FIJIAN HONESTY. 47 



been left in an open shed, and in boxes that could not 

 be locked every time they had to be opened ; yet I did 

 not lose a single article, though the hatchets, knives, 

 and cotton prints must have been invaluable in the eyes 

 of the natives. On the whole, the Fijians confirm Cap- 

 tain Cook's opinion, according to which the light- 

 coloured Polynesians have thievish propensities, the 

 dark-coloured not. The Tannese, a dark-coloured race, 

 he must either have looked upon as an exception to his 

 rule, or else they must not have been in those days the 

 set of expert thieves they are at present. 



The extreme fertility of the soil about Somosomo in- 

 duced me to establish there an experimental cotton plan- 

 tation ; and before fairly embarking on board the ' Paul 

 Jones ' for Ovalau, I must insert a short chapter on 

 cotton, which those who think it a subject no amount 

 of literary skill can make attractive, may skip without 

 losing the thread of the general narrative. 



