1851 - Lucett, E. Rovings in the Pacific, from 1837 to 1849 [New Zealand sections] - CHAPTER VI.

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CHAP. VI.

December 26th. -- I AGAIN started for New Zealand on a general coasting voyage. We endeavoured to make the harbour of Waikato on the west coast direct; but a series of contrary winds drove us so far to the northward, that we came between the North Head and the Three Kings, and so worked down the coast, opening all the harbours and bays, till, after a tedious, procrastinated passage, we reached the wished for port. The coast, as we beat our way, presented every where the same sterile, savage appearance: hill rising abruptly above hill; and bold

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repulsive cliffs, relieved at intervals by sandy wastes. The harbour of Waikato cannot be approached with a westerly wind, as it is a bar-harbour, with only two fathoms of water on it at low ebb; and the entrance to the bar is rendered difficult and hazardous by two sandspits, running in contrary directions, causing them to overlap, the one tending northerly, the other to the southward. From a long continuance of south-easterly winds, the bar was almost smooth when we sighted it; a leading wind also favoured us; but as we were all strangers to the place, and without charts, the captain took the precaution to sound the passage in the boat before taking it with the vessel. The report of the sounding party, being favourable, when the southern extremity of the north, sandspit bore by compass E. N. E., and the southern extremity of the south sandspit, E. half N., we ran in E. by N. half N., and were carried over the bar in safety. We encountered a heavy swell, which, fortunately, did not break. Owing to mismanagement, our whale-boat, towing astern, got capsized, and we lost a set of oars; but this would not have happened if she had been properly hauled up. I was disappointed in the harbour: it is safe enough after you have passed the bar, but it is of no extent, and not fit for vessels over 200 tons burthen. The South Head is a frowning, black-looking mass, called "Woody Head;" it is covered with a dense growth of dwarf trees: the North Head is a sandhill, being the termination of a dreary waste extending for several miles, with scarcely the shadow of vegetation to be seen; and

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when the wind prevails, and blows hard from the southward, the air is filled with showers of drift sand, exceedingly unpleasant both to sight and respiration. No sooner had we come to an anchor, than the deck became crowded with natives, who created the clamour and confusion of Babel. As usual, a white man, demi-uncivilised, was residing in the pah; and not far distant, two of the London missionaries, with their families, had taken up their abodes. The white man came off to us and proffered his services; and as I was desirous of engaging four boys to convey me up the river, I requested him to negotiate for them. Plenty were found willing to go, but demanded payment beforehand, which I would not give, and as they persisted, I bundled them ashore. I wanted to make all the haste possible; and knew that by prepayment they would take their own time. I would recommend to every one travelling in New Zealand, if they can manage it, to withhold compensation till services are performed, and proportion the reward according to the merit of the parties. The natives have no notion of the value of time. About seven o'clock in the evening, four of a party whom I had dismissed came off in a light, swift-pulling canoe, stating their readiness to go with me; but that if I decided on going, I must start at once, while the tide served. I imagined that there was some concerted plan in this, and that it was their intention to rob me; but not liking to mention my suspicions, I privately armed myself, and stepped into the canoe. The tide only affects the river for about seven miles, and you then have to contend against the force of

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the current, which sets towards the ocean at about the rate of four knots. My "boys" -- (it is customary, but I don't know why, to call all New Zealanders travelling with you boys or lads, though their being fathers may have fully justified their claims to manhood. I suppose it is upon the same principle that the French continue to call grey-headed waiters "garcons, " or that we apply to sexagenarian riders the title of "post-boys") -- my "boys" behaved very civilly, and continued pulling the greater part of the night. Towards morning, as they complained of hunger and fatigue, at the same time expressed their willingness to persevere in their exertions if I wished it, I consented to their securing the canoe, and reposing on the banks of the river for a few hours: I gave the poor fellows some of the salt beef I had with me, and their curiosity respecting it was quite ludicrous: they turned it over, examined it in all directions, smelt it, and at length appealing to me, made use of the monosyllable "Cow?" The missionary residents had some cattle at their stations, which, I suppose, gave them the idea. The country, generally, was much as I had left it, nor did I see any great improvement in my friend's farm. His natives had all quitted him, and he now found it a difficult task to procure workmen from amongst them, although for many years they had looked up to him as something more than mortal. The invasion of their land by so many European immigrants had created a painful sort of consternation amongst the natives, and many had drawn towards the European quarters to ascertain their manoeuvres.

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I could not afford a long sojourn with my friend, and on my return to the vessel he accompanied me to receive the goods I had brought for him; we could only get two natives to assist us in working the canoe, those engaged by me having returned immediately. When about one fourth of our way, we met two large canoes, well manned and containing several chiefs. Observing how slightly we were attended, and that we ourselves were using the paddles, two of them, to show their respect, instead of ordering their slaves to assist us, stopped themselves into our canoe and aided in working her down. One of these chiefs was a kind, benevolent-minded man, and recognized as a missionary teacher. When in his heathen condition, some of his comrades taunted him with the fact, that his sister, the widow of a chief of high caste, was in the habit of granting personal favours to a slave. Few chiefs in New Zealand would have endured such ignominy "and yet have refrained to kill." --Loth to shed the blood he could not restore, he warned the slave, and threatened him with death if he repeated the offence: this had its effect for a time. -- But, as fatalists would say, "the wretch could not resist his fate."--The chief was again apprised that the slave continued to visit his sister. Still reluctant to take life, he again admonished him, and extended his mercy even to a third warning. But this only emboldened the slave. He again renewed his visits; and the fourth time the chief was taunted by his compeers, who bitingly told him that his slave-brother was at that moment in a certain hut with his sister. Not a word did he utter in reply. Gather-

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ing his mat around him, he hastened at once to the place designated, and raising his tomahawk severed the slave's head from his body. The chief's sister made no attempt to save her paramour; but when his lifeless body lay stretched before her, she threw herself upon her knees; and with the wildest pathos implored him "not to cook his head," a token of the most contemptuous indignity.

As an instance of the high sanctity in which the chiefs are held, and of the fearful nature of the penalty inflicted on those who have the boldness to desecrate the taboo, I may here notice that on one occasion, when this friend of mine was travelling in the country, he halted for the night at a friendly settlement, and partook of the common fare. The season had been one of scarcity, and the crops, such as they were, not of good quality; the slaves in consequence fared badly. At the time of my friend's arrival at the kainga, a basket of superior koomeras or sweet potatoes had been set aside and tabooed for the especial use of a young chieftainess. One of her female attendants, prompted by hunger and a favourable opportunity, as she imagined, had the temerity to take some of these koomeras for her own consumption. In the morning, on my friend's turning out, he observed a pool of blood close to the hut in which he had been reposing. On asking the meaning of it, he was told, "Oh, nothing!" they had been killing a pig. Having heard no noise, and missing the woman, his suspicions were raised, and on further inquiry he learnt that the hapless creature had been detected in the theft, and was subsequently dragged outside the

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hut and slaughtered. When these poor wretches are doomed, they meet their fate with absolute indifference, never giving vent to a murmur.

Formerly it was the custom, when a native committed adultery with another man's wife, to place the transgressor, naked and unarmed, about thirty paces from the injured party, who was provided with three spears, which he was allowed to hurl at the offender. If by his agility he could ward them off with his hands, he was so far safe; but if the injured husband still remained unsatisfied, tomahawks were placed in the hands of either party, and they were suffered to fight it out on equal terms. Polygamy was common amongst them; but the custom is fast disappearing before the labours of the missionaries. On regaining the "Heads," we had an opportunity of witnessing how different the proceedings in a case of adultery are now. Instead of suffering the accused party to run the risk of being speared if innocent, or of escaping by his address if guilty, a general meeting was convened by one of the tribe going from place to place ringing a large bell; at which summons upwards of two hundred assembled to be present at the trial. The husband stated his grounds of suspicion, and brought forward witnesses to prove certain appearances which tended to furnish tolerably conclusive circumstantial evidence. Judging by the countenance, I should say the accused was guilty; but he was a "master of that rhetoric the learned call rigmarole," and after he had surmounted the first embarrassment of his position, he pleaded with such success, that he was honourably. acquitted, and pronounced "not

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guilty." Had the verdict been the other way, his punishment would have been expulsion as a church communicant, a disgrace much dreaded.

Intending to proceed to Port Nicholson from the Waikato, one of the missionary residents requested that I would give him a passage with four of his lads, that he might on his return overland have an opportunity of visiting tribes who had not as yet received any European minister of the gospel amongst them. The subject had been mentioned to the Waikato natives, who expressed their approbation of the design, and their readiness to raise a contribution to defray the expenses of the mission. Having consented to take them on their own terms, the natives collected about 200 baskets of potatoes, between one and two pounds in money, three old knives, two half-worn cotton handkerchiefs, and the lid of a shaving-box. I told them it was no wish of mine to deprive them of articles we had introduced amongst them, and that the potatoes would suffice. "No," said the chief, "it is our free present, and all that we have to give; if you set such little value on the goods you now reject, we will go on board and take from you all articles of similar description." The missionary gentleman explained that it would be treating them with indignity to refuse any part of their gift, and I then accepted it as it was made. We had to wait a long time before a wind offered for our getting away, and when at length we made the attempt, just as we were on the bar, the wind died suddenly away, and we had to drop anchor to prevent driving on the North Head. Shortly after it came on to blow hard from the westward,

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compelling us to return to our old anchorage. It was fortunate, perhaps, that we failed on this occasion, as it soon afterwards became known ashore that two of the seamen had smuggled two slave women belonging to the chief on board, and had contrived to conceal them from the knowledge of any one; and had we succeeded in getting out, the probability is, we should have been met by the natives in their war canoes, and the vessel would have been plundered. On resuming our berth, the chief suppressed all outer show of knowledge or resentment till the dead of night. The crafty savage, accompanied by a single attendant, then stole softly on board, and suddenly stood over the sleeping men as they were lying in the forecastle. He aroused the delinquents by a gentle grip on their throats, and their horror may be Imagined, on starting from sleep, to find themselves in the clutch of the justly incensed chief, whose eyes were glittering with ferocity. I was told the fellows wero completely paralysed, and made no attempts at defence or resistance, not that either would have availed, as the two athletic savages could have destroyed with their tomahawks all in the forecastle before they had recovered from their fright. The chief enforced silence by waving his tomahawk with one hand and placing the fore-finger of the other on his lips. The trembling women sank speechless to the deck; and the guilty seamen, with nervous trepidation, opened their chests and made signs for the chief to take anything he pleased as payment. He weeded them pretty decently, taking from them their Sunday clothing, their whole stock

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of money, amounting to between four and five pounds, and every other serviceable article. Seizing the women by the hair of the head, he then dragged them up the forecastle ladder, and forced them to descend into the water by the chain cable, and having secured his booty, he quietly got over the vessel's side and paddled after the women in the same noiseless manner he had come on board. Not a soul but those in the forecastle knew anything of this summary proceeding, the news of it being carefully kept from the officers and myself. Of course no such occurrence could have taken place had a proper anchor watch been maintained; as it was, every soul lay buried in sleep. The chief administered a severe flogging to the women, and, not content with rifling the seamen's chests, the opportunity for plundering the vessel with an apparently justifiable motive was too great for his cupidity to withstand.

I had been passing the evening with one of the missionaries, and whilst wending my way back to the vessel, a native crept cautiously to me, and made me understand that the chief intended plundering her that night, and, by dint of broken English and broken Maori, acquainted me with all that had taken place. My astonishment was only equalled by my indignation, and I feed my informant to put me on board without disturbing any one. "All hands" were asleep, and I alarmed the captain not a little by my information: the mate was sent to summon all hands on deck, and I went up and harangued them on the egregious folly which had placed our lives in such jeopardy. We could

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distinguish an unusual number of canoes hauled up on the beach, which added to the excitement of the crew. They begged me to give them arms; but I told them "No! I was determined to sell my life as dearly as I could in case of an attack; but as they had reduced me to this predicament, they might get out of the danger the best way they could." The fellows remonstrated in vain, and I went below, leaving them to adopt what mode of defence they pleased. Throughout the night they relieved each other in patrolling the deck with shouldered handspikes, and the danger for that time was averted. At daylight, putting two pair of loaded pistols in my belt and wrapping my coat over them, I went ashore to face the chief. He did not deny his intentions, but pleaded justification and the customs of the country. Suddenly I covered him with a pistol, and asked, what could save his life if I chose to move my finger?" He started; and as I replaced the pistol in my belt, I bade him be cautious, for that we were all prepared and ready to mark the chiefs that should lead the attack. "But," said he, "I can bring ten to one." "Never mind if you can bring forty; you won't live to enjoy the plunder, even if our deaths follow." And I asked him, "Suppose one of your slaves came on board and robbed me, would you think it right in me to come and set fire to your house whilst you were sleeping; and, on your attempting to make your escape, to knock you on the head?"

"Ah I" he ejaculated, "that's very good talk; my thoughts never came to me in that way; but I know something of the wisdom of the white men, and am

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not such a fool as to throw away my life for a trifle: and so, from this time, if your men do wrong, I will let you know; and if my men do wrong, come you and let me know."

To this I agreed, and we parted good friends; but during the remainder of our stay, we did not relax in our state of watchfulness. No hostilities were attempted, and the gentlemen of the missionary station were of opinion that it was more talk than anything else; although they admitted, that a year or two back nothing could have saved the vessel. 'Tis true enough that the chief had us all in his power beyond resistance, if he had chosen to exercise it, the night he surprised the forecastle; and I cannot divine the cause of his forbearance, unless it was ignorance of our unguarded state, and the desire to appear simply in the character of a complainant, if he found us on the alert: be that as it may, I would not repose implicit faith in their safe conduct.

We were detained so long in the harbour for want of a favourable wind, that I began to despair of getting out again; early in the morning, a flaw of wind would prevail from the land for a short time, which might have sufficed to carry us over the bar; but then if it died away again, as it invariably appeared to do, it would have been impossible for us to have escaped the rollers. Almost reckless from long detention, we at last resolved to run the risk, and, taking advantage of the customary flaw, with the first grey of the morning, we happily effected our escape, and secured a good offing before the wind fell light again.

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Kawai is the next harbour to the southward, after you leave Waikato, and is of a similar nature; no other presents itself until you reach Port Nicholson. With our usual good fortune, we had to beat the whole of the way to Cook's Straits; and Mount Egmont, the highest land in New Zealand, was continually in sight: in some charts it has been estimated as 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, in others only 9,000; it is crowned with an eternal diadem of snow, which, at times, was all we could discern, glistening above the clouds: in more favourable moments, the whole of its bold outline would be revealed, again to be shrouded from our sight by a veil of mist. Cook's Straits separate the northern from the middle island, and is dotted by several small islets. Kapiti, the largest of them, seemed to me to be a barren rock; it is used, in the season, for a "look out," or whaling station, for which I have heard it said it is admirably adapted: the other islets are mere clumps, scarcely worth noticing. The northern extremity of the middle island appeared still more broken than any part I had yet visited; but from assurances of those holding stations on it, the land is generally of a more level character, and the soil of a better quality than that of the Northern Island. It does not, however, possess so many good harbours; and the climate is more frigid; for it is asserted that a range of hills intersects the island from north to south like a back-bone, which, for the greater part of the year, is covered with snow. Port Nicholson is situated in nearly the south extreme of the Northern Isle; and the

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navigator is somewhat startled, on entering it, to see a belt of rocks stretching, apparently, across its mouth. Many vessels have at first been scared away by their unexpected rencontre, conceiving they had mistaken the entrance, not deeming it probable that any harbour existed beyond such foes to plain sailing. It was blowing half a gale, and we had to beat our way in almost dead in the wind's eye, as sailors have it; but we found plenty of room to work.

The country around is a succession of barren abrupt hills, or broken bluffs chilling to contemplate. The township of Wellington is situate on the western side of the harbour; it bears some resemblance to Kororarika, but is larger in extent. There is a semicircular sweep of sand, curving like a horse-shoe, backed by high unavailable ridges supporting a growth of thick impervious scrub. The houses are built without order or regularity, on the narrow flat between the sandy beach and these ridges: they are of various orders, at present the "Maori" being the most prevailing. There are some of the composite order, a cross between Maori hut and Irish hovel, plastered with mud inside and out; and again, there are a few of the ornate cottage style, built of weather-boards. The first attempt at location was made at the eastern extremity of the harbour, and the settlement was called Pitonia or Thornton; but the site was found too open and exposed for shipping; and though a motley group of hovels and huts at first rose quickly into being, they were as speedily abandoned, as the spot selected for the foundation of the capital proved to be the treacherous bed of a dried swamp; and when the rains

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set in, the flat being below the level of the beach, with high, acclivitous, wall-sided hills inclosing it in the rear, the rush of waters was so great, that the unfortunate emigrants found themselves inundated, and for some time were compelled to communicate from house to house by means of canoes.

The river Hut, about which so many glaring misrepresentations have been made, is a miserable streamlet, just without the deserted township of Pitonia; it is navigable for small boats or wherries for about half a mile, or from that to a mile, perhaps, but it then doubles like a hare, and is choked with sand-flats; it deserves no other name than a watercourse, in fact it is no other, winding its way through an opening in the hills, its resources derived from their drainage. The land on either side this gorge is densely wooded with valueless timber. Where small patches have been cleared by the desperate exertions of the beguiled settler, or through the financial scheming of the land-jobber, the fecundity of the soil has been proved by the luxuriance of the vegetable crops produced; but the expense of clearing an acre of land to render it fit for cropping is so heavy, that no poor emigrant could. stand it. It is asserted that this gorge opens to a fine vale, extending all the way to the "Thames;" but of course I only vouch for what I see. I was likewise assured that the land trending to the north-west, called the Taranake district, at the foot of Mount Egmont, is felicitously provided with every requisite for the agriculturist. Granting that this was true as regarded the land, it strikes me that the expense of conveying the produce to a market would more than equal

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its value. There is no harbour for shipping near the Taranake district; and here I may mention, once for all, that the whole of the harbours on the west coast are bar harbours, dangerous and uncertain; the winds prevail from the westward for the greater part of the year, and if you succeed in entering safely, you cannot rely on any time of effecting your departure, which ought to be an item in the estimation of every trader speculating on the west coast. The harbours may not inaptly be compared to rat-traps; at times offering tempting baits and facilities of entrance, but on wanting to prosecute your voyage, you unexpectedly find yourself a prisoner, with the gilt taken off your gingerbread. Vessels frequently get windbound in Port Nicholson, and, as I heard an old settler say, "It is a regular trap for fools." It possesses no exports: it is not a good flax district, if flax could be rendered a payable exportable commodity, which, from every experiment I have seen or heard of, I am inclined to doubt. Whaling ships rarely approach it; the cash is being drained from it, as it is incapable of making other returns; and, notwithstanding the pains taken to conceal the fact, the mechanics and labourers are fast leaving it for a more auspicious field for their exertions. It is subject to continual rains and heavy gales, common at all times of the year, from the south-east or north-west; and my own experience leads me to confirm the statement made by several masters of merchantmen, that three days in the week throughout the year are above, rather than under the average opportunities for discharging or receiving cargo; and to crown all, it is subject

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to earthquakes, so vibratory that many have declared they would never think of erecting a brick house, for fear any casual shock should bring it about their ears. Port Nicholson appears to me to be a focus for the concentration of every wind passing over New Zealand; it is eternally blowing a gale, and the most obstinately prejudiced and interested were compelled to cry out, "there really was no standing these cursed winds." The communication from place to place being chiefly by water, the accidents occasioned by the capsizing of boats in sudden squalls are frightful; and the tumbling and rolling of the surf on the beach is such, that when a boat with ten persons in her was swamped within a few yards of the sand, and although the water was only breast-deep where the accident occurred, one only escaped with life: the bodies of the nine unfortunates repose in one common grave. We were instrumental in saving the lives of nine or ten individuals, who, but for our being anchored a considerable way out, must have perished ere assistance could have reached them.

It is laughable though pitiable to see the readiness with which the residents try and cheat themselves into the belief that Port Nicholson is a paradise; if they have a continuance of fair weather for three or four days, nothing is heard but congratulations. "Isn't this beautiful?" "Isn't this lovely?" "Charming weather!" "Port Nicholson will do yet!" are some of the exulting exclamations of those who wish to be deceived. It is stated that Port Nicholson belongs to a company in England, who were supposed to have paid a fair equivalent for it to the natives; but

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this is denied, and private individuals have had prior possession of places which the company lay claim to. There has been a great deal of anarchy and confusion in the settlement, nor do I see any likelihood of a speedy arrangement of the matters in dispute. No individual will give up his claims merely because a body of scheming speculators, far away from the scene of action, choose to assume a right to this or that portion of territory. Allotments have been put up to public auction in England, and needy adventurers, allured by the descriptions given of the place and the prospects held out, have purchased to the full extent of their means, anticipating (can it be believed?) that on their arrival in the new country they would be able to lease their property at an annual rental exceeding in amount that of the purchase-money. The consequences can be foreseen on the true state of things staring the luckless speculator in the face, dispelling his dreams and dissipating his extravagant notions. Some, unable to bear up against the utter prostration of their aerial visions, have yielded to drunkenness and despair; others have appeared overwhelmed with stupor; and I, have conversed with others who have been loud in their execrations of those who had caused their ruin; and there have not been wanting men of influential names, connected with the company at home, who have proceeded to Port Nicholson, and lent themselves to the cheat palmed upon the public. They have both bought and sold land, at second and third hand, at enormous prices, thus creating a high fictitious value for the land, to beguile others, and induce them to lay out

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capital on these money-begetting investments; and so soon as the bait has taken, the crafty projectors of the scheme have sold their interests and departed, leaving the stultified purchasers to ponder at leisure on the changeful shadows of their bubble. Private letters remitted by these schemers to their friends in England, containing the most fallacious flourishes, have been published in the journals of the day, and no means have been spared to tempt others to embark in the same fortunate speculation. Hundreds have done so upon the chances, a large proportion of the buyers remaining in England, waiting till some subsequent period to resell their bargains, with the intention, I presume, of retiring from the cares of business with the happy results--infatuated mortals! The specious accounts sent home lately of the high prices that allotments here and there have fetched, will, I have no doubt, cause many to send out powers of attorney for the disposal of their allodial investments, and it would not be surprising if land in Port Nicholson became like stinking fish, every one eager to get rid of it, but no one willing to buy; but apart from this, the cry is that no man is certain of his title to land purchased of the company, that its rights have not yet been ascertained, and that they have in their sales exceeded all limits, in direct violation of orders from government; even so, I cannot see that the poor emigrants will be any the worse, as it may tend the more quickly to direct their energies into a better channel.

The native residents of Port Nicholson appear to me to look upon the proceedings of the European

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settlers with a moody and jealous eye. It never entered into their imaginations that, when they sold their land, they were to be restricted from locating in any part they pleased. It is true that they have courted the residence of Europeans amongst them, but more with the idea of introducing one or two into each settlement, to assist them in trading and teaching them the ways of white men; and one or two in a kainga was all they ever wished for, so that they might be dependent upon the chief for protection, and the superior power remain vested in him; but it never formed part of their contemplations that swarms of Nga Pakihani should come and drive them from their dwellings when they stood in the way of their convenience; and every fresh arrival of immigrants seemed to me still more to excite their astonishment and discontent.

On leaving Port Nicholson we stretched away to the eastward until clear of the straits, and then skirted the coast till we made Waitimatta, a harbour in the estuary of the Thames. There are a number of small islands grouped about this part of the estuary which shut it in from the sea; but it is open to the seaman-like objection of being exposed to too long reaches. It is here that the government have determined upon fixing their capital, and to my regret, instead of preserving for it the euphonious native title of Waitimatta, they have bestowed upon it the pawkish name of Auckland. The harbour is of considerable extent and includes a succession of bays, styled with wretched taste Mechanic's Bay, Cooper's Bay, Official Bay, Commercial Bay, &c.

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Commercial Bay will be the emporium for commerce, as it possesses greater facilities for landing or shipping goods than any of the others. Much difficulty and inconvenience attend this operation at present, for at low water shiny mud flats extend nearly half a mile from the shore, and it is only at the top of high water that you can land cargo, unless you go to the expence of dragging trucks to the boats, the trouble and expence of such a proceeding requiring no comment. If New Zealand should ultimately become a place of importance, of which I have my doubts, this evil might be easily remedied by throwing out jetties, as there is not the same surf to contend with that curls its crest upon the beaches of Port Nicholson and the Bay of Islands. Waitimatta is the only place I have seen in New Zealand adapted for the establishment of a commercial town to any extent. There are no native residents in its immediate vicinity, owing probably to the scarcity of fresh water, and the poverty of the soil. I allude more particularly to the point called Waitimatta where the ground is covered with a sort of vitrified scoria. The absence of any commanding eminences to overlook the interior, and serve as stations to guard against surprise, may also be taken into account, as in their feuds the natives take more credit to themselves for destroying an enemy by treachery than in open fight, and in selecting a site for a Kainga or settlement, they rarely neglect the desideratum of a look-out station; but be the cause of their absence what it may, the European residents, I should think, would have no cause to regret it.

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I walked from Auckland to a place called Manukao, the harbour of which is on the west coast: the distance is seven or eight miles, and in crossing this portage the country opposed no Impediments for overland communication of any description; it is of a gently undulating character, and the soil, after leaving the capital, appeared rich and fertile, but there was an evident want of running streams, as I called at two or three native plantations for a drink of fresh water without being able to procure any, and on promising a lad sixpence if he would bring me some, he darted off, and after a prolonged absence returned with a little in a calabash, which looked as if it had been ladled out of a muddy puddle. There were no settlements till very near Manukao, but the place must at one time have been thickly peopled, as to the right and left of the country I traversed were the remains of native fortifications, which must have called for much labour and time. Advantage had been taken of high conical eminences rising from the plains like molehills, the summits furnishing a bird's-eye view of the surrounding country. These they had cut into flats or different landing places, so that if driven from the lower defences, they could have retreated upwards, and by withdrawing the means of ascent, rendered the further progress of their invaders nearly impracticable, particularly if each step or flat was surrounded by a strong palisade according to the present custom of their pahs or fortified places. Upon each flat were several deep pits, which I imagined were intended as snares, or, what is as likely, they may have been used as granaries or

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depositaries for their food and valuables in case of a siege. Many of these abandoned eminences were covered in places several feet deep with the heaped-up shells of the "pipi," a sort of fresh-water muscle much used by the natives as food. It cost me four hours' severe exercise to make these observations, and two or three times I was on the point of giving up the attempt. The ascents were difficult, although the soil had crumbled, rendering them less perpendicular, and I was aided by shrubs and fern, which have sprung up since the desertion of these admirable fortresses.

I must not omit to observe, as a proof of the facilities of land carriage in this district, that as I was pursuing my way to Manukao, an orderly on horseback came galloping past me; and on arriving at the harbour, I found Lady Franklin and her female servant, with two or three gentlemen in attendance. Her Ladyship having unfortunately sprained her ancle in a former exploratory expedition, had been carried on a couch by a party of New Zealanders; and I do not know a place in New Zealand where the country would have afforded a similar means of gratifying her thirst for novelty and adventure. I afterwards heard that his Excellency, Governor Hobson, had received an invitation from the mission station at Waikato, to be present at the annual examination of the natives. Lady Franklin, being at Government House, begged to accompany his Excellency, and there being no wheeled vehicles in the country, several chiefs contended for the honour of carrying her, saying, that

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as she was a great chieftainess, none but chiefs should carry her. I suppose that the jaunt was tedious; and it being late in the evening when the party arrived at the place of embarkation, the Lady Errant bivouacked with her attendants under tents which they carried with them, while the governor returned to Auckland, with the intention of rejoining the party early next morning; but whether the exertion had proved too much for him (his Excellency being in feeble health), or he had not been accustomed to bush travelling with ladies, instead of appearing himself, an orderly came with an apology for his absence, and stating that indisposition would prevent him from fulfilling his intention of bearing her Ladyship company. Lady Franklin is the wife of the governor of Hobart Town, and has acquired much notoriety from her masculine spirit of travel and adventure.

From Waitimatta we took the northern passage through the Islands of the harbour, touched at the Bay of Islands, and then again wended our way to Sydney.

I am no geologist, botanist, or agriculturist, and cannot judge of the mineral resources of New Zealand. Botany is an amusing pursuit for the leisurely researches of superfluous talent In old countries; but I should have thought that our Pharmacopoeia and alimentary lists were already replete with the agencies of life and death; nor do I see that civilized life, with all its aids, is extended to greater length of days than savage life. Many are of opinion that New Zealand will make a fine grain country: this may be; but my opinion is that it would be a much

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finer one if its bogs and marshes were filled up by its tumultuous jumble of hills. This earth of ours must have been sorely troubled with the colic when New Zealand sprang into creation. It bears marks of having been upraised from the deep by the mightiest throes and wildest eructations: it possesses some good harbours, valuable as whaling stations, and it has limited capabilities of furnishing an export of timber. So long as the British government maintain an expensive establishment, and capitalists go there, the settlements around head-quarters will thrive, but an inversion of the order of things will take place; those who brought wealth will lose it, and the poor will become rich; the hard-working labourer and the astute store-keeper will be the principal recipients and holders of the money introduced into the country. I certainly am not favourably impressed with the unrevealed resources that are yet to be brought to light in New Zealand, and am of opinion that our Australian colonies would have benefited far more if we had suffered any other nation than our own to colonize it. Some dread that it might have nursed a naval power that would one day compete with our own, and interfere with British commerce in the Pacific. It is true that our formally taking possession will keep others from it, but it will prove rather an expensive act of diplomacy, or I am greatly mistaken.