MR. NISBET’S DISTRICT ON UPOLU.

Samoan Reporter, Issue 3, 1 March 1846, Page 3

MR. NISBET’S DISTRICT ON UPOLU.

The districts of Safata and Lefaga are about twenty miles in length, contain a population of three thousand individuals, and have fifteen stations where divine worship is conducted. The people generally may be said to have nominally embraced Christianity, with the exception of two villages where a number of the inhabitants still hold to a kind of blasphemous half heathenism, called Siovili’s lotu.

Sabbath morning services are generally well attended, but at prayer meetings and services held on week days a much smaller number of people make their appearance. In some villages the apparent desire to hear and understand the word preached is encouraging, while in others, marked indiffeience to the truth is imprinted on many countenances, giving evidence of hearts far from God. Yet here and there a few appear to see the salvation of their souls to be the one thing needful. Numbers of them are desirous of uniting with the church of Christ; among these a few afford pleasing indications of a hopeful condition. The number of those united in church fellowship is fifty nine.

The attention of the adult population to general instruction is neither so universal nor so earnest as could be desired. However in all the villages there are a few who make endeavours in this department, and are consequently making advances in knowledge, &c. At each of the villages there ; s a school for children, except in one or two cases in which the children of two or more villages unite and form one school. One of the greatest obstacles to the progress of the children in instruction is the great irregularity of their attendance. Some read fluently, write a very good hand, and are making progress in the simple rules of arithmetic.

Vaiee, March 1845.

H. NISBET.

P. S. Feb. 1846. Since the above was written, a few members have been added to the Church.