THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
^r /
MAOKI < IllKI , 1-AI AltANClKAI.
The
Conversion of the Maoris
BY THE
REV. DONALD MacDOUGALL, B. D.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBIJCATION AND SABBATH
SCHOOl, WORK,
1899
Copyright, 1899, by
The Trustees of the Presbyterian Board of Publication
AND Sabbath-School Work.
- »
IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
^B :fi3eloveD TKflite,
MY FELLOW-TRAVELER THROUGH ALL THE
SCENES DEPICTED HERE,
^bis JttJooh 10 DeDtcateO
THOUGH NOW, ALAS, SO LATE.
1714837
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preface ix
CHAPTER I.
THE MAORIS.
The origin of the Maoris. — Recent researches. — Physiology.
— Tattooing. — Habitations. — Maori house in the museum
at Wellington. — Occupation. — Maori canoe, and relics in
the Auckland museum. — The Moa I
CHAPTER II.
DISCOVERY AND CANNIBALISM.
Tasman. — Cook. — Horrifying stories. — Tohungas' stories. —
Sailors married Maori women. — Maori chiefs visited
Australia and England. — The " Boyd " massacre. — Pov-
erty Bay massacre. — P'eeling of revenge. — Cruelties. — Im-
provements in dress, home and living
lO
CHAPTER III.
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
Language. — Polynesian dialect. — Orators at land court
VVanganui. — Legends.— Songs. — Proverbs. — Rowers. —
Atua— native god.— Tapu.— Muru.— The supernatural
power of the Tohunga— (S. P. Smith).— Maori supersti-
tions. — Maoris had no temple, no priestly robe, no sac-
rifice, no conception of a Supreme Being. — Souls of the
departed not worshiped. — Baby named when eight days
old. — Traits of character. — Moral side dark. — Canniy)al-
ism. — How they told the years, months, and days. . . . 17
V
VI CONTEXTS.
CHAPTER IV. pAOE
GOVERNMENT AND WAR CUSTOMS.
Maoris constituted three communities — nations — tribes
families. — Marriage civil act. — Polygamy common. —
Domestic atilection not strong. — Tribes clannish. — War
custom. — War dance. — Cruelties inflicted on the van-
quished. — Poem on a Maori chief 30
CHAPTER V.
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS.
His early life. — His voyage to New South Wales. — Arrival at
Sydney. — Assuming duties and increasing responsibilities.
— Opposition. — Loss of his boys. — Chief Te Pahi. — Mr,
Marsden in England advocating a Maori mission. — Suc-
cessful. — Returned to Sydney. — Ruatara. — Sent as pioneer
to New Zealand. — Maori mission suspended for five years
owing to the " Boyd " massacre. — The ship "Active." —
Wall and Rendall sent to New Zealand. — Returned. —
Maori chiefs in Sydney. — Marsden sails in the " Active "
for New Zealand. — Acted as peacemaker at Wangaroa. —
Landed at Bay of Islands. — Reception. — Land secured.
— Deed signed. — Meetingliouse. — P~lagstaff. — Marsden's
first sermon in New Zealand. — Returned to Sydney with
young chiefs. — Much encouraged. — The prospect of the
mission. — Death of Ruatara. — Marsden's influence over
the natives. — Their devotion and kindness. — Missionaries'
trials. — Their fidelity. — Marsden's graphic picture of the
effective power of the gospel. — Rangi the first convert. —
Confessions and desires. — The Scriptures and the printing
press. — The fruit of the mission. — Death of the apostle . 35
CHAPTER VI.
TRIBAL WAR.
Hongi the Napoleon of New Zealand. — Pomare. — Te Whoro
Whoro. — Ruaparaha. — His conversion. — Barriers to the
early progress of the mission. — Bishop William Williams'
testimony 59
CONTENTS. VU
CHAPTER VII. PAGB
MISSIONARY LEADERS.
Rev. Henry Williams. — His traits of character. — Christianity
among the New Zealanders. — Chapman's experience. —
The three mighty men. — Bishop G. A. Selwyn. — His
work. — Bishop J. F. Pompalier. — A Maori's opinion of
the differing Churches 66
CHAPTER VIII.
THE METHODIST MISSION.
Rev. Samuel Leigh. — Experience. — Wangaroa chosen as mis-
sion station. — The mission staff. — Destruction of the mis-
sion property. — Maugungu selected as a mission station. —
The mission church and station. — Missionaries, — Great
awakening. — Days of blessing. — Visible fruit. — Rev.
James Buller's journey to Cook's Strait. — Happy deaths.
— Native martyrs. — Conversion of chiefs — Pita — Kaitoke
— Patene. — Effect of baptism. — Chief Ngakuku's advice
to his tribes. — Conversion of rival chiefs. — Puna and Pan-
apa. — French sailors.-i<Thirty-rive thousand Maoris out of
fifty-six thousand nominal Christians. — Testimonies. —
Governor Hobson. — Judge Fenton. — Dr. Thompson. — Sir
George Grey. — Rescue of the crew of the •• Delaware " by
a gallant chief and wife. — Maoris' regard for the Sabbath.
— Maoris' kindness to sailors. — Fond of feasts 75
CHAPTER IX.
A BIT OF HISTORY.
Attempt to colonize. — Failure. — Lawlessness and disobedience.
— Scheme to establish an independent native government.
— Maoris claimed New Zealand by conquest and inherit-
ance. — New Zealand Land Company. — Col. Wakefield
anrl thirty-five passengers arrived in ship "Troy" at Port
Nicholson. — Purchased land. — Arrival of several ships. —
Hobson. — The growth of Wellington. — Captain Hobson's
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
mission to New Zealand. — The treaty of Waitangi. — Hob-
son first governor of New Zealand. — New Zealand Com-
pany, — Hone Heke and the government. — The Waikato
tribe. — The Maori king. — Lesson from the candle and the
wick. — Wm. Thompson. — The war. — Sir George Grey. —
King Tawhiao's speech. — Maoris subjects of the (jueen.
— Hau Hau apostasy. — Te Kooti. — The demoralizing
effect of war 91
CHAPTER X.
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY.
Premier Sedden's influence. — Surveyor's experience. — Hone
Heke. — Parahaka. — Prophet Ti White. — Who is respon-
sible ? — The Maori population. — Hon. Wm. P. Reeves. —
Why the Maoris are dying out. — Maoris fond of horses. —
Fond of Europeans. — Law and justice. — Churches. — Maori
sermon. — Schools. — Members of Parliament. — Queen's
jubilee. — Customs and habits. — Marriages. — Hospitable.
— What the Gospel has done for the Maoris 108
CHAPTER XI.
Religion in New Zealand 121
CHAPTER XIL
Education in New Zealand 130
CHAPTER Xni.
Samoa 136
APPENDIX.
I. — From Sydney to Wellington 157
II. — Auckland 196
III. — Christ Church 200
IV. — Otago — Dunedin 207
PREFACE.
Profoundly convinced, by what I have seen
and learned while in New Zealand of the tri-
umph of the gospel of Christ, in the conversion
of the Maoris from cannibalism to Christianity,
that it is a stronger and more cogent argument
for the power of the gospel than any statement
I have ever read in apologetic books ; and also
quickened by the hope that this brief story of
the wonderful conversion of these cannibals
may convince others of the living power of
modern missions, and hasten the coming of our
Lord, I now offer this book to all who long for
the conversion of the Avorld.
Donald MacDougall.
IX
The Conversion of the Maoris.
CHAPTEE I.
THE MAORIS.
The origin of the Maoris, or first settlers in
New Zealand, is lost in a cloud of obscurity.
There is, however, a legend which states that in
the year 1400 such bitter quarrels arose among
the inhabitants of Hawaiki, an island in the
South Pacific Ocean, that a chief Te Kupe (or
Ngahue) sailed away from it in his canoe to
Astearoa — long day, which he called the North
island of New Zealand. He was so charmed
with it that he went back to Hawaiki, and in-
duced some of the settlers there to return with
him to this new-found land. They fitted up a
fleet of canoes named Aotea, Arana, Taiuni,
Mata, Atua, Tabitunui, Takamaru, Kurahaupo,
each manned by a separate cliief, and started for
New Zealand. These canoes, taking as part of
tlioir cargo the kumara (sweet potato), tora
(bread fruit), hue (gourd), dogs, pahiko and j^ar-
rots, landed at the North island, and scattered a
1
2 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
tribal race of Maoris, each with its separate chief,
over the land. The names of these chiefs are
carefully preserved. The proverb, " The seed of
our coming is from IlaAvaiki the seed of man,"
now common among the Maoris, originated from
this emigration from the "land left behind."
Each tribe had its own legendary tradition,
transmitted from father to son, by the sacred
tohungas, — the wise men of strong memory,
who could trace their genealogy from generation
to generation. And though for centuries sepa-
rated from each other by feuds and wars, yet
their traditions are trustworthy. They all agree
that their ancestors came from some island in the
Pacific. So strong was their conviction of the
existence of Hawaiki that some fifty years
ago a large double canoe was fitted up by an ex-
ploring party who went in search of it, but they
never returned. Their traditions, legends and
language, undoubtedly designate that they are a
branch of the Polynesian family.
" I arrive where an unknown earth is under my feet,
I arrive where a new sky is above me,
I arrive at this land, a resting place for me,
O spirit of the earth !
The stranger offers his heart as food for thee."
Kecent researches point to India, to the plains
and foothills of the Himalayas — stretching to the
THE MAOEIS. 3
Persian Gulf — as being the early home of the
Polynesians of which race the Maoris form an
important factor. It is supposed, that they were
gradually forced to leave India, by the Aryans —
a more numerous and powerful force. The Poly-
nesians being great navigators, extended their
voyages to the Pacific and the North ; about the
second century they came in contact with the
Malay race — which obliged them to proceed
further to the Ilitiinga or rising sun, until they
reached the Fiji Islands, inhabited by the Mela-
nesian and Papuan, and finally reached Samoa or
Ilawaiki. Combinations of tribes took place
between the Fiji-Polynesians ; and their warriors
and sailors spread far and wide over the Pacific,
conquering and occupying other islands, until at
last they turned their faces southwestward and
arrived in a fleet of canoes in New Zealand in
1350.
"These are the people who are generally
termed Maoris, and who on tlieir arrival and
after settling down in the land, by their master-
ful ways, greater intelligence, force of character
and superior ])hysique, eventually became the
con(|uerors of the people belonging to the ])i"i<)r
migration into the Pacific, whom they found in
ocfMijiMtion of these islands." (New Zealand
Ollici;d Year Pook, ISOS, p. ICO.)
These early Maoris had brown faces, Ijroad
4 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
noses, large dark eyes, regular white teeth, and
black, wavy hair. The head was large and well
developed. The men were broad and solidly
built, of medium height. Some of them were as
tall as six feet, and six feet and a half. The
chiefs were proud and dignified in their deport-
ment, and quick in their movements. Maoris
had large, long bodies and short legs, the face
calm and composed, free of any excitement ; they
lived to old age.
The young girls were good-looking ; they ma-
tured early and became prematurely old, and
after being tattooed they lost their beauty. The
painful process of tattooing was undergone at the
age of puberty. The men's faces, hips and thighs
were tattooed in blue spurts, rings and curves.
The designs of the chiefs were very elaborate.
The tattoo or the moko, forms a part of their dress
and mark of rank. The women were tattooed
on their lips, chins, and the upper part of their
faces. They had little crosses on their hands,
arms and breasts. The patient was laid on his
back, and a pattern was sketched with charcoal.
Then while he was held, the lines were marked
by a sharp instrument of bone, or chisel. The
blood which came from the cuts was wiped off,
and a pigment was rubbed in. Sometimes it
took two years to complete the design, during
which time the patient suffered intensely from
THE MAORIS. 5
the pain and inflammation. He was also not
permitted to handle any food or live in a dwell-
ing house. Later on, when some of the chiefs
signed the title deeds of estates which the mis-
sionaries had bought from them they drew little
pictures of their moko on their faces, saying,
" That is me and no one else." Tattooing, since
their conversion to Christianity, has become ex-
tinct.
Clad in a breechcloth only, these savage Ma-
oris made their huts out of the material which
grew on the island. They were about four feet
high and built of tall poles with broad grass
leaves woven between them. The roofs were
thatched, and the doorways not more than three
feet high. The mothers had to stoop so much,
going through these entrances, that the spines
of their little children, who were strapped upon
their backs, were often hunched. The earthen
floors of these homes were hollowed out in the
center so that a person could stand upright in
them. ]\Iats were spread upon them, and on
these the whole family slept at night with their
heads to the Avails, and their feet to the center,
and the fire in a corner burning all night. They
had wide piazzas round their houses which formed
nice dining rooms for their family circles. A
cluster of these dwellings on a hill, with ditches
between them, and surrounded by high fences,
6 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOIUS.
formed a Maori pa. In battle days, the Maoris
used to fight in these ditches with their javelins
and slings.
In the Museum at Wellington is a famous
Maori house ; which was built at Turanga in 1842,
by a Maori tribe who were noted throughout
'New Zealand for their excellent carving. It was
designed by a native, and eighteen different na-
tives were employed in carving the figures. In
1866 it was bought by the government and
brought to Wellington. The outside is covered
with wood and iron, but the interior is about as
it was when built. The house is forty-three feet
long, and eighteen feet wide. The roof is twelve
feet from the floor, and the walls are seven and
fourteen feet high. There are thirty-two figures
carved in totara wood on the sides of the house.
These represent the ancestors of the tribe. The
ridge pole is of heavy wood. The house is a
very imposing edifice.
So in the long ago, before a white man's
canoe grated on the sands of New Zealand, the
wild Maori roamed at large, savage, untaught,
unchristianized. The men fished in the sea and
lakes and caught eels, seals and sharks. The
flesh of the last they dried in the sun. They
hunted and ate the Avild birds. The soil was dry
and sandy, and they put fine gravel from the
river beds on it. They carried this in close
MAOKI ( AKVKI> KIOUKK, I'UKAKI.
THE MAORIS. 7
"^OYen baskets on their backs. After the gar-
dens were ready, they planted the sweet potato,
lily roots, and the gourd from which they had
made their dishes ; they then screened them in from
the pigs. When Captain Cook landed in New
Zealand, he saw two hundred acres under crop.
One of the principal foods of the Maoris was lit-
tle cakes made of flour from dried fern roots.
Human flesh was a great delicacy. The way
they cooked an eel was quite appetizing. It
was wound round a stick, and then covered
with fragrant leaves fastened to the stick so no
air could get in. The stick was placed on the
ground before a blazing fire, and turned about
until the eel was ready to be eaten.
Besides their house carpentering and farming,
the Maoris made their canoes, paddles, fish-
hooks, com])s, flutes, spears, etc. They also did
fine carving. The women cooked, wove baskets,
caught and cleaned shellfish, gathered wood,
prepared flax, and made drinks of the shrubs and
berries which grew on the island.
Among the Maori relics found in the Auckland
Museum, is a war canoe, eighty feet long, accom-
modating one liundred rowers. It was black
and red and tlio carving on it was skillfully done.
There are many s|)ears and wefij)ons of war of
various kinds. There is a carved building for
storing corn and potatoes and erected on high
8 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
posts to show how the Maoris used to build so as
to prevent rats getting in and eating the corn.
Among other things there are preserved heads
of Maoris, hardened in some preparation, which
with their grinding teeth, are hideous to look
at. Some of the carved combs, knives and forks
are really beautiful.
When at work they were happy, stimulating
each other with songs and by sallies of wit.
They cut down large trees for building houses
and making canoes and other things. Their
canoes were of all sizes. The war canoe would
carry many warriors. They cooked their food
with good taste and cleanliness. They were ex-
pert yveavers. The Museums of New Zealand
have large collections of articles made by the
Maoris. Some of them are very fine and show
great ingenuity and fine perception of the har-
mony of color. White predominates, as it was
their favorite color.
There was one occupant of New Zealand which
was very much disturbed by the arrival of the
Maoris. This was a big, wingless bird called the
Moa. Nothing remains of it but its skeleton and
eggs which can be seen in Christ Church Museum.
It was of a brown color, and as an old Maori ex-
pressed it, " as high as one man standing on the
shoulders of another man." The average height
of the largest was about thirteen feet. Its neck
THE MAOKIS. 9
was like that of a horse. Its head was small
with one bright red patch on each side. It had
long, strong legs, and its feet were black and
shiny. It ate the tall tender shoots of the cab-
bage trees, and laid eggs twelve inches long. It
was very fat and lazy, but could fight desperately
with its feet. The Maoris used to drive the bird
from one group of natives to another, until it was
tired out. They then killed and ate it.
CHAPTEE 11.
DISCOVERY AND CANNIBALISM.
For nearly two hundred and fifty years this
native race lived alone in this sequestered spot,
working, eating, fighting among themselves, and
often feasting on the dead bodies of their slain.
One December day, in the summer of 1642, there
was a great excitement on the South island, for the
faint speck in the horizon, which the natives had
been watching for some time, greAV larger and
larger until it assumed the proportions of a boat
full of sailors, with a white man at its bow. Be-
fore it reached the shore, four canoes filled with
Maoris paddled out to see it. They screamed at
the passengers, and blew on an instrument like a
trumpet. Then they went back to their huts to
plan how they could drive away these intruders.
The next day they surrounded the anchored boat,
and fought with the Dutchman's crew (Tasman,
the discoverer), until they killed and wounded
several. While they were dragging away the
corpses to be eaten, the terrified remnant in the
" Ileemskisk " weighed anchor and sailed away
10
DISCOVERY AND CANIS^IBALISM. 11
as fast as they could from this bloody Murderer's
Bay. The savages went back to their inhuman
feast, and the retreating boat became once more
an indistinct dot in the distant sky.
The years rolled on, a century and a quarter
went by, and a new population, tainted with the
barbarous instinct of the former, now inhabited
New Zealand. Captain Cook, who made 11\-b
visits to New Zealand, was greeted by the na-
tives with a threat to slaughter him if he landed.
Heroic in nature, he fought, he lost, he gave
presents of pigs, potatoes and garden seeds, and
as the consummation of his bravery erected a
flagstaff, on the top of which he hoisted the Union
Jack, and took possession of the country in the
name of George III. After this time white
faces became a more frequent sight, but every
navigator Avho touched at the shores of this new
country met with the same cannibal reception.
Not only had the Dutch and English their horri-
fying stories recorded of " Murderer's Bay " and
" Poverty Bay," and of the savagery and can-
nibalism of the natives of the newly-discoverod
country, but the French and Americans also liad
their sad experiences registered of "Doubtless
Bay," "Bay of Treachery" and "Bay of
Islands." "They treated us," said a French offi-
cer in command of a vessel at tlie I>av of
Treachery, " with every show of fi-i(m(isliii> I'ov
12 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
thirty-three clays, with the intention of eating us
on the thirty-fourth,"
But the version of the tohungas (wise men) re-
lates a different story of the shocking conduct of
the early discoverers toward the New Zealanders,
in killing and shooting them like wild beasts for
any trifling offense. One of Captain Cook's offi-
cers shot a man because he cheated him out of a
piece of calico. A chief was enticed on board a
French vessel and put in irons and carried away
from his family and tribe. The poor man died
of a broken heart within a week. When the dis-
coverer, Marion du Fresne, reached the Bay of
Islands there sprang up a strong friendship be-
tween him and the natives, but before the French
departed they treated the Maoris shamefully.
They violated the sacred places, cooked food
with tabued (sacred) wood, and put the chiefs in
prison. In revenge, the New Zealanders killed
Marion and sixteen of his men, and in the same
spirit the French burned villages and shot hun-
dreds of the defenseless natives. But still the
boats came, and among them a number of whal-
ing vessels, whose sailors settled on the island,
married the Maori women and introduced a
population of half-caste children. There was a
chief called Te Paki, who had a daughter that
married a sailor named George Bruce. He set-
tled in the tribe, was tattooed and became the
DISCOVERY AND CANNIBALISM. 13
first of the Pakeka Maoris, or white men who
lived in Maori style.
When the people of New South Wales, in Aus-
tralia, discovered that first-class timber could be
found in New Zealand and carried to India and
the Cape of Good Hope, their cargo boats came,
and a few respectable white men began to settle
in the country. This led several chiefs to visit
England and Australia to learn more about the
white man and his country. Although the Ma-
oris were pleased to have the Euroj)eans come to
their island home, and exchange their clothes,
seeds, potatoes, iron tools, domestic utensils, pigs,
corn, poultry, guns and powder, for flax, whale
oil, seal skins, kauri gum and land, they still cher-
ished their old appetite for human flesh and
blood.
The Boyd massacre in 1809 is noted in history
as one of the bloodiest occurrences of this revolt-
ing practice among these savage cannibals. A
ship named "Boyd," with seventy persons on
board, started out from Sydney, and on its way
to England sto])ped at New Zealand to get some
kauri spars. There were five Maoris aboard of
her working their passage to New Zealand. One
of them, Tarra, (or George) a son of a Wangaroa
cliief, refusing to do what the captain ordered,
was whipi)od. AVHicn the ship anchored off New
Zealand this man went ashore and showed to
14 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
his tribe the marks on his back. They enticed
the captain and some of the men ashore, killed
them, went back to the boat and slaughtered all
on board except a boy and a little girl. An old
chief captured the girl. When she was found with
him years afterwards she had on an old linen gar-
ment and her hair was ornamented with feathers.
When questioned about her mother, who was
slain on the " Boyd," she would draw her hand
across her throat and say the Maoris cut her up
and ate her like victuals.
After an interval of seven years occurred the
Poverty Bay massacre — beginning of peaceable
trading between Europeans and Maoris, a fright-
ful native war dance, a murder of eight ship
passengers, a capturing of the remainder, and
a horrible cannibal feast, Avhich the prisoners
were compelled to witness. Eight large, round
holes, one foot deep, were dug in the ground.
Dry wood was placed in these, and stones laid
on top. The wood was set on fire and allowed to
burn until the stones became thoroughly heated.
After the clothing had been taken from the dead
bodies, they were cut up, washed, the pieces laid
on the hot stones, and covered over with green
leaves. This oven of human remains was then
surrounded by green boughs cut from the trees
and dipped in water. When the bodies were
roasted, these disgusting cannibals sat round in
DISCOVERY AND CANNIBALISM.
groups and laughed and talked while they at(
with potatoes the meat which was served in
baskets of green flax which the women had made.
The bones were given to the little children, who
tore the flesh from them like greedy animals.
The first white man seen by the natives of Wan-
ganui was killed and roasted as a new kind of
animal.
These terri])le deeds of wicked cannibalism
awakened a feeling of revenge and horror in
the civilized world. A fleet of five whaling
ships landed a troop of armed men in the Bay
of Islands and burned a town to the ground and
killed the inhabitants. In return whenever a
sailor or whaler was found alone, he was seized by
the natives, killed, his eyes plucked out and swal-
lowed. This horrible, sickening custom became
extinct in 1840, in the death of a vouns: chief
who confessed his crime, was tried in court, ad-
justed himself the rope on his neck and was hung.
There are still some old Maoris, who were once
cannibals, living in Xew Zealand. One of them
told a friend of mine in Christ Church, not long
ago, that lie had eaten " long pigs," alias white
men, and he hoped to do so again.
The beauty and possil)ilities of Kew Zeakind
having now become better known, the emigra-
tion to it of other nationalities became greater.
As the natives came in contact more with those
16 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
new arrivals they began to improve in their
dress, their homes and their Avays of living.
They clothed their partially-nude bodies with
flax-lined dogskin garments, and white dress mats
covered with black hanging strings and tassels.
They decorated their heads with white heron
and albatross feathers, and each wore a shark's
tooth tied with black shoe ribbon around his
neck.
After the discovery of green stone, they made
ornaments of it which they wore. They began
to build houses of wood, which they carved with
hideous figures, stained red, and inlaid with pearl
shells. The inside walls were of yellow reeds
with a plinth of the dark stems of fern tree to
keep out the rain. The roofs were tied with
strong ropes made from the stems of ferns. The
barns were very much like the houses ; but bet-
ter built. They were raised on poles to keep the
rats from getting in and eating the potatoes and
grain inside.
CHAPTER III.
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
The word Maori refers to whatever is native
or indigenous. Wtien we speak of the Maoris,
we mean the aborigines, or natives of Kew Zea-
land. They had no written language. The near-
est approach to it was that of a knotted cane, a
sort of a genealogical record by which the tohunga
transmitted the names of successive chiefs. Their
language was a pure dialect of the Polynesian,
which is common in all the Eastern Pacific is-
lands. The early missionaries and Maori linguists
did an invaluable work in collecting their songs,
legends, proveri)s, traditions and m3^thology, and
in committing their language to writing. Their
alphabet was first conn)osed of fourteen letters,
but subse({uently it was increased. The mission-
aries compiled a dictionary of six thousand words,
which also has been enlarged. Their language
was very expressive ; it al)ounded in poetry and
figures. The Maori language to-day is greatly
mixed with English. Nag prefixed, signifies son
and corresponds with "Mac" in Scotch and "U"
in Irish.
17
18 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
The IMaoris were born orators. Their speeches
appear to have been well prepared. Every word,
sentence and figure was skillfully chosen from
their copious language for effect upon the hear-
ers. In the summer of 1897, I attended their
land-court meetings at Wanganui. About four
hundred Maoris were present. They met in the
open air, under a large tree behind the court-
house ; and there, from morning to evening, for
three weeks, speaker after speaker rose and spoke
on the land question, each one wielding great in-
fluence with his speech upon the assembly. Their
meetings were conducted in a very orderly man-
ner. There were about ten chiefs present, one
of them presiding at each meeting, surrounded
by three or four scribes. The orator moved
backward and forward with a stately and firm
step, which quickened into a run when excited.
The speakers were mostly old men and women.
They manifested a greater display of oratory and
gestures than the younger generation. Amcmg
them was Major Kemp, a man of great repute
among his race, and known also throughout Kew
Zealand for his bravery in the colonial war. He
died in April, 1898, at Wanganui. One thou-
sand Maoris were at his funeral. A beautiful life
picture of him is on exhibition in the Museum.
Another famous chief. Major Roysala Waharsah,
died in July, 1898, at the age of ninety. He ren-
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 19
dered gallant services on behalf of the Europeans
in the early days of the colony. In return he had
the iS'ew Zealand cross conferred upon him, and
received a handsome sword from the queen, a
liberal pension, and a seat in the legislative
council.
Their legends are very strange and amusing,
especially those that tell how the heavens and
the earth, moon, stars and sun, came into ex-
istence.
Their tradition of the burning mountains is in-
teresting. " Sometime after their ancestors came
from the North Pacific, a chief called Ngator-
oirauge, wanted to find out what the snow was —
his feet were benumbed ; whereupon his sisters,
Ilaungarod and Tanugarod, lighted some brims-
tone they had with them. They warmed their
brother's feet, and went away ; but the brim-
stijue has been burning to this day." Hills and
mountains in the ]\raoris' mind represent their
ancient heroes and demigods.
The Maoris were musical, and very fond of
})hiying cat's cradle, whipj)ing tops, flying kites,
running, leaping, wrestling, dancing, swimming,
and paddling in tlioir canoes on the waters of
tlies(; charming islands. Tlicy Ii.kI over a tlion-
sjinrl poetical pieces, and a separate tune for each
one. At niglit they sat round tlieir open fires,
and, while the men gave IcgciKliiry recitals and
20 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
sang their songs, the women crooned their babies
to sleep Avith musical ditties —
" My little neck satchel of sweet-scented moss,
My little neck satchel of fragrant fern,
My little neck satchel of odoriferous gum,
My sweet-smelling neck locket of sharp-pointed Tara mea."
It was customary for a whole family to join in
the singing of that touching nursery song.
The following is a Maori poem written by
Ten Kau, brother of Te Heuheu, who lost his
life with sixty followers by a landslip, May, 1846,
at Te Papa an old pa near Takanu. For poetic
diction and pathos, it has no equal in the Maori
language.
" See o'er the heights of dark Tauhara's mount,
The infant morning wakes. Perhaps my friend
Returns to me, clothed in that lightsome cloud!
Alas ! I toil alone in this lone world.
Yes, thou art gone !
"Go thou mighty ! go, thou dignified !
Go, thou who wert a spreading tree to shade
Thy people when evil hovered round !
And what strange God has caused so dread a death
To thee and thy companions ?
"Sleep on, O Sire, in that dark damp abode!
And hold within thy grasp that weapon rare.
Bequeathed to thee by thy renowned ancestor,
Ngahuia, when he left the world.
Turn yet this once thy bold, athletic frame !
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 21
And let me see thy skin carved over with lines
Of blue ; and let me see thy face so
Beautifully chisel'd into varied forms ; —
Ah ! the people now are comfortless and sad !
"The stars are faintly shining in the heavens!
For ' Atutahe ' and ' Rehua Kae-Taugata '
Have disappeared, and that fair star that shone
Beside the milky way, emblems these
Of thee, O friend beloved.
"The Mount of Tangarico rises lonely
In the South ; while the rich feathers that
Adorned the great Canoe ' Ararra,'
Float upon the wave, and women from the
West look on and weep ! Treasures
Why hast thou left behind the valued
Of thy famed ancestor Rongomaihina,
And wrapped thyself in right ?
" Cease thy slumbers, O thou son of Rangi !
Wake up, and take thy battle-ax, and tell
Thy people of the coming signs; and what
Will now befall them, how the foe, tumultuous
As the waves, will rush with spear uplifted ;
And how thy people avenge their wrongs,
Nor shrink at danger. But let the warriors
Breathe a while, nor madly covet death !
" Lo, thou art fallen, and the earth receives
Thee as its prey ! But thy wondrous fame
Shall soar on high, resounding o'er the heavens 1 "
The Maori proverbs are amusing, for instance :
*' Sir, bale the water out of your mouth," (A re-
buke to a wordy antagonist.) " Here are the
baskets of uncooked food, a man has hands,"
22 THE CONVEKSIO]^^ OF THE MAOKIS.
(Don't wait for me to cook your food, but help
yourself.) "When the seine is worn out with
age the new net encircles the fish," (When a num
grows old his son takes his place.) " A deep
throat, but shallow sinews," (A word to a war-
rior — but lazy fellow.)
The Maoris were famous athletes and rowers.
They paddled their canoes with their faces to-
ward the bow. When they first sa^v a European
boat coming to them they thought the men had
eyes behind their heads, because they rowed with
their backs in the direction of their course.
The Maoris believed in the presence of the un-
seen and supernatural, and that an immortal
shadow, called Atua (their native god) inflicted
punishment upon his victims. If a young man
cut his hair, he would not eat bread until night,
for fear that A^ua would kill him. Atua, in the
shape of a lizard, preyed upon a sick person's
internal organs. Atua tied up the fishing nets
and Atua tipped over the canoes. They believed
that the spirit left the body the third day after
death, and stayed round the corpse, listening to
what was said about it. In heaven, war was the
chief em[)loyment. The tohunga was a complex
character of priest, prophet, seer, judge, medical
man, executioner and adviser. lie told tales over
and over, and young men learned them.
Tapu made a thing sacred, and no one could
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 23
touch it for fear of death. A death in the house
made it sacred. Old people were often left out-
side the house to die and the tapu was so strong
that the relatives were afraid. This tapu was a
great trial to the missionaries. Te Heuheu, the
great Taupo chief not long before he was swal-
lowed up by the landslip, said to a missionary :
" Think not that I am but a man — that my origin
is of the earth. I come from the heavens ; my
ancestors are all there ; they are gods and I shall
return to them." Kings were divine during life-
time, gods after death. Eeligion taking hold on
living chiefs and their tapu (sacredness), they
had the power to make everything sacred, which
no one could use under pain of death. If such
people were not killed by men, they were by the
tapu. This power was invested in the chiefs, who
could not be gods, but live in the ruins of chiefs'
houses as spirits.
The priest liad power to chase away tapu. He
would go under an elaborate ceremony to accom-
plish his object, and, when he had put it away,
he would say to the people: "The tai)u is here;
the tapu is removed to a distant place — that tapu
wliich held thee! Take away the dread, take
away the fear; the tapu is being borne away,
and the tapucd person is free ! " Tlie priest was
generally tlio chief. The I^faori believed that
the Atua, or departed spirit of a chief, cared
24: THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
most for the living members of his own family.
The families of the chiefs Avere therefore more
tapued than others. It was the tapu that made
the distinction between the chiefs and others.
The chief knew well the advantage arising from
tapu.
" Tapu," said the Eev. Henry Williams, " is the
secret of power and strength of the despotic rule.
It affects both great and small. Here it is seen
tending a brood of chickens, and there it directs
the energy of the kingdom. Its influence is
variously diffused. Coasts, islands, rivers and
seas, animals, fruit, fish and vegetables, houses,
beds, cups, pots and dishes, canoes with all that
belongs to them, with their management, dress
and ornaments and arms, things to eat and things
to drink ; the members of the body ; the man-
ners and customs, language, names, temper and
even the gods, all come under the influence of
tapu. It is put into operation by religious,
political or selfish motives, and idleness for
months lounges beneath its sanction. Many are
thus forbidden to raise their hands or extend
their arms in any useful employment for a long
time." Such was the awful power of superstition
which Chi'istianity had to displace from the
mind.
"Muru" (robbery), inflicted punishments for
faults or accidents. Those who performed the
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 25
Muru visited the afflicted one, ate up all his
provisions and took away all his movables. The
expedition that executes , this work was called
"taua." If a man's wife ran away a taua of
his own friends visited him as a mark of condo-
lence, and other of his wife's friends visited him
to punish him for not taking better care of her.
The offenses for which people were plundered
were sometimes of a nature that would seem
curious. A man's child fell into the fire and
was nearly burned to death. The father was
immediately plundered to an extent that almost
left him destitute. His canoe upset and he and
all his friends were nearly drowned. He was
robbed and punished with a club. If he were
clearing away fern and burning it, and fire got
into a burial ground, he was robbed.
Mr. S. Percy Smith, F. K G. S., in the Poly-
nesian Journal, Wellington, says : " The super-
natural, as you call it, satanic influence, saturated
the Maori mythology and history ; there are
hundreds of instances of it. I have often thought
that the old Polynesian priests were possessed of
some knowledge of powers over nature which wo
have not got hold of, at any rate they had power
of making their hearers believe so. They are
very peri)loxing and as yet not understood. AVo
can hardiv describe what sonic of th(^ INfaoris, to-
hunga.s, or priests were able to do, and yet cannot
26 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAORIS.
explain them. The following is an incident told
by the Maoris, but I never heard that Bishop
Sehvyn said anything about it. On a visit of
the bishop to Kotorua, he was very anxious to
convert an old tohunga, who held out, and in-
fluenced others against Christianity, In the in-
terview the old man said to the bishop, ' If you
can do what I can I will follow you.' He then
picked up a dead dry brown leaf of the tiplant ;
he twisted it in the air, the same time repeating
some words (an incantation) ; lo, the leaf was green
and alive ! This is the Maori account of it by
eyewitnesses, who fully believed what they saw.
Of course there may be natural explanation of
this, but we do not know it. This shows the
powerful beliefs of the Maoris in the supernatural
power of these tohungas, who were extremely
tapu, and were much feared, I know of several
instances of their supposed supernatural power,
and I have found that all Europeans who have
had much to do with the race, and are in their
confidence, have some undefined feeling that the
tohungas possessed powers of which we know noth-
ing. Even after making all allowances for the
ignorant credulity of the people, there is still a
certain residue of unexplained mystery which we
cannot at present get over."
The Maoris were superstitious. If they once
got an idea of dying, they could not get it out of
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 27
their minds. One day a Maori went to a mis-
sionary, telling him that he was going to die, and
asked him to help him. He did so, giving him a
mustard poultice, and saying, ' If it burns you, you
will get well, but if not, you will die.' He got Avell.
They imagined the presence of the unseen, and
supernatural. If they were to allow a fire to be
lighted under a shed, where there were provi-
sions, their god would kill them. A band of
early missionaries who settled at Bay of Islands,
one day rowed down a tapu river to get some
food. The natives seized the boat, tied up the
missionaries, Avith the view of killing and eating
them. In the boat was some medicine which
they ate, but soon they were so sick, that they
were willing to release the missionaries and let
them have their own way. These Maoris be-
came Christians a few years afterwards. The
Marois had no temple, and no special priestly
robe. They appeared to have no conception of a
Supreme Being. The souls of the departed were
not worshiped. Sometimes sacrifices were of-
ered, but not to God, only to pacify death, and
in honor of the chief. When a baby was eiglit
days old, it was carried to a stream, and water
was sprinkled over it by a priest with a branch
of a tree, and it was named.
They had the consciousness of right and wrong,
and often expressed regret at wrong acts. Tiicy
28 THE CONVERSION OF TUE MAORIS.
had good understanding and comi)reliension.
They were quick to learn, being possessed with
strong memory, and ingenious to follow pattern.
They also excelled in order and regularity. They
were temperate in their habits, but not very
cleanly. Two most admirable traits in the Ma-
oris were a strong family affection and a sincere
hospitality. The latter is a decided feature in
the Maori home to-day, not only among their
own nation but to strangers. Their imagination
was very strong, and it has been said that they
could weep or even die, at will. In their eyes a
man was virtuous when he was courageous and
could control his temper. Being proud, revenge-
ful, and full of physical courage, they could face
an enemy and fight to the last ; but let darkness
overtake them, or a little harmless lizard crawl
out from a bush at their feet, and they became
trembling cowards.
The Maoris' moral side was a dark picture.
The}?^ had no word in their language to express
gratitude. Suicide and infanticide were very
common. They would kill, roast and eat little
children without a feeling of remorse. Children
were disobedient to parents. The sick and dying
were neglected, and left in some secluded place
to die. A missionary said, " A full description
of their everyday life would shock the moral
sensibilities of English readers." The apostle
LEGENDS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 29
Paul in Komans i. 28-32 has drawn a picture of
the Maoris' depravity and poUutiou. They were
savages of a most cruel and ferocious type. Can-
nibalism, and feasting on the dead bodies of the
slain were frequent. It is not known when the
horrid custom began. It was probably a war
practice. It was not owing to their liking for
human flesh, or the scarcity of food, but out of
revenge. The utmost degradation to which they
would reduce their foes was to eat them. If the
enemy was too strong to kill him during lifetime
the Maori could satisfy his revenge by digging
him up and eating him after his funeral. When
they ate people, they believed that the courage
of their victims passed into the victor. To sever
the jugular vein and drink the blood until the
victim died was a common practice.
So they lived on and worked on, a barbarous,
superstitious, native race, preparing the soil in
their summer and winter, planting, waiting, and
gathering the harvest ; telling the years by the
moons, and the days and months by the rising
and setting of certain stars, the flowering of cer-
tain trees, the mating of the birds and the hum-
ming of insects. They guided their canoes by
the sun, and by the eblnng and flowing of the
tide; and when the sound of the cuckoo Avas
heard in the land they laid their nets and baited
their fishhooks.
CHAPTER IV.
GOVERNMENT AND WAR CUSTOMS.
The Maoris constituted three communities, —
nations, tribes, and families, each independent of
the other. There were eighteen nations, and
many tribes within the nation. Ko tribe ex-
ceeded five thousand persons, and every tribe
was subject to its respective chief and all the
chiefs yielded to the rule of the chief of their
nation. In every tribe there were three grades,
the chieftain, the com^moner and the slave. The
spiritual and the temporal authority were united
in the eldest son by inheritance. He was both
chief and priest. In lack of male issue the chief-
tainship passed unto the eldest daughter. The
chief claimed inspiration. No land coukl be
bought or sold without the consent of the chief.
In this he had both civil and spiritual jurisdic-
tion. But the question of war or peace was de-
cided by a council. " An eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth," was the principle by which they
ruled their decision. Tribal rights to territories
were traced to " conquest," transfer and descent.
The Maoris have been always devoted to their
30
GOVERKMENT AISB WAK CUSTOMS. 31
ancestral land, and tribal custom. Marriage "was
purely a civil act among the Maoris. A slight
squeeze of the hand, revealed a token of regard.
Men were considered to have divorced their
wives when thev turned them out of doors, after
which it was lawful for others to marry them.
Polygamy was common. Widows were not ])er-
mitted to marry until their dead husbands' Ijones
were taken to their linal resting place. Women
often committed suicide on the death of their
husbands. Chiefs and free men were permitted
to have several wives. The mother of the first-
born child was the head wife, and the others
were little better than slaves. Wlien the hus-
band embraced Christianity he put away all his
wives except one, — and with her he lived hapi)ily.
The bodies of dead chiefs sat in state for a year,
before being removed to their final resting ])lace.
Domestic affection was not strong either on tlie
])art of husl>and or wife, or parents and chihh-en,
and still triljes Avere very clannish. A wrong
done to an individual was resented, as though
inflicted on the whole tribe. Stealing, plunder-
ing and destruction of proj)orty were considered
as proper [)unishment for offense.
The Maoris were not in their element except
when at war with cmcIi other. The slightest
olTense caused war. it burst out any moment,
even among the tribes that were ;it pcjico with
32 TUE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
one another. The training of a young man was
not complete until he had killed his man in bat-
tle. The young men before going to war had to
be brought down to the brink of a river, by a
priest, and sprinkled with w^ater, and commended
to Tu the god of war. Before engaging in battle
they generally worked themselves into a frenzy
by the war dance.
Each warrior wore a cloth about his loins, and
carried a short spear carved at the top to represent
a grotesque human head, from the mouth of Avhich
the tongue protruded about three inches in the form
of a spear, while just below the head was a long
tuft of white dog's hair bound with flax, stained
a light red. The shaft of the instrument made
of totara wood, and lightly polished, was rounded
at the top part, but worked out in an oval form
with sharp, bevelled edges toward the bottom end.
Flourishing this weapon in the wildest manner,
jumping into the air and making the most hide-
ous grimaces, thrusting out his tongue, and turn-
ing up his eyes till nothing but the whites were
visible, the old warrior yelled and danced about
like a madman, throwing up his huata and catch-
ing it again, sweeping it in a fearful way, making
frantic cuts at heads, but arresting it when within
an inch of the skull.
A war dance is graphically described by one
who had witnessed several of them, as follows :
GOVEEIS'MEXT AND WAR CUSTOMS. 33
"All in a state of nudity, the face and body-
blackened with charcoal, the Avhole army run-
ning some distance, arranged itself in lines. At
a given signal, they suddenly sprang to their
feet, holding the weapon in the right hand ; with
a simultaneous movement, each leg Avas alter-
nately elevated, and then, with a spring they
jumped into the air, and made the ground shake
as they came down again. All the while they ut-
tered a savage yell, ending with a long, deep sigh.
Their mouths gaping, their tongues protruding,
their e3^es goggling, and all the muscles of their
bodies quivering. They slapped their naked
thighs with the palms of their left hands, with
a defiant sound. This would be repeated again
and again. Old women disfigured with red ocher
acted as buglemen in front of them, and all
kept time with the chorus of the war song.
Maddened with rage, the combatants hurled
their spears, and with fierce screams rushed on
to mortal conflicts."
Every cruelty was inflicted on the vanquished.
Their blood was qualTed while warm ; their
heads preserved, their bodies cooked. When the
victorious army returned witli the trophies of
conf|uest, they were greeted by the women witii
hi(l(!Ous noises, grimaces, and contortions. Those
of them who had lost husl)ands, or brotlicrs or .sons,
would wreak their vengeance on the wretchcc)
34: THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
captives. The dance and the tapu were re-
newed, and the wailing for the dead began.
After food had been eaten, the best orator re-
cited the achievements they had wrought. Such
was the barbarous condition of the Maoris before
their conversion to Christianity.
A Maori Chief.
" Of form, almost gigantic he —
Bull-necked, square-jawed, firm-lipped, bold-eyed, broad-
browed.
His looks proclaimed his character aloud !
When he stood forth in full height and pride.
In flowing vest of silky flax, undyed.
But crimson-spotted, with round knots of wool.
Black points of cord, alternate, hanging free ;
And o'er it down to the brown ankles bare,
A mantle of white wild-dog fur well dressed,
Its skirt's broad rim tan-hued ; his snowy hair
Crowned with a jet black arching crest,
Of hoopoe feathers stuck upright.
" Their tips a crest of pure white;
And in his hand, to order with or smite,
The green stone baton broad of war or rule,
Grim mouth, and oval as a cactus leaf,
Did not each glance and gesture stamp him then.
Self heralded, a god-made King of men ? "
— Donnett,
CHAPTER Y.
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS.
When Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus,
was found by our Lord, and converted and pre-
pared for his life-work in the school of Christ,
he became the twelfth apostle; so before me,
has stood for months one chosen and trained to
be the thirteenth apostle, " The Apostle of the
Maoris."
Samuel Marsden was a plain unassuming man,
— he made no claim to scholarsliip, brilliancy,
wealtli or high rank ; but a sanctified ambition
moved him throughout, llis life is a powerful
inspiration. "NVIkj should wonder at this, since
ho was completely under our Lord's command ?
Not only a loyal soldier of tlie P>ritish crown,
but a good soldier of the Messiah's crown, more-
over, a useful vessel, clean, and emptied of self
an<l filled with the Spirit; therefore, his evangel-
ization of Australasia was more than imagination
could anticipate. He was truly the peer of his gen-
eration. At the Antijiodos, he stood lirndy for
forty-four years, a burning and shining light.
il«! was born on July 24, IT'il, at llorsforlh,
England. When a lad, he attended the iMeth-
36 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAORIS.
odist church with his Christian parents, and was
taught in the viUage school of his native town
and the grammar school at Hull. His desires to
become a preacher and his gifts for the oihce
were recognized by the Elland Society, under
whose auspices he was admitted into St. John's
College, Cambridge, to study for the ministry.
Before he graduated, he received an appointment
from the government as second chaplain for the
colony of New South Wales. After his ordina-
tion and marriage, he and his pious wife sailed
on September 30, 1793, in a convict transport for
Sydney, and landed there on March 10, 1794.
On his voyage he encountered much hardship,
being surrounded by a godless company, consist-
ing of thieves, adulterers, and blasphemers. lie
MTote in his diary, " May God keep me from evil
that I may not be tainted by the evil practices of
those among whom I live." Having read the
life of David Brainerd, his soul was fired with
missionary zeal. He prayed that God might
make him a blessing to the penal settlement and
to the islands of the sea. Arriving at Sydney he
promptly began work. Upon reaching the col-
ony, the senior chaplain gave up his work and re-
turned to England. This increased Marsden's re-
sponsibility, being the only clergyman in New
South "Wales. He held the office of a magistrate
which brought him often into opposition with un-
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 37
scrupulous men, from ^vbom he suffered persecu-
tion. Added to bis oliicial burdens were severe af-
flictions. His boy, two years old, accidentally fell
from the arms of bis motber while driving over
a rough road and was killed. Subsequently, ho
and his wife left another child in care of their do-
mestic, through whose carelessness he was scalded
to death. These severe trials, he calmly and
patiently bore as coming from a loving heavenly
Father. The London Missionary Society added
to his work by appointing him their colonial
a«;ent for Polvnesia. This led him to estab-
lish a mission at Tahiti. The summer of 1805,
he and Te Paki, the first Maori chief of his ac-
<iuaintance, met face to face. The chief's fame
liad already traveled from the Bay of Islands to
Australia. AVhalers spoke of his excellent quali-
ties. AVlien in Sydney, Governor King enter-
tained liini, and gave Iiiiii presents, and finally
sent him home in his majesty's colonial vessel, as
a mark of his esteem.
Impressed by his interviews with Te Paki, ^fr.
Marsden went to England, in 1807, to ])lcad the
cause of the Maoris before tlie Church Missionary
Society ; a.s a result, the Maori Mission was organ-
i7,c'(l. Before this h<! labored assiduously lor four-
teen years in }\(i\v South Wales, and as a conse-
(juonce he ac(|uirf'd a general reputation for his
wisdom and fidelity in the cause he had so car-
38 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
nestlj embraced. Zeal for New Zealand led him
to test civilization, previous to Christianization,
only to find as other missionaries since his day,
that conversion to God precedes every social
effort, both for savage and heathen alike.
Successful in his enterprise, he returned to
Sydney, in 1809, accompanied only by two Chris-
tian mechanics, — Messrs. Hall and King, a car-
penter and a shoemaker, although he had made
an urgent appeal to his countrymen for volun-
teers to carry out his project. In the forecastle
of the ship in which he was returning, Mr.
Marsden noticed a man, whose brown skin and
forlorn condition awakened his desire to help
him. Sick and weak, and, racked with a violent
cough, the poor man, wrapped in a ragged old
coat, seemed to have but a few days to live. lie
proved to be young Ruatara, a relative of Te Phai
and nephew of the famous Hongi, himself a chief
— the very man who was to share with our
apostle in planting Christianity in New Zealand.
He was returning after a five years' cruise at sea,
having been wickedly treated by whalers and
shipmasters, who detained him on board the ship
" Ann " in which Rev. Mr. Marsden and his party
were taking their passage. Recovering from his
sickness, he stayed in Mr. Marsden's home, in
Sydney, for six months, acquiring a knowledge of
agriculture, and was sent back to New Zealand,
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 39
as a forerunner of the missionaries. There he
related what he had seen and heard. But the
wheat seed, which was given to the chiefs, and
sown by Ruatara, and converted into bread, and
eaten throughout New Zealand before the chap-
lain put his foot on the soil, was a mighty factor
in preparing the savage mind to listen to the
words of life from the lips of our apostle.
A few months before the return of Euatara to
his native land, news had reached Sydney of
the destruction of the shij) " Boyd," and all pas-
sengers except two. Feeling was high against
the Maori cannibals. It was unsafe lor a IS'ew
Zealander to walk the streets of Sydney.
The mission had to be suspended for live years.
In 1813 it came --igain to the front. A missionary
meeting was held ; resolutions were presented
and accepted ; the ship " Active " was bought
as a pioneer missionary ship; and I^fessrs. Hall
and Kendall were sent to New Zealand to lind
out the lay of the land and to bring Kuataraand
some friendly chiefs back with tlicm, so thiit the
chaplain might obtain an inlliicnco over the
ferocious natives and avail himself of their good
ofliff's wJH'n he arrived in their country.
They r(!turrn'd in August and rcj.oitrd favor-
ably. Ruatara, Iloiigi and Ivorokoro, and other
chiefs, wen; introducred t<^ the governor. A va-
cation of four months was granted to tiic chap-
40 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
lain. On November 19, 1814, he sailed in the
" Active " with his party, including Maori chiefs
and convicts. When they landed, they found
that the tribes of Wangaroa and the Bay of
Islands were at war with each other.
He took immediate steps to make peace be-
tween the rival chiefs. A meeting: of the war-
riors was called, and before it was over the rival
foes were reconciled, and peace was secured.
After the meeting, as the evening advanced,
the people began to retire to rest in different
groups.
We give here Mr. Marsden's own description
of the scene :
"About eleven o'clock, Mr. Nicholas and I
wrapped ourselves in our great coats, and prepared
for rest. George directed me to lie by his side.
His wife and child lay on the right hand, and
Mr. Nicholas close by. The night was clear, the
stars shone bright, and the sea in front was
smooth. Around us were innumerable spears
stuck upright in the ground, and groups of na-
tives lying in all directions, like a flock of sheep
upon the grass, as there were neither tents nor
huts to cover them. I viewed our present posi-
tion with sensations and feelings I cannot ex-
press, surrounded by cannibals who had massa-
cred and devoured our countrymen. I wondered
much at the mysteries of Providence, and how
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 41
these things could be. Never did I behokl the
blessed advantage of civilization in a more grate-
ful light than now. I did not sleep much during
the night. My mind was too seriously occupied
by the present scene and the new and strange
ideas it naturally excited. About three o'clock
in the morning I rose and walked about the
camp, surveying the different natives. AVhen the
morning light returned, we beheld men, women,
and children asleep in all directions, like the
beasts of the field."
Early on Thursday, December 22, the " Active "
entered the Bay of Islands. Her motley crew of
savages, convicts, Christian teachers, enterprising
mechanics with their wives and children, in all
thirty-three persons, besides a horse, sheep, cat-
tle, goats, pigs and other live stock were all
safely landed at their destination. The firing
of a gun as a token of respect to Ruatara
awoke the inhabitants of the town, and hastened
some two hundred warriors to the beach. Mr.
Marsden, escorted by Ruatara and the other
chiefs, met them, and for his sake whoso fame
had preceded him they were all kindly received.
The natives were greatly amazed at the horse
and cows, and ])articularly u]ion seeing one of
the missionaries riding the horse, whidi they
called a big dog.
A reception was given to Mr. Maisdrii in tho
42 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAOKIS.
iicature of a war dance and sham figlit, which, in-
deed, was far more repulsive to the Europeans
than attractive. The contest was between lluatara
on one side, with two hundred warriors, and
Korokoro, with as many, on the other side. It
was a most hideous performance.
After this strange Avelcome was over, Mr.
Marsden gathered them round him and talked to
them about the object of the missionary colony
and the necessity of having land upon which to
erect a mission house. They all concurred in
whatsoever he suggested or asked. Ilangiho was
pointed out as a suitable place for the mission sta-
tion. Two hundred acres were bought for twelve
axes. Two parchment deeds had been previously
drawn up in proper form on behalf of the Church
Missionary Society, which only required to be
signed by the owners of the soil. The ingenious
mind of Hongi furnished a contrivance of at-
testation, lie drew upon the deeds a complete
representation of the tattooing of the countenance
of Kuna, to which the latter set his mark. It
served as the ratifying symbol of the agreement.
Mr. Kendall and Mr. Nicholas signed on the part
of the settlers, and a native drew the moko on one
of his cheeks as corresponding testimony for the
mark of the New Zealanders. The ground then
was declared tapu (sacred) to all but the mission
colony, and lienceforth the natives were not ai-
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 43
lowed to enter it ■without the consent of the mis-
sionaries.
Saturda}^ was a busy day with Euatara pre-
paring a place for public worship. Half an acre
was fenced in, a pulpit was made out of an old
canoe, and seats were put round it for the white
people, and mats thrown on the ground for the
natives. On a high hill near this novel meet-
ing house was a flagstaff, from the top of which
the English flag fluttered, bearing the emblems
of the cross and dove, and the words, "Good
Tidings." Let Mr. Marsden himself tell how he
preached his first sermon in New Zealand.
" On Sunday morning, when I was on deck, I
saw the Englisli flag flying, which was a pleasing
sierht in New Zealand. I considered it as the
siirnal and dawn of civilization, libertv and re-
ligion in tliat dark and benighted land. I never
viewed the British colors with more gratiflcation,
and flattered myself they would never be re-
moved till the natives of that island enjoyed all
tlie lKij)[)in»!SS of Ili-jtisli subjects. Ab(nit ten
o'clock I j)n'i)ar('d to go ashore to jmbiish foi- the
first time the glad tidings of tlie gospel. 1 was
under no apjirehension for tlie safety of the slii[)
and, theref(jre, ordered all ai)oard to go ashore to
attend divine service, except the master and one
man. When we landed we found Koiokoro,
lluatara and H'mgi, dressed in regimentals whicli
44 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
Governor Macquire had given them, with their
men drawn uj) ready to be marched into the in-
closure to attend divine service. They had their
swords by their sides and switches in their hands.
We entered the inclosure and were placed on the
scats on each side of the pulpit. Korokoro
marched his men and placed them on my right
hand in the rear of the Europeans ; and Ruatara
placed his men on the left. The inhabitants of
the town, with the women and children and a
number of other chiefs, formed a circle round the
whole. A very solemn silence prevailed. The
sight was truly impressive. I rose and began
the service with singing the Old Hundredth
psalm, and my very soul melted within me when
I viewed my congregation, and considered the
state they were in.
" After reading the service, during which the
natives stood up and sat down at the signal given
by Korokoro's switch, which was regulated by
the movements of the Europeans, it being Christ-
mas, I preached from the second chapter of St.
Luke's Gospel, and tenth verse : ' Behold, I bring
3''ou glad tidings of great joy,' etc. The natives
told Ruatara that they couhl not understand
what I meant. He replied that they were not to
mind that now, for they would understand hy
and by, and that he would explain my meaning so
far as he could. Wlion I had iinished preaching,
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 45
he informed them what I had been talking about,
liuatara Avas very much pleased that he had been
able to make all the necessary preparations for
divine worship in so short a time, and we felt
much obliged to him for his attention."
The purpose of the mission had now been pre-
sented, the gospel preached, land had been
bought, houses had been built and missionaries
settled, and friendlv alliance had been made with
hostile tribes. The apostle must return to
S3'dney. A large number of peo])le assembled to
bid him farewell. Chiefs jjledged themselves to
stand by the missionaries. On February 22, the
" Active " sailed on her return journey. Several
3''0ung chiefs accompanied Mr. Marsden. On his
arrival at Sydney he built a seminary for the
Maoris at Parramatta, where sometimes as many
as thirty of them received instruction. But after
a few years' experience the climate proved to be
uncongenial to the Now Zealanders, and the
school had to be given up.
On the arrival of the iiev. Samuel Marsden at
Sydney from the Bay of Ishmds, he reported to
the governor of New South Wales that he had
estaljli.slied a most ])roniising Christian mi.ssion in
New Zealand, und(!r the ausj)ices of the Church
of England Missionary Society ; " tlio set time
to favor Zion had come, yea, the set time." Ho
could trace the leading of I'rovitlcncis in every
46 THE CONVERSIOZS" OF THE MAORIS.
step taken during that period to carry out his
design. The answer to his prayer, the kindness
of the savages, their pledge to support the mis-
sionaries and defend them from other hostile
tribes, made it clear to him that God was in the
planting of this vine. lie gave thanks and took
courage.
The opposing forces against the mission were
gigantic. Superstition, tapu and utu, savage dis-
position, tribal wars, Maori wars, fickleness of
character, sensual feasting, domestic habits, po-
lygamy and ignorance, and a host of other vices
had to be faced and overcome before the soil was
prepared for the truth.
The mission seemed to assure success at the be-
ginning. The news of the work done by the
missionaries in teaching the natives how to culti-
vate the soil, sow and plant, and to speak Eng-
lish, went like lightning throughout the land.
Many chiefs visited the mission station, and in-
vited the missionaries to come and do similar
work among their tribes. The mission was sup-
plemented with more laborers from time to time,
and new enterprises were started. The home
Church was mucli interested in the work, and
supported it liberally. The " Active " was now
continuously engaged as a missionary vessel be-
tween Sydney and New Zealand. Mr. Marsden
was kept well informed of the progress of the
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAOKIS, 47
work. The growth of civilization was, indeed,
most cheering. Better houses had been built.
The land was producing rich harvests in wheat.
Mr. Kendall had as many as seventy-five scholars
in his school, but there was no conversion to
Christianity.
Euatara died and his wife committed suicide
through grief. Chiefs had quarrels with each
other. There was a general uprising in the dis-
trict. Ex-convicts, who had formed the bulk of
the crews of vessels, and had settled at the Bay
of Islands, caused endless trouble to the i\[aoris.
They were l)ad characters. The Maoris showed
revenge by killing and stealing. Discontentment
prevailed. The missionaries felt unsafe to con-
tinue the work. But visits from Mr. JMarsden
from time to time cheered and encouraged them
to abide in the field. His influence over the fe-
rocious savages was phenomenal. lie would
walk alone unarmed into the midst of these un-
civilized people, and preach the gospel to them.
He made many long journeys by land on foot
among some of the wiUlest tribes. On one oc-
casion, after walking for several days in the bush,
ho said: "When I lay down u|)on the ground
after a weary day's jr)iirn<'y, wrapjx'd up in my
groat c<^)at, surrounded In' cannibals, I oftcni
thought how many thousands there arc in civil
life languishing u[)on beds of down, and saying,
48 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
* "Would God it were morning,' while I could
sleep free from fear or pain, under the guardian
care of Him who keepeth Israel." The Maoris
almost worshiped him. Wherever he went he
was cordially received. When he would sit in
the open air and rest after a hard day's work,
it was not an uncommon thing to see hundreds
of Maoris clustering round him. Some of them
would look for hours into his face.
" My father," wrote his daughter, " had some-
times as many as thirty Maoris staying at the
parsonage. He possessed extraordinary influence
over them." On one occasion, a young lad, the
nephew of a chief, died, and his uncle immedi-
ately made preparation to sacrifice a slave to at-
tend his spirit into the other world. Mr. IVfars-
den was from home, and his family were only
able to preserve the life of the young New Zea-
lander by hiding him in one of the rooms. Mars-
den on his return, spoke to the chief, and rea-
soned "vvith him, which resulted in sparing the life
of the slave. No further attempt was made u})on
the slave, though the uncle frequently deplored
that his nephew had no attendant to the next
world ; and lie seemed to be afraid to return to
New Zealand, lest the father of the young man
would reproach him for having given up the im-
portant custom. Concerning a visit with her
father to New Zealand, Miss Marsden says :
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 49
" "We anchored at the AVesleyaii Mission at
llokiangu, where we were kindly received by the
missionaries, Mr, and Mrs. Turner. The natives
were coming to attend service. Mr. Turner
preached, and afterwards my father addressed
them. They listened with earnest attention, and
were much pleased. Many of the old chiefs were
delighted to see my father, and offered to build
him a house if he would remain. One said,
'Stay with us and learn our language, and then
you will become our father and our friend, and
we will build you a house.' ' iS'o,' replied an-
other, ' we cann(it build a house good enough, but
we will hire Europeans to do it for us.'
"The whole congregation joined in the re-
sponses and singing, and though they have not
the most pleasing voices, yet it was delightful to
hear tlieiii sing one of the hymns, commencing,
'From Egypt lately come.' I took leave of Mrs.
Turner, and mounted in a chair on the shoulders
of two New Zeahinders, headed the procession.
My father, Mr. Wilkinson, and the two cliildren
were carried in 'kaw-shores' <»r native biers, on
whicli they carried their sick. We entered a
forest of live miles, then stopped to dine. Tlio
natives s<xjn cooke<l the potatoes, corn, etc., in an
oven which they scooped in tlu; sand. After
heating a number of stones, the potatoes were put
in, covercil with gnuss and hjaves, .iiul :i ijnantity
50 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
of water poured upon them ; they were ex-
quisitely steamed. As I approached one of the
groups sitting at dinner, I was much affected by
seeing one of them get up and ask a blessing
over the basket of potatoes.
" Five miles from Auckland I left my chair,
mounted on horseback and reached the town
for breakfast. Old Kini accompanied us the
whole way, and told my father if he attempted
to ride he would leave him. The natives car-
ried him all the way with the greatest cheerful-
ness, and brought him through the most difficult
places with the greatest ease. The distance they
carried him was about twenty miles." When-
ever Mr. Marsden entered a village the natives
would come forth to meet him with firing of
muskets and dances of exultation.
'Mr. Marsden's mission in New Zealand
abounded in reconciliations between hostile tribes.
At one time Ilongi had as many as a thou-
sand warriors marshaled on a war expedition.
The veteran missionary, unarmed, met him, and
through his magnetic power prevailed upon the
chief to give up his hostility. He afterwards
bought from him a large lot of land, consisting
of thirteen thousand acres, for forty-eight axes,
for a mission station at a place called Kerikeri.
The missionaries encountered great danger and
privation from the haughty and savage natives
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 51
during the horrors of their tribal wars. On one
occasion a chief of the Wahoroa tribe refused to
pay any attention to them. He told them that,
on his return from war with Ratorua, they would
see his garden palings adorned with a row of
human heads. " The kumara and the flesh," he
muttered ; " how sweetly they will go down to-
gether ! " On his return, the posts of his fence
were garnished with the heads of his enemies.
Hostility, pillage and cannibal feasts made the
country wretched. Work was suspended, life
was at a great discount, the outlook was dark.
The missionaries, though alive to the peril of
their situation, would neither leave nor give up
their work. They stood firm for God and hu-
manity as living witnesses against paganism and
bloodshed, though at the same time they reported
that it was unbearable to continue any longer
the mission, as the natives were as insensible to
the need of redemption as brutes, and tliat they
were only casting the seed on a rock. The Wes-
leyans, also thouglit of giving up and leaving for
tlio want of success. l>ut not long after there was
it great change for tlie better — a great ingathering
of souls. When Christianity took root it grew
quickly. In 1830 the scattered seed began to
sj)rout. Churches were filled with attentive
listeners. The Sabbath was observed as a day
of rest. Many were baptized. Some sat at the
52 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
Lord's Supper. The Bible was revered, taught
and read. And still up to 183S two-thirds of the
^NEaoris had not seen a missionary, although they
had heard about them. The early converts man-
ifested great zeal in going everywhere with the
news and preaching the gospel, though too often
at the sacrifice of their life by hostile tribes.
Mr. Marsden gives a grai)hic picture of the ef-
fective power of the mission. After visiting a
battle ground to arbitrate between two hostile
chiefs, he said : " The contrast between the state
of the east and west sides of the bay was very
striking. Though only two miles distant, the
east shore was crowded w^ith different tribes of
fighting men in a wild, savage state, many of
them nearly naked, and, when exercising, entirely
naked. Nothing was to be heard but the firing of
muskets, the noise, din and commotion of a sav-
age military camp ; some mourning the death of
their friends, others suffering from their wounds,
and not one but whose mind was involved in
heathen darkness, without one ray of divine
knowledge. On the other side was the pleasant
sound of the church bell ; the natives assembling
together for divine worship, clean, orderly, and
decently dressed, most of them in European
clothing ; they w^ere carrying the litany and the
greater part of the church service, written in
their own language, in their hands with their
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 53
hj^mns. The church service, as far as it has been
translated, they could read and write."
Rangi, a chief of some weight in his tribe, was
the first Maori who confessed Christianity. He
was baptized on September 14, 1825, just ten
years after the mission had been founded. Some
months before his conversion, he was found regu-
larly at the meeting house, and was observed to
be very careful on the Sabbath. " My thoughts,"
he said, " are continually in heaven, in the morn-
ing, at midday and at night. My belief is in the
great God and in Jesus Christ. I have prayed
to God and to Jesus Christ, and my heart feels
full of light." He died in the faith — the first-
fruits of a great harvest.
Already the gospel was manifesting its effective
power. The seed of the Kingdom was springing
up in hearts. Many of the natives had improved
in their way of living. A chief came from Cook
Strait to ask Mr. Marsden if he would send a
missionary to his tribe. The whole of the North
island appeared to be ready for the gospel. The
tliought, "What must I do to be saved?" was
secretly agitating the minds of many. A 3"oung
chief named AVariki wrote to a missionary his
religious thoughts, which sound like the confes-
sion of St. Augustine, lie said: "How is it
that I am so deaf to what you say? H I had
listened to your various callings, I should have
54 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAOKIS.
done many things which God bids ns do, and
shoukl not have obeyed mv heart, which is a
deaf and a lying heart, and very joking; and my
heart sometimes ridicules me for saying 1 wish
to believe right and to do right. How is it?
Sometimes I say a3'e, and sometimes the thoughts
within me cause me to say no to the things of
God ; and then there is a grumbling and a con-
tention within whether aye or no is to be the
greatest, or -which is to be overturned. The
more I turn my eyes within and continue look-
ing, the more I -wonder, and I think perhaps I
have never prayed, perhaps I have. I have, this
day and many days; and my mouth has whis-
pered and said loud prayers ; but I wish to know,
and I am saying witliin me if I have prayed with
my heart. Say you, if I have prayed to God
with my heart, should I say no and not do his
bidding, as the Bible says Ave must and tells us
how? And should I flutter about like a bird
without wings, or like a beast without legs, or
like a fish wdiose tail and fins a native man has
cut off, if I had love in my heart toward God ?
O ! I wish I was not all lips and mouth, in my
prayers to God. I am thinking that I may be
likened to a stagnant Avater, that is not good,
that nobody drinks, and that does not run doAvn
in brooks, upon the banks of which kumara and
trees grow. My heart is all rock, all rock, and
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAORIS. 5o
no good thing will grow upon it. The lizard and
the snail run over the rocks, and all evil runs
over mj heart."
A young Maori who was living with Mr. King,
the missionary, wrote on the back of a book :
"O Jesus, we cannot perfectly believe in thee,
we are bound by the evil spirit, and he will not
let our hearts go free, lest we should believe in
thee and be saved. O Jesus, Son of God. O
Jesus, how great is thy love to us. Thou didst
descend from heaven, when thou didst under-
stand the anger of thy Father to all mankind.
They were going to the place of punishment.
They were not seeking after God. Thou didst
say to thy Father, ' Let thine anger to mankind
cease. I am tlieir substitute. I go to the world
to be slain as a satisfaction for their sins. I will
purchase them with my blood.' "
A chief one day came to IMr. Davis, accom-
panied by two young men, and said : " I come
to know what I must do with the rubbish tliat
is about my place in my house," (moaning his
heart). Tlie missionary replied, "I have told
you that you must jiray for strengtli from on
high to enable you to clear it away." " Yos,"
he said, "T wish to clear out my house in order
that the Holy Spirit may come in and dwell
in it."
The translation of the Scriptures into the
50 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOIIIS.
Maori language in 1835 was the pivot which
turned the hearts of the savage to embrace
Christianity. The young and old diligently read
the Bible. The chief of sixty would sit beside
the child of six, spelling out the lesson in the
class, and desiring the sincere milk of the word.
The introduction of a printing press into the mis-
sion colony was also an invaluable help. A
young Maori, who had been trained in a printing
office at Sydney, was employed at the printing
office, printing hymns in the native language,
which the people committed to memory and sang
with great animation. The missionaries thought
of abandoning the station at Rangihona, with a
view of strengthening the others. The chiefs
were opposed. They told Mr. Marsden : " When
you are gone, no one shall touch your houses,
but they shall stand empty until they rot and fall
down ; and when any Europeans come on shore and
inquire whose houses they are, we shall tell them
they belong to the missionaries, who left us with-
out any cause, and they now stand as a monu-
ment of disgrace."
AVhen the apostle made his seventh and last
visit to New Zealand, in the year 1837, he found
the old system of heathenism on the wane, the
spell of the tapu broken, the chiefs no longer
sacred, and the power of the priesthood over-
thrown. The priests would say to the mission-
THE APOSTLE OF THE MAOKIS. 57
aries : " You tell us that your God created man,
but your Bible does not say how he did it.
"Where did he begin — at the head or at the foot ?
And your Bible says that he created the heavens
before the earth ; then, he began at the top first,
and this contradicts all our experience, AVe see
the trees grow upward ; and we see men, when
they build a house, begin at the foundation ; no-
body begins at the roof and builds downward."
In the year 1840, the Church Missionary So-
ciety had twelve stations, two hundred and thirty-
three communicants, eight thousand seven hun-
dred and sixty attendants at public worship,
seventy-two schools, with one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-six scholars ; and the AVcs-
leyan Mission, in 1838, had sixteen preaching
stations in the Ilokiangu district. The Maori
Mission was now acknowledged by all Christians
to be one of the most successful missionary enter-
prises in history.
^Ir. Marsden, the founder of this glorious
work, died in his own home, in Sydney, after a
short illness, on May 12, 1838, Ilis last words
were a prayer for the Maoris.
So departed the man of God, at the age of
seventy-two ; and his forty-four 3'ears' service in
Australia, have left a monument ])oliind him more
lasting than brass and higher than the ))yrami(ls.
The names of Cook, the discoverer, and Marsden,
58 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
the apostle and friend of the Maoris, shall never
be forgotten in the annals of New Zealand.
Three years after, Bishop Sehvyn upon his ar-
rival in the colony found a nation of pagans con-
verted to the faith. " God liad given a new heart
and a new spirit to thousands after thousands of
our fellow-creatures in that distant quarter of the
earth. Young men and maidens, old men and
children, all with one heart and with one voice
praising God — all offering up daily their morn-
ing and evening prayers. All searching the Scrip-
tures to find the way of eternal life. All valuing
the word of God above all other gifts. All in
greater or less degree visibly displaying in their
outward lives some fruit of the spirit. Where
Avill you find throughout the world more signal
manifestations of the power of the Spirit, or more
living evidences of the kingdom of it ? "
CHAPTER YI.
TEIBAL WAR.
Chief Hongi was kind to the missionaries but
his heart was still unchanged. He was a born
leader, and a man of war from his youth. In
1820, he went to England to procure arms to
avenge an insult. AVhen in London he gained
much attention. King George and his subjects
honored him with marked kindness. Presents
were given to him in abundance until he was
rich. Thousands came to see the cannibah He
stayed at Cambridge for some time assisting
Professor Lee in getting up a dictionary of the
^laori language. His ambition was greatly in-
tensified. " There is but one king in England,"
he said, "'and there shall only be one king in
Kew Zealand." Returning to New Zealand by
the way of Sydney, there he exchanged some of
his presents for more muskets and j)()wdcr. Tliero
he met Ilinaki, witli wliom he liad an old feud,
and rcfjuested him to go liome and fortify liis ])a
and ])re])are for war. When he returned to New
Zeahind he caUed a conference of liis trilx-, and
tohl them of what he had seen in England, and
that he wanted to conquer the island and bo a king
69
GO THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS,
like King George. Warriors gathered round
him. A fearful battle took place between him
and Ilinaki. Ilongi shot the latter, and scooped
out the eye of the dying chief, swallowed it and
drank the warm blood as it oozed from his
wounds. A thousand soldiers were killed, and
three hundred of them were roasted and eaten on
the battlefield. Ilongi's name now became a ter-
ror throughout the land. He carried on war
systematically on one tribe after the other, until
practically he became the recognized leader in
the North island — the Napoleon of New Zea-
land.
In 1827 he visited the Wangaroa tribe, where
he was shot through the lungs, and six months
after he died as he had lived. His warriors de-
stroyed the Methodist Mission, and burned it to
the ground. The missionaries at Wangaroa fled
to the Church IVfission at Kerikeri, having lost
all their propert}?^, and, to all appearances, the
fruit of four years' hard work.
Pomare, another chief of his tribe, succeeded
Hongi, and committed awful atrocities on neigh-
boring tribes. These w^ere days of bloodshed.
It is estimated that in these tribal wars from
1820 to 1839 no less than twenty thousand Ma-
oris were killed. Fire arms were bought from
European traders at high prices. Te Whoro
Whoro, a chief of the Waikato tribe, conquered
TRIBAL WAR. ' 61
and killed Pomare with five hundred of his men.
Te Whoro Whoro held the leadership for a time,
until the famous Ruaparaha, a most determined
and skillful Maori leader, attacked Te Whoro
Whoro, and after several dreadful battles, when
many w^ere killed on both sides, Ruaparaha was
obliged to retreat with his tribes, men, women,
and children, and set out on a pilgrimage to Cook
Strait, now known as the District of Welling-
ton, lie fought his way through hostile tribes
until he subdued them all, and established him-
self and his tribes at Kapiti, (an island now re-
served by the government for native birds). He
crossed over to Nelson and waged war with
triljes there, and became the recognized leader
of that province. Captain Wakefield, of the New
Zealand Land Company, claimed the beautiful
valley of the Wairau for the New Zealand Com-
pany by purchase, but the natives denied having
sold him the land. Ruaparaha claimed it by
conquest. Men were sent from Wellington to
survey tlie land for the company. Ruaparaha
and his son-in-law, Rangihaeata, regarded that as
taking possession. They objected, and burned tlie
huts. A warrant for tlieir arrest was issued. Mr.
Thompson, Caj)tain AV^akelicld and eight other
gentlemen and forty armed men vohmteerod to
execute it. They met the chief and his son-in-law
in a valley, surrounded willi one hundred men
62 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
waiting for an attack. After some warm words,
the Wakeileld party attempted to arrest Ruapa-
raha; in the struggle a siiot killed his daughter.
This aroused the warriors and a bloody battle
began. Thirteen white men were killed and nine
massacred, and five natives. Ruaparaha and his
company returned home to the North island.
There he waged war at the Hutt and Welling-
ton. Then he crossed again to Nelson, and hired
a ship to carry him and his party to Akaroa, where
he massacred the people of that village and car-
ried the chief, with his wife and daughter, back
to Nelson. From there he went to some parts
of the Middle island as far as Kaiapoi, and there
set fire to the pa and burned the inhabitants.
He returned to his stronghold at Cook Strait,
and settled down again. The governor, being
suspicious of his plots, seized him at night when
asleep, and carried him as a prisoner to Auck-
land. After being kept there for some time in
custody, he was released, and returned to his
tribes. On his arrival, he found that they had
embraced Christianity, and his son was preach-
ing to the tribes he had conquered and looked
upon as enemies. Ruaparaha became interested
in religion ; he assisted in building a church, and
died a believer in the Lord Jesus as his Saviour.
To-dav are seen at Otakc two monuments, the one
a strange Maori oljelisk, and the other a marble
TRIBAL WAR. 63
bust of the great warrior. In the valley of
Wairau, near Blenheim, is also seen a beautiful
monument at Massacre Hill, which marks the
place where he and his party had massacred Cap-
tain AVakefield and his friends.
The Maoris were now getting tired of war, and
gradually it became less frequent. The custom of
feasting on the dead bodies of their slain nearly
ceased. The missionaries had acquired a good
knowledge of their language ; they could sj)eak
and preach to them intelligently ; their habits
and manner of living a})})ealed to the natives'
rude and savage state. The natives who at-
tended school and church were improving the
opportunity and making rapid progress in civi-
lization.
It is the opinion of a most interesting writer
on " Nation Making," that the two great barriers
to the early Christian progress of the Maoris
were the non-acquirement of our language and
the inability to overcome their barl)arous habits
and superstitions which liad been handed down
to them from tlieir ancestors. Instead of teach-
ing the Maoris Englisli, the missionaries tried to
make their prhnitive hinguagc suit the new condi-
tion of things; so a mixed language arose, which
was neither one tiling nor the other. ^Many of tho
dilliculties which the eai'ly missionaries encoun-
tered, arose IVom tlnir l;ick- of k-iiowlodge of tho
64: THE CONVERSION OF TUE MAORIS.
Maori language and customs. When the mission-
aries began to understand the native hmguage,
they found the Maoris kind and responsive. We
cannot but admire the faithful missionaries never-
theless, in their hard struggle in acquiring knowl-
edge of the Maori tongue without any aid except
what they could gather from them in their ordi-
nary conversation, and in their persistent efforts
of ten years' toil without any convert, until the
Lord opened the heart of Eangi to believe.
Bishop William Williams of Waiapu, wrote :
"During the first year of the establishment of
the government, the spirit of inquiry after Chris-
tianity was greatly on the increase. In many
it proceeded from a clear conviction of the evil
of their former system, and of the blessings which
Christianity afforded to them. . . . The peo-
ple now flocked in large numbers to attend the
classes of candidates for baptism. This was par-
ticularly the case in the old stations on the Bay
of Islands, and also at the Waikato and the
Thames, and in almost every part of the country
the profession of Christianity became so general
that the total number of attendants at public
worship was estimated at not less than thirty
thousand besides those in connection with the
Wesleyan Mission. . . . When the liberal
grant of ten thousand Testaments from the Bible
Society reached New Zealand, they were quickly
TRIBAL WAR. 65
put in circulation and another supply was writ-
ten for, the larger number of them being at once
paid for at the full price. The first case which
reached Tauranga, four hundred and ninety cop-
ies, was disposed of in eight days. It follows,
therefore, that there were many who were able
to read, or if they could not read, there was an
inducement for them to learn as soon as they
possessed the book."
A Maori could not have a Bible unless he first
read a verse out of it. There was one old woman
who gave up coloring her face with red paint and
oil, so that she might have a Bible. Then she
gave up her pipe for a prayer book and sat in
a prominent seat in the church so that people
might see how good she was. She observed the
Sabbath very strictly, said grace before meals
and had morning prayers.
CHAPTER VII.
MISSIONARY LEADERS.
After the death of the Rev. Mr. Marsden, in
1838, the responsibility of carrying on the Maori
Church Mission rested on his trustworthy friend
and coworker, the Rev. Henry Williams, a man of
most excellent traits of character. His varied gifts
of tact, firmness, gentleness and courage, which
had been so often called in use in his dealings
with the Maoris, had been a wonder to many.
The natives had unbounded confidence in him as
a friend and peacemaker. His life among them is
full of the most thrilling instances of bravery and
courage. At one time two powerful tribes were
at war with each other. Mr. Williams fearlessly
entered the battlefield as a peacemaker between
the warriors. He arrived there, unarmed, on
Saturday, and persuaded them to abstain from
hostilities on Sunday. They sat down to hear
him preach to them a sermon on the love of
Christ. On the following Monday, Mr. Williams
walked with the chief, Tahitapu, carrying a flag
of truce to the enemy's camp, and, after the usual
GG
MISSIONARY LEADERS. 67
palaver, the armies were disbanded, and peace was
proclaimed. Shortly after, one of the old chiefs
came to see him, holding up in his hand a war
weapon, and cried, " Sixteen persons by this time
have been sent to hell ; and unless I can kill and
eat someone now, I shall have no rest." Mr.
AVilliams approached him and laid his hand
gently on his shoulder, and calmly reproved hira
for his conduct. The old man changed his mind
and threw away the hatchet, saying, " I will use
it no more." The natives loved Mr. Williams
dearly. After his death, they erected a memorial
at Pailua for him, costing one thousand dollars.
The memory of the just is blessed.
" Christianity among the New Zealanders,"
by l>ishop Williams of Waiapu, is a book of
most thrilling stories of the power of the gospel
among the Maoris, as well as of many cases of
hardship, danger and daring adventures which
the missionaries constantly experienced. " There
is something grand and wonderful in the change
which is wrought by the gospel — that those who
are by nature the children of wrath should be-
come the children of Ood ; and this transition
becomes more striking in the case of heathens —
savage hoatlicns who are in tlio very l()W(^st
grade of human beings." " In seasons of native
baptism," said Mr. ('hapiiian, " tho tide of asjcs,
dark ages, bhjody ages, ages of niuitlcr and
68 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
treachery, cruelty and hatred, rolls as it were
before me ; and yet, here stand the children of
murderers accepting offered mercy and desiring
to wash all their guilty stains away. Thoughts,
such as these, force themselves upon me, and 1
must weep."
The three mighty men connected with the
Maori Church Mission were Samuel Marsden, the
founder ; Henry Williams, the peacemaker ; and
George Augustus Sehryn, the father of the Church
of England in Maori-land. Though other mis-
sionaries were remarkable men, yet none of them
attained to the strength of the first three.
Bishop G. A. Selwyn was a scholar, a dis-
tinguished student, and a clergyman of great
promise long before he was ordained to the
bishopric of Xew Zealand. He arrived at the
Bay of Islands at the age of thirty-three, in the
year 1842 — at a time when his zeal and person-
ality were greatly needed in both the Church
and State. He had with him several students
and clergymen. They took up their quarters at
Auckland. Bishop Selwyn was blessed with a
strong frame, cultured mind and apostolic zeal.
Few could equal him as a pedestrian. He would
Avalk through the thickest bush, scale the steepest
mountain and swim the widest river, and, after-
wards, sleep all night in the open air. For
months he could live on Maori food. He wrote
MISSIONARY LEADERS. 69
in his journal, after returning from a circuit of six
months' visitation in the interior : " My last pair
of thick shoes were worn out, and my feet much
blistered with walking on the stumps, which I
was obliged to tie to my insteps Avith pieces of
native flax. I landed at Onehunga (seven miles
from Auckland) with ray faithful Maori, Rota,
who had steadily accompanied me from Kapiti,
carrying my bag, of gown and cassock, the only
remaining articles in my possession of the least
value. The suit which I wore was kept suf-
ficiently decent, by much care, to enable me to
enter Auckland by daylight ; and my last re-
maining pair of shoes (thin ones) were strong
enough for the light and sandy walk of six miles
which remained from INfanukau to Auckland.
At two P. M. I reached the judge's house, by a
path, avoiding the town, and passing over land
which I have bought for the site of the cathedral,
a spot which I liope may hereafter be traversed
by tlie feet of many bishops better shod and far
less ragged than myself."
In his first charge to his clergy in 1847, is em-
bodied his own examplo. He said: " You liave
heard already the definition of the venerable liede,
that the episcojxite is a title, not of honor, but of
work ; and in that spirit I trust to bo enabled to
exercise my office." And again : "I ju'ay, in the,
name of the crucified blaster, that wo may never
70 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
here discuss the question, ' Wliich shall -be the
greatest ? ' It is hoped that the title of a dig-
nitary of the Church will never be heard in New
Zealand. If I designed the office of archdeacon
to be a mere peacock's feather to distinguish one
clergyman above his brethren, I would not offer
it to the acceptance of any one who had borne
his Master's cross, in retirement and self-denial,
in the mission field. No earthly dignity either
in Church or State, can equal the moral grandeur
of the leather girdle and the raiment of camePs
hair, or the going forth without purse or scrip,
and yet lacking nothing."
The Eev. James BuUer, an eminent minister of
the Methodist Church, who had been intimately
acquainted with the bishop during the twenty-
five years he labored in New Zealand, said :
"He neglected no part of his wide diocese.
Both races were the object of his care. By a
judicious foresight, he secured, by gift or pur-
chase, convenient sites and valuable endowments
all over the land before they had acquired a high
market price. By dint of great labor, involving
more than one voyage to England, he framed and
set in motion a constitution for his Church in
New Zealand, by which his own power was re-
duced to a fraction. Moreover, there was hardl}^
a settlement, however remote, a Maori village,
however small, or a mission station, however dis-
MISSIO]S^ARY LEADERS. 71
tant, that he did not personally visit. He spared
not himself."
After his return to England in 1867, to take
charge of the See of Lichfield, he wrote : " I
never felt the blessing of the Lord's day as a day
of rest more than in New Zealand, where, after
encamping late on Saturday night with a Aveary
party, you will find them early on the Sunday
morning seated quietly round their fires with
the Xew Testament in their hands — old tattooed
warriors side by side with young men and boys,
submitting to lose their place for every mistake
with the most perfect good humor."
On Trinity Sunday, May 22, 1853, he ordained
Eota to the office of a deacon in St. Paul's
church, Auckland ; a day which he always spoke
of as to be much remembered with thankfulness.
Rota was a young Maori, and one of the bishop's
trusty companions in his missionary journeys.
Eota imitated his Master in his labor of love
for his race. He died in the faith after twelve
years of fuitliful work. The following two
verses were a part of a poem read at his ordina-
tion :
" O ! kneeling at a Christian shrine,
Within thine own unconriuercd land,
May Clod, the I'akeha's (Jod and thine,
Admit thee with his (jracc divine,
And touch thee with his wounded side !
72 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
"My soul is bow'd in speechless prayer,
For thee, thou dark brow'd man ;
God lead thee by the rivers fair,
And sliould thy spirit faint with care.
Refresh thee, for alone he can."
Bishop Selwyn was a high churchman. For
twenty years the Episcopalian and AVesleyan mis-
sionaries in 'New Zeahmd had used the same form
of divine worship, preaching the same doctrines
and exercising the same system of moral disci-
pliE». Ministers of both churches, as well as
members, lived in peace and harmony and the
Lord blessed their efforts. The headquarters of
the Church Missionaries were the Bay of Islands,
and those of the Wesleyans at Hokianga, with
only a narrow strip of land between them, the
one stretching as far as the Thames and Poverty
Bay, and the other along the western coast, to
Cook Strait. Such were the general arrange-
ments agreed upon by the two societies, both at
home and in New Zealand. Bishop Selwyn, on
his arrival in New Zealand, drew a line of dis-
tinction. The Wesleyan missionaries were con-
sidered to be unsound in doctrine, and not of
divine authority. The rite of baptism, adminis-
tered by them, must be repeated by the bishop
and his clergy, in order to be effectual. This re-
sulted in differences of opinion, among clergy
and converts. Some years afterwards he saw the
MISSIONARY LEADERS. 73
evil of sectarianism, and, with sorro^r, deplored
the trouble it made in the mission field.
In 184:7, addressing his clergy, he said : " The
divisions of Christian men are a hindrance to
the faith at all times. When I asked a New
Zealand chief why he refused to become a Chris-
tian, he stretched out three lingers, and replied,
' I have come to tlie crossroad, and I see three
ways — the English, the AVesleyan, and the Eo-
man. Each teacher says his own way is the
best. I am sitting down, and doubting wliich
guide I shall follow.' "
The bishop and his clergy did a grand work in
New Zeahind, the fruits of which are evident to-
day, to those who have entered into their labors.
Tlie bislipp returned to Enghand in 1807 and be-
came Bisliop of Lichfiekl, where he showed the
same enthusiasm in his work as in New Zealand.
lie died in April, 1878.
In 1838, the Roman Catholic Bishop Pompailer,
with two priests, began work in the town of
Kororareka, in the Bay of Islands, and after the
destruction of the town by Hone Ileke's war-
riors, they returned to Auckland. He was sup-
plied with funds by the Propaganda Fidei, and
soon the staff was increascnl to twenty priests,
besides manv lavmen. They were all French-
men. They followed in the rof)tstej).s of the
J'rotcstant missionaries. Thcv labored hard to
T4 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
draw the natives, who had professed Christian-
ity, to their religion. Profitless disputes pre-
vailed between them and the Protestant mis-
sionaries, which raised suspicion and doubt in
the minds of many of the native Christians.
A Maori once said : " You missionaries are
teaching us to look up to heaven, but your own
eyes are all the time directed on earth ; " again :
" There are a great many religions believing in
Jesus Christ — the Church of England, the Roman
Catholic and the Methodist. It is not necessary
that we should trouble ourselves to find out
which is best. Their words are many, but their
faith is one. All that is needed for us to do is
believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, became
man, that he gave himself a living man for liv-
ing men as utu (ransom) for us who have all
sinned, that he was ready to make payments for
all who desire it, and will live their lives rightly.
Jesus said, ' All ye that thirst, come and drink of
the water of life.' AVhen I am thirsty, if the
water is pure, I don't refuse to drink, whether
the water comes to me in a shell, a calabash or
pannikin (tin pot). I am thirsty and I drink."
CHAPTER VIII.
THE METHODIST MISSION.
The mission of the Methodist Church was
founded in Xew Zealand in 1822, by the Rev.
Samuel Leit^h, just nine years after the Church
Mission had been established by the Rev. Samuel
Marsden. Indeed, both pioneers had a striking re-
semblance in history and character. They were
staunch friends, each rejoicing in the prosperity
of the other. Mr. Leigh was sent out to Aus-
tralia in 1815, as the first Methodist minister to
labor among the colonists of New South "Wales.
His ministry there was greatly blessed. But in
1819 his health failed, and, at the request of ]\Ir.
Marsden, he took a trip in tlie "Active" to visit
the Church ^lission in New Zealand. During liis
stay of nine months with the missionaries, he
was introduced to scenes of cannil)alism, degrada-
tion, and the most api)alling barl)arism. On the
second Sunday he went to a niMghhoring village,
and was siiocked on Ix'ing offered twelve human
heads with the exjieelat ion that he Avould Iniy
them. On another day, Ik; saw a boy's head
washed and cut up and laid on a lire U) roast.
75
76 THE CONVERSION OF Til 10 MAORIS.
The lad was killed for stealing kumaras from a
chief's garden, Mr. Leigh interfered by giving
an ax for the boy's remains, which he brought
to the mission station and buried with ceremony
in the presence of many spectators. " His spirit
was stirred in him." What could he do to ele-
vate the Maori savage ? was the thought that
absorbed his mind. In 1820, he returned to
England. On his arrival in London, he laid be-
fore the Wesleyan Society the need of New Zea-
land and its claim on the Church. Pie offered his
services to start a Maori mission in that dark land.
He received no encouragement from them, as the
society was $50,000 in debt. But Mr. Leigh was
determined. He proposed a project to start the
mission — by soliciting goods such as could be
given, in exchange for land, to the Maoris. He
was very successful in obtaining a large quan-
tity of goods of various kinds from merchants
throughout England for his mission in New Zea-
land. It is said that donations were so generous
as to have supported the mission for five years
free of cost.
On February 22, 1822, Mr. and Mrs. Leigh ar-
rived in New Zealand to begin mission Avork
among the Maoris. The Church missionaries re-
ceived them gladly, and did their best to promote
their interest. After prayer, thought, and consul-
tation with the brethren of the Church Society,
THE METHODIST MISSION. 77
TTangaroa was chosen as the mission station.
Land was bought and a few rough houses were
built.
On their first Sunday, a war canoe landed at
the village, laden with slaves, one of Avhom was
killed, roasted and eaten. In this beautiful his-
toric village Mr. and Mrs. Leigh faithfully and
earnestly labored for the welfare of the Maoris
until ill health compelled them to return to Syd-
ney. The mission staff had been increased, valu-
able property had been secured, and several schol-
ars in the school had made progress in reading
and writing. Kev. Kathaniel Turner succeeded
Mr. Leigh as superintendent of the mission. He
was assisted by his wife, and Messrs. White,
Hobbs, Stalk, and AV^ade. Mr. Stalk alone of the
staff could speak the Maori language.
George (a chief), the man who had planned
the destruction of the " Boyd," was causing much
trouble. When angry, he would threaten them
with murder. After his rage was over, placing
his hand to his heart, lie would say : *' Wlien my
heart is quiet, then I love the missionary very
much ; but when my heart rises to my throat, I
would kill tlie missionary." But it rose to his
throat very often. Tlie lives of the missionaries
were in "jeopardy every hour." Thoy had wit-
nessed several lightings, ])lun<l('i-ings and IVast-
ings on liiiiiiaii l)0(lies. But (hiring the third
78 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
year things seemed to improve ; the station was
quiet, and the missionaries had learned the hm-
guage and made many friends. But suddenly
their tabernacle was destroyed, and " all their
cords were broken." Ilongi and his warriors
landed, in their canoes, to punish the Wangaroa
tribe for their raid on the Europeans. The na-
tives shut themselves up in their pa. The mis-
sionaries were deserted. A band of soldiers en-
tered the station to rob, burn and kill ; just as
the missionaries with their families had made
their escape, taking nothing with them except
the clothes they had on, and a few pieces in
their hands. The}'^ had to run in haste and travel
twenty miles through a bush to the nearest Church
]\Iission station. The fear of being chased filled
them with dismay. They were exhausted when
Bishop Williams and others, who had heard of
their fate, met them six miles from Kerikeri, but
the natives of that place would not allow them
to remain, in fear that Kerikeri would be the
next place to fall. No place was safe for them.
The Church missionaries also, felt that they were
all exposed to a similar disaster. They were,
therefore, sent to Sydney by the ship " Sister "
on January 31, 1827. Thus temporarily ended
the first Wesleyan mission in New Zealand.
Before tlie end of the year, however, the Eevs.
Ilobbs and Stalk, returned to New Zealand, with
THE METHODIST ZillSSIOX. 79
the view of reestablishing the mission. Through
the invitation of Chief Tatuone, Maugungu was
selected as a suitable field. Land was bought
and a school started, mostly made up of some of
their former scholars who had fled for refuge
from AVangaroa to friends at Maugungu.
The mission church was a plain but substan-
tial wooden oblong building, built by the natives
under the supervision of the missionaries. It
would hold five hundred men, seated on the
floor, after their fashion. The only seats pro-
vided were a few near the desk, for the mis-
sion families. On a high pole in front of the
building, hung the bell which summoned the
dusky natives to the house of prayer. Behind
the churcli were some small rooms for storage ;
next to the church was the schoolhouse. Three
or four other houses further down, were the resi-
dences of the preachers. It was a lonely little
village, but tluMc (Jod manifesto(l liis power in
convertinjj: hundreds to Christianitv. These
lonely missionaries, forgotten and unknown to
the world, there in far away New Zealand,
sowed the seed of the kingdom of (Jod, with
nothing to cheer them but the thouglit of being
coworkers with tiie great Foreign Missionary,
their Lord and IMaster.
The missionaries labored liaid f«»r several
years, sui-i-i)UM(Ic(1 h\' much danger, Ix-furc they
80 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
saw anv result of their faitlifuliicss. But tlie
year lS3-i showed signs of fruitfuhiess. Many
were converted. One day fourteen couples were
married and eighty-one persons were baptized to
Christianit3\ It was a time of great awakening.
The work of grace was manifested. The Spirit
was convicting of sin, righteousness and judg-
ment.
It was not an uncommon thing to see on the
beach before public worship sixty or seventy
canoes loaded with thousands of people, who had
come twenty-five or thirty miles to hear the
Word of Life. They would come on Saturday,
so as not to break the Sabbath. Early on Sab-
bath morning they would find their way to the
meetinghouse. The whole aspect of the station
brought to mind the words of David, " This is
the day which the Lord hath made ; avc will re-
joice and be glad." These were days of blessing.
Hundreds confessed their faith in the Lord Jesus
as a personal Saviour. One day one hundred and
thirty-eight adults were baptized, and forty-six
children. In 18-iO, the Wesleyans had one thou-
sand three hundred communicants and several
thousand attendants at divine worship ; and in
January, 1855, they reported sixteen mission sta-
tions, twenty English ministers, two hundred and
thirty-four native teachers, and three thousand
and seventy Maori members, with seven thousand
THE METHODIST MISSION. 81
five hundred and ninety regular hearers, seventy-
four church buiklings, one hundred and twenty-
one preaching places and four thousand four hun-
dred and eighteen Maoris attending Sunday-
schools.
The Kev. James BuUer wrote : " I arrived at
my own station late on Saturday evening, and was
thankful that all was well. I had been nearly
three months away, climbing mountains, descend-
ing precipices, wading rivers, penetrating forests,
sometimes drenched with rain, then boiling in
the sun, and at night sleeping on the ground.
My traveling companions told thrilling tales of
blood and battle — what hecatombs of human
bodies had been cooked and eaten in days gone
by. But with all, the journey had its bright side.
I found in most places a people prepared for the
Lord and the fields white unto the harvest."
"There were some happy deaths among the
converts," again wrote Mr. Buller. "The iirst
who was buried in our new cemetery was Ihapcra,
the wife of T. W. Nene. Some of her hist words
were these: 'Jesus is my keeper, lie k(M"j)3
me by night and by day. In him I trust and
rejoice.' " Six months afterwards her daughter
followe<l tlie mother to the better country. Slio
was a most devoted Christian woman. The fra-
grance of her consistent life was dilfused over her
hapi)y death. II* r memory was cmbahniMl in
82 TUE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
the alTootion of all who knew her. These are
a few instances out of many to prove that the
gospel was the power of God unto salvation.
On a Sunday, in 1837, four converted young
chiefs, in their zeal for the Lord, "went to preach
to a desperate gang of natives, headed by a chief
called Kaitoke, and as they began to preach and
to tell them of the love of Jesus, they w^ere urged
to stop, but the young men persisted, saying that
the Saviour had commanded his gospel to be
preached to all men. The natives threatened to
kill them if they would say more, but they con-
tinued until they shot them, and killed them.
News of this tragedy spread ; the w^hole com-
munity w^as in commotion. Heathen friends of
the martyrs wanted to avenge their death. Mis-
sionaries and Christian chiefs used their efforts
for peace. Hundreds of armed natives were
ready to attack the foe, w^hen some young men
stole away and fired several shots, others fol-
lowed and a battle took place w^hich lasted for
two hours. Several of the enemy and Christian
natives fell. Kaitoke w^as w^ounded and taken
prisoner, after which his band lay down their
arms and w^ent to their homes. Haimond Pita,
an old warrior, who once was the terror of liis
enemies, but had l)ecome a Christian, was one of
the leading men in the fray. He died two years
after, a devoted Christian. Before his death he
THE METHODIST MlSSIOJf. 83
said to one of the missionaries who was visiting
him : " Don't ask the Lord to keep me here any
longer. I have taken leave of my people and
children. My heart is in heaven, and I long to
depart." Kaitoke himself became a Christian
the first time he attended church. Wiremu
Patone prayed that God would give the mur-
derer a new heart. Others also who were asso-
ciated with him, received Christian baptism.
A noted chief who had lost his wife, a model
Christian woman, was much affected by her
<leath. Kot many weeks after, at a meeting, he
asked to speak to the newly baptized converts,
and during his talk the whole congregation was
weeping. His exhortation to the converts was
mostly drawn from his own life and experience
in which he showed the vanity of this world and
the riches of the religion of Christ, and the ha])-
piness of those who live in communion with the
Saviour, in contrast to sin and tlio world.
On one occasion a number of chiefs were pres-
ent at a baptism held at Auckland, Avho paid
much attention during the whole service. At the
conclusion, one remarked, " J.et us listen to the
missionaries." "Yes," said a chief, "here am I
who have never spared your pigs or your potatoes.
I have great regard for my rehitives, who have
been selected from among us this day. Let us
all attend to the instructions wliich they have
84 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
listened to. Our fathers did not listen to such
tilings, because there were none to teach them ;
but when foreigners came out and brought
guns and axes, tliey were glad to obtain them ;
and if they had been told of Jesus Christ, they
would have also received him, as our friends
have to-day."
A converted chief, named IS'gakuku, whose
little daughter was killed by a war party of
Retorua, said to his tribes : " There lies my
daughter, she has been murdered as a payment
of your bad conduct. But do not you rise up to
obtain satisfaction for her. God will do that.
Let this be the conclusion of the war with
Eetorua. Let peace be made now. My heart is
not sad for Tarore, but for you. You wished for
missionaries to come to you to teach you. They
came and now you are driving them aAvay. You
are weeping for my daughter, but I am weeping
for you, for myself, for all of us. Perhaps this
murder is a sign of God's anger toward us for
our sins. Turn to him, believe, or you will all
perish."
A most remarkable proof of the power of the
gospel was given in the conversion of two rival
chiefs, Tamati W. Puna, and Panapa. When tlie
former was admitted to the Lord's Supper, he
happened to kneel next to Panapa, who had some
years previously killed and eaten his father.
THE METHODIST MISSION. 85
This Avas the fii*st time they had since met.
For a moment the old spirit of revenge seized
Tamati ; he rose and walked out. There he heard
a, voice — he told the missionary — saying to him,
*' Thereby shall all men know that ye are my dis-
ciples, if ye love one another." " I thought," he
said, " I saw a cross and a man nailed to it, and I
heard him say, ' Father, forgive them.' Then I
returned and felt ashamed, and came back to the
altar." Ilis emotions after the service were ex-
traordinary. He said it was the power of the
gospel of Christ that could make him eat of the
same bread and drink of the same cuj) with the
murderer of his father.
In June, ISol, " Lalcomene," a French vessel,
was wrecked not far from where the Boyd mas-
sacre took place in 1809, when seventy persons
were eaten up by the natives, and the vessel
plundered and destroyed. But now (1851), the
gospel has had its effect in transforming the
cannibals to Christianity. The wrecked French
ship's crew received every possible kindness.
They were taken to the Maoris' home ])a, fed, and
provided with blankets, nnd licljiod in cvcrv kind
and liberal iiiannor.
In iXiJU, thirty-liv«! thousand out of the lifty-
six thousand Maoris in Now Zealand had pro-
fessed Christianity. Two thf)usan(l of these were
half caste. It was a wonderful work of grace.
86 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
The influence of the missionaries was powerfully
felt throughout the land. The first governor of
JS'ew Zealand, in his address to the Legislative
Council in IS-il, said that a British colony coukl
not have been established at any time in New
Zealand if it had not been for the work of the
missionaries. In 18G0, J. B. Fenton, chief judge
of the Land Court, said : " The time will come
when these missionaries — the only efficient State
police now existing in the country — will be taken
away by death, or rendered unable, by advanced
years and much labor, to render that assistance
to the government which has often and again
been its reliance in the time of trouble ; and
we quietly await that time, without any effort to
supply the vacancy. When we see the great
things these men have achieved, and the influ-
ence they have gained, without gifts of money to
covetousness, or offerings of power to ambition,
we must admit that some secret existed in their
system which would be a valuable knowledge for
the government when they are no more." That
secret was the mystery of godliness, and the judge
was right. In the words of Dr. Thompson :
"The civilizing influences and blessings which
Christianity has conferred on New Zealand can-
not be weighed on the scales of the market. Like
musk in a room, it has communicated a portion
of its fragrance to everything in the country."
THE METHODIST MISSIOI!^. 87
The Maoris, after their conversion, were very
religious ; morning and evening devotion were no
more daily omitted than breakfast or supper.
Xo more quarrels or ill treatment of each other
were heard. The Sabbath was respected. In
almost every village was a meetinghouse. Ear-
nest chiefs carried the gospel to their old enemies.
Peace and blessing ruled the home. In 18-i3 a
prayer meeting was held in a cave in lietorua,
where chiefs used to lie in wait for travelers
whom they killed and afterwards ate.
The governor of the colony, Sir G. Grey, writ-
ing officially to the Secretary of State in 1851,
said : " The !Maoris are fond of agriculture, take
great pleasure in cattle and horses, they like the
sea, and form good sailors ; have now many coast-
ing vessels of their own, manned by ]\Ia(jri
crews; are attached to Europeans, and admiie
their customs and manners; are extremely ;iiiil»i-
tious of rising in civilization, and of becoming
skilled in European arts ; they are apt at learn-
ing, in many respects extremely conscientious
and observant of their word, and anil)iti()us of
honor." They built modci-n houses like the
Europeans. Tiiey i-iiscd calllc, l)ought )»lows
and raised wiieat. Tea and sugar were addcMl
to their larder. Tliey exchanged Iheir (h)g.skin
garments for European clothes, but still used Hk ii-
blankets. The Europeans tmveled iinniiind
88 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
through tlie colony, and the natives showed them
great hospitality. Knowing their fondness for
blankets, the missionaries used to give them
some. One day an old man, who had several
given to him, came again. The missionary told
him he had no more for him. Then he said, " All
right, no more blankets, no more hallelujahs."
When the ship Delaware was wrecked upon a
rock near Nelson, the chief's daughter and her
brave husband, upon seeing the fate of the crew
of the unfortunate vessel, instantly stripped
off their clothes, and swam at the risk of their
lives to a rock near to the wrecked ship, carry-
ing a couple of ropes in their teeth. One of
them they made fast from the shore to the rock,
and the other they threw on board the vessel to
which it was secured. The crew were enabled
thus to reach the shore. All of them were saved,
except the mate, who was ill in bed and unable
to Avalk. This chivalrous act of the kind-hearted
couple, produced a great impression in Nelson.
For their gallant work in saving the perishing
sailors, they were presented with a suitable ad-
dress and two gold watches, by the townsmen.
This rescue took place not far from where Tas-
man's sailors were killed and eaten in 1G42.
The missionaries taught the IVIaoris to keep the
Sabbath holy, and to do no work thereon. They
followed their instruction even to the letter. In
THE METHODIST MISSIO^ST. 89
the war of 1SG3 between the colony and the
Maoris, they would not fight on Sunday, and
were more than surprised to find that the Eng-
lish fought them on Sunday as well as on week
days. On the dead body of a ]\Iaori general in
battle was found the order of the day. It began
Avith a prayer, and ended with the text : " If thine
enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him
drink." "When the "Waikato tribe heard that the
army of General Cameron was scarce of food and
in a starving condition, they got several canoes
together and loaded them with potatoes, goats,
and milk, and sent them up the river to feed
their enemies.
During the war there was no desire on the
part of the Maoris for the flesh of the slain.
Young Maori soldiers spoke with loathing shame
of having been forced when little children, to
swallow some of the cooked flesh of their fath-
er's enemies.
One day some sailors from a trading vessel
went ashore and found themselves presented
with food ])repared by some INlaori women. The
men who had l)cen working in the field camo
liome. There was h)ud talking, and as the saiN)rs
couNl not understand them, thcv tlioiiLrht thcv
liad just deci(h'd to kill and cat thorn, but shortly
one after the other of tlui Maoris wont aside and
opened his Ixig, and took out a book, and gave
yO TUE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
out a hymn and all of them sang together, and
then prayed. The sailors knew that their lives
were })reserved.
The Maoris Avere fond of feasting. In April,
1844, a great feast was given to the Waikato
tribe at Ivemnera, in the neighborhood of Auck-
land. There were about four thousand guests
present. The provision prepared and exhibited
consisted of eleven thousand baskets of potatoes,
one hundred large pigs, nine thousand sharks, a
large quantity of flour, rice, sugar, and tobacco,
and over a thousand blankets were given away
as gifts. Speeches were made until late every
evening during the festival which lasted a week.
The Europeans in Auckland felt very timid, but
there was no reason for fear, for the natives were
peaceful and dispersed quietly and went to their
homes. The same missionary tells of another
feast at which he was present in 1859 in the
valley of the Hutt, eight miles from Wellington.
That feast was given by Wi Tako. It cost £500.
There were about five hundred guests present,
including Europeans and natives. The natives
were neatly dressed. Tables with white cloths
were arranged. There were knives and forks,
waiters dressed in white aprons, and everything
was done in English style thus marking a wonder-
ful progress in civilization, which was exceedingly
encouraging.
CHAPTER IX.
A BIT OV HISTORY.
At the same time that the missionaries were
working in Kew Zealand, there was an efFort
being made to colonize it. As early as 1825 a
company was formed in London, and sailed to
Kew Zealand under the management of Captain
Herd, with this object in view ; but after seeing
a native war dance at Ilokianga, they were so
frightened that only four of the sixty emigrants
stayed. Tlie attempt cost the company £2(>,(»(>0.
But the " lawless and disobedient " found a
refuire in the land. As many as two thousand
sailors, whalers, runaway convicts from New
South Wales, and others " of the Ishmaclite char-
acter," were living on the shores of the l^ay of
Islands including a settlement of five hundred at
Kororareka, and that within ;i few years after
the founding of the mission. About two hun-
dred of them found their way into the interior,
among the natives .-ind lived hut littk^ higher in
civilization than tlie natives. Their con<hict was
reproachabh^ .lames Ihisin' was a])pointe(l mag-
istrate l)y the crown at the Hay of Ishmds to keej)
in
92 THE CONVEKSION" OF THE MAORIS.
order, but his influence failed to check the stream
of vice.
In 1833 a scheme was proposed to establish an
independent native government, and the names
of thirty-five chiefs were affixed to the charter.
The king of England was asked to become their
protector. The British Government saw the
necessity of forming a colony in New Zealand,
but nothing was done until the New Zealand
Land Company sent out Colonel Wakefield.
"With a few exceptions all the land in New
Zealand belonged to the Maoris. When they
took possession of it, they killed and ate up the
former native owners. The land therefore, by
all its ties of association belonged to them by
right and conquest. Every tribe had a legal
claim on its own lot. No one could legally or
morally sell any plot of it to foreigners without
the consent of his tribe. Even when driven
away from it by a hostile tribe it did not take
away the legal right, nor until the whole tribe
had renounced all intentions to return to the
home of its ancestors, was the title invalid. As
Canaan belonged to the Jews by conquest and
inheritance, so New Zealand belonged to the
Maoris. The failure to apprehend this was the
cause of much bloodshed and Avar. When a
European bought land of a Maori, the deed speci-
fied the sale of the soil only ; everything on it,
A BIT OF HISTORY. 93
such as trees, waters, ilowers, birds and fishes
were claimed by the natives.
In 1837, a second company was founded in
England, with a capital of £400,000, in four thou-
sand shares of £100 each, and a deposit of £10 per
share. It was proposed to send out to New Zea-
land, a colony of cultured men and women repre-
senting every trade and profession. A bill was
presented in Parliament for a charter, but owing
to the opposition of the missionaries and others it
failed to pass. Colonel W. Wakefield was sent out
to New Zealand privately to carry out the proj-
ect of the comjxiny. He sailed from England in
May, 1839, in the ship " Troy " with thirty-five
passengers, and arrived in Kew Zealand in Sep-
tember. The " Troy " fired a salute of twenty-
one guns, and hoisted the New Zealand flag on
an immense flagstaff at Port Nicholson. After-
wards there Avas a Maori dance. Colonel W.
Wakefield bought, shortly after his arrival, a
quantity of land of the Maoris, and paid them
£0o() in goods. The land was soon sold in
England for £100,000, which was offered on the
English market for a pound an acre.
A few months later, four vessels containing
some twelve hundred j)eo])le sailed from England
and landed on the shores of Port Nicholson.
Scotch emigrants from the Clydo, had ;iIso :ir-
rived. Colonel W . Wukdicld had lancicd that ho
{U THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
had purchased from chiefs twenty million acres,
lie was therefore, parceling out land to the new-
comers at Port Nicholson, llutt. Nelson, Tar-
ranaki and Wanganui without having a title to
an acre of it. The Maoris denied that they had
sold the land. The colonial office took the mat-
ter up, ignored the Wakefield purchase beyond
one hundred thousand acres. In 1840, Captain
Ilobson took the North island in the name of
Queen Victoria, hauled down the New Zealand
flag which had in 1839 been hoisted at Petone,
and hoisted the Union Jack at Thorndan in
June. Thus Wellington, named after the famous
duke, was settled in 18-40. Before the end of the
year there were fifteen hundred Europeans and
four hundred ]\[aoris living harmoniously at Wel-
lington. The former were chiefly agricultural
laborers, and their first object Avas to provide
homes for themselves and families. The Maoris
were kind and helpful, and interested in the new
ways and new things of the settlers, so that in a
few months there were two hundred houses, one
thousand head of cattle, and goods Avorth £80,000,
in the new town.
Thus from a few lonely tents and Maori huts,
Wellington, the metropolis of Ncav Zealand, has
grown to be the great business center of the em-
pire. The city proper has an area of forty-five hun-
dred acres, and forty thousand inhabitants. It is
A BIT OF niSTORY. 95
located on a line harbor of nineteen thousand acres,
inclosed by high, irregularly shaped hills and pro-
tected by a heavy battery of guns. The harbor is
six miles long by six miles broad. In the center
of this harbor lies Soames Island, with its light-
house and quarantine station. Xear the center
of the city are large wharves extending along the
waters edge. Of these the queen's wharf accom-
modates the largest boats, while the railway
wharf is of more recent construction. At all
hours of the day and into the night the Avharves
are the scene of great activity. Xot only do
ships sailing to and fro from the diU'erent ports
in New Zealand, touch at AVellington, if it be
in their course, but those from foreign countries
constantly arrive here. So there are ships going
and sliips coming, ships being loaded and dis-
charged, porters, cabmen and passengers, as well
as vans full of goods. Everything is here wliich
betokens the usual activity in connection with a
busy ocean port.
Captain llobson, of the Eoyal Navy, was sent
out from England as a I'l-itish agent witii
power to act for the crown. After he liad been
there a year New Zealand gave up lior in(l«v
pcndence, and ])y the famous treaty of AVaitangi,
ceded to the (jueon of England all rights and
powers of sovereignt}'. The meeting was held
on the banks of the beautiful AVaitangi river on
96 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
February 6, 18-10. Governor Ilobson sat in a cliair
of state, on a platform surrounded by the officers
of the ship in uniform, and a guard of marines
and sailors, the leading men of the place were
there, and over five hundred Maoris and fifty
chiefs. After the meeting was opened, Rev.
Henry Williams (missionary) explained to the
nativ^es in their own tongue the terms of the
treaty, and "Waka ISTene, a chief of great elo-
quence and power, spoke and gained the votes of
the other chiefs. Te Ileuheu, of Lake Taupo,.
opposed ; he scoffed at the missionaries and defied
the governor.
The terms of the Treaty were :
1. The acknowledgment of the queen of Eng-
land as their sovereign.
2. The queen's acknowledgment of the pri-
vate possession of the lands of New Zealand by
the tribes.
3. Her protection of Maori rights and privi-
leges as British subjects.
Twenty-six chiefs favored the acceptance of
the treaty, others opposed ; twenty- four hours
were given to them to think the matter over.
Kext day, forty-six of the fifty signed the treaty.
The document was taken round by the mission-
aries and a few ofTicers from tribe to tribe, and
before six months, live hundred and twelve chiefs
had signed the treaty. On May 12, 1840, Ilobson
'S.
A BIT OF HISTORY. 97
proclaimed that the islands of Kew Zealand were
duly added to the British empire, and that he
would assume the rule of the new colony as gov-
ernor. A memorial has been erected on the spot
where the treaty was signed. This treaty of
1840 is the basis on which Great Britain founds
her claim to the possession of Xew Zealand. But
this fair land, so long in the hands of a savage
race, was not so easily acquired by the white
man. It had to pass through a series of bloody
contests before the British flag could wave un-
distm-bed over its disputed area.
The New Zealand Land Company was a spec-
ulative concern to make money. "Wherever it
assumed to sell land to settlers it caused trouble,
not only with the natives but with the govern-
ors. Two years after the ])eaceful treaty of
Waitangi, a frightful massacre broke out at
"Wairau in the province of Nelson, which was
followed two years later by the first IMaori war
which began in the valley of the llutt river, and
was kept up for several years in the North island.
The Maoris wanted to sell land for money and
goods, but the buyers were prohibited from
transacting any business in land, and the govern-
ment was not in a position to buy the land from
tiie natives. It Avas rumored that the govern-
ment took this position in onlrr to assume full
power over the country and reduce the Maoris
98 TIIK CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
to the condition of serfs. The British flagstaff
was pointed to as a symbol of English supremacy
and native subjection.
Hone Ileke, a distinguished chief and son-in-
law of the famous Hongi, was aroused. He
had been attentling the mission school, professed
Christianity, and often on receiving the Sacra-
ment had been so affected as to weep. He had
acquired a fair knowledge of the Bible, but he
hated the English and compared them to the
Egyptians and the natives to the Jews. He
now gathered round him a host of warriors, and
went to the English flagstaff and cut it down, on
Monday, July 8, ISl-i. The government put it up.
Heke cut it down the second time. The govern-
ment again put it up. Hone Heke cut it down
the third time. The government became alarmed
and sent to Sydney for soldiers. There were not
more then ninety soldiers in New Zealand, and
Heke threatened to plunder and burn with his
men every town and hamlet in the north. Some
friendly chiefs kept Heke in check. In March,
1845, he attacked the town of Kororareka and
destroyed £50,000 worth of property and killed
several white men. His fame spread. Auckland
was in danger, but after two years of plunder
and destruction, Heke surrendered to Governor
Grey.
The Waikato tribe, (the most powerful tribe of
A BIT OF HISTORY. 99
the Maoris) realizing the power of the white men,
decided to sell no more land, for they said the
money paid for it was gone, but the land stayed
with the white man forever. They called a meet-
ing on the banks of Lake Taupo, to discuss the
question. A large number of chiefs were pres-
ent. They agreed to form a Land League to sell
no more land to the whites. They sent the fol-
lowing: letter all over New Zealand :
" Listen, all men ! The house of New Zealand
is one. The rafters on one side, are the Pakehas,
those on the other are the ]\Iaoris ; the ridgepole
on which both rest is God. Let, therefore, the
house be one."
Afterwards, they held their council and passed
round a tomahawk as a pledge to kill whoever
sold any land to a foreigner. They made the
sacred mountain Tongariro the center of this
monopolized land district. They felt their weak-
ness when divided into tribes. They resolved
to have a leader. Chief Pototun was formally
chosen and made king in tlie presence of two
thousand i)eople. On that occasion Chief T;inei-
lianu said to the assembly :
" Listen to our words ! As the south, cast and
west winds are too weak to carry out the law of
God and man amongst us; as evil is still existing
among us; as God says, 'Come ye that are
100 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
lieavy laden and I will lighten your burden';
we have united tliis day to give power into the
hands of one man, so as to give force to the hi^vs
of God and man among us. The birds of heaven
are uniting and wasting their thouglits. The
fishes of the sea are doing the like, the rivers and
rivulets are running into one body, and so we are
uniting to give hands and feet to this one man
that he might assist the oppressed, and wrench
the sword out of the hands of those that are in.
darkness."
The object of the king was not disloyalty to
the queen, but religion. They were dissatisfied
with the greedy Avay in which the white men
were appropriating their land for mere nothing.
They felt, that, though they w^ere subjects of the.
queen, they were ignored. Their motto was,
"Religion, Love, and Law." There w^ere some
tribes who w^ere determined to drive the English
out of New Zealand. They bought muskets and
powder and prepared for war on the wdiites.
It is computed that there w^ere jiot more than
a few thousand Maoris that were actually en-
gaged in war against the British. Several thou-
sands sided with the government, and rendered
invaluable service, while several other tribes re-
mained neutral and moved into the interior.
It is related that Te Heuheu, the chief of
Taupo, was entertained in Auckland in the year
A BIT OF HISTORY. 101
1857. A candle was placed upon the table, when
the following dialogue took place :
" AVhat is the use of this candle ? "
" To give light."
" AVhat is it which causes the light ? "
" It is the fat."
" Will the fat give light by itself ? "
" Xo, it requires a Avick in the middle of it."
" Yes, this shows you what you require. If
you gather together round a king, you will be-
come a great people, and your light will extend
far and wide." This suggestion was at once
acted upon. " Let us have a king, to be at the
head of our Ranauga, and let his authority be
established through the country." This it is said,
was the origin of the king movement. Soon the
watchword of the party was, " Stop the effusion
of blood and keep possession of the land."
The Maori king and his cabinet shut up the
countrv, formed ;in ;ii-iiiv, allowed no roads to be
made, and defied the British law. Not an acre
of land rouml New Plymouth could be bought.
AVhen Governor Thrown attempted to survey some
land he had l)ouglit from a Maori at Taranaki,
it ;irouso<l tlie Taranak'i Maoris to arms, and they
drove tlie English soldiers down to the coast, after
wiiich they plundered tlu; town and killed many
white people. War i)roke out which lasted two
years. A couple of years after, William Thomp-
102 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
son, the great king-maker, ste])ped on the stage of
action, and transformed a cannibal settlement of
warriors into the peaceful Maori village of Perea
with its houses, churches, schoolhouses, fertile
plantations and mills. His object was to com-
bine the Maoris so that battles between tribes
would be stopped, the progress of the white man
obstructed, and any further sale or lease of lands
to the government or white settlers forbidden.
The Maoris fought bravely in battle. During
the Waikato war. General Scott sent a message
to the Maori warriors, saying, "Your case is
hopeless ; surrender and your lives will be spared."
Back came the answer from the pa, " This is
the word of the Maoris, We will fight forever,
forever, forever." Then came the second mes-
sage, " But send your women aAvay." " The
women will fight too," was the rej)ly.
So the war went on, and all the time the date
was fixed when the IMaoris must return to the
conditions of the treaty. Finally in 1861, Sir
George Grey, the missionaries, Bishop Selwyn,
and the soldiers, did all the}'^ could to induce the
Maoris to give up their lands. But all mag-
nanimity, all persuasion, all preaching were of
no avail ; but when the glittering of muskets of
twenty thousand men headed by General Cam-
eron marched through the Waikato valley, there
was not a single dusky face to be seen. Their
"\
A BIT OF HISTORY. 103
land was confiscated and their houses, where
they had lived and worked and loved, were taken
from them, and made into a military settlement.
For ten years they isolated themselves from
the Europeans. War died out, and there was
peace once more in the land. In 1S7S, Sir
George Grey offered to give back some of the
stolen land, but the old wound was not healed,
and the Maori refused. A second olfer was
made but politely declined.
Then the government stepped in and offered to
place the land under a Board which Avould take
care of the property for the owners, and passed
a law by which the natives, who had committed
crime and taken refuge among the Kingites,
could be pardoned. King Tawhiao Avas stubborn.
He was willing to take back the land, but he
would not take a salary from the government,
nor be made justice of the peace ; so nothing was
accomplished, and he continued to wave his
scepter over one of the finest land districts of
Kew Zealand, which lies between Taurango and
Wanganui. llis s])eech at the gathering of the
tribes in 1883, was very touching, lie arose, and
resuming his original position in the midst of
the assembly, arranged his Idankct in toga
fashion across his i)reast, and raising his bare
right arm, began his speech in slow but well de-
livered tones, and s))oke straight from his lungs:
104. THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
" My word is, do not speak at all ; only listen.
The best way of speaking is to listen. If this
European (the native minister) rises, the best
thing to do is to listen. This is ray word,
hearken you. I approve of your administrating
affairs on that side, the European side. But my
word is, I will jump on that side and stand, and
hear, that I may know. I will remain in the
position of my ancestors and my parents in this
island of New Zealand. Say what you have to
say. That is my thought, that I will remain here
in the place where my ancestors and fathers
trod." His whole idea was his deep love for old
associations and his determination to live always
where his ancestors and parents had lived in this
land of " bright sunlight."
Hanging over New Zealand to-day is this law :
" That the Maoris and Pakehas shall be as one
people ; obey the laws of the queen and respect
them everywhere as loyal subjects, and that
every native acting contrary to the queen's laws
shall undergo the same punishment as the
Pakeha ; that all natives avoid intoxication and
other abuses ; that no objection be offered to the
native land court, selling or otherwise so long as
it is done legally."
In 1864, the Ilau-Hau Apostasy arose which was
a great impediment to the spread of the gospel.
It began in Taranaki, A Maori fanatic believed
^
A BIT OF HISTORY. 105
that he had a revelation from the angel Gabriel,
and that all the white men were to be driven out
of Xew Zealand at the end of the year, but that
the Maoris would be protected by the omnipres-
ence of the A^irgin Mary. All good people who
shouted " llau-Uau " in battle would be victorious,
and angels Avould protect their lives. A spirit
of infatuation laid hold of tribes that were
hostile to the government. They began to rob,
burn and kill, and became a terror to settlers and
peaceful natives. Christian Maoris and Euro-
peans armed themselves against them, and fought
for their lives. In the second Maori war seventy
of the apostates were killed, which checked the
movement. But the influence of this strange
belief led them to hang the Rev. Valkner, an okl
Lutheran missionary, who had formed the clnirch
mission, and also to shoot another worthy friend,
of the Methodist faith, the Rev. J. Whitly. They
hated the missionaries. ]\Iany bloody battles
took [)lace between the advocates of this strange
new religion and tlie colonial army before they
surrendered.
During tiie war, many of them Averc taken
prisoners, some of tliem lied and oijtained arms
and food, and resumed the strife. About two
hundred of tlie most f(;rocious kind were ban-
ished to (,'atham Ishinds. Among tliem was a
most desperate character named Te Kooti, wlio
lOG THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
claimed to be inspired. He was the Rob Koy of
the gang, lie phmned to escape from tlie island,
and succeeded. He somehow enticed a captain
of a ship at anchor in the harbor to come ashore,
and kept him there, while he and his party got
possession of the ship, compelled the mate and
crew to sail the ship to IS'ew Zealand and land
them at Poverty Bay. When they arrived there,
they attacked the Europeans and loyal natives,
killed some sixty of them, and destroyed their
property. The whole district was alarmed. Te
Kooti's success brought many other wild and
unruly characters to his standard. He planted a
pa at Ngata])a, on the top of a mountain two
hundred feet high, which was supposed to be the
strongest pa in New Zealand. He had four
hundred followers. The colonial army chased
them from place to place, until at last, Te Kooti's
party broke up and left him, and he sought pro-
tection of the Maori king, under which he lived
until he died, two years ago, (1896), at Ilotorua,
an old man.
A missionary of forty years' standing in New
Zealand, gave as the causes of the Maori war:
incompetency on the part of the crown officials ;
the Land League, which arose from jealousy re-
specting territory ; and kingism, which arose
from lack of ability upon the part of the British
to govern ; all culminating in Hau-IIauism. Here
^
A BIT OF HISTORY. 107
another evidence is added of the demoralizing
effect of war upon the people ; even the mission-
aries suffered morally and spiritually. Flourish-
ing mission stations and promising schools Avere
abandoned, and the love of many grew cold.
Husbands and wives bade a hasty adieu. Par-
ents deserted their children. Lovers and betrothed
were rudely sundered. The home and the fire-
side appeared as if draped in deepest mourning ;
a sense of loneliness, painful to spectators,
crowned the vision, A Maori chief, who had
been a leader in hostilities, upon being converted,
establishes our convictions. AVhen called on to
lead his tribe in battle against the British he
said : '' I have lost the power of my right arm.
I am ior peace, they are for war."
CIIAPTEE X.
THE MAOKI OF TO-DAY.
In 1892, Tawhiao, the so-called native king, re-
nounced his native sovereignty to the colonial
government, and became an humble subject with
a pension of two hundred and fifty pounds annu-
ally. This event has brought the Europeans and
the Maoris into closer relation under one sover-
eign and one common law and aim. The Maoris
own about ten million acres of land, which are
preserved for them by a general, regular law
court. Some tribes in the North island are averse
to such red-tape constitution, and want the
management of their land affairs in their own
hands, independently of the government. But
the genial and large-hearted native minister,
the Hon. R. J. Sedden, the Premier of New
Zealand, has a wonderful influence over these
discontented tribes. An expedition by him
through their country, and a speech or two, and
some hand-shaking, act like oil on the troubled
sea.
Three years ago, two surveyors were sent by
the government to the country of the Unwera to
108
^
MAOKI OIKI.M.
^
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. 109
make some survey. The Maoris did not like it ;
they thought that the government Avas about to
divide up their land and give it away ; so they
stopped the surveyors, and some of the women
t<jok from them their instruments. The govern-
ment was no tilled, and a band of forty soldiers
and policemen was sent to the scene to adjust
matters. But Ilone lleke, the member of Parlia-
ment for their district, Avired to his people to
return to the surveyors their instruments, and
not to obstruct them. On the arrival of the
soldiers, they found everything quiet. The
natives offered them fruit, and also offered to
assist the surveyors at a reasonable price. A
few words from their chief calmed them down
to peace and order.
The Maoris are law-abiding citizens. There
was far less crime committed by the Maoris
last year in proportion to their number than l)y
the Europeans. The total number of Maoris
convicted for crimes in 1890 was three hundred
and thirty-twr). There are not many of them
found livin<; in towns or cities, nor are many of
them found living even in vilhiges together as
they used to do before they embraced Christian-
ity. They are scattcjred here and there in groups
of few liouses in tiie interior <>f the country.
Some of them liave fine houses and farms.
Parahuka is perJiaps the largest Maori vilhige
110 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
in the North island. It is the seat of the prophet
Ti AVliite, a man about seventy years of age.
lie has a most wonderful influence upon many of
the benighted natives of the interior. He has
acquired a knowledge of the Bible and by his
strong memory can recite many passages and
turn them to suit his own views. He conducts a
public meeting once a month in his native vil-
lage ; many come to it from far and near. They
gjve him money and he in turn entertains them
by making a public feast. He lives in an old di-
lapidated house. Though he built a new one
some years ago, he does not always occupy it.
There are about a dozen strong, able men with
him, as a bodyguard, who do nothing but live
on the charity of others. They need the gospel
in that part of Maori land as much as in the
Fiji islands. How is it that the present gen-
eration of Maoris, living in the remote part^ of
the North island, are still clinging to their heath-
enish customs, and appear to be retrograding
both in civilization and belief in Christianity
from the promising days of the early mission-
aries? Is the Church, or the State, responsible
for this, or V)oth ? The State advertises thou-
sands and millions of acres of Maori land for
sale, and offers every inducement to settlers, and
the Church, the Christian Church, boasts of her
foreign mission conversions, and enterj)rises in
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. Ill
India, China and the South Sea Islands, while
the Maoris, at her door, are in pagan darkness,
and dying without the bread of life 1
According: to the census of 1896 the native race
was found to consist of thirty-nine thousand eight
hundred and fifty-four persons, (twenty-one thou-
sand six hundred and seventy-three males and
eighteen thousand one hundred and eighty-one fe-
males) including three thousand five hundred and
three half-castes, living as Maoris, and two hun-
dred and twenty-nine Maori women returned as
married to European husbands. The Maori popu-
lation fell from forty-one thousand nine hundred
and ninety-three in 1801 to thirty-nine thousand
eight hundred and fifty-four in 1896, a decrease
in five years of two thousand one hundred and
thirty-nine. Thirty-seven thousand one hundred
and two of them are living in the North island as
it is warmer than the South. Only two thousand
two hundred and seven are living in the IMiddle
(or South) island, and one hundred and seventeen
in Stewart Island, and about twenty in the
Catham Islands. It is reported that in the coun-
try over which the ]\[aori king J\Iahutu, has in-
fluence, sub-enumerators cxj)erienced great dif-
ficulties, being told that the king had already
taken ;i census, ainl no (»tlier was needed. The
Maoris seemed to conn<!ct the; census wit li luxa-
tion, and opi)os<!d it on that ground, so that the
113 THE CONVEKSIOTT OF THE MAOKIS.
returns from the king country arc doubtful. The
native population in the Middle island arc re-
ported to be in satisfactory health and prosper-
ous condition, and those living in the northern
counties of the North island, were reported also
to be in fairly good health, but that a habit of
camping in low swampy places during the gum-
digging season was injurious. "Digging for
kauri gum is their principal occupation through-
out the country north of Auckland."
The Hon. W. P. Keeves, in his recent book
" New Zealand," (on page twenty-seven) in ex-
plaining the reason why the Maoris were dying
out, says : " The Maoris might be healthy men
and women if they would accept the teaching
of sanitary science as sincerely as they took in
the religious teaching of the early missionaries.
If they could be made to realize that foul air, in-
sufficient dress, putrid food, alternations of feast
and famine, and long bouts of sedulous idleness
are destroying them as a people and need not do
so, then their decay might be arrested and the
fair hopes of the missionary pioneers yet be justi-
fied. So long as they soak maize in the streams
until it is rotten and eat it together with dry
shark food, the merest whiff of which will
make a white man sick ; so long as they Avill
wear a suit of clothes one day and a tattered
blanket the next, and sit smoking crowded in
"\
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. 113
huts, the scent of which strikes you like a blow in
the face ; so long as they will cluster round dead
bodies during their tango or wakes ; so long as
they will ignore drainage — just so long will they
remain a blighted and dwindling race : and yet
observers without eyes will talk as though there
were something fateful and mysterious in their
decline."
The Maoris who live nearer the towns and cities
are as a rule temperate in their habits. They
are much opposed to intoxicating drink, though
some, like the whites, drink to excess.
Sometime ago, a IMaori member of Parliament
rose to oppose a motion for hours of adjournment
of business, saying, " Honorable members get
drunk, then return to wrangle or go to sleep.
Conclude business, then drink afterwards." His
remarks shamed the house.
The Maoris are ver}'- fond of horses and dogs.
A Maori will not travel half a mile if he can lielp
it without riding his horse. It is not an uncom-
mon thing in the Xorth island, to see half a
dozen Maori riders galloping at full speed into
town from the country two or three times a day,
and always followed by as many dogs.
They own over three hundred thousand sliccp
and thirty thousand cattle and many horses.
Here, on the banks of the Wanganui river, par-
ticularly, they congregate in their pas, wliero they
114 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
live, undisturbed, among their sheep, cattle, etc.
The men and women sit and smoke their pipes,
while the children play about the doors of their
painted wooden houses. When they go out on the
streets, the mothers carry their babies strap})ed
to their backs with shawls, the ends of which are
crossed in front and tied behind. Only the baby's
little head peeps out.
The Maoris still hold their councils, at which
both men and women speak and indulge occasion-
ally in the old savage war dance. Tourists travel-
ing in New Zealand generally include in their pro-
gramme a visit to the Wanganui and a paddle
down the beautiful river in a Maori canoe.
These canoes are from eighteen to twenty inches
in breadth and from fifteen to thirty feet long.
Each one is made out of the solid trunk of a totara ^
tree. The paddle is about four and a half feet
long and has a single blade.
The Maoris respect the Europeans. An old
Maori said of birds : " Ah, they are little spirits.
They come to see what men are doing in the
bush by day, and go back to tell God at night.
To-night, they wiU say, ' We saw the Maori and
the Pakeha (white man) together in the forest.
They ate of the same and drank of the same, and
slept together in one blanket, and were brothers,'
and CTod will say it is good."
The Maoris have keen love of justice. Once a
A OROri' OK MAUKIM.
^
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. 115
Maori stole a bag of sugar from a store, and re-
ceived a month's imprisonment for his crime. A
chief made him pay the value of the sugar to the
storekeeper, pay utu to some person, and pay utu
to the chiefs of respective tribes to compensate
them for loss of credit the community had sus-
tained through his offense.
Although one meets here and there with the
grotesquely-carved Xoah's Ark Maori church
while traveling over the islands, the majority of
the natives attend the various denominational
churches — the Church of England, Methodist
Church, and the Roman Catliolic. They are good
listeners. They sing lustily and join in responses
fervidly, laugh and weep vociferously. They
grind their teeth, stamp their feet, wave their arms
and rage when the treachery of Judas is related.
They look upon money collection in church as im-
jxjrtant, but they do not give more than a ])enny.
The warden has to make change while passing
the plate. If one has no penny he makes believe
to put in something with a horrible grimace at
the collector.
The following is a specimen of a sermon by
Hone Ileko a native preacher: "A Pharisee is
like a bag tied half way down. The bug isoj)en at
the top, but anything j)ut into it won't roach the
bottom. So it is with the Pharisee. "When he
prays, he opens wide his mouth, but keeps his
116 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
heart close shut. lie asks with his lips for things
which his heart cares not for. Besides, he
always talks for effect, for even if God were to
grant him the things he asked for, it would be
only a waste of good gifts, for they could never
get to the bottom ; his pride, like the string
that is tied round the bag, preventing them.
They would therefore do him no good, as they
would reach no farther than his throat." The
Maoris have their own church Boards and native
pastors. The larger portion of them attend the
Church of England. The Presbyterian Church
does but very little mission Avork among them.
Mormon missionaries are also found among them
sowing their heathenish seed of polygamy. They
do much evil. But all the Mormons of New Zea-
land including Maoris and whites in 1896, num-
bered two hundred and eighty-nine, again of but
eighty-three persons since 1891. The govern-
ment provides the Maoris with excellent schools.
There are no less than eighty -three schools found
among the natives, and four thousand children
attend them.
The Maori is as much a citizen of New Zealand as
the European. His children sometimes attend
the same schools, and his sons and his daughters
often marry Europeans. There are many well-
educated, accomplished and successful Maoris
now living in comfortable houses, who are pos-
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. 117
sessors of wealth and influence. "We heard of one
native wife of a white man who enjoyed nothing
better than once in a while sitting down on her
<lra wing-room floor and having a good smoke
with her pipe.
The Maori population is re[)resented every year
in Parliament by four members. One of them
now is a grandson of the famous cannibal chief,
Ilone Heke. He is a very intelligent, fine-look-
ing man, conservative in politics, and bitterly
opposed to the present land system.
In the summer of 1897 a number of Maoris
Avent with the New Zealand contingent of sol-
diers to London to attend the Queen's Jubilee.
Tai te Tan, of ]Masterton, had the honor of giving
the Prince of Wales a beautiful Maori-carved
walking stick, and to the Duke of York a green-
stone war club and a handsome rug.
Notwithstanding all the Christian and civiliz-
ing inlluence which has been brought to bear
ujKjn the jMaoris, many of them still cling to
their old beliefs and customs. They will not steal
on Sun(hiy, go j)ig hunting, or land a boat. They
will never swear in a boat, for fear of accident;
and if the wind dies out when tliey are on the
water, tiicy will try to bring it back by chants.
They are afraid of ghosts and tapu.
When a (thief's (hiughter iiuirries, the Maoris
go to the wedding in A\agon8 or on horseback
118 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
with provisions for a feast of several days.
After marriage, if the husband allows anything
to happen to his wife, all her relatives come and
take everything from him. I once attended a
Maori wedding, and was hospitably entertained
with the guests at a sumptuous table. No in-
toxicating liquor was seen, except a bottle of wine
which was placed on the table, after the marriage
ceremony was performed, and each one was ex-
pected to help himself, Avithout any urging. I
was conducting special gospel meetings in the
neighborhood, during the week, and on Sunday
I was pleased to notice some of the Maoris, pres-
ent at the wedding, in the congregation. At
funerals they also carry food, and sticks of wood
with slits cut in them in which bank notes are
put. This money is divided among the mourners
and spent afterwards. They salute each other by
rubbing noses, but never by kissing. At one
time, a Maori had his arm injured. A surgeon
amputated it. A short time after all the rela-
tives came, and asked him to pay them for cut-
ting it off. With this singular idea other young
men came and wanted theirs cut off.
Taken as a race, the Maoris are very good
people to deal with if treated in the right way.
There is a great difference between the polite, bet-
ter bred and the inferior class. One of the former
would feel hurt if you offered to reward him for
THE MAORI OF TO-DAY. 119
his hospitality. In conversation he is very po-
lite, never interrupting nor contradicting his
company. Sometimes the English which the un-
educated use is very laughable. One day a
Maori was milking a cow, and a stranger, passing
by, on seeing the empty bucket, remarked that
she did not have much milk. The native said :
" O, he's got plenty mUk inside, but she wont let
them down."
On a certain day of the year, large numbers of
Maoris may be seen fishing off the Korth Cape
for whapuka, a fish which weighs fifty pounds.
They will not allow a white man to go with
them, for fear he will fry the fish and no more
can be caught. They think the fish likes to be
baked in Maori style. On another day they go
shark fishing, when they catch and dry thou-
sands of them. When the godwit season begins,
they go out with their guns, and lying low on
the mud banks where these birds collect, kill
many of them. Thoy make a very appetizing dish
when they are properly cooked.
Christianity has elevated and enliglitencd the
Maoris. There is no more striking illustration
of the gospel of Christ as the power of God unto
salvation to every one that Ijclieveth than tlie
conversion of the Maoris — a whole nation of can-
nibals in a (piarter of a century made nominally
Christians through the preaching of the gospel.
120 TUE CONVERSION OF TUE MAORIS.
Let us place side by side the naked, savage,
Maori cannibal with his massive club, and the
tine-looking old native chief of to-day, in his new
suit of clothes and his blanket in toga fashion.
Then let us compare the horrible threat to kill
screamed out in frantic yells, with the well
worded English speech delivered in soft, modu-
lated tones, and we shall see what Christianity
has done for the natives of New Zealand.
CHAPTER XI.
RELIGION IN NEW ZEALAND.
It was my privilege during our travels in the
colony to preach in the cities of Auckland, Wel-
lington, Christ Church and Dunedin, and also to
conduct special evangelistic meetings in many of
the larger and smaller towns of both the North
and South islands ; and 1 was ahvays very favor-
ably impressed with the hopeful and encourag-
ing state of religion in New Zealand, Pastors
of various creeds appear to be earnest and de-
vout men. Meetings were well attended. I re-
member conducting special meetings in a small
town in Otago, forty miles in the interior, and on
several nights during the week, there were pres-
ent men and women who had come on horse-
back, eight, ten and twelve miles, which was an
evidence of deep interest in sjMritual things. I
found the attendance at pul)lic worsliip in Otago
to bo larger than in any other part of the colony.
The I;racing climate and the natural character-
istics of the peoj)h; hud (hnibtless much to do
with this. Earnest Christian workers (k^ph)red
the methods used in raising money for clmrch
121
122 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
purposes — by raffles and lotteries, as a great hin-
drance to tiie spiritual growth of the Church.
The Church in New Zealand has to contend with
evils that are common in all lands, but particu-
larly with worldliness, gambling, social impurity
and intemperance. It is a question whether the
Church is holding its own against these assailing
forces. The liquor question and the introduc-
tion of the Bible into the public schools have been
agitating the mind of both the Church and State
for sometime. The consumption of strong drink
is said to be falling off since the war began
against it. The Lord's Day is fairly observed
as a day of rest, though greatly desecrated by
pleasure seekers. The government in stopping
the running of trains, and closing public works
on Sunday, honors the Fourth Commandment.
Denominational differences are strongly marked
throughout the colony, but especially by the
Church of England. The Episcopal minister still
believes in the apostolical succession ; but he is
not a ritualist.
There are some thirty religious denominations
represented in New Zealand, all, of course, in-
dependent of the State for support, as the gov-
ernment gives no financial aid to any form of
religion. But the Church of England and the
Presbyterian Church of Otago, are both richly
endowed with lands given to them as grants in
RELIGION IN" NEW ZEALAND. 123
the early days of the colony ; still, the other
churches seem to thrive as well, and give liberal
support to their various ministers. The Church of
England has the largest number of adherents in
the colony. According to the census of 1896,
they numbered two hundred and eighty-two
thousand eight hundred and nine, being forty
per cent, of the population ; but the vast majority
of them though claiming adherence, do not at-
tend divine public worship with that body. Only
forty-eight thousand one hundred and seventeen
are reported to attend services; whereas the
Presbyterians, who come next in number, repre-
senting only one hundred and iifty-nine thousand
nine hundred and fifty-two persons, or about
twenty-three per cent., have forty-eight thou-
sand seven hundred and fifty-one reported attend-
ing public worship, and their church accommo-
dations are nearly as lai-ge as that of the Church
of England, whose seating capacity including
all meetinghouses is only seventy-six thousand
eif^ht hundred and eleven. This shows that the
census is a very defective standard. The Church
of Enghind lias extended its stakes for mission
purposes, by having divided the colony into six
dioceses, viz: Auckland, Waiapu and Wellington
in the North island, and Nelson, ('hrist Church
and Dunedin in the South island; each of these
iields has an elKcient stall of earnest workers.
124 TilE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
This Chui'cli leads in missionary work among the
Maoris; probably more natives claim to be con-
nected with the Church of England tiian with
all the other Protestant churches put together.
The Presbyterian Church both north and south
is a tower of strength, and a great light in the
South Sea Islands. It has able and earnest preach-
ers of the gospel. The Synod of Otago has six
presbyteries, seventy-eight congregations and
churches, and the Presbyterian Church of New
Zealand has eight presbyteries and one hundred
and four congregations and churches. Both
Churches are expected to unite before another
year is over under the name of " The Presby-
terian Church of New Zealand." While both
branches of this Church have manifested zeal
and wisdom in evangelistic work throughout
the colony and lively interest in missionary
enterprise in the New Hebrides and Tauna, yet,
it is to be regretted that they have practically
neglected their duty to the Maoris. The follow-
ing report of the convener of the Maori Mission
to the General Assembly explains the fact.
MAORI MISSION REPORT.
Your committee have to report that no change
has taken place in the mission staff during the
year. ^Lr. Fletcher has been restored to health,
and has labored diligently during the year. He
RELIGION IN NEW ZEALAND. 125
is Still at the nortli of Lake Taupo, and conducts
service in six or seven pas; some of wliich he
reaches by boat. For some weelvs they had se-
vere earthquakes, and some of the natives left
the district, but our missionary and his young-
wife remained at their post. He is virtually the
only missionary in that district. A Maori curate
of the Church of England comes occasionally and
conducts a service. Except that, Mr. Fletcher is
the only missionary there, lie conducts a serv-
ice for Europeans in the schoolhouse on Sabbath
evenings as opportunity offers, as there is no
minister of any denomination in that district.
He has been asked by some followers of Te
Kooti, who are generally very exclusive, to open
a school for their children, and the committee
have authorized him to do so, when the condi-
tions are complied with, hoping that in that way
he may reach tlio ])arents.
.Mr.Milson still labors most faithfully in Para-
wanui, but on account of failing strength, pro-
poses soon to retire from the work.
AVe have not been al)le yet to secure the serv-
ices of a medical missionary.
The Church has not supi)orted this mission as
it should, it has fallen into debt, and with such
a small staff of workers this should not be.
Other churches are doing very much more for
the natives than we are doing. Surely our peo-
ple will not neglect the heathen round our own
doors. It is our duty to give them the Word
of Life. W<' iiave a* great responsibility in this
matter. Would that our people realized and
felt it.
126 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOEIS.
I have tried during the year to collect some
statistics of the natives in the different places,
but find it difficult on account of their unsettled
habits.
It is also difficult to find what districts are sup-
plied by other churches, as some churches state
that they supply certain places, which sometimes
means the visit of a curate or missionary once a
month or once a quarter. We again appeal to
the brethren to give this mission a more liberal
support. D. Gordon, Convener.
The Koman Catholics claim ninety-eight thou-
sand eight hundred and four members, or about
fourteen out of every one hundred of population.
Of the larger Protestant denominations the
Wesleyan Methodist increased since 1891, from
fifty-six thousand and thirty-five to sixty-three
thousand three hundred and seventy-three persons,
being at the rate of 13.10 per cent. Presbyterians
from one hundred and forty-one thousand four
hundred and seventy-seven to one hundred and
fifty-nine thousand nine hundred and fifty-two or
13.06 per cent. The Salvation Army gained one
thousand one hundred and forty-nine persons be-
tween 1891 and 1890. The numbers of the
Brethren show 42.35 per cent, and Seventh Day
Adventists 86.99 per cent, increase. But the
Congregationaliats only 1.38 per cent, and Luth-
erans decrease seventy-eight adherents. The
Unitarians increased from three hundred and
EELIGIO]^ 11^ NEW ZEALAND. 127
eight to three hundred and seventy-five, and the
Society of Friends from three hundred and fif-
teen to three hundred and twenty-one. Hebrews
increased eighty-six. Spiritualists increased from
three hundred and thirty-nine to three hun-
dred and seventy-six. Free Thinkers decreased
from four thousand four hundred and seventy-
five to three thousand nine hundred and eighty-
three. Agnostics numbered in 1891, three hun-
dred and twenty-two, increased in the five
years two hundred and forty making five hun-
dred and sixty-two in 1896. The Mormons re-
ported in 1896, two hundred and eighty-nine, a
gain of eighty-three persons in five years, mostly
among the Maoris.
The total number of buildings returned as used
for divine public worship in 1896 for the whole
colony was one thousand nine hundred and
eierhtv-seven, of which one thousand four hun-
dred and thirty-one were churches and three
liundred and sixty-six schoolhouses, and one
liundred and ninety dwelling houses, seating ac-
commodations for three hundred and thirty-
four thousand five hundred and nine, and the
numbers attending services two hundred and
nine thousand seven liundred and thirty-one.
The number of male members is found to 1)C
greater than that of females in the Church of
p]ngland and Tresbyterian ('hurch.
128 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
The total number of scholars at the Sunday-
schools in 189G was one hundred and four thou-
sand nine hundred and thirty-four, of whom fifty
thousand and ninety -six were boys and fifty-four
thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight girls.
Tlie teachers numbered eleven thousand one liun-
dred and eleven of both sexes, three thousand nine
hundred and sixty-seven being males and seven
thousand one hundred and forty -four'^ females.
We met many teachers in Sabbath-schools in the
colony who appear to be faithful and devoted
Christians. The system of teaching the children
is hardly up to date. Scarcely an adult scholar
is found in any of the Sunday-schools, in JS'ew
Zealand. Christian women lack enthusiasm in
missions.
We addressed several meetings of the Christian
Endeavor Society, and the same devotion and
earnestness known among young Christian work-
ers in all lands are not lacking with the Christian
Endeavor Society of New Zealand, We were
present at a grand rally at Christ Church in con-
nection with the meeting of the Presbyterian
General Assembly, which was addressed by the
old veteran missionary. Rev. John Paton, of the
New Hebrides. He spoke with all the fire of his
ardent soul, which certainly inspired and kindled
the missionary spirit in the breast of many
youths.
BELIGION IN NEW ZEALAND. 129
At the close of the meeting it was voted to
secure a missionary to labor among some three
thousand Chinese on the west coast of the Mid-
dle island, and also to support two or three mis-
sionaries in the New Hebrides.
CHAPTER XII.
EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.
The system of education in New Zealand is
controlled by the government, and con^lucted to
suit the peculiarities of the country and people.
It is of a free, compulsory and secular order.
Free, because the State pays for everything
connected with the primary schools, except the
books used by the scholars. In district high
schools and colleges, fees are charged for the
teaching of higher branches.
It is compulsory, because the attendance of all
children between the ages of seven and thirteen
is compulsory, except when special exemptions
are granted.
The education is secular, because religion is
not a prescribed study. The instruction imparted
in all the schools is wholly secular. There is,
however, a strong movement now agitating the
minds of the Christian people, to have the Bible
used in the primary schools as a text-book, and,
it is hoped, that their request will be granted at
the next general election.
Education in New Zealand is conducted under
peculiar dilficulties, because of the shape of its
130
EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND. 131
territory. The total length of the islands is
twelve hundred miles, while the width varies
from five miles to two hundred and seventy-five.
It is cut up into three large islands and small ad-
jacent ones, comprising in all an area of one hun-
dred and four thousand four hundred and seventy-
one square miles, that is about one-seventh less than
Great Britain and Ireland. The South island it-
self is larger than England and Wales. Settle-
ments are found in almost every important por-
tion of these islands, and many of them are far
apart and difficult to reach, and very thinly in-
habited. The whole population of New Zealand
is less than seven hundred and sixty thousand,
scattered throughout the whole country ; but
wherever there are twenty-five children found
near each other, there is a government school
erected. So in proportion to its population, there
is no country in the world that has more gov-
ernment schools than in New Zealand, nor more
money appropriated. There are about two thou-
sand schools of all classes at which children of
European and ^laori races are being educated,
and the cost is borne by the State, rarliament
votes annually a fixed sum of money for educa-
tion. In the year 1897 the ai)i)ropriation was
over two million and a half dollars. Every adult
in New Zciland is obliged to contribute to the
education fund, according to the system of din>ct
132 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
taxation. The teachers are well paid, the high-
est salary paid in the primary schools to head
teachers being $2,000, and the lowest $400 a year.
There are three grades in the government
schools, the primary, secondary and university,
under the management of Boards and Commit-
tees. The Minister of Education has the gen-
eral supervision over the common schools. There
are thirteen school Boards, one over every pro-
vincial district of the colony, who devote their
whole time to the school work. Each one of
these Boards is elected by the local School Com-
mittee, and each School Committee, consisting of
nine members, is elected by the parents of the
children and neighbors. The district Board of
Education receives and disburses the money voted
by Parliament for instruction in primary schools.
The Board, also, after consultation with the local
School Committee, appoints the teachers and in-
spectors.
The subjects of instruction at the primary
schools required by the Education Act, are " read-
ing, writing, arithmetic, English grammar and
composition, geography, history, elementary
science and drawing, object lessons, vocal music,
(and in the case of girls) sewing and needlework^
and the principles of domestic economy, and
military drill of all boys in these schools."
The secondary schools, which correspond with
EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND. 133
our hio-h schools, are under the control of man-
agers, appointed by the Minister of Education
and others. The government has nothing to do
with them, but to inspect them. They are the
smallest and least satisfactory of all the schools
in the colony.
There are also special schools for children of
the Maoris, under the management of the gov-
ernment and their own local committee. The
native children are taught, in addition to the com-
mon branches, medical and sanitary science.
There are industrial schools for destitute and
criminal children, and two schools for the mute
and the blind.
The numl)er of children receiving education in
Kew Zealand (in IS'JT) was one hundred and
sixty-two thousand, about twenty per cent, of the
popuhition. The priuuiry schools report one
hundred and thirty-four thousand, Maori schools
four thousand, and secondary schools two thou-
sand six hundred. Children educated in private
schools (not supported by the State) number fif-
teen thousand, of whom ten thousand are Roman
Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church is al-
lowed to support its own schools on condition
that they are ins|)ected by the governmont. Only
four per cent, of the people of New Zealand,
(excluding Chinese) over live years of age, are il-
literate.
13-i THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOlilS,
The educational institutions of Clirist Church
are of a high order, among which are the ISiormal
School, Canterbury College, Christ's College,
Girls' and Boys' High School. The School of
Art, and several kindergartens, are said to be the
best in New Zealand, and it is claimed that pu-
pils attending these schools can acquire as thor-
ough an education as in England.
In connection with Canterbury College are
the Museum, (which is considered the finest in
the Southern Hemisphere), and the endowed
School of Engineering and Technical Science.
The students work for the degree of Bachelor of
Science in engineering. The Canterbury Agri-
cultural College has beautiful buildings and an
endowment of sixty thousand acres of land.
Though Dunedin and Auckland have splendid in-
stitutions of learning, yet, they do not have such
advantages as Christ Church. The Victoria Col-
lege was founded by Parliament in December,
1897, at Wellington, in commemoration of the
sixtieth year of the reign of Her Majesty, Queen
Victoria, for the promotion of higher education,
and to be in connection with the New Zealand
University. The establishment of the Victoria
College in the Metropolis of the colony will as-
sure greater facilities for University students.
The University of New Zealand is controlled
entirely by the Senate. It does not support of
EDUCATIO]^ IN NEW ZEALAND. 135
itself a staff of professors or lecturers. Under-
graduates receive instruction in the Universities
of Auckland, Otago and Canterbury College, but
question papers for candidates for degrees are
prepared in London by a Board of Examiners,
and are sent out under seal to New Zealand.
The answers written there are sent back to Eng-
land to be examined, and the degree is conferred
to merit, and the degrees conferred according to
this high standard are recognized by the Univer-
sities of Great Britain except one in London.
CHAPTER XIII.
SAMOA.
Samoa is a group of ten inhabited islands in
the Southern Pacific about four hundred miles
northeast of the Fiji islands, and in the direct
route of the San Francisco and New Zealand
Mail Line of steamers. It is four thousand three
hundred miles from the Golden Gate and one
thousand eight hundred miles from Auckland.
It stands between the latitudes of 13° 30' and
14° 30' south and longitudes of 169° 24' and
172° 50' west, eight hundred miles south of the
equator. The islands are mountainous and of
volcanic formation, varying in area from seven
to seven hundred square miles, the total being
three thousand square miles. The climate is con-
sidered to be one of the finest and healthiest in
the Southern Pacific. The mean temperature is
from 70° to 80°. Rain falls frequently. Earth-
quakes and hurricanes are common in February
and March.
The late Robert L. Stevenson's graphic descrip-
tion of the hurricane and wrecks of warships
136
SAMOA. 137
and merchant crafts of March 16, 1889, is exceed-
ingly interesting. " What seemed the very arti-
cle of war and within the duration of a day the
sword arm of each of the two angry Powers was
broken — their formidable ships reduced to junks,
their disciplined hundreds to a horde of cast-
aways, fed with dilficulty, and the fear of whose
misconduct marred the ship of their commanders.
Both paused aghast. Both had time to recognize
that not the whole Samoan archipelago was worth
the loss in men and costly ships already sup-
plied. The so-called hurricane of March 16,
1889, made thus a marking epoch in the world's
history."
The name Samoa means clan, or family of the
Moa. Each group has its own dialect. The
names of the islands are Savaii, Apolima, Man-
ono, Upolu, Tutuilu, Aunu'u, Nu'utcle, Ta'u, Ol'u
and Olosenga. The three last islands are called
Mauu'u, after a noted chief, reducing the number
to seven. Three of the group are of considerable
size and Importance. Savaii, the most western,
is the largest, being forty miles long and twenty
miles wide, and has a population of twelve thou-
sand. Tutuilu is tliirty miles long, but nniTow
and mountainous, and is reck(jn«.'d to have a ])opu-
lation of about three thousand. It comes next
in size to Upolu, which is forty miles long and
thirteen miles wide, with ;i j)o])uhition of twenty-
138 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
five thousand. It stands in the middle, some
fifty miles from Tutuilu and fifteen miles from
Savaii. It is by far the principal of the entire
islands, being the collecting port of all the group,
having the residences of the Samoan king and
foreign consuls. Each of these islands has been
divided into districts, settlements and villages,
governed by chiefs, princes and extensive land
owners. Jealousy and quarrels between these
chiefs and subjects caused frequent wars and
much bloodshed. When the Rev. John Wil-
liams arrived at Savaii in the missionary ship
"Messenger of Peace," August, 1830, his at-
tention was arrested by observing the moun-
tains on the opposite side of the channel in flames,
and when he inquired as to the cause of it, he
was told that a great battle had been fought that
morning, and that the flames which he saw were
consuming the houses, plantations and bodies of
men, women and children who had fallen into
the hands of the conquerors. He wrote : " While
we were landing, the messengers of peace, on the
one shore, the flames of a devastating war were
blazing on the opposite shore, and under these
circumstances was the mission commenced." Be-
sides these internal wars between local chiefs,
there has been also a rivalry for the croAvn, par-
ticularly between the three families Avhich com-
prise the aristocracy of Samoa, and too often
SAMOA. 139
forced to war of late years by selfish Europeans.
Germany has long cherished a desire to acquire
control of Samoa as a colonial possession of the
empire, which resulted in attaching the sovereign
rights of the monarch to the municipality of
Apia. It was this intrigue which incensed the
Samoans, and ultimately led to the so-called
Berlin Conference in 1889 between Germany,
Britain and America. The treaty guaranteed
neutrality to the islands, and the right of citizen-
ship to the natives in equal respect to trade, resi-
dence and protection. The three Powers have
the right to appoint a chief justice to administer
law, order and civil suits. Samoa since the Ber-
lin treaty is independent, but subject to joint
British, German and American control. It is a
violation of this treaty which lias caused the
present trouble at Apia. AVhen I visited Apia
over a year ago, Dr. UalFel, one of the most in-
telligent gentlemen in Samoa, told me that they
were on the eve of war there any day, as two
rival kings had been banished to separate islands,
and siiould cither of them make his escape, he
would instantly pounce upon the Crown king
like a tiger. Olbmded rulers and chiefs are al-
ways in danger of attack when the guards arc
watching and their chiefs are asleep.
The I»erlin Treaty says, " In case any question
shall hereafter arise in Samoa respecting tiio
140 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
rightful election or appointment of a king or any
other chief, claiming authority over the islands,
or respecting the validity of the powers which
the king or any chief may claim in the existence
of his office, such questions shall not lead to war,
but shall be presented for decision to the chief
justice of Samoa, who shall decide it in writing,
conformably to the provision of this act and of
the laws and customs of Samoa, not in conflict
therewith, and the signatory government will
accept and abide by such decision. In case any
difference shall arise between either of the pow-
ers and Samoa which they fail to adjust by
mutual accord, such difference shall not be
held cause for war, but shall be referred on the
principle of justice and equity to the chief
justice of Samoa, who shall make his decision
thereon in writing." The treaty also prohibits
the importation of arms and ammunition into
Samoa, or sale to natives or other Pacific island-
ers, of arms or intoxicating drinks.
Samoa has been governed by the royal houses
of Malietoa and Tubua. In 1881, Malietoa
Laupepa, became sole monarch, and King Tama-
sese vice king. Counter rivalry followed. In
188Y, Germany interfered in deposing Malietoa'
Laupepa, and banishing him to a remote island
and proclaiming Taniasese king. Mataafa, a
relative of the ex-king, put himself at the head
SAMOA. 141
of the king's party in opposition to Taraasese.
The Germans did not lil^e the rival King ]\Ia-
taafa. He was a Roman Catholic, and the cry
was raised that he would turn Samoa over to the
Jesuits. At the attem])t to disarm himself and
his soldiers, Mataafa rallied his men and a battle
took place. Fifty Germans were killed. It is
charged that the natives were supplied with arms
and food by American citizens. This caused bit-
ter strife between the Germans and the Ameri-
cans. JMartial law was proclaimed in Apia, by
German officials, and an effort was made to en-
force it upon Americans. English vessels in the
harbor were searched, news])apers were sup-
pressed and villages bombarded. The powers
were informed of the revolution. Seven war
ships were hurried to the scene (three Germans,
three Americans and one British). While Germany
and the states were on the brink of war in the
bay of Apia, the army of Mataafa was immi-
nent behind the town, and the German quarter
was garrisoned with sailors from the squadron,
both preparing for an attack. Suddenly, the
wind l)le\v, the sea rose, the sky darkened, a ter-
rible storm swept over the town and bay. Every
war shi]) and vessel in tiic harbor before the
storm was over (except the British war ship Calli-
ope, Captain Kane, which successfully steamed
out to sea) was either totally destroyed or
142 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
wrecked on the shore. During the perilous
scene the Samoans exhibited the utmost human-
ity and heroism in their efforts to save the per-
ishing men. From all the shipping about nine
hundred men were saved, but ninety Germans
and fifty Americans were lost. Thus providen-
tially, God put an end to the war which was on
the eve of being fought between two hostile pow-
ers in the bay of Apia. Germany withdrew the
proclamation of martial law. The three powers
agreed to recognize the deposed king, Malietoa
Laupepa, as sovereign of Samoa, and the natives
who had elected Mataafa were influenced to sur-
render to the wish of the powers.
In 1893, when the ex-king, Mataafa, returned
from exile, Malietoa Laupepa was friendly to him,
and he made overtures to him to act as vice king,
which he accepted. The two kings ruled well
and peacefully, until German officials interfered.
Mataafa was obliged to retire to Malie and was
there joined by ardent followers who hailed him
as their chief — which threatened a revolution.
Mataafa was summoned to Apia, and found
guilty of treason and conspiracy, and banished to
a remote island.
In August, 1898, King Malietoa Laupepa died,
leaving a daughter, a son, and an adopted son, and
his brother, high chief Moli, as claimants for the
vacant throne.
SAMOA. 143
The banished king Mataafa was permitted to
return home ; on his arrival at Apia in Septem-
ber, 1898, he was welcomed by the powers and na-
tives. Meanwhile, the officials of the powers held
several meetings in regard to the vacant throne.
The friends of ex-king Mataafa communicated
their intention of electing him as king of Samoa.
According to the laws and customs of Samoa, the
king is elected by two local representative bodies ;
the one consisting of four high chiefs, and the
other body of eight exalted leaders. A confer-
ence was held with the friends of Tanu, the son
of the late king Malietoa. They opposed the
election of the ex-king. Both Whites and
Browns realized the gravity of the situation,
and more particularly when the Germans favored
the ex-king, whom they formerly wronged.
Two ironclads, representing Britain and Ger-
many, anchored in the bay of Apia. The Ta-
man people carried the vote, and declared Ma-
taafa as king. The Taraasese people filed a pro-
test with the chief justice, on the ground of
fraud. Thus, the contest between the two rival
factions for the kingsliip of Samoa began in
court, before William L. Chambers, cliief justice
of Samoa, under the Berlin Treaty.
The decision was delivered in court on De-
cember 31. The chief justice reviewed the case
in a letter to his brotluT, Jan. 23, IS'.VJ, wliich
144 THE CONVERSIOlSr OF THE MAORIS.
appeared in the New York Ilerald, and from
Avliich the following extracts are made : " After
a trial of eleven days of patient investigation, two
sessions each day, and a hard study every night
of Samoan genealogies, customs, titles and prac-
tices, I came to the conclusion, from a legal and
conscientious point of view, besides upon the
treaty and the laws and customs of Samoa not in
conflict therewith, that Tanu, the son of the late
king Malietoa, and who, by the gift of the peo-
ple, had been endowed with the name of Malie-
toa, was duly elected king. , . . The natives
during the delivery of the decision exercised a
discretion which was the better part of valor.
Things were exceedingly quiet and respectful on
the surface, and the crowd dispersed peacefully.
The United States consul, Osborne, and the
British consul, Maxse, accepted the decision for
their respective governments. But the German
consul, General Kose, refused to accept the de-
cision for his government. A meeting of the
consuls and the captains of the English and
German men-of-war was held within an hour.
The American and English consuls and Captain
Sturdee proposed that the king (in whose favor
I had decided) be immediately recognized by the
consuls calling upon him and the war ships giv-
ing him a royal salute. The German consul and
the captain of the German war ships refused to
SAMOA. 145
do so. "Within two hours the German consul,
for the defeated side, and other German sympa-
thizers were leading the armed troops of the
Mataafa faction into the streets of the munici-
pality. The president, a German, threw all his
influence on that side, and the Mataafa people,
realizing that they had the support of the Ger-
man consul, of a German man-of-war and of the
entire German population, gathered together
with amazing quickness thirty-five thousand men.
The Malietoa people, when it became known that
the Mataafas were going to make war, got to-
gether all the men they could in Apia and the
surrounding villages, about two thousand. Things
became so very exciting that the captain of the
British war ship sent a guard of forty-eight men
to protect all Britishers and Americans, who had
taken refuge with six hundred women and chil-
dren in the houses of the London Missionary
Society inclosure. The guard kept the position
with remarkable courage without firing a shot.
The battle took place within a few hundred
yards of their ground. The ]\ralietoa party lost
three hundred men. The chiefs became ex-
hausted, and asked protection of tlio British war
ship. They and the young king were kept at the
mission house, and the fighting men, about one
thousand two hundred escaped in tlicir boats to
the British man-of-war, where ropes were thrown
14:6 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
out to tliein. The ship was anchored about four
hundred yards from the beach, and there she
proudly rode the tide surrounded by the native
boats of these one thousand two hundred natives,
who had sought her shelter and protection. It
was a grand sight ! For the next three days the
Mataafas plundered and burned two hundred
houses, destroyed banana and fruit trees. They
closed up the supreme court, stationed round it
an armed force and published a proclamation,
that the court should not be opened except upon
their order. President Raifel, a German, was
placed at the head of the provisional government.
Immediately called upon the consuls of the three
governments for protection in reopening the
court. The German consul refused. The United
States and British consuls laid the matter before
the captain of the British ship, who promptly
tendered me all the force required. I issued a
notice that the court would be opened at twelve
o'clock the next day. The British consul gave
notice to all American and British subjects to
come on board the man-of-war before eleven
o'clock, and the captain gave notice to the cap-
tain of the German ship, advising German sub-
jects to go to places of safety, as he was deter-
mined to open fire at any time after half-past
eleven o'clock, if my purpose of reopening the
court should be resisted.
SAMOA. 147
"By eleven o'clock the ship was well filled
with women and children, only a few men com-
ing on board, be it said to the credit of their
courage, for when I landed at twelve o'clock,
practically all the Americans and Britishers in
Apia were on the spot ready to cooperate with
our governments. You would have been de-
lighted with the sight.
"At ten minutes before twelve o'clock two
consular boats started, the one in front flying the
Stars and Stripes, with Consul General Osborn on
board, and the other flying the English Jack,
with Consul Maxse at the tiller. A few yards to
their rear I embarked in an armed cutter under
command of Lieutenant Parker, Avith twenty-
eight blue jackets, each with his Lee-Metford
rifle and forty rounds of ammunition. I stood
on the ])oop of the little cutter, and in the bow
was a quick-liring machine gun.
" Before landing, we observed tliat the street
sides of the courthouse were surrounded by Ger-
man officials and subjects. The marines were
left on the pier, while the two consuls and my-
self advanced about a hundred yards to the court-
house, the Britishers and Americans backing us
up. "We walk(!d straight to the German lines,
and pushing tlie gate aside, I stcppcM] on the ve-
rand;i,su])|)orted I)y th(3 two consuls nnd Lieuten-
ant I';irkcr.
148 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
" The German olficials wished to discuss the
situation, but we indignantly refused, and I de-
manded the keys of the courthouse from Presi-
dent Ilaffel, denouncing him as a traitor to the
treaty and a usurper. He refused to surrender
them, and I thereupon called upon the bystand-
ers to assist me in a forcible entry.
" There was a general response, but the man
who reached the veranda first was an American
carpenter named Willis, and then a British boat
builder named Mackie. The clerk of the court
Denvers, was pummeling away with a small
hammer. Willis and Mackie secured a sledge
hammer and soon the doors fell in.
" Lusty cheers were given for the chief justice
and the supreme court, and the flag was then
hoisted b}^ a Britisher, who climbed to the top of
the pole. The marines had in the meantime been
marched up, and formed in line inside the court
inclosure, and as the flag went up they gave it a
salute."
Our commercial relations with Samoa began in
1878, with General Grant's administration, when
his attention was called to the necessity of pos-
sessing in the South Pacific a coaling station for
the United States' cruisers in time of war. Per-
ceiving the desirability of such facilities, the presi-
dent sent Colonel A. B. Stenberger to Samoa as
commissioner, and with power to act. Upon pre-
SAMOA. 149
senting his credentials to the king, he was ac-
cepted, and the request of the president granted.
It is said that the Samoa flag, consisting of seven
stripes, red and white, representing the seven
islands, with a white star in blue, emblematic of
the island of Upolu as the seat of government,
was raised. Foreign officials were notified of
the flag and constitution, and a great procession
of eight thousand subjects took part in recogni-
tion of the event.
In 1890 a portion of the front shore was bought
by the United States. The Germans owned in 1S94:
seventy-five thousand acres, the British thirty-six
thousand acres, and the United States twenty-one
thousand. The Cleveland government recom-
mended the withdrawal of the United States
from Samoa, on the ground that the climate was
unhealthy for white i)eople, the commerce worth-
less, the new government expensive and trouble-
some, that the undertaking had failed to secure
any hopeful result, and that it involved foreign
entanglements. The JMcKinley government is
more hopeful. Chief Justice Chambers advocates
annexation of the islands by Great Britain. The
natives apj)ear to be in favor of such a step.
]>(>tii Dritish and American residents think that
the complete disarming of the whole po])ulation
is iuij)erative as well as the al)olition of the king-
ship, to pn.'Vfnt disturbance. It is su])]K)sed that
150 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
rival chiefs would be satisfied if appointed to rule
their own districts with small salaries.
Apia, the scene of the insurrection of 1899, is
the capital of Upolu. It is a pretty little village,
situated at the northeastern part of the bay of
Apia. The name Apia is applied to the whole
bay. It has a beautiful beach of coralline sand,
and immediately back of the town are stately
cocoa palms. Two streams of fresh water flow
down from the mountains into the bay, dividing
it into two parts ; between these rivers stands
the village of Apia, a straggling line of some
seventy to eighty houses of all sorts and sizes,
round the edge of the horseshoe bay. There is a
beautiful coral reef projecting a long way out
into the harbor, with surf dashing on it, which
makes it a magnificent sight. The bay on the ar-
rival of steamers, is alive with canoes of various
sizes. Near the landing place are two or three
hotels, stores, the courthouse and jail. At Point
Mulinuu are the residence of the German consul,
a few small stores and a shipyard, and further back
is an extensive plantation, which gives the place a
beautiful appearance. At the other end of the
bay are the sandy point of Matautu, a few stores,
a native village, the residence of the king of
Samoa, the mission house and school of the Lon-
don Missionary Society. In this school there are
five hundred scholars, and one hundred young
SAMOA. 151
men studying for the ministry, who, after a
four years' course, are sent forth as mission-
aries to the various islands of the Pacific. On
the hill back of the town there are the French
Roman Catholic College and church, with resi*
dences of the bishop, priests and nuns, which
give a very imposing appearance to the town
from aboard ship in the harbor. The town is built
on a flat; a portion of it on the left is swampy.
Back of the town are beautiful hills gradually
rising, until they develop into a mountain of
some eight hundred feet. In fact, a range of
mountains extends in the center of Upolu from
east to west. There is a good road going up
from the village into the interior, which passes
close to the residence of the late Robert L. Stev-
enson, later the home of "William L. Osborn, a
bright young man, who is thoroughly posted
about Samoa and in sympathy with the natives.
The army of Mataafa in the revolution of 1809
destroyed this beautiful home. The scenery
around Apia is most charming. Very few native
houses can be seen from the harbor. The houses
of the natives are thatched with leaves of sugar
cane, and suppt^rted by center posts. They have
scarcely any furniture. A sleeping apartment
consists of a few mats on the dirt floor.
The Samoans are of I'olynesian race. Tliey
are tall ;iri(l liandHoiiH-. aii<i of a liglit brown
152 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAORIS.
color, truthful, respectful to women and affec-
tionate to children. The natives in the interior,
are superior to those living round the bay of Apia.
They are fond of pleasure, indolent, careless about
work and earning money. Nature bountifully sup-
plies all they need for the sustenance of life. The
German planters are obliged to import nearly all
their labor from New Hebrides, New Britain
and Solomon Islands. They cannot get the Sa-
moans to Avork on their plantations. But the
natives, nevertheless, till their own soil, make
mats and fish. Eoast pig is a great treat with
the Samoans. It is said that tine mats, tine pigs,
and fine women are the three things that attract
the male Samoan. Males are tatooed from the
waist to the knees. Before death the sick are
visited to bid them farewell. Mormon mission-
aries, who have lived in the interior of the islands
for some three years, report that the Samoans
are exceedingly hospitable. Every village has
a guest house for reception, lodgings and enter-
tainment of visitors. Food is provided by the
village. No charge is made. The earth yields
plenty of food without toil and the climate is so
warm that the people need not wear any clothes.
They are expert climbers and divers.
They are religious, they attend church regu-
larly, three or four times on Sunday. They read
the Bible and sing in concert. Mission colleges
SAMOA. 153
and schools have been founded in many places on
the islands, by the London Missionary Society,
Wesleyans, and French Eoman Catholics. It is
estimated that there are about five thousand na-
tives connected with the Wesleyans, and nearly
as many attend the Roman Catholic Church, and
the remainder of the whole population nominally
belong to the London Missionary Society. The
gospel was first introduced into Samoa in 1830 by
Revs. John "Williams and L. Barff. Seven native
teachers from the mission at Raiata were left
on the island of Savaii, and when Rev. John
AVilliams visited the islands two 3^ears after,
many were found trusting in the Lord Jesus as
tht'ir Saviour, lie was greatly encouraged.
The mission was supplemented. In ten years
the Samoans had embraced Christianity, and the
good work has been going along there ever since.
The present staff of the London Society are
seven missionaries, with their wives, and some
two hundred native preachers and teachers.
Annually the white missionary visits tliese
scliools, examines the schohirs and offers prizes.
Tlien the annual collection for missions is re-
ceived. Nearly all the children from seven years
up can read and write. The Samoans are great
Scripture readers, tjje IJible JK'ing their text-hook
in school. Many of the natives are line C'liris-
tian.s, while alas, the majority of thoni are only
15-i THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
nominally Christian and are low in morals. They
have great regard for the Lord's Day. No work
is done, and no fruit is sold to any vessel in the
harbor.
APPENDIX.
o
APPENDIX.
From Sydney to Wellington.
On a bright morning in the month of No-
vember, 1896, the writer, his wife, and little girl
of five summers, stood on the wharf at Sydney,
Australia, ready to go aboard the steamer " "Wa-
katipu " for New Zealand. Lying alongside the
wharf, on the other side was the lloyal Mail
Steamer "Alameda," with the Stars and Stripes
flying from her mast. She was getting ready to
sail in a few days by Auckland, New Zealand, for
San Francisco, United States, our home country.
We had left this dear land in July, crossed the
Atlantic Ocean, traveled in Scotland and Eng-
land and sailed from London by the way of the
Suez Canal, and Colombo, to Sydney, and now in
a few days we expected to complete our journey.
As we stood and looked at the " Wakatipu," she
seemed very small in comparison with the lino
and commodious Peninsular and Oriental Steamer
" Himalaya," in which wo had sailed from I^ondoii.
But we wont aljoard of her with courage, antici]>at-
ing that our journey by sea would soon bo at an
end. It was 1.45 Saturday P. M. when our boat
157
158 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
drew up anchor and sailed away toward the dis-
tant iskinds of New Zealand.
We watched the town of Sydney grow smaller
and smaller until we could see it no longer.
Then we turned our attention to the scenes about
us. Our steamer, we were told, was very old but
steady and reliable. She had about forty pas-
sengers aboard and when we got out away, two
young stowaways were found in the ship. Her
cargo of two thousand tons included eleven
horses, a collie dog, Jack, and some birds, chiefly
Australian parrots. Among the passengers were
a Church of England rector and his wife, resi-
dents of New Zealand, a rosy cheeked woman
from Brisbane, a grey-haired father and his only
idolized baby boy, a very red faced, white haired
man accompanied by a young man as traveling
companion, a consumptive young lady, a Chicago
drummer, a mother and her little girl who was
badly afflicted with bronchitis, besides several
other agreeable persons.
After lunch we seated ourselves on the lower
deck, near the stern of the boat, it being too
wind}^ to go up on the upper one. This was
practically stored with crates of fruit, some for
the ship's supply, others for Wellington. The
part of the lower deck where we sat was parti-
tioned off from the fore deck by a piece of can-
vas. This was to prevent the spray from dash-
APPENDIX. 159
ing over us. Subsequently this canvas was re-
moved, and we had more space in which to move
about. On the other side of the boat was a pile
of boards on which the children played, and the
older passengers sat occasionally just for a change
of position and scene.
For the first four days of our voyage we were
out of sight of land. The Aveather was very fine
and the boat was very steady. We found the
passengers sociable. The captain near whom we
sat at the table was a quiet, unassuming man.
He had but recently been promoted from second
mate to his present position and this was his sec-
ond trip. The former captain had been removed
some months previous on account of a slight col-
lision of the " "Wakatipu " with another boat while
leaving port.
Little Phyllis had won his attention by pre-
senting him with a tiny metal bell, which she
requested him to carry in his pocket. She would
remind him at mealtime of her gift, and he tak-
ing it from liis pocket would reply, " Yes, I shall
keep it to remem])er you by."
"Wednesday morning only a faint outline of
land appeared, which gradually assumed pro])or-
tions until it arose distinctly eight thousand two
hundnMJ and sixty feet above the sea level as Mt.
Egiiiont, its head raised in kingly beauty and
crowned with a snow-white crown. In front of
160 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
US, back of us, and on both sides, one by one,
arose bold mountains standing like huge, giant
warriors, ready to contest with any foe which
might arise. We were told that many years
ago Dame Nature, unable to control her pent-up
wrath any longer, burst forth in such rage that
she threw up these silent spectators of her un-
controllable anger. They became so firmly fixed
in their terror, that they remain to-day as objects
of great interest to travelers on the sea. By
Thursday we reached Cook Strait, which sepa-
rates the IS'orth from the South island, after
passing Pencarrow and Palmer Heads, the cap-
tain steering very carefully by Barrett Reef, we
passed Waddell Point and Ward Island. As we
rounded Hals well Point, we sighted Wellington,
the capital of the North island. Like a trans-
formation scene on canvas, it grew from an in-
distinct cluster of buildings in a hollow, to green
hills, red houses, yellow houses, stone-colored
houses, some on top, some on the sides and more
at the foot of the hills, wharves, boats, business
blocks, conveyances and people. As soon as our
steamer was sighted from land, the news was
communicated to the signal station at the Heads.
As we rounded the point, the flag signaling our
steamer from the south which had been hanging
at the right side of the signal staff on one of the
high hills in the city, was hoisted on top. In
APPENDIX. 161
this vray those interested in her arrival had
ample time to reach the wharf, and meet their
friends.
Our first impression of "Wellington as seen
from the steamer's deck at a distance, was that
of a miniature city of toy houses, grouped to-
gether in a hollow, upon which the high hills
surrounding it threatened to fall at a moment's
notice and bury it out of sight. More fortunate
than many strangers who land on these foreign
shores, we had relations whom we had come out
to see, waiting on the wharf to welcome us.
After our trunks had been opened, the contents
inspected and no smuggled goods found, we
drove up to our relatives' hospitable home, which
stands on an eminence overlooking the city and
harljor. Here we were to stay a few weeks and
then travel about the islands, and in this way be-
come better acquainted with Xew Zealand, its
customs and its people.
We found it advisable to rest for a few days,
for the motion of the boat still remained in our
heads and wo had become so accustomed to it,
that we found it dillicult to sUiup well at night
in a motionless bed on a quiet floor. When we
attempted to walk we found our legs unsteady
and our feet uncertiiiii in tluur stej)s, but these
feelings passed oil in a few days, .iiid we l)egan
to feel very much like <>iir former selves and to
1G2 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
take an interest in this empire city of New Zea-
land, with a population of forty thousand.
Even in this small colony society was di-
vided into two classes. The " select " reveled in
balls and rowing matches, Avhile the " popular "
engaged in horse-racing. There is a lady liv-
ing in Wellington who, we are told, has the invita-
tion card to the first ball given in the settlement
in 1841. Thus for a year everything was prosper-
ous, until in 1842 a fire broke out, which caused
a loss of £16,000 pounds to the first colonists.
This seemed to retard the progress of the place,
and money became so scarce that in 1844 and
1845 the government issued debentures printed
on blue paper as low as five shillings with five
per cent, interest. Later on copper coinage was
represented by the pennies made out of packing
cases, and marked with I., II., Ill, for shillings.
In 1843 there was great rejoicing when the
Scotch thistle was introduced into the colony,
and planted with great ceremony by the Scots
on St. Andrew's Day on Mr. Lyon's farm near
Petone. To-day it is one of the greatest pests of
New Zealand.
In the year 1896, two thousand one hundred
and eighty-four ships came in from foreign ports,
and two hundred and twenty-nine thousand eight
hundred and sixty three tons of cargo were
handled over the wharves, except the Railway
APPENDIX. 163
"Wharf. In 1895, nearly eighteen thousand tons
of produce were shipped from Wellington and
sent principally to London. In the list was in-
cluded frozen and preserved meat, tallow, leather,
grain, agricultural produce, butter, cheese, bones,
horns, hides, kauri gum, pumice, hops, wool,
gold, oils, timber, silver, hemp, flax and skins.
Back of these busy wharves a long street runs,
which together with the land farther back of
fifty-two acres and a main street, goes by the
name of Lambton Quay. Near the wharves it is
lined on both sides with bond stores and ware-
houses. Some of these are very fine buildings,
such as E. "W. Mills, Sargood, Son and Ewen and
the Wellington Woolen Company. A large
golden British lion rests serenely on the top of
one, and two caryatids pose gracefully over the
door of the other. On the other hand are the
police station and the supreme court, large stone
buildings, the Lone and Mercantile Company's
structure and the grain and wool stores.
In one of the old wooden Iniildings near the
wharf is a room fitted up with tables, chairs,
papers and a library. Tliis is called the "Sail-
or's Rest." One day we peeped in and saw
several rough-looking seamen sitting at the
tables playing games, while others were reading.
Near the railroad which runs along the back
street of the wharves, are the long railway sheds,
164 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOKIS.
which are used for storing goods. The Harbor
Board has two fine stone buildings and in one of
tliem a comfortable waiting room for ladies, who
are going by boat. There is a three-story build-
ing for storage. The upper floor w^ill hold eigh-
teen thousand bales of wool.
In the neighborhood of the wharv^es is the post
office, a large, square, stone building, with a round
cupola and clock and chime of bells ; next to it is
the handsome red brick building with grey stone
trimmings, recently erected by the New Zealand
Government Insurance Company. The entrance
is by two iron gates, and the walls of the vesti-
bule are inlaid with polished reddish tiles. On
the right is the office of the Government Insur-
ance Company, and on the left the head offices
of the Graymouth and Point Elizabeth Rail-
way, and MacDougall & Company. A fine red
brick public library has recently been erected
not many streets away. There is a separate
reading room for ladies. In the same line is the
Union Steamship Company's building and the
w^arehouses of Turnbull & Company. The for-
mer company was formed in 1801, and at that
time had only two little paddle steamers. Now
it has many large and fine boats, running in the
colony and also to England, and San Francisco.
In 1848 there were several earthquakes in
Wellington, which made cracks in the mud five
APPEXDIX. 165
feet wide and one hundred yards long, and in
1855 one was accompanied by a tidal wave so
that the water came up to a man's knees. These
earthquakes necessitated that all buildings con-
structed should be of wood, as they would ex-
pand more easily with the shock. We experi-
enced two slight shocks which began with a
rumble and then a shaking of the house and fur-
niture. As these convulsions became less fre-
quent and the people more courageous, brick and
stone took the place of wood. But in no building
is the use of wood more marked than in the gen-
eral government building, which is said to be the
larirest wooden buildint^ in the Soutliern llemi-
si)here. It covers two acres of land ; it is four
stories high and has three front entrances. There
is a clock over the middle entrance, and guarding
it are the lion and the unicorn.
We went into the front vestibule. Ilung on
the walls are views of New Zealand, and on the
floor there stood rows of potted j)lants. There
were long leather-covered seats for visitors. A
guard in British uniform was w.'dking up and
down the corridors. This immense ])uilding con-
tains fn^in one hundred and sixty to one hundred
and seventy ollicos of men in government service.
TlnMt; are several rooms in the rear which are
used for lithogniphic printing.
A short distance from ihe government building
166 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAORIS.
are the Museum and Church of England ceme-
tery. The Museum is well worth several visits,
"vvhile to the lovers of seclusion and meditation
the cemetery is a beautiful spot. The collection
in the Museum is very large. In our visit we
took note particularly of those things which we
had not seen elsewhere. Among the animals
were a preaching and a negro monkey, a leopard
with her baby, a leopard seal, a Polish bull and
an Australian hedgehog. We never saw such
bright plumage as the birds had. The collection
included the morepork, swamp hen, pelican, with
an immense beak, four little parson birds with
white collars, the tailless kiivi, and the kea
stripping a dead lamb of the fat near the kid-
neys, of Avhich it is very fond. These birds are
being exterminated in New Zealand, as they are
so destructive to the sheep. What a variety of
fish the New Zealand waters yield ! The blue
shark, elephant fish, sole, schnapper, ling, frost,
marble, trumpeter, rock-cod, flounder, turbot,
haddock and others. The shells, corals and star-
fish are lovely, and the sponges of the most curi-
ous shapes.
On a large platform is a relief map of New
Zealand painted in brilliant colors, and curious
footprints from Poverty Bay. An immense skel-
eton of a moa, a curious bird which lived on the
island in early days, graces a part of the build-
APPEJN^DIX. 167
ing. There are coins, minerals and curios from
the Sandwich and Fiji ishinds, and Japan, and
glass cases of bright-winged South African lo-
custs and South American butterflies. There
were two other cases. One of them contained
two Maori heads and a plaque of a Maori
woman, with long, green stone earrings, carrying
a baby on her back, carved in kauri gum. In
the other were two curious pictures made by
placing a mold in tlie spring at Auvergne,
France, when the mineral deposit formed the
picture.
Among the Maori relics was a mat that at-
tracted much notice. It was Avoven of feathers
from the New Zealand pigeon, kaka, hina, white
heron, kiivi, and had a fringe of dog's hair.
There was a war cloak made of the thongs of
dogskin ; red, black and white flags, riddled
with balls, from the Maori wars, and an old
drum taken from the battlefield in the Crimean
war.
It was a most beautiful day when we strolled
up and down the hilly narrow paths of the Eng-
lish cemetery. Here grow in beautiful profusion
the native trees and shrubs of the country, and
inters])f'rscd among the green are the brilliant
red of the geranium and the dark ))urple of the
fuchsia. There arc no ancient gravestones here,
but many odd designs not met with in other
168 THE CONVEESION OF THE MAOKIS.
countries. Some of the graves are surrounded
by narrow paths, bordered by box hedges. On
them are ghiss cases containing wax wreaths and
over the whole is a frame of wire netting. This
is carefully padlocked. A fence with a gate on
which there is a black and gilt door plate Avith
the family name, incloses the quiet resting place
of the dead. The top of another grave is paved
with black and white tiles in checker-board
design. Near by is a large rock inscribed with
the names of a father and daughter. Three
long upright stones standing side by side mark
the grave of one who belonged to the Order of
the Druids. Some of the graves are thickl}''
covered with shells. The largest monument we
saw is of marble with stone steps. It is of one
of the earliest settlers and representatives to the
First Parliament. Another pj^ramidal grey-stone
monument, surmounted by a Greek cross, marks
the remains of a captain in the Bengal Cavalry.
Close to it is the grave of the first Primitive
Methodist minister who crossed the equator, A
little way off and rising up above a mass of
green ivy, stands a white angel with folded arms
and a star of hope on her forehead.
On our return down the path toward home, we
stopped for a long time before a granite sar-
cophagus, on which are carved two small Avhite
marble caskets, bearing floral emblems and the
APPENDIX. 169
names, "Clara, Ada, nine months. Twins
Taken."
But the most touching spot of all is a tiny
baby's grave, remote from the others and almost
hidden by the tall grass round it. It is sur-
rounded by a box hedge, and two little empty
stone jugs stand at its head and foot. AVhile we
stood looking at this nameless grave, a little bird
on a tree overhead droj)ped a feather from its
tail, which fell down and rested noiselessly upon
it. Had the little form beneath been alive, how
it would have reached out its baby hands to
catch it !
Kot very far away is the Botanical Garden of
one hundred acres. Hilly paths traverse this
wild growth of New Zeahand bush. A massive
stone circular fort with a tomb-like inclosure for
magazines is about completed. From the top of
this elevation a very line view of the city and
harbor can be obtained. Tlicre are deep ravines
in the garden wliich are full of tree ferns, Eng-
lish ])ines, tea tree and varieties of other Inish,
There are seats here and there to rest one's limbs
after traveling over the steej* hills.
Thorndan is called the aristocratic j)art of
Wellington. Besides the Government House,
Parliament I>uilding, ;in<l iJomnii (-atliolic,
Prcsl)\'terian ;iii(l Congregational (liiirchcs, there
are very many j)rL'tty homes in this htcality.
170 THE CONVERSION OF TUE MAORIS.
The Government House is an imposing brown
wooden building Avith a square tower. It is sur-
rounded by extensive grounds. The cost was
£30,000. The Parliament Building is of light
grey wood with red trimmings. The lawns
about it are well kept and the gardens are full of
beautiful flowers. There is a custodian to show
visitors about the building. The front entrance
leads into a large lounging hall, hung with pic-
tures and furnished with comfortable leather-
seated sofas. It reminded us of the old Parlia-
ment House in Edinburgh. The dining room
has a bar attached. The sitting room and library
open into each other and are furnished with all
the comforts of a home drawing-room. The
library numbers some thirty-eight thousand vol-
umes. We have spent many happy hours read-
ing in this cozy room. Parliament consists of
two houses, the upper and the lower house. The
former is hung with green rep curtains, and por-
traits of the deceased members adorn the walls.
The speaker's chair and table are at one end of
the room. The representatives' seats with desks
are arranged in semicircles facing the speaker.
Four galleries, for ladies, the press, strangers, and
speakers, extend round the room.
The upper house is a smaller room furnished in
grey and gold. The seats and desks are similar
to those in the lower house. There is a life-size
APPENDIX. 171
portrait of Queen Yictoria on the wall, and the
door mats are stamped with a crown and H. M.
The governor of the colony is appointed by the
queen, with a sakiry of £5,000 a year, which
is paid by the colony. lie always opens the up-
per house.
The Legislative Council consists of forty-four
members, two Maoris included, who are ap-
pointed for seven years. The House of Repre-
sentatives consists of seventy -four members and
four Maoris, elected for three years by the votes
of the people in every electoral district appointed
for that purpose. Although the Electoral Act of
1893, extended to women the right to register as
electors and to vote at the election for members,
they are not qualified to be elected as members
of the House.
There are several theaters and lialls of the dif-
ferent lodges in the city. Churches are numer-
ous and re})r(,'sent some six denominations. The
Jews have their synagogues, and the Salvation
Army a new brick citad(?l. Kent Terrace Pres-
byterian Churcli has recently been completed.
Saint John's Presbyterian Churcli is one of the
wealthiest and most prf)S))erous churches in the
colony. Two relics of tlie i)ast still remain : a
scries of steps, called " I'limmcr's Steps," wiiich
lead up from Lambton C^nay to " Noah's AiU,"
the home of old " Father ^Vellington." There
172 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
luis been worked into this house the hulk of a
vessel which came to AV'ellington in the early days.
On the side of a hotel, in Willis Street are a
dozen carved wooden heads, which are called the
" Old Identities," and represent the pioneer fath-
ers of the city.
At the Tearo end of the city are the Lunatic
Asylum, the Hospital which will accommodate
one hundred and thirty-two indoor patients and
three hundred outdoor patients. Boys' College,
Barracks, Basin Iveserve and Saint Patrick's
College, built in 1884.
The industries of the city are numerous, and
include iron and brass foundries, factories, saw
mills, soap, candle, glass and match works, boat,
rope, twine, sash, door making, meat freezing and
preserving works. There are two daily and
several weekly papers. The city is supplied with
electric lights, which are kept burning from sun-
set to sunrise. The waterworks were built at a
cost of £130,000. One acquainted with the early
history of the city will readily see that the names
of its places and streets form a key to its coloni-
zation and development. The liabilities of the
city are now £707,209 and the assets £1,022,151.
It was our pleasure one day to attend the
annual bowling tournament. This took place on
the bowling green, which is some distance from
the business part of the city. The green had the
APPENDIX. 173
appearance of a shaded tapestry carpet. There
was a concrete walk round it and long narrow
beds of bright flowers. The sides of the green
sloped in terraces, and seats were placed here and
there for visitors. There was a pavilion with
two verandas where tea, sandwiches and cake
were served hy a committee of ladies. The
bowlers wore ditferent kinds of suits, and differ-
ent colored bands on their hats. The game of
bowls consists in one side rolling the balls as
near as possible to the little white ball called the
jack, while the object of the opponent is to try
to drive the balls away. There was the great-
est interest and quietness on the part of the
bowlers. It is called "The Old Men's Game," as
so manv white-haired men indulge in it. For
eight months in the year the leading business
men in the city are found at the green every
afternoon from four to six, and on Saturday from
two to six. Although thoroughly engrossed in
their business during the regular hours, and ac-
cumulating wealth, they turn to this simple game
for rest to botli mind and Ixxly.
The farewell rece])tion given by the citizens of
"Wellington in the exhibition building to the
governor mid Lady Glasgow was a great success.
We were fortunate in obtaining admission to it.
Upon our entrance into the building we saw two
long rows of the Permanent Artillery and the
174 THE CONVERSION^ OF THE MAORIS.
Wellington Guards standing facing each other.
At 8:3U in the evening tlie viceregal party con-
sisting of the governor and the mayoress, Lady
Glasgow and the mayor, the governor's three
daughters escorted by officers of the squadron,
the private secretary and two captains entered
the building, and conducted by an old piper in
kilts, who played McKiller's " Farewell " passed
down between the rows of soldiers into a draw-
ing-room in front of the stage, while a band
played the national anthem.
Soon the audience was ready to enjoy the
evening. The people were in their best attire,
many of them in fine evening dress. The hall
was decorated with the flags of the different
countries. Over the stage was the "Wellington
Corporation's coat of arms and " Good-bye.
Now fare you well and joy be wi' you." — Burns.
The Koyal Standard and New Zealand Ensign
surmounted with the earl of Glasgow's coat of
arms also graced the stage. The programme was
long and consisted of songs and farewells from
the city, Caledonian Society and the governor.
Refreshments were afterwards served.
The next important event was the farewell to
the governor and family as they sailed away
from New Zealand. Long before the time of
the departure of the family, the " Talue," which
was to convey them lay at the wharf waiting.
APPENDIX. 175
The " Corinna " and " AVahinapua " which were
to accompany the " Talue " to "VVorser Bay were
full of passengers, as was also the wharf and
every available place near. Ropes were stretched
in front of the crowd so as to preserve a way for
the governor's party. Two lines of artillery-
men, volunteers and sailors were arranged on the
wharf for the farewell. The Wellington Eowing
Club was also present. At 3:30 the band played,
there was a sound of horses' feet, and on came,
first, the baggage van, then two carriages con-
taining the family. Lady Glasgow was leaning
against a pillow and as we were very near to
her, we could see that she was controlling herself
admirably. One of the daughters was weeping.
It was but a short time before the steamer sailed
away and the last thing we saw was the gov-
ernor and the family on the captain's bridge
waving their handkerchiefs, while cannons and
rockets were fired and the crowd gave three
hearty cheers. Lord and Lady Glasgow had
been in New Zealand for five years, and had won
the love and appreciation of its people. Upon
their return the following message was received
from them :
"Melbotikne, Feb. 17, 1897.
" To the Editor New Zealand Times :
"Sik: — Now that I have suflicient leisure
to be able to look Inick more cabiily at our <le-
176 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
parture from New Zealand, I hope you will allow
me, through your columns, to express, however
inadequately, on behalf of Lady Glasgow and my-
self, our dee}) appreciation of the cordial leave-
taking accordetl to us on that occasion. The
scene which met our eyes when we went on
board the ' Talue ' was a most impressive one,
and we were much moved and touched by the
spontaneousness of the gathering, and by the
heartiness of the reception we got from the vast
crowd which had assembled.
" As long as we live we shall never forget our
leaving New Zealand. The many tokens of re-
gard which we received from the jieople as our
vessel left the wharf, were the last but not the
least of the many proofs we have received during
our stay in the colony, of the kindly feeling en-
tertained toward us by the inhabitants of Well-
ington, a feeling which we have always thor-
oughly reciprocated. We shall never forget NeAV
Zealand, nor its warm-hearted people, in whose
welfare we shall always take the deepest interest.
" I am, sir, yours faithfully,
" Glasgow."
Two more important events took place here
during our stay. The first, the marriage of the
premier's daughter, was a pretty affair. The cere-
mony was performed in St. Paul's church, which
was very tastily decorated Avith flowers. The
pillar at the end was festooned with green and
the chancel was filled with potted plants. The
wedding ceremony was performed under a large
APPENDIX. 177
bell made of white flowers and green vines.
There was a lover's knot of white satin, with
the initials of the bride and groom at the ends
on the front of the bell. The bride was dressed
in white and the little maids of honor carried
crooks. There was an address to the newly-
wedded pair after the ceremony. The wedding
was public so the church was full. The majority
of the people belonged to the working class, and
so anxious were they to see the ceremony that
they stood on the seats of the pews. There were
some babies in the audience. The list of presents
filled two or three columns in the daily paper.
We must not forget the Industrial Exhibition
which continued for many months in the city,
and was attended every day by hundreds of peo-
ple. How different was the first exhibition in
1841, when two cabbages Aveighing twenty-one
and a half and twelve pounds, potatoes nine
inches long, and turnips twenty-one inches in
circumference, wheat, and apples grown on Eng-
lish trees formed the princii)al objects of interest
in this exhiljition in the early days of the city.
A few weeks ago, when we passed down the
halls of the large newly built exhibition build-
ing, what a variety of objects met our eyes !
The first tiling that attracted our nf)tico was a
fountain j)laying upon the green ferns which
were |)l;int('(l round its l)ase. Flags hung from
178 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
the interior of the building. On our left was an
exhibit of coal from the Greymouth Coal Com-
pany, and a case of beautiful polished gums.
Two tables carved from New Zealand wood
were lovely. There was an art gallery of paint-
ings, some of them finely executed, and trout
ponds banked with ferns. We were much inter-
ested in the work of the little kindergarten chil-
dren. Specimens of their sewing attracted our
notice, such as buttonholes, a little sleeve, dresses
and a tiny shirt. There were paper cutting,
wickerwork, clay dogs, cats, bead flowers, woolen
chickens, and a painted drain pipe covered with
paper mats. Then there was the work done by
the more advanced scholars. A map of the
world by a girl thirteen years old was very fine.
The home industries, such as a framed picture
of shells and seaweed from Wellington Bay,
and ornaments made of bone, showed ingenuity.
There was a little rustic cottage made of moss
and sticks with a piece of mirror for a pond, that
was really a marvel of skill for a child only thir-
teen years old. In one corner of the building
were samples of paper made by W. II. Parsons
of New Zealand. Sixty tons were made in one
day, and eighteen great rolls are used in one
week for printing the Wellington Evening Post.
There were exhibits of candles, woolen goods,
tobacco grown in New Zealand, blankets, ledger
APPENDIX. 179
books, Tvire mattresses, and many, many other
things grown or manufactured here. There were
jars of pickles, chowchow, ketchup, sauce and
many other condiments made from New Zea-
hind produce by a young man twenty years of
age. His photograph ornamented one of the
jars. We have not space to enumerate the other
interesting things we saw. Suffice it to say
Wellington has reason to be proud of its Indus-
trial Exhibition of lS96-'97.
Wisliing to vary our programme a little and to
see something beyond the city, we took a trip by
rail to a little village nine miles out called the
Flower Hutt. The Ilutt river runs through the
village, dividing it into the Upper and Lower
Ilutt. We took the train from the Tearo station
and found to our delight that we were riding in
a real American car, the first we had seen since
leaving home. The ride to the Ilutt is particu-
larly pretty, as the railroad curves along the edge
of the water nearly all the way. We put our
heads out of the windows and saw the small
engine away on ahead, and our cars, curving
like a ser[)ent, following on behind. We went
through three little places with cpieer Maori
names and tlicn came to the Lower Ilutt. There
was a drag waiting at the station and we got
into it, and rode to McNabb (iardens, the princi-
pal object of interest at the Ilutt. We got out
180 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
at an iron gate, through which we went up a
long graveled walk, until we came to a large
lawn on which there was a tine tennis court.
There was a pretty cottage house at one side and
wood verandas running round it. Extending
back and on the other side were well-kept gar-
'dens full of the most beautiful flowers. Back of
the house was a cage with several monkeys in it.
There w^as also a well of water in which hung a
stone pot containing some pats of butter. We
strolled for a while about the gardens, sat on the
lawn, watched the monkeys in their queer antics
and then went into the cozy drawing-room, where
we had cake and glasses of rich creamy milk.
The older ones chatted while Phyllis ran outside
to see the monkeys again and to run about the
grounds. One of the monkeys had been allowed
to roam at large a few weeks previous and hav-
ing gained access to a boarder's room, she had
torn up his photographs, broken his mirror, and
done so much miscliief that she was shut up
again in the cage. She had a great fondness for
a little puppy that lived on the grounds, and
when it was given to her, she took it in her arms
and held it as a mother does her baby, while she
tried to rock it to sleep.
Our dinner was served in a private room, and
we remember particularly the luscious strawber-
ries and thick cream. After dinner we were
APPENDIX. 181
strolling about when we saw a carriage load of
tennis players coming up the walk for a game on
the lawn. We had our afternoon tea and re-
turned home with two beautiful bouquets and
pleasant memories of our afternoon's outing at
the llutt.
We had an opportunity one evening of seeing
the interior of the Opera House, a plain, square,
grey-stone building, and hearing a very good
opera by the Choral Society of the city. The
chorus consisted of some two hundred and lifty
singers and an orchestra in which there were two
lady violinists. The alto and soprano singers
were dressed in white with wide red and blue
ribbons fastened diagonally from shoulder to
waist, the colors indicating the respective })arts.
The bass and tenor singers were seated with the
rest of the chorus on the stage back of the or-
chestra. The conductor, the soloists and the
chorus, all did their })arts well. The majority of
the ladies and gentlemen in the audience were in
evening dress. Tlie whole affair was very cred-
itable for "Wellington home talent.
Quite the o[)posite to this entertainment was
tiie twenty-eighth anniversary of the St. John's
Presbyterian Church which we attended. Hero
the chapel was thrown open and for a couj)le of
hours then; was a " conversazione " with sand-
wiches, cakes, tea and coifee for refreshment.
182 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
Then the large number were seated, and speeches
by different prominent Presbyterian clergymen
in the colony, bearing upon the joyful anniver-
sary of the church, were listened to by an ap-
preciative audience. There was a grand piano
upon the platform and the programme was varied
from time to time by songs and instrumental
music by the organist of the church and by
members of the choir. As the organist was a
very fine pianist and the voices of the singers were
well trained, this part of the entertainment was
very enjoyable. We remember one young Scotch
lady who sang " The Land o' the Leal " most
simply, but very touchingly. It was rendered
more so by her pretty Scotch accent. But most
curious to relate two ladies who were present at
the church anniversary found out very much to
their surprise that their pockets had been picked,
and money taken while they were enjoying the
exercises. People engaged in such a profession
are not generally found in religious circles.
The 25th of December came and with it the
roses and singing of birds. The stores were full
of beautiful Christmas goods, and the streets of
customers hurrying to and fro, their arms full of
bundles. " Father Christmas " appeared in many
shops dressed in furs, wig and mask, jingling his
bells and greeting the children as they entered.
Christmas trees hung with gifts one shilling
APPENDIX. 183
apiece were largely patronized by the little cus-
tomers. Another custom is that of each little
one buying a gift for him or herself. But we
missed the evergreen wreaths, holly boughs,
snowdrifts and the reindeer sleigh. We could
not reconcile Christmas with warm winds, thin
clothing and hot sunshine, but things are differ-
ent on the opposite sides of the globe.
On New Year's Day it was Avarm and bright,
and we took what is called the Queen's drive to
Island Bay. It was hot in the dusty street, but
as we neared the water a fresh breeze sprang up
and cooled our heated faces. We reached the
hotel and although we were not hungry after our
hearty dinner, still we must fall in with the col-
ony's custom and eat our cake and drink our tea,
and feeling quite refreslied we drove with tlie
sea on one side and high land on the other. Soon
we came to a large opening in the side of the
hill. " This is the hurmit's cave ; would you like
to get out ? " said our friend. " Yes, we want to
see all there is to be seen," replied a voice. So
we all got out of the carriage and stcpj)ed inside
of the cave. It is a strange dwelling place for a
human being, dark, damj) and dirty. ^ et in this
secluded abode, its only fiirnitun; a hard wooden
pallet and a slidf of piiniphlcls :m<l papers, there
has lived for many years a j)ale, emaciati'<l man,
secluding iiimsclf fi-om I ho beaulifid woi-ld in
184 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
which God has placed him, and wasting in this
solitary cavern by the sea a life full of grand op-
portunities for doing good in the world. God
have pity on his ignorance !
As we drove round the bend in the road what
a contrasting picture met us ! We heard merry
})eals of laughter mingled with the shouts of
children. All along the shore were picnic par-
ties, fathers, mothers and children. A camera
would have made a number of pretty pictures.
One was a horse unhitched and unharnessed,
strolling along leisurely, and nibbling the fresh
grass by the roadside. The family carriage was
empty and resting on the ground ; at a little dis-
tance was the steaming " billy " or tinpail hung
on cross sticks over a blazing lire. A tablecloth
was spread on the beach, and it w^as loaded with
tempting food. Round it was seated the family,
some eating and some drinking tea, while the lit-
tle ones had their mugs of milk. A little way
on another family had finished their picnic and
wiiile the mother was gathering up the dishes
and remnants of food, the father and children
were wading in the water and throwing in sticks
for the pet dog to swim to and bring back in his
mouth to the shore. As we passed this last group
an older daughter rode up on horseback to drive
home with her family. The whole scene was so
real, so homelike, so pleasant that we could not
APPEXDIX. 185
help contrasting it with the one we had left be-
hind us — the lonely hermit in his dreamy solitude,
and the happy family enjoying together the fresh
air and sunshine of this lovely world.
It was a very cold, windy afternoon when we
went down to the opening of the new bath house
at the Thorndan end of the city. We could keep
our hats on only by holding to them. The bath
house is of wood, painted a light cream with
round cupolas painted a dark green. Flags were
flying from these, the Stars and Stripes among
them. The admission to the baths was a six-
pence. A long platform runs round the back
and two sides of the house, and bath houses open
into it. Steps go down to the square inclosure
of water at the end. There Avas a large numljer
of people collected on the platform, while the
^Mayor's representative — he was himself in court
attending a murder case — in a brief speech de-
clared the baths open to the public. Then fol-
lowed races by swimmers, three men at a time,
then a professional swimmer plunged into tlio
water and performed all kinds of antics, swim-
ming with one foot in the air, turning somer-
saults under water, rolling over and over like a
barrel .'ind floating with his ey(!s shut. Then a
number of swimmers had a lively game of foot-
ball in the water, and the grand (inalo was a man
put into a bag thrown into tlui water ami a[>-
ISG THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
pearing above the water out of the bag in a few
seconds after he was thrown in. During the per-
formance the band played and tea and cake were
served either on the veranda or in the cozy little
room for the purpose. There is no doubt that
the Thorndan Baths will have a large patronage.
We tried a salt sea bath one day at the Tearo
Baths. It consisted principally in clambering
down some very slippery rocks, holding onto a
rope, and letting the waves slap up against us
until we were glad to get our breaths and climb
up the steps again into our bath house. Poor
little Phyllis was blue and shivering with the
cold, while the tears were pouring down her
cheeks. After a good rubbing and dressing and
running about, we felt much invigorated. We
were told that the inclosure of the water was to
prevent the sharks, which are frequently found
in the water, from attacking the bathers.
To-day we visited the supreme court and wit-
nessed the exciting trial and sentence to death of
a man found guilty of murdering an aged couple
living at Petone in the city suburbs. When the
jury brought in a verdict of guilty, the judge put
on the black cap and condemned the prisoner to
death by hanging after being conveyed to the
Terrace Jail. The large crowd then moved
quietly out, and the court room was soon empty.
The procedure of the court, prosecution, defense
APPENDIX. 187
and trial were simple and fair, and based upon
the law of England.
It was on the first of April that we attended
the unveiling of the statue of the late Premier
Ballance. Long before one o'clock a crowd of
men, women and children and babies began to
assemble on the grounds and outside of the Par-
liament Building to witness the unveiling of the
statue erected to the memory of the late Premier
Ballance of New Zealand. It was covered with
a dark red cloth buttoned at one side and secured
by a rope at the ])Ottom. It was surrounded by
a circle of volunteers. A man stood at one side
with a beautiful wreath. In the upper window
of the store opposite was a camera ready and on
a roof near by another camera. Two men were
holding onto the cloth in front of it, for the wind
was blowing furiously. There were speeches,
the long one by Premier Sedden, after which
the cloth was taken off, revealing a white statue
with an old-fashioned collar, marked features and
a ])ile of books on tlie grey-stone pedestal. En-
graved on the base were the words, " lie loved the
people." The wreath was laid at the ffjot of the
statue, photograj^hs were taken, and the crowd
dispersed to tlie IIous(! for the o])ening of Parlia-
ment, which hc;:;in with the lirin^- dI' (miuioii on
the lawn-tennis court bacl< ot thr House. The
cannon carriages were drawn up on one side and
188 THE CONVEK81UN OF THE MAORIS.
the horses wore mounted by men in uniform.
"VVe had seats on the iloor. There were sixteen
reporters in the gallery, the others were crowded
with men and women. At the appointed hour
Chief Justice Prendergast (the governor* hav-
ing finished his term of oflBce and returned to
England) drove up the carriage way, accompan-
ied by mounted troopers and an escort of mili-
tary men, the contingent who went to the
Queen's Jubilee. AVellington College Cadets as
a guard of honor stood at the door. A voice
called out in the house " Mr. Speaker," and in he
came and took his seat, a plain-looking man in a
dress suit. Then the usher of the black rod in
a long black gown announced " His Excellency,
the Administrator." Prendergast with a wig
and gown, knee breeches, white ruffles, lace collar
and black velvet vest then came in and took his
seat. Then came in the sergeant at arms with
the golden mace, followed by the speaker of the
Lower House, the premier, ministers and mem-
bers. The chief justice then opened Parliament
by a short speech which he read. The object of
Parliament was to arrange for the celebration of
the Queen's Jubilee (sixtieth year) in London,
June 22, and a discussion on other matters relat-
ing to the interests of the colony.
Our next trip was to the two small villages of
Carterton and Masterton, which lie seventy-two
APPENDIX. 189
miles north of Wellington. "We left the city at
3:15 in the afternoon and reached Carterton at
seven o'clock in the evening. Our ride by rail
through this part of the country gave us a line
opportunity of seeing New Zealand in its native
dress and untouched as yet by the hand of man.
For a long distance our train passed " bush " —
trees, shruljs, bushes, beautiful ferns, some ixs large
as trees, and feather-like toi-toi. This is a grass
which grows in clumps of long narrow green
leaves and tall stocks, the ends of which are cov-
ered with a light yellow plume, which looks very
much like the pampas grass that grows in Flor-
ida. Every once in a while we would emerge
from this forest of growth and stop at a small
station to take on or to discharge passengers.
Then our train would start on again to be lost in
a tunnel. AVe went through six of these on our
way to Carterton, one of them was one-half mile
in length. Our railroad ran along the Kimutaka
range of mountains and some of the views from
this ascending and descending way are the best
in the neigliboi-hood <;f Wellington. As we rode
along, on our right the beautiful Wairara))a Lake,
twelve miles long t)y four miles broad, burst upon
our view, and the vnlley eighty miles long by
twenty miles widc^, lay stretched out in ;ill its
agricultunil imd LTowing beauty.
Some of the little stations at wlnCli wo stoj)pod
190 THE CONVEKSIOlSr OF THE MAORIS.
had English names, such as Silverstream, Cross-
creek, Pigeon liush, Featherstone, Fernside, and
Woodside. Many of the others had Maori names,
which only a real Maori can pronounce correctly.
It was raining hard when we reached Carterton.
Soon we got into a large drag which was waiting
at the station and drove to hospitable Dr. Y 's
home. We decided to stay over Sunday and
preach at Carterton, and then go on to Master-
ton. The next day after our arrival being Sun-
day, we all went to church. It was a small
wooden building Avith uncushioned Avooden pews
and carpetless floor. The congregation num-
bered about seventy-five. Two young ladies
present were in riding habits, as they lived some
distance off and came to church on horseback.
Three small birds which had flown into the
window and taken up their abode in the wood-
work in the interior of the church, kept flying
about and singing during the whole of the serv-
ice. As the congregation did not seem to notice
them, we concluded that it was a common oc-
currence. It was in Carterton that we read the
first chapters in Ian MacLaren's book, "Days
of Auld Lang Syne." It had just arrived in
New Zealand. It was made doubly interesting
as one of our listeners was an old Scotch lady,
who understood perfectly the Scotch language
and the customs described in it. After our short
APPENDIX. 191
but pleasant visit in Carterton, we decided to
drive to Masterton about eight miles away, and
spend a week there and then return to Welling-
ton. Our way led through the one long wide
street in Carterton, on the sides of which the
principal stores and buildings are located. Some
of these are only one story high. Soon we were
out on a country road and in the little village of
Masterton. We remained here about a week,
enjoying the quiet and freedom of this country
village. There are very pretty walks in Master-
ton. One along the banks of the river bordered
by ferns and grasses to the old mill and its re-
volving wheel, which throws up the water in
white spray. Another down a country road
bordered on one side by a beautiful haAvthorn
hedge. One morning we took a walk through
the business street. At the end just before we
reached the river, we noticed a little house, one
side of which was literally covered with ripe
apricots, hanging from a vine that clambered
over the entire front of the house. We went
down to the bank of the river and found a sandy
beach covered with pebljles, and sweet with the
scent of mint growing on it. This winding river
is a pretty feature of the hindscapo.
C)ne day we enjoyed a real New Z(*aland picnic
in the bush. Anotlior day a long drive Ixjhind
two spirited white horses, past largo fi«l<ls of
192 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAOEIS.
oats and wheat and extensive runs of sheep and
cattle, to a Maori settlement or pa.
The houses were mostly one story wooden
houses of the plainest architecture, — but what an
advance on the original Maori huts! We saw
the old and new civilization keenly marked in
two houses which stood side by side, one a little
black hovel, empty and deserted, thp other a new,
painted wooden cottage, with lace curtains at the
windows and little dark Maori faces looking out
at us. But the thing which interested us most
was the Maori church. It was shaped like
Noah's Ark. There was a door and window in
front. The pillars in front were carved with
hideous-looking figures, with pieces of pearl
shell for eyes. The building was painted black
and red. The walls were made of weeds or
rushes laid closely together. As the building
was locked, we could get a glimpse of the in-
terior only through the window. The audience
room inside was seated with benches ; at the rear
was a red curtain and behind it a white pulpit
shaped like a tombstone. We were told that
services were held here every Sunday and well
attended by the Maoris in the settlement. An-
other interesting place to visit in Masterton is
the trout-hatching grounds. The curator who
has held the position over ten years, is a very
kind, obliging man, and is ready to supply visitors
APPENDIX. 193
with any information desired. He escorted us
about the place, showing us the different kinds
of ducks and fowl, and then took us to the ponds,
where the large trout are. Wishing to show us
the size and cleverness of his fish, he filled a pail
full of raw liver and kidneys, and walking along
quietly by the edge of the pond, he threw in
spoonfuls of this chopped mixture. Hungry and
eager to be fed, the fish darted to the surface of
the water. AVith a quick motion of his hand he
caught them in a net so that we might see
them. They were very timid, but large, beauti-
ful trout. As soon as they were released they
darted away as fast as they could swim. The
curator said they knew his footstep, and as soon
as he appeared on the bank tliey would follow
him for a long distance coming every now and
then to the surface to be fed. We went into
the hatching house and while there the curator
explained to us the process. As soon as the
large trout in the pond are "ripe," the spawn is
taken from them and from it millions of little
fish or " fry " are hatched. These are fed three
times a day on meat minced very line, and ])asscd
through a sieve of the finest perforated zinc, the
holes being made larger as the fish grow. As
soon as the fisli arc (^Id ('n()U<^di, they arc |)iit into
the ponds throughout th(! colony. There will
be this yc.'ir (ISS^b) about one inilliun liheratcd
194 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
throughout North island and the west coast of
South iskind. The number of ova collected last
year from different kinds of trout at the ponds
and from river fish, was two million, and the
number of " eved ova " sold to other Acclimatiza-
tion Societies in New Zealand, New South Wales,
Queensland and New Zealand Government, was
four hundred and twenty-two thousand.
Our return to Wellington was by rail, the same
way we came, but our train changed its rate of
speed, and moved very slowly, as it was up grade
all the way. We were thus enabled to get out
and gather a large bunch of toi-toi and easily
reach our car by walking rapidly after it. It
was eight o'clock in the evening and the city was
ablaze with lights when we came into the station.
It was not long before we were in our comfort-
able quarters again, and dozing off to sleep with
pleasant memories of our northern trip.
Our stay in Wellington at this time was very
short, of only a few days' duration, but we availed
ourselves one afternoon of the opportunity of
going on St. John's Sunday-school picnic to
Day's Bay, a very pretty spot not far from the
city and a famous resort for picnic parties. As
about six hundred children, besides pastor, offi-
cers of the church, teachers and parents consti-
tuted the party, two boats were chartered for
the purpose. These were both comfortably filled
APPENDIX. 195
and we set sail. When we got some way out,
our captain secured a majority of votes from the
passengers to sail near an opposite shore to Day's
Bay, so as to see the wreck of a vessel, of which
considerable notice had been taken lately in the
daily papers. The ship was from London. It
was bound for Wellington. It had been out
some ninety days, and had almost reached its
port, when it ran against some rocks in the night
and was almost broken to pieces. Our captain
steered the boat near to it, and we saw the huge
wreck lying there in the water. The beach was
strewn with casks and debris and the crew were
camping out along the sands in tents. It was
Avhile our steamer lay tossing about in the waves
near the wreck, that many of the picnic party,
including the little children, were quite seasick.
One of the elders of the church, who had not
approved of diverting from the object of the
sail, ordered the captain to go on and soon we
reached the strip of beach where our picnic was
to be held. AVe had a pleasant time conversing
witli friends, while the children swung, waded,
dug in the sand and had a good time generally.
There was an abundance of sandwiches, cake,
and tea, and plenty of sweet milk for the little
ones. The beach was smooth and sandy and cov-
ered with very pretty sIhjUs. We came home by
sunset, singing Sunday-school songs. The sky
196 THE CONVERSION^ OF THE MAORIS.
was beautiful with red, purple and gold clouds,
and as the little children clambered up the wharf,
their pockets full of candy from the "lolly"
scramble on deck, they were a tired but happy
company. To some of them this picnic had been
their only holiday from home during the year.
Auckland.
Auckland, the "Corinth of the South," was
settled a year later than Wellington. The Brit-
ish flag was hoisted there on September 19, 1840,
by Captain W. C. Symonds, at the request of
Governor Hobson, and was saluted by discharges
of guns from ships in the harbor. Auckland then
became the seat of government and capital of
the colony. The news spread, which caused a
great influx of people from Australia and Europe.
Prices of land kept step with the growth of the
population. The seat of government was moved
to Wellington in 1865. Like Wellington, Auck-
land is built on hills and has one of the finest
harbors in New Zealand. The Calliope Dock
is the longest in the colony, five hundred and
twenty-five feet long, while the Auckland Dock
is three hundred and thirteen feet long. The
Calliope Dock can accommodate at one time two
of the largest vessels of Her Majesty's fleet. It
cost £135,000. A most beautiful view can be
obtained of the harbor and district within the
* APPENDIX. 197
radius of twelve to twenty miles of the city from
the top of mount Eden, six hundred and fifty
feet high. The mountain lies a short distance
from the city.
The sky was blue and atmosphere very clear
the day we went to mount Eden. It was quite
a climb and as the road curved nearly all the
way, it was doubly hard. The sun was overhead
and hot, but we walked very slowly. When we
bad reached nearly the top, we stopped to look at
the large crater which was full of lava and
stones, for mount Eden is really an extinct vol-
cano. The grass on the sides of the mountain
was drv from the lack of rain, but we saw some
horses feeding on it. At the top of the mountain
there is a long wooden seat in the form of a
square, and from the many initials and names
carved in it, we knew that many an idle hour
had been spent here by visitors. We do not
think tlie descriptions we have heard of the view
from mount Eden at all exaggerated. It is cer-
tainly fine — the harbor with the blue water and
boats, and hills all about the little villages scat-
tered here and there, and the city with its build-
ings and spires and streets, which look like a
series of straight lines. We found the view so
enchanting and the air so pure and invigorating,
we iiated to leave it. The descent was not so la-
borious as the ascont, and we were fortunate u])on
198 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
reaching the road, to find a bus waiting for us
which conveyed us to our boarding place in time
for lunch.
Among the fine buildings in Auckland is the
Public Free Library, in which the Art Museum is
located on the second floor. This library was
built with funds left by Mr. Costley, and it cost
£22,000. There is a reading room and fourteen
thousand volumes in the library. Besides the
general library, there is one composed of rare
and original documents, donated by Sir Geo.
Gre}^, one of the early governors. We went sev-
eral times to the art gallery, which has in it many
valuable pictures by the citizens, and the McKel-
vie collection is a little gallery in itself. Several
of these pictures remain quite vividly in our
mind, while others we do not remember at all.
The feeble old rooster and hens, with feathers
all drooping, certainly were expressive of " old
age," while " The Hermit," with his shaggy hair
and muscular frame was very impressive. " The
School Mistress' Birthday " represented a group
of children trooping up to the school-teacher and
handing her various presents. One little girl has
a bird in a cage, another an apple and a third
w4th a kitten, with ribbon and bell round its neck.
The most impressive of all the paintings was
founded on the poem of Sir Walter Scott on
the Laird's Keturn. It showed Sir Edward
APPENDIX. 199
Spence's wife and daughters on the seashore, in
different postures, looking off over the Avater
for his return. The coloring, the expression of
the faces, the attitudes, the scenery and especially
the great English mastiff in the fore-ground are
beautifully painted. There is a pathetic charm
about the picture which attracts numy to it.
Situated next to the Public Library is the
Albert Park with its walks, flower gardens,
lawns, fine trees and seats for visitors. It in-
cludes seven acres of land. It is not only a
pleasure resort, but a thoroughfare for all classes
of people going to and fro in the city. It is sit-
uated on very high land, and from the loftiest
portion one lias a fine view of the city. The top
is surmounted by a flagstaff which is surrounded
by antique cannon captured from the Russians
during tlie Crimean war.
"We were in Auckland during the great gold-
mining boom at Coromandel, and gohl shares
were the principal topic of conversation among
the business men. Often during the day tlie
sidewalks al)(^ut the brokers' oflices were so
crowded with men that the police had to make
way for the other foot passengers. At a certain
hour of th<' (hiy a man wouhl a|)])('ar ringing a
bell in front of the olliccs, and then the vahie of
stocks wouhl bo announced. Auckhind, like tiio
older New Zealand cities, has its banks, insur-
200 THE CONVEKSION OF THE MAORIS.
ance companies, warehouses, and industries. It
has a popuhxtion of fifty-two thousand including
suburbs. Auckland is not only pretty in itself but
in its suburbs also. Ilemuera is a lovely country
spot, and jSTew Market, a contrast in its stores.
Both are reached by train or bus. If one walks
to Parnell, another suburb, he can have the privi-
lege of going up and down one of the steepest
hills in the city. This is concreted and is called
"Constitution Hill." After reaching the top, one
requires a few minutes to recover breath, while
the descent must be guarded as a fall might
prove fatal. There is also a pleasant domain of
one hundred and eighty acres which leads up to
the hospital. This is a large stone building sur-
rounded by extensive grounds and situated on a
high hill overlooking the harbor. Among the
many friends we made in Auckland was a kind-
hearted old Scotch lady, whose husband and two
sons had been lost at sea, and another son had
been killed and roasted and eaten by the canni-
bals on the Fiji Islands. We used to visit her
often in her pretty little home. Notwithstand-
ing her losses this dear friend always kept a
sunny face turned toward the world and tried to
lessen the sufferings of others.
CHRIST CHURCH.
Christ Church is situated in the northeastern
APPENDIX. 201
part of the Province of Canterbury and about
eight miles inhmd from Port Lyttelton. It has
a popuhxtion of seventeen thousand, but with its
suburbs it embraces some fifty-one thousand peo-
ple. It covers a very large area of land. The
best view to be obtained of the city is from the
balcony of the Cathedral, which is about half-
way up the spire. The city proper is bounded
by four belts which are one mile and a quarter
apart. The north and east belts are marked by a
footpath extending down the center of the road
and bordered on each side by a wide strip of
grass and a row of trees. The young trees are
inclosed for protection within four narrow pieces
of wood driven into the ground and connected
near the top by four short pieces nailed onto
them at right angles. The west belt runs in
front of the park and the south in front of the
railroad station. The streets of the city, except
High Street, run north and soutli, and east and
west. They are named after the English bisho])s.
The two squares, Latimer and Cranmer, recall to
mind the two heroic martyrs who were burned
at the stake.
The dwelling houses in Ciirist Church aro
chiefly of wood. Many of them are very pretty,
with extensive grounds, beautifully laid out and
well k('|)t. Nearly every door y:ir<l, no matter
of what size, has its garden of beautiful ll(»wers.
202 THE CONVERSION OF TUE MAORIS.
The churches are numerous and of various de-
nominations. They include a Jewish Synagogue,
a Duetsche Kirche, and the famous Cathedral
A number of the church edifices are of handsome
stone and pleasing architecture, and with dark
green ivy clinging to them, remind the visitor of
some of the churches in England. Although the
AVesleyans and Presbyterians are numerous, the
English Church claims the largest number of
followers. These denominational differences are
very strongly marked in the new- cemetery,
where each church has its own burying section.
The prettiest feature in the landscape of
Christ Church is the long, narrow, winding river
Avon. The Avon rises some five miles above the
city, traces its serpentine course through the city
and empties into the Pacific Ocean. Wherever
a street crosses the river it is spanned by a bridge
of stone and iron. On both sides of the river
willow trees wave their long, graceful branches,
and Avhite and black swans with white-banded
red beaks, float noiselessly over its surface. It is
the delight of the little children to feed these
creatures which come to the edges of the banks
for crumbs. We were told that the river wil-
lows originated from the willows in Babylon, on
which the poor homesick captive Jews hung their
harps, because they could not sing their songs in
a strange land.
APPENDIX. 203
Lady Mary Wortley Montague carried cuttings
from the Babylonish Willows to Pope's garden
at Twickenham. Slips were afterwards taken
from these willows and planted near Kapoleon's
grave on the island of Saint Helena. The first
French emigrants coming out to New Zealand
touched at this island, and brought out in their
boat " Compte de Paris " cuttings from these
willows. Some of them were planted in Akaroa
and some in Christ Church.
There is a good library in the city for the
reading portion of the community. A visitor
can have access to the reading room and refer-
ence library, and by paying half a crown has the
privilege of taking out books for three months.
There are some excellent paintings of New Zea-
land scenery exhibited in the art gallery. AVe
noticed particularly a cluster of the beautiful
mountain lilios, which are so prized on this island.
The city has a most lovely park and domain.
It is laid out in velvety green lawns, broad
gravel paths and Ijeds of bright, flowery ])lants,
some of which are rare and very interesting as a
botanical study.
Aside from its business revenue, the cit}' de-
pends largely upon its grain and wool supplies. It
also exports large quantities of frozen meat, but-
ter, and cheese, to England. Wr li.nl ;ibiu)st ;ill
kinds of weather except extreme winter during
204 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
our sUi}' in Christ Oiiurch. We remember three
days in particular. On the first the thermometer
was 103° in the shade, 130° in the sun. The next
day the wind blew a gale and the flying dust
resembled the picture of a sandstorm in the Ara-
bian desert, which we had seen so many times in
our geographies at home. We went out on the
street for a short distance but returned with the
springs so twisted in an umbrella we carried,
that it took one of the Christ Church's practical
umbrella makers to put it to rights again by a
new one. The third day everything was calm.
The dust lay quietl}^ in the streets. The mercury
fell in the thermometer and we put on our winter
clothes to keep ourselves warm. The night be-
fore Christmas we awoke to hear the singing of
Christmas carols near our windows. The voices
of the singers were sweet and Avere accompanied
by a little barrel organ. When we went down
to the breakfast table in the morning, we found
the dining room prettily decorated with long
sprays of " matipo " — a shrul) Avhose leaves are
small and green, and the white fragrant flowers of
the sweet jessamine. " A Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year " in silver letters were mixed
in with the green which adorned the walls. At
each plate was a green and white cluster of
flowers and a pretty Christmas card.
On one day when the roses had reached their
APPENDIX. 205
perfection, the finest ones were brought into the
citv" by different cultivators and exhibited in a
halL Prizes were offered for the choicest ones.
This annual rose show is beautiful and calls
forth the admiration of all who see it. But the
greatest event of the year is the Canterbury
Agricultural and Pastoral show. This is held
in a large park and continues three days. It is
during these days that one has the opportunity
of seeing the finest sheep, cattle, horses, pigs and
fowls raised in Canterbury. Also butter and
cheese and other products are on exhibition.
Thousands of people from the surrounding coun-
try assemble at the show, and the streets have
the appearance of a crowded home city. At the
show in 1896 £1,000 (§5,U00) were taken at the
entrance gate.
The Canterbury colony Avas founded by an
English syndicate, consisting of earls, lords and
bishops. It was to he a Church of England set-
tlement. On December 10, 1850, the band of
pilgrims from England arrived at Port Lyttelton
in four vessels, and before the end of the follow-
ing year there were two thousand six hundred
people lanch'd under the leadership of a Mr.
John Robert Godley. Sheep farmers cam(^ from
Australia, bought land and settled to raise shcoj).
The little colony was very successful. Within
three years after their ari-ival thi^y exported
206 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
£40,000 Avorth of wool to the mother country.
In 1853 the control of the settlement was vested
in a superintendent and provincial council, and
in 1876 the whole district came directly under
the management of New Zealand.
Canterbury has by far the finest grazing and
agricultural land in New Zealand. It comprises
eight million seven hundred and seventy-six thou-
sand six hundred and fifty-five acres of land of
which one million eight hundred and forty thou-
sand six hundred and eighty-one acres are con-
sidered first class, and four million seven hundred
and seven thousand one hundred and seventy-
three acres ranked as second class, and the re-
mainder as third, and barren land of little value.
Lyttelton is one of the leading ports in New
Zealand. It is called the " Port of the Plains."
It is built on hills which slope down to the
water's edge. There are two breakwaters which
encircle an area of water of one hundred and
seven acres. This inclosed water space will ac-
commodate twenty-two ocean ships and steamers,
twenty barques and brigs, eight inter-colonial
steamers, thirty schooners and smaller crafts.
Long Avharves on which are built sheds extend
into the water. The Gladstone wharf is one
thousand three hundred and eighteen feet long.
They are lighted by electric lights. Two of the
largest sheds hold eleven thousand tons of grain.
APPENDIX. 207
Railroad tracks for the convenience of baggage,
etc., run from the wharves to the station. There
are batteries with electric search-lights in the
harbor, and a lighthouse on one of the hills a
distance out from the wharves, by which vessels
are steered safely into port at night. The ride
from Lyttelton is through the longest tunnel in
New Zealand two thousand eight hundred and
seventy yards. It takes six minutes to pass
through it. The idea of tunneling the Port
Hills was conceived by "Wm. S. Moorhouse in
1861. It cost £50,000. The whole of the im-
ports and exports of Northern Canterbury pass
through Lyttelton.
OTAGO — DUNEDIN,
The distance from Christ Church to Dunedin,
the capital of Otago, is two hundred and thirty-
one miles. The journey by train is most tedious.
We started from the " City of Plains," at nine
o'clock in the morning and traveled all day at a
speed of about twenty miles an hour, and we did
not get to JJunedin until nine o'clock at night.
We stopped at several small towns along the
line, and at every station the passengers were
cordially received by the iiilial»itants. It appears
to be the custom with these townsmen to turn
out on the arrival of the nortliern train and to
cheer vociferously the passengers on both the ar-
208 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
rival and departure of a train. We passed some
of the most level and finest grazing country we
ever saw. From Christ Church to Oamaru, a dis-
tance of one hundred and fifty-five miles, is a
beautiful country which averages from twenty to
forty miles in width, extending from the sea-
coast to the foot of the Southern Alps of the
west coast, which stretch out from thirty to
seventy miles into the interior. The Alpine
Mountains, which form the backbone of the
South island, are a continuous chain of grand
mountains about five hundred miles long, with
a succession of magnificent peaks ranging in
height from six thousand to ten thousand feet,
and attaining their culminating point in mount
Cook, twelve thousand three hundred and forty-
nine feet above sea level. I concur with the
description given by a mountain climber, that
these mountains, " present a splendid panorama
of ice-cold peaks and snow-fields towering over
the forest tops of the lower hills, the heads of
the valleys being filled with glaciers, whose ter-
minal faces are glittering masses of almost un-
sullied ice. From these glaciers emanate the
river system of the district, com]irising the liur-
uni, eighty-five miles in length ; Ashburton, sixty-
four miles, liangitata, seventy-four miles, and the
Waitake, one hundred and forty miles. These
rivers rush down from the mountain gorges,
APPENDIX. 209
through the intervening ranges and hills, and
traverse the plains to the sea."
We crossed the Waitake, over a fine iron
bridge about a mile long. It forms the boundary
line between Canterbury district and the province
of Otago.
At a distance, we could see the top of mount
Cook, the glory of Xew Zealand, towering like
a giant above the rest, Avith her white snow
caps peering into the horizon. These wonderful
scenes, along with many herds of fine cattle and
hundreds of thousands of sheep in flocks and
pastures, help to break the monotony of the tire-
some journey.
"When we arrived at Dunedin it was dark and
wet. We felt strange in a strange city ; however,
the streets being well lighted, I managed to walk
up a steep hill to Moray Place, where I was
hospitably entertained during my stay in the
metropolis. On Sunday I preached in the First
Presbyterian Church ; in the morning it was rain-
ing hard. I thought we would not have fifty
people in church, but to my surprise when I
entered the high pulpit of that grand structure,
and looked aljout, I found a congregation of
several hundred people before me. liain was no
hindrance to them, for it rains here one hundred
and forty-eiglit days in the yo;ir. T have seldom
seen a firifr looking cl.-iss of men .-ind wcjincn.
210 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
Every face indicated strength of character and
robust health. They were good listeners and ap-
preciative worshipers. I felt at home, and en-
joyed much their cordial hand-shaking at the
close of the services.
Dunedin is a line commercial city of forty-
seven thousand inhabitants, situated at the head
of the Otago harbor, about seven miles from
Port Chalmers. The harbor is divided into two
parts, the lower harbor is six miles long and the
upper (from Port Chalmers to Dunedin) is seven
miles in length. The two towns are connected
by railroad. Port Chalmers is the principal sea-
port of the province. It has about two thousand
people, with some nice residences. The business
part of Dunedin is on comparatively level land
near the harbor ; the residences are built upon
the sloping hills which rise on the west side of
the town. The city is about two miles and a-half
long and one mile wide. Dunedin was the first
city in Australasia to use the American cable
system, and indeed the citizens must find it very
serviceable, running up and down their steep
hills, which remind us of San Francisco. Trams
run on the level streets from the one end of the
town to the other, and also to some of the sub-
urbs and resorts. There are some very fine
buildings scattered throughout the city. The Uni-
versity of Otago is a beautiful structure, also the
APPENDIX. 211
Koman Catholic Cathedral, and Knox Presbyte-
rian Church. The First Presbyterian Church is a
very imposing building on Moray Hill, built of
Oamaru White Stone. The Lunatic Asylum,
Grand Hotel, City Hall, Burns' Monument and
Cargill Fountain are all substantial, and a credit
to Dunedin. The dwelling houses are nearly all
built of wood, and two stories high. There are
some excellent stores found in the business street.
Many of the streets are called after the streets of
tlie Scottish capital. It is just fifty years since
the first settlers of this province landed at Port
Chalmers from the ships "John Wyclilf" and
" Philip Lang," under the leadership of Captain
William Cargill. His son, who is the present
mayor of Dunedin, a few months ago presided at
the Jubilee Festival of tlie settlement of the city.
The first settlers were sent out from Glaserow
under the auspices of the Free Church of Scot-
land in 1848. Four hundred thousand acres of
land had been bought from tlie Maoris for the
colony. The first settlers were blue l*resbytei-i-
ans. They loved tlie ('hurch, and endowed it
with valuable land, and the Presbyterian Church
of Otago is reaj)ing the bonelit of that endow-
ment to-day. The early settlers for many years
endured hardship in clearing the bush and j)ro-
paring the soil and struggling for existence.
But the discovery of gold by (iabriel Iteid,
212 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
near the town of Lawrence in 1861, boomed up
the whole province. Gabriel Reid one day dug
with his knife in a few hours £25 worth of gold.
He reported his discovery to the superintendent
of the province and he received £1,000 bounty.
Hundreds and thousands rushed to the gold
fields. At one of the country churches, the
whole congregation went to the digging except
the pastor and the precentor. It is said of one
party, that when crossing a river their dog was
swept away by the current to a small island in
the middle of the stream. A digger went to res-
cue the dog, and there, round the rock, he gath-
ered in a short time, gold dust worth £1,000. Gold
seekers and adventurers came from Australia and
many other places. Prices advanced, towns in-
creased, money was plentiful, and the colony be-
came rich. But when gold was found in West-
land in 1865, and in other parts of New Zealand,
many left for these places. But gold is still
found generally throughout Otago, except in the
southern parts of it. It produces about one-third
of all the quantity of gold taken out of New Zea-
land. The amount of gold obtained last year
amounted to eighty-seven thousand six hundred
and ninety-four ounces, valued at £353, Y96.
Dunedin is still prosperous, with many factories
and stores. Of late years the bulk of the trade
of New Zealand seems to be going to Welling-
APPENDIX. 213
ton as being more central and easier of access
for deep ocean steamers. Dunedin has excellent
schools. The Otago University ranks high. The
Boys' and Girls' High School has a good reputar
tion, as well as the N"ormal School for training
teachers. The Scotch characteristics are very
marked. The inhabitants bear the Scotch stamp
of intelligence and shrewdness in their deport-
ment, though the majority of them never saw old
Edinburgh. My visit in Dunedin was only for a
few days, as I had to return north to keep an en-
gagement which resulted in my staying some
four months in Otago, and during that time I
visited various towns and places of interest
throughout the province, preaching nearly every
evening, except Saturday, which was ni}' day of
traveling and rest. The first two months were
spent at Oamaru, su))plying the pulpit of St.
Paul's Presbyterian Church, one of the most im-
portant charges in the province. Oamaru is the
third town in size to Dunedin. It lias six thou-
sand inliabitants, it is al)out seventy-live miles
north of Dunedin. It is built of white stone,
which is found in the neighljorhood, and the town
goes by the name of the ""White City." The
buildings are large, but many of them iii-c unoc-
cupied. This line town flourished (hiring the
gold boom, and many lar<^(! liotcls, halls, banks,
and stores were built which are now empty. A
214 THE CONVERSION" OF THE MAORIS.
breakwater of one thousand eight hundred and
fifty feet long, with an inclosure of sixty acres,
was also erected for the reception of ocean-going
ships which has unfortunately bankrupted the
town.
The St. Paul's and St. Columba Presbyterian
churches are an ornament to the town. Oamaru
has several large flour mills, a freezing establish-
ment, capable of freezing eight hundred sheej) a
day, and a storage room for twenty thousand
carcases. A very long and wide street passes
through the center of the town with some excel-
lent stores.
The country for many miles round it, is rich
and beautiful. It produces the best wheat, oats
and potatoes in New Zealand. The average
yield of wheat in 1898 was thirty-two bushels
per acre, of oats thirty-seven, barley thirty-three,
and rye twenty-seven. This is the highest in
the colony. The root crops were also very heavy.
From twenty to fifty miles back into the moun-
tains is a great grazing country, well adapted for
sheep and cattle. Some of the runs in the hill
country are capable of carrying twenty thousand
sheep. In fact Otago is a great sheep-raising
country. The total number of sheep in the
province, including Southland, in 1898, was four
million three hundred and sixty-five thousand six
hundred and sixty-one, and the value of wool
o
M
C
b.
APPENDIX. 215
clipped in the district in the year 1S97 was £750-
OOU. There were tifty-two thousand seven hun-
dred and ninety-five horses, seventy-two mules
and asses ; one hundred and sixty-nine thousand
five hundred and ninety cattle, and thirt3''-seven
thousand six hundred and forty-six pigs. Eab-
bits are a severe tax on the stock growers, ac-
cording to the olficial handbook, the number of
skins exported last year for the whole of New
Zealand being fifteen million two hundred and
twenty-nine thousand three hundred and four-
teen, of which number Otago contributed one-
third.
The district of Otago measures one hundred
and sixty miles from Milford Sound on the west
coast, to Waikonaiti Bay on the east coast, and
the same distance from the south. Its area is
nine million four thousand and eight hundred
acres. The climate varies ; in the interior it is
dry, but near the coast, wet and coltl in tlie
winter. Snow is seen always on the mountains.
The highest land is to the northwest. IMount
Aspiring is about ten thousand feet high. The
west coast mountains are rugged imd riiajcstic.
There are said to be fifteen sountls tliat a<l<)rn the
coast, throe of tliem are witliin the boundary of
Otago. ^filford Sound, eigiit mik'S long, has
some of the finest scenery. I'^ourtocn miles in-
land from its head is the great Sutiierlund Water-
210 THE CONVERSION OF THE MAORIS.
fall, one thousand nine hundred and four feet
high, the highest waterfall known. Bligh Sound,
and George Sound are also sights of beauty and
glory.
In the North island are the Thermal Springs,
and the wonderful geysers. The geyser at Ora-
keikorako, which broke out in 1893, is reported by
those who have seen it to be " the most wonderful
and astounding phenomenon in New Zealand, and
for power and grandeur as a geyser, second to
none in the world." There also are the Vol-
canic Cones, the White Terraces, the giant tree,
kauri gum, coal and gold in abundance ; and in
the South island, are the great mountains, the
glaciers, the sounds and lakes and mountain tor-
rents, gold and coal, the pastoral and extensive
agricultural plains.
«-««^ ^<*«««^^^|»^*«4 111*I14I»V
University of California
SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388
Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.
AA 000 627 838 6
I