Case of the Catholic 

 priests. 



TAHITI. 



Case of the Catholic 

 priests. 



chiefs. The leaders of the latter are Paofai, Hitoti, 

 and Taua, who are descended from the ancient kings 

 dethroned by Pomare I. These chiefs have large 

 domains, and many of the raatiras (landholders) 

 take part with them. They are, hesides, distin- 

 guished by qualities which give them consideration 

 among the islanders. Paofai, who has more than 

 once been spoken of, holds the office of chief judge, 

 and is considered as the best statesman on the 

 island. Hitoti is distinguished for a dignity, up- 

 rightness, and good sense, which command universal 

 respect. Taua possesses a high reputation as a 

 brave and skilful warrior. 



Of these three leaders, Hitoti alone is wholly 

 free from reproach. Paofai is accused of covetous- 

 ness, and a propensity to intrigue ; and Taua, of a 

 fondness for intoxicating drinks. 



The queen, however, contrives to rule in all mat- 

 ters that rightfully belong to her ; and, by the aid 

 of the missionaries, maintains her ground against 

 this strong opposition, although its leaders have 

 generally the power to determine the course of 

 policy to be pursued, and entire authority over the 

 execution of the laws. They are much opposed to 

 foreigners, and have made several attempts to have 

 them banished from the island. They are supposed 

 to entertain the design of setting aside the queen, 

 on account of her irregular behaviour and vices; 

 but this plan is not likely to succeed, because of 

 the personal popularity she enjoys, and the num- 

 ber of adherents she possesses among the people. 

 In conformity with such a design, these chiefs are 

 said to be continually watching for opportunities to 

 increase their own power and diminish the royal 

 authority. Among the occasions of which they 

 endeavoured to avail themselves, was the celebrated 

 affair of the Roman Catholic priests, the circum- 

 stances of which, as nearly as I could learn from 

 the statements of both parties, are as follows : 



Two priests of this denomination, who had been 

 stationed at the Manga Reva, or Gambier Group, 

 landed on the southern side of the island, and tra- 

 velled towards Papieti, preaching the doctrines of 

 their church. They, however, found none willing 

 to listen, and it is said, that no native would receive 

 them into his house. On their arrival at Papieti, 

 however, Paofai, Hitoti, and some other chiefs, 

 gave them countenance, and they were hospitably 

 received by Mr. Morenhout, the acting American 

 consul, who, however, did not lodge them under his 

 own roof, but in an adjacent building. The people, 

 however, excited by the preaching of the English 

 missionaries, broke into the building, and compelled 

 the priests to embark on board a small vessel, 

 which carried them to Uea, or Wallis Island, about 

 two thousand miles to the west of Tahiti. 



In considering this question calmly, and strip- 

 ping it of the exaggerations with which both par- 

 ties have loaded it, it is difficult to say which was 

 most in the wrong. The Protestant religion was 

 established by law upon the island, to the exclusion 

 of all others, and this the priests well knew; nor 

 can any but zealots, who think that those whom 

 they style heretics are worse than infidels, excuse 

 their intrusion upon missionary ground already 

 fully and successfully occupied. On the other 

 hand, their precipitate expulsion, under circum- 

 stances of great hardship, exhibited an unchristian 

 spirit, for which the resident missionaries may 

 justly be held responsible, as they unquestionably 



had it in their power to prevent any positive ill 

 treatment on the part of the natives. 



The consequences of this expulsion of the priests 

 remain to be related. In due course of time the 

 French frigate Venus, commanded by M. Du Petit 

 Thouars, arrived at the island, and anchored in the 

 harbour of Papieti. The commander immediately 

 demanded satisfaction for the outrage committed 

 on his countrymen the priests, and threatened that 

 unless two thousand dollars were paid him within 

 twenty-four hours, he would fire upon and burn 

 the town of Papieti. The queen had no money, 

 and was inclined, as I was told, to let the French 

 do their worst ; but as in this case the loss would 

 have fallen wholly on the foreign residents, the 

 required sum was collected from them by Mr. 

 Pritchard, and paid to M. Du Petit Thouars. A 

 treaty was also forced upon the government, allow- 

 ing all Frenchmen to visit the island freely, to 

 erect churches, and to practise their religion. 

 Thus the local laws were abrogated under the 

 threats of an irresistible force, and the national 

 independence virtually surrendered. 



This was a high-handed measure on the part of 

 the French commander, and one that hardly admits 

 of justification, particularly the demand for money; 

 for he had himself been received with great hospi- 

 tality, and not long before another of his sovereign's 

 frigates, the Artemise (I think), had been saved 

 from wreck by the unrecompensed exertions of the 

 Tahitians. The amount demanded also was at 

 least four times as great as the pecuniary damage 

 incurred by the priests would be reasonably valued 

 at. The French commander, therefore, appears, 

 in thus bullying a defenceless people into the pay- 

 ment of an exorbitant indemnity, and into a 

 relinquishment of the right of admitting or ex- 

 cluding foreigners and strange religious creeds, 

 by municipal regulation, in a light far from advan- 

 tageous. 



We have seen that Paofai and his party at first 

 countenanced the French priests. This they no 

 doubt did in the hope of introducing an influence 

 which might be opposed to that of the English mis- 

 sionaries. Subsequently to these transactions, and 

 after an attempt by two foreigners to murder Mrs. 

 Morenhout, they have endeavoured to obtain the 

 passage of a law for the expulsion of all foreigners 

 whatsoever. 



The aversion to the permanent residence of 

 foreigners is general, and although there is no law 

 forbidding the sale of land to them, yet no offers 

 have hitherto been found sufficient to induce the 

 chiefs to dispose of any portion of their soil. They 

 find in its possession an acknowledged right to rank 

 and respectability, and it spontaneously yields them 

 and their followers the means of subsistence. So 

 powerful is this repugnance to the admission of 

 foreigners to any of the privileges arising from a 

 possession of land, that those who are attempting 

 to cultivate sugar, &c., hold their leases by so 

 uncertain a tenure as to prevent their making any 

 permanent improvement. 



The fertile portion of the island of Tahiti lies in 

 the valleys, which are of small extent, and in the 

 plain which extends from the sea-shore to the 

 spurs of the mountains. These produce tropical 

 plants in great abundance and luxuriance, and are 

 probably not exceeded in fertility by any portion of 

 the earth's surface. The climate of this region is 



