I have before mentioned that this Island is divided into _^ ^{two districts or Kingdoms _^ which are frequently at war with each other as happend about twelve Months ago and each of these is again divided into smaller districts, Whennuas as they Call them, over each of the Kingdoms is an Eare dehi or head whome we call a King and in the Whannuas are Eares or Chiefs - The Kings power seems to be but very little, he may be reverenced as a father but he his neither fear'd nor respected as a Monarch and the same may be said of the other Chiefs: however they have a preeminence over the rest of the people who pay them a kind of a volantry _^ obedience - Upon the whole these' people seem to injoy liberty in its fullest extend an every man seems to be the sole judge of his own actions and to know no punishment _^andbut death and this perhaps is never inflicted but upon a publick enimy - There are three Ranks of Men and women, first the Eares or Chiefs, second the Manahoona's or midling sort and lastly the Toutou's which comprehends all the lower class and are by far the most numerous, these seem to live in some sort dependent on the Eares who together}

* [Additional text written in margin of Ms page 161]

Voyaging Accounts

© Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 88, 2004
Published by South Seas
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