Polynesian., 1862-09-27
No. %


The other question is this When people or race
is vanquished aud by another. by its arts
where are to expect to find traces remnants of it,
answer the force always strikes at the rich
tral parts-at the heart of the Empire. The frag-
mentaTy outer parts often remain untouched. Thus,
there is no doubt that the Laps the remnants of
race occupying at least the Northern parts Of
Europe. They now, therefore, exist only the out
skirts of their ancient domain. The Cets came next,
and occupied the larger part Of that continent
The Germans, including in the term both the Teutonc
and Gothic divisions, next, and, with the Ro-
mans, subugated the Celts Where, now a-days. do
we find the Celts In the uttermost borders on the
Nesternmost shores Of ireland and Scotland. Classic
and French literature and science have operated as
foreign force the Teutons and Goths in all the
richer parts of Northern Europe. Where do the
learned, a-days go for the pure idiom as il was
probably spoken in the time of Christ To remote,
cold and barren Iceland
IT, then there is reason to believe, these Islands
were peoped by dominating over small,
great part of Asia, all analogy would lead to
clude that while that must there have been over
run, and its original characteristics crushed out by
foreign forces and arts they remained in these Islands
very much in their primsval form. They must. it is
true have undergone notifications, either greater
or less. Were these for the better or the worses
When Cook and his companions gave to the world
their account of the condition of this new people, the
conclusion to which men came was, not that they were
savages that they barbarians, but that they
had civiliz tion, though that civilization was rude
be accepted just definition, but we may With truth
affirm that civilization implying the practice Of various
and these arts in their play each other beget
ting arts and rudmentary sciences, there ought
always in all civilizations, regarded only from this
point OF view to be onward progress. 1he want OF
it, therefore, marks disease in the body poitic which
must ultimately bring decay and death. Ii IS nat
ura for a tree 10 grow, and some we know have been
growing for thousands of years IL it does not grow
il because there is disease in the trunk roots, and
IS at asst Cert
He either advances recedes.
Had the movement here been forward or backward
II believe it had been retrograde, though slow, and
spread over many, many centuries. Many facts with
which you doubt acquainted demonstrate this
will refer to only one, viz, the decline of the art and
practice If navigating long distances. Ii is quite clear
from various circumstances and traditions that in the
ancient times the natives of these Hawaiian Islands
frequently sailed TO all the kindred groups. When
Capt. Cook arrived they had fitted for such
voyages.
If then. the arts had been in declining state,
may conclude. with great probability, that such
found existing here, had to these Polynesan
Islands with the original settlers, and hence may
draw conclusions to the time OF the settlement,
and the character of the people who formed it, and
from that character as to their habitat The arts in
which these islanders exceed fishing, navigation,
irrigation. These would, think. indicate that the
parent stock had inhabited warm climate, country
the sea, and traversed by rivers Again, there
| some arts of which find trace here, which
been introduced. First, written language Had writ
ing been known to the colOnizng most assurediy
that knowledge would have been kept up, II by none
others. ut least by the priests Again, cattle Had
these been largely domesticated among the parent
people at the coonzng period, can conceive no cause
that could have prevented their being brought here.
The young could certainly have been transported
1t indeed, impossible from these circumstances to
fix the exact epoch of the emigration but 1t certainly
must have been a very remote antiquity Ii also
he nj he Hln0OOstan
that would accord with the country indicated by
the circumstances have mentioned. There are many
facts which add to the probability OF the supposition,
that pass BY
1t seems to me- therefore, that from the considerations
alone which have briefly stated, the following might
be maintained probable hypothesis:
At period antecedent to the invention Of letters.
anecedent also the full and general domescation Of
catte there was great people inhabting some part Of
Asia very probably HindoOstan who for those remote
ages, had carried navigation pitch of great excel
lence. That this people colonized the Polynesian
groups That they subjugated. and their nation
alty, anguIg Ige and institutions 0bliterated oy some
other race, probably by of shepherd warriors.
| That this revolution caused complete break to the
intercourse of the islanders with their mother country,
which, for purposes of trade and government had before
been frequent; isolated them from the rest OF the
world, and gradually sank them lower in the scale Of
civilization. That this deterioration, somewhat retarded
by the intercourse of group with group, became more
rapid that intercourse ceased and was most marked
in the smaller and detached islands.
For the sake of brevy omit to notice the fact Of
the irrupon of a black from the West, and the
support il gives my suggestions.
IrOpound this hypothesis, not as of itself being
matter of great consequence. Without something OF
more certain import it only one of curious spec
| ulation, perhaps of improbable dsputation. But
my investigations into the structure Of the Poynesian
language and its connection with the lndo- European
tongues have led discoveries, which, if their
truth be allowed must be granted to be OF very great
and decided Importance One of these implies that the
original seat u the Polynesian in Central or
Western Asia. believe it will be found that all those
tongues which designate the Indo European Ian
guages have their and origin in the Poynesian
language. certain that this is the regards
the Greek and Sanscrt find reason to believe il 10
be to the Latin and other modern tongues
in Short TO all European languages old and young
The precise relation which these bear to it is not so
easily traced, but il is that of 6ation they not
cognae The Polynesan is pareR,, whittier pGteT, Grg
pToGrus, dbdrus, or ataUtS.
Now this you will allow is one Of those discoveries
which sarte, and which altogether contrary to
previous conceptions, that they apt 10 be thrown
aside without looking at bearing their very face
the impress Of ridiculous paradoxes. Had race been
found in Central Asia whose language was thought to
have these pretensions would take up the inquiry
as connecting with their preconceptons. But to
seek for solution of the great problem in these the
uttermost parts Of the earth seems at the rst glance
on it, to be absurdity The question is removed
from The rank of absurd paradOxes, il it be shown
that AOgether apart from the consideration Of Ian
guage ~ are reasonable grounds to conclude that
these peOp3S the remnants of a inhsbiting. IN
ancient days, central point in AsIa and subse-
queny bloted out from >e light of day, BY the irrup
tions of more warlike tribes.
The second discovery which believe have made.
and with which the former is connected. is that the
study of the Polynesan language gives us the Key to
the original formation of language ITSELF and to its
whole mechanism.
commence with this latter can only give you
the heads mostly mere titles of what would require
separate chapters.
l. Man is initiative animal, and all his artshsv
had their beginnings in this propensity.
2 Language has is origin in the same source.