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Show 512 NEW ZEALAND. Dec. 1835. Peninsula of Tres Montes; this fifth here; and the ne~t~ I trust in providence, will be in England. We att~nded divme service in the chapel of Pahia ; part of the semce was read in English, and part in the New Zealand language. As far as 1 was able to understand, the greater number of people in this northern part of ~h.e island profess Christianity. It is curious, that the .rehgion ~ven of those who do not profess it, has been modified and IS now partly Christian, partly heathen. Moreover, so excellent IS the Christian faith, that the outward conduct even of the unbelievers is said to have been decidedly improved by the spread of its doctrines. It is beyond doubt, however, that much immorality still exists;- that there ~r~ many who ld not hesitate to kill a slave for a tnflmg offence; wou I b r and that polygamy is still common, -indeed, e 1eve, general. . · b we did not hear of any recent act of canmbalism; ut Mr. Stokes found burnt human bones, strewed round an old fireplace, on a small island ne~r th~ anchorage : these remains of some quiet banquet might, mdeed, have been 1 · g there for several years. Notwithstanding the above ym ·n facts it is probable that the moral state of the people WI rapidly improve. Mr. Bushby mentioned one pleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some, at least, of th?se who profess Christianity. One of his young men left him, who had been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the servants. Some weeks afterwards, happening to pass la~e in the evening by an outhouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading the bible with difficulty, by the light of the fir.e, to the others. After this, tile party knelt and prayed : m their prayers they mentioned Mr. Bushby and h.is fa~til~, and the missionaries, each separately in his respective d1stnct .. DECEMBER 26TH.-Mr. Bushby offered to take Mr. Suhvan and myself in his boat, some miles up the river to CawaCawa ; and proposed afterwards to walk on to the villag~ of W aiomio, where there are some curious rocks. Followmg one of the arms of the bay, we enjoyed a pleasant row, Dec. 1835. NEW ZEALAND. 513 a~d passed through pretty scenery, until we came to a ~lage, beyond which the boat could not proceed. From t~Is place a chief and a party of men volunteered to walk WI~h us to Waiomio, a distance of four miles. The chief was at this time rather notorious, from having lately hung one of his wives and a slave, for adultery. When one of the missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised,. and said he thought he was exac;ly following the English. method. Old Shongi, who happened to be in En?land durmg the Queen's trial, expressed great disapprobatiOn at the whole proceeding: he said he had five wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads, than be so much troubled about one. Leaving this village, we crossed over to another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. The daughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died here five days before. The hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to the ground: her body being enclosed between two small canoes was placed upright on the ground, an~ protected by an enclosure bearing wooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red so as to be conspicuous from afar. Her gown was fastened to the -coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. The relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms bodies, and faces, so that they were covered with clotted bl~od ; and the old women looked most filthy, disgusting obJects. On the following day some of the officers visited this place, and found the women still howling and cutting themselves. We continued our walk, and soon reached W aiomio. Here there are some singular masses of limestone resembli~ g ruined castles. These rocks have long se:ved for burial-places, and in consequence are held sacred. One of the young men cried out; " Let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when within a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped short. With perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to examine the whole place. At this village we rested some hours, during which VOL. IU, 2 L |