land vessels are not always to be held my notice during the latter part of my answerable for having provoked such an cruise. We had made the island of Api, outrage, as the fickle and treacherous character of the uncivilized Kanaka is at all times only too prone to deeds of violence.

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and had taken the two boats in to get specimens of the coral that grows so beautifully on the reef there, when we suddenly came on a wreck. The vessel, a New Zealand schooner in search of labour for Fiji, lay upon the reef with her back broken. The crew, five or six whites, with some twenty islanders, had only suc

with their trade-box and their arms. They had formed a sort of camp on the beach, which was guarded by sentries with mus kets. Round this swarmed innumerable fierce-looking Api men, each with his bow and bundle of poisoned arrows, evidently only restrained by the sight of the muskets from making a rush at the trade-box, which they knew was so full of what was to them untold wealth. They cleared out, however, on seeing us, and allowed us to approach the tent where the poor whites had been shut up three or four days, and I found myself the object of attraction to three little black boys, who, appreciating, I suppose, something in my face, never left my side till I had promised to take them with me. Poor fellows, two of them never lived to get on board; decoyed away by the Api men the same night, the third with difficulty escaped, to tell us how his two brothers had been knocked on the head and immediately roasted. I fancy the whole of the cast-aways would have shared the same fate, if we had not had the good fortune to pass so near them and take them off the island. On Tanna, too, I was shown a man who was a celebrated cook, and he described to me in a sort of bland and professional manner the process, which, however, I will not enter into here.

A full description of these islands would be tedious, and would besides scarcely answer the purpose of this letter, so I shall pass over the incidents of our cruise, how we picked up more men at each differ-ceeded in saving one of the sails, together ent place, how their eyes brightened at the sight of the loved tobacco and their mouths watered at the beef and biscuits, how they could with difficulty be persuaded not to cut all the buttons off their shirts and trousers and hang them as ornaments round their necks, how they quarrelled and fought among themselves, and were only quieted when one touch of nature in the form of sea-sickness made them all kin. All these are mere details, and may be passed over, leaving us at the end of six weeks at the Island of Ureparpara, the most northern of the group, with a full complement of men, and prepared for a long beat to windward, homeward bound. Of course, at many of the islands we passed it was impossible to land, even to buy yams, on account of the hostility of the natives, and more than one gentle hint in the shape of a musket-ball or a shower of poisoned arrows has turned our boat's head out of some dark green cove overhung with creepers, and sent us helterskelter back through the passage in the reef. Often on these occasions have I admired the courage and coolness of the boat's crew, at a time when my own heart was in my mouth, and when standing up to steer a whale-boat through those sunken rocks was by no means pleasant. The darkie" will go anywhere, if he has a white man with him, and he gradually gets so fond of any master who treats him well that I believe he would not hesitate to die for him. On the whole, the SouthSea islander is of a far higher type than the Australian aborigine, his faithfulness, shrewdness, and docility have always made him a favourite with anyone who has taken the trouble to understand him and study his character, and indeed, on my leaving the colony the stroke of my boat, by name Pipe, cried so bitterly and wanted so much to come to England with me, that I had as much as I could do, by ghastly stories of English frost and snow, to persuade him to leave the ship. At the same time, no one can deny that the SouthSea islander is a thorough-going cannibal, and this fact was particularly forced on

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May I now offer an idea suggested to me by my own experience in dealing with natives to those who are risking their lives as missionaries in the South Seas? Could not all mission stations be organized on the principle of that most excellent plan which has for some time been found to work so well in Edinburgh, and which we are but just introducing into London, — I mean a "medical" mission? For my own part, I have found that a slight knowledge of medicine and a well-filled medicinechest have given me more influence over the minds of all natives than any amount of trade or the display of any quantity of arms, and I believe that a missionary giving out that he came among them as a doctor, would soon establish such an influence over his patients that they would patiently listen to his words, and give him

There is no doubt, then, I think, that until the English Government organizes emigration on a proper scale, and really peoples this vast continent by sending out thousands where they now send hundreds, the South-Sea Coolies will form a considerable portion of the population of Queensland, and will participate in the advantages of a colony which only wants "opening up to be one of the greatest countries in the world.

From The Pall Mall Gazette. HINDOO CASTE.

an opportunity of ministering also to their souls, and that a Kanaka who should venture to propose to kill the doctor would run a very bad chance at the hands of his own countrymen. They are constantly demanding medicines, and I was much struck by a naked savage nearly up to his neck in water refusing all other trade, and insisting on "salts," though I am almost sure he had never seen a white man before. In fact, at this moment a chief in Tauna ranks me amongst his greatest I hope, Sir, that I have shown you that friends since I had the honour to adminis- a trip to the Islands for labour need not ter a blue-pill and a dose of castor-oil to necessarily be a piratical or slaving expehim. Their faith in medicine is quite dition; and I may add that anyone who touching, worthy of any homoeopathist. can take a Kanaka from his island against I believe that as far as any previous ideas | his will, or who, having done so, can esof religion, or rather superstition, go, the cape the inevitable exposure and punishmissionary has a nearly clear field before ment that would follow the examination him. I have never observed anything of the Immigration Agents, must be a far bordering on the subject in my experience cleverer man than I am. — I am, Sir, &c., of these tribes, except, indeed, on the isJAMES L. A. HOPE. land of Vanua Lava, where I found three hideous masks in a sort of deserted temple, but even the sight of these seemed to have lost its hold on the minds of the native men, though spoken of by the women with awe; and I believe the nearest approach to a belief in a future is the idea IT is commonly said that the chief obthat they have a chance of being white stacle to the propagation of Christianity in men in the next world, or, as the Austra- India is caste. Whence there prevails a lian aborigine pithily puts it, "Tumble general belief that caste is a religious disdown black fellow, jump up white fellow!" tinction. But what if it be no more than In about three months, then, from the a social distinction? And what if mistime of starting, we sighted Moreton sionaries fail chiefly because they begin at Island, and the wondering crowd on board the wrong end? It is important to obtain made their first acquaintance with the as much trustworthy testimony as possible steam-tug, which latter caused consider- upon this subject; and those who mainable excitement and even terror amongst tain that the caste of the Hindoos is a sothem, all agreeing that it was alive. Who shall describe the astonishment of these children of nature at our houses, streets, horses, and women? For hours they would sit motionless gazing at the stream of life hurrying past them on the wharves, and were much too afraid of losing themselves to venture from the ship till taken away by their masters. All these men turned out well, and made docile and useful labourers on their various plantations. The planters say that the Coolies will, on the whole, if you work a sufficient number of them together, do as much and more work than the same number of white men; that they are always cheerful, and soon become attached to the place they are in. Often since that trip, while riding through the country, I have heard myself hailed by name, and a Kanaka has rushed forward to shake hands, and asked me to go and get his brother, and "bring him along too."

cial distinction pure and simple will find a powerful and experienced ally in Mr. Robert Shaw, British Commissioner in Ladâk. He does not "venture to speak about the rest of India, but certainly in the hill-country of the Punjaub caste is as purely a social ararngement as morning calls or dinner parties are in England; and he attributes the failure of our missionaries, in some considerable measure, to the fact that converts are required not only to renounce their idols, but "to do violence to every feeling in their nature, by eating and consorting with the filthiest of the human race." The consequence, he says, of the missionaries' usual proceeding is that, "if you were to ask an ordinary native what becoming a Christian meant, he would probably reply, eating with sweepers.' Mr. Shaw suggests that a man's Christianity should gradually win him to that perfection which consists in considering nothing common or unclean

in mankind, whereas the missionaries ex- caste. If I were to say the Mussulman “na” pect the Hindoo convert to commence with mâz” daily I should in no way forfeit my that amount of perfection. Those Chris-caste, so long as I did not take into my mouth tians who so love one another are not al- anything considered impure. together free from the prejudice of a caste which has, perhaps, a more flimsy moral foundation than that of the Hindoo. But

INFLUENCE OF GREEN LIGHT ON THE SENSI-| TIVE PLANT. In order to test the effect of green light on the sensitiveness of the Mimosa, M. P. Bert placed several plants under bellglasses of different coloured glass, set in a warm greenhouse. At the end of a few hours a difference was already apparent: those subjected to green, yellow, or red light had the petioles erect and the leaflets expanded; the blue and ths violet, on the other hand, had the petioles almost horizontal, and the leaflets hanging down. In a week those placed beneath blackened glass were already less sensitive, in twelve days they were dead or dying. From that time the green ones were entirely insensitive, and in four days more were dead. At this time the plants under the other glasses were perfectly healthy and

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