306 VOYAGE TO THE 



chap, ences of opinion in the affairs of the government, or 

 ^— y-^ from the jealousies between the chiefs and the great 

 ^26.' landholders, the Boo Eatiras. Their tranquillity 

 besides may have hitherto depended upon their ob- 

 scurity, or on the equally defenceless condition of 

 their neighbours with themselves ; but the exten- 

 sion of navigation has removed the one, and an ad- 

 vancement of civilization and of power has destroy- 

 ed the balance of the other. 



Religious books are distributed among the huts 

 of such of the natives as are converted, or who are, 

 as they term themselves, missi-narees ; but many of 

 the inhabitants are still tooti-ouris or bad characters, 

 an old expression signifying literally rusty iron, and 

 now indiscriminately used for a dissenter from the 

 Christian religion and a low character. These per- 

 sons are now of no religion, as they have renounced 

 their former one, and have not embraced that which 

 has been recently introduced. 



Ignorance of the language prevented my obtain- 

 ing any correct information as to the progress that 

 had been made generally towards a knowledge of the 

 Scriptures by those who were converted ; but my 

 impression was^ and I find by the journals of the 

 officers it was theirs also, that it was very limited, 

 and but few understood the simplest parts of them. 

 Many circumstances induced me to believe that 

 they considered their religious books very much in 

 the same light as they did their household gods ; 

 and in particular their conduct on the occasion of a 

 disturbance which arose from some false reports at 

 the time of the robbery on the stores of the ship, 

 when they deposited these books in the mission, and 

 declared themselves to be indifferent about their 



