On the 24th of November, 1841, a contract was secretly drawn up at Lahaina by Mr. Brinsmade, a member of the firm, and Mr. Richards, and duly signed by the king and premier, which had serious after-consequences.  It granted to Ladd & Co. the privilege of “leasing any now unoccupied and unimproved localities” in the islands for one hundred years, at a low rental, each millsite to include fifteen acres, and the adjoining land for cultivation in each locality not to exceed two hundred acres, with privileges of wood, pasture, etc.  These sites were to be selected within one year, which term was afterwards extended to four years from date.”

Of course there are many safeguards, particularly in this case, but the points of the possession of land conceded, the time for the people to recover their rights never comes.

One of the difficulties in the clearing up of the foggy chapters of the history of the Hawaiian islands is that within the lifetime of men who were young at the close of the last century, the Hawaiian tongue became a written language, and made the traditions of savages highly colored stories, in various degrees according to ignorance, prejudice and sympathy, accepted as historical.  The marvels accomplished by the missionaries influenced them to deal gently with those whose conversion was a recognized triumph of Christendom, and there was an effort to condemn Captain Cook, who had affected to nod as a God, as a warning to blasphemers.  Still, the truth of history is precious as the foundations of faith to men of all races and traditions, and the Englishman who surpassed the French, Spaniards and Portuguese in discoveries of islands in the vast spaces of the Pacific Ocean, should have justice at the hands of Americans who have organized states and built cities by that sea, and possess the islands that have been named its paradise because endowed surpassingly with the ample treasures of volcanic soil and tropical climate.  There the trade winds bestow the freshness of the calm and mighty waters, and there is added to the bounty of boundless wealth the charms of luxuriant beauty.  All Americans should find it timely to be just to Captain Cook, and claim him as one of the pioneers of our conquering civilization.

CHAPTER XXII

The Start for the Land of Corn Stalks.

Spain Clings to the Ghost of Her Colonies—­The Scene of War Interest Shifts from Manila—­The Typhoon Season—­General Merritt on the Way to Paris—­German Target Practice by Permission of Dewey—­Poultney Bigelow with Canoe, Typewriter and Kodak—­Hongkong as a Bigger and Brighter Gibraltar.