64 A MISSION TO VITI. 



of that group, treated Queen Pomare with unusual 

 harshness, and the British representative in a manner 

 that nearly brought about a war between France and 

 England. Born in Tahiti, and thoroughly acquainted 

 with the Samoan and most other Polynesian groups, Mr. 

 Pritchard enjoys the peculiar advantage of being per- 

 fectly familiar with all native modes of thought. During 

 my stay in Fiji I had frequent opportunities to see how 

 successfully he was able to deal with these islanders, 

 whenever any difficulty arose. 



We called together on Mr. Binner, who has for years 

 filled the office of training-master to the Wesleyan 

 mission at Levuka, and also manages the commercial 

 affairs of this religious society in Fiji. We thence went 

 to Dr. Brower, the American Vice-Consul, who received 

 me with great kindness, and whenever I visited Levuka 

 I always took up my quarters under his hospitable roof. 

 Mr. Williams, the American Consul, had died a few 

 days before my arrival. I should have liked to have 

 seen him, in order to form an independent estimate of 

 a man about whom so many contradictory statements 

 were afloat. He did not live on good terms with the 

 missionaries, and controversies were carried on between 

 them in the Australian and American newspapers, 

 which, as is usual in such cases, proved advantageous 

 to neither party. Mr. Williams bought considerable 

 tracts of land, and it was maintained that the purchase 

 was not in all instances a fair one, and that the na- 

 tives had only from fear of American men-of-war given 

 their assent to these transactions. It is impossible to 

 say whether in all cases the sellers were satisfied with 



