112 CLASSES AND GRADES [PART I. 



from fear of punishment, by a husband at the death 

 of his wife, by a wife at the death of her husband, 

 or by both at the death of their children are not 

 uncommon, and cases of all these descriptions have 

 come to my knowledge. The love of life is not 

 among the New Zealander's strongest feelings: I 

 could record many instances in which they have ven- 

 tured their lives to save those of Europeans, with a 

 coolness and courage that would have done honour 

 to a man of any nation. 



Simple as the structure of a New Zealand com- 

 munity is, it bears, in its division into certain classes, 

 the traces of a former more artificial state. The 

 principal person in a tribe is the Ariki ; but as he 

 is per se a Rangatira, he is rarely called by the 

 former name, and hence the difficulty of ascertain- 

 ing who is the ariki. His dignity is hereditary ; he 

 is the lord of the soil, the Taki-o-te-wenua, the root 

 of the land (or tribe ?). It is hereditary both in the 

 male and female line, and, whether child or adult, 

 the ariki is revered as deriving his title from the 

 number and renown of his ancestors. If he unite 

 eminent bodily or mental faculties with his here- 

 ditary dignity, his authority over the tribe is of 

 course increased, and he is either a great warrior 

 or a tohunga a priest. Generally speaking, his 

 authority does not extend to the executive, but is 

 confined to the council, where his advice in the 

 affairs of the tribe is of great weight. Even by 

 the enemies of the tribe he is treated with some 



