Stealing, among the civilized nations of the world, may well be considered as denoting a character deeply stained with moral turpitude: with avarice, unrestrained by the known rules of right; and with profligacy, producing extreme indigence, and neglecting the means of relieving it.
But at the Friendly and other islands which we visited, the thefts, so frequently committed by the natives, of what we had brought along with us, may be fairly traced to less culpable motives.

They seemed to arise solely from an intense curiosity or desire to possess something which they had not been accustomed to before, and belonging to a sort of people so different from themselves.

And, perhaps, if it were possible, that a set of beings, seemingly, as superior in our judgment, as we are in theirs, should appear amongst us, it might be doubted, whether our natural regard to justice would be able to restrain many from falling into the same error.

That I have assigned the true motive for their propensity to this practice, appears from their stealing every thing indiscriminately at first sight, before they could have the least conception of converting their prize to any one useful purpose.

But, I believe, with us, no person would forfeit his reputation, or expose himself to punishment, without knowing, beforehand, how to employ the stolen goods.