had assembled; and a scene similar to this
was never before witnessed in New Zealand.
Six unarmed men, quite unprotected, (for
there was not a single vessel in the harbour,
nor had there been for a month,) had attacked
and destroyed all the preparations of
the.natives for what they consider a national
feast; and this was done in the presence of a
great body of armed chiefs, who had assembled
to partake of it. After having finished
this exploit, and our passion and disgust had
somewhat subsided, 1 could not help feeling
that we had acted very imprudently in thus
tempting the fury of these savages, and interfering
in an affair that certainly was no
concern of ours; but as no harm accrued
to any of our party, it plainly shows the
influence “ the white men” have already obtained
over them : had the offence we committed
been done by any hostile tribe, hundreds
of lives would have been sacrificed.
The next day our old friend King George
paid us a long visit, and.we talked over the
affair very calmly. He highly disapproved of
our conduct. “ In the first place,” said he,
“ you did a foolish thing, which might have
cost you your lives ; and yet did not accomplish
your purpose after all, as you merely
succeeded in burying the flesh near the spot
on which you found it. After you went away, it
was again taken up, and every bit was eaten; ”
a fact I afterwards ascertained by examining
the grave, and finding it empty. King George
further said, “ It was an old custom, which
their fathers practisèd before them; and you
had no right to interfere with their ceremonies.
I myself,” added he, “ have left off eating
human flesh, out of compliment to you
white men ; but you have no reason to expect
the same compliance from all the other chiefs.
What punishment have you in England for
thieves and runaways?” We answered,
“ After trial, flogging or hanging.”—“ Then,”
he replied, “ the only difference in our laws is;
you flog and hang, but we shoot and eat.”
After thus reproving us, he became very
communicative on the subject of cannibalism.
He said, he recollected the time prior to
pigs and potatoes being introduced into the
island (an epoch of great importance to the