Remarks on the Past and Present State of New Zealand

Walter Brodie

First published by Whittaker and Co. in 1845

Digitised and made available online by the University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

Epub © 2013 Early New Zealand Books Collection

ISBN 978-1-927279-52-6

[TITLE PAGE]

REMARKS
ON
THE PAST AND PRESENT STATE
OF
NEW ZEALAND,

ITS GOVERNMENT, CAPABILITIES, AND PROSPECTS;
WITH
A STATEMENT OF THE QUESTION OF THE LAND-CLAIMS,
AND REMARKS ON
THE NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY;
ALSO,
A DESCRIPTION (NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED) OF ITS INDIGENOUS EXPORTS,
AND
HINTS ON EMIGRATION,
THE RESULT OF FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IN THE COLONY.

BY
WALTER BRODIE.

LONDON:
WH1TTAKER AND CO. AVE MARIA LANE.
1845.

[TITLE VERSO]

LONDON:
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.

[DEDICATION]

TO THE

RIGHT HON. LORD STANLEY,

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES,

THESE REMARKS

ARE, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

BY

HIS LORDSHIP'S

OBEDIENT SERVANT,

WALTER BRODIE.

[Page iv is blank.]

[PREFACE]

PREFACE.

I should have felt that some apology was due to the public for thus adding to the number of publications already before them on the subject of New Zealand, had I not been fully satisfied that the observations I shall make, being the result of personal experience, will not be without utility to the Emigrant, – and being the testimony of an eye-witness, will confirm some statements of great importance to the Colony to be known, – as well as correct many mistaken views which I have found, since my return from New Zealand in 1844, to be too prevalent in the public mind.

I have discussed freely, but without the slightest feeling of personal animosity, the conduct and the errors of the Local Government; and I have endeavoured to trace to its origin, the present embarrassed and almost ruined state of the Colony.

To the account of the Indigenous Exports of the country, I may fairly claim attention, as I have myself travelled over the greatest part of New Zealand, with the view of ascertaining, among its other resources available for colonization, the natural products of the islands, all of which I have enumerated, and all of which are of inestimable value to the settlers. Of two of these, Flax and Copper, I have given a more detailed account, as claiming a greater share of present attention, and affording the prospect of incalculable future wealth. It may be predicted that flax will form the staple and the principal export of the country, and that copper will be found (chiefly in the northern part of the North Island) in inexhaustible quantity.

I have thrown together some hints and observations on the subject of Emigration, though in a somewhat cursory manner, unavoidable in a hastily-written work like the present, but which will not, I trust, be without, value to those for whom they are chiefly intended. And I here repeat the advice I have given elsewhere to those about to emigrate, on no account to be induced to purchase land while in this country, but to take their money with them, (not in bills on any person or bank, either in New

Zealand or New South Wales, but in specie,) and there to judge for themselves, and select their own situations.

My wish throughout has been to state the truth, and to illustrate it by facts; and neither with regard to individuals, or other matters, have I advanced any statement which I am not prepared to verify.

I have endeavoured to render my observations practically useful, and by their value, in this respect alone, I am desirous that the following pages should be judged.

WALTER BRODIE.
THE GORE, EASTBOURNE, SUSSEX,
January 1, 1845.

[CONTENTS]

CONTENTS.

The Appointment of Mr. Shortland..........4

The Settlement at Russell Town...........15

The bad policy of the Local Government towards the Aborigines..........21

The Non-Settlement of the Land Claims.........44

The New Zealand Company.............78

Captain Fitzroy.................86

Indigenous Exports – New Zealand Flax (Phormium Tenax)........90

Emigration..................106

Rotorua Lakes and District.............131

Postscript................... 146

Appendix I...................155

– – – – – - II...................157

Visit to the Reinga, the reputed Dwelling of Departed Spirits.......16

ERRATA.

Page 9, line 2 from bottom, for Mr. Cowper read Mr. Cooper.
– 57, – 7 " " for Mr. Lawrence read Mr. Florence.

REMARKS, &c.

REMARKS,

&c.

Bay of Islands.

IN 1838, New Zealand appeared to begin its existence, as a British Colony, under the most favourable auspices. No spot in the world afforded so wide a field for enterprise, or offered the same combination of advantages to the English settler. And although there was no local authority to direct our proceedings, the population began to concentrate itself – townships were laid out, and communities formed, at the Bay of Islands, and at Port Nicholson – society was in some measure established, and trade seemed starting into life. Upwards of seventy merchant vessels and whalers might be seen, at the same time, anchored off the township of Kororarika. The exports, from the Bay of Islands to New South Wales, amounted annually to 140,000l. All the settlers were active, contented, and sanguine, and every thing held out the fairest prospect of success. It is true there was a British resident in the person of Mr. Busby, but his authority and duties were of a very

limited kind; yet, without the aid of any established government, or even any protective force, greater tranquillity prevailed, and a better understanding existed, between the settlers and the aborigines, than has been known at any subsequent period. Robbery was almost unknown, and crime 1 of any kind seldom heard of.

The Colony was now ripe for the establishment of a local government; and had men of intelligence, and some experience in the administration of civil affairs, been placed in official situations, it cannot be doubted for a moment that our hopes would have been fully realised; whereas now, at the end of five years, after an enormous expenditure of money, every thing is in confusion. Agriculture has been put a stop to; the non-settlement of the land-claims has caused the greatest anxiety and difficulties to the settlers, and has so far disturbed the peaceable relations between them and the natives, that the latter have been led into acts of outrage and violence, and even murder; in short, the Colony has been brought to the brink of ruin by the singular and lamentable incapacity of the men under whose government we have been placed.

To describe fully and accurately the origin and extent of all the mischief they have caused, and to expose their absolute ignorance of colonial affairs,

and the weakness which characterised all their measures, would be to record the whole of their proceedings from their first arrival in the Colony up to the present time. Such a history would exhibit the most extraordinary combination of imbecility and ignorance, of political dishonesty and selfish cupidity, that has ever been manifested by any set of public men. Their conduct, in every instance, has been marked either by the most profound ignorance, or by the utmost contempt of all the principles of general and colonial policy, as well as by a total neglect of all the minor duties of office. One object, and one only – their own interests – engrossed all their attention. Compared with that, the prosperity of the Colony, and the interests of the public, were esteemed as nothing, and entirely disregarded.

My observations will tend to demonstrate the evils resulting to the affairs of the Colony, from –

1. The appointment of Mr. Shortland.
2. The settlement at Russell Town.
3. The bad policy of the Local Government towards the Aborigines.
4. The non-settlement of the Land-claims.

I shall then show the value and capabilities of the Colony, in an account of its "Indigenous Exports," and conclude by offering some remarks on the subject of "Emigration."

1 Of those crimes, committed previous to 1840, with which the public are acquainted, the majority originated with the Europeans.

The Appointment of Mr. Shortland.

1. The Appointment of Mr. Shortland.

On the 30th of January, 1840, the Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, Captain Hobson, arrived in the Bay of Islands. On the 6th of February, the treaty of Waitangi, that most absurd and mischievous treaty, was signed by him, and a small number of the native chiefs of the Northern Island. To induce the settlers to assist him in getting the signatures of the other chiefs required for the treaty, Captain Hobson made us distinctly understand, that all the lands we had purchased from the natives should be held by us as our own property, in all cases in which the natives were satisfied with their sales. But as soon as ever the treaty was completed, we were informed that we possessed no title whatever to land in New Zealand; and that all we claimed belonged, of right, to the Queen of Great Britain. This act of deception was not calculated to give the settlers any very favourable opinion as to what we were to expect from the new government.

Captain Hobson had been only a few weeks in the Colony when he was seized with paralysis, which rendered him quite incapable of performing the duties of his office. It was now that Mr. Shortland, the protege of Captain Hobson, virtually assumed the conduct of the government, under the designation of "Acting Colonial Secretary;" and was, in fact, a few months afterwards, on Captain Hobson's recommen-

dation, gazetted as Colonial Secretary. On what grounds Captain Hobson recommended such a person, or the Colonial-office made the appointment, it is the most difficult thing in the world to comprehend. Mr. Shortland had been bred to the Navy, and served under Captain Hobson as lieutenant, and had been at sea all his life. It was never pretended, either by Captain Hobson or himself, that he was in any way qualified, either by education or experience of business, for the duties he undertook.

His conduct in office was marked by ignorance, harshness, and obstinacy; he attempted to rule with a rod of iron. The situation in which this most incompetent person was placed required above every other to be filled by a man of ability and colonial experience, who could have put, and kept in motion, the whole machinery of the Colony. New Zealand has been ruined by the want of an able man in this department. It cannot be said that Mr. Shortland was the best man to be had; for there was Mr. Harrington, chief clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office at Sydney. Had he, in compliance with the wishes of all parties, been appointed, New Zealand would never have been in its present difficult situation. A man of experience in colonial business was required, and Mr. Harrington was the man.

To illustrate Mr. Shortland's way of "doing business," I will describe two transactions in which he played a conspicuous part.

Mr. Shortland had not been many weeks in New

Zealand before he, together with Mr. G. Cooper, Mr. F. Mathew, and Dr. Johnson (all government officers), commenced jobbing in land. They purchased a large tract of country, in the Frith of the Thames, from Mr. Webster, for which they gave a bill of 1000l. Sir G. Gipps, Governor of New South Wales, heard of the transaction, and severely reprimanded them; they were nevertheless allowed to keep the land. Mr. Shortland next purchased an allotment of land at Auckland, in pretended compliance with the terms of Sir G. Gipps' circular of the 17th Sept. 1840, viz., "That all government officers requiring land to build upon immediately, and previous to the first land-sale, shall be allowed such land, provided such land was not purchased for the sake of land-jobbing; and that the officers above alluded to do not sell their land for the space of three years;" and that "if such land were sold by any of the said officers before the expiration of three years, it was to be immediately forfeited to the Crown." What was the consequence? Mr. Shortland found that he could get a good price (1200l.) for his land, and he immediately sold it to Mr. F. W. F. Porter, setting at defiance the provision of Sir G. Gipps' circular.

In a few days the affair became known to the public, and a great outcry was made by the settlers in Auckland. Mr. Dudley Sinclair wrote to Lord John Russell on the subject, and at the same time Governor Hobson sent a despatch, dated July 21st, 1841, in which, alluding to Mr. Sinclair's letter, he

states, "that Mr. Shortland denies the sale of the said land, and states that it is only let to Mr. Porter, and that Mr. Sinclair's assertion, that the Colonial Secretary has sold his allotment, is incorrect; but having bought another at the sale, he has let it, having first paid for it, and he now occupies the other: and that he finds it very hard to attach criminality to these transactions." This was all very civil in Captain Hobson to screen, if possible, Mr. Shortland from the charge of land-jobbing; but I trust that Lord Stanley has seen long ago that the above allotment, which Mr. Shortland denied having sold, and which Captain Hobson stated to have been only let, was in reality sold by Mr. Shortland to Mr. Porter on the 12th of July, 1841, as may be seen from the copy of the title-deed entered into by Mr. Shortland and Mr. Porter, printed in the Report on New Zealand, July 29th, 1844, p. 455, which was signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Mr. J. I. Freeman, head clerk in the Colonial Secretary's office, and Mr. Charles Brewer, Mr. Shortland's attorney; and which copy was sent home to Lord Stanley from New Zealand, on the 27th of May, 1843, by Mr. Porter. Lord Stanley and the Colonial-office had thus an opportunity afforded them of judging what dependence they ought to place in Mr. Shortland's representations regarding the Colony, and particularly the early settlers, who have been so infamously treated by him. If Mr. Shortland were capable of deceiving Captain Hobson and the

Colonial-office in one instance, he might be guilty of the same in any number of others.

The next affair which I shall describe will afford an instance of the peculiar manner in which Mr. Shortland dealt with questions of finance. It is a transaction which he carried on with Mr. Boyd, of Sydney, and which must astonish every man of business, while it supplies an example of that tact which Governor Hobson praised so much, and which he only could discover. However, considering the little experience Mr. Shortland must necessarily have had in such matters, the colonists may, after all, give him some credit for the numerous shifts he had recourse to in this the most perplexing and intricate branch of civil government. For my own part, considering that he had every thing in the art of government to learn since he came amongst us, I am not at all surprised at the frequent dilemmas into which he fell. Indeed, I am persuaded that he never thought when he took office, that such a thing could happen as the revenue falling short of the enormous current expenditure, until, upon a certain day, the Colonial Treasurer informed him that all the money raised from the sale of Auckland allotments and other lands was spent, – that, in short, the treasury was empty. This was certainly an awkward predicament for a man to be placed in, and calculated to perplex a person knowing so little about such matters. Mr. Shortland's situation was any thing but pleasant, as he had informed the Colonial-office that upwards of

25,000l. had been received on account of land-sales at Auckland for the past year, and that a much greater sum might be relied upon as the produce of the next. The former sum was all spent, and the latter was a false calculation. Fear and shame were, however, finally and fully overcome, and it was determined to draw upon England. The obvious plan of negotiating the drafts through the local bank at Auckland was deemed inexpedient; perhaps because it was thought better to give the benefit arising from such a transaction to one of the Sydney banks. At all events, the Government would neither condescend to sell the drafts themselves, in such sums as the public required (say from 100l. upwards), which might have been readily done upon the spot, nor would they permit the local bank to do so, but sent them to an agent at Sydney. From their unhappy ignorance of business, however, this plan entirely failed; because the agent was required by them to sell only at a certain premium, which, it might have easily been foreseen, he could not accomplish; and because the drafts themselves were drawn for sums so large, as to render them, even on this very account, unsaleable. In consequence of this, and a variety of other blunders, the credit of the Government was so completely destroyed in Sydney, that their drafts could not, eventually, be disposed of on any terms.

In this emergency, Mr. George Cowper, the collector of customs, the oldest and the most experienced of the officers of Government, was forthwith

dispatched to Sydney, for the purpose of obtaining money in any possible manner.

This gentleman entered into preliminary arrangements with Mr. Boyd, the manager of the Royal Bank of Australasia; and the contract was ratified by Mr. Shortland, the officer administering the government. On the return of Mr. Cooper to the Colony, it appeared that the terms of this extraordinary contract were, – that Mr. Boyd should negotiate their drafts upon the Home Government, at the unheard-of discount of fifteen per cent., stipulating, at the same time, that, in addition to the payment of this discount, he should receive, for every sum paid by him, debentures upon the revenues of the Colony to an equal amount; so that the Government, in order to receive 15,000l. at fifteen per cent, interest, actually agreed to make over to Mr. Boyd a sum of 30,000l., for which amount the Colony became indebted to the Home Government.

The impolicy of anticipating the revenues of a colony by the issue of debentures is obvious, and has been reprehended in other cases by the Secretary for the Colonies. In this case, besides being highly impolitic, it was also illegal, inasmuch as it was never sanctioned, or approved of, by the Executive Council, who alone could be presumed to have the right of adopting such an extreme measure. So well did Mr. Shortland himself seem to be aware of the illegality of this contract, that, although the debentures had been executed, he nevertheless failed,

when drawing for the first sum of 2000l., to forward them to Mr. Boyd as agreed upon; perhaps he was trying an experiment; and he so far succeeded, that Mr. Boyd paid the 2000l., but intimated, at the same time, that he had done so for the honour of the Local Government; though he gave Mr. Shortland unequivocally to understand, that in future not a shilling should be advanced without the stipulated debentures. The 2000l. being very soon expended, and necessity requiring that more money should be advanced, the Government now applied to the local Bank at Auckland, with the view of negotiating, through it, drafts to the amount of 3000l. upon Mr. Boyd. But the directors of the Bank, before entertaining such a proposal, required, as a preliminary step, to be put in possession of all the facts regarding the arrangements made with Mr. Boyd; and with this view, two of their number were deputed to wait upon Mr. Shortland, who satisfied them that the terms of the contract had been fully complied with, and, in particular, that debentures, equal to the amount to be drawn, had been duly executed, and would be forwarded to Sydney, along with the drafts. On the faith of this assurance, the Bank discounted Mr. Shortland's drafts on Mr. Boyd to the full amount of 3000l. To the great surprise of the Bank directors, however, the first communication from Sydney conveyed to them the astounding intelligence of the dishonour of Mr. Shortland's drafts, because of the extraordinary fact, that the deben-

tures had not, according to the terms of the agreement, been forwarded by Mr. Shortland to Mr. Boyd. Mr. Shortland, indeed, forwarded the debentures to Sydney, according to the arrangement made with the Bank directors, but after so doing, he despatched the Government pinnace to the Bay of Islands, to forward by the same vessel a letter countermanding the order to deliver them to Mr. Boyd. It is, at all events, a fact, that the debentures were withheld, although the money was obtained from the Bank under the pretence that they would be transmitted along with the drafts.

Looking upon the above transaction in a mere business point of view, I must say that the arrangement with Mr. Boyd was not only the most injudicious, but the most injurious to the interest of the Colony that could be entered into. The Colony is first of all brought into debt to pay the expenses of Mr. Shortland's government to the amount of 15,000l.; then for this, fifteen per cent, is to be paid. But the most strangely unaccountable part of the transaction is, the handing over to Mr. Boyd, in addition to the drafts upon the Home Government for this 15,000l., an additional sum of 15,000l., in the shape of debentures on the revenues of the Colony. Did it never occur to the Government, that a man engaged in business in New South Wales might fail, even with all this assistance from Mr. Shortland? What would become of the 15,000l. in such a case? But supposing there was no risk,

as far as Mr. Boyd was concerned, and I do not know that there was any, what a character does this transaction give to our Colony, and to our Government in particular! Obliged to sell bills upon the British treasury at a discount of fifteen per cent, giving debentures upon the Colonial revenue as security besides!!! Was the British Government ever before at such a discount, in any other part of the world? Mr. Shortland, at least, will deserve to be remembered as the person under whose administration such an extraordinary event occurred.

I admired Mr. Boyd's tact in the management of this business. It is to be kept in view, that while he received, and, no doubt, made use of, the Government drafts for 15,000l., together with fifteen per cent, for the same, that he still held the whole of the money in his hands; all he paid to Mr. Short-land was 2000l., for which, according to the agreement, he should have received debentures to the same amount on the Colony. The value of this money could not in reality have been less than ten per cent, to Mr. Boyd at such a time; so that the Government actually arranged to pay twenty-five per cent, for depositing their money with a private individual. They must have been dreadfully afraid of trusting themselves with the custody of this money, before they consented to get rid of it on such terms. Had they formed at the time any idea of their future necessities, they surely would have tried the experiment of keeping it themselves.

Disgraceful as these and similar financial schemes undoubtedly are, yet any inquiry into the application of the revenues of the Colony affords quite as little satisfaction; for, besides the large sums consumed by the Government officers and their friends, a vast amount has also been absolutely sunk in the erection of temporary wooden buildings, as public offices, as well as in the improvement and decoration of a wooden building sent out from England, for a Government-house (New Zealand at the same time exporting the finest timber in the world to England, the Kauri pine). On this house, which originally cost 2000l., and which might have served every purpose required for the comfort and convenience of the governor of a new Colony, no less a sum than 15,000l. or 20,000l. has been thrown away; while not even 100l. have been, as yet, devoted to local purposes. In fact, so little has the comfort or convenience of the public been attended to, that even the streets of Auckland itself, where the people have expended nearly 40,000l. in the purchase of allotments, are in such a state as to be utterly impassable; although an outlay of 100l. or 200l. would have been sufficient for their improvement. The revenue of the Colony appears to have been made subservient to one purpose only, – that of being expended, directly or indirectly, upon the Government officials themselves, or upon their friends.

The Settlement at Russell Town.

2. The Settlement at Russell Town.

Captain Hobson, on his arrival in 1840, found the settlement of Kororarika already formed, and his first care should have been to give strength to the edifice which had already been reared, and to consolidate what already did exist. Another spot might have been chosen for the capital; but it would have been wise to have nursed the rising importance of the Bay of Islands, which was so effectually to influence the destinies of the Northern and Western coasts, from which exports of considerable magnitude were annually made, and which port was considered by Captain Cook to be one of the finest harbours in the world. This little town of Kororarika was requested to be given up to the Government, the lands and buildings there at that time being worth about 25,000l. We offered to give Government sufficient land for all the Government buildings, including barracks, cemetery grounds, church land, market places, &c. &c, besides one half of the land which was not built upon. Could we do more? But this was not enough; and we were again asked to give up the whole, including the buildings, and to leave the remuneration to the generosity of Government. Mr. Shortland himself stated to me, that he would either have all or none; and that if we did not give up the whole, we should some day have cause to repent it, – a threat, which was quite in

keeping with that gentleman's mode of "doing business:" and how it was attempted to be carried into execution, and with what advantage to the Colony, will shortly be seen.

The consequence was, that Mr. Mathew, the Surveyor-General, was ordered by Captain Hobson to find out in the Bay of Islands the best situation for a Government township. On the 3rd of February, 1840, a public meeting was held in the church, which Mr. Mathew attended, when he told the inhabitants, and many others, who were present, that Kororarika was admirably situated for a Government township, on account of its safe anchorage and deep water close in shore; and that, if the inhabitants would go to the expense of building a circular wharf in front of the town, which might easily be done, as nearly all the requisite materials were on the spot, he thought the Governor would not object to his superintending the operation, which he should have much pleasure in constructing. After we had refused to give up all our land and buildings at Kororarika, on the condition of leaving the remuneration to the generosity of Government, Mr. Mathew again received instructions from Captain Hobson to select a place in the Bay of Islands for a township; and on March 22nd, 1840, he wrote to Captain Hobson, and stated that Kororarika was unfit in every way for a settlement, and could not be regarded as an eligible spot, as the water in approaching the beach was very shallow, and that it was quite impossible for vessels,

even small schooners, to approach within a considerable distance of the shore. The glaring inconsistencies of this Mr. Mathew were beyond all description, especially where he himself was in any way connected with land-purchases; but he was a fair sample of our Government officers.

Instead of laying out a Government town at Kororarika, Mr. Mathew recommended Captain Clendon's property, situated at Okiato, which was afterwards called Russell Town.

During all this time Captain Hobson was very ill, and Mr. Shortland and Mr. Mathew were the "Acting Governors" of the Bay of Islands, and omitted no means of carrying out to the utmost their threat against the population of Kororarika. Captain Clendon being well aware of the two intelligent men he had to deal with, on behalf of Captain Hobson, asked double what he expected for his property; 23,000l. was at first demanded for his 300 acres of land, wooden house, wooden store, wooden blacksmith's shop, small wooden cottage, and twenty yards of a jetty, at the end of which there was about as much as four feet of water, but the whole was ultimately sold for 15,000l.; the whole of the buildings might have been put up new for 1600l., and as to the land, it was worth absolutely nothing. When the deed was signed between Captain Hobson and Captain Clendon, the former had never seen the land at all, but left the matter to

his two sapient officers; either of whom knew as much about the selection of land as the other.

Besides being at a great distance from Kororarika, which was already established as the principal place of trade, Captain Clendon's property was open to every objection as the site of a town; – it had not even the first requisite, of a good supply of water; for during his residence there he dug a well, one hundred and fifty feet deep, without obtaining water; and he was actually compelled, in the summer season, to send across the river, which is a mile broad, for all the water he required. Mr. Clendon's land has been described in the evidence before the Parliamentary Committee as "like fifty loaves of sugar placed upon a table, just up-hill and down-dale all over." But, notwithstanding every objection, Mr. Mathew and Mr. Shortland were determined to do their utmost to ruin Kororarika. And, accordingly, on this favoured spot a township was projected by Mr. Surveyor Mathew, in which streets and squares, and circles and crescents, presented a very beautiful appearance on paper; but unfortunately for the projectors, the plan had to be submitted to Sir G. Gipps (New Zealand not having yet been declared an independent Colony), who did not think the top of a hill the most suitable place for a mercantile town. In consequence of this, Russell Town was abandoned. Mr. Clendon being the only person who profited by the scheme, who ultimately re-

ceived 2250l. and 10,000 acres of the best land in the vicinity of Auckland.

Previous to his departure, Captain Hobson left a police magistrate to administer justice, and prevent crime, where there were no inhabitants to require the one or to commit the other. He considerately ordered a boat to be kept, manned by five men, at the expense of 400l. per annum, to convey the magistrate twice a week to the town of Kororarika, where there was a large population, who might occasionally require justice, and wish to have crime prevented. At this time hopes were entertained that the inhabitants of Kororarika would give up all their land to Government, and leave the remuneration to their generosity. The police magistrate, customhouse, police-office, and post-office were all established at Kororarika; but when the Government found that we would not give up a certainty for an uncertainty, all the above-named offices were removed to Russell Town, at that time inhabited by none but the Government mechanics, and where no vessels ever went, on account of its unsafe anchorage. Whenever, therefore, the inhabitants of Kororarika wanted their letters, or had to do business at the custom-house, or at the police-office, they were obliged to go to Russell Town, a distance, there and back, of seven miles by water and ten miles by land. In one instance a vessel arrived from Sydney, and the mail-bag was sent up to the post-office at Russell Town; so that the parties there received their let-

ters and answered them by a vessel which sailed from there to Sydney the next day; but before we could get our letters at Kororarika, the said vessel had sailed for Sydney, and we were compelled to delay answering our mercantile letters until the next vessel sailed from the Bay of Islands. As to making a complaint before the magistrate, it was useless, and out of the question. What could have been more unjustifiable than this proceeding? The only persons to whom this arrangement afforded the least advantage were one or two merchants who lived at Russell Town, and who were friends of the Government party, while the inconveniences were felt universally. Of these, the place of residence of the police magistrate is a good example; it seemed ingeniously chosen for the purpose of annoyance. He lived at Pahia, three miles distant from Kororarika. Supposing that a robbery had been committed at the latter place; that the guilty person were known, and still in the town; he could not be arrested without a warrant: that must be procured from Pahia. Now if the wind happened to blow from the north or north-east, no boat could land there on account of the tremendous surf: if it did land, the chances were that the police magistrate was out exploring the country. The consequence was, that by the time the warrant was obtained the robber had probably gone off to the bush, or had met with some vessel or other, by which he had left the country, and thus evaded the law.

It is to be observed, that at this time Russell Town contained about twenty mechanics, while the inhabitants of Kororarika amounted to about 1000; and the latter had to supply the former, as well as the Government offices and her Majesty's 80th regiment stationed there, with every article of food and clothing.

These acts of absurdity and injustice, which, however, I do not believe proceeded so much from Captain Hobson himself as his subordinate and "acting officers," Mr. Shortland and Mr. Mathew, did not escape the notice and reprehension of Lord Stanley, who in a despatch, dated May 10th, 1842, states, that "Captain Hobson had exceeded the proper limits of the discretionary authority vested in him in purchasing Captain Clendon's property; and that he sees no sufficient proof that land adequate for Government purposes might not have been obtained at Kororarika, where a flourishing settlement had already been established."

Since Russell Town has been abandoned in favour of Auckland, the Government-house has been burnt down, and thus terminates all interest in the once intended township of Russell.

The bad policy of the Local Government towards the Aborigines.

3. The bad policy of the Local Government towards the Aborigines.

Towards the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand, the conduct of the Government has been uniformly

distinguished by the practice of faithlessness and deception, and the exercise of indecision, imbecility, and fear. The truth of the first part of this charge might easily be proved, not only by the expedients which they have had recourse to, in procuring the signatures of some of the chiefs to the treaty for the cession of sovereignty, but also from their more recent transactions with the natives in the purchase of land, as well as in the misappropriation of that portion of the land revenue of the Colony, which ought to have been exclusively devoted to the instruction and moral improvement of the aborigines. A grosser mockery of justice, or a more perfect imposition on the friends and well-wishers of the native race, cannot be conceived, than the fact of appointing one and the same individual to the office of Protector of Aborigines and Government Agent for the purchase of land from the natives. The idea that the same person (even though he had formerly acted as missionary) will at one and the same time make the best possible bargain for the Native, as well as for the Government which pays his salary, would suppose the existence of a higher degree of impartiality, and a more unerring sense of justice, than, I venture to affirm, even Mr. Clarke himself, who has the honour to fill both situations, will pretend to lay claim to.

A wise Government would have made it a matter of paramount importance to secure the respect and confidence of the Native population, by striving in

every possible manner to convince them that no advantage would be taken of them on account of their comparative ignorance, inferiority, or weakness, – that justice would be dispensed to them with an even hand, and the same laws administered to them as to the Europeans. Sound policy would have also dictated the necessity of teaching them to respect and observe those laws by the certainty of their application, whether for the purpose of maintaining and securing them in their just rights, or inflicting, with unerring and impartial justice, the punishment which such laws demanded when infringed either by aggression on the part of natives against natives or Europeans, or of Europeans against natives or other Europeans.

That the officers of the Government have lost sight of these principles in their intercourse with the natives, is unhappily too well known to require much discussion to prove.

The officers of the Government will, I doubt not attempt to justify themselves for not interfering or making any effort to prevent such fearful massacre, as that which has recently been perpetrated, on the plea that the military force in the Colony is too weak, together with the danger of losing the influence which they think their imaginary strength enables the Government to exercise over the natives in the event of a defeat. Such, at least, were the arguments used in the case of a native, named Maketu, who was some time ago executed in Auck-

land, on account of the murder of a European at the Bay of Islands, until the inhabitants of that place convinced them of the groundless nature of their fears by capturing the murderer themselves without assistance from the military or police.

This affair of Maketu took place November 20th, 1841, at the Bay of Islands. The murder, which was of a very remarkable nature, was committed upon the person of a Mrs. Askina Robertson. 2 As soon as the murder was made known, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Spicer, two merchants of Kororarika, in the Bay of Islands, sent to the commanders of her Majesty's ships "Erebus," "Terror," and "Favorite," which were then in the Bay of Islands, and also sent a letter to Mr. Beckham, the police magistrate; but the enclosure was, in the hurry of the moment, addressed to the commanding officer of the "Favorite." Mr. Beckham returned the letter, and at twelve o'clock at night a boat from her Majesty's ship "Favorite" landed at Kororarika, and the officer in charge stated that he could not act without a warrant from the magistrate. But rather than run the risk of the long delay which must have been incurred in sending for the warrant, as the magistrate lived at Russell Town, seven miles away from where he ought to have lived, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Spicer, accompanied by a boat's crew of five

men, started to Paroa Island, where the murder had been committed; and upon their arrival, the natives threatened to kill them; but these two merchants had lived in New Zealand many years, and knew perfectly well how to treat the natives upon such an occasion as this. The first thing they did was to demand the prisoner; who was brought forward and shown to them, but his person was refused. The merchants then spoke of the enormity of the crime which the prisoner had been guilty of; and many of the chiefs said it was very wicked to do such a thing as murder a woman. The merchants, finding there was no chance of obtaining the prisoner by fair means, went amongst the whole of the natives, 1500 in number, although the latter threatened to kill them with their tomahawks. But they, being assured from their knowledge of native manners and customs that this threat would not be put into execution, did not hesitate to seize the prisoner, and, with the assistance of their crew, put him into their boat, the natives all the while looking on with astonishment, but afraid to attack the Europeans, as they knew the prisoner had been guilty of murder. Maketu thus taken was tried, and in a short time hanged at Auckland; the first, and I hope the last, man who will suffer that penalty in the Colony. Although there were the constables, a detachment of troops at Russell (her Majesty's 81st regiment), and the crews of three men-of-war, the Government said they had not sufficient force to take the prisoner.

We have seen that no great force or power was required, when used with firmness and determination, and by those who knew the character of the people they had to deal with. And if the Government aim at having their authority respected, and subordination maintained, among the natives, they must employ similar means, and act with similar promptitude and vigour; but once yield to them, when it is clear the natives are in the wrong, then to a certainty will every advantage be taken of such want of resolution. But there are some circumstances which lead me to think that Captain Fitzroy is already afraid of them. Among the rest, is the report of a speech made by him to a chief of the name of Tomahiki, on the Western coast, who asked him if compensation could not be made, in case of any native committing a crime, in place of imprisonment. Captain Fitzroy said: – "Some such arrangement I have been consulting about, but these things cannot be well done if hurried. I and the law-officers of the Crown are now considering whether compensation might not be made by the natives, under certain circumstances; I am very anxious to make some such arrangement, but I cannot do so without deliberation." His Excellency here permitted these poor natives to go away, under the impression that he will allow them to give payment for crime. What will they think of his justice, when having committed it, they are told, as they must be told, that such an arrangement is in-

compatible with British law. The Governor must have spoken without thinking, for if an American, a Frenchman, or an Englishman, be guilty of any offence, they will be dealt with according to the rules and practice of British law; the natives must be treated in the same manner, and the sooner they are made acquainted with it, the better for all parties.

The following settlers have been robbed by the natives to my own knowledge, previous to June, 1843: – Messrs. Busby, Mair, Carruth, at Wangaree; Messrs. Sampson, M'Caskal, Martin, Sampson, and three others, in the Thames; Messrs. Burgin, Ryan, Smith, Wrestall, Gummer, Skey, and Favell, at Mongonui; Messrs. Florence, Florence, Johnson, Spikeman, and Baker, at Wangaroa; and Mr. Forsaith, at Kaipara. And not even one of the whole of the natives who robbed these twenty settlers has been punished, merely because Mr. Shortland was afraid of them. The robberies above referred to, I know took place; and there have been many others committed in the New Zealand Land Company's settlements, and probably elsewhere; and all are, I think, to be attributed to the want of firmness and resolution displayed by the Government.

Let me here repeat to Lord Stanley, and the Colonial-office, my conviction, that unless the New Zealanders are treated in the same way as Europeans, when they have committed crime, that it will be useless to attempt to carry on any government

whatever in New Zealand. And I have no doubt whatever, that in all cases of crime committed by the natives, although they may appear to offer some resistance at first, a few red jackets would very speedily compel them to give up the criminals. We have seen what can be done, and what was done, with Maketu: had the first of the offenders I have mentioned been taken up and punished, the second offence would never have taken place. But having first robbed one settler, and finding no notice taken of the matter, they then committed a series of offences in the assurance of the same impunity.

The case of Captain Lethart (which excited much attention in the Colony at the time) affords another illustration of the bad effects resulting from the timid attitude of the local authorities. This gentleman, in consequence of the inactivity of the Government in dealing with offenders, was induced to take the law into his own hands, on one occasion, in defending his own brother, who was being beaten by some natives, with the paddles of a canoe, who, had he not interfered, most probably would have been killed; he fired off a pistol to intimidate the natives, for which he was tried, and found guilty of firing the pistol, but with no intent to hurt the natives: the result of which trial was, that he was imprisoned for two years. This was another victory of the natives over the European settlers. Juries in New Zealand have been rather more guarded in their verdicts since the above trial. A petition was signed by the

whole jury, and every respectable man in Auckland, to the acting governor, Mr. Shortland, to reverse the sentence; but he was inexorable. What made the case more severe and painful to Captain Lethart was, that the day after he was sent to prison, his only child was found dead in her mother's arms, when she awoke in the morning, and Captain Lethart was not allowed the slightest indulgence, even in this case.

The natives and settlers, generally speaking, continued to live in the greatest harmony, and to cherish towards each other feelings of the utmost cordiality, while the most perfect good faith was preserved towards Europeans; and if justice had been administered with a due regard to both parties, there would not have been the most distant fear of a change in this happy feeling of mutual trust and confiding good will.

But I am extremely sorry to be obliged to inform my readers, and especially those who watch over and take an interest in the improvement and advancement of the condition of the aborigines of New Zealand, of a sad and fatal change in the feelings of some of the most civilized tribes towards each other, the effect of which has been the shedding of much blood, and the exciting of ill-will and animosities, which will require much time and much judicious treatment to remove. My feelings would have been, perhaps, much less shocked at an occurrence of this kind, and my sympathies less strong, if this bloodshed had been caused merely through an ordinary

quarrel among the tribes themselves, and unconnected with the deeds of Europeans; but this unfortunately is not the case, and the feeling of commiseration for the condition of the native sufferer, must be mixed up with that of deep shame, on account of the conduct of my own countrymen in this unfortunate affair. I had fondly hoped that his superior intelligence would have saved the native of New Zealand from the general and melancholy fate of savages; but ever true to itself in the sad effect, the contact with Europeans is in this instance, as well as in all others, doomed to the same fatal result. The superior intelligence of the New Zealanders has either not been known, or not sufficiently appreciated, and taken to account in our intercourse with them; and while we fancied that our conduct towards them should be the same as that towards other savages, their intelligence, however, enabled them not only to perceive our intentions, but to guard against their efforts, precisely in the same manner that civilized men would have done, as will sufficiently appear from the history of the present quarrel, which, in justice to the natives, and for the information of the humane here in England, as well as for the well-wishers of our race in general, I will faithfully detail, being upon the spot just before and just after the unfortunate war.

The right of conquest, and the tenure of land by such right, is not only acknowledged by the natives of New Zealand, but it is so by almost all the nations

on the earth, whether civilized or barbarian. And wherever might is right, it will be enforced and maintained with all the strength that power can bestow. Nearly all the landed possessions in Europe have been primarily obtained in this manner, and the Lords of the soil in New Zealand hold their possessions on a similar tenure, and know of no other with the exception of the hereditary, which of course can only exist among the members of an individual tribe; and is at any time liable to bo destroyed by the exercise of the other. But while this right is obeyed and acknowledged by all parties, it is very natural to suppose that the person dispossessed of property in accordance with this principle, will not only retain the recollection of having possessed such property, but will also cherish a latent feeling of ill-will towards the stronger party, together with an earnest desire to redeem his lost possessions. But even this feeling will in the lapse of years either cool down or wear away altogether, and the parties will become reconciled to one another. This was precisely the condition and the case of the two tribes who were originally conquered in this unfortunate quarrel.

The forefathers of a native chief, named Napera, or Noble, now living at Kaitaia, were driven, about forty years ago, by another tribe from lands at a place called Mongonui. The conquering party have retained peaceable possession of Mongonui ever

since, and were acknowledged by all parties as the rightful owners until the arrival of Capt. Hobson, who, during his illness, happened unfortunately to send Mr. Shortland, then the acting Governor of New Zealand, to Kaitaia, for the purpose of obtaining the signature of the chief, Noble (a fine intelligent missionary native), to the treaty, for the cession of sovereignty. I must here remark, that the natives are all exceedingly fond of acting the great man; and this chief, in talking of his wealth, power, and lineage, mentioned to Mr. Shortland, among other things, that he was the owner of all the lands at Mongonui; at least, that all the land there forty years ago belonged and were in the possession of his family, and that although the natives who lived at that place had sold them to the white people, that they had no right to do so, as those lands originally belonged to his forefathers. Capt. Hobson and Mr. Shortland, on the faith of these representations, immediately, and without a further hearing, prejudged the claims of the Mongonui European settlers, and repurchased the lands of Noble, which, ten years before, the rightful owners purchased, and the then resident chiefs had sold to European settlers then living there. This transaction took place after, and in the face of an act passed by the Legislative Council of New South Wales, appointing Commissioners to enquire into, and to settle the claims of Europeans to land in New Zealand; so that Captain

Hobson, and Mr. Shortland, his adviser, in this instance, at once deprived the Commissioners of their power, and exercised it themselves. The effect of which illegal and unwarrantable exercise of authority was the late unfortunate war: to establish the truth of this statement, I will give the following extract of a letter from Lieut.-Governor Hobson to Sir George Gipps, dated Bay of Islands, May 5th, 1840.

"Mr. Shortland has returned after a most satisfactory meeting with the chiefs of Kaitaia in the north: his reception was most flattering and gratifying. The principal chief of Kaitaia is a Christian, named Noble; quite a superior person, full of intelligence, of a most independent and liberal spirit, and possessing unbounded influence in the whole of the northern district. With such a man at the head of a very powerful tribe, and in close alliance with all the northern natives, it was an object of no small importance to establish a good understanding. By this opportunity I will forward Mr. Shortland's Report, if it can be prepared in time, if not, it shall go to Sydney by the next vessel that offers; and I have no doubt but you will coincide in my opinion, that Mr. Shortland conducted this mission with considerable tact, and that he has succeeded in a highly satisfactory manner." – Blue Book for 1841, page 57.

Such is the origin of the misfortunes of the

northern tribes, and such is Mr. Shortland's connexion with these fatal proceedings. This was the first act of Mr. Shortland's political career. His mission, which has been so much praised by the well meaning but deluded Capt. Hobson, however highly satisfactory at the time, and with whatever cunning, or, as it is called, tact, it may have been conducted, is now recorded in letters of blood, and its character for ever stamped by the seal of the native dead. This purchase of Mongonui from Noble cost the country upwards of 200l. After the accomplishment of this maiden and splendid piece of diplomacy on the part of Mr. Shortland, he was installed by Capt. Hobson as Colonial Secretary, a fit and proper reward for services so well performed. And on the 2nd of July, 1840, the following notice appeared in the Government Gazette: –

"The Lieutenant-Governor desires it to be notified, that the lands of Mongonui have been purchased for her Majesty the Queen; and he, therefore, cautions the public against building, cutting timber, or trespassing thereon. Those persons who may have established themselves on these lands, either by building or enclosing grounds for cultivation, will be permitted to hold such tenements or lands undisturbed until the Commission, to be hereafter appointed, shall decide upon the rights of the respective parties. All who desire the privilege of cutting down timber on the said lands, may obtain permission for a limited

period from the Lieutenant-Governor, on payment of a small fee by way of acknowledgment.

"Given at Mongonui this 24th day of June, 1840.
"By his Excellency's command,
"JOHN JOHNSON, J. P.,
"Acting Police Magistrate."

This proclamation affords a rare specimen of the system on which the government of New Zealand has been conducted by the late Governor and his Colonial Secretary, Mr. Shortland, from their arrival in the Colony to the time I left, in June, 1843. The proclamation gives notice –

1st. That the lands of Mongonui had been by her faithful servants purchased for her Majesty the Queen.

2nd. A caution to the public not to erect buildings, cut timber, or trespass in any way on these lands.

3rd. That although these lands were thus bought for her Majesty (legally?), there were still many parties who not only claimed these lands, but who had also paid for them and established themselves on the same, by building houses and enclosing ground for cultivation, and who had actually been living there for ten years.

But if so, how came the late Governor and Mr. Shortland to throw away upwards of 200l. upon lands already bought? Perhaps it was doubtful whether the titles of these parties were good or not, and

therefore a Commission was hereafter to be appointed to inquire into this. But did not the fact of the late Governor's buying these lands a second time, indicate at once that he believed the original settlers had no right to the land, and therefore a Commission was not only a useless, but also an unnecessary proceeding. The late Governor, however, under every view, acted wrong. A Commission being about to be established, he had clearly no right to prejudge the settlers' claim. But in the event of this Commission finding that the settlers' claims were good, then what right had he or Mr. Shortland thus to throw away the public money on the purchase of lands already bought by others? But these were all minor evils and errors, compared to the effect of this proceeding on the minds of the natives generally. To them it appeared as an attempt to uphold the native, Noble, against the Mongonui natives, and to upset the right of conquest, the right by which all the tribes held their lands. The effect upon the settlers was the suspension of all their operations till this Land Commission should decide. The natives, however, were day by day becoming more anxious and alarmed about the matter. Noble preferred his claim to the land, with the high pretensions of a man backed by the Government. The Mongonui tribes appealed to the other natives to assist them in opposing this fearful encroachment on their rights. Two years or more passed away, and the excitement still increased, till about January, 1843, when Commissioner Godfrey

arrived at Mongonui, to decide the land claims of the settlers of that place. They, the Europeans, and the chiefs and natives from whom they bought, appeared and claimed the lands, as a matter of right and primary purchase. Noble, the Kaitaia chief, and his tribe, also appeared and claimed the same lands for himself and for the Government, to whom, he said, he had sold a part. The Commissioner was perplexed, and refused to act, on the plea that he could not decide between the Government of her Majesty and her Majesty's subjects; in fact, he was afraid and alarmed of an outbreak among the natives, who were highly excited; at all events, he consulted his own safety, and left the scene of strife, after bringing claimants upwards of two hundred miles to get their claims examined. He was bound by his commission to examine into every claim that was advertised in the Gazette for hearing. Then, if there was any dispute between Noble and the Mongonui natives, let the claims have been brought before the Government for decision: many parties spent their all, in hopes of getting their claims settled, but were compelled to return again, two hundred miles, as wise as when they arrived.

The natives then all dispersed without coming to any amicable arrangement; but, on the contrary, with the full understanding that war alone could terminate the dispute, each party summoned their followers and allies. The Mongonui party consisted of 600 men, headed by their chiefs Warikari, Akewa, and Ewarri,

together with 800 men from Hokianga, headed by the great chief Arepa. Also 800 Wangaroa natives, headed by Ururoa, and 500 from the Bay of Islands, headed by their chiefs Ewai, Rewa Rewa, Emocho, and Warrirai. Noble's party consisted of 400, and Townui, Timoti, Murang, and Erepi, together with 1000 more from different parts, headed by his father-in-law, Popea. Of Noble's party, two of his principal chiefs were killed, Timoti and Townui, and about thirty others killed, besides wounded. There were in all about 5000 fighting men, two-thirds of whom belonged to the Mongonui party, who completely defeated Noble's party. Although there were not a great many casks of powder expended, the war lasted for several days, and was only suspended on account of their provisions falling short, to be again commenced by double slaughter, as the Thames and Waikatto natives were going to join the Mongonui party. And all the Kaipara, and many of the west coast natives were going to join Noble's side. Native pahs were being built of enormous sizes when I was in the district of Mongonui in May, and each party seemed determined to have revenge for those who were killed. Many natives from the Bay of Islands, though not directly interested in the lands in dispute, still joined the Mongonui party. The reasons which they give for so doing, were the fact that their own possessions were similarly acquired with those of the Montgonui people, and that if the right of conquest was not supported and maintained in this instance,

they too might, in their turn, be deprived of their possessions. This battle, as it may be called, was conducted in every respect according to the customs of civilized men. The dead were given up by both parties, and decently interred. No such scenes as used in former days to distinguish the New Zealander, and disgrace and outrage humanity, were practised. The greater part of the natives had embraced Christianity, and evidently engaged with much reluctance, though with determination, in the unhappy warfare. Dr. Selwyn, the Protestant bishop, with much humanity, endeavoured to prevent the fight, but in vain. He even encountered considerable risk, if not danger, by going into the midst of the combatants and erecting a white banner, as an emblem of peace, and it was not until the firing had commenced that he left the scene of strife. Mr. Clarke, the chief protector of the Aborigines, was actually knocked down, as they attributed much of this war to his actions, as he was interpreter on the occasion when the said Mongonui was purchased by Government. The Rev. Henry Williams, also, the oldest of the missionaries, and the most respected both by Europeans and natives, tried every effort to prevent the bloodshed; but even his great influence was unavailing. I fear much that this is only the beginning of the poor natives' troubles.

In reading the above, inquiry will doubtless be made, and the question asked, what the Government did to prevent this horrid massacre? And as I shall

be expected to render some account of their conduct in this affair, I must, however reluctantly, and however injurious to them, tell the truth, and say that they have, by their acts, done every thing to bring about the war; at least their acts, and theirs only, have brought it about. Their interference between the original settlers and the natives has occasioned this war. The Mongonui natives, in opposing the claims of Noble and the Government, have acted, not because the lands belonged to them, for they have sold them, but because they have sold them to Europeans; and because, in selling them, they have pledged themselves to maintain the Europeans in peaceable possession. The poor native fought, bled, and died for a principle, which the Government paid the unfortunate Noble to endeavour to upset; a principle which the Government, in every decision regarding land purchased from the natives, have violated and outraged: for while they on every occasion deprive the land-claimant of as much of his land as they can, they have never in one instance returned the same to the native, but they wish to keep it themselves. They try to make the people in England believe that the inquiry into the claims to lands bought by Europeans from natives, is conducted upon feelings of humanity, and a sense of justice towards the native; but where has there as yet been one inch of such land returned to the native? I ask them where? But if the measures of the Government have thus been blameable in bringing about the war, Mr. Short-

land, who was at the head of the Government at the time of the war, was doubly blameable in not having prevented it. For months it was known and believed by many persons that preparations were made by all the tribes for this fight or battle. I myself told Mr. Shortland of it, and so did Commissioner Godfrey when he wrote his dispatches from Mongonui. Why then did not Mr. Shortland prevent it? Did he not on a recent occasion send all the troops from Auckland to Touranga at the expense of upwards of 1300l., to recover a small boat which the natives had seized upon, on account of the owner going on some tapu'd (sacred) ground, when no other danger than its mere loss was to be apprehended? At the same time that the troops were down there, the natives had been at war, and one party had killed, by treachery, five of their opponents' men. The offended party applied to Mr. Shortland, who went down to Touranga for redress. Mr. Shortland tried to take the murderers of the five men, but the Mukato natives defied him to enter their pah (fortification), with the troops, to take them. Just at this time the Chief Justice comes along from Port Nicholson over-land; his advice is asked, and he tells Mr. Shortland that it is altogether illegal to attempt to take the murderers (without having any depositions) by force, with the troops, more especially as he never consulted either the Attorney-General in Auckland or the Executive Council, before sending the troops away. The consequence was, that Mr. Shortland had to go back to Auckland and call an

Executive Council, at which council every thing went against him. The troops remained there about two months, by which time they were nearly eaten up with sand-flies and musquitoes, and then allowed to return to Auckland, after making the natives believe they were afraid of them. But this affair is reported upon at full length by Major Bunbury in his report to Sir Maurice O'Connel, which report reached the Horse Guards many months ago.

When the Commissioner left Mongonui, because the natives were going to fight about this disputed claim, why did not Mr. Shortland, when he knew that a battle was going to be fought by the natives, send the troops to prevent it? The poor natives have fought, bled, and died for their rights; and that the late Governor and Mr. Shortland bought the lands of the settlers at Mongonui from the native Noble, who, according to native law, had no title to them. The late Governor was written to by the oldest Church missionary, and Wesleyan missionary in New Zealand, at the time he had an idea of purchasing Mongonui, who cautioned him of the consequences. But I call on every lover of our race, and every friend of humanity to interfere. I call upon them to do away with the semi-slavery of the New Zealander, and to procure for him his native rights, to give him the full right of property, before he bled and died for it, as he did at Mongonui; give him the same rights that he had when the late Governor came into New Zealand, as governor in 1840; and

of all others, that of selling his own land to whom he may think fit. The natives generally consider that their not being able to sell their own lands to whom they please, is the greatest hardship that the Government could have inflicted upon them. The richest lands in New Zealand are, to the present day, held by themselves; a native will never sell any of the good land which he has in use; and it is very well known, that a very small portion of land is sufficient for the maintenance of a whole tribe. Their largest consumption of food is the potato, which they always grow on the side or top of a high hill, which no European would ever think of cultivating; in fact, the soil on these hills can only be broken up by the hoe, being far too steep for a plough to work upon; and where is the European who will cultivate steep hills, when there is so much level land in the country disengaged? and which he could easily purchase, provided he was allowed by Government to do so. Government thought at one time that they could purchase land wherever they chose from the native; but they have now found out their mistake. The natives will not sell their land to Government; they may try, and they have done so, but they cannot succeed. The greatest portion of land that Government have already purchased from the natives has been a large tract of bad land, with one exception (that of the Tameke), which they will never find any one to purchase from them again at any price. They thought it a great bargain; but the poor, stupid native, as he is

called, knew what he was selling, and knew that the land was not capable of growing any thing. This tract of land was sold to Government much on the same scale as land was formerly sold by the natives to Europeans; in 10,000 acres of land, in all probability, there were not more than 500 acres fit for cultivation. If ever the Land Commissioners' Report is published upon the feelings of the different tribes that they have been obliged to be amongst, while settling the land claims of the different Europeans, the native feelings will then be shown, in the most positive manner, with regard to what I have here stated.

2 If this should meet the eye of any of her relations, I should be glad to see or hear from them, as I can put them in the way of recovering some of the deceased's property. – W. B.

The Non-Settlement of the Land Claims.

4. The Non-Settlement of the Land Claims.

In a despatch, dated 25, Lowndes-street, May 16, 1843, Governor Fitzroy puts the following questions to Lord Stanley, then Secretary of State for the Colonies: –

1. "To whom should land now belong, which has been validly purchased from New Zealand natives, but which, exceeding a certain specified quantity, cannot be held, by existing laws, by the original purchaser or his representative?

2. "Under defined restrictions, may the Crown's right of pre-emption be waived in certain cases?

3. "Shall the capital laid out in buildings, or otherwise, and the time employed by a settler in

improving his land, (such land having been validly purchased from the Aborigines, prior to the treaty of cession in 1840,) shall these be taken into account when granting him a title to a certain portion of the whole extent of land validly purchased by him?

4. "Do our settlements in New Zealand require additional military or naval protection?

5. "How far, and in what manner, ought we to take part or interfere in wars, or even quarrels, between Aboriginal tribes or individuals?"

Lord Stanley's reply to the above five questions, dated Downing-street, June 26, 1843, is as follows: –

1. "The case thus supposed, is a case in which the contract with the native shall be found by the Land Commissioners to have been untainted by any such fraud or injustice as would render it invalid. It is assumed that neither on the ground of inadequacy of price, nor on any other ground, could the former proprietor of the land require that the sale of it should be set aside. But it is at the same time supposed that the land then acquired exceeded the limitation which defines the extent of land to be holden by any European, under a title originally derived from the Aborigines. The question then is, who is the proprietor of the excess? To that question it must be answered, that by the terms of supposition, the purchaser is not the proprietor, and that the hypothesis being, that the claims of the Aboriginal settlers having been justly extinguished, they

are no longer the proprietors. Hence the consequence seems immediately to follow, that the property in the excess is vested in the Sovereign, as representing and protecting the interests of society at large. In other words, such land would become available for the purposes of sale and settlement.

2. "I wish you to keep in view two objects; the one, to prevent land coming into possession of Europeans at a cheaper rate if bought from the natives, than if bought from Government; the other, the ensuring a contribution, on such purchases being made, from the purchaser to the emigration fund, objects which would probably be best accomplished by requiring a payment to the Government, concurrently with that to the natives, and by devoting as much at least of sums so received to emigration, as would be applicable to that purpose under Imperial Act 5 and 6 Vict. c. 36.

3. "To this question I answer in the negative. For the purpose of determining the extent of a settler's claims, no estimate is to be made of the capital laid out by him in building, or of the time employed by him in improving his land.

4. "My answer is, that I can hold out no prospect of an increase of military force at New Zealand. With regard to naval arrangements, I will signify to you the decision of her Majesty's Government, after I shall have ascertained the views of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the subject.

5. "To a question of so much importance, pro-

posed in terms so abstract, it is not in my power to make any precise answer. It is indeed obvious, and easy to say, that I deprecate any active intervention in such disputes, and earnestly desire that the British authority should be known, not as a party, but as a mediator in them. But it would be vain for me to attempt, at this distance, to encounter by anticipation the difficulties which will gradually disclose themselves to you: I can merely express my hope and confidence that the preliminary and immediate decision of all such questions (which must necessarily be left in your hands), will be adopted in the spirit of solicitude for every class of her Majesty's subjects inhabiting New Zealand, and will be suggested by a clear and comprehensive view of those interests."

On the first question put by Captain Fitzroy to Lord Stanley in the previous letter, and on his Lordship's reply, I will now offer a few remarks. To whom belong the lands wrested by Government from the early settler? The above question has suggested itself to me in consequence of the opposition made by the natives in May, 1843, to the settlement of Mr. Terry, on the Puru and Wairoa rivers; 3 and as it is an important question, and one on which depends, in a great measure, not only the future prosperity, but the present peace of the Colony, I will here state the whole affair as it took place. Though

this important question may engage the attention of Parliament, yet the Colonists alone can supply the information and the facts by which it should be determined. The natives form by far the largest and most interesting portion of our present population, and we should do well, clearly to understand our position with regard to them. For although they are a patient, a forbearing, and even a philosophical people, there is a point at which forbearance will cease, even with the forbearing native, and a time when he will, not only strive manfully to maintain his rights, but also most certainly convince his oppressors that he has such a keen sense of the wrong sustained, that even his life will not be considered too great a sacrifice for its removal. The Mongonui quarrel, (which has already been described,) though not immediately between the natives and the Government, has still a very close connexion with that to which I am referring; the two most certainly trace their origin to the same cause – an attempt by the Government to infringe upon what the natives consider their rights. To understand this case, and the cause of the present quarrel between Mr. Terry and the natives, it is necessary to state, that many years ago a considerable portion of land in the vicinity of Auckland was purchased by Mr. Fairburn, one of the Church missionaries; a quarter for himself, a quarter for the Church Missionary Society, and the remainder as a reserve for the natives, to prevent them selling themselves out

of their land. The motives which first induced Mr. Fairburn to purchase this land have been unjustly and too severely censured by many parties, but more especially by a Government newspaper in Auckland, most likely with the former because they were ignorant of the circumstances under which it was acquired; but by the latter it was very evident that the Government wished much to get possession of so valuable a tract of country.

In justice to Mr. Fairburn, it is but right that I should mention that this land was the cause of many serious and fatal quarrels among the neighbouring tribes, who each laid claim to the debateable ground. In order to prevent these unhappy quarrels, it was proposed by the natives, with the consent of the mission at the Bay of Islands, that Mr. Fairburn should purchase the land, which was accordingly done, and I believe as fairly bought and sold, as any land has ever been in New Zealand. The rest of its history is precisely that of all land claims in New Zealand, a small portion has been awarded by the Land Commissioners and the Government to Mr. Fairburn; the disposal of the rest was left in abeyance, until a few weeks before I left New Zealand, when the Government claimed it all, and gave Mr. Terry a lease of it, with permission to erect machinery for dressing flax, together with the right of cutting flax over all the land. On the arrival of Mr. Terry, however, he discovered that there were other parties whose permission it was necessary

to obtain before he could, with any degree of security, carry out his intended project. A body of natives, who were at the time resident on the land, strenuously asserted their right to it, and insisted that he should forthwith remove himself and all his machinery from the grounds; stating at the same time, when Mr. Terry told them that the Governor had given him leave to put his machinery up there, that they had not sold their land to Government, but to Mr. Fairburn, who alone had a right to it; and that, if Mr. Fairburn had told him he might go there, it was very good; and that in the event of Mr. Fairburn's claim being disallowed, the land must return to them, and the other original owners. Mr. Terry had no alternative but to desist from the undertaking, until he should send to head-quarters, and ascertain the wishes and intention of Government in this emergency. One of the persons called Native Protectors was immediately sent by Government to the spot, with the view of pacifying the natives: but I have not been able to ascertain what steps this gentleman has adopted, the proceedings of that useless class to whom he belongs being always kept secret, until they effervesce in some such manner as they have lately done at Mongonui. But as the natives at present residing on the lands form a very inconsiderable portion of those who have claims upon it, I think it likely that they may have been for a time pacified, by a little money and plenty of promises. Of the former, there is certainly little to spare from

the treasury, but the latter was the current coin of the late acting Governor and Protector of Aborigines. To the final settlement of this question, every man in New Zealand must look with interest, and even with alarm. It may be true that the few natives on the spot have been for a moment pacified, but from the history of similar proceedings in New Zealand, Mr. Terry's position was not an enviable one. Every tribe in the Thames, and many of the Waikatto natives, are concerned with this land; and before they submit to its occupancy by any other than the original purchaser, I apprehend, from my own estimate of the native character, that the Government will have to act the part of Noble, the Kaitaia chief, and with greater success than he did. I am afraid that parties here in England will not understand the merit of this question, between the natives of New Zealand and the late Government; and at the risk of my being tiresome to some of my readers, I must state, that this dispute has arisen in consequence of the partial settlement of that country by Europeans long before a British Government was established, when lands were sold by the natives, and bought, and occupied, by Europeans. The Government, on their arrival, affected a very high tone of morality, and expressed great sympathy with the natives, and extreme regret for the manner in which it was pretended the natives had been cheated by the Europeans. The consequence of this humane feeling was, the enactment of a law, declaring all titles to lands

purchased from natives invalid, and the appointment of Commissioners to enquire into the conduct of Europeans, in this respect, with a view of judging of the fairness or unfairness of their transactions with the natives. In this act there was a still higher stretch of humanity and condescension on the part of the framers of the law; inasmuch as, by one of the clauses of the bill, the Queen was made the guardian of the poor natives, which was easily accomplished, by declaring that all the lands in New Zealand, whether belonging to natives or to Europeans, are and remain crown or domain lands of her Majesty, her heirs and successors, &c. &c.

In accordance with this humane act, many of the claims to land in New Zealand were examined by the Commissioners, and few of the claimants, as a matter of course, were found to have paid the natives enough for their lands: they, the Europeans, were consequently deprived of as much as they were found not to have purchased fairly, or, in other words, they were deprived of as much as they were found to have unfairly bought; which happened always to be the largest portion. So far right; and it would not be a matter of surprise with any person, that if A cheated B, and B had a guardian, kind and powerful as C, that this guardian C would order restitution. This would be easily understood: – let us now apply the case of A, Mr. Fairburn, B, the original native, and C, Mr. Shortland, the acting Governor. A is the original settler, who robbed B,

the native, by the finding of C, the Government, the friend of poor B. What course would justice and humanity dictate to C, the Government, in this case? Every person would naturally say, to deprive A of his ill-gotten property, and cause all that he had unjustly obtained of it, to be restored to the poor and ignorant native, B. But our present Government is too wise and politic to act upon such a foolish and old-fashioned principle as this. They certainly find that A had in every case robbed poor B, but they are too knowing to act upon the foolish plan of giving back the property to B; they think it is much wiser and much better to keep it themselves. So that C, who had never paid for the land, takes it both from A and B without any consideration or compunction whatever. A the settler, as a matter of course, all along protested against the right of C to interfere in the matter, and B the native, for a time, looked on with indifference, scarcely knowing the meaning of all this work on the part of his friend C. B, however, has at length discovered the kind intentions of his false friend C, and he now joins the side of his former, but true friend A. Such is at present the position of both parties. The natives and the original settlers will, as a matter of course, oppose the Government in every attempt to deprive either of their lands. Mongonui has given courage to the native, and he will now fight again for the Wairoa. It is likely he may remain quiet for a time, but he will certainly in the end resist.

I have repeatedly, but in vain, endeavoured to impress upon the late Governor the impolitic and fatal tendency of all his measures regarding the natives, but he heeded not.

I would now ask, what right Mr. Shortland, as the head of the Government, had thus to seize upon the lands of the original settlers? I have examined both the Land Claims' Bills, and I cannot discover that even they give him any such right, as he assumed in the case of Mr. Fairburn's land; but such a right as that which a bill of his own framing could confer, would be indeed a poor and miserable right. The matter at issue must be decided by a higher tribunal, it must be determined by the voice of the humane, and enlightened in every portion of the civilized world. The question at issue, is not a mere question as to right of property; if such were the case, power would at once determine in favour of Government. But it assumes a higher aspect, and amounts to this, – Shall the New Zealander be free, or shall he not? Shall England, which has paid so many millions of pounds to wipe off the deep stain of slavery in her West Indian possessions, be permitted to disgrace herself, by reducing the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific from a state of freedom and happiness, into a worse than African bondage and misery.

This, and this only, is involved in the dispute in the Wairoa, Are the natives of New Zealand free or bond? I know that England admits not of any

other condition than that of free citizenship. The attempt to establish any thing else upon our free and glorious constitution is worse than treason itself, it is an attempt to lower, to degrade the character of our country in the eyes of every nation in the world. The Government may certainly deprive the natives of New Zealand of the right of property, they have doubtless the power of depriving them of their lands, but are they not amenable for the consequences that may result from the exercise of this power, even to the shedding of blood? Who will be answerable for such deeds? The native who fights for his land and his rights, or the Government whose measures urge him thereto? By the Waitangi Treaty, Captain Hobson, on behalf of the Queen, impressed upon the minds of the natives, that no land should ever be taken from them, unless paid for by the Crown; if their land is now taken from them, the consequences will be far more fatal than Lord Stanley has any idea of.

In Lord Stanley's answer to Captain Fitzroy's second question, he has allowed the Crown's right of pre-emption to be waived in certain cases, but in such a manner, as to make it almost useless to the settler.

1st. "One-tenth of the fair average value, as to position and quality, is to be conveyed, by the purchaser, to her Majesty, her heirs and successors, for public purposes, especially for the future benefit of the Aborigines."

As far as regards the benefit of the natives, the Government may rely upon the natives taking care of themselves. They are not so ignorant as the kind-hearted persons in this country imagine.

2nd. "The purchaser is to run all risk of his title being valid, until confirmed by grant from the Crown."

3rd. "As a contribution to the land-fund, four shillings per acre must be paid, in ready money, for nine-tenths of the aggregate quantity of land over which it may be requested, that the Crown's right of pre-emption may be waived, on the issue of a Crown grant after an interval of at least twelve months from the time of paying the above fees, additional payments will be required at the rate of six shillings per acre, in ready money, to be applied to the land-fund, and for general purposes of Government."

Here is then ten shillings an acre already; the purchase money, the survey, &c, and travelling expenses will be about ten shillings more, making a total of one pound per acre. And then, after the purchaser has paid at the rate of one pound per acre, he runs the risk of losing the whole of it, by a kindly Native coming forward and claiming it. This is what is termed the Crown's right of pre-emption, by which the natives will sell as much of their land now to private parties as they have during the last four years. This is a good proclamation for the New Zealand Land Company, but not for the free and industrious settler. The natives will not

sell their lands at the small price they formerly sold them for, which the Government are well aware of. Land is not worth a pound an acre in any considerable quantity, though it might be in a small quantity. In answer to the third question, surely Lord Stanley will ultimately yield to Captain Fitzroy's opinion, contained in the same question, in favour of the settlers. If his Lordship be determined to take the land, both from the original seller and purchaser, his Lordship might make some extra concession to the settler above the scale of prices, wherein the settlers' land is awarded them. For instance, in 1839 I paid for claim 360 C. 227l, claiming in the said deed 1200 acres in Doubtless Bay. I have been out of my money five years; and the general rate of interest during that time would be ten per cent.; this would be making my purchase, with interest and compound interest, 476l., or thereabout; beside the above, there was 54l. expenses in going up from the Bay of Islands, with an interpreter; the interest of this and the compound interest would make it 85l. 4s., making a total of 561l. 4s. In May, 1843, I paid the Surveyor (Mr. Florence), deducting the Government allowance, as per act of council, 21l. 9s.; so that this 1200 acres of land, which was useless to the native, has cost me up to this time, allowing ten per cent, interest upon 21l. 9s., which will be 33l. 5s., in all, the sum of 594l. 9s. Mr. Shortland awards me, by instruction from Lord Stanley, 567 1/2 acres, which is 1l. 0s. 11 1/4d. per acre.

So that the early settler is made in the end to pay for his land a higher price, than that for which parties are now able to purchase from the Crown. This is exclusive of about 80l. laid out in improvements in 1839. Now I think, that if his Lordship were fully satisfied, which he might be by the Gazette, of the truth of what I have stated, my claim to these 1200 acres would be allowed; and also that the claims of the other settlers would be adjudicated on the same principle, and both the interest of their money laid out, and also their improvements, taken into consideration. The immediate consequence of applying other principles to the settlement of their claims is, that the claimants have done nothing with their lands, since they were, in 1840, thrown into Chancery by Captain Hobson.

I only claim justice for my fellow-settlers and myself, and I am quite certain that had the land claims been fairly placed on their merits, and fully laid before his Lordship, that he would have been far more liberal in the intended grants, by forming his estimates from the actual cost of the settlers' lands up to the time of issuing the grants or Government title deeds. When it became known to the natives from whom I purchased the above piece of land, that I had a valuable vein of copper on the said land, or, as they termed it, money, I was told by them, that unless I gave them back about 12,000 acres, (the original land in the said piece consisted of about 14,000 acres when first purchased in 1839,) that they

would dispute their having sold it to me when brought before the Land Commissioner. I then applied to Colonel Godfrey, the Commissioner in the case, who strongly recommended me to give up what was required by the natives, intimating, that if there should be any dispute in the Court of Claims, that the chances were that I should lose all. I gave up what the natives required, 12,000 acres, or thereabout. This claim came before Colonel Godfrey, Jan. 31st, 1843, at Kaitaia, and it was then acknowledged by all the late owners, and also by Noble, the great chief of the North, that it had been fairly sold by them to me, and that they were perfectly satisfied. On the 6th of April, 1843, I called on the acting Governor (Mr. Shortland) at Auckland, and asked him if there was any chance of my obtaining a title-deed (from the Crown) to my land in Doubtless Bay, as it had been examined by Colonel Godfrey, and had been acknowledged by the sellers to have been fairly sold. Mr. Shortland then said, that as soon as it was gazetted I might have it surveyed by a licensed surveyor; and that in the course of a few days after it had been surveyed, and a map of it placed in the Surveyor-General's-office, I might depend, upon paying certain fees, on obtaining my title-deed. On May 17th, 1843, the Gazette was published, and I was awarded 908 acres of land out of the 1200 acres which I claimed. I then immediately had my land surveyed by Mr. Florence, a licensed surveyor, which cost me about 74l. including expenses of boat-hire,

&c. On May 30th, 1843, I went to Auckland with a plan of the survey, which I placed in the Surveyor-General's-office, as well as certain certificates required by Act of Council. I then called on Mr. Shortland again, and mentioned what I had done; he assured me then, that in the course of four or five days my title-deed would be ready. I mentioned, that as I was going to leave the Bay of Islands on the 4th of June for England, via America, my agents, Mr. F. Whittaker and Mr. W. S. Grahame, would receive my deed for me, as they had power to act on my behalf. Mr. Shortland assured me that they should receive it for me, and that it should follow me home by H. M. S. Tortoise, which was to leave Auckland on the 10th of June. It is now twenty months since that time, and nothing whatever has been done regarding the said deed or the deeds of any other claimants. September 7th, 1843, a Gazette was published by Mr. Shortland in Auckland, wherein I am only awarded 567 1/2 acres, in place of 908 acres, in consequence of a dispatch received from Lord Stanley, stating that her Majesty disallows the New Zealand Land Claim Ordinance, No. 14, of the second session. What authority, then, had Mr. Shortland to award the settlers more land than they were entitled to? Was it to deceive them? If there had been any doubt about No. 14 of the Land Claim Ordinance being disallowed by Lord Stanley, why have published the Gazettes in New Zealand, stating that certain settlers were entitled to a certain

number of acres? I, like many others, went to the expense of surveying nearly double the quantity of land I am likely to get a title to from the Crown. What is a Gazette? A document wherein news is published by authority. This is the meaning of a Gazette every where but in New Zealand.

In submitting the above-mentioned claim, 360 C, to the Court of Claims, at which Colonel Godfrey presided, I put in a claim for improvements, to the value of 80l., for which I hoped to get a certain number of acres awarded. But Colonel Godfrey drew his pen through the 80l., and stated that it was all nonsense my expecting to get any thing for improvements. Then what made Colonel Godfrey tell Mr. Maxwell and Mr. Southee to put in a claim for all their improvements, which amounted to nearly 2000l., and state to these two gentlemen, as he did, that it would be of great benefit when their number of acres came to be awarded? I was living with these gentlemen at the time, and therefore know the fact. He also told Mr. Matthew and Mr. Puckey the same; was it, in this last case, because he was living with them free of expense? Or had he any authority to do so? What was his motive in telling me so different a story? Did he wish to deceive me, because I reported him to the acting-Governor in the following case, which was mentioned by me before the Select Committee of the House of Commons, June 4, 1844, in 898 of the Minutes of Evidence, which is contained in their Report as follows: –

"I purchased an island in 1839, at the Bay of Islands, from a chief named William Koro Koro. The interpreter I employed was a Captain Bateman. I gave the native thirty sovereigns, and he laid out the money with Captain Bateman in clothing, &c. A few weeks after he had made the island over to me, by signing a title-deed, he had some dispute with Captain Bateman, and Captain Bateman struck him; the chief then said, 'Your friend, Mr. Brodie, shall not have the island I sold him, because you have struck me.' When I returned from Sydney, I tried to make up the quarrel, but he would not; he acknowledged the whole affair to Colonel Godfrey. I had three European witnesses, who were present when the chief made the land over to me, but only one was required. In the Court of Claims, Captain Bateman was put upon his oath, and gave his evidence before the Commissioners. When the chief denied the sale of the island, I wished to have the whole of my witnesses examined; but Colonel Godfrey said, 'It is no use any more being brought forward, one is sufficient.' When the chief appeared before Colonel Godfrey in the Court of Claims, Sept. 26, 1841, he said that such a thing happened; he spoke very good English. When the claim was being investigated, the chief acknowledged that he had sold me the land, but when cross-questioned by Mr. Kemp, the interpreter, he denied it again. I then told Colonel Godfrey that there were three witnesses to the transaction, in the Bay of Islands,

who would swear that the land was sold. 'By God,' said Colonel Godfrey, (a favourite expression of his,) 'if you bring fifty of the most respectable men in New Zealand to swear to the island being fairly sold, I would sooner take this man's evidence, (meaning William Koro Koro,) than the evidence of the whole fifty.' Immediately upon that, I wrote a letter to the acting Governor on the case. The following is a copy of the letter and the answer I received, put in before the Committee of the House of Commons: –

"To His Excellency Willoughby Shortland, Acting Governor of New Zealand, September 27th, 1842.

"Sir,

"As the reins of this Government are now in your hands, I hope you will consider it worth your attention to amend a part of the instructions given to the Honourable the Land Commissioners, in allowing the same justice and privileges to Europeans which are given to the natives. I appeared yesterday before the Land Commissioners, and there put in a claim to a small island next to one of Capt. Bateman's, which was sold to me by a chief of the name of William Koro Koro, in August, 1839. The said chief now disputes it's having been sold by him, on account of Capt. Bateman having struck him in some quarrel some weeks afterwards, when I am willing to swear, as three witnesses are, that they saw him purchase goods from Capt. Bateman, and take part of them away with him when he left the island in his canoe, after he had signed the deed, leaving the remainder, ten muskets, in Captain Bateman's charge. Capt. Bateman appeared before the Commissioners, July 19th, 1842, and swore to the sale of

the above island, he being interpreter for me at the time of the sale, as I had only been in the country a short time, and did not know the language; but William Koro Koro spoke good English, and was fully aware of what he was about. Finding he disputed the claim, I offered to bring three other witnesses before the Court, but Col. Godfrey told me, that if I brought fifty of the most respectable witnesses before him, of the utmost integrity, who all swore that they saw the island sold by William Koro Koro to me, that he would still take the chief's evidence in preference to any number of European witnesses, and give the chief who disputed the sale of the island the land; and the same would he do in all cases where there was any dispute. Verily this is an oppression which I think never was intended to be carried into effect by her Majesty's Government, either at home or in this country. Col. Godfrey must, I am sure, have exceeded his instructions on this point. Where there is any trickery or roguery on the part of any Europeans, with an intention to defraud the natives of their land, bring them to justice, but pray allow respectable English witnesses' oaths to be considered as valid as a native's word. In all the cases as yet come before the Land Commissioners, there is not one case where there has been any appearance of dishonesty on the part of a European; but see, on the other side, how many cases there are where the natives have sold the same land to three or four different parties. In all cases where a chief has sold the same land three or four times over to different parties, and has received the payment from the different parties, if he now has any land any where, he ought to be made to give the same quantity elsewhere as compensation for the goods which he has received fraudently.

"Your Excellency will observe that this is not a singular

case; and, I may say, it has been the cause of most serious evils in the country among the settlers. The English settlers have been looked upon as of no importance, and the natives have been allowed to escape with impunity, – their word considered valid, and an honest Englishman's oath defective. I am sure I now speak the sentiments of all parties here (although we have been so much abused by many as opposing the Government). We are British subjects; then pray give us British law; by so doing we will act with unanimity, for no colony will flourish without it."

"Government House, Auckland,
Oct. 25th, 1842.

"Sir,

"I am instructed by his Excellency, the officer administering the Government, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th ultimo, relative to the purchase of a small island situated in Paroa Bay, the sale of which you state is now disputed by the native from whom you made the purchase, and am directed by his Excellency to inform you, that the case has been referred to the Commissioners for their report thereon.

"I am, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"PAUL L. SAVAGE."

"Mr. Walter Brodie, &c. &c. &c.
Kororarika."

What has been the result? Why, when I left New Zealand in June, 1843, Colonel Godfrey had never taken any notice of Mr. Shortland's letter

regarding my claim. My claim, which came before the Commissioner in January previous, had been reported upon; but the claim of my island at the Bay of Islands, which came before him in September, 1842, and another case, in which I put in my claim for the large Cavalla island, which was also disputed, never were reported upon; why was this? Was it postponed until I left New Zealand? Was Colonel Godfrey afraid to make his report during the time I remained in the country, knowing, as he must have known, that had he made an unfavourable report in either case, I should have demanded the reasons? Or was it an act of malice and revenge for my reporting him to the Governor? the latter I think the most probable. He well knows the prejudice he created when he told the chief, William Koro Koro, that when there was a claim disputed in court, that he would give the Native the preference. This chief spoke English remarkably well, and he told the different natives after he left court, what Colonel Godfrey had said; the consequence was, that there were very few exceptions to the cases in which Europeans had not to pay something extra, when they took their claims before the worthy Colonel of the Spanish Legion: had they not paid the natives something extra, their claims would have been disputed, and, like my own, never reported upon. I have not put myself to any trouble in trying to find fault with the Land Commissioner, nor have I been influenced by any ill will. I have only mentioned

three cases of my own; and I will leave the other colonists, who have been treated in the same manner as myself, to fight their own battles. There are many extraordinary things connected with this subject, which I have no doubt will, at no distant day, be brought to light, and engage the attention of the Colonial-office.

I will here incidentally offer a remark on Lord Stanley's reply to Captain Fitzroy's fourth question, "that he cannot hold out any prospect of an increase of the military force at New Zealand. And that with regard to the naval arrangement, he will signify the decision of her Majesty's Government to him after he has ascertained the views of the Lords' Commissioners of the Admiralty." It is to be hoped that the latter subject will meet with due consideration, and that the Colony may receive the advantage of having stationed there two or three small war steamers, which, with a few marines on board, I am convinced, would render more effective service, than three times the number of troops at present there, and would inspire the natives with much greater fear and respect; the only benefit the Colony has derived from the military, has arisen from their expenditure in the country.

To the fifth enquiry of Capt. Fitzroy, Lord Stanley does well in leaving him to use his own discretion, in interfering with and settling wars and quarrels between the Aboriginal tribes or individuals.

It is now five years since the early settlers of

New Zealand had their lands thrown into Chancery by a weak and imbecile Government – a disgrace to civilized nations: and from appearances, we have now as much chance of getting a title-deed to any of our lands (although we have paid for their being examined) as we had in 1840. We have thus been deprived of the use of our lands for five years; and of the greater part of them for ever. In one instance, I bought a piece of land on a river, of 640 acres, which in a square block would be one mile square: for this I am awarded only 320 acres by the Commissioners; and I am obliged by the Act of Council to take about a quarter of a mile river frontage, with the rest all back ground, which is generally hill: so that I have a chance, out of 320 acres, of getting about fifty acres of good land, as awarded me by this liberal Government; my good land, before I get my title-deed, costing me about 3l. an acre. If we are to be allowed any land, it would only be just and fair that we should have a larger proportion of good land; all claimants, in this respect, being treated alike. The settlers would willingly relinquish to Government a large part of their claims, provided what we did obtain were good land; but we could not be expected to be satisfied with a fourth or a fifth part of good, and the remainder of useless land. There was not, in 1840, a rational man in the country but what would have met the Government on amicable terms. Our rights, for by law we have an undoubted right to all we bought from those having a

right to sell; for if they have a right to sell to Government, they have the same right to sell to us; – our rights, I say, might have been confirmed, with certain reservations to be agreed upon; and we, grateful for protection, alive to the necessities of an infant Government, and anxious for the prosperity of an adopted land, would have made large concessions to the Crown. Had Captain Hobson given every settler his land, however much he claimed, and taxed all uncultivated lands at one penny per acre, the settlers would have been satisfied. He was solicited by many of the large land owners to do so, myself among the number. There would have, been a revenue immediately to support the Government, and all the large holders would have sold most of their land at a few shillings per acre. By this, a large flow of emigration would have taken place, and thousands of acres would have now been under cultivation. Nearly all the land claims have been reported upon, but up to the last date from New Zealand, not one title-deed has been given out, which appears as if they are keeping the settlers out of their land until they can sell their own. There are not twelve disputed claims out of nearly two thousand. The chiefs have, generally speaking, come forward and declared to the Land Commissioners (as stated in their own Report) that they have sold their land fairly, and are quite satisfied; but still Government say we have cheated them.

Does not Lord Normanby in his dispatch to Capt.

Hobson, Aug. 14, 1839, state, "I assume that the price to be paid to the natives by the local Government, will bear an exceeding small proportion to the price for which the same lands will be resold by the Government to the settlers. Nor is there any real injustice in this inequality. To the natives, or their chiefs, much of the land of the country is of no actual value or use, and, in their hands, it possesses scarcely any exchangeable value. Much of it must long remain useless, even in the hands of Government also; but its value in exchange will be first created, and then progressively increased, by the introduction of capital and settlers from this country. In the benefit of that increase, the natives themselves will gradually participate." The Government do not consider, that by getting their land as cheap as possible they are cheating the natives; but we poor unhappy settlers are a set of dishonest people, for giving the natives what they demanded. Was there not much of the land that we bought of no actual value? did it possess much exchangeable value? must not much of it remain useless in our hands, as with the Government? will not its value progressively increase by the introduction of our capital as well as that of the Government? by our selling it for a few shillings per acre in place of one pound? We tried to second the views of the Governor in making New Zealand what it ought to have been; and had we been listened to and consulted, New Zealand would never have been in-

volved as it now is, but happiness, prosperity, and content would have repaid us for past years of trial and privations. It was, I repeat, we who made New Zealand what it was in 1840; we, by personal sufferings and exertions, laid the foundation of an empire; we civilized and Christianized the savage; we broke up and cultivated the soil; we introduced cattle, trade, and the arts of civilized life. This land, once a land of terror, had become by our means the safe abode of men of all nations. We, by purchasing their lands, which were perfectly valueless to the native, gave them the value which they now possess; and without us, the Governor would never have been invested with the rule of the Antipodes. It was, then, to us that the Governor should have looked for the assistance and advice which we were best able to give. The very measure which the Government wished to bring about, of concentrating the population, had been effectually commenced in various parts by common consent; townships had been laid out and communities formed. It was, indeed, an extraordinary spectacle, and an impressive lesson for older nations, to see such vast bodies of men yielding obedience to the usages of society in the absence of laws, and existing without a protective force and without a Government. Look to the number of individuals in New South Wales who had Government grants, many of 10,000, and two of 20,000 acres. Surely the settlers in New Zealand, who have purchased from and satisfied the

owners by giving them goods and money for land valueless to themselves, are much more entitled to it than the Government, who have given away the land in New South Wales of which they robbed the poor harmless natives; and who, in consequence, have been driven back into the interior by fire and sword, their finest fisheries taken from them, and the Kangaroo grounds been destroyed by cattle; and then, forsooth, these natives when they spear the settlers' cattle for a maintenance, if caught by the police, are punished for it. This is termed justice.

The New Zealand Government is now trying to impose a tax upon all land belonging to the early settler, which in most cases belongs to the early settlers' creditors, which creditors have supported the settlers during the last five years, and which creditors never would have existed had the land claims been fairly dealt with in the first instance. As soon as the early settlers obtain their title-deeds, for which they have paid so dearly, then will their creditors be ready to pounce upon them for their demands due for maintaining them during the last five years.

The claims of the early settlers have never been fairly appreciated, and much abuse and misrepresentation has been lavished upon them. The charge of land-jobbing has been constantly urged, and themselves have been denominated land-sharks: land-jobbing there undoubtedly has been, but who has been the cause of it? – the Government itself.

Land-jobbing is discreditable and ruinous in any colony, especially a young colony like New Zealand. But I would ask, what have Government done to prevent it? At the very first land sale of the town of Auckland they offered for sale 116 allotments, when they actually knew that there were 875 required. Government was written to on the subject. Why this is the very quintessence of monopoly and land-jobbing, and the merest tyro in political science could have foretold that it would lead to the result which has unfortunately taken place – that the greater part of the allotments would fall into the hands of speculators; that is, people of large capital, able to purchase the allotments wholesale, and none but this class were able to purchase; so that the Government scheme of preventing land-jobbing and speculating in town allotments, actually and obviously led to the very opposite result.

People of large capital alone could purchase without seriously reducing their means; those with a small capital (from 200l. to 300l.) had to spend every farthing in obtaining one allotment, and the great body of the bona fide settlers – the industrious working classes – could not obtain an allotment at all – the grossest piece of injustice ever inflicted upon a body of settlers in a new colony. Every individual might not have felt inclined to purchase; but it is quite plain that each had as good a title in point of justice as another to have a chance of purchasing; and the Government ought, therefore, at the very

least, to have exposed for sale as many allotments as they knew there were individuals who wanted them. Auckland is the first instance of any Government openly encouraging land-jobbers and speculators; and to show that this is not mere declamation, I offer the following proof. First, I shall assume there were 500 settlers at the town sale, and that the number in Auckland was about 1600: well, Government only thought proper to sell to them 116 allotments, or 38 acres. Now suppose there had actually been 116 purchasers – not jobbers and speculators, but bona fide settlers, each one intending to occupy and improve his own allotment – what would have been the result? Why, with the exception of these fortunate 116 individuals, every one of these 1600 would have been compelled to leave the Colony; but fortunately this lamentable result has been avoided, for these 116 individuals were most of them land-jobbers, induced to become so by Government, and they have retailed out their quarter-acre allotments at a rate varying from 5s. to 15s. per inch to those whom Government had induced to goto Auckland, and had not thought proper to afford them an opportunity of purchasing a spot of ground to live upon. From this it is clear, beyond contradiction, that Government have actually reared up a class of land-jobbers, nay, have rendered their existence absolutely necessary and indispensable to the Colony, thereby throwing its fate entirely into their hands, and are even now, day by day, encouraging and supporting

them in their enormous gains, careless of the certain and obvious ruin which has already been the consequence. And after this it was actually twelve months before another sale of town lands took place. There, then, was a fertile field for land-jobbers and speculators; a case so monstrous and unjust, that it has nearly found its own cure, though almost to the ruin of the Colony. Not only have a class of land-jobbers been reared up by the Government, but they have acted upon the principle of land-jobbing themselves by selling the smallest portion possible for the largest possible price; by refusing to sell more, although the price has already reached a pitch beyond all precedent, disgusting and ruining every one already there, who was not a participator in those prices, and presenting to those who were inclined to go there the greatest possible discouragement, if not an obstacle wholly insurmountable. The Government officers, not satisfied with merely introducing a system of land-jobbing, were themselves the foremost to set the example. Mr. Shortland, the Colonial Secretary, some of whose transactions I have already described, was the first to begin, and was speedily followed by the others.

The non-settlement of the land claims has stopped the progress of the Colony, which has ever since been retrograde. Emigrants with capital have arrived, it is true, and labourers; but most of the former have gone away, and the latter, for want of employers,

would have gone also, had they had the means, or known where to go to.

From what I first saw of New Zealand, and what I now know, I consider it to be well adapted for colonization, allowing settlers to select the most favourable situation, and to purchase the land of the natives, or of the Government, at a cheap rate.

A pound an acre is a prohibitory price. Government has sold no land at that rate, except a few patches near Auckland, too limited for the general purposes of farming.

The principle of selling waste lands at a pound an acre, instead of five shillings (their maximum value all over the world), has arisen, I believe, from some fanciful theories of making a colony support itself, by exacting a high price for land, to compel the concentration of settlers, to expend half the proceeds in deporting labourers for their use, to restrict them from leaving the market, and to force what may be termed a precocious maturity of society. But, would not two pounds an acre have answered these laudable designs of concentration and labour much better, as it would also have afforded the settlers a supply of cheap cattle?

No doubt it might, if they could easily expend such a large proportion of their means at the commencement. Prudent settlers, however, begin with few men and few cattle, increasing both as their supply of food, &c. increases. The most successful

cultivator of the soil in New South Wales, is a gentleman who set himself down on a two thousand acre grant with one labourer; he worked hard, it is true, and I remember him showing me how horny his hands had become with felling trees: he was long called "the one-man settler" by those around, who kept numbers of men; but he realized a fortune of fifty thousand pounds, while they sunk what they had.

The Americans, who are a calculating people, do not ask four times the value of their waste lands, in order to purchase labour for the settlers, and yet their colonies are flourishing and self-supporting. The favourite illustration of the theorists I have alluded to, of transplanting a community like a full-grown tree; as though the possibility of doing so with a tree afforded a practical inference that a community might be removed from England to the Antipodes, and live as it did before. It is very certain that man can make a town; but nature, through the progressive change of seasons, is required to make a country. It takes three years to raise a supply of bread from the sourness of wild land, and also from delays which can neither be anticipated nor controlled.

3 Wairoa means – wai, water, and roa, long; consequently there are many rivers in New Zealand of the same name.

The New Zealand Company.

The New Zealand Company.

It being now fully acknowledged by the Committee of Parliament that the New Zealand Company is entitled to the full amount of Mr. Pennington's award, 762,593 acres of land from the Crown, and that the Company have a right to be put in possession, with the least possible delay; it therefore follows that the Company have reason to blame the Home Government for some at least of the evils and misery, and, in many cases, ruin, which have been the fate of those settlers who went out under the auspices of the Company. The Company blame the Government. The Government blame the Company. The settlers blame, and with justice, both the one and the other.

The Directors of the New Zealand Company are unquestionably men of the highest character, and of great intelligence; and it was on this consideration, and on this only, that thousands invested their money in purchasing land from them, which it would be difficult indeed to show they had any title whatever to call theirs, or, consequently, any right to sell. And how can the Company be acquitted of a very heavy load of culpability, and a large participation in causing the miseries to which the settlers have been subject; when the history of their ope-

rations records, that in April, 1839, they sent out (not only without the sanction, but in direct defiance of the authority of the Crown,) an expedition for the purpose of purchasing land; and in September of the same year, they sent out three ships with emigrants to whom they had professed to sell portions of land. These emigrants, on their arrival in the Colony, (according to Mr. Carrington's evidence before the Committee, in June last,) found to their dismay, that there was no land whatever for them; Colonel Wakefield, having been able only to give an earnest to the natives in many cases for their land, and not having the remotest conception of the shrewdness and cunning which the natives evince in their dealings, was unable to secure a quantity sufficient to fulfil the engagements of the Company. Nothing, in my opinion, can justify them in sending out emigrants before they had received intelligence from their agent, Colonel Wakefield, and had ascertained the precise nature, and terms, and incidents of their title to the land they professed to consider theirs. For this the Directors themselves are to blame; for, with few exceptions, I repeat, the emigrants, who purchased of the Company, were induced to do so by the array of respectable and influential names, and the highly-coloured representations which appeared in their advertisements. It may be said, that the Directors cannot know what is going on in New Zealand: but it is their duty to know; and if they neglect to ascertain the real state of their own affairs

in the Colony, and for which they are responsible, they cannot be surprised to find themselves the object of severe censure. And they ought not to forget, that it was only out of consideration to their first emigrants, and to prevent their being reduced to a state of utter wretchedness, that the Crown was induced to grant them their charter, and that such indulgence may not be repeated.

Colonel Wakefield states, that he experienced great opposition from the proceedings of the Missionaries, and much has been made of this; but it would be difficult to establish the allegation to its full extent. It is true that the Rev. H. Williams went to Port Nicholson in a schooner, very shortly after the arrival of the first emigrants, but it was only for the undeniably proper purpose of purchasing sufficient land for reserves for churches for the Natives. And for this reason, principally, was he accused of thwarting Col. Wakefield's operations. The Missionaries have been too much blamed, and have been unjustly considered as the cause of all the disputes and evils which have arisen between the settlers and the Natives; and for no other reason, it will appear, but that they have been the means of enlightening the latter. I must, however, make this admission, that the Company have some cause of complaint against Mr. Clarke, and his son, the Sub-protector of Aborigines: but I believe, that if the latter had been fully aware that the land claimed at Port Nicholson belonged, as it did in reality, not to the

Company, but to the Crown, those much disputed claims would have been settled long ago.

My firm belief is, that the New Zealand Land Company's claims to all the land which their settlers occupy, will not be finally settled for years, unless they, or the Government, pay something like 50,000l. to the natives. The Crown is bound to give the former 762,593 acres, by Lord John Russell's agreement. But the southern settlers demand their land of the New Zealand Company, whom they have paid for it: they have nothing to do with the Government, the Government being a third party. The Company must make the best bargain they can with the Crown; but the Company, as men of honour, are bound, at any expense, to put their emigrants in possession of lands which they have been for five years expecting, whether they themselves get remunerated by the Crown or not. Both the Crown and the Company are greatly to blame. The former in awarding 762,593 acres of land which they had no control over, by the Waitangi Treaty; and the latter in selling land which they did not possess, but merely expected to possess, and which they fancied they had secured by sending Col. Wakefield out four months prior to sending out their emigrants.

The northern settlers have also been accused of opposing and thwarting the operations of the New-Zealand Company, by securing large tracts of country. A somewhat strange charge, certainly – for why should any man be prevented, out of consideration forG

the interests of the Company, from purchasing fairly any land he may have either the means or the wish to obtain? it appears to me, that the Company have quite as keen an eye to their own interests and profits, as any class of settlers whatever. And had the New Zealand Company continued to divide from ten to fifteen per cent., as a remuneration for their benevolent and patriotic exertions, they would probably have still provided luxurious dinners in the city, and we should have heard in this country, few, if any, complaints against either Missionary or Colonist.

Captain Hobson also receives from Colonel Wakefield a due share of animadversion, and is made the subject of an attack, which is scarcely warranted or justified by any of the circumstances on which it is founded. Captain Hobson's offence is, it seems, that he did not visit Port Nicholson at so early a period as suited the wishes of Col. Wakefield. The latter might easily have known that the Governor had much more important business requiring his attention and presence in the north than in the south part of the island; besides no doubt being entertained that Port Nicholson was not in any way suited for the site of the capital. This also was a grievance in Colonel Wakefield's eyes, as he thought that Port Nicholson should have been chosen instead of Auckland, alleging, as a reason for the preference, the large population at the former place, which would have been an equally good reason for fixing the capital at Kororarika and the Bay of Islands,

especially as there was no population at Auckland when it was finally fixed on for a site. And it is undoubtedly the best place, on account of the communication it affords between the east and west coasts, as I also stated in my Evidence before the Committee, although my property being in the Bay of Islands, it was undoubtedly against my own interest that the capital should be at Auckland.

One thing is certain, that had not Col. Wakefield (assisted by Major Baker) arrested Capt. Pearson, of the ship Integrity, Mr. Shortland would not have visited them at so early a period. But when Capt. Hobson found that the settlers at Port Nicholson bid defiance to all laws and to his authority, he thought himself called upon to send down some person, invested with office, to put them in mind that there was a Governor in the country. It might be all very well, on the starting of the expedition, for the New Zealand Company to obtain the signatures of their emigrants to a declaration to observe certain regulations, and to constitute, as it were, Col. Wakefield their Governor; but the very moment Capt. Hobson arrived, – the representative of the British Government, – that was all at an end.

It is not my wish to impute blame to the Company on account of the melancholy event at Wairoa; but I cannot conceal my opinion, that if they had had an efficient agent there, a man of the requisite calmness and judgment, and at the same possessing a knowledge of the character of the Natives, the

murder of so many of our countrymen would never have been perpetrated. The Wairoa had been disputed by two chiefs, Rauperaha and Rangihaeata, two of the very worst men in New Zealand. These two chiefs agreed that the dispute should be decided by Mr. Spain (the Land Commissioner). Colonel Wakefield acceded to the arrangement, and it was expected that the matter would have been finally settled in the course of two or three weeks.

In this position of the case, Colonel Wakefield was bound to withdraw the surveyors from the disputed land, until a decision had been made, especially as he knew well the angry feelings which existed between the chiefs and the surveyors; for even in the Court of Claims at Port Nicholson, they did not conceal their intentions of obstructing the surveyors at the Wairoa. But the Directors allege that Colonel Wakefield had no opportunity of forwarding instructions to the surveyors to that effect. If the natives found means to cross Cook's Straits 4 (which they

could not do in a canoe), Colonel Wakefield might have done the same: he had the same means of communication. And even if these had not been available, he ought to have sent a schooner expressly, knowing, as he must have done, the great excitement which prevailed at the time on the subject of the dispute.

Had the surveyors desisted from surveying the land when asked by the chiefs to do so, no massacre would have taken place. No man would allow his land to be surveyed (and in New Zealand surveying is the next thing to taking possession), without being fully satisfied as to the reasons and the object of such survey. In this case it was especially objectionable to the chiefs, as they had agreed with Colonel Wakefield to place the case in the hands of Mr. Spain, the Commissioner, for decision. The opposition of the surveyors was the principal cause of the unfortunate Wairoa massacre, which has proved a

severe blow to the southern settlements of the Company. But whatever might have been the cause, or whoever might have been the culpable party in the origin of this deplorable event, the subsequent conduct of the Government, and its treatment of the chiefs, is justly open to the most severe and indignant censure. On what principle, and with what view, did Captain Fitzroy, on his arrival in the South (in her Majesty's ship North Star), evade his imperative duty of taking the persons of these two chiefs, and causing the whole affair to be investigated, and bringing them to trial? The question of guilty or not guilty did not belong to him to decide – it was the province of a jury. Captain Fitzroy's summary and arbitrary decision of this case will be productive of much future mischief, and will lead every chief in the island to believe he may commit whatever outrage and whatever plunder on the settlers he chooses, not only with the prospect of impunity, but almost with that of protection. Captain Fitzroy could not have been in a better situation for apprehending the two chiefs, as he had a frigate entirely at his command.

4 Mr. Thoms, of Porirua, has been much blamed for taking the two chiefs across in his vessel. Why has this man been the object of such fierce invective from the Wellington press and those connected with the Company? merely because he holds the most valuable situation at Porirua as a whaling station, which he purchased many years ago from Rauperaha and Rangihaeata, his relations by marriage. The Company's agent in New Zealand has tried in every way to turn him off his land, by the assistance of the press, and in reporting his house to the police magistrates as being a house of the greatest disorder, and the scene of constant drunkenness. Was not Mr. Thoms solicited by the settlers on the west coast to erect an inn at Porirua for their accommodation in travelling to Port Nicholson, it being an easy day's journey from there to Port Nicholson? Since this, Mr. Thoms has erected his house. Dr. Evans has selected Porirua as a suitable place for a township, and has selected 640 acres of land there; and Dr. Evans, who is the New Zealand Land Company's legal adviser, has done (as might be expected) every thing he can in the way of turning Mr. Thoms out, and probably in giving him a bad character; but at present Thoms remains in possession of his land, which he has resided upon for twelve or fifteen years; and I hope if he is turned out that he will be amply compensated for the same.

CAPTAIN FITZROY.

CAPTAIN FITZROY.

There may probably be found some extenuation of Captain Fitzroy's conduct in this matter, in the circumstance of his so recently having assumed the

reins of Government, that he might be fairly supposed to be not altogether free from the effects of the policy pursued by his predecessors, and to be under some influence and control from those he found in office on his arrival. But we have not yet had, in this country, any sufficient data to enable us to form an opinion as to his policy and principles of Government. He has not yet had, as far as intelligence has reached us, the opportunity of a fair trial. I have already alluded to the report of a speech made by him to a native chief, on the subject of pecuniary compensation for crime, for the purpose of censure; and I have already referred to his want of firmness in the Wairoa affair; but with these exceptions, I am inclined to prognosticate favourably of his Government. He has shown, by his appointment of Dr. Martin (the Editor of the Southern Cross) to the vacant seat in the Council, that he is anxious to secure the assistance, and avail himself of the knowledge and experience of this able man, notwithstanding that Dr. Martin had administered a series of severe castigations on his Excellency's proceedings in the columns of his journal. This act will procure him more real friends than he can imagine; it evinces his impartiality, and shows his freedom from malice, and the paltry spite and personal animosity exhibited by his predecessors against all who ventured to oppose them. He has also made another excellent appointment in the person of Mr. Brown, who, with Dr. Martin, knows more about the real

state of the Colony than all the honourable members of the Council put together.

Captain Fitzroy states in the Council, May 23rd, 1844, "that when he left England the Government there had an impression that New Zealand could pay its own expenses, even at the rate of 50,000l. per annum: his surprise upon his arrival could only be imagined, on finding the Colony in debt, and scarcely any revenue." Captain Fitzroy well knew, that had New Zealand been properly governed before he went out that it ought to have maintained itself. What unfounded and false statements must the Colonial-office have had here to have formed such an idea! This Government have the means of restoring New Zealand to what it was in 1839, – a promising Colony. All those who know any thing-regarding New Zealand, must admit that it has been most injudiciously governed by Captain Fitzroy's predecessors. Who have been to blame but the Home Government, in appointing those who were most unfit for the duties required of them? That New Zealand will become hereafter a flourishing Colony, there can be no doubt; but if the Government are desirous of effecting this speedily, they must do away with the Custom-house, and make free all her ports, as in 1839; settle the land claims; support the Colony for three years, which may easily be done at 25,000l. per annum, as they are in a measure bound to do, having been a curse to it for five years, and having nearly ruined every

one in it: the Colony will in three years be well able to support itself; if it is not, compel it to do so. New Zealand will then be in a fit state to receive tens of thousands of the overplus population of England, who will find all they wish, or can possibly expect, in a healthy Colony.

A brief retrospect of the proceedings of the local Government – especially with regard to matters of finance – will strongly indicate the advantages which would arise from, and the necessity there exists for, granting the prayer of the petition some time ago forwarded to her Majesty; that we may have the privilege of electing our own Representatives to a Legislative Council having the power to control the acts of the Government, and who will be accountable to us for the manner in which the revenue, arising from our industry, may be expended.

With reference to the Home Government of the British Colonies, I may here observe, that when it is considered that they (exclusive of India) occupy a surface of more than five millions of square miles, and contain above two millions 5 of white inhabitants; and when it is farther considered that the real and essential welfare of these Colonies and their millions of white inhabitants depend upon the energy, activity, and zeal, with which their interests are conducted, and at the same time keeping in view the necessity of exercising extreme care and discretion

in the selection of Governors to carry out the views of the Colonial-office at home; – considering all these points, it must be obvious that the varied interests of so large a community cannot by any possibility be effectually managed by one responsible person, (as the case now is,) with that mutual advantage which ought to exist between the mother country and the Colony. Does it not appear an anomaly that this system should prevail in the Colonial Government, while that of India (containing only 66,500 white inhabitants in 1834) should require the combined energies of the Board of Directors and the Board of Control? Do not our Colonies equally deserve a Board of Management with that of our Customs, our Navy, our Excise, our Trade, our Victualling-department, and others that might be adduced? Considering the enormous revenue which our Colonies produce, while on the other hand they are a constant outlet for our own exports, surely they are deserving of the most deliberate attention to their interests; the additional expense to this country of a board for this purpose is too insignificant for any comment thereon.

5 See Appendix 1.

INDIGENOUS EXPORTS.

INDIGENOUS EXPORTS.

New Zealand Flax (Phormium Tenax).

It is surprising, that although so much concurrent testimony has been adduced in proof of the great

importance of promoting the cultivation of New Zealand flax, the subject has met with such a small share of encouragement in England with a view to practical results. Almost every arrival from the Colony has lately brought renewed assurances of the settlers' confidence in the success of a systematic attempt to cultivate and prepare for market its chief indigenous production; but these assurances have been often accompanied with expressions of regret that such an attempt has not been made. Many causes, unconnected with the peculiar subject of the cultivation of the phormium tenax, have operated to occasion the long delay that has taken place without any experiments being undertaken upon a large scale, but the principal reason has been the want of adequate machinery for properly preparing the fibre. But I am now happy to state, to those thousands already connected with New Zealand, that a machine admirably adapted to the purpose has now been constructed, though at present I am not at liberty to give any information concerning it, but hope I may be allowed to do so very soon.

Linens of the most beautiful texture, and cloths for wearing apparel, have been made from the fibre, and paper of different qualities (impervious to wet) has been made out of the epidermis, glutinous substance, and refuse tow; the tow has been valued at 28l. per ton. One great advantage in this machinery is, that we can under-sell the foreign flax growers in a surprising degree, and at the same time

give a large profit to those concerned in the machinery. 6 There is at present a great prejudice against New Zealand flax, simply because it has been sent home in such an unfinished state; it has been cut at all seasons of the year, but now it is ascertained that there is only one proper time to cut it, which is just about the time it flowers: much attention has been paid to the cultivation of the flax in the Colony during the last four years. The flax which has been worked up by this machinery has been the wild flax of New Zealand, the weed of the country: thirty thousand acres may be repeatedly seen in one spot, and it is but natural to suppose, that when the flax is cultivated, that its fibres will greatly improve. The largest farms in New Zealand will eventually be flax farms, and not wheat, as we can procure our wheat from the Colonies or Valparaiso cheaper than we can at present grow it.

In farming flax, there is not the slightest risk attached to it; each root will require to be planted about two yards apart, and in every year each plant will produce about twenty fresh roots, which may be transplanted or left, as the parties think proper. Flax will now very soon be cultivated upon a large scale in New Zealand, and under systematic arrangement will at once confer benefit on its supporters,

and call into existence a staple export as inexhaustible as it will be valuable: it will not only produce incalculable advantages to the settlement, but will give to all interested in the colonization of New Zealand the strongest assurance of the resources of the Colony, and of its future greatness and stability. Many parties in Dundee, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, assured me of the immense importance of the flax cleaned by this machinery, samples of which I showed them, and Mr. Mulholland (of the largest house in the flax line, &c. in Ireland) assured me, that if I could procure a large quantity of the flax, the same as the sample, it was his candid opinion, that before long the New Zealand flax would supersede the American cotton in many fabrics now made in England and Ireland.

When Captain Fitzroy (our present Governor) was examined before the Committee of the House of Lords, in 1838, he said: "If properly manufactured, the New Zealand flax would make very good rope, but there has been some defect in the way it has been manufactured, for it breaks in the nip sometimes: it wears an incredibly long time in a straight line, but sometimes, when much bent, it gives way; yet, as the natives use it for nets three or four fathoms deep, and often three hundred fathoms long, it lasts them for many years; there must, therefore, be some way of preparing it which would make it available for our rope. A net made in that way is kept by a family in the stump of a tree, on a wooden

frame made for it, and it lasts them for many years. It may be possible that it loses some particular quality, and becomes brittle from the defective mode of packing, and its heating in consequence on a long voyage." Now the defect in preparing it, which Capt. Fitzroy alludes to, is the glutinous substance in the flax, which is all taken away by the machinery, and with the epidermis is converted into paper of different qualities, according to the process, which is impervious to wet. In 1831, Government gave 40l. per ton for 800 tons: if that flax was worth 40l. then, in its unclean state, what is it worth now? Fair play has never been given to this flax; in all instances it has been cut in the improper season – a very material point, for then the flax is coarse and wiry, the fibres rugged, and not easily cleaned; the staple short, the colour bad: but with all these defects Government have given 40l. per ton for it. The phormium tenax resembles the garden iris: its chief peculiarities consist in the fibre being obtained in the leaf, and not, as is the case with European flax, from the stem; the outside coat of the leaf being stripped, the fibres are perceived running parallel to one another through the whole length. All the flax sent at present to this country has been cleaned by the natives with the use of a muscle shell, a very rough and imperfect way of cleaning it, which must more or less injure the fibre. The leaves may be cut twice a year, the roots remaining in the soil for reproduction: a given quantity of phormium

tenax will contain more of the fibrous substance than an equal quantity of Russian hemp; and, I believe, of any European flax, on account of its lighter intrinsic weight. It has been in universal use among the natives from time immemorial: formerly they cultivated it with great care, but now they take no pains about it, and the whole growth is spontaneous: it is adapted to every kind of use by them; their mats are made of it, some of which are exceedingly handsome, and just like silk, as well as other articles of clothing; also their baskets, sails, cables, fishing nets, &c. &c.

The production which I think is likely to yield a larger profit than any other, and is, therefore, better calculated to engage the attention of the colonist, is the smaller and shorter leafed: this sort grows in great abundance in every part of the Colony; no soil seems unsuited for it, not even the very worst; and it thrives as well in an exposed situation as in a sheltered one. Of all other plants it can with the least delay and the least capital be rendered fit for export in large quantities. A flax farm of 100 acres will grow 2410 plants per acre, each plant occupying two square yards, and yielding 10lbs. of green leaf (which is under the average); this would give 1076 tons, and allowing one-eighth of the gross weight of green leaves (which has been proved by experience out there) for real fibre, gives 134 tons of hemp, besides which a quantity of coarse tow, equal to about one-quarter of the green leaves, which gives

268 tons, fit for making baggage and coarse canvass; then comes the glutinous substance, mixed up with the epidermis, for making paper. The two last ought to pay the expenses; but say they will only pay one-half, and that the hemp is sold for only 20l. per ton (which is 20l. less than it is worth), this would pay the exporter one hundred per cent.

I firmly believe, that in a very few years the export of flax from New Zealand will be equal to that of wool from New South Wales: the flax is already the weed of the country, and all it requires is cleaning. In New Zealand we have no blight, no hot winds, no heavy draughts, as in New South Wales, to hurt our flax. Compare the risk of the sheep-holder in New South Wales with that of the flax-grower of New Zealand: supposing the expense of herding a flock of sheep, clipping the wool, sorting it, and sending it on board the ship for this country (which is often 500 miles land carriage), to be the same as growing the flax, &c. &c. of an equal value in proportion to the wool. In growing flax we have no risk; it will grow whether we like it or not. But the risk in sheep is great, – there are the wolves of the country (native dogs), the scab, – but the greatest of all, and the most to be dreaded, is the catarrh, a sort of influenza, by which, in some cases, I have known hundreds out of a flock of 1100 in one week carried off. Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Riley lost, in one year, 13,000 sheep by this awful disease. How often has it been the case that flock-masters have been compelled to

kill their increase for want of labour to look after them? We do not depend upon emigration in the worst of times; we can always command native labour at European prices; but generally natives will live with settlers for their clothing and keep, which is a very little. In 1843, England paid 3,497,064l. for 92,460 tons of foreign hemp and flax; it would perhaps be too sanguine to expect that New Zealand flax should displace at first any very considerable quantity of this immense importation. There are vested interests to be combated; there is prejudice to be removed: but may I not look forward to the time when so devoutly-to-be-wished a consummation shall take place, and England receive from her own Colony the largest portion of its importation of this staple? I trust that some of the worthy and wealthy citizens of London, when they see the said machinery, will be anxious to invest some of their spare capital: it will give a permanent and good interest for their outlay, and be far more profitable in the end than railway shares generally, which must, sooner or later, depreciate materially. Shipowners are deeply interested in the exportation of flax: their ships, which now carry out emigrants, in place of being compelled to make long and often fruitless voyages for homeward freights, would at once load home; the rate of freights outwards would be reduced, and more frequent communication would ensue between England and New Zealand. The seed of the flax is very abundant, and

the oil extracted therefrom valuable, as well as the oil cake.

Having made a few remarks upon the importance of the New Zealand flax, I will mention what other exports I am aware of, and have in my possession in this country indigenous to New Zealand, which must eventually be of great importance to that rising Colony. I believe it is known to many readers, that the finest navy spars used in the British navy, and those most preferred by the Admiralty, are those spars which come from New Zealand, called Kauri pine {dammara Australis). I have seen one of these pines at Wangaroa, measuring forty-two feet six inches in circumference, one hundred and ten feet high, without a branch, and as straight as possible; after one hundred and ten feet, the branches shoot out to the height of one-half of the tree, covered with a richer green foliage than any other forest tree in the country. The pines generally cut for the navy are about twelve feet in circumference, and from seventy-five to one hundred feet long. Many spars have been sent home by private parties, and many have been rejected at our dock yards, from either being worm-eaten, too small in the but, or from want of length. The shippers have not known sufficiently about them, and not employing a proper agent in this country, but generally intrusting them to the care of the captain of the vessel, in consequence have often lost money by sending them home, in

place of realizing a large profit. The Kauri pine produces a large quantity of resin, of a white and amber colour, burning with a bright flame, and having an agreeable smell, and has been exported in large quantities to New York at 2d. to 2 1/2d. per lb. It much resembles resin in the East Indies called damma, which is produced from a tree of the same genus, and used as varnish. The Kauri pine only grows in the northern part of the Northern island of New Zealand, on the east coast to about fifteen miles south of Mercury Bay; and, on the west coast, to about the same latitude, growing in a most extraordinary manner across the country in almost one direct line, south of which no pines are found. Very large quantities are shipped to the Australian Colonies; it forms the best timber for ship-building, and also for houses, is of a whitish colour, and very light in weight. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of this beautiful pine, which enrich the appearance of the country with its beautiful and lovely green tints. I may here say that all the trees in New Zealand are evergreens, even the largest forest trees.

Barks and Dyes. – Few people here will believe that all the tanned leather now used in New Zealand, is tanned either at the Bay of Islands or Port Nicholson: such a thing was never known in an infant Colony. The Tanakaka (Phyllodadus trichomanorides) is one of the said barks. This bark is used by the natives as a red dye for the ornamental parts of their kaitakas, their best border garments: they

first cut the bark off the tree in pieces, and then put it into an iron pot of cold water; the muka or prepared flax is then boiled until it is dyed red, when it is finally taken out and hung up to dry. For making a black dye, the bark of the hinau (Elaecarpus hinau) is substituted, and the same process gone through as the former: after it is dried it is rubbed in black mud, peculiar to many parts of New Zealand, for a short time, if left too long it will lose its colour; but by carrying a piece of the flax to the water, and washing off the mud, the operation is known to be completed by the material remaining perfectly black. There is also another red dye, called Tawaiwai, the bark of which is very profuse. There is a red mineral dye called Kakowai, which is found washed out of the earth on the beds of streams in almost every locality in the different forests of the country. Each of the above dyes, even in the rough state and manner in which the natives use them, is of an exceedingly rich hue; they are also fast colours. The barks are to be found all over the Colony. The Hinau and Tanakaka are used for tanning. The Mimosa bark of Van Diemen's Land, which is almost wholly used in New South Wales for tanning, having greatly fallen off lately, on account of sufficient trees not having been planted to replace those destroyed on account of their bark, has given some of the merchants in New Zealand great encouragement in collecting their barks for the Australian Colonies, which in some cases have brought them 10l. per ton. A captain, who lately

arrived from New Zealand, was offered 20l. per ton for as much as he would bring home here, similar to the small quantity he brought for samples. These barks and dyes are to be found in New Zealand, in sufficient abundance to furnish a lucrative and never-failing article of export. There is a very extensive trade carried on from India and the southern states of Europe, both with mineral and vegetable dyes, to the manufacturing districts of Great Britain; and I strongly recommend this subject to the settlers generally, as there is a time of the year when work is slack on farms, and the time of their labour could be profitably devoted to these objects. The Tanakaka tree is universally used as masts for large schooners; and being of a lighter specific gravity than the hard wood of New South Wales, the tree itself would form a profitable article of export thither, as also to the west coast of South America, where much has been already sent, a country where trees can hardly be said to be indigenous, excepting upon the mighty ranges of the Cordilleras mountains.

Copper Ore. – The quantity of this ore 7 already imported into England has been about 700 tons, chiefly to Liverpool: on an average it has yielded from eleven to fourteen per cent, of pure metal. A very extraordinary feature in this ore is, that it is generally

found upon the surface of the earth: all that has been at present sent home has been picked up by a pickaxe, the same as one would pick up a piece of road with. It is but natural, that the deeper the mines go, the more valuable the ore will become. All the ore at present sent home has been sent via Sydney, in the wool ships, as ballast, at from 5s. to 8s. per ton freight. Could we wish for a better export to send home with our flax? No. Here we have one export assisting the other home. I am aware of seven veins of copper in New Zealand, but three of these are only generally known. Three of these veins of copper are within five hundred yards of the anchorage of a harbour large enough and deep enough for any sized vessel. The other four are close at hand to harbours suitable for large schooners.

Lead and Silver have been found in three different places; Quicksilver in only one, and only known to one person (Mr. H. Tayler); Manganese in two places, in good harbours: fifty tons have been sent home, but what it brought in the market I cannot find out; the owners would not tell me. Coal in five places; but as long as wood is so handy and plentiful, it will not be used as fuel by the settlers. The largest quantity has been found in Massacre Bay, near Nelson: about fifty tons were sent to Auckland, but as it was not wanted for fuel, the shippers lost money by it.

Nickel has been found in three places, but at present has not been worked in any way.

Marble is found in great abundance in the Bay of Islands; there is a mountain of it, enough to supply the whole world, both of a reddish colour and pure white; it will chiefly be used as lime, as not much limestone has been as yet found.

Sulphur. – There is an island in the Bay of Plenty called White Island, nearly wholly of sulphur; it is about seven miles in circumference, and about twelve miles from the main land: this island always emits smoke, but no fire. The ship Earl of Durham brought home some, which brought only a few shillings per ton under the Mediterranean sulphur, but the freight will be too high for it to become an export to England. There is also much upon the main land opposite, at Mukatoo.

Rock Salt. – There is one small island of this, only known to two parties, which is almost inexhaustible.

Whale Oil. – The quantity caught upon the coast, in 1843, was twelve hundred and ninety tons, which, at 15l. per ton, would give 20,350l.: it occupied 85 boats, and employed 734 men. Whalebone about seventy-five tons.

Iron Ore is very plentiful all over New Zealand. There are hills of iron sand enough to load all the ships in the world. A sample of the iron, produced from this sand, was shown to the Committee of the House of Commons last June, which gave 70 per cent, of pure metal. It has a very extraordinary effect upon the eyes when walking upon it,

and looks very much like steel filings. No kind of vegetation is to be found upon it.

The rich iron ore is very similar to the haematite ore which is found in Devonshire, Cumberland, and some parts of Scotland, and which has been worked up by Mr. W. N. Clay's new process at the Shirva Works, Kirkintilloch, Scotland. The working of this rich ore by the above process, saves six different processes as used in the common iron ore; much of this ore, which is found in England and on the Hartz mountains, has yielded 85 and 90 per cent, peroxide of iron, which would give an average of 65 per cent, of iron, of nearly the same degree of richness as the ores of Samakoff.

Wool. – What little has been sent home has, in some cases, realized more than any of the other Australian wools; but New Zealand at present, or for years, will not export much. Generally speaking, grass must be laid down for the sheep, as it is not a grass country like New South Wales, but cattle thrive most wonderfully upon the fern.

Shark Fins and Salt Fish; a few bales of which were sent to China two years ago, and paid the exporter very handsomely.

Ochres, both red and yellow, have been much used in the Colony for painting, especially by Major Bunbury, of her Majesty's 80th regiment, who stated to me that they were equal to any he had ever used.

Woods, for furniture, are very beautiful, and not to be surpassed by any colony. Some furniture,

which has been made up here, is exquisitely beautiful. 8

New Zealand, in a few years, will export much Wine. The vine grows very luxuriantly, and the few hundreds of Germans who have lately gone out, have turned their attention to the vine alone. At the northern part of New Zealand all English fruits abound, and grow in great luxuriance. The missionaries having been out there for thirty years, nearly all the English fruits may be obtained: grapes, peaches, quinces, and figs, may be found wherever there is, or has been, a native settlement.

Tobacco grows very well, and is grown and made up for smoking by some of the different native tribes, but in a very rough state.

I have now enumerated twenty-five indigenous exports from New Zealand, and I trust that what I have said may be relied upon, and be the means of inducing some of the rich capitalists in this country to invest a portion of their money there; – all we want is money.

These are exports which have come under my own eye, and I have no doubt that there are many that are known to others which are not known to me.

6 This machinery has a great advantage over any other process ever tried, as there is nothing chemical required in the cleaning of the flax; no other patent having been taken out, nor can be taken out for it.

7 By accounts from New Zealand up to July 28th, another copper-mine is being worked, with far greater success than the Barrier island, at Lewington island forty-five, miles north of Auckland, by Messrs. Taylor and Aberdeen.

8 Mr. M. Levien, a cabinet-maker, No. 9, Broad-street Buildings, has sold some of the Hineau timber in veneers, at one shilling a foot: eight veneers to the inch thick would give four pounds sixteen the cube foot. This timber alone would yield an immense profit to the exporter: at present it is chiefly used for fire-wood.

EMIGRATION.

EMIGRATION.

I have seen nearly the whole of the British Colonies, as well as the States of North and South America, and I here conscientiously and honestly state that I have never seen any country to equal New Zealand. This may be from my having travelled more over that country during my four years' residence there, than even those who have been there for twenty-five years. It is not my intention to speak of New Zealand in the plausible manner in which some late interested authors have done, for the sake of encouraging emigrants to purchase their lands. It may, indeed, be said that I am one of the largest land-owners out there, and that I am deeply interested in emigration; but I beg to state that I have no land to sell, but wish to purchase more, as I well know that the value of land must greatly increase before long. I care but little whether there is a flow of the lower class of emigrants there or not, as we have 100,000 of as fine a race of natives as were ever seen, in my opinion surpassing the North American Indians. Mr. Dandeson Coates, in a letter (just published) to Lord Stanley, states, (which statement is authenticated by our worthy and excellent Bishop, Dr. Selwyn,) "that out of 100,000 natives which constitute the population in New

Zealand, there are published on the records of the Church Missionary Society 35,000 attendants upon public worship, upwards of 15,000 scholars in schools, 300 native preachers, and more than 2350 communicants." These do not include any converts of the Wesleyan Mission, which, I presume, may be reckoned at one-third more. I hope that this statement demonstrates the extent to which the power of the Gospel, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, has prevailed over this once barbarous people. Dr. Selwyn says in his sermon preached at the Bay of Islands, June 26, 1842: "Christ has blessed the work of his ministers in a wonderful manner; we see here a whole nation of pagans converted to the faith. God has given a new heart and a right spirit to thousands after thousands of our fellow-creatures in this distant quarter of the earth; a few faithful men, by the power of the Spirit of God, have been instrumental in adding another Christian people to the family of God: young men and maidens, old men and children, all with one heart and with one voice praising God, all offering up daily their morning and evening prayers, all searching the Scriptures to find the way of eternal life, all valuing the Word of God above every other gift, all in a greater or less degree bringing forth and visibly displaying in their outward lives some fruits of influence of the Spirit. Where will you find throughout the Christian world more signal manifestation of the presence of that Spirit, or more living evidence of the kingdom of Christ?"

Now I hope these extracts will relieve many parties here of their false ideas that the New Zealanders are a race of treacherous cannibals; some years ago, indeed, they were, but are not now, nor have they been so for years past. Of their murder of Europeans, I here positively assert, that in nineteen cases out of twenty, previous to 1840, the Europeans were to blame, as I think they were even in the late unfortunate Wairoa massacre. The natives are seldom the aggressors. Many traders had an idea at one time that the savages of the South Sea Islands had no feelings like those of a civilized race, until they began to meddle with the wives of the savages, but then it was too late – they were murdered – and thus suffered the punishment which the laws of savages inflict for such an offence. No civilized nations are so severe as savages in their laws against adulterers; both parties are generally killed. This has been too often the cause of murder in New Zealand and elsewhere. Treat a New Zealander with justice, and justice will in general be returned. It will convey some idea of the advancement of the New Zealanders in civilization to state, that I have known many of them keep an account at the Bank, and should any one offer a native payment by an order upon the Bank, he may be seen going off to the Bank, and there endorsing his order, upon receiving the cash or notes. One of the few good acts that the Government have ever done in New Zealand, was to publish a newspaper in the native language. Such a thing never took place

before in any of our Colonies. It is called the New Zealand Messenger; it has done much good among the natives; it is printed once a fortnight, and distributed amongst them gratis; it at present contains a digest of the ordinances of the Governor, of the laws of England, of the manner of jurisdiction, of crimes punishable by law, and explanations of and remarks upon many of the customs of Europeans.

The natives are here invited to make known their grievances to the Governor, and their opinion of his acts, through the medium of its columns. A publication of this nature is a source of very great amusement and interest to an inquisitive race like the New Zealanders; but, of course, its contents are simplified to their comprehension, particularly the explanation of the laws, and of the crimes punishable by law, for on these points their usages are so opposite to ours, that much tact is required to prevent their thinking us inconsistent and unjust; there is also much information on general subjects given, so that it will tend to elevate them in the social scale, and such a newspaper may thus be made a powerful engine of doing good, even in the wilds of New Zealand. Since the British Government have entered their country as friends and protectors, under solemn treaty, they are bound in honour to act as such; and it is gratifying to see the Government in this one instance overstepping the meagre bounds of duty, and extending to this interesting people that paternal care which their situation demands. There

are about 25,000 who are able to read and write, and it is very amusing to see them come into Auckland on the days of publication; one native of a party is generally selected to read the news aloud: when he takes his seat upon the ground, a circle is then formed, and after the reader has promulgated the contents, the different natives, according to their rank, stand up and argue the different points contained; which being done, they retire home, and answer the different letters by writing to the editor, who is the Protector of the Aborigines; extracts of which remarks are translated, and appear in the English papers; of these there are nine at present published in New Zealand.

Wars in New Zealand, which at one time were so prevalent, are now completely done away with; they frequently arose from domestic circumstances, such as a man punishing his own child: the cause of the child was often taken up by some of its relatives, and should these relations belong to another tribe, a war was often the consequence; but now missionary influence has counteracted this evil. What makes Europeans so much safer in New Zealand than in other colonies, is the circumstance of the tribes in different parts of the island being so distinct from, and so jealous of, each other, that they would neither unite their several leading men into a governing body, nor would one tribe submit to the authority of another, unless first subdued by the musket, which has prevented much warfare in the country since its

introduction. Such is their spirit, that if any reigning power were set up amongst themselves, the general opinion is, that they would rather run all risk of being annihilated, than tamely yield to be governed by any one of the tribes. Neither the Europeans, nor Government, need ever be afraid of the natives rising against them; if they do, they will be sure to have as many friends as foes among the chiefs, perhaps with the exception of one case, which is, if the Government attempt to take possession of their waste lands, which they have some idea of doing, although the treaty of the Waitangi explicitly states, that no lands whatsoever shall be taken from them, unless paid for by the Government. As sure as the attempt is made, so sure will the natives rise up against the Government en masse, but not, in my opinion, against the settlers. Does not Lord Normanby, in his despatch to Captain Hobson, state, "It will be your duty to obtain by fair and equal contract with the natives, the cession to the Crown of such waste lands as may be progressively required for the occupation of settlers resorting to New Zealand?" 9

I believe I was one of a very few who gave evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons, last June, in favour of the natives keeping all and every part of their waste lands in New Zealand. The Waitangi treaty was one of the most absurd, as well as expensive treaties ever known or brought forward; what good has it done? Had this treaty

not been signed, the Government might have had some slight claim upon waste lands by law. Should this waste land question, which is now before Lord Stanley, be adjusted in accordance with the principles of justice and humanity, of national honour and good faith, the New Zealander may happily advance in the path of civilization and social comfort, and in the participation of those richer blessings which flow from the reception of the Gospel, and an interest in the redemption which is by Christ. If, on the other hand, through any sinister influence, a contrary course should unhappily be pursued, the result may be another monument to the destructive progress of European colonization, by its sweeping the Aborigines of New Zealand from the face of the earth,

In drawing a comparison between New Zealand and the other Australian Colonies, it is not my wish or intention to raise New Zealand at the expense of the others, but to offer such remarks from my own experience and observations as may assist parties, in England and elsewhere, in forming some approximation to a correct idea of the capabilities of each. The spirit of locomotion is too often the evil genius of the colonist, who fancies, until he has unhappily made the change, that every, or, at all events, some other colony, must be better than that in which his lot is primarily cast. His expectations upon leaving home are high, and the distance of the country from his native land raises them still higher. The emigrant is disappointed, unless the new country be,

even in its natural state, superior to the fine and cultivated fields which he has left behind him. The soil, the climate, he not only expects to find superior, but he is sadly disappointed if the very mountains, rocks, and rivers be not more beautiful than any thing he has been accustomed to see. Like the pictures of hope, the anticipations of the emigrant are too beautiful and bright to be realized. Every emigrant is, in the first instance, doomed to be disappointed: like the tree transplanted, he must at first pine away and wither a little, however rich the soil, however vigorous the after-growth may be. The emigrant, in making the comparison between the land of his adoption and the beloved country which gave him birth, forgets, in his natural lingering and love for the latter, the prime cause of separation. Necessity, in most cases, and not the love of the beautiful, impels the emigrant on his reluctant pilgrimage, in search of that happier home where he fondly hopes to escape the dire effects of fell monopoly. But, whatever the cause may be, one thing is certain, that every emigrant who is unfortunate will, under any circumstances, blame the Colony for it; and the Colony suffers in character and reputation for all the settler's misfortunes. Taxes have ruined him at home; but if he suffers in New Zealand, it is because the climate is too dry or too wet; the land, though rich, too heavily timbered; and, though lightly timbered in many cases, and in other cases not timbered at all, too poor. Nature is

blamed for evils in the one country and man in the other. Van Diemen's Land is rich in soil and temperateness of climate which far excels England. New Holland can vie with Italy in the clearness of its sky; and New Zealand, on the other hand, claims, in respect of climate and salubrity, to be ranked the Madeira, and, in point of fertility, the Sicily of the Southern hemisphere: each of our Colonies has its own advantages and disadvantages; but one very great advantage in New Zealand is, we have no convicts to defile our society; and what society we have, which is more than many are aware of, is good. I am sorry to see so much puffing practised in some parts of the Colony, and abuse of each other's settlements. The evil of such a system is twofold: it is injurious to themselves and unjust to others; and, like every attempt at fraud, is sure in the end to meet its just reward and punishment. If they are eternally proclaiming the goodness of their part of the country over every part of New Zealand which they have never seen, all parties who have not already been deceived by them will begin to suspect that they have a design, inasmuch as it is not always the case that a person who has fallen upon a treasure will readily seek to impart the secret to others: they should leave the description of their country to the emigrants, who will, if worthy their good opinion, soon impart it to their friends at home, which will cause a wholesome influx of emigration, far different to what they have at present. Self-interest, and not

generous feeling, has been the object of this puffing. It is unfortunately too prevalent a feeling in the Colonies, to found the settler's hopes of prosperity upon a future emigration of labour from England, which promotes the colonial vice of speculation in uncultivated country land and useless town allotments. Did not Lord Byron warn the modern Greeks not to trust for freedom to the Franks? Then might not the case of the Colonist be converted into, Trust not for wealth to emigration? If New Zealand is not in itself good, the introduction of emigrants will not make its soil richer or its climate any better; neither will the infliction of misery or misfortune upon others, or their co-partnership with us, alleviate or remove ours. If, on the other hand, our lot is cast in a goodly land, let us bless our good fortune, and enjoy in gratitude and comfort that which God hath provided. If my own hopes of the future prosperity of New Zealand rested, in any measure, on the chance of emigration from England, I would never again visit its shores, but leave it for ever. I think I have already proved that New Zealand is the richest Colony belonging to Britain, but its resources at present are not really known; it is the most pleasant, fertile, and healthy. I can truly boast of the mineral wealth, can speak of the great value of our flax, of ships that might be built from our forests, and the fortunes which might be made in the country; but if I am asked how these advantages

have been turned to account, I fear the answer will be unsatisfactory. We have been under bad stewards; we have not been allowed to avail ourselves of our favourable position. New Zealand, in place of having gone ahead since the Government have been in the country, has gone back many years; but come what will, the New Zealand settler is sure of a living; and if he gets fair play, which I think he will with the present Governor, he is certain of an independence. Settlers can always ensure their crops; we have no hot winds, no droughts, no bushrangers, no wolves, no snakes; a kindly set of natives, in place of the horrid blacks of Australia, who come nearer the monkey than a human being; and the country is well watered, and a water communication nearly all over the country. A squatter who cannot afford to purchase land can be recommended to a peaceable and powerful chief, who will both preserve and pasture his cattle for a small remuneration of some of the increase, they being exceedingly fond of cattle of all kinds.

The climate of New Zealand needs only to be known in India, in order to direct to it a tide of the most valuable of all emigration – that of men of capital in search of health, and a home where they may spend the- remainder of their years. The northern part of New Zealand is above all other countries such a one for them; it matters not what we possess in the shape of money or property, if we cannot enjoy plea-

surably our own existence: of what avail are plantations of sugar-cane, cotton, and coffee, to him who lingers out a miserable life in some of our warm Colonies, or his lacs of rupees to the inhabitant of the East, while each of them is denied, in their several countries, the greatest of all blessings, and that most exquisite of all enjoyments, health, and the joyous sense of existence. This, which the poorest settler in New Zealand can, at least with but little care, possess, is a treasure more estimable than the gold of Peru, or the richest of Golconda's gems and jewels. Upon speaking of New Zealand, I have generally preferred the northern part of the northern island, on account of its climate: it is not because I reside there that I prefer it, and I think I shall be borne out by any disinterested parties referring to the two thousand land claims which have come before the Land Commissioners for investigation. These said two thousand land claims are with few, very few exceptions, for land in the northern part of the northern island, which, I think, is very evident proof that if the south was more preferable than the north, that the early settlers would have chosen the south; but the early settler had his choice of the country, and those who came last took what they could get: another great advantage is, that nearly all the natives in the north are Missionary natives.

With regard to emigrants, the best advice I can give them who are about to emigrate is, that those

who have capital should not purchase any land whatever in England, as they know not what they are buying; let them keep their money until they have seen the country. There are hundreds of emigrants in all colonies anxious to sell for ready money; and ready money will always command bargains. They must not be deceived by getting a cheap passage out for the sake of a land order; if so, it will be dearly earned, compared to the advantages which, by this step, they forego. A land order is a clog to freedom of action; it binds emigrants to a locality which they are soon compelled to admit is not the most advantageous: they cannot dispose of it, for others are in the same position, and they do not like to think the parchment for which they have paid so highly like a piece of waste paper; and yet what else has it been to many for the last five years? But possessing no lands they can visit all the settlements and make their own choice, and by taking out their money they take wealth into the country. There are many of the early settlers who have some of the finest land in the country, and who have been ruined by a bad Government, and whose land, in reality, belongs now to their creditors, in many cases through the aid of a fostering Government, which creditors will be too happy to sell at five shillings the acre for cash, or even for much less. 10

The security of the Europeans in New Zealand, against a general rise of the natives, is much greater than is generally supposed. The native troops in India are much more likely to rise up against the Government, than the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand are to rise up against the settlers. At the late unfortunate massacre of the Wairoa, the chiefs Rauperaha and Rangihaeata, two of the most uncivilized chiefs in the whole of New Zealand, tried every means in their power to persuade the different tribes on the west coast to join them against the Europeans; but they could not succeed: natives will not interfere with each other, unless, as I have before stated, it should be to protect their rights, in keeping possession of their land, and in preventing Government taking it away from them; in that case they are all interested, and would, in my opinion, as I have before stated, rise en masse, and fight for their rights. Should Government seize upon the waste lands in New Zealand, they will never be able to dispose of them to the settlers; as the settlers, from experience, will well know that

the natives will not allow them peaceable possession until their lands have been paid for.

The natives of New Zealand, I consider, are the chief supporters of the country, and have been since 1840; as they consume about four times as much European clothing and merchandise as all the Europeans put together. They are most anxious for European settlers to be amongst them: if a party of settlers go and live in the vicinity of a tribe of natives, that tribe is sure to open some trade with the European for his clothing; this being obtained, the next tribe in the district becomes jealous of their neighbours being clad in European clothing; the consequence is, that this tribe solicits Europeans to go and live amongst them; and so on among the different tribes throughout the whole country.

In 1839, provisions were very cheap; and in 1841, when emigration began to flow into the country, they became naturally more scarce and more expensive; but in 1843, every man, woman, and child had a favourite sucking-pig, and used to take as much care of it as if it were a child, in many cases perhaps more so. This was caused by the price of pork becoming more expensive, and the profits of the natives much larger. In consequence of so much pork being reared in the country the prices soon fell; and provisions when I left in June, 1843, were nearly as moderate as they were in 1839. Another reason for pork being so very cheap is, that in 1839, and previously, some

hundreds of tons of pork were salted down, and sent to Sydney annually; but now not a ton a year goes up, there being sufficient consumption in the country. Poultry and vegetables are nearly wholly supplied in the settlements by the natives. Vegetables of every description, and in the northern parts of the island, where the Missionaries first established themselves in 1812, every European fruit, may be had at a very moderate price. At the Bay of Islands there are 180 different sorts of grape vines. The gooseberry and currant do not thrive very well at them, as it is rather too warm; but further south they grow most luxuriantly. Settlers going out need never trouble themselves in taking out seeds, as they will find every seed that is in England in New Zealand; those seeds which we have not got can be obtained in New South Wales, which is ten days' passage. New South Wales is to New Zealand, what England used to be to New South Wales, when that Colony was first formed fifty-seven years ago; what New South Wales wanted then, she was obliged to send to England for; but what we want, which is very little (except money), we have only to send to New South Wales for. Many people in this country suppose that we have hardly any thing at all in New Zealand; but I here assure them that we have not only all the necessaries in great abundance, but also a large share of its luxuries and sources of enjoyment.

It was many years before we could get flowers to seed, especially clover, at the Bay of Islands, and we only succeeded when Dr. Pompelier (the Roman Catholic Bishop) introduced bees, which, by assisting in the impregnation of the different plants, were of considerable use in the Colony. It would appear that bees and emigrants ought to follow each other in forming new settlements, as much for utility as for their honey. The flax-flower, so abundant there, yields a larger quantity of honey than any other; and Mr. Cotter (Chaplain to the Bishop, Dr. Selwyn) had a hive of bees sent him from New South Wales, which in one year increased twelvefold. I may here mention, what I have often found of the greatest use in travelling, that the saccharine matter obtained from a couple of flax-plants, furnishes an agreeable mode of quenching thirst.

In alluding to this suggestion of Dr. Pompelier, I cannot refrain from offering my testimony to the lively and active interest manifested both by him and our own Bishop, Dr. Selwyn, in every thing calculated to promote the interests of the Colony, and the comfort and welfare of the settlers. They are both excellent men, and their exertions will be productive of great good.

It is not the soil of New Zealand so much as the climate, which causes such wonderful fertility; all writers agree as to its beautiful climate and clear atmosphere. I have had three crops of potatoes in

thirteen months from the same piece of ground; and the natives always obtain two crops, or summer and winter potatoes.

Its coasts are most abundantly supplied with fish of every description. The Arbouka, which weighs from one hundred pounds to two hundred pounds, is equal to any salmon in this country. The only fish resembling those caught here, are the rock cod, mullet, snapper, guard-fish, eel, sole, flounder, lobster, crawfish, oysters, and a sort of periwinkle, – these are all that I have seen, there may be many more. Of fresh-water fish, I may say, there are but very few. There are no indigenous quadrupeds, except a very small lizard (harmless), and the rat; and, strange to say, there are no snakes. (It is supposed St. Patrick visited New Zealand some years ago.) Birds are not very numerous, except the wild-duck, and the pigeon, which is about three times the size of the common pigeon here. The largest bird ever known in the world (Dinornis Giganteus) was formerly an inhabitant of New Zealand, but is now extinct. The bones of one of these birds are set up in the College of Surgeons, in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields; its height is about fourteen feet. This bird, and the vegetable caterpillar (Sphaeria Robertsia), the animal and vegetable growing together, are the two most extraordinary natural productions yet discovered in the country. Fossils are very rare, but land shells very numerous.

The country of New Zealand is, generally speaking, very hilly; and emigrants going out there, must not be disappointed to find the first harbour they go into any thing but of a prepossessing appearance. They must go inland, or up some of the rivers, where they will find plenty of good land suitable for all and any purpose. There are many parties who arrive in New Zealand from England in the rainy season (New Zealand like all countries has its wet season), who immediately write home and say, there is nothing but wet weather in the country, which prevents many from going out there. On the other hand, there are many who arrive in the dry weather, and they write home to their friends, and state what a beautiful climate it is. Their friends go out, and unfortunately arrive in the wet season; they then immediately say that their friends have deceived them, and, in many instances, leave the colony also; but where the emigrant remains the twelve months, then he is qualified to speak about the climate, and it is impossible he can say that he has ever seen a finer one. Many persons have written upon New Zealand, who have only been in the country two or three months; and one writer professed to give an account of the country, after a residence of seven days. No one can possibly describe a country, unless he has been there during every season, and, in many cases, not even then. A good supply of clothing and books, is all an emi-

grant need take out with him, excepting money; this he will always find of use: but if he is a thorough farmer, he had better take his apparatus, according to his means, but not, as many have done, above their means. An emigrant should never believe any one in describing lands they may have to sell; when he is in the country, it is his own fault if he purchases land without seeing it; he can have only himself to blame in such a case, although he may blame the party who sold it to him, but with injustice. There are parties in New Zealand, as in all other colonies, who will make the best bargain they can with an early settler. I speak from experience.

The Bishop (Dr. Selwyn) has settled himself down at the Waimate, about fourteen miles from the Bay of Islands, where he has established St. John's College. They dine about eighty in hall every day; the sons of many of the settlers are sent there, instead of being sent to this country, which is a great saving of expense. In one of the Bishop's letters to the Society, he mentions, "that the Waimate is far the most settled place in New Zealand; next door to our own house, which is the College, is the collegiate school. The premises have hitherto been used as a missionary school, and are very complete for the purpose. The cathedral library is established at Keri Keri, ten miles from this place, in a fine stone building, partly used as a store. I have just completed the arrangements of the library, so that the goodly

presents of my numerous friends are all accessible; and a beautiful sight they are; it is enough to cheer the heart to see such a body of divinity collected in the most distant of the dioceses of the Church of England: add to this, the private feeling of knowing that every one of the books are the gift of some friend, whose heart and whose prayers are with us. One of the chief advantages of the Waimate is, that we have a spacious church close to the house; it is built entirely of wood, painted white, and gives a very English look to the village. In the interior we have a stone font, an altar-cloth and cushions, a pulpit and beautiful large books, all the gifts of different friends in England. Here I held my first confirmation, at which 325 natives were confirmed; a more orderly, and, I hope, impressive, ceremony could not have been conducted in any church in England; the natives coming up in parties to the communion table, and audibly repeating the answer, 'Ewakaoetia ana e ahau,' I do (confess). It was a most striking sight to see a church filled with native Christians, ready at my first invitation to obey the ordinances of their religion. On the following Sunday, three hundred communicants assembled at the Lord's table, though the rain was unceasing. Some of them came two days' journey for this purpose. My Windsor communion plate was used for the second time on this occasion. The natives were pleased when they were told that it was a present

from my congregation in England, and seemed to enter fully into the spirit of the gift."

I will here mention an anecdote. An Irishman who knew nothing of the native language, travelled from the Waimate to the Bay of Islands in company with several Missionary natives, who all happened to be going the same way. In the first place it must be mentioned, that tai paddy, in the New Zealand language, means flood-tide, tai being pronounced as the English word tie. After leaving the Waimate, they came to the top of a high hill, near the falls of the Waitangi river, where they all sat down to rest themselves; when upon getting up, one of them exclaimed, "tai paddy," meaning that the tide was flowing, and that they had no time to lose, as they were obliged to cross the Waitangi river a little further on. The Irishman immediately jumped up with his stick in his hand, and defied any one of them to fasten him, threatening to knock down the first one who attempted to tie him. The natives thought the man was mad; and Paddy would not walk in company with them any further, but kept a respectable distance behind them, following the road which they took to the Mission station; and upon arriving there, he made a complaint to the missionary, Mr. Williams, of the conduct of the natives, and said, that had it not been for the large stick he had with him, he would have been tied, and most likely murdered. When Mr. Williams accused the natives of what Pat had said, they one and all denied it, and men-

tioned that he had frightened them; and Pat said, that they had frightened him. The natives still denied it, and Pat swore that what he said was true; he said he heard them say, tie paddy. Mr. Williams immediately saw the mistake; and when he told the natives of it, they all roared with laughter; but Pat still believed that they intended to murder him, and thought so for some time, until he really knew the meaning of the words "tai paddy."

In sending letters to New Zealand, to Auckland, or the Bay of Islands, it is the shortest and quickest way to send them via Sydney, and not to Wellington, as they often remain there many weeks.

The communications between the different settlements in New Zealand being almost entirely by water, the mails are most irregular. I know one instance, in which the settlers at Port Nicholson received no news from Auckland for seventeen weeks, the usual passage is about ten days or a fortnight. They had, in fact, later intelligence from England.

Before proper gaols were established in New Zealand, many prisoners escaped, but were generally brought back by the natives, who are very expert in their detection. When Auckland was established, a runaway convict, from New South Wales, was taken there by the mounted police, and for want of a gaol, he was confined in the Government Store (a wooden building); a young chief from the Kaipara district, happened to have an order from the Governor for

some blankets, and went to the store for them. He observed this runaway convict, and asked why he was confined; when the store-keeper told him, he took no further notice of it, until about a week afterwards he met the same man in the Kaipara district, who offered him ten sovereigns to convey him down the river in his boat, there being no other there. The young chief immediately recognized him as the same person, whom he, a few days before, had seen in confinement at Auckland, but said nothing to him about it. The chief told him that if he would go home with him for the night, he would give him a passage down the river the next day; after giving the convict plenty to eat, he allowed him to go to sleep, and during the night the chief lashed a native to each of his arms; and the next morning, in place of taking him down the river, he marched him back to Auckland, accompanied by twelve natives, six of whom were armed; one-half of the natives walked behind him, and the other half before, with one lashed on each side: and in this manner did he arrive at his old quarters, the Government Store. The chief then called on the Governor, and told him what he had done, for which the Governor gave him some money, and a suit of clothes, and two blankets to each of the natives as an encouragement in future. Many similar circumstances have taken place. This man was sent to Sydney, tried and hanged for murder.

The Wairoa river, which is in the Kaipara district,

is one of the finest districts in the whole of New Zealand, and must some day be a place of great importance. If the New Zealand Land Company knew their own interests in New Zealand, which they really do not, they would immediately form a settlement there, as well as in the Firth of the Thames.

The Wairoa river is eight miles broad at the entrance (it is better known upon charts as the Kaipara district), and navigable for seventy miles up for a ship of 600 tons, and for a vessel of 150 tons it is navigable for 150 miles up. There is no bar at the entrance, as many suppose; but there are sand-banks at sea opposite the entrance, with a deep channel between them and the main land, deep enough for any sized ship; all that is required, is a correct map of it, which cannot at present be procured – those generally sold being very inaccurate. No stranger ought to attempt its entrance without a pilot. Two vessels have been lost there, but it was not from the fault of the harbour. If the New Zealand Land Company would carry into effect their real interests, in forming settlements at these places, it might be the cause of doing away with that ill-feeling which exists between themselves, the Government, and the settlers of the north; which would be of great advantage, not only to themselves in a pecuniary point of view, but to those settlers who were fortunate in selecting allotments there. They have no

time to lose, as by Captain Fitzroy's dispatch the Crown's right in certain cases of pre-emption is waived, and the settlers who have any spare money will be certain to purchase small patches of land in that situation.

9 Parl. Papers (New Zealand), 1840, p. 39.

10 Cabin passengers can get out to New Zealand for 40l., but no wine or spirits are included; which is a very good thing, as many young men who formerly went out thought, that as they had paid for their wine and spirits, they were bound to drink them; the consequence was, that many of them had never taken spirits before going on board, and that many of them before the end of the voyage became determined drunkards, which are not the emigrants required in New Zealand.

ROTORUA LAKES AND DISTRICT.

ROTORUA LAKES AND DISTRICT.

I here subjoin an account and description of this beautiful and romantic part of the country, which may be interesting to those who may visit New Zealand.

Rotorua, the district so called from the name of the lake, is an almost perfect amphitheatre, with a lake of about ten miles long and eight miles broad, covering its area. Mokoia island, about two and a half miles in circumference, and of majestic height, rears its head proudly from near the centre of the lake, and gives finish to the landscape from whatever point it may be viewed. The waters of the lake are wrought into so dangerous a sea, by a gale of wind, that it is unsafe for any boat but the largest sized row-boats to venture out during its continuance except along the weather shore. The ground round the lake is generally low, rising gradually, and terminating in mountainous hills, whose tops alone, with few exceptions, are covered with wood; though there are indications that the whole country down to the margin of the lake was once wooded. In a

southerly direction, and rising high over the nearest hills, are mountains of picturesque form, which are occasionally tipped with snow. The varying light and shade in showery weather, when the sun is partially shining, produce an indescribable effect; while volumes of steam, rising from the hot springs, especially in calm weather, strangely obscure the beauty of the scenery. On the Oinemutu side of the lake, the boiling springs are very numerous, varying in character and in size, but all, in damp and warm seasons, sending forth volumes of steam, which from the large caldrons rise up in calm weather to a great height. Some of the springs throw up a body of water, causing a continued running stream; others only boil over in warm still weather; while it may be observed that a very cold dry southerly wind will so lower the temperature of some of them, that you may bear to keep your hand in the water, which also sinks down eighteen inches below the boiling over mark, and becomes quiescent. Others are always boiling, some with so much violence, that the water throws itself out several feet. All are more or less acted upon by the weather; but the great change which takes place in some with change of temperature, is a phenomenon worthy the inquiry of the scientific. Most of the springs are, to a great degree, sulphurous, or strongly impregnated with sulphuric acid; some leave an aluminous deposit; and others are so powerfully alkaline, that flannel may be washed in them, with an appearance of lather, with-

out soap. One large spring is so exceedingly soft, that the hands may with great comfort be washed in it, using very little soap. The air around the springs is strongly infected with an unpleasant smell, especially when the water is most sulphurous. Slight risings of bituminous matter may sometimes be faintly perceived, expanding with prismatic colours to the size of a crown-piece, and then disappearing; but the water is never so covered as to give a distinct bituminous character to the pools. There are some pits or caldrons where pipe-clay in a muddy state is always boiling up, forming numerous rings, which appearing and disappearing, running into each other, and always in motion, produce a very singular effect. The natives state, that in days of yore the boiling-springs were made instruments of cruelty. Enemies were thrown alive into them; and slaves who had become useless by sickness, and of whom their masters were tired, were thus horribly got rid of. To save all further trouble concerning the bodies of such slaves as died a natural death, they used to throw them into these terrific pits, some of which are upwards of twenty-five feet deep. Children are sometimes scalded to death by falling into the boiling water; and sad accidents are of common occurrence among the people, through the earth giving way beneath them, and letting them down into boiling mud below. If they sink up to their middle in hot mud, it is seldom they recover; but cases out of the reach of native hope have been effect-

ually cured by constantly dredging with flour. So evident and striking were these cures, that during their late warfare, the natives finding flour in the store of an Englishman in a pah (a fortification), which they took and plundered, many took their portion home for curing scalds, and it was afterwards used for that purpose. Some of the springs are of such a temperature, as to form a perpetual warm bath. In these, men, women, and children crowd together, regardless of all decency, chattering as they sit almost up to their chins in warm water, smoking their pipes, and eating their food, as if they were on dry land. I have seen them in bitter cold and rainy seasons, take off and roll up their garments, and go and sit in the bath until they acquired sufficient warmth, when they would come out, wrap their single blanket (perhaps half wet) about them, and sit down, or pursue their journey, without using the slightest precautionary measures. Yet it is a rare occurrence for them to take cold; although the water is generally warmer than would be quite comfortable to an European warm bather.

The people will often sit in these baths for three or four hours at a time, and occasionally, in cold days of idleness, they will remain the whole day in the water, having food brought to them, and fire to light their pipes. Oinemutu, the largest of the Rotorua pahs, is situated on a peninsular projection, which may be said to be the very seat of the principal boiling springs. The houses of the natives stand on

ground which is almost every where warm, and in some places quite hot, while the springs at their doors, or just at hand, serve as boiling pots, in which they easily cook their food. I have seen Indian corn placed with care in a calabash, quietly stewing in a still corner, and potatoes are readily let into or drawn out of the boiling water, by means of baskets constructed for the purpose. From some of the springs there flow small running streams of steaming scalding water, which makes travelling very awkward. Slight scalds are too frequent to be noticed. If you go into the houses erected on warm spots, after the doors and windows, or apertures so called, have been shut, you are instantly reminded of the highest temperature of English hot-houses. This warmth is both grateful and useful to the natives, especially in the winter season.

Early in spring they place their kumaras (sweet potatoes) in baskets, in these natural hot-houses, leaving them for a month or six weeks to grow out. The weather by that time being sufficiently warm to allow of their being planted out in prepared beds, the plants are then put into the ground in rows, and sheltered from the winds and morning frosts by broom twigs, about three feet long, placed upright, so as to form a screen along the rows. In removing the kumaras, great care is taken not to injure the young shoots. By this method, they gain six weeks in the growth of the plant, the losing of which time would so shorten its summer advantages, as frequently to

prevent its coming to perfection. The kumaras grown in the neighbourhood of the hot springs are very fine, both in quality and flavour; they seem to grow best in a soil almost entirely composed of pumice-stone sand, no kind of manure being used, except early turning in the grass and weeds of the previous year's fallow. Many remains are to be seen of the hot springs of former days, all indicating a great extent of subterranean fire, or of plutonic action. Earthquakes, it is singular to say, have never been felt here.

The specimens of sulphur crystals from some of the springs are exquisitely beautiful, but so delicate, that their beauty is not easily preserved, as, with the greatest care in removing, you cannot avoid breaking many of the finest crystals, and in a measure they all lose their vivid glow of freshness. Upon the island, in the middle of the lake, there are two springs; one only rather warm, the other just too hot to allow the hand being held in it. From the bed of the hotter spring of the two, you may turn up small smooth stones, which are completely bronzed, being apparently covered with a thin evanescent coat of sulphuret of iron. The soil at Rotorua, and for many miles around, is generally of a pumice-stone character, the appearance of the barrenness increasing as you recede from the woods, till the land assumes the aspect of the completest sterility.

Rotorua is only one of the many lakes by which this part of the northern island is characterized. At

Taupo, three days' journey from Rotorua, is a noble lake, forty miles long and thirty broad, and 1600 feet above the level of the sea, lying near the foot of the celebrated mountain Tongariro; it has a beautifully-wooded country around it. In another direction is a large lake called Waikare. Besides these, there are ten lakes in more immediate connexion with Rotorua; viz., Rotoiti, Rotoehu, Rotorua, Rotomahana, Rotokakahi, another Rotoiti, Tarawera, Otakaina, Tikitapu, and Tareka. Rotoiti joins Rotorua, receiving its surplus waters through a connecting channel, which forms a narrow and rapid stream. It is about fifteen miles long, and from one to two miles broad, and beautifully wooded on one side. It empties itself over a succession of falls into a stream, which, in conjunction with three other streams, forms the Maketu river.

A singular rocky island in Rotoiti, and the boiling springs which abound near this lake, are worthy of particular notice. Rotoehu is still more beautiful than Rotoiti, forming an elbow of about three miles long, and a mile and a half broad, with many small, deep, richly-wooded bays. Rotorua and Rotomahana greatly resemble Rotoehu. Rotomahana (warm lake) has hot water, and hot sulphuric springs. Rotokakahi is a small lake finely wooded. The second Rotoiti is also a small but lovely lake; it is in the neighbourhood of Matata. Tarawara, which is at the foot of a mountain, is of an irregular form, and about three miles long, with rich wood scenery.

Okataina forms a rude triangle, of about two miles in length, and half a mile wide, wooded here and there. Tikitapu and Kareka are the two smallest lakes of the whole lot. On the island of Mokoia, which is situated on Rotorua lake, just below the settlement, is a hot spring, affording at all times a good supply of boiling water, without any expenditure of fuel; so that for clothes-washing, pig-scalding, house-cleaning, and other purposes requiring hot water, you can always have as many pails full as you please to send down for. The natives have ingeniously divided the pools of water into two compartments, connected with each other by a narrow channel, and each having an outlet to the lake. It is so contrived, that they can always keep the large compartment as a constant warm bath, regulating its temperature by letting in hot or cold water as required. The natives here are rather superior to many parts of the country, both as to dress and cleanliness, and keep their plantations in better order, make their own pipes, and grow their own tobacco. Their pipes are cut out of a solid mass of indurated clay, in connexion with the boiling springs. The natives here excel all others in their carving on wood. Some of their work is beautiful. Many of their figures are highly indelicate: the high fence of Oinemutu exhibited a variety of hideous figures; their smaller and more finished pieces of workmanship display much ingenuity. The inner front and small doorway also abound in grotesque carvings.

I was glad here to turn the elevated verandah into a dining-room, to get a little clear of the natives while I partook of some refreshment. In doing this, I degraded myself into the perfect similitude of a puppet or mountebank in a travelling show, the mob of natives below me giving, every now and then, a hearty burst of laughter, at my civilized deviations from native manners. Their minds were so determinately set upon the ridiculous, that I could find no place for the introduction of better things, and really I was compelled to laugh with them. The laughing propensities of the New Zealanders have well nigh converted one to the doctrine of the Mahomedans, who account laughing a sure criterion of folly. Look at a New Zealander when one will, he laughs; say what one will, he laughs. One would be too apt to think them the merriest and wittiest people in the world; often have I been induced to ask an interpretation of the joke, but there was none. They laugh in defiance of all order, like monkeys, just to show their teeth.

It may seem odd, immediately on the above remark, to say that the New Zealanders are always crying; yet it is perfectly true. On almost every occasion of meeting after any lengthened absence, as well as on occasions of mourning, they have their tangi (cry); this does not take place at the moment, when it might be supposed that the parties were under the influence of some strong feeling. On the contrary, the most usual course is first quietly to dispatch all matters of business, and then deliberately

to adjourn to some named place, and there compose themselves to their weeping. The performers squat together, generally in a circle, according to numbers, and go through a quantity of grief, proportioned to the occasion. I know nothing at all approaching to the perfection of acting which these parties exhibit. The tears stream down in gutters, and fall in large drops from the extremity of the nose, in the fullest exemplification of what schoolboys term snivelling; while all, in the most perfect unison, keep up a low moaning, now swelling, now dying away in most exact cadence. A stranger would suppose them to be in an agony of grief; indeed, I have known of some who have been so moved by the spectacle, as themselves to weep in honest earnest. Yet these mourners, at the very time, are criticising one another's mode of weeping, and are sure, after it is over, to have a laugh at any deficiency of style. Now is it possible to conceive of any thing more absolutely artificial, or is there any practice in civilized life one iota more so? and yet theorizing men will persuade themselves that savage life is distinguished, at least, by a happy freedom from the artifices of civilization. This is perfectly correct. I have known parties to commence a desperate tangi, just at the moment the opening of an oven happened to be announced: they put in the incongruous parenthesis of a laugh and a gossip over a smoking hot heap of potatoes, and then returned to renew the piteous cry and rolling tears which they had left un-

finished. Their formal acts of tangi on special occasions are truly theatrical. The old women standing in an eastern attitude of adoration, the back bowed down almost to form a right angle with the legs, and the hands resting upon the knees, are certainly, with their haggard looks, their well-greased skins, their wretched garments, and their melancholy unison, the most admirable and eligible actresses for producing the effect intended.

In the immediate neighbourhood of the boiling springs, in the pahs, I was obliged to pick my way very carefully, lest the hollow ground on which I was walking should give way beneath me. The principal pools, in which the water boils with tremendous fury, empty themselves into the lake by narrow channels, the course of the scalding current being marked by the steam which rises from it as it runs.

From the pah I proceeded to a valley of hot springs, at no great distance. On approaching the unearthly-looking spot, extreme caution was required in picking my steps. The strong sulphurous steam, issuing from numerous cracks and holes in the grey incrustation on which I was walking, produced a very unpleasant sensation. On the edges of some of the smaller cracks, a white aluminous salt was forming. I came, at length, to several large pools of boiling water, terminating in a pond or hot lake, backed by hilly banks, which were sometimes entirely hid by thick volumes of steam. Through a fissure in the bed of one of the pools, the water was

boiling most furiously. One of my lads removed a dry branch which was lying over it; the water immediately rushed out with great force, rising in a thick column to the height of three or four feet, and diverging, in lighter streams or jets, to the height of seven or eight feet. In some places there were holes, from which steam constantly issued; and though nothing but steam was to be seen, you might hear the water boiling and bubbling at a furious rate beneath. These holes are a singular convenience to the natives, who lay fern tops, or other litter, over them, so as to condense the steam, and then place their garments at the top, to get rid, by an easy process, of all vermin, as animal life is speedily destroyed by the sulphurous vapour. I also came upon several spots where ngawas (boiling springs) had formerly been in active operation, though not exhausted. In all cases, the ground was covered around with a grey incrustation, formed of an impure sulphur deposit; and upon breaking up some of the little hollow mounds, which had once been steam vents, I procured some beautiful crystals of the purest sublimated sulphur. A collection of pahs lay scattered over very irregular ground all about.

A native having offered to guide me to the top of a steep conical hill, called Motuoha, I ascended with much difficulty, but was repaid by a fine view of the lakes and country. Over the edge of the Rotoiti lake there projected a pole, raised by a strong post in the lake to an angle of thirty degrees from the

level of the water. This raised pole, I was informed, was for a native exercise, called kokiri. With women and children the kokiri is a favourite amusement. The boys and girls stark naked, and the women with only a rough garment round the loins, run up the pole as ready as monkeys. Having reached the end, which is flattened, to form a standing-place, they make a momentary stay, and then jump down into the water, from a height of twenty feet, swimming directly back, and re-ascending the pole for another jump. Each follows the other pretty briskly; and in this way they keep up the exercise till they are tired of it. Off Motuoha point there is a very singular island, called Pateko: it is high and rocky, but a good part of it is covered with verdure, especially the side near Motuoha: some of the sides have been perforated by the natives, to form caves for the storing of their potatoes, kumaras, &c.; the entrances were closed by square doors, a few natives were living there as store-keepers. Watas are generally used for the storing of the New Zealander's provisions: one of their methods of making a wata is, by fixing an open framework on strong posts, commonly about eight feet high, so as to form a stage of the required dimensions, on which they place their baskets of food, and a covering of thatch put over them. Sometimes one thick post supports a wata, but more frequently eight or twelve, according to the size. I have seen some watas with its load raised aloft among the

branches, either of a decayed or growing tree; they are nice places to sleep upon to be out of the way of the fleas. Stores for kumaras are generally called patakas. Leaving Pateko in a canoe, I landed about halfway to the entrance of Rotoiti, to visit some more hot springs: upon ascending a steep path I turned to the left, and perceived beneath me a most dismal-looking brimstone valley. In the midst of the valley were boiling pools, the water in the largest pool being perfectly black, with a black boiling column thrown up from the centre, to the height of seven or eight feet, while steaming sulphurous streams issued from the pools, winding their way through the desolate and horrid-looking place, which superstition might appropriately set down as a bye entrance to the infernal regions: the descent being steep and hazardous I did not venture to go down into the valley, besides which, there were more springs about a mile further on which I wished to see. On my way I saw several spots where springs had been in action, but were now either entirely spent, or only slightly steaming in the sterile valleys of brimstone, to tell that some prodigious unseen engine was still at work. As I approached the main springs, a singular and striking prospect opened before me; in a valley surrounded by hills more or less covered with verdure, I could perceive a level patch of some extent, and of a greyish white colour, with a dense cloud of steam constantly upon it: on descending I first came to a number of small mounds, from holes

in which the steam was issuing as if from a chimney, my attention was riveted by the splendid interior of one of these miniature caves. Its overhanging sides were covered by a most brilliant coat of pendent sulphur crystals, some of them about two inches in length. The crystals of recent formation, and still warm, were of an indescribably lovely colour, but so delicate in texture, and so firmly attached to the solid mass of volcanic matter under which they had condensed, that with the means I possessed it was impossible to remove any portion without utterly destroying its exquisite beauty. The principal pools were large, being in part quiescent, and in part furiously in motion. While Rotorua and some of the other lakes may be regarded as peculiarly the district of ngawas (hot springs), there are hot springs also in other parts of the northern island of New Zealand.

POSTSCRIPT.

POSTSCRIPT

SINCE the former part of these remarks have gone to press, the following letter has been received from New Zealand, and of which, as it tends to corroborate the views I have already urged with regard to the timid policy of the Government in dealing with the refractory part of the natives, I will here insert the most material parts, and subjoin such observations as it suggests.

On the morning of Thursday, the 4th July, Johnny Hakey, a native chief, and his tribe, crossed the ferry at Waitangi; and after some violences and quarrels with ferry-keepers and others, at the ferry and at Pahia, the party arrived in Russell at one o'clock on Friday morning, the 5th. Mr. Kemp, the Sub-protector of Aborigines, had conferred with the chief at Pahia, and offered him a double-barrelled gun – why does not appear. On their arrival at Russell, the natives seized the house of a Mr. Lord. [This Mr. Lord had married a woman that was once a slave of Johnny Hakey, and was afterwards married to a Mr. Gray. It is supposed that the dispute originated in some breach of native customs connected with Mr. Lord's marriage; and it seems that the chief had previously carried off the wife.] "They remained

quiet until about three o'clock in the afternoon, when they formed themselves at Lord's, and made a rush towards the centre of the beach, where they went through the war-dance; after which they seated themselves and commenced to speak. The first speaker said,'War, war, war, with the white people!' the second, 'Cut them in pieces, and throw them into the sea!' the third, 'That Rauperaha had killed white people, and why could not they?' And lastly, Johnny Hakey got up, and, in a long speech, stated that he was come for payment from Lord and his wife, and to cut down the flag-staff, and told us not to interfere: they then returned to Lord's house." All this time, Mr. Beckham, the police magistrate, and Mr. Kemp, were walking about the beach; but they did not interfere; and as night approached, Mr. Hector's offer to form a guard of the inhabitants was declined. After a night of great anxiety, the inhabitants were up with the dawn. The natives began the operations of the day by an attack on the pigs, and then their plunder turned to other things; the invaders meanwhile being very threatening and insolent. Mr. Hector and three other inhabitants had an interview with the police magistrate. "When I informed him of the desire of the inhabitants to place themselves under his command, and requested him to appoint a place of meeting, he replied, we need not alarm ourselves, as he had arranged every thing, and that the police would do their duty. I then asked him how it was the police had permitted the depredations already commited? We received for answer, that we must submit to them until he had force sufficient to protect us. In reply, we stated that, if he would yield to the request of the inhabitants, he would find that there would be force sufficient to repel any further aggressions on the part of the natives; that it was not our ambition to commence an affray, but to

show the natives that, although we had permitted them to proceed thus far, we were determined to put a stop to any further acts of violence; and that, if he (Mr. Beckham) did not choose to assemble the inhabitants, they would meet and appoint some person to act in his place. He told us that he would put us down by force. We informed him we had no wish to infringe the laws of our country, but that self-preservation was the first law of nature, and we would no longer quietly submit to the invasion of our homes, have our wives insulted by the natives, wilfully exposing their persons to them, our daughters' clothes pulled over their heads, and our property stolen; and that if such were his intentions, we would oppose force to force, and he would then see who would gain the day." Mr. Beckham now desired to close the conversation and renew it in the Court-house; but it came to nothing. The only "boon" the settlers could obtain was, that the church-bell should be rung in case of need. "Towards the afternoon, the natives and the above gentlemen [the police magistrate, the Sub-protector, Archdeacon Williams, and another] held a meeting outside the house; when Johnny Hakey related the grievances of the natives from the death of Marion down to the present time, and particularly mentioned the manner the chiefs had been entrapped into signing the treaty at the Waitangi. At the close of the evening, Mr. Beckham advised Mr. Lord to purchase a boat and give it to Johnny Hakey. I happened to be present, and asked Mr. Beckham on what grounds Mr. Lord should give the boat; and if it were given, if Johnny Hakey would pay for damage that had been done? And I recommended Mr. Lord to do no such thing, as it would only be holding out a temptation for further plundering. Ultimately, Archdeacon Williams gave them a bag of rice and some sugar; and the natives passing up the beach,

pointing to the things, jeered us. All the houses were closed by dark, as if the town was besieged.

Things passed off pretty well on Sunday, with the exception of the interference with the duty at the Catholic chapel by the tribe of Johnny Hakey, and a few petty robberies. Monday morning, the natives at daylight launched their canoes (eight), and sent them in charge of the women and boys to Waihihi, about a mile from Russell, towards the entrance of the bay. They then proceeded in marching order to the point of the beach opposite the custom-house and gaol, and performed prayers with arms in hand. At the conclusion, a portion were sent towards the flag-staff, to cut it down; the remainder, as a covering party, proceeding by another road to Waihihi, both roads meeting in one after passing the flag-staff. Parties of natives were stationed on the tops of the different hills as outposts. Mr. Beckham was during this time standing within one hundred yards of the custom-house. Mr. Potter and I followed the natives to the flag-staff, and asked them why they wished to cut it down. Some said, there had been no payment given for the land; others, that it prevented the ships from coming in. On our arrival, the natives proceeded to work; and I saw the honour of my country laid low, without any attempt to prevent it. The ropes the natives took, and the staff and yard were cut into pieces. A demand was made for fire, and Mr. Tapper went to his house and got some. When the whole was over, and the natives gone, Mr. Beckham and a few of the inhabitants arrived. The natives met on an opposite hill, commenced a war-dance, discharged their muskets, retired to their canoes, and left for the other shore.

This is not the first time Mr. Beckham has neglected his duty, and left the inhabitants in a similar position. I refer to the murder of Mrs. Robertson; when a boat, with

an officer and marines, from the discovery ships, which were refreshing in this port, was sent for the use of the police, and which offer Mr. Beckham refused. Messrs. Spicer and Wilson alone went to the islands, captured the murderer, and, with the assistance of the natives, brought him in.

The last paragraph refers to the affair of the chief Maketu, which is fully described at page 24. The leader of these rioters, Johnny Hakey, is a person of violent and lawless character, and is in the north what Rangihaeata and Rauperaha are in the south. And it was he and his tribe who committed that series of robberies on the different settlers at Wangaroa and Mongonui, which I have already described; he was also the man who first killed two of Noble's party, when defending the early settlers' claims at Mongonui. Captain Butler, of Mongonui, took the trouble to ascertain from those who had been robbed by him the extent of their losses, and forwarded an account to Mr. Shortland. When I was at Auckland, May 30th, 1843, I represented to Mr. Shortland all the circumstances relative to these robberies committed by Hakey; and the answer I received was, that he had placed the matter in the hands of the Protector of Aborigines, but which, like many other matters committed to the same hands, died a natural death. Johnny Hakey seemed to think he might do whatever he chose; and the authorities making no efforts to restrain him, gave him fresh courage in his career of plunder and violence.

The Sub-protector of Aborigines, Mr. Kemp, ought to be obliged to reside at Kororarika, where the population is settled, and not where he does at present, at Pahia, where, in a north or north-east wind, no boat can land on account of the tremendous surf, and which renders him difficult of access on a sudden emergency. If Government officers do not like to live where they ought, they should be replaced by those who are willing to assist the public by living amongst them, and being always at hand when their services may be required.

Mr. Kemp could scarcely have given Hakey more direct encouragement than he did by his offer of a double-barrelled gun. I cannot imagine a more injudicious or irresolute proceeding. The speech of Hakey on the beach, "That Rauperaha had killed white people, and why not they?" affords a striking illustration, if such indeed were required, of the mischievous results naturally to be expected from Governor Fitzroy's supine conduct in the affair at the Wairoa.

When the settlers found that the police magistrate, Mr. Beckham, had neither courage to act decisively himself, or to avail himself of the assistance offered by the settlers, it can only be matter of infinite surprise that they hesitated to take the law into their own hands, and to protect their own property by all the means within their reach. The firmness and promptitude of the settlers of Kororarika

in arresting Mukato, ought to have been remembered and imitated.

The reason given by Hakey for cutting down the flag-staff, that the land had never been paid for, is altogether unfounded. The land was sold to the Kororarika Land Company; and evidence was given by the natives before the Commissioners, two years ago, that it had been paid for in a satisfactory manner, and Johnny Hakey himself never had the slightest claim to any part of it.

After the flag-staff had been cut down, the natives fired a salute in defiance of the Government, then crossed the Bay to Pahia, and went inland to where they lived near the Waimate.

Mr. Hector states, that several parties had been robbed by Hakey and his followers; but this is probably an exaggeration, as I have seen a letter from the Bay of Islands, written two days after the affray, which expressly states that no robbery was committed, except of three or four pigs. The same letter mentions, that a party of natives, friendly to the Government and the inhabitants, immediately placed another flag-staff upon the same ground where the original stood; and that they were so exasperated with the conduct of Hakey and his party, when they heard of what he had done, that they crossed the Bay and landed at Pahia, where they danced the war-dance, which was a challenge to Hakey's party to return and fight them. Captain Fitzroy has

done what his predecessors had not resolution to do: he has sent to Sydney for troops to take the natives; and I trust, that the two hundred troops and six pieces of artillery, which left Sydney on the 5th of August, will, in connexion with the remainder of the troops in New Zealand, enable Captain Fitzroy to apprehend Johnny Hakey and bring him to trial. It is to be hoped that Governor Fitzroy will not imitate the imbecility of his predecessors, and let pass this occasion of striking terror in the minds of the ill-disposed part of the natives.

The Sydney Herald of August 8th, brings us intelligence, received from Auckland, of the estimated expenditure of New Zealand for 1844-5, which was 35,991l. 1s.; an amount which is truly enormous, considering the present crippled resources of the Colony, and to meet which, I observe Governor Fitzroy has passed a new Customs' Bill, by which the necessaries of life are taxed from five to thirty per cent., which will prove a source of the greatest hardship to the settlers, and also of injustice, when it is remembered that this large amount is consumed by the salaries of the Government officers, and must lead to a general recognition of the truth of the protest made by the unofficial members of the Council, that, "If the mother country will keep up expensive establishments, the mother country must pay for them, for New Zealand wants them not, neither do they benefit those to whom New Zealand, as a

Colony, owes its origin." This Customs' Bill was strongly opposed; but the Governor and three official members were too strong for the three unofficial members.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX.

I.

IN Mr. Kettle's report before the Committee of the House of Commons, last June, he states, that

"The whole length of the three islands of New Zealand is twelve hundred miles:

The number of acres in Northern island

31,174,400

Do. do. Middle island

46,126,080

Do. do. Southern island

1,152,000

Making a total of

78,452,480 acres.

He states, that "Johnson has put down 50,000,000 acres upon his map as the acreage of the three islands, but thinks he must have been using geographical instead of English miles when he made his calculation."

While speaking of the relative size of the three different islands of New Zealand, it will not be out of place to submit for the information of my readers some interesting calculations, taken from Mr. Montgomery Martin's work upon the British Colonies, a book replete with the most valuable information relative to all our Colonies, and which will amply repay the trouble of perusal. Herewith is subjoined a Table, which will at one view point out the magnitude of the Colony, and the fearful responsibility which rests upon those who have the controul of so vast a territory, peopled with millions of human beings, whose spiritual not less than their temporal happiness depends entirely upon the fostering care and protection of the mother-country.

White
Population.

Colonial
Revenue.

Colonial
Expenditure.

Exports.

Imports.

British shipping
employed

British shipping
employed

Outwards.

Inwards.

£

£

£

£

Tons.

Tons.

Asia and India

66,500

18,451,251

17,310,655

7,069,000

6,205,382

106,000

100,000

West Indies

74,200

541,500

551,600

9,932,500

5,806,400

238,600

262,500

North America

1,819,000

488,289

449,385

3,468,367

3,616,660

786,000

887,267

Africa and Australia

160,000

540,000

320,000

3,000,000

3,000,000

269,111

270,000

Europe

434,631

384,500

500,000

3,000,000

2,800,000

130,000

130,000

Total

2,554,331

20,405,540

19,131,290

26,469,867

21,428,442

1,529,711

1,649,767

With an area of 5,434,522 square miles, or 3,478,094,080 acres.

II.

The following tradition, which is very curious, and which will be read with interest by those whose tastes lead them to such investigations, I received orally from a chief at Moeatoa, named Kaihau, and can vouch for its authenticity.

In former days, Rangi (heaven) made a descent to visit Papa (earth). 11 After fashioning Papa into a female form, suitable to his wishes, which form for some unknown reason is named Tiki, Rangi and Papa became the common parents of five sons: the first was named Rongo (or Kumara), and begat Kumaras; the second was called Tane: he was a tree, described as a male, with his head to the ground and his heels uppermost. 12 Tane afterwards became the father of birds. The third son was Tangaroa, (a fish) the father of eels and all kinds of fish. The fourth, Weri, who became a god, and returned with his father to heaven, having no issue. The fifth was Tu (man) all account of Tu's wife is involved in mystery, but, to him men owe their origin. Tu begat man. Passing over

a dead blank, we come next to the Maui family, nothing being known of the intervening generations. Where man had hitherto lived, or in what region the Maui family resided, save that Hauaika, their place of abode, lay in an easterly direction, is altogether unknown. The Maui family consisted of Mahuika, the paternal head, with his sons Mauimua, Mauipae, Mautaha, Mauitiketikeotara, and Mauipotiki the youngest.

Mahuika, the ancestor of the Maui family, was the first who produced fire. On a certain occasion the Maui brother sent the youngest, Mauipotiki, to Mahuika for some fire. Mahuika, on learning his errand, gave up his own thumb to his son, to serve as a fire-brand. With this Mauipotiki set off, but wantonly put the brand into the sea, and extinguished the sacred fire. He then returned to Mahuika, repeating his former request, alleging he had fallen into the water, and showing his garment, which had been dipped in, made his tale good. On this Mahuika immediately delivered up his fore-finger, and again Maui threw the brand into the water, and came back to repeat his former deception. In a similar manner the middle, third, and fourth fingers, were separately and successively delivered up. On parting with his little finger, Mahuika set fire to the earth, and hence resulted the various trees from which the natives, by means of friction, procure fire, and also the peat, or half-formed coal, which is found on the west coast and elsewhere. Having thus set fire to the earth, and as a consequence thereof, Mahuika dies. Some time after the death of the father, the elder brothers set off together in a canoe, on a fishing expedition, leaving the youngest behind. Great success attends them, and they shortly return, bringing with them in the canoe plenty of fish. Having cooked their fish, the brothers eat, and are satisfied, while poor

Mauipotiki is allowed nothing but scales for his portion. Enraged at this indignity, he hastens to the remains of Mahuika, and taking up the jaw-bone of his father for a fish-hook, he determines to fish up the land. Again the brothers launch their canoe, and go on a fishing party together; again they are remarkably successful, but Mauipotiki gets not a single bite. At length his hook sticks fast, and feeling a great resistance, he exclaims, "What fish have I got here?" Continuing to pull in the line, he finds the water get shallower, and repeats, "What fish have I got here?" adding, "my fish is the land." A still harder pull, and the canoe at last grounds, and they find themselves on dry land. The land continues to rise and spread, increasing finally to a mountain, which is Taupiri, in the Waikato district. The fish-hook is to be seen to this day at Paihakamahoe. The brothers were now completely in land, and here it becomes a matter of uncertainty, whether they returned from the land from whence they came, or whether they died in the newly formed island. Be that as it may, nothing further is heard of the Maui family. Here follows another blank: a great many particulars connected with these early traditions are either altogether lost, or but confusedly remembered by the present generation; and plain or figurative allusions of a disgustingly obscene character, are so thoroughly interwoven with the accounts given, that it is extremely difficult to disentangle them, so as to bring out the leading points of the tradition unsullied by these pollutions. We are not informed what period of time had elapsed after the above recorded transactions, when a man named Hoturoa, a descendant of the Maui family, arrived at the island in a canoe called Tainui, bringing with him the kumara, the hue moari, or native gourd, taro, the karaka, &c. He landed at Kawia on the west coast, where a large

stone, said to be the canoe Tainui, may still be seen. Concerning this Hoturoa, a few curious particulars have been collected. He is said first to have landed at Mahia, a table cape on the east side of New Zealand, where he left several persons on shore, some of whom managed to get round to Kawia on the west coast. Rakataura, one of the crew who was left at Mahia, having no canoe, is said to have dived under the island, and coming up on the western side, arrived at Kawia, where he laid out nekes, or pieces of wood, over which to drag the canoe on its arrival. Kupe, another who had been left, procured a canoe, and in going round the west coast, caused the waves tremendously to swell, so that it afterwards became a proverb, "No canoe can go where Kupe went." Nothing further is known of Kupe than that he went away. The name of one that got round on the surface of the water, required very carefully taking down, for he was called Te Wakatapauruarikikoatikirahuea. Te Hapurangi also arrived on the water, and several women got over from Mahia to Kawia. In the meantime, the canoe Tainui proceeded round the North Cape, and along the west coast. Hoturoa, in passing, caused several places at which he touched to become fruitful. Getting among Kupe's waves, Hoturoa was exceedingly annoyed; but the waves hushed, in answer to his prayer, and he continued a man of might till his arrival at Kawia, where he became amazed at the sight of Rakataura's nekes, and mingling with the rest and marrying, he sunk into a common native. Tanewetukura was the son of Hoturoa. Men began to increase rapidly. Mokau, Taupo, Rotorua, Hauraki, and Manukau, form the boundaries of the tribes descended from Hoturoa.

The tradition by another tribe of natives is given by an old chief, who was formerly a priest. By his account, Watitiritaketake was the eldest son of Rangi, and the

father of the Maui family, and the following were the children of Rangi and Papa; viz. Tane, Haumia, Punga, Punganui, Pungaioa, Pungataketake, Pungawakaaea, and Pungawakaahu; together with another separate family from the same parents; viz., Ponui, Poroa, Poroto, Pohihiu, Porarama, and Poanganga. There is also a variation in the names of the Maui family, thus: Mauimua, Mauitaha, Mauipai, Mauitiketikeoteranga, and Mauiroto; and in Tahuhu's relation it is not Mauipotiki, but Mauimua – not the youngest but the first-born – who fishes up the land. His tale, in brief, runs thus: – Mauimua, thinking to himself that he had no fish-hook, went to look for the jaw-bone of Watitiri, and it became his to use as a fish-hook. Now the canoe of Mauimua and the younger brother was set afloat, and away they went a fishing; and the younger brother fished and caught native fish, tamuris, hapukas, tarakihis; those were all the fish. But the man Mauimua sat down without catching any thing. The younger brothers called out to him, "What makes your fish-hook catch nothing?" but the man never opened his mouth, and only held down his head. At last came the fish to Mauimua's line, and he pulled, and pulled, and the brothers called out, "We shall be upset;" and they were upset too, for the man would not listen, but kept on pulling till he had caught his fish, which turned out to be the land.

This tradition is taken down word for word as the natives gave it themselves in the river Thames: –

My fire was made, Wira and Mani were sitting, Mauimua, Mauiroto, Mauipae, Mauitiketike, they were sitting adzing their canoe; the elder brothers only they called out to the younger brother, "Maui, come and adze the canoe, to be a fishing canoe for you," and he did not

come, but went to seek Uru; not finding her, Maui came back. The elder brother said, "What is your food that you are working for? Well, indeed, that canoe will be filled by me; go on, perhaps it is made for you, for the grown-up ones to make the sides; why do you not adze it? or, what about that man? is he always to remain inland?" And he went to look for Uru and the rest of them. He went direct on to spear pigeons, and came up to Uru and her party sitting on a tree. Kaihua was the name of his spear: and he went on, but did not hit one bird. The elder brothers called out from the canoe, "Come back." Twice he came back, and thrice; and when he came quite back from the place, the canoe was finished. They rowed off to fish, and Maui sat inland; and the voice of the elder brother spoke, "To-morrow that shall be your constant work to sit inland. You go along to angle fish, there shall I be fed by you; just fancy who will angle any for you." "And what, indeed, shall be a fish-hook for me that I should go to angle?" Two of the elder brothers went to fish, and the third, and the fourth: then Maui went on board to fish, because else he should not be fed with fish. That man Maui went to haul up fish. The old mother sat inland; her name was Pani. Her first husband, Raumatua, was dead. Miromiro and his wife, Pani, went into the house, and afterward he fled up toward heaven. And he said, "Let your child be born a son: and let us both go upward to heaven." And she said, "I will not go, I will remain down below here to prepare the horohoronga. 13

And Miromiro said, "Finish the offerings for your son; let them not be left by thee." And Pani asked, "How many? Let there be three ovens of offerings for your son."And Pani said, "Go into the water and remain there;" and the man came out. And Miromiro ascended up to heaven and continued there. Pani fled into the river, and she prayed; and when that was done, went to cook food for the children. And when she went to pray over or consecrate the ovens, the fishing canoe arrived. Maui soon came running. The mother spoke and said, "Let your elder brothers come together." Maui said, "What food have you got? Is it these snappers?" The brothers stepped forward to their food; and now the voice of the old mother spoke, "There, open the waikis" (coverings of the ovens); and now Maui burned his hand. The voice of the elder brother spoke, "Shall you be fed by our old mother? How was it our old mother was left to sit there?" They hauled up the canoe, and Maui went back inland, and returned into the house; and he concealed himself in the dry litter, the old mother being in the house; and he went to light the ovens, and brought the stones in the kete (basket), and when he reached the water he crept along to get near his mother. Now the elder brother called out, "Maui is attempting to play tricks with the old woman." And Maui went to Rangawenua, to his grandfather, and he found that he was gone.

And then he went, together with his brother-in-law, Irawara, and they came to the hill. Then he called out to his brother-in-law, "Give me your kutus to eat!" And he pulled his ear-holes, and he pulled his feet, and his hands also. And when he came back, his brother-in-law, whose feet he pulled, was gone; and they made their ap-

pearance, and said, "Let us go to teka (or nitis, a game of skill, consisting of throwing straight fern stalks dexterously along the ground), and you go and fetch your grandfather's fire." It now began to rain; and Maui spake of the world, and, for the first time, determined to be disobedient to the old mother; and he called out, and said, "I am going." And now they said, "Get some for us." And he went into the house, and there fell in with the jaw-bone of his grandfather, which was lying down, and Maui stole it. The mouth of the mother spoke, "Don't play any tricks with the jaw-bone of your grandfather." So he went to the elder brothers, and spoke, and said, "Push out the canoe;" and their voices said, "Where's a bait for you? you have no fish-hook; do you mean to go without any thing, and sit idle in the canoe?" At length they row out to fish, calling out, "Pull up the anchor." And he called out, "By-and-by; let me cast my hook into the sea." Immediately the land bit, and the elder brothers called out, "Sir, cut it off; what is that fish you are pulling up, that you do not cut it off?" And he said, "Am I to go back to the shore without any thing? What is there coming to me that I should not be allowed to angle my fish? Our canoe will be upset." And he said, "This is my fish that I told you of when I asked for a fish-hook. We shall be upset in the sea; we shall not be able to get on shore. Let my fish come up: to-day you shall see mine." And the elder brothers wept for the canoe. The name of the canoe was Arataku, and now it appeared in sight and came up; and he called out, "There, look, it is coming to light! this is mine, which you wished to deprive me of, by keeping back the fish-hook. To-day you will be vexed." And it came to light, and there was smoke seen; and now they went along with their brother-in-law, Puruaueto. "Let us go and see the thing that is shining there.

Sir, do not you go there, with your nonsense!" And Maui said, "I am going; do not laugh at me: let me go and see the thing that is shining there." And he left his garments and went to Hinenuiitepo. He went once, twice, thrice; and now the skin of the small teeth of his brother-in-law was rubbed off. "Sirs, don't laugh at me, lest ye show the unevenness of your teeth." Twice, thrice, and Maui died. If he had not died, man would not have died: if he had lived, man would have lived for ever.

It is exceedingly difficult to make any sense of the latter part of this story. There is, however, a common tradition that death was first introduced into the world by Maui wickedly laughing at a celestial female called Hinenuiitepo. The chief stated that she was in the act of giving birth to a child when Maui laughed at her, and abortion was the result. However that might be, it was one man's error that brought death into the world; a remarkable agreement, in the midst of all this nonsensible jumble, with the statement of unerring truth, "By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin." 14

Having given the tradition of New Zealand, I will add an account of Reinga, the reputed dwelling of departed spirits.

A particular mountain is by the New Zealanders supposed to be the place whither the souls of the deceased retire. Mr. W. G. Puckey determined on performing an exploring visit to this mountain. His account will much interest my readers: a few such

visits may tend to loosen the hold which this superstition has on the minds of the natives.

11 It is worthy of remark, that this commencement might be fairly paraphrased, "in the beginning were the heaven and the earth."

12 Tahuhu, at Tauranga, mentions how Tane came to be heels uppermost: it was his own thought to turn down his head to the ground, and toss up his heels to heaven, in order to throw his father Rangi back to his own place. When Rangi reached his former abode, he looked down upon his wife (the earth), who was lying naked, and having compassion upon her, he threw down some grass to cover her nakedness. Thus the earth was clad with verdure. Strange to say, that the New Zealand word Eve, is a bone or rib.

13 The horohoronga is part of a ceremony to take the tapu off a new-born child: it consists in preparing an offering by cooking certain food in three separate ovens, one of which is set apart for the Atua (God), one for the priest, and one for the parents, as an offering to set aside the sacredness of the consecrated first-born; the horohoronga bears a remarkable resemblance to the ancient offering of a lamb or two turtle-doves, for the redemption of the first-born among the Israelites.

14 Romans v. 12.

Visit to the Reinga...

Visit to the Reinga, the reputed Dwelling of Departed Spirits.

Having long felt a desire to visit the poor benighted natives who are living at the very extremity of the island, and who are a remnant of the vanquished tribe, the "Aupouri," I set out on Dec. 4th, 1834, taking with me six of my natives, and Pacrata, an old chief, as a guide. This once bloodthirsty warrior and superstitious heathen, who was partly the means of annihilating this once powerful tribe, is, we hope, through the grace of God, becoming as gentle as a lamb, and bids fair to become as bold and useful in the cause of the Redeemer, as he has been in the cause of Satan. The first day we walked over about eight miles of land, till we arrived at the western coast, where we took a repast, and commenced our march along the beach, which is remarkably fine, reaching, at low water, 150 yards from the bank, and extends in length, with the exception of rivers, from Cape Maria Van Dieman's nearly to Cook's Straits. We brought up at night at Hukatere, an old fortified place, where our guide (Pacrata) once fought, and was wounded. After prayers with my party, we retired to rest, but were much annoyed by the musquitoes. At five o'clock we were on our way across the island, to Houhora, on Mount Camel, as we intended to spend the Sabbath at this place. At this place we were cordially received by Witi, an old venerable chief, one of the principal heads of the Rarawa tribes. This old man, on learning where we were going, said, "Of what use is your going there, for the people of that place are very few, and they have nothing for you to eat?" We replied, that

it was not for food that we were going; that our object was to declare to the natives of that place the glad tidings of salvation.

Dec. 6, 1834. – Witi, on learning that we intended, on this our route, to explore the Reinga, communicated the news to a chief of another village, who immediately came and said to Pacrata, "I am come to send you and your white companion back again; for if you cut away the 'aka,' or roots of the Reinga, the whole island will be destroyed; but your white friend will not." He moreover said to Pacrata, "Do not suffer your friend to cut away the ladder by which the souls of our forefathers were conveyed to the other world." The whole body of New Zealanders, although composed of numerous tribes, who, for the greater part, are living in malice, hateful, and hating one another, yet firmly believe in the Reinga (which is at the North Cape), as the one only place for their departed spirits. It is their belief, that as soon as the soul leaves the body, it makes its way with all speed to the western coast; if it be the spirit of a person who resided in the interior, it takes with it a small bundle of the branches of the palm-tree, as a token of the place where it resided; if one who lived on the coast, the spirit takes with it a kind of grass which grows by the sea-side, which it leaves at different resting-places on its road to the Reinga.

Dec. 7. – At night, we brought up at a place called Waimahuru, a small creek, where there are a few houses, which are considered sacred. One or two of my lads, in collecting fire-wood, took some wood which was near to those houses; and no sooner was the fire kindled, than the long grass, which was in great abundance, took fire, and one of our packages was burnt, which called forth a remark from our guide, that, had he not begun to believe

in the true God, he should have said this accident befel us because we made a fire of some of the sacred wood.

Dec. 8. – At break of day we proceeded on our way about three miles, when we came to one of the resting-places of the spirits, where we were told we should know if any native had lately died, as there would be a green "wakaau," or token, of his spirit having rested there, on its way to the Reinga; but we found none. Here we took breakfast, and departed. About three o'clock we arrived at the end of the beach, where I pitched my tent for the night. At this place, called "Kahokawa," resided all the natives of the North Cape, not exceeding in number twenty-five. I had service with them, and talked with them, till late at night, of the things of God. After I had done speaking, one of them observed to another sitting by him, "It will be well for us to pay attention to these things; we can keep the Sabbath, if we can do nothing else."

Dec. 9. – We proceeded to explore the Reinga. After walking about half an hour, we came to another and the last resting-place of the spirits, which is on a hill, called "Haumu;" from whence they can look back on the country where their friends are still living; and the thought of this causes them to cry, and cut themselves. Here we saw many dry "wakaau;" which, as a native, whom we took as a guide for the last place, said, were the tokens of the spirits who had rested at this place. I asked him, if it were not possible for strangers, who passed this way, to do as my natives were then doing; namely, twisting green branches, and depositing them there, as a sign that they had stopped at that notable place, – a general custom with the natives, whenever they pass any remarkable place. After this, we went on our way, over sandy hills and

sandy beaches, till we came to a fresh-water river. Here we took breakfast; after which we ascended a very high hill, composed of craggy rocks, on which were growing patches of slippery grass, over which it was very difficult to walk; and the precipice, over which the road lay, hanging over the sea, made the travelling very dangerous. When we arrived on the summit of this high hill, we gradually descended, by a much better road, till we came to the water edge. Here there is a hole through a rock, into which the spirits are said to go: after this, they ascend again, and then descend by the aka, which is a branch of a tree (projecting out of the rock), inclining downwards, with part of it broken off by the violence of the wind; but said to have been broken off by a number of spirits, which went down by the aka to the Reinga some years ago, when great numbers were killed in a fight. After we had looked awhile at the aka of the Reinga, our new guide took us about 100 yards further along: when he directed our attention to a large lump of sea-weed, washed to and fro by the waves of the sea, which he said was the door which closed in the spirits of the Reinga. This latter place is called Motatau; where, our guide remarked, they caught fish, which always are quite red, from the Kokowai, or red ochre, with which the natives bedaub their bodies and mats: the natives believe, that painted garments go with the departed spirits.

The scenery around the place where I stood was most uninviting; and not only so, but calculated to inspire the soul with horror. The place has a most barren appearance; while the screaming of the numerous sea-fowls, and the sea roaring in the pride of its might, dashing against the dismal black rocks, would suggest to the reflecting mind, that it must have been the dreary aspect of the

place, that led the New Zealanders to choose such a situation as this for their hell.

We now returned to Kahokawa, and remained there for the night: the following day we began to retrace our steps; and arrived in safety at our station, on Saturday the 12th.

During the time I was absent, great rumours were spread among the tribes, that I had gone to cut away the aka of the Reinga. Many angry speeches were made; and some said they would go and waylay us, as we were returning. It in fact roused all the affections of those who had any for their old Dagon; while numbers, who began to feel a little enlightened, would say, "And what of it, if the ladder be cut away? it is a thing of lies: the spirits never went there." On being asked, "What, are you afraid of having no place of torment to go to?" some of the old men would touchingly say, "It is very well for you to go to the Rangi (or heaven), but leave us our old road to the Reinga, and let us have something to hold on by, as we descend, or we shall break our necks over the precipice." Many, moreover, threatened to take a fight to Pacrata, as they laid all the blame on him; so accordingly, on Monday, the 14th of January, a body of about forty men came, the distance of ten miles, to inquire into the truth of the matter. A notable chief, also, whose name is Huhu, came the distance of twenty miles, in order to see if it were true; and to stop the fights, if there were any. When about 100 natives had assembled, speeches on the occasion of the visit to the Reinga were made; this was done in a running posture. After two old chiefs had spoken their minds on the subject, and had declared it was "a very wicked thing to cut away their ladder to the Reinga, and nothing but right that Pacrata's property

should be taken as a payment," Pacrata then rose, and made an animated speech in defence of his new belief, which lasted two hours. His audience formed a circle around him, and the attention was profound. His speech commenced with the setting out; and took in every little incident, and every conversation which passed among ourselves, and the natives with whom we met. He also gave his own ideas at large, on the absurdity of their believing in such a place as the Reinga for their departed souls. He moreover said, with great feeling, "There is another hell, which I am afraid of – the one which burns with fire and brimstone;" and with regard to the spirits walking along the beach, and leaving tokens at the different resting-places, he asked, sarcastically, which way the soul of the man went who died while we were on the road, as we saw none of his wakaas and blood. They replied, "He must have gone the other road" (that is, to Heaven). "No," said one; "how could that be? for the man was not a believer." Pacrata gave great satisfaction to his hearers, by assuring them that their old Reinga had not been disturbed by us, and that the road still lay straight before them. The natives were so unarmed by Pacrata's celebrated speech, that they all dispersed to their homes in great tranquillity, not one being able to speak an angry word against him.

THE END.

GILBERT & RIVINGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London.

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