against the cession, and every act and measure connected with it, and held them responsible for all injuries that might result therefrom to American citizens or their interests. Meanwhile the commander of the British naval forces in the Pacific, Admiral Thomas, having received intelligence of Paulet's action, reached the islands on July 26, and immediately upon becoming possessed of the facts, disavowed the act, and proceeded to make restoration. In order that the disavowal should be as public as possible, he arranged for a large military display, took the king with him in a carriage to the public square, and in the presence of the people restored him to power, supplanted the British with the Hawaiian flag, and caused it to be saluted by all the forts and vessels in the harbor.
For this act of justice so cordially rendered, Admiral Thomas has been held in high esteem by the Hawaiian people. As soon as the intelligence reached the British government, the act of annexation was publicly disavowed, and the British minister in Washington made the fact known to the Secretary of State in the most emphatic terms. On the return of the Hawaiian commissioners from Europe to the United States, on their way to the islands, they found that Congress had authorized the appointment of a diplomatic agent, that he had already repaired to his post, and had been received by Kamehameha III. Thus did it seem as if the Hawaiian government was at last established upon a stable basis, with the recognition and support of the great maritime powers of the world.[1]
- ↑ For. Rel. 1894, App. ii. 9, 45–60; Bingham, 592; Hopkins, chaps, xviii. and xix.
