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 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 anut 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,(»(>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 conf 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 connct 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-. aiiat- 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- 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