POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
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belonging to the schools. The best boy in the school 
carried the flag; which was not of silk emblazoned 
with letters of gold, but of less costly materials. 
The banners of the schools attached to the different 
stations were various; some of white native cloth, 
with the word ^‘Hosanna” impressed upon it in scarlet 
dye; another was of light, but woven cloth, with 
the following sentiment inscribed upon it, la ora 
te hui aril e ia mawo teimei hau, ^^Life and bless¬ 
ing to the Reigning Family, and long be this peaceful 
reign V’ The one at Huahine was of fine blue cloth, 
with a white dove and olive branch in the centre, 
beneath which was inscribed the Angels’ Song, as 
the motto of the school. Sometimes the children, 
as they passed along, would sing, ^^Long be this 
peaceful reign,” or any other motto that might be 
inscribed upon the banner. And when they walked 
through the district, a father or mother, or both, 
came out of the door of their little cottages, and 
gazed with highest pleasure on them as they passed 
by, walked beside them, or followed them with 
their eye until some clump of trees, or winding in 
the road, hid them from their view. 
The meeting at Raiatea in the year 1824 was deeply 
affecting. It was held on a kind of pier or quay 
built in the sea. Six hundred children assembled to 
partake of the feast their parents had provided. 
The boys afterwards delivered public addresses. A 
religious service in the chapel closed the exercises 
of the day, and all retired to their respective homes, 
apparently delighted. Mr. Williams, in reference to 
this interesting spectacle, questions whether, but for 
the influence of Christianity, one-fourth of the chil- 
