766 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



cqnld never be amalgamated with the Russian 

 nationality. From an agricultural point of 

 view, however, this emigration en masse is a 

 great evil. 



Besides the Tartars who emigrate to Turkey, 

 Russia is losing a large number of Mennonites, 

 who have arranged an emigration to the 

 United States of America, as the Russian Gov- 

 ernment is unwilling to exempt them from 

 military service, to which they have religious 

 objections. {See MENNONITES.) 



Field-Marshal Count Berg, for many years 

 the Governor of the former kingdom of Poland, 

 died on January 18th, and was buried with 

 full military honors, the funeral services being 

 attended by the Emperor, the Czarevitch, and 

 several of the Grand-dukes. In his place, 

 Adjutant-General Kotzebue, Governor of New 

 Russia and Bessarabia, was appointed com- 

 mander-in-chief and governor-general at War- 

 saw. Perfect quiet prevailed in Poland 

 throughout the year. At the beginning of 

 October an international agricultural exhibi- 



tion at Warsaw, which was to have remained 

 open till the 27th, was suddenly closed by the 

 police. This measure was attributed to the 

 discovery that the Polish nobility from Posen, 

 who attended it in strong force, took no in- 

 terest in the exhibition itself, but found in it 

 an opportunity of displaying their disaffection 

 toward Prussia. 



The breach between Poles and Russians was 

 once more widened by a church movement 

 among the United Greeks of Poland, which, 

 after having long been planned, began at the 

 close of the year to take definite shape. A 

 number of congregations, headed by their 

 priests, declared their secession from the com- 

 munion of the Roman Catholic Church, and 

 their desire to join the state Church of Russia. 

 According to Polish accounts, the Russian Gov- 

 ernment had had recourse to the most out- 

 rageous acts of cruelty to coerce priests and 

 congregations into this move, which, according 

 to the Russians, was, on the contrary, entirely 

 voluntary. 



s 



SANDWICH ISLANDS, or HAWAIIAN 

 ISLANDS, a group of islands situated in the 

 Pacific Ocean, and governed by a king. Area, 

 7,629 square miles; population in 1872, 56,897, 

 of whom 49,044 were natives, 889 Americans, 

 1,938 Chinese, 2,539 Europeans, and 1,485 of 

 mixed descent. The capital, Honolulu, had, in 

 1872, 14,852 inhabitants. King, Kalukaua I., 

 son of Kapaakeen, born November 16, 1836; 

 elected King February 12, 1874. The Govern- 

 ment is a constitutional monarchy, the present 

 constitution having been proclaimed by King 

 Kamehameha V. on August 20, 1864. For the 

 discussion of important questions, the King 

 must convoke a secret council, consisting of 

 the ministers, the governors of the principal 

 islands, of the chancellor of the kingdom, and of 

 sixteen members, one-half of whom are select- 

 ed from natives, and one-half from naturalized 

 foreigners. The revenue for the period from 

 April 1, 1872, to March 31, 1874, amounted to 

 $1,136,524, the expenditure to $1,192,512. The 

 public debt on March 31, 1874, was $355,050. 

 The total imports in 1873 amounted to $1,349,- 

 000 ; the exports to $2,128,000 ; the vessels 

 entering the port of Honolulu consisted of 106 

 commercial vessels, tonnage 62,089, and 63 

 whalers. 



The population of the Sandwich Islands con- 

 tinued to decrease rapidly. In 1779 Captain 

 Cook placed it at 400,000.; in 1823 it was 

 estimated by American missionaries at only 

 142,000. According to the official censuses, 

 taken at different periods, the population de- 

 creased from 1832 to 1872 as follows: In 1832, 

 130,315; in 1836, 108,579; in 1850, 84,164; 

 in 1853, 73,138; in 1860, 69,800; in 1864, 

 69,800 ; in 1866, 58,765 ; in 1872, 56,891. Cap- 

 tain Vancouver, who visited the islands fifteen 



years after Cook, thought the latter over-esti- 

 mated the number of inhabitants. On the other 

 hand, however, there are important reasons to 

 assume that Cook's estimate is entitled to be 

 thought correct. 



On November 17th the King, with a large 

 suite, embarked on board the American frigate 

 Benicia, to pay a visit to the United States. A 

 month before, commissioners had been sent to 

 Washington, to arrange with the Government 

 of the United States a treaty of reciprocity. 

 During the absence of the King, Prince Leleio- 

 hoku acted as regent. The King arrived at 

 San Francisco on December 4th. The Presi- 

 dent, who had been informed by telegraph of 

 the arrival of the King, replied, in the same 

 way, that he anticipated with great pleasure 

 the opportunity of a special greeting, and as- 

 sured his Highness of the sincere friendship 

 which, in common with the people of the 

 United States, he felt for his Royal Highness. 

 The King reached Washington on December 

 12th, where he was formally presented to the 

 President on the 15th, and welcomed by Con- 

 gress on the 18th. The King subsequently vis- 

 ited New York, Boston, and other cities of the 

 Eastern States. 



The total membership of the Protestant 

 Churches in 1873 was 12,283, the large ma- 

 jority of whom are Congregationalist. The 

 first Protestant missionaries arrived in the 

 islands from America, in 1820. The whole 

 number of persons admitted to the Hawaiian 

 Protestant Churches from that time to the end 

 of 1875 was 67,792. A French Catholic mission 

 was established in Honolulu in 1827. In 1829 

 the Government directed the Catholic priests 

 to. close their chapels, but in 1839 it was pre- 

 vailed upon by the influence of France to de- 



