Purrurs.— Civilization of the Pacific. 65 
slavery, I have before stated that this form of servitude yields readily to mis- 
sionary teaching. Mission history affords numerous instances of this fact. 
Inhabitants, whence derived. 
The Pacific Islanders appear to be principally derived from two stocks— 
the Malayan, long-haired and light-coloured, and the Papuan, crisp-haired 
and dark-coloured. Those islands in close proximity to the Australian 
continent are principally inhabited by the latter race :—New Guinea or 
Papua, New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon, Santa Cruz, Banks, New 
Hebrides, Loyalty, and New Caledonia groups, or, briefly, Melanesia. The 
remaining islands of the Pacific, or Polynesia, excepting Fiji and the New 
Hebrides, in which groups both races appear to combine, are inhabited by 
the former type. It was formerly supposed that New Guinea was solely 
peopled by the crisp-haired race, but later travellers inform us of other 
native types. The origin of the Papuan, Australian, and Polynesian races 
is a most interesting question. Many of the characteristics of the natives of 
the Australian continent will be found in New Caledonia. When we become 
better acquainted with New Guinea we may perhaps be able to discover 
whether the peculiar features of the Papuan race, dark colour and crisp hair 
(the Australian natives have long wavy hair), owe their origin to Africa or 
Madagascar, or simply to the fact of residence upon so large an island 
situated under the equator. In Ellis's * Polynesia Researches” the fol- 
lowing passage occurs :-—** The striking analogy between the numerals and 
other parts of the language, and several of the customs of the aborigines of 
Madagascar, and those of the Malays who inhabit the Asiatic Islands, many 
thousands of miles distant in one direction, and of the Polynesian, more 
remote in another, shows that they were originally one people, or that they 
had emigrated from the same source." * I imagine that the author, by 
using the term Polynesia, meant also to include Melanesia, as he must have 
been acquainted with the difference which exists. In an able paper upon 
the native ownership of land in Fiji, the Hon. J. B. Thurston remarks :— 
“The highly elaborate Fijian system of relationship, which resembles in 
almost every particular that of the Seneca, Iroquois, and other American 
Indians on the one hand, and that of the people of South India, speaking 
the Dravidian language (Tamil), on the other, points to a bygone existence 
of the communal family, a state now regarded with horror and disgust and 
forbidden by stringent and elaborate laws." Indian writers, also, have often 
been struck with the resemblance of many Polynesian habits and customs 
to those of the Hindoos. It will thus be seen that, when fairly investigated, 
the origin of the Polynesian islanders will not be a very difficult problem to 
solve. But whatever may be their origin, in future dealings with the 
natives we have only to consider the marked peculiarities of the two races. 
ee ee E 
* Vol. II, p. 48. H 
