https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/b301deed12a398712dad61f2a063ee94.pdf b105cc3dc983feb358b67c7d6d730243 PDF Text Text HILO STATION REPORTS CONTENTS Coan, T, ------------------------------------ 1851 Coan, T , ------ --------------- -------------- 1852 Unsigned abstr a c t --------------------------- 1852 Wetmore, Chas.H. ----------- a b s t r a c t ----- 1852 Wetmore, Chas.H. --------------------------- 1853 Coan, T --------------------------------------1853 Wetmore, Chas. H . ---- ------------------- — 1854 Coan, T --------------------------------------1854 Coan, T --------------------------------------1855 Coan, T, --abstract------------------------- 1855 Wetmore, Chas. H, ------------------------ -1855 Wetmore, Chas, H. — a b s t r a c t --------------1855 Coan, T --------------------------------------1856 Unsigned, Coan's writing ----------------- 1857 Wetmore., Chas. H. --------------------------1857 Wetmore, Chas. H. --------------------------1858 Coa n , T. ------------------------------------ 1858 Coan, T. --------------- -------------------- 1859 Coan, T. ----------- -------------------------- 1860 Unsigned, C o a n ’ s ------------ ab stract -1860 Unsigned but marked C o a n ' s ------------ '--1861 " " " a b s t r a c t ---- 1861 Coan, T --------------------------------------1862 Coan, T, s y n o p s i s --------------------- --- 1862 Unsigned but Coan's --------------------1863 Coan, T. Description_of_Puna----- n . d . , - ________ _________________ �Report fo r Hilo from May 1 , 1850 to May 1 , '5 1 I t is good to give thanks to the Lord, him for health & f o r s ic k n e s s , f o r & adversity - in hope & in fe a r , It is I t is good to p ra ise joy & for g r ie f ~ fo r prosp erity At a l l times & for a l l t h in g s . good to mark his hand in a l l h is p ro v id en tial movements; to n o tice the progress of events., and e s p e c ia lly to record the c o n flic ts & the triumphs of truth - the passing h is t o r y , the present con di­ tio n & the future prospects of Emanual kingdom around u s . Personal. D uring the 16 years of our residence at Hilo we have enjoyed a more comfortable & uniform state o f h ea lth than most m ission fa m ilie s of our acquaintance. The past year., however may p erhaps, be taken a s an exception to th is statement. Mrs. C . has s u ffe r e d more from general d e b il it y than in former years, besides b ein g prostrated at one time fo r several weeks with dangerous i l l n e s s . Out l i t t l e daughter Sarah E l i z a was also brought low w ith a compli­ cated & dangerous fev er - fo r (? ) weeks she lay in a most c r i t i c a l s t a t e , - a p a l id , emaciated form - at the door of the tomb. None but parents who have been led through the like t r ia l s can know the tender yearnings & the anxious watchings of those tedious days & nights of sorrow. On bo th occasions of our severest t r i a l , our f a i t h f u l & sympathising physician was absent on p r o fe s sio n a l d u t ie s . In t h is , however , we could d is t in c t ly see the hand of the L o r d . I t was designed for our good & it was good for us to be thus a f ­ flicted . Our great P h y s ic ia n , our ever present F r ie n d , was n e a r. He subdued the sorrows of our h e a rts . our tab e rn a cle . our S o u ls . He l i f t e d the cloud from He spread lig h t through our h a b it a t io n & joy over We s t i l l liv e to praise him. �H ilo 1851 2. General improvements. The face of nature is undergoing a gradual transform ation at H i l o . In some places the w ilderness is sile n tly d isa p p ea rin g before the hand of the c u ltiv a to r, & w ealth is b eing developed where a l l was waste b e fo r e . s ils D w e llin g s, fu r n it u r e , d r e s s , u t e n ­ of various k in d s , a l l in d ica te a decided advance on former . y e a rs . Our roads too - our high-ways & low-ways, are making hasty & s u rp ris in g progress. They are w inding along through jungle & d e ll - into streams & over slag & s c o ria , & h i l l & p l a in - p er­ fo ra tin g f o r e s t s , creeping up & down the sides of r a v in e s , rocks & leaping bald p r e c ip ic e s . s c a lin g True they are not rail- ro ads, but to r id e over them reminds one impressively of r a il - r id in g . S t i l l there is progress, for in some places where a man could once hardly walk, a donkey w i l l now almost t r o t , and in places where a king - lik e Nebuchadnezzar - once went "on a l l fo u r s 1' a p l a i n p lebian may now stand erect, ly looks & seems less g ro v e lin g . on two only. T h is , c e r t a in ­ The sense of elev atio n is i n ­ creased & the fe e lin g of degradation ( ! ) is less p o s i t iv e . Another feature in our roads marks the movement of matter and the march of mind a t H i l o . scratch on the sides Every successive year produces a new of our ravines & over the h i l l s & v a l l i e s traversed by our public high ways; so that nearly a l l our "banks & b ra es” are scarred by two, three or four p a r a l l e l , divergent ( ! ) or diagonal l i n e s , presenting a curious variety of geom etrical diagrams fo r the contemplation of the s c ie n t i f i c tr a v e lle r & the c i v i l en g in ee r. This p lu r a lity of ro ads, a l l c lu ste r in g in a brood, may, at f i r s t s i g h t , seem a mistake and a sad waste of time or w ealth & energy. But to the patient philosopher such a con- �H ilo 1851 clu sio n may be deemed h asty . no good & no w h e r e ". "It 5. is an i l l wind that blows A ll these d iffe r e n t essays represent mind & matter in an improvable s t a t e . They s h o w a d i s s a t i s f a c t io n with past attainments & a struggle a fter p e rfe c tio n . Each succes sive road-master sees im perfections in the labors of h is predeces so r , & , even in h im s e l f , &' every returning year reveals the fo l l y of the past & prompts to new efforts in the path of improvement. B e s id e s , these d iffe r e n t roads f u r n is h the tr a v e lle r w it h v a r ie t y , & e sp ec ia lly w ith the opportunity of ch o ic e. One may ascend a precipice on an angle of 1 0 , another of 2 0 & another s t i l l of 35 degrees. One may take a lo n g e r, another a sh o rter, one a direct & another a sinuous rout ( ! ); & i f two cannot w alk together because they are not agreed they can separate. One more advantage must be n o ticed before we leave the sub­ je c t , These d iffe r e n t scratches have a higher use & one less akin to matter and mundane objects. They are way marks, hour glasses - d i a l s - marking the f l i g h t of tim e, & rem inding the w ayfaring man of the revolutions of years & of h is own progress through the world. As some n a tu r a lis ts can t e l l the age of a horse by looking into his mouth, the age of a bullock by h is horns & the years o f a tree by its bark, so we can mark the age of improvement & determine the number of years of public labor on the roads by the number of scratches & ditches along the sides of our h i l l s . Another mark of improvement must not be omitted in th is con­ n e c tio n . We allude to the construction of b r id g e s . Of those we have had some 7 or 8 ; but "one is n o t ", another i s gone - a th ir d has disappeared, and some of the remainder must continue �H ilo 18 51 but for a l i t t l e space. 4. Some f e l l by th e ir own. g r a v ita tin g law - some because the lower stones in the abutments growled at bearin g the burden of the upper ones - some because none of the stones would keep s t i l l , & others were made giddy b y the mad ru sh of w a te r s , plunged into the hurrying stream & were seen no more. Three or four are s t i l l standing, & others are being constructed o r r e c o n s t r u c t e d , & for these we bless the Lord. A bridge fo r horses & oxen now spans a stream which we have often crossed w ith great p e ril & which once cost us three hours of p a s s in g . onds . hazard . in Now It can be crossed in the h ighest floods in 10 sec­ A l l the m istakes, the f a ilu r e s & losses in our roads & b r i d g e s , like losses in g e n e r a l, are attended by some l i t t l e g a in . Experience is a severe & expensive teacher, but the only one to which many minds w i l l submit, & happy w i l l i t be for our H aw aiian c o u n s e llo r s , governors, & commissioners, i f they hasten to p r o fit by the sad mistakes & heavy losses of the p ast. Making a l l due abatements for mismanagement ( ! ) & losses in the road ta x , s t i l l much has been done. bridges The idea of roads & is in the heads & the feet o f H aw aiians; their blunders 'have taught some of them u s e f u l lessons, & may we not hope that they w i l l yet mend th eir ways, making the crooked stra ig h t & the rough smooth - le v e llin g the h il l s & r a is in g the v a l l i e s , & preparing the land as a h a b ita tio n for the righ teo us. Temperance, alia s intem perance. We have no formally lic en sed grogeries at H i l o , & yet we have drunkeries in abundance, from the h is s in g adder, the v ile turbid beer- barrel, to the r e fin e d cosmetics of the merchant, the ethereal s p ir it u a l essen se s, the t in c tu r e s , the colognes, etc. �5. Here we f i n d the phials of wrath which s c o r c h great h e a t . ( ! ) men w it h These are the s p ir it s of d e v ils going forth i n th e ir b e g u ilin g drapery to madden man & to curse the la n d . The e v il of which we speak is not confined to H i l o , but i s experienced in other p o rts. As yet it i s c h i e f l y , w ith us at l e a s t , co n fin e d to sailo rs & foreign lo a fe rs ; hut there is danger that it w i l l spread its in fr a c tio n (? ) among the n a t iv e s . I t is also a m ani­ fe s t evasion of law & c a lls fo r prompt attention & correction from some quarter. Should not this m ission memorialize the gov­ ernment on the subject? The e v i l is not so much in the la w , fo r 'nothing which d istrac ts the b ra in is licen sed at H i l o , but in the want of honest & v ig ila n t ju s t ic e . ( ! ) o ffic e rs to bring offenders to Our port surveyor ( ! ) , the man appointed to prevent the smuggling of liquors & to a rr e st transgressors, was the f i r s t man in whose house a case of e v il s p ir its was found. Thus the extinguisher became the incendiary - the suppressor the e x c ite r the surveyor the Purveyor; and yet so fee b ly is ju stic e adm inis­ tered t h a t , to this d ay , the offender has not been punished for his treachery. A number of instances of potato d rin k in g have recently occurred among the baser sort of natives many of them connected w it h & encouraged by Mamakea, our Luna auhau. l i t t l e brushes, Sev eral or inc ip ie n t riots have also occurred in' connection w ith the labor on ro a d s , a l l occasioned by the in d is c r e t io n & wickedness of this same in fa tu a ted o f f ic e r whose i l l odor ( ! ) has spread through a l l H ilo & Puna & excited the lo ath in g & the retching (? ) of a l l decent men. And y e t , strange to s a y , Hilo has long since vomited out the o ffe n d e r, he i s ciously ( ! ) re ta in ed i n o f f i c e by h is appointor. though s t i l l p e r tin a ­ �H ilo 1851 6. Meeting h o u s e s . Of these some ten have been b u i l t , re p a ire d d uring the past y e a r . & the r e s t nativ e b u ild in g s . rebuilt or essentially- Pour of these are of rough stones Preparations are now being made to b u ild a substantial framed meeting house some 70 by 36 ft.- at one of our out S ta tio n s . On these b u ild in g s our people have expended not less than $ 2 0 0 0 .0 0 S ch o o ls. Our Common Schools have been in operation as usual through the y ea r. A l l the children of a su itable age are brought into these schools, & many of them have made good progress In s t u d ie s . School houses have. In some instances been improved, and teachers have b een better p a id . There has also been an increased e ffo r t on th e part of teachers & pupils to supply the schools w it h books. S t i l l , the system needs more attention - Some of the teachers are incompetent & some are u n f a i t h f u l . A ll the Schools need more thorough supervision & more energetic promptings. mote residence of our M inister of P . I . The r e ­ - h is engrossment w ith m ultifarious business & h is non-circulating h a b it s , have l e f t our schools without any e f f i c i e n t le g a l head during the past y e a r . A hasty note once in s ix months i s about a ll the help we can get from that source. S t i l l our schools keep on - h a l f under church & h a l f under state - by the voluntary & the le g a l - by coaxing & by d r iv in g we manage to keep a flo a t. We have had several examinations and eleven grand cold-water celebrations during the y e a r . These anniversaries went o ff w ith great d isp la y o f d r e s s , b anners, m archings, counter-marchings, & other unm ilitary evolutions - w it h dinners or p o i, p uddings, p oultry, p ig s , f is h & non-descripts - w ith songs & speeches & r e j o i c i n g s . �H ilo 1851 7. Papacy. This d elu sio n seems to be losing of many of its d i s c i p l e s . ( ? ) its charms in the minds A few hold on to it w ith t e n a c it y , but many have le ft it and others hold i t lig htly . Two or three teachers of their schools have come out from them w ith nearly a l l their sc h o la rs . Two teachers le f t them b e ­ cause the priests forbade the use of our books, testament, in th eir schools. e s p e c ia lly the Two or three only o f t h e ir schools are now in operation in H ilo & Puna, & these are small & la n g u id . Many o f their l i t t l e meeting houses are f a l l e n or blown down, & there does not seem to be energy enough in their body to r a i s e them up again. Two p r i e s t s , however remain in the f i e l d , still sanguine in the b e l i e f of conquest, & apparently looking to the s word o f Prance & not to "th e Sword of the S p ir it " dominion. to give them May the Lord give triumph to the truth & carry , the counsels of the froward (? ) headlong. Seamen. (? ) More than 80 v e s s e ls have entered our port during the past 12 months. There have been Men of W ar, w h a le rs , merchant men & coasters, Several thousands of sa ilo rs have thus been thrown upon our shores, but for the most p art order has p rev a iled & the peace of the community has not been e s s e n t ia lly d istu rb e d . Still a silen t & insidio u s p e stile n ce is spread among the people by many of this class of v i s i t o r s . Something has been done for Seamen by way of p reach in g, p r i ­ vate conversation, the d i s t r ib u t io n of B ib l e s , t r a c t s , papers etc, as time & strength & other duties would perm it. And we are not w ithout evidence that some good has been done in th is dep art­ �8. ment; that impressions have been made & resolutions formed w hich, through grace, may hear f r u i t unto etern al l i f e . cast upon the waters is not a l l l o s t . The b read thus We have often found it a fter many days, as the simple & touching letter of many a p e n i ­ tent & g r a t e fu l sa ilo r w il l t e s t i f y . To u rs. Of these the pastor has made s ix during the year v i z . three in Hilo & three in Puna. The usual labors of such tours have been performed. & w it h u s ­ u a l encouragement & su c c e ss. u s u a lly been f u l l , Congregations on such occasions have often crowded, & a t t e n t iv e . had it s r e str a in in g , The Gospel has c o n stra in in g , co n v ertin g, e n ergizing & , we tru s t sa n ctify in g influence on many. as, Numbers have b een g a th e r­ ed into the v is ib l e f o l d , who, we hope w i l l , bring f o r t h f r u i t unto everlastin g l i f e . Sabbath S c h o o ls. These have been more f u l l & have b een sustained w ith more vigor & interest than for many years p a s t . Several hundreds have attended the school at the S t a t io n , & nearly a l l the c h ild r e n w ith m a n y hundreds of a d u l t s , attend at the d iffe re n t out s t a t io n s . Many of the children have been among the in q u ir e r s , & num bers, we trust, have passed from d e a th unto l i f e . For no department of labor does the pastor fe e l a deeper interest than in th is juvenile ( ! ) class. contributions to fo r e ig n objects of benevolence. These have exceeded th e contributions of any former y e a r . The whole nominal valu e received from May 1st 1850 to May 1st 1 8 5 1 , is about 1000 d o l l a r s . The r e a l , o r c ash value is 820 d o l l a r s . Of this 100 d o llars have been sent to the A . B . S . (?) 50 do llars �H ilo 1851 9. go to the A . Temperance So ciety , 50 $ to the A .F . E v a n g e lic a l U n io n , and 620 to the A . B .C .F .M . The cash contributions fo r the year ending May 1st 1850 were $ 7 0 7 .0 0 Although the population of Hilo & Puna is d e c r e a sin g , & the number of chh, members le s se n in g , yet the contributions are annu a lly in c rea sin g ; and what i s , we t r u s t , b e t t e r , these o ffe r in g s are made with increasing cheerfulness & a more in t e l l ig e n t sense of o b ligatio n to the great Head of the Church. [Godward] our hope to God ( ! ) word in th is m atter. At l e a s t , such is The Church. It s general state has been peaceful & harmonious. tions Some por­ of it have been active & s p ir it u a l & have enjoyed the p re­ sence of God. There have been re vival influences at various points & at d if f e r e n t tim es. A goodly number of b a ck slid e rs have been restored, many slumberers awaked, & many of the strong & the strong (?) handed have waxed stronger. Every year strengthens the evidence that a great work of God has been wrought among the people. Every year adds confirming testimony that h undreds, & we t r u s t , thousands, have been born o f the S p i r i t . ca lle d to weep over the coldness, S t i l l we are the ignorance, the s e n s u a lit y , the hypocrisy & the apostasy ( ! ) of many for whom we had hoped b e t ­ ter th in g s. We are made to f e e l that the utmost z e a l & the most w akeful & v ig i l a n t ( ! ) scrutiny of man cannot secure a spotless chh. on e a r t h ; & our most sanguine hopes of Haw aiian p e r fe c tio n have been b la s t e d . We fe e l abased before God & man, th at, as a Church of C h r is t , we have f a l l e n so immeasurably below the standder [ standard] so, b u t , of duty prescribed i n the g o sp el, and not only in knowledge, lo v e , f a i t h & good works, we f a l l fa r b e ­ low the standard erected in our own re so lu tio n s . Some of us are �H ilo lik e the Galations L a o d icean some- l ik e the Corinthians, some lik e the and some lik e Is r a e l in the w ild e r n e s s . word o f God has taken no e ffe c t among u s . ites indeed - Many wrestling Jacobs. 10 1851 Not that the There are many I s r a e l ­ Many liv e ly stones - Mary who are called & chosen & f a i t h f u l - Many who belong to the h ouse­ hold of f a i t h & to the royal priesthood - Many sheep whom the great Shepherd w i l l lead & bring w it h him - M any sons whom Christ w i l l prepare unto g lo ry . I n conclusion; though o ften oppressed with cares & re ady to f a i n t in view of our own u n fa it h fu ln e s s , and the much of m ournful Ignorance In sp iritu a l t h in g s , & the many sad tokens o f depravity which remain among our flock,, s t i l l we have abundant reason to thank the Lord & take courage in view of a l l his mercy and of a l l the great things he has done fo r u s . He has been m ercifu l to our unrighteousness, p atien t in our provocations & a helper in our in f i r m i t i e s . He has been be tte r than our f e a r s . great things f o r u s . you" He has done He has v e r i f ie d h i s promise, "Lo I am w ith - He has chided our u n b e lie f - He has revived our hopes - He has strengthened our hands. He b id s us ra ise our E b en ezer. He calls upon us to thank the Lord & take courage - He commands us to g ird up our loins for the remainder of the ra ce , our armour for fu tu re c o n f l ic t , is i n v i s i b l e , to burn ish and to endure as seeing Him who " And th is w i l l we do i f God p e rm it.” S tatistics. Received past year on Examination Whole number received of ( ! ) examination Whole number received from other churches Whole " dism issed to " " Deceased the past y ear - - - - - -— Excluded members deceased past year Whole number deceased 109 9980 447 565 143 3 3922 �H ilo 1851 Excluded the past y ear _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Whole number remaining excluded - - - Now in regular standing - - - Children baptized past year - - ■ Whole number baptized - - - Marriages the past year - --— Population of the f i e l d - - about proportion who attend public worship Whole number of b a p tiz e d children deceased - - - 20 335 5539 90 3329 146 9000 -> - 8 526 Contribu tio ns. For meeting houses in la b o r, m a t e r ia ls , goods & cash _ $ 2000. Titus Coan Pastor. �Report for Hilo for the year ending May 1 , H ilo s t i l l i s . It s beauteous 1852 ( ! ) Bay s t i l l r e fle c t s the bright solar rays & the s ilv e r moon beam. Its lim pid waters s t i l l lave it s crescent beach & foam in fleecy w hite along it s b e e tlin g c l i f f s . It s gay green landscapes s t i l l laugh & r e jo ic e under the sunlight and the showers o f Heaven. It s f l u t e d slopes sparkle & sing & shout w ith the murmuring r i l l , & the thundering cascade. verdure. the rushing riv er It s f i e l d & forests wave in perpetual Its atmosphere is s t i l l salubrious balmy & b la n d . mirror lakes s t i l l flash in bright undulations through the deep fo lia g e o f the B r e a d fr u it , It s heavens are It s the c o c o n u t ~ the Kukui & the Pandanus. s t i l l v e ile d in gauzy vapors, adorned w ith convo­ luted & caressing (? ) clouds or studded ( ! ) w ith golden gems. It s mountains s t i l l r i s e in heavy majesty against the western sky It s awful fire s burn harmlessly at a d is t a n c e . It s occasional subterranean throes give h e a lt h fu l monitions that man is weak & needs an Almighty Protector, Y e s , b le s se d be the l o r d , H ilo s t i l l remains notwithstanding the sta r tlin g earthquake & the t e r r i f i c volcano have threatened to engulf & consume, & notw ithstanding their awful tokens have clothed many a face w ith paleness & f i l l e d many a heart w ith f e a r . The Hand that planted these m ountains, th a t measured the deep, & that adorned that landscape s t i l l pro­ tects. The look which makes the earth to tremble is s t i l l the w atchful orb of love & of protection to the s a i n t s . The breath which kin dles the e v e r l a s t i n g f i r e s & melts the mountains sets bounds to the f ie r y as to the watery f l o o d s . The fin g e r w hich touches the smoking h i l l s points to a place o f s a f e t y ( ! ). �H ilo 1852 2. Temporal improvements . H e re, as in former years, we are able to report p ro g re ss. To some this may not appear to he a legitim ate su b ject fo r M issionary re p o r t. S t i l l , as i t i s a subject which e ffe c ts M issionary bone, & m uscle, & h e a r t , and as i t is the u s u a l accom­ panim ent, & often the d ir e c t result of true C h r is t ia n it y , i t may not be amiss to cast a passing glance in that d ir e c t io n . Since last general m eeting, many m iles of good road have been constructed i n Puna, and before the close of another year we hope to be able to. report a. complete horse road through the whole d i s t r ic t - a c irc u it of not less than one hundred m ile s. E ssen tial improvements are also being made in the roads of H ilo . Most of our precipices have b een made easier of ascent-& descen t, Several b rid g es have been constructed, and others w i l l , we tru st, soon be done. As to d w e llin g s , fu r n it u r e , c lo th in g , etc we need say n o th in g . ca ttle , h o r s e s , cash The same improvements and mis improvements which are seen-at other points of the Islan d s are going forward at H i l o . Morality & O rd er. Though we have nothing to boast of & very much to re g ret on th is score, yet we have a l s o , much, very much, for w hich to be th an k fu l. Our streets a re, u s u a l l y , exist th e re ; q u ie t; No licensed man k il l e r s Our Sabbaths are p e a c e fu l, and intemperance & open vice seek the darkness fo r concealment. These statements apply to the st a tio n w it h occasional excep tio ns, and these exceptions originate in the unruly & base passions of fo reigners who are de­ termined on indulgence at any expense. Throughout the d is t r ic t s �H ilo 1852 of H ilo & Puna great quietness & order p re v a il both on the L o r d ’ s day and at a l l tim es. [ Here two sheets cut out and h a lf of third page crossed o u t.] Papacy. This inveterate foe of God & men of l i g h t .& tr u th , has long m aintained a desperate struggle in our f i e l d . Sometimes these powers of darkness seem to g a in a l i t t l e ground & again they lo s e . But the d ev il is never weary in i l l d o in g s. though he reaps many a harvest of w rath. disappointment do not deter him; He never fa in ts Shame, discom fiture & and h is indomitable perseverance may w e ll repress a l l who are in c lin e d to f a i n t in a b ette r cause. D uring no year since the introduction o f papacy into our f i e l d have more art and energy been used to push it forward than the last. S t i l l , we th in k i t has gained no ground, & on the whole we are in c lin e d to b e lie v e the cause has retrograded. i t has advanced at one point i t Whenever has r e c e d e d at another; often its b e s t ia l & seeming success is but momentary. and Not i n f r e ­ quently the carnal weapons i t uses to promote its in te res ts r e c o il upon i t s e l f , as was evidently the case in the late p o l i t i c a l campaign at H i l o . A l l our r e fle c t in g & candid people are thoroughly convinced of the subtle wickedness of the Beast and they hold him in ever deepening abhorrence. B u t we grapple w ith a determined fo e - w ith a Hydra not to be d esp ise d , & w hich cannot be decapitated at a s in g le blo w . Our enemy is tenacious of l i f e , & in our warfare w ith him there is no discharge t i l l death . are here emphatically c a lle d to be sober, to [be] v ig i l e n t to be w i s e , patient & unconquerable. We ( !) - Nothing but the grace of God can save our r e lig io u s & p o l it i c a l in s t it u t io n s from sub­ m ission through the intrigues of j esuitism . �Hilo 1852 4. S ch o o ls. No m aterial change has taken place in our common scho ols. They move on as usual except that the q u a lific a tio n s of teachers is gradu ally r i s i n g & the schools are b eing better supplied w ith books. A l l the children of le g a l age are enrolled in our schools except the few w ho are h e ld under the b eg u ilin g influ en ce of the p a p is t s . For want o f funds there has been l it t l e improvement in our school houses, a l l the money r a is e d by the school tax being required to pay the tea ch e rs. Meeting Houses. Three comfortable houses of worship have been b u i l t by our people during the y e a r , & others are in progress or i n contempla­ tio n . Seamen. About 50 ships have re cru ited at our port during the present season, and 76 ships and some 60 smaller vessels have v i s i t e d us during the past y e a r . During the shipping season our streets & houses have been thronged w ith hundreds of seamen, & some effo r ts have been made by preaching, conversation, the d i s t r ib u t io n of B ib le s , books, t r a c ts , papers & other re lig io u s r e a d in g s , them good, w ith what success eternity alone can r e v e a l . the ships to do Some of are commanded by pious Masters - One numbered several professed converts, & a few Masters were in c lin e d to take a stand against Sabbath w h a lin g . Perhaps no class of men i n Christendom calls more loudly for the prayers & the effo rts of C h ristia n s than Seamen. Sabbath S c h o o ls. A large & in te restin g S . numbering about 5 0 0 . S . has been kept up at the S t a t io n , This school has been high ly in t e r e s tin g �H ilo through the year, 1852 5. and. many of its pupils have grown in knowledge & grace - and some, we t r u s t , have there passed from death to life. Sabbath Schools are also kept up at a l l the Out S tations of H ilo & Puna, attended by an aggregate, probably, of 3000 sc h o la rs, including a d u lt s . It is common fo r a ll the week-day scholars to attend the Sabbath School. Public Labors at the S t a t io n . These have b e e n , on the Sabbath, S . S . at 9 A . M. at 10 1/2- - a meeting for inq u irers &c at 1 2 . 11/2 P .M . and, Preaching Preaching ag ain at in Shipping time, preaching in the E n g lish Chapel at 3 1/2 P .M . Two or three regular lec tu re s, besides occasional preaching during the week. These public s e rv ic e s, as a l l experienced M is­ sion aries know, include but a small portion of the weekly labors of the teacher & p asto r. To u rs. Of these the usual number have been performed v i z . three through. Puna & three through H i l o , besides shorter excursions around the S ta t io n . On these tours efforts have been made to know the state of the flock & to bring sinners into the f o ld of God. The r o ll has been ca lle d - the wanders ( ! ) sought a fte r - the weak strengthened - the strong encouraged - the b ack slid er reclaim ed - the p enitent restored - the- ignorant taught - the diseased bound up the w ick ed warned - the children gathered - infa n ts b a p tize d the s i c k v i s i t e d - funerals attended - the mourner comforted the in q u irin g directed to the Lamb of God - the gospel preached d i f f i c u l t i e s se ttle d - d iv isio n s h ealed - enemies re c o n c ile d consultations h e ld - mistakes corrected - instructio ns given contributions taken up - the L o r d 's Supper adm inistered & c . �H ilo 1852 6. Cold Water Army. T h is has been ag ain c a lle d out in ten grand d i v i s i o n s , number­ ing about 2 0 0 0 children in a l l . Each d iv is io n has had its banners - its mottos - it s uniform its marchings - it s brig h t faces & its songs - its f e s t i v a l - its speeches - its joyous h e a r t s . Each succeeding anniversary shows a decided improvement on the former in dress & i n the com­ forts of l i f e . Conventions. The day fo llo w in g our great temperance fe s t iv a l at the S ta tio n a convention was h eld for the d iscu ssio n of subjects such as the follow ing Merits & demerits of the Pualu , Taxation. Which has made havoc the greater in our work man or alcohol? W i l l the erection of fo rts & the b u ild in g of warships tend to promote the peace & prosperity of the Hawaiian kingdom? &c A large number of people were assembled to l is t e n to these d isc u ss io n s. Several animated speakers took part on the occasion & an intense inte rest was kept up through the day. For about a week from t h is time our grand annual convention met & h e ld its services (? ) for two days - This convention con­ siste d of a l l the school teachers in H ilo & Puna - about 50 of the School trustees and of most of the leading members or o f f ic e r s of the church & a l l others who might w is h to attend. Some 200 were present - reports were made - subjects of great in terest to re-lig io n & education discussed - resolutions adopted - business t r a n s a c t e d & c &c . Governor Kapeau (? ) was present at a l l these deliberatio n s & took an active part in the d iscu ssio n s him self an i n t e r e s t i n g .& shrewd debater. He showed �7 2 5 8 1 ilo H. L a d ie s ' F e s t iv a l. A semi-annual L a d ie s' during the past y e a r. F e st iv a l has been held at the s ta tio n This gathering was prepared, arranged & managed by the native fem ales. On the day appointed a long table is spread in the church and loaded w ith a great v arie ty of e a t­ a b le s . Along the sides of th is table from 50 to 60 Haw aiian Ladies are seated in neat a t t i r e . A deputation w aits on the pastor & his fam ily informing them th at a l l is ready & req u estin g th eir attendance. table. Seats are reserved fo r them at the head of the A ll prelim inaries thus arranged a short address is made - thanks offered and each one addresses h e r s e lf to the ta sk in h and. P ig s , poultry, puddingy p o i, lu au , f i s h , cakes. & a l l H aw aiian vegetables & edibles dance on the forks & fingers of the f a ir ones, and disappear i n a t r i c e . The whole upper surface of the table seems a liv e as in a w altz and a l l keeping time to the merry music of the v o c a l is t s . This cheerful duty over., a paper i s put ’into the hands of the pastor' containing the names of a l l the members of this a sso ciatio n . The r o l l is now called when each member comes forward & deposits her co n trib u tio n . th eir own No one contributes less than 25 c t s . By a r u le of This done - free remarks are made - questions proposed - topics sometimes discussed a hymn sung - prayer o ffe r e d , & a l l adjourn. At the two g a th e r­ ings during the past year about 40 dollars were contributed and t h i s , by the unanimous voice of the contributors is to be appro­ priated to the. Micronesian M is s io n . B enevolence. Taking this term in i t s comprehensive sense, we have much of which to be ashamed on this sco re. S t i l l fo r what has been ac­ complished in some of i t s branches we had occasion to thank God �H 2 5 8 1 ilo & take courage. On the Sabbath immediately p r e c e d i n g . ( ! ) the f i r s t Monday in each month the Pastor uniform ly preaches on some subject connected w ith M issions or w ith the general course of b e n e fic e n c e , on which occasion a c o lle c tio n is taken u p . c o lle c tio n s , These including the mites which have come in from out p o sts , have averaged more than 50 dollars a month. I t has been an object steadily kept i n v ie w , to tr a in our people to habits of in t e llig e n t b e n e fic e n c e . For this purpose we have used " l i n e upon line & precept upon p re c e p t"; and although our progress is slow, y et we hope & pray that i t may be sure . We w ish not our people to give from mere impulse, but from an in t e l l ig e n t conv ic t io n of d uty , & from a deep desire of the h e a r t. a re , as y e t, r e a liz e d but i n p a r t . g re ss. Our desires S t i l l , we trust there i s pro­ Not only are our contributions slowly increasin g from year to y ear, but with t h i s , we th in k there is an increased d esire to give ~ As to increased a b il it y there i s no m istake. The fo llo w ­ ing is a review of our contributions to fo re ig n objects during the past fiv e y e a r s . In May 1848 we reported $ 3 1 7 . 50 " " 1849 " " # 1850 " $ 7 0 7 .0 0 " " 1851 " " $ 8 2 0 .0 0 And f o r the past year we report $ 11 0 0.0 0 This sum would have been several hundred d o llars g reat e r ( !) could a l l the a rtic le s contributed in trade have b een reduced ( ? ) to cash without a d isc o u n t. The a b o v e includes n o thing of what has been devoted to domestic or home o b je c ts . �Hilo 1852 9. The Church. I n the history of the church at H ilo nothing remarkable has occurred during the period under review . much like previous y e a rs . The past has been F a llin g & r i s i n g - sleeping & waking - back- sliding & repenting - wandering & returning - dying & l i v i n g . This has been the chequered histo ry of Gods v is ib l e church i n a l l ages ~ Most of our church members have., h o w e v e r run w e l l ; & many have given us great joy by their steadfastness in the fa it h by t h e ir attendance on the ordinances o f the gospel - by th eir love of the truth - by t h e ir s p ir it of prayer - their ch arity th eir s p ir it u a l it y - their growth in knowledge & grace & th eir active efforts to save s o u ls . The comparative number of cases of discipline ( ! ) has not been l a r g e , & the church as a body has h e ld on its way w ith l i t t l e defection., w ith encouraging z e a l & w it h increasing stren gth . It embosoms many precious sp irits who are ripening for glory - A t least such is our trust to God-ward on t h e ir b e h a l f . R e v iv a l s . Doubtless i t i s our S in that we are not able to say more, & to speak more decidedly on this eventful to p ic . We can report no general awaking on the great subject of r e l i g i o n . th ro' Still, the great mercy of our God "th e day Spring" has v i s i t e d many portions o f our f i e l d , and, h e a r ts . as we t r u s t , shined into many There have been seasons when an unusual " S p i r i t of grace & supplication" seemed to rest upon many of our people at d i f f e r e n t points in the f i e l d . By some portions of the church, sp ecial meetings have been h e ld fo r prayer & c o n s u l t a t i o n & s p e c ia l effo rts have been made to awaken the careless & to p u ll sinners �H ilo out of the f i r e . 1852 10 . I n some cases meetings of th is kind have "been h eld by the church for two or three days in su cc e ssio n , and many have gone from house to house to arouse those who were at ease in Zion ( ? ) , & to plead w it h sinners to flee from the w rath to come ( ? ) . These labors have been blessed, and numbers who were careless & hardened in sin , have given hopeful evidence of a change of h ea rt. One hundred and 92 have been added to the church on co n fessio n of f a i t h in the Lord Jesus , & others, are converted. as we hope, At some points there s t i l l appears to be a r e v iv a l s p ir it & we trust the Lord w il l never leave us without w itness of his saving love. Population. This is constantly decreasing from death & em igration - Some go to sea - Many f a l l into the grave, & a larger number s t i l l leave our island fo r Honolulu w h e re. they are often swallowed up as i n a maelstrom. as a d i s t i n c t , There is p a in fu l in d ic a tio n that the n a t io n , ab o rig in a l ra c e , i s d y in g . As in the la st struggles o f the human frame a l l v it a l it y rushes to the h e a rt, to support for a b r i e f moment, the w asting energies of the system at that p o in t , so i t is w ith a dying n a tio n . Everything rushes to the centre - the extrem ities are le f t cold & torpid - pulsatio n ceases in the limbs - an unnatural throbbing is f e l t in the heart & death ensures. T h is , we th in k , is th e present condition of the Hawaiian r a c e . Our people are destined ( ? ) become a dead language. places unknown. to pass away. Their language w i l l Their names w i l l be forgotten - th eir D e s o la t io n 's wand w i l l wave over them - D e s t in a ­ t i o n 's besom w il l sweep them away. on - s ile n t ly y et surel y . This process is now going No mortal hand can arrest i t . No �H ilo human policy can stay i t . f i a t of Jehovah. 1852 11. The f i a t has gone fo rth & i t is the S t i l l we have no cause of discouragem ent. No occasion to abandon the f i e l d - no c a l l to r e l a x our e f f o r t s . These Islands w i l l be peopled - A m ingled & mighty race w i l l t i l l these f i e l d s , tread on these mountains, f e l l these fo re sts & f i l l th is land w it h c itie s & ham lets. The k eel of commerce w i l l plow these seas, and the w ealth of d ista n t e l ix ir s (? ) w il l flu x through a l l the arteries of this land. And allow me to advance the opinion that G o d 's work here is but just begun ~ A l l that has tran spired is prep arato ry .( ! ) C h r is t , sh ore s. through his Church, has s t i l l a mission to f u l f i l on these Schools seminaries & colleges of a new & superior order, are to rise h e r e . planted - Enlightened & energetic churches are here to be Permanent temples are here to be erected - benevolent and humane in s titu tio n s to be formed. - The gospel trumpet is s t i l l to be blown h e r e , & from these shores the herald of s a lv a t io n is to go fo r t h , & the light & love of the Gospel to rad iate & to bless those who are s t i l l b enighted. Sh all we then f a i n t ? S h all we then fa lt e r ? S h a ll we abandon our posts? our f a it h ? or r e la x our to ils? Or languid in our prayers? S h a ll we doubt? or grow weak in To my m ind, this m ission never before stood on ) so h ig h , so important & so holy ground now. as God, i n his providence has brought us to a c r is is where we can n either go to the right hand or to the l e f t . To draw back is recreancy, t o go forward our only a lte r n a tiv e . The Lord grant us grace to f u l f i l our solemn m ission - to run w e ll our race to accomplish our warfare - And when c a l l e d to our account may we a l l be found on the b attle fie ld w ith girded loins w ith clashing armor, & with sp irits w aiting fo r the coming of our Lord. �S ta tistics. Whole number received on Examination 1 0 ,1 7 2 On C e r tific a t e 472 Past y ear on Examination 192 Whole number the past year 218 Whole No. dism issed to other churches 618 Dism issed the past year Whole no. 53 4 256 deceased 263 Deceased the past year 40 Suspended the past year 278 Remain Suspended Excommunicated past y ear none Whole n o . Excommunicated 125 Remain Excommunicated Whole n o . 35 5 458 in regular standing Whole no. of ch ild ren b a p tiz e d 3 395 96 B ap tize d the past year 538 B ap tized children deceased Deceased past year 12 Marriages the past year 74 Contributions . American Peace Society $100.00 Amer. & F o r. Anti Slavery S . #100.00 A . B . C . F .M. $ 9 0 0 .0 0 T . Coan [On b a c k ] Report of H i lo 1852 �Abstract of Report for H il o . 1. [1852] Temporal Improvements These have been ste a d ily advancing as in years p a s t . 2. Morality & Order have fo r the most part prevailed at the statio n and throughout the f i e l d . Papacy. This we think has made no progress. Vigorous e ffo r ts have been made by p rie sts to push i t forw ard, but without su cce ss. 4. Common Schools, have b e e n as prosperous as in former y e a r s . Q u a lific a tio n s 5. of te a c h e r s g radually r i s in g - Pay b e t t e r & su rer. Three comfortable Meeting houses have been b u ilt at out s t a ­ tio n s & preparations are b e in g made for b uild ing more. Expended on M eeting houses during the past y e a r, in la b o r, m aterials and c a s h not less than 2 0 0 0 d o l l a r s , 6 . Seamen 76 Ships 260 smaller vessels have v i s i t e d Hilo d u rin g the year and efforts have been made to b e n e fit Seamen by p rea c h in g, conversation, & the d is t r ib u t io n of books, 7. tracts, papers & c . A Sabbath School of about 500 members has been kept up at the S ta tio n & some 3000 adults & children have attended at out S t a t io n s . 8 . Tours, have been performed as usual in Hilo & Puna, the flo c k has been cared for & sinners led to the cross of C h r is t . 9. Two Conventions have been held at the S tatio n for the d i s ­ cussion of su bjects important to r e l ig i o n and education. 1 0 . The Cold Water Army has been c a lle d out in ten d iv is io n s about 2 0 0 0 strong. 11. A Semi Annual Female F e stiv a l has been h e ld at w hich 40 dollars were contributed in b e h a lf of the M icronesian M issio n . �H ilo Abstract 1852 12. 2 Benevolence I t is hoped that t h i s is g a in in g an enlightened h o ld on the hearts of many. The contributions the past year have averaged more than 90 dollars a month. Comparative view of contributions to fo re ig n objects stated Contributed f o r 1847 13. $ 3 1 7 .5 0 " " 1848 5 4 0 .8 7 " " 1849 7 0 7 .0 0 " " 1850 8 2 0 .0 0 " ” 1851 11 00.00 The Church has been peaceful for the most part & prosperous. Cases of discipline ( ! ) not numerous. 1 4 . R e v iv a ls . No general re v iv a l has been enjoyed, but s p ir it u a l In flu ences have been fe lt in several parts of the f i e l d . Many C h ristia n s have been watchful, prayerful & a c tiv e , & numbers, i t have been born a g a in . 15. Appropriation of Contributions. A . B . C . F .M. $ 9 0 0 .0 0 American Peace Society Amer. & Forn $ 1 0 0 .0 0 Anti Slavery S . $ 1 0 0 .0 0 is hoped, �Abstract of Chas H . Wetmore' s Report for 18 52 . I n reviewing the past year we f i n d occasion f o r h e a r t f e l t gratitude to our God f o r h is sparing mercy & goodness to u s . Mrs. Wetmore's h ealth has been quite in firm , - so much so that she has not been able to teach her E n g lis h school but h a l f of the y e a r ; when she w i l l be able to teach a g ain is an unsolved problem . P ra ctice . There has been l i t t l e aside from th eir common d is e a s e s , sickness among the nativ es except during the la t t e r part of February & the early part of March - then an In flu e n z a p re v a ile d that kept me b u s ily employed for three or four w e e k s. - Several s u r g ic a l operations have been performed the past y ea r, number than in eith e r of the two p r e c e d i n g ( ! ) years. - more i n The sum of $ 1 2 3 . has been r e c 'd the past year for medicine & m edical serv ic e s ; - $13. of which was paid by n a t iv e s , & mostly from voluntary contributio ns. Schools, - M rs. Wetmore's school has made commendable progress in the common branches of the E n g lis h Language; o f pupils 1 3 ; whole number of weeks taught 2 6 ; fo r her labors $ 1 0 8 . the y e a r ; - average number - amount re c eiv ed The Sabbath School has been su stain ed through - one of i t s exercises has been the committing to memory of the 1 0 commandments; most of the scholars have learned a l l of them. My ’’Normal School" fo r teachers & advanced scholars has been I n se ssi on twice during the year - we hope to see good resu lts from i t. I have made a tour through both H ilo & Puna w it h in the year to examine the schools ~ Some were very backward, very w e ll i ndeed. others were doing �[Wetmore, H i l o , 1853] We are reminded of the r a p id flig h t of time by another perio d ic a l waymark; the time f o r preparing another report has again returned; Would that I had more to say about missionary work per­ formed; but, alas ! I have to acknowledge that many plans for doing good remain unexecuted; other p lan s, though not forgotten, have been too poorly carrie d into e f f e c t ; - the Lord give grace and strength that we may be more d i l ig e n t , c e s sfu l i n fu t u r e , f a i t h f u l e f f i c i e n t & suc­ so long as He may spare us to labor in His v ineyard. The past year has been to us a year of mercy; feeb len ess has been the lot of my companion during most of the y e a r , b u t the Lord has f u l f i l l e d His precious promise to h e r , "As thy d a y s , thy strength b e " ; so s h a ll - we are now r e jo ic in g over her re turnin g h e a lt h ; we also have another source of joy, - to w it, the g i f t of a l i t t l e son, whom we hope w i l l liv e to be a great blessing to h is parents & to the w o rld . P r a c tic e . - The only epidemic of a physical nature that has pre­ v a ile d among us the past year was that of a Bilio- Catarrhal Fever; it was p ecu lia rly im partial in its character, sparing none on - account of age, rank or profession; it is unnecessary f o r me to dwell upon its nature or it s e f f e c t s ; - s u ffic ie n t w i l l i t be for me to remark that not a sin g le ca se , uncomplicated w ith other d is e a s e , proved fa ta l at H ilo n e i . The common diseases of the land of a fo re ig n o rig in are s t i l l preying upon the v it a l s of the n a tio n it is a lamentable fact that these diseases are e n ta ile d to so great an extent upon the r i s i n g g eneration, or are being contracted by them; in many cases i t is p o sitiv e ly affirm ed that there is no "hewa" in the m atter, & that too when apparently nothing but pure, �H ilo 1 8 5 3 , Wetmore 2. g u ilty i n o c u l a t i o n could have produced such re su lts; some of .my worst cases are those that have b e e n under the treatment of n a tiv e p ra c titio n e r s ; many seemingly had rather almost die in such hands than be cured s c ie n t i f i c a l l y I When, I a sk , w il l the ravages of these baneful diseases be c u rta ile d at these f a i r Is la n d s ? No t, I f e a r , u n t il that great moral pandemic sh a ll cease to prey upon the heart I Not u n t i l that great panacea for s p ir it u a l dise a se s s h a ll be administered in a more copious measure. The whole amount o f money received for medicine & m edical se r­ v ices th e past y e a r , is $ 2 7 0 ; together w ith c o lle c tib le b i l l s now on hand only thirty one & a f r a c t io n of this was re c eiv e d from n a t iv e s , which is a l i t t l e more than twice as much as was c o n t r i­ buted by them the preceding y e a r. Sch o o l. - My school for teachers has been conducted much as u s u a l . Map-drawing has been the princip al branch pursued; - the younger class o f teachers deserve commendation, & the older class d id perhaps as w e ll as could be expected. At Brother Lyman's s o l i c i ­ ta tio n I devoted a part of my afternoons for a few weeks to the same branch in the "Hilo Boarding School" w ith even greater success than i n the Normal School; - an hour each Sabbath has been spent in the same school during the y ear; one passage or more of scripture has been re c it e d from Sabbath to Sabbath by each pupil in answer to some gen eral question, which is given out at the close of each school for the ensuing L o r d 's day; - after r e c it in g those that they had committed to memory, an opportunity was affo rded for them to read any other p a r a lle l p assages, which they had se le c te d ; - I have often been surprised at fin d in g them so w e ll prepared for th e ir e x e rcise s, esp e c ia lly when taking into co n sideratio n the �Hilo 1 8 5 3 , Wetmore fa c t that they have no helps in t h e ir language. 3. The ex ercise has fa m ilia rize d them w ith the Holy Scriptures which are a b le to make them w ise unto sa lv a tio n , through fa it h which is in C h rist Jesus R esp ectfully submitted to the Sandwich Islan d s M ission by their fellow- laborer H ilo Hawaii May 3 , Chas. H . Wetmore M .D. 1853 [At bottom :] Dr Wetmores Re port for 1852 Read May 23 by Mr Castle �Report fo r H ilo from May 1 , 1852 to May 1 , 1853 . ( C o an) In presenting this my 17 th and, perhaps - my la st - annual report to the Hawaiian M ission allow me f i r s t of a ll to p ra ise the Lord for the many mercies of the past y e a r. Rarely have, we experienced a year attended with less p h y sica l or moral disturbance than the l a s t . Neither famine nor w astin g p e s tile n c e , nor outbreaking wickedness have disturbed our peace. H e a lt h , plenty & order, have generally p re v a ile d , & the ra tio of m ortality has been sm all. The year has b e e n crowned, w ith goodness,. & b l e s s i n g s , s p i r i t ­ u al & temporal have been shed upon us abundantly - for a ll of which we would c a ll upon our souls & a l l w it h in us to bless the Lord. G eneral improvements have gone ste a d ily though slowly fo rw ard. The temporal circumstances of the people are growing bette r & th eir prospects are b rig h ten in g from year to year. ful, W ith the w ake­ industrious & provident the comforts of l i f e are in c r e a s in g , and some are b eg inn in g to aspire after it s lu x u r ie s . of tolerable road have been constructed, bridges b u i l t . Sev eral m iles and some 8 or 1 0 temporary I say temporary, for h a l f of them have already been swept away and as f o r the rest who can t e l l how long they w i l l abide the t r i a l of our raging f l o o d s ? But even here there is progress, fo r as we lose by m istakes we g a in by exp erience. Our public Schools have been conducted as usual & although I do not propose to report in th is department yet I am happy to say that these schools have been conducted w ith as much e f f ic ie n c y as might be expected. 7 new Meeting houses have been b u ilt in the f i e l d during �H ilo 1853 2 the past year - 5 of rough stones & 2 of su b stan tial frames at a v alu a tio n of about 1700 dollars - Several other houses of worship are commenced. A su b scriptio n has also been opened fo r a new meeting house at th e statio n - about 2 0 0 0 dollars su b sc rib ed , some 700 of which have been paid i n . is The b uild ing of churches quite a tax upon the people but. in many places they take h o ld of the work w ith earnestness. Besides the b u ild in g s named our people have put up a large number of small houses for d a ily prayer, reading the S c r ip t u r e s , conference etc. These are to accommodate l i t t l e neighborhoods & small circles who reside at a distance from the regular place of w orship on the Sabbath. I n these synagogues and in our larger meeting h o u ses, classes have been organized for reading the S c r ip tu re s , at least one day in the week. Papacy has received a decided check during the past y e a r . Three of their teachers & perhaps 50 of th eir d isc ip le s have l e f t them, and they now have but one school in a l l Puna and two, perhaps in H ilo . Several of t h e ir meetings are broken up, and a l l of them have dwindled & languished. No year of the la s t 1 0 has given more d ecisiv e evidence of the waning of th eir cause than the past. Their houses of worship are becoming d ila p id a te d & d e s o la ­ tio n is w ritten on many of th e ir t h r e s h o l d s ( ! ) , wh i l e ghosts of departed hopes howl from th eir windows. S t i l l they hold on w ith stubborn tenacity to th eir dying cause, & n o thin g but the S p ir it of t h e Lord w i l l prevent th e ir r e v iv a l and extention among our ignorant & unstable p eo p le. Here is our only hope of a f u l l & f i n a l triumph over the man of s i n , as �H ilo 1853 3. w e ll as over a l l other devices of the d e v il . There have "been about 80 arriv als o f ships & more than 50 of brig s & schooners at the port of Hilo during the past y e a r ; the but th ro u gh/v igilen ce of th e p o l ic e & the re strain in g in flu en ces o f the gospel our stre ets have been quiet & our houses safe from fear, Perhaps our shipping seasons have r a r e ly , i f ev er, passed . w ith so l i t t l e of n oise & d istu rb a n ce . Regular Sabbath services have been kept up for seamen during shipping seasons; t r a c t s , books & papers have been d is t r ib u t e d , & r e lig io u s conversation h e ld as circumstances allowed; & we have had the happiness to b eliev e that these means have not been used without success. Some p ro fessing C h ristians among seamen have been awakened to a sense of danger & of d u ty , & some sinners have been led to resolve on a new course of l i f e . S t i l l , for the most p a r t, & dreary. - the prospects of the s a ilo r are dark Separated for most of h is time from the so ften in g & w inning (? ) sympathies of domestic & C h ristian love - wooed by the seductive breezes of temptation - r u f f l e d by the cold storms of unkindness & hardship - tossed on a sea of in te rn a l p assio n as restless as the element on which he roams, how sh a ll the s a i l ­ o r ’ s w ild heart be tamed & his wandering s p ir it be brought to re st on the bosom of Eternal Love? I t has long seemed to me that a vastly increased amount of lo v e, f a i t h , prayer & w is e ly d ire c te d e ffo rt must be put in motion by the C h ristia n world b efo re the abundance, or the tythe even, of the sea is Could the converted to G od. sorrows of the Sea be embodied in a book they would t h r i l l the world w it h a deeper sympathy than a l l the graphic rehearsals ( ! ) of " U ncle Tom's Cabin" - and could the sins - the �H ilo 1853 4. ■blasphemies - the dark passions - the massacres - the. d i a b o l i c a l deeds of the sea be brought in t e r r i f ic review before our minds, they would crush our hearts w it h horror. W hat more can we do fo r this class of our common brethren? Can we not think of them more? more; Love them more? and seek & improve opportunities e n lis t the prayers Pray fo r them to do them good? of our people for seamen? & can we not add a mite from our funds to a i d those so c ie ties & in stitu tio n s f o r the good o f th is Can we not class of our f e l l o w men? organized I t appears to me that the claims of the A . S . Friend S . takes too fa in t a hold on the hearts of C h ristia n s. W hile its receipts ought to be counted by hundreds of thousands they are only about 2 0 , 0 0 0 - w h ile it s chapla in s should be counted by the 1000 they number 19 - and w h ile its p ublicatio ns should cover every sea & be wafted on a ll th e winds of heaven, they are confined almost to a sin g le monthly jo urnal & an Annual Report. Our labors at the Station have been performed w ith comfort & encouragement. Meetings have been w e l l attended & more or less r e lig io u s interest has prevailed - The ordinary labors of the Sabath ( ! ) are two sermons, a Sabbath School, & a meeting of the church S es sio n . a meeting for e n q u ir e r s , Our Sabbath School is f u l l & w a k e fu l, numbering about 5 0 0 . Our regular weekly services are B ible Lectures on Wednesdays & Saturday s. These w it h monthly co n certs, attendance ( ! ) on fu n e r ­ als & other occasional meetings make up the public services at the S t a t io n . But they are lig h t compared to the d a ily cares & p rivate labors which come upon u s . On one Sabbath during the past year the pastor was prevented, by sickness, from preaching, & th is is the f i r s t and the only time �H ilo 1853 5. he has been thus prevented d uring h is 18 years residence at these Is la n d s . I t is n o t new h o w e v e r to t e l l you o f 6 tours - 3 in Puna & 3 in Hilo - of tr a v e llin g over burning lav a - of wading & swim­ ming riv ers - of p e rils ing in the woods, in canoes - of climbing mountains, of s le e p ­ of soaking in rain-storms, & c &c - A l l these things have become so fa m ilia r that their rehearsal ( !) becomes tame, i f not tedious - S u ffic e it then to say , that there has been no a b ate­ ment of these duties during the year under review - A l l parts of this wide f i e l d have been repeatedly v is it e d - the chh. r o l l has been c a lle d - the s ic k v i s i t e d - the mourner comforted - the w an­ dering sought, & restored to the fo ld - the f a l l e n r a is e d - the b r u ise d healed - the sleeping aroused - the weak strengthened the doubting confirmed - the ignorant in stru cted - the oppressed v in d ic a te d - the hardened warned (? ) - the enquiring d ire c te d to the Lamb o f God - the dying pointed to Him who is the r e su rre c tio n & th e L ife - the gospel preached to the poor & to a l l . Nor have these labors been unattended w it h h o p e . Few years of my m issionary l i f e have passed more p e a c e fu lly & jo y fu lly away. The precious seed sown has sprung up & y ie ld e d a glad h a r v e st. The Lord has crowned a l l w ith h i s goodness, & the sower, & the repear have rejo ic ed together. And this leads me to say that a gentle s p ir it u a l in flu e n c e has seemed to rest upon most parts o f the f i e l d d uring the. greater portion of the y ea r. m u lt ip lie d , Cases of outbreaking depravity have not been there has been peace & order i n the chh. brotherly love has been m a n ife s t, a s p ir it of grace & supplication has re ste d on many. A love of souls has p re v a ile d , m ultitudes have b een ready to �H ilo work in the vineyard of th e ir Lord; 1853 the s p i r i t o f benevolence has in c rease d , many have been hopefully converted & more than 40 0 have been added to the ch u rc h . s ig n a l prosperity to the In many respects i t has b een a year of church, & a year long to be remembered to the praise of D ivine Grace. I n a l l parts o f the f i e l d meetings have been w ell attended, & nearly a ll the c h ild ren w ith large numbers of the adults have been re gular attendants in our Sabbath Sch o o ls, of which we have 26 in the p arish . The monthly & annual contributions of the church have also b een more In t e l l ig e n t l y , more f r e e l y & more lib e r a lly bestowed than on any former y e a r. Progress here is truly cheering. Almost a l l give something, & most seem to g iv e w ith great ch e e r fu ln e ss. About 1800 d o llars have been co llected for the cause of Christ b esides what has been bestowed on meeting houses & in private c h a r i t i e s . The females at the st a tio n & in some other parts of the f i e l d have held their Semi Annual f e s t i v a l s , where a l l has been conducted w ith decorum, where God w as acknowledged in prayer & p r a is e , & where lib era l contributions were taken up in b e h alf of the heathen - H ow w e ll these assemblies w i l l compare in th e ir tone o f p iety & C h r is t ia n s p ir it w ith the "La d ie s F a ir " at Honolulu I am not able to s a y . He trust however that our f a i r s is te rs in the M etropolis w i l l set a safe & holy example for the sable & benighted females of th is la n d . [ The part bracketed crossed out in p e n c il .] Our annual convention of teach ers, school t r u s t e e s , church leaders &c met, as u su a l, in January, and fo r three days discu ssed subjects of great interest to education, c i v i l progress, s o c ia l interests & r e l i g i o n w ith zeal & wakeful & well su stain ed in te re s t These conventions have a most happy e ffe c t In developing facts �7. under the form of reports, of quickening in t e lle c t by d is c u s s io n , of enlarging the c irc le of knowledge, & of awakening the so c ia l & moral a ffe c tio n s . Time is always too short fo r our H aw aiian ora­ t o r s , & however t h e ir stock of arguments may be exhausted, t h e ir stock of words always holds good to the end. Our cold water army came out as u su al in ten grand d i v i s i o n s , numbering some 2 0 0 0 juveniles and an equal number of attachees of a l l sorts & s i z e s , & of every rank & p ro fessio n from the Judge, the doctor the parson, the savant (? ) to the cook, the. scavenger & the shoe black - and arrayed i n a l l the party-colored drapery that the a g e , the clim ate, ry could produce. b rillian t, the shops, the cash & the fancy of the count­ These were grand gala days, the scenes were . often f a n t a s t i c , & many a face beamed, and many a h eart beat w it h jubilant ( ! ) joy. These were seasons of r e la x a t io n from the ste rn er duties of l i f e . They were breaks & interrup tio ns in the d u l l monotony of a H a w a iia n 's b e in g , & they served as way-marks to stimulate in prospect & to fu rn is h m aterial for thought & chat in the retrospect. The foregoing are some of the o u tlin e s, the more prominent fe a t u r e s , the warp of missionary l i f e at Hilo. The w o o f, the f i l l ­ in g u p , the d e t a il , we leave to be su p plied by those i n lik e c i r ­ cumstances & of like experience. Our d a ily & hourly - our constant routeen ( ! ) of duties can never be put on p a p e r . A minute journal of a single year would make a book that the world would n e ith e r read nor con tain. �8 . S tatistics. Whole number received on Examination " n on C e r tific a t e Past year on Examination " ” on C e rtific a t e Whole number dism issed to other chhs Dism issed the past year Wh o le number deceased Deceased the past year Suspended the past year Remain suspended Excommunicated past year Whole number excommunicated Remain Excommunicated Now i n regular standing Whole number of ch ild ren baptized B aptized the past year B ap tized children deceased ” " deceased past year Marriages the past year 10614 504 442 31 686 68 43 85 129 45 285 none 125 20 5742 3520 125 543 5 100 Contributions the past year A . B . C . F .M. H aw aiian M. Society — A . Tract S . — A . & F o r. Christian M ission A . S e a . Frd Soc. Am. B ible Society Am. Tem. Union Am. & F o r. Anti Slavery S o c ' y 1000 200 100 100 100 100 100 100 - ---- -- -- -- -- I n conclusion I take the lib e rty to repeat our great o b lig a ­ tions to Almighty. God f o r that grace w hich has been so s ig n a lly bestowed on an unworthy pastor and people during the past y e a r . And should this prove our last meeting under the Old Covenant let us enter into a New Covenant with God & w ith one another and may this covenant be the law of Christ w r itte n on our h earts &. in our m inds, so t h a t , whenever our m issionary bands, s h a ll sunder the bands of e v erlastin g love may draw. & b i n d us. in one; a n d so th a t , when our earthly- toils are ended - our warfare accomplished - our pilgrim age closed - our meetings & partings our greetings & tears are over we may a l l meet with a l l our natural & s p i r i t u a l children before the throne of our a l l glorious K in g , & hear h is gracious voice say - "W e ll done good & f a i t h f u l servants enter ye into. �H ilo 1853 9. the joy of your L o r d ." Appendix. D esecratio n of the Sabbath. As one of a Standing Sabbath Committee M eet, appointed by the Gen. of 1852 I beg leave to make a few statements and rem arks. A most remarkable quiet has been observed on the L o r d 's day, b y most of the people i n H ilo & Puna, during the past y e a r . No fa cts in re latio n to travellings noisy d iv e r s io n s , unnecessary l a ­ bors &c have come to my knowledge on the la n d . a decided improvement in this r e s p e c t. There seems to be Many of the church members have been v ig il a n t & f a i t h f u l in watching & w arning, & thus much open v io la t io n o f that sacred day has been prevented. I mean among the n a t iv e s . S t i l l the Sabbath has been openly desecrated by numbers in three d is tin c t forms. A number of boats owned by n a tiv e s & foreigners were em­ ployed in taking o ffic e rs & seamen to & from whaleships for pay on the Sabbath. This was a mere mercenary business & e n tire ly unn eces­ sary as a l l the ships were wel l supplied w ith boats of t h e ir own. 2d ships The employment of our people in p il o t boats, & in t a k in g - out of the harbor on the Lo rd 's day. 3d The shipment of our people in Sabbath profaning w h a le r s . For a l l this wicked practices the precedents of H onolulu & Lahaina practices were quoted, as also the t a c it or avowed assent of our head of p o lic e . So soon as these fa c ts came to my knowledge " I contended w i t h the ru le rs & the people" & took up a r i g i d & determined discipline i n the church. ( !) The f i r s t & second forms of the e v i l were at once checked - a l l who had been g u ilty solemnly & p u b l i c l y ( ! ) pledging �H ilo themselves to cease at once & forever from this n otice to our police magistrate t h a t , in 1853 sin . I also gave case of a r e p e t it io n of these transgressions of law I should enter a complaint before him . Those who have gone to sea I cannot reach u n t i l t h e ir re tu r n , when those who are chh. members w i l l be dealt w ith according to the rules of C h r i s t 's house. I f my views & my practice are wrong on the points p resen ted, I wish to be corrected - I f rig h t, to be sustained by a l l the moral power of this m issio n . I know not what measures are adopted at other parts of this kingdom to suppress this growing s in , but sure I am that u nless we are u n it e d , "prompt & determined in rebuking & exterm inating the p ractices named they w il l spread lik e a mortal p estilen c e in our churches, uprooting sound do ctrin e, b lig h tin g true p ie t y , p erv e rt­ ing simple & so lid f a i t h & c a llin g down the wrath of heaven upon pastors & people - upon the rulers & the n a tio n . May we a l l awake to the subject before It is too l a t e . T . Coan Pastor �D r . Wetmore’ s Report t o the Sandwich Islan d s M is sio n for the year 1853 & 5 4 . The year that Is past and gone has been to us a y ear of mercy & goodness; - as a fam ily we re jo ic e that we may send up to the annual meeting of our M is s io n a goodly re p o rt. The Lord has been w ith us - His hand has sustained us continually & we would w ith g ratitu d e here p u b lic ly bear record of what he has done fo r us. - Our h ea lth has been on the whole bette r the past y ea r than what i t was during the year la st repo rted; - s t i l l I regret that n ecessity compels me to say that M rs. Wetmore is y et f e e b l e ; - she i s s t i l l subject to those i l l turns w hich have so long kept in her from engaging inany d irect m issionary work; - at times we have fea re d that she would never regain at the Islan d s her wonted h e a lt h & strength; - hence we have serio usly thought of asking perm ission eith er to spend a w inter upon the W estern fro n tier o f our n a tiv e land or to turn our faces homeward; - the tedious voyage, the u n ­ avoidable expenses, as w e ll as the necessary a b s e n c e ( ! ) from our f i e l d of labor consequent upon either course we greatly d ep rec ate ; - we would far prefer to labor on in our present sphere so long as our services are re q u ired as A ssistan t M issio naries of the American Board on the Home Missionary b a s i s . P r a c tic e . — My p ro fe ssio n al labors have been more arduous the past year than d u rin g any previous year of m issionary l i f e . - H ilo & Puna have not been exempt from the awful scourge that was commissioned by a High Authority to do a sa d , destructive work at fa ir these fairi s l a n d s ; - ere we could learn d e f i n i t e l y that there were cases of small pox at H o no lulu, two cases developed themselves in the D is t r i c t of H i l o ; - early measures were taken to prevent it s spread, w hich, by the b le s sin g o f God, proved more e f f e c t u a l than the strength o f our f a it h could have w arranted. — In H ilo D is t r i c t �H ilo 1854 (Wetmore) 2. there were 161 cases of. sm all pox, - of whom 6 8 recovered being of the m odified type. h alf ered. At the statio n we had only s ix c a s e s , - of these d i e d — the other h a l f , w hich included m yself recov­ In Puna the whole number of cases was 7 5 , - 38 of these sur­ v iv e d being cases of V a r io l o id . I n the summer season most o f my time was occupied in vaccinating ( ! ) & re-vaccinating the p e o p le . Soon a fter the small pox made i t s appearance in H ilo I d ecided to make an e ffo r t to instru ct two young men, h e a lin g a r t , hoping to q ualify them, (H a w a i i a n s ,) i n the ( i f t h e ir services should be n e e d e d ,) to labor among th eir s u ffe r in g fe llo w men during the p re­ valence of the f a t a l epidemic; - through the Providence of God th e ir services have not as yet been needed. E n g lis h language, They have been le a rn in g the in w hich, considering the lim ited in s t r u c t io n they have r e c e iv e d , they have made commendable p r o fic ie n c y ; both of them have been through a f iv e y e a r s ’ course of study at Brother Lyman’ s Boarding School. They have been very serviceable i n compounding m edicine & in putting up simple p re s c rip tio n s ; - in surgery they even now render valuable assistanc e; - in minor surgery I leave them to dress the wounds, w hich , I am happy to say they can do not uns k i l l f u l l y . - I have long fe lt i t to be very desirable that there be more artisans among the Hawaiians - true there are many carpenters among them -, but where are there any who have learned other trades? - There are but few - very few foreigners who have a d isp o ­ s i t io n & patience to te a c h a native a trad e, except so f a r as it may subserve the interests of the M aster; - h e n ce , having used my f a t h e r ’ s tools during vacations in my school-boy days, I have u n ­ dertaken to i n i t i a t e one of my students into the art of shoe-making; - he progresses w e l l , & is hoping by d ilig e n c e in h is business to r a is e enough money ere long to purchase a patch of Government land fo r which he has already b argain ed. �H ilo 1854 (Wetmore) 3. Calls for practice i n the lin e of Surgery are in c r e a s in g ; - several tumors have "been removed the past year - the most important operation was performed about a fo rtn ig h t ago at Eau; - I there su ccessfu lly removed a fibrous tumor from a native woman’ s cheek about the size of a butternut - it r e q u ir e d an in c is io n two & three fourths inches long; - in less than s i x days a fter the operation the wound was n early h e a le d . During the year I have made two p ro fe ssio n al tours to Kau & one to South Kona; - these have m aterially dim inished the amount that would have b e e n r e a l i z e d fo r Services & m ed icin es; - b u t , as you are w ell aware, I came to do m issionary work, & of course you w i l l not regret that the dollars & cents are less w hile the labors of my c a llin g have thereby been in c rea se d . - The whole amount r e ­ ceived f o r services of medicines the past year is $ 5 9 8 . 7 9 ; - of t h is sum $ 4 1 .5 8 was p a id by n a t iv e s , w hich is $ 1 0 . more th an they gave last y e a r . - The f i r s t amount is nearly double that w hich I reported fo r 1852 & 3 . I am, Dear Brethren, As e v e r, a ffe c tio n a t e ly & tru ly y r s , H ilo Hawaii ) ) May 2 - 1 8 5 4 ) To the Brethren of the Sandwich I s l a n d s ’ M issio n , th is report is hereby re sp e c tfu lly submitted Chas H . Wetmore �Report for H i l o , May 1st 1 8 5 4 . I n presenting our 19th annual report to the Body, ’'W hich was & is not & yet i s ” we have nothing s t r ik in g to r e l a t e . The current of events during the past year has flowed smoothly along r e f l e c t ­ ive ing only ordinary O h je c ts & bearing only ordinary rip p le s on its surface. These remarks are true in g en era l, e sp e c ia lly as a p p lie d to p h y sica l improvements, education, m orality & r e l i g i o n . I n one r e ­ spect however, the y ear has been p e c u l ia r , not at H ilo m erely, hut throughout the Is la n d s . I allude to the ravages of th at f e a r f u l p e stile n ce w hich d esolate d many houses, hushed the voices of many a h am let, f i l l e d many a charnal ( ! ) h o use, sent consternation to many a h e a r t , shook it s dread scepter over a l l our dw ellings & threatened to invade & consume the la n d . This b a l e f u l A ngel v i s i t e d H ilo ,& Puna & soon removed more than 150 of our people from the shores of tim e. But a gracious God shortened the days of wrath & perm itted not the dread messen­ ger to destroy throughout a ll our coasts. The disease was c o n fin e d to three p rinciple points & in a few months i t was thoroughly er ad ic a te d . With t h is exception h e a lth & peace have been enjoyed i n a l l our borders. Temporal improvements are moving slowly on as in former y e a r s . Steady progress has been made in the construction, of new roads & bridges & in the improvement of old ones. I n Puna some 70 miles of good horse road have been completed during a few past y ears, & many of the streams o f H ilo have been b rid g ed . As to learning & science I leave th is department to the Bu­ reau to w hich it more appropriately belongs to r e p o r t , simply r e ­ �2 m arking, th at our Schools h a v e , fo r the most p a r t , gone on as u s u a l , except the sad in te rru p tio n in our Boarding School caused by the burning of the b u il d in g s , bo o k s, apparatus ( !) e t c . And here let me sa y , i n p a s s in g , that it i s our d e s ir e & con­ fid e n t expectation that the loss sustained by that school w i l l be promptly & ch eerfully repaired so th at the worthy & long- tried teachers - re-assured of the confidence, sympathy & e f f i c i e n t sup­ port of the friends of learn in g & of the school may enter w ith fr e s h hope on th is important work & go on th eir way r e j o i c i n g . Census. By the recent census i t appears that the total p o pu lation of Hilo & Puna is 7793 - O f these 6 6 5 are p a p is ts , 113 f o r e ig n e r s . I n 1850 the population was 8034 - showing a decrease i n 3 years of 2 4 1 . For 3 or 4 years past the apostles of Mormonism have made r e ­ peated excursions th ro u g h our f ie l d w ith designs to p r o s e ly t e ; but a l l t h e ir effo rts were s ig n a lly u nsu c cessfu l - not an i n d i v id u a l follow ed them - u n t i l w ith in a few months p a s t . L a te ly , however, they have broken ground at 2 or 3 points in a d i s t a n t ( ! ) part of H i l o , and a few vicio u s foreigners and a number of n a tiv e s of the baser sort have been en tice d to fo llow the h e r e s ia r ch s . But the whole matter is y et of too recent a date & the f a c t s , numbers, prospects e tc . are too in d e fin it e to warrant a formal re p o r t. yet, As their numbers are sm all; but th e ir ignorance, impudence, as­ surance & falseh o o d are g r e a t , & none but God can t e l l to what lengths they may g o . One power alone can r e s t r a in them. My d a ily & weekly labors have been performed as i n other y e a r s , & I have also been enabled to make my u su al number o f ex­ tended tours v i z . three i n Hilo & three in Puna. �H ilo The ordinary labors 1854 3. of these tours have been so o fte n described in former reports that i t may seem superfluous to r e p e a t . same may also be said of the common d u t ie s at the s t a t i o n . The S u f f ic e i t tho to remark, that in a l l these labors there has b een no abate­ ment. At the Statio n & on my tours the congregations have b een f u l l & in t e r e s te d , & there has been a pretty general attendance on the external means of g race . Our Sabbath Schools have called out n early a l l the c h ild r e n & great numbers o f adults - The school at the statio n numbers some 400 or 5 0 0 . Our P uali inu w a i , or temperance celebrations were attended w it h u n fa lte r in g in te rest a l l over the f i e l d , & we trust t h e ir s o c ia l & moral in flu e n c e is happy. Our Annual Convention of teachers & church lunas was attended by 200 d e le g a te s . The sessions continued for two days w it h w akeful interest. Ho special & g en era l interest on the subject of r e l i g i o n has p re v a ile d throughout the f i e l d , but many Christians have been ac­ tiv e & e f f i c i e n t . The S p ir it has operated in some h earts & some h a v e , as we t r u s t , been born o f God. No extensive d e fectio n has p re v a iled in the church. About an ordinary number of cases of discipline ( ! ) have occurred. 176 have been added to our num­ ber by p r o fe s s io n , while a s t i l l greater number have been removed by death . The number of vessels which have v is it e d our port during the past year i s 1 1 5 , but in consequence of the absence of A lcoholic liquors we have w itnessed l i t t l e disturbance from s a i l o r s . The �4. only exception to this was the case of a G a llic f i r e sh ip w hich poured out a few v ia l s of wrath upon the sea & scorched many of the s a i l o r s . Our Contributions for the cause of Ch rist during the year under review have been as fo llo w s , v i z . P a sto r’ s Salary - - - H ilo Boarding Sehool - - - H ilo Meeting house -- ---Haw aiian Missionary Society - A . B . C . F . M. ------Am. Peace Society - - - - - Am. Tract Society - Am. B ible " - Am. & F o r. C h ristia n Union - Am. & F o r. Anti Slavery - Am. Seaman’ s Friend - - - - 1 0 0 0 .0 0 2 0 0 .0 0 5 0 0 .0 0 4 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 1 0 0 .0 0 Besides the foregoing the people have contributed i n ca sh , m aterials & labor on meeting houses not less than 1 0 0 0 d o l l a r s . They also b u ilt two commodious houses for a h o s p ita l during the prevalence of the small pox among u s . Considerable a ssista n c e has also been rendered to the poor, the decrepit & the f r i e n d l e s s , i n re p a irin g h o u ses, c u ltiv a tin g vegetables & in donations of food c lo th in g & money. I n the amount of free contributions there has been a happy advance on the p r e c e d i n g ( ! ) and on a l l former years We trust also that an intelligence & cheerfulness in g iv in g has increased. S ta tis tic s Total received on Examination " " " by le tte r Past y ear on Exam ination ” ” by le tte r Total dism issed by le tte r Dism issed past year ” ” Whole number deceased Deceased the past year Excluded the past year Whole number remaining Excluded Now in regular standing Total of children b a p tize d of Church & c . _ _ - - — - 1 0 ,7 9 0 514 176 10 718 32 4727 342 65 350 5509 3624 �H ilo 1854 5. 105 597 44 98 B ap tized the past year B a p tize d children deceased Deceased the p a s t year M arriages the past year I n Conclusion., though we have many things to lament & many fo r w hich to he penitent & humble b efo re God, s t i l l we are c a lle d upon to thank the Lord & take courage fo r the m u ltip lie d mercies o f the past y e a r . than our deserts As a chh. & people we have been chastened less ( I) w hilst our cup has been f i l l e d w it h b l e s s i n g s . To God be a l l the glory through C h r is t . Titus Coan Pastor of the Chh. at Hilo Haw aii [On b a c k :] T . Coan’ s Report . �P astoral Report of H ilo f o r the year ending A p ril 3 0 , 1 8 5 5 . Twenty years have ro lle d away since our eyes f i r s t h a i l e d the heavy h i l l s of H a w a ii. During this period changes have come over u s . Then our morn­ in g sun was ascending in strength & glowing in prom ise. Today ( !) he is d e c lin in g behind the western h i l l s & giving tokens of the approaching shades which terminate our earthly p ilg rim ag e. On our part these 20 years have been marked by u n f a i t h f u l n e s s , ing ra titu d e & tran sgressio n - On our Redeemer’ s part by p a t ie n c e , loving kindness & tender mercies raim ent, L i f e , h e a l t h , re aso n , fo o d, sh elter, p ro tec tio n , dom estic, s o c ia l , c i v i l & r e lig io u s b les sin g s have been bestowed upon us f r e e l y , & goodness & mercy & love have followed us thus f a r . And why shd we not p raise the Lord fo r all? Changes have a lso come over our p eo p le . Hawaiians were 20 years ago. H ilo Hawaiians are not what is not as Hilo was in 1 8 3 5 . True our mountains r is e in sublime grandeur as in days of yore - An d, as i n ancient days their heads are wreathed in fle e c y clouds & pow­ dered w ith the pure dust of heaven True, the awful thunder r o lls along our h i l l s & crashes i n our v a l l i e s as in former y e a r s . True, our volcanoes o ccasio n a lly disgorge th eir burning f l o o d s , and subterranean b a tte r ie s discharge frames t h e ir s t a r tlin g e le c t r ic it y along the mural w alls ( ! ) & iro n frame nerves ( ! ) of our mundane abode. True the clouds & the winds of heaven career above & around u s , and the ocean s t i l l roars and breaks in snowy foam along our rock ribbed co a st. Our r i l l s & riv e r lets also murmur & sparkle & dash along th e ir �H ilo 1855 2. rocky beds as i n other days w h ile our laughing landscape s t i l l shines i n a l l it s primeval beauty - a kaleidoscopic picture of the hues & forms of n ature i n her lo v e lie s t ro b e s. H i l o , n e v e r t h e le s s , has changed. I. P h y s ic a lly . Once we had no roads but the w il d m an's t r a i l - Now we have a hundred miles in H ilo & Puna over which men trav el comfortably on horseback. Once no b rid g es spanned our ra g in g streams, now we have a d o z . & more in prospect. Twenty years ago we had but one framed house i n H i l o , now we some h a v e /4 0 or 5 0 . Verandahs were a comfort then unknown to our peo­ p l e , now no one b u ild s without this appendage - Our v il l a g e was then w ithout form, a w ilderness of w eeds, w ild grass & b u s h e s ; now i t begins to show th e outlines of order & improvement in s t r e e t s , sid e w a lk s - fe n c e s , gardens, & cu ltiv a te d tr e e s . Then h o r s e s , h o m e d c a ttle , goats &c had hardly b een introduced among our p eople; now they are counted by hundreds or by thousands. A d o lla r then was as rare as a diamond ( probably I d i d not see ten d o lla rs i n specie i n the hands of n a tiv es during my f i r s t 5 years residence at H i l o ) now, gold & s ilv e r circu la te lik e the a ir & the w ater. Then the m alo, the pau & the N ih e i told the wardrobe of male & female - a fu ll suit of European fa b r ic being rarely or never seen i n a congre­ gation of 5000 - Now a l l , or n early a l l , are com fortable, d e c e n tly , & many ric h ly clad in the manufactures of a l l c i v i l i z e d nations Once the calabash, the stone p e s t le , the pai-board & a few mats were a l l the furniture the native hut affo rd ed - Now the neat dw elling presents it s c h a ir s , ta b le s, s o f a s , d esk, its $4 0 bed­ stead, i t s hangings, its culinary & table fu rn iture & a hundred other l i t t l e comforts unknown to a former g eneration. Once our vegetables & f r u i t s were confined to some 5 or 6 �H ilo v a r i e t i e s , now they are numbered by scores. 1855 3. Once we produced no sugar or coffee & but l i t t l e arrowroot; now we ship o f f hundreds of tons annually. Then some 5 or 10 stra g g lin g w h a le rs , or other vessels explored our unknown harbor, annually 200 Now from one to s a i l v i s i t us during the same period Once not a s in g le merchant vended his wares in H i l o , Now we have h a l f a score of lic e n s ed ( ! ) r e t a ile r s besides uncounted hawkers on the w in g , crying th eir wares over h i l l & dale through a l l the land Once we had no c r a f t s m a n among u s ; now our artisan s are p ly ­ ing t h e ir trades on every hand Once we had scarce a fo re ig n re sid e n t except the m issionary How we have between 100 & 20 0 fu n c tio n a r ie s ; now our place is is Then we had no public fo r e ig n the seat o f ju stice for H a w a ii & the proper residence of the governor & s u i t , o f an American Consul, a Circuit & Police judge, a S h e r i f f , D is t r ic t Attorney & c . Once we had no fo r e ig n Ladies except the wives of the M is s io n ­ a r i e s ; now we are constantly cheered by the presence of numbers e ith e r of permanent or of temporary r e s id e n t s . Once Hilo was considered as on the utmost confines o f s o c ia l life, & our dearest friends shed tears of p ity & condolence fo r our e x ile d & sad c o n d itio n ; now the world has come nearer to us & we are congratulated because ” The lin e s have f a l l e n to us i n p l e a - sant ( ! ) p l a c e s .” Notwithstanding these facts we have men s u f f i c ie n t l y bronzed (? ) to assert th at H ilo has made no progress - That the M ission here is a f a i l u r e ; that the people have fewer comforts than in ancient times that they are more & more indolent & that there is f a r less work done than when the m ission was f i r s t e s ta b lish e d h ere. �4. To such, audacious assertions it were v ain to re p ly except to a s k , whence th is increase o f w ealth a 1 0 0 or a 1 0 0 0 f o l d except by the effo rts & t o ils of the people? N ot to dw ell longer on this point we pass on to a second p rop o sitio n v i z . II. Hilo has changed in t e lle c t u a lly during our sojourn t h e re . The people know more of "good & E v i l " than they once d i d . There is a hundred f o ld more of mind & of knowledge among them. And i n this proposition we do not confine ourselves to t h e ir know­ ledge of re ad in g , w r i t in g , arithm etic & other branches taught in our sc h o o ls, for though there may have been advance in these spe­ c i f i c studies yet it is not in these c h ie fly that change app ears. Their sphere o f general knowledge has greatly enlarged - They know more of the world - its geography, h is t o r y , laws ( ? ) , maxims, cu s­ toms, d is t in c t io n s , p re ju d ic e s, manners, a r t s , a vo c atio n s, d iv e r ­ s i o n s , v ir t u e s , vices & gen eral c h a r a c t e r is t ic s . They know more of the r e la t iv e numbers, knowledge, w ealth , in flu e n c e , power & prowess of the nations of the ea rth . From year to y e a r the great panorama of humanity has been passing befo re them in a l l its kaleidoscopic changes of hue & form while th eir mental v i s i o n has been quickened, their f i e l d of ob­ serv atio n widened & th eir in t e l l e c t u a l horizon extended. Many a H a w a iia n 's l i t t l e fin g e r now has more knowledge of the w o r ld , its fa cts, its business e tc . than h is whole body had 2 0 years ago. W ith but two eyes we had thought, t h a t , at l e a s t , some o f the " prim itive id e a s " of these developments might be traced to Haw aiian scho o lin g , but we stand corrected by the gentlemen of a hundred Eyes whose v is io n must be more extended, clear & pen etratin g than our own. At Hilo we had thought that our common, Select & Board­ �Hilo 1855 5. ing Schools, - all ’’Hawaiian Schooling” - had developed & dis ciplined ( !) mind, enlarged the circle of useful knowledge & enstamped traces of improvement on the past & for the future. We had flat­ tered ourselves that our labors in this department had been an entire failure - That Some, at least, of the many pupils who have been trained with so much care, expense & toil, had become respectable & useful members of the community. How then do we stand confounded when the keen-sighted & the wise assert that, " ” There is not a Step on record in our national development & well being of which the primitive idea, or the matured conception can be traced to Hawaiian Schooling" ! (See "New Era” Ap. 12, 1855) One consolation remains to us - viz. Assertion is not proof, III Moral Changes have also been effected at Hilo. And these have been for the better & for the worse. Moral character is much more distinct & positive and moral sentiments more intelligent than in other days. All know the right, and many seem to choose it for its own sake. Such are intelligent, stable, active & growing Christians. Of these we have scores & hundreds who strengthen us by their prayers & cheer us by their steadfast faith & ready cooperation. They grow in wisdom - they grow in grace; their minds & their hearts being enlarged by the truth & the love of God. All know the right but many choose the wrong. And they choose it intelligently & heartily - Skill in violating law & in evading its penalty is constantly increasing. Many can do wicked acts now of which they were once wholly ignorant. And these have all been taught in English or European Schools, by teachers who have been active & vigilant ( !) in their -work - And many have made rapid progress in this kind of education so that they will �Hilo 1855 6. now nearly rival their white teachers in the arts of seduction, guile, fraud, intemperance, profanity, Sabbath-breaking & infidel­ ity. And thus it has always been in our lost world - While the gospel, with its attendant enlightening, energizing, elevating & purifying influences becomes a savor of life to one class it bec o m e s a v o r f l i e t o n c l a s i t b e ( !) comes also a savor of death, to another. It is strictly true then of Hilo that w e have more of good & more of evil than we had 20 years ago. The 10000 Sermons & lectures, & the unnumbered other teachings which have been scattered broadcast, like seed, over the field during the last 20 years, not forgetting the many & faithful labors of preceding ( !) years, have not been in vain. God's hand never returns void - but its object, for weal or for woe, is surely accomplished. But to be more particular we will speak, IV Of some of our labors etc during the past year. Tours. These have been, as in former years six in number viz- 3 in Puna & 3 in Hilo. The detail of these labors, such as preaching, church discipline ( !), examining & receiving candidates, baptism of infants, calling chh. roll, taking collections, & a thousand nameless duties, would be too tedious for a report like this. Station Labors. At the Station the pastor usually preaches 2 Sermons in native & one in English on the Sabbath, besides attending a large Sabbath School, & a meeting for inquirers, consultation, church discipline ( !) & prayer The public weekly labors are two regular lectures besides many occasional & special ones. After all, the detailed & daily labors of the Pastor for his �Hilo 1855 people form the greatest & heaviest part of his work. 7. These come upon him at all times, in great numbers & variety and with little interruption or relief. Mrs. C. has "been a faithful co- worker in the cause - She holds a weekly meeting for females, & in a thousand ways lends a hand to the work of the Lord - Her patience & self-denial in looking after the household affairs during the many & long absences of the pastor, & the constant cheerful­ ness in which she engages in domestic & missionary duties for his comfort & aid can only be appreciated by those who know them. Without this kind & necessary cooperation the efficiency of the Missionary must be lessened two thirds. Our worthy Associates also are not only active in their re­ spective departments, but ready to lend a helping hand to the pastor in times of need - conducting meetings in his absence & in other ways contributing to the furtherance of his work - Dr. Wetmore conducts a flourishing Bible Glass for Hawaiian youths, male & female. Mr. Stevens & Mr. Austin also teach a sabbath school for for­ eign & half-cast children &, with Capt. Worth they unite with us in our weekly prayer meetings, assisting also in the Bethel Services when the pastor is absent. Our English Bethel is pretty well attended, both in shipping seasons & during their absence. We now have quite a little foreign community at Hilo as fair a proportion of whom attend public worship as i n most communities. V State of Morals & religion. Most of the members of the church who have been steadfast in former years have remained so to the present time - Quiet, order, & external morality have been generally prevalent through all the �8 former part of the year, & up to the present time there has been little open vice in Puna & the outposts of Hilo. Just around our bay, however, there has, of late, been considerable disturbance from drinking sour potatoes, beer &c. The evil has been confined chiefly to one small section where potatoes are grown & to a set of native sailors & others who are trained to mischief. The practice broke out about the time of the King's death, and the present laws for suppressing it seem inadequate. But our great danger lies in the want of vital, spiritual energy in the church. Many seem in a degree, awake, and our reli­ gious services are well attended - Still, there is not, vitality, faith, power enough in the church. We all know that there is but one remedy "when the enemy comes in like a flood”, & yet we are slow to feel our wants & to plead that "the Spirit of the Lord will lift up his standard” for our help. Swarms of Mormon priests, from 2 to 12 in a company, have traversed all parts of Hilo & Puna almost constantly during the year. On one occasion they made a few converts in Puna, but ere long all left them so that now the poor proselyters have not a single friend in that district. been more successful. At a few points in Hilo they have Numbers "of the baser sort” follow their foolishly devised fables— how many I do not exactly know. their cause vacillates (! ) ominously ( !) in Hilo - They gain & lose proselytes ( !) alternately & their building in [is] sand. But on quick­ They are a fan in the hand of the Great purifier and a "Sieve of vanity" shaken by the Almighty. As to the papists they seem at a dead stand - They have not, I think, a single school in all Hilo & Puna - Their houses of worship are going to decay - timber collected for a Cathedral at �Hilo 1855 9. Hilo is rotting on the ground - their meetings are almost deserted & I hear of no new converts made to their faith. Still the devil is not dead, and our warfare with his legions is not ended. In some parts of our field, especially in Puna there has heen a wakeful spirit through the year. In several sections there has not been a single case of church discipline ( !) during the period under review, while a goodly number have been added to the church. The whole number received on profession during the year is 95. VI. Christian & benevolent Enterprise. During the past winter the great winds prostrated numbers of our meeting & school houses. Several of these are being rebuilt in a more substantial form, marking a decided improvement. Numbers of private dwellings have also been built for the poor & unfortunate by the voluntary & unprompted efforts of the church. Taro patches have, in some instances been cultivated in the same way. The total amount of cash contributed, including the pastor's salary & collections for meeting houses, is about $3000.00 This, aside from the above specifications, has been appropriated & dis­ bursed to various objects of benevolence in other lands & at the Islands. We do not feel that we have done what we ought but we bless the Lord for enabling & inclining us to do so much. We have no chiefs, & no rich natives at Hilo, & the church, though nominally large is widely scattered & poor, most of the members living from 15 to 75 miles from market (?), & with poor roads & no means of conveyance except the ancient mamaka or shoul­ der pole - About 1000 of our chh. are always absent in other �1 i 5 10 o 8 l H . districts & on other islands - Some 2000 are old, sick, children & poor people who can do little or nothing, & many of whom need constant help from their friends, & another 1000 at least may be put down as drones, unmoved by any motives to the discharge of Christian & beneficent duties. So that, after all we have only about 1000 efficient & reliable Christians as our working force in active Christian enterprise. VII Ships, Seamen &c About 108 sail of vessels have visited our port during the year & much time has been spent with Masters, Officers & Sailors. A bundle of tracts, papers & small books has been distributed to every ship & a large number of Bibles, Testaments & other religious books have been given to individuals. We have also preached the word to seamen, in season & out of season, in the Bethel, in our own dwellings, in the market, on the bridge, by the wayside, on the beech (!) & in the eating house, the beer shop & the bowling alley — Many interesting scenes have occurred in this department wh. cannot be here detailed - Bread has been east upon the water with the sure promise of Him who Is faithful & true. VIII Statistics. Whole number received to Chh. on Exam - - " " " by letter Received the past year on exam " " " " by letter Whole number past year " " dismissed to other churches Dismissed the past year Whole number deceased Deceased the past year Suspended the past year Remain Suspended Excommunicated past year Whole number Excommunicated Remain Excommunicated Now in regular standing Whole number of children bapd Baptized the past year Marriages the past year T. Coan Pastor. - 10,885 521 95 7 102 734 16 4 931 204 71 370 none 125 20 5 351 3 700 75 85 �Abstract of Mr. Coan's Report. [1855] The many changes of the last 20 years. I Physical - These have been many and marked. Few things remain as they were - Change & Progress are everywhere seen. II Intellectual changes are apparent ( !). Mind has developed ( !) The mental horizon has been extended - the circle of knowledge wi­ dened - Conceptions or good & evil are more distinct - & mind has been gaining preponderance over matter. III Moral changes are distinct. than they once were. Men are better & men are worse The distinctions between good & evil, are seen & men choose more intelligently & heartily - The good are better & the wicked are worse. (!) The gospel has been a savor of life & of death. IV Labors of past year. Much as in former years. Touring, preaching, church dis ci- pline ( !), Preaching to seamen - conversations - Distribution of books, tracts etc. V State of morals & religion. Peace & tranquility have generally prevailed. Meetings well attended - Evidences of the Spirit in some parts - in other parts too much stupidity. VI Christian & benevolent Enterprise Several, new meeting houses built & in building. done for the poor, sick & unfortunate. Something About 3000 dollars contri­ buted in cash for the various objects of Christian enterprise, in­ cluding pastor’s salary VI I Ships, seamen &c More than one hundred vessels visited the port during the year. English services kept up regularly on the Sabbath. Bibles, books, tracts etc - distributed - Opportunities improved for conver sation. �(Hilo) D r . Wetmore's Report for 1855 Again, Dear Brethren, I must send up instead of carry up to you my annual report. Would that I could meet you & confer with, you from day to day as you assemble together, - but such, a privil­ ege will not be mine this year. A year ago we feared that on Mrs. Wetmore’s account we might be obliged to visit a cooler clime; - the year has passed away & we still remain at our station; - her health is poor, much as it was when last reported; - at times we wish we were in our native land, where, humanly speaking, a cold & bracing climate might re invigorate her system, - but for the present Providence seems to indicate it to be our duty to remain at our posts, - hence our plans are all laid for staying. Practice. — The past year has been very unlike the one last reported; - no "pestilence has been walking in darkness” - no "destruction has been wasting at noon-day" - true - we have had several rumors that the "noisome pestilence" had re-visited us, but happily they have proved false alarms. — The fell Archer has here & there aimed his fatal dart & sum­ moned a few to the retributions of eternity; - others have been visited with sickness & the blessing of God has given efficacy to the means employed for their recovery. — Encouragements and dis­ couragements have as usual been realized in the line of my profes­ sion; - some natives have applied with an "hookamani" (hypocritical] spirit for medicine while they were under the treatment of native doctors, while others have come & like men paid their bills; others no doubt have turned away because charges are made; - one old man came a few months ago & asked for medicine but was unwil­ ling to bring any remuneration - he excused himself by saying he �Wetmore Hilo 1855 2. was unable to do it, because a certain sum was "lilo" [transferred] to his "kahuna pule", priest] - more to the "luakini", [house of [ worship] , &c.; - I remonstrated,. - telling him that what he gave to such objects was not "lilo" if he did it with a proper spirit; he disliked my reply & then objected to taking the medicine on any condition; he has lately returned more pliable & his wife is fast recovering. — Several surgical operations have been performed dur­ ing the year;- among them was one which caused me a good deal of solicitude; it however proved less serious than I somewhat antici­ pated. The whole amount received the. past year for services & medi­ cines is $690.91; about $91. of it- was from natives, which is more than double the sum realized from them last year & more than quad­ ruple that which I received from them four years ago;- is not this encouraging? Schools. -- An hour of my time a day has been devoted to teach­ ing English in the Hilo Boarding School when my other labors would admit of it, - which, by the way, has been more than half of the school year. - I have also had a Bible Class under my tuition a large part of the year; I think I may say it has been mutually beneficial to all concerned; - one of our number is about to offer himself to go forth as a Missionary of the Cross of Christ; - his attendance has been punctual & constant, & his attention has been apparently undivided. I have also taught another class of four or five in English almost daily the year round. Kau will probably be reported from another quarter, - but as I have just made a hasty visit there you will allow me to say a few words respecting that station; - the Mission premises seemed extremely d e s o l a t e to me - I greatly missed that dear Brother �Wetmore Hilo 1855 whom I had so often met there & with whom I was wont to hold sweet converse; - the house looked natural but the dear family was not there to make it really natural, but the change was, to the absent one whose clay lies upon the Western frontier of his native land, a happy one, though it saddened the hearts of not a few; - I found that he had a good many mourners among his ”little flock". - I saw a good many things which, spoke loudly of his absence ( !), yet on the whole, they were apparently doing as well as could be ex­ pected. - I met the people on the Sabbath & dwelt upon Mr, Kinney's labors among them & tried to show them wherein 'he being dead yet speaketh”; - the congregation, (which was as large as I have been accustomed to see there, except on extra occasions,) listened at­ tentively to the discourse & a good degree of solemnity pervaded the assembly. . I am, Dear Brethren, as ever most truly yours Hilo Hawaii May 5th, 1855. Chas. H . Wetmore �[1855] Abstract of Report. The health of Dr. Wetmore's family is nearly as it was when last reported; - Mrs. Wetmore is feeble, but we desire to thank God for past mercies & take courage. Practice. - No devastating epidemic has been among us the past year; though false alarms respecting the "noisome pestilence" have not been very unfrequent. performed as in other years. Medical & surgical labors have been Encouragements & discouragements have been realized in the line of my profession. During the year $600.16 have been received for services & medicines from foreigners, & $90.75 from natives, which is more than double the amount obtained from this source any previous year. Schools. - Dr. W. has taught English in the "Hilo Boarding School" an hour a day for more than half of the term time. An interesting Bible Class of fifty young Hawaiian men & women has been taught on the Sabbath a large part of the year; one of the number, a promising young man, is a missionary candidate for Micronesia. Tour. - One hasty tour has been made to Kau. A goodly number of the people were found mourning the death of their pastor. About the usual number was present at the meeting on the Sabbath; they listened with attention & solemnity. [On back] : Abstract of Dr. Wetmore's Report 1855 �Pastoral Report of Hilo, for the y ear ending Apr. 30 , 1856 Hilo is on the eastern slope of Hawaii. hills & valleys". It "drin keth water of the rain of heaven” - God careth for it. end of the year. It is "a land of His eyes are upon it from the beginning to the He has dressed it in robes of perennial green - He has watched over it amidst the convulsions of nature - The tem­ pest - the flood - the earthquake - the fire have not destroyed it Famine, pestilence, & strife have not wasted it. Under the smiles of Heaven its fields& v a l l e y s & hills sing & rejoice - Its bland breezes dispel noxious vapors; its lovely landscape charms the eye - its rills murmur melody while its snowy cascades thunder as the "voice of many waters1'. God has preserved Hilo & to Him be praise forever. The people of Hilo are sinners. Man there "is vile" - more so, it may be, than the inhabitants of the doomed cities of the plain - We deserve rebuke - We deserve "indignation & wrath" - God threatened us terror over us - He unsheathed a flaming sword - He shook it in For anxious months it seemed ready to fall upon t us. He looked upon Hilo & it trembled - He touched our hills & they smoke ( !) - He came down & trode ( !) upon the high places of our land & the mountains were molten under him - The hills melted like wax before the Lord & the rocks flowed down at his presence - A fiery stream issued & went forth before him - The breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone kindled in our thickets and con­ sumed our forests - He has turned our rivers into a wilderness - & our water springs into dry ground. To us it is no figure when he says "I will make waste mountains & hill, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the river islands & dry up the pools. As when Jehovah gave the law on Sinai "the mountain was alto- �' Hilo, 18 5 6 2. gether on a smoke”, and as "the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount" so it has been with us. His drapery of smoke & sulphur ( !) has hung around our horizon. His pavilion of clouds & darkness has been spread upon our mountains - His thunders have rolled along our hills - His lightnings have flashed in our land & for more than 9 months a deluge of liquid fire has rolled down from the summit of Mauna Loa, rending, melting & consuming all in its way until it had approached within 5 or 6 miles of our town - And here the fiat went forth, "No further" and here the fiery waves were stayed the morning of the This was on th of Feb. since which time no progress has been made by the lava towards Hilo. The great mountain furnace, remains, however, in full blast, and immense quantities of incan­ descent minerals are being sent down to form hills, & cones & ridges near the terminus of the stream. Thus the Lord preserves us, & to him we [give] our unmeasured praise. The length of the stream is supposed to be from 60 to 70 miles, its breadth varying ..from 1 to 5 miles & its depth very unequal - In some places it may be 200 or 300 feet. That this fiery flood should approach so near without coming down upon us seems marvellous - While our danger appeared eminent, (!) & while many were devising plans & making arrangements for removal, others were earnest in prayer. A day of fasting was also observed both by natives & foreigners, & we ought to believe & do believe that the Lord heard the prayers of his people, - and although there is much sin at Hilo yet we do believe that the place contains more than 10 righteous men. may However this may be we pray God that we never be left to forget his mercies in sparing us, & in not blotting from the book of nature so fair a landscape as Hilo. �Hilo 1856 3. The year at Hilo has been one of unusual health both among natives & foreigners. Temporal prosperity has attended our people & physical improve­ ments have made steady & perceptible progress. No mental developments have startled & astonished the world, & yet there has been intellectual progress ~ "The march of mind" seems slow; but we rejoice to feel that in this department there is movement. We shall, however, leave this subject to be eluci­ dated by those whose more direct labors are teaching “the young ideas how to shoot” My labors at the Station have been as usual - viz. On the Sabbath at 9 A.M. a Sabbath School of several hundreds of children Adults. At 10 1/2 preaching to the native congregation - At 12 m. meeting for inquirers & chh. Session - At 11/2 P.M. native sermon - & at 3 1/2 P.M. English Services in the Bethel. Two regular with occasional lectures, funerals etc. make up the public duties of the week - The rest of the time is fully occupied ( !) in distributing books, receiving the numerous calls, listening to the many thoughts and attending to the varied wants of uncounted numbers of natives, sailors etc., in visiting the sick, in attending to pastoral & evangelical labors; in making little excursions for preaching in the vicinity of the station; in read­ ing & writing, & need of a , in eating & sleeping. Time brings no relaxation of the daily toils & cares which come upon me at my post of labor. My extended tours have been, as usual, six, viz. three in Puna & three in Hilo - These have been divoted to all the varied labors of the pastor, teacher, counsellor & evangelist ( !). they are seasons of vital interest to the Christians & people And �Hilo 1856 scattered over the "broad fields of Hilo & Pima. 4. We have, also, held three special conventions of teachers and delegates during the year, viz. one general one at the Station for all Hilo & Puna one local one in the centre of Hilo district & a similar one in the heart of Puna. These conventions were devoted to prayer, to the free discussion of important topics & to consultations on sub­ jects pertaining to the interests of Christ's Kingdom. These dis- cussions exert a stimulating & healthful influence on the minds & hearts of the members in attendance, & through them, on the masses of the people. External morality among our people has been much as in former years - Pew overt acts of transgression have come to our k n o w l e d g e Most of the cases of conviction in our legal courts have been for drinking potatoes & adultery - and such cases of conviction have been mostly confined to a few localities, & they have not been unusually numerous - Great stillness & quiet have marked our Sabbaths & peace & safety have reigned in our borders - Much sin has, doubtless been committed, but the gospel has driven it into dark places so that it does not meet the public eye in all its boldness & turpitude As for pure & undefiled religion, or spiritual and active piety, we have far too little of it - Our Sabbath congregations are large and other meetings are well attended - There has been also no little visiting of Christians from house to house with exhortations & prayers - and in some parts of the field a wakeful revival spirit has been manifested. There have also-been enquirers during the year & more than 80 have been received to the chh. on profession of faith. Still, there have been indications of spirit­ ual apathy in many parts, & large numbers of the chh. have been �Hilo 1856 5. inclined to drowsiness & inefficiency in the work of the Lord. Both pastor & people have needed the quickening power of God Mormonism seems to have rum its race with us - We consider it as good as dead in Hilo while it cannot "boast of a single disciple in Puna - Its doctrines & practices are in decidedly ill odor among our people Popacy holds on with dogged tenacity of life; but we think it does not hold its own - Its priests are still - their labors feeble - their disciples dead & their cause at discount - We ap­ prehend that they feel this, as we hear nothing of their former confident boastings - May the Lord consume their cause with the breath of his mouth. As usual, we have labored for Seamen & foreign residents as time & strength have been granted us - Our meetings for these classes have been unusually well attended, & we have often been cheered by evidences of the Spirit’s work on the hearts of some who have heard the word bn the Sab. or with whom we have conversed in private - We have witnessed the earnest, anxious look, we have seen the falling tear & heard the confession & the expressed resolution to serve the Lord Many Bibles, Testaments, hymns, tracts etc have been distri­ buted among seamen - Every ship has been supplied with religious reading & in various languages - Bread is thus cast upon the waters with the assured hope of finding it again after many days. Seamen have been remarkably accessible during the past season They have called in large numbers & in many cases have made spon­ taneous offerings to the pastor - No noisy riots have disturbed' our peace during the shipping season. But there is a dismal shade to the sailor’s life & while a �Hilo 1856 6. few may be reached by the living power of the gospel, the masses are being driven onward by the minds & floods of passion to the gulf of woe - Nothing arrests - nothing checks them in their swift progress to ruin In objects of Christian enterprise our people have done some­ thing - The whole amount of voluntary contributions for such ob­ jects is more than $3000 - besides something extra for objects of secular improvement The $3000 have been contributed in cash while a considerable amount has been given in labor & other articles to various worthy objects. We have arrived at a new Era in our missionary life - Two of our dear children have embarked on the deep to visit the land of their fathers. It is our first trial of this kind & we bespeak the prayer & the sympathies of those fathers & mothers in our Israel whose experience in these matters has been greater & deeper than ours. We are all passing rapidly through the different stages of our short earthly pilgrimage - We toil & rest - We hope & fear - We wrestle & figh t - We meet & part - and we are all look­ ing forward to the day when our toils & fears, our wrestlings & fightings shall be over, & when we shall meet to part no more We will then, as fellow travellers strive to help each other along the pilgrim path, that our feet may stand together on the heaven­ ly hills. �Hilo 1856 7. Statistics Whole number received on examination " " " By letter 10,968 . 535 83 Received past year on Examination " " " 14 by letter Whole number dismissed to other churches 747 13 Dismissed the past year Whole number deceased 5,117 186 Deceased the past year Suspended the past year 45 375 Remain Suspended [no figure] Excommunicated past year 125 Whole number Excommunicated 17 Remain Excommunicated Whole number in regular standing 5,247 Whole number of children baptized 3,791 Baptized the past year 91 Marriages the past year 83 T . Coan - Pastor. | �Pastoral Report of Hilo for the year ending Apr. 30, 1857 Twenty two years ago we first trod the scenes of Hawaii. soil & viewed the Varied & interesting have been the dealings of God with us & our people during that period - We have seen years of sorrow & toil & of joy & triumph. During the past year, few events of a peculiar or striking character have transpired. Our labors have been much as in former years and there is nothing new or strange in the results. The year has been one of general health throughout our field, and the mor­ tality has b een less than in several past years deaths in the church amounted to 342. In 1854 the In 1855 to 204. In 1856 to 186 and during the past year to 171. Every succeeding year gives distinct evidence of progress in human knowledge & in what are esteemed worldly interests - It is a fact, however much disputed, that more thought & more labor are bestowed on the improvements & comforts of life, than in former days. There is an increased wakefulness & a doubled energy in securing the opportunities of traffic ( !) & the advantages of industry. External morality has, also, been the rule - outbreaking vice the exception. Our Sabbaths are quiet, our days & nights peaceful, our per­ sons & property secure - our laws respected & feared - our houses of worship well filled, and everywhere is witnessed the supremacy of law and order & the triumph of truth & justice. Though many love transgression, & though sin lurks in secret places yet it is a consolation to know that the power of the Lord holds the wicked in abeyance and clothes truth & righteousness with �Hilo 1857 2. Our Schools have been sustained throughout all Hilo & Puna & nearly every child of legal age has been brought into them. There is some evidence that their general character is improving. At outstations considerable has been done to improve houses of worship & some new ones have been erected. Perhaps $1000. in cash, material and labor may have been expended in this way, and this work is still going slowly forward. We are, also, "making haste slowly" in collecting materials and funds for a good and substantial church edifice at the station, and we hope to commence building before the end of time. We do not, however, intend to precipitate the work, or commence building until we feel able to finish lest all that behold us should begin to mock But through the grace of God, there will arise, in due time, a ternpie at Hilo for the worship of the Almighty, and all help cheerfull y ( !) given to this object will be thankfully received. Hitherto we have begged of no one out of our own field, yet God has stirred up the hearts of several to give spontaneously to this work & their generous free will offerings will be thankfully acknowledged in the proper time My 6 annual tours - 3 in Hilo & 3 in Puna - have all been performed in their season & with happy results ~ By this careful supervision of the outposts, in detail, the church has been kept in peace, in unity & in a good degree of efficiency; while sin has been checked in the bud, a number of backsliders reformed, and sinners hopefully converted to God. We have, also, held three conventions, consisting of about 200 delegates each, viz. one at the Station, one at our outpost in Hilo & one in Puna. These continued two or 3 days, & were devoted to prayer, consultation & discussions, all tending to the further- �Hilo 1857 3. ence ( !) of the cause of Christ Of papacy & mormonism we have little to say - I think there is not a single school under the control of either of these sects in Hilo' & Puna, & the prospects of each are anything but flattering. Still the priests hold on with wonderful tenacity, making every shift to sustain, a sinking cause Our labors at the Station have been unremitted, the several Sabbath services occupying ( !) the whole day with two regular weekly lectures, besides funerals & other occasional services. Most of the time during the 6 week days has been occupied ( !) in attending to the many pastoral & missionary duties incident to a Station like Hilo so that the pastor has had little rest except during the hours of sleep. Most of the children & hundreds of the adults in Hilo & Puna assemble every Lord’s day in Sabbath School - The Station S.S. is quite large & interesting. attend it. Several hundreds of children & parents At the same hour Mr. Lyman meets his pupils in S.S. for religious instruction - Dr. Wetmore also conducts a Bible class for youths & Mr. Stevens a S.S. for the children of foreigners, so that we have four well sustained schools at 9 A.M. on every Sab. These schools are, we trust, by the grace of God doing much for the youthful population of Hilo. Mrs. C. has sustained a weekly meeting for native females besides many & almost daily efforts for the good of the people. Seamen & foreign residents have not been left without care Every ship has been supplied with Bibles, Testaments, Books, papers, tracts etc. as they have needed. Of vessels of all classes about 100 sail have visited our port during the year. Seamen have been accessible & much time has been spent in personal labors for their - �4. spiritual good, and not without many encouraging tokens - One English service has heen sustained on the Sabbath during the year, &i perhaps no foreign community can be found where a larger proportion attend public worship than at Hilo - We are encouraged also to hope, that, through the grace of God an improvement is going for­ ward in the morals & manners of our foreign community and that some have passed from death to life During the fall shipping season Bro. Taylor preached for me 7 or 8 Sabbaths much to the satisfaction of the foreigners, who testified their obligations by making up a purse of $350.00 for his services. Since then they have taken incipient steps towards securing the services of a permanent chaplain. Doubtless we will all agree in the feeling, that it is of great importance to regenerate, to associate & to mould into Christian form the heterogeneous foreign elements of society on these shores. It is a toilsome work, but under the influence of faith, patience & love it may be carried for­ ward, & no time should be lost. Ministers & Christians should meet foreigners at every point, & by kind, earnest, discreet & patient effort endeavor to save them, & to save them now from those baleful influences, those demoralizing associations & debasing surroundings which threaten, not only their temporal & eternal interests, but also the social, civil & religious institutions of the nation. In conclusion we will say, that while our physical & social condition has been blessed, while our schools, congregations, contri butions etc., have been sustained; while our labors have been un­ interrupted, while the Spirit of truth & of power has not been utterly withdrawn; while some backsliders have been reclaimed, & more than one hundred professed converts gathered into the church, �5 and while hundreds of our people are laborious, prayerful & stead­ fast in the faith, still we would confess with grief, that we have not acted up to our privileges, our resolutions & our vows; that we have tempted God & limited the Holy One of Israel by worldly minded­ ness & unbelief. That the pastor & chh. have not shined with that light which should be reflected from those who have received such favors from Heaven We will, nevertheless, praise the Lord for his mercy and trusting in his grace go forward in his work, laboring in hope that his cause may yet triumph more & more until all hearts shall yield to the claims of Jesus and the dominion shall be the Lord's. Statistics. Whole number received on Examination " " " by letter Received the past year on Examination " " " " by letter Whole number received past year Whole number dismissed to other chh. Dismissed the past year Whole number deceased Deceased the past year Excluded the past year Remain excluded How in regular standing Whole number of children baptized Baptized the past year Marriages the past year ' Contributions to all objects [On back page:] [Also]: Report of Hilo Church for 1857. Mr. Coan's Report 1857 - - - ~ - 11073 563 105 28 133 761 14 5288 171 29 352 5235 3856 65 84 $ 3500 �[Chas. H. Wetmore, 1857, HiloJ To The Hawaiian Evangelical Association, Dear Brethren, Sustaining, as I do, a connection with your Association, you will, I suppose, expect a report from me though it he but a brief one. I am happy to say that health, that best of all earthly bless­ ings, has been vouchsafed to us as a family during the past year to an extent beyond that which we have enjoyed before for a long time; we would therefore "praise the Lord for His goodness." In regard to Medical Practice I can say that natives have contributed more than they have done any previous year for medicine and for our support; while at the same time I see a decided tendency among them to go back to Hawaiian Doctors and to those practices, which ought only to exist in heathen countires; - but, alas ! ery and jugglery find their votaries the world over. quack­ I might point you to him, who, though intelligent and sane on every other subject, is ready to swallow any nostrum which comes to him sufficiently puffed with certificates for its healing virtues for all the ails that human flesh is heir to, - or to him, who, believing in that new doctrine, that "like cures like", takes his infinitesimal ( !) dose and really imagines that it accomplishes wonders; is it any more inconsistent for a person far more ignorant to kill a white fowl or a black hog and imagine that by feasting on them disease will in some strange manner take its departure? - And here, permit me to tell you that Allopathy, (which is the ano [likeness] of our entire Hawaiian practice,) has cured disease, relieved suffering, and cheered not a few in this vicinity during the year now closing; One missionary brother will not soon forget the swift errand of �Hilo, Wetmore, 1857 2. mercy which, he summoned me to perform, and which to all human ap­ pearance prolonged the life of his companion; - one native man brought, unsolicited, his five dollars as a testimony of his grat­ itude for having been rescued from a premature grave; another man too will always remember with a good degree of gratitude the healing of that leg, which he had well nigh lost while under the treatment of Hawaiian practitioners; one woman came to me not long since with her three-dollar free-will-offering, - and why? - because she felt that she too had received more than an equivalent for it, viz. health I might go one and weary you with descriptions of those who have been greatly benefited by the healing art, and who have given tangible proof of their gratitude, but I forbear. There has been no unusual amount of sickness about us during the past year, & but comparatively few deaths. Those diseases which most abound are gradually reducing our population. Awa-drinking has increased rapidly since the law in relation to it was altered; - our Governess is disposed to use her influence in extending its use in order to increase her finances; if she would merely confine it to those cases where it is absolutely needed as a medicine, we would object less to the course which she has adopted. From the natives I have received one hundred and eighty dollars since the date of my last Report. There has been a growing disposi­ tion on their part to increase their donations from year to year, and I notice that it has been advancing in nearly a two-fold ratio. This, however, is not a fair criterion from which to judge of my practice among them; - in the early period of my labors here, there was but little money in circulation; as that medium became more abundant they brought it in, in return for what they received; �[Hilo, Wetmore, 1857J 3. another reason is that up to the time when I came here they had received their medicines gratuitously, & it has taken some time to lead them to feel that our medicines are worth something. The Hilo Bible Glass under my charge and consisting of fifty Hawaiian Young Men and women still meets from Sabbath to Sabbath to study the Holy Scriptures. There has been more regularity in atten­ dance since the new year commenced than during the latter part of the old year; - Would that I could say that there is an unusual amount of seriousness among them, but, alas I I cannot. - One thing, how­ ever, I can say which speaks well for them; it is this, - at my suggestion they have entered on a plan of Systematic Beneficence; a contribution-box has been prepared for them, into which they drop their monthly subscriptions to "hawai" their "Kahuna pule"; - they have already raised in this way forty two dollars and fifty cents for this good object and they appear to have done it cheerfully; a few of them give no more than they were accustomed to give annually when reckoned at the same rate; - a few others, who had given nothing are now found among those who delight in aiding the propagation of the gospel in the home field; while a larger number of the class have, by this arrangement, more than doubled their former subscrip­ tions. It has been very pleasing to see them come forward with promptness & smiles, saying, as each deposited his or her little sum, "Eia ka’ui Eia ka’u !" — ["it is mine"(?)] — When I first proposed the plan, I feared that it would diminish their monthly concert Collection, but thus far it has not affected it unless it has been by way of increasing it. - I find that natives are more ready to give little sums frequently than larger ones at more lengthened intervals. - �Hilo, Wetmore, 1857 4. And now, Dear Brethren, my prayer is that the Lord will he with you in all your deliberations . May Wisdom from above guide you in all your meetings & bring you to such results as shall be for the promotion of that best of all causes; & although I shall not be able to meet with you in person, be assured, I shall be with you in spirit, and my prayers will day by day ascend for you and for that cause which you will strive to further by your daily gatherings. Most respectfully submitted to the Hawaiian Evangelical Association by their unworthy brother in Christ. Chas. H. Wetmore Hilo, Hawaii H.I. May 4th 1857. [On back:] Report of Dr. Wetmore 1857 �Hilo 1858 Wetmore To the Hawaiian Evangelical Association held at Honolulu Dear Brethren, In my report this year I have nothing of special importance to communicate. — Mercy and goodness have followed us all the time of our sojourn at Hilo. In the midst of dangers seen and unseen, our lives have been preserved; in view of which, we would call upon our souls to praise and "bless the God who has thus cared for us and sustained us. Foreigners and natives, landsmen and seamen, have been min­ istered to in the line of my calling, as usual; many of them have been benefited, while others, whom we would gladly have kept with us longer, were called suddenly and unexpectedly away from time to eternity. My Hospital for Seamen has had about its usual number of in­ mates; the average for the year ending with the last quarter was a fraction less than six, and eleven patients was the largest number in the Hospital at a time during said year. - I purchased the hospital buildings and premises last October and have since fitted them up in in ( !) a comfortable manner. When there have been sev­ eral sick ones who were -unable to attend public worship on the Sabbath I have occasionally spent an hour with them not unprofitably in religious exercises, Brother Goan has looked with a com­ mendable degree of faithfulness after their spiritual welfare - I have been led to feel that some of them have at least been grateful for the religious instruction which he has from time to time im­ parted. From the first of my residence at Hilo, I have felt very de­ sirous that there might be hospital here for natives; - at one time �Hilo 1858 Wetmore2 . 2. I indeed talked of urging the natives to build one; - I was however early dissuaded from the undertaking; there seemed to be insuperable obstacles in the way. — The importance of such institutions is now fairly before the public and I hope it will continue to be agi­ tated until the wants of this entire group of Islands are supplied; I am more and more confident that they would be patronized by the people, provided, that the terms of admission were brought within their scanty means. On looking over my account books I perceive that I have received three hundred and fourteen dollars from natives the past year, mostly for medical services and medicines, - which is nearly double the amount received last year from the same source; and the increase has, all along, been in about the same ratio. Who can say that this does not indicate an increasing demand for foreign medicine & foreign practice? The Bible Class, which has been under my care for several years, is still continued; Mr. D. H. Hitchcock has been associated with me in conducting it during most of the past year. The members of the class have contributed quite liberally for the support of their Pastor and also for benevolent purposes. Some of them have yielded to temptation and contributed more bountifully for a less praise­ worthy object. Efforts have been made to obtain a Seamen's Chaplain for Hilo; a deficiency of funds for his support both here and in the States is all that will prevent our having one. A few months since, the Secretary of the American Seamen's Friend Society wrote me that they should "keep the subject before their Board till times are better, their treasury in a little better state, & the right man is presented. I have devoted much time the past year to raising Pastor's �Hilo 1858 Wetmore 3. salary and obtaining materials and money "to build a House for the name of the Lord and a House for His kingdom". It's a great and a good work and we long to see it completed and dedicated to Him, who alone is to be worshipped in it; - but before this can be ac­ complished we shall need at least four thousand dollars more than we have yet collected. We trust., that He, who has a right to control the silver & the gold, will provide for Its completion. I am, Dear Brethren Very Respectfully Your obt. Serv't Chas. H. Wetmore M.D. Hilo, Hawaii, H.I. May 14th in 1858 �Report Of Hilo Churoh etc. for the year ending April 30th 1858. A peaceful year. attended & crowned it. A year of grace. Goodness & mercy have No sickness & no revulsive events have interrupted our labors - In health, in quietness & in hope our months have rolled on while we pursued the even tenor of our way. Never, perhaps, have -we passed a year of less disturbance in our work or more harmony among our people. Every year, as it evolves facts, so it develops ( !) character among this people. That some should prove themselves ignorant of the truth that sanctifies, & of the love that saves is no strange thing. That others should hold on in the way of righteousness - grow stronger, wiser, better - give more evidence of a new creation within, & of an ordaination ( !) unto eternal life, is also, no matter of morvel. The history, the power, the promises of the gospel all inspire hope, expectation — assurance of such a result. Labor in the Lord is not labor in vain. is sure - To believe is to receive. To the obedient the promise To sow according to the command is to reap according to the promise - Obedient seed sowing brings joyful harvesting. Do we not find it so? & Master faithful? Do we not find every promise of G o d in Him yea & amen? the promises? Do we not find our Lord Do we not find that by faith & patience we inherit That to work in faith, or to trust in the Lord and do good - we are preserved & fed in the land, with the inspiring hope that we shall, ere long, reach a better country with the spiritual children God has given us through that gracious covenant �Hilo 1858 Goan made and made eternally sure in Christ? 2. The experience & observa­ tion of every passing year, though attended with many things painful in the history of our Time (?), do nevertheless confirm our faith in the true conversion and the progressive elevation & sancti­ fication of a great multitude of our people. Like the righteous, they hold on their way and like him that hath clean hands they wax stronger. We are not disappointed or discouraged at the backsliding, the unbelief & the apostasy of some. pected. This was to have been ex­ Forewarned by Christ and the Apostles & by the whole his- tory of the church we anticipated such a result, sad & direful as it may be, in many cases. death. To some we are a saver of death unto All this but confirms our faith, as it proves by fulfilment & by contrast the truth & the power of the gospel. Planting our feet therefore upon the Rock of truth we will enquire What if some did not believe? out effect? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God with­ God forbid. It is in Jehovah’s plan to develop ( !) good amidst evil - to purify virtue in conflict with sin - to prove it & to brighten its luster by contrast with its opposite - to throw chaff & wheat, cockle & barley, dross & pure metal, gold & stubble, saints & sinners together for a season. Amidst our daily & constant succession of duties we have found no time to notice & to sketch the passing panorama of events and our general and common place report will be too dry to interest or profit. But as it is made our duty to say something we will pause to state first, that although Hilo & Puna have been visited with no special disease, & though great health has prevailed among our �Hilo 1858 Goan 3. people yet, The Bill (?) of Mortality, has been unusually great. No less than 287 members of our church have died during the past year, besides many children & adults not in the church. This bill is greatly swelled by the sudden & mys­ terious disappearance of that ill-fated vessel the Kamamalu - This event transpired In March 1857, probably in the channel between Maui & Hawaii. That vessel coffined 58 members of the Hilo church besides numbers of children & others not on our chh. list. While the event remained dubious, hope, fear & painful doubt held sway among hundreds of our people; but when time brought no relief the requiem commenced & the solemn death dirge rolled over all our field, for there was hardly a hamlet in Hilo or Puna which had not furnished its victim to this sacrifice. By a Providence both mysterious and gracious some of the mission families were saved from the heart wasting pangs of that disaster. Mr. & Mrs. Austin with our daughter Sarah in charge, had determined to take passage in that vessel from Honolulu to Hilo on her fatal trip. All arrangements were made to that effect, when some apparently trivial circumstance changed their minds & they embarked in another vessel for Kawaihai ( !) where they arrived in safety & from whence they proceeded overland to Hilo. Addition to the church. While death has thus thrust in his sickle & gathered a multi­ tude of our people, the Lord has graciously, as we trust, added some new-born souls to our number. Eighty one have united with this church by profession, and some others are candidates for admission. �Hilo 1858 Coan The State of Religion among us - or the spiritual state of our people - is not what it ought to be. But this is a very trite and common remark - And, often, I apprehend, it affects the semblance of sincerity & humility, while it is only an apology for the lack of faith and fidelity, & a soothing unction to a conscience ill at east. I suppose we are as spiritual as we wish to be, all things considered - or, to use the terse Saxon of the immortal Edwards “The will is as the greatest apparent good is" . I have said that the church & people have been quiet & peace­ ful, & I will also say, that there have been evidences of the Spirit's work in some places & in some hearts. Had the pastor and a goodly number of the church been sufficiently awake to spir­ itual things - had the powers of the world to come exerted a due influence over our hearts & lives we should have been able to report more distinctly and joyfully the conversion of sinners & the grow­ ing graces of the saints. As it is, God has dealt graciously, granting us more than we have properly asked of Him. Of our Schools - I shall make but a passing remark. Our Common Schools number about 30. Some of them are conducted efficiently, by competent teachers & others are more languid. As a whole however, these schools rank much higher in knowledge & order than 10 years ago. In number of pupils they are greatly reduced, while they are improved in efficiency. At the Station we have a school of 60 pupils who are being taught English by Mr. Watt. Mr. Watt also teaches a school for the children of our Chinese residents. By the parents of his scholars he is paid at the rate of about 700$ a year. In Material Improvements we "make haste slowly" . �Hilo 1858 Coan 5. There is, however a perceptible progress from year to year. Most of our people are busy from day to day & the means of physical comfort increase. Every year adds to the number & style of decent & comfortable houses, to furniture equipage &c - Probably our people handle 10 fold more money now than they did 10 years ago & a 100 fold more than ( !) 20 years ago. Other material comforts multiply proportionately. Pour large sugar plantations are in progress in Hilo. These call for many laborers and increase the resources of the district. The article of pulu, or fern-down, has become very important in Hilo & Puna. Hundreds of tons are collected by the people - at from 4 to 6 cts per pound - and sold to merchants for goods or cash. Most of this product is purchased by Harris & Swain, pressed in bales & shipped to San Francisco where it is used in upholstery ( !). Men women & children engage in collecting this article & you will sometimes see most of the rural villages of Hilo & Puna de­ serted for months while the people are in the jungle collecting Pulu. Like our more enterprising brethren of the U.S. we will say a word on Church Erection. A new interest is awakened in our field on this subject. At several of the out Stations decided improvements have been made in houses of worship - in other places such improvements are being projected or are in progress. Framed houses, with glazed windows, floors, seats, doors, locks etc. are taking the places of the old native style of building - and in some poor out-stations the people begin to talk of zincd- roofs, towers, & bells. All these will come in time - Patient toil will bring on the results. One small congre­ �Hilo 1858 Goan 6. gation have just voted to raise 1000 dollars in cash to improve their meeting house. A new church edifice has been commenced at the Sta­ tion during the past year. It is 50 by 75 feet - 20 feet high, with a tower 16 feet square at base & rising 36 feet above the ridge. The house is now enclosed & painted & its external appearance would not disgrace any city in Christendom. shall correspond with the exterior. & Richardson. We intend the interior The contract is with Williams The work is neat, plain & substantial. the. building will not be less than $12000. The cost of Of this we have collected $8000. and we trust that the Lord, whose temple it is, & whose are the silver & the gold, will help us to obtain the balance. Our native females have resolved to raise $500 for a bell, and, the Lord assisting, they will do it. Mrs. Wetmore & the foreign Ladies have undertaken to raise $200 for a pulpit, & this also, D.V. will be forth coming, for Ladles rarely fall in business, though gentlemen often do. In time then, we hope to have a good, substantial & respectable house of worship, where, we trust the Lord will meet his people from age to age. This alone can crown the Lord’s house with glory. With­ out this vital consummation all our efforts would be lost & we should look with longing recollection to the old rough Sanctuary where we have so often seen the power & glory of our Redeemer. Tours. You are aware that my parish stretches ( !) more than a hundred miles along the eastern & South-eastern shores of Hawaii. To the south my flock is scattered over a region of more than 70 miles of dry lava with verdure sprinkled here & there, but without a single running stream and only an occasional pool of permanent �Hilo water. 1858 Coan 7. For 30 miles to the north a most enchanting landscape is clothed in eternal green, & broken by numerous ravines and echo­ ing with the voice of many waters. This whole field has been visited 3 times since June 1857 - making 6 long tours in all. My last tour in Puna is memorable from the fact that I was able to ride the whole circuit of 130 miles, a good road having been just fin­ ished up a precipice of some 2000 feet on an angle of about 30 degrees. This, with a field of 15 miles of lava was formerly im­ passable on horse back; but by the energy & diligence of our road supervisor a comfortable road has been made & for the first time after 23 years of severe travelling I had the luxury to keep my saddle through the whole rout ( !). Travelling in Hilo is still severe & often dangerous - Many of the streams are not bridged & many bridges once erected are broken down, and remain neglected by our road Supervisor. On one of my recent tours I had to resort to ropes for crossing the rivers as in former years. On the whole however, the contrast between the present comforts & safety of travelling in Hilo & Puna & those of my early missionary life, is great and encouraging. In all my tours I have been cheered by the cordial feelings of my people & by evidences that they appreciate the gospel. Conventions. It has, for many years, been our habit to hold an annual Con­ vention at the Station. This assembly is composed of all the School ma&lbers of Hilo & Puna, of most of the School trustees & of dele­ gates from all the congregations in the field. on the roll is about 200. our gen. Meeting. The usual number At this meeting reports are read as in A list of Overtures is prepared, & subjects bearing on general or special improvements in civilization & religion �Hilo 1858 Coan 8 are freely discussed, and often with great interest & evident profit. Besides this general convention two special ones are held dur­ ing the year, viz. one at an out station in Hilo & another in the centre of Puna. The Sessions of these conventions continue one, two, 3, or 4 days, as the case may he. They are not limited to day. The old & the new Man of Sin: It seems to he a stereotyped idea, that we must discharge a battery at Rome & Salt Lake City. Through the grace of God itwould record with thankfulness, that the struggle against these forms of sin has been blessed among my people. Most of the inhabitants of Hilo & Puna look upon these institutions with indifference, pity, or contempt. There is not a Mormon in Puna & but few are left in Hilo, and these few are ashamed, shy & almost silent. Their impudent swaggering & their confident boasting have ceased, & I know of no aggressive movements on their part. Their meetings are neglected, their altars overthrown, their Synagogues nearly all prostrated, their converts either remain secluded or attend our meetings, they wander for lack of bread, & their boasted Zion sits in Sackcloth. Nearly the same is true of the papists. Their priests who were once busy bold officious, boastful & arrogant are now retired & silent. They are rarely seen in our streets & I have not spoken on e of them during the past year. I think they have not a single school in all Hilo & Puna - Once they had ten. We pray God to consume this error by the breath of his mouth & destroy it by the brightness of his coming. Let all the professed disciples of Christ on these Islands be filled with love, & faith & holy boldness in the work of the Lord & Popery & Mormon delusion would vanish as �Hilo 1858 Coan 9. the shades “before the rising sun & the wicked would he silent in the grave. Station Labors. These are varied, monotonous - regular, irregular - elaborated, extempore, planned, unanticipated etc. etc. The regular are, two weekly lectures which have been sustained from the commencement of our labors at Hilo, and in which nearly the whole Bible has been expounded in course; besides lectures on Papacy, Chh. History, Pilgrim's progress, Moral Philosophy, Evidences of Christianity, & scores of occasional or collateral subjects. Pastoral visitation, preaching in the environs of Hilo, visiting the sick, attending funerals, receiving numberless calls, attending to uncounted cases of difficulty between man & man or man & woman - visiting the hospital, conversing with the enquiring, warning the careless or the unruly; reproving, rebuking, exhorting, pleading, urging &c - these are some of the daily duties which come on the Pastor, to say nothing of the other thousand secular, domestic, social & Spiritual labors which call for attention. The ordinary Sabbath labors are, 1st Sabbath School at 9 A.M. 2d Preaching at 10 1/2-. 3. Church Session & meeting for enquirers at 12 M. 4th preaching at 11/2 P.M. 5th Preaching In the English Bethel at 3 1/2 P.M. These labors are uniform, & through the mercy of God the Pastor has been able to sustain them through another year. Seamen & Foreign Residents, So far as ability has been granted I have acted as Chaplain for these classes of our friends. Nearly one hundred vessels of different classes have visited our port during the year, & we have endeavored to do what we could for all - Many Bibles, Testaments, religious books & tracts, have been distributed. More than 200,000 �Hilo 1858 Coan 10 pages of religious reading have been scattered among this class of men during the year, and many hours have been spent in close per­ sonal conversation with them on the great interests of the soul Many are the sailors who have wept and promised to forsake sin & cleave to the Lord - Many consciences have been stirred on the subjects of Sabbath desecration, profanity, intemperance & licen­ tiousness - Many have seemed honestly to desire to break the chains of sin wh. bound them. But the surroundings of the Sailor are awful & who among them will reach heaven? In visiting our Marine hospital I have been often comforted with the evidence of the Spirit's power - The silent tear - the simple confession - the tender conscience - the sign for peace and the expressed resolution to serve the Lord, have been a blessed reward for the many hours spent there in religious conversation & prayer. We do trust that that house has been a Bethesda & the gate of heaven to some. There is no house in Hilo where I so delight to visit. Our English services on the Sabbath & our weekly prayer meeting are well attended, & often a tender solemnity pervades them. On the 6th of March an event transpired which threw a solemn aspect over all Hilo. This was the departure of Mrs. Pitman. Young, vigorous, beautiful, surrounded with luxuries, with beaming hopes for the future of life she was suddenly summoned away, leav­ ing a distracted & almost frantic husband with a tender and defense less ( !) baby & a company of motherless children. Rarely has a blow seemed so crushing, or its effects so annihilating to the fond desires & hopes of a family. But we hope & pray & trust that God will bring joy out of anguish & life out of death. How wise, �Hilo 1858 11 Coan how gracious - how unsearchable are his ways - The bereaved hus­ band prays & seems determined to doubt & linger no longer on the subject of salvation - Time, or eternity will reveal the results of this painful event. Sabbath Schools. All the schools of Hilo & Puna with hundreds of the adults are collected from Sabbath to Sabbath in the S. S. At the Station my S. S. numbers 200 or 300. Beside this Dr. Wetmore conducts a Bible class of youths, the foreign children are also collected into a S. S. now superintended by Mr. Austin, & Mr. 4 Lyman assembles his pupils for S. S. instruction. All these/schools meet at 9 A.M. on each Lord's day. Of the influence of this regular teaching in S.S. I need not speak as the S. S. Institution is know ( !) & read of all Christian philanthropists. Of Mrs. C's labors I shall say little - Though more silent yet they are more varied & more abundant than those of the Pastor In meetings with females, in conversation with individuals - in influences for the good of all - in active sympathy in all good counsels & works - in the gentle domestic offices, in care for the poor, the sick, the stranger & the friendless & in the 10000, 1000 ( !) quiet & unseen acts & influences so peculiar to the sex she has done what she could to lessen the amount of human sin & woe & to increase comfort & joy in the world. Thus all our Associates are co-workers with us & through the combined influence and mutual sympathy of the laborers at this station we trust that the work of the Lord is advanced & the Body of Christ edified. In all things we are blessed Immeasurably above our deserts, �Hilo 1858 Coan 12 . & from all our experience of the past we have abundant reason to thank the Lord & take courage. It is true that the nation is wasting away & that many for whom we long & labor in the gospel will perish in unbelief - yet a rem­ nant will be saved - Those who are ordained to eternal life will believe, & all faithful labor performed in the name & in the love of Christ will meet its reward. We would, therefor be steadfast in faith, patient in toil always abounding in the Lord's work, humbly relying on his grace, & rejoicing ever in the hope of his coming. Contributions to the cause of Christ, The past year has been marked by special activity in this department of Christian enterprise. Payment of the pastor's salary has been prompt.- Monthly concert contributions have been liberal, amounting to 1284 dollars - domestic objects of charity have been attended to & much has been raised to build or improve houses of public worship. The amount bestowed on all objects, domestic & foreign, for the furtherance of the cause of Christ, is about 4500 $. In ad­ dition to' this more than 600$ dollars have been paid in towards the pastor's salary for the current year - So that really their efforts during the year ending April 30, 1858 amount to 5000 dol­ lars - though the last named sum will be passed over to the salary of another year. On my last tour in Puna, a district of lava fields, and without a white inhabitant, a store or a harbor, the people contributed 400$ - and in a more recent tour through the outposts of Hilo more than 700$ were contributed - 266 dollars of this was given in �1858 Hilo Coan 13. one day at a small meeting house at our outstation. In view of this fruit of the gospel we have cause of deep gratitude & encouragement in our work. Exports. This term looks secular, but I take the liberty to mention a few articles produced in Hilo & shipped hence coast-wise as kindly furnished by our Collector, Mr. Pitman. Pulu 210,000 Lbs. value Coffee 45 000 " " 5625" Arrow Root 12000 " " Hide " 1500. 45000 " Goat Skins 5000 16800$ 720" - " 4500" 1500” Am o u n t 29145 I have no data of wood, timber, Sugar, syrup, molasses etc. The value of these articles as shipped from Hilo may be equal to those above named. Remarks. It will be seen that more than one half of all who have been received to the Hilo Church are dead. Of the living 1000 are always absent in other parts of the group. Another 1000 may be reckoned as invalids from age, infirm­ ity & disease. While another portion are drones. Thus the effective force of the chh. is not more than one half what it nominally appears to be. This portion exhibit vitality & work nobly. Pew, perhaps, in any clime are more generous or more efficient in proportion to the abilities with which they are entrusted. We trust they are God's workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works which God had foreordained that they should walk in them. They are our glory & joy. �Hilo 1858 Coan Statistics for the year ending Ap. 30 /58 Whole no. on profession - - - - - - - - " " " Certificate - - - - - - - Past year on profession ” " ” - 573 - - - - - - - - 81 by letter - - - - - - - - - - - 10 Whole No. past year ---" 11154 Dismissed 9 1 - - - - - - - — 772 - - - - - - 11 - - - - - - - - 5575 Deceased the past year - - - - - - - - - 287 Excluded the past y e a r - - — - - - - - - 20 Dismissed the past year - — Whole no. deceased - - - Remain Excluded - - - - - - - 335 Now in regular Standing --- 5045 Whole no. of children baptized - - - - - Baptized the past year - - - - - Marriages since Jan. 1, 1836 ” the past year Contributions " " 108 - - - - - - 2500 - - - - - - - - - 60 to Cause of Christ $4500. Approximate amt contributed in 10 years " 3964 of exports from Hilo - past yr. T. Coan Pastor $ 30,000 $ 48000. �PASTORAL REPORT for Hilo for the year ending Ap. 30/59 Years roll on, stamping impressions on all things physical and Spiritual. To note time’s work; to record its way-marks; "to give it a tongue were wise in man." But this wisdom is too wonderful for me. A few scattered footprints of the past year are all I am able to retain. For the common ( !) blessings of life we have abundant cause of thanksgiving to God. Health, peace & general prosperity have been granted by a kind Providence. We think there are distinct marks of temporal improvements during this year. But we will not stop to point out these in detail. Morals - In most parts of Hilo & Puna, the public morals have b e e n encouraging. The people generally have been quiet, indus­ trious & harmonious - Some of the vices which have so much dis( !) turbed some portions of the Island, have not been developed among our people. Scattered cases of some of the common sins of the land have existed as exceptions to the general appearance of order & so­ briety. In the district of Puna, where no foreigner has ever resided, there has been great quietness & peace. In no former year has the peace of that region been less disturbed by irregularities than during the past. Religion. By this we mean evidences of increased spirituality, or growth in grace among Christians & of conversion & reformation among sinners. On this point we have much to mourn & much for which to be humble & penitent. Evidences of the Spirit’s power among us have �Hilo - Coan - 1859 been too faint & few. The forms of godliness have been more gener­ ally manifested than its power. fort. 2. Still we are not left without com­ A very great number of individuals, scattered through Hilo & Puna have manifested the true life of God in their walk - in a daily study of the Scriptures, in fervent prayer - in increased de­ sires- for instruction in the truth, & in faithful labors in the vine­ yard of the Lord. Some sections also, especially in Puna, have b een much revived, so that meetings were frequent & solemn - prayers 'fer­ vent - confessions humble & tearful, exhortations faithful, bene­ volent action cheerful & all the obvious duties of religion attended to with promptness & decision. In such places nearly every careless individual was aroused to attend meetings, & some profess to be b o m again. But the additions to the church during the past year have not been numerous. By statistics you will see that they amount to [no figure given]. Tours. tours. It may seem superfluous to speak annually of these They are, however a distinct & essential feature in the labors of a pastor at Hilo. They are vital to the harmony & progress of the church, if not to its very existence ( !). They are seasons when the numerous sections of the church are surveyed in detail when all cases of discipline ( !) are carefully attended to, children baptized, the Lord's Supper administered, general or particular in­ terests of the people looked after, & counsel & instruction given in all things pertaining ( !) to life & godliness. duous but it is all important & often cheering. The work is ar­ Three such tours are annually made in Hilo & three in Puna. Conventions . Of these assemblies we have had, as usual, three - viz one �Hilo - Coan. - 1859 3. general one about New Year, & two local ones - i.e. one for Puna & another for the outstations of Hilo. These Conventions are com­ posed of one to 200 or 300 leading individuals of Hilo & Puna. They usually spend 2 or 3 days in sessions, & are well organized & order­ ly bodies. A great variety of topics are freely discussed, relating to both spiritual & temporal interests. Plans of action & improvement are proposed - resolutions adopted, harmony of feeling is secured, unity of action is promoted & the general Interests of Christianity advanced. Papacy & Mormonism. The former of these errors still holds on with great tenacity of life but with no increase of numbers or of vigor, so far as we can learn. feeble. We are inclined to the opinion that their cause waxes In most parts of Hilo & Puna where they had meeting houses & schools these have gone to decay & been abandoned - and the meet­ ings they now keep up are composed of 5 to 10 individuals. I think there is but one exception to this in Puna & one in Hilo, which Is at the Station. Here, where the priests reside there is more acti­ vity; but nothing which affects the-masses of the people. Aside from the school under the Immediate care of the priest we are not aware that a single legal Catholic school is sustained in all Hilo & Puna. But no wiles & no efforts are spared by the priests to proselyte ( !) to their church & their school. As for the Mormons the Salt Lake war seems to have scattered them. I have not seen a Mormon priest or prophet for the past year. Formerly we met them everywhere & from 2 to 7 at a time - but I think no one of them has been in Hilo or Puna during the last 12 months. A very few of their proselytes ( !), too Ignorant to know their �Hilo - Coan - 1859 4. state or too much ashamed of it to come out & confess, hide them­ selves from my observation - hoping perhaps like the blinded jews ( ?) that their true prophets Messiah will yet appear. Of the Common Schools in Hilo & Puna I hardly need speak. They are under the care of ( !) native Superintendents & teachers & they have been conducted much as usual. They are not, however, what they should be or what they might be under a more careful & rigid supervision. Both the Super- intendents are members of the Legislature & both hold the office of Collector so that their time & attention have been little directed to the condition of the schools. From the little observation I have made I judge that although some of our schools have been conducted with a good degree of vigor, yet many of them have suffered greatly for the want of care & con­ trol. This has been in two ways, first in allowing many children to play the truant & second in the inefficiency of the teacher with­ out the stimulus of a watchful supervision. Still, we trust, that the general cause of education is improv­ ing although the number of our Schools & children is decreasing. We certainly have more competent teachers than in other years & some of our boys & girls make noble progress. Our Sabbath Schools have been sustained, especially at the Station, with interest. They have also been kept up in the out stations of Hilo & Puna; but for want of a text book, like the Aiokala, they have not sustained the interest of former years. Far from the Missionary & with teachers imperfectly qualified to expound the Bible many of the schools have suffered for the want of self-explaining lessons like the Aiokala - & we hope that this �Hilo - Coan - 1859 5. lack will be supplied ere long. The S.S. under my immediate care has been well attended & its interest sustained. My respected Associates have been diligently & efficiently engaged in their departments of labor of which they report to you. Mrs. C. in addition to many domestic & incidental car es has devoted much attention to counsels & instructions among the females of Hilo, & not without encouraging indications. Had our Missionary ladies more relief ( !) from other cares they would, undoubtedly, make a more decided impression upon this important class of our people. We all feel that Hawaiian females need a helping hand to save them from degradation & ruin. New Church Edifice. To Hilo, this may, perhaps, be called the event of the year. For a long time we had looked forward to the day when we should put off the old & shattered tabernacle & should worship God in a new & substantial edifice. For years we toiled for the means to erect a house of prayer for our God. To us poor Hawaiians the work was greater than that of Solomon in building the Temple in Jerusalem. We lacked money - we lacked material - we lacked workmen lacked skill & experience - We We lacked everything but the desire & the determination to have a neat & substantial house of worship. But the Lord has granted us our desires & to Him be the praise. We will not weary you with the history of this house, for we have seen too many weary months in watching its progress Sc in planning & toiling for its completion to wish to inflict upon you any detail of the case. will all rejoice. But in the consummation of our wishes you �Hilo - Coan - 1859 6. When the house was near c o m p l e t i o n we found ourselves out of funds & in debt some 1300 dollars - The Lord helping us we de­ termined not to worship In a house for which we had not paid. dedication was appointed for April 8. The Meanwhile it was resolved to invite all who attended to bring a thank offering to the Lord. The Idea was a popular one. The time came - Preparations were made for the occasion. The rains had fallen for many previous days - the floods lifted up their voice - the rivers raged - All access to Hilo from the north was cut off, so that the people could come in only from the distance of a few miles - Prospects looked dark. A small rain fell during dedication day, but still a large audience assembled - many more than could enter the house. Puna, where there are no rivers. Many came from A collection was taken up amount­ ing to more than 800$. The people in the distant parts of Hilo sent a request that another day might be allowed them. The 27th was appointed; but again there was the noise of many waters in the gorges of Hilo Many, however, determining not to be defeated swam & waded the rivers & struggled through rain & mud, & the house was again filled. On this occasion & including scattering -contributions which came in afterwards we realized between 400 & 500 dollars. Thus the debt was swept off and a burden of care rolled from our hearts. The whole cost of the. house with its appurtenances, including the Bell, steps, labor on enclosure (?) &c &c is dollars. {not filled in} This does not Include a vast amount of labor in collecting staves, coral, fuel, sand, etc. in burning lime, & In a great many other services in wh. the people engaged voluntarily. be estimated at 1000 dollars more. Perhaps this might �Hilo - Coan - 1859 7. Bell. On the 21st of July 1858, the women of Hilo & Puna met by previous arrangement in a grand Convention to assert their rights in good works. The specific object of this Convention was to raise funds for the purchase of a Bell for the new Church. The sum speci­ fied as desired was 500 dollars; but beyond our expectations the contributions amounted to 852 dollars. Five dollars were p a i d i n afterwards - 20 dollars were gained by exchange making the amount of the Bell fund 877 dollars. Less than half of this was expended for the Bell. The balance went to defray the general expenses of the M. house. A bell of 1000 lbs. was ordered and promptly sent. By the kindness of the owners & of Capt. Sisson of the Ship Coral N. Bedford, the Bell was brought to Honolulu free of charge. From thence it was shipped to Hilo where it was received just in time to be mounted in the Chh. tower before dedication. There it now hangs & from thence its musical notes peal out & roll over the hills & valley s & waters of Hilo calling upon all to come to the House of Prayer. The packet which brought the Bell from Honolulu arrived in the night, but a native learning the fact went at midnight to tell the news & in the morning multitudes rushed to the beach ( !) to see it landed. When it was brought to the shore the people lashed it to spars & bore it in triumphal procession & with shoutings to the door of the church. The natives generally had indulged unreasonable expectation as to the loudness of the sound of the Bell. W h e n first rung, the atmosphere was unfavorable for the transmission of sounds & it was not heard at so great a distance as had been anticipated. Immediately murmurs of disappointment arose among the people �Hilo - Coan - 1859 8. & some hasty tongues reported that the Bell was a hoax & that the money paid for it was lost. Papaikou, a place some 5 or 6 miles distant on the coast of Hilo had been mentioned as the limit to which the sound of the Bell might reach; hut for a few days it had not b een heard at that point. The increased the murmurings. At length however, a more favorable atmosphere with, perhaps more skillful ringing sent the peals of the Bell over Papaikou & rolled them on to regions a mile or two beyond. This hushed all complaints - public opinion changed & a multitude of tongues proclaimed that it was a noble Bell & the best ever heard at the Hawaiian Islands. Thus this little squall passed over & again the sun shown kindly upon us. Pulpit. It is due to our excellent sister Mrs. Wetmore to state that by her suggestion and efforts a subscription was circulated among the foreign Ladies of Hilo to build & furnish a pulpit. On this sub­ scription $184.50 were collected & a neat & commodious pulpit was built. Most of the Foreign residents of Hilo, including numbers of the Chinamen, contributed cheerfully to aid us in this work. We are also under many obligations to many of our Missionary brethren & sisters, & to other foreigners & natives, in different parts of the islands, Including Their Majesties the King & Queen, for generous & timely aid. All these helps acknowledged in another place. Thus the Lord has raised us up helpers beyond our expectations, & supplied us with means for building his house where we did not an­ ticipate them. He has opened fountains In the desert. us that the silver & the gold are his. He has shown He has been better to us than �- . Hilo - Coan - 1859 our fears. He has exceeded our hopes. He has encouraged our faith. 9. He has chided our unbelief. He has challenged ( !) our gratitude and to Him he praise & glory forever. Meeting Houses at Out Stations. At several of our Out Stations the houses of worship have been repaired & improved. nent style. None of these houses are finished in a perma­ In Puna they are mostly built of rough stone with thatched roofs - and furnished with rude pulpits & seats such as the natives are able to make for themselves. In Hilo they are mostly framed houses, some of them floored & seated, but all thatched on the outsi d e . Pastor's s a l a r y . (!) This was promptly & cheerfully paid (?) for the year 1858, and a balance of 220$ was passed over to account of the meeting house to aid its funds. Contributions. Under this head we include what the people have done during the past year for the cause of Christ, in its different departments. At the regular monthly concerts they have contributed in cash 1624$, and the whole amount, mostly in cash, for all objects 6000$. In this estimate we do not profess to be exact, but we think It is not an over estimate. Most of our data are definite; but we have not kept an exact account of cash paid in during the past year on the old subscription list of the Chh. i.e. we have not kept these sums distinct from subscriptions paid previously on the same list. Labors in English. For lack of an English Chaplain I have endeavored to preach once on each Lords day, when at home, to Foreign Residents & Seamen. Besides this what time & a t t e n t i o n could be devoted to seamen �Hilo - Coan - 1859 during the week has been devoted cheerfully. buting Bibles 10. In securing & distri­ , Books, Tracts etc - and in entertaining & conver­ sing with Seamen no little time has been spent, & not without some comforting evidence that the labor was not lost. But with all my other cares this labor is too heavy & it is to be hoped that the Lord will, in due time release ( !) me by sending one better qualified for the post. In Conclusion, we would most devoutly thank the Lord for the distinguished mercies of the past. He has crowned the year with his goodness, & we owe him a deep debt of gratitude. We would, also, be humbled before him in view of our, sins & the sins of the people & pray for the awakening and purifying influences of his Spirit to prepare us for more faithful & acceptable labors in his vineyard. Statistics. Whole number received on profession " Certificate 587 Received the past year on profession 48 " " " " " 11202 " " " Certificate Whole number received past year " " Dismissed 4 Whole number deceased 5790 Deceased the past year " " 62 776 Dismissed the past year Excluded 14 215 " 35 350 Remain Excluded Now in regular Standing 4873 Whole number of Children Baptized Baptized the past year Marriages " " " Contributions to Sundry Objects T. Coan, Pastor. 4039 75 51 $6000 �Report of Hilo Station for the year ending April 30, 1860 The -past year at Hilo has been distinguished by no remarkable incidents. The days & months have passed quietly away, loaded with mercies and calling for gratitude. Silently, slowly & surely, changes are being effected in the physical, intellectual, social, moral & religious condition of that district. Every year contributes something to this change; but although the progress of a year may hardly be noticed on the scale of improvements, yet the aggregate advancement of one fourth of a century is distinct & striking. Through the mercy of God we have been permitted to mark some of the works of his Providence & grace at that station for the last 25 years. We do not, however, propose to notice all these changes in our present report. Want of time, & want of due preparation, occasioned by recent interruptions & extra cares will forbid anything like a full & elaborate expose of the progress & present state of the christianizing & civilizing work which God has wrought for that region & that people. Were we to compare the present Physical state of Eastern Ha­ waii with what it was 25 years ago we might say that the Lord had made "A new Earth" , True, old landmarks & old landscapes remain. The Sun & Stars look down on the same mountains & hills - the same forests & fields - the same rivers & floods. Sunlight & shadows, verdure & desolation - black scoria & living green - igneous and aq u eous streams chequer the mountain sides, the hills & the val- ' ley s, as in former years. But when we come to the habitations & haunts of man all is changed. The houses, the roads, the streets, the bridges, the fences, the gardens, the fruits, the flowers, the plantations, the animals, the employments, the furniture, dress, �Hilo commerce, material possessions etc - 1860 2. almost all things are changed reminding us of the voice which spake from the throne ~ "Behold I make all things new." 25 years ago all Hilo & Puna could "boast of b ut one framed house, and that belonging to a missionary 100. now we have more than Then we had not a single street in our town or a road in the country - Now our town is well provided with good streets & we have some 200 miles of tolerable horse road in the country. Then all our streams must be forded or swam, or left to run by - now numbers of them are well bridged, & we have hope that all the dangerous ones will, ere long, be thus spanned. Then you could hardly find a native, male or female, who could produce a dress of foreign fa­ bric - now it is as rare to find one, who cannot. Then the house­ hold furniture & the tools for industry could be told in the calabash ( !) - the mat, the poe-board ( !) & pestle - the kapa malet & oo, the Iron hoop adze & a few other traps. Now we see chairs, tables, trunks, costly bed-steads, cupboards, bureaus - table furniture, carpenter's tools - hoes, spades, axes, wheel-barrows etc etc. Then horses & horned cattle were rarely seen - now every body is mounted & cattle are - Then a silver or gold coin was almost as unknown as a Cyclops - Now cash is scattered by thousands & tens of thousands. Then we had no stores & few purchasers of g o o d s ; a doz. or more of the former & every man is a customer. now we have Then we had almost no manufacture or commerce - Now our exports in sugar, molasses, Arrow-root, coffee, fungus, pulu & other articles rival those of most districts of the islands. Then our schools & our worshiping assemblies all occupied rude thatched buildings; now we �Hilo I860 3. have at the station a neat framed school house, a commodious sem­ inary building & a church Edifice which would not dishonor a res­ pectable congregation in an enlightened city, besides many improved school & meeting houses in other parts of the field. In all these & many other respects a great change has been effected during the last 1/4 of a century Intellectual progress - Were we to enquire whether mind had marched or remained dormant ( !) & inactive during the period under review, we find the same evidence of elevation & progress which marks material improvement among the people.' The influence of schools, the teachings of Christianity, the progress of legislation, the supr emacy of law - the enlargement of business - the contact with men of skill & knowledge, the running to & fro of multitides the reading of books & newspapers - together with a thousand nameless influences, have conspired to arouse & expand the once dormant minds of the people. The amount of knowledge on the past history of the world or its present state, its activities or moving forces, its prospects, & upon a thousand subjects which interest man, Is, to that of 25 years ago as the river to the rill. Many minds among the people are exceedingly active & inquisitive ( !), and such minds gather & scatter knowledge like the forest leaves. We have now 600 subscribers to newspapers, & perhaps, several thousand readers. Many of the natives are nearly as well posted on the news of the day, foreign & domestic, as we are. Everything around the native is stirring him up to listen, to look, to enquire, to think & to know - The time of ignorance, so long winked at, is fast passing away, & light is pouring in from every point. Social changes are, also very apparent - Formerly the social, �Hilo 1860 4* like the intellectual state of the people was a gloomy chaos And although many dark features of the old state remain, still there is cheering progress - Individual & social distinctions are being defined & understood, & the social duties are better discharged by a greater number of the people. Very much, however, still remains to be done in this department of improvement and there is here scope for the action of the wisest head, the purest hearts & the brightest examples of the legislator, the philanthropist & the Chris­ tian, Past progress calls for gratitude & hope & patient effort on the part of all who love the Hawaiian race. Industrial habits. Superficial and uncandid reporters have often asserted that the present generation of Hawaiians are more indolent than the former, & that much less labor is now performed by the natives than 20 or 30 years ago. This assertion is not true; & to refute it we might simply point to the hundred, yea, thousand­ fold increase of property among the people, both personal & real. Whence their lands, of 50, 100, or 300 acres with allodial titles Whence their horses, cattle - Whence their full wardrobes, their improved houses, their furniture, their fenced gardens & fields; their ready cash, & their enjoyment of more of the comforts & some of the luxuries of life? These things have not come of chance nor of the indolent willing of the natives; but from thought, desire &, in many cases, of vigorous & patient toil, such as w as unknown to the ancient Hawaiian. It is, doubtless true, that a smaller proportion of our people now cultivate the soil, than in former times - And the reason is, that a thousand other objects of pursuit have been introduced and consequently other avocations are multiplied - Division of labor �Hilo 1860 5. was once hardly known here, now nothing is more obvious & few things more distinctly mark the progress of civilization among the people. Specification on this point were superfluous. In Morals also we note the same advancement - Public sentiment feels the invigorating power of truth, & it rises like a besom to sweep overt acts of sin from the face of day. Much sin that was once practiced by the multitude is now practiced by the few - and much that was once done openly & unblushingly now seeks the covert of night & the shield of denial to screen it from the eye:.;& the reprobation of the public. Intemperance - licentiousness, gambling & kindred vices hide away in such places to shun thegaze they cannot bear. Once it was not so - Ships could then Vice then stalked openly & defiantly abroad. gather a harvest of vile females on board & riot & gloat in debauch­ ery - & boast ever of their exploits in pollution & in the ruin of virtue & hope - Now those halcyon days are past with the repre­ sentatives of foreign civilization, & they are put to the incon­ venience of practicing their arts silly ( !) & in secret or of fleeting off to darker realms where the gospel has not yet made its revelations & its conquests. Perhaps it may be said with truth, that nowhere on Earth is there more quiet & a more constant sense of security to life with all its blessings than on Hawaii. But the crowning grace for which we should never cease to adore the Lord is The Spiritual advancement of the people. More than 30 years ago a good work was begun at Hilo - Fallow ground was broken up - good seed was sown in patience & watered with tears. Fruit was also gathered - A few were organized into a visible church & more may have been gathered Into the invisible �Hilo kingdom of the Lord. 1860 But these were but the first fruits of a coming harvest, harbingers of a brighter day - prelibations from an opening & rising fountain. The church has increased nearly 300 fold in numbers, & we do trust, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, in spiritual knowledge & life & power. Of the 11256 members gathered into it, the great majority have run well - better than friends had dared to hope & immeasurably better than enemies had prophesied. God has created & sustained ”a chosen generation” who have watched & prayed & toiled in his service - whose light has been seen - who have endured to the end, or are now holding on their way, & who show forth the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light. All this, has, of course, been attended with fightings & fears from without & within - with the fall & rising again of many, & with the apostasy and wreck of others. But that so many have died in hope, & that such numbers still hold on their way, waxing stronger & stronger, is matter of devout & unceasing thanksgiving to God And we must & will say nThe Lord has done great things for us where­ of we are glad." The present state of the church is peaceful &, in a good degree prosperous. There is not that wakeful & spiritual interest in some branches of the church & in many of its members which should be; & yet there has been no scism ( !) [schism ?] or wide spread evil in the field— No temptation has taken us but such as is common, & all the church discipline ( !) has been of the ordinary kind, & no more than may be generally expected. Reviving influences have appeared at some points - Some have been among the inquirers, and 54 have been added to the church by profession of repentance toward God & faith in our Lord Jesus Christ - While some church members �Hilo 1860 7. have fallen under censure others who were previously suspended have made confession & been restored, so that the books about bal­ ance each other on this point. But death & removals are fast thinning our ranks, & decrease of numbers seems to be written as our destiny - Numbers of our young men go to sea, many of our people are drawn to Oahu or other parts, & the grave annually closes over 100 to 300. Consequently, as those out of the church are not numerous our ranks may diminish still more. But if the fruits of righteousness may but increase & abound in the living we will not mourn for the dead, or be dis­ heartened from the diminution of numbers. With our people the romance of religion is past & its facts, its foundations - Its principles, Its claims remain abide - - its realities Those who choose It Intelligently & with the heart They are the good-seed, rooted & grounded in truth & bring­ ing forth fruit with patience. Of these there are many - they are our joy & our crown, & we bless the Lord by whose grace they are called out of darkness & led into the light of life. The general labors of the past year have not varied widely from those of former years. In consequence of absence on the voyage to the Marquesas, one tour In Puna & one in Hilo have been omitted. T o u r s have been performed, viz. two to the South & two to the north. On these tours the chh. roll is called & each member is enquired after individually - instruction is given In detail, & all the ordinances of the gospel are administered to the numerous branches of the church at all the out stations. It is matter of consolation & encouragement that the members of the church in the rural & distant parts of the field, those who are seen by the pastor �Hilo 1860 8. only 2 , 3 or 4 times a year maintain as orderly & consistent a walk as those near the central station & who enjoy 20 fold more privileges . The reason, however, is obvious. With less religious instruction, the converts in these retired places have less positive & powerful temptations to sin. This is especially true of Puna. Not a single white man lives in that district & there is not a ship's harbor on the whole coast of 60 to 70 miles, And we think it may be said in truth, that there is no field, of our acquaintance where the masses of the people live a more quiet & peacable ( !) life, or where there ( !) is more evidence of a sincere & primitive piety. If there is genu­ ine hospitality, true friendship, & simple faith anywhere, we think it may be found in Puna intelligence. Nor are the people behind in general They have much Intercourse with Hilo & other parts of the islands - they read much in our books & papers, & they are ( !) inquisitive & communicative so that the knowledge of the one is extended, like leaven, to the mass. Some of our best schools & most interesting S. Schools are in this district. Our old practice of meeting the teachers & principle church officers in annual convention has been kept up the past year - One general meeting of this kind has been held at the Station, besides two local ones, one for the distant portions of Hilo & another for Puna. With us the grand Convention has become an important insti­ tution. It is a deliberative Christian body where reports are read, references entertained - all Important church questions discussed, church business transacted, resolutions adopted & counsels given. It is also attended with much prayer, & it assumes something of the character of a series of prayer meetings. Station Labors have been as usual. Two sermons in native, �Hilo 1860 9* one in English, a Sabb ath (! ) School exercise and a meeting for the church Session, for inquirers, for church discipline ( !) etc - com­ pose the regular routine of duties & fill up the day. During the week we have two regular lectures, "besides M . Concerts, funeral & other occasional public exercises. The rest of the time during the 6 week days is filled with countless & nameless miscellanies, such as no one can know but by experience - The full journal of a single day would often fill many sheets, & give a picture more diversified than any landscape - Thus the days, & weeks & years flow on - full of cares & toils - and full also of hopes, encouragements & consolations. Our Sabbath Schools have been sustained during the year. The children’s S.S. at the Station has been very well attended, but for want of the Aiokala or some good text book, the schools at out stations, have not, we fear, been as efficient, as in some former years. We have , however taken great pains, to keep up these schools, & have never been absent from one of them on the Sabbath. On the Common Schools we do not propose to report, further than to say, that we have repeatedly seen them all ~ have examined them in some of their exercises - have conferred much with the teachers have used our constant influence to stimulate them in all good, & that, on the whole, we think that many of them have been conducted with a commendable degree of fidelity & e f f icacy ( !). It may be expected that I will allude to the stereotyped subjects. Mormonisms ( !) & Popery. Of the former heresy I have not seen a Priest or Prophet during the year. peared. "Head & tail - branch & rush” - all seem to have disapA few, however, of the disciples of that delusion hide �Hilo 1860 10 . themselves from observation, hoping for a revival of their cause & waiting for the consummation of their hopes With the papists it is otherwise life like the Apocalyptic dragon - They are tenacious of Never have the zeal, the bold­ ness, the impudence & the audacity of the priests been more conspicu­ ous than during the past year - They are everywhere compassing sea & land - & entering hamlets & houses, scattering wide their poisoned doctrines in the form of catechisms, tracts, papers, etc. & backing up these papers by personal efforts in the form of expla­ nations, disputations, denunciations, promises, flatteries &c &c They are also collecting materials for building a cathedral or church which, we understand, is to eclipse the plain synagogue of their heretical neighbors. But with all this extra effort, this assurance & this fiery zeal they have made no impression upon the protestant ranks, i.e. so far as we can see; and we are not aware that their numbers or their influence is increasing. We may be mistaken, but such is our trust in the Lord. In the female department there has been much to encourage Mrs* C. has held weekly female meetings & had much consultation with that portion of the church & the fruit of these efforts is obvious in their better attendance on public & private duties. It has tended to increase industry, cleanliness, care of dwelling & of children and a general improvement in manners & in morals. Visiting from village to village & from house to house, at & around the Station, has, also, been practiced to an unusual extent during the year, & always with happy results. Every such visit seemed to tell for good in some form & each one led to the desire of more time for labor in this department. In this way the sick, the poor & the friendless are found & comforted, the careless �Hilo 1860 11 awakened, backsliders reformed, the tempted & deceived succored & taught & neglecters of the public worship of God brought into the house of prayer - This is a service which, above all others does the heart good - And the blessing is twofold. - direct & reflex - It is scattering to increase - giving to receive - losing to find. The pastor Is happy to express his obligations to his respected Associates for their sympathy & ready cooperation in all that tends to elevate & bless the people. This influence is constant & reliable & it is, under God, a great comfort and a decided help. Beneficence. As we have had no special interprise before us during the year we have done nothing extra in the way of giving. The building of our new church cost us much toil & effort & when it was completed we all felt, perhaps too much, like resting awhile from any new & arduous undertaking. It seemed like rest after hard toil - after a journey, a stormy voyage or a warfare - Our con­ tributions have not, therefore run as high as for the year previous Still they have been like the constant dropping or as the gently running rill - The pastor's salary has been paid - been appropriated to the H.M.S. 500 $ have 200$ to the H.B. & Tract Soc - Several hundred dollars to foreign objects of benevolence, & something has been done for church erection in our own field & in other parts of the islands; -while the poor, -who are always with us have not been entirely forgotten. Our Monthly Concert contributions have avar- aged ( 1) about $100 through the year We feel that we have but poorly discharged our obligations in this as in all other duties, & yet we will bless the Lord for the grace which has led our people to communicate what they have. �Hilo 1860 12 . Labors in the English department. Perhaps it will he expected that I say a word on my labors for Seamen & foreign residents. In this field I have endeavored to do what I could so far as me time & ability. One English Service has been maintained on the Sabbath during the year, & a great amount of time has been spent during shipping seasons, in looking after sailors, in receiving their calls, in personal conversations, & in selecting & distribu­ ting among them, Bibles, Tests. & other religious books & tracts. I have taken unwearied pains to keep myself supplied with Bibles in all the languages of seamen who visit the islands & also in the religious publications of m ost of the leading benevolent Societies of the U.S. and from this variety every ship that visits our port, is, with rare exceptions, supplied with a liberal bundle of reading matter. How much good is done to seamen in these ways, eternity must reveal - Sometimes we feel faint in looking at this great class of wild & wandering men, & distressed that so few of them seem to realize their position in the world & the destiny which awaits them While Jack (?) seems to care little for himself he also may say with too much truth, '’No man cared for my soul” But we do not labor for seamen without hope. There are stars In the midnight sky - and there are some among the seamen who reflect a few rays of light, & who appear as harbingers of a future day yet to dawn upon the Sea ~ No season passes without revealing some things cheering among Seamen - Some are struggling upwards - Some are feel­ ing for the light - Some appear pious - some tender - some candid & some determined to seek the Lord. On the whole we have great �Hilo 1860 13 reason to praise the Lord for the goodness & mercy which have attended his servants & his people during the past year - To Him be glory forever. Statistics of Hilo Church. Whole no. received on profession " " " - - - - " Certificate 593 Past year on profession " " " - - - Certificate - 788 Dismissed the past year 12 Whole no. deceased - 5915 Deceased the past year " " " 125 - - 30 Remain Excluded Now in regular standing 370 - 4776 Whole no. of children baptized Baptized the past year 4076 - - - Marriages the past year $3000 T. Coan Report of Hilo Church for 1860 Rev. T. Coan 37 43 Contributions to sundry objects [On back] : 54 6 Whole no. dismissed Excluded 11256 �Abstract of Hilo Report [Coan 1860] I Changes during the last quarter of a century 1 Physical - These have been great - Almost like a new creation, 2 Intellectual - In this there is a greater advance than in physical facts - 600 newspapers are taken - & general intel­ ligence spreads through the field - 3 Social Relations - These are better understood & better enjoyed - 4 Morality. Public sentiment is more pure & more vigorous - Vices, once open & unblushing now hide in secret places Nowhere is there more quiet peace & safety than on Hawaii. 5 Religion. In this the Lord has done great things for us - The wonders of his grace call for our highest admiration & most ferv ent thanks. Of the 11256 who have been received to the church, the greater part have witnessed a good confession - Many have gone to their rest & many, we trust, are now on their way to glory II Review of the past year. General peace & prosperity. Reviving influences in some places. Added to the church 54. Sabbath Schools well sustained Tours among the outposts all attended with good results. Contributions for the general cause of Christianity some 3000 dollars. Labors in the English department as usual - Preaching in English every Sabbath Distribution of books & tracts to all ships etc. �Abstract of Hilo Report 1860 Statistics Whole no. " " on profession 593 " Past year " " " profession " certificate Whole no. dismissed Past year ” Whole no. deceased Past year "" 11256 " Excluded Remain " 54 6 788 12 5915 125 30 370 Now in regular Standing 4776 Whole no. of children baptized 4076 Baptized past year 37 Marriages 43 " " Contributions to Sundry objects $3000. �Report of Hilo Chh. etc. for the year ending Apr. 30, 1861 Time moves. Years roll. Seasons come & go. in the present & retire into the past. Events appear All things are full of labor To number days - To mark events - To improve Providences - To trust to pray - to work while the day lasts - is to be wise. But to record & report the scenes & the facts of a single year is beyond the power of man - God alone comprehends all - Our work is, to select a few points - & to jot down an occasional fact General Observations. Nothing of a remarkably striking character has occurred in our field during the past year. There have been changes, physical & spiritual - some it may be, for the better & some for the worse. But the general aspect of things has been even & quiet. External peace & order have prevailed to such an extent that all who would were able to live quiet & peaceable ( !) lives in all godliness & honesty. State of Education As this does not strictly fall under my department I shall not make it the subject of a report. As an observer & friend, how­ ever, I may be permitted to testify, that the year has not been with out its fruit, in this department. Our common schools have been conducted with as much ability as in any past period. Perhaps more. Our Boarding School has been full & prosperous as you will see from its report. A large English School for native children has also been in successful operation under the care of H. R. Hitchcock - assisted by Miss Sarah Clark. We think that this school has done well, & is in an encouraging state. �Hilo - Coan - 1861 2. General Intelligence. This is decidedly & rapidly increasing. Not so much, from books, for of these there are few in the language, & those chiefly for schools & religious instruction. But the circulation of more than 600 News papers, the running to & fro of the people, & their increased intercourse with men of business & intelligence, have awakened the observation, quickened the intellects & increased the general knowledge of multitudes. It is not uncommon to find natives who are well posted on most of the great facts & events of the day. Sabbath Schools. These have been well sustained, both for children & adults. Four schools, numbering in all 300 to 400 meet every Sabbath morning at 9 o'clock, at the station. Besides these about 20 others are conducted by natives at outstations. In all these more or less good, w e trust, has been done. Tours. The pastor has been permitted to make his usual number of tours - viz 6 - Three to the South through Puna & three through North Hilo - These have been cheering in their results. The large flock has thus been seen in its divisions & sub-divisions, & looked after in detail - The roll has been called & inquiry made as to the state of every individual. Mortality. The calling of the church roll reveals the mark of death Everywhere we see his foot-prints & count his victims - Our whole field is strewed with the bones of the departed; & in walking over my parish I seem to be walking over a great & continuous graveyard. 234 members of this church have died during the past year and I move �Hilo - Coan - 1861 3 among the tombs of 6149 of my flock, besides the many little child­ ren & adults who have died without coming into the communion of the church. It is a solemn thought to survey this great congregation of the dead - to compare it with the lesser & wasting one of the living to think how soon all of us will sleep together in the dust - and to look forward to the day when we shall awake to the awards of the judgment. While we fear that some will come forth to shame & everlasting contempt we have hope that many will rise to everlasting life. One of our test men, Nakai , has "been recently called away He was a man full of years & full of faith & the Holy Ghost. Dili­ gent in his Master’s work, fervent in prayer - firm in faith, he endured to the end. We mourn for him as for a father - But he rests from his labors, & we doubt not it is well with him. Reviving Influences. On this subject we would speak with care, & yet we would mag­ nify the grace of God with thankful hearts. We cannot say that a great & powerful revival has swept over our field; but we do say that the Lord has not left us without witness of his power & love - In many parts of Hilo & Puna an unusual spirit of prayer & of activity has prevailed A gentle & subduing influence has been felt - Meetings have been full & earnest - Many of the careless have awaked - backsliders have returned with confessions & tears, & some of our most hardened & hopeless people seem to have become new creatures. The interest has not been uniform & universal through all the field. In some places it has been more distinct & pervading & in others, less so Had there been more faith we should have seen greater things. we cannot be unthankful for what the Lord has done for us. But �Hilo - Coan - 1861 4. (?) Ever since the world’s concert a daily prayer meeting has been sustained at noon - at the station. A meeting for prayer & confer­ ence is also kept up every evening. While we have reason to blush & be ashamed at our little faith yet we will praise the Lord for this reviving in our bondage - and for all the grace he has bestowed upon his people. Contributions. The free will offerings of our people have been only of the ordinary kind. No great & extraordinary object has been before them to call for extra efforts. Still, they have done well. The amount of their public contributions to the various objects of Christian enterprise is about 3700 dollars. Besides this an indefinite amount has been given by indivi­ duals in a quiet & private way - Many have done cheerfully & nobly in this work. Papists. The devil is not dead - Neither are his angels & ministers asleep. Never, in the history of the Hilo church, has there been such a well concerted, determined & persistant ( !) onset of the papists as during the past year. The building of a new & attractive synagogue & the issuing of numerous papal tracts have been made the occasion of a most vigorous effort to proselyte our people The priests and neophytes go everywhere & use every motive in their power to entice the natives ~ They visit the old & the young the well & the sick - & urge them to abandon their faith & join the papal ranks - They may be classed with those who creep into houses & lead captive, not silly women only, but foolish & men & ignorant children - But their success, hitherto has not been in proportion to their efforts. If they gain at one point they lose at �Hilo - Coan - 1861 another, & whether they 5. have really gained at all, is uncertain. In Puna & North Hilo they have, evidently, lost ground. They have not a single school in these parts, & only two in the whole field. These are at the Station, & here they are making their most desperate efforts. I know of none who have joined them except some of the most worthless characters. Organization of an Ecclesiastical Association. In Oct. Messrs Paris, Bond & Shipman with the Hilo mis­ sionaries, & native delegates from all the churches on Hawaii, met in convention & organized an Ecclesiastical Association, de­ signed to secure the unity, cooperation, order & improvement of the churches on the Island, & to increase their influence for good in the general cause of Christ. This Association continued its sessions one week & with great harmony & Christian love It was a season of spiritual good, and we trust the influence thus happily commenced will continue to flow on to future gen­ erations. All the discussions of the meeting & its resolutions & records were in the Hawaiian tongue. This gave great inter­ est to the native delegates & spectators, & Its influence was, evidently for good. Church Convention. This annual convocation of delegates from all the branches of the Hilo Church In Hilo & Puna, has become an important institution. fulness. It is a season of great Interest & of much use­ All questions relating to the interests, the enterprises & the usefulness of the church are there freely discussed, plans of labor are adopted - moneys appropriated. �Hilo - Coan— 1861 6. The Convention seems to have "become a fixed fact. English Department. In consequence of a great pressure of labors we have felt obliged to relax In some degree our labors for foreigners. English preaching has been sustained during the shipping sea­ sons & at some other times. Much private labor has., also, been bestowed on Seamen & others, in conversation & in the distri­ bution of tracts & books. But it is exceedingly difficult to look faithfully after this department in addition to all the other cares of the pastor. Obstacles to our Work. These are not, perhaps, peculiar - Human depravity is developed everywhere - & this is the great enemy with which ministers & Christians conflict within & without. Hilo is a port visited by more or less foreign seamen, & we all know the direct & vigorous & persistant Influence of a large part of such visitors on our native churches & people. Sometimes it seems as if they would trample & consume every plant in the vineyard of the Lord & destroy all the fruits of missionary toil & care. But the Lord of the vineyard helps & we still praise Him, & we shall yet praise Him. Local temp­ tations to vice also increase with the increase of a foreign population, of business & of means of carnal indulgence - Our people are being taught new forms & new modifications of vice, & every effort is made on the part of ungodly men to weaken their faith in the Bible, in the Instructions of their teachers & in the retributions of eternity. Quite a class of �Hilo - Coan - 1861 foreigners at the Islands are determined, if possible to destroy the sanctity of the Christian Sabbath - & to trample on all the laws which protect chastity & temperance. The weakness of the marriage relation, is also, a pain­ ful evil In the land - Cases of conjugal infidelity are nu­ merous & the forsaking of husbands & wives seems not to be diminishing - So far as we can see - most of the civil officers of the land are very slow to execute the laws on this subject & also in relation to Sabbath desecration. �Hilo - Coan - 1861 8. Another disheartening fact is the continued decrease of the people. It seems mournful to pass over large tracts of country once filled with villages, occupied with a numerous population & jubilant with the noise of childhood, hut now solitary and silent. The roaming habits also of the people is a great drawback on the comfort & encouragement of the spiritual laborer. Honolulu like a great maelstrom, seems to be drawing in the people from all the extremities of the land, only to engulf them. It is like Pharaoh's seven lean kine which devoured the well favored & fat & yet remained lean as before. It seems too much like the final rush of the blood to the heart, to sustain for a little while its last heatings. About 700 members of the Hilo church who have not yet been transferred to other churches are permanently absent; besides perhaps an equal number who are absent temporarily. This reduces our actually resi­ dent & working force to about 3000. Encouragements. These are many & great - and chiefly the promise of our almighty Savior - Lo ! I am with you always. With the sustaining fact that the Lord r e i g n e t h . These promises, coupled with long experience of His faithful­ ness, & connected with all the evidence of his renewing & saving grace in the hearts of this people impart strength & hope to the fainting spirit & encourage us to go on our way rejoicing in the Lord & feeling the assurance that through faith & patience we shall inherit the promises. �Hilo - Coan - 1861 Statistics. Whole number received on profession " " " ," Past year on profession ” " - - - - Certificate 604 - - .- Certificate Total the past year Whole number dismissed - ~ - 45 6149 Deceased the past year - - - Excluded the past year Remain Excluded - - - Total children "baptized - - - Hilo Station - 1 Rev. T. Coan 4162 86 - -- Contributions to various gospel objects Report of 340 4644 Baptized the past year Marriages the past year 234 20 How In regular standing 1869 117 833 Total deceased [On back:] 106 11 - - - Dismissed the past year 11362 48 $3700. �Abstract of Report of Hilo Station - May, 1861. General order & peace have prevailed throughout the whole field. All the interests of education have been cared for & prosperity has attended this department of labor. General intelligence is diffused & increased among the people, not only by means of books & schools; but by the circulation of more than 600 copies of News Papers & by an increasing communication with men of business & Intelligence. Sabbath Schools are sustained In all parts of Hilo & Puna with encouraging interest. Tours, three to the North & three to the South part of the field, have been performed with happy results. The Bill of Mortality has been rather large:- though no remark­ able sickness has prevailed. 234 members of the church have died, & the pastor moves among the tombs of 6149 of his flock. There has been a gentle & precious revival of religion over most portions of the field. The church has been aroused & encouraged backsliders reclaimed & sinners have been hopefully converted. [On back:] Abstract of Hilo Report 1860 - 1 . �Abstract of Rep. of Hilo - 1861 2 Contributions for gospel objects have been well sustained though no special interprise has been before the people - The amount contributed is 3700 dollars. ■ The papists have been determined & persistent in their efforts to proselyte but without the success commensurate with their zeal & perseverance. Taking the whole field into view it is not clear that they have gained ground. An Ecclesiastical Association of pastors, delegates etc. for Hawaii was organized at Hilo in Oct. 1860. The regular annual Convention of delegates from all the branches of the Hilo & Puna church was held in Dec. 1860. So far as the pastor has been able he has attended to preaching & other labors in the English department. Among the obstacles to the work of the Lord in Hilo, may be mentioned the strong influence of irreligious foreigners, & the de­ creasing state of the Hawaiian people. The encouragements are the promises & power of an ever present & ever faithful Redeemer. �Report of Hilo Church ~ for the year ending May 15 - 1862. How often we are called upon to say to our Lord "Thou crownest the year with thy goodness - " In a world of changes, of trials & of sorrows, Hilo has been preserved, with few exceptions, in peace & prosperity - During the last three months there has been more or less sickness, hut cases of mortality have not been numerous The year has also been marked with the general prevalence of outward morality & order. Public peace has not often been disturbed by out-breaking & scandalous transgressions. One foul crime has startled us robbery of John Ely & wife - We refer to the murder & For the first time during a residence of 27 years have we been called to mourn for such a tragic crime committed in our field of labor - Thefts & robberies have been rare, & life has been considered more secure than in the most civil­ ized & Christian countries on earth. Who the actors were, in this bloody crime, we are not yet permitted to know - A mystery hangs over the scene which may not be removed in this life - The case is in the hands of a just & holy God Aside from this unhappy outbreak of depravity, we have had unusual peace & quietude - But we have been startled by the trump of death in another quarter. We have been suddenly summoned to weep over the dust of our departed brother Shipman - God called him away on the 21st of Dec. 1861 in the 38th year of his age, in the vigor of his manhood & in the midst of his usefulness a clear sky - The blow fell like a bolt from So sudden & so unlooked for was it, that none of the �Hilo - 1862 - Coan 2. missionary brethren or Sisters were permitted to reach the scene of mortal strife until the conquering Spirit had taken Its flight to a brighter world - We were only permitted to mingle our tears & prayers with the widow & the fatherless; to counsel & condole with the bereaved church & people, & to preach in saddened joy & hope over the grave of our departed brother The widow & children have been removed to Hilo where they are sheltered & cared for & they are commended to the prayerful considera­ tion of their brethren and sisters of the mission. Our Schools have been in successful operation during the year, & they have been conducted with as much efficiency as in any former year. Besides our Boarding school we have a large school of native & half- c ast ( !) children, taught in English by H.R. Hitchcock & as­ sistants - Also a smaller school, of 30 pupils, who are taught English by Kua, a son of the missionary, Kaaikaula Our common schools have done very well through the year so far as we have been able to judge of them. Sabbath Schools for children & adults have been sustained through­ out the field. As to the church, it has, perhaps, had fewer cases of discipline (! ) than In most past years. But it is also true that it has not been so spiritual as it should be or as it has sometimes appeared to be. Worldliness bewitches many, & new objects of interest & enterprise draw away the heart from the Savior & produce a spiritual lethargy which endangers the soul - In some places religious meetings have not been so fully attended as they should be - in other places, a lively and active spiritual state has prevailed My Tours have been as usual, viz. three through Puna & three in Hilo - All these have been attended with circumstances of mercy, �Hilo - 1862 - Coan & all have appeared to yield fruit - 3. The whole roll of the church has been called & every individual member enquired after. We have, also, held our Annual Convention of delegates in which important subjects have been discussed & church business trans­ acted. The Hawaiian Association met at Hilo in Oct. but several of our ministerial brethren were providentially prevented from attending. At this Meeting the Licenses of Pilipo, Kauhane & Pihe, our three Hawaiian licentiates, were renewed Here also the subject of the domestic intellectual & religious education of Hawaiian females was earnestly discussed, & our lamented brother Shopman was appointed to commence a school for girls in Kau, with the understanding & implied pledge that said school should be the foster child of the Association & of the churches of Hawaii Brother Shipman returned from this meeting full of zeal & courage, and soon commenced the building of a small school house & the collec­ tion of funds for the opening of the school - The house was nearly completed & the time for opening the school was appointed when the messenger came & called him to a house not made with hands. His work ceased & we saw his face no more. He went to Punaluu, an out-Station, to spend a few days, with his family, & here in a little cottage under a burning sun, separated from the ordinary comforts of home, & without a missionary friend near him, he sickened & died - Thus the plans of our Association for the establishment of a female School were broken up. Still, however, we bear the subject on our hearts, & look with unabated interest for an indication of Providence that something of the kind may yet be established on our island Mrs. Coan has had two or three native girls under her care as �Hilo - 1862 - Coan 4. domestics for most of the year, "but her strength & time are inadequate to the task of conducting a school of this character. We are still hoping & praying that the little, unfinished school-house In Kau may yet he ocupied ( !) by the daughters of Hawaii, under the fostering care of some true sister of charity. Prom all the data at our command we are led to the con­ clusion that the natives of our field are still decreasing. The whole number gathered into the church by profession, during the year is 72 while those removed by death are 188. Our rec­ ord of deaths also greatly ournumbers our baptisms. Will this ebbing tide of being ever change & the return­ ing flood again fill all the life-channels of Hawaii? Besides six regular tours among his people the pastor of Hilo has been called away unexpectedly & suddenly to other points: first, as has already been noticed, to Kau, by the death of brother S. and next to Punahou on account of the severe Illness of our son - Consequently an unusual portion of his time has been spent in travelling & in labors abroad In all these things the hand of the Lord has been clear and his mercy great. Our ordinary public labors at the station are - 1st Sabbath School for children & adults at 9 A.M. 2d Preaching at 10 1/2 - 3 Meeting of chh. Session, of inquirers & of fallen church members at 12 M. 4th Preaching at 11/2 P.M. 5th Preaching at some out-Station or to prisoners at 4 P.M. On Wednesdays, Saturdays & monthly concert days lectures at 4 P.M. �Hilo - 1862 - Coan 5. Two days previous to leaving Hilo for the present meeting the pastor lectured on the last chapter of The Revelation This was the close of a series of lectures embracing every chapter & verse in the Bible & extending through several years To the pastor the exercise has been a delightful & profitable one, & we hope, through grace it has blessed others also. During our ministrations a t Hilo we have also delivered a series of lectures on "The Pilgrim's Progress" - Another on Papacy - A third on Church History and a fourth on M oral.Phil osophy, besides, the Ui fa catechism] & the Aiokala. Some 10,000 other lectures & sermons on almost every doctrinal & practical theme Very many hours 8c days are also spent In visiting the sick & in preaching the gospel from house to house, & in prisons & by the way side No reasonable efforts are spared in looking into schools, in endeavoring to g u i d e children & youth in paths of peace & in distributing books, tracts Sc papers among the people - We usually distribute 400 to 600 News papers in our field with no small amount of labor Sc care - These are probably read by several thousands. We have built no distinguished church edifices during the year - Some old ones have been repaired & several hundred dollars collected for churches in anticipation - Our movements in the line of Chh. Erection are not rapid - and perhaps for two reasons; we are slow to dig & ashamed to beg reason is, of course, no honor to us. The first �Hilo - 1862 - Coan 6. Our contributions have been, fair, amounting, for all Christian objects, as churches, pastor's salary & missionary purposes, to about 3600 dollars We have had less seamen during the past than in previous years. With those who were accessible I have labored person- aly ( !) as in former times - & have also furnished all ships with tracts & other reading matter. I have also preached in English when ships were in port - but have not felt able to keep up English preaching through the year - My native exer­ cises being always four & often five on the Sabbath. But what has been lacking on my part the Brethren have supplied in keep­ ing up an English exercise for reading, prayer & praise on the Lord's day This service has been attended by our Christian neigh­ bors & sometimes by others The papists still exert all their energies to lead our people Into their toils. A few have joined them during the year, & as many, probably, have forsaken them ~ They have no schools in Hilo & Puna except two at our Station - They keep up a small congregation in town, but scarcely a vestige ( !) of one remains in the other parts of the field church is nearly completed the natives. Their new It is designed to dazzle & attract Its consecration will soon take place, & this will, probably, be an occasion of much display & of strong efforts to draw in proselytes Our District Attorney, Chamberlayne, has united with them during the past year. This is in keeping - as he is a strong Secessionist, & a stranger, as we fear, to all sympathy with �Hilo - 1862 - Coan true & rational freedom - 7. [This paragraph crossed out in pencil.] The Mormons have, also made new & vigorous efforts to revive their decayed cause in Hilo - They have resuscitated ( !) some of their old disciples, rebaptized them for the 2d & in some cases for the third time - evidently "washing them to fouler stains." They have a few converts only at two or three places In Hilo, hut none in Puna - Their repeated & vigorous efforts to disciple In that district have all failed m an in Puna will listen to them. Not a Some of their leaders in Hilo, carrying their foul doctrines into practice, have been convicted by the laws, fined or thrown into prison. On a careful review of the past year we have great reason to bless the Lord & to humble ourselves - To bless the Lord for his great patience - for the peace & harmony he has vouch­ safed to us, & for all the multiplied tokens of his care & love in things temporal & in things spiritual. To humble ourselves for our failure to appreciate his mercies & to improve (?) his blessings in a proper manner May the good Lord pardon & continue to bless his people. Statistics. Whole number received on profession - - - - - - - 11,434 " " " by certificate 626 Received the past year on profession _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 72 " " " " by certificate 22 Total the past year _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 94 Whole number dismissed 857 Dismissed the past year _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 24 Whole number deceased 6337 Deceased the past year _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 188 Excluded the past year 18 Remain Excluded 338 Now in regular Standing 4528 Whole number of children baptized q q _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4210 Baptized the past year 48 Whole number of marriages 2540 Marriages the past year _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 34 Contributions to gospel objects $3600.00 T.. Coan Pastor - �Synopsis of Report of Hilo Church. Amidst the vicissitudes ( !) of time & the convulsions of E m ­ pires Hilo has enjoyed a year of peace & prosperity. To the above remark there has been one sad exception. For the first time during a residence of 27 years has the blood of murder stained our soil - The tragic death of John Ely & wife filled us with surprise & consternation. All our Schools have been in successful operation during the year - An increased number of children are learning the English language. Sabbath Schools have been sustained throughout the field, both for children & adults. Comparatively few cases of discipline ( !) have occurred in the church - In some places there has been a wakeful interest in spirit­ ual things & in other places worldliness & spiritual apathy have too much prevailed. Tours through the -whole field have been performed as in former years and with like cheering results - The state of every individual member of the church has been made the subject of Inquiry. Annual Conventions of the Hilo church & also of the Evangelical Association for Hawaii have been held in Hilo with much interest. Much has been desired & something attempted in the line of female education. Prom the data at hand we fear that the decrease of the people still continues. Something has been collected for the building of new houses of public worship - & the contributions to all objects of Christian enterprise amount to about 3600 dollars. Papists & Mormons have made desperate efforts to disciple to �1862 - Synopsis of Hilo Report their errors, but with little success - No Mormon & only two papal schools exist in Hilo & not one in Puna. Fewer Whale Ships have visited Hilo than in former years - but efforts for the good of this class have not been neglected. In the present state of the field there is much to encourage, much to deplore & much to challenge the prayers, the hopes, the love & the patient efforts of the pastor. T. Coan The pastor has just [finished] his last lecture of a series embrac­ ing every chapter of the Bible. �Report of Hilo Station for the_ y e ar_ending May_ 2 5, _1863_ Time speeds. Days, months, years pass as arrows from the how which spans eternity. "We spend our years as a tale that is told" - & we tell the story of a year as the dream of a night. Prom our scattered towers around the walls of our Hawaiian Zion herald calls to herald & watchman echoes to "Watchman what of the night" . In our present report we notice, first a few outlines of The field under review. Hilo & Puna lie upon the Eastern coast of Hawaii between the bases of the mountains, Kea & Loa and the "great Sea" - having Hamakua on the N.W. and Kau on the South - being about 100 miles by coast-line, in length, & embracing about one third of the island of Hawaii. " Hilo is a land of clouds and rain - of rivers & cascades and of the ceaseless noise of many waters - It is a land of hills and valley s - of ridges & ravines, of forests & jungle & mud It is, notwithstanding, one of the loveliest landscapes on which the sun shines or the clouds scatter pearls - It is a land of al­ most unrivaled luxuriance ( !), & tropical beauty. Puna on the South - lies under the shadow of the great vol­ canic dome of Mauna Loa, embracing a portion of the fiery Kilauea with scores of pit & cone c r a t e r s , mostly extinct, but some of them still smouldering & emitting steam & sulfurous ( !) gases ( !). It abounds with springs, & pools & caverns of hot water & in a thousand places it exhibits the presence of volcanic fires at no great depth below the surface, & it is liable at any time to dis­ turbances from the throes of the old & capricious goddess Pele. �Hilo 1863 2. Along the shores & to some distance inland Puna Is almost a dead lever;; but it Is diversified with forests & jungle, with fertile soils & vast fields & floods of lava - sometimes smooth & lustrous & often scariform & jagged, and scattered ( !) & heaped in wild con­ fusion - Not a river or a stream of living water refreshes this district in its whole extent of 70 miles. Population. The latest census makes the population of Hilo 4800 and that of Puna 2000. This is less than half the population when we commenced our labors in the field. "Life & immortality" have en­ lightened the people & yet the Angel of death has hovered over the land. We now notice some of The Moral Aspects of the field. W h ile the omniscient ( !) Eye sees all the corruptions of the heart, & while much sin is found among our people, still we have great oc­ casion for joy & thanksgiving to God for giving to the blessed gospel such restraining, as well as constraining power that gross vices & outward demonstrations of depravity, such as once came forth with bold & shameless front, now retire to the shades, unable to bear the rising light -- Perhaps in no community are the outward manifestations of defiant vice less common - or the general quiet & order of the people more manifest than in Hilo & Puna - Our Sabbaths are undisturbed - our streets are free from tumult - our houses safe from fear - our lives & property are sacred - Law is respected & feared - the balances of justice hang out in the sight of all - All personal, social & civil rights are protected, &, above all the dearest rights of conscience are in free operation We lie down & rise up, & we go & come without fear - Truth, right­ �Hilo 1863 3. eousness & religion are invested with a charm, a dignity, a glory, which, where they do not the heart, inspire men with, an admiration & an awe which holds at hay the profane transgressor. Such, substantially, has been the external state of our community during the past year. We will now look for a moment at The Church. "In the peace of the land" says the prophet "shall be your peace" This has been true of Hilo - Probably no one of the past 20 years has called for less discipline ( !) for overt acts of sin in the church, than the past. Christians have not been remarkably spiritual or active in the work of the Lord, & yet cases of discipline ( !) have not been numerous. As light increases among them a greater number act from principle; and as public opinion gains purity & power it throws a stronger barrier around the right, & becomes an aid & a guardian of good morals. Wholesome law, also, is a shield & a handmaid to virtue; while the gospel, with its promises & its sanctions, alone reaches the heart & touches the vital springs of life. And this gospel has not been without Its effects during the past year. While the church, under its power, has been, generally, peaceful & harmonious, many of its members have appeared to grow in grace & in the knowledge of God. Many have led quiet & -peaceful lives in all godliness & honesty. Many have searched the -Scriptures daily & many have been active & stead­ fast in the work of the Lord. More than 50 hopeful converts have been added to our communion from the ranks of the world. The benevolent contributions of the church do not suffer by a compari­ son with former years, more than 3000 dollars having been given for various objects during the period under review.- �Hilo 1863 4. But with all our cause for joy & praise, we still have reason for grief & shame that no more has been done for Christ. not done our duty - We have Our faith has been too weak - our love too feeble., our zeal too cold, our hearts too selfish. & our efforts to ( !) few & fickle In our Master's work. Education. In using this term I do not intend to speak on all the elements & agents which it comprehends; but merely to state in p a s s i n g ( !) a few facts in relation to our Schools, leaving my worthy and laborious associate to give you a more perfect view of the subject. At Hilo Station we have 1st. The excellent & efficient Boarding School, of which you will hear a report from its Principal. 2. The Anglo Hawaiian School - of about 70 scholars - taught ef­ ficiently by Mr. R.H, Hitchcock assisted by Miss Mary Jane Alexan­ der 3. A small school of the children of foreigners, taught by Miss Bixby. 4. A family school, taught by our widowed Sister Mrs. Shipman. 5. Our public Station School, taught by an active & intelligent native. 6. A Common School taught by a papist. All these are In the town of Hilo - and beside these we have 6 other schools within about 2 miles of the Station, all taught by natives & under the care of the government. In North Hilo & Puna we have 21 more government Schools, making our whole number of daily schools 33. As a general remark these schools are doing a good work for our children, & bringing the means of a useful education within the reach of every child in Hilo & Puna. The teachers are all professors of religion & moral �Hilo in their lives. 1863 5. They pray in their schools & teach their pupils useful knowledge coupled with Christian truth & virtue. Most of these children are, also, led by their teachers, to the S. School & to the Sanctuary on the Lord's day - and among these pupils we have found cases of hopeful piety during the past year. It is the habit of the pastor, to visit all the Schools on his tours through Hilo & Puna, Of the 33 schools mentioned only 2 are taught by papists Se­ th ese are at & near the Station. In most of our Schools the art of singing has been taught and many of our children show a fine taste and capacity for music. As indications of progress, or marks of comparison, we may be allowed to say a word on The Temporal Condition of our people. It is an established truth, that "godliness" promotes temporal prosperity - Of the former virtue we have too little, &, conse­ quently, there is still too much of indolence, & weakness & want among our people — Many are unthrifty because they do not make the fear of God the essential element of life, or the great governing principle of action in all their daily business. But weak, wayward, indolent & Improvident as many of our people are, there is an in­ creasing class who aspire to a better condition in temporal affairs, & who are acquiring more skill., industry, energy & perseverance in reaching this condition. . . _ The amount of lumber used in Hilo, has greatly increased, & the number of respectable framed dwellings is con t a n tly being multiplied among our natives. The same is true of furniture, �Hilo both useful & ornamental - 1863 6. We cannot say that Hilo is finished. As our Island is not yet completed, b u t is rising & extending under the creating hand of Omnipotence, so, we trust, our civilization, in affinity with Christianity, will rise to a higher level, expand to a wider circle, & improve from year to year. We might speak of improved streets, an increased number of good bridges etc - with ample room for further improvements in this line, of two established ferries - of 2 rail-roads commenced of a third in contemplation, if not actually under contract; of a greatly increased amount of sugar-cane under cultivation, & of sugar manufactured - But we will not enlarge, for, with all our marks of progress we are still "a feeble folk”, & our signs of poverty, weakness & ignorance are more prominent than the opposite tokens. There is, however, as we think, advancement. Papists. Never has the papal power made such determined demonstrations at Hilo as during the past year. During the building of their new temple the priests, seculars, or carpenters, & other agents were full of zeal & confidence, using every art, argument & opportunity in their power, to proselyte our people. Great preparations were made for the consecration of their temple on the 9th of July. The Bishop & staff were on the ground days beforehand and arrangements were made to collect the priests and, proselytes from all parts of Hawaii & from other islands of the group. The church was decorated - attractive music: was provided a great feast was announced - sports, fire works etc. were promised new disciples were to be baptized & confirmed - M a s s celebrated, �Hilo processions formed &c & c . 1863 7. Every effort was made to charm the senses, & everybody was desired to attend,, every knee to b e n d & every tongue to swear before the images of Jesus, of the holy Virgin, of the blessed Primate Peter, of St. John, &c. The day came & went - A multitude assembled from different parts of the group & the house was consecrated with pomp & ceremony & the whole programme of masses, baptisms, anointings, chants - invoca­ tions, orations, processions, feastings, fire-works, horse-riding etc. was completed. In a few days the Bishop & priests returned to their posts, the people scattered & all was quiet. What number of proselytes were added to the papists by this persevering demonstration w e do not know - Quite a number, doubt­ less; but we know of none of our worthy natives who have joined them - Several natives, notorious for nothing good, were drawn into their ranks. A number who joined them under excitements have since returned to our meetings - The ordinary papal congregation is, I am told, small, & ours has not been diminished by their efforts. But we all know that the papists are determined, unscrupulous, arrogant & indefatigable. Probably they are the most subtle adroit & formidable foe to truth with which we are called to con­ tend; & they are an enemy not to be despised. Silently & surely they seem to be gaining power at the Islands - & no human skill or force will dislodge them - Our hope is only in the Lord - & our weapons are "The whole armor of God" - None other will ever prevail "When the enemy comes in like a flood" we know the only "Standard" to which we can repair. The Lord will destroy the Man of Sin by the breath of his mouth - truth - consume him by the brightness of his coming or by the clear revelations of his gospel through the demonstra- �Hilo 1863 8. -tions of the Spirit. Mormons. Of these few remain in Hilo & none in Puna - Numbers of their teachers have traversed our field during the year, laboring to disciple the people & collecting cash, horses, cattle &c wherever they could obtain them - Several of their proselytes have left for Mt. Zion, (Ranai) with other men's wives, assured by their blind leaders, that, in-two years, they will all shake hands with God in heaven. Ordinary Labors at the Station 1. Sabbath Labors. These are - A S.S. at 9 A.M . consisting o f 100 to 200 children & adults. interest during the year. This has been sustained with much Second - preaching at 10 1/2A.M. Third - A meetings at M. with the lunas, with inquirers & with any under church discipline ( !) - Fourth - Preaching at 1 1/2 P.M. a meeting at some out Station at 4 P.M. and sometimes Occasionally preaching in English 2. Week-day Labors. First. Lectures in Series, on Wednesdays & Saturdays - In this way we have, in past years, gone through the whole Bible The Pilgrims' Progress - A Compendium of Church History - Moral Philosophy ( !), some 25 Lectures on the History, Doctrines, Dogmas etc - of the Papacy - and I am now lecturing on Theology. Second - The ordinary & extraordinary miscellaneous labors of the week. These can hardly be named or numbered. Besides hours in the study & calls for books, for counsel & consultation in church business & In matters of difficulty between man & man, too often, between man. & wife, parent & child, teacher & scholar the pastor visits the sick - prays with the suffering, attends �Hilo 1863 funerals & labors from house to house as he has time & strength for the work. And these miscellaneous labors occupy a large proportion of the Pastor's time, and constitute the largest &, probably, the most important part of his work Tours. Of these the pastor has made three in Hilo & three in Puna during the year - The Circuit of Puna, ie - going by the shore & returning over the highlands, or visa versa - is more than a hun­ dred miles, & an ordinary tour occupies from 2 to 3 weeks The distance through Hilo, in going & returning, is 50 to 60 miles; but on account of the numerous gorges, the rapid streams, & the mud the travel is often equal to 150 miles on a decent road, and sometimes the roads & streams are perilous or impassable No one who has not witnessed like scenes can tell, the fearful fury of our swollen streams - and no one w ho has not struggled in such, dark waters can know the effort & peril attendant on crossing our rivers when high In Dec. I was stopped suddenly by a rapid rise in the rivers, & obliged to wait nearly two days for the waters to run by - At length the storm abated and, with the assistance of a number of bold & powerful natives, my horse was hauled over the rivers & I went on my tour. In April I was again shut in for two days be- twixt raging streams which the most expert & powerful natives dare not attempt to pass. I had been hauled, by ropes, across several made rivers - had travelled for a week in soaking rains & through deep mud - had stopped for the night in a deep valley, & in the morning when I awoke I was shut in on all sides by raging waters - Here I remained for two days & three nights, amidst;a scene of amazing grandeur - The dark clouds came rolling in from �Hilo 1863 10. the sea & shaking ( ?) floods from their heavy wings - The winds howled & a denser & still denser "pavilion of dark waters" hung over us - Near by "The deep uttered his voice & lifted up his crested waves on high and thundered upon the shore - Cataracts dashed in fleecy foam down lofty precipices; "the overflowing of the waters passed by" & mingled their roar with the roar of the sea, all the hills & precipices were hung with the dark drapery of clouds. The sight of the ocean rolling in majesty - of the foaming cataracts leaping down the. precipices; of the cold & turbid waters rushing along their rocky channels and of the clouds overhanging our little valley, together with the loud roar of the ocean, & the confused din of the rivers, the cateracks ( !) & the storm altogether formed a scene of grandeur ( !) & sublimity not often witnessed. But the storm passed, the clouds scattered - the waters subsided & sung in softer tones, & the great Sun came out in his robes (?) of light,- beckoning us on our way, & reminding us of the beautiful strains of the old Hebrew poet "As the clear shing after rain" Visit to Kau & Kona. In October I attended the annual meeting of our island Associa­ tion in South Kona, Spending a Sabbath in Kau i n going & another in returning; two Sabbaths in Kona, & taking Puna on my way back - This trip occupied five weeks. In Kona we ordained our Christian brother O.H. Gulick, & I was happy to see the auspicious commence­ ment of his ministerial & pastoral labors In Kau, & to enjoy a season of Christian fellowship with him & his family & people at such an interesting time - This was unexpected & providential Convention. Our Annual Convention was at Hilo, as usual, & during four days �Hilo 1863 11 consulted, discussed & prayed on matters pertaining to the Kingdom of Christ. This Convention is well attended by Lunas & teachers & full of interest. Helpers in the Gospel. You are aware that the chh. of Hilo & Puna is scattered over an extended territory ( !) & composed of more than 20 subdivisions, forming as many little congregations of worshipers on the Sabbath & other occasions. These meetings are sustained & these sub-par­ ishes looked after by a class of men called Lunas, usually headed by one as leader or president or chairman - These Lunas or Help­ ers, I instruct from time to time in the duties of their calling* as the Lord gives opportunity & ability, & some of them acquire skill In teaching & governing the church - Their labors are of immense importance - they are invaluable & indispensable ( !) They, however, need much instruction & constant supervision; to prevent mistakes & to keep them, awake to their duties. At the quarterly meetings of our Teachers, I usually, when at home, spend a day or two in Biblical Lecture for their instruc­ tion - and many of these Teachers are among our most efficient Church Lunas. We have another class of helpers among the Females. At the Station 'Mrs. Coan meets, instructs, directs & superintends a class of females who are very useful among the sick, the poor, the Ig­ norant & the wayward - and there are also females all over the field whose influence f o r good is not inferior to that of the males Female piety & female influence when appreciated & properly di­ rected, is a working element of vast importance in the Chh. of Christ, here & everywhere - �Hilo 1863 12. Evils Remaining. Indolence is one of the besetting sins & one of the curses of the people. It is the mother of vice & the mother of misery. But it is not s o general as it once was It has decreased won­ derfully, as all observers with clear eyes & candid hearts will testify - I do not stop to prove this position though abundant facts are at hand Licentiousness still abounds. This is provoked & aggravated by a class of men well known to us all - Still we believe that, notwithstanding the assertions of the enemies of virtue & the fears of its friends, this evil has been checked, and that pollution & moral degradation are not universal among our natives. Disease is a great & desolating evil among the people - This arises from a thousand causes, often complex & undefinable Sometimes it is hereditary - Often it is traceable ( !) directly to scandalous ( !) vice - Indolence begets It; but ignorance of & in­ attention to the laws of physical life is the hot bed which fills the bones & blood & muscles of this people with the seeds of the graveyard Superstition & idolatry ( !) still remain in the hearts of many, but they are not universal, our brethren of "The Reformed Catholic Church" to the' contrary notwithstanding - At any rate if these evils are universal here they are universal over all Christendom, over all heathendom & over all the earth. The Remedy like the disease is compound - physical & moral - If the rising race could be trained to industry, neatness & temperance in all their habits, the physical functions of the people would, ere long, assume vitality, & life would be more extended & happy. �Hilo 1863 13. But Moral forces are those which are to move & renovate the world in all things physical & spiritual. "Godliness has the promise” of the present as of the future life - Let us first christianize & we shall be sure to civilize this people. If the root be godliness, or true piety, the branches & the fruit will in time show a healthy civilization - But let us attempt to en­ graft civilization upon a rotten root & root & branch will fall together - Faith, hope, courage, fidelity, humility, weakness, patience, love - these fruits of the Spirit, these seeds of sal­ vation scattered wide & planted deep in the hearts of the people watched with vigilance & watered with tears, will, through the Eternal Spirit, renovate & and ( !) save the Hawaiians. else will do it. Nothing There must be a vitality In our preaching & in our lives if we would both save ourselves & those who hear us. I have given a rapid & superficial glance of the field, where Providence has permitted an unworthy servant to labor for 28 years. I say superficial, for I see only the surface of things - I deal with facts as Providence evolves them - with facts as they appear with present facts - not the past or the future - with those near not far off - "For that which is far o f f & exceeding deep who can find it?" "Secret things belong to God" - We do not search the depths of the sea or explore the bowels of the earth - So we do not sound the depths of depravity & the abyss of:darkness in the human heart - We see enough of the wickedness of our people & of our own wickedness to pain & alarm us - God in mercy spares us the full sight - But we will thank him for all the sunshine which falls on the moral landscape before us - We will bless him for all. The Encouragements he affords us in our work - - �Hilo 1. 1863 14. In his clearly revealed purpose to evangelize the world - Laboring in this work we labor in union & sympathy with the Eternal God, & who would not have courage to labor with such a Lord, & in a cause so sure to prevail & so glorious withal. 2. us - The Commission, Instructions & Promises of Christ cheer "Go teach all nations - "Lo I am with you always. Who can faint under such a Commission? Who can fear, or falter, or grow weary under such pledges? 3. We are also encouraged by The Power of the Gospel as seen in Its past history - Its conquests have been many, marvel­ ous & mighty - I need only to allude to them -. This glorious Gospel has lost none of its power - This fire & this hammer of the Almighty still melt (?) & break - This W ord is still quick & power­ ful - This bright Sword of the Spirit still separates ( !) the joints & the marrow. 4. We are encouraged in view of what God has done for Hawaii - His work here is marvelous in our eyes. We are amazed at it - & its very magnitude almost confounds us & stuns our faith - We are surrounded w i t h living, moving witnesses of the power & grace of our Lord Jesus Christ We have fathers & mothers, brothers & Sisters, sons & daughters, by hundreds & thousands, in this land, so lately darkened with the pall of death, & bouting (?) with heathen orgies. We have friends who would lay down their lives for Jesus & the gospel, & even for us - We have stars to deck the diadems of our unworthy heads - And again we say We wonder & adore - w e are amazed & say to all ’’S e e wh at hath God wrought." Let the blind, doubt the mid-day sun, & let the deaf deny the crashing thunder; but let us not doubt the work of God on these shores. Shame on us if we faint in this glorious warfare or lay off our armor till our Great Captain calls us from the field. �Hilo 5. 1863 15. And what cause of encouragement we all have from car own personal experiences of God's care & faithfulness has he left us? When & where In fire & floods - Upon the sea & the land - In fears, trials, temptations - Amidst flatteries & Everywhere & always, Christ, has been faithful - & his love & care have been our song in the night-watches; our balm in sorrows, our peace in tribulations - What has he not done for us as individuals & families - As husbands, wives, parents, children & in all the social relations of life? Ever our afflictions have been bless­ ings, & whenever ’’weeping has endured for a night joy has come in the morning" - Was ever a community more blessed in all things than the Sandwich Island Missionaries? 6. Allow me to add one thought more - The whole character of Him whose we are and whom we serve, inspires us with Encouragement to go forward in his work - True, righteous, faithful - holy, wise Omniscient ( !), gracious & Mighty to serve, we serve a perfect, an infinite & eternal Lord, to whom we can look at all times & for all good, with the assurance that our heavenly Father careth for us, & that if w e ask we shall receive, & that He will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly - "He that spared, not his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" Statistics. Whole number received on profession " " - - 636 Received the past year on profession - - 57 - - - 10 - - 67 " " " 11491 Certificate " " - - - '" " Certificate Whole number the past year �Hilo 1863 Whole number dismissed to other churches 869 12 Dismissed the past year Whole number deceased 16. - - - Deceased the past year 6535 - - ~ Excluded the past year - - - 12 - - 540 Remain Excluded : Now in regular standing 198 - - -• 4383 4262 Whole number of children baptized 52 Baptized the past year Marriages the past year - - 38 2578 Whole number of marriages Contributions to Sundry Objects. " Pastor's Salary - - - - & 1200.00 Hawaiian Miss. Society - - - - 600.00 A. B. C. F . M. ---- -- 300.00 Church building & repairs - ---- 440.00 Lahainaluna Seminary - - - - Miscellaneous - Sick, poor, e t c . ~- - - - 90.00 80 .00 500.00 Cash on hand Whole amount 3210.00 Paid for News Papers & Books In March we enjoyed a precious visit from our venerable & distinguished Secretary Dr. Anderson, attended by his most worthy wife & daughter. This visit was exceedingly gratifying to our native people, & profitable, we trust to all. �Puna Is about 50 miles in extent on th e coast The whole population according to a census just completed is 4371 Most of the people live in villages along the shore though many hundreds are scattered over the interior from 5 to 20 miles from the sea. There are now nearly 3000 chh. members in good standing in Puna. There are two good locations for Stations about 20 miles apart and about 30 miles from Hilo. Each of these locations is now an out-post with a grass meeting house & a congregation of about 1000 souls. There are no harbors in Puna, but boats & canoes can land at many points in a still time. There are no foreigners in the district & hitherto the people have been comparatively free from foreign Influence. The present pastor even supposing his health & that of his family t o be good, can visit the district only 3 or 4 times annually. Physician for Hilo. 1. No physician can now be obtained in less than one week - perhaps two weeks. 2. A physician might supply Puna & Kau should stations be taken at these places. 3. He (?) might do much good in teaching or superintending schools. [T h i s is in written/pencil, and labeled on back: "Mr. Coan on Puna & Hilo"] � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mission Station Reports - Hawaii Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mission Station Reports - Hawaii - Hilo - 1851-1863 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863