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with as little trouble as they came together. Few people however enter this state but rather chuse freedom in their Amours, tho bought at the inhuman expence of murthering their children, whose fate is in that case intirely dependant on the father; who if he does not chuse to acknowledge both them and the woman and engage to contribute his part towards their support, orders them to be strangled which is instantly put in execution.
If our preists have excelld theirs in persuading us that the Sexes can not come lawfully together without having bought their benediction, they have done it by intermingling it so far with religion that the fear of punishment from above secures their power over us; but these untaught parsons have securd to themselves the profit of two operations without being driven to the necessity of so severe a penalty on the refusal, viz. Tattowing or painting their bodies and Circumsizing. Neither of these can be done
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 428, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-181.html