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Show 500 NEW ZEALAND. Dec. 1835. was a principal chief, had at one time been much oppressed, by another from the Thames river. A solemn oath was taken by the men, that when their boys should grow up, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or for~ give these injuries. To fulfil this appears to haYe been ShonO'i's chief motive for going to England ; and when there it wa~ his sole object. Presents were valued only as they could be converted into arms ; of the arts, those alone were interestin<T which were concerned with the manufacture of arms. When at Sydney, Shongi, by a strange coincidence, et the hostile chief of the Thames river at the house of Mr. m S . Marsden : their conduct was civil to each other ; but hongi told him, that when again in New Zealand he would never cease to carry war into his country. The challenge was accepted ; and Shongi on his return fulfilled. ~he threat to the utmost letter. The tribe on the Thames nver was utterly overthrown and the chief to whom the challenge had been given, was himself killed. Shongi, al~hough ~arbouring s~ch deep feelings of hatred and revenge, IS descnbed as haVIng been a goodnatured person. In the evening I went with Captain FitzRoy, and Mr. Baker one of the missionaries, to pay a visit to Kororadika. This i~ the largest village, and will one day, no .doubt incre~se till it becomes the chief town : besides a considerable native population, there are many English residents. These latter are menofthemostworthless character: and among them are many runaway convicts from New South Wales. There are many spirit-shops; and the whole population is addicted to drunkenness and all kinds of vice. As this is the capital, a person would be inclined to form his opinion of the New Zealanoers from what he here saw ; but in this case his estimate of their character would be too low. This little village is the very stronghold of vice. Although many tribes in other par.ts have embraced Christianity, here the greater part yet remam in heathenism. In such places the missionaries are held in little esteem : but they complain far more of the conduct of their countrymen, than of that of the natives. It is strange, Dec. 1835. NEW ZEALAND. 501 but . I have. heard these worthy men say' that the on 1y pro-tect. i On whwh they need, and on which they rely is f th 1. £ • , rom e native c ne1s agamst Englishmen. . We wandered about the village, and saw and conversed With ~any of the people, both men, women, and children. L?okmg at th~ .New Zealander, one naturally compares him with ~he Tahitian ; both belonging to the same family of mankmd. The comparison, however, tells heavily aO'ainst the New Ze~lander. . He may, perhaps, be superior in energy, but m every other respect, his character is of a. much l.ower ord~r .. One glance at their respective expresSIOns, br~n~~ convwtwn to the mind, that one is a savage, the other a civilized man. It would be vain to seek in the whole of New Zealand, a person with the face and mien of the old Tahitian chief, Utamme. No doubt the extraordinary manner in ':hich tatto~ing is here practised, gives a disagreeable expresswn to thmr countenances. The complicated but symmetrical figures covering the whole face, puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye : it is moreover probable, that the deep incisions, by destroying the play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid inflexibility. But besides this, th~re is a twi~kling in the eye, which cannot indicate any thmg but cunmng and ferocity. Their figures are tall and bulky; but in elegance are not comparable with those of the working classes in Tahiti. Both their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive : the idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to enter their heads. I saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and matted with filth; and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he replied, with surprise, " Do not you see it is an old one?" Some of the men have shirts· but the common dress is one or two large blankets, generall; black with dirt, which are thrown over their shoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. A few of the principal chiefs have decent suits of English clothes; but these are only worn on great occasions. Considering the number of foreigners residing in New |