Following the bugle call to “arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee,” inspiration clearly outlines the condition of mankind during the closing scenes of probation in the words, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” Isa. 60:1, 2. Spiritual darkness like a cloud has long enshrouded11the western islands of the Pacific, whose inhabitants have for centuries been wallowing in the mire of heathenism, without God, and without hope in the world.
Among the groups of the Pacific which are generally classified as Polynesia, considerable progress has been made within the past century by many of the natives, who, receiving help from devoted missionaries, have deserted the ranks of Satan and enlisted in the service of Christ. The Fiji, Society, Tonga, Cook, and Samoan groups are sometimes described by writers of to-day as Christian lands, and, though such a classification is far too good to be true, there is a vast difference between the civilized Polynesian and the head hunters of the Solomon Islands.
The great islands which lie to the north of Australia, and the lesser groups that are scattered throughout Melanesia, are thickly settled regions, and form one of the most stubborn haunts of heathenism upon the face of the earth. The great island of New Guinea, with its unnumbered but dense population, stretches out over 1,200 miles from east to west, and incloses within its but partially explored plains a vast number of poor heathen who are sadly in need of the Gospel. Some mission work is being conducted by the London Missionary Society and by the Wesleyan Methodists upon the southern peninsula and upon the neighboring islands, but as yet the greater part of Papua, as the island is called by the natives, is absolutely destitute of Christian missionaries, while Satan has the natives so completely enslaved that there is not a commandment in the Decalogue which they do not make bold to transgress.
(From a forthcoming work on "Picturesque Polynesia.") The above cut is from a photograph of the church building of the London Missionary Society, on Raratonga, Cook Islands. It may be interesting to many of our readers to know that in this churchyard lie the remains of Sister Sarah Owen, who died July 9, 1895.
The Solomon Islands, which occupy a prominent position in the western Pacific, were discovered over 300 years ago by Spanish navigators, and while ten generations of their people have since successively roamed over the densely wooded isles and feasted upon their fellows, the light of Christianity has scarcely penetrated the gloom and heathenism of these lands.
In 1895 there was not a single professed Christian upon the large island of Guadalcanar, which has an estimated population of 30,000 people. Other islands of the Solomon group are in a similar condition of cannibal heathenism.
The Santa Cruz Islands, whose population is unknown, but is probably about 40,000, is a field where native degradation and Satanic rule have long been unbroken. Though, like the Solomon Islands, the group has long been known to the civilized world, the wretched people have been to a great extent left to the cruel mercies of wicked traders, brutal slavers, and destroying devils. The Melanesian Mission of the Church of England is at present operating in the group, and some precious blood of heroic missionaries has already been shed.
Time, space, and deficient information forbid mention of the thousands of destitute souls in those southern seas. Even in the Marquesas group, which is one of our nearest neighbors in the Pacific, there exists little but gross heathenism. A Catholic priest, who has long labored in the group, has written that he did not believe that there was a converted native in the Marquesas group. Surely the Spirit and the power of the Lord are needed to reach these destitute and sin-cursed natives. The solemn responsibility that rests upon the church of Christ is clearly shown by the words of Prov. 24:11, 12: “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
