THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PAKEHA

(Continued from our last number) The forefathers of the Pakeha wished that the Laws should be administered justly and properly in all places in our country; there- fore the Laws were all written in a book, that they might be clearly understood by all gen- erations. They also endeavoured to assign to every offence its punishment, and for this purpose classified all offences under their different heads; all cases of theft by themselves, acts of violence to the person by themselves; cases of breaking into houses by themselves; this kind of offence under this head, that kind of offence under that head and so on. And they said: All the offences under the same head are not of equal magnitude; for in one case of theft the crime may be greater than in an- other. If a man were to steal five pounds from a poor widow, or from a person who had been very kind to him, and he bad used great fraud in connection with the theft, his crime would be far greater than that of a man who stole five pounds carelessly left in his way by a rich man. But the Law could not inflict a heavy punishment in the one case and KO NGA TIKANGA A TE PAKEHA

I whakaaro o matou matua kia tika, kia rite, te whakawao nga wahi katoa o to ma- tou kainga; koia i tuhituhia katoatia ai nga ture kite pukapuka, kia ata mohiotia ai e nga whakapaparanga katoa. Ai mea ano ratou kia ata whakaritea te utu mo tenei hara, mo tenei hara, koia i whakararangitia ai nga hara i raro iho i te- nei upoko, i tenei upoko; ko nga tahae ki a ratou whakatahae, ko nga patu ki a ratou whakapatu, ko nga wawahi whare ki a ratou whakawahiwhare; nga hara o tera upoko ki tera upoko, nga hara o tera upoko ki tera upoko. A i mea ano ratou: E kore e rite nga hara o te tahi upoko te nui; e nui ana hoki te hara o te tahi tahae i te hara o te ta- hi tahae. Ki te tahaetia e te tahi tangata e tahi pauna e rima a te tahi pouaru rawakore, a te tahi tangata ranei i nui nei tana atawhai ki a ia, ki te tangata nana i tahae; a he nui tona tinihanga i taua tahaetanga; he nui noa atu tona hara i to te tangata i tahaetia ai nga moni e rima i mahue whakaaro kore noa iho e te tahi tangata taonga nui. Otiia e kore e taea e te ture te mea kia nui te whiu mo te tahi, kia iti mo te tahi; he tahae tonu ano ki ta te ture; engari ma te kai whakarite