To the Men of Waikato.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 7, 29 March 1849, Page 3

To the Men of Waikato.

My Friends, —Some of you, I dare say, will remember my having been amongst you lately. I was very glad of the opportunity, for I wanted very much to see you in your own villages. I lisul niiiny thoughts about you ; nml as 1 should like ynu to lu-nr uli.it those thoughts wore, I am very [.'lad to write them in this newspaper, in the hope that a grent many of you may •cail ihem, anil talk about lliein to your friends ami people all around you, for 1 think, what I have to sny nitty open your eyes, and let in understanding upon you, about many things concerning your happiness and welfare, to which, peril 'ps, hitherto you may have been blinded. As I am a Doctor, the first thought I naturnlly had, was about your bodily health, for i cannot help telling von, that up to tin; present time, 1 have been very much surprised, and my head lis been confuted lo understand, how it was, that you, Maori men, lo all appearance a strong, healthy, robust set, should slil have so many ilisenses amongst you, and diseases also of the very worst kind —diseases which, in our own country, only belong to the weakest of the people. I always thought to myself, that there must he some cause for this—and for the sake of finding it out, 1 watched you very closely in your own villages, so to become acquainted with your habits and ways of life. And these are the things, I think, which help, at any rate, lo give ycu so much disease* The first tiling I noticed was the building of your huuses. Tliey are a great deal ton Juiiill (in our own country they would make them largi r, even for dogs). Well, then, I tell you, as a Doe'or, that ihey are very unhealthy in the inside—they are too clo'.e and confined. The fault is, that there is no window, or some sort of opening opposite to lite door, to let the wind blow through, and so blow away fill the bad vapour, which must always he gathering there from so imny people living jn them. This, by itself, is a gieiit cause of disease amongst yon. Dm then you will say, I dare say, it was always so with us. Then I dare say you had always diseaieniih your people. Hut you are not i likely to have had so much as you have now, ;

because iio.v. in unn ■ of your habits and tuslimn, you hnv- copied tlio white people ~ null therefore your habits and our habits put toi;eiliui .'.. Tt do well. You must lie ull Maori, or all white men—i:: your ways. I say to ymi. then-lore, lu.ild your houses much larger—ami 1 know yv can, lor you are very I good workmen—and'always have a window or opuninir opp.i.s::-..- the door. The nexi tiling I spi-:ik about is your food. You cat too ni.iiiy pol.it .en. Potatoes, by tlifiiiselvcs, ara not good for you ; Ihey fill you wiili wind, and <lon't give your bones and flesh enough of strength. It is not propi-r for nun to lire alone on vegetables. God ..Headed that man should ■i 150 li'-c upon meal; men -re, whit our ducto a and m v e men in I-.n«l and call ' carnivorous" ucings—thai ia to sav, we are formed and 111 uli' to cit int.it. We can tell thi< l>v the i.ppearauee of our teesli. You 1.n0..- 'hat dnjs, and n pre.it many other coimo-- •mim.ils, are also made to live up 11 fit-• <i ; ,-.;i;l if liny don't have it.n rful-irlv inev eje. Thev linvi; many times in f« r to- dee of lindieg out the truth, kept do;;-: fed tit . 1 >egclahles only, and no ni-at, and llu-v hi-ve aliviiys piaduailv got tliimii'i and thinner, and in aliout six weeks t'tcy have di-d. Now, although you iloii'l die, still yon me not half tliii sii-onu robust people you uoit'il be, if you sonieiin.s cat meat uitli yur pn'.nt >es. Allen.:, lh: .', lo Ill's. And, liien, ano'her i;ieat source <>f evil anion:,'-.1 you, is. tli .t s'iukin<r, putrid lioli.m coin you eat, :unl which, 1 was very sorry to *cf, you were all s ;) fond of". This food i' not (it even lor pL's j 11 ml utiiil you leave it. oil' eiitir.lv, you .mil your cbi 1 - dren, and your graudcliildicn after you, will aliv.iy.- be ii dile and subject to those liortid uhecsscs—with <« hich I see so uuiiiy of you ae afflicted. I say to you then—be quite ashamed ever to eat any more stinking coin. I must now speak of your pipes. I was very glad to find, that although you always appear to be smoking, yet I am sure you do 11.it consume veiy much toliaeco. This ia very Hood, lor 100 much tobacco ia very had. lint I wi-h to point out one thing to you, mid thai is, lh it vo ir pip.a aro all 100 short. This .ii.ikes ii as bad to you, as if yon smoked ten times aa much tobacco as yon do. . I will tell von why. 'Toiiaeeo his an ci!y principle, ■vliiirli is must injurious 10 the health of man. This oil, when the pipe is lit, fads, or accumulates in the howl, and, th-refjie, everv utile \on suck Ihe pipe, you mini imbibj some of lh.' oil, because the stein is so short. My it'lviee 10 you then is, never to have the stem of join pipe shorter lhan twi e the length of your middle ling'r, and ibeti ihe smoking wont hint at ail ; but if you don't do this, and also neglect the oilier advice I have given you, you will, 1 tell yon as a Doctor, become a poor, decrepid, miserably diseased, race of people, who, a lew ye.113 from Ibis lime, will ihe away fiom ihe lace of Ihe earth.

I want now onlv to say a few words more, ami tht-.so lew words shall lju about " tin; 111mkei." Now I il.iro say you all very much ' wonder why ihe blanket should hi so very I injurious to jour h'-ailli. It seem.* comfortable to you, ami warm, ami therefore, you will suv how can it hurt us? Jt is very iiatura', iniltol, without better, that you should speak or reason in this way. I want to teaeh vou better, listen, my friend.-), tli;-:i. to what I have to say, 'l'lie human body is so lormcl that it c.imiot beir imy sudden changes ot heat and cold. If tbp bo:ly at any time is very hot, and llien becomes suddenly eold, or if it should be very cold, and were tlu'ii to become very suddenly hot, we always I'mll that it produces disease, and this is exactly what the blanket does with you. I hnvii seen you ninny times, nt a'l hours, by day anil by enveloped in the blanket, close to the (ire, until you have been covered nil over with perspiration ; you have then suddenly thrown it oil', and have exposed yourselves to the nir, until you have become ouito cold. You may do this several time* without any harm, but if you continue to do eo, it must, it is impossible tint it should be otherwise, at last produce disease—and tins very wor?t form of disease—l mean the diso isc wo c%ll consumption, and which it would he impossiHe to cure, if nil the doctors in the wirld were to try. deceive this from me, then, my friends, us the troth, and let tin; ask you for the future, never njrain to us.- the blanket as a covering by day. If you like it when you lie down in sleep at ti'u'il, well and god, it wont hurt you at all; tint never use • 'ltiii.it; the day. I .>• • »»ill, my friends, a great many more i -iv to you, about what 1 saw and i:i;:t,"' you ; hut all this you s!:all '• -•< ■-. fioiri m.'. S> farewell. ' '-w vM.itTiai, M.l).