POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 373 
plunged after him^ rescued him, and taken him to his 
own house, where he has ever since resided. 
The resources of the government consisted in the 
personal services of the people, and the produce of the 
soil. From these the revenue was derived. All public 
works, such as the erection of national temples, fortifi¬ 
cations, enclosures from the sea, dwellings for the king, 
&c. were performed by the whole of the population. In 
each district, the king had a viceroy, or deputy, to whom 
his orders were sent with a cocoa-nut leaf. The chiefs 
sometimes assembled together, and divided the work 
among themselves. At other times, the king appointed 
each to his particular share. Every chief then issued his 
orders to the raatiras under his authority, who prepared 
the materials, and performed their appointed portion of 
the work. Canoes for the king’s use were furnished 
in the same way, and also cloth for himself and his 
household. 
Every district brought provisions at stated intervals 
for the king’s use, or for the maintenance of his nume¬ 
rous retinue. Besides what they regularly furnished, 
orders were often issued for extraordinary supplies, for 
the entertainment of a distinguished guest, or the cele¬ 
bration of a national festival. No regular system of 
taxation prevailed, but every kind of property was 
furnished by the chiefs and people in great abundance, 
not only for the king, but for the purpose of enriching 
those who were the objects of his favour. 
However abundant the supplies might be which the 
king received, he was in general more necessitous than 
many of the chiefs. Applications for food, cloth, canoes, 
and every other valuable article which he received from 
the people, were so frequent and importunate, that more 
