He founded the dynasty which for seventy years has
stood as firmly, and exercised its functions for the welfare of the
people on the whole as efficiently, as any other government.
The king was forty-five years old when, having "no more worlds to
conquer," he devoted himself to the consolidation of his kingdom.
He placed governors on each island, directly responsible to himself,
who nominated chiefs of districts, heads of villages, and all petty
officers; and tax-gatherers, who, for lack of the art of writing,
kept their accounts by a method in use in the English exchequer in
ancient times. He appointed a council of chiefs, with whom he
advised on important matters, and a council of "wise men" who
assisted him in framing laws, and in regulating concerns of minor
importance. In all matters of national importance, the governors
and high chiefs of the islands met with the sovereign in
consultations. These were conducted with great privacy, and the
results were promulgated through the islands by heralds whose office
was hereditary.
Kamehameha enacted statutes against theft, murder, and oppression,
and though he wielded oppressive and despotic authority himself, his
people enjoyed a golden age as compared with those that were past.
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