BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1818, 2 August 1913, Page 9

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The zeal and industry with which Mr. Bobert ■ M'Nab. lias applied himself to collecting, collating, and summarising important data, on tlie early history of the . Dominion entitles him to the gratitude and esteem of , every New Zealander. When, too, it is remembered.that in thecollection of much of . the matter contained in two editions of "Murilruku," . and his latest work, "Tho Old Whaling : Days (Whitcombo and Tombs, Ltd.), Mr. Al'Nab has gone to a very-heavy personal expense, making special trips, to tho i United States andv Paris, to say notfrng of repeated sojourns, in Sydney, and that i the sale of his books can never recoup him for more than a' mere trifle of their ; cost o£ preparation, tho work he is doing ; as our unofficial national historian is aU the more creditable to him, ; The New Work. \ In the course of lis iMgthy but inter- : esting Introduction, the author points out . , that tho period 1830 to 1810, now dealt .with, includes.five years already covered in "Murihuku." But sinco 1907, when -the first "Murihuku" was published, Mr. : M'Nab has taken another trip round tho ; world, "visiting old sources .of information and tapping new ones." The result has been the acquisition of so many new ■ and interesting" facts that the author feels justified in duplicating, with extensions, l : certain patts.of the earlier \vork. Apart I-from this, ; 1830 .'is, ho.;sa'y3, tho natural j; beginning of any work professing to deal i! withtho bay'ivhalihg period of Southern New Zealand's history. Sealing had alii most died away by 1825. Where it did 'I survive it was carried on in the "off" sea- ,• son by-some of the shore whaling parties. ; ; The initiator's of the bay whaling indus-, try was by Sydney and Hobart Town mer- . ;chants. La'terlon, the English, American, I'renchj Portuguese, and Dutch entered , tho trader Only tho English (from Sydney) and tho Americans conducted operations from the 3hore. To tho operations of the whalers, to the coming and going of tho vessels, the sfuccess or failure of •tho whalers,' to their relations with tho .Natives," to the treatment of the crews, to: "the curious customs and rules, often unwritten, but none tho less potential, ;-.which governed the industry, a very largo .portion of the book is .necessarily de- / .voted.. Mr. M'Nab's research work at the New England sea ports bore rich re••eult. The logs of many of the American , Vhalers are carefully preserved-in public i institutions and privato libraries up and 'down the eastern coast of tho United /States, from Salem to Washington, .and •'■these were carefully consulted by the au-' thor.-. From official reports sent to Loii'don from Sydney, and from Customs authorities in various- parts of the world, .{.the author has also gleaned much informa- ■■ .tion, the result .of all this work of collection and sifting and editing being a well-co-ordinated ; narrative of deep interest to all who love to read of the old days of our country. Other Features. h But the author, tjigugh J;akinK,the title ■jjf his book from the whalers, does not tibnfine his-att'ontion to t{ie '.whaling industry., .-Early, in ;the book Mr. M'iNab - dves a .lengthy'.'.account of tho grim and • Bloody deeds lor which Stewart, master of tho brig > Elizabeth, of infamous memory, " was soj largely responsible. The eavago atrocities of Te Rauparaha atAkaioaauil elsewhere have, before this, been- the subject of well-written narratives, Mr. T. L. Buick, in particular, in his book - "An Oldi Now Zealander,"' having dealt most carefully with these events. But Mr. M'Nab has "fossicked" out much additional information, and his account of the affair is supplemented by a full report of tho inquiry which -took place in Syd-. ney. In. another chapter wo have an account (from letters discovered by the author in the Sydney "Monitor" in Aprii- , May, 1833) of the defence of the NgaAlotu Pa (the Sugar loaves at New Plymouth) in January and February of tho previous year, a defence in which a party of European traders, including "Dicky" Barrett, of Port Nicholson fame, assisted tho Ngati-Awa and Ngati-Tamu -in driving off the Waikato-Maniapoto and their allies. It is a stirring and most dramatic narrative, told though it be in the simplest language, and yet it is only ono of many equally notable "finds" which have rewarded the author for his assiduous research .work.

fThe Story of Cook Strait. Specially interesting to ■ Wellington, Marlborough, and Nelson peoplo is this third book of Mr. M'Nab's, for hero, for the first time, is set forth in satisfying amplitude the story of the earliest European settlements and European trading on:the coasts, of Cook Strait. .Attention is also devoted to the Otago and Foveaux Strait, and Akaroa. whaling and trading settlements, but to me, by far the most interesting, part of the book is that, in which tho author traces tho beginnings of European influence and trade along tho Shores of' Cook Strait and'the Taranaki In particular should be noted Sir. M'Nab's, long and most detailed account of the rescue of the Harriett's crew, in 1834. .The Harriot, a Sydney whaling vessel,, was wrecked at Cape' Egmont. All on. board'got'safely ashore, the company including (v. shore whaling- gang under John Guard, the pioneer of shoro whaling-in Cook .Strait,'who .was accompanied by his wife and two children.' Bp-' bides these there were two mates and 23 OTdinafy seamen. A few days later, whentho shipwTecked mariners 1 ! were preparing a boat' to sail to Cloudy Bay. they were rushed by a large party of Maoris. Two Europeans wcro cut .'down. One of these unfortunates wtis.s.s'ays Guard,.' cut in two, and the other "they cut up into joints '.-,for their, cannibal ' repast.-'.. A' second, attack was yet more shockingly eventful, for tho Maoris, fighting from holes they had dug in tho ground, killed somp twelve more of tho Europeans. Those captured were at once killed, with the exception of Mrs. Guard' and her children. Even Mrs. Guard "was twico cut down by a. tomahawk, and was only saved from having her liend split open by a large comb, which sho wore 011 her head." Guard himself escaped. A whole chapter is devoted to • tha events which followed this horrible affair. Suffice it 'here to say that H:M.S. Alligator was sent over from Sydney and obtained tho release of eight of tho survivors, who bad been four months in the hands of tho Natives,, living at the Moturoa pa. Later on, ufter a skirmish at To' Namu, the Alligator anchored olf Waimate, and after some . negotiation Mrs. Guard and her little daughter were given up by the Natives. There was still the boy to be recovered and unfortunately, apparently as the result of misunderstanding on both" sides, a boat from the warship was'.fired on from the pa. Then, followed a bombardment, lastin? three lours, during which no fewer than 30G shots werd fired, the Mauris seeing their "homes and canoes being reduced to matchwood with the discharges of round, grape, and case shot," but nevertheless "betraying 110 fear." A gale springing •up tho Alligator made for shelter at Port Hardy, returning about a week later.

"A Regrettable Incident."

What now occurred is described by the author as a "most regrettable incident." The boy was carried down to the beach An a chief's back. AVhen the chief was told that he would receive no ransom, as 16 had supposed would bt>. the case, and-being absolutely fearless, despite tlio presence of so many Europeans, he turned to run away. "Ono of the sailors seized hold of the child, and finding that tho lad was tied to the chief's- back, cut him adrift and the boy fell on tho beach." Another seaman, seeing tlie chief escaping, levelled his firelock and strotched the bravo old fellow lifeless on the sand. Then followed a furious fusillade all along tho beach, "volley after volley he-

ing fired on the poor Natives whose only safety was in flight or in crouching behind tlie boulders." Tho officers cried out to stop firing, but the soldiers were quits beyond control. The whole affair was afterwards brought up in tho House of Commons, a committer was. reporting that "these evils might havo been avoided if further efforts for registration had been mado in the first instance." Mr. M'Nab's opinion is that the soldiers were innocent, and that "tho ■ butchery took placo through the Harriett's survivors being allowed to have arms in their hands while taking part in tho expedition." A Collection of Historical Material. In other chapters, Mr. M'Nab deals witn the operations of tho French fleot in 183G--1833; with the visits of tho Americans; with the tariff disputes,which caused so much trouble during this period; with tho visits of French and American scientists, and raany other equally interesting subjects, the three last chapters being devoted ■ respectively to the "Coming of the Church," the "Coming'of'the Company,'' and the "Coming of the Crown." Tho appendices also contain a vast amount of curious and valuable information bearing on tho events of the period dealt with. A special word of commendation is due to the well planned and most exhaustive index—a triple index—under the heading's "Personal," "Ships," and "General." As in Mr. M'Nab's previous books, there is | no protonce to, or striving after, grace of literary style.' Tho book is first and foremost a collection of historical material. This material;is, it is true, placed in a narrative form, thereby gaining an interest of continuity. But, as far : as possible, comment is avoided; the author refrains from stating his own views. As Mr.' M'Nab puts it, "Tho render is given the results of the author's research, not the fruits of his thought"; and again, "Others who can make historical narrative attrac- : tiye, Clin build what literary edifices they desire, out of tho material supplied." Mr. M'Nab's good sense clearly equals his modesty. I can only echo, in conclusion, what must be—it certainly ought to be—a very general opinion that the historians of the futuro will owe a verydee'p debt of gratitude to the unassuming, but untiringly industrious, gentleman who has provided so rich a storo of documentary material. The book has been well-print-ed by Messrs. Whitcombc and Tombs. One or , two small misprints of names were n> doubt unavoidable, but they are not sufficiently important as to deserve detailed reference. The binding might have been bettered. The rough buckram is apt to fluff with frequent handling of the'volume, and the lettering on. the back—of the author's name—is not in keeping with that of tho title. A leather label, such as is used on tho samo publishers' "Life of Sir Gtorgo Grey," would have been preferable. (The price of the book is 12s. Gd.)