PROCLAMATION,

on the Costumes and Customs of New Zealand. Whereas I, the Governor, still have the right, To make laws, and give orders for ev'ry known thing ; And Acts are mere cobwebs while mine is the might j Now this is the will of your Deputy King! The Treasurers all shall be dressed in dark grey, With a leech on the collar, and a sponge on the wrist; And a gold-digger's jumper to wear on pay-day, Bedizened all over with strong silver twist. All Crown Land Commissioners henceforth shall wear A rouge-et-noir coat, with dice for the buttons ; At a thimble-rig table from Bartlemy fair Distributing rurts to good owners of muttons : Their Surveyors, jackets of fanciful hue, Very loose, and cut out of a pretty sketch-map; Their tools and their boots shall be shining and new; They shall sit on a stool, near a peg for their cap. Representative men shall wear night-caps of wool, And warm flannel-jackets like players at cricket, For fear their ambition should sicken and cool, While they fag all around me, and I keep the wicket.
And if they turn rusty with nothing to do, Since I put off their innings beyond next Decem ber, They may play out their honours at whist or at 100 ; For while I am the belly, who cares for a mem ber? TheLife-Nomineesshallwear long-faced bell-toppers, And plumes of white feathers to hide their dis grace ; Their coats shall be turned, and their pockets be woppers, To hold solid smiles from My Majesty's face. I myself wear chain-mail, as a sign of my reign, The bidd leader and chief of this glittering band; And the King of six Provinces still shall obtain His throne from dear rule, and his crowns from cheap land.
