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accompany the teachers, but promised to follow them either in the evening, or on the following morning. While we were engaged in lading the canoes, our attention was arrested by observing the mountains on the opposite shore enveloped in flames and smoke; and, when we inquired the cause of it, were informed that a battle had been fought that very morning, and that the flames which we saw were consuming the houses, the plantations, and the bodies of the women, children, and infirm people who had fallen into the hands of their sanguinary conquerors. Thus, while we were landing the messengers of the gospel of peace on the one shore, the flames of a devastating war were blazing on the opposite; and under these striking circumstances was this interesting mission commenced."*

The question to be now settled is, What has been the effect of the gospel in Polynesia in relation to war? Has it been to foment strife, or to extinguish it? Let history put in her answer. The volume of Williams, exclusive of all other testimony, satisfactorily settles the point. In that wonderful production there is one article which is especially entitled to precedence among our proofs and illustrations. That article is the speech of Tamatoa, a person of the first distinction; it was delivered at a missionary meeting, and is as follows:

"An under chief of Tautu spoke concerning his king, Tautu opiri.† The legend of Natoofa‡ says, concerning Tautu opiri, that in his reign the roots of the bread-fruit tree were adzed smoothly from off the pathway; it was even polished with shark's skin.§ The

* Williams, p. 87.

+ The name of the chief.

The name of his district.

The pathways in the island, being extremely narrow, are rendered

*

great seat Reuea, was sat upon, the sweet-toned bamboo flute, Taneua,† was played, and men grew wrinkled with age, using a staff to support them as they walked. This king died lamented by his people, having spread the garment of peace over them; for the heads of men were not cut off with bamboo knives during his reign, but the heads of pigs; and the food of peace was eaten. The foreheads of the beautiful women were made red with the mati berry, and their bright black hair was anointed with sweet-scented oil.‡ Behold, the peaceful reign of this king was long; and let not the still more blessed reign of Jesus, the best of all kings, be short among us.

"Tautu opiri begat a son, Te hau roa, or Longreign, and then long was the peace enjoyed between the great Tahaa and Raiatea.§ The roots of the breadfruit tree were adzed, and the pathway polished with shark's skin, the great seat Reuea was sat upon, the flute Taneua was played, men grew wrinkled with age, and this king died lamented by his people, having spread the garment of peace, &c., &c. The peaceful reign of Te hau roa was long; and shall that of Jesus, the true Long-reign, be short?

66

Long-reign begat a son, and called him Te Petipeti,

rugged by the roots of the large trees which shoot across them. hence the allusion in the text became a common figure to express state of unimpeded peace, when every thing, in their political and social intercourse, went smoothly on.

* A great seat, hewn out of one tree, on which the principal chiefs sat at all their great festivals.

† Taneua, a celebrated flute which they blew with their noses. Expressions intimating that their amusements were enjoyed without interruption.

Adjacent islands encircled in one reef.

or the Beautiful, and then delightful was the peace enjoyed between great Tahaa and Raiatea. The roots of the trees were adzed off smooth, &c., &c. Behold the peaceful reign of Beautiful was long, and shall that of Jesus, the true Beautiful, be short among us? No, never let it be shortened. It exceeds all others in beauty.

"Te Petipeti begat a son whom he called Lightheart, and then light and happy were the hearts of the people in the peace between the great Tahaa and Raiatea. The roots of the trees were adzed smoothly off, &c., &c. And this king died lamented by his people, having spread the garment of peace over them. And shall that of Jesus, whose gospel gives true lightness of heart, be short among us? No, let it never be shortened.

"At length twin brothers were born, Tautu and Taumata, Snappish-lips and Scowling-eyes; and then jealousy began, and desperate war was waged. The polished pathway was made rugged, the seat Reuea was never sat upon, the conch-shell of war was blown instead of the flute Taneua; men were slain, instead of growing wrinkled with age; the women were not beautified with the mati berry, and the heads of men were cut off instead of those of the pigs. Thus was the peaceful reign of Tautu destroyed; thus was the protracted happiness of Long-reign shortened, and the lovely reign of Beautiful deformed. Thus were the light hearts of the people made sad; for misery and bloodshed reigned, and the invisible world was peopled with men from our earth. Let us all grasp firmly the good we now enjoy, lest the peaceful reign of Jesus should end, and the days of darkness and bloodshed return.'

* Williams, p. 61.

Tautu opiri "spread the

This speech is composed of legends ingeniously applied to new and useful purposes. Mr. Williams conceives that it was used by the natives when "addressing their kings at their inauguration; and also, by a little variation of phraseology, at the deposing of a chief whose reign had been one of tyranny and bloodshed." The point to which I would specially call your attention, is the peculiar and extraordinary prominence which is given in it to the subject of peace, and the consequent longevity of men. garment of peace over" his people; they did eat the food of peace; and on his decease they lamented him. Longreign, also," spread the garment of peace" over his people, and men grew wrinkled with age. Beautiful followed, and his reign too was peaceful: to him succeeded Light-heart, whose rule was of the same description. At length, in an evil hour, were born the ill-favoured twin-brothers, Snappish-lips and Scowling-eyes; wars then broke out; "misery and bloodshed reigned." It is not easy to conceive how the lesson of peace could be more strikingly taught than in the speech of Tamatoa. It is equally full of wisdom, truth, and beauty.

It is delightful to trace the operations of Divine truth in the human soul, as delineated in the "Enterprises" of Mr. Williams. The youthful Samoan chief expresses the feelings of a heart under the first impulses of right views, with touching simplicity. "Oh, my countrymen!" said he, "the Samoaman too much fool, plenty wicked; you do not know. Samoa great fool; he kills the man; he fights the tree. Bread-fruit tree, cocoanut tree, no fight us. Oh! the Samoa too much fool, too much wicked."* Here he refers to the barbarous * Williams, p. 117.

practice of destroying the trees of their adversaries, that they might reduce them to famine.

The poor natives soon became sensible of the blessings of peace. Nothing can surpass the beauty of their own comments on their altered circumstances. Take, for instance, the close of the following passage :"Between each district was left a space of uncultivated land, generally about half a mile in width. On these wastes, their battles were most frequently fought; for the inhabitants of each district invariably used every exertion to prevent their opponents from making encroachments upon their kaingas, or cultivated lands, and therefore disputed, with the greatest pertinacity, every inch of the uncultivated waste; nor did they, until entirely driven off, yield their possessions to the hands of the spoiler. But since the introduction of Christianity many of these wastes have been cultivated.

"Their wars were exceedingly frequent. They had just been engaged in a disastrous conflict when we discovered the island. Pa and Kainuku, with the inhabitants of the eastern district, had been fighting with Makea and Tinomana, the chiefs of the north and west sides of the island, when the latter were beaten, and Makea, with his people, driven away from their possessions; to which, however, peace having been restored, they had returned about a month or two prior to my first arrival. The sad effects of these contests were then and are still apparent; for the laws of savage warfare appear to be like those of civilized countries, to burn, kill, and destroy:' and there is not one old cocoa-nut tree to be seen on the northwest or south sides of the island. A few old breadfruit trees still rear their lonely heads, having survived

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