November, 1863

It takes such a long time for letters to get to and from New Zealand. I must expect at least four months time to elapse between my letters getting back to Teddy, as I have now decided to call him, and his next to me. But in the meantime, his aunt has kindly done as he asked and has sent me his wonderful book about New Zealand. I cannot stop going over it, and have read it through many times.

Here is a section from Chapter I.

He starts out the story by telling how he and some surveyors found a wrecked ship called Jewess. He talks about the various groups of natives he came in contact with.

He says, “It appeared that they came here after ravaging Waitotara, from which all the inhabitants had again fled, except a few too old and inform who were taken, killed and eaten...” I had not realised that New Zealand was a country peopled by cannibals.

Anyway, the next part tells how his adventure progressed.

“My house was full of good of various kinds belonging to the settlers, (who had come over on the ship with him)  who had not yet got their houses ready to receive them ; and I soon found myself forced into keeping what would be called a “shop” in England. Trading with the natives, I was obliged to procure all sorts of things from Wellington ; and had numerous applications from people who wanted certain quantities and could not get them anywhere else. The same with tea, sugar, flour and other articles of food, which I took advantage of the trips of the schooner to bring up in bags, casks or cases ; so that I was very soon a shopkeeper in spite of myself. 

However, I had by this time learned to be anything that might be required ; and the “shop” was for some time as amusing an employment as anything else. I have no doubt my books, kept in my own way, would have afforded much matter of laughter to any one brought up as a tradesman. I seldom received money payments. Pigs from one, labour from another, wine from a third ; stationery or wooden planks, spades, cart-wheels, or window-frames from some other customer :  such was the kind of barter which prevailed. I think that the only customer from whom I ever received cash for a long while was Mr. Mason, the missionary, who paid me in hard silver for two kegs of tobacco.

For this shopkeeping or trading, indeed, I had no vocation; and I entered into it with no views of gain. But as the trading with the White settlers seemed to be an almost indispensable condition of maintaining the sort of feudal attachment, which I have already described, of a large body of natives, I did not disdain to be a shopkeeper for what seemed to me so useful an object. I found that few things had so civilizing an influence over the natives as this kind of commerce, founded on friendship and honour ; and I was content to go on losing a considerable sum of money, while I gained their respect and esteem - which I introduced many of the habits and customs of civilized life by showing a due respect for those customs of savage life which are respectable - and while I was enabled, as I imagined, to exercise an extensive and beneficial effect upon the intercourse between the two races.”

Here is the next letter from Teddy's father to Pa.

“London
December, 1836

Dear Daniel

I have been away from business, as it were for some time now, and I was not available for the negotiations that took place regarding the Australian company plan. And when the commisioners decided to fix the price of land in Australia at 12 shillings an acre, I thought that was far too low. They refused to listen to my point of view, so I have broken from them.

I did give evidence earlier this year before a committee of the House of Commons and recommended that my principles of colonization should be embodied in an Act of Parliament and applied to the whole Empire - not just Australia.

As you perhaps have heard, King William signed the Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia last February, and the first settlers were chosen from the criterion that I established and left soon after and should now have arrived at Holdfast Bay.

I shall await with interest to see how the system works, but as they did not charge what I wanted for the land, and I withdrew my support for the final version of the plan, in some ways I rather hope that it will not be a perfect settlement for them all.

I will let you know more when I hear how it has all panned out.

Best wishes for Christmas to you and your family from your friend

Edward Gibbon”