80 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
the contact with the white race? I believe they will. The idea that native 
races die out upon the appearance of the white race is true only in a limited 
sense. In my opinion the statement only applies to lands situate in tem- 
perate or cold zones, which happened to possess, or do still possess, an 
aboriginal population ; it does not apply to tropical, or semi-tropical, lands 
—they are beyond its influence. Thus the Indians in some parts of America, 
and the Maoris in New Zealand, are certain to die out, being unable to 
survive the contact in temperate zones with the more fitting white race. 
The American Indians are being gradually driven into the central portion 
of the continent, which is their proper residence. They will for a time 
range free over the southern portion of the continent, because circumstances 
are still favourable for their habitation. The Maoris are gradually dying 
out because it was an error for any portion of the Malayan race to wander 
so far south. Certain climates kill native races just as surely as contact 
with the white race. We found very few Maoris or Malays in the Middle 
Island of New Zealand ; they could not exist there. The American Indians 
have also much Malayan blood in their veins; their place is within the 
tropics. Tropical races cannot compete with the more fitting races beyond 
the tropies, and white races cannot compete with native races within the 
tropics. No one could possibly maintain that the white race will extinguish 
the East Indian, the Chinese, or the Malayan, neither will it the Polynesian. 
I am well aware that the aboriginal inhabitants of the West India Islands 
have nearly disappeared, but in the first instance they were almost extermi- 
nated by the Spaniards. I do not think that it is for our interest to 
exterminate the Polynesians. When the epidemic of measles was lately 
devastating Fiji, I heard many well-informed persons remark that if 50,000 
natives, more or less, died off; the less trouble would be given to the 
Colonial Government. Now, a greater mistaké could not possibly be made. 
Every native dying is a loss to the Government. It is to be hoped that not 
only the health, but the natural increase of the Fijians will be carefully 
looked after. 
Figures purporting to show the decrease of any particular island cannot 
be relied upon. It was formerly supposed that the Sandwich Islands con- 
tained a population of 400,000 inhabitants, and New Zealand (200,000- 
Later ealeulations inform us that they now contain respectively 58,000 and 
85,000. Itis doubtful whether the first ever numbered more than 100,000, 
or the second 60,000. Captain Cook, generally so correct, was sadly out in 
his estimate of native population. 
As soon as certain sanitary regulations are attended to, and infanticide’ 
put a stop to, I believe the population of the Pacific will increase. That of 
Java has nearly quadrupled itself since 1816, and it is a curious fact that 
