THE NEW ZEALANDERS IN LONDON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 150, 27 November 1863, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE NEW ZEALANDERS IN LONDON.

[Trom the Daily Southern Cross, October 15]. Otru own correspondent at Wangarei sends us the following letters from the New Zealand chiefs in England:— England, May 26th, 1863. FeienD. —Salutations to you, both the parents of your children; sit in peace, my dear friend Sydney; salutations; this is my word to you both ; thanks for the blankets you sent us ; remember my name affectionately ; that is all, my friend. The things I have seen are these. We have seen the lion, the tiger, the elephant, Saint Paul’s Church, the height of which is four miles; this house is a house of great antiquity. We have seen the railway—a steamer which runs on land. It is a very quick thing to run—one minute a mile, two minutes two miles. The lights inside of the houses are not from candles, the light conies from the inside of a wire: its brilliancy is greater than the sun ; it is brought from a distance, as it were from the Bay of Islands [about forty miles] ; all the houses are lighted by this wire. There are three lights hanging in each house, the wire [pipe] goes to the ends of the land. The houses are as high as Mania [a hill at Wangarei Heads], entirely built of stone. The eye is insufficient to take them all in at once ; they are as thickly set as the trees in the forest of Wairua. and the chimneys are higher than the kahikateas. The houses of this great town of London are more numerous than the trees of the forest ; all the houses in New Zealand are not nearly so many. This is a great place, this London, being the principal residence of our Queen. You will by-and bye sec our likenesses ; they will be sent to you. We have officer’s trousers, coats, and caps; all our clothing is like this. You will by-and-bye see them in the newspapers. We have seen a road under the sea, and shops on each side of it. It goes down on one side of the river, and comes up at the other. It is like a stseet in Auckland. Speech is insufficient ; the things are too numerous to describe—the manufacture of guns, powder, caps, cloths, cannons, and what not. Enough from me. From Pakia Hieini Tipene, In London. England, May 24, 1863. Fathee Stephen Haeet,— Salutations to you and the young people of the tribe. Salutations to you all. Let me tell you of my voyage to this place. On the sth of the days of February we left Auckland ; on the 25th February we arrived in the Frozen Sea. The size of the iceberg was as high as Taranga (a high hill.) On the 27th March we saw America. On the Bth April we arrived at the line. On the 14th May we saw England. On the 16th we arrived in the morning at three o’clock, and went ashore at eleven, and on the 18th we went to London on the railway, a steamer which runs on land. It is a very quick thing. Its speed is this : one minute to one mile. On the 19th the wires were fully engaged sending news to all end” of the land. At nine o’clock the message was sent, “ guests have arrived from New Zealand.” On the 21st this was announced to the Queen. At twelve o’clock it was translated into all the languages of the ends of the land, and on the 22nd it was telegraphed to the Island of France, in the language of the country and also the Island of Scotland, “ guests are here in London. Chiefs from Nevv Zealand, and by and bye they will visit you there. At Iwelve o’clock they will arrive.” On the 23rd we were led to see the lion, the tiger, and the elephant. On the 21th, at four o’clock, afternoon the great chief arrived (the Secretary of State for the Colonies) the Superintendent of the Governors of the islands of the whole world. He came to escort us to the chiefs of England, that they might see us, seeing that our thoughts to the Queen were good. On the 25th we went, thirteen of us, one of us being in the lunatic asylum and left behind, —Haumu by name. There were 2,364 chiefs. I cannot give you all the particulars. It is for the newspapers to give you the news. On the 28th we send you these letters. Enough. From Sidney Stephen, in London, England.

The two following paragraphs are from the Court Journal, of June 20; — The New Zealand chiefs, at a dinner to which they were invited by the Duke of Newcastle, were particularly struck with one dish which, of all others, they considered godlike. It was a lobster salad. They were also astonished at the Duke talking while eating, and informed his Grace that in their country men ate first and talk afterwards, and it was wiser, but they woilld follow the British example, and the polite people jabbered away. The British Goverhtneht does not pay the expenses, as stated; but a few gentlemen,"Who : afe pa-

triotio enough to give English influence in New Zealand a fillip by this means, have put down £2,000 for the expenses—not that these chiefs are poor, as two or three of them own from 20,000 to 30,000 acres each, which is worth about £3 an acre.

Nett Zealand Chiefs. —At the invitation of Sir Roderick Murchison, the New Zealand chiefs were present on Tuesday at a soiree at Willis’s Rooms, where they excited the curiosity of the distinguished guests, the Duke of Wellington being particularly interested in the interpreter’s answers to his numerous inquiries. On Thursday they accepted an invitation from Lord de Grey to visit Woolwich Arsenal. On being conducted over the establishment by Colonel Anderson, they expressed their astonishment at the wonders they saw, and seemed to think that their “good mother the Queen, would do well to build a similar factory for the native peacemakers of New Zealand.” Hee Majesty and the New Zealandees.— We are told by the Court Journal , that her Majesty, having been informed that the wife of Pomare was in an “ interesting condition,” expressed herself pleased at the prospect of the birth of a New Zealand child of distinction in this country, and requested to be informed when the event is near, and she would sec that proper attention should be paid to the lady on the occasion ; and further, should the child prove to be a female, her Majesty would be pleased to have it named “ Victoria,” or, if a male, “Albert,” and the Queeu also signified her wish to stand “ godmother to the Brit-ish-born New Zealander,”