Captain Cook Part 15

In that very year the American Board of Missions resolved to send to the Sandwich Islands an efficient band of missionaries with three native youths who had been educated in the States. Joyful and totally unexpected news awaited them on their arrival. Idolatry was overthrown, and the king and most of his chiefs were ready to afford them protection and support. They had, however, an arduous task before them in their efforts to impart instruction to a population numbering at least one hundred thousand, dwelling in eight islands, with a superficial area of seven thousand square miles; Owhyhee alone, now written Hawaii, being four hundred and fifteen miles in circ.u.mference.

In 1824 there were fifty native teachers and two thousand scholars, and so rapidly did education advance, that in 1831 there were eleven hundred schools, in which fully seventeen hundred scholars had obtained the branches of a common education, and were able to read, write, and sum up simple accounts. The prime minister, seven leading chiefs, and the regent were members of the Christian Church; and a very decided change was manifest in the general population.

Within a few years the language was reduced to a written form, and two printing-presses were at work at Honolulu. A large edition of the Gospels in the Hawaii language, printed in the United States, was in circulation and there were no less than nine hundred schools and forty-five thousand scholars. In 1853, after a great awakening, there were above twenty-two thousand church members, and there were chapels at all the stations. One at Lahaina could hold three thousand persons.

In 1853 the mission of the American Board was dissolved, their object having been fully realised in Christianising the people, planting churches, and making them self-supporting. Kamehamea the Third, the brother and successor of the king, who died in England, reigned well and wisely till 1854. On his death, Prince Alexander Liholiho, a well-educated and religiously disposed young man, became king. His wife is the Queen Emma who once visited England. They lost their only son in 1862. This so affected the king that he never recovered from the shock.

He was succeeded by his brother who reigned over the kingdom for some years, under the t.i.tle of Kamehamea the Fifth. His uncle had established a too democratic const.i.tution; he has given the people one more suited to their ideas and the state of the country. The chamber of n.o.bles and that of the representatives of the people are convoked every two years. It is their duty to make the laws and to vote supplies.

Several foreigners are employed in the government, and the foreign population of English, Americans, French, and Germans is increasing rapidly.

The Hawaiians own a considerable number of vessels, which trade to China, California, British Columbia, and other parts of the Pacific.

The national flag is composed of coloured stripes with the Union-Jack of old England quartered in the corner. The independence of the island kingdom is guaranteed by England, France, and America, and it will probably continue, as it is at present, in advance of all the other states which may arise in the Pacific. With these signs of prosperity, it is no wonder that Romish priests are doing all in their power to spread their tenets through the Sandwich Islands. But the Bible and a free press will, it is devoutly to be hoped, triumph.

Among other publications constantly issuing from the Hawaiian press are several newspapers, both in English and the native language, which have a wide circulation. That there is a steady increase in the commerce of the country is shown by the exports of sugar, coffee, and other produce, while several manufactures have been introduced to give employment especially to the women. The port of Honolulu has long been the chief resort of whale ships in the Pacific, and now many others, trading between the coasts of America and Asia, call there for supplies.

Other islands and sh.o.r.es visited by Cook remain in much the same condition as in his day. The sorrowful history of the attempt to convey the Gospel to the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, by Captain Allan Gardiner, is too well-known to require further mention. Java has been restored to its original masters, the Dutch; and the Cape of Good Hope is now a British colony. The great southern land of which Cook went in search has been found to exist, though its approach is guarded by immense barriers of ice; and the great problem of a north-west pa.s.sage has been solved by the sacrifice of some of England's bravest sons.

Not much need be added in the closing paragraphs of this volume. In following the interesting narrative of the voyages of the eminent discoverer whose name is a household word in English biography, the reader, while he sees some things to regret, will award to him a well-deserved tribute of admiration for his courage and skill, his perseverance and enterprising spirit. One thing was set before him, and that one thing he did. His main object was scientific; his first voyage was undertaken to observe the transit of the planet Venus, the Royal Society having represented that important service would be rendered to the interests of astronomical science by the appointment of properly qualified individuals to observe that phenomenon. The second was in search of a southern continent, which, at that time, was a favourite object of geographical speculation. The third and last was to endeavour to find a pa.s.sage from the Pacific into the Atlantic Ocean. These objects were praiseworthy, yet they were not the highest aims of the truest and purest ambition. To be a martyr for science was earthly glory; but to be a willing martyr for G.o.d is glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life.

The discoveries made by Captain Cook were barren of any results beyond those which are necessarily doomed to perish when the world and all that is in it shall be dissolved, until G.o.d was pleased, in His own good time, and by the influence of His gracious Spirit operating on the minds of His servants, to make them show forth His praise. Then was made manifest His almighty power, His infinite wisdom, and His amazing love, in the triumphs of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the very strongholds of Satan and sin; conveying to His waiting people the a.s.surance also that He had listened, and still listens, to their aspirations and prayers.

Note 1. Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, having become parts of the British empire, and colonised by British subjects, are not included in this sketch; their history belongs to that of the mother country.

The wonderful progress they have made is due to the influx of European settlers, not to the elevation of the native races.

THE END.