NEW ZEALAND 



of their cHunibalism and iiicej^sant tribal wars, tlie Maoris 

 were one of the finest races of savages that have been 

 found. They held their land in common as the property of 

 the tribe, and agriculure, fishing and fowling were the 

 work of the community for the benefi': of all. 



In the wars with the whites in 1843 and 1S45, and 

 almost continuotisly from 1860 to 1870, the Maoris fought 

 with courage and vigor. But they have long since given 

 up cannibalism and war. For over 30 years they have been 

 peaceful, law-abiding citizens. Both their men and women 

 are voters, six of the race are members of paiiiament, four 

 in the House and two in the Senate, and one is a member 

 of the Cabinet. 



The first attempt to form a settlement in New^ Zealand 

 occurred in 1825, but it failed on account of the savagery 

 of the natives. In consequence of frequent visits of whal- 

 ing vessels to the Bay of Islands, a settlement grew up 

 there, and in 1833 Mr. Busby was sent there as British 

 Resident. A number of Eurnpeans, generally men of low 

 character, gradually settled in different parts of the country 

 and married native w^oraen. In 1839 a New Zealand 

 Compan}^ was formed in England for the purpose of colon- 

 izing New Zealand, and its first body of emigrants landed 

 in 1840, and this settlement has now become the City of 

 Wellington. From this time on settlements gradually 

 increased in number and in size, but there were many 

 difficuties with the natives, particularly concerning land 

 titles. In 1 86 1 rich deposits of gold were discovered, 

 causing a rush and stidden increase of the population. In 

 1840 the white population numbered abont 2,000 and the 

 Maoris something like 60,000. In 1853 the whites were 

 30,000 strong. In 1857 the natives and whites were 

 about equal in numbers. By 1874 the whites numbered 

 299,154 and the Maoris only 45,470. In 1906 the whites 

 numbered 888,578, and in 1901 the Maoris 47,731. 



In the early days the traders and settlers desired the 



