THE CATHEDRAL AT HONOLULU, AND THE KING OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. THE remarkable incident of a King who rules a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean which have but recently emerged from barbarism, though now forming a recognised member of the family of nations, laying the first stone of an English cathedral, took place at Honolulu, on March 5 last, in the presence of the high chiefs of the kingdom, the governors of the several islands, and the foreign representatives of England and the United States. The military were present, and added to the effect of the scene. We give an Engraving from the sketch taken on the spot by Mr. G. H. Burgess. Queen Emma, widow of the late King, who, during her visit to this country last year, endeavoured to excite an interest in the erection of this cathedral, is represented in the Engraving as seated at the right hand of the King, with her native ladies in attendance.
The cathedral in course of erection is to be 160 ft. long, cruciform, with an average width of 60 ft. The design for this building is by Mr. Slater, of London. It is situated on a plot of two acres in Honolulu, given for this pious purpose by the late King Kamehameha IV., to whose memory it is dedicated. On the corner-stone is a brass plate with a Latin inscription as follows:--"To the honour of Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and in memory of the pious King of the Hawaiian Islands, Kamehameha IV., who died on the Feast of St. Andrew, 1863. This corner-stone his brother, Kamehameha V., laid, on the 3rd day before the nones of March, 1867."