Saint or Scoundrel 12

 November, 1863

It takes such a long time for letters to get to and from New Zealand. I must expect at least four months time to elapse between my letters getting back to Teddy, as I have now decided to call him, and his next to me. But in the meantime, his aunt has kindly done as he asked and has sent me his wonderful book about New Zealand. I cannot stop going over it, and have read it through many times.

Here is a section from Chapter I. He starts out the story by telling how he and some surveyors found a wrecked ship called Jewess. He talked about the various groups of natives he came in contact
with. He says, “It appeared that they came here after ravaging Waitotara, from which all the inhabitants had again fled, except a few too old and inform who were taken, killed and eaten...” I had
not realised that New Zealand was a country peopled by cannibals.

Anyway, the next part tells how his adventure progressed.

“My house was full of goods of various kinds belonging to the settlers, (who had come over on the ship with him) who had not yet got their houses ready to receive them ; and I soon found myself forced into keeping what would be called a “shop” in England. Trading with the natives, I was obliged to procure all sorts of things from Wellington; and had numerous applications from people who wanted certain quantities and could not get them anywhere else. The same with tea, sugar, flour and other articles of food, which I took advantage of the trips of the schooner to bring up in bags, casks or cases; so that I was very soon a shopkeeper in spite of myself. However, I had by this time learned to be anything that might be required; and the “shop” was for some time as amusing an
employment as anything else. I have no doubt my books, kept in my own way, would have afforded much matter of laughter to any one brought up as a tradesman. I seldom received money payments. Pigs from one, labour from another, wine from a third; stationery or wooden planks, spades, cart-wheels, or window-frames from some other customer: such was the kind of barter which prevailed. I think that the only customer from whom I ever received cash for a long while was Mr.
Mason, the missionary, who paid me in hard silver for two kegs of tobacco.

"For this shopkeeping or trading, indeed, I had no vocation; and I entered into it with no views of gain. But as the trading with the White settlers seemed to be an almost indispensable condition of
maintaining the sort of feudal attachment, which I have already described, of a large body of natives, I did not disdain to be a shopkeeper for what seemed to me so useful an object. I found that
few things had so civilizing an influence over the natives as this kind of commerce, founded on friendship and honour ; and I was content to go on losing a considerable sum of money, while I gained their respect and esteem - which I introduced many of the habits and customs of civilized life by showing a due respect for those customs of savage life which are respectable - and while I was
enabled, as I imagined, to exercise an extensive and beneficial effect upon the intercourse between the two races.”

Here is the next letter to Pa.

London

December 10, 1836

Dear Daniel,

I have been away from business, as it were for some time now, and I was
not available for the negotiations that took place regarding the
Australian company plan. And when the commisioners decided to fix the
price of land in Australia at 12 shillings an acre, I thought that
was far too low. They refused to listen to my point of view, so I
have broken from them.

I did give evidence earlier this year before a committee of the House
of Commons and recommended that my principles of colonization should
be embodied in an Act of Parliament and applied to the whole Empire -
not just Australia.

As you perhaps have heard, King William signed the Letters Patent
establishing the Province of South Australia last February, and the
first settlers were chosen from the criterion that I established and
left soon after and should now have arrived at Holdfast Bay.

I shall await with interest to see how the system works, but as they
did not charge what I wanted for the land, and I withdrew my support
for the final version of the plan, in some ways I rather hope that it
will not be a perfect settlement for them all.

I will let you know more when I hear how it has all panned out.

Best wishes for Christmas to you and your family from your friend,

Edward Gibbon

January 5, 1864

Still no reply from Teddy, and yet I am very hopeful that he will answer my very specific questions about his father. He says he finds it hard to do so, but with persuasion, I am hoping that he will provide me with a great deal more information.

Here is another of my favourite sections of Chapter 1 of his book.

“I had a large herd of swine running in the swamps and fern-ridges at the back of the settlement. For a long while I had turned out all those which I bought young or in bad condition from the natives,
after branding them over the tail. They got very fat as they grew, the feed being excellent about here. The succulent root of the Raupo or bulrush is a very favourite food of the hog, and the fern was also
of good quality.

"When I wanted to catch a number to send to Wellington, or to kill and salt down, a grand hunt took place. I had bought one or two good dogs, and bred them to the sport. They soon learn to beat the ground, and follow the scent of a pig; and take great delight in the chase. If large and strong, and found in open ground, a hog will often give a run of some miles, and you follow the dogs on foot through high fern, reeds, wood scrub, and swamp, til their barking and the snorting of the “porker” give notice that he is at bay.

"The pig-dogs are of rather a mongrel breed, partaking largely of the bull-dog, but mixed with the cross of mastiff and greyhound which forms the New South Wales kangaroo-dog. The great nurseries for good dogs have been the whaling stations, where they bred them for fighting. It soon became a fashion for travelling settlers like myself to have a pack of pit-dogs, known for their strength, skill and courage, whether in fighting or hunting, At a rude settlement such as Wanganui, they served also to protect the house from the depredations of the wandering loose adventurers who were getting daring in their undertakings and from the annoyance of a few among the natives who began to breed quarrels by rude and insulting behavior. On one occasion during my absence, the savages had laid a plan for the forcible entry and plunder of my house and several others; but one of their own party betrayed them, and my agent and a few other took the due precautions, and sallied out upon the gang before they were prepared, and gave the a good licking with their fists. Thus we were living under club-law ; and a good watch-dog or two were no despicable guardians of a house, and were very desirable companions out-of-doors at night.

But to return to the hunt. The hog once at bay is bold and unskilled dogs rush straight in for his nose, are often severely wounded by his long tusks or his hoofs. An experienced dog, without allowing him to escape, watches his opportunity to seize the jowl or the root of the ear. A dog that persists in seizing the legs, or any other part, is generally shot by his owner, as the practice spoils the hams, and is considered contrary to rules. When the dogs are fast, no struggle of the hog, no dragging of the dogs through bushes or swamp, succeeds in shaking them off ; and the native lads run up and fasten thongs of the flax-leaf round the hind-legs. If the animal is very wild, they also bind the fore-legs and even the muzzle and the weight of the dogs, and fatigue, prevents much resistance. The pig is rarely killed in the field as it is considered more sportsmanlike to bring
him in and show him off alive; so that the hunting-knife or rifle, although sometimes carried in case of necessity, is rarely made use of.”

I do so enjoy reading about his adventures. I must remember that he was only nineteen when he went to New Zealand.

Here is the next letter from Edward to Father.

December 10, 1836

Dear Daniel,

Having decided against moving to Australia, I am now turning my attention to
New Zealand and last May was successful in forming the New Zealand
Association for the systematic colonization of the country. Our first
approach to the Colonial Office was unsuccessful, but now the
Government has consented to the incorporation of a company by royal
charter. The Association, however, rejected the terms they offered
and interest in the project has now waned.

However, my expertise has now been required to help solve a problem in another
of the colonies, Canada. There is a rebellion in Lower Canada, which
I am sure you know is the most populated part near the East Coast. A
great friend of mine, Lord Durham, with whom I
worked closely on the New Zealand colonization plan, has been
approached to go there and try to sort it out. He says he will only
go if I accompany him as Commissioner of Crown Lands. But because we
both know that the British government of Lord Melbourne will not
sanction my appointment, Lord Durham will only announce it once we
have arrived. If I go, I will take Teddy with me as my secretary and
helper. So my next letter to you might well be from Canada.

Christmas good wishes from your friend,

Edward Gibbon