The position is exactly that of Horatius. History repeats itself. I, for one, do not wonder that any man of his tribe, or woman either, should fight to the death in this quarrel. The more I learn about the beginning of this lamentable war, the more I feel that the authors of it must be condemned by impartial observers." "It cannot be logically defended," admitted Mr. Summers; "and, personally, I deplore the inevitable consequences, the temporary ruin of our hopes, the destruction of our schools and churches, the arrest of civilized progress. But some such conflict was unavoidable." "But why?" asked Hypatia. "The two races," answered he, "would never have continued to live together in peace. The Maori nature, proud, jealous, revengeful, holding themselves to be the original owners of the country, the English to be strangers and invaders, forbade a lasting peace. They were unwilling to dispose of their lands--these millions of fertile acres of which they made little or no use. The colonizing Briton would never have consented to stand idly by and see this great country, fitted to be the home of millions of Anglo-Saxons or other Europeans, held by a handful of barbarians." "But how about the Divine command, 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Do unto others'--ordinances, the keeping of which is enjoined upon individuals, but which are so conveniently ignored by nations?" "As a minister of the Gospel and a preacher of the Word, I am compelled to admit that our national policy and our national religion are often at variance. Still, it cannot be denied that the advance of civilization has mainly depended upon conquests and the doctrine of force. In our own land the ancient Britons were dispossessed by the Romans and the Iberian Celts; these, again, by Jutes and Saxons, who in turn were conquered by the Normans. These people found a weaker race, the Morioris, whom they slew and enslaved. They nearly depopulated the South Island, and would have wholly done so but for our arrival. They have always acted upon, and perfectly understand-- 'The ancient plan, That they should take who had the power, And he should keep who can.'" "That is intelligible," said Hypatia, with a sigh; "but I must say I cannot help sympathizing with the Maori Rangatira, in the spirit of the Douglas at Tantallon moralizing over Marmion-- '"'Tis pity of him, too!" he cried; "Bold can he speak and fairly ride. I warrant him a warrior tried."' "Do not forget the poor wahines," said Mrs. Summers. "Like all women in these affairs of state, they seem to have the worst of it. Think of them at Orakau, marching out of their blood-stained pah in the midst of a hail of bullets, hungry, thirsty, perhaps wounded, and yet, without doubt, they joined in the defiant shout of '_Akore, akore, akore!_'"