THE NAMES OF THESE ISLANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5370, 1 February 1879, Page 6

THE NAMES OF THESE ISLANDS.

TO THE KDITOR. EHiM Sir, As you p-»int out in your issue of the 23rd inst., the Globe ha- been devoting a series of lexers to the suhj ct of the co'oniea# placing .New Zealand firs in the list in idj-ili an article written by the Agent-Oeneral, Oj iiC f Sir Juliua Vogel. And you aso shew frwn comparative statistics bow fara-head of arn of the colonial group are the Australias and New Zealand in the magnitude of their trade and in general progress and promise The Qlobe t always a pap- r of wide influence, and which, with some Ministries hasbten :ss!} the special organ of the Irapetial Govern ment, treats New Zealand of particular im portance among new lands, — "no other " oommanding more consideration and iuquiry»" Iu a word, proofs continually il'i-'X occur of the consequence to which the colony has for some years risen. Ib is I'll before public notice every where. LetmrnsU, is it not extraordinary that the two treat islands "which compose H should still remain without natiies ? Ibis is an an'-maly* IH-1 which must strike everybody who uives the {i matter a moment's reflection. They s'dl H{' ?? remain without names ! —for eur- ly such a vague term as 41 the IMorih Island " «io»-s not : : |f: answer the purpose of a name? It is only intelligible here ; explanation is required t<« -;pf, make *it intelligible elsewhere, —in London j or York, Paris or >an Francisco,—in I any place abroad where New Zealand is now iVfifj often spoken -of. And the other gr* at _ division of .the colony is stdl worse <-fT- i* •:i;u|i| even Still more loosely fitted with a name, fdrCife is sometimes mentioned as " the South f vjilsland,!! .arid is suraetknes referred to as *'thesMid^l®" one; in the latter case the terui"" South" beii-g reserved for a third islaridi wHich bears about the same proporsgjjf, tion to its neighbours as the X-le of X Wight docs to England !

Ailor the Dutch term, by which tbe country at large is still known, permit me to recall the fact that ita inappr -priatoness was a matter of comment and consideration more than 30 years ago; and the subject was only postponed to let the settlers tln mselves deal with it as the settlement should rise into notice. They had some years ago the same sort of namo f«»r the neighbouring continent, but it whs altered, and what was then kn«wn as " New Holland*' is now 4< Australia."

There" are times when there is a difficulty in nomenclature, and certainly the teims bestowed at random by the first discoverer.in strange seas and unknown archipelagos ought not to' be nailed down on a cuuutry for all time. They ought, at any 1 ate, to be reconsidered when the wilderness bt comes the seat of a colony, and possibly the site of » future nation. The firct explore»B, iu ordi-r to particularise them in their journals, had to' find names in haste for a succession of lands aud waters. They had no leisure for devisiDg good names; little opportunity to see what would be appropriate, nor could they always learn the native names, even if they were disposed to use them." Of course, such names could not but be, as a rule, careless aud arbitrary; sometimes uncouth. There was seldom either meaning or sound to recommend them, for they were not meant to last. They were only given for a temporary purpose. It would have been ridiculous to expect that they would be kept after civilised settlement had given importance to the localities', making them known in politics, commerce, and the various relations of international life. Cook never intended that tbe unpremeditated names he cast on so many coasts should be retained when great communities would come to inhabit them. Still surprised would Tasman have been, wheu he borrowed for these islands a name from his native Netherlands, that a people of different stock should perpetuate the foreign term for their mountains, forests, aDd bold shores, so unlike the flats and sand-banks of old Zealand*

There is a great deal in a name, and when a geographical oue is intended to be permanent, it requires to be convenient for daily use, and at the same time wellsounding and distinctive. The names of the great quaiters of the world— Europe, Asia, Africa, and America—are happy examples in this way. So, too, are those of the several European and Asiatic conntries. It seems to be only in modern times that countries get to be carelessly or badly named. But among term 3of modern device "Australia" is excellent in every way —terse, melodious, explanatory of the sitnation. However, the plan now most in favour, and no doubt, as a rule, the best, is the use of native names. In every country these are " racy of the soil"—are always in some sort expressive, descriptive, a tribute to the genius loci. And they are usually very pleasant to the ear —they are so in the languages of the Red Indian, in the Maori, and in the dialects of the Australian tribes. Let anybody run his eye over the map or the post-office list of any of these colonies, and he will be struck by the great number of pleasing native names. The practice of adopting them is now universal in America. Good, in all respects, is the appellation "Canada"; but, for its subdivisions, "Upper Canada" and "Lower Canada" were considered clumsy—being compound terms, —and so, "Ontario" and "Quebec" have been substituted, though the last is scarcely distinctive enough, as there was already a city so called. Recently, too, the Indian word "Manitoba" was bestowed on the new province of the Red River, and " Algoma" on .the district north of Lake Huron. For many yearß back almost every State added to the American Union has received an Indian name ; and what can be better than "Alabama," "Wisconsin," "Minnesota," and "Nebraska?" The practice once frequent of calling places after those in old countries, produces a confusion of associations which is seldom agreeable, and often becomes ludicrous. In th it way Americans set up in their backwoods or prairieu some strange representatives of Athens and Memphis, Troy and Syracuse ! The custom has now nearly died out, and when the Canadian settlement, which was known York, began to grow into an important town, the inhabitants resumed for it the aboriginal term "Toronto." In the Australian colonies generally there is now the same tendency to resume native names ; and quite as good as the American —simple, musical, suitable everyway, most of them are. You cannot improve upon ''Illawarra," ''Maranoa," "Araluen" ?— nor on " Wangaratta," "Traralgon," " Wodonga" ? Here, Otago and Taranaki are surely the best-named of the provinces. ] There is music in "Tauranga," "Wangaroa," " Hauraki," " Wanganui!" Of course, for the more important places special care in selection would be necessary, for such terms are not invariably simple or harmonious. Some, indeed, are a mere mouthful of vowels, almost unbroken by a consonant, and so with very much of a Chinese sound. Such, for instance, is the native name of this island— " Ahinomauwe," — and moreover, like "Tavai-Ponamoo," the name of the other one, it is entirely too long-winded for daily use. The best-sounding names in any language are those with the liquid letters— 1, m, n, r. We might adopt suitable names for these two chief subdivisions of the colony, from some name of plain or mountain, of tribe or river, in the same way that the great continents of Asia and Afrija were named, for the terms "Asia" aud "Africa" originally belonged only to small sub-divisions, particular districts of those continents. Neither are we confined altogether to an aboriginal list. Some American States have been very well named from another source—Virginia and Florida, to wit; and names for these islands might be easily had on that model—such a name as "Teralma," for instance [Terra Alma, a bounteous land]. But, doubtless, native names would be better liked. A gain, if there be a difficulty ia altering "New Zealand," there certainly could be none in using " Sealand " instead of " Zealand "—that is, the equivalent English word in lieu of the Dutch one; and also writing the whole name in a less compound form—thus, " INewsealand " instead of "New Zealand "—just as "Newfoundland" is written.

But tliere ought to be no great trouble in getting really native name 3 for the country and its two great geographical divisions—and I respectfully a?k, Idas not the time arrived when it is wise to do this ? The colony has come to be known aud spoken of throughout tbe world, and though habit may sometimes reconcile us to liie present imperfect form of nomenclature, it has certainly ceased to be at all suitable. It is unhandy and unpractical. There is a makeshift and temporary ring about it which is not impressive with strangers, and cannot be serviceable. And I veuture to believe that the thing could never be better rearranged than now, inasmuch as the head of the present Government, Sir George Grey, is - notably a man of ideas and good taste, and has manifested an inclination already in this very direction of restoring and makiDg nso of the native local namea.—l ra, &c., "GerAijj H. Strppr.F, 1