Chapter XXII (2)

It was easy to see that the other principal chiefs had no doubt of the propriety of the demand; and that they thought the queen and her relations ought to bear the consequences of their own conduct. Taati, who is related to her, exerted himself far more than Utaame, Hitote, or any of the others. This part of the business was then settled by their agreeing to give the shells already collected, such sums of money as her friends should choose to contribute, and a document signed by two principal chiefs, expressing the sum already collected and paid; and their intention of forthwith collecting the remainder, and paying it before a stipulated time. Difficulties about the present, as compared with the former value of the shells, were quickly ended by arbitration; and their value estimated at fifty dollars per ton: the ready way in which this question about the value of the shells was settled, gave me a high idea of the natives’ wish to do right, rather than take advantage of a doubtful point of law.

I next had to remark, that the queen had given up the murderers of the master and mate of the Truro in a merely nominal manner, and not in effect; and that she must expect to receive a communication upon that subject by the next man-of-war.

She asked me--whether I really thought they would be required from her by the next man-of-war?

I replied: “Those men were tried and condemned by the laws of Otaheite. Your majesty, as sovereign, exercised your right of pardoning them. I think that the British Government will respect your right as queen of these islands; and that his Britannic Majesty will not insist upon those men being punished, or again tried for the same offence; but the propriety of your own conduct in pardoning such notorious offenders, is a very different affair. It will not tend to diminish the effect of a report injurious to your character, which you are aware has been circulated.”

After a pause, I said, “I was desired to enquire into the complaints of British subjects and demand redress where necessary. No complaints had been made to me; therefore I begged to congratulate her majesty on the regularity and good conduct which had prevailed; and thanked her, in the name of my countrymen, for the kindness with which they had been treated.”

I then reminded Pomare of the deep interest generally felt for those highly deserving and devoted missionaries, whose exertions, hazardous and difficult as they had been, and still were, had raised the natives of Otaheite to their present enlightened and improved condition; and that every reason united to demand for them the steady co-operation of both her and her chiefs. Finding that they listened attentively to Mr. Pritchard’s interpretation, which I was told was as good as it appeared to me fluent and effective, I requested permission to say a few words more to the queen--to the effect that I had heard much of her associating chiefly with the young and inexperienced, almost to the exclusion of the older and trustworthy counsellors whom she had around her at this assembly. To be respected, either at home or abroad, it was indispensably necessary for her to avoid the society of inferior minds and dispositions; and to be very guarded in her own personal conduct. She ought to avoid taking advice from foreigners, whom she knew not, and whose station was not such as might be a guarantee for their upright dealings: and she ought to guard carefully against the specious appearances of adventurers whose intentions, or real character, it was not possible for her to discover readily. Such men could hardly fail to misinform her on most subjects; but especially on such as interested themselves; or about which they might entertain the prejudices and illiberal ideas which are so prevalent among ignorant or ill-disposed people. I tried to say these things kindly, as the advice of a friend: Pomare thanked me, acknowledged the truth of my remarks, and said she would bear them in mind.

Turning to the chiefs, a few words passed, previous to Taati asking me, in her name, “Whether they were right in allowing a foreigner to enlist Otaheitans to serve him as soldiers; and in permitting them and other men to be trained, for warlike purposes, upon their island?”[32] My reply was, “If Otaheitan subjects, so trained, almost under the queen’s eye, act hostilely against the natives of any other island, will not those natives deem her culpable? To my limited view of the present case, it appears impolitic, and decidedly improper to do so.” After a few words with Utaame and Hitote, Taati rose and gave notice that no Otaheitan should enlist or be trained to serve as a soldier, in a foreign cause. By this decree de Thierry lost his enlisted troops, except a few New Zealanders, and whaling seamen.

One of the seven judges, an intelligent, and, for an Otaheitan, a very well educated man, named ‘Mare,’ asked to speak to me. “You mentioned, in the third place,” said Mare, “that you were desired to enquire into the complaints of British subjects, and demand redress, if necessary. You have stated that no complaint has been made, and you have given us credit for our conduct: allow me now to complain of the behaviour of one of your countrymen, for which we have failed in obtaining redress.” Here Mare detailed the following case of the ‘Venilia,’ and said that no reply to their letter to the British government, had yet been received. Mare then added, in a temperate though feeling manner, “does it not appear hard to require our queen to pay so large a sum as 2,853 dollars out of her small income; while that which is due to her, 390 dollars, a mere trifle to Great Britain, has not obtained even an acknowledgment from the British government?”

I ventured to assure Mare that some oversight, or mistake, must have occurred, and promised to try to procure an answer for them, which, I felt assured, would be satisfactory.

The letter on the subject of the Venilia, very literally translated, is as follows: it is, for many reasons, a curious document.

“Our friend, the king of Britain, and all persons in office in your government, may you all be saved by the true God!

“The following is the petition of Pomare, of the governors, and of the chiefs of Tahiti.

“A whale-ship belonging to London, has been at Tahiti: ‘Venilia’ is the name of the ship, ‘Miner’ is the name of the captain. This ship has disturbed the peace of the government of Queen Pomare the first. We consider this ship a disturber of the peace, because the captain has turned on shore thirteen of his men, against the will of the governor of this place, and other persons in office. The governor of this district made known the law clearly. The captain of the ship objected to the law, and said that he would not regard the law. We then became more resolute: the governor said to the chiefs, ‘Friends, chiefs of the land, we must have a meeting.’ The chiefs assembled on the twenty-second day of December 1831. The governor ordered a man to go for the captain of the ship. When he had arrived on shore, the governor appointed a man to be speaker for him. The speaker said to the captain of the ship, ‘Friend, here are your men, take them, and put them on board of your ship; it is not agreeable to us that they should remain upon our land.’ The captain said, ‘I will not by any means receive them again: no, not on any account whatever!’ The governor again told his speaker to say, ‘Take your men, and put them on board your ship, we shall enforce our laws.’ The captain strongly objected to this, saying, ‘I will not, on any account, again receive these bad men, these mutineers.’ We then said, ‘It is by no means agreeable to us for these men to live on shore: if they are disturbers of the peace on board the ship, they will disturb the peace on shore.’ Captain Hill, who has long been a captain belonging to Britain, spoke to the captain of the ship: this is what he said to him: ‘It is not at all agreeable to the laws of Britain that you should discharge, or in any manner turn away your men in a foreign land.’ This is another thing Captain Hill said, ‘you should write a document, stating clearly the crime for which these men have been turned on shore; that the governor and chiefs may know how to act towards them, and that they may render you any assistance.’ But this was not agreeable to the captain; he would not write a document. The governor then said to the captain, ‘If you will not take your men on board again, give us the money, as expressed in the law.’ The captain said, ‘I will not give the money, neither will I again take the men: no, not on any terms whatever; and if you attempt to put them on board the ship, I will resist, even unto death.’ The governor then said, ‘We shall continue to be firm; if you will not give the money, according to the law, we shall put your men on board the ship, and should you die, your death will be deserved.’ When the captain perceived that we were determined to enforce the law, he said, ‘It is agreed; I will give you the money, three hundred and ninety dollars.’

“On the 24th of December the governor sent a person for the money. The captain of the ship said, ‘He had no money.’ We then held a meeting: the governor’s speaker said to the captain, ‘Pay the money according to the agreement of the 22d day of this month.’ The captain said, ‘I have no money.’ The governor told him, ‘If you will not pay the money we will put your men on board the ship.’

“One Lawler said, ‘Friends, is it agreeable to you that I should assist him? I will pay the money to you, three hundred and ninety dollars! I will give property into your hands: this is the kind of property; such as may remain a long time by the sea-side and not be perishable. In five months, should not the money be paid, this property shall become your own.’

“Mr. Pritchard said that this was the custom among foreigners. We agreed to the proposal.

“On the 26th of December we went to Lawler’s house to look at the property, and see if it was suitable for the sum of money; and also to make some writings about this property. While there, Lawler made known to us something new, which was, that we should sign our names to a paper, written by the captain, for him to show his owners. We did not agree to this proposal, because we did not know the crime for which these men were turned on shore. We saw clearly that these two persons were deceiving us, and that they would not pay the money; also that the captain would not again take his men; but we did not attempt to put his men on board the ship, because another English whaler had come to anchor. We told the captain that we should write a letter to the British government, that they might order this business to be investigated, and might afford us their assistance.

“This is the substance of what we have to say:--We entreat you, the British Government, to help us in our troubles. Punish this Captain Miner, and command the owners of the Venilia to pay us three hundred and ninety dollars for thirteen of their men having been left on our land; and also to send the wages of a native man who was employed to supply the whole crew with bread-fruit while at anchor here. Let them send a good musket for this man, because the captain has not given him a good musket according to the agreement at the beginning. Captain Miner also gave much trouble to the pilot. He took his ship out himself: the pilot went after the ship to get his money, and also the money for Pomare, for anchorage. He would not give the pilot his share. After some time he gave the pilot some cloth for his share.

“In asking this, we believe that our wish will be complied with. We have agreed to the wish of the British government in receiving the Pitcairn’s people, and in giving them land. We wish to live in peace, and behave well to the British flag, which we consider our real friend, and special protection. We also wish that you would put in office a man like Captain Hill, and send him to Tahiti, as a representative of the king of Great Britain, that he may assist us. If this should not be agreeable to you, we pray you to give authority to the reverend George Pritchard, the missionary at this station.

“This is the conclusion of what we have to say. Peace be with you. May you be in a flourishing condition, and may the reign of the beloved king of Britain be long! Written at Tahiti on the sixth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two.

“On behalf of POMARE, the queen.

“Signed by APAAPA, chief secretary.
ARUPAEA, district governor.
TEPAU, district governor.
TEHORO, one of the seven supreme judges.
MARE, a district judge, (since raised to be a supreme judge).”

“Addition:--This man, Lawler,[33] is an Irishman: he has been living at Tahiti about three months: he came from the Sandwich Islands. Of his previous conduct we can say nothing. We much wish that a British ship of war would come frequently to Tahiti to take to their own lands these bad foreigners that trouble us. It is useless for us to depend upon the consul at the Sandwich Islands. We have long known that we can obtain no assistance from him.[34]

“We wish to do our duty towards you Britons. You are powerful and rich--but we are like weak children.

“On behalf of POMARE, the queen.
APAAPA, chief secretary.”

“Paofai (close to Papiete),
Tahiti, 7th January 1832.”

This interesting letter needs no apology for its insertion at full length. Besides explaining Mare’s application, it helps to give an idea of the state of Otaheite; and it appeals to our better feelings in a persuasive manner.

* * * * *

Note (_a_) referred to in page 507.

That the electric agent (whether fire or fluid) goes upward
from the earth to the atmosphere, as well as in the contrary
direction, showing that a mutual action takes place between air
and land, many facts might be brought to prove: I will only
mention two.

“On October 25th we had a very remarkable storm: the sky was all
in flames. I employed part of the night in observing it, and
had the pleasure of seeing three ascending thunderbolts! They
rose from the sea like an arrow; two of them in a perpendicular
direction, and the third at an angle of about 75 degrees.”--(De
Lamanon, in the Voyage of La Pérouse, vol. iii. pp. 431-2).

While H.M. corvette Hind, was lying at anchor off Zante, in 1823,
in twelve fathoms water, an electric shock came in through her
hawse, along the chain-cable, by which she was riding. Two men,
who were sitting on the cable, before the bitts, were knocked
down--felt the effects of the shock about half an hour--but were
not seriously hurt. A noise like that of a gun startled every one
on board; yet there was neither smell, nor smoke, nor any other
visible effect. The sky was heavily clouded over; small rain
was falling; and there was distant thunder occasionally, but no
visible lightning. The cable was hanging slack, almost ‘up and
down.’ I witnessed this myself.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] 3d November, lat. 11°.45′ S., long. 126° W.

[2] About 110 feet from the water level to the top of the trees.

[3] Admiral Krusenstern had the kindness to send me a copy of his Atlas of the Pacific Ocean, accompanied by an elaborate memoir.

[4] Most of them are little better than dry reefs encircling a shallow lake or lagoon.

[5] See note (_a_) at the end of this chapter.

[6] All the squalls were from the westward.

[7] Some diversity of opinion has arisen respecting the spelling of this name. No person now doubts that Tahiti is the native word, and therefore the most correct to be used when talking to Polynesian islanders, or writing for them; but as our immortal countryman, Cook, wrote Otaheite, and it is difficult to hear or see the word without thinking of him, I shall beg to be allowed the same privilege that Frenchmen claim when writing ‘Londres,’ or Englishmen when they write ‘Sicily;’ and for the future use only the word Otaheite.

[8] Called James Mitchell, though an aboriginal Otaheitan.

[9] The ‘purau’ is something like bamboo.

[10] Or arabesque.

[11] The man who tried to steal the axe was fined eight hogs and a large piece of cloth. Five of the pigs went to the queen, and three were sent on board the Beagle. The cloth was given to the man who caught the thief.

[12] The late king.

[13] Now Her Majesty’s Consul.

[14] One of the Marquesas.

[15] This I was requested to do by Commodore Mason.

[16] John Middleton.

[17] This noble work is completed. I have now lying by me a copy of the entire Bible, in the language of Otaheite, translated and compiled by Mr. Nott, who has just sailed from England on his return to Otaheite, carrying with him an ample number of copies of the Book of Books. I felt deeply gratified by that good man’s kindness in giving me one of the first copies which were printed.

[18] Excepting the savages of Aura the natives of Chain Island have conquered, successively, all the other islanders in their neighbourhood. On Chain Island there are more hogs and fruits than on any other low island.

[19] Some of these data were used in adding to Admiral Krusenstern’s chart.

[20] I do not know its position.

[21] I remarked that the heads of the Otaheitans and those few of the Chain Islanders whom I saw, were strikingly different, but truly conformable to their respective characters.

[22] “Mr. Thomas Falkner was the son of a surgeon of eminence at Manchester, and was brought up in his father’s profession, for which he always manifested the most promising disposition. To complete his professional studies, he was sent to London to attend St. Thomas’s Hospital; and, happening to lodge in Tooley-street, on the Surrey bank of the Thames, he made an acquaintance with the master of a ship, employed in the Guinea trade, who persuaded the young surgeon to accompany him in his next voyage in his professional capacity. On his return to England, he engaged to go in the same situation on board a merchant ship to Cadiz, from which he continued his voyage to Buenos Ayres, a Spanish settlement on the River La Plata. Here he fell sick, and was in so dangerous a state when his ship was ready to depart, as not to be in a condition to be carried on board; so she sailed without him. The Jesuits, of which there was a college at Buenos Ayres, nursed him during his illness with the greatest care and kindest assiduity; and perceiving the very great advantage which they would derive, in their missions, from possessing a brother who was so well skilled in medicine and surgery, spared no pains to win his affection and secure his confidence. In short, they so worked upon his mind, as to persuade him to enter into their college, and finally to become one of their order. He now entered upon his ministry among the Indians who inhabit the vast track of country between the River La Plata and the Straits of Magellan. His skill in the cure of diseases, and in performing chirurgical operations, together with his knowledge of mechanics, rendered his mission successful beyond example. In this country he remained near forty years, and was among the persons appointed by the Spanish government to make a survey of the coasts between the Brazils and the Tierra del Fuego, Falkland Island, &c. When the society of Jesuits was dissolved, he was sent back to Spain, and after an absence of near forty years, arrived in his native country. Soon after his return to England he became domestic chaplain to Robert Berkeley, esquire, of Spetchley, near Worcester, a Roman Catholic gentleman of distinguished knowledge, most respectable character, and large fortune. There he wrote the account of Patagonia, which has been quoted in this volume, and was afterwards published, with a map corrected from that of D’Anville, according to his own observations. Mr. Falkner possessed a very acute mind, a general knowledge, and most retentive memory. Of his medical experience and practice, I have heard physicians of eminence speak in the highest terms of commendation. His manners, as may be supposed from the tenor of his life, were at once singular and inoffensive: and he retained somewhat of his Indian habits to the last. He died, as I have been informed, about the year 1781.”--Colnett’s Voyage, page 25, note.

[23] Spanish ships, from Lima, in 1774-6.

[24] A whole dress may be seen at the British Museum, brought to England by Cook in 1771.

[25] I had read Kotzebue’s voyage a few days previously.

[26] All gold or silver is by them called ‘money;’ the gold lace on a coat, an epaulette, a gold coin, or a dollar, is ‘money.’

[27] Having so few consonants in their language, obliges them to change most of our names.

[28] Mr. Henry’s data were also used in adding to Krusenstern’s chart.

[29] I need not remark upon the offering made to the king in the time of human sacrifice.

[30] Mitchell, the native pilot, described this process to me minutely.

[31] Queen of Otaheite in 1767. “Both men and women are not only decently, but gracefully clothed, in a kind of white cloth, that is made of the bark of a shrub, and very much resembles coarse China paper. Their dress consists of two pieces of this cloth: one of them, a hole having been made in the middle to put the head through, hangs down from the shoulders to the mid leg before and behind; another piece, which is between four and five yards long, and about one yard broad, they wrap round the body in a very easy manner.”--Wallis’s Voyage Round the World, 1767.

[32] With reference to the so-called Baron de Thierry.

[33] This Lawler was so remarkably good-looking a man, that the natives used to say (literally translated) that “he was as beautiful as a glass tumbler.” (Many years ago, when Wallis discovered the Society Islands, a drinking-glass excited so much notice, that ever since it has been referred to as one of the most beautiful of objects.)

[34] The British government has since appointed Mr. Pritchard to act as Consul for the Society and Friendly Islands.