4 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



officials, mostly English or American, gorgeously got up in blue 

 and gold ; while the court flunkies were unexceptionable, both 

 as to calves and hair-powder. A good military band played on 

 the lawn during lunch, and a detachment of the Hawaiian 

 army, which numbers about 200 efficient troops, clad in a 

 uniform something like that of the French infantry, and armed 

 Avith the Kemington breechloader, formed a guard of honour. 



Honolulu is well laid out, and the roads are perfect. The 

 Parliamentary buildings are of substantial character, in the 

 Italian style, and from one of the flank towers a fine view is to 

 be obtained of the town and its surroundings. There is a very 

 fair Museum attached to this block ; and, though unpretending 

 as compared with the regal pomp of the palace, the Govern- 

 ment buildings are all that can be desired. 



The stores and commercial edifices of Honolulu are far 

 beyond the average, and when going into some of them you 

 can hardly realise that you are visiting the self-same group in 

 which, less than a hundred years ago, Captain Cook, the cele- 

 brated navigator, was murdered. He was killed on the island 

 of Hawaii formerly spelt Ovvyhee, which is the largest in the 

 group, and has an acreage of 2,500,000. The other islands are 

 Maui, 400,000; Oahu, 350,000; Kauai, 350,000; Molokai, 

 200,000; Lanai, 100,000; Nichau, 70,000; and Kahulai, 

 30,000 acres. The census, taken at the end of 1878, shows a 

 total population of 57,985. The natives and half-castes de- 

 creased from 51,531 in 1872, to 47,508 in 1878. 



Naturally, the trade is nearly all in the hands of our cousins 

 the Californians, but until quite recently a very fair trade was 

 done with the Australian colonies by the steamers of the Pacific 

 Mail route. 



My stay in Honolulu being regulated by the coaling of our 

 southern-bound boat, my personal knowledge of the Sandwich 



