[Text]
[Image of page 13]
NEW ZEALAND.
1. --POSITION AND EXTENT.
THE islands of New Zealand are situated between the 34th and 48th degrees of south latitude, and between the 166th and 179th degrees of east longitude. In fact they are the lands nearest to the antipodes of Great Britain, --Queen Charlotte's Sound, on the southern shore of Cook's Strait, which is about equi-distant between the northern and southern extremities of the two principal islands, being only 700 miles from the antipodes to the equator. The distance from the same place, taken in round numbers and in geographical miles, is to Sydney and Hobart Town about 1200 miles, about the same to the new Hebrides and the Friendly Isles, to the Marquesas about 3000, to the Sandwich Islands 3600, to South Australia 1800, to China and to Valparaiso about 5000.
The length of the voyage from England is about the same as that to Sydney. The westerly winds blowing steadily in those latitudes, for about nine months in the year, the distance northwards from Bass' Strait to Port Jackson would be found practically greater than from the same point of separation to Queen Charlotte's Sound. In returning to Europe, by Cape Horn, the whole distance between the two places mentioned is gained; since most of the homeward-bound ships from Australia pass through Cook's Strait, and the facilities of every kind, which this would afford to a settlement there, need not be pointed out. The Bay of Islands in the north is the rendezvous of the South Sea traders. Twenty-seven vessels have been at anchor, and upwards of one thousand white
[Image of page 14]
men have been seen ashore in that harbour, at one and the same time. It is the key to the Pacific Ocean; to an archipelago more than 30,000 miles in circumference, containing literally thousands of islands, but without one authorised British settlement. The islands present an oblong appearance on the map, extending in the direction of north-east and south-west; thus securing the greatest variety of climate for the given extent of surface. Leaving the peninsula of the northern island to fill up the irregularities of the coast and straits, we may fairly suppose, on a rough estimate, the whole territory to be reduced to the form of a parallelogram of at least 800 miles in length by 100 in breadth. This would give 80,000 square miles-- more than fifty millions of acres. Allowing one-third, or any large proportion, that could be reasonably calculated upon, for unproductive land and water, it is clear that the islands, without any extraordinary fertility being assumed, might support as large a population as Great Britain and Ireland, to which they are in many respects the counterpart,--in shape, in relative position to the neighbouring continent, and in the physical and mental vigour of the aboriginal inhabitants. The facts we shall adduce will show that the New Zealand islands contain more of available land, a richer soil, and an incomparably better climate, than the British islands themselves. The first and greatest authority that we rely upon is that of Captain Cook, the first European that ever landed upon these islands. They were seen by Abel Jansen Tasman, in the year 1642; but he never landed, and he supposed them to form part of a great southern continent. Cook not only proved that they were islands, by circumnavigating them, and by discovering the strait which divides the two largest of them, but he surveyed the coasts with such remarkable accuracy that scarcely anything in that way remains to be done. A French navigator bears the following testimony to the excellency of
[Image of page 15]
Cook's charts: "I compared with care," says M. Crozet, "the chart which I had drawn of the portion which we ran along of the coast of New Zealand with that which was taken by Captain Cook and his officers; I found it to possess an accuracy and a minuteness which astonished me beyond all expression. I doubt whether our own coasts of France have been delineated with more precision." All the writers on New Zealand, --particularly Mr Yate of the Church of England mission, who has resided on the island upwards of ten years, confirm the statements of Cook, as far as they extend. Mr Yate says, "many subsequent visitors, possessing superior advantages, though more diffuse in their details, are by no means more correct." Nothing will surprise an ordinary reader more than the mass of information at command, upon a subject hitherto so much neglected as these islands. In Cook we see nothing but facts, embodied in grave, simple, and philosophical language, indicating, however, the great idea he had formed of the capability of these countries; but in his mode of expressing himself he is singular; all the other writers appear unable to control their feelings, when describing the aspect of the country. Yate says, that "nothing can exceed the rich and varied scenery-- every thing which naturally strikes the eye is beautiful and sublime." He speaks with enthusiasm of the "cloud-girt or snow-capped mountains, --some of them 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, and their whole appearance strikingly rich and grand; and all covered with forest-timber, of the most enormous size and the most useful kind." The last piece of information is more to our purpose than that relating to the magnificence or loveliness of the scenery, for which another writer, --Augustus Earle, --himself an artist, --invokes "the pencils of a Salvator Rosa and a Claud Lorraine." It is more, we say, to our purpose to show that these mountains are composed
[Image of page 16]
in great measure of primitive rock, and, there is every reason to suppose, contain useful minerals; that the timber is available for most purposes, and that the spars are used in the British navy as substitutes for those of Riga, with which they bear no mean comparison. These Alpine ranges give rise to a greater number of streams and waterfalls than appear to exist on the same extent of surface in any other country so near to the tropics, the consequence of which is a perennial vegetation on the most gigantic scale. It is obvious from the map that the basis, or rather the backbone, of the islands is a chain of mountains running the whole length, through the middle of the southern island, and continuing, in the same direction, through the northern island, to its south-eastern extremity. There are some great out-liers and some subordinate ranges of hills, --the beauty and value of which consist in their being covered with this immense timber, up to the verge of perpetual snow. Mount Egmont and one or two others are volcanos in an active state. Captain Cook speaks of two slight shocks of earthquake, when he visited those parts of the world; but none are included in the experience of other Europeans, that we are aware of, or in the known traditions of the inhabitants. Our geological information is at present very defective; consequently, in stating that the missionaries have discovered "iron stone in abundance, also quarries of granite, specimens of quartz, carbonate of lime, fine marbles, sulphuret of iron," &c., &c., we must leave such inferences to be drawn by scientific men, as result from the fact that there is a range of mountains, composed principally of granite, 800 miles long, and from ten to fifteen thousand feet high. The entrance into the Straits of Cook, with Mount Egmont in the horizon, is compared by voyagers to the Bay of Naples. The Bay of Islands is, however, the more favourite resort. The mountains are less elevated, the foliage more
[Image of page 17]
variegated in hue, and the climate is described as genial and invigorating in the highest degree; this arises partly from the lower latitude, and partly from the great mountain-range not extending in that direction. It is to be hoped that coal will be found, --not for ordinary purposes, for which the boundless forests will answer, --but for the use of steam engines. Should not that be the case, the neighbouring shores of Australia will furnish it in unlimited quantity.
2. --RIVERS.
The rivers do not--in tact it is impossible, from the nature of the country, that they should--run to any great length or depth; but they are very numerous. Mr. Yate says, "the River Thames, the mouth of which lies about a hundred miles from the head of the Bay of Islands, is a splendid run of water, which from Aotea, or Barrier Islands, as far as Kopu, --a native fortification just within the narrows, --is navigable for vessels of 130 tons burden." The Knowsley river, laid down in recent charts, empties itself into Foveaux' Strait, and is said to be navigable for large ships.
The waterfalls, as affording mechanical power in all parts of the country, are very important. As specimens, we may refer to the falls of the Kerikeri. "The river rolls over a rock, whose perpendicular height is about ninety feet." "The Waianiwaniwa, a mountain stream, passes swiftly through a deep ravine, for nearly the space of a mile, when it joins another stream, and rolls peaceably on for a few hundred yards; the united streams then fall over another rock about thirty feet high, and then, rushing on to the Kerikeri settlement, the river again falls ten feet, and then mingles with the ocean." "The Wairoa, another stream, though not so considerable, falls at least sixty feet;"--the Hararu, though not a perpendicular
[Image of page 18]
fall, is a greater current of water than the preceding; it is rather a succession of rapids, which is the case with the Hokianga and a great many others. All these are in the northern island, and are described by Mr Yate. Captain Cook speaks of "very fine fresh water streams emptying themselves into the bays at the southern extremity of the southern islands, particularly at Dusky Bay." The mountain torrents, which are perpetually supplied by the melted snow, and the waterfalls, are in the midst of the forests to which we have alluded. The mouths of these rivers generally form excellent harbours.
3. --HARBOURS.
There are other harbours formed by small islands, &c., and it will be apparent, from an inspection of Cook's chart, in which soundings are given, that, for the size of it, no country possesses finer harbours, in greater number, or better situated. "They are now generally known from the vast number of whaling and other vessels which visit all parts of the coast for timber and flax, and for supplies of fresh provisions." Commencing to the northward, the harbour of Wangaroa, lying twenty-five miles to the north-east of the Bay of Islands, is beautiful, romantic, and capacious, --capable of containing the largest fleet, and of obtaining good anchorage, in from five to eleven fathoms, completely sheltered from the sea and all winds." "The Bay of Islands--properly so called from the number of islands with which it is studded --is a remarkably fine and capacious harbour, affording security for an almost unlimited number of vessels, in all weathers, and at all seasons of the year. The value of this harbour is enhanced, from the perfect ease and safety with which vessels are able to enter it. "Shouraki Bay, or the Frith of the Thames, affords excellent shelter and anchorage, and is naviga-
[Image of page 19]
ble for a considerable distance; but we have not very accurate information as to the particular anchorages, or as to the navigation of the river; but we are assured by Mr Yate, on the authority of nautical men, "that it is both safe and commodious." The "Bay of Plenty" (of the charts) may be considered an immense roadstead, affording anchorage, to a great extent, for the purpose of shipping produce, --having also the advantage of several bays and harbours, which afford shelter to small vessels. Proceeding to the south, Poverty Bay--the first place where Cook landed, accompanied by Banks and Solander, on the evening of Sunday, October 8, 1769, a day for ever memorable in the history of these islands--is considered by that great navigator to be a safe anchorage. Hawkes' Bay is capacious, and affords shelter from the prevalent winds. Port Nicholson, at the southern extremity of the northern island, in Cook's Strait, is little inferior to the Bay of Islands. The harbour and bays on the western side of the south island are numerous; but, owing to the prevalence of the westerly winds, have not been much frequented, except that of Hokianga, which, on account of its bar, is only accessible to vessels of light burden, but from its contiguity to the lake Maupero, abounding in fish, to the Bay of Islands, and to the harbour of Wangaroa, has already become important.
Amongst the numerous harbours in Cook's Strait, on the southern island, Queen Charlotte's Sound, according to our present information, is that which holds out the greatest advantages; a proof of which we have in the frequent returns to it of a discoverer whose judgment, in the selection of harbours, and in the capabilities of countries, stands pre-eminent. There is also to be found good and safe anchorage in Cloudy and Admiralty Bays. With respect to the south-east side of the south island little is positively Known. Cook describes the appearance of a fine har-
[Image of page 20]
bour on a part of the coast which he calls "Lookers-on," and about sixty miles south-west Cape Campbell. An excellent harbour, Akaroa, is laid down in Banks' Peninsula, 100 miles farther to the southward, in the neighbourhood of a fertile country; the peninsula being separated from the main by a very narrow isthmus. Port Otago, in the vicinity of Cape Saunders, also appears a good harbour, but has a bar. Little is known of the estuary of the Knowsley river, which, by accounts, forms lagoons, which are said to be navigable. After rounding West Cape we find an anchorage, frequented by Captain Cook called Dusky Bay, protected by Resolution Island; and described by that discoverer as secure and convenient, with a good supply of water, and the land in its neighbourhood fertile. From Dusky Bay to Cape Farewell, we have no information of importance to be relied upom; great part of the coast remaining still unex-
4.--CLIMATE AND SOIL.
"The climate of New Zealand is decidedly temperate, neither exposed to scorching heats in summer nor to blasting frosts in winter; though the summer is warm and the winter cold. It is no doubt salubrious and congenial to European constitutions. North of the Thames snows are unknown, and frosts are off the ground by nine o'clock in the morning." "The spring and autumn are delightfully temperate, but subject to showers from the W. S. W. Indeed, however fine the summer may be, we are frequently visited by refreshing rains, which give a peculiar richness to the vegetation." So far Mr Yate. Augustus Earle says, "Although we were situated in the same latitude as Sydney, we found the climate of New Zealand infinitely superior. Moderate heats and beautifully clear skies succeeded each other every day. We were
[Image of page 21]
quite free from those oppressive feverish heats which invariably prevail in the middle of the day at Sydney, and from those hot pestilential winds which are the terror of the inhabitants of New South Wales; nor were we subject to those long droughts, which are often the ruin of the Australian farmer. The temperature here was neither too hot nor too cold, neither too wet nor too dry." Mr. Cruise, in his "Ten Months' Residence in New Zealand," which period included the whole of the winter season, but neither of the two finest months in the year, namely, January and February, corresponding to July and August with us, and who kept a record of the indications of the thermometer, informs us that the lowest degree of heat during his residence in the islands, (though he does not inform us at what hour of the day the observations were made,) was 40°, and that only on three days-the highest was 78°; another writer informs us that the annual range is from 40° to 80°. Captain Cook says, that at Queen Charlotte's Sound "the agreeable temperature of the climate contributes, no doubt, to the uncommon strength of the vegetation; -- in February--the height of summer--the thermometer did not rise higher than 68°, in June, corresponding to our December, it never sunk below 48°, and the trees at that time retained their verdure as if in the summer season; so that I believe their foliage is never shed, till pushed off by the succeeding leaves in spring." "The quality of this soil," he adds, "is best indicated by the luxuriant growth of its productions; --superior to any thing that imagination can conceive, and affording an august prospect." The best evidence is afforded in the vigour and plenitude of all animal and vegetable life. All the productions of the south of Europe flourish; and, even in the extreme south, nearest to the pole, at Dusky Bay, Captain Cook observed that various roots and herbs which he had planted there, in a former voyage,
[Image of page 22]
were still thriving and propagating themselves, although they would certainly have perished, if they had been exposed in a similar way in England. At Dusky Bay the climate is so mild, that "a great number of aromatic trees and shrubs, mostly of the myrtle kind, were found growing down to the water's edge." Now, it is well known that the myrtle grows only in a very few, and never thrives in any places in the south of England. The whole of the evidence goes to prove that the coldest parts in New Zealand are as mild as Devonshire. The latitude of Queen Charlotte's Sound is about the same as that of Oporto, Madrid, Naples, and Constantinople; but as comparisons between places on opposite sides of the equator are often fallacious, we think it better to rely upon experience, which we have already quoted. Mr. Yate says, that "vegetation is scarcely, if ever, suspended," and that "most of the trees are evergreen. The native grasses flourish throughout the year." In speaking of the climate, we should have remarked that there are no diseases peculiar to the country; in fact, none of any importance but such as have been introduced by the Europeans. Cook says, "as there is no source of disease cither critical or chronic, but intemperance and inactivity, these people enjoy perfect and uninterrupted health, --we never saw a single person among them who appeared to have any bodily complaint." Their wounds healed with an astonishing facility; and "a further proof that human nature is here untainted with disease, is the great number of old men that we saw, many of whom, by the loss of their hair and teeth, appeared to be very ancient, yet none of them were decrepit; and, though not equal to the young in muscular strength, were not a whit behind them in cheerfulness and vivacity. Compare this with what Mr. Yate says of them, when half a century of European intercourse had done its usual work upon them: "There are
[Image of page 23]
comparatively but few old people in New Zealand; scarcely any who have much exceeded fifty years of age, --the population in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands has evidently appeared to be on the decline."
The soil is spoken of by all the writers in the most favourable terms, from Captain Cook downwards. After describing the fertility of many particular spots, he sums up his account, by saying that "the hills and mountains are covered with wood, and every valley has a rivulet of water; the soil in these valleys, and in the plains, of which there are many that are not overgrown with wood, is in general light but fertile; and, in the opinion of Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, as well as of every other gentleman on board, every kind of European grain, plant, and fruit, would flourish here in the utmost luxuriance; from the vegetables that we found here, there is reason to conclude that the winters are milder than those in England, and we found the summer not hotter, though it was more equally warm; so that if this country should be settled by people from Europe, they would, with a little industry, be very soon supplied not only with the necessaries but the luxuries of life in great abundance."
Mr. Yate says, "we have here almost every variety of soil. Large tracts of good land, available for the cultivation of wheat, barley, maze, beans, pease, &c., with extensive valleys of rich alluvial soil, deposited from the hills and mountains, and covered with the richest vegetation, which it supports summer and winter. We have also a deep, rank, vegetable mould, with a stiff marly subsoil, capable of being slaked or pulverised with the ashes of the fern. All English grasses flourish well, but the white clover never seeds; and, where the fern has been destroyed, a strong native grass, something of the nature of the canary grass, grows in its place, and effectually prevents the fern from springing up again. Every diversity of Euro-
[Image of page 24]
pean fruit and vegetable flourishes in New Zealand." Mr. Yate then enumerates all the most important productions of Europe which are raised in New Zealand, and adds, "where the rich alluvial valleys are cultivated, the labourer receives an ample harvest as the reward of his labour." Mr. Nicholas says "the lands in this country, which are at present overrun with fern, might be brought to produce grasses of every description; were the experiment tried, I doubt not but it would prove invariably successful, and that the islands in general would afford as fine pasturage for sheep and cattle as any part of the known world." The experiment has been successfully tried by the missionaries. Augustus Earle says, "in whatever direction I travelled, the soil appeared to be fat and rich, and also well watered. From every part of it which the natives have cultivated the produce has been immense. Here, where the finest samples of the human race are to be found, the largest and finest timber grows, and every vegetable yet planted thrives, the introduction of European grasses, fruits, &c., is a desideratum. Were this done, in a very short time farms would be sought after here more eagerly than they now are in New South Wales. All the fruits and plants introduced by the missionaries have succeeded wonderfully. Peaches and water-melons were now in full season; the natives brought baskets full of them to my door every day, which they exchanged with us for the merest trifles, such as a fish-hook or a button. Indian corn was very abundant, but the natives had no means of grinding it." Mr. Earle saw a hundred head of fat cattle at a missionary station, and was surprised to find, "that, although they never tasted anything but fern, they gave as good milk, and were in as healthy a condition, as when they grazed on the rich grasses of Lincolnshire." Mr. Yate says, in another place, "the forest land is peculiarly rich; indeed, were it not so, it would be utterly impossible
[Image of page 25]
for it to support the immense vegetation constantly going on. In spring and summer, and autumn and winter, there is no visible change in the appearance of the woods; they are as beautiful in the depth of winter as in the height of summer; leaves no sooner fall to the ground than others directly assume their station; no branch withers from its trunk, but another, and a more vigorous one puts out in its stead. The fairest and most tender shrubs shrink not from the southern blast, nor faint beneath the rays of the sun, when he rides highest in the heavens." Though the greater part of the country was covered with timber, Captain Cook observed an extensive tract of open country, "more like our high downs in England," between Hawkes' Bay and Queen Charlotte,s Sound.
It maybe briefly mentioned here, that "the only animals indigenous to the country are the field-rat and a harmless lizard; there are no snakes, nor any venomous creatures of any description, large or small."
1. --NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.
The two most important of these are timber and flax. Of the former it would be impossible to enumerate one-twentieth part of the varieties. They are found to be of first-rate quality, and our own ships of the line are now furnished with spars procured from New Zealand. We will give as an example the Courie. Mr. Yate says, "It grows in some of the forests from eighty-five to ninety-five feet high, without a branch. The trunk of the tree is of immense girth, being sometimes twelve feet in diameter; and, when the bark and sap are removed, the circumference of the solid heart of the log is thirty-three feet, being a diameter of eleven feet. It will scarcely be believed by an English timber-merchant, that I have measured a courie tree whose circumference was forty feet eleven inches, perfectly sound
[Image of page 26]
throughout, the gum oozing out of it, where the bark was wounded, as though it were a plant of only a few years' growth. Its top is crowned with the most splendid foliage, and its immense height raises its head above the other trees of the forest. The wood is very light in its colour, is beautifully grained, planes up smooth, and otherwise works well. It has many valuable properties which we cannot now enumerate. There is also the kohukohe, a fine, handsome tree, with a trunk free of branches to the height of forty feet, and a diameter of three feet, producing a fine-grained, red wood, closer than the cedar, and rather heavier than that wood. Its bark is clear, it splits freely, and will no doubt answer for all common household furniture." There is a great number more, described in a similar way, by Mr. Yate and others; but we shall only mention one more--the rata. "This is a fine and useful tree, producing a heavy, close-grained, durable, red wood, capable of being turned to almost any purpose of household work, and valuable to the ship-builder, as he may find its branches curved to his hand, and requiring but little of the labour of the axe to form it to his purpose. It is found in perfection, of all sizes and lengths, from twenty to seventy feet high, and from eighteen inches to seven feet in diameter." There is a kind of spruce-tree, of which Captain Cook made beer; also a tea-tree (as it is called) which forms a substitute for China-tea; wild celery, a great variety of herbs, and superb shrubs and flowers at present unknown in Europe. As there are many deciduous trees, and gigantic ferns of a vivid green colour, the forests have not the brown and monotonous hue complained of in Australia. Mr. Savage informs us, that "they have two crops of potatoes in the year," and that he "has heard that they never fail from accidental causes."
Flax is another staple of the country; it grows wild in all parts, and appears to be indigenous and inex-
[Image of page 27]
haustible. It is of a good quality, and never fails in the European market, except from the improper manner in which it is dressed by the natives, who have no machinery, and satisfy themselves with separating the fibres of the vegetable, and rolling them upon their thigh with the hands. If proper machinery were introduced, there can be little doubt that persons living upon the spot, and superintending their own establishments, would produce a more marketable commodity. It is now introduced into the British navy, and experience has proved it to be very serviceable. "The banks of the Thames are remarkably fertile; thousands of acres of the finest flax flourish there undisturbed." But this important article of commerce is now becoming so well known, even in England, that it is unnecessary to quote more authorities in its favour. Mr. Yate says, "the flax-trade, on the present system, cannot last long. The natives wants are supplied, and idleness will prevail over their desire for luxury. Could the flax be properly prepared, it would be an almost incalculable source of riches to those engaged in it." The same water-power applicable to saw-mills would propel the machinery necessary for dressing and spinning the flax.
From the accounts given by Captain Cook, and reiterated by all subsequent writers, every part of the coast, and all the inland waters, abound with excellent fish. "The ship," says Cook, "seldom anchored in any station, or with a light gale past any place, that did not afford us enough, with hook and line, to serve the whole ship's company, especially to the southward. Where we lay at anchor, the boats, with hook and line, near the rocks, could take fish in any quantity, and the seine seldom failed of producing a still more ample supply; so that, both times when we anchored in Cook's Strait, every mess in the ship, that was not careless and improvident, salted as much as lasted many weeks after they went to sea.
[Image of page 28]
Of this article the variety was equal to the plenty." He then goes on to enumerate mackerel, lobsters, oysters, &c., including nearly all the most delicate fish of Europe, and a great many which he had never seen or heard of before. The lakes produce conger eels, of an enormous size and excellent flavour, which the natives dry and preserve in an ingenious manner. Lastly, the Bay of Islands is the head-quarters of the whale fishery in the South Sea. The whales resort to the coast of New Zealand for the purpose of calving, and are captured in great numbers. Mr. Nicholas speaks in terms of admiration of the vast quantity and endless variety of fish, swarming in the waters of New Zealand. New Zealand can boast of a great variety of birds, --pigeons of great size and fine flavour, wild ducks, parrots, parroquets, &c., &c. The singing birds are much admired. "Nothing," says Mr. Yate, "can possibly exceed the exquisiteness of a morning concert, as performed in the ample woods of these islands. One of the greatest treats I enjoy is to be awakened in my tent by the loud and lovely voices of the only musicians I have met with since I left the lark and the nightingale behind us in England. Their song is too sweet to be of long continuance; at the first dawn of day it commences, and gradually heightens as the light increases: but no sooner does the sun appear, gilding the mountains with his beams, than the performers, one after another, retire, and all the lovely sounds die away into profound silence." Captain Cook says, "The ship lay at the distance of somewhat less than a quarter of a mile from the shore (in Queen Charlotte's Sound,) and in the morning we were awakened by the singing of the birds; the number was incredible, and they seemed to strain their throats in emulation of each other. This wild melody was infinitely superior to any that we had ever heard of the same kind; it seemed to be like small bells most exquisitely tuned, and perhaps the
[Image of page 29]
distance, and the water between, might be no small advantage to the sound. Upon inquiry we found that the birds here always began to sing about two hours after midnight, and continuing their music till sunrise, were, like our nightingales, silent the rest of the day." The mocking-bird is very extraordinary in its powers of imitation, --"there is not a note of any bird of the woods but what it exactly imitates, and when confined in a cage, it learns, with great ease and correctness, to speak long sentences. It imitates dogs, cats, turkeys, geese, and in fact every sound which is repeated a few times in its hearing." "The organ bird," says Mr Nicholas, "is, I believe, peculiar to New Zealand. The notes of the nightingale, however exquisite, are, in my opinion, much inferior to the song of this bird, and I never thought before that either the grove or forest could boast of such a vocal treasure."
We have now quoted all that we think necessary to give a fair idea of the natural productions of New Zealand. We proceed to the more important subject of the
2.--NATIVE INHABITANTS.
The number of the inhabitants is very small, quite insignificant in proportion to the immense fertile territory they possess. This may arise in some degree from their want of animals, whether wild or domesticated. Before the arrival of Europeans among them, they had no species of animal, except a small, harmless, and beautiful lizard, which they regard with a superstitious horror. The rat and the dog, which some consider indigenous, the natives themselves affirm to have been introduced within the memory of man. It is in this way that Captain Cook accounted for the undoubted prevalence of cannibalism among them. He supposed that it was a dreadful manifestation of one of the physical instincts of man, --and it
[Image of page 30]
proceeded from a natural and irresistible desire to taste animal food. It may be so; but, if our limits permitted, we should endeavour to show that it has been a propensity characteristic of that great race of men, scattered over the Indian Archipelago, Madagascar, the South Sea Islands, and probably the American continent, to which the New Zealanders belong, and of which they present the noblest type. Their ignorance of agriculture and of the use of metals is another check to population. There is little regular culture undertaken by the aborigines, except those few in the vicinity of the missionary settlements, and of the harbours frequented by Europeans. The quantity of land brought under cultivation is a mere nothing, in comparison with the boundless primeval forests, whose magnificent timber has been thriving undisturbed, and enriching the soil with its decomposed vegetable matter, for thousands of years, and with those undulating downs and savannahs, where the flax grows wild on millions of acres, --a fact most important with a view to colonization. We have ascertained from a careful perusal of all that has been written on the subject, and from inquiry among those that have visited the country, that in the southern island there is no agriculture or appropriation of lands to interfere with colonization, and that in the northern island, where the missionaries are, the quantity cannot amount to more than a very few thousand acres. The inhabitants live almost entirely upon fish, birds, roots, and the uncultivated productions of the earth. The fisheries alone, if properly conducted, would support five times the actual population. The aborigines are in fact no charge upon the soil.
Their superstition is very fatal to the increase of numbers, --for example, no sick person is allowed to remain within their cabins. The accouchement of the most delicate females must take place out of doors, --a patient seized with inflammation of the lungs,
[Image of page 31]
rheumatism, or any other disease, remains in the open air, day and night, even in the rainy season. No wonder then that their numbers are kept down by disease. Augustus Earle says, "It seems unaccountable that the natives of an atmosphere so dry as this is, in a country in which there is no marshy bogs, and where, though there is an abundance of water, it is generally seen in clear and sparkling rills rushing down from the mountains into the rivers, should be subject to so fatal a disease as consumption. The only cause to which I can attribute such an affliction, is their indifference to lying out all night, exposed to every change of weather, --to cold and rain--which, in young and tender constitutions, must produce the most pernicious consequences. If some few are rendered hardy and robust by this process, many no doubt are killed by it. I endeavoured to impress on the minds of all my female friends the great danger of thus exposing themselves to cold; but they only laughed at my precautions, and said, 'If Atua (God) wished it, so it must be; they could not strive with the Great Spirit.'"
Polygamy among the chieftains tends to diminish the population, --to this we may add suicide, which is often practised by females under the influence of jealousy, and is considered the duty of the head wife when the husband dies. Lastly, we must adduce the spirit of revenge incident to all savage nations, and the incessant wars in which they are continually involved by their minute subdivisions into small tribes, without any supreme government, law, or bond of federation. Labour and skill are combined, in a very small degree, with themselves and with each other; and the consequence is, that the population of all the islands does not, at the most extravagant estimate, exceed half a million. The race of people bears no affinity to that of the neighbouring continent of Australia, which appears to be identical with the oriental
[Image of page 32]
or Papuan negro. The New Zealander is physically so superior to the Australian, that he regards him with the same contempt that most Europeans do the negro. Augustus Earle says, "the natives of Australia seem of the lowest grade, the last link in the great chain of existence which unites man with the monkey. Their limbs are long, thin and flat, with large bony knees and elbows, a projecting forehead and pot-belly. The mind, too, seems adapted to this mean configuration; they have neither energy, enterprise, nor industry, and their curiosity can scarcely be excited. A few exceptions may be met with, these are their general characteristics; --while the natives of the latter island are 'cast in beauty's perfect mould.' The children are so fine and powerfully made, that each might serve as a model for an 'infant Hercules;' nothing can exceed the graceful and athletic form of the men, or the rounded limbs of their young women. These possess eyes beautiful and eloquent, and a profusion of long, silky, curling hair; while the intellect of both sexes seems of a superior order. All appear eager for improvement, full of energy, and indefatigably industrious." Mr Nicholson says, in describing a chieftain, "there was an easy dignity in the manners of this man, and I could not behold without admiration the graceful elegance of his deportment, and the appropriate accordance of his action. Holding the pattoo pattoo in his hand, he walked up and down along the margin of the river with a firm and manly step, arrayed in a plain mat, which, being tied over his right shoulder, descended, with a kind of Roman negligence, down to his ancles, and, to the mind of a classical beholder, might well represent the toga, while his towering stature and perfect symmetry gave even more than Roman dignity to the illusion." In another place he says, "Duaterra's two sisters were the most remarkable among these, one of whom was distinguished for her uncommon beauty, and the
[Image of page 33]
other for the facetious vivacity of her manners. The former appeared about seventeen, and would have been deemed, even in England, where there are so many rivals for the palm of beauty, a candidate of the strongest pretensions. Her regular features, soft and prepossessing, displayed an engaging delicacy, the effect of which was heightened by the mild lustre of her eye; and her cheek, lightly tinged with the roseate hue of health, needed not the extraneous embellishment of paint, to which some of our finest belles are so fond of resorting. In her figure she was slender and graceful, while the artless simplicity of her manners gave additional interest to her charms." 1
Lieutenant Breton says, "they are a fine race of people, being well formed, athletic, and active." He then gives some extraordinary instances of their activity and strength while employed as sailors on board of English vessels. Mr Savage says, "The natives are of a very superior order, both in point of personal appearance and intellectual endowments. The men are usually from five feet eight inches to six feet in height, well-proportioned, and exhibit evident marks of great strength. The colour of the natives, taken as a mean, resembles that of an European gipsy; but there is a considerable difference in the shades, varying between a dark chestnut and the light agreeable tinge of an English brunette."
But it is needless to accumulate evidence, the only value of which is to prove that you have a race of aborigines calculated, by intermarriage with Europeans, to form the basis of a great nation; there is not, as there is in the United States between the American and the negro, any physical repugnance to the complete amalgamation of all classes of settlers, should a colony be founded there, with the native population, as fast as they become civilized, for which
[Image of page 34]
they manifest an extraordinary aptitude and desire. One point in their character is very satisfactory, --an invincible dislike to ardent spirits, and a general habit of temperance and sobriety. Captain Cook bears testimony to their modesty, by which he says they are distinguished from all other inhabitants of the South Seas. They are as ardent in friendship and love as they are cruel in their jealousy, hatred, and revenge. There is a natural politeness and grandeur in their deportment, a yearning after poetry, music, and the fine arts, a wit and eloquence, that remind us, in reading all the accounts of them, and in conversing with those who have resided among them, of the Greeks of Homer. Their language is rich and sonorous, abounding in metaphysical distinctions, and they uphold its purity most tenaciously, although they had no knowledge of writing until the missionaries reduced their dialect to a grammatical form. It is radically the same with that of Tahiti, and of the kindred nations. They have an abundance of poetry, of a lyrical kind, of which we have seen many specimens, in a metre which seems regulated by a regard to quantity, as in Greek and Latin. They are passionately fond of music. Mr. Nicholas speaks of "a plaintive and melodious air, which seemed not unlike some of our sacred music, in many of its turns, as it forcibly reminded me of the chaunting in our cathedrals." They excel in carving, of which their war canoes, carrying 100 men, are specimens--they display their natural talents also in their pursuit of astronomy. Mr. Nicholas assures us that "they remain awake during the greater part of the night in the summer season, watching the motions of the heavens, and making inquiries concerning the time when such a star will appear. They have given names to each of them, and divided them into constellations, and have, likewise, connected with them some curious traditions, which they hold in superstitious veneration. If the star they look for
[Image of page 35]
does not appear at the time it is expected to be seen, they become extremely solicitous about the cause of its absence, and immediately relate the traditions which they have received from the priests concerning it." Baron Hugel, a distinguished botanist, who visited the island, affirms, as do the missionaries, that there is not, in the northern island at least, a single tree, vegetable, or even weed, a fish, or a bird, for which the natives have not a name; and that those names are universally known. Baron Hugel was at first incredulous about this; he thought that, with a ready wit, they invented names; but, on questioning other individuals in distant places, he found them always to agree.
The strength of their understanding is shown in nothing more than in their total freedom from idolatry. Mr. Yate, the Church missionary, bears the most decisive testimony to this, and assures us that they have many just and admirable notions of God, quite conformable to the Scriptures. They call him Atua, and believe that he is a spirit infinite and eternal, who governs the world by his providence. They believe in the existence of the soul, and in its immortality, and upon the whole there has never been found a people who, whether from traditions or by force of reasoning, have made a nearer approach to the Christian religion. They have interesting traditions concerning the Creation and the Deluge. For example, they say that "the first woman was formed of one of the ribs of a man, and they call her name Heevee; an extraordinary coincidence. They say also that the first man was created by three gods, of whom Toopoonah, or the grandfather, was the greatest. They have many traditions about the flood, and the escape of one family only, in a canoe. The dove, likewise, is represented by them as instrumental in raising New Zealand from the bottom of the sea. What is very singular, they baptize their children on the eighth day, when they name them. This is done by the priest,
[Image of page 36]
who, as they have no idolatry, is more of a teacher than a priest. They believe also in the existence of the devil, whom they call Wiro, and to whom they give, as Mr. Yate informs us, the same attributes as are assigned in the Scriptures to the enemy of mankind.
With this foundation to begin upon, it is not wonderful that the missionaries have met with great success. The recent publications of the Church Missionary Society, attested by many respectable eyewitnesses, have satisfied us that the missionaries have accomplished a great revolution in New Zealand, and have prepared the way for an enlightened Christian colony that would protect them, sympathize with them, and co-operate with them in their labours. These indefatigable men have established many Christian churches, have taught their converts agriculture and the mechanical arts, and have organized schools for both sexes, in which several thousands have been taught to read, and have acquired the elements of European knowledge. Already they have shown their capacity for improvement, not only in examining and adopting a new religion, but likewise in carrying their freedom of inquiry so far as occasionally to dispute the interpretation of the Scriptures given by the missionaries, who seem alarmed at the progress of a species of non-conformity. We mention these things, not with a view to theological inquiry, but in order to prove the capacity of the New Zealanders, as well as their desire for improvement. Their eagerness. to be taught anything and everything, is attested by every writer, and by all the voyagers that have held intercourse with them. Many of them visit Sydney, and even London, in the South Sea whalers. Dr. Lang assures us, that "the best helmsman, on board a vessel by which he once returned to England, was Toki, a New Zealander." "Nothing," says Dr. Lang, "could divert his attention from the compass, or the sails, and the sea; and whenever I saw him at the
[Image of page 37]
helm, especially in tempestuous weather at night, I could not help regarding it as a most interesting and a most hopeful circumstance in the history of man, that a British vessel of 400 tons, containing a valuable cargo and many souls of Europeans, should be steered across the boundless Pacific, in the midst of storm and darkness, by a poor New Zealander, whose fathers had, from time immemorial, been eaters of men."
"The New Zealanders," says Mr. Yate, "are by no means suspicious of foreigners. It is true they dislike the French, and have so ever since the destruction of Captain Marion, in the Bay of Islands; but the English and Americans, notwithstanding the many injuries they have inflicted on the natives, are always cordially welcomed, and in most instances sought after and encouraged. I have known a thousand Europeans and Americans in the Bay of Islands at one time; it was the case in March, 1834," (the same fact we have stated already on the authority of another eye-witness, Augustus Earle,) "yet no jealousy was expressed by the natives that, from their numbers, they intended to take possession of the island, or that they wished to do so. I believe a severe struggle would ensue before they would allow any force to take possession of their soil, or of any portion of it, without what they deemed an equivalent.
Large purchases of land have been made by the missionaries, at various times, and have been held sacred by the natives. The price appears to have been a few axes, or other implements of industry, articles of dress, &c. Mr Cruise describes a chieftain as offering to sell a large and fertile island for a single hatchet. Mr. Nicholas informs us that he was present when the hereditary chieftain of Motooroa, a large and fertile island, offered to sell it for two muskets. No doubt he probably calculated on retaining the muskets and expelling the intruders from his land;
[Image of page 38]
but it is quite certain that they are willing to dispose of their land, uncultivated and uninclosed land, at a price which, to us, would be nominal. At the same time we must always religiously, that is, justly and generously, respect the primary and inalienable right of the aborigines to a subsistence out of the soil on which they were born. No plan of colonization ought to be encouraged, or even tolerated, that does not begin with the principle of upholding the rights and improving the conditions of the aborigines.
"We spoke frequently," says Mr. A. Earle, "to our friend George, as well as to several others of their powerful chieftains, respecting the erection of a small fort, with a British garrison, and of permanently hoisting the English flag. They always expressed the utmost delight at the idea; and from all I have seen of them I feel convinced it would prove a most politic measure. George (who had visited Port Jackson) said, "This country is finer than Port Jackson; yet the English go and settle there. Our people are much better than the black natives of New South Wales; and yet you English live amongst them in preference to us." This is curious and important. The most powerful chieftains of New Zealand consider it a personal insult that we settle among the Australian negroes rather than amongst them. They are offended that we do not colonise their country; and with good reason, for they see the substantial benefits that would accrue to them from the establishment of our laws, and the rest of our civilization, and that it is no longer a question whether Englishmen shall come into their country, but whether they shall do so, under the sanction and control of a proper authority, acting with strict impartiality between both parties, or whether they shall come with gunpowder, brandy, and debauchery, to corrupt their wives and daughters, plunder their potatoe grounds, and set all the neighbouring tribes at variance; whilst the unhappy natives,
[Image of page 39]
if impelled by the irregular impulses of their nature to seek for justice in the form of revenge, are held up to the execration of mankind as murderers, and as proper objects of retaliation. It needs no evidence to convince us that, where a thousand English sailors can be ashore, among such a people as we have described, without laws, government, or police, or the force of English public opinion to control them, scenes of disorder and licentiousness will occur, that may be expected sooner or later to end in sanguinary affrays between them and the natives. The missionaries appear to have brought down upon them the hostility of the lawless settlers by their very proper discountenance of such proceedings. Lieutenant Breton, who does not profess to be actuated by any motives of a religious kind, has vented an indignation honourable to his feelings in powerful language. After alluding to the sailors, and to the runaway convicts who flock thither in great numbers, as well as men who have deserted from vessels, and are little, if at all better than the convicts, he says, "it may easily be conceived how much immorality must be imbibed from a set of convicted felons, who are far greater savages than the islanders themselves, although the last are pagans and cannibals." He then goes on to relate acts of loathsome barbarity perpetrated on females in his own presence. We think it justice to the American character to add, that a captain in that service having witnessed one of these acts of cruelty, very properly took the law into his own hands, and inflicted upon our countryman a sound flogging. A British agent was sometime ago appointed to reside at the Bay of Islands; but as he has no kind of authority, no physical means of enforcing his opinion, whatever it may be, the inefficiency of that office may be seen, without any evidence being adduced, by estimating the probable power of mere official advice upon the population of a seaport town in England.
[Image of page 40]
Many vessels abstain from touching at New Zealand, even when desirous of so doing, from fear of being involved in some scandalous affair. "Nothing," say all the authorities, "is wanting to make New Zealand one of the greatest countries in the world but a good government."
There is another evil among the natives which can only--but very easily--be removed by the influence of an enlightened government, and that is slavery. The people are divided into three classes--the Cookies, or slaves; the Rungateedas, or middle class; and the Areekees, i. e. the chieftains. The Rungateedas are bound to serve the Areekees only in war; but the Cookies are held in complete slavery by the combination of the other two orders. Of the prisoners taken in war all those who are not eaten are reduced to the condition of slaves. We are pleased to learn from the missionaries that there is no difficulty in redeeming these unfortunate beings, (who are treated with horrible cruelty,) by the payment of a mere trifle. The women are often ill-used; and, in a word, without any impeachment of their natural character, --notwithstanding their correct opinions and feelings on many points, --the natives of this country habitually perpetrate all the crimes, and suffer all the injuries, in turn, which would be expected to flow from the total absence of laws and a central government. In vain we charge them with atrocious crimes. What are Englishmen? If we were required to transfer to our pages, from the volumes before us, all the villanies perpetrated by English captains and others on the unfortunate New Zealanders, instead of a pamphlet we should produce a book larger, more appalling, and more disgraceful to the national character, than any single volume of the Newgate Calendar.
We have only to say further that all the labour in these islands is undoubtedly at the command of those Europeans who should establish in them just laws and
[Image of page 41]
government, and be willing to treat the natives with liberality. The missionaries have demonstrated this; they have shown that the natives have an inherent curiosity and industry, which lead them to work under Europeans voluntarily for their own amusement and improvement. To show their great thirst for knowledge, we might quote the accounts of their thronging round the missionary mechanics with expressions of amazement and delight, when they saw the wonders of the anvil, and the forge, the saw, the lever, and the axe, and thus explained the idolatry with which the ancients commemorated the authors of those now common, but once novel, and always admirable inventions. One chieftain burst into tears on being introduced to a rope-walk at Sydney, and exclaimed, in the bitterness of his regret, "New Zealand, no good!" Another worked his passage to England purely from a desire to carry back knowledge to his countrymen; but the savages in the English Thames never once permitted him to go ashore. These were not irreclaimable minds in which such noble sentiments existed.
At the suggestion of the missionaries, roads have been formed, many substantial wooden bridges have been erected over broad rivers, ships of 300 tons burden have been built, and all with the superintendence of only two or three Englishmen. The numerous and extensive buildings of four or five missionary settlements have been completed, and the agriculture of several extensive farms, as well as the operations of several flax-dressing manufactories, rope-walks, and other establishments, are now carried on by means of the voluntary hired labour of the New Zealanders.
