TO ALL THE NATIVES OF PORT NICHOLSON AND OTHER PLACES.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 17, 16 August 1849, Page 2

TO ALL THE NATIVES OF PORT NICHOLSON AND OTHER PLACES.

My Friends, — I have your interest at heart, therefore I write this letter: you all know me well now, having lived seven years amongst you —on this account listen attentively to what I have to soy. The Governor in his goodness hag caused to be built an Hospital, in which your sick can be taken care of and not lrft to die on the cold ground in your oold houses from want of food and medicine. Formerly, when any natives got sick they were put away in houses by themselves and

left to die without aid :—look at the goodness now of the Governor, who lias built a house for your sick where they will be taken care of, and provided with food and medicine to cure them, unless it be the will of God that they should die-—in which case their sufferings can at least be alleviated by remedies, food, and the kindness of the Surgeon and attendants. My friends, a medical man has two duties | to perform, one is to cure those persons whom it is the will of God should recover by remedies and attention; the other is where the

disease is very bad and the person likely to die, to still give medicine and apply remedies calculated to relievo the sick person's sufferings, and to smooth the bed of death, that he may be better disposed to think of and pray to God :—for you all know how much power the sickness of the body hns over the mindhow, if a man is very had and in much pain, it prevents him from thinking of and praying to bis Creator. Therefore you can well understand the bounty of God in giving us medicine, which, if it will not cure all cases, will at least case our paiti9, and allow us to turn our thoughts to him who made us—he has commanded us to use remedies for our different diseases, and it rests with him whether we recover or not. Medie.il men nre but instiuments in his hands, they have no power in themselves, and they cannot cure if it be not the will of God. So you can from this all comprehend what a blessing the Governor has conferred on your sick in providing a place where they can be taken care of, and, as I said before, if they cannot be cured their sufferings cau at least he relieved, so as to allow their minds to dwell on heavenly things, and listen more attentively to the instruction of their spiritual teachers. This is the reason why remedies are still persevered in in cases which will not recover, besides we are bound to use all means which our knowledge tells us is good as long as life remains, leaving the success or otherwise of the remedies so used in God's hands. I formerly heard nne or two foolish natives say medicine was bad and people who took it died—in like manner 1 dare say many natives have said that the knowledge of God was bad, and that the natives who prayed to the true God died; the foolishness of these people is now evident to you all. I would ask you simply, do no natives die unless those who take medicine, and do no natives recover who take medicine ? Ask yourselves these questions, and what will youranswer be ? Why, there is hardly one of you in the pahs about Port Nicholson who has not been bled, cupped, or been under some sort of medical treatment at differrent times. How many natives at Tipitea, Te Aro, and other Pahs, have.seen their friends recover under medical treatment who would likely otherwise have died. How many of you have, on seeing your friends bled, exclaimed that if the blood had not been drawn away the person would have died—you all will agree with me in this. How many men, women, and children, who have been very bad, have recovered; therefore, 1 say, don't mind the foolish man win/ would say that medicine is bad—lt had its origin from God, and nothing is bad which comes from God. If all your sick were' left without medical aid by the Government, how many of you would be without children, wives, liubbands, brothers, or sisters. When your sick recover be thankful to God, to whom also I am thankful if I have been the means under him of curing them ; but do not attribute more to us than we deserve, as all power comes from him. My friends, there are three great causes why so much sickness prevails amongst you, and unless you lay the axo to the root, and try and remove these causes, your race will be a prey to the worst forms of disease, and will soon become extinct. That you have ' the means within your power of arresting the I ravages of disease to which you are so subI ject I shall soon point out to you, and unless I you avail yourselves of my advice, and that speedily, it will bo in vain for me alone to | try and stem the torrent, by administering I medicine and curing you, if as booi; n» you get well you become exposed to the same causes and get sick again. Now, from having carefully siudied your disease for the last seven years, I can confidently assure you that the frequency of disease amongst your race is chiefly attributable to three sell-evident evils, namely,— Ist. The want ot proper, suitable, and warm clothing, fitting closely to all parts of the body. 2ndly. Want of proper, nourishing, and wholesome food. 3rdly. Want of good weather-tight houses, in which you can have sleeping apartments, with beds raised from the ground. Now, with respect to the first, let us see what is the case? Why, that many of you wear blankets in the day time us articles of dress. The only parts ol the body, therefore, to which the blankets are in close contact are the lower part of the neck, and the front and

back parts of the chest. In these situations there is too much blood circulating, and too much warmth, at the same time that other parts of the body are exposed to the weather. When any sudden chill occurs from wot or cold, the blood is driven internally, often causing inflammation of the lungs. Moreover, I have frequently seen you in your houses with your wet blankets on, after being out in the rain. What is the case with the while man with respect to clothing? He ge-. ncrally wears a flannel waistcoat next his skin, over this a shirt, theu'n'pair of trowsers, waislcoat. and coat, and, on wet days, an outside coat. You see from this that all parts of Ms body are kept warm alike, thereby preserving an equal balance between the quantity " blcod circulating internally and on the surV ?> of.the body. Suppose you were suddenly to stop n stream of water, would it not cause a retrograde movement, and then overflow its banks. In like manner, if you suddenly check the natural flow of blood through the surface of the body, and the cause is not speedily removed, it flows back to the internal organs; but in consequence of its being confined in tubes, and not being able to pet vent, as a stream of water, it causes congestion, or choking up of the part, and inflammation : and this will explain the relief which bleeding affords in many of your diseases, and which has often struck you with astonishment and delight. As opening a dam gives vent to the confined water, so opening a vein gives vent to the obstructed blood, and relieves the internal parts from the swollen or engorged state which they were in, and restores the circulation to an equal balance; but as a river overflowing its banks does some mischief to the surrounding country, which it might be necessary to repair after the flood had gone down, so the sudden stoppage of the blood from the causes before mentioned, may produce certain damage to the internal parts which bleeding alone may not be sufficient to remedy. On account of this, it is necessary to give medicine; and you ought always to be most particular and punctual to take it as you are directed, as omitting it once may produce most fatal results. Now the means | to remedy this cause, namely—the want of , European clothing—is within your own . power, since the Governmeut are affording | you abundant employment on the roads. ; You can now earn plenty of money, with ( which you can buy good European clothing. ( You have also other sources from which you | can procure money, namely—selling fiiewood, working for Europeans, selling pigs, potatoes, wheat, &c, &c. Tho second cause, the want of proper nourishing food, is so obvious, that I need not say much about it. I would ask you are stinking fish, karakas, corn, pipis, rouriki, proper articles of food for human beings j are they not more adapted for pigs? It is from eatin™ these that you have so many pukus about the neck and different parts of your bodies ; this sort of food impoverishes the blood and renders the system more susceptible of disease. Look at your women and at ours at the period of suckling, and you will see the difference which good food produces in your women, living on the sort of diet before enumerated, theri il formed very little milk in the breads for the support of the child, and what there is, mora resembles water than milk; and your women's breasts nro never full of milk like ours, because the blood in your women, living on such bad diet, is too poor to form much milk. It is from the want of this that your children are so sickly and subject to disease in infancy, and delicate uud covered with pukus in nfter years. Your children are also not clothed as ours, and consequently exposed to the weather; our women, on the contrary, living on go«d wholesomß food, have plenty of milk for their children, which nourishes them and builds up a strong constitution, which in after years is more capable of resisting disease than yours. Suppose you were to build a house with weak foundations and of bad materials, would it not he more liable to fall down from the violence of a storm or an earthquake, than one built of Kood foundations and of good materials. You are now growing wheat, therefore persevere, increase your wheat plantations, live moro on flour, kill pigs and eat them, become industrious and labor hard to earn plenty ol money wherewith to buy clothing and good food, sell your surplus wheat to the Europeans, nnd receive in exchange money or goods; and this brings me to say a word about the benefit of having liuropeans amongst von; without them you would lie in your original.state of ignorance and barbarism, unacquainted with civilized habits. Now you Jiavc a large white population which will buy your surplus grain, and with whom you can trade nnd acquire by degrees habitsof coinlort and civilization, which will be the means ol preserving your race. I am certain now you would not like to return to your former mode of living and lose the Europeans. You have also a Government anxious to promote your

welfare, therefore let all good men co-operate with the Governor in keeping peace, and very soon yon will see this country happy and prosperous, nnd yourselves and children raised from a half barbarous and ignorant state to one of civilization and comfort. The third cause of disease, namely, the want of goid air-tight and warm houses, you are well acquainted with, as I have often spoken to you about it, it would be better for you to live in the open air, than in the miserable cold dirty houses in which you are at present congregated like so many pigs. Vou have the means from the resources before mentioned of remedying this, why don't you build houses similar to those built at Pipitea pah, by I'orutu and l'arata, or like that built by Etako, at Kumu-toto, or why don't you MloW the example Bet by the natives of Otaki, whose desire after civilized habits I have heard of from all persons, and whose example is worthy of imitation. What are all the chiefs doing about here, will they not come forward and help us white people, or will they sit quietly down and see their people out off one by one with disease, and not lend their aid by example and advice to root out the evil j how will they be able to bear trie remorse and the reproaches of their people when but fuw will remain after disease shall have seized on its prey. Chiefi of l'ort Nicholson, lay hold of the opportunities now offered—•assist us in laying tho axe to the root of (he evil—ho foremost in trying to rescue your people from the condition they are now in—let it be said nil over the country that you nie loading the way to civilization—and when the hour of your exit from this world shall have arrived, you will feel the satisfaction of having contributed, by word and example, to the amelioration of the condition of your people, and for which you will be rewarded in the life to come. One word more—acquire habits of cleanliness—wash every day—and in summer bathe in the salt water, for this practice is good. Also, when you apply for medical aid, bo quick to do so, in the beginning of sickness, for medicine h.is more power at that time, than when the disease is far advanced. Many of you leave it too long. This is very bad. When you come t> the Hospital, bring bottles, for we hue none to give. The hour to npply h alter eleven o'clock. This is all I have to say to jou at present. From your sincere friend, J. Fitzgerald, M.D., Coloninl Surgeon. ! Wellington, May 0, 1848.