NEW ZEALAND. 397 



would, I think, have an unfavourable opinion of the race. He might, 

 however, award to them intelligence ; but they appear vindictive, and, 

 from a number of facts, must be treacherous. One cannot be long 

 among them, without discovering that they are adepts in trickery, and 

 suspicious in their dealings. These bad qualities they may have ac 

 quired from the number of low whites that are among them. They 

 seem destitute of any of the higher feelings, such as gratitude, tender- 

 ness, honour, delicacy, &c. They are extremely indolent and dirty, 

 disgusting in their habits, and carry on the infamous practice of traffic 

 in women, which even the highest chiefs are said to be engaged in, 

 openly and without shame. The vice of drunkenness does not exist 

 among them to any degree, and it is not a little astonishing that the 

 bad example set them should not have been more followed. They are 

 extremely proud and resentful of any insult, to avenge which the 

 whole tribe usually unites. As an instance of this, we may cite the 

 conduct of Ko-towatowa, whose hospitality to one of our parties has 

 been recorded. At the invitation of the gentlemen who had been 

 indebted to him for attentions, he visited them at Tibbey's, when an 

 untoward circumstance occurred, which had well-nigh ended in an 

 open affront. As they were seated in the porch of Tibbey's house, 

 one of their thoughtless visiters, by way of affording amusement to 

 the company, played off upon Ko-towatowa a boyish trick, by burning 

 him on the nose with a cigar. This produced great anger in the chief, 

 who would have at once punished the rudeness, but through the timely 

 interference of the bystanders, he became appeased, but required some 

 atonement for the insult offered him ; a half-dollar was given him, but 

 he said he would accept only half, as he did not want to be paid for it, 

 but merely desired a token that it had been atoned for. In the opinion 

 of all, he rose much above the silly trifler who had been the perpe- 

 trator of the joke. 



The natives are peculiarly sensible to any insult of this kind. A 

 short time before our arrival, a mischievous white boy, staying with 

 our consul, had placed a small brass kettle on the head of an old chief, 

 which caused some amusement to the bystanders. The chief at the 

 time did not show any signs of being offended. He had always been 

 w T ell disposed and peaceable towards the whites, and was known to 

 have a strong partiality towards the family. On going to the pa, 

 however, he mentioned the circumstance to his tribe, which produced 

 a great excitement among them. They assembled and advanced in a 

 body to the dwelling, to require satisfaction for the affront offered, and 

 although they were told and convinced it w r as done in playfulness, 

 they required atonement; and this being refused, they took all the 

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