192 
VOYAGE TO THE 
down, each with a present for the queen, of more or less 
value, according to his means : Tapa, wood, fruit, vege¬ 
tables, dogs, pigs, potatoes, onions, cabbages, all of which 
were deposited in heaps before our dwelling. Kahumanu 
then came forward, and delivering a mat and a bundle of 
onions to Lord Byron, told him that the whole of the pro¬ 
visions he saw were a tribute to him. 
These things being taken on board, Kahumanu, with her 
train, and our little party from the shore-house, all em¬ 
barked, and on the 7th July bade adieu to Byron Bay and 
made sail for Oahu. 
Byron Bay will, no doubt, become the site of the capital 
of Hawaii. The fertility of the district of Hido, in which 
it is situated, the excellent water and abundant fish-pools 
which surround it, the easy access it has to the sandal-wood 
districts, and also to the sulphur, which will doubtless soon 
become an object of commerce, and the facilities it affords 
for refitting vessels, render it a place of great importance. 
Its neighbourhood has always been the chief place for con¬ 
structing the double or war-canoes, of which, however, there 
are but few, and those are chiefly used on occasions of state. 
The superior advantage of European vessels has, of course, 
as soon as felt, superseded the use of the war-canoe; and 
