Chapter 5. Subsequent History Of Polynesia

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_ CHAPTER FIVE. SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF POLYNESIA

In the concluding pages of this work it is proposed to give a brief sketch of the progress of Christianity and civilisation in the islands of the Pacific visited by Captain Cook. [Note 1.]

The accounts brought home by the discoverers of the degraded moral condition of the islanders, stirred up the hearts of Christians in England, and when, in 1795, the London Missionary Society was formed, one of its first proceedings was to send to those distant lands the Gospel of Christ's salvation.

They began their labours upon an extensive scale. They purchased a ship, and sent out twenty-five labourers to commence missions simultaneously at the Marquesan, Tahitian, and Friendly Islands.

The following is the account given of the reception of this band of Christian evangelists:--

"On March 7, 1797, the first missionaries from the Duff went on shore, and were met on the beach by the king, Pomare, and his queen. By them they were kindly welcomed, as well as by Paitia, an aged chief of the district. They were conducted to a large, oval-shaped native house, which has been but recently finished for Captain Bligh, whom they expected to return. Their dwelling was pleasantly situated on the western side of the river, near the extremity of Point Venus. The islanders were delighted to behold foreigners coming to take up their permanent residence among them, as those they had heretofore seen had been transient visitors.

"The inhabitants of Tahiti, having never seen any European females or children, were filled with amazement and delight when the wives and children of the missionaries landed. Several times during the first days of their residence on shore large parties arrived from different places, in front of the house, requesting that the white women and children would come to the door and show themselves. The chiefs and people were not satisfied with giving them the large and commodious 'Fare Beritani' (British house), as they called the one they had built for Captain Bligh, but readily and cheerfully ceded to Captain Wilson and the missionaries, in an official and formal manner, the district of Matavai, in which their habitation was situated. The king and queen, with other branches of the royal family, and the most influential persons in the nation, were present; and Haamanemane, an aged chief of Raiatea, and chief priest of Tahiti, was the principal agent for the natives on this occasion.

"Whatever advantages the king or chiefs might expect to derive from this settlement on the island, it must not be supposed that any desire to receive moral or religious instruction formed a part. A desire to possess European property, and to receive the assistance of the Europeans in the exercise of the mechanical arts or in their wars, was probably the motive by which the natives were most strongly influenced.

"Having landed ten missionaries at Tongataboo, in the Friendly Islands, Captain Wilson visited and surveyed several of the Marquesan Islands, and left Mr Crook, a missionary, there. He then returned to Tahiti, and on July 6 the Duff again anchored in Matavai Bay. The health of the missionaries had not been affected by the climate. The conduct of the natives had been friendly and respectful, and supplies in abundance had been furnished during his absence. On August 4, 1797, the Duff finally sailed from the bay. The missionaries returning from the ship, as well as those on shore, watched her course, as she slowly receded from their view, under no ordinary sensations. They now felt that they were cut off from all but Divine guidance, protection, and support, and had parted with those by whose counsels and presence they had been assisted in entering upon their labours, but whom, on earth, they did not expect to meet again.

"Their acquaintance with the most useful of the mechanic arts not only delighted the natives, but raised the missionaries in their estimation, and led them to desire their friendship. This was strikingly evinced on several occasions, when they beheld them use their carpenters' tools, cut with a saw a number of boards out of a tree, which they had never thought it possible to split into more than two, and make with these chests and articles of furniture. When they beheld a boat built, upwards of twenty feet long and six tons burden, they were pleased and surprised; but when the blacksmith's shop was erected, and the forge and anvil were first employed on their shores, they were filled with astonishment. When the heated iron was hammered on the anvil, and the sparks flew among them, they fancied it was spitting at them, and were frightened, as they also were with the hissing occasioned by immersing it in water; yet they were delighted to see the facility with which a bar of iron was thus converted into hatchets, adzes, fish-spears, fish-hooks, and other things. Pomare, entering one day when the blacksmith was employed, after gazing a few minutes at the work, was so transported at what he saw that he caught up the smith in his arms, and, unmindful of the dirt and perspiration inseparable from his occupation, most cordially embraced him, and saluted him, according to the custom of his country, by touching noses." [Abridged from _Polynesian Researches_, by the Rev. W. Ellis.]

It is not to be wondered at that the favourable reports sent home by these missionaries encouraged those who received them to believe that almost all difficulties had already been, or were in a fair way of being speedily overcome, and that these distant islands were, to use the figurative language of Scripture, "stretching out their hands unto God." They did not know--it was wisely and mercifully hidden from them--that a long night of toil had yet to be passed before the dawn of that better day they longed to see, and for which they prayed and strove.

"Decisive and extensive as the change has since become," says the writer just quoted, "it was long before any salutary effects appeared as the result of their endeavours; and although the scene is now one of loveliness and quietude, cheerful, yet placid as the smooth waters of the bay, it has often worn a very different aspect. Here the first missionaries frequently heard the song accompanying the licentious areois dance, the deafening noise of the worship, and saw the human victim carried by for sacrifice. Here, too, they often heard the startling cry of war, and saw their frightened neighbours fly before the murderous spear and plundering hand of lawless power. The invader's torch reduced the native hut to ashes, while the lurid flame seared the green foliage of the trees, and clouds of smoke, rising up among their groves, darkened, for a time, surrounding objects. On such occasions, and they were not infrequent, the contrast between the country and the inhabitants must have been most affecting; appearing as if the demons of darkness had lighted up infernal fires in the bowers of paradise."

These representations probably did not reach England until after the missionaries had been some time in the islands, and meanwhile the ship Duff was sent out a second time, with a strong reinforcement of thirty additional labourers.

"God, however, for a time, appeared to disappoint all their expectations; for this hitherto favoured ship was captured by the Buonaparte privateer. The property was entirely lost, and the missionaries, with their families, after suffering many difficulties and privations, returned to England." In addition to this trial "the Marquesan mission failed. At Tongataboo some of the missionaries lost their lives, and that mission was, in consequence of a series of disastrous circumstances, abandoned." More discouragements were in store, for "those settled at Tahiti, under such favourable auspices, had, from fear of their lives, nearly all fled to New South Wales; so that, after a few years, very little remained of this splendid embassy of Christian mercy to the South Seas. A few of the brethren, however, never abandoned their posts; and others returned after having been a short time absent."

In addition to all other disappointments, these returned missionaries and their brethren appeared to be labouring in vain and spending their strength for nought. "For sixteen years," we are told, "notwithstanding the untiring zeal, the incessant journeys, the faithful exhortations of these devoted men, no spirit of interest or inquiry appeared, no solitary instance of conversion took place; the wars of the natives continued frequent and desolating, and their idolatries abominable and cruel. The heavens above seemed to be as brass, and the earth as iron.

"At length," continues the Christian historian, "two native servants, formerly in the families of the missionaries, had received, unknown to them, some favourable impressions, and had united together for prayer. To these many other persons had attached themselves, so that, on the return of the missionaries to Tahiti, at the termination of the war, they found a great number of 'pure Atua,' or 'praying people'; and they had little else to do but to help forward the work which God had so unexpectedly and wonderfully commenced.

"Another circumstance, demanding special observation in reference to the commencement of the great work at Tahiti, is that, discouraged by so many years of fruitless toil, the directors of the Society entertained serious thoughts of abandoning the mission altogether. A few undeviating friends of that field of missionary enterprise, however, opposed the measure." Their persuasions prevailed, and after special and earnest prayer to God, instead of a recall, "letters of encouragement were written to the missionaries. And while the vessel which carried these letters was on her passage to Tahiti, another ship was conveying to England not only the news of the entire overthrow of idolatry, but also the rejected idols of the people. Thus was fulfilled the gracious promise, 'Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear.'" [Williams's _Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands_.]

Among the converts of Tahiti was the king, Pomare, who, having been severely tried by the rebellion of some part of his subjects, became deeply impressed with the insufficiency of his idol gods to help him, and, after having recalled the banished missionaries, listened to their instructions, and embraced the faith of Christianity. His example being followed by a majority of his people the idols were renounced, as already mentioned; and, as soon as he was firmly re-established on his throne, he built a Christian church, which was opened in the year 1819; and the first baptism of a native Tahitian was administered within its walls, in the presence of upwards of four thousand spectators, the king himself being the subject of the rite.

Thus inaugurating a new era in his reign, Pomare introduced a code of useful laws, and brought about many much-needed reforms in his kingdom. He not only proved himself a warm friend of the missionaries, but gave them valuable assistance in the important work of translating the Scriptures into the Tahitian tongue--a fact which proves Pomare to have been a man of no ordinary natural abilities. He did not live long enough, however, to see the completion of this design, but, dying in 1821, he left it to his daughter, who succeeded him in his sovereignty, taking her father's name Pomare.

Among the laws passed in Tahiti at this time was one prohibiting the importation and sale of ardent spirits, which had been so great a bane to the people; and the law was found to be beneficial to the prosperity and moral character of the country, though the foreign traders, who had made a large profit by its importation, were enraged when this source of gain was cut off.

In 1835 the translation of the Bible was completed, and its publication was attended and followed by happy accompaniments and results. At this time the number of natives in communion with the Christian churches throughout the island numbered over two thousand; and among the candidates for Church fellowship were the queen herself, her husband, and her mother.

And now arose a dark cloud which, for a time, brought great distress upon the faithful followers of Christ in Tahiti, and was permitted to try their constancy, while, at the same time, the freedom, and liberty, and prosperity of the island were grievously threatened. It may be stated, in few words, that Louis Philippe, at that time King of the French, had set his eyes on Tahiti, and had introduced his agents into the country that an excuse might be found for taking possession of the island. First, the consuls insisted that, as the law prohibiting the introduction of liquor interfered with trade, it should be rescinded. This was firmly refused. Then, two French Roman Catholic priests were landed, but were ordered by the queen to quit the country. They complied; but one shortly returned with a companion, and the French admiral, appearing directly afterwards, insisted, with his guns bearing on the town, that they should be allowed to remain, and demanded 400 pounds for the injury they had been supposed to suffer when compelled to quit the island.

French ships continued to be sent, at frequent intervals, and French troops were landed; the queen fled to a neighbouring island; the people fought bravely, but were defeated; the mission-houses and stations were destroyed; the missionaries were driven out of the country, and Mr Pritchard, who had been a missionary, and was now British consul, was imprisoned and otherwise ill-treated.

The Protestant missionary societies throughout Europe and America were indignant at this conduct of a civilised nation. In consequence of the representations of England, France desisted from her attacks on the other islands, but Tahiti fell into her power in 1846. The French, however, could not turn the people from the simple faith they had learned from the English missionaries. They chose ministers from their own people, and continued to meet and worship God with the simple forms to which they had been accustomed, and it is a remarkable fact that Romanism, notwithstanding its gorgeous ceremonies and corrupt practices, did not captivate them.

One only of their beloved missionaries was allowed to remain, the Rev. William Howe, as chaplain to the British consul, and who was ever ready to give the native pastors the benefit of his advice and assistance, though opposed by the Romish bishop and the priests. At length, through his earnest representations to the French Protestant missionary societies, an appeal was made to the Emperor Napoleon, who permitted French Protestant missionaries to go out. They were cordially received by Mr Howe and the native preachers, and the greater part of the Romish priests were subsequently withdrawn.

In the words of a recent report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, [that of 18 8] "The Bible still continues to supply the inhabitants of the Tahitian group of islands with a safe guide amidst all the errors to which they are exposed, and a sure ground of hope in the prospect of eternity. The sale and distribution of the Scriptures progresses steadily, and the strong attachment of the people to the truths of the Gospel remains unabated, and forms a security against the seductions of Popery which it is not easy to over-estimate. Games, and sports, and feasts are all alike tried to seduce the natives from their allegiance to Him whom they have learnt to love and to serve; and though, through the weakness of the flesh, some are attracted and drawn aside, yet, for the most part, they soon become convinced of the emptiness and folly of these things, and return to the sound and wholesome food which they had been tempted to forsake."

After leaving Tahiti, the first place at which Captain Cook touched was the lovely and fertile island of Huaheine. This became the refuge of the first party of missionaries when, in 1808, they were driven from Tahiti; and it was afterwards visited by John Williams, Ellis, and others, accompanied by some chiefs from Eimeo, who purposed forming a mission there. As this place became, in a certain degree, the centre of operations, that particular missionary enterprise in the Society Islands is generally known as the Huaheine Mission.

While Mr Williams was residing at Huaheine, Tamatoa, the King of Raiatea, who had, while visiting Eimeo and Tahiti, learned something of the principles of Christianity, arrived with several chiefs, entreating that missionaries might be sent to instruct their people in the truth. Messrs. Williams and Threlkeld promptly responded to the call, and accompanied the king back to Raiatea. The population of the island was at that time only thirteen hundred, though the island is the largest of the group, and, from its reputed sanctity, and from being the centre and headquarters of all the idolatries and abominations of the neighbouring islands, its chiefs exercised great authority over them.

Tamatoa, instructed by the Holy Spirit, and aided by others who had learnt something of the truths of Christianity, had for some time been labouring among his fellow-islanders. He had himself been converted by what might well be considered a providential circumstance. Two years before, a small vessel, having on board the king, Pomare, Mr Wilson, the missionary, and several Tahitians, had been driven by a storm from her anchorage at Eimeo down to Raiatea. Here they were hospitably received, and continued three months, the whole of which time was employed by Mr Wilson and the king in preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants. The chief, Tamatoa, was among their principal converts.

After their teachers had departed, Tamatoa and his fellow-inquirers felt an earnest desire to learn more of the truth. They built a place of worship, met together for mutual instruction, kept holy the Sabbath, and put away their idols and heathen practices. Several times the heathens laid plots to destroy them, but were each time signally foiled in their wicked plans.

At length, Tamatoa paid that memorable visit to Huaheine which resulted in Messrs. Williams and Threlkeld taking up their abode at Raiatea. Having collected the hitherto scattered inhabitants into villages, he built a substantial mission-house as a model, which was readily imitated. Places of worship and schoolhouses were also built; and though many years elapsed before the abominations of heathenism were eradicated, the great mass of the people became not only well educated and moral, but earnest and enlightened Christians. The satisfactory progress made by the inhabitants of the islands where Mr Williams resided was owing, humanly speaking, to the wonderful rapidity with which he had acquired their language, and was able to preach to them, in it, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Soon after the mission at Huaheine was established Mr Ellis set up a printing-press, from which quickly issued the Gospel by Luke, eight hundred copies of which were sent to Raiatea. Small school-books were also printed in the native language. The desire for instruction became general wherever missionary stations were established. Not only the children, but adults became scholars. During the hours of instruction other engagements were suspended, and the various scenes of busy occupation throughout the settlements forsaken.

Such was the picture to be seen at that time in several islands of the Society group. Borabora, or Bolabola, whose inhabitants in Cook's time had been the fiercest warriors of the neighbouring islands, yielded to the benign influence of the Gospel. The history of the last island visited by the great navigator before he left the eastern side of the Pacific for New Zealand, called by him Oheteroa, but known generally as Rurutu, is of great interest. It is situated about two hundred and fifty miles to the south of Raiatea. A destructive pestilence having visited the island, two chiefs, one named Auura, built two canoes, and, with as many of the people as they could convey, left their native shores in search of a happier land, and to escape from their infuriated deities.

After touching at Tubuai, they were cast on the reef surrounding Maurua. Here, instead of being murdered, as might once have been their fate, the starving voyagers were received with all kindness and charity. How was this? Through the agency of native teachers the people had learned the blessed truths of the Gospel, and were trying to obey its precepts. Auura and his companions, hearing that the white men, who had brought to their seas that beautiful religion the practical fruits of which they had just experienced, were living in the islands the summits of whose mountains they could see, set sail once more, with the desire of hearing from their own lips a fuller account of the religion they taught. They missed Borabora, but reached Raiatea. Here they remained rather more than three months. When they were landed they were ignorant savages, wild in appearance and habits. Before they left Auura could read the Gospel of Matthew, had learned the greater part of the catechism drawn up for the natives, and could write correctly. Several others could do nearly as well, though previously ignorant that such an art as writing existed.

But these earnest men were not content to go back to their people alone; they entreated that some missionaries would accompany them. Two native deacons at once offered themselves, and were accepted. Auura's great fear was that many of his countrymen would have been carried off by the pestilence before the glad tidings of salvation could be preached to them. At that time a vessel belonging to a friend of the mission touched at Eaiatea, and the captain agreed to carry Auura and his companions, with the missionaries, to their home.

Within fifteen months after this, Rurutu was visited by Dr Tyerman and G. Bennet, Esquire, who had been sent out by the directors of the London Missionary Society to visit their stations in the Pacific. When they reached it they were not certain what island it was, but were greatly surprised at seeing several neat-looking white houses at the head of the bay. A pier, a quarter of a mile in length, had been constructed of vast coral blocks, affording a convenient landing-place. Besides the two comfortable mission-houses, there was a large place of worship, eighty feet by thirty-six, wattled, plastered, well floored and seated, built within a twelvemonth, under the direction of the two native missionaries, who performed much of the work with their own hands. Many of the chiefs were dressed in European clothing, and all were attired in the most decent and becoming manner. Not a vestige of idolatry was to be seen, not an idol was to be found in the island.

Mr Turnbull, in his account of a voyage he made to the Pacific in 1804, describes the way in which the then savage inhabitants of Raiatea attempted to cut off the ship in which he sailed. See the contrast in the conduct of the people of Rurutu shortly after they had embraced Christianity. Captain Chase commanded the Falcon, an American trader, which was cast away on a reef off their island. He says; "The natives have given us all the assistance in their power from the time the ship struck to the present moment. The first day, while landing the things from the ship, they were put into the hands of the natives, and carried up to the native mission-house, a distance of half a mile, and not a single article of clothing was taken from any man belonging to the ship, though they had it in their power to have plundered us of everything that was landed. Since I have lived on shore, I, and my officers and people, have received the kindest treatment from the natives that can be imagined, for which I shall ever be thankful."

Aitutaki, one of the Hervey group, was another of the islands discovered by Captain Cook. It contained about two thousand inhabitants, described as especially wild and savage. Mr Williams heard of it from Auura, and on a voyage to Sydney, which he was compelled to take on account of the health of his wife, he landed on its shores two native missionaries, Papeiha and Vahapata. On first landing they were led by the people to the morai and given up to the gods; but their lives were spared and they were left at liberty. Wars broke out in the island, and all their property was stolen; but they persevered in preaching the Gospel, and, by degrees, gained converts. The king, Tamatoa, became a Christian; but his old grandfather refused to give up his gods. While holding a high festival in their honour, a beloved daughter was taken ill. In vain he besought his gods to restore her to health; she died. In his rage, he ordered his son to set fire to his morai, and to destroy it with his idols; two others caught fire near it, and the son was proceeding to burn others, when the people dragged him away, expecting to see him struck down by the vengeance of the outraged gods. As no evil consequences followed, the idolaters began to call in question the power of their deities.

Shortly after a vessel arrived from Raiatea, bringing another missionary, with many books, and several pigs and goats, which Papeiha and his companion had promised the people. This raised the missionaries in their estimation, and they with one accord threw away all their idols, and resolved to listen to the teaching of the Gospel. On his return from Sydney, Mr Williams, calling at Aitutaki, found that all the inhabitants had nominally embraced Christianity, while a chapel, two hundred feet long, had been built for the worship of the true God. They have now the entire Scriptures in their own language, and their desire after and reverence for the Word of God are very remarkable.

The description given of the inhabitants of Aitutaki applies equally to numerous other islands of the Pacific, which have been for some time under missionary instruction, provided there are no ports where the crews of foreign vessels remain any length of time, and set a bad example to the surrounding population.

Rarotonga, one of the Hervey group, about seven hundred miles south of Tahiti, and discovered by Williams, in 1823, when the people were in the most savage condition, is now the chief missionary station in the Pacific. In 1839 a missionary college was established, the buildings consisting of a number of separate neat stone cottages, in which the married students and their wives could reside, a lecture-room, and a room for female classes. Up to 1844 thirty-three native missionaries, male and female, had received instruction, and six of the young men had gone forth as pioneers to Western Polynesia. Up to 1860 two hundred students had been admitted, a considerable number of whom were married, and the institution had been greatly enlarged in many respects. The course of instruction embraces theology, Church history, Biblical exposition, biography, geography, grammar, and composition of essays and sermons. The students are also taught several mechanical arts, and for two or three hours every day are employed in the workshop. At the printing establishment on the island a variety of works have been translated, printed, and bound. In three months, ending March 1859, _Bogue's Lectures_, the _Pilgrim's Progress_, twelve hundred copies of _Voyages of Mission Ship_, hymn-books, Scripture lessons, and several other works were turned out of hand. The press-work of these various books, comprising nearly three hundred thousand sheets a year, had all been performed by young men, the first-fruits of missionary labours before their fathers had any written language.

We must now describe the present state of other solitary islands and groups discovered by Captain Cook. In the course of his second voyage (1774) he fell in with a low, solitary island, which, from the ferocity of the inhabitants, he called Savage Island. The inhabitants, numbering between three and four thousand, for very many years remained in the condition in which Cook found them. The first attempt to leave native missionaries was made by the Rev. John Williams, in 1830. But the natives refused to receive them. In 1840, and in 1842, other attempts were made. In the latter year the Rev. A. Buzacott nearly lost his life.

Still these visits had a good effect on the younger part of the population, who desired to see more of the strangers. Several found their way to Samoa, where they embraced the Gospel, and two of them, after a course of instruction at the training college in Samoa, were found well fitted to return, and to spread its glad tidings among their benighted countrymen. They were accordingly conveyed to Savage Island in the John Williams, missionary ship, but were received with a good deal of suspicion by the natives, and only one remained. He narrowly escaped being put to death, but undauntedly persevered, and, by degrees, gathered converts around him. When visited in 1852 by the Rev. A.W. Murray, he had upwards of two hundred sincere believers gathered into a church, and many heathen practices had been abandoned by others.

In 1861 the John Williams conveyed Mr and Mrs Lawes to Savage Island. They were the first European missionaries appointed to labour there. Hundreds of men and women, all well clothed, were assembled on the shore to receive them. Outwardly, not a vestige of heathenism remained among them. There were five good chapels in the island, one of which held eleven hundred, but it was too small for the congregation. Prayer meetings were frequently held, at which all the people in the district attended. On each occasion when they were held by Mr Lawes not less than eight hundred were present. The whole of the inhabitants are now professing Christians, and a very large proportion are earnest and enlightened believers.

 

The reader will call to mind the incidents of Captain Cook's visit to the Tonga, or Friendly group, the high state of cultivation in which he found the islands, the apparently friendly reception he met with from the chiefs, and their treacherous purposes to cut off the ship, as they shortly afterwards did a merchantman which visited their shores, murdering most of the crew.

In consequence of Captain Cook's too favourable report, a number of missionaries were sent out by the London Missionary Society, in the ship Duff, already mentioned, under the command of Captain Wilson. These pious men landed on the islands in 1797, but they made no apparent progress, and war breaking out, three of them lost their lives, and the rest escaped to Sydney. This was in the year 1800.

In 1802, Mr Lawry, of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, commenced a mission at Nukualofa, in Tongataboo. Though compelled for a time to abandon it, he returned in 1826, and, through his instrumentality, Tubou, the king, and many of his chiefs and people embraced Christianity. It is worthy of remark that, just before this time, the London Missionary Society had commenced a mission on the island; but they yielded up the field to the Wesleyans, while the latter retired from Samoa, where they had commenced a mission. The Wesleyans have since then laboured exclusively, and with most encouraging success, in the Friendly and Fiji Islands and New Zealand, leaving to the London Missionary Society the wide scope of the Pacific.

In 1827 the Revs. Nathaniel Turner and William Cross took up their residence at Nukualofa. At that time Josiah Tubou was king in Tonga. Taufaahau, now King George, was king only of Haabai, and Feenau was king of Vavou. The first became a Christian, as did his queen, and was baptised on January 10, 1830. He died in 1845, Feenau having previously died; thus George became king in chief, and reigns over the three groups, Tonga, Haabai, and Vavou, or the whole of the Friendly Islands. The labours of the two zealous missionaries just mentioned were largely blessed, and when Tubou was baptised the congregation amounted to six hundred professing Christians.

King Josiah's reign was not altogether free from difficulties. The heathen party was strong, and took up arms against him, being supported by some French Roman Catholic priests who had settled in the islands. They tried to embroil him, as they had already done Queen Pomare, of Tahiti, with their own government, but were unsuccessful, and with the assistance of King George the rebels were put down.

King George had himself become a Christian and a preacher, and contributed greatly to the spread of the Gospel among his countrymen. He is thus described by Mr Lawry, after he had become sovereign of the whole group; it was in the large chapel of Nukualofa: "The king was in the pulpit. The attention of his audience was riveted while he expounded the words of our Lord, 'I am come that ye might have life.' The king is a tall, graceful person; in the pulpit he was dressed in a black coat, and his manner was solemn and earnest. He held in his hand a small bound manuscript book, in which his sermon was written, but he seldom looked at it. His action was dignified, his delivery fluent and graceful, and not without majesty. His hearers hung upon his lips with earnest and increasing interest. Much of what he said was put interrogatively, a mode of address which is very acceptable among the Tongans. It was affecting to see this dignified man stretching out his hand over his people, and to observe that one of his little fingers had been cut off: this was formerly done as an offering to a heathen god, a custom among his people before they became Christians. But while he bore this mark of Pagan origin, he clearly showed that to him was grace given to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."

The Tongans have been especially blessed in having had several missionaries of high character, abilities, and zeal sent among them. There are schools sufficient for the wants of the whole population, under native teachers, and overlooked by the missionaries, whose duties are somewhat arduous. There is a training institution at Nukualofa, for missionaries, and for masters and mistresses of schools. There are also schools, or colleges, for the upper classes; indeed, many of the wants of a civilised and intelligent community are supplied in the Tonga Islands. The population of the whole group is supposed to amount to between thirty and forty thousand.

The islands of Western Polynesia--New Hebrides, Loyalty, and Britannia-- were little-known, or, at all events, little thought of, till the year 1839, when they were brought into melancholy prominence by the distressing tragedy which occurred in one of them, the island of Erromanga.

The Rev. John Williams, after his return from England in the previous year, sailed in the Camden missionary vessel, resolved to convey the Gospel message to the inhabitants of these remote islands, hitherto sunk in the deepest heathen darkness. It is not too much to say that there was no species of wickedness practised by heathens in any part of the world which could not have found its parallel in those countries. Barbarous rites, nameless abominations, and cannibalism in its most fearful forms characterised the whole population. Mr Williams was accompanied by several European, and a considerable number of native missionaries, who were to be landed as opportunities might offer, to preach the Gospel.

Having landed missionaries at the island of Tanna and elsewhere, with every prospect of success, the Camden proceeded to Erromanga, off which island she arrived on November 20, 1839. Here Mr Williams, Mr Harris, Mr Cunningham, and Captain Morgan landed, and while the two former were at a distance from their companions, the natives attacked and killed them. The murder had been provoked, not by the crew of the Camden, but by that of some other ship, who had ruthlessly shot down several of the natives and carried off their provisions. Thus the innocent suffered for the guilty, and while the life of one eminent missionary was sacrificed, that of another was cut off at the commencement of what might have been a course of similar usefulness. Let it be added, as an interesting fact, that the murderer of John Williams was afterwards converted to God, and lived as a sincere and consistent Christian.

Notwithstanding the sad commencement of this missionary enterprise, it was resolved to pursue it with vigour. At Aneiteum, the first island of the New Hebrides visited by the missionary ship in 1841, two Samoan missionaries were landed. These devoted men had much to endure, and it was not till after years of toil that they saw any really satisfactory results from their labours. By degrees many came to seek instruction, some of whom abandoned their heathen practices; and subsequently other native teachers were introduced; but when, in 1848, the Rev. J. Geddie arrived at Aneiteum, he still found the great mass of the people fearfully degraded, and addicted to the most horrible cruelties. Soon after his arrival eight women were strangled--one, an interesting young woman whose husband he had been attending till he died; he attempted to save her, and was very nearly clubbed to death by her relatives in consequence.

A wonderful change is now evident. In 1858 there were sixty villages on the island, each of which had a school-house or a chapel, with a resident teacher. Nearly the whole of the New Testament, and some books of the Old, had been translated, and a large number of these lately degraded heathens could both read and write.

Fatuna is a small island, containing about a thousand inhabitants. Here Williams touched just before his death; but no teachers were left there. A couple of years afterwards, however, two Samoan evangelists, Samuela and Apela, were landed, the former accompanied by his wife. They laboured for four years with some success, when a severe epidemic breaking out among the inhabitants they were accused of being its cause, and were killed and eaten. Samuela's faithful wife was offered her life if she would become one of the wives of the chief. She replied, "I came to teach you what is right, not to sin amongst you." No sooner had she uttered the words than she fell beneath the club of a savage. Notwithstanding this tragedy, missionaries from the lately heathen Aneiteum have gone to Fatuna, and many of the savages have been converted.

At Tanna, supposed to possess fifteen thousand inhabitants, Mr Williams left three missionaries the day before he was murdered at Erromanga; but two of them soon died, the climate being more injurious to the natives of Eastern Polynesia than to Europeans. In 1842 Messrs. Turner and Nisbet were sent to occupy the island, but were driven away by the savages, and sought shelter in Samoa. Native teachers from Aneiteum, however, took their places, and met with some success; and in 1858 several European missionaries landed on the island; and the larger part of the people have come to the truth.

With Erromanga the name of Williams will always be associated. After his death, native evangelists from Samoa and Rarotonga landed on its shores, but died, or were compelled to leave, from the effects of the climate. In 1857 the Rev. G.N. Gordon, and his wife, took up their residence on the island. They laboured on with considerable success, Oviladon, the chief of the district, being among the first-fruits of their toils. The greater number of the inhabitants of his district also became Christians.

An epidemic, however, broke out in 1860, and the heathen inhabitants of another district, believing that it was caused by the Christians, attacked the settlement, and killed Mr and Mrs Gordon. The day after they were buried, amidst the tears and lamentations of the people; the native teacher, who had escaped, stood beside the grave, and delivered an address which powerfully affected the bystanders.

In the large island of Fate or Vate, Christian teachers have been landed at different times, but some have been killed and eaten, and others have died of disease. In 1858, however, three teachers, with their wives, were landed under encouraging circumstances. From Nina, a small island near Tanna, several of the natives, hearing of the wonderful things taking place on the latter island, proceeded thither to procure a teacher. In consequence of their application, in 1858, the John Williams took them two from Aneiteum, who are now labouring successfully among them.

The Loyalty group must be briefly noticed. Native teachers were landed in 1841, and after they had induced many natives to abandon heathenism, Messrs. Jones and Creagh arrived in the island in 1854. Their labours have been blessed; the Gospels and other parts of the Scriptures have been printed in the Nengonese language, and upwards of three thousand of the inhabitants are under Christian instruction, although a large number of the natives still follow their heathen customs.

The mission in Lifu was not commenced till 1843, when native evangelists were landed, and in 1858 two European missionaries arrived to take charge of the work. The inhabitants amount to about ten thousand, and of these very few, if any, now remain heathens, though it is to be feared that the great mass of the converts can only be looked on as nominal Christians.

The small Britannia group, near New Caledonia, has been occupied by teachers from Rarotonga and Mars since 1837, but Roman Catholic priests have arrived on the principal island, sent, they say, by the French governor of New Caledonia. They have built a capital, called Porte de France, but it is a penal colony, and free emigrants have not been attracted to its shores.

The last islands visited by Captain Cook were those to which he gave the name of the Sandwich Islands, and which now form the small but independent kingdom of Hawaii, having a capital called Honolulu, with a population of eleven thousand, not less than a thousand of whom are white foreigners. With its well-paved, lighted streets, its king's palace, its houses of parliament, its cathedral church, its numerous hotels, its police, and other accompaniments of high civilisation, it is difficult to imagine that a hundred years ago this was the home of tattooed savages. To Englishmen in advanced years, indeed, the murder of Captain Cook at Owhyhee seems like an event that happened in their own childhood. And, in truth, not fifty years ago the natives of Hawaii were ignorant and idolatrous heathens, while it is but as yesterday that a refined, elegant, and well-educated lady, the queen of those islands, was visiting England.

When Cook was killed Kalampupua was king. He was succeeded by his nephew, Kamehamea the First, who made himself sovereign of the entire group. When visited by Captain Vancouver, in 1793, it is said that he requested that Christian missionaries might be sent to him. Whether Captain Vancouver delivered the message to the English Government or not, no attention was paid to it. Captain Vancouver, however, returned the next year with some horned cattle and sheep, which he presented to the king, obtaining a promise that none should be killed for the space of ten years. This promise was faithfully kept; but so rapidly did the animals increase that they became exceedingly troublesome to the natives by injuring their fences and taro plantations. They were accordingly driven into the mountains, where they now form a source of considerable wealth to the nation.

Kamehamea was about to abolish the taboo system when he died in 1819, and was succeeded by his son Liholiho, who took the name of Kamehamea the Second. He carried into effect his father's intention, and also destroyed his temples and gods.

In that very year the American Board of Missions resolved to send to the Sandwich Islands an efficient band of missionaries with three native youths who had been educated in the States. Joyful and totally unexpected news awaited them on their arrival. Idolatry was overthrown, and the king and most of his chiefs were ready to afford them protection and support. They had, however, an arduous task before them in their efforts to impart instruction to a population numbering at least one hundred thousand, dwelling in eight islands, with a superficial area of seven thousand square miles; Owhyhee alone, now written Hawaii, being four hundred and fifteen miles in circumference.

In 1824 there were fifty native teachers and two thousand scholars, and so rapidly did education advance, that in 1831 there were eleven hundred schools, in which fully seventeen hundred scholars had obtained the branches of a common education, and were able to read, write, and sum up simple accounts. The prime minister, seven leading chiefs, and the regent were members of the Christian Church; and a very decided change was manifest in the general population.

Within a few years the language was reduced to a written form, and two printing-presses were at work at Honolulu. A large edition of the Gospels in the Hawaii language, printed in the United States, was in circulation and there were no less than nine hundred schools and forty-five thousand scholars. In 1853, after a great awakening, there were above twenty-two thousand church members, and there were chapels at all the stations. One at Lahaina could hold three thousand persons.

In 1853 the mission of the American Board was dissolved, their object having been fully realised in Christianising the people, planting churches, and making them self-supporting. Kamehamea the Third, the brother and successor of the king, who died in England, reigned well and wisely till 1854. On his death, Prince Alexander Liholiho, a well-educated and religiously disposed young man, became king. His wife is the Queen Emma who once visited England. They lost their only son in 1862. This so affected the king that he never recovered from the shock.

He was succeeded by his brother who reigned over the kingdom for some years, under the title of Kamehamea the Fifth. His uncle had established a too democratic constitution; he has given the people one more suited to their ideas and the state of the country. The chamber of nobles and that of the representatives of the people are convoked every two years. It is their duty to make the laws and to vote supplies. Several foreigners are employed in the government, and the foreign population of English, Americans, French, and Germans is increasing rapidly.

The Hawaiians own a considerable number of vessels, which trade to China, California, British Columbia, and other parts of the Pacific. The national flag is composed of coloured stripes with the Union-Jack of old England quartered in the corner. The independence of the island kingdom is guaranteed by England, France, and America, and it will probably continue, as it is at present, in advance of all the other states which may arise in the Pacific. With these signs of prosperity, it is no wonder that Romish priests are doing all in their power to spread their tenets through the Sandwich Islands. But the Bible and a free press will, it is devoutly to be hoped, triumph.

Among other publications constantly issuing from the Hawaiian press are several newspapers, both in English and the native language, which have a wide circulation. That there is a steady increase in the commerce of the country is shown by the exports of sugar, coffee, and other produce, while several manufactures have been introduced to give employment especially to the women. The port of Honolulu has long been the chief resort of whale ships in the Pacific, and now many others, trading between the coasts of America and Asia, call there for supplies.

Other islands and shores visited by Cook remain in much the same condition as in his day. The sorrowful history of the attempt to convey the Gospel to the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, by Captain Allan Gardiner, is too well-known to require further mention. Java has been restored to its original masters, the Dutch; and the Cape of Good Hope is now a British colony. The great southern land of which Cook went in search has been found to exist, though its approach is guarded by immense barriers of ice; and the great problem of a north-west passage has been solved by the sacrifice of some of England's bravest sons.

Not much need be added in the closing paragraphs of this volume. In following the interesting narrative of the voyages of the eminent discoverer whose name is a household word in English biography, the reader, while he sees some things to regret, will award to him a well-deserved tribute of admiration for his courage and skill, his perseverance and enterprising spirit. One thing was set before him, and that one thing he did. His main object was scientific; his first voyage was undertaken to observe the transit of the planet Venus, the Royal Society having represented that important service would be rendered to the interests of astronomical science by the appointment of properly qualified individuals to observe that phenomenon. The second was in search of a southern continent, which, at that time, was a favourite object of geographical speculation. The third and last was to endeavour to find a passage from the Pacific into the Atlantic Ocean. These objects were praiseworthy, yet they were not the highest aims of the truest and purest ambition. To be a martyr for science was earthly glory; but to be a willing martyr for God is glory, honour, immortality, and eternal life.

The discoveries made by Captain Cook were barren of any results beyond those which are necessarily doomed to perish when the world and all that is in it shall be dissolved, until God was pleased, in His own good time, and by the influence of His gracious Spirit operating on the minds of His servants, to make them show forth His praise. Then was made manifest His almighty power, His infinite wisdom, and His amazing love, in the triumphs of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the very strongholds of Satan and sin; conveying to His waiting people the assurance also that He had listened, and still listens, to their aspirations and prayers.

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Note 1. Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, having become parts of the British empire, and colonised by British subjects, are not included in this sketch; their history belongs to that of the mother country. The wonderful progress they have made is due to the influx of European settlers, not to the elevation of the native races.

[THE END]
William H. G. Kingston's Book: Captain Cook: His Life, Voyages, and Discoveries

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