Soon after the funeral, the new King was proclaimed by the title of Tameamea the Third, at the command of Karemaku, who retained the regency during the minority, in conjunction with the Queen Kahumanna. The regents were thus nominally the same; but Karemaku was too ill to take an active share in the government, and the missionary Bengham found means to obtain such an acendency over the imperious Kahumanna, and, through her, over the nation, that in the course of only seven months an entire change had taken place:—we might have imagined ourselves in a different country. Bengham had undertaken the education of the young monarch, and was keeping him under the strictest surveillance. He meddles in all the affairs of government, and makes Kahumanna, and even sometimes Karemaku, the instrument of his will; pays particular attention to commercial concerns, in which he appears to take great interest; and seems to have quite forgotten his original situation and the object of his residence in the islands, finding the avocations of a ruler more to his taste than those of a preacher. This would be excusable, if his talents were of a nature to contribute to the instruction and happiness of the people; if he understood the art of polishing the rough diamond, to which the uncorrupted Sandwich Islander may aptly be compared, so as to bring out its intrinsic value, and to increase its external splendour. But the fact is widely different; and one cannot see without deep regret the spiritual and temporal weal of a well-disposed people committed to the guidance of an unenlightened enthusiast, whose ill-directed and ill-arranged designs are inimical to their true and permanent interests.
Mr. Stewart, also a missionary, but more recently settled here than Bengham, is a judicious and well-informed man, and would remedy many of the evils incident to the present state of affairs; but Bengham, who has usurped the absolute control of the spiritual administration, will have every thing accommodated to his whims. Stewart therefore, finding himself unable to follow the course prescribed by his active zeal and strong understanding, for the benefit of the islanders, proposes to leave the country.
That Bengham's private views may not be too easily penetrated, religion is made the cloak of all his designs, and the greatest activity and strictness prevail in its propagation, and in the maintenance of church discipline. The inhabitants of every house or hut in Hanaruro are compelled by authority to an almost endless routine of prayers; and even the often dishonest intentions of the foreign settlers must be concealed under the veil of devotion. The streets, formerly so full of life and animation, are now deserted; games of all kinds, even the most innocent, are sternly prohibited; singing is a punishable offence; and the consummate profligacy of attempting to dance would certainly find no mercy. On Sundays, no cooking is permitted, nor must even a fire be kindled: nothing, in short, must be done; the whole day is devoted to prayer, with how much real piety may be easily imagined. Some of the royal attendants, on their return from London, at first opposed these regulations, and maintained that the English, though good Christians, submit to no such restraint. Kahumanna, however, infatuated by her counsellor, will hear of no opposition; and as her power extends to life and death, those who would willingly resist are compelled to bend under the iron sceptre of this arbitrary old woman.
A short time before our return, a command had issued, that all persons who had attained the age of eight years should be brought to Hanaruro, to be taught reading and writing. The poor country people, though much discontented, did not venture to disobey, but patiently abandoning their labour in the fields, flocked to Hanaruro, where we saw many families bivouacking in the streets, in little huts hastily put together, with the spelling-books in their hands. Such as could already read were made to learn passages from the Bible by heart. Every street in Hanaruro has more than one school-house: they are long huts, built of reeds, without any division. In each of these, about a hundred scholars, of both sexes, are instructed by a single native teacher, who, standing on a raised platform, names aloud every single letter, which is repeated in a scream by the whole assembly. These establishments, it may be supposed, are easily recognised afar off; no other sounds are heard in the streets; and the human figure is seldom to be seen amidst this melancholy stillness, except when the scholars, conducted by their teachers, repair to the church. Every sort of gaiety is forbidden.
Lord Byron had brought with him from England a variety of magic lanterns, puppet-shows, and such like toys, and was making preparations to exhibit them in public, for the entertainment of the people, when an order arrived from Bengham to prevent the representation, because it did not become God-fearing Christians to take pleasure in such vain amusements. The nobleman, not wishing to dispute the point, gave up his good-natured intentions.
That a people naturally so lively, should readily submit to such gloomy restrictions at the command of their rulers, proves how easily a wise government might introduce among them the blessings of rational civilization. Well might Karemaku exclaim, "Tameamea, thou hast died too soon!" Had this monarch doubled the usual age of man, and accorded his protection to such a reformer as Stewart, the Sandwich Islanders might by this time have acquired the respect of all other nations, instead of retrograding in the arts of civilization, and assuming under compulsion the hypocritical appearance of an affected devotion.
In taking a walk with an American merchant established here, I met a naked old man with a book in his hand, whom my companion addressed, and knowing him for a determined opponent of the new system, expressed his surprise at his occupation, and enquired how long he had been studying his alphabet. With a roguish laugh which seemed intended to conceal a more bitter feeling, first looking round to make sure that he should not be overheard, he replied, "Don't think that I am learning to read. I have only bought the book to look into it, that Kahumanna may think I am following the general example; she would not otherwise suffer me to approach her, and what would then become of a poor, miserable, old man like me? What is the use of the odious B A, Ba? Will it make our yams and potatoes grow? No such thing; our country people are obliged to neglect their fields for it, and scarcely half the land is tilled. What will be the consequence? There will be a famine by and by, and "Pala, Pala" will not fill a hungry man."
It is doubtless praiseworthy in a government to provide for the instruction of the people, but to force it upon them by such unreasonable measures as those adopted by Kahumanna and her counsellor must have a prejudicial effect: so far the old man was right.
A striking instance of the severity with which the Queen sometimes prosecutes her purpose, fell under our observation. An old man of seventy, who rented a piece of land belonging to her, many miles distant from Hanaruro, had always paid his taxes with regularity, and hoping that the distance, and his advanced age, might dispense with his attendance at the church and the school, acted accordingly; but for this neglect, Kahumanna drove him from his home. He sought her presence, implored her compassion for his destitute condition, and represented the impossibility of learning to read at his age. But in vain! The Queen replied with an angry gesture, "If you will not learn to read, you may go and drown yourself."
To such tyranny as this, has Bengham urged the Queen, and perhaps already esteems himself absolute sovereign of these islands. But he reckons without his host. He pulls the cord so tightly, that the bow must break; and I forewarn him, that his authority will, one day, suddenly vanish: already the cloud is gathering; much discontent exists. The injudicious summons of country people to Hanaruro has enhanced the price of provisions, partly on account of the increased consumption, partly because so much time spent in study and prayer leaves but little for the labours of agriculture. Thus will the approaching pressure of want be added to the slavery of the mind, and probably urge the islanders to burst their fetters. I have myself heard many of the Yeris express their displeasure, and the country people, who consider Bengham's religion as the source of all their sufferings, one night set fire to the church: the damage sustained was trifling, and the flames were soon extinguished; but the incendiaries were not discovered.