BOOKS—NEW AND OLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 179, 27 January 1912, Page 6

BOOKS—NEW AND OLD.

(By James Wortley). "An old New Zealander: or Te Rau-1 paraha, the Napoleon of the South," by T. Lindsay Buick, author of "Old Manawatu," " Old Marlborough." (London, Melbourne and Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs). An historian, to be worthy of the name, must be in possession of at least two qualifications. One, a full and accurate knowledge of his subject; the other, an ability to narrate his story in such a manner that the reader shall grasp a true picture of the actors, and the scenes in which they took a part. Parkman, himself a true historian, to whose "Conspiracy of the Pontiac" the work of Mr. Buick might be likened, wrote in 1865: "The narrator must seek to imbue himielf with the life and spirit of the times. ... He must be, as it were, a sharer or spectator of the action he describes." In placing hefore us the story of Te Rauparaha Mr. Buick has shown himself possessed of these qualifications in a marked degree. Whether we are with Te Rauparaha at the sacking of Kaiapoi, or with Rangihaeta behind his log entrenchments in flTe Hutt Valley, the characters and scenes alike live before us. The author has wisely summoned to his aid every available authority which is duly acknowledged in copious footnotes. In cases where contradictory accounts of the same incident have survived, Mr. Buick gives us both, and the reason for Ms own conclusions. The book is inscribed: "To T. Percy Smith, Esq., F.R.G.S., a well deserved pillar in the temple of Polynesian learning, I gratefully dedicate this book."

And now for the story. Press notices and references to persons and events in the early history of this country, too frequently, we fear, presume a knowleuge on the part of the geaeral public which it does not possess. Our own experience has frequently been that the amount of scraps and casual stories about a certain event that filter into the brain become pieced together into a picture, which is immediately destroyed upon a study of the actual history of it. j This experience, we have reason to be- j lieve, is by no means singular, and it is one that has been experienced ..again by i the reading of "Te Rauparahl." The ,-beauty of the book is that Mr. Buick has not presumed any knowledge on the part of the reader, but quietly and methodically begins his book with the "whence and whither" of the Maori, in order to give the reader the proper atmosphere to understand aright the mo- ! tives and actions of the man. For this | you must study the book, as space forbids a summary here. Suffice it to say that Te Rauparaha's character and life were a natural result of the times and the people. After the conquest of the' "tangata whenua" (aboriginals) by the Maoris, the turbulent nature of the latter led to devastating and sanguinary internecine wars. An old tohunga say.s: "The inhabitants turned and made war on each other—uncle killed nephew, and nephew killed uncle; elder killed the, younger, and the younger killed the elder." Into such a world of strife and bloodshed was born about the year 1708, of the Ngati-Toa tribe,' then living on the shores of Kawhia, the subject of our sketch, Te Eauparaha. Born to be a chief and a leader, he was of a more than ordinarily ambitious nature. Physical strength and prowess, united with cunning in warfare, were the qualities that made the wealthy men of the day. His apeptite for a conquest was early shown in the organisation of one of those sporadic raids then so common. His wife, he considered, had suffered some slight in the distribution of food at a feast of . his own tribe. He determined with his own hands to secure the relish she should J have, and to this end gained permission of the chief to organise a war party into the Waikato. Its success was such that he returned with the body of a chief to provide the relish so much desired. Shrewd to see the advantages of military skill, he seized every opportunity to visit the great chiefs of the surrounding tribes, and learn from them the various methods of savage warfare. In these journeys he learned much of the country and people which in his lengthier excursions later stood him in good stead. Nor did it take him long to see that the possession of the white man's firearms meant ascendancy. The situation of the Ngati-Toa at Kawhia was not nearly so favorable to the acquisition of gums as that of some other tribes, particularly the Ngati-maru, in the Hauraki Gulf, and the Nga-Puhi, at the Bay of Islands. It was this "musket-hunger," as Mr. Buick calls it, that ultimately led to the migration of the Ngati-Toa under Te Rauparaha, and settlement at Kapiti. But the immediate cause of attention being paid to the southern coast was what is, to Western notions, a very peculiar action, but quite in accord with Maori ethics. A marriage had been celebrated between Nohorua, elder brother of Te Rauparaha, and Wharemawhai, a chieftainess of the Ngati-Rahiri, in the Waitara district. This union led to more intimate relations, resulting in Huriwhenua being invited to Kawhia. En route, they were met by Te Rauparaha and Rauhihi, who assumed them a cordial welcome. In landing, however, the violence of the surf overturned the canoes, and all the food being broughtwith them was lost. This so angered Huriwhenua that he sought this strange, and to us inhospitable, yet characteristic Maori method of soothing his injured feelings. Gathering his people together, he pursued and attacked the envoys of the tribe who were about to entertain him, and succeeded in killing Rauhihi, but Te Rauparaha escaped. This incident led to reprisals, and Te Rauparaha's first great expedition south, and on to Cook Strait. On their return journey a ship was sighted beating through the straits, and this suggested to Wakarene endless possibilities, and the ability to secure plenty of guns and powder, like the more favored tribes in the far north. This mere suggestion was quite sufficient to confirm Te Rauparaha in his desire to conquer the country and migrate with his people southwards. Much of the book is an absorbing account of this ' migration, planned, indeed, with the military genius of a Napoleon, and the wisdom of a Stanley marching across Africa. ' e d° n °t think the generalship of Te Rauparaha in the way he warded his people and provided for their sustenance in tins journey through a hostile country has been excelled in history. Settled at Kapiti, he was for a time kept busy subjugating the adjoining tribes. This done, he looked for other fields to conquer, and found them •in the strong and wealthy settlements in the South Island. To these southern raids he was further urged by the prospect of securing possession of the greenstone_ country-the Eldorado of the Maori. In all these he was eminently successful, bringing death and destruction to all the tribes who opposed his imperious will.

About this time (1839) he came into | touch with the white colonists, Colonel | Wakefield visiting him at Kapiti in the "Tory," for the purpose of negotiating the purchase of land on behalf of the New Zealand Company. These negotiations are dealt with at length in a very lucid and readable manner, as also are the subsequent events for which the misunderstnding between Wakefield and Te Rauparaha was responsible. To residents of Taranaki it is of particular interest to read of Dicky Barrett's association with the company as interpreter. Of these events, the Wairau massacre was the most unfortunate, and in a special chapter its history is graphically told. This savage and sanguinary chief as time went on would seem to have been a cause of anxiety to the members of his own tribe, for after this we find there was little real opposition to his capture by kidnapping at Taupo pa, and, reading between the lines, it is evident "many of the Maoris were in favor of peace with the pakeha, which meant for them ease and plenty, rather than strife and starvation. After holding Te Rauparaha in, captivity for some months, Sir George Grey seems to have become doubtful of the legality of his proceeding, and he was ultimately set at liberty, though there is small reason to doubt that the wily Te Rauparaha was the real instigator to any opposition which was shown to the colonists of Wellington. The book is prefaced by a lament on the capture of Te Ruaparaha, composed by Hinewhe. Every lover of the history of the country in which he has settled will read with unabated interest from cover to coyer the contents of this book. It is a magnificent account of a man, whose achievements would be great in any age and among any people. New Zealand is fortunate in having men like lie author to collect and compile the j nass of information given us, and place 1 it in such an entertaining and readable I form.