ing to the numerous ceremonies performed at the great religious fete of the Haihunga, and describing the war dance, says, that whilst engaged in it, the tongues of the performers are thrust out of their mouths, thereby indicating the contempt they have for their enemies, and as they do this before commencing a battle, it seems to produce a wonderful effect in raising the bravery, and heightening the implacable hatred the belligerents have to each other.

After describing the moans and wailings in which they occasionally indulge during this feast on account of the dead, recalling to their remembrance their virtues and endearing actions; and with noses pressed against each other, chanting the happiness that had now vanished, Mr. Polack adds, "This strange custom is not confined to apparent cause for grief; for to give an additional zest to the entertainment, sharp muscle-shells are made use of to excoriate the skin, and the consequence follows in streams of blood issuing from every part of the body, face, arms, breast, legs no part having the preference of an escape from this brutal practice. Nor is this lamentation confined to such occasions; on any persons, known or related to each other, meeting after an absence of a few weeks, or on the illness of a friend or relative, the muscle-shell and the accompanying tangi are instantly put in requisition. So enamoured are these people of affliction, that the writer has been viewing a play (takaro) among the natives, when suddenly it has entered the afflicted head-piece of one of the performers to sit down to a tangi or weeping, a ceremony consisting of long and silent embraces, interrupted only by sobs and tears. The suitor for this display of misery has no sooner expressed his desire, than,

with the vacillating habits of these people, the whole company, instantly squatting down on the ground, have commenced crying with might and main,' as if they were about to be deprived of existence now and hereafter. So copious is the effusion of blood and tears, that their scanty garments are soon saturated."

I daresay none of you would have any great desire to join the New Zealanders in this delightful amusement of the tangi, though it must be an excellent thing for those who are troubled with too much blood. Though these ceremonies may to us appear somewhat absurd, yet they shew that, amongst uncivilized nations, the affections they entertain towards each other are infinitely stronger than amongst those who call themselves civilized; and this being the case, I am decidedly of opinion that the march of intellect destroys the march of affection and of love.

This practice of cutting themselves, and tattooing, not only their faces, but a great part of their bodies, seems to leave but little doubt of their Asiatic origin, or that they were descended from the Jews; for, in the 16th chapter of Jeremiah, it is said," Both the great and the small shall die in this land, they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves." And, in the 19th chapter of Leviticus, the following prohibition was addressed to the children of Israel, “Ye shall not make any, cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you ;"—which shows that they must have been in the habit of doing so. Now, what is called tattooing, may not inappropriately be designated a printing on the skin or flesh. It is both a tedious and a very painful operation, and is performed by the priest, who, if not very skilful, has sometimes to delegate the task to

people of skill among the different tribes. The higher the rank, the more they are tattooed, so that a king or chief, has scarcely any of his natural face or body left. They make out a plan for the face, in particular, and occasionally for the body, as a surveyor in this country would make out a plan for an estate. They commence the operation at an early age, about fourteen or fifteen, as it takes two or three years before the operation is completed, the pain being so great, that they can do but little at a time, otherwise the patient would fever and die; and instances occasionally occur of its proving fatal. The tattoo is done either with the sharp bone of a bird, or with a small chisel, the candidate for this distinction reposing his head upon the knees of the operator, who drives the chisel into the skin with his hand. After each incision, the chisel is dipped into a pigment called narahu, which is prepared by carbonizing the resin of the Kauri pine; and after each incision also the blood is wiped off. After the inflammation subsides, the scars appear dark. Women have their lips chiefly tattooed, which is by far the most painful operation, though they submit to it cheerfully, red lips being a great reproach to

a woman.

The prophets of Baal, of old, were in the habit of cutting themselves in a similar manner; for, in the 18th chapter of the First Book of Kings, it is thus written" And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." The process of tattooing prevents the face from assuming the furrows of passion, or the wrinkles of age. I may mention one other circumstance, which leads me to the conclusion that they were Jews, though passing for New Zea

landers, and that is their wonderful rapacity and love of money. This feature in their character is not mentioned by any of the historians whom I have read, but during my residence in that country, I became acquainted with two Englishmen named Smith and Eberly, and a Scotsman called Malcolm, who had all married Maori, or native girls, and had resided there for some years, who all assured me that they were remarkably greedy in their disposition. They described them also as being rather ungrateful, at which I was surprised, as savages in general make it a rule never to forgive an injury, nor forget a favour; a doctrine considered sound by many of our philosophers. In regard to this additional feature in their character, namely, ingratitude, I observe that Mr. E. J. Wakefield states, in his description of a hostile meeting of two tribes on the Wanganui river, that the missionaries there assured him that they knew no such feeling as gratitude. And yet these are represented by some as the most noble-minded, princely set of men in the world; but from all such nobles, and such princes, I trust that I, at least, may be delivered.

Mr. Thorp confirms this statement in regard to their rapacity, in a letter addressed to the editors of the Sydney Herald, the leading journal of New South Wales, which appeared in that paper on the 8th of March, 1842. The editors called the public attention to this letter in the following paragraph :

"In the fourth page of this day's Herald, there is a letter from Mr. Joshua Thorp, giving an account of New Zealand, which will be sure to draw down upon him the wrath of the land-jobbers, who are holding New Zealand up as an " airthly paradise," as Sam Slick calls it. For the information of those who do not

know Mr. Thorp, we may mention that he is a very respectable man, well known in this colony, and that for several years he held the office of town surveyor of Sydney. The statements made by Mr. Thorp may be depended upon of the fairness of the inferences which he draws, our readers must judge for themselves."

Mr. Thorp says 'the natives have protectors appointed, a measure which affords no more satisfaction to the settlers here, than it does to those of New Holland. Our lord in Downing Street, has done this to gratify those termed saints in England, whose beneficence shines like a lantern in a dark place, glaring at a distance and emitting a faint gleam near at hand. Look at the pale aborigines of England, and compare them with the sable sons of remote nations, the red Indian, or the copper-coloured Mowry, and which has the advantage. It is true, that wherever the white man sets his foot, in temperate regions at least, they seemed doomed to dwindle away, but this is the consequence of knowledge, and the order of providence. The Mowries are well able to protect themselves, better, at present, than the settlers. In trade, selling land, or selling their produce, no Jew of Monmouth Street can deal with more cunning or more persevering importunity; nothing is done, however slight, without demanding the ootu or payment, and, if instead of higgling, you at once give what is asked, they become uneasy at having made such a boko keeno (trade bad). Squatting on their hams, which as they grow old causes their knees to be covered with large wrinkles, they will spend an hour selling a pigeon or a fish, and then produce ten or twenty more seriatim from under their blankets. They are generally an