POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
451 
found it much more productive than the former sy stem 
of oppression. To the people^ the advantage of this 
enactment is incalculable. They have already begun to 
taste the sweets and enjoyments resulting from the 
secure possession of their property^ and the' satisfaction 
of contemplating the produce of their labour as inviolably 
their own. No regulation^ before introduced, appears so 
much adapted to promote extensive agriculture^, general 
industry^ and advancement in civilization. 
In 1826^ this enactment was improved: the proportion 
of tribute individuals in the several classes of society 
should furnish^ was definitely fixed 3 and the whole ren¬ 
dered more explicit. Although this regulation has been 
subsequently introduced^ and still further extended, in 
the codes of some of the other islands, this being the first 
enactment on the subject promulgated by any of the 
infant governments of the island, may be regarded as 
the basis on which the right and security of private 
property is established. 
The remaining articles in the first Huahine code refer 
to the regulation of their judicial proceedings, and are 
designed to supply the deficiency that appeared in the 
laws of other islands previously introduced. In these 
the power of the judge and magistrate was discre¬ 
tionary, both as to the kind and degree of penalty 
imposed for several offences. This was found to open 
a door for the abuse of power, and was frequently 
very unsatisfactory to the people in general. From 
these considerations we were led to recommend the 
chiefs to annex the punishment to the prohibition of 
the offence, and restrict the magistrate in the inflic¬ 
tion of such penalty only as the law enjoined ; this plan 
has appeared in general to give satisfaction, though it 
