the authority of the constitutional rulers of the Hawaiian people. As the king had sent for me with the express purpose of asking my opinion, I gave it in terms too plain to admit of the least misunderstanding between us. I told him that I did not admit either the necessity or the wisdom of any such organization as that of a council of regency; that to my view, if intrusted with the government during his absence, I ought to be the sole regent. I then proceeded to explain my reasons for this opinion, saying that if there was a council of regency, there would be no need for any regent. In case such a body were to be commissioned to govern the nation, who, then, would be the chief executive? in fact, why was any such individual required at all? To these considerations the king gave careful attention, and appeared to see that my views of the situation were founded upon reason and justice. The result of this informal conference was, that before his departure I was appointed sole regent, with the functions of the reigning sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands during his absence. On the 20th of January, 1881, accompanied by Mr. C. H. Judd and by Mr. W. M. Armstrong, both from missionary families, amidst the salutes of the shipping and the booming of cannon, His Majesty Kalakaua took his departure, being the first of the sovereigns of the nation to undertake a tour of the globe.
In nothing has my brother been more grossly misjudged and even slandered by those whose interests he had at heart than in this journey. Probably he did have some love for travel, some sense of pleasure in visiting foreign lands—who amongst us has not felt the desire
