298 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
opposite side of the island, to take charge of the 
secular concerns of the South Sea Academy, and 
the work has since been carried on by Mr. Armi¬ 
tage alone. 
The machinery, &c. were considered as belong¬ 
ing to the Missionary Society, but at a public 
meeting held in Eimeo, in May 1824, for the pur¬ 
pose of arranging the principles upon which its 
future operations should be conducted, it was dis¬ 
tinctly stated by the deputation, and recognized 
by the Missionaries, “ That the Society contem¬ 
plates no other advantage in promoting the manu¬ 
facture of cloth by this machinery, than the good 
of the inhabitants of these islands;” “ That no 
charges by way of profit shall be made upon the 
cloth manufactured and sold to the inhabitants, 
more than is merely necessary to defray the ex¬ 
penses attending it,” and “ That all the inhabitants 
of the islands connected with both the Windward 
and Leeward Missions, shall be allowed to share 
alike in the advantages of this manufactory.” At 
the same time it was recommended, that two young 
men and two young women from each island, 
should be sent, to learn the art of making looms, 
spinning, weaving, &c. 
The work commenced with cotton belonging to 
the native Missionary Societies. Mr. Armitage 
taught them to card the cotton, and Mrs. Armitage 
instructed them in spinning. Their first attempts, 
as might be expected, were exceedingly awkward, 
and the warp they furnished was difficult to weave. 
One piece of cloth, however, fifty yards in length, 
was finished, and presented to the king. Its ap¬ 
pearance was coarse, and inferior to the imported 
calicoes of British manufacture; it was neverthe¬ 
less grateful to the chiefs, from the fact of its 
