for two years, and included a good deal of sharp fighting. Owing, no doubt, to the spirit introduced by the missionaries, and the influence of their families, the contest was prevented from developing into a war of extermination. It was conducted on new and civilised lines. There was no cannibalism or slaying of the wounded. With the exception of the Kororareka episode, property was respected, and non-combatants were unmolested. It was, in fact, more of a tournament than a war—a trial of strength, which left no sting behind it.

But it was very different with the war of 1860. This war began in Taranaki, and lasted for ten years, spreading over a third of the North Island, including Taranaki, Waikato, and the districts about Poverty Bay. Ten thousand men were engaged on the European side; and it is estimated that some £12,000,000 was expended before the contest was brought to a conclusion. Considering the large forces engaged on both sides, the number of men killed in the field was comparatively trifling; but the effect of the campaign as a factor in the passing of the Maori was deep and far-reaching. Multitudes of the most robust and vigorous men were withdrawn from the work which in normal times was barely sufficient to maintain them in comparative comfort. These had to be fed, and the production and transportation of the food more than taxed the ability of the women and non-combatants. Houses and cultivations had to be abandoned in the country accessible to the troops, and hunting and fishing grounds were deserted. For years this kind of thing went on. The whole population of a vast area extending from sea to sea was kept in a state of unnatural tension, and it would be impossible to estimate the numbers that perished from sickness and privation.

On the conclusion of the war all Native land beyond a certain line was confiscated by the Government, and the Maoris had to fall back and form new settlements as best they could, often with the total loss of any live-stock they might have possessed.