THE HAWAIIAN MONARCHY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 822, 25 January 1868, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE HAWAIIAN MONARCHY.

A San Franciscan newspaper gives the following particulars of the sovereignty of Hawaii “The present King is slowly dying. .He leaves no heir; but under the Hawaiian law and usage lie may designate some one who shall succeed him after his death, his choice being made with the approval of his approval of his cabinet, and publicly proclaimed. In the event of the King dying without issue or designated heir, a choice is made by the chiefs or nobles, and ratified by the people. King Kamehameha is superstitious, and believes that under the influence of some sorcery he will die on a certain day ; and he believes that his life will be cut short by any provision made against the time ef his death. Prince William, commonly known as ‘ drunken Prince Bill,’ as a small party of native adherents, who espouse his claim to the throne for the reason he is allied to the old Kamehameha stock, and, except the present reigning sovereign, is the only male representative of that once powerful family. But he is a young man of notoriously bad habits, and, like Kamehameha, is shortening his days by his vices. Though he is naturally a man of great talent, such are his habits and reputation, he could not possibly command any support worth mentioning should a contest arise. The probability is, however, that there will be no contest, but that the choice oi the no'oles and of the people will fall upon Mrs Bishop, whose name is most frequently mention in connection with .the Hawaiian succession by those who are well informed in Sandwich Island politics. Mrs Bishop is a lineal descendant from one of the powerful chiefs who were l’ivals and coadjutors of the great Kamehameha who conquered the islands and compelled an acknowledgement of his sovereignty, like a royal old usurper as he was. Of superior intellectual endowriients, excellent education, a mind improved by travel, popular among the natives, it is thought that Mrs Bishop has superior qualifications for the position to which her rank and station seem to entitle her. In the event of an election, she will be sure to receive the support of nobles or chiefs, the missionaries, the foreign residents, and, through these, the whole people of the islands. Mrs Bishop, though a pure blood descendant from a powerful chief, is the wife of an American banker at Honolulu.