THE WHALERS AND THE MISSIONARIES.
The South Sea whalers are the ships the natives are the most anxious to
see on their coasts; and it is the crews of those vessels who have, in a
manner, civilised these hardy islanders. Captain Gardiner, of the
Marianne (the vessel now in the harbour), is the oldest person in that
trade; and he informed me, that not longer than twenty years back
scarcely any vessel would dare to touch at New Zealand; and when, from
particular circumstances, they were obliged so to do, they kept their
boarding-nettings up, and kept a strict guard night and day: their fears
arose from a want of knowledge of the disposition of the people. The
vessels frequenting the island use no precautions now: hundreds of
natives are permitted to crowd on board each ship; and no accident has
ever occurred from this mode of treatment. But when a ship of war arrives
here for the first time, the precautions taken are, to arm the row-guard
with cutlasses and pistols, and to harass the crew with constant
watching, while the only enemy that exists is in their own imaginations.
To the courage and enterprise of the commanders of whalers all credit is
due for working the rapid change in these once bloody-minded savages, and
forming safe and commodious harbours for their vessels to refit in: this
have they done in a part of the world lately looked upon with horror.
What credit soever the missionaries may take to themselves, or try to
make their supporters in England believe, every man who has visited this
place, and will speak his mind freely and disinterestedly, must
acknowledge _they_ have had no share in bringing about this change of
character; but, on the contrary, they have done all that in them lay to
injure the reputation of the whaler in the estimation of the natives.
Hitherto they have not succeeded: their want of hospitality and kindness
to their own countrymen raises a strong dislike to them in the minds of
these unsophisticated people. According to their simple notions of right
and wrong, they think the want of hospitality an unpardonable offence,
and that the counsel or advice of a man who shuts his door against his
neighbour is not worthy of being attended to.
I will give the reader one more anecdote of these men, who are sent out
to set an example of the beauty of the Christian faith to the
unenlightened heathens. A few weeks since, the festival of Christmas took
place; and Englishmen, in whatever part of the world they chance to be,
make a point of assembling together on that day, our recollections then
being associated with "home" and our families, uniting to spend that day
in mutual congratulations and wishes for happiness. For some time
previous to its arrival, the captains of the two whalers and myself had
been deliberating where we should spend this social day; and it was
finally settled that we should cross the bay to Te Puna, a beautiful and
romantic spot, the residence of an intelligent chief, called Warri Pork,
and an Englishman, named Hanson. Near this was a church missionary
establishment; and at this Englishman's house we determined we would
spend the day. The captains of the two whalers then in the harbour
joined our party; and as everyone contributed his share towards our
picnic feast, the joint stock made altogether a respectable appearance.
We proceeded to Te Puna in two whaleboats: it was a most delightful trip,
the scenery being strikingly beautiful. The village of Ranghe Hue,
belonging to Warri Pork, is situated on the summit of an immense and
abrupt hill: the huts belonging to the savages appeared, in many places,
as though they were overhanging the sea, the height being crowned with a
mighty pah. At the bottom of this hill, and in a beautiful valley, the
cottages of the missionaries are situated, complete pictures of English
comfort, content, and prosperity; they are close to a bright sandy beach:
a beautiful green slope lies in their rear, and a clear and never-failing
stream of water runs by the side of their enclosures. As the boats
approached this lovely spot, I was in an ecstasy of delight: such a happy
mixture of savage and civilised life I had never seen before; and when I
observed the white smoke curling out of the chimneys of my countrymen, I
anticipated the joyful surprise, the hearty welcome, the smiling faces,
and old Christmas compliments that were going to take place, and the
great pleasure it would give our secluded countrymen to meet us, in these
distant regions, at this happy season, and talk of our relatives and
friends in England.
My romantic notions were soon crushed; our landing gave no pleasure to
these secluded Englishmen: they gave us no welcome; but, as our boats
approached the shore, they walked away to their own dwellings, closed
their gates and doors after them, and gazed at us through their windows;
and during three days that we passed in a hut quite near them, they
never exchanged one word with any of the party. Thus foiled in our hopes
of spending a social day with our compatriots, after our dinner was over
we sent materials for making a bowl of punch up the hill to the chiefs,
and spent the remainder of the day surrounded by generous savages, who
were delighted with our company, and who did everything in their power to
make us comfortable. In the course of the afternoon two of the mission
came up to preach; but the savages were so angry with them for not
showing more kindness to their own countrymen, that none would listen to
them.
I have visited many of the Roman Catholic missionary establishments;
their priests adopt quite a different line of conduct: they are cheerful
and kind to the savage pagan, and polite and attentive to their European
brethren; they have gained the esteem of those they have been sent to
convert; they have introduced their own language amongst them, which
enables them to have intercourse with strangers; and, however we may
differ in some tenets of religious belief, we must acknowledge the
success of their mission. They have brought nearly the whole of the
Indian population in South America into the bosom of their church; and
their converts form the greater part of the people. Notwithstanding the
numerous church and sectarian missionaries sent from England, I never met
with one Indian converted by them. I have attended mass in an Indian
village; a native priest performed the ceremony, and the whole
congregation (except myself) were of his cast and complexion: and, it is
worthy of remark, that in Peru, and some of the most populous provinces,
a pagan is scarcely to be found.