The State of the Islands of New Zealand
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- below Par. All the other Natives say that any one of them can beat Natives of the East Cape.
Have they never expressed a Wish to imitate the building of European Vessels?
- No; but they have bought them. One especially I remember being in the War at Tauranga. Pomareé had the Use of one to himself. He went a Distance perhaps of 120 Miles on a Coast where I have felt Four different Gales of Wind from every Quarter of the Compass in a single Trip; so that they were not fearful, but able to take Command.
If they were so intelligent, do you see any Reason why they should not become a Marine Population?
- Why should they not? Look at the Number there are in the Whale Ships, and who get a good Lay, as the Remuneration is termed, unless they get an unworthy Captain; if they get a good Captain they do very well. There are many employed by the Americans as well as by us; many are Boat Steerers in the American Vessels.
You spoke of one who was a Mate?
- Yes; Mr. Bailey, who lives on the Bay of Islands; he was chief Officer, with the same Lay as any other chief Officer out of Sydney. The Vessel is called the Earl of Stanhope of London. She may be Three hundred Tons. She belongs to the House of Thomas Walker and Company. He is from before the Mast, and went through the several Grades, of Boat Steerer and so on , till he became Mate , and would have been Captain but for his being a Foreigner.
Did you ever discover, in talking to the Natives, that they had any History or Tradition?
- Yes.
Does that go far back?
- It is merely by Notation; they cannot go far back, because they have not the Opportunity of Language.
Did they ever seem to think that they had been an united People?
- No; they said they came from a Land afar off. Each District has a different Tradition. In the Bay of Plenty they say that a Canoe came from a distant Place and arrived at a River still called Auwoa o te Atua, or Gods River; that they were supplied with the Kumera; that is, the Sweet Potatoe (Batta Convolulus). That is the Nature of their Tradition respecting the Arrival of their Ancestor; the Origin of the Tradition of the Country is mythological.
Do they seem to think they have ever been a more united People?
- I cannot say; but we are certain that they are found in the old Voyage of Shouten and Le Maire in 1614. Le Maire was the first Man who wrote on their Philology, and we find he gives a Specimen of the Languages of Solomon Island in those Days, the Louisiades, New Guinea, New Ireland, and some other Parts, in which the Language is exactly the same as at the present Year 1838 in New Zealand; the only Difference is, that being a Dutchman he has spelt the Words according to his Ideas, but it is equally the same; and there is less Difference in the Dialect of New Zealand within the extreme North and South of the Country than there is in the Dialect of England in Two different Counties.
Do you think any Attempt to unite different Tribes in one, and to put a Stop to their Wars, would meet with Success?
- That never can be done. Oil and Water will not amalgamate.
They visit one another?
- Yes.
During those Visits they live on good Terms?
- Yes. They will absolutely fight against their own Party in favour of the People they may reside with. Sometimes their Superstitions occasion a great many Wars; for example, if a Pig passes over a Cemetery there is a War immediately. Giving up the Pig will not renew former Amity; there must be War. If a Man happen to put his Pipe at the Top of an old Rush House
(123.2.)
M 2
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