Page 57 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

43.
of the requests of Consul Jones and the American residents.

His own observations of American trade in the Islands empha­

sized different facets from those deemed important by the con­
11
11
sul. Finch characterized the trade as novel and II informal, 11
and the shipping as very irregular if not illegal. Neverthe­

less, he did not demean Americans and their trade in his com­

munications to King Kauikeauoli. Asked by the young King for

advice, the Captain emphasized that he should seek out and

rely on the wisdom of foreigners. Finch also stressed that

the United States government did not condone any acts by

American citizens that might violate Hawaiian laws. But he

warned the King that he and his officials should not inter-
, 58
£ere with the duties of the American consul. King

Kauikeauoli maintained a friendly attitude toward Americans.

The American trade in the Islands, moreover, was never res-

tricted.

1
Throughout the 1830 s American dominance in the
Hawaiian Islands increased through commercial and missionary

activities. American merchants involved themselves further in

the Islands by buying into Hawaiian sugar plantations. Some

merchants even gave up commercial enterprises to devote full
59
attention to agricultural pursuits. Simultaneously with the

growth of American influence was a decrease in British in-

58
Stewart, A Visit to the South Seas, II, 249-54, 279-BG.
59
Letter, S. Reynolds to J. Hunnewell, Nov. 14, 1836,
Hunnewell MSS.