POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
107 
expressed their regret that so much time and property 
should be appropriated to the erection of a building, which 
would be of far less general utility than one of smaller 
dimensions. But the king was not thus to be diverted 
from his original design; and however injudicious the 
plan he pursued might be, the motives by which he was 
influenced were certainly commendable. He frequently 
observed, that the heaviest labour and the most spacious 
and enduring buildings ever erected, were in connexion 
with the worship of their former deities, illustrating his 
remarks by allusion to the national maraes at Atehuru, 
Tautira, and other parts; declaring, at the same time, 
his conviction that the religion of the Bible was so much 
superior to that under which they formerly lived, and 
the service of the true God so happy and beneficial in 
its influence, that they ought to erect a much better 
place for the homage of Jehovah, than had ever been 
reared for the dark mysteries and cruel sacrifices con¬ 
nected with the worship of their idols. 
In this statement of his motives, we have every reason 
to believe the king was sincere, and we consequently felt 
less inclined to object. It is probable, also, that con¬ 
sidering the Tahitians as a Christian people, he had 
some desire to emulate the conduct of Solomon in build¬ 
ing a temple, as well as surpassing in knowledge the 
kings and chieftains of the islands. When, in the course 
of conversation, the building was mentioned, or he was 
asked why he reared one so large, he inquired whether 
Solomon was not a good king, and whether he did not 
erect a house for Jehovah superior to every building in 
Judea, or the surrounding countries. 
Excepting its lengthened vista, and the singular 
appearance of the ornamented roof, there is nothing very 
