THE PRESENT STATE OF NEW ZEALAND.
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THE PRESENT STATE
OF
NEW ZEALAND.
AT a period when Land Companies and Emigration occupy so much of the public attention in England, a few remarks on New Zealand and its capabilities, from a recent visitor to that colony, may not be uninteresting. There is every reason to expect, from the disturbance in British America, and the sudden rise in the price of land in those colonies, that speculative capitalists will turn their attention towards New Zealand and its resources; indeed, it is matter of surprise that they have not done so long ago, when the easy and advantageous terms upon which they could purchase land from the natives are taken into account.
I arrived in the Hokianga river in the month of November, 1838. The land, from the sea, appears hilly, sandy, and barren, holding out little inducement to a stranger to land. It continues so as far as I could see, to the southward of the river; but the country soon changes its appearance after the heads are entered. The Hokianga has a bar harbour; most of the rivers on the west coast have the same disadvantage, which is much against the
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commerce of this side of the island, and a great source of anxiety to strangers; but the danger is more apparent than real, as there is sufficient water on nearly all the bars of the different rivers to float ships of seven hundred tons. I crossed the bar of the Hokianga in a vessel of 660 tons; it was at low water, and we had four-and-three-quarter fathoms. She drew, when full of spars, twenty-two feet, so that if she was even to sail out at low water, she would have a few feet to spare. If care be taken not to near the coast at night, there is little to be apprehended, as there are two pilots at the entrance--a Mr. Martin, an Englishman, and a Captain Young, a Scotchman, who are continually on the look-out for vessels: they always put off and board them if the weather will permit; if not, and they suppose there is danger, they hoist a "Blue Peter" as a signal to the vessels to stand out to sea. The Hokianga is navigable for ships of the largest size, which can go up the river about twenty-five miles, and load; and, at high water, return without any difficulty.
The scenery on both sides the river is very picturesque, and quite enchanting to strangers. At every winding of this fine stream there is something to delight the eye; Nature displaying her prodigality in interminable forests of noble trees, clothed with the most luxuriant foliage. The land in the vicinity of the river is hilly, but the soil is very rich. In the open country, the hills are covered with fern, "kikatore," and other small shrubs. The forests
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abound with majestic pine-trees, some of them making spars from 60 to 90 feet long. With a little attention to cultivation, the land will yield an abundant crop of wheat, maize, and potatoes; there has as yet been no experiment by the settlers in barley or oats; vegetables of all kinds grow luxuriantly; melons, both rock and water, are very plentiful; grapes, peaches, apricots, nectarines, Cape-gooseberries, and nearly all the fruits that grow in the Australian colonies, may be cultivated with great success and advantage. The natives are the only persons who grow the potatoes; they also plant the "kumeras" or sweet potato, of which they are very fond.
There are about thirty European families residing there; all English, Irish, or Scotch, with the exception of a French one. The principal portion of the land, on both sides of the river, as well as that on its branches, is purchased by these persons; and for the most part in anticipation of disposing of it to others, who, it is expected, will eventually emigrate to New Zealand; a supposition to which the discussions on the subject in parliament has eventually given rise.
Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield was the first gentleman who particularly called the attention of the British Public to the valuable resources and capabilities of New Zealand, pointing out the many advantages to be gained by our Government taking possession of this very promising territory, and of its being colonized by a superior class of emigrants.
His proposed formation of a New Zealand Company,
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upon an extensive scale, in conjunction with a committee of respectable British Merchants and other influential gentlemen, will, if carried out upon the liberal and patriotic principles laid down for their government, be the means of making this interesting country one of the most valuable colonial possessions of the British Crown.
The grand problem, in the solution of which there has always been found so great a difficulty, is how to acquire an equitable right to the land, even by purchase, from individuals too ignorant to comprehend the common usages, not to talk of the legal formalities of civilized men. A hundred or a thousand acres of land are not a merchantable commodity, which may be alienated at once, and for ever, by merely handing it over to the purchaser for a stipulated sum; for the savage, in making such a bargain, is apt to fancy that he merely confers certain privileges on the stranger, without actually dispossessing himself. The best and kindliest mode of getting over such a difficulty, is the plan usually adopted in New Zealand. When the Europeans there buy land from the natives, they have deeds drawn which they get them to sign; but of course it is a mere farce to read a document of the kind to them, as it is not to be expected that such poor ignorant creatures can understand the meaning of such a transaction. Although, however, they are not aware of the sacrifice they make, they seem to understand that, by the act of putting their hand to paper in making their cipher, they lose all claim to their former possessions, and will go off the land, if requested
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by the purchasers; but this harsh measure is seldom adopted by Europeans, who generally allow them to remain on some corner to grow their kumeras.
The natives of this part of the island are inoffensive and hospitable. If a stranger happens to call at any of their "pahs," they will share what they have, and give him a mat to lie on in one of their Rapoo huts. They are a little disposed to pilfer or impose if they have an opportunity; but if they find a stand made against their attempts in this way, they will desist. They have the Spartan notion, that it is a great disgrace to be caught in the act of stealing, but if they get off without detection, they are applauded by the other Mouries of the tribe, and considered very clever fellows. The men make complete slaves of their women, compelling them to do all the work about the pahs. Poligamy is a privilege monopolised by the chiefs. Cannibalism is not known among them; at this place the old persons of the tribe seem quite ashamed when upbraided with it; but they eat any vermin which may be about their persons, alleging as a reason for so doing, that they are "kaka" or enemy.
They cook their food, like all the South Sea Islanders, in ovens made in the earth. Potatoes prepared in this way are much finer flavoured than those that are boiled by the white people: their general diet is potatoes, kumeras, pippies or native cockles, and fish; the latter article they seldom trouble themselves to catch, although the river abounds with
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various kinds of excellent qualities. They breed a great number of pigs, but seldom or ever kill any for their own consumption; preferring to sell them to the Europeans for other articles. When they have a litter of pigs they look about and see what they most want, and assigning a pig to each article, keep the animal until it has attained a sufficient size to enable them to make the purchase. The pigs they "taboo" for blankets are allowed to grow much larger than the remainder of the litter.
Timber for spars and house-building, potatoes, maize and pork, are the principal articles of export from this river; wheat has not yet been grown in sufficient quantity to be classed with exports. There is an immense quantity of New Zealand flax growing spontaneously in many places about the river, but the process of cleaning it is so tedious, that the natives cannot be prevailed on to gather it. It is dressed between two muscle shells. The cultivation of the native flax could be turned to very great advantage if there were a more expeditious method of preparing it. Blankets, muskets, (double-barrelled ones with flint locks are preferred,) gunpowder, cartouch-boxes, bowed-tomahawks, tobacco, common check shirts, Scotch caps or straw hats, and navy blues, are the articles principally in demand among the natives. A pig of from 100 to 180 or 200 lbs. can be had for a blanket of 10-4 wide; a kit of 60 lbs. of fine potatoes for a fig of tobacco, and two baskets of maize for the
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same. They seldom or ever sell their corn in any way but in the cob, three baskets of which will measure about one bushel of clean maize. It is quite necessary for strangers visiting New Zealand, to have some tobacco always about them, if they expect to get any favours from the natives, such as rowing or going messages. For a fig of tobacco they will row five or six miles; but if a person is disposed to venture in a canoe, they will row ten or twelve miles for the same.
There are few cattle in the settlement at present; what they have they do not wish to kill. There are only three Europeans who have any. Goats would thrive remarkably well there, but they are not so numerous as they were, the settlers having no desire to increase their number, as they are so destructive to gardens and young trees which are now beginning to be cultivated with a good deal of taste. A few good English bulls, and two-year-old heifers, are much wanted, the farmers being very anxious to get them to change their breed. A small investment would pay any enterprising individual who would bring them out, and at the same time confer a very great benefit on this young colony. Sheep have been taken to this place, but failed for want of food, there being no natural grasses in this part of the island. Towards the southward, however, about the Thames, there is abundance, but it is rather coarse. Bees are also very much wanted; there is not a single hive in the settlement, or, I believe, in any part of
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the country. They would thrive well on the native flax flowers, which, with the blossoms of other trees and plants, are overflowing with honey.
There are many sorts of dye-woods, which the natives use for dyeing the borders of their mats, some of which are very tastefully done, and the colours are quite fast; so much so, that if a little attention is paid to washing them, the colours will not fade until the mats are worn. It is now very difficult to procure handsome mats; as they are getting too indolent to manufacture, to any extent, this comfortable article of native craft; many of the natives--I may say all, particularly the females--preferring the less substantial and gaudy rags of European manufacture, to the work of their own ingenuity. There is no doubt, that, at no very distant period, dye-wood will be one of the leading articles of export from this place: there are no persons but the natives who trouble themselves to procure it.
Morality is at a very low ebb at this settlement. Many respectable young men, who have got into difficulties in other colonies, go to Hokianga, where (if not married) they get Moury women to cohabit with, by whom some of them have large families, and are very much attached to them. The missionaries, it is said, endeavour to get these gentlemen married, who are living in this state, but they have not succeeded in a single instance with any of these young men who have any claim to respectability; but with some of the lower class, they have been more fortunate.
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There is one individual who has had six "Moury" women (wives he called them, it being a more domesticated phrase,) living with him successively: he has now a seventh, but to her he is legally married; the others are all dead.
There are two different missions at this place, each of which it is said is strenuously exerting itself to fulfil the respective engagements it has entered into with societies at home. One is a branch of the Wesleyan mission, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Turner, and the other the Roman Catholic French mission, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Pompelier, a French bishop. Some members of the Church Missionary Society were in the habit of visiting this station; but there was some misunderstanding between them and the Wesleyans, which led to an arrangement that the Wesleyans were to attend to the natives of the west side, and the Church Missionaries to those of the east coast, which appears to be satisfactory to both parties. When I said that morality is at a low ebb, I ought in justice to have remarked that it has been much worse, in years past. Religion is now beginning to be respected, and society assuming a better tone among the white residents; and when there are a few more respectable emigrant families sent out, it will be quite a reformed place.
The celebrated Baron de Thierry, of whom there is so much mention made by the English press relative to New Zealand affairs, particularly in a letter from Havre de Grace, copied into one of the London
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newspapers, has made an ineffectual and ridiculous effort to establish himself "Sovereign Chief of New Zealand, and King of Nouwa." He has laid claim to an immense extent of land, --100,000 acres, a greater part of which has been purchased by Europeans, and is now in their possession. The natives laughed at him for his attempted usurpation of the title, and the settlers held his frivolous claims in equal contempt. The baron has a few advocates who are not interested in the matter, and who say that he has some claim on the property under documents, which, he alleges, he has in his possession, and which he received from the Rev. Mr. Kendal, formerly a Church missionary in New Zealand. The baron's statement is, that when Mr. Kendal was in London in 1821, he gave the Rev. gentleman property to the amount of eight hundred pounds for the purpose of purchasing land for him in New Zealand, and that after Mr. K. returned there, he sent him (the baron) the deeds which he now holds; but whether Mr. K. ever got the property from the baron, or, if he did get it, it was converted to the purpose intended, are two questions which are not yet satisfactorily decided. Another question also arises: has the baron any such documents? and, if so, are they real or fictitious? For my own part I have not seen or heard of any person who has had the pleasure of seeing them. If there was a bona fide purchase made for him, he ought to have sent an agent to take possession of the land, and reside thereon; and not be coming forward, after a lapse of eighteen years, to claim land which has
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been purchased by others without opposition or notice from any person on the part of the baron. Many of the present occupants have resided on this disputed land for a considerable period. The native chiefs stoutly deny that the Rev. Mr. Kendal ever paid them for the land which the baron demands, and, further, that they have sold nearly all the extent which he claims. He will never get possession of it quietly, unless he gets some foreign aid. He occasionally hints that the French government will interpose in his behalf, but I hope the British cabinet will never be so weak as to sanction any interference of the kind, or allow the English to be superseded by any other power in taking possession of a country which, with all its natural resources and facilities for commerce and agriculture, must eventually become a new point for emigration when the adjacent colonies are overstocked. The baron is residing on a small farm, which belongs to Captain Young; his society is not courted by the Europeans, and over the natives he has no influence whatever. He is very gentlemanly and hospitable to any person who may chance to visit him, which many do from curiosity. He displays a good deal of tact when talking of his kingdom, and often writes to his rebellious subjects, cautioning them not to persist in their disloyal conduct, lest they be visited with his royal displeasure. These republicans, however, do not seem inclined to have him for a sovereign, and are quite deaf to all his remonstrances. He has been a second M'Gregor, (but on a
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smaller scale,) in inducing about thirty or forty families to accompany him to take possession of his kingdom, to each of whom he promised to give some lucrative appointment in or about his court; he was also in treaty with a ship-owner for a vessel, to have her manned and armed for the purpose of chastising any person who might be so simple or presumptuous as to oppose his landing or his claims. But alas! how were the mighty fallen! He failed in getting his armament, and was obliged to go in a small craft. His intended subjects were more civil than he expected; they suffered him to land without opposition, and to enjoy the pleasing idea of being a king, without a kingdom. His followers were wofully deceived when they got to the land of promise; instead of getting milk and honey, they had not the common necessaries of life. Some of the poor fellows were badly off, it being a considerable time before they got employment; while others returned to Sydney. The baron unintentionally conferred an essential benefit on the former residents of New Zealand, as there were among the number of his followers, good and useful farm labourers, and very excellent mechanics; very great acquisitions to this colony in its infant state.
A gentleman from these colonies (Australian), who has devoted the most part of his life to agricultural pursuits, is of opinion that the soil about the Hokianga river is much superior for farming purposes to that at the Bay of Islands; but, in a mercantile
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point of view, the Bay has the advantage, from the number of ships--principally whalers--which put in there to refresh. Provisions, such as pork, fowls, fish, and potatoes are to be had very cheap at the Hokianga. For a keg of tobacco, which would cost about fifteen pounds in Sydney, one person can have the necessaries of life for twelve months, an advantage of which many of the indolent, worthless, and once gay of this and the sister colony, avail themselves.
I proceeded overland to the Bay of Islands: the country, as I advanced into the interior, assumed a more level appearance, and does not offer so many obstacles to cultivation. Some parts of it are quite clear of timber and scrub, having only a little fern, which is easily removed by burning. There is abundance of excellent water in all parts that 1 crossed, but no food for cattle, except fern, and other small shrubs, which they eat, and thrive very well on. There are between these places some very fine woods, extending to nine or ten miles, which are almost impassable, and render travelling exceedingly fatiguing. The cabbage-tree is plentiful in these forests, and the traveller finds it very refreshing and pleasant to eat when thirsty, which he is sure to be in the summer season. There are no native pahs to be met with, until near Wymatti, where there are a great number of "rapeoo forras." They are surrounded by an apparently very antique wall, about five feet thick, built of small round stones, which are very ingeniously placed, there being no composition of any
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kind to make them adhere. The natives invited our party in, to have some refreshment, but we refused, as we were in a hurry to get to Wymatti, the first Church Mission station to be met with. I was really agreeably surprised on my arrival there, to see, what I least expected, in a place which, a short period before, was the haunt of the savage--the scene of bloodshed and cannibalism, --now changed to the abode of civilized man, and attended with all the advantages consequent on his location in this once wild spot. The wheat and other crops were in a state promising to yield a remunerative return for the time and labour, which must have been devoted in bringing the land to such perfection; the clover was one of the finest crops I have seen. The large scale on which cultivation is carried on there, is a very fair criterion of what New Zealand will produce with proper attention. It does the Rev. gentlemen to whom these farms belong very great credit, as they must have had many difficulties to contend with, and have expended considerable capital in reclaiming this portion of so fine a country from its original state of wildness.
At this station there is an excellent farming establishment, with several mechanics attached to it. They have some fine flocks of sheep and herds of good cattle; also a few horses, all of which are in excellent condition. This place altogether has the appearance, both internally and externally, of a comfortable homestead, and its occupants indeed are
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quite free from the privations, which the supporters of the society at home generally suppose this foregin mission is attended with. The Rev. gentlemen who reside at this station are Messrs. Davis, Clarke, Williams, and Wade; they are very hospitable to respectable strangers who may be compelled to trespass on their kindness, when crossing from either side of the island.
Some of the members of the Church Mission at Wymatti, and other parts of New Zealand, are very large holders of lands, the privilege, I understand, being allowed them by the society for their children. However kind and indulgent this measure is on the part of the society, it is productive of much unpleasant feeling, and tends to lower the missionaries in the estimation of the resident Europeans, who, with other respectable individuals visiting there for the purpose of buying land, are very loud and indignant in their complaints at this land monopoly, on the part of persons, who were sent out for far different and more exalted purposes.
There is very little useful timber between Wymatti and the Bay of Islands, neither is there much land cultivated, except a few spots by the natives for kumeras and Indian corn. The country is well-watered; there is one large river, called the Wytangi, which I crossed. It has several tributary streams, and empties itself into the Bay. Most of the land would be well adapted for grazing and pastoral purposes, if there was a sufficient quantity of artificial grasses
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sown, there being no natural grasses, as I remarked before. The next settlement which I came to is Pahia, at the Bay of Islands; it is another Church Mission station; the gentlemen who are stationary here are the Rev. Messrs. Williams, Mansell, Hadfield, and Baker; there are also Mr. Cleuro, printer, and Dr. Ford, medical officer to the mission.
I was very much pleased with the appearance of the Bay; it is a splendid and safe harbour for ships of any size to anchor in, and is beautifully studded with little islands, from which it derives its European name: the native name is Tokiro, or the hundred worms; in point of romantic scenery, it is not to be compared to the Hokianga; the land about the Bay is very barren of good timber, there being only some which the inhabitants use for firewood for themselves, and the shipping, which touch here to refresh when whaling.
The purchase of land at the Bay of Islands, seems to be as favourite a speculation as at the Hokianga. All the land from the entrance on both sides of the Bay, and for a considerable distance up the several rivers, and also many of the islands, are bought by the resident Europeans with a few exceptions. The natives at this place get rather a better price for the land than those of the opposite coast, but even what they do get is very trifling.
The land in the vicinity of the Bay is rather hilly, and is covered with fern, kikatore,; and several other kinds of plants and shrubs, as are all uncultivated
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parts of New Zealand; the abundance of fern is generally considered to be a fair criterion of the goodness of the land. Where the ground is tolerably level, with perseverance and attention, the land will produce a fair crop, and amply reward the industrious farmer; but alas! there are very few of that useful class yet imported. Peaches, apples, grapes, cherries, nectarines, and several other kinds of fruit, melons, and all sorts of vegetables grow very plentifully, as well as at the opposite side.
The inhabitants (the whites I mean) do not depend on farming for their support; the shipping is the principal object of their attention, and has paid those very well, who have been active or extensive in trade there. It is a favourite rendezvous for American and French whalers; the latter are increasing very fast; their government rendering them every possible assistance and protection, and having three or four ships of war continually cruising on the whaling grounds; this judicious plan is of infinite service to those ships that are engaged in the oil trade. The following is an instance: a French whaler, called the "Mange," was so damaged, that she was not fit to proceed on her voyage, without getting a new keel and other considerable repairs, which could not be done at the Bay of Islands, except at an enormous expense, for the want of shipwrights, there being only two or three efficient mechanics to be had. "L'Heroine," French corvette, of fifty guns, Capt. Cecille, commander, fortunately happened to arrive at
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the time, and he, being informed of the accident to the "Mange," immediately ordered all the shipwrights and carpenters he had to assist in repairing her; he also allowed one hundred of his crew to attend until she was fit for sea. A further proof of their attention to the mercantile interest of the French, is, that immediately after the above very kind and opportune assistance of that gallant commander, he proceeded to Chatham Island to chastise the natives for the murder of the entire crew of the "Jean Bart," another French whaler, which occurred a short time previous.
The traders and store-keepers at the Bay like to transact business with the French, as they usually find them very liberal in their dealings, but the Americans, they say, are quite the reverse. The latter have got a resident consul appointed--a Captain Clindon, an Englishman. The number of English whalers which touch here are comparatively few; it is remarkable that wherever the Americans resort, the English are certain to leave, and break fresh grounds. The English have no consul or resident magistrate to render them any assistance; there is a British resident, but his power and instructions are so very limited, that it is useless to apply to him for aid, unless he has a special communication from the Sydney Government. He receives 500l. a-year as salary, and 200l. to purchase presents for the natives; the situation is a complete sinecure, and a downright mockery of justice; he being the representative of
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her most gracious Majesty, without the power of a common constable; but it is not the man, but the absurdity of the measure, that English subjects residing there complain of: I firmly believe that he is most anxious to be useful, and assist any respectable persons in attaining the ends of justice, and would do so, if he were not apprehensive of offending the powers that be; but it is not at all fair or equitable that the colonists of New South Wales should be saddled with the expense of a public officer, who is so circumscribed in authority, and hemmed in by official restrictions, when he should have a discretionary power.
There are several stores at the Bay; among the best maybe mentioned those of Captain Clindon, of Okitu; Mr. Gilbert Mair, of Wahapoo; Captain Wright, of Omati, Mr. Greenaway, of Kotati; and Mr. Roberton, of Wahihi; besides these, there are many petty ones at Korirarika, but they are rather low grog-shops than stores. These pot-houses are receptacles for all battens, runaway convicts, outlaws, swindlers, and, in a word, for the dregs of the Australian colonies. Here every vagabond is sure of meeting with a warm reception, and every villain certain of protection. To give confidence to and encourage such disreputable characters, the keepers of these dens of thieves have formed themselves into a body called an "association," and have endeavoured by intimidation to compel respectable persons to join them, to sanction their nefarious practices, but they
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have failed. They have had circulars printed, in which they blazon forth that their body is formed solely for the protection of the shipping--"for arresting runaway seamen, and returning them to the vessels they abscond from, and supplying other ships which may require hands;" but woe to the unfortunate Jack tar that gets into the clutches of these crimps! The plan these 'long-shore sharks adopt is: first to seduce the seamen away, by telling them that if they leave their respective vessels, they will support them, and find them better ships. The unsuspecting dupes, from the plausible and covert manner in which these offers are made, will be induced to desert; having perhaps a harsh captain, or a desire for a spree, and will leave all they have earned behind; for if they are only forty-eight hours away, they forfeit all claim to wages, or oil, or whatever they may be intitled to.
When these kidnappers get possession of their prey, they stow them away until the vessels they desert from, or any others which may require hands, are on the point of sailing; but in the interval they will ply them well with grog, and keep them in a state of inebriety, lest they should discover a reef or keep their reckoning. When these crimps have had them under hatches a sufficient time to answer their purpose, they will bring the poor devils alongside; first making them sign whatever they choose in their tender consciences to charge them with, and will then demand for their ransom twenty or thirty dollars,
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according to the length of the voyage--a long voyage always paying more than a short one, as they are well aware that the captains will not advance more than the probable amount of each seaman's wages, or lay of oil. The captains or agents, sooner than want the necessary complement of men, will pay the impost, which will be charged immediately to poor Jack's account, although he is certain that the port dues were rather exorbitant; but having experienced a good deal of hazy weather, and not being able to get a sight, he must rest satisfied with the log which his kind friends kept for him.
The "association" declare that they acknowledge no power superior to their own; they say that "New Zealand is a free country, an independent nation, and that no government can have any right to interfere with them." In civil law cases, they punish with confinement in irons, and restriction to bread and water, and occasionally with tarring and feathering; but in what they consider criminal cases, they have recourse to the summary punishment of club law, the minimum or maximum of which no person can define; it depending on the feeling they entertain toward their hapless victims, or the length of time they have been sacrificing to the jolly god. Woe, however, to the wight who is brought before their awful tribunal, when they are excited by their devotional exercise to their favorite deity: then the punishment of the culprit is aggravated by the number of libations which they may have offered at the baccha-
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nalian shrine. Any luckless creditor who pursues a debtor to this formidable territory, should always be under the immediate protection of a ship of war, or he will regret his rashness, particularly if the fugitive be one of the "elect," which he is sure to be if a thoroughpaced rascal; for the "association" will admit him as one of their immaculate body almost as soon as he arrives, if he has done his credulous creditors with any thing like professional tact. They hold out a threat to the respectable portion of the inhabitants, that unless they become members of their "august assembly," they will get no assistance if attacked, or protection from being robbed. However, the old adage of set a thief to catch a thief is sometimes beautifully illustrated among them; for it frequently happens that the less scrupulous of the clique appropriate the property of their fellow members to their own use; but this is a system that is not at all approved of by their more wealthy compeers.
The Bay of islands is a fine field for commercial enterprise, but the persons who are embarked in business there, have never been accustomed to mercantile pursuits. There are no men of capital or energy sufficient at present, to carry on trade to any considerable extent; those who have stores there, and who get a little money together, seem intent on purchasing what land they can from the natives, rather than keep it afloat, which would be of more immediate benefit to themselves, and accommodation to the shipping; as it often occurs that masters of
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vessels who touch there to refresh, are obliged to remain many days beyond the necessary time for want of advances for their crew.
The traders at the Bay, who are in the habit of supplying the shipping with stores, generally have to take bills as payment on London, Paris, or America, or on whatever ports the vessels belong to. The disbursements of ships are sometimes very considerable, -- from one hundred to one thousand pounds, and on many occasions even more. For supplies for English and French whalers they charge no interest, but for cash advances they add ten per cent. Captains who give large orders will frequently get as much as one hundred pounds in specie. The interest on such advances appears small, but they manage to have liberal prices for the goods. For cash advances to American ships they charge twenty-five per cent. The credit the store-keepers gives is rather long; they have to wait twelve months before they get the proceeds of the English and French bills, and from fifteen to eighteen months ere they get money from America; this long credit is subject to a great deal of risk, but few of them have met with much loss up to this period. Bartering I consider the most sure mode of doing business there; it sometimes happens that masters of whalers exchange oil, whalebone or any surplus stores for necessary supplies, which is certainly the safest and most lucrative payment for the trader, as they buy on these occasions at very remunerating prices; for instance, sperm oil, at three shillings per gallon; black ditto, ten-pence; whalebone,
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from sixty to seventy pounds, and often at fifty, with many articles much lower than the Sydney prices; particularly if the ship or ships are full and homeward bound. Another advantage there is in seamen being paid off at the Bay, which is not usual; what Jack gets is generally oil, (seldom bone,) which he, I may say, invariably disposes of for grog before he goes afloat again.
The storekeepers at the Bay complain bitterly of their Sydney agents' want of integrity; they say that they do not allow them a fair market price for New Zealand produce, which they send them up, and that they charge enormous profits on goods had in return. These charges against their honest agents are sometimes correct enough, as I had several opportunities of judging while there; some instances of the kind were very flagrant. Few of the New Zealand merchants visit Sydney, but entirely rely on their kind friends there. It is to be regretted that the tone of society there is not in the most healthy state; it is anything but edifying to visitors; there seems to be a great want of unanimity and kind feeling among them; charity does not appear to be the prevailing virtue in any of their circles. Go where you will on a visit, there will generally be some complaint, real or imaginary, about their neighbours; so that if a stranger happens to drop in among them on business or otherwise, his most prudent course is not to mix himself with any of their local grievances, or rather private quarrels. The Europeans at the Bay
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of Islands, who are not married, with a few exceptions, are living in the same demoralizing state as at the Hokianga, and all parts of the Island, and many of them have large families by the native women. Those who are in this notorious and infamous condition seldom, or ever, visit a place of worship; some of them hold the missions in utter contempt.
The natives at the Bay are not so kind or tractable as at the Hokianga, although they have more opportunities for improving and cultivating their naturally keen and perceptive minds. Instead of advancing, they seem to be retrograding, and getting more vicious by our intercourse with them; adding the European vices to their original savageness, which renders them very dangerous characters. They are selfish and cunning, not making the least present to a white man, or doing the smallest favour, but with a view of getting something in return of much greater value. In general they are very obstinate and self-opinionated, just doing as much work for those who may employ them as pleases themselves. Very often the white people are compelled to coax and flatter them to do a little for them. A person going to the Bay, and having business of importance to get done, would be awkwardly situated if he did not understand the language, or get another to interpret for him. They will impose on strangers or even residents if they can; and endeavour to intimidate them, but should never be allowed to do so. They are great cowards if they are aware you have fire-arms, or other
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weapons of defence about you. They hold in great contempt any white man who does not keep his promise with them, and say he's "kakino" or "no good." Some of them are very much addicted to thieving; but the natives in the interior surrounding the Bay are not so bad; they are very hospitable and civil, giving "kumeras" and pippies to any persons who visit them, and a mat to lie on if required. I am sorry to say that the debasing and demoralizing crime of drunkenness is increasing very fast among them, --another proof of the result of bad examples in our intercourse with them. It is pitiable to see these poor creatures reeling about under the influence of intoxicating draughts which conduct many of them to a premature grave. It is loathsome to observe what a change the baneful habit has wrought, particularly in the females, leading them to further crimes. When a vessel arrives in the harbour, several of these unfortunate women go, or are brought off to them by their parents or chiefs of the tribes, and remain until the ship is about to sail: when they leave these poor wretches get a few articles of dress from their worthless paramours; many of them are in a state of inebriety the whole time they are on board.
There is very little reciprocity of kind feeling between the Europeans and the members of the Church Mission. These reverend gentlemen say that they strenuously exert themselves to convert the benighted natives; but that their efforts in the good work are counteracted by the evil-disposed white residents.
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at the time, and all of them went off: it yet remains a mystery how those in the hut escaped. The Europeans, who are in the immediate neighbourhood where large quantities of gunpowder are stored, seem quite indifferent to the danger to which they are thus exposed by the carelessness of the natives: several of the white peoples' houses received damage by the explosion alluded to.
Double and single barrelled muskets are the favourite arms of warfare among them; they prefer the double, but they must have flint locks. Tomahawks are also in great demand, --bright ones please best. Blankets, tobacco, navy-blue prints, dungarry, bow cartouch-boxes, and rum, are the principal articles required by them. I should add, gunpowder in twenty-five and fifty-pound-kegs, loose, and not particularly fine; also Scotch caps, common straw hats, and striped shirts, with a few regatta ones. With a tolerable stock of the above, and some cash, an enterprising individual would soon make a comfortable independence at the Bay of Islands; but persons given to habits of intemperance had much better stay away, as there are many temptations for those who have such a propensity: without steadiness and perseverance, they would soon lose themselves, and all they possessed.
The principal articles of export from the Bay consist chiefly in oil, whalebone, native flax, salt pork, pigs, maize, and potatoes; but very little of the latter, as they seldom arrive at their destination, if the voyage
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be a long one, in a sound condition, from being dug in an unripe state by the natives, who are the sole cultivators of this esculent: the white people seldom or ever plant any; they get them so cheap from the natives, that they make it an excuse for their indolence. Were the same attention paid to the cultivation of the potatoes in New Zealand, as there is in Van Diemen's Land, they would yield equally as good, and as abundant a crop as they do there. It is to be hoped that after a few years, when spirited and enterprising persons begin to appreciate the advantages of emigrating to New Zealand, it will become a second granary to us, and save us from such a dearth of grain, and dread of famine as we have experienced this season, from the want of rain, and consequent failure of our crops. Had it not been for large supplies from Van Diemen's Land--where the harvest was providentially abundant--we might have been nearly starved before we could get any relief from South America. This circumstance points out the advantages, and urges the necessity, of having New Zealand colonists as soon as possible, as we cannot always with safety calculate on our Tasmanian brethren for a sufficient supply of the staff of life. They may have an arid season as well as we. The variableness of seasons to which this and the sister-colony is subject, New Zealand never experiences. There is always an average fall of rain, from which the farmer can with confidence expect a fair and remunerating return for his toil and expenditure.
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In Sydney and Hobart Town there is a great prejudice against the New Zealand pork; but that cured at the Bay, and many miles around, with Liverpool salt, is as good as any Irish, and of much finer flavour. The pork of New Zealand has obtained an evil repute from that which is sent from the whaling stations, a considerable distance to the southward, where the pigs are fed on the fragments of whales, shell, and other fish along the coast.
Respectable persons visiting the Bay, on business or pleasure, are very awkwardly situated for want of accommodation, as there is not a single inn or hotel in the whole settlement. The houses which have any pretensions to be called inns, are receptacles for all classes, whether high or low, if they have money, who are considered on terms of equality while they remain together in any of these all-welcome clubs; --an arrangement which no persons, who have any respect for themselves, would like to submit to if they could avoid it. Visitors should, if possible, get letters of introduction to the few respectable residents, or they must, from necessity, take refuge in some of these haunts of the disreputable, where no respectable female could, with propriety, think of taking shelter for a moment.
The Europeans at the Bay, and all parts of New Zealand, are not amenable to any Government for their actions, in civil cases, while they remain there. The debts contracted there, may be called debts of honour (a very scarce article indeed), as it is quite
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optional with the traders whether they pay any bills, or accounts which they may pass, or owe each other. If they contract a debt with any persons in Sydney or elsewhere, they cannot be arrested while they remain in this "tabooed" land. Some of them adopt a very summary mode of getting paid, by seizing the boats, or anything else they can lay their hands on, belonging to those who may be indebted to them. The pugilistic portion have recourse to a more effective plan, by chastising any of their creditors whenever they meet them on land or water. It is not unusual to see them attack each other in their boats. These aquatic combats are sometimes attended with danger to themselves; affording a chance to the sharks when they get upset. When cattle trespass on the lands of a neighbour, he adopts a very novel mode of retaliation, by shooting them, which leads to long and bitter dissensions; as it seldom happens that any of their disinterested neighbours take the trouble to step forward and arrange the matter in dispute. This irresponsibility for debts contracted in New Zealand, with persons residing there and elsewhere, is a privilege taken advantage of by many, and makes the Bay of Islands, and other parts of the islands, such a favourite retreat for unprincipled rascals from the Australian Colonies. It is quite an Elysium for the vagabond and the swindler.
Various are the excuses which these voluntary exiles form for going to New Zealand: some "to buy land;" others, "for the benefit of science" "to
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establish banks" "for the recovery of their health," &c. It is a matter of regret that such characters should be allowed to enjoy these advantages at the expense of honest and respectable traders, when we have a Norfolk Island for their rustication; but this system of wholesale robbery, I hope, will soon be at an end.
From what I have read and heard of the now nearly deserted Swan River -- the lately colonized South Australia, and the embryo and sun-roasting settlement of Port Essington, which has cost the Government so much money, --I have no hesitation in saying that New Zealand is far superior to either, and, from its vast resources, will be one of the first ports in the Pacific for commerce and agriculture. It is the central and favourite rendezvous for the South Sea whaler. Its bays and rivers abound in excellent fish; the soil is capable of growing any kind of grain; the orchards yield nearly all descriptions of fruits. The native flax is a staple commodity, which would be a source of great emolument if properly attended to; and its forests are celebrated for splendid spars, from which the British navy is partially supplied, as is the South American market, where New Zealand spars and timber of all sorts meet a ready sale. For salubrity of climate, it cannot be excelled. It has not the arid or oppressive heat of New South Wales; which is so debilitating to English constitutions after a few years' residence; nor is it subject to the humidity of Van Diemen's Land, which is productive
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of bad colds, attended with violent coughs, so destructive to the lungs, and generally terminating in consumptions. It will, no doubt, be to us what the South of France is to the English, the retreat of the invalids of the Australian Colonies, and the forlorn hope of the broken-down constitutions of Europeans, after a long residence in the pestilential climate of India; but not until there are a few respectable houses of accommodation established there.
Before I conclude, I cannot help expressing a wish that the British Government will, without infringing on any treaty, take possession of this promising country, in which there are so many inducements to industriously disposed persons, and colonize it with respectable emigrants of small capital; as there would be a better chance for them to acquire a competence, than in those colonies where there is so much competition for land. If there were only partial protection for person and property in New Zealand, many would emigrate immediately from here: even as it is, people are beginning to think seriously of going there.
In conclusion I beg to state, that in what I have said in this short sketch, there is no borrowed assertions, or exaggerated statements; it is the result of my own personal observations and strict enquiries, which I hope may be of some use to those who may be disposed to cast their fortunes in this distant land.
FINIS.
