148 The Tides in South Pacijic. 
due time be dissolved, to be succeeded in its turn (é ry. raAry- 
yeveoi4) by ‘ new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness.” 
The Tides in South Pacijic. Communicated by the Rev. Mr 
GILL, Missionary, in a Letter to ROBERT CHAMBERS, Esq. 
The following paper was prepared by one of our mission- 
aries, and printed in a paper of missionary information for 
private circulation. The subject is one of interest; and, 
thinking it not likely you have seen it, I enclose it. 
In no part of the world is the same deviation to be ob- 
served in the phenomena of the tides as is seen in Tahiti, 
and the adjacent islands of that group ;—1st, in respect to the 
very limited rise and fall, which is not more than from fifteen 
‘to eighteen inches. In this it is quite unique, except in some 
inland seas. 2d, In not being regulated by the moon, except 
in a small degree—high-water seldom extending beyond an 
hour before and after noon. ‘This is so well established,” 
says Mr Ellis, “that the time of night is marked by the ebb- 
ing and flowing of the tide.” This singularity is to be ob- 
served in no other part of the Pacific, nor any other sea, that 
I am aware of. 
This fact is not of recent discovery ; it was known to the 
missionaries soon after they settled there, more than fifty ” 
years ago. It does not appear, however, that the anomaly ; 
was known to any of the early navigators ; at least, there is 
no mention made of it in the voyages of Wallis, Cook, or 
Bligh. Captain Cook, indeed, observed and recorded the 
limited rise and fall at Point Venus, or Matavai Bay, to be 
from ten to twelve inches (folio edit., p. 29), but does not 
seem to have taken notice of the unvarying time of the ebb 
and flow. Ina recent number of the Atheneum (September 
1850, p. 957), there is a notice, to the effect that an Ameri- 
can captain, who had just returned, had verified the fact, by 
getting the affidavits of two respectable residents. The cap- 
tain might have known, as well as the editor of the Journal, 
that the fact was confirmed many years ago by men of 
science, English, French, and American, who had visited 
Tahiti. 
