498 New Guinea, 



speak no Malay or English, and had to guess at our compli- 

 ments on her excellent breakfast by the justice we did to it. 



These missionaries were working men, and had been sent 

 out, as being more useful among savages than persons of a 

 higher class. They had been here about two years, and Mr. 

 Otto had already learned to speak the Papuan language with 

 fluency, and had begun translating some portions of the Bible, 

 The language, however, is so poor that a considerable number 

 of Malay words have to be used ; and it is very questionable 

 whether it is possible to convey any idea of such a book to a 

 people in so low a state of civilization. The only nominal con- 

 verts yet made are a few of the women ; and some few of the 

 children attend school, and are being taught to read, but they 

 make little progress. There is one feature of this mission 

 which I believe will materially interfere with its moral eifect. 

 The missionaries are allowed to trade to eke out the very 

 small salaries granted them from Europe, and of course are 

 obliged to carry out the trade principle of buying cheap and 

 selling dear, in order to make a profit. Like all savages the 

 natives are quite careless of the future, and when their small 

 rice crops are gathered they bring a large portion of it to the 

 missionaries, and sell it for knives, beads, axes, tobacco, or any 

 other articles they may require. A few months later, in the 

 wet season, when food is scarce, they come to buy it back again, 

 and give in exchange tortoise-shell, ti'ipang, wild nutmegs, or 

 other produce. Of course the rice is sold at a much higher 

 rate than it was bought, as is perfectly fair and just — and 

 the operation is on the whole thoroughly beneficial to the na- 

 tives, who would otherwise consume and waste their food when 

 it was abundant, and then starve — yet I can not imagine that 

 the natives see it in this light. They must look upon the 

 trading missionaries with some suspicion, and can not feel so 

 sure of their teachings being disinterested, as would be the 

 case if they acted like the Jesuits in Singapore. The first 

 thing to be done by the missionary in attempting to improve 

 savages, is to convince them by his actions that he comes among 

 them for their benefit only, and not for any private ends of his 

 own. To do this he must act in a different way from other 

 men, not trading and taking advantage of the necessities of 

 those who want to sell, but rather giving to those who are in 



