said one of the chiefs, "that the Christian religion should become universal among us. I look at the wisdom of these worshippers of Jehovah, and see how superior they are to us in every respect. Their ships are like floating houses, so that they can traverse the tempest-driven ocean for months with perfect safety, whereas if a breeze blow upon our canoes, they are in an instant upset, and we thrown into the sea. Their persons, also, are covered from head to foot in beautiful clothes, while we wear nothing but a girdle of leaves. Now I conclude that the God who has given to his white worshippers these valuable things must be wiser than our gods, for they have not given the like to us. We want all these articles, and my proposition is, that the God who gave them should be our God." But whatever might be the motives, it is certain that the new religion was highly esteemed by all classes; that the desire for missionaries was intense; that at many stations the people themselves erected places of worship; and that, when assembled together for sacred purposes, they conducted themselves with becoming seriousness. One of the most intelligent of the teachers at the Samoan Isles expresses a doubt whether any of the inhabitants had experienced a change of heart, or that their desire of instruction arose from a knowledge of the spiritual nature of the Gospel. Some of them, he admits, thought that, by their embracing Christianity, vessels would be induced to visit them; others imagined that they would thereby be preserved from the malignity of the native gods; many hoped that by adopting the new religion their lives on earth would be prolonged; and a few valued it chiefly as the means of terminating their desolating

wars.

It has been already stated that in the year 1830, when the missionaries Williams and Barff first landed at Savaii, a dreadful contest was about to take place owing to the murder of Taimafainga, a powerful ruler. By the interposition of these benevolent men the period of hostility was shortened, and a better spirit infused into the minds of the leaders. The happy change confirmed the influence of the new faith, and led to the desire for new teachers, which was gratified to a certain extent, at least, in 1836, when several from England arrived on their shores. At a meeting of the chiefs, among whom was Malietoa, these servants of Christ entreated that the war should not be renewed. They were assured that it should not, and, moreover, that if any quarrel arose among the leaders, a reference would be made to them as umpires. The author of a letter from Upolu, dated two years later, calculates that the number of Christians there is about twenty

thousand; that in Savaii there are between twelve and thirteen thousand; in Tutuila, about six thousand; and in Manono, all the people, amounting to not less than one thousand, have openly professed the faith of the Redeemer.

In one of the districts of Aana was held, in 1837, the first missionary meeting in the Navigators' Islands. It was attended by two thousand five hundred persons, the conquerors and the conquered mingling together. Chiefs of each party delivered speeches on the occasion, in which, while they did not forget the main object of the assembly, they severally made touching allusions to their former contests, contrasting with those sanguinary scenes their present delightful harmony. On the very spot where the last destructive war was waged, a number of flourishing villages now stand, each of which has one or more schools, and Divine worship is regularly performed on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Even in their unconverted state, as already noticed, the manners of the Samoans, and their skill in the construction and management of canoes, were greatly superior to those of the Marquesan and the Society Islanders. Now there is farther observed a considerable degree of dignity in their behaviour towards visiters and strangers. The common dress of the men was formerly very slight, consisting of nothing more than a girdle of leaves, while the women satisfied themselves with a shaggy mat, on which they displayed all the ingenuity peculiar to the sex in matters of dress. At present the greater number wear decent wrappers of calico, with shirts and gowns; and when they cannot afford these, they appear in garments of a coarse though not unseemly cloth, manufactured from the bark of trees. Formerly, when vessels arrived, muskets and beads were the articles most in demand; but now the principal inquiry is made for wearing apparel, slates, pencils, and writing paper. The master of a whale-ship recently confessed that he had carried to the Navigators' group forty muskets for barter, and had only sold two. In a word, the history of modern missions does not supply a more powerful inducement to Christian zeal, or a more gratifying reward to the intrepidity with which their great objects have been pursued. A few years ago, the European who casually landed on those islands saw everywhere prevailing rapine, murder, cannibalism, and other crimes at which his heart sickened; at present, he may contemplate, at least in the Christianized districts, morals comparatively pure, the exercise of a rational worship, peace, confidence, and brotherly kindness, all heightened by the assured intercourse of social enjoyment.

CHAPTER VIII.

New Hebrides, the Louisiade, Solomon, and Ladrone Islands.

These several Groups have made no Progress in Civilization or religious Knowledge. Enjoy a good Climate, and are capable of great Improvement.-New Hebrides principally discovered by Quiros.-Are in most Parts very fertile.-Inhabitants of the Negro Race.-Visited by Bougainville and Captain Cook.-The Inhabitants of Mallicollo described. -Natives of Tanna Cannibals.-Details supplied by Quiros.-Attempts made by British Missionaries to improve the Natives.- Murder of Williams by People of Erromango.-Mr. Heath succeeds in forming a Station. The Louisiade discovered by Torres, but named by Bougainville.Fierce Character of the Inhabitants.-The Solomon Islands made known by Mendana. Visited by Carteret and other Navigators.-The Inhabitants Negroes.-Remarks by Surville, Shortland, and D'Entrecasteaux.New Britain, New Ireland, and New Caledonia.-The Natives in a low State of Civilization.-Pelew Islands.-The Ladrones.-Discovered by Magellan.-The Scenery very fine and cheering.-People oppressed by a bad Government.-Proceedings of the Romish Missionaries.—Island of Guam.-Inhabitants profess Christianity.

Or the several groups now specified, as they have not yet made any marked progress in civilization or religious knowledge, our account will be very brief, referring chiefly to their position, discovery, and physical properties. The first in order has, indeed, incurred an unfavourable distinction, as being the scene where Mr. Williams, the indefatigable missionary, lost his life, under the hands of the savage natives. In other respects, it lays no claim to the attention of Europeans, beyond that prospective importance which most of the islands of the Pacific possess, on account of their fine climate, valuable productions, and, above all, the capability they present of being one day converted into colonies, where an enlightened faith, science, art, and commercial activity, will ensure to the inhabitants all the blessings of social life.

The New Hebrides, including the islands discovered by Captain Bligh in 1789, are situated between lat. 13° 15' and 20° 5' S., and long. 166° 40′ and 170° E. The largest of the whole is Terra del Espiritu Santo, which was first made known by Quiros in the year 1606. It extends more than seventy miles from northwest to southeast, with an average breadth of twenty-five. Farther south is Mallicollo, which is more than sixty miles long, and about twenty-eight broad, having a good harbour, called Port Sandwich, near its south

ern extremity. Erromango is fully eighty miles in circumference, and Tanna, which lies at no great distance, is computed to be at least twenty in length. In the latter, a volcano exists in a state of great activity; and, indeed, most of the cluster appear to have had their origin in the action of subterraneous fire. Hence the peculiar form of the islands, which rise into lofty hills, and even mountains of great elevation. The valleys and level tracts along the coast are extremely fertile, displaying an immense profusion of vegetable riches. It is said that more than forty different kinds of trees and plants are cultivated. The banana, sugar-cane, yam, arum, batata, and curcuma, are grown with great care in fields regularly divided. The cocoanut, bread-truit, the cabbage-tree, figs, almonds, and oranges, are common. Bamboos, pepper, and mastic are abundant, and the nutmeg-tree also frequently occurs. The usual domestic animals are reared, especially the pig, hogs, and a variety of fowls. The inhabitants belong to the race of Australian negroes, who also occupy part of the F'ijee Islands; but, judging by their agriculture, it must be admitted that they have made farther advances in civilization than any other of the kindred tribes.

Besides the obligations we owe to Bligh and Quiros for our knowledge of the New Hebrides, we are also indebted to Bougainville, who made some important discoveries in 1768, and to Cook, whose investigations in 1774 have rendered them familiar to every reader. Of the inhabitants of Mallicollo, the great navigator does not speak highly. He calls them an "ape-like nation ;" and farther remarks, that they are the most ugly, ill-proportioned people he ever saw, being in every respect different from any he had observed in the Pacific. They are, indeed, a very dark-coloured and rather diminutive race, with long heads, flat countenances, and monkey features. Their hair, mostly black or brown, is short and curly, but not quite so soft and woolly as that of a negro. Their beards are very strong, crisp, and bushy, and generally black and short. But what most adds to their deformity is a belt or cord which they wear round the waist, and tie so tight over the belly that the shape of their bodies is not unlike that of an overgrown pismire.*

"The people

*Cook's Voyage towards the South Pole, vol. ii., p. 36. of Mallicollo seemed to be quite a different nation from any we had yet met with, and speak a different language. Of about eighty words which Mr. Forster collected, hardly one bears any affinity to the language spoken at any other island or place I had ever been at. The letter R is used in many of their words; and frequently two or three being joined together, such words we found difficult to pronounce. I observed that they could pro

At Tanna, the discoverer was informed by the natives that they were in the habit of eating human flesh. "They began the subject of their own accord, by asking us if we did; otherwise I should never have thought of asking them such a question. I have heard people argue that no nation could be cannibals if they had other flesh to eat, or did not want food; thus deriving the custom from necessity. The people of this island can be under no such necessity; they have fine pork and fowls, and plenty of fruits and roots."

At first the captain thought that the inhabitants of Tanna, as well as those of Erromango, were a race between the natives of the Friendly Islands and the people of Mallicollo, but a farther acquaintance convinced him that they had little or no affinity to either, except in their hair. It is very crisp and curly, like that of the negro families, and dark in the colour. They separate it into small locks, wound tightly round with the rind of a slender plant; and each of these not being thicker than common whip-cord, look like a parcel of small strings hanging down from the crown of the head. Some few of both sexes were seen, who had hair like that of Europeans; but it was concluded that they belonged to a different nation, and were probably emigrants from Erronan. It is to this island they ascribe one of the languages they speak, and which is nearly the same as the dialect of the Tonga Archipelago. Hence it is presumed that the former was peopled from the Friendly Isles, and that, in consequence of a long intercourse, each had learned to use the speech of the other.

It was found that, besides the arts necessary for the cultivation of the ground, the people who occupy the larger islands of the New Hebrides practise no other. They know, indeed, how to make a kind of matting, as also a coarse cloth manufactured from the bark of a tree, and used chiefly for belts. But their canoes present only a very imperfect acquaintance with the rules of ship-building; while their ar

nounce most of our words with great ease. They express their admiration by hissing like a goose."

In reference to the island of Tanna, Cook states, that "during the night the volcano, which was about four miles to the west of us, vomited up vast quantities of fire and smoke, as it had also the night before; and the flames were seen to rise above the hill which lay between us and it. At every eruption it made a long rumbling noise like that of thunder, or the blowing up of large mines. A heavy shower of rain which fell at this time seemed to increase it; and the wind blowing from the same quarter, the air was loaded with its ashes, which fell so thick that everything was covered with the dust. It was a kind of fine sand, or stone ground or burned to powder, and was exceedingly troublesome to the eyes."