POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
315 
Christianity, has been afforded, and its perfect unaltered 
adaptation to the condition of the whole human race. 
The same latent enmity to the moral restraints Chris¬ 
tianity imposes on the vicious propensities of men, the 
same unwillingness to admit its uncompromising claims 
to the surrender of the heart, was experienced here, as is 
in other parts. The same tendency to suppose the favour 
of God might be obtained by services which they could 
perform, and the same unbelief under convictions of sin, 
and unwillingness to go to the Saviour without a recom¬ 
mendation—that is so often met with in others—-was felt 
by them. 
But while, in these respects, the experience of the 
new converts in the South Sea Islands resembled that of 
Christians in other parts of the world, there are points 
in which it has often appeared to us peculiar. We never 
met with one who doubted the natural depravity, or innate 
tendency to evil, in the human heart. W§ never met 
with any who were inclined to suppose they could, with¬ 
out some procuring cause, be justified in the sight of God. 
This may perhaps arise from the circumstance of there 
being no individual among them, whose past life had not 
been polluted by deeds which even natural conscience 
told them were wrong, and consequently no arguments 
were necessary to convince any one that he was guilty 
before God. They must deny the existence of the Deity, 
and of all by which the living and true God is distin¬ 
guished from their own senseless idols, before they could 
for a moment suppose their past lives appeared otherwise 
than criminal before Him. Their fearful state, and the 
consequences of guilt, they never disputed, but were 
always ready to acknowledge that they must not only 
appear criminal, but offensive to the Most High, on 
