New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-11
NEW-ZEALAND.
n PROSPEROUS COLONY.
Erw.zEAIAND AFTER FIFTY YEARS BY Edward
Wakefeld svo, PIP. 236. Cassen q CO.

Wakefield svo, PIP. 236 Casseh w.
This well-illustrated and compact volume oEers
one of the most satisfactory accounts Oh Ne"-De"-
land that has been written. 1t has the merit OF
beine not only full of the information most neeoeo'
hut of being highly interesting. The author q
r.lativs Of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the founder
80 ,h. eo,onv. possesses thorough knowledge OF
his snbiect and writes clearly and in good style
;s account of the early land transactions with the
Maor;s discloses theories of land tenure well cal
.nlated to amaze the simple Europeans, who
, Thought they knew something about commercial
negotiations Whence the Maoris derived these
extraordinary systems of land tenure is mystery
for. as Mr.. Wakefield observes: g When Maori
tribe entered into the possession Of land in the
good old days they habitually exterminated the
former owners, and not infrequently ate them
This obviated any further complications as to tte'
But when in their turn the Maoris sold land 20
the Pakehar white mem they brought into play
series of the strangcst subtleties and bubbles
For example" says Mr.. Wakefield, " it was rule
of law-if we may apply such term TO dealings
which were under no law-or, at all events, an
ingrained idea with the Maoris, that in selling
land nothing was contracted away from the tribe
except what was actually expressed in the deed
Thus if deed was made merely purportlng 10
sell. to a European the land comprised by such
and such boundaries, the purchaser soon found
himself precisely in the position Of Shyock when
Portia insisted on the strict Interpretation OF the
nound of flesh The land belonged to the pnr-
chaser it is true but there was nothing IN The
deed to saw that the tribe had parted with any
of their rights in the trees the grass the streams
the fish, the birds, or anything else except 'nc
soil itself Thus the 'Pakehar found himsen eH-
posed to incessant trespass, or claims OF enUry'
which practically nullifed his title. lhere are
deeds still in existence which, to obviate this, are
so drawn as to set forth in the mlnutest detaii
the absolute sale of all natural objects upon OF
below the land TO be conveyed, even mentioning
sucb intangible easements the sunshine the AIR.
the rain and the mist, so to leave no Ioophoie
for the ingenuity of Maori casuistry.'
Unfortunately the Government made confusion
worse COMPOUNDED by declaring all titles lnVaho
which did not issue from the Crown; ana THIS was
the initial cause of that long war between COLO
njsts and natives which continued from 1910 u
1869 and the enmities arising from wmch are
not yet extingushcd. The Maoris proved 1ormid-
able foes They built Notifications which deheo
even artillery. They showed skill IN strategy
which would have done honor TO European vet
Grams. They exhibited an intrepidity not 10 DC
surpassed. They demonstrated physical equality
OF course they were overcome but not easily nor
ouicklv and they secured good terms in the end |
The result Of colonization is thus summed up Dy
Mr.. Wakefield: In fifty years 100000 Europeans
and 40 900 civilized natives have taken the place |
of 100 600 ferocious cannlbas. That Is. IN OrieI'
the history of the in New-Zealand ana lne
events preceding il or attendant upon IL IhaV
is to say, 60. 600 Maoris have been sacrlhced 10
the establishment OF the colony. As TO the CIV
Iization of the remainder, perhaps 1t is TOO soon
TO form a Judgment upon it, though at present
IL certainly appears probable that these natives
have settled down to a pastoral and agricultural
life, for which alone they show any aptitude
AS to the origin of the Maoris. the author has no
prepossessiCns, and very sensibly concludes upon
the evidence that the data for clear CONVICTIONS
have not as yet been attained
On another highly interesting question, namely |
the antiquity of the Moa,7 or Dinornis,' Mr.
Wakefield has careful statement. Native re-
ports have been made TO the effect that still Nv |
ing Maoris remember when the Moa was hunted |
One chief took an exploring party to place |
where according TO his account he had Wheh a |
child, seen hunters cooking and eating the Moa
and on digging at the spot Indicated, Moa Dohes |
and traces of fire were found Many held this |
10 be conclusive of the modernity Of the Moa'
but Mr. Wakefield points out that the natives |
are given to romancing; that the chief might |
easily have discovered an ancient " cache OF Moa |
bones Of which the island is full, and that the |
story is very far from affording conclusive test-
mony HIS own view is that the Moa must have |
been extinct before the earliest Maori genealoges |
were framed These Maori genealogies extend back |
for nine hundred years, and they contain strong
NEGATIVE evidence in re MOa The remarkable |
fact is demonstrated through them that III all |
the ages they cover no reference to the Moa can
be found Now says Mr.. Wakefield, 1t is in |
conceivable that if such creatures had existed
within the period of Maori tradition, no refer
enc, should have been made 10 them by the
'Tohunga' the priests whose lifelong function
IL was TO observe such matters and TO relate them
necessarily for the very purpose Of peTpetuatlug
the recollection of them. Would no young chief
have been called The Moa Hunter no swift
footed Achilles have gained the epithet of The
Runner-D Down of Moas,' no stately maiden have
been called Moa-Neok,' no stubborn chief de-
tending himself against overwhelming odds have
received the distinction of one who fought like
Moa at bay? We have innumerable notices OF the
pigeon the parrot, the heron, the cormorant, the
ground Lark the huia-whose white tipped feathers
are the sign of cheftanship-and of many less
familiar or less noticeable birds; but of the
Moa, which, if it had existed in their time, must
have filed the minds of the Maoris more than
any other creature in the country"
This seems strong and sound reasoning, but 1t
1t may have one weak point. Supposing that the Moa
had been as would Lave been very natural from It's
imposing appearance put under tabu' at very |
early period. In that case the priests would have |
been prohibited from mentioning it; it would have |
been still more rgidly forbidden TO the laity to |
employ its name for any purpose; and it might |
thus have been omitted from the genealogies with
out warranting the inference drawn by Mr.. Wake
field. II is Of some interest 10 know that con-
temporary report exists TO the effect that in the
unexpored regions of the west coast 1ocks of Moas
may still be found roaming ON the Mains Or