Page:Reminiscences of Earliest Canterbury 1915.pdf/61

 It is quite impossible to estimate the benefit conferred on the early Canterbury settlers by the presence and vigilance of this French warship. The Maoris had a wholesome dread of her. Before leaving Akaroa on a cruise, long or short, the captain invariably gave a warning to the natives, through the chief at Wainui, that should any white settlers be molested by them during his absence, he would lose no time on his return in blowing their houses to pieces. Whether or not any formal acknowledgment of this protection passed from the British to the French Government, there can be no doubt that our debt of gratitude to that sturdy old sailor is a very heavy one, involving, as it did, the safety and probably the survival of our pioneers.

There is much to be said to the credit of those early French and German settlers, and very little that can be said with any justice or honesty to their discredit. They were industrious, law-abiding, kind, and hospitable, seldom giving any trouble to the English authorities, and adapting themselves cheerfully to our customs, whilst submitting, with an equal grace, to our laws. Although they had every facility to acquire