TONGATABOO. 



Ouilireak and termination cf I lie war, 

 Kcejcc women. 



191 



PjMMM of the I'cacock from New South 

 Wales. — Rnyn! family of Tonga. 



tance from her ; she screamed aloud, and jumped 

 on the music-stool ; a servant soon came tn the 

 rescue, and kQM the intruder. Instances occur 

 repeatedly of these snakes infesting the houses, 

 and so common are they, that if a person is Btung, 

 it is at once supposed to be by a snake. The ef- 

 fects of the bile, if not fatal, are said to produce 

 partial blindness. 



On the 30th of March they left Sydney, rind 

 passed the Heads of Tort Jackson on the snme 

 afternoon. They bad at first light winds, and mode 

 hut iitllo progress. When about seventy miles 

 from the coast, in latitude 33A° they experi- 

 enced a change of four degrees in the temperature 

 of the sea; aud on the 3rd of April, they found 

 thf-y had been set thirty miles to the southward 

 during the day. On the 6th, tho temperature 

 again fell to with an easterly current. Several 

 English vessels were seen cruising fur whales in 

 latitude 21!' S,, longitude 13 7 E. The winds con- 

 tinued contrary and light On the 9th, in longitude 

 159° 43' E., latitude 26° S., an opportunity oc- 

 curred for trying the deep sea temperature. At 

 eight hundred and thirty fathoms below the sur- 

 face, J he lemperatmv had decreased to Hi", that of 

 the surface being 7b' ; &ml the current was found 

 setting east -by-south half a mile per hour. 



The current was now found setting to the Kouth- 

 south-weat, at the rate of half a mile per hour. 



On the 1 8th they agaiu attempted to get a deep- 

 sea cast, and hnd nineteen hundred fathoms of 

 line out; in hauling in the Hue it parted, and 

 nearly seventeen hundred fathoms of it were lost, 

 besides the only self-registering thermometer we 

 hnd left in the squadron, which put a stop to our 

 experiments. They bad now several days of light 

 variable winds, with occasional rain and much 

 lightning and thunder. The tBlaud of jSoOt was 



mad i the 3(Hh of April, and on the 1-t of May 



they passed through the reefs and joined the 

 squadron. 



The present King Josiah is one of tho sons of 

 Mimnii, who was reigning in Cook's time. Three 

 of King Josiah 'h brothers have preceded him as 

 rulera {d Tonga: these were Togo Aho, Tubou 

 Toa, and Tubou Maloki. The first reigned but a 

 short time, being put to death by Tubou Ninha, n 

 brother of the celebrated Finau. Tubou Ninha 

 nns afterwards murdered by Tubou Toa, who 

 reigned over the Hapai Islands, Tubou Maloki 

 receiving the title of King of Tonga, or rather Tui 

 Kanakaholo, or Lord of Kanakabolo, while that of 

 Vtivao was governed by the younger Kinau, adopted 

 him of Finau Ulukalalu. This was the state of the 

 island at the time of Mariner's, or Togi 1' urn men's 

 visit. A few months after his departure, Finau 

 died a natural death, and was (succeeded by his 

 uncle, Finau Feejee, having Toa Omoo to assist 

 him. Finau Feejee was murdered by llala Apia- 

 pin, who succeeded him; but his ambition of ob- 

 taining kingly power was not long satisfied, before 

 he was put to death by Faunga, a high chief. The 

 sun of I'inau CLukalahi, named Tuabiji, succeeded, 

 but died within a few years, and did not hear a 

 good character. His dominions were immediately 

 sei/.ed upon by Taufaahau. the present King 

 George, then king of Hapai, the son of Tubou 

 Tna, and grandson of Mumui; and there is now a 

 prospect of bin becoming king of the whole group. 

 The Tui Kanakabolo, Tubou Maloki, was suc- 



ceeded by tho present King Josiah, or Tubou. 

 Before the death of Tubou Maloki, his power had 

 become very limited, Tonga itself being distracted 

 by many civil broils; neither has his successor, 

 King Josiah, more energy. His domain mny now 

 he said to be circumscribed to the town of Nukua- 

 lofa; and if it had not been for the timely aid of 

 Taufaahau, he would in all probability ere now 



have 1 n driven from his kingdom. Tho son of 



Tubou Maloki, Mutnui, before spoken of, is most 

 thought of as his successor, though against such a 

 powerful competitor as King George he does not 

 stand much chance. 



Since leaving the island, in the month of Au- 

 gust, whilst employed in the neighbouring group 

 (the Feejee), we learned that the war in Tonga 

 had terminated very differently from what had 

 been anticipated, — in the complete rout of the 

 Christian party, King George and nil his warriors 

 being compelled to fly the inland. On the arrival 

 of Captain Croker, of IJ.ti.M. sloop Favourite, lie 

 warmly interested himself in the advancement of 

 the missionary cause, mid determined to engage in 

 negotiations with the heathen; but finding that 

 many difficulties impeded his plans, he unfortu- 

 nately determined to bring matters at once to mi 

 issue, anil demanded that the terms lie dictated 

 should be acceded to by the heathen within a few- 

 hours. To enforce his demand, he lauded a large 

 part of bis crew, with officers, and proceeded to 

 the fortress of Ben; only an hour was given its 

 defenders to deride. I am informed that it has 

 since been understood that if a longer time had 

 been granted, they would have acceded to his 

 demand. Ho was punctual to his lime, and on the 

 chiefs refusing to surrender, he made an attack 

 upon the fortress. On his advancing near the 

 gate, lie, with many of his officers and men, wore 

 shot down; the survivors suffered a total defeat, 

 and were obliged to retreat forthwith. The hea- 

 then now became the assailants, and the Christian 

 party, together with the missionaries, were forced 

 to embark, and afterwards landed at Vavao; King 

 George was obliged to retire, and Nukualofa was 

 iiive&ted by the heathen. Thus ended this reli- 

 cirnis war. and I cannot lint believe that the pre- 

 cipitate zeal of the missionaries was the cause of 

 so disastrous a result. That the heathen were 

 well disposed to make peace, 1 am well assured; a 

 little patience and forbearance, and at tho same 

 time encouraging intercourse with their towns aud 

 setting them a good example, would have gradu- 

 ally and surely brought about the desired results; 

 while to force them to become converts, was a mode 

 of proceeding calculated only to excite their en- 

 mity aud opposition. 



The night previous to our sailing, May 3rd, two 

 of the Feejee women who had been smuggled from 

 Vavao by Captain Wilson, paddled oft" in a canoe 

 to the I'raeock, ruinating to be received on hoard 

 and conveyed to their own country, and with the 

 view of securing their object, it was found they 

 had thrown away their paddles. The request was 

 denied, and Captain Hudson had new ones at once 

 made for them ; they were compelled to enter their 

 canoe again, aud paddled off. They then visited 

 the tender Flying- Fish, and in order to prevent 

 their being turned tiff in the same way, they set 

 their canoe adrift. Ah it was late at night, 'they 

 were retained on board, aud sent to the Viucennea 



