saved where knowledge is more general than piety; and while experience proves that the word of the Lord, when faithfully, perseveringly, and intelligently proclaimed, has never returned unto him void, we are not aware of the existence of any country in which "holiness to the Lord" is inscribed on the great mass of the popu lation. These reflections arise naturally out of the perusal of the volumes which are now to come under our notice. Much has been said and much written respecting the advancement of religion in the Georgian and Society Islands, where first in modern times the efforts of missionaries were crowned with the professed conversion of a whole people to Christianity; and while we have been delighted with the accounts of the grace of God as exhibited in particular individuals, we have perhaps too hastily concluded that since the idols are utterly abolished in those islands, these instances are only a sample of the universal state of feeling and of morality, and too little attention has in consequence been paid to the statements sent home by the missionaries respecting the social state and outward habits of the mass of the people. The present publication, however, will call the attention of European sceptics and European Christians in an especial manner to this last point; and it is therefore on many accounts desirable that the friends of missions in Britain should not remain under the disadvantages of an ignorance which has been rather voluntary than unavoidable. Mr. Moerenhout is, we believe, a native of Holland, and has for some years past held the office of American Consul at Tahiti, in the execution of the duties of which, and in the prosecution of various private commercial undertakings, he has had frequent intercourse with France and Frenchmen. During a visit to that country, in 1834-35, he published his Voyages aux Iles du grand Océan, containing observations on the geography, history, and present state of the Georgian and Society Islands. These are arranged under the three divisions of Geography, Ethnography, and History. Much of the second and third divisions is translated from Mr. Ellis's Polynesian Researches, to whom, indeed, he acknowledges his obligations in the Preface; but his delineations of the natural scenery of the islands indicate, by their graphic beauty, the attentive eye of a personal observer. We are almost tempted to make room for some of these, but our space and our attention must be given to topics of greater importance, and we therefore turn with him to the less attractive subject of the general moral aspect of the people. When by the clemency of Pomare, after the battle of Bunaauia and by the ascendancy he acquired by the result of that decisive engagement, Christianity became nominally the creed of the people, and nearly every one professed at least to be a Christian, it was not supposed by the missionaries nor by the friends of missions at home, that the great majority of the natives were under the influence of those motives to purity and evangelical obedience which operate only on the mind that has been made a partaker of renewing grace. It is however not improbable that from the sudden and unexpected manner of the change, hopes were excited that have since been found too sanguine, and that by the christian community in England, pictures of a restored Eden in the bosom of the Southern Ocean were drawn with more attention to their wishes, than to their information of the real state of the case. Some of the natives, it is true, both before and since the general introduction of Christianity, have given every indication of a real and abiding change of heart, and the following portrait of one who has ever proved himself a faithful disciple of Christ and a firm friend to the missionaries, would find its resemblance in many individuals, though their number might bear but a small proportion to the whole of the population. "About a month after my arrival," says Mr. Moerenhout, "Tati the chief of Papara came to see me, accompanied by a native named Gimes, who has since assisted me in my purchases of arrow-root, and is the same of whose honesty I have already spoken. The chief brought me several presents of fruit and pigs, and asked me if I would accept them and become his friend. I had heard a very good account of this man, and accepted his offers with pleasure. He invited me to Papara, promising to give me lands there, to build me a house, &c. I know not what his motives were on this occasion, but personally he has ever since behaved very kindly towards me. Perhaps he is the most regular in his conduct of all the natives, and he is, moreover, the most distinguished chief of Tahiti. He has a predilection for commercial enterprise, is endowed with great energy and a well balanced, cautious mind; he lives more after the European fashion than others; and were he king of the island he would have produced some advancement among his people. To so many excellent moral qualities he adds the advantage of being one of the finest men in the country, even among the aristocracy." Some degree of external decency and morality prevailed during the reign of Pomare; but on his death the loss of his vigorous though rather arbitrary rule appears to have exercised an injurious influence by relaxing the reins of civil government and affording scope for the display of the evil propensities that had been rather restrained than eradicated; and a variety of circumstances combined to destroy the amount of social reformation that had been accomplished. The importation of ardent spirits, chiefly from America; the pernicious examples of abandoned sailors and other foreigners; the rise of a fanatical sect called the Mamaia, originating in the fancies of a half-mad, half-knavish membert of the church at Bunaauia, and which unites the vagaries of Irvingism with the theory and practice of Antinomian licentiousness; the want of an efficient police; the outbreakings of civil war; and the successive reigns of two infant sovereigns, united in bringing about a most deplorable abandonment of sobriety and decency, and in some cases of integrity also. Mr. Moerenhout arrived in the islands when this state of things was at its height; so that his narrative of the transactions in which he was personally engaged, and in which he had much to do with the worst part of the population, resembles the police columns of a London Considerable quantities of rum appear to have been introduced by Mr. Moerenhout on his own private account, as well as by the vessels of the christian nation he represents; and many of his sentimental lamentations over the inebriety of all classes of the people arise out of the effects of the spirit which he had himself sold or gratuitously distributed among them. + Mr. Moerenhout, we know not how correctly, calls him a deacon. 3 P newspaper, aggravated by the grossness of a semi-barbarous people. It would be alike unpleasant and unprofitable to trouble our readers with these details. Those who may be desirous of recalling events that excited a very general and very painful interest among the friends of missionary operations some six or seven years ago, may refer to the reports of the London Missionary Society for the years 1832, 1833, and 1834, and the Missionary Chronicle for November, 1833, which contain a very fair compendium of Mr. Moerenhout's more extended narrative. In conclusion, however, he remarks, (after describing the proceedings of a council held at the termination of the war, to re-establish tranquillity and for the trial of the guilty,) "This assembly would have done honour to nations further advanced in civilization, and shows that Tahiti, though held back by the circumstances which I have already sufficiently explained, is ripe for a better order of things. "After this nothing very remarkable happened at Tahiti until my next departure from the island. My business again calling me to Chili, I made a third voyage to Valparaiso; and on again returning to Tahiti I found that at last they had resolved on a measure which they ought to have adopted several years before. Some of the missionaries had been reproached and calumniated by some who seemed scarcely capable of acting thus toward them, after having been hospitably received by them, and loaded with kindness and attention by them and their families. This circumstance induced the missionaries to establish a Temperance Society in the island. They themselves first signed the pledge, and prevailed on several of the chiefs and natives to do so; and what was more important and decisive, they obtained the prohibition of the sale of rum for money, or by barter for provisions. I was then rejoiced to behold the happy effects of the new law, for by it peace and tranquillity will be re-established at Tahiti. Foreigners will not go into great excess, and the native, so mild in natural character, will no longer insult others. Morality itself will derive advantage from it, for if inebriety was not the origin of the immorality of this people, it was at least the cause of the scandal every where occasioned by men and women in such a state of intoxication as to be entirely insensible to shame; so that they might often be seen stark naked walking on the beach or rolling in the sand and mud. "I must not conclude this sketch without appending a remark which is necessary to guard the reader against impressions which may have been occasioned by some of the preceding observations, (which are unfortunately too well founded,) respecting the scandalous lives of foreigners, the drunkenness and misconduct of sailors, the evil example set by their quarrels, especially on Sundays during the hours of divine worship, the loose morals of a great part of the natives, and their excesses of every kind. Were these remarks too rigorously taken and too widely generalised, most serious conclusions might be drawn to the disadvantage of the true social state of these islands. This, however, would be erroneous. In fact, order and tranquillity did not cease to prevail; business was not impeded; ships had no difficulty in procuring provisions and what else they wanted; property was not insecure; and the partial excesses committed seldom remained unpunished; so much so that a chief, who was in other respects generally beloved, and was the queen's orator, was for a long time suspended from his office for having made a slight disturbance at my house when he was intoxicated. Personal property and life were indeed not at all endangered by these private irregularities; but it was nevertheless high time to put a stop to them, since their continuance could not have failed to produce fatal consequences; and I would once more repeat that it appears to me that the prohibition of intoxicating liquors must infallibly re-establish external order and * From 1814 to 1829, there was not one murder in all the islands.-p. 256. save at least the appearance of morals. It is true they will always be in reality very loose; but they will profit by this measure, (which has become absolutely necessary to prevent the return of these scandalous proceedings,) even though the people should never feel or follow the morality of the religion they are taught. It is pleasing to know that the happy results anticipated have been to a great extent realised; but though much has been done, much doubtless yet remains to be desired, especially with regard to the wider extension of the heartfelt power of the gospel, as applied by the Spirit of grace, which alone can form a solid basis for personal holiness or public morality. Mr. Moerenhout occasionally appears inconsistent with himself in commenting on the proceedings of the missionaries, sometimes censuring them for interfering too much with politics, and sometimes for not interposing sufficiently; sometimes for endeavouring to induce the people to labour, and at others for allowing them to remain in indolence. He also severely criticises their injudicious introduction of the artificial customs of their own country, partly as respects the European methods of clothing and building, which do not appear to be suitable to the climate or to the native constitution; but especially in the exercise of their influence to secure the successive appointments of two hereditary but infant sovereigns over a semi-barbarous people, thus relaxing the reins of government, and opening a floodgate for the entrance of disorder, while the installation of a monarch of four years of age was rendered still more ridiculous and objectionable by the imitation of the ceremonies and even of the oath observed at the coronations of English kings. It appears from Mr. Moerenhout's statements, that the good but unambitious Tati, noticed above, is descended from a family which was driven from the throne by Pomare the First, and independently of this claim would in all probability have been chosen king by the people, had it not been for the missionaries' respect for the royal lineage of Pomare the Second, as represented by his infant son, who at the king's death was only a year old. He however candidly allows that they are devoted to their work, and do every thing according to the best of their judgment for the evangelization and reformation of the people; and the following sketches given by him of the characters of some of them, may at least be interesting, as affording a view of the light in which they are regarded by an indifferent spec tator. "The dinner," he says, "was good and well served, and even the missionaries appeared cheerful, which, by the way, is not an unusual circumstance. The majority of those at Tahiti, I am in justice bound to say, are amiable men, who are not at all melancholy, and whose reserve is quite free from affectation. Mr. Nott is one of the pleasantest old gentlemen you could meet with; Mr. Wilson is the mildest and best man I have ever seen; and Messrs. Pritchard, Simpson, and Orsmond are most excellent company. I have already spoken of Mr. Davies, who, to be appreciated, must be intimately known; Mr. Henry has only the fault of being a little too strict; in other respects he is an honest, upright man, incapable of injuring anything in the world; and you may be very well pleased with Mr. Darling in his good moments, and will find at his house the most frank and cordial hospitality, when he is not at prayers." In a note, he adds, "This alludes to a well-known practice of the Rev. Mr. Darling, never to open his door to any person or for any purpose whatever, while he is engaged in his devotional exercises; a practice which does not appear very sociable, but for which, to a certain degree, one cannot blame this worthy clergyman.” — Vol. I. pp. 242, 243. In another place, (p. 260,) he says, of Mr. Davies, "As I passed a Sunday there, [at Papara] I went to church, and was present at divine service. It was really pleasant to see the clean clothes of the people on a Sunday. All the women are dressed in white native cloth; for being at a distance from the Bay of Papeete, where all the vessels resort, the inhabitants of Papara have much fewer European stuffs. They all wear hats, manufactured also in the island out of the sugar-cane leaf, and which are assuredly in the best taste. The men also looked equally well in their shirts of a dazzling whiteness, and pieces of cloth wrapped round their middles and descending below the knees. The singing also was very agreeable, but the inhabitants of Papara are not so well practised in it as those of Papeete. This service recalls to my mind Mr. Davies, the missionary of this district, whom I have once or twice visited. He lives very retired, and is possessed of pretty extensive learning, which he owes to his love of study and laborious perseverance. We are indebted to him for a grammar of the native language, and the translation of several parts of the Scriptures into Tahitian."- Vol. I. p. 259. It may be well to contrast with the above the following description of a congregation at the sea-port of Papeete, Vol. I. p. 220. "The service commenced by singing a hymn, and for the first time I was agreeably surprised. They sang well, and even excellently. I noticed several women with a sweet, agreeable voice, and who, with a little practice, might have become distinguished vocalists. After the hymn came prayers, a sermon, &c.; but what was wanting was devotion, attention, silence, and modesty. The women chatted and interchanged glances and smiles with the strangers; the children and young people were running about, and in constant movement from one side of the church to the other; and the only quiet persons in all the congregation were the sleepers, who were not few in number."-Vol. I. p. 219. The following extract refers to a well-known missionary. "After seeing the school, I went to a small dock-yard, established at Raiatea. There was a bark there, commenced by an English carpenter; and another for the king of the island, at which only natives were at work, under Mr. Williams's direction. This was an immense work for this people, and much astonished me. It is certain that in this and every thing that relates to the progress of the islanders in trade and industry, as well as to the propagation of the christian religion, no missionary has done so much as Mr. Williams. Raiatea is the only island where there are good native carpenters and smiths. Among these last, I may mention one that worked for me at Tubuai, who was a very skilful man, who performed some difficult pieces of workmanship, and put them out of hand in a manner astonishing even to Europeans. Mr. Williams has in his voyages shown as much courage as perseverance, and has extended religion into all the surrounding islands. It is to him that is owing the success lately achieved at the Navigators' Islands; but there is one fault to find with him, which is, that he is rather impatient, and his love of doing good sometimes carries him so far, that he does not even scruple to make use of force to secure the accomplishment of his designs, if mild means will not do this. At Raiatea, though in some sort he governed the king, at least in all that concerned the regulations relative to the attendance at the schools and churches, to morality and manners generally, yet he occasioned so much discontent, that, during the |