ON NAMING PLACES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 171, 31 May 1864, Page 3

ON NAMING PLACES.

It has been charged as a fault against Englishmen that they exhibit neither great taste nor much originality in miming new towns and villages founded by them in the Colonics, mid m foreign countries like America. Thia is no doubt true to a very great extent, and is the result, in a great measure of carelessness and indilference. and in many cases an aspiration after the grand and imposing. As we are a new country that will demand new names to be given to many places where now are no signs of hitman habita-

(ion, we pur] o.so calling attention to the subject with J" " S il fnV sa .% r^tioils i" connexion One very common fault, as we think, i.-, to f,"e the name of some town in the mother conn ry to a locality or town in the new laud to winch immigrants have proceeded. Thw is a very easy w ,,y of nai.iin- a plaee. It calls forth neither nor independent thought. -i:ui then the name is very ol'lcn quite incoiigruV"" s ni its application. The name of a llourish!"r • <Ci, -]wrt for instance, is perhaps given to an inland town, and there is no more chance ol" one eM'f .lavmij anything in common with, or any i pavtici'! of resemblance to the other, than there is ot the;:- ever visiting one another. Another gl'cfU objection to this mode of christenim? ncuiy pbuited towns is, that we then have Is'eullyinoutlis, "Wclliiiutons, New Yorks, IS'ew -Liverpools.by the dozen, and meet- with them in every litile spot inhabited by Knirjishincii, who thus display both the poverty of (Leir invention and the badness of their taste. At other times a person will (nice what is considered a somewhat grand and aristocratic termination to their own name, viz., the French > din, to wit. of the precise lnciuiing of which they arc entirely unconscious ; but! they think •lones-ville is something rather imposing, mid may be mistaken for sonic grand place, or oilier. The incongruity of this mongrel .Anglo-Franco never strikes them. \\ e would suggest that it. would he very much better, more national, and less allected,'if persons who wish to call their plan- after their own name, would either simply use that name for that purpose without any iilllx or prefix, or else use some of the ordinary English terminations that would lie both expressive, cuphoniiis, and in keeping with lite name lo which they are added. Thus we have siniif: terminals that arc at once understood, as field, brook, hill, dale, and th.-v would he frequently applicable. Other common terminations to Knglish names of places such as ham, a dwelling or home ; burne, a stream, don and dun, a hill ; ton, a town ; stea.l. a dwelling or ii>:cd habitation ; burgh or borounh. a city—might each be similarly and expressively used. Instead of repealing English names of places having these endings, and with which we are familiar, let us take a few ordinary surnames and add these terminations to them. Wood for instance might become "Woodtieid, "Woodburne, A\ oodlake. Woodhani ; .Brook similarly ; Hanks Uankstead ; Dun, .Dunham ; "Willis, "Williston ; Kay. liaydon; JJell. Helton; Ucllham, or Uellfieid. and so on. almost ml iujhiilinii. Uurg or borough too, might be used in a similar manner. Such names as these would show far better taste and less ignorance, besides being redolent of home, and at the same time attaching a man's name h> his property, than arc many names now given u> j.laces. Whv. for instance, should we have the mongrel half- Kliglish. half-French llobson-Vilh- Which we came across the other day, as the name of a property in the country. \ liie really means a town : if we want to say llobx us' lowii. why not do so in plain honest Eiiglis-h. iiul the word JI obson is quite-long enough without either villa or any ot Her addition, and is quite suliicicnt to standalone as the name of a place. iiut for tuv. nslii] s. villages, and towns we would enlarge the choice of names in other directions. One of these is already partially adopted, viz., that of giving certain sites the namo of persons that have liecn more or less connected with the colony. Thus we have aiuoiig i.liters Cook's Strain. Crey's County, Cameron Town, and llavelock, and we think it highly desirable to aitarh ihe names of other persons who have done good service to New /calami, to places situated within her boundaries. There is i'rcipii'iitly n. desire to name places after successful warriors. i>Ve see no reason against this if done in moderation. 'We might tims do honour lo many who are lighting, and perhaps giving up their hearts blood in defence of this colnuv ut the present time. There is a large district that has at least been wrested from the rebels, and whose soil has drunk the blood of many brave men. Jt is hoped that we shall soon inu-oduce a large population into that \Y-iikato country, that will settle down aud form the nuclei i>l towns and villages. It would be a work ol supererogation lor us to give a full list of brave men who have done good service to the State, and whose names might be perpetuated bv being given to towns or localities in that district. The names of many of those who have won this territory tit the price of, or at the hazard of their lives would, we venture to think, be quite as suitable as the names of any towns in (ireat Uritaiu or Ireland ; and they would be quite us cuphoniiis and pleasing as cither liiwviisville on the one hand, or N garuawahia on the other. , i • iiul there is another class, who though their duties led them not to the battle lield, yet have their energies and sagacity taxed to the utmost in the service of the M;iK' ai such a .juncture as this, we mean those charged with civil and political administration ol allairs, and these would furnish a large number of names. There are. however, many various tastes to he consulted, and as our aim in tiiis article is to oiler suggestions, some ol' which may readily be a-lopt. <fhv one class, and sonic by another, we place anofher very extensive list ot subjects before our readers. The names liercaltcr sug-.•e-ted virtually lulliil all the conditions we have laid down as being necessary in selecting a new '' There is an abundant choice for our purpose from among men c-miiu-nt in connection with the .Si-ite with'literature, science, the. line arts, aud mechanical engineering. Aud while we would lirst "ive honour to those persons who are directly connected with the colony, holding positions of grave responsibility, and doing good service to New Zealand : we would by no means confine our view to our Island home, lmt extend it lo that Island from whence we came, and to which we are bound by all the ties ol allectionaie aud reverential love. The successive .Secretaries of Slate ior the Colonies would seem to be the first on the list ■inion- Fn.'lisliiiien for the selection ol their names to be allixed to places here. .But it soi.iot ...os happens, that the title they hold is dern ed from an English town, as is that ot the late Secretary-, the J)uke of Newcastle. In such a case if it"were thought desirable to connect him pci'i.ia.ieiitly with /caland ... he manue. we arc discussing, we should preler lo lake his .second title-Clinton, and make use ot that to avoid having .Newcastle repeated here. Umlwell, the present Secretary has ye to win In spurs, anil if he docs phiy his cards well, and render good assistance to the colony, Ins name. is perfectly eligible. ' Taking eminent politicians we may a once mon.io.ri'al.neivton, Stanley, (the second title ef Lord Derby), .Brougham, l'eel, (-adstone Disraeli, Canning', Cobdc.i, as representatives ot various parties, as being men ot note, and as having names distinct from towns or c.tu..* iu Kirrkmd Literature furnishes us with anolnei hos"tofna,,,es. It will be sullicient to menuon one or two-Milton. Dryden, Tennyson, arc nlensin-r and euphonious names among the t Thackeray, Mac-aulay . iM'u,,., from the prose wr.tc.-s; wh.lc the ln.o n * give Ltuulseer, JuisLhlki', (. ibson. a.ld In.it, and physical science and mechanical eiigmcci-,-Vu-cst JSnmcl. \V«tt«.i., S.epl.ense.i, and hurbairn. We might .go on quotmg iron, the above and various other departments to add me examples of names eminent in sonic hue ol It or another, which, without any addition wo id be perfectly suilable lor the names ol to-Ui ships, villages, and dies, in tins co oni' o A « Zealand, iiut our object is rather to call at - lion to the subject, and oiler a lew suggi-btiM-hints.

We must say that wo have no desire to sweep away native names where they are brief and euphonious. lint fiiVc we shall want a great many places named that have never yet had a name, and there are some, such as the following, that we would certainly expunge entirely. As for instance, Waikararuaramania, Maungatawhiri, Ngaruawhaia, and Wnkatawlienua ; while such as Parengarenga, Ruapckapeka, and Kaukapakapa, we would either abolish or cut off the two last repeated syllables--, make them Pnrengn, Kuapeka, and Kaukapa respectively. Either method would be ol" advantage to every body concerned.