THE CHATHAM ISLANDS. (From the Bishop of New Zealand's Visitation Tour in 1848.)

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 381, 8 December 1849, Page 6

THE CHATHAM ISLANDS. (From the Bishop of New Zealand's Visitation Tour in 1848.)

Tuesday, 30th May. Early ?n the morning we shifted our position within the bed of kelp in three to four fathoms water, where we lay (sheltered from the open cea ; but the anrhorage at Waitangi, at the best is far from secure, and decidedly inferior to the opposite harbour of Whangaroa, on the northern side of the bay. The morning was favoumble for rating the chronometer on shore, and the resulr of the sights gave me entire confidence m l\\^ wntch It wu', nn unusual thing to be in weft longitude, and a pleabinp, thought that I was some bundled miles on the w-/ to Kngland. My first visit, on landing, was to my friend William Pitt's house, who received me most hospitably, and, according to native custom, directed an immediate search to be made for pigs and potatoes to present to his guest. His house is partly of English construction, such as those which tho whalefishers build for themselves, with standing bed places constructed after the fashion of beiths in a ship. Thcie is some truth in the saying, that the whalefishers impart a considerable amount of civilization to the natives. The truth seems to be, that their standard of civilized life iamoie attainable, and their mode of life more sociable, than in the formal and more guarded manners of the towns and the Mission stations. In ju tccto a much abused cliss ot men, from whom 1 have rec ived much hospitality, I must confeas, that the most steady and thoughtful of my native travelling companions spent his early life at a whaling station. There is much, of course, in the habits of the whalers which all must deeply lament ; but I have rarely found a station in which advice was not patiently and even thankfully received. My little native scholars were most thankful to be released from shipboard for a run on the flat and firm sands of Waitangi, which reminded them of their own beach at Otaki. They were speedily engaged in all manner of gambols, while I conversed with my native host, and with the small party of his immediate neighbours. Among the rest were several men and women of the aboriginal race of f lie Islands, whom I was very anxious to see. In appearance they are not very different from the New Zealanders ; and their language at the time of the invasion (h bout ten yaar6 ago) was perfectly intelligible to the Nptiawa tribe, who usurped their territory. Thtir name, as spoken by themselves, is Tangata Maoriori, differing from the name of the New Zealand ptople only in the rfduplicition of the last syllables; but the concjiieio.s have given thrtn the title of "Paraiwhara," the meaning of which I could not ascertain. Thoir number at the time ol my visit, by a careful census which I look of the names of men, women, and children, was 268; but the very small number of children, and the unmarried ?tate in which tbey seemed for the most part to be living, would lead me to fear that they are rapidly decreeing. The relation in which they stand to the New Zealanders is not satisfactory. They have been reduced to the condition of serfs, and are obliged to obey the orders of every little child of the invading race. " Ngare Paraiwhara," Send a Para whara, shows that a " fagging " system has been established, more injurious, peihaps, to the masters tb.in to the servants, as there is no uppenance of harshness or seventy, but a great decrease of personal ac'ivity iv the dominant race. A long residence on the island would be necessary to do away entuely with this evil ; but I did what I could in a short visit, by payine personal attention to the poor Paiai whara, and explaining how they were descended from the elder blanch of the family of Noah, by which they obtained the nao c of he " tuakana o te Pihopa, 1 ' (the elder brother of the Bishop). They aie a cheerful and willing people; and, like many persons in a subordinate station, more obliging than their masters. Amusing stories are told of the first invasion of the island ; at which time the chief food of the Paraiwhara was the supply of ee s from the numerous lakes which cover, perhaps half tlic Eiuface. When potatoes were firbt given to them they impaled them upon hkew erB after the manner af cooking eels, and sat watching till the oil should diop from them- Their cunoes aie ingeniously made of small sticks carefully tied together, as theie is no wood on he \t\iud suitable fora solid canoe.

CHARACTLR. (V IHC ISLAMi. ' Fiom a sandhill near William Pitts villaze a good ' view is obtained over the two principal lakes, Uuro aud Whanga ; the latter of which is by far the laigest, and is not less than twenty miles in length. It opens into the Bra on the eastern coast ; but the water is too shallow to admit Vessel's. Tlip gencml character of the whole* island may be seen in a few minute' nalU fiom tho beach. The soil is composed of n rich vegetable mould, formed by the decay of vejjolafion, with a mixture of diifted sand. In its naiu.nl state it n, generally swampy, but when drained and cultivated, yieldn the finest potatoes and garden vegetables ol every kind. The cabbages would require special boilus to contain them. Wheat, alio, is in surh abundance, that hundreds of bushels "were lying rendy for sale ; but the &toimy climate and the badness of tbe anchorages, deter the masters of vessels from vi&iting the island. Small copses of light brushwood, lying between bwampy hills, which pour their drainage into the lakes, aie seen everywhere, and are the characteiistic featmes of the landscape. The view from the lull near Kakautahi orer the great Whanga Jake, with two lold hills in its western end, is pleasing, without being; striking or grand. If the whole island were cultivated, its gentle hills and ilopcs. and the va« liety of tarns and ponln would give it a soft and domestic character. A better place could «- orcely have been fouti'l for such a body as the Germa.i Mission, now settled on the island ; but their influence has been impaired by some mistakes which they made on their fust settlement, by whidi they incurred the ill-will of the native people. For two days I was occupi°d in taking the census of the people, and in conversing with the few heathens who still resist the influence and teaching of their chief, William Pitt. The time was relieved by short walks into the intmior, where the magnificent produce ot the native gardens, and the signs of superabundant plenty everywheic visible, contrasted in a most btriking manner with the thoughts which have been so long

present to our minds of the fearful distress in Scotland and Ireland. Every animal, whether pig, horse, or cow, showed by its sleek skin that hunger is hero unknown. The flat levels are intersected by deep marshy creeks, which serve as canals for the transport of fnewood und produce,