form of paste, and eaten either alone or with dried fish. It is considered a wholesome food, and exceedingly nutritious. When thus prepared it is called poi, and being almost indispensable to the subsistence of the natives, it forms one of the principal articles of traffic among them.

Society in Honolulu becomes a subject of interest to all, whether transient visitors, or residents: Though there are some jealousies existing betwixt the subjects of different nations concerning the degree of favor which they respectively enjoy under the government, the British complaining that the Americans have more than themselves, and the Americans, that the privileges enjoyed by the British, are much greater than theirs, and the French, that they are much worse off than either the British or Americans; yet all visitors agree in attributing to the foreign residents at Honolulu a degree of hospitality and good feeling not often enjoyed in any other part of the world. This virtue is not confined to the missionary families, but is a general characteristic of the foreign society. Strangers who come well recommended, are immediately introduced into society of a highly intellectual and polished character, consisting of consuls and other resident officers, naval, captains and merchants, and American and English ladies, many of whom are highly accomplished, and possess greater personal charms than usually falls to the lot of even the fair sex. Embracing the missionary ladies, there are about thirty in Honolulu, whose presence would add polish to the very best society our country affords.

One characteristic of Hawaiian society is peculiarly striking. It is the almost universal regard paid to the Sabbath. Whether this arises from a deep religious feeling or from custom, I cannot say; but certainly there are few places of the same extent where more decency and order are observed on this day than are apparent in Honolulu. With the exception of a few of the oldest residents, who have always habituated themselves to the license and misrule of heathenism, all the foreign residents are regular in their attendance at the house of God. Indeed, it is very seldom that the quiet of the Sabbath is broken, either by strangers or the natives themselves.

Though there is a class in Honolulu that "look into the cup when it is red, that continue till night, till wine inflame them," yet I should not be doing justice to the society of the place, if I did not bear witness to the general prevalence of temperance. During the three months which I have spent on the islands, I have seldom seen a drunken man, either native or foreigner. There are no beggars parading the streets, few petty thefts committed, no robberies, seldom an assault or act of violence, unless provoked by a white man. Yet, notwithstanding all this, and all that has been done for their benefit, the state of the native Hawaiians is still truly deplorable. To call them a christianized, civilized, happy, and prosperous people, would be to mislead the public mind in relation to their true condition. All these terms when applied to the Hawaiians, should be greatly qualified. Their state appears to be that spoken of by the prophet Zechariah as a day which should be neither light nor dark, with this difference, perhaps, that is the case of the Hawaiians, there is still more of night than of day, more of darkness than of light. To an inquiry which I made of the Rev. Lowel Smith, one of the missionaries in Honolulu, concerning the prosperity of the natives, I received the reply: "The evident tendency of things is downward." Downward it is rapidly, in point of numbers, and if the ratio of decrease shall continue the same for only a few years, it does not require the eye of a prophet to see what will be the result.

The epitaph of the nation will be written, and Anglo Saxons will convert the islands into another West Indies.