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The Life and Times of Sir George Grey, K.C.B.

Chapter XLII. — Retrospect Of Second New Zealand Government

page 335

Chapter XLII.
Retrospect Of Second New Zealand Government,

"Thou teachest me to deem
More sacredly of every human heart,
Since each reflects in joy some gleam
Of heaven, and could some wondrous secret show
Did we but pay the love we owe,
And with a child's undoubting wisdom look
On all these living pages of God's book."

The colony was once more at peace. Spite of war and devastation, the opening of the goldfields and the flowing tide of immigration had expanded its resources and increased its wealth. The European population, acknowledging the great services which Sir George Grey had rendered to the country, joined together in expressions of gratitude and of respect. Limited as his powers had been, beset with innumerable obstructions, he had; nevertheless, succeeded in steering the colony safely through another great crisis. He had preserved intact their privileges. He had vindicated their constitutional rights against the encroachments of his superiors.

Their regrets were bitter, but unavailing. He had been appointed by the Crown, and by the Crown he had been superseded. All that the colonists could do was to express their sense of his worth and of the generous and liberal conduct which, both in public and private life, had marked his career in New Zealand.

The whole attention of Sir George Grey had not been engrossed by his political and military cares. Among his correspondence page 336during this period is a letter from Florence Nightingale, dated July, 1863, written on hearing that Sir George Grey was building a hospital, in which she said that every spare moment for two years past had been devoted to working up and reducing to a report statistics obtained from the Colonial Office as to the mortality of native races. Her sincere sympathy with and appreciation of his efforts were expressed in the words, "God bless you! I wish I could have helped yon more. You will do a noble work in New Zealand."

In another paragraph she wrote, "You are nearly the only Governor, except the great Sir John Lawrence, who have condescended to qualify yourself by learning the languages, the physical habits, and the ethnological peculiarities of the races. you had to govern."

She also prepared some exhaustive notes on the New Zealand depopulation question. "The introduction of pigs as an article of food, has been certainly one cause of evil…. The pig is, of all animals, the decivilizer. Ireland and New Zealand both suffer under the incubus of pigs and potatoes." Summarising the diseases to which New Zealanders were peculiarly subject, Florence Nightingale dealt with each, showing that sanitary dwellings, proper clothing, wholesome food, active exercise, and more regard for personal cleanliness were needed to improve the health of the natives. In paragraph vii. she treated of Education:—

"Uncivilized man cannot be dealt with in the same way as civilized man. Even here, education means keeping a certain number of children a great part of each day in a close room— cramming and exciting them with formulae.

"Clever bread-winning, stunted growth, high mortality, are what we produce.

"But this system would be fatal to a race subjected Co it for the first time.

"In their children it produces bad health, scrofula, consumption, and is, in reality, death with slow torture.

"At home we find that as much (or more) is taught in three days as in six (or in six half days as in six whole days), the physical system being developed by exercise or work in the other three days (or six half days).

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"This is the clue to all proper school management, especially among the uncivilized.

"If a child's brain is forced, whose father's brain has been free, the child dies: children are killed by school discipline.

"In an aboriginal school there should be ample space, free ventilation, cheerfulness, half-time at least given to out-door work or play." She goes on to say that greater care still must be taken when a change of religion is added to all the other great changes. "Without bodily activity, the best men among the converts will fall under disease, and thus become lost to the cause of Christianity."

With all Sir George Grey's genius for great plans and public reforms his influence was still more attributable to his rare power of individual sympathy. Without this a man may be a great leader and a successful ruler, but he can never awaken in the hearts of thousands of his fellow-men the affection of children for a father.

With children he was ever a favourite; but it must be admitted that he was too indulgent to them. The little tyrants soon found out their power, and the ruler of great colonies, the man who had issued his commands in opposition to the Imperial Government and been obeyed, was often a slave to a child's whims, and helpless when confronted by a lisping "I don't want to."

The Governor had a soft spot in his heart for the little brownskinned native children. For their sake he established schools, and gave special treats and privileges. He delighted to see them in hearty enjoyment of their sports When it was impossible to benefit them on a large scale, he chose the most promising as recipients of his gifts.

In this way he selected three boys from Norfolk Island, and had them educated and trained as missionaries under the direction of the wise and good Bishop Patteson, who a few years later bravely met the death of a martyr. The following letter from the Bishop relates to his protégés:—

Kohimarama, March 6th, 1863.

My dear Sir George Grey,—I enclose three short notes from your three adopted Melanesian boys. They are lads in whom I am sure you will take a great interest, anil I am equally sure that they understand your kindness to them, and the object you have in view in helping them. I need not say how much I thank you. This is precisely the way in which help can he most usefully given to us, and your example may be followed by others.

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All struggling authors, poets, and artists wrote to Sir George Grey asking his advice and assistance. He was never too busy to help and encourage real merit. To foster literature was one of his chief aims. The standard work on New Zealand, written by Dr. Hochstetter, owes its origin indirectly to Governor Grey. The author had been the guest of Sir George for some time in the colony, and was ever ready to declare his grateful sense of the kindness and assistance which he had received. The following simple letter gives utterance in Hochstetter's own words to the feelings by which he was influenced:—

To Sir George Grey,

Your Excellency,—After live years of labour I have now finished my publications of New Zealand to which your Excellency gave me the first instigation.

May your Excellency accept my works with indulgence, and see in them only the effort to do my best towards extending the scientific knowledge of an English colony, whose population greeted me with the greatest hospitality, and by this to pay the tribute of gratitude which I not only owe to the English colonists but to England in general.

Believe me to remain with greatest esteem,

Your Excellency's obedient servant,

Prof. Dr. F. V. Hochstetter.*

Dr. Ferd. Mueller, Curator of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, carried on a long correspondence with Sir George Grey, evincing in all his letters the greatest admiration for the latter's varied achievements. In one he enclosed a letter from Prof. Rafn, Secretary of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians, written from Copenhagen in November, 1862, asking him to forward to Sir George Grey various interesting papers connected with the founding, history, and proceedings of the Society, and intimating that they should consider it an honour to elect Sir George as one of the Fellows of the R.S.N.A. Society. Sir Henry Barkly wished to propose Sir George "as preeminent for rank and learning" to this position. The friendship between Dr. Mueller and Sir George Grey was marked by a continuous interchange of plants and animals, and of information concerning them. Sir George having sent him a sample of New Zealand flax, Dr. Mueller manufactured it into paper, which he sent to Sir George on Christmas Day, 1866. The letter accompanying page 339this specimen was published for public information by the New Zealand Government.

After the arrival of Sir George Bowen, and his assumption of the Government on the 9th of February, 1868, Sir George Grey retired to the island of Kawan. He resided there for several months, and then returned to England in the New Zealand spring and English autumn.

* Letter from Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Vienna, Sept. 20th, 1865.