THE CLOSING YEAR.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume VII, Issue 20, 31 December 1860, Page 1

THE CLOSING YEAR.

We have arrived at the close of another year ! The days and weeks and months of 1860 have passed away, never to be recalled. Thus time rolls on, and every anniversary finds us one year older, and one year nearer to the grave ! It is profittable on occasions like this to look back and ask ourselves, *' How has the time been spent ? Has the year brought blessings or has it been marked with adversity ?—have fts advantages been improved or have they been neglected ?—have we advanced in circumstances and condition since we bade farewell to 1858, or have we remained at a stand-still ? Thus, by a candid retrospect, may we reap experience from the past to serve as lessons for the future. r Let each Maori take thought to-" day and ask himself, "What is my present condition compared with what it was twelve months, ago, when the Messenger enlled on me

to pause awhile and form good plans for a coming year?—have my horses and sheep increased ? have I learnt to till the land to better advantage?—has my house become better looking and more comfortable ?—have I improved in my manners and in my dress ? Am I more like a Pakeha in every respect to-day than I was at the close of last year?" It is those who have spent their time in peaceful pursuits—who have devoted their energies to the acquisition of European property and to the improvement of their social condition—who will, on examination, find that they have advanced with the advancing year, and it is to these we would say, Take encouragement from the past, and persevere in the path which you have chosen. It will lead you to happiness and wealth, and thus, in raising yourselves, you will raise your people. It is gratifying to learn that, during the past year, several small vessels have been purchased by the tribes living near Auckland. The Government has assisted them with loans, amounting in the aggregate to about £1,200. A further loan of has been advanced to the Ngatipaoa to enable them to put their flour-mill into thorough repair. This indicates a step in the right direction. We cannot, however, thus congratulate those who have spent the year in idle and fruitless undertakings ; such, for example, as the King movement in Waikato. How much precious time has been thus lost in noisy and meaningless runangas, that might have been turned to profitable account I Had the WaikatD people given the time and energy to industrial pursuits that

has been devoted to this foolish! work, how different would have been their present condition ! Had they adopted the advice contained in last year's Messenger —burnt off the scrub to give place to grass, and killed off their.dogs to make room for sheep —how much richer they might have been ! As it is, they are poor and miserable. Their clothes are in tatters, their ploughs are worn out, and they are altogether worse off in circumstances than they were twelve months ago. Nor can we congratulate those who have done worse than wasted their time—who have spent the greater part in building pas, in war and plunder, in murder and outrage; who, instead of accumulating property and improving their condition, are wasting their means and - ing away their lives. But as the annals of this year have been stained with blood, and marked by fire and desolation, so let those of the coming year be remembered in connexion with the establishment of a solid and lasting p eace —the year in which war between the Pakeha and the Maori ceased for ever !