a degree of rapaciousness which made him guilty of actions bordering on meanness and dishonesty, perpetrated, however, it has been alleged in his defence, solely with the view of acquiring the means of gaining adherents and rewarding his friends.*

In the pursuit of undivided sovereignty he consented to the assassination of his brother, to whose bravery and attachment he was indebted for the larger portion of his power. This charge, though it could not be fully established, is the darkest which clouds his memory in his own land, as well as in foreign countries; and the sufferings which imbittered the closing period of his life were, there is reason to believe, regarded by himself as a manifestation of the Divine anger. He was succeeded by a son, who bore the same name, which, indeed, was official rather than personal, and who, at his accession, made a speech to the assembled patricians, the friends and the foes of his house, which would have done honour to a more enlightened country. "Listen to me, chiefs and warriors! If any among you are discontented with the present state of affairs, now is the time to go to Hapai; for no man shall remain at Vavaoo with a mind discontented and wandering to other places. I have seen with sorrow the wide destruction occasioned by the unceasing war carried on by the chief now lying in the malai. We have, indeed, been doing a great deal, but what is the result? The land is depopulated; it is overgrown with weeds, and there is nobody to cultivate it. Had we re

* Quarterly Review, vol. xviii. p. 8. The editor states that he is in possession of the Journal from which this description is taken. În reference to Mariner's account of the Tonga Islands, the same gentleman remarks," little did Finou imagine when, in directing the massacre of the ship's crew, he gave orders to spare a boy whose appearance and youth had excited his compassion, that by that boy's means his life and actions would be made known throughout the civilized world, and perhaps to the latest posterity; for Finou is not one of those men whose history is forgotten as soon as read ;-his character is strongly marked and prominent ;-and is one of those which in future ages will stand alone for remembrance." The boy here alluded to was Mariner himself.

mained peaceful, it would have been populous still. The principal chiefs and warriors are fallen, and we must be contented with the society of the lower class. What madness! Is not life already too short? Is it not a noble characteristic in a man to remain happy and peaceful in his station? What folly then to seek for war, to shorten that which is already too short! Have we not been acting then like those who have no understanding? Have we not been madly seizing the very thing which deprives us of what we really want? Not that we ought to banish all thoughts of fighting. If any power approach us with the front of battle, and attempt to invade our rights, our bravery shall be more excited in proportion as we have more possessions to defend. Let us then confine ourselves to agriculture, for that is truly guarding our country. Why should we be anxious for an increase of territory? Our land is quite large enough to supply us with food; we shall not ever be able to consume all its produce. But perhaps I am not speaking to you wisely. The old matabooles (councillors) are present; I beg them to tell me if I am wrong. I am yet but a youth, and on that account should be unfit to govern, if my mind, like that of the deceased chief, sought not the advice of others. For your loyalty and fidelity towards him, however, I return you my sincere thanks. Finou Fijee, who is present, and the matabooles know well my frequent inquiries concerning the good of our government. Do not then say why do we listen to the idle talk of a boy? Recollect whilst I speak to you, my voice is the echo of the sentiments of Toe Oomoo, and Ooloovaloo, and Afoo, and Fotoo, and Alo, and all the high chiefs of Vavaoo. Listen to me! I remind you, that if there be any among you discontented with this state of affairs, the present is the only opportunity I will give you to depart. Choose, therefore, your dwelling-places. There is Fijee, there is Hamoa, there is Tonga, there is Hapai, there is Fotoona, and Latooma! The men who have unanimous sentiments, and who love to dwell in constant peace-they

alone shall remain at Vavaoo and its neighbouring isles. Yet will I not suppress the bravery of our warlike spirit. Behold! the islands of Tonga and Fijee are constantly at war. Let him there display his courage. Arise, go to your respective habitations; and recollect that to-morrow the canoes depart for Hapai.”*

From these details of military and political affairs, we willingly allow ourselves to be recalled to the more important subject of religion, which for a time made slow progress among the people of Tonga. The missionaries, it has already been seen, were opposed by three Europeans, who dreaded their influence among the natives, or envied the possession of their small property. Allusion has been made to the fate of these unprincipled men, all of whom were known to be criminals who had escaped from the penal settlement in Australia; but we are indebted for several particulars to Mariner, who received his information from the mouth of the king himself, to whom the young sailor had previously owed his life. He related, that some years before the capture of the Port au Prince, which took place in 1806, on the arrival of an English vessel, one of the white men, whose name was Morgan, chose to live among them. For a considerable period he continued on good terms with the natives, and was also much respected by the chiefs.

* An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, &c., compiled and arranged from the extensive communications of Mr William Mariner, several years resident in those Islands. By John Martin, M. B. (2 vols 12mo, third edition, Lond. 1827), vol.i.p.323. By "the chief now lying in the malai or marai,' the orator meant his own father, whose passion for war he repeatedly deplores. At a repast to which he invited the chiefs after the assembly broke up, he again adverted to the advantages of agriculture, the happiness of cultivating land for one's own food, and of eating the produce of one's own labour. You do not know,' says he, how much pleasure such men feel when they view the work of their own hands thriving daily; and whilst eating, when they reflect that their labour has been repaid by the increase of their stores. Therefore let us apply ourselves to agriculture. Follow my example; I will order a piece of ground to be cleared, and during the next rain, I will assist in planting it with hiabo.""

At length there came another European ship (the Duff with the missionaries), and from her also there landed several white men, who voluntarily took up their residence in the island. These last, he added, built a house, in which they often shut themselves up, to sing and perform ceremonies, as he expressed it. After a space, a quarrel ensued between Morgan and them, first about an iron pot which he wanted to borrow, and then about some pigs which they said he had stolen from them. Upon this, they gave information that he had been a bad man in his own country, and was under sentence of banishment for his crimes. The convict, in his turn, told the chiefs who the preachers were, saying that they were men sent out by the King of England to bring a pestilence on the people of Tonga, and that they accordingly concealed themselves in their house to perform witchcraft, and make incantations, which was the cause of the dreadful disease then raging, and that their books contained nothing but rules of sorcery. The leaders began to take this statement into serious consideration. There could be no doubt that there was a great mortality among them; the white men often assembled and sang very loud; on which occasions they would not allow any of the Tonga people to be present. The chiefs said to one another, if these strangers are doing no harm, why do they not permit us to witness their proceedings? We do not conceal our ceremonies from them, why do they not expose theirs to us? Morgan, availing himself of the suspicions which he had excited, remarked that they might with their own eyes see the effect of the incantations of which he told them; "several of you are dying every day; by and by you will be all cut off, and the King of England will take possession of your islands, for although you have the remedy in your power, you will not make use of it." This argument prevailed; they rushed upon the white men, and killed all but three who were under the protection of Veachi, a person of great influence.*

Mariner's Tonga Islands, vol. i. p. 73.

Such was the cause of the hard fate which befell the missionaries, as related by Finou to Mariner, who afterwards heard the same facts repeated by other chiefs. He inquired what ultimately became of the three who resided with Veachi, and was informed that they were killed during a civil war. It was mentioned that they might have made their escape in company with some natives who invited them into a canoe about to proceed to another island; but they chose to remain, assigning as a reason that as they had not quarrelled with any of the people, they incurred no danger of being attacked. The others reminded them, however, that it was the Tonga custom not only to kill an enemy, but also, if possible, all his friends and relations; to which the three missionaries replied, that as they had done no harm, and meant no harm, their God would protect them. At this moment, concludes the narrator, a party of natives, who were lying in wait in a neighbouring thicket, rushed out and killed them with their spears.

This narrative, though probably correct as to the motives whence the hostile feeling against the missionaries arose, is inaccurate with respect to the number of the brethren who suffered death. The ten stationed by Captain Wilson at Tongataboo, in 1797, remained at their posts two years, without any molestation, and, indeed, were not disturbed till the breaking out of the civil war already described, when three of their number were barbarously murdered. The others, after being plundered of their property, saved their lives by flight to a different part of the island, whence they were at length removed to New South Wales, by the captain of a merchantman, who touched at Tonga on his voyage from Otaheite to Port Jackson.

In the year 1830, the Friendly Islands were visited by Mr Williams, who had the good fortune to meet at Lefooga the younger Finou, whose speech we have quoted. Being informed by the zealous teacher that he and his companions were missionaries who had laboured many years in the Otaheitan and Society Isles, the in