Page:Pounamu, notes on New Zealand greenstone (IA pounamunotesonne00robl).djvu/41

Rh Titore, chief of the Ngapuhi, sent a message to King William IV. of which the following is a translation:—

“King William. Here am I, the friend of Captain Sadler. The ship is full and is now about to sail. I have heard that you aforetime were the captain of a ship. Do you therefore examine the spars, whether they are good, or whether they are bad. Should you and the French quarrel here are some trees for your warships. I am now beginning to think about a ship for myself. A native canoe is my vessel, and I have nothing else. The native canoes upset when they are filled with potatoes and other matters for your people. I have put on board the ‘Buffalo’ a greenstone war-club and two garments. These are all the things which New Zealanders possess. If I had anything better I would give it to Captain Sadler for you. This is all mine to you—mine—Titore to William, King of England.”

In due course a letter of thanks was sent to Titore by the Earl of Aberdeen, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, together with a present from the king, “a suit of armour, such as was worn in former times by his warriors, but which is now only used by his own bodyguard.” This armour is now in the Dominion Museum at Wellington.

“A good mere pounamu," says Maning in his Old New Zealand, “would be a temptation. I had once a mere, a present from a Maori friend, the most beautiful thing of the kind ever seen. It was nearly as transparent as glass; in it there were beautiful marks like fern-leaves, trees, fishes, and—I would not give much for a person who could not see almost anything in it. Never shall I cease to regret having parted with it. The Emperor of Brazil, I think, has it now; but he does not know the proper