"CHANGE NOT THE NAME."

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 92, 9 October 1852, Page 8

"CHANGE NOT THE NAME."

Amid proud dreams, New Zealand, of the fame That must thy future destinies surround, I've heard men mutter thy un-English name, And cavil at the sound. Fain would they shape it in some English mould, Or smooth its roughness into classic grace — So many an eye, to mental beauty cold, Can see but beauty's face. Whence sprang the name that thrills us as we hear, And sheds bright visions o'er the wildered brain ? We search the annals of the land so dear, But seek its source in vain : Some wandering stranger, or some shepherd bard Names the wild spot a nation shall make great: • But pompous titles from a land ill-starred Avert no ill-starred fate. Like fairy-land,—with name all melody, Full many an Island in the sunny sea Shall in its beauty unremembered lie Among the great and free. sTis not its beauty or its worthiness That make the value of a name the more— We should not love our Father-land the less, Whatever name it bore. From sage and hero all its honours came, They shed a lustre o'er their native home ; And deeds of freemen dignified the name, Of Athens and of Rome. And hast tliou slept, New Zealand? young and weak, Art thou not bolder in mankind's great cause Than prouder lands that cannot, —dare not speak Of freedom and of laws. Change not the name—it was the beacon-light Of those -who fought, when all around was dim, The fight our fathers fought of old—the fight Of Hampden and of Pym. Change 'not the name—'twere grievous wrong to those, Who in the van of colonies still led The infant state against their bigot foes, When Hope had well-nigh fled. 'Twere grievous wrong to that bold voyager Who, ever mindful of his native land, 'Mid toils and dangers still remembered her Upon this distant strand. And of his country justly proud, whose sway Spread over Oceans to the World unknown ; Would fain hear witness to a future >day Of glories all her own. Shall we begrudge them ? —cannot England spare One leaf from that proud laurel > wreath that girds Her honoured brows, and bid her rival share The empty fame of words ? Change not the name—to after years 'twill bear The last sad record of a failing race, When time has yielded to the white-man's heir The dusky warrior's place. 'Twill bid the memories of the past arise In every wood by every running brook ; And to our annals bind by closer ties, The generous fame of Cook, Change not the name—the watchword it shall ring From pole to pole of truth and liberty, Our sons' sons proudly to that name shall cling As ivy to the tree. Oh ! Change it not for newer, vainer claims, To fools and children leave such paltry toys; Let fettered France delight in idle names, In glitter, pomp, and noise. Be ours brave deeds beyond the vulgar reach : Be ours to seek a nobler, purer fame, — A fame that lives beyond the power of speech, That rests not on a name. =====