129

Advantages of keeping Cows.-New Zealand.

130

mer was heard. in its construction; its were 1s. 9d. in the pound, per year. cedar roof, and pavement of precious At that time a number of Cows were stones, brought crowned heads to view kept by the Cottagers upon broad it with admiration; it was formed of commonable roads, in the summer; so many cubits in length and breadth, and they were assisted with food by as to admit of every, even the hum- the farmers in their straw-yards, &c. blest worshipper; dedicated to the in the winter; by this means, those honour of the Holy of Holies, the who kept a cow did not think of apglory of the Lord has filled it: like its plying to the parish for relief. About prototype, which fell not but with the this time, the farmers began to plough fall of Jerusalem, we may rest assured up the roads; of course the number that it will not end here but with the of cows kept lessening every year, as general conflagration; or if this hope their pasture was decreasing by the prove fallacious, let us remember, that plough. I perceive by the parish as no place of worship, no edifice, was books, as the cows decreased the rates suffered by the Almighty to stand on increased. In seven years' time, the that site where the holy temple once rates were increased to 3s. in the stood; so, if this faith be permitted to pound; at that time only a few cows go to rack, no religion of any kind were kept by the poor people. In a whatsoever will be left remaining. Be few years after, those few were obliged it our duty to watch in its portals; to to be sold, and the rates then increasguard that no characters of shame beed to six shillings in the pound! indented on its marble purity. As some inscription was usually prefixed over the pious buildings of the ancients, this (if I may be allowed to extend the similitude) shall be the writing over our tabernacle: Ye heirs of a better covenant, walk with humble reverence in the house of God, and ye shall be wiser than the sages of antiquity; hear with meek submission the words of life revealed to you, and ye must be better men.

W. C. T.

ADVANTAGES OF COTTAGERS, KEEP-
ING COWS.

THE Provincial Committee for En-
couragement of Industry, and Reduc-
tion of Poor's Rates, cannot too anxi-
ously impress on the legislature, and
the country, the advantages enjoyed by
the labourer when in possession of a
cow; especially as this may be rea-
lized on a small portion of arable
land.

That the children of the poor, in almost a peculiar manner, stand in need of milk, is certain, not to mention that the cow furnishes also a supply for a pig. By circulating the following extract from a correspondent, (an overseer in Norfolk) attention may be invited to this important object; and as the letter is two years old, the probability is, that even a stronger case might at this moment be made

out.

"In the year 1798, the poor-rates in this parish, (North Creak, Burnham,)

|

The

rates have stood at this with very little
variation ever since. We have only
two poor men now that have one cow
each; I think one has five, and the
other six children. The man with
six children, hires two acres of poor
land at about 30s. per acre, more than
half a mile from his house, and after
his day's labour is done for his master,
he goes with his wife and little family
to weed, and till his land. The other
poor man is more fortunate. His
small patch of land lies near to his
cottage, about an acre. These, two
of the largest families we have in the
parish, I believe, are honest, indepen-
dent parishioners, earning their 15s.
per week at labour, and with their
cow, I believe, are the happiest two
families in the parish. I am sorry to
see so many poor families with the
same earnings, (as to wages,) but no
cows, come to the parish for relief.
These two families make no application
for relief; but those with three or four
children we are obliged to relieve."
For the Provisional Committee,
BENJAMIN WELLS,
Hon. Secretary.

King's-Head, Poultry,
Nov. 1820.

131

Interesting Particulars respecting New Zealand.

part of a southern continent, but it is now known to consist of two large islands, divided from each other by a strait four or five leagues broad.

"Every kind of European fruits, grain, and plants, would flourish here in the utmost luxuriance. The winters are milder than those in Europe, and the summers not so hot, though more equally warm.

"The inhabitants of these islands are in general very stout and robust, and are equal in muscular strength to the largest men in Europe; their number is supposed to be nearly one million. Their colour in general is brown, but not much more so than that of a Spaniard, who has been much exposed to the sun. Both the men and women have good features. Their dress consists of mats made of flax, which grows in abundance in the island, and is of a very fine texture. The natives are accustomed to mark or tattoo their bodies, and particularly their faces.

66

They have various weapons of war, the principal of which are lances, darts, and a kind of battle-axe.

"Their religious principles are little known. Some writers say, that they believe the souls of such as are killed in battle, and whose flesh is afterwards eaten by their enemies, are doomed to perpetual fire; while the souls of those who die a natural death, or whose bodies are preserved from such ignominious treatment, ascend to the habitation of the gods.

"The method of disposing of their dead is, first, if the deceased has been a person of rank, his friends put him in the earth for a few weeks or months, and then take up his body, and scrape the decayed flesh off the bones, and collect them together; then the priest sets apart a number of men, whose duty it is to carry the bones to a cave at a distance. Every person who touches a part of the body, is in a state of pollution for a certain number of days.

"They have no places for worship, nor do they ever assemble together for religious services. They have priests, whose business it is to address the gods in prayer, for the welfare of the natives in their temporal affairs, for victory over their enemies, or for success in their fishing excursions. It is stated that they allow of polygamy, and that it is not uncommon for one

182

man to have two wives. However, I did not discover any thing of this kind while I was among them.

"Every family is divided into three classes; the first consists of the father, mother, children, and relatives; the second of the person called the steward, his wife, and children; and the third of the cook or common servant, and his family. These people never eat food in their houses; they have a superstitious notion among them, that food pollutes the house; and from this persuasion, they always take their food in the open air.

"The manner of dressing their victuals is as follows. It is the duty of the cook to prepare the meat. This he does by making a large hole in the earth, which he paves with stones; he then puts in wood and fire to heat the stones; after the fire has ceased to burn, the ashes are removed. Then the potatoes are thrown into the hole, the pork or fish is placed upon the potatoes, and covered up, first with a piece of old mat, and then with earth. When the cook thinks the food sufficiently dressed, he gives the word of command to all who may be concerned. They place themselves in small circles, then the man uncovers the provision, and if the piece of pork be large, he takes hold of it with one hand, and with the fingers of the other tears off pieces, throws the first to the master, the second to the mistress, and so on till all are served."

That the New Zealanders are cannibals, the evidence is most unequivocal. Of this horrid practice, we gave an instance in col. 27 of our preceding number, and the dreadful fact is confirmed by the account now before us. Alluding to that circumstance, the writer says, "In the company which waited for the body of the roasted youth, was shewn to me the mother of the child. The mother and child were both slaves, having been taken in war. However, she would have been compelled to share in the horrid feast, if they had not been prevailed upon to give up the body.

"But notwithstanding this melancholy picture of New Zealand cannibalism, I believe they are very capable of receiving religious instruction, and a knowledge of arts in general. They are very ingenious and enterprising, and discover a surprising willingness to receive information. I did not

133

The Moralizer.-No. 5.

visit any one village, where the principal chiefs did not strongly urge my residence among them, and I believe that God is preparing them to receive the ever-blessed gospel of peace.

"The following is what the Rev. S. Marsden has related to me from time to time, while I resided in New South Wales:

66

With respect to the tradition relative to the Moon, Mr. Marsden observed, I was one evening, when the moon was shining very bright, talking to a New Zealander, about the creation of the heavenly bodies. The moon at length became the topic of our conversation. He told me, that there was a man at New Zealand a long time ago, named Rona, who was going for some water one very dark night, and by accident hurt his foot, and though there were neither moon nor stars to be seen at the time, while Rona was in this situation, and so lame as not to be able to return to his house, the moon came suddenly upon him. Rona laid hold of a tree to save himself, but in vain, for the moon carried both him and the tree away:' and there they believe he is to this day.

The New Zealanders believe that all their comforts and enjoyments are from the favour of their Attua, (their great god.) They also believe, that if they are good, he will do them good; but if wicked, he will be angry with them. They believe, that if a man was a robber, or in any way wicked, his potatoes would not grow when planted, and he would catch no fish when he went a fishing, and that his wife and children would also be wicked.

66

THE MORALIZER.-NO. 5. Saturday, October 21st, 1820.

134

Pejor est bello, timor ipse belli.-Seneca. Or a multiplicity of events, which are allowed to be real evils, few have not been more or less the subjects of undue exaggeration. Viewed relatively, rather than abstractedly, they have been arrayed in unsubstantial terrors; have been objects of aversion rather than of evitation; and have paralyzed by their menaces, those powers which should have been employed in anticipating their occurrence, and in preventing their consequences. To this cause, in its application to many cases, may be attributed the truth of the remark, that "Misfortunes seldom come alone." We are aware, how fatally the passion of fear has operated in instances too numerous and too notorious to be recorded; how often it procures the fate which it deprecates, and yields to the pressure of a calamity, which it was intended to divert. Thus we confer on real evil a prolific power, an inherent ability of propagating its kind; multiply our miseries, aggravate the wretchedness which we lament, and " feel," as a certain writer says, a thousand deaths in fearing one." But it is not sufficient, that there really exist causes for fear; their existence is often visionary; and I am disposed to give Menander equal credit as a poet and as a philosopher, when I hear him say,

66

66

66

“

“

66

Ἡμεῖς δὲ χωρὶς τῶν ἀναγκαίων κακῶν,
Αὐτὸι παρ' αὐτῶν ἕτερα προσπορίζομεν
Λυπέμεθ', ὧν πτώρη τίς. ἄνειπῃ κακῶς,
Οργιζόμεθ'. ἄν ιδῃ τίς ἐννπνιον, σφόδρα
Φοβεεθ' ἄνγλαύξ ἀνακράγη δεδοίκαμεν,”
&c.

Mr. Marsden has likewise observ- ed, that a New Zealand chief with whom he was acquainted, said to him with apparent concern, that a New Zealand And whilst "cowardice is mistaken man did not know how to make a for elegance," nature will be disguised Sunday; but as soon as he returned with horrors, and peopled with monhe would make one, and requested me sters. The air is crowded with sylphs to get him some colours at Port Jack-and genii, and the earth swarms with son, that he might on a Sunday morning hoist a signal, and let his people know it was the Sabbath. This young chief had noticed the observation of the sabbath-day in England and Port Jackson; and he said he is persuaded, that his countrymen will sanction the institution of the Sabbath. They would have had one before now, he says, but they did not know how to make a Sunday,"

ghosts and apparitions. Every storm is the vehicle of a magician, and every eclipse the presage of doomsday. We cannot enjoy the fireside circle, without ominous apprehensions, nor read by candlelight, without affixing some certain explanation, to every appearance which our luminary presents. These effeminate panics are not uncommonly, constitutional, and involuntary. The power of the imagina

135

The Moralizer.-No. 5.

136

-a labyrinth in which we are in danger of ranging at random, through the mazes of idle speculation; or of settling with composure, on the fanciful elevations of self-importance. To a proper performance of our several parts, on the stage of human existence, some degree of acquaintance with ourselves is absolutely es

The languor of depression

will naturally succeed to extravagance of expectation, but defeat is not unfrequently less disgraceful than conquest. The meanest advocate of truth, when sinking under the power of a mightier foe, will fall with the triumphant exultation,—

tion is greater than that of reason; and
education has, in many instances, nur-
tured those dispositions, which it
should have aimed to suppress. It
argued no inconsiderable superiority
of information, as well as of resolu-
tion, in the son of Philip, to remove
the uneasiness of his soldiers, on the
appearance of a lunar eclipse preced-
ing the battle of Arbela; and to dis-sential.
cern the futility of those predictions,
which would have prevented him from
making Babylon the centre of his con-
quests, the seat of his empire, and
the theatre of his triumphs. The im-
becility and impolicy of listening to
fears, which have no solid foundation,
and no profitable tendency, demand
neither confirmation from argument,
nor elucidation from example. But
the task of a Moralist, in cases where
error is unconcealed, is rather to shew
the means of escape, than to announce
the existence of danger. To draw a
faithful line of distinction betwixt
reality and romance; to guard can-
dour against the admission of preju-
dice; to vindicate circumspection
from the charge of cowardice; and
to defend the territories of reason
from the irruptions of fancy,-

"Hoc opus, hic labor est."

"In this the task, the mighty labour, lies." Those apprehensions, which result from frequent experience of the inconstancy and the depravity of mankind, though not altogether unreasonable, are always disgusting. He who has suffered from the treachery of professed friendship, or the assaults of open hostility, may be expected to look with less complacency on the attentions, and with less candour on the failings, of those with whom he is connected. But let him not conceive that all are deceitful, because some have proved false. Let him not, by brooding over the memory of a disaster, imbitter those enjoyments which are yet in reversion for him, Let him remember that all pleasure is not happiness, nor all misfortune misery. But the discouragements inspired by an imperfeet inspection of our own powers, or an improper estimate of the efficacy of those with which we know ourselves invested, must not be overlooked. There is perhaps no inquiry more interesting, and at the same time more intricate, than one which conducts into the labyrinth of the human mind;

""Tis true I perish, but I perish great."

But of all the doleful tones which have recently interrupted social pleasure, and roused patriotic feeling, the national knell of departed glory and ruined credit, has been longest and loudest continued. As a matter of universal concern, few villages and even hamlets have not furnished an echo to the sound. Its dreary monotony is at length familiarized to the public ear, and, like other reports of a similar nature, the oftener it has been repeated, the less it has been regarded.

There have existed, and there certainly are at present, grounds for complaint—“ Rumor publicus non omninò frustra est.”—But with what benefit have these complaints been attended? That they have served to engender the whispers of disaffection, and the vociferations of disgust, cannot be denied; but that they have been effectual in producing any salutary consequences, few will have the hardihood to affirm. It is said of the inhabitants of Amycle, a city of Italy, that they were so frequently harassed with false rumours of hostile invasion, as to enact a law, prohibiting the circulation of any such reports; and that their enemies availing themselves of this new regulation, made a sudden inroad on their territories, and roused them from their slumber of imaginary security, by imposing on them the yoke of servitude. An attempt to suppress the voice of public opinion, in a free country, would not only be hazardous, but impracticable. The erection of a Bastile on English ground, or the establishment of an Inquisition in the British metropolis, might be adopted with equal appearance and