NEW ZEALAND.
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NEW ZEALAND.
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF NEW ZEALAND.
THE New Zealand Islands in the South Pacific Ocean lie between the 35th and 48th degrees of south latitude. They form a narrow, crooked, and serrated chain, extending to nearly twelve hundred miles in length. From their narrowness, notwithstanding the distance from each other of the extremes, their whole area is generally rated as about the same with that of Great Britain. There are two main islands, the north and the south, separated from each other by Cook's Strait--so narrow and irregular a passage, that in the map it seems like the firths which break in upon the coast of Scotland or the fiords of Norway, and unless when, traced fairly through, it does not appear to be naturally a sea dividing two islands from each other. The division south of Cook's Strait has generally been called Middle Island, because there is still a third island, though comparatively small, called Stewart Island, a great place of resort for the southern whalers. By letters-patent issued under act of parliament of the year 1847, the northern island was called New Ulster, and the middle island New Munster. For the sake of uniformity, the name New Leinster was subsequently given to the southernmost island, which may be considered as the largest of a set of islets off the coast of New Zealand. 1
These islands are the most distant of any territory of a like
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extent from other large portions of land on the globe. On the one side they are about 1200 miles apart from the nearest extensive territory--the island-continent of Australia; while on the other they are fully 100 degrees of longitude, with scarcely an intervening rock, distant from the western coast of South America. So much surrounded by wide oceans, it might at first be supposed that the climate and temperature of the islands would render them as distinct from any part of Europe as the Australian colonies in general have been found to be. But New Zealand seems to have within itself influencing causes of a totally different character from the vast internal desert of the Australian continent. The climate has been often compared to that of Italy, to which it pretty nearly corresponds in distance from the equator, stretching rather farther north of the 40th south parallel than Italy stretches south of the same north parallel. The latitude of Wellington corresponds pretty closely with that of Naples.
It is held to resemble that beautiful country in its physical aspect. To those indeed who love wild rocky mountain solitudes, with forest masses in their clefts--to whom, in short, the usual characteristics of fine mountain scenery are among the things that make life enjoyable--New Zealand will probably present more external attractions than any other emigration field. Australia has its mountain district in the northern part of New South Wales, but it is hot and jungly; and while the hilly portions of South Africa are less densely thicketed, yet both are infested by dangerous wild animals, which poison the easy enjoyment of nature, however great may be the attractions they hold out to the resolute sportsman. New Zealand has been peculiar in nourishing no dangerous animal save man; and ere long, the last remains of the aboriginal ferocity will be extracted--if this have not already been in fact accomplished. The scenery of the Canadas is not in any part so wild and grand in the height of mountains and the wildness of ravines, though there is nothing of course that can be compared, as one separate and peculiar scene of terrific grandeur, with the Falls of Niagara. Yet there are many mountain-torrents and fine rivers, and the geological character of the islands makes them diversify the coast with deep inlets, several of which have been found to be well-protected bays. The interior of the country has been but scantily explored;
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but probably, when fully known, it will not develop any entirely new features. It resembles, in general, the mountainous countries of Europe; and its configuration, rising by spurs and successive elevations into central chains of high mountains, is so usual as not to leave room, as in Australia, for mysterious conjectures about the internal structure of the country. Yet the character of the geology is calculated to develop, and has already shewn many of the most striking and wonderful phenomena of the material world. The Snowy Mountains produce glaciers, though it would scarcely appear that they can be on so large a scale as those which circle round the Jungfrau of the Alps, or the Norske Fielen. But the mountain-ranges have another element of grandeur and terror not to be found in the Alps or Norway. Not merely does the geology shew volcanic origin and disturbance, but there are volcanoes in actual operation. Hot springs and jets, such as those of Iceland, and even hot lakes, are known to exist; and we may expect that, as the interior is explored, abundant volcanic wonders will be found, since, while it seems to have the same remarkable peculiarities with Iceland, they are not, as in that country, impassably shut from exploration by being embraced within the almost impenetrable recesses of a horrible wilderness, which defies the keenest love of adventure and the sternest courage. The settlers have already had unpleasant intimation that they sit upon volcanic ground. In October 1848 there were felt in the neighbourhood of Cook's Strait repeated shocks of an earthquake. They must have done considerable damage among the temporary rickety edifices of the settlers, since the directors of the New Zealand Company, in their annual report for 1849, congratulated their constituents on the amount not exceeding £15,000.
The indigenous quadrupeds of New Zealand have been so few and small, that, in an economic sense--that is, for the food or other use of man--none exist. The pig, however, has been so extensively propagated, as to have in some measure become a wild animal which is hunted. There are many small birds, and the bones of a gigantic bird, the dinornis, found in the soil, shew it to have existed in times comparatively recent. Fish are abundant in the waters. The whale and seal of the south frequent the neighbouring seas, drawing of course farther and farther off from the islands the more they are assuming a settled character. The whalers-- adventurers from Britain, the United States, and the southern colonies, were indeed the first European inhabitants of the islands; and the nature of the prey they pursue, rewarding great daring and success with large pecuniary returns, makes their life one of peculiar wildness and adventure, alternating with fits of indolence or dissipation. The vegetable capabilities of the islands will
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have to be more fully considered in connection with their productiveness, and with the accounts of the separate settlements. It may only here be observed, that timber abounds, though it does not in general grow high up the mountains. In the clefts between the mountains, and especially in the alluvial deposits made by the torrents, there are fine pasture-lands. Several extensive plains are of the same character; and much alluvial soil, said to be of the finest description, is covered with an edible fern.
By all accounts, the climate and atmosphere of New Zealand possess the invaluable qualifications of being both agreeable and invigorating--not that they are without occasional personal inconveniences in the shape of abundant moisture. There appear to be none of those scorching droughts or dry winds which blight the Australian colonies. Travellers in good health, and eager in the pursuit of knowledge in a new and interesting country, are peculiarly unsusceptible, and do not by any means represent the sensitiveness of invalids seeking a place of refuge from the miseries which their condition subjects them to in the climate of Britain; but the testimony in favour of the climate of New Zealand is so full and concurring, as to be nearly conclusive. From the scientific notices of Mr Dieffenbach, he was enabled to make the following general statements as to the climate and atmosphere of New Zealand, and their immediate physical influence on the country and its capabilities:--
'New Zealand being situated within the temperate zone, although nearer the equator than Great Britain, possesses, from its peculiar geographical position, especially from its being insular, and also from the nature of the surface, a climate so modified as to resemble that of England more nearly than that of any other country I am acquainted with.... The east coast on which Wellington, Auckland, and the Bay of Islands are situated, is colder than the western, where the settlements of Nelson and New Plymouth have been founded, and where the air is far softer and milder. I ascertained this by actual comparisons, and in this respect the western coast must have great advantages over the eastern. In the interior of the islands the climate is colder and less changeable, in consequence of the presence of a snow-clad mountain group, and the greater distance from the ocean. I found at Taupo, the acacias of Van Diemen's Land, the Ricinus palma Christi, and potatoes, affected by the frost--a circumstance which never happens near the coast. The leaves also of several trees had become yellow and deciduous; the landscape assumed an autumnal tint, although it can scarcely be said ever to have had a wintry appearance. At Wellington, on the contrary, and along the whole coast, the natives plant their potatoes at all seasons of the year; the forest remains ever green, and the opening of the flower-buds is merely a little retarded during winter, the presence of which is only indicated by more frequent rains and winds.'
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Mr Dieffenbach joins with other observers in making the amount of rain which falls throughout New Zealand greater than the average amount in Britain. In fact, from the vast ocean surrounding the islands, a mass of vapour is always concentrated over them, attracted by the mountains, and ready to be dissolved with the smallest change of temperament. The united testimony, however, of those who have experienced its effects--far more valuable than any kind of scientific deduction--shews that this moisture is neither disagreeable nor unhealthy. 'This great quantity of moisture,' continues Mr Dieffenbach, 'accounts for the vegetation being so vigorous, even in those places where a thin layer of vegetable earth covers the rocks. Sandy places, which in any other country would be quite barren, are covered with herbage in New Zealand; and the hills, which in lithological and geological formation resemble those of Devonshire, may, in the course of time, be converted into pastures at least equalling those in the hilly parts of that country. Everywhere, also, trees and shrubs grow on the margin of the sea, and suffer no harm even from the salt spray.' However valuable swamp land may be as a means of investing capital in an effective drainage, which makes it richer than the dry hilly tracts by which it is surrounded, the absence of marsh land, and the existence of a geological formation which affords a speedily-drying surface through natural drainage, is of infinite importance to the settler whose whole capital is embarked in his journey and his stock, and who wants immediate produce from the soil. On this the same traveller says--
'The physical configuration of New Zealand, and the geological formation of the hills, are in general such that the rain is rapidly carried towards the coasts in countless streams and rivulets. The lakes with which the interior of the Northern Island abound have always an outlet; and it is only in a very few places that swamps exist, and these are owing to the clayey nature of the subsoil; but they are not sufficiently important to influence the general state of the humidity of the air, or to become insalubrious. In the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson the rain quickly percolates through the light upper soil, and feeds the numerous streamlets which rapidly carry it off into the sea. '--(Travels in New Zealand, i. 173-179.)
Mr Jerningham Wakefield, whose testimony, however, must be taken as that of a zealous admirer of New Zealand, speaks in the same tone.
'I landed at Kapiti,' says Mr Wakefield, 'and in a day or two after crossed over to the main, and walked to Port Nicholson. In the course of this walk I was benighted on the hills between Porirua and Pitone, having mistaken the time of the rising of the moon. As it was too dark to proceed along the tortuous path beneath the thick foliage, I lay down to sleep for a few hours among the moss and
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forest fern beside the path. It is worthy of remark, that although everything was so damp that I could not light a fire, and I had no blanket or any other clothes but those in which I walked to shield me from the wet, I suffered no inconvenience from cold, and rose fresh and vigorous at the first dawn of day.'--(Adventures in New Zealand, i. 389.)
This is a matter of the utmost importance, since it now not unfrequently happens that people in comfortable circumstances, and with every prospect of success at home, believing that it will give their unhealthy children a better chance of life, make up their mind to settle within the range of some more salubrious atmosphere. Mr Allom, a settler at Wairarapa, says, in a letter published in Mr Earp's Hand-Book:--
'From the nature of the country and of the climate, New Zealand stock-farming differs from any other. One of its most valuable peculiarities is in consequence of the climate; namely, your cattle are never housed either in summer or winter. They are always in the open air, or, as they would say in New Zealand, "on the run." Hence whatever may be the extent of the flocks and herds, the only farm-buildings requisite are a strong post-and-rail stockyard for the purposes of milking and occasionally mustering the stock. This favourableness of climate, again, gives rise to what in my opinion is the greatest charm of the stock-farmer's life in New Zealand. His stock being always free to roam where they please, he must be continually in the saddle, if he does his duty to them or to himself; and this constant horsemanship carries with it a life of healthy excitement, to which at times even fox-hunting must yield. Few who have not tried it can have any idea of the excitement that this occupation affords.'
Such is a general view of the features which characterise this the latest adopted British settlement. That it is destined to great influence on the history of the southern world seems almost certain. Its mountain-ranges, like our own, will not be inhabited or tilled; but there appears to be sufficient alluvial soil to supply the wants and the energies of a vast population. It must not be forgotten, in connection with the prospects of New Zealand, that when the operations in progress for making a passage through the Isthmus of Darien, between the Atlantic and Pacific, are completed, New Zealand will be nearer Britain than Australia.
History. --For many years New Zealand was only known as a barbarous country, frequented by whaling-vessels from Australia. At length, in 1814, the Church Missionary Society marked it out as a field for its labours; and from the agents of this association the natives first received the rudiments of civilisation. Gradually the British government awakened to its importance for colonis-
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ing purposes; but not till France put forward some claims for its occupation was it adopted as a British possession. From this event the history of New Zealand is little else than a series of misunderstandings, blunders, and contentions, some of which terminated in bloodshed. The natives, the government officials, the missionaries, and the agents of the New Zealand Company, were all less or more concerned in these unhappy events, which it would now be better for all parties to bury in oblivion.
The principal fact which concerns the intending emigrant is, that government in 1841 constituted, by royal charter, an association called the New Zealand Company, to which, on certain terms, a large tract of land was assigned. This company thenceforward began to carry out emigrants, and retail lands to those who wished to be purchasers. Their plans were conceived on a liberal and extensive scale. The colonising operations of the company clustered round Cook's Strait, where they founded the settlements of Wellington, Petre, New Plymouth, and Nelson. Several men of family and fortune were induced to join in this remarkable enterprise. Some were attracted from lucrative professions by the charms of such an adventure, and many gentlemen brought attached followers of humble rank from the districts where they possessed family influence; on the whole, it was a very pretty object of contemplation--a complete social system, with all its checking, controlling, and civilising influences, passing to the other end of the earth to assume mature and complete existence in a fresh and teeming soil. Colonel Wakefield, who led the expedition, sailed in the Tory from Plymouth, on the 12th May 1839, and he met the other ships of the expedition at the general rendezvous at Port Hardy, in Cook's Strait.
Almost from the commencement, disputes arose between the government and the company, which had a paralysing effect on the various settlements. At length Mr Spain was appointed to investigate and settle the differences, and he gave his final award in 1845. Neither this award nor the subsequent proceedings of Governor Fitzroy or Sir George Grey helped the association out of its difficulties; and to put an end to the affair, the company resigned its charter and its functions into the hands of the government in April 1850. From that time the New Zealand Company ceased to exist, save in so far as part of its organization has been preserved under government direction. From this explanation it will be understood that though dealing ostensibly for land with what is called the New Zealand Company, the intending settler is really purchasing from government. The office of the New
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Zealand Company, where distinct information may always be obtained respecting lands, is No. 9 Broad Street Buildings, London. Letters should be addressed to the secretary.
New Zealand was at first governed as a dependency of New South Wales. It is now, by various acts of parliament, established as a separate colony, with a governor and the usual subordinate functionaries. It has also been accorded certain municipal privileges conformable to constitutional forms. These it is deemed inexpedient to particularise, as the political condition of the colony is not by any means on a determinate footing. According to a charter and series of instructions communicated to the governor, the colony was divided into provinces, Cook's Strait being the dividing-line. The Northern Island, with its dependencies, was constituted the province of New Ulster, with power to the governor to except from it by proclamation any territories near the Strait; while the southern portion was to be the province of New Munster. Whether the islands will ever be popularly called by these names, which reveal a great poverty of invention in the Colonial Office, may be doubted. The native designations will more probably come into general use. Already a considerable number of places are known only by the names given to them by the natives.
Material Progress. --Notwithstanding the disastrous commencement of the colony, it has never ceased to advance in material prosperity. The amenity of the climate, the fertility of the soil, the latent powers of productiveness, the enterprise of its inhabitants, and its admirable situation for trade, all mark it out as the future England of the southern hemisphere.
In going to this fine country, the emigrant has a choice of several settlements, either directly under the crown, or under the management of associations holding from the crown. In a dispatch by Governor Grey, dated 9th July 1849, the following sketch was given of the state and position of the settlements in general:-- 'They are composed at present of what may be termed nine principal European settlements, besides smaller dependencies of these. The largest of the settlements contains about 7000 European inhabitants, and their total European population may be stated at about 20,000 souls. These settlements are scattered over a district of about 800 miles of latitude; they are separated from each other by wide intervals; and communication even by persons on horseback exists only between three of them.....The wide intervals between these European colonies are occupied by a native race of 120,000 souls, a very large proportion of whom are males capable of bearing arms.'
Notwithstanding the presence of these natives, the governor
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gave the assurance, that 'at the present moment there is probably no portion of the world in which life and property are more secure than in New Zealand.' In the annual report for 1850, he proposed to reduce the military establishment to 1180 men, and wisely suggested that those dispensed with, instead of being sent back to Europe, at great expense, with their wives and families, should be absorbed in the colony, where they would be promising settlers, with notions of discipline and allegiance, and would be a sort of self-supporting defence--a trained militia. At the same time, the governor proposed the support of a war-steamer as the best means of giving effective strength to the executive-- an arrangement well adapted to a narrow island country full of creeks and capes.
It would be improper to leave this department of the subject without alluding to the convict question. No fruitful and unsettled territory, especially so near our penal colonies, could keep itself free of the loose portion of the adventurers cast forth from our social system; but New Zealand has not, like other southern colonies, been systematically made the drain of our criminal population. It is a matter of important consideration for all who propose to settle there, that the conduct of the government has guaranteed the settlement from being made a place of exile for convicts who have undergone punishment. As well as to the Australian colonies, it was proposed to send ticket-of-leave men to New Zealand, 'if the inhabitants were willing to receive them.' Though not blind to the advantages in the labour-market from such a consignment, the colonists expressed a decided disinclination to receive such associates; and Governor Grey, ever clearsighted, and earnestly interested in the welfare of the colony, seconded the disapproval, remarking: 'I think that this country would hold out to men of their characters almost irresistible temptations to retire into the interior of the country, there to live among the native population, and cohabit with their women.' Meetings were held to express the disapproval of the settlers; and even the natives, whether spontaneously or not, spoke out, in an address to Her Majesty, in which they said: 'Oh, Lady, we shall be perplexed if the convicts be allowed to come here. They would steal the property of the Europeans, and the natives would be accused of the theft, and we should be very much displeased. Rather let gentlemen, men of peaceful life, come here. We like such men. Let them be numerous, for our country is large.'
On the 26th November 1849 Lord Grey wrote to the governor of New Zealand, informing him that the government concurred in his views, and would not send convicts to New Zealand. --(Parl. Pap. 1850.)
