25 
elaborately made and were very large. In them they made long 
voyages between the different groups. They sailed at certain 
seasons regulated by the appearance of certain constellation s, 
and directed their courses by the stars. There can be no doubt 
but that a considerable amount of intercourse was kept up 
between the people in some of the distant groups in this way. 
I think most members of the Institute will agree with me 
that all these characteristics taken together indicate that these 
people occupied a comparatively high level; aud whether I 
have convinced you or not, I am myself quite satisfied that 
at the time of their first contact with Europeans there were 
indications that they had previously occupied a still higher 
position. 
Let me now give you a few more of their general character- 
istics. As a race they are somewhat apathetic — differing, 
however, in different islands according to their surrounding 
circumstances. They live in au enervating climate, and on 
most of the islands nature is very lavish of her gifts. So they 
lead easy lives which foster an apathetic disposition. On the 
more barren islands and those more distant from the equator 
the people have more energy of character. All the people of 
the race think very well of themselves, and of some, at least, 
I should say they are very conceited. 
As a people they are religiously inclined. They were strict 
and superstitious in their religious observances when they 
were heathen. Of them generally it may also be said, they were 
easily influenced by Christianity. They presented a contrast in 
this respect to the Papuan race. They possess a good measure 
of natural politeness — and in this respect the common people 
generally are immensely superior to the peasantry in our own 
country. I never met with a comparatively uneducated people 
who possessed more good common sense, and who would 
generally take a more reasonable view of things than the 
Eawaiori people with whom I came into contact. In every 
respect I may say they are a rather superior people. 
The following brief sketch of the most prominent charac- 
teristics of their language may suffice for this paper. The 
phonology is simple. With one exception all the sounds 
found in them may be expressed by the Roman letters with 
their ordinary values. This exception is a sound which we 
call a “ break,” a kind of pause in the breath, which is 
between an aspirate and a 7c. A 7c sound takes its place in 
some of the languages. In those languages in which this 
sound occurs we usually write it by an inverted comma, ns 
in the name llaicai‘i. The vowel-sounds are all simple, as 
in Spanish. Every syllable is open. To this there is no 
