lands of the group are Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii, the last containing the largest active
volcano of which we have any knowledge; namely, that of Kilauea, to
visit which persons cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also the
American continent, between the two. Honolulu was chosen for the capital
because it forms the best and almost the only harbor worthy of the name
to be found among these islands. In the olden times Lahaina, on the
island of Maui, was the city of the king, and the recognized capital in
the palmy days of the whale fishery. This settlement is now going to
ruin, tumbling to pieces by wear and tear of the elements, forming a
rude picture of decay. Should the Panama Canal be completed, it would
prove to be of great advantage to these islands, as they lie in the
direct course which a great share of navigation must follow. The
aggregate population of the group is now about sixty thousand, of whom
some thirty-eight thousand are natives. History tells us that Captain
Cook estimated these islands to contain over three hundred thousand
inhabitants when he discovered them. Perhaps this was an exaggeration,
though it is a fact that they are capable of sustaining a population of
even much greater density than this estimate would indicate.

The ubiquitous Chinamen are found here as gardeners, laborers,
house-servants, fruit-dealers, and poi-makers. What an overflow there
has been of these Asiatics from the "Flowery Land!" Each one of the race
arriving at the Sandwich Islands is now obliged to pay ten dollars as
his landing fee, in default of which the vessel which brings him is
compelled to take him away. This singular people, who are wonderfully
industrious, notwithstanding their many faults, are equally disliked in
these islands by the natives, the Americans, and the Europeans; yet the
Chinamen steadily increase in numbers, and it is believed here that they
are destined eventually to take the place of the aborigines. The
aggregate number now to be found in the group is over twelve thousand.
It is evident that many branches of small trade are already monopolized
by them, as is the case at Penang, Singapore, and other Pacific islands.
On Nuuanu Street every shop is occupied by a Chinaman, dealing in such
articles as his own countrymen and the natives are likely to purchase.
It does certainly appear as though the aboriginal race would in the near
future be obliterated, and their place filled by