410 Ussays. 



* 



wliicli (and often of tlie most wretched kind) they paid almost fahulous 

 prices. These fatal exchanges and gifts came to them from all quarters, and 

 were, and long continued to be, of immensely greater value in their eyes than 

 anything else. In 1805 Mr. Savage, an English surgeon, visited them, and 

 remained a short time at the Bay of Islands, taking with him to London, in 

 1806, the chief Moehanga, who was the first known ]Srew Zealander who 

 visited England. In 1809 the sad tragedy of the murder of the captain and 

 crew of the " Boyd," nearly seventy in number, and the pillage and burning 

 of the ship, occurred at Whangaroa, to which harbour the ship, on her return 

 voyage from New South "Wales to England, had put in for Jcauri spars. Eor 

 this savage murder the New Zealanders, as a people, again paid severely, 

 many hundreds of all ages and both sexes being soon after slaughtered by 

 the enraged united crews of several whalers ; but their retribution, unfortu- 

 nately, fell wholly (a la Nouvelle Zelande I) on a wrong tribe. Nearly the 

 whole of this period was one of great loss and suffering to the New Zea- 

 landers, from the cupidity and lust of their European visitors ; and to such a 

 length did their maltreatment of them proceed, that at last the New South 

 "Wales Grovernment was obliged to interfere by severe proclamations. In 

 1814 a few missionary settlers (who had come out for that purpose some time 

 before to New South "Wales, under the auspices of the Church Missionary 

 Society) arrived in New Zealand, and they settled at Eangihoua, in the Bay 

 of Islands. They brought with them several New Zealanders from Port 

 Jackson, among whom was the notorious Hougi. Some time after the Eev. 

 S. Marsden ipaid his Jlrst visit to New Zealand, accompanied by his friend, the 

 classical New Zealand historian, Mr. Nicholas, and remained in New Zealand 

 nearly three months. Prom Mr. Marsden the natives received several useful 

 things. 



57. From the introduction of the first British settlers and Christianity 

 (1814) to the Treaty of Waitangi (1840). This period of another quarter of 

 a century was also a very important one for New Zealand. It is highly 

 probable that in no like period did the New Zealanders lose such a number 

 of their population. Erom without, as before, the natives received much 

 good, although not unfrequently dashed with some evil, often the fruits of 

 their own sad doings. During this period the crews of several small trading 

 vessels were treacherously murdered; among others were those of the " Agnes" 

 at Tokomaru, of a whaler at "Whanganui, and of the " Sydney Cove " farther 

 south. Eor a long time the first settlers, although daily benefiting the 

 natives, only held their ground with extreme difficulty, more thon once being 

 on the point of leaving. During this period the "Wesleyan Society also 

 commenced a mission in New Zealand. Such, however, was the dreadful 

 state of things, that their first station at "Whangaroa was obliged to be 



