Sincerely is it to be wished, that such may be the order of events, and such the intercourse carried on with the southern islanders, that, instead of finally suffering by their acquaintance with us, they may rise to a higher state of civilization, and permanently enjoy blessings far superior to what they had heretofore known.
Amidst the various subordinate employments which engaged the attention of Captain Cook and his associates, the great objects of their duty were never forgotten.

No opportunity was lost of making astronomical and nautical observations; the consequence of which was, that the latitude and longitude of the places where the ships anchored, the variations of the compass, the dips of the needle, and the state of the tides, were ascertained with an accuracy that forms a valuable addition to philosophical science, and will be of eminent service to future navigators.
Our commander was now going to take his final departure from Otaheite and the Society Islands.

Frequently as they had been visited, it might have been imagined, that their religious, political, and domestic regulations, manners and customs, must, by this time, be thoroughly understood.

A great accession of knowledge was undoubtedly gained in the present voyage; and yet it was confessed, both by Captain Cook and Mr.Anderson, that their accounts of things were still imperfect in various respects; and that they continued strangers to many of the most important institutions which prevail among the natives.

There was one part of the character of several of these people, on which the well regulated mind of the captain would not permit him to enlarge.
'Too much,' says he, 'seems to have been already known, and published in our former relations, about some of the modes of life, that made Otaheite, so agreeable an abode to many on board our ships; and if I could now add any finishing strokes to a picture, the outlines of which have been already drawn with sufficient accuracy, I should still have hesitated to make this journal the place for exhibiting a view of licentious manners, which could only serve to disgust those for whose information I write.
From Mr.Anderson's account of the Otaheitans, it appears, that their religious system is extensive, and, in various instances, singular.
They do not seem to pay respect to one God as possessing pre-eminence, but believe in a plurality of divinities, all of whom are supposed to be very powerful.