NATIVE CHARACTER.

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 31, 3 January 1846, Page 3

NATIVE CHARACTER.

To the Editor of the New-Zealander. Sir,— Much has been said and written upon the multitude of ruinous evils, that have accumulated among the Europeans and aborigines of New Zealand j arising from the injudicious and partial procedure of their rulers. An extensive sacrifice of property among the settleis has taken place; in the delay respecting the land chums. Loud cries arising from the treachery, and the unlimited exercise of duplicity, and rapine by the natives, have from time to time reached the Government for redress, and however the nice technicalities of the law were capable of urging these ofiences in favour of the natives » the absence of retaliation, or punishmentt even under explanation from Protectors or Missionaries, is is construed only to pusillanimity. Such a line of conduct has influenced the native mind throughout the island, and at the present time, j suspicion and envy of the pakeha, rebellion and avarice — constitute the spirit of every secret committee among them. The Pakeha is no longer treated with respect, but considered as the inferior animal mentally and physically. It is a fearful conviction ; based on substantial grounds and existing with every impartial observer, practically acquainted with their character. But, Mr. Editor, my object in troubling 3011 with this,— is to solicit the aid of your valuable columns to briefly put forth a few of the most prominent features of Maori character, and Ritenga, that are not so generally known and considered with the importance that is due to them,amons the inhabitants of towns. And to such of my fellow-colonists who may contemplate settling upon the coast, or in the neighbourhood of natives, apart from magisterial influence, a useful lesson may be hereby afforded. Land can no longer be purchased or held from the Maori with the slightest degree of safety. In the land jobbing in and near the towns, the great prices given and received have established with them a criterion of what it should yield, — relative value and position they are purposely blind to ; should a proper equivalent be given him for a patch of land, after satisfactorily proving to you bis sole ownership thereof, he waits until it becomes valuable by cultivation, or by property being placed thereon, and then insists that he is entitled by his nteiiga or cu&tom, to a share of the profits arising from it. Or again, various of his relatives, friends, or enemies, lay claim to jour land by Maori arguments; and you exist under continual threats to burn and plunder you into submission to their scheming. There is not a portion of Maori land throughout the country, but has its one claimant only, if an enquiry is

made; but when sold by that claimant, other* successively step in and attempt to substantiate their title to it also. The respectable out-settler, in dealing with or even transacting his affairs independently of the natives, daily finds himself involved in perplexing designs upon his property. The most trifling cause will, for the purpose of extortion, speedily be made to one of importance in the fertile brain of a Maori, whose ritenga has all the elasticity of the Jesuitical ordinance. He is envious of your possessing property, it is consideieda fair prize to the most dexterous contriver; every hour of his leisure is expended in planning schemes to become possessed of it, until he persuades himself that you are no longer the owner of the particular articles upon which his mind, is fixed } and will even cause a tapu theVenpon, to be generally observed. However preposterous and unprecedented the conduct of a native may be, he will assure you that it is in strict accordance with his ritenga Maori, which is literally Maori will or caprice. There is perhaps no race of people upon earth, that afford a parallel with the Maori, in duplicity and avarice : innate and insatiate they influence his every act. He has a total disregard of repu < tation, of the future, and of time save for the ripening of some contrivance. The native mind is puffed with vanity, self sufficiency, and contempt of improvement, livery thing degenerates that at all depends upon his attention : except you bribe him by utus or gifts, he will never stoop to profit himself by your example j he selects the best of his cultivated roots for eating, and puts by thesmallest for seed. He will never attend to the breed of his pigs, nor their forage ; he has a strong propensity to ridicule whatever is not of himself, and deprecates whatever he does not possess. Affect or infringe upon his actual or nominal possessions, and he will boldly sacrifice his life, or fully reinstate himself, and enforce his Utu Maori. Utu is the payment given in a Hokonga,ov sale of property; and when any accidental offence is committed, insult or animosily takes place, — the injured party, or accuser alone, is the judge of the fine, and consideis himself entitled to the article or articles of which he is the most desirous of obtaining. It is not so much for the damage, loss, or mishap that he has sustained, as for the opportunity that he has gained to profit himself an hundred, fold j andif unable by the poverty of the accused, his ritenga allows him to vent his anger, or disappointment, in destroying and burning everj vestige of his wan, wati, — or cultivation, as utu. A savage chief, near whose pa I was residing, quai relied with a man of an adjacent pa, about a fishing net. Each collected his friends : the man with his mob made an attempt to plunder and burn my place as utu, for his riri or anger, and revenge upon the other chief ; who, for defending the place against his adversary, seized, upon an article in my house, that he had no immediate means of possessing in a fair way,— as utu. A whale boat in a gale of wind was cast away, and her crew thrown upon the beach, drowned, among whom was a native,— l, who happened to be the first Europeau in the way, travelling, was detained for three weeks, my life threatened the whole time by his friends, till utu for the drowned Maori was forthcoming. For the Putaki or root of any mischance or offence, utu is in&isted upon. A native dreamed that I had beaten him, next day he asked me for the utu thereof. Pay a Maori for a job <u work, and afterwards express jour satisfaction thereof, or of his industrious spirit, he is sure to turn round upon you for a further utu. He cannot exist under the feeling that he lias made nothing more than a fair bargain. Natives instinctively fall in with one anothers views and plans that lead to an advantage over, and to the discomfiture of the Pakeha ; and though nourishing a long and bitter animosity in his heart towards his fellow native, he willingly assists in • his views. A native resisting a dishonest design upon a white man, enjoys certainly all the usual familiariry of his own race, but no longer the confidence ;— fearful of losing the countenance of his people, and so tenacious is he of preserving inviolate the scheme of his neighbour, th-it he will seldom yield to bribeiy, and never to argument to turn unfaithful, though secure from detection 5 but will further mislead you by falsehood. Personal envy, malice, and contempt are cherished in the Maori heart through life, and are called manly virtues. The Tapu, or sacred observance of places, things, and practices,— ren* dered so by the caprice or roguery of the Maori, is an obstacle of which the most wary European finds great difficulty in steering clear. A Maori will Rdhui or tapu any convenience that you derive or use through him, — such as pahs, or roads, r fire, wood, or water; and if you break that^p^fjf wilfully, or in ignorance of the existence of s.ucih ! a circumstance, — for the only signification thereof, is a slick or branch placed in or upon the sacred object, he will impose whatever utu he pleases upon you j or smokes bis pipe with indifference in another quarter that you shall send for him. to remove the Rahui, by giving him his price. Passing a rainy night by invitation in th t portion of a wari in a pa lately destroyed, by a. war party ; in the morning a blanket was demanded as utu for the accommodation, and money for a • few fire sticks i as a general tapu, consequently existed upon everything that had suffered in the battle. While travelling, I drank from a small rivulet, and being allowed to satisfy my thirst, was then compelled to render utu for the saeriligious actj the water beieg tapu from some cause, of which it was impossible that I could have been previously acquainted. Theft is frequently resorted to upon the failure of a favourite scheme, when it can be effectually done witnout fear of detection ; for the only difficulty and dishonour that a thief has to meet, is conviction without a Maori motive for his crime, shame does not arise from the theft itself, but in the proof. In trading or dealing, the Maori considerably outvies the low colonists in cunning and shuffling, having the advantage of him by being enabled to monopolise to himself or friends, the sale of the articles required. Your wants are anticipated, and watched with the greatest solicitude, and when he intends to force a liokonga uponyou, nothing is brought for sale. 13) inceisant perseverance, and clinging enquiry, every article that you possess becomes kuuvvn among them, or thd

contents of Unopened packages, afford them inexhaustille matter for speculation ; and eventually audacity and stratagem are resorted to, to become acquainted with their contents. He waits until >ou require perhaps a pig, and then strolls with an air of indifference upon jour piemises, with an old tattered mat al>out him, salutes jou with the usual smile, the fui rowed brow, and toss of the head, squats down, packs up his limbs like a spider, rests his chin upon his knees, und seemingly lemains oblivious for bout soi' \uth an air of dejection, inwardly mmiruites upon jour better condition, until your sunpathy is moved, and )on converse kindly to him,— ) ou are then led to enquire if he will sell you pork, to which he answers you in an imperative mood, to show him the article you propose to give in exchange You perhaps comply, it undergoes the most minute set utiny, and he conclude* by quietl) tying a piece of flax thereto, by which theaiticle is tapu to him, and his poaka (pig) is desctihed to your satisfaction, but not exhibited. A pig is afterwards brought, much smaller than expected, you refuse to purchase it for the aiiicle shewn :— he quietly takes the pig away,— a genet al understanding spreads among his people that all pigs are rahui ftom you : and the vtu for removing the rahui or tapu issubmission to take the man's pig, for themarked article Or if in consequence of such unfairness you lake from your own stock a goat or a sheep, a cliaige of trespass will afteru ards follow upon \ your held or flock, and utu must be rendered to avert a seizin c 01 slaughter. If )ou ask to pui chase an ai tide, th&rilenya Maoit observes generally to charge two prices, should jou pirangU or express a great desire for it, three vtus must be given, and every artifice will be exercised that such an advantage shall not be lost, though he may be more in want of your proffered equivalent, than yourself of his article. A native consideiing that he is as far in your good opinion as he is capable of working himself, will endeavour to obtain credit for some articles, and will promise to pay when his fc« becomes ripe. Another will worry, and dog you day after day, for a certain article, that he pretends, not to be able at the present time, to pay for, but assures you a large pig shall be sent on his return home. Should you in such, or any other case comply, you will seldom or ever obtain more than one-fourth o£ the debt, for directly the article is in his possession, after rendeiing you the smallest acknowledgment, he considers that he is no further liable in the transaction, and averts your dunning with the most ungrateful and cool audacity. For instance, a large pig is promised for the article credited, and alter some importunity, he brings you asmall miserable pig, and coolly tells you that it is the one that he intended ; and the description arose, not from what it was, but what it might become in the course of time ; or, upon his crop being ripe, he brings you a small acknowledgment, and tells you, that at this time, the article, — being worn out, is not worth more. The custom of making presents among themselves, is practised to a great extent. A native will strip eimself of every good and bad thing that he is possessed of, to present to his friends on the occarion of a visit, and by presents in return, is either the gainer or the loser; if fhe latter, he broods maliciously over his loss until he can make it up, in some other scheme. This system is exercised upon the Pakdha, so long as lie can be induced to bear it; but, with a more profitable return than with his fellow Maoti. Upon first acquaintance, the Ariki, or chief near >ou, intimates that he is too important a peisonasie to allow ttaffic to mix v\ith his friendship for )ou; which, if )ou are inclined to accept, ■whatever you may receive from him must be consideied only as a piesent. Pleased with his noble bearing, and appirenlly delicate feelings, you are very careful that they shall not be insulted by a mean teturn. He then introduces to you his friends, «ho are usually termed " fathers," though perhaps younger tnan himself,— almost all of a tribe are nearly related to each other, by their own representation, and ate termed for brevity** sake, — sous., fathers, brotheis, &c. — these also kindly desire, that you will consider them as existing on the same sensitive footing with you. In ihe course of time, this thing is desired, that thing is asked for : till you find yourself a considerable loser by their aroha, and secretly acknowledge that you have allowed yourself to be duped. You attempt to draw a veil of forgetful ness over it, and proceed on a more profitable mode of dealing. Eventually ) on discover trading to be a losing speculation, or at least, waste of time. If >ou wish to remove from \our location, your effects are suddenly pi iced under a rahui by the chief, and you get off only by yielding up ai tides, upon vi hich he has ftom the beginning allowed his •« great desire" to rest, as utu for his nominal presents, and )our gifts are placed to (he contra of his patronage. A komiti or public meeting to discuss any matter or offence, is a favourite expedient and frequently when regulated by their catecliist or minister, very beneficial, otherwise justice and truth are perverted, und ends in a display of their old barbarous passions. Secret kouutis are often resorted to, to cany out a plan against tbePakeha, — if the Pakeha is the sufferer by robbery, or maltreatment, the ctiininal Maori produces k false charge, however trivial, perhaps a curse or threat, which is suie to quash bis pievious delinqnenc>, and jou become a second time the sufferer. Whatever a Maoii does, sees, and hears, he cannot seciete in his own mind, but imparts it to the next Maori he meets, for the sake of gossip or slander, even though revenge be tlicj lesult. These, ami such like evils, Mr. Editor, constitute the difficulties with which settlers in the interior have had to contend with of late years, so that with very few exception! 1 , the local Hading with the Maori has fell into the hands of Pakeha- Maoris, a class of escaped convicts and outcast*, abandoned lo the lowest vices j a stumbling block in the way of civilization among the natives j to w hid) I' hope, by accepting this, — to dn'eU jour attention o;i some future occasion. i am Sir, Your's, &c, ice, OBSKUYER. Auckland, Dec. 29, 1845.

Our usual file of Cape papers to the 26th September have come to hand, from which it appears that the Kafir frontiers are still in a very unsettled state. The colonial affairs generally seem to be brightening rapidly ; toe government have been considerably in ai rear with the public for some tears past in pecuniary nutlets, ihese difficulties it is thought, will be wholly leleived in the ensufng )ear;the revenue for the tuo fiist quaiters of the present year far exceeded the expenditure ; the exports for the last ) ear had greatly increased over that of former years, that of wool in particular— it was estimated that the amount which would be received dining 1846 fot Guano licenses would reach £10,000; the colonists have been aroused to their own situation by the pioceedings in Parliament relative to the admission of Australian coin into the English market, and petitions praying for the admission of Cape grain on simihar tetms to those asked at S)dney were in course of preparation Sir P. Maitland had introduced into the Legislative Council a measure to establish a uniform 4d. postage rate, which seems to have been well received.