or to reap on earth such a glorious reward for a life-long work as he enjoyed ere he passed away. When the brig Thaddeus anchored on the shores of Hawaii, the members of this Christian "Forlorn Hope," Capt. Hunnewell, who was an officer on the brig, tells us, were filled with the deepest anxiety as to what reception the chiefs and people would give them, fearing, even, lest they should not be allowed to land at all as teachers. Great, then, was their astonishment when they learned that a revolution had in a few months performed for them the work of years; that the people had destroyed their idols, had desecrated their temples, and had, with almost universal consent, broken up the most binding religious laws, which, with all the authority of ancient custom, and strengthened by a most vivid superstitious belief, had held them in servitude for ages; that a nation of skeptics, believing in nothing, despising the past, and by the teachings of their own prophets, waiting and hoping for a new and better light from beyond the seas, were ready to give them an enthusiastic welcome as the apostles of a new civilization. Such was Mr. Thurston's first experience in missionary life. His few last years, after forty years of toil, were spent among his friends, and in the midst of the people he had helped to civilize; years of quiet and well earned rest. And as we saw him at church, or met him on the street, his venerable figure, with his hoary head and flowing beard, was ever to us the fulfilment of our ideal of the old patriarchs of Bible times.

JOHN P. PARKER.

MR. JOHN P. PARKER died at Honolulu, March 25, 1868, at the advanced age of seventy-eight. He was born at Newton, Massachusetts, and at the age of seventeen commenced a seafaring life on a vessel trading with the Northwest Coast and China. After touching at the Hawaiian Islands several times, he finally decided to settle on Hawaii about the year 1815, and was in the service of Kamehameha I., who fully appreciated his integrity and worth. After the death of this king, in 1819, Mr. Parker lived at Waia

puka, in the rich, well-watered district of North Kohala, and here this pioneer acquired a great reputation among the natives by his skill in fishing and in hunting wild cattle among the mountains; he was indeed the first one allowed to use his gun on the cattle introduced by Vancouver, which had been under a strict kapu.

About the year 1835 he removed to Waimea, first building up the place now known as Puuloa, and about ten years afterwards, the ranch at Mana in Hamakua. Here for the past quarter of a century he lived, surrounded by his children and many assistants, and fully occupied with his immense herds of cattle and sheep. Here, too, the traveller always found a hearty welcome, and no one would care to go from Kawaihae to Hilo without making Mr. Parker's house a station for at least one night. We well remember one dark night, when belated and lost on a sorry beast, we heard the dogs barking, and soon saw lights, and before we had time to look about, we were welcomed by the venerable host, and seated at a grand koa table, forgetting the long weary ride and the wretched nag. Then he would tell us his stories of the olden time on Hawaii, and we would see the tusks of the wild boars he and his sons had killed, and in the cool, bright morning, he would show us his splendid horses, the best on Hawaii, and all the while he was surrounded by his grandchildren and a band of natives who evidently regarded him as the patriarch of the region. The Hawaiians always loved him, and he took a wife from their number, with whom he lived happily forty years, until her death. Some six months before his death he made profession of his Christian faith, and was baptized by the two missionaries of his neighborhood, for whom he had always shown great respect. He may have forgotten the many who received his hospitality, but these friends, now scattered all over the world, will ever remember the Patriarch of Hawaii.

The Rev. S. C. Damon, D. D., preached the funeral discourse at the Bethel on the Sunday following his decease, and his remains were conveyed to Hawaii, to rest beside those of his wife, son and daughter. He leaves one son, several grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

CURRENT EVENTS.

PERHAPS never before in Hawaiian history has the nation been so distinctly divided into two political parties. The feeling of political discontent has been steadily increasing, and this feeling is daily assuming a more active and offensive attitude. The Liberal party is growing larger and stronger. The February elections were attended with considerable excitement and party bitterness. The Opposition fiercely accused the other party with tampering with the rights of voters at the polls, and published considerable evidence to that effect. There was also talk of challenging the rights of certain members to sit in the House on the ground of illegal election; but nothing was done, and, whether the charges were with or without foundation, it is probable that the stir that was made will have a beneficial effect on future elections. The Opposition elected a majority to the House. The Legislature has met, performed its business and adjourned with a praiseworthy degree of promptness. The Opposition did not seem to have any systematic plan before them, and lost half their strength for want of concerted action. A subsidy bill was passed, against the wishes of many liberal members, to aid the California line of steamers to the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars a year. It may be a good investment in the end. The request of the King to have his salary raised was granted with little opposition, and forty-five thousand dollars a year voted for his support. A bill was passed taxing horses of an inferior grade much less than before, while the tax on the better class remains the same. This seems impolitic, as it is a premium on bad horses, which are altogether too numerous on the Islands. Since the first horses were landed in 1803, the breed has not been carefully improved, and the fact that a bad horse costs as much to keep as a good one has been lost sight of.

War received its usual large appropriation, far beyond what was voted for educational purposes. It is strange how quietly this large item of army expenses is acquiesced in by the people; it is a costly humbug-they receive nothing in return but feathers, parades and salutes of blank cartridges from "Brown Bess" muskets.

An attempt was made during the session to bring Mr. Whitney, the editor of the "Pacific Commercial Advertiser," before the House on the charge of publishing traitorous articles, but it ended as it commenced, in talk.

The Reciprocity Treaty has been tabled by its friends, because a two-thirds vote could not be obtained. Minister Harris has labored faithfully and constantly, and his present failure is much to be regretted. The Hawaiian Club has done much to help him, spending money and time in their efforts to advance free trade between the two countries. Unfortunately the question of annexation impeded the negotiation, both here and at the Islands, and many who wished the Islands well considered the proposed treaty as made mainly in favor of the California sugar refiners.

So much has lately been said about annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom to the United States, that the subject cannot be wholly passed by here. Annexation has never been the policy of the United States. Annexationists in the present case have a great deal to say about the importance of American interests at the Islands, and the great advantage to both countries if they had one flag and one government. We believe that no one has a better knowledge of the importance of the United States to the Islands than the Hawaiians themselves, and we regard the interests of the natives as paramount, and any interests that interfere with them or override them as illegal and inimical. Under the present attitude of the two governments there could be no annexation except by force, and there seems to be nothing in the situation which would authorize or excuse such a procedure.

King Kamehameha V. is reported to have said, in view of the increasing American influence at the Islands, that, if the Americans did not let him alone, he would hoist the British flag, and put himself under British protection; which would give the annexationists the casus belli they desire.

The record of the stay of the U. S. S. Lackawanna at the Islands is a strange one. Sent at the request of one of the Hawaiian Government ministers, the instructions to her officers were

liberal and generous in the extreme, and, so far as we can learn, the conduct of her commander, a well-known friend to Hawaiian interests, and her officers, was what was to be expected of their position. While cruising round the group, the Lackawanna rescued a ship's company that had been wrecked on one of the barren reefs several hundred miles to the northward; several of these shipwrecked persons were native Hawaiians. The LieutenantGovernor of Hawaii, under instructions from the Minister of the Interior at Honolulu, refused the non-commissioned officers and crew permission to land at Hilo, an act of discourtesy to a friendly power unprecedented at the Islands. The indignation caused by this act, whether intended or not, was very damaging to the prospects of the Reciprocity Treaty. The excuse for this unfriendly act was the alleged misconduct of some of the crew while on an excursion to Puuloa, a small fishing village a few miles from Honolulu; we have no evidence of the truth of this charge except that given by the Minister of the Interior.

The demand of the Hawaiian Government for the removal of the Lackawanna, and the reply of the United States Government, would be interesting in this connection, and would throw much light on some dark things; but it has not been published, in deference, we understand, to the wishes of the Hawaiian Administration. The Lackawanna completed her cruise, and was relieved some months ago by the U. S. S. Mohongo.

We rejoice to see that measures have been taken to secure a lighthouse at the entrance to Honolulu Harbor, a much needed public improvement. His Majesty's Government could not erect a more desirable monument. We well remember our arrival after dark off Honolulu, and the expense we were put to in burning a quart of turpentine as a signal, all unnoticed, and we were obliged to patiently wait for the Pele next morning.

Among the internal improvements proposed by the Legislature, the attempt to improve inter-island steam navigation perhaps ranks first. Thirty thousand dollars were appropriated for the next two years, and the bill provides for the termination of the charter of the present company in six months from its passage, and the service will then be open to competition. It provides for one steamer