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The third demonstration of a foreign power against the sovereignty of Hawaii was on the part of France in 1839. For several years previous the islands had been greatly disturbed by the efforts of the Roman Catholic clergy to gain a foothold and disseminate their tenets. The king from the beginning had resisted the movement, claiming that the ceremonies of that religion were so similar to the idolatry which the people had recently abandoned that it was not wise to allow it; besides, he held that it would bring a disturbing element into the population which should be avoided. The Protestant missionaries were charged with having influenced the action of the king, but this they denied, and while they said they believed in religious toleration, they pointed to the fact that at that time freedom of worship was not allowed in most of the Catholic countries of Europe. The British consul, jealous of the influence of the American missionaries, warmly supported the Catholic movement, one of the priests, an Irishman, being a British subject. The Jesuit fathers who were seeking the right of residence, appealed to France as their protector, and the islands were visited at different times by French war vessels, with a view to adjusting the question with the government, but the latter remained firm in its resolution. Various priests were expelled, and the native adherents were arrested and imprisoned.

On July 10, 1839, the French sixty-gun frigate L'Artemise arrived in Honolulu, and the commander immediately sent to the Hawaiian government a written demand in the name of "His Majesty the King of the

French," in which he required that it should be stipulated that the Catholic worship be declared free, that a site for a Catholic church be given by the government, and that it deposit with the commander $20,000 as a guarantee for the execution of the stipulation. To these conditions he added later that the law which had been enacted to keep out liquors be so modified as to allow of the introduction of French liquors at a duty of five per cent., which was a virtual abolition of all temperance laws. The demand of the Artemise included a notice that if the government did not sign a treaty covering these stipulations, "war will immediately commence, and all the devastation, all the calamities which may be the unhappy but necessary results."

Notice was also served upon the British and American consuls that unless the demands were complied with by the 13th, he would open fire upon the town, and offering refuge and protection on his vessel to their countrymen. But to the latter consul he added that the American Protestant clergy would be treated as a part of the native population when hostilities should begin. The king was absent at one of the distant islands, and the French commander, refusing to await his return, forced the prime minister and the governor of Oahu to sign the treaty. To make the humiliation of the Hawaiians more complete, the commander brought his crew on shore in military array with fixed bayonets, and caused a mass to be celebrated in one of the king's summer houses. However much the king and his advisers may have been in error, the conduct of the French government was entirely unjustifiable and would only

have been resorted to against a weak and defenseless state.1

A short time before the Artemise affair, the British war vessel Acteon, Lord Russell commanding, had "negotiated a treaty" under the guns of his ship. These and other events made it apparent to the advisers of the king that, unless the independence of the islands could be secured by the recognition of some of the leading maritime nations, they would continue to be subjected to such humiliation and that their independent existence might be terminated. Sir George Simpson, the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, a man of large experience in dealing with native races, being in the islands, joined in advising that a formal appeal to this end be made to the United States, Great Britain, and France. Accordingly Sir George Simpson, Mr. Richards, the missionary adviser of the king, and Haalilio, a native chief, were appointed a commission to visit the countries named, and ask for national recognition. Sir George Simpson went direct to England, and the two last named first visited the United States, intending to join Simpson in London. On their arrival in Washington in December, 1842, they addressed a note to Mr. Webster, setting forth the reasons why the independence of the islands should be formally acknowledged. They referred to the agreement entered into with the United States through Captain Jones in 1826, which, though never ratified by the United States, had

1 For. Rel. 1894, App. ii. 9, 36; Jarves, 320; Hopkins, 245; Bingham, 536.

2 Sir G. Simpson's Journey, 171; Bingham, 586.

been faithfully observed by Hawaii; they described in some detail the extent of the American trade; and announced their readiness to enter into treaty negotiations, for which they possessed full powers.

Mr. Webster promptly replied to their note, making just acknowledgment for the protection extended to the trade of the United States and the hospitality to its citizens; and proceeded to state the views of the President, in terms highly gratifying to the commission. This was followed the same month by a special message of the President to Congress, carefully drafted by Secretary Webster.

Its importance to the islands and the future interests of the United States justifies the following extract:"Just emerging from a state of barbarism, the government of the Sandwich Islands is as yet feeble; but its dispositions appear to be just and pacific, and it seems anxious to improve the condition of its people, by the introduction of knowledge, of religious and moral institutions, means of education, and the arts of civilized life.

"It cannot but be in conformity with the interest and wishes of the government and the people of the United States, that this community, thus existing in the midst of a vast expanse of ocean, should be respected, and all its rights strictly and conscientiously regarded. And this must also be the true interest of all other commercial states. Far remote from the dominions of European powers, its growth and prosperity as an independent state may yet be in a high degree useful to all whose trade is extended to those regions; while its

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nearer approach to this continent, and the intercourse which American vessels have with it, such vessels constituting five sixths of all which annually visit it, could not but create dissatisfaction on the part of the United States at any attempt, by another power, should such attempt be threatened or feared, to take possession of the islands and colonize them, and subvert the native government. Considering, therefore, that the United States possesses so very large a share of the intercourse with those islands, it is indeed not unfit to make the declaration that their government seeks nevertheless no peculiar advantages, no exclusive control over the Hawaiian government, but is content with its independent existence, and anxiously wishes for its security and prosperity. Its forbearance in this respect, under the circumstances of the very large intercourse of its citizens with the islands, would justify this government, should events hereafter arise to require it, in making a decided remonstrance against the adoption of an opposite policy by any other power." 1

This positive declaration of the interest and purpose of the government of the United States had the desired effect in Europe. Mr. Richards and Haalilio met Sir George Simpson in London, and without much difficulty brought the British government to an agreement to recognize the independence of Hawaii. More difficulty was encountered at Paris, but after due explanations as to the policy of the island government respecting the Catholic religion, the French government consented to

1 H. Ex. Doc. No. 35, 27th Cong. 3d Sess.; also For. Rel. 1894, App. ii. 39.

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