"
Kamehameha the Great died in 1819, and his son Liholiho, who loved
whisky and pleasure, was peaceably crowned king in his room, and by
his name. He, with the powerful aid of the Queen Dowager Kaahumanu,
abolished tabu, and his subjects cast away their idols, and fell
into indifferent scepticism, the high priest Hewahewa being the
first to light the iconoclastic torch, having previously given his
opinion that there was only one great akua or spirit in lani, the
heavens. This Kamehameha II. was the king who with his queen, died
of measles in London in 1824, after which the Blonde frigate was
sent to restore their bodies with much ceremony to Hawaiian soil.
Kamehameha III., a minor, another son of the Conqueror, succeeded,
and reigned for thirty years, dividing the lands among the nobles
and the people, and conferring upon his kingdom an equable
constitution. The law officially abolishing idolatry was confirmed
by him, and while complete religious toleration otherwise was
granted, the Christian faith was established in these words:--"The
religion of the Lord Jesus Christ shall continue to be the
established national religion of the Hawaiian Islands." His words
on July 31st, 1843, when the English colours, wrongfully hoisted,
were lowered in favour of the Hawaiian flag, are the national
motto:--"The life of the land is established in righteousness.
Pages:
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547