POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
471 
facilities for carrying on the work^ removed it thither, 
and with great expense and labour Messrs. Armitage 
and Blossom erected the machinery and commenced 
their work. Shortly after this was completed, Mr. 
Blossom removed to the opposite side of the island, 
to take charge of the secular concerns of the South 
Sea Academy, and the work has since been carried on 
by Mr. Armitage alone. 
The machinery, &c. were considered as belonging 
to the Missionary Society, but at a public meeting held 
in Eimeo, in May 1824, for the purpose of arranging 
the principles upon which its future operations should 
be conducted, it was distinctly stated by the deputa¬ 
tion, and recognized by the Missionaries, ^^That the 
Society contemplates no other advantage in promot¬ 
ing the manufacture of cloth by this machinery, than 
the good of the inhabitants of these islands.’^ That 
no charges by way of profit shall be made upon the 
cloth, manufactured and sold to the inhabitants, more 
than is merely necessary to defray the expenses attend¬ 
ing it,’’ and That all the inhabitants of the islands 
connected with both the Windward and Leeward Mis¬ 
sions, shall be allowed to share alike in the advan¬ 
tages of this manufactory.” At the same time it was 
recommended, that two young men and two young 
women from each island, should be sent, to learn the 
art of making looms, spinning, weaving, &c. 
The work commenced with cotton belonging to the 
native Missionary Societies. Mr. Armitage taught them 
to card the cotton, and Mrs. Armitage instructed them 
in spinning. Their first attempts, as might be ex¬ 
pected, were exceedingly awkward, and the warp they 
furnished difficult to weave. One piece of cloth, how- 
