ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XII. 
scamp than before, to explain why he could not possibly 
have succeeded by painting everything in the blackest 
colours. 
What can be said of the bounden protector of such 
a youth, who has not only abandoned his charge to 
irretrievable ruin, but has inflicted a pest on the young 
colony for a greater or less space of time ? No educa- 
tion can be too good, no especial preparation too careful, 
no maxims of prudence and self-dependence too rigidly 
instilled, for a young man who is sent to take part in a 
new colony. There is, perhaps, more need to consider 
the peculiar fitness of the character of an individual to 
become a colonist than to join any other profession. 
He is thrown very much upon his own resources, and 
into a totally new state of society and circumstances ; 
so that a sound education and carefully cherished moral 
courage are the more necessary to supply his want of 
experience and his ignorance of any world but home. 
But it is probably rather through indifference than 
miscalculation that reckless parents send their young 
idle dogs to New Zealand. 
This class of grumbler is of course an extreme case ; 
but the causes of the discontent of many others may be 
soon understood by a careful observer. Some have 
even a very good right to grumble. Their land is, per- 
haps, among that disputed by the natives ; and they 
have made vigorous but unsuccessful efforts to get pos- 
session of it. They belong to the unfortunate throng 
who have fallen victims to the resentment of the Go- 
vernment at being forced to take possession of New 
Zealand and its determination to misprotect the na- 
tives. They are among those crushed by the long 
delay in the investigation of the Land Claims' Com- 
missioner. But even they might, long before, have 
hired land that could be occupied, or found some other 
