208 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
dollars ; twenty to the king, six to the governor, and 
four to the man who shall conduct the seaman back to 
his ship. 
_ 2. The man who shall forsake his ship, and hide him- 
self on shore, shall be immediately apprehended. The 
man that finds and apprehends (each deserter) shall 
receive eight dollars, if he was taken near at hand; and 
fifteen dollars, if brought from a distance. 3 
3. The person who shall entice any man belonging to a 
ship, so that he abandon his ship, and the man who shall 
hide or secrete him who shall so abscond, shall be tried, and 
(if convicted) his sentence shall be to make fifty fathoms 
of pathway or road, or to build eight yards of stone pier 
or wall. 
4. A seaman who shall have concealed himself on 
shore, and who shall be found after his ship has sailed, 
shall be brought to trial, and his sentence shall be to 
make fifty fathoms of road. 
One of the greatest sources of annoyance to the 
natives, and inconvenience to foreigners, has been ~ 
the conduct of seamen who have absconded from 
their ships, or been turned on shore by the masters 
of trading vessels. To prevent as much as possible 
seamen from leaving their ships, this law was 
enacted; and by subjecting to a punishment 
with hard labour, both the deserters, and those 
who may favour their desertion or concealment, it 
is adapted to answer the end proposed. 
A copy of this law, with an English translation 
printed on the same paper, is given by a person 
whom the government appoints for that purpose, 
to the master of every vessel entering any of their 
harbours. The regulation is so just in its nature, 
and so salutary is its tendency in regard to those 
who visit the islands, as well as the community on 
shore, that the most ready acquiescence in its 
requirements may be reasonably expected. 
