70 CRUISE OF THE 'GUBAQOA: 



Catholic priest who tells him that the Protestant obliyatiou 

 is worth nothing, and that he is liberated from his former 

 tie, or warranted in contracting a new one, provided that 

 in changing his wife he changes his sect. Mr. Murray is 

 naturally, and, if actuated solely by interest in his flock, is 

 justly indignant at this species of ecclesiastical kidnapping. 

 Nevertheless the Catholic missionary, when he does this, is 

 but acting on a principle of his Church, which it must 

 everywhere carrj^ into action, if not restrained by the civil 

 power. In a society like this, it has full [)lay ; therefore 

 fiat experiinentuiH in corpore vili. The liberties which are 

 taken with the nati\'es in the name of religion, and the 

 impositions practised upon them, were curiously illustrated 

 by a story which Mr. Murray said he had heard in the 

 Ellice Islands. Some of the natives, it seems, had been 

 partially converted to Christianity l)y some one Avho, being 

 obliged to leave the island, and having no Bible to leave with 

 them, impressed upon them the importance of obtaining 

 one as soon as possible, as a thing indispensable to their 

 salvation. No sooner, therefore, did another ship make 

 its appearance, than our new converts rushed on board 

 to obtain the precious volume. The opportunity was not 

 missed by the acute trader, who said he was fortunate 

 enough to have a 'Word of God' on board, but that it 

 was far too costly an article to pait with without a 

 consideration, and it Avas accordingly agi'eed that 120 

 gallons of oil, of at least 20/. value, should be the price 

 for it ; a very fair remuneration, seeing that the original 



