W. T. L. Tkavers. — TJoe Life and Times of Te Rauparalia. 23 



to ; such, for instance, as Te Taupaki — the name given to the dividing boun- 

 dary on the West Coast between the Ngatiwhatua and Tainui tribes — which 

 means the year of peace, or the peaceful way in which a dispute is adjusted. 

 This boundary had its origin from a chief of the Ngatiwhatua, called Pouta- 

 puaka, going from Kaipara to take possession of land with his paraoa, or bone 

 spear. His intention was to go along the coast as far as the quantity of food 

 which he carried would enable him to travel, and return from the point at which 

 his food was expended ; he had succeeded in taking possession of the whole of 

 the line of sandy coast called Rangatira, and on arriving at the top of the hill, 

 now known as Te Taupaki, he met the Tainui chief Haowhenua. They both 

 halted, sticking their spears in the ground, and inquiring of each other the 

 object of their being there. They found that they were both on the same 

 errand, and at once agreed that this meeting point should be the boundary 

 dividing the lands of the tribes whereof each was the representative. The 

 Ngatiwhatua chief at once dug a hole with his bone spear, and the boundary 

 so established has remained to this day. T may state," adds Mr. White, 

 " without fear of contradiction, that there is not one inch of land in the New 

 Zealand Islands which is not claimed by the Maoris, and I may also state that 

 there is not a hill or valley, stream, river, or forest, which has not a name — 

 the index of some point of the Maori history. As has been stated above, the 

 New Zealander knows with as much certainty the exact boundary of his own 

 land, as we could do from the distances and bearings given by a surveyor. 

 But these boundaries are liable to be altered at times ; for instance, when lands 

 are taken by a conquering tribe, or are given by a chief for assistance rendered 

 to him by another tribe in time of war, or when land given to the female 

 branch of a family again becomes, after a certain time, the property of the 

 male branch of the family. In certain cases,, also lands are ceded by a tribe 

 for a specific purpose, with certain restrictions, and a tenure conditional on 

 certain terms being complied with." 



Mr. Colenso, in his " Essay on the Maori Kaces," tells us that their views 

 of property were, in the main, both simple and just, and in some respects 

 (even including those most abnormal) wonderfully accorded with what once 

 obtained in England. Amongst them, property was usually divided into two 

 classes, namely, peculiar and common. Every man, for example, had a right 

 to his own, as against every one else, although this right was often overcome 

 by might. A man of middle, or low rank, caught, perhaps, some fine fish, or 

 was very lucky in snaring birds — such were undoubtedly his own ; but if his 

 superior, or elder chief, wished or asked for them, he dared not refuse, even if 

 he would. At the same time, such a gift, if gift it might be termed, was 

 (according to custom) sure to be repaid with interest, hence it was readily 

 yielded. The whole of a man's movable property was also his own, which 



