Chapter IV.
Finding A New Home.

It will be necessary to return to Havre-de-Grace, where the Nanto-Bordelaise Company had assembled thirty of their colonists. Early in January, 1840, these were brought down by steamer to the port of Rochefort, where the Comte de Paris was chafing at her hawsers, still unready for sea. The refitting and provisioning of the vessel had been a work of much greater magnitude than had been anticipated, the details of which were attended to personally by Captain Langlois, who consumed much valuable time in unprofitable wrangles with M. de Belligny over the question of precedence. So acrimonious and disastrous had these disputes become that instructions were sent by Admiral Duperré to the Baron de Freycinet, Maritime Prefect at Rochefort, to take matters in hand and employ all possible despatch in getting the Comte de Paris ready page 108for sea.^* Under official guidance affairs at the ship's side took on a more hopeful aspect and proceeded apace. In the meantime eight weeks of fretful idleness were imposed upon the emigrants from Havre, as also upon those who joined them at Rochefort ^† Many of these had now to set about disposing of goods which they had collected, intending to bring them to New Zealand, but which step Captain Langlois prohibited on the pretext that his ship was overloaded, and that such articles would be supplied by the Company. In this he was but continuing the course of misrepresentation he had pursued ever since his arrival in France with his Maori deed. This action was also the beginning of a series of petty tyrannies upon the colonists which increased the discomforts of the voyage and imposed needless hardships upon them when they reached Akaroa. But there were compensations. So frugal had been their fare in rural France that many of these people had never seen white bread till they joined the Comte de Paris, and the soup they were given on board, the chef-d'æuvre of M. Pontis, was the dizzy limit of enjoyment.

The early days of March saw the work of refitting brought to a close, and on the 8th of that month the last farewells were said as the vessel moved out from the quay to begin her long journey. Most of those who came down to the waterfront to bid their friends adieu were firmly of opinion that those on board were volunteers for eternity, and many wept like children at the thought of sundered friendships that could never be renewed. To them New Zealand was not only a far land, but a wild land, more likely to become the grave of the stranger than the home of the colonist.^*

The panic created by this terrifying experience left the little band of pilgrims with a sadly depleted stock of cheer. They, however, were not alone in misfortune. Two days later they spoke a Liverpool vessel bound for the Cape of Good Hope. Driven far out of her course, she too had escaped from the tornado, but stripped of every vestige of a mast she ever had.

A calm followed the storm, the wreckage was cut away, and under jury-masts the Comte de Paris limped her way to New Zealand. Land was first sighted in the vicinity of Cook Strait, and the vessel coasted along until Langlois' well-known landmark was sighted, and a course was set for Akaroa Heads. Here again misfortune dogged his way. Contrary winds opposed his entrance, and he was forced to put into the more favoured Pigeon Bay, where, on 9th August, he received a warm welcome from his old friends the resident natives.

The joy of their arrival was considerably subdued by the obligation to perform the first public ceremony of their own in New Zealand— to bury two children, the offspring of their shipmates, MM. Gendrot and Chardin, who had died the day before they sighted the Heads. There is nothing to be seen to-day of the graves. Possibly a cross or a railing was erected, but these, being of wood, must have long since decayed and disappeared. We can imagine the feelings of the parents as they saw the last sad rites performed over their dead children, and many a tear must have come into their eyes as they thought how hard it was that their loved ones should die so close to the land they were never to see and the home they had travelled so far to find. They, too, must have regretted that the burial could not have taken place at Akaroa, where their graves could be visited and tended with loving care. But this was not to be, and all they could do was to give them a burial fortified by such Christian rites as were at their disposal and leave them

Folded in God's encircling arm,
Wave-cradled and wind-caressed.

The last tribute of respect to the dead having been paid, Captain Langlois had now to turn his attention to the interests of the living. When he had left Port Cooper in 1838 he carried with him his native deed, which page 113he had used to good purpose. His part of the contract was, however, as yet incomplete, for the larger part of his payment had still to be made. The tidings of his arrival soon spread. With that peculiar facility with which news flew from pa to pa, every settlement was quickly advised, and ere long streams of natives were on their way to Pigeon Bay, all eager to greet the Captain and receive their share of the curious things he had brought from France. Of withered finery that had once done duty in the salons of Paris and of relics of a vanished army there was an abundance.

The distribution was made on 14th August, when all the chiefs were present who had signed the deed, with the addition of Iwikau, the Akaroa representative, who now gave his personal adhesion to the scheme and placed his moko on the document.^* Up to this point Captain Langlois had heard nothing of L'Aube and less of British sovereignty. Had he been advised of what had transpired he probably would have treated it as a joke, and was actually preparing to hoist the tricolour and salute it with 101 guns to affirm his possession of the Peninsula, when he received timely advice by the whaler Pauline of the arrival of L'Aube at Akaroa.

Suspending his unauthorized ceremony, sail was set, and the Comte de Paris made the Akaroa Heads at noon on the 16th. The wind failing, she anchored about a mile from the shore. As it had now fallen dead calm, the vessel was allowed—as it was supposed—to ride at her anchor, while all was bustle in preparation for the morrow's landing. Within half an hour, the passengers being below at dinner, two boys playing on deck noticed that the vessel seemed to be drifting closer to the shore, and one of them, the cabin-boy, drew the attention of the mate to the circumstance. Another anchor was let go, when it was discovered that the port anchor had not dragged, as was believed, but had broken, one of the flukes having snapped off. A boat was then got out in an endeavour to hold the ship, and an urgent appeal was sent to L'Aube for assistance. From the warship came boats and men, who with determination fought the elements that would incontinently have cast the ship ashore. After labouring all that afternoon and through the night, they succeeded in extricating her from her bad position, "and," says Captain Lavaud, "on the afternoon of the 17th she anchored in Paka-Ariki Bay, the point chosen by me for the disembarkation of the settlers."

While the Comte de Paris was beating about in an endeavour to enter the Heads the boat of the Britomart, which had been visiting the page 115whaling-stations with the Magistrates, was also making its way back to Akaroa. When abreast of the ship Captain Langlois ordered two shots to be fired across the bow of the boat. The officer in charge, thinking this was a signal that his services were required, changed his course and went on board. There seemed to be no particular reason why Captain Langlois should have adopted the extreme step of stopping the boat in the autocratic manner adopted, but, once on board, the officers of the Britomart and of the Government had sufficient to interest and even to startle them. Piled up on deck were a number of 24-pounder coast guncarriages, with plenty of evidence that the guns were not far away. These struck the English-men as strange equipment for an emigrant-ship, and upon inquiry from Captain Langlois as to their purpose they were further surprised at the somewhat vaunting tone in which they were informed that the guns were intended as the armament of the forts which the French Government proposed to erect at Akaroa.

This intelligence obliged the Magistrates to tell Captain Langlois very plainly that if anything like the erection of French forts was contemplated such a proceeding would not be tolerated for a moment, since Akaroa was British territory. To support what they said, they handed to him copies of the Proclamations issued by Lieutenant-Governor Hobson relative page 116to the sovereignty of Her Majesty the Queen. These the Frenchman rejected with a scornful air, and, laughing a loud laugh of derision, he declared that in the light of his prior purchase they were nothing and meant nothing.

The contemptuous attitude assumed by Langlois rather alarmed the Magistrates, who made haste to leave the ship and return to Akaroa, there to make their report to Captain Stanley. When they reached the Britomart Stanley was not there. He was on board L'Aube, dining with Captain Lavaud.^* An urgent message was sent, asking him to return to his ship to receive important information. This message, strange to say, reached him almost at the same moment as one from the Comte de Paris announcing to Captain Lavaud that the ship was in a dangerous plight. These insistent messages disturbed the little dinner-party, which was at once broken up for more serious business —Stanley to receive the report of his officers, Lavaud to send boats to tow the Comte de Paris into safety.

To some of them, however, the prospect was not alluring, and when he saw everywhere the dense bush and the steep hills, contrasting so strangely with his old home on the banks of the Charente River, the père de Malmanche, a gardener from Rochefort, took a deep and desperate vow that never till he had seen France again would he trim his beard. It was sixteen years before he was able to make the voyage back to France for the purpose of taking his two daughters home to be educated. By that time his beard had grown below his waist, but the tyranny of its length could not induce the rugged Frenchman to break his resolution.

By afternoon the Comte de Paris had worked her way up to the head of the harbour, and received a great welcome from the Maoris, assembled from all parts of the Peninsula. Many of these were decked out in the faded uniforms, gold lace, and cocked hats Langlois had given them in payment for their land. There was a great display of Paris finery, and not a few of the Maori ladies presented striking figures in fashions that were old when their mothers were young. But not all the natives were arrayed in this fine raiment; not all were the happy possessors of these antique baubles. There was a section of them still in their tribal homespun, or in such oddments as they had been able to pick up from the whalers. These were the native residents of Akaroa itself, and they had come not so much to welcome the colonists as to protest to Captain Lavaud that they had sold no territory to Captain Langlois, and they would permit no one to land until they had been paid, as the people of Port Cooper had been paid.

Captain Lavaud had first heard of the hostile attitude of the local natives when on the previous day (Sunday) he had gone ashore in company with Captain Stanley to visit the native settlement.

There were, he says, about forty men, women, and children. They were engaged in singing prayers taught them by a Protestant neophyte, and were armed with page 119small books printed in Maori, which, they showed me, with the words, "No wi wi" meaning "This is not French."^* Several of them spoke indifferent English. Their greeting was cool. I asked for the chief, and they introduced one, then a second, then a third. Finally they said they were all chiefs. Captain Stanley told me the principal chief was one of the oldest, but that in their small hapu authority seemed to be exercised by the father or husband of the family. They asked me what I wanted at Akaroa. I answered. to stay with them for a few hours as a friend, not an enemy, and invited them to visit the ship. Nearly all the men did so, but none of the women. They said that a French war-vessel had arrived at Port Cooper with many men and some women on board. This I took to be the Comte de Paris. My interpreter, Father Comte, asked them if they remembered selling any land to Captain Langlois. They replied they did not know him, but knew that it was he who, at Port Cooper, had bought a small piece of ground. Nothing had been sold to him at Akaroa. So far they had only sold the fisheries to the south of the Peninsula, and even there the English who were in possession had not paid the purchase-money.

On the morning of the 17th, as the Comte de Paris was slowly creeping up the bay, Captain Lavaud boarded her, personally to inspect the ship and her passengers. Above and below he encountered much that offended his professional sensibilities. Neatness and order were with him a passion, but he found neither on page 123board the Comte de Paris. When he saw "the disorder that reigned," when he learned of the "enormous consumption of victuals," and observed "the little care that was taken for the preservation of the articles of the ship's equipment, "he was subsequently constrained to write to his Minister and advise him never again to mix naval and commercial matters without ordering the embarkation of a commissariat officer to ensure efficient administration. As a naval man, he had a poor opinion of those captains who had reached their position without having passed through the Navy, where they could be grounded in the principles and virtues of discipline. After his experience with Captain Langlois and his ship he was more than ever confirmed in that opinion.

Later in the day he landed, in company with M. de Belligny, for the purpose of making a more detailed examination of the area available for the settlement. While engaged in this work they were met by Captain Stanley and the two Magistrates, Messrs. Murphy and Robinson. Captain Stanley informed Lavaud that it was the arrival of these two gentlemen from Piraki which had caused his sudden departure from the dinner-table of L'Aube on the previous day. As a result of what he had heard from them he had intended to write to him (Lavaud), but, on second thoughts, had decided to speak first.

He then detailed the incident under which the Magistrates' boat had been held up by Captain Langlois, what they had seen of the guncarriages on board the Comte de Paris, of their protestations to her captain, and his contemptuous reply. In these circumstances, Captain Stanley added, it had become his duty to inquire whether the French really did intend to erect fortifications on the South Island, because, if that were so, he must protest against it as an act of hostility. He wished to be informed by Lavaud, before reporting to his Government, whether the captain of the Comte de Paris had correctly reported the ultimate destination and purpose of the war material being carried on his ship. Captain Lavaud apologized for the bellicose remarks of Captain Langlois, and described them as distinctly "thoughtless." He assured Captain Stanley that his orders did not embrace any such proposal as the erection of forts; that he was not aware the Comte de Paris had brought carriages for 24-pounder guns. Under the conditions of the moment, and in view of the line of conduct he had decided to follow since his arrival in New Zealand, he had no difficulty in giving his promise that the guns would not be mounted; that he would leave them as ballast on board the Comte de Paris, landing only those carriages and wheels which might be a nuisance in working the ship as a fishing-vessel. Captain Stanley replied that he page 125wanted no more than such an assurance, and so quietly closed a tense moment in what has long been regarded as a tense incident in New Zealand's history.

As both captains were now on the shores of Paka-Ariki Bay, it was agreed that here the settlers should land, and remain, pending future developments. Between the French settlement and Mr. Green's house there was to be left a space common to all, which was bounded on the west by a creek of fresh water which supplied all the ships in the bay and never ran dry.

On the 18th Captain Lavaud sent an officer and a squad of men ashore for the purpose of erecting tents, contrived out of the spare sails of both ships. Two such large structures were spread out on the green sward under the shelter of the trees—the one to be occupied by the single men, the other by the married folks and their families.

Glad to be free from the confinement of a ship they had long since learned to detest, the new arrivals spent a busy day arranging and rearranging their domestic mènage, and, with the work still unfinished, they lay down under the awnings which had been spread to shelter them from the night. So to the lapping of the waves on the beach they went to sleep, and were awakened in the morning by the music of the birds. Dawn after their first night on shore gave them a thrill of joy beyond anything in all their experience of life. A few golden notes of the tui sounded on the still, scented air. Then was let loose suddenly a wonderful burst of melodious song from a vast bird assembly whose name was multitude. Thousands of tiny throats warbled like a heavenly choir, singing all the bird-notes that ever were—so it seemed to these joyously awakened sleepers. To hear the descriptions of this music from the descendants of these pioneers is a reminder in part of the old Cornish festival: "Each one making the most of his chance, all together in the floral dance." It was not dance-music, of course, for this vast feathered chorus sat embowered amid the trees "as still as a brooding dove," but the great floral decoration of the forest was the setting page 127for this wondrous harmony.^* They seemed to "fill the sea and air with their sweet jargoning," and thrilled the hearts of the new-comers with the joy of the morn. "The birds have welcomed us graciously," said these strangers, and their homesickness disappeared almost before the birds could bring the melody of their bells to a regretful end. This they did abruptly—as abruptly as it had opened to the introductory note of the tui.

During the disembarkation Captain Langlois displayed an officiousness of manner which became extremely irritating to M. de Belligny, who regarded himself as invested with supreme authority on land, however much he might have been disposed to yield precedence to the Captain on board his ship. The position between these two officers again became so acute that Captain Lavaud was forced to intervene, and he told Langlois politely but firmly that his instructions from the Nanto-Bordelaise Company were that M. de Belligny was to be Tegarded as their representative, and not Captain Langlois. To this decision Langlois at first refused to submit, whereupon Captain Lavaud was compelled to go a step further, and to say that, provided progress of the settlement was not impeded, he did not feel called upon to take sides in the misunderstanding with M. de Belligny, but as soon as he saw any ill will on his (Langlois') part, or ill results due to his obstinacy and mistaken self-esteem, he would be obliged to interfere and remove any obstacle to the common welfare.

M. Emery de Malmanche.

This stronger attitude had the desired effect for a few days, but it was not long before the obdurate captain was as rebellious as ever.

There were sick on board as well as poor, many still suffering from a form of influenza then known as Rochefort fever. There was even a more serious disease among the colonists than Rochefort fever, for the non-detection and prevention of which Lavaud severely censured both Captain Langlois and the surgeon of the Comte de Paris. The sick were helped as far as possible, one of the first things done being the erection of a hospital sufficient to accommodate ten patients; but the most healing influences were the improved living conditions and the bracing climate.

On the 22nd, says Captain Lavaud, I chose the place for the first settlement, and the following days were occupied in measuring the base at 100 ft. from the coast, and outside the flat reserved for the township. This base was 30 metres long. My intention was to favour the first settlers by putting them near the township, and also as far as possible to keep them together for their mutual protection.

On the 23rd the lots were settled, and I had them drawn, the representatives of families drawing first. The Paka-Ariki Bay, though large enough in extent, did not contain enough cultivable land to accommodate the whole of the settlers. Seven settlers had to be placed in a bay to the north, and. by common agreement between the six Germans on the Comte de Paris and myself they decided to go there. Two other settlers, at their own request, were located on the hill separating the two bays, somewhat to the east.

Tents were set up to shelter the cargo of the Comte de Paris, the distribution of the necessaries being looked after by M. de Belligny.^* The Comte de Paris supplied the daily rations until it was possible to tranship all the victuals intended for the colony to L'Aube. An officer was left ashore to preserve order for some days, until L'Aube was able to anchor closer up. At the same time as the Comte de Paris was being discharged the men of L'Auhe were busy unshipping her broken masts, while the carpenters were ashore selecting and dressing kahikatea trees with which to replace them.^†

When the surveys were completed the allotments were made in two localities, Aux Français being the location of the French, Aux Allemands that of the Germans. Aux Anglais was reserved for the British, and was situated nearest to Green's Point. This section was subsequently occupied by the Government officials, the Magistrate, the Customs officer, the Postmaster, the surveyors, and their necessary retainers. The French and German subdivisions were then as follows:—

In these busy days, when everything was in a state of orderly confusion, Captain Lavaud had yet another mild skirmish with the intractable Captain Langlois. It would seem that the form of the original deed drawn up by the latter for the purchase of the Peninsula was not entirely to the liking of the Company, who had acted on it, but with the understanding that on Langlois' return to New Zealand an amended document would be presented to the page 132natives for signature. A copy in its amended form had been given to him, and the Duc Dècazes took the precaution of sending another copy to Captain Lavaud. So far Langlois had taken no steps to carry out the Company's instructions, and seemed little disposed to do so. Captain Lavaud therefore drew his attention to this omission, and instructed him to get the New-Zealanders together at his tent and have the matter finally settled. As the document was drafted in France, where British sovereignty was not contemplated, Lavaud thought it would not altogether suit the altered circumstances in which they found themselves. He therefore suggested to Langlois certain amendments, a draft of which he gave him, and asked him to examine them at his leisure. Langlois, rather sulkily, took the document away, but paid no attention to it. When he returned it was with the copy of the new contract in its original form, signed and settled.

In Captain Lavaud's opinion this only opened the way to fresh misunderstandings and difficulties, and to protect the members of the Company he insisted upon a second document being drawn up embracing his suggested amendments. This might have been done, but in the meantime the Maoris had dispersed and it was difficult to get them together again, and, so far as Captain Langlois was concerned, Lavaud says he "made no attempt to do so."

A further examination of the signed document revealed to Lavaud that those natives who were now described in it as the vendors of the Peninsula were, with one or two exceptions, not the same as those who had signed the deed at Port Cooper. When taxed with this inconsistency, Langlois coolly replied that the original signatories were no longer at Port Cooper, but that as the chief Chigary (Taikare^*) had signed both documents everything had thereby been made regular.

What had happened was that the light-hearted, irresponsible Langlois had rounded up the first knot of natives he found, induced them to sign the document, and in this way had added another to the many fictitious deeds under which large areas of New Zealand had been bought, but not so effectively as their purchasers had been sold.

The French at Akaroa numbered thirty men, eleven women, and twenty-two children. These figures, however, took no cognizance of the French naval force, which now promised to become a permanent factor in the population. Having regard to this fact, Captain Stanley, realizing that upon his departure the French would become the dominant power, obtained from Captain Lavaud an unequivocal pledge that he would observe strict neutrality between the two nationalities, and that all disputes between the French and British would be settled on the principles of equality and impartiality.

The making and keeping of this promise was no longer difficult for Lavaud, who, whatever reservations he might have felt constrained to make in the interests of his countrymen, had in his own mind reached the conviction that the British claim to sovereignty was indisputable, and from this time forward all his actions were influenced by that conviction.

During the next few days other matters were discussed, and on the 21st Captain Lavaud was informed that Mr. Robinson was to remain on the station to act as Magistrate and generally to supervise British interests. Of this step page 135Lavaud warmly approved,^* realizing that it would relieve him of no small responsibility in the adjustment of disputes. He therefore arranged for the purchase of a boat for Mr. Robinson from a French whaler, and offered him the hospitality of his table on board L'Aube until such time as he could establish himself on shore. In this and many other ways the Frenchman showed by his acts that he was faithfully following the line of conduct he had traced out for himself, and that he was seeking loyally to redeem his written promises to Captain Hobson, "until the British and French Cabinets had decided the question of occupancy one way or another."

This unceasing industry on the part of the corvette's crew had been, as already indicated, employed in repairing the damage the Comte de Paris had suffered on the voyage out. By the middle of October her new foremast had page 140been finished and stepped; a maintopmast was in course of preparation; the worn and torn sails were being steadily renewed; while broken rigging was being bent and spliced with the ambidextrous skill known only to the old salt. With such satisfactory progress Captain Lavaud was hopeful of getting her to sea again in two or three weeks' time.

While the work of refitting the Comte de Paris was being undertaken by the men of L'Aube, her own crew began to show signs of revolt against the oppressive discipline of Captain Langlois. Desertions were becoming frequent, and, although the men found it difficult to escape, the certainty of recapture and the increasing severity of the punishments did not deter them from making the attempt. Reporting to Captain Lavaud that one of his men, a caulker named Jouy, had again deserted, he concludes with the melancholy announcement, "and this is the third time he has done it."

Captain Lavaud could not, and did not, lightly regard these desertions, and he did his best to enforce the sanctity of contract; yet he felt there was something to be said for the deserters, who were dependent for their pay not upon a fixed wage, but upon a percentage of the oil secured. While, then, their ship was held up in port for repairs they were working hard but earning no money. Nor were they likely to earn much that year, for the northern whaling season, which began in September and page 141ended in December, would be far spent before the Comte de Paris could reach the fishing-ground. In these circumstances he suggested to Captain Langlois that in order to allay the discontent which had "demoralized" the crew the Nanto-Bordelaise Company should make them a special allowance to recoup them for their loss. This liberal-spirited proposal was not, however, entertained, much less given effect to, by Captain Langlois; hence his unpopularity with his men, and their desire to seek more remunerative employment on other whalers.

Lavaud replied that, as King's Commissioner, he had appointed M. de Belligny "Sole Administrator"; that since the Company issued their instructions to Langlois the position had entirely changed by the interposition of British sovereignty. Langlois had completely failed to fulfil his contracts, either to the Company or to the settlers. He had sold land he did not possess, his title being contested by the Akaroa natives, with whom only a temporary arrangement had been patched up. There was therefore no longer any question of carrying out instructions, and he would recognize M. de Belligny as representative of the Company in everything relating to the colony. As a parting shot, he gave him this bit of friendly advice: "Go to your fishing as quickly as possible, in the interests of your shipowners and your crew."^*

Langlois was far from taking that advice. He came on shore and proceeded to undermine Belligny's authority by casting doubts upon his status. Signs of insubordination were beginning to manifest themselves, whereupon Lavaud went ashore and met the settlers. He told them that Langlois was captain of the Comte de Paris, and nothing more; M. de Belligny was the representative of the Company. He further told them that he was the King's Commissioner, that he would brook no interference with his authority, and would punish severely any disturbers of the peace or any who opposed the measures he might see fit to take. He said he knew the one among them who had "sounded the trumpet," and, pointing him out, said he would have to go on board his ship and be put in irons, when he would have time to ponder over the error of his ways. "I have no wish to make too much of this incident," he said, "therefore I have restricted myself to laconic language, but of such a nature as to take away for ever, I hope, the idea of a return to this bad spirit."

If Lavaud found his relations with Langlois in a state of constant strain, his association with Mr. Robinson, the British Magistrate, was of a much more happy order. Between these two men there was at all times a deep mutual respect, and their correspondence displays a spirit of sweet reasonableness under trying circumstances, which could not be for other than the good of the settlement.

On the day that the Britomart left Akaroa and Mr. Robinson was charged with the care of British interests Lavaud and he had a conference, at which their mutual difficulties were discussed. As a result of that conference a position was evolved which was afterwards known as the status quo, and which was to continue until the question of sovereignty was settled. It was agreed that Mr. Robinson should exercise his authority over the British subjects at the bays, and that Lavaud was to be responsible for the good conduct of the French. Where the two nationals came into conflict, a joint investigation was to be made, and the party adjudged to be the offender was to be handed over to his own authority for punishment. Typical of the kind of differences that had to be settled, Lavaud relates that a French colonist had a quarrel with an Englishman. The latter received some blows, after which the colonist took a musket and struck at his adversary with a fixed bayonet, which page 146luckily only went through his clothes and shirt, and slightly grazed his abdomen. The next day the Englishman complained to Lavaud before his Magistrate, who demanded that the offender should be brought to trial, the crime having been committed on British soil. "To grant this admission might have had severe consequences; to have refused it might have had worse ones. Therefore I proposed to Mr. Robinson that I should be allowed to finish the affair between the disputants, which fortunately was done in our commune, and with great satisfaction, for in certain cases the position of the agent of Britain is just as false as mine."

Later, in the month of October, a further matter was discussed and agreed upon. Since the departure of the Britomart the British flag had not been flying in any part of the settlement, but now Mr. Robinson, having established himself on shore, announced his intention of flying the flag at his magisterial residence. Against this proceeding Lavaud vigorously protested, not so much from a spirit of national hostility to Britain as from a knowledge that if the fact that Akaroa was not French territory was disclosed to the settlers at that juncture his influence over them would immediately be dissipated. The colonists naturally would be annoyed at what they might justly regard as an act of deception, for which they would, as naturally, hold him responsible. He therefore page 147remonstrated with Robinson, and by dint of either pressure or persuasion succeeded in averting the demonstration until such time as they had heard from their respective Governments.

On 19th October the first child was born in the settlement. This interesting event occurred in a tent on the beach, and brought joy to the pére de Malmanche and his spouse. To demonstrate his friendly interest in the new arrival, Captain Lavaud hastened to the proud parent and requested that he might be allowed to stand as the child's godfather, only to find that he had been preceeded by M. de Belligny. A compromise was, however, soon effected: it was decided that this young New-Zealander should be given the name of Charles, after Lavaud, and of Joseph, after Belligny. His third name, Maria, was subsequently given him to commemorate the fact that he was baptized by Bishop Pompallier, who shortly before had arrived in his mission schooner, Sancta Maria.^*

He describes Akaroa as the very antipodes of Toulon, "so that from whichever direction you write you cannot possibly be farther away." He found the climate changeable and the temperature variable. The sun might be shining to-day; to-morrow there would be snow on the hilltops. The bush was dense, but very beautiful. Pigeons were there in abundance, and easily killed or captured, while the song-birds filled the air with their music. "Birds," he says, "are here in great numbers. Their carolling is one continuous concert, which I call 'the birds' morning prayer.' "The bird-notes seemed to him to be so sweet, varied, and page 152wonderful that only the nightingale was missing.^*

This missionary priest arrived at Akaroa in company with Bishop Pompallier within a month of the settlers landing. So soon as the Bishop had heard from Captain Lavaud of the project to found a French colony at Akaroa he at once arranged to extend his mission in that direction. Two priests were, by the courtesy of Captain Lavaud, sent down by L'Aube, and in September the Bishop himself followed in his newly purchased topsail schooner, which he had christened Sancta Maria.^† This vessel was American-built, with a thoroughly sound hull, but unsheathed, a deficiency which the Bishop recognized as serious in New Zealand waters, and to remedy it he procured the necessary plates of copper in Auckland.

Arrived at Banks Peninsula, he says, I asked Captain Lavaud, in the name of the King's Minister, under whose protection I was, to nail to my missionary vessel the sheets of copper I had purchased for the purpose. The good-hearted Captain consented to all I asked him. He had the work done, which took about a month.

^* Vide Annales des Missions D'Oceanie, Vol. I.

^† She was originally called the Atlas. Bishop Pompallier was finding a difficulty is securing sober, steady men to act as his crew. He therefore applied to Captain Lavaud for the loan of some of the men of L'Aube. To this Lavaud could not agree, but offered to write to France with a view to interesting some members of the Maritime Inscription (Naval Reserve) who might be disposed to come out to New Zealand. The Bishop again visited Akaroa next year, when "the French naval authorities received the Catholic Bishop with great respect and distinction."

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During that time I, with my missionaries for this place, worked at the ministration of salvation for the white people and the natives who had settled themselves in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Akaroa. Several of the former approached the sacraments, and the latter received instruction in the faith. When the Sancta Maria was thoroughly repaired I set sail for the Bay of Otago…. Fathers Comte and Pesant accompanied me, and Father Tripe remained at Akaroa, to minister to those inhabitants who understood the French language…. On returning from Otago we again reached Akaroa, where I installed Father Comte in his position as rector of this station. I joined to him Father Tripe, who was to work specially for the salvation of the whites in the bay. As to Father Comte, who could speak Maori, he was charged particularly with the care of the natives.

Thus the settlers were early provided with those spiritual ministrations to which they had been accustomed at home, a comfort which doubtless served to soften the wrench of parting from the old land.

At this juncture Captain Lavaud received another unpleasant surprise, in the shape of a fresh claimant to the ownership of Banks Peninsula. With Bishop Pompallier there had come to Akaroa from the Bay of Islands M. Duvauchelle, who had arrived as the agent of Messieurs Rateau^* and Cafler, other Frenchmen established in New Zealand, who claimed to have purchased for the sum of £1,500 the deeds of Captain Clayton, of whom Lavaud had heard at the Bay of Islands.

To this Rateau and Cafler replied that their deeds were older than those of the Nanto- Bordelaise Company, having been secured in 1837, while those of the Company were not procured until 1839. They were prepared to make a working arrangement with the Company, but they would not submit to have their page 155claims treated with contempt. As for Hempleman,^* they brushed him aside by alleging they held a document in which he acknowledged himself to be merely the tenant of Captain Clayton.

This led to a rattling of the unsavoury bones of other purchases, in which mention is made of the names of Messrs. Rhodes, Cooper, and Holt; Francis 0. Lethart, Weller, Went-worth, Carellet, Price, and Brown, most of whose titles were in some way derived from the Otago chief Taiaroa, who now appeared to employ his time perpetually in effecting sales of the Peninsula.

To these claims, whatever their origin, Captain Lavaud would give no countenance, and rejected them without further argument. He replied^† to Messieurs Rateau and Cafler, informing them that, as the status of the land on the Peninsula was the subject of negotiation between the French and British Governments, nothing could be done until that negotiation was settled. In any case, all claims would then be subject to inquiry by a Commission before rightful ownership could be determined.

Caustically he refers to some of the larger claims which at this period were figuring before the public—Weller's territory, ninety miles long, and Wentworth's, of twenty million acres, "which by the size of them ought to be considered princedoms."

Lavaud's anxieties now began to increase in another direction, and so did those of the colonists. As already stated, they had embarked with very few worldly possessions, believing that their bodily and household needs would be supplied by the Company on arrival at Akaroa. This, in a sense, was true, but the prices charged were so excessive that this form of exploitation brought forth an energetic protest from the outraged settlers. On the Sunday before Christmas of 1840 they, in a body, waited on the Captain to make their protestations against "the enormous prices of provisions charged to them." They pointed out to him that, on the advice of Captain Langlois, they had come to the country without body-linen and without clothes. They had only things strictly necessary for a change, and that very seldom. To equip their homes they were obliged to go to the Com-page 158pany's stores, where the articles sold to them were of indifferent quality, and were quoted at double the price they had been led to believe would be the case. When they objected to these charges they were told that these were according to orders given by the Company to their representative before leaving France. To pay these charges, Lavaud points out, would be impossible, as there would be nothing coming from the next harvest with which to meet the obligations. The only alternative was for the settlers to work for the Company at day-wages and pay by instalments. But here again the Company had cut the ground from under their feet, for by the same instructions which doubled the prices of food and goods the Company had fixed the wage-rate at from 50 centimes to 1 franc per day, according to the capacity of the worker. "Such a state of things," says Lavaud, "if it were to last, would plunge the colony into the utmost misery. There is not a single man in New Zealand who will consent to work for so small a sum, the least day's work being paid for here at the rate of 3s."

Captain Lavaud believed himself unable to interfere in a matter of commercial policy, but in reporting the incident to his Minister he asked that representations should be made to the Company, basing the justice of this course on the repeated declarations of Captain Langlois to the effect that "the colonists needed nothing, because everything would be supplied to them."

It would be too long, he says, to here enumerate the prices of the different articles, but I may tell you that sheets which cost in France from 7 to 8 francs per pair are sold to the colonists here at from 17 to 50 francs. Shoes, not so good as those of our seamen, are sold to them at one price—10 francs. All this is not very good to animate the courage of the cultivators, who already feel great disappointment at the sight of the ungrateful soil upon which they are asked to work. The Company will lose its colonists if it acts like this.^*

Thus the year of 1840 closed with a prospect anything but bright for the settlers.