ried away in a horror of disgust, with a heart too much humbled for the race to which I belong, and too much depressed at the depravity and guilt of man, to think or feel upon any other subject. At first I could scarce find spirits to interchange a word with my companions, but hastened on before, or fell far behind, that the oppression within me might escape their notice. So completely was I prostrated, that, for the first time in my life, I believe-not in a spirit of rebellion, trust, but with a feeling of deep anguish-I looked to heaven, and exclaimed, "Oh! why, why was sin ever permitted to enter a world otherwise so fair! why has it been allowed to mar the highest glory of man, till in all countries, and among all classes, it in too many instances degrades him to the level of the brute!" Thou, O God, knowest, for with thee is all wisdom; and, blessed be thy name, with thee, too, are all goodness and all truth: and "justice and judgment are ever the habitations of thy throne!" LETTER XXVIII. FORM OF GOVERNMENT AND CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS DISTINCTIONS. Bay of Taiohae, at Nukuhiva, CAPTAIN Finch, and a party of officers, left the ship early this morning, for a visit, by water, to a valley called Taioa, four or five miles to the leeward of this port. The first division of our crew, forty in number, are also on shore on liberty; but the day being very wet and showery, with strong puffs of wind from the mountains, I shall myself remain on board ship, to" hana paa," as the natives say, or "make fast," some information respecting this group, of which I have gained possession by other channels than the mere observation of the eye. FORM OF GOVERNMENT. 169 That which I will first notice, is the marked difference in the character of the government and political economy here, and at the Hawaiian and Tahitian Islands. The well-organized form of monarchy, so conspicuous and so well defined in all its details in the last nations, has no existence in this; and instead of the regular gradations of rank, from the peasant and fisherman to the king, with appropriate honours and immunities, as found in them, the only civil distinction known here, is unconnected, both in appearance and reality, with much either of dignity or power. The hereditary title " Hekaiki," common to all the tribes, whatever its interpretation may be," head,” "leader," 99.66 prince," or "king," secures to its possessor few of the prerogatives of chieftainship; the highest power attaching to it, being less than that of a Scottish laird of yore in his highland clan. It is unaccompanied by any privilege of jurisdiction, or any power of levying a tax, or of commanding a personal service in others; and thus, extending neither to the rights of property nor of person, the influence of the individual distinguished by it appears to be more like that of a wealthy citizen, respected and popular in the community in which he resides, than that of a prince or lord over the subjects or slaves of an uncontrolled dominion. If the chief desires any article of food or property in the possession of a common islander, he must seek it as a voluntary gift, or by barter, without reference to rank or title; and if he needs assistance in any piece of work, in building a new house, enclosing a piece of ground, or gathering a bread-fruit harvest, he can secure it only in the way customary among private individuals, by making a feast, inviting the people to it, and presenting his object, with the expectation that all who participate in the entertainment will also aid in the work. Such is the general limited power, and the dependence, of the chiefs. On the other hand, the freedom of the people from all restraint and rule, in reference to any acknowledged head, is equally great. If one man receives an injury from another, instead of entering a complaint to the chief, and seeking redress according to some established usage of the country, he at once resorts to the prowess of his own arm, and takes a lawless retribution by inflicting violence and death: or, if restrained from such revenge by fear of the power or influence of the aggressor, standing at a distance, he expends his anger in fierce gestures and loud declamations against the infringement of his rights. Such is the character of the relation which exists here between the chiefs and the people: it confers on the former little influence or authority, except that arising from aristocratic birth and large possessions, and exacts from the latter the ordinary marks only of respect and good-will. I am at a loss to determine under what form of government this should be classed. Though simple and primitive in some of its features, it would mar the beautiful image in our mind's eye, of the venerated patriarchal state, to associate with it, under the name, so much of barbarism as belongs to this race; and I have been more than half tempted, with all deference to the dignity of our own happy government, to style it-will you forgive me?—a republic en savage, in which every man is the representative of his own rights, and the only lawgiver, with liberty in all cases promptly to wield the power of the executive, after having discharged to his own satisfaction the functions of the judge! The military title of Toa, or head warrior, is distinct from that of Hekaiki, or civil chief, though they are often united in the same individual. Like the last, it is almost entirely nominal as to any right of rule or control over others which it secures to its possessor. Even in times of war, a Toa has no authority, but that of example, in bringing his fellowsoldiers into the field, or of regulating their movements in the conflict after it has commenced; every one fighting or fleeing as seems most expedient to himself. But though the people are thus free from the restraints of civil and military power, they are notwithstanding under the dominion of an iron-handed tyranny-the tyranny of superstition over the darkness of minds and hearts lost in ignorance and sin; and it is in their system of idolatry that we find the origin and the support of the most conspicuous and influential orders among them. I have already mentioned the general division of the population into the tabu and common classes, and pointed out some of the most remarkable of the restrictions imposed on females, and all persons included in the latter. My present observations will refer principally to the tabu class. This has its subdivisions, each of which is strongly marked by the degree of veneration and power attached, in the superstitions of the people, to the individuals composing them. The four highest grades in the tabu are the following:-the Atuas, the Tauas, the T'ahunas, and the Uus; the gods, the prophets or sorcerers, the priests, and their assistants in human sacrifices. All other men, not degraded to the common class by some of the means enumerated in a preceding letter, constitute a general and inferior grade. The word Atua, the appellative of the first class, with scarce a modification, is the term used in all the Polynesian dialects to designate the ideal beings worshipped as gods, in the system of polytheism existing among the people At the Washington Islands, as at other groups, the Atuas or false gods of the inhabitants are numerous, and vary in their character and powers. Besides those having dominion respectively, as is supposed, over the different elements, and their most striking phenomena, there are Atuas of the mountain and of the forest; of the sea-side and of the interior; Atuas of peace and of war; of the song and of the dance; and of all the occupations and amusements of life. It is supposed by them, that many of the departed spirits of men also become Atuas: and thus the multiplicity of their gods is such, that almost every sound in nature-from the roaring of the tempest in the mountains, and the bursting of thunder in the clouds, to the sighing of a breeze through the cocoanut tops, and the chirping of an insect in the grass, or in the thatch of their huts-is interpreted into the movements of a god. But it is to none of these imaginary beings, that the term Atua, as used in the subdivision of the tabu class, refers; but to living men, who claim the title and attributes of the deity: not through a professed inspiration, or possession by a supernatural influence or power, but in their own right of godship, as those who control the elements, impart fruitfulness to the productions of the earth, or smite them with blasting and sterility; and who exercise the prerogatives of the deity in scattering disease, and wielding the shafts of death. They are few in number, not more than one or two at farthest on an island, and live in a seclusion and mysticism somewhat in unison with their blasphemous pretensions. There are none at present in the near vicinity of Taiohae, though the former abode of such an individual is pointed out at the foot of a bold cliff, high in the mountains. The Rev. Mr. Crook gives the following account of an Atua, at the island of Tahuata, in the Windward or Marquesan group, while he resided there tempo |