Lecture on: New-Zealand: by 'T. M; Haslett Before' a: large: and. enthusiastic audience at the Foreign Y.M.CA: Jon October 29; Mr. 'T. M. Haslett gave illustrated lecture on "The Land of the Maori." 5 'Mr, Haslett had lived in. New Zealand some 25 years' and had travelled. extensively over. both islands, He was familiar. with the country and its inhabitants and. spoke with conviction on: what New Zealand: offers. the newcomer and what. it has given those who have gone before.
He traced the history of the country from the time when. the outside world first heard of it, some. thousand years ago, and; he dwelt at length' on- the Maoris: in their native habitat, The: first. man. to discover. the country of. whom there is any' record.wag: Abel-Tasman. Ho. was a doughty'skipper: and. one.of the firat navigators to carry the British flag as far south as New: Zealand. 'n fers then hardly known, Tasman was followed in the early 1,700's by the. redoubtable Capt. Cook whose views on the natives did not coincide with those of his predecessor. Where Tasman had been afraid to land because of the warlike aspect of the inhabitants, Cook eagerly pushed ashore and for a short time explored in a small way the North {sland where he landed. Cook was followed by -a French ship whose jeaptain landed with the major part of the crew and it is on record that 26 of these men found early graves in the stomachs of the islanders.
First Transfer of Land Still Inter there are records of the first treaty signed between the natives and the white colonizers and there is a contract signed early in the reign of Queen Victoria whereby 66,000,000 acres of land, about one third of the whole ssu face of the islands, was transfer-ted from native "ownership for approximately £9,000 in kind." The in. kind" con: eral hundred ammunition, two score' jew's harps fand an equal number of looking glasses. Listed items. compris several score ary named Wakefield who proved to be a resourceful soul and who brought with him a school-teacher, a blacksmith, and an earnest desire to blaze Christianity in the new land.
Whaling: stations were established veral points throughout the 14 it was not long before stories of the beauties of the country-spread back to England and a stonely stream of colonizers started for the land of the Maori.
The speaker recited an phrase of one of the hom: agitators who rebelled agai board of control then in existence in England, with these incisive words, "I would rather be ruled by a Nero on the spot than by a board angels in London, So far as is known the Maocis came from islands far to the north, believed. to have been Hawaii and they traversed the great distance in their war canoes which moved whole villages at a time.
At the present time New Zealand offers much to the man anxious to work hard with little thought of sudden profit. For the colonizer intent on raising sheep of fruit, the land of the Maori is jas fertile a field as can be found elsewhere and the speaker was enthusiastic over its future prospects.
ON October 28 a gang of robbers: armed with modern riffes raided a village called Ping Woo about 60 south of Shanghai and car-jed off loot valued at some $20,000. knowledge with, a powerful force which swept, the began a half-mythical Leliefs and methods Jaway from all civilized [Western ideas were introduced with ithe advent of exploration and the modern means of transportation. It is true that there is still a great deal of superstition, and many] deaths are caused by ignorance and foolish methods' of attempting to cure ils, but Dr. Wong is confident that nearly all China will sopn jedueated up to the standards of] twentieth century Knowledge and experiment in this realm.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.