POMARE’s COMMENDABLE ZEAL. 381 
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 how¬ 
ever 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 en¬ 
during 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 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 considering the Tahitians as a 
Christian people, he had some desire to emulate 
the conduct of Solomon in building 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 whe¬ 
ther 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 prepossessing in the interior of the 
