MANUSCRIPTS OF THE GREY COLLECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8020, 6 August 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE GREY COLLECTION.

. » No. VII. LORD NELSON". AMONGST the lottors in the collection is one from England's greatest nival hero, Lord Nelson. It is addressed to the United States Consul at Malaga, and it will bo Been is of great interest in several rospuots. We believe it has uc' hitherto boon published in any collection of Nelson's letters. It in as follows : — "Captain, Gibraltar Bay, May 20, 1797. Sir, —I am this moment honoured with your letter of yesterday's dav(-, acquainting me that twelve sail of vessels bjlouging to the United States of America aro nr>w, with their cargoes on board, in the road of Malaga, from which place they are unablo to proceed on th«ir respective voyages, as three French privateers are laying ready to seizii upon them the moment they are from under tho funs of Malaga, and that tile masters aro euro that tao French Consul would adjudge tham to bo good prizes to those privateors, as they have seen in thtj cour3O of tui3 month several American vensela and cargoes adjudged by the French Consul at Malaga guud prizes to thorn, and you haviug stated tiio impossibility of gotting protootion for them, except 1 shall be pleiined to afford I thorn the protection of His Majesty's flag. ! I shall immediately grant you the protection you have suggested by sending a frigate to-morrow off Malaya, who shall protect them close to the coast of Bombay, whore you tall me they will consider themselves safe. In thus freely granting tha protectioj of the British flig to tho subjects of tho United States, 1 am sure of fulfilling the w.ishca of my Sovereign, and I hope of strengthening the harmony which at present happily subsists between tho two nations.—l have tho honour to be, air, your mo*t obedient servant, Horatio Nelson. To James Simpson, Esq., Consul of the United States of America." The letter appears to be all in tho handwriting of Nelson himself. The writing ia plain and good, but the groat horo is not above saying that the privateers are "laying." after a naughty and nautical and uugrammatical fashion, to which many who are not naval heroes are addicted. Thero is a note on the letter in Sir George Giey'e handwriting : " Lost hie arm 15th July, 1797," and that event would no doubt uiako autograph letters very scarcer. Ho had already lost an eye at the siege of Calvi, when he was in command of the -Agautunition. He commanded the Captain at the battle off Cape St. Vincent, on February 13ch, 1797. For his gallantry on that occasion he was mad'. a Knight of the Bath, rear-admiral of tlie Blue, aud appointed to the command of the inner squadron at the blockade of Cadiz, It was while in that position that the above letter WBii written. It is singular that tho French should have considered thomoelvea entitled to make prizes of American vcesols, considering that France had aided so largely in making America an independent nation. Tho alacrity and roadine p j with which Nelson agrees to detach a frigate to give the American vessels a, long convoy is noteworthy, as also the expression with which the letter is concluded, that in granting ' the protection of the British flag to the eubjecte of the United States, 1 am sure of fulfilling the wishes of my sovereign, and 1 hope of strengthening the harmony which at present so happily subsists between tho two nations.' At that timo the wounds and irritation of the separation and tho war betwoen the United States and England wore still green, and it was reserved for near a century iator for anyone to preach the dootrinoof tho Federation of ttie Anglo-Saxon peoples. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE. In the collection arc a considerable number of letters from this famous lady. Tho outlines of her history uro well known. Slio devoted herself in youth to acquire a knowledge of the working of schools, hospitals, and reformatories. She then entered an institution of Protestant sietere of mercy at Kaiserworth, on the Rhine. After tho outbreak of the Crimean war, whon news reached homo of the awful suffering* of our soldiers, owing to the defective management of the military hospitals, Misa Nightingale waa invited by Mr. Sydney Herbert, then Secretary for War, to lend her aid. She arrived at Scutari, in November, 1854, with ninetytwo women workers. She brought ordor out of chaos, and reduced tho death rate to a par with the military hospitals at home. Afterwards, at tho request of the Government, she wrote a large work entitled, "Notes on Matters Affooting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army," a copy of which is amongst Sir G. Grey's collection. She »lao published a number of other worke. In J IS6O, Sir George Grey was at the Cape, but he seems to have still had tho problem in his mind of how to benefit the native people of New Zealand. Apparently, he bad written to Miss Nightingale, aeking her opinion on

tho iiubject of schools for tho Maoris, and how tho steady decrease in their numbers could bo arrested. He had sent as material for Miss Nightingale to form a judgment upon, Dr. Thomson's "Story of New Zealand," and Mr. Fenton'e careful and elaborate statistics on the decrease of the native people. Mies Nightingale writes :— "30, Old Burlington-street, April 12, IS6O. Dear Sir George Grey,—l send you a copy of tho new ' Army Medical Regulations,' whioh plnaxo keep. Also, I enclose for your criticism n form of return (which Dr. Sutherland and I hftvo made) for tho native schools, which, if it could be filled up, would give us all tho information we want in order to enable us to judge of tho influences which deteriorate the children's health. Would you strike your pen through any heads which from your own knowledge of tho existing data, could not, you believe, be filled up, as it is no use perplexing tho people with those? A general account of tho school discipline as to hours, otc, must bo appended to each return (in order to enable us to judge) which, I take for granted, there would be no difficulty in obtaining. . . . —F. Niohti.vqalb. P.S.—We are reading Fenton and Thomson." •'April iC, 1860. My dear Sir G. Grey. —We have only succeeded in drawing up for you what you do nob want to have, viz,, a few notes without much practical suggestion. For, indeed, the facts before us are not practical enough to warrant us in laying down anything more definite. The aboriginal question ie still unsolved, and I believe it rests with you to solve it. Thomson and Fenton give not much practical results." Then follows tho following interesting paper, entitled :— NOTES OX TUS NEW ZUALAND DEPOPULATION QUKSTION , . There are no euro grounds either in the oonaus return or in Dr. Thomson's book for any practical opinion as to tho causes of increased mortality among tho aborigines. The chief practical fact (aa to depopulation having taken place) ia that the ISSB census shows a population of only 56,000 among a people whose settlement in the country took place centuries ago. No oauees with which wo.aro acquainted in the fow years of effective European intercourse which have elapsed, could havo reduced the population from its antecedent strength (supposing euuh antecedent strength to have existed) to one of only 56,000, after 1000 years of occupation. All tho American tribes are not decreasing. Decrease, therefore, is not a universal law when savages come Into contact with civilisation.

11. With regard to diseases the Information is defective , . Dr. Thomson shows, in his 7th tiiblo, that chest diseases prevail moro among the NowZoalanders than among our entire English population. Bat it ia impossible, in the absences of all information as to agos, otc, to state what tho excess really is. 111. The introdnotion of pigs aa an article of food has been certainly one caueo of evil. Bad habits, tilth, laziness, skin diseasos, and a tendency to worms and sorofula are tho reeults of the excessive uae of swinu's fiUah containing eutozoa, which all improperly-fed pork is liable to contain. The pig Is, of all animals, the dosivllizor. Ireland and New Zealand both Buffer under the incubus of pigs and potatoaa. But in Ireland, although thoro is high mortality, taore ia also a largo increasing power. Dr. Thomson is theroforo wrong about tho edeet of potatoes. IV. Tho Now Zrtalander suffers from (1) fuver. (2) chest diseases, (3) bowel diseases, (4) ulcin diseases, (5) scrofula, (6) rheumatism. 1 and 2 i 'louLi be met by improvements in his dwelling, and in his amount; of active oxeroue ; 3 and 4 by improvements in diet and personal habits ; h and l>, by clothing and houso accommodation. V. Native huts afford but about 200 cubic feet to oach occupant, and are without ventilation. This would produce, in our army, fevar and consumption. The remedy is, some public btcp for improving the models, dimensions, and ventilation of native liuta. We do this by societies. Could tho aamo bo donn iu the colonies ?

VI. Other points in regard to food, habits, clothing, &c, can only bu mot by tho advunca of civilisation.

VII. Education.—Unctvilisnd man cannot be dualt with in tho same way as civileed man. Even hero, education moans keeping a certain number of childron a groat part of e.ica d*y in a close room, cramming and exciting them with formulae. Clever breadwinning, stunted growth, high mortality, are what wo produce. Bat this system would be fatal to a race subjected to it for the first timo. In their cuildren it produces —bad health, scrofula, consumption, and is in reality death with alow torture. At homo wo Cud that as much (or more) fa taught in three days an in six (or in sir half days aa in six whole days) the physical system being depressed by exeicigo or work in tho other three days, or six half days. This »3 the clue to all proper school management, especially among tho uncivilised. If a child's brain is forced, wlioao father's brain has boon free, the child dies. Children aro killed by school discipline. In an aboriginal aohool there ohouli'l be ample space, ireo ventilation, cheerfulness, half time at leant Riven to outdoor work or play. Tho education must hive day-by day reference to the past habits and history of tho people, ltd object should be to draw them gradually into bettor habits, and gradually to civilise them. This is still more tho casoin religious than in school training. For religion produces a yet more rapid change in all the habita and objects. Wo see every day (among tho civiliued) disease and death produced by too rapid a change in religious habico. How much mors among tho uncivilised ! Bodily activity on all useful objects is etipiecially required, therefore among converts from heathenism and active hfoof heathenism. Without it, tho best men among the converts will fail under disease, and thus become lost to the cauflo of Christianity. This cause necessarily withdraws thorn from a sphere of vicious activity. And a sphere of useful activity must bo substituted for it, if they aro to live.

Miss Nightingale, It will be seen, holds strong opinions as to tho unwholesoinoneHs of depending much upon pork for food. Wβ may also call attention to her romarks on the danger of a change in religious habits. We quote another of tho letters :— "30, Old Burlington-fctrnot, April 26, 1860. Dear Sir Goorgo Grey,—l havo been printing certain forma for your school and hospital colonial purposes. I now send for your criticism, tho ' Schools' one. Would you guy if there is anything important omitted ? Would you say if tho title ought to be as it ia, 'Colonial Boarding Schools, , or simply Colonial Hchoola ? Are there such things as day schools for tho natives? Aud if so, ought they to be inoludod? Tho Duko of Newcastle will immediately sand out these forma. "2. I think tho description of th'e* consistent Christian ' in Thomson's New Zealand, Vol. IF., pp. 240 to 252, goea far to explain wliy Now Zealand Christiana die ? What idiots the missionaries, not tho converts, must! bo ! 3. Would you liko the enquiry to bo carried any further—e.g., do tho native womon ceaae to have children? (Tho Jesuits in .South America have often found thia obstacle to their trials of civilising the natives.) Does scrofula, or any other specific disease, exist among mixed races of (a) white and black blood (b) white aud brown blood to a greater extent than it exists in the racee separatsly in thu name colony or district ? This is an important question. 4. I learn from Mr. Herbert that the East Indians will not eend their sick soldiers to your sanatorium at tho Cape, aa we hoped. They say it is leas expensive sending them to the hills. Mr. Herbert fears tht» Cipo Sanatorium will bo only a temporary affair, laating while the Chinese affair lasta. He hr.B, however, given tho order for the hospital huts, which I find were to be provided by the Commissariat in such manner as our commissariat only can. However, Mr. H. has now given the order to Captain Galton, and the design is to be sent to us. . , , —Ever yours, sinoeroly, F. Nightingale."