Do you happen to know any New Zealanders now in London who have come in Whale Ships or any other Vessels?
- No.
When a Purchase such as you describe has been made of Land from the Natives what becomes of the Sellers; do they remove to a Distance?
- No; they will sell such Land as they can part with; the Land they had originally taken by War. In the whole of Kipara, and various other Parts, there was not a Soul that I could see on the Land.
Looking to the Amount of Population, with reference to the Extent of the Land, does it appear to you that there is a good deal of Land which might be cultivated by Europeans, still leaving the Natives sufficient for their Occupation?
- There is; there are about Five Natives to every Three Square Miles of Land. The Northern Island is the most populous; at the same Time it is the smallest. I have been many Miles without seeing a Native; I have been many Nights in the Bush without the Chance of seeing a Native.
Has the Influx of Europeans been greater or less of late Years?
- The Influx of Europeans has been wonderfully increasing. The last Time the Buffalo Store Ship, which is now on the Coast for Her Majesty loading with Spars, was there, there was very little Population; now the Land is bought by Mr. Kemp, One of the Catechists, and by others; but a great Part of the Land which was tabooed for the Use of the Buffalo is now purchased by Mr. Kemp, and the Spars I expect they will not get off that Land. There has been much Noise, I am sorry to say, about buying Land; for instance, some of the Missionaries have been enabled, by their Knowledge of the Language, to have a better Chance of purchasing Land than others, and those who have perhaps understood the Language less have been ousted out of the Bargains they intended. Queen Charlotte Sound, in the Southern Island, Cloudy Bay, Otargo, and all down to the South West is inhabited by European Gangs of Whalers for Merchants resident in Sydney. On the South Island there are Europeans, and there have been Europeans there for the last Five-and-thirty Years past, what the Natives call Kou Matuas; that is, old Men living there for the last Forty Years on the Coast. There are innumerable Europeans; they were principally Sealers; lately Whalers.
What is the State of Manners or Morals among the European Population generally?
- Decidedly bad.
There exists no Law to control or correct them?
- None, but that of Force.
How would Colonization prevent Wars between the Natives?
- By employing their Minds and their Bodies; by Europeans settling between them; by Europeans taking up the Slaves as Farm Servants. The Slaves of New Zealand are very impertinent; they are given to Invention and Lies, and those are Things which cause more Wars between the Natives than any thing else. The Chiefs ought to have an Authority. I have written out to the different Chiefs of whom I have purchased Land, stating that in the event of the Place being colonized I will allow them every Year an annual Stipend; and I hope every other European will take the same Method.
On what Principle do you mean to grant an Annuity when you have purchased the Freehold?
- Solely for this Reason: the Persons I have bought it of have been principally Chiefs; they have looked up to me as a respectable Man, and I should wish to keep up that Respectability. I have, I will not say an Affection, but an Esteem for them. I am not speaking in a philanthropic Manner; but I have these Letters on the Eve of being sent out by means of the Wesleyan Society, directed to Mr. Turner, one of the Wesleyan Missionaries.
Will not they expect that you will require some Service in return for their Payment?
- No; they know very well I have acted perhaps very differently from Europeans in general. I have said, “Now , I have bought your Land;” (it was
