In this emergency, he drummed up a set of claims on the government, to which he deemed its resources unequal, and demanded for them immediate satisfaction. To his utter surprise, these claims were recognised: he had now no alternative but to bring in a new set, of such a magnitude as to render all adjustment impracticable. The government remonstrated against the injustice of the proceeding; but it was of no avail: payment must be made instanter, or the sovereignty of the islands surrendered. Lord George accordingly hauled down the Hawaiian flag, and run up that of her Britannic majesty. The little ships belonging to the government were all re-christened: one taking the name of Victoria; another the Adelaide; and even the old fort was honored with a Georgian title.
Dispatches were immediately sent by Lord George to the British ministry, informing them of the acquisition of all the Hawaiian islands to her Majesty’s dominions. But in the mean time, Admiral Thomas, the senior officer of the English fleet in this sea, arrived here, in the Dublin, from Valparaiso. He requested an interview with the king: the real difficulties were at once amicably adjusted; the fictitious ones, which were the basis of Lord George’s proceeding, were thrown by the Admiral to the wind, and the sovereignty of the islands restored. This was rather an imposing ceremony. The king and his chiefs appeared on the plain, east of the town, where fifteen or twenty thousand of the inhabitants had assembled. Admiral Thomas entered the grounds under a brilliant escort of marines from his squadron. The standard of the king was now unfurled, and his flag run up on the two forts. They were saluted by the guns of the Dublin and Carysfort, and Kamehameha III. was again on the throne of his ancestors.
Thus ended the brilliant conquest of Lord George, and thus vanished his dream of empire, when touched by the wand of moral rectitude. He was not only compelled to see the Hawaiian flag restored, but to salute it from his own ship, and with those very guns with which he had demanded its surrender under a threat that Honolulu should be blown sky-high. Verily, as the proverb hath it, “he that governs his own spirit, is greater than he that taketh a city.” The conduct of Admiral Thomas was sustained by the British ministry, and Lord George went to the wall.
CHAPTER XIII.
PASSAGE FROM HONOLULU TO MONTEREY.
THE MORAL PHAROS.—THE MORMON SHIP.—BIBLE CLASS.—THE SEA-HEN.—OUR INSANE SAILOR.—FOURTH OF JULY.—PROFANENESS AT SEA.—EVENING PRAYER-MEETING.—FUNERAL.—TARGET FIRING.—RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CREW.—ANCHOR UNDER MONTEREY.
“The sea-bird wheels above the mast,
And the waters fly below,
And the foaming billows flashing fast
Are leaping up the prow.”
Tuesday, June 23. We weighed anchor at daylight this morning, and stood out from the open bay of Honolulu. The breeze was fresh, and in a few hours Oahu presented only its volcanic peaks above the swell of the ocean. We cast a parting glance to those cliffs from which we had gazed in delighted wonder, and felt a sentiment allied to bereavement, as they faded on our vision.