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 TAHITI: 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A REVIEW OF THE ORIGIN, CHARACTER, AND PROGRESS 
 OF FRENCH ROMAN CATHOLIC EFFORTS 
 
 FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF 
 
 ENGLISH PROTESTANT MISSIONS 
 
 SOUTH SEAS. 
 
 L, k/\jr7\ 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF 
 
 MARK WILKS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN SNOW, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1844. 
 Price One Shilling and Sixpence.
 
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 The French publication, consisting of Observations and Notes on the affairs of \ 
 \ Tahiti, contains various documents translated from the EneUsh. In their re- 
 
 \ transl ation, it is believed, there will not be found the slightest alteration of the \ 
 
 "■ sense.T Several articles, known in England, have been omittecJS The whole has : 
 been re-airanged ; and the author has made several additions. 
 
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 TAHITI. 
 
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 Events have occurred among the far distant islands of the Pacific of 
 immense importance to the interests of the Protestant rehgion, and the 
 peace of the world. The acts that have changed the moral hearing, 
 and have affected the political relations of two great European nations, 
 were of easy execution, or they would not have been attemjited ; but it 
 will be difficult for those by whom they have been accomplished to 
 support the heavy responsibility from which they will, one day or other, 
 endeavour in vain to escape. The results must be disastrous. The laws 
 of justice and religion cannot be violated; the dearest, the most sacred, 
 rights and feelings of a defenceless people cannot be outraged with 
 impunity. 
 
 Words are but a feeble response to the roar of cannon ; but the re- 
 monstrances, and protestations, which fall harmless on the path of the 
 criminal though successful oppressor, will become historic facts ; they 
 will remain to fix the character of the events, and to prove that the op- 
 pressions of which the people of Tahiti, and the friends of Protestant 
 missions, so justly complain, were inspired by the en\*ious, intolerant, 
 persecuting spirit of the Romish Church ; and were sanctioned by 
 the government of France, for the promotion of a policy as futile as 
 iniquitous. 
 
 Origin and Objects of the Romish Mission to Tahiti. 
 
 The revival and extension of Roman Catholic Missions may date 
 from the French establishment of the (Euvre de la propayation de la Foi; 
 a Society formed at Lyons in 1823, in the first instance to assist, by 
 prayers and contributions exclusively the missionaries of the old, if 
 not venerable Society of Foreign Missions ; but afterwards re-organised, 
 associated with Paris, and made to embrace all other Catholic missions in 
 the old and new worlds. Among the objects that attracted, at an early 
 period of its existence, the CEuvre de la Foi, were the regions of North 
 and South America, and the islands of Oceania, or the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 In 1827, two Romish missionaries appeared at Honolulu, one of the 
 
 B
 
 ^--'^ ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 Sandwich Islands. They never obtained the consent of the king or the 
 chiefs to their residing in the country. Seven times the king in vain 
 ordered the foreigners to quit his dominions ; he once more repeated his 
 order, and gave them three months to make their preparations for 
 departure. Other eight months expired, and they still refused 
 to obey his injunctions : — the king then resolved to be obeyed. On the 
 24th of December, 1831, he had them conducted on board a vessel 
 belonging to the government, and conveyed to their brethren in the 
 diocese of California. No interference, on the part of the French 
 or English governments, was exerted ; nor chd the Romish priests 
 re-appear in those islands till six years later, when a special summons 
 from the Pope directed them to re-attempt the permanent establishment 
 of their mission, by efforts, of which notice will be taken hereafter. 
 
 In the mean time, another Catholic institution had risen to impor- 
 tance in France ; and the Pope, and the congregation of the Propaganda 
 at Rome, found in it as devoted an instrument for the supply of men, 
 as they had found in the (Euvre de la Foi a successful agency for the 
 supply of money ; while, therefore, indulgences and pri\aleges were 
 liberally accorded to the aves and sous of the latter, decrees, pre- 
 scriptions, titles, dioceses, stimulated the ambition, and the energy, of 
 ^ the former. 
 
 The Society of Picpus, so called from the name of the street 
 
 in Paris, in which the institution is situated, was founded by the 
 
 Abbe Coudrin, soon after the restoration of the Bourbons, in 1814. 
 
 In fact, the zealous priest was fully entitled to place over the portal of 
 
 his college at Picpus the inscription with which his fortunate sovereign 
 
 --^ had addrned his palace of the Tuilleries, — " Next to Providence, I owe 
 
 y " it to the regent of England." — The object of the Society is "to 
 
 " promote the re\'ival of the Roman Catholic religion in France, and to 
 
 " propagate it by missions among unbelievers, or pagans." It received 
 
 papal sanction, by a bull of his holiness, in November, 1817. The 
 
 establishment is placed imder "the special protection of the Holy 
 
 " Hearts of Jesus and Mary ;" and its missionary priests and agents 
 
 are maintained by the now vast association, i' (Euvre de la Foi, fBTsaed 
 
 for the support of Romish missions in all parts of the w6rld.* yln 
 
 1833, the Congregation of the Propaganda, by a decree 0R^thg^8th 
 
 of May, which was confirmed by the sovereign pontiff, confided to the 
 
 Society of Picpus the conversion of all the islands of the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Two apostolical prefectures were estabhshed, and their limits were 
 
 immediately traced ; the authority of the prefects being subordinate to 
 
 * An account of this association, and of French Catholic missions, appeared in the 
 Evayigelical Magazine for April, 1843. The annual receipts of the (Euvre de la Foi, 
 which, in 1839, amounted to .£93,500, had risen, in 1843, to the sum of £'166,500. 
 Of this sum more than £"'20,000 were appropriated to the missions in Oceania.
 
 ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 that of an apostolical -vnicar. M. E. Rouchouse was made bishop of 
 Nilolopis, in partibus, and apostolical vicar of Eastern Oceania. M. C. 
 Liausu was appointed as his prefect ; two priests, Messrs. Caret and 
 Laval, and a catechist, Columban, or INIurphy, were placed under his 
 direction. 
 
 In May, 1834, the Roman CathoHc missionaries, who had sailed 
 from Bordeaux, arrived at Valparaiso, and the correspondence of this 
 hierarchy, from the moment of its institution, demonstrates that war, 
 at any price, and by every meanS, was resolved upon by the emissaries 
 of the Propaganda against the Protestant missions existing and 
 extending in the Pacific. They began by attributing to the English y 
 nation, and its government, political ends and commercial interests, as 
 the real motives and results of evangelical missions, and by representing 
 the inhabitants of the christianized islands as deeply injured, and most 
 cruelly oppressed. This plan was adopted on purpose to prepare the 
 way for, and then to justify, attempts at political and mercantile 
 rivalry and domination, without wliich their proselyting efforts were 
 not likely to be supported by the power of France, or to succeed 
 to any extent abroad. 
 
 From Valparaiso they wrote to their superiors, and in their Mis- 
 sionary Journal (Annales de la Fropagation de la Foi), — "The 
 " bibhcal missionaries, sent by English societies, appear to have 
 "undertaken, of late (that is only since 1795), to invade all the 
 " islands of the Pacific ocean. They think, no doubt, that they shall 
 " easily establish their domination over people but recently discovered, 
 " docile, and to whom the gospel has not yet been announced. 
 *' The English government favours them for ends purely political ; -*r 
 " already they have presses, have raised manufactories, and of course 
 *' exercise great influence." — " Some persons endeavour to dissuade us 
 *' from our purpose, by telling us that the Protestants are eveiywhere, 
 " and that the natives will kill us. We only see in this the rage of the 
 " demon, who feels that we are approaching, and would prevent us from 
 " entering the comitries where he is master." 
 
 It is highly probable that the waiters fabricated themselves these 
 strong dissuasives ; for, in point of fact, no missionaries had been 
 killed in the islands for many long years ; nor, indeed, had they been 
 killed, could they very well be everywhere. If it was meant, by this 
 representation, that the Protestants would everywhere induce the 
 natives to kill the priests, the calumny is atrocious. At all events, 
 according to them, the English Protestants were everywhere, and the 
 de\il was everywhere the master ; the Protestant people were then 
 eveiywhere the slaves of the devil, and, of course, capable of any 
 crimes. The English government, too, thovigh it has indeed quietly 
 allowed French ships of war to carry priests to the Gamblers and the 
 Marquesas, and to seize those groups ; though it has even allowed 
 
 B 2 
 
 -V
 
 "^ ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 French ships of war to protect not only Romish priests, but the Pro- 
 testant queen and people at Tahiti ; still the English government is 
 guilty, according to the Society of Picpus, of making "the people 
 " everywhere the slaves of the devil for purely political purposes." 
 
 The object of the priests, as avowed in similar communications, too 
 numerous to be quoted, was then clear ; it was to overcome the Pro- 
 testant demon, and to overthrow English political influence ; the one 
 was inseparable from and essential to the other. 
 
 Nor were these views merely those of priestly and Jesuitical 
 fanatics, who zealously propagated them in Oceania and France ; they 
 were in perfect accordance with the sentiments expressed generally and 
 strongly by French writers, travellers, naval officers, in official publica- 
 tions, and even in the journals said to be most accredited by the court 
 and government of France. 
 
 Before proceeding to follow the movements of the Romish priests in 
 the Pacific, it may be useful to look over a very few of these publica- 
 tions, not one of them in opposition to the government. 
 J^ The Journal des Debats, considered to be the organ of the French 
 ministry, and certainly a favourite journal with many persons in 
 England, is as loud in its calumnies of Protestant missions, and of 
 English philanthropy, as the emissaries of Picpus themselves. 
 
 This respectable journal (for by this distinguishing title it is known 
 in England) informs the French public, " that religion itself has been 
 " hitherto only a cruel present to the Tahitians, since it has disturbed 
 " the security of conscience with which they gave themselves to their 
 
 r'j " dissolute passions, without offering them the power to resist them; — 
 I " that the chiefs and the queen appear not to know even the name of 
 " Jesus Christ, and only speak of God as the Jehovah, the God of 
 I " thunder and vengeance ; — that the English missionaries brought the 
 " natives religious wars, which during many years have desolated their 
 . i " countries ; — and that, moreover, this state of things is unhappily not 
 / \ " confined to Tahiti, but is common to all the groups of the South 
 "Sea!" These lines, and others equally respectable, served as the 
 introduction to a letter written to the Debats by its own correspondent, 
 an agent of the government, in Avhich it is said, " The people of Tahiti 
 " detest the Englisli missionaries, and the day on which queen Pomare 
 " shall withdraw her support their power will be annihilated ; and that 
 " day has probably arrived, for French influence will very soon make 
 "itself felt in the political conduct of her Tahitian majesty." 
 
 To sustain accusations and statements so inconceivable, the Journal 
 f/es Debuts, with a measure of ignorance and impudence equally 
 inconceivable, refers its readers to the work of M. Rienzi, as to the 
 liest authority on the subject ; when this same M. Rienzi, without any 
 ^C other witness, disproves comj>letely all tliat the journal itself asserts. 
 So well indeed was Pomare, king of Tahiti, acquainted with the name
 
 ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 5 
 
 of Jesus Christ many years ago, that from his letters to Mr. Nott, 
 M. Rieiizi selects such passages as the foUowiug : — " May Jehovah 
 " grant me his good spirit to sanctify my heart, that I may love that 
 " which is good ; and may he enable me to abandon my bad habits, 
 " and become a man of his people, that I may be saved by Jesus Christ, 
 " our only Saviour." In another letter, wiitten when he was very ill, he 
 says : — " My affliction is great ; but if I can obtain the favour of God 
 "before I die, I shall esteem myself happy.- "^lay my sins be par- 
 "doned, and my soul saved by Jesus Christ T'* I 
 
 The design hi propagating falsehoods, as\§tijpid as they are odious 
 of which we here give only a sample, was to furnish a pretext for the 
 accomphshment of a project long meditated, and now in full execution, 
 for the destruction of Protestantism and English connexion in all the 
 islands of the Pacific. ! \ 
 
 The following passages, | extracted from the same journal, 'though 
 not on the subject of Taluti, might have been written by M. Caret 
 himself, or any of the \acars apostolic of Oceania. 
 
 Speaking, not long since, of Spain, it said : — " England, — heretical 
 " England, — aristocratical England,— England the tyrant of Ireland, 
 " that carefully maintains civil and political inequality in that country, 
 " and fattens the Protestant clergy on the blood of Irish Catholics ! — 
 " England, knowing perfectly well that an abyss more profoimd than 
 " the ocean separates her from Catholic Spain, takes the greatest pains 
 "to keep that country in a consuming fever, to confound its ideas, 
 " to stir up the revolutionary mire, that it may more safely fish up 
 " from the. troubled water a treaty of commerce, that last end of all 
 " its polichr.-p) 
 
 * It is curious that M. Moerenhout, the founder of the French Catholic mission, 
 and of the French Protectorate at Tahiti, should undertake the justification of the 
 English Protestant Missionaries from the calumnies of the Journal des Debafs- 
 With the design of exposing queen Pomare to ridicule, he published one of her 
 letters written to him. " This letter," says he, " will show the apostolical style and 
 " formulary that all have adopted, and from which they never vary. It commences 
 " with these words, ' Peace to you, M. Moerenhout, from God, through our Lord 
 " Jesus Christ.' She finishes by saying, ' Peace to you from Jesus, Mesi.-^ 
 
 " PoMARE.' " 
 
 f The same systematic misrepresentation and abuse have long been employed in 
 regard to all the religious and philanthropic efforts of Englishmen for the happiness 
 of their fellow-creatures. 
 
 The Globe, another journal said to be devoted to the court, and quoted with great 
 deference in England, especially as it is presumed to receive the inspirations and 
 support the measures of the Minister for Foreign affairs, — the Globe, speaking 
 of slave trade and slavery, says, " It would be carrying illusion to stupidity 
 " not to see very clearly that England, in clamouring for the abolition of the slave 
 " trade and slavery, is not influenced by any sentiment of morality or philanthropy. 
 " It is not the liberty of the blacks that England desires, for when she seizes them 
 " in slave ships, she keeps them to make soldiers of them. What England wants
 
 .^^''^ ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 Two officers of the French navy, Messrs, Vincenclon-Dumoulin, and 
 Desgraz, in their General Considerations on the Colonization of 
 Oceania hy France, founded on Documents collected on the Spot, 
 say : " It is impossible for a traveller who may visit the islands of the 
 " Pacific, not to endeavour to speculate on the destiny of the happy 
 " groups scattered over its bosom. The first thing which aifects him 
 " is the sight of men, consecrated to a religious work, meddling with 
 " the temporal affairs of these free people, wdiom they have brought 
 ^^' under their domination, under pretence of directing their consciences. 
 ^\^ " One spot, a spot unobserved on the vast surface of the globe, the 
 j ^-"^ little group of the Gamblers, knows and venerates the French 
 ^ " name, and presents a spectacle of every virtue.J Scarcely has the 
 " traveller left this group, than he meets w^th t1^ islands of Tahiti, 
 " Samoa, Tonga, Feejee, in all which England holds domination. It 
 " is true, her missionaries govern for her, but if one of these savage 
 " kings, wdio preserves the pompous but vain title of royalty, were to 
 " attempt to act for himself and reject English counsels, in order to 
 " watch over his own interests, the British flag would at once be 
 " unfurled, and be the signal for absolute rule over the land in which 
 " a similarity of religious belief (?. e. Protestantism) would always 
 " assure it a strong party. Wlien the rapid multiplication of the 
 '' population of all European countries is considered, it is evident that 
 " ere long a European colony will be formed in each of the innumerable 
 " islands of the Pacific, and missionary efforts merit therefore all the 
 " attention of the Government ; for if at present the conquest is a 
 " moral one, achieved by a few men, whose constancy and devotedness 
 " may be admired, it is not less really a conquest, and a conquest that 
 " already monopolizes the little commerce of these poor populations, — 
 " thanks to the grasping and intolerant character of certain JMethodist 
 ^y" ministers. 
 '\ " The Sandwich islands, the most important, belong to the United 
 
 ■ " States rj^ English ministers are already established in almost the 
 
 " whole of Oceania ; on one point alone, and that scarcely visible, 
 " the French language is spoken. Entirely devoted to their ministry, 
 " our priests pursue their religious object. But, on the contrary, a 
 " central authority seems to direct all the dissenting missionaries 
 " (i. e. dissenting from Rome), and imder the mask of religion, it is 
 " easy to see that England pursues a colonizing system that wants only 
 
 " is, to annihilate the produce of the Brazils, of Cuba, of Porto Rico, of the southern 
 " and western states of North America, in order to supply itself the European market. 
 " Again, we say, this is the secret ; and it is to attain this end that she heis managed 
 *' treaties for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade with France, Spain, Portugal, 
 " Russia, the Pope, and with aU the world. From France, England has obtained all she 
 " pleased. Under pretence of fine sentiments, France was to give up her commerce, 
 " her ports, her manufactures, even her honour ; and she has done it."
 
 ^ 
 
 S^3 
 
 ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 " a few links to complete a vast chain encircling the whole globe, 
 " which she has evidently adjudged to herself. On the signal from 
 " the first cannon that shall be fired in Europe, a protecting flag will 
 " be seen to rise on each of these islands now so peaceful. God grant 
 " that the tri-coloured flag of our nation may shew itself with honour ! 
 
 " That banner now waves for the first time over the Marquesan islands, 
 " and seems to announce that France will be no longer a stranger to 
 " the partition of the world among rival powers. Had she been free 
 " to choose, the selection of the IMarquesas, instead of the smiling 
 " Tahiti, would have been far from a happy one ; but as this choice 
 " was not possible, the Marquesas are, and must remain, French 
 " possessions. Doubtless the possession of this archipelago is but 
 " the commencement of a project more vast and more worthy of the ,J>r^ 
 " grandeur of the French name." 
 
 The conduct of the captains of the Femis, the Artemise, and the 
 Reine Blanche, has shown how far England had, under the mask 
 of religion, colonized Tahiti and Eimeo, and the degree of honour 
 with Avhich the tri-coloured flag, without any signal from hostile 
 cannons in Europe, has been hoisted at Tahiti. But why was it not 
 possible at once to choose Tahiti instead of the Marquesas ? Because 
 it was then believed that England would never permit the violation of 
 the independence of that island, and because the religious and political 
 farce was not then prepared which was to terminate, by the pretended 
 offer of their dearest liberties on the altar of French glory, hy the 
 queen and'chiefs of that island. 
 
 Another naval oflicer, M. Dubouzet, commander of the Aube, 
 corv'ette of war, expresses himself, in the Voyage in the Pacific, hy 
 Admiral Dumont d' IJrville, as follows : — 
 
 " The Tahitians no longer know their teachers by the benefits they 
 " have conferred ; the prestige of their influence has been destroyed. 
 " The more thoughtful of the chiefs are already tired of their yoke, 
 " and seek an opportunity of throwing it off". They venture to inquire 
 " of what use their presence can be in the island, now that it is entirely 
 " converted (of what use then can the priests be ?), and it is to be ' 
 " feared that they will very soon prepare a general revolt, and succeed 
 " in overthrowing the goverument of the queen. However well founded 
 " may be the discontent of these chiefs, such a revolution would 
 " probably prove the most calamitous event that could happen to the 
 " island ; for the first use that the chiefs would make of their 
 " authority, would be to abolish the few wise laws that at present 
 " ofi'er some check to their disorderly tendencies. . The country 
 " would then become a prey to the most complete anarchy ; and it is 
 " to be presumed that England, which knows so well how to take 
 " advantage of its religious faith to extend its power, and whose 
 " subjects, proprietors of certain portions of the soil, are almost the
 
 
 ORIGIN AND OBJECTS OF THE ROMISH MISSION TO TAHITI. 
 
 / 
 
 " only persons who have any interest in the island, would seize upon 
 " this pretext to protect •ilxem, would interfere in favour of the young 
 " queen, and would very soon crush her under its oppressive protection. 
 " The Tahitians would lose for ever their nationality and their liberty, 
 " of which indeed they have not known how to profit. Tahiti is not 
 " likely to preserve her independence, if France and America, who are 
 " interested in maintainmg her nationality, do not aid the people to 
 " constitute very differently their social system. It is to be feared that 
 " it is her destiny to become an English colony ere long, and I believe 
 " that the plan has been long decided on by Great Britain, and that a 
 " pretext is only wanting for its immediate execution." 
 
 It is not a little remarkable that this officer of the French na%y, 
 whose violent conduct is well remembered at Tahiti, should pro- 
 phetically accuse England and her missionaries with the very villany 
 of which France and her missionaries now stand accused and condemned 
 before all Europe. His predictions have been accomphshed as to the 
 calamities to befal Tahiti ; but the missionaries of Protestant England, 
 and the queen and the inhabitants of Protestant Tahiti, have been 
 deprived of liberty and independence, and been compelled, by the 
 govemnrent of France, and by French ships of war, to receive Popish 
 emisstuies, and to submit to the protection and sovereignty of 
 
 me. 
 
 In his work on Polynesia and the Marquesas, M. Louis Reybaud, 
 the principal editor of the official account of the Voyages of Captain 
 Dumont d" Urville, is very^ frank in his revelations. " Religious consi- 
 " derations, says he, have contributed, and not a little, to the possession 
 " of the Marquesas. The history of Catholic missions in Polynesia, would 
 " require larger space than we can aifoid. The effects of this propa- 
 " ganda, the centre of which is at Paris, do not date from beyond 1834 
 " or 1835. During the Restoration, the Catholic rehgion only appeared 
 -'H " there as a passing traveller. 
 
 " Protestant missionaries, of different sects, AngKcan or Wesleyan, 
 " took possession by degrees, and slowly, of all the most important 
 " islands of the ocean. The Sandwich islands fell to the lot of the 
 " Wesley ans ; Tahiti, Tonga, and New Zealaiid to the Episcopalians. 
 " They founded churches, built chapels, and gradually substituted their 
 " influence for the authority of the chiefs. Thus, all the honours and 
 
 7h " advantages of sovereignty became concentrated in the hands of the 
 " Lutheran apostles ; and the kings or queens of the country were 
 " merely docile instruments of which they disposed at pleasure, somc- 
 " times against the natives, sometimes against the European visiters. 
 " This state of things was perfectly settled, when the missions of 
 " France determined to oppose church to church — creed to creed. 
 " We must do justice to the efforts of our Catholic priests ; never 
 " was greater disinterestedness allied to greater courage. The
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT THE GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
 
 ^ 
 
 srr 
 
 -^-' 
 
 " French government has watched with interest the progress of this 
 " propaganda." 
 
 Another officer of the marine royale Franmise th rows a different, 
 but an harmonious hght on the projects and the conduct of the propa- 
 ganda Oi" Picpus. Speaking of the Gambier islands, he says : — 
 
 " The bishop resides at Ao-kena, one of the smallest islets, on pur- 
 " pose, by his distance from the principal island, to preserve a greater 
 " influence. It is very curious to observ'e with what frankness they 
 " adduce this motive, while they, at the same time, bitterly blame the 
 " English missionaries for exercising an influence over the chiefs of the 
 '• islands in which they reside. Open war is declared between the two 
 " creeds. The Cathohc missionaries attack their antagonists in every 
 " direction, and such is their ardour, that very lately two of them have 
 " obtained a passage to Tahiti^to convert the natives, already Chris- 
 " tians, to the Romish faith.Yj'his attempt is improper ; for there 
 " are still plenty of idolaters, as they call the savages, to make 
 " Christians, without going to invade the sphere of others^'^i But the 
 " cloven foot appears in all this ; and it is easy to see that the efforts 
 " of our missionaries tend, not to the amelioration of the savage popu- 
 " lation, but to the fame that will result from their labours ; they 
 " prefer, therefore, to make themselves talked of, by going to overthrow, 
 " if they can, the edifice raised by their neighbour, rather than devote 
 " themselves to the humbler and hard toil of ciA-ilization in an obscure 
 " corner of the world. 
 
 " As for us, strangers to the quarrel, it is often difficult for us to 
 " miderstand the connection that the charges brought by our 
 " missionaries at the Gambier islands against the English have with 
 " religion. The English, they tell us, teach their neophytes the most 
 " abominable things : they teach them that the power of France is 
 " nothing, and that England is all-powerful. Now, even supposing 
 " that this be true, though the accusation is made by lips too partial 
 " to command credit, what does it amount to ? Why, that the English 
 " conduct themselves as^tt^s our priests, who boast, very justly, of 
 " their countiy, but who tcaqi their disciples to hate the heretics and 
 " to detest the EnglislL"* j^ 
 
 Extracts of the sameTJfiaracter, from many other documents, might 
 be multiplied ; but enough has been quoted to show the spirit and the 
 objects with which the presence of the French missionaries in the 
 Pacific must be for ever identified. 
 
 II 
 
 The French Romish Priests at the Gambieu Islands. 
 
 It was then with these dispositions that the Romish ])riests waited at 
 Valparaiso for an opportunity to embark, and endeavoured to procure 
 
 Toteau Voyage dans I'Oceanie, par Dumont d'Urvillc.
 
 SS-o 
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT THE GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
 
 
 V 
 
 information as to tho places they should first occupy. " We are per- 
 " lectly comfortable here," they write, " and we are treated with the 
 " greatest respect. Every day new establishments are formed, and the 
 " })opulation is rapidly increasing. What good might be done here by 
 " zealous missionaries ! The people, though living in the most profound 
 " ignorance, preserve, nevertheless, the faith they received from the 
 " Spaniards. The Catholic religion is the religion of the state, and, 
 " moreover, the laws prohibit the existence of any other sect ! " 
 
 It is not surprising that the priests were so comfortable where such 
 a prohibition existed ; but it may well be asked, why did they leave a 
 countryun which intolerance and ignorance promised them such a har- 
 vest,^ to^orce, /by the fire of French artillerj'N the converted and 
 Protestant islands of the Pacific to allow them to establish themselves 
 and their hierarchy ? Shameless effrontery, indeed, to boast of the 
 intolerance of Valparaiso, and sail from its port to invade a christianized 
 country, and set its laws and police at defiance ! 
 
 " This day, they continue, July the 9th, the feast of Our Lady of 
 " Paris, the door of our mission is open. In two or three days we 
 " shall sail for the Gambier islands, which he iu the way to Otaiti. 
 " The bargain is made." 
 
 Thus it is evident that their real object, was protestant Tahiti, and 
 not pagan Polynesia. 
 
 " Captain Morne, a Frenchman, who conveyed the Protestant ministers 
 ' to the Marquesas, pointed out to us the Gambier islands. He said 
 'he did not believe that we could get a passage for less than 100 
 ' piastres {£20) each, even if we should meet with a vessel going that 
 
 * way. On quitting his vessel, we saw an American captain, who was 
 ' about to sail for Otaiti, and who offered, as a special favour, to take 
 ' us there for 150 piastres (jSSO) each. We are afraid to go to that 
 ' island, for we could not land without papng 30 piastresr^6) each ; 
 ' such is the law of the comitry in regard to all foreigners.* VWonder- 
 ' fully economical !) We have, therefore, refused. He at length 
 ' consented to take 4 ounces (about ^618 10). It was agreed that 
 ' he shoiild convey us to the Gambier islands, where he should land 
 
 * two of us, or the whole four if we should so decide ; and that the 
 ' others should go to Otaiti. We agreed among ourselves that Messrs. 
 ' Caret and Laval should remain at the Gambiers, where we should 
 ' construct a hut, and that Columban and I (M. Liansu writes) should 
 ' go to Otaiti, disguised as carpenters. I agreed with the captain 
 ' that he should stand off the island for a day or two, and then return 
 
 * M. Rienzi, whose work on Oceania is cited and recommended by the accredited 
 journal of the French ministry, the Journal des Debais, says, " In 1826, a law was 
 made to prevent adventurers and suspected persons from disturbing the established 
 order of things. This law condemned to a fine of thirty dollars, any foreign captain, 
 who should leave any sailor ashore without authority from the chief of the district."
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT THE GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
 
 c2l 
 
 ^ I I - 
 
 " and land the baggage, if the missionaries thought they conld re- 
 " main in that group ; and that if it was found impossible for two to 
 " remain there they shoidd all go to Otaiti. Captain Morne 
 " offered us a New Zealand savage, who understands English, a little 
 " Spanish, and pretty well the language spoken at the Gambler group, 
 " where he is known and loved. M. Caret took him to the church 
 " at Valparaiso, and showed him the Christ ; the good savage imitated 
 " him in every thing, going down on his knees and making after him 
 " the sign of the cross." It is beyond dispute then that Tahiti was 
 the primary object of their mission ; that the priests knew that certain 
 laws regulated the landing and residence of foreigners ; that they were 
 to go not as honest and true men, but as deceivers, in order both to 
 conceal their real character and ends, and to cheat the government 
 of its port duties ; not as Christian apostles, but as smugglers ; and 
 that they carried their deceitfulness, not merely to the falsification of their 
 own character, but the training of a poor savage to ape their religious 
 mummeries, for they deserve no other name, in order to make the 
 natives believe that this savage was a convert to the Roman Catholic 
 faith. 
 
 M. Caret, who was named superior, aud Laval and Columban, 
 left Valparaiso on the I6th July, 1834, and on the 7th of August 
 they arrived at Gamblers.* , 
 
 Let it not be supposed That this group had been hitherto abandoned 
 to idolatry. Discovered by the Dvff in her first voyage, in 1/97, it 
 was distinguished by the name of the pious Admiral Gambler, who 
 was most friendly to the English Protes!aitt~Tnissioti. "The islands 
 of Manga-reva and iVkena, had been visited by English and native mis- 
 sionaries, one of whom was a converted native of Rapa. A chapel 
 and school-house had been built, and so much had been done in the 
 work of enlightening the inhabitants, that some of them had re- 
 nounced idolatr}', and had sent their idols to Tahiti. From Tahiti 
 they were taken to England ; and these same idols have been often seen 
 in the pubhc assembUes, to which Mr. Pritchard, in 1841, gave an 
 account of the progress of the Protestant missions in the South Seas. 
 In consequence, however, of the presence of the Romish priests, the 
 teachers, finding it impossible to remain, returned to the Georgian 
 islands, and relinqviished the work of evangelization, so hopefully com- 
 menced, and which, but for the invasion of Picpus, would in all proba- 
 bility have been carried on with growing success. But what a trium])h 
 for the coalition ! — the French breviary and artillery coalition ! — It 
 had already dislodged Protestant missionaries from the islands, dis- 
 
 * Ten years after, August 7th, 1844, a large assembly met in London to express 
 its sympathy with the oppressed and despoiled people and queen of Tahiti, as well 
 as its indignation at the murder of defenceless women and children, and the 
 seizure of the British consul by a French governor, and French soldiers and sailors.
 
 ,,-1-Z THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT THE GAMBIER ISLANDS. 
 
 covered by a Protestant missionary ship, and called after a British 
 Protestant admiral ! 
 
 " Yesterday," says M. Caret, " we anchored at the Gambier islands. 
 " We met there an Englishman, who has been some weeks resident, 
 " with another of his countrymen, and a Kanac. Without being 
 " exactly a missionary, he is here to instruct the people. The Pro- 
 " testant missionaries at Otaiti have promised him a salary, and this 
 " may induce him to remain. I do not think this man will hurt us ; 
 " he has even offered us the use of his hut till we can construct one." 
 So that the first person who rendered these deceivers a ser^ace was an 
 Englishman, a protestant, and a sort of missionary or teacher ! The 
 ?^ "slave of the demon" was found a very convenient friend. 
 
 M. Laval, notwithstanding this happy commencement, writes as 
 follows : " Since the Protestants have been informed that the Catholic 
 " Church is about to evangelize Oceania, they redouble their efforts to 
 " gain possession of this new world. Under these circumstances, two 
 " things are necessary : 1st — That his lordship, tlie._bishop of Nilopolis, 
 " should receive new power, and a mission of a larger extent ; for, as 
 " the Protestants cannot be everywhere at once, we may precede them, 
 *' at least in some islands. 2nd — At all events, more missionaries must 
 " be sent immediately. We can distribute them in several islands. 
 " The Protestants will not be able to get rid of them all at once, and 
 " those in which they remain may serve as a sort of home for the 
 " brethren who may not be able to remain among the Protestants, 
 *' where the Methodists are. The gospel will thus extend from island 
 \ " to island. Those who have been seduced by heresy, and who are 
 " held vmder the iron voke of the Methodists, such as the inhabitants 
 * " of Otaiti, will voluntarily submit to the easy yoke of our Lord Jesus 
 " Christ, and will embrace the Catholic doctrine." 
 
 Such was the regular plan of operations, recommended from the 
 Gambier islands, against Protestantism established by the English in 
 Tahiti ; a plan, the execution of which has produced the scenes that 
 have been witnessed in that island. The Marquesas were also to be 
 attacked as soon as possible ; in fact, proselytism, and emancipation 
 from English despotism, were to be everywhere attempted. 
 
 While they were preparing for the execution of these vast projects, 
 the priests write, towards the close of the year, " We have gathered our 
 " first ear, and the first fruits of the harvest in the Gambier islands. 
 " From this moment, the peace of God seems to descend on the island 
 " of Akena. A child a few days old, at the point of death, was re- 
 " generated and sanctified by the water of baptism ! It was the feast 
 " of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin, and, of course, we named the 
 V " child Mary. We buried the child according to the prescribed cere- 
 *' i^iony of the Catholic Church, and raised a cross. At the foot of that 
 ""•si' cross, we j)ray that infant to become the patron of her country, and
 
 ss^ 
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT THE GAMBIEU ISLANDS. 
 
 " to obtain for it the gift of faith, and the graces that follow it." 
 *' At Akamaru, we ohsen^ed that the children had diseases of the 
 " skin. We cut the hair of some of them, and washed their heads ; 
 " we did this that we might more easily baptize them when dying, 
 " without their parents perceiving what we did." — On the 27th of 
 December, they baptized another babe. " The infant uttered some 
 " faint cries, and seemed about to breathe its last ; it has, however, 
 " regained its strength ; but the infant that we baptized in so much haste, 
 " because it appeared to be at the last gasp, died the same evening, 
 " to our great joy, because death has ensured its happiness !" — The 
 benevolence that indited this avowal is far more questionable than the 
 selfish cruelty that would have rejoiced over the graves of all the 
 infants of the Pacific, if the missionaries could thereby have boasted 
 of an immense harvest secured for the Church of Rome. It is true 
 these men were not husbands or fathers ; but had the pagan mothers of 
 Oceania known how eagerly they desired the death of their children, 
 and that what caused them anguish filled their teachers with delight, 
 they would have regarded them with horror, and their feelings would 
 have justified the remarks of M. Guizot, at a Protestant Missionary 
 Meeting in Paris. "The CSthTrhtr'Missionaries," said he, "are 
 " strangers to the common condition and affections of mankind : they 
 " are more fit to gain an ascendancy than to inspire sympathy. Pro- 
 *' testant missions, on the contrary, are so to speak, family missions. 
 " The heathen may easily feel that they have brethren in men who are 
 " husbands and fathers as themselves, and who present examples of all 
 " the relations and sentiments of domestic life, regulated by the 
 " morality that the gospel inculcates." 
 
 Some months later, in March 1835, they announce, as an interesting 
 fact, that " in these two islands the natives knew already the diiference 
 " between them and the Protestants, and prefer the Catholics to the 
 " others. — When a dissolute man said the missionaries from Tahiti 
 " were coming, our two chiefs declared they would separate from them, 
 " and that they would do the same in the other islands. They know 
 " very well that our powers and our mission come from God. This is 
 " the chain. My Lord Etienne, Bishop Rouchouse, has given them 
 " to us ; Pope Gregory gave them to him ; St. Peter gave them to that 
 " great missionary, and Jesus Christ gave them to Peter, of whom he is — ^ 
 " the successor. Then your power comes from God, said the chief of 
 " Akamaru, to us. When a missionary comes here, I shall ask him 
 " who sent him ; if he says, not Gregory, I shall say, ' Go away, you 
 " are not a missionary of Jesus Christ.' I shall ask him then, ' To 
 " whom do that woman and those children belong?' lie will say, 'To 
 " me.' ' Very well, then go about your business, for you are not a 
 " missionary. God has no wife ; Jesus Christ had no wife ; Tareta "^
 
 l4 TUB FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 " (Caret) has no wife ; Tarava (Laval) has no wife. Ours are from 
 " St. Peter, and you are only a common man." 
 
 The gentlemen of Picpus, the successors of St. Pierre, may be left 
 to discuss these questions with M. Guizot, lately French Minister of 
 Public Instruction, and now Minister for Foreign Affairs, but it is 
 well to know who and what are the agents destmed to drive the 
 English missionaries from the Gambler islands, and from Tahiti. 
 They are entitled to perfect Hberty to profess and to propagate, by 
 all legal and peaceable means, their opinions, however absurd ; but a 
 commission direct, instead of in succession, from Peter, or even from 
 his Master, to disseminate the purest sentiments, would not warrant 
 the violation of the laws of honour and the rules of justice. 
 
 They do not appear, however, to have been quite as sure of the 
 adults who preferred their church, and who, like the New Zealand 
 savage at Valparaiso, had been taught to imitate their mummeries, as 
 of their regenerated infants ; for in March, 1835, they still rely on the 
 babes. " Father Columban," say they, " had the great consolation to 
 " baptise an infant that died some days after. This is the fourth that 
 has ascended to heaven, and they are all from Akena." 
 
 The French Romish Priests at Tahiti. 
 
 M. Rouchouse, Bishop of Nilopolis, did not arrive at the Gambler 
 islands, the seat of his diocese, and the scene of Columban' s exploits, 
 till May, 1835, that is nine months after his clergy ; so that there had 
 been time for the spirit, conduct, and menaces of the priests to be fully 
 known at Tahiti. His lordship, soon after his arrival, resolved to 
 send the consoled Columban to the Sandwich Islands ; but carrying out 
 the original system of deception, he was to pass some time at Tahiti, 
 as a spy, in the disguise of a carpenter. , He arrived accordingly, 
 looking like anything rather than a priest. \^He was clad hke a man 
 before the mast, was unshaven, smoked a short pipe, and at first was 
 mistaken for what he aj)peared to be. But some difficulties presented 
 themselves as to his quality and papers. It appears that, being a native 
 of Ireland, Murphy had an old English passport, and that among other 
 pious tricks, he endeavoured to make use of the lion and the unicorn, to 
 prove to the natives that he was sent by the King of Great Britain. 
 He was at last allowed to remain, and he spent neai'ly two months on 
 the island, without experiencing the slightest inconvenience. He had 
 time, thanks to the hospitality of the Protestant queen and population, 
 to concert plans for the seduction of some disaffected chiefs, the over- 
 throw of the royal authority, and the introduction of French priestcraft 
 and power, by fraud and violence. He employed himself also in writing 
 scandalous personahties and calumnies against the English Protestants, 
 and pressing invitations to his bishop to make Tahiti the seat of his
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 
 apostolate. " It is not astonishing," says he, " that on the arrival of 
 " a son of the Holy Heart on this spot, so long devoted to the devil, 
 " the fury of this enemy of all righteousness should be redoubled, 
 " and that the Protestant emissaries should believe that I came to 
 " overthrow their empire." It is evident, however, that he anticipated 
 no danger to his lordship, and that he thought the bishop's importance 
 and dignity might procure for him a dispensation from the application 
 of the laws, the terms of which he distinctly indicated. "" 
 
 " Since I wrote to you from Otaiti," he says, after he had left, " I 
 " have seen several chiefs {i. e. some who were not well affected to the 
 " reigning sovereign, and were later induced by M. Moerenhout to raise 
 " the standard of revolt,) who have assured me that they should be 
 " very glad to see your lordship in these lands ; at the same time, the 
 " Calvinists have many partisans. In order to the reception of a 
 " foreigner, .it is necessary that the queen and the chiefs should meet 
 " to decide if he may remain or not. A foreigner may, however, be 
 " received in another way ; some chief may give him land on which to 
 " build a house. I think you will do well to come as a bishop, because 
 " in Tahiti they have a great idea of the missionaries of Gamblers, and 
 " especially of your highness." 
 
 The cunning emissary had, in fact, so prepared the way, that some 
 chief was to sell them land, which the bishop was to purchase at a high 
 price, thus procure a right of settlement, and then be able the more 
 easily to call in the aid of French men-of-war. — So much for the mission 
 of Columban, the carpenter, and the intolerance of the queen and the 
 English Protestant missionaries. 
 
 A reinforcement having after some time arrived at the Gambler 
 islands, the Lord Bishop Rouchouse resolved to extend the propaganda 
 to Tahiti, though not to venture openly and honourably himself. It is 
 to be observed that this mission coincided with the return from Paris to 
 Tahiti of M. Moerenhout, a Belgian, of whom much will be said here- 
 after, who had obtained the appointment to the consulship of the 
 United States. 
 
 "After mature reflection," says M. Caret, "we thought we ought 
 " to go at once to Tahiti, the centre of Austral Polynesia. His lord- 
 " ship selected M. Laval and myself for this enterprise. Mr. W. 
 " Hamilton, recently come from that island, offered us a passage in his 
 " little schooner, {goelette,) and we set sail on the 6thof Novemljcr, 1836. 
 " We touched at Chain island ; the inhabitants of that island, Anna, 
 " are the most powerful of the group called Dangerous. The Bibles 
 " they have received from the missionaries of Tahiti have not prevented 
 " them from murdering the savages of the smaller islands or from 
 " pillaging all on whom they can lay their hands. I think, notwith- 
 " standing, they would become good if they were to have missionaries 
 " after God's heart!" — It was with these malicious sentiments in their
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 hearts towards the " English bibHcal missionaries," that the priests, 
 approached the peaceful shores of Tahiti. More than two years before 
 they had announced their reluctance to pay the thirty piastres {£6) re- 
 quired, as they then thought, by the law, from each passenger who came 
 to reside, and their intention nevertheless to go there disguised as car- 
 penters. They now beheld that celebrated, civilized, and Protestant 
 island, and determined to land both clandestinely and illegally. 
 
 " We got on shore," says M. Caret, " on one of the points of 
 " Tutaira, the place the most distant from the port. No sooner had 
 " we cast anchor than we disembarked, and we were right in using all 
 " dispatch, for we had scarcely landed, when one of the chiefs of the 
 " district went on board the schooner to order her to stand off, and not 
 " to land any passengers. But we were already on shore and had given 
 " the salutation of peace to this island, partly idolatrous, and partly 
 " heretic." 
 
 These few lines present a fair specimen of the falsehood, immorality, 
 and effrontery that distinguish the whole of the correspondence, as well 
 as of the conduct, of these miserable and mischievous men. They 
 knew perfectly well, that " idolatry" had been long and entirely abo- 
 lished ; that no idols remained ; and that the island was completely what 
 they call " heretic," — They gave the " salutation of peace," by what 
 M. Dumont d'Urville styles, " eluding the prohibition," — in plain 
 English, by violating the laws, and by acting the part of smugglers, in 
 landing, as M. Caret himself says, thirty or forty leagues from Papeete 
 (or Wilks Harbour), the proper port. This fact alone is sufficient to 
 account for all that accompanied and followed the hostile invasion of 
 the Catholic priests. The history they have given of what occurred 
 after their landing, is a tissue of misrepresentations and calumnies ; and to 
 prove its general character, it is only necessary to notice a few extracts ; 
 — the real facts of the affair will thus be better appreciated. 
 
 Almost immediately after their arrival, the queen and the chiefs gave 
 these lawless men an audience, and they thus state their own case : — 
 
 " A sort of judge rose and addressed us: — 'There is a law which 
 *' interdicts your coming to this country ; — why are you here ? Return 
 " to Manga-reva. You have made presents to the queen, who has 
 " given you some in return ; do not persist in remaining.' To 
 " this M. Caret replied, ' This law of which you speak is new; the 
 " American consul, present, ought to know it ; — he is ignorant of it.' 
 " On which, this consul, Mr. Mccrenhout, rose, and said, ' The law 
 " which forbids the residence of foreigners, without the good pleasure 
 " of the queen, is new, and unknown to me.' " 
 
 Now, this law existed and was public. When the priests were at 
 Valparaiso, they knew that they must pay certain duties of which they 
 had just now endeavoured to defraud the government, by landing where 
 they could not paythem, and byrcfusing to return to thevessel though they
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 1/- 
 
 were not paid; and their disguised emissary, Columban, had written to his 
 bishop, at Akena, that " before a foreigner could hare leave to reside, 
 " the queen and chiefs must meet to decide on the subject." Columban 
 could only have ascertained this fact from the chiefs and his own expe- 
 rience. If the chiefs knew the law, the consul must have known it ; — 
 Columban, at all events, knew it, and had so written a year before this 
 meeting took place : — the consul must therefore have known it, from 
 Caret and Laval ; so that the consul, when appealed to by 
 Caret, uttered a deliberate falsehood ; and Caret knew that he was 
 prepared to utter such a falsehood ; and the queen and chiefs knew that 
 both consul and priests were shameless deceivers. What reliance could 
 the government of Tahiti then, or can the public in Europe now, place 
 on any of the statements or assertions of such unprincipled rogues ? 
 
 Another proof of their contempt of truth appears in their account of 
 the letter by which Pomare ordered them to reimbark. " The. 
 11th of December" (that is twenty-one days after their landing), 
 say they, " five or six men, whom the people call the gendarmes of 
 " Piritati (a name given to one of the missionaries), came to the door 
 " of the small house belonging to M. Mrerenhout, (who had placed 
 " them there in defiance of the laws) . We refused to open the door ; 
 " they threatened to break it open ; but that day they did nothing. 
 " They went away, and some minutes after, brought us a letter from 
 " the queen. The women of the beach said, the letter was not the 
 " queen's, though it was signed ' Pomare.'' This letter was dictated 
 " by a spirit of fury : — it remained at the American consulate." 
 
 Now this furious letter, vvTitten after these bad men had braved the 
 authority of the law during three weeks, — had shut their door against 
 the queen's officers, who, instead of summarily executing their orders, 
 retired, and gave them another day to reflect ; this furious letter ! — 
 here it is : — 
 
 Tahiti, 12 fh December, 1836. 
 " To Messrs. Laval and Caret : — 
 
 " Peace be with you. This is what I have to say to you : — 
 " Return on board the vessel of Hamilton in which you came. On no 
 " account remain here ; it is not agreeable to me, nor ever will be. I 
 " have ordered my officers to conduct you both on board the vessel. 
 " Do not be obstinate ; do not make things difficult. In case you 
 " make things difficult, I shall see what I shall have to do with you. 
 " This is all I have to say to you. Peace be with you on your 
 " departure. 
 
 " Pomare." 
 
 Is it possible to read any thing more calmly or respectably written ? 
 This falsehood, which concerns the temper and conduct of the queen, is
 
 .^.JrO THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 as shameless as that which respected their own pretended ignorance of 
 the law. 
 
 Another specimen of the lying hahits of the propagators of the 
 faith, applies to the English missionaries and to Mr. Pritchard : — 
 " The 7th of December," say they, " another scene occurred, which 
 " shows how Messieurs the Methodists hate the French ; being con- 
 " stantly afraid of being supplanted in their trade. Vincent, the 
 " carpenter, had accompanied us to Otaiti : Mr. Pritchard aflPected to 
 " consider him as a disguised missionary, and sent to inform him that 
 " he could not remain at Otaiti." 
 
 If Mr. Pritchard had really considered the carpentering character as 
 a disguise, it woidd not have been surprising or criminal ; for it was 
 precisely under this disguise that the gentlemen of Picpus thought of 
 going from Valparaiso to Tahiti, and that Columban had been there. 
 But Mr. Pritchard had nothing to do with the matter : and as for the 
 detestation of the French by the English Methodists, which, by-the-bye, 
 is ascribed by the priests to commercial jealousy, and therefore for the 
 satisfiiction of those most anxious for the rights of conscience, takes 
 the question entirely out of the domain of religious liberty and tole- 
 ration ; as for English detestation of the French, the priests themselves 
 prove that such a feeling did not exist. 
 
 " The 12th December," (the day before their departure) say they, "we 
 " celebrated the holy mass in secret. A French carpenter, who has 
 " resided a long time at Otaiti, and who knew every thing that occured, 
 " took an opportunity when nobody was about the house, to apprize 
 " us that the gendarmes would get at us through the roof." Accor- 
 ding, therefore, to their own statement it was a French artisan, who 
 had not been prevented by the Methodists from residing a long time 
 at Tahiti, who acted as agent for the priests, and by giving them 
 notice of the intentions of the queen's officers, gave them the time 
 to secure more strongly their doors. 
 
 After these proofs that the priests are utterly unworthy of credit, 
 we might dispense with further notice of their descriptions of dreadful 
 ill-usage, of exjiosure to dangerous navigation in an unsafe vessel, and 
 content ourselves with recording the fact of their return in the same 
 vessel that brought them to Tahiti, to the Gambler Islands, where we 
 find them safe and sound, with all their baggage, on the 31st of 
 December, 1837. It may, however, be useful to read the true though 
 brief record of this pregnant event. 
 
 That would be a most incorrect view of this case, which should 
 place it on a line with an ordinary measure of interference with the 
 rights of conscience, or the liberty of religious profession and pro- 
 pagation. The country had recently risen from barbarism to social 
 order, under the influence of a religion which had not been imposed, 
 but introduced by foreigners, by the permission and with the consent
 
 Jijr 
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. XT 
 
 of the proper authorities ; not a single act of intrusion, not a single 
 attempt at resistance to the laws and orders of those authorities, 
 had accompanied the introduction of that religion, or had since lieen 
 committed by those by whom it had been introduced ; all the social 
 system of the comitry had been, however, changed in conformity 
 with the dictates of that religion ; the political institutions ado])ted 
 had also received its sanction, and had been, in a great many 
 respects, formed after the models offered by the country from which, 
 though without any intervention or cognizance on the part of the 
 government, that religion had been brought. Hitherto no foreign 
 people had attempted to interfere with the religion voluntarily and 
 generally embraced, or with the civil, social, and pohtical order 
 identified with its adoption. Some differences of a religious character 
 had however arisen in the Georgian Isles. A sect had appeared which 
 associated with pretentions to miraculous powers the wildest licen- 
 tiousness on the subjects of polygamy and sexual intercourse, and 
 open rebellion against the laws and the government ; conflicts had 
 resulted from these innovations, and though the sect had been sup- 
 pressed, and some of the leaders had been punished, the bad feelings 
 engendered were not entirely destroyed. The forcible introduction, 
 by foreigners, under these circumstances, of another religion ; of a 
 religion announcing as its object the overthrow of the religion embraced 
 by the government, and by the whole nation ; of a religion, the 
 propagators of which proclaimed personal hostility to the teachers of 
 the rehgion that had been thus voluntarily received and was affec- 
 tionately honoured and professed throughout all the islands depending 
 on the government ; and not only personal hostility to the teachers of 
 that religion, but opposition to the nation from which they came, and 
 the government of which they were subjects, and which was regarded 
 as the friend and protector of the government of Tahiti — the intro- 
 duction, we say, of such a religion by such foreign agents, and 
 especially without the permission of the government, and by the 
 violation of the laws, could only, and must inevitablj^, lead to the 
 disturbing of the social and political, as well as the religious state of 
 the nation ; it must raise the hopes and rally the energies of all the 
 discontented : if successful, produce revolution, and even if unsuccess- 
 ful, involve in anarchy, civil war, and perhaps ultimate ruin a peaceful 
 country, exposed already to many dangers from the depraved and 
 violent conduct of increasing multitudes of adventurers who visit 
 its shores. 
 
 It was not the rightful and peaceful diffusion of knowledge, the 
 discussion of opinions and truths of a people among themselves, 
 that was in question, but the aggression of men, violent and 
 menacing, on the rights and peace of others. In such a country as 
 England it might find a parallel in the ipiestion, whether strangers 
 
 c 2
 
 S6b 
 
 -20"'^ THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 should be allowed, on pretence of conscientious obligation and divine 
 uutliority, to enter at pleasure your dwelling, and by opprobrious 
 epithets and insulting provocations, throw your family into alarm, 
 distress, and render violence inevitable ; whether on the public high- 
 way any individual, especially a foreigner, should be permitted to 
 impede the circulation, and insist on the crowd being compelled to 
 hear his invectives and abuse of what all hold most dear and sacred ; 
 whether a public meeting might be disturbed, and its pious object 
 defeated, by persons uninvited, or unentitled to interrupt the pro- 
 ceedings of the assembly? Every day's experience and practice in 
 England furnish an answer to the question, and decide that religious 
 Uberty has its limits, and that they are found, and must be maintained, 
 where protection and security are necessary. The propagation of 
 opinions purely religious, even by and among fellow citizens, cannot 
 be allowed to invade individual rights or to subvert social order ; but 
 when opinions are not simply religious, when they are necessarily and 
 avowedly of a mixed, of a civil and pohtical character, the sacred 
 name of religious freedom must not be invoked to protect lawless and 
 dangerous proceedings. 
 
 The communications of the priests from the Gambler islands, from 
 Valparaiso, and from every quarter, render it quite clear, that the spirit 
 and objects of the French Roman Catholics were, to a great extent, 
 known at Tahiti ; they, indeed, lost no opportiinity of propagating their 
 projects and their menaces of dri\-ing the English from Tahiti, and of 
 destroying the existing social order in the centre of civilization and 
 authority in Austral Polynesia. Their relations with M. Mcereuhout 
 were also known, as well as his efforts to disafFect certain of the cliiefs, 
 and raise a party against the government. This inchndual, of whom 
 much will be said hereafter, had done all he could in France to dis- 
 credit the work of the missionaries, the social condition of the island, 
 and the personal character of the queen ; by false professions, he had 
 obtained an aj)pointment to the office of consul of the United States 
 of America, and he now abused his official position to oppose the mis- 
 sionaries, insult the queen, and protect all those who might serve 
 his personal interests. The worthy M. Columbau, had apprized the 
 Lord Bishop Rouchose, that several chiefs had a great desire for his 
 presence, and that the people had a great idea of the French at the 
 Gambler islands. The government could not then shut its eyes to the 
 mischiefs that were in preparation, and the revolution that was to be 
 effected for the profit of the French government and the Romish 
 church : it could not but be observant ; it could not but take such 
 precautionary measures as consisted with its still comparatively im- 
 perfect administration of public affairs. 
 
 AMien the vessel of Hamilton was seen to anchor at Tutiara, the 
 most remote point of the isthmus of Tairaitu, it was, therefore, both
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 c2L 
 
 natural and requisite that the proper local authority should satisfy itself 
 as to the object of the captain in taking such an anchorage, and examine 
 the vessel before any persons were allowed to land. In the execution 
 of his duty, the chief of the district, who at that distance could not, as 
 has been pretended, have had any special order since the arrival of the 
 vessel, though prompt in his visit, was too tardy ; the contraband 
 propagators of the faith, had already evaded the laws, had left the ship 
 in a boat belonging to a Swede, and obtained footing in Tahiti without 
 leave or licence. The act was a fault as well as a crime ; for it at once 
 destroyed their moral influence, ruined their character as honest and 
 upright men, exhibited their religion in the most odious light, and 
 placed them on a level with the miserable run-a-way convicts of South 
 Wales, or the unprincipled crews of adventuring vessels that frequent 
 the shores of the island. The history of Christianity, as known to the 
 Tahitians, afforded no example of Christian missionaries presenting 
 themselves in disguise, or in ojiposition to the laws of even heathen 
 governments ; and it was not possible for the government of Pomare to 
 treat them otherwise than as men both unworthy and dangerous ; 
 making religion a pretext, but capable of any attempt, however des- 
 perate, to disturb the order and the tranquillity of the country. T\liat 
 right, indeed, had such fellows to open their mouths in the name of 
 the God of Truth, or to speak of that spiritual peace which is founded 
 on justice and submission? Their plans were, however, long since 
 formed, and they pursued them ; once on shore, they resisted all 
 authority ; and instantly, on the beach, began to denounce to the curious 
 crowd the Enghsh missionaries as impostors. The chief of the district 
 requested of them that they would re-embark till their permission to 
 land had been obtained. They refused compliance. "We assured 
 " him," say they, " that we were come to pay a visit to the queen, 
 " and he did not enforce the law. It was the day of the presentation 
 " of the Holy Virgin. Our resolution was fixed not to put foot again 
 " on board the vessel ; for if we had, it was decided that we should 
 " not land on any other point." In other words, they were resolved 
 to set the laws at defiance and to exercise a sovereign authority in the 
 island. 
 
 On the third day after their landing, November 24, 1836, they 
 arrived at Papeete, having traversed, as they say, thirty or forty leagues, 
 but really not more than twenty, of the country of " the demon," 
 unmolested by the Protestants, but not without continuing their endea- 
 vours to produce confusion by holding up the English missionaries to 
 the people as base impostors, because they were husbands and fathers ; 
 and by declaring themselves to be only true ambassadors of God, 
 because they were unmarried. 
 
 They were immediately welcomed by M. Mcerenhout, and promised 
 his protection as American consul, as long as they chose to remain,
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 though they were Frenchmen, though he knew the law prohibited 
 their residence unless permission were granted by the queen and the 
 governors. 
 
 Five days after, the 26th of November, they were allowed an inter-view 
 with the queen, in presence of several chiefs, accompanied by M. 
 Mcerenhout. Her majesty sent a special messenger for Mr. Pritchard, 
 her official interpreter, and directed him to inform the foreigners that 
 she could not allow them to remain. They immediately manifested 
 their rebellious spirit, by demanding that Mr. Pritchard should with- 
 draw. To this the queen would not consent ; she moreover declared, that 
 that gentleman always served her in the capacity of interpreter, and as 
 such acted whenever a ship of war anchored in the bay. What would 
 be thought of any obscure foreigner, who should first break the laws 
 of England, and then require queen Victoria to dismiss from her 
 presence her chosen servants ? The prerogatives of the sovereign of 
 a vast empire in the centre of Europe, are not more sacred than those 
 of the sovereign of a group of small islands in the Pacific ocean. 
 
 It may be as well to meet at once the charges preferred against Mr. 
 Pritchard, of unnecessary interference, officious meddling, and undue 
 influence. The qualifications, and the position of Mr. Pritchard, had 
 attracted attention to that gentleman, and procured for him the con- 
 fidence both of officers visiting Tahiti, and of her Tahitian majesty, 
 long before the priests had made their appearance in that part of the 
 world. His was not a special appointment for this occasion, either 
 sought by him, or suggested to the queen, to meet the present circum- 
 stances ; he had long been requested by Pomare and the chiefs to assist 
 them in their communications with foreign powers. An instance may 
 be cited, which occurred in 1835. Captain Fitzroy, commanding 
 H. M. S. the Beagle, was charged by commodore Mason to demand 
 from queen Pomare the payment of a sum of money promised as an 
 indemnity for the pillage of an EngUsh vessel at the Pomotou islands, 
 of which the right of the pearl fishery belonged to the queen. Pomare 
 came from Eimeo on purpose to receive the captain in a solemn assembly 
 of the chiefs, before whom the subject was to be discussed. It was 
 important to have an interpreter who possessed the confidence of 
 the Tahitian government and people. The queen was requested, 
 through the medium of a pilot, to choose herself the interpreter. She 
 innnediately named Mr. Pritchard. The captain felt the dehcacy of his 
 position, and of that of Mr. Pritchard. It was an Englishman and a 
 missionary who was requested by the queen to interpret in a discussion 
 involving the separate interests of the two governments, and he 
 pointed out to Her Majesty this peculiarity. The results of the dis- 
 cussion might be disagreeable ; and hitherto English missionaries, he 
 said, had been teachers of the principles of peace and good-will ; at 
 the same time, he expressed his conviction that Mr. Pritchard' s
 
 S-6^ 
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 senices would be highly useful, and acknowledged that he should he 
 thankM for them. The queen was not moved by these considerations : 
 Mr. Pritchard had all her confidence ; and though he was an 
 Englishman, and would naturally promote the object of his government, 
 she and her chiefs were sure he would not betrav their interests ; he 
 accordingly complied with her wishes, ha^•ing first requested all 
 present, who might have an acquaintance with both languages, to 
 speak, if they shoiUd think his translations in the least degree 
 incorrect. This arrangement was equally honorable to Mr. Pritchard 
 and the queen ; if he, a foreigner, might be implicitly trusted, when 
 the interests of his own government were to be upheld in opposition 
 to those of the government of Pomare, surely he ought not to have 
 been treated with distrust, or his services to have been sacrificed 
 by the queen, to satisfy the demands of two disreputable and 
 turbulent adventurers. They persisted, however, in their outrageous 
 demand, and, though it was not granted, they were allowed to bring 
 forward an interpreter of their own, a Tahitian pilot, who knew enough 
 of English for certain purposes connected with liis calling, but was quite 
 incompetent to the task assigned him. The priests represented them- 
 selves, of course, as the most harmless of men, come to seek the 
 happiness of the queen, the chiefs, and the people, — men who had no 
 intention to injure the missionaries, not even Pritchard (of whom 
 they could know nothing personally, but whom they specially denounced 
 to his friend the queen), — men who requested such hospitality as 
 would be granted in their country, even to Pritchard himself, or in 
 England or America to inoffensive persons like themselves. It is 
 hardly necessary to observe the contrast between this language used, or 
 said by them to have been used, in the presence of Pomare, and that 
 employed in their correspondence, in their manifestoes, and even in their 
 harangues to the natives on their way from Tairaitu to Papeete. 
 
 They at length offered to her majesty a present of a shawl ; this she 
 accepted, and ordered some presents to be sent them in return. " The 
 " queen did in fact," says M. Caret, " make us presents of a small 
 " quantity of tappe, and of some provisions and shells, but we did not 
 " come to Tahiti to seek presents, (why then did they make them ?) 
 " we brought them a present far more precious, of which they are as 
 " yet ignorant, and but which we desire they should receive, — the gift 
 "of the Catholic faith!" 
 
 Some time after the presentation of the shawl, (which, by-the-bye, 
 M. Mcerenhout, who knew the queen had admired it in his store, adA-ised 
 them to give to her to secure her favour,) they offered two doubloons, 
 " in order," they said," to comply with the law, and obtain permission 
 " to reside." They were told that the law did not require their money; 
 and that they deceived themselves if they thought the payment of thirty 
 piastres gave any right of residence. They then changed their batteries.
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. 
 
 and said tlu-y offered their money " as a present ;" and, notwithstanding 
 their suppleness and their impudence, not heing able to obtain the per- 
 mission they required, they retired in anger, and with threats of defiance 
 and revenge. 
 
 Before they left the royal presence, the Queen's interpreter made an 
 effort to read to them the letter of the law, and to explain why they 
 could not be allowed to remain after what had passed ; but they 
 refused to hear. The Queen sent a messenger after them to return 
 their money, and to make them presents in exchange for the shawl. 
 The same day her majesty sent to M. Moerenhout an English copy of 
 the port regulations, called his attention particularly to the 4 th article, 
 w hich forbids all captains to land passengers without special permission 
 from the queen and the governors, and requested him to inform the 
 foreigners of the reasons for which she could not permit them to 
 remain. The following is an extract from her letter. 
 
 " You will perceive that the residence of foreigners does not depend 
 " on the payment of thirty dollars, but on the authorisation of the 
 " queen and the governors. If the commander of a vessel obtain their 
 " permission, a passenger may remain. Without such permission he 
 " cannot, though he should pay 100 dollars. You will observe, fur- 
 " ther, that the 3rd article does not refer to passengers, but to sailors 
 " whom a captain may discharge ; that is to say, any captain who 
 " may dismiss a sailor, or any one belonging to his vessel, or depending 
 " on him, without permission, is to pay a fine of thirty dollars. The 
 *' three Frenchmen, you well know, did not come here as sailors, nor 
 " as servants discharged by the captain ; they come as passengers, and 
 " the 4th article alone is applicable in their case. 
 
 " You well know that it is not the habit of the queen to speak in the 
 " public conferences when affairs are considered. I (adds Mr. Pritchard) 
 " was charged to express her sentiments. You w^ould not hear me on 
 " that occasion. I now inform you, by this communication, that the 
 " queen and the chiefs cannot allow the foreigners to reside here ; 
 " neither the priests, nor the person who styles himself a carpenter. 
 " Three days ago an English carpenter asked permission to remain on 
 " the island, and it was refused. The foreigners implicitly admitted 
 " the right of the queen to accord or refuse permission, otherwise it 
 " would not have been asked." 
 
 Things continued in this state till the 28th of November, two days 
 later, when the priests having paid no attention to the law, nor to the 
 declared will of the government, a meeting of the queen, the royal 
 family, and the principal chiefs, was held at Paofai, to decide on their 
 case. Several hundred persons were present. The priests and the 
 American consul were sent for ; but it was not till they had been several 
 times rc(jncsted to present themselves that they consented. The 
 queen's speaker then informed them that her majesty wished them no
 
 THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS AT TAHITI. '^ -" 
 
 evil, but that she could not allow them to remain in her dominions, and 
 requested them to go on board the vessel by which they came, and to 
 return to their own residence. One of them replied, " that they would 
 not do any such thing." At the risk of producing a tumult in the 
 assembly, he pointed to jNIr. Pritchard, and proclaimed him a liar and an 
 impostor, and declared " that they did not expect to find at Tahiti a 
 " queen, chiefs, and a people who would drive them away ; that the 
 " men who had hitherto instructed them were false ministers, and had 
 " calumniated their doctrine, and they were come to defend it, and time 
 " was necessary to them that they might learn the language ; that they 
 " knew of no law that forbad foreigners to reside on the island ; neither 
 " did the American coftsul ; and that they would wait till a French ship 
 " of war came to establish them at Tahiti." Their reply was supported by 
 M. Moerenhout, who declared that he was ignorant of the law in ques- 
 tion ; that if it existed, it was contrary to the law of nations, as it 
 assumed to prevent foreigners from entering the country, unless it 
 should please the government to admit them ; that it was injurious to 
 America, and that, as consul, he protested against its application. 
 Here, then, was a direct appeal to foreign military force, a threat of 
 hostilities opposed to the public laws, the port regulations of an inde- 
 pendent state and the will of the sovereign calmly but solemnly 
 expressed in public council. It is evident that if their threats were to 
 be acted upon, and if the ships of war of one country were to compel 
 the sovereign and the government of another to admit any foreigner 
 that may choose to settle within its territories, the world must become 
 a vast scene of conflict and violence. 
 
 The following day M. Moerenhout, the American consul, invited the 
 queen and some of her attendants, who accompanied her in her walk, 
 to enter the consulate. Her majesty complied with his request. M. 
 Moerenhout, taking advantage of her complaisance, and of the absence 
 of her advisers, asked the queen if what had been done was according 
 to her orders, and if she would not allow the foreigners to reside at 
 Tahiti. The queen replied that her orders had authorised all that had 
 taken place, and that she would not permit the two priests to remain 
 in the country. The consul then requested her to state her determination 
 in a letter signed by her own hand, that her will might be clearly 
 known. The queen condescended, to remove all possibility of mistake, 
 and promised to do as the protector of the priests desired, and she 
 addressed accordingly the following letters to the priests and the 
 consul : — 
 
 " Tahiti, 29th November, 1836. 
 " To Messrs Laval and Caret : — 
 " Peace be with you on your arrival in my dominions. This is what 
 " I have to say to you. On no account remain in my country. Go to
 
 DEPARTURE OF THE ROMISH PRIESTS FROM TAHItI. 
 
 " Manga-reva, your proper residence. Missionaries have resided a 
 " very long time in my country. They have taught us the gospel, and 
 " we know it ; good is spread through my kingdom. Do not think evil 
 " of me; do not think I have ill-treated you. No : you know my conaf^ \ 
 " passion and kindness towards you — know also yours towards me.* / 
 " Do not think that what I now say is the language of any other person. 
 " It is not so. I and the governors speak to you. It is not agreeable 
 " to us that you remain in this country. 
 
 " Peace be with you at your departure. 
 
 " POMARE V." 
 
 (Same date.) 
 " To M. Moerenhout : — 
 " Peace be with you and your family during your stay in my domi- 
 " nions. I have received the letter that you sent me ; it was read to 
 " me, and I know what it contained. You ask if the 4th article is 
 " really mine? This is what I have to say to you — this law is mine, 
 " and that of the governors of my kingdom. 
 
 " Peace be with you. 
 
 " PoMARE V." 
 
 These letters, though written, at the request of Mccrenhout, by the 
 queen's secretary, and signed by herself, were treated mth the most 
 complete disrespect, and replied to personally by the priests, as they 
 inform us, in the following way : — " You say that you have mission- 
 " aries who have resided here a long time. Queen, they are not the 
 " ambassadors of God ; but as for us, we are sent of God to teach you 
 " the true word. You say they are the first here; and so Simon Magus 
 " went first to Rome to teach his errors. St. Peter was not the first, 
 " but he went after him to confound him, and to announce the truth." 
 
 Nearly three weeks had now elapsed, when, on the 10th of December, 
 the priests sent a protest to the queen by M. Moerenhout. In this 
 protest they declared, " that the persecutions they had endured, and 
 " the order to leave the island, did not emanate from the sovereign ; 
 " that they were contrarj^ to the wishes of the majority of the chiefs, 
 " and almost the whole of the population, and that they were merely 
 " the arbitrary act of the English missionary, Pritchard. They refused 
 " to submit to the order, and now, in the written document, demanded 
 " to remain till a ship of war should arrive, not to establish them, as 
 " they had before threatened, but to furnish proper judges of their 
 " case." Events have proved their veracity as to the almost unanimous 
 wish of the population, and the dictatorship of Mr. Pritchard. As to 
 the military judges they required, they did not need their opinions when 
 
 * The queen, no doubt, made allusion to the exchange of presents.
 
 DEPARTURE OF THE ROMISH PRIESTS FROM TAHITI. 
 
 c2: 
 
 they decided to violate the laws ; it was now too late to require the inter- 
 ference of such officers to expound the laws and pronounce on the acts 
 of an independent state. 
 
 This protest was signed in M. Moerenhout's office, sealed with the 
 consular seal, and sent by him to the queen, with a note, in which he said 
 that he believed the Uliza to be unsafe, and that he would send a copy 
 of his note to the French government. Thus the intrigue went on 
 extending ; the threat of a French ship of war was followed up by a 
 protest, and notes from the American consul. These formal measures 
 were taken in the hope of alarming the natives, and bringing the 
 government to acquiesce in the demand of the Romish priests, through 
 fear of the consequences. 
 
 Departure of the Romish Priests from Tahiti. 
 
 The facts, as far as they relate to Hamilton, are as follows. He is a 
 native of Scotland or Ireland, but ran away first from home when a 
 lad, and afterwards from his ship. By some means or other he found 
 his way to Tahiti, where he at length married one of the female 
 servants of the queen, and became owner of the Eliza, a little decked 
 schooner, of a few tons burden. It appears that Hamilton had carried 
 out some people to fish for pearls and shells, and that his vessel being 
 too small to carry a sufficient stock of pro\'isions, he, while the men 
 were working in the Gambier islands, returned to Tahiti to fetch a 
 further supply. He knew that it was the intention of the priests to evade 
 the law and to brave the government, and he declares that when he was 
 one evening in a state of intoxication they obtamed his signature to a 
 bargain to land them at Tahiti. The next morning, when sober, he 
 wished to annul the agreement, and to decline taking them, but they 
 insisted on his fulfilling his engagement, and obliged him to receive 
 them on board. If this statement be true, and though he has not a 
 very pure reputation, he is perhaps as worthy of credit as his passen- 
 gers, it is e\'ident that he went purposely to Tairaitu rather than to 
 Papeete. At all events, he was obliged to return to the Gambier 
 islands to furnish food to the people there employed on his account. 
 He could not delay his departure beyond a certain time, nor could he 
 refuse to re-embark his passengers on recei\-ing the order of the queen ; 
 he was, in fact, held to do this at his own risk as to eventual payment 
 from the Roman Catholic mission. The intruders were not, therefore, 
 forced to embark in a vessel destined solely to carry them ; but an 
 opportunity offered which could not be deferred ; the government itself 
 was under the necessity of enforcing prompt obedience. 
 
 The vessel of Hamilton was ready to sail, and in waiting. In order 
 to exercise as much lenity as the circumstances would allow, Vincent, 
 who was found to be really a carpenter, and who was less culpal)le and 
 dangerous than his superiors, was permitted to remain on the island ;
 
 ^^S' DEPARTURE OF THE ROMISH PRIESTS FROM TAHITI. 
 
 but, on the 1 2tli of December, the queen sent another letter to Laval 
 and Caret : it has been already quoted, but it is here reproduced. 
 
 "Tahiti, December 12th, 183G. 
 " To Messrs. Laval and Caret : — 
 " Peace be with you on your arrival in my dominions. This is what 
 " I have to say to you ; — Go on board Hamilton's vessel, in which you 
 " came. On no account remain here. It is not agreeable to me, nor 
 " ever will it be. I have, therefore, ordered my officers to see you on 
 " board the vessel. Do not be obstinate ; do not make difhculties. 
 " If you make difficulties, I shall see what I shall do with you. This 
 " is all I have to say to you. Peace be with you at your departure. 
 
 " POMARE V. " 
 
 The gentlemen of Picpus had possession of a hut belonging to M. 
 Mcerenhovit ; not forming part of the consulate, but distant about 200 
 yards, and separated from it by a river. They refused to receive the 
 communication of the queen ; secured the internal fastenings of their 
 dwelling, and vowed they would not admit even the officers of her 
 majesty. In the evening the American consul took charge of the 
 letter, and promised to transmit it to his friends, who, at all events, 
 treated it with contempt. 
 
 " We were satisfied," says their own statement, " that the schooner 
 " once gone to sea without us, no other vessel would take us, and that 
 " we should remain at Tahiti. Our enemies knew this also ; and for 
 " that reason would not allow the schooner to sail without us. But, 
 "as it must soon go, we shut ourselves up in the house of M. 
 " Moerenhout." 
 
 During twenty-four hours the officers of Pomare, of whose visit we 
 know the priests had been apprized by " the French carpenter resident 
 " in Tahiti," waited, in the hope that they would feel the reasonableness, 
 or the necessity, of complying with the royal order, and embark on 
 board the vessel which was waiting on purpose to receive them. 
 Nothing was to be effected however by patience or kindness ; appli- 
 cation at the door had been frequently resorted to in vain, and, about 
 noon, it was resolved, as the least violent mode of securing the inmates, 
 to lift up the thatch -or covering of the low building, and enter the 
 apartment. 
 
 So much has been said of the dreadful means employed for obtaining 
 possession of the offenders, that it should be knovra that the roof of 
 this habitation, of which we shall again have occasion to speak, was 
 made of materials adjusted in such a way as to allow of being easily 
 displaced. The pitch of the roof was exceedingly rapid ; so that the 
 height of the wall on which the end rested was not more than from three 
 to four feet : a boy would have passed over it without assistance. The
 
 BEPARTURE OF THE ROMISH PRIESTS FROM TAHITI. ^"- — 2fl -^ 
 
 officers had, therefore, only to raise the covering, and step over the wall. 
 The interior was composed of two rooms on the ground floor, there 
 being no upper story, separated from each other by a partition, which, 
 as in Tahitian houses generally, did not rise to above two-thirds 
 of the height of the roof; the upper part of the building being ojien 
 and for the circulation of air the rafters, which support the roof, 
 exposed, and ornamentally carved or decorated, as in our own ancient 
 buildings. The priests had entered the second room, and had, also, 
 fastened the door. Three of the officers of the queen having entered 
 the building, and, being refused entrance to the inner aj^artmcnt, 
 had to climb over the partition, and unfasten the door of communi- 
 cation, as well as the street door. They then entreated Messrs. Caret and 
 Laval quietly to retire. They, however, declared they would, not quit the 
 hut, and obstreperously resisted the officers who wished to lead them 
 out. xVfter all their false and contraband jiractices, they assumed the 
 attitude of devotion, and affected to oiFer themselves as victims and 
 martyrs on the altar of Christian truth and piety ; so that the officers 
 were obliged to take them, and they did it as gently as possible, by 
 the shoulders, and to carry one of them several yards ; but the priests 
 being then both disposed to walk, they were conducted to the beach, 
 and taken on board Hamilton's vessel. No violence was offered to 
 their persons, no punishment was inflicted, as might have been done, 
 for coming fraudently, and remaining rebelhously, in the country ; all 
 their effects were carefully sent with them ; they went to sea in the same 
 vessel, with the same captain they had chosen and hired to bring them 
 to " the country of the demon." 
 
 The awful predictions of their anxious friend, Moerenhout, were not 
 fulfilled ; the vessel proved sea-worthy ; they arrived safely and well 
 at the place from whence they came ; nor of their pretended hardships 
 and cruel treatment, is there a trace to be found. — They had, however, 
 placed Hamilton in a difficult position, both as it respects his own 
 queen, and the friends of the Romish missionaries at ]Manga-reva, 
 which might well read him a lesson on temperance. He was obliged 
 to take them from Tahiti, and yet such were the menaces of the 
 priests that he feared to show himself at the Gambler islands. His 
 passengers endeavoured first to be put on shore at a small low island, 
 not very far distant from, and dependant on Tahiti, where Tati, a 
 Tahitian chief, then was, where Hamilton had to leave his own wife and 
 sister-in-law, and where Tati refused to receive the priests, or the captain 
 to land them. The priests then declared that they wished to go to the 
 Gambler islands, but that if he would take them back to Tahiti they 
 would engage to go to Valparaiso by the first ship. Hamilton returned 
 in fact towards Tahiti. At a certain distance he went on shore, and 
 the next day sent another captain to take charge of the vessel and to 
 carry the priests to their destination. They were landed at ?vlauga-
 
 p 
 
 VISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. 
 
 reva on the 31st December, 1836, and tlms closed their year with 
 their missionary brethren. 
 
 As long as they remained at Tahiti, M. Ma3renhout adhered to 
 them, and taking leave of them at sea, he expressed his regret 
 that he had no armed force at his disposal, and pledged himself 
 to make the Tahitians feel the weight of his authority. "They 
 shall one day know," said he, " that I am an American consul." 
 Accordingly, the following day, 14th of December, 1836, this personage 
 wrote to queen Pomare, to inform her that as his hut had been forcibly 
 opened, and the priests, who were under his 'protection, taken out, he 
 considered the hut as no longer belonging to him, and that he should 
 not again hoist the American flag on the consulate till an American 
 ship of war should come to reinstate him in his office. Notwith- 
 standing an appeal to American ships of war, similar to that made by 
 the priests to those of France, the opinion of the American government 
 of his conduct is sufficiently clear ; instead of reinstating, it superseded 
 him, leaving him to receive the laurels, which his intrigues might merit, 
 from the hands of the government whose interests they were designed 
 to advance. In the mean time, and in spite of his keen sense of insult, 
 he did not the less \-isit all the ships and demand his four dollars from 
 each of them, and insist on all the emoluments attached to his consular 
 office. 
 
 Visit of Lord Edward Russell to Tahiti. 
 
 Wliile Messrs. Caret and Laval were safely sailing towards the 
 Gambler islands, and only a few days after their departure, the Acteon, 
 commanded by Lord Edward Russell, arrived at Tahiti. Agitated and 
 alarmed by the threats and intrigues of Moirenhout, queen Pomare 
 immediately wTote to his lordship. In her letter, dated the 16th 
 December, 1836, she said : — 
 
 " You are the representative of the king of England. The king of 
 " England has long been accustomed to do us good. I am now in 
 ** great trouble, and for this reason, — my laws are not respected, and my 
 " authority is set aside. It is the American consul who does not 
 " respect my laws : he took the part of two or three Frenchmen who 
 " came to Tahiti. Two priests came to teach a new doctrine. It is 
 " not agreeable to us that these men remain. It is not agreeable to 
 " us because we have English teachers — we have all been taught by 
 " them ; they teach us the true word. If you will not assist me in 
 " my trouble, I believe I shall make all this known to the Britannic 
 •' government." 
 
 A letter of the same date was sent to his lordship, signed by four 
 missionaries, giving an account of all that had occurred. On the 22nd of
 
 VISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. ^~^4 — 
 
 December, the captain of the Acteon, in consequence of his interference 
 having been desired by the queen and the xlmerican consul, held a 
 pviblic meeting, to which M. Moerenhout was invited ; the queen, the 
 chiefs, and a great number of natives, most of the foreign residents, 
 several officers of the Acteo7i, and captains of whalers were present. 
 After having heard all that the persons present were disposed to say, 
 his lordship deliberately gave his opinion ; and as it was translated into 
 the Tahitian language, sentence by sentence, one of his officers had 
 time to write the whole. It was dictated by a spirit of conciliation and 
 of justice. 
 
 His lordship began by saying, that as the event that had occurred 
 respected foreigners, he was not called to interfere ; but his intervention 
 having been requested by the queen, the American consul, and Mr. 
 Pritchard, he could not refuse ; he also expressed his regret that the 
 American consul did not choose to attend the meeting, and his intention 
 to have him exactly informed of what passed before he returned on 
 board his own ship. He then declared his opinion, that the queen had 
 an indisputable right to send away the priests ; and that as their resi- 
 dence would ine\dtably have led to disorder and anarchy, disastrous for 
 the island, she was justified in so doing ; but that it might have been 
 better to have had more patience ; and, since they said they would wait 
 the arrival of a shiji of war, to have allowed them to remain till such 
 arrival, and in the meantime to have so confined them as that they would 
 not have been able to disturb the peace. His lordship, however, 
 repeated, that if the queen thought it better to send them away, her 
 right was undoubted. As to the uncovering of the hut, if it could be 
 proved that it was part of the consulate, the officers of the queen had 
 done wrong in entering it ; but if it was only a private residence they 
 acted properly, the American consul ha\-ing given an asylum to 
 foreigners, in defiance of the laws of the island. Still, he thought it 
 would have answered the purpose to have surrounded the house, and as 
 sooner or later the priests would have endeavoured to go out, then to 
 have secured their persons. This opinion his lordship said, he expected 
 the American consul would feel it right to communicate to the govern- 
 ment of the United States. He concluded by observing, that as things 
 then were, he advised the Tahitian government to write to the superior 
 officers, both French and American, on the Chili station, and to represent 
 to them the whole affair ; he offered to take charge of the letters, and to 
 act as mediator between the parties. 
 
 The natives, and most of the foreigners present, were . thankful 
 to Lord Russell for his conduct, though it was remarked, /in answer 
 to his opinion, that it would have been better to have watted for a 
 French ship of war ; that it might be a long time before a vessel 
 would arrive to remove the priests, or to support them in their 
 unjust demands ; and that great difficulty and confusion would have
 
 J^yir VISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. 
 
 resulted in the meantime from a prolonged stay of those men, either 
 as prisoners or under strict oversight and restraint ; that notwith- 
 standing the false statements of M. Mffirenhout, no violence or injury 
 had heen committed ; and that the small house from which they had 
 heen taken was distant from the consulate, and had heen bought by 
 M. Moerenhout, entirely for distinct purposes, and for his own private 
 accommodation , 
 
 The queen availed herself of the offer of Captain Russell, and wrote, 
 on the 23rd of December, to the French and American officers com- 
 manding the station. Mr. Pritchard wrote also, by her desire, to 
 Commodore Mason, commanding the English fleet, and to the American 
 consul at Valparaiso. Pomare, in her letters, distinctly stated that, 
 independently of the religious system of the priests, which was contrary 
 to all they had learnt and now professed at Tahiti, " their residence 
 " on the island would produce great evil, because they had acted con- 
 " trary to the laws. — On this account, she said, we are firmly resolved 
 " to maintain our laws. Have we done v^Tong in acting thus ? We 
 " do not think that we have acted wrongly. We have in no manner 
 " ill-treated those two persons. This is what caused the difficulty : — 
 " These two persons would not respect our laws, and they were sup- 
 " ])orted by the iVmerican consul. We think that was not his business. 
 " The day that he was received as American consul he said : — ' I will 
 *' respect all the Tahitian laws ;' and now he does not respect them. 
 " We have not ill-treated him, since he has resided among us. This 
 *' is what Ave desire ; that we may live together in peace and in good 
 " will one with another." 
 
 Mr. Pritchard in his letter, of the 27th of December, to Commodore 
 Mason, said : — 
 
 " All we desire is, that a fair and serious investigation should take 
 *' place. But this we hardly expect, unless an English ship of war 
 " were here. Queen Pomare has requested me to write to you, and 
 •' to inform you, that considering herself as under the protecting wing 
 *' of the British government, she hopes you will allow one of the vessels 
 " under your command to run down to Tahiti, at the same time that 
 " a French or an American ship may leave the coast, and arrange the 
 *' business. This is the desire of all the English residents on the island. 
 " If you are about to return home, I hope you will use your influence 
 " with the commander, or superior officer, who may succeed you. I am 
 " persuaded that the presence of an English vessel, at the moment of 
 " the inquiry, will be of the greatest importance and of the greatest 
 *' service to the islands." 
 
 Mr. Pritchard could not refuse the request of the queen to write to 
 the superior English officer ; and this letter to Commodore Mason is a 
 sufficient answer to all the calumny by which the priests and other 
 immoral persons have endeavoured to ruin his reputation.
 
 VISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. ^ 
 
 Pomare wrote, a few days later, to the president of the United States, 
 a letter, in which it is proper to notice the following passages. 
 
 " We have teachers who have resided ahove forty years among 
 " us, and we do not wish to receive any new doctrines. There is 
 " another reason why it is not agreeable. We have a law respecting 
 " passengers coming here on board ships. I send you that law, that 
 " you may know its true character. If it is convenient to me and to 
 " the governors, foreigners may remain, but if it is not agreeable to us 
 " they cannot remain. We have not the custom of sending foreigners 
 " away without just reasons. 'UTien we believe their residence will be 
 " advantageous to the island, we allow them to reside on it. When we 
 " think that their stay may occasion difficulties, they must not remain. 
 " I have granted the request of several American merchants, and they 
 " are now gone to America to seek merchandise to sell at Tahiti. The 
 " American consul has aided and protected these two Frenchmen, so as 
 " to hinder their being sent away. He placed them in a small house 
 " belonging to him, but which did not belong to the consulate. The 
 " two men were excessively obstinate, determined to accomplish their 
 " object. The consul supported them in the same spirit. They paid 
 " no respect to the laws, nor any attention to the letters that, as queen, 
 " I sent to them. The will of the governors, and others ui office, was 
 " treated with contempt. The day we received the person who is here 
 " in the quahty of American consul, he engaged to respect all the laws 
 " of Tahiti, He now respects them no longer. This is what I desire, 
 " that vou take awav from this man the functions of consul, and that 
 " you choose a good American citizen, whom you can send to Tahiti as 
 " your representative. We will be kind to him. 
 
 " Peace be with you. 
 
 " Pomare V." 
 
 The government of Tahiti acted, it is evident, under the con-viction 
 that such men as Caret and Laval, false, \^olent, and lawless, could 
 not be suffered to commence their systematic attacks on the religion 
 professed by the whole population, without producing social anarchy 
 and poHtical dangers. This we have seen was also the opinion of Lord 
 Edward Russell. " If," said he, in a great meeting of the royal family, 
 the chiefs, the captains of merchant vessels of different nations, and a 
 great number of Tahitians, — " if the priests had remained in the country, 
 " anarchy and confusion, disastrous to the island, wovdd have inevitably 
 " ensued." This solemn and pubUc declaration of the noble British 
 officer must have produced a great effect on all who heard it ; and it 
 fully justified the apprehension expressed by Captain Fitzroy in 183."), 
 that " unless preventive measures were taken in Europe, religious strife 
 " and internal warfare would again be caused in the islands." 
 
 The testimony of two French officers, who had visited, with Captain
 
 ^Ji^ VISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. 
 
 Dumont d'Unillc, the different groups of islands, in which the 
 Romish missionaries were endeavouring to supplant Protestantism, is 
 still more conclusive. Messrs. Vincendon-Dumoulin, and Desgraz, whose 
 writings have been already quoted, done in a work, recently pub- 
 lished, have not hesitated to record their opinion of the dangers con- 
 sequent on the Catholic mission.* 
 
 "The presence of the missionaries from the Gambler islands at Tahiti," 
 say they, " had occasioned considerable agitation among the popula- 
 tion. When they arrived, the ruin of the projects of the Mamaia, and 
 the defeat of their insurrectional movements, was yet recent. The leaven 
 of irritation still worked, and the appearance of the Catholic mission- 
 aries revived the fallen hopes of the discontented. Their presence 
 raised two questions, one religious, and the other political. The state 
 of the country was such, that if they had remained, the differences 
 between the two religions would have led to political confhcts ; and pro- 
 bably the religious divisions, that so long desolated old Europe, 
 would have been re-produced on that distant scene. It may be 
 considered as a probable fact, that the efforts of the Catholic mis- 
 sionaries at Tahiti would have produced either an immediate 
 separation of the population into two rival parties, — a separation of 
 which it is impossible to estimate the importance, — or a return to 
 to the licentious habits of foraier times. In the first case, the 
 remnant of the Mamaia, the discontented, the ambitious, woidd have 
 ranged under the banners of the new sect to combat their adversaries : 
 in the second event, the natives, unable to appreciate the different 
 principles of the sects opposed to each other, would have become 
 completely indifferent to either, and have rejected both, to the 
 great detriment of civilization and improvement. Even admitting 
 the speedy triumph of Catholicism, assisted by its pompous cere- 
 monies, which impose on the imagination of savage people, an 
 admission by-the-bye altogether gratuitous, the order and tran- 
 quillity of the island would not have been the less seriously disturbed; 
 the greatest disorder would probably have accompanied such a revo- 
 lution, a disorder of which it would, perhaps, require many years to 
 efface the eflFects. It should, also, be observed, that the triumph of 
 the Catholic missionaries raised the question of foreign politics. 
 From that moment, English influence, which has so long prevailed 
 in that group, may be considered as annihilated ; for not only are 
 the Catholic missionaries French priests, but in those countries the 
 Catholic cause is identified with that of France. This invasion, 
 insignificant at first sight, on the territory occupied by English 
 missionaries, would therefore, not only effect a religious and political 
 revolution in that archipelago, but cause a rivalry between the two 
 
 * lies Taiti, Esquisse Historique, &c. &c. p. 832, &c.
 
 A^ISIT OF LORD EDWARD RUSSELL TO TAHITI. ^^' " 
 
 " greatest maritime powers in the world, France and England. The 
 " discussions that have already taken place, in consequence of these 
 " apparently unimportant events, fully justify these provisions." 
 
 But without taking into account that social and political revolutions 
 were the natural, and, as have heen proved, in the first pages of this 
 review of what has occurred, the avowed object of the French, the 
 very modes of propagation employed by the Parisian missionaries, 
 must have lead to civil and political agitation. 
 
 The following abridged accomit of the scenes that were witnessed at 
 the Gambier islands, scenes got up by the same priests, who intended 
 to repeat them in Tahiti, will prove that the apprehensions of Pomare, 
 and the opinion of both British and French ofiicers were not groundless 
 or imaginary. 
 
 " It was Sunday," says Captain Dumont d'Urville, " the day I had 
 " appointed to attend high mass, performed by the bishop, with the 
 " staff and the crews of the two corvettes. At half past nine, I em- 
 " barked in the great boat, wdth all the officers of the Astrolabe in full 
 " uniform, and forty men, twenty of whom, armed with muskets, 
 " followed in another boat. The same order was observed by the 
 " captain, officers, and men of the Zclee. The two corvettes were 
 " covered with flags from top to bottom. At length the bishop ap- 
 " peared. The altar was erected in the open air before the chapel, and 
 " decorated with flags from the corvettes, which formed a tent of various 
 " colours — ' The king,' says M. Desgraz, ' was before his house, 
 " sun'ounded b}^ about forty natives armed with lances. The inferior 
 " chiefs kept order among the crowd of people, who looked, with gaping 
 " mouths on the uniforms and movements of the French. A space, 
 " adorned with flags, was set apart for the staff and the king. The 
 " two captains were seated on the right, and the king on the left. As 
 " soon as the formalities appointed by the priests were terminated, the 
 " bishop rose and began the mass, aided by the two missionaries, Laval 
 " and Cyprieu. On a given signal, hymns were sung in Manga-revian. 
 " At the moment of the adoration of the host, a general discharge of 
 " musketry produced a universal fright. The women screamed, the 
 " children cried, the men were astonished. A discharge of the guns 
 " from the corvettes answered to the vollies on shore. Before we left 
 " the shore, the troops made a variety of evolutions. The natives then 
 " came nearer ; even the women mingled with the crowd. On seeing 
 " these exercises, so novel to them, they laughed with pleasure ; and 
 " they continued to follow us till we embarked. The pomp of this cere- 
 " mony will, no doubt, leave a deep impression on the minds of the 
 " people. Almost the whole population of the Gambier group was 
 " present ; and this display of the forces of the French will serve, if 
 " it were necessary, to consolidate the power of the missionaries." 
 " The object of this ceremony," says another officer, M. Marescot, 
 
 D 2
 
 jw'^y 
 
 / 
 
 J^ RETURN OF THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS TO TAHITI. 
 
 " was both to satisfy the rehgious feehngs which any incU\iduals might 
 " have as Christians, and to give the islanders a specimen of what we 
 " conld do, cither in the way of defence or attack. This military jn'o- 
 " menade may also serve to raise France in the opinion of the inha- 
 " bitants of these islands, and to secure still better the authority and 
 " influence of our missionaries." 
 
 It is not difficult to decide what would have been the effect of such 
 priestly and military promenades on the Sabbath-day at Tahiti. Had 
 the queen and governors permitted such demonstrations in the name 
 of religion, theif authority must immediately have been supplanted ; 
 had they refused to allow the display of French force and Romish 
 power, the cannons and muskets commissioned to give " a specimen 
 of what could be done in the way of attack," would have found a very 
 convenient occasion, not merely for terrifying, but for murdering the 
 Protestant natives. — Captain Laplace soon after threatened to lay waste 
 Honolulu and required 20,000 dollars (^64,000) of the king, because 
 the Protestants, by tarnishing the Catholic religion with the name of 
 idolatry, had insulted France and its king. 
 
 Return of the French Romish Priests to Tahiti. 
 
 The island of Tahiti had scarcely time to enjoy the tranquillity 
 consequent on the departure of the men who came on purpose "to 
 " overthrow the Protestant heresy, and to establish French influence," 
 than it was again thro^\ii into confusion by the arrival of an American 
 vessel, direct from INIanga-reva, having on board two French Romish 
 priests. After only the repose of a few days, they gave sufficient 
 proof that all their story of sufferings and ill-treatment in the hold of 
 Hamilton's vessel, were of a piece with the rest of their mendacious 
 statement. M. Caret, accompanied this time by M. L. Maigret, 
 embarked for Tahiti in an American brig, the Colombo, commanded 
 by capt. Henry Williams, who consented to take them, on a wi'itten 
 declaration, that they only went to that island in order to get a pas- 
 sage from thence by the first ship bound to Valparaiso. If this wiitten 
 agreement was a real engagement required by the captain, it proves 
 that he knew he should be acting in opposition to the port regulations, 
 were he to attempt to land them ; and that he was unwilling to injure 
 his interests by incurring the displeasure of the government. If the 
 paper was simulated, it affords another display of the falseness and 
 popish craft of M. Caret. 
 
 The brig anchored on the 2Gth of January, 1837, and the captain 
 immediately apprised M. IMoerenhout that he had two passengers. 
 " The American consul came immediately to see us," says M. Caret ; 
 " and he did not miss a single day while we were at anchor in the port, 
 " to come on board. He was constantly our friend." As soon as the 
 government was informed of the fact, a letter, in English, was sent to
 
 RETURN OF THE FRENCH ROMISH PRIESTS TO TAHITI. 3/ 
 
 the captain, coiitainiug a printed copy of the port regulations, and 
 requesting his attention to the fourth article, relating to passengers. 
 The captain wrote to the queen, requesting permission to laud the 
 Frenchmen, and he thus acknowledged the authority of the laws and the 
 right of her majesty. The refusal of the queen was prompt and 
 positive, and was supported by the following reasons : — The return of 
 the same parties to the island from which they had so recently been 
 ejected, was an act of contempt and of defiance of the authorities. Their 
 profession of desiring to disembark only in order to secure a passage 
 to Valparaiso, was believed to be a false pretence, and the real object 
 to get once more installed on shore and produce confusion. The 
 declaration of the parties, when before on the island, that they would 
 by any pretext remain, and their attempt to re-laud after they sailed 
 in Hamilton's vessel, justified this belief. — It was in fact known that 
 there was at Gamblers a French vessel, belonging to a French house at 
 Valparaiso, and freighted for that port, in which they might have 
 embarked. It was pretty certain that captain Williams had agreed to 
 take them to A^alparaiso, if he could not land them at Tahiti. M. 
 Ringman, the first mate, when the vessel anchored, said, " It was 
 " probable she would go to Valparaiso ; " and when asked why he 
 thought the ship would go to Valparaiso, and not direct to America, 
 he said, " they had two priests on board, and if they could not land 
 " them, they should take them to the above-mentioned port." Captain 
 Williams himself made several contradictory statements. In his letter 
 to the queen, he said, that he was bound to India, and could not 
 therefore allow the priests to remain on board. He declared, on the 
 other hand, to a respectable merchant, that he was going direct to 
 America; on another occasion, he told the same merchant that the 
 passengers were going to Valparaiso ; and afterwards he acknowledged 
 that the priests were so much interested for the natives, that they 
 thought it their duty to make another attempt, and to endeavour to 
 remain. The American consul invited these enterprising men to 
 his house, and they were of course very desirous of landing. The 
 captain wrote letter after letter to the queen, no doubt at the dictation 
 of M. Moerenhout, and he at length declared, that if on the 31st, that 
 is, five days after his arrival, permission were not given, he would land 
 them without permission ; that if he should be obliged to receive them 
 again on board, he would remain at anchor, but would claim from 
 her majesty an indemnity of fifty dollars a day ; and that if he took 
 them to Valparaiso, he would insist on 2,000 dollars for the freight of 
 the vessel. Various other threats were made, A\dth a view of intimi- 
 dating the queen, the governors, and chiefs, and in their anxiety, they 
 sent the following letter to M. Moerenhout, acting as consul, to request 
 him to interfere, and to prevent the captain, an American citizen, com- 
 manding an American ship, from disturbing the peace of the island.
 
 RETURN OF THE FRENCH llOMISH PRIESTS TO TAHITI. 
 
 " Papaoa, 2,0th January, 1837. 
 " M. Mocrenbout : — Peace be with you from God. This is wbat we 
 " bave to say to yoii, as representing the American president. You 
 " reside here as consul, to attend to the conduct of American citizens, 
 " that they may not trouble the government, nor be molested by the 
 " Tahitians. 
 
 " You know that difficulties have arisen : the person who has raised 
 " these difficulties is the captain of the American brig. This is what 
 " we have to say to you. Speak openly to the captain, not to put 
 " ashore either the passengers or their effects. We reckon on yon to 
 " interfere as consul, this captain being an American. Order him 
 " not to disturb the peace of this island. If he is obstinate, and acts 
 " according to his will, and despises the laws of our country, evil will 
 " arise. Peace be with you. Pomare, Queen, 
 
 PoRoi, Judge, Tati, Governor and Judge, 
 Nata, Chief, Paofai, a Supreme Judge, 
 
 AuRiAE, Chief, Hitoti, Governor, 
 Hapono, Chief, Mare, a Supreme Judge." 
 
 The consul replied, that he could not accede to the request of the 
 queen and the authorities, because he approved the conduct of captain 
 Williams, and should take part with him against the government. 
 
 The next day, 31st of January, at four p.m., the captain ordered the 
 mate to land the passengers. As the boat approached the beach, 
 several of the natives went into the water, gently pushed the head of 
 the boat, and requested the mate to take the passengers on board the 
 Colombo. No \aolenee was done to them, nor the slightest injury to 
 the boat ; and captain Williams, who was at the door of the American 
 consulate, where the priests desired to be put ashore, seeing that he 
 could not succeed, ordered his mate to take them back to the ship. 
 
 The correspondence, relating to this renewed attempt to force them- 
 selves on the government and population, was considerable ; but the 
 above forms a clear and correct account of the facts, as given in a letter 
 to the secretary of state of the United States from the queen, and written 
 at her desire by her interpreter, Mr. Pritchard. 
 
 Once mor§ on ])oard the brig, captain Williams, who was prepared for 
 the result, put to sea. " The captain," says the trust-worthy M. Caret, 
 " at the prayer of jNI. Mocrenhout, had compassion on us, and consented 
 " to take us to A'^alparaiso. After being five days at anchor, the brig 
 " set sail." They arrived safely at their destination ; and that their 
 intention was not to touch, but to remain at Tahiti, is cAident from a 
 letter written by the missionary Caret from Valparaiso, on the 1 2th of 
 April, 1837. "We are preparing to return, as we hope, to Otaiti, 
 " in spite of all the rage of heresy. We have dedicated this tiejo 
 " mission to our Lady of the Faith : it shall never be said that error has
 
 LAWS OF FRANCE AND TAHITI. 
 
 . SIPS- 
 
 " triumphed over truth. The august Mary, whom the church styles 
 " the destroyer of all heresy, vnW know how to annihilate it at Otaiti. 
 " I hope to write — from Otaiti ; for we shall again land on that island," 
 The confidence of M. Caret was evidently great ; but events have 
 proved that he reckoned more on the aid of Venus than on that of 
 Mary. In order to return to Tahiti, he thought proper to go first to 
 Paris, and then as far as Rome. 
 
 Laws of France and Tahiti. 
 
 This simple statement of their repeated attempts on Tahiti, supported 
 as it is by authentic documents, establishes peremptorily not only the 
 illegality, but the iniquity of the conduct of the Roman Catholic priests. 
 Resolved to attack, both by moral violence and physical force, the 
 religion professed by the queen personally, by the governors, and the 
 whole native population, they were not satisfied to oppose insolence to 
 the mildness and urbanity of her majesty, but they set at defiance the 
 laws, the authority of the sovereign, the acts of the executive, and 
 placed the officers employed by the government under the necessity of 
 having recourse to means undesired by them, and which certainly they 
 might have justly employed with much greater rigour. The laws they 
 thus braved were not merely the laws of an independent state, but in 
 perfect analogy with those established and respected in their own 
 country. They knew that the queen required nothing from them, that 
 is not required of every foreigner by their own sovereign, and that the 
 authority she exercised towards them, they would have experienced, if, 
 as foreigners, they had landed clandestinely on the coast of France, or 
 obstinately refused to leave its shores. They knew full well, that the 
 gendarmes of their own countiy, are not the men to wait patiently 
 twenty-four hours at their door. 
 
 But if the conduct of these priests is so reprehensible, so unjusti- 
 fiable, what must be said of that of the French government ? We ask 
 the ministers of the king of the French, if they woidd permit foreigners, 
 of any nation, furtively landing in France, first to elude the laws, then 
 openly to brave them ; to constitute themselves the judges of the 
 advantages or evils that would result to the government or to the 
 citizens, from their residence in the country, or of the effect that their 
 audacious contempt of the laws would have on the mind of the people ? 
 As to religious toleration, and the rights of conscience, of which in 
 this case the defence has been so plausibly undertaken, we demand 
 again : — If at this time, when the Protestant minority in France is 
 petitioning the Chambers for protection in the exercise of its religious 
 rights, foreign agents were to insist on entering France, for the pur- 
 pose of supporting the claims of the minority, is it to be credited, that the 
 ministers of the king of the French would manifest their love of reli-
 
 ^^J^ LAWS OF FRANCE AND TAHITI. 
 
 gious toleration by permitting the intruders to establish themselves in 
 the kingdom ? Further, if the Catholic religion were not merely " the 
 religion of the majority," but the only religion professed in France, 
 would the ministers of the King of the French allow strangers to enter 
 the country, when and where they pleased, on purpose to denounce 
 that religion as heretical and damnable, and to labour, by disputes, 
 abuse, and \aolence, to introduce and estabUsh a new religious profes- 
 sion, identified with the pohcy of the state to which the foreigners 
 belonged? Any reply would be superfluous. In whatever habitation 
 such adventurers, were they Enghsh, Swiss, or Germans, might attempt 
 to barricade them.selves, it would not afford them even a momentary 
 asylum ; and any consul who might attempt to protect them would 
 very soon be informed that he must no longer exercise in France his 
 consular functions. To pretend then to denounce as an act of injustice 
 and to pmiish as a crime at Tahiti what is the national law, and the 
 constant practice of the government of France, is as absurd as it is 
 iniquitous. Such, however, is the fact ; a fact upon which not even 
 the shadow of doubt can rest. But in order to prevent the possibihty 
 of ignorance or error, we shall place on record French law and French 
 practice. — The 4th article of the port and police regulations of Tahiti 
 answers to, and may be placed in parallel with, the laws of France 
 relating to passports ; and the conduct of the governors and of the 
 officers of queen Pomare, mth that of the prefects and officers of the 
 police of his majesty the king of the French. 
 
 " Every foreigner, on his arrival in France, in any sea-port or frontier 
 " town, must deposit his passport at the prefecture, sub-prefecture, or 
 " municipal office, from whence it will be sent immediately to the 
 " Minister of the Interior, In exchange for this passport, he will 
 "• receive a pass, or provisionary card of safety." — Loi du 23 Messidor, 
 an. iii. (11 Juhj, 1/95), art. 9. — Arret du gouvernement du 4 Niv6se, 
 an. V. (2n December, 1/96). — Instruction du Ministre de la Police, du 
 20 Aout, 1816.* 
 
 " Every foreigner travelling in the interior of France, or residing 
 " there for an object recognized by the French government, or without 
 " having acquired the title of citizen, is under the surveillance of the 
 " government. His passport may be withdrawn, and he may be ordered 
 " to leave the kingdom, if his presence shall be likely to disturb public 
 " order and tranquillity." — Loidu2S Vendemiaire, an. vi. fl9 October, 
 
 1797; art. 7.t 
 ^ Such then is the law. 
 
 The following decree further establishes, as law, that the decisions 
 by which the Minister of the Interior orders the expulsion of a 
 foreigner from the French territory, and the decree of the Prefect, by 
 
 * Nouveau Dictionnaire de Police, par MM. Elouin, Trebuchet, et Labat. Paris, 
 1835, tome 2, p. 556. t Ibid 567.
 
 LAWS OF FRANCE AND TAHITI. 
 
 cfT 
 
 which, ill virtue of such order, he causes such foreigner to be arrested 
 aud detained proAisioually, cannot be referred to or reversed by the 
 council of state. 
 
 " Decree of the 2nd of August, 1836. 
 
 .+ 
 " Louis Phihppe, &c. '" 
 
 " Ha^•iIig examined the demand of M. C. G. Naundorif, styluig 
 " liimself Charles-Louis, Duke of Normandy, that we would be pleased 
 " to revoke and annul all the administrative decisions which have antlio- 
 " rized his detention, and immediately to revoke and annul the three 
 " decisions of our Minister of the Literior, mentioned in the decree of 
 '• the Prefect of Police, of the 5th of July, 1836, and to order the 
 " liberation of the appellant, 
 
 " Having examined the 7th article of the law of 28 Vendemiaire, 
 "an. vi, — 
 
 " Judging that the acts against which the appeal above-mentioned is 
 " directed belong to the high police of the kingdom, and cannot there- 
 *' fore be submitted to our coimcil of state for discussion, 
 
 " The request of M. Naundorff is rejected."* 
 
 This decision of the council of state establishes the authority of the 
 7th article of the law of the 28th of Vendemiaire, an. vi., by characte- 
 rizing it as " relating to the high pohce, and still in force ;" and such 
 is therefore the state of legislation and jurisprudence, regarding the 
 right of expelhng foreigners from France ; that kingdom that boasts of / 
 being the most liberal of countries, as to the facility ^^^\i^\ which it opens \ 
 
 its ports and frontiers to the people of foreign nations. \ 
 
 This decree of his majesty, Louis Philippe, let it be further observed, 
 was issued in the same year, and within a few weeks of the same date, 
 as that of the order of her majesty, queen Pomare, for the ejection of 
 the sieurs Caret and Laval. 
 
 But it is not merely that the laws of Tahiti concerning foreigners arc 
 as liberal as those of the most liberal nation of Europe, and that there- 
 fore the French priests had no ground for complaint, — no excuse for 
 rebellion. Their guilt was aggravated by their rehgious character. 
 They acknowledge and claim, as head of their church, which, 
 accordiug to them, is the only true church, a foreign prince, his Holi- 
 ness the Pope ; and " the Catholic,' apostolical, and Roman religion 
 can only be publicly professed and celebrated in France, in virtue of a 
 convention between the French government and his Holiness. f In their 
 own country, as the priests knew perfectly well, cures cannot enter on 
 
 * Recueil des Arrits du Conseil d'Etat, par M. Beaucoisht, 1836, pages 379 
 aud 380. 
 
 t Convention ecliuwjee le 25 Messidor de Van. ix. (loth July, 1801).
 
 ^.^A^ BISHOP POMPALLIER. PROGRESS OF THE CATHOLIC MISSION. 
 
 their functions, till they have taken the oath prescribed, before the pre- 
 fect ; no foreigner can perform the functions of the ministry without 
 the permission of the government ; nor can any religious ceremony be 
 legally celebrated outside of the buildings consecrated to Roman Catho- 
 lic worship, in towns where there are edifices appropriated to the 
 religious services of other sects." And yet, that which renders their 
 religion dangerous in France, — that faith in, and submission to, the 
 supremacy of the Pope, a foreign prince, that has rendered conventions 
 and concordats indispensable to the peace and security of the " great 
 nation," is to entitle French priests to trample on all law, to defy all 
 authority, to break down all protection at Tahiti ! It was, in fact, not 
 only to Paris, but to Home that M. Caret made his pilgrimage and his 
 appeal, when he could not force himself on the Tahitian government ; 
 and it was armed vdth their two-fold thunder, that he returned to 
 overturn the throne, when he could not profane the altar of Pomare. 
 
 Bishop Pompallier at Tahiti. — Progress of the Romish Mission. 
 
 While the valiant missionary is visiting the Tuilleries and the Vatican, 
 to awaken the thunders of both Prince and Pope, we may follow the 
 movements of his brethren of the congregations of Picpus and of Mary 
 in Polynesia, and notice what occurred at Tahiti. 
 
 In the summer of 1837, M. Pompallier, Maryist, bishop of Maronea, 
 and vicar-apostolic of western, as M. Rouchouse, bishop of Nilopolis, is 
 of eastern Oceania, arrived at Valparaiso, with a considerable rein- 
 forcement of Romish missionaries. He visited the Gambier islands, 
 and, after a stay of only two days, proceeded to Tahiti, where he arrived, 
 accompanied by Colomban, on the 1 9tli September. Nine months had 
 now passed since the second attempt of Caret ; calm had been restored ; 
 the bishop and his companions did not pretend to any right to take 
 possession of a residence, nor did they purpose to remain. They 
 doubtless knew all that was preparing in the way of vengeance and 
 aggression ; but it was their interest to be peaceable, and the government 
 was satisfied that they meant to proceed to another destination. 
 Under these circumstances, the queen and the governors, though they 
 did not approve the object of the Bishop's voyage, nor allow of any 
 attemj)ts to re-open the discussions commenced by the priests who 
 were ejected, did not fail to manifest both tolerance and hospitality. 
 
 The correspondence of his lordship shows with what civility he was 
 treated by the government. In fact, during the interval between the 
 refusal of permission to Messrs. Caret, Laval, and Maigret to reside 
 on the island, and the execution of the order given to the captain of 
 the Venus to avenge that refusal, a French Roman Catholic diocesan, and 
 his clergy, had full liberty to sojourn at Tahiti, as long as they thought 
 proper to make of that island, a sort of entrepot for the popish 
 jiropaganda.
 
 
 BISHOP POMPALLIER. PROGRESS OF THE ROMISH MISSION. 
 
 " We did not expect to laud in this island," says the hishop, " on 
 " account of the Protestant missionaries, but the queen gave us liberty 
 " to sojourn freely in the port where we anchored, as long as our vessel 
 " found it necessary to stay for affairs of commerce. M. Mcerenhout, 
 " who asked this permission for us, affords us the most kind and 
 " bencAolent protection. Almost every day we take walks in the 
 " island ; the people always look on us with pleasure, and on all sides 
 " they manifest to us their desire to have the true missionaries. 
 " Yesterday I celebrated holy mass at the American consul's, — the 
 " authorities were not apprized." 
 
 " I have gained here information of circumstances so very favourable 
 " to the mission in the Friendly islands, the Fejees, and New Zealand, 
 " that I shall give up our vessel, the Europe, and hire at Otaiti a 
 " schooner, belonging precisely to M. JMcerenhout, the American 
 " consul, who manifests so much kindness to us : I hire it at 400 
 " piastres a month, for an unlimited time, and with liberty to touch 
 " at all the islands I shall mention, visiting the Friendly, Na- 
 " vigators, Fejee, and Pounipet groups. My fund will soon be 
 " exhausted ; and if, for want of pecuniary means, we cannot traverse 
 " in every direction the South Seas, the result of our labours will be 
 " restricted ; heresy will gain the groups to which we cannot go ; and 
 " many souls will be lost, while idolatry and error triumph." 
 
 The benevolent attention of M. Mcerenhout to the French Roman 
 Cathohc priests, his edifying zeal for the propaganda, and his future 
 intimate relations with the agents of Picpus, are partly explained by 
 the letter of the bishop of INIaronea. The church of Rome had need 
 of an agent who was not easily disgusted, and whose services she could 
 secure ; she was not delicate as to character, nor severe on the subject 
 of money ; on his side, M. Mcerenhout cared little about the conversion 
 of heretics or idolaters, provided he could make a profit of the mission 
 and obtain influence at Paris. It suited both parties to consolidate 
 their friendship by })ecuniary arrangements. The consul found it very 
 advantageous for him, and the priests fomid it very useful to ihe/uitk, 
 to charter, for an vmlimited time, for the use of the propaganda, 
 the consul's vessel at 400 piastres, (about ^80 a month, nearly ^1,000 
 a year), a little schooner, which might have been worth about from 
 ^200 to ^300. This contract continued for a long time to favour the 
 fortune of M. McErenhout, and still served to enrich him when, a dis- 
 carded consul of the United States government, he had been adopted 
 in that capacity by the government of his majesty, Louis Philippe. On 
 the lotli of April, 1839, Mr. Baty, missionary of the society of 
 Mary, wrote from Tahiti, that he was about to sail for the Bay of Isles 
 in this same schooner, the Queen of Peace. At that time the consul 
 had already received ^1,600 for his little vessel. But this was only 
 a part of the compact between the benevolent Belgian and the pro-
 
 BISHOP POMPALLIER. PROGRESS OF THE ROMISH MISSION. 
 
 paganda. It appears from the official account of the Voyage of 
 Captain Dimiont d'Urville, that a certain French Captain Mauruc, 
 who had for some time traded in pearls between the islands and Val- 
 paraiso, and who had been very friendly with, and useful to, the priests 
 at the Gambler islands, came at length to an open rupture with them, 
 for the following reason. — " When he retm-ned," says M. Desgraz, 
 " about two mouths since, to the same anchorage for pearls, he found, 
 " that, through the influence of the priests, the natives would not fish 
 " for him; and the fact appears to be, according to information obtained 
 " from a sailor in the service of the Catholic mission, who, by-the-bye, 
 " was very reserved on the subject, that the assistance given to the 
 " missionaries. Caret and Laval, at Tahiti, by M. Moerenhout, had laid 
 " the basis for a commercial arrangement beyond the circle of religious 
 " affairs. M. Moerenhout is engaged in the pearl fishery, and by 
 " preventing as much as possible all competition, the missiouai'ies gave 
 " liim a considerable advantage. This arrangement suited all parties 
 " except the poor pearl fishers, strangers to the compact. M. Moeren- 
 " hout gained a precious monopoly, the missionaries a devoted agent ; 
 " and they escaped the danger arising from the effects of the stay 
 " of bad crews. Captain Mauruc, however, when he left for the 
 " Poumotovi islands, spoke strongly against the conduct of the mis- 
 " sionaries, declared that they had occasioned him a severe loss, and 
 *' that, on his return to France, he would complain of them and make 
 " his case public." 
 
 This revelation, it should be remembered, comes from the French 
 Catholics themselves ; and shows that the priests, who falsely accused 
 the English missionaries " of preventing the residence of their carpenter- 
 " ing friend Vincent and themselves, and of detesting the French, from 
 " their constant fear that they would supplant them in the commerce of 
 " that island," themselves agreed, by a monopoly of pearl fishing at 
 Gambler, to secure Moerenhout as a devoted agent for the overthrow of 
 the Protestant religion, and for the establishment of French power at 
 Tahiti. It may be also observed to those who have laid heavy accusations 
 against Mr. Pritchard, of interfering in favour of Protestant missionaries, 
 while acting as consul, he being no longer a missionary, accusations, 
 which need not be answered just now, that M. Moerenhout, American 
 consul, the patron of the French Romish mission, was from the first 
 interested in it ; and even while the French consul was the owner of 
 the ship, freighted by the Romish priests. As for the French captain 
 Mauruc, the victim of the address of the Belgian, though he had 
 little chance of redress, either from the superiors of Picpus, or the 
 official protectors of M. ^Icerenhout at Paris, M. Du Petit-Thouars 
 made use of him later at Tahiti, whoro, with the monopolist, M. Moeren- 
 hout, bisho]) Pouipallier prepared, at his ease, his measures for a general 
 attack on all the English Protestant missionary stations in western
 
 BISHOP POMPALLIEK. PROGRESS OF THE ROMISH MISSION. 
 
 and eastern Oceania. If, then, the Protestant missionaries had 
 the power, and exercised the despotism attributed to them, it is 
 certain they did not employ either to disturb his lordship, or to 
 interrupt the prosecution of his plans ; if, on the other hand, the 
 missionaries were detested, as the priests and their avengers have 
 declared, then the queen and governors alone, and not the mis- 
 sionaries, are responsible for the expulsion of Caret and Laval 
 from the island. From this dilemma, Jesuitism itself, whether re- 
 ligious or political, cannot escape. 
 
 Wlien his lordship had quietly completed his arrangements, he sailed 
 from the port of Papeete, with several priests, for New Zealand. He 
 called at the Friendly Islands, at Routuma, Wallis Island, and Fortuna, 
 leaving Catholic missionaries at the two last. " I hastened," says he, 
 " to occupy these two islands, because I knew that heresy intended to 
 " get possession of them very soon. I was happy to be able to be 
 " beforehand vdth it. Unfortunately it has gained already the Friendly, 
 " Navigator, and Fejee groups. I have only endeavoured at present to 
 " stop its progress, till we shall have acquired the languages of these 
 " groups, and be able to attack it before the natives." 
 
 M. Servant, one of the priests in the train of the bishop, says : — 
 " Our hearts were sad as we approached Tahiti. The inhabitants groan 
 " beneath the yoke of the heretics. Vavao (one of the Friendly 
 " islands), near which we were in great danger, is surrounded by a 
 " great number of other islands. Alas ! all are invaded by the Metho- 
 " dists. From this spot we steered for Wallis. His lordship offered 
 " two of our number to the king. He accepted the offer, and received 
 " them as friends. Thus, then, the first mission is established in 
 " western Oceania. i (Thanks to the tolerance of Pomare, and the 
 " intrigues carried on in her dominions.) After a short day's sail, we 
 " saw Fortuna. In this island his greatness established our second 
 " mission." 
 
 At length the lord bishop arrived from Tahiti in Moerenhout's schooner, 
 at New Zealand, and, on the 14th May, 1838, he wrote from the Bay of 
 Islands : — " I found here a French ship of war, the Heroine. I was 
 " surprised to hear myself received by a salute of nine guns, and the 
 " natives were still more astonished. The Heroine has produced a 
 " good effect , her presence alone in these parts has been favourable to 
 " the sacred cause of religion. In the three missions commenced, and 
 " in general in all the islands of Oceania, the people do not hesitate to 
 " prefer the Catholic missionaries to the emissaries and ministers of all 
 " the sects. I have no news from the priests, Bataillon and Chanel. 
 " I know that my letters are intercepted by the mahce of the heretics. 
 " The ships of the heretical missionaries plough the seas of Oceania in 
 " every direction. The heretical missionaries circulate everywhere 
 " books, pamphlets, and journals, filled with their false doctrine, and
 
 ^.^ 
 
 BISHOP POMPALLIER. PROGRESS OP THE ROMISH MISSION. 
 
 " we have only our voice and our pen to make known the truth. Yom 
 . " would hardly believe the effect produced on our natives by the sight 
 " of devotional pictures. Those of the principal mysteries of the life 
 " of our Lord, of the Holy Virgin, of our Holy Father, are really a 
 " sermon for them, and are extremely useful. They come fifty leagues 
 " to admire a picture, in vile colours, representing the birth of our 
 " Lord. In all the chapels we erect, we shall not fail to place portraits 
 " and pictures." 
 
 Fortunately, we possess some of the news of the priests Bataillon and 
 Chanel, that the lord bishop accused the heretics of intercepting. The 
 former (Bataillon) writes from Wallis, in July, 1838, "The first inten- 
 " tion of our bishop was to go to the Caroline group, but the progress 
 " of heresy at Tonga and at Fejee determined him to plant the cross in 
 " the neighbourhood of these islands, which are the principal ones of 
 " the mission. Wallis island, situated about the centre, appeared to 
 " him suitable for the advanced post which he resolved to establish 
 " against heresy. His lordship then made choice of me, and informed 
 " me that he meant to leave me and brother Joseph in the centre of heresy 
 " and heathenism. His lordship had left at Horn island, (Fortuna), 
 j; forty leagues from Wallis, father Chanel, our pro-vicar apostolic. 
 
 " I have had the consolation to administer, in secret, the sacrament 
 " of baptism to two yomig Oceanians, at the moment of death. They 
 " are gone to heaven to swell the number of the protecting angels of 
 " WaUis island." 
 
 About ten months later, in May, 1839, this father Bataillon informs 
 us how he managed to make these protecting angels. " In order," 
 says he, " to avoid any difficulty, when I wish to baptize children, even 
 " under the eyes of their mother, this is the way I manage :— I have 
 " always about me one little phial of scented water, and a second with 
 " pure water. I throw, at first, some drops of the scented water on 
 " the head of the child, under pretence of gi\ing it ease, and while the 
 " pleased mother rubs it gently over with her hand, I change the phial 
 " and pour on the regenerating water, without her having any suspicion 
 " of what I have done." 
 
 Such are the momitebank, and even more scandalous than moun- 
 tebank, tricks and cheats by which the islands of the South Seas are to 
 be supplied with hosts of protecting angels, and which the frigates and 
 cannons of France are to accredit, and support. It is not by such means 
 that the Protestant missionaries have gahied the confidence and affection 
 of the multitudes who have been converted from idols to serve the living 
 God ; or that they have raised the islands from heathen barbarism to 
 Christian civilization. 
 
 After reading these disgusting revelations of falsehood and impiety, 
 what reliance will any prudent jierson place on the reports of the priests, 
 who glory in their shame, either as to the conduct of Protestant mis-
 
 BISHOP POMPALLIER. PROGRESS OF THE ROMISH MISSION. 47 
 
 sionaries, or the pretended conversion of idolaters. At the Vatican 
 and the Tuilleries, however, the agency of father Bataillon was too 
 precious not to be rewarded. This man was raised to the dignity 
 of bishop : a new ecclesiastical and geographical district was created 
 for his lordship ; the office of vicar-apostolic of central Oceania was 
 conferred upon him ; ^5,250 were soon after placed at his disposal ; 
 and this charlatan, and his little bottles, were honoured, in their turn 
 by salutes of nine guns, from the ships of war of his majesty the king' 
 of the French. 
 
 Father Chanel, writing from Horn island about the same time, 
 acknowledges that these clerical tricks were not veiy successful. " Hi- 
 " therto," says he, " the fruits are not very abundant ; 20 baptisms, of 
 " which four are of adults, and the rest children in the article of death, 
 " are all the results obtained after eighteen months waiting." A year 
 later, in May, 1840, that is, two years and a half after his installation, 
 this father says, " My first business was to visit the families, to study 
 " the language and manners of the country, in order to be able to 
 " evangelize. This is what I am not yet able to do ! I have baptized 
 " some adults and some children ; — very few refuse baptism when they 
 " are near death. How favourable the moment seems to me, to pene- 
 " trate in those groups to which we are so near ! The Methodists 
 " overrun them, and have forestalled us every where." 
 
 " — Might it not be said (these are the words of a French author), 
 " that the hateful passions of the religious parties of the civilized 
 " world had selected, for their battle field, the Southern Seas ? Our 
 " missionaries make no mystery of the fact ; and it is impossible to 
 " open their publications, without being cominced of its truth. 
 " We cannot but bitterly deplore this religious rivalry, which, 
 " without elFecting anything advantageous to the cause of civilization, 
 " threatens to invade all the islands of Oceania, in which the Protes- 
 " tants have already made numerous converts. In an official circular 
 " of the French missions, I read, — ' Central Oceania, in which two new 
 " French bishops are about to exercise their apostolate, is composed of 
 " five principal groups : New Caledonia, New Hebrides, the Fejee, 
 " Samoa, and Tonga. To these may be added a considerable number 
 " of small islands. Considered in the four respects of population, 
 " extent, productions, and future destiny, this part of Oceania is 
 " certainly the most important.' Admitted ; but these Tonga islands 
 " have been many years Protestant ; the Samoan group, one of the 
 " richest of the Pacific, is completely so ; the New Hebrides, and the 
 " Fejee islands, are now almost covered with Methodist temples ; while, 
 " on many others, more important, no missionaries have yet entered, 
 " We cannot believe that the invasion with which religious rivalry 
 " threatens these islands, can take place without injury to the interests 
 " of the people."
 
 FRENCH PRIESTS AND SHIPS OF WAR AT THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 We see nevertheless that this systematic invasion has been followed 
 out, and Romish priests are not only placed at Uvea or Wallis 
 Island, where English Protestant Missionaries have been long labour- 
 ing, but even at Tonga itself. If the consequences of such a contest 
 are dreaded by Frenchmen who are not entirely devoted to the papacy, 
 and who are interested in promoting the cause of civilization, how 
 much more must they be deprecated by Protestant christians, who 
 believe that the gospel provides the surest and the safest means of 
 raising men from the misery of barbarous heathenism, and the only 
 means of preparing them for a blissful immortality. Sad, indeed, 
 would be their feelings, did they not also feel, at the same moment, 
 that the God they serve can now, as he often has done, educe great 
 good from great calamity. 
 
 French Priests and Ships of War at the Marquesas. 
 
 While the Popish agents, who had started from Tahiti in their friend 
 Mffirenhout's Queen of Peace, were thus, under the direction of bishop 
 Pompallier, attacking and preparing to destroy all the English Pro- 
 testant Missions in western Oceania, what was going on in eastern 
 Oceania, the episcopal jurisdiction of bishop llouchouse? Why the 
 attack was regularly proceeding in that quarter ; and a French frigate, 
 the Venus, had conveyed two Romish priests to the Marquesas, as the 
 advanced guard of ten more who were to follow, and preparatory to 
 the taking possession of that group, in the name of the king of the 
 French. 
 
 After a variety of burlesque and unworthy proceedings on the part 
 of captain Du Petit-Thouars — proceedings httle in harmony with the 
 sanctity and importance of a religious mission, and of which it is 
 unnecessary to give the details — thepriests were established at Santa 
 Christina, precisely in the valley in which the English missionary was 
 then labouring. 
 
 M. Desvault, one of the priests, in a letter from Waitoua or Vaitahu, 
 dated the 7th August, 1838, says, " A Frenchman, who has been on the 
 " island eight months, and two Irishmen who have resided here four 
 " years, came on board. One of the Irishmen is employed by the 
 " Protestant minister. This minister is not married. He acknowledged 
 
 o 
 
 " to the captain tliat he was not very glad to see us, adding, that, 
 " nevertheless, he should not attempt to do us any harm. The captain 
 " talked with him of the vexations the French had experienced at 
 " Tahiti and the Sandwich islands, and, after expressing his indignation, 
 " he added, he had resolved to establish everywhere Catholic Mis- 
 " sionaries." 
 
 Since 1797, English Protestant Missionaries had been engaged in 
 efforts, both painful and costly, for the conversion of the savage inha- 
 bitants of this group of islands. Mr. Crook had braved, during
 
 FRENCH PRIESTS AND SHIPS OF WAR AT THE MARQUESAS. — 49—" 
 
 eighteen months, a thousand dangers, while he endeavoured alone to 
 enhghten and improve them. After a lapse of many years he returned 
 to place among them four converted natives from the Tahitian islands. 
 These zealous teachers were followed from time to time by others, who 
 introduced the gospel into several islands, and were, in their turn, 
 visited by the missionaries from Tahiti. Notwithstanding many dis- 
 couragements, the mission was not abandoned. In 1834, two mis- 
 sionaries from England, accompanied by Mr. Darling from Tahiti, and 
 several converted Tahitians, recommenced the arduous task of evange- 
 lising this ferocious people ; and during four years, the faithful M.- 
 Stallworthy had been patiently toiling at his station, when, in 1838, 
 a frigate of the king of the French arrived to place two popish agents 
 in the very and the only spot then cultivated by an English Protestant 
 labourer. This was done, too, " in the name, not only of the Romish 
 church, but of France." Mr. Stallworthy did not hastily quit the field ; 
 he even received a year later, in 1839, a fellow-labourer from England, 
 and they continued to exert themselves to prepare, for future times, a 
 better generation, and for the existing population, better days ; till, at 
 the end of two years, finding it impossible to maintain usefully their 
 ground against the united influence of heathen barbarism, popish craft, 
 French power and French profligacy, they left the IMarquesas a short time 
 before these islands were brought under the sovereignty of France. 
 Another group was thus ra\dshed from the Protestant charity, that had 
 so long watched for its salvation. Great results had not in either of 
 these cases signalized the toils and sufferings of the missionaries, but the 
 history of the Christian religion in the Pacific, warrants the belief that 
 though late and perhaps when unexpected, the culture bestowed, and the 
 seed committed to the soil, would have been productive, and the fruit 
 abundant ; had not the feet of political and priestly invaders overrun 
 the spots which must ever be dear to the memory of Protestant Chris- 
 tians in England. 
 
 Fifteen days after the departure of Captain Du Petit-Thouars from 
 Santa Christina, Captain Dumont D'Urville arrived at the Marquesas 
 with two coi'vettes, the Astrolabe and the Zelee. This celebrated circum- 
 navigator, who was soon after made admiral, but perished with his wife 
 and his son in the conflagration of the railway train at Paris, in 1842, was 
 surprised, not to find his brother officer and the Romish missionaries at 
 Nouva-Hika, the principal island. They had preferred to take their 
 station where the seat of the Protestant mission had been long 
 established. 
 
 M. Dumont D'Urville came direct from the Gambier islands. On 
 his arrival in that group, on the 1st of August, his first act had been 
 to honour Bishop Rouchouse with a salute of nine guns from each of 
 the corvettes ; his last act, on the Sunday before he left, was to get up, 
 in concert with the bishop, the spectacle of a public mass or military 
 
 E
 
 <50 FRENCH PRIESTS AND,-^HIPS OF WAR AT THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 ^ \ 
 
 promenade already described.* jhX his departure from those islands, 
 he had promised the lord bishop and his clergy that he would go to the 
 Marquesas to sec how their missionaries were, and to give them, ii 
 necessary, the support of a few broadsides ; a demonstration Vhich the 
 Gambler priests thought, would, in any case, awe the islanders into 
 deference for their brethren. 
 
 Though the account of the obscenities practised by the French at 
 
 the Marcpiesas, and authoriMil Ijy Captain Dumont D'Urville, the 
 
 bishop's friend, and the patron of the missionaries, as j)id)lished by 
 
 order of the French government, is scarcely fit to be placed beneath 
 
 the eyes of Englishmen, it is a duty to insert a part of the description 
 
 in these pages, designed to expose the truth, and to vindicate those who 
 
 have suffered at Tahiti from French Catholic oppression and calumny. 
 
 " The offing," says the captain, " was covered by a swarm of nymphs, 
 
 " swimming to the vessel. (The indecent description of them is sup- 
 
 " pressed.) They were not allowed to go on board till the cannon gave 
 
 " the signal in the evening. The cannon fired, and access to the cor- 
 
 " vette was allowed to the amorous Nouva-Hikans. On my arrival (if 
 
 " is the captain who writes), I found the deck invaded by the girls, laugh- 
 
 " ing, singing, and dancing about in perfect liberty. Our gallant sailors 
 
 " eagerly got round them, and disputed for their easily granted favours. 
 
 " Every corner of the vessel offered ludicrous scenes and animated 
 
 " groups, worthy the pencil of Callot, but which it would be difficult to 
 
 " paint. At length satiety, fatigue, and especially the cold night air, 
 
 " checked by degrees the ardour of our sailors. About midnight, the 
 
 " women formed a circle, and performed a lasci^-ious dance,t expecting, 
 
 " no doubt, the finest results from the seduction it offered ; afterwards 
 
 " all became silent, and the rest of the night passed peaceably. At 
 
 " sunrise, M. Roquemarel, lieutenant, asked me what was to be done 
 
 " with the women. My answer was, let them go ashore in the same 
 
 " way they came ; and M. Roquemarel immediately executed my 
 
 " order. The consequence was a morning bath, which was not relished 
 
 " by all our belles ; there was, in fact, some hesitation about com- 
 
 " pliance ; but two or three leaped into the sea, and the rest did not 
 
 " long delay to follow them. Most of these girls were between twelve 
 
 " and eighteen years of age ; some were much younger, and did not 
 
 " appear to be more- than eight or ten." The lieutenant himself, M. 
 
 Roquemarel, says, — " It is not necessary to recal scenes enveloped by 
 
 " the shades of night. This temporary suspension of all religious and 
 
 " social restraint, this mixture of men and women, * * * 
 
 " * * * * these real saturnalia, did not in any degree 
 
 " disturb the order of the ship. I was at first ashamed to see httle 
 
 * See page 35. 
 f M. Elie LeGuillon, surgeon of the Zelee, has given a coloured representation 
 of this lascivious dance, and has added the music of the song. 
 
 i
 
 THE COMMISSION OF CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS. i) 1 
 
 " girls — children, taking their part in these games, in this lascivious 
 " pantomime ; but I learned that they accom])anied their sisters in 
 " their amorous excursions. ******* 
 
 " They figured there in order to begin their education." 
 
 It is painful to be obliged to repeat that these inconceivable indul- 
 gences and orgies were given by the commander of the French expedi- 
 tion to his crews only a few days after their appearance in the splendid 
 ceremony of the mission mass at the Gambler islands, and on the eve 
 of his departure to inflict on queen Pomare and the Protestant island 
 of Tahiti the vengeance of French Catholic priests, in the name of 
 " the august Mary, the destroyer of heresy !" 
 
 M. Caret had not threatened and invoked in vain. Already M. Du 
 Petit-Thouars, having installed the Romish missionaries, had left the 
 Marquesas, breathing out threatenings against the Enghsh and Tahitian 
 Protestants, and had arrived at Tahiti ; so that while the saturnalia were 
 going on at Nouva-Hika, on board the Astrolabe and the ZHee (26th 
 and 27th of August, 1838), the Venus was preparing to ravage the 
 peaceful country, where all the orgies, in which the French delighted, 
 had been long utterly unknown. 
 
 The Commission of Captain Du Petit-Thouars. 
 
 Before we accompany this gallant ofiicer on his memorable visit, 
 justice requires, that we should make a distinction between him, and some 
 of his co-\-ictors over a female sovereign and her unprotected people. 
 
 Captain Dumont D'Undlle was not commissioned to " menace the 
 " queen and the chiefs with exemplary chastisement ;" but when he 
 heard the tales of the bishop and clergy of the Gambier islands, " he 
 " thought the honour of the national flag required his presence on the 
 " spot." M. Du Petit-Thouars, on the contrary, received special orders 
 from Paris, and was therefore under the obligation of obeying, not the 
 order of a superior officer, but the royal authority itself ; even though 
 in the execution of his orders, his conduct might be, as it was, in 
 direct opposition to that which he had pursued, under his own personal 
 inspiration, in nearly similar circumstances, at the Sandwich islands, the 
 year before. 
 
 A brief reference to the statements published by American officers, 
 and missionaries, will not be found a useless or fatiguing deviation 
 from the course of our narrative. 
 
 M. Bachelot, a Frenchman, and Mr. Short, an Englishman, arrived 
 at Honolulu in July, 1827. As soon as this was known to the govern- 
 ment, it immediately ordered them on board the vessel in which they 
 came. The master of the vessel refused to receive them, asserting that 
 as their passage was not paid, he would take them no further. They 
 remained, in fact, till December, 1831, when the government fitted out 
 a vessel, and sent them away. The reasons of the government will be 
 
 E 2
 
 THE COMMISSION OF CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS. 
 
 found in S. I. Gazette of November, 1838. — " This is our reason for 
 " sending away the Frenchmen. — In the first place, the chiefs never 
 " assented to their dwelling at Oahu, and when they turned away some 
 " of our people, to stand opposed to us, we said to them — 'return to the 
 " country from whence you came.' 
 
 " At seven different times we gave them that order, and again 
 " speaking, we said, ' Go away, ye Frenchmen ; we allow you three 
 " months to get ready.' They did not go during the three months, 
 " but remained eight months, saying, ' We have no vessel to return 
 " in.' Therefore, we put them on board our own vessel, to carry them 
 " to a place where the service is like their own. 
 
 " Because their doings are different from ours, and because we cannot 
 " agree, therefore we send away these men. 
 
 " Oahu, Bee. 7, 1831." " Kaahamanu. 
 
 The captain of the government vessel was ordered to "proceed to 
 " California, and to land the passengers safe, where they might subsist ; 
 " with every thing belonging to them," 
 
 After an absence of six years, in consequence of orders from Rome, 
 they reappeared. M. Dudoit, a foreigner, from the Isle of France, 
 residing at the Sandwich islands, sent the Clementine, a vessel of which 
 he was owner, to fetch them. They arrived on the 17th of April, 183/. 
 No sooner was the government apprised of their landing, than their 
 effects, except their linen, were refused admittance ; and the captaui 
 and owner were ordered to re-embark their passengers. This order was 
 disregarded, and the vessel was nearly ready to put to sea again, when a 
 peremptory order was given by the king to put the men on board. 
 They accompanied the officer of the king to the wharf, stepped into 
 the boat, and were put on board the Clementine. The owner, however, 
 would not allow the vessel to sail, nor would he supply the means 
 necessary for the voyage ; and the missionaries were still on board 
 when M. Du Petit-Thouars arrived in the Venus, and at the same time 
 H. M. vessel the Sulphur, Captain Belcher. After a conference on the 
 subject of the demands of the missionaries, an agreement was entered 
 into between the French captain and the king. The captain " con- 
 " sidered M. Bachelot only as a Frenchman, forced by necessity to call 
 " at Honolulu to find an opportunity of going to his own country," — 
 no small concession. The king (Kamehameha III.) agreed to allow M. 
 Bachelot to reside unmolested at Oahu, till he could find a favorable 
 opportunity to go to Manilla, Lima, Valparaiso, or to some other 
 part of the ci\alized world. M. Dn Petit-Thouars, on his part, engaged 
 himself as follows : — 
 
 ''Honolulu, July 21, 1837. 
 
 " The undersigned captain, commander of the French frigate, the 
 " Venus, promises, in the name of M. Bachelot, that he will seize the
 
 ■^99 
 
 THE COMMISSION Ol' CAPTAIN UU PETIT-THOIAUS. 
 
 " first favourable opportunity to go either to Manilla, Lima, Valparaiso, 
 " or some part of the civilized world ; and in case such^an opportunity 
 " is not presented, on the arrival of the first French man-of-war which 
 " visits these islands, he shall be received on board. In the mean time 
 " he shall not preach." The captain of the Sulphur acceded to the 
 same arrangement on behalf of Mr. Short. 
 
 This affair being amicably settled, captain Du Petit-Thouars proposed 
 the adoption of a general treaty in which it was stipulated, " The French 
 " shall come and go freely in the states which compose the government 
 " of the Sandwich islands. They shall be received and protected, and 
 *' enjoy the same advantages as the subjects of the most favored nations." 
 
 Not long before the date of these transactions, captain Lord Edward 
 Russell had made a treaty with the king, of a similar nature, by which 
 secure residence in the islands was promised to British subjects, " so 
 " long as they conformed to the laws." French subjects, who were to be 
 treated only as those of the most favored nation, were of course held, 
 as well as the English, to conform themselves to the laws. Captain Du 
 Petit-Thouars indeed disavowed to Kamehameha " all intention of in- 
 " terfering with the internal regulations of the country, or of meddling 
 *' with the delicate question of religion." In all this there was no pre- 
 tension to establish missionaries by ships of war, on the plan of Messrs. 
 Caret and Moerenhout; on the contrary, they were to be removed by 
 the first ship of war that might arrive. French adventurers were not 
 to be protected when violating, but only while conforming to the laws. 
 The French oflacer, the contracting party on the part of France, was 
 therefore now, by order of his government, obliged to punish as illegal 
 at Tahiti, what he and English officers had approved and sanctioned at 
 Honolulu. 
 
 The orders given to captain Du Petit-Thouars were not, it is true, dictated 
 by the French ministry, of which M. Guizot is now a member, as Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, but by that presided by M. Mole, which M. Guizot, 
 by a coalition with M. Thiers, succeeded in overthrowing. The present 
 government has, nevertheless, adopted the orders given to M. Du Petit- 
 Thouars, and the famous measures of the French Protectorate that grew 
 out of them; M. Guizot, moreover, a Protestant, declared at the 
 Tribune, that the foreign policy of France always had been, and, though 
 that religion is no longer the religion of the state, must continue to be 
 Roman Catholic. M. Du Petit-Thouars must not be then unjustly 
 accused of acting without the orders, or in opposition to the spirit and 
 policy of his government. 
 
 It is necessary to observe further, that the orders of the French 
 minister were, in fact, the orders of M. Moerenhout; for it was solely on 
 his misrepresentations and suggestions, that those orders were issued. 
 M. Mole, President of the Council, wrote to his colleague, the Minister 
 of Marines, on the ord of May, 1837, as follows, —
 
 THE COMMISSION OF CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS. 
 
 " I communicate the two letters sent by M. Moerenhout, consul of 
 " the United States at Tahiti, to the charge d'aflfaires of the kmg at 
 " ChiU, together with an authentic protest. You will learn from these 
 " documents, the shameful treatment of two missionaries and a carjjenter, 
 " who left the Gambler islands on board a Tahitian schooner, and the 
 " two first mentioned of whom were obliged to put to sea in a small un- 
 " sound vessel. Though queen Pomare has only yielded to the 
 " instigations of the Methodist missionaries, you will, no doubt, be of 
 " opinion, that if such acts of violence were to remain unpunished, there 
 " wouldno longer be any securityfor our ships, that may touch voluntarily 
 " or necessarily, at any of the islands of the queen of Tahiti ; and that 
 " both prudence and dignity point out the urgency of sending a frigate 
 " on a special mission to insist on a public and solemn reparation," 
 IIa\in2: taken cognizance of the contents of M. Mrerenhout's letters, 
 M. Rosamel, Minister of the Marine, addressed to M. Du Petit-Thouars 
 the following instructions on the 10th of June, 1837 : — 
 
 " It a})pears from the copies inclosed, that the acts of violence to 
 " which the three Frenchmen were exposed, were committed by the in- 
 " fluence and at the instigation of the English Methodist missionaries 
 " established on the island. They are of such a nature, that if they 
 " were to remain unpunished, there would be no security for any of our 
 " ships that voluntarily or from necessity may touch at Tahiti. You 
 " will therefore please to go to Tahiti, and demand from the queen 
 " complete reparation for the insult offered to France in the person of 
 " three of our fellow-countrymen. It will be proper, on your arrival, 
 " to confer first of all with M. Mojrenhout, consul of the United 
 " States, who will inform you of all the facts for which you are to re- 
 " quire reparation, and who will also furnish you with the means of 
 " deciding on the kind of satisfaction you shall demand." 
 
 " You will understand the importance of making the queen and the 
 " inhabitants feel that France is a great and powerful nation, possessing 
 *' both the power and the will to have its citizens every where respected." 
 
 It would be an endless task to ])oint out the falsehoods and absurdi- 
 ties crowded into this official correspondence, and to animadvert on the 
 deception carefully practiced by the Catholics, and as readily adopted 
 by the French government. One remark will characterize the whole. 
 M. Mole, the INIinister of Foreign Affairs, was led to believe that the 
 priests came to Tahiti in one vessel, and were sent away in another. 
 He wrote to the Minister of Marine — " You will learn from these 
 " documents, the shameful treatment of the men who went to Tahiti in 
 " a Tahitian schooner, and were obliged to put to sea in (another) a 
 " small unsound vessel (iine frille embarcation) ." The vessel was the 
 same, — soinid when she arrived at Tahiti ; had she not been so, the 
 captain had had three weeks to make all necessary repairs ; and when the 
 priests embarked, the vessel that conveyed them away, had on board the
 
 ()£>/ 
 
 THE COMMISSION OF CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS. 
 
 wife of the captain, who had been a protege of the queen's, and his 
 wife's sister. This one important proof, of the wicked conduct of the 
 epistolary persecutors of the queen and the missionaries may suffice. 
 
 The mission of vengeance, not of enquiry, turned then on the 
 hinge which M. Moereidiout had forged. He did not delay the execu- 
 tion of his threats to the queen, and the spirit of his correspondence 
 may be compared with that of jNIr. Pritchard. 
 
 On the 22nd of December, 1836, he wrote to the consul-general of 
 France, to whom he had already written on the 1 st, that is twelve days 
 before the departure of the priests : — " In my former I stated that I did 
 " not know how far the English missionary would carry his persecutions ; 
 " but that I thought, as these Frenchmen were in one of my houses, he 
 " would not have dared to offer any violence to them. I was mistaken. 
 " On the 13th instant, his satellites came in the queen's name to make 
 " them depart ; and as the two priests who had been threatened with 
 " being thrown upon a desert island, woidd not open the door, the 
 " emissaries entered through the roof, and afterwards broke the lock. 
 " Then, dragging out these defenceless men, they carried them on their 
 " shoulders to the door of the English missionary, Pritchard, and there 
 " they threw them into a boat, half filled with water, and conducted them 
 " on board the small vessel, which left the port soon afterwards. This 
 " cruel and savage act, well worthy the chief of Vandals, who caused 
 " it to be executed, is better detailed in my letter to the French 
 " goveniment. The carpenter, one of the three, who had also been 
 " ordered to depart, not being on the spot, escaped. 
 
 " McERENHOUT, 
 
 " Consul of the U. S. at Tahiti." 
 
 In another letter, of a week later, he adds :— " Things will be much 
 " worse if this act, as well as those in the Sandwich islands, shoidd 
 " remain unnoticed ; and in this case, I shall consider neither the 
 " property nor the person of any Frenchman safe on these islands. 
 " The former priests of these islands, Mr. Consul, belonged to the 
 " hio-hest aristocracy, and were considered equal to the chiefs and the 
 " kino- • hence the authoritv and influence of the missionaries who 
 " have replaced them ; and the latter will believe, that if they can 
 " ill-treat ^9n>«^« of a nation with impunity, they will never be brought 
 " to account for whatever they may do to other persons." 
 
 In his letter to the French government, he said, — " Messrs. Caret 
 " and Laval offered to pay the sum recpdred hy the law, from any 
 " foreigner, who wishes to settle upon the island; that the queen, influ- 
 " enced by the presence and the threats of Mr. Pritchard, refused at 
 " first to take it, and afterwards received it, with other presents, in 
 " spite of Mr. Pritchard ; that they were afterwards brought before a 
 " public meeting, and there ordered to leave the island ; that they were
 
 60Z/ 
 
 J>% THE VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT-TilOUAUS, AT TAHITI. 
 
 " assured by many chiefs and natives, who wished them to remain, that 
 " this persecution did not emanate from the sovereign ; that they pro- 
 " tested against the decision of the meeting, as contrary to the law of 
 " tlie island, and to the law of nations ; and that the queen and 
 " goA-ernment of Tahiti were answerable to the French government for 
 " the treatment received." 
 
 "With these official documents, and armed wdth the authority of his 
 sovereign, M. Du Petit-Thouars sailed from Valparaiso. 
 
 The Venus, Captain Du Petit-Thouars, at Tahiti. 
 
 On the 27th of August, 1838, the Venns cast anchor in the bay of 
 Papeete (known to the friends of missions, as Wilks's Harbour) ; and 
 the first business of its commander was, in obedience to his orders, 
 to confer with the now ex- American consul, ]\Ioerenhout. It was from 
 this person, convicted as we have seen of falsehood and calumny, that 
 he received all the information on which he proceeded, " in the name 
 of the king of the French," to demand, from a poor and defenceless queen 
 " the prompt reparation due to a great and powerful nation, that had 
 " been insulted in a way the most serious and improvoked, by the 
 " injurious and shameful treatment inflicted on several of its citizens 
 " (not one of whom is named), and especially in 1836, on Messrs. 
 " Laval and Caret, apostolical missionaries." It was on the evidence 
 of this same individual that he laid an embargo on all vessels in 
 the harbour, and invited foreigners to put their persons and property 
 in safety, if they should so desire, under his flag. 
 
 None of the members of the royal family, none of the chiefs, or 
 governors, were requested to explain or to disprove the allegations of 
 the enemies of the queen. The person now acting, in the name of 
 the sovereign of England, as her consul, Mr. Pritchard, was not con- 
 ferred with, nor requested either to disprove, or to admit, the charges 
 heaped on him. As Englishmen and missionaries were oflacially de- 
 clared, to be the authors and instigators, of the wrongs and insults 
 endured, might not the French government, first of all, have informed 
 the English government, of the charges brought against them, and have 
 appealed to it, and through it, to the society to which the missionaries 
 belong, to investigate the facts, and to prevent a repetition of conduct, 
 that might involve the two countries in a serious conflict ? Nothing of 
 the kind was thought worthy of a great nation ; but Pomare was re- 
 quired, first, to write to the king of the French, "to apologize for the 
 " violence done to Frenchmen, whose honourable conduct had not 
 " merited any punishment." — Honourable conduct it would then be, 
 to land on the French coast, or to pass the French frontiers, at 
 places where there are no officers to admit strangers, to receive or 
 to furnish passports. It would be honourable, to endeavour to de- 
 fraud the French revenue, to refuse obedience to laws of the same
 
 iM^ 
 
 TllK VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT- THOUARS, AT TAHITI. ^^^ -JV. 
 
 nature with those, to which Frenchmen are required, and consent to 
 submit in all European states; to deny solemnly and publicly all 
 knowledge of those laws, though their perfect acquaintance with them, 
 had been proved by their own correspondence! Such conduct was pro- 
 claimed, "in the name of the king of the French," to be honourable at 
 Tahiti ; would it then be thought dishonourable in France 1 
 
 Under the pressure of a broadside, the Tahitian queen was obliged 
 to beg pardon of the most Christian king ! " I am only," said she, 
 " the sovereign of a httle, insignificant island ; may knowledge, 
 "glory, and power, be with your majesty; — let your anger cease; 
 " and pardon me the mistake that I have made." 
 
 The queen was required to pay " Laval and Caret 2,000 piastres for 
 " the damage they had received." It would haA-e been satisfactory to 
 have learnt further, on what grounds this indemnity was required. 
 It applied solely, to the refusal of residence to those two gentlemen. 
 Vincent had been allowed to remain ; M. Laval did not return. M. 
 Maigret accompanied Caret. The sum demanded was 10,000 francs 
 (ag-lOO)! Now, the priests, before they left Valparaiso, agreed, as 
 they inform us, to give an American captain, 450 francs (aClS) 
 each ; for which sum he was to convey them to the Gambler islands, 
 wait there a few days at their disposal, and then, if required, take 
 them on to Tahiti. The whole expense of the passage of Laval and 
 Caret from Valparaiso to Tahiti, going round by the Gambler islands, 
 was ^36 or 900 francs. Supposing then, that Hamilton, who carried 
 them in his little vessel from those islands to Tahiti, charged at as 
 high a rate as the American captain, and estimating the Gambier 
 islands as being half-way between Valparaiso and Tahiti, they could 
 not have paid him more than 4.50 francs, or ifil8, for the passage of the 
 two to Tahiti ; and if Hamilton charged as much for their return, the 
 whole of their passage money to and from Tahiti would amount to 
 .3636, or 900 francs. The passage back from Tahiti is all that could 
 be demanded, and even that, the missionaries did not pay to Hamilton, 
 who was obliged to receive them as a punishment for having landed 
 them in contravention of the port regulations. 
 
 As to loss of stores or goods, they could have experienced none ; 
 for all their property was scrupulously respected, and carefully sent 
 with them in Hamilton's vessel. There remains only their board and 
 lodging, from the 21st of November to the 13th of December, almost 
 the whole of that time having been passed in the house, and under the 
 special protection, of their pious and disinterested friend McErenhout, 
 who could not surely have required, for his kind accommodation, more 
 than ^3, or 75 francs per week, the charge at the best hotel in 
 Papeete. This charge of 225 francs, or £9, added to the £3G, brings 
 the amount of expense incurred to ^£45, or 1 125 francs. No damage 
 whatever was done to the hut of the consul, nor was a shilling spent
 
 ^^J*^ THE VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS, AT TAHITI. 
 
 on the building for repairs ; but even allowing £,^, or 1 2;") francs, for 
 re-adjusting the fara leaves on the roof, which the officers had been 
 obliged to lift nj), to avoid breaking open the door; this would not raise 
 the indemnity to more than 1250 fra^ics, or a^oO, sterhng. But to err 
 on the safe side, and doubling this, i we believe very fair calculation, 
 it is only then ^61 00, or 2500 francs, that can be accounted for. The 
 demand of four times that sum of 3^400 (10,000 francs) seems therefore 
 to have been an act of direct spoliation, of sheer robbery under the 
 name of " indemnity for voyiuje oblige of Laval and Caret." But it 
 was M. Moerenhout who, by the authority of the French government, 
 fixed the number of dollars, the menacing captain was to demand. 
 Religious compensation was of course out of the question ; for had the 
 " children of the Holy Hearts" been offered any sum whatever as an 
 indemnity for their priestly failure, — their spiritual disappointment, 
 they woidd, doubtless, have said as the apostle Peter, of whom M. 
 Du Petit-Thouars says, they are the successors, "Thy money perish 
 with thee." 
 
 The French despatches, and official histories, which describe the 
 incidents of this great exploit, are as replete with falsehood, as those 
 which defend its origin and justify its character. " The hardest con- 
 " dition dictated by M. Du Petit-Thouars, say they, was undoubtedly 
 " the payment of 2,000 dollars. The queen did not possess them, or 
 " woidd not pay them. It is reported that she said to Mr. Pritchard, 'You 
 " sent the men away, — it is just that you should pay.' Mr. Pritchard, 
 " as agent of the queen, proposed that the captain should be satisfied 
 " with the queen's bill for the amount, and when this was refused, he 
 " offered to guarantee the signature of the queen ; but this was inad- 
 " missible, for he was the author of the vexations for which reparation 
 " was demanded." It was because M. Mcerenhout knew that the 
 queen had not the money, that he instigated the demand, in order either 
 to obtain the money from the English, or to occasion the attack on the 
 island. The spoliators would not even leave to the English, the merit 
 of assisting the queen. With the same breath, they avow her inability 
 to pay, and report her refusal to pay, from displeasure with the mis- 
 sionaries. It was quite true the queen, who they knew had not the 
 money, was obliged to pay it within twentj'-four hours, and that it was 
 only by the kindness of English Protestants that the island was 
 spared the horrors of massacre and conflagration. But if this object 
 was not gained by M. Moerenhout and the captain, the other end pro- 
 posed was secured. " The missionaries of the Church's Missionary 
 " Society," says M. Du Petit-Thouars, " were obliged to redress, for 
 " the queen, the mischief they had done, by j)aying for her the expences 
 " that we had demanded for Messrs. Caret and Laval, unjustly ill- 
 " treated by her government."* " Mr. Bicknell," say the officers, 
 
 * Vol. iii. p. 171 .
 
 THE VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS, AT TAHITI. ^^9 ' "* 
 
 "furnished 500 dollars, Mr. Vaughau lOUO, and Mr. Pritcliard the 
 " 500, that completed the sum. The 125 ounces were j)aid in the 
 " council chamber of the Venus, in presence of Messrs. Chiron Du 
 " Brossay, second in command, and M. Filiuex, purser, ^^ho received 
 " it as a deposit, M. Du Petit-Thouars giving a receipt."* iThis mode 
 of dignifyhig a robbery with official formalities, might justly have been 
 responded to on the part of the queen, Pomare, by the well known 
 salutation; " Sir Count, I have the honour to tell you that you are a 
 " rogue." The money so paid and received, was, of course, shared 
 between the " children of the Holy Hearts," and their virtuous agent, 
 Moerenhout. 
 
 The French captain had further to require, "as a reparation due to 
 " a great and powerful nation," that the French flag should be hoisted 
 the day after, at noon, on the little island of Motu-Uta, her territory, 
 and be honoured by the queen, with a salute of twenty-one guns. Had 
 Pomare been required to salute, from her own fort, the French colours, 
 hoisted specially on board the French frigate; this surely would, to all 
 honest and honovirable purposes, have been satisfaction enough, for 
 having sent out of her country two Frenchmen, who entered it, 
 and would remain in it illegally ; but the placing the tri-coloured 
 flag forcibly on the territory of the queen, could only be an essay, — an 
 indication, — a " specimen," as M, Dumont D'Urville would say, of 
 that protecting u.surpation that was then in embryo, under the fos- 
 tering care of M. Moerenhout. 
 
 That such was the real character of the transaction is evident from 
 the conduct of Sir G. Gibbs, governor of New South Wales. On the 
 arrival of M. Du Petit-Thouars at Sydney, the governor, who thought 
 it his duty to converse with him on the subject, was assured by him, 
 that by hoisting the French colours on the island, he did not pretend 
 to any sovereignty over Tahiti. -f In consequence of this verbal com- 
 munication, the governor's secretary apprised the captain by letter, that 
 his excellency had sent to England the letter of the British consul, 
 containing the account of the order of M. Du Petit-Thouars, for the 
 hoisting of the French colours on the island; and also information of 
 the verbal assurance of the captain, that he did not pretend thereby to 
 exercise an act of sovereignty over Tahiti. " It was not," says M. Du 
 Petit-Thouars, " without some surprise, that I read this despatch ; I 
 " was especially astonished at the last paragraph, which appeared not a 
 " little insidious." He, however, virtually acknowledges, that the 
 
 * IlesTaiti, p. 851. 
 t " The island of Tahiti," says Lieut. Duperrey, who arrived there in May, 182 1, 
 " has declared itself independent, ahoxit two months since. The English flag, wliich 
 " lias heen used from the time of Wallis, is replaced by a red flag, with a white star 
 " in the corner."
 
 "m) THE VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUAKS, AT TAHITI. 
 
 governor's report of the conversation, insidious or not, was true. " I was 
 " aware of the character of M. Gibbs, and was informed of his violent 
 " hatred of CathoUcs. He asked me, in a conversation we had, if, as 
 " the journals said, we had taken possession of Tahiti in the name of 
 " France. I naturally answered, 'No ; ' but as he proceeded further to 
 " question me on the object of my mission, I observed, that I did not 
 " think it my duty to answer questions relating to interests foreign to 
 " him. The governor then said, that he should write to me officially." 
 The promised letter of his excellency, produced a long reply from the 
 captain ; in Avhich, while he fully admitted the independance of Tahiti, 
 he plentifully calumniated the British consul, who had called attention 
 to the awkward fact of the French flag waving on Motu-Uta. Wlieii the 
 correspondence was closed, "H.E." says M. Du Petit-Thouars, "became 
 " more and more gracious, and if it had not been for his religious 
 " exaltation, which has, no doubt, increased since his arrival in a 
 " country, where the zeal l)f the sectaries is carried to fanaticism ; he 
 " would have had still more favorable sentiments towards us;."* What- 
 ever might have been the motive for the strange demand, the queen 
 was as short of powder as of dollars ; the English Protestants could not 
 help her; and the captain of the Venus, the representative of " the justly 
 irritated king of the French," was obliged himself to supply the powder, 
 reqviired to wake the echoes of the mountains, in honor of the tri-colored 
 
 flag. 
 
 M. Du Petit-Thouars was quite alive to the ridiculousness of de- 
 manding a salute, from people who had no powder. When the friendly 
 representative of Pomare assured him, that he was informed there was 
 not enough for more than live charges, and that, unless he should be 
 pleased to accept of that number, the tri-coloured flag must remain 
 unhonoured, he paced the deck, and passed his flngers through his 
 hair, in considerable agitation. — "What will they say in France," said 
 the patriotic commander, " when they know that I furnished the 
 " powder to salute my own flag? You must get powder." "It is 
 " quite impossible ; the queen has no more, and there is none to be 
 " purchased." The difficulty was great — an expedient was necessary — 
 and the captain hit upon one : " Mr. consul," said he to Mr. Pritchard, 
 " I can give you some powder, and you can do with it what you please." 
 That gentleman might have refused to accept such a gift from 
 such hands ; he knew that a use was to be made of it, as insidting as 
 unjust ; but the whole aff'air was an outrage ; he stood between the 
 queen, her people, and the guns that were shotted to destroy them ; 
 his refusal would have aggravated their misery : he kindly consented 
 to receive the powder, and the salute was given. But the party, who 
 received the honour, felt that the ridiculousness remained. They 
 
 * Du Petit-Thouars, vol. iii. p. 921.
 
 THE VENUS, CAPTAIN DU PETIT-THOUARS, AT TAHITI. 64 
 
 thought, therefore, to efface it by counter-ridicule ; and, being as unscru- 
 pulous as ungrateful, they invented and published, of the person 
 who had extricated the commander from his dilemma, a story, which 
 they thought to be mortifying, and knew to be utterly false : " Mr. 
 " Pritchard begged from the French commander the gift of the powder ; 
 " he even loaded himself, the bad cannon on the little island, and 
 " directed the firing." The British consul served the queen and her 
 people ; but he did not salute the French flag, hoisted, with as much 
 mean annoyance, as illegal violence, in the country, where he had 
 long resided securely, as in an independent state. 
 
 The degradation of the queen and people was not yet complete. 
 When all the articles of the required separation were complied with, 
 the hero of Papeete condescended to visit the humiliated female 
 sovereign, on purpose to introduce M. Moerenhout as consul " of the 
 " great and powerful nation, and of the justly irritated king of the 
 " French." This functionary, it mil be remembered, threatened the 
 queen and the people, " that he would one day make them know that 
 he was American consul." The queen had required his removal. 
 . " The day we received the person who is here, in the quality of consul, 
 " he promised to respect all the laws of Tahiti. He now respects them 
 " no longer. I desire that you take from this man the functions of 
 " consul." The president of the United States at once complied with 
 the wish of Pomare, and the blusterer was dismissed for improper and 
 unlawful behaviour. Captain Du Petit-Tliouars was not satisfied with 
 a first visit made to her majesty at her residence, mth all his staff; 
 two days after, he demanded by letter, another audience, to present M. 
 Moerenhout, " whom it became indispensable to accredit." — The queen 
 felt the importance of such an appointment, and rephed : " Do not be 
 " too pressing for the conference, dear captain ; let it be to-morrow." 
 The place of meeting was crowded. Several of the local chiefs, and 
 many of the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts were present. 
 Moerenhout entered, weak, and suffering from the still bandaged ~ 
 wounds, that a felon had inflicted, but betraying by his countenance, the 
 mingled working of conscious guilt and of triumphant pride. The 
 captain presented him as the consul of France. " During some time, 
 " the queen," says her oppressor, " was silent ; but after appearing to 
 " reflect, she said, she should prefer the appointment of some other 
 "person. M. Dn Petit-Thouars replied: 'M. Moerenhout is ho- 
 " nourably known in the world, and already accredited to your majesty, 
 " as consul, by the United States ; he possesses equally the esteem of 
 " the French government ; in fact he is the only person that can be 
 " entrusted with such important functions.'" Nothing remained for the 
 queen but submission, and she received as consul, the man who was to 
 be her jailor. 
 
 This arbitrary intrusion of a political agent on an independent
 
 M. MO'.nENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 sovereign, is itself an unprecedented act of insolence and illegality ; but, 
 when the character of the agent so intruded is considered, the conduct 
 of the Freii.ch connnandcr, y)resents an example of atrocious violation of 
 honour and decency, of which the most degraded government might be 
 thought incapable. But M. Moerenhout was master of the position: 
 to the colonizing system of French statesmen, and the propagation 
 projects of the Romish congregation, he was alike "then indispensable." 
 The captain had so far revealed the mystery of iniquity, — the ex-Ameri- 
 can consul was "the only "person." 
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FrENCH CoNSUL AT TaHITI. 
 
 The name of M. Moerenhout has already occurred frequently, but 
 necessarily, in this review of recent events in Polynesia, both as the 
 enemy of English missions, the agent of Picpus, and the counsellor of 
 I" the cabinet of the Tuilleries. Had he remained in these more occult 
 capacities, or had he continued to be merely the confidential corres- 
 pondent of the French government, and the officious director of the 
 French commander, it might have been possible to dispense with any 
 further notice of such an inchvidual : but now that he is made the repre- 
 sentative of the king of France at Tahiti, it is imperative, to give further 
 publicity to the conduct of so important an official. 
 
 Had he withheld from the press, his own narrative of personal failures 
 and successes, interwoven with calumny of others, in a work to be 
 noticed hereafter ; had he hesitated to mix up the history of his for- 
 tunes, with that of the christianization of Polynesia ; had he not 
 voluntarily presented himself to Europe, as "the accuser of the 
 brethren," we might have been permitted to observe in silence, the dark 
 surface, without disturbing the filthy stream, of his unworthy life. But 
 it is a duty to enter on some of the disgusting details, of the career of 
 a being, who has not only attracted much attention, but has effected 
 much mischief; and has, succeeded in becoming for a time, the sovereign 
 of Tahiti, and almost, the arbiter of peace or war, between England 
 and France. 
 
 Before he was seen at Tahiti, Moerenhout, a Belgian by birth, had 
 been clerk to the Dutch Consul, Mr. Dousther, at Valparaiso, and had 
 succeeded in getting himself made supercargo of a vessel sent from 
 that port, by that gentleman, Mr. Green, and others, to trade in the 
 islands of the Pacific. On his arrival, equally with all foreigners, 
 apparently respectable, he met with kind treatment from the English 
 missionary families, and such services as their knowledge of the lan- 
 guage, and their long residence in the coiintry qualified them to afford. 
 Mr. Pritchard, who had been stationed at Papeete from the period of 
 his entering on the mission, was on the eve of departure for the Mar- 
 quesas ; he however gave him the information he desired, and he was
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. ^— ft4 
 
 admitted as a guest in the house of Mr. Bicknell, a merchant, and 
 son of the late missionary of that name. This hospitahty, he requited 
 by flagrant immoraUty ; he was detected in an attempt to scale a 
 partition, such as has been described, for a guilty purpose, and offered, 
 as his only excuse, a plea of intoxication. This excuse was not deemed 
 by his host sufficient to justify a prolonged residence under his roof, 
 and he was required to find another habitation. 
 
 After this specimen of his private haliits much honour in his mer- 
 cantile speculations is not to be expected. These he commenced at once. 
 Bitter complaints soon followed, of the disappointing improbity of the 
 natives ; not one of whom, as he said, out of one hundred and twenty, 
 paid him what they owed. The truth of this case appears to be, that 
 the new trader gave out at once, and contrary to the custom, his 
 clothes and other articles of barter; expecting, by papng thus before- 
 hand, to get an advantage in the extra quantity of arrow root to be 
 made. The people probably found, that under the appearance of un- 
 usual confidence, he had driven an unusuallv hard bargain ; at all 
 events, immediately on the return of Mr. Pritchard, three months later, 
 M. Moerenhout appealed to that gentleman. The honour of the natives 
 and of religion were interested : Mr. Pritchard advised the natives, at 
 any rate to settle the business ; they set to work, completed their task, 
 and M. Moerenhout acknowledged to Mr. Pritchard, that in consequence 
 of his kindness, he had received, within a pound or two all the arrow 
 root he could pretend to claim. 
 
 From the first, this adventurer turned his attention to the use that 
 might be made of spirituous liquors. He was indeed, in this respect, 
 one of the principal causes of the demoralization, of which he complained 
 when it answered his purpose, or when his interests suffered, instead of 
 being promoted, by the effects of his gin and rum. — 'At an early period 
 of his residence he entered into commercial relations with Tati, chief of 
 Papara, a large landowner, and a man of considerable influence, both on 
 account of his talents, his energy, and his pohtical career. M. Moeren- 
 hout soon found, that it was important to attach this man to his 
 speculations; and though he pretends that Tati offered to give him land, 
 and to build him a house, it was he that set on foot a sugar plantation, 
 and engaged the chief in the enterprise, in the hope, that through him, 
 he should "obtain labour at a lower remuneration." Tati was also 
 employed by him to get a lai'ge quantity of wood, for which he liad 
 received orders from Chili, cut and conveyed to the port; he was occu- 
 pying the natives, at the same time, in making large quantities of arrow 
 root. 
 
 Unscrupulous in the means by which his ends could be secured, 
 he favoured vices of every kind, if, by their indulgence, he could bribe 
 individuals to his interests, or gain influence in the island. He had 
 need, indeed, of every resource ; for, according to his statements, he
 
 0/0/ 
 
 ^,,6^ M. Md'.RKNIIOlT, FRENX-II CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 was eminently unsuccessful. In five years, he complains, that he lost 
 four vessels, of which he was sole or in part owner, and in his sugar 
 plantation, 10,000 francs. " I did wrong," he says, "when I gave the 
 " chief Tati an interest in the business. I always found, that, though 
 ' ' well meaning and ready to render me service, he took care to oblige 
 " and favour the people, in order to secure friends (whereas M. 
 " JNIoerenhout engaged him, on purpose to be favored himself). This 
 " he did often and unscrupulously at my expence, giving something extra 
 " to the natives, even when their work was not half done; and making use 
 " freely of my merchaudize, and regaling all who visited him, and getting 
 " nohhj drunk, with his family, with my rum, gin, and brandy ; this 
 " he did so liberally that, at the end of three years of costly but fruit- 
 " less eflPorts, I was obliged to give up the establishment with the loss 
 " of about 10,000 francs." lu other words, the adventurer hoped, 
 by the extraordinary temptation of liquor, to get more work done and 
 cheaper, than by any other sort of payment ; and he found, to his 
 cost, that it was easier to make people drunk, than to render them 
 industrious. 
 
 In an inflated representation of his commercial importance, he admits 
 the great part he took in reviving the use of spirits, and in corrupting 
 the native population. " I had given an impulse to commerce, by 
 " building a schooner, and fitting out a whaler ; by employing a great 
 " number of hands on my plantation, in making arrow root, cutting 
 " wood, and shipping it. The small vessels, with divers, that I sent 
 " pearl fishing to the Pomotou islands, and others that I sent to get 
 " tortoise shells ; those that I sent backwards and forwards between 
 " the islands and Chili ; my business with all the principal inhabitants 
 " of Tahiti, and with the numerous ships that came to the island; all this 
 " gave an importance to the spot, that attracted foreigners of all classes, 
 " especially smiths, carpenters, coopers, sailors, and still more vaga- 
 " bonds, deserters, worthless fellows driven from their ships, and who 
 " might all have lived well enough if they would have worked ; but 
 " they did much harm ; for they were all drunkards, brawlers, examples 
 " of depravity, and of a way of life horrible even among the natives. 
 " It was deplorable to see the love of liquor, and the increase of 
 " drunkenness which had been so fatal to the country. The grog shops 
 " multiplied, and they all prospered." 
 
 There is no end to the sad descriptions of this philanthrophist ; but 
 not a word is said of the money he made, or endeavoured to make, by 
 the importation and sale of gin, and rum, and brandy ; — not a word of 
 the grog shops he started or supplied ; of the bargains he made in 
 exchange for spirits, or the treats he gave in order to corrupt and 
 debauch the population. It has been mentioned that, at Mr. Bicknell's, 
 he gave early proof of his familiarity with the two principal vices, that 
 have inflicted misery on Tahiti ; but he is quite silent on this subject ;
 
 M. MOERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. ^-65 
 
 nor, among all the details of his Tahitian life, does he give any of the 
 instances of similar misconduct, that might be mentioned. 
 
 The adventures of M. Moerenhout, took him to several of the groups 
 of the Pacific, and also to the Spanish coast, from whence, on one 
 occasion, he returned to Tahiti, married to a Spaniard. He had ordered 
 a house to be constructed at Papeete, for his own residence ; but when 
 he arrived, the building was not ready, and it was so difficult for him 
 to lodge his bride, that Mr. Pritchard hospitably permitted them to 
 reside during six weeks under his roof, without requiring or receiving 
 any compensation. Madame Mcerenhout was a Roman Catholic, and 
 wore a cross suspended from her neck ; she was, however, always 
 present at family worship, as well as her husband ; who, though irre- 
 hgious and heathenish in his habits, pretended to prefer the simplicity 
 and verity of Protestantism, to Roman Catholic tricks and ceremonies- 
 Thus, on his second, as on his first arrival at Tahiti, he was particularly 
 indebted to the kindness of English Protestants, for such measure of 
 European accommodation and comfort, as they alone could afford him. 
 
 M, Moerenhout resolved at length to visit Europe ; but on leaving 
 Tahiti, he seemed doomed to increase his obhgations to the missionaries 
 he was about to traduce. Unfaithful in his own conjugal relations, he 
 sought to place his wife under a wholesome measure of restraint ; and 
 at his request she was received, with her daughter, as inmates, by 
 the family of the excellent missionary, Mr. Osmond, whose station was 
 distant from Papeete. — Unable to pay for goods, that he wished to take 
 to Europe, and knowing that their proprietor owed Mr. J. Williams j680, 
 which Mr. Pritchard was charged to recover; M. Moerenhout promised, 
 that on his arrival in France, he would remit that sum, to Mr. Williams 
 in England. On this engagement, Mr. Pritchard allowed Mr. Williams's 
 debtor to ship the goods, and Moerenhout thus obtained, by two mis- 
 sionaries, both the merchandise and credit. 
 
 He took a passage by way of the United States. By flattering 
 accounts of his enterprises, and of his local influence, he secured his 
 appointment to the office of American consul at Tahiti. But his visit 
 to that country will be remembered by at least one merchant. At 
 Boston, by exhibiting a valuable bottle of pearls, he obtained from Mr. 
 Baker a loan of 500 dollars, which he engaged to repay immediately ; 
 and when, long after his return to Tahiti, letters from the lender were 
 addressed to English missionaries, enquiring for the consul, and 
 requesting application to be made for the amount of the debt, it was 
 evident, that he had taken care to forget that engagement, equally with 
 the one that he made to the representative of Mr. Williams. It was in 
 such affluent circumstances, and with such honourable intentions, that 
 the new made consul of Tahiti arrived at Paris. 
 
 In that great capital he was not inactive. Indeed he had to push his 
 fortune, at the same time, in various directions. The title of American
 
 M. MCEUENHOUT, FRENCH CONSLL AT TAHITI. \ 
 
 consul, and esijccially the imaged title of consul-general, might be 
 used, in so administrative and centralizing a country as France, to great 
 advantage. It might procure him access, to the offices of the govern- 
 ment, and open the way for a transfer of his services. With merchants 
 and manufacturers, his consular dignity might procure him credit ; wth 
 men of science, his publication of the botanical researches of an accom- 
 plished traveller, who was shipwrecked among the islands of the 
 Pacific, would obtain for him attention, introductions, and considera- 
 tion. Nor was religion to be neglected, as a means of advancement, 
 lie might protect Romish missionary enterprise in Oceania, and 
 advise and assist the agents of the society of Picpus ; hut this need 
 not prevent his earnest correspondence with Mr. "Williams, then in 
 London, in order to obtain if possible the advantage of conveying him, ' 
 his family, and the large number of Protestant missionaries who were 
 expected to accompany him, on his return to the South Seas, in the 
 vessel he was about to charter. 
 
 Certainly this was much, for an obscure trader, from the little 
 cocoa-nut isle, to attempt, — nor was he unsuccessful. His American 
 consulship, enabled him to serve the French cabinet, and he is now 
 royal French commissary at Tahiti. He obtained, on credit, a cargo of 
 merchandize for the Polynesian market. His work, is quoted by Frencli 
 writers, official and unofficial, as an authoritv, for falsehood aiidcalumnv. 
 His relations with Picpus, became both profitable and honorific, and were 
 of immense importance to the propagation of the faith ; and if he 
 did not succeed, in pro^dding Tahiti with Protestant missionaries, as 
 well as Romish priests, he was at least fortunate enough to keep Mr. 
 Williams, the great protcstant Polynesian apostle, out of his eighty 
 pounds. Of course, no more was said in the council chamber of the 
 Rue Picpus, of his correspondence with the Author of missionary en- 
 terprizes than of the projects of the " children of the Holy Hearts," in 
 the letters, presshig for freights of Protestant ministers, despatched to 
 Mr. Williams. — Covered wth glory, and full of hope, M. Moerenhout 
 left France in the summer of 1 835, and, in due time, he found himself 
 once more in the bay of Papeete ; but on board a French brig, laden 
 with goods, of which he could absolutely dispose, whether he shoidd 
 ever find it convenient to pay those, who entrusted them to his care or 
 not. He began to make, at least, some show of remittances. As his 
 fishers had procured him shells, he selected the good, and sent them in 
 the brig to France ; he effected also some sales, but the dollars were, 
 as usual, scarce with him. Once again, then, he had recourse to the 
 benevolent feelings, and good offices of Mr. Pritchard. He urged 
 strongly the necessity of making further remittances to Europe ; and as 
 he knew the missionaries drew on the Society, he requested that their 
 bills might be payable to his order ; promising solemnly, that the 
 amount should be paid by him, from time to time, as the missionaries
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 might wish to receive it. Mr. Pritchard, was only too kind ; unwilling 
 to discredit the American consul, he acted as he desired : he not only 
 ventured on his own account, but, living himself on the same spot with 
 the consul, he became security to another of his brethren also. This, 
 now abused, friend in need, was never repaid ; but was finally obliged to 
 take from the trader's store, such articles as he could obtain. In the 
 mean time, Mr. Baker being rather peremptory, M. Moerenhout 
 actually shipped off to Boston, the refuse shells, that had been thrown 
 on the beach, as too bad to send to France, and of little or no value. 
 
 He had done, however, great things in the United States, and in 
 Europe, and he was about to do still greater things in Oceania. He 
 had left behind him, that which would wonderfully advance his future 
 projects, — a book full of ungrateful and base calumnies, both of the* 
 queen and the people of Tahiti, and of the Protestant missionaries.* / ,,►•''' 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe, that had it not been for the long, 
 painful, and successful labours of the English missionaries, this sordid 
 speculator would never have had an opportunity of patching his 
 ragged purse at Tahiti, or of unscrupulously taxing their patience 
 and disinterestedness. His work is full of incongruities, and it bears 
 on its title page, the impress of his roguery ; — for he there figures as 
 " Consul-general of the United States of the Oceanian islands ; " 
 whereas, his appointment was simply to the consulship of Tahiti ; so 
 that, though it possesses no authority whatever, it contains, in some 
 parts, avowals and revelations, which tend to neutralize the eftect of his 
 assertions and descriptions, in others. Thus, he admits, to a certain 
 degree, the advantages he had derived from the missionaries, of whom 
 he was the implacable foe. "Most of them," he says, "are amiable 
 " men, who have nothing sombre about them, and whose reserve is not 
 " put on." He speaks of M. Nott as " one of the most cheerful of men ;" 
 of Mr. Wilson, as " one of the best and mildest persons he had ever 
 "met wdth;" of Mr. Pritchard, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Osmond as 
 " particularly well-behaved and good company ;" of Mr. Davics as 
 " possessed of considerable information, acquired by his love of study 
 " and his assiduity ;" of Mr. Henry, as "just and upright, and though 
 "rather rigid, incaj)able of injuring anyone;" of Mr. Darling, "as 
 " very agreeable in his happy moments, — hos})itable, frank, and 
 " cordial." Mr. Davies, he acknowledges, " paid him great attention ; 
 " and the liberality, and the absence of selfishness in the conduct of 
 " Mr. Pritchard merits," he says, "special praise." He even gives a 
 long passage to the talents and success of Mr. Williams, and acknow- 
 ledges the ser\-ice he rendered him ; — but Mr. Pritchard was then still 
 holder of Mr. Williams's claim, and the author, then in Paris, was 
 plying Mr. Williams at London, with solicitations for passengers, for 
 the French brig he was about to charter. 
 
 * Voyages aux iles du Grand Ocean, par J. A. Moerenhout, &(:., Urn. 
 
 F 2
 
 f'/4y 
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 Much of his work, is of a tone too hibricous for republication in 
 English ; but it is necessary, to a just appreciation of what has occurred 
 at Tahiti, and of the conduct of the French government, in the appoint- 
 ment of its consul, to place here, several extracts from the statements 
 he propagated in France, to the disadvantage of the people, by whom 
 he was endeavouring to raise his fallen fortimes ; insulting to the 
 sovereign, under whose protection he had securely carried on his 
 speculations ; and defamatory of the Protestant mission, to which he 
 owed his consulship, and which was ever labouring, to counteract or 
 mitigate the evils, caused to the island by such immoral beings as 
 himself. 
 
 He thus describes a domestic scene and family worship in a house 
 where he had been hospitably received on a tour, preparatory to one 
 of his trading voyages. " Some time after supper, a light was placed 
 " in the centre of the house, and the old man began the evening prayer. 
 " According to the custom of the sect of Methodists, to which all the 
 " English missionaries belong, the prayers are not uniform, but ex- 
 " tempore, and dictated by circumstances. I have already mentioned 
 " the facility with which these people speak in public. I had now a 
 " fresh opportunity of observing this fact, by the prayer of the old man. 
 " Let the reader imagine a man, of the lowest class in their society, 
 " extemporizing a long and fine prayer, in which foreigners, who are 
 " exposed to danger in long voyages by sea, were not forgotten, and in 
 *' which he prayed with fervour, that he who holds our destiny in his 
 " hands, would afford me his protection in the voyage I was about to 
 " undertake. Singular state of things ! in which we see every vice 
 " united with the appearance of real devotion, and in which it must of 
 " necessity be true, either that they think the licentiousness of their 
 " habits quite innocent, or that they are the most shameful hypocrites." 
 
 M. Mcerenhout then presents to his French readers, a picture of the 
 indecencies and obscenities, that followed on the close of this fine prayer, 
 wliich the English language will not allow the pen to copy. Tlius he 
 recompensed the poor but generous people, whose integrity and hospi- 
 tality he had just experienced. 
 
 Let Captain Fitzroy, of H. ]\L S. the Beagle (a very different sort of 
 a traveller from M. Mffirenhout), reply to this calumnious description 
 of a family scene in Tahiti. " Many persons have said, that the na- 
 " tives only conformed outwardly to the doctrines of the missionaries 
 " among them, and only because the eyes of the missionaries were upon 
 ♦' them, but that, when they were no longer under their observation, 
 " they acted in a very different manner. I have been with the natives 
 " at the tops of the mountains, where no eye was upon them, except 
 " that of a stranger, whom they might never see again, and the con- 
 " duct of the natives of Otaheite was just as correct ; they were as 
 " sincere in their morning and evening prayers ; and in the manner in
 
 M. AKERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 "^ 
 
 ** which they spoke of the exertions of the missionaries as in the low 
 *' country near the sea, where the missionaries resided." * 
 
 " Mr. Stokes passed some nights in their cottages. He told me, the 
 " natives, both men and women, are extremely fond of their children, 
 " and are very kind to them. Not content with amusing and nursing 
 " them, they cram them with bananas and other nutritious food. At 
 " each end of the houses he \-isited, there was a small fire, one for the 
 " elder and the other for the younger folks ; this was the evening, at 
 " their last meal. Grace was said (a duty never omitted), and a clean 
 " comfortable meal enjoyed by the whole party. Afterwards the fires 
 " were put out, and a little wooden pipe passed roimd. Before sleeping, 
 " the oldest man said prayers ; one of the young men read a short 
 " portion of the New Testament, and then a hymn was sung by the 
 ** whole family. A lamp was burning all night." f 
 
 His descriptions of their public worship, are of the same unprincipled 
 character. — "The ser^dce," he says, "commenced by the singing of 
 *' a hymn. They sing well, and very well. I remarked several women 
 *' whose voices were soft and agreeable. After the hymn, came prayers, 
 " sermon, &c. ; but there was neither attention, silence, nor modesty. 
 "The women gossiped, or ogled and laughed with the foreigners. 
 " The children and young people ran abovit, and were continually 
 " moving from one side of the church to another. The only persons 
 " in the assembly who were quiet were the sleepers, and they were 
 *' not few in number. A few moments sufficed to enable me to judge 
 " of the state of religion in these islands." To this infamous mis- 
 representation, it is hardly necessary to oppose the testimony, given at 
 different periods, of the Hon. Captain Waldegrave, of Captain Gam- 
 bier, of M. Hyde de Neuville, of M. Guizot, of Lieutenant Duperry, 
 and of Captain Dumont d'Urville himself. It may not, however, be 
 inappropriate to quote a few lines from the last-mentioned officer, as 
 published by M. Rienzi. 
 
 " Curious to witness divine service, I embarked with Messrs. Bennett 
 " and Tyerman, the missionaries, and several of our officers. When 
 " we arrived at Pa23aua, I saw men and women marching, in good order 
 " and in profound silence, towards the church. The immense building, 
 " 700 feet long, was almost full ; and yet, notwithstanding their num- 
 " bers, so perfect was the silence, that the voice of the missionary could 
 "be heard in every part of the chapel. The service commenced with 
 *' a hymn, which was sung in parts by the people. After the reading 
 " of some pages of the Acts of the Apostles, Mr. BarfF made a long 
 *' address on one of the prophecies of Isaiah. His expressive manner 
 
 / 
 
 * "Brief Statement of the Aggression of the French," &c. By the Directors of 
 the London Missionary Society, p. 44. 
 
 t "Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle," &c. Vol. ii. p. 552.
 
 M. M(ERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 " and his appropriate emphasis, appeared to produce the deepest im- 
 " pression on his auditory. Some of the members of the congregation 
 " endeavoured to write down on paper, passages of the sermon ; the rest 
 " Hstened to tlie priests in the most fervent and respectful attitude." 
 
 The pubhc assembhes of the Tahitians, with their queen and 
 governors, are exhibited by M. Moerenhout in the same odious light. 
 
 "The queen arrived, he says, on the 1.5th, and at the same time 
 " most of the chiefs. There was that day a great feast, for since 
 " dances are interdicted, they think of nothing but eating. But what 
 " a diiference from the ancient custom ! No more ceremonies, no more 
 " pomp, — all is gloomy and monotonous. Things have not even their 
 " former cheerfulness. The greater part of the guests ate like wolves. 
 " I was obliged to contribute my portion. In the evening they came 
 " to ask me for rum ; first for the queen, and then for Tati (his 
 " friend and partner), and when I had given at least three gallons (he 
 " had a good provision), I only avoided their importunity, by refiising 
 "to open my door. 
 
 " The assembly commenced. The first question was now no longer, 
 " whether the use of rum should be abolished, but how the monopoly 
 " of that liquor should be secured to the queen, who alone should have 
 " a right to sell it.*y Even the missionaries were not to be allowed to 
 " procure the spirits which they might need, except from her ; and 
 *' every body — captains, sailors, and others, were not to be allowed to 
 " drink any, that they did not purchase from her majesty. This 
 " measure originated in the jealousy of the natives, of some of the Eng- 
 " lish, who had realised large sums by the sale of spirituous liquors." 
 
 This is a malicious misrepresentation of " the striking fact," to use 
 the words of Captain Fitzroy, " of the people of a whole countrj'^ who 
 have solemnly refrained from drinking spirits, — an act which entitles 
 them to great respect." The queen had desired no exemption from the 
 law which prohibited the importation, manufacture, or sale of spirituous 
 liquors. The chiefs destroyed the stock they possessed. Every house 
 was searched — those of the missionaries as well as others. A bottle, 
 containing a small quantity, kept for medicinal purposes, was over- 
 looked in Mr. Pritchard's house. When the searchers had left the 
 house, he called them back and showed the bottle. Some said, " keep it 
 for that purpose." Others said, " no, destroy it — no distinction — have 
 we not other medicines of which the use is not so baneful?" The 
 milder opinion, however, prevailed, and the brandy would have been 
 preserved, had not Mr. Pritchard poured it out before them, that no 
 one might abuse the example of the missionary .f 
 
 " In the course of the solemnity, her majesty shewed me certain 
 
 * M. Moerenhout dealt largely in fire water. 
 
 t " Narrative of the Voyages of the Adventure and Beai/le," &c. Vol. ii. p. 550.
 
 (0// 
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. H 
 
 " attentions, with which I was more pleased than the missionaries, for 
 " they do not Hke her to deviate from the cold and fatiguing decorum 
 " of our assemblies in Europe. Soon after my arrival at the place of 
 " meeting, she called me from the seat I had taken near the mission- 
 " aries, and placed me in a seat by her side. I remained there all the 
 " time of the meeting, and she seemed to enjoy putting my gallantry 
 " to the test. She used as a fan, a large leaf of the bread-fruit tree ; 
 " not for want of others, but because this best answered her views. 
 " Every moment she managed to let it fall, without making the 
 " slightest movement which indicated her intention to j)ick it up ; 
 " reckoning, as it appeared, fully on me to do that for her. She 
 " received it, it is true, quite as a sovereign, though sometimes 
 " she rewarded me by a smile. Indeed, this woman is gentle and 
 " kind ; at that time she was pretty. I had no reason to complain of 
 " my situation, nor did I find the service at all long. 
 
 Not satisfied with these insulting descriptions of the conduct of the 
 queen on state occasions, he represents, in a most degrading manner, 
 her private habits. 
 
 " The assembly has been finished several days. As I passed the 
 " house occupied by her majest}^ and her women and servants, I saw 
 " several large pieces of wood, on which were hanging a great many 
 " wild bananas. I asked for what use they were preserved, and was 
 " informed they were destined to fatten the queen and her women. 
 " According to the ancient fancy of these islanders, one of the greatest 
 " points of female beauty, is to be plump and dimpled. In order to 
 " procure this embellishment, they live on bananas and mashed bread 
 " fruit, mixed with water, and taken almost in a liquid state. In the 
 " mean time they are not allowed to walk, except to the river to wash 
 " themselves ; and before they reappear publicly, they are * * * 
 "*********** I will not say, that things 
 " are now managed with the same minuteness as formerly ; but I believe 
 " that the practices are gone through much the same.* 
 
 " The queen often came to see me, but she was always asking from 
 " me, for vile creatures, of both sexes, by whom she was attended, diife- 
 " rent things, and especially brandy. — Only the ladies who accompany 
 " her, or the women engaged to amuse her, came into the house. It 
 " often happened that she made them sing and dance in my presence. f 
 " These were not the brilliant fetes of the days of Oberca,| nor the 
 " graceful dances of the bayaderes of that glorious epoch. The instru- 
 
 * Mr. J. Williams had commenced, while on his last voyage, a refutation of the 
 work of M. Moerenhout, in which the ignorance, errors, and falsehoods of the 
 author would have been fully exposed. 
 
 t If this statement were worthy of belief, it was at the request of M. Moerenhout, 
 and as the price of his brandy. 
 
 X Queen of Tahiti in 1767.
 
 M. MCERENIIOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 " ments were simply Jew's-harps, to the sound of which they performed 
 " dances more lascivious than attractive, and that were only interesting 
 " from the singing." 
 
 If the sovereign was not spared, it is not to be supposed that her 
 people would be. 
 
 " Wlienever their interest is concerned, they are positively dishonest ; 
 " and the judges and the chiefs are seldom favourable to Europeans. 
 " They had engaged to cut all the sugar canes on my plantation ; but 
 " they have never once fulfilled their engagements. 
 
 " A long residence in other parts of the island has enabled me to 
 " know, that, whatever the missionaries may have told me to the con- 
 " trary, the licentious habits of the people were no better there than in 
 " Papeete or places where ships anchor. — Even the house of the chief, 
 " with whom I was, was thus profaned ; either he shut his eyes, or it 
 " was without his knowledge. And what can be done ? Such has ever 
 " been the custom in these islands ; it cannot be altered, and it was very 
 " wrong to make laws to prevent it. What in fact has been the result ? 
 *' By exhibiting as crimes, acts which are not such in their eyes, and by 
 " degrading those who commit them, by punishments which they believe 
 " to be undeserved, they have been completely estranged from the 
 " missionaries, and have been made for ever their enemies. 
 
 " I have lately had a visit from the American missionaries, who came 
 " here to see Mr. Davies. I do not know the state of religion and 
 " morals in the Sandwich Islands, but I believe it is not much better 
 *' than that of this island. What must these gentlemen think, on finding 
 " the sovereign of Tahiti lodged in the same house with a number of 
 " men and women. They must have found this very different from the 
 " picture lately drawn by their colleague, M. Stewart. What in- 
 " fatuation ! When a few hours on shore, when a perambulation for one 
 " day, in one district, so e\'idently prove that the morality of this people 
 *' is in no respect changed ; when the natives, in spite of the bonnets of 
 " the women, and the shirts of the men, are less cleanly, less decent 
 " than they were formerly ; when any one may see, at one glance, that 
 " their habitations are less graceful, less adorned, more dilapidated, in 
 " every respect inferior to what they were in their ancient state ; when 
 " a jjopulation less handsome, and more subject to infirmities, every 
 " where meets the eye ; when, in fact, at every step, the certain signs 
 " of a state of decadence and degradation present themselves to the 
 *' sight ; when all this is there before him, is it possible that any one 
 " can so far deceive himself, as to paint delightful pictures, not of the 
 " country, — always fine, always heavenly, — but of a people suffering, 
 " vegetating, the prey of -vice, licentiousness, and anarchy ; of a people 
 •' sinking under diseases, which, prevalent in every family, threaten, 
 " if not the total ruin, at least the complete wretchedness of the 
 " country ! To paint, I say, a flattering picture of morality and happi-
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 C^ 
 
 " ness altogether imaginary, and of which there does not exist the 
 " sHghtest indication, is almost an outrage on humanity." 
 
 And it was to the author of these apologies for vice, of these lihels, of 
 statements, even if true, so injurious and insulting to the sovereign, the 
 chiefs, and the whole population; — to the man who had feloniously forged 
 and used a title to an office, that of consul-general, to which he had no 
 appointment, in order at once to accredit his ribaldry, and to procure a 
 cargo; — it was to this man alone, that the French commander applied for 
 information and advice; — still worse, this publisher of gross abuse of the 
 government and of the person of Pomare, was selected to be the repre- 
 sentative of the king of the French, and forced upon the independent but 
 defenceless queen of Tahiti ! Would the government of Louis Philippe 
 accept, as the consul of any sovereign, a man who had published similar 
 abuse of His Majesty and of his people ? The recklessness of such a 
 choice can only be equalled by its wickedness. — Nor must M. Du Petit- 
 Thouars be held entirely responsible, for this monstrous act of oppression. 
 What could he do ? M. Mole, and the French minister of Marine, had 
 luibounded confidence in the " worthy merchant." To him the captain 
 was exclusively referred, not merely for information, but as to a coun- 
 sellor and a judge, who was to weigh in one hand, the honour of France, 
 and with the other, mete out the exact measure of punishment to be 
 inflicted on Tahiti. It had been decided at Paris, that the long con- 
 templated colonization of the Pacific should be commenced under the 
 auspices of M. Mcerenhout, How could M. Du Petit-Thouars do 
 otherwise, than defer implicitly, to the instructions of his government ? 
 
 It is true, the ministers of the " irritated king of the French" had 
 bestowed less attention on the pretensions and character of this di- 
 plomatic agent, than they are in the habit of giving, to the merits and 
 certificates of their own valets. With even the slightest attention — 
 with merely the most superficial examination of his despatches, and 
 a reference to only a few pages of his book — they might have found 
 sufficient proof of immorality, passion, and inconsistency, to have sug- 
 gested caution and enquiry. By a cursory glance, they might have 
 seen, that the correspondent who alarmed them by the statement, that 
 " the English missionaries inherited the glory and aiithority of the 
 " ancient priests, who were equal to the chiefs and to the king ; that 
 " they therefore did as they pleased — had arbitrarily sent the French 
 " Romish agents out of the island, and deprived all Frenchmen of 
 " security either for property or life ; was the same person, who had re- 
 " presented them, in his ' Voyages,' as detested by the people, who were 
 " their enemies ; as without authority ; as unable even to secure to 
 " themselves the privilege, of purchasing a single bottle of brandy, 
 " except from the stores of the queen." 
 
 But alas ! statesmen are too enlightened, too supei'b, to exercise, 
 on what concerns the happiness of states, and the destinies of nations. 
 
 /
 
 M. IKKRENIIOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 the common sense, that they hahitually employ in their own private 
 and personal affairs. What a lesson does the Tahitian consnlship 
 fnrnish, on modes and instrnments of government ; what an example 
 of the culpahle negligence, or something worse, of those who live to 
 monopolize power, as the friend of Caret lived to monopolize shells ! 
 
 M. Du Petit-Thouars had been taught his catechism, as the Manga- 
 revians had been taught theirs by M. Laval.* "This is the chain : — 
 " Pomare submits to the commander of the Venus ; the commander 
 " submits to the minister of marine ; the minister of marine to the 
 " president of the council ; the president of council to M. Moerenhout." 
 
 The captain felt indeed that a mark of deference, confidence, and 
 gratitude so distinguishing, was disgraceful to those who conferred it : 
 this dilemma, was more dangerous than that, from which he had escaped, 
 when he required salutes without powder : he must attempt to justify 
 the appointment ; and he did it, by an act, even more infamous than the 
 appointment itself: it was by accrediting a charge of the intended 
 assassination of M. Moerenhout, and the murder of his Vidfe by the 
 English missionaries ; above all by Mr. Pritchard. 
 
 M. Louis Reybaud lays the accusation in form, and in connexion, 
 with charges against the British consul. "M. Moerenhout," says 
 he, "instead of being able to protect the two priests, only succeeded in 
 " getting himself dismissed from the American consulship, by the 
 " government of the United States, which reproached him with having 
 " acted in opposition to the interests of the Lutheran faith. Another 
 " kind of vengeance, more mysterious and more cruel, awaited this 
 " worthy merchant. Some time after, his house was attacked in the 
 " night ; he awoke out of his sleep, and he found before him a man, 
 " who knocked him down with a hatchet, and with another blow killed 
 " his wife. The assassin was an Englishman, who had fled from justice 
 " elsewhere, and who, by assassinating M. Mcerenhout, thought he 
 " should serve the hatred of his fellow Protestants. So many services 
 " rendered to French citizens, and so cruelly expiated, merited some 
 " return on the part of our government : M. Mcerenhout was accredited 
 " by France to the authorities of Tahiti." 
 
 In the Revue des Deux Mondes, the same faithful historian repeated 
 the accusation more briefly, but more positively, "The consul of the 
 " United States endeavoured to prevent this arbitrary act ; he was 
 " attacked in the night in his dwelling, struck by an assassin, and left 
 " for dead." 
 
 An agent of the government, whose letter was published by the 
 Journal des Debuts, and has since gone the round of every French 
 journal, in a sort of justification of the consul's subsc(pient elevation to 
 the dignity of the royal commissioner, says, " M. Moerenhout only just 
 
 * Page 13.
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. — ^^ 
 
 " escaped assassination ; at whose instigation ? I dare not tell you 
 " who is suspected here. * ******" 
 
 Captain Dumont d'Urville, does not go quite so far ; but he says, 
 " The English missionaries, had to reproach themselves with an in- 
 " direct participation in this crime, by the indecent declamations in 
 " which they indulged, against M, Mcerenhout." 
 
 Captahi du Petit-Thouars is less reserved: "Perhaps," says the 
 commander of the Venus, " after the attempt at assassination of which 
 " he was the object, for reasons which were generally thought to be 
 " rather political than personal (the knowai culprit not having been 
 " punished), it became a sacred duty, to give him a moral protection, 
 " that might prevent him from being the victim of an act of humanity 
 " so honourable to him, and of the generous impulse, that had led 
 " him to assist our unfortunate fellow citizens." 
 
 To reproduce these charges, adduced as the pretext for a \-iolation of 
 all the laws and rights of nations, by the appointment of a consul, in 
 spite of the refusal of the sovereign to whom he was to be accredited ; 
 to reproduce such charges, is to refute them, and to cover with disgrace 
 those who employed them. It would, however, be an injustice to the 
 accused to suppress the facts. 
 A letter from Tahiti says : — 
 
 " The dwelling of M. Mcerenhout, American consul, was invaded by 
 " one or two villains, who went to commit robbery. Alarmed by the 
 " noise, M. Mcerenhout jumped out of bed, when a man gave him 
 " several blows on the head and other parts of the body. Madame 
 " Mcerenhout came to the assistance of her husband, and in endeavour- 
 " ing to defend him, received some blows on the head, by which her 
 " skull was fractured. After having suffered five or six months, she 
 " sunk under the injuries she had received. Two persons were accused 
 " of the murder. One was a negro from South America, and the other 
 " an Englishman. The negro was tried, condemned, and executed last 
 " January. The Englishman was acquitted, as there was no e\"ideiice 
 " on which to convict him. It appears, that the negro had already 
 " been condemned for murder, on the coast of South America, and that 
 " the captain of an American whaler had ransomed him." 
 
 Another letter from a merchant at Tahiti says, " The papists are 
 " disliked by the natives and the foreign residents, on account of the 
 " exaction made by the Venus, and because the murderer of Madame 
 " Mcerenhout was a Roman CathoUc." This testimony is valuable 
 though incomplete. 
 
 M. Mcerenhout was believed or known to have received some dollars; 
 and in the dead of the night the shutter of his house w'as })ierced, and 
 a negro entered, armed with a Spanish knife and a small hatchet. On 
 being disturbed, M. Mcerenhout took a light and left his chamber : the 
 light was immediately dashed from his hand, and a blow from the robber
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 brought him to the ground. His wife ran to learn the cause of this 
 disturbance, and a scuffle ensued. M. Mcerenhout received a dangerous 
 woitnd on his head, and fifteen more in different parts of his body : 
 his wife had her head laid open to the brain, by the axe ; and on her 
 body, she had also seven wounds. The light in the first instance, and 
 afterwards the noise, excited the attention of the neighbours; and 
 INIr. Pritchard, who was fast asleep, was roused by knocks at his 
 door and the cries of the people. Though since M. Moerenhout's con- 
 duct in the business of the priests, he had hardly spoken to him, he 
 hastened to the spot : — he found the man and his wife insensible, wel- 
 tering in their blood ; he raised them, placed them on their beds ; sent 
 for a surgeon, who was at that time on the island ; himself washed their 
 wounds, cut their hair, prepared the necessary bandages, and assisted 
 the surgeon throughout his operations. It was the sabbath ; but so 
 entirely was Mr. Pritchard occupied, that no ser^-ice could be performed 
 at the chapel. Like the good Samaritan, he was employed in binding 
 up the wounds of his enemy, and in showing that mercy, which is better 
 than sacrifice. 
 
 In the evening he had retired to his home to seek repose, when he 
 was again sent for by M. Mcerenhout. — The wounded man was become 
 so weak, from loss of blood, and was so ill, that he thought he could 
 not survive ; — he wished to confide to the " chief of Vandals " all his 
 aflFairs. Mr. Pritchard counselled him to dictate his will ; he was not 
 able to do this, but he requested INIr. Pritchard — the cruel, the infamous 
 Mr, Pritchard — to take charge of all he possessed, and to arrange his 
 concerns ; in the presence of two gentlemen, foreigners, sent for to 
 act as witnesses ; for the suiferer could not even write his name ; he 
 conferred on Mr. Pritchard, all the necessary powers for the protection 
 and appropriation of his property. Immediately, all that he had most 
 precious, including a box of pearls of considerable value, was placed 
 under the care and the seal of Mr. Pritchard. — From the first hour that 
 the supercargo appeared at Papeete, to this, ap])arcntly last moment of 
 his life, that respectable and respected Protestant Christian, Mr. Pritchard, 
 had been kind, patient, forgiving ; and now, when in the article of death, 
 or at least in imminent danger, the really friendless stranger, appealed 
 to the same kindness, the same charity, the same integrity that he had 
 so long experienced and so often abused. That Avill be indeed a dark 
 page, in the history of human nature, which shall record the ingratitude 
 of Mcerenhout, and the injustice of Romish priests and French officers, 
 to so eminently good and benevolent a man. To accuse on light 
 gromids, an innocent indi^-idual, of such a crime as assassination, or 
 privity to murder, is to become deeply guilty ; bvit deliberately to 
 charge on a benefactor and a saviour, the wounds that he had healed, 
 and the life he had preserved, was to lose completely the character of 
 man, in that of demon.
 
 M. MCERENIIOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. ^ 
 
 The negro was discovered and seized ; for months he was confined, 
 and submitted, not to trial, but to repeated examinations, that time and 
 circumstances might assist, in obtaining all the truth. The prisoner 
 accused an Englishman, first, with having assisted him in the act, then 
 with having planned the robbery ; but no evidence, beyond the declara- 
 tion of the murderer, could be found. The Englishman accused, was 
 known to be a worthless fellow, and every effort was therefore made to 
 fix upon him, his share, if share he had, in the horrid crime ; but in vain. 
 The negro was at length publicly tried ; M. Moerenhout was present ; 
 he was convinced, as well as French officers, and others who had seen the 
 prisoner, that " neither political nor Protestant " motives could have 
 had access to his mind. They were convinced, that all had been done, 
 that could be done ; that the zeal and energy of Mr. Pritchard had 
 been exemplary throughout, and were sustained to the last. Madame 
 Moerenhout died of her wounds, and her murderer was hanged ; — the 
 man against whom no evidence could be found, was of course acquitted. 
 
 Such is the episode in the melancholy story of French catholic, and 
 French political aggressions in the South Seas. Had any other "reasons, " 
 than such as suggest themselves to a housebreaker, been required to 
 account for the catastrophe, it is more than probable, they would have 
 been found to have been "personal, rather than political." — It has 
 been hinted, that M. Mccrenhout was reputedly unfaithful to his con- 
 jugal engagements. This may be well conceived, by those who have 
 read his defence of the ancient licentiousness of the Tahitians, and will 
 find full credit, when they are informed, that in a public assembly, he, 
 by an interpreter, openly pleaded for indulgences of the same nature, 
 and assimilated such sensual gratifications to the natural appetite for 
 daily food. The profligacy of his sentiments, and of his conduct, does 
 not excuse, but it may account in some degree, for that of his wife. 
 During his absence in Europe, Madame. Moerenhout became again a 
 mother, and of a child that was owned and provided for, by the proper 
 father. On his return, the American consul resented so strongly the 
 conduct of his wife, as to refuse to receive or to see her. At length, his 
 anger being in some measure appeased, he procured for her, a small 
 habitation at some distance from his own dwelling, which he permitted 
 her to visit in the day, in order to render him household services. It is 
 this same hut, that has since become so celebrated, as the residence of 
 the Romish martyrs. Caret and Laval. Finally, M. Moerenhout, when 
 ill, and needing particular attendance, allowed his wife to return to her 
 former position in his family. It was while they were thus cohabiting, 
 that the murder occurred. Since that period, M. Moerenhout has so 
 far braved both the laws and decency, as to send an agent, in the night, 
 to effect the absconding of a woman, from the side of her husband. The 
 agent was provided with a sailor's dress ; in that chsguise, while the 
 husband slept, the wife left her home, and ran towards the house of her
 
 M. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. 
 
 paramour. The husband awaking and missing his partner, suspected 
 the truth; he followed on her steps, and just as she reached the door of 
 M. Mcercnhout, who was waiting to receive her, the incensed husband 
 laid his hand on tlie jacket that disguised her; but at the instant, the 
 consul rushed forward, aimed a blow with his sword, and when the 
 husband started back to avoid a womid, the woman sprang forward, and 
 the door was closed. She has continued ever since, to live with M. 
 McErenhout; a child, the fruit of their intercourse, is on the spot ; 
 and the public scandal is complete. 
 
 M. Du Petit-Thouars might therefore, naturally have associated the 
 attack on M. Moerenhout, or the murder of his wdfe, with "reasons 
 " personal, rather than political ;" and thus have avoided " the sacred 
 " dnty of throwing a moral protection over the (pretended^ victim of 
 " a generous impulse." The negro robber, who came, from a country, 
 where, " the people live in the most profound ignorance, but preserve 
 " the Romish faith they received from the Spaniards," was a guilty 
 wretch, and he was hanged. Will ^I. Du Petit-Thouars decide on the 
 appropriate punishment, due to the moral assassin, who, though high 
 in rank, should deliberately aim his blow at the good name of 
 the honourable and benevolent?* — The circumstances of the crime and 
 of the trial, have been fully and clearly narrated ; they were of public 
 notoriety ; and yet officers of the Astrolabe have had the hardihood 
 to become, by a more recent statement, the accomplices of the captain 
 of the Vemis, and even to surpass him in audacity and falsehood. 
 " Durina; the stay of the Astrolabe^ say they, " M. Moerenhout was 
 " fast recovering, whereas his wife was in a desperate condition. The 
 " murderers of Madame 'Mcerenhout were condemned to death ; but 
 " only one of the malefactors was executed ; for the second succeeded 
 " in concealing himself from the police, or perhaps his evasion was 
 " facilitated on purpose to avoid inflicting punishment on a white man. 
 " It is even confidently asserted, that the escape of this Englishman 
 " Avas the work of Mr. Pritchard. M. Mcerenhout was dismissed, for 
 " his honourable conduct, from the American consulship ; but he was 
 " henceforth under the protection of the French flag, whose interests 
 " were in futui-e, to l)e confided to his care." 
 
 * M- Du Petit-Thouars has published, in his own letter to Sir G. Gibbs, another 
 base calumny. " I might," says he, " have demanded of Mr. Pritchard, an account 
 " of the property that Captain Bureau, murdered at the Feejees, in 1834, had com- 
 " mitted to his care. The accounts were not satisfactory ; but, I did not institute 
 " an inquiry. I received what was given me, and deplored the fate of the unfortunate 
 " family." (t) M. Moerenhout, M. Du Petit-Thouars's generous friend, declared 
 himself the partner of M. Bureau, and took possession of all that belonged to him. — 
 Mr. Pritchard, had absolutely nothing whatever to do with the effects, or heritage of 
 the murdered captain. 
 
 (t) "Voyage Du Venus, &c.'' Vol. iii.
 
 U. MCERENHOUT, FRENCH CONSUL AT TAHITI. ^ 
 
 Though " the honour " of the tri-coloured Hag in the Pacific was 
 thus publicly given in charge to the consul, M. Du Petit-Thouars him- 
 self undertook the cause of a drunken, dissolute Frenchman ; the same 
 carpenter, who had served as spy and informer, to Caret, Laval, and 
 Mcerenhout, when, the two former were lodged in his hut. On the 
 refusal of the captain to take this disorderly man from the island, 
 though the queen earnestly requested his removal ; she WTote to the king 
 of the French, soliciting as a favour, what she might have claimed as a 
 right, — the application of the laws of her country, for the protection of 
 her own subjects. In the official volumes of M. Du Petit-Thouars, 
 which published the letter of Poiajare, we find no mention of any answer 
 from his majesty Louis Philippe.*) 
 
 Notwithstanding the inexorableness of the commander of the Venus, 
 in exacting from Pomare compliance with all the articles of reparation, 
 in imposing on her a hostile consul, and in refusing to remove a pro- 
 fligate and mischievous Frenchman, he still pretended to a deep interest in 
 " the young queen Pomare. His opinion of the EngUsli missionaries was 
 " so unfavourable, that he could not but pity her, when he saw her 
 " really destitute of friends and advice, abandoned to the will of an 
 " ambitious and rapacious Society, which dictated its orders without 
 " any consideration for her feelings, and, by threats, laid all the islands 
 " of her dominions under contribution to its interests. The Society had 
 " condescended to leave her some ; but had altogether withdrawn ^ 
 
 " Raiatea, Bora-bora, the Poumoutou group, Huaheine, &c., from her y' 
 " sovereio-ntv." 
 
 With this petty, despoiled, and pitiable monarch, his majesty, Louis 
 Philippe I., king of the French, by his representative, the commander 
 of the Vemis, deigned, however, to make a convention ; in \'irtue of which 
 " Frenchmen, of whatever profession, were to be at liberty to come 
 " and go ; to establish themselves, and to trade in all the islands 
 " subject to the government of Tahiti, and to be protected as the most 
 " favoured foreigners." This convention was " signed in the Palace of 
 " the queen of Tahiti, on the 4th of September, 1838, and its sole object 
 " was, to establish the right of French subjects, to stay in the territories 
 " of the Tahitian sovereign." It must not be forgotten, that this treaty, 
 equally with the French consulship, was dictated by j\I. Mcerenhout' s 
 frigate ; and that the queen and governors had no liberty to refuse 
 the honour done them. — But this was not the real question between 
 France and Tahiti ; for Frenchmen, as such, had never been refused 
 residence, or been treated unkindly. The question still remained — were 
 Frenchmen to be hold independent of the laws ? and were persons 
 
 * The salutation of the letter to Louis Philippe, might satisfy even the Journal des 
 DehatSi that the name of Jesus Christ is not unknown in Tahiti. " Dear friend, 
 " Peace he with your Majesty, from Jehovah and Jesus Christ — the Messiah, the 
 " Prince of Peace."
 
 %^r< CAPTAIN DUMONT d'uRVILLE AT TAHITI. 
 
 dangerous to the government and to the peace of the islands, to be 
 protected, merely because they were natives ' of the gay regions of 
 France V The truth is evident ; Tahiti was to become a French posses- 
 sion ; and all the measures adopted, whether more violent or more 
 plausible, were taken, simply and solely, to prepare the way for that 
 consummation. 
 
 The armed negotiator takes care, indeed, to declare that " he had 
 " given no encouragement to the chiefs and parties that divided the 
 " government, and that, in that respect, he had acted differently from 
 " English officers. The population," he says, " was indiiferent to 
 " what occurred ; all difficulties had been removed ; the greatest tran- 
 " quillity prevailed in the island, and indeed it was not in a condition to 
 " oppose any resistance." 
 
 Captain Dumont d'Urville at Tahiti. 
 
 Affairs were thus advanced, when Captain Dumont d'Ur^"ille arrived 
 at Tahiti, with the Astrolabe and the Zelee, fresh from the grand mass 
 at Gamblers, and the saturnaha of the Marquesas. The narrative of ]M. 
 Dumont d'Urville himself, and the work on PolJ^lesia, of M. Louis 
 Reybaud, who was in fact the author of the " Voyage Round the 
 World," published in the name of M. Dumont d'tlr^alle, supply con- 
 siderable information of the sayings and doings of that officer, during his 
 stay at the island- 
 It is CAddent, that the captain entered the bay of Matavia, full of 
 plans of meditated and promised vengeance, formed on receiving the 
 false accounts of the priests at the Gambler Islands. At a dinner party, 
 given by the lord bishop Ronchouse to the officers of the corsettes, and 
 a roving trader in pearls, and when " all were gay and cheerfiil," the 
 captain was enlightened, as to the true character of the English heretical 
 missionaries. He learned, that they were " the oppressors of the poor 
 " Tahitians ; in short, vampires, whose cruelties and inquisitorial tor- 
 " tures were as atrocious, as their hypocrisy was disgusting ;" he 
 learned, that " they forced the two priests, Laval and Caret, to embark 
 " on board a miserable little vessel (Hamilton's), in the hope, no doubt, 
 " that they would perish at sea ;" he learned also, " with indignation, 
 " that all their effects had been plundered, and that they had lost, in- 
 *' eluding their passage back, as much as 10,000 francs!" In fact, be- 
 fore he left the jovial board, his indignation rose so high, that " he 
 *' felt the honour of his flag required, that he should go to the island, 
 " collect positive information, write to his government, and menace 
 " Pomare and the chiefs with exemplary punishment, for the outrage 
 " committed on French citizens. — The captain once resolved, " the 
 " bishop was in a ravishment of delight, and assured the gallant com- 
 " mander, that ])rompt and energetic measures were necessary, to 
 " humble the insolence of the Protestant missionaries."
 
 CAPTAIN DUMONT d'uRVILLE AT TAHITI. 81 
 
 When captain Dumont d'Unrille anchored in INIatavai bay, he found" 
 that the little island, was sufficiently capacious, to shelter, in another of 
 its bays, a French frigate. Great was his surprise to learn, from Mr. 
 Rodgerson, an English missionary, that the Venus was in the port of 
 Papeete, that summary vengeance had been taken on Pomare, and that 
 his menace was already accomplished. 
 
 The captain, informs us, it is true ; that " as he was the senior com- 
 " mander, the missionaries had some hope that he would investigate 
 " the whole affair, and revoke the acts of the warlike captain of the 
 " Venus ; that Mr. Rodgerson had observed, that it would not be 
 *' equitable to make all the society responsible for the faults of one man ; 
 *' and that on his way to Papeete, on purpose to put an end to any such 
 " absurd expectations, his boat met one, in which was Mr. Pritchard, on 
 " his way to Matavai, probably with the design of remonstrating against 
 " the conduct of ^I. Du Petit-Thouars." But if all this were the case, 
 as M. Dumont d'Urville pretends, they soon found that he adopted and 
 approved, ail that had been done by his brother officer. How, indeed, could 
 he do otherwise, when, m addition to the veridical Bishop Rouchouse, 
 he had for his informants Messrs. Du Petit-Thouars, Mcerenhout, and 
 others interested in their decisions. 
 
 He arrived on the 9th of September, (the submission of the queen 
 had been made on the 3 1 st of August,) and on the 10th, he accompanied 
 the triumphant Captain Du Petit-Thouars, on a visit to the queen. 
 M. Mcerenhout was, of course, of the party. " Since late events, she 
 " had left her pretty summer residence in the isle of Motu-Uta, and 
 " lived at a miserable habitation near the shore. She was surrounded 
 " by the members of her family, and held in her arms her infant, a 
 " few months old. The senior officer informed her majesty, that he 
 " had come out of his course on purpose to inquire into the affairs of 
 " the Catholic missionaries ; and when the queen's speaker, a grave 
 " and good-looking person, assured him, that the peace of the country 
 " required the steps she had taken for their removal, as there were 
 " persons ready for rebellion, who had already attempted to disturb the 
 " country, he replied — No doubt, the queen is free in her states : and 
 " nobody, not even the king of the French, can require her to change 
 " her religion. She wovJd therefore have acted rightly, had she been 
 *' satisfied, with prohibiting the French missionaries from exercising, in 
 " any way, public worship ; but it was impossible, not to demand satis- 
 ** faction, for her ill-treatment of two French citizens. — I added, says 
 " the commander, that the queen, Pomare- Vahine, might tliink herself 
 " very fortunate to get so easily out of the very dangerous |)osition, in 
 " which she had placed herself in regard to France. These rather severe 
 " words, were faithfully translated ; for I perceived that Pomare was 
 " deeply affected, and that the tears began to fall from her eyes, as she 
 " threw them on me with an evident expression of anger. At the same 
 
 a
 
 CAPTAIN DUMONT D URVILLE AT TAHITI. 
 
 " moment I also perceived, that Captain Du Petit-Thonars endeavoured 
 " to diminish the effect of my words, by some httle Uberties that he 
 " was taking with the queen ; such as pulhng gently her hair, and 
 " patting her cheeks ; he even added, that she was foolish to be so 
 " much affected. — I then terminated our conference, which had been 
 " carried far enough to answer the end I proposed." — That end was to 
 support M. Du Petit-Thouars, to gratify M. Moerenhout, and to in- 
 timidate the queen. " This woman," says the captain, in his report to 
 the minister of Marine, " seemed to understand the lesson she received; 
 " but she is entirely under the yoke of the English missionaries ; — espe- 
 " cially of Mr. Pritchard. It is to be feared that Pomare-Vahine, 
 " entirely abandoned to the suggestions of that man, will one day 
 " forget the salutary impression made by the visit of the Venus, and 
 " will be tempted to begin again. 
 
 When he was on the point of leaving the queen, M. Dumont 
 d'Urville saw a quantity of fruits, fowls, and hogs, and he was in- 
 formed by a chief, " that he was ordered to offer them as a present; 
 " but on M. Du Petit-Thouars saying, that he had refused similar 
 " offers, because the queen refused to ^isit the frigate, M. Dumont 
 " d'Urville replied ; that he wovdd accept them, on condition that 
 " Pomare would come on board the Venus ; till then, he should 
 " not believe that she was really reconciled vrith the French. — Po- 
 " mare ordered her chief to answer, that she was friendly vfith the 
 " French ; but — as she had to suckle her infant, who required all 
 " her time and all her attention, she could not visit the frigate. 
 " That was eA"idently an evasion. But not being disposed to torment 
 " the poor womftn any longei', the commander pretended to be satisfied, 
 " and went away." 
 
 It was, doubtless, thought to be both dignified and deUcate, on the part 
 of the officers of the French navy, the representatives of their king, to 
 annoy and insult a poor, unprotected female, under pretence of avenging 
 the honour of their country. But, is it surprising, that she should prefer 
 the Enghsh missionaries, and officers, who had always treated her with 
 respect and kindness, or that her preference, should produce the follow- 
 ing acrimonious avowal ? " Pomare, feeble, obstinate, but vdthout 
 " sustained energy, appeared to submit again to the Enghsh ascendant. 
 " She owed a grudge -to the French, for the fright they had caused her; 
 " and when the officers of the Venus, the Astrolabe, and the Zelee, 
 " visited her in her hal)itation, where she was accessible to all, she 
 " looked at them Avith displeasure, and even affected to turn her back 
 " on them." 
 
 In proportion to the measure of vexation and humiliation dealt out 
 to Pomare was the degree of glorification insured to M. Moerenhout. 
 That " worthy merchant " was indeed destined to receive the highest 
 satisfaction. He was not only morally protected by his new consulship.
 
 CAPTAIN DUMONT d'uRVILLE AT TAHITI. 
 
 but he was privileged to witness the insults offered, according to the 
 French account, not only to the qeeen, and to the English missionaries, 
 but to Mr. Consul Pritchard, the representative of queen Victoria. M. 
 Louis Reybaud, after stating that " Mr. Pritchard himself had to fire off 
 " the cannon that rendered homage to the French flag, planted on the 
 " little island of Motu-Ula, adds; ' the reverend was not to be quit for 
 " so little, — The commandant d'Urville called on him, in company 
 " with M. jMo^renhout, and on entering his house, he said, ' Mr. 
 " Pritchard, you are consul, appointed as such by England, and it is to 
 " the English consul that I make my ^isit. As for INlr. Pritchard, 
 " Protestant minister, if he had no other title, I should have had him 
 " taken by force on board my ship, where he would have remained in 
 " irons, till our arrival in France.' — The reverend, did not answer a 
 " word." The commandant, has not described this scene in his official 
 account ; — but he has avowed enough. 
 
 " On leaving the dwelling of Poraare-Vahine," says that account, " he 
 " was conducted by M. Moereuhout to the house of Mr. Pritchard. The 
 " English consul, looking thin and bilious, with an appearance of pride, 
 *' and the cold dignity so natural to the English, met him with every 
 " mark of civility ; but the moment he had entered, he stopped short, 
 " and, among other things, said, ' In my former voyages, I have been the 
 " friend of Enghsh missionaries, and I should have been happy, had I 
 " learnt that you had always combined the performance of your duties 
 " as a Christian, with those imposed by humanity. I hope that here- 
 " after you will understand better vom* duties as an English citizen, 
 " and that you will protect, even at the risk of your own life, all French 
 " subjects who may be exposed to similar injuries to those that have 
 " taken place.' Mr. Pritchard replied, that no doubt he had been 
 " calumniated to Captain d'Urville, but that henceforth he should be 
 " ready to protect the subjects of all nations." 
 
 It is pretty clear, that neither of these versions is correct ; except 
 in what respects the perfect silence of Mr. Pritchard. He, certainly, 
 did not condescend to notice, by word or gesture, the remarks of 
 the commander, on affairs foreign to his attributions, and which had 
 occurred before Mr. Pritchard was consul. 
 
 If the account of M. Reybaud be the classic version, it shows clearly 
 to what humiliations the friends of Protestant missions, and the re- 
 presentative of the British sovereign have been long suljjected ; and 
 that m his " violent outrage " on Mr. Pritchard, JM. d'Aubigny was 
 only following the traditions furnished by his honourable colleague, 
 M. Mcerenhout, French royal commissary at Tahiti. But, even on the 
 version of M. Dumont d'Urville, the question arises, — "WTiat right or 
 pretension, had a French naval officer, to lecture and accuse a British 
 consul, in his own consulate, and in the presence of the consul of 
 France ? Are Englishmen called to submit to such acts of misconduct ? 
 
 G 2
 
 TAHITI, UNDER^THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 
 
 and ought tlie English government to tolerate them ? The publication, 
 in either case, of such statements, whether true or false, by official writers 
 and agents, demonstrates the spirit of the church and of the state in 
 France, and the degree of pleasure which they thought their abuse of 
 the English missionaries, would afford the French people. 
 
 The avowed objects of the French government having been thus 
 easily obtained, the three ships of war sailed from Tahiti, on the 15th 
 and 16th of September, 1838, leaving M. Mrerenhout to prepare the 
 way for the attainment of such ulterior objects, as the king of the 
 French and the society of Picpus might thuik proper, at a later period, 
 to secure and to acknowledge. 
 
 Tahiti, under the French Consulate. 
 
 The French consul, was perfectly competent to the business'confided 
 to him, and he was in a situation favourable to success. Daring and 
 unprincipled, he had already raised the elements of discord, and ])ro- 
 duced a degree of disorganization, that would facilitate his efforts to 
 accomplish a complete revolution, in the social and political condition of 
 Tahiti. 
 
 " The population was agitated, and several of the chiefs were dis- 
 " posed to seize an opportunity of rallying as a party. M. Mceren- 
 " hout was considered as the principal mover in all that had occurred. 
 " It was not less to his communications, than to the complaints of 
 " the priests, that was attributed the promptitude with which the 
 " offences committed had been so severely punished. He was in 
 " fact at the head of a party, which, successively, 2^ political party and 
 " a Catholic party, had now become a French party. A scission had 
 " been effected in the government. A great difference of opinion 
 " prevailed among the chiefs." Thus much is advanced, or rather 
 announced by the French officers. That it was only what might be 
 expected, must be CAddent to every person Avho has followed the course 
 of events, as it has been retraced in these pages. 
 
 It has been seen, that M. Moerenhout, had early associated the pecu- 
 niary interests of one of these chiefs, Tati, with his own. This man is 
 the grandson of Amo, formerly chief of the island, and the son of Temare, 
 the late powerful chief of Papara (or Orpora), and the humbled adversary 
 of Pomare. — Tati is also the brother of Upufara, the successor of Temare, 
 as chief of Papara. It was Upufara who attacked Pomare II, the father 
 of the present queen, on that memorable day when victory declared for 
 the Christians, idolatry was overthrown, and Pomare resumed the 
 sovereign authority over all the Tahitian dominions. — Tati fought on 
 that occasion against Pomare II ; but when Upufara was slain, the 
 cause of the rebellious idolaters lost, and the victors showed them- 
 selves merciful and forgiving, he embraced Christianity, became
 
 <^3J 
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. ^""""©^ 
 
 submissive to Pomare, who left him the chieftainship of Papara, 
 and soon after, distinguished himself, by his zeal in promoting the 
 moral and social improvements, commenced by that sovereign. 
 
 It was only natural that there should remain in his heart, some 
 germs of jealousy and ambition, which a designing man might cherish 
 and fructify. As late as 1832, Tati had been at the head of a powerful 
 and armed opposition to the queen ; and he had long held important 
 posts, in the administration of the affairs of the country. 
 
 M. INIoerenhout, has revealed the train of thought, with which he 
 took pains to occupy the memory and mind of Tati. " Tati," he sajs, 
 " might easily have seized the power ; he did well not to do so ; especi- 
 " ally since the accession of the present queen ; but it is to be re- 
 " gretted, that he did not take the government when Pomare II, on 
 " his death-bed, offered it to him. — His disinterestedness, and the false 
 " views of the English missionaries, who prevented him from putting 
 " himself at the head of affairs after the king's death, have occasioned 
 " the ruin of the country, the degradation of the people, and even the 
 " fruitlessness of the labours and sacrifices of the missionaries." It is 
 easy to understand, how the feigned regrets of Moerenhout, and his 
 pretended desire of serving the interests of a man, so capable of 
 governing, and so undeservedly placed below Iris proper station, might 
 infiltrate themselves into the heart of Tati ; especially when aided by the 
 stimulus of commercial speculations, and spirituous liquors. Nor must 
 it be forgotten, that it is of this same chief that he had said, " to oblige 
 " and favour the people, in order to secure friends, he often and un- 
 " scrupulously overpaid them at my expence ; making free use of my 
 " merchandize ; regaling all who visited him, and getting nobly 
 " drunk, he and his family, with my rum, gin, and brandy." 
 
 Paofai, chief of a district on the eastern side of the island, had 
 also been a leader in the celebrated conflicts by which Pomare, for a 
 time, lost his supremacy. He was the brother of Hitoti, another prin- 
 cipal chief of the eastern districts. 
 
 Utami, is chief of Atehuru, the scene of the tremendous struggles 
 between its inhabitants and the party of Pomare II, for the possession 
 of the idol Oro. These three chiefs, had with Tati, taken arms, in 
 1832, against the queen. They were all familiar with the sanguinary 
 wars, and licentious practices of former times ; not acquainted with them 
 by tradition or report ; but were themselves actors in those scenes of 
 pollution and carnage, and had borne a prominent part in the con- 
 flicts connected with the settlement of the dynasty, and the change of 
 religion. 
 
 M. Moerenhout, was no longer a needy and a desperate trader ; the 
 inefficient protector of French priests. He was now the friend of naval 
 commanders ; the official representative of the king of the French ; 
 the public awarder of honours and fortune ; and with all these elements
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 
 
 of influence, he addressed to the chiefs, just mentioned, the full force 
 of his seductions and his threats. 
 
 But neither the governors, nor the cpieen, were as yet prepared to 
 throw themselves into the arms of the nation, of whose morals and 
 mercies they had received so memorable a specimen. 
 
 Two measures, adopted by the government clearly demonstrate the 
 general aversion for French religion, and French rule, and a prevail- 
 ing sentiment of impenchng danger. 
 
 One, was the despatch of a letter by a British anned vessel, the Fly, 
 on the 8th of November, 1838, to the queen of England, to implore, 
 '• the shelter of her wing, the defence of her lion, and the protection 
 " of her flag. Threatened as we are," say they, " in what we have 
 " dearest to our hearts, the Protestant faith, and our nationality, we 
 " have nobody to assist us in our helpless situation, except you, who 
 " implanted in our hearts, through your people, the love of Jehovah, 
 " of order, and industry."* It is necessary to observe, what the 
 French accounts have suppressed, that this letter, approved by the chiefs 
 and representatives, was signed by the four chiefs just mentioned. 
 Either then, their principles were not yet broken down, by the seduc- 
 tions and threats of the French consul ; or they felt, that they must 
 dissimulate with a nation, determinately opposed to any political or 
 religious connexion, with the country of Caret, Laval, and Thouars. 
 
 Another measure, was the passing of a law by the legislative body, 
 prohibiting " the propagation of any religious doctrines, or the celebra- 
 " tion of any religious worship, opposed to that true gospel, of old 
 " propagated in Tahiti, by the missionaries from Britain ; that is, these 
 " forty years past." The violation of the law by foreigners, of any 
 nation, expose them to forfeiture of right of residence ; — by Tahitians, 
 of whatever rank, (the sect of the Mamoia being particularly men- 
 tioned,) to labour on the public roads." 
 
 This legislative act, apparently in disaccord with the principles of 
 religious liberty, so dear to Englishmen, and with the tolerant senti- 
 ments, so eminently characteristic of their missionary operations, has 
 been charged as a crime on the missionaries at Tahiti, with as little 
 reason as justice. The missionaries, as a body, and probably as indi- 
 \'iduals, disapproved, on various grounds, of the act of the legislative 
 assembly, and therefore could not have prepared the project ; nor, had 
 they desired its adoption, (hd they possess the means of procuring its 
 enactment. The guns of three ships of war, though no longer levelled 
 at their habitations, had left the people in a degree of terror, which 
 would have prevented them from listening to the missionaries, had they 
 proposed the adoption of any measure, that seemed likely to expose 
 
 * This interesting letter, has been published in the meagre correspondence, relative 
 to the proceedings of the French at Tahiti, presented to the House of Commons.
 
 Xo33 
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 8f 
 
 them to a fresh infliction, on the part of ' the irritahle king of the 
 French.' Mr. Pritchard, had not been able to avert one of the evils, 
 included in the articles of reparation. The missionaries had been 
 friends, but not saviours. 
 
 The law had no precedent in the long history of missionary labours 
 and difficulties. The missionaries had never provoked any prohibitory 
 statutes against obstinate idolaters, or heathen recusants. That they 
 had not suggested the employment of such means, during the recent 
 troubles occasioned by the Mamoia, is evident from this very enactment. 
 They had even disapproved the coercive means decreed, to enforce the 
 religious observance of the Sabbath, by attendance on public worship. 
 To charge on the missionaries this act, with the sense attached to it by 
 their judges, is still further to injure men, on whom the hand of aflHiction 
 has pressed most heavily. 
 
 The law, too, created no privileged order, guaranteed no honours or 
 emohmients to any particular class of persons, or to a certain profession 
 of religion ; it was not aggressive, but purely defensive ; and whether 
 efficient or inefficient, was the result of the peculiar state of the country, 
 and especially of the declarations of the two French commanders. It 
 seemed, to the legislative assembly, to present the only expedient, for 
 preserving the nation from internal anarchy, and external aggression. 
 
 When Pomare assured the arrogant commanders, " that rebels had 
 " lately attempted to change the established order of things, and that 
 " the peace of her states required the measures taken with the priests," 
 captains Dumont d'Urville and Du Petit-Thouars repHed, "That she 
 " would have done well, had she prohibited all exterior signs, and all 
 " public exercise of the Roman Catholic religion ; for that even the 
 " king of the French could not require her to change the religion pro- 
 "fessed in Tahiti."* / 
 
 This declaration did not indeed accord with the past threat of the 
 captain of the Venus, that he would place French Romish priests in all 
 the islands ; nor, to those who knew the French priests and officers, 
 did it oifer any guarantee for the future ; but it presented to the queen 
 the only solution of the present difficulty. The king of the French 
 would not allow the queen's government to exercise its right of refusing 
 permission of residence to French subjects. It mattered not, however 
 mischievous their presence might be ; even though its sole end 
 should be, to establish a system of religious propagation, that must 
 ine\itably produce political conflict. But at the same time that the 
 French commanders compelled the queen to allow residence to all, 
 they authorized and advised the interdiction of that propagation, which 
 was the real cause of the danger that menaced her states. Nothing 
 therefore appeared to remain to the oppressed Tahitians, but to enact 
 
 * Dumont d'Urville, vol. iv.
 
 Sd TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 
 
 a special law ; to exercise, in fact, the only authority left to the govern- 
 ment, and to prohibit, as the wily commanders had recommended, all 
 religious exercises, and the propagation of all religious doctrines, diflPering 
 from those professed generally by the inhabitants. But in order to 
 avoid unnecessary offence to a foreign power, and also to meet the 
 extent of the evil, the enactment contained a distinct mention of the 
 citizens of the country, and a particular allusion to the sect lately in 
 open rebellion. 
 
 It is a peculiar feature of this case, that no special law had as yet 
 been made against the Mamoia ; nor had any general prohibitory 
 act been hitherto passed, in consequence of the existence of that dan- 
 gerous and turbulent sect, which had caused so much trouble in Tahiti, 
 and in the other islands. Indeed, in a great public assembly, held 
 about that time (1834), the Mamoia were reproached with having 
 endeavoured, for political ends, tvithout the sanction of the majority, 
 to change the received forms, and establish new doctrines and 
 ceremonies. 
 
 From the whole of the circumstances, it is evident, that the new law 
 was not dictated by a design to unite the church and the state ; for a 
 church, properly speaking, did not exist ; nor to proclaim, as a prin- 
 ciple, the exclusion of all doctrines, irrespective of their j)olitical cha- 
 racter. The letter to the queen of England contained the preamble 
 of the law, — " fear of losing at once, what was most dear to their hearts, 
 " the Protestant religion, and their nationality." 
 
 The French priests declared, that they were sent by the propaganda 
 to extirpate Protestantism ; and they were conveyed to their destination, 
 and maintained in the islands, by the French royal marine, and by 
 threats of subverting the national government. 
 
 Since the adoption of Christianity, the Tahitians had been visited by 
 many hundreds of vessels, and some disputes had of course occurred ; but 
 they had not been hitherto molested or disturbed by foreigners, on any 
 questions of a religious nature. They knew of but two causes of 
 religious quarrels ; and both were identified with political disorder — 
 Romanism and Mamoianism. These were now about to unite their 
 interests for the overthrow of Protestantism, and of the national 
 independence. The rebels could only succeed by the aid of foreigners, 
 and, they were disposed, it was said, rather to sacrifice the independence 
 of their country, than to forego their opposition to the government. 
 The foreigners depended on the political divisions they might foment, for 
 the intrusion of their Popish and national supremacy. But because 
 political, anti-social, or rebel parties, may mix up certain religious 
 opinions and practices with their views and projects, is this to ensure 
 for them, not only toleration, but exemption from all legislative or 
 administrative control ? He must be an expert casuist, who can, in such 
 cases, distinguish the point where the rights of conscience begin, and
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 85^ 
 
 the claims of social and political security terminate, and can trace an 
 exact line, through all the confused involutions of doctrinal tenets and 
 political pretensions. Preach sermon for sermon, with priests saluted 
 by foreign artillery ; return psalm for psalm, to choirs composed of the 
 bands of naval expeditions ; oppose prayer to prayer, with armed native 
 Mamoia, or foreign celebrators of military mass ; — all this may be 
 beautifully romantic to certain perceptions ; but it must be absurd, and 
 impossible in the view of serious and reflecting Christians. Martyrdom 
 for evangelical truth or religious liberty does not consist in dying 
 beneath the clubs of rebels, or before the guns of invaders. 
 
 A prohibition, without a penal sanction, would be a mockery ; and 
 the legislators at Papeete, therefore, attached to disobedience forfeiture 
 of permission to reside. To fine or imprison a Frenchman was not 
 admissable ; but to recur to expulsion, was to fall into the ancient 
 error ; and to bring down, not a frigate, but a fleet, to take vengeance on 
 the relapsed. After all, the Tahitian law, of November, 1838, may be 
 considered impolitic, ineflScient, dangerous ; but that it was intended to 
 sanction national religious establishments, or to destroy religious liberty, 
 cannot be maintained. It would be not only unjust, but cruel, to visit on 
 the Tahitians any seeming deviation from our ovni received or still dis- 
 puted opinions, in circumstances to which civilized and polished comi- 
 tries, either in America or Europe, can offer no parallel. Indeed, since the 
 introduction of Christianity, its history furnishes no example of diffi- 
 culties and persecutions, similar to those endured by the Protestant 
 Christians of Tahiti. 
 
 Besides the measures already noticed, a law, with which the mission- 
 aries had nothing to do, was also made, to regulate the acquisition of 
 land by foreigners. It appears to have been dictated by the same 
 spirit of apprehension of French encroachments. We have seen, that 
 Colomban suggested the plan of purchasing land, in order to establish 
 right of residence, independently of the queen and the governors. The 
 success of this plan would have given the French considerable advantage, 
 in the prosecution of their designs on Tahiti. M. Moerenhout having 
 acted in opposition to the new law, was prevented by the government 
 from occupying a certain portion of land. He was under this inter- 
 diction, when the French corvette, the Heroine, arrived at Tahiti, on 
 the 27th November, 1838. 
 
 As soon as captain Cecille had anchored, that officer pretends, 
 that " several chiefs came on board, and that Paofai, who had 
 " always shown himself the friend of the French, pressed him to 
 " move his ship into the bay of Papeete." In that position he would 
 certainly be better placed for intimidating the queen ; and the consul 
 had need of his threats. The first business of that agent was, 
 to represent the hinderance he had personally experienced, and to 
 demand assistance. The captain was prepared for the job, on which
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 
 
 Mcerenhout was about to employ him. He had heard all the story of 
 the heretics, and the generous American consul, from bishop Pompallicr, 
 whom he met at the Bay of Islands, and whom he honored, on his arrival 
 in Moerenhout's schooner, with a salute of nine guns. On what ground, 
 or by what regulations of the naval service, these captains justify their 
 salutes of priests, or of bishops, in partibus, we are not informed ; but 
 we know that such bishops have no royal institution, that the Catholic 
 religion, is not the religion of the state, and that French Protestant 
 ministers never receive such noisy homage. The bishop was not the 
 less delighted, and he wrote to his friends in France, that the "Heroine 
 " had produced a good effect, and that her presence in those parts, had 
 " been very serviceable to the sacred cause of religion," 
 
 Captain Cecille found Mcerenhout no longer American, but French 
 consul ; and following in the wake of the three ships, that had lately left 
 the island, he at once entered into the intimidation plan. Before the 
 day fixed for a \asit to the queen, the consul was to insist on possession 
 of the land, and if he should not succeed, M. Cecille promised to run 
 out his guns, and to make her majesty feel, that her laws were not made 
 for Frenchmen ; that they had a right, not only to residence, but 
 territory ; and that she was to have no will of her own. The demand 
 was of course successful. " The presence of the ship of war px'omptly 
 " decided the question, and the governor replied, that M. Mrerenhout 
 " might dispose of the land as he thought proper." 
 
 After having thus bullied the queen, they paid her a visit together, 
 in official ceremony ; and when they had lectured her on the danger of 
 supposing that France was not a powerful nation, capable of protecting 
 its citizens in every part of the world, she was iimted to visit the 
 Heroine. " This invitation, say they, evidently disconcerted her very 
 " much; and she hesitated a long time before she replied, — she feared 
 " that she would be made prisoner, and be carried to France" (as had 
 befallen a Zealand chief). She at length consented ; but before the time 
 appointed, " Tati had been several times to Mcerenhout, to enquire if 
 " there was not danger of captivity and exile for the queen and himself, 
 " if they went on board. Deputations also arrived from different parts 
 " of the island, to entreat Pomare not to trust herself, in the French 
 " ship." Such was the love, and the confidence, with which French 
 popery and policy had inspired the Protestants of Tahiti. The consul 
 made vows, in order to allay the fears of Tati ; the captain made great 
 preparations, to entice and encourage the people ; and as there was only 
 a choice of evils, the queen ventured on board : she was honored with 
 salutes, as the bishop had been before her, and all passed off without 
 further consequences. The accounts sent to France of these scenes, is 
 of course insulting to Pomare, and degrading to her tormentors ; but 
 thev were soon followed up by further developements, of the colonization 
 system.
 
 91 
 
 The Artemise, Captain Laplace, at Tahiti. 
 
 Captain Laplace, who had been circumnaAagating, in a direction 
 opposite to that pursued by captain Du Petit-Thouars, received in- 
 structions at Sydney, which obhged him to proceed to Tahiti. The 
 " essential object of his mission, was to obtain satisfaction from the 
 " Lutheran evangelists, who had forced themselves on a simple and 
 " docile people." When the frigate he commanded, the Artemise, was 
 oflF the coast, on the 22nd of April, 1839, she struck on a coral reef; 
 and though the crew succeeded in getting the vessel oif, the sea entere d 
 to a degree, that rendered the pumps useless. Night was coming on, 
 and the greatest horror took possession of all on board. At this critical 
 juncture, the frigate was seen by the light thrown on her from a vessel 
 leaving the island ; and with much difficulty she was towed into the 
 hospitable harbour of Papeete. The queen being then in a distant part 
 of the island, the French consul wrote to her in the name of M. Laplace, 
 to request her presence at Papeete, in order to serve his convenience. 
 Pomare replied by a letter, in her own hand, declining compliance, and 
 announcing that orders had been sent to the regent, to render all re- 
 quisite assistance to the commander. 
 
 It was found necessary to discharge the ship, and to throw her 
 down ; and as there were neither docks nor machines, the natives were 
 employed, in considerable numbers, at the pumps, and in other daily 
 toils, during nearly two months. The officers and crew were lodged 
 on shore, and this intercourse became the occasion for the repetition of 
 scenes in the island, similar to those which another commander had 
 authorised, on board French ships of war, at the Marquesas. — M. 
 Reybaud, has given them a sort of official publicity, that prevents any 
 doubt as to the facts ; and though in any ordinary circumstances, a re- 
 production of the details might be dispensed with, and even be pro- 
 perly suppressed, in this instance, it is important that the clearest 
 evidence should prove the disgustmg immorality, and the brutal vio- 
 lence, of those who were charged to propagate, establish, and avenge 
 the Roman catholic religion. 
 
 " From the first, the most perfect harmony prevailed between the 
 " ship's company and the natives. Each of the latter chose his tayo, 
 " that is another self, among the sailors. Between tayos every thing 
 " is common ; at night, the tayos, French and Tahitian, went together 
 " to the common hut. Every sailor had thus a house, a wife, a complete 
 " domestic establishment. Jealousy is a passion unknown to these 
 " islanders ; it may be imagined what resources and pleasures such an 
 " arrangement offered to our crew. They had lodging, food, and wash- 
 " ing, for next to nothing. The natives were delighted with the 
 " character of our people ; they had never met with such gaiety, 
 " expansiveness, and kindness in any other foreigners. The beach
 
 THE ARTEMISE, CAPTAIN LAPLACE, AT TAHITI. 
 
 " presented the aspect of a continued holiday, to the great scandal of 
 " the missionaries. After the frigate was thrown down, the whole 
 " ship's company, officers, and men, were either lodged with the 
 " natives, or in a temporary encampment. The initiation of this 
 " French colony, to a Tahitian life, was the most easy and agreeable. 
 " We have seen how the men managed, and what friends they found. 
 " The officers were not less fortunate. The island that Bougainville 
 " called the New Cytherea, did not behe its name. The whole of 
 " Papeete was one seraglio, without its restraint. A\lien the evening 
 " set in, every tree along the coast shaded an impassioned pair ; and 
 " the waters of the river offered an asylum to a swarm of copper- 
 " coloured njTnphs, who came to enjoy themselves with the young mid- 
 " shipmen. The sojourn at Tahiti was a long series of sensual and 
 " fickle attachments. What a number of strange bargains, to which 
 " fathers, brothers, and husbands were the parties, and on which the 
 " missionaries raised a sort of tythe, in the shape of punishment. 
 
 " Thus identified with the manner of living, our people were able 
 " to xmderstand it completely, and to observe it in all its shades. 
 " None of the qualities of this excellent population escaped their 
 " remark ; and they were satisfied, that their vices were not very 
 " dangerous. — These women, so volatile in appearance, showed them- 
 " selves capable of profound emotions ; these men, who resigned 
 " themselves to such concessions, manifested on several occasions 
 " that they had a noble heart. The missionaries might have done 
 " much with such a people, if they had understood them ; they missed 
 " their object by pursuing it too far ; they were obliged to tax vice, 
 " because they could not suppress it. Hypocrisy sits heavily on these 
 " cheerfvd people; they cannot breathe in the compressed atmosphere 
 " by which they are surrounded ; they are stifled, — they expire. All 
 " was formerly in harmony with their organization ; every thing, — their 
 " nakedness, their listlessness, perhaps even their licentiousness, — and 
 " all was taken from them at once ! The religion that professed to 
 " save the soul, killed the body. — The sailors and officers of the frigate 
 " passed their life most happily. By a sort of instinct, the natives sought 
 " in them protection from the oppression of their sombre missionaries. 
 " The freedom of their former habits re-appeared. The young 
 " Tahitian girls came in swarms to the huts where the French were 
 " lodged. Wherever you walked, you might hear their oui ! oui ! oui ! 
 " the word that all the women have learnt, with marvellous facility ; 
 " and it is the only one. It would have been far more difficult to 
 " have taught them to say, noii ! " 
 
 Let it not be supposed, however, that this dissolute and voluptuous 
 revelry was less com])atible with a deep interest in the triumph of 
 the august Mary, zeal for the success of the Romish propaganda, and 
 the highest sentiments of French honour, than the orgies on board
 
 THE ARTEMISE, CAPTAIN LAPLACE, AT TAHITI. %^ 
 
 the ships at the Marquesas were mth " the strict order of the service. " 
 " In the midst of these dehghtful relations with the natives, the officers 
 " of the Artcmise did not for a moment lose sight of the essential 
 " object of their mission. The condition of the frigate did not allow 
 " them to speak out at first ; they waited till the repairs were com- 
 " pleted." The captain then went to the place were the queen was 
 residing, to insist on her presence at Papeete, at a conference, in which 
 he proposed to alter the convention made with M. Du Petit-Thouars, 
 and Dumont d'Urville. The queen, of course, consented to his de- 
 mand, and the chiefs were summoned to meet her on the 19th of June. 
 " At the news of the proposed conference, a general terror spread 
 " through the island ; it was thought the queen would resist ; that she 
 " would not obey ; but Tati, the real king of this group, without whose 
 " advice nothing is done, guaranteed her attendance. He is the tayo 
 " of M. Mcerenhout, and during the sojourn of the frigate, he had 
 " learnt to appreciate the dispositions, the braveiy, and the generosity 
 " of our officers, and felt for them a real friendship. French influ- 
 " ence was, therefore, sure to predominate in the discussion. 
 
 " Since the departure of the Venus, a sort of crusade had been 
 " preached up against the French ; there had been no cessation of the 
 hostile manifestations against France, and the most abominable manoeu- 
 vers had been employed to excite the hatred of the population. (A popu- 
 lation amongst which, the French crew, to the number of several 
 hundreds, had been living, almost for nothing, as tayos ; on which, for 
 months they had subsisted, and which was delighted with the French, 
 as it had never met with such gaiety, expansiveness, and kindness in 
 any other foreigners !) " M. Laplace was determined to put an end 
 " to such a state of things. He was accompanied to the meeting by 
 " all his staff. A prodigious crowd surrounded the Protestant temple." 
 " (The only building sufficiently capacious to contain the assembly). 
 " The commander advanced with INI. Mcerenhout, and captain Henry, 
 " his interpreter, to the centre. He began, by enumerating all the 
 " wrongs of which the French had to complain ; he then observed, how 
 " shameful and even dangerous it was, to violate the faith of treaties, 
 " and how unjust and barbarous was intolerance ; he concluded by 
 " demanding, — that the Roman Catholic religion should be celebrated 
 " in Tahiti, and in all the possessions of the queen ; that French 
 " Catholics should possess every privilege allowed to Protestants ; that 
 " land should be appropriated for the erection of a Catholic church, 
 " and the French priests have full liberty to exercise their ministry." 
 
 Those who have read the narrative of the voyages of this circum- 
 na\ngator, might expect extravagance and intemperance from a man, 
 whose anglophobian and anti-abolition absurdities are proverbial ; but 
 it coidd hardly be imagined, that any naval officer of rank would have 
 the hardihood and the bad faith to denounce, as a crime and a violation
 
 THE ARTEMISE, CAPTAIN LAPLACE, AT TAHITI. 
 
 of a treaty, the very law, suggested and recommended by his predecessors, 
 to the very same parties, only a few months before. Messrs. du Petit- 
 Thouars and Dumont d'Urville, had said to the queen, " Use your 
 " right, prohibit all public exercise, all propagation of the Catholic 
 " religion, since you say it would endanger the peace of your states. 
 " Such a measure we approve." The queen follows their advice, acts 
 on their authority ; and another representative of the great and powerful 
 nation, treats as a flagrant act of treachery and hostility, and threatens 
 with punishment, her literal fulfilment of this solemn convention ! 
 Such, however, is the fact ; when faithlessness and oppression seem 
 to have exhausted their resources, some fresh infamy springs forth, to 
 confound the calculations of all honest minds, and to add blacker 
 shades to the descriptions of French proceedings in Oceania. 
 
 The rest must have been foreseen by the reader. " In spite of the 
 " intrigues of the missionaries, the chiefs, the next day, declared 
 " unanimously, that they accepted the conditions imposed ; " and the 
 queen was conducted, with insulting ceremony, on board the frigate, to 
 sign this new and contradictory act of submission. " Thus terminated 
 " this affair, say the successful parties, of which the Artemise had all 
 " the honor. Henceforth our missionaries will be respected on these 
 " shores." How could they be otherwise than respected, introduced 
 as they were by fraud, feted by debauchery, and inducted by ships 
 of war ? 
 
 But that the affair was far from being terminated, the boasters knew 
 full well, and were ready thvis to acknowledge, — " The frigates have 
 " obtained reparation for the ill-treatment of our missionaries by their 
 " rivals in religion. They entered into treaties with the natives, who, 
 " under the reign of terror, subscribed to all the conditions that were 
 " presented. But it is evident, that these were mere fugitive concessions, 
 " the result of necessity; engagements contracted under the vollies of 
 " the cannon of our frigates, and that would be violated as soon as they 
 " had left the coast. The French government understands this ; and 
 " this consideration has had its influence, in leading to the occupation of 
 " the Marquesas, as a centre of action, and a permanent rallying-point 
 " for Catholicism, throughout the Pacific Ocean. — This result, it is 
 " added, in a note, is principally due to the solicitations of the society 
 " of Picpus, and the generous support it received from the Queen. Our 
 " missionaries reap the fruit of their past devotedness; and henceforth, 
 " in those distant islands, the disinterested devotedness of our priests, 
 " will be seen combating the sordid spirit of the Lutheran priests." 
 
 Tbat there was no reasonable or plausible ground for the armed 
 violation of the convention, by commander Laplace, is evident from 
 the foUoAving letter, to which we have already referred, from Mr. 
 Baty and his brethren, Maryist missionaries. It was written at Tahiti 
 only about a week before the arrival of the Artemise. " You will have
 
 ^4y 
 
 THE ARTEMISE, CAPTAIN LAPLACE, AT TAHITI. 
 
 " learnt the energetic conduct of the commander of the Venus ; since 
 " that time, three other ships of war have been to the island, — the 
 " French name is now respected here. Things are completely changed. 
 " We have full liberty to go about the island, without asking permis- 
 " sion. On the other hand, the Tahitians can no longer have an 
 " excellent opinion of the veracity of the Methodist missionaries. 
 " They had assured them, that the French marine was composed 
 " of only a few small vessels. Religious opinions have fonned two 
 " parties; but it is e\adent, that of the Catholics would go on increasing 
 " every day, if it was supported by a number of priests. We foimd 
 " here nine or ten whale ships ; the people talk with them about 
 " religion ; they enquire into everything; and if there should arrive 
 " several captains, like the two we saw at the French consul's, the 
 " Methodists would not long hold up their heads. 
 
 " We have been most kindly received by M. Moerenhout, now 
 " French consul. We sail to-morrow, 16 Aout., for the Bay of Islands; 
 " I have made an arrangement with M. jNIaigret, pro-^-icar of my lord 
 " Rouchouse, which appears to me advantageous. My lord Pompallier, 
 " will have a right to half the services of the Queen of Peace, in which 
 "we sail, for 2,000 piastres (10,000 francs, or ^400). She is pro- 
 " \'isioned, and our passage is comprised. Each of our bishops may 
 " dispose of the vessel at pleasui'e, during six months." 
 
 Thus Tahiti was still, as it had been long before the arrival of the 
 Venus, the entrepot for the Romish mission ; its agents were undis- 
 turbed, its party projects were carried out ; only the government 
 endeavoured to prevent the seditious movements it was intended to ex- 
 cite. The law of November, 1838, was not even referred to by Mr. Baty ; 
 it furnished no arms from which he had suffered ; he articulates no 
 complaints ; on the contrary, he found the French name respected, the 
 English missionaries discredited, a Cathohc party formed, and only 
 needing more aid from priests, of the freedom of whose operations, 
 he expressed no doubts. 
 
 The state of the island, and the conduct of the French, during a 
 residence of two months, has been presented in so graphic a manner 
 by M. Casimir Henricy, who accompanied the Artcrnise throughout 
 her circumnavigate ry voyage, that his narration ought not to be 
 withheld : its avowals and revelations, even its falsehoods, calumnies, 
 and absurdities, throw additional light both on the system and the 
 agents. — 
 
 "It is impossible to describe the enthusiasm with which the Tahitians 
 " speak of their queen ; with what respect they pronovmce her name. 
 " From the child that is beginning to talk, to the decrepid old man, no 
 " one speaks of Pomare Vahine, without placing his hand upon his 
 " heart. They no sooner knew that their beloved sovereign was about 
 " to return to Papeete, than their gaiety was redoubled, and they began 
 
 _>
 
 bhy 
 
 ^.,.,-#G THE ARTEMISE, CAPTAIN LAPLACE, AT TAHITI. 
 
 " to prepare a number of extraordinary delicacies to celebrate the day 
 / " of her arrival. 
 O " But if the queen is loved, the missionaries, on the contrary, are 
 ■ " singularly detested by the population. Their insatiable cupidity, 
 " carried to the most shameful excess under the protection of reUgious 
 " despotism, has made them objects of horror. Ferocious oppressors, 
 " shameless monopolizers, trafficking in the Word of God, they have 
 " procured for themselves a concert of curses ; and if there is one 
 " thing above all others, that the natives demand of heaven with fervour, 
 "it is the annihilation of their authority. Nobody has had greater 
 " opportunity of observing this hatred than myself, and no one has 
 " contributed more to its increase. Knowing pretty well the idiom of 
 " the country, and ha\ing httle else to do, but to mingle with the 
 " natives day and night I was m their huts hearing them decry the 
 " English missionaries, and complain of their odious yoke. I do not 
 " deny, that I joined them in the expression of their indignation ; 
 " others of the ship's company were pleased with this crusade ; and 
 " these pious tyrants would soon have received severe tokens of our 
 " presence in the island, if the sudden departure of the ArUmise, had 
 " not too soon put a stop to all. We found indeed, towards the close 
 " of our stay, that they had done all they could to injure us in the 
 " opinion of the people, and especially to destroy the harmony that 
 " existed between us and the females ; but their efforts were useless. 
 " Our tayos did not abandon us, and the women, encouraged by our 
 " presence, mocked at the missionaries. Our intimate connexion with 
 " them easily silenced their calumnies. The people now know us, 
 " and they have no longer any faith in a religion, whose ministers are 
 " " found to be vile impostors. In fact, their vexatious proceedings and 
 " their machinations, have so damaged them, that there is every reason 
 " to believe that Catholicism will soon supplant them." — After very 
 minute and libertine descriptions of the female population, he adds, 
 " The men are of the finest form, and of admirable proportions. Such 
 " men, the finest of all Polynesia, would be unconquerable if they had 
 " the energy of Europeans. We slim-limbed Frenchman, low in 
 " stature, irregular in feature, and freckled in complexion, appeared as 
 " children by the side of them. Fifteen of them would do, with ease, 
 " far more work at the pumps, than twenty-five of our sailors could 
 " accomplish with difficulty." — (This is the degenerate, diseased, 
 perishing race, that the religion of the missionaries has prepared !) 
 
 " It has been said that the people are thieves. That they were I 
 " will not deny, it is even probable ; but to say that they are thieves 
 " now, is to calumniate them. Everybody belonging to the ArUmise 
 " can affirm, that during our long residence among them, they did not 
 " furnish a single instance of the violation of the right of property. 
 " This right is now held as sacred among them as among us. Indeed
 
 (^££_ 
 
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. Jtf 
 
 " They are the most gentle, confiding, and hospitahle people that 
 " a na^-igator can visit. The greater part of their defects they owe 
 " (not to the missionaries ?) to their contact with civilized nations ; 
 " and scarcely a ship arrives, that does not make them acquainted with 
 " some vice before unknown. I will prove my assertion by an example. 
 " The second master of our vessel, an ignorant and immoral man, 
 " only clever in doing evil, and capable of duping others with 
 " the greatest coolness, was base enough, to whiten some English 
 " penny pieces with quicksilver, and then to pass them among the 
 " natives, for half-dollars. Either the police of the ship did not 
 " know the fact, or would not notice it ; and the latter is the 
 " most probable. At all events, our rogue passed off all his false 
 " money with impunity, and the consequences were deplorable. The 
 " secret, when it got wind, was not likely to give the Tahitians a very 
 " good opinion of the French. Those of them who are not well prin- 
 " cipled and instructed, followed the example ; they had been deceived, 
 " and they thought they had a right to deceive in their turn ; they 
 " passed also false money, and our crew suffered. Serious disputes 
 " arose ; every one was afraid of being a victim, and instead of money 
 " being circulated with confidence as before, the most cautious mea- 
 " sures were taken, not to be defrauded. This is what the Tahitians 
 " gain by the visits of people, calling themselves civilized. 
 
 " Though they have still preserved some of their primitive virtues, 
 " they are no longer the happy savages, whose simplicity and amiable- 
 " ness charmed Bougainville and Cook. The religion that oppresses / 
 
 " them, and beneath which they sink, is not that of their ancestors. 
 " The climate, the soil, the productions are the same ; but they have 
 " vices, necessities, and diseases, they had not formerly. The fol- 
 " lowing scene, will powerfully contribute to perpetuate the remembrance 
 " of the Artemise, at Tahiti. 
 
 " During the repairs, M. Laplace, who wanted a great deal of wood, 
 " used to go with the master carpenter, to select the trees in the 
 " neighbourhood, which he meant to have cut down. He usually 
 " bargained with the proprietor, when he was willing to sell ; the 
 *' price offered was always extremely low ; when the contrary was the 
 case, the captain would take no excuse ; the tree pleased him, he 
 wanted it, and down it fell ; only they gave the owner a piastre 
 " more than ordinary. In this way, the worthy islanders were deprived 
 " of the finest, and most useful trees that adorned their native sites. 
 " One of the richest, and most luxuriant in fruit and foliage, that was 
 " marked for the axe, overshadowed the cabin of a poor old woman 
 " who would not consent to the sacrifice. The tree had covered her 
 " at her birth ; against its trunk, she had supported herself when she 
 " first began to walk ; and beneath its shade, her childhood had become 
 " youth. In fact, her whole life was identified with it, and now she 
 
 H
 
 my 
 
 TAHITI, UNDER THE FRENCH CONSULATE. 
 
 " thought to lay her grey head down, and to die at its foot. It was 
 " her only faithful companion ; all her family had disappeared ; even 
 " her hut, that it had protected, had been repaired and renewed several 
 " times ; and yet her tree remained to her, the same, vigorous and 
 " verdant. She begged, in mercy to herself and respect for her tree, 
 " that it might not be felled. She stood at her door, motionless with 
 " alarm, when she saw the workmen approach. She prayed, that 
 " her tree might be spared ; but no attention was paid to her ; she 
 " was scarcely even noticed. She thought her presence, her tears, 
 " would protect her preciovis property ; but the destroying steel 
 " glittered in the foliage : she still thought it impossible, that what 
 " she saw could be real, when the sound of the axe, and the echo 
 " of the blow fell on her ear : it was the voice of her friend calling 
 " to her for help, and she threw herself between the instruments of 
 " destruction and the venerated trunk. Her cries, and her despair, 
 " astonished the workmen, and for a moment they hesitated ; but they 
 " soon recovered from their surprise, tore the old female from the tree 
 " she had embraced, dragged her, almost lifeless, to a distance, and 
 " the tree was soon prostrate beside the hut. A few days after, a 
 *' grave was dug, not far from the stump : it was for the aged pro- 
 " prietor of the tree that had so long and so lately flourished there. 
 " She had marked the spot for her last home ; but the shade she hoped 
 " would cover her, was gone. A few stones around the stump will remind 
 " her neighbours of their aged friend, and her beautiful tree. — The 
 " reader will agree with me, that this was a singular way, to attach 
 " to us the people of Polynesia." 
 
 The description of the reception of the queen on board the Artemise, 
 where she was obliged to appear (for it was in the ship of war, that 
 she was required to sign the treaty), is worthy of the rest. The 
 anxious looks, and constrained manner of Pomare, even her fear of 
 treachery and violence, are admitted ; and the methods by which she 
 was plied with champaign and brandy having been detailed, M. 
 Henricy adds : — " When the spirits of the party were sufiiciently 
 " elevated to find every thing good, and while the hands were yet 
 " sufficiently steady, not to let the pen drop, the treaty was produced 
 " as the crovraing act of the festivity. It was signed by both parties 
 " with cheerfulness. M. Laplace thought he had gained a great victory 
 " over Polynesian diplomacy ; and certainly, never was a political horizon 
 " more bright in flowers and bottles. — As I have already said, I do not 
 " doubt that Catholicism will triumph over all the difliculties that 
 " have been contrived to impede its progress, and that it will produce 
 " the most advantageous results ; but it can only be by the aid of 
 " another treaty ; this is of no value. 
 
 " The day after the visit of Pomare-Vahine, and two months after 
 " our disaster, on the 22ud of June, while all was still in confusion on
 
 6/,S- 
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 " board, we were astonished by the order for immediate departure. 
 " We only left six deserters (the Artemise left a few every where) ; 
 " but I learnt in the course of the day, that our little travelling France, 
 " was on the point of being depopulated. Two parties, numbering 
 " together thirty-five men, had resolved to escape the following night, 
 " by fraud or by force. This explains, no doubt, the precipitancy 
 " of our adieux. The Artemise ran for the Sandwich group, to enforce 
 *' the conditions of another treaty." 
 
 The Artemise at the Sandwich Islands. 
 
 Having, as he thought, secured for the present, liberty for the 
 Romish priests, to pursue their seditious projects, and for the consul 
 and his underhngs, to import ardent spirits, and to push the sale of 
 French brandy ; Captain Laplace sailed for the Sandwich Islands, in 
 virtue of his instructions, on a similar errand. — He arrived at Oahu, on 
 the 9th of July, and the importance of what had been effected at 
 Tahiti, may be appreciated by the use he made of the precedent. — The 
 example of Papeete, was presented at Honolulu, as the model for all 
 Oceania. — In a manifesto, immediately pubhshed, the commander 
 said — 
 
 " Misled by perfidious counsellors, the principal chiefs of the Sand- 
 " wich Islands are ignorant, that there is not in the whole world, a power 
 " capable of preventing France from punishing her enemies, or they 
 " would have endeavoured to merit her favour, instead of violating 
 " treaties, as soon as the fears, occasioned by French ships of war, had 
 " disappeared. — They must now comprehend, that to tarnish the Catho- 
 " lie religion with the name of idolatry, and to expel the French, under 
 " that pretext, was to offer an insult to France and to its sovereign. 
 " Among all civilized nations, there is not one, that does not permit, 
 " in its territory, the free toleration of all religious. — I consequently de- 
 " mand. — That the Catholic worship be declared free, throughout all the 
 *' dominions of the king. — That a site at Honolulu, for a Catholic church, 
 " be given by the government. — That the king place in the hands of the 
 " captain of the Artemise, 20,000 dollars (^4,000), as a guarantee of 
 " his future conduct towards France ; to be restored, when it shall con- 
 " sider that the accompanying treaty will be faithfuH)' complied with. 
 " — That the treaty, and the money, be brought on board the frigate 
 " by a principal chief ; and that the French flag be saluted by twenty- 
 " one guns. — At the price of these equitable conditions, friendship shall 
 " be preserved. I hope the king will hasten to subscribe them, and 
 " thus imitate the laudable example of the queen of Tahiti, who has 
 " permitted the free toleration of the Catholic religion in all her domi- 
 " nions. If, contrary to expectation, and led on by bad counsellors, 
 " the king and the chiefs refuse to sign the treaty I present, war will 
 
 H 2
 
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 " immediately commence ; all the devastations, and calamities which 
 " may result, will be imputed to them, and they must also pay the 
 " losses, which foreigners will have a right to reclaim." 
 
 Official letters were published, and sent to the British and American 
 consuls, offering an asylum to the citizens of their countries, in case of 
 war, but with the following atrocious exception. — " I do not include 
 " the indiA-iduals who, although born, it is said, in the United States, 
 " make a part of the Protestant clergy of the chief of this group, direct 
 " his counsels, influence his conduct, and are the true authors of the 
 " insults offered to France. For me, they compose a part of the native 
 " population ; and must undergo the consequences of a war, which they 
 " will have brought on this country." 
 
 The treaty, called a treaty of conmierce, contained, among other 
 stringent clauses, the following : — " French merchandize, or articles 
 " known to be French produce, and particularly wines and brandies, 
 " cannot be prohibited, nor shall they pay a higher import duty, than 
 " five per cent., ad valorem.^'' 
 
 The king being at the island of Maui, dispatches were sent to request 
 his presence ; and his secretary, Ilaalilio, remained on board the frigate, 
 as a hostage. But as he could not arrive, by the time specified for the 
 commencement of hostilities, the governor, in his name> paid the money 
 on board the Artemise, and signed all that was demanded. The French 
 flag was saluted by the fort from the land. In return for this submis- 
 sion, the Romish priests, who were on board, and ready for action, left 
 the frigate, to bless Oahu with the crucifix and the brandy bottle. The 
 next morning, his majesty Tamehameha III. arrived, and immediately 
 after, a grand military mass was celebrated by M. Walsh, like Columban 
 of Irish descent, in a straw-house belonging to the king. Captain 
 Laplace, was escorted by one hundred and fifty men, with bayonets 
 fixed ; and a military band, after playing various religious airs, finished 
 with the Te Deiim. 
 
 It would be difficult to conceive, of such an outrageous proceeding, 
 by an officer of the government of a polished nation, and of a people 
 pretending to the respect of enlightened states, had not the scenes at 
 Tahiti already shown, of what the Popish and naval agents of France 
 in the Pacific, were capable. The treaty, said to be violated by the 
 Sandwich islanders, "has been given in these pages; it contained no 
 stipulation whatever, for the permission of Romish worship, or of the 
 residence of French priests. On the contrary, M. Du Petit-Thouars, 
 had engaged, that the priests should leave ; and in the mean time 
 should not officiate. The refusal of permission to M. Maigret in 
 November, 1837, was rather in accordance with the treaty, than a viola- 
 tion of it. — The king of the French could not be insulted, by the Romish 
 religion being called idolatry ; for as king, he has no religion. Romish 
 priests, Protestant pastors, and Jewish rabbins, are nominated by him,
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 ^- 101 - 
 
 and are all paid by the state ; he would, therefore, be as much insulted 
 by Protestants being called heretics, as by Roman Catholics being called 
 isolators. — The compulsory admission of brandy, and the arbitrary 
 fixation of duty, were as illegal and more inglorious, than smuggUng. 
 The caption of ^4,000, (to be restored, when the holders should think 
 proper ;) was pure brigandage ; — and to crown all, the expatriation and 
 the declaring hors la lot, of forty American citizens, was a super-jaco- 
 binical extravagance ; and an official assassination. The whole oi tins 
 aifair, is a parallel passage in the history of Oceania, with that of the 
 Georgian Islands. If any doubt could rest, on the character of the pro- 
 ceedings of the French at Tahiti, those at Oahu offer an explanation ; 
 and if it were difficult to comj)rehend the doings at Honolulu, it is only 
 necessary to turn to the page, Papeete. 
 
 The deprivation of forty respectable Americans, (protected by pass- 
 ports under the seal of the United States, and holding a large amount of 
 property, belonging to three chartered corporations in their own country,) 
 of their citizenship ; and their exposure, with their families, to the 
 terrors of fire and sword, as natives of a country, in which they were 
 foreigners, is an unexampled act of wickedness, that merits miqualified 
 reprobation. Had these persons, been, all of them, guilty of some 
 proveable crime, they had at least a right to a trial, before competent 
 and honourable judges : but their conduct, as far as the facts and the 
 truth have been made public, does not appear to justify even incrimina- 
 tion with the chiefs of the Sandwich islands, in their pretended 
 offences against France, much less punishment ; and above all, punish- 
 ment so unheard of, and so horrible. 
 
 The following remarkable, and spontaneous testimony, to the character 
 of the American Protestant missionaries, forms a striking contrast to 
 the bravo threats, and the unsupported charges of the French captain. 
 
 " We, the undersigned officers of the United States squadron, having 
 " on our arrival at this place, heard various rumours, in relation and 
 " derogatory to the American mission in these islands, feel it to be due, 
 " not only to the missionaries themselves, but to the cause of truth and 
 " justice, that the most uuquaUfied testimony should be given in the 
 " case ; and do, therefore, order one thousand copies of the annexed 
 " article and correspondence, to be printed for gratuitous distribution, 
 " as being the most effectual mode of settling this agitated question, 
 " in the minds of an intelligent and liberal public* 
 
 " Being most decidedly of opinion, that the persons composing the 
 " Protestant mission of these islands, are American citizens, and as 
 " such, entitled to the protection which our government has never 
 
 * The article alluded to in the circular of the officers is, " An account of the 
 Transactions connected with the visit of the Artemise, published in the Hawaiian, 
 Spectator, of October, 1839.
 
 ^4^ 
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 " withheld ; and with unwavering confidence in the justice which has 
 " ever characterized it, we rest assured, that any insult offered to this 
 " unoffending class will be promptly redressed. 
 
 " It is readily admitted, that there may be in the operations of this, 
 " as in all other systems in which fallible man has any agency, some 
 " objectionable peculiarities ; still, as a system, it is deemed compara- 
 " tively unexceptionable, and believed to have been pursued in strict 
 " accordance with the professed principles of the society which it 
 " represents ; and it would seem, that the salutary influence exerted 
 " by the mission on the native population, ought to commend it to 
 " the confidence and kind feelings of all interested in the dissemination 
 " of good principles." 
 
 This interesting document was signed by no less than sixteen officers 
 of the American naxy. 
 
 The testimony of the king, to the honourable conduct of the mis- 
 sionaries, is not less positive. M. Brinsmade, United States consul, 
 having represented to his majesty, the charges brought against the 
 missionaries ; and ha^-ing requested to be informed explicitly, whether 
 those gentlemen had any thing to do with the passing of laws affecting 
 the interests of foreigners, and particularly, for the prevention of the 
 introduction of the Catholic religion, — whether they had, directly or 
 indirectly, recommended the course pursued by his government, to 
 suppress the public exercise of that religion by his own subjects, — 
 whether they had, in any of these respects, controlled the action of 
 the government, and if so, in what manner and to what extent ; his 
 majesty replied, in a full communication, of which the follomng is an 
 extract : — 
 
 " From the time the missionaries first arrived, they have asked 
 " liberty to dwell in these islands. Communicating instruction in 
 " letters, and delivering the word of God, has been their business. 
 " They were hesitatingly permitted to remain, by the chiefs of that 
 " time. We exercised, however, forbearance, and protected all the 
 " missionaries ; as they frequently arrived, we permitted them to 
 " remain, because they asked it ; and when we saw the excellence 
 " of their labours, then some of the chiefs and people tui-ned to them 
 " to be instructed. - 
 
 " WTien the priests of the Romish religion landed at these islands, 
 " they did not first make known to us their desire to dwell in the 
 " islands, and also their business. There was no clear understanding 
 " wdth this company of priests, as there was with the missionaries ; 
 " because they landed in our country secretly, without Kaahumanu 
 " hearing any thing of their remaining here. 
 
 " Certam captains of whale sliips told Kaahamanu of the evil of this 
 " way ; of a great destruction in Britain, and that their ancestors died 
 " in the slaughter. That was the company who informed us of the
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 
 
 c^ 
 
 ** evil of the Romish religion ; and also a certain French man-of-war, 
 " and a certain British man-of-war, approved of what we did. 
 
 " I have inquired of my chiefs, and they say no, in the same manner 
 " as I now say no, to you. Some of them, however, have told me 
 " of having known certain things, done by certain missionaries." 
 
 The king then mentions remonstrances, said by the chiefs to have 
 " been made, by Messrs. Bingham, Clark, Judd, and Richards, to 
 Kinau, Kaahumann, Kekauluohi, and Kekuanaoa, against the 
 punishment of the natives on account of their having worshipped 
 according to the Romish religion ; and he confirms the testimony, by 
 stating what some of them had said to him, against such punishments. 
 Indeed several weeks before the arrival of M. Laplace, in consequence 
 of their remonstrances, all those punishments had ceased. — " Should 
 " it be said," he continues, " that they are the authors of the law 
 " respecting the sale of rum, &c., I would say, a number of captains 
 " of whale ships commenced that thing ; thousands of my own people 
 " supported them ; and when my chiefs saw it was good, they requested 
 " me to do according to the petition ; and when I saw it was an ex- 
 " cellent thing, then I chose that it should be a rule of my kingdom. 
 
 " But that thing which you speak to me of, that they act with us, 
 " or over-rule our acts, we deny it, it is not so. We think that these 
 " are, perhaps, their real crimes : — 
 
 " Their teaching us knowledge ; their living with us, and sometimes 
 *' translating between us and foreigners ; their not taking the sword 
 " into their hand, and their saying to us with power, stop, punish not 
 " the worshippers in the Romish religion. 
 
 " But to stand at variance with, and to confine that company, they 
 " have never spoken like that, since the time of Kaahumanu I., down 
 " to the time that the Romish priest was confined on board the 
 " Europa. Thus I have written you with respect. 
 
 " Kamehameha III." 
 
 The missionaries themselves have declared, " "With regard to 
 " sending away the French priests, that individually or collectively, 
 " they never gave any advice at all on the subject, either for or against 
 " the measures. Most likely," say they, " all would have doubted the 
 " good policy of the measures, as the government is so impotent. But 
 " were it ever so powerful, some would have doubted the moral right, 
 " unless the instructions of the foreigners, led to seditious practices ; 
 " in which case, all good citizens and friends of order must have agreed, 
 " that the step was proper. Probably, none of them would have 
 " doubted the civil right to be agreeable to the usages of nations. 
 " But we wish it to be understood, that they claim the right to think, 
 " speak, and write their opinions freely, amenable only to the laws 
 " for the abuse of that right. They are in favour of full toleration.
 
 THE ARTEMISE AT THE SANDWICH ISLANDS- 
 
 " every where, and in all matters of conscience ; they are decided 
 " enemies to persecution ; as applied to the natives, they have never 
 " sanctioned it in any manner. It was known to have the decided 
 " disapprobation of all, and they made it the subject of earnest 
 " remonstrance, if by any means any fact reached their ear. They do 
 " deprecate the entrance of Catholicism, because they believe it to be 
 " a deadly error ; but they believe the only proper weapon with which 
 " to fight error, is the word of God, — the sword of the spirit. 
 
 " Whether the government of the Sandwich islands, by their refusal 
 " to allow French priests to reside in its territories, or by the measures 
 " taken to prevent it, did any thing which an independent sovereignty 
 " might not of right do, or any thing which might justly give 
 " umbrage to France, we leave to others to judge. We have always 
 " supposed, however, that the legitimate executive of a nation possesses 
 " the right to say, whether auy, or what foreigners may settle in its 
 " territories. This political and national right of independent nations, 
 " with respect to foreigners, has been acknowledged in theory, and 
 " adopted in practice, from time immemorial. 
 
 " The American Board of Foreign Missions have, by their practice, 
 " acknowledged this right in all their operations ; as wiU be seen by the 
 " following extract from the Missionary Herald, vol. xxxix. p. 2/9- 
 " There is no doubt a distinction to be observed, between the rights of 
 " an individual as a citizen, and his rights as a foreigner. As a citizen 
 " he might claim as a right, what as a foreigner he must ask as a 
 " favour. A citizen of the United States, who is a minister of the 
 " gospel, has a right, which no man can gainsay, to preach the gospel 
 " in any part of our republic ; and a native preacher in the Sandwich 
 " Islands, would have a similar right in his own countrj^ — and still, it 
 " may be true, that the government of the Sandwich Islands may law- 
 " fully refuse permission to the American minister, to settle, or preach 
 " or labour in any manner at the Sandwich Islands. — At any rate, we 
 " have asked permission to reside, from the government of the Sand- 
 " wich Islands, for each successive company of missionaries, which the 
 " Board has sent to those islands, and with the expectation of abiding by 
 " the decision. So we have always done by the Indian tribes of our own 
 " countrv, however unci\'ilized. So we have done in Africa. Such too 
 " has been our usage in India ; and for a course of years, we sent no 
 " more missionaries to Ceylon, merely because it was forbidden by the 
 " government of the islands." 
 
 Notwithstanding this clear and satisfactory proof of the honourable 
 views and meritorious conduct of the American Protestants, they have 
 been included in one common accusation with the EngUsh Protestants ; 
 the same system of persecution has been pursued in both cases ; the 
 same obloquy has been thrown on them by the officers, agents and 
 ministers of the king of the French. It has been thought, therefore
 
 PROGRESS OF THE PROPAGANDA. — M. CARET AT TAHITI. ^' MOS 
 
 necessary, to enter on the justification of the mission at Oahu, and to 
 expose the meanness and despotism of the captain of the Artemise; who 
 having compelled queen Pomare to sign a treaty, presented her conduct, 
 as a laudable example to the king of the Sandwich Islands, on whom 
 he forced, by similar violence, Romanism and French brandy. 
 
 It is also useful to observe, how intimately the Protestant missionaries 
 and Societies, of countries in some respects rivals, harmonize in senti- 
 ment, and in the principles by which all efforts for the evangelization 
 of the world should be distinguished. The declarations of the Americans 
 of Oahu and New York, are, though unconcerted, exactly similar to 
 those of the English at Tahiti, and of the Directors of the Missionary 
 Society in London. 
 
 M. Rienzi, the favourite authority of the Journal des Debats, 
 has published the following declaration of Mr. J. Williams. " It has 
 " been stated, that the missionaries have used the civil power in the 
 " propagation of the gospel. Now, such is not the case. I deny the 
 " fact. They have used the influence of the example of the chiefs, and 
 " nothing else. There is not a single article in any of the codes of 
 " laws, that have been provided for the people, that goes so far as to 
 " recognize the Christian religion, as the religion of the island. The 
 " only thing respecting religion, is the enforcement of the outward 
 " cessation of labour on the Sabbath-day. The chiefs have commended 
 " the gospel to other chiefs, and to the people, and one of them dying, 
 " extended his withered arms, and, to recommend that gospel to those 
 " from whom he was to be separated, exclaimed, ' But, who shall 
 " separate us from the love of Christ? ' " 
 
 The observations of the Directors of the London Missionary Society, 
 published in their Chronicle of July, 1840, are in perfect accordance 
 with those of the board and missionaries, of the United States. 
 
 Progress of the Propaganda. — M. Caret at Tahiti. 
 
 The operations of the propaganda were vigorously continued, both in 
 Europe and in Oceania. M. Francois-d' Assise Caret, was as successful 
 at Rome, as in Paris, " He received a most hearty welcome from 
 " the different members of the sacred college ; and was treated with 
 " peculiar kindness by the holy father." — Gregory XVI., confided to 
 the missionary, for the king of the Gambler Islands, his own portrait, 
 that of St. Gregory, a gilt statue of " the august Mary, the destroyer 
 " of heresy," and splendid costumes for his majesty himself, for his 
 royal consort, and for the ex -high priest. These presents completed the 
 collection sent, at the same time, from the king and queen of the French, 
 in order to encourage the zeal of the society of Picpus, and to prove to 
 the Polynesians, that potentates and princes, spiritual and temporal, 
 were united in " extirpating heresy, and establishing the faith."* 
 * " Evangelical Magazine, April, 1843."
 
 PROGRESS OF THE PROPAGANDA. M. CARET AT TAHITI. 
 
 M. Caret, having already transmitted his orders, through the 
 minister of INIarine, to the commanders of the Venus and the Artimise, 
 embarked for the Pacific, in May, 1838 ; and arrived, with all his 
 treasures, at INIanga-reva, in December ; just two years after his return 
 to that island, from Tahiti in Hamilton's vessel. From the Gambier 
 Islands he went to the Marquesas, with bishop Rouchouse, and the 
 superior, father Garcia, to organize definitively the Romish mission in 
 that group, " destined by the government to become the centre and the 
 " railing-point of the CathoUc religion." 
 
 Tahiti, was in the mean time, a convenient entrepot ; it was also 
 under preparation by M. Moerenhout, and was visited occasionally by 
 the French Royal Navy. 
 
 A brig of war, the Pylade, had been ordered to visit all the stations, 
 and in July, 1840, captain Bernard arrived at Papeete. No priests 
 were on the island ; there was no pretext for violence ; nor could the 
 captain find at the consulate, the treaty of M. Dn Petit-Thouars, on 
 which he probably wished to ground some new vexation. If the absence 
 of this document were designed, it does not furnish an example of the 
 good faith, of which the armed negociators had said so much ; — if 
 it were unintentional, it betrays that demi- civilization, that want of 
 administrative order, which the French have made a crime in the 
 Tahitians, and the pretext for the protectorate. 
 
 The circumstance that particularly displeased M. Bernard, was the 
 creation of what he calls, " a troop of royal guards. The avenues of 
 " the royal residence were lined by ranks of these miserable soldiers in 
 " pasteboard caps and paper ornaments." Still, the queen received both 
 consul and captain with politeness ; her speaker returned their compli- 
 ments ; and she accepted the officer's invitation to visit the brig. But 
 that there was a prevailing sentiment of danger, from French kindness, 
 was too evident. The captain complains, that " Pomare was no longer 
 " pleased, except she was in the midst of bayonets ; and that she came 
 *' to the quay with drum and fife, standards, and guards."* This inti- 
 mation that she meant to maintain her independence, was rather too 
 distinct. In spite of the amusements offered to her, " she preserved an 
 " immoveable gravity, — it appeared that the business of her life was to 
 " walk with a slow step." 
 
 The French visitors, found things at this time so very bad, and 
 requiring so clearly foreign government as a remedy, " that if France 
 " had not the intention to oppose the occupation of the island by 
 " the English, she would rather, that it should take place at once ; 
 " any thing being better, than the unseizable administration of 
 
 * The queen was ad\'ised by her friends to have, as other sovereigns, a guard for 
 her person. French officers, could not reasonably^complain of this arrangement. 
 Her Majesty found the establishment too expensive, and it was dissolved.
 
 dS^ 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE PROPAGANDA. M. CARET AT TAHITI. 
 
 " Pritchard, with his bhnd hatred, of all that is not English and 
 " Protestant."* In other words, Mr. Pritchard, kept an eye on the 
 manoe\Tires of M. Mcerenhout to bring about the occupation of Tahiti, 
 by the French and Romish propaganda, and the captain could find 
 nothing of which to accuse him. 
 
 " The French and English parties became more and more marked ; the 
 " subjects of the two nations vaunted their national colours. (When the 
 " Artemise was at Tahiti, and insisted on the erection of a church, ' only 
 " one Frenchman lived on the island ; a youth, named Louis, whose life 
 *' was a series of adventures.') But it was an immense point gained, that 
 " the Tahitians should already put the power of the two nations almost 
 " on a level ! At the same time, and notwithstanchng the amicable rela- 
 " tions of the queen, with the French commanders, the government 
 " was not freed from the malevolent influence, that exposed the French 
 " to various vexations, from which the English were exempt." 
 
 All these pretended vexations, did not prevent the quiet departure of 
 the Pylade, or the peaceable settlement of a company of Romish priests 
 in the " country of the demon." 
 
 Matters, ecclesiastical and political, being settled at the Marquesas, 
 preparatory to the intended millitary seizure, M. Caret proceeded to 
 accomplish his vow, of returning to Tahiti. He now landed there 
 openly, and accompanied by his coadjutors. They had liberty to reside, 
 as required by M. Du Petit-Thouars ; and, according to the condi- 
 tions imposed by M. Laplace, they hired land, and prepared to 
 build. 
 
 Difficulties, however, arose as to the title of the party, who had let 
 the land, to dispose of it at all, or for certain uses. From the review 
 that has been taken of their proceedings, it is easy to understand, that 
 to procure ground, the priests had pursued, as usual, a tortuous course. 
 Many proprietors would not have any thing to do with them ; and 
 with those persons who consented to treat, they had the example of 
 M. Laplace to justify their own unscrupulousness, as to terms and 
 tenure. The case was examined, and it was decided, that they could 
 not justly continue their occupation. 
 
 There can be no question, on which side were honour and equity, 
 when the gentlemen, habituated to move about the world clandestinely, 
 and in disguise, and Tahitian judges, are the parties. All persons, 
 acquainted with the island, admit, the reverence of the population 
 for the administration of justice. Even their arch-accuser, M. Mceren- 
 hout, has borne testimony to their high feeling in this respect. After 
 one of his terrible descri])tions of the depravity and disorder, prevailing 
 at Tahiti, as though he felt, that such passages, however they might 
 
 * " Annales Maritimes, 1841," — All that is English and Protestant, was the object 
 of hatred and attack by the French Romish propaganda.
 
 FIRST DEMAND, FOR THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE. 
 
 please the friends at Picpus, would not encourage manufacturers or 
 merchants to ship goods on his credit, he adds : — 
 
 " I must, however, put the reader on his guard, lest in taking these 
 " remarks too rigorously, and in generalizing too much my descriptions, 
 " he should draw most sad inferences as to the social state of these 
 " islands. This would be a great mistake. In fact, order and tran- 
 •' quiUity did not cease to prevail; business went on regularly; the 
 " ships obtained easily the provisions they required, and every thing 
 " they needed ; property was perfectly safe ; and partial excesses were 
 " rarely unpunished ; so true is this, that a chief, generally beloved, 
 " and speaker of the queen, was for a very long time, suspended from 
 " his functions, for having made a little noise in my house one day 
 " when he was in liquor," In another part of his book, he thus closes 
 his account of the trial of the rebels (a procedure in which he had no 
 personal interest), in 1832. " This assembly would have done honour 
 " to a people, the most advanced in civilization." — The fact of the 
 priests ha\"ing been restrained, from unjustly or illegally appropriating 
 certain land, has nevertheless been made use of to authorize coercion, 
 and to justify the French protectorate : at all events, the judicial 
 restraint was reversed, as will be seen, by the order and by the artillery 
 of the captain of the Aiibe. 
 
 y- First Demand, for the French Protectorate. 
 
 /■ _ 
 
 But, in the mean time, a curious attempt was made to spirit away 
 the sovereignty of the island itself, to the new French dynasty. 
 
 It was evident, that the success of the Romish priests did not at 
 all answer to the hopes and expectations, of the French consul. Cor- 
 ruption, profligacy, and intoxication, had been profusely employed ; 
 but they did nothing more than degrade, certain portions of the popu- 
 lation. The political changes, to which the consul was pledged, 
 must, therefore, be effected by other means ; and till open violence 
 should be found indispensable, its means be adequate, and its exercise 
 be convenient ; political intrigues, and official stratagems must be in full 
 activity, and every circumstance be put under contribution. 
 
 In July, 1841, an American vessel touched at Tahiti, having on 
 board several persons ill with the small pox. The infection was soon 
 communicated to the natives on the coast. This calamity might be 
 turned to account, by the dexterous and maleficent management of 
 a Mcerenhout. The inhabitants, much alarmed, severely censured the 
 American consul, for ha\'iug permitted the vessel to come to anchor 
 in the bay, when he knew, that the crew was attacked by so dangerous 
 a malady. Other diflferences had already arisen, between the govern- 
 ment and the same functionary. He had protected and favoured the 
 escape of some disorderly American sailors, who were amenable to the
 
 FIRST DEMAND, FOR THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE. tO^ — -^ 
 
 laws of the country. This man, who had succeeded M. Moerenhout, was 
 not much better than his predecessor. He also speculated in the misery 
 of the people ; and, in defiance of the laws, imitated the French 
 consul in selling and promoting the consumption of ardent spirits. 
 
 The exasperation was considerable ; the queen was absent in the 
 other islands ; and the British consul was in England. — All the circum- 
 stances were favourable. M. Moerenhout, first envenomed the quarrel, 
 then took an active part against his successor, and finally he persuaded 
 certain chiefs, that the government was unequal to the exigencies of the 
 case, and inveigled them mto an act, of which they did not fully 
 understand the importance. He assured them, that if they were to 
 request the interference of the French government, they would have all 
 the assistance necessary to maintain peace and order. He succeeded so 
 far, as to obtain their signatures to a formal demand, — and then 
 represented their conduct, as spontaneous, and as being suggested by 
 their own necessities and convictions. — They were either traitors or 
 dupes, but — thus was produced, what is pompously called, the " First 
 demand, for the protectorate of France." 
 
 " Anarchy prevailed ; the chiefs were divided, — and the sentiment of 
 ' nationality did not exist on either side ; all these chiefs admitted that 
 ' Tahiti could not preserve its independence, maintain order, and 
 ' make the constitution respected on its present basis, while the contact 
 ' with Europeans, was constantly increasing. The chiefs, favourable to 
 ' France, were the most powerful. Among them were, Hitoti, Paraita, 
 ' Tairapa, and even Tati ; Paofai, seemed to have abandoned the 
 ' cause, for which he had shown such lively sympathy ; but he could 
 ' not hinder his colleagues from taking an important resolution, about 
 ' September, 1841. Whether the government feared the consequences 
 ' of the ill-treatment of French citizens ; or that the absence of Mr. 
 ' Pritchard left them free from his importunities, or that they saw the 
 ' letter sent to England, in November, 1838, was without effect ; what- 
 ' ever decided them, they resolved to have recourse to France. Their 
 ' demand, and the necessary acts, were all prepared, when some 
 ' English residents, being informed of the project, and hoping for 
 * some result from the solicitations of Mr. Pritchard in England ; 
 ' set to work, to prevent the departure of the documents. They 
 ' sent a schooner to Eimeo, to the queen, and requested her to refuse 
 ' her approbation of the conduct of the chiefs." * 
 
 The whole of this statement, and it is to be observed, that the French 
 government and its writers, have said very little about this nefarious 
 abortion, is, at best, the work of a clumsy rogue. If the government 
 had ill-treated French citizens, these chiefs were active members of the 
 government ; Paraita was governor ; and " Tati, we have been told, 
 was, in fact, king of Tahiti" — If the French were treated ill, it must 
 
 * Esquisse Historique, p. 940.
 
 y 
 
 FIRST DEMAND, FOR THE FRENCH PROTRCTORATE. 
 
 then have been by these very men. — The queen Rad been absent during 
 several months, and the terrible Pritchard, to whom they have not yet 
 ascribed omnipresence, was long since in Europe. — Whether the 
 government was afraid of England, or hoped for her protection, it would 
 hardly brave the anger, or renounce the favour of its old, and, as it 
 thought far more powerful friend, before it had news of the British 
 consul. None of the chiefs were favourable to France, in the sense 
 in which that word is used, as a controlling, sovereign authority ; the 
 statement both acknowledges, that one of the most influential chiefs 
 had opposed the plan, and admits, that the demand was to be sent to 
 France, without the signature or knowledge of the queen. There are 
 / ) eight or ten governors and principal chiefs, and about two hundred 
 influential chiefs. There are besides, superior judges, and two inferior 
 judges to each district. None of these parties were consulted ; no 
 assembly of the legislative body, or of the representatives, was con- 
 vened ; but M. Mcerenhout, the protector of the lawless priests, whose 
 invasion had been a cause of ceaseless trouble, obtained secretly, the 
 signature of a few chiefs, to a paper, of the contents of which, they 
 declared they were ignorant ; but which was an act, to dissolve the 
 government, destroy the nationality of Tahiti, and make their country 
 dependant on a foreign and hostile nation. 
 
 It is not surprising, that as soon as the conspiracy was discovered, 
 the other chiefs, and the people, should have been deeply alarmed, or 
 that the queen should have been indignant. The chief, who had 
 refused to sign the treasonable letter, knew well the real purpose of 
 the French consul ; and when once the object was revealed, the other 
 chiefs were anxious to exculpate themselves. One of them, in the 
 name of the rest, wrote to the acting British consul the following letter. 
 
 " Tahiti, 21st August, 1841. 
 Dear Friend Cunningham, — This is what we have to say to you, 
 " respecting the letter, that M. Mcerenhout has made us sign. We 
 " declare to you, that we did not well know the nature of the contents 
 " of the letter : it was by ignorance, that we signed it. Let that letter 
 *' be altogether destroyed ; let no use be made of the letter written 
 " by M. Mcerenhout. This is what we have to say to you. 
 
 " Paraita, Governor of Tahiti." 
 
 No sooner had Pomare arrived at Eimeo (this island is about twelve 
 miles from Tahiti), and learned what had occurred, than she required, 
 that the signers of the letter, should be tried for high treason ; she 
 wrote also to the English and American governments, to declare, that 
 the chiefs had been deceived by the French consul, and that she had 
 taken no part in the transaction. She did more ; she wrote to Louis 
 Philippe L, king of the French : — 
 
 I
 
 FIRST DEMAND, FOR THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE. 
 
 t^ 
 
 " Peace be with you. I make you a communication ; it is this : — 
 " During my absence from my country, a few of my people, entirely 
 " without my knowledge or authority, wrote a letter to you, soliciting 
 " your assistance. I disavow any knowledge of that document. Peace 
 
 " to you. POMARE." 
 
 The contrivers of this swindling scheme, endeavour, as usual, to throw 
 on the English, all the blame, or credit, of its failure. As Mr. Pritchard 
 was not at hand, English residents were made responsible ; but their 
 crime was small compared with the conduct of captain Jones, of her 
 majesty's ship of war, the Curaroa. " He seconded the efforts of the 
 " English. After he had attended a meeting of the chiefs of Tahiti, 
 " he visited the queen at Eimeo ; his advice prevailed, and he succeeded 
 " in having the resolution that had been taken, annulled." 
 
 The British residents, and the commander acted honorably. They 
 assured the queen, that the nation, she had so long respected, had 
 no share in the traitorous subtraction of her territorial rights and 
 sovereignty. Had the captain attended a meeting of chiefs, he would 
 only have exercised a right, which he held equally with the French, and 
 he would not have been exposed to the same humiliation, as the captaia 
 of the Aube experienced soon after. As the queen was so near, he was 
 able to give her the consolation and satisfaction of his presence ; and 
 there is reason to believe, that he also assured her, what he, no doubt, 
 believed would prove true, that the sovereign of Great Britain, would 
 never allow, either rebels or foreigners, to deprive her of her indepen- 
 dence, by fraud or force. 
 
 Whatever communications that officer may have made to the min- 
 isters of Victoria, whether by letter or in person, they do not appear, 
 any more than the letter from Pomare, in the parliamentary papers ; 
 they would probably, with those of captain Elliott, and of other 
 naval officers, have assisted the senate, and the people of Great 
 Britain, to appreciate, earlier and more correctly, the importance 
 and the malevolence of the Romish and Anti-English propaganda so 
 determinately pursued, in the reign of Louis Philippe. They might also 
 have furnished that ])rince, with useful information of the doings of his 
 agents in the Pacific. 
 
 Not that he was either uninformed, or mistaken, as to the real 
 character of their transactions. The letters of Pomare alone, especially 
 the last, might have awakened in his breast feelings of interest and 
 sentiments of justice ; but, from various other sources, he had been 
 supplied with light to guide him in an affair, affecting the honor of 
 his crown and that of his country. 
 
 When the news of the conduct of M. Du Petit-Thouars arrived 
 in France, as early as the spring of 1839, a letter, was placed under 
 his eye, addressed to him, from Mr. L. E. Threlkeld, a gentleman 
 
 1^ 
 
 I •
 
 THE AUBE, CAPTAIN DU BOUZET, AT TAHITI. 
 
 residing at Sydney, of whom Mr. J, Williams says, " a man of more 
 inflexible integrity and honorable principle is rarely to be met with." 
 
 " The flag of your majesty," said the writer, " has received no 
 " insult. The civil and military subjects of your majesty have neither 
 " suffered personal injury, nor loss of property. There exists no na- 
 " tional prejudice in the island, against the French. Mr. Tessier, lived 
 " many years at Tahiti, without molestation, and died there in peace. In 
 " consequence of the influence exercised on the mind of king Pomare, 
 " by an American captain, Mr. Gyles, an Englishman, was forbidden to 
 " reside in the island, and was obliged to return to England, though he 
 " had been sent from that country on purpose to be useful to the king. 
 " His Majesty, exercised lawfully his right ; and Great Britain, offered 
 " no obstacle, nor thought of such an interference. If Mr. Gyles had 
 " resisted the order of the king, to quit Tahiti, and the government 
 " had been obliged to employ force, to make him withdraw, no judge, 
 " human or divine, would see in his expulsion any thing more, than 
 " the just consequence of his own temerit3\" 
 
 Unhappily, his French majesty, who is not thought to be inattentive 
 to the movements of either his diplomatic or military servants, had 
 approved generally the propaganda in the Pacific : no exception had 
 been made in his mind, in favour of Protestant countries or English 
 missionary stations in that ocean, especially of Tahiti. On the con- 
 trary, he had expressed, in reply to personal observations on the subject, 
 an intention to support Romish efforts, in opposition even to Protestant 
 communities. 
 
 The AuBE, Captain Du Bouzet, at Tahiti. 
 
 The course of events had proceeded thus far, when another corvette, 
 the Aube, commanded by M. Du Bouzet, " an officer of high distinc- 
 " tion," arrived at Tahiti, on the 4th of May, 1842. " Complaints, 
 " we are told, poured in immediately from a multitude of Frenchmen." 
 Who they could be it is difficult to conceive ; unless they were a 
 multiplication of the six deserters from the Artemise. Whoever they 
 were, M. Du Bouzet devoted himself to their interests ; " and examined 
 " and verified all the facts." 
 
 Among the complaints preferred, and the wrongs to be redressed, no 
 mention is made of one that was so great, as to have rendered necessary 
 an appeal to Paris and to Picpus. It appears, that under pretence of 
 obtaining the signature of Pomare, to a deed of grant for land, on which 
 to erect a Roman Catholic church, the French consul had presented to 
 her deeds, securing the land to himself. In vain the priests reclaimed 
 the land from M. Moerenhout, and in vain they exposed the decep- 
 tion to the queen. She had made the grant, as obliged by the French 
 commander, and she would do no more. The consul, complained to
 
 
 THE AUBE, CAPTAIN DU BOUZET, AT TAHITI. 
 
 the French government, of the queen's refusal to give land to the 
 priests. The priests laid also their complaint ; for though the queen 
 had given, they had not received. Murphy did not stop here ; — in- 
 dignant at being duped by the consul, to whom the society of Picpus 
 had made promises, for his former services, and being no longer dis- 
 guised as a carpenter, but advanced to some importance in the hierarchy ; 
 he wrote to the superior at Paris, to denounce his friend, as a foe, to 
 expose the conduct of the sharper, and to request the withholding of the 
 reward. The letter was despatched to Valparaiso on the 23rd of 
 November 1841, by a vessel, hired expressly for the purpose. The 
 owner of the vessel has himself stated the fact, in a letter published in 
 the " Times." Of the verification of this case, by the captain of \X\QAuhe, 
 we are not informed ; but we learn, " that he demanded, the punish- 
 " ment of the agents of the government, who were guilty of striking 
 " and wounding inoflFensive French citizens, — the dissolution of the 
 " poUce of the port (moutoi), worthless and immoral fellows ; and the 
 " signature of the local authorities to a formal recognition of the 
 " possession of land," by Messrs. Caret and Company. 
 
 A meeting of chiefs was convened, to which the captain was invited. 
 He attended of course ; and after portraying all the miseries and 
 wrongs, inflicted on his virtuous fellow-countrymen, of both clergy 
 and laity, he endeavoured, after the example of his predecessors, to 
 " make the meeting feel, the dangers to which they would be exposed, 
 " should they tolerate the horrors of which the island was the theatre. 
 " The chiefs were all attention," when an incident occurred, that 
 deranged the dramatic course of the oration, and quite discomfited the 
 valiant threatener. " A little chief, or raatira, known for his fanati- 
 " cism (read, patriotism), interrupted the French commander, and 
 " asked him, ' If he was come to change the laws V M. Du Bouzet 
 " had been apprized, that some evil-inspired persons (' slaves of the 
 " demon') would perhaps adopt a tactic, which consisted in overwhelm- 
 " ing the speaker with questions, placing him in some sort in the 
 *' situation of a culprit before an assize court, and endeavouring to 
 " make him contradict himself. The commander would not submit 
 " to this sort of inquisition. He expressed his displeasure by some 
 " severe threats, which made a great impression on the assembly, and 
 " he dissolved the meeting by retiring himself." 
 
 The ' distinguished oflicer' would have done much better, had he 
 replied, " I respect your laws, and I only require, that you should respect 
 '• them yourselves." But he was, what he seemed to be, a culprit, 
 come to make havoc of their laws and rights, as he would have done 
 of their persons, families, and property, had they resisted his orders. 
 The people had done nothing illegal, or unjust ; and he knew 
 the fact. The short question, settled the matter morally ; it 
 was a sort of prophetic revelation, before which the commander was 
 
 I
 
 THE SEIZURE OF THE MARQUESAS, 
 
 confounded ; but the guns were there ; and " the reclamations of 
 " M. Du Bouzet, were admitted by the Tahitian government. Before 
 " he left Papeete, the police was disbanded ; the offenders were con- 
 " demned to banishment ; the priests were reinstalled in the land" 
 (to which they had no claim), " from whence they only went twice, 
 " on occasion of two funerals ; the one of a captain of a whaler, and 
 " the other of an officer of the Aube. These were the only occasions, 
 " on which the Catholic priests displayed publicly, the pomp of their 
 " ceremonies ;" a circumstance that is to be attributed to the absence 
 of Roman Catholics, but which admits, at the same time, their full 
 liberty of action. The captain was more than satisfied ; he appeared 
 even grateful. He wrote to the queen a letter, of which more will be 
 said hereafter, on purpose to thank her for the politeness with which 
 he had been treated, and to assure her, that her conduct was perfectly 
 satisfactory. 
 
 The Seizure of the Marquesas. 
 
 \Vliile Tahiti was the theatre of these religious and political cabals, 
 more important and decided measures had occupied the mighty minds 
 of cabinets, and conclaves, in France and Italy. 
 
 The captains, who had punished and conventionized the queen and 
 legislative body of the Georgian Islands, had made their reports in 
 person, to their Sovereign in Paris, and to the ministers of state, who 
 had indicted their instructions. Honours, and titles, were awarded to 
 the successful officers, and on their showing, it was resolved, that the 
 Marquesas should first be taken possession of, in the name of the king 
 of the French, and that subsequently Tahiti, without which the Mar- 
 quesas are untenable, should be made, by force or by jugglery, an 
 entrepot for naval, as it was already for priestly depredators. These 
 plans were not only laid, but were in the course of execution, when 
 the captain of the Aube was confounded by the small question, " Are 
 " you come to change our laws?" 
 
 In the same month, May, 1842, when M. Du Bouzet as dissoMng 
 the police, and inducting the agents of Picpus at Papeete, a sadly 
 diiferent fate awaited one of his predecessors in the work of coercion. 
 Captain — then admiral Dumont d'Urville perished, with his wife and 
 his son, and many other victims, in the dreadful railway catastrophe at 
 the gates of Paris. At the same moment, his more fortunate companion, 
 captain — now admiral Du Petit-Thouars, who had returned from Paris 
 commander-in-chief of the stations of the South Seas, was ceremo- 
 niously — or rather unceremoniously — transferring the propriety of all 
 the islands of the Marquesan group, to the French government. 
 
 " The conduct of the admiral on this occasion, we are told (with a 
 " hardihood, and a perversion of language, which seem to be the 
 " special attributes, or prerogatives, of French official authors), shows
 
 THE SEIZURE OF THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 ei 
 
 " the extent of respect, with which France treats the independence of 
 " nations, however miserable may be their condition. Everything was 
 " settled, in wtue of stipulations, freely discussed and consented to, 
 " by the native proprietors of the soil." All this is courageously 
 asserted, when a squadron, provided with troops, artillery, implements, 
 and everything required for the erection of forts, and the establishment 
 of a garrison, and commanded by the same officer who placed the first 
 Romish missionaries in the grouj), had anchored at Nouka-Hiva, on 
 purpose to seize the islands. " The history of the Catholic mission," 
 says Father Garcia, " will form, we hope, one and the same event with 
 " the French colonization which has been eflFected by the admiral in 
 " these islands, where he conveyed the first missionaries." To pretend 
 that any choice was left to the chiefs of these islands, is to offer an 
 insult to the most simple understanding. It is unnecessary to refer to 
 the scenes of carnage, that afterwards occurred. 
 
 But the possession of the Marquesas alone, could not have been 
 dreamt of ; and it is necessary to hold this truth in mind, as the key 
 to the whole mystery of iniquity at Tahiti. The compact between the 
 Tuilleries and Picpus, and the joint occupation of the Society and 
 Marquesan group, were necessities of the South Sea speculation, to which 
 French politicians had committed their country. 
 
 " The squadron that took possession of the unimportant Marquesas, 
 and threw the national flag over the rich Tahiti, proved, that the 
 government had a defined system of colonization, capable of giving 
 France the preponderance, in the Indian seas, and in the Pacific Ocean, 
 due to one of the great maritime powers of the world. The Society \ 
 Islands, of which Tahiti is the richest and the largest, the Mar- 
 quesas, and the Gamblers, form a vast triangle ; and the French 
 possessions in Oceania, must comprise the whole of the Marquesan, 
 the Pomotouan, and the Tahitian groups. The Tahitian group is A 
 
 placed almost in the centre of the vast Pacific ; and France, esta- 
 blished in these islands, must rapidly make the influence of her 
 commerce felt in the Samoan, the Tongan, and the Fejeean islands, 
 in New Britain, and in New Guinea. A few years hence all these 
 people Avill need our clothes to cover them, our tools to build their 
 houses, and a thousand other articles of our manufacture. Tahiti 
 placed, so to speak, between Europe and these groups, will become 
 the entrepot of all Oceania, and our merchandize will be carried 
 throughout the ocean by our colonists. To secure this end, the 
 government must not limit itself to a simple protectorate, without 
 any other guarantee than that of the flag of France waving by the 
 side of the banner of the queen of Tahiti ; a more glorious mission 
 is reserved to it. France, must organize the government of Tahiti, 
 and at the same time place the government under her dependance, in 
 such a manner, that it cannot escape. The first thing must be force, 
 
 I 2
 
 r\ 
 
 66Zy 
 
 THE SEIZURE OF THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 " to command obedience. France must be always mistress, to direct 
 " at ber will the native prince charged to hold the reins of the state. 
 " As to money ; a few thousand francs, to aid the queen, will ensure to 
 " France one of the finest colonies, and firmest allies, in case of war 
 " in the South Seas. By able measures, she can easily secure the 
 " power, and make the sovereign and the principal chiefs her pen- 
 " sioners, on any terms she may choose to dictate. With such means, 
 " a police well organized, and a military post, Tahiti will become for 
 " ever, French ground, and a powerful colony. To preserve the friend- 
 " ship of the inhabitants, it will suffice to present French authority, as 
 " mediating between the native authority and the people ; and so to 
 " manage, by an adroit policy, that all the acts of the local government, 
 " that are favourably received by the people, shall appear to emanate 
 " from French influence. France, must have a number of representa- 
 " tives in the native council, an absolute controul over all the legislative 
 " acts, and reserve entirely, all that regards foreign policy, and the 
 " passage or residence of foreigners in the country. 
 
 " The Marquesas are important, as a military colony, on account of 
 " their position in those seas, and their easy defence. But they have 
 " few and but small ports ; wood there is scarce, and unfit for ships, — 
 " the plains are of small extent, and the population is unfavourable to 
 " civilization. The Tahitian islands, have none of these inconveniences ; 
 " — the ports are spacious and numerous ; the forests furnish wood in 
 " abundance ; the plains are vast and fertile ; the population is broken 
 " in to acknowledge authority. Tahiti, by its size, the richness of the 
 " soil, the beauty of its ports and population, is fit for the seat of 
 " government. Papeete, offers the best port ; and the town, which has 
 " risen as by enchantment on its shores, contains, already, nearly four 
 " hundred Europeans. It is the seat of the government of the queen. 
 •' It is at Papeete that the French flag must command ; but the coasts 
 " are extensive, and assadable. The Marquesas then are the more 
 "necessary, as an important military port."* 
 
 These extracts, are not made with any design, either to ridicule the 
 views, or to combat the assertions they present. They are given, 
 to place the protectorate in its true position, and to expose fairly, 
 " French ideas." They put an end at once, and for ever, to all 
 sickening affectation of unpremeditated compliance, on the part of the 
 French, and of spontaneousness and eager desire, on the part of the Tahi- 
 tians. — That the power to dispose of the resources of that fertile island, 
 was a sheer necessitj for " the great and powerful nation," must, on 
 these declarations and pro-^iugs of French officers, who have visited 
 all the premises, and who are said to have wiutten with the privity of 
 certain ministers, be fully admitted. — As fully, as would be admitted 
 the needfidness of the robber, who should plead his want of money, as 
 
 * Considerationes Generales sur la Colonisation Fran9aise dans I'Oceanie, &c.
 
 ■663 
 
 THE SEISURE OF THE MARQUESAS. 
 
 an excuse for his demand of your purse or your life. But in either 
 case, we have a right to ask the desperado, how he became reduced to 
 this dire extremity ; from which, neither the sacrifice of his own 
 honesty, nor the plunder of another's property, can finally extricate 
 him. In both cases, inquiry would prove, that the necessity itself, was 
 the result of guilt. — The necessity thus admitted and established, it 
 is but just to add, that it would have been less disgraceful, to have 
 acted out the robber's part ; to have proclaimed the necessity, and to 
 have demanded boldly the coveted Tahiti. When M. Du Petit- 
 Thouars left France, he knew what was expected of him ; and he was 
 willing, of course, to nail his reputation to the flagstaff of liis sovereign, 
 planted on the islet of Motu-Uta. 
 
 The state of Tahiti, has been carefully reviewed, and it is evident, that 
 there was nothing — absolutely nothing — to justify the hostile visit of 
 the admiral. If he had wanted, as he chd, refreshments and pro^dsions 
 for his crew, he might have obtained, as a friend, or as a commissary, 
 the supplies that merchants or the government were chsposed to furnish. 
 " It was necessary for the admiral to go to Tahiti, to replace there, as 
 " far as possible, the provisions that he had been obliged to leave at 
 " Nouka-Hiva. All the vessels of the division were in the same situa- 
 " tion, and must go there for the same object, — to revictual. Already, 
 " measures had been taken, to secure some of the articles that were 
 " required." Beyond that, he had nothing to do — nothing to demand 
 at Tahiti. By successive visits and vexations, the country had been 
 both insulted and oppressed. The Auhe was at Papeete, when the 
 Heine Blanche was at Nouka-Hiva. Captain Du Bouzet, had demanded 
 all he thought proper to ask, and had received all he had demanded. 
 What could have occurred, since his departure, to require such extreme 
 measures, as those that preceded and obtained the protectorate ? If 
 any serious misunderstanding, had rendered necessary the presence of 
 the commander-in-chief, he was at hand. He had been near Tahiti 
 ever since the beginning of May, and might have been promptly sum- 
 moned. M. Dumont d'Ur\ille was at the Marquesas, on the 27th of 
 August, 1 838, or later, and he was in Matavia Bay on the 9th of Sep- 
 tember.* So that in thirteen days, at most, the admiral might have 
 succoured his fellow-comitrymen at Tahiti, and have avenged their 
 wrongs. He remained, however, at that short distance, during four 
 whole months, and did not conduct his squadron to Papeete, till the end 
 of the month of August ; nor is his absence surprising. In the mean 
 time, the captain of the Auhe, had received from his commodore, a letter 
 for queen Pomare, in which her majesty was assured " that the French 
 
 * The minister of marine, in his speech on the vote of money for the French pos- 
 sessions, said " The fertility of the Society Islands, at only three days distance from 
 the Marquesas," &c. His excellency either betrayed great ignorance, or meant to 
 describe the extreme proximity of the groups.
 
 ^/4 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 " government, had no intention to impose its protectorate ; that it was 
 " satisfied, and had no further claims to urge." This letter was sent 
 to Pomare, enclosed in that from M. Du Bonzet, that has been men- 
 tioned, and the commander of the Atibe took the pains to add, " I beg 
 " distinctly to assure your majestj-, that I consider your late conduct 
 " pei-fectly satisfactory ; and I am authorised to say, that France does 
 " not intend to impose its protectorate." These assurances were made 
 with allusion to the famous first demand of 1841. — But alas ! little did 
 the queen understand French negociators. " The commander-in-chief, 
 " had terminated the first measures for the occupation of the Marquesas, 
 " when he was informed of the steps taken by the commander of the 
 " Aube. This alone, would have decided the admiral to go to Tahiti, 
 " in order to be assured of the execution of the promises given by the 
 " government!" It has been shown, that the admiral must have been 
 perfectly assured, and that he had prepared, by his correspondence, 
 for the provisionment of his ships. His object, was not to be assured of 
 the past, but to provide for the futui'e. 
 
 Imposition of the French Protectorate, on Tahiti. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the approach of the French man-of-war 
 produced no alarm. The natives had been bowed down, by concession 
 after concession ; the queen had been reassured, by the letters of the 
 French officers, and was at Eimeo (or Moorea), expecting daily to 
 be the mother of her fourth child. 
 
 When the Reine Blanche made the land, she kept under sail in the 
 roads ; and before she came to anchor in the bay, the French consul 
 went ofF, and passed the night on board the frigate. These worthy 
 colleagues, had thus time to reciprocate hopes, fears, and counsels, and 
 to arrange all preparatory measures. 
 
 The French confederates, felt that the forcible seizure of Tahiti could 
 not be allowed by England, and it was therefore necessary to gain 
 possession by stratagem. " That the first effect of the occupation of the 
 " Marquesas, would be, to give a greater efficacy to the protection of the 
 " flag and interests of France, was e\'ident ; but the movement it would 
 " produce at Tahiti, was not foreseen. The choice of the Marquesas 
 " indicated, that it was not j^ossible to establish the French authority in 
 *' the Tahitian group, more suitable in every respect, but entirely given 
 " up to a hostile influence, and where it could not be supposed that the 
 " population was so favourable to the domination of France as it 
 " proved to be." If the po])ulation had been as favourable, and the 
 government as well disposed, as this hypocritical sentence was framed to 
 maintain, what need could there be of these nocturnal councils, of the 
 long and terrible manifesto issued eight days after the arrival of the 
 ships, and not before ? — Time was required to obtain provisions ; to 
 adjust differences between the consul and the priests ; to negociate with
 
 c66^ 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. ^^ ^1 *] , ■«■• 
 
 such chiefs and others, as might be gained by bribery, or duped by 
 promises ; all suspicions, on the part of the people, must be lulled, and 
 then sudden violence, would have, on such a population, a more tragic 
 and complete effect. From this document, which has been published, 
 and is included in the papers presented to the House of Commons, the 
 admiral, after expatiating on the kindness and benevolence of the king 
 of the French, accuses the queen of Tahiti, her government, and her 
 agents, of all the anti-social crimes that can well be committed or 
 enumerated — violation of domicile, pillage, seizure of property, brutal 
 violence, false imprisonment, the pillory, without form of trial, and 
 murder ; but instead of proposing to institute an investigation of all or 
 any of these charges, he acts on them all, as fully proven, and as esta- 
 blished facts. 
 
 It is not a little difficult, to deal with charges, throwii up in heaps, 
 on purpose, that they may not be distinguished, and disproved ; it is, 
 indeed, only possible to I'eply to the manifesto of M. Du Petit-Thouars, 
 and to the letters of M. Guizot, the French minister, who adopted it, 
 by heaping together denials as positive, and more weighty than the 
 charges. An attempt is made, to give appearance of fact to falsehood, 
 by the mention of one case, of terrible import ; intended, to set aside 
 all the satisfaction already given to France, and acknowledged by M. 
 Du Bouzet. , 
 
 " Not-ndthstanding the promise given to the commander of the Att.be" 
 says the manifesto, " the murderer, (assassin) of a Frenchman, the 
 " infamous Mo'ia, whom the queen sentenced to exile, is still here ; 
 " and it is by impunity to a criminal, that the proofs of benevolence of 
 " the king of the French, are acknowledged." 
 
 Had the admiral given to the world, the name of the murdered 
 victim (who, for the consolation of the reader, is alive, and prosperous), 
 as well as that of the assassin, an old acquaintance would have been ; 
 recognized, in the same captain Mauruc, who was so indignant at the 
 conduct of the Romish priests at Manga-reva, in procuring a mono- 
 poly of shelling for M. Moerenhout, that he declared, he would complain 
 of them, and make his case known to the French public, when he 
 should arrive in France.* It was very naturally thought expedient, to 
 placate and silence the injured and incensed M, Mauruc : he was ac- 
 cordingly taken into special favour by M. Du Petit-Thouars, when 
 captain of the Venus, and employed by him, to furnish notes and 
 reports, highly spiced with anti-English and anti-Protestant abuse, as 
 documents, to be appended to the official account of his voyages. Not a 
 line, however, is found to be among all those furnished by Mauruc, on the 
 conduct of the priests or the monopoly of the consul. It was further 
 expedient, to admit this dangerous captain into the cabal, and even to 
 
 * See page 44.
 
 IMPOSTTION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 make him a martyr. This was very easy to those, who had made of 
 Mr. Pritchard, a murderer. 
 
 Fortmiately, a dog-fight occurred on the beach ; an animal belong- 
 ing to a servant of the queen was one of the combatants. A 
 squabble naturally ensued, and INIoia, the superintendent of police, 
 was called to interfere. On entering the crowd, he spread his hands 
 and stretched his arms on either side, to separate and disperse 
 the quarrelsome groups ; it was thus, that his arm came in con- 
 tact with M. Mauruc ; not by design, nor with violence, but simply 
 by accident. The captain, who had just left his lodging, to witness the 
 canine conflict, had still the key of his door in his grasp ; and turning 
 suddenly round, he struck Moia with such force, that he fell, 
 bleeding from a wound in his head, from which he afterward suffered 
 considerably. This scene offered an occasion to the French consul, to 
 get rid of IMoia, seal the lips of Mauruc on past wrongs, and embroil 
 France and Tahiti. By threats and violence he obtained an order from 
 a judge, who dared not resist him, against the chief of police ; he 
 was declared to be guilty of high-treason, and exiled ! To ap- 
 pease the consul, the judge first fined the accused, eight dollars ; 
 but this unjust punishment and satisfaction, was contemptuously and 
 furiously refused. Exile was insisted upon, and it was inflicted. A\lien 
 the queen returned, sometinje after, and understood the extreme 
 injustice done to INIo'ia, she exercised her sovereign prerogative, and 
 mitigated the penalty ; instead of being banished to a village, about 
 twenty or twenty-five miles from Papeete, the policeman was allowed to 
 reside at another village, only four miles distant. Such is the truth in 
 this matter. — To pretend, that no policeman in Tahiti ever exceeded 
 his commission, erred in judgment, or acted under the influence of 
 passion, would be to claim, for the corps at Papeete, a reputation to 
 which those of Paris or London do not presume to prefer a title. It is 
 even possible, that French sailors, presuming on the protection of the 
 brandy-selling consul, were more troublesome than others, and required 
 more positive measures ; but the charge of assassination, against the 
 wounded inspector, though infinitely more ridiculous, is precisely of 
 the same infamous nature with that of murder, against the saviour of 
 the wounded consul himself. It is annoying to pen details, so petty 
 and disgusting ; such, however, is the indispensable task of those, who 
 may have to notice, the mean and odious conduct of the agents of the 
 Ilomish and French confederacy, through the whole of its progress. 
 
 It was in virtue of such valid accusations, that the admiral demanded 
 the immediate payment of ten thousand dollars (^62,000). " Judging 
 " it necessary, to require a similar guarantee from the queen, to that 
 " demanded by M. Laplace, from the king of the Sandwich islands." 
 The laudable example of Pomare, it will be remembered, was produced 
 at Honolulu, by ^I. Laplace, and now the example of Tamehameha, was
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 cr/- 
 
 followed in return at Tahiti. These iniquities, were designed to justify 
 and assist each other, only with this difference ; at the Sandwich Islands, 
 the twenty thousand dollars, procured, at an enormous interest, were 
 paid by the king, and were lately in the coffers of France. At Tahiti, 
 the condition of the thousand dollars was known to be unexecu- 
 table, and was thus in fact, no condition at all. The admiral, for that 
 very reason, required, in case of nonpayment, that the island should be 
 immediately occupied by French troops, till the condition should be 
 fulfilled. But this military occupation, was only another condition 
 of the same nature as the former ; it was one, to which the Tahitians 
 and English could not submit ; and which it would not answer the 
 purpose of the admiral to accept. His occupation would have given 
 him no legal power over the island, or over foreigners ; and would only 
 have rendered more hateful, the French name. He, therefore, finally 
 imited the Tahitian government, and this was his real and only object, 
 to propose the protectorate. Of course, his only motive in making the 
 proposition, for a proposal, was tender concern for Tahiti. " In order," 
 says the kind-hearted seaman, " to prove how pained I shall be, to 
 " adopt rigourous measures, I invite the queen and chiefs to submit 
 " to me, during the first twenty hours, of the forty-eight allowed, a 
 " proposal, capable of satisfying the just resentment of my nation, so 
 " sensibly excited against them, and which may lead to the sincere 
 " reconciliation of two people, between whom there is so great a sym- 
 " pathy of character." Thus was prepared, and with the same fraud 
 as the first, the Second demand, for the French protectorate ! 
 
 " On the reception of this message, say the French reporters, a 
 " meeting of the chiefs was convoked ; the meeting acknowledged the 
 " validitv of the claims of the French admiral : some of the speakers 
 " retraced the history of the feebleness of the government, and of its 
 " evident incapacity to maintain itself, when it could not possibly direct 
 " public affairs. Their voice found an echo in the assembly, which 
 " almost unanimously resolved to renew the proposal, that was quashed 
 " in 1841, to place the islands under the protection of the French 
 " government. This resolution was communicated to the admiral, who 
 " could not but approve it, subject to the approbation of his sovereign. 
 " Immediately Paraita, the governor and regent, and the principal 
 " authorities of the island, prepared the conditions on which the 
 " protectorate should be established. No opposition was manifested 
 " to this decision of the government ; but on the contrary it met with 
 •' general approbation. The only obstacle that could have arisen, in the 
 " personal enmity of Mr. Pritchard, was avoided ; he was still in England. 
 
 " Messages were immediately sent to Eimeo (Moorea), where the 
 " queen had gone for her confinement, to inform her of the decision of 
 " the government. Though her pregnancy was far advanced, she 
 " suffered none of the inconveniences that have since been imagined, to
 
 r22 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 " make it believed, that her consent was wrung from her under the 
 " pains of childbirth. On the contrary, when the act was presented 
 " for her signature, she was in the full vigour of her robust constitu- 
 " tion. She was seen walking gaily on the beach, making visits, and 
 " manifesting publicly, the satisfaction she experienced at the important 
 " decision. If it had excited any repugnance, on the part of the popu- 
 " lation, Pomare must have been informed ; if it had not her approba- 
 " tion, she was not forced to adopt it. But the queen was eager to 
 " embrace the proposal of the chiefs ; she signed the act freely and 
 " voluntarily ; and charged Taraipa, chief of Eimeo, to transmit the 
 " document to the admiral." With the knowledge now possessed, of 
 all that has since occurred, there is no alternative for an historian ; he 
 must lay aside this report, with an endorsement, — " so many words, so 
 " many falsehoods." It is only to compare this unparalleled accomit, 
 with the extracts just cited, with the letters of M. Guizot, and the 
 speech of the minister of marine, to see, that however multiplied the 
 falsehoods, they cannot conceal the fatal truth — the necessity of French 
 policy required the possession of Tahiti.* 
 
 At the stage to which the confederacy had now advanced, its acts 
 could not fail to occupy, not only the cabinets, but the senates and 
 the press of both France and England. Subsequent events have there- 
 fore been more generally known, and more justly appreciated. Still, it 
 may not be inexpedient to oppose to the perfidious reports of the 
 French authorities some of the information that, through various 
 channels, has been already communicated to the public. 
 
 M. Reybaud, attributes to M. Moerenhout, the honour of "calling the 
 " admiral to Tahiti." If he really merit tliis distinguished honour, he 
 merits equally the honour of having prepared, the first demand for the 
 protectorate in 1841, to which he obtained the signatures of four 
 Tahitian chiefs. The document still existed in his consulate ; the same 
 chiefs were at hand; the necessity was more urgent, and success 
 more sure : the Marquesas were now garrisoned by French troops, 
 and the guns of the commander-in-chief, were more numerous, than 
 those of the captain of the Aube. M. Moerenhout could, therefore, 
 have called the admiral, only on purpose to re^dve the suspended 
 project. Nor could he have so acted, without the concert and authority 
 of M. Caret, " the representative of the august Mary, the destroyer of 
 " heresy." In the conferences of the admiral and the consul, the interests 
 
 * " Our dominion, if confined to the Marquesas alone, might have created a 
 " fear of the insufficiency of their local resources, and the difficulty of procuring a 
 " great many indispensable articles. The fertility of the Society Islands, at only 
 " three days' distance, removes every apprehension. At Tahiti, tropical productions 
 " are abundant, and the land, cultivated by proper hands, will afford ample food for 
 " all the Europeans in our two establishments." — Discourse of the Minister of 
 Marine, Sfc.
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. '"^ \^ " 
 
 of the Romish mission were fully canvassed. "The Catholic mis- 
 " sionaries complained, more than ever, of the persecutions they 
 " experienced ;" and their claim to hullets, and broadsides, was fully 
 admitted. Nothwithstanding so many " just causes for immediate 
 vengeance," the great naval and ci^-il agents of the French govern- 
 ment, suppressed or concealed so well their displeasure, that a whole 
 week was past in festivities and sensual pleasures, designed to gratify 
 the crews, afflict the EngUsh Protestant missionaries, and delude the 
 people. 
 
 It has, from the first, been ordained by Providence, that these French 
 naval aggressors on the Protestant stations in the Pacific, should march 
 to triumph under the joint escort of Popery and profligacy. Examples 
 have every where thrust themselves on public observation. Here, 
 again, before the military mass and the Te Deum, for the signature of a 
 female sovereign, wrung from her, when in the agonies of parturition, 
 days and nights were spent, under the admiral's flag, and on board his 
 ship, in hideous scenes of debauchery, which were not only narrated 
 by the parties themselves, with unblushing satisfaction, but published 
 in the journals of France, as proofs of victory over religious and moral 
 restraints, as well as of contempt for the laws of the coimtry, about to 
 be protected by the French government. That no doubt may remain 
 of the lamentable fact, it is proper to give an extract from the letter 
 of an oflicer of the Reiae Blanche, written at sea, on the 10th of 
 October, 1842. 
 
 " The severity of the English missionaries is sometimes very inop- 
 " portune, and they were certainly the cause of our receiving the ^*isits 
 " of the women. The admiral would not have allowed us to receive 
 " them on board, if th5 missionaries had not ridiculously opposed it. 
 " The officers who landed the day after our arrival, had brought back 
 " with them, three or four women, to show them the vessel and gratify 
 " them with music. In the evening, the officers invited them to dinner ; 
 " and only sent them back, when they expressed a wish to that purpose, 
 " which was at a late hour. The missionaries having learnt this, 
 " wished to impose a fine upon the women, for having gone to see the 
 " ship.* On the news of tliis, there were great rumours on board 
 
 * The missionaries have always endeavoured to influence the government, to pre- 
 vent the frequentation of ships by native females. A law prohibited such conduct, 
 under the penalty of fine. This is all the missionaries have to do, with an important, 
 useful, and almost essential regulation. "Are the committee to understand, that 
 " the same outrages and licentiousness jire not practised by the crews of vessels 
 " at Tahiti as in New Zealand ? Certainly not. — Is that a regulation of the native 
 " government ? It is their own regulation, in consequence of the influence of the 
 " missionaries. — They do not allow any of their women to be sent on board ? No, 
 " not one. — The government has been able to inforce such regulations, and maintain 
 " the public order, and external decency of the ports visited by European merchant- 
 
 \ 
 \
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 13r 
 
 " the frigate. The circumstances were reported to the admiral, who 
 " ordered the native women to be allowed to come on board, whenever 
 " they pleased. In the evening, more than a hundred women came 
 " on board. They were in the officers' room, in the chamber of the 
 " midshipmen, — they were every where. From that day, a crowd of these 
 " belles, came every afternoon, about three o'clock, to hear the music. 
 " At dinner time, the officers and midshipmen in\ited them gallantly 
 " to their table ; and the repasts, which were very gay, were prolonged 
 " sufficiently late at night, so that fear might keep on hoard, those 
 " of the women who were afraid to sail home by the doubtful light 
 " of the stars."* \ 
 
 It was to the admiral, commanding in chief in the Pacific, who not 
 only authorized these most scandalous orgies, so degrading to his own 
 nation, but openly and purposely trampled on the laws of Tahiti, laws 
 essential to its safety, and having no political chracter ; it was to this 
 officer, that the Romish priests looked, for the support of their religion ; 
 at the very moment too, that he sanctioned and shared, the most 
 appalling vice, on purpose to spite, and insult English Protestants ! 
 This " grand officer of the Legion of Honour," was come to Tahiti to 
 avenge the wrongs of France, and to establish order, honour, the reign 
 of the laws, and the faith of treaties ! 
 
 It is not surprising, that the cabinet of the Tuilleries, should shrink, 
 not from the immorality, but from the disgrace, and the indiscipline 
 connected with such proceedings, on the part of the united propaganda. 
 Three days after the letter had appeared in the Journal des Debuts, 
 and in various other journals, the Moniteur, attempted to destroy 
 the impression it had produced, by an act which infficted another 
 wound on public morals ; by offering an official denial, of known and 
 certain facts. 
 
 " Several journals," it says, " have published an article on the 
 " stay of the Reiyie Blanche at Tahiti, in August last. (It was in 
 " September. The official scribe, charged to deny the facts, was not 
 " even informed of their date.) It contains a passage that ought to be 
 " contradicted, because it is inexact. (The letter is not then un- 
 " authentic, but the passage is inexact.) It attributes to the crew, 
 " officers and commanders, conduct and expressions with which French 
 " sailors have never been reproached. The urbanity, and the politeness, 
 " which are unanimously ascribed to their officers, and which result 
 
 "men? Yes." — Evidence of Captain R. Fit:roy, before a committee of the 
 House of Lords. (Brief statement, &c., by the Directors of the London Missionary 
 Society.) 
 
 * The last few lines, were suppressed by the Journal des Debats, but given in the 
 National and other journals. The suppressions prove the authenticity of the account.
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 " from the habits and examples to which they are accustomed in their 
 
 families, have never diminished the good order and the discipline 
 •' they observe in all parts of the world. It may then be affirmed, that 
 " the oryie (not singular, but plural, orgies), said to have taken place, 
 " in August last, at Tahiti, is only an invention, which might be treated 
 " as calumnious, if it were not one of those censurable levities, too 
 " common now-a-days, in certain journals, little jealous of the national 
 " honour. It is utterly false, that a frigate has been the theatre of 
 " corruption, in any country whatever. Honour, in every acceptation 
 " of the term, has been constantly respected ; and French mothers may 
 " continue to congratulate themselves, that their sons serve in the navy 
 " of their country." ■'^- ^-^^^--'-^ 
 
 Every body would have applauded the government, had it severely 
 censured the commander and the officers ; but by a denial, as absurd as 
 false, it only degraded itself to a level with the agents, and the acts them- 
 selves. The government was aware, that the testimony of such men as 
 Du Petit-Thouars, on the question of the protectorate, could never 
 gain credit ; that the conduct of such a commander, towards the queen 
 and people of Tahiti, could not be considered either just or honour- 
 able ; and it therefore sought to persuade the world, that what was 
 not convenient, was untrue. But, how could the official writer know, 
 that the orgies did not take place ? Had he any facts, to oppose to 
 the statement ? Had official despatches, anticipated the passage of the 
 letter, and warned the admiralty that such a passage had been written, 
 but was false ? Had the official correspondence, given any counter- 
 statement, or any journal of events, that would disprove the corruption 
 avowed ? Then, these communications ought to have been, and would 
 have been published. But they did not exist ; nor, indeed, any other 
 opposing testimony. And in order, to avert from the perpetrators of 
 these lawless outrages, the odium their conduct excited, it was thrown 
 on thoughtless or calumniating journalists at home. A double act of 
 injustice ; for the journal that gave it currency, was its own favourite 
 organ, the Debats; which never inserted the denial of the Moniteur ; 
 and far from acting thoughtlessly, that journal had carefully suppressed 
 such passages as those underlined in the quotation. 
 
 Other journals, had faithfully printed the whole after the original. 
 
 The official denial, rests then entirely, on the pretended known purity 
 and dignity, of the French naval service ; but Providence, had already 
 prepared the official answer to the official falsehood. The account of 
 the voyages of the Astrolabe and the Zelee, published by royal 
 authority, records similar orgies and nocturnal scenes, authorized by 
 the unfortunate commander Dumont d'Ur\ille.* M. Louis Reybaud, 
 
 * See pages 50 and 51.
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 " that distinguished writer," had pubhshed, from notes furnished by 
 officers of the Artemise, a description of orgies of the same kind, 
 but reduced to system, at Papeete. — The contradiction of the Monitevr, 
 far from extenuating, aggravates the evil ; and it has received the more 
 particular attention, tliat it may be, once for all, understood and esta- 
 blished, that the government at Paris, merited no more credit than its 
 agents in the Pacific ; and, that instead of " reposing the fullest con- 
 fidence," in its statements, professions, and promises, it is utterly 
 unworthy of belief.* 
 
 If, on the perusal of such recitals, contained in only a few lines, the 
 spirit feels lacerated and oppressed, what must have been the slow agonies 
 of the moral martyrdom, by which the English Protestant missionaries 
 \ have been maliciously tortured. Through long years of voluntary 
 
 exile, amidst savage society, in dangers, great and imminent, often in 
 hunger, and almost in nakedness, they had toiled and watched for the 
 salvation of the souls of the idolatrous heathen. God had, at length, 
 -.. given multitudes to their prayers ; and all the hopeful evidences of 
 Christian instruction, discipline, fellowship, charity, and zeal, gave 
 promise of future and abundant blessings, not only to Tahiti, but to all 
 the islands in the wide Pacific, Their flocks, though feeble, did not 
 relapse into idolatry ; no abatement was visible in their personal 
 affection and respect ; and yet a destructive darkness rose, and spread 
 itself over the horizon of their prospect ; vices, the most pestilential, 
 were gradually pressed upon the natives, by every art, and every in- 
 fluence, to which their geographical position, and their social state, 
 rendered them exposed. At length, the favoured subjects, and the 
 naval agents of a pretended Christian, and friendly state, armed with 
 the authority of the sovereign, go from island to island, to debauch 
 their people, to overthrow their churches, to invest profligacy with the 
 prerogatives of right, to parade the foul alliance of sensuality and 
 superstition, and to destroy the political existence of a country, raised 
 by the gospel from barbarism, in order, by the destruction of its 
 independence, to sweep away the moral and religious barriers, the gospel 
 opposed to priestcraft and corruption. To the labours of the devoted 
 English missionaries, these Frenchmen owed every thing they possessed 
 in the Pacific, and the means of acquiring more ; to them they owed 
 the very re-\'ictualment of their hostile and polluted ships, the herds 
 
 * Another attempt has been made to efface this indelible stain on the French 
 protectorate. The authors of " lies Tahiti", say, " After the signing of the treaty, 
 " a great dinner was given by the admiral. The officers also received a great many 
 " persons, and it is to those receptions, that it has been attempted to give the 
 " character of licentiousness and disorder. The official contradiction, has done 
 " justice to these accusations." It has been attempted, but by whom ? By an 
 officer of the Reine Blanche, who wrote on board, and was full of enthusiasm at 
 all the admiral had achieved. — The foul spot remains.
 
 ^073 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 I. ^--4^ 
 
 that furnished their daily food, and the provisions that were to sustam 
 the predatory bands, they had left as garrisons in the Marquesan islands. 
 But their hatred of the moral, and restraining authority, of the religious 
 example of the men, they felt to be their benefactors, perverted all the 
 honourable feelings of humanity. Their religious mission was pre- 
 ceeded, by calumny, and malignant threats; it had been accompanied, by 
 every act of provocation, and injustice they had power to commit ; it 
 was consummated, by endeavours to annihilate every germ of good, 
 every hope, that the missionaries continued to cherish. Even after their 
 triumph, the character and presence of the missionaries, disquieted 
 them : they have pursued the degradation of the one, and sought 
 deliverance from the other. The French government will, one day, 
 have a terrible account to give, for all these agonies. The blood of 
 martyrs, we are told, cries to heaven from the ground that drinks it in ; 
 but, as the soul is infinitely more precious than the body, the anguish 
 inflicted on the heart of the humblest of the disciples of Jesus Christ, 
 must be felt far more poignantly by Him, who has said, " He that 
 " toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my eye ; — inasmuch as you have 
 " done unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me," than any 
 tortures or indignities that may affect the body. The protectors and 
 coadjutors of the Romish priests, revelled in the sufferings of the 
 Protestant missionaries ; whose sighs gave zest to the songs, and 
 to the impure pleasures of their oppressors. 
 
 The scenes that have reluctantly been referred to, occurred, 
 as in the case of the Artemise, before the natives were apprized of the 
 hostile projects of the admiral. He carried out these false appearances 
 still further ; and so little was it supposed " that from the moment 
 " of his arrival he had been convinced that the government had failed 
 " of its engagements ; that the representations of the consul had been 
 " treated with contempt ; that from every side complaints were 
 " received ; and that vengeance was at hand ;" — that they received with 
 unsuspecting confidence an iimtation, sent on the 5th, to the queen and 
 chiefs, to come to Papeete, that he might pay them his respects. But 
 instead of this expected visit, certain chiefs were imited to dine with 
 the admiral, on the 8th, on board his ship ; and on the same day, the 
 first intimation was given of a public meeting to be held between the 
 chiefs and the French. This meeting never took place ; for in the 
 evening, the American consul and the British vice-consul were apprized, 
 " that differences existed, which might lead to hostilities ;" and early 
 the next morning, the 9th, it was known, from the chief speaker of the 
 queen, Mure, that a secret meeting had been held during the night, 
 between the French and a few of the chiefs. The result of this trea- 
 sonable cabal, was an application to the admiral, from four of the chiefs, 
 to be taken under French protection ; — in other words, " the proposal 
 " quashed in 1841," was revived. 
 
 -f
 
 m. 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 The measures that followed, are before the public, and it is unne- 
 cessary to reproduce them at length.* The document was simply sent 
 to the queen, the legitimate, hereditary sovereign, for her signature. 
 The only alternative, was dethronement or protection. Pomare preferred 
 the former ; but her friends representing to her, that her submission 
 ; would be only temporary, as Great Britain would certainly redress her 
 / \ wrongs, she was prevented from taking this decision. " The night was 
 " was passed in sobs and tears. Towards morning, her suiferiugs 
 " increased, 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, I have signed away thy birthright.' 
 " After another hour of indescribable pangs, she was delivered of her 
 " fourth child." f In fact, by protection, she was dethroned. Though 
 the French left her an empty title of queen of the interior, Moerenhout, 
 the royal commissioner of Louis Philippe, was king of Tahiti. " Some 
 " days after, a proclamation was also laid before her Majesty, which at 
 " last her majesty also signed, through the menacing threats of the 
 " consul of France.";]; 
 
 When all the iniquity was thus accomplished, festivities and rejoicings 
 were decreed. " The treaty was received with enthusiasm ; the people 
 " proved superabundantly that it was considered as a real benefit, and 
 " that constraint had no share whatever in the decisions of the govern- 
 " ment. The natives pressed round the French, for whom they had 
 " long had a lively sympathy, to testify their joy, by public rejoicings, 
 " and they were welcomed everywhere with unequivocal demonstrations 
 " of friendship. There was but one cry throughout the island — 
 " ' Maihai franisse !' — the French are good.' " — The battle of Mahena, 
 and the dying groans and imprecations, of hundreds of murdered 
 natives, will best reply to these falsehoods, published with such unpa- 
 ralleled audacity. ■'-'' : 
 
 As at the Gambler Islands, before the obscene indulgencies on board 
 the Astrolabe and Zelee, and as at Tahiti, after the debauchery of the 
 officers and crew of the Artanise, so now, religion, was made to mingle 
 with and to sanction the dissoluteness. A Romish chapel was opened on 
 the Sunday. M. Caret, ^dear-general, officiated, and the band from 
 the Reine Slancheaccovapamed the high mass. Yes, the same band to 
 which crowds of lost women, enticed on board the ship of war, to insult 
 the Protestant missionaries, had listened day after day, they saw ranged 
 before the high altar, and its music they heard blending with the 
 chaunts and prayers of Romish priests ! The confederacy was in its 
 
 * Various authentic details have been published by the Directors of the London 
 V Missionary Society, in the INIissionary Magazines of April and September, 1843, and 
 
 \ subsequently. 
 
 t See also Foreign Quarterly Review. October, 1844. 
 
 X Letter of Commodore Nicolas, to Admiral Du Petit-Thouars.
 
 ,0/0 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI.^ 4S(^" 
 
 glory — the joyous notes with which it celehratecl the triumph of wrong, 
 and the installation of the agents of Picpus, were to them the requiem 
 of Protestant heresy and British influence at Tahiti. 
 
 And now, after all, who were the parties to this unnatural desire for 
 servitude ? Had the people, its representatives, or its legislature, any 
 share in this suicidal transfer of national property and power ? Four, and 
 only four, from among hundreds of chiefs and magistrates, subscrihed, 
 without their queen, and without her knowledge of its existence, an 
 act, for having signed which, fifteen months before, she had declared 
 them traitors, and had denounced them as such to England, America, 
 and France ; an act, for having subscribed which formerly, they had 
 made a written apology, charging on the French consul the fabrication 
 of the act, and their own deception. These same men, determined by 
 threats, and by promises of pecuniary reward, after having been feasted, 
 and in all probability besotted, onboard the admiral's ship, signed anew, 
 in the night, in the French consul's house, the act that ceded to the 
 French, what they immediately called our possession. One of the four, 
 Paraita, is the man, who wrote in the name of the other chiefs, to charge 
 on the French consul, the guilt of their signatures to the first demand. 
 Another, Tati, is " the tayo of the French consul," who has described 
 him as his drunken, immoral, dishonest friend. A third, Hitoti, is a 
 discontented chief; and he assured the missionaries, that he was only 
 desirous of getting the money promised by the French consul. Of the 
 fourth, Utami, the same may also be said. Paofai, the brother of 
 Hitoti, did not sign the demand ; nor did he adhere to the treaty till 
 a week later, and when all was terminated. 
 
 These are the only parties of whom the admiral demanded, or from 
 whom he received, the second demand for the protectorate ; and jet 
 the French government, the government of the " sovereign people," of 
 the barricades, affects to vaunt the purity, justice, and legality of its title 
 to the new possession ! — The queen signed, it is true, the document 
 prepared by the French consul ; but without any previous consultation 
 with, or communication from, the admiral, the consul, or the chiefs. 
 
 Providence, that permitted the success of this crime of the French 
 officers and ecclesiastics, again provided for its detection. Why did 
 not the chiefs first obtain the signature of their sovereign ? No 
 person or party had any right or authority to negotiate with foreign 
 powers, on questions affecting her personal and royal interests, and those 
 of the whole nation. Had they pursued the natural order of affairs, they 
 might have offered some plausible excuse for their conduct ; but their 
 perversion of all order, and of all honourable obligation, gives the lie to 
 every asseveration, and reveals at once a conspiracy, and the conspirators. 
 
 But what say these, the only parties themselves ? The queen has 
 protested, in public and in private, by words, by acts, and by repeated 
 and pressing appeals to foreign states, " that she was betrayed, 
 
 K
 
 !^ 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 " coerced, and that the only alternative that remained, was the 
 " slaughter of her people, of many foreigners, and the desolation 
 " of her country." M Guizot, has contemptuously called this protest, 
 ' caprice ;' hut others will regard it, as the wise performance of an 
 imperative duty, to herself, to her country, and to truth. 
 
 The wretched men themselves, who were suborned to sign away their 
 sovereign's crown, her childrens' heritage, their nation's independence, 
 and their religious teachers' liberty and peace, have since declared, as 
 on oath, that they were bribed and basely induced, in nocturnal con- 
 jurations, to put their names to a document, written by the French 
 consul, and not even in the proper language, or idiom, or with 
 the proper forms of their country ; and this they declared, not in a 
 night scene, and in the corner of a smuggler's habitation, but before the 
 sun, and in the midst of the council of the nation, and of 5000 of their 
 fellow-countrymen. The French minister of foreign affairs, says, ' they 
 were induced ; they yielded to the suggestions of foreigners ; they 
 appeared to wish to retract ; they were insincere ;' but base, un- 
 worthy as they may be, they are the only persons the minister 
 can produce, as the authorities for his conduct in accepting, in the 
 name of Louis Philippe, the protectorate of Tahiti ; and these authorities 
 have not only, as the French minister said, " appeared, to wish to 
 retract from their agreement," — they have retracted ; and they have 
 denounced the agents of the French king, who inveigled and en- 
 trapped them. They have signed another document, — " That all men 
 " may know that we, who have signed our names hereunto, clearly and 
 " solemnly make known and declare, as upon oath, that the French 
 " consul did wholly dictate and write the letter, said to be written by the 
 " queen Pomare and her governors, requesting protection of the king 
 " of the French. Through fear, we signed it. It was in his own house, 
 " and m the night time, that the document was signed by us. And we 
 *' signed it also, because he said, ' If you will sign your names to this, 
 " I will give you one thousand dollars each, when the French admiral's 
 " ship returns to Tahiti.' 
 
 " We also declare clearly, that Pomare had not signed her name, 
 " when we signed our names. The queen's name was signed at 
 " Moorea, and it .was because she was frightened that she signed it. 
 
 " This is the truth ; and we also made known those words to the 
 " captain of the English ship-of-war, and to the English consid, in the 
 " presence of many people. 
 
 " We also fully made known those words to Pomare, after the late 
 " great meeting ; and what is here written is the truth, to which we 
 " have signed our names. 
 
 " Tati, 
 " Utami." 
 Such is the history of French influence, and of the French protectorate.
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI 
 
 The effect produced in France, by these transactions, was remark- 
 able ; for the country felt, that it had entered on a new period of its 
 history. The propagation of the Romish faith, is to be its future 
 policy. Different political parties sought in the facts, occasions to 
 censure or to applaud, the ministers of the day, who, except one, M. 
 Martin du Nord, minister of justice and worship, were not in office, when 
 the instructions were given to M. Du Petit-Thouars. The measures 
 pursued, were variously appreciated ; but, though their policy and 
 prudence were generally impugned, save by a few honest and Chris- 
 tian voices, the protectorate was not stigmatized as iniquitous in 
 principle, and, therefore, dangerous in its results. The government, on 
 the contrary, loudly proclaimed, by the lips of the Minister for 
 foreign affairs, that, " every thing that had occurred was perfecthj 
 " regular inform, as it was just and legal in 2)i'incij)le. We have sent 
 " a force," said he, " necessary to ensure the execution of the pro- 
 " tectorate. We shall maintain this state of things, (must the words be / 
 
 " added ?) to which the English government has declared again and ; 
 
 " again, it has no objection." The chambers voted the six millions / 
 of francs required ; and though the Protestants of France in general 
 expressed, distinctly, and promptly their grief and alarm, their money 
 was of course employed to promote the success of the Romish 
 propaganda, and to maintain a cause which they considered as hostile 
 to thc^otestant religion abroad, and as menacing its interests at 
 hornie.* ) 
 
 It is riot possible to omit an expression of regret, that the French 
 minister for foreign affairs, should have supported, in the senate, 
 accusations agamst the English missionaries, by such men as Moeren- 
 hout and Du Petit-Thouars ; and especially, that he should have i' 
 
 opposed to their pretended misconduct, the friendliness manifested by ^ 
 
 the British government. Because he is himself a Protestant, he could / 
 
 not be required to justify the misdeeds of Protestant missionaries ; but 
 neither, on the other hand, because he is a Protestant, ought he to 
 have taken advantage of his position, to deliver them up, unheard, to 
 the prejudices and passions of his Roman Catholic supporters. If 
 he were ignorant, he should have been silent ; if he were pro- 
 perly informed, he ought not to have su])pressed, — at all events, he 
 ought not to have perverted facts. He should have remembered 
 that, from however lofty a height, misrepresentation may be cast, it 
 cannot destroy the truth, against which it will be shattered ; but that 
 the fragments, in their rebound, will wound and mark indelibly the 
 power, by which the false accusation has been thrown. 
 
 The English missionaries have been hypocritically accused by their 
 French persecutors, with meddling with trade and secular affairs, and 
 
 * See a valuable work, " Ota'iti, Histoire et Esqurte," by M. Henri Lutteroth.
 
 A 
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 with requiring tlie interference of the civil authority, they being rehgious 
 teachers. If the Enghsh missionaries lay no claim to lineal succession 
 from the apostles, they profess to follow them, at a humble distance, 
 as they followed Christ. And it is precisely because they desire that 
 things should be done decently and in order, tliat they have in these 
 respects imitated, in their measure, Paul, the great model missionary. 
 His craft was tent-making, and with his lay companions, Aquila and 
 Priscilla, he 'wi'ought with his hands to minister to his own necessities, 
 and to them who were with him ; showing how, that so labouring, we 
 ought to support the weak.' Paul and his associates, lived by the pro- 
 duce of their skill and labour ; but they could not apparently eat the 
 tents they made — they must have procured the unwrought materials, 
 and have disposed of them, when wrought, to obtain food, raiment, 
 and such other articles as their " necessities" required. This is just 
 what the English missionaries at Tahiti have professed, and have often 
 been obliged to do ; " showing," in their turn and degree, how men 
 ought to labour ; and endeavouring, by their example, to promote 
 among the natives the love of industry, independence, and order.* 
 
 Their attention to their civil interests, and their appeal to civil autho- 
 rities, though much misrepresented, was a duty, clearly expounded and 
 exemplified by the same missionary model. They were men and Britons, 
 before they were Protestants and missionaries, as Paul was a Jew and 
 a Roman, before he was a Christian and an apostle. And though he 
 declared that what was gain, he counted loss for Christ, among the " all 
 " things of which he had suffered loss," he did not include his citizen- 
 ship, his birthright. It was on his appeal, as a free-born citizen, that 
 he was at Rome, when he sent that noble declaration ' to the saints at 
 
 * Mr. Pritchard has been recently charged, with having put in circulation at 
 Tahiti, copper coin, to the amount of i^2,500, in order to get all the silver coin into 
 his own hands. " This speculation," say his calumniators, " was an evident robbery. 
 " The provisional government opposed it with all its power. The queen, however, 
 " unable to throw off the yoke that oppressed her, authorised the circulation ; and 
 " he announced, in the church at Papeete, that he had merchandize for sale, and 
 " would take the medals in payment ; which he afterward refused to do." (f) 
 
 The want of small currency had been long felt at Tahiti, and Mr. Pritehard re- 
 solved to make an attempt at improvement, by having just ^'20 worth of small 
 copper coin from Birmingham. When it appeared, because the convenience was 
 of English origin, the French Mcerenhout protectorate (which was only to be for the 
 exterior) took every measure possible to prevent its adoption, and to represent it as 
 illegal. The queen, therefore, authorized it ; and Mr. Pritchard, by public notice, 
 engaged to exchange the copper, on demand, for silver coin. The story of the notice in 
 the chapel, is as utterly false as the rest. When Mr. Prichard, at the request of 
 several officers, was appointed consul, in 1837, he was specially authorized to engage 
 in commerce ; and the presence of a Christian merchant at Tahiti was eminently 
 useful. 
 
 (t) Esquisses Historiques, p. 972.
 
 IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITY. ^- - 133 ^ 
 
 Philippi.' In fact, at Philippi, he made the cItU power, the magistrates 
 tremble, by apprizmg them that he was a Roman ; he even obhged 
 them to come supphant to their prisoner, and respectfully conduct him 
 to honourable liberty. At Jerusalem, where, he had told his weeping 
 friends, he was ready, not only to be bound, but to suffer death, for 
 the name of the Lord Jesus ; he demanded, as a citizen of no mean 
 city, from the military chief, protection, while he announced the 
 nature of his conversion to Christianity, and the authority of his 
 mission to the Gentiles ; and when the chief captain commanded him 
 to be scourged, he arrested the blow, dissolved his own bonds, and 
 made the hardy soldier, who was a Roman only by purchase, quail, 
 before the free-born missionary. He afterwards sent a centurion, and" 
 his own nephew to Lysias, the same captain, to secure military protec- 
 tion from a lay and clerical conspiracy against his life. At Cesarea, 
 he said to Festus and to Agrippa, " I appeal to Caesar." In the great 
 seats of government, in Asia and in Europe, assailed by Jews and 
 Pagans, the first Christian missionary stood firm, and by his holy example 
 taught all Christian missionaries and men, to maintain their civil rights, 
 to the latest moment that God should preserve their life. 
 
 The Protestant missionaries, in the far-off islands of the Pacific, 
 had not been slow to learn ; they had also a glorious birthright confided 
 to them, by Him who has made of one blood all nations of men, and 
 has determined the bounds of their habitation. They had wives, and 
 children, and homes, and property, and sanctuaries, and rights, and 
 liberties, and country, given with their being, or acquired by residence; 
 and none of these great blessings were they called, because they were 
 Christians, to sacrifice to the lust and caprice of any foreign power, 
 even though it might be French. They had not learned, that the 
 counsel of the apostle, — abide in the state wherein thou art called, — 
 applied to slavery alone. 
 
 All that has followed the French protectorate ; the acts of dethrone- 
 ment and of assumption of the islands, and their disavowal, when too 
 late ; the tyranny of the commissioner and governors ; the forced re- 
 tirement of the queen on board a British ketch, the Basilisk; the 
 expulsion of the British consul ; the insulting conduct of d'Aubigny 
 and Bruat, towards the commander of her majesty's ship, the 
 Cormorant ; the bombardings, conflagrations, and slaughters, ordered 
 and effected ; the dispersion of the English missionaries ; the ill-treat- 
 ment of several captains of British merchant vessels ; the outrage 
 on lieutenant Hunt, — all these facts, of which the history and the 
 -\ sequel are yet to come, are so many inevitable consequences of the 
 long laid plans, of Romish and French confederate polic}^ for the 
 possession of Tahiti, and for the extirpation of heresy from Oceania. 
 That confederacy, its origin, character, progress, and success, it was the 
 design of this review of events to expose.
 
 l^^<^ IMPOSITION OF THE FRENCH PROTECTORATE, ON TAHITI. 
 
 Whatever may have been thought or said in France, of this success, 
 the news from the Pacific has given a blow to the moral power of the 
 government of that country, under which it still staggers, and from 
 which, instead of recovering with the lapse of time, it is doomed to 
 sink lower and more feeble, till reparation shall have been publicly 
 and honourably made. No jubilations, no excuses, no denials ; not 
 even the apologies or collusiveness of other governments, can stifle or 
 divert the public conscience, every where enlightened and decided. In 
 the midst of festivities and ovations however apparently cordial, and 
 however splendid, a hand writing throws a lurid Hght; and the 
 words Tahiti and Protection, unspoken, but not unseen, give the 
 hue of moral death to the brilliant show. 
 
 Till reparation shall have been made ! — But what reparation can be 
 made ? What has France, or its sovereign, rich as he is in this world's 
 wealth, to offer, in compensation for the evil it has achieved, the 
 social misery it has inflicted on an unoffending people ? "WTiat to the 
 English missionaries, and to the Christian society which sent them to 
 Tahiti, and sustained them during fifty years, by its sacrifices and its ' 
 prayers ? "Wliat to the natives, for their loss of religious peace, moral 
 dignity, domestic comfort, national prosperity and independence? 
 What to the royal family, and to the sovereign, for insult, depriva- 
 tion, expidsion from the throne and the home of her fathers and of 
 her children ; for the success of treason, the murder of many of her 
 people, and the inoculation of her states with the corrosive ^nrus of deadly 
 and infectious vices ? T\liat to the world, for the perverting example 
 of political profligacy ; of irreligious, anti-social, contemptuous %"iolation 
 of the principles, that all states, and that human nature ought to respect 
 and maintain ? France has nothing to offer, that can compensate to any 
 of these, for any portion of the evil it has produced. Refuse, indeed, 
 the sovereignty of Tahiti, but keep the protectorate, — and that, 
 because the same iniquitous power may be exercised under a more 
 convenient form ! — Is this to give compensation for the past ? — Even 
 were France to give back to Pomare her full, and rightful, and unforfeited 
 independence ; to withdraw, at once and for ever, from her soil, the 
 wretched agents who have polluted it, a debt would remain for past 
 aggressions and contamination, that the nation, " great and powerful" 
 as it is, were it repentant and sincere, could never discharge. It 
 only remains for it to do, and for others to require, what can be 
 done ; when that has been done, or, at least, when an honest desire to 
 attempt so much, has been disjdayed, then, and not till then, can 
 France expect to be received to the fellowship of truly civilized, 
 virtuous, and honourable society. / / J / J /^ 
 
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