who had been joined by Mr. Marshall, the king's envoy, had done effective work in London and Paris. At their request the matters in dispute had been referred to the law advisers of the crown, who decided in favor of the Hawaiian Government on every point except the Charlton land claim. At length, on the 28th of November, 1843, the two governments of France and England issued a joint declaration in which they recognized the independence of the Islands, and reciprocally engaged "never to take possession, either directly or under the title of a protectorate, or under any other form, of any part of the territory of which they are composed."
ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT.
Both the king and his advisers saw that in order to maintain a permanent government it was necessary to combine both the native and foreign elements together in one common organization, and to make the king the sovereign not merely of one race or class, but of all. During the next few years the executive departments of the Government and the judiciary were organized by a group of men of remarkably high character and ability.
LAND TITLES.
During the period of 1846-1855 the ancient tenure of land was abolished, and the foundation laid of individual property in land. In the first place, the king as feudal suzerain divided the lands of the kingdom between himself and each one of the
chiefs, his feudatories, this partition being recorded in a book called the Mahele Book, or Book of Division. After this first partition was closed, out of four million acres there remained in the king's hands about two and a half millions. The king then redivided the lands which had been surrendered to him, setting apart about a million and a half acres for the Government, and reserving for himself as his private domain, about a million acres, including the best of the lands. The common people were granted fee simple titles for their house lots and the lands which they actually cultivated for themselves, called Kuleanas or homesteads.
THE "REPRISALS" OF 1849.
From 1843 till 1848 the most amicable relations continued to exist between France and the Hawaiian Government. But this state of things was then reversed by M. Dillon, the new French consul, who endeavored to reopen all old disputes and to create new grievances in every possible way. His principal grounds of complaint were the high duty on brandy and the alleged partiality shown to the English language. On the 12th of August, 1849, the French frigate "Poursuivante," Admiral De Tromelin, arrived at Honolulu, and was joined the next day by the corvette "Gassendi."
On the 22d the admiral sent to the king ten demands, drawn up by M. Dillon, allowing the Hawaiian Government three days in which to comply with them.
As these demands were firmly but courteously refused, an armed force was landed on the 25th, which took possession of the deserted fort, the custom house and other buildings, and the harbor was blockaded for ten days. The fort was dismantled and the king's private yacht confiscated by way of "reprisal," after which the "Poursuivante" sailed for San Francisco, taking M. Dillon as a passenger.