FROM THE SOCIETY TO THE SAMOAN ISLANDS.—BEFORE THE TRADE-WINDS.—NOTES ABOUT THE MISSIONARIES.—OPPOSITION OF TRADERS TO MISSIONARIES.—HOW POLYNESIA WAS CHRISTIANIZED.—THE WORK OF THE MISSIONS.—REV. JOHN WILLIAMS.—ROMANTIC STORY OF THE HERVEY GROUP.—THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.—THE WESLEYAN AND OTHER MISSIONS.—DEATH OF MR. WILLIAMS.—SANDAL-WOOD TRADERS.—POLYNESIAN SLAVERY.—LABOR-VESSELS AND THE LABOR-TRADE.—HOW NATIVES WERE KIDNAPPED.—"THE MISSIONARY TRICK."—THE MUTINY ON THE CARL.—CAPTURE OF THE DAPHNE.—HOW LABOR IS OBTAINED AT PRESENT.

The Society Islands are between latitude 16° and 18° south, and longitude 148° and 155° west; the Samoan Islands, the next destination of the Pera, lie in latitude 13° to 15° south, and longitude 169° to 173° west. Consequently the course of the yacht was a little north of west, and gave the party a pleasant run before the north-east trade-wind, the crew having hardly anything to do from the time the last peak of the Society Islands disappeared until the mountains of Samoa came into view. All the world over, there is no more delightful sailing than in the trade-winds. A ship bowls along for ten, twenty, or perhaps thirty days, without squaring a yard or changing a brace, and all the time she carries every stitch of her canvas, and the water beneath her bows is a bank of foam.

During the voyage our young friends busied themselves as usual in learning something about the regions whither they were bound, as well as perfecting their information about what they were leaving behind. The conversation turned one day upon the work of the missionaries in the South Pacific in redeeming the inhabitants of the islands from their former condition of barbarism.

"The missionaries have not received half the credit they deserve," said Doctor Bronson, in reply to a question which Fred propounded. "It is the fashion among certain men who have had commercial relations with these islands to deride the missionaries and throw ridicule on their work, and sometimes travellers fall into the same way of talking. There are idlers and useless men and women among the missionaries, just as there are in every occupation in life, but this circumstance does not justify the denunciation that has been heaped upon the entire body."

Frank asked why it was that so many men engaged in commerce were opposed to the missionaries.

"Principally for the reason," was the reply, "that the missionaries defend the natives against the dishonesty of certain classes of traders, and thus reduce their profits. There are honest men and dishonest ones engaged in commerce in Polynesia, just as there are elsewhere. When you hear a Polynesian merchant denouncing the missionaries in vehement terms, you may fairly conclude that the missionaries have stood in his way when he was endeavoring to defraud the natives. He is a man not to be trusted, at least that is a fair inference, though in this as in everything else he may be an exception.

"Let me give you an illustration of this," continued the Doctor. "Some years ago I heard a retired sea-captain in New York denouncing the missionaries, and declaring that they had ruined the trade of the South Pacific. It was at a dinner-party, and before the end of the evening the old captain became quite communicative about the ways of commerce with Polynesia and the Malay Archipelago. Among other things he told how they traded with the natives in his younger days. 'We used,' said he, 'to take our old-fashioned balance scales on shore with our fifty-six pound and smaller weights with handles to them. We set up the scales, and then the natives brought forward some bags whose exact weight they knew. These bags were used for testing our weights, to see that they were correct. Of course they were all right; the testing and setting up the scales took the best part of the afternoon, and then we knocked off for the day.

"We left the scales on shore where they had been set up, but took the weights back to the ship "for safety." They were hollow, and the handles were screwed in; during the night we unscrewed the handles, filled the hollow space with lead, and then screwed the handles back again so neatly that nobody would ever discover anything. In this way we managed to get the cargo to average 160 to 170 pounds a picul (133 pounds); and in those days a supercargo or captain who couldn't make a cargo come up to at least 150 pounds a picul wasn't wanted another voyage by the owners. Trade went on that way until the missionaries found out all about this and other tricks, and told the natives. They never would have suspected anything if it hadn't been for the missionaries.'

"This man," continued the Doctor, "was no worse than many others in the same line of business; and if all stories are true, he was no worse than many of our forefathers, who made money by their dealings with the savages in the early days of American colonization. The belief that it is no sin to cheat the infidel and heathen is not by any means confined to the followers of Mohammed. It is easy to understand why he was opposed to the missionary labors in the South Seas, as they certainly tended, in his estimation, to the ruin of commerce."

One of the youths asked if this opposition to the Christianizing of the heathen was prevalent among the large mercantile houses, as well as among the small and independent traders.

"It is impossible to answer this question with plain yes or no," was the reply; "but it is safe to say that a very large section of the commercial community of every nation is unfavorable or, at all events, indifferent to missionary enterprises. Even national power is sometimes invoked in the interest of commerce, without regard to the effect upon the heathen. British artillery forced the Chinese to open their markets to the opium of India, and the power of British, French, German, and other arms on the coast of Africa, for purposes of trade, is well known. Even America is not without sin in this respect; American diplomacy, backed by American ships of war, opened the ports of Japan, and the history of our dealings with our own Indians reveals many instances of bloodshed or oppression in the interests of post-traders and other speculators.

"Until its failure a few years ago, the German house of Godefroy & Sons was by far the largest firm or association doing business in the Pacific. It had large fleets of ships, it had branch houses in many parts of the world; in numerous islands of the Pacific its agents were established, and it owned lands and buildings of immense value. In the harbor of Apia, Samoa, they had a ship-yard, where they not only repaired old ships but built new ones, and they owned several excellent harbors in other parts of Polynesia. There was not a single group of islands of any consequence where they were not established, and they had a great influence with the German Government.

"Now, do you suppose this great house was friendly to the missionaries—the men who came here and opened the way for commerce? Not a bit of it. Here is an extract from their general orders to their agents everywhere:

"'Never assist missionaries by word or deed, but, wheresoever you may find them, use your best influence to obstruct and exclude them.'[3]

"The effect of these instructions is illustrated in the experience of the American missionary ship Morning Star, several years ago, in a visit to the Kingsmill group of islands, near the equator. A pilot came out to meet the ship, and made her anchor three miles from shore to wait the permission of the King before any one could land. When the King learned that it was a missionary ship, he sent word that he would supply any needed provisions, but on no account could any one come on shore. The traders had told him that if any missionaries were allowed to land they would bewitch him and his people, and he had determined to protect himself from harm.

"Numerous instances of the demoralizing effects of commerce, when controlled by bad men, can be given. The missionaries were the first to occupy Polynesia, when traders could not venture there; some of these good men lost their lives, but the work of taming the savages went on until commerce could follow in their footsteps. You might naturally expect that commerce would be grateful, but such is far from being the case."

Then the conversation turned upon the history of missionary efforts in the South Pacific from the opening enterprise of the London Mission near the end of the last century. Frank and Fred made copious notes on the subject from the books within their reach, and the information supplied by the Doctor, and from these notes they subsequently condensed the following interesting story:

The London Missionary Society was formed in 1795 by zealous men of different denominations; the call for the first meeting was signed by eighteen Independent clergymen, seven Presbyterian, three Wesleyan (Methodist), and three Episcopal, and the assemblage was held September 22d of that year. The islands of the Pacific were then attracting attention in consequence of the mutiny of the Bounty and the death of Captain Cook, and they were selected as the first field of operations.

Many young men offered themselves as missionaries, and of all the number of applicants twenty-nine were selected. The first delegation landed on Tahiti March 4, 1797, and formed the first mission of the Society. From that beginning the South Seas have been gradually covered with missions, and the Society has pushed its work into other fields which we need not consider here. It still adheres to its original plan of avoiding denominational differences of doctrine and Church government, and zealously pursues its work. Nearly all the denominations of Protestants have since organized separate missions of their own, both in Great Britain and America, for spreading the Gospel in the South Seas. In our account of the Sandwich and Society islands the work of the missionaries has been described; we have seen how whole populations have renounced heathenism and its practices, have been provided with written languages, and with schools and churches, and have been changed from savages to civilized men and women. And all this is due to the work of the missionary, who labored for the good of his fellow-man.

More than three hundred islands of the Pacific have abandoned their heathenism, and nearly half a million of Polynesian savages have been virtually Christianized. Their communicants who have been gathered into the churches number fully sixty thousand, not including the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands, who are now supporting missions of their own.

One reason of the success of the mission work is the common-sense that prevailed at the outset in dividing the field among the different denominations, so that the minds of the natives should not be confused as to the character of the teachings they were receiving.

This was done through a friendly agreement between the London Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Mission, the former having exclusive charge of the work in the Samoan Islands, and the Wesleyans taking possession of the Feejee and Tonga groups. Other groups were disposed of in the same way as time went on, and the arrangement was found entirely satisfactory. Catholic missions have been established in some of the islands where the Protestant missions were already settled; they have made poor progress, as the natives showed an unwillingness to abandon the faith they had adopted for another.

The American Board of Foreign Missions was organized in Mission Park, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the early part of this century, and the organization is commemorated by an appropriate monument. It has evangelized the Hawaiian Islands, and carried on work in the Marquesas, Gilbert, Marshall, and Caroline islands. Since 1873 most of the active labor has been performed by the Hawaiian Evangelical Association, which owns a mission vessel, the Morning Star.

The London Missionary Society has missions in the Society, Tuamotu, Hervey or Cook, Austral, Samoa, Tokelau, Ellice, Gilbert, and Loyalty groups, on Niue and several other isolated islands, and in New Guinea. It owns two vessels, the John Williams and the Ellengowan.

The Australian Wesleyan Conference supports missions in Tonga, Feejee, Samoa, Rotumah, and New Britain; the Presbyterian churches of Australia have a mission in the New Hebrides, and possess a mission vessel, called the Dayspring.

The Melanesian Episcopal Mission is maintained in the Banks', Santa Cruz, and Solomon islands, and has a mission vessel, called the Southern Cross. The Catholics have missions on all the islands controlled by the French, and on most of the others, but they did not make their appearance until long after the work had been well under way in the hands of the Protestant organizations.

A considerable proportion of the early missionaries were murdered by the natives, whose good they sought, and others died of disease, privation, and the effects of the climate. But the ranks were steadily filled up, and the work went on; the native converts and teachers were fully as zealous as the white men who had taught them the new religion, and much of the work of instruction was performed by them. Whenever native teachers were murdered by the savages among whom they had taken their residences, others volunteered to fill their places. The following incident is recorded in the history of mission work in Polynesia:

In 1822 the mission ship of the Rev. John Williams anchored off an island which proved to be Mangaia of the Hervey group. Three Tahitian teachers, two of them accompanied by their wives, volunteered to land and establish a mission. No sooner were they on shore than they were attacked and plundered of everything they possessed, and they only escaped with their lives by swimming back through the surf to the ship.

A few months later the mission ship went there again, and two unmarried teachers, Davida and Tiere, sprang into the sea and swam to the shore, carrying nothing but the clothing they wore and a portion of the New Testament in Tahitian, which was wrapped in cloth and tied on their heads. A great crowd assembled at the landing, and as they stepped on shore several warriors levelled spears at them. The King took the swimmers under his protection, treated them kindly, took them to the temple, and pronounced them tabu, or sacred, so that the natives should not harm them.

Within two years Tiere died, but the work of conversion went on so well that one day the King and his chiefs determined to give up idolatry. They carried the thirteen idols which they had hitherto worshipped to the house of Davida, and announced that for the future they would worship the God of the white man. These thirteen idols are now preserved in the museum of the London Missionary Society.

In 1821 Mr. Williams decided to send a mission from Raiatea to the Hervey Isles, of which very little was known beyond the bare existence of such a group, and that it was inhabited by fierce cannibals. Several native converts from Raiatea were landed on the island of Aitutaki; they were well received by the chief and his people, but Mr. Williams had great fears for their safety, owing to the bad character of the cannibal inhabitants.

In the following year, when the mission ship went there again, great was the joy of Mr. Williams to learn that all the inhabitants had abandoned idolatry, burned their temples, and decided to be Christians; they had built a large church, kept the Sabbath religiously, and on the day following the arrival of the mission ship two thousand of them assembled on the beach in solemn prayer, which was led by the delighted missionary. After the service they brought their idols and carried them on board the mission ship, so that the people of the other islands might see for themselves that they had discarded altogether the worship of the worthless images.

The story of the conversion of the inhabitants of the island of Raratonga, of the Hervey group, sounds like romance. So little was known of this island that Mr. Williams had great trouble in finding it, as its latitude and longitude had not been established. Among the converts on another island were six natives of Raratonga; one of these men told Mr. Williams that if he would sail to a given point on the island of Aitutaki, he could take bearings that would carry him where he wished to go. So, taking the six Raratongans on board, he steered for the point indicated, and by following the directions of the man the island they sought was reached.

The young King came on board, and agreed to take the six natives ashore, and also a Tahitian teacher, who had volunteered to remain. The King, Matea, a handsome fellow six feet high, and with every inch of his skin elaborately tattooed, was one of the first converts. Within a year the whole population had become Christian, and there was not a house on the island where the family did not assemble morning and evening for divine worship. Mr. Williams and another missionary went there with their families in 1827, and were met at the shore by several thousands of natives, who shook hands with them so vigorously that their arms ached for hours afterwards. A few days after their arrival the people came in procession, bringing fourteen enormous idols, for which they had no further use, the smallest of them being fifteen feet high.

A new church was erected capable of containing three thousand people; some of the idols were used as pillars of this building, and the rest were burned. The railing of the pulpit stairs of this church was made of spears which the chiefs contributed, and all the heathen temples, and even their foundations, were completely broken up.

The Hervey Islands are now a centre of missionary work in the South Pacific. The islanders have a theological college, which has sent out nearly two hundred trained teachers and preachers of their own, and about half this number are scattered among the isles of the Pacific where the inhabitants have not yet renounced heathenism or their cannibal practices. In 1881 four of these missionaries, with their wives and children, twelve persons in all, were murdered by the natives of New Guinea, and several others narrowly escaped with their lives.

Shortly after settling in the Hervey Islands Mr. Williams determined to carry the Gospel to the Navigator's, or Samoan group. Having no ship, he built a boat, sixty feet long and eighteen feet wide, with the aid of the Raratonga natives. He wanted a blacksmith's bellows to shape the iron-work, and in order to make it he killed three of his four goats to obtain their skins. In a single night his bellows was devoured by the rats, the only quadrupeds indigenous to the islands, and he then invented a pump by which air could be forced.

His boat took fifteen weeks for its construction. Its sails were of native matting, the cordage was of the bark of the hibiscus, the oakum for calking the seams was made from banana stumps and cocoanut husks, and the sheaves were of iron-wood. To obtain planks, trees were split with wedges, and then cut up with hatchets. One anchor was of stone, and another of iron-wood, and the provisions consisted of pigs, cocoanuts, bananas, and other tropical products. In this vessel he sailed during the next four years to many islands of the Pacific, distributing teachers among them, and doing everything in his power for the good of the people. In 1834 he visited England, and returned in the missionary ship Camden, which had been purchased by the London Missionary Society.

Mr. Williams continued his work until 1839, when he, with a companion missionary, James Harris, was murdered by the natives of the New Hebrides Islands, whither he had gone to plant a mission. The stories of the conversion of the people of the Tonga, Samoan, and Feejee groups is only scarcely less romantic than what has just been narrated of the Hervey Isles. In all these islands, as well as in the Sandwich and Society groups, it is probable that the proportion of the inhabitants who observe the Sabbath, attend divine service, and gather in their families for morning and evening worship, is greater than among the people of Great Britain or the United States.

In their inter-tribal wars, which sometimes occur in these days, though far less frequently than before the advent of the missionaries, all parties abstain from fighting on Sunday, and men may safely circulate from one hostile camp to another.

And all this has been accomplished through the self-abnegation of the men who obeyed the divine injunction, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Volumes could be written, as volumes have been written, but even then the whole story of the work and sufferings of the missionaries in the South Seas would remain untold.

Referring to the opposition of the traders to the missionaries, Doctor Bronson said that the death of Mr. Williams was due to the conduct of the seamen, though it was not directly instigated by them.

"One of the products of the Pacific Islands," said the Doctor, "is sandal-wood, which brings a high price in the Chinese market, and so much has it been sought in the last fifty or sixty years that on many of the islands it has entirely disappeared. The sandal-wood traders committed many outrages on the islands that they visited, and these outrages naturally led to reprisals.

"When Mr. Williams and his friend landed on Erromanga, in the New Hebrides, a party of warriors rushed upon them from a thicket where they had been lying concealed. In an instant the missionaries were clubbed, and their bodies were afterwards roasted and eaten by the savages whom the devoted men sought to reclaim. Investigation showed that a sandal-wood ship had visited the island a few weeks before, and her crew had killed several of the natives who opposed the plunder of their plantations and the destruction of their trees. Of course the natives were ready to revenge themselves on the first foreign ship that came there, and this happened to be the one carrying the missionaries.

"In 1871," continued the Doctor, "the death of Bishop Patteson occurred on the island of Nukapu in much the same way. The bishop was widely known and esteemed for his devotion to missionary work in Polynesia, and was greatly beloved by the natives on all the islands he had visited. Shortly before his visit to Nukapu a labor-vessel had been there, and carried off many of the natives against their will. While the natives were thirsting for revenge the bishop arrived, and, not knowing him, they put him to death, as the natives of Erromanga had killed Mr. Williams more than thirty years before."

"Please tell us something about the labor-vessels and the labor-trade," said Frank. "I have read about them, and we heard them mentioned in Tahiti and Honolulu, and would like to know more about them."

"It is quite a long story," was the reply, "but I'll try to give it to you briefly. You remember that in the Hawaiian and Society islands it was necessary to import foreign labor for the plantations, the natives being too indolent, or not sufficiently numerous, for the wants of the planters. Well, the same state of affairs prevailed, and still prevails, in the Samoa, Feejee, Tonga, and other groups, where cotton and sugar plantations have been established, and also in Queensland, in Australia.

"Well, the demand naturally led to an effort to supply the want. Labor-vessels went among the islands and groups farther to the west, especially among the Solomon and New Hebrides islands, to hire men to work on the plantations where they were needed.

"Nearly all of these vessels were English, either from the ports of Australia or hailing from Feejee, Samoa, or Tahiti. Occasionally an American captain went into the labor traffic, and there was now and then a French or German vessel engaged in it.

"The theory of the business was that men were hired on regular contracts to work for a period of years (from three to five years) on designated plantations, for certain stipulated wages, and at the end of the contract they were to be returned to their homes free of expense to themselves. Every man was to understand perfectly what was required of him, and nobody was to be taken except of his own free-will.

"This was the theory and the practice at the outset, but very soon the practice became far otherwise. Some men were hired on the above plan, more were hired from their chiefs without being consulted as to their own willingness in the matter, and a still greater number were kidnapped and sold into slavery."

"Sold into slavery?"

"Yes, exactly that. They were decoyed on board the labor-ships, and when a sufficient number were there they were bound hand and foot, flung into the hold, and the ship sailed away with them. They were delivered over to the planters at so much a head, and very few of them ever found their way back again to their homes."

"Why, that's just like what we used to read about the African slave-trade," said Fred, who had been listening with open-eyed astonishment.

"Quite so," the Doctor answered. "It was the revival of the African slave-trade, and was carried on under the British flag. And many of the men were taken into slavery on British soil as they were turned over to the planters of Queensland, a British colony.

"The matter became so notorious that the attention of the British Government was called to it, and measures were taken to put an end to the outrages. Ships of war were sent to the South Pacific to suppress the illegal trade, and stringent laws were passed to prevent further outrages. At present every labor-vessel must be licensed for her business, and carry an official who superintends the making of contracts, and makes sure that every laborer signs the agreement with his own free-will, and with a full understanding of the terms of the document. Care is taken with regard to the food and treatment of the men while on shipboard, and also when at work on the plantations."

Frank asked what were the means resorted to to obtain men before the Government took these precautions.

"As to that," was the reply, "the tricks and devices were various. The usual plan was for a ship to anchor near an island, and of course she was soon surrounded by the natives in their canoes, ready to barter cocoanuts and other produce for what the white men had to sell. The[Pg 115]
[Pg 116] men were enticed on board, and when a sufficient number was on the deck a signal was given by the captain, and the sailors would knock the victims down as rapidly as possible. Some escaped by jumping overboard, but the rest were secured, and the ship then proceeded to another island to repeat the process until her cargo was complete. Then, with her hold packed like that of an African slave-ship fifty years ago, she steered for Feejee or for Queensland, and the captain and crew made a handsome profit for their work.

"After a time the natives became too wary to be enticed on board in the ordinary way, and then other plans were tried. The Southern Cross, the mission ship used by Bishop Patteson, was painted white, and the natives were familiar with its appearance. Accordingly the slavers adopted the following plan to obtain their living cargoes:

"About the time the bishop was making his rounds a white vessel appeared and anchored near an island. A boat put off for the shore, and in its stern sat a black-coated individual with a white neck-tie, green glasses, a book under his arm which would readily pass for a Bible, and an umbrella over his head. The cry went around that the bishop had come, and the natives flocked to the beach to welcome him.

"Instead of the bishop it was a strange missionary, who spoke enough of the language to make himself understood. He told them that the bishop had had a fall the day before and broke his leg, and therefore could not come on shore. He must hurry away to Sydney to see a doctor, and could only stay a little while at the island, but he wanted to see his friends on board, and would like some yams and fruit.

"In the course of an hour or so fifty or more canoes are flying over the water laden with presents for the good bishop. The fruit is passed on board, the men follow and are admitted two or three at a time, to descend into the bishop's cabin.

"At the foot of the cabin-stairs they are met by half a dozen sailors, who put pistols to their heads, threaten to kill them if they make the least outcry, tie their hands, and pass them along into the hold through[Pg 117]
[Pg 118] a hole which has been cut from the cabin for that purpose. When a batch has been thus disposed of another is allowed to descend, and in a little while the hold is full; fifty or more natives have been made prisoners, and meantime the strange missionary has returned from shore, the canoes are cut adrift or sunk by dropping pieces of iron into them, and the pretended missionary ship sails away with a cargo of slaves for the Queensland or Feejee market."

"And was this really done by Englishmen?" one of the youths asked.

"Yes, not only once, but several times," the Doctor answered; "and of the men thus stolen from their homes very few ever found their way back again. If you wish more information on this point, read 'Kidnapping in the South Seas,' by Captain Palmer, and 'The Cruise of the Rosario,' by Captain Markham, both of the Royal Navy. These gentlemen were sent to cruise in Polynesian waters to suppress the slave-trade; and though they made several captures, they did not find themselves supported by the colonial courts. 'In two glaring instances,' says Captain Markham, 'when slavers were seized and sent to Sydney for adjudication they were acquitted, and their captors were themselves condemned in heavy damages for detention and injury done to those vessels.'

"A notorious case," continued the Doctor, "was that of the slaver Carl, which has figured prominently in the newspapers and official documents. This vessel left Melbourne in June, 1871, for a cruise among the South Sea Islands, with the object of procuring laborers. Dr. James Patrick Murray was on board as a passenger and part owner of the vessel, which was commanded by Joseph Armstrong. They tried to obtain laborers at the New Hebrides Islands by legitimate methods but failed, and then they resorted unsuccessfully to the 'missionary trick.'

"After this the party captured the natives by upsetting or destroying their canoes. According to Dr. Murray's account, given on the trial of Armstrong and one of the crew, the captain and crew used to smash the canoes by dropping pig-iron or stones into them, and the passengers in their own boat picked the natives out of the water, sometimes stunning them with clubs or slung-shot if they were troublesome.

"In this way they collected about eighty natives, keeping them in the hold at night, and allowing them to come on deck during the day. One night there was a disturbance in the hold, and the natives tore down the bunks, or sleeping-places, and with the materials thus obtained they attacked the main hatchway.

"An attempt was made to pacify them but it failed, and then the crew began firing down the hatchway. The firing lasted about eight hours, being kept up during the night, one of the men occasionally throwing lights into the hold in order to enable the others to direct their aim. At daylight all appeared to be quiet, and so the hatches were opened and those who were alive were invited to come up. About five came up without help; there were eight or nine seriously wounded, sixteen badly wounded, and about fifty dead. The dead and the sixteen badly wounded were immediately thrown overboard; the ship was out of sight of land at the time, and therefore it was impossible that any of the wounded could have reached the shore.

"The blood was removed from the hold, all traces of the affair were effaced, and when the Carl was overhauled by the Rosario shortly afterwards there was nothing suspicious in her appearance, and she was allowed to proceed on her voyage.

"The captain and one of the crew were condemned to death, but the sentence was afterwards commuted to imprisonment. Murray was allowed to be one of the witnesses for the prosecution, and so escaped punishment. Others of the party on board said Murray was the ringleader in the whole business, and that he sang 'Marching through Georgia' while firing at the poor natives in the hold. They further said that he selected those who were the least wounded when the remainder were thrown overboard, and he used to read prayers to the crew and then give the order to go and smash the canoes of the natives."[4]

"And all this happened in 1871," said Frank, "and was done by Englishmen and under the English flag!"

"Yes," replied the Doctor; "and until the outrages became so notorious that the attention of the civilized world was drawn towards them, many official Englishmen in the British colonies were very lukewarm on the subject, and evidently did not wish to impede the progress of the cotton and sugar industries by interfering with the business of procuring laborers. Let me give an instance of this:

"Captain Palmer, the predecessor of Captain Markham in command of the Rosario, seized the schooner Daphne, of forty-eight tons burden, fitted up exactly like an African slaver, and with one hundred natives on board. They were entirely naked, had not even mats to sleep on, and the hold of the schooner resembled a pigpen more than anything else.

"The Daphne had a license to carry fifty native 'passengers,' but it made no mention of Feejee, where she was seized, and whither she had taken her cargo for sale. The natives were landed at Levuka, Feejee, and placed under the care of the British consul, and the Daphne was sent to Sydney for adjudication. The Chief-justice of New South Wales, Sir Alfred Stephen, decided in the Daphne's favor in the following words, which I will read from Captain Palmer's Book, 'Kidnapping in the South Seas:'

"'.... It will not be enough to show that artifice has been used, or even falsehood told, to induce the natives to enter into the agreements or contracts mentioned, if they really did enter into the contracts.

"'The morality of the proceeding cannot be taken into consideration in determining the question raised here. The captor will have substantially to prove that the natives were going to be passed into a state of real slavery by those who had taken them on board the Daphne, or were to be put into a state really amounting to slavery, and in violation of the agreement and against their will.'

"The Daphne was released, and Captain Palmer was compelled to pay the expenses of the trial, amounting to nearly $900. This money was afterwards refunded to him by Her Majesty's Government, which approved his action in seizing the schooner and placed his name on the list for promotion."

"How do the colonies obtain their laborers at present?" Fred asked.

"They get them from the islands in legitimate ways, as I before told you, and they also import Chinese and Indian coolies. The supply of Polynesian labor is not equal to the demand, and in the last few years, especially in Feejee, there has been a large importation of coolies from India. We will learn something about them when we visit the Feejee Islands."

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