A Sketch of Missions, Or, History of the Principal Attempts to Propagate Christianity Among the Heathen

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1819. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER II. OTAHKITE. Native character--Dangers and difficulties of the missionaries--Three of them robbed--Several abandon the mission--Apostacy of Mr. Lewis--Chief blown up with gunpowder--Defection of Mr. Broomhall--War--Itinerani preaching--Death of Pomare---Missionaries driven from the Island--Return--Conversion of the king--Abolition of idolatry. Ir seems proper, before entering on the details of this mission, to give a few outlines of the native character, as that was afterwards developed to the missionaries. Being situated in a climate, where no covering is needed to protect them from the inclemency of the seasons, and on a soil which yields spontaneously whatever is necessary for support, the inhabitants seem at first view singularly favoured of Providence. Indeed when this island was first discovered, the tales of fairy land could not exceed the descriptions given of it as a second Eden. The moral atmosphere, too, was supposed to be as pure and mild as the natural. A few clouds of ignorance only remained, and these the Gospel could of course dispel. But a happy soil and climate does not always make a happy state of society. They are undoubtedly more favourable, comparatively, to savage than to civilized nations, since the latter can with less difficulty remedy any defects of this kind, and improve nature by art. In no stage of improvement, however, is their moral influence always happy. On the contray, people are often found corrupt in exact proportion to the luxuriance of the soil they inhabit. This is certainly the case in the South Sea Islands, the natives being generally obliged to make little effort to procure subsistence, fall into all the excesses of wickedness, and seem to have no occupation but to riot in sensual selfishness, or to bite...