ORIGIN OF THE WEALTH OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 6, 15 March 1849, Page 3

ORIGIN OF THE WEALTH OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE.

In the last paper I showed how considerable a gain would attend the keeping of sheep by the natives of New Zealand, supposing that sufficient and proper care were taken of them. In the wooiled or steep districts, however, the possession of cattle and goats would be more profitable. Willi respect to goats, so easily may lliey bo kept, and so little money do they cost in first purchase, that nearly every native has the means of obtaining and breeding them, On the mo«t exposnd and rugged land on thecoast, in the wooded mountainous country, and espfccially upon islands, goats will thrive, and tlieir numbers increase rapidly. Where sheep nnd eattlo would find but little to graze upon, the goat will fatten ; and 50 strong and hardy are they, that they require little or no care from their owner, alter they are once turned out upon the spot where it is intended that they should remnin. Sheep, as I showed yon, will increase in number very fist, but goats breed yet more rapidly. Sheep aro mora valuable on kccoiiut of the wool which they yield taeh year, and from the superiority of their fhsli for eating ; but then they are more tender tlinn goats—are more likely to become diseased, anil die in very wet weather, and when feeding in swampy land, while goats are so hardy that lliey slider little or nothing from wet or cold. Goals will yield mills ; and it slrjtild not

be forgotten by the Datives, Hint there is ■ nothing more fitting for the food of tlieir ] children, more especially when sick, than such milk. 1 The flesh of the goat is much improved for ] eating, by the male animal being castrated | when young, in the same manner as the young pig. The kid miy be cut with most | safety when about two months old. . | Goats will sometimes stray away from the . place in which they were first turned out; but , it is very easy for this to be pn vented. , Although they are hardy and strong animals, , and although they care notliiog for cold, they , so very much dislike rain, iliaton the approach j of Lad weather, or even to escape the wetting j which they might receive from a short shower, , they will "run a mile or more to get under ( shelter; and if a house or shed be built lor them 11 get under at such times, they will rc- ; member the place, and tie always near it when ; the weather threatens, or when rain is ap- , proiching, When a native kills a goat, he should skin it carefully, and be careful not to cut the skin ( unnecessarily. If lie have no particular use | for it, he should take it into one of the towns, , at the" earliest opportunity, when the currier ] or leather maker will buy it of him. The horns ] ought also to he saved j they furnish the ( making the handles of knives, and may also ( be sold. , It is not only for the purpose of becoming rich that the natives of New Zealand should ( be possessed of these things—of horses and cajtle, of sheep and goats—but in order that they may live more easily, and upon better food. The horses, ! have told you, may be trained to carry the loads of maize and corn, | from the cultivation to the pah, or to tho river bank, where the canoe is to be loaded, nnd will so save the natives, and especially . the women, much fatigue. In future, as the wheat cultivations of the natives become larger and more numerous, horses may be ' employed in turning tho mills for grinding the corn. In the open land, and even the bush land where the smaller stumps have been prubbed out, horses will plough and harrow in the wheat, Bnd will bo cause twice and thrice the extent of ground to be cultivated by the native unaided. Ccrtle may also be taught to do many such things. They will also carry a heavy load, will draw a cart, and with a strong plough will break up tho hard fern and flax land for 1 first cultivation j and when lame, old, or unfit for work, may be fattened and sold iu the j tonus for beef. It need not be very long ere you possess these things amongst you. Many of you huve some of them now, horsts and goats are common amongst your settlements; and ■wiih the money which you receive for your wheat and pigs you might sOon buy cattle and eheep. In ten or twelve years time your condition as h ptople will be very different to what it is at present, much more property will belong to you, vm:r work will produce more to you, and your lood will be better. You are a people who see the benefits which have accrued to you from the coming amongst you of white people, and the more hardworking amongst you will soon, by their industry, cause their condition to assimilate to that of the whito man. When Capt. Cook came to New Zealand, at the time when your grandfathers were very young, there were neither pigs nor potatoes in the couutry. He brought with him a numbei of sows and some boars, which he left nt the II;: l r of Islands, at Queen Charlotte's Sound, and at Dusky Bay. The natives killed stiine of these pigs, and Captain Cook •left them i:gain others, and from these have bred the pigs which arc now so numerous in all parts of New Zealand. The seeds of the potato, of the pumpkin, the melon, and the Indian coin, were also brought iiist by Captain Cook, who gave them to the chiet'j at vaiious places where his ships lay. Before his visits there were none of these th ings in the country. Wheal was subsequently cultivated by the missionaries at the Hay of Islands ; and by them and by the white people in the north putt of New Zealand, and nt Wellington and .Nelson it has been introduced so generally amongst you, that much wheat is now grown, and much flour eaten at your settlements in the various parts of the Islands. One of the objects of the white people in wishing that vou should become possessed of ■beep and cattle and goats, and should cultivate more wheat, is that you should have better food and better clothing. Amongst a hundred Maories, more die in the course of a yef.r, t'Mn amonust a hundred white people | and the cau.se of this is, that your clothing is ?>.ot of a proper kind. Your children often ; nothing over them but one piece of thin o, and from this, consumptions and dis•.„«vs jf the chest are causeil and become o'lmmon amongst you, causing many to die. H'bon you are possessed of the kinds of proV':- l which I have been writing about, you v !iive more money with you to buy cloth- .: •• .-iTilar to that won: by the white people. (7'o be continued.)