The Sun.
London, England, 1837-10-26 00:00:00

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NEW ZEALANDERS.

In the sale of their produce to Europeans every possible
advantage of a petty nature is attempted to be taken. , It
is no uncommon thing to discover an old mat dipped in
water in the middle of a basket of flax, in order to increase
the weight, with the intention of getting a greater value
it, or the flax itself is wetted, and much inferior quality
placed at the bottom. In their baskets of potatoes or 'tu-
rners the very largest is always placed at the top, white the
remainder of the basket is most likely the gleanings of the
field. The New Zealanders in their persons are very dirty
for they never in any instance wash any of their clothing;
. the consequence is, that their bodies are always covered
with vermin, which they call a koota, (a louse.) There
are two distinct species of this little animal—one, perfectly
black, which generally inhabits their heads, which arc there-
fore sacred, and one, of a silvery white colour, which is
always to be found on their bodies and mats, and which they
invariably eat ; but in no instance do they ever cat those
from their heads, or indeed anything which has ever touched
it, even after having scratched the heads with their fingers,
they put the fingers to the nose and repeat some short words
for the purpose of taking off the harm which might
otherwise occur to them were they not to do so. In the
cutting of their hair they are very particular : this is gene-
rally performed by some old person (a priest), and the hair
is very carefully gathered up and buried in sacred ground ;
and in very few instances will they enter the house of an
European where any description of food is hanging higher
than their heads, which they esteem as tho most sacred
part of their person, and you cannot commit a greater sin
towards them i-ban to touch their heads, or to stroke the
head of a young chief child ; in fact, in some parts of New
Zealand it would be dangerous to do so, as they would rob
or perhaps even kill you for payment. There are a number
of Europeans livingin the country who believe in all their
sacred forms, and who, in cases of sickness, will even send
for a native priest to pray for them, and on recovery will
give them all the credit for it, Alti:ough, in one instance, I
knew the recovery to be from the apillication of a mustard
poultice to the small of the back, anci bathing the feet in
warm water, which I myself prescribed. . I have known a
European, who wished to keep a mob or them out of his
yard, to hang an iron pot, that he had bad ,vit;tuals cooked
in, over his gateway, and not one would enter tree yard until
the obnoxious pot was removed.
The nat at affection of the New Zealenders !0 their
offspring appears great, but does not extend further then
to very near relations. Their usual mode of salutation i 5
by rubbing the nose together and crying, from the constane
practice of which crying becomes as natural to them as
laughing to Europeans, and it is therefore difficult to ascer-
tain whether their tears proceed from a heart really over-
powered with sorrow, or the effects of -mere practice, and
done to keep up appearances—certain it is, that he or she
who can show the greatest quantity of tears joined to the
mucus of the nose running down their faces, arc accounted
to be the most affectionate of them ; and in all their crying
matches a sort of song is uttered, which, if for a dead per-
son, is reproaching the party with having left them without
just cause, very similar to the wake of the Irish.

Ingratitude, except in some very conspicuous acts of
kindness performed by an European, is proverbial to a
New Zealander—the best proof of which is, that there is
not a word in their language to express thankfulness.
Among themselves, when one person makes a present to
another, or performs some meritorious action towards them,
they return the compliment by another present of similar or
greater value, merely, as they say, from their being
ashamed that the other party should reproach them with
having conferred a benefit on them without receiving any
kind of payment in return.
They are also faithless servants—for although you may
employ ten or a dozen constantly about .your place, whom
you feed, clothe, and pay, as they consider liberal, they
will take equally as much pride in robbing you of petty
things, and destroying your property, as those who live
around you, and will see you cheated by. their country-
men with much glee to think that, with all your caution

and knowledge of human nature, they can beat you.—
Syducy Herald.

The Great Danish sculptor, Thorwaldscn, is en-
gaged on a colossal statue of Goethe, to be erected at
Frankfort.

Howell, a writer of the time of Charles 1., likens
translating from one language to . another to " turning a
coat the seamy side without."

A gentleman on taking an edition of Gibbon';;
Rome to a bookseller's in Dublin, to he bound, was asked
whether he would have it bound in Russia ? " Oh,' no,
no," he replied, " Russia is too far off. I will have it
bound in Dublin."

A Noble Lord being continually complaining to his
wife's father of her violent and improper conduct " Never
thin d," replied the old gentleman, " bear it patiently, and
I'll alter my will and cut her off.' - After this no more com-
plaints were heard.
THE BAYONET NUISANCE.—More than .a week

Lts elapsed since the decision of the Coroner's Jury in the
case of the unfortunate man Chaplin, murdered by George
Smith, a soldier, who -stabbed him with his bayonet. We
have received several letters inquiring whether any thing
has yet been done by the Horse Guards to prevent soldiers,
when off duty, from carrying their side-arms, and we arc
sorry not to be able to give our correspondents any infor-
mation on the subject. 'Fire matter, for aught we know,
may be under Lord Hill's consideration ; but from the un-
derstood influence of the inferiors of his office, for the most
part rabid Tories, we confess we are not very sanguine as
to the result of his determination of this question. The
persons to whom we allude have more than a usual portion
of official repugnance to all changes—excepting changes for
the better as regards their own appointments. If they
were to be deprived of their pay till soldiers were deprived
of their bayonets, we will venture to predict that we should
not have had to wait a week for an order to that effect.
As it is, we shall perhaps have to wait for another murder
or.two.—Chronicle.

O❑ the night of Sunday, the Bth instant, a man
w,)s found near the Earl of Rodney public-house, New
King-street, Deptford, bleeding from the nose and mouth,
and in a state of insensibility, by Police-constable Rose,

154 of the It division. The assistance of another constable
was obtained, and the man was conveyed to the station-
house. On the road he recovered a little, and stated his
name to be William Allen, a carpenter, and that he resided
at Peckham. As he appeared in liquor, he was detained
for the night. On the following morning he was conveyed
before Adam Gordon, Esq., one of the local magistrates,
who, observing bin: to be seriously ill, ordered that he
should be seen by Mr. Dowling, a surgeon of Deptford,
who directed that he should be immediately taken to an
hospital. He was then removed to one ; but after his ad-
mission he gradually got worse, and died yesterday morning
at :ix o'clock. During the whole of that period he has
been almost cobstantly insensible ; but it having been
aseartained that the deceased was ill used on the night in
question by a man named Evans, at the Errl of odney,
he (Evans) was apprehended on Friday by Rose, and on
Tuesday last was taken before Mr. Gordon, by whom be
was committed to Maidstone-gaol, to await the result of
the Coroner's Inquest.
The Dumfries Courier, amongst other observations
on rural affairs, has the following information :—The
pastures still afford a comfortable bite, although scarcely a
shower fell up to Monday for more than a ;.ortnight, and
are thus keeping stores of provender intact that will enable
the farmer to mete fodder more freely out in winter and
spring. The waters are still limpid, without being shriv-
elled, which, we suppose, is mainly owing to copious dews ;
and the woods more tenacious of their foliage than we per-
haps ever saw them at the same season. In sheltered situ-
ations they retain the greater portion of their leaves, and
in place of a suit of Lincoln green, display a coat of many
colours. The chief exceptions are fruit trees, and the ash,
which yields easily to the influence of frost, and of all
hedgerow or woodland ornaments, is the first to lose and
the last to regain its leafy honours. Potatoe harvest is
well nigh over, and will be completely finished during the
present week, wherever proper exertion is used. The
crop is splendid, and of superior quality---price Is. per
cwt. carted, and a trifle less when bought in quantities
for exportation. Many small farmers have bought an
extra bullock or two, which they intend to feed chiefly on
potatoes, in the expectation that beef will pay them better
than the root itself disposed of at present prices. Turnips
are still growing, and we could give instances on both sides
of the Nith within little more than a mile of Dumfries, in
which rape-kail, when let, has brought more money than
recta baga. But the crops alluded to arc first-rate, or as
a friend said, " as thick as they can stand, and.three feet
and a half high." A considerable breadth of wheat has
been sown, even after potatoes, and the extent is increasing
every day. Where the soil is light and gravelly. most far-
mers prefer sowing when the ground is -wet ; but favoured
as they are at present, they are tempted to proceed in the
confident hope that rain will do its work after the seed is
put in the ground. The wheats sown after beans (removed
to some other spot to dry) and even after turnipitaised and
stored for future use, are exhibiting rich and busby brairds;
and though some may object to arresting the growth of the
bulbs, no husbandman who knows his trade can expect,
without making some sacrifice, to take two crops from the
same land in little more than 12 months.
There is now being erected on Wick-hill, in the
parish of Bremhill, \\Tilts, which overkoks the long vale of
Avon, a monumental pillar, at the joint expense of Lord
Lansdowne and the Rev. W. L. Bowles, as the lord of the
manor and vicar of the parish of Bremhill. On Saturday
last, Lord Melbourne, Lord John Russell, and the Mar-
quis, from Bowood, called at the vicarage and proceeded
to the spot. The monument, on this elevation, will be a
most picturesque object ; it is already upwards of 30 feet
high, and the design is beautiful.—Bristol Juurnal.