POWER OF CONSCIENCE. 
77 
Several remarkable instances of the effect of the 
word of God, and the power of conscience, occurred 
about the year 1819. One Sabbath morning, Mr. 
Nott had been preaching from the words—“ Let 
him that stole, steal no more.” In his discourse, 
he had refuted the idea they had formerly held, 
that theft was no crime, but rather an act of merit, 
if committed with dexterity; and had shewn that 
the circmutsance of detection or escape did not 
alter the moral quality of the act in the sight of 
God; that every means employed unjustly to de¬ 
prive another of his property, was an act of theft, 
and that restitution ought to be made for past 
robberies, as well as honesty practised for the 
future. The next morning, when he arose and 
opened his door, he saw a number of natives 
sitting on the ground in the front of his dwelling. 
Their appearance was rather singular, and the 
unseasonable time of their assembling led him to 
inquire the cause. They answered, “ We have 
not been able to sleep all night; we were in the 
chapel yesterday ; we thought, when we were 
pagans, that it was right to steal when we could do 
it without being found out. Hiro, the god of 
thieves, used to assist us. But we heard what you 
said yesterday from the word of God, that Jehovah 
had commanded that we should not steal. We 
have stolen, and all these things that we have 
brought with us are stolen goods/’ One then 
lifted up an axe, a hatchet, or a chisel, and ex¬ 
claimed, “ I stole this from the carpenter of such 
a ship,” naming the vessel, &c. Others held up 
an umeti, or a saw, or a knife ; and, indeed, almost 
every kind of moveable property was brought and 
exhibited, with confessions of its having been 
stolen. Mr. Nott said, rather smilingly, “ What 
