378 BEPOET— 1891. 



On arriving in New Zealand, or Ao-tea-roa, the crews of 

 the colonising fleet dispersed themselves over the length and 

 breadth of these Islands, and formed independent tribes or 

 nations, each of which was subdivided into hapus, and the 

 licqms into families. Each family, hapu, and iivi carefully- 

 preserved their genealogies and the record of their doings. 

 Every free man amongst the Maoris was required to know- by 

 what title the land claimed by his tribe was held — whether by 

 right of original occupation, conquest, purchase, or gift — and 

 thus it happened that traditions relating to the same trans- 

 actions were preserved by tribes whose interests were anta- 

 gonistic. Several opportunities have been afforded in recent 

 times through the Native Land Court of comparing these ac- 

 counts whicli have been transmitted for several generations 

 through separate and independent channels, and they have 

 almost invariably been found to agree — a fact which adds to 

 our confidence in accepting other traditions preserved in the 

 same way, but the accuracy of which cannot be proved in the 

 same manner. The laws by which the Maoris regulated their 

 social and civil relationships were embodied in the historical 

 traditions, which served at the same time to show how these 

 laws originated, and to illustrate their application. 



Although the greater part of the annals handed down relate 

 to intertribal w^ars, we must not read them by the light of our 

 knowledge of the state of things which existed when firearms 

 were first introduced. Those weapons revolutionised Maori 

 warfare, and encouraged ambitious men to prosecute de- 

 vastating wars, which produced a reign of terror throughout 

 the country. During the centuries which preceded our occu- 

 pation, the ordinary life of the people in times of peace was 

 pleasant and agreeable. The people possessed abundance of 

 food, and agreeable and healthy occupation for mind and body. 

 Each season of the year and each part of the day had its 

 allotted work or amusement both for men, women, and 

 children. The women, besides such household duties as the 

 preparation of food and cleansing their houses, made the 

 clothing and bedding required for their families. They 

 gathered the flax and ti-palm fibres used, and prepared and 

 worked them up into a variety of garments, some of which 

 took months to complete, and when finished were beautiful 

 specimens of handiwork. The children played a variety of 

 games with tops, balls, kites, and swings. The youths engaged 

 in wrestling and running, leaping with poles, skipping in 

 squads of ten or a dozen together, and foot- and canoe-races. 

 The men gathered the food and stored it in wliatas or store- 

 rooms, which were attached to every chief's compound, and 

 built on tall posts to protect the contents from damp and rats. 

 Besides such natural products of the soil as fern-root, ti-palm 



