Page images
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

Testament, a stumbling-block and an eye-sore to the infidels, learned and vulgar, of the nineteenth century. Before we proceed to notice a few of the misrepresentations which Mr. Ellis has argumentatively refuted, and which find in the Journal of the English Deputation, so triumphant an exposure, we must place the qualifications and character of the Russian Captain in their proper light.

In the Missionary Journal kept by the late Mr. Tyerman, the following notices occur under the date of March 27, 1824.

[ocr errors]

March 27. The Russian ship, Enterprise, Captain Kotzebue, came to anchor in Matavai Bay. He and several of his officers came on shore, and visited the Missionaries, by whom they were hospitably entertained.

March 29. We paid a morning visit to Captain Kotzebue, on board his ship. .... Mr. Nott had a long conversation with the Captain, concerning the relation in which these islands stand towards England; Russia apparently coveting the petty, but merely nominal distinction of adding these green specks within the tropics to the measureless deserts of snow-land which constitute her Asiatic empire. There is no disposition at all, however, on the part of the natives, to acknowledge such dependence, under the pretext of alliance with the Autocrat of all the Russias; whereas they would be glad to put themselves under the direct guardianship of England.

In consequence of the Russian vessel being in the harbour, the schools are forsaken, and almost every ordinary occupation suspended. The people are crowding about the strangers, both on shipboard and on shore, with their fruit, hogs, and other commodities for sale. But it was gratifying to observe that not a canoe went out yesterday, and the Sabbath was as sacredly kept by the Tahitians (both converts and halfheathens) as though there were no temptation at hand to break it for the indulgence of curiosity and the profits of commerce; eager as they are to visit the strange ships, and traffic with the strange people. Very differently and very disgracefully, on the other hand, have those bornChristians, the Russians, employed their Sabbath, which, with the exception of a formal and customary service performed on board, could not be distinguished from a day of labour and dissipation.

April 5. Captain Kotzebue dined with us. He is, no doubt, an able navigator, but is not possessed of those social habits and friendly feelings which we have been in the habit of meeting with in all the commanders of the ships of other countries which we have met with. He did not even shew us the attention of inviting us to go on board his ship.

April 6. Captain Kotzebue called upon us to take his leave. At his request, Mrs. Wilson had provided him several articles of provision, which were to be ready by 4 P.M.; but he got under weigh before that time, and went without them. The squally state of the weather was probably the cause of his hasty movement. The Captain did not appear to think the better of these islands on account of their having renounced idolatry and embraced Christianity, though he had every rea

son to be satisfied with the general behaviour and conduct of the people.' Journal, Vol. II. pp. 86-88.

Mr. Bennet, the surviving member of the Deputation, a gentleman whose distinguished frankness and polished courtesy of manners, added to great knowledge of the world and invincible goodnature, could not fail, one might have thought, to conciliate the rudest sailor,-speaks of the disposition manifested by Captain Kotzebue, as differing most widely from what he had witnessed in any other visiters to the islands.

"The attentions which were paid him (as his own acknowledgements prove) by the natives, the Missionary, and ourselves, were received with a repulsive coldness which even ordinary courtesy might have served to suppress. Whether this arose from natural moroseness of temper, or from the ill-humour which their adopted religion has had to endure, from some others as well as himself, on account of the restraints it has imposed on their former licentious habits,—it must be left to the Discerner of Hearts to determine."' Vindication, p. 125.

Want of courtesy might, however, be forgiven;-the Captain was evidently no gentleman; but that might pass, had he not proved himself, by his base return for the hospitality shewn him, a mendacious detractor. Even the heathen,' remarks Mr. Ellis, have branded with infamy the ungrateful guest.' The following specimen of his unprincipled insinuations will place his conduct in a sufficiently broad light.

Speaking of those natives whom they induced to become their companions in vice, as manifesting "the utmost caution and secresy," and "the most fearful anxiety lest their errors should be betrayed to the Missionaries," Kotzebue continues: "An accidental occurrence proved their terrors were not groundless." And he thus concludes his account of the disgraceful conduct of his sailors :

"Suddenly the owner (of the house) and his wife disappeared in the night-the house was found empty the next morning-and we could never learn what had become of its proprietors. Have the Missionaries already introduced the Oubliettes?"

Whether the Author has drawn his illustration from French or from Russian history, he knows best; but the resentment must have been strong which could induce the Writer thus insidiously to charge the teachers of the Christian religion with a crime associated only with the most hated despotism. The inmates were removed by no oubliette, or dungeon. What was the real cause of this desertion of their habitation, Mr. Bennet, the surviving member of the Deputation from the London Missionary Society, who was there during the whole of Kotzebue's stay, shall declare. He states, that the husband removed with his wife towards Taiarabu, until the officers and crew of the Russian vessel had left Matavai, when they returned to their then unmolested habitation. These are the circumstances on which Kotzebue grounds

his crimination of those who have introduced a state of things among the people, which, if seen with unprejudiced eyes, and understood, he himself, as well as " Europe, would have admired." But the real fact appears to be, that, under the full influence of those representations of the volatile and licentious disposition and habits of the Tahitians, given in the narratives of Wallis, Bougainville, Forster, and others, he arrived in Matavai Bay on the 14th of March, and remained there till the 24th (O.S.); found that a change in character and manners had taken place, which froze the current of his feelings; that the inhabitants were no longer the idolatrous and lascivious race described by the writers above referred to, but had become a more virtuous and temperate people. To the mortification which this discovery seems to have occasioned, and the restraint which the altered character of the people imposed, there can be little doubt that the gross caricature of religion which the Author has drawn, and those charges of tyranny, &c., against the Missionaries with which his work abounds, owe their origin.' Vindication, pp. 77-79.

Kotzebue's ship was ten days at Matavai, during which he was never further from his ship than the shores of the Bay. He, as well as his companions, was totally ignorant of the native language; and an English seaman was his only interpreter. Yet he has boldly undertaken to furnish a history of the people, an account of their institutions, language, and present condition, with strictures on the quality of the religious instruction furnished by the Missionaries, their personal qualifications, their motives and objects. In all this, he must have been perfectly conscious that he was either retailing what he had been told by the enemies of Missions elsewhere, or was drawing wholly upon his invention. At Tahiti, he had no means or opportunity of collecting any portion of this pretended information, which is, in fact, half libel, half romance. His account of the first introduction of Christianity, we must transcribe at length, because the substance of it has been cited in the Westminster Review as authentic history, the Author of the article compromising his own veracity by adopting the impudent fiction. It is proper too, that our readers should be fully aware, that Boki's letter is no solitary instance of deliberate fabrication.

"After many fruitless efforts, some English Missionaries succeeded at length, in the year 1797, in introducing what they called Christianity into Tahiti, and even in gaining over to their doctrine the king Tajo, who then governed the whole island in peace and tranquillity. This conversion was a spark thrown into a powder-magazine, and was followed by a fearful explosion. The new religion was introduced by force. The maraes, as well as every memorial of the deities formerly worshipped, were suddenly destroyed by order of the king. Whoever would not instantly believe the new doctrine, was put to death. With the zeal for making proselytes, the rage of tigers took possession of a people once so gentle. Streams of blood flowed-whole races were ex

terminated; many resolutely met the death they preferred, to the renunciation of their ancient faith. Some few escaped by flight to the recesses of the lofty mountains, where they still live in seclusion, faithful to the gods of their ancestors.

"Ambition associated itself as usual to fanaticism. King Tajo, not content with seeing, in the remains of his people, none but professors of the new faith, resolved on making conquests, that he might force it on the other Society Islands. He had already succeeded with most of them, when a young hero, Pomareh, king of the little island of Tabua, took the field against him. What he wanted in numbers, was supplied by his unexampled valour and his superiority in the art of

war.

"He subdued one island after another, and at last Tahaiti itself, and, having captured its king, offered the zealot murderer of his innocent subjects as a sacrifice to their manes. Subsequently, he subjected to his sceptre all the islands which had hitherto remained independent, and, as sovereign of the whole archipelago, took up his residence in Tahaiti. He left to the conquered kings the government of their islands, requiring from them a yearly tribute in pigs and fruit.

"Peace was thus restored to Tahaiti and the whole archipelago. Pomareh was a wise and mild ruler. He left his subjects undisturbed in their new religion, although he did not profess it himself. The Missionaries, limited to their powers of persuasion only, found, however, means to retain the people in their doctrine, so that the refugees of the mountains preferred remaining in their retreats, to finding themselves objects of hatred and contempt amongst their countrymen. At length, Pomareh himself, with his whole family, yielded to the arguments of the Missionary Nott, allowed himself to be baptized, and died as a Christian in the prime of life, in consequence of an immoderate indulgence in the spirituous liquors which he had obtained from the ships of his new brethren.

"True genuine Christianity, and a liberal government, might have soon given to this people, endowed by nature with the seeds of every social virtue, a rank among civilized nations. Under such a blessed influence, the arts and sciences would have taken root, the intellect of the people would have soon expanded, and a just estimation of all that is good, beautiful, and eternally true, would have refined their manners, and ennobled their hearts. Europe would soon have admired, perhaps have envied, Tahaiti: but the religion taught by the Missionaries is not true Christianity, though it partially comprehends some of its dogmas, but ill understood even by the teachers themselves. A religion, the introduction of which requires force, cannot, for this very reason, be genuine Christianity.

"It (the religion taught by the Missionaries) has put an end to human sacrifices, but infinitely many more human beings have been sacrificed to it, than ever were to their heathen gods.

"The elder Forster estimated, as we have already mentioned, the population of Tahaiti at one hundred and thirty thousand souls at least. Allowing that he over-calculated by even as much as fifty thousand, still eighty thousand remained: and as the present population exceeds not eight thousand, so nine-tenths must have disappeared. Ardent

spirits, introduced by the Europeans and Americans, and the diseases with which these nations have infected the natives, may indeed have much increased the mortality; but a number of islands in the South Seas are visited by them, where no diminution of population is observed. There is no account extant that small-pox, or the plague, ever raged here; it was therefore the bloody introduction of the religion of the Missionaries" (called, by Kotzebue's Translator, the bloody persecution instigated by the Missionaries)" which performed the office of the most desolating infections. I am ready to believe that these good people were themselves shocked at the consequences of their proselytism, but they have completely consoled themselves," &c.' Vindication, pp. 17-19.

We shall compress into as few words as possible the counter facts. No ship with English Missionaries ever approached the shores of Tahiti till 1797, the year in which Kotzebue represents them as having at length succeeded in establishing their religion by force of arms. No native became a convert till the year 1812, fifteen years afterwards. No such person as King Tajo ever existed, the character as well as the name being purely imaginary; nor is there any account among the natives of an attempt on the part of a King of Tahiti to invade the Society Islands. There is no island known under the name of Tabua in the Pacific. Pomareh, its supposed king, (by whom must be meant Pomare II., who was the individual who allowed himself to be baptized,) was born in Tahiti; of which island, at the time of his birth, his father, Pomare I. was king, and to whom he quietly succeeded. The elder Pomare, instead of being sacrificed by the young hero' his son, died suddenly as he was very quietly proceeding from the shore of Pare towards the Ship Dart, then leaving the harbour; and he bequeathed, with his sceptre, his idols to his son and successor, by whom they were worshipped until idolatry was abolished in 1815.

[ocr errors]

The Missionaries, from their first arrival in 1797, were exposed to the greatest hardships and dangers, owing chiefly to the machinations of their own worthless countrymen. 'Some 'desperadoes of Europe,' says Turnbull, at that time residing ' among the natives, instead of assisting these worthy men in their forlorn situation, took a malicious pleasure in counteracting their efforts on all occasions, misrepresenting their 'views, and endeavouring to stir up the natives to outrage and violence.' These hardships they bore with patient resignation, till, ten years after the first arrival of the Duff, they were obliged to flee the island, in consequence of the desolating wars then raging between Pomare and the rebel chiefs of Tahiti, both parties being pagans, and the victors offering the vanquished in sacrifice to their gods. These must be the wars which Kotzebue describes as a bloody religious persecution,

« PreviousContinue »