ADMINISTRATION 01 JUSTICE. 423 
crimes. One of the most singular is the wai 
haruru , shaking water. A large calabash or 
wooden dish of water is placed in the midst of a 
circle, on one side of which the accused party is 
seated. A prayer is offered by the priest; and 
the suspected individuals are required, one by one, 
to hold both hands, with the fingers spread out, 
over the dish, while the priest or the chief looks 
steadfastly at the face of the water; and it is said, 
that when the person, who has committed the 
crime, spreads his hands over the vessel, the water 
trembles. Probably conscious guilt, and super¬ 
stitious dread, may make the hands of the culprit 
shake, and occasion the tremulous appearance of 
the water in which they are reflected. No unne¬ 
cessary delays take place in the redress of griev¬ 
ances, or the administration of justice. I was 
once sitting with Karaimoku, when a poor woman 
came to complain of the chief of her district, who, 
she said, had kept the water running through his 
own plantation for several days, while the potatoes 
and taro in her garden were parched up with 
drought. After making a few inquiries, he called 
Kaiakoiri, one of his favourite chiefs, and said, 
“ Go with this woman ; and, if the chief has kept 
back the water, open the channels, and let it flow 
over her field immediately.” The chief girded up 
his maro , and, followed by the woman, set off for 
the district in which she resided.—No lawyers are 
employed to conduct their public trials ; every 
man advocates his own cause, usually sitting cross- 
legged before the judge ; and I have often been 
pleased with the address the different parties have 
displayed in exhibiting or enforcing their respect¬ 
ive claims. 
There is no national council, neither hare the 
