Chap. III. MR. CLARKE'S LETTER. " •. 61 
be kept private, in order to prevent evil-disposed persons 
from interfering with its success, it was made known 
that Mr. Clarke had left the letter, of which a transla- 
tion follows, with a chief of Pipitea, and that its con- 
tents had been widely circulated among the natives : 
" Port Nicholson, September 10, 1841. 
" Friend J^J^airarapa, — You ask for a letter from 
" the Governor, that the white man may not drive you 
** from your pas, or seize your cultivations. 
" Listen to the word of the Governor : he says, that 
" it is not according to our laws that you should be 
" driven, if you do not agree to go. 
" This letter is from the Governor. 
(Signed) " Clarke, 
" Protector of the Natives. 
** To TVairarapay Chief of Pipitea." 
It requires rather an intimate knowledge of the lan- 
guage, as well as of the general character of the iXJaoriy 
to appreciate the full effect upon their minds of such 
an announcement. 
The language is not rich, and therefore the same 
word, or sentence, has many implied meanings, as well 
as that suggested by the first glance. In speaking, the 
meaning of a native is expressed rather by his tone and 
accent, by his gestures and the working of his features, 
than by the mere words. In writing, therefore, what 
was only recently a written language, how readily 
might misconstruction arise from a sentence capable of 
implied meaning? 
I have stated that the studied separation of the 
natives from the white people, and their comparative 
isolation in the pas, had already exercised a very mate- 
rial influence on their character. Nor must I omit 
the effect produced upon their minds by the secret insi- 
