THE MAORI PRISONERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 136, 20 April 1864, Page 3

THE MAORI PRISONERS.

Ox Monday wo paid a visit to the 'Marion' hulk, the present abode of ?ome of the greatest of iNew Zealand chiefs and landowners, who have been shorn of their greatness, and lowered from their fond dream of ruling the destinies of British subjects, to the hard reality of washing themselves and their shirts, and taking food and phvsic when they require it from the hands of the inferior Pakeha. Prepared for a scene of crowd and dirt and discomfort, and sullen resignation, we were surprised to find everything clean, cheerful, and as far as could be, under the circumstances, even comfortable. The Rangiriri warriors are transformed from the gaunt, weatherbeaten, dirty objects they presented the morning after the fight, into smiling, sleek and decent looking members of society, and all of them seem on the most friendly, not. to say facetious terms with their guards, and look to the kind-hearted captain and officials on duty over them as guardians of their interests rather than wardens Of t'heir persons. Entering the hulk and presenting ourselves, we were received with their usual courtesy by Captain Kripner, the ofiicer in command of the military guard, C'apt. Dinnin. M.A.. the superintendent of. the hulk, and all the officers who have charge of the hulk and the prisoners. The scene first presented was a curious one enough. The bulwarks raised by additional planking into a sort, of wall ofn house, or a bower overgrown with a foliage of clean slurts hanging out to dry— on one side of the deck a railed-off promenade for the sentry, forming a sort of cage for liim and the arms, probably with the view to the prevention of any attempt on the part of the prisoners to overpower him.

Sitting or lounging about the deck, some washing (heir clothes, some enjoying their tea, some enjoying a smoke, all dressed in blankets, and exhibiting their brown leirs and arms in jiuris niihirii/ihvx were the chiefs and warriors of (he "\Yiiiltato, who stood the first advance of thetroops at Rangiriri. There wasTeOri Ori whose word in the mniniatix of H is Majesty of Ngaruawahia was all powerful, busily engaged in washing his shirt, kneeling on the deck by the side of one of the several washing tubs, and scrubbing away with all (he energy of an old washerwoman. Inside the gaily was Takerei te Ran another great chief, equally busy making tea. but all seemed to be making the best of a had bargain, and to be enjoying themselves very philosophical!}'. Descending to the main deck, we found it clean, well ventilated, and wholesome, much J more so (lian most crowded passenger ships in j fact, and round the sides was arranged a sleeping place, making a continued stage about three feet from the ground. Coming down one of the hatches was a wind;nil. conveying pure air to the inhabitants below. '.Ihe prevailing smell, instead of being one of Maori bugs, wood smoke, stale tol aceo smoke, and dirt, as in the native w hare:-, was rendered pure and even pleasant by the use of chloride oi'lime. fitting <">n the deck, working assiduously at | abstruse calculations with slate and pencil, or i taking a nap on the sleeping place, no smoking ! being allowed, w ere more warriors and more ! "W'aikato notabilities. Here was old Pairoku, ' Thompson's uncle, with his old shrivelled j tatooed lace, sitting squatting on his blanket, j Here was "Wiremu Komite. All reminding one | of that sad morning tor them when sitting j amidst the dead bodies of their fellows and the j smoking ruins of the whares. where were the i charrcd bodies of others, in sickening array. ! they received their corqucrcrs at Rangiriri. j One big burl} - fellow, with a head and chest like a bull, and another merry little rascal who speaks English very well, w ere especially recognisable, i Descending again, there w as yet another deck j arranged as the one above, equally clean and well kept, and fitted w itli as orderly set ofpri-i sOners as the one al ove. _ i The state of tilings is so different from that j exisiing not so long ago. that .1 cannot ofler a ; better compliment to 31 r. A\ bite, (he interpreter, j ai<A. <!cJiu-to. the manager o! the Maoris, and Mr. Sam. the medical ofiicer. than to show what their exertions have eflected in the way ot im- j provement. When they came the prisoners were all crowded on to the main deck—the deck itself was covered with dirt, with which everything below was blackened—the complaint of ; itch was prevalent amongst the prisoners, and 1 the utmost disregard of cleanliness, as a rule, j w as, as usual, show n by all. 'J he sleeping places onlv being raised an inch or two above the I ground, it was impossible to clean underneath , them, and they thus formed harbours tor dirt, j vermin, and mildew, which in time would no | doubt have bred pestilent disease. These gentle- j men. setting to work, had the hold covered with a | floor, and thus made a deck to relieve the other | from overcrowding'—the bed places were raised j from the ground to between three .and lour leet. 'J he next thing was to attend to cleanliness, and to make some of the chiet standing rules refer to that all important- virtue, 'iherctore the whole number was formed into eight companies one of which at a time was to be. allowed on the upper deck for air and exercise and to smoke from the number ft stewards were chosen, to be relieved weekly, 7 to wash and scrape decks, 2 cooks and M monitors from (he educated members to read to the others. 1 hey are now required to go up on deck every morning, in detachments to bathe, tor which purpose there | are some great tubs formed of hogsheads | cut in half, on the deck; twice a week they | are made to wash their clothes. the ablu- | tions having been seen to, they get their break- j fast at 8 o'clock. The decks are then scraped and washed, and seating them round him on stools, Mr. "White gives them a lesson in cyphering or reading and writing. four ot them lun mg learnt to write while on board, Between 12 and f dinner is served, utter which tiiey cvphcv, an art of which all Maoris are reniaikably l'ond. or play at draughts in a style ol tlieii own. which somew hat resembles the gauic called chequers, played by soldiers, and which is an adaptation of the game ot drafts. It is' astonishing how naturally the Maori lakes to calculations of the most intricate kind, all combinations of figures seeming to afford lliui only amusement instead of the fatigue and abhorrence they occasion small ; boy s and beginners of all ages amongst us. lhev hai e amongst them certain rules oi calculation, without any teaching which isinfact a system oldecinials. and a remarkably ready way ol coming at a given result. About i o'clock they get tea, after which, at 5. there is evening service conducted by one of their teachers, in which, all join, singing a hymn to a rudely" attempted Version of an English hymu tune. They then go lo their rest. They all conform readily to these rules, strictly enforced upon chiefs and subjects alike, and own to the. necessity for them, though at first the eold bath was an infliction that they I would not at once submit to. a Maori preferring la warm covering of dire to a eold wash at any I time, and only indulging in a bath in the heat ol | summer. Tlie hint, of'compulsion, however, ill case of any refusal to comply with orders, soon brought them to reason. The medical officer on lus part, introduced the use ol Cholride ot 1 lime, the due regard to ventilation, and the i periodical fumigation of the ship, at the same ! lime taking in hand any eases ot itch, scrotum J etc. By these vigorous measures there are now I only fO men sick amongst the whole number ot | 1117, and of these several are cases tit to di>- ' charge as cured. Enquiring about tne | dietary scale we found that each man was allowed daily lib of meat, lib ot biscuit, besides the usual grocery allowances ol soldiers—however finding that without a proportionate amount of exercise, the meat was almost too much for health, it is contemplated reducing the meat by one half, and substituting 3lli of potatoes, which, being the usual diet ol the natives,, it is supposed will agree better "dh ' the»m In »ny ease of sickness # smßli if

requmi allowance of wine is added to the above ratipus. The following are the names of the tribes to which the prisoners beloDg, arid the numbers of each severally— No. 1. Ngatihana . . . 26' ~ 2. N gatipuhiaue . . 25 ~ 3. Tainui .... 2(3 .. -t. Ngatiteata 25' ~ n. Ngatimahuta . . 28 ~ 0. Te Ngauugau . . 2-i „ 7. Te Xiriwai ... 28 „ 8. Ngatiapakura . . 15 (3 added to-day) . . 197 In concluding the notice we must commend the systematic routine introduced, and the completeness with which it is carried out. Morally. Mr. White is supreme, aud his maimer of dealing with the Natives makes them subservient to his slightest word, while in physical matters Mr. Sam is equally veuerated. lie has only to hid a man hold out his arm to be cut off. and he would do it. There is a man there with clubbed feet, who cheerfully submits to be operated upon, in the full confidence of having his feet made useful. Another, with more than the statute allowance of toes, consents to part with the superfluity without a muruier, while a poor fellow with a revolver bullet lodged in his cheek as a memento of Rangiawlna, prowls about with his face tied up in a white cloth, and whenever he encounters the doctor, opens his mouth to a frightful extent, hoping that the doctor by looking at him may do him pood. in fact the visit to the hulk was a surprise, and a proof that we Englishmen always treat our prisoners with more care than we do our deserving poor, which is a fault on the generous side may lie, and nowhere else to be found in the world, and, as such, to be commended.