....Christianity and civilization are intimately connected, though not always united: civilization is often found without Christianity, but Christianity will invariably produce a progressive advancement in civilization, because education is an essential part of it - it opens the mind to new pursuits, and creates a wish for an improved condition.0
There is indeed a spurious kind of civilization which consists in the promiscuous adoption of foreign ideas, in which there is often a larger proportion of evil than good. This was now being forced upon the acceptance of the Maoris who were living in the vicinity of the newly-established towns, and religion was needed to modify those evils, and to fortify the native mind by the inculcation of right principles, preparing it to reject the evil and to choose good.
The first effect of Christianity was to induce the people to give up that system of warfare which for generations had made every tribe the enemy of its neighbours. In any part of the country where danger was apprehended, the population was not scattered over the district, but, for mutual protection, they lived in fortified villages, and their cultivations were carried on so near at hand, that, upon sudden alarm, they could speedily rush into a place of safety.
The traces of this practice are to be seen in the neighbourhood of Auckland. Nearly all the volcanic hills, which are numerous, were occupied as Pas; and the little terraces which are noticed on their sides are the clearings upon which their houses were built. As soon as the fear of these incursions was removed, the inhabitants became scattered in small parties and every man was able to reap the fruit of his own labour without molestation. One natural consequence was a great increase of agriculture, which was promoted by the demand for wheat and potatoes in the English towns.
In their purely native state, every family had within itself it's own resources. Their food, their clothing, their habitations, were all provided by the different members of the family; and the only interchange in the way of barter was in the purchase of canoes, and the finer kind of mats, which were made in perfection by a few only of the tribes. But now, in proportion to the facility of obtaining the coveted articles of foreign clothing and agricultural implements, the New Zealander was stimulated to raise twice as much produce as he required for his own consumption; and by traffic he supplied his wants at a much easier rate.
The alteration then had its begining in Christianity, which introduced a state of peace previously unknown, together with the opportunity of giving attention to quiet pursuits; and it was further promoted by intercourse with civilized man.
The mind of the Maori, by nature active, is continually pushing forward to some new object. The sight of something which had not been seen before often created a desire to obtain it; and the effect, to a certain extent, was salutary, inasmuch as it urged the people to habits of greater industry. A very few years brought about a vast change in their general appearance and pursuits. English clothing superseded the native garment, and, next to the immediate necessaries of life, the proceeds of labour were successively spent in the purchase of steel flour-mills, horses, cattle, ploughs, and threshing machines. ....
Metoikos