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 BERKELOUW 
 
 BOOKDEALERR
 
 THE 
 
 BIBLE m THE PACIFIC. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. A. W. MURRAY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "MISSIONS IN WESTERN POLTNESlAf" 
 
 "FORTT YEARS' MISSION WORK IN POLYNESIA AND NEW GUINEA," 
 
 "THE MARTYRS OF POLYNESIA," 
 
 AND " EMINENT WORKERS FOR CHRIST." 
 
 'Hic pcojtlc who sat in darkness saw preat lijilit ; ami to tlitin wlio sat in 
 the region anil bhadow of death light is si>ning ui)."— MATT. iv. i6. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 .JAMi:.S NLSLKT Sc O)., 21 I'-KKNEKS STKEET. 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVIII.
 
 Most woudious Book ! bright candle of the Lord ! 
 
 Star of eternity ! the only star » 
 
 By wliich the bark of man coukl navigate 
 
 The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss 
 
 Securely ; only star which rose on time, 
 
 And on its dark and troubled billows still, 
 
 As generation, drifting swiftly by, 
 
 Succeeded generation, threw a ray 
 
 Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 
 
 The eternal hills, pointed the sinner's eye." 
 
 — POLLOK. 
 
 4
 
 ^5 
 
 /I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The work now offered to the friends of Bible circulation 
 and Christian missions originated with the Eev. H. T. 
 Ilobjohns, B.A., one of the agents of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society for the Australian Colonies and 
 New Zealand. An idea occurred to Mr. Robjohns, wliich, 
 put into words, would be in substance as follows : — " Here 
 we are on the borders of the great Pacific Ocean, on the 
 islands and groups scattered over the bosom of which a 
 work of Bible translation and circulation has been in pro- 
 gress for over half a century ; how desirable it seems that, 
 while we have amongst us men who have personally taken 
 part in that work, steps should be taken for the production 
 of a connected history of a work of such vital importance 
 to the welfare of man, and the glory of the God of- the 
 i51ble." 
 
 ;Mr. Jlobjohns mentioned his idea to my esteemed friend 
 and fellow-labourer in the Pacific, the lie v. W. W. Gill, B. A. 
 ;Mr. Gill, while highly approving of Mr. Robjohns' proposal 
 that such a work should be undertaken, did not see his 
 own way clear to undertake it, but suggested that I should 
 be applied to. The thing was mentioned to the Committee 
 of the New .South Wales Auxiliary to the British and 
 
 1 1 i^'^7i)H
 
 iv PREFACE. 
 
 Foreign Bible Society, and by them taken up warmly, 
 and an application was made to me through the District 
 Secretary of the Auxiliary, the Rev. R. T. Hills. After 
 consultation with Mr. Hills I put my ideas in writing as 
 to what should be the character of the proposed work. 
 My letter was submitted to the Committee, and by them 
 approved. They considered it due to the Committee of 
 the Parent Society to refer the final decision to them. 
 This was done, and with their sanction an arrangement 
 was made by the Rev. Dr. Wright, the Editorial Secretary 
 of the Society, with Messrs. James Nisbet & Co., Berners 
 Street, London, to publish the work in the event of its 
 being prepared. 
 
 And now it is completed, and with all my heart I 
 thank God for having given me so congenial and important 
 a work to do, and for having spared me and supplied the 
 needful health and strength to accomplish it, and very 
 earnestly do I pray that His blessing may largely rest 
 upon it, and that the end of its publication may be an- 
 swered in a very high degree. It records a vast amount 
 of labour by men and women whose lives were consecrated 
 to a work than which there is none nobler and grander in 
 which man can engage. Many of the honoured men and 
 women who did the work have long ceased from their 
 labours and gone to their reward, but their work lives in 
 its blessed results, and will live till the mystery of God 
 shall be finished, and Jesus shall reign over a ransomed 
 world ; nor will it stop there, but in its influences and 
 effects it will flow on and on throughout a limitless 
 eternity.
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 I besr here to offer mv wannest acknowledwmeats to all 
 my beloved brethren who have assisted me iu my work. 
 In every instance, with a solitary exception, my application 
 has met with a hearty response, and much interest has 
 been expressed in the work, and many encouraging words 
 have been spoken which have been highly appreciated. 
 And while acknowledging obligations to helpers, I wish 
 especially to name the valuable service which my lite- 
 long friend and fellow-labourer, the Rev. Dr. Turner, has 
 rendered in editing the work as it has passed through 
 the press, and which is the third service of the kind 
 which he and Mrs. Turner have rendered me within a 
 few years. To them therefore I owe a very large debt 
 of gratitude. Mav the ]\Iaster whom we serve aniplv 
 recompense them. And to another esteemed brother, the 
 llev. S. M. Creagh, I am also under special obligations. 
 He, in addition to furnishing information relative to 
 translation work on the Loyalty Islands, has read over the 
 manuscript with me, and in that way has rendered very 
 valuable help. 
 
 The work is as complete as I have been able to make 
 it. The information extends from the commencement of 
 mission work on Tahiti in 1797 to the close of the year 
 1887, 80 the reader can ascertain what has been accom- 
 plished in the work of I'ible translation, and what is the 
 general state and prospects of any particular mission, l)y 
 referring to the chapter which treats of that mission. 
 
 It may perhaps be thought that an undue amount of 
 space is occupied with historical notices of the difforeni, 
 missions; but it is to be borne in niliid lliat Hiljlo transla-
 
 vi PREFACE. 
 
 tiou is an essential part of missionary work, that the rise 
 and progress of the one is inseparably connected with 
 the other, and so both are required to form a complete 
 whole. 
 
 With these remarks,explanations, and acknowledgments, 
 I send the book forth on its mission, again commending it 
 to the blessing of Him from whom all blessings How. 
 
 Petersham, near Sydney, 
 
 New South Wales, il/ay iSSS.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 EASTERN AND CENTRAL POLYNESIA. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 I. THE TAIIITIAN VERSIOX . 
 ir. THE RAROTOXUAN VEKSIOX 
 
 III. THE .SAMOAN VERSION 
 
 IV. BIBLE TRAXSLATIOX IX XIUE . 
 V. THE TOXGAX VERSIOX 
 
 VI. THE FIJI VER.SIOX 
 
 YII. KOTUJIA 
 
 VIII. NEW ZEALAND .... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 20 
 
 37 
 53 
 65 
 76 
 99 
 104 
 
 WESTERN POLYNESL\-THE NEW HEBRIDES. 
 
 IX. FOTUXA AND XIUA . 
 
 X. THE AXEITEUM VERSIOX . 
 
 XI. TAXXA 
 
 XII. Kli.V.MAXGA .... 
 
 XIII. FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND 
 
 XIV. NGUX.V AXD OTHER ISLANDS 
 
 124 
 132 
 146 
 
 16S 
 1S2 
 
 WESTERN roI.YNESIA-TIIE LOYALTY ISLANDS. 
 
 XV. MARE 
 
 1S9 
 
 XVI. MFU 
 
 . 199 
 
 xvii. i;vi:a 
 
 20S 
 
 iVin. NEW BRITAIN 
 
 215 
 
 XIX. NEW GUINEA 
 
 --!> 
 
 THE NORTH i'AClFlC. 
 
 XX. rili; .SANDWICH ISLANDS 
 XXL MICRONESIA 
 XXH. IHK MARQUESAS 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 2i^ 
 
 277 
 291
 
 EASTERN AND CENTRAL POLYNESIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 Ix a record of Bible translation in the islands of the Pacific, 
 the Tahitian version is clearly entitled to the first place. 
 To this version an importance attaches greater than can 
 he claimed for any other of our South Sea translations. 
 The fact that the grand missionary experiment of modern 
 times was made in the Tahitian group invests everything 
 connected with that group with undying interest ; and the 
 translation of the sacred Scriptures, as one of the greatest 
 acliievements of the mission, stands pre-eminent. 
 
 To the translators of this version, all subsequent trans- 
 lators in the Pacific, especially in Eastern and Central 
 ]'olynesia, owe a large 'debt of gratitude; and we feel 
 sincere satisfaction in according to these bi'ave pioneers 
 of modern missions the praise to which they are so well 
 entitled. 'J'hey laboured, and we later missionaries in a 
 measure entered into their labours. All that had been 
 done to prepare the way for us was more or less directly 
 traceable to their labours and sufferings. In their case, 
 of course, there was no previous preparation, nor had they 
 experience to guide tliem. All was new and untried, 
 'i'liey were put down among a race of savages who had 
 sunk to about tlie lowest level to which human beings
 
 2 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 can sink — a people without a written language, and of 
 whose spoken language they knew not a word ; a people 
 whose character and habits were utterly loathsome, and 
 who were addicted to the most horrid cruelties and the 
 vilest practices, and who were wholly unable to under- 
 stand their motives and to appreciate the sacrifices they 
 were making in preferring to live amongst them to re- 
 maining in their own homes in the land of their fathers. 
 Hence the wrongs and indignities they had to bear, and 
 the self-denial involved in carrying out the enterprise in 
 which they had embarked. Heroism indeed of the loftiest 
 character and consecration of the highest order were de- 
 manded of them, and their example has been and will 
 continue to be an inspiration and encouragement to 
 missionaries in all parts of the world. When the Di(ff, 
 after a short stay with them, took her departure in 1797, 
 they were left alone on the dark and savage shore of the 
 then little known Tahiti, with no human succour within 
 thousands of miles, and no means of escape should their 
 lives be in danger, and in utter uncertainty as to when 
 they would have any communication with the civilised 
 world. They were helpless and defenceless as lambs in 
 the midst of wolves, having only one refuge to which they 
 could betake themselves. Such were the circumstances 
 in which the grand experiment had to be made, and a 
 memorable struggle the experiment involved — a struggle 
 extending over no less a period than twelve years. In 
 due time, however — doubtless at the right time — the night 
 of toil and tears came to an end, and a glorious day dawned 
 upon Tahiti. When the faith and jDatience of both mis- 
 sionaries and their supporters had well nigh failed — had 
 quite failed indeed in the case of many in England, and 
 the question of giving up the mission was being seriously 
 discussed by the faithful few — then at the critical moment, 
 the darkest hour, the dawn appeared : God was pleased
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 3 
 
 to afBx tlie seal of His approbation to the toils and labours 
 of His faithful servants. His arm was made bare in the 
 sight of the heathen, and in the sight of an intensely 
 interested few who looked on from afar. Events were 
 brought to pass such as had not been witnessed since the 
 primitive ages of Christianity. It is hardly an exaggera- 
 tion to say that " a nation was born in a day." 
 
 A system of idolatry — a system of foul, cruel super- 
 stition, the growth of unnumbered ages, was swept away 
 with a rapidity and completeness which confounded and 
 silenced adversaries, confirmed the faith of wavering 
 friends, and cheered beyond measure those who had all 
 along held fast their confidence. In the course of two or 
 three years from the time the dawn appeared, and the 
 Spirit of God " broke the gloom of Pagan night," idolatry 
 was completely subverted throughout the islands of Tahiti 
 and Eimeo, and these two islands became the radiatinof 
 point whence the light of life went forth to other islands 
 and groups throughout the vast Pacific ; and an impulse 
 was given to the missionary spirit in every part of the 
 Christian world, fraught with consequences the extent 
 and importance of which the infinite mind alone can 
 grasp. What glorious issues to the labours, sufferings, 
 toils, and deaths of the pioneers ! What a reward ! How 
 gloriously true is it that in due time faithful labourers 
 shall reap if they faint not ! 
 
 Amid the dark days, while the sowing in tears was 
 going on, those of the labourers who had been able to 
 abide at their post (a number had been compelled from 
 various causes to leave the field of conOict temporarily or 
 permanently) applied themselves to the study of the lan- 
 guage, and when "the times of refreshing" came, they 
 were in a position to meet the altered circumstances. The 
 language had been reduced to writing, and a s])f'lling-book 
 had been prepared and printed in England. This reached
 
 4 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 tlie island in iSii. A smaller spelling-book, and a 
 brief summary of the Old and New Testament, about 
 seventy pages i2mo, had been printed in Sy^lney, so 
 there was something ready at once to put into the hands of 
 the converts; but there was urgent need for something 
 more extended, and a vastly greater supply. The people, 
 conscious of new wants, were longing to have these wants 
 met. Hence the little books in print were sought after 
 with the utmost avidity. From them many learned to 
 read, and were hungering and thirsting for books to 
 read. They had got the key of knowledge, but as yet 
 there was little in their own tongue to unlock, and of 
 course they knew no other tongue. In some cases the 
 books they had had been wholly committed to memory, 
 and in many families where all were learning to read 
 there was only one book. Some, who had learned to write, 
 had written out the whole of the spelling-book on paper of 
 which they had managed to get possession, and others who 
 could not obtain paper had prepared a substitute from the 
 bark of a tree * on which they had managed to write out 
 the alphabet with the spelling-book and reading lessons. 
 And many had texts which they had heard preached from, 
 and portions of Scripture with which they had become 
 acquainted, written on scraps of paper which they had 
 picked up, and these were regarded, not as charms, but as 
 precious treasures, on which were inscribed portions of 
 divine truth, which they had now learned to prize as 
 beyond all price. 
 
 Such was the state of things in 1817 when the Rev. 
 AVilliam Ellis arrived, and the first steps were taken 
 towards printing the first gospel which ever saw the 
 light in the " Ocean "World." Mr. Ellis had a knowledge 
 of printing and binding, and he brought with him a print- 
 in »• press, and a small supply of binding material. lie 
 * Probably the paper mulberry.
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 5 
 
 was stationed on the small island of Eimeo, whicli is about 
 eighteen miles distant from Tahiti, and enclosed within 
 the same reef "With the least possible delay a printing 
 office was built. The people worked with a will for the 
 accomplishment of such an object, and the house, such as 
 it was, was soon completed. It was a very primitive affair, 
 of course, but it answered the end. Mr. Ellis mentions an 
 incident connected with its erection which is worthy of 
 especial note. It was partly paved with smoothed basaltic 
 stones dug from the ruins of a heathen temple in a neigh- 
 bouring marae. The maraes were sacred places, on which 
 the temples and altars stood in the dark days of heathenism, 
 in which, and on which, deeds of cruelty were practised 
 with appalling frequency. The offering of human sacrifices 
 held a chief place among the dark and cruel usages of 
 idolatry throughout the whole of the Tahitian group, and 
 these stones had no doubt been often stained with the 
 blood of the wretched victims. How different the use to 
 which they were put now, and how strikingly significant 
 of the benign change already wrought by the gospel of 
 peace and love ! 
 
 Preparations for commencing printing were soon com- 
 pleted. Intense interest was aroused among the people, 
 from Pomare the king downwards, and they flocked 
 together from all quarters to witness the wonderful ope- 
 rations that were to issue in putting them in possession 
 of the treasure they so longed to possess — a portion of 
 God's own book in their native tongue. The king was 
 intensely desirous of having a direct liand in producing 
 the first slieets, and in this Mr. Ellis managed to gratify 
 him. He so an'anged everything, and so directed his 
 majesty, that he succeeded in striking off the first three 
 or four sheets. Ho was delighted beyond measure, and 
 the people were scarcely less so, and well they miglit. 
 When the conspqtiences wjiich have flowed to themselves,
 
 6 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 and to successive generations throughout the wide Pacific, 
 from the introduction of the printing press are considered, 
 it is impossible to overestimate the proceedings of that day. 
 It was the 3rd of June 18 17 — emphatically a red-letter day 
 in the annals of Tahiti and of the vast regions beyond* 
 
 The spelling-book was the first thing printed, an 
 edition of 2600 being struck ofiP, and an edition of 2300 
 copies of the Tahitian catechism followed, and a collection 
 of texts and extracts from Scripture, and then the great 
 work of printing the Bible in the language of Tahiti was 
 begun. The Gospel according to Luke had been translated 
 by the Rev. Henry Nott, one of the first missionaries who 
 arrived in the Duff in lygy. Mr. Nott had nobly stuck to 
 his post, and he was honoured and privileged to have the 
 chief hand in producing the first entire version of the 
 sacred Scriptures in any language of Polynesia. 
 
 The printing of the gospel proved a formidable under- 
 taking. The missionaries, Messrs. Ellis and Crook, by 
 whom the work was chiefly done, worked eight hours and 
 sometimes ten hours daily, and though they had instructed 
 two natives, who relieved them of the more laborious part 
 of the work, still the progress was slow. This was chiefly 
 owing to the fact that "many things belonging to the 
 printing materials and the accompanying apparatus were 
 either deficient or spoiled." However, all diiliculties were 
 overcome, and in the beginning of 18 18 the work was 
 completed. During all the months the printing of the 
 gospel was in progress the natives manifested the liveliest 
 interest, and multitudes of visitors came from great dis- 
 tances to witness the operations, and ascertain the progress 
 of the work; and when it was completed the eagerness 
 to possess copies was such as can hardly be described. 
 " When will the books be ready ? " was the eager inquiry 
 
 * Full particulars may be found in Ellis' "Polynesian Researches," 
 vol. ii. chap. x.
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 7 
 
 of every party. And when the printing and stitching of 
 the sheets were completed the difficulties were by no means 
 at an end — they must be bound in some fashion, and the sup- 
 ply of binding material was very limited. The first bound 
 copy was sent to ]\Ir. Nott, the translator, and the second 
 to the king. The queen and principal chiefs were next 
 supplied ; and such preparations as the case admitted of 
 were made to meet the general demand. Some of the 
 natives had been taught the art of binding, and they were 
 overwhelmed with work, and derived no small gain from 
 their newly-acquired craft. 
 
 We must not attempt to describe particularly the 
 various expedients to which the people had recourse to 
 supply the lack of proper binding material. Substitutes 
 for mill-boards were made from native cloth, a number 
 of folds being beaten together. It was the work of the 
 women to make the native cloth, and now they were set to 
 transform it into stiff boards for the binding of the books ; 
 and on the men devolved the more difficult task of finding 
 a substitute for leather. " Poor animals," says Mr. Ellis, 
 "which had hitherto lived in undisturbed ease and freedom 
 were hunted solely for their skins, and the printing office 
 was converted into a tan-yard, to which the skins of goats, 
 dogs, and cats were taken to be prepared for book-covers." 
 
 All the books hitherto circulated had been gratuitously 
 distributed ; now for this larger book the plan was adopted 
 which has been followed almost universally throughout 
 our South Sea Missions, that of requiring some equivalent 
 suited to the circumstances of the people. In the present 
 case the natives had no money, but they had no difficulty 
 in procuring cocoa-nut oil, and a small (Quantity of that was 
 demanded, and most cheerfully given. Cocoa-nut oil (inds 
 a ready market in any civilised land, and the proceeds of sales 
 were remitted to the British and Foreign Bible Society, to 
 which all our missions are so deeply indebted. We have
 
 S THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 only had to make our needs known to that noble society 
 to have them promptly and liberally met ; and though in 
 most cases we have been able to refund the entire amount 
 expended, yet it is a great boon to us to have the entire 
 responsibility of printing, binding, and publishing taken 
 off our hands by those who have every facility for accom- 
 plishing the work in a manner the most economical and 
 satisfactory. With the furnishing of the paper for this 
 first portion of the sacred writings began the relations of 
 our missions with the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 which have been so harmoniously maintained throughout 
 all the intervening years — now well nigh threescore and 
 ten. 
 
 But to return. Mr. Ellis remarks that the months 
 occupied in the printing and binding of the books was a 
 most laborious time, yet it was one of the happiest periods 
 of his life. The eagerness of the people to possess them- 
 selves of the precious treasure was cheering in the highest 
 degree. Thirty or forty canoes were frequently lying 
 along the beach, each of which had brought five or more 
 persons, on no other errand than to procure copies of the 
 gospel for themselves, and to convey to their friends, and 
 sometimes they had to wait for five or six weeks before 
 they could be supplied. And in other cases canoes would 
 arrive bringing- bundles of letters from others who were 
 unable to come, written on plantain leaves, and rolled up 
 like a scroll, begging that copies might be sent to them. 
 
 " Often," says Mr. Ellis, " when standing at my door, 
 which was but a short distance from the sea-beach, as I 
 have gazed on the varied beauties of the rich and glowing 
 landscape, and the truly picturesque appearance of the 
 island of Tahiti, fourteen or eighteen miles distant, the 
 scene has been enlivened by the light and nautilus-like 
 sail of the buoyant canoe, first seen in the distant horizon 
 as a small white speck, sometimes scarcely distinguishable
 
 THE TAHITIAN VERSION, i 9 
 
 from the crest of the waters, at others brilliantly reflecting 
 the last rays of the retiring sun, and appearing in bold and 
 beautiful relief before 
 
 ' Tlie impassioned splendour of tliose clouds 
 That wait upon the sun at his departure.' 
 
 "The effect of this magnificent scene has often been 
 heightened by the impression that the voyagers, whose 
 approaching bark became every moment more conspicuous 
 among the surrounding objects, were not coming in search 
 of pearls or gems, but the more valuable treasure contained 
 in the sacred Scriptures, deemed by them ' more precious 
 than gold, yea, than much fine gold.' One evening about 
 sunset a canoe arrived from Tahiti with five men on this 
 errand." Mr. Ellis met them at the door of his house and 
 asked them wliat they wanted. "Luka," they replied, 
 " the word of Luka," holding up the bamboos of oil they 
 had brought to pay for them. Mr. Ellis told them he 
 had none ready, but if they would wait till the morning, 
 they should have as many as they wanted. Mr. Ellis bade 
 them good-night, and went inside the house, supposing 
 they had gone to sleep at some friend's house, but on 
 looking out in the eai'ly dawn, what was his surprise to 
 see these five men lying on the ground, their only bed 
 being plaited cocoa-nut leaves, and their only covering the 
 large piece of native cloth they usually wear over their 
 shoulders. On being asked why they did not go and lodge 
 at some house as they had been directed, they replied : 
 " We were afraid that had we gone away some one might 
 have come before us, and taken what books there were to 
 spare, and we should have been obliged to return without ; 
 therefore we determined not to go away till wo had pro- 
 cured the books." The books were got ready for them as 
 speedily as possible, each getting one. They bogged two 
 copies more, one for a mother, and another for a sister, for
 
 10 THE T All in AN VERSION. 
 
 \vbicli tliey liael brought payment. They wrapped the 
 books carefully up in native cloth, each putting his own 
 into his bosom, bade Mr. Ellis good-morning, and launch- 
 ing their canoe, and hoisting their sail, they started for 
 their native island, rejoicing as they that find great spoil. 
 
 But we must not dwell longer on these interesting 
 reminiscences of the olden time, but proceed to trace the 
 progress of translation work as one portion after another 
 was completed and put into the hands of the people. 
 The Gospel of Matthew followed that of Luke in 1820, 
 that of John in 1821, and the Acts of the Apostles in 
 1822-3. The Gospel of Mark was printed in 1827, and 
 the Epistles of Paul, Peter, and Jude were printed at 
 different dates, and they were issued in a well-bound 
 volume, including all that had been previously printed, 
 in 1828. 
 
 I am sorry I cannot ascertain the precise date at which 
 the translating and printing of the New Testament were 
 finished. It was probably in 1830. Before its completion, 
 the Psalms and other portions of the Old Testament must 
 have been in print ; and in December 1835 the complete 
 version of the sacred volume in the Tahitian language was 
 finished. 
 
 " Several of the missionaries," Mr. Ellis informs us, 
 " had translated parts of the sacred volume, but the work 
 was ultimately accomplished by ]\Ir. Nott and Mr. Davies. 
 The whole, however, was carefully examined by each 
 missionary before its final revision, and every possible care 
 taken to render it as faithful as the capabilities of the 
 language would admit. This great work certainly was not 
 carelessly hurried over ; and few translations into a newly 
 formed language have probably been equally correct." 
 
 At the date mentioned above (December 1835), Mr. 
 Nott informed his brethren that the translation of the 
 entire volume of Divine Revelation was completed, and
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. ll 
 
 tBat the whole had been carefully revised for publication. 
 The announcement was received with great joy by the 
 brethren ; and the venerated translator, who had made it 
 his chief work for well nigh twenty years, was requested 
 to proceed to England with the least possible delay to 
 have it printed under the auspices of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society. Mr. Nott acceded to the wishes 
 of his brethren ; and on the 6th of February 1836 he sailed 
 from Tahiti, and arrived in England on the 19th of June 
 following. The Committee of the Bible Society readily 
 undertook their part of the work. In August 1838 it 
 was completed ; and on the i8th of that month Mr. Nott 
 sailed on his return voyage to his island home, bringing 
 with him 3000 copies of the complete Bible, and an equal 
 number of the New Testament. On September 1840 he 
 reached his destination, and met with an enthusiastic re- 
 ception. For his own sake his return to the scene of his 
 lifelong labours was hailed by a grateful people, but the 
 fact that he brought with him the treasure which multi- 
 tudes so longed to possess — the complete Bible — awoke an 
 interest and produced an excitement which can only be 
 compared to what was felt and manifested when the nation 
 renounced idolatry and embraced Christianity.* 
 
 And now the difficulty was to meet the demands that 
 were everywhere made to possess the book. Money had 
 
 * The following testimony to the character and worth of Sir. Notfc, from 
 the pen of the late Rev. Samuel Mar-den, of Sydney, New South Wales, 
 in worth a place in this record. It is creditable alike to the writer and 
 ty the subject of liis eulogy, Mr. Nott was in New South Wales, on his 
 way to England t<j superintend the printing of the Tahitian Bible, and Mr, 
 Marsden gave him a letter of introduction to a friend in England, from 
 which the extract I am about to give is taken. After mentioning that 
 Mr. Nott had been twenty-seven years in Tahiti, and that he had laboured 
 aud BulTered with exemplary fidelity, he concludes as follows : — " I vene- 
 rate the man more than you can conceive : in my estimation he is a 
 great man ; his piety, his simplicity, his meekness, his apostolic ajipear-
 
 12 rilE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 now come into circulation, and large numbers of the people 
 had been hoarding up the needful amount, or depositing 
 it with the missionaries, that they might secure copies as 
 soon as they arrived. The supply brought by Mr. Nott 
 was not nearly adequate to the demand, and this increased 
 the eagerness of the natives on the one hand and the 
 embarrassment of the missionaries on the other. They 
 were carefully apportioned to the different stations, and 
 immediately bought up. They were neatly and sub- 
 stantially bound, and they were sold at prices which must 
 have been sufficient to cover the cost of printing and 
 binding, and perhaps also incidental expenses. The com- 
 plete Bible was sold for eight shillings, and the New 
 Testament, I suppose, for half that sum. 
 
 The following extract from Mr. Ellis' History of the 
 London Missionary Society will appropriately close our 
 notice of the first edition of the Tahitian Bible : — " The 
 acquisition of the entire Bible in the native language 
 is nndoubtedly one of the most auspicious events in the 
 history of Tahiti, second only in importance and influence 
 to the abolition of idolatry and the general profession of 
 the gospel ; and as long as any portion, however small, of 
 genuine Christianity shall remain in the islands, it will be 
 regarded, next to the arrival of the missionaries them- 
 selves, hy whom, in harmonious co-operation with the Bible 
 Society, it was conferred, as the richest gift the nation ever 
 received." * 
 
 A second edition of the Tahitian Bible was printed by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1845-6. It 
 had been revised by the llev. William Howe and the Rev. 
 
 ance, all unite to make him great in my view, and more honourable than 
 any of the famed heroes of ancient or modern times. I think Mrs. Good 
 will like to see such a character return from a savage nation, whom God 
 has so honoured in his work. I shall leave Mr. Nott to tell his own 
 story." The letter was addressed to Mr. John Mason Good. 
 * See Ellis' History of the London Missionary Society, p. 357.
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 13 
 
 Thomas Joseph, -who, after between four and five years 
 residence in the islands, returned to England in con- 
 sequence of French aggression on Tahiti and Eimeo. Mr. 
 Howe returned to the islands in 1847, having, in con- 
 junction with Mr. Joseph, carried the revised Bible through 
 the press during his stay in England. This edition was 
 exhausted in a few years, and another was urgently re- 
 quired. The work again underwent a careful revision, 
 perhaps the most thorough to which it had yet been 
 subjected, and a very valuable addition was made to it in 
 the shape of marginal references. The revisers were the 
 Rev. W. Howe ; the Rev. Alexander Chisholm, who had 
 spent nearly seventeen years in the islands ; and the Rev. 
 John BarfF, who supplied the marginal references. Thus 
 the revisers were all well qualified, from their knowledge 
 of the language, missionary experience, and other advan- 
 tages, for their important work. 
 
 With reference to Mr. Barff, the following remarks from 
 a letter of Mr. Chisholm in the Report of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society for 1861 will not be out of place in 
 this record. "In the revision for this third edition," Mr. 
 Chisholm writes, " the services of the late much lamented 
 Rev. John Barfif of Tahaa, tutor of the institution for train- 
 ing native evangelists, have been invaluable. Mr. Barff 
 was bom on the island of Raiatea, and was as familiar 
 with the Tahitian language as with his own mother 
 tongue, besides being in every other respect well qualified 
 for the task. To the great grief of his venerable father, 
 the Rev. Charles Barff, as well as of his brother mission- 
 aries, and thousands of poor natives besides, he only sur- 
 vived the completion of the revision a few weeks, when 
 he was suddenly cut off in the midst of his years and 
 usefulness. Indeed, there is reason to fear that the zeal 
 and enthusiasm with which he prosecuted his work, leading 
 him often to transgress the rules of prudence by sitting
 
 14 THE TAIIITIAN VERSION. 
 
 up late at night, when he could best spare time from his 
 other onerous duties, were instrumental in hastening his 
 death. But although he rests from his labours, his works 
 remain to bless generations yet unborn. He being dead 
 yet speaketh." 
 
 It is a touching fact that Mr. Chisholm did not long 
 survive his fellow-labourer of whom he wrote so lovingly 
 and appreciatingly. "While engaged in carrying the Bible 
 through the press, having advanced as far as the Gospel 
 according to John, his life and labours were brought to a 
 sudden close from acute disease of the heart, and he passed 
 from his loved work on earth to serve in a higher sphere. 
 
 The remainder of the work was confided to the Rev. 
 Joseph Moore of Congleton, formerly a missionary in Tahiti, 
 and under his superintendence it was brought to a successful 
 close. Five thousand copies were printed, and the first 
 shipment of these reached the islands in 1864. In the 
 meanwhile the man who would have been so rejoiced to 
 receive them, the llev. W. Howe, who had so long and so 
 faithfully represented the London Llissionary Society in 
 circumstances of very great difficulty and self-denial, had 
 also rested from his labours, and gone to his reward, and 
 another had taken up his work and entered into his 
 labours. This was the Rev. George Morris, who, in a 
 letter to the British and Foreign Bible Society announcing 
 the an-ival of the books, wrote as follows : — " The lono- 
 expected shipment of Bibles has at length reached the 
 island, to the inexpressible delight of the Christian converts, 
 multitudes of whom remain unshaken in their attachment 
 to the Scriptures. The utmost excitement prevailed for 
 some time as to the arrival of the precious cargo, and the 
 people had their money in readiness to invest immediately 
 in the purchase of a copy." 
 
 Mr. Morris further remarks : " Words cannot tell you 
 how my heart is rejoiced at the arrival and sale of the
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 15 
 
 blessed book. The tale of Tahiti's trials and sorrows is 
 familiar to you ; but so long as the Word of God is allowed 
 to be freely circulated among her children, and is prized 
 by them, so long will the enemies of their faith find it 
 difficult, yea, impossible to overcome them. The Tahitian 
 prizes the Bible. He knows its value, and feels it to be 
 the only guide to the Sure Defence." 
 
 At a later date, Mr. Morris wrote on the same subject as 
 follows : — " I rejoice that the sale of the Scriptures steadily 
 keeps up. We cannot overestimate the value and import- 
 ance of this, and I should tremble for tlie poor Tahitians if 
 they had not the Bible. The Bible is their Magna Charta 
 for time and for eternity. It has been the grand bulwark 
 of their faith amidst many trials and temptations in days 
 past ; it is so now ; and earnestly, most earnestly, do I pray 
 that their attachment to it may continue firm, devoted, and 
 faithful for days to come." 
 
 In 1870 the Eev. J. L. Green succeeded Mr. Morris at 
 Tahiti ; and in remitting a'sum of money, the proceeds of 
 sales of Bibles, bore testimony to the strong attachment 
 which the natives continued to manifest towards the Bible, 
 " which," he remarks, " constitutes their chief bulwark 
 against the inroads of Papal superstition." He mentions 
 the case of a woman who came to him to purchase a Bible, 
 and on receiving it, she pressed it to her lips, and ex- 
 claimed as slie kissed it, " Oh, the treasure of this book ! " 
 And ^Iv. Green adds, "There was so much of simplicity 
 and godly sincerity in the act that it involuntarily brought 
 tears to my eyes." 
 
 • The demand continued steady, and as supply after 
 supply reached the islands, they were bouglit up in a 
 surprisingly short time. Under date January 21st, 1874, 
 Mr. Green wrote as follows : — " I am glad that your Com- 
 mittee responded so promply to our wislies in sending us 
 a renewed supply of Ijibles. The last consignment of
 
 1 6 THE TA II in AN VERSION. 
 
 300, ^Ylncll arrived by our missionary sbip JoJm Williams 
 last April, was exhausted in six weeks, and so completely too, 
 that one which I had reserved for myself had to be given up, 
 and yet it seemed that the supply only made the demand 
 greater. In order also, in a few cases, to subdue the dis- 
 appointment experienced by applicants, I was compelled 
 to give away some old copies which had belonged to our 
 early missionaries, and which I was keeping as a souvenir 
 of our fathers in the field." 
 
 We must not further enter into particulars. The demand 
 went on increasing year after year all over the group and 
 islands beyond, wherever the Tahitian language is spoken. 
 On the island of Raiatea, the District Committee applied to 
 the Bible Society for 5000 New Testaments in 1874; and 
 at that date the Rev. A. Pearce reported that during the 
 four months preceding the date of his letter, he had sold 
 more Bibles in that group (the Leeward Islands of the 
 Tahitian Archipelago) than had been disposed of in as 
 many years before. 
 
 In 1877 a new edition of 5000 copies was printed in 
 London by the Bible Society, under the superintendence 
 of the Rev. A. T. Saville. A few corrections forwarded 
 by the District Committee were inserted, and maps were 
 supplied, and the opinion was expressed by Mr. Saville 
 " that the new edition was as nearly perfect as possible." 
 The printing of this edition was specially opportune, as we 
 find the Rev, J. L. Green reporting in the same year (1877) 
 that during that year the sales had been greater than ever. 
 " The actual sales last year," he remarks, " realised £266, 
 4s., an amount which seems almost incredible, when we 
 consider the sparseness of the population, and the fact 
 that the Bible has been possessed by the people for a 
 generation past." 
 
 The reader will have noticed that except in one or two 
 instances where I could not well avoid doing so, I have
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 17 
 
 not mentioned particular remittances of money to the 
 Bible Society. That omission will be met, I think, by the 
 following striking fact, given in the report of the Society 
 for 1880. The amount received at the Bible House from 
 the South Sea Islands in payment for Scriptures for a 
 series of six years, ending with March of 1880, was 
 ^6399, 3s. lod. That fact needs no comment. It tells 
 its own emphatic tale. A large proportion of the Chris- 
 tianised people of the South Sea Islands love the Bible, 
 else they would not, year after year, part with their gold 
 and silver to possess themselves of it. 
 
 In 1883, Mr. Green, while on a visit to England, 
 arranged for the printing of a portable edition of the 
 Bible. This was carried through the press during his 
 stay, and we find in 1884 that he was again at his post, 
 having brouglit with him 4000 copies ; and the eager- 
 ness with which the people sought after these was not less 
 than it had been on similar occasions in former years. 
 Under date October 8th, 1884, Mr. Green wrote as follows : 
 " You will be pleased to hear that the sales still continue 
 active, although, of course, the first rush has somewhat 
 abated. "We sent 100 copies to Huahine three or four 
 weeks ago, and they were all sold in a day. The Eev. E. 
 V. Cooper, missionary of that island, has just returned 
 from a visit here, and has taken three cases more, and 
 I have no doubt they will soon disappear. News from 
 llaiatea, to which island I sent three cases assorted about 
 a month ago, reports : ' The Bibles are nearly all sold — a 
 very few of the common binding left ; but they will go 
 presently.' I purpose visiting that island next month, 
 D.V., and shall take some more down with me. My hope, 
 expressed to you before leaving I'higland, will be very 
 nearly realised, viz., that of selling 4000 copies during the 
 last five mouths of this year." 
 
 B
 
 l8 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 
 
 And here we must take our leave of Bible translation 
 and Bible circulation in the Tahitian group ; and in doing 
 so, we note with special gratitude to God the fact that 
 though seventy years have passed away since the first 
 instalment of divine truth was printed and received with 
 such avidity by the people, and more than fifty years have 
 gone by since the arrival of the complete Bible stirred so 
 deeply the hearts of the nation, and awoke such a wide- 
 spread interest, yet the grand old book still retains its 
 hold. Edition after edition has been pi'inted and received 
 with a large measure of the old enthusiasm, clearly evincing 
 that the Tahitians are to a great extent what their fathers 
 were, a Bible-reading and a Bible-loving people. And 
 this is surely a matter calling for the deepest gratitude. 
 What would the Tahitians of to-day have been, had they 
 not through all the trying vicissitudes of their eventful 
 history during the past forty years clung to the Bible ? 
 
 The following testimony from the Kev. F. Vernier, of the 
 Paris Missionary Society, who has been a number of years 
 in Tahiti, possesses special interest. It is from a letter 
 to the Bible House in London, written during the absence 
 of Mr. Green in 1883. Mr. Vernier writes as follows: 
 "It affords me much pleasure in writing you a few words 
 about the sale of Bibles in this island. I am hoping to 
 be enabled to testify to the permanent attachment of the 
 dear natives of these remote islands for the word of God. 
 They have bought from me since June £iiO worth of 
 Bibles, which has nearly exhausted my stock. The Bible 
 has been and is still tJtc book of the natives. They would 
 not exchange a small part of it for all the books in the 
 world. In fact it is the only book they care for." 
 
 The following remarks in the same Report, by the com- 
 piler, are also worthy of special note. "It is an interest- 
 ing fact that while the natives of Tahiti have not been 
 able to remain independent of the French flag, they insist
 
 THE TAHITI AN VERSION. 19 
 
 upon the Eoman Catholic priests allowing the perfectly 
 free use of the Scriptures ; and further, that the priests, 
 seeing it quite hopeless to divorce the people from the Bible, 
 are compelled, iu order to retain their intiuence, to approve 
 its circulation, and actually buy copies for their people from 
 the Society."
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 The story of the planting of Christianity among the islands 
 of the Hervey group, of Nvhich Rarotonga is the principal, 
 is only second in interest and importance to that of the 
 parent mission in the Tahitian group. There is a wide 
 difference in the manner in which the end was gained. 
 In the one case, the struggle was prolonged through many 
 years; in the other, the contest between the powers of 
 light and darkness was of short duration, but the results 
 in both cases were the same, and they were of such a 
 character as deeply to stir the hearts of contemporaries ; 
 and now, after the lapse of more than half a century, they 
 are still fitted in a high degree to interest, stimulate, and 
 encourage the friends of Christian missions. 
 
 The following are the main facts connected with the 
 first missionary voyage to the Hervey Islands, which was 
 made in the course of the year 1821. 
 
 The Rev. John Williams, by whom the voyage was 
 made, had heard of the island of Aitutaki. Little was 
 known about that island at that time, but Mr. Williams 
 determined to make an efibrt to visit the island and 
 introduce to it the gospel. With reference to this im- 
 portant matter, Mr. Williams writes as follows : — " By the 
 remarkable success that had attended the introduction of 
 the gospel to Rurutu, our own minds, as well as those of 
 our people, were powerfully awakened to the importance
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 21 
 
 of extending the benefits and blessings of tlie gospel ; and 
 under the excited and delightful feelings thus produced, 
 we, with our native teachers, took an affectionate leave of 
 our people and beloved colleagues, Mr. and Mrs. Threl- 
 keld." Mrs. Williams accompanied ]\Ir. Williams. They 
 sailed in a vessel named the Westmoreland^ intending to 
 proceed on a visit to Sydney after calling at Aitutaki. 
 On reaching that island the vessel was speedily surrounded 
 by canoes filled with savages, whose appearance was any- 
 thing but inviting or assuring. They exhibited all the wild 
 features of savage life in perfection. Some were tattooed 
 from head to foot ; some were painted with pipe-clay and 
 red and yellow ochre ; others were all smeared over with 
 charcoal. They shouted and danced, and exhibited the 
 most frantic gestures. 
 
 Mr. Williams had an immense advantage in dealing 
 with these wild people in being able to understand their 
 language, and make himself understood by them, their 
 language being so much akin to the Tahitian. Thus he 
 and the natives of Eaiatea were able at once to tell the 
 wondering Aitutakians of the marvellous changes that 
 had taken place in the Tahitian group — how paganism 
 had been renounced, the idols burned, and a new religion 
 embraced ; and in conversation with the chief, ]\Ir. Williams 
 said to him, *' I have brought two teachers to instruct you 
 and your people in the knowledge of the true God, that 
 you too may abandon and destroy your idols as others 
 have done." The chief consented to receive the teachers, 
 and they took up their abode among the fierce and savage 
 Aitutakians. The names of the devoted men who were 
 the pioneer missionaries to the Ilervey Islands were 
 Papeiha and Valiaputa, names which, especially the former, 
 deserve to bo held in everlasting remembrance. 
 
 In April 1822, Mr. Williams received letters from 
 Papeiha and Vahaputa, giving an account of their difficulties
 
 22 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 and dangers, and partial success, and requesting that two 
 more teachers might be sent, and conveying a message 
 from the people to the effect that if Mr. Williams wouhl 
 visit them again they would renounce idolatry, burn their 
 idols, and become worshippers of the true God. And the 
 same vessel which brought the letters brought information 
 of a very important character, which opened a new door 
 of hope for the Hervey Islands. Some natives of an island 
 called Earotonga were reported as being in Aitutaki, and 
 as having embraced Christianity, and being anxious to 
 return with teachers to instruct their countrymen in the 
 knowledge of the true God. Mr. Williams had heard 
 before of an island named Rarotonga, it being mentioned 
 in the legendary tales of the Raiateans, and on making 
 particular inquiry he was satisfied that such an island 
 existed ; and after consultation with his fellow-labourers, 
 Messrs. Threlkeld and Bourne, it was arranged that he and 
 Mr. Bourne should visit Aitutaki, and go thence in search 
 of Earotonga, and should their search prove successful, 
 endeavour to introduce to it Christian teachers. 
 
 Six teachers were selected for the enterprise, and on the 
 4th of August 1823 the party sailed in the Endeavour, 
 a small vessel about eighty or ninety tons burden, and 
 went forth on their important embassy. Five days' sail 
 brought them to Aitutaki. As on the first visit, on nearing 
 the shore they were speedily surrounded with canoes. But 
 what a change had come over the Aitutakians in the 
 meanwhile ! Instead of being noisy, boisterous savages, 
 they were now professing Christians, having destroyed or 
 cast away their idols, and placed themselves under the 
 instruction of the teachers. The missionaries found six 
 natives of Earotonga on the island ; and after spending a 
 short time in delightful intercourse with the now Christian 
 Aitutakians, they started in search of Earotonga. They 
 went forth literally not knowing whither they went, but.
 
 THE RAROTOXGAN VERSION. 23 
 
 as tliey hoped, in obedience to a, call from the God of 
 Abraham, and so under a safe conduct they took with them 
 the natives of Rarotongra of course. The chief of Aitutaki 
 also accompanied them, and they took Papeiha with them, 
 that in the event of finding" the island they might have the 
 benefit of his experience in dealing with the natives. 
 
 After an unsuccessful search for Rarotonga for six or 
 eight days, they steered for Mangaia, another island of the 
 Harvey group, the position of which was known. Mangaia 
 was found without difiiculty, and an attempt was made to 
 place teachers upon it. The chief and people expressed 
 their willingness to receive the teachers, but when they 
 got them in their power they treated them with such 
 savage barbarity that they were glad to escape for their 
 lives to the ship. Leaving Mangaia for the present, the 
 party directed their course towards Atiu, another island 
 of the Hervey group. This was found without difficulty, 
 and the visit proved specially opportune. Two teachers 
 had been sent to the island by Mr. Orsmond from Borabora, 
 one of the islands of the Tahitian group, about three months 
 before the present visit. They were found in a deplorable 
 plight. The natives had robbed them of every article of 
 property they possessed ; they had suffered much from 
 hunger, and were greatly discouraged. But the present 
 visit met the case. It was as light in the darkness to the 
 poor suffering teachers — God's opportunity meeting their 
 extremity. The now Christian chief of Aitutaki bore his 
 testimony as to what Christianity had done for him and 
 his people, and persuaded the chief of Atiu to follow his 
 example, Tlie cast-off idols of Aitutaki which had escaped 
 the flames were shown, and the folly and absurdity of idol 
 worship was set before him, and the result was that he and 
 his people determined to do as Aitutaki had done. 
 
 The missionaries found that the chief of Atiu was also 
 the chief of other two islands of the Uervey group, i\Iauke
 
 24 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 and Mitiaro, and having induced him to agree to accompany 
 them, they went in search of these islands, and having the 
 chief as their pilot, they found them without difficulty, and 
 succeeded in introducing Christianity to both of them. 
 A teacher was introduced to each, and the people at once 
 renounced heathenism and became nominally Christian. 
 AVith reference to these three islands, Mr. Williams 
 remarks: "Were ever three islands converted from 
 idolatry in so short a time — islands almost unknown ; 
 and two of them never before visited by any European 
 vessel ? " 
 
 Cheered and encouraged, the missionaries resumed their 
 search for llarotonga. In this, however, their faith and 
 patience were sorely tried. After being " baffled and per- 
 plexed" for several days, matters began to look serious, 
 and it seemed as if the exjoedition would prove a failure. 
 Early on the morning of the day on which the discovery 
 was made, the captain of the vessel said to Mr. Williams, 
 " We must give up the search, or we shall all be starved." 
 Provisions were getting low, and there was the return 
 voyage of 600 or 700 miles against a head wind to look 
 out for. ]\Ir. Williams replied that they would continue 
 the search till eight o'clock that morning, and if no land 
 was in sight at that time, they would relinquish the search 
 and return to Eaiatea. The hours which followed were 
 to Mr. Williams a time of intense anxiety. Four times he 
 sent a native to the masthead, but nothing was to be seen. 
 It was within half an hour of the specified time when 
 a native ascended a fifth time. Hope must have been 
 well-nigh extinct. All the while, however, the object 
 of their search was close at hand ; and now the sun was 
 clearing away the clouds which had concealed it from 
 their view, and to the surprise and delight of all, the native 
 who had gone aloft shouted out, " There is the land we 
 have been seeking," and sure enough it was the land.
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 25 
 
 The clouds were speedily dispersed, and the lofty peaks 
 of Rarotonga's beautiful mountains were revealed to the 
 delighted gaze of the weary voyagers. 
 
 Mr. Williams speaks in glowing terms of the feelings 
 experienced by himself and others on account of the 
 successful termination of their search, while he devoutly 
 acknowledges the guiding hand of Him who had led them 
 by the right way. All were charmed with the beauty of 
 the newly discovered land, and they had reason, for 
 Rarotonga is one of the loveliest spots to be seen among 
 the many gems which stud the bosom of the great Pacific. 
 But what of the inhabitants of this fair isle ? Alas ! alas ! 
 a most revolting contrast did they present to the beautiful 
 land on which they dwelt. They were savages of the 
 most debased and ferocious type. 
 
 A boat was sent to the shore with I'apeiha and the 
 natives of the island brought from Aitutaki, to communi- 
 cate with the people and ascertain their disposition as 
 to receiving teachers. The reception was favourable. A 
 multitude of people assembled, and listened no doubt 
 with astonishment to the tale Papeiha had to tell of the 
 renunciation of idolatry, and the wonderful changes that 
 were in progress on other islands of the group ; and when 
 he told them that they had brought teachers to remain 
 among them, they seemed delighted, and the chief, whose 
 name was Makea, determined to go on board at once to 
 bring the teachers on shore. The chief was greatly 
 delighted, and, I suppose, surprised to see his own people, 
 especially one of them, who proved to be a near relative of 
 his own. 
 
 Everything appeared so promising that arrangements 
 were at once made for commencing a mission on the island, 
 and the teachers with their wives, and the natives who had 
 been on Aitutaki, went with the chief to the shore. They 
 had an enthusiastic welcome, and it appeared as if Raro-
 
 26 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 tono-a would prove as easy a conquest as other islands 
 of the group. But first appearances among a savage 
 people are little to be depended on. One hour they may 
 seem innocent children of nature, and the next incarnate 
 demons. The vessel stood out to sea for the night, while 
 the teachers and their wives slept on shore. They passed 
 a dreadful night, and when they returned to the ship on 
 the following morning they had a shocking tale to tell of 
 the treatment they had received. It was perfectly clear 
 that teachers with their wives must not be left on the 
 island in the state in which it then was, and the prospects 
 altogether were so dark that the missionaries determined 
 to leave the island for a time. But Papeiha took a different 
 view, and with the zeal and heroism of a martyr he offered 
 to remain alone among the cannibal savages of Rarotonga 
 on condition that a fellow-labourer whom he named should 
 be sent from Raiatea. The missionaries gladly accepted 
 his offer, and this Christian hero, leaving his property on 
 board, bade the missionaries and others an affectionate 
 farewell, and returned to the shore alone, taking nothing 
 with him but the clothes he wore, his New Testament, and 
 a bundle of elementary books. What a bright example 
 of Christian devotedness and lofty heroism ! And this 
 same man, a few years before, was a savage not much 
 less debased than the Rarotongaus. What a marvellous 
 triumph of divine power and grace ! 
 
 Papeiha had his reward. The natives who had been on 
 Aitutaki remained steadfast and clung to Papeiha, ren- 
 dering him invaluable help, and after an interval of about 
 four months Tiperio, whom he had requested the mission- 
 aries to send, arrived, and in tbe meanwhile several other 
 natives had joined him, and a considerable footing had been 
 gained ; and in little more than twelve months the whole 
 population, estimated at 7000, had renounced idolatry and 
 become professed worshippers of the true God. And thus
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 27 
 
 was tlais important and populous island in a marvellously 
 short time won to Christianity ; and this before a white 
 missionary had set foot upon its shores. 
 
 But I must not further pursue the history of the mission ; 
 and the following valuable paper from the pen of my 
 esteemed friend and fellow-labourer, the Rev. AV. W. Gill, 
 B.A., renders it unnecessary for me to say anything with 
 reference to the main subject of which this volume treats. 
 Mr. Gill laboured on the islands for about thirty years, and 
 is able to speak on every subject connected with them as 
 no other living man can. Mr. Gill in his paper supplies 
 the history of the translation of the sacred Scriptures into 
 the language of the group, and gives other information 
 respecting the islands and the natives of much interest 
 and value. Mr. Gill's paper is headed " The Rarotongan 
 Version," and is given here as it comes from his hand. 
 
 Almost in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean — be- 
 tween the parallels of 19° and 22° S. latitude, and 157° to 
 160^ W. longitude — are seven small islands * known as the 
 Cook or Hervey group. Sis or seven hundred miles north 
 and north-west of Rarotonga lie four low coral islands,t 
 regarded as out-stations of the mission. The population 
 of these eleven islands is somewhat less than 10,000; a 
 pleasant, brown-skinned race. Seven dialects are still 
 spoken by these islanders ; from the commencement of 
 the mission, however, the Rarotongan language alone has 
 been used in printing. Doubtless, in time, this printed 
 dialect will exterminate the rest. Already one dialect 
 (the eighth), once spoken on Hervey 's Island or ]\Ianuae, 
 has disappeared. The only written specimens of this lost 
 
 * Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aitutaki, Atiu, Maukc, Mitiaro, and Ilcrvey's 
 I.iland or Manuao. 
 
 t PenrliynH, I{akahanga, IVfaniliiki, and rukaimka. The nativoa of 
 Rakahanga and Maniliiki arc one people, speaking one dialect, and having 
 the same traditions.
 
 2S THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 dialect * are three aucieut songs iu my possession, but not 
 yet published. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Ilervey group proper were for- 
 merly cannibals. In six out of the seven islands canni- 
 balism only ceased with the introduction of Christianity. 
 The natives of the northern atolls seem to have been of a 
 gentler mould. War, murder, infanticide, and theft were, 
 of course, rife in those northerly atolls as well as in the 
 more southerly islands. In all of them the absolute power 
 exercised by the priests in the name of their national gods 
 was marvellous. 
 
 In 1827 the Eev. John Williams accompanied the Rev. 
 C. Pitman to liarotonga, and remained with him a year. 
 The earliest attempt at the translation of the Scriptures 
 into the language of the Hervey Islanders was then made 
 by Mr. Williams, who (very imperfectly) rendered the 
 Gospel of John and the Epistles to the Galatians and 
 Hebrews from the Tahitian version into Earotongan. Mr. 
 Pitman being a good linguist, was soon able to co-operate 
 with his friend in the work of translation. During sub- 
 sequent visits to Rarotonga, Mr. Williams carried on the 
 good work. The whole of the New Testament (except 
 two books by the Rev. A. Buzacott) was translated by 
 Williams and Pitman, the latter being responsible for its 
 fidelity to the original. 
 
 In 1828 Mr. Buzacott became the colleague of Mr. 
 Pitman at Rarotonga. For twenty years these good men 
 toiled day and night at the translation of the Bible out 
 of the original tongues into a language which had never 
 previously been written. Mr. Pitman's profound acquaint- 
 ance with the Hebrew proved invaluable. For years 
 small portions of the New Testament were circulated 
 
 * In the Austral Group the original language of the islanders has 
 entirely disappeared.
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 29 
 
 amongst the natives in MS., being either written on paper, 
 or, when that ran short, on tikoru, i.e., white native cloth 
 made of the inner bark of the paper mulberry {Brov.ssonctia 
 prqnjrifcra). 
 
 The first of Peter in Rarotongan was printed at Buna- 
 auia on Tahiti. This was the earliest attempt at printing 
 in the Earotongan language. The Gospel by John and 
 the Epistle to the Galatians were printed at Huahine. 
 The remainder of the New Testament and most of the 
 Old were printed and bound in numerous small volumes 
 at Avarua on Rarotonga by the versatile and indefatigable 
 Mr. Buzacott. Copies of the original editions of the Scrip- 
 tures in Earotongan may be seen in the library of the 
 Bible Society, and in the museum of the London Missionary 
 Society. 
 
 The first complete edition of the Rarotongan New 
 Testament (every verse of which had been repeatedly 
 compared with the Greek original) was carried through 
 the press in England at the expense of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society by Mr. Williams during his visit to 
 this country (1835-8). The entire cost of the 5000 copies 
 then printed wa3 refunded to the society by the ready sale 
 of the book amongst the Hervey Islanders. 
 
 The manner in which the Earotongan New Testament 
 was received is deeply interesting. " The eagerness with 
 which they received it would have cheered your heart 
 could you have been eye-witness to the scene. The coun- 
 tenance of a successful applicant glistened with delight 
 while he held up his treasure to public view ; others 
 hugged the book ; many kissed it ; some sprang away like 
 a dart, and did not stop until they entered tlieir own 
 dwellings, and exhibited their treasure to their wives and 
 children; while others jumped and capered about like 
 persons half frantic with joy. !Many came with tears in 
 their eyes, begging and beseeching that they might have
 
 30 rilE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 one ; and if Mv. Buzacott sakl, ' You cannot read,' tlie 
 reply was, 'But my son or my daughter can, and I can 
 hear and understand them.' "When some came whose 
 character was such as to cause a little hesitation, their 
 appeals were pointed and affecting. * Do let me have a 
 Testament ; do let me have the good word of God ; joerhaps 
 by reading it my heart may be made better.' Others 
 pleadingly said, ' We did not know that our eyes would 
 ever have beheld such a sight as this in Rarotonga; we 
 shall neither eat, drink, nor sleep, if you do not give us 
 the good word of God.' " (Life of Rev. J. Williams, 
 
 P- 541.) 
 
 The first edition of the entire Bible was cai^efully edited 
 
 by ]\Ir. Buzacott during his prolonged stay in England 
 (1847-185 1), at the request of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. Five thousand copies were printed and 
 disposed of in three years. The printing was done slowly, 
 and with the utmost care. This Bible was at once 
 accepted by the brethren as the basis of all future editions. 
 Well does it deserve this honour. 
 
 The writer will never forget the unbounded enthusiasm 
 with which this priceless boon was received by the islanders. 
 At Mangaia a case of Bibles was taken into the church ; 
 after a short thanksgiving service copies were given to 
 those who had some time previously paid for them. At a 
 Friday exhortation meeting, held at break of day, a vener- 
 able native, named Tenio,* said that he had secured a 
 copy of the Bible, but could not sleep until he had finished 
 reading the entire book of Job, which had never before 
 been seen in a Rarotongau dress. Lifting up the sacred 
 volume before the entire congregation, he concluded his 
 address in these memorable words : — " This is my resolve ; 
 the dust shall never cover my Bible; the moths shall 
 
 * Named after the son of Kaiara, whose pathetic story is related in my 
 "Historical Sketches of Savage Life in Polynesia," pp. 130-135.
 
 THE RAROTOXGAN VERSION. 31 
 
 never eat it ; the mildew shall never rot it. My light ! 
 
 my joy ! •'' 
 
 Until 1852, the books of Ezra, Xehemiah, Esthei', Job, 
 and the Minor Prophets had never been in the hands of 
 the natives. It was no ordinaiy privilege to expound to 
 an eager auditory books absolutely new to all present but 
 oneself. The natives seemed never weary of asking the 
 meaning of these novel portions of Scripture. 
 
 In 1855 the Earotongan Bible was reprinted, with a few 
 alterations, under the supervision of the Eev. William Gill 
 and Dr. Mellor. Five thousand copies were struck off. 
 
 In 1872 the Bible Society issued a third and greatly 
 improved edition of 5000 copies. It was edited by the 
 Revs. E. R. W. Krause and George Gill (brother of the 
 editor of the second edition). Marginal references were 
 added, and numberless words of foreign origin exchanged 
 for purely indigenous expressions. 
 
 In 1884 I was requested by the Committee of the Bible 
 Society to prepare a standard edition with a view to its 
 being stereotyped. Innumerable printers' errors were 
 corrected ; the article (a) before all proper names in the 
 nominative when they follow the verb (having, strangely 
 enough, been dropped out in the edition of 1872) was 
 everywhere restored ; out of the various renderings given 
 by preceding editors, that which seemed to be the most 
 faithful representation of the original was finally selected ; 
 many terms of natural history derived from the English 
 Revised Version have been inserted (in their native form) 
 in the text or side-notes of the Old Testament. In regard 
 to the italics, I have followed the rule laid down by the 
 Revisers of the English Bible. It is for otliers to say 
 whether I liave succeeded in a difficult task, conscien- 
 tiously carried out. If my work is a success, it is due 
 mainly to the untii'in'4 aid of Tauvfjrt^ who for more than 
 forty years has been a fdtliful preacher of the ^V^ord in the
 
 32 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 Western Pacific, iu Samoa, and latterly in Rarotonga — the 
 land of his birth. Tannga, the pupil and beloved friend 
 of Pitman, is acknowledged to be the best living authority 
 on the Rarotongan language. In i S52 I heard the Rev. W. 
 Howe remark that the Tahitian brethren found by experi- 
 ence that no one could beat " Noti " (the Rev. H, Nott's 
 version). Even so the unexpected result of the several 
 revisions of the Rarotongan Bible has been to prove con- 
 clusively that, overlooking the serious blemish of words 
 of foreign origin, the work of the original translators is 
 beyond all praise for idiomatic purity, nervous strength, 
 and beauty. And well it is for the islanders that it is so, 
 as throughout the Eastern Pacific the various dialects are 
 rapidly deteriorating, by admixture from various sources, 
 native and foreign. I subjoin a single illustration of the 
 grip which the early translators possessed of the Raro- 
 tongan language. In the edition of 1 8 5 1 the phrase in 
 Zechariah v. 3, " on the /ace of the earth," is correctly ren- 
 dered " i te tua enua." The translator is compelled to 
 reverse the figure. It is no longer "the /act'," but "the 
 hack," broad and strong, of the earth-parent. A subse- 
 quent editor, scandalised at the alteration of the figure, to 
 solve the difficulty dropped out the clause. Of course the 
 original translation (the only possible one) is now restored. 
 Having daily used the Rarotongan Bible for thirty-seven 
 years, I may be pardoned for saying that I regard it as an 
 admirable rendering of the original. Many of the improve- 
 ments found in the Revised English Version have been 
 anticipated. As in all the other Pacific and New Guinea 
 Versions, the sacred name " Jehovah " is transliterated, 
 never translated, thus adding immeasurably to the force 
 of the contrast between the ever-living God and the 
 objects worshipped by the heathen. The English ren- 
 dering of I Kings xviii. 21 is tame indeed in comparison 
 with the Rarotongan.
 
 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 33 
 
 The oriofinal translators of the Raroton^an Bible cauofht 
 the real genius of the language and gave it a permanent 
 embodiment whilst it was as yet utterly untouched by 
 outside influences. The rendering of the patriarchal 
 portions is simply perfect, the language of the islanders 
 being so well adapted for the purpose. Indeed, Polynesian 
 life, at its best, is strictly patriarchal. The gospels lend 
 themselves very readily to translation ; but in the epistles 
 a diflSculty was evidently felt by the translators in obtain- 
 ing exact equivalents for the key-notes of the Christian 
 system. Too great praise cannot be given to the Eev. H. 
 Nott of Tahiti and his coadjutors, who, in making the 
 Tahitian translation, unconsciously fixed the theological 
 terms for several other groups. 
 
 In the Rarotongan version the translators use " akava- 
 ngakau" = " heart-judge," for " conscience." In preaching 
 or rapid speaking we simply say " ngakau " = " heart," * 
 which is beyond question the strict equivalent in the 
 Eastern Polynesian dialects, "heart-judge" being an 
 invented phrase, but now current, " Faith " (akarongo) 
 is "to listen to God speaking," the native preacher being 
 always careful to add " with the ear of the heart." " Trust 
 in God " is " leaning on God," The pious are those " who 
 dwell in the shadow of God." " Heaven " is " the day, or 
 light of God." 
 
 In a literaiy point of view it is remarkable that it should 
 be possible with an alphabet of thirteen letters only to 
 render faithfully the Word of God into the language of 
 savages. In transliterating proper names a few other 
 letters are used ; but in the language proper, as above 
 stated, only thirteen. No book speaks to the heart of 
 man — whatever be his race, home, or speech — as the 
 Bible. Its voice is sure of an echo from the human lieart. 
 
 * Literally "the bowels." These islanders, like tho Hebrews of old, 
 place the seat of the affection and intellect in the bowels.
 
 34 THE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 The islanders in reality possess but one book ; hence tlie 
 anxiety of the brethren to make it a perfect image of 
 what its Divine Author intended. Each edition issued 
 by the British and Foreign Bible Society has been a 
 distinct advance upon the preceding in regard to clearness 
 of sense. 
 
 The educational power of the Bible is great. Portions 
 of the sacred volume that to us are of little interest may 
 be most attractive to savages listening perhaps for the 
 first time to Bible story. I never cared much for the 
 genealogical portions until my own converts put me to 
 shame by evincing an intimate acquaintance with them. 
 In Polynesia, other things being equal, the chief with the 
 longest pedigree is the most respected. These pedigrees 
 usually carry with them lands and titles. The stories 
 contained in Joshua and Judges, &c., exercise a marvellous 
 fascination over the minds of brave savages, who are 
 astonished above measure to find that their most famous 
 war-stratagems were long ago anticipated in far-off lands. 
 The awful vengeance exacted upon whole families and 
 tribes is the exact counterpart of what they practised 
 themselves in times of war. The native intellect is in- 
 terested in tracing the striking parallel which exists 
 between numerous Mosaic institutions and the unwritten 
 laws of tapu in Polynesia. It is probably on this ground 
 that all the Christian Polynesians I have met with believe 
 themselves to be Shemites. The histories of Elijali, 
 Elisha, Daniel, and Jonah are of undying interest. After 
 all, the great point is to give to the natives the entire 
 New Testament, tlie Psalms, and Proverbs, with Genesis, 
 Job, and Isaiah. The lesson of my missionary life is 
 this — I would give to every race, if practicable, the 
 entire Bible. But if this may not be, I would omit as little 
 as possible. There are races that can never hope to get 
 more than the New Testament and the Psalms. Others
 
 THE RAROTOXGAN VERSION. 35 
 
 must rest content with the four gospels. Let no tribe, 
 however, be entirely without a loving message from the 
 Father of Spirits, 
 
 At first the heroic portions of the Scriptures tell most 
 upon a warrior race emerging into the light; then the 
 miracles and parables of the New Testament captivate. 
 But as the spiritual life deepens, interest is centered in 
 the character and work of Christ and the teaching of His 
 apostles. The Bible is read, studied, and quoted by the 
 Polynesians of to-day in place of the heathen songs and 
 myths of bygone ages. In fact it is moulding the lives 
 and characters of the entire race. 
 
 I subjoin a few specimens of idioms used in the Earo- 
 tongan Scriptures: — 
 
 " The life we live ; " " the sin we have sinned ; " " the 
 death we die," &c., &c., &c. For (Rom. xii. 8) " he that 
 sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness," we have (instead of 
 "cheerfulness'") "with the heart in touch." 
 
 In 2 Cor. iv. 15, for "abundant grace," we have "grace 
 great (even) running over." So in 2 Cor. viii. 2, for 
 "abundance of joy," we have "joy running over." 
 
 Colos. ii. 2, " knit together in love," becomes " fitting 
 into one in love." 
 
 "For ever and ever" (i Pet. iv. 11) is "time on, on, 
 still on." 
 
 The llarotongan of lleb. xiii. 5 has four negatives : " I 
 will never leave thee nor forsake thee; no, never — on, on, 
 on!" IIow many dying Ilervcy Islanders have been 
 comforted by these beautiful words, the final clause show- 
 ing that the negation goes on for ever. 
 
 In Polynesian, as in Greek, the definite article is always 
 placed before " God " (Atua). In llarotongan for " saying '' 
 six words are needed (i te na ko anga mai), and lor " 1
 
 36 JHE RAROTONGAN VERSION. 
 
 write" (i Johu ii. 12, A:c.) eight words are required (te 
 tata atu uei i te tuatua) ; but " you and I " are expressed 
 by a single word (taua), &c. So that after all the Karo- 
 tougan Bible is about the size of the English of the same 
 type.
 
 ( 37 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 
 
 As in the case of the Tahitian group, Samoa is now so well 
 known that little need be said in a work like the present 
 with reference to the country and the people. Since 1830, 
 when the Hev. John Williams and the Rev. Charles Barff 
 conveyed the gospel to its shores, it has been coming more 
 and more prominently before the friends of Christian mis- 
 sions and Bible circulation, and for a number of yeai's its 
 commercial value and importance have been growingly 
 developed, and it has even become an object of interest to 
 the " Great Powers," who, under God's overruling provi- 
 dence, control the destinies of the world. It is universally 
 admitted to be one of the richest and most beautiful of all 
 the islands and groups scattered over the great Pacific 
 Ocean. The French navigator La Perouse, who visited it 
 in 1787, described it as " one of the finest countries in the 
 universe," while he branded the natives as "atrocious 
 savages, whose shores ought not to be approached." His 
 impression as to the character of the natives was not 
 unnatural, under tlio circumstances, but it was entirely 
 wrong. It was owing to a hasty inference drawn from the 
 fact that a serious quarrel took place between the natives 
 and a watering party from liis ships who landed at the 
 island of Tutuila, and in a skirmish which arose eleven of 
 his people, including his fellow commander De Langle and 
 some scientific gentlemen, lost their lives, a number of the
 
 38 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 
 
 natives being also killed. The alHiir arose from a petty 
 act of theft which was committed by a native belonging to 
 a party who called at the ships while the watering party 
 were on shore. The thief was fired upon and wounded, 
 mortally it was said. This exasperated the natives, and 
 they went straight to the shore where the Frenchmen were 
 and reported the treatment they had received, and a rush 
 was at once made upon the foreigners, and a fight ensued, 
 with the result above mentioned. 
 
 The truth is the Samoans were not by any means ex- 
 ceptionally ferocious. Shocking cruelties were sometimes 
 practised in their wars, but on the whole they were 
 heathens of a milder type than those found on any other 
 group or island, so far as my knowledge extends, in any 
 part of Polynesia. Cannibalism was never practised 
 among them ; human sacrifices had no place in their 
 religious observances ; their children were loved and 
 cherished; the aged were respected and reverenced; the 
 sick were, as a general rule, carefully tended ; and women 
 were almost, if not quite, on an equality with men. And 
 those redeeming traits in their character and customs 
 entitle them to rank much above the ordinary South Sea 
 savage. Perhaps they came nearer the idea of the guileless, 
 innocent, gentle savage, as he has been pictured by visitors — 
 who, after coming in contact with him for a few days, or it 
 may be hours, go and report that they have found a race 
 almost angelic — than any other heathen tribe yet dis- 
 covered. Alas, however, the Samoans, with all their 
 comparative mildness and amiability, were unmistakably 
 partakers of the nature common to all the children of 
 Adam, and so needed the gospel equally with the more 
 deeply sunken Tahitian and the more ferocious Fijian. 
 
 Samoa occupies a central position among the islands of 
 the Pacific. It is about 3000 miles to the east of Australia,
 
 THE S A MOAN VERSIOy. 39 
 
 and lies in W. longitude from 168° to 173°, and in S. lati- 
 tude from 13° to ly. The islands are all of volcanic 
 origin. They are covered with the richest vegetation 
 from the shore to the mountain tops. The mountains 
 rise to the height of 2000, 30CO, and 4000 feet. The 
 principal islands are Savaii, Upolu, Tutuila, Manono, and 
 Tau, commonly called Manua, but Manua is really the 
 general name of a small group of three islands, of which 
 Tau is the largest. Besides the four principal islands 
 there are six small ones, all of which are inhabited. 
 
 The first census was made by the missionaries aided by 
 native teachers in 1843, when, as nearly as could be ascer- 
 tained, the population was 33,900. Since that time there 
 has been a slow but steady increase, and when the last 
 census was made, over ten years ago, the total population 
 of the group was 35,184. That includes 204 Europeans 
 and Americans; Polynesians from other islands, 236; 
 imported labourers, 475 ; and 4 Asiatics. The probability 
 is that there has been a considerable increase of the native 
 population since the above census was taken, and also that 
 there has been a considerable addition to the foreia^n settlers 
 and residents. The natives are a fine noble-looking race, 
 closely resembling the Malays, to which race I have no 
 doubt they belong. 
 
 As already intimated. Christian teachers were introduced 
 to Samoa in 183O; and in 1836, six missionaries, of whom 
 tlie writer was one, arrived, and commenced missionary 
 operations on a scale somewhat adequate to the extent of 
 the field. The Samoan mission was a direct offshoot of the 
 'iahitian. ^Tr. Williams and ]\Ir. BarfT were Tahitian 
 missionaries, and the pioneer teachers, with the exception 
 of two or three from the Ilervey Islands, were natives of 
 the Tahitian group. Down to the time of our arrival the 
 mission was considered an out-station of tlie Talutian 
 mission ; and when wo arrived we found the llev. George
 
 40 THE S A MO AN VERSION. 
 
 riatfc from Raiatea, and Mr. Samuel Wilson, son of the 
 Rev. Charles AVilson of Tahiti, who had been sent to assist 
 the teachers and superintend the mission till we might 
 arrive. They had been about eighteen mouths on the 
 group, so they had gained a considerable acquaintance 
 with the language, which is closely allied to the Tahitian, 
 and had done not a little to prepare the way for us. They 
 had prepared a few hymns, a spelling-book and cate- 
 chism, and Mr. Wilson had translated the Gospel accord- 
 ing to INIatthew. The translation was necessarily very 
 imperfect ; still to us and the people it was a precious 
 boon. Settling among a people of whose language we 
 knew nothing, it was an immense advantage to have a 
 gospel in print a few months after our arrival ; and 
 perhaps no portion of the sacred Scriptures was more 
 joyously welcomed both by ourselves and the natives than 
 the " Mataio," and certainly around none do more inter- 
 esting and touching reminiscences cling in the review of 
 the long past. 
 
 Our brother, Mr. Barff, who had come with us to assist 
 us in entering upon our work, kindly undertook to print 
 it and the other little things which we found ready for the 
 press. He returned to his own station at Huahine by the 
 same vessel that conveyed us to our destination, taking 
 the MSS. with him, and early in the following year (1837) 
 we received one thousand copies of the Gospel of Matthew 
 as far as the twenty-first chapter, and some time later in 
 the same year a second thousand reached us with the 
 remaining sheets of the first thousand. 
 
 We had entered upon our work with a deep conviction 
 that to give the people to whom we were sent the Bible in 
 their own tongue must be kept before us as an object 
 essential to the fulfilment of our mission ; and this con- 
 viction led us, the first band of missionaries to the group, 
 on our arrival in 1836, before we separated to go to our
 
 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 41 
 
 respective stations, to take a step which is perhaps worth 
 recording. Before leaving the Dimnottar Castle, which 
 for eight months had been our home, we apportioned the 
 New Testament, each agreeing to take certain books, and 
 do his best to translate them as soon as his knowledu:e of 
 the language and other engagements would allow. Our 
 object in taking this step was that each brother, knowing the 
 parts assigned to him, might direct his studies accordingly, 
 and so prepare himself for the work he had undertaken. 
 Our views with reference to the importance of giving the 
 Scriptures to the natives with the least possible delay- 
 were fully shared by our brethren who from time to time 
 were added to our mission ; redistributions of work were 
 made, and we all worked harmoniously together for the 
 accomplishment of the great object. The prominence we 
 gave to Bible translation and Bible teaching gave rise to 
 our being called " Bible missionaries" after Romish priests 
 had gained a footing on the group, a designation of which 
 we were in no way ashamed. 
 
 Before attempting the work of translation proper with a 
 view to publication we made an effort to meet the pressing 
 needs of the mission by drawing up and having printed 
 what we called " A Xew Testament Scripture History." 
 This consisted of an abridgment of the Gospels and the 
 Acts of the Apostles. It was a makeshift:, but it was of 
 great use to the natives ; and to ourselves the preparation 
 of it was profitable as a sort of initiation to the more 
 important work of out-and-out translation. So far all our 
 printing had been done by our brethren BarfF and Buzacott 
 of the Tahitian and llervey Islands' missions. i\Iost 
 cheerfully did they serve us in this respect, and their 
 kindness was fully appreciated and acknowledged, but the 
 growing requirements of our mission were such as could 
 only be met by our having a printing establishment of our 
 own, and a man with a competent knowledge of printing
 
 42 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 
 
 aud binding to take charge of these departments of work, 
 and this was now on the eve of being met. 
 
 Towards the close of 1838 an ever-memorable event 
 occurred, which was hailed with great joy both by ourselves 
 and the natives. This was the arrival of the missionary 
 brig Camdai with John Williams and a large reinforce- 
 ment of missionaries for our different fields. Only three 
 of these were appointed to our mission, but one of the 
 three, Mr. J. B. Stair, was a printer. Mr. Stair came 
 furnished with all necessary appliances for carrying out 
 the special object of his mission, so we were now in a 
 position to meet the growing demand for books all over 
 the group. We did our best to turn to account this 
 important trust. A number of books, some of them not 
 very small, which it would not be in keeping with the 
 design of this work to particularise, were printed in the 
 meanwhile ; and as soon as circumstances allowed the 
 printing of the sacred Scriptures was proceeded with. 
 
 The first portion we ventured to print was the Gospel 
 according to John, This was in 1 84 1, and other portions 
 followed at longer or shorter intervals as we were able to 
 overtake the work of translation and revision. We spared 
 no labour to secure accuracy. We acted on the principle 
 that only in cases of necessity should the work of translating 
 the Word of God into a foreign language be left to a single 
 individual, whatever may be his qualifications. Of course 
 where there is only one person available there is no choice ; 
 he must just do his best with the aid of native pundits ; 
 but in cases like our own, where a number of brethren are 
 associated on one group, throughout which one language 
 is spoken, it seems clearly desirable that some such plan 
 should be adopted as that which we followed, and which I 
 think has been substantially acted upon in all our South 
 Sea missions. 
 
 With us it was a standing rule that after the translator
 
 THE S A MOAN VERSION. 43 
 
 had done his best liis manuscript must be submitted to a 
 committee of not less than three of his brother missionaries, 
 appointed at a general meeting of the mission, the translator, 
 wherever practicable, making a fourth, or being one of the 
 three ; and as the committee became responsible for the 
 fidelity and accuracy of the translation, it devolved upon 
 them to compare every word with the original, and alter or 
 amend the renderings as the majority might decide. The 
 work was tedious and laborious, but it was pleasant and 
 interesting work notwithstanding ; and its importance was 
 such as could not be overestimated. Some of the most 
 precious recollections of my missionary life are associated 
 with our revision meetings, when, in conjunction with 
 brethren beloved, almost all of whom have " gone before," 
 we pondered over the word of life, striving to give it in its 
 purity to those for whose souls we watched, as those who 
 must give account. 
 
 We, with our native pundits, used to sit about nine 
 hours daily, except on Saturdays, when we took half a 
 holiday to recruit a little and prepare for the Sabbath 
 services. Whether at home at our own stations or else- 
 where there was always a demand for preaching when the 
 Sabbath came round. Our sittings extended over two, 
 three, and sometimes four, or even five weeks, according 
 to the length or difllculty of the book we had in hand, but 
 we used to feel that three weeks were about long enough 
 for a continuous sitting. We were pretty well furnished 
 with critical helps, and versions were of service to us. 
 The Septuagiut, the Vulgate, and our South Sea versions 
 which had preceded our own — the Hawaiian, the Tahitian, 
 the Rarotongan, and the Tongan — always were on our table, 
 lioothroyd's English version also, and of course the 
 authorised version, and English commentaries, were all 
 laid under contribution. Jiosenmiiller's commentaries on 
 the Old Testament were of great use, as were also those of
 
 44 THE S A MOAN VERSION. 
 
 Dr. Henderson on the prophetical books. We adhered 
 strictly to the rules furnished by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society for the guidance of translators. As we had 
 been having help from the Society, and were depending 
 upon it to continue its help in the future, we made it a 
 matter of conscience to abide by its rules. 
 
 All our meetings were begun and closed with prayer, 
 one of ourselves leading in English in the morning, and 
 one of our native pundits in the evening. At the com- 
 mencement of a book our progress was generally slow ; 
 sometimes we did not get beyond five or six verses for 
 the first day or two, but as we proceeded, and became 
 accustomed to the style of the author, we would get 
 through from twenty to forty or more verses. When we 
 could not agree on any point it was settled by the majority 
 of votes; and in cases of unusual difficulty the question 
 was reserved for the united deliberation of the whole 
 mission at a general meeting, or sometimes a circular was 
 sent round the mission to afibrd time for more careful 
 deliberation. When sitting in committee, our usual mode 
 of procedure was for one member of the committee to read 
 the verse to be considered in the original, then the translator 
 or some one in his stead read the proposed rendering, and 
 generally, I think, the verse was also read in English from 
 the authorised version, and then it was taken up and con- 
 sidered clause by clause and word by word. 
 
 After the New Testament was completed and printed at 
 our press, and bound in pamphlet form, each of the Gospels 
 and the Acts being bound separately, and the Epistles 
 in groups according to their size, the members of the 
 mission divided themselves into four committees for a 
 further revision of the whole ; and when this was com- 
 pleted the entire version was rewritten and the manuscript 
 sent to London to the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 with a request that an edition of 15,000 should be printed.
 
 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 45 
 
 The Committee responded promptly to our application, 
 and in 1849-50 this second edition of our New Testament 
 was carried through the press under the supervision of our 
 former printer, Mr. Stair, who had been obliged some time 
 before to leave the mission field on account of Mrs. Stair's 
 health. 
 
 In July 1850 we received the first instalment of the 
 books, and though the natives had long had the entire 
 New Testament in their hands, the arrival of the new 
 edition, neatly bound in one volume, was welcomed with 
 great interest, and in a few years the entire edition was 
 sold at two shillings and sixpence per copy, and the whole 
 amount at which it was invoiced to us, ^^"1388, 13s. 6d., 
 was remitted to the Society, and a balance was left to meet 
 incidental expenses. 
 
 We went on with the books of the Old Testament in the 
 same manner as we had done with those of the New, and 
 in due time these were completed. They too were printed 
 at our own press and issued in separate parts. Thus the 
 entire Bible was printed on the spot, under English super- 
 intendence of course, but the bulk of the work was done 
 by natives, all the paper having been supplied by the 
 Bible Society.* 
 
 The work was finished towards the close of 1855, and 
 great was the satisfaction felt both by ourselves and the 
 natives on the occasion. It formed an era in the history 
 of our mission, and the event was celebrated throughout 
 the group with a heartiness and enthusiasm befitting its 
 importance. Public meetings were held in all the principal 
 villages, and a great amount of interest was awakened. 
 
 * The bretliren who Huporintondcd and directed the printing of our 
 Bible were Mr. J. B. Stair, the Rev. J. P. Sunderland, and the Rev. S. 
 Klla. The New Testament and PHalnis were printed wiiile Mest^rs. Stair 
 find Sunderland were in charge of tlie press, and the printing of the entire 
 Old Testament, except the PHalm?, was superintended by Rlr. I'^lla.
 
 46 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 
 
 All the main points in the history of our mission, linked 
 as they were more or less intimately with the translation 
 and circulation of the sacred volume, were brouo-ht vividly 
 before the mind, and great were the joy and gratitude felt 
 in view of what God had wrought. The results already 
 realised were such as culled for the devoutest thanks, while 
 bright visions of the future rose before us of a work widen- 
 ing and extending throughout successive generations, bear- 
 ing down every obstacle, and conferring untold blessings, 
 temporal and eternal, without limit and without end. The 
 interest awakened by the meetings did not cease with the 
 passing hour. The Bible had been much valued by the 
 people generally before, and there had all along been an 
 encouraging demand for it, but that increased greatly after 
 the celebrations. And the translators, of course, were 
 deeply grateful that they had been spared to bring to a close 
 their great and difficult task ; and great was their satisfac- 
 tion to think that their mission was now placed upon an 
 immovable rock. Men come and men go — each does his 
 allotted work and passes away ; but the Word of the Lord 
 abideth, and once get a fair rendering of that Word into 
 the vernacular of any people, and a foundation is laid against 
 which the gates of hell shall never prevail. 
 
 And now steps were taken prejDaratory to a final revision 
 and a new edition of the entire Scriptures to be printed in 
 one volume — the first was in four volumes, five, indeed, 
 for the Psalms were bound in a volume by themselves. 
 And to prepare for this final revision, as we then regarded 
 it, the whole was divided into eight parts for corrections 
 and suggestions from individual brethren ; and to secure 
 uniformity as far as possible we appointed two of our 
 brethren, the Eev. George Pratt and the Rev. Henry 
 Nisbet, afterwards Dr. Nisbet, to go over the whole and 
 give to the work the finishing touch. These brethren had 
 had nearly twenty years' experience ; they were located on
 
 THE S A MOAN VERSION. 47 
 
 the same island, and Mr. Pratt, under favouring circum- 
 stances, had expended a great amount of labour in collecting 
 material for the final revision. Hence they were regarded 
 as peculiarly eligible for the important work. For three 
 hundred and thirty-one days they plodded afresh through 
 the entire Bible. Dr. Turner and myself were referees in 
 cases of difficulty, and these were pretty numerous, and 
 involved a considerable amount of work; and for three 
 months we took it in turn to sit with them while they 
 were occupied with the more difficult books. Special 
 difficulties were again, as in the former revision, referred 
 to the entire mission. 
 
 The work was completed towards the close of 1859, and 
 
 at that time Dr. Turner was about to proceed on a visit to 
 
 England, and to him the manuscript was entrusted. He 
 
 was requested to supply marginal references, an arduous, 
 
 but a most useful work ; and to apply to the British and 
 
 Foreign Bible Society to print an edition of 10,000. The 
 
 Bible Society undertook their part of the work with all 
 
 readiness, and carried it out to our entire satisfaction ; and 
 
 the accuracy that was attained reflected the highest credit 
 
 on our painstaking brother Dr. Turner and his estimable 
 
 wife, who lent most valuable help throughout the great 
 
 undertaking. And the outcome was the Samoan Bible 
 
 complete in one handsomely bound volume. Part were 
 
 bound in sheep and were marble-edged, and part in calf, 
 
 gilt-edged. The former were sold at seven shillings per 
 
 copy, the latter at nine shillings. It would have been 
 
 better if all had been in superior binding, as tlie natives 
 
 only took the inferior, as a general rule, when they could 
 
 not get the other. The higher price was no consideration, 
 
 and it was cheering to see how readily they parted with 
 
 their property in order to gain possession of what they 
 
 regarded as a priceless treasure. 
 
 Money had not yet come largely into circulation, so we
 
 4S THE S A MOAN VERSION. 
 
 had to a great extent to receive cocoa-nut oil instead, and 
 so great was the rush for some time that a man had to be 
 employed at some of our principal stations whose chief 
 occupation it was to receive and measure the oil, so the 
 missionary had nothing directly to do with the " unclerical 
 work of oil-measuring." lie had only to be certified that 
 the required amount had been received for one or more 
 copies, and to hand them to purchasers. 
 
 They were forwarded to us in instalments of 3000 or 
 4000, and in less than seven years the entire edition of 
 10,000 was sold, and the amount at which it was invoiced 
 to us, ;^3ii4, 4s., was remitted to the Bible Society. 
 
 Before this edition was sold out arrangements were 
 made for the printing of another. 
 
 At a general meeting of the mission, held in September 
 1867, it was resolved that an application should be made 
 to our never-failing friends at the Bible House to print 
 ITS a stereotyped edition ; and it was further resolved that 
 there should be another revision, and the carrying out of 
 that was confided to Mr. Pratt and myself. Dr. Turner 
 and the Rev. S. J. Whitmee being appointed referees in 
 cases of difficulty. So the entire Bible was again gone 
 over. For three years, with longer or shorter intervals, we 
 had the work in hand. It was begun in March 1867, and 
 finished in July 1870. 
 
 In the meanwhile it was considered desirable to ask the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society to print an edition of 
 5000 copies of the New Testament and Psalms in large 
 type, to meet the case of those who, from failing sight, 
 were unable to read the complete Bible that was in use. 
 The Rev. T. Powell was about to proceed to England on 
 a visit at the time, and should the Society comply with 
 the request, it was to be printed under his superintendence. 
 All was can'ied out according to the wish of the Mission 
 Committee, and in 1869 the books reached the islands.
 
 THE S A MOAN VERSION. 49 
 
 They seemed to be all that could be desired as regards 
 type and binding. They were bound in calf, but there 
 was one defect, they did not stand the climate ; hence 
 they did not sell so readily as was expected. Still large 
 numbers were sold at four shillings per copy, and certainly, 
 but for a mistake made in the Bible House in not naming 
 the contents of some cases containing them, all would have 
 been sold long ere now; but some years after it was 
 supposed that all were sold about 1000 copies were found 
 in cases which it was thought contained complete Bibles ; 
 hence a number still remain unsold. These it is hoped 
 will yet be sold at reduced prices. Of course there will 
 be a succession of elderly people who will be likely to 
 purchase them. 
 
 While the work of revision for the stereotyped edition 
 of the Bible was in progress Mi'S. Turner's health failed, 
 and it became necessary that she and the Doctor should 
 make another visit to England, so we were able to secure 
 our brother's valuable services to superintend the print- 
 ing of this edition as he had that of the former. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Turner sailed for England on the 13th of 
 December 1 869 ; and so much of the copy as was ready 
 was placed in the Doctor's hands, that the work of printing 
 might be proceeded with as soon as the necessary pre- 
 liminaries could be arranged after they reached their 
 destination. The remainder of the manuscript was for- 
 warded in detached portions. The stei'eotyping and 
 printing were carried out by the Bible Society with all 
 practicable despatch. The edition consisted of 15,000, 
 and in 1883 only 2000 copies remained unsold. 
 
 A third edition, the fourth including that printed in the 
 
 islands, still further improved,* was printed again, under 
 
 the superintendence of Dr. Turner, who a few years since 
 
 was compelled by the failure of health to relinquish his 
 
 * It wan printed from an entirely new set of platep, 
 
 D
 
 50 THE SAMOAN VERSION. 
 
 much loved work in the islands and retire to England. 
 That edition is now in the course of sale, and is being 
 purchased with equal readiness as former editions have 
 been. 
 
 And the last thing we have to note in connection with 
 the Bible in Samoa will form a cheering and appropriate 
 close to this record. In a letter from Dr. Turner, dated 
 February 7th, 1S87, he communicates the intelligence 
 to which I refer. In October 1886, the printing of 
 a small edition of the Samoan Bible was commenced, 
 and the work of printing was being pushed forward 
 with such vigour that at the date of Dr. Turner's letter 
 the middle of the book of Job had been reached, and if 
 the work continued to advance as rapidly as it had done 
 so far, it would be completed in six months from that 
 date. " It will," Dr. Turner remarks, " be a precious boon 
 to Samoa. We shall be able to sell it well bound in whole 
 skin basil for two shillings, and in coloured basil, gilt 
 edged, for two shillings and sixpence. I expect the Samoans 
 will all be for the latter. The edition is 20,000, and if it 
 get to be used generally in the schools they will soon 
 melt away. It will be very convenient too for the natives 
 in travelling, and a thousand other ways. May the good 
 Lord greatly bless it for the more extended reading of His 
 precious word." 
 
 And so we close the record of Bible translation and Bible 
 circulation in Samoa — a record which to the writer pos- 
 sesses an interest which the reader cannot be expected 
 fully to share. To all lovers of the Bible, however, it must 
 possess an interest for the emphatic testimony it bears to 
 the transcendent excellence of the sacred Book. 
 
 In 1830 Samoa was a heathen land. With all its 
 natural beauty and loveliness it was a land of darkness 
 and the shadow of death, and its people, comparatively 
 mild and amiable as they were, and surrounded with all
 
 THE S A MOAN VERSION. 51 
 
 that is needful to meet their temporal wants, were without 
 God, the present life being a dreary monotony, and the 
 future a blank. Kow the darkness is past and the whole 
 land is covered with light, even as the waters cover the sea, 
 and to a great extent the people have received the light 
 and walk in thelight — not a single heathen remains. Every 
 village has its house of prayer and its native pastor, and 
 every child, except perhaps a few who belong to Popish 
 parents, is being educated, and a fair proportion of the 
 people give credible evidence that they are on their way 
 to a better life. 
 
 And what has wrought the mighty change ? The Bible 
 has done it, God's own Book has done it. IMan's part has 
 been a very subordinate one. He has only drawn aside the 
 vail, if we may so speak, and instrumentally caused the 
 Light to shine which has wrought the marvellous trans- 
 formation. God be praised for the Bible ! Ever may the 
 Samoans continue to be a Bible-loving and a Bible-reading 
 people, so shall their future be growingly bright and happy, 
 and in increasing numbers they will pass on to that land 
 where even the Bible will be no longer needed, for the 
 Author of the Bible Himself is the all-sufficient and the 
 everlasting light. To His name be all the glory, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
 Since this chapter was written, I have had the higli 
 privilege of making a visit to Samoa, after an absence of 
 seventeen years. A lengthened notice of my visit would 
 be out of place here, so I shall only refer in a few words 
 to what has a direct bearing on the subject treated of in 
 this volume. During my stay on the islands, I applied to 
 the llev. Arthur ]']. Claxton, the present treasurer to the 
 mission, for information as to the amounts received from 
 different districts throughout the group on account of 
 sales of Bibles duriug the past few years, liis statement
 
 52 THE SA^IOAN VERSION. 
 
 shows that during the seven years ending in December 
 1887, he had received 117,496, representing 8748 Bibles, 
 or 1093 copies per annum. The largest number sold in 
 any single year of the seven was in 1887 (last year), when 
 the sales reached 1623. 
 
 The small sized edition has not yet reached the islands. 
 When it does, there will surely be a rush upon it. Every 
 boy and girl among the 30,000 Protestants of the group 
 who is able to read will wish to possess a copy, and will 
 be likely to give their parents no rest till they get one. 
 So the demand for the Word of Life continues in Samoa, 
 and is likely to continue — a pretty satisfactory proof that 
 it is in constant use. God grant that the Samoans may 
 not only be a Bible-reading but a Bible-practising people 
 — that their characters may be formed in accordance with 
 its holy precepts, to the glory of His name, and their own 
 present and eternal well-being.
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 This island, though small, and not of much account, either 
 from a commercial or scientific point of view, has a 
 missionary history of much interest. It is a low unpre- 
 tending looking spot, with no land nearer than Tonga and 
 Samoa, Tonga being about 200 miles to the west, and 
 Samoa about 300 miles to the north. From these two 
 groups it has, no doubt, been peopled, as the language 
 spoken by the natives is to a great extent a compound of 
 Tongan and Samoan. It is about forty miles in circum- 
 ference, and has a population of about 5000. 
 
 The natives are a fine, robust, noble-looking race, but in 
 their heathen state, they were the wildest and rudest of all 
 the tribes of uncivilised men with whom it has been my 
 lot to come in contact. This, I suppose, was owing in a 
 great measure to the fact that they had been almost 
 entirely cut off from intercourse with the outside world 
 from time immemorial. 
 
 When a ship touched at the island their excitement was 
 such as broke through all restraint. Such scenes I have 
 witnessed in early days on board our mission ships as 
 no language can adequately describe. They were fierce, 
 ungovernable savages, and their appearance was quite in 
 keeping with their behaviour. Many of tlieui wore long 
 liair, which hung down loose upon tlieir shoulders: 
 clothing tiiey dispensed with as a useless incumbrance.
 
 54 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 They adorned, perhaps rather disfigured themselves, with 
 what they considered ornaments, consisting of feathers of 
 various colours, and arranged in different modes, and 
 weapons of war appeared in profusion on all occasions, and 
 altogether they presented a finished specimen of the 
 untamed barbarian. Such they were, and such they 
 continued to be, just what Captain Cook found them, till 
 they were tamed and civilised by the gospel of the grace 
 of God. 
 
 Tlie missionary history of the island dates from 1830. 
 In June of that year Messrs. Williams and Barff called on 
 their way to Samoa, and made an unsuccessful effort to 
 introduce Christian teachers. Many similar attempts were 
 made from Samoa in subsequent years, but it was not till 
 1849 that our efforts were crowned with success. In 
 October of that year, Paulo, a Samoan teacher, and his wife 
 took up their abode among the fierce and savage people of 
 Niue, We need hardly remark that in so doing they 
 placed themselves in extreme peril. Their danger was 
 enhanced by a cruel practice which prevailed among the 
 natives owing to the dread they had lest disease or some 
 other calamity should come upon them if any foreigner 
 Avere allowed to live on the island — hence any hapless 
 stranger falling into their hands was invariably put to 
 death, even their own countrymen were not spared, for 
 any one leaving the island and returning shared the same 
 fate as a foreigner whenever an epidemic broke out or any 
 great calamity visited the island. Thus the teacher and 
 his wife were in constant danger during the early years of 
 their missionary life, but the eye of the great Preserver 
 was upon them, and notwithstanding the many plots that 
 were formed for their destruction they were safe in His 
 keeping. 
 
 The Niueans did not readily yield to the claims of 
 Christianity. On the contrary, the gx'eat bulk of them
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 55 
 
 clung to Heathenism for several years. The teacher, how- 
 ever, plodded on, and in due season the reaping time came, 
 and a ^lorious harvest was gathered in. The mission was 
 reinforced from time to time, and in 1861, when the Rev. 
 W. G. Lawes settled on the island^ there were five teachers 
 stationed at different points, and at convenient distances, 
 so as to be easily accessible to the whole population. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lawes arrived in August 1861, and entered 
 upon their labours in circumstances intensely interesting. 
 A brief extract from a letter written by j\Ir. Lawes after 
 they had been about two months on the island will convey 
 a clearer idea of the state of things at that date than any 
 mere general description. "We landed," Mr. Lawes writes, 
 " on the 20tli of August. We were heartily welcomed by the 
 people, who had been expecting their promised missionary. 
 The landing-place was crowded with hundreds of men and 
 women, who were so eager to shake and smell our hands 
 that it was with difficulty we reached the teacher's house. 
 The people are very lively and energetic, and no doubt fully 
 merited the name which Captain Cook gave them. We 
 could not help contrasting the two landings — the present 
 and the past. Now they are all clothed, joyfully welcoming 
 their missionary — then they were naked savages rushing 
 down like wild boars upon their visitors. We found a good 
 house ready for us, which our female friends soon made a 
 comfortable home. As soon as the excitement of our laud- 
 ing had subsided a little, a joyful sound broke upon our 
 ears in the stillness of the evening hour. It was the voice 
 of praise and prayer ascending from the family altars of 
 a people who fifteen years ago were degraded savages. 
 Although there was not mucli poetry in their hymns, 
 or music in their psalms, it was a joyful sound to us; no 
 Christian heart could hear it and x'emain unmoved. 
 
 " As soon as our good ship had gone, and I was able to 
 look round upon my field of labour, I was amazed at tho
 
 56 DIDLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 extent of the work already done. So far as I Lave been 
 able to ascertain, there is not a vestige (outwardly) of 
 heathenism remaining ; all has crumbled away ^beneath 
 the power of God's Word. There are five good chapels on 
 the island ; one of them will hold i lOO people, but it is too 
 small. They are fine specimens of native ingenuity ; they 
 have been built, of course, without European oversight ; 
 except in the doors there is not a nail in the buildings — all 
 is firmly tied together with cinnet. The teachers seem 
 worthy men, and God has manifestly been with them in 
 their work. Of course their knowledge is very limited, 
 and the work to be done great and arduous. I am appalled 
 when I think of the great work before me. May I not 
 hope for help ? The Word of God has to be translated, and 
 all this land cultivated for Christ." 
 
 The Eev. George Pratt and Mrs. Pratt of the Samoan 
 mission accompanied Mr. and Mrs, Lawes to their field 
 of labour, and remained with them some ten or twelve 
 months, rendering them and the mission very valuable 
 help. Mr. Pratt was the bearer of a priceless treasure — 
 the Gospel of Mark in the language of Nine. How this 
 came about Mr. Pratt explains as follows : — " The Samoan 
 Pastors in Nine translated the Gospel of Mark from the 
 Samoan. They met together and discussed the translation 
 verse by verse, and after thus making it as perfect as they 
 were able they sent it to Samoa to be printed at the 
 mission press. The MS. was handed to me to examine 
 with the aid of a Nine student at Malua, and when printed 
 I took it to Nine, accompanied by Mr. Lawes, who had 
 been appointed to labour on that island. A day or two 
 after landing I took an evening walk, and came upon a 
 native sitting at the door of a nice new-plastered cottage, 
 and reading aloud, according to native custom, from 
 Mark's Gospel. That was enough reward for all the 
 labour bestowed on the preparation of the book." That
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 57 
 
 was the first portion of the Word of God printed in the 
 Nine language, and it was translated by Samoans; nor 
 were the efforts of these worthy men in the way of 
 Scripture translations confined to a single gospel. " I 
 remained," says Mr. Pratt, "the best part of a year with 
 Mr. Lawes, and during that time I revised the remaining 
 three Gospels and the Acts, all translated by the Samoan 
 Pastors, and I translated Philippians and the three Epistles 
 of John." These, ^Mr. Lawes tells us, " were printed in 
 Sydney by the New South Wales Auxiliary to the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, and we received them bound 
 in cloth in 1863. Never before had Xiue possessed so 
 large and precious a book. To both missionary and people 
 that was a joyous day. Sleep that night was out of the 
 question for many of us. In the meantime I had acquired 
 enough of the language to be able to go on with the work 
 of translating the remaining books of the New Testament. 
 In 1866 these were finished and sent to Sydney with a 
 revision of the printed portions. The Auxiliary there at 
 once printed them for us, and in the following year Nine 
 received the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 complete. There was great joy on the island. A large 
 number were paid for in advance to insure receiving some 
 of the first copies. As soon as the cases arrived we were 
 besieged with applicants, and obliged to open them there 
 and then, so eager were the people for the Word of Life." 
 The edition consisted of 3500 copies. 
 
 The book of i'sahns followed. It was also printed in 
 Sydney, and was received in 1870. "By which time," 
 !Mr. Lawes continues, " the translation of the books of 
 Genesis and Exodus was completed. While on a visit to 
 Samoa in that year ray old friend and helper, the Ilev. G. 
 Pratt, urged upon me tlio importance of a tlioroughly 
 careful revision of the New Testament, to be printed in 
 England in the event of my visiting the fatherland in
 
 58 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 1 872, The first translation was necessarily very imperfect, 
 and the first edition was almost exhausted. 
 
 " I went very carefully through the whole several times. 
 In this work of revision. I had the help of my brother, 
 the Rev. F. E. Lawes, who had joined me on Niue three 
 years before. Many thousand corrections and improve- 
 ments were made towards bringing up the translation to 
 our knowledge of idiomatic Niuean at that date. 
 
 " Gratefully would I acknowledge God's great goodness 
 in permitting me to bring this work to a conclusion so far 
 at least as the New Testament is concerned. I felt from 
 the first day of my residence on Savage Island that if the 
 people's faith was to be estal^lished on a firm basis, and 
 their spiritual growth to become strong and vigorous, they 
 must have the Word of God, the New Testament at least, 
 in their own tongue. To the realisation of this object as 
 much of my time as could possibly be spared from other 
 missionary work has been given during the past twelve 
 years. They have been years of constant plodding work, 
 but such glorious work that it has brought with it its own 
 exceeding great reward. It may be helpful to others to 
 know our modus ojjerandi in the translation and revision 
 of the Scriptures. I have, of course, translated from the 
 originals, both in the New and Old Testaments, following 
 the Textus Receptus in the former, and Van der Hooght's 
 Hebrew Bible in the latter. In critical helps to the right 
 understanding of the text the following have been of the 
 greatest use : — Alford's Greek Testament (particularly the 
 marginal references), the Critical English Text, EUicott 
 on the Epistles, Lightfoot, Trench on Miracles, &c., 
 Lange on Genesis, Kiel and Delitzscli, Hengstenberg 
 and Alexander on the Psalms, the Englishman's Greek 
 Concordance, and also the Hebrew and Chaldee, and 
 Bishop Wilson's Hebrew Concordance, have been invalu- 
 able. In the Old Testament I have constantly consulted
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 59 
 
 tLe Septuagint. For difficulties in translating into the 
 Nine dialect other versions have been of greatest service. 
 On every difficult passage I have consulted the New 
 Zealand, Tahitian, Rarotongan, Tougan, Fijian, and even 
 the Malagasy version with great advantage ; but I am most 
 indebted to the Samoan version, with which every verse 
 of the Niuean has been carefully compared. I believe the 
 Samoan to be one of the most correct and faithful transla- 
 tions of the Scriptures extant. The Rev. George Pratt, 
 who has had so much to do with that translation, and 
 who has some knowledge of the Niue dialect, has kindly 
 examined every portion of my work as it has been done, 
 so that our translation has had the benefit of his long 
 experience and scholarly attainments. In our present 
 revision we are indebted to him for many suggestions and 
 criticisms. Every portion has been submitted to in- 
 telligent natives, and I have found it an excellent plan to 
 give the MSS., after they are quite finished, to the young- 
 men of my teachers' class for their careful perusal. 
 
 " Twelve years ago Xiue had no portion of God's Word 
 in print, and but few readers on the island. Now the 
 New Testament and book of Psalms are in their hands, 
 and a new revised edition, together with the books of 
 Genesis and Exodus, will soon be completed for them. 
 The New Testament is in every house on the island, and 
 in every house are those who can read its blessed truths. 
 Twelve hundred .Savage islanders, out of a population of 
 5000, have made a personal profession of their faith in 
 Christ, and an; living in accordance with the teaching of 
 God's Word. Many have died resting peacefully on that 
 Saviour it has revealed to them. 
 
 "Instead of darkness and cruelty we have light and 
 peace. Where superstition and fear reigned, intelligent 
 faith and joyful hope now prevail. Commerce and 
 civilisation too are found where a few years ago no man
 
 6o BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 dared to land. Instead of the desert we have a garden ; 
 instead of death, life : all resulting from the Word of God 
 in the hands of a few simple-minded, believing, prayerful 
 men. Truly the Word has not lost its power, but ia as 
 potent as ever to raise the fallen and save the lost. 
 Savage islanders show their appreciation of the sacred 
 volume by paying for it, and doing what they can to send 
 it to others. During the last ten years they have paid 
 upwards of ;^ 500 to the Bible Society for the New Testa- 
 ment and portions printed in Sydney, and they have 
 raised ;^2300 as contributions to the Missionary Society, 
 that heathen islands beyond may enjoy with them the 
 blessings of the gospel through the teaching of God's own 
 Word of life and peace. I had hoped to go on with this 
 great work on Mue, and fully expected to return there, 
 but now the Master seems calling me to New Guinea. I 
 hope I may, by God's grace, be able to do something 
 towards giving that immense island the Word of God 
 which is able to make wise unto salvation. We have need 
 of the sympathy and prayers of all Christians." 
 
 The above record needs no comment. It tells its own 
 marvellous tale of conquest, effected not by might, nor by 
 power, but by the Spirit of God working through and by 
 His own Truth ; and it supplies a fresh earnest of the 
 complete subjugation in due time of all nations, tribes, and 
 tongues to the dominion of the Prince of Peace. 
 
 According to the expectation which Mr. Lawes men- 
 tions at the close of the above extract, he did not resume 
 his work on Niue, but on his return from England he 
 and Mrs. Lawes proceeded to New Guinea, where they 
 arrived near the close of 1874, and where, with two or 
 three short intervals, they have worked on till the present 
 time. 
 
 After the departure of his brother, the sole charge of 
 the mission devolved upon the Rev. F. E. Lawes, and with
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 6i 
 
 the exception of some eighteen months or so, during which 
 he and his family visited England, he has remained at his 
 post, and with his estimable wife has laboured on for the 
 consolidation of the work of God on Niue. And in 
 addition to other missionary duties, he has gone steadily 
 forward with the translation of the Old Testament 
 Scriptures. In the month of April 1 878 he wrote to the 
 Bible Society as follows : — " You will be gratified to know 
 that these Niuean Scriptures (referring to a consignment 
 that had recently been received) were mostly purchased by 
 young people, children many of them, boys and girls who 
 have only lately acquired the art of reading ; we are glad 
 to find in our schools now a good many little children 
 who can read. There are more readers on the island now 
 than there have been at any former period, and few if any 
 are without Testaments. The Bible, so far as we have it, 
 is the literature of the land — school-books, class-books, 
 church-book, geography, history, and biography. It is in 
 the hands of the j'oung and reckless, and by the couch of 
 the sick and dying. The gospel has lost none of its 
 power on the hearts of the Savage islanders. Its later 
 triumphs are less observed by man than its earlier, yet 
 they are seen and acknowledged by God. 
 
 " A very few of the leading men who received and 
 protected the early teachers now remain. A goodly num- 
 ber of them died during the year 1877. It may be said 
 of them that the Word of God was a li<dit unto their foot 
 during the latter part of their lives, and their consolation 
 and hope in death. One of these worthies was my brother's 
 pundit in all his translation work, a shrewd, intelligent 
 old man, formerly a great warrior, latterly using all liis 
 influence, which was great, for the good of tlie land, and 
 to advance the work of Gofl. I'light of our teachers have 
 gone to New fJuinea. Of these two have died, and one 
 has returned home. Four more youn" men with tlicir
 
 62 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 wives are now awaiting the John Williams to take tliem 
 to South Cape, China Straits." 
 
 From the Eeport of the Bible Society for 1880, we find 
 that the edition of the New Testament, with the books of 
 Genesis, Exodus, and Psalms, sent to the island in 1872-3, 
 had been sold out, and that ^700, proceeds of sales, had 
 been remitted to the Society. It is also announced in the 
 same report that at that date (1880) Mr. Lawes was 
 on his way to England, and that on his arrival other 
 portions of the Old Testament would be put to press. 
 Accordingly, during his stay in England, the complete 
 Pentateuch was printed, and at a later date, some time 
 after his return, we find him writing as follows : — " The 
 people are very pleased with the Pentateuch, three of the 
 books being new to them. The delight with which they 
 receive book after book of the Old Testament, giving the 
 account of God's earlier dealings with mankind, is very 
 pleasant to contemplate." 
 
 The latest intelligence relative to the progress and 
 present state of Scripture translation on Niue which I 
 am able to give is from a letter from the Eev. F. E. 
 Lawes, dated October 19th, 1887. I should have had the 
 information at a much earlier date but for the fact that a 
 letter which I wrote asking Mr. Lawes' help, dated Decem- 
 ber 30th, 1886, did not reach him till August i8th, 1887. 
 After referring to the printing of the Pentateuch mentioned 
 above, Mr. Lawes proceeds as follows : — " We have in 
 manuscript not yet printed the books of Joshua, Judges, 
 Ruth, 1st and 2nd Samuel, ist and 2nd Kings, also the 
 prophecies of Isaiah, and the book of Jonah. These 
 we are anxious to get printed, but think of translating 
 Jeremiah first, in order to make the book a little more 
 complete." 
 
 It appears that during his stay in England a new edition 
 of the New Testament and Psalms was also printed.
 
 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 63 
 
 '"' Of each of tliese " (including the Pentateuch), he tells us, 
 " we have sold a thousand, and are now into the second 
 thousand. The Niueans pay in full the cost of printing 
 and binding their books, and moreover indulge in the 
 luxury of gilt edges and morocco binding. The present 
 edition of Scriptures has not sold so rapidly as the former, 
 but that is chiefly owing to the greater number of books 
 in circulation, and not from lack of interest in the sacred 
 volume. 
 
 "As to the value put upon the Word of God, it is 
 doubtless treasured up in the hearts of a great many in 
 Savage Island. "We are often cheered by an apt quotation 
 from those from whom we did not expect it. We have 
 this year lost an unusual number of church members by 
 death, and so far as I know in every instance they were 
 found prepared for the Master's summons. One man, a 
 newly appointed deacon, after only a few days' illness, died 
 of pneumonia. Just before his death, he arose and took 
 his spectacles and New Testament out of his box, and read 
 aloud John xiv. 1,2; he was too exhausted to read more, 
 and almost immediately departed to occupy the place pre- 
 pared for him in the house of many mansions. In the 
 same village an old man named Jeremiah died in July last. 
 He was one who helped to protect John Williams on the 
 occasion of his visit to Nine in 1830. lie early made the 
 acquaintance of Paulo, the first teacher, and his name stood 
 first in the church book. lie wished to be buried on the 
 very spot wliere Paulo stood to preach the gospel on his 
 first visit to his village ; it is a lovely spot on the top of a 
 hill overlooking the sea. His relations have made a pretty 
 grave for the old man surrounded ])y flowers. It is a 
 bright testimony to Jeremiah's delight in the gospel. He 
 was a dear friend of my brother (the Rev. W. G. Lawes of 
 New Guinea), and not less dear to us. lie was always 
 ready for every good work. His influence and help were
 
 64 BIBLE TRANSLATION IN NIUE. 
 
 always on tlie right side, and we mourn for him as a ftiith- 
 ful friend and invaluable helper. I might give other 
 instances, but you will saj^, what about the living ? The 
 gospel is undoubtedly moulding the lives of the people, not 
 rapidly, but slowly and surely. It is delivering them from 
 the bondage of Satan and introducing them to the liberty 
 of the sons of God. We have many discouragements, yet 
 we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that God is with us, 
 working by His Spirit in the hearts of men, women, and 
 children." 
 
 So ends our notice of Bible translation and Bible circu- 
 lation on Nine, and surely the record is such as calls for 
 devout gratitude to God, and supplies the highest en- 
 couragement to the friends of the Bible and of Christian 
 missions. One more conquest has been achieved, one 
 more island won for Christ, and one more earnest given of 
 the final triumph when He shall reign without a rival over 
 a ransomed world.
 
 ( ^5 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE TONGA N VERSION. 
 
 The history of the Tongan mission dates from the year 
 1797, the same year in which the Tahitian mission was 
 commenced. The group was discovered by Tasman in 
 1643, and it was visited by Captain Cook in 1773 ; and 
 owing to the kind reception given him by the natives, and 
 the friendly intercom'se he had with them, he gave it the 
 name of the Friendly Islands. The group lies between 
 170° and 178^ west longitude, and between 18^ and 20" 
 south latitude, about due south from Samoa, and south- 
 east of the great Fiji group, these three groups forming- 
 one great cluster of islands separated by channels of from 
 250 to 400 miles in breadth. There are three principal 
 islands in the Tongan group, named respectively Tonga- 
 tabu or Sacred Tonga, Ilabai, and Vavau, and there are a 
 great number of small islands. Captain Cook speaks of 
 over sixty, but many of these must be mere islets without 
 settled inhabitants. The population at the present time 
 is about 22,000. The natives are a line race of people 
 of the .Malay stock, not excelled, I think, by any of the 
 tribes of Eastern or Central I'olynesia. In their heathen 
 state, liowever, they were a savage race, daring, fierce, and 
 cruel, not quite so bad in some respects as the Fijians 
 and Maoris, but just about upon a level with the Tahitians, 
 llarotongans, and other natives of Eastern Polynesia. 
 Ten of the first band of missionaries, scut by the London 
 
 E
 
 66 rilE TONGA N VERSION. 
 
 ]\Iissionaiy Society in the sliip Duff in 1796, were 
 commissioned to endeavour to commence a mission on 
 Tongatnbu ; and after the missionaries appointed to Tahiti 
 were landed at their destination, the vessel proceeded to 
 Tonga, and on the loth of April 1797, anchored in the 
 centre of the bay on the northern shore of Tongatabu, near 
 the now well-known town of Nukualofa, The missionaries 
 were favourably received, and on the fourth day after their 
 arrival the Duff sailed, leaving them at the mercy of the 
 then savage Tongans. 
 
 About four months after their settlement the Duff^ 
 
 returned to ascertain how they were being treated, and to 
 
 afford an opportunity of leaving the island should any or all 
 
 of them wish to do so. The commander, Captain Wilson, 
 
 had the great satisfaction of finding them all alive, and all 
 
 in health with a single exception. So far the natives seem 
 
 to have behaved kindly towards them, but they had suffered 
 
 much insult and annoyance from three white men of most 
 
 abandoned character, who by some means had found their 
 
 way to the islands about eighteen months before their 
 
 arrival. The Dc.ff remained with them about a month, 
 
 and when the time for her departure came, they all, with 
 
 the exception of Mr. Nobbs, who had been ill most of the 
 
 time since their arrival, determined to continue at what 
 
 they regarded the post of duty. Their names were Bowell, 
 
 Buchanan, Gaulton, Harper, Shelly, Veeson, Wilkinson, 
 
 Xobbs, Kelso, and Cooper, The saddest perhaps of all the 
 
 trials that came upon them was the defection of one of 
 
 their own number. Soon after the vessel left, Veeson 
 
 withdrew from them, and became to all appearance an 
 
 apostate — a solemn warning to all who are desirous of 
 
 eno-ao^ing in mission work to count the cost, and to all on 
 
 whom it devolves to select and appoint men to the office 
 
 of Christian missionaries to exercise the utmost caution, 
 
 though, of course, it is nothing to marvel at. The wonder
 
 THE TOXGAN VERSION. 67 
 
 is, all things considered, that defections are so rare as they 
 have been hitherto. 
 
 Some time after the departure of the Di'ff, an American 
 ship, named the Mercury., called at the island, and put on 
 shore seven of its crew, and these proved evea more vicious 
 and abandoned than those who had preceded them. They 
 took every opportunity of annoying the missionaries, extort- 
 ing or stealing from them tools, clothing, or other things 
 as inclination prompted or opportunity served, and spread- 
 ing among the natives the most false and malicious reports, 
 and more than once seeking their destruction. And natu- 
 rally enough the natives were not slow to follow their 
 example. Thus they were in peril from their own country- 
 men, and they were in peril from the heathen, with no 
 human protection against either. About a year after their 
 settlement on the island a civil war broke out, and brought 
 their troubles to a climax. They refused to take part in 
 the war ; those who had hitherto befriended them to some 
 extent now gave them to understand that no further pro- 
 tection would be afforded them. Thus they were exposed 
 to all the horrors and dangers of war in its most appalling 
 fjrms. Their houses were plundered, their very wearing 
 apparel was taken from them, some of them being able to 
 secure nothing beyond a piece of native cloth, and their 
 lives were in constant peril. They wandered from place 
 to place in search of a safe retreat, suffering much from 
 hanger and thirst, and cold and nakedness. Literally, 
 tliey waiidered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens 
 and caves of the earth. 
 
 At length their trials culminated in the murder of three 
 of their number, Bowel), Harper, and Gaulton ; and a sea- 
 man named Biirnham who had attached himself to them was 
 also killed. These first martyrs of Polynesia were all com- 
 paratively young mf'ii. Harper, the eldest, was 29 years 
 of age, Bowell was 25, and (Jaulton was still younger.
 
 68 THE TON CAN VERSION. 
 
 It is painful to think of their brief and chequered course 
 and its sad termination, but doubtless all was wisely ordered. 
 " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His 
 saints." We may not be able to trace the results of their 
 labours and suflerings, but it does not follow that they 
 were fruitless, yea, may we not rather confidently conclude 
 that they were in some way instrumental in preparing the 
 way of the Lord, and that, as in the case of martyrs of 
 other lands of early and later date, the blood of the 
 martyrs of Tonga proved the seed of the Church in Poly- 
 nesia as elsewhere. 
 
 The situation of the remaining missionaries continued 
 to be wretched in the extreme. They were exposed to 
 constant insult, and their lives were in peril by night and 
 by day ; no visible impression was being made upon the 
 natives, and at length they felt constrained to come to 
 the conclusion that should an opportunity of leaving the 
 island offer it would be their duty to embrace it. The 
 war was not ended ; another fearful struggle was impend- 
 ing. A hurricane swept over the island, making terrible 
 havoc among bread-fruit trees, bananas, and cocoa-nuts. 
 An earthquake shook the island, causing the sea to over- 
 flow a large part of the low land, and destroying the little 
 produce which had escaped the devastations of war, and 
 thus a dire famine must follow. And at this juncture, 
 which was emphatically " man's extremity," God appeared 
 in a very marked manner. On the 2ist of January 1800, 
 a ship called off the island. She was an English privateer 
 with a Spanish vessel as a prize. The captain had called 
 at Tahiti, but did not intend to touch at Tonga. He had 
 an errand however to Tonga, and to Tonga he must go. 
 The storm that had wrought such desolation on the land 
 had carried the ship a long way to leeward of the island. 
 The storm was followed by a calm, during which a strong
 
 THE TONGA N VERSION. 69 
 
 current carried it back, and thus an opportunity was 
 afforded for the escape of the missionaries. When the 
 captain was made acquainted with the circumstances he 
 generously offered them a passage to Port Jackson, with 
 the best accommodation his cabin afforded. The offer was 
 thankfully accepted, the missionaries were soon on board, 
 and on the 24th of January 1 800 the ship weighed anchor 
 and stood out to sea, and so ended the first attempt to 
 plant Christianity in Tonga. 
 
 Many years passed before the mission was resumed. 
 After a long " night of toil " in the Tahitian group a 
 morning of joy had gladdened the hearts of the toilers, 
 and placed them in circumstances to extend help to other 
 lands beyond, and in the course of the year 1823 three 
 native missionaries were sent from the church at Porapora, 
 two of whom were married, and some time after two others 
 were sent from the church at Papara in Tahiti. They were 
 well received and kindly treated, and in 1827 they were 
 able to report that four members of the chief family had 
 embraced Christianity. A chief woman also had sent a 
 letter written by a native expressing a desire to be baptized. 
 And in the coui'se of the same year tidings reached Tahiti 
 that the whole population of the district in which the 
 teachers resided had placed themselves under instruc- 
 tion, and were professedly Christian. The success which 
 crowned the efforts of these poorly qualified labourers was 
 doubtless largely owing, under God, to tlie wonderful tale 
 they had to tell of the triumphs of Christianity on Tahiti 
 and otlier islands of that group, of which they themselves 
 were living witnesses. 
 
 At this stage of the mission's history it passed into the 
 hands of the Wesleyan Church. Tlitj Pev. John Tliouias, a 
 Wesleyan missionary, arrived, and the teachers cordially 
 united with the people in inviting him to settle among
 
 70 THE TON G AN VERSION. 
 
 them, niul take charge of the missiou and carry forward the 
 work which they had begun.* 
 
 For two or three years Mr. Thomas appears to have 
 hiboured alone in conjunction with the Tahitian teachers, 
 but in ^larch 1831 a strong reinforcement arrived, con- 
 sisting of the Rev. Nathaniel Turner, the Rev. James 
 Watkin, and Mr. W. Woon, a printer. And now a want 
 which had been sorely felt was met. Hitherto all the 
 natives had in their hands from which to learn to read 
 were small things in manuscript ; f now there was a printer, 
 and a printing press. Of course no time was lost in 
 getting printed school-books, select passages of Scripture, 
 a hymn-book, catechisms, &c. 
 
 The delight and astonishment of the natives when they 
 saw the press in operation were similar to what was felt 
 by the Tahitians, and the same eager desire to possess the 
 books was manifested by the Tongans, But what we have 
 chiefly to do with is the translation of the sacred Scriptures, 
 and matters directly akin to that. 
 
 With reference to these subjects, the Rev. W. G. R. 
 Stephinson, President of the Australian Wesleyan Con- 
 ference for the present year, has kindly favoured me with 
 a paper from which the information that follows is largely 
 derived. Mr. Stephinson was himself a missionary in 
 Tonga about fourteen years, so he is well acquainted with 
 everything connected with the mission. 
 
 The missionaries, he tells us, entered upon the work of 
 translation as soon as their knowledge of the language 
 allowed, and of those who had the principal share in the 
 
 * A full account of the early history of the Tongan mission may be found 
 in Mr. Ellis' History of the London ISIissioiiary Society, p. 70 onwards. 
 
 + That is, all in their own language, for doubtless the Tahitian teachers 
 brought copies of such books as were in print in their languages at the time 
 they left on their mission to Tonga. The differences in the language spoken 
 throughout Eastern Polynesia are only dialectic, not radical. Hence the 
 natives of one island or group learn the language of another very readily.
 
 THE TOXGAN VERSION. 71 
 
 work he mentions the following, viz., the Revs. Messrs, 
 Cross, Turner, Tucker, Eaboue, Wilson, West, Adams, 
 Daniel, Davis, and Amos. Mr. Thomas, he says, was most 
 indefatigable, and all gave years of earnest and painstaking 
 attention to the work, often rising at four and five o'clock 
 in the morning, and continuing their work during most of 
 the day. First portions of the Gospels were printed in 
 leaflets, and used in both adult and children's schools, 
 and afterwards the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles 
 were in like manner used and circulated among the people. 
 By daily teaching in the schools and conversing with the 
 people the missionaries became increasingly familiar with 
 the language, errors were corrected, and the editions one 
 after another improved. It was arranged that the trans- 
 lation of a book or an epistle should be passed by the 
 translator to other missionaries for corrections and sug- 
 gestions ; and this plan, Mr. Stephinson remarks, though 
 under the circumstances it was the best that could be 
 adopted, was attended with serious risk. The only way of 
 sending from island to island was by canoe, and that was 
 very hazardous. On one occasion, when several manuscripts 
 were being sent from one island to another, a violent storm 
 arose, the canoe was overturned, and the precious documents, 
 on which years of labour had been expended, were lost, and 
 the work had to be done again. 
 
 The Old Testament was translated in the same careful 
 manner, and for years the diflerent books were printed at 
 the mission press. A few of the natives had been taught 
 the art of printing, and doubtless also of binding, so the 
 work of the missionary would be very much lightened and 
 expedited. 
 
 The first complete edition of the New Testament was 
 printed at the mission press in 1849, and after undergoing 
 another revision it was sent to London, and an edition 
 consisting of 10,000 copies was printed by Ihe British and
 
 72 THE TON G AN VERSION. 
 
 Foreign Bible Society. The books reacbed Tonga in 
 1853, and, according to the Rev. Tliomas West, tbey were 
 of "incalculable value as enabling the missionaries to 
 extend very widely the use of the Scriptures in the schools, 
 and thereby to render futile and fruitless in almost every 
 place the untiring efforts of Romish emissaries." " I am 
 quite sure," Mr. West adds (he was addressing the Bible 
 Society), " from my intimate knowledge of the native 
 character, that the reception of the entire Word of God, 
 through the liberality of your Society, will be esteemed by 
 them as the highest national blessing they could receive." 
 
 The translation of the entire Bible into the Tonguese 
 language must have been completed in 1859, as we find 
 that in i860 the Bible Society had undertaken to print 
 an edition of lopoo, and that at that date the work was 
 passing through the press, under the superintendence of 
 :Mi\ West. 
 
 The following extracts from ]\Ir. West's letter, referred 
 to above, show how carefully he and his brethren strove 
 to produce a correct and idiomatic version of the sacred 
 volume. They evidently went about their work with a 
 deep sense of its importance, and spared neither pains nor 
 ] abour. " The separate books," he remarks, " were assigned 
 to different brethren, who in turns have mutually and 
 critically examined each other's work, and where that has 
 been impracticable the translations have been read and 
 revised by an examining committee. That having been 
 done, every such complete portion has been submitted to 
 the final supervision of one of the missionaries appointed 
 by the translators themselves, and upon him devolved the 
 responsibility of carrying it through the press. 
 
 " Again, the translation of the entire Bible in Tonguese, 
 now in the course of publication, is not a new and untried 
 version. With the exception of the historical books from 
 1st Kings to Esther inclusive, all the other books have
 
 THE TONGAN VERSION. 73 
 
 passed tlirougli large and repeated editions at the mission 
 press, subject at all times to the course of critical examina- 
 tion before specified. 
 
 " These editions have extended over a period of many 
 years, some portions having* been in circulation for 
 upwards of twenty years. Hence every part of the 
 translation has come under the review and criticism of 
 intelligent natives, independently of each other, and at 
 various times. The whole therefore may be safely regarded 
 as thoroughly faithful and idiomatic. I need not state 
 here what my own share in the translation department 
 has been, but I may just say, in reference to the present 
 revision, entrusted to my care, that I have closely com- 
 pared every part with the Fijian version, and with several 
 kindred Polynesian translations which have received the 
 sanction of your Society, and also, as far as I am capable, 
 with the original text." 
 
 Mr, West makes special mention of the Rev. Thomas 
 Adams as having rendered great service in revising and 
 carrying through the press sev^eral portions of the Old 
 Testament, and also of having prepared to some extent 
 the revised copy of the Xew Testament, already mentioned 
 as having been publisiied by the Bible Society. With 
 reference to the estimation in which the Bible is held in 
 Tonga, Mr. West says — " It is the book of the people, that 
 it is venerated and loved, that it is generally and care- 
 fully studied by the people, and tliat it is the grand daily 
 text-book in the numerous mission schools throughout the 
 islands." 
 
 With reference to the same subject, Mr. Stephinson 
 remarks — " Nothing could exceed the pleasure with which 
 the people received the complete Bible. With the greatest 
 eagerness the edition was bought up till all were gone, 
 and further editions had to be printed. The amount for 
 the purchase of a copy would be brought to the mission-
 
 74 L THE TONGA N VERSION. 
 
 house, and left there till the following year, as the natives 
 said, ' to secure one of the first copies, and to make sure of 
 it,' and in hundreds of cases the last shilling would be 
 given to secure the precious boon. In this way the 
 Word of Life found its way to the houses of the people 
 throughout the entire group, exerting everywhere a most 
 blessed and salutary influence." Mr. Stephinson continues : 
 " With the utmost diligence the people not only learned 
 to read, but devoured the Scriptures. For many years the 
 Bible was almost the only book they possessed, and like 
 the Bereans, they searched it daily to see whether these 
 things were so, and large portions were committed to 
 memory. In temptations peculiar to their circumstances 
 they were fortified against the attacks of the enemy, and 
 repulsed his assaults with, ' It is written ; ' and when in 
 later days they were assailed by the emissaries of Rome, 
 the knowledge of the truth gave them an advantage 
 over the advocates of tradition, and made them more than 
 conquerors. The Bible is still their delight, the guide of 
 their youth, and the comfort of their declining years, the 
 light in the chamber of sickness, and their guide in the 
 dark valley of the shadow of death, conducting them to 
 fairer worlds on high." 
 
 Mr. Stephinson closes his paper with the following 
 information : — " By a resolution of the Wesleyan District 
 Meeting in Tonga, the Rev. James Egan Moulton was sent 
 to England in 1878 to revise the New Testament, and to 
 carry it through the press. Mr. Moulton was specially 
 qualified for the work, and has rendered valuable service 
 by the manner in which he has executed the task com- 
 mitted to him." 
 
 Owing to Mr. Moulton's failing to comply with the rules 
 of the Bible Society, his version was printed by a private 
 firm. It bears date 1880, and I suppose reached the islands 
 during that or the following year. It was warmly wel-
 
 , THE TONGAN VERSION. { 75 
 
 corned by the natives, and by them pronounced superior to 
 all former versions, and such being the case it met with a 
 ready sale. 
 
 In 1883 an Education Act was passed by the Tongan 
 Government which enacted that the Word of God should 
 be the text-book in all Government schools, and that the 
 version used should be that of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. 
 
 All the Bibles and Testaments which the Society had in 
 stock were required to meet the increased demand, and 
 a small edition of the existing version was printed by the 
 Society to meet the emergency. 
 
 The revision of the Old Testament is now in progress, 
 but I suppose the work is being retarded by the sad 
 calamities that have recently come upon the mission, and 
 there seems much reason to fear that a considerable time 
 must elapse before any definite steps can be taken towards 
 the printing of a new edition. In the meanwhile it is 
 matter for great satisfaction that the people have the com- 
 plete Bible in their hands, and that very large numbers 
 of them are grounded and settled in the truths which it 
 teaches. A lengthened reference to the fiery trials through 
 which the mission is now passing would be out of place 
 here. The main facts are before the world. The whole 
 affair is deplorable in the highest degree. The persecuted 
 people and the sorely tried missionaries who remain f\xith- 
 I'ul to their trust have strong claims upon our sympathy. 
 Speedily may He who executeth righteousness and judg- 
 ment for all that are oppressed appear for His sudering 
 people in Tonga, delivering them from the power of their 
 oppressors, and restoring to them the peace and prosperity 
 of years gone by.
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 The Rev. Thomas Williams, for many years a missionary 
 in Fiji, and now residing- in Victoria, Australia, has kindly 
 furnished me with a very valuable paper on the trans- 
 lation of the Bible into the language of that group. I 
 regret that want of space compels me to omit much that is 
 valuable and interesting in Mr. Williams' paper. I have 
 no choice, however, in the matter. 
 
 Fiji and its people are now so well known that I shall 
 say nothing directly with reference either to the one or the 
 other, but will come at once to the deeply interesting story 
 of the movement which has effected such a change as has 
 few parallels in the history of our race. 
 
 Nowhere, so far as my knowledge extends, has Chris- 
 tianity more clearly demonstrated its power than in Fiji. 
 It is scarcely possible to conceive of human beings in a 
 more deeply debased, more thoroughly brutalised, and 
 demonised condition, if I may so say, than were the 
 Fijians in their heathen state; and we may assert without 
 fear of contradiction that the power which has transformed 
 the Fijians of fifty years ago to the Fijians of to-day has 
 proved itself adequate to meet the case of man in every 
 conceivable condition. 
 
 The movement which has issued in this mighty trans- 
 formation had a very small beginning. Two missionaries, 
 the Rev. William Cross and the Rev. David' Cargill, M.A.,
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. yy 
 
 who had had a few years' experience of missionary life and 
 work in the Tongan group, were commissioned by their 
 brethren, under the sanction of the Wesleyan j\Iissionary 
 Committee in London, to attempt the commencement of a 
 mission in Fiji. Mr. Williams speaks of Messrs. Cross 
 and Cargill as being well fitted for their perilous under- 
 taking, and he notes particularly that "they were no 
 strangers to translation work, having made their first 
 essays therein in the Friendly Islands." In the month of 
 October 1835 they landed on Lakemba, the most easterly 
 island of the Fiji group which lies nearest to Tonga, being 
 only about two hundred and fifty miles distant. " Here," 
 Mr. "Williams remarks, " they were brought face to face 
 with a very mild type of the population of cannibal Fiji. 
 Here also they were met by a number of Tongans with 
 whose language they were familiar. Many of these settlers 
 spoke Fijian, and materially assisted the missionaries in 
 acquiring it." As soon as their knowledge of the language 
 allowed they applied themselves to the work of translating 
 the Scriptures. "First," Mr. Williams tells us, "they 
 translated verses, and then Scripture lessons were trans- 
 lated consisting of portions of the Gospels." 
 
 The first things printed in the Fiji language were a 
 school-book of four pages, and twenty-four pages of the 
 Gospel according to ]\Iatthew. These were printed at 
 the mission press in Tonga, and were a precious boon to 
 the missionaries, and they were eagerly welcomed by a 
 few of the natives, who even at this early stage of the 
 mission seem to have been possessed by an earnest desire 
 after the Word of Life. 
 
 "The days of dependence on the Tougan press," Mr. 
 Williams tells us, " were not of long continuance." Early 
 in the year 1839 a printing press was added to the 
 Lakemba cstablislimcnt. It was brought out by two 
 missionaries, Messrs Jaggar and Culvert, both of whom
 
 78 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 were acquainted with the art of printing. " The press 
 was looked upon by the Lakembans with breathless 
 astonishment, and although it was not worked at the 
 rate of two hundred sheets per hour, the pi'oductions were 
 deemed miraculous, and many of the oulookers said 'it 
 was a god.' " 
 
 Mr. Williams continues — " The few natives who at this 
 stage of the mission truly waited for the law of the Lord 
 were soon made glad by having the Gospel of Mark placed 
 in their hands. That Gospel was the first complete portion 
 of the Vola Tamhic, Sacred Book, translated and printed in 
 the isles of Fiji. Impelled by a sense of duty, intensified 
 by compassion for men whose spiritual necessities were so 
 great, both the translators, Messrs Cross and Cargill, and 
 the printers, applied themselves diligently to their re- 
 spective departments with encouraging results. Increasing 
 light was chasing before it the darkness from the minds 
 of those who professed the new faith, and these gladly 
 communicated their newly acquired knowledge to their 
 countrymen." 
 
 Mr. Williams makes some interesting remarks on the 
 difliculties which the student of the Fiji language has to 
 encounter at the outset, which want of space compels us 
 to omit. He refers especially to the peculiarities of the 
 pronouns, which present especial difficulties to the learner, 
 and demand great care in their use. Similar peculiarities 
 are found in all the dialects of Eastern Polynesia, and also 
 in some of the languages spoken in the New Hebrides. 
 In Fiji, however, there may be greater complications. 
 There is a dual form in all the eastern dialects, and there 
 is also an inclusive and exclusive form; and in some of 
 the islands of the New Hebrides there is a triplicate form. 
 Hence very great care is required in the use of pronouns 
 to avoid very serious mistakes. " A misused inclusive 
 pronoun," Mr. Williams remarks, " would make the
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 79 
 
 missionary and his associates more vile than cannibals ; 
 or it might place the God of all good in the category of 
 the vilest sinners." 
 
 With reference to the progress and extension of the 
 mission, Mr. Williams proceeds as follows : — " An acces- 
 sion to the staff of missionaries was naturally followed by 
 the occupancy of new stations, and a first step on the 
 part of those occupying them was to operate on the dark- 
 ness and ignorance of the people around them by the 
 establishment of schools. Only less primitive than the 
 'Irish hedge* schools were these first schools in Fiji, 
 yet by the help of these, conducted without noise or show, 
 a work of overthrow and recovery was commenced which 
 has proved itself to be as effective as it was unpretentious." 
 
 These schools led to the discovery of a very unwelcome 
 fact, viz., that wide dialectic differences existed in the lan- 
 guage as spoken in different parts of the group. No less 
 than fifteen were found to be in use, so it was obvious that 
 some comprehensive plan must be adopted — some one 
 dialect must be selected to which the others would in 
 course of time become sufficiently assimilated to form the 
 common and standard language of the Fijian nation. In 
 the meanwhile twelve pages of the book of Genesis were 
 printed in three other dialects besides that of Lakemba. 
 
 After due deliberation the Mbau dialect was selected as 
 having the strongest claim to be the recognised language of 
 the group. The dialectic differences do not appear to have 
 been so great as to cause any very serious inconvenience. 
 
 With reference to translation work and la'iulred subjects, 
 'Mr. Williams writes as follows: — "In the year 1843 the 
 missionaries in District ]\Ieeting assemljled resolved to 
 attempt the translation of the entire New Testament, 
 to be printed at the mission press. As a preliminary 
 certain books were allotted to the missionary or mission-
 
 So THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 aries at each station, with instructions that they were to 
 be transhited into the dialect spoken at the station where 
 the missionary or missionaries resided. Some time after 
 this the Okl Testament was similarly apportioned. This 
 plan did not succeed to the extent that had been hoped 
 for, although it had its advantages, and was decidedly 
 helpful in attaining the desired end. Out of it too grew 
 a feature of these times — a number of ' Quarterlies ' were 
 called into existence, and because of the rarity of inter- 
 communication, these manuscript serials found great favour. 
 No leading journal of Europe or the colonies was welcomed 
 more warmly than the ' Lakemba Nolo ' or the ' Viwa 
 Letter,' the ' Somosomo Quarterly,' &c. In the pages 
 of these papers the missionaries wrote criticisms on each 
 other's translations, made suggestions, endeavoured care- 
 fully to balance the claims of various renderings, &c., &c. 
 
 " However, this polyglot method of preparing and 
 publishing the sacred Book was cumbrous, and after it 
 had received a fair trial its continuance was voted to be 
 unadvisable." Again the subject was fully discussed at a 
 general meeting of the missionaries, and a resolution was 
 passed that henceforth the Scriptures should be printed in 
 the Mbau dialect only. " From the time this decision was 
 arrived at," Mr. Williams continues, " the work of transla- 
 tion was virtually given into the hands of the brethren 
 stationed at Viwa, a small island nigh to Mbau, on which 
 the dialect of that island was spoken. The Rev. John 
 Hunt, the chairman of the district, had so grown into 
 the confidence of his co-workers that he naturally occupied 
 the position of translator-in-chief. The Rev. R. B. Lyth 
 was associated with Mr. Hunt, and the work done by 
 Messrs. Hunt and Watsford was submitted to him for 
 examination before it went to press." 
 
 " Mr. Hunt," Mr. Williams tells us, " commenced at 
 once the special and congenial work assigned to him with
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 8i 
 
 a resolved heart." Of Mr. Hunt's qualifications for trans- 
 lation work, Mr. Williams speaks as follows : — " Of Mr. 
 Hunt, one who knew him well says, ' He was a thoroughly 
 good translator. He had a fair knowledge of the Greek 
 and Hebrew ; he was a most careful and diligent student 
 of God's "Word, and he was a good Fijian scholar.'" 
 
 The Eev. John Watsford, Mr. Williams writes, has 
 supplied the following details: — "In 1844-5 Mr. Hunt 
 translated Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and I translated 
 John. Mr. Hunt sent all his translations to me, and I 
 went carefully through them with a native, made notes, 
 and returned them. I also sent my translations to him, 
 and he revised them. 
 
 " In addition to tlie Gospels already named, ]Mr. Hunt 
 translated the remaining portions of the New Testament, 
 and the whole of the translations underwent a careful 
 scrutiny from Mr. Lyth, a work for which lie possessed 
 special qualifications. The translation prepared with so 
 much solicitude was given into the hands of brethren as 
 competent as they were anxious to produce the sacred 
 volume in a style thoroughly creditable. Stray portions 
 liad found their way into the hands of a few of the 
 Christian natives, and they with their friends were on the 
 tiptoe of expectation. At length the glad day was greeted, 
 the long-looked-for boon was secured, and the missionaries 
 with tlieir numerous converts rejoiced with exceeding great 
 joy." The New Testament was complete in the language 
 
 of I'iji. 
 
 Mr. AVilliains was himself in the field when the luippy 
 event occurred. One of tlie first two, if not the first copy, 
 was sent to him, and he mentions the delight he experienced 
 ill comparing the new version witli the renderings in 
 portions already in print, and remarks that its publication 
 " sent a tlirill of gladness through the lieart of Christianised 
 Fiji." As an illustration of this Mr. ^ViIliams mentions the 
 
 F
 
 82 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 Ibllowiiiij: iucideut. One of the missionaries wrote to him 
 
 CD 
 
 as follo^Ys: — "I had walked home one day from your 
 house, a young teacher, named Samson, accompanying me. 
 He was thoroughly tired when we reached home, and crawled 
 away to his bed. Wlien I went into my house I found a 
 parcel of New Testaments for me. I thought, one of these 
 will please Samson. I took it out and said, ' Here, Samson, 
 is the Voice tahu come for you.' He sprang to his feet 
 and danced for joy. I don't think I ever saw a man 
 happier than he seemed. ' The lame man was made to 
 leap as the hart.' " 
 
 It is painful to read what ]\Ir. "Watsford tells us with 
 reference to a native pundit named Noah who had ren- 
 dered him and his colleagues most valuable help. " Noah's 
 work at the translations was very great — Mr. Hunt's and 
 mine. He assisted us both. He worked hard. His mind, 
 as you know, gave way. The strain was too great. He 
 became a wreck for life. Truly the sight of that man, who 
 had rendered such signal service to the mission, wandering 
 over the isle demented was a singularly sad one." 
 
 I know of a case precisely similar to that of Noah. It 
 occurred in the New Hebrides. Such cases should be a 
 warning to missionaries to guard against overtaxing the 
 powers of their native pundits. Especially is this needful 
 in the islands of the Pacific, where the previous habits of 
 the natives have not been such as to fit them for bearing 
 continuous mental strain to anything like the extent that 
 men brought up in civilised lands can undergo without 
 inconvenience or risk. Poor Noah ! Doubtless he was not 
 forgotten by Him whom he served so faithfully while the 
 power for work remained, and the award of the faithful 
 servant as surely greeted him when his course was ended 
 as it did or will do those whose labours he shared. 
 
 The first edition of the New Testament consisted of one 
 thousand copies, and towards the expense of printing that
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 83 
 
 and portions previously printed the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society contributed ;^300. 
 
 The printing of the complete edition of the New Testa- 
 ment was followed by the printing of three thousand copies 
 of the Gospel of Matthew, and the same number of the 
 Epistle to the Romans, and the Epistle to the Philippians, 
 these being regarded as specially fitted to be " antidotes 
 to Popery." 
 
 As soon as the first edition of the New Testament was out 
 of hand, steps were taken towards preparing for a second ; 
 and " it was resolved that additional pains should be taken 
 in preparing for it." The work of revision was interrupted 
 for some time by the absence of Mr. Watsford from the 
 mission on account of domestic affliction ; but on his return 
 in 1852 he was appointed to revise the whole, and see it 
 through the press. In carrying out this work in 1852—3, 
 he had the assistance of the best native help obtainable. 
 His most efficient helpers were three Mbau chiefs, all men 
 of superior intelligence. 
 
 About this time, ]\Ir. Calvert, who was still in charge 
 of the press, obtained most valuable help in the printing 
 department in a very remarkable way. A young man, a 
 Frenchman named Edward Martin, who had been for some 
 time in the United States of America, was wrecked on one 
 of the islands of the Fiji group in a hurricane, and this 
 young' man, by some means which God was pleased to 
 employ, had his eyes opened to see his need of a Saviour, 
 and was brought to a saving acquaintance with the gospel ; 
 and this " trophy of redeeming love," ]\[r. A\"i!liams remarks, 
 " became a deV'Out and devoted labourer in missionary work, 
 lie learned the art of printing and bookbinding that Ik^ 
 might assist in the work of the printing office, taught 
 these arts to several of the natives, and as an evangelist ho 
 added greatly to the value of his services." 
 
 With reference to the second edition of the New Testa-
 
 84 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 meut, Mr. "Williams supplies the following interesting in- 
 formation : — " All concerned in bringing out this second 
 edition were most laborious in their efforts to make it 
 superior to the first, nor did they fail." As evidence of 
 this, Mr. Williams states that the Viwa edition, as it is 
 called, " is regarded both by missionaries and natives at 
 the present time as the best they have." 
 
 Of this edition 3000 copies were printed at the mission 
 press, and some time afterwards 5000 were printed in 
 London by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and 
 reached the islands at a specially opportune time. " The 
 munificent gift of the Bible Society," Mr. Williams remarks, 
 " reached the islands at a time when the requirements of the 
 mission were such as greatly to enhance the value of the 
 gift, and it is gratefully spoken of to the present day." 
 
 The following summary, furnished by Mr. Williams, 
 shows at a glance what had been accomplished in the way 
 of Scripture translation and publication prior to the date 
 we have now reached (1854) : — 
 
 1. Selected portions for school lessons or other purposes, 
 printed in Tonga in 1836. 
 
 2. Similar portions with the Gospel by Mark, printed in 
 Lakemba in 1 840. 
 
 3. The Gospel of Matthew and the Acts of the Apostles, 
 printed in 1843. 
 
 4. The first edition of the New Testament complete, 
 printed in Viwa, consisting of 3000 copies, in 1847. 
 
 5. And the second edition of the New Testament care- 
 fully revised, 5000 copies, printed in London in 1854. 
 
 Shortly after the translation of the New Testament was 
 completed, steps were taken towards the accomplishment of 
 the still greater and more difiicult work of rendering the 
 Old Testament into the language of Fiji. At a District 
 Meeting held in 1847 or 1848, Mr. Hunt, who had done
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 85 
 
 such valuable service in connection with the translation of 
 the New Testament, was appointed by his brethren to under- 
 take the translation of the Old. He agreed to do his best 
 to carry out the wishes of his brethren, and without delay 
 set himself with characteristic heartiness to the great work 
 to which he was called. The book of Genesis had been 
 translated by another hand whose name is not mentioned, 
 and after careful examination by Mr. Hunt it was adopted 
 by him, but in some unaccountable way the MS. was lost, 
 and of course the book had to be translated again. But 
 Mr. Hunt went on with Exodus, and from that passed to 
 the Psalms, and he had just reached the close of the 46th 
 Psalm when he was seized with an illness which in a short 
 time brought to a close his beautiful and eminently useful 
 life. Of him we may say with perfect truth and singular 
 appropriateness, " he was a burning and a shining light." 
 His removal was an incalculable loss to the mission, but 
 God had prepared another man who, Mr. Williams tells us, 
 was singularly fitted to take up the work which he had laid 
 down. This was the Ptev. David Hazlewood, " a born philo- 
 logist," as Mr. Williams describes him; and his attainments, 
 evinced by the services he had rendered to the cause of 
 Fijian literature, seem to justify this description of him. 
 He had prepared a Fiji Grammar, and a Fijian and English, 
 and an English and Fijian Dictionary — all said to be of 
 marked excellence; and in addition to these works he had 
 made other valuable contributions to Fijian literature. It 
 seems natural therefore that his brethren should have turned 
 to him as the fittest man among them to succeed Mr. Hunt. 
 From the time of his joining the mission he had applied 
 himself diligently to the study of the Hebrew language, 
 and now the opportunity was afforded of turning his 
 knowledge to account. He was a remarkably modest and 
 unassuming man. He did not shrink, however, from tlie 
 work to which he Ijclievcd liimself called, and he applied
 
 86 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 himself to it as one who realised its supreme importance, 
 determining virtually to do " one thing." 
 
 Several books of the Old Testament had been translated 
 by Mr. Williams and Mr, Ilazlewood under the earlier 
 translation arrangements, and thus Mr. Hazlewood's work 
 was somewhat lightened now. How long Mr. Hazlewood 
 was engaged in his great work I am unable to ascertain, 
 as the date on which he entered upon it is not given, 
 but under date May ii, 1853, he wrote — "Sixteen pages 
 remain to finish the translation of the Old Testament into 
 Fijian," Ten days later he wrote — " There remain forty-six 
 verses of the Old Testament to be translated. These I 
 expect will be done before you receive this letter, so that 
 if you think it worthy of note, you may note that on the 
 23rd of May 1853 the translation of the entire Scrip- 
 tures of the Old and New Testament into the Fijian lan- 
 guage was completed. I have nevertheless a few words 
 noted which require attention, and I should be very sorry 
 to have less than a year or two for revision, but I feel as 
 though I were losing a burden. This is the day I have 
 long desired to see, and thank God, I see it. To Him 
 alone be the glory." Mr. Hazlewood's wish to be spared 
 to revise his translation was repeated in another letter, 
 and the reason he assigned for this wish was that he had 
 accumulated considerable material towards revision which 
 no one could use so well as himself. In connection with 
 the completion of the translation of the Old Testament, 
 Mr. Williams mentions what he designates as "another 
 generous act of the British and Foreign Bible Society, a 
 grant of one hundred reams of paper to facilitate the 
 printing of the Old Testament." 
 
 In the course of 1853 declining health compelled Mr. 
 Hazlewood to leave the mission field. He retired to New 
 South Wales, and after remaining a short time at Parra- 
 matta, he settled at West Maitland, and there he was
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 87 
 
 permitted to carry out Lis clierislied wish. He revised the 
 entire Bible, and had proceeded with a second revision as 
 far as the fifth chapter of Zechariah, when he was called 
 to lay down his pen and rest from his labours. Happy 
 man ! " Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when He 
 Cometh, shall find so doing." " Like the heroic martyr 
 Tyndale," Mr. Williams remarks, " he worked at the task 
 to which he had devoted his life face to face with death, 
 his companions being his Hebrew Bible, Hebrew Grammar, 
 and Dictionary, and laid down his pen to die. Shortly 
 after his death an agent of the Bible Society stated at an 
 annual meeting held in Victoria, that a few days previously 
 he had seen the last page of MS. revised by Mr. Hazlewood, 
 and on it was the impress of his hand made by the en- 
 feebling perspiration from it — the augmenter of his weak- 
 ness and the harbinger of his dissolution." Mr. Hazlewood 
 passed to his rest and reward on the 30th of October 1855, 
 in his thirty-sixth year. He was about the same age as 
 John Hunt. Their lives were short as numbered by years, 
 but they were crowned with faithful earnest work, which 
 will live and yield precious fruit to the latest genei'atious. 
 Referring to Messrs. Hazlewood and Hunt, Mr. Williams 
 remarks : — " These two names to the end of time must 
 take foremost rank in relation to Bible translation in Mji. 
 To their united sanctified labours is mainly due a version 
 of the Scriptures that the Fijian can love and revere." 
 
 The Bible Society's edition of the New Testament, re- 
 ceived in the islands in 1854, gave great satisfaction both 
 to the natives and the missionai'ies, and the latter were 
 unanimous in their wish that the Old Testament should 
 have the same advantage as it had had in being revised 
 by the superintendent of the trunshiting and editorial 
 department of the Society ; hence arrangements were made 
 for securing this object. And iu the meanwhile, to meet 
 the pressing demand, 5000 copies each of Genesis, Exodus,
 
 SS THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 and the Psalms were priiitod at the mission press ; and an 
 application was made to the Bible Society, which met witli 
 a ready response, to undertake the printing of an edition 
 of the complete Bible. 
 
 The liev. James Calvert was proceeding to England 
 after an absence of eighteen years, and under his supei- 
 iuteudence an edition of 5 000 l^ibles and 10,000 New 
 Testaments was printed. But in the meanwhile, to meet 
 the earnest cravings of the Fijian converts for divine truth, 
 the Committee of the Bible Society ordered an edition of 
 5000 copies of the New Testament to be printed and 
 forwarded at once to the islands. 
 
 In June 1856 Mr. Calvert arrived in England with Mr. 
 Hazlewood's translation of the Old Testament. Towards 
 the expense incurred in the prej)aration of the work the 
 Committee of the Bible Society voted the sum of ;^ 500, 
 and p^400 for the support of Mr. Calvert for two years 
 while engaged in assisting to revise and correct the 
 manuscript under the superintendence of the late Rev. T. 
 W. Meller of Woodbrid"-e. 
 
 In the Report of the Bible Society for 1857 ^.he com- 
 mencement of the work is thus noted : — " The arrival in 
 this country of the Rev. James Calvert has enabled the 
 Committee to take the necessary steps for giving effect to 
 a resolution some time since adopted which authorised the 
 printing of a revised edition of the Fijian Scriptures. The 
 entire Bible is translated and has received the best enero-ies 
 and laborious toil of the devoted missionaries of the Wes- 
 leyan Church. The work is being carefully passed through 
 the press under the joint supervision of the Rev. Mr. 
 Calvert and the editorial superintendent. 
 
 From a later Report of the Society — that for 1863 — we 
 learn that the work of printing had been interrupted 
 for a time. " The Committee," the Report states, " have 
 resumed the printing of the Fiji Bible from the point at
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 89 
 
 which the work was relinquished Ly the Rev. James 
 Calvert, who was under the necessity of returning to the 
 islands before the completion of his editorial labours. The 
 unfinished portion of the text from Job to Malachi has 
 been placed by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in the 
 hands of the Rev. R. B. Lyth, who is versed in the 
 language, and has after careful examination prepared 
 the entire MS., and will, with the aid of the Rev. T. 
 W. Meller, editorially superintend the printing." 
 
 In the meanwhile the desire of the Fiji Christians to 
 possess the Scriptures seems to have been insatiable. Mr. 
 Calvert wrote about this time (1863) as follows: — "The 
 4000 copies of the New Testament are nearly all bought up, 
 and the demand is constant. The supply will be exhausted 
 long before we can have more sent out. Will you please 
 complete the 10,000 copies, and send them out as soon as 
 possible." 
 
 At length the great work was completed. In the 
 Report of the Society for 1865 the fact is thus stated: — 
 " The Committee can at length announce the completion 
 of the entire Bible in the language of Fiji, a work upon 
 the preparation of which a vast amount of care and 
 anxious study have been expended." 
 
 The firstinstalment of the precious treasure was forwarded 
 to the islands without delay, and the testimonies of the 
 missionaries as to the reception given to it by the natives 
 are in the highest degree interesting, as showing what a 
 marvellous work of grace had been wrought among the 
 Fijians. The Rev. Joseph Nettleton, tutor of one of the 
 theological institutions, gives the following touching in- 
 cident : — " Paul Vea, who has been a most successful 
 pioneer preacher and pastor for thirty years, has been with 
 us four weeks afllictcd with palsy. ]Io was near death. I 
 gave a copy of the whole Bible into liis hand to look at it 
 before he died, and kissing it, he said, ' Lord, now lettest
 
 90 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 Tliou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy 
 word.'" 
 
 The llev. F. Tait wrote—" On the 5th of December 1864 
 I saw the first copy of the entire Scriptures in Fijian. I 
 intend to keep that copy as mine for ever. Great was our 
 joy and that of the natives. On the following day I went 
 to Bau to preach, and never shall I forget the joy and 
 excitement of the teachers when they knew that I had 
 arrived, and that I had with me a copy of the Holy 
 Scriptures. They left their work in the town and ran up 
 the hill to the mission house to see it. Oh ! how their 
 eyes sparkled with unmistakable pleasure. Old Joel 
 Lulu, the most laborious and eminent of all our native 
 missionaries, and now nearly worn out in the service, 
 snatched it from my hand, and placing it upon his head 
 in token of the highest respect, his eyes beaming with 
 pleasure and excitement, said, ' How blessed are our eyes 
 that see this glorious sight ! ' " 
 
 Another missionary, the Eev. Mr. Langham, wrote — 
 " How the natives rejoiced at the sight of the complete 
 Bible ! On receiving them, being greatly excited myself, 
 I walked through Bau with a copy. I took it to the 
 school, and the king's house, followed by a troop of 
 youngsters, who shouted as we went along, ' Here is the 
 Bible complete ! Look at it ! look at it ! ' On showing 
 it to the king he asked if we had plenty. I told him we 
 had sufficient for all the preachers in Fiji. ' But,' said 
 he, ' what about us chiefs who can read, and wish to have 
 the whole book, can we not get a copy ? ' When I told 
 him he should have one, he was satisfied." 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Calvert again visited England, and on his 
 departure from Fiji, the following resolution was adopted 
 by the District Meeting: — "That all documents with 
 respect to the late revision of the Scriptures be placed 
 in the hands of the llev. James Calvert, and that he be
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 91 
 
 requested to get the New Testament reprinted as soon as 
 possible." Mr. Calvert reached England in due course, 
 and applied, as instructed, to the Bible Society, and the 
 Committee at once agreed to the request of the District 
 Meeting, which was that 3500 copies of the New Testa- 
 ment in octavo, longprimer, should be printed, and 3000 
 in a different type and style of binding. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Scriptures were not only being 
 bought and read in Fiji, but they were proving the power 
 of God unto salvation to many — bringing poor benighted 
 souls out of darkness into light, from death to life. The 
 following testimony from the Eev. J. Horsely, one of the 
 missionaries, is intensely interesting: — "In 1865 it fell 
 to my lot to examine twenty-eight young men who were 
 recommended by our native ministers as candidates for 
 the office of local preachers. While listening to the 
 accounts of their conversion, I was struck with the oft- 
 repeated mention of the New Testament as having been 
 the only means used by the Holy Spirit to convince them 
 of their danger and lead them to ' the Lamb of God who 
 taketh away the sin of the world.' Since that time I have 
 carefully noted such cases whilst engaged in my missionary 
 labours. From conversations, examinations, and written 
 documents I have ascertained that more than two-thirds 
 of our two hundred catechists, lay-preachers, and school- 
 masters have been aroused to a sense of their danger 
 whilst living in sin and have afterwards obtained peace 
 solely through the reading of their Testaments, without 
 having received any counsel, admonition, or spiritual 
 instruction from any one. And when it is remembered," 
 Mr. IJorsely adds, " that we have 4260 in society with us 
 in this circuit alone, and 432 upon trial, what a blessed 
 fact is here brought out to the glory of God !" 
 
 Mr. Horsely gives a number of illustrative cases which 
 want of space compels us to omit. " ^lauy of tliese men,"
 
 92 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 lie remarks, " were wild degraded cannibals, but they have 
 been transformed by the power of God attending the quiet 
 perusal of His Word ; and where in the wide world can 
 there be found a more astonishing transformation ? Here 
 is not only a miracle, but a miracle of power to prove 
 the divinity of the Scriptures ; these once bloodthirsty 
 cannibals are made meet to be partakers of the inherit- 
 ance of the saints in light." 
 
 The printing of the edition of the New Testament 
 referred to above appears to have been completed and an 
 instalment forwarded to the islands in 1869. Further 
 supplies followed, and the demand continued year after 
 year, and the influence exerted upon the natives was 
 deepened and extended as time went on. 
 
 In the Lible Society's Report for 1872, a very valuable 
 and interesting letter is given from the Rev. Lorimer 
 Fison, from which we can only find space for a single 
 extract. It relates to the closing scene in the life of a 
 singularly exemplary Christian, and is as follows : — 
 
 " I should like to tell you more about this simple-hearted 
 Christian man, for I loved him, and it does me good to 
 think about him, and talk about him ; but if I should 
 begin to tell you his history, I should have to tell it all, 
 and it is both long and wonderful : therefore I give this 
 only as to the end of it. When he lay dying, the teacher 
 in charge of his island asked him whether he were going to 
 heaven? 'William,' said he, 'where else should I go? 
 Have I not been going thitherwards throughout all these 
 years ? And do you think that now I am standing before 
 the gates of the City, I am going to turn aside to the 
 right hand or to the left ? No, William, I shall enter in 
 through the gates into the midst of the City.' And when 
 he had spoken these and other good words, not forgetting 
 a farewell word to the missionary whom he loved, and who 
 loved him so well, he went thx'ough the gate into the midst
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 93 
 
 of the City." Blessed scene, and blessed gospel which 
 can accomplish such wonders ! 
 
 In successive numbers of the Annual Report of the Bible 
 Society, we find notes of large sums of money, ;^ 200 at one 
 time, £Z^O at another, and so on, remitted on behalf of the 
 Fiji mission. It would be tedious to notice these remit- 
 tances particularly. We may remark once for all, that the 
 reader may safely conclude that as in the case of Tonga, 
 Samoa, and other groups, the entire amount expended by 
 the Society in printing and publishing the Fijian Scriptures 
 will be refunded by the grateful Fijians. 
 
 Year after year the demand continued unabated. In the 
 Report of the Bible Society for i8Sr,the Rev. A. J. Webb, 
 in a letter to the Committee, wrote as follows : — " Your last 
 consignment of New Testaments has all disappeared, being- 
 bought up as soon as the cases were opened. The demand 
 in fact for Testaments seems never to cease. Scarcely a 
 day passes here at Levuka without one or more applicants 
 for the Word of God. From the provinces the demand 
 is large; incessant are the applications for Testaments. 
 Planters apply for them on behalf of Fijians who work for 
 them, and stipulate that part of their pay shall be in that 
 form. A planter who openly vaunts his disbelief in God, 
 the Bible, and a future life, wrote for a Bible for one of 
 his Fijian labourers, and afterwards offered to receive a 
 number of copies, and supply the natives witli them. I 
 have known scores of children go to work for the settlers 
 in sfjuads in anticipation of the arrival in their district of 
 a case of Testaments. When it was landed, the young 
 folk came in files with their money in their hands, and the 
 case was soon emptied." 
 
 ^Ir. Webb goes on to remark that the Fijians not only 
 possess themselves of the Word of God, but read and prize 
 it. The matron of the hospital, ho says, lias on more 
 than one occasion remarked to me "how much the Fijian
 
 94 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 patients read the "Word ; tliey are a people of one book." 
 He mentions also a visit made to the gaol. No white 
 prisoner wished to see him, so ho went to the Fijians. 
 They had no intimation of his visit, so it was the more 
 gratifying to find several of them sitting with the Bible 
 open near them. He was warmly welcomed, and conducted 
 a service with them, into which they entered with great 
 apparent heartiness. A half-caste warder said to him 
 that he was in the habit of talking with the Fijian 
 prisoners, and found much religious feeling amongst 
 them. 
 
 In the Eeport of the Bible Society for 1883, we find the 
 following intimation : — " At the request of the missionaries, 
 conveyed through the Wesleyan Missionary Society by Mr. 
 Calvert, your Committee have agreed to reprint the Bible 
 of I S64.-66, it being thought that a revision of the text 
 is at present premature." This was carried into effect 
 without delay, and in the Report for 1885 the missionaries 
 acknowledge the receipt of a large consignment, adding, 
 that this much-needed supply will shortly be disposed of, 
 and begging for an edition of 5000 copies to be at once 
 printed. This request was also promptly complied with. 
 
 Mr. Williams supplies a few facts illustrative of the 
 knowledge and appreciation of the Word of God by the 
 Fijians : — " One native agent" (teacher or pastor, I suppose) 
 " writing respecting another, recently dead, describes him 
 thus: 'Even as the man spoken of in the first Psalm, 
 whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law 
 doth he meditate day and night. Such a one was Daniel 
 Tofale. He was constant in prayer, and in thinking of 
 the Holy Book, whence his sermons were full of faith and 
 fire.' " 
 
 " A student in the Training Institution, James Havea 
 by name, was asked by his companions to prepare a paper 
 on the evils of strong drink. He did so, justifying his
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 95 
 
 statements by the following strikingly apt quotations 
 — Epli. V. i8; Isa. v. Ii; xxxiii. 7, S ; Gal. v. 21 ; 
 I Cor. vi. 10; Luke xxi. 34; Prov. xxxi. 4, 5 — evincing 
 liis acquaintance witli liis Bible and the correctness of 
 his judgment by the appropriateness of his selections ; 
 and he had no Fijian Cruden to assist him." 
 
 Another case which Mr. Williams gives is that of a 
 young man whom he visited on his death-bed. He found 
 him reading his New Testament. " What part are you 
 reading?" he inquired. "The 32nd verse of the 8th 
 chapter of Eomans," he replied. Mr. Williams asked, 
 " What he supposed the ' all things ' mentioned in the verse 
 comprised." He replied, " The lesser gifts now needed by 
 myself — patience in my affliction, and grace to support me 
 to the end of it." He went on to say, " I have peace with 
 God, my mind dwells on Him for whose sake I have this 
 peace. His Word is more to me than my food. I like to 
 meditate upon it ; it is very sweet." Four days after this 
 conversation the young man died. Mr. Williams was with 
 him at the time of his death, and made a remark to the 
 effect that he was near his end. To this he replied, " Near 
 my rest, sir;" "and into his rest he calmly entered with 
 the praises of God upon his lips." 
 
 The dying testimony of an old man to Mr. Williams as 
 he lay on the brink of eternity was — " I am old and weak ; 
 my time to die is come, but I am not afraid of death ; 
 through Jesus I feel courageous to die. His word is my 
 food. I think upon it and lean entirely on Him." 
 
 Another aged man on the eve of his departure said — 
 " To-day I shall look with mine eyes on the tilings which 
 I believed though I saw them not; now I am going to 
 possess them." 
 
 Mr. Williams furnishes some very interesting particulars 
 relative to the later years of Thakambau, the late king of 
 Fiji, a man whose name will bo prominent in Fijian history
 
 96 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 in all time to come. He was beset with trials towards the 
 close of his life, and happily his afflictions appear to have 
 been instrumental in leading him to turn to God, and seek 
 in Him a friend who never faileth those who put their 
 trust in Him. He chose as his companion a poor blind 
 lad named Shem. When he was free from business en- 
 gagements he would say, " Now, Shem, I am disengaged ; 
 let us retire, that we may hear what the Lord will speak." 
 The king was the reader, and poor blind Shem the ex- 
 positor ; and when they came upon truths which he was 
 unable to explain, the king would say, " Well, Shem, 
 though we don't understand this we can believe it, for it is 
 God who speaks, and His word is truth." With reference 
 to this scene, Mr. Williams remarks — " With a knowledge 
 of Thakambau from 1841 to the time of his death, I know 
 of no scene so deserving of the artist's pencil as the warrior 
 king and his blind mentor in that humble oratory on the 
 isle of Mbau." 
 
 In concluding his paper, Mr. Williams speaks strongly 
 as to the importance of vigorously following up the labours 
 of past years by keeping an adequate staff of European 
 missionaries in the field, and taking care that the demand 
 for the sacred Scriptures is fully met. " In certain direc- 
 tions," he remarks, "the dangers to which native Chris- 
 tians are exposed are seriously increased by Fiji becoming 
 a Crown colony. At no previous period of the mission's 
 history has the duty of supplying the Bible and efficient 
 Bible instructors been more urgent than at the present. 
 The native agents are as bravely resolute to prosecute the 
 work as ever they were before, but enemies of whom they 
 had no thought and of whose subtilities they were ignorant 
 are appearing in the field, and they have not the ability to 
 oppose them effectively. Supply therefore the help the 
 native churches need by the supervision of European mis- 
 sionaries, and the printed word, foe it is their life."
 
 THE FIJI VERSION. 97 
 
 In September 1885, a deputation representing the Wes- 
 leyan Church in New South Wales, Victoria, and New 
 Zealand, went to Fiji to take part in the celebration of the 
 jubilee of the mission. The deputation consisted of the Rev. 
 Thomas Williams of Victoria, the senior member of the 
 party ; the Rev, Dr. Kelynack of Sydney, New South Wales ; 
 and the Rev. Alexander Reid of the Three Kings' Institu- 
 tion, New Zealand. On his return to Sydney, Dr. Kelynack 
 reported that the triumphs of the Gospel as seen in the 
 islands " was simply marvellous, and that it would delight 
 every lover of the Bible to see how the precious book is 
 prized ; " and Mr. Williams supplies the following testi- 
 mony : — "At the jubilee and other services held during 
 my three months' sojourn, renewing my acquaintance 
 with old friends and old scenes, many opportunities were 
 afforded of hearing native ministers, students, and other 
 agents preach and address public meetings ; and in simple 
 justice to those whom I heard I must record the pleasure 
 derived as I noted their extensive knowledge of Scripture, 
 and the appropriateness of passages quoted readily and ac- 
 curately, the chapter and verse of each being given with as 
 much ease as the name of the book in which they occurred." 
 
 From the Report of the mission for 1887, we copy the 
 following figures. At the date of that Report there were 
 in the field 10 European missionaries, 55 native ministers, 
 9S7 teachers in charge of districts, 2526 school teachers, 
 1910 local preachers ; in full membership, 27,097 ; on trial, 
 4264; Sabbath schools, 1425, and teachers, 2679, with 42,041 
 scholars; day schools, 1765, with 40,718 scholars; and 
 attendants on public worship numbered 101,150. And in 
 the balance-sheet of the Report, read on the 24th of January 
 1887, we find the Fiji auxiliary credited with the large 
 sum of ;{^3324, 3s, lod. 
 
 And now in closing our account of Uiblc translation and
 
 98 THE FIJI VERSION. 
 
 circulation in Fiji, we are at a loss for words to express tlie 
 feelinirs which arise in tlie mind in view of the marvellous 
 work that has been accomplished in that group. Comparing 
 the Fiji of to-day with the Fiji of fifty years ago — what a 
 contrast do we behold ! The lion changed into the lamb, 
 the vulture to the dove — we might almost say incarnate 
 demons changed into sons and daughters of the Lord 
 Almighty. And by what mighty instrumentality has this 
 most marvellous change been wrought ? Two plain men — 
 just average missionaries — led the way, and commenced an 
 assault against this veriest stronghold of Satan, and with 
 no other weapons than those which the Gospel supplies. 
 AVhat a wild project it seemed to the eye of sense ! — how 
 tremendous the odds against them ; yet they conquered, for 
 the Lord of Hosts was with them. The struggle indeed 
 was long and fierce, and terrible were the trials through 
 which the honoured men and women who from time to 
 time joined the mission were called to endure, but by God's 
 grace they were enabled to stand fast and quit themselves 
 as heroes and heroines in the holy cause. They were 
 indeed men and women of the loftiest type of Christian 
 consecration, and to them the Church of God owes a large 
 debt of gratitude ; still they were only instruments, and 
 sure we are that they would be foremost in ascribing all 
 the praise to the Great Conqueror. He made them what 
 they were, He sustained them during the conflict, and He 
 gave them the victory. It is meet and right therefore that 
 He should bear the glory. 
 
 May His presence and blessing be vouchsafed in con- 
 tinually increasing measure to those who remain in the 
 field. There is still a struggle to maintain, a warfare to 
 wage, but with His effectual heljo, guaranteed by His great 
 promise, " Lo, I am with you alway," there is nothing to 
 fear. So we take our leave of Fiji, gratefully and hopefully. 
 God bless Fiji !
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 CHAPTER yil. 
 
 ROTUMA. 
 
 RoTUMA is a small isolated spot occupying a central position 
 in the South Pacific Ocean, It lies in south latitude 
 about 12°, and is about 300 miles to the north of Fiji. It 
 is a beautiful little island about twenty miles in circum- 
 ference, and having a population estimated at 3000. It 
 is of volcanic origin, and it is rich in all the productions 
 common to such islands in the Pacific. 
 
 The natives are a fine race, not surpassed, I think, in 
 any part of Polynesia. They trace their origin to Samoa. 
 Their tradition is that on a certain day, a god, whom they 
 call Raho, with his wife Koa, came from Samoa to the spot 
 on which the island stands walking on the water. Raho 
 had a basket of earth which he commenced scattering 
 about, and all at once the island sprang up, and on it they 
 took up their permanent abode.* It seems altogether 
 probable that their ancestors did come from Samoa. A 
 party of Samoans losing their way at sea, near their own 
 group, would be very likely to make the island, as the 
 south-east trade winds, which blow steadily during many 
 months of the year, would carry them directly in its track. 
 It is only about 600 miles distant from Samoa, and from 
 2° to 3" furtlier to the north. There is one thing, however, 
 that seems to cast a shade of doubt on the question of 
 their origin — their language is not pure Eastern Polynesian. 
 
 • See Dr. Turner's "Nineteen Years in Polynisia," p. 35>.
 
 loo ROTUMA. 
 
 Throughout all the eastern and central groups there is one 
 thing common to all the dialects spoken. There are no 
 double consonants, every word and every syllable ends 
 in ii vowel, whereas on Rotuma this rule does not hold ; 
 but this may be accounted for by supposing that at some 
 remote period a party from some other land may have 
 been cast upon it, and become amalgamated with the 
 descendants of the Samoans. 
 
 Christian teachers from Samoa were introduced to the 
 island by John "Williams while on his way to the New 
 Hebrides in the brig Camden, in November 1839, and 
 this was the last service but one that he was permitted 
 to render to the cause of Christian missions. 
 
 In April 1845, ^^^ writer, in company with the Rev. 
 Dr. Turner of the Samoan mission, made a visit to the 
 island in the first Jolm Williams. Our errand was to 
 remove the teachers left by Mr. Williams, pursuant to an 
 arrangement entered into by the directors of the London 
 ^lissionary Society and the directors of the Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Society, and to pass over our interest and influence 
 in the island to the agents of the Wesleyan Church, who 
 had been placed on the island some time after the teachers 
 of the London Missionary Society were introduced to it 
 by Mr. Williams, and from that date it has been occupied 
 by them in connection with the Fijian and Tongan mis- 
 sions, and all the Bible translation work that has been 
 done on the island has been done by Wesleyan mission- 
 aries. A number of years passed before an English 
 missionary was stationed on the island; but in 1857 the 
 Rev. Joseph Waterhouse, with the assistance of a Fijian 
 teacher named Eliezer, managed to translate the Gospel 
 of ^latthew, the 19th Psalm, and the 13th chapter of 
 1st Corinthians. These, with some other books, were 
 printed at Hobart, Tasmania, and conveyed to the island
 
 ROTUMA. loi 
 
 by Eliezer, and no doubt were received with great joy by 
 many among the natives. 
 
 At an earlier stage of the mission, the Kev. R. B. Lytli, 
 of the Fiji mission, had, with the assistance of a native of 
 the island, arranged an alphabet and translated a Scrip- 
 ture catechism on "Faith and Duty," and "Rules of 
 Society," by the late Rev. John Hunt of the Fiji mission ; 
 and these seem to be all that the people had in print in 
 their own tongue till they received the important addition 
 above described. It is very likely that many of them may 
 have learned to read from Tongan and Fijian books, and 
 may have acquired a considerable knowledge of these lan- 
 guages from teachers from these groups who had been 
 stationed among them. At the time of our visit we were 
 surprised to find a number of them speaking the English 
 language more correctly than any natives of Eastern Poly- 
 nesia could have done. Many young men had made 
 voyages in English and American ships, and on board 
 these they had picked up the Englisli language, and had 
 learned a good deal besides of which it would have been 
 better if they had remained ignorant. 
 
 In 1864, the Rev. William Fletcher, B.A., a cultured 
 and scholarly man, who had laboured seven years in Fiji, 
 was induced to leave his important sphere there, and with 
 his devoted wife to remove to tbe comparatively unimpor- 
 tant and lonely island of Rotuma. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher 
 remained six years on the island. He translated the 
 entire New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew indeed, as 
 already mentioned, was in print before his arrival, but from 
 the circumstances under which it was made, so many 
 alterations and amendments would bo required as would 
 be almost equivalent to a fresh translation. In 1870 Mr. 
 Fletcher came to Sydney, and carried his translation through 
 the press at the expense of the Jiritish and Foreign Bible
 
 102 ROTUMA. 
 
 Society. It ^as printed in a clear, good type, and well 
 bound. Tlie number printed was 2500, and it was sold 
 to tlie natives at four sliilliugs per copy, tlie proceeds of 
 sales no doubt being remitted to the Bible Society. 
 
 Mi\ and Mrs. Fletcher returned to the island in 1 873, and 
 remained for two years and a half, when failing health again 
 compelled them to visit Sydney. Mr. Fletcher's health did 
 not allow of his returning to the mission field. As long as 
 he was able he laboured in different parts of Australia, but 
 ultimately he succumbed to the disease from which he had 
 long suffered. He died on the 30th of June 1881, in the 
 fifty-second year of his age. His end was in perfect keeping 
 with his character and life. He suffered much towards the 
 close. " It was a long and weary time," an eye-witness 
 testifies, " but he rejoiced in the hope set before him, and 
 passed away in great peace." 
 
 In the Eeport of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 for 1886, it is stated that the Eev. James Calvert had re- 
 vised and carried through the press a second edition of the 
 Rotuman New Testament, which is now, I suppose, on sale 
 in the island. 
 
 The above is all the information I am able to give 
 relative to Bible translation on Rotuma. Something may 
 have been done of late years towards giving the people 
 some portions of the Old Testament in their own tongue, 
 but that I can only conjecture. It is matter for thank- 
 fulness that they have the New Testament complete ; and 
 it is satisfactory to learn, from the Report of the Aus- 
 tralian Wesleyan Missionary Society for the year ending 
 March 1887, that the mission appears to be in a satisfac- 
 tory state. 
 
 The Rev. W. Allen, the missionary now in charge of the 
 mission, concludes his report for that year as follows : — " We 
 believe we are correct in stating that in spiritual matters
 
 ROTUMA. 103 
 
 never were the prosjjects of the circuit brighter, never were 
 the teachers and leaders more alive to their individual 
 responsibility. As we take a retrospective view of the 
 past, and think of God's dealings with us as a Church here, 
 we would praise Him for past mercies, and look forward 
 hopefully for greater blessings in the future."
 
 ( 104 ) 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The New Zealand mission is one of the oldest of our 
 South Sea missions. It was only a few years after the 
 ■DuJ^ bore the pioneer baud to Tahiti and Tonga (in 1797) 
 that the Eev. Samuel Marsden conceived the idea of in- 
 troducing Christianity among the savage cannibals of New 
 Zealand. Mr. Marsden was singularly adapted for carrying 
 into effect the great undertaking, and from his position as 
 chaplain to the convict settlement of New South Wales 
 he had peculiar facilities at his command. He was 
 animated by a noble missionary zeal which nothing could 
 damp, and a faith in God which nothing could shake. 
 He had only to be satisfied that God was calling him to a 
 particular course, and he was prepared to follow that 
 course, whatever self-denial it might involve, and what- 
 ever danger he might have to encounter. Well indeed is 
 he entitled to the honourable designation which by com- 
 mon consent has been accorded to him, the " Apostle of 
 New Zealand." 
 
 In the month of August 1793, Mr. and Mrs. Marsden 
 sailed from England in a ship carrying convicts to New 
 South Wales, and on the 1st of January 1794 they 
 reached their destination. In 1808 Mr. Marsden visited 
 England on business connected with his oflficial relation 
 to the then young colony in which he occupied so im- 
 portant and responsible a position; and during his stay
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 105 
 
 lie conferred with the directors of the Church Missionary 
 Society with reference to the question of making an 
 attempt to introduce Christianity among the then little 
 known aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand, and he 
 succeeded in inducing them to unite with him in making 
 the attempt ; and in August 18 10 he sailed from England 
 on his return voyage to Australia, accompanied by two 
 artisans, William Hall and John King. They were 
 followed soon after by Mr. Thomas Kendall, a school- 
 master, and he and Messrs. Hall and King became the 
 pioneers of the New Zealand mission. Clergymen could 
 not be obtained at that time, and perhaps INIr. Marsden 
 may have regretted this the less as he had an idea that 
 savages must be civilised in a measure before they can be 
 Christianised. This notion was entertained by many in 
 those early days, but it has been proved to be utterly 
 erroneous by the experience of nearly a century, and Mr. 
 Marsden himself held a different opinion in later years. 
 To a gentleman who was advocating the view he originally 
 held, he replied : — " Civilisation is not necessary before 
 Christianity, sir ; do both together if you will, but you 
 will find civilisation follow Christianity easier than Chris- 
 tianity follow civilisation. Tell a poor heathen of his true 
 God and Saviour, point him to the works he can see with 
 his own eyes, for these heathen are no fools, sir — great 
 mistake to send illiterate men to them. They don't want 
 men learned after the fashion of this world, but men 
 taught in the spirit and letter of the Scripture. I shan't 
 live to see it, sir, but I may hear of it in heaven, that 
 New Zealand, witli all its cannibalism and idolatry, will 
 yet set an example of Christianity to some of the nations 
 before her in civilisation." * 
 
 It was not till the year 18 14 that ^Ir. Marsden succeeded 
 
 * It was to Bishop Brouyhton that these Huntimenta were uttered by 
 Mr. MarHiJcn a short time before hia death.
 
 io6 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 in overcoming tlie dilliculties he bad to encounter in cany- 
 ing out his great undertaking. It was regarded by the 
 Governor of the colony and all the Government officials 
 as rash and hazardous in the highest degree, indeed as 
 little short of madness. Mr. Marsden's intention was to 
 accompany the missionaries himself, and share with them 
 the lirst dangers, and lay as it were the first stone. But 
 this the Governor absolutely forbade ; and being an agent 
 of the Government, he could not leave the colony without 
 the Governor's permission. "Nor indeed," remarks the 
 author of Mr. Marsden's life, " were the Governor's objec- 
 tions altogether without foundation. The last news from 
 New Zealand was that an English ship, the Boj/d, had 
 been seized and burned by the cannibals in the Bay of 
 Islands, and every soul on board, seventy in all, killed and 
 eaten. The report was true, save only that out of the whole 
 ship's company two women and a boy had been spared to 
 live in slavery among the savages." It was afterwards 
 ascertained that a New Zealand chief had sailed on board 
 the ship, and had been treated with brutal indignities, 
 and on her return to the Bay of Islands he took his revenge 
 in the above dreadful fashion. 
 
 All the concession that Mr. Marsden could obtain from 
 the Governor at that time was permission to charter a 
 vessel, if a captain could be found sufficiently courageous 
 to risk his life and his ship in such an enterprise, and to 
 send out the three missionaries as pioneers ; with a reluc- 
 tant promise that if on the ship's return all had turned 
 out well, he should not be hindered from following. For 
 some time no such adventurous captain could be found. 
 At length, for the sum of £600 for a single voyage, an 
 offer was made, but Mr. Marsden looked upon the sum as 
 far too much ; and this, with other considerations, induced 
 him to purchase his own missionary brig the Active, in 
 which Messrs. Hall and Kendall finally set sail for the Bay
 
 NEW ZEALAND. - 107 
 
 of Islands,* Tliey carried a message to a native of New 
 Zealand named Duatera, a friend of ]Mr. Marsden, of whom 
 we shall hear more as we proceed. He had been for some 
 time with Mr. Marsden in New South Wales, and had been 
 treated by him with great kindness after having suffered 
 great indignities and hardship on board English ships in 
 which he had sailed. On the arrival of the Active with 
 the missionaries — the first messengers of Christ who landed 
 on the shores of New Zealand — Duatera was there to 
 welcome them, and to repay to the utmost of his power 
 the kindness he had received from Mr. Marsden. Having 
 by his help, and under the favouring providence of God, 
 succeeded in making a favourable impression on the chiefs 
 and people with whom they met, in obedience to their 
 instructions, they returned to New South Wales accom- 
 panied by Duatera, and six other chiefs, among whom was 
 Hongi, Duatera's uncle, who was said to be the most 
 powerful chief in New Zealand. They reached New South 
 Wales on the 22nd of August 1814. 
 
 The successful termination of the voyage filled Mr. 
 Marsden with joy and thankfulness ; and as he could now 
 claim the Governor's permission, he determined to accom- 
 pany the missionaries on their return to the Bay of Islands, 
 and no time was lost in making ai'rangements for the 
 voyage. "On the 19th of November 1814," says his bio- 
 grapher, " he embarked on his great mission with a motley 
 crew, such as, except perhaps on some other missionary 
 ship, has seldom sailed in one small vessel — savages, and 
 Christian teacliers, and enterprising mechanics, their wives 
 and children, besides cattle and horses." Here is Mr. 
 Marsden's own description : — " The number of persons on 
 board the ylc^ive, including women and children, was thirty- 
 iive; the master, his wife and son, Messrs. Kendall, Hall, 
 
 • For fuller particulars see the Life of Mr. Marsden, p. 90, &c., by tbo 
 Kcv. J. ]!. ^Maraden, published by the London Tract Society.
 
 io8 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and King-, ^Yith their wives and children, eight New 
 ZeaUuiders (including Duatera, and his uncle, the great 
 warrior Hongi), two Tahitiaus, and four Europeans belong- 
 ing to the vessel, besides Mr. John Lydiard Nicholas and 
 myself. There were also two sawyers, one smith, and a 
 runaway convict whom we afterwards found on board, a 
 horse and two mares, one bull and two cows, with a few 
 sheep and poultry, the bull and cows having been presented 
 by Governor Maquarie from His Majesty's herd." 
 
 On the 1 8th of December land was sighted ; and on the 
 following day the New Zealanders on board were sent on 
 shore, and communications were opened with the natives. 
 Mr. Marsden's fame as the friend of New Zealand had 
 preceded him, so his name had only to be mentioned to 
 secure confidence. The Active anchored in Wangaroa, near 
 the Bay of Islands, where the massacre of the crow of the 
 BoT/d occurred ; and there, among the very cannibals by 
 whom their countrymen had so recently been murdered, the 
 first Christian mission to New Zealand was established. A 
 terrible revenge had been taken by the crew of an English 
 ship, and an important chief and his family had been killed, 
 who had not been in any way implicated in the affair of 
 the Boyd, and this gave rise to a fierce war among the 
 natives, which was raging at the very time when Mr. 
 Marsden and his party arrived upon the scene. 
 
 Mr. Marsden determined to attempt to mediate between 
 the hostile parties, and if possible to effect a reconciliation; 
 and with this view he and his friend Mr. Nicholas visited 
 both camps, giving them to understand that they went 
 amongst them as the friends of both parties. The first 
 night Mr. Marsden and his friend spent in New Zealand 
 was passed in a war camp. We give his own account of 
 that night's experience slightly abbreviated : — " About 
 eleven o'clock at night Mr. Nicholas and I wrapped 
 ourselves in our overcoats, and prepared for rest. George,
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 109 
 
 a New Zealand interpreter, directed me to lie by his side. 
 His wife and cliild lay on my right, and Mr. Nicholas close 
 by. The night was clear, the stars shone bright, and the 
 sea was smooth in our front ; around us were innumerable 
 spears stuck upright in the ground, and groups of natives 
 lying in all directions, like a flock of sheep upon the grass, 
 as there were neither tents nor huts to cover them, I 
 viewed our present situation with sensations and feelings 
 that I cannot express, surrounded as we were by cannibals 
 who had massacred and devoured our countrymen. I did 
 not sleep much during that night. About three o'clock in 
 the morning I arose and walked about the camp surveying 
 the different groups of natives. When the morning light 
 returned we beheld men, women, and children asleep in all 
 directions like the beasts of the field." 
 
 Mr. Marsdeu had ordered the boat to be sent on shore at 
 daylight, and in the morning he invited the chiefs of both 
 parties to breakfast on board the Active. The invitation 
 was accepted, and an interview took place which has had 
 far-reaching and most blessed results. He managed to 
 effect a reconciliation between the chiefs of the hostile 
 parties, thereby putting an end to the bloody war then 
 raging, and inaugurating an era of comparative peace, 
 which, though often disturbed in subsequent times, was 
 yet the beginning of the end of native wars in New 
 Zealand ; and from that interview the New Zealand mission 
 took definite shape. The members of the mission were 
 introduced to the chiefs, the object of their settling among 
 them and their people was explained, presents were given 
 and accepted, and the chiefs were virtually pledged to 
 befriend and protect the missionaries. 
 
 The Sabbath following these important proceedings was 
 a day to bo remembered in New Zealand history. No 
 such day had dawned on that dark and savage shore since 
 it became the abode of man. It was the 25th of December
 
 no NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 iS 1 5. The best arrangements of which the circumstances 
 allowed had been made for the celebration of divine 
 service under the direction of Duatera, who having made 
 several voyages to foreign lauds — England among the rest 
 — was able to turn the resources at his command to the best 
 possible account. Among other arrangements he had a 
 liagstaff erected on the highest hill in the neighbourhood ; 
 and when Mr. Marsden went on deck on the Sabbath 
 morning, his patriotic feelings were aroused, and his mind 
 filled with joyous anticipations of a grand future opening 
 upon the tlien dark shores of New Zealand, as he saw the 
 grand old British flag floating in the breeze, " I considered 
 it," he says, "as the signal and the dawn of civilisation, 
 liberty, and religion in this dark and benighted land. I 
 never viewed the British colours with more gratification, 
 and flattered myself they would never be removed till the 
 natives of these islands enjoyed all the happiness of British 
 subjects." 
 
 Such was Mr. Marsden's confidence in the natives that 
 he left the vessel with only the master and one man on 
 board while divine service was being conducted on shore. 
 There was a great gathering ; chiefs and common people — 
 women and children — all ages and all ranks clustered 
 around the rude pulpit and reading-desk which Duatera 
 liad managed to extemporise. 
 
 " A very solemn silence prevailed," says Mr. Marsden ; 
 "the sight was truly impressive. I rose and began the 
 service with singing the Old Hundredth Psalm, and felt 
 my very soul melted within me when I viewed my con- 
 gregation and considered the state they were in." Mr. 
 Marsden preached from the appropriate words, "Behold 
 I bring you glad tidings of great joy." The natives 
 complained to Duatera that they could not understand 
 what was meant. He told them not to mind that now, as 
 he would explain all to them afterwards to the best of his
 
 NEW ZEALAND. iii 
 
 ability. " In this manner," Mr, Marsden adds, " the Gospel 
 has"^been introduced to New Zealand, and I fervently pray 
 that the glory of it may never depart from its inhabitants 
 till time shall be no more." 
 
 Confidence was now completely established between 
 Mr. Marsden and the natives, and the great object of his 
 voyage was accomplished ; his leave of absence was draw- 
 ing to a close, so he must soon quit New Zealand for the 
 present. Before doing so, however, he determined to 
 make a short coasting voyage to explore different har- 
 bours, increase his knowledge of the country, and making 
 arrano-ements for the future extension of the mission. 
 ]\Iany of the chiefs wished to accompany him, and he con- 
 sented to allow twenty-eight of these cannibal savages, 
 fully armed according to their custom, to sail with him in 
 his little vessel, on board of which there were only seven 
 Europeans. AVhether he acted wisely or not it is hard to 
 Bay. However, all ended well. Mr. Marsden's trust in 
 the natives was reciprocated by them, and his influence 
 was increased in no small degree. 
 
 Before leaving he secured by purchase from the chiefs 
 about two hundred acres of land on behalf of the Church 
 Missionary Society on which to erect buildings, and for 
 purposes of cultivation, &c., that the missionaries might 
 not be liable to be driven off the place where they had 
 settled. The land was secured by a deed properly executed 
 in legal form, and attested by witnesses. 
 
 AH the necessary arrangements were now completed for 
 the commencement of the practical work of the mission, 
 and Mr. Marsden took leave of the missionaries and their 
 families and his native friends, and started on his return 
 voyage accompanied by no less than ten chiefs. Sydney 
 was reached in safety on the 23rd of March 181 5. j\Ir. 
 :^^arsden and his friend Mr. Nicholas lost no time in pre- 
 sentinf themselves to the Governor, who congratulated
 
 113 ^^E\V ZEALAND. 
 
 tbem on tlieir safe return from what, in common with the 
 whole colony, he had regarded as a most perilous and rash 
 adventure. 
 
 And now having seen the great undertaking inaugurated, 
 the foundation of the mission laid, we must confine our- 
 selves to a very brief and general view of its subsequent 
 history. ]\Ir. Marsden continued to watch over it with 
 intense solicitude to the very close of his life. He made 
 no less than seven visits at longer or shorter intervals, and 
 during some of these he remained for months labouring in 
 season and out of season for its consolidation and extension. 
 
 Mr. Kendall commenced a school as soon as his know- 
 ledge of the language allowed, and got a number of children 
 under instruction. He prepared a spelling-book, which 
 was printed in Sydney, the first thing no doubt ever 
 printed in the New Zealand dialect, which belongs to the 
 same root as all the languages spoken throughout Eastern 
 and Central Polynesia. Mr. Kendall also collected materials 
 for a grammar and vocabulary, which were afterwards 
 arranged with the assistance of Professor Lee of Cambridge, 
 and printed in England.* 
 
 In 1 8 19 the Rev. John Butler, and Messrs. Francis Hall 
 and James Kemp, joined the mission. Mr. Hall was a 
 schoolmaster, and Mr. Kemp a blacksmith. I cannot find 
 any notice to that effect in Mr. Marsden's Life, but, 
 according to Dr. Brown, this reinforcement accompanied 
 Mr. jMarsden to Xew Zealand on his second voyage. The 
 date of Mr. Marsden's sailing from New South Wales on 
 that voyage is not given in his Memoir, but we find him 
 in New Zealand in the month of August 1819, and on that 
 occasion he remained three months, and during that time 
 he travelled over seven hundred miles exploring the country, 
 and mingling with the people, with the view of more 
 extended operations among them. 
 
 * See Dr. Brown's History of Missions, vol. ii. p, 271.
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 113 
 
 Eeferring to this journey, Mr. Hall writes : — " There is 
 not one in ten thousand I think who could or would have 
 borne the privations, difficulties, and dangers which he 
 underwent. I pray that he may reap the fruits of his 
 labours by the New Zealanders turning from their degraded 
 state to serve the only living and true God." Mr. Marsden 
 did endure hardness and brave dangers of no ordinary kind 
 during his journeyings among the fierce savages of New 
 Zealand on this occasion. He went among them with no 
 human protection or means of defence, sleeping in their 
 huts, and sometimes not having even a hut to shelter him. 
 In one of his journeys he and his party were travelling 
 over an open plain, far from human habitations : night was 
 coming on, and a storm was threatening. Before them at 
 a long distance was the bush, a thick dense forest. They 
 pushed on with all their might to reach that if possible 
 before the storm should burst, and obtain such shelter as 
 it might afford. About nine o'clock at night they got to 
 the wood ; the natives cut branches of ferns and boughs of 
 trees, and made a little shelter from the wind, and from 
 the rain, which had now begun to fall heavily, and under 
 these circumstances they passed the night. The remarks 
 and musings of Mr. IMarsden on the occasion are touching 
 and interesting. " The blackness of the heavens," he 
 remarks, "the gloomy darkness of the wood, the roaring 
 of the wind among the trees, the sound of the rain falling 
 on the thick foliage, united with the idea that we were 
 literally at the ends of the earth with relation to our 
 native land, surrounded with cannibals whom we knew to 
 have fed on human flesh, and wholly in their power, and 
 yet our minds free from fear of danger — all this e.xcited in 
 my breast such new, pleasing, and, at the same time, oppo- 
 site sensations as I cannot describe. 
 
 " While T sat musing under the shelter of a lofty pine, 
 my thoughts were lost in wonder and surprise' in taking a 
 
 li
 
 114 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 view of the \Yisdoin and goodness of God's providential 
 care which had attended all my stejDs to that very hour. 
 If busy imagination inquired what I did there, I had no 
 answer to seek in wild conjecture. I felt with gratitude 
 that I had not come by chance, but had been sent to labour 
 in preparing the way of the Lord in this dreary wilderness, 
 where the voice of joy and gladness had never been heard ; 
 and I could not but anticipate with joyful hope the period 
 when the ' Day-star from on high ' would dawn and shine 
 on this dark and heathen land, and cause the very earth on 
 which we then reposed to bring forth its increase, when 
 God Himself would give the poor inhabitants His blessing. 
 After reflecting on the different ideas which crowded them- 
 selves upon my mind, I wrapped myself up in my great- 
 coat, and lay down to sleep." 
 
 Mr. Marsden had many very singular and curious ex- 
 periences during his journeyings on this occasion which 
 we must pass over. They are recorded in full in his 
 Life. (See p. 132 and onwards.) 
 
 Many and great were the vicissitudes through which 
 the mission passed in subsequent years. It was reinforced 
 from time to time from England, and the missionaries 
 continued their labours amid all the changes that occurred. 
 They passed through dreadfully trying scenes, and en- 
 countered appalling dangers, yet they plodded on, their 
 greatest trial being that for a long time they seemed to 
 labour and suffer in vain in as far as the main end of their 
 mission was concerned. At length, however, after weary 
 3'ears of suffering and toil, the reaping time came. 
 
 At a very early period in the history of the mission the 
 Wesleyan Church took up a position in New Zealand. 
 '■■ The Rev. Samuel Leigh, a man whose history and natural 
 character bore a marked resemblance to those of Mr. 
 Marsden, was the pioneer of Methodism, and proved 
 himself a worthy herald of the cross amongst the New
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 115 
 
 Zealanders. A warm friendship existed between the two. 
 On his passage homewards he was a guest at Parramatta ; 
 and no tinge of jealousy ever appears to have shaded their 
 intercourse, each rejoicing in the triumphs of the other." * 
 
 Like the respective pioneers of the two churches, those 
 who from time to time were their associates or successors 
 seem to have worked harmoniously together during all the 
 early years of the mission's history, the representatives of 
 each church aiming to advance the one common object of 
 their mission. 
 
 In connection with Mr. j\Iarsden's fifth visit to New 
 Zealand in 1827, we find the first notice of Bible transla- 
 tion in the mission. "Whether the notion that civilisation 
 must precede conversion had any influence in inducing the 
 missionaries to delay the translation of the Scriptures into 
 the vernacular I am unable to say, but as a matter of fact 
 I find no record of anything having been accomplished 
 in that direction till the above-named date (1827). The 
 following extract from the Life of Mr. Marsden shows the 
 state in which he found the mission at that time, and 
 informs us of what his biographer calls the "small be- 
 ginnings" in the way of giving to the New Zealanders the 
 Word of Life in their own tongue. He writes as follows : — 
 "He found the missionaries living together in unity and 
 love, and devoting themselves to their work. ' I trust,' he 
 says, ' that the Great Head of the Church will bless their 
 labours.' 
 
 "In consequence of his co-operation with the mission- 
 aries, the beneficial labours of the press now for the first 
 time reached the Maori tribes. During a visit to Sydney, 
 ^Ir. Davis carried tlu'ough the press a translation of the 
 first three chapters of Genesis, the twentieth of I'^xodus, 
 part of the fifth of ^Fatthew, the first of John, and some 
 hymns. These were small beginnings, but not to be 
 
 * See Life of Mr. Marsden, p. 54.
 
 Ii6 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 despised ; tliey prepared the way for the translation of the 
 New Testament, which was printed a few years afterwards 
 at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 The importance of this work can scarcely be estimated, 
 and it affords a striking example of the way in which that 
 noble institution becomes the silent handmaid, preparing 
 the rich repast which our various missionary societies are 
 evermore distributing abroad with bounteous hand to feed 
 the starving myriads of the heathen world." 
 
 The New Testament was printed in 1837. The first 
 edition, Dr. Brown tells us, consisted of 5000 copies, but 
 such was the eagerness of the natives to possess the Book 
 that it was soon exhausted, and in response to an applica- 
 tion to the Bible Society a second edition was printed of no 
 fewer than 20,000, which were equally divided between the 
 missionaries of the Church Missionary Society and those 
 of the Wesleyan Church ; but even this large supply 
 proved quite unequal to the demand, and in the course of 
 a few years other two editions of 20,000 each were printed 
 and sent out to New Zealand. The desire for copies was 
 not confined to such of the natives as were able to read. 
 Many who could not read were no less anxious to obtain 
 them, either that they might have them read to them, or 
 that they themselves might learn to read. Many copies 
 were distributed gratuitously, others were paid for by the 
 natives, who in many cases brought contributions of food 
 and other produce in return. A translation of the Old 
 Testament into the language of New Zealand was also 
 carrying on at this time by the Rev. R. Maunsell, and 
 part of it was printed.* 
 
 As regards the translation of the New Testament, the 
 authorities to which I have access simply state that it was 
 effected by the missionaries. The Report of the Bible 
 Society for 1857 states that the Rev. R. Maunsell took 
 
 * Ste Dr. Brown's History of Missions, pi?. 382-3.
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 117 
 
 part in tlie revision of the New Testament, and that he 
 translated the entire Old Testament. Mr. ]\launsell seems 
 to have felt specially drawn towards this department of 
 missionary work, and to have possessed special qualifica- 
 tions for it. 
 
 On the completion of his great undertaking, he wrote as 
 follows to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society : — 
 
 " The whole "Word of God is now in Maori, and you, 
 I dare say, can imagine the feelings with which I regard 
 the completion, so far, of my labours. I have through 
 God's great goodness been now spared to assist in the 
 revision of the New Testament and Prayer-book, and to 
 finish an original translation of the Old Testament. . . . 
 The feeling has always been strong on my mind that God 
 has called me to be useful in this particular service. Even 
 when in England I longed, from reading IMartyn's life, to 
 render some service in the translation of God's Word, and 
 commenced studying Hebrew, and laying in a stock of 
 books on criticism. Whatever portion of my life may now 
 remain, it is my earnest desire and prayer that I may have 
 grace to give it entirely to Him." 
 
 In compliance with suggestions from the Committee 
 of the Auckland Auxiliary Bible Society, " That a Com- 
 mittee of final revision be appointed by the recognised 
 local authorities of the Church and Wesleyan Missionary 
 Societies," the following missionaries were chosen for tli(» 
 important work, viz., on behalf of the Church i\Iission, 
 the Rev. R. Maunsell, translator; Archdeacon Williams; 
 and the Rev. G. A. Kipling. On behalf of the Wesleyan 
 ^Mission, the Rev, T. Buddie, Rev. John Hobbs, and the 
 Rev. Alexander Reid. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Old Testament had been printed 
 in separate parts, and these were in circulation among the 
 natives ; and in due time the Revision Committee completed
 
 iiS NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 their work, and the way was clear for the priuting and 
 publishing of the entire Bible in one volume. The Com- 
 mittee state that they "had been blessed throughout their 
 deliberations with a rich measure of harmony and concord. 
 The Committee find much pleasure in stating that the trans- 
 lation is clear, concise, and faithful, even to admiration, 
 while the translator himself has risen in their esteem by 
 the impartial and noble spirit in which he has met their 
 suR'o-estions, and consented to what were thought im- 
 
 CD CD ? O 
 
 provements. 
 
 "The Committee cannot conclude their Repoi't without 
 their heartfelt thanks to Him who hath given us His Holy 
 Word, who has enabled His servant to render it so faith- 
 fully and clearly into the Maori tongue, and who has been 
 present with His blessing during the long sitting of this 
 Committee, who have now finished their work. His holy 
 name be praised." 
 
 The Committee began their work on the 17th of June 
 1857, and sat for about three months, five hours daily, 
 except Saturdays. 
 
 The translation must have been subjected to further 
 revision, as we find it stated in the Bible Society's Report 
 for i860 that the whole Bible in the New Zealand 
 language had been printed, that the revision of certain 
 books had not been completed at that date, and that on 
 that account the printing of an entire and uniform edition 
 of the Scriptures was being deferred, but that such an 
 edition would be printed at no distant date. Accordingly 
 we find in the Report for 1863 that the " Committee had 
 cordially consented to prepare a complete Maori Bible in a 
 single volume. Hitherto portions of the Old Testament 
 have been printed as they were translated ; but now that 
 the whole is finished, the desire is strongly felt that both 
 Testaments should be blended in one book. The text of a 
 considerable part has undergone a careful revision at the
 
 NEW ZE ALAN or 119 
 
 hands of the most competent Maori scholars, and is 
 being printed under the editorial care of Mr. Maunsell, 
 son of the venerable Archdeacon Maunsell, assisted by the 
 Rev. T. W. Meller. The work will occupy much time, 
 as parts of the text are still being critically examined, 
 with a view to improvement; but the supply of Scrip- 
 tures in the country is adequate to meet all immediate 
 wants." 
 
 In the Eeport for 1S64 I find a very valuable letter from 
 the Rev. C. S. Volckner, an extract from which will be read 
 with interest. After speaking strongly as to the great 
 desire of the people among whom he was labouring to 
 possess the Scriptures, and of the difficulty they had in 
 procuring them, he proceeds as follows : — 
 
 " A great many of these'people are constantly exposed to 
 the attacks of Papists ; and the Scriptures are their strong 
 weapon against them. The other day some natives ex- 
 pressed themselves thus to me — 'When the Roman Catholic 
 priests come, they say a great many things to us we do 
 not know how to reply to, but they always are silenced and 
 baffled when we use the Word of God in replying to them.' 
 At another place I had a long conversation with a man 
 who had lately been baptized by the Popish priest. I 
 asked him why he had joined the Papists ? ' Because I am 
 an ignorant man, and do not know the Sci'iptures, as I 
 cannot read. ]\ly friend at j\Iaringa, I'ohata, is a wise man ; 
 he knows how to read, and knows the Scriptures ; the 
 priests have tried again and again, much harder than with 
 me, to make him a Papist, but in vain. In his place in 
 the mountains he sometimes does not see the missionary 
 the whole year, but he will never become a Papist, because 
 he has the Scriptures, and knows how to read them. If 
 I had not been Ibolish I would not have allowed the priest 
 to baptize me.' A number of the people expressed their 
 approbation, saying, ' You have just hit it : if any one has
 
 120 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the Scriptures, and can read tliem, lie will not become a 
 l\apist."' 
 
 " I give," continues Mr. Volckner, "one more extract from 
 my journal. Eaniera, the teacher in a settlement in which 
 the majority are Papists, was told by the Vicar- Apostolic 
 when last there to become a Papist. Eaniera answered, 
 ' And are you a god to tell me what I ought to believe ? ' 
 The Vicar replied, ' But there are so few, you are almost 
 alone in this place.' Raniera said, ' If I were quite alone, 
 and if all the people of this settlement became Papists, and 
 if all the people of this island to the north and to the 
 south, to the east and to the west, became Papists, and if 
 there were not a Protestant missionary, minister, or bishop 
 left in this land, I would not become a Papist, because I 
 have the Word of God,' showing him the New Testament ; 
 'this is my guide and my teacher, from it I know that 
 you are wrong and I am right. It is the infallible Word 
 of God. You may cut off my head, and strew my brains 
 along the beach, but I will not become a Papist. I am a 
 Protestant, be it known to you, and I shall remain one.' ' 
 A noble confession surely ! The baffled priest shook his 
 liead and turned away from the obstinate heretic. 
 
 In the Bible Society's Eeport for 1869 we find the 
 following announcement : — " It was stated in the last 
 Ileport that the printing of the Maori Bible was advancing 
 towards completion. The work had been suspended in 
 consequence of the unavoidable delay in transmitting to 
 this country the revised text of the New Testament. The 
 volume is now issued from the press, and supplies have 
 been forwarded to New Zealand. Great critical care and 
 patient labour have been exercised in rendering this edition 
 of the Scriptures in Maori as perfect as possible, and the 
 most competent judges agree in the favourable verdict 
 pronounced upon its idiomatic accuracy and fidelity to the 
 sacred oriorinals."
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 121 
 
 The Committee express their gratitude for valuable 
 service rendered by the late Bishop Selwyn in correcting 
 the proof sheets of the work when passing through the 
 press ; and add a prayer in which all lovers of the Bible 
 will heartily join, " That the sacred volume might be 
 received by the Maori race with docility aud faith, and 
 that, under the illuminating grace of the Holy Spirit, they 
 might renounce'the savage and idolatrous habits of their 
 heathen state for the love, meekness, and purity of the 
 Gospel of Christ." 
 
 With reference to the reception of this edition of the 
 Scriptures by the New Zealanders, we find the following 
 gratifying information in the Eeport of the Society for 
 1 87 1. A communication had been received from the 
 Committee of the New Zealand Auxiliary, in which special 
 reference was made to the rapid sale of the INIaori Bible. 
 As soon as it was known that large supplies had arrived 
 from England, the purchasers at the depot became eager 
 aud numerous, showing great preference for the volumes 
 in more costly bindings. It is thought more prudent to 
 disseminate the copies by sale exclusively, and the cir- 
 cumstances of the people generally will enable them to 
 comply with the condition, the price demanded being very 
 moderate. 
 
 In the Report of the Bible Society for 1872 we find the 
 following information : — " The enlarged facilities for the 
 circulation of the Scriptures naturally leads the Committee 
 to look forward to the time when a new edition of the 
 [Maori Bible will be needed, and as there are few men so 
 well acquainted with the language as Archdeacon ^launsell, 
 they have requested him both to undertake the task of 
 revision and to prepare chapter headings in anticipation 
 of that event. As some of those who were on the previous 
 Bevision Committee still survive, it is very desirable that 
 this should be done whilst their critical knowledge and
 
 122 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 long study of the language under circumstances of greater 
 advantages for its acquisition than young men now possess 
 can be turned to good account. 
 
 And in the Report for 1 879 tlie following important facts 
 are recorded : — " During the twenty-one years following the 
 formation of the colony in New Zealand, i.e., between 1840 
 and i86r, the British and Foreign Bible Society printed 
 no less than 120,000 copies of portions of the Holy 
 Scriptures in the Maori language for circulation in New 
 Zealand, at a cost of over ^6000. A very large propor- 
 tion of these were circulated by free gift. Subsequently 
 an edition of 5000 copies of the entire Bible in Maori was 
 published. A consignment was forwarded to the Local 
 Auxiliary, and its Committee resolved to bring it into 
 circulation by sale exclusively. As a result, 1538 copies 
 of the complete Maori Bible, besides large numbers of 
 Maori New Testaments, and other portions, have been 
 purchased ^from the depot by a people who previously 
 protested that the Scriptures must be supplied to them, 
 and the Gospel preached without money and without 
 price." 
 
 The revision was undertaken by Archdeacons Maunsell 
 and W. L. Williams as requested, and in 1866 we are 
 informed that the printing of the Maori Bible as revised 
 by Archdeacons Maunsell and Williams was progressing ; 
 and that is the last item of intelligence we are able to give 
 relative to the translation and circulation of the sacred 
 Scriptures in connection with the New Zealand mission. 
 
 We are sorry to be unable to speak so strongly with 
 reference to the success of mission work and Bible circula- 
 tion among the Maoris as we have felt warranted in doing 
 with reference to other missions among kindred races in 
 Eastern and Central Polynesia. As we have seen, men of 
 apostolic zeal and martyr spirit have laboured for long 
 years among the Maoris, and have given them, at the cost
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 123 
 
 of a vast amount of toil, a complete version of the Holy 
 Scriptures in their own tongue, yet, so far as we can 
 gather from all available sources of information, the re- 
 sults are comparatively disappointing. There is enough 
 to show that what the Gospel has done for cannibal Fiji 
 and other savage tribes it has done in a measure for the 
 Maoris ; but it does not appear that Christianity has laid 
 hold of them as a whole and effected such a general 
 revolution as it has done among the Fijians, Sandwich 
 Islanders, and others. We know that there have been great 
 difficulties to contend with in New Zealand, but such, in a 
 7neasure, has been the case also in other groups. 
 
 It seems a very desirable thing that some one of the 
 venerable fathers of the mission who still remain in the 
 field should favour the Church with a history of the 
 mission down to the present time, that those who are 
 interested in the welfare of the native races might be in 
 a position to form a judgment as to their state now, and 
 their prospects for the future. 
 
 In the meanwhile may God bless them, and those who 
 are labouring amongst them ; and may the churches of 
 New Zealand yet take their place among the foremost of 
 the sister churches in the other islands and groups of the 
 Pacific, to the glory of their Head, and the extension of 
 His cause and kingdom among the native races of that 
 great land.
 
 WESTERN rOLYNESIA-THE NEW HEBRIDES. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 
 
 We come now to the great division of the islands of the 
 Pacific known as Western Polynesia, of which the New 
 Hebrides group is the most easterly. That group is now 
 so well known that little need be said of it by way of 
 general description. It is about 400 miles in length, 
 extending in a north-westerly direction from about 20° to 
 15° south latitude, and it lies between 171° and 166° east 
 longitude, about lOOO miles nearly due north of New 
 Zealand, 400 miles west of Fiji, 200 miles east of New 
 Caledonia, and about 1400 miles north-east of Sydney. 
 There are about thirty islands in the group, nearly twenty 
 of them being inhabited, and several of them are large and 
 populous. The island of Fotuna is the most easterly of 
 the group, and so comes first in geographical order ; and 
 the island of Niua, though considerably distant, has some 
 things in common which makes it convenient to embrace 
 the two in one chapter. 
 
 Fotuna lies in 19° 13' south latitude, and 170° 13' east 
 loniritude. It consists of one hif^h bluff mountain which 
 seems to rise abruptly out of the ocean, and from a distance 
 it looks like a great barren rock. There are, however, 
 narrow valleys and ravines in which are found fertile and 
 habitable spots.
 
 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 125 
 
 Captain Cook estimated the circumference of the island 
 at fifteen miles, and when teachers were placed upon it in 
 1 84 1 the population was about 900. Probably it does not 
 much exceed half that number at the present time. The 
 inhabitants are a mixed race, evidently sprung from two 
 distinct stocks — the Papuan and the Malayan. This is 
 clearly indicated by the language, and by the fact that 
 the island has two names — the one, Eranan, connecting it 
 with Western Polynesia ; the other, Fotuna, as distinctly 
 pointing to the eastern division of the great Polynesian 
 family. "VVe cannot tell particularly where the name 
 Eranan comes from, but there is no difficulty with reference 
 to the other. Fotuna is the name of Home's Island, and 
 there can be no reasonable doubt that one branch of the 
 ancestors of the present inhabitants came from that island, 
 and gave to their new home the name of the old one. 
 Savage races as well as civilised in most parts of the 
 world form strong attachments to the places and scenes 
 where and amid which they have spent the morning of 
 life ; and in this respect they give expression to their 
 attachments in the same way. 
 
 When Christianity was introduced to the island we 
 were favourably impressed with the appearance of the 
 people, and did not imagine that they were the fierce and 
 cruel savages which they afterwards proved themselves to 
 be. After their own teachers were landed, Samuela and 
 Apela, from Samoa, one of the chiefs went with us to 
 the neighbouring island of Aneiteum, and it seemed very 
 much owing to his lielp that we succeeded in getting 
 teachers received at that island. 'I'he affinity of the lan- 
 guage to the Samoan enabled us to make some usff of 
 liim as an interpreter, and he evidently used his influence 
 to induce the chiefs and people of Aneiteum to receive the 
 teachers, yet, sad to say, that tliough he lived many years 
 he died a heathen ; and about eighteen or twenty nionllis
 
 126 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 
 
 after the teachers were left on the island, the infatuated 
 people murdered the Avhole party, two men and one 
 woman, and a little girl, the daughter of one of the 
 teachers. 
 
 After this barbarous deed the dark night of heathenism 
 again closed over Fotuna, and long years passed before the 
 darkness was again broken. Not till 1853 did "the day- 
 spring from on high " again visit the bloodstained shore. 
 During the course of that year two natives of Aueiteum, 
 who, with others of their countrymen, had in the mean- 
 while become decided followers of Christ, were conveyed 
 to it in the John Williams, and met with a cordial welcome 
 from part of the people. The two men, Waihit and Josefa, 
 who undertook the self-denying, if not hazardous service, 
 of making known the Gospel on the dark spot, deserve to 
 have their names had in remembrance, as they were the 
 first natives of Western Polynesia who went forth as 
 pioneer Christian teachers to make known the Gospel to 
 their countrymen. 
 
 A third teacher from Aneiteum, and one from the 
 Hervey Islands, were added in 1859, and in 1866 the Rev. 
 Joseph Copeland settled on the island. At that time the 
 language had not been reduced to writing. This was 
 accomplished in due time by Mr. Copeland ; and a Primer, 
 a Catechism, and a few Hymns were prepared by him, and 
 printed on Aneiteum by the Pev. John Geddie. The first 
 portion of Scripture which Mr. Copeland translated was 
 the Gospel of Mark. This was printed in Sydney in 1 869. 
 The translating of the remaining Gospels followed, and the 
 whole four were printed in Sydney, and bound in a volume 
 together with a new edition of the Primer, Catechism, and 
 Hymn-book, extending to 174 pages. 
 
 In January of 1876, Mrs. Copeland, a most estimable 
 woman, was removed from the toils and trials of earth to 
 the rest of heaven, and after a brief interval Mr. Copeland
 
 FOTUXA AND NIUA. 127 
 
 was compelled, owing to failure of health, to quit the 
 mission field, and retire for rest and change to the more 
 genial climate of Australia, 
 
 After an interval of a few years, Dr. Gunn and Mrs. 
 Gunn, from the Free Church of Scotland, settled on the 
 island, and the book of Genesis and the Acts of the 
 Apostles, which had been translated by Mr. Copeland, 
 have been retranslated by him, and partly revised by Mr. 
 Copeland, who has recently made a visit to the island. 
 " These," Mr. Copeland remarks, " will appear in whole 
 or in part in the two volumes in which Dr. Gunn hopes 
 to complete the Bible for the Fotunese. Owing to the 
 smallness of the population, he thinks a selection of books 
 the wisest course." That is all the information we have 
 at present relative to Bible translation on this island. It 
 has been a hard field to cultivate, and so far the returns 
 have been small, considering the amount of labour ex- 
 pended upon it. Perhaps no island in the New Hebrides 
 has suffered more cruel wrongs at the hands of masters 
 and crews of the so-called labour vessels. It is in a great 
 measure owing to the infamous conduct of these men in 
 carrying off from time to time young men of fairest 
 promise to virtual slavery, and not seldom to death, that 
 the population has been so much reduced, and that the 
 results of mission work on the island are so small. Now we 
 may hope that the accursed traffic has received an effectual 
 check, and that there will be little or no further molestation 
 from that (juarter. 
 
 Mr. Copeland speaks hopefully of what he witnessed 
 during liis late visit. lie says, referring to tlie New 
 Hebrides mission generally, it was a pleasure to him to 
 mark the manifest progress of the work, and to ascertain 
 the trend of public opinion ; and no man is better qualified 
 to form a judgment as to mission work in the New 
 Hebrides than Mi*. Copeland. Before settling on Fotuna
 
 128 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 
 
 he was stationed for longer or shorter periods on Tanna, 
 and Eramanga, and Aneiteum, and did valuable work on 
 all these, especially on Aneiteum. 
 
 NIUA.* 
 
 This island lies about fifteen miles to the north of Tanna. 
 It is a low uninteresting looking spot, probably not more 
 than ten miles in circumference, and at the time from 
 which its missionary histoiy dates its population was 
 estimated at from 400 to 500. The natives are a mixed 
 race like those of Fotuna. Like that island it has two 
 names, Immer and Niua, the one connecting it with the 
 Papuan races, the other with the Malayan. 
 
 Though so small and comparatively unimportant it has 
 rather an eventful history. Two Samoan teachers were 
 placed upon it by the Rev. Thomas Heath of the Samoan 
 mission in 1840. These, and others who followed them, 
 remained on the island for a number of years, but no 
 visible impression was made upon the people, and troubles 
 arose which led to the suspension of the mission. After 
 a long interval it was resumed. Two teachers from 
 Aneiteum were introduced to the island, and had an en- 
 couraging reception. Circumstances which we must not 
 stop to particularise led to the murder of one of these, but 
 the other held on bravely, and the place of him who had 
 fallen was soon filled by another courageous man, also 
 from Aneiteum, and the island was in a measure won to 
 Christianity. 
 
 * Spelt Aniwa by the Presbyterian missionaries who now occupy the 
 New Hebrides group.
 
 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 129 
 
 About the year 1866 the Rev. J. G. Paton settled upon 
 it, and the labours of himself and his devoted wife, aided 
 by Aneiteum teachers, have been crowned with a large 
 measure of success. This will amply appear from the 
 following information which Mr. Paton has kindly fur- 
 nished : — 
 
 " In the language of Aniwa I have translated and 
 printed the following books of Scripture — Matthew and 
 Mark. These were printed in Melbourne, and carried 
 through the press by myself in 1877. The Acts of the 
 Apostles were printed in Melbourne, and carried tlirough 
 the press by my two sons, who were at school there in 
 1880. 
 
 " The Gospel of John, First and Second Timothy, Titus, 
 Philemon, James, the three Epistles of John, and Jude, 
 were printed and carried through the press by myself in 
 Melbourne in 1882. An edition of 300 copies of each of 
 these books was printed and bound, and given to the 
 natives as they were able to read and value them. 
 
 " The Scriptures are not sold to the natives in our group, 
 for the good reason that by planting and preparing 
 arrowroot which has been sold by Christian friends, as 
 a labour of love to Jesus, in the churches supporting our 
 mission, our New Hebrides Christian converts have paid 
 for the printing of all the books of Scripture translated 
 and printed in their languages. The Aneiteumese paid 
 ;^I200 for printing the complete Bible in their language 
 to the noble British and Foreign Bible Society, which 
 well deserves the sympathy and prayers and liberal 
 support of all Christians in its grand work of giving the 
 world the Bible with its heavenly light and enriching 
 Ijlessings. 
 
 " Following the example of the Aneiteumese, all our 
 island Christians repay the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society for the books of Scripture printed by it for them.
 
 I30 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 
 
 They continue this work in a praiseworthy manner. 
 Money is not much in circulation among our islanders 
 yet ; but they so value the Word of God that they do 
 everything possible to provide it for themselves, and to 
 extend it to others. 
 
 *' My Auiwans value the Scriptures very highly ; indeed 
 all our converted islanders do. They read and study them 
 carefully, especially the Gospel of John, where they see 
 Jesus in love and mercy bending over them, teaching and 
 pleading with them. They carry the book with them on 
 their journeys, on their fishing expeditions, and often to 
 their work ; and when wearied feel refreshed by reading 
 a few verses, and by prayer. The love of God as displayed 
 in Jesus, and recorded in the blessed book, they never tire 
 meditating upon, and speaking about; and since they got 
 the Gospel of John, they say it has made them so thirsty 
 and hungry for the rest of the Bible, that in preparing 
 arrowroot they are doing all possible to be able to pay for 
 its being printed in their language. 
 
 " The book of Jonah is the only other book of Scripture 
 I have translated into their language, but I have translated 
 and printed on the island the first part of the book of 
 Genesis, and other selections of Scripture peculiarly adapted 
 to the circumstances of the natives. These, along with 
 a Hymn-book and a Church Catechism or Confession of 
 Faith, are bound up with initiatory educational books 
 chiefly composed from Scripture." 
 
 Mr. Paton adds — " I could have been much further on in 
 translating the Bible had I not been so much occupied 
 pleading the cause of the mission, working and organising 
 for its support and extension, and the keeping of our 
 mission vessel the Dayspring. 
 
 " For the time we have been at work, the means at our 
 disposal, and the missionaries engaged in our mission, 
 God has given us wonderful success, and now our whole
 
 FOTUNA AND NIUA. 131 
 
 group is white to the harvest, which we hope will soon be 
 reaped in the real conversion of thousands to love and 
 serve the Lord." 
 
 God grant that so it may be to the praise of the glory 
 of His grace !
 
 THE NEW HEBRIDES. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 Few of the many islands which have been brought under 
 Christian culture in the South Pacific have a more eventful 
 and instructive history than Aneiteum.* It bears a rela- 
 tion to Western Polynesia somewhat similar to that which 
 Tahiti bears to the eastern division of the "Island World." 
 As regards extent and population they are widely different, 
 but in a missionary point of view they have much in 
 common. Tahiti is the parent mission in the east ; and 
 to a considerable extent Aneiteum sustains the same 
 relation to the now numerous missions in the west. 
 Especially is this the case with reference to the New 
 Hebrides group.' 
 
 Aneiteum is the most southerly island of that group, 
 and lies in south latitude 20°, and in east longitude 170°. 
 It was discovered by Captain Cook in 1774, and by him 
 named Anattom, and by this name, somewhat altered, it 
 was known till Christian teachers were placed upon it. 
 It is about forty miles in circumference, and at the time 
 when our acquaintauc.e with it began the population was 
 estimated at 3600. It is lofty, some of its mountains 
 rising to the height of 3000 feet. It is pleasingly 
 
 * The missionaries of the Presbyterian Church who now occupy the New 
 Hebrides group spell the name Aneityum.
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 133 
 
 diversified by mountains of various shapes and sizes, hills 
 and valleys, deep ravines, baiTen tracts and cultivated 
 spots ; and on the whole it presents a striking and 
 picturesque aspect. 
 
 Its missionary history dates from the month of March 
 1 84 1. On the thirtieth day of that month the writer 
 visited the island in the London Missionary Society's brig 
 Camden, and succeeded in introducing two Samoan teachers, 
 Tavita and Fuataiese, amongst its then deeply degraded 
 people ; and thus, on that memorable day, the first step 
 was taken in the train of events which led to the sub- 
 version of idolatry, and the establishment of Christianity 
 throughout the island ; and which was fraught with 
 momentous consequences to the whole group to which it 
 belongs. 
 
 A glance at the state in which we found the Aneiteumese 
 will prepare the reader to form an estimate of the mighty 
 change which, as we shall presently see, was effected 
 among them by the introduction of the Gospel of the 
 grace of God. We may just remark that they belong to 
 the Papuan stock, and that they are an inferior race 
 compared with the Asiatic races found throughout Eastern 
 and Central Polynesia. Their moral and social state was 
 very low. War, murder, cannibalism, the strangling of 
 widows, infanticide, polygamy, and the consequent degrada- 
 tion and oppression of the female sex — these and kindred 
 cruelties and abominations were the characteristics of the 
 Aneiteumese when the dayspring from on liigh opened 
 upon their dark and cheerless shores. And when we add 
 that in addition to Wars and feuds, which were of common 
 occurrence, they lived under the most abject bondage to 
 their natmasses — a sort of inferior deities — of which they 
 were in constant dread, it will be seen that their condition 
 must have been wretched in the extreme. 'J'lioy were 
 accustouied to sleep with their clubs and spears by their
 
 134 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 pillows, to be iu readiness to defend themselves against 
 the midnight assassin, so that between the dread of 
 spiritual wickedness and human enemies, they were all 
 their life under deplorable bondage through fear of 
 death. 
 
 For seven years the mission was in the hands of Samoan 
 teachers, occasional visits being made by missionaries from 
 Samoa and the Hervey Islands. The trials which the 
 teachers had to endure were many and great ; their lives 
 were often in danger. On two occasions especially they 
 had a very narrow escape from being murdered. Armed 
 men came upon them headed by a savage chief who 
 thought very little of human life ; but though the 
 strangers were entirely defenceless, the natives were not 
 suffered to carry their diabolical purpose into effect. The 
 All-seeing eye was over them, and an unseen arm was 
 their defence. Amid all their privations and perils they 
 were enabled to hold on, and in due time labourers better 
 able to cope with the difficulties came to their aid. 
 
 In the month of May 1848, the Rev. John Geddie from 
 Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and the Rev. Thomas 
 Powell of the Samoan mission, were conveyed to the island 
 in the John Williams. They were coldly received by the 
 natives — just tolerated. Only one decided case of con- 
 version had occurred during the seven dreary years that 
 preceded their arrival, but there was substantial encourage- 
 ment even in that solitary case. As the faintest ray in 
 the eastern sky heralds the advent of day, so did the 
 conversion of Umra herald the bright day which, after a 
 few more years of suffering and toil, filled Aneiteum with 
 light from on high. 
 
 At the close of twelve months, Mr. and Mrs. Powell 
 returned to Samoa, and Mr. and Mrs. Geddie were left 
 with only the Samoan teachers to assist them in carrying 
 on their work. As soon as Mr. Geddie's knowledge of the
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 135 
 
 language allowed, he reduced it to a written form, aud 
 prepared a Primer, a Catechism, a few Hymns, and a small 
 selection of Scripture extracts. Before leaving home he 
 had acquired some knowledge of the art of printing, 
 and he brought with him a small second-hand printing 
 press, and a small fount of half-worn types; and thus 
 imperfectly equipped, he did the first printing I suppose 
 that was ever done in the \yestern Pacific. It was 
 emphatically printing done under difficulties, but Mr. 
 Geddie was not the man to be daunted or discouraged 
 where success was at all practicable. The little book did 
 good service during this twilight time, and more adven- 
 turous work was soon attempted and accomplished. The 
 first portion of Scripture translated was the Gospel of 
 Matthew ; the Gospel of Mark followed ; and unmistakable 
 signs had now appeared that God was working with His 
 servants, and crowning their labours with marked success. 
 Light and life were marvellously spreading throughout the 
 island — all the more marvellous that the instrumentality 
 was so inadequate — one solitary missionary, and a few 
 native helpers who but a few years before were them- 
 selves in a state of heathen darkness. 
 
 And at this juncture, when the growing needs of the 
 mission were such as to demand additional help, help was 
 provided in a very remarkable manner. The liev. John 
 Inglis and Mrs. Inglis, at that time connected with the 
 Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and afterwards 
 with the Free Church of Scotland, joined the mission.* 
 Mr. Inglis had had about seven years experience of 
 missionary and ministerial work in New Zealand, so that 
 he and Mrs. Inglis entered upon their work in Aneiteum 
 
 * The circumstances under which Mr. and Mrs. Inglis were led to 
 connect themaelvea with the New Hebrides miHsion are fully stated in a 
 work entitled "In the New Hebrides," by Mr. (now Dr.) Inglin, lately 
 published by Nelson & S'lnn, Lcruloii, chap, v., p. 45.
 
 136 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 with qualifications such as experience alone can give. 
 They arrived in the month of July 1852. 
 
 So far no complete portion of the Word of God had been 
 printed in the native language. Mr. Geddie, as already 
 mentioned, had translated the Gospels of Matthew and 
 ]\Iark, and about twelve months after the arrival of Mr. 
 Inglis, he and Mr. Geddie resolved to get one of the 
 Gospels printed, and to appeal to their friends to help 
 them to meet the expense. The Gospel of Mark was 
 chosen, as being the shorter of the two, and the manuscript 
 was sent to Sydney by the John Williams, in charge of 
 the Rev. J. P. Sunderland, who was on board, and an 
 arrangement was made with him to get it printed in 
 Sydney, and this was carried into effect, to the satisfac- 
 tion of all concerned. " Considering the circumstances," 
 Mr. Inglis remarks, " it was, though not perfect, a highly 
 creditable production, and it gave an immense stimulus to 
 education all over the island." 
 
 It was printed during the stay of the John Williams in 
 Sydney, and on her return voyage to Aneiteum, which she 
 reached in October 1853, she bore the precious ti'easure to 
 the grateful islanders, who rejoiced over it as one who 
 lindeth great spoil. The edition consisted of 3000 copies, 
 and its printing and publishing is worthy of special note 
 as being the first portion of the sacred Scriptures printed 
 in any language of Western Polynesia. 
 
 The next portion printed was the Gospel of Matthew. 
 This was done on the island by Mr. Geddie. A new 
 printing press and a new fount of type had been obtained ; 
 hence his ability to accomplish so impoi'tant a work. As 
 many months had passed since the translation was made, 
 he felt that it might now be greatly improved, so he made 
 a new translation, and Mr. Inglis was now able to assist 
 him in revising it. And so retranslated and carefully 
 revised it was printed on the island of Aneiteum.
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 137 
 
 The next portion printed was the Gospel of Luke. The 
 manuscript was sent to London, and it was printed by the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, The Gospel of John, 
 and the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of Paul, 
 from Galatians to Philemon inclusive, were printed on the 
 island. 
 
 And now the brethren began to make preparations for 
 the printing in London of the complete New Testament, 
 It was arranged that Mr. and Mrs. Geddie should go home 
 on furlough by the John Williams, which was to leave the 
 islands for England towards the close of 1859, and apply 
 to the Bible Society to undertake the work. Owing to 
 family circumstances, however, in the case of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Geddie this arrangement could not be carried out, and it 
 was finally decided that Mr. and Mrs. Inglis should go 
 instead. 
 
 The New Testament was all translated when this 
 arrangement was made, but the departure of the John 
 Williams was too near to allow of the translation under- 
 going a thorough revision by the brethren on the island, and 
 to meet this in the best available manner it was arranged 
 that Mr. and Mrs. Inglis should take with them one of 
 the most competent native pundits to assist in preparing 
 the work for the press, and accordingly Williamu, an 
 intelligent man, and a man of tried Christian character, 
 accompanied them to England. 
 
 The Joliji Williams had to visit all the principal 
 stations of the London Missionary Society between the 
 New Hebrides and Tahiti, and this occupied three months 
 and a half, and after finishing her work among the islands 
 she was three months and a half on her way to England, 
 80 that the whole voyage occupied seven months, and 
 when !Mr. and Mrs. Inglis and their pundit reached their 
 destination they had read and corrected about half tlie 
 manuscript. The Committee of the Bible Society readily
 
 138 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 undertook to do their ]iart ; ami in due time the revision 
 was compk^ted, important help being rendered by the Rev. 
 T. W. Meller, M.A., the Editorial Superintendent of the 
 Society's translations. j\Ir. j\Ieller had an extraordinary 
 aptitude for the acquisition of languages. He had carried 
 through the press the Gospel of Luke in the Aneiteumese 
 language some time before, and he had so analysed that 
 Gospel as to form a lexicon of the language so far as a 
 single Gospel supplied material for so doing. Hence he 
 was able to form a judgment as to the accuracy of the 
 translation of other books of the New Testament, and 
 to assist Mr. Inglis materially in the work of revision. 
 
 Mr. Inglis does not mention how much time was 
 occupied in completing the revision and carrying the 
 work through the press, nor does he mention the number 
 printed; but we find that in 1863 the natives had the 
 book in their hands, and no doubt it was a day of great 
 rejoicing on Aneiteum when the complete New Testament 
 was borne to their shores. This is clearly deducible from 
 the following remarks of Mr. Inglis in a letter to the Bible 
 Society written in 1865: — "The natives are for the most 
 part reading the New Testament with great diligence, 
 and are advancing steadily both in scriptural knowledge 
 and Christian character. One-fourth of the entire popula- 
 tion have been admitted to Church fellowship, and I have 
 at present on my side of the island a candidates' class of 127. 
 Some may think that our admissions must be very loose when 
 we receive so many, but that is not the case. We rarely 
 admit any one till after a year's instruction and probation. 
 It must also be remembered that every person on the 
 island above children is reading the Scriptures and hear- 
 ing them expounded every Sabbath. The Bible is their 
 only book, and Scripture truth is thus kept more constantly 
 before their minds than it oi'dinarily can be before the 
 minds of most communities."
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 139 
 
 The following extracts from Mr. luglis' work, already 
 referred to, show very strikingly the extreme care which 
 was exercised in translating, revising, and editing the 
 Aneiteumese Bible.* 
 
 " The process by which we produced the Aneityumese 
 Bible was this. Saturday was the day which I generally 
 appropriated to translating, and if I could not say Nulla 
 dies sina versu ('No day without a verse'), I could say to a 
 large extent, ' No week without a chapter.' After I had 
 been six months on the island, I began to translate Genesis. 
 At first I got only a few verses done, and in a very im- 
 perfect manner. But week by week, and month by month, 
 the work became easier. After I had finished Genesis, 
 I translated Luke. Our mode of proceeding was this. 
 The first duty of a translator is to ascertain and fix upon 
 the meaning of the author. For this end I read the 
 original text, versions, and commentaries, and all helps 
 that I could lay my hands upon. Then I translated the 
 original into the Aneityumese as best I could. Then I 
 brought into my study one or two of the most intelligent 
 of the natives, and read the passage to them, verse by 
 verse, asking them if this word or that sentence was 
 con'ect Aneityumese ; and, such and such being the mean- 
 ing, was that the best word, or the most suitable expression? 
 or what changes would they suggest ? and making every 
 correction that could be thought of. 
 
 " On the Sabbath morning before church-time, when 
 the people began to assemljle, I brought in ten or a dozen 
 of the most intelligent of the natives, and read the portion 
 translated over to them verse by verse, and embodied 
 whatever suggestions they might suggest. This was to 
 the natives a kind of Jjible lesson, as they necessarily 
 heard a good deal of exposition under circumstances very 
 favourable for being remembered. Subsequently I read it 
 
 * See chap, v., p. 103. ]
 
 Uo THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 in the cliurcli to tlie whole congregation, following it up 
 with a running commentary — a kind of lecture after the 
 manner of a Scotch forenoon service in the olden time. 
 I had previously instructed the congregation that if any of 
 them observed any words incorrectly used, they were to 
 come to me and tell me after the service. And though 
 they were anything but forward to display their critical 
 acumen, yet now and again one and another would come 
 to me and say, ' Misi,' would you read over that verse near 
 the beginning, or the middle, or the end, as the case might 
 be, where such and such a word occurs ; ' I was not sure 
 about it.' The verse was read, and the remark would be 
 made, ' Oh ! it is quite correct — I had not heard it right ; ' 
 or, ' I think such and such a word would be better there.' 
 When I had embodied the results of all available criticism, 
 I wrote out a clean copy of the translation, and when the 
 book was finished I sent it over to Mr. Geddie, and he 
 went over it all carefully with his pundits, bringing a 
 fresh eye and a new critical apparatus to eliminate re- 
 maining errors, and secure fui^ther improvements. If 
 there were any doubtful passages left, these were marked, 
 and we examined them together when we met. Mr. 
 Geddie did the same with his translations, and finally we 
 read them over together in the hearing of two or three of 
 our best pundits before we said Im-primatur. 
 
 " In the case of the New Testament Mr. Meller read 
 over the translation, book by book, and sent them back to 
 me. He wrote no fewer than nine hundred pages of note- 
 paper filled with criticisms, w'hich I stitched up into a 
 volume. AVilliamu and I examined all his suggestions, 
 and approved or rejected as the case required. Finally, 
 besides daily consultations during the whole time, Mrs. 
 Inglis and I went over the entire translation, verse by 
 verse, as it was printed. She read the English and marked 
 every stop. I followed her in the translation, and watched
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 141 
 
 most carefully that notliing was omitted, and that nothing 
 was added. We then reversed the process. I read the 
 translation, and she checked me with the En2:lish, To 
 make so many corrections, to revise and revise again, to 
 read the Greek, or the Hebrew, the English, and the 
 Aneityumese may appear like a work of supererogation. 
 But those who know anything of the work either of 
 translating or editing the Bible will feel no surprise. I 
 once heard the late Dr. Mitchell, Professor of Biblical 
 Criticism in the United Secession Church, say to his class 
 in the Hall, that not one person in a thousand who reads 
 the English Bible has the slightest conception of the 
 labour that has been bestowed on that book, which they 
 can now buy for a shilling. When I came home in i860 
 to carry the New Testament through the press, Mr. Meller 
 gave me a copy of the Greek New Testament of the 
 received text, published by the Bible Society, that I might 
 have an authorised standard to guide me. This Greek 
 Testament had been printed at Cologne in Germany, and 
 the proof-sheets had been read over in succession by four 
 German professors, so that perfection might be secured. 
 And yet when Mr. Meller read the book after it was 
 printed he found that half a verse had been omitted, viz., 
 the first half of i Cor. x. 23. Instead of 'all things are 
 lawful for me, but all things are not expedient : all things 
 are lawful for me, but all things edify not,' the first half 
 was left out. 
 
 "In the Aneityumese New Testament there are about a 
 quarter of a million of words, and in the whole Bible more 
 than a million. To read over a million of words in a 
 foreign language, and see that not one of them is misspelled, 
 that not a capital is misplaced, and that not a point is 
 omitted, is no easy task. To revise, correct, and edit the 
 whole Bible under the very exact conditions imposed by 
 the Bible Society is a very laborious work. Dr. Chalmers,
 
 142 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 
 
 however, says that the most imperfect translation of the 
 Bible that ever was made, if honestly done, will not fail to 
 convey to the reader a knowledge of the way of salvation. 
 We can safely say of ours, that it was honestly made, and 
 executed to the very best of our ability, and that we 
 called to our aid every available help, whether the works 
 of Biblical critics, or the living voices of intelligent 
 natives. 
 
 " The translation of the New Testament was prepared 
 wholly by Mr. Geddie and myself. I translated Luke, ist 
 and 2nd Corinthians, Hebrews, and the Bevelation. Mr. 
 Geddie translated all the rest. I revised, corrected, and 
 edited the whole with the assistance of Williamu. Of the 
 Old Testament, Mr. Geddie translated the last four books 
 of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, ist and 2nd Kings, and 
 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, the Psalms, the historical 
 portion of Daniel, and Jonah. Mr. Copeland translated 
 Ruth, Esther, the prophetical chapters of Daniel, and all 
 the twelve minor prophets except Jonah. I translated 
 Genesis, ist and 2nd Samuel, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, 
 Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and 
 Ezekiel. Mr, Geddie by mistake translated Job after I 
 had finished it, and I by a mistake also translated Judges ; 
 and as the latter half of Mr. Geddie's translation of 
 Leviticus was lost after his death in some printing office 
 in Melbourne, I had also to translate that. But in re- 
 vising I compared both these translations, and they were 
 improved thereby. Mr. Geddie hastily revised the first 
 half of the Old Testament. Mr. Copeland revised the 
 whole. I had to revise, correct, and edit the whole of the 
 Old Testament as well as the New. Mr. Geddie brought 
 out an edition of the book of Psalms printed in Nova 
 Scotia. This edition was used up before the Old Testa- 
 ment was printed. He also edited the first half of the 
 Pentateuch in Melbourne before his death, which was put
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 143 
 
 in circulation some years before the Old Testament was 
 published." 
 
 We add two or three more extracts from Mr. Insrlis' 
 book, which will give the reader a pretty complete history 
 of Bible translation and Bible circulation on Aneiteum. 
 " When I came home," he remarks, " in 1877, to carry the 
 Old Testament through the press, Mr. Meller had gone to 
 his rest and reward, after eighteen years of valuable labour 
 for the Society. Another Editorial Superintendent was 
 occupying his place, viz., the Rev. W. Wright, M.A. (now 
 also D.D.), who had been for ten years a missionary to 
 the Jews in Damascus from the Presbyterian Church in 
 Ireland. Dr. Wright is an eminent Hebrew scholar, and 
 has greatly distinguished himself by his researches and 
 discoveries in connection with the Hittite inscriptions. 
 My relations with him were in every way as satisfactory 
 as they had been with Mr. Meller. We printed the last 
 volume of the Old Testament first, and sent it out to 
 Aneityum, because they had less knowledge of the 
 prophetical books than of the historical. They got the 
 second volume in 1879, and the first volume in i88r. 
 I was not on the island when the Old Testament was 
 received, nor have I been there since, but I know that its 
 reception must have been much the same as tliat accorded 
 to the New Testament in 1863." 
 
 With reference to the influence that is being exerted on 
 the people of Aneiteum, Mr. Inglis writes as follows: — 
 " As soon as they know their letters, they commence 
 reading some portion of the Scriptures. Our education 
 therefore is thoroughly scriptural; and the results may 
 be seen in the striking contrast between this and the 
 adjoining islands which arf> still in heathen darkness. All 
 here is peace and quietness; life and property are secure. 
 We may say that we have no crime." 
 
 Again Mr. Inglis remarks : — " The same process is going
 
 144 THE ANEITBUM VERSION. 
 
 on, and tlie same results are being brought about in all 
 the islands occupied by the mission. The leaven of God's 
 Word is beginning, it may be slowly, but still steadily 
 and surely, to leaven the whole mass of heathenism." 
 
 It is highly gratifying to be able to add that the people 
 of Aneiteum, poor as they are, and comparatively few in 
 number, are likely to refund to the Bible Society the 
 entire amount incurred in the printing and binding of 
 the Scriptures in their language. With reference to this 
 matter, Mr. Inglis wrote as follows in 1876 : — " The 
 natives paid the full price, about four shillings a copy, for 
 2000 copies of the New Testament, and about one shilling 
 and sixpence a copy for 2000 copies of the Psalms ; and 
 there is every probability of their being able to pay for 
 1250 copies of the Old Testament as soon as they are 
 printed." The complete Bible, as we have seen, has been 
 printed and is now in the course of sale on the island, and 
 I have no doubt whatever that the debt which the people 
 owe the Society will in due time be paid to the full, if 
 indeed this has not been already done. 
 
 It is a touching consideration that one of the two 
 principal workers did not live to see the completion of 
 the great undertaking. Dr. Geddie was called to his home 
 and his rest on the 15th of December 1872. In his late 
 work Dr. Inglis, who happily is still spared to bring forth 
 fruit in old age, bears the following graceful testimony to 
 the character and worth of his departed fellow-labourer : — 
 " He will be remembered as the father and founder of the 
 Presbyterian mission on that group ; as one who has left 
 his mark broad and deep on the New Hebrides, but 
 especially on the island of Aneityum, and whose memory 
 will be long and gratefully cherished by the natives ; as 
 one also who has increased the usefulness, extended the 
 boundaries, elevated the character, and heightened the
 
 THE ANEITEUM VERSION. 145 
 
 reputation of the Presbyterian Cliurcli of Nova Scotia ; 
 and as one whose example will fan the flame of missionary 
 zeal in that and other churches for many years to come. 
 Oh that many such as he may respond to the divine call, 
 and say, ' Lord, here am I ; send me.' " 
 
 We trust Dr. Inglis will be spared yet for a few years 
 to serve by tongue and pen the cause he loves so well, and 
 has served so faithfully throughout a long life ; and that 
 when the time comes for him to rejoin the loved ones who 
 have gone before, he will have an entrance ministered to 
 him abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ.
 
 ( 146 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TANNA. 
 
 Christian teachers from Samoa were placed on the island 
 of Tanna by John "Williams on the i8th of November 
 1839, the day before he fell on the nei^^-hbouring island of 
 Eramanga. It was the first island of the New Hebrides 
 group on which missionary operations were commenced. 
 A vast amount of labour has been expended upon it, and 
 very much suffering and self-denial have been braved by 
 the faithful men and women who have toiled to bring its 
 benighted tribes out of darkness into light, not counting 
 their lives dear unto them if by any means by God's help 
 they might succeed in their grand object. Yet the results, 
 so far, have been disappointing. Instead of being in the 
 van of progress, as might have been expected, it is far in 
 the rear of other islands of the same group on which 
 missions were commenced at a much later date. 
 
 We need not say much with reference to the island and 
 its people. These are largely described in works which 
 have long been before the public, such as Dr. Turner's 
 " Nineteen Years in Polynesia," Dr. Steel's " New Hebrides 
 and Christian Missions," and " Missions in Western Poly- 
 nesia." The island is about forty miles to the north-west 
 of Aneiteum, and about eighteen or twenty to the east of 
 Eramanga. It is a fine island, one of the most beautiful 
 and fertile of the New Hebrides group, and as regards 
 extent and population one of the most important. It is
 
 TANNA. 147 
 
 about eighty miles iu circumference, and the population 
 is estimated at from 6000 to 8000. The natives have 
 much in common with their neighbours on other islands 
 already described. They are perhaps a shade or two more 
 fierce and savage than the worst of these. 
 
 The mission has a sadly chequered history. We must 
 confine ourselves to a very brief outline. As already 
 stated it was commenced in November 1839.* After a 
 few months the island was visited by the Rev. Thomas 
 Heath of the Samoan mission. All was found g-oinaf on 
 fairly well, and the mission was reinforced by the addition 
 of two more Samoan teachers, Pomare and Vaiofanga. 
 The next visit was made by the writer iu April 1841, when 
 a very sad state of things was found. The teachers had 
 suffered much from illness and neglect, and two of their 
 number, Pomare and Salamea, had died. The survivors 
 had recovered their health : a few of the natives had 
 attached themselves to them, and they were willing to 
 remain, so we were able to keep the door open. 
 
 In June 1842 the Rev. George Turner and the Rev. 
 Henry Nisbet, recently from England, were, with their 
 heroic wives, settled on the island. They entered upon 
 their work with fair prospects, and high hopes were enter- 
 tained that the time to favour Tanna had come, and that 
 a bright future was in store for its benighted people. 
 Alas ! for our short-sighted forecast. Only a few months 
 had passed when the infatuated people drove the messengers 
 of peace from tlieir shores. They had to flee for their 
 lives, and they were saved by one of the most remarkable 
 interpositions of Divine providence on record. 
 
 In 1845 the island was again occupied by eastern 
 teachers, and from that tiiiio till 1S58 it was one con- 
 tinuous struggle to retain a hold upon the island. There 
 
 * The narn(!H of the te.ichcr.s placed on the i.sland by Mr. Wiiliams wcro 
 Lalolan^'i, Salainija, and Mosc.
 
 148 TANNA. 
 
 was disaster upon disaster. Twice the mission was sus- 
 pended for a short time, and one of the Samoan teachers, 
 Yasa, was murdered, and another, loane, was barbarously 
 beaten and apparently left for dead, and a house in which 
 were a number of teachers was set on fire, evidently with 
 the design of compassing the destruction of all ; all, how- 
 ever, were mercifully preserved. Thus the infatuated 
 people resisted, desperately resisted, all our efibrts to 
 confer upon them the highest boon which Heaven has to 
 bestow, but they knew not what they did. 
 
 In 1858 European missionaries were again settled on 
 the island. The Eev. Joseph Copeland and the liev. J. G. 
 Paton from Scotland, and the Rev. J. W. Matheson from 
 Nova Scotia, took up their abode on the island ; and in 
 1859 the Rev. S. F. Johnston and Mrs. Johnson, also from 
 Nova Scotia, joined the mission. Messrs. Paton and 
 Matheson were also married, and accompanied by their 
 wdves. After a time IMr. Copeland was removed to 
 Aneiteura to take temporary charge of Mr. Inglis' station, 
 while he was absent in England superintending the 
 printing of the Aneiteumese New Testament. Still with 
 such a force of consecrated meu and women progress 
 might naturally have been expected, but the reaping time 
 was still distant. Within the space of three short years 
 the mission was again broken up. Messrs. Johnston and 
 Matheson were dead. Mrs. Paton and her child were also 
 dead, and Mr. Paton and Mrs. Johnston alone remained. 
 Mrs. Johnston, after the death of her husband, withdrew 
 from the island and became an inmate in the family of 
 Mr. Geddie, and but one solitary representative of the 
 mission remained, and he a sorely stricken man. In 
 addition to the terrible trial of losing his wife and child, 
 Mr. Paton had suffered much from frequent and severe 
 attacks of fever and ague, and again and again he had 
 been in imminent peril of his life, still he was slow to quit
 
 TANK A. 149 
 
 his post. At length matters came to extremities, and he 
 was obliged to flee to escape being murdered ; and Tanna 
 was again left in heathen darkness. 
 
 In 1868 mission work was resumed on the island. The 
 Rev, Thomas Neilson from Scotland, with his wife, a 
 dauo-hter of the late Dr. Geddie, settled at Port Resolution 
 which had become a sort of hallowed spot, consecrated in 
 a manner by the suSerings and deaths of so many of 
 Christ's witnesses. Mr. and Mrs. Neilson entered upon 
 their work with a measure of encouragement and pursued 
 it with all diligence. Early in 1870 Mr. Neilson began 
 regular preaching to the natives in their own tongue, and 
 was soon able to report a little progress. " We have 
 worship," he said, " in six different villages every Sabbath 
 day ; in the first, in the little church, then I send two 
 teachers to conduct worship on one Sabbath in two 
 villages at a distance, and I myself with two other 
 teachers go to those near at hand. In each of these 
 villages there is an average attendance of from twenty to 
 thirty persons every Sabbath day, so that the Gospel is 
 preached to from one hundred and twenty to one hundred 
 and eighty persons in and around Port Resolution every 
 Sabbath." Mrs. Neilson was also working among the 
 women, and had taught several of them to read and sing 
 hymns ; and Mr. Neilson applied himself to the work of 
 Scripture translation as soon as his knowledge of the 
 language allowed, and according to Dr. Steel ho prepared 
 a version of the Gospels.* 
 
 In 1869 the Rev. William AV'aLt and Mrs. Watt irom 
 the Presbyterian Cliurch of New Zealand settled at another 
 part of the island, named Kwamem, :iiid took up the work 
 which had been begun by Mr. and Mrs. ]\Iatheson, and 
 with the exception of an interval dining which they were 
 absent on furlough, they liavo l;ih<)iirc(l on to the present 
 • See Dr. Sted'a work, p. 180.
 
 ISO TANNA. 
 
 time, happily with a measure of encouragement. Patiently 
 and zealously they have plodded on amid difficulties and 
 trials such as fall to the lot of comparatively few mission- 
 aries in the islands of the Pacific in these days. ITicy 
 soon gained a good knowledge of the language, and they 
 appeared to get a firmer footing among the people than 
 any of their predecessors. 
 
 With reference to the translating and printing of the 
 sacred Scriptures, Mr. Watt has furnished the following 
 information: — "It was not till 1869 that any portion of 
 God's Word appears to have been printed in Tannese. In 
 1869 Mr. Puton, who had been driven from Tanna in 1862, 
 got a portion of the Gospel according to Mark printed in 
 Auckland. The portion consisted of the first three and 
 part of the fourth chapters. In the same year ]\Ir. Neilson 
 got a small book printed at Aneityum containing the 
 Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, The following 
 year I got a small book of Scripture extracts printed. 
 
 " In 1 873 the Glasgow Foundry Boys Religious Society 
 provided me with a printing press, and since that date 
 all books printed in Tannese have been printed by me 
 with that press, and have been my own translations. In 
 1875 I printed two books, the one in small pica type, 
 containing the parables of our Lord, and the other in 
 double pica type, containing the miracles. In 1878 the 
 Gospel of Matthew was printed, followed in 18S1 by the 
 Acts of the Apostles ; in 1883 by the book of Genesis ; and 
 in 1884 by the first nineteen chapters and part of the 
 twentieth chapter of Exodus. In each case the edition 
 consisted of 200 copies. 
 
 " Ai'rano-eraents are now being made with the National 
 Bible Society of Scotland, with the consent of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, to get the whole of the New 
 Testament printed in this dialect of the Tannese language, 
 and nearly all has been translated. In many cases Mr.
 
 TANNA. 151 
 
 Xeilson and I have translations of the same books. In 
 addition to those translated by me, j\Ir. Neilson has left 
 translations of the Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians, 
 Timothy, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistles of 
 John and Jude, and the book of Revelation. He has 
 also left translations of the books of Joshua, Judges, and 
 Jonah. These are all, however, first translations, and will 
 require much revision before they will be ready for the 
 press. 
 
 " On Tanna no charge has ever been made for books. 
 We have not even adopted the custom introduced on 
 Aneityum of getting the natives to make arrowroot in 
 payment of them. We have been in the habit of asking 
 for a contribution of arrowroot^ but it has been applied to 
 other purposes. As soon as a new book is printed and 
 bound copies are distributed to all who can use them. 
 Our people have had a great dread of books,* and our 
 desire has been to put no obstacle in the way of any one's 
 obtaining them. 
 
 " On Tanna, as elsewhere, the entrance of God's Word 
 gives light. One of our young men gave as a reason for 
 urging his neighbours to learn to read that if they read 
 the book they could not but believe it." 
 
 In the month of October i88r a noteworthy event 
 occurred at jMr. Watt's station — a church was formed. 
 Oi' this important fact I find only the following brief 
 notice in the Annual lleport of the mission : — " On the 6th 
 of October I baptized six adults and three children, and on 
 Sabbath, the 9th of October, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was dispensed by Mr. Neilson, who bad kindly 
 
 • ThiH ari.MCH from a fear lint by receiving books they should bring npon 
 themBclveH di.scaHo or Home oilier calamity ; .ind the name reason has all 
 along influenced them in their treatment of miHaionaries and teachers, bo 
 that HUperHtitioua fears have been the chief cause of their long continued 
 opposition to Christianity.
 
 152 TANNA. 
 
 come round to assist at tlie formation of the first Christian 
 church on Tanna." 
 
 In December 18S2 Mr. Neilson withdrew from the 
 mission, and retired to Australia, so Port Resolution was 
 again left without a missionary. A few of the natives 
 kept up a sort of service, conducting it as best they could, 
 and in June 1883 an Aueiteum teacher was placed in 
 charge of the station, Mr. Watt making periodical visits 
 and taking the general oversight. 
 
 In October 1882 a new station was opened at a place 
 called Weasisi, and the Rev. W, Gray and Mrs. Gray from 
 South Australia commenced work under circumstances 
 remarkably encouraging for Tanna. A number of the 
 natives gathered round them at once, and they were soon 
 able to commence teaching, and conducting services which 
 were fairly well attended, and there seems to have been 
 steady progress. In 1885 Mr. Gray was able to report as 
 follows : — " We hold two services every Sunday, when we 
 have a good and steady attendance. At the morning 
 services I read a portion of Scripture from Mr. Watt's 
 translation, and the translation of Scripture which I have 
 prepared during the previous week. Afterwards I give 
 an address explaining my translation. This I have done 
 since the beginning of this year. One of the native 
 teachers gives an address at the afternoon service. The 
 attendance at the service on Wednesday afternoons is good, 
 sometimes large. We have school every night. We have 
 forty-eight names on the school roll for this year. We 
 have grey-headed men and women and toddling children 
 among our scholars. Some of the boys and girls make 
 progress in reading. Three days of the week we hold an 
 advanced class for our teachers and servants." 
 
 The above extract indicates progress and encourages 
 hope, and the Report for 1886 from Kwamera and Port 
 Resolution was also of an encouraging character. Of these
 
 TANNA. 153 
 
 Mr, Watt writes as follows : — " At both places the work 
 has been carried on uninterruptedly during- the past year, 
 and in some respects steady progress at both places may 
 be reported. We have celebrated in all four Christian 
 marriages during the year. We have added one member 
 to the church. When visiting Port Resolution in the 
 month of August, the people turned out much better to 
 the service than they usually do. The last evening about 
 forty were present at worship. Our annual contribution 
 of arrowroot amounted to 265 lbs." 
 
 And now we must take our leave of Tanna. As the 
 reader has seen it is still the day of small things there. 
 " The missionary work on Tanna," Dr. Steel remarks in his 
 book, " yet awaits its harvest after a long and trying 
 spring-time. Many would have abandoned the island 
 long ere this ; but as so much influence for good has been 
 gained, the reaping time will come." 
 
 So we believe. Mr. and Mrs. Watt have stuck to their 
 work right nobly, and though the results, so far, are com- 
 paratively small, yet there are substantial results. The 
 first fruits have been gathered, and the harvest will surely 
 follow. God is faithful who hath promised, " In due season 
 we shall reap if we faint not." And these faithful labourers 
 have not fainted, nor are their younger fellow-labourers 
 likely to faint either. So far there are pleasing indications 
 that God is working with them, and if their lives are 
 spared and their health continued, we may reasonably 
 hope that their labours will be crowned with growing 
 success. God grant that so it may be. Soon may the 
 long-looked-for blessing descend in its fulness, and the 
 little one become a thousand, and the small one a strong 
 nation.
 
 ( 145 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ERAMANGA. 
 
 The early history of this island is a mournful one. It was 
 discovered by Captain Cook in 1774, and his intercourse 
 with the natives was inauspicious. A serious quarrel took 
 place between a watering party and the natives. Two of 
 Captain Cook's people were wovinded, not seriously, and 
 " four of the natives," he states, " lay, to all appearance, 
 dead on the shore ; but two of them afterwards crawled in 
 among: the bushes. It was a fortunate circumstance for 
 our assailants that more than half our muskets missed 
 fire, otherwise we should have done much more execution 
 among them." Captain Cook was a cautious and humane 
 man, but in this case he felt himself compelled to adopt 
 severe measures for the protection of his own people. Such 
 was the unfortunate commencement of intercourse between 
 the Eramangans and foreigners, and probably it had some- 
 thing to do in giving a character to that intercourse in 
 subsequent years. For a length of time voyagers and 
 traders seem to have shunned the island in consequence 
 of the fierce and savage character of the natives as disclosed 
 by Cook's narrative of his visit. He named the cape near 
 which the affi-ay took place Traitor's Head, a name which 
 it still bears. 
 
 Eramanga is about seventy-five miles in circumference. 
 It is, as already remarked, distant from Tanna about 
 eighteen or twenty miles. It is not equal to Tanna in
 
 ERA MANGA. 
 
 'D3 
 
 fertility and beauty, still it is a fine island. It is 
 mountainous ; some of the mountains are so lofty as to be 
 visible at the distance of forty miles. A large part of the 
 coast looks rugged and barren, and though there are several 
 bays, there is no really good harbours. Dillon's Bay is 
 the best, but it is open to the sea, and is not safe in all 
 weathers. In the interior there are large tracks of rich 
 cultivatable land, but not much round the coast. The 
 population is small for the extent of the island. What 
 it was at the time of its discovery we have no means 
 of knowing, but the Rev. G. N. Gordon, the first white 
 missionary who settled upon it, thought it did not exceed 
 5000 in his time. 
 
 The natives of Eramanga are the lowest of all the tribes 
 inhabiting the New Hebrides. They are inferior in their 
 physical development, darker in colour, and rather more 
 than less savage and barbarous in their character, customs, 
 and usages. They may be classed somewhere between their 
 neighbour islanders and the aborigines of Australia, who 
 are the lowest of all the races of the human family with 
 whom it has been my lot to come in contact. 
 
 It was not till about 1820 or later that Eramanga began 
 to be resorted to by white men. Sandal-wood of very 
 superior quality, and in great abundance, was discovered, 
 and a rush of adventurers followed somewhat similar to 
 what takes place when a new gold field is reported. Sad 
 outrages were committed by men who resorted to the 
 island in search of the coveted treasure; and it is not 
 surprising that the natives retaliated, and committed 
 atrocities upon the white men, and coloured men too, for 
 they were not all wliite men who engaged in the sandal- 
 wood trade. White men were generally the leaders, but 
 they often had in their employ natives of other islands, who 
 assisted them in their outrageous conduct, and were in- 
 volved in the reprisals of the often most cruelly treated
 
 156 ERA MANGA. 
 
 Eramangans. Sometimes, I suppose, the natives were 
 the aggressors, but it may be safely affirmed that in 
 the great majority of cases it was the other way. The 
 traders, as a general rule, go to the islands determined 
 to obtain what they are in search of, whether it be sandal- 
 wood or anything else, and they are not scrupulous as to 
 the means they employ to accomplish their object; the 
 claims of the natives, and even their lives, are not of much 
 account. Fearful confirmation of these statements have 
 again and again been supplied during the last fifty years 
 by sandal-wood traders, and men-stealers, and other traders 
 throughout the New Hebrides and other islands. When 
 the sandal-wood was exhausted in Eramanga and elsewhere, 
 the natives themselves were decoyed away, or seized and 
 carried off by force into virtual slavery by men from 
 Christian lands, and alas ! the infamous traffic is not yet 
 at an end. 
 
 It was owing to one of the sandal-wood outrages that 
 the first martyrs of Eramanga, John Williams and James 
 Harris, lost their lives ; and the labour traffic led also to 
 the murder of Bishop Patteson and his fellow-martyrs. 
 When on a visit to Eramanga some years after the death 
 of Messrs. Williams and Harris, the actual murderer was 
 found. The poor man expressed sorrow, pleading that he 
 did not know that they were missionaries, and mentioning, 
 as an extenuation of his deed, that a short time before a 
 son of his own had been shot dead by a white man. 
 
 Two Christian teachers were placed on Eramanga by 
 the Rev. Thomas Heath of the Samoan mission in 1840, 
 but when the island was again visited in April 1841 it 
 was found necessary to remove them. The natives had 
 failed to fulfil their promises to protect them and provide 
 for them, and it was little short of a miracle that we found 
 them alive. 
 
 Eight years passed away before we were able to regain
 
 ERAMAXGA. 157 
 
 our hold upon the island, and then it was rather a nega- 
 tive than a positive hold. In September 1849 the Rev. 
 Charles Hardie of the Samoan mission and the writer 
 visited the island. The way was not yet clear to place 
 teachers upon it, but we succeeded in inducing four 
 natives to go with us to Samoa, and this proved to be 
 the first link in the chain of events that have issued in 
 Christianity being firmly planted on Ei-amanga. Alas ! 
 the interval is deeply shaded ; the end has been gained, 
 but at a heavy expenditure of suffering and precious life ! 
 The four vouths remained in Samoa about three vears, 
 and three of them appeared to become sincere disciples of 
 Christ. They left Samoa in the Jolm Williavis, in charge 
 of the Rev. J, P. Sunderland and the writer, who were 
 the deputation on that occasion. What appeared to us a 
 very sad calamity occurred during the voyage, Nivave, 
 one of the most hopeful of our Eramangan youths, died 
 when we were almost within sight of his native land. We 
 were greatly grieved, and somewhat apprehensive as to what 
 effect the news of his death would have upon his country- 
 men. However, we had done what we could, and we had 
 hope that poor Nivave had been taken to a better home 
 than he could have found on Eraraanga ; and having the 
 full confidence of those that remained, we went forward in 
 hope, and succeeded by the help of God in gaining our 
 object. Two Rarotongan teachers, Va'a and Akatangi, 
 were placed on the island, and had an encouraging recep- 
 tion. We owed our success, no doubt, under God, to the 
 natives who had been to Samoa. Their testimony pro- 
 duced an effect such as nothing else could have produced 
 on the minda of their countrymen. One of tliem was a 
 mere youth. He got away among his relatives, and we 
 lost sight of him, but two, Joe and Mana, kept by the 
 teachers, and lent invaluable help to the mission. Thf 
 teachers were landed on the 25th of April 1852, and from
 
 158 ERA MANGA. 
 
 that time the history of the Eramangau mission really 
 dates. 
 
 As soon as the teachers had got a sufiicieut hold of the 
 language, they prepared a spelling-book, which was printed 
 by ^Ir. Geddie, so they were able to commence teaching 
 the wild Eramangans to read, and in this way to get a 
 little light into their dark minds. 
 
 The teachers had a rough and trying time, but they 
 plodded on, and did something towards preparing the way 
 for workers better able to grapple with the difficulties of 
 the situation than they were. In the month of June 1857, 
 the Rev. G. N. Gordon from Nova Scotia, and Mrs. Gordon, 
 a native of London, settled on the island. They took up 
 their abode in Dillon's Bay, and entered upon their work 
 and prosecuted it with untiring zeal, and with some en- 
 couragement daring their short term of service. Their 
 trials were many and great. Mrs. Gordon suffered much 
 from fever and ague, and their lives were in constant peril. 
 A few young men, however, headed by Joe and Mana, the 
 two lads who had been to Samoa, gathered around them 
 and stood by them amid all their dangers and trials, never 
 flinching even when danger was most imminent. Mr. 
 Gordon soon so far acquired the language as to be able to 
 do some literary work. He prepared school books and a 
 catechism, and translated the Gospel of Luke, the Acts 
 of the Apostles, and the book of Jonah. Some of these 
 were in use before they were printed, and corrections 
 were made as the language was better known — indeed 
 nothing seems to have been printed till after Mr. Gordon's 
 death. 
 
 The particulars of the sad tragedy which terminated 
 the lives and labours of these devoted and heroic witnesses 
 for Christ have long been before the public. Full par- 
 ticulars were obtained by the writer from Joe on the 
 spot, soon after the event occurred, and may be found in
 
 ERA MANGA. 159 
 
 '•Missions in Western Polynesia/' p. 417, and in "The 
 Martyrs of Polynesia," chap. vi. p. 91. 
 
 The following interesting and touching information, 
 connected with the translation and printing of the Gospel of 
 Luke in the Eramangan language, has been communicated 
 to me by the Eev. Samuel Ella. In the course of the 
 year 1864 Mr. Ella was obliged to remain about five 
 months on the island of Aneiteum, through the high- 
 handed action of the French authorities on New Caledonia, 
 in refusing to allow him to land on the island of Uvea, on 
 which he had been appointed to labour as a missionary of 
 the London Missionary Society. During his detention on 
 Aneiteum, he and Mrs. Ella were the guests of Mr. and 
 ]\Irs. Inglis (now Dr. Inglis) ; and Mr. Ella having a know- 
 ledge of printing, and having a printing-press with him, 
 he set it up, and turned his stay on Aneiteum to good 
 account. With reference to his detention Dr. Liglis 
 remarked in the Annual Report of the mission for that 
 year : — " Satan overreached himself when he shut out the 
 Ilev. Mi\ Ella from Uvea, for during his enforced stay on 
 Aneiteum he rendered valuable aid to our mission by priut- 
 iu<y the Eramangan Gospel of Luke and other useful works." 
 " The Gospel of Luke," Mr. Ella remarks, " was trans- 
 lated by the Ilev. G. N. Gordon into the principal dialect 
 of Eramanga a short time before liis martyrdom on that 
 bloodstained shore, and the manuscrii)t was copied by his 
 devoted wife in a laid text hand on demy folio paper in 
 order that the whole class sitting around this heroic lady 
 niigiit read while she retained the valuable treasure in her 
 own hands. This work must have been one of great labour, 
 and have occupied considerable time, not much less than 
 the work of translating entailed. The Rev. Joseph Cope- 
 land, with the assi-stance of an intelligent native of Era- 
 manga, revised the translation as the printing progressed." 
 Such were the circumstances under whicli the first portion
 
 i6o ERAMANGA. 
 
 of tlie sacred Scriptures was given to the Eramaiigans in 
 their own tongue, and through it the translator and the 
 transcriber, though silent in their martyr graves, will 
 speak to successive generations through God's imperish- 
 able truth. 
 
 Eramanra was not left without a missionary for a great 
 while. At the time of ]\lr. Gordon's death, a younger 
 brother, James D. Gordon, was studying for the ministry 
 at their home in Nova Scotia, and when the sad news 
 I'eached him that his brother had been murdered, he at 
 once determined to take up the fallen standard. He 
 reached the island in 1864, and took up the work where 
 his brother had laid it down. A church had been formed 
 by the deceased brother, consisting of three members. 
 After a time sixteen more were baptized and added to the 
 little company. Over these Mr. Gordon watched while he 
 laboured to lead others to the Saviour, and went forward 
 with the work of Scripture translation as his knowledge 
 of the language and other engagements allowed. He 
 translated the book of Genesis, and got it printed in 
 Sydney, and the Gospel of Matthew, which was printed 
 in London, the expense in both cases being borne by the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. The translation of 
 these books was begun by the elder brother. Genesis 
 must have been printed in the course of the year 1868, 
 and Matthew in 1869. Of Genesis only 500 copies were 
 printed, the number of readers on Eramanga in those 
 early days being very small, and, I suppose, the same 
 number of the (Jospel. " liesides these," Dr. Steel re- 
 marks, " a primer, two catechisms, and a Psalter were 
 prepared and printed;" and the next notice we have of 
 translation work by Mr. Gordon is in connection with the 
 sad close of his life and labours, for he too fell a victim to 
 the ferocity of the deluded people whom he sought to bless 
 and save.
 
 ERAMAXGA. i6i 
 
 He had great longings to carry the Gospel to other and 
 larger islands than Eramanga, and moved by what he 
 seems to have regarded as a providential call, he went to 
 the great island of Espiritu Santo early in 1869, and 
 remained there to the close of that year. Two natives of 
 that island had been with him for some time on Eramanga, 
 and from them he had acquired a knowledge of one of the 
 dialects spoken on the island, in which he prepared a 
 primer which he got printed in Sydney. He was well 
 received by the natives, and did some valuable pioneer 
 work, 
 
 Eramanga was not left without missionary superin- 
 tendence during his absence. In 1866 the Rev. James 
 ]\t'Nair, a man of great promise, joined the mission. He 
 possessed in a high degree the qualities needful for 
 effective service in the mission field, and had his life 
 been spared, he would doubtless have done valuable 
 work. Alas ! however, his course was cut short soon aft er 
 his work was begun. He died on the i6th of July 1870, 
 leaving a widow equally devoted to mission work as him- 
 self. She with her child returned to Scotland, her native 
 land, and became the second wife of the Eev. Dr. Turner 
 of the Samoan mission ; and she is still spared to share 
 with her husband the important literary labours by which 
 he is rendering invaluable service to the cause to which 
 he has devoted a long life with singular fidelity and a 
 measure of success such as falls to the lot of few even of 
 the most favoured workers in the great mission field. 
 May they still be spared for years to come to bring forth 
 fruit in growing measure, to the praise and glory of 
 God ! 
 
 A fellow-labourer of Mr. IM'Nair, the Tlev. T. Neilson of 
 Tanna, speaks of him in the following terms: — "James 
 M'Nair, as devoted a missionary, as prayerful, as sincere 
 a man as the church has ever sent to these Southern Seas." 
 
 L
 
 i62 ERA MANGA. 
 
 We think with sadness that .1 man of so much promise 
 should have been so early taken to his rest, but we fall 
 back on the assurance that He with whom we have to do 
 does all things well. 
 
 On his return from Espiritu Santo, Mr. Gordon com- 
 menced a new station at a place called Portinia Bay, on 
 the opposite side of the island to Dillon's Bay, and 
 entered upon work there, and prosecuted it with his usual 
 energy and diligence. A stone church was built, and the 
 services he conducted were well attended, and a number 
 of people gathered around him, and a bright future seemed 
 opening before him. Alas ! his work was well nigh done. 
 It was at the close of 1869 tliat he returned from Espiritu 
 Santo, and in March 1872 the end came. The summer 
 had been unusually wet and unhealthy, and there had 
 been much sickness among the people, and for this Mr. 
 Gordon was blamed by the heathen. A man named 
 Kerimpow had lost two children, to both of whom, it is 
 said, Mr. Gordon had given medicine, and the father 
 determined to avenge their death on the unoffending 
 missionary. He, with another inan, came to Mr. Gordon's 
 house. They found him at home. He had just, with the 
 assistance of a native named Soso, finished the revision of 
 the seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, in which 
 the martyrdom of Stephen is recorded. He gave the 
 manuscript to Soso to read, while he went into the store- 
 room to get some rice to give to the cook to prepare for 
 dinner. Having done this he went into the front verandah 
 where Nerimpow and his companion were standing. Mr. 
 Gordon gave them two empty bottles (these they valued 
 much in their heathen state), whether at their request or 
 not does not appear. They received the bottles with 
 apparent satisfaction, but murder was in their hearts. 
 Mr. Gordon sat down and began to talk with them. 
 Nerimpow was evidently watching his opportunity, and
 
 ERA MANGA. 163 
 
 when that was presented he struck Mr. Gordon a blow 
 with a tomahawk on the right side of his head. There 
 was no need for a second blow. The tomahawk stuck in 
 the skull. The murdered man stag-gered through a French 
 window into his room, and fell, dying almost instan- 
 taneously. The sound of his fall drew Soso, the native 
 pundit, to the spot. He found him lying with his face 
 on the floor. He heard him breathe twice, observed his 
 mouth fill with blood, and he was gone. The murderer 
 and his companion had fled. 
 
 As if Mr. Gordon had thought that a sudden termination 
 to his life was not improbable, he had marked out a spot 
 where he wished to be laid when such an event might 
 occur. He had pointed out the selected spot to the 
 natives, and charged them as follows: — "If I die, bury 
 me here ; afterwards send word to the missionaries." So 
 the faithful natives made a rude cofiin and buried him in 
 the evening of the day of the murder, "according," as 
 they said, " to the word which he had spoken." * The 
 little Christian party, numbering in all, men, women, and 
 children, forty-three, seemed to have no heart to remain at 
 the place where their teacher, to whom they were evidently 
 warmly attached, had been murdered. After three days 
 they gathered together their little movable property, 
 Soso taking charge of manuscripts and some things of 
 value that had belonged to Mr, Gordon, and crossed the 
 island to Dillon's Bay ami joined their brethren there, 
 who, no doubt, were of oiii' mind with them in doplnring 
 the death of their teacher and guide 
 
 One cannot think of the brief life and the cruel death 
 of this lone man without a feeling of sadness. Jie was a 
 brave heroic spirit, eminently devoteil t'> his work, ready 
 to do or dare anything for the sake of the Saviour, under 
 the constraining power of whoso love he seemed habitually 
 * See the " Now IIcbridcB and Christian Missions," p. 202.
 
 1 64 ERA MANGA. 
 
 to live. But we must be still. Has He not a riglit to do 
 what lie will with Jlis own ? 
 
 It is a comfort to think that his labours and sufferings 
 were not in vain. How clearly does this appear from what 
 took place at his death. Who were thej who tenderly 
 and lovingly committed his mangled remains to the grave, 
 and made great lamentation over him? Were they not 
 Eramangans, countrymen of his murderers, and but lately 
 as blind and savage as they ? And what a tale does 
 this fact tell of the power of those blessed truths which 
 he had taught them to raise the lowest, and subdue 
 the fiercest, and renovate the vilest of the children of 
 Adam ! 
 
 It would have been no matter of surprise if after the 
 murder of five missionaries on Eramanga, difficulty had 
 been found in obtaining another to venture among so 
 treacherous and savage a people. It was not so, however. 
 Towards the close of the year of INIr. Gordon's death, 
 the Rev. H, A. Robertson and his wife arrived from Nova 
 Scotia, and with the heroism of martyrs chose Eramanga 
 as their sphere of labour, thereby evincing in as far as the 
 spirit went their fitness for the position, and their subse- 
 quent history has proved their fituess for the practical 
 work. They took up their abode in Dillon's Bay at the 
 close of 1872, and with the exception of a short furlough 
 spent in their native land, they have toiled on till the 
 present time, and a remarkable blessing has crowned their 
 labours, so that of the Eramanga of to-day compared with 
 the Eramanga of fifteen years ago we may say without 
 much exaggeration, " Old things have passed away, and 
 all things have become new." 
 
 As soon as his knowledge of the language allowed, Mr. 
 Robertson took up the work of Scripture translation where 
 his predecessor left off on the day of his death. He com- 
 pleted the Acts of the Apostles, and in 1879 one thousand
 
 ERAMANGA. 165 
 
 copies were printed in Sydney at tlie expense of the Britisli 
 and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 The followinor extract from a letter of Mr. Robertson to 
 the Society is especially noteworthy, as showing what a 
 wonderful change had come over the Eramangans : — Mr. 
 Robertson had said to the native converts that he thought 
 they ought to pay for the printing of the book. There was 
 no lack of willingness, but how was the thing to be done? 
 Well, where there is a will, a way will generally be 
 found. 
 
 " They consulted among themselves, entered heartily into 
 the thing, and any who had money brought it. Others 
 brought weapons of war — clubs, spears, bows and arrows, 
 &c., and sandal- wood — indeed anything they could give to 
 be sold, and the price used to pay for the printing of the 
 book. Thus they contributed over £2^ in money and 
 value in a few days, which, we think, was very good for 
 bloodstained Eramanga, where five missionaries have fallen 
 by the savages." 
 
 From this time onwards there has been steady progress. 
 The " night of toil " had been long and dreary, but morning 
 bad come at length. 
 
 In the Report of the Bible Society for 1882 we find the 
 Rev. ]). Macdonald of Fate writing as follows : — " Very 
 cheering reports continue to come from Eramanga. A 
 large portion of the people are under instruction. A hand- 
 some Martyrs' Memorial Church has been built: a son of 
 the murderer of John Williams laid the corner stone. Mr. 
 Robertson says — ' The Christian people of this island are 
 beginning to realise the blessing of giving. A few years 
 ago they raised ;^24 towards the cost of printing the Acts 
 of the Apostles. 'J'his year they prepared 2000 lbs. of 
 arrowroot of the finest quality to pay for Scriptures and 
 in part to defray the expense of a mission cottage at 
 Traitor's Head. The most gratifying ci renin stance is the
 
 1 66 ERA MANGA. 
 
 way in ^\ liich they value God's Word, and their desire to 
 read and know it for themselves,' " 
 
 In the same Report the llev. Dr. Steel writes : — " I have 
 the pleasure to enclose ;^3 2, 13s. 4d., proceeds of sale of 
 arrowroot from Eramanj^a. I have been requested to 
 convey the thanks of the missionaries and converts for the 
 prompt consent of the Committee to pay for the printing 
 of the Acts of the Apostles in tlie language of that blood- 
 stained shore. The Gospel of Christ is now taking hold of 
 the islanders, and all the native teachers employed, over 
 twenty in number, are Christian natives of the island." 
 
 In the Bible Society's lleport for 1S85 we find the 
 following most gratifying intelligence : — *' Two thousand 
 copies of the Gospels of Matthew and ]\Iark, prepared by 
 the Rev. H. A. Robertson, and carried through the press 
 at Toronto, have been sent out to Eramanga ; " and in tho 
 Report for 1886 Dr. Steel writes: — "I have pleasure in 
 forwarding £2^ for Eramanga; and, what you will be 
 pleased to receive, a free contribution of ^10 to the funds 
 of the Bible Society from the native Christian teachers of 
 Eramanga, as a mark of their gratitude to the Society for 
 its kindness in printing portions of the Holy Scriptures 
 in their language. When you know that these teachers 
 do not receive more than £6 a year in money, the con- 
 tribution will appear in its liberality. There are now 
 thirty-two Christian natives of Eramanga who are em- 
 ployed in teaching their fellow-islanders, and in conducting 
 religious services in different parts of the island, which 
 they cover as by a network of hallowed influence. Since 
 the Itev. H. A. liobertson returned (last April) he has been 
 much encouraged by the state in which he found the 
 island and the mission, which has been entirely in the 
 hands of the Christian chiefs and teachers. At the 
 Holy Communion 179 partook of the memorials of the 
 Redeemer's body and blood. The whole congregation
 
 ERA MANGA. 167 
 
 contaiued about 600 persons. Mr, Eobertson baptized 
 thirty-seven adults and twenty-four cliiklren. He also 
 married eight couples. These services were held in the 
 Martyrs' Church, which is erected near the spot, just 
 across the river, where John Williams and his fellow- 
 martyr fell.. The river is now called the Williams River, 
 and the overhanging hill where the Rev. G. N. Gordon 
 and his wife were killed, Mount Gordon." 
 
 And now we must close our notice of Eramanga. As 
 we have seen, the Gospel has fairly taken root. God has 
 unmistakably put His hand to the work. Mission stations 
 occupied by native Eramangan teachers encircle the island; 
 a considerable part of the Bible is already in the hands 
 of the people in their own tongue ; and if life and health 
 are continued to the missionary, other portions will soon 
 follow. It is only a question of a few years, and, unless 
 unforeseen hindrances arise, this land of mournful memories 
 will be the abode of a Christianised community living in 
 peace and harmony, and showing forth the praises of Him 
 who shall have called them out of dai-kness into His 
 marvellous light. We have the earnest now, the sun is 
 above the horizon, and, as he ascends, the remaining 
 darkness will be scattered, and Eramanga will be " filled 
 with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters 
 cover the sea." " The Lord hasten it in His time ! "
 
 ( i6S ) 
 
 CHArTER XIII. 
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 
 
 This island, the uativ^e name of wliich is Fate or Vate,* was 
 discovered by Captain Cook in 1774, and by Him named 
 Sandwich Island, in honour of his patron, the Earl of 
 Sandwich, at that time First Lord of the Admiralty. It is 
 about sixty miles north-west of Eramanga, and lies in east 
 longitude about 168°, and in south latitude between 17" 
 29' and 17° 43'. According to Captain Cook it is seventy- 
 five miles in circumference. The present population is 
 estimated at 3000. It is a beautiful island, unsurpassed 
 by any island of the New Hebrides, but it has been so 
 fully described of late years in missionary work that not 
 much need be said here on that head ; nor need we say 
 much with reference to the natives and the state in which 
 they were found when the steps wei'e taken which have 
 resulted in bringing them into the comparatively prominent 
 position they now occupy.-|- 
 
 AU that seems required in this work is to give the 
 reader a few hints as to the state in which the Gospel 
 found the natives, such as will prepare him to appreciate 
 the results which have been realised by the labours of 
 missionaries, and the circulation of the Scriptures among 
 
 * Pronounced T:d6 — the a, as a in fatlcr ; the r, as a in fate. 
 
 + Ample information may be found in the works already referred to, 
 viz., Dr. Turner's "Nineteen Years," Dr. Steel's "New Hebrides and 
 Christian Missions," and "Western Polynesia."
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 169 
 
 tliem of late yeai'S, The island, we may remark, is likely 
 to become an important centre of influence in tbe group. 
 Its position between the southern and northern divisions 
 of the group, its large tracts of low land fertile in the 
 highest degree, and its bays and harbours — especially its 
 one grand harbour (Havannah), one of the finest and most 
 spacious in Polynesia — will certainly attract to it visitors 
 and settlers in large numbers, and make it a commercial 
 centre of no small importance in future years. Planters 
 and traders are already settled in different parts, chiefly in 
 Havannah harbour, and others will follow. 
 
 The natives in some respects are superior to those of 
 the southern islands. They exhibit a finer physique, and 
 seem altogether a more capable race. They had much 
 superior houses, made finer mats, and more beautiful 
 ornaments, &c. ; but while in these respects they were in 
 advance of their neighbours, they were not a whit better 
 as regards matters of higher moment. 
 
 With the exception of the Fijians, so far as my know- 
 ledge extends, there have never been found more revolting 
 and inveterate cannibals in any country in the world. 
 And they practised infanticide to a frightful extent ; and 
 the sick, and the aged, and the insane, were treated with 
 the most revolting cruelty. The aged were buried alive, 
 generally, perhaps, at tlicir own request, such is the force 
 of custom ; but it was otherwise with the insane — no mercv 
 was shown to them ; they were compelled to submit to their 
 cruel fate ; and this was also the mode in which infants 
 were put to death. Polygamy was extensively practised, 
 and women were degraded and debased as they invariably 
 are among savages such as tlie Fatese were. We must 
 not stop to speak of their wars. What we have said will 
 convey a correct idea, so far as it goes, of the state in which 
 the people were when the dayspring from on high opened 
 upon their beautiful island.
 
 I70 FATE OR SANDUICII ISLAND. 
 
 The introduction of Cluistiauity was in this wise. In 
 the month of April 1S45, two members of the Samoau 
 mission, the Rev. Dr. Turner and the writer, were on a 
 missionary voyage in the tirst John Williams among the 
 Kew Hebrides and other islands of the Western I'acihc. 
 We had visited several islands, and had got as far as 
 Eramanga, a spot in which an intense interest was felt 
 at that time, as only a few years had passed since the 
 massacre of Williams and Harris. We had reserved four 
 teachers whom we fondly hoped we should succeed in 
 introducing to the island. After ascertaining, as fully as 
 we were able, the state of things at Dillon's Bay, the only 
 place where there seemed any likelihood of success, we 
 were constrained to conclude that the time had not come to 
 resume the mission. Our brave teachers offered to land 
 and remain at all risks, but we could not see our way to 
 take the responsibility of leaving them under the circum- 
 stances. We were sorely perplexed as to what course we 
 should adopt. The programme of our voyage did not 
 embrace any other island of the New Hebrides — indeed 
 we knew little or nothing beyond the bare names of the 
 northern division of the group in those days. Of course 
 we looked earnestly for help and guidance to Him whose 
 cause we were seeking to advance, and we did not look 
 in vain; nor had we long to wait. Light arose in the 
 darkness, and from about the last quarter to which we 
 should have thought of looking. 
 
 A small vessel engaged in the sandal-wood trade lay 
 at anchor alongside of us, and from that most unlikely 
 quarter a call came to us which we could not but regard 
 as the voice of Providence. The captain of the said vessel 
 came on board the John Williams and informed us that 
 he had just been to Fate, and that he had found there the 
 remnant of a large party of Samoans and Tongans who 
 many years before (probably not less than twenty) had
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 171 
 
 lost their way at sea, and had been carried by winds and 
 currents to the New Hebrides. They made Tongoa, a 
 small island of that group, remained there about two 
 years, and then left with the intention of trying to find 
 their way back to Tonga or Samoa. In that they failed, 
 makiug Fate instead ; and landing there, they took up 
 their abode at the part of the island where we found 
 them. Out of a party of about fifty only a few individuals 
 remained at the time of our visit ; but among them was a 
 Samoan named Sualo, who had formed relations with the 
 natives, and had acquired great inlluence. He was a 
 daring energetic fellow, had for one of his wives a daughter 
 of the principal chief of the district where he lived, and 
 had made himself famous and formidable by the part he 
 had taken in native wars. He appeared as complete a 
 savage as those among whom he dwelt, but he professed 
 now to be desirous of leading a different life. He hal 
 heard of the introduction of Christianity to Samoa and 
 Tonga, and had earnestly begged Captain L , our in- 
 formant, to try and get teachers sent to Fate. And to 
 
 make our way still more plain Captain L furnished 
 
 us with a guide, a young man from New Zealand, who 
 had lived some time with the Samoans and Tongans, and 
 was able to lead us to the very spot whei'e we should find 
 them. The young man was willing to go with us, so with 
 grateful hearts wo accepted the Captain's offer, and were 
 soon off to Fate. 'We found everything as it had been 
 represented, and succeeded, under deeply interesting cir- 
 cumstances, in accomplisliiiig the object of our visit. Oui- 
 four teachers, Mose, Sipi, Tuavili, ami Setefana, were 
 placed, two and two, at Pango, a vilhige near the ])laco 
 at which we anchored, and at Erakor, where Sualo aud 
 his friends lived, !Many interesting incidents occurred 
 which we must not stop to particularise. They may bo
 
 172 FATE OR SANDUICII ISLAND. 
 
 found in Dr. Turner's " Nineteen Years," and in " Western 
 Polynesia." 
 
 The pioneer teachers were brave courageous men. They 
 stuck to their work nobly, though they had to endure 
 trials and encounter danijers f?reat and lonj; continued. 
 
 CD CD CD 
 
 One of them, Setefana, after a number of years of faithful 
 toil, died of disease; another, Sipi, died by the hand of 
 violence ; and more than once during the early years of 
 the mission it was on the eve of extinction, liepeated 
 visits of missionaries, and reinforcements of teachers from 
 Uarotonga and Samoa, with God's help, enabled us to 
 retain our hold upon it, but at one stage of the mission's 
 historv the island was without foreign teachers for be- 
 tween three and four years, and but i'or a little band of 
 native converts the darkness of heathenism must again 
 have closed over it ; but God had put His hand to the 
 work, and the little company had been enabled to hold 
 fast their integrity and witness for Him till a brighter 
 day dawned. From 1854 till July 1858 the little flock 
 was left, owing to circumstances which we could not 
 control, as sheep without a shepherd. 
 
 It was in July 1858 that the Hev. George Stall worthy 
 from Samoa, and the Rev. George Gill from Rarotonga, 
 visited the island and reoccupied it with Eastern teachers. 
 They found a state of things which greatly surprised and 
 delighted them. At Erakor the faithful few were found to 
 whom we have referred. The following extract from the 
 report of the deputation will tell its own marvellous tale, 
 and convey a more definite idea than any mere general 
 description. " After leaving an open bay," the deputation 
 writes, " we passed an island, and pulled a mile and a half 
 up a beautiful lagoon to Erakor, which is on the right hand 
 side, and beyond which village it extends at least a mile 
 and a half We were at once conducted to the chapel, a 
 wattled and plastered building, with a pulpit and seats,
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 173 
 
 which had been built by the natives in the place of one 
 erected by the former teachers which had been blown 
 down. 
 
 " A short time after we landed, the hollow trunks of two 
 decayed trees, standing near the chapel, were beaten as 
 a substitute for the church-going bell, and 130 persons, in- 
 cluding a large number of children, assembled for worship. 
 We requested the teachers to conduct the service in the 
 usual way. One of them, Petela, entered the pulpit, and 
 gave out a hymn from a small manuscript book which he 
 held in his hand, and a person in the centre of the chapel 
 started the singing, when men, women, and children joined 
 the song, the language and tune of which were alike un- 
 known to us, exeept that we recognised in it the name that 
 is above every name, which it was music indeed to find 
 cherished and adored in so dark a land as Fate, by a 
 handful of people surrounded by cruel heathen, and with 
 the smallest possible aid from the churches of the Saviour. 
 Petela then requested Pomare (the chief, father-in-law to 
 Sualo) to pray, gave out another hymn, made a short 
 address, and concluded with prayer." The teachers spoken 
 of must have been natives of Fate who had learned more 
 than others from the Samoan and Rarotongan teachers, 
 and had probably been appointed teachers by them, and 
 so naturally took the lead when they were gone. 
 
 The above extract gives a deeply interesting glimpse of 
 the " little spot enclosed by grace " out of the surrounding 
 darkness, and furnishes a striking illustration of the vitality 
 of Christianity. Delightful indeed must it liave been to 
 hear the praises of Jesus sung by Fatean lips in such 
 circumstances. Speedily may the day dawn when llin 
 dear name shall be as ointment poured forth throughout 
 the length and broadfh of that beautiful island ! 
 
 On this occasion three llurotongau teachers, Teamarn, 
 Teautoa, and Toma, were left on the island, and a fresh
 
 174 r.lTE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 
 
 start was made, and no spi'ious interruption in the work of 
 the mission ao:ain occurred. 
 
 The next visit of tlie mission ship to tlie isUind was in 
 October 1859, and Dr. Turner, who was tlie visitor on that 
 occasion, found on the wliole much for which to be thank- 
 ful. There was one drawback — one of the teachers, Teautoa, 
 and his wife, had died; the remaining two were well, and 
 some progress was being made. The whole population of 
 the village of Erakor {250) were nominally Christian. The 
 Eastern teachers were being kindly treated — the natives 
 supplying them with food without stint and without price. 
 Eight of the natives were employed by the teachers as 
 helpers in Christian work, and these, with six others, the 
 Eastern teachers thought, might be admitted to church 
 fellowship were a church constituted. The Christian party 
 liad not been molested by the heathen, but, owing to a 
 superstitious belief that unusual sickness and death followed 
 wherever the new religion was received, they would not 
 allow them to go amongst them to preach. 
 
 The next visit was in 186 1, the visiting missionaries 
 being Mr. Geddie and the writer, and during that visit a 
 step was taken which marks an era in the history of the 
 mission. This was the formation of a Christian church. 
 The teachers repoi^ted to us, as they had done to Dr. Turner, 
 that they believed a number of the people were genuine 
 converts. We conversed individually with those whom 
 they regarded in this light, and were surprised and 
 delighted with the clearness of their views on doctrinal 
 subjects, and the apparent sincerity and earnestness of 
 most of them. Ten were selected, and on the following 
 day, Sabbath, September 13, 1861, a Christian church was 
 constituted on Fate. Eight men and two women were 
 baptized, and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was 
 observed under circumstances intensely interesting. The 
 Lord's death was commemorated on Fate for the first
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 175 
 
 time — a step was taken wlaicli will connect with all tlie 
 subsequent history of the church on Fate till He come to 
 claim the kingdoms of the earth for His own, and introduce 
 the glorious millennial reign. 
 
 We wound up the interesting services of that memorable 
 day by instructing and encouraging the little company of 
 witnesses for Christ, and commending them to Him, and 
 to the word of His grace, which is able to build them up, 
 and to give them an inheritance among all them that are 
 sanctified. 
 
 This was the second church that was formed on the New 
 Hebrides ; and it is worthy of special note that it was not 
 on Tanna or Eramanga, on which white missionaries had 
 laboured, but on Fate, where no European missionary had 
 yet been stationed. 
 
 The time, however, had now come when it was very 
 desirable that the work should be taken up by men of 
 greater culture and capacity than were possessed by the 
 brave pioneers who had laid the foundation and prepared 
 the way. Work must now be taken up to which they 
 were unequal, and, as in the case of Aneiteum, this want 
 was soon to be met in a way very similar to that of the 
 older mission. The llev. Donald Morrison, who, like Mr. 
 Geddie, had been for some time a settled minister on 
 Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, was moved to offer 
 himself for missionary service in the New Hebrides. He 
 was eminently fitted for the position ; his offer was gladly 
 accepted by the Mission IJoard, and in 1864 he and his 
 wife were passengers by the mission schooner Dayspring, 
 on her first voyage from Nova Scotia, where she was built. 
 They reached tlicir destination in safety, and were settled 
 at Erakor, the first wliitf missionaries to Fate. 'I'liey were 
 warmly welcomed by the Ivistfru teachers and the native 
 Christians, and entered upon tlieir work with great liearti- 
 ness, and with prospects which seemed to promise a long
 
 176 FATE OR SAXDIVICII ISLAXD. 
 
 and useful career. 'J'he most pressing need of tlie mission 
 was books, especially the Book, of whicli all they knew had 
 been learned from the lips of their teachers. 
 
 ]\Ir. ^Morrison must have applied himself with great 
 diligence to the study of the language, seeing that about 
 the space of two years from the time of his arrival he 
 had translated the Gospel of Mark, which was printed in 
 Sydney in i S66. lie prepared a Hymn-book also, which 
 was printed in Melbourne in 1867; and this is all the 
 literary work he was permitted to accomplish of which we 
 have any record. His health failed during the course of 
 I S67, and he was obliged to leave the islands. He spent 
 some time in Queensland and New South Wales, and 
 in 1869 he returned to the New Hebrides, but, as it 
 proved, only to take a last look at the place where he 
 had hoped to live and labour for years in the work on 
 which his heart was set, and to bid a final farewell to 
 the poor people for whose salvation he longed with fond 
 desire. 
 
 Symptoms of pulmonary consumption had developed 
 themselves, and he went on to New Zealand, to which the 
 Dayspring was bound, still cherishing a lingering hope of 
 being able to return at a future time, but it was not to be ; 
 the disease developed rapidly, and his promising career was 
 cut short on the 21st of October 1869. His death, like 
 his life, was beautiful. Near the close he remarked to a 
 minister who was visiting him, that now, as he was laid 
 aside from the work to which he had given himself, he 
 could hardly say that he was " in a strait," but was ready 
 " to depart and to be with Christ." Beautiful resignation '• 
 And so he passed away to serve his beloved Lord in a 
 higher sphere. He left a church of fifty- five members, 
 and, as we have seen, a Gospel and a Hymn-book in print, 
 and the example of a beautiful consecrated life, and by 
 these his infiuence and usefulness will be perpetuated.
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 177 
 
 " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest 
 from their labours, and their works do follow them." 
 
 Before Mr. Morrison's departure from Fate, the Eev. 
 James Cosh, M. A., from Scotland, a man of his own stamp, 
 and every way fitted to be his colleague and successor, 
 was stationed with his wife at Pango. Mr. and Mrs. Cosh 
 entered upon their work under encouraging circumstances, 
 and pursued their labours with great zeal and earnestness 
 while health permitted. The Gospel of John and the book 
 of Genesis were translated, and a book of Scripture history 
 was compiled. The Gospel was printed in New Zealand 
 in 1 87 1, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society ; the book of Genesis was printed in Sydney in 
 1 874, also at the expense of the Bible Society. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. and Mrs. Cosh were obliged to sever their 
 connection with the mission on account of the health of 
 Mrs. Cosh, and the work of Scripture translation was 
 again interrupted. Happily, after a short interval, they 
 were succeeded by the Rev. J. W. and Mrs. Mackenzie 
 from Nova Scotia. Like their predecessors they were 
 warmly welcomed by the natives. They settled at Erakor, 
 taking charge also of Pango, where Mr. and Mrs. Cosh 
 resided. They began their work in 1872, and with a 
 brief interval they have worked on during all the inter- 
 vening years; and they have been permitted to render 
 much valuable service in the way of Bible translation in 
 addition to general missionary work. 
 
 In 1880 the Acts of the Apostles, which Mr. Mackenzie 
 had translated, was printed, and with the Gospels of Mark 
 and John, and the book of Genesis, was in the dialects 
 spoken at Erakor and Pango and places adjaccjit. As 
 JJr. Inglis remarks in his work recently pul^lLslied, "The 
 curse of Babel has fallen heavily on the New Hebrides," 
 and of this curse Fate has its full share. 
 
 In the same year in which ]\Ir. Mackenzie was settled 
 
 M
 
 178 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 
 
 at Erakor, the Eev. Dauiel Macdonalcl, with Mrs. Macdonakl, 
 joined the mission, and were stationed in Ilavannah Har- 
 bour. They were sent by the Presbyterian Church of 
 Victoria. Mrs. ]\[acdonald is a daughter of the late Dr. 
 Geddie. The station they occupy is a very important one, 
 and perhaps it is the most difficult station in the New 
 Hebrides group at the present time. But they seem 
 peculiarly fitted for it, and, by the help of God, they have 
 held on to the present time, and an encouraging measure 
 of success has crowned their labours, To^ the work of 
 Bible translation Mr, IMacdonald has given much attention. 
 In 1877 the Gospel of Luke, which he had translated into 
 the dialect spoken in the district in which he labours, was 
 printed in Sydney at the expense of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. Only 300 copies were printed — the readers 
 being few, I suppose, at that date. 
 
 In 1883 a revised edition of the same Gospel of 1500 
 copies was printed in Melbourne ; and a translation of the 
 Epistle to the Bomans was also printed at the same time 
 and place, and the two portions were bound in a volume. 
 The cost was £60, which was borne by the Bible Society, 
 and refunded by the proceeds of sales of arrowroot made 
 by the natives. 
 
 The following extract from a paper full of valuable in- 
 formation, kindly furnished by Mr. Macdonald, shows how 
 the difficulties arising from the variety of dialects is being 
 got over, and what progress has been made up to the pre- 
 sent date in making the sacred Scriptures accessible to 
 the people, Mr. Macdonald writes as follows : — 
 
 " It will be noted in the foregoing that there are more 
 dialects than one on Fate. In fact, as a rule, every village 
 has some peculiarities of dialect, but all people speaking 
 Fatese understand each other. Hence it soon became a 
 question with Mr. Mackenzie and myself how to deal in
 
 FATE OR SAXDU'ICH ISLAND. 179 
 
 the interests of the people, and so as to keep down expense, 
 with this problem of dialects. Our general conclusion was 
 that eventually when the w^hole New Testament came to 
 be printed, it should be in a compromise dialect, but that 
 meantime we should each print in his own particular 
 dialect single books of Scripture, it being provided that 
 we should not both print one and the same book. We 
 have adhered to this throughout, and the time has now 
 come for carrying part of our plan into execution, and 
 printing the whole New Testament. We have it all 
 translated, and more than two-thirds of it revised, and 
 shall have it ready, D.V., for the press by the latter part 
 of this year (1887). 
 
 "In 1885, it having become necessary to reprint the 
 Gospel of John, it was revised and printed as a first 
 attempt at a compromise dialect, which has been found 
 to answer admirably, so that we have no doubt whatever 
 of the wisdom and practicability of our method ; indeed, 
 any other method w^ould simply be madness, considering 
 all the circumstances of the case. 
 
 "This revision of John was also printed at the expense 
 of the Bible Society, and Mr. Mackenzie's people and mine 
 have' jointly refunded the whole of the amount. In like 
 manner we fully purpose, that the Society bearing in the 
 first instance the expense of our New Testament, our 
 natives will fully refund it. We do not sell the books 
 singly to the natives, but all the natives join together at 
 the proper season every year, and make arrowroot, which, 
 being sold, provides for the printing and binding of our 
 translations. Each native is thus entitled to a copy of any 
 book free as soon as he can read it, 
 
 " The natives do appreciate the books of Scripture very 
 highly. With them the Word of God as written is the 
 bread of life and the water of life; and unquestionably
 
 iSo FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 
 
 final judge and settler of all strifes, controversies, and 
 matters whatsoever. The introducing of such a literature 
 among these people, from every point of view, is an in- 
 calculable blessing, and undoubtedly one of the noblest 
 and most fruitful works in which any human being can 
 engage is that of giving the Bible to those who have 
 it not. 
 
 " How much we missionaries are aided in this work by 
 the noble British and Foreign Bible Society I need not 
 here say. The written Word gives in a peculiar manner 
 also permanence to the work of the missionary, for mission- 
 ai'ies and generations of the people pass away, but the 
 Word of God remains for ever. 
 
 " Our books (Mr. Mackenzie's and mine) circulate 
 throughout Fate, and in some parts to the north of Fate, 
 as, for instance, on part of Mai, and also on part of Epi 
 (or Api), where Fatese is spoken," 
 
 Towards the close of his paper Mr. Macdonald remarks : 
 — " Our work continues to go forward hopefully. But 
 now, in addition to French soldiers, we have two French 
 Roman Catholic missionaries on the island. Should the 
 French establish themselves permanently on the island 
 troubles great and manifold will certainly arise, and 
 llomish priests will add to the trouble. It is a great 
 mercy, however, that the mission is so fii-mly established, 
 and that so much of the Word of God will shortly be in 
 the hands of the people. We do not fear the priests 
 much when the people have the Bible in their hands ; but 
 the secular power of France in alliance with the emissaries 
 of Rome is a thing to be dreaded, as the history of our 
 South Sea missions during the past forty years mournfully 
 proves. But the Lord reigneth, therefore will we not 
 fear." 
 
 May He have His servants under His safe keeping con-
 
 FATE OR SANDWICH ISLAND. 18 1 
 
 tmually, may their labours be more and more abundantly 
 blessed, and may tliey be spared for many years to bring 
 forth fruit to His glory, and to scatter blessings far and 
 wide, not only on Fate, but elsewhere throughout the great 
 New Hebrides group !
 
 ( i82 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NGUNA* AND OTHER ISLANDS 
 
 Nguna is a small island to the north of Fate, only about 
 six miles distant. It is about six miles in length by four 
 in breadth, and it has a population of about i ooo ; but, 
 though small, it is important as a basis of operation in 
 relation to other islands in its neighbourhood. No less 
 than fourteen islands are visible from it, and on thirteen 
 of these the same language or dialect is spoken or under- 
 stood — a remarkable thing for the New Hebrides — and 
 on these thirteen islands there is a population estimated 
 at 4500. These islands are separated from each other 
 by short distances, Tongoa, the most distant, being only 
 about twenty-five or thirty miles from Nguna ; hence they 
 are of easy access the one from the other. Some of the 
 other islands are larger than Nguna, but it has the largest 
 population, and for that and other reasons it is the most 
 eligible for a principal mission station. Next to it in 
 importance is Tongoa, which has a population estimated 
 at 800. The islands are generally lofty. Nguna rises to 
 the height of 1 500 feet, and Tongoa to 1800, and the lowest 
 is between 400 and 500 feet; and being all small, and 
 the regular south-east trade winds blowing over them for 
 about nine months out of the twelve, and there being no 
 low marshy ground to generate malaria, they are much 
 
 * This is a very awkward name to pronounce. The two first letters are 
 sounded like the terminal letters nff in English — a nascU sound.
 
 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 183 
 
 more liealtliy tlian the larger islands of the group. Thus 
 they furnish a fine field for missionary enterprise. 
 
 The natives are very similar to their neighbours on 
 Fate, so we need not trouble the reader with any particular 
 description of them. They were fierce savage cannibals 
 in their heathen state. Some dreadful encounters have 
 taken place between them and white men engaged in 
 the labour traffic which brought the worst side of their 
 character into sad prominence. Though it is difficult 
 to determine which party were guilty of the greatest 
 savageism, it is easy to see on which side the greatest 
 blame rests. Sad facts illustrative of the character and 
 doings of the men who engage in the labour traffic may 
 be found in Dr. Steel's book (p. 242, &c.). 
 
 The missionary history of the island dates from 1870. 
 In the course of that year the Rev. Peter Milne and his 
 wife, from the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, 
 settled upon it. Little seems to have been done to pre- 
 pare the way for their settlement, so they must have had 
 rough work in the early years of their mission life, and 
 must often have been in great peril. They had counted 
 the cost, however, and were prepared to hazard their lives 
 in order to make known to perishing men the Gospel of 
 the grace of God. Two Rarotongan teachers, Ta and lona, 
 were associated with them ; but whether these preceded 
 them or accompanied them I am not aware. The greatest 
 trials which they had to encounter arose from the quarter 
 to which we have already referred — the vile labour traffic. 
 I'atieiit, persevering work, however, was in due time 
 crowned with success. Mr. Milne's labours wei*e extended 
 to several other islands, and a good work is in progress on 
 some of them, especially Pele and !Mataso. 
 
 For seven years Mr. and ^Irs. Milne laboured alone, 
 but in 1878 they had the joy of welcoming a fellow- 
 labourer, Ml-. Oscar Michelsen, from the Presbyterian
 
 iS4 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 
 
 Clnircli of Otairo, New Zealand. In the course of 1879 
 Mr, Miclielsen removed to Tongoa, the largest isknd of 
 a £;Tonp of five islands named the Shepherd Isles. From 
 that all the islands of the group can be easily reached, so 
 from it on the north, and Nguna on the south, all the 
 thirteen islands referred to above can be worked without 
 much difhcultv : and with the assistance of native teachers, 
 we may hope that in a few years they will all be imder 
 Christian culture, and that a large harvest will be 
 gathered in. 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Milne, dated June 30th, 1887, 
 with especial reference to Bible translation, he gives much 
 valuable information. He writes as follows : — " The com- 
 plete books of Scripture translated by me and printed 
 are not many, only the Gospels by Matthew and John 
 bound together, and the First Epistle of John bound 
 by itself. Besides these we have three small books 
 of Scripture extracts, also translated by me, containing 
 portions here and there throughout the Bible from Genesis 
 to Revelation, the book of Jonah in full, with the excep- 
 tion of his prayer in the fish's belly, which is difficult. 
 The books translated, but not yet printed, are the Gospel 
 by Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, which I hope to 
 get printed and bound together soon. The portion now 
 on hand is the Gospel by Mark; it is almost finished, 
 as I am now at the thirteenth chapter. When it is 
 finished I intend to begin the Epistles, and hope to get 
 the whole New Testament translated and printed before 
 I die. 
 
 " I got IMatthew and John printed at the expense of 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1882. Two 
 thousand copies were printed, and we get them bound 
 and sent out by instalments as we required them, and we 
 pay for them as we get them. We have already paid the 
 Society for 1 100 copies from proceeds of sales of arrowroot,
 
 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 1S5 
 
 some of which we make every year, and send it either to 
 Otago or Scotland to be sold. 
 
 "My translations are intelligible to about 7000 people, 
 from Fate to the south-east end of Epi inclusive. A 
 different language is spoken on some of the intervening 
 islands, but the people generally understand both languages. 
 The Nguna dialect is spoken by a large number of people 
 on the north side of Fate : on other parts of Fate the 
 dialect differs, but not so much as to make the Nguna 
 books unintelligible. The Nguna books are used by Mr. 
 Michelsen on Tongoa. The Nguna dialect is the one 
 spoken by far the largest number of people, and is the 
 purest ; the others seem to be corruptions of it. Every 
 syllable ends with a vowel, as in the Eastern languages. 
 
 "As to how the portions of Scripture are received. As 
 soon as any one makes up his mind to be a Christian he is 
 anxious to get the books even before he can read them, and 
 there can be no doubt but that the influence for good 
 exerted by them is very great. Some on applying to me 
 for baptism have told me that they were afraid on account 
 of such passages as this, ' Even now is the axe laid unto the 
 roots of the trees,' &c. The heathen used to have a super- 
 stitious dread of the books, and would not let their children 
 come to school, or even take a book to learn to read, lest 
 they should die. That superstition is now breaking down, 
 though it still prevails to a considerable extent. Very few 
 of the heathen will let their children come to school till 
 they make up their minds to come along with them. 
 
 " Our prospects now are brigliter than they have ever 
 been before. Since this time last year I have baptized 129 
 adults, and 20 children. Our church members are now 246. 
 Of these 45 belong to Emae or Three Hills Island, where I 
 liave five schools. There are at present about 150 candi- 
 dates for baptism. I have at present in the different 
 islands under my care fifteen schools, with an aggregate
 
 iS6 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 
 
 attendance of more than looo, and by the time you receive 
 this letter I hope to have two more schools opened, the 
 houses for which are in the course of erection. We have 
 this year supplied Mr. Miclielsen on Tongoa with three 
 couples as teachers, for all which we have much reason to 
 thank God and take courage. " 
 
 THE ISLANDS OF EPI AND AMBRYM. 
 
 In 1882 the Rev. R. M. Fraser from Tasmania and his 
 wife settled on Epi. They had a good reception, and 
 entered upon their work with much to encourage. On no 
 island of the New Hebrides, I think, has there been a more 
 hopeful commencement, or rather I ought to say recom- 
 mencement, for an attempt to introduce Christianity to 
 the island was made many years ago. In 186 1 two Raro- 
 tongan teachers, named Iro and Pipo, with their wives, were 
 placed upon it ; but after a short time both the teachers 
 died, the mission was broken up, and the widows were 
 taken to their homes in the John Williams. In 1886 
 Mr. Fraser was able to make the following encouraging 
 report: — "The Gospel by Mark in the Baki language has 
 been put into the hands of the people at Burumba, and 
 there it has been my privilege to form a church of five 
 members, first-fruits from Epi. A teacher was settled in 
 Bieria in August, where a hopeful beginning has been 
 made. In the Sakan district the interest in the Word is 
 spreading. A good number have joined the worshipping 
 people during the year. Three couples from this district 
 are now under training with a view to be teachers." 
 
 These facts are highly encouraging. There is evidently a 
 good beginning made on Epi. But while the missionary 
 was able to give so cheering a report of his work and of 
 the prospects of the mission, he had a very sad tale to tell 
 with reference to himself. " The year now closing," he
 
 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 187 
 
 says, " has been one of sad loss to me personally as well as 
 to the work on this island. My loved wife and two children 
 have been called to their rest ; still we have much to th?.nk 
 God for." This is all the good man says about his terrible 
 trial May the God of mercy sustain and cheer him. 
 
 The island of Ambrym lies about sixteen miles to the 
 north of Epi. Missionary operations were commenced on 
 it in 1883. In August of that year the Rev. W. B. Murray, 
 M.A., and his wife settled on the island. Their reception, 
 like that of Mr. and Mrs. Fraser, was all that could be 
 expected under the circumstances, and they entered upon 
 their work full of hope and zeal. Alas ! however, their 
 fair prospects were soon clouded. Mr. Murray's health 
 failed. Symptoms of pulmonaiy disease appeared, and he 
 was obliged to quit the field and come to Australia, as it 
 proved, to die. He was a young man of great promise. 
 He longed to return to his loved work in the islands as 
 long as any ground for hope remained, but it pleased the 
 Master to call him to other service. He translated a few 
 brief Scripture extracts, and strove in every way open to 
 him to serve the great cause during his brief term of 
 service. 
 
 In 1884 he was succeeded by his brother, the Rev. 
 Charles Murray, M.A., and he and his wife were soon at 
 work on the island. Writing in November 1886, he 
 reports that Mr. "Watt had printed a primer for him, and 
 that he had opened school, and that some were making 
 fair progress in learning to read. He was able to address 
 the people in their own language, and his congregation 
 numbered as many as seventy-eight. " There is not the 
 slightest breath of opposition," Mr. Murray remarks ; " on 
 the contrary, the people manifest the greatest goodwill and 
 kindly feeling." 
 
 One veiy interesting fact Mr. Murray mentions, as 
 follows : — " On tlio 2nd of September we stationed an
 
 i88 NGUNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. 
 
 Eramangau teacher at a place about teu to eleven miles 
 to the south. The dialect spoken here differs somewhat 
 from the one spoken there. The teacher's reception was 
 exceedingly favourable and encouraging. For about a 
 year his example will be his most eloquent address." 
 Here surely is something worthy of special note — a 
 Christian teacher from Eramauga settled on Ambrym ! 
 Savage Eramanga sending forth her sons to teach and 
 exemplify the Gospel of peace and love — what a marvel 
 is this ! Verily, 
 
 " Wonders of grace to God belong." 
 
 Mr. Murray closes his report as follows : — " This is our 
 day of small things, and we have lots of little troubles and 
 difficulties to cope with, but we trust that time and the 
 diffusion of knowledge will ultimately clear these away." * 
 
 Epi and Ambrym are both large and important islands. 
 Epi, as we have seen, is only about seventeen miles to the 
 north of Tongoa, and it and Ambrym are about the same 
 distance from each other. The two islands are about the 
 same size, being estimated at sixty miles in circumference, 
 and probably they are about equally populous. They are 
 both lofty, the highest mountain on Epi being 2800 feet, 
 and the highest elevation of the mountains of Ambrym 
 being 3500 feet j and they are both fertile in the highest 
 degree, and they are not excelled in beauty by any island 
 of the New Hebrides group. For a most interesting de- 
 scription of both, see Dr. Steel's book, chaps, xiv. and xvi., 
 pp. 273 and 297. 
 
 * Since the above was written I have learned, with deep regret, that 
 Mr. Murray has been obliged for climatic reasons to leave the islands, and 
 that he is not likely to return. Should this prove the case I trust a worthy 
 successor will speedily be found to take up and carry forward the work so 
 hopefully begun by his deceased brother and himself.
 
 THE LOYALTY ISLANDS. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 The Loyalty Islands lie about 120 miles to the west of the 
 New Hebrides, and about 60 miles to the north of New 
 Caledonia. When Christianity was introduced to this 
 group in 1 841, it was very little known to the civilised 
 world. Captain Erskiue of H.B.M. ship Havannali, who 
 visited it in 1849, says it was so little known at that 
 time as " scarcely to have a place on our charts ; and their 
 western sides and the position of their different points 
 had never been ascertained till our hurried visit in the 
 Havannah." 
 
 Of the island of Mare, Captain Erskiue writes as 
 follows : — " The discovery of Mare has been claimed for 
 a Captain Butler of the ship Walpolc in 1800, and by 
 others for tho Britannia in 1803, which latter name ap- 
 pears first on any chai't as attached to "one of the larger 
 islands of the group. M. d'Urvillo states that in 1827, 
 although the uncertain group of the Loyalty Islands 
 appeared on a chart of Arrowsmith's, ^M. llossel, his 
 hydrographer, doubted their existence; and their extent 
 was certainly first ascertained by M. d'Urville." M. 
 d'Urville gave the names of Chabrol and Ilaglan to Lifu 
 * rroDouDced Muro— the a as a in father, and the c aa a in fate.
 
 I90 MARE. 
 
 and Uvea, and retained Britannia as tlie name of Mare. 
 The name by which the natives call the island is Nengone, 
 but it is now known by the name of Mare. 
 
 Mare is a low flat island of coral formation about eighty 
 miles in circumference, and having a population of about 
 4000. Clumps of pines appear on some parts near the 
 coast, and at others there are immense blocks of coral, some- 
 what resembling artificial fortifications, which relieve the 
 monotonous appearance of the island, and make it in some 
 parts look quite picturesque. One of these is named 
 Castle Point, from its resemblance to an old castle or forti- 
 fication, and others, both on Mare and Lifu, might with 
 equal propriety bear the same name. In some parts, instead 
 of the bold and barren coast, there are tracts of lowland 
 sloping down to the sea and terminating in a sandy beach. 
 
 The natives are a robust, brave, hardy race, of the 
 Papuan stock, but superior to many of the tribes belonging 
 to that division of the human family. In their heathen 
 state they were fierce cannibal savages, addicted to all the 
 vices and revolting practices usually found in savage life. 
 
 It was the writer's privilege to introduce Christian 
 teachers to the island in April 1841. Very strikingly 
 was the hand of God manifested in the manner in which 
 this was accomplished. We made the island in the 
 London Missionary Society's brig Camden on the morning 
 of the 8th of April. All the forenoon we kept close in to 
 the shore, looking anxiously for indications of the presence 
 of human beings : nothing of this kind, however, appeared ; 
 huge coral barriers seemed to warn us off, and nothing to 
 encourage could be discerned. After dinner a boat was 
 lowered, and we pulled in as close to the land as we could 
 with safety, and proceeded slowly along the coast till night 
 was drawing on and hope was almost extinct, when to our 
 great joy light appeared in the darkness — a canoe was 
 descried in the distance; hope revived, and we made all
 
 MARE. 191 
 
 haste to get Tvitliin hail of the little craft, and what was 
 our surprise when, as we drew near, a man stood up in 
 the canoe and shouted to us in the Samoan language, 
 " Ua ou iloa le Atua moni " — " I know the true God." It 
 seemed like a voice from heaven. All that was needful 
 to the accomplishment of our object was provided to our 
 hand. Our most urgent need was an interpreter, and 
 next to that a guide ; and here were both in one. The 
 man who hailed us proved to be a native of Niuataputapu, 
 an island of the Tongan group, who with others of his 
 countrymen had lost their way at sea many years before, 
 and were now as familiar with the language and the island 
 as the natives themselves. We resigned ourselves without 
 misgivings to the guidance of our newly found friend, 
 whose name was Taufa, and by his help, and under the 
 guidance of Divine providence, we succeeded in accomplish- 
 inof our object. Two Samoan teachers, Taniela and Tataio, 
 were introduced to the island. They met with an encourag- 
 ing reception, and we left rejoicing that God had so far 
 prospered our way. We were very favourably impressed 
 with the appearance of the natives, and everything 
 seemed to encourage the hope of an easy conquest. In 
 this expectation, however, we were sorely disappointed. 
 The "night of toil" was long and deeply trying; eight 
 weary years passed before the hearts of the toilers were 
 gladdened by a single ray of light, and during these years 
 they endured great privations, and their lives were often 
 in imminent peril. They plodded on, however, and at 
 length they had their reward. One of the two pioneers, 
 indeed, rested from his labours long before the dawn 
 appeared — entered, we trust, into the joy of his Lord ; 
 but after a time reinforcements came to the help of tlie 
 survivor, and in due time success crowned their toil, and 
 a precious and most aljundant liarvest was gathered in. 
 In few parts of the mission field have more striking dis-
 
 192 MARE. 
 
 plays of the power and grace of God appeared than on tlie 
 island of Mare. 
 
 In 1854, thirteen years after the introduction of the 
 Samoan teachers, the llev. S. M. Creagh and the Rev. J. 
 Jones, with their wives, settled on the island. They were 
 accompanied by the Rev. J. P. Sunderland and Mrs. 
 Sunderland of the Samoan mission, who remained with 
 them for ten months, and during that time rendered 
 very valuable service. Their experience would have been 
 valuable under any circumstances, but in the state in 
 which the mission then was it was doubly so. About 
 one-third of the population had renounced heathenism 
 and embraced Christianity. Hundreds had learned to 
 read, and services and schools were attended by crowds 
 of eager worshippers and learners, and not a few gave 
 evidence of having passed from death unto life; and these 
 especially were hungering and thirsting to know more of 
 the great truths w^hich had so stirred their souls, and 
 introduced them, as it were, into a new world. What 
 they had learned had only whetted the appetite and made 
 them long for more. 
 
 All they had in print when the missionaries settled 
 among them were four chapters of the Gospel according to 
 John, which had been translated by the Rev. William 
 Nihil of the Melanesian mission, who resided a few months 
 on the island, before the arrival of the missionaries of the 
 London Missionary Society ; about a dozen hymns, and a 
 few pages of Scripture extracts which must have been 
 translated by the teachers from the Rarotongan or Samoan. 
 The four chapters of the Gospel were printed at New 
 Zealand, and the hymns and Scripture extracts at Raro- 
 tonga. We need hardly remark that the missionaries 
 applied themselves with all possible diligence to the study 
 of the language. Mr. Sunderland had the advantage over 
 the young brethren, as ho could freely communicate with
 
 MARE. 
 
 193 
 
 the Samoan teachers, and from them obtain invaluable 
 help, of which he made the best use. During the few 
 months of his residence on the island he so far mastered 
 the language that with the assistance of the Samoan and 
 Rarotongan teachers he translated the Gospel of Mark, 
 and thus rendered a service of incalculable value. 
 
 Happily Mr. Creagh was acquainted with the art of 
 printing, and he had a small folio printing press which he 
 had obtained in Samoa on his way to Mare, so the precious 
 treasure was soon in the hands of the natives. Mr. Creao-h 
 composed the type and set up the pages, and set the natives 
 to work off the sheets. Two thousand copies were printed, 
 and the hunger of the natives was so far met. They, 
 we need hardly remark, received this first instalment of 
 the Book of God with the greatest avidity. The number 
 printed was such that I suppose every family got a copy, 
 so there was doubtless universal rejoicing. Those who 
 have been familiar with the Bible from infancy can form 
 but a faint idea of the feelings with which those receive it 
 who have grown up to manhood and womanhood in heathen 
 darkness when they look upon it for the first time. It is 
 something like passing from midnight darkness to the 
 lijrht of the noondav sun. 
 
 " In almost every hut," says Mr. Jones, " or seated on 
 the grass outside, the natives might be seen trying to 
 spell out and learn the ' Word,' as they called it. With 
 such avidity did they study it that plantation and other 
 work was much neglected for a time ; and when the women 
 would gently hint to their husbands that they might lend 
 a hand in providing for the wants of the family, they would 
 reply, ' How can I help you ? Don't you see I am reading 
 the ^Vord ? ' " 
 
 Mr. Jones mentions the case of one young man who was 
 living on the mission premises, who committed the entire 
 book to memory in the short space of two weeks. He 
 
 N
 
 194 ^fARE. 
 
 used to repeat a chapter to the missionary every night 
 ■u-ith scarcely a mistake till his task was completed. 
 
 The next portion pi'inted was the Gospel according 
 to Luke. It was translated in equal parts by Messrs. 
 Creagh and Jones, and printed by ]\Ir. Creagh at the 
 Samoan mission press. I'our thousand copies were printed, 
 and were a great boon to the natives, thirsting as they 
 were for more copious supplies of the Word of Life. 
 
 Towards the close of 1867 the translation of the New 
 Testament was completed, the whole, with the exception of 
 the Gospel of JMark, having been done in equal proportions 
 by Messrs. Creagh and Jones. It had been printed and 
 published in parts on the spot. The printing and binding 
 was all done by Mr. Creagh, wnth the assistance of natives 
 whom he instructed in both these arts. 
 
 At the close of 1867 Mr. Jones proceeded to England 
 on a visit, and during his stay there he carried through 
 the press a second edition of the New Testament, the 
 whole having been thoroughly revised by himself and 
 Mr. Creagh. The British and Foreign Bible Society, with 
 their usual generosity, undertook the work of printing and 
 binding. The edition consisted of 4000 copies. It was a 
 handsome volume, demy 8vo, small pica type, in different 
 styles of binding. The first instalment of 2000 reached 
 the island in 1870, and their arrival was no doubt hailed 
 with joy by the natives. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Creagh was in Sydney, and in response to 
 his appeals friends there presented him with a good demy 
 albion press and longprimer type; and a gentleman in 
 England, Richard Peek, Esq., of Hazlewood, Devonshire, 
 sent Mr. Creagh, at his request, a quantity of pica type, 
 so he was able to carry on the work of printing more 
 satisfactorily than he had hitherto been. 
 
 During Mr. Jones' absence in England, Mr. Creagh 
 translated the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Isaiah,
 
 MARE. 195 
 
 and Jeremiah ; and he printed Genesis and Exodus at the 
 mission press on Mare. 
 
 In 1 87 1 Mr. Creagh removed to the neighbouring island 
 of Lifu, and Mr. Jones was left alone on Mare, and had to 
 carry on the translation of the Old Testament single-handed. 
 He translated the book of Psalms, which was carried 
 through the press by Mr. Creagh during a visit which 
 he made to England in 1876. No other part of the Old 
 Testament has 3-et been printed. Mr. Jones had well 
 nigh, if not quite, completed the remaining portions when 
 he was expelled by the French from the scene of his life- 
 long labours on the 9th of December 1887; and for the 
 present the work of revision is suspended on account of 
 that high-handed proceeding. 
 
 On Mr. Jones' arrival in Sydney after his expulsion, he 
 and Mr. Creagh commenced the revision of the entire 
 Bible, and were proceeding with it when a telegram from 
 the Directors of the London Missionary Society instructed 
 Mr. Jones to proceed at once to Eugland. If, however, 
 life is spai-ed, and health continued, the work will be 
 resumed, and completed ; and though those who rule the 
 French nation may take from the defenceless people of 
 Mare their liberties, appropriate their lands, and expel 
 their missionaries, they will find it a difllcult task to 
 prevent them from obtaining possession of and reading- 
 God's own Book. Surely the home authorities of the 
 great French nation will never sanction the proceedings of 
 their representatives on New Caledonia when the state of 
 the case between them and the missionaries is properly 
 understood. 
 
 Mr. Jones remarks that " in every case the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society has rendered very effective aid, being 
 ever ready to print the translations, or supply paper for 
 printing on the islands." !Mr. Jones also bears testimony 
 to the high estimutiou in which the Scriptures are held by
 
 196 MARE. 
 
 tlie natives. " This," lie remarks, " is shown by the efforts 
 tliey make to purcliase tliom.* Not having money at first, 
 instructed by the missionary, they prepared cocoa-nnt 
 fibre, and afterwards the copra industry was started ; and 
 though the ishind is poor in cocoa-nuts, they were willing 
 in most cases to part with these, to them so valuable, in 
 order to obtain the Scriptures. 
 
 " They lose many of their books through fires, hurricanes, 
 &c., and they consider the loss of their Bibles the greatest 
 loss of all; and many are the applications made to the 
 missionar}^ to replace lost ones. The missionary generally 
 refuses, however, on the ground that the books belong to 
 the Bible Society, and recommends the plan of a sub- 
 scription, heading the list with a franc from himself, and 
 sending the applicant away to collect from his friends. 
 This plan is always successful, as the natives generally 
 are kind towards each other ; and besides, no one knows 
 how soon he may need to ask a similar favour." 
 
 The following remarks from Mr. Jones will not be out 
 of place in a work on the translation and circulation of 
 the Bible. They show that on Mare, as elsewhere through- 
 out our Polynesian missions, the Bible has been the bul- 
 wark of Protestantism. It has under God kept the bulk 
 of our people steadfast in their adherence to the doc- 
 trines which it teaches, and it has cheered and sustained 
 them under the cruel persecution which, especially on 
 the Loyalty Islands, they have had to endure. Mr. Jones 
 writes as follows : — 
 
 " The people of Mare have of late suffered very much 
 persecution from the French Government in consequence 
 of their conscientious scruples about joining the French 
 State Church. Their churches, which they built them- 
 selves, have been closed by the French authorities ; and 
 
 * The island edition was not sold, but given gratuitously, on the ground 
 that in early years the natives were too poor to purchase books.
 
 MARE. 197 
 
 they are not allowed to gather for worship on the Sabbath 
 or any otlier days. But they have their Bibles ; and with 
 these they may be seen on Sundays, in almost every house 
 on the island, with their families gathered around them, 
 reading the Bible and explaining it as they are able. They 
 have also family Sunday schools for teaching their children 
 to read the Bible,*' 
 
 The remark as to teaching the children to read the Bible 
 in Sunday schools has reference to the fact that the schools 
 for teaching in the vernacular have been closed for some 
 time past, and that the French language only is allowed 
 to be taught in the schools. 
 
 It is deeply painful to think of the wrongs which the 
 defenceless people have suffered at the hands of their 
 French rulers. They began by seizing their country 
 without the shadow of a claim, and subjecting them to 
 their rule, entirely ignoring their right to have any voice 
 in the matter, as though it were a thing that concerned 
 them not. They placed them under laws in the making 
 of which they had no voice. They divided out their lands 
 in the most arbitrary manner, put down in some cases the 
 rightful chiefs, and set up others as supposed interest or 
 caprice inclined them ; and not content with thus stripping 
 them of their civil rights, and reducing them to a state of 
 complete thraldom, they have taken from them that which 
 to a Christian man is his dearest heritage — *' freedom to 
 worship God" according to the dictates of his own con- 
 science. At this moment, February 1SS7, the Protestant 
 pastors of !Mare are in exile on New Caledonia, charged 
 with no other crime than refusing obedience to the Coveru- 
 ment in matters of conscience.* 
 
 * Since tlic above was writtun llio gratifying intillig(^nco lias l)cen re- 
 ceived from Mr. Jones that M. Nonet, the recently appointed f Jovernor 
 of New Caledonia, haw released and returned to their homes all the 
 Mare exiles ; and that his excellency has detcnnined that the persecutions
 
 198 MARE. 
 
 Aiul tlie iuflicter of these cruel wronsrs on n, defenceless 
 people is the great French nation, which prides itself on its 
 chivalry and boasts of its freedom, and professes to allow 
 religious liberty to all its subjects. The pretext for seizing 
 the Loyalty Islands was that they were dependencies of 
 New Caledonia, which they were not. They were just as 
 little dependencies of New Caledonia as France is of Eng- 
 land ; and even if they were, the French would have to 
 show that they had a right to New Caledonia, which they 
 cannot do. The truth is that they took possession of that 
 island without the shadow of a claim. If any nation could 
 lay a claim to New Caledonia that nation was England. 
 It was hers by right of discovery, and it was hers on 
 another ground, which France, in her own case, would not, 
 when it suited her purpose, regard as of small importance 
 — Captain Cook, England's great navigator, hoisted the 
 British flag on New Caledonia, and took possession of it in 
 the name of the King of England. 
 
 Alas ! for the whole group ! It was a dark day for it 
 when the grand nation hoisted its flag on the shores of 
 New Caledonia. God pity the remnant that is left on 
 that great island, and help and succour the persecuted and 
 downtrodden people of that and the Loyalty Islands ! 
 
 carried on in the Loyalty Islands under the rule of his predecessors shall 
 entirely cease.
 
 ( 199 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LIFU. 
 
 The island of Lifu is the largest and most populous of the 
 Loyalty group. It is about thirty-five miles distant from 
 Mare, and about sixty from New Caledonia. It is fifty 
 miles in length, and twenty-five in breadth. It is a low 
 coral island very similar in its general appearance to Mare. 
 Its highest parts do not exceed 250 feet. 
 
 The natives are similar in every respect to their neigh- 
 bours on Mare. In bodily appearance, in manners and 
 customs, and in character they were almost identical in 
 their heathen state, and the same influences have been 
 operating on both islands since the introduction of Chris- 
 tianity,'so the similarity between them continues to the 
 present day. The number of the population a few years 
 since was estimated at 7000, and probably it is rather under 
 than over that now. 
 
 Christian teachers were introduced to the island in 1842. 
 Two Ilarotongan teachers, I'aoo and Sakaria, were left on 
 Mare by the Rev. Aaron Buzacott of liarotonga and the 
 ]{ev. Thomas Slatyer of Samoa, with instructions to proceed 
 to Lifu as soon as that might be judged advisable by them- 
 selves and their brethren on Mare. During the course of 
 the same year they carried out their instructions. The Mare 
 teachers accompanied them, and introduced them to their 
 sphere of labour, and they seemed to have entered upon 
 their work under fairly promising circumstances.
 
 2CO LIFU. 
 
 In 1845 t^Q fii'st visit by white missionaries was made 
 to the island in the first John Williams. At that time 
 the mission was found in a most critical state. One of the 
 teachers, Sakaria, had apostatised (a rare thing happily 
 among our teachers), and Paoo had been left to labour 
 and suffer alone; and most nobly had he held on in cir- 
 cumstances about as trying as can well be conceived. A 
 few of the natives, about thirty or forty, had attached 
 themselves to him, and among these was Bula, the most 
 influential chief in the island ; and to him no doubt, under 
 God, Paoo was indebted for his safety and the success 
 that had attended his efforts. The mission was reinforced 
 by the addition of two teachers, and the brave pioneer and 
 his little band of followers were greatly cheered and en- 
 couraged. A fresh start was made, and a little progress 
 followed, and for twelve months or more the prospects 
 continued to brighten. The time for continued advance- 
 ment, however, had not yet arrived. Trials long and 
 perilous began towards the close of 1846, and continued 
 throughout a large part of 1847, '"'hich well nigh led to 
 the extinction of the mission. The powerful chief Bula 
 died, and inter-tribal wars broke out in consequence. The 
 Christian party were scattered, and the teachers thought it 
 advisable to retire for a time to Mare, and there wait, the 
 issue of the war. They had not long to wait. In a few 
 months they returned and resumed their labours, and they 
 were soon cheered by decided indications that the labours 
 and sufferings of former years had not been in vain. The 
 seed sown in tears, which had lain dormant for a season, 
 had not lost its vitality ; and now under favouring circum- 
 stances it sprang up suddenly and with marvellous fruit- 
 fulness. In the few months after the I'eturn of the teachers 
 a wonderful change came over the island. A reaction 
 indeed had begun before their return, and messengers had 
 been sent to beg them to return. The reaping-time had
 
 LIFU. 20I 
 
 come, and from that time onward there was rapid and 
 uninterrupted progress for a number of years. 
 
 Of course the work had to be carried on under immense 
 disadvantages. The teachers had not even elementaiy 
 books in the native language, and it was not till 1S55 that 
 any attempt was made to translate any portion of the Word 
 of God into the vernacular. During the course of that 
 year the Rev. William Xihil, who has already been men- 
 tioned in connection with the Mare mission, translated, 
 with the assistance of the teachers, the first chapter of the 
 Gospel according to John. The translation of course must 
 have been very imperfect, as Mr. Nihil knew only the 
 Mare dialect, but under the circumstances the attempt 
 was laudable as an effort to give a taste of the Bread of 
 Life to the thousands of souls who were hungering for it. 
 It was printed by Mr, Creagh at the mission press on 
 Mare. 
 
 For the above interesting item of information, and for 
 all that follows relative to the translation of the sacred 
 Scriptures into the language of Lifu, I aui entirely indebted 
 to Mr. Creagh, who has spent thirty-three years of his life 
 in the Loyalty Islands, and has taken a leading part in 
 the translation work which he describes, and has super- 
 intended all the printing that has been done on the two 
 islands of ^Mare and Lifu from the commencement of the 
 mission to the present day. 
 
 Tlie first Gospel printed in the language of Lifu was 
 that of Mark, translated by the late lamented and much 
 beloved Bishop Patteson of the Melanesian mission, who at 
 the time was cliaplain to the late Bishop Selwyn. Bishop 
 I'atteson had an extraordinary aptitude for the acquisition 
 of languages, and having spent a few months on Lifu be- 
 fore the arrival of missionaries from the London Missionary 
 Society, ho rendered the above invaluable service to the 
 mission. The printing was done in New Zealand iu 1859,
 
 203 Liru. 
 
 and tlie edition consisted of about 500 copies, and it was a 
 priceless boon to the natives. 
 
 In October of the same year the Rev. Samuel INtTarlane 
 and the Rev. AVilliam Baker, with their wives, arrived from 
 the London Missionary Society, and settled on the island. 
 Mr. Baker retired from the mission in 1862, and towards 
 the close of that year Mr. MTarlane had completed the 
 translation of the Gospel according to Matthew, which was 
 printed on IMare. The edition consisted of 4000 copies, 
 and the pressing need of the mission was so far met. 
 
 From this time the translation of the other books of the 
 New Testament by Mr. M'Farlane went on apace. The 
 Gospel by John was completed, and an edition of 5000 
 copies was printed on Mare in 1866; the Acts of the 
 Apostles, the Epistle to the Romans, and the First and 
 Second Epistles to the Corinthians were printed in i ^6y, 
 5000 copies each ; and Galatians to Revelations followed in 
 I d>6d>. Thus in a marvellously short time the translation 
 and printing of the New Testament in the Lifu dialect 
 was completed. I suppose the work was accomplished in 
 a much shorter time than under ordinary circumstances 
 would have been practicable owing to the calamities which 
 came upon the island, and compelled Mr. M'Farlane to 
 refrain in a great measure from the more active work of 
 the mission. These calamities arose from the conduct of 
 the French authorities on New Caledonia, referred to in 
 the chapter on j\Iare. It would not comport with the 
 design of this work to enter into details respecting the 
 cruel outrages that were inflicted on the unoffending and 
 defenceless natives and their teachers. A full account 
 may be found in the " Story of the Lifu Mission," by Mr. 
 M'Farlane, published by Messrs. Nisbet & Co., Berners 
 Street, London, in 1873. 
 
 For a time the native schools were closed, and the 
 Samoan and Rarotongan teachers were compelled to leave
 
 LIFU. 203 
 
 the island after having been treated in the most brutal 
 manner, and the native teachers and even the English 
 missionaries were not allowed either to preach or teach. 
 What a mercy therefore was it that the people had in their 
 hands so large a portion of the sacred Scriptures, and so 
 were in possession of a treasure of which no tyranny of 
 man could deprive them ; and no doubt the cruel persecu- 
 tion they had to endure drove them to cleave more closely 
 to Him who is a refuge in the time of trouble, and who 
 knoweth them who trust in Him. 
 
 In 1869 the book of Psalms, which had been translated 
 by the Rev. James Sleigh, who joined the mission in 1S62, 
 was printed, the edition consisting of 5000 copies. " All 
 these books," Mr. Creagh remarks, " were printed in long- 
 primer type, double column, in verses, without headings 
 to chapters or pages, demy i2mo. The paper for all was 
 furnished by the British and Foreign Bible Society. For 
 the same reason that the island edition of the Mare version 
 was given to the people, the Lifuans received their books 
 which were printed on the islands gratis." 
 
 The whole of the New Testament in the two dialects of 
 Mare and Lifu (except the Gospel of Luke in Mare, and 
 ]\Iark in Lifu), the Psalms in Lifu, and Genesis and 
 Exodus in Mare, were printed on ^Mare between the years 
 1855 and 18C9. 
 
 In anticipation of a visit to England by IMr. ]\ri'arlane, 
 he and ^Nlr. Sleigh in 1870 revised the whole of the New 
 'J'estainent; tlie I'salms liaving been so recently printed 
 did not receive so minute a revision. In 1873 these, the 
 New Testament and Psalms, were printed in ]']iigland by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society, under the editorship 
 of ]\rr. M'Farlane, the edition consisting of 4000. The 
 book was similar to the island edition, except that small 
 pica typo was used, and the size was demy 8vo. 1'ho first 
 2000, Ijound in dark sheepskin, gilt edged, and lettered
 
 204 LIFU. 
 
 sides, were soon disposed of; a tliird thousand, bound dark 
 calf and gilt, are now in the course of sale. The price for 
 those bound in sheep was four shillings, and for those in 
 calf four shillings and fivepence. 
 
 The first books of the Old Testament translated and 
 printed (except the book of Psalms already referi'ed to) 
 were the books of the Pentateuch — Genesis, Exodus, and 
 Leviticus being the work of Mr. Sleigh ; Numbers and 
 Deuteronomy being done by Mr. Creagh. In 1874 and 
 1S75 these were revised by Messrs. Creagh and Sleigh in 
 committee, assisted by three native pundits, and they were 
 printed in London, under the editorship of Mr. Creagh, by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1 877. The style 
 and binding were uniform with the New Testament and 
 Psalms. Four thousand copies were printed. One thou- 
 sand were bound up with the New Testament and Psalms 
 in dark roan. These sold rapidly at six francs (four shil- 
 lings and tenpence) per copy. The Pentateuch by itself is 
 sold at four francs (three shillings and twopence) per copy. 
 
 The translation of other books of the Old Testament 
 was proceeded with in due course. The book of Job was 
 done by Mr. Sleigh. All the other books, from Joshua to 
 Malachi inclusive, except the Psalms, were translated by 
 Mr. Creagh, the work being completed in 1884. 
 
 In 1 88 1, Mr. Sleigh having retui-ned from a visit to 
 England, Mr. Creagh and he entered upon the woi'k of 
 giving a thorough revision to the whole Bible, with a view 
 to its being printed in England in one volume. This 
 great work was completed in August 1884, the revisers 
 having sat 361 days of nine hours each. 
 
 The work was evidently gone about in the most careful 
 manner; the best available aid was secured, and the 
 brethren strove to the utmost to convey to the native 
 mind the truth of God with the least possible alloy. " The 
 committee meetings," Mr. Creagh remarks, " have been of
 
 LIFU. 205 
 
 the greatest service to ourselves in improving our know- 
 ledge of the language, and they have been seasons of 
 enjoyment. In investigating texts so as to give the true 
 idea in the native idiom new light has broken in on many 
 portions of the Word of God, and our minds have thereby 
 been much benefited." 
 
 The brethren had the assistance of six native pundits all 
 through this final revision. These deserving men gave 
 their services most willingly, though at some considerable 
 sacrifice. They esteemed it an honour and a privilege to 
 have a hand in so important a work. Beyond being sup- 
 plied with provisions, partly furnished by the Christian 
 community and partly by the missionaries, and having 
 two suits of clothes each from the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, given at the suggestion of the missionaries, 
 they received no remuneration from man. 
 
 This edition it is expected will be printed in London in 
 1888. It will be pi'inted in paragraphs, with marginal 
 references (which have been supplied by j\Ir. Creagh) ; 
 bourgeois type, dark calf binding with red edges, and no 
 headings to chapters nor pages. With reference to the 
 carrying out of this revision Mr. Creagh has furnished the 
 following interesting information : — " In our revision work, 
 every verse was read over many times ; every hemistich, 
 every sentence, every word was fully discussed and criti- 
 cised, the natives being required to look well after their 
 own idioms ; but much of the matter being entirely new 
 to them, it involved no little trouble and explanation to 
 enable them to obtain an intelligent idea of the meanin":. 
 I read the manuscript and made the corrections. In the 
 Pentateuch alone we had 13,376 corrections ; in the Gospels 
 there were 17,490; in the Acts 4080; in the Epistles 
 13,312; and in the I'salms 6790= 55,048. 'J'lieso cor- 
 rections refer only to the previously printed portions ; tho 
 corrections in the unprinted manuscripts would not be
 
 :o6 LIFU. 
 
 fewer in proportion. All these corrections in the printed 
 portions had to be written twice ; first the original sheets ; 
 then we made a copy for safety, so that in case the MS. 
 should by any unforeseen accident be lost, we should be 
 able to obtain another without having to go over all our 
 work again. The written portion had to be copied ; my 
 wife and daughter rendered me good help in that way. I 
 tried native copyists, but they were not suiliciently careful 
 to be depended on. 
 
 " We used all available help, notwithstanding we are 
 conscious that our translation is anything but perfect. 
 The versions consulted were the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, 
 Prench, English xiuthorised, and Eevised versions ; the 
 Samoan, Karotongan, Mare, and Aneiteumese. With ray 
 daughter's assistance I went over all the proper names in 
 the Old Testament in order to have the orthography uniform. 
 This we easily managed by the help of the Englishman's 
 Concordance. I found I had to make a great number of 
 corrections in the proper names." 
 
 These minute particulars have, I think, a special value. 
 They show, as no mere general description could, the extreme 
 care with which the work of Bible translation was gone 
 about in the case of the Lifu version, and warrant a large 
 measure of confidence in the accuracy of that version. ]\Ir. 
 Creagh modestly remarks that he and his fellow-labourer 
 regard their version as anything but perfect. That remark 
 indeed will apply to the best translation ever made. It is 
 only an approximation to perfection that can. be attained ; 
 but we may conclude with a comfortable assurance that 
 the Lifu version is such that it will not mislead the natives 
 on any point of vital moment, and that the errors and im- 
 perfections are of trivial importance ; and I think from a 
 considerable acquaintance with our South Sea versions 
 that the reader may regard the Lifu version as a fairly 
 representative one, and the promoters of Bible circulation
 
 LIFU. 207 
 
 may rest assured that those who are workers together with 
 them are devoting themselves with conscientious fidelity 
 to the great work to which God has called them. And it 
 is matter for devout gratitude that hundreds of men of 
 similar stamp are spending their lives in other parts of the 
 great mission field in opening up the treasures of Divine 
 truth to the nations of the earth. 
 
 Aversion after version, each representing a vast amount 
 of consecrated toil, is being added to the hundreds already 
 in circulation ; and the work will doubtless advance with 
 accelerated speed as the millennial age draws on when the 
 mystery of God will be finished, and He who is the Alpha 
 and the Omei^a — the beginning and the end of the Revela- 
 tion of God — will sway His sceptre of peace and love over 
 a ransomed and renovated world.
 
 ( 2oS ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 UVEA. 
 
 Uvea is the name of a beautiful group of coral islands 
 lying about sixty miles to tlie east of New Caledonia, and 
 forming a portion of the Loyalty Islands. The principal 
 island is a curved strip of land thirty miles in length, and 
 about three miles in breadth, and about 1 50 feet in height. 
 The island next in size is separated from its larger neigh- 
 bour by a channel about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and 
 is twenty miles in length. The other islands, numbering 
 about twenty, are mere islets. The whole enclose a circular 
 lagoon twenty miles in diameter, with soundings all over, 
 and forming one of the finest and most spacious harbours 
 in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Ella, who laboured in the group for a 
 number of years, has favoured me with a paper on Scripture 
 translation in the Uvean language, of which what follows 
 is largely a transcript. The population, which numbers 
 about 2000, Mr. Ella tells us, consists of two distinct races, 
 one of the Papuan stock, who were the original inhabitants, 
 the other consisting of Eastern Polynesians from Tonga 
 and Uvea (Wallis' Island). These had drifted away from 
 their own lands at some remote period, and made the 
 island of Lifu, where they were hospitably received and 
 kindly treated. A famine arose on Lifn, and the castaways 
 were advised to proceed to lai * (the original name of the 
 
 * Pronounced Eai.
 
 UVEA. 209 
 
 Uvean group), where there was good land, and but sparsely- 
 occupied. The refugees took the advice tendered, and pro- 
 ceeded in their large canoes to lai, where they were also 
 kindly received. The southern and northern portions of 
 the inhabited islands were surrendered to them, and be- 
 came their permanent homes. The Tongan refugees went 
 to the south, and the Uveans to the north. The one 
 party called their new home Tonga, and the other called 
 theirs Uvea, and by this name the whole group is now 
 called by foreigners, but lai is the real native name. The 
 two languages, laian and Uvean (a mixture of Tongan 
 and Samoan), are spoken by the respective tribes, but 
 laian is employed in their intercourse with each other. 
 
 Native teachers from the island of Mare were placed on 
 lai by Messrs. Creagh and Jones in 1856. Eight years 
 later Mr. Ella was appointed to the charge of the mis- 
 sion, and with Mrs. Ella left Sydney in the Presbyterian 
 mission schooner Daj/sprinr/, in May 1864, in order to 
 fulfil his appointment. The French authorities on New 
 Caledonia, however, would not allow him to land on the 
 group ; and he was compelled to go on to the New 
 Hebrides, where he had to wait for six months before he 
 could obtain permission to land on the islands on which 
 he had been appointed to labour as an agent of the London 
 Missionary Society. At length he was permitted to take 
 up his abode on the islands simply as a foreign resident, 
 and after a while ho was allowed to engage in mission 
 work. 
 
 As soon as he had gained a sufficient acquaintance with 
 the language he reduced it to writing, formed an ortho- 
 graphy of a purely phonetic character, and usin;^' the 
 Roman letters, as has been done on all the islands we 
 liave occupied in the Piicific. lie then prepared a primer 
 and reading-book in the native language, wliich ho printed 
 and circulated among the natives. Unhappily Romish 
 

 
 2IO UVEA 
 
 priests bad obtained a footing on the group before Mr. 
 Klla began his work, and upon the publication of the 
 little book they assumed a hostile attitude, taking ad- 
 vantage of a Government edict which prohibited the use 
 of the vernacular in the schools, and allowed only of the 
 French language being taught. As the week-day schools 
 were thus closed, the only opportunity for using the primer 
 and reading-book was that afforded by the Sabbath schools, 
 which were allowed by the Government on the ground that 
 the}' were for the imparting of religious instruction. 
 
 The priests, however, set themselves in determined oppo- 
 sition, and through their tools, some native chiefs who 
 had attached themselves to them, had recourse to violent 
 measures. On a certain Sabbath they seized the church, 
 on the ground that the school was held in it, while the 
 service was being conducted, and the Lord's Supper was 
 being observed, and forcibly ejected the worshippers in 
 the most violent and outrageous manner. Mr. Ella and 
 his adherents managed, however, to continue the Sabbath 
 schools, and the Protestant part of the community, young 
 and old, in these and in their own homes, learned to read 
 in spite of the efforts of their persecutors to keep them in 
 ignorance. 
 
 As soon as Mr. Ella had sufficiently mastered the 
 language he set about the all-important work of Scripture 
 translation. But before printing any complete portion of 
 the Word of God he prepared a small book, consisting of 
 selections from the Gospel according to Matthew, and a 
 few Psalms. Mr. Ella had a knowledge of both printing 
 and binding, so he was able to get his books and transla- 
 tions into the hands of the natives without the delay which 
 would have been occasioned had it been needful to send 
 his manuscripts to be printed elsewhere. 
 
 The book of Scripture extracts was printed in April 
 1867 ; and in August 1S68 the Gospel of Luke was issued
 
 UVEA. 211 
 
 from the mission press — the first complete portion of the 
 Word of God which saw the light in the language of Uvea. 
 It was received with great delight by the teachers and 
 people ; it was indeed to them as cold water to a thirsty- 
 soul. 
 
 One of the girls of Mrs. Ella's school, on receivinsj her 
 copy, sat down under the shade of a cocoa-nut tree, and 
 did not move till she had read it through ; and when she 
 had finished it, she came to Mrs. Ella with tears in her 
 eyes, exclaiming, " Oh, Mrs. Ella, how beautiful is the story 
 of Jesus ! " Similar indications of warm appreciation ap- 
 peared on every hand, and encouraged the translator to 
 proceed with the object on which he had set his heart, 
 viz., to give the Uveans the complete New Testament in 
 their native toncrue. 
 
 The Editorial Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society wrote very cheeringly, encouraging him to go on 
 with his translation, and supplying him with some useful 
 books to aid him in his work. Many difficulties had to 
 be encountered, and obstacles overcome, which were placed 
 in his way by the French authorities and the Romish 
 priests. On the threshold it seemed as if the way would 
 be blocked altogether. The Governor of New Caledonia 
 and the Loyalty Islands objected to books being printed 
 in the vernacular, and directed that the people should be 
 taught to read in French, and that they should read the 
 r.ible in that language; but when the impracticability of 
 that was represented to him, he yielded, and gave permis- 
 sion to print the New Testament and Psalms in the native 
 tongue. 
 
 The Acts of the Apostles followed the Gospel of Luke, 
 and the otlier three Gospels were translated and printed 
 in due course. They were issued book by book as they 
 came from the press, and were joyfully received and highly 
 appreciated by a grateful people.
 
 212 UVEA. 
 
 The work had procoeded thus fiir when in 1872 Mr. and 
 !^[l's. Elhi were compelled, on the ground of failure of 
 health, to leave the mission field and proceed to England 
 for change and rest. In the beginning of 1874 Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ella returned from England, and resumed their work 
 on Uvea ; but about two years later they were obliged, on 
 account of IMrs. Ella's health, to quit their loved work in 
 the islands, and remove to Sydney. Here Mr. Ella went 
 on with the translation of the New Testament, and in 1878 
 that was completed and printed. 
 
 As already stated the four Gospels and the Acts of the 
 Apostles were translated and printed on Uvea, and some 
 of the Epistles were also translated, but the printing had 
 been deferred till now. A native chief came from Uvea 
 to act as pundit in revising these and the books that were 
 translated in Sydney. The Epistles and Revelation were 
 bound in one volume, as the Gospels and Acts had pre- 
 viouslv been. 
 
 After the completion of the New Testament Mr. Ella 
 translated the book of Psalms, and in order to avail him- 
 self of the best assistance to be obtained from native help 
 in revising the manuscript, he took it to Uvea, and spent 
 some months there in giving it a thorough revision ; and 
 on his return to Sydney it was printed in bold pica type, 
 and bound in a separate volume. All the paper on which 
 the Uvean Scriptures have been printed has been supplied 
 by the British and Foreign Bible Society ; and the printing 
 that has been done in Sydney has also been borne by the 
 Society. The books are being sold to the natives at a 
 price which will refund the outlay. 
 
 To the above information referring more particularly to 
 Scripture translation on Uvea, Mr. Ella adds the following 
 painfully interesting information : — " At a period prior to 
 the commencement of missionary operations on lai, a large
 
 UVEA. 213 
 
 tribe, once the dominant party, was defeated in a war in 
 which all the other tribes united against it. The tribe 
 was neai'ly annihilated, and the survivors fled to New 
 Caledonia, and from them have sprung two tribes on that 
 land," Mr. Ella has had intercourse with some of these 
 people, and they have asked for native teachers to instruct 
 them. Every attempt, however, to convey to them the 
 Gospel has been frustrated by the action of French officials, 
 and teachers have been compelled to leave New Caledonia. 
 
 Mr, Ella mentions a question that was put to him by an 
 old native of Uvea which Christians would do well to lay 
 to heart. The same question has more than once been 
 put to missionaries in other parts of the world. " Why," 
 said the poor old man, " why were you so long in bringing 
 the Gospel to us? You now find only a remnant of a 
 nation." About a third part of the population was swept 
 away by measles about the year i S62. 
 
 No mission in the South Seas has a more sad history 
 than that of Uvea. This is not the place, however, to give 
 even the briefest epitome of that history. In the " Story 
 of the Lifu Mission," by the Rev. S. Macfarlaue, and in a 
 work entitled the " Martyrs of Polynesia," by the writer, 
 pretty full accounts may be found. 
 
 And now we must close our notice of Bible translation 
 in the Loyalty Islands. Thirty-three years have passed 
 since European missionaries settled on the group, and 
 during that comparatively short period an amount of work 
 has been accomplished in the department of service, of 
 which this work specially treats, which is highly satisfactory 
 when all the cirumstances are taken into account, for it is 
 to be borne in mind that Bible translation is only one 
 among the many duties which devolve upon the missionary 
 especially in our South Sea missions. Here then we have 
 in the Lifu dialect the liible complete, ready to go into
 
 214 UVEA. 
 
 the hands of the printer, and in the Mare dialect it is all 
 translated and is undergoing a final revision, and in the 
 Uvean the entire New Testament and the Psalms are in 
 print ; and all this work has been accomplished by five 
 men — Messrs. Creagh, Jones, M'Farlane, Sleigh, and Ella. 
 Let the friends of the Bible and the promoters of Christian 
 missions "thank God and take courage." The cause in 
 which they are embarked is without doubt the cause of 
 God ; and if God be for us, who can be against us ?
 
 ( ::i5 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 The mission to tlie large island of New Britain and islands 
 adjacent was commenced in the year 1875. The pioneer 
 missionary, who was also the originator of the mission, 
 was the Eev. George Brown of the Australian Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society. Mr. Brown had had fourteen years 
 experience of mission work in Samoa, and being an enter- 
 prising, energetic man, full of missionary zeal, and of 
 dauntless courage, was possessed of exceptional qualifica- 
 tions for being the leader of the difficult and hazardous 
 enterprise. To him and the liev. Benjamin Danks, who 
 became his coadjutor some time after the commencement 
 of the mission, I am indebted for all the information that 
 follows. 
 
 The principal islands of the group, generally designated 
 New Britain, are — New Britain itself, Duke of York group, 
 and New Ireland. New Britain is about 300 miles in 
 length, in direct geographical position, but Irom its 
 irregular shape the actual coast line must be very much 
 longer. The breadth of the island is from seventy to 
 fifteen miles, and there are many outlying small islands 
 near the coast. The Duke of York group lies mid- way in 
 St. George's Channel, between the north-east end of New 
 Britain and New Ireland, and consists of about ten islands, 
 most of wliich are small. Now Ireland is about 200 miles 
 in length, and from fifteen to twenty in breadth.
 
 2i6 NE]V BRITAIN. 
 
 The earliest distinct notice of the discovery of the group 
 is given in the account of Le Maire and Schouten's voyage 
 in 1615. Tasman sighted St. John's IsLand in 1643. 
 Dampier first ascertained that New Britain was a separate 
 island from New Guinea in 1700, whilst to Cartaret belongs 
 the honour of discovering St. George's Channel in 1767, 
 and of naming New Ireland, which he had thus proved to 
 be separate from New Britain by the channel through 
 which he had sailed. 
 
 Several attempts had been made by traders to form 
 settlements in the group before the commencement of the 
 mission, but with very little success. No white man had 
 ever been able to live safely on the mainland of New 
 Britain, and when the pioneer band of missionaries arrived 
 there was not a single white man in the group. Some 
 eighteen months previously two traders had been landed 
 on Matupit, in Blanche Bay, from a German barque, with 
 the view of opening up trade with the people. They were 
 well armed, and supplied with boats, houses, and goods for 
 trade; but the^^were only able to remain a few weeks, during 
 which they were in great danger from the natives, and at 
 length their house was set on fire, and they were obliged 
 to flee for their lives, and only succeeded in reaching their 
 boat after they had shot down several of the natives. 
 
 Mr. Brown sailed from Sydney in the mission brig John 
 Wesley in 1875, as already stated, and on his way to the 
 then little known lands to which he was bound, he called 
 at Fiji, visited the Native Training Institution there, and 
 made known to the students the object of his visit, viz., to 
 enlist volunteers to accompany him on his mission. The 
 dangerous character of the expedition was fully explained 
 to them. They were told that the people of the New Britain 
 group bore a very bad character, that white men had been 
 driven away by them, that the climate was known to be very 
 unhealthy, that they would have to remain there for some
 
 NEW BRITAIN. 217 
 
 time alone, and that if they decided to go in all probability 
 some of them ■u"ould never again see their own homes ; 
 and then they were told to go home and pray for Divine 
 guidance, and only to come to a decision after calm and 
 prayerful consideration. On the following day, when they 
 assembled again in the College Hall, they were asked if 
 any of them would volunteer for the difficult and dangerous 
 work, when, to their honour be it said, they all stood up, 
 and declared their willingness to go, Nine of them were 
 chosen, and a few days afterwards they were summoned to 
 attend a meeting of the Fijian Gilovernment, and the Acting 
 Governor of the colony warned them of the great risk they 
 were incurring, told them that they were British subjects, 
 that no missionaiy had any right to appoint them to such 
 a dangerous work, and assured them that if they now 
 desired to withdraw, he would take care that none of them 
 should be sent away from Fiji. They thanked the Governor 
 i'oT his kind advice, but assured him that they were already 
 fully aware of all that he had told them, that no one had 
 appointed them, but that they had freely volunteered to go, 
 and in concluding his remarks, one of them said, " And as 
 to our lives, that you, sir, have been speaking to us about, 
 we have fully considered that matter also. We have de- 
 cided, sir, to do God's work; and if we die, we die; if we 
 live, we live ; but we will do Christ's work." Noble men ! 
 and no less noble women, for they were all married, and 
 the wives no doubt were consenting parties. Mr. Brown 
 remarks : — "It was a noble resolution, and the subsequent 
 hi.story of these brave men and women abundantly proves 
 the sincerity of their determination, and the value of their 
 service." 
 
 At iSamoa, wlicre the party also called, two teachers 
 and their wives also volunteered to join the mission ; and 
 after spending a few days at iJotiima, and parsing by the 
 northern islands of the New Hebrides, the Santa Cruz and
 
 2iS NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 Solomon groups, the party lauded on York Island on Sab- 
 batb, August iSth, 1875. A momentous landing to all con- 
 cerned — reminding one of another landing, widely different 
 indeed in many of its aspects, yet having something in 
 common — the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth 
 Rock. What sought this little baud of Fijian and Samoan 
 Christians, and their solitary leader? — what sought they 
 thus afar in these regions of savageism? Jewels of the 
 mine or pearls of the deep ? Not they indeed. They did 
 seek gems and peai'ls, but not the gems of the mine, or the 
 pearls of the deep. They sought " Pearls of price by Jesus 
 bought. To His glorious likeness wrought." 
 
 It would not comport with the design of this work to 
 relate the story of the dangers to which the brave party 
 of pioneers were exposed, or to tell of their sufferings and 
 trials in the prosecution of their grand object, even were 
 we in circumstances to do so. It devolves on us simply 
 to chronicle, and that in the briefest manner, the results 
 which have been accomplished, so far, by the blessing of 
 God, on their labours. 
 
 They found the people to whom they went to be of the 
 Papuan or Melanesian stock. They were living in small 
 isolated districts, having little or no intercourse with 
 each other, and speaking dialects differing so widely as 
 practically to constitute different languages. There were 
 no competent interpreters ; the acquisition of the language 
 was therefore intensely difficult at the outset. The people 
 were in about the lowest state of barbarism. In one re- 
 spect they could not get lower — no covering was worn by 
 either sex. And they were cannibals, and no more need 
 be said in proof of their extreme degradation. They were 
 cruel, savage, and vile, as indeed the great bulk of them 
 still are ; but the day has dawned now, and the light will 
 spread, and the darkness, w^ith all its foul and hateful 
 accompaniments, will in due time pass away.
 
 NEW BRITAIN. 219 
 
 During tlie first year Mr. Brown was able to reduce the 
 language of the Duke of York group, and to acquire such 
 a knowledge of that as to enable him to get printed in 
 Sydney a small lesson book, with a few hymns, the Lord's 
 Prayer, and some short Scripture lessons, and a Catechism. 
 After this some portions of the Gospels were from time to 
 time translated, but not printed till 1881, when Mr. Brown 
 returned to Sydney. In 1882 the Gospel of Mark, which 
 he had translated, was printed by the New South Wales 
 Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society. This 
 was the first complete portion of Sci'ipture printed in any 
 of the dialects of Xew Britain, and its publication marks 
 an important epoch in the history of the mission. 
 
 As a striking proof of the progress that had been made, 
 a brief extract may be given from a letter of the Be v. E. 
 II. Bickard, who had joined the mission some time before 
 jyir. Brown left. Mr. liickard wrote to Mr. Brown as 
 follows : — " The little book was read, and understood at 
 once, by the scholars who had been attending the schools 
 of the teachers. I have just examined the schools, and 
 there are forty-five of the lads who can read the Gospel, 
 some of them as fluently as we can read our own Bibles." 
 
 Mr. Brown may well comment on the above fact as follows: 
 — " When it is remembered that only a short time pre- 
 viously these lads were little wild naked savages, and that 
 the Gospel which they read was printed in a language which 
 only six years before had not been reduced to a written 
 form, it will bo at once apparent that a great work had 
 been accomplished in a very short time, and ahso that the 
 people on whose behalf this work had been done are a fairly 
 intelligent and teachable race." 
 
 In 1883 the Bev. Benjamin Danks, who joined the 
 mission in 1878, while recruiting in Victoria, prepared a 
 small book of thirty-three pages, containing the first 
 catechism of the Wesleyan Church, tlio Decalogue, some
 
 220 NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 Scripture portions, aud tweuty-tliree hymns. These were 
 a revision of previous translations by Mr. Brown. The 
 next notable event in the history of this part of the mission 
 was the translation of the Gospel by Matthew by the Rev. 
 B. Panics. The translation was very carefully revised by 
 the Kev. Isaac Ivoouey, who became connected with the 
 mission in i88r, aud it was also printed in Sydney by the 
 Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Banks had the privilege of being the first resident 
 missionary on the mainland of New Britain, having resided 
 there for a few months in 1880, and being again appointed 
 to the island on his return from Australia in 1883. While 
 in Victoria, in addition to the literary work already men- 
 tioned, he prepared a small lesson book in the New Britain 
 language, but there was no connected portion of Scripture 
 as yet translated into that language, it being very imper- 
 fectly known at that time. In 1884 Mr. Danks prepared 
 a book containing lOO lessons from the Gospels, also the 
 first catechism, aud fourteen hymns. These were sent to 
 Sydney to be printed ; but as that would occupy at least 
 six months, and the need of books was urgent, Mr. Danks 
 having a small hand printing-press, translated into the 
 New Britain dialect and printed the Ten Commandments, 
 the first Psalm, and brief extracts from the Gospels of 
 Matthew, Luke, and John. The printing part must have 
 been a formidable undertaking, as Mr. Danks had never 
 even seen printing done. The book was issued in June 
 1885, and Mr. Danks remarks — "It bore immediate fruit 
 in producing a marked improvement in the character of the 
 young people. This was the first Scripture distributed on 
 the mainland of New Britain." 
 
 While waiting for the larger book from Sydney, Mr. 
 Danks prepared and printed a short life of Christ, the 
 book of Jonah, the parable of the Ten Virgins, and a few 
 Scripture texts. These were issued in book form in
 
 NEW BRITAIN. 221 
 
 November 1885, and in March 18S6 Mr. Banks published 
 another small book, containing a history of David and 
 Esther. In June 1886 a work was prepared by Mr. Banks, 
 consisting of 118 lessons translated from the four Gospels, 
 filling 1 16 pages. To this was added a translation of the 
 Acts of the Apostles by Mr. Kickard, The lessons from 
 the Gospels were arranged in chronological order accord- 
 ing to the Tract Society's Gospel Harmony, thus forming 
 in Scripture language a continuous life of Christ. Mr. 
 Kickard carried the book through the press, and Mr. 
 Banks closes the paper, with which he has kindly fur- 
 nished me, in the following words: — "It," the book, "is now 
 in the hands of a people who four years ago had not a 
 single book in their language. To God, who has given His 
 servants strength to accomplish this great work, be all the 
 praise." 
 
 From the Annual Report of the mission for the year 
 1886, by the Rev. Issac liooney, Chairman of the District, 
 we add a few extracts, which will be read with interest, 
 as showing the present state of the mission, and fore- 
 shadowing its future. As in the case of all our great 
 missions, more labourers are urgently needed, and there 
 is surely ample encouragement for the Wesleyan Church to 
 prosecute to the full extent of its ability a mission in which 
 the labours of its agent have been so greatly owned and 
 blessed of God. When all the circumstances are taken into 
 account, the progress that has been made is marvellous — 
 not exceeded, I should think, in any of our modern mis- 
 sions; but the work is only begun. The first-fruits have 
 been gathered in, and they constitute a blessed earnest of 
 the harvest to be reaped in due time; but an immense 
 amount of work has to be done in bringing under culture 
 the vast field. The number of the population can only be 
 conjectured at present, but there must be tens of thousands 
 even on the two large islands alone, besides the multitudes
 
 222 NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 who people tlie smaller islands, the very number of which 
 is scarcely known as yet. There are only three European 
 missionaries at present in the group, and what are they 
 in so vast a field ? What indeed ! The wonder is that 
 so great a work has been accomplished by so inadequate 
 an instrumentality. " It is the Lord's doing, and it is 
 marvellous in our eyes." 
 
 Referring to the Duke of York section of the mission, 
 Mr. Rooney writes as follows : — 
 
 "Our returns for the year show an increase in every 
 department of our work. The increase is not large, but 
 considering the difficulties with which we have had to 
 contend, the wonder is that it is so large as it is. On 
 Duke of York we have been cheered by the growing 
 influence of the lotu (the Christian religion). Our work 
 on New Ireland will not be so effective and thorough till 
 we have a missionary residing on the spot. 
 
 " Missionary meetings have been held this year for the 
 first time in the history of this mission. The proceeds, 
 about ;i^50, is a good beginning, and we hope to do better 
 next year. 
 
 " A new Hymn-book containing seventy-two hymns, a 
 Revised Catechism, and translations from the Old Testament, 
 embracing the principal narratives from the creation to the 
 death of Moses, all in the Duke of York language, have 
 been sent to the printer during the present year. When 
 these books reach us, and are placed in the hands of our 
 scholars and local preachers, we shall feel amply repaid 
 for many a weary day and sleepless night entailed by 
 their preparation. The impetus which the arrival of the 
 new book — one hundred Gospel lessons in the New Britain 
 language — has given to school work is surprising. Already 
 there is a large increase in the number of scholars who 
 can read, and the best results may be expected to follow 
 the diffusion of Scripture knowledge among the people.
 
 NEW BRITAIX. 223 
 
 The Circuit Training Institution lias been carried on during 
 the year," (The number of students is not given.) 
 
 With reference to his station on New Britain, Mr. Danks 
 writes : — 
 
 " Our school department is the most cheering part of 
 our work. Last year we had six young men who could 
 read — to-day we have fifty ; and twenty more will be able 
 to read by the end of the year. There is a great thirst for 
 knowledge among the young people. With good capable 
 teachers we have no fear for this branch of our work. 
 Nor is reading all they have learned. Already letters 
 written by natives pass from one end of the district to 
 the other, which give pleasure and a sense of importance 
 both to writer and receiver. The importance of this work 
 cannot be overestimated. Give these young people the 
 Word of God, and we have a mighty power for good in 
 our midst." 
 
 The Report concludes as follows: — "The calls for help 
 on every hand are loud and urgent. The people hold out 
 their hands to us. How fearful, how dark, how repulsive, 
 cruel, and wretched is heathenism, none can tell but those 
 who have met and handled it, lived in its midst, and seen 
 its working. Our prayer is that the Lord Jesus would 
 come quickly, and save this people, and in tliis prayer we 
 are sure every true Christian will join." 
 
 The following figures will enable the reader to form a 
 definite idea as to the progress of the mission to the present 
 date. 
 
 In addition to tin- llireo EnglLsh missionaries there are 
 three ordained Fijian ministers. 
 
 The number of stations at wliich regular services are 
 held and schools are in operation is thirty-seven, and there 
 are thirty-five preacliing stations at which services are 
 conducted by local preachers.
 
 224 NEW BRITAIN. 
 
 The number of Church members in full standing is 
 473, and the candidate classes number 202. 
 
 In the day and Sabbath schools there are 90 1 scholars ; 
 and the total attendants on public worship are 3938. 
 
 God bless tho devoted men and women who are bearing 
 the heat and burden of the day in this promising field. 
 Soon may showers of blessing descend upon them in such 
 abundance as that the solitary place shall be glad for them, 
 and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose.
 
 225 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 NEW GUINEA. 
 
 TVe come now to tlie greatest of all our mission fields in 
 the Pacific — Xew Guinea — tlie limit of our South Sea 
 missions. "When this limit was reached in 1871, the 
 dream of well-nigh forty years was realised. From the 
 earliest days of the Samoan mission we talked of the then 
 far-ofi" day when we should shake hands with our brethren 
 in the east across the Indian archipelago, few of us seriously 
 expecting, I suppose, that the thing would become a reality 
 in our day. Such, however, is now actually the case. Mis- 
 sionary operations have been in progress on New Guinea 
 for over sixteen years, and the history of these years amply 
 proves that we did not run unsent when in the month 
 of May 1 87 1, Mr. M'Farlane and myself embarked on the 
 voyage from which such great results have already sprung. 
 Till the report of that voyage was published to the world, 
 New Guinea was shunned by voyagers and traders, from 
 an idea which had got abroad that its people were such 
 inveterate savages that to venture among them would be 
 to court certain destruction. 
 
 Any particular description of Now Guinea and its people 
 would be out of place in a work like the present. la 
 books recently publislied by the Rev. W. W. Gill, B.A., 
 and the Rev. James Chalmers, ample information may bo 
 found. All we shall attempt Avill be to fiirnisli a very 
 brief account of the mission from its commencement to 
 
 r
 
 2:6 NEW GUINEA. 
 
 tlie present time, witli special reference to putting the 
 tribes who people the great laud in possession of the Bible 
 in their many tongues. 
 
 It was in the year 1870 that a mission to New Guinea 
 was projected by the Directors of the London IMissionary 
 Society ; and towards the close of that year definite steps 
 were taken by their agents in the Loj'alty Islands towards 
 the accomplishment of that object. At their request a 
 vessel named the Emma Pato'son, about 80 tons burden, 
 was chartered in Sydney by the llev. J. 1\ Sunderland, 
 and furnished with every requisite for the great under- 
 taking, and the Rev. Samuel M'Farlane and myself were 
 entrusted with the carrying out of the expedition. All the 
 needful preparations were made. Teachers were selected, 
 farewell meetings were held, and everything was got in 
 readiness for the start we intended to make in April or 
 May of 1 87 1, at the close of the stormy season. The time 
 for our departure had come, and we were in daily expec- 
 tation of the arrival of our vessel, when, to our dismay, 
 news reached us that as she was leaving New Caledonia 
 to cross over to Lifu, where we were waiting for her, 
 she had been wrecked, and everything that had been put 
 on board for our expedition was lost. We were in sore 
 perplexity, but God appeared for us. A small trading 
 schooner, the Surprise, from Sydney, came to anchor in the 
 harbour at Lifu just as she was needed. An arrangement 
 was made with the captain, and on the 31st of May we 
 embarked, and stood away towards the great land which 
 had become to us an object of absorbing interest, and 
 which for months had seldom been absent from our thoughts 
 during waking hours. We took with us eight teachers, 
 with their wives, all of whom were natives of the Loyalty 
 Islands. The captain had stipulated that he was to be 
 at liberty to spend some time off the coast of New Caledonia 
 on his own account, the charter to date from the time
 
 NEW GUINEA. 227 
 
 his business was finislied. Hence we did not reach our 
 destination till the close of June, On the 29th of that 
 month we had the intense satisfaction of looking upon 
 New Guinea, the great land of mystery of which so little 
 was known at that time. We stood in close to the reef, 
 saw numerous parties of natives, but did not attempt to 
 communicate with them, as we were bound for Darnley 
 Island in Torres Straits, where we expected to find greater 
 facilities for the accomplishment of our object than we 
 were likely to find on the mainland. We reached Darnley 
 Island on the following day, and on the 3rd of July 1871 
 we succeeded in introducinsf to the island a teacher named 
 Gucheng. Gucheng and his wife had not by any means 
 an enthusiastic reception. The people consented to receive 
 them on the understanding that when we should visit them 
 about twelve months hence, we should remove them if they 
 so wished. We felt satisfied that if we could only get 
 them received they would make their way, and so it 
 proved, and thus the first stone of the New Guinea mission 
 was laid. 
 
 From Darnley Island we proceeded to another small 
 island, named Warrior Island, where there was a pearl 
 shell fishing station. Here we were told of a small island 
 named Cornwallis or Dawan, close to the mainland ; but 
 our captain, on the plea that all about that neighbourhood 
 was unsurveyed, refused to go beyond ^\ arrior Island, which 
 was some forty or more miles distant. A boat was kindly 
 lent us by Captain Banner, the manager of the fishing 
 station, and in that, with a crew of native eastern islanders 
 only, wo set out on our somewhat adventurous voyage. 
 IJy tlie lielp of God we succeeded, ;iii(l now we felt as if wo 
 had the key that would lay open to the woi'ld tlie great 
 unknown countiy. At the hour of evening prayer wo got 
 a nuiiiljer of the natives together that they might witness 
 un act of worship to the true C!od, the first act of the kind,
 
 22S NEW GUINEA. 
 
 no doubt, that had ever been performed on that dark shore. 
 That service being over, we (Mr. M'Farlane aud myself) 
 witlidrew from our native friends, and at a little distance 
 from the house, under the canopy of heaven, and with the 
 great dark land of New Guinea before us and close at 
 hand, we sang, with feelings such as language cannot 
 desci'ibe, " Jesus shall reign where'er the sun ; " poured 
 out our hearts in fei'vent prayer, and talked of the spread 
 of His blessed reign, and the far-reaching consequences of 
 the step we had been privileged to take on that ever- 
 memorable evening. 
 
 We left four teachers on the island, two of whom were 
 designed for another island named Saibai, about four miles 
 distant, but it was thought advisable for all the four to 
 remain together for a time. We called at the island and 
 had intercourse with the people. They received us in a 
 friendly manner, but they looked a fierce, savage people, 
 and a fuller acquaintance with them proved them to be as 
 savage as they looked. They were willing, however, to 
 receive teachers. Arrangements were made for the settle- 
 ment of the others on Bampton Island, at the mouth of the 
 Fly River, and on Murray Island, which afterwards be- 
 came the headquarters of the Western or Papuan branch 
 of the mission. 
 
 The great object of our voyage was now secured. 
 Arrangements were made for the location of all the 
 teachers we had to dispose of, but we did not feel inclined 
 to turn our faces homeward till we had set foot on the 
 mainland, so on our way back to Warrior Island, where 
 our ship was waiting for us, we called at a place named 
 Kataw, about thirty miles from Dawan, and were well 
 received. And then returning to the ship, we stood away 
 on our return voyage, calling at liedscar Bay, and add- 
 ing considerably to our knowledge of New Guinea and 
 its people. We had a long, tedious, and trying voyage,
 
 NEW GUINEA. 229 
 
 not unattended with danger. "\Ye did not reach Lifu till 
 the 2nd of November, over five months from the time 
 of sailing. 
 
 Soon after our return, Mr. M'Farlane, with his family, 
 proceeded to England on a visit; and after occupying a 
 station on ]\Iare for about two months, we (Mrs. Murray 
 and myself), at the request of the Directors of the Society, 
 removed to Cape York, to superintend for the time being 
 the New Guinea mission. For this purpose we sailed from 
 the Loyalty Islands in the John Williams, on the 14th of 
 September 1872 ; and on the 17th of October we reached 
 Somerset, Cape York, and that became temporarily the 
 headquarters of the mission. We were accompanied by a 
 strong force of teachers. We had eight from the Loyalty 
 Islands, and six from the Ilervey group, of which the 
 well-known island Rarotonga is the principal. These 
 were in charge of the Rev. W. W. Gill, B.A., who, with 
 Mrs, Gill and family, was on his way to England on 
 furlough after an absence of twenty-one years. Mrs. Gill 
 and the family went on to Sydney in the John Williams, 
 and ^Ir. Gill remained with us for a time at Cape York, 
 rendering me very valuable help in the location of the 
 teachers, after which he followed Mrs. Gill to Sydney, 
 where he arrived on the 22nd of January 1873. 
 
 We had the satisfaction of finding the teachers and their 
 families left by Mr. ]\l'Farlane and myself alive, and in 
 fairly good health, with one exception. Tepeso, the brave 
 man who made the memorable speech in answer to parties 
 who sought to frighten him by parading before him and 
 his fellow teachers the dangers they would have to en- 
 counter, that " wherever there were men, missionaries 
 were bound to go," liad been taken away to I Ik- land of 
 safety and repose, and his wife ami cliild IukI rnllowcii. He 
 was the last that we should liave chosen to part willi, but 
 the Unerring One did it, and it was not for usfo iniu'inur.
 
 230 NEW GUINEA. 
 
 AVe succeeded in locatiug all the teacliers now brought. 
 Those from the East were placed in Ivedscar Bay, and those 
 from the Loyalty Islands on different islands iu Torres 
 Straits, and on Bampton Island, near the mouth of the Fly 
 River. And now the mission was fairly launched, but trying 
 and anxious months followed which must be passed over in 
 silence. Particulars may be found iu " Forty Years' ]\Iission 
 Work iu Polynesia and New Guinea," chaps, li.— liv. 
 
 The most important step taken while we were alone was 
 the introduction of teachers to Port Moresby. As soon as 
 I could find the means of getting to that place, after its 
 discovery by Captain Moresby of H.M.S. Basilisk, I made 
 a visit to it, and succeeded in introducing four Rarotongan 
 teachers, I'iri, Pau, Puatoka, and Anederea — men whose 
 names deserve to be had in remembrance as the pioneers 
 of the mission in that now famous locality. My first visit 
 satisfied me that we were not likely to find a more eligible 
 place for the headquarters of the eastern branch of the 
 mission, and subsequent visits confirmed the first impres- 
 sion. Those who followed me adopted the same view, and 
 now it is the headquarters of the civil authorities of 
 British New Guinea as well as of our mission. 
 
 In the autumn of 1874 Mr. M'Farlane joined us at Cape 
 York, and on the 20th of October following Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lawes arrived, and in the meanwhile the mission steamer 
 Ellengowan reached us from England, and on the 2nd 
 of November the John Williams also arrived with Mrs. 
 M'Farlane and other parties connected with the mission 
 on board. And now we were iu a position to get the 
 mission into something like complete working order. 
 There was a leader for each of the two divisions into which 
 the mission naturally shaped itself — the I'apuan and the 
 Malayan — and there was a ship under the exclusive control 
 of the missionaries, and thus a want which had been sorely 
 felt while I was alone was met.
 
 NEW GUINEA, 231 
 
 Mr. M'Farlane took charge of the Papuan branch, and 
 Mr. Lawes of the Malayan. In 1877 Mr. Chalmers joined 
 the mission, and was associated with Mr. Lawes at Port 
 Moresby, and from that time to the present that part of 
 the mission has been chiefly under their management. We 
 can only glance at the progress that has been made during 
 the intervening years. 
 
 We take first 
 
 THE EASTERN DIVISION, 
 
 that under the management of Messrs. Lawes and Chalmers. 
 As soon as their knowledge of the languages permitted, 
 school-books, consisting chiefly of Scripture extracts, were 
 prepared. In the preparation of these the teachers must 
 have largely assisted, as it was necessary to have them 
 in five languages or dialects. Hymn-books were also 
 prepared, and little elementary works in arithmetic and 
 geography followed after a time, and the schoolmaster 
 was soou abroad in that part of New Guinea. It was 
 my high privilege to have a look at Port Moresby in 
 April 1882, and I was astonished at what I witnessed 
 there. I left the people at the close of 1874 wild 
 savages, scarcely a remove from absolute barbarism. Now 
 I found a school numbering 158 learning reading, writing, 
 arithmetic, and geography, some having made amazing 
 progress. A church had been formed some considerable 
 time before, and at the Sabbath services thei'e were 
 large congregations of apparently devout and earnest 
 worshippers numbering about 500. And such has been 
 the rapid extension of the mission that there are now 
 forty-seven stations extending along the south coast of 
 the eastern peninsula, and also some distance inland, and 
 at each of these there is a I'ort ]\Ioresby on a smaller scale. 
 Regular service on Sabbaths and week-duys, a school, and 
 at some of the more advanced a church, has been formed,
 
 232 NEW GUINEA. 
 
 and so tlie good work is spreading. There are at this 
 date (1887) 300 church members, and there are always a 
 number of young men under training at Port Moresby for 
 teachers. The bretliren are anxious to be able to dispense 
 with the services of teachers from otlier lands, as so many 
 of these have died through the unhealthiness of the climate, 
 A good many years must pass, however, before an adequate 
 number of properly qualified native teachers can be pro- 
 cured, and the brave eastern teachers, men and women, 
 press forward in the spirit of martyrs to fill up the ranks 
 when their brethren and sisters fall. 
 
 The first connected portion of Scripture that was printed 
 was the Gospel of Mark, translated by Mr. Lawes in 
 the Motumotu language. It was printed in Sydney, New 
 South Wales, under the superintendence of the Eev. J, P. 
 Sunderland, and in 18S4 all the four Gospels were printed 
 also in Sydney under Mr. Lawes' own eye, and bound to- 
 gether in a volume. No other portion of Scripture has 
 yet been printed in the Motumotu (or Port Moresby) 
 dialect; but the Gospel of Mark, translated by one of the 
 eastern teachers in the dialect spoken at South Cape, has 
 been printed. The translation was revised of course by the 
 missionaries, nevertheless it is a noteworthy fact that men 
 so recently enveloped in heathen darkness should go forth 
 to other heathen lands, not only to preach the Gospel, but 
 to translate the Bible into the lanj^uages of these lands. 
 
 Por some time past, while Mr. Chalmers has been on 
 a visit to England, Mr. Lawes has had the entire care 
 of the immense district on himself alone. It is no wonder 
 therefore that translation work has not advanced rapidly. 
 He has now the Acts of the Apostles in hand ; and as 
 Mr. Chalmers, and another esteemed brother, the Rev. A. 
 Pearce, who has had many years experience of mission 
 work on Eaiatea of the Tahitian group, are now on their 
 way to New Guinea, he will soon have help, and be able
 
 NEW GUINEA. 233 
 
 jj 
 
 to give more time to the all important work. Hence 
 we may hope that ere a great while the New Guineans 
 will have the complete New Testament, at least, in their 
 own tongue. The cost of all the portions that have been 
 printed has been borne by the Sydney Auxiliary to the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. The New Guineans 
 are not yet in circumstances to pay for their books. This 
 is not likely to be the case long however. It will not 
 be out of place to mention here, on account of its con- 
 nection with Bible translation, and the general interests 
 of the mission, that ]\Ir. Lawes has prepared a dictionary 
 and a grammar of the language of Port Moresby. These 
 were printed in Sydney at the cost of the Government 
 of New South Wales, in consideration of their ethnological 
 and lineruistic value. 
 
 THE WESTERN BRANCH. 
 
 I am sorry that I am not able to furnish much informa- 
 tion with reference to the Western or Papuan branch of 
 the mission. The headquarters of this, as already men- 
 tioned, is on Murray Island, in Torres Straits. This is a 
 pretty little island. It is a garden for fertility, and it 
 is equal in beauty to many of the gems of Eastern and 
 Western Polynesia. It is only a few miles in circum- 
 ference, but it rises to the height of 750 feet, and it has 
 the great recommendation for a mission station of being 
 healthy — the most healthy, perhaps, of all the islands of 
 Torres Straits. Captain Flinders, of the British Navy, 
 who visited it in 1802, estimated the population at 700. 
 What it is at present I am unable to say. Captain 
 Flinders wrote of tlio natives as follows: — " Some of these 
 people are of a dark chocolatn colour, otliers nearly black. 
 The men are about the middle size, active and muscular, 
 their countenances being expressive of quick appreheu-
 
 234 NCIV GUINEA. 
 
 sion. The uniuerous dwellings seen near tlie sliorc, and 
 the plots of cultivated laud in different parts of tlie 
 island, bad an appearance of comfort and civilisation 
 totally uuknown among the savages of the adjaceut coast 
 of Australia." 
 
 Mr. M'Farlane and I had arranged to take a teacher to 
 the island during our first voyage, but he, the teacher we 
 had selected for it, and the Darnley Island teacher, re- 
 quested to be allowed to remain together for a time, with 
 the understanding that after some three months or so, 
 Mataika, the Murray Island teacher, should proceed thither 
 in case an opportunity offered. We had some ground to 
 expect that such an opportunity would occur, but it did 
 not. Mataika, however, was not a man to be easily turned 
 aside from an object on which he had set his mind. With 
 assistance which he procured on Darnley Island, he built 
 a canoe — a sorry enough craft it was in which, with a 
 crew of five, including himself, to make a voyage to Murray 
 Island, which is thirty miles distant from Darnley, and 
 dead to windward. The voyage occupied two days and 
 one night. He was well received, and finding a foreigner 
 on the island, a coloured man, who owned a boat, he hired 
 the said boat, returned in it to Darnley Island, where he 
 had left his wife and property, and taking leave of the 
 place of his temporary sojourn, he proceeded to what he 
 now regarded as his fixed abode, and so began the mission 
 to Murray Island. 
 
 Soon after Mr. M'Farlane's return from England in the 
 autumn of 1874, he fixed upon this island as, according 
 to his judgment, the most eligible place from which to 
 operate on the adjacent coast, including the Great Gulf of 
 Papua, and extending eastward to the Fly River. Of all 
 the work that has been carried on throughout that part of 
 the island during the intervening years he had the chief 
 management till his departure for England in 1885. The
 
 NEW GUINEA. 235 
 
 Hev. J. Tait Scott was first sent to liis aid in 1880. After 
 a short term of service he withdrew from the mission, and 
 after an interval the Rev. Harry Scott succeeded him, but 
 he also left after a short time. He left on account of the 
 failure of health, and the Rev. E. B. Savage joined the 
 mission in 1S85, and is now in charge; and the latest 
 intelligence announces the arrival of the Rev. A. E. Hunt, 
 so Mr. Savaofe is no longfer sincjle-handed. 
 
 CD 00 
 
 From an early period of the mission's history there has 
 been a traininsf institution for the education of a native 
 agency, and in addition to his work in connection with 
 that Mr. M'Farlane did a large amount of pioneering 
 work on the banks of the Fly River and elsewhere, and 
 placed a large number of teachers at different points, thus 
 opening up the country for the spread of the Gospel, and 
 preparing the way for a more effective agency when the 
 way seems clear for foreign missionaries to settle among 
 the numerous tribes who are found upon the banks of the 
 great water-way into the interior, and other parts con- 
 nected with that branch of the mission. It is a necessity 
 that foreign missionaries live among the people and learn 
 their languages if mission work is to be consolidated and 
 extended. In no other way can the Bible be translated, 
 and other essential work be efficiently accomplished. A 
 church has been formed on IMurray Island, and also on the 
 island of Saibai, and large numbers have been baptized. 
 I am unable to say how many, or to give the numbers who 
 have been admitted to the churches. 
 
 With reference to the work of Scripture translation, 
 Mr. M'Farlane, in a letter of late date, writes as follows: 
 — '"In New Guinea I Iiave translated the Gospels of ]\Iark 
 and John into the iMurray Island language, and assisted 
 the Lifu teachers in translating tlio Gospel of Mark into 
 the language of Saibai and Mabuiag, and another Lifii 
 teacher in translating portions of Scripture into the
 
 236 NEW GUINEA. 
 
 language of Cbina Straits, besides, of course, preparing 
 Lvnin-Looks and scliool-boolcs." 
 
 It will be remembered tliat Mr. ]\I'Farlane, during: Lis 
 connection with the Loyalty Islands mission, translated 
 the entire New Testament into the language of Lifu. 
 
 Such is a brief view of what has been attempted towards 
 the evangelisation of New Guinea, and of the results so 
 far as man can trace them ; and when the circumstances 
 under which the work has been carried on are considered, 
 there is surely ample ground for encouragement. True, 
 the results have cost us dear. A vast amount of toil, 
 suffering, and self-denial have had to be endured — especially 
 among our brave eastern pioneers, who have emphatically 
 had to " endure hardness," and many of whom, alas ! have 
 fallen in the struggle, some by the hand of violence, and 
 many more from the effects of the sickly climate. Over 
 these we mourn, yet we glorify God in them, and do not 
 regard their lives as wasted or thrown away. No ! they 
 have fallen in a noble cause, and to that cause they have 
 rendered valuable service by the work they did, and by the 
 examples of heroism and consecration they have left be- 
 hind them, the influence of which we cannot measure. Two 
 ladies, also of the noblest type of womanhood, have fallen 
 — the one, the wife of the Ilev. William Turner, M.D., just 
 as she was about to enter upon her work ; the other, Mrs. 
 Chalmers, a woman who, like her well-known husband, 
 seemed a stranger to fear ; and a young missionary, the 
 Rev. Watson Sharp, has lately been added to the list of 
 the departed before he had commenced his labours. 
 
 May the Lord of the harvest raise up worthy successors 
 to these departed ones, and may the present day of small 
 things in due time expand to a day of great things. A 
 glorious achievement will be the conquest of New Guinea ! 
 — a grand consummation to the struggle begun on Tahiti
 
 NEW GUINEA. 237 
 
 ninety years ago, and a magnificent illustration of the 
 power of the Gospel! 
 
 "Fly abroad, thou mighty Gospel, 
 Win and conquer, never cease ; 
 May thy lasting, wide dominion, 
 Multiply and still increase : 
 
 Sway Thy sceptre, 
 Saviour, all the world around."'
 
 THE Nor/rii rACiFic. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 So far our attention has been exclusively directed to fields 
 of missionary labour lying south of the equator ; now we 
 cross over to the North Pacific, and turn with great pleasure 
 to lands occupied by the American churches. 
 
 The chief of these is the now well-known group, the 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 A special interest attaches to this group, arising from 
 the fact that it was the last discovery of Captain Cook, 
 and that on one of its islands his illustrious career was 
 brought to a close. The discovery was made in 1778, 
 while he was in search of a northern passage from the 
 Pacific to the Atlantic, and he consoled himself, under the 
 disappointment he felt at failing in the immediate object 
 of his search, with the fact that it was in consequence of 
 his having gone in quest of that object that his voyage 
 was " enriched with a discovery which, though last, 
 seemed in many respects to be the most important that 
 had hitherto been made by Europeans throughout the 
 extent of the Pacific Ocean." Such was the great navi- 
 gator's estimate of the importance of this group, and a
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 239 
 
 glance at tlie principal islands of wliicli it is composecl, 
 with their subsequent history and development, will, I 
 think, confirm the soundness of his judgment. 
 
 As in the case of Fate in the New Hebrides, Captain 
 Cook gave to the gi'oup the name it now bears in honour 
 of his patron the Earl of Sandwich. The native name of 
 the group is Hawaii, and by that name it will no doubt 
 always continue to be designated by the natives, for this, 
 among other reasons, that no native could possibly pro- 
 nounce the name given it by Cook.* The group is 
 situated between 18° 50' and 22° 20' north latitude, and 
 154^ 53' ^^^ 160° 15' "^^^^ longitude. There are ten 
 islands — eight only are however inhabited ; the other two 
 being barren rocks, of little account except as resorts for 
 fishermen. Hawaii is the name of the principal island 
 as well as the general name of the group ; and the names 
 of the others are Maui, Molokini, Kahulawe, Lanai, 
 Molokai, Oahn, Kauai, Kii-hau, and Kaula. They stretch 
 from south-east towards the north-west in the order in 
 which I have named them. 
 
 The whole group contains about 6000 square miles ; the 
 island of Hawaii itself having an area of 4000, or two- 
 thirds of the whole. Hawaii is nearly 300 miles in cir- 
 cumference. IMaui is about 140. Oahu and Kauai are 
 about the same size as ^laui. The others are much smaller, 
 but some of them are fine islands, and in early days they 
 seem to have been as populous and important according to 
 their size as the larger. They are all of volcanic origin ; 
 they are mountainous, and the valleys and low laud are in 
 the highest degree fertile. Oahu is said to be the most 
 romantic and picturesque of the whole group, resembling 
 in its natural scenery some of the finest islands of the 
 
 • In the language Hpoken in the Sandwich Islands there are no double 
 cons'inants. It is radically tho Hamo language as tliat found throughout 
 the whole of Ea:itcrn and Central Tolynenia.
 
 240 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 Taliitian group.* In some of tlie islands, notably Hawaii, 
 tlie mountains rise to an elevation of 15,000 to 18,000 
 feet. 
 
 Sixty years ago the population of the group was esti- 
 mated at from 130,000 to 150,000. Since that date it has 
 very much decreased owing to causes which we must not 
 stop to particularise. A census made in i86o places the 
 native population at 67,084; the foreign at 2716 — in all, 
 69,800. The influx of Chinese and other nationalities must 
 have largely swelled the population of late years, but on 
 that point I have not reliable information. 
 
 Kative traditions point to the Tahitian group as the 
 place whence the first settlers came ; and this is confirmed 
 by the fact that the language, manners, and customs, and 
 general appearance of the natives, are almost identical in 
 the Tahitian and other groups, which have evidently a 
 common origin. 
 
 The attention of the American churches was directed 
 to the Sandwich Islands, and their sympathies aroused 
 towards their benighted inhabitants, in a very remarkable 
 manner. About the year 1808 two youths, natives of the 
 islands, found their way to the United States in a vessel 
 which touched at the group — a whale ship, I suppose. On 
 reaching the States, the captain took the two lads to his 
 own home at New Haven, treated them kindly, and intro- 
 duced them to Christian friends, and much interest was 
 awakened, and much kindness shown to the strangers. 
 We are unable to give particulars as to how they fared for 
 the next few years, but about the year 1815 an incident 
 occurred which connects them distinctly with the origin 
 of the mission to their native land. 
 
 On a certain day a young man, a student of Yale 
 College, as he was walking through the college grounds, 
 saw a lad about seventeen years of age sitting on the steps 
 * See Ellis' Polynesian Researches, vol. iv, p. 11.
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 241 
 
 of the college weeping. He was clad in sailor garb. The 
 colour of his skin indicated his foreign orio-iu and his 
 appearance altogether was the reverse of prepossessing ; 
 but his distress touched the heart of the student, and he 
 stopped and asked the cause of his forlorn and distressed 
 appearance. Though he had been in America for a number 
 of years, he could speak or understand English very im- 
 perfectly ; but he made his interrogator, whose name was 
 Mr. Edwin W. Dwight, understand that he was one of 
 two youths who had come to America from the Sandwich 
 Islands. Mr. Dwight asked him if he would like to be 
 taught to read. At this his face brightened, and he re- 
 plied, " Yes." Mr. Dwight then proposed that he should 
 come to his room in the college, and that same evening 
 his education was begun, and went steadily on for several 
 months. 
 
 The name of this young man was Obookia,* and the 
 other to whom we have referred was named Hopu. He 
 had beofun to learn to read some time before, but no one 
 seems to have offered to teach Obookia, and his object in 
 going and seating himself on the college steps was to 
 attract the attention of some one who might put him in 
 the way of getting taught ; and it appears that the result 
 was that the last became first. Obookia attended the 
 services in the church, and was soon able to understand 
 what he heard, and tlie truth of God took hold of his 
 heart, and he afforded satisfactory evidence that he had 
 passed from deatli unto life. 
 
 In 1 8 16 both he and Hopu were placed in a school 
 which had been establislied l)y tlie American Board of 
 Commissioners for Foreign Missions, for the education of 
 young men from Indian tribes in America, or from other 
 lands, as the case might be ; and tlio first teacher of this 
 school was ^fi'. Dwight, Obookia's kind friend, wlio found 
 * Moat probably Obookaia. 
 
 Q
 
 242 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 liiin on the college steps. The common branches of 
 education were taught, and the doctrines and principles 
 of Christianity had no doubt a prominent place in the 
 curriculum. Obookia was deeply grateful for the privi- 
 leges he enjoyed at this school, and he seems to have 
 striven to improve them ; and no doubt he grew in grace 
 and in the knowledge of his Lord and Saviour. This 
 inference is clearly deducible from the fact that a strong 
 desire took possession of his heart to return to his own 
 dark land, to tell to his countrymen the glad tidings 
 which had brought peace and joy to his own soul. " Poor 
 people," he would say, " worship wood and stone ; sliark 
 and almost everything their god. There is no Bible there; 
 and heaven and hell they do not know about it, and here 
 I have found the name of the Lord Jesus in the Holy 
 Scriptures, and have read that His blood was shed for 
 many. My poor countrymen, in the region and shadow of 
 death, have no Bible to read — no Sabbath. I often feel 
 for them in the night-season concerning their souls. May 
 the Lord Jesus dwell in my heart, and prepare me to go 
 and spend my life among them. But not my will, Lord, 
 but Thine be done." 
 
 Ko, dear young man, it was not His will that you should 
 return to the dark land of your birth. It was well that it 
 was in your heart, but He had something better in store 
 for you, and He had His own plan for bringing to pass 
 that on which your heart was set. 
 
 This interesting young man died at the age of twenty- 
 six. An account of his life and death was published, and 
 the hearts of American Christians were deeply stirred on 
 behalf of his people, and an interest was aroused which 
 soon led to definite steps being taken to respond to the 
 Macedonian cry which had reached them in so affecting 
 a manner from the far-off isles of the sea. 
 
 And to this voice to the churches was added another
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 243 
 
 which strikingly emphasised the first. Two young men, 
 graduates of Yale College, oflfered themselves for personal 
 service in the Sandwich Islands, and so the duty to send 
 the Gospel to these lands was made about as plain as if 
 an audible voice from heaven had spoken to the churches. 
 The two young men who offered themselves for this service 
 were Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston, of whom we shall 
 have much to tell presently.* 
 
 And while the hearts of Christians in'America were thus 
 being stirred, a movement of a very remarkable character 
 was taking place in the far-off isles towards which their 
 sympathies were being directed. The prophet Jeremiah 
 speaks of it as an unheard of thing that a nation should 
 change its gods ; but the Hawaiians, moved by some 
 impulse which man cannot trace, went beyond changing 
 their gods — they renounced them altogether. Of this 
 strange proceeding Mr. Ellis speaks as follows : — " The way 
 was prepared for them (the missionaries) by one of those 
 remarkable events which distinguish the eras in the history 
 of nations, whether barbarous or civilised. This was the 
 abolition of the national idolatry, which, though it was 
 closely interwoven with all the domestic and civil insti- 
 tutions of every class of the inhabitants, upheld by the 
 combined influence of a numerous body of priests, the 
 arbitrary power of warlike chiefs, and the sanction of 
 venerable antiquity, had been publicly and authoritatively 
 prohibited by the king only a few months before their 
 arrival." 
 
 This act of tlie king produced a groat commotion. It 
 led to a civil war. A principal chief, with a portion of 
 the people, rose in rebellion. A battle was fought; the 
 
 * For the above factn which l<d the American Churches to undortakc 
 a rnission to tlie Sandwicli iHland.s, I am indebted to a Hmall work by 
 MrH. Jane H. Warren, published by the American Tract Society, entitled 
 "The Morning Star."
 
 244 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 victory was ou the side of the king and his adherents ; 
 the rebel chief was killed ; and the whole mass of the 
 people went on with renewed vigour destroying idols, 
 sacred enclosures, &c., and, all unconsciously to them- 
 selves, preparing the way for the advent to their shores 
 of the kingdom of God. 
 
 It was on the 23rd of October 18 19 that the first band 
 of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands sailed from the 
 United States, and early in the following year they reached 
 their destination. They were a goodly company, and as the 
 pioneers of one of the most successful missions of modern 
 times, they have a claim to be held in grateful remem- 
 brance. The party consisted of ten — viz., the Eev. 
 Hiram Bingham, the Rev. Asa Thurston; Mr. Thomas 
 Holmes, a physician ; Samuel Whitney and Samuel 
 Ruggles, teachers ; Elisha Loomis, printer ; and Daniel 
 Chamberlain, a farmer, and their wives ; and Thomas 
 Hopu, William Kanui, and John Honuri, natives of the 
 Sandwicli Islands. 
 
 The missionaries did not meet with the warm welcome 
 which might have been expected considering the state in 
 which the islands were found, owing to the movement 
 described above. Their object was misapprehended, and 
 there was some opposition in consequence to their taking 
 up their abode on the islands. This, however, was so far 
 got over that the king and the leading chiefs consented 
 to their landing and remaining for one year. 
 
 Having gained a footing, the missionaries set themselves 
 at once to prosecute the object of their mission. As soon 
 as their knowledge of the language allowed they applied 
 themselves to the difficult task of settling the orthography 
 and reducing it to writing. In this they had the help of 
 elementary books in the kindred dialects of the Tahitian 
 Islands and New Zealand, and in January 1822 they 
 were able to put to press the first sheet of a Hawaiian
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 245 
 
 spelling-book, and to present tlie natives with the elements 
 of their own tongue in a printed form.* The plan of this 
 work does not allow of our noticing the great and formid- 
 able dijSiculties with which the missionaries had to contend 
 in those early days. They are graphically detailed in a 
 work by the Rev. Sheldon Dibble, one of the early mission- 
 aries, published in 1839. The good men plodded on with 
 a zeal and a courage which nothing could dauut, and God 
 was with them, and in due time, as we shall see, they reaped 
 a golden harvest. 
 
 Ilaving mastered the language, schools were established, 
 and preaching and other departments of missionary labour 
 were vigorously pursued ; and in due time the work of 
 primary importance in all missionary effort, the rendering 
 of the Holy Scriptures into the native language, was com- 
 menced. To the llev. PI. Bingham belongs the honour of 
 liaving led the way in this work in the Sandwich Islands. 
 He translated the first portion of the AVord of God which 
 appeared in the language of Hawaii. It consisted of 
 twelve pages of the Gospel according to Luke. It was 
 printed at Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, and published 
 in November 1827. This was followed by the Sermon 
 on the Mount, also translated by Mr. Bingham. It was 
 printed in 1828, the number printed being 25,000. The 
 first complete Gospel, that of Matthew, translated by 
 Mr. Bingham and Mr. Thurston, was printed in 1828, at 
 Itochester, in the United States. The Gospel of Mark, 
 translated by the liev. AVilliam liichards, was printed in 
 1829 ; and the Gospel of John, translated by Mr. Thurston, 
 was also printed in 1829. All these three Gospels were 
 printed in America, at Ilochester, under the superinten- 
 dence of Mr. Loomis, the printer of the mission, who seems 
 to have retired from the foreign field about this time. Of 
 each of these Gospels 10,000 were printed. Among reiu- 
 
 • See Elli.s' " rolyiicHiini TIcsorirchcB," vol. iv. ji. 31.
 
 246 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 forcements to the mission wliicli arrived in 1832 and 1833 
 we find tlie names of two printers, so that important 
 department of work was kept in full efficiency. The 
 Gospel of Luke, the translation of which was completed 
 by Mr. Bingham, was printed at Honolulu in 1829, the 
 number printed being 1 0,000 ; and the Acts of the 
 Apostles, translated by Mr. Richards, followed in the same 
 year, also printed at Honolulu. 
 
 Other books of the New Testament followed in rapid 
 succession. During the course of 1831 the Epistles to the 
 Romans, ist and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 
 Philippians, and Colossians were all printed at the mission 
 press, Honolulu. The translators of these books were the 
 brethren Bingham, Thurston, Bishop, and Richards. The 
 number printed of each book was iO,000. 
 
 In 1S32 the remaining books of the New Testament 
 were completed, the Rev. Lorrin Andrews taking part in 
 the translation. These were also printed at the mission 
 press; and in the month of May of the same year (1832) 
 the entire New Testament was completed. One-third of 
 the work of translation was done by Mv. Bingham ; one- 
 third by Mr. Richards ; one-fourth by Mr. Thurston ; and 
 one-twelfth by Messrs. Bishop and Andrews. 
 
 Parts of the Old Testament were translated and in print 
 some time before the completion of the New Testament. 
 Parts of the book of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus were 
 printed in 1829, a portion of the book of Joshua in 1831 ; 
 and after the New Testament was out of hand, the trans- 
 lating and printing of the Old Testament proceeded apace, 
 and the great work was finished in 1839, the last sheet 
 being struck off on the loth of May, and thus the work 
 was brought to a successful close. An idea of the amount 
 of labour and pains which had been bestowed upon the 
 work may be inferred from the fact that eight missionaries 
 were engaged upon it for fifteen years. And besides the
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 247 
 
 labour bestowed by each of the translators on his own 
 particular part, much was expended in revising each other's 
 portions. 
 
 The following are the names of the honoured men by 
 whom this great work was accomplished, and the pro- 
 portion of the work which fell to the lot of each. The 
 Rev. William Richards translated about one-third of the 
 entire Bible, the Rev. Asa Thurston nearly one-fourth, 
 the Rev. Hiram Bingham one-fifth, the Rev. Artemus 
 Bishop one-seventh, and the Rev. Jonathan S. Green, 
 Lorrin Andrews, Ephraim W. Clark, and Sheldon Dibble 
 the remaining one-ninth. The larger part of the proof- 
 reading was done by Messrs. Bingham, Clark, and Bishop ; 
 and with the exception of three of the Gospels, the whole 
 was printed on the islands. 
 
 For the above particulars I am indebted to my esteemed 
 friend, the Rev. Iliraiii Bingham, jun. Mr. Bingham is 
 the son of the Rev. Hiram Bingham, who occupies so 
 conspicuous a place among the pioneers of the Sandwich 
 Islands mission ; and he is spending his own life in the 
 same cause to which his father rendered such valuable 
 service. With a kindness for which I cannot sufficiently 
 thank him, he has, notwithstanding feeble health and 
 pressing engagements, explored the early records of the 
 Sandwich Islands mission, and with the assistance of his 
 estimable wife and sister, furnished me with the facts which 
 have been laid before the reader. 
 
 A second edition of the ISTew Testament, consisting of 
 10,000 copies, was printed in 1838, and a third after the 
 publication of the complete Bible, also of 10,000 copies, 
 in 1842; and while the translation both of the Old and 
 New Testaments was in progress, there were frequent 
 reprints of portions of both the editions of the New Testa- 
 ment, generally consisting of io,ooo copies. Hence there 
 must have been a brisk demand all along.
 
 248 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 " Tlie first edition of the entire Bible/' Mr. Bingham, 
 jun., remarks, " was published in the very midst of one 
 of the most remarkable revivals of religion since the days 
 of Pentecost, and at a time when, within one year, 10,725 
 converted heathen were received to the church, on pro- 
 fession of faith in Christ, making the whole number of 
 church members in good standing 15,91 5- The publishing 
 of the Bible at this time was most opportune, and soon 
 there was scarcely a family in the kingdom where a copy 
 was not to be found, and where it was not constantly 
 read. The American Bible Society of New York furnished 
 the means for the printing of tens of thousands of portions 
 of Scripture, and also of the first three editions of the 
 entire Bible, viz., 20,500 copies at an expense of at least 
 two dollars (eight shillings) per copy, and with their 
 approbation they were disposed of either by sale or gift, 
 according to the ability of the applicant." 
 
 The second edition of the entire Bible, an octavo of 
 10,000 copies, was printed in 1843, and this was followed 
 by a quarto edition of 500 copies in the course of the 
 same year ; and of the New Testament one edition after 
 another followed till a sixth was reached in 1850. In 
 1857 a Hawaiian and English New Testament was printed, 
 to facilitate the acquisition of the English language, I 
 suppose, by those natives who were desirous of acquiring 
 a knowledge of it. The Gospel of John had been printed 
 in the same fashion three years before. 
 
 In 1867 a stereotyped edition of the whole Bible was 
 printed in New York under the superintendence of the 
 Rev. E. W. Clark. With reference to this issue Mr. 
 Bingham remarks : — " The stereotyped octavo editions 
 since 1867 have been purchased by the Hawaiian Board 
 of Missions, and sold to the natives at about two dollars 
 per copy." " In the early years," Mr. Bingham continues, 
 " extracts from various portions of the Scripture were
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 249 
 
 printed as tracts at the expense of the American Tract 
 Society of New York. 
 
 " The Philadelphian Bible Society met the expense of 
 publishing the first two editions of the New Testament by 
 a grant often thousand dollars" (;^200o). 
 
 " The following incident,"* Mr. Bingham remarks, " will 
 illustrate the joy with which the first edition of the entire 
 New Testament was received by the Hawaiian chiefs and 
 people in 1S32. Queen Kahumann, the favourite wife of 
 Kamehameha the First, and Regent of the Hawaiian 
 Idngdom during the minority of Kamehameha the Third, 
 was hopefully converted in 1825. She continued to exert 
 a powerful influence on behalf of Christianity until the 
 time of her death, June 5th, 1832. During her last illness 
 the printing of the translation of the New Testament was 
 completed for the benefit of thousands of the people. We 
 quickly had a copy of it put into neat morocco binding, 
 and presented to the queen in her feeble state. She took 
 the sacred prize in her hands as she lay upon her lowly 
 couch, glanced through it to assure herself of what books 
 it was composed, and looking at it attentively again and 
 again both inside and outside, emphatically pronounced it 
 maikai (' excellent '), wrapped it in her handkerchief, laid 
 it on her grateful bosom, gently clasped her hands over it, 
 and placidly looked upwards towards its source, as though 
 she seasonably received the pi-ecious boon, the last will 
 and testament of her Saviour as a passport to glory. Even 
 in the paroxysms of disease she would attend to the read- 
 ing of the Scriptures, and the exercises of devotion. The 
 consoling words of Christ to His sorrowing disciples were 
 read to her — ' In My Father's house are many mansions ; I 
 go to prepare a place for you, tliat where I am there ye 
 may bo also.* " 
 
 * The above incident iii from a work on the Sandwicli Islands, by the 
 Ilev. Uiram LSinghani, Ben., publiuhed in the Uuiled Stutetj io 1S47.
 
 250 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 In 1869 an edition of the New Testament and Psalms 
 was printed in iSmo; and in 1886 the entire Bible was 
 printed in the same size ; and this is the last thing we 
 have to note in connection with Bible translation and cir- 
 culation in the Sandwich Islands. 
 
 I regret mj inability to give incidents illustrative of 
 the manner in which the Bible was received by the 
 Hawaiian people as successive portions issued from the 
 press, and especially when the New and the Old Testaments 
 were completed and published in one volume. However, 
 we have the most satisfactory proof as to the general 
 result. Nowhere perhaps throughout the vast fields in 
 which missionary operations are being carried on have 
 grander results been realised. Of this the following 
 extract from the jubilee memorial volume of the American 
 Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, edited by 
 the Eev. Dr. Rufus Anderson, Foreign Secretary of the 
 Board, and published in Boston in 1862, furnishes ample 
 evidence : — " Since the press first put forth its efforts in 
 the language on the 7th of January 1822, there have been 
 issued nearly two hundred millions of pages. Through 
 the blessing of God on these instrumentalities, a beneficent 
 change has occurred in all the departments of the govern- 
 ment in the face of fierce outrages from seamen and 
 traders, and deadly hostility from not a few foreign resi- 
 dents. The very first article in the constitution, promul- 
 gated by the king and chiefs in 1849, declares that no law 
 shall be enacted which is at variance with the Word of the 
 Lord Jehovah, or with the general spirit of His Word; 
 and that all the laws of the islands shall be in consistency 
 with God's law. What was this but a public, solemn, 
 national profession of the Christian religion on the high 
 Puritan basis ? And the laws and administration of the 
 government since that time have been as consistent witli 
 this profession, to say the least, as those of any other
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 251 
 
 Cliristian government in the world. The statute laws 
 organising the general government and courts of justice, 
 the criminal code, and reported trials in the courts, printed 
 in the English lang'uage, make five octavo volumes in the 
 library of the Board. Court-houses, prisons, roads, bridges, 
 surveys of lands, and their distribution with secure titles 
 among the people, are in constant progress, 
 
 " Here, then, let us as a Board of Foreign Missions, in 
 the name of the community for which we act, proclaim 
 with shoutings of grace ! grace ! that the people of the 
 Sandwich Islands are a Christian nation, and may right- 
 fully claim a place among the Protestant Christian nations 
 of the earth ! " 
 
 Before leaving the Sandwich Islands, let us pause for 
 a moment over the contrast which the 'present condition 
 of the people presents to that in which the missionaries 
 found them when they began their labours among them in 
 1820. The national idolatry had indeed been abolished, 
 the temples burned, and the priesthood, tabus, and human 
 sacrifices were things of the past ; but the moral, intel- 
 lectual, and social desolation were not less profound. 
 Society was in ruins, and had sunk to about the lowest 
 possible point at which society can exist at all. The 
 nation was composed of liars, thieves, drunkards, and 
 sensualists of the vilest type. The land was owned by the 
 king and his chiefs, and tlie people were slaves. Property, 
 life, everything was in the hands of arbitrary chiefs, who 
 filkd the land with discord and oppression. Such the 
 people of the fair and beautiful islands of Hawaii wei-e; 
 what they are now let the foregoing records testify. And 
 what has produced tlie change? What could have pro- 
 duced it but the mighty power of God ? No other adequate 
 cause can even be conceived. No; God has done it. By 
 bringing His own remedy to bear upon the Hawaiians 
 He has lifted them from the depths into which they had
 
 252 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 sunk aud raised tliem to tlie di<^nity of a Christian nation ; 
 and thus another illustrious proof is added to the many 
 which other lands supply, that the religion of the Bible 
 does meet the case of man however deeply sunk and 
 degraded. 
 
 Let therefore the friends of the Bible take heart ; the 
 Bible is God's book, and no power of man or devils can 
 withstand God. In promoting the circulation of the Bible 
 we are certainly working together with God ; and His 
 faithfulness is pledged that His Word shall not return 
 unto Him void, but shall accomplish that which He pleases, 
 and prosper in the thing whereunto He has sent it. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL. 
 
 At an anniversary meeting of the American Bible Society 
 in 1 841, an address was made by the Rev. Hiram Bingham, 
 sen., from which we give a brief extract, which cannot 
 fail to interest the reader. " I bring," said Mr. Bingham, 
 '' testimony from far off lands — from the lands long eclipsed 
 in dismal night — to encourage you in the work of dis- 
 tributing the Bible wherever it can be carried, or wherever 
 it can make an impression. I hold in my hand a trans- 
 lation of the Bible in the Sandwich Islands language, the 
 product of nineteen years of anxious and laborious toil. 
 It was printed by native hands, and has already found its 
 way to thousands who are able intelligently to read it. 
 
 " It is proper that I should say here publicly that it 
 is by the aid of this Society that these labours have 
 been made available. It has been a great and difficult 
 work. Much care and thought have been exercised to 
 render it a fair and unexceptional translation from the 
 original languages ; much care has also been taken to 
 produce a version which all evangelical denominations 
 can safely use, and conscientiously circulate.
 
 THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 OJ 
 
 " It may be satisfactory to apprise you of the sentiments 
 of the islanders towards this volume. I have with me 
 several of the productions of the pupils of our missionary 
 schools, written in reference to the Bible. I will read one 
 of them, though I cannot do justice to it in a translation, 
 since I have only the original before me. It reads : — 
 ' Holy Bible ! glorious and distinguished gift of heaven, 
 which has been disseminated through our land. There is 
 no gift so precious, no treasure to be compared with it. 
 It is to be compared to rich fruit, to honey exuding from 
 heaven. Its excellence has been known from the first. 
 It was known on the hills, and the mountains, in the 
 valleys and plains. It was known on Mount Zion, on the 
 Lake of Tiberias, on ]\Iount Gerizim. And at last its ex- 
 cellence is known by us. We have seen it with our two 
 eyes ; we have known it to be good. It is the true rule 
 by which the crooked hearts of the Hawaiians must be 
 made straight. It is to be compared also to the hammer 
 which breaks the stony heart in pieces ; to the sword 
 which pierces to the dividing of soul and spirit, and which 
 cuts off all excrescences. It is to be compared to a looking- 
 glass in which our hearts are shown to ourselves ; to the 
 compass by which we can alone be guided to the haven 
 of rest.' " 
 
 In the same Report of the American Bible Society, 
 that for the year i8So, we find the following statement 
 with reference to the assistance rendered by the Society 
 in aiding the translation and circulation of the Bible in 
 the Sandwich Islands and Micronesia. Its relations with 
 the missions of the American Church seem precisely 
 similar to those of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 with the missions of the churches of Great Britain. 
 
 "The work thus accomplished in translating and i)rinting 
 the Scriptures for the Sandwich Islands and IMicronesia 
 in eixty years has been done under the direction of the
 
 254 rilE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 American and Hawaiian Boards of IMissions, with liberal 
 aid from the American Bible Society, which has furnished 
 funds for the purpose amounting to more than $58,600, 
 besides what it has expended in this country on the 
 manufacture of plates and printed volumes." 
 
 The following testimony from an article which appeared 
 recently in the London Times newspaper seems worthy 
 of preservation, considering the quarter from which it 
 comes. It indicates a marvellous change in public feeling 
 with reference to Christian missions compared with what 
 obtained thirty or forty years ago. It appeared early in 
 1877, and the extract which follows is from the Christian 
 for February of that year : — 
 
 "The Times of Thursday last contained an article of three 
 columns concerning the Sandwich Islands, now called the 
 Hawaiian Kingdom. The monarchy is constitutional, 
 after the model of England. The Judicature approaches 
 perfection, with an excellent civil code. The system of 
 free public schools is of the same admirable nature. The 
 Sabbath is strictly observed. The commerce, in proportion 
 to the population, is without an equal in the world, and 
 renders the kingdom, in resources and stability, the most 
 important in the Pacific Ocean. All this is traced to the 
 missionary enterprise of about seventy years. ' The mis- 
 sionaries,' says the writer, ' have bequeathed to posterity 
 a noble monument of self-sacrifice and labour.' "
 
 255 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MICRONESIA. 
 
 We now come to -Micronesia, the third of the three great 
 divisions under which geographers have classed the islands 
 of the Pacific. These divisions are named respectively 
 Polynesia, Many Islands ; Melanesia, or the Black Islands, 
 so named from the colour of their inhabitants ; and Micro- 
 nesia, or Small Islands, because the islands comprised in 
 that division are all comparatively small. 
 
 ■ The islands of I\Iicronesia, with a few exceptions, lie to 
 the north of the equator. They extend in a north-westerly 
 direction from about 175° to 134° east longitude, and from 
 2'^ or 3'' south latitude to about 12° north. Within this 
 range of over 40' of longitude a number of groups or clusters 
 of islands embracing many single islands, and groups larger 
 and smaller known by the general names of the Caroline 
 Islands,* the Pelew Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the 
 Marshall Islands, the Ladrone Islands, &c. ; and though 
 most of these islands do not, so far as our information 
 extends, appear to be very populous, yet in the aggregate 
 their inhabitants number many thousands. Some of them 
 were visited by Commodore Wilkes in 1841, and long 
 before that date trading vessels and whalers had visited 
 them in considerable numbers; but it was not till about 
 
 • The Ciiroliiio Ihlands weru di.scoNtTud \>y a Sp.aiii.sh navi;,'at()r in l686, 
 and receivud the name they bear in honour of CharlcB II. of Spain.
 
 256 MICRONESIA. 
 
 the year 1849 ^^^^ ^^J steps were taken towards com- 
 meuciug among tliem missionary operations. 
 
 About that time the churches of Hawaii were moved 
 to embark in a foreign mission. A society was formed, 
 called the Hawaiian Missionary Society, and the parent 
 society in America determined to co-operate with the 
 Hawaiian society ; and the islands of Micronesia were 
 chosen as their field of operation. Three missionaries, 
 the Eev. Luther H. Gulich, M.D., and the Rev. Benjamin 
 G. Snow, and the Rev. Albert A. Sturges, were appointed 
 by the American Board to lead the way in the new enter- 
 prise. These brethren, with their wives, proceeded to the 
 Sandwich Islands, where they were joined by three natives 
 of that group who had been selected to aid them in carrying 
 out the object of their mission. 
 
 At the Sandwich Islands a vessel named the Caroline 
 was chartered, and about July 1852 the party sailed on 
 their important errand. Before their departure they were 
 organised into a Christian Church under the designation of 
 the Micronesian Mission Church, and intensely interesting 
 services were held on the occasion ; and when the hour of 
 departure came a great crowd of people assembled on the 
 wharf, and sang the stirring strains of Heber's grand hymn, 
 " Shall we whose souls are lighted." 
 
 The missionaries carried with them a very remarkable 
 document, which on many accounts is deserving of a place 
 in the annals of Christian missions. This was a letter of 
 commendation from the King of the Sandwich Islands, 
 Kamehameha III., addressed to the rulers of the Micro- 
 nesian Islands. 
 
 The following is a copy of His IMajesty's letter : — 
 " Kamehameha III., of the Hawaiian Islands, King, sends 
 greetings to all chiefs of the islands in this great ocean to 
 the westward, called Caroline Islands, Kingsmill group, 
 &c. Peace and happiness to you all, now and for ever.
 
 MICRONESIA. 257 
 
 " Here is my friendly message to you. There are about 
 to sail to your islands some teachers of the Most High 
 God, Jehovah, to make known unto you His Word for your 
 eternal salvation. A part of them are white men from the 
 United States of America, and part belong to my islands. 
 Their names are as follows : — B, G. Snow and wife ; A. A. 
 Sturges and wife ; L. H. Gulich and wife ; E. W. Clark 
 and J. T. Gulich;* Opunui and wife; Kaaikaula and 
 wife ; and Kekela. H. Holsworth is captain of the vessel. 
 
 " I therefore take the liberty to commend those good 
 teachers to your care and friendship, to exhort you to 
 listen to their instructions, and to seek their acquaintance. 
 I have seen the value of such teachers. We here on my 
 islands once lived in ignorance and idolatry. We were 
 given to war, and we were very poor. Now my people are 
 enlightened. We live in peace, and some have acquired 
 property. Our condition is greatly improved on what it 
 once was, and the Word of God has been the great cause 
 of our improvement. ]\Iany of my people regard the Word 
 of God and pray to Him, and He has greatly blessed us. 
 I advise you to throw away your idols, take the Lord 
 Jehovah for your God, worship and love Him, and He will 
 bless and save you. May He make these new teachers 
 a great blessing to you and your people, and withhold 
 from you no good thing. Kamehameha." 
 
 Nothing untoward occurred during the voyage, and by 
 the help and blessing of God the missionaries succeeded 
 in effecting a settlement on two islands of the Caroline 
 group, Ku.saie and Ponape, and a measure of success 
 crowned their labours. The promoters (if tlio mission 
 were encouraged, and al'tr)- n time they determined to 
 send reinforcements, and to extend fluii- operations to 
 
 • E. W, Clark and J. T. Gulich muHt have gone as a deputation from 
 the Sandwich Islands ini.saion to lend tuniporaiy Iuli) to tliu young 
 missiunarics. 
 
 R
 
 258 MICRONESIA. 
 
 other islands aud groups as God in His providence might 
 furnish the means and open the way. But in order to 
 this, it was felt that a ship, to be at the service of the 
 mission, was a necessity. In no other way could the 
 missions already established be sustained and carried on 
 efficientl}' ; and nothing could be done to any considerable 
 extent in the way of carrying the Gospel to new fields. 
 But to purchase or build a ship would involve a large 
 outlay, and how was that to bo met? The thing was 
 taken up with great spirit by the American churches, 
 and following the lead of British Christians in the case of 
 the John Williams, an appeal was made by the American 
 Board to the children of the Sabbath schools throughout 
 the States, and the response was of the most enthusiastic 
 character. Two thousand pounds were asked, but such 
 was the interest aroused, and the hearty manner in which 
 the thing was taken up, and money flowed in so liberally, 
 that in a short time the offerings amounted to ^15,000, 
 leaving a large surplus, which was reserved towards 
 meeting the expenses of the vessel in future years. 
 
 The story of how the money was raised, and of the deep 
 and joyous interest that was evoked, is a thrilling one, but 
 we must not yield to the temptation to enter into parti- 
 culars. All classes of people caught the enthusiasm, aud 
 manifested an amazing interest. " Even in the stately 
 halls of Legislation," writes Mrs. Warren, " it was not 
 thought unworthy of notice." The following extract from 
 a speech delivered in the Massachusetts House of Repre- 
 sentatives will be read with interest. 
 
 T. H. Eussell, Esq., said — ■" I'ermit me, sir, to recall to 
 the minds of the House a notable instance just transpired. 
 A few days before we assembled here, there lay at one of the 
 wharves of this city, a beautiful vessel called the Morning 
 Star. Let me say a word of her histor}'. In the far-distant 
 Pacific, some 15,000 to 17,000 miles away by the usual
 
 MICRONESIA. 259 
 
 sailing route, there is found a group of islands just 
 coming into notice, and known as the Micronesian group. ■ 
 They are inhabited by a race of savages, perhaps not much 
 above the Hawaiians fifty years ago. Now there were 
 found in New England, men, and women too, who were 
 willing to give their lives to the elevation, socially, civilly, 
 and religiously, of these far-distant and poor people. But 
 how to get there? Commerce does everything, dares 
 everything, when gain allures. But these rude people had 
 little about them to attract thither the ships of commerce. 
 Some one suggested, 'Let us build a missionary ship.' 
 But where are the means? The Board of gentlemen just 
 below us in Pemberton Square preside over this magnifi- 
 cent charity, and who this year will disburse over one- 
 third of a million of dollars of voluntary offerings, find 
 already the field too great for their harvesters. They can 
 spare nothing. 
 
 " ' Let us,' says another, ' lay the burden on the shoulders 
 of the little children.' The thought was the deed. The 
 keel of the ship was laid on the shore of the Mystic, and 
 while she was receiving form and symmetry, the word 
 went out — ' The children are to build a missionary ship, and 
 every child who can contribute a single dime may feel 
 that it has a proprietary in the noble undertaking.' At 
 once the little rills began to flow from every hillside in 
 New England ; they came from the Middle, Southern, and 
 Western States, the far di&tant Territories, a little from 
 over the border of Queen ^^ictoria's dominions, and even 
 the Choctaw mission, and the poor remnant of Tuscarora 
 Indians, did not fail in contributing their mites. It was 
 supposed the ship would cost six, then ten, and finally 
 twenty thousand dollars, ilow is it now in the treasury? 
 All these little gatherings poured in, they began to swell 
 up until there were eight, ten, twelve, eighteen, twenty 
 thousand dollars ; and though the good Secretaries held up
 
 26o MICRONESIA. 
 
 their hands crying, ' Hold, enough ! ' no one could tell 
 where it would end. 
 
 " The little ship was completed, her freight and all on 
 board, and weeks ago she sailed away; and I doubt not 
 that already the beams of the beautiful constellation, the 
 Southern Cross, are mildly shed on her ; and I know that 
 the prayers and blessings of the little proprietors are 
 following her, like thousands of unseen angels, on her 
 journey of Christian love. Yes, sir, Christian love; no 
 atheism about it. One such fact is worth more to a soul 
 that has a single hope or aspiration for man, to a heart 
 that has a single pulsation in unison with the golden rule, 
 than all that atheism has ever accomplished, or will, or 
 can in an eternity of ages." 
 
 Well said, Mr. Russell ! Your words deserve to live ! 
 The enthusiasm reached its zenith in connection with 
 the launching of the little ship and her departure on her 
 glorious errand. On the day of launching from 3000 to 
 4000 people assembled. A stage had been erected near 
 the bows of the vessel, and from that one of the Secretaries 
 of the Board addressed the multitude in language fitted to 
 fan the flame of enthusiasm already kindled. At the close 
 of the address the vast multitude sang'/' From Greenland's 
 icy mountains." Prayer was then offered, and the service 
 closed by the singing of " Praise God from whom all 
 blessings flow;" and when the little craft moved from the 
 stocks and glided gracefully into the water, such a hurrah 
 burst forth from the multitude as made the heavens and 
 the earth ring again. At her departure the scene was 
 somewhat different. In the hearts of many there was a 
 feeling of sadness arising from the fact that farewells were 
 about to be exchanged — final farewells as regards this 
 life in the case of many. 
 
 The time fixed for sailing was the ist of December 1856. 
 At ten o'clock in the morning all was ready. The pas-
 
 MICRONESIA. 261 
 
 sengers were all on boai'd. These were the Rer. Hiram 
 Bingham, jun., son of the Rev. Hiram Bingham who, the 
 reader will remember, was one of the first missionaries to 
 the Sandwich Islands thirty-seven years before. He was 
 present on this to him intensely interesting occasion, and 
 took part in the services. Mr. Bingham, jun., and his wife 
 were the only missionary passengers. The service was 
 begun by singing " Jesus shall reign where'er the sun." 
 An address followed by one of the ministers present, and 
 Mr. Bingham, sen., offered prayer. He had seen great 
 things, and his prayer was that his son might " see greater 
 things than these." When the service was over, the day 
 was so far spent that it was deemed advisable to defer 
 sailing till the following morning ; and on that morning, 
 December the 2nd, the beautiful little ship, in which such 
 an intense interest was felt by tens of thousands of loving 
 Christian hearts, started on her glorious errand of mercy — 
 a veritable morning star,* heralding the rising of the 
 Sun of Righteousness on the benighted inhabitants of the 
 far off Isles of the Sea, 
 
 The Rev. H. Bingham, jun., of whom the reader has 
 already heard so much, was, as we have seen, a passenger 
 by the Moniinrj Star. He had gone to the United States 
 to complete his education, and was now returning to his 
 native Hawaii, thence to proceed to Micronesia to enter 
 upon his life work there; and now we turn to the record 
 which he has so kindly furnished of his own work and 
 that of others in opening up the treasures of Divine truth 
 to the various tribes who people these islands. To him I 
 am indf'bted for the information that follows relative to 
 the translation and circulation of tlie lUble throughout 
 these widely extended regions, as well as in the parent 
 
 * My information nbout the Morning Star, and much beside, has been 
 derived from Mrs. Warren's deeply interesting volume already referred to, 
 in the chapter on the Sandwich Iblunds.
 
 262 MICRONESIA . 
 
 mission of Hawaii. He has either supplied the information 
 at first hand, or procured it from others at no small amount 
 of trouble. 
 
 THE GILBERT ISL.VNDS,* 
 
 to which Mr. Bingham's labours have been chiefly directed, 
 lie near the equator, in longitude about 173° east. They 
 are seventeen in number. The population, when they 
 were visited by the United States Exploring Expedi- 
 tion in 1 841, was estimated at about 50,000. This 
 estimate was probably too high, as the number does not 
 now exceed 30,000. Missionary operations were com- 
 menced on the group in 1857. ^^^ t^® lOth of November 
 of that year, Mr. and Mrs. Bingham, with J. W. Kanoa 
 and J. H. Mahoe, Hawaiian assistants, and their wives, 
 landed upon Apaiang, one of the islands of the group, and 
 entered upon the great work to which they had devoted 
 their lives. We need hardly remark that there was no 
 written languace. The strano^ers and the natives were 
 therefore in the literal sense barbarians to each other. 
 Words had to be picked up from the lips of the natives ; 
 an alphabet had to be adapted, and the language reduced 
 to writing. This difficult work occupied of course a con- 
 siderable time, and two years passed before much could be 
 done in the work of translating the Scriptures. 
 
 Mr. Bingham in his notes mentions a personal re- 
 miniscence which forms an interesting link of connection 
 
 * Forty years ago these islands were included in what was then called 
 the Kingsmill group. How the name has come to be changed I am not 
 aware. The natives of this group, and of other islands and groups in- 
 cluded in the general name of Micronesia, appear to be all of Malay origin. 
 The tradition of the Gilbert Islanders is that their ancestors came in two 
 canoes — the one from an island named Barness or Baneba, lying to the 
 south-west ; and the other from an island named Amoi, lying to the south- 
 east, pointing respectively to the Malayan archipelago on the west, and 
 Eastern or Central Polynesia in the east. See Wilkes' Narrative, vol. ii. 
 p. 212.
 
 MICRONESIA. 263 
 
 between the mission to the Gilbert Islands and the parent 
 mission. "In 1839," he tells us, "when he was a boy 
 at Honolulu, he used to carry from his father's study to 
 the mission printing-oiBce corrected proof-sheets of the 
 Hawaiian New Testament, nearly one- fifth of which he 
 had translated. Twenty years after it was his own 
 privilege to commence in February 1859 at Apaiang the 
 translation of the New Testament for the Gilbert Islanders, 
 living more than two thousand miles distant from the 
 Hawaiian group." 
 
 " About five years after the commencement of the 
 mission," Mr. Bingham writes, " we sent a copy of the 
 Gospel of Matthew by the hands of Kanoa to be printed 
 at Honolulu, as also a small hvmn-book. Thirteen months 
 after Kanoa returned in the Morning Star bringing an 
 edition of the hymn-book, but no printed copy of the 
 Matthew. We were very sorry, for we had often told our 
 people that they would soon have an entire Gospel. The 
 first eleven chapters of Matthew to the thirtieth verse of 
 the twelfth chapter had been printed some time before at 
 Honolulu, and were now in the hands of the people." 
 
 There was something to compensate in a measure for 
 the disappointment in not receiving the complete Gospel 
 by the Morning Star. She had brought a printing press, 
 and so the missionary and his friends consoled them- 
 selves. "We can now print the Matthew for ourselves," 
 said they. They came very near having their joy turned 
 into sorrow, however. 
 
 The case which was supposed to contain th? press was 
 landed and speedily opened, and there was a small box of 
 types, cases, and other things used in printing, but no 
 press! Oh, what a disappointment! The captain was 
 sure tliat all had been landed, but Mr. Bingham could not 
 rest till ho had gone on board and inquired at the mate. 
 He, however, repeated the assurance given by the captain
 
 264 MICRONESIA. 
 
 that nothing remained in the ship. " As I paddled home 
 that evening," says the disappointed missionary, " my heart 
 was doubly heavy from this second disappointment." 
 
 The next morning the captain came on shore and in- 
 formed Mr. Bingham that another search was to be made, 
 and that, in case it should prove successful, the Stars and 
 Stripes should be hoisted. " IIow great vras our joy," says 
 Mr. Bingham, " on leaving the school-house (he had been 
 examining one of the schools) to see tlie old flag at the 
 masthead." But their difficulties were not yet at an 
 end. They had a press, indeed, with types and other 
 necessaries for printing, but there was no printer. This 
 difficulty does not appear to have occurred to Mr. Bingham 
 till he was brought face to face with it. A hook was sent 
 telling him how to proceed, but to learn the art of printing 
 in that fashion would have been a tedious and difficult 
 undertaking. ]\Ionths must have passed before any prac- 
 tical result could have been reached, but the difficulty was 
 met in a way which filled the hearts of the missionary aud 
 his people with wonder and their lips with praise. Two 
 days after the Morning Star left, a boat arrived which had 
 belonged to a vessel that had been wrecked in some part 
 of the ocean many hundred miles distant from Apaiang. 
 The shipwrecked party tried to find a small guano island 
 which they supposed to be about forty miles from where 
 they were wrecked. In this they were unsuccessful, and 
 after being ten days upon the ocean in the boat, and 
 voyaging some six hundred miles, they reached the island 
 of Maiana. There they rested one night only, starting on 
 the following morning for Apaiang in the hope of finding 
 the Morning Star, and obtaining a passage in her to 
 Honolulu. A head wind and adverse currents compelled 
 them to return to Maiana, where they were detained five 
 days. On the sixth day they again started for Apaiang, 
 which they now succeeded in reaching, but to their sore
 
 MICRONESIA. 265 
 
 disappointment tlie Morning Star had gone; but tliere 
 was doubtless an overruling band in their detention and 
 disappointment, for in consequence of that a printer was 
 supplied for the Gilbert Islands' mission. One of the 
 shipwrecked party was a printer, and he was willing to 
 leave the sea, and settle down to his old employ, an oppor- 
 tunity of so doing being so remarkably put in his way. 
 With reference to his arrival Mr. Bingham remarks — " We 
 love to think that God sent that kind printer to us over 
 the wide ocean to help us in giving the Word of Life to the 
 poor Gilbert Islanders." 
 
 The printer, Mr. Hotchkiss, soon got the press in 
 working order, and in a few weeks the Gospel of Matthew 
 was in the hands of the people, and several other books 
 followed, among which were the Gospel of John and the 
 Epistle to the Ephesians. These were printed on note-paper, 
 the supply of printing-paper havingbeen exhausted, and only 
 fifty-four copies of Ephesians and sixty-four of John could be 
 printed; and at this juncture Mr. Bingham's health broke 
 down, and he was obliged to leave the mission for a time. 
 
 It does not appear how long Mr. Hotchkiss remained in 
 connection with the mission, but Mr. Bingham mentions it 
 as an " interesting fact that twenty-two years later, in his 
 declining days, he set the types of the six books of the 
 Old Testament,' Job to Isaiah inclusive, just printed in 
 one of the publishing houses of Honolulu." 
 
 The failure of Mr. liingliam's health led to a long 
 interruption in the work of Scripture translation. A 
 visit to the United States was found to be necessary, and 
 while there, iu the summer of 18G6, be carried through 
 llie press of the American Bible Society in New York 
 a second edition of the Gospels of ^latthew and John and 
 the Epistle to tlie Ephesians of lOOO copies each. 
 
 After his visit to the United States, Mr. Bingham's 
 health was still such as not to allow of his living on shore
 
 266 MICRONESIA . 
 
 in Micronesia, but liis heart was so set on mission work 
 that he qualified himself to take charge of the mission 
 ship, and for the space of seventeen months he was a 
 sailing missionary, visiting and superintending evange- 
 listic work in the Gilbert Islands and elsewhere ; and 
 afterwards in 1868, 1870, and 187 1 he was engaged at 
 Honolulu for climatic reasons in revising and printing the 
 first three-quarters of the New Testament, and in com- 
 posing, translating, and printing hymns for the Gilbert 
 Islanders. In January 1872 he began the translation of 
 the last quarter of the New Testament, and that important 
 work was completed in April 1873, and an edition of one 
 thousand was printed in the same year at Honolulu under 
 his superintendence. 
 
 Throughout the whole of this great work Mr. Bingham 
 had the help of his devoted wife. Of this he makes grate- 
 ful mention in the following significant terms : — " During 
 the progress of the translation of the New Testament 
 many suggestions from Mrs. Bingham as to modes of 
 expression were gladly accepted. Many pages of the 
 manuscript were either copied by her or written as an 
 amanuensis, and very material aid was rendered in proof 
 reading." 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bingham had the great joy of being them- 
 selves the bearers of the priceless treasure to the people 
 for whom it had been prepared. Mr. Bingham's health 
 had so much improved that they determined to give the 
 islands another trial, and in the course of 1873 they sailed 
 in the Morning Star for the Gilbert Islands, and again 
 took up their abode at Apaiang. Rough work met them 
 on the threshold. The dwelling-house which they left in 
 1868 had been destroyed and the whole of the mission 
 premises desolated by a savage tribe from a neighbouring 
 island, so that in re-entering upon mission work they had 
 in a manner to begfin asrain at the be^j^inning.
 
 MICRONESIA. 267 
 
 About that, however, we hear no complaints. The 
 dwelling-house was rebuilt, and other necessary buildings 
 were completed in a short time, and the work of the 
 training school and other departments of mission work 
 were resumed ; and among these the revision of the New 
 Testament had a place, and was carried on till towards 
 the close of 1875, when a second breakdown in Mr. 
 Bingham's health compelled him again to leave his loved 
 work in the Gilbert Islands, and remove to the more 
 temperate climate of his native Hawaii. Here at Hono- 
 lulu he went on with his revision work till it was com- 
 pleted in 1877, and during the course of that year the 
 second edition of the New Testament, consisting of 2000 
 copies, was printed. This edition met with a ready sale at 
 Apaiang and elsewhere. Part of it was sent to Samoa at 
 the request of the District Committee of the Samoan 
 mission, and these were sold by the agents of that mission, 
 who occupy six islands south of the equator, on which the 
 Gilbert Islands language is spoken, and the proceeds of sales, 
 amounting to y^ 1 18, were remitted to the Hawaiian Board. 
 
 In i88o a third edition was printed in New York by 
 the American Bible Society, and was electrotyped, the 
 proofs being read by their own proofreaders. From these 
 plates three more editions have since been printed, making 
 six in all, and there is still a demand. Of 3000 copies 
 ordered from New York by the Samoan District Committee, 
 2000 have already been sold, and the proceeds of sales 
 ;Mr. Bingham estimates at about ;{^200. The Gilbert 
 Islanders in the pai't of the group under the care of the 
 American Board, in conjunction with the Hawaiian Board 
 of Missions, together with those who have resided in the 
 Hawaiian Islands and Tahiti, have paid to the American 
 Bible Society for such portions of the Scriptures as they 
 have received about ^392, 173. 
 
 The following statement l^y Mr. Bingham shows un-
 
 iB'2,193 
 
 73 
 
 2,090 
 
 85 
 
 200 
 
 00 
 
 268 MICRONESIA. 
 
 mistalvably that tlie Gilbert Islanders value liiglily the 
 "Word of Life. They are a poor people, living on com- 
 paratively barren islands ; and when they leave their 
 homes to labour on Hawaiian or 'J"'ahitian plantations, 
 their earnings are obtained at the cost of no small amount 
 of hazard and self-denial. Mr. Bingham's statement is as 
 follows : — 
 
 Proceeds of sales, including a donation of 
 229 dollars 45 cents to aid in printing the 
 New Testament ...... 
 
 Purchased by the Samoan District Committee . 
 
 Donation from Samoan missions towards the 
 expense of electrotyping New Testament 
 
 ~T4,484 58 
 
 Mr. Bingham's health not allowing of his resuming 
 missionary work at Apaiang at this time, he accepted the 
 appointment of Corresponding Secretary to the Hawaiian 
 Board of Missions, and held that during 1878, 1879, and 
 1880; and during 1881, 1882, and 1883 he was also 
 protector of South Sea immigrants, especially Gilbert 
 Islanders, for the Hawaiian Government Board of Immi- 
 gration ; and the duties connected with these appoint- 
 ments, together with revising, enlarging, and printing a 
 hymn-book for the Gilbert Islanders, and evangelistic 
 work among the natives of that group who had come to 
 work on the Hawaiian plantations, made such demands 
 upon him, that the work of Scripture translation was sus- 
 pended for a number of years. 
 
 He had finished the translation of the New Testament 
 in April 1873, and on the i6th of August 1883, his fifty- 
 second birthday, he resumed the work of translating the 
 Old Testament ; and from that time to the present (May 
 1887) he has continued to apply himself as closely to that 
 work as his health will allow. At the date of the re-
 
 MICRONESIA. 269 
 
 miniscences which he has so kindly furnished (February 
 22nd, 1 8 87), he had translated six books of the Old 
 Testament, viz., Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the 
 Song of Solomon, and Isaiah ; and on the above date the 
 last sheet of an edition of 1500 copies of these books had 
 been printed, 500 copies of which had been oi'dered by the 
 Samoan Committee, and the balance (looo copies) is to be 
 sent to the central and northern portions of the Gilbert 
 Islands by the next visit of the Morning Star, only reserving 
 enough to meet the wants of the Gilbert Islanders resident 
 on the Hawaiian group, and I suppose on Tahiti. 
 
 The translation of Genesis has also been completed, and 
 Exodus is in hand, and Mr. Bingham adds the following 
 forecast : — " He hopes that, if the Lord w^ill, he may be 
 permitted to complete the translation of the whole Bible 
 by the middle of 1893 in Honolulu, to print it at the Bible 
 House in New York, and to take it to his people in 1895. 
 He thanks the Lord that his wife is still spared to make 
 many a suggestion which improves the translation. Mr. 
 Moses Kaure, a native of Apaiang, is also with him as 
 an assistant translator and pi'oof-reader. Many of his 
 criticisms on the above seven books of the Old Testament 
 have been most valuable." 
 
 Mr. Bingham adds a few words of grateful acknowledg- 
 ment of the help he received from two of his native 
 converts in the translation of the New Testament which 
 we must not omit. " In this connection," he remarks, " it 
 may be added that Joseph Ekewa and T. Tekea of Apaiang 
 rendered most important aid in the translation of the New 
 Testament. Their names should be remembered among 
 their people as having done for them a great and priceless 
 work both at Apaiang and Honolulu. Joseph was one of 
 the first two who were baptized from among the people. 
 The young man seemed to have been raised nji of the Lord 
 at a time when in the beginning of the work of translation.
 
 270 
 
 MICRONESIA. 
 
 the difliculties of which were such as only those who have 
 attempted a similar work for a barbarous people can fully 
 appreciate." 
 
 ]\Ir. Binofham closes his remarks with the followinf^ most 
 gratifying statement with reference to the results of lUble 
 circulation and missionary labour among the Gilbert 
 Islanders : — " These can only be fully known to God, but 
 the fact that at least fifteen churches have been established 
 with a membership of about 3000, and that about 9000 
 New Testaments have been purchased by them within the 
 last fourteen years, and that many of them are being 
 constantly read, are grounds for joy to all who are the 
 friends of the Lord Jesus. To God be all the praise." 
 
 THE MARSHALL ISLANDS. 
 
 The Marshall Islands consist of the Ealick and Radack 
 chains at the eastern extremity of the Caroline archi- 
 pelago. They number about thirty islands, but only one- 
 half are inhabited. The people number about 15,000. 
 They speak two dialects, but books printed in the one 
 are intelligible to all. They lie two or three hundred 
 miles to the north-west of the Gilbert group. 
 
 The Gospel was introduced to the group in 1857. In 
 December of that year two missionaries from the American 
 Board, the Rev. George Pierson, M.D., and the Rev. Edward 
 T. Doane, settled upon the island of Ebon. We need 
 hardly remark that there was no written language, and 
 that, as in every part of Polynesia, east, west, north and 
 south, the language had to be picked up from the lips of 
 the natives. The first portion of Scripture translated was 
 from the Gospel of Matthew, from the fifth to the eleventh 
 chapters. These were printed on the island during the 
 course of 1858. The work of translating and printing 
 was done jointly by Messrs. Doane and Pierson. Mr.
 
 MICRONESIA. 271 
 
 Pierson returned to tlie United States in 1S59. Mr. 
 Doane translated the twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, and 
 twenty-eighth chapters of Matthew in 1S61, and they were 
 printed in 1862. Mr. Doane also translated the Gospel of 
 Mark, which was printed at Honolulu in 1863. 
 
 About this time Mr. Doane seems to have moved to some 
 other island, and he, jNIr. Bingham states, was succeeded 
 by the Rev. B. G. Snow, who removed to this island from 
 Kusaie. He continued the work which Mr. Doane had 
 begun. He, according to Mr. Bingham, translated at 
 least Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts, besides revising 
 Mark, previous to his return to the United States on 
 account of failure of health in 1876. The remaining 
 books of the New Testament were translated by the Rev. 
 E. M. Pease, ^I.D., who came to Ebon in 1S77. The 
 earlier translations were also thoroughly revised by him, 
 and an edition of 1500 copies of the entire New Testament 
 was carried through the press of the American Bible 
 Society in New York by him in 1885, Mrs. Pease rendering 
 assistance in proof-reading. 
 
 The book of Genesis was translated by the Rev. J. F. 
 Whitney, and 400 copies were printed by him at the 
 mission press on the island in 1877. The translation of 
 the Epistle to the Romans, Mr. Whitney states, was left 
 incomplete by Mr. Snow when he was compelled to leave 
 the mission and return to the United States on account of 
 licalth. " He had translated the first twelve chapters. 
 This work was left to me ; and I finislied Romans and 
 translated the Epistles, from first Corinthians through to 
 Philippians. These were printed at the Bible House in 
 New York in 1882, together with the book of Genesis and 
 the three Epistles of Joiin,whicii I translated after coming 
 to this country." ^Mr. Whitney is in the United States at 
 the present time, I presume, on account of health. 
 
 Dr. Pease, now in charge of the training school of the
 
 272 MICRONESIA. 
 
 Marshall Islands on Kusaie, intends proceeding with the 
 translation of the Psalms and other portions of the Old 
 Testament as his other duties will allow. 
 
 I am indebted to Mr, Whitney for the following gratify- 
 ing information. Referring to books which had been 
 translated by Mr. Snow, and reprinted during a visit made 
 by him to the United States in 1870, Mr. Whitney re- 
 marks : — " These, with the Gospels of Mark and John, were 
 taken to Ebon by the Morning Star in 1873. They were 
 in great demand : 750 of an edition of 1000 were sold in a 
 few days. The rest of the edition, which was left at Hono- 
 lulu, was forwarded in 1874, together with a revised edition 
 of the Acts of the Apostles. The demand was so great for 
 these that we ordered a reprint of 3000 copies, a part of 
 which was sent out in 1875, and the rest later. They are 
 nearly gone now. The demand has been constant for these, 
 and more were sold in 1880-81 than any previous year 
 since 1873." 
 
 KUSAIE OR strong's ISLAND. 
 
 This is the most easterly of the Caroline Islands. Here 
 the Eev. B. G. Snow, one of the pioneers of the Micro- 
 nesian mission, settled in July 1852. It has a population 
 of about 1200, who speak a language peculiar to them- 
 selves. Mr. Snow reduced the language to writing, but 
 we have no information as to any portion of Scripture being 
 printed till 1 860. In the course of that year some extracts 
 from the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John were printed 
 at Honolulu ; and the complete Gospel of John was printed 
 at the same place in 1863. 
 
 After ten years residence on the island Mr. Snow re- 
 moved to Ebon, another island of the same group, and 
 laboured especially for the Marshall Islanders, but con- 
 tinued to give a portion of his time to translation work for
 
 MICRONESIA. 273 
 
 those who had been his first charge ; and when he was 
 called to his rest in May 1880, he left them a priceless 
 legacy, consisting of all the four Gospels, the Acts of the 
 Apostles, the Epistles to the Philippians, Colossians, ist 
 and 2nd Thessalonians, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Psalms, the 
 book of Ruth, and the Ten Commandments — all of which, 
 I presume, have been printed. " There now remains," 
 Mr. Bingham remarks, " less than four hundred of the 
 Kusaieans, and probably not much more of the Scriptures 
 will be translated for them at present." 
 
 PONAPE, OR ASCENSION ISLAND, 
 
 Ponape, Mr. Bingham tells us, is one of the largest 
 islands of the Caroline group. It lies about 300 miles to 
 the west of Kusaie. When Messrs. Sturges and Gulick 
 began their work upon it in September 1852, its population 
 was about ten thousand, but a few years later the small- 
 pox reduced the number to about one-half. The mission- 
 aries reduced the language to writing, and Dr. Gulick 
 translated the first eight chapters of Matthew, which were 
 printed on the island in 1859. After a residence of seven 
 years on the island, he left, and the work of translating the 
 Scriptures was carried on for a time by Mr. Sturges alone. 
 He completed the Gospel of Matthew, and translated the 
 Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John, the Acts of the Apostles, 
 the Epistle to the Romans, ist and 2nd Corinthians, 
 Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. 
 
 In 18C5 ^Ir. Doano returned to l^onape, and since that 
 time he has assisted ^Mr. Sturges more or less in completing 
 the translation of the New Testament. He translated froni 
 Galatians to Ptevelation, thereby completing that part of 
 the sacred volume. He translated also Genesis, E.xodus, 
 Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, all of which, with the complete 
 New Testament, are now being printed in New York. 
 The proceeds of sales so far as reported are £S'^} 7^- 9^-
 
 274 MICRONESIA. 
 
 THE MORTLOCK ISLANDS. 
 
 Tliese are a cluster of islands in the Caroline archipelago 
 about 300 miles south-west of Ponape, and contain about 
 3000 people, who speak a language of their own, which, 
 however, is closely allied to the Ruk dialect. The Rev. 
 R. W. Logan of the Ponape mission began the translation 
 of the New Testament into the Mortlock dialect in 1878, 
 having picked up enough from natives of these islands 
 who were living near him on Ponape to enable him to 
 translate the Gospel of INfark. The translation was com- 
 pleted in 1879, and printed in Honolulu in 1880. 
 
 In November 1879 Mr. Logan left Ponape and settled 
 on the Mortlock Islands, and in a remarkably short time 
 he completed the translation of the New Testament into 
 the language of these islands, Mrs. Logan being his con- 
 stant copyist ; but in the midst of his exhausting labours 
 his health gave way, and he was compelled for a season 
 to leave his work in the islands and try the effect of 
 change of climate. In 1881 an opportunity to goto New 
 Zealand occurred by a small schooner, which he embraced, 
 and proceeded with his family to Auckland, and thence to 
 the United States ; and while there he superintended the 
 printing of the New Testament by the American Bible 
 Society in New York, with the assistance of Mrs. Logan 
 in proof-reading. This was published in 1883. 
 
 It is cheering to record that ]\Ir. Logan's health has been 
 so far restored as to allow of his return to his work among 
 the islands. He is now stationed on Ruk, a cluster of 
 islands within an immense lagoon, about the centre of the 
 Caroline archipelago, having a population of 10,000. 
 
 " Whatever portions of Scripture," Mr. Bingham remarks, 
 " he may hereafter translate will doubtless be in the Ruk 
 dialect, with the hope and expectation that the translation
 
 MICRONESIA. 275 
 
 ^vill suffice for the Mortlock Islands, and otlier islands 
 adjacent to Ruk on the north and west. If his health is 
 spared the Rukites will doubtless soon have large portions 
 of the Scriptures in their own tongue." 
 
 Mr. Binfjham closes his notes on Bible translation in 
 Micronesia as follows ; — " At least three more languages 
 in Micronesia remain to be reduced to writing — that of 
 Yuleai, Yap, and the Pelew Islands. AVho will undertake 
 to give the people of these islands the Scriptures in their 
 own tongue ? Will the Spanish priests who have recently 
 landed on Yap ? " 
 
 Mr. Bingham leaves his question unanswered, meaning 
 doubtless to imply a strong negative. Romish priests 
 don't trouble themselves with Scripture translation. May 
 the God of the Bible — the God of mercy — interpose, and 
 raise up a goodly band of men of the stamp of Bingham, 
 and Logan,' and Sturges, and others to carry the light- 
 diffusing and life-giving tidings of salvation through the 
 Lord Jesus Christ to every group and island where men 
 are found, till the darkness of heathenism shall all be 
 scattered, and the light of the knowledge of His glory 
 cover all, as the waters cover the sea. Towards that 
 blessed issue all is tending, and in due time it will 
 assuredly come, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 
 The Lord hasten it in His time. 
 
 The following remarks by the liev. J. T. ^VIlitney have 
 come into ray hands since this chapter was written. They 
 will form an appropriate sequel to the above account of 
 Bible translation in Micronesia. "In translating the 
 Bible," Mr. Whitney writes, "we have always felt con- 
 strained to bo as exact as possible There is of course a 
 limit to the time one may consistently spend in searching 
 for an expression by which to translate some idea foreign 
 to their language and thoughts, but I have often spent
 
 276 MICRONESIA. 
 
 hours, aud even a whole day, on one word ; sometimes one 
 important verse would involve more study than a chapter 
 at other times. The question is not what would Iiave been 
 written had the wi'iter been in our time and place ? but 
 what is written, and how can it be most nearly expressed 
 in this new lansfuaii-e ? It is not what would Jesus have 
 said had He walked by the lagoon shore of our coral 
 island to the natives who would have thronged to listen ? 
 but what did He say to the assembled multitudes on the 
 shore of the sea of Galilee ? 
 
 " In all the poverty of language there is sometimes a 
 great richness of expi'ession. Occasionally an idiom will 
 carry one over the English to the Greek or Hebrew, and 
 bring out a meaning and beauty which could not come 
 to any one without a knowledge of the original. So our 
 experience has often been delightful, and while handing 
 the water of life to the thirsty we have found a cooling 
 drink for ourselves. It often occurs that a passage trans- 
 lated into another tongue suggests some new phase of 
 truth unthought of before, but as we search back we find 
 it was there though not seen. With the people it is 
 ever a new revelation ; and as the language is becoming 
 recorded in the words of Scripture, it is pleasant to think 
 that while the Scriptures are a saving power as they enter 
 into their lives, so must they be a conserving power to 
 the language itself. It is the Word of God that we thus 
 seek to send forth ; and it will not return to Him void, 
 but it will accomplish that which He pleases, and it will 
 prosper in the thing whereto He sent it."
 
 ( 277 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE MARQUESAS* 
 
 As stated in an earlier part of this work, tlie first party of 
 missionaries to tlie islands of the Pacific, who sailed from 
 England in the Duff in 1796, were instructed to attempt 
 to commence missionary operations on three groups of 
 Eastern Polynesia — the Tahitian, the Tongan, and the 
 Marquesas. How these instructions were carried out, 
 and with what results in the case of Tahiti, and that of 
 Tonga, we have seen ; and this work would be incomplete 
 without some information with reference to the third — 
 the Marquesas. That group is the most easterly of the 
 Polynesian Islands. It lies to the north-east of Tahiti, 
 distant about 500 miles, extending from 7" 51' to lO° 25' 
 south latitude, and from 138'' 48' to 140" 29' west longi- 
 tude. There are six or eight islands, larger and smaller, 
 containing as was supposed in early days a population 
 fully equal to that of the Tahitian grouj). That was Mr. 
 Ellis' opinion half a century ago. The principal islands 
 
 * A word of explanation. The reader will notice that the Marquesas 
 IxlandH lie to the Houth of the e<mator, and belong to Kastern Polynesia, 
 and that that beinf^ the ca.se, oiir chapti/r on tlicni occupies an anomalous 
 position in this W(«rk. Tlie e.\planatii>u in tiiat f<ir ni;iny yi-ars tiny have, 
 as a mission field, been occupied by the agents of the American and 
 Hawaiian MiHsion T'oanlM ; and on that account it Kocnud natural tiiat 
 our niitice of niissionary work i«n tlieui should fuUow the cliapters on 
 the parent mission, the Sandwich Islands, and itn other oirsiioots in 
 Micronesia.
 
 278 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 of the group were discovered in 1595 by Alvaro INEendano, 
 a Spanish navigator, who was proceeding from Peru with 
 the view of forming a settlement in the Solomon Islands. 
 In honour of the Marquis Mendoza, Viceroy of Peru, and 
 patron of the expedition, Mendano gave to the group the 
 name it still bears, the Marquesas. We must not stop to 
 notice the visits of later navigators to the group, but pass 
 on to give a very brief notice of the islands and their 
 inhabitants, and the efforts that have been made to bring 
 the people under the influence of Christianity. 
 
 Mr. Ellis tells us in his " Polynesian Researches," vol. iii. 
 p. 310, that the group is inferior in extent to the Tahitian 
 group. " Nukuhiva, the largest, is much smaller than 
 Tahiti, and probably not more than fifty miles in circum- 
 ference. The mountains are lofty, bold in outline, and 
 either clothed with verdure, or adorned with plantations : 
 cascades roll over the sides of the mountains, and streams 
 flow through the valleys. The land capable of cultivation, 
 however, is comparatively small, as the islands are not 
 protected, as most others in the Pacific, by coral reefs. The 
 sea extends to the base of the mountains, and thus prevents 
 the formation and preservation of the low border of prolific 
 alluvial soil so valuable in the Tahitian and other islands 
 to the westward. The shores are rocky and precipitous, and 
 a level beach or a good landing-place is seldom met with. 
 Deep, wide, and extensive valleys abound in the islands, 
 and in these the natives generally dwell. The vegetable 
 productions of the islands correspond to those of other 
 islands in Eastern and Central Polynesia ; and the bread- 
 fruit is found in perhaps greater perfection than in any 
 other island of the Pacific." 
 
 The natives, physically considered, are among the most 
 perfect specimens of the human race. They are some- 
 what lighter in colour than most of the other islanders, 
 and both men and women are of the handsomest type.
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 279 
 
 Sucli are they physically, but what about their character ? 
 Alas ! that forms a melancholv contrast. But enousrh will 
 come out as we proceed to give the reader sufficient insight 
 into that without any particular description, so we will 
 proceed to give a brief outline of the efforts that have been 
 made to impart to the Marquesans the blessings of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 The first attempt was made in 1797. In June of that 
 year the Z*^/^' visited the group, and the Rev. AV. P. Crook 
 was left on Tahuata (Santa Christina), and remained on 
 that island about twelve months ; and after being about 
 seven months on the island of Nukuhiva, an opportunity 
 of proceeding to England offei'ed, which he embraced. 
 His object was to confer with the Directors of the London 
 Missionary Society as to the best means of establishing an 
 efficient mission on the islands. Very little of course 
 could be done by a single individual towards embracing 
 the groups. The original intention was that Mr. Crook 
 should have a fellow-labourer, but the individual who was 
 chosen to be a second to him declined to remain on the 
 islands after being on shore a few days. Mr. Crook went 
 to England with the expectation of returning shortly, but 
 the capture of the Diijf by a French privateer, and the 
 disasters which befel the Tahitian mission in the early 
 years of its history, prevented any further efforts being 
 made to occupy the group for more tlian a quarter of 
 a century. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Gospel had tidcen root in the 
 Tahitian group. The long dreary winter had passed away, 
 and the seed sown in tears was being reaped in joy. j\Iauy 
 of tlie Taliitians, once as deeply sunk as the Marquesans, 
 had now boon raised to a new life, and were ready to leave 
 their homes — now really peaceful, liappy, and pure — to go 
 and live among the savage cannibals of the iMarrpiosas, in 
 order to impart to them the precious blessings of which
 
 2?o THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 they tliemselves had become possessed. So, early in the 
 year 1824, Mr. Crook, who was now identified with the 
 Tahitiau mission, accompanied by four native Tahitian 
 missionaries — two from the church at Huahiue, and two 
 from the church at Tairabu of which Mr. Crook was pastor — 
 proceeded to the Marquesas, where, though he had been 
 absent twenty-seven years, he was recognised and wel- 
 comed by some of the people. One of the teachers died 
 during the voyage, and the remaining three were placed 
 under the care of a chief named lotete at Santa Christina, 
 who engaged to protect and support them. Mr. Crook 
 remained with them for a month. " Their prospects of 
 usefulness," says Mr. Ellis, " were at first encouraging, but 
 the wickedness of the people was so great, their conduct 
 so violent and alarming even to the Tahitians, whom they 
 threatened to kill and devour, that they were obliged 
 to leave." 
 
 Further efforts were made to occupy the group by 
 Tahitian teachers, with much the same result, viz., failure. 
 At length the missionaries were forced to the conclusion 
 that the state of the people — social and otherwise — was 
 such that the hope of occupying it by Tahitian teachers 
 alone must be given up. In 1833, American missionaries 
 from the Sandwich Islands commenced a mission on the 
 island of Nukuhiva, but they were also obliged to abandon 
 the attempt for the same reasons as their predecessors. 
 
 The Directors of the London Missionary Society, loth to 
 abandon the group, appointed two missionaries, the Rev. 
 George Stallworthy and the Kev. John liodgerson, to 
 make another [attempt to establish a mission upon it. 
 They sailed from England in October 1833, and after 
 spending a few months at Tahiti they proceeded to their 
 destination, accompanied by the Rev. David Darling of the 
 Tahitian mission, and several Tahitian teachers. They 
 settled at Santa Christina, and entered upon their work
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 28 1 
 
 with a measure of encouraofement. After remammnf with 
 them about twelve months Mr. Darling returned to Tahiti, 
 leaving the young missionaries and their native assistants 
 being kindly treated by the people, but with little to 
 encourage as regards the object of their mission ; and such 
 were the profligate habits of the people that Mr. Rodgerson 
 deemed it unsuitable to remain among them with his wife 
 and children, and returned to Tahiti. Mr. Stallworthy, 
 being a single man, held on alone, braving dangers and 
 trials such as fall to the lot of few missionaries in these 
 days; and in 1S39 he was joined by another unmarried 
 missionary^ the Rev. Robert Thomson, one of the party 
 who accompanied John "Williams when he returned to the 
 islands from England in the brig Camden in 1838. 
 
 Before the arrival of Mr. Thomson two Romish priests 
 were conveyed to the island by a French frigate, and 
 stationed in the same bay where l*rotestant missionaries 
 and teachers had been at work for so many years. Mr. 
 Stallworthy pointed out to the Commander, Admiral Du 
 Petit Tbouars, that there were other islands unoccupied, 
 and other districts of the same island, and respectfully 
 remonstrated against their being landed there. The 
 Admiral, however, would not listen, but informed Mr. 
 Stallworthy that it was his intention to establish Roman 
 Catholic missionaries on all points, and it was soon manifest 
 that the French Government had an ulterior object in view, 
 to the carrying out of which the landing of priests was 
 only a preparatory step. In 1839 ten additional priests 
 were landed at Santa Christina, live of whom afterwards 
 went to Nukuhiva, and some time after Admiral JJu Petit 
 Thouans took forcible possession of the group in the name 
 of the King of tlie French. Before that took place Messrs. 
 Stallwortliy and Thomson, in concurrence with the opinion 
 of the missionaries in Taliiti, felt it their duty to retire 
 from the group. This they did towards the close of 1841,
 
 2S2 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 and the Marquesans were once more left iu darkness in as 
 far as Protestant teaching was concerned, and the darkness 
 was of long continuance. 
 
 The resumption of Protestant mission work in the group 
 was brought about in the following manner. A trading 
 vessel called at the island of Fatuhiva, on board of which 
 was a native of the Sandwich Islands named Puu. When 
 the vessel sailed he was left behind sick. He was received 
 into the family of Matunui, an important chief, who treated 
 him with great kindness, and after a time gave him his 
 daughter for a wife. His superior knowledge greatly- 
 surprised the poor ignorant ]\Iarquesans, and when ques- 
 tioned as to how he came by his knowledge, he told them 
 that he had learnt all from missionaries. This led his 
 father-in-law to conceive the idea of embracing the first 
 opportunity that might offer of going to the Sandwich 
 Islands to beg for missionaries to come to his land and 
 teach him and his people. His brother chiefs approved of 
 the plan, and early in 1853 the wished for opportunity 
 occurred, and accompanied by his son-in-law he proceeded 
 to the Sandwich Islands. The interesting errand on which 
 he had come was made known to the missionaries, and his 
 request presented to them was to the effect that at least 
 one white missionary might return with him to his land, 
 but if that could not be, he would take two or three 
 Hawaiian missionaries, and wait till a foreign missionary 
 could be sent to him. The Hawaiian Board regarded the 
 call as from God, and after due deliberation it was de- 
 termined to send two native pastors, James Kekela and 
 Samuel Kawealoha, with their wives ; and two native 
 teachers. Lot Kauaihelani and Isaia Kaiwi, and their 
 wives; and the Eev. B. W. Parker was appointed to go 
 with them, and assist them at the commencement of their 
 mission. Mr. James Bicknell, a decidedly Christian young 
 man, resident at Honolulu at the time, volunteered to
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 283 
 
 join the mission. He was a native of Tahiti, but his 
 parents were English. He was afterwards ordained a 
 missionary to the Marquesas, and laboured faithfully in 
 that group for several years. 
 
 A vessel was chartered to convey the party to their 
 destination, and bring Mr. Parker back to the Sandwich 
 Islands. So Matunui returned to his island home in 
 something like triumph. A warm welcome was accorded 
 to him and the mission party, and work was commenced 
 under promising circumstances. The results were not so 
 satisfactory as might have been expected. The people 
 were kind, and some impression was evidently made, but 
 there does not appear to have been decided conversions. 
 For three years the labourers toiled on amid trials and 
 privations many and great ; at the end of which time a 
 call reached them which they regarded as a message from 
 God. An old chief from the island of Hivaoa visited 
 them, and begged that at least one of them would remove 
 to his land, and teach him and his people the way of life. 
 Three of them went to the island, and after a careful 
 survey of the place, and holding intercourse with the 
 people, they were satisfied that it was a far more promising 
 field than Fatuhiva. Mr. Bicknell, who was one of the 
 deputation, decided at once to remain, and the other two 
 resolved to join him as soon as they could get their goods 
 brought from the old station. After a time they succeeded 
 in this, and commenced work in their new sphere. Hivaoa 
 is one of the largest islands of the group. It is twenty- 
 two miles in length, and seven in breadth. Three stations 
 were commenced on the island, viz., at I'aumau Bay, 
 Hanahi, and Hanamana ; the mission entered upon a new 
 stage of its history, and the prospects were brighter than 
 they had ever before been. 
 
 Such was the state of the mission in 1857 when the 
 Morninfj Star arrived at tlie Sandwich Islands. Letters
 
 284 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 had been received there from the missionaries labouring 
 in the Marquesas, giving an account of tlieir work, and 
 begging that supplies of clothing and other necessaries 
 should be sent to them with the least possible delay, as 
 they were in great destitution. No time was lost. In 
 one week from the time of the arrival of the Morning 
 Sfar at Honolulu she was ready to sail for the Mar- 
 quesas. One Hawaiian pastor, Kaukau, and his wife, went 
 to reinforce the mission, and the Eev. J. Emerson and 
 a Hawaiian named Namakeha went as a deputation from 
 the Hawaiian jMissionary Society. The visit was an ex- 
 ceediugly interesting one to all concerned. The mission- 
 aries, so long cut off from intercourse with Christian lands, 
 and having been reduced to such straits for the lack of 
 necessaries, hailed the advent of the Horning Star with 
 great joy. The visitors, too, shared fully in their rejoicing, 
 being specially glad to witness unmistakable indications 
 that success was at length crowning missionary labour on 
 the Marquesas. In their heathen state the people had 
 been incorrigible thieves ; even clothes could not be hung 
 out sufficiently long to dry without being stolen. Now, 
 nothing was molested, and locks and bolts were no longer 
 needful ; and the call was loud for missionaries from 
 almost every island. " We want American missionaries," 
 the people were crying out, " right from the Sandwich 
 Islands" — meaning that they did not want Popish priests. 
 One chief urged his claim on the ground that " drunken- 
 ness, theft, and war are the passion of my people." " Send 
 me," he said, " missionaries, that these evils may be re- 
 moved, and we will protect and feed them." And a chief 
 of Fatuhiva said — " Three long and almost fruitless years 
 did the missionaries labour among us with much endurance; 
 the wedge has entered, the Gospel has taken root, it will 
 grow. God will not forsake Fatuhiva." 
 
 A meeting of the mission was held during the stay of
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 285 
 
 the Morning Star, in the course of which a service was 
 held which must have gladdened the hearts of all present, 
 especially the resident missionaries. A notable part of 
 the proceedings was an ordination, and the person ordained 
 to the ministry of the Gospel was a native of the Marquesas! 
 John Kaiwe, the first decided convert to Christ in the 
 group, was judged a fit and proper person to be set apart 
 as a preacher of the Gospel to his countrymen — a mar- 
 vellous thing surely when all the circumstances are taken 
 into account ; and a native chief named Pohuete, who 
 for two years had given evidence of a change of heart, 
 was baptized, and added to the church. Of this man even 
 the heathen bore testimony. " He is really another man," 
 said they, " unlike his former self, and unlike us." 
 
 So far but little progress had been made in educating 
 the Marquesans. Five schools were in operation, attended 
 by persons of all ages, but there were no books in the 
 native language ; hence little progress could be made. 
 The Hawaiian is a dialect of the same root, so some 
 progress could be made with the aid of books in that 
 lan^uao-e ; but the necessity for books in the vernacular 
 was now felt, and it was arranged that l\Ir. Bicknell 
 should proceed to Honolulu in the Morninrj Star to prepare 
 and superintend the printing of some books adapted to 
 the wants of the mission. 
 
 Lut the time came when the Morninrj Star must take 
 lier departure. Her work was done, and the object of her 
 visit was accomplished. " The missionaries," Mrs. Warner 
 remarks, " had beon clieered and comforted, and their 
 wants relieved. J^Iaiiy delightful seasons of prayer and 
 conference had been enjoyed, and God's blessing had riclily 
 descended upon them. Bidding those they were leaving 
 farewell, with many prayers fur God's blessing to abide 
 still upon them, the visitors went on board the Morning 
 Star, and set sail for Futuliiva to land those natives who 
 went as passengers to the meeting." Having landed these,
 
 2S6 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 she stood away ou her return voyage, having lain at anchor 
 in the different bays sixteen days. 
 
 In the following year the Morning Star made a second 
 visit to the ^Marquesas. She sailed from Honolulu on the 
 1 6th of March, the llev. S. E. Bishop proceeding in her 
 as a deputation from the Hawaiian Missionary Society, 
 and several teachers to strengthen and extend the mission. 
 Fatuhiva was reached on the 25th of April, and they had 
 a joyous welcome. Mr. Bishop, referring to that, wrote as 
 follows : — " The arrival of the Morning Star was a great 
 event to the natives, giving consequence to their valley 
 and the missionaries stationed there, which called forth a 
 liberality never before manifested by that people. On every 
 side were greetings and expressions of cordial esteem which 
 I had never expected to witness. Hogs, bread-fruit, cocoa- 
 nuts were brought, more than the missionaries and their 
 families could possibly consume. The surplus was sent oflF to 
 the vessel, and we were supplied in the'greatest profusion." 
 
 " But," observes Mrs. Warner, " other hearts w^ere glad 
 besides those of the natives. Mr. Bishop and those who 
 accompanied him were no less delighted to meet them, 
 and see evidence that the missionaries had not laboured 
 in vain and spent their strength for nought." The reader 
 will remember that three years passed before much im- 
 pression appeared to be made on the people at this place. 
 Now the first-fruits had been gathered in. The day after 
 the arrival of the visitors was the Sabbath. About one 
 hundred attended the service. Five new members were 
 added to the church, and the Lord's Supper was observed, 
 making a total of twelve in full membership. 
 
 During the stay of the vessel a general meeting was 
 held for the transaction of business. The newly arrived 
 teachers were appointed to stations, and those who had 
 preceded them w^ere found to be contented and happy in 
 their work. And in connection wuth the report of this 
 visit we find an opinion expressed, the carrying out of which
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 2S7 
 
 tas very seriously retarded the progress of the raission. 
 The notion was taken up and henceforth acted upon 
 " that Hawaiiuns were better adapted to that field (the 
 Marquesas) than Americans, both from the similarity of 
 the climate and the language to those of Hawaii." 
 
 This is not the place to discuss the question which this 
 opinion raises. We may remark, however, that the ex- 
 perience of more than half a century goes to prove its un- 
 soundness, and that the history of the Marquesan mission 
 itself is strongly confirmatory of the same view. I speak 
 with reference to our South Sea missions generally, for 
 there is nothing in the case of the Marquesas materially 
 different from other islands and groups of the Pacific. 
 And in these, one and all, it has been found that European 
 or American missionaries are a necessity in order to the 
 extension and consolidation of mission work. In order to 
 that a literature must be provided, and above all the sacred 
 Scriptures must be translated into the vernacular. And 
 for these works, especially the latter, our most advanced 
 pastors and teachers are quite unequal. 
 
 The only white missionary, Mr. Bicknell, who has resided 
 for any length of time in the Marquesas down to the present 
 time, and perhaps owing to the notion we are combating 
 was only a few years in the group, and from the time of 
 his leaving, little or no advance, so far us we are informed, 
 has been made in the translation of the Scriptures or in 
 preparing other books for carrying forward the education 
 of the people. 
 
 In a letter from Mr. lUcknell to myself, dated November 
 24th, 1887, he writes as follows: — " The only portions of 
 Scripture tliat have been printed are those that I made. 
 The fact is, the mission as yet has not advanced beyond 
 the oral stage. The translations made by mo have all 
 been printed, and 1 suppose are in use among the natives. 
 The translations were the Gospel according to John, the 
 
 ermou on the Mount, and tho three first chapters of
 
 2S8 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 Genesis. A collection of sacred hymns was prepared and 
 printed ; also an Elementary Geography, Colburn's Mental 
 Arithmetic, a tract on the Evidences of Christianity, the 
 Confession of Faith, and Church Covenant." 
 
 In the same letter Mr. Bicknell supplies the following 
 information relative to an arrangement by which the 
 Marquesan mission has passed from the Hawaiian and 
 American Boards into other hands. The reader will re- 
 member that many years ago the islands were taken 
 possession of by the French, and " being French territory, 
 and so near to Tahiti, the French Evangelical Society 
 thought they could work the missions more cheaply than 
 could be done from here (Hawaii), therefore it was trans- 
 ferred to the care of that society, the Hawaiian missionaries 
 remaining on the islands, and co-operating with the 
 French missionaries." 
 
 Of the Hawaiian missionaries three remain, with their 
 wives. They are supported by the Hawaiian Board, and 
 constitute a link of connection between that and the French 
 missionaries, but when they pass away the connection will 
 cease, as no more will be sent. Two of those now on the 
 islands are on Hivaoa, and the other on Uapou. Each has a 
 church under his care, but as no report had been received at 
 Honolulu for some time when Mr. Bicknell wrote, he was 
 unable to give the number of members in the churches. 
 
 " The French Government," Mr. Bicknell tells us, " have 
 established day-schools. Both the French and Marquesan 
 lanf'uages are taught. There are also boarding-schools. 
 The French would prefer to teach in their own language. 
 We do not know whether they have printed any books in 
 the vernacular. A regular government has been organ- 
 ised, wars are suppressed, taxes are levied, and roads made ; 
 also, one of the uninhabited islands has been set apart 
 for the segregation of lepers." 
 
 We are not informed as to what has been done by the 
 French Protestant missionaries in the way of preparing
 
 THE MARQUESAS. 289 
 
 educational and other books for the Marquesans, or what 
 progress has been made in the translation of the sacred 
 Scriptures. As Protestant missionaries we may feel as- 
 sured that they will not lose sight of that essential work 
 which has been so long neglected. Had three or four 
 American missionaries been in the field since 1853, when the 
 Hawaiian Board took up the mission, the translation and 
 printing of the Bible might have been completed years 
 ago, and in that case what a different record in all proba- 
 bility should we have had to make to-day. However, it is 
 useless to indulge in regrets over past mistakes. It is cause 
 for thankfulness that the mission is now in the hands of 
 competent men, and we trust they will do their utmost to 
 get a Marquesan version of the Bible into the hands of the 
 natives with the least possible delay. A substantial con- 
 solidated spiritual work which will endure is an impossi- 
 bility witliout the Bible. From the Hawaiian missionaries 
 who remain in the group the French Protestant mission- 
 aries will be able to obtain most valuable help in translating 
 the Scriptures, and in almost every department of work. 
 Their long experience, and their eminently Christian spirit, 
 if we may judge from the testimony of one of them, written 
 many years ago, will render them invaluable helpers. The 
 good man to whom I refer wrote as follows : — " God sent 
 us here, not man. He has preserved us, our wives and 
 little ones, in perils by sea, in perils among robbers, and 
 in perils by war. He has given us influence and favour 
 among the people, so that our names are sacred, and our 
 persons safe. He has made us mediators between blood- 
 thirsty and vindictive foes. He has drawn numbers from 
 the (fihiis, and from all lieathen orgies, and made them our 
 docile pupils. Above all, Ho has given us souls. There 
 is a church hero, there are Christians, saints, Sic." The 
 occasion of the writer expressing hiinsflf in this emphatic 
 manner was, if I remember rightly, the discussion of a 
 
 T
 
 290 THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 proposal to give up the mission, and lie spoke in liis name, 
 and I suppose that of his bretliren, to the effect, that tliey 
 were determined to continue in their work, and depend 
 upon the providence of God, whether those who had sent 
 them continued to support them or not. The mission was 
 not abandoned, as the reader has seen, and we may hope 
 that all danger of its being abandoned is fl,t an end now. 
 
 In the Annual Report of the Hawaiian Evangelical 
 Association for 1887 we find the following brief reference 
 to the Marquesan mission : — " From our missionaries at 
 the Marquesas we have no late reports. At last accounts 
 they were still working on in faith and patience under the 
 French administration of the government." 
 
 And so we close our notice of the Marquesan mission. 
 There is so little to record that belongs directly to the 
 subject with which this work specially deals that it 
 may be questioned whether it is entitled to occupy a 
 place in this volume. I feel that there is some force 
 in the objection ; still our survey would have been in- 
 complete if it had been passed unnoticed. There would 
 have been a missing link. And there is something to 
 record. A beginning has been made. The Marquesans 
 have a portion of God's truth in their hands, and we may 
 hope that it is only a question of a few years, and the 
 great work will be done. The men who can do it are now 
 in the field, and they will no doubt apply themselves to it 
 with the earnestness and diligence which its importance 
 demands, and in due time we shall have the missing link 
 supplied, the blank filled up, and the Marquesans numbered 
 among the many islands and groups throughout the vast 
 Pacific on which the people are reading in their own 
 tono-nes the wonderful works of God in His own Book.* 
 
 o 
 
 * For the facts embodied in the above chapter I am indebted chiefly to 
 Mr. Ellid' " Polynesian Researches," his " History of the London Missionary 
 Society," and Mrs. Warner's "History of the Morning Star."
 
 ( 291 ) 
 
 ' CONCLUSION. 
 
 In concluding his work, " The Students' Guide," the 
 author, the Rev. John Todd, writes as follows : — " It is a 
 solemn season with a man who acts from conscience, when 
 he comes to close his book, and bid his reader adieu. His 
 motives may be good, but it is in the nature of humanity to 
 err. ... At any rate, he is about to send a book out into 
 the world, which, whatever may be its fate, has given him 
 the opportunity of doing good ; and under that respon- 
 sibility the writer must continue." 
 
 With some such feelings as those expressed by Mr. 
 Todd the writer of this book now bids adieu to his readers. 
 He has spared no pains to make the work as accurate and 
 comprehensive as he was able, and he has conscientiously 
 striven to make the book in a measure worthy of the great 
 subject of which it treats ; still it is in " the nature of 
 humanity to err," and I suppose it is also in the nature of 
 liumanity to fall short of its own aims and ideals. Great 
 as has been the labour involved in the preparation of the 
 work, it has been thorouglily congenial, and in tlie course 
 of a long life no more pleasant hours have been spent in 
 literary work than tho.se which have been occupied in 
 the preparation of tliis book. I seem to have lived my 
 rai.ssionary life over an<I over again while collecting and 
 arranging the records of IJiblo translation .nnl Ilililc 
 circulation in the many fields which have passed under 
 review in the course of the work. It is a great joy to me, 
 us it will be to every lover of the Bible, to think of the
 
 292 CONCLUSION. 
 
 immense amount of work accomplislied and in prof^ress in 
 the v^ast fields now embraced by the combined eflorts of 
 the British and Foreign and other Bible Societies, and the 
 many Missionary Societies which in conjunction with these 
 are working together for the good of man and the glory of 
 God. What mighty influences and agencies have been 
 called into operation ! How vast are the results already 
 realised ; and how incomprehensible to any but the Infinite 
 mind will be the outcome of these in their ever- widening 
 flow in the future ages of the world, and in the inter- 
 minable beyond ! 
 
 To the God of the Bible, the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Spirit, be glory, and dominion, now and ever, world 
 without end. Amen.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Adams, Rev. T., 71 
 
 Aged, type for, 48 
 
 Aitutaki, 20 
 
 Allan, Kev. "SV., 102 
 
 Alphabet, 33 
 
 Ambry m, 187 
 
 Aniericau Bible Society, 252, 267 
 
 Anio.s, Mr., 71 
 
 Anderson, Rev. Dr., 250 
 
 Andrews, Kev. L., 246 
 
 Aueiteum, 132 
 
 Aoiwa, 128 
 
 Baker, Rev. W., 202 
 
 BarflF, Rev, C, 37, 41, 54 
 
 liarff. Rev. J., 13 
 
 Bereaus, 74 
 
 Bible, changes wrought by, 51, 92, 93 
 
 Bible mi.ssionaries, 41 
 
 Bible, joy on receiving, 29, 70, 73, 
 
 89. 193. 249 
 Bible, Bale of, 17, 45, 52, 60, 62, 129, 
 
 144, 166, 196, 268 
 Bible Society, British and Foreign, 
 
 7-1 1, 44, 72, 177, 233 
 Bible Society, Scuttiub, 150 
 Bible text-book in Bchoola, 75 
 Bible, value of, 34, 74, 81, 92, 93, 
 
 95, 13B, 180, 197, 231, 253 
 ];ickncll, Mr. J., 282 
 Binding of Bible, 7 
 Bingh;iiii, Rev. II., 214 
 Bingham, Rev, 11., jun., 247, 261 
 I^iihop, Kov. A., 247 
 BiHhop, Riv. H. i:., 286 
 15oothr«yd'» vcrHion, 43 
 liouriic, Rev. R., 23 
 Bowcla, 33 
 I'owDcll, D. , 66 
 
 Broughton, Bishop, 105 
 Brown, Rev. G., 215 
 Buchanan, John, 66 
 Buddie, Rev. T., 117; 
 Butler, Rev. John, 112 
 Buzaeott, Rev. A., 28, 39, 41, 199 
 
 Calvert, Rev. J., 77, 83, 88, 102 
 
 Cargill, Rev. D., M.A., 76 
 
 Chalmers, Rev. J., 225 
 
 Changes wrought, 51, 59, 98 
 
 Chisholm, Rev. A., 13 
 
 Church Missionary Society, 104, 111 
 
 Civilisation, 105 
 
 Clark, Rev. E. W., 247 
 
 Claxton, Rev. A. E., 51 
 
 Commerce, 60 
 
 Committee, translating, 43 
 
 Completion services, 45 
 
 Conscience, 33 
 
 Cook, Captain, 55, 65, 125, 132, 154, 
 
 168, 238 
 Cooper, James, 66 
 Cooper, Rev. E. V., 17 
 Copeland, Rev. J., 126, 148, 159 
 Cosh, Rev. J., M.A., 177 
 Creagh, Rev. S. M., 192 
 Crook, Rev. W. P.. 6, 279 
 Cross, Rev. W., 71, 76 
 
 Damkl, Rev. — , 71 
 Danks, Rev. B. , 219 
 Darling, Rev. D., 280 
 Davies, Rev. John, 2, 66 
 Davis, Rev. — , 71 
 Definite article, 35 
 Di-putution to l'"iji, 97 
 Dialectic dilferences, 78 
 Dialects of Ilcrvry Ishtndit, 2
 
 294 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dibble, Eev. S., 245 
 Donne, Kcv. E. T., 270, 273 
 Duke of York group, 215, 222 
 Dwight, liev. E. AV., 241 
 
 Eastern and Central Polynesia, i 
 
 Ebon, 272 
 
 Einieo, 5 
 
 Ella, Kev. S., 45, 159 
 
 Ellis, Kcv. AV., 4, 8, 12, 208, 243, 278 
 
 Emerson, Kev. J., 284 
 
 English language, loi 
 
 Epi, 186 
 
 Eramanga, 154, 188 
 
 European missionaries, 96 
 
 Faith, 33 
 
 Fate-, 168 
 
 Fiji statistics, 97 
 
 Fiji version, 76 
 
 Fison, Kev. L., 92 
 
 Fletcher, Eev. W., B.A., loi 
 
 Fotuna, 124 
 
 Foundry Eoys press, 150 
 
 Eraser, Kev. R. RL, 186 
 
 Fffee Church of Scothuul, 13^ 
 
 French Evangelical Society, 288 
 
 French oppression, 196 V 
 
 GaOT-ton, S., 66 * 
 
 Geddie, Eev. Dr., 126, 134 
 Genealogies, 34 
 Gilbert Islands, 262 
 Gill, Rev. George, 31, 172 
 Gill, Kev. W. W., B.A., 27, 225 
 Gill, Kev. W., 31 
 Gordon, Kev. G. N., 155 
 Gordon, Kev. J. D., 160, 162 
 Governor of New South Wales, 106, 
 
 108 
 Gray, Kev. "W., 152 
 Green, Kev. J. L., 15, 16 
 Green, Kev. J. S., 247 
 Gulick, Kev. Dr. L. H., 256, 273 
 Gunn, Kev. Dr., 127 
 
 Hall, F., 112 
 Hall, W., 105 
 
 Hardie, Eer. C, 41, 157 
 
 Harper, S., 66 
 
 Hazel wood, Kev. D., 85 
 
 Heart, 33 
 
 -Heath, Kev. T., 41, 128, 147, 156 
 
 Heaven, 33 
 
 Helps in translating, 43 
 
 Hervey Isbuids, 27 
 
 History, Scripture, 41 
 
 Hobbs, Kev. J., 117 
 
 Hongi of New Zealand, 107 
 
 Horsley, Kev. J., 91^^; 
 
 Hotchkiss, Mr., 265 
 
 Howe, Rev. W., 12, 32 
 
 Hunt, Rev. A. E., 235 
 
 Hunt, Rev, J., 80, loi 
 
 Idioms, 35 
 
 luglis, Kev. Dr., 135 
 
 Intemperance, 95 
 
 Jaggar, Rev. — , 77 
 Jehovah, 32 
 
 Johnston, Kev. S. F., 148 
 Jones, Rev. J., 192 
 Joseph, Rev. T., 13 
 Joy over the Bible, 29 
 Jkbilce at Fiji, 87 
 
 Kelso, Seth, 66 
 Kelynack, Rev. Dr., 97 
 Kemp, J., 112 
 Kendall, Thomas, 105, 112 
 King John, 105 
 King's letter, 256 
 Kipling, Rev. G. A., 117 
 Krause, Rev. E. R. W., 31 
 Kusaie, 272 
 
 La Perodse, 37 
 
 Langham, Rev. — , 90 
 
 Lawes, Rev. F. E., 62 
 
 Lawes, Rev. W. G., 55, 60, 231 
 
 Lee, Professor, 112 
 
 Leigh, Rev. S., 114 
 
 Lifu, 199 
 
 Logan, Kev. "W., 274
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 295 
 
 London Missionary Society, i, 20, 39, 
 
 54, 66, 132 
 Loomis, £. , 244 
 Lyth, Rev. R. B., 80, 89 
 
 Macdonald, Rev. A., 41 * 
 
 Macdonald, Rev. D., 165, 178 '-^ 
 
 Macfarlane, Rev. Dr., 202, 225 
 
 Mackenzie, Rev. J. AV., 177 
 
 Macnair, Rev. J., 161 
 
 Mangaia, 23 
 
 Mare, 189 
 
 Marquesas, 277 
 
 ]\Iarsden, Rev. S., 11, 104, 107, 113 
 
 Marshall Islands, 270 
 
 Martin, E., 83 
 
 Massacres, 17, 106, 158, 164 
 
 Matheson, Rev. J. W., 148 
 
 ISIaunsell, Archdeacon, 116, 132 
 
 Mbau dialect, 80 
 
 Mellor, Rev. T. W., 88, 119, 139 
 
 Michelson, Rev. O., 183 
 
 Micronesia, 255 
 
 Jlills, Rev. W., 41 
 
 Milne, Rev. P., 183 
 
 ^lissionaries, 41, 96 
 
 Moore, Rev. J., 14 
 
 Moresby, Captain, R.N., 230 
 
 Morris, Rev. G., 14 * 
 
 Morrison, Rev. D., 175 
 
 Mortlock Islands, 274 
 
 Mosaic institutions, 3). 
 
 Mnulton, Rev. J. E., 74 
 
 Murray, A. \V., 39, 100, 133, 170, 
 
 226 
 .Murray, Rev. C, M.A., 187 
 Murray, Rev. W. 13., M.A., 187 
 
 Negativeh, 35 
 
 NoilHon, Hcv. T., i.\(), 161 
 
 Ncttleton, Itov. J., 89 
 
 New IJritain, 225 
 
 New Caledonia, 213 
 
 New Guinea, 225 
 
 New lleluidcM, jH, 124 
 
 New South Wiileu Auxiliary, 57 
 
 New Zenlnnd, 104 
 
 Nguun, 182 
 
 Nicholas, J. L., 108 
 Nihil, Rev. "W., 192, 201 
 Nisbet, Rev. Dr., 46, 147 
 
 Niua, 128 
 
 Niue, 53 
 
 Noble, Isaac, 66 
 
 Nott, Rev. H., 6, 10, 32, 33 
 
 Nova Scotia, 134 
 
 Obokia, 241 
 
 Orsmond, Rev. J. M., 23 
 
 Parker, Rev. B. AV., 252 
 Paton, Rev. J. G., 129, 148 
 Patteson, Bishop, 201 
 Paulo of Samoa, 54 
 Pearce, Rev. A., 16 
 Pearse, Rev. A., 232 
 Pease, Rev. Dr., 271 
 Pedigrees, 34 
 Peek, R. , Esq., 194 
 Philadelphia Bible Society, 249 
 Pierson, Rev. Dr., 270 
 Pitman, Rev. C, 23 
 Piatt, Rev. G., 39 
 Pomar^, King, 5 
 Ponape, 273 _ 
 
 Popery, 83V j 19, 210 
 Powell,. Rev. T>,:48, 134 
 Praftt, Rev. George, 46, 56, 59 
 Press from Foundry Boys, 150 
 Psalter for aged, 48 
 Pundits, 43 
 
 QUARTERLIE.S, Fijian, 80 
 
 RaboNE, Rev. S., 71 
 
 Itaces, Bible for all, 34 
 
 lloiatca, 22 
 
 Rarotonga, 20, 24, 29, 33 
 
 Reformed l'resl)yteiiun Church, 135 
 
 lieid, Rev. R., 97 
 
 ItichardH, Rev. W., 241; 
 
 Iticknrd, Hcv. R. H., 219 
 
 KolicrlHon, Rev. H. A., 164 
 
 RogetHon, Rev. J., 280 
 
 Roman Catholic prieMtM, 19, 210 
 
 Rooney, Ucv. J., 220
 
 296 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rossenmuller's Commentaries, 43 
 Kotuma, 99 
 Kuk, 274 
 
 Sabbath in New Zealand, 109 
 Sale of Bibles, 17, 45, 47, 48, 52, 60, 
 
 62 
 Samoan pastors, 56, 100 
 Samoan version, 37, 47, 49 
 Sandwich Islands, 238 
 Savage, Rev. E. B., 235 
 Saville, Rev. A., 16 
 School, Bible in, 61 
 Scott, Rev. J. T., 23s 
 Scott, Rev. H., 233 
 Scripture history, 41 
 Sharp, Rev. \V., 236 
 Shelly, W., 66 
 Shemites, 34 
 Sheppard Isles, 184 
 Sleigh, Rev. J., 205 
 Snow, Rev. B. G., 256, 271 
 Stair, Rev. J. B., 42 
 Stall worthy. Rev. G., 172, 280 
 Stephenson, Rev. W. G., 70 
 Stories, Bible, 34 
 Strong's Island, 272 
 Sturges, Rev. A., 256, 273 
 Sunderland, Rev. J. T., 45, 136, 151, 
 1,92, 226, 232 
 
 Tahiti, 1-17, 21, 39, 69, 70 
 Tanna, 146 
 Tasnian, 65 
 Thakombau, 95 
 Thanksgiving services, 45 
 Thomas, Rev. J., 70 
 Thompson, Rev. R., 281 
 Three Hill Island, 185 
 Threlkeld, Rev. L. E., 21 
 
 Tliurston, Rev. A., 244 
 
 Timc^, London, 254 
 
 Tonga, 6s 
 
 Tongoa, 184 
 
 Translating, mode of, 41, 42, 58, yy, 
 
 80, 139, 204, 252, 27s 
 Translations by native pastors, 56 
 Trust, 33 
 
 Tucker, Rev. — , 71 
 Turner, Rev. Dr., 47, 49, 100, 147, 
 
 170, 174 
 Turner, Rev. N., 70 
 Turner, Rev. P., 71 
 Turner, Rev. W., M.D., 236 
 Tutuila, 37 
 
 Uvea, 208 
 
 Veeson, George, 66 
 Vernier, Rev. F., 18 
 Versions, 43, 59 
 Volkner, Rev. C. S., 119 
 
 Warner, Mrs., 285 
 Watei'house, Rev. J., 100 
 "Watkin, Rev. J., 70 
 Watsford, Rev. — , 80 
 Watt, Rev. W., 149, 187 
 Webb, Kcv. A. J., 93 
 West, Rev. T., 71 
 Whitmee, Rev. S. J., 48 
 AVhitney, Rev. J. F., 271, 275 
 Wilkinson, James, 66 
 Williams, Archdeacon, 117 
 Williams, Rev. J., 20, 28, 37, 42, 54, 
 
 100, 146 
 Williams, Rev. T., 76, 97 
 Wilson, Rev. — ,71 
 Wilson, S., 40 
 Woon, W., 70 
 
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