114 LANDED PROPERTY. [PART 1. 



the renowned E'Ongi in making war on the tribes 

 to the eastward. The " tohunga," or priests, can 

 belong to either of these classes, but the " karakia" 

 (prayers), makuta (witchcraft), or healing art, or 

 dreams, are most powerful when coming from a 

 priest who is distinguished by high birth. 



There exists a very distinct notion of the rights 

 of landed property amongst the natives, and every 

 inch of land in New Zealand has its proprietor. 

 Sometimes land is given to a strange tribe, either 

 as pay, or from other considerations ; but the pro- 

 prietor reserves certain rights, some of which are 

 what we should term manorial. It was formerly 

 very common that the fat of the native rats (kiore) 

 killed on such lands should be given to the prin- 

 cipal proprietor, and in many cases a title to land 

 seems to have been derived from the fact of having 

 killed rats on it : thus a chief will often say, " This 

 or that piece of land is mine ; I have killed rats 

 upon it." But generally the titles to land are de- 

 rived from inheritance or from conquest. The latter 

 constitutes an acknowledged right ; if, however, 

 conquered land is again taken possession of by the 

 original tribe, the right of the stronger prevails. 

 In settling the complicated land question as regards 

 European buyers, many difficult cases of this kind 

 will doubtless be brought forward, where the ori- 

 ginal tribe had returned, trusting for its security to 

 the Europeans and to the advance made in civil- 

 ization, or to the weakened state of its enemies- 



