1769. before observed, once see the sovereign of Obe- Each of the Earees keeps a kind of court, and has a great number of attendants, chiefly the younger brothers of their own tribe; and among these some hold particular offices, but of what nature exactly we could not tell. One was called the Eowa no l'Earee, and another the Whanno no l'Earee, and these were frequently. dispatched to us with meffages. Of all the courts of thefe Earees, that of Tootahah wasthe most splendid, as indeed might reasonably be expected, because he administered the government for Outou, his nephew, who was Earee rahie of Obereonoo, and lived upon his eftate. The child of the baron or Earee, as well well as of the fovereign or Earee rahie, fucceeds to the title and honours of the father as soon as it is born so that a baron, who was yesterday called Earee, and was approached with the ceremony of lowering the garments, fo as to uncover the upper part of the body, is to-day, if his wife was last night delivered of a child, reduced to the rank of a private man, all marks of respect being transferred to the child, if it is fuffered to live, though the father still continues poffeffor and administrator of his estate: probably this custom has its fhare, among other inducements, in forming the focieties called. Arreoy. 1769. If a general attack happens to be made upon War, the island, every diftrict under the command of an Earee, is obliged to furnish its proportion of foldiers for the common defence. The number furnished by the principal diftricts, which Tupia recollected, when added together, amounted, as I have obferved before, to fix thousand fix hundred and eighty. Upon fuch occafions, the united force of the whole island is commanded in chief by the Earee rahie. Private differences between two Earees are decided by their own people, without at all disturbing the general tranquillity. Their weapons are flings, which they ufe with Weapons. great dexterity, pikes headed with the stings of fting-rays, and clubs, of about fix or seven VOL. III. H. feet 1769. feet long, made of a very hard heavy wood. Thus armed, they are faid to fight with great obftinacy, which is the more likely to be true, as it is certain that they give no quarter to either man, woman, or child, who is fo unfortunate as to fall into their hands during the battle, or for fome hours afterwards, till their paffion, which is always violent, though not lasting, has fubfided. The Earee rahie of Obereonoo, while we were here, was in perfect amity with the Earee rahie of Tiarreboo, the other peninfula, though he took himself the title of king of the whole ifland: this, however, produced no more jealoufy in the other fovereign, than the title of king of France, affumed by our fovereign, does in his most Christian Majefty. In a government fo rude, it cannot be expected that diftributive justice should be regularly administered, and indeed, where there is fo little oppofition of intereft, in confequence of the facility with which every appetite and paffion is gratified, there can be but few crimes. There is nothing like money, the common medium by which every want and every wish is fuppofed to be gratified by those who do not poffefs it; there is no apparently permanent good which either fraud or force can unlawfully obtain; and when all the crimes that are committed by the inhabitants of civilized countries, to get money, are fet out of the account, not many will remain : add to this, that where the commerce with women is restrained by no law, men will feldom be under any temptation to commit adultery, especially as one woman is always lefs preferred to another, where they are lefs diftinguished by perfonal decorations, and the adventitious circum-. ftances which are produced by the varieties of art, and the refinements of fentiment. That they are thieves is true; but as among thefe people no man can be much injured or benefited by theft, it is not neceffary to restrain it by fuch punishments, as in other countries are abfolutely neceffary to the very existence of civil fociety. Tupia, however, tells us, that adultery is fometimes committed as well as theft. In all cafes where an injury has been committed, the punishment of the offender lies with the fufferer: adultery, if the parties are caught in the fact, is fometimes punished with death in the first ardour of refentment; but without circumftances of immediate provocation, the female finner feldom fuffers more than a beating. As punishment, however, is enforced by no law, nor taken into the hand of any magiftrate, it is not often inflicted, except the injured party is the strongest; though the Chiefs do fometimes punish their immediate dependents, for faults committed against each other, and even the deH 2 pendents 1769. 197214A 1769. pendents of others, if they are accused of any offence committed in their district. Having now given the best description that I can of the island in its prefent ftate, and of the people, with their customs and manners, language and arts, I fhall only add a few general. obfervations, which may be of ufe to future navigators, if any of the ships of Great Britain fhould receive orders to vifit it. As it produces nothing that appears to be convertible into an article of trade, and can be used only by affording refreshments to fhipping in their paffage through these feas, it might be made to answer this purpose in a much greater degree, by transporting thither sheep, goats, and horned cattle, with European garden ftuff, and other useful vegetables, which there is the greatest reason to suppose will flourish in fo fine a climate, and fo rich a foil. Though this, and the neighbouring islands lie within the tropic of Capricorn, yet the heat is not troublesome, nor did the winds blow conftantly from the east. We had frequently a fresh gale from the S. W. for two or three days, and fometimes, though very seldom, from the N. W. Tupia reported, that south westerly winds prevail in October, November, and December, and we have no doubt of the fact. When the winds are variable, they are always accompanied |