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    According to the traditions of the New Zealanders themselves respecting their origin , it seems not improbable that the first settlers came from Hawaikf , though it -would be presumptuous to say that they were all peopled from the same island ; and from the different genealogies <> f their several chiefs , who admit that about eighteen generations have passed away-since New Zealand was first colonized " , we may compute the date to he about five hundred years ago . This supposition seems to receive confirmation from , the fact that all the genealogies-coincide with regard to the number of generations that have elapsed . The inhabitants of the three islands may be classed under six primary divisions , distinguished more or less one from the other by peculiarities of dialect , of physiognomy , and of disposition . A question , however , naturally arises as to what island is meant by Hawaiki , and whether those persons are right who suppose it to

    fore , regard the work so far useful ; the difficulty being , in such cases , to arrive at truth , the natives on the one hand putting on a degree of reserve from fear of ridicule , and the inquirer , especially if he ° be a missionary , generally endeavouring to adapt everything to his peculiar views .

    be the Owyhee of Captain Cook . The principal difficulty appears to be in the distance , it being doubted whether a light canoe could weather so long a voyage- This objection , however , is at once met by the fact that the nearest land to New Zealand is a thousand miles distant , and that the first inhabitants of the country must have traversed that breadth of ocean . It is also well known that canoes of the present day , which are much smaller than the £ unoes of the time of Cook , make voyages of five or six hundred miles . We meet also with further evidence of a cognate origin in the peculiarities of their language , and in their customs . For example , the Hawaiians omit the consonant k in words where it is used by the New Zealanders ; they sound the consonant I , which the New Zealanders never do , employing in its place r ; and they sometimes substitute the consonant h in "words in , which t is

    used by the New Zealanders . Similar peculiarities have been shown to exist in the two languages , wliich prove them to be nearly identical . We have alluded to other circumstances , as affording' links of connexion between the inhabitants of these islands , so remote from each other . Both were found , on their first discovery , to resemble each other in personal appearance , in warlike disposition , and in the practice of cannibalism . The same remarkable ceremony , called Tanr / i , prevails both in the Sandwich Islands and in New Zealand . In both these countries it is the custom for guests to carry away with them any part of the food set before them which they cannot then consume . There can , therefore , remain little doubt that the aborigines of the Sandwich Islands are members of the same family . This family ^ it is not improbable , found their way southward , from , the great continent of Asia , by way of the Malay Peninsula , and Papua or New Guinea .

    Having alluded to the mythology of the New Zealanders , it may be interesting to give some idea of their cosmogony , a 3 well as their traditions respecting the origin of living things . In their genealogical legends , Night , or Darkness , is represented as being the source from , -whence all things have sprung . But instead of conceiving the power of a god calling forth light and order out of a blind chaos , they have simply invested the different objects of creation with personal existences , and made them proceed the one from the other , as children are begotten by their parents . Thus in the beginning of time was Te Po ( night , or darkness ) . In the generations that followed Te Po came Te Ao Cthe light ) , Te Kore ( nothingness ) , and Maku ( moisture ) . IMaku slept with Mahora-nui-atea ( the-straight-the-vast-theclear ); their offspring was Rangi ( the sky ) . Kangi slept with Papatuanuku { the earth ); their children were Rehu ( the mist ) , Tane ( male ) , and Paia .

    Irom Tane and Paia sprang Tangata ( man ) . Other legends relate that llangi ( heaven ) , and Papa ( the earth ) , clave together , so that light could not penetrate between them ; but that itt length one of their chudrenj by main force , separated his parents , pressing the latter down , and raising the former upwards , to their present positions . The names and attributes of these children are rather curious . One was the god and father of man ; another the god and father of the cultivated food of man ; a third the god and father of the food of man springing up without cultivation ; a fourth the god and father of fish and reptiles ; a fifth the god and father of forests , birds , and insects inhabiting forests ; and a sixth the god and father of winds and storms . The New Zealanders , even those who have

    been brought within the teaching of the Missionaries , believe in beings possessed of supernatural powers , called JLhtct . These are the spirits of the dead , whom they suppose to watch over the conduct of the living to sec that they comply with Jtheir rules and regulations concerning things sacred . They also give advice , and exorcise the spirit of cowardice in any of their descendants who may be nervous on the threshold of battle . They confine their care , however , to those among the living with whom they are connected by ties of relationship . Therefore each tribe has its Atua . But so little interest do tho Atua of one tribe take in the affairs of another tribe , that if a man is made prisoner he loses the protection of his ancestral Atua , without being adopted by the Atua of the tribe by whom he is made a slave , and with whom , therefore , lie becomes domesticated .

    There is a distinction to be drawn between the work of Mr . Shortland and the work of Sir George Grey . We must not overlook the fact that the latter was , in some measure , an official production , by which we mean , that the opportunities and means which his position as Governor placed at his disposal , enabled Sir George Grey to collect , through the intervention of others , the various fables current amongst the Now Zealanders ^ These very facilities afforded room for interpolation and glosses of the original legends . We have an instance of this in an attempt made to trsicc vestiges of Mosaic accounts , such as the Deluge , in tho traditions of these islanders , than which nothing appears to be more groundless , the legend which the

    upon assumption is based referring to some partial inundation in the country . Another instance of this may be shown in the paragraph accounting for the origin of charms and incantations , in which it is asserted that " the great ( Jod had taught these prayers to man 5 " the legitimate inference of which is , that the New Zealanders had an idea of ( Jod in the sense of a supreme intelligence . This is not tho case , But the passage may be clearly regarded as tlie rejection of a native educated or half-educated in missionary doctrines . Mr . Shortland , however , assures us that he lived with natives who had never been visited by missionaries , that he won their complete confidence , and that it was from them he obtained his ungarblei accounts of their myths and superstitions . We may , thcre-

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    ADVICE TO OFFICERS IN ENDIA . Advice to Officers in India . By John McCosb , M . D . W . H . Allen and Co . Although perfectly agreeing with Colonel Taylor that even Venus would be unbearable were she introduced as Miss McJupiter , we are bound to confess that a medical gentleman , with that not very harmonious prefix , to his name , has presented the public with a book which will be welcomed by many families . To young officers going out to India , especially to those of the medical profession , Dr . McCosh tenders the most salutary advice , based on long experience , and rendered easy of application by being mixed up with a . large share of common sense , and an extensive knowledge of the world . Many of the Doctor ' s suggestions afford matter for serious reflection , and the ' Griffin , ' -whether of the military or medical variety , will do well to give thetn his best attention . For instance , he exhorts all young officers , preparatory to leaving home , to acquire some sort of

    accomplishment , or to take to some rational pursuit , for * ' Happiest are they who have some pleasant hobby to mount independent of the world , and can take a cjuiet canter along the monotonous highways and byways of a tropical existence . " All branches of natural history , economical geology , the elements of electricity a . nd magnetism , painting , music , or photography , will prove an invaluable acquisition , and tend to "beguile many a weary and lonely hour . u But the possession of a hobby is not enough : they ought to be able to physic their own horses and dogs ; to superintend the construction , of their own houses and . baggage-carts ; to know how to manage a farmyard arid a garden ; how to cook their own dinner ; brew their own ale ; how to ride and how to drive ; how to shoot , and how to sail ; how to calculate their pay in vulgar and decimal fractions ; and how -to balance the debit and credit side of their accounts to the utmost farthing . "

    The besetting sin of the British soldier in India , as elsewhere , is the excessive use of spirituous liquors . " There is , in fact , a constant struggle between the men rushing to then * graves and the surgeon trying to keep them out of it ; and his best intentions are often defeated . " Some allowance , however , is to be made for the dull , listless , monotonous life they are compelled to lead in the hot season in the plains . Perhaps , as the author suggests , something might be done for them by building at every European station a covered gymnasium , where at all hours of the day the men migtt amuse themselves by various games and pastimes ; , such as rackets , bowls , billiards , concerts , and theatrical performances . At Lahore , under the superintendence of Sir Henry Lawrence , " an . extensive native garden , overgrown -with weeds and brushwood , was converted into a place of public

    resort for the amusement and instruction of the European soldiers , where they could spend the day in the shade , or read , or play at all sorts of gymnastic exercises , according to their tastes . " The late Hindoo Rao was in . the habit of saying that , if he were corninander-in-chief , he would keep the English soldiers in the hills , give them plenty of beef and porter , and , when war broke out , convey them to the scene of action in carts and palanquins , and turn them suddenly loose upon the enemy like so many falcons or cheetahs . It may not be necessary to take quite so much care of our ' natural protectors' ns seemed expedient to the oldMahratta chief , but that they do require much consideration is manifest from the fact that at this

    moment an extraordinary demand is made for a . thousand men to fill up the voids in the European regiments in India . Something more , too , should . be done to secure the health and comfort of the native troops . Instead of allowing them ' hutting money' to repair their own lines , it would be a wise and truly economical measure if Government took into their own hands the duty of supplying barrack accommodation for the entire army . In that case we should probably not read that the native barracks are " long lines of mud huts covered with thatch or tiles , just high enough to stand in , and just long enough and broad enough for a bed either way . Being on a level with the ground , the floors and walls are excessively damp , and the unhealthiness is increased by exuberance of vegetation in the lines . "

    A very formidable affair does it seem to take the field with an Asiatic army . " With a horse , three camels , and a Cooly , " the Doctor incidentally remarks , u and a well regulated mess in his regiment , an officer is fit for any campaign , and few enter upon one with less baggage . " No wonder tliat Sir Charles Napier inveighed against sucli an amount of impedimenta l tliough tho grim veteran may possibly have run to the opposite extreme in curtailing an officer ' s requirements to a clean shirt , two towels , and a cake of soap . " The baggage , " we are told , " follows in rear of the whole force , and when that is large , the last camel has not left the old camp when the first enters the new , the line of march being one continued stream of beasts of burden . " A truly pleasant prospect for the poor wretch whoso little comforts are packed on the back of thnt last camel , which may be

    expected to arrive about the time ho is again preparing to inarch . The sick amd wounded are conveyed in ' doolies , ' * ' a sort of bed , with four low legs and a corded bottom , suspended on a bamboo pole , over which is fixed a ¦ waterproof top with dependent curtains , tho patient reclining at full length . For the conveyance of a ' dooly' six men , called bearers , are allowed ; two in front and two in rear , the other two relieving them alternately . When an army takes the field , one ' dooly * is allowed for every hundred natives and for every ton European soldiers ; so that the bearers alone of a European regiment of one thousand strong amount to six hundred men . " These are the ' ferocious doolies' whom an Hibernian orator in the House of Commons once indignantly denounced , with rhetorical JiorUurv > for carrying off our poor wounded men as they lay helpless and unarmed on the field of battle . The Doctor becomes savagely facetious as ho dwells on tho slights offered to his own useful and honourable profession . " I have often thought , " h « says , " that it would have been better for the profession had Marlborough or Wellington suffered the amputation of axx aim or a limb upon the field

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    Janua ry 31 , 1857 . ] TEE IEA 3 ) ER . 115

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 31, 1857, page 115, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2178/page/19/