1959 - Taylor, N. (ed.) Early Travellers in New Zealand [Selected Accounts--Some Augmented with Missing Sections] - JOHN JOHNSON. Notes from a Journal [including omitted sections], p 113-185

A great and pleasing change had taken place in the features of the country on either side of the road leading to the Manakou, during an absence of two years from the colony. Fields, fenced and cleared, many bearing crops, had replaced the fern and wild ragged scrub that then covered it. Remuera, as the space is called between Mount Hobson aud Mount St. John, which had formerly been roughly cultivated by the natives to supply the necessaiy provision for a feast, in doing which they had destroyed all the beautiful wood which covered the sides of Mount Hobson and the adjacent valley, was now, at any rate, improved by English agriculture. This was the result of the late Governor Fitzroy's waiver of the Queen's right of preemption, by which private individuals were permitted to purchase lands directly from the aborigines, and which were confirmed to them by a Crown Grant on proving that the natives were satisfied, and on paying of a fee of Ten Shlillings per acre to the Crown. The amount of this fee was a sufficient gaurantee that the permission would scarcely be taken advantage of by mere speculators; but when the fee was subsequently reduced to One Penny per acre, it no doubt served as a bonus to speculation, or as it is called land-sharking, and vast tracts were immediately purchased from the natives by men who had hardly the means of satisfying them, and the majority of whom never could have cultivated a tithe of what they had acquired, or make useful in any way, than by re selling it at a profit; now this was such a manifest injustice to those who had formerly purchased land at a high price from the Govcrnmeut--to the old claimants, and to those who had paid the ten shillings per acre, besides being totally opposed in principle to the regulations by which land is to be acquired in our colonies, that Governor Grey did not feel himself justified in confirming their titles, for the parties only held them by certificate, uuder Governor Fitzroy's hand; but he has offered them such fair terms of compromise as they cannot reasonably reject. Land intended to be cultivated or applied to any other legitimate purpose, ought to be marketable like any other commodity, and the original purchaser has a right to expect such an advance of price, on a resale, as the progressive value of land in a rising colpny ensures; but gambling in land, or the mere transfer on a profit from one hand to another, cannot be too much discouraged, as tending to form a race of reckless gamblers rather than useful colonists.

A nursery garden prettily situated at the base of the lava spurs jutting out from Mount Eden, was another improvement, it was filled with every variety of fruit tree in a thriving condition, and which, from being raised in the country, are more suited to the climate than those brought from Australia or Van Dieman's Land. It is to be hoped that the settlers will take advantage of this supply at hand, and form orchards, which have hitherto been postponed, or if planted, have been neglected as scarce worthy of attention. Every farm house in the United States has its orchard, the establishment would be thought incomplete without it; and as an American generally combines profit with pleasure, he must find both in his orchard, otherwise he would not trouble himself about one.

The whole base of Mount Eden, now encumbered with masses of basaltic lava and scoria, by removing the latter from the surface, and building them into walls, is well adapted to the growth of the vine; indeed it can be converted to no other use, and the luxuriant growth of the fern and shrubs occupying this rugged tract attest the richness of the interstitial soil.

As the plain opened out, so did the extended cultivation of the last two years. The large plateau between Mount St. John and One Tree Hill, another volcanic cone, so named from a solitary potukawa tree, which has probably withstood the blasts of centuries, crowning the summit, was almost entirely enclosed and under crop, which however, as the soil is chiefly volcanic, and consequently of a light nature, seemed to suffer from want of rain. Similar cultivation spread out westward, to the base of the range of wooded hills lying between the southern slopes of Mount Eden and the triple summits of the volcanic hill, named the Three Kings. Fields whitening to the harvest, were cut out of these undulating hills, divided by belts of wood, which had a most pleasing appearance, not unlike some parts of Kent; and a wind-mill on a rising ground, gave an impression of greater age to the cultivation than any other object could have done. The few houses, more in approximation than ordinary, are called by anticipation the village of Epsom, and some of them with their grass plats and gardens, would not have disgraced the mother country. It posses an inn, where may be found good entertainment for man and beast, and is the neucleus around which in colonies a town always centres. That part of Remuera which was the scene of the feast given by Waitere, a Manakau chief, to his friends the Waikatos and Ngatiawa, is visible from hence. I have alluded to the destruction of a beautiful wood, in order to form plantation grounds. It "came off" to use a colonial phrase, in May, 1844, and although three thousand of these men, whom we choose to call savages, were assembled there for five days, to their praise be it spoken, no outrage was committed, and scarce any depredation, although they all visited Auckland during the period of their stay. Now, as each individual consumes about five pounds of potatoes per diem, and had also to be furnished with a supply for his return home, it may be imagined that it required the produce of a good many acres to satisfy so large a body.

These feasts are very common, and the natives generally select wooded and fertile spots, often, as in this instance, distant from their usual place of residence, in order to raise the necessary provision On this account they require, and tenaciously hold certain spots "tapu" for the purposes of cultivation, to an extent far beyond what the individual members of the tribe might be thought to require, and it is only when the purposes for which they have been reserved are fulfilled, that they will consent to part with them, and then only at a high price. Besides, pork holds a prominent place in the "carte," on these occasions, a hundred pigs are often carbonadoed and eaten at a sitting. Now a considerable tract of ground is required to feed these, as they subsist chiefly on the roots of the fern and succulent plants in the swamps, with the free use of which the natives will not dispense; in fact, pigs are the flocks and herds of the maori, and they consider the lands on which they feed as much occupied, as we do our grazing grounds for rearing young cattle on the moors of England, or on the mountains of Scotland and Wales; and it will be found that in most of their bona fide sales of land to Europeans before the colonization of the islands, for I do not take notice of these loose sales by degrees of latitude and longitude, they always had an eye to the reservation of what is called a pig run, for the use of the tribe, and never parted with so necessary an appendage to their establishment.

The road, at a short distance fiom Epsom passes over the western acclivity of One Tree Hill, and is thus elevated above the general level of the plain, by diverging a little from it, a commanding view of the neighbourhood is obtained; the first and principal object which attracts the eye, is the glittering surface of the estuary of Manakou, an extension of the western pacific, which pours its waters, through a comparatively narrow opening between two lofty head-lands, into a bay of more than forty miles in circumference, and thence into innumerable creeks, which pierce its level shores, and penetrate deeply inland, indeed, if their courses be followed, the water frontage of Manukao may be estimated at one hundred miles. The term "pours its waters" is strictly correct, for these creeks or armlets are filled by the tide alone, the fresh water rivers and streams which empty themselves into them, being of trifling size, except after heavy and continued rain in the winter season. Now this is a great advantage in an economical point of view, in a new country not possessing roads, though at low water their muddy shores are anything but picturesque; for as most of these creeks have a deep channel, the exit of the fresh water streams, and as there is a rise of ten feet at high water, small vessels and boats are enabled to push far inland with the flood tide, and return when it suits them with the ebb, and thus a ready means of transport is afforded at all times to a large extent of country without much delay, and as regards land carriage, at a comparatively cheap rate.

A glance is obtained of the Tamaki, a small estuary furnished by the eastern pacific, and thus the waters of the great ocean which surrounds the island are almost in contact. The advantageous position of Auckland in this respect is unrivalled, for a canal might easily be cut through the narrow isihmus which separates the seas, and were a similar work carried out thro' the isthmus which lies between the Toro Creek, a branch of the Manakou, running southward to within a mile and a half of the head of the Awaroa, a tidal branch of the great river Waikato, the whole of the produce of the vast country bordering it, and its tributary the Waipa, might he conveyed by water to Karangahape, the port of the Manukao, or it might be brought to within five miles of Auckland, and carried there by a railway across the plain. This is no visionary scheme, but one which will assuredly be put into execution when population and capital find their way to these shores.

The citizens of New York at the commencement of this century would have treated the idea of connecting their vast interior lakes with their city as a chimera, yet they have for many years enjoyed the advantages of that communication by means of a magnificent canal 250 miles in length; and they would have beeu equally incredulous even twenty years since, had the probability of a more direct and rapid communication by rail-road been suggested; yet now the good burghers, on the second day after leaving their homes on the Broadway, can step from their carriage into a terminus almost on the shores of Lake Erie, a distance of nearly 400 miles. Our works would be but as a drop in the sea to such vast undertakings.

This spot commands also a fine view of the plains bordering the Manakou, and of the great wooded range which more than forty miles in length divides this part of the country from the interior, abutting at one point on the Gulf of Hauraki, on the other almost dipping into the sea at the mouth of the Waikato river--and on the west slope after slope of fern-covered hills stretch away to the base of the lofty Manukou mountains, whose broken and picturesque ridges are clothed with noble forests. To the east, the more immediate country lying between the Waitemate and the Tamaki, opens out beyond the plain of Remuera. On the highest point of the undulating hills, which vary its surface, stands Bishop's Auckland, as the new college is named. The erection of this building does honour to its zealous and pious founder in every sense, for by his earnest representations were the necessary funds obtained from England, and by his energy under many difficulties has the work been pushed forward. When completed, it will not only form an ornament to the country, but afford the means of a sound classical and religious education, combined with secular acquirements of the greatest value to the rising generation. This is in general lost sight of in our colonies, or in comparison to their foundation, brought very tardily into action. Instruction based on any other principle, may give knowledge, but not that which in a Christian country should be the primary object of all education.

Maungare, one of the largest of the volcanic cones, rising almost directly from a plain, overhangs the opposite shores of the Manakau. Its crater appeared to be of great extent, and its slopes were cut in to terraces. On this side, close to the path we followed, is situated another crater, so low, that its walls are not elevated more than a few feet above high-water mark, so that the tide pours into it through a gap, and forms a salt-water basin; which, if ever a village were formed near it, might be used as a boat-harbor, as there is always water enough to float them. There are several of these singular volcanic basins near Auckland--one at Oraki, on the Waitemate, and another called Wai Mogoia, which comrnqnicates with the Tamaki, by a deep passage, and forms, at high water, a circular and picturesque lake.

After passing over a flat well-furnished with grass, on which some sheep were luxuriating, the path entered the debris of lava and scoria which environs the base of Raratonga, or Mount Smart. If so trivial a matter is worthy of notice, it certainly would have been more appropriate to have permitted these hills to have retained their Native names, which generally had a relation to their form, position, or some peculiarity attached to them. Now, Raratonga means far South, which exactly designates its position as regards the other volcanic hills--Mount Eden, for instance, is called by the Natives Maungawao, from a beautiful shrub, the Wao, with large mulberry-shaped leaves and white flowers, which once abounded on its sides. Even One tree Hill, though less objectionable, since it is marked by an ancient Pohutakaua that crowns its summit, might have enjoyed its appellation of Maungakiakia, with equal propriety--the Kiakia being a beautiful creeping parasite, that twines round and adorns the forest trees, and which probably graced it when covered with wood, although now, with the exception of a clump in the crater, it has entirely disappeared. In affixing, therefore, English names to these hills, certainly a name more euphonical than the abrupt Teutonic monosyllable Smart, might have been chosen. Wellington, Victoria, Albert, are historic, and therefore may be tolerated, and the title of a Colonial Minister, or even the name of a Governor, might, by a natural courtesy, be allowed to supersede the primitive and expressive appellations of the Natives. But this arbitrary re-baptism, except under the above-mentioned circumstances, should be discouraged, Mount St. John, called Mahu, from its position to the left hand in crossiug the plain, had nearly suffered the cpmplimentary infliction of a hard-sounding bi-syllable, but a plant of Hypericum, or St.John's Wort, found opportunely at its base, seemed expressly to mark it for its present designation, which it accordingly received. Many Native names, replaced by others more unexpressive, might be cited if necessary.

I am aware that the practice of the illustrious Cook, may be advanced as a precedent, in the substitution of English for Native names, but I think it will be found that where it was possible, he took advantage of some fact of position, appearance, or some other striking circumstance, to authorise the change. However, I express my opinion on this subject under correction. A painful walk of more than a mile, over the rough scoria and lava, cropping out in every direction, conducts to a stream issuing from a cavern, which is probably the drain of the extensive volcanic tract that extends Eastward from Raratonga. Beyond this the lava forms, for half-a-mile, a perfectly level and solid pavement, perforated at intervals, by circular apertures, formed either in the act of cooling, or by the action of mimic volcanoes. It terminates on the edge of a salt water creek, on the opposite side of which, the clay again appears. This creek may be crossed with ease, at low water, on the veins of lava that traverse its bed, but when the tide is high, travellers must ford it or be carried over on the backs of Natives, neither of which are agreeable modes of passage.

A few hundred yards beyond the creek, a level tract, elevated about ten feet above the beach, extends across to the shores of the Tamaki inlet, where there is deep water. This particular spot seems formed by Nature for the line of a canal, as it is not more than a mile and a-half in breadth, and the difference of high tide between the respective waters, which is two and a half hours, would probably favour its formation. From hence the path winds along the head of that large branch of the Manukao, which we had been all along skirting, to Otahu, as the isthmus is named, which only three, quarters of-a-mile in breadth, separates the Manukao from the Tamaki. Immediately above this neck of land, and completely commanding it, rise three solid volcanic cones, springing up from the centre of a more ancient crater, which forms a perfect wet ditch round them, as the intervening space, except in one spot, is a deep swamp filled with ranpo, a species of bulrush, which always indicates the perpetual presence of water. These hills, like all the others, are formed into terraces, and have been occupied as pa's, or strong-holds. If held by troops they would form an impregnable position, as the country around is perfectly open, and cannon planted on them, or even musquetry, would sweep the isthmus. A canal might be cut here, but not so advantageously as at the spot formerly mentioned, since the creek leading to it from the Tamaki is narrow, whereas the main body of the river passes the border of the plain. However, an accurate survey will determine the comparative merits of the two lines, when the anticipated canal is about to be formed. These hills and the adjacent grounds are covered with grass, and a large flock of sheep grazing over them, as yet an unusual sight in New Zealand, gave quite a pastoral air to the scene.

The house and farm of Mr. Fairburn, formerly a member of the Church Missionary Society, is situated just to the South of the isthmus. He claimed the vast tract of land lying between the Manukao, the Tamaki, and the wooded ranges to the south, but this claim was not recognized by the Commissioners appointed to investigate such claims: however, subsequently, he and his family were permitted to select 5600 acres out of their ci-devant principality, for which they have obtained Crown-Grants. This tract appears to lave been a sort of "debateable land", among the neighbouring tribes, each of whom preferred a claim to it, so to settle their disputes without compromising their dignity, by being seemingly compelled to give it up, for they are most tenacious in their claims to land, they gave it over to Mr. Fairburn, receiving various articles of trade as an acknowledgement. There are a great many acres under cultivation about the house, and a good crop of wheat was then on the ground, which if it can flourish there without the slightest shelter, for the wind from every point of the compass sweeps over it, may calm the fears that have arisen in the minds of the settlers, who fancy that their crops would suffer from the exposed nature of most of the ground in the vicinity of Auckland, natural or artificial shelter would be, no doubt, advantageous, but it does not appear to be indispensible to agricultural success, and indeed the latter, in the form of white-thorn hedges, might be extensively raised as the thorn grows with great vigor, and can be propogated by cuttings, which is not the case in England, so that the farmer having one enclosure, might, in course of time, easily complete the rest, without much expense, by merely devoting a few days in the winter to preparing and planting his cuttings in a corner of his garden. Some cattle, whose condition would have done credit to any countiy, were feeding on the natural pasture around the house, A long plain opens out beyond Otahu, of several square miles in extent, stretching far to the Eastward, at the back of the hills which bound the Tamaki, and sweeping Westward round the base of Maungari and along the shores of the Manukao by Pukaki, until it meets the Papakura ranges. It is covered with fern and grass, affording excellent feed for cattle, numbers of which were scattered over it, to the manifest improvement of the pasture, for I observed a great change in that respect since I had traversed it, three years previously--much of the fern had disappeared and was replaced by grass. Indeed the rapid manner in which pastures are formed in this part of New Zealand, must be seen to be believed, and bids fair to make this division of the island one of the finest grazing countries in the Southern hemisphere. The whole of this trect will, ere long, be converted into one rich pasture-ground, unless indeed it be employed for agricultural purposes, to which it is equally well adapted, being composed of a friable clay, that only requires to be well broken up and exposed to the air, to produce crops of any species of grain.

The whole of this tract, with the exception of Mr. Fairburn's property, some Native land at the settlement of Pukake, and Mr. Clendon's grant of ten thousand acres to the South-western angle, the most barren of the whole, is in the hands of Government. This latter grant was made to that gentleman in lieu of the purchase money promised to him for the site of the Government Town of Russell, at the Bay of Islands, now abandoned in favour of Kororarika, which has taken its name and is again rising from its ashes, the result of John Heki's onslaught. Those who are curious in such matters, may edify themselves by perusing the pages of the "New Zealand Journal", where they will see a detailed, but not very veracious, account of this affair, under the name of "the Russell-Clendon-Hobson job". It is not crossed by a made road, but the drays going to and from the cattle stations established at various points, have formed a track which is perfectly passable during the summer, and by a little drainage, might be converted into a tolerable road even in the winter.

After traversing a perfect level for some miles, broken only by one hollow, which conducts the drainage of a swamp to a creek of the Tamaki that pierces far inland, we reached a low undulating ridge, behind which lies the Native settlement of Pukake, which we skirted for some distance, until we approached the first rise of the wooded ranges, that branch off from the hills bordering the Wairao river, at the foot of which is situated a solitary settler's house, with several enclosed fields under crop, and to which a long line of fine milch cows were slowly wending their way to the evening's milking. Due West from this spot, and near the shores of the Manukao, two volcanic cones shoot up, terraced in the usual manner, these were strong-holds of the Akita, and the Ngniwi, two powerful tribes, now reduced by the former ceaseless attacks of their fierce and warlike neighbors, to a small remnant who inhabit Pukake and Papakura-- the open nature of the country and the easy access to it on all sides by water, rendered them very vulnerable to the inroads of the Waikato and Ngtipaua, and even the more distant Ngapuhi, who extended their marauding and murderous excursions to every part of the island, in those days, when every man's hand seems to have been against his neighbour. War appears to have been a passion, not, it wonld seem, carried on in any systematic manner, but dictated by caprice. Tribes apparently in alliance would suddenly join a common enemy, in making war on their quondam allies-- indeed the whole island was one scene of rapine and bloodshed, and that too, to a comparatively late period.

The dray-road which we had hitherto followed, ascends the ridge to the farms of some settlers, lying farther inland, who, finding that their distance from Auckland, and the difficulty of conveying their produce there, did not repay them for their outlay, abandoned them. They had imagined that by purchasing land from Mr. Clendon, at a much lower rate than that fixed by Government, as the minimum price for land more conveniently situated, they would overcome the disadvantage of distance. Now, this is an error into which immigrants are very likely to fall, for the bare idea of possessing the fee-simple of land, is so seductive to men accustomed only to rent it, that it seems to blind them to every inconvenience attending its locality. In fact, wild land in a new country, is of very little value when the expense of bringing it into cultivation is calculated, unless it is contiguous to markets, or of extraordinary feitility--and indeed anomalous as it may appear, a country may be too fertile, as, in many parts of the United States, crops may be raised with such ease and in such abundance as to create the evil of a supply exceeding the demand, and unless the producer has some extraneous outlet for what he raises, as a foreign market, it is rendered absolutely valueless. It is perhaps fortunate that the soil of New Zealand is not generally so rich as to make the growth of grain almost spontaneous, but exacts so much labor, and consequently so many hands to carry it on, as will always afford occupation to a rural population, and prevent an over-abundant supply from the expenses of cultivation, at the same time that the price of grain, if raised by Europeans, will never become too low for the advantageous investment of capital, nor for the employment of labour at a reasonable rate.

We diverged from this road to follow a more direct Native path to the settlement of Papakura, which crossing the spurs of the range, sloping down to the Manukao, each being separated from the other by a swampy stream, filling up the hollows, makes winter travelling very unpleasant, as I had before experienced, from the necessity of wading through them but now, from the absence of rain for so long a period, they were nearly dry. The soil of these hills appeared to be a strong clay, now baked by the sun as hard as a brick, but the vigorous growth of the fern and shrubs that covered it, shewed its productive powers. After a walk of two miles over this undulating ground, we reached the forest that crowns their summits, on the skirts of which was situated one of the deserted farms to which allusion has been made--the fields were fast returning to a state of nature, in a country where the growth of indigenous shrubs is so luxuriant, but they still shewed patches of English rye-grass, of which superior pasturage some fine cattle were taking advantage. A steep descent through a wood leads to a stream and the ruins of a saw mill, which had been erected by the proprietor of the deserted farm, who with incredible labour and perseverance had carried the materials from a branch of the Tamaki to this spot, under the impression that the cheapness of the land would induce the formation of an extensive settlement, but as he did not possess the capital, nor could he command the labour necessary to form a substantial dam, the first winter flood carried his work away, and there being no appearance of the anticipated settlement, he did not repair it, and it remains a monument of unfortunate speculation. An extensive semicircular opening in the forest on our left, shewed the site of two other abandoned farms, but they are prettily situated on a gentle slope, with a good aspect, and no doubt at some future time will be again brought under the plough. After crossing this opening and a few hundred yards of forest we emerged into open ground, and came in sight of the clump of tall trees which surround the settlement of Papakura, lying at the head of a branch of the Manukao, and at the embouchure of an extensive valley, which runs far Eastward into the bosom of the wooded hills. From this spot the whole of the Manukao was brought into view, glancing under the setting sun, whose level rays were pouring a flood of light between the Heads of Manukao, as the lofty hills that form the portals to the estuary are called, now in deep shadow, purpling the fern, and gleaming on all the salient points of the wooded hills, which lie between the Manukao and the Waikato. It was a glorious scene, but wanted life to give it that interest which a cultivated country covered with towns and villages always imparts. A gradual descent oyer undulating fern hills, leads to Papakura, and about a mile and a half from the settlement, a small river, brawling oyer a rocky bed of coarse sandstone, descends from the neighbouring hills. It was dark before we reached our destination, in doing which we strayed from the path, and had to find our way as we best could, through tall fern and scrub, and the remains of fallen trees, which always encumber the ground around a Maori settlement, who in clearing for cultivation, take the wholesale method of burning the trees as they stand, planting between the stumps, and sometimes not even drawing aside the fallen branches and half-burnt trunks.

The valley which runs inland from Papakura, is perfectly level, and is dotted here and there with small clumps of Kahitakea, generally in a decaying state. The soil, which is extremely light, almost a powder resembling Scotch snuff, has, probably, been formed by the decomposition of the fallen trees of the forest which once covered its surface. It must however be of good quality, for the fern grows tall and strong. Two miles from the settlement there is a wood of various trees, and about a mile farther on, there is an isolated clump of a similar description. Our course, hitherto South, now turned westward, along a path mid-way between the wooded range dividing the basins of the Manukao and the Waikato, and a vast extent of undulating country opened out to the West, extending from the shores of the Manukao, to the foot of the dividing range, a distance of several miles, almost entirely bare of wood, with the exception of a few small clumps, and some wedge-shaped masses, which extended from the hills; a good deal of flax was scattered over the surface, and in the swampy hollows. About five miles from Papakura, we reached the banks of the Awa Paheke (the slippery river), so named, from the place where the path crosses it, being at the point of junction of the fresh and salt water, consequently the smooth sandstone rocks, which form its bed, are covered with fuci, or sea weeds of so slimy and slippery a nature, that considerable caution is required, in fording it, to avoid a fall. It being ebb tide, the fresh water, from the previous dry weather, was scarcely ancle deep--higher up there are deep pools, and its banks are prettily fringed with wood. It falls into the Karaka Creek, an inlet from the Manukao, and at high water, when the tide ascends far beyond the ford, boats and canoes may push on to near the foot of the range, a fact which makes this part of the country of much greater value than it otherwise would be, as timber for fencing and fuel, the chief wants in this bare tract, could be easily carried to the banks, and conveyed down to where it might he required. That the tide ascends, much higher, we had practical proof, for although it was running downward with a clear, rapid, and apparently fresh stream, we found, on attempting to drink, that it was quite brackish. It is also called by the Natives Horomonga--the act of swallowing--from a tradition that a Taniwa, or sea-monster, devoured two men at this spot. It would seem that some amphibious animal, probably of the alligaior species, must have existed in these islands at a remote period, as there are so many tales of this nature extant among the Aborigines; and some future Owen may have to reconstruct the frame-work of a monster of the deep, found on these shores, as the talented Professor has done the skeleton of the gigan-Moa, whose bones have been found on both these islands, and whose existence is orally handed down, long after the living birds have totally disappeared. Still keeping a westward cotuse, parallel with the hills, we left, to the north, a solitary clump of trees, one of the few that adorns this bare open country, and crossed two streams, tributaries to the Karaka Creek, running in very deep beds; although now comparatively shallow, they are both deep and broad in the winter, and can only be crossed by swimming, or wading up to the neck. At the first of these streams, a path strikes off southward to Maketu, a settlement of the Ngatipo, on the face of the hills, from whence there is a very precipitous and rugged track, through the forest, to Maungatawhiri, at the head of a creek of the same name which runs into the Waikato, and up which, during the greater part of the year, canoes can ascend. This route from the interior has been almost abandoned in favour of that by Tuamate, and Tuakau, to the former of which places the path now led, gradually inclining towards the base of the hills, where it is situated, and as we approached this settlement, the sweeping, undulating slopes we had hitherto traversed for some miles, gave place to knolls of an abrupt and conical form, which extended as far as the eye could reach westward, while the country towards the Manukao, still maintained its former character. This vast tract, which must consist of several hundred-thousand acres, is Government land, acquired by purchase from the Natives, and is all composed of a strong clay, with scarce a pebble over its whole surface, but it does not appear to he generally of a very fertile nature, judging by the stunted growth of the fern, and the prevalence of dwarf manuka, though there are, apparently, many rich bottoms, which only require drainage to become so. The chief defect is, the almost total absence of wood, and shelter of any description--hence it was of no value to the Natives, who were easily induced to part with it--indeed they seldom dispose of land, which possesses the indispensable requisites of wood and water. Timber of the finest description, no doubt, exists in the forests, but settlers living near the shore, would be compelled to draw it a considerable distance, the time and labor expended on which would be a heavy tax, that advantages of soil and position, would scarce balance. It is not likely, therefore, that much of this land, unless adjacent to the forest, will be quickly disposed of, and there the purchasers will labor under the disadvantage of being distant from water-carriage. It may, probably, at some future period, be leased as pasture-ground, and although there is very little grass on it at present, yet, as I have before observed, pasturage seems to follow the track of cattle, and in this way it may become ultimately valuable.

After crossing a small brook, the commencement of one of the streams we had formerly forded, we entered the little valley at the head of which the settlement of Tuamate is situated.

After walking briskly for a couple of miles, through alternate forest and open ground, overspread with shrubs and fern, we reached the highest ridge of the range, as the waters of a small stream which issued from a swamp near our path, ran Southward. Basaltic boulders were scattered over the surface, or lying in large clusters, and the soil appeared rich, judging from the gigantic size and vigorous growth of the forest trees, which consisted chiefly of Tawa, Rata, Rimu, Puriri) occasionally Kahikatea, but very rarely Kauri; indeed this noble tree is scarce in these forests, and is seldom seen beyond the line of the Waikato. The oriental looking Nikau, or New Zealand palm, and the graceful Korau, or tree fern, arranged themselves into clumps beneath their shade, especially the latter, whose long feathery leaves, spreading out from a tall, imbricated stem, the ground beneath being thickly strewed with the dry, decayed ones of previous seasons, together formed natural couches, beneath a beautiful alcove, which almost tempted repose, however urgent the necessity for pressing onward. The height of the fern, the Tupakihi, and Koromiko, in the open ground, showed the soil to be of equal richness with that in the forest. Scarcely any Native flax was to be seen on the hills, nor even near the swamps, its locality seemed to be the low grounds we had passed on the previous day. The path led along the side of a winding valley, occasionally through wood, but more generally over open ground, often sprinkled with grass, and Towi towi, which, with the various shrubs and plants that abounded everywhere, would make good pasture ground for cattle. They could reach it from Auckland without difficulty, or they might, if brought from Australia, be easily disembarked on the shores of the Manukao. Subsidiary vales opened into this main valley from either hand, each furnishing a small stream to swell one which coursed along its bed. I remarked a basaltic dyke of regular columnar formation, cropping out and forming a small waterfall, across one of these smaller streams. After two hours walk from the ridge, that forms the water-shed, we halted on the banks of a small stream, issuing from a vale, for breakfast. From thence we followed its course to the main stream in the centre of the valley, where I first observed coarse sandstone rock, and a good deal of sand in its bed. Our descent was now rapid over fern ground, and the hills on the southern bank of the Waikato began to open out. We crossed several fine brooks, running between coarse greenstone boulders, and sometimes masses of basalt cropped out. In about an hour and a-half from our last resting place, we

and the tide only ascends seventeen miles; the current in the summer runs at the rate of a mile and a-half in an hour, but it is much more rapid in the winter, when the river rises twelve feet, and often much higher, flooding all the low grounds, without however doing any damage, for it rather enriches them by a deposit of mud, and is slowly elevating their surface. Here the hill side was pointed out to me, on which the late bloody skirmish took place, between the Ngatitipao tribe, who live at the Heads, and the Ngatipo, who inhabit the banks of the river, as far as Taupiri, lying a few miles down the water, on the left bank. The land itself is of little value, but it became invaluable when each party thought their honor was concerned, in maintaining the boundary they conceived to be theirs. It had been a subject of dispute for seventeen years, and the Missionaries, on more than one occasion, had prevented a collision between the disputants. They met on this occasion, ostensibly for a korero, on the ground itself, and apparently without arms, but these they had with them placed in the adjacent fern. As may be well supposed, the stifled spirit of animosity soon changed discussion into altercation, and abuse supplied the place of argument. Words were at length too feeble a mode of expressing their mutual exasperation and excitement, and the young men challenged each other to wrestle, in this trial of strength, one of them received a hurt in the spine, which paralyzed him, a relation of the hurt man struck the offender and drew blood, this fatal sign roused their hitherto restrained passions, they flew to their arms, and a most deadly conflict eusued--they discharged their musquets almost in contact--twenty were killed on the spot, and a great many wounded, at length the Ngatipo retreated but were not pursued, the victors being satisfied by retaining possession of the disputed ground. There was no instance of cannibalism as in former wars, the wounded were allowed to crawl, or be carried off, and the dead were all decently buried. This affair was a very convincing proof of the pertinacity with which the New Zealanders maintain their claims to land, and it shows that any attempt on the part of our Government to occupy as Demesne of the Crown, lands not actually in cultivation, as recommended by the Select Committee appointed three years since, to investigate the affairs of New Zealand, will be met with the most determined opposition, even if such an attempt was not an infraction of a solemn treaty, which no sophistical arguments as to whether the Natives understood the full import of the term Sovereignty or not, can ever controvert. They understood well enough that clause by which their lands were guaranteed to them, but so doubtful were the assembled Chiefs, of our good faith, that it was only after reiterated assurances on the part of the Missionaries who acted as interpreters, of the sincerity of our intentions, that they were induced to sign it.

As we approached the Maungatawhiri Creek, the hills on either hand declined in height, and were more bare of wood, and their recession on the right bank of the river, displayed a considerable extent of alluvial land, covered with Kahikatea; before reaching the creek, however, a spur (rom the dividing chain, projecting southward, causes a considerable bend in the river, and forms a very picturesque object, being richly dotted with wood, amongst which I observed some Kauri, and it gradually ascends to the lofty summit of Maungatawhiri, from whose base the creek descends, and from whence, as I have before observed, a path leads across the chain by Maketu to Auckland. A short distance beyond this creek, the river inclines permanently southward, leaving the base of the great dividing chain, from which however ranges of low bare hills strike out, running parallel to it, at a greater or less distance from its banks, the intervening space being occupied by rich alluvial flats, covered with kahikatea. On the opposite banks, also, low hills, sparingly wooded, accompany its course, sometimes sloping down abruptly to the water's edge, or receding inland, with similar flats, covered however with a greater variety of wood from their elevation rendering them less swampy, and crowded with beautiful shrubs and creepers. Amidst scenery of this character we ascended for some time,

"What are to become of my children, after my death--can they inherit their mother's land?" was a question which we really could not answer. It would certainly seem that in virtue of their maternal descent, they would be entitled to do so, whereas by their paternal descent, being British subjects, they would as such, be prohibited by the recent ordinance, from even living upon it, without a license, or a grant from the Crown, but this is a subject which will no doubt occupy the attention of the Colonial Legislature.

The fog having cleared away, we were favored with a most brilliant day, and just opposite, the ranges of low hills on the right hand were pointed out, which enclose the Waikari Lake, the exit of whose waters is by a stream which runs into the river midway between Hora Hora and Motutaruta, and which we had passed in the fog. A species of fresh-water mullet and flounders are said to be found in this lake at certain seasons, in great abundance. About a mile in our rear, similar hills enclose the Lake of Wangape, whose waters by a tortuous course, join the Waikato, not far from the Pukatea. The Natives talk of cutting a canal through a depression in these hills, and connecting the Lake more immediately with the Waikato, but it would appear to be an undertaking far beyond their powers.

The river is here very broad, but a few miles higher up a large island called Taipori exactly in the centre, divides it into two streams about a hundred yards wide and very deep. The low hills approach on either hand to within a mile and a half of the bank connected on one hand with the Taupiri range, on the other, with the great sea range, rich alluvial land lying between. On passing this island the river remains comparatively narrow, though still a noble stream, and it is seen issuing from the Taupiri pass bounded by picturesque wood covered hills, aud about three miles further on we reached the settlement of the Kupukupu at the mouth of the pass, where Abraham a brother of Te Wherowhero's resides, and who ferried us across to the opposite bank to show as a seam of coal which crops out from the face of a clayhill not more than three hundred yards from the shore. The seam has been partially exposed and appears to be a highly bituminized lignite, there are no indications of the true coal formation near it, neither sandstone nor limestone, indurated clay being superincumbent, and it seems to have been formed from an accumulation of Kauri, as I found some of the gum imbedded in it. Simular deposits are said to exist on the hill on the opposite bank of the river, and nearly at the same level, and a tract of country to be in combustion some miles to the west, resulting from beds of this substance. It burns with a flame, has a sulphurous odour, and leaves a white ash. Should it be found adapted to the use of steam-boats, it will ultimately become very valuable when they ply on the river, but at present it is not so, and would not repay the expense of transporting it to Auckland. It might be well however to have a thorough examination of the country by competent persons to ascertain the actual extent of the beds and their real value.

The hills at tue entrance of the pass slope down abruptly to the waters edge on the left bank, prettily wooded, but on the opposite side, narrow alluvial flat extends from their base to the shore, and they are equally covered with fine timber, this flat terminates about a mile further on, and the hills rise from the water, while a similar alluvial flat commences on the left bank at a bend of the river gradually extending to a quarter of a mile in breadth and the beautiful hill called Taupiri...

He was of opinion that the Natives were decreasing in number, there were so many deaths among their young children. He thought they would object to a dray-road into the interior from Auckland, but not to a bridle-path, which they would readily assist in forming. Among other matters he related a very sensible speech made by Te Wherowhero at a korero lately held at Kaitotohe-- "The Pakehas," said the old Chief, "will not commence a war, you will have war amongst yourselves, about land as you had at Ngatehine"--alluding to the late fight. "The Governor will not destroy you and take your land, you will destroy yourselves as you have done!" He also told us an amusing and characteristic anecdote of the boastful language the Native Chiefs use at their meetings, to magnify iheir own importance. Several of the tribes had assembled at Kaitotehe, to proceed to the hui hui, or gathering, which, as I have mentioned, took place three years since, at Remuera near Auckland, when a young Chief stood up and addressing the other tribes said-- "If I see anything that pleases me in the shops of Auckland, I will take it--yes, I repeat I will take it!" But he afterwards secretly laid an injunction on his own tribe not to touch the smallest thing, not even a fig of tobacco.

The whole of the ground around the pa, with the exception of the Mission property, is a rich alluvium, and was under crops of Kumera, Maize, and Potato--the two former were in good condition, but the latter was in a very languishing state, in consequence of the long drought. In the evening I ascended the hill behind the Missionary-house, from which I obtained a commanding and splendid view of the country lying to the East, that to the West, being hid by the closing in of the hills that form the pass. Immediately in front rose Taupiri, from whence extended Northward the peaked chain of hills which connect it with the Wakatewai mountains, from whence a spur projects Southward, dividing the basin of the Waikato from that of the Waiho and Piako, generally known as the Valley of the Thames. The large space thus enclosed, was partially dotted with low bare hills, extensive swamps of arekeki, or Native flax, and kahikatea forests, emerging from which, the Maungawera River, whose sources in the Wakatewai Range, wound its serpentine course through the plain, to the base of Taupiri, where it joined the Waikato. The spur from the Wakatewai Mountains, of which I have just spoken, loses itself to the East, in the general continuation of the Waikato Plain, where it joins that of the Waiho and Piako, beyond which rose the triple summits of the Maungakaua Hills, backed by the faint outline of the lofty Aroha Mountains, which forms the Eastern boundary of the last-mentioned plain. The immense mass of Maungatautari shot up to the South-East, almost washed by the Waikato, a glance of whose reaches were at intervals caught, until its whole course spread out, winding its way through the plain, dotted with kahikatea forests to the foot of the hill on which I stood, to rush through the Taupiri Pass. A mass of wooded hills stretched Westward to the distant and lofty summits of Pirongea, on the Waipa, which projects boldly out from the sea-range; the whole forming a splendid panorama of a country in all the wildness of nature, and of an extent seldom brought under one view. This vast tract is comparatively uninhabited, excepting by about two thousand Natives, a less number than the population of Auckland and its vicinity, who only occupy a few hundred acres. Watered as it is by two fine rivers, and numerous subsidiary streams, what a field for European settlements.

...we embarked and proceeded up the river, the left bank being still a continuation of the Kaitotehe flat, which is elevated about fifteen feet above the stream, formed, as I have before mentioned, of a rich alluvium; and the right of a pumiceous gravel, covered by a thin layer of vegetable mould, which, judging from the height and vigorous growth of the fern and other shrubs that covered it, must be of a fertile nature, and would, in course of time, form excellent pasture ground, if fed over by cattle.

Two miles, upwards, the Kaitotehe-flat terminates at the pa of Ngatihouroua, where we landed to take shelter from a tremendous thunder-shower, which poured down in torrents for about a quarter of an hour, much to the joy of the Natives, whose maize, which covered a large extent of ground, arouud the pa, was beginning to suffer from want of moisture. They told us they were going to plant wheat next year, and erect a mill, in conjunction with the rest of the Ngatimahouta tribe, under the auspices of Te Wherowhero, their Chief, but could not agree as to its site, since the people of each pa wanted it near them.

The hills, as we ascended, abutted occasionally boldly on the river, clothed with beautiful wood, at other points receded, to give place to alluvial flats and terraces, from twenty to fifty acres in extent, all under a rude cultivation. These would form very eligible spots for farms, as they possess beauty of situation, shelter from every wind, wood for fencing and fuel, aud water-carriage for the conveyance of produce, and the Natives are quite alive to these latter advautages, though they are heedlessly obliterating the two first, by their wanton destruction of the wood.

Both banks of the river retain their distinctive characters, gradually rising in height as we advanced--and four miles farther on, the stream which had had hitherto ran in a north-westerly course, now came from the east, and at this poiut, the comparatively dark and sluggish stream of the Waipa was seen issuing out from between steep banks of about twenty feet high, to join the clear and rapid Waikato, or as it is often called from the country through which it passes, the Horotu. The point of junction is named Ngaruawaha--the two mouths, and the Waikato beyond it is a much smaller stream, as the Waipa, which is deep, contributes a considerable portion of water to form the Waikato proper. Here the different nature of the couutry from which the respective rivers have their source, was distinctly visible--while the banks of the one were formed of pumiceous gravel and sand, those of the other were composed of a rich alluvial loam, which at once accounted for the famed fertility of the Waipa country. As we entered the Waipa, we no longer saw masses of water-worn pumice, floating past, as we had hitherto done, and we found we had entered a country unaffected by either immediate or distant volcanic action.

Ngaruawaha would seem the spot in every respect well-adapted cither for a settlement or a military post, if, unhappily, such should be required; the country extending from the point of land, which if level, or slightly undulating, seemed, from the luxuriant growth of the fern and other shrubs, to possess a soil equally rich as the immediate banks, and abundance of wood covered the opposite hills. A stockade rivers, as would completely command the debouche of both well as all the country within the range of cannon.

Four miles beyond Ngaruawaha, where the western hills bend inwards from the river, there is a large tract of land, on either tide, tapu, and consequently uninhabited. This was done from the double motive of being the place where a daughter of Te Wherowhero's who was married to an Englishman called Captain Kent, died, as also from being the burying place of the Chiefs father. It is thought therefore that this tract might be purchased by the Government, if the old Chief could be prevailed upon to remove the tapu, which Native custom allows them to do in favor of Europeans, it would make a splendid settlement.

Dec. 29--There had been no rain in the night, and the morning was bright and beautiful, so while breakfast was preparing, I strolled about to view the locality. The terraces which I have remarked, characterize the banks of the Waipa, are seen here to a greater extent than I had observed them elsewhere, two could be distinctly traced, extending on either hand until hid by intervening woods--the lower one narrow, the upper one about half a mile in breadth, but both formed of the richest alluvial soil, and extensively cultivated. I passed through several fields of wheat, looking healthy, but sadly overrun with weeds, particularly the dock, which is not indigenous, but has been either brought into the country among English seeds, or as is currently reported, was introduced by some rascally fellow as tobacco seed, which it much resembles. It has now become a perfect nuisance, which it would be almost impossible to eradicate, as I saw patches of this noxious weed covering nearly half an acre, and I was told that it has found its way to every part of the river. These terraces are evidently ancient and successive beds of the river, when in the winter it must have resembled a long winding lake, the gradual subsidence of whose waters in the summer, after depositing the alluvium, sloping down its sides, and thus forming a terrac, for all deposits from water have a horizontal surface. In this manner the process has gone on for a series of ages, its bed being gradually deepened by the action of the current, while its boundaries, narrowed by annual deposits, assumed its present form, and I was informed that even now, the water often covers the lower range of terraces during the winter floods.

The Western hills which both above and below Wata Wata, impinge on the river, recede at both points, and enclose a semicircular area of undulating ground, containing several thousand acres, prettily dotted with woods, the soil being a light loam. It is not cultivated by the Natives, and would form a very eligible spot for a settlement. The Herepaino, a small river, not navigable however, traverses it and tails into the Waipa, above the Native settlement. A short distance beyond Wata Wata, the banks increase in height and the terraces disappear, but three miles farther on they re-appear, covered either with wood, or cultivation, and are backed by bare fern hills. As we advanced, the river in its windings, again approaches the Western hills, which beautifully wooded, form its immediate boundary on the left bank, when, suddenly turning westward, they permit the exit of the stream that runs from the valley of Kunawaniwa, which is navigable for small canoes during the winter. Immediately beyond its mouth we landed, and proceeded to the valley on foot, to the residence of my companion, passing for two miles over bare fern hills.

The Valley of Kunawaniwa is a perfect basin, entirely enclosed by hills, except at the narrow gorge through which the river rushes, the bottom being a flat containing several thousand acres of the finest alluvial soil, Generally dry, and covered with more grass than I had ever before seen in the same space, a few spots being alone swampy; along the course of the low streams which wind through it and join to form the river. Offsets from the area I have described, branch off into the Western hills, which are richly wooded, and form a series of beautiful vales, while to the South it is bounded bv that magnificent mountain-range called Pirongia, which slopes abruptly down, clothed from its highest peak nearly to its base with magnificent forests--a spur from which, sweeping northward in a semicircle, joined the hills on which I stood, and completed the enclosure--a spot more adapted either for pastoral or agricultural purposes, does not exist in the island.

Dec. 30.--The track from Kunawaniwa to Puhenui, on the Waipa, traverses the flat for three miles over grassy land, seldom interrupted by swamp, and then ascends the hills that divide the valley from the bed of the Waipa, the soil of which appeared to be a rich loam, and we passed a field of fine wheat belonging to the Natives, which formed the summit. A farther walk of three miles among the hills, which were universally covered with tall fern, varied in the hollows between them, by occasional patches of wood, we reached the base of Pirongia, whose spurs radiated in every direction, thickly clothed with wood. A beautiful clear mountain-stream, forcing its way through masses of basalt, and greenstone boulders, and embowered in wood, rushed downwards from a ravine, formed by two of the spurs, and after crossing it, we found the soil still finer than that we had just passed, arising probably, from the decomposition of the basaltic and green-stone formations of Perongia.

Ascending a steep ridge, along whose crest we walked for some time, we reached the settlement of Puhenui, situated on a knoll, immediately overhanging the Waipa, which here, about fifty yards wide, ran in a very deep bed, its banks still maintaining their terraced character. The peaked summits of Pirongia rising two thousand feet above the level of the country, almost overhung Puhenui, and on such of the adjacent slopes as admitted of cultivation, the Natives were busily engaged in burning off the fine timber, to prepare for their autumnal crop. It was quite painful to witness the destruction that was going on, as the mountain was almost obscured by the smoke of the numerous fires.

Puhenuhi is a miserable place, but the view from it embraces the rolling country between it and Maungatautari, and the more level tracts which extend Northward towards Taupiri, and Southward to the base of the distant Rangitoto mountains, and the isolated cone of Kokapuka, shooting up from the plain, vis a vis to Perongia.

This vast area appeared one brown waste, whose surface, unvaried by the bright green of the swamps, which, in more level districts, give, at any rate, an appearance of verdure, had a repulsive aspect, nor was it much improved by the sombre green of the clumps of Kahikatea, which were thinly sprinkled over it.

A volume of smoke marked the site of Otawao, and Rangiawhia, to the former of which places we proceeded, by crossing the river, which ran in a deep, canal-like bed, the banks being nearly fifty feet high, and the stream itself fifty yards wide.

The Waipa has its source in the Rangitoto Mountains, which, striking Eastward from the sea range, terminate on the banks of the Upper Waikato, and form the base of the great triagular space of country lying between the Waipa and the Waikato, whose apex is at Ngaruawaha, and which is inhabited by not more than three thousand Natives, who, with the exception of the tribes living at Otawao, Rangiawhia, and Oraki, and some settlements on the slopes of Kokapuka, and Maungatautari, are located on the banks of either river. Opposite Kokapuka lies the Wesleyan Missionary station of Onepaka, from whence a path leads to Wangaroa on the West coast, in a day and a half. The last Native settlement on the river is Rangitoto, situated in a beautiful gorge of the mountains, to which there is access by canoes, in the winter, but in the summer, a trap dyke which crosses the river at the settlement of Maungapouri, forms rapids which it is dangerous to pass.

The Waipa country is noted for its fine fern-root, which is generally found in rich alluvial soil, on the banks of rivers, or in deep valleys: some of the choicest spots are tapued to ensure a supply, and fierce quarrels have happened between different tribes, from these spots having been set on fire. Much pains is taken in selecting it, the roots are dug up in August and September, and those only taken which are eighteen inches below the ground. The small fibres are stript off and they are then roasted at a fire, and become very palatable, not unlike, in taste, to the Cassava bread used by the Negroes in the West Indies.

It is considered a delicacy by the Natives who reside on the sea-coast, when, after being dried and packed in baskets of koradi, and neatly covered with the blossoms of the toi toi--it is often sent as a present from the inlaud Chiefs to their friends near the sea, who in return send dried shell fish, an acceptable food to the Natives of the interior. From the failure of the potatoe-crop, the Natives look forward to it as a succedaneum for that root in the ensuing spring, as it is more nutritious than is generally supposed.

The route to Otawao, passes for some miles over undulating clay hills, covered with tall fern, among which the stumps of burnt trees and enormous logs, lying about in every direction, attest that they were once covered with wood, destroyed either in Native cultivation, or by an extension of the fires lighted to carry it on. We now reached the Maungapiko, a pretty stream running over a pebbly bed, shallow in the summer, but deep and rapid in the winter. It hits its source in the gorges of Maungatautari, and after winding for many miles through the intervening country, empties itself into the Waipa.

We turned aside to visit a deserted pa, bounded on three sides by a sharp bend of the river, whose steep banks, strengthened by a rampart, formed an impassable obstacle, while two mounds and deep broad ditches, stretching across to the river, occupied and defended the fourth side, which had an advanced enclosure, answering to the modern hornwork, as a farther impediment to an attacking enemy, and it was rendered still stronger by commanding the neighboring country. Large pits occupied its area, either for shelter by being covered with a roof of raupo, or they served as storehouses for provisions. No European Engineer could have laid out the place more advantageously, and by the remains of some stumps, it would seem to have had the additional defence of a pallisade--in fact it must have been impregnable. The Natives indeed, seem to have an instinctive talent for seizing upon ground favorable for the erection of such strong-holds, and a skill in arranging the defences that shows they possess the powers of combination to an extraordinary degree.

Here I remarked pumiceous gravel in the banks of the river, and a change for the worse in the surface soil, evinced by the presence of dwarf manuka and fern, which continued for some distance beyond the pa, But as we approached Otawao, the soil improved in quality, and there was a good deal of natural grass in various places. We had to traverse very few swamps, and those of trifling extent, but I saw no flax. A similar country stretched away on either hand, as far as the eye could reach, which would form fine pasture-ground for cattle, who would annually improve it for that purpose. The night had set in before we reached Otawao, but lighted by a fine moon, and guided by the sounds of cattle and voices, we reached that settlement, after again crossing the Maungapiko, and were received with that genuine and unostentatious hospitality, by Mr. Morgan, the resident Missionary, which all respectable travellers experience under that gentleman's roof.

Dec. 31.--The settlement of Otawao is situated on the western side of a large level basin, surrounded on all sides by low bare hills, once however covered with wood, some of which of large size, in straggling clumps, is still standing about the place. The Missionary house, a commodious wooden mansion, with suitable offices, stands a little in advance of the Native pa, on a plateau surrounded by a bend of the Maungapiko, which forms on three sides a natural enclosure. A garden well-stocked with English fruit-trees, is attached to the house, but the season was not sufficiently advanced to ripen the larger fruits, however the gooseberry bushes were loaded with fruit, and I and my fellow-traveller, for I had picked up a new companon de voyage, in a relative, who I found by chance at Kanuwaniwa, enjoyed this truly English fruit, which we had not tasted for many years, and brought back all our early reminiscences of the gardens of the "Father land." Grapes, figs, and melons, which are so successfully raised at Auckland, do not however grow well here, as Otawao must lie several hundred feet above the level of the sea, consequently the spring is later than on the coast, and lower districts, and although the mid-day temperature may be equally high, yet the nights, which in every part of New Zealand, are comparatively colder than the days, and forms a peculiar feature in the climate, here suffer a decrease of temperature, which is hostile to the maturation of the fruits of Southern Europe. A large Native Chapel has been built near the house, in which morning and evening prayers are read to the Native converts.

Mr Morgan has some fine sheep and cattle, which find abundant feed on the deserted Native cultivations, which always contain a quantity of grass, and he himself has some well-cultivated fields of grass and grain.

I strolled about the native pa and cultivations before breakfast, and saw some wheat, but as usual mixed with weeds. I remarked, however, the care the Natives took, to occupy sheltered spots, and where that could not be attained, that they had planted rows of tehori, a variety of Phormium Tenax, or Native flax, which growing to the height of five feet, and being planted closely, formed a perfect screen from the wind which sweeps with great violence over this open country, and of which I had experience, as it was at the time blowing a furious gale from the South-west. I have before remarked that flax does not appear to be indigenous to the Waipa country, consequently the Natives plant it for the double purpose of a screen, and for economical uses, and have therefore chosen the finest variety for the latter employment. The Tehori is known by the names of mountain, or silkey flax, the former, from its being found in high districts, the latter from the fine texture of its fibre, which when carefully cleaned and prepared, very much resembles silk, and it was formerly much employed in making the "katuka" mats, the manufacture of which, however, has almost fallen into disuse, since the introduction of Euglish blankets. There is no doubt, however, that if a machine could be invented to supersede the tedious method which the Natives alone employ of scraping off the epidermis by means of a mussel-shell, it would be a profitable investment of capital to cultivate it, as its cultivation would in no way interfere with agricultural pursuits, but might easily be combined with them, and the Tehori, from its fine texture, and the ease with which the epidermis is removed, would seem to be the variety best suited for artificial cultivation, and if sent in good condition to England, would no doubt realize from £35 to £40 per ton, to the exporter.

The Ngatururu, the Ngatikora, and the Patukoka tribes of the Waikato confederacy, in all about three hundred souls, inhabit Otawao. After breakfast we proceeded across the plain of Otawao, to Rangeawhea, by a good horse-road made by the Natives, under the auspices of Mr. Morgan,-- this place lies about five miles to the Eastward, and is situated on a coutinuation of the hills which environ Otawao. The pa, surrounded by a slight stockade, is of some extent, and is inhabited by the Ngatihinutu and the Ngatiapakura, eight hundred in number, the greater part of whom are converts to the Church Missionary Society, another portion adhere to a French Catholic Priest who resides there, and a few are still Pagans. They are rather noted for their immorality and thievish habits, of which their Chiefs seem to be aware, as at a korero which they held on the subject of the proposed road through the interior, they expressed a wish that the Governor should call a general meeting of the Waikato Chiefs, and explain to them what were his intentious in making it. They said-- "When it is made, many travellers will come into the country who will be careless of their property, the Natives will not be able to resist pilferiug, complaints will be made, and the police will come to seize and carry off the offenders, our people will not see their relations and friends taken away, and bloodshed will be the consequnce--then the Governor by means of the road will send troops and cannon, destroy our pas, make slaves of us, and seize upon our lands!"

Te Waru, the principal Chief, however, differed from the rest in the latter particular.-- "It is not the Governor, with his soldiers and cannon," said he, "that we need fear, but it is the thievish habits of our people, who will commit crimes for which they will be seized by the police!" I believe there is a mingled feeling of fear, jealousy, and of their own weakness, in their opposition to the formation of the road, which however will be lulled by our just and fair dealing with them, and will at length give way to the sense of the benefits they will derive from such an undertaking, and then they will be as eager to assist in making it as they are now vehement in opposing it. There is a large ware puni in the pa, whose facade is prettily ornamented with carvings. These buildings are used as Council and general sleeping places for the unmarried men of the pa, and having only a low door, are, when a fire is lighted within, insufferably close and stifling, and throw the inmates into a profuse perspiration, in which state they go out into the night air and is certainly one cause of their frequent pulmonary complaints.

The hill on which the pa was situated, as well as those adjacent, must at one time have been covered with timber, but of which only a few clumps remain, and that is fast disappearing, so that the Natives will ere long be compelled to abandon it from want of fuel. Indeed they seem to have abandoned iheir cultivation grounds very often in this vicinity, from the same reason, as numerous patches of grass, visible amidst the fern covered hills around, attest the site of former plantations. The soil of these hills is a fertile clay, and there were probably about fifty acres under cultivation, and a good deal of wheat near the pa, but it looked sickly, perhaps owing to the unusual dryness of the season, however I remarked one enclosure with a most luxuriant crop, and upon enquiry found it belonged to an Englishman named Smith, and upon proceeding to his house he at once enlightened me as to the superior appearance of his wheat, by informing me that he kept some cattle, and had carefully dug and manured his land, while the Natives were merely indebted to Nature for any returns they might have for their labour. They seem indeed very anxious to grow wheat, feeling that it is a much more certain and valuable crop than potatoes, but it is to be feared that they will never give it that attention or bestow that labour upon it that its successful cultivation requires. Although they are partial to horses they do not seem to care about cattle, and they have almost a superstitious abhorrence to the use of manure, so that it is only by continually changing their ground that they have any chance of good crops. Indeed it is said that they have abandoned the cultivation of maize in favour of wheat, more for the depredations the rats committed on the former grain, than from any partiality to the latter, as the reaping winnowing, and grinding, necessary to make wheat available as one article of food, taxes their indolence to a degree they unwillingly submit to, and would if possible avoid. However they seem to be in earnest here, as they have subscribed £150 to build a mill, at the earnest representations of Mr. Morgan, who pointed out its advantages.

The mill is situated about half a mile from the pa, and was then nearly completed by an European millwright, from wood found in the neighborhood. The stones being formed masses of lava, taken from the base of Mount Eden, near Auckland. The Natives lent their labor to cutting, bringing in, and sawing the timber required for its construction, and also formed the dam by blocking up a small stream leading from a neighboring swamp. It is therefore to be hoped that after their expenditure and exertions, they will not, with their usual indifference, abandon it, as they have done a similar undertaking at Otea, where, in consequence of having neglected to stop the mill, they suffered the stones to become useless, and have not ta[k]en the trouble, nor will they advance the means of having them replaced.

There is a magnificent view from this spot, on one hand the rolling plains of the Waipa are brought under view, bounded by the coast-range, extending from Taupiri to the Mokau Hills, from where the Rangitoto Mountains branch off to the Eastward, in the centre of which towered Pirongia, and its vis a vis Kokapuka, the windings of the Maungapiko being visible till lost in the distance On the other hand, the Valley of the Waikato, stretched Eastward for thirty miles, bounded to the south by Maungatautari, and to the north by the Maungakaua hills, which are wooded to the summits, and from which extended along the course of the river, the bare serrated ridges that divide the valley of the Waiho from the Waikato--behind these, were dimly seen, the level summits of the long mountain wall which bounds the former valley and separates it from the East coast, while the level rays of the evening sun, by the mingled effect of light and shade, permitted those singular terraces which run parallel to the Waikato, to be distinctly traced. It was truly a magnificent prospect, and yet this vast extent of country, which is only inhabited by about four thousand souls, might easily maintain a thousand times that number.

The pa of Te Whera atua, is situated on one of those sloping spurs which radiate almost symmetrically, round the base of Maungatautari, generally about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and of various lengths, sometimes terminating abruptly, after running for a mile towards the Waikato, and occasionally stretching down almost to the banks of the river, three or four miles distant.--The soil is a deep friable loam, on which I remarked some of the finest maize I had seen in my journey, nor had the potatoe crop suffered so much from drought, as in other parts of the countty. There were also some fine peach-orchards in full bearing. The timber was magnificent, though much destroyed in the course of cultivation, yet noble trees were still standing, which were, probably, too large to destroy. I measured a fallen rimu, and found it one hundred and four feet in length, and five feet in diameter. Indeed such shrubs as the porpora, the tupakihi, and the koromiko, here became trees. If this district was in the hands of Europeans, it would be the finest and most productive in New Zealand--each of these plateaus might be divided into several farms, and being separated by ravines, with gently sloping sides, through which run streams, are admirably adapted to the growth of the hop, and probably the vine, as they are sheltered from the south and south-west wind by the overhanging mountain, which would also afford an inexhaustible supply of firewood, together with fencing and building materials. Roads might easily be constructed down to the Waikato, which is navigable up to this point, though impeded by rapids beyoud it, and thus permit the produce to be conveyed to the Manukao, aud thence to Auckland or foreign ports. Indeed the Natives of this pa carry annually to Auckland, flax of fine quality from their tehori fences, aud a number of pigs, and are among the most wealthy in the island. Their Rangitira nue, or principal Chief is a Christian, and is known by his baptismal name of William Marsh, and most of his people are Mihinari, under the spiritual guidance of Mr. Morgan.

This district was formerly possessed by the Ngati raukaua under the chief Rauparaha who has risen in to bloody notoriety in the Colonial annals of New Zealand, by the tragic affair of the Wairau. He and his tribe however were driven from it about twenty years since, by the Waikatos and the Ngatihaua under their warlike leader Waharoa and has since been inhabited by the present tribe. Rauparaba in his turn expelled the Ngatiawa from Kawhia, and after time proceeding southward made his way through the Taranaki tribes, and driving the Ngatitoa from Kapiti has since resided there.

If the history of New Zealand for the last fifty years were chronicled, it would present a horrid catalogue of murder, treachery, and cannabalism. The small portion of the island which I had traversed was the arena on which many of those scenes were exhibited. The tribes of the Waikato and Waipa confederacy seemed only in alliance when joined to resist the attacks of some common enemy such as the Ngapuhi under Hongi and Pomare, who after ravaging the banks of both rivers, some twenty years since, compelled the inhabitants to take refuge in the pa of Matakitiki on the Waipa, which they stormed and as before mentioned, fifteen hundred men were killed and numbers carried into captivity. Pomare however was not so successful in a second inroad, for he was slain, his party defeated, and were pursued by the vicforious Waikatos with great slaughter as far as Mahurangi. At other times, however, the Waikato tribes were in continual feud among themselves generally arising from disputes about land, or from quarrels among individuals, where one of the party was slain, and, as among the Jews, "life for life" was an unalterable law, it became imperative to obtain an "utu." In seeking redress by an appeal to arms, other than the guilty party were slain, this demanded a further atonement, and a sort of debtor and creditor account written in letters of blood was carried on and until an equal balance was struck, the feud was not stayed.

Instances also of the basest treachery were common, we may adduce the case of the Ngatiwhatua, who lived on the banks of the Tamaki and Waitemata who were allies of the Waikatos, and who after their defeat and slaughter by Hongi had fled into the Waikato, and apparently received protection from that tribe, but no sooner did the Waikatos hear that it was the intention of Hongi to pursue them into their territory, than either from fear or perhaps from recollection of some ancient quarrel, they fell upon these unfortunates and nearly massacred the whole of them. The Ngatipo and Ngatitipa who live almost in juxtaposition on the banks of the Waikato were long at war, as also were the Ngatitipa and their neighbours the Ngatitiata who inhabit the southern shores of the Manukao, and their former hostile feellings though apparently smothered, broke out in a dispute about land in the late murderous fight at Ngatehine, where the Ngatipo and Ngatitiata were allies.

Shortly after the period I have mentioned when Rauparaha was driven from Maungatautari, the Ngatipaua and other Hauraki tribes who had been surprised by Hongi in the pa of Totara at the mouth of the Waiho, where five hundred of them were slaughtered, deserted their country on the banks of that river, and flying inland were permitted to settle around a portion of Maungatautari, but they had only resided there a few years, when the Ngatihaua who then had their settlement on Maungakaua, attacked and drove them from their place of refuge, but in the meantime as the Hauraki tribes had propitiated Hongi, they were permitted by him to return to their own territories. They were no sooner established there, than in retaliation they surprised and slew a party of the Ngatihona, and in diversion cutting off their heads and stuffing their mouths with fern, threw them jnto the usual drinking place of the tribe, this gave rise to a number of retaliatory skirmishes in which numbers of both sides fell: About this time, the Ngatihona had attacked and almost exterminated the Ngatitewahi who held the plain of Matamata, and quitting Maungakaua located themselves there aud built a strong pa. But they were not suffered to remain long in peace, for a joint force of the Ngapuhi and Ngatipaua aud other Hauraki tribes, appeared before it and attempted to take it by storm they were however repulsed with great slaughter, and they remain at feud until this day, although since the arrival of the British no overt hostilities have taken place, and a peace is about to be consummated between the hostile tribes, on the occasion of a feast, which is proposed to be given at Matamata in the ensuing summer.

The Ngatihona are proverbially fierce and pugnacious for not content with waging war with hereditary enemies. They some years since managed to pick a quarrell with their kindred tribes, the Ngatihinatu, and Ngatiapakura at Rangiawhia, and in a fight near that place killed a great number of them; and these again had often disputes ending in bloodshed with their neighbours the Ngatiaruru and the Patukoko at Otawao, although mixed by intermarriages and living almost within sight and hearing of each other.

It is unnecessary to lengthen this narrative of blood which is not a mere recital of the acts of buried warriors and of by-gone times, but has been listened to from the mouths of the very actors themselves in many of those horrid tragedies, (for cannabalism always wound up the drama) with all the ferocious and disgusting details which many of the older chiefs have a pleasure in relating. The labours of the Missionaries, and the frequent intercourse which the tribes now hold with civilized men, have happily wrought a great change in this respect. The minds of the rising generation are occupied with other pursuits than those which engaged the attention of their immediate ancestors. The means of carrying on a profitable trade with the British settlers, is now a common subject of conversation, rather than dwelling as formerly on the warlike feats of their fathers, and laying plans for the destruction of their enemies; indeed the ignoble subjects of pigs and potatos, blankets and tobacco, seem at present entirely to engross their attention. It may indeed be anticipated, as the intercourse with us becomes established by means of roads and by the extension of our settlements, that they will imitate us in the practice of pastoral and agricultural pursuits, unless the government should think fit to proclaim and seize upon all their uncultivated lands as demesne of the Crown, which was reccoinmended by the Select Committee on New Zealand affairs. I feel assured that this will meet with the most determined opposition on the part of the natives, and never can be carried out (laying aside the injustice of the act) without a great expenditure of blood and treasure and could only terminate in the utter extermination of the Maori race

The surface was covered with fern, intermixed occasionally with grass, which at one period must have been forest land, judging from the stumps still standing, and the remains of decayed trunks scattered about. I remarked several ancient pas, defended by earthen ramparts and ditches where necessary, on commanding hills near our line of route. Nothing shews the present peaceful state of the country, more than the abandonment of these strongholds, which were once so necessary to the safety of the inhabitants.

After a few miles, the face of the country changes, becoming more broken, and the soil lighter, mixed with pumiceous gravel, and shewing by the stinted vegetation its inferior quality. From the crest of a hill, the vast plain which extends eastward in an almost unbroken level to the Lake of Taupo, and through which the Waikato winds, opened out, its surface being occasionally crossed by low ridges of hills, and its distant horizon broken by the dim outline of still more distant mountains on the borders of the lake; and a little farther in advance, the more immediate valley, or bed of the river, came into view, bounded on either hand by two rows of terraces, so accurately lined out, as to seem almost an artificial work, maintaining a continuous level, excepting where the rise of the general level of the country, caused a corresponding elevation and break of continuity, in order to maintain the horizontal line which deposits from water always assume. We could distinctly trace them until, in the language of perspective, they were lost at the "vanishing point." The terraces are evidently ancient beds of the river, formed as I have briefly described, in the same manner as those on the banks of the Waipa: an accurate examination of them, and of that part of the country generally, would be a most interesting occupation for a geologist, and it is to be hoped that some of the enterprizing members of the Geological Society may be tempted to extend their researches to the antipodes. We soon reached them and descending their steep sides, which slope at an angle of 45°, we stood on the lowest bed, lying between them, through which the river holds its course, and found the soil composed of water-worn pumice-stone, basalt, and pebbles of obsedian, or volcanic glass, forming a perfectly smooth aud hard road. Here I first observed that strong wiry grass, called wi in the Native language, scattered over the surface in large patches, and which appears to be indigenous to these volcanic regions. In the centre, the river, which above may be a hundred yards wide, as it winds between the slopes of the terraces, whose bases it washes, is suddenly contracted by masses of pumiceous conglomerate, to about ten or fifteen yards in breadth, and through which, being of a soft nature, it has scooped out a channel, where it rushes downwards with great velocity, as if through a millsluice,

Our guides now led us to the level of the first terrace, whose surface formed of the gravel I have described, was perfectly hard and would make an admirable natural road. It was thinly sprinkled with dwarf fern, grass and manuka, and was the very personification of sterility, while a burning sun heated the dark gravel to a pitch that we could feel through our shoes, and there was just wind enough to waft the hot air radiated from the earth, in our faces. We could almost fancy ourselves parched by the hot winds of Australia, rather than journeying in the moist and temperate New Zealand. Our route lay for some time in a north-westerly direction along the lower terrace, when it suddenly turned northward, and wound up the slope to the upper terrace, when we found ourselves at the mouth of a valley of some breadth, which extended several miles northward, perfectly level, bounded to the west by the flanks of Maungakaua, and to the east by a continuation of the dividing ridge, between the valleys of the Waiho and Waikato, which terminates behind the plain of Mata Mata, with which place an opening at the further end of the valley, we were told, communicated.

From this spot we again commanded a view of the terraces, extending eastward as far as the eye could reach, until lost in the plain I have described as extending to Taupo, in the centre of which now rose an isolated mountain called Warehunga--to the west again we could trace them winding round the base of the spurs of Maungatautari, on the left bank of the river we had crossed the preceding evening, and on the side we stood running parallel to Maungakaua, until they merged into the level of the low country beyond the mountains, at Kiri Kiri roa. Here may be said to be a portion of the projected road from Auckland to Taupo, ready made, for these terraces are both levelled and metalled by the hand of nature, and would require little labor to convert them into a road, beyond lining out, an occasional cutting to form an ascent and descent from the terraces, which are, as before-mentioned, discontinuous, and the construction of bridges across the mouths of ravines, formed by the winter-torrents from the hills, eating deep into the loose soil composed of pumiceous sand and gravel. In fact the members of the four-in-hand club might dash along in style, over the greater number of these terraces as they now stand.

In assuming therefore that the road has reached the base of the Maungakaua Mountain, it might be carried round its western shoulder to the terraces, or which would be better if practicable, from the absence of swamps, which there is reason to believe is the case, might be carried across the head of the Piako, and northern flank of the above mentioned range, until it reached the opening I have before described, in the valley and conducted onward along its bed, to the upper terrace of the same level. This line would not only be much shorter, but would give access to the fertile plain of Mata Mata, and the adjacent country.

Some distance down the river, at the back of the terraces, on the left bank, rose to a considerable height, a line of whitish rocks of pumice-conglomerate, assuming in many places a columnar form, and supporting an irregular table land--these, seen from the river, with the opposite scenery, must form a very singular and romantic pass. We now crossed the bed of the valley to a subsidiary vale, extending eastward into the hills, through the centre of which coursed a stream called the Piariri, that had worn for itself a channel more than fifty feet in depth and breadth, in the yielding soil over which it passed, and we could perceive that in its downward course to the river, it formed a perfect ravine. Obstacles of this nature, would form the principal difficulty in making the proposed road. I remarked here a syngenesious plant, resembling the everlasting flowers of English gardens, and a small jacobea, with a purple flower I had never before seen, both of which seem peculiar to these pumiceous plains. They were new objects which immediately attracted the eye, in a country where such humble flowers are so very rare, for trees and shrubs form the floral ornaments of New Zealand.

We now ascended the vale, whose bed was well-furnished with several varieties of grass, and clumps of towi-towi, and would form a good cattle-run. Rocks of the formation I have described, jutted out from the bare hillsides in very fantastic forms, at one spot, a mass of them resembled the ruins of an old castle. Near the head of the vale, a bed of rock stretching from one side to the other, over which the stream poured in a cascade, terminated the deep chasm we had followed, and here we were enabled to cross and ascend the hills, which apparently of a light soil, were covered with tall fern. From the summit of a ridge a splendid view opened on all sides--Maungatautari, the eastern extremity of the Rangitoto Mountains, abutting on the plain extending towards Taupo, with the distant hills bounding the lake, lay to the south--the plain of the Waiho and the lofty Aroha chain to the east, while Maungakaua rose to the west, and a perfect sea of hills of the most irregular aud picturesque forms, were immediately around, but bare and wild looking, uninhabited and uncultivated.

Here I first observed a species of nettle called onga onga, by the Natives, and I was soon convinced that it was a true urticaria, by being severely stung, on handling it. I had during the day an opportunity of observing the admirable tact the Natives had displayed in selecting this place as a strong-hold. It was an isolated table-land of about three quarters of a mile in length, wedge-shaped, and rather higher than the neighboring plateaus, and surrounded by deep, wooded ravines, whose sides were almost perpendicular. A splendid panorama spread around at the northern angle of the stockade. Immediately in front, and on either hand, lay ranges of these huge clefts, for it is the most appropriate appellation for these ravines, which fissured the immense tableland, on a part of which I stood. They were filled with gigantic rimu, pukatea, mata, and Tawa, or where bare of wood, shewing the white perpendicular walls that bounded them--beyond stretched the plain of the Waiho for thirty miles, terminating in a level horizon, except where broken by the dark woods, which rose on its verge, around Mata Mata. The magnificent Aroha chain, and the triple summits of Maungakaua, both wooded from base to summit, bounded its vast extent, while the bare and serrated range which extends southward from Maungakaua, and divides the valley of the Waiho from that of the Waikato, swept round and closed it in--behind these latter towered the immense, isolated mass of Maungatauri, ahove whose eastern slopes could be distinguished, the faint outline of the Rangitoto Mountains. A thunder-cloud was hovering over Aroha, and whirling in fantastic streams of vapour around its summits--their shadow chequered the surface of the otherwise monotonous plain, with streaks of light and shade, which was farther varied by the bright colour of the patches of dry grass scattered over it. Behind lay the skirts of the great forest that extends to Roturua, which indeed is but a continuation of that which covers the Aroha chain. It wanted water, alone, to have made it as magnificent a panorama as could he imagined, and of which words can give but a faint idea. In viewing this scene, as in others of a similar character, the same painful impression of their solitude obtrudes, for this vast extent of country does not contain more than seven hundred inhabitants

After thus walking for an hour, we reached a neck of land, and looked into a series of bare wild raviues, whose sides were formed of vertical masses of pumice rock, supporting the superincumbent table lands. As they opened westward towards the plain, we could see beyond it the dividing range between the Waiho and the Waikato, and the position of the sun enabled us distinctly to trace terraces, corresponding in level to the table lands of the Toa, on which we stood, and its beams glancing on the rocks that supported them, shewed them to be of the same formation as those at our feet. If a conjecture may be hazarded, it would appear that the upheaving of this vast extent of country must have been simultaneous, and consequently that the plain must have been formed by the immediate and subsequent rush of the vast body of water, covering these large flat surfaces thus suddenly elevated. Indeed the whole of this singular country is well worthy the attention of the geologist, and would, no doubt, amply repay the labor of research, for passing travellers can merely form hasty conjectures on so interesting a subject. After crossing this isthmus we again traversed a table-land, and Maungatautari again appeared through an opening, aud exposed a vast extent of undulating country, lying between its eastern flanks and the distant Rangitoto Mountains, at the extremity of which rose the cone of Kakapuka, hacked by the faint outline of Pirongia, and the range; a tract of probably forty miles in length and breadth, generally bare, or occasionally dotted with clumps of trees, but no smoke indicated human habitations, nor was there any cultivation. Crossing several similar plateaus each of increasing elevation, connected by razor backed isthmuses, on either side of which were ravines, sometimes bare, at other times wooded, we reached the edge of the great forest that, nearly thirty miles in breadth, extends to Roturua, whose shade we gladly entered, as the sun had become very powerful. In many of the ravines we had passed, and whose timber appeared of more recent growth, rose clumps of the tall cypress looking Rewa Rewa Banksia excelsa, which varied the somewhat monotonous foliage of the common woods. I also observed aloug the sides of the path a species of rye-grass, which I had not seen in any part of the country I had before passed over, The soil of these table-lands is of a light quality, covered with fern and manuka, and the other plants and grasses which accompany such soils, but in the wooded portions, it appeared to be of a much richer nature, and it was only in such spots that the Natives formed their plantations. On entering the forest we crossed an undulating country for some miles, traversing ridges flanked by deep ravines. In one of these we heard the rush of water, and were told that it was the source of the Waiho. As I have described the scenery of a New Zealand forest, it is unnecessary to repeat the description, farther than to mention, that here the trees, consisting chiefly of rimu, tawa, and rata, were of gigautic size, that the shrubbery offered varieties of glossy-leaved shrubs, and small trees we had not as yet met with, that the ground was covered with the most beautiful ferns and mosses, and that creepers and lichens of the brightest colours, clung to every stem and branch. The clumps of korau, the tree-ferns surpassed indeed in size and beauty any we had as yet seen, but we missed one ornament of the forest, in the absence of the graceful nikau, the New Zealand palm, which does not seem to extend to the south of the Waikato.

Some distance beyond these springs, we came to a circular bay, with a large bare flat extending some way inland, covered with a white gravel formed of disintegrated portions of the rock I have described; and the bay as far as we could see was evidently composed of a similar rock, as its reflection gave the waters a yellow tinge. This flat was covered with pools and bouillers, of various temperature and qualities, and around some of them the surface was perfectly yellow from a coating of sulphur deposited by its waters. At its eastern edge, a river enters the lake, its waters were acidulous and tepid, from the number of springs which pour their contents into it. We could trace its course across the plain by the vapour arising from these springs, as far as the Ngawha of Wakawerawa, which is situate at the foot of the southern hills, and sent up immense clouds of steam, but we were obliged to defer our visit to this interesting spot, as the evening was setting in. On our return we were much struck with the number of these ngawha which were scattered over the plain, in fact the surface must cover an immense reservoir of boiling water, heated by the internal ignition of beds of sulphur, or by the combustion of iron pyrytes and the bases of various earths, but chiefly alumina, which held in solution by an excess of carbonic acid, deposits on coming to the surface, where the superabundant acid is thrown off, the particles, which form the rock that is universally seen, and the mud which accompanies it.

The natives manufacture pipe-bowls and lamps from this substance. One of the latter neatly made, filled with liquid lard, and having a wick of twisted flax, gave as light in Hohepa's house. Flax is not indigenous to thia part of the country, indeed we had seen none except some artificially planted since we left the plains of the Waiho. After indulging in a bath which we found very grateful after the fatigues of the day, but which from our experience of the relaxing qualities of the waters, we did not prolong as on the former occasion, we retired to rest, having previously engaged two men for a "consideration" in tobacco, to accompany us to Rotomahana.

The vapor has a peculiar odour, but the water has only a very slight saline taste, scarcely perceptible, nor did I find it affect me in any way, though I drank a considerable quantity. As it acted on none of the tests, it is probably only impregnated with a minute proportion of some neutral salt, independent of the alumina which it holds in solution, as a super carbonate. It is very evident that it must contain a large proportion of that earth, as the moment it passes the great reservoir in the crater, into the first basin where it is cooled, and gives off its superabundant carbonic acid, it no longer holds the earth in solution, but merely in a state of suspension, and causes by its presence, an immediate alteration in the colour of the water, and this change becomes more visible, as the double change is going on in its descent into the successive basins, and as it contains more of the alumina than it can hold suspended, a portion falls down and is deposited.

The mode of formation therefore, of the cone, would seem to be as follows. The water, in pouring out of the reservoir in the crater, would throw down a deposit, from the joint actions I have described, in a greater quantity in proportion to its distance from its source, in this way a slight rim would be formed, which would then impede the flow of the water, and collect the deposit on its surface. It would thus gradually rise in height, layer by layer, and these would be horizontal, like all deposits from water, as well as circular or curved in outline, from a similar law that regulates the forms of all natural cavities containing fluids--the cavity itself being formed by the stream, which would prevent the deposit from settling in the centre, where it poured in with greatest violence, but would permit it to lodge itself symmetrically around, and in course of time form a basin, while the water spreading out from its edge, would naturally form a step with rounded edges, which is indeed the form of all of them. In this manner the different steps and basins would be formed, the first becoming narrower, the second smaller, as the water was distant from its source, till at length the deposit becomes a mere crust, slightly indented with mimic steps. The rapidity with which this formation goes on, is evidenced by any substance such as twigs of trees, lying in the course of the water. They are quickly encrusted with the alumina, which is of the purest white, but not translucent, and some of these specimens, from what cause I do not know, probably from the fineness of the particles and the action of greater heat, resemble porcelain.

Jan. 9th.--The wind did not abate, until midday, although there was no rain, when after giving our friendly old chief a liberal present of tobacco, we had a pleasant passage across the lake to Ruakareo. We spent the rest or the day very agreeably in admiring the beautiful scenery of the lake from Mr. Spencer's cottage, which, situated almost on the edge of the cliff, commanded a most extensive prospect. His garden lying on the northern slope of the headland, and fringed by noble Pohutukawa was a beautiful spot. He had collected twelve varieties of flax, each, with a distinct name and appearance and available to the production of a fine sample, when carefully dressed. We enjoyed the view of a glorious suniet, gilding the coronetted head of Tarawera, from the smooth pebbly beach to the east of the pa, which, with the delicious, coolness of the air from the water as it rippled at our feet will make us remember the summers evening at Ruakareo. It would indeed be a most delightful residence in the summer months although the winter is cold and boisterous, and no doubt in the future history of New Zealand, a visit to Tarawera will be a fashionable amusement. We were repaid for the discomfort of the past night, by the luxury of good beds to which we retired with the pleasurable assurance of rest, an enjoyment which can only be properly. appreciated, after sleeping in a New Zealand Ware.

Jan. 10th.--As the inhabitants of Ruakareo are very badly supplied with articles of European manufacture, from having little intercourse with the coast, Mr. Spencer has endeavoured to encourage them to dress the fine flax with which I have mentioned the pa abounds, but the chief obstacle to their doing so with advantage is their distance from a port, for although there is a good path along the course of the Tarawera river to the Kupenga, where any article of produce can be embarked in canoes, and conveyed to the seaport of Matata; yet the difficulty that traders find at all times in inducing the natives to carry a sufficient quantity to a given spot at a fixed time, has as yet proved an obstacle to a regular system of barter and exchange bring established, and although the fineness of the flax would always command purchases, no trader has succeeded in procuring any. There was however, an agent of one of these men who lives at Matata in the pa, and people were then engaged in dressing some tehori for him. Could they be induced to furnish a sufficient quantity at once to freight a small vessel, they would receive in exchange many articles which would materially increase their comfort.

We took leave, with regret of our kind entertainers, highly impressed with the value of their exertions, and with a sincere wish that the success which has as yet attended them, may be crowned with the complete civilization of the people among whom they reside. On our route to Okarika we could distinctly trace two terraces surrounding the lake, and could perceive that in many places horizontal strata of pumiceous rock was overlying tbe lava walls which supported many of the bounding hills, this fact may permit the supposition to be hazarded that the whole has been upheaved antecedent to the deposition of tbe pumice; indeed, the lake, although ten miles long, and eight in breadth, gives the observer an impression that it is but the crater of an immense volcano. The smoke of the fires, for preparing the morning meal, marked the site of two other settlements of the Ngatituhourangi, which would otherwise have been invisible, one was placed on a promontory at the north eastern angle of the lake, and the other on the banks of the Tarawera river, at its point of issue from the lake. These people have little or no intercourse with the coast, and my fellow traveller who had visited them the previous winter, described them as unmitigated savages. This tribe may amount to five hundred souls. A young and very intelligent chief who accompanied us, showed us with evident pride, a small patch of wheat growing in a hollow near the path, it looked sickly, and we explained to him that the ground was not sufficiently broken up for the successful growth of that grain and he promised to dig it well next year, but he deplored the want of a mill.

We reached tht pa Of Okarika early in the day and were met with the same hospitable welcome as before and were urged to remain to visit a lake in a neighbouring valley which they told us was of a deep blue or ultramarine colour, but want of time prevented us from visiting this, and many other lions of the Lake country. We here hired two men to accompany us and carry our baggage, to Auckland, for doing which, they were to receive a Sovereign each on their arrival there, with food and tobacco a discretion during the journey. One of them had never seen the capital and by the prolonged tangi he held with his relations, they seemed to consider it quite an event in the annals of the family and one not unattended with danger; and our attendant Peter the cidevant sailor "spun a few yarns" to "astonish his weak mind." It showed indeed that this young man possessed a strong sense of curiosity, to undertake so long a journey, for of course he would have to find his way back as he best could.--But adventurors of this kind are of much service in dispelling the absurd notions which the inland tribes entertain regarding us. So retentive are the memories of the natives from being unburdened with the variety of subjects that occupy our minds, that on their return to their pa, they narrate every circumstance that occurred, and everything they saw or did from the day of their departure to that of their coming hack, sitting up a whole night on these occasions surrounded by their wondering relatives. I recollect to have witnessed an amusing scene of this kind, on a former visit into the interior, where a chief who had just had the honor of dining with the late Governor Fitzroy, gave a pantomime discription of the whole affair, with a humour that threw his audience into convulsions of laughter. Our fashion of drinking wine with each other at dinner seemed particularly to excite their mirth, and the young urchins of the pa, were continually bobbing down their heads to me and calling out "wine."

We were landed on the northern shores of the lake, and as the day was beautiful, the scenery was quite enchanting. It is a perfect gem and its attraction will not fail to make it much frequented at a future period. Ascending a valley thinly sprinkled with wood in which we crossed three brooks flowing into the lake, we entered a wood, whose shade was most grateful as the sun in this enclosed ground was exceedingly powerful, and would, together with the shelter, make it a suitable place for vineyards, as the soil is light and porous. Emerging from this wood which is of no great extent, we found ourselves on the crest of a hill, commanding an entire view of the lake of Rotorua, which is of an oblong shape and at least twenty miles in circumference. Two thirds of it is bounded by level land of unequal bread ths extending inland; the remaining portion lying to the north, by steep banks descending abruptly to the edge of the water; and in that direction the outline of the hills is perfectly horizontal, occupied by that table land and forest which we had traversed in a former part of our journey; but the haze arizing from the extensive conflagrations in the surrounding woods, enveloped the whole country, so that we could but indistinctly note the details, and gave the scenery quite a spectral appearance. In descending, the path wound among conical hills, now only covered with tall fern, though formerly wooded, and we remarked in many places patches of tehori flax, evidently planted near ancient cultivations, around settlements which had been abandoned as soon as the wood was destroyed. From these hills we reached a terrace, one of those which I have before described as bordering the shores of the lake, along which the path lay in a northerly direction: the soil was composed of pumice and ohsidian gravel, and very poor, and only permitted the growth of stunted fern, and the wi, or wiry grass common to these regions.

Jan. 11.--After prayers in the house, servlce being held in the Native Chapel, by one of their own teachers, in the absence of the Reverend Mr. Chapman, we embarked in his boat, manned by six stout Maori lads, and pulled across to the island of Mokoia, which lies directly opposite to the Ngae, four miles distant. It is of a conical shape, its base about two miles in circumference, its apex four hundred feet high, and cleft towards the centre by a wooded ravine. There is a considerable extent of flat ground on the southern side, which was covered with kumera gardens, cultivated with all the care which the Natives bestow on that plant, and which seemed to thrive well in the light volcanic clay of the island. The sides, for a third of the way up, are cut into terraces, similar to those seen on all their strongholds which occupy declivities--they are in fact, fighting platforms, and during the period of their wars, were always defended by strong palisades. There were a good many huts scattered over them, and on the flat below, we entered one of these, to pay a visit to the principal Chief of Roturua, named Akairo. He was a fine-looking middle-aged man of a dignified exterior, and he wore as emblem of his rank, a dog-skin "kakahu," or mantle, but as he is said to be inimical to Europeans, more particularly since the arrival of the Government, who, he maintains, have come to enslave the people and take away their lands: he received us with a surly indifference, scarcely condescending to take any notice of our salutation. On descending from his house we came to one of the terraces, where a Native congregation, seated on the ground, were listening to one of their teachers, who, robed in his blanket, and standing with extended hand, holding a book, while expounding the Scriptures, reminded us of the figure of St. Paul, in Raphael's cartoon of the Apostle preaching at Athens.

There are several boiling springs at the foot of the hill, of a slightly acid, but not a strong sulphurous taste, They bubbled up from rock of the same deicription as at Ohinimutu, and as at that place were conducted into a number of wai ariki, or hot baths, in which the Natives were enjoying themselves. Indeed the use of these hot baths seem to occupy a great portion of their time, and, like smoking, has become an inveterate habit, very prejudicial to their health. As all pakeha are dubbed physicians, we were taken to see two sick Chiefs, one suffering from a malignant disease of his foot, the other, from the effects of a seven days' abstinence from food, to which he had subjected himself on the death of his wife, to whom he was much attached: the first appeared to be a hopeless case, which the surgical knowledge possessed by the Missionaries could scarce treat, and the latter seemed so feeble as to preclude a hope of recovery. We could only offer them our sympathy. Mr. Chapman resided on this island for some time after his house at Ohinimutu had been plundered, twelve years since, by the Ngatihoua, in a taua made by them on Roturua, under the famous Waharoa. He was absent at the time, and the first notice he had of the disaster, was a rencontre with the victorious Ngatihoua returning to Mata Mata, carrying off his household furniture, and as there was not enough to give each individual a distinct portion, they had actually broken up his chairs, some were brandishing the legs as trophies, others had made prizes of the backs or the cushions, while some rejoiced in a frying-pan, or a tea-kettle, as their "spolia opima." We were pointed out the site of this asylum, on a terrace surrounded by picturesque karaka trees.

This island was the scene of a horrible massacre about twenty years since, during the invasion of Roturua by the celebrated Hongi, the Ngapuhi Chief. He had landed at Maketu, the sea-port of Roturua, where he had stormed the pa and slaughtered the inmates, when the Ngatiwakaua and other tribes residing about the lakes, terrified by this event and the reports of his prowess, had fled with their families to Mokoia for refuge, whither also they had conveyed all their canoes, thinking that by this measure they had placed themselves beyond his reach, and were rejoicing in their apparent security: but their rejoicing was of short duration, for this fierce Chief determining not to be baffled, had managed to draw his canoes over-land, to the extremity of the chain of lakes that extend eastward from Rotorua, by which means he reached the lake itself, and to the astonishment and affright of the crowds ou the island, his fleet was seen one morning, making straight for it. Panic-struck, the Ngatiwakaua made scarce any resistance, and a horrible slaughter took place on the island, while numbers were drowned or killed in the water, in attempting to swim to the main land. Sated with blood, the Ngapubi at length gave quarter to the residue left alive, after consummating their atrocities by a cannibal feast.

Hongi, by a strange impulse of generosity, however, set at liberty the principal Chiefs who had survived, but carried all the rest prisoners to Maketu, with the intention of conveying them as slaves to the Bay of Islands. But as the Ngapuhi were compelled to remain some time at Maketu, to repair the damage the canoes had sustained during their rough transit overland from Rotorua, they were so much engaged that they omitted to pay such attention to the safe keeping of their captives as their numbers demanded, so that a great many managed to escape and returning to their homes, re-established the tribe, which would otherwise have been broken up. The immense fires that were burning, as I have before remarked, in every direction among the forests, emitted clouds of smoke, which, wafted towards the Ngae by a westerly wind, produced an atmosphere, increased in temperature by the heat of the day, that was perfectly stifling, and shrouded every object under a lurid veil, so that we gladly returned to the shelter of the house; in the evening however I strolled to the hills that rose behind, and found the soil at the back to be of good quality, particularly in the woods, which were of vigorous growth, consisting chiefly of Tawa and Rimu, with Kahikatea in the hollows. The country adjacent to the lake would indeed be very suitable for European settlements, if unoccupied by Natives, but it has the disadvantage of being distant from the coast, at Maketu, to which there only is access by a hilly route that takes eight hours to travel, although, doubtless, a good road would shorten the time now occupied in making the journey. I was told that the sea can be distinctly seen from the hills behind Ohinimutu.

Rotorua would be a most agreeable summer residence, for the scenery is pleasing, and there is good hard riding-ground round the greater part of the circuit of the lake. Of course hot and cold bathing could be enjoyed at pleaiure. The Natives are at present rude and uncivilized, but time would make a change in this respect, and it may be anticipated, that at no very distant period, when the true character of its waters hs remedial agents has been ascertained, and its beautiful localities and salubrious air are known, it will be a part of the country much resorted to by invalids, and by those whose leisure will permit them to vary their residence. Boating and riding parties--excursions to the other lakes which cluster round Rotorua, would afford sufficient outdoor amusement, and temporary establishments might be well supplied with provisions of all kinds, and with the luxury of fine fruit, during the summer, which is the only period a residence could be recommended for invalids, or persons in delicate health, since I was informed that a very great deal of rain falls in the winter, which would naturally arise from physiccal circumstances connected with the formation of the country--a large basin with a surface soil of more than ordinary temperature, and surrounded by hills of considerable height.

Jan. 12.--We left the Ngae at day-break in a dense fog, to visit some Ngawha yarned Tikiteri, about three Miles to the north-east of the Missionary station. After half an hour's walk, a valley opens to the east, up which we ascended along the courie of a stream--it might be about a quarter of a mile in breadth, gradually incoming narrow towards its termination, and bounded by low bare hills, its bed being covered with fern and grass. A sulphurous odor which tainted the air announced our approach to the Ngawha, some of which were in action at the head of the valley. We now ascended a ravine, whose sides were formed of aluminous rock of a chalky whiteness, and down which, poured a tepid stream from the plateau above, where the principal springs have their source--this we soon reached, and it presented a very striking scene.

Over its whole surface, which was nearly level, boiled up springs of various sizes and quality--some clear and transparent, others muddy and discoloured, on whose surface rose large bubbles, from the ascent of sulphuretted hydrogen, for on applying test-paper of lead, over these as they burst, it were instantly blackened, while others again were of pure mud, lazily rising up with that Stygian aspect which characterizes them. The spaces between the different springs were either formed of clay or aluminous lock, variously coloured, sometimes by incrustations of sulphur, which indeed often lay about in heaps, at others the clay was burnt perfectly red like a brick, or the rock was blackened by the smoke of some internal furnace. Clouds of steam rose from every part of the plateau, and mingling with the dense fog which hung around, gave a vivid idea of the fabled kingdom of Pluto. It repuired considerable caution in moving over the treacherous crust that covered the beds of burning sulphur, and boiling fluid below, for from the little spiracles, of which there were numbers in every direction, pure, sulphurous acid gas was emitted, that formed beautiful chrystals of sulphur round their edges, and showed the near approach to the surface of the burning mineral itself and thin coating of clay that covered it.

The Natives often resort here for the cure of rheumatism, and other diseases with which they are aflicted. They form, on these occasions, a steam-bath over the spiracles, by means of layers of manuka which they so dispose as to prevent themselves from being burnt or scalded, yet to have the benefit of the vapour, and they cover these with rude sheds, many of which we saw in various parts of the plateau. They make use of these sulphureous steams for another, although not a very delicate, yet an equally necessary purpose, for they spread their garments on the manuka, and thus destroy the vermin with which they are usually covered.

All the springs, by the application of tests, shewed the presence of more or less sulphur, or sulphuretted hydrogen in their composition, and generally also the existence of a free acid, as the litmus paper did not lose its red colour by exposure to heat. They varied much, however, in taste, some being acidulous, some sulphurous, though not so strongly so as their smell would indicate, and others were saline.

The valley I have described would appear well situated for the site of the hospital which his Excellency the Governor propoies to erect in this part of the country, as it would not interfere with the Natives, [who do not live near it: there is sufficient space for the necessary buildings, and tbe various waters might be conducted from the plateau into the baths by means of earthenware or even wooden pipes, when Europeans were patients, for their efficacy in obstinate rheumatic affections, have been tested by several settlers from Tauranga and other ports in the Bay of Plenty, who have received great relief, and in one instance I was informed, a perfect cure was completed by their use--and the Natives, though making the hospital their residence for internal treatment, might use the steam-baths after their own fashion.

There are some very large Ngawha four miles further eastward, whose steam we saw rising in clouds on our way back to the Ngae, as the fog had been dispersed by the sun. Their waters are all clear, but possess the powers of petrifying, or rather covering with an aluminous deposit, every substance put into them. I was shewn a portion of the rock they form, it was of a bluish grey colour, and admitted of a very high polish.

On our way, however, we turned aside to visit the site of Mr. Chapman's house, which I have mentioned as having been plundered by the Ngatihoua, in their last taua to Rotorua, A fig tree and lilac, are the only remains of the garden, and these are cherished by the Natives with an almost superstitious veneration. On one occasion, the natives of Ohinimutu, we were told, made a very ingenious use of their boiling water, in defending the weakest part of the pa from an attack by day. The only access to Ohinimutu from the west is by a narrow isthmus lying between the lake and the plain, which is intersected by springs and pools of boiling mud, so, as only to be crossed in the daytime with the greatest caution, and even then by those well acquainted with the localities. Any attempt at night would certainly lead to a horrible death, by being overwhelmed in boiling mud--knowing, therefore, that they were safe in that quarter by night, the besieged dug a deep trench across the isthmus, into which they led streams of boiling water, so as to secure themselves effectually from any attempt to storm the pa in the only accessible point. Thus defended they defied their enemies, and the Ngatihoua, after in vain attempting to force a passage, were compelled to be satisfied with their first success, in which they had defeated the Ngatiwakaua, who came out to meet them in the plain, and to return to their own country.

On our route from Ohinimutu to Wai iti, we saw a taua, or plundering-party crossing the lake in a war-canoe, the leader standing up, as is their custom, brandishing his paddle and giving time to twenty stout Natives, who made it shoot rapidly through the water. The Natives say that all their quarrels take place about 'land, pigs, and women,' and this movement was, most probably, caused by an infraction of the seventh commandment, where the injured husband and his friends were going, according to Native custom, to levy an utu on the goods and chattels of the offender. Formerly, however, a more severe penalty was imposed, the delinquent was compelled to stand publicly, and suffer a certain number of the long spears anciently used to be thrown at him, which he warded off as he best could. But in addition, a most extraordinary custom holds on these occasions, for the husband of the frail one can also be plundered--a law so palpably unjust, that it is difficult to trace its origin. That such affairs are of frequent occurrence cannot be wondered at, when we consider that women have scarce a choice in these connexions. A father engages to give away his daughter acoording to his will and pleasure, so that from their earliest childhood, girls are placed under tapu, that is, reserved as a wife for a certain man, quite irrespective of their partialities. Young women have been known to commit suicide rather than submit to such compulsory arrangements, so repugnant to the femule mind even in the rudest state of society.

The forest from which we had just emerged is one of the finest in the island, both from its extent, and the magnificence and variety of its timber. It offers rata, rimu, totara, matai, pukatea, tawa, tawai, whose bark contains the tanning principle, kahikatea, tawheo, a fine furniture wood, rewarewa, large manuka, and the Native fuschia of a larger size than I had elsewhere seen, besides a variety of minor trees too tedious to enumerate. I have mentioned that it contains within its bounds, large tablelands of fertile soil, and but for its distance from the sea, would form a suitable place for a settlement, as blocks cut out of the forest would form admirable spots for hop gardens, which require shelter, as well as for orchards, and vineyards might be planted on the sides of the less precipitous ravines. There would not indeed be much difficulty in making a road across the plain of the Waiho to Mata Mata, near to which large boats could ascend in the winter. The mention of such an undertaking will be thought looking too distantly forward into futurity, but that such a future will arrive, despite present untoward events, I feel fully satisfied.

From the salient point of the plateau on which Patiteri stands, just before descending into the ravines of Toa, a most magnificent view presents itself, but as I have described a similar prospect in a former part of my journal, it is unnecessary to repeat it further than to say that a beautiful and brilliant morning added new charms to the scene. It would repay the toil of a journey made expressly for the purpose. Emerging from the ravines, we crossed some clear streams, now so diminutive as to be forded by a few steps, but in the winter, furious foaming torrents, rushing downwards with irresistable force, and overflowing their banks; we followed a path that ran along a succession of low, flat-topped hills, forming the boundaries to extensive basins, through whose beds wound the streams I have described, which, forcing their way through the hills by narrow gorges, traversed successive basins, from which they issued in a similar manner until they fell into the Waiho or some of its principal tributaries. At the base of all these hills, terraces could be distinctly traced, so marked a feature in this part of the country, evidencing, at some remote period, a higher level and a greater extent of its waters, to which an approximation may be observed during the temporary winter floods. The soil on the hills is poor, hungry, volcanic gravel, covered with stunted fern and wi, but in some spots, and in the flats, there are several varieties of grass, often in great abundance. The extreme dryness of the surface and the open nature of the country, would seem to make it suitable for grazing sheep, for the wi though now perfectly brown and wiry, would be, no doubt, tender and succulent enough in the spring, and would annually improve by being browzed upon, and here there would be no danger of interfering with the Natives, as there is not a hut nor an acre of ground under cultivation, between Patitere and Mata Mata, a space of eighteen miles in length, by ten in breadth, including more than a hundred thousand acres. The want of firewood would be a disadvantage, unless indeed the homesteads were formed at the foot of the wooded mountains, or so near them at to afford a convenient supply. By keeping on either side of the Waiho, the whole space might be traversed on horseback for the greater part of the year.

Continuing thus for some miles, the eastern mountains bounding that side of the plain like a verdant wall, while bare hills formed an equally marked boundary to the west, we came to the Wai-omeo, a fine clear stream with a rapid current, which joins the Waiho some miles further down than where we crossed. Like all the other rivers of this region, it ran in the centre of a broad flat or holm; we forded it being only knee-deep. A short distance beyond this river we came upon a body of Natives, sitting in groupes on a hill side--they had uncovered themselves from the waist upwards, in consequence of the burning heat of the day, and their glossy skins shone like velvet--many of the young girls, who seemed perfectly ignorant of any want of propriety, in dispensing with their usual covering, presented busts that would have charmed a sculptor, while some of the young men had the forms of an Apollo. Their Chief, a very fine-looking man, who wore the symbolic distinction of a straw hat, informed us that they were on their way from Taupo to Hauraki, to pay a visit to their ally the noted Taria, Chief or the Ngatimaru. The groupe reminded me of the pictures in Cook's Voyages, for they were certainly the wildest and most primitive looking body of Natives I had as yet met with. Taria is one of the mal-contents with our Colonization, and we inferred that the visit of a tribe also hostile to us, boded no good to our Government. The imprisonment of Rauparaha would probably be the subject of their korero.

A few miles boyond the Wai-omeo brought us to the Waiho, which deep and rapid, rushed swiftly between steep banks at least fifty feet high. We stopped here to dine, and took advantage of our halt to bathe. The water was of an icy coldness, and the current so strong that we could not stem it, which shews a great fall in the general level of the plain. As it is too deep to ford, the Natives have constructed a rude bridge to facilitate the passage, on which we crossed, though on our journey southward we had been obliged, some miles higher up, to swim across.

Two miles further north we croised the Waingawero, another and smaller stream, tributary to the Waiho. The table-lands now become more extensive, traversed by ravines filled with tall manuka, and often the plateaus themselves were covered with extensive clumps of the same shrub, which being very thick, and reaching higher than our heads, closed over the seldom frequented track, and made our progress very toilsome. The soil in these spots is a strong clay, very different from the usual pumiceous gravel in other parts. As we approached Mata Mata, the surface of the plain became almost level--the soil of a much superior quality, and it was often covered with grass and shrubs--flax also began to appear.

Mata Mata, the principal residence of the Ngatihoua tribe, is situated on a broad level plain, once surrounded by noble wood, which even before this last catastrophe had been gradually disappearing under the destructive principle of native cultivation to which I have so often alluded, and as the soil is a rich, friable, alluvial clay, noted for producing fine potatoes, the plantations are very extensive; indeed the spots on which these were successively made, may be traced all around by their being covered with fine grass, and dotted with stumps, and burned trees. The Waitoa, a tributary to the Piako, into which it falls about twelve miles to the north, is a fine stream running in a deep bed, but not navigable to the settlement from being encumbered by fallen trees. It winds along close to both of the pas, to which it forms a defence, and the old pa was further strengthened by a swamp that enclosed it on the other two sides, while in the only exposed part it was guarded by a stockade of great strength.--Indeed, as I have before remarked, the Maori have quite a military eye in the disposition of their pas. The Christian pa, however, being erected in peaceful times, has no particular advantages of situation, and is merely enclosed by what may be called a fence, rather than a defence. It is however regularly laid out in embryo streets which are neatly gravelled with the pumiceous subsoil from the banks of the river, and many of the gardens are filled with peach trees--while the Heathen pa was, for it no longer exists, a chaos of houses huddled together without a plan and abominably filthy.

William Thompson, or Wiremu, as he is familiarly called, was the founder of the former, for after his conversion, he was so annoyed by the dissolute habits and continual quarrels of the Pagan portion of his tribe, that he induced his fellow-converts to separate themselves from them and build a pa: under his auspices a very handsome Chapel has been built, eighty feet in length, by forty in breadth, of suitable height, furnished with glass windows, and having a portion neatly railed off, containing a Communion-table. But here his turbulent tribe would not let him rest in peace, for on an occasion when he interposed his authority, as the son of Waharoa and Chief of the tribe, he was told he had no right to interfere as he was not living upon his own ground, on which he said-- "If that be the case, I will live on my own ground," and he accordingly removed to his patrimonial possessions........... on the Maungakaua Hills, where he was engaged in building another pa, in which he was joined by his fellow-Christians, and was at present absent from Mata Mata, on that employment. He is a most interesting young man, and to all appearances a sincere Christian. His father Waharoa, was one of the most famous warriors in New Zealand, his exploits would fill a volume, and the Ngatihoua, led by him, were the terror of their enemies, indeed in looking now at their nervous active figures, for they are all sinewy spare men, and their quick, restless eye, one can imagine what deeds they would be capable of performing under a warlike and ambitious Chief. They have a frank bold bearing that distinguishes them from other tribes, and have an openness of character, which those who trade with them find much more agreeable than the cautious, Jewish habits of most of their countrymen. A bargain is soon concluded with them, without that narrow examination of the utu, if paid in European manufactured goods, which is so annoying on the part of other tribes, who seem to scrutinize every thread of a blanket in order to discover a flaw. They are indeed said not to distinguish very nicely the difference between meum and tuum, and are consequently inclined to pilfer, a softening down, probably, of their former predatory habits, but if ready to take, they are equally ready to give, and are very hospitable.

I have mentioned some of Waharoa's warlike exploits in a former part of my journal; I heard some further details while at the pa, which show his fearless and daring character. It appears that his hostility to the Ngatiwakaua of Roturua was more inveterate than against any of the other tribes with whom he was at feud. He often carried taua or war-parties into their territory, and in his last incursion, having defeated and forced them to retreat into their pa, which was too strong to take by storm; his endeavours to draw them out were in vain, and at length, losing all patience, he advanced singly in front of the stockade, but out however of musquet-shot, and brandishing his tomahawk and dancing the war-dance, made use of such insulting language and gestures, that some of the young men within became so irritated, that they rushed out with their musquets, and fired at him without effect while he was slowly retreating--he instantly darted like lightning upon them before they could reload, and slew several of them ere they could regain the shelter of their pa. The fugitives being reproached with their maladroitness in missing their aim, one of them very naively said-- "Who could shoot straight when Waharoa was making such frightful faces!"

It was on this occasion that Mr. Chapman's house, who then resided near Ohinemutu, was plundered--the fight having taken place just in front of it. Two Missionary gentlemen, Messrs. Pedley and Knight, were at that time in charge, during Mr. Chapman's absence at Mata Mata--they were instantly stripped to their shirts by some of the victorious party, and carried to an eminence close to the field of battle, where they were made to stand and witness the cutting to pieces of the bodies of the slain Ngatiwakaua, preparatory to cooking them for the horrid feast, which in those days was the consummation of a victory. They stood trembling, expecting soon to follow the fate of the slain; when Waharoa, returning from the pursuit, perceived them and was informed who they were, he instantly went up and taking them by the hand, placed them under tapu, that is made them sacred, so that none dare molest them, and insisted at the same time that their clothes should be restored, "for," said he, addressing his people, "if you make slaves of the white men, you may expect the anger of the white men's God!" He treated them with great kindness, and afterwards conducted them in safety to the Missionary house at Mata Mata. A laughable circumstance occurred at this time. One of the Chiefs had taken Mr. Pedley's watch, which he refused to return, but not being aware of the necessity of winding it up, it of course ran down and stopped, no sooner had he observed this than he burst into loud lamentation, saying-- "The white man's Atua will surely kill me as utu!" The simple-minded savage believing that it was a living creature whose death he had caused, and that by the lex talionis, he would necessarily suffer. He immediately ran and returned it to its owner, who, revivified it, by winding it up, allayed his fears.

Waharoa, it seems, could practise the art of strategy when necessary, with as much success as he could exhibit boldness in the open field, which the following anecdote will show. On one of the occasion when his inveterate enemies the Ngatipaua and the other Hauraki tribes in conjunction with the Ngapuhi, came in such force to Mata Mata, that he did not deem it prudent to meet them beyond his pa; while they on their part dare not venture on an assault; they therefore lay before it for some days, both parties occupying themselves with desultory skirmishes, which led to no decisive result. Tired of this indecisive warfare, Waharoa devised the following stratagem to bring his enemies within his power, and most probably defeat them. He accordingly directed his people to cook two days provisions and to put out all the fires carefully, making them dig at the same time a deep ditch within the pallisades of that part of the pa that the enemy could alone approach. In the mean time he caused all the dogs of the place to be taken outside and tied to trees in a wood which lay immediately in the rear of the place, where these animals kept up a continual howling and barking. The Ngatihoua now hid themselves in the trenches I have described, until the time for action--Waharoa wisely judging that when the enemy saw no fires, and heard the noise of the dogs, they would imagine that he and his tribe had fled, but had left the dogs behind for fear their barking should discover their line of retreat. He was correct in his predictions, the besieging party seeing no fires, nor appearance of movement, and hearing the howling of the dogs, naturally thought that the pa was deserted, and at the end of the second day marched in a body to take possession of it. Waharoa permitted them to approach within gunshot when, on a given signal the defenders starting up, poured in such a withering fire, that the enemy, panic-struck, broke and fled and were pursued with great slaughter to their canoes which lay in the Waiho. The Hauraki tribes, though still at feud with the Ngatihoua, have never again ventured to attack Mata Mata.

Waharoa on his death bed sent for his son Terarapipi, or Werimu as he is generally called, and taking his hand, said-- "I have three requests to make--forsake the Missionaries." "I cannot," said his son--"Well! make war on the Ngatiwakaua." "I will not," answered he. "Then always be the friend of the white man." "I will," said Werimu, and he has faithfully kept his word for he is still a Christian. Like his father he is the friend of the white man, for on the occasion of Rauparaha's seizure, when emissaries from Taupo came to Mata Mata, and urged the Ngatihoua to make common cause with them and expel the English; the tribe, at his solicitations, flatly refused to listen to their overtures, and when the question of the projected road was mooted, he persuaded the younger members of the tribe to accede to its formation, though the older Chiefs, with a senseless and anile jealousy, were loud in opposition, reiterating the usual objection, that when it was finished the soldiers would come and make slaves of them. He has never again led his tribe against Rotorua, but has been instrumental in bringing about a peace between the hitherto hostile tribes. Indeed, shortly after his father's death he showed his determination to frustrate any attempt, on the part of his tribe, to carry on hostilities, for when, at that period, a majority of them had determined to attack Maketu, the seaport of Rotorua, and had stolen away secretly in the night, with that intention, Werimu followed them in the morning, and having overtaken the taua, in company with a Missionary, he prevailed on the party to stop and take food, and then proposed that his companion should preach and pray to them to which they assented, from a superstitious feeling, that if the Missionary prayed to his Atua, their success would be certain. The Missionary in expounding the Scripture, as the service was in the open air, had kept his hat on, but on repeating the Lord's Prayer, had uncovered his head, which, happening to be bald, several of the young men laughed, and made use of some irreverent expressions, which, however, were not taken notice of at the time. Werimu then got them to promise that they would remain where they were and hear service the following day which was Sunday, but in the morning he found that they had secretly decamped, and were on their way to Tauranga.

Werimu being unencumbered, while the taua having to carry provisions, could only move slowly, soon overtook it, and passing by hurried on to Tauranga, whence he immediately despatched a messenger to Maketu, to warn the Ngatiwakaua of the projected attack. On the arrival of the Ngatihoua at Tauranga, Mr. Brown, the resident Missionary, attempted in vain to prevent their advance. Arrived at Maketu, the Ngatihoua could not prevail on the Ngatiwakaua to come out and fight them on a fair field, and becoming impatient, they attempted to take the place by assault, but the defenders being prepared to receive them; although they displayed the most undaunted courage, they were finally repulsed with the loss of forty of their bravest warriors, and retreated to Tauranga, saying sorrowfully, that they had done with fighting since they had lost to many of their best men. "Yes," said Wiremu, who had remained at the mission house, "that is your utu for having insulted one of God's servants." They could not reply, but returned crest-fallen to MataMata. Many of this party who were Heathens, embraced Christianity, and the tribe have remained quiet ever since.

I have mentioned that Werimu was instrumental in bringing about a peace between his tribe and those of Rotorua. A great feast was given by the Ngatihoua to the Ngatiwakaua, on that occasion. It took place at Mata Mata, and lasted fourteen days. The enormous number of one thousand pigs, and fifty thousand eels were consumed during that period, and, on the principal day, a row of kete of cooked potatoes and kumera, two hundred-yards long, five feet high, and the same in breadth, was displayed on the ground, and the whole party of guests, nearly three thousand in number, were furnished with raw potatoes for private cooking, during the whole period of their stay. Fifteen casks of tobacco were also given to the Ngatiwakaua by their hosts, the whole of whom appeared in European clothing. But the strangest part of the whole transaction, and which shows the true spirit of trade that actuates the Maori, was the fact, that the Ngatihoua, after displaying their finery, actually disposed of it to their guests, for the very tobacco they had made over to them as a present. Forty umbrellas were also presented to the principal Rangatira of the Rotorua, who, to acknowledge the value of the present, walked two and two to Church (for my companion was present), with the umbrellas displayed over their heads, although the weather was gloomy, and the warmth of the sun would have been more agreeable than otherwise. It was a most ludicrous scene, but the actors paced along with the utmost gravity.

On this occasion an incident occurred which showed that the effect of Missionary instruction had been successful in repressing the fierce passions of these men, for some of the hot-headed youths of either party having quarrelled, tomahawks were brandished, when an old Christian Chief, who had come from Kawhia to be present at the feast, and who was in the Chapel at the time, at evening service, hearing the disturbance, rushed out, and holding up the Testament said-- "We will judge the matter by this book, if it authorizes war--use your arms--but if peace, lay them down!" The appeal was unanswerable, and both parties retired to their houses, ashamed of their conduct.

We left the pa at one o'clock with the intention of bivouacking on the banks of the Waitoa, in order to reach the Wanaki settlement on the Piako, the following day. The path lies along the banks of the Waitoa, which runs in the centre of a deep bed or holm, about twenty feet below the level of the plain, which in some places is several hundred yards wide and filled with kahikatea, rimu, totara, and tawa: this bed is covered in flood to a considerable depth, and the river is then impassable. As we advanced northward, the soil of the plain which around Mata Mata is very rich, became less so, and the surface is entirely bare of wood, and traversed by several flax-swamps. For this reason a portion of it of several square miles in extent, was sold about four years since, to Government, and a part of the tribe are anxious to sell the portion nearer to Mata Mata, which having been once cultivated, and all the timber destroyed, is an excellent soil although of no further use to them. The old men advocate its immediate sale-- "for" say they, "if it is not soon sold, we shall have no share in the utu. Poe Poe was present when the former land was told, but as the utu was not paid immediately, he died and never shared in it," The young men having no idea of dying oppose this by saying-- "Wait until the land becomes more valuable!" If, however, both these tracts were in the hands of Government, they would make some fine farms as there is a great deal of grass in the old cultivations. After a walk of several miles over perfectly level ground, the plain extending northward as far as the eye could reach, we descended into the dry bed of the stream which we crossed by means of a rude bridge, and continuing along the left bank for three miles further, reached our resting place, a small open shed, near a pa tuna or eelweir. Our Natives soon spread a bed of fern, and kindling a large fire, we had a good supper and slept comfortably until the morning, by taking the precaution of lying to leeward of the fire, so that the smoke drove away the mosquitos.

Jan. 16.--Rose at daybreak, and having recovered the usual path across the plain to the Piako, traversed a perfect level for ten miles, the soil of which was poor, and much intersected with flax-swamps, which were now quite dry, but were covered with a good deal of a grass peculiar to these places and much liked by cattle. Similar swamps but of much greater extent stretched southward to the base of the low bare ridges that run parallel to Maungakaua, the highest point of which is called Maunga Tapu, while to the north, the plain extended in an unbroken level, as far as the eye could reach, being however less dry from the quantity of raupo that covered it, and which always indicates the presence of water. We observed a solitary bush on our route, whose peculiar foliage attracted our attention--we were informed that it had been planted there as a land mark, and was tapu. On going to look at it we found a large bare space around, so trodden down as to have destroyed the fern, and this we were told was done to prevent the bush from being burnt by the fires which, lighted either by accident or design, annually destroy the fern over large tracts of country; and none of the members of the contiguous tribes ever pass by without walking round it, so that this act has become almost a superstitious observance--it is thus preserved from destruction.

The care with which this bush is kept is an evidence of how particular the Natives are in defining the respective boundaries of their lands, so that when no natural objects are present, such as streams or ranges of hills, they make use of artificial landmarks. It is an egregious error to imagine that the tribes do not know the extent of their territories, in fact no English Squire can point out the bounds of his estate with more accuracy. I have had the lands belonging to a tribe pointed out to me with as much minuteness as a Surveyor could do after having completed a surrey--every stream--every rock--each peak, and even remarkable trees, are selected for this purpose. It is true that a dispute often arises among tribes about boundaries, but still each will show what they conceive to be theirs--and even these differences announce the importance they attach to their lands. We value land for its adaptation to agricultural and pastoral purposes, they for its use as a pig-run. We look upon swamps and rivulets as useless, they prize them highly as breeding-places for eels. Those who are ignorant of these facts assume that the Natives do not care about their land because they do not esteem its value in their fashion, but it will be seen that if any attempt is made to appropriate it after the recommendations of the Select Committee on New Zealand affairs, that the tribes will rather die than suffer an acre to be taken except for an equivalent assented to by themselves.

We now reached the Wai-arikeki, a stream so named from the quantity of flax that fills the hollow in which it runs: it was now a trifling brook, and we stepped over it close to its confluence with the Piako; but in the winter it rises many feet, and with the addition of back-water from the Piako, forms at this spot a small lake, where my fellow-traveller was detained a whole day in constructing a raft to afford a passage across.

The path now follows the course of the Piako, downwards--the river is only thirty feet wide, and runs in a bed twenty feet below the level of the plain; this proves the facility, with which the swamps that cover it might be drained, as none of them even in the most rainy winter are more than a few feet deep. It rises in the Maungakaua hills, and runs along the foot of the dividing range, between the basins which contain that river and the Waiho, and that through which the Waikato has its course, receiving all the water from the eastern face of these hills, as well as from its own immediate sources, in the steep sides of Maungkaua, and the numerous rivulets of the plain--it therefore rises rapidly in heavy rains, and overflowing its banks, pours in conjunction with the Waitoa, an immense body of water over the plain, towards its mouth, completely inundating it, and forming a vast fresh water sea, on which canoes and even vessels of some burden, leaving the course of the river can sail with perfect safety. In this way the Delta which lies between it and the Waiho, is insensibly but gradually rising in height, from the mud which is thus annually deposited, and by which it has been originally formed.

At some former period either bank must have been lined with wood, as its bed is filled in many places with the trunks of immense trees, which from their position must have fallen into the river from the banks, but with the exception of a few straggling totara trees, it has entirely disappeared until near Mowkero, five-and-thirty miles from the mouth of the river, where it is bordered for three or four miles with a forest of kahikatea and tawa, beyond which, until it empties itself into the gulf of Houraki, its banks are entirely bare of wood.

We reached the Wanaki, a small settlement of a sept of the Ngatipaua, about one o'clock, where my companion has a house for the convenience of carrying on a trade in flax with the people of the place itself, and the Ngatihoua residing at Maungakaua, who convey there from the upper Piako in canoes, whence it is again carried to Mowkero, to which place, in ordinary seasons, vessels of ten or fifteen tons burden can ascend. In approaching the Wanaki, we passed over some fine alluvial flats, bordering the river, covered with grass, and which receive every year a top-dressing, from the inundations to which I have alluded--indeed on either bank there are stripes of alluvial land of greater or less breadth, but of less extent on the western bank, from which the ground rises by a gradual ascent to the hills, which are about two miles and a half distant.

The whole western bank, from the Awaroa Creek, which enters the Piako five miles below Mowkero, to nine miles beyond that place, was purchased from the Natives who reside at Mowkero, and the Wanaki, who are the more immediate possessors, and from the Ngatipaua of Hauraki who had a claim upon it, by Mr. William Webster of Coromandel Harbor, in the year 1839, with the avowed intention of bringing out Colonists from England, to settle there. The arrival of the Government however in 1840, put an end to that scheme, and in the month of June of the same year, he sold nearly the whole of it in various portions to different individuals, or made it over to parties in Sydney, in lieu of liabilities he had incurred there.

When the Land-Claims' Ordinance came into operation Mr. Webster preferred his claim for the whole purchase, but only 2,560 acres, the maximum grant authorized by the Ordinance, except in special cases, were awarded to him by the Commissioners appointed to investigate the claims, although they allowed that the purchase of the whole had been fairly made and acknowledged by the Natives the former possessors. The purchasers of land from Mr. Webster, or secondary claimants, as they are called, were therefore thrown overboard, notwithstanding their petitions which stated that having purchased the land before any prohibitory act was in force against such transactions, that they ought, in their opinion, to be viewed in the light of first purchasers, or primary claimants, but both Captain Hobson the first Governor, and his temporary successor Mr. Shortland, decided otherwise. On the arrival of Captain Fitzroy, however, the secondary claimants petitioned him on the subject, and he, in their opinion, taking a more just view of the case, directed them to prefer their claims, and so much of their purchases were acknowledged as they had paid for a the rate of five shillings per acre, and Crown-Grants were issued accordingly, and although many of the claimants did not receive one-half of what they had originally purchased, yet the grants were accepted as a boon, and gratefully acknowledged.

From the difficulty of access by land, nay, the impossibility of conveying cattle there, none of this land has either been cultivated or as yet made use of in any way, indeed none but the narrow alluvial strip along the river is suited for agricultural purposes, and that is liable to inundations, but the whole tract might be used for pasturing cattle, and it will no doubt be occupied in that way, when the proposed road into the interior is formed, and which will pass within a few miles of it.

There is a great quantity of flax along the banks of the river, and although not of such fine quality as that growing in the higher districts, would if dressed be well suited for many purposes, but it is impossible to get the Natives to dress more than a quantity sufficient to barter for the trade they require, except under the stimulus of some great necessity. When arms and ammunition were first introduced by trading vessels, some years back, whole tribes would spend night and day in alternate watches, to complete the quantity required for the coveted arms, but at present the case is different, the Natives have many other ways of procuring what they want, without having recourse to a work they most cordially dislike. The quantity of flax, therefore, procured from the Natives is even less now than formerly, nor is it likely to increase, unless a price be given as an inducement, which would swallow up all the profits of the flax-collectors.

The life of these persons is one of great risk and hardship, for they not only have to advance trade to the Natives before a leaf of the plant is cut, and trust to their honour and good faith to fulfil their engagements, but they meet with a hundred annoyances and delays by which their time is wasted, their means frittered away, and their health hurt. They have to suffer wet, cold, and often hunger, in their various journeys to stimulate the Natives to dress the flax, and when dressed to bring it to a place of embarkation, and even then all their labor may have been in vain, from the leaky state of most of the coasting vessels, for if wet with salt water it is ruined, unless washed immediately in fresh water, a process which cannot always be conveniently managed.

It is difficult to say how the manufacture of this valuable article can be extended and encouraged, unless machinery can be constructed to produce it in as fine a state as it comes from the hands of the Natives, for as I have before observed, it is vain to trust to them for any greater supply. There is no doubt, however, but that it might be cultivated with advantage, the finer kinds being selected for that purpose, just as the Natives do in the interior districts where it is not indigenous. I have taken notice of the manner in which they fence their fields with it as at Maungatautari, and many places on the Waipa, and in the Lake country, and although this could not be advantageously practised by European farmers who keep cattle, yet it might be planted in fields expressly fenced for the purpose, and night be cut and dressed by the women and younger members of the family, without interfering with the usual agricultural occupations.

By being steeped in a running stream, after the manner of the Natives when preparing it for their finer mats, the mucilage with which it abounds, and which is the cause of the decay of the fibre, by promoting fermentation when closely packed, would be removed, and the further process of a careful hackling, would enable it to be sent to England in a very different state from that in which it is usually embarked. In fact, at present it is looked upon by ship-masters more as rubbish which must be carried because its freight is paid for, than as a valuable article--it is consequently crammed into the hold anywhere, and indeed used more as dunnage than as part of the cargo. It is not therefore to be wondered at, that it arrives in London in a deteriorated condition, and is often sold for little more than it cost in New Zealand. It ought indeed to be one of the staple exports of the Colony, and should be as certain a return-freight for ships coming with cargoes to Auckland, as wool is to those arriving in Sydney.

My companion's cottage was near the river and the wood, and was consequently infested with myriads of mosquitoes, whose attacks after sun-set were most intolerable. Mosquito-curtains are not among the luxuries of the "bush," so our only chance of getting rid of these tormentors and snatching a little sleep, was by kindling a smouldering fire on the earthen floor, in a corner of our sleeping-room, the smoke from which filling the apartment, drove out the insects, but subjected us to almost as great suffering from the sense of semi-suffocation we experienced, and which inflicted a continuous night mare upon us.

Jan. 17.--We hailed the dawn of day with pleasure as it is always a signal for the disappearance of mosquitoes and after getting two hours sound sleep, rose and having performed our ablutions in a wholesale way, by bathing in the river, and having breakfasted, we followed the right bank of the river to Mowkero.--There is a good deal of fine alluvial land between the river and a line of extensive swamps which lie to the South; this part extends to the pa, a distance of three miles, and some way beyond it and to the west is continuous with a similar part which I have mentioned at having passed on my way to the Wanaki. This land is claimed by a gentleman who maintains that he purchased it in the year 1839, but the natives who reside at Mowkero deny the validity of the purchase, confining it to about two hundred acres which they have carefully marked out by pickets placed at the four corners and on which they have permitted the purchaser to erect a house. On our mentioning that the gentleman in question intended to come and measure the land he affirms he has purchased, one of the natives immediately started up and said emphatically, "Yes, he may come and measure it, but he will first pass the chain over our bodies." The fact is, he did pay for it, but unfortunately for him only to Koenake and other chiefs of the Ngatipaua who I have mentioned had a claim on all the land on either side of the river, and in which payment those who reside on the soil had no participation; hence their resistance to the claims on the land of the east bank, whereas they acknowledge unhesitatingly Mr. Webster's purchase of the western bank and say all that they want is, that the pakehas to whom it belongs would come and live upon it; and they actually built a house almost gratuitously for my companion, who is a son of one of the claimants, in order to induce him to reside among them, and the principal chief of the place has him under his especial patronage, constituting him his white man, protecting him from rudeness,--which slaves and tutua, or plebeians, are sometimes apt to show to pakehas,--and from some other annoyances incident to a bush life; for this, like the Highland Chiefs of old, and the Arab Sheiks of the present day, he levies a kind of black mail, paid in tobacco, and the old gentleman daily stations himself at the door of the cottage smoking the pipe of peace. The two old ladies, his wives, (for he rejoices in a plurality of helpmates, being still a pagan,) act as cook and housekeeper and, during my companions absence, they guard his property with an Argus eyed watchfulness, and he has never lost a single article. The old chief is inclined to become "mittinare" but, as the christian code only allows "one wife," his affection for both is such that he is sorely perplexed which to dismiss, and as neither of them are quite assured which is to be the favored one, they both urge him to adhere to the belief of his ancestors.

The pa of Mowkero is stockaded and stands on the eastern banks of the river. It may contain about sixty inmates who are fast diminishing in numbers from the effects of a remittent fever which attacks them in the summer and autumn with deadly effect. It arises from the stagnant water around and the want of ventilation, as the pa is entirely surrounded by forest, and is flooded every winter. It would indeed be abandoned but for the valuable eel fisheries on the Piako. The ancient pa was on a high, conical hill, near the western bunk, a short distance below the present one. It was stormed by Hongi and the Nghapuhi about twenty-five years since and the inhabitants either slaughtered, carried off as slaves, or drawn away to Maungatautari, and the Piako was abandoned for many years. More peaceful times at length arriving, the Ngatipaua sent some of their inferior rangatira, or freemen, and their slaves to fish, and these men after a time forming themselves into a tribe and having cultivated the soil, founded, according to native custom, a claim upon it, and which, as they became strong enough to assert, they have been allowed to maintain. In consequence, however, of the unhealthiness of the place, they talk of abandoning it and building a pa upon higher ground. It is a miserable, filthy den, and the people with few exceptions are a rude, knavish, set. We returned to the Wanaki by canoe, a route which the winding of the river makes tedious; but the banks in many places were prettily fringed with wood, and the alluvial soil was many feet in depth.

In the afternoon we strolled for some distance, though with difficulty, up the river, passing on our way through a grassy spot of about an acre in extent, occupied by clumps of large ti, so as almost to form a wood --their tall stems and terminal bunches of long leaves resembled a grove of palm trees, and gave quite an oriental aspect to the place. Some distance beyond this, is the old deserted pa of Kopuahape, which very much resembled a modern redoubt, being a parallelogram, defended on three sides by a deep ditch and rampart, and on the fourth by the steep bank of the river. Its position, on an eminence commanding all the neighborhood, showed the usual skill the Natives display in the situation of their strong-holds. We saw much good flax in the swampy ground that runs parallel to the river, but the banks were singularly bare of wood, and with the exception of the Wanaki wood, there was none nearer than the summits of hills at the back, a distance of several miles.

We had to endure the purgatory of another night in the house, as the very heavy dews which fall here after sunset, from the presence of a large an evaporating surface of shallow fresh water, made it unadvisable to sleep in the open air. The vapor, which on ordinary occasions would fall as dew, sometimes occasions dense fogs, if the temperature of the atmosphere should be reduced during the night, and as they are not very common in New Zealand, the fogs of the Piako are quite proverbial. It is also noted for its wet and cold, and a Native never talks of it without shrugging his shoulders, and mentioning the two above-mentioned disadvantages. Indeed I believe it would not be occupied at all but for the eels which the river affords, and which are remarkably fine, and abundant. The wet, cold, and want of wood, were probably the reasons why the owners parted so readily with so large a tract as that sold to Mr. Webster, but they took good care in the transaction to sell all the worst land, lying above the sites of their eel-weirs, which could not thus be interfered with, and retaining every acre that contained wood, or was of fertile quality. It will be found, indeed, that the New Zealanders have never sold land of any real use to themselves, except at its full value, for it must be remembered that without wood and convenient water-communication, the richest soils would be almost useless. On the land in question they have reserved to themselves all the clumps of wood bordering the river.

Jan. 18.--The Piako, whose mouth is but seven miles distant from that of the Waiho, runs nearly parallel to that river, and to the mass of wooded hills which extend southward from Oriri, and Waka te wai, on the western shores of the Gulf of Hauraki, for some miles, when its course being more from the west causes it to diverge from the Waiho, and from the same cause lie nearer, to the hills, indeed at about twenty miles from its mouth, it almost touches the southern termination of that range of hills, which ends abruptly; taking a south-westerly direction, and tends towards the basin or valley of the Waikato; but before it reaches it, a range much lower, and evidently from the shape of the hills, of a different formation, starts up as it were at their base, and at this spot or point of junction, there is a very considerable depression, of which the Natives have taken advantage as the means of passage from either valley, and as the path ascends from the river, along the course of the creek called Tehuna-tapu, it is generally known as the Tehuna-tapu Pass.

Up this path therefore, which is scarcely a musquet-shot distant from the Wanaki, we ascended, just as the sun emerged in all its morning brilliancy, from behind the lofty Aroha mountain, having first taken a most tender leave of the old Chief Moho, and his two ladies. It crosses transversely the long declivity that stretches from the hills to the river, the soil of which is a light loam, not suited to the cultivation of wheat, but well adapted to the growth of grasses and clover--at present it is everywhere covered with fern of about three feet high, interspersed with occasional clumps of dwarf manuka. We could trace a similar slope extending for many miles southward, having that part of it, which lies contiguous to the alluvial stripe of land on the river's bank, occupied by flax. A walk of two miles brought us to the pass, and near to the source of the Tehuna-tapu creek, which we crossed and continued onward to the highest ground, or summit level, from which as the pass is wide, and not immediately bounded by high hills, afforded us a view of the plain of the Waiho and Piako on one hand, and of the plain of the Waikato on the other--the one bounded to the east by the Aroha Mountains, the other on the west by Taupiri and the sea-range-- and our view was considerably extended by ascending a conical hill to the north of the path, from which we looked down upon a vast extent of country, the course of the Waiho being distinctly marked nearly to Mata Mata by the dark fringe of kahikatea forest which lines its banks, and the Piako was equally traced by the presence of occasional clumps of wood, and thickets of bushes: The space lying between these two rivers, which are at least fifteen miles apart, being, with the exception of the forest at Mata Mata, and along a portion of the Waitoa, utterly bare of timber. The green of the flax, and the yellow tinge of the raupo gave the impression of a large extent of fine pasture-lands, an illusion which was so complete, that it required to have passed over the ground to know that they were mere swamps. The valley, or plain of the Waikato extended far and wide to the west, covered with swamps and dark masses of forest, while the range on which we stood, stretched southward in a mass of conical hillocks, rising to an apex at some miles distant, from whence they as gradually declined in height, and at last almost merged into the plain at Keri Keri Roa, where there is a track from Mata Mata to Kaitotehe on the Waikato, along the base of the Maungakaua Hills, whose triple summits rose in the distance. In fact, but for the dividing range, one vast plain, more than thirty miles in breadth, and of various lengths, from the inflexion of the hills, would lie between the Aroha and Taupiri chains, comprising at least two millions of acres, much of which, by drainage and other means, might be made available for agriculture, but more particularly for the pasturage of large herds of cattle, for there is much grass already over many parts of it, and as I have before remarked, grass seems to follow the track of cattle.

The only Native settlements over this vast tract are at Opita on the Waiho--Mata Mata on the Waitoa--Mowkero and Wanaki on the Piako--Pukerau on the upper Piako--at Keri-Keri-roa on the Waikato--one at the mouth of the Maungawera river as it joins the Waikato, and a few huts on temporary cultivation grounds. Now all these are situated on the circumference as it were of the plain, and its occupation as a grazing ground would be consented to by the Natives, with proper arrangements, but until the contemplated road into the interior is finished, which will lead directly through and open up this valuable tract, it will remain a "caput mortuum."

We descended from the pass by a path close to a large and, in this bare part of the country, remarkable clump of kahikatea, and soon reached the edge of the plain, crossing several swamps, which were now dry, but which in the winter would have been impassable, until we came to the mouth of a pretty valley, which stretched upward into the wooded gorges of the Waka-te-wai hills; a clear stream wound through it and it was dotted with clumps of fine karaka, and thickets of koromiko, the Veronica superba of botanists; whose presence always indicates a rich soil, between which there was much grass. The path now led across the bare fern-covered slopes that lie at the foot of the Wakatewai Hills, which rose above us covered with noble timber to the very summits. We remarked at various spots along the path, the excavations which had been made for the purpose of procuring the kauri gum as the resin which exudes from that tree is called, at the period when that article was in great request, and large quantities were brought from every part of the interior to Auckland and exported to England--so much arrived in London that the market was glutted, and some of the exporters having suffered a loss, the trade has dropped. It is a singular fact that this gum is found buried at various depths below the surface in every part of the island, north of the Waikato river, in spots where not a vestige of the tree now exists, and it is said that it is found in the Waipa country, and even in the Middle, and Southern, Island, but in that case it may probably be the produce of a variety of the kauri now extinct.

We at length readied the Maungawera river, which has its sources from the various small rivulets that pour down from the Wakatewai Ranges, a pretty stream, coursing along the foot of the slopes on the skirts of a forest which covers that part of the plain. We had expected to have found potatoes for our three attendants at a small summer settlement, near an eel-weir on the banks of the river, but in this we were disappointed, for the crop having utterly failed, from the drought, it had been abandoned, and as we had carried none with us, we were obliged to divide the bread we had brought for our own use, with our Natives, and they therefore had but a sorry breakfast, for bread, though containing more nourishment, is not bulky enough to satisfy people accustomed to devour three or four pounds weight of potatoes at a meal. Occasional short commons, however, is rather in favor of expeditious travelling, for there is no loitering with the Natives in that case as after a hearty meal, since on the present occasion they pushed on so rapidly to reach some less famished part of the country, that we could scarce keep up with them.

After fording the river we entered the forest, which consisted of lofty kahikatea, rimu, tawai, pukatea, and superb karakas, with an underwood of mapau, pukapuka, and the other trees common to the woods about Auckland, but which I had not remarked in forests south of the Waikato, while the interlacing stems of the kareo, the supple jack of the bush-men and of a species of passion flower, the fruit of which of in orange color, hung in bunches over our heads, offered the usual impediments to travelling an unfrequented path, The soil was a rich alluvial loam.

We soon came upon the Maungawera again in its windings, and crossed and recrossed it several times by means of fallen trees which formed natural bridges. It was now not more than three feet deep; and its bed was much encumbered by the trunks of trees, and consequently not navigable for canoes, but in the winter these are covered and canoes can ascend from the Waikato to within six miles of the Tehuna-tapu Pass.

After a tedious travel of some miles through the forest, we emerged from it into a large open tract, part of which, to the extent of several hundred acres, had, evidently, been under former cultivation, as it was covered with grass, towi towi, and koromiko--beyond it the fern resumed its dominion on a succession of low undulating hills, over which we passed towards another forest, from the edge of which smoke was rising, a never-failing sign of the presence of Natives, and which was viewed with unfeigned delight by our people, in the hope that they would not be again disappointed in procuring potatoes. They were not disappointed, for we found several plantations in good condition, cultivated by some of Tewhero-whero's people whom he had sent there, with a provident eye to the course of events, to cultivate a portion at present, and clear for future cultivation, in case the projected road should pass in that direction, which will, most probably, be the case, for from this place which is called Morangi, we could almost see the necessary line of route crossing through a pass in the Taupiri-range called the Miro, near where it strikes off from the Wakatewai chain, and then following the declivity of the western base of these hills, to the Tehuna-tapu Pass, from whence it might be carried to either side of the dividing range, and so on to Mata Mata or Maungatautari. The chief expense in such an undertaking would be the formation of bridges over the endless gullies which lie between the projecting spurs of the hills. Te Whero-whero knew that the road-parties would require food, and would purchase it at the nearest market. The consisted merely of a few summer huts, neatly made of the stems of the tree-fern, placed upright in the ground-- an airy apartment is thus formed, which they exchange in the winter for their ware-puni, which are almost hermetically sealed. There was but one family in the place, but it was rather large since it extended over four generations--the head or great-grandfather, who lay in one of the huts "gaunt and grim," must have been at least ninety years of age, for his son, grandfather of the party, was well stricken in years, and his two sons again, were stout men, being fathers to a fine set of young urchins who were frolicking about in "puris naturalibus." There were only three "o' womankind," a grandmother and two mothers.

The peaceful times which now exist in the island, and which enables families to scatter themselves, and settle in places favourable to cultivation, and thereby obtain better and more abundant nourishment, instead of as formerly being cooped up in pas, and often subsisting on fern root, and other less nutritious substances, would seem to be a means of staying that decrease in the population of the country which has evidently been going on of late years; but notwithstanding there are causes in operation which counter-balance these, and scarce any of the tribes have increased in numbers.

In Waharoa's time, the Ngatihoua, notwithstanding their continual wars, were fifteen hundred in number, and mustered eight hundred fighting men, now they could scarcely bring one half into the field.

This change in the physical constitution of the natives may in some measure be traced to the introduction of European diseases, which their peculiar habits would cause to spread. The blanket too, which has so completely superseded the native mat, is a covering which by stimulating the cutaneous surface, makes it very susceptible to cold, and in the careless way in which they wear them, quite irrespective of the temperature, often saturated with wet, must give rise to pulmonary diseases and rheumatism. The potato again, their principal article of food, eaten as it is without salt, and often of indifferent quality, would appear to be one of the causes of the prevalence of scrofulous diseases, and, the maize which they prepare for food by a process which causes it to become rancid, would assist by injuring the digestive organs together with a want of personal cleanliness, in bringing out those various eruptions with which they are so much affected. Now before Cook's time, they only possessed the kumera and taro, two very nourishing roots; particularly the latter, which contains ninety percent of nutritive matter; in fact, it is almost pure starch. The cultivation of these plants was more laborious than that of "Ireland's lazy root," and the supply was not so abundant, the natives consequently had recourse to fishing to make up the deficiency, and to the collection and use as articles of daily food, of the various shell-fish that abound on the sea-shore: the labour attendant on these different occupations would tend to strengthen and invigorate the frame. Whereas now, content with the potato, they are enabled to spend days in the dolce far niente state, basking in the sun and gossipping, when such poor food as the potato cannot fail to weaken their constitutions. They might make use of the pigs which are so abundant, but these they reserve for hui hui, or for trade, with the white men. The women carry on nursing to a period much longer than is necessary, and thereby weaken themselves; and the time of weaning is one of much danger to the children, who are thrown in a great measure upon such coarse food, for sustenance as must injure them, and I believe numbers die at that period.

But without further particularly enumerating the causes of the physical degeneration and decrease in numbers of the aborigines; it would seem that an aboriginal people in their transition from the savage to the civilized state invariably suffer in a similar manner. They are no longer excited by the stimuli of wars, and predatory excursions which kept alive their mental and physical energies, and tended no doubt to render them hardy, nor have they the attractions of the chase as a substitute, since New Zealand does not possess a wild animal larger than a rat. They found themselves constrained by the dictates of Christianity to forsake the practice of war, but they did not learn at the same time to follow the active arts of peace; consequently they abandoned themselves to indolence. Man is naturally averse to labour, and habits of industry cannot be acquired at will. They require to be cultivated and are of very slow growth, even necessity cannot force them at once, although it may assist their development. Some races however, seem to possess this power, for I can give it no other name, more than others. The Teutonic races are superior to the Celtic in that respect, and the Malay to the African races. It would be as unreasonable to demand, as vain to expect, from this generation of natives what they really can not possess.

The Polynesian races seem certainly to adopt European customs more readily than the aborigines of other countries, and this may arise from their being cultivators of the soil, and living in fixed dwellings, while the latter are mere hunters, and except in the winter season; have no settled abode. We see indeed symptoms of a favorable change in the fact of their growing wheat, erecting mills, cultivating the different varieties of European esculents, and above all, working on the roads, and assisting in the erection of the buildings now carrying on by the Government, a species of continuous labour, which they generally dislike. If this be judiciously fostered, it may be a germ which by proper management, will grow, figuratively speaking, into a tree; laden with goodly fruit. But even these pleasing anticipations must still be subject to the causes I have enumerated, as tending to a decay of the native race.

We were most hospitably entertained, and requited the kindness by giving some tobacco to three generations, but the fourth eyed the present most wistfully, and thought themselves neglected in not being included. The habit of smoking, in which even the youngest children indulge as soon as they can hold a pipe, is most pernicious, and may be added to the causes which are deteriorating their constitutions.

Our Natives had, by the liberality of their country-men, made up so effectually for the abstinence of the morning, that they could scarcely move, and begged for more rest than we were inclined to allow, but they pleaded so hard that as the sun was intensely hot, and the air very oppressive from the smoke of the large fires all round, we agreed to remain until the evening, and abandoned the idea of reaching Kaitotehe that night, which we might easily have done, but sleep at some of the settlements on the banks of Maungawera.

We descended from Moerangi into the forest full of noble kahikatea, and in an hour came upon the river again which we crossed at one of the eel-weirs and entered an extensive flat that had been just burnt, and the ashes on its surface were still hot. We could see by the volumes of smoke at a distance, that the fire was spreading far and wide, aided by the evening breeze. These constant fires are, no doubt, the cause of the shallow surface soil New Zealand shows over the greater part of the open country, and they are equally hostile to present vegetation, for each successive conflagration weakens the vigor of the fern and various shrubs and plants, until the latter almost entirely disappear, and are replaced by rushes and club-moss, and even the former has a poor stunted growth. The ashes, which from containing pot-ash, would enrich the soil, are either blown or washed away into the hollows and courses of streams, and are carried away by the winter floods.

Crossing the flat the river again met us in its windings, and we passed to the opposite side over a natural bridge, formed by a fallen tree, into an extension of the forest, from which we emerged again to find ourselves on the right bank of the river, whose course we now followed for three or four miles. It was bounded by a large swamp, extending inland and to the north, which could not have contained less than five thousand acres of fine flax. It was so luxuriant near the river, where the path lay for the convenience of touching at the different eel-weirs, that where it did not form an arch over our heads, we had to stoop, or force our way through its heavy leaves, an office of great labor, and we were heartily fatigued even before we came out of it: we now ascended a long hill which ran parallel to it, from which we could distinctly see the Miro Pass through the Taupiri Range, and descended into another wood which accompanied the river in its serpentine course, and soon came to cultivation, carried on in the usual destructive manner.

Leaving the river, we crossed some undulating bare hills, and flooded ground, beyond which the river again met us, winding through an extensive alluvial flat of the richest soil, once evidently covered with wood, although now, in the course of cultivation, only thinly sprinkled with it. The plantations were very numerous, and the potato-crop, probably from the moisture of the soil, finer than I had seen in any part of the country-- the drought which had ruined the others, had merely dried this land sufficiently for their favorable growth. There were a few huts, but all the men were absent, indeed the only occupant was a solitary woman, who gave us some fine potatoes. As the evening was beautiful and gave promise of a fine night, we preferred the open air to sleeping under cover in one of the filthy huts--accordingly, having selected a dry spot with firewood convenient, we soon had good fern beds prepared, and kindling a circle of mosquito fires around our bivouac, the fatigues of the day threw us into a deep sleep.

Jan. 18.--We arose as usual at day-break, but the fog was so dense that we could scarcely see a few yards beyond our bivouack, and our blankets were so saturated with moisture that it took some time to dry them, even by the aid of a large fire. As we thought it dangerous to proceed down the river for fear of upsetting small canoe we had procured, on the snags and stumps of trees which encumber it, we breakfasted before setting out, contrary to our usual custom, but finding no abatement of the cimmerian darkness that shrouded every object, we became impatient and embarked, but were obliged to move with the greatest caution, both to avoid the before-mentioned dangers and to keep the proper channel, for the river here branches off into several streams, forming numerous islands. As we carefully moved on, however, the fog became less heavy, and we could see that the banks were fringed with noble totara, a tree much resembling the English yew in its foliage. We then continued our course downwards for several miles, passing a continuous line of cultivations, and at length reached a pa strongly stockaded, but whose inmates had not yet ventured forth into the mist. After paddling for at least six miles, often, from the windings of the stream, almost doubling back a course parallel to the one we had just passed, the mist suddenly dispersed and we saw it rolling up the steep and wooded sides of Taupiri, at whose base we found ourselves, and by a vigorous exertion of the paddle, we shot out from the dark and sluggish waters of the Maungawera, which might be about thirty or forty feet wide, into the clear and azure stream of the broad Waikato, glittering under a brilliant sun, just opposite to the pa of Kaitotehe, where we landed and were met by our former hospitable entertainer Mr. Ashwell, to whose residence we proceeded. He informed me that of the sick persons he took me to visit on my way up the country, six had died during my absence; now this is a large proportion of deaths in so short a time out of a population of three hundred, and it corroborates what I have assumed regarding the decrease of the Natives, as there were not a corresponding number of births. It appeared also that the question of permitting the proposed road from Auckland to pass through their country had been again agitated at several korero, and the usual objections started. On one of these occasions an old and sensible Chief started up, and said-- "Of what are you afraid! was it the white men who first begun the war? No! it was Heki at Kororarika, and Ranghiata in the South." He continued-- "If you commit thefts at Auckland, you are afraid of being pursued--do no evil, and you will never be injured by the Governor!" The fact is that the more intelligent and reflecting Chiefs foresee the benefit that will accrue to the country by such a measure. They remember the state of the island before our arrival, and they contrast it with its present condition, and they cannot but acknowledge that a vast improvement in their social condition has been the result of our colonization. They no doubt feel that as our power increases, their influence is diminishing, but they must see that they reap equivalent advantages. That sagacious Chief Te Whero-whero, when Captain Hobson the first Governor visited him in the year 1842, addressed the multitude at the great korero, which was then held at this very place-- "Come my friends, listen to me, and to this my new treasure (pointing to the Governor)--when muskets and powder were first brought among us we were pleased--when the Missionaries came I consented, for I saw they were good. And now I bring this new treasure do not turn your backs--do not turn your backs on this great treasure. We have brought a law, a new law, to save us from killing and robbing each other. I will take this my new treasure up the Waipa, through every bend of the river. Friends, do not think little of what I say!"

Having procured a guide I proceeded to ascend Taupiri by crossing the river, and as my time was limited commenced climbing straight up the steep face of the hill, instead of following a more circuitous but longer path. The old proverb of-- "the longest way round is the shortest way home," was here fully verified, for the ground was so slippery from the continued drought, that I made two paces backward for one in advance, and was at length fairly obliged to pull myself up by seizing hold of the young underwood, and thus, hand over hand, as sailors say, reached the summit--but hear the magnificent prospect which presented itself amply repaid me for all my toil.

At my feet, for the sides of Taupiri are so steep that one almost overhangs it, lay the river, winding either way through the pass, amidst rich cultivations, a mong which were scattered the pas that line the bank, and the pretty Missionary mansion with its gardens--and the downward course of the river was hidden from our view for a space by closing hills, only to carry the eye beyond it to the vast plain to the west, through which its windings again became visible, flanked by eight lakes--Waikare, that splendid sheet of water with its three satellites lying to the north, and Wangape, less in size but more picturesque in form, and accompanying scenery, surrounded by a similar number of smaller lakes, spread out to the south, all glittering like burnished mirrors under the noonday sun. Beyond Waikare extended the vast swampy flat of Marama-nue, like a bright green sea, on which the clusters of isolated hills that were dotted over its surface resembled islands. Wangape had a similar but less extensive girdle, and the whole of this splendid basin was encircled by ranges of wooded mountains, which I could trace by continuing glance along the one on which I stood, until it joined the Wakatewai chain, which continuous with that of the Manukau, and the ranges at the head of the Wairoa, stretched westward to Maungatawhiri, which is only divided by the river, from the sea-range, that swept round to the mouth of the pass.

I was not however to be gratified with a similar prospect to the east, for in that direction the immense volumes of smoke that arose from the extensive fires then burning on the plain, completely obscured every object except a transient glance of the river, as it wound along the foot of the western hills from Ngaruawahia, as the point of junction of the Waipa with the Waikato is called, bordered on the sides of the plain by clumps of kahikatea, and I could just see the faint outline of Pirongia through the clouds of smoke, which became less dense as they ascended. I was much disappointed for I was told that on a bright day the summits of Ruapaho, Tongariri, and the other mountains of Taupo might be distinctly seen above the crests of the Rangitoto chain, and a more brilliant day never shone under the face of Heaven.

As we were anxious to push on to the Pukatea, and spend the night there, we resisted Mr. Ashwell's hospitable invitation to remain with him, therefore to expedite us, he kindly furnished us with a light canoe belonging to himself, but there were so many delays on the part of the Native who was to accompany us and to bring the canoe back, that it was late before we could set out. Procrastination is a sad failing, I might say vice, of the Natives, since punctuality is called a virtue, which is most annoying to every one who has any transactions with them, and one for which I do not see a remedy until competition and necessity, two hard masters, teach them the value of time. Although we shot rapidly through the water, indeed with the speed of a racing-gig whenever we could get our men to use their paddles, it was so dark when we reached Motutarata, that we accepted the offer of our friendly Pakeha-Maori to stop there for the night, and as his cottage was not quite so filthy as those of his adopted countrymen, we got a fern-bed spread in a clean corner of the floor, and thought he, his wife, his children, and half-a-dozen relatives slept in the same place, we managed to spend a tolerably comfortable night.

Jan 19.--There was as usual a dense and rather cold fog overhanging the river at day-break, so we breakfasted before our departure, having some fine eggs presented by our host, in addition to our common fare of bacon, which is the most convenient article to carry on excursions of this kind, as it is so easily cooked. We requited his civility to us by almost the last remnants of our bag of tobacco, which originally contained twenty pounds weight, and embarked again. The care of the bag requires some little attention, as tobacco is an article so coveted by the Natives, that they are often inclined to forego their usual honesty, and pilfer from it if they have an opportunity, consequently at night we were obliged to place it under our pillow. Tobacco is the current coin of the country, and it is impossible to get on conveniently without it, though indeed less so now than formerly, since the constant communication the Natives have with Auckland, enables them to procure it more readily.

We soon reached the Pukatea, as the progress in ascending and descending the river are very different, indeed in the winter, when the current sets strongly down it is almost impossible to stem it, unless aided by a strong south-westerly wind. On our way we passed the mouth of the stream which runs from the Waikari lake, about three miles below Motutarata, and that of Wangape, not far from the Pukatea. The fine scenery now commenced, and it only varied from that which I have described is ascending the river, by the diversity of the back-ground. About two miles above the Maungatawhiri Creek, the Marama-nue River, a dark sluggish stream which traverses the plain, joins the Waikato. I have described in our course upwards, that a spur from the lofty Maungatawhiri projects southward, and causes a corresponding change in the direction of the river, the Maungatawhiri creek enters the Waikato at the eastern base of this spur, fed chiefly by streams from the hills, and from a succession of raupo swamps, which are but a continuation of those of Marama-nue. It is a very dark stream, with scarce any current towards its mouth, and not more than twenty yards wide, narrowing in breadth and increasing in rapidity, in ascending to its source. It is not often made use of now as a means of communication, indeed so seldom that the wild ducks on its surface were almost tame, and with the aid of a fowling-piece, we might have made a savory addition to our dinner. There are several varieties of ducks in the swamps and rivers, but the common large black duck is the finest, both for sport and the pot. They are found in greater numbers on the Piako and its neighboring swamps, than in any other part of the island, though they of course abound in every marshy district. They are the only true sporting bird in the country with the exception of a few quails, for they are wary and very strong on the wing, and are moreover capital eating. We ascended its winding course4 for about five or six miles, when it became so narrow that we were obliged to pole the canoe, and near its principal source to make our Natives drag it upward through the weeds and long grass, and we could not reach the usual landing place for want of water. The pa of Maungatawhiri is situated on a hill within musket shot of this spot, shewing by its position, the military eye the Natives possess. On going up to it we found only one old man as guardian of the place, who was nearly quite blind and deaf, but he managed to inform us that the rest of the inmates were gone to catch pokote, a small fish not unlike the sprat, which at certain seasons, particularly in the autumn, abound in the river--these when caught are strung together with flax, and hung up to dry, and when cooked in a hangi, or Native oven, are very palatable.

We descended from the pa into a beautiful grassy plain evidently old cultivation-ground, and traversing it came to a pretty rivulet, where the ascent of Maungatawhiri commences. Passing some open fern-covered hills, strewed over with basaltic boulders, and consequently of a rich soil, we entered the forest, which was filled with the usual varieties of wood, and I certainly never traversed a more rugged and broken country, the route was one continual ascent and descent, over masses of enormous tangled roots, which formed so many stumbling traps, unless the eye was constantly directed so as to avoid them, and an accuracy of balance maintained that almost required the skill of a rope-dancer, in springing from one and lighting on the slippery surface of another root. We at last reached the summit-ridge, and found our descent even more difficult--after continuing it for some time we came to a rivulet, whose north-west course showed that we were on the northern slope of the range, for although at one period of our journey, we must have been several hundred feet above the level of the sea, yet so dense was the forest, and so gigantic the growth of the trees, that we could see nothing but an endless succession of stems, boughs, and foliage. There was an open space on the opposite slope, and as the sun was low and water convenient, we determined on bivouacking there, and soon had our fires lighted and fern beds prepared.

One can sleep quietly in the open air in New Zealand without the fear of having a diamond snake take a share of your bed, or finding one coiled up under your pillow in the morning; or perhaps twisting itself round your neck after the most approved fashion of a cravat. Now such things have happened in the neighbouring colonies, and frightful accidents have occurred from the bites of snakes. We cannot indeed prize too highly the exemption from venomous reptiles which this colony enjoys. There is indeed said to be a spider called kotipo, whose bite is poisonous, but I have never seen one. The only annoyances incident to a bivouack, are the mosquitoes, which can be driven away by fires, and a species of wood-bug very aptly named by the natives koko-tapu that is sacred on not to be touched which often crawl over the face, and on the slightest touch emit a most abominable stench:-- Keeping the tapu is the only means of avoiding this inconvenience. Did venemous reptiles abound, a country like New Zealand, covered everywhere with densely spreading fern, and forests with close thickets of shrubby underwood, would be impassable.

Jan 20.--The morning was beautiful and the song of the birds very pleasing, and we sprung up, refreshed by sound sleep, inhaling the revivifying morning air that seemed to knit a fresh every sinew for renewed exertion. Although a bundled of fern and a couple of blankets may appear but sorry sleeping acommodation, yet I know no more agreeable bed in fine weather.-- If you chance to wake in the night, the eye does not rest on dark and dingy curtains but on the glorious canopy of heaven, spangled with thousands of glittering stars, and instead of breathing the close and stifling atmosphere of a room, you inhale the cool night air, which soon induces a refreshing slumber.

We were quickly in motion, and after three hours of most rugged travelling, reached the crest of a hill from which we had a glimpse of the Manukau. Its slopes were covered with clumps of fine puriri, which if more easy of access would have been a perfect depot of fencing materials. I had scarcely remarked this tree in the other parts of the forest, it would therefore seem to affect spots facing the sea-shore, as its botanical name Vitex litoralis, would imply. We soon reached the deserted pa of Maketu, seated on a projecting rock composed of horizontal masses of a volcanic brescia, commanding the country around, and which before the introduction of fire-arms must have been impregnable. We had a splendid view from it of the plains of the Manukau--the estuary itself, and and country as far as the shores of the Waitemata. The fine slopes at the the base formed of rich friable, volcanic soil had been planted with potatoes but the drought had destroyed the crop, and the few huts near the cultivations had been deserted--we were therefore compelled to seek for the materials of breakfast at a settlement, the smoke of which we saw below us, and which lay in the centre of an extensive and partially wooded flat, about two miles from the foot of the hills. Thither we went, and found that the constant intercourse these people have with Auckland, had rather affected the hospitality travellers generally meet with, for they were very churlish, and would only give us a basket potatoes at an exhorbitant price.

They had a fine horse which they had purchased in Auckland, it was fat and sleek, and as tame as a dog. The Natives are partial to riding and value horses, but do not seem to care about cattle. This place was an instance of what I have before remarked, regarding the determination of the Natives never to part with valuable land having wood and water, for this tract, which was traversed by a rivulet, projected far into, and was bounded on either side by the land purchased some years since by Government, and taking the base of the hills as a boundary, should have been included in that purchase--but the proprietors took good care that in the sale of the rest, this piece of land should be expressly reserved.

A walk of three miles brought us to the main track to Auckland which we had passed over a month before, and retracing our steps we passed Papakura, and reached Otahu, the fine farm of Mr. Fairburn, at six in the evening, and as we were much fatigued by nearly a twelve hours' walk under a burning sun, we accepted that gentleman's hospitable invitation to rest there for the night. He had a good many acres under wheat, and a herd of very fine cattle, which find abundant feed in the plain towards the Papakura Hills.

Jan 21.--We left Otahu after breakfast and reached Auckland at one o'clock. We were amused with the astonishment one of our attendants, who had never been in Auckland, nor had ever seen a house larger than a Missionary cottage, expressed at everything he saw. The broad made road, the houses, the carts and horses, but above all the ships and the steamer. Na to[?] and Ka pai! were continually in his mouth. Now, this lad being faithfully paid, and kindly treated, will return to Tarawera, in the very centre of the island, with very different ideas of the Pakeha from what he probably once entertained, and his account will serve to dispel many of the absurd ideas his inland tribe entertains of us.