412 
A VOYAGE TO 
*777- 
July. 
'-- 
popular man ffiould ftart up, in any of them, Feenou, or 
whoever holds his office, is immediately difpatched thither 
to kill him. By this means, they crufh a rebellion in its 
very infancy. 
The orders, or claffes, amongft their Chiefs, or thofe who 
call themfelves fuch, feemed to be almoft as numerous as 
amongft us; but there are few, in comparifon, that are 
lords of large diftridts of territory; the reft holding their 
lands under thofe principal barons, as they may be called. 
I was, indeed, told, that when a man of property dies, 
every thing he leaves behind him falls to the king; but that 
it is ufual to give it to the eldeft fon of the deceafed, with 
an obligation to make a provifton, out of it, for the reft of 
the children. It is not the cuftom here, as at Otaheite, for 
the fon, the moment he is horn, to ta„ke from the father the 
homage and title ; but he fucceeds to them, at his deceafe ; 
fo that their form of government is not only monarchical, 
but hereditary. 
The order of fucceffion to the crown, has not been of late 
interrupted ; for we know, from a particular circumftance, 
that the Futtafaihes (Poulaho being only an addition, to dif- 
tinguifh the king from the reft of the family) have reign¬ 
ed, in a direct line, for, at leaft, one hundred and thirty-five 
years. Upon inquiring, whether any account had been 
preferved amongft them, of the arrival of Tafman’s fhips, 
we found, that this hiftory had been handed down to them, 
from their anceftors, with an accuracy which marks, that 
oral tradition may fometimes be depended upon. For they 
defcribed the two fhips, as refembling ours; mentioning 
the place where they had anchored; their having ftaid but 
a few days; and their moving from that ftation to Anna- 
mooka. And, by way of informing us how long ago this 
,had 
