New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday January 24, 1846.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 68, 24 January 1846, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAITS GUARDIAN. Saturday January 24, 1846.

Wb -publish this week a letter m the Maori language (with a translation) from Pirikawau to his relations, on the subject of the present rebellion in New Zealand. Most of our readers may remember that this native went ! to England about three years since, under the -care of JVtr. Beauchamp Halswell, the .son of E. Halswell, Esq. who was appointed Protector of Aborigines in this settlement ,by the "New Zealand Company. During bis stay in, England, Pirikawau has been an inmate of Mr. HalswelUs family, has been sent .to school (though -he ~had previously been taught to read-and write his own language at Waikanae by the Rev. O. Hadfiel'd), arid .every care has been taken by that gentleman's family to civilize and improve him. He has frequently, in the interval. of his absence from his native -country, written,- as opportunity dffered, to hiihrelations in New Zealand ; — and in aneof .these jcoramunica.tions which we "have seen, 'he speak* in very grateful towns «of the kindness he had aeceived, particularly during a severe illness* from which he had just recovered. Writing to the same chief to whom the letter oow published is addressed, he says — " I cannot fully express to you the kindness of 'Mrs. Halswell to me when lam ill. She is continually anxious about me (awangawanga .tonu), and attentive to me. The kindness of this person to me is like the kindness of one's own mother." This explanation may serve to produce a more just appreciation cf the letter under consideration, which bears internal evidence of being the genuine expression of the sentiments and opinions of the writer. He has lived, in the vicinity of London — the capital ©f the Empire — foMhe spade of two years, the .daily and attentive witness ojLscenes which cannot fail dejepljr [ to impress nis mind with the wealth, pompf! power, and magnificence of that nation whose sons have undertaken to colonize bis native country-— scenes of which it was impossible for him previously to entertain any adequate notion or conceptipn. . He hears that some of: his countrymen have committed-them-selves to a contest with the power of this mighty nation which" his present .knowledge .convinces him must find in their, -destruction, and anxious Jor the safety of his? own relations -and friends, die seizes the firit opportunity of warning them of the danger to which they would be exposed by following so evil an example. The, letter, we believe, is calculated to produce, — nay, has already produced good results. 'It has been the subject of careful consideration among the natives af Waikanae, ' and a^- other places 1 along, the coast. The rank of the writer and >of the person to whom the letter is addressed

*ias insured thia. FoF PerifctfwYra is etbsely connected w/tli;the prinpipaL chiefs at Waikanae, and was also "nearly related to E Hikov who was one of the greatest chiefs in this ! district ; and William King, to whom the letter is addressed, is now the principal chief at Waikanae. The natives clearly see this is presented to them, either to he the friends or the foes of the British race, — and they begin to count the cost. They (we allude more particularly to the natives, of Waikanae, to whom the letter was ac£ dressed) through the^ unceasing efforts of that most excellent individual Mr. Hadfield, who, with the zeal of a martyr has devoted — we may say — sacrificed his.life in the holy cause in which he was engaged, — have "tasted of the blessings.of Christianity, and have begun to appreciate the advantages of •civilization. Their visits to Wellington,- and 1 their intercourse with the settlers,- have taught them 'How much they may be elevated' above their former position,' and so far as they have been able, they have endeavoured 4p imitate what they have observed. They have improved their houses, many of .thenf have huilt wooden ones after the fashion of the pakejbas—they have learned to cultivate wheat as well as potatoes, and have purchased horses and learned to ride on them. At the present anniversary, on the first day a race was Tun with roaori riders, and on the second day, in two races the horse belonging to. a maori was the winner. We have stated these things, to shew how strong the faculty of imitation exists among them,— to shew how far they have advanced in civilization, — and contrasting fheir present with their former state, the question proposed in former times by the Apostle to his converts, naturally suggests itself to their minds — " What fruit have ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ?" — They find they hare to .choose between barbarism and civilization, — they feel their present .advancement, and ardently 'desire still further to improve their condition. Wi^h this feeling, we believe they have unanimously (with the exception of Rangihaeata, and the exception ia -worth noting) agreed to a memorial to Capt.iGreyv ' in which they feelingly deplore the removal from among them of their former counsellor aud friend Mr. Hadfield,' and express their earnest wish to be treated as British subjects, and to be instructed in the customs and- the Jaws of the pakehas. These things are significant and satisfactory signs of the times. We believe this to he a voluntary movement con .the part <of the natives — one in which no oative Protector lias interfered, — for unfortunately we have too often found their interference to produce an unfriendly and hostile result. The natives of -themselves desire the ■connection between them and the settlers to be of a closer and more intimate aa* tare. It is for a wise and a prudent Governor so to compose present differences, that their desire may be gratified, -and the best interests of both races be arrangedon a permanent basis of prosperity-