of government, with the transactions of this day, we cannot but congratulate
the people on the introduction of the present penal code,
and acknowledge that it is one of the greatest temporal blessings
they have derived from the introduction of Christianity. At the same
time it is just to observe, that had a similar depredation been committed
under those circumstances, there is every reason to believe from
former experience, that the real offender would have been detected,
and the property restored.
On the Sd April the young king landed at Otaheite from Eimeo,
where he was received with the most enthusiastic shouts of his subjects,
who were assembled in great numbers on the beach to welcome
his arrival. The following day he paid a visit to the ship, attended by
the queen, a numerous retinue, and Mr. Pritchard, the principal missionary
upon the island. I saluted the king on the occasion with nine
guns, much to the delight of his subjects; and presented him with the
fowling-piece which was sent out by the government for that purpose.
The stock was inlaid with silver, and the case handsomely lined, and
fitted up in a manner w'hich made a deep impression on the minds of
the Otaheitans, who are extremely fond of display, and who expressed
their approbation by repeated exclamations of “ My-tie! mia my-tie
Pretannee!” as each article was exhibited. The king was a well-
behaved boy, of slender make, uniting w'ith the rudiments of an European
education much native shrewdness ; and the chiefs were considerably
interested in him, as they considered his education would
give him advantages over his predecessors; and his succession to the
throne would remove the reins of government from the hands of the
present possessor, whose measures were not always the most disinterested
or beneficial to her country'; and who, in consequence of her
influence with the Boo-ratiras, the most powerful body of men upon the
island, often carried her plans into execution in spite of the wishes of
the chiefs to the contrary. But the object of their hopes unfortunately
died the following year, and the sceptre passed to the hands of Aimatta,
his sister, of whom the missionaries speak well.
Before W 'e sat down to dinner, I was amused at .Jim, the interpreter,
bringing me the queen dowager’s compliments, and “ she would
be much obliged by a little rum,” to qualify a repast she had been making
on raw fish, by w'ay, I suppose, of provoking an appetite for dinner,
We had missed her majesty a few minutes before from the cabin, and on April,
looking over the stern of the ship, saw her seated in a native boat finishing
her crude repast.
A few days previous to this visit Lieutenant Belcher was despatched
in the barge to Mirapaye, in the district of Papara, to bring round a
quantity of beef which had been prepared there for the ship’s use by
Mr. Henry, the son of one of the early missionaries. In this district
there is a lake and a morai, of which it will be proper to give a short
notice, as the former is considered curious, and foreigners are often led,
by the exaggerated account of the natives, to visit the place, which really
does not repay the trouble it involves. To convey some idea of the difficulty
of reaching this lake. Lieutenant Belcher and Mr. Collie, w'ho accompanied
him, crossed a stream which ran through the valley leading
to it twenty-nine times in their ascent, sometimes at a depth considerably
above their knees; and after it was passed it was necessary to climb
the mountain upon hands and knees, and to maintain their position
by grasping the shrubs in their way, which indeed were, for the most
part, weak and treacherous, consisting principally of the m u s a s a p ie n tu
m , sp o iu lia s d u lc is , and some ferns.
“ In this manner,” says Mr. Collie, “ tracing a zigzag and irregular
course, and after losing our way once or twice, w'e reached the highest
part of the acclivity; and then descending a short distance, the puny lake
burst upon our disappointed view.” Its dimensions were estimated at
three quarters of a mile in circumference ; and it was stated by the
natives to be fourteen fathoms deep. The water of the lake was
muddy, and appeared to receive its supplies from several small streams
from the mountains, and the condensation of the vapour around, which
fell in a succession of drops, and, bounding off the projecting parts of the
cliff, formed here and there thin and airy cascades. Though there is a
constant accession of water, there has not yet been found any outlet to
the lake ; and what renders it still more curious is, that w hen heavy rains
descend, the water, instead of rising and overflow'ing its margin, is carried
off'by some subterraneous channel. The natives say, when these rains
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