508-509
| Previous Page | Next Page |
|
spirit than the arm of flesh. Desirous of avoiding the unhappy consequences of strife and bloodshed, and relying, through providence, on the justice of the nation's cause, and the magnanimity of the Queen of Great Britain, they counseled peace. Shortly before the hour of commencing hostilities had arrived, the King dispatched a letter to the Carysport, informing Lord George Paulet that he yielded to his demands, under protest, and had appointed Sir George Simpson and William Richards as his commissioners to the court of Great Britain to settle the pending difficulties.
"His Majesty appointed February 20 at 11 o'clock a. m., to receive Lord George and the vice-consul. On the same day that the King notified Lord of his acquiescence to his demands, in conjunction with the premier he protested against his acts in these words:
" 'We, Kamehameha III, King of all the Sandwich Islands, and Kekauluohi, premier thereof, in accordance with the laws of nations and the rights of all aggrieved sovereigns and individuals, do hereby enter our solemn act of protest before God, the world, and before the Government of Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland:
" 'Against the Right Hon. Lord George Paulet, captain of Her British Majesty's ship Carysfort, now lying in the harbor of Honolulu, for all losses and damages which may accrue to us and to the citizens of other countries residing under our dominion and sovereignty, in consequence of the unjust demands made upon us this day by the said Right Hon. Lord George Paulet, enforced by a threat of coercive measures and an attack upon our town of Honolulu in case of noncompliance with the same within a period of nineteen hours, thereby interfering with our laws, endangering the good order of society, and requiring of us what no power has a right to exact of another with whom they are on terms of peace and amity.
" 'And we do solemnly protest and declare that we, the sovereign authority of these islands, are injured, grieved, abused, and damaged by this act of the said Right Hon. Lord George Paulet, and we hereby enter our solemn appeal unto the Government of Her Most Gracious Majesty, represented by him, for redress, for justification, and for repayment of all said losses, damages, and payments which may in consequence accrue unto us, or unto the citizens of other countries living under our jurisdiction.'
" 'On the 20th the King and premier visited the Carysfort and were received with royal honors. This courtesy, however, was but a prelude to a further series of demands rendered necessary to accomplish Simpson's aim, by the unexpected compliance of the King with the first. These were brought forward at an interview on the following day. The total amount demanded in money was $117,330.89. The character of these claims, and the object of the parties, may be gathered from a brief notice of the first brought forward. This was in favor of a Mr. Skinner, a connection of Mr. Charlton's. Indemnification to the amount of $3,000 was demanded for him on the alleged ground of having lost the interest and profits on $10,000 unemployed for four months, which he had reserved to purchase the property of Mr. Charlton, if sold on execution. The arrival of the Carysfoot had stopped the sale, and he had lost the opportunity of thus employing his funds.' (pp. 161, 162, and 163.)
" '24th.—A meeting having been arranged for 10 o'clock a. m., the King requested me to visit Lord George and say to him that he could bear this course no longer; he would give up and let them do as they
|
pleaded, etc. I accordingly met Lord George and Simpson in the street, coming to the meeting; said I had a message from the King, that he was sick. I went with them to the consular office, where I was left alone with Simpson. I said, the King feels himself oppressed, broken down, ruined, and, to use his own expression, a dead man; that he had been up all night and was sick; that he had determined to give up; that if he, Simpson, persisted in his present course ruin would follow; that the King could not undo by his own act the action of the courts and enforce these claims without time to modify the laws. I begged him to desist and give time to modify the laws and act with consistency. He would allow juries to be composed of half English in case their interests were concerned.
" 'The Dominis case had been disposed of according to the King's written promise to Capt. Jones. Moreover, since that time, the parties had settled by amicable arbitration. That to require all the late decisions of the legally organized courts to be set aside by the act of the King would be illegal and oppressive on the part of Mr. Simpson, and decidedly oppressive on the part of the King, and would justly involve him both with Americans and French, etc. Simpson replied that the English had been treated harshly, and consequently the Government must suffer. His course could not be altered.
" 'Went with Lord George and Simpson to the council; acted as spokesman. Reiterated the above, and added the King was determined to hold out no longer; do what you like, take the islands, but do not force him to acts of injustice; it would be cruel in the extreme, better take all. Lord George replied that his demands were not unjust; he acted on the best information and testimony. I said, I know that you think so but I assure you that such is not the opinion of the Government. The King remarked that he did not think that his Government had done wrong. I said, we must be heard; your information is incorrect; we appeal to Great Britain; take the islands, we will yet have justice. Lord George replied that he did not come to take the islands. I said, you had better do it than pursue these subjects further in this manner. He or Simpson said that they could only act on a request of the King, and it must be in writing. Said I, let all proceedings be stopped; let the Government have time to reflect, and I think they will come to the conclusion that it is better for you to take the Government of the islands than to go any further. But we must have time; you drive the King to distraction, and I fear that he will cede the islands to France, as he has been invited to do. Simpson said he would not allow much delay. Lord George said, two or three days and no more. Simpson said, to-morrow noon, and if it was not done, he should expect the Dominis case to be tried on Saturday. I observed that the time was too short; Monday then at the furthest. We went into certain explanations as to manner of doing the thing, and I wrote down in pencil the following:
" 'In consequence of the difficulties in which the Sandwich Islands are involved, and the impossibility of complying with the demands made by Her Britannic Majesty's representative in the form in which they are presented, we cede [the Government of] our islands to Lord George Paulet, etc., for the time being, subject to any arrangements that may have been entered into with the Government of Great Britain, and until intelligence shall have been received, and in case no arrangement shall have been made previous to date, subject to the decision of Her Majesty's Government on conference with the ministers of the Sandwich Islands Government, after a full report of our affairs shall have
| Previous Page | Next Page |