The American Cyclopædia (1879)/New Zealand

NEW ZEALAND, a British colony consisting of three islands in the South Pacific ocean, called respectively North island or New Ulster, South island or New Munster, and Stewart island or New Leinster, and some minor adjacent islands, extending between lat. 34° 15' and 47° 30' S., and lon. 166° 30' and 178° 45' E., about 1,000 m. S. E. of Australia; pop. in 1872, 279,560, exclusive of about 40,000 aborigines. North island is 500 m. long and of very irregular shape, varying in breadth from 5 to 300 m. South island is 530 m. long, with an average breadth of 110 m. Stewart island is triangular, and measures about 36 m. on each side. North island contains 48,000 sq. m., South island 57,000, and Stewart island 1,000; total area, 106,000 sq. m. The three islands, like Italy, resemble a boot, the toe of which is toward the north. North island is separated from South island by Cook's strait, 18 m. wide in its narrowest part; and South from Stewart island by Foveaux strait, 15 m. wide. The coast line of the whole group is about 3,000 m. in length, of which about one half belongs to North island. The best harbors of this island are in the north, between North cape and Cape Colville, including Auckland and other excellent ports. South of Cape Colville, on the E. side, for the space of 200 m., there are only two safe anchorages, Mercury bay and Tauranga, the former of which does not admit large vessels. On the remainder of the E. coast, for a distance of 400 m., there is no safe harbor except Wellington at the S. end of the island. On the W. coast of North island the principal harbors are Manukua, Kaipara, and Hokianga, which are spacious and secure, but obstructed by sand bars at the entrances. At the N. extremity of South island are many extensive sounds and harbors with deep water; but along the whole of the E. coast, for 500 m., the only harbors are Akaroa, Victoria, and Otago. On the S. and S. W. sides of this island ports are numerous and excellent; and higher up on the W. side is Jackson's bay, a safe anchorage. From Jackson's bay northward, 300 m., the rest of the W. coast of South island is open and exposed. In Stewart island there are several safe harbors. The tide on the E. coast of the group rises to the average height of 8 ft., and on the W. coast 10 ft. The centre of North island is occupied by lofty mountains, which send off spurs in various directions to the seacoast, and are covered from their bases nearly to their summits with primeval forests. The highest mountain of the central range is Ruapehu, 9,195 ft. high, rising into the region of perpetual snow; one of its peaks, Tongariro, is an active volcano, 6,500 ft. high. W. of it, near the coast, is Mt. Egmont, a volcano, 8,270 ft. high; it is a perfect cone, and always capped with snow. Three lines of volcanic craters with high cones stretch across the island, and in the centre of the great bay of Plenty off the N. E. coast is an active volcano called Wakari or White island, 3 m. in circumference and 860 ft. high. South island is traversed by a mountain range running from the N. to the S. W. extremity; in some places it reaches an elevation of 13,000 ft.; the loftiest peak is known as Mt. Cook (13,200 ft.), and the highest portion of the range as the Southern Alps. Toward both the E. and W. coasts this range is abrupt and precipitous. On the east broad and fertile plains, and on the west a narrow strip of land, lie between it and the sea. In the centre of the island are extensive table lands. There are no active volcanoes in South island. Stewart island is mountainous, but the highest summits barely exceed 3,000 ft. North island abounds in rivers and inlets of the sea, which give easy access to the most inland districts. The largest river, the Waikato, rises in the Taupo lake, near the centre, and running N. 200 m. reaches the sea on the W. coast. Several rivers of considerable size flow from the central mountains of South island across the great eastern plain to the sea. These are subject to great and sudden floods from the melting of the mountain snows. The interior of North island abounds in lakes, one of which, Lake Taupo, is 30 m. long and 20 broad; another, Rotomahana, is in parts boiling hot. There are several extensive lakes in the centre of South island, one of which, Te Wai Pounamu, is said to be of a green color and bordered by greenstone rocks. In North island the rocks are primary, metamorphic, volcanic, trappean, and sedimentary. The mountains are chiefly composed of lower slate rocks, intersected with basaltic veins, scoriae, slate, primary sandstone, and limestone. The rocks contain sulphur, alum, manganese, obsidian, iron, copper, silver, gold, and other minerals. In the limestone districts are extensive caverns. Hot and cold springs, impregnated with sulphur, iron, and silicious matter, abound. In South island the lower rocks are clay and metamorphic schists, intersected by dikes of greenstone, with compact and amygdaloidal basalt. The plains are composed of clayey loam, and beds of coal and lignite are known to exist. Gold, iron, and coal abound, and copper, lead, tin, and petroleum are found. Iron sand, or steel, as the natives call it, is found near New Plymouth on the W. coast of South island, soft to the touch, but almost as heavy as iron, from which it is said 75 per cent, of pure metal has been extracted. Earthquakes are very frequent in New Zealand. Cook's strait is the centre of the earthquake region. The shocks are not violent. Throughout the group there appears to be a gradual rising of the land, so that in Cook's strait rocks have appeared where none were visible when the country was first discovered, and at Port Nicholson the land has risen several feet since 1848. "New Zealand," says Dr. Thomson, "is an admirable geological school; there travellers may see the form of Vesuvius, the dome-shaped summits of Auvergne, the elevated craters of the Caracas, and the geysers of Iceland. Taupo, Tongariro, Rotomahana, Rotorua, and "White island are almost unrivalled geological curiosities. Above the entombed village of Te Rapa, on the border of the Taupo lake, basaltic rocks may be seen in the process of conversion into soft clay by heat and chemical action; where the Tongariro river falls into the lake, travellers may observe how rapidly pumice stone and other deposits are lessening the size of this inland sea. Grand and beautiful geysers ejecting water 2 above the boiling point, and holding various silicates in solution, are found around the lakes of Rotomahana and Rotorua. This water on cooling incrusts every substance it comes in contact with, and birds thrown into it are brought out like pieces of flint." (See GEYSER.) The flora of New Zealand is as remarkable as its geology. It is characterized by the comparatively large number of trees and ferns, the paucity of herbaceous plants, and the almost total want of annuals. There are 120 species of indigenous trees, and more than 3,000 species of plants, of which over 500 species of flowering plants are peculiar to the country. The coniferæ are the most conspicuous natural order, although with comparatively few species. Almost all the trees are evergreens, and the change of seasons consequently makes little difference in the appearance of the forests. The most remarkable tree is the kauri pine, which is found only in the N. part of North island. It grows to great size, often to a circumference of 40 ft., rising to the height of 90 ft. without a branch. From the lightness and toughness of the stem it is well adapted for masts. It produces abundantly a gum which becomes very valuable after lying long buried in the earth; it is dug up on the site of ancient forests, and is a considerable article of commerce. The totara pine equals the kauri in size and commercial value; and the puriri, of the same botanical order as the teak, rivals the English oak in hardness, and has a girth of 20 ft. One palm tree, the areca sapida, grows in New Zealand. The abundant fern roots of the country formerly supplied the aborigines with food, as did also the tender shoots of the palm. From the poisonous tutu berries they expressed a wholesome and refreshing drink. The trunks of the kauri and totara pines served for canoes, and the tough ti tree furnished paddles and spears. But the main reliance of the natives was on flax, which was used for building and thatching huts, and of which they made sails, nets, fishing tackle, plates, ropes, baskets, medicine, and the chief part of their clothing. Thirteen species of sea mammalia are found on the coasts, viz., eight whales, two dolphins, and three seals. Dogs and rats were the only native quadrupeds when the islands were first visited by Europeans. The native rats have been nearly destroyed by the Norway rat, introduced by the English settlers; and the native dogs are now extinct, no care having been taken to preserve them after the introduction of swine, which took their place as food for the natives. New Zealand has 133 species of birds, most of which have plumage of dull colors. Of the falcon family there are two species: the kaku, about the size of a pigeon, and the karewarewa, an active sparrow hawk. The only species of owl is called by the natives ku-ku or ru-ru, and by the settlers "more pork," because its cry resembles these words. The huia, about the size of a blackbird, has four long tail feathers tipped with white, which are worn by the natives as ornaments for the head. The tui, a dark-colored bird of the honey sucker family, is called the parson by the Europeans from two snow-white feathers which hang under the chin like a clergyman's bands; it is also called the mocking bird from its powers of imitation. It is one of the most common birds in the country. Another honeysucker, called kokoromaka by the natives and bell bird by the settlers, is about the size of a sparrow, with a long beak, and is a famous songster. There is one species of crow, a small, timid, and thievish bird. The parrot family is abundant, and has five species, three of which are small green birds with different colored heads. The kaka is a large brown parrot, great numbers of which assemble at sunrise and sunset on berry-bearing trees, uttering discordant screams, which among the natives serve as signals for the beginning and end of the day's labor. The kakapo, or night parrot, is a very remarkable species, about the size of a common fowl. There is one species of pigeon, a large, stupid bird, very numerous and much used for food. The most peculiar birds of New Zealand are three species of the kiwi or apteryx, allied to the gigantic extinct dinornis, whose bpnes are also found here. (See APTERYX, and DINORNIS.) There are no serpents in New Zealand, and toads and frogs were unknown till 1852, when a few small specimens were found. Six species of small and harmless lizards have been found, and are held in terror by the natives, who think the spirits of their ancestors inhabit them. There are more than 100 species of fish on the coasts, the largest peculiar to the islands being the hapuku, often exceeding 100 lbs. in weight. In the rivers and lakes eels are found weighing 50 lbs., and the lakes abound with inanga, a small, delicate fish, resembling the English whitebait. Of the 100 species of insects one half belong to the order coleoptera. Mosquitoes and sand flies are plentiful and troublesome in North island in summer. Spiders are numerous, and two species are said to be poisonous. The climate of New Zealand is one of the finest in the world. The summer is longer and somewhat warmer than that of England, and the other seasons much milder, with many more fine days. High winds prevail in some districts; in others the atmosphere is peculiarly serene. The coast climate is the most changeable and the most temperate in the world, the heat varying from 40 to 70°, and occasionally reaching both extremes in 24 hours. The mean annual temperature of North island is 57°, and that of South island 52°. January and February are the warmest months, June and July the coldest. Snow rarely lies on the ground at the level of the sea, and ice is seldom seen. There are neither wet nor dry seasons. A fortnight seldom passes without rain, and rain rarely continues for three successive days. The atmosphere is moist, and fogs are frequent in the southern part of the group. There is not only sufficient sunshine, however, to ripen every English fruit, but figs, peaches, grapes, nectarines, melons, and maize thrive well in the open air. Spring begins in September, summer in December, autumn in April, and winter in June. The summer mornings are always cool and exhilarating, and the summer nights often singularly beautiful and mild. New Zealand is divided into eight provinces, of which Auckland, Taranaki, Wellington, and Hawke Bay are on North island, and Nelson, Maryborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Westland on South island. Stewart island is included in the province of Otago. Auckland, the chief town of the most northern province, was the capital of all New Zealand till 1865, when the seat of government was transferred to Wellington. The Bay of Islands, a small settlement on a fine harbor, 120 m. N. of Auckland, is much resorted to by American whalers, and is the seat of an American consulate. The capital of Taranaki is New Plymouth, beautifully situated near Mt. Egmont, on the W. coast. Wellington, the present capital of the colony (pop. about 8,000), is on a beautiful bay opening into Cook's strait. Napier, a small village on the S. E. coast, is the seat of government for the province of Hawke Bay. Nelson, the capital of the province of the same name, is on Blind bay at the N. end of South island. It enjoys a more equable, serene, and dry climate than any other part of New Zealand, and has a population of 6,000 in its immediate vicinity. Blenheim, near the mouth of Wairau river in Cook's strait, is the capital of Marlborough. The capital of Canterbury is Christchurch, on the small river Avon, on the E. side of the island. Dunedin, on the S. E. coast, is the capital of Otago, the most southern province. Hokitika, capital of the province of Westland, is at the mouth of Hokitika river; pop. about 5,000. It was hastily built in 1864, when gold mining began on the W. coast. The harbor is obstructed by dangerous bars. The colonists of New Zealand have been superior to those of most English colonies. The imperial parliament in 1852 sanctioned a constitution for the colony, of which the main provisions are as follows: The provinces have distinct governments, consisting of a superintendent and provincial council elected for "four years by a suffrage nearly universal. The government of the whole colony is vested in a governor appointed by the crown, who is also Commander-in-chief of all the colonial troops, and in a general assembly consisting of a legislative council and a house of representatives, the latter having 78 members elected for five years, and the former 45 members nominated for life by the crown. Both in the general and provincial administrations the principle of responsible government is carried out, and legislative majorities, as in England, make and unmake cabinets. The colonial cabinet consists of the secretary, treasurer, postmaster general, and ministers for general defence and for native affairs. The revenue in 1872 was £3,517,072; expenditures, £3,550,854; public debt, £7,360,616. In 1873 there were about 3,000 m. of telegraph in operation, and several railways were projected, small portions of two or three constructed, and nearly 4,000 m. under contract. In the same year 775 vessels arrived, and 773 departed. The intercourse with the United States has been chiefly confined to the visits of a few whalers, mostly at the Bay of Islands. The course of travel from Great Britain to the colony has generally been round the cape of Good Hope, but a more expeditious journey can now be made by way of the United States, from San Francisco to Auckland, in American steamers which carry the mail by contract with the New Zealand government. The colonists are mostly employed in agriculture, and many give their attention to sheep raising, farms of thousands of acres being devoted to that use. The number of sheep in 1872 was 9,700,629, and the value of wool exported, £2,064,480. In North island, and to some extent in South island, English grasses have been introduced, by which about five sheep to the acre may be kept, while the native grasses will not sustain more than half that number. The exports consist of potatoes and other provisions and timber to Australia, and of gold, wool, tallow, spars, flax, gums, and copper ore to England. Gold was first discovered in 1842, and subsequently in larger quantities in 1851, 1852, and 1856, especially in Auckland, Westland, and Nelson provinces; and the mines have proved to be among the richest in the world. The yield in 1872 was 445,370 oz., and from April, 1857, to December, 1872, the total export was 6,718,248 oz., valued at £26,084,260; capital employed in mining in 1872, £12,000,000; number of miners, 27,376, of whom 3,700 were Chinese. The total exports in 1872, gold included, were £5,190,655; imports, £5,142,951.—Education has been liberally provided for, chiefly by the church organizations, and there are good schools in all the towns. In some provinces state aid is given to both national and denominational schools, in others only to the national. A university has been established at Dunedin, and high schools exist in many of the towns. In 1872 there were in all 397 schools, 602 teachers, and 22,180 pupils. Among the religious denominations, the church of England has always taken the lead, having sent out the first missionary to the natives, the Rev. Samuel Marsden, in 1814; the first bishop, the Rev. Gr. A. Selwyn, was appointed in 1841. There are now six bishops of that church in the islands. The support of the churches comes from home grants, lands set apart for church purposes, and voluntary contributions. The Wesleyans commenced missions in 1819, and now have 77 chapels and a larger number of adherents among the natives than any other denomination. The province of Otago was settled by Scotch Presbyterians, and they are numerous in that part of the islands. The Roman Catholics have bishops at Auckland, Dunedin, and Wellington, with a large number of adherents among the colonists and some also among the natives. The Maoris, the primitive inhabitants of New Zealand, are a tribe of the Polynesian branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family. The average height of the men is 5 ft. 6¼ in., average weight 140 lbs. Their bodies and arms are longer and their legs shorter than those of Englishmen of the same stature. The New Zealander's hair is generally coarse and black, though sometimes rusty red. He has good teeth, a broad nose, dark brown eyes, large mouth, and an olive brown skin, which in some is so fair that blushes can be seen, while in a few the skin is dark almost to blackness. The women are not handsome, though when young they are graceful and pleasing, with mild eyes, pathetic voices, and great ease of manner. In tattooing the New Zealanders have outstripped all other people. Tattooing on the face they term moko, and on the body whakairo, the term tattoo, though of Polynesian origin, being unknown in their dialect. The male New Zealanders tattoo their faces, hips, and thighs; the women their upper lips. The figures are alike among persons of the same tribe. The pigment used is charcoal made from kauri gum and other vegetable substances. Under the skin the charcoal looks blue, and grows less dark in the course of years. Since the introduction of Christianity tattooing is going out of fashion. The heads of the New Zealanders are on an average smaller than those of Europeans. They are deficient in reason and judgment, have little imagination, and are seldom capable of generalizing; but they possess good memories and quick perceptions. Their fables, traditions, and songs show wit and humor, which they also often display in conversation. They are fond of simple and noisy music, and have an accurate perception of time. They comprehend pictures with difficulty, and do not understand the blending of colors. They are vain, proud, arrogant, and revengeful; hospitable to strangers, but not generally benevolent; affectionate to their friends and kindred, honest and observant of their promises. They are dirty and indolent, but less addicted to intoxication than most savages. When found by the Europeans they were divided into 18 nations, which were subdivided into tribes. Each tribe acknowledged a chief, who in his turn regarded the chief of the nation as his lord. Each nation was divided into six classes: the ariki, or principal chief, who was also high priest; the tana, or family of the principal chief; the rangatira, or inferior chiefs; the tutua, or middle classes; the ware, or lower classes; and the taurakareka, or slaves. The succession of chiefs was hereditary, and they had both civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, but could do little without the sanction of the majority of the people. The institution of the tapu or taboo, by which certain things or persons were made sacred for longer or shorter periods, was of much political value, and was freely used in governing and restraining the common people. The New Zealanders worshipped various gods, apparently personifications of natural objects and powers, to whom they addressed prayers and offered sacrifices. Their gods were spiritual and invisible; they had no idols. Many of the gods were deified men, ancestral chiefs of the tribe or nation by whom they were worshipped. They believed in a future state and their own immortality. There were two distinct abodes for departed spirits, neither of which was a place of punishment, evil deeds being punished in this world by sickness and other personal misfortunes. Their priests were supposed to be in communication with the gods, and to express their wishes and commands. Sorcerers were thought to possess great powers, and were held in peculiar dread. The moral code was adapted to various social conditions and circumstances. Among chiefs, courage, liberality, command of temper, endurance of torture without complaint, revenge of injuries, and abstinence from insult to others, were regarded as virtues; among slaves, obedience to their masters and respect for the taboo; among married women, fidelity to their husbands. A ceremony called iriiri or rohi was performed by the priests upon infants before they were a month old, and consisted of a species of baptism, sometimes by sprinkling, sometimes by immersion. After baptism the priest forced little pebbles down the throat of the child to make his heart hard and revengeful. When first visited by Europeans, the New Zealanders lived in fortified villages (pahs), built on peninsulas or on hilltops. Since the general introduction of Christianity, these forts have been abandoned, except a few that are conveniently situated, and the natives live in open villages and farm houses. The different nations were almost constantly at war, and deadly feuds were frequent between tribes. These contests were carried on with great ferocity, the defeated tribe being reduced to slavery, or killed and eaten; cannibalism was universal. Quarrels about land and women were the usual causes of strife, but wars were not entered upon without much deliberation and attempts at conciliation. Sea fights occasionally took place between fleets of canoes, these vessels for military purposes being made 80 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 4 ft. deep, propelled by 50 paddles. The weapons used in war before the introduction of firearms were slings, javelins, long spears made of pine hardened by fire and sharp at both ends, and clubs and tomahawks of greenstone or other hard stones. Bows and arrows were known, but not used in war. Of late years these arms have all been laid aside, and firearms adopted. Wars among the aborigines have nearly ceased since slavery and cannibalism have been removed by Christianity and civilization. Marriage among the New Zealanders did not involve any religious ceremonies. Before marriage girls not betrothed were permitted to indulge in promiscuous intercourse if they pleased, and the more lovers they had the more highly they were esteemed. Married women, however, were kept under strict restraint, and infidelity was punished severely, often with death. Polygamy was permitted, but not common, and men could divorce their wives simply by turning them out of doors. Since the introduction of Christianity a great change has taken place. The natives are now generally clothed like civilized men, and possess flocks, herds, furniture, houses, and cultivated lands. One half of the adults can read and write, and two thirds of them belong to Christian churches. But from various causes, especially from the introduction of new diseases, their numbers are rapidly diminishing. In 1872 the number of the aborigines, formerly computed at 100,000, was less than 40,000, nearly all in the North island. The Maori is one of the Polynesian languages. (See MALAYO-POLYNESIAN RACES AND LANGUAGES.) Consonontal sounds employed in it are k, ṅ, h, ’, n, s, l, r, p, m, f, and w; the sound of v, heard in the other languages of the Polynesian group, is wanting, and replaced by the English w. It possesses the vowels a, e, i, o, u, both long and short. The words are formed from dissyllabic stems, either by reduplication or by prefixes and suffixes. Reduplication in verbs signifies either repetition, as haere, to walk, haerehaere, to walk to and fro; or intensity, as kai, to eat, kakai, to eat rapaciously; or simultaneousness, as moe, to sleep, momoe, to sleep with somebody. Reduplication in adjectives signifies either the superlative degree or the plural number, as ika pai, a good fish, ika papai, good fishes. Reduplication in nouns signifies the plural of collectives. The prefixes and suffixes are loose particles, without exercising any phonetic influence on the words which they accompany. The want of grammatical number and the processes of indicating it in the Polynesian languages has been spoken of in the article referred to above. In Maori the force and use of the particles would render the declension of a noun, after the model of the inflected languages, as follows: Singular—nom. te taṅata, the man; gen. o or a te taṅata; dat. ki te taṅata; ace., loc., and instr. i te taṅata; abl. e te taṅata; plural—nom. ha taṅata; gen. o or a ṅa taṅata; dat. ki ṅa taṅata; ace., loc., and instr. i ṅa taṅata; abl. e ṅa taṅata. There are exclusive and inclusive dual and plu. ral expressions. The personal pronouns ahau, I, koe, thou, ia, he, have the dual taua, korua, raua, and the plural taton, kouton, and raton. When the speaker does not include himself, he says maua in the dual and maton in the plural number. Verbs may be arranged in paradigms somewhat as follows: karaṅa, to call; active—present (1st person sing.), e karaṅa ana ahau; preterite, i karaṅa akau; pluperfect, kua karaṅa ahau; future, e karaṅa ahau; future present, ka karaṅa ahau; passive—present, e karaṅatia ana ahau; preterite, i karaṅatia ahau; pluperfect, kua karaṅatia ahau; future, e karaṅatia ahau; and future present, ka karahatia ahau. The particles e, i, ka, and kua indicate the time; the suffix tia the passive voice. Negation is expressed by the particle te. The first ten cardinal numbers are tahi, rua, toru, wa, rima, ono, witu, walu, iwa, and nahuru. A considerable body of literature was preserved by tradition in the shape of fables, stories, proverbs, songs, and laments for the dead. Their poetry is mostly lyrical, none epic or dramatic. Each sentence is metrically arranged, but rhyme is not used. The prose stories are of great length, some of them requiring successive days for their narration. In style and spirit they resemble children's tales. Several collections of this literature have been made, as "Poems, Traditions, and Chaunts of the Maoris," by Sir George Grey (Wellington, 1855), and Monrad, in Das alte Neu-Seeland (Bremen, 1871). The Maoris, according to tneir own traditions, came originally from a place called Hawaiki, which the most recent investigators suppose to have been Savaii in the Samoan islands. Their traditions still speak of Rarotonga and other islands of that region. In consequence of civil war their ancestors to the number of 800 emigrated from Hawaiki in 20 large canoes about A. D. 1400, and after a voyage of 3,000 m. reached New Zealand, which they 'found uninhabited. The discovery of New Zealand by Europeans is claimed by the French, Spaniards, and Dutch. It is asserted that Binot Paulmier de Gonneville, a French navigator, visited the country in 1504, and that Juan Fernandez reached it from the W. coast of South America in 1576; but these accounts are doubtful. The Dutch navigator Tasman, with two ships from Batavia, anchored on Sept. 18, 1642, in a bay in South island, next to that in which the town of Nelson now stands. He had .an encounter with the natives, in which he lost four men, and departed without landing, calling the place Massacre bay, and naming the country New Zealand. Capt. Cook landed at Tauranga in the province of Auckland in 1769, and took possession of the country for the crown of England. Three years later a French navigator, Marion du Fresne, arrived with two ships in the bay of Islands, and after a month's friendly intercourse with the natives offended them by violating the taboo and put.ting some of their chiefs in irons, and was attacked and killed with 25 of his men. Capt. Cook subsequently visited New Zealand four times, and introduced pigs, potatoes, and other animals and vegetables. A few years later English and American whalers began to frequent the coast, and several runaway sailors took up their abode among the people and married native women. European visitors were generally treated with kindness, though in 1809, the captain of the English ship Boyd having flogged and otherwise ill-treated a chief at Wangaroa, his tribe massacred the crew and passengers to the number of 70. In 1820 Honga Hika, the most distinguished of New Zealand chiefs, visited England, where he was received with attention by George IV. and loaded with presents, with which he returned to his own country, favorable to the introduction of civilization and Christianity; for though he did not become a Christian himself, he intrusted his children to be educated by the missionaries, whom he always protected and encouraged. In 1833 the British government appointed a resident at New Zealand, and in 1838 Capt. Hobson was sent to the islands as lieutenant governor, the European population at that time exceeding 1,000 persons, and the number of vessels, chiefly whalers, entering the bay of Islands in that year amounting to 130. The number of converts made by the missionaries was at this time about 4,000. In 1839 the New Zealand company was chartered in England with a capital of 500,000, the earl of Durham, Francis Baring, and other eminent merchants and statesmen being at its head; and systematic colonization was commenced by a settlement at Port Nicholson on Cook's strait. In 1844 a serious war broke out with the natives, in which the town of Kororareka, an English settlement, was destroyed, and the English troops were repeatedly defeated. Peace was restored in 1848, and shortly afterward a severe earthquake shook a large portion of New Zealand, doing much damage and causing great alarm. In 1850 Canterbury province was settled on church of England and aristocratic principles, a bishop, priests, lords, baronets, and gentlemen of all the professions being among the early settlers. Two years before the province of Otago had been settled exclusively by members of the Free church of Scotland. These colonies are now composed of persons of every variety of Christian faith. In 1855 a second war with the natives broke out in Taranaki province, about land claims, which ended in 1857. It is generally conceded, even by English writers, that the lands of the natives were sometimes taken without just compensation, and that wars were needlessly provoked, in which the British often fared the worst, the savages fighting with fearful energy and desperation behind their slight intrenchments. One of the most desperate encounters was in 1863, when 15,000 soldiers under English command contended against 2,000 natives, hiding and fighting behind ramparts. Another struggle followed in 1864, and petty rebellions have been frequent, causing great expense and trouble to the colonists and great demoralization among the converted natives. As they learned to hate the colonists, they hated their religion, and invented one of their own, called How-Howism, those who professed it being called How-Hows. It was a most absurd mixture of their old superstitions with some Bible tenets, and a virtual return to heathenism. One Je Kooti made himself famous, fighting with a handful of followers against the English from 1866 to 1872, when the pursuit of him was virtually abandoned. Since that time the natives have been more quiet, and the colonists seem more disposed to try the effect of kind treatment and conciliation. By the constitution of 1872 the natives were made voters and eligible to office. Four of them have recently been elected members of the lower house of the legislature. See "The Story of New Zealand," by A. S. Thomson (London, 1859); "The War in New Zealand," by W. L. Fox (1866); "The Past and Present of New Zealand," by the Rev. R. Taylor (1868); Neu Seeland, by Hochstetter (Stuttgart, 1863; English translation, London, 1868); "Australia and New Zealand," by Anthony Trollope (London, 1873).