WANT OF MEDICINES. 
45 
would not be considered a just appropriation of 
the Society’s funds, to expend them in providing 
medicine for those among whom its agents labour; 
yet it is one of the most affecting sights a Mis¬ 
sionary can witness, when visiting his people, to 
behold them enduring the most painful suffering, 
pining under the influence of disease, and perhaps 
sinking into a premature grave, and to know that, 
if he had the means within his reach, he could at 
least relieve them. 
The occurrences are not unfrequent, wherein an 
anxious mother brings a poor sickly child to his 
house, with which she is obliged to return unre¬ 
lieved, not because the disease is remediless, but 
because the Missionary has not, it may be, a cheap 
and simple remedy to bestow. The natives would 
cheerfully purchase so valuable an article as me¬ 
dicine, by bartering in the islands the produce of 
their labour, but they have no means of so doing. 
If they send it to England, the return is distant 
and uncertain; and mistakes, embarrassing to 
them, are likely to occur. It is to be hoped, 
however, that as the means of intercommunication 
become more frequent and regular, these diffi¬ 
culties will be removed. Several generous indi¬ 
viduals have laid the people of some of the islands 
under great obligations, of which they are duly 
sensible, by sending them out, gratuitously, a libe¬ 
ral supply of the most useful medicines. 
It may not be necessary for a Missionary in a 
civilized nation, where the healing art is cultivated, 
or going to a country where European colonies are 
settled, or commercial establishments are formed, 
to be acquainted with the practice of physic. It 
is, however, important, and ought to be borne in 
mind by those who are looking forward to Mission- 
