Propaganda in France to Tahiti. The Jesuits, always wary and cautious,
deemed it necessary, before they landed upon the island in a body, to
send one of their number in advance, in order to ascertain "how the
land lay," and what their prospects of success were; and accordingly,
in 1836, the _Irish Jesuit, Murphy_, proceeded alone disguised as a
carpenter, and landed safely at a place called Papeete. The unsuspecting
inhabitants received the scoundrel among them just as Americans receive
Jesuits in this country; and while he was acting the traitor, and
clandestinely writing to Jesuits, they shared with him the hospitality
of their tables--precisely as Americans have done, for the last fifty
years, to other Murphies, in this country.
During this whole time that Murphy was on the island, working as
a carpenter, he had secret interviews with the American consul,
Moerenhout, until he succeeded in bringing into the island his brother
missionaries. They could not, however, remain on the island without
permission from the queen, and the payment of a certain sum of money.
The queen refused them permission to remain, under any circumstances,
fearing, as she well might, that some treason was contemplated against
her government. The Jesuits called a meeting, and, under the patronage
of the American consul, they urged their demand to remain, comparing
themselves to St. Peter, and the Protestants to St. Simon, the magician.
I use the language of the Quarterly.
I must here observe, in justice to our government, that the conduct of
Moerenhout, United States' consul at Tahiti, was promptly disavowed,
and he was immediately removed from office. But, notwithstanding the
improper interference of the American consul, they were ordered to leave
the island. It is due to the Protestant missionaries to state, that they
took no part whatever in the expulsion of these Jesuits; nor could
they, in justice to themselves or to the cause of morality, interfere
in preventing it. A French writer, speaking of the occupation of Tahiti,
says: "The Catholic priests, instead of going to civilize barbarous
nations and checking debauchery, seem, on the contrary, only desirous
of becoming rivals to the Protestant ministers, and decoying away their
proselytes." As soon as the expelled Jesuits arrived in France, one
of them proceeded to Rome, to consult with his holiness the Pope; the
result of which was, an immediate order to a French captain, named
Dupetit Thouars, who was then stationed at Valparaiso, to proceed to
Tahiti, and demand reparation for a supposed indignity to France.
Here we see the influence of the Pope, and an evidence of Jesuit
intrigue. In what consisted the alleged indignity to France? Had not
the queen of Tahiti the right to receive or refuse those Jesuit
missionaries, if she had evidence that they were spies among her
people? If it appeared clear to her that the object of those reverend
intriguers' visit was only to overthrow her government, and to decoy
away from the path of virtue and religion both herself and her subjects,
what right had Louis Phillippe or the French government to look upon
this as an indignity to the French nation? The fact is, if the whole
truth were known, Louis Phillippe knew but little of this affair, and
his minister for foreign affairs, or some other member of his cabinet,
was either imposed upon or bribed by Jesuits.
A statement of the difficulties, into which the hitherto peaceful island
of Tahiti has been thrown by Jesuits, could not fail to be interesting
to my readers; but, as the whole affair is to be found in the Foreign
Quarterly, I refer the public to that work. I cannot, however, dismiss
the subject, without asking the reader's particular attention to the
_Irish Jesuit, Murphy_, who figures so conspicuously in the transaction.
A brief view of the conduct of this reverend spy cannot fail to have a
good effect, and must tend greatly to remove that delusion under which
the Protestants of the United States have so long labored.
I have been recently conversing with a very intelligent member of the
Massachusetts legislature, on the subject of Jesuitical intrigue. I
stated to him that it was a common practice among them, ever since the
formation of that society, to keep spies in all Protestant countries,
under various disguises and in different occupations. But though I had
given him such proofs as could scarcely fail to satisfy any man, yet he
replied, as American Protestants generally do, on all such occasions,
"_Those times are gone by. The Romish church is not at all now, what
it was in the days you speak of_." But, when the fact was made plain to
him--when he learned from authority, admitting of no doubt, that only a
few weeks ago, a Jesuit, and _an Irishman_ too, crept into Tahiti in the
disguise of a carpenter, and continued to work there, in that character,
until he laid a proper foundation for the overthrow of the Protestant
religion on that island, his incredulity seemed to vanish; the cloud,
which so long darkened his vision, evaporated into thin air; and
my impression is, that he no longer thinks our country safe, unless
something is done to exclude forever all Papists, without distinction,
from any participation in the making and administration of our laws.
This Murphy, to whom allusion is made, appeared in great distress when
he arrived among the natives of Tahiti. He seemed entirely indifferent
upon the subject of religion; all he wanted, apparently, was employment.
This was procured for him among the simple natives by the American
consul, both of whom soon united themselves together, according to some
previous arrangement; and, while they were "breaking bread" with the
natives, they were laying plans for their destruction. A blow was aimed
at their national and moral existence, and the death of both has nearly
been the result. Thus we see a harmless and inoffensive people, only
just rescued from a savage state by the laudable efforts of Protestant
missionaries, partly thrown back again into their original condition by
infidel Popish priests, whose "god is their belly," whose religion
is allegiance to their king, the Pope, and whose sports and pastimes
consist in debauching the good and virtuous of every country.
The flourishing condition of Tahiti, before the Jesuits found access
to it, is well known in this country. Peace, plenty, and religion
flourished among its people--all produced by the efforts of our
Protestant missionaries. But what sad changes have Jesuits effected
among them! By their intrigues they have caused a difficulty between
Tahiti and France. The French government fancied itself insulted; false
representations were made by the Jesuits; and, with the aid of
their brethren in France, the government was deceived and the island
blockaded, until reparation was made by the inoffensive queen, Pomare.
I will quote an instance of the conduct of the French--all Roman
Catholics, and under the advice of Jesuits--after they entered Tahiti.
It is taken from the Foreign Quarterly Review of October, and not denied
by the French themselves.
"After persuading four chiefs, who were authorized to act in the
absence of the queen, to affix their names to a document, asking 'French
protection,' a boat was sent by the French captain, Dupetit Thouars, to
a place called Eimeo, with a _peremptory_ order for queen Pomare to sign
it within twenty-four hours.
"It was evening before the boat reached the place whither Pomare had
retired with her family. Her situation was one in which it is the custom
for women to receive the most anxious and respectful attention from all
of the opposite sex, especially if they call themselves gentlemen. She
was every moment expected to give birth to a child; and, according
to custom, had come to lie-in at Eimeo, leaving Paraita, who basely
betrayed his trust, re gent in her absence. On learning the demand made
by Thouars, the queen, surprised and alarmed, sent for Mr. Simpson, the
missionary of the island, and a long and painful consultation ensued.
Armed resistance was obviously impossible. The only alternative was
between dethronement and protection. Pomare at first determined to
choose the former, but her friends pressing round her, represented that
Great Britain, the court of appeal whither all the grievances of
the world are carried for redress, would certainly interfere; that
subjection would be but temporary, and that she would ultimately
triumph. Stretched on her couch, in the first pangs of labor, the
unfortunate queen withstood all supplications until near morning. Mr.
Simpson observes, that this was indeed 'a night of tears.' Many hours
were passed in silence, interrupted only by the sobs of the suffering
Pomare.
"Let us leave her for a while, and turn to consider in what manner the
French buccaneer and his crew passed the same night. We refer to no
inimical statement. Our authority is a letter which went the round of
all the Paris papers, written by an officer on board the Reine Blanche,
who did not seem to perceive any thing at all immoral in what
he related. His intention was merely to excite the envy of his
fellow-countrymen by detailing the delights that, were to be found
in the new Cythera of Bougainville. We dare not follow him into his
details. It will be enough to state that more than a hundred women were
enticed on board the ship, and there compelled to remain all night,
under pretence that it would be dangerous to row them back in the dark,
Some were taken to the officers' cabin, others were sent to the youthful
midshipmen, the rest to the crew. When this account made its appearance,
the government, alarmed at the effect it might produce, published an
official declaration in the 'Moniteur,' (30 Mars,) addressed to 'French
mothers,' denying the truth of the statement. But M. Guizot, or whoever
directed this disavowal, merely argued from the silence of his own
despatches--if they were silent--and not long before, in the voyage of
Dumont d'Urville, published by royal 'ordon-nance,' a description of
conduct, still more atrocious, had been given to the world.
"Towards morning, the sufferings of Pomare increasing, her resolution
began to fail her, and at length she signed the fatal document. Then
bursting into a flood of tears, she took her eldest son, aged six years,
in her arms, and exclaimed, 'My child, my child, I have signed away your
birthright!' In another hour, with almost indescribable pangs, she was
delivered of her fourth child. Meanwhile the boat which carried the news
of her yielding, sped for the port of Papeete. The sea was rough, and
the wind threatened every moment to shift. The white sail was beheld
afar off by the look-out on the mast of the Reine Blanche, and it was
thought impossible she could reach by the appointed time. Thouars,
however, troubled himself but little about all these things. He was
fixed in his resolve, that if the answer did not arrive before twelve he
would bombard Papeete. The guns were loaded, gun-boats stationed along
the shore; and whilst the frightened inhabitants crowded down to the
beach, beseeching, with uplifted hands, that their dwellings might
be spared, the ruthless pirate, bearing the commission of the king of
France, was giving his orders, and burning to emulate the exploits of
Stopford and Napier at St. Jean d'Acre, by destroying a few white-washed
cottages on the shore of a little island in the Pacific. Hero! worthy
the grand cross of the legion of honor which was bestowed on him for
this achievement! Worthy the sword raised by farthing subscriptions
among 'haters of the English,' which was presented to him for so
distinguished an exploit! What exultation must have filled his breast as
he beheld the white sail of the boat scud for a moment past the entrance
of the port; and what sorrow, when, by a skilful tack, it bore manfully
along the very skirts of the breakers, and rushed through the hissing
and boiling waters into the placid bay of Papeete, exactly one half hour
before mid-day!
"We must pass rapidly over the arrangements which followed. The treaty
of protection professed to secure the external sovereignty to the
French, but to leave the internal to the queen. The former, however,
were empowered 'to take whatever measures they might judge necessary
for the preservation of harmony and peace.' When we learn that the ever
recurring M. Moerenhout was appointed royal commissioner to carry out
this treaty, we at once perceive that Pomare had in reality ceased to
reign. How this base person employed his power may be discovered from
the fact, that it became his constant habit, when he desired to obtain
the signature of the queen to any distasteful document, to vituperate
her in the lowest language, and shake his fist in her face.
"It has been asserted, in this country and elsewhere, that the passive
resistance of the queen and people to the proper establishment of the
protectorate, did not begin until the arrival of Mr. Pritchard on the
25th of February, 1843. The object of this has been to attribute all the
subsequent difficulties experienced by the French to him. But the fact
is well known, that before he made his appearance the queen had written
to the principal European powers, stating that she had been compelled
against her will to accept the protectorate of France. On the 9th of
February also, a great public meeting, presided at by the queen, was
held, in which speeches of the most violent description were made.
It was resolved, however, that by no overt act the French should
be furnished with an excuse for further arbitrary proceedings. The
determination come to, was to write for the opinion of Great Britain.
The morning after this meeting Moerenhout went to the queen and acted in
a manner so gross and insulting, that she determined to complain to Sir
Thomas Thompson, of the Talbot frigate, who promised her protection.
All this happened, as we have seen, before the arrival of Mr. Pritchard,
who, in truth, instead of proving a firebrand, introduced moderation
and caution into the councils of Pomare. Sir Toup Nicolas, it is true,
commanding the Tiudictive, which brought our consul to Tahiti, did go
so far, despising some of the forms which were perhaps necessary, as
threaten that unless the French ceased to molest British subjects, he
would use force to compel them. He is said even to have cleared for
action. When we consider what was daily passing under his eyes, there
was some excuse for this gallant captain's warmth. Setting aside the
insults offered to our own countrymen, he was the spectator of constant
tyrannical conduct towards the queen. Messrs. Reine and Vrignaud, under
whose name all this was done, were but instruments in the hands of the
sagacious Moerenhout. The following letter of queen Pomare, hitherto,
we believe, unpublished, will throw some light on his conduct. It is
addressed to Toup Nicolas, who took measures to fulfil the wishes it
contains.
Pagfae, March 5, 1844.
'O Commodore, 'I make known unto you that I have oftentimes been
troubled by the French consul, and on account of his threatening
language I have left my house. His angry words to me have been very
strong. I have hitherto only verbally told you of his ill-actions
towards me; but now I clearly make these known to you, O Commodore, that
the French consul may not trouble me again. I look to you to protect me
now at the present time, and you will seek the way how to do it.
'This is my wish, that if M. Moerenhout, and all other foreigners, want
to come to me, they must first make known to me their desire, that they
may be informed whether it is, or is not, agreeable to me to see them.
'Health and peace to you,
'O servant of the Queen of Britain, (Signed)
'Pomare,
'Queen of Tahiti, Mourea, &c. &c.'
"During the time that elapsed between the establishment of the
protectorate and the third visit of Dupetit Thouars to Tahiti, the only
overt act which the French could complain of was the hoisting of a fancy
flag by the queen over her house. Whatever difficulties existed at the
outset, had been in reality overcome in spite of the 'intriguing Mr.
Pritchard.' Even M. Guizot has declared in his place in the chamber
of deputies: 'There existed on the admiral's arrival none of those
difficulties which are not to be surmounted by good conduct, by
prudence, by perseverance, by time, or which require the immediate
application of force.' Nevertheless, on the first of November, 1843,
our buccaneering admiral entered the harbor of Papeete, and wrote
immediately to inform the queen that unless she pulled down the flag she
had hoisted, he would do so for her, and at the same time depose her.
In spite of his threats, however, she refused compliance; and Lieutenant
D'Aubigny landed at the head of five hundred men, to occupy the island.
The speech in which this person inaugurated French dominion in Tahiti
was one of the richest specimens of bombast and braggadocia ever
uttered.
"Much merriment might be excited by its repetition, but it has already
caused the sides of Europe to ache, more than once. Suffice it to
say, that the deposed queen fled on board the British ship of war, the
Dublin, commanded by Capt. Tucker, and Papeete was, for many days, like
a town taken by storm. Drunkenness, debauchery, rioting, filled its
streets, and every means were taken to undo what the missionaries had,
by half a century's labor, accomplished."
The above is another melancholy evidence of the spirit of Popery; and if
any thing can open the eyes of our people to a sense of danger from it,
this evidence cannot fail to do so. I lay it down as a truth--though I
may be censured for the boldness of such an assertion--that there is not
a man of common sense, or ordinary penetration, who does not see, at
a glance, that our danger as a nation, and our morals as a people, are
eminently perilled by the continuance of Popery amongst us. There are
certain truths which need not be proved; they prove themselves. Like
the sun, which is seen by its own light, they carry with them their own
evidence; and, among those self-evident truths, I see none more clear
or more lucid, than that Popery, which has taken root in this country,
will--if not torn up and totally uprooted before long--dash to pieces
the whole frame of our republic. Sympathizers, Puseyites, and all other
such bastard Protestants, may think differently. Be it so. Valueless as
my opinion may be, let it be herein recorded, that I entirely disagree
with them.
It seems that another speck of Popery is just making its appearance
on the north-west horizon of our national firmament. It appears, by
accounts very recently received from Oregon, that the _Propaganda_
in Rome has sent out a company of Jesuits and nuns to that territory.
Popish priests and Jesuits seldom travel without being accompanied by
nuns: they add greatly to their comforts while on their pilgrimage for
the advancement of morality and chastity. Hitherto the occupants of
Oregon have advanced quietly. They have adopted a temporary form of
government, established courts of law, and such municipal regulations
as they deemed best calculated to forward their common interest. But the
modern serpent, Jesuitism, has already entered their garden: the tree of
Popery has been planted: it is now in blossom, and will soon be seen
in full bearing. It is truly a melancholy reflection to think that this
pest; Popery, should find access to all places and to all people. One
year will not pass over us, before the aspect of things in Oregon will
be entirely changed. These Jesuits who arrived there haye been preceded
by some Popish spy--some reverend Irish Murphy, in the capacity of
carpenter, or perhaps horse-jockey, has gone before them, and has
been laying plans for their reception. I venture to say, it will be
discovered, at no distant day, that all the good which our Protestant
missionaries have done there will soon be undone by Popish agents. They
will commence, as they have done in Tahiti, by causing some panic among
the resident settlers. They will find in Oregon, as well as in our
United States, some functionary who may want their aid; and he, like
many of the unprincipled functionaries among ourselves, will give them
his patronage in exchange.
Liberty has, in reality, but few votaries among officeholders, in
comparison with Popery; and this is one of the chief causes of the great
advances which the latter is making, and has been making, especially for
the last six or eight years. Look around you, fellow-citizens, and you
will scarcely find an individual in office, from the President to the
lowest office-holder, possessed of sufficient moral courage to raise his
voice against Popery. But justice to Americans requires me to say, that
in this the great mass of the people are without blame--for I cannot
call certain leading, unprincipled politicians, the people. The first
steps which foreign priests and Jesuits have taken, in disturbing the
harmony of our republican system of government, might have been easily
checked; but those who have represented the people, and who held offices
of honor and emolument, were not, and will not be, disturbed by
a moment's reflection on a proper sense of their duty. The whole
responsibility of the gross outrages offered to our Protestant country,
by _Popish priests_ and Papal allies, rests upon our representatives in
Congress. They could, if they would, have long since checked Popery; and
it is now high time that the people should take this matter into their
own hands, and so alter the constitutions of their respective states,
as to exclude Papists from any positive or negative participation in the
creation or execution of their laws.
Jesuits calculate with great accuracy upon the selfishness of man:
they know that, generally speaking, it is paramount to all other
considerations. Artful, intriguing, avaricious, and more licentious
themselves than any other body of men in the world, they soon discover
all that is vulnerable in the American character, and take advantage of
it. They discover that popular applause is greatly coveted by Americans;
and this is the reason why we see established among us so many _repeal
associations_. The writer understands that several of those associations
are now formed in Oregon; and it was at their request that the Pope had
sent out Jesuits and nuns amongst them. Repeal is looked upon as the
great lever by which the whole political world can be turned upside
down. Its members meet in large numbers, in order to show the gullible
Americans the consequent extent of their power, and the great advantage
which some office-hunter may gain by bringing them over to his views. The
bait has taken well hitherto; but as we have--solemnly attested by
the sign manual of the Pope himself--seen his object in causing to be
established repeal societies, the American, who continues hereafter to
encourage them, deserves the execration of every lover of freedom. The
Pope tells Americans, through his agent, O'Connell, what the design and
objects of all the movements of Papists in the United States are; and
I trust, when Americans see them in their true colors, they will sink
deeply into their hearts.