Chap. VI.
I believe the form of government of this part of New Zealand, and perhaps of the whole island, to be aristocratical, and hereditary. On the coast it is administered by chieftains, who are of inferior consideration, and probably subservient to those who govern the interior.
I am led into this conjecture by the accounts of the natives, who, when speaking of their ruler at this part, evidently considered him as a personage of small note compared with other chiefs dwelling at a considerable distance in the country.
The chiefs of the Bay of Islands not only walk, but walk barefoot; but those of the interior they describe as being carried in a sort of vehicle on the shoulders of men whenever they vouchsafe to go abroad.
This vehicle, as far as I could learn, is not distinguished by much elegance, and, from the account of the natives, it very much resembles what in England is called an hand-barrow.
But notwithstanding this want of elegance in the vehicle, it will not be supposed that the monarch, if so he may be stiled, is destitute of the means of state and parade; when it is considered that upon many occasions he is attended by some hundreds, or even thousands of dauntless warriors, armed with spears and battle-axes, and decorated with war-mats, feathers, &c. He is, therefore, by no means that contemptible being that Europeans, upon a first idea, would imagine.
The chieftains of the coast are, however, deficient in this splendour, but they are no less formidable when commanding a fleet of war canoes.
Though the power of the chieftains appears to depend upon success in arms, yet they do not undertake any warlike enterprize without a consultation of the elders, nor probably without endeavouring to find out how the destinies are disposed towards them.
When war is determined upon, the conflict must be dreadful. They have no idea of any thing short of conquest or death, and they engage in the battle with a firm reliance upon the former, though they are prepared for the latter by having no dread of it.
The warlike operations, whether carried on by land or water, are in general guided more by personal valour than by a judicious disposition of their forces. Success is therefore most likely to crown the most numerous tribe, though it is not universally the case.
The onset is accompanied by threatening gestures, shouts, grimace, and other tokens of defiance, which, to an European tacititian, would appear extremely ridiculous, and, to an indifferent spectator, at least ungraceful and unbecoming, though they would strike both as exceedingly terrific.
The elders have great weight in the councils of the chiefs, and in all affairs, excepting those of a military description, they decide independently of them, though the authority of the chiefs would undoubtedly enable them to prevent the elders from carrying any projected measure into execution, should they feel disposed to exert this authority.
Thus, though the government is purely aristocratical, and probably abounding in wise and salutary laws; the local circumstances of most of the states require that its civil forms should yield to military discipline and etiquette: but during their short intervals of peace they consider themselves amenable to civil power, if such a term is admissible.
There are modes of punishment among them in criminal cases; but I apprehend, in most instances, it is summary, and no way depending upon a cool and dispassionate investigation of the circumstances of delinquency, but rather the result of an hasty and partial decision of the passions.
A case in point occurred a short time previously to my visiting the Bay of Islands: a native, named Awkeeterree, had been some time absent from the tribe to which he belonged, and upon his return discovered that his wife had been unfaithful to him: he immediately went in quest of her paramour; he found him on the beach, and going behind him, armed with an European cutlass, he nearly severed his head from his body. It does not appear that he offered any violence to the wife upon this occasion, but, content with removing the immediate cause of his dishonour, he discarded his wife, and took another to replace her. So far from being censured for this act of outrage, he was, on the contrary, applauded for prompt administration of summary justice. He was of noble blood; but, had he committed an act not sanctioned by law or custom, I am inclined to believe that this circumstance would not have protected him from the vengeance of the relatives of the deceased.
Hanging is one of the punishments of New Zealand, but I will not take upon myself to say what crimes are thought to deserve it; it is, probably, theft: they express a great abhorrence of this crime, and, among themselves, I believe their practice corresponds with their professions of honesty, but it can scarcely be expected that they should be proof against the temptations of European articles.
The chieftain of this part is named Tippeehee, but he was absent during my stay here, and Tiarrah, his brother, a likeness of whom is prefixed, administered the government in his stead. Tiarrah's character is mild, and rather deficient in energy; that of Tippeehee is the reverse, he having, it is said, a good deal of the tyrant in his disposition.
I have said but little concerning the religion and government of the natives of the Bay of Islands; there is considerable difficulty in obtaining information on these heads; independently of which, they are subjects that, in my opinion, require to be handled with great caution, even by those who are well qualified to treat of them; the less, therefore, according to my judgment, that is said upon either the better; and, probably, were we resident among them, we should find this line of conduct necessary to our personal safety.
Presuming, therefore, that their form of government is such an one as is approved of, and supported by the common consent of the natives; and that their religion, whatever its fundamental priciples may be, such as the mass of the people are well contented with, I shall not venture to interfere with the administration of the one, nor dispute the tenets of the other; but proceed to relate what information I have acquired respecting their more common habits of life, customs, arts, &c.