naries had
been using muskets and powder as articles of barter. It was very hard to
avoid doing so, for the Maoris were no longer satisfied with hoes and
axes. Guns were becoming necessary to self-defence in New Zealand, and
guns they would have. Marsden took a firm stand and informed the chiefs
that if there were any more trading for firearms the mission would be
withdrawn. The Maoris were far too keenly alive to the advantages of
European settlement not to be alarmed at this threat. They agreed to
deal with the settlers by means of peaceful articles of commerce.

Marsden now began a wonderful series of journeys. His obligation to the
timber-cutters led him far up the Thames Valley, but he soon went on by
himself and reached Tauranga, where he found memories of Captain Cook.
Returning to his ship in the Thames estuary, he made more than one
expedition to Kaipara and the more northern parts of the island,
including places where no white man had hitherto been seen.[2] In these
journeys the Mokoia _pa_, which stood on the site of the present village
of Panmure, near Auckland, became a kind of pivot of his operations. Its
chief, Hinaki, was particularly friendly, and in him Marsden hoped to
find a second Ruatara, and in his village a basis for mission work
further south. In fact, all the people of this district seemed more
accessible to the appeal of religion than were those of the Bay of
Islands. From June to November the devoted missionary passed up and down
the waterways which encompass the present city of Auckland, as well as
overland to Hokianga and Whangaroa, preaching in the numerous villages
the simple truth of the one living and true GOD. After one of his
journeys he writes: "I had now been twenty days from the ship, during
which time I had slept in my clothes, generally in the open air or in a
boat or canoe. A great part of the time the weather had been very wet
and stormy. I had crossed many swamps, creeks, and rivers, from the Bay
of Plenty[3] on the eastern side to Kaipara on the western coast; yet,
through the kind providence of God, I met with no accident or unpleasant
circumstances, but, on the contrary, had been highly gratified, and
returned to the ship in perfect health."

[2] Marsden's routes of travel during this time have been thoroughly
traced and elucidated by Dr. Hocken. In a biography or in a work on
the exploration of New Zealand a full account of these interesting
journeys should be giv