1856 - Fitton, Edward. New Zealand: its Present Condition, Prospects and Resources - CHAPTER III. FULLER DESCRIPTION OF THE SIX CHIEF SETTLEMENTS...

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CHAPTER III.

AUCKLAND.

I HAVE, in the preceding chapter, mentioned very briefly the six chief settlements, taking them in the order of their foundation. An elaborate description of the entire country of New Zealand is altogether beyond the intention of these pages; but, as some of my readers may, either from local connections or other inducements, have turned their thoughts more towards one settlement than another, I have endeavoured to collect, in a small compass, some of the most recent information respecting each of the six settlements, and shall now proceed to describe them in the order enumerated in the preceding chapter. 1 For the description of

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Auckland, I have been much indebted to a pamphlet, published in 1853, and also to some still more recent information compiled from the pages of the Australian and New Zealand Gazette, from 1853 to September 1855 inclusive. It will be noticed by the reader, that even the space of little more than one year, i.e. from 1853 to the spring of 1855, has effected important changes in the state of the markets, and the immediate prospects, as well as the permanent condition of the entire colony. This, however, will not be at all surprising to persons accustomed to hear of the rapid changes which take place in the development of the resources of rising colonies. Such readers will know that it is probable that many of the inconveniences to new comers, which the later information alludes to, will speedily be amended by the increasing energy aroused among the

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colonists, in meeting the difficulties they have to contend with, and other matters will ere long have effected a remedy for themselves. I may mention in this place a matter which cannot be too strongly impressed upon intending emigrants in Europe. At the present average rate of communication, by which nearly four months are consumed in the transit of a letter between New Zealand and England, it follows that from eight to twelve months must elapse, between the dispatch of intelligence from the colony, and the arrival of a reply to the sender. Hence it frequently happens that emigrants find on their arrival in the colony, a very different aspect of affairs from that which had been described to them as the existing state of things when they left England.

In a subsequent page, several places are mentioned, where the most recent information concerning New Zealand can be obtained, and the intending emigrant will do well to make himself acquainted with the latest news from the particular settlement to which he may be going. The best map of New Zealand, hitherto published on a large scale, is that by Arrowsmith, of Soho Square. Maps of several portions of the islands--on a very large scale--may be seen at

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the New Zealand Company's Offices, in Broad Street, London; and also at Messrs. Young, New Zealand Rooms, Adelphi Terrace; and at the Canterbury Emigration Office, 32, Charing Cross. The reader will do well to consult a map, while reading the following descriptions of the best known portions of the islands.

Auckland, has been recently described as follows:--"Imagine the North Island to be not unlike the figure of a wasp, with its small waist almost cut in two in the middle. This waist or isthmus is formed by a deep indentation on the eastern coast, known as the Gulf or Frith of the Thames, and by the extensive harbours of Manukao, on the western coast. For an extent of several miles the waters of these harbours are separated only by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus, about five miles broad. The gulf of the Thames is protected from the sea by the "Barrier " islands, and it affords anchorage throughout its whole extent, and in ordinary weather forms a safe harbour. It also comprises within its limits several inner harbours, easily accessible, commodious, and safe in all weathers. Coromandel Harbour, the Great Barrier, Matakana, Kawau, Mahurangi, Waiheki, and the Waitemata, afford safe

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anchorage to vessels of any size, in all weathers. Towards the south-western extremity of the Gulf, lies a group of ten or twelve islands. These islands stretch along in a south-eastern direction for nearly 20 miles, and shut in a long narrow estuary--the Waitemata, in which shelter and anchorage may at all times be found. On the south shore of the western extremity of the Waitemata, stands the town of Auckland. So great is the extent of water communication, that the isthmus on which the town is built, is all but an island. For some four or five miles to the west of the town, a branch of the Waitemata bends southwards, until it reaches within little more than a mile of the Manukao harbour, and about the same distance to the east of the town, the creek or river Tamaki, penetrates in a southerly direction, until it reaches within less than a mile of a branch of the Manuhau, at Otahuhu. Twice in the twenty-four hours the numerous ramifications of the Tamaki afford water-carriage to the town to almost every settler in the district. Ten or 12 miles to the eastward of Tamaki Heads, is the river Wairoa, navigable for about 15 miles by barges and canoes, and having well wooded good land

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upon its banks. A few miles still farther to the eastward, and at the extremity of the group of islands before referred to, and taking a southerly direction, you reach the southern extremity of the gulf bounded by the plain or valley of the Thames. This plain is upwards of 60 miles in length, by about 16 or 20 miles in breadth, and is watered throughout its whole extent by two winding rivers,--the Thames and the Waitoa--running parallel to each other and discharging themselves into the gulf at its southern extremity. Both rivers are navigable for barges or small steamers, for a distance of 50 miles at least, and are accessible from Auckland by canoes and open boats, in fine weather. With its numerous harbours, estuaries, rivers, islands, forests, and plains, the gulf of the Thames itself comprises a commercial world in miniature. The wooded rivers to the westward of the town are clothed with Kauri timber, whence spars are floated down by the tide. A small steamer has recently been built to convey the farm produce of the Tamaki to the Auckland market. The island of Waihiki supplies Kauri timber, timber for ship building, firewood, manganese, pigs, potatoes, and Indian corn. The Thames supplies flax and sawn

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timber; Coromandel Harbour, native produce of every description. The Great Barrier Island, copper ore. The island of Kawau, copper ore and limestone; and Mahurangi firewood and sawn timber.

As a harbour, in the opinion of the many naval officers who have visited New Zealand, there is none in the colony, excepting the Bay of Islands, equal to the Waitemata, on the east coast of Auckland; of the thousands of vessels of all sizes which have entered and left the port, in the course of the last twelve years, not one has been totally wrecked in, near, or within fifty miles of it. 2

Six miles to the south of the town, across the isthmus, and indenting the west coast, is the harbour of Manukao. This harbour bears some resemblance to a man's right hand pointed eastward--the wrist representing the entrance--the thumb, that branch of it which runs up to Onehunga, the nearest point to Auckland--the middle fingers, the creeks or branches, which penetrate into the Tamakura district--and the little finger, stretched out at right angles to the three middle fingers, repre-

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senting the Waihuku branch or inlet, which runs in a southerly direction, until it reaches within less than a mile and a half of the head of the Awaroa Creek, which runs into the Waikato river. The Waikato takes its rise near Lake Taupo, almost in the centre of the island, and runs in a northerly course, with a slight inclination to the westward, until within about 15 miles of the south-east extremity of Manukao harbour, when it bends at a right angle to the westward, and forms a small harbour, about 20 miles to the south of the entrance of the Manukao.

The Waikato is navigable for canoes for not less than 100 miles. About 60 or 70 miles from the sea, it is joined by the Waipa river, flowing from the south, and navigable for canoes, for upwards of 50 miles. The delta formed by these two rivers, is a tract of rich level land, and they water an extensive plain only separated from the plain of the Thames, by a broken range of low hills.

Thus it will be seen that these distant plains have water communication with Auckland, with but two short interruptions, viz. the portage of a mile and a half, which divides the head

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of the Awaroa, from the head of the Wahuku inlet, and the isthmus of six miles, which divides Onehunga on the west coast of the island from Auckland on the east coast.

Native grown wheat and flour, flags, pigs, and Indian corn, are brought down the Waikato, from the interior of the country, in canoes, carried over the portage, conveyed across the Manukao harbour, in canoes or small craft, to Onehunga; and carted by a good road from Onehunga to Auckland.

During the summer of 1852, the natives brought to market in Auckland, in canoes alone, upwards of 1100 kits of onions (about twenty tons), upwards of 4000 kits of potatoes (more than one hundred tons), besides corn, cabbages, and kumeras; peaches grown by the natives, and sufficiently good for culinary purposes, are very abundant and cheap. During the early part of the summer of 1853, upwards of 1200 kits were brought to Auckland by canoes alone.

The following description of the districts, bordering the Waikato river and its neighbourhood, south of Auckland, is taken from a recent letter from the colony.

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"Auckland, July 22nd, 1854.

"I will now endeavour to give you some account of my travels. My principal trip was a tour of inspection through the districts where there are mills, or mills proposed to be built. I proceeded first by land about seven miles to Onehunga, then embarked in a little ferry boat, and crossed the Manukao harbour, to near the mouth of the Waikato river, on the west coast; then by means of canoes, ascended the river, fifty miles ; calling at the various stations as we passed--I then branched off into the Waipa, about thirty miles farther, and arrived at Otawao. The Rev. -- Morgan's Church Mission Station. This I made my station for a time, visiting all the mills in the neighbourhood. I then crossed over to the west coast again to Cawhia, taking in my route such mills as were in the way, and returning by another road back again to Otawao; this part of my journey I walked, with two Maories to carry my luggage. After about a fortnight's rest, I started again in a similar manner, towards the east coast, crossing the Waikato, the Thames, and other streams, and proceeded to the lakes of Rotorua, Roto Mahana, &c; then to the coast at Maketa, from thence to Touranga, where I again embarked in a small schooner, owned and manned by natives, and arrived again in Auckland, traversing the greater part of the middle district of the North Island. The Waikato is a rather rapid river, in some places shallow, being dispersed as it were between a number of small islands; but I have no doubt with a little clearance it will become a very valuable river, fit for the navigation of a

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small steamer. It would then open up a vast extent of country which is now lying almost waste. The Waipa is a quieter river, with a greater depth of water, which would also furnish additional intercourse. The interior of this part of the island is pretty level, mostly fern land, with but little timber, and is mostly unoccupied. In some parts there are considerable patches of land under cultivation, by the Maories, both in wheat and potatoes. Peaches are plentiful in the season all over the country, and in some places there are many apples. There are very few Europeans, except the Missionaries, and few traders. The land is at present entirely in the hands of the natives. But the most interesting part of my journey, was to the lakes and hot springs. The Rotorua is I think six or eight miles across, with an island in the middle. On the west-side is a settlement, with boiling springs in all directions, between the houses; some are like boiling mud of a dirty brown, others white like chalk, some slate colour, and others pink ; whilst others are clear water. At one part you see a large pond boiling up fiercely, with a number of women sitting round boiling their food; potatoes, fish, are put into a basket, with a string tied to it; it is dropped over the side, and the women wait until the food is sufficiently cooked. At another part is a bath of moderate heat, with a number of persons in it up to their necks in the water, some for pleasure, and others for the cure of various diseases. At another part is a chasm, from which is issuing steam of considerable pressure, like, the blowing off a steam boiler. At about three miles

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distance, there are other springs more beautiful in their appearance, from the ground around them being covered with a beautiful incrustation of lime in curious forms. But the most celebrated of these springs is at Roto Mahana, about twelve miles farther on. Here, as at Rotorua, the springs are of various descriptions, and distributed over a considerable space of country. The principal is a circular basin of considerable size-- the water is beautifully clear and of an azure blue colour. It boils most furiously, and is surrounded by semicircular basins and ridges of a white incrustation, forming as it were terraces or steps curiously waved with ridges, something like the sand at low water, but of a greater variety of forms. Any thing near becomes incrusted as with hoar-frost. The lake is said to be 80 feet deep. These springs are indeed wonderful curiosities. I am now preparing for another trip to the Waikato, to endeavour to teach some of the natives the art of millering, and the general management of their mills."

The remarks here given, respecting the expense of living in Auckland, at different periods during the last two years, will be of interest to all intending colonists of New Zealand.

The following was written in 1853:--"Almost every thing necessary to comfort and convenience may now be procured in Auckland, but not always of the best quality. Although

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cheaper than Wellington, Auckland is by no means a cheap place of residence, certainly not more so than an English town of the same size. House rent and servants' wages are at least double what they are in England. But there are no taxes, rates, or dues of any kind. Clothing of all kinds is also of course dearer in New Zealand than in England. But wine, spirits, and groceries are for the most part cheaper. Bread and butcher's meat are about the same. The fish caught near Auckland, although of but moderate quality, is plentiful and cheap. Vegetables are also abundant. To those who live in the bush, or at a distance from the town, and who are independent of hired labour, the cost of living in the northern part of New Zealand is very cheap. A tolerable house can be built of Raupo, a kind of bulrush, with either a thatch or shingle roof, at a cost of about £10. Pigs can be purchased from the natives at less than 2d. a pound. Poultry and turkeys in particular, thrive better than in England, and almost keep themselves, and wheat, potatoes, pumpkins, can be easily raised, or can be purchased for a trifle from the natives. And for life in the bush, the most inexpensive clothing is sufficient."

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Compared with the climate of Wellington, that of Auckland is a few degrees warmer, both in summer and in winter; the air of Auckland, too, being somewhat more soft and genial. Auckland has less wind than Wellington, but more rain.

The following were the average market prices in 1853.

PROVISIONS.-- Bread, 2 lbs. loaf, 5d. Tea (£6 per chest) 1s. 9d. per lb. Sugar (moist) from 28s. to 32s. per cwt. per lb. 3d. to 4d. Coffee, per lb. 1s. 3d. Beef and Mutton, per lb. 5d. to 6d. Pork, per lb. 4d. Butter (fresh) per lb. 1s. 6d. ditto (salt) 1s. Potatoes, per cwt. 3s. 6d. Eggs, per dozen, 1s. Cheese (English) 1s. 6d. (Auckland) 1s. per lb.--SHIP'S STORES. Blocks single, per inch, 5d. to 6d.; double, 10d. to 1s. Anchors, sizes, 40s. to 50s. per cwt. Rope (Auckland) 38s. per cwt. Cordage (Europe) 45s. to 50s. per cwt. Canvass, 40s. to 48s. per bolt. Oakum, 30s. per cwt. Tar (Stockholm) 35s. to 38s. per barrel. Spars (New Zealand) from 4d. per foot.

An article published in the "Sydney Morning Herald," during October, 1854, entitled "The Province of Auckland. Its rapid development and altered aspect," from which the following

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observations are abridged, contains much that is likely to be of interest to emigrants to Auckland during the present year 1855.

"Casting a rapid glance at the transactions and influences of 1853, and drawing a passing sketch of the events of the current year, 1854, I must not omit a comment or two on the failure of the potato crop, the numerous commercial disappointments and the extraordinary rise in the provision market arising therefrom. Food generally may be safely affirmed to have advanced fully a hundred per cent.

"In the course of the year 1853, the ability of Auckland to develope itself as a province capable of growing and exporting a considerable amount of available produce first became known to the neighbouring colonies. The supplies previous to that year had been so limited as to excite little or no attention, and if we look back for three or four years, instead of being as now exporters, we shall find the Auckland colonist carrying on a somewhat extensive import traffic with Sydney and Hobart Town, and that too in their present articles of export, viz.: potatoes, flour, oats, cheese, wheat, maize, and the like. The first small beginnings of our export trade took place in the year 1851, and such was the

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panic which the shipment of food then begot in the breasts of some of the political economists of Auckland, that an address was actually presented to the then Lieutenant-Governor, praying that his Excellency would be pleased to interfere and save the colonists from starvation. No interference, however, did take place, nor did any famine ensue. The export trade was suffered to make its small and successful commencement. It extended its operations throughout the year 1852, the total exports of which were estimated to amount to nearly £53,000. In 1853 the exports were still more largely increased, and their total estimated value has been reckoned to reach to £145,000. The agricultural operations for the harvest of 1854 greatly surpassed those of every previous year, and an immense breadth was planted with potatoes. A summer of unusual drought marred the industry and blighted the prospects of the farmers, many of whom scarcely recovered the amount of seed they had sown. This was not only a cause of serious loss to the producer, but of much collateral injury to Auckland. During 1853, the tonnage for shipment was always inferior to the amount of produce requiring to be shipped. To provide against this, and to

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afford every facility for carrying the large (expected) increase in the produce of 1854, a greatly increased amount of shipping was drawn to Auckland at an early period of the season. The potato and onion crops had proved a failure. Timber in the Australian markets was in less urgent demand, and although the prices there were still comparatively high, they were, nevertheless, by no means such as to induce buyers at the extravagant figure to which the New Zealand sawyers had raised their wages. The consequence was that ships, which under a different state of affairs might have been loaded and despatched in a week or two, lay at their anchors in some instances for two or three months, and even then departed with little more than half a cargo. This naturally embittered the shipmasters, and the infant efforts of Auckland to establish herself as the great exporting country, which she must speedily become, were attempted to be ridiculed and talked down.

"I am happy to be enabled to say that, whatever the losses and disappointments resulting from the partial failure of last harvest, they have in no degree impaired the agricultural enterprise of the present season. Notwithstand-

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ing the enormously high rate of wages, and the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient number of labourers upon any terms, fields are being fenced, cleared, and cultivated in every direction, and most extensive additions are making to the pasture lands of the Auckland district, which in point of luxuriant beauty, and ability to sustain a heavy stock, may favourably compare even with the best pastures in England.

"Under such circumstances, it is to be hoped that the export season of 1854-5, will fully redeem all the defalcations experienced during that of 1853-4.

"The immense facilities conferred by our superabundant means of water carriage have not escaped the attention of recent arrivals. Many of the out-settlements of the gulf of Houraki are becoming extensively occupied. On the magnificent river Mahurangi, cultivation is in active progress, its lands have been eagerly sought, and largely purchased, and at the head of its navigation, and in a central position, a village, called Warkworth, has recently been laid out.

"A Steam Company has been originated, with the view of connecting Auckland more closely

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with its numerous and thriving out-ports. The time for the establishment of such a company has fully arrived, and its operations will tend to render the industry of the colonists more generally and immediately beneficial.

"If materials could only be procured in sufficient quantity, the city of Auckland would speedily be greatly extended. Houses, or house accommodation are, and long have been, most difficult to be had. Cottages, which a year since were easily procurable at a rental of 4s. to 8s. a week, are now clutched at from 10s. to 16s., whilst those which were wont to be let at from 10s. to 12s., readily command from 20s. to 25s. People continue to arrive, but the power of building has almost ceased. Bricks cannot be made fast enough; and when made, indifferent as they are in quality, they are greedily taken at £5 per thousand. Lime is half a crown a bushel. But when a boat-load of timber does happen to arrive, there is an eager scramble among builders and contractors for its purchase, and that at most exorbitant prices. Shingles, which not long since fetched from 8s. to 12s., have been hunted up in every direction at 38s. and 40s. per thousand. Palings have risen from 6s. to 20s. and 25s. per hun-

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dred, and are also exceedingly difficult to be procured. Master builders, under such circumstances, find it impossible to fulfil their engagements. Contracts entered into six months ago, with a conditional clause of being completed within four, six, or eight weeks of their being signed, are still waiting the supply of materials to be fully completed. Frames and skeletons of houses may be seen in numerous directions. Even the General Assembly House must have remained unfinished, but that a portion of the timber of the Queen Street wharf was placed at the disposal of the contractor. Every house, cottage, and hovel is fully occupied: yet whilst the cry for house room is increasing, our carpenters and joiners are comparatively idle. This has a mischievous effect, in disgusting the fluctuating population, drawn from the neighbouring colonies, who come hither without due consideration.

"New comers arrive in Auckland, under the most erroneous impressions of its actual condition; people who have, in all probability, derived their information of what Auckland was from those who left it two or three years since. Such colonists may have stated, and with great truth, that, at the date of their de-

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parture, nearly half of the houses in Auckland were to be let, and at almost nominal rentals; that the means of living were abundant and cheap; that beautiful pork could be purchased for 2 1/2d., beef and mutton for 5d., and splendid bacon for 6d. per lb.; that fowls could be had for 1s., ducks for 1s. 6d., turkeys for 3s., and geese for 3s. 6d. a piece; that milk was sold at 2d. a quart, butter for 1s. per lb., and eggs for 1s. a dozen; that a kit 3 of potatoes, or of cabbages, weighing from 75 to 100 lbs. could be bought for 1s. each; that fire-wood cost from 6s. 6d. to 8s. per ton, and that all other necessaries were proportionably cheap. All this was true; but the gold of Australia has changed all this, and had they who have come amongst us, many of them to return disappointed, but given the least reflection to the subject, they would not have failed to perceive, that a young country, exporting to the full extent of its powers of production, could no longer be a cheap one.

"Besides, with all this fluctuating and inconsiderable migration, the population of Auckland, for the last two years, has been steadily and

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sensibly increasing; so that, however much it is to be regretted that emigrants should arrive amongst us only to feel dissatisfied and disappointed, they ought to attribute the cause more to their own want of forethought than to any defect in the colony; indeed, the very lack of accommodation, the high price of food, the enormous wages given, and the ruinous paucity of labourers, afford the most incontestable demonstrations of the great progress and prosperity of the colony.

"It must not be forgotten, that to the humidity of the province of Auckland, the exceeding richness of its pastures, and the greater certainty of its agricultural operations is entirely attributable. Our winter is a wet, and often a severe one. Spring is mild, though weeping. But summer and autumn are seasons of great and genial beauty; and although tempered with such occasional fertilizing showers as are calculated to preserve the pastures, still, in Auckland, there is far less rain throughout the year than what falls in Australia. The destroying floods of winter, and the parching droughts of summer are consequently here unknown."

"There has been nothing doing with the Coromandel Gold Fields near Auckland. And

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this is not because they are considered to be a failure, but because the native and European races can make money in as sure, and in a much more profitable manner. The industry of the natives is beyond all praise. The quantities of Kauri gum brought to market are immense; and as an index of native prosperity, I need only draw your attention to the estimated value of the canoe trade for the last two years. In 1852, it was £6000; in 1853, £12,000; and this year there is every reason to believe it will still be very much more."

A writer from Auckland, in February, 1855, referring to the extension of the Maori trade, says, "In five years more, I feel convinced that the Maories, with their trade, agriculture, and maritime enterprise, will have become so essentially British that the amalgamation of the native and European races will be complete. If you only look at the rapid progress of the native canoe trade, you will feel the force of this reasoning. Three years ago, it did not amount in value to £4000 a year. This year it touches upon £18,000; and from the amount and value of the annually increasing cultivations, it cannot fail progressively and prosperously to extend."

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"There is another and most material point in the progress of Auckland, to which, as an old and practical colonist of Australia, 1 cannot forbear drawing the most pointed attention. It is to the increasing trade and the large amount (yearly augmenting) of colonial built, and colonial owned, shipping. On the 1st January, 1854, the shipping belonging to the port of Auckland amounted to nearly 8000 tons. It has since received great accessions, and as far as our enterprising and intelligent shipbuilders can command the means of construction, their hands are fully employed. Eight thousand tons of shipping is a very large amount to be possessed by a province not thirteen years old. To me, who can recollect Hobart Town since the 25th year of her existence, for months together without any but a small vessel or two in port, and who can likewise remember Sydney, the Mistress of the Southern Pacific, in the 40th year of her settlement, with fewer ships in harbour than I now look upon here, the maritime progress of Auckland is indeed astonishing."

The following extracts, alluding to the probability of an increase of labour, and necessary supplies in the province of Auckland, will be of interest in this place, as tending to explain the

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causes of the great expense of provisions and other outgoings, referred to in the preceding summary. They were published in the Australian and New Zealand Gazette, in an article bearing date, Auckland, Sept. 1, 1854, entitled, "Auckland--Prospects of 1855."

"Our markets can scarcely be called satisfactory, inasmuch as, without the same golden resources as those possessed by Australia, we are paying the same (and in some instances, higher) prices for almost every article of consumption. The unprecedented drought of the last season, and the failure of the potato crop in consequence, has unquestionably been the chief cause of the present high prices that rule our corn and provision markets. These, however, will assuredly modify themselves in the course of the next five or six months, when, it is to be hoped, a very different return will be reaped from the various crops which have been planted this season, with an energy, and of a breadth, likely to prove eminently beneficial both to the home consumer and the exporter.

"Looking at the existing state of the grain market, and basing our opinions in a great degree upon the experience of those most largely and practically conversant in that trade, we do not

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hesitate to say, that both wheat and flour have attained their culminating price, and that any further alteration is likely to be of a downward tendency. From calculations carefully made, it was recently estimated that at least 120,000 bushels of wheat are still (Sept. 1854) on hand; so that, making liberal allowance for the requirements of the present extensive seed-time, and estimating the consumption of Auckland at between five-and-thirty and forty tons of flour a week, there must remain an ample surplus of wheat for all her wants; so that even the present prices may well be regarded as excessive."

"All sorts of colonial dairy produce are in demand, and likely to continue so. Poultry of all descriptions are scarce and high in price. In fact, our largely increasing population, and the extensive demands for the supply of a shipping trade extending every day, have given a value to these minor commodities altogether unprecedented. Add to this the high price of food for rearing, and fattening, and the scarcity and enhanced value of poultry will at once become apparent.

"Butchers' meat has risen to an almost famine price, and, it is to be feared, is likely to

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continue so for some time. The rise is easily accounted for. Auckland, in the first place, has never been sufficiently stocked. The increase has hitherto been unequal to keep pace with the demand for animal food, and at the same time to propagate stock to meet the requirements of a growing population. Importations, to pay, are, moreover, difficult at the prices now ruling in Australia; and for this reason, that the Auckland yeomanry have all along experienced the most heart-breaking difficulties in acquiring runs upon which to turn newly imported stock. Grass in this province is a creation, not an indigenous plant as in Australia, and although it is readily and rapidly produced, and grows with a luxuriance unsurpassed in any other quarter of the globe, still it can only be grown on private properties, or upon grounds partly cleared of the tea-tree-- manuka --and the fern. A want of sufficient land has been the besetting grievance of the Auckland colonists. From that grievance they have hardly yet escaped. The Crown lands about Auckland have become private property; they are rapidly being enclosed, and as rapidly being rendered productive. The meadow field and corn-close are in every direction depriving

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the cattle of their commons. This, although in due time it will more than work out its own remedy, is the cause of temporary injury. Hence the present high price of butchers' meat. The evil, however, is but the growth of a great inherent prosperity. And with grazings which in a few years will, in all probability, be abundantly to be let, and with steam ships landing fat or good conditioned stock upon them, the superior advantages of Auckland as a feeding country will at once become apparent."

"Building materials, in consequence of the great deficiency of labour, are not only scarce and high in price, but almost impossible to be had. But for this Auckland would have been long ere now greatly and beneficially extended, and many important public works have been executed."

"Kauri gum, which in the gathering has long engrossed a very large share of native industry, is on the decline. Flax is more scarce and dear, and likely to become more so, until some mechanical process shall be established for rendering it a merchantable commodity. Whilst the natives remained in a state of untutored barbarism, supplies of flax were easily

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to be procured; but their industry can now be turned to much more profitable account--they are indefatigable in their pursuit of an improved system of husbandry, and as mere day labourers they can readily earn from 5s. to 6s. a day. Flax cannot be prepared at such wages, consequently it will either cease to be prepared at all, or must be prepared by the aid of competent machinery."

The Financial Statement for the whole of New Zealand for 1854, shows a balance unappropriated of £108,986. The net revenue was £146,315; and the total charges £37,329. Of the revenue, £100,000 was derived from land sales.

Lieutenant-Governor Wynyard, the "officer administering the Government," in transmitting to the House of Representatives the financial statement and estimates for the year 1855, dated Auckland, September 4th, 1854, prefaces his statement by observing, "Although the prosperity of the colony is such that we might confidently trust in the increase of its revenues, I have not thought it advisable, in preparing the estimates, to assume any increase of the ordinary revenue, over that estimated for the year ending the 30th of September, 1854."

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The following is a summary of the estimates for the year 1854:--

[Financial Statement: Estimates for the Year 1854]

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[Financial Statement: Estimates for the Year 1854, cont'd.]

LAND REVENUE.

ESTIMATED GROSS RECEIPTS FROM THE DISPOSAL OF CROWN LANDS.

[Land Revenue]

The probable amount available for the expenditure of the province of Auckland, for the

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year 1855, is estimated at £45,225 16s. 11d. Of this sum, after paying the proposed cost of the various establishments, it is estimated that £29,225 will be at the disposal of the provisional council for public works and immigration. "This," says the New Zealander, November 7th, 1854, "is a most encouraging prospect. The judicious appropriation of such a sum may, and we trust will, prove the means of giving a powerful additional impetus to the progress of Auckland."

It was announced by some of the most recent despatches from the colony, that the Government had chartered several vessels to bring over mechanics and agriculturists from Melbourne, free of charge, with the hope of supplying the deficiency of labour in New Zealand.

The European population of Auckland at the present date is estimated at about 10,000.

The following lists of market prices, for provisions and necessaries, and also for stock, in the neighbourhood of Auckland, are taken from local newspapers of April and May, 1855.

COMMERCIAL RECORD.

"Auckland, 13th April, 1855.

"The shipment of American goods by the three-masted schooner Carbon from Melbourne

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was brought to the hammer by Messrs. Connell and Ridings, on Tuesday. The sale was well attended, and the generality of the articles offered went off freely and at paying prices. There were a considerable number of pannelled and sash doors and window sashes, which in the present demand for building materials were readily taken. We give an abstract of the goods sold per Carbon, and an average of the prices they fetched.

"Chairs, wood seats, 58s. per dozen; do., cane seats, 60s. per dozen; buckets, three hoops, 24s per dozen; tubs, per nest, 31s. per dozen; clothes pins per gross, 2s. 6d. to 3s.; American weighing machines, half ton, 9l.; do. quarter ton, 7l; do. three cwt., 4l. 15s.; pork per barrel, 4l. 2s. 6d.; beef per tierce, 7l.; gunny bags, 8s. per dozen; Carolina rice, 3 3/4 d. per lb.; stained parlour tables, 33s. to 44s.; pannelled doors, 20s. to 30s.; do. sash do., 40s.; sashes per pair, 18s. to 23s. 6d.; preserved and bottled fruits, 13s. to 20s.; 30 hours and 8 day clocks, 17s. to 27s.; carpenters' planes, assorted, 3s. to 6s. each.

"The Flour Market is without present alteration; but the demand for produce for home consumption, and for shipment, is both active

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and on the increase, more so than we fear our means of supply will enable us to keep up. Wheat, oats, and potatoes, as will be seen by our quotations, are on the advance; but, as we have already said, we doubt our ability of any continuous supply."

AUCKLAND MARKET PRICES,

April 13th, 1855.

"THE MILLS.--Mr. Fletcher's Steam Mill:-- Flour, first quality, 35l., seconds, 32l. per ton. Wheat may be quoted at from 10s. 6d. to 11s. 6d. per bushel; oats (a good supply), 6s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per bushel; barley, none; maize, 6s to 7s. per bushel; bran, 2s. 6d. per bushel.

"AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE.--New potatoes, 10l. to 11l. per ton; wheat, 12s. to 13s. per bushel; oats, 8s. to 9s. per bushel; maize, 7s. 6d. to 8s. 6d. per bushel; barley, none; clover seed (white), plentiful; red, 112s. per cwt.; grass seeds--rye (scarce), 15s.; mixed, 8s. to 10s. per bushel; straw, 5l. to 5l. 10s. per ton; hay (pressed for shipment), nominal.

"DAIRY PRODUCE.--Butter (fresh), 2s. 6d. to 2s. 9d.; salt, 2s. 3d. to 2s. 6d. per lb.; cheese (colonial), 1s. to 1s. 3d. per lb.; hams, 1s.; bacon, 10d. per lb.; fowls, 5s. 6d. to 6s. 6d per couple; ducks (scarce), 7s. per couple;

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geese, 7s. to 8s. each; turkeys (scarce), 12s. to 14s. each; lard, 9d. to 10d. per lb.; milk, 8d. per quart; eggs, 3s. to 3s. 3d. per dozen.

"PROVISIONS.--Beef (fresh), 8d., retail, 9d. to 10d. per lb.; Irish (wholesale), 7d. to 8d. per lb.; Sydney, 6l. 10s. per tierce; mutton, 8d. to 9d. per lb.; veal (scarce), 10d. to 11d. per lb.; pork (fresh), 7d. to 9d.; New Zealand salt do., 5d. to 6d. per lb.; lamb, per quarter, 6s. to 7s.; bread, 9d. per 2lb. loaf; biscuit, cabin, 45s.; ship, 38s.; pilot, 40s. per cwt.

"STOCK.--Working bullocks, from 30l. to 35l. per pair; calves, 40s. to 60s.; ewes, 25s.; wedders, 22s.; horses for the plough, 50l. to 60l.; cart, 70l. to 90l.; hacks, 25l. to 35l.

"GROCERIES. -- Tea, congou, 8l. per chest; hysonskin (little used), 6l. 10s to 7l. per chest; sugar, raw, 3 1/2d. to 4 1/2d. per lb.; loaf, 6d. to 6 1/2d. per lb.; refined, Cossipore, 5 1/2d. per lb.; coffee, 10d. per lb; soap, 40s. to 45s. per cwt.; candles, Sydney mould, 11d, per lb.; Belmont sperm, 1s. 6d. to 1s. 8d. per lb.; sperm, 2s. to 2s. 6d. per lb.; salt, Liverpool, 6l. to 6l. 10s. per ton; dairy salt, 8l. per ton; pickles, pints (fair sale), 12s. to 12s. 6d. per dozen; salad oil, scarce; tobacco (a fair supply), 1s. to 1s. 3d. in bond; duty., 1s. per lb.; soda, crystals, 21s. per

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cwt.; sperm oil, none; black oil, none; 3-bushel bags, 24s. to 27s. per dozen.

"WINES.--Champagne, claret, and Madeira very dull; port, 7l. to 8l. per quarter cask; in cases, dull; sherry, nominal.

"BUILDING MATERIALS. --Timber, 24s. to 26l. per 100 feet; shingles (scarce), 24s. to 30s. per 1000; palings, 18s. to 20s. per 100; bricks, 7l. per 1000.

"BOOTS AND SHOES.--Both men's and women's (heavy) are in demand; Napoleons, 35s. to 40s. per pair; Wellingtons, English, 30s. to 32s.; colonial, 35s. to 40s. per pair; Bluchers and Oxford, English, 12s; colonial, 14s. per pair; women's cloth boots, 8s. to 10s. per pair; shoes, 4s. 6d. to 6s. per pair.

"SUNDRIES.--Firewood (on the beach), 13s. to 14s. per ton; coals, 3l. to 4l. per ton; posts and rails, 4l. 10s. per 100; flax (very scarce and in demand), 28l. to 34l. per ton, according to quality; kauri gum, little or none in the market, and prices nominal."

RATES OF WAGES,

April 13th, 1855.

"Masons, per diem, 12s.; bricklayers, per diem, 12s.; carpenters, per diem, 12s.; cabinetmakers, per diem, 12s. to 13s.; farm servants

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(with rations), from 35l. to 50l. per annum; female servants, 8s. to 12s. per week; day labourers, 7s. to 8s. per diem."

PRICES OF STOCK,

May, 1855.

"SALES.--The stock sales at Otahutu continue to increase in frequency, as in extent and value. On the 18th inst., Mr. Newman disposed of sixty-seven head of cattle, about six score sheep, a few horses, a lot of pigs, and a variety of harness and farming implements. The attendance of buyers was good. The sale opened dully, but became more animated as it proceeded, closing in a satisfactory manner. The proceeds exceeded 900l. Fat stock realized full prices.

"The following is an analysis of the sale:-- Twenty-one heifers averaged 8l. 7s. 10d., the highest fetching 12l., and the lowest 5l. 10s.; eighteen steers averaged 9l. 13s. and a fraction, the highest commanding 13l., and the lowest realising only 4l. 10s.; eleven cows, two or three with calves by their sides, averaged 9l. 10s. 6d., the highest bringing 14l., and the lowest 7l.; seven calves averaged 4l. 9s. the highest brought 7l. 5s., the lowest 3l.; six oxen averaged 10l. 17s. 6d., the highest fetching 13l. 10s., and the lowest 8l. 10s.; a bullock

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brought 15l. 10s., a bull 16l., and a pair of working oxen 60l. A lot of 114 sheep fetched 22s. per head; four horses realising respectively 40l., 37l., 25l., and 10l.; and sixteen small pigs were sold at 10s. each.

"On the 24th, Mr. Newman held a sale at Newmarket. There was a tolerable supply of stock of a mixed character, but not quite so many buyers as are usually assembled. Well bred cattle and fat stock sold freely, realising full prices; forty-one head changed hands, and a lot of sheep fetched 29s. per head. The proceeds of the day's sale exceeded 600l. With respect to lean stock, the long and severe drought, and the prospect of the approaching winter have reduced both the price and the demand. At one time, serious fears of a heavy loss of cattle were entertained; but, as the late genial rains have been followed by a succession of mild and growing weather, and as there is now a good and increasing spread of nutritious pasture, it is to be hoped the cattle may be got into sufficient case before the weather finally breaks."

The New Zealander of June 16th, 1855, contains the following Note for Immigrants of the Labouring class.

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"Board and lodging, in Auckland, for single men, 30s. per week; wages averaging from 8s. to 10s. per day. Married people, with families, if they are fortunate enough to get houses, will have to pay for a three-roomed wooden cottage, about 15s. per week. The necessaries of life are much about the same as in Sydney."

I have, in this chapter, dwelt at some length upon the fluctuations of the markets, and the probable increase of expenditure, now necessary for a residence in Auckland as compared with that of recent years, as well as upon the counter-balancing circumstances attending such increased expenses; because any state of affairs not entirely local, influencing one portion of the islands of New Zealand, will, in some measure, affect the provision and labour market of all other portions. And since no branch of colonial information is more important to intending emigrants than accurate particulars on these subjects, I have, in describing the oldest and most populous of the settlements of New Zealand, endeavoured to anticipate disappointment, by impressing on the reader a fact well known to all actual colonists, viz.: that in countries newly established, and undergoing great alterations in their progress and resources, unlooked for cir-

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cumstances may arise within very short periods; -- even during the few months consumed between the departure from England of a vessel with emigrants, and their arrival in the colony.

Such unexpected fluctuations often prove to have a permanent influence over the prospects of the immigrant of small means, who expects, on his arrival, to be a consumer and a hirer of labour, and is not competent from his own resources to become a supplier of produce, or able to provide himself with the labour requisite to establish him in his adopted home.

The newly-arrived immigrant perhaps finds his capital inadequate to embark in the particular occupation for which he quitted England. And, having been disappointed in his original plans, his means are exhausted, and he himself disheartened at the gradual loss of his property, before he can gain a foot-hold in some employment of a different nature from that upon which his thoughts have hitherto been exclusively employed.