1893. THE INDUSTRIES OF THE MAORIS. 113 



taken in hand. With the left hand the enemy's hair was grasped, 

 and with the right the mere was plunged into the side of the head 

 where the bones are weakest. It is recorded that Te Wherowhero, 

 tlie father of the chief who afterwards became the Maori king, and is 

 still so called, killed 250 prisoners of war at a sitting, smashing the 

 head of each at a single blow. His son still has the mere. The 

 weapons were held in high veneration, and were frequently buried 

 with the chief. The 7nere, as well as other objects, were often held 

 as symbolical of ownership of land. The title deeds of the famous 

 Heretaunga Block, now worth three-quarters of a million, was a 

 small pounamit pendant, now worn by a gentleman on his watch chain. 

 In 1856, when the final negotiations were made which secured to 

 England the northern part of the South Island — a district very highly 

 prized by the Maoris as the scene of many hard-fought battles — 

 Ropoama-te-One, after alluding to those wars, struck into the ground, 

 at the feet of the Commissioner, Sir D. McLean, a greenstone axe, 

 saying, " Now that we have for ever launched this land into the sea, 

 we hereby make over to you, as lasting evidence of its surrender, 

 this adze, named Paiwhenua, which we have always highly prized 

 from having regained it in battle after it was used by our enemies to 

 kill two of our most celebrated chiefs, Te Pehi and Pokaitara. 

 Money vanishes and disappears, but this greenstone will endure as 

 durable a witness of our act as the land itself which we have now, 

 under the shinmg sun of this day, transferred to you for ever." 



A large mass of detailed observations is recorded by the authors 

 of the papers ; sufficient has been said, however, to show the very 

 interesting character and high value of their communications. 



James W. Davis. 



