Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands - Kamehameha lV --- (Part 5)

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Historical Collections of The Hawaiian Islands
" Keepers of the Culture "
A study in time of the Hawaiian Islands
As told by the ancients--
Kamehameha lV --  Part 5
Robert Crichton Wyllie
Rev. Thomas Nettleship Staley 
by Darlene E. Kelley
December 15, 2000

http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374

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As told by the ancients--
Kamehameha lV -- Part 5

Robert Crichton Wyllie  [ 1798 -- 1865 ]

Wyllie was born at Hazelbank, Ayrshire, Scotland, and at the age of
twelve entered the University of Glasgow. He early went to sea as a
ships doctor, and later was a successful merchant in South America and
Mexico and then a prominent businessman in London.
When Geneal William Miller was appointed British Consul general in
Honolulu, he invited his friend Wyllie to go there with him. Not long
after Wyllie arrived, in March,1844, he replaced Miller for a year
during Miller's travels. Wyllie's business talent qualified him to serve
in the Cabinet of Kamehameha lll, and he was minister of foreign affairs
from 1845 until his death.

Wyllie was one of the foremost men in the Kingdom for almost tewnty
years, but he always kept his Scottish appearance and speech. He was a
busy writer of letters. In 1862, he left his
Presbyterian faith to join the newly founded Episcopal Church of Hawaii.
For ten years he took the lead in seeking to make treaties that would
make clear the relations of the Kingdom with other nations of the world.
He was owner  of the large Princeville Plantation on the north shore of
Kauai, a ranch named for the little Prince Albert.
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Thomas Nettleship Staley  [ 1823--1898 ]

Staley, born in Yorkshire, England, became a fellow of Cambridge
University. He was selected in 1861 by Archbishop Sumner to act as the
first Anglican bishop of Honolulu. He and his wife, Catherine W. Shirley
Staley, arrived in Honolulu in October, 1862.a few weeks after the death
of Albert, Prince of Hawaii. The bishop was appointed to the privy
council and to the Board of Education, and begun two church-operated
boarding schools. He retired from this post in 1870. His own acount of
his labors appears in his book. " Five Years' Church Work in the Kingdom
of Hawaii. 
[ London: Rivington, 1868].
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As told by the ancients--
Kamehameha lV.

Two other events that took place in 1859 had a profound influence on the
establishment of the Episcopal Church in Hawaii. The first event was the
serious illness of Robert Wyllie, minister of foreign relations.
Wyllie's long ordeal renewed his interests in religion, and he longed to
establish an Episcopal chapel in Honolulu. The second event involved the
King and his private secretary, a young American named Henry A. Nelson.
In August, the King and Queen and a large royal party left Honolulu for
a holiday on the islands of Hawaii and Maui. While on Maui  
[ or perhaps even earlier ], the King heard malicious gossip that his
secretary was having an affair with the Queen. Brooding over this
matter, King Alexander spent several days at sea, drinking heavily and
deliberating his course of action. On the evening of September 11, he
came ashore and sought out Neilson. Without uttering a sound, the King
walked up to Neilson and shot him in the chest at close range.
Miraculousy the wound, though serious, was not fatal.

Neilson lived for two and a half years, although the wound undoubtedly
contributed to his early death. The king's position shielded him from
prosecution, and no legal notice was ever taken of the incident.
nevertheless, the King was filled wth remorse, and later inquiries into
the affair proved his suspicions to be groundless. Strengthened by
Wyllie and Queen Emma, the King set the wheels in motion to establish an
Episcopal Church in Hawaii. Now he firmly believed that their doctrines
and rituals were more compatible with his monarchy.

The Reverand Thomas Nettleship Staley was designated as bishop to head
the new missionary diocese in Hawaii. The bishop and his family left
London on August 17, 1862. The Hawaiian royal couple eagerly awaited the
bishops arrival because they intended that the first official act would
be the baptism of their young son, the Prince of Hawaii. Queen Victoria
of England had agreed to be the child's godmother by proxy, and she had
ordered a costly silver christening cup for her distant godson.

The silver cup arrived ahead of Bishop Staley in the care of the new
British consul general to Hawaii. William W.F. Synge and his wife, Mrs.
Synge had been designated by Queen Victoria to act as her proxy at the
baptism. Their ship arrived on August 22, 1862. The following morning
before landing, Synge received word that the Prince of Hawaii had come
down with a mysterious disease. Some called it " Brain 
fever" in any event, the attending physicians could do nothing. [ In
attempting to cool off his son from an uncontrollable fit of passion,
the king held his son's head under a spout of cold, running water.
Whether or not this cold water immersion had anything to do with the
resulting disease is unclear. But in any event, the King blamed himself
for his son's death. Prince Albert was the last child born to a reigning
Hawaiian monarch. ] Reverand E.W. Clark of Kawaiahao Church performed a
hurried baptism according to the rites of the Church of England. The
little prince clung to life for several days in a hopeless state. He
succumbed to his disease on August 27 at the tender age of four, leaving
his parents and the Hawaiian community in a state of intense sorrow and
desolation.

Yet, despite the support of the monarchy, the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic
Church [ as it was initially called ] failed to achieve the great
success that its founders had hoped for. It met stiff competition from
the Protestant and Catholic Churches which were already well established
in Hawaii. In addition to the wide differences in ideology and forms of
worship, the new church was plagued by internal dissension and
handicapped by inadequate monetary support. Bishop Staley, who arrived
in Ocober of 1862, resigned in 1870, and the name of the church was
later changed to the Anglican Church in Hawaii.

Following the death of his young son, Kamehameha lV kept himself out of
the public eye as much as possible. Grief over the death of his son,
guilt over the shooting and later death of his private secretary, and
chronic asthma all began to take their toll on the king.
He became bad tempored and moody. He ate less and drank more; and his
asthmatic attacks increased both in frequency and severity to the point
he could hardly breathe. The final attack came on the morning of
November 30, 1863 with Queen Emma at his side desperately trying to
breathe life into her choking and dying husband. Her valiant efforts
failed, and the young King joined his royal ancestors.

The sudden, unexpected death of Kamehameha lV left the Kingdom without
any formal successor since the royal couple had no living children. In
the absence of a direct heir, the King's brother was considered to be
the lawful successor to the throne. During the afternoon of November 30,
a document was drawn up by the kuhina nui and approved by the Privy
Council which prclaimed Prince Lot as King of the Hawaiian Islands with
the title and style of Kamehameha V.

Before Kamehameha lV became to ill to take an active part in
governmental matters, he kept in close personal touch with all details
concerning his own government and those of foreign powers. His
voluminous correspondance over the world yielded one letter, at least,
showing that his efforts were not in vain. It reads as follows;

" To His Majesty, Kamehameha lV
" Great and Good Friend:
" I have made a choice of Mr. James McBride, one of our distinguised
citizens, to reside near the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, in
quality of Mnister Resident of the Republic of the United States of
America.
" He is well informed of the relative interests of the two countries,
and of our desire to cultivate and strengthen the friendship and good
correspondence between us, and from the knowledge of his fidelity amd
good conduct, I have entire confidence that he will render himself
acceptable to your Majesty, by his constant endeavor to preserve and
advance the interest and happiness of the two countries. I therefore
request your Majesty to receive him favorably and give full credence to
whatever he shall pay to you on the part of the United States and most
of all when he shall assure you of their friendship and wishes for the
prosperity of your Kingdom.
" And I pray God to have your Majesty always in HIs safe and holy
keeping.
" Written at the City of Washington,
" the sixteenth day of March, in the 
" year of our Lord, one thousand,
" eight-hundred and sixty-three.

" Your Good Friend,
" Abraham Lincoln.

" By the President--
" William H. Seward
" Secretary of State "

There were many important deveopments in the Islands duing the brief
reign of Kamehameha lV, in all of which he took a leading part. The
deepening of the Honolulu harbor, the building of the prison replacing
the old fort which had served as a jail for the community, and the
erection of a new customs house. The waterworks were greatly enlarged. A
system of pipes was laid at a cost of $45,000. Pipes were also installed
for gas, but were given up for want of patronage. The English language
was taught in all government schools. The old American mission was
placed on a self-supporting basis. No more missionaries were sent to the
Islands from the United States, but native churches with native pastors
continued to carry on the missionary work on all of the Islands. The
Episcopal Church was fully established. During the Kings retirement he
devoted himself and time to translating the English Book of Common
Prayer and the Litany into the Hawaiian Language. His death on November
30. 1863, at the age of twenty-nine, was a complete shock to all of the
citizens of Hawaii as well to all foreign powers of the world.