THE MAORI IN POLYNESIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 228, 19 September 1908, Page 3

THE MAORI IN POLYNESIA.

(liy James lzett.—All Right* Reserved.)

1 lie student is now about to set, Dili upon an. enquiry fur a possible ilawaiki, and in doing so care must be taken to have regaru. to the conditions laid down by the only authority from which a knowledge that there ever was such a laud is derived. All previous theories which have from time Lo time been advanced have here been swept away, and the ground is now clear and open. So, 100, let ail open and unbiassed mind be broughL to the investigation. First, it will be necessary lo pay some attention to such evidence as the islands of Now Zealand may have in keeping, because it must be recognised as possible that—Jiawaiki having been near to New Zealand—what once happened to this country it may have been the l'ato oi the vanished land—the land of I "extinction"—to experience. j

I An eminent authority has asserted I that away to the southward, where ice and s iio\v continually prevail, from JNJounts Krebus and Terror, a magnetic line —or curve;—sweeps northward, passing through the centre of volcanic activity at the New Hebrides, and away to tne north of New Guinea. Upon this magnetic and volcanic line New Zealand is situated. Whether this b« so or otherwise, it i a certain —as far it is possible for scientilic men to deduce facts from appearances—that in times past New Zealand has been Ihe scene of vast physical disturbances. The .names of Dr. Huast, r.K.S.; J)r Hector, F.lt.S.; .1. ('. Crawford, l-.C.5.; Captain Mutton, l\<ijS.; W. T. L I'r.vers, KljjS.; A. Dudley (.K : and J. T. Thomson, F.R.C.S., are inmost distinguished in connection with geological researches and analysis in New Zealand. These gentlemen agree generally; where they dill'er is simply in regard to questions of time, »ue authority contending for the occurrence of certain phenomena, in the newerpliocene period, whilst another adheres to the pleistocene. Into these dillVrenccs, ha:ppilv } it is not necessary here to enter.

it appears there Wils a period—which need not In' partiii-akiirly spii.liliji'ilr—when Xew Zealand existed under different conditions from those which are known to the inhabitants of tile islands to-day. Then, it subsided—whether gradualljvor suddenly is of not the least consequence—and sank beneath the waves, it had probably been a very large land. After resting quietly beneath the waves for a period of some two thousand years there was an up-1 lioaval, and the old land, or at least a portion of it, repappeared above the waters to bless the world* The evidence of this performance is to be found in the remains of extinct marine animal life to be found in nearly every part of the islands, and that is entitled to be held conclusive enough. When the upheaval, or upheavals, were in process, the volcanic action must have been very violent, because the whole of the land was left very mountainous, the peaks ot the loftiest ranges, as now we know them, being at an elevation some thousands oi feet higher than they are to-day. The important fact that subsidences upon a large have taken place since. Here one or two quotations may bo given. Captain Ilutton says:

"At tthakespere ClitV, Wanganui, ami at Patea, we liiul marine strata containing fossils of which about 24 per cunt, arc extinct. The next sot of beds, however, below these contain about 50 per cent, of extinct species, thus proving that a long interval of time must have elapsed between these depositions and the newer-pliocene period, which is quite unrepresented in Xew Zealand by marine strata." This serves to throw :i little light upon the nature of the marine deposits. At the conclusion of this paper the same authority: aUirms: "i am therefore of opinion that the last great extension of our glaciers was in older pliocene times when the land stood far higher than it does now; that the new plioceno wa s a period of subsidence, followed by elevation in the pleistocene poriod, and that elevation js probably going on now." The value of this is in the revelation of the character of the vast changes which have, taken .place in New Zealand—particularly in regard to elevation and subsidence. In another paper upon the same subject the same authority remarks:—"Dr. llaast and Dr. Hector base their opinion that our last glacier period was in pleistocene times on the supposition that since then great subsidence lias taken place." Th's conveys the opinion of two learned doctors at one stroke. In another passage the same writer says;—**Jt is an acknowledged fact that the glaciers of thr South Island of New Zealand have been at some time of much larger dimensions than they are at present, and t<> the poriod of their greatest extension Dr. ilaast ha s applied the term '(ilacier Period."' It will thus be seen that amongst scientific men there is- no divergence of opinion in regard to the broad fact of vast physical changes in the form of submergences and upheavals and subsidences having taken place in past ages in New Zealand and its neighbouring waters. 13nt however valuable such generalise tions may be esteemed in reference to changes which occurred thousands of years ago. they are here deemed insulUcienl for the present purpose. It is necessary that the student should examine Now Zealand lor himself, so that he may be satisfied in regard t-o changes —physical disturbances—having taken place at a comparatively recent periol. A very cursory view of the evidence presented will, no doubt, prove sullieie it. Glancing at the map, then, it will be at once perceived that iroin Cape Maria Vau Diemen to the high land surrounding Mouut Egmont, the strong currents of the ocean have cut the coast in an almost straight clear line. Swirling round Cape Egmont the. currents are found to have again cut the coast mi a shaiip clear line which is continued all down the west coast of the .South Island. The lofty mountain ranges of New Zealand run along the west coa-it of both islands, and the mountains have subsided, as scientists tell; but whatever slips may have fallen from them on the west coasts of both islands in tho process of the ages have been swept away by the currents; otherwise th? coastline would not present the almost unbroken appearance which it does today. Therefore the evidence to be found tjf subsidences and submergences upon this side is not very great; it is otherwise, however, when a survey is made of the appearances on the ea <l, side. It is quite safo--wilhout the authority of scientists —to allirm th;it the whole east side of both islands has ■ subsided. All geologists are agreed that | I Port Cooper, where the harbour ot | [ Lvttelton now is, was once a volcano; 1 but the veriest tyro can discern that for himself. All the land which once joined what is now known as Bank's Peninsula—the mountains of which ome stood at a far greater elevation—to the lofty ranges oil tho west, subsided ami became submerged, so that what is now known as Jlank's Peninsula became an island. Through the operation ol the

elements the tops <>f tl ,<! riin n ( ' 011 I west became disintegrated—stones came 1 away pi little square cubes, were carried s bv streams down the mountains sides ; into rivers—the traces of which can now be seen -and so were swept onwards towards the sea. 'l}ie process is even now ill operation, and anyone who chooses 'can behold it. for himself. Thus the Canterbury Plains were deformed, and this Hank's Peninsula was once more joined to the mountain range as it appears to-day. The important point here is to I notice the immense extent of the subsidence of the laud which has since been reclaimed by the debris from the mountain ranges. When the volcano now ; Port Cooper —was an. elevated colic I belching forth its tires, the shore line must have been at some considerable distance away. That fact must be obviII oils. The. mountain has gone down, the

waters haw rushed in and tilled what was once the crater: bill how far distant. was the coast line before the peri" 1 of subsidence': It is now impossible t>i ,-av. but it. may uot be williout interest at'this stage I" pay a visit to the Chatham Niands. live hundred and thirtysix miles due cast of lA ttelton. and no.c

I lie appearances there. An autlioritv. writing of the that- 1 ham Islands, says:-"The oldest rocks visible occur near Kaingaroa. ami stretch in a \v,-t and cast, direction, towards the north-ea-tern corner ot Chatham Islands. . . 'Similar rocks iii-cur in our southern Alps ol New Zealand, on the eastern slopes ol the .Moorlioiise rnntif. flud on ih<* *<nitn-\\< v -t»*in slopes of Mount Cook. Smaller outcropof this rock occur at the north-western corner of the large salt-uati-i latin..lis. and at Wangaroa or Port Unit. • • , The collection of rocks tv,.in I'itt Is.am is far more complete, eiiablm.; me tc examine the fossils which tho\ contained, and thus as-ign to then, the I true age. The lowermost rocks resemble those from the main island, already do scribed, of a basaltic and doleritic ,-har actor. On them, and on the wesfoi-i side, repose, palagonitc tufas, idcnti-. ' with those associated with our tertiary doleritic rocks in the Malvern lulls.

Mount Somers, &c. On Uiem, again, we meet with calcareous fosiliferons tufas, changing by degrees from an aggloineiate, containing largo pieces ui volcanic brcchia cemented, together by sandy matrix, with a slight admixture of carbonate of lime aud only inu-e* of fossils, to a tuil'accous, whitish limcsioir.' enclosing great quantities of fossils. The latter are of the same species those found ill .similar beds in .he Province of Canterbury, namely, a Pecten, a largo smooth Terebratula (Wald.-:-inii) aud sonw large- corals alied to L'elagia, wihich prove to bo of older Tertiary age. These bed* are overlaid with \ery tine limestones, semi-crystal inc. aud identical with similar beds 'ying in the same horizon in New Zealand, . . • Thus clear evidence is

afforded to us that, ill the early part ui tins tertiary period, volcanic ucUon took ji 1 ;\c( 1 in this part of the l'aciiic Ocean; and although wo meet, oil the man island, #ouio signs of the existence oi old sedimentary roeks, there is 110 doubt that these volcanic eruptions gave huth to this archipelago.'' Xhe student is not here asked. to believe that, because there are similar rocks, similar beds, on ! 1,1 same horizon containing similar i'osm and 'because there have been volcano eruptions at tlie Chatham Islands as there have been in New Zealand, thai, the two groups of islands were at one time united. H is suilicient if lie realise, that, at the Chatlnuus, lying hundreds 01 miles to the east, there have been very extensive submergeneies; a 1111 at one time the coast line of Xew Zea land on the east did extend very many miles further than it does to-day. It can scarcely be necessary to give assurance that at one period Mount Kgmunt was an active volcano, the symmetrical slopes of the lofty, snowcapped cone affording to all observe! s the most indubitable evidence of the fact. Twenty years ago, ill 1880, Mount Tarawera burst into llaine, lives were lost, and the configuration of the neighbouring country changed. The beautiful terraces 011 the banks of Lake Kotolnahan.i disappeared. Mounts liuapetiu and Tongariro have given forth signs that vulcanic life in them has not yet ceased. These things arc tolerable well known to every .New Zealander. Wll.lt, however, is not so familiar is the fact that agc.s ago the southern portion ol what is known as the Middle island was a region of vast volcanic lires. The exact location of the cones and craters which, undoubtedly, once existed it is now extremely difficult to definitely determine, but scientists have no hesitation in alUrming that the rocks found in enormous masses 011 Mount Cargill, Flagstaff Hill, amt Otago Peninsula are of volcanic origin, and could only have been deposited ill their present position through tlio operations of tremendous eruptions. Since the long past period of lire other forces of Nature have bdeii at work, forces so powerful and so frequently ill operation that all evidence 11s to the locution of once existing craters and collie have been swept away. These forces, though perhaps in a considerably modified degree, are in active operation to-day. It has been estimated that as the result of a three days' Hood in the water of Leitli, which occurred l'ece'Jitlv, 110 less than 40,0UU tons material were s,wcpt from Mount Cargill and Flagstaff Uill into the sea. Through torrential waters coming from high levels elevations and eminences have been carried away, and for a long period this portion of the Middle Island has been subject to a levelling and extending pro-(.'C-'Srf.

Perhaps the most palpable evidence of a vast subsidence and submergence to be found ill connection with the islands of New Zealand is displayed ai L'ook Strait. At l'cloriis and yneen Charlotte Sounds the rocks, rising abruptly from the sea, aru all that is now visible of the once lofty range which ran continuously from the South island into the North. There can be no doubt that at one time the line of coast on the west ran from Cape Farewell Spit to Cape Kginont, and on the east the line of coast ran from Cape (.'.ii'.npboH to Cape I'alliser. Between those lines the whole of the country with its loftj range has gone down and become submerged. But the student will make a mistake if he supposes that the area of disturbance is to be measured by the number of square miles now under water, large as that number lu.iy be. From Cape Kgniout on the west to Cape .Maliia on the east the whole of the southern portion of the North Island nas subsided, mountains have become mere hills, and all that is left of a wide country is a comparatively narrow strip. Nor can there be any doubt that an almost equal area oi the northern portion of the South Island has lie-n similarly a fleet e<!, although the result of the subsidence is not so marked. In a very interesting paper a seientiiic authority observes:-Cogitating over these matters, 1 have come to the. eonelusion that the probabilities are that the laud in this neighbourhood (Wellington) was never, since the older rocks were, elevated, at a lower level than about fifteen feet lielow that at which it stands at present, and that at some time, probably during th ( . depression ot the tertiaries, it attained a great elevation, possibly equal to the present extreme altitude or Tararna. viz., o,0(HI to (j.IKIII feet, perhaps higher. At this time it is reasonable to suppose that Cook Strait did not exi»t,and that the islands were united 1 have formerly remarked on the various terraces which may be observed on the coast towards Terawiti, and have supposed them to mark old beaches, showing lines of rise of the land. As 1 think no remains of marine origin have been found in them, I now suggest that they mark the banks and various levels of an ancient river, the other bank havino- disappeared in the waters of the Strait. With a supposed high elevation and greater masses of land, we may suppose a larger river or rivers than any which we now possess in this vicinity, and some things may thus be accounted for which are difficult of explanation otherwise. . . When we consider the matter fully, it seems a necessity tliac Port Nicholson must have, been formerly a fresh water lake. The more I consider the question the more it appeals to me impossible to suppose that Port Nicholson could have been for ages anything else than a fresh watei" lake. If we suppose a great elevation of the laud in the neighbourhood, and the still, at that time, undenuded state of the higher parts of Tararua, it is easy to conceive, or possibly diilicul to resist, the inference that' a neve crowned the higher plateau, and a glacier once tilled the valley of the L-liil-'t and the harbour ot Port Nicholson."" Through the mediuiaship e-i these extracts the student may be enabled to form some comprehension of the eonditions which at one time prevailed. Not only were the immense areas indicated by the lint* here iigurativelv drawl), across both (aids of the Strait dry land, hut the mountain range nu tin' west of both islands ran continiiouslv through, and all the hills and mountains in the neighbourhood of the Strait. exti'i\din» as far north as the Kiniiitiika Kange, were of far higher elevation, l'ort Nicholson was a lake, and from that lake rivers and streams flowed through great gorges until they reached the sea far away on the east and on the west. There can scarcely be anv doubt with regard to the sto'y which the uresent configuration of the laud betravs. The evidence is written lave in the topography and the geologj of "the country for all to read. But ; il is most desirable that Ithe student should grasp the vast extent of the area of subsidence and submergence. an area extending at the least over three of latitude.

A very cursory glance at tins map Will lie sullieient to satisfy the student. Ui,it 111 c whole oxtont ot Hie cast coast of the North Island has subsided, liawko's Hav looks as if some groat seamonster li.nl suddenly snapped an enormous slice of tliu land away. I lidoubt,.,ll v westward from a line drawn from Cane Kidnappers to Mahia Peninsula wa< once all ilrv land. The whole coast lias subsided, and this portion ol :t iK'iwki'V I'iiv) luis become subinev<»cii. Tin- pi'ftlv t own <if Xapicr ytiuuls on what was 011,'e an island, I>«t washin"x j mm Llic iieij»bbt>nrinu liiUs l»a\e omr niorr joined Soimle Island io llio niainlanil. '.Scinde Island was at one lime the top of a high mountain: U bea„ island through the submergence ot ihc neighbouring country At •ill almost recent period some workmen, when cii»i»i«il i» sinking artesian we,ls on Mo'iihm- Kbits. situated a low miles from Napier, f.mild tlieir boring apparatus obstruct,-,! at a depth of some „0 or 40 feet, liv tin- trunks ot totara, matai. mill other frees, proving conclusivelv that there had been an extensive subsidence. and 11, at the land in the neignhnurhooil had been subsequently reci.V'T,.,l from the sea by washing from .h,'

n U impossible tn doubt tint (he land where' once the-,, submerged lives "I'e'.v wiis at '.ne fine ol considerable elevation. . \yi,evc now the waters ol the laci,..roll into the liav of Plenty was on;-, ilw hind. Tin- islands that speck 1 ,n surface of the bay all'ord evidence o' {!,;■ Whit" Island is the top of r v „],;„o wliicli, no doubt, once towerei , loftilv into the sky. A recent write ..avs'Wliito Island "may be describe, as #u open horsc-sliue, or plain, th

crater-bed surrounded in horse-shoe fashion by hills, the crater edges rising very steeply in most places to a heigh? of some eight hundred to a thousand feet above the sea-level. Trampe Head, which divides the bays one from tiie other, may be compared to the frog of the toot. The total area js five hundred and. eighty-eight acres, of which >0111" one hundred ami fifty to two hundred are Hat. AH the inner end of the horseshoe, will] the exception of a verv little space right at the top of the horse-sliee whore the great steam jets roar, is occupied by the lake, the dark green water of which has a great local reputation for certain curative purposes." In a paper read in 18G8, J-akc Hope, the' crater of the volcano was described as being 110 more than fifty yards from the south shore; the depth of water about two fathoms; colour ot the water light green. "There was very much more water in the lake than wiien last visited in November, 18(50, which precluded the possibility of reaching the largest steam jets, at the extreme northwest corner of the crater; but it was observed that tlie.se steam jets were not nearly s o active as in 1800. There was only ono mud geysor observable, which was oil the south-east margin of tiie lake, on a slightly elevated bank, til.; mouth of' which was about twelve feet in diameter. The mud was in a vcy liquid state, quite black-looking; the depth obtained was about four fee.., the temperature, 200deg. F. 'The highest point at which steam was seen was oil the outside of the crater, at Ihe western side of the island, within one hundred yards of the top, or liighe t peak, 01 the island." It will be clear from this that White Island is 110 mine than the top of a volcano that a:, one time towered far above i.he adjacent country, country over which now the waters of the Pacific mil.

"Y\ e find a {louring of palaeozoic rocks generally, perhaps invariably, in elined at high singles, and on (his Ilooring we Jim! the brown coal, with accompanying shahs, deposited uneo:nlormahly. At the period of depression ; of the coal, we must have h id dry land lor the growth of the coal plants. After ! the deposition of the coal, the island must have undergone depression, and as it sunk, {lie various terliarios must have been deposited above the coal. I Not yet, perhaps, did the volcanic erup- ! tions commence; hut o* the country ; gradually sunk, and it readied its'point of greatest depression, the crust of the earth was broken, and streams of basalt {lowed over the surface; the depression probably reaching a depth of 1800 or -000 feet. Nature having completed her work so far. the island commenced to rise again slowly and steadily, but slightly disarranging the tertiary rocks on either side of the island, the volcanic eruptions doubtless still continuing. The island appears to have rested in its rise at various points, at from 1000 feet to 1200, at 400, MO to 200, at 15, and at 0 and 4 feet. Various comparatively slight oscillations of level appear '.o have taken place in recent times, for we find strata ot trees, not yet converted into lignite, covered by marine deposits—as between Whanganui and Taranaki, on the Kangitikei river, In Palliser bay, and in places in the Auckland province.'* Thus, after a depression of 1800 or 2000 feet, and the deposition of successive layers of tertiary strata, the island rose again, and assumed somewhat of its present form, although probably at the time of emergence, it was joined to the .Middle Island." t "Dr. Hector described the character of the. valley which defends from the Tararua mountains, the lower part of which forms Wellington harbour, and said that he considered it a valley of erosion, and that there was no ovidenee of its ever having been occupied by the sea to a much greater extent than at present. Drifts belonging to earlier valley systems are to be found up to 1000 feet above the sea, but only on the west side of the harbour. The destruction of these showed that the harbour basin hud .been at all events greatly widened, if not also excavated, since these drifts were formed, and there was no reason to suppose that they, or any rf the subsequently formed deposits that skirt the harbour, were of marine origin. Excc-pt the slight rise in the shore-lino in very recent times, the most evident change has been the erosion by the sea of the ancient barrier across the outlet of the harbour. This was, no doubt, assisted by inequalities in the. movement of the parallel ranges among which the harbour lies. iSuch inequalities have actually been observed within the last thirty'years, and their tendency appears to be to throw the outlet of the valley towards the cast." "Captain 'jFutton agreed with the author (of the paper) that the harbour had been hollowed out by sub-aerial denudation, but there was no evidence that it had ever formed a lake. The pleistocene beds, on which a large part of Wellington was built, were- distinctly stratified, and therefore must have beep deposited in still water; but they rose to a height of 350 feet above the sea level, and were continued uninterruptedly across to Island Bay." "The author considered that a glacier did pass down from the llutt." Trans. X.Z. Inst., vol. vi., p. 378.

The salmon, for a short distance, can travel at the rale of 2a miles au hour. Fine-edged tools lose their keenness when exposed lor long to the suns m raws. The picture post-card craze, which te declining in England, is growing ill America. During the hot weather, school children ill Oldham were 'being tauglit ill the public parks. The Kussian Empire comprises 5,37!),044 square 'miles, of which 2,052.100 arc in Europe. The Order of the Thistle—Scotland s oldest order of knighthood—was originallv established in 1540. The term " millinery" domes irom the Italian (own Milan, which was formerly the centre of fashion for ladies' willow is one-of the most adaptable of plants. If a shoot is broken oil' and stuck in the ground, it will almost always liikt! root ami giw. \ small news-sheet lias recently been started in a French provincial town which is printed oil fly-paper, the proprietor claiming that it will be botli instructive and useful. WHbin twelve miles of St. luuls Cathedral. London, there are 391 rail-way-stations. Cutta-pcrclia is secured from the snp of the is,mandril sutta, a forest tree which glows in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent islands. , Just after sunrise is sanl to be the I coldest period of the day._ owing' lo the evaporation of a cold moisture from the earth under the sun's first l-ay*. Diiriii" historic times Spanish America has yielded 2.200 tolls of gold, of a value' of :tlo millions. The total output ; of the Tnited States is approaching the sum' figure. 'l'll,, first sunshine recorder was ' Campbell's invented in the year lS5i. It consisted of a ball of glass-in fact ~ burning id:.--. that the sun burned its own record on a curved piece o: .. cardboard placed below the lmll. I„ isit'.i tl;,. world contained only '! some 210 miles of railway; there are I now over 3.->(1,000 miles. ■|pit|si.as uSuo.nn .Ca.w SV I'M a l„, uAton >| uaaq sr.ii sio.isuj.iMin V 0,10 ... I n;i( 1 |ui.i.i.wod os ,i.ni s.wvl sdsii.w y The tidal income of the English Par " l is estimated at £780.000 a year, or an average income per member of £3lo.