20 H A W A I I A N G R O U P. 



with his chiefs or any other person, and insisted on receiving his 

 signature the next morning. Having no one with whom to advise, 

 his own impulse was to do any thing that might serve to preserve 

 peace and prevent injury to liis people and the foreigners under his 

 protection. 



He said further, that this was not the only instance in which his 

 consent had been extorted by threats, to measures of which he dis- 

 approved, and that there had been instances when he had been called 

 upon to perform alleged promises which he had never. given, for 

 there were some of the foreigners who misrepresented every thing 

 that took place in their interviews with him. 



I at once pointed out a simple remedy for this, namely, that he 

 should hereafter transact all business in writing, and have no verbal 

 communication with people of this stamp or indeed with any one ; 

 telling him that by keeping their letters and copies of his own, he 

 would always be in possession of evidence of what had passed. I 

 assured him that I considered his government to have made sufficient 

 progress towards a position among civilized nations to authorize him 

 to require that official business should be carried on in this manner, 

 and expressed my belief, that should he adopt this method, the 

 "bullies" of whom he had spoken would give him no further 

 trouble. 



I now found that his principal object in requesting an interview 

 with me was, that he might renew and amplify his treaty with the 

 United States, for which purpose he thought it probable that I might 

 have had instructions. When he found that this was not the case, 

 and that I had no official communication for him, he was evidently 

 disappointed; for he appeared most desirous to enter into a close 

 friendship with the United States, and spoke in the highest terms of 

 the kind manner in which he had ever been treated by ovir consul 

 Mr. Brinsmade and the commanders of the United States vessels of 

 war that had visited his islands. In conclusion, he intimated his 

 hopes that the United States would acknowledge his people as a 

 nation, and enter into a new treaty with him as its rul^r. 



All this was well and intelligently expressed by him, but the main 

 subject of the conversation, which lasted for three hours, was his 

 regret that he had ever permitted foreigners to interfere with his laws 

 and municipal regulations, and had not rather allowed them, to do their 

 worst. The only justification he coiild offer to himself for his sub- 

 mission was, that by yielding he had saved much trouble and distress 

 to others. 



