A VISIT TO ANEITEUM. NEW HEBRIDES.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 279, 22 June 1860, Page 4

A VISIT TO ANEITEUM. NEW HEBRIDES.

(From the Sydney Morning Herald]) In the South Pacific Ocean rises from the fathomless depths one of those coral formations whioh at once astonish and. delight us with their beauty, and raise in the mind a thousand conjectures as to their origin. Fathomless as are the depths of the ocean from1' whence they. spring—what is that depth compared to the myriads of insects which must have lived, labored'j and, died, generation after generation,, through countless ages, to raise -such; specks to' the surface of the ocean? Even when; this work has been performed, what a wondrous power has been subsequently exerted to raise the work of these tiny insects, thousands of feet above, the, level of the water, and afterwards to change the whole nature of the insect labor into massive rocks, of whose, nature, quality, and iise, the world'has yet to learn/

; This speck on the ocean's surface, which we npw desire to introduce to the notice of; our readers, is the small island cfAneiteuin.; which, according.to Lieutenant Raper, is in the latitude 20-11 S,,and longitude 169-42 E. V The isiand is nearly-surrounde^ by' a coral wall or rqef, ■which prevents, the raging ocean from breaking on its shores, and enables the poor native to paddle about in his frail canoe upon the water, between the reef and the island with perfect safety; and whilst skimming over its smooth aud glass-like surface, he can see where trie fish1 is most abundant, and use'his spear or drop his line to catch some of his favorite food which a kind Provideuce has here supplied in great abundance and variety* ! The island is about ten miles in diameter, and is very mountainous, the highest peak being about 3500 feet above the level of the sea, and is visible about forty-five miles from the.island. There is a small harbor on the south-west side, formed by two sandy islands on the end of the coral reef—opposite to them the main reef joins the land, and a wide passage is left which leads into a snug harbor, which is perfectly safe during the greater part of the' year. The only time of danger is during the times of the western hurricanes; there is good anchorage in six or seven fathoms water midway between the large sandy island and the mainland. Some twenty years ago the inhabitants of this island "we're cannibals; practised the immolation of widows, and had a foolish and destructive custom of destroying the whole of the property of a chief on his death ; although cannibal, the natives of this island were not of-that savage nature yet observed'tiri the same group. Their comparative quiet, nature led, about the time we refer tq,to the settlement of a gentleman who had tlien been for some years engaged in the island trade, who encouraged the natrres to practise habits of industry, buying their sandal wood'and "other produce, and giving them useful articles in exchange, and thus initiating them into the'habits of cmlised life.

A few yeaft subsequent to this a missionary from the Canadian provinces, and under the auspices of the London Missionary Society, visited the island, and finding the natives disposed to receive him, and under the advice of their first white friend to receive his instructions—be also settled amongst them, and commenced the arduous task of instructing a race of savages in the wonderful mysteries of the Saviour's kingdom. :

As if the inhabitants of this land were the especial favorites of Providence, the representative of the London Missionary;, Society. had scarcely settled amongst them, when two Roman Catholic Missionaries visited the place, and finding something favorable in the manner of the natives, they also determined to take up their abode amongst them, and commenced teaching the doctrines of their Church. The worideriag islanders.who, in their .former ignorance, knew neither God nor devil, had now two different-creeds, both telling them things both new and the one, that by faith and; prayer to God, they were to inherit everlasting bliss in another and everlasting wdrldj, the other, teaching prayers to the Virgin and saints, good works, confession and fasting, as the only way to escape from the inbabitance of a kind of vacuum somewhere between1 this world and the next, where they would have to remain for a time before they could reach the presence of those to, whom they prayed ;,the time of their occupation of this middle state depending on their conduct being good or bad whilst on the earth. Luckily for the peace of mind of these islanders, they were not kept very long in a state of doubt between the relative merits of the two doctrines,; for with the rainy season came an attack Of ague and fever upon the Roman Catholic missionaries, and they, on finding that it was a constant visitant of the. island,'determined to vacate the place and seek one more healthy, leaving the field in the indisputed possession of their morecheroic fellow-laborer, the Protestant missionary,' the Rev. J. Geddie. This gentleman, finding the field was all his own, set to work with an earnestness and devotion worthy of a servant of Christ to instruct the natives, not only in the doctrines, precepts, and example's of the; "Great Teacher," : but also, to instruct them in the arts of civilisation and learning; the result being' that; within twenty :year3 they have. beeh; ; raised .from a state, of. cannibalism to one of comparative civilisation. . • ■'■■■.- . - r ■; -: At the time of our visit we found the Rev. J. Geddie' and his family stationed ai; the southwest harbor; or 'Port Louis. Mr; lngli§,'ano-ther-missionary of the same denoMinatio;n, -being stationed on. the, north, side, called. Port .St. Patrick; Mr. Geddie's house is pleasantly situated a short distance from, the; shore-of;.the bay, behind a grove of ■ccooanut'; trees,' ;"which -is very neatly enclosed with; a•' fence of plaited bane ; in this'gar'dSh', besides "many beautiful 'flowers, there'are'Qiinge;'c,itrdn, and lemojrtrees, .besides native products, .such as bananas, plantains, &c.-,; -.: the, walks, are neatly gravelled, and the whole appearance of the scene;:is so neat and comfortable, that you at once feel at home.. v; ■ ';'.'/ '; '■'" ; "' "."'_ ■.. ;'-,.,'.., Parsing through the garden, we approach,the door of- the .missionary's house, where^the smiles of aj black female, greets ms^and we are requested to walk in until • she; g6es:and tells -Mr. G.-, who is busy-in the^^printihg office, that a;i•white gentleman wants to see hiiril -He Js'6bn "appears., and! atfter ashort'conversation, ;we;are,intro\, duoed to his;ffamiiy.,; who :seemed ;sn; the. full blocim; of; healtbj whilst' a ■:poor missionary.:>froml Taiia':(R^v.i'Mc. Matthison, who with his wife had! takeff a :ti'ip; for the benefit" of his' healtti) loolse^the1 pgtiire df.^eath.1' fie,was l mfferitjg from Mittdcli'of fever* and, ague, ; :i w§ very much^fear Vwill-vfall a ; victim ',to the ..disease. • DurtngiquC'StayiTat; the;;islahd wejhad opp^rtunitiestlof^enjoymgi the' society l ! tHesy; estito^bie ;a^

forth to do the Lord's work in placei known tti b6 fatal to health, in addition to'the other dangers they have to contend with. . i, .' : From these and from intercourse with the natives, we found that the island now contains about 3500 inhabitants, .who are.now a most quiet and inoffensive race, simple, barmtess, and religious —-most of the present generation being able to read the scriptures' With .fluency, and, not only able to read, but to understand and. explain them. Many are able to write and understand accounts, and the comfortable houses, schoolroom, printing offices, and other buildings, areall the work of the natives, under the superintendence of the missionaries.

fTheir last and present, undertaking being nothing less than the erection of a stone church the masonry of which bids fair to sustain comparison with that of more civilised work men.

In addition to what may be termed the work of everyday life,, many of the natives have been instructed in the art of printing, and whilst the missionory translates into the native language, they are employed in setting up the type and priatiog portions of the scriptures, the four gospels and portions of. the psalms being already printed, besides a grammar and other school books; and there is every reason to hope that before long-they will have the whole of the scriptures printed in their own tongue.

~ If there is any fault to ob. found with, what has already been done, it is that the natives have not paid more attention to the culture of the soil, and turned more of. their attention to realising the produce of their island. For years past they have scarcely had sufficient produce to supply their own wants, and this has prevented that trading intercourse which would have provided them with the tools and utensils of civilised life, and thus they are dependent on the missionaries for every article of that description which they obtain. Although the natives are described as being very indolent, yet the work they have already dove shows that they are capable of improvement; and we have not, the slightest doubt that if they were enoouraged they would, year by year, increase their products, and by so doing, increase their means of obtaining other comforts.

At the present they possess cocoa-nuts, bananas, yams, tara, potatoes, sugar-cane, maize, and arrowroot. The latier is cultivated to a very small extent; a little has been prepared for market, and disposed of at a remunerative rate, and we hope to hear that larger quantities will soon be raised ; for we caunot conceive that a missionary fulfils his ti.sk satisfactorily,by teaching religion, only—he must also teach, civilisation and the comforts to be enjoyed by making use of its arts and utensils.

The sandal wood, which first caused white men to visit this island, has long since disappeared ; but there are still mauy valuable descriptions of timber which might become articles of export. Kauri piue grows to a large size, and its gum might1 be collected. There is also a beautiful wood resembling satin wood, which has been used with advantage for boat buildiug, oars, &c. There are many varieties of the fern on the island, about ninety different species having been collected by the'family of the missionary.

We observed two species of the flying fox ; one about the size of a rat, and the other about two-fifths larger, having a large yellow circle round the back of the neck, the rest of tho body being a daik brown. Both these are much smaller, and appear to be of a different species to those of New Caledonia and the Isle of Pines. There are two trading establishments at, this island : they are not,, however, used for trading with its natives; but as rendezvous for vessels, trading with other islands, some seven or eight vessels belonging to the two establishments. The missionaries have also a little schooner boat of about fifteen tons burden, with which they pay visitg and carry supplies from one station to another between Aneiteum, Fatuna, Eroraan, Tana, and Eromango, at all of which places missionaries or teachers are stationed.

Taking into account the trials and hardships these laborers in the Lord's vineyard have to endure, we cannot look upon them in any other light than that of heroes, as worthy of that name as those who fight our battles—for are they not fighting the battles of the "Great King ?" and their reward, though slight, on earth, let us hope, will be a " crown of- glory " in the " better land."—lota.-