“The Vessel turned out to be a _Slaver_, and sent in a boat with Native crew and two white men in search of Natives. The boat kept in deep water just outside the reef, and some Aniwans waded out and were shouted to in ‘Sandal-wood English.’ They wanted men or boys, and would give a musket for every one they got. Our Natives shouted back that they were ‘Missi’s worshipping people,’ and did not want to go with Traders. One of the white men stupidly (it must have been in fun) levelled a musket at one of our Natives, when the cap snapped and set the Natives in a great rage, believing that he tried to kill some of them. The man levelled at, a fiery fellow, a returned labourer, flew for his musket and would have made short work with the white man, had not John and the Church members interfered,—John actually standing right between him and the boat to prevent shots being fired. He waved the boat off with his hat, pointing to the armed men, which they seemed to comprehend, and after returning hats they made for the ship, which soon disappeared in the horizon. “I was annoyed enough at John exposing himself, not that a person on Aniwa now would harm him, for I often wish that they loved their Saviour as much as they do their Missionary, but it is seldom one’s duty to stand in the way of loaded muskets! You would hardly believe, though, the kind of thanks he got from the wretches he tried to save. They went to Faté, wrote out a paper to the effect that ‘they had called at Aniwa for labourers, but that the Missionary, Mr. Paton, had come out to attack them at the head of an armed party. The man in charge of the boat, however, had Mr. Paton covered with his rifle, so that had a single shot been fired into it he would have fallen in revenge.’ And the paper has been posted up on the door of the principal store in Havannah Harbour! Those are the sort of men, authorized by our British Government to scour these Islands. We were perfectly thunderstruck when Mr. McDonald happened to mention it to John, after he had decided to go North, in case he should see it himself. Mr. McDonald sees enough of the Traders and their doings, and treated it with amused contempt as it deserved.