PKEFACE 
TO THE TWELFTH EDITION. 
The first Edition of " Pitcairn ; the Island, the 
People, and the Pastor," appeared in the spring 
of 1853. Between that date and the present, 
about thirty thousand copies have been printed. 
The subject was one of a kind at once to 
command a large circulation of the work : and 
circumstances have continued to arise, in con- 
nexion with the Island, which have greatly 
tended to sustain the interest felt in the place 
and its inhabitants. 
The arrival of their Pastor in England, his 
admission, whilst here, to holy orders, and his 
interview with the Queen and the Prince Con- 
sort, were pleasing and important occurrences, 
when viewed in reference to the original history 
of Pitcairn. Still more eventful days, however, 
were in store for the people. The provision 
made by the British Government for their 
transfer to Norfolk Island, and the further 
measures recently adopted for their benefit by 
