OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS: EMBRACING THEIR ANTIQUITIES, MYTHOLOGY, LEGENDS, DISCOVERY BY EUROPEANS IN THE BY JAMES JACKSON JARVES. Third Edition. HONOLULU: CHARLES EDWIN HITCHCOCK. 1847. E83,12 PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. In presenting another edition of the History of the Hawaiian Islands' to the public, it is proper to state, that the whole work has been re-written with much care and the history brought down to the present time; so that the present edition comprises quite double the reading matter of the preceding, and in a much less expensive form. To the advantages which the author possessed in preparing the first editions, he has since added the valuable labors of the Rev. Sheldon Dibble, in the same field; a further and more mature acquaintance with the events and characters mentioned, derived both from an extended observation and from his official position since July, 1844, as Director of the Government Press and Editor of the Polynesian, the organ of the Hawaiian Government; and also from the free access allowed him to the entire archives of the government, particularly those of the Foreign Office, through the courtesy of His Excellency, R. C. Wyllie, Esq., Minister of Foreign Relations. Whenever the course of the narrative required him to refer to the transactions and opinions of those who may be supposed to have entertained diverse political views, he has followed the rule of allowing them to be heard for themselves, by quoting freely from first sources, whatever would tend to throw light upon the history of the nation, from whichever point it may be viewed. By these means, he is enabled to present facts and documents from their most authentic sources, and thus place before the reader the clearest data for forming correct conclusions. He indulges the hope that the public will find in the present work sufficient new information with amendments in style and arrangement of the old, as to ensure for it at least an equally favorable reception with that bestowed upon his first endeavor with more imperfect materials. HONOLULU, OAHU, H. I., May, 1847. |