sons, who, having armed themselves with stones and clubs, fell, by surprise, on the wretched men selected for the sacrifice; and having beaten them until they submitted or died, bore them away to the altar, where the bloody rites were performed.

I will remark, in concluding what I had to say on this subject, that for some time past, rebels against the government have not been sacrificed to the gods, but punished in some other way. Mr. Stewart mentions as an instance of this, a young chief, who had been taken captive during a rebellion, and having been bound with cords, was put on board a pilot boat, proceeding from one island to another. Mr. Bingham, who was in the same vessel, saw him during the evening, leaning against the side of the boat; and on inquiring for him the next morning, the captain plainly intimated, that in the dead of the night he had been cast, with his hands bound, into the sea.

Shocking as is the picture which this letter contains of the idolatrous and barbarous customs of the people of the Sandwich Islands, I can safely affirm that it falls far short of reality, if we look back but a few years. Important changes, however, have already taken place. The natives have, as a nation, cast away their idols; and though superstition still bears extensive sway, there

H

is reason to hope that its terrors are rapidly vanishing beneath the mild influences of the gospel of the Prince of peace.

Yours,

E. E.

MY DEAR L..

Next to the heavy yoke of superstition borne by these islanders, the tabu system has fallen with the greatest weight of oppression on their minds and persons. This was indeed one of the most dreadful engines of tyranny ever invented by man; and it was equally so, whether regarded as a political or religious instrument, or as operating on the feelings, opinions or conduct of the people.

The word tabu is so extensive in its meaning and applications, that it is difficult to define it with accuracy. Every thing made sacred, or consecrated to the gods, was tabu. The persons of kings, chiefs, and priests, were tabu, as were animals, fruits, and other articles reserved for sacrifice. Days, weeks, or months, appropriated to religious observances, were also considered as tabu, or sacred; and on some occasions, the strictness of the tabu was such, that those who left their houses were punished with death. Every fire must be extinguished, and all

noise prevented, even to the barking of a dog, or the crowing of a cock, and profound silence reigned, as far as the tabu or prohibition extended. There were also certain days when fishing was forbidden, and canoes were not allowed to leave the shore, or the natives to indulge in their sports upon the water. These restrictions extended to the different articles of food. None but the priests or chiefs were permitted to eat cocoa-nuts. Females were not allowed to eat pork, fish, and many other kinds of food. The wife must not even dress her food at the same fire with her husband, neither must she eat at the same board with him, or enter his house, or that of her father or brother. Sick persons were sometimes tabued; in which case, no one dared approach them, not even their nearest friend or relative; and they were left to perish in the open field, within the sight and hearing of their friends, who afforded them neither shelter nor solace.

Although this whole system of oppression was in the hands of the priests and chiefs, and they managed it at their pleasure, and to suit their own purposes, yet any violation of it was considered as an offence against the gods. Their fury could only be appeased by the death and sacrifice of the offender; and if, by any means, he escaped such a fate, he trembled ever after in fear of some judgment that must sooner or later overtake

him. Whatever evils he was called to suffer in after life, or by whatever death he might die, he was looked upon by his friends as paying a just penalty for his transgression.

The purposes which this system of restrictions was made to answer, by the haughty and capricious chiefs, were such as to harass the lower classes with incessant fear. If a sacrifice was wanted, and no criminal at hand, a tabu was laid, of such a nature, and under such circumstances, that it must almost necessarily be broken; but if this device failed, another tabu was secretly laid, and the person who unconsciously violated it, was immediately seized, and dragged to the bloody altar. The following fact will serve as an example of this species of cruelty and deception. A priest having privately laid a tabu on the edge of the water, near which stood several houses, a canoe was sent around into the bay, directly in front of them. When arrived there, the boat was intentionally overturned, and one of the men who had been in it, feigning himself to be drowning, an old man from one of the houses, moved by sympathy for his perilous condition, sprang into the water to render him assistance. But at the instant of this generous act, he was seized by a servant of the priest, hurried to a neighbouring temple, *and there inhumanly slain as a sacrifice.

When this object was accomplished, the drowning man entered his canoe and rowed

away.

Distressing as were the effects of the tabu system on the people at large, it was made to bear with peculiar rigour upon females. How wretched, for instance, was the lot of a wife! Shut out from the habitation of her husband, and deprived, in a great measure, of the comforts of home, and the sympathies of him who should have supported and protected her, where could she look for kindness and friendship? Hard, indeed, was her fate; destitute alike of the enjoyments of this world, and of the animating hopes which brighten the Christian's prospect, as he looks towards another.

The evils arising from this source were, if possible, enhanced by the practice of polygamy. Each man had formerly several wives; and although Christianity has already done much towards abolishing the custom, it still prevails to some extent. This is an evil of which we can have no just conception. It is the bane of human society. It annihilates at once the sacredness of the conjugal relationship; sacrifices the higher enjoyments of domestic happiness; pollutes all that is social; and dissevers that sacred tie which binds the parent to the child, and the child to the parent. The connexion between the parents themselves, resulting from no