How to Colonise: the Interest of the Country, and the Duty of the Government

Ross D. Mangles

First published by Smith, Elder and Co. in 1842

Digitised and made available online by the University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services and Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Epub © 2014 Early New Zealand Books Collection

ISBN 978-1-927289-92-1

[TITLE PAGES]

HOW TO COLONIZE:

THE
INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY,
AND THE
DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT.

BY
ROSS D. MANGLES , Esq., M.P.

LONDON
SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNIIILL
1842.

D. BENSLEY, PRINTER, WOKING.

[PREFACE]

WHEN I first began this pamphlet, I had no intention of writing myself more than a few general observations introductory to or explanatory of such extracts from recent publications relative to New Zealand, or from letters addressed by settlers in those islands to their friends in this country, as might appear suited to convey useful or encouraging information to members of the middle or higher classes contemplating emigration, or in such circumstances as to make that step, if suggested by the success of others, one of benefit and blessing. And my views being thus limited, – the object being simply to do for parties competent to employ labor in New Zealand, what has recently been done for the information of the laboring classes by a little publication issued under the authority of the New Zealand Company, – I did not conceive it necessary to prefix my name to a mere compilation. But as I proceeded, giving more thought to the subject, and regarding it in more than one of its bearings

both on Great Britain, at this very critical period, and on New Zealand, I found that I could not do it justice, without entering upon considerations of political economy, morals, and general policy, which would not only be out of place in a publication by the New Zealand Company, but in which it would have been too much to expect that a body of gentlemen – the Directors of that Company – naturally holding a variety of opinions upon such topics, should concur. Further, every hour of additional reflection impressed me with a deeper sense of the vast importance of a right understanding of the general subject of emigration, not merely to those who may be disposed to leave the land of their birth, to carve out new fortunes for themselves and their children beneath the strange stars of the southern hemisphere, but to Great Britain at large, to her statesmen and to her philanthropists, at a time of distress and anxiety which, with reference to its long duration, is, I believe, unparalleled, and which affects or threatens to affect every class of the community.

Therefore being persuaded that emigration, conducted on proper principles, and to an extent which under a judicious system might easily be effected, would afford much relief to this distress, and believing that I can place the matter in such a point of view as may tend to impress the same conviction upon others, I have thought it right to submit my views on the sub-

ject to the public, with whatever additional weight the attachment of even my humble name to the publication may afford to such an expression of opinion.

I am well aware that by so doing I lay myself open to misconstruction: that my sentiments may be supposed to be biassed by my interests as a proprietor and director of the New Zealand Company; and that ungenerous minds may attribute rather to motives of private advantage, than to public spirit, my writing at all on the subject of emigration; and still more my earnest recommendation of the principles on which the body to which I belong has conducted its operations to that end; and my position that it is the duty of the Government to avail itself of the instrumentality of the Company, or of similar associations, for the purpose of carrying on future emigration on the scale demanded by the wants of the nation. It is probable, indeed, that but for my connexion with the New Zealand Company, my thoughts would not have been directed to the matter with sufficient force and continuity to induce me to publish them: but I lay claim to no very exalted virtue when I affirm, on the other hand, that there cannot, by possibility, exist any motive sufficiently strong to induce me to take such a course, involving much labor and trouble, if I did not conscientiously believe that all the statements which I have made, and the principles which I have endeavoured to enforce, are

founded in truth; and that the greatest advantage would accrue to the country if those principles received the sanction and support of the Government, and if associations like the New Zealand Company, having a common interest with the public, were avowedly and largely employed in carrying them into effect.

At any rate, – however intensely and narrowly selfish uncandid persons may assume my motives to be, – I have advanced nothing which I have not endeavoured to support by reason; and that, if sound, cannot be impugned by any possible unworthiness on my part. Reason is like sterling gold, of equal value in whose hands soever it may be; whilst the worth of mere assertion, like that of paper money, is entirely dependent upon the responsibility of the party who utters or vouches for it. If I am in error, in regard either to the principles of emigration, or to the instrumentality by which the country may best carry them into effect, my arguments are open to refutation, and my own mind, I hope, to conviction; and I can declare, with great sincerity, that if any one who may do me the honor to notice this little publication can point out any plan by which the great national ends in view may be effectuated with more ease, economy, and certainty, than by the means which, in the present state of my information, approve themselves to my judgment, such a plan shall have my cordial concurrence and support.

Let me state, also, that in drawing public attention to the attractions of New Zealand, I am very far from seeking to depreciate any of our Australasian colonies, or British North America. No one can estimate more highly than I do their value to England, – which has abundant means of benefitting, and of benefitting by, all of them; no one can more earnestly desire both that that value were better known to the many in this country who would add to it, – to their own great advantage, – by employing their capital in the development of the resources of one or other of the provinces of our vast colonial empire, and that it were enhanced and secured by an honest, enlightened, and energetic administration of the relations of Great Britain with her noble dependencies, and of their internal affairs. There has never hitherto been such a combination of the elements of good government in favour of the two parties concerned, – the people of Great Britain, and the people of her colonies; though the noble Lord lately at the head of the Colonial Department advanced so far in the practical assertion of sound principles as greatly to improve the state of things which he found in existence, and to extort unwilling commendation from many of his keenest political opponents. But very much remains to be accomplished; and the successor of Lord John Russell, whilst he will be altogether without excuse if he lose a step of the ground already won, has still a

wide field before him on which the noblest civic laurels may be gained. The times are not such as to permit him to run on – without loss of character – in the wheel-ruts of apathetic or incapable predecessors; and I trust that there is enough of public virtue, on both sides, to preserve our magnificent colonies from being made the field of miserable party conflicts, or from being sacrificed to still more miserable party patronage. National interests of the highest moment are at stake; and it is an offence of no ordinary magnitude against the public weal to permit any lower considerations to turn us aside from the single-hearted pursuit of the grand objects in view.

How to Colonize

HOW TO COLONIZE.

IT is well known to all who have any practical acquaintance with the state of society in Great Britain, that the difficulty of what is called settling children in the world is extremely great, and is constantly increasing. This difficulty is not confined to one class, nor to any particular professions or trades. It embarrasses all but the few among the very rich who are not prevented by entails from providing sufficiently for their younger children; and the many at the other extreme of the scale, who have no hope or thought, with regard to the future lot of their offspring, but that of handing down to them their own wretched inheritance of ill-paid labor. It affects not only all that are commonly denominated the middle classes, but many also of those who are above them in wealth and station; as well, on the other hand, as the whole body of respectable yeomen, farmers, and tradesmen.

If proof of this statement be needed, a few undeniable facts will afford it. There are thousands of gentlemen, the clergy of the Church of England, into whose ranks fresh hundreds are crowding every year, upon the education of each of whom thousands of pounds in frequent instances, and many hundreds in all cases, have been spent, whose labours often, – to their honour be it spoken – most arduous and unremitting, are requited by stipends the amount of which would scarcely be sufficient to pay, feed, and clothe a menial servant. Yet it is vain to lament the low

remuneration of those who are called "the working clergy." The rate of that remuneration is regulated, together with all matters of a like nature, by the relation of the supply to the demand; and as long as the extreme difficulty of finding eligible employment for the annually increasing numbers of the educated classes, entering upon manhood, shall combine with other motives to bring forward more candidates for curacies than there are curacies to fill, so long will the employers of curates be able to command their services at the present inadequate rate of salary.

It is the same in all other callings. The commander-in-chief's list contains the names of many hundred aspirants for permission to purchase commissions in the army; though we all know that the military service, however honourable, is far from a profitable one, and that those who enter upon it are often obliged to submit to many sacrifices, and to undergo great privations. It is still more difficult to obtain a midshipman's berth in the navy, where the expenses for many years greatly exceed the pay. It is notorious that there are hundreds of applications for every vacancy in public offices, and even for clerkships in the counting-houses of private individuals, situations under rail-road and other companies, and the like. Every department of the law and medicine is alike overstocked, yet nevertheless there is a progressive increase in the number of probationers for those professions. In many parts of the country, there is said to be the same eager competition for farms.

The mischievous consequences of this state of things cannot be described in a few words: it demands, indeed, some thought to follow the evils which spring from it through all their pernicious effects upon our social system. Its primary consequences are a general reduction of profits; a constant struggle against difficulties and impending ruin on the part of vast numbers of the most useful and important classes; and the subjection of all those who

have children, or other dependents to establish in the world, to acute and unceasing anxiety. But there is another evil, resulting from the condition of society which I have described, equally prevalent, and doubtless productive of still wider and deeper misery. I allude to the compulsory celibacy to which the expense of maintaining a family, and the extreme difficulty of providing for children, in England, condemns so many of the young people of both sexes.

It has been said that a man has no more right to marry a wife, than he has to set up a coach and four, until he can afford it. This is quite true in one sense; and the more so, because the man who makes an improvident marriage inflicts, generally speaking, far more misery upon others than he who is guilty of ordinary personal extravagance. On the other hand, inability to keep a coach and four is certainly a very tolerable privation; but it is a grave question whether the state of things which contravenes the laws of nature by prohibiting early marriages to all but a very few, and which practically sentences very many, of both sexes, to a life of celibacy, be not productive of more vice and suffering, among the classes which are especially subject to the deterring motives which I have briefly described, than all other causes of misery, arising from social circumstances, put together.

The consequences of this unnatural restraint, as respects our own sex, need scarcely be told. The theatres and the streets of London exhibit, nightly, thousands of its victims; the mischief re-acts, in frequent instances, on those who must be regarded as its creators; but no record of misery would be so fearfully dark as that which should simply relate the lives and deaths of the wretched class of females to which I have alluded. The lot of those who are the more helpless and far more innocent and patient sufferers under the trammels of our vicious social system,

is powerfully described by the author of 'England and America.' "There is not in the world," he truly says, "a more deplorable sight than a fine brood of English girls turning into old maids, one after the other; first reaching the bloom of beauty, full of health, spirits, and tenderness; next striving anxiously, aided by their mother, to become honoured and happy wives; then fretting, growing thin, pale, listless, and cross; at last, if they do not go mad or die of consumption, seeking consolation in the single pursuit of that happiness in another world which this world has denied to them."

Who is there who cannot bear testimony, from his own observation, to the melancholy fidelity of this picture? Yet philanthropy, so busily engaged in ministering to the wants and woes of distant nations, or in attending to diseases in our body politic comparatively but skin-deep, has hitherto seemed to feel too little sympathy for that enormous and spreading social cancer, which owes its origin and its malignity to the unhealthy state of overcrowded compression that prevents the further development and free exercise of those energies which have brought us so rapidly up to this point of comparative stagnation, and for which the Anglo-Saxon race is pre-eminently distinguished above all the families of mankind.

Happily, however, we are not so pent up within these little islands, as to be compelled to submit to all the evils which result from the peculiar state of society. It has been finely said that the sun never sets upon the British empire. We have been endowed, by the blessing of Providence on the enterprize of our forefathers, with colonies, where those who have sense enough to know that a wise man possesses in his own breast the sources of his own happiness, and spirit enough to pursue this conviction to its practical issue, may find physical advantages of climate and soil superior to those enjoyed by our native

country, and a state of society not only free from those impediments which, in this country, so mischievously shackle the exertions, and often disappoint the most justly-founded expectations, of the highest, the best directed, and the most untiring energies; but where children, whose education and settlement in life are here almost always causes of anxiety, and often of positive privation, are really what God intended them to be, "as arrows in the hand of a mighty man," – a source of strength, and wealth, and happiness.

It is the object of this pamphlet to draw public attention to a system of colonization in relation to one of those noble possessions of the British Crown, hitherto but ill understood, and therefore regarded with much unjust prejudice, even by those who are not altogether ignorant of the admirable outlet which our southern colonies afford for the capital and enterprize of Great Britain, – alike denied a sufficient field at home.

I refer to the islands of New Zealand, and to the plan of colonization, which proposes to ensure the essential combination of land, capital, and labour, by selling, instead of giving away – as was commonly done in past times, 1 – the waste lands belonging to the Crown, and by applying the proceeds of such sales to the carrying out of laborers from Great Britain.

But the object of insisting upon the payment of a price for all waste land is not merely to provide a fund for the supply of labor, without which land and capital at the antipodes are utterly worthless, but to effectuate two other most important ends. The first is to deter capitalists from appropriating, with that shortsighted greediness inherent in human nature, more land than they

can cultivate or tun to any good purpose, in the selfish hope that the outlay of others will give value to that which operates directly and strongly to deprive all such outlay of its due reward. For this appropriation by individuals of large tracts of wilderness which they are unable or unwilling to reclaim, interposes a barrier between settler and settler, which precludes all useful co-operation, and which will sometimes, doubtless, have the effect of turning the progress of clearing and cultivation from its natural course to a less eligible direction. 2 The second object is to prevent persons of the laboring class from becoming proprietors of land, before they have acquired the means of occupying it with advantage to the community or to themselves. The evils of encouraging the growth of a class of proprietors or occupiers of land without capital, and consequently without resources to fall back upon, in the event of any considerable failure of crops, are great and palpable enough even in long-settled countries, such as Ireland and India. In new colonies, where labour is scarce, the mischief resulting from the existence of such a class may be less in seasons of calamity, but it is not confined to such seasons. In the most prosperous times, they raise only sufficient for their own subsistence; they contribute nothing to the wealth of the community; and by their withdrawal from the labor market, they add most mischievously to the cost of that element of production, and often greatly hinder, if not absolutely prevent, the profitable employment of the means of the capitalist.

Upon these principles of colonization, – so modified as to accommodate them to tie circumstances of an association in whose views private are necessarily combined with public objects, and

the members of which seek a reasonable return for the capital, time, and labor which they have expended in establishing an intimate connexion between Great Britain and the most favoured islands of the southern hemisphere, – the New Zealand Company has acted and continues to act. I proceed to state in what manner the Company has practically carried out the principles in question; and to show that the position in which it is placed renders its interests entirely accordant with those of the public.

The first point cannot be better exemplified than by the scheme on which the Directors have founded their second settlement, called Nelson.

The land comprising that settlement has been offered at 30s. an acre; and when the whole has been thus disposed of, including the price of one hundred allotments reserved and paid for by the Company, the aggregate sum realized will be £300,000.

This sum will be thus disposed of: –

£150,000,.... to the exclusive purpose of emigration to this particular settlement.

£50,000,.... to defray the expenses of the Company in selecting the site and establishing the settlement. Any surplus of this fund to be added to

£50,000,.... devoted to public purposes, with a view to render the settlement commodious and attractive. To these ends, it is intended to apply £15,000 to religious uses and endowments for colonists of all denominations, £15,000 to the establishment of a college in the settlement, and £20,000 as a bounty for the encouragement of steam navigation, for the benefit of the settlement.

£50,000,.... to the Company for its expenses, as the price of its land, and as profit on the use of its capital.

£300,000

It is evident from this statement, that though the purchasers of land at Nelson ostensibly pay 30s. an acre for their land, five-sixths of that sum is not really so expended, but is, in fact, a subscription realized by the instrumentality of the Company from such purchasers, for purposes indispensable to the prosperous establishment and rapid advancement of a new settlement which could not be adequately effected by the detached efforts of individuals: namely, the provision of a supply of labor bearing a certain relation to the capital of the Colony (as measured by the quantity of land purchased), and, secondly, the early attainment of some of the most valuable ends of wealth and civilization. As regards, therefore, £250,000 out of the, £300,000 paid by the founders of Nelson to the New Zealand Company, the Directors of that body are merely the trustees of the colonists, accountable to them for the due application, to the stipulated uses, of the funds raised by their instrumentality.

I have stated what those uses are, and a consideration of them will shew that they have for their object the concentration and forcing, as it were, of the means of colonial prosperity, in a manner which can be effected solely by such absolute union or efforts, and combination of capital, as a company alone can ensure. It would be impossible, for example, for a number of co-equal individuals, bound together by no stronger bond than that of merely temporary association, and acknowledging no authority or subordination, to agree in the selection of the site of a town on any given spot of the untrodden wilderness of New Zealand; in the steps – involving the organization of a large establishment, and great expense, – necessary for the survey of such a site and of the adjacent country; or in the subsequent allotment among the settlers of the several subdivisions of the lands so selected and surveyed. Nor, if even such accordance of sentiment and the carrying of it out were practicable,

could such a body as I have supposed command in any thing approaching to the requisite degree, the confidence and co-operation of capitalists in this country; with such results, for instance, as have followed the negociations of the New Zealand Company with the Union Bank of Australia for the establishment of branches of that institution at Wellington and Nelson respectively.

On the other hand, the New Zealand Company, incorporated by Royal Charter, recognized by the Government as a powerful and legitimate agent for the colonization of these beautiful islands, and already the proprietor of vast tracts of land there, possesses in its constitution, and in the intelligence, experience, and interests of those whom that constitution invests with the management of its affairs, such a degree of power, and such means of concentrating, upon deliberately selected objects, its own resources, and the energies of those who are led to associate themselves with it, for the purpose of settling in New Zealand, as have never yet been directed to the great national end of systematic colonization. Its position, and the credit which it has already obtained with the public, enable it to devote to that end not only its own capital, but – as exhibited in the case of Nelson – the funds entrusted to its administration by very numerous parties intending to proceed personally to New Zealand, as well as by another class of persons regarding the purchase of land there as a profitable investment of their money.

Of the practical effect with which the Directors of the Company have availed themselves of these advantageous circumstances to further the interests of the parties who have thus connected themselves with it, – which, as we have already stated, are identical with its own, – an extract from the official papers recently presented to Parliament, and published by that authority, affords a remarkable proof. The passage in

question occurs in a despatch addressed by Sir George Gipps the Governor of New South Wales, to Lord John Russell under date the 6th October, 1840, and relates to the arrangement into which he had entered with the colonists at the Company's first settlement of Wellington: – an arrangement subsequently over-ruled by the agreement effected in this country between the Colonial department and the Directors. The following is the language in which Sir George Gipps speaks of the terms which he accorded, – terms far less favourable to the settlers, as compelling them to take the whole of their land in one unbroken block, than those which they obtained in the first instance from the Company, and which were eventually ratified by Lord John Russell.

"It is quite true that in the 110,000 acres which are to compose this township, there will be a considerable proportion of mountainous or barren land; but, on the other hand, there is some of very first-rate quality, as also the site of a town, which will command one of the very best harbours in New Zealand, and the one, perhaps, best suited to commerce in the whole country. I have also no hesitation in saying that the land which is to be secured to them (the settlers), would, if sold by the Government in the usual way, produce a sum considerably exceeding what they have paid for it."

Yet this statement of Governor Gipps, however substantially true, involves a very gross, though, of course, unconscious, fallacy; whilst the real facts of the case, cleared from the mystification of this blunder, afford the most conclusive proof of the soundness of the principles of colonization on which the Company has proceeded. Doubtless, the territory to which the Governor refers might have been sold by auction in New Zealand for a larger sum than the settlers paid for it in England, – a sum which included the cost of their own passages, and of the emigration of a very

considerable number of laborers. But then, a sale to realize such results must have been made after the time when the measures of the Company had established on the shores of Cook's Straits a numerous population, comprising both laborers and the employers of labor, agriculturists of all classes, merchants, shopkeepers, artizans, and mechanics; and had also drawn down thither, by the attraction of such immigration, not a few of adventurous capitalists from the neighbouring colonies of Australasia. A month before the first ship chartered by the Company entered the waters of New Zealand, no one would have given a corresponding number of pence for the 110,000 acres of wilderness immediately surrounding Port Nicholson. It was just the carrying out of the scheme of the Company, resulting in placing capital and labor in combination, and in a position to wage successful war upon that wilderness, which gave the high value to the land which Governor Gipps, in depreciating that scheme – as he does still more markedly in other places – seems to regard the land as possessing intrinsically, and irrelatively to the great expense at which the capital and population, which alone gave it any worth, had been conveyed thither. It is this fallacy, in one shape or another, which pervades half the misunderstanding that exists as to the nature of the operations of the New Zealand Company; as well as the objections – like those of Sir George Gipps – which are raised by prejudice against a sound system of colonization.

One word more as to that part of the subscription – in the shape of an enhanced price of land – which is applied to carrying out to the settlements laborers of all descriptions. It may appear, at first sight, that this is an operation which each capitalist might best perform for himself, choosing not only the sort of workmen most suitable to his own views with respect to the employment of his means in New Zealand, but particular individuals whom he has known, or

whom he can, from any circumstances, rely upon. But it is obvious that those who should act upon this plan, and incur expense in taking out laborers, would not stand upon an equal footing with capitalists who had gone out with the intention of hiring, on the spot, whatever labor they might require. The rate of wages would necessarily be regulated by the local demand: there could not be two rates; and the individual who had expended large sums in carrying out laborers, would have to pay precisely as much for their services as his neighbour who had contributed nothing to that end. The scheme pursued by the Company, which compels every purchaser of land to contribute equally – in proportion to the land purchased – to the emigration fund, places all capitalists as nearly as possible on an equality in regard to the colonial price of labor; and as regards the selection of individual workmen, the scheme of the Company permits the purchasers of land to nominate laborers for free passages, provided, of course, they come within the prescribed terms of eligibility, in respect to age, calling, &c.

I have declared that the position in which the Company is placed renders its interests entirely accordant with those of the public. The truth of this statement admits of the easiest proof.

The Company is possessed by purchase, in the first instance, from the natives, subsequently ratified by its arrangement with the Government, of large tracts of land in New Zealand. Of a part of this – about a quarter of the whole – it has already disposed, reserving to itself, however, certain lands (chosen by lot, in the same manner as by individuals), in the settlements of New Plymouth and Nelson. But, as I have shewn, in commenting upon Sir George Gipps' remarks, land in a wilderness, unless both capital and labour are available to reclaim it, is of no value: the converse of the proposition – that the value of land

rises in exact proportion to the wealth and numbers of those who are settled in its vicinity – is equally true. Independently, therefore, of all public-spirited and benevolent motives, in addition to all the better feelings which stimulate men to promote the welfare of those who have cast in their lot with them in reliance upon their kindliness and integrity, the Directors of the Company have the strongest and most direct interest in furthering to the utmost of their power the prosperity of the settlements which they have founded. As those settlements advance in wealth and population, the value of the Company's lands in their neighbourhood must rise; and the gain of the Company, in this respect, will not be acquired by the loss, or at the expense, of any other party, but will simply result from the circumstance (so ill understood by Sir George Gipps), of the juxta-position of the lands in question to a flourishing community. Consequently, it is the interest of the Company to use every means, within the bounds of moderation, to cause the communities which they have established in New Zealand to advance rapidly and permanently in opulence and civilization; and with this view to afford them all the assistance and encouragement in their power, to watch over, protect, and foster them. On the other hand, those settlements cannot remain stationary, still less decline, without inflicting severe loss both on the pecuniary interests and on the credit of the Company. Acting upon these convictions, the Directors have recently empowered their Principal Agent in New Zealand to inform the Colonists that, as soon as by obtaining municipal charters from the Crown – which the Governor is authorised to grant – they shall have placed themselves in a position to give corporate security, and to assess the community for the interest or the liquidation of loans, the Company will be prepared to advance money, with the sanction of the Government at home, or of the local Government, for the con-

struction of the most primarily useful public works. 3 Other modes of expediting the development of the great natural resources of New Zealand are in contemplation. At present, for example, intelligence from that remote southern colony is often brought most rapidly through India and Egypt! Passengers are ordinarily four or five months on their voyage out or home. The Directors are prepared to encourage, by way of bounty, the establishment of a regular line of packets between New Zealand and the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Darien, to communicate with the Post Office steam-vessels, which already run to Chagre, on the eastern coast of the continent. By this route, it is calculated that letters and passengers will reach England from New Zealand, and New Zealand from England, in less than seventy days; and New Zealand, instead of being the most distant, will be practically the nearest of our colonies in that quarter. But all the settlements of Australasia would benefit greatly, though in a less degree, from the proposed line of rapid inter-communication.

By measures such as these, requiring the command of a large capital for their execution, and promising no immediate or direct return commensurate with the outlay, and therefore not likely to attract or to reward the enterprize of individuals, the Company will add greatly to the value of its possessions in New Zealand, and will find in that circumstance a sufficient inducement to undertake them. The community will derive their full proportion of benefit from the effects of this stimulus to operations of public utility.

The same motives which lead the Company to undertake

measures tending to hasten onwards the prosperity of the settlements which they have founded, operate, of course, with equal force, to deter those who administer its affairs from any steps which, upon a large view of the whole matter, appear calculated to damage the colony, or the Company which is identified with it, in public opinion. Without giving credit to its representatives for any thing beyond an intelligent apprehension of their own interests, the Company has by far too great a stake in the permanent welfare of New Zealand, as a British colony, to render it worth their while – even supposing no other deterring motive – to impose by misrepresentation upon any individual or number of individuals. Their object is not to sell a few thousand acres of land at the highest possible present price, in recklessness about the future; but to create, as I have stated, such flourishing communities in New Zealand as must necessarily give, in the course of a few years, a far higher value to every acre of land that they possess there than could now be obtained for any part of it. No profit that could possibly be made during a brief season of delusion could compensate for the sacrifice which such a course would involve – from disgust and reaction – of the certain advantages which must result from the steady and consistent pursuance of an honest course of policy.

These considerations impress me with the conviction that such a body as the New Zealand Company is the best possible instrument for working out the prompt and effectual occupation of a new field of colonization. I have already shown in what consists its superiority over a fortuitous association of individuals, seeking to settle in a new country; it is just as certain that no stipendiary agents of the Government can be equally fitted for such a business as the Company has undertaken. All experience proves that, as a general principle, interest is a much stronger stimulus to exertion than bare duty. A body of

interested individuals works not only more zealously, but more economically, than a public functionary. It combines the knowledge, the invention, and the judgment of many: it is not shackled by embarassing responsibilities; – it has no responsibilities, indeed, with few exceptions, but those which affect and ought to affect individuals. Its administrators are free, without dread of misconstruction, to hold out any inducement which they may deem expedient, to any person or class of persons whom they may desire to lead to settle in the colony; and, generally, to make any arrangements – at their own judgment, with respect to the relation of the expense to the object – to render their settlements attractive. They can make advances of money for objects of the nature indicated in a foregoing passage, upon calculations of probable future – it may be remote – advantage, which would not justify a public officer in risking public funds, even if absolutely at his own disposal. If such an officer were placed, as he assuredly would be, in subordination to other authorities, there must be hazard of difference of opinion, and a certainty of delay, in every reference for the sanction of expenditure. A Company can raise subscriptions, through the medium of an enhanced price of land, not only to form a general fund to defray the expense of the emigration of laborers, but (as the New Zealand Company has done in the case of Nelson,) for the purposes of religious worship, of education, of encouraging steam-navigation, and the like. This could not be so properly and effectually done, even if it could be done at all, by a public functionary. There can, indeed, be no complete security against jobbing in either case, but any one conversant with the world must know that there is no jobbing like the jobbing of an executive government, when it stoops to such conduct; and that it is at least as likely so to degrade itself as the Directors of a Company. It is obvious,

too, that the Directors of a Company are a check upon each other; and that, as a body, they could scarcely expect to profit sufficiently by any job to countervail the serious risk of personal loss to which they would subject themselves as share-holders in the Company, by the employment of an incompetent person in any important post, or by measures directed to narrow selfish ends. There is no such restraint upon the colonial patronage or expenditure of the Government. All that an administration stakes, when it causes or connives at the mismanagement of colonial affairs, is the loss of a certain amount of character in the estimation of the comparatively few who know or care any thing about the matter; and it is notorious that this hazard has been frequently incurred for very petty objects of private advantage or patronage. The public is further secured, in the case of a Company, by the identity of its own interests with those of the body which it employs as an agent of colonization; for the Company cannot realise any great and lasting profit, otherwise than by carrying forward with rapidity and success the work in which the community have so deep a stake. The larger the gain of the Company, the greater the benefits reaped by the public; because the former must necessarily be the effect of the latter, and cannot possibly accrue otherwise. It is the object of England to people New Zealand with her children as quickly and completely as possible: it is the interest of the New Zealand Company to exert itself to the uttermost to effectuate that end.

For these reasons, it is clear to me that public functionaries, however selected or denominated, cannot be such efficient agents of colonization as a Company with a capital adequate to the operations which it is likely that it will be called upon to undertake; and, – which is still more essential, – whose affairs are administered by persons of known responsibility, and in

whose sagacity and judgment, as well as uprightness of intention, the public is inclined to place confidence.

But though public functionaries be not so well qualified as an association of individuals to be the immediate instruments of colonization, the Government has most important duties to perform in relation to that great national work. It is stated, in the third report of the Directors of the New Zealand Company, that "the duty of the Government is to guard jealously the public domain from appropriation in any manner that will not simultaneously furnish means for supplying the colony with a commensurate amount of labour; to provide for the efficient administration of justice; and to give the necessary authority for the establishment of municipal, administrative, and legislative bodies, at the time, and in the manner, which the necessities of the several settlements may dictate." But these are only a part of the real obligations of the Government; though even this part has never, in any instance, been adequately fulfilled, and has often been utterly neglected or abused. The times, however, imperatively require that the Government should take a far more active part than it has ever yet done in furthering, in its proper sphere of action, what I have called, with much truth, the great national object of colonization. This country does not merely possess the elements for peopling New Zealand at a rate much more rapid than has ever yet been attained in colonizing a distant possession; but the state of things in England is such that emigration on a great scale, and embracing every class of persons, would confer the greatest benefits both upon those who go and upon those who stay. There are tens of thousands of skilful and industrious laborers and mechanics starving or half-starving here, who could earn high wages, and bring up their families with comfort and respectability in New Zealand; there are thousands of the middle and upper classes,

who are just able, or not able, with constant wearing toil and anxiety, to live and maintain their position in this country, who, if single, dare not marry, and, if married, look forward with fear and trembling to the education and settlement of their children, who, nevertheless, have means enough to be considerable capitalists and employers of labour in any of our colonies at the antipodes. Members of both these classes not only relieve the existing pressure by leaving England; but they further and greatly benefit those who remain at home, by creating the best of markets, in what was heretofore a howling wilderness, for the products and manufactures of Great Britain. And neither of these classes can advantageously emigrate without the other: the several members of the human body can no more exist independently, than laborers without the employers of labor, or the employers of labor without laborers.

The national importance of emigration being so great, – especially at a time when our foreign markets are, to say the least, in jeopardy, – what is the duty of the Government in relation to it? To provide means, either by gift, or by loan, or by public guarantee, for conveying our miserable unemployed workmen, with their families, to our southern colonies, as has been so often solicited by Scotch and Irish proprietors, seeking to relieve their over-peopled estates at the public expense? By no means: in the present state of our finances, especially, no adequate amount of public funds could possibly be appropriated to such a purpose. And it would avail nothing, it would be a mere shifting of the scene of distress, with a probable aggravation of it, and with no ulterior advantage to Great Britain, to ship off laborers to New Zealand, without at the same time associating in the emigration the employers of labor.

How, then, are the funds necessary for the conveyance to the antipodes of a large number of persons, utterly unable to defray

the cost of their own passage, to be provided? In truth, there is not the smallest need of any pecuniary advance or risk on the part of the Government. What is wanted is not money, but knowledge and confidence. Those essential elements of colonization on a scale commensurate with the existing necessities of the country, it is the duty, as assuredly it is the interest, of the Government to supply. They need cost the public nothing beyond the exercise of a little common sense and public spirit on the part of those who administer our colonial affairs.

In spite of the pressure upon trade and manufactures, there is in this country an absolute plethora of capital. If proof of this position be required, the great number of years' purchase at which land is bought, notwithstanding the hazard of a change in the corn-laws, will afford it. There are thousands of persons, some just entering upon life, some struggling with its countless difficulties, with capitals of from £1,000 to £10,000, whom the low rate of interest which money yields in safe investments, the enormous price of all necessaries and comforts, and the over-fulness of all professions and trades, combine to keep in uncertainty or anxiety about present employment, and to deprive of all cheerful anticipations of future competence. Meanwhile, capital is of extreme value, and the interest of money proportionally high, in our southern colonies, especially in New Zealand. I have at this moment a letter before me, written in January last, by a gentleman at Wellington, to his brother in this country, in which he says: – "I am confident that, if I had £3,000 or £4,000 at hand, I could treble it in less than three years, and that without what may be called gambling speculations, but by genuine business. The fact is that capital is so scarce in all these colonies that with it you may do almost what you please. I will give you an instance of the sort of business I mean: when we arrived, a vessel was here from Chili, with

flour, which she offered at £20 per ton. Only one person had spirit and capital enough to purchase any, and she was suffered to take the greater part away. Flour is now £35 per ton. Instances of this sort occur every week. Besides this, money itself is so valuable that it will fetch 20 per cent, with good security; so that this alone would pay any person who had it to spare."

Now, all that is necessary to colonization, on a grand scale, is that the parties described in the foregoing passage as possessing capital altogether inadequate for their comfortable settlement in this country, but abundantly sufficient to place them in the high-road to competence, wealth, and consideration, in New Zealand, should know and believe, as thoroughly as those who are well informed on the subject know and believe, that the state of things which I have endeavoured to depict has a real substantial existence; and that it is an easy matter for any person possessed of the requisite pecuniary qualifications, and with a moderate endowment of energy and resolution, to become a participator in all its advantages.

The Government need do no more than disseminate and sustain this knowledge and this confidence. It is time that men in office should get rid of the absurd notion that it does not become them to collect and publish authentic information relating to the different provinces of our vast colonial empire; that it is not proper for the Government to avail itself in any manner of the concurrent stream of private enterprise; and that it behoves them to hold themselves prudishly aloof from all those who, having a private interest in colonial matters, and having also the power greatly to promote the interests of the public in relation to them, are yet disposed to approach the heads of the department by the front stairs. The morbid fear of committing themselves, or of being over-reached, must also be overcome, and the habitual attitude of repulsion changed. The

existing pressure upon the country, and the possibility of relieving it by large measures of colonization, are circumstances for which, in the words of Burke, "the file affords no precedent;" and they demand a corresponding exercise of spirit and energy by the Colonial Department.

The course to be taken is a clear one. Let the Government exert itself to dissipate the delusion generated by the state of things in this country, (where labor is superabundant, and, consequently, cheap, and land, from causes beyond the return which it yields, enormously dear,) that land, wherever situated, must necessarily be cheap, because purchased for a small number of shillings. Let it undertake to teach the community that land in our Southern or North-American colonies may be cheaper at £5 per acre, if labor be available for its cultivation at a price moderate in relation to the value of the produce, than land of similar natural advantages, at five shillings per acre, without labor sufficiently abundant to turn it to profitable account, or without a concurrent and compactly located body of employers of labor, to sell to, to buy from, and to aid reciprocally in framing and working the essential machinery of society. The government can best inculcate these important truths, – can alone, perhaps, do it effectually otherwise than by the slow process by which reason wins its way against prejudice, – because the government alone cannot be suspected of advancing such doctrines from interested motives. Again, let the Government satisfy itself that the intersts of such bodies as the New Zealand Company are, as I have asserted, identical with those of the public; let it also satisfy itself that such associations possess the power, both in respect to the soundness of their plans, and to their pecuniary means, of rendering substantial service to the country by effectuating emigration on a scale proportionate to the

public exigencies, or, at least, to an extent unattainable by other instrumentality – and then let it make a large and confiding use of their agency. The power of that agency would be increased a hundred fold by the confidence which the declared countenance and co-operation of the Government would create. Let the most searching investigations precede the conferring of gifts, which, though they would cost the public nothing, might possibly be most mischievously abused. Yet what agency powerful for good is not capable of being perverted to evil; and what wisdom is there, in the moral, more than in the physical, world, in refusing to avail ourselves, with due precautions, of any combination of forces that may promise to be most readily and extensively effectual for compassing great national ends? If it be found that those ends may most speedily and certainly be secured by rendering it the interest of private associations to further them, – always under the control of the Executive Government, – in the name of common sense, let that course have a fair trial. If it be objected, – as, doubtless, would be the case, – that the countenance and co-operation of the Government would enable the New Zealand Company, or any other such body, to realise very large profits; let it be remembered that such profits can only result from the successful issue of operations which must confer thousand-fold advantages upon the public; that they are, in fact, the price paid for the agency of the Company; and that, by the hypothesis, better agency, or equally good agency, at less cost, cannot be obtained. If no better means can be devised for effectuating the desired end, it would be mere childishness on the part of the Government to refuse to avail itself of the agency of the New Zealand Company, solely because the Company will derive great benefit from being employed by the Government. The proposition, – the importance of which I earnestly desire to impress upon those who

administer our colonial affairs, – is a very simple one: – the confidence which the Government can alone inspire is essential to the emigration, to any very considerable extent, of the employers of labor; the emigration of the employers of labor is the only means by which the expense of the emigration of laborers, in any sufficient numbers, can be defrayed; and the association of these classes, and their settlement upon the fertile soil of New Zealand, now a wilderness, is all that is needed for the creation in those magnificent islands of a new, excellent, and constantly increasing market for the manufactures of Great Britain. Knowledge and confidence are alone wanting to ensure the immediate departure of hundreds of small capitalists for New Zealand; and if that class could be led – to their own vast benefit, – to emigrate in sufficient numbers, under a sound system in respect to the sale of land, we should hear nothing more, except from incorrigible jobbers, of advances of public money to depopulate the Highlands, or of parishes raising loans upon the mortgage of the poor-rates. If the Colonial Department act wisely and energetically, it may establish, in the course of a year or two, a system under which the expense of conveying laborers from our over-stocked market to our Southern as well as to our North American colonies will be defrayed by those who will crowd out thither to employ them; and emigration, once fairly started upon these principles, will assuredly proceed in a constantly accelerating ratio. 4

Better proof cannot be given of the satisfactory working, – as far as it has yet been tried, – of the system of colonization pursued by the New Zealand Company, upon the principles and in the spirit above described, than is afforded by the following extract of a dispatch from Colonel Wakefield, the Company's principal agent in New Zealand, relative to the first settlement of Wellington, dated 20th February last: –

"Let us now glance at our present state and future prospects. These I cannot but regard as in a high degree satisfactory. It is established, almost without doubt, that the north side of Cook's Straits will be colonized by Englishmen, in immediate connexion with the Company. A considerable number of settlers are already at Wanganui, preparing to select the land which has been surveyed for them with praiseworthy dispatch, and which will be open for selection in a few days. Large reinforcements to their number may now be daily expected.

"Proceeding higher up the Straits, we find the foundation of New Plymouth already laid in the vast and fertile district of Taranaki. The surveyor-general of the Plymouth Company, 5 with assistants, is employed in marking out the site of the future city. From Taranaki and Wanganui immense supplies of agricultural produce and of flax will be conveyed to Port Nicholson, and the fisheries on the coast will also become the source of much profitable employment. In anticipation of a large coasting trade, numerous small vessels are now building in the various harbours and inlets on both sides of the Straits.

"It is impossible to over-rale the value of flax as a staple article of commerce; and the only impediment to the introduction of the phormium tenax into Europe and America has been removed by the discovery of a cheap method of preparing large quantities for export, in reduced bulk, and without injury to the

fibre. A short time only will elapse before our settlement will provide a profitable return cargo for the foreign vessels visiting Cook's Straits. Already, and before the agricultural resources of the settlement have had time for development, the shipping belonging to Port Nicholson has become worth. £5000; and this is almost exclusively employed in bringing pigs and potatoes, in return for blankets, guns, and other articles sought after by the natives.

"The houses erected in Wellington have cost at least, £18,000; and the merchandise and provisions now in the place may be safely put down at not less than £200,000. In every direction large stores and private buildings are springing up. Within a few weeks, measures have been in progress for the erection of a large steam saw and flour mill, brought from England by Messrs. Hopper, Petre, and Molesworth. A company is formed with sufficient capital to carry on the business; and ships, not full of flax and oil, will be supplied with sawn timber for home consumption, and for the neighbouring colonies of New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land."

* * * * *

"My confidence in the success of this settlement rests in no slight degree on the vigour with which many gentlemen are now employed in raising stock, and in farming operations. Even inferior land has produced some excellent wheat and barley, whilst some of that grown on the banks of the Hutt is the finest I ever saw. The importation of cattle from New South Wales supplies us with the means of increasing the best breeds."

* * * * *

"All that has been said or written of the extraordinary healthiness of this place has been borne out by experience. I believe that every temperate and well-conducted person in the colony is entirely free from disease of every description.

"The pleasing circumstances mentioned would be comparatively worthless, did our rising settlement exhibit the spectacle too common in new colonies, of internal discord; but here again I find matter of congratulation. With no exception worth notice, the settlers on the Company's territory are on the most friendly terms with each other, and with the native population. The slight differences which occasionally will occur are soon adjusted.

"More might be said on the different topics which I have touched upon, but more is not needed to satisfy the Directors of the increasing prosperity of the colony. Difficulties of no ordinary nature have been overcome, and severe trials have proved the determination of the settlers to second manfully the exertions of their friends in England. On continued support from England perfect reliance is placed, although no longer absolutely necessary to the now fairly established colony."

This testimony, however, may be thought liable to question, as being given by an officer of the Company. But it is entirely corroborated by the Hon. Henry Petre, in his account of the first settlement of the New Zealand Company, recently published, who quotes the dispatch at full length, with this attestation of its truth and value: – "The progress, however, of the Company's settlements, down to the time of my departure, is so fully and accurately described in a letter from Colonel Wakefield to the Company, of which I was the bearer, that I cannot do better than print it here."

The following extracts from Mr. Petre's work amply bear out the judgment which he has passed on Colonel Wakefield's dispatch, and contain much interesting information. He describes his work as a "brief sketch of what came under his own observation, and what he could gather from authentic sources during his residence" in New Zealand, and adds his trust that his readers "will make indulgent allowance for his deficiencies as an author,

in consideration of the accuracy of his statements." Mr. Petre proceeds, – "Upon the latter point I venture to speak with confidence. With respect to my very favourable opinion of New Zealand as a field of emigration, I have to offer as a proof, at least, of my own sincerity, the statement that I have revisited this country merely for the purpose of making arrangements required for carrying out my plans of settlement in New Zealand, whither I am about to return as a colonist."

In the passage quoted below, Mr. Petre refutes the mis-statements that have been so recklessly made as to the want of provisions at the Company's first settlement; and corrects the errors and prejudices still more widely prevalent, with respect to the savage habits and dangerous character of the natives.

"It has been frequently stated in some of the newspapers of New South Wales and of this country, that the first settlers at Port Nicholson suffered great privations, and even sometimes were in want of food. There never was the slightest foundation for such statements. From the hour of our landing at Port Nicholson in February 1840, to that of my departure in March last, we were amply supplied with provisions. The Company's importations of flour were large and regular, and trade with the natives furnished us with such abundance of fresh pork and potatoes, that we never had to depend upon salt provisions; cattle and sheep were brought to us from New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land; and latterly fresh meat was constantly on sale at the following prices: beef and mutton from eight-pence to a shilling, and pork from four-pence to sixpence. Milch cows were sufficiently numerous to afford milk and butter for constant sale. Poultry and eggs were scarce, and, of course, dear. Fish taken in the harbour, of great variety and excellent quality, was at all times abundant. I firmly believe that there never has been

an instance in which the wants of the founders of a colony were so amply supplied from the beginning.

"The principal danger to which it was imagined in this country we were exposed, was the hostility of the natives. Most of us had made anxious enquiries en this subject before we embarked, and our conviction was, that we should be received as friends by the natives, if our conduct towards them were just and friendly. Our most sanguine expectations were completely realized. Our numbers, indeed, astonished them, and they used frequently to ask whether our whole tribe, meaning thereby all the people of England, had not come to Port Nicholson. It is probable, also, that they were overawed by our obvious superiority to any physical force that could have been brought against us in case of disputes. But, however this may be, they received us in the most friendly manner. Their services for all sorts of purposes were always at our command for a moderate remuneration. We employed them chiefly in shooting, fishing, hunting, cutting fire-wood, and, as I have said before, building houses. At first they were content to be paid with food only. By degrees their wants increased, and they required various goods, such as tobacco, clothing, and hardware. All this took place at our first squatting settlement on the banks of the Hutt; latterly, after the bulk of the settlers were established at Wellington, the natives had begun to require money wages in return for their labor. A similar change took place with regard to trade. At first all our exchanges with the natives were made by barter only, but long before my departure they had begun to comprehend the use and value of money. This knowledge at last extended in some cases to the regular employment of our currency. One native resident at Wellington purchased a horse which had been imported from New South Wales, and used to let it out for hire; and another had an account with the Bank. Great numbers were in possession of money, which they usually

carried about with them in a handkerchief tied round the neck. 6 During the first months of our intercourse with the natives, they usually carried muskets, but apparently from mere habit, and not on account of any fear of violence from us. We never carried arms, and the custom has now been quite abandoned by the natives of Port Nicholson. The best proof, however, of their own feeling of security is that they are gradually destroying the stockade defences of their villages. Not that they ever feared, probably, that we should attack them, but they feel that our presence is a perfect security against aggression from distant and hostile tribes. It seemed to me that the whole character of this people was undergoing a rapid change; that they had sufficient intelligence to perceive the advantages of conciliating the settlers by orderly conduct, and of adopting our usages; and that in all probability the next generation will to a great extent amalgamate with the colonists. It is a pleasure to be able to state that the behaviour of the colonists generally towards the natives has been signally praiseworthy."

Mr. Petre furnishes the public with the following valuable information on the "soil, climate, and productions" of New Zealand: –

"When we were fairly 'squatted,' as I have before described, I had ample opportunities of examining the country about Port Nicholson. The favourable impresson of the soil, which had been created by the richness of the vegetation, was confirmed during the three months of my residence on the Hutt, previous

to my visit to Sydney. With the exception of the hills facing the Strait, and the high land around Evans Bay, the hills around Port Nicholson are covered with the richest verdure to their summits, which are level, so as to be susceptible of cultivation. The soil of the hills is extremely rich, and it is the flat land at their tops, as well as their sloping faces, which the natives use as their potatoe grounds.

"The hills around the port have since been surveyed and opened for selection, and they have generally been chosen by persons having early orders of choice, – a proof that they are held in high estimation by those who have had the opportunity of examining them.

"Disappointment was at first felt in consequence of an impression that there was a great scarcity of land in the valleys; but this opinion, which prevailed generally at one time, and was widely reported in England, has been corrected by experience.

"At first it was thought that the valley of the Hutt was the only one in the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson, and this was believed to be more limited than it has since been found to be; but as the surveyors, the settlers, and some exploring parties extended their examination of the country, rich and fertile valleys, though narrow, have been discovered in every direction; and there is now a general impression that the available land in the Port Nicholson district will be found sufficient to support a dense population.

"The known portion of the valley of the Hutt is now considerable, and, from the character of the hills, there can be no doubt that numerous smaller valleys open into, or communicate with it; indeed, little doubt is entertained that there is a communication between the Hutt and a considerable tract of rich table land connected with Hawke's Bay and McDonnell's Cove.

"The great fertility of the valley of the Hutt has been often

mentioned, and I can bear witness that too much cannot well be said in its favour. As soon as the woods are cut down, grasses spring up, affording excellent food for cattle, and all the seeds that have been sown there have produced luxuriantly."

* * * * *

"What the cattle and sheep do feed upon I am unable to say: they browse to a great extent on the young shoots of various trees and shrubs, and they find great abundance of agreeable and nourishing food, even before any grasses spring up. The rapidity with which they fatten is very remarkable. On my return from Sydney, I was struck with their condition, although the period of my return was just the end of winter. I recollect seeing an account, somewhere, that the cattle which had been landed at Port Nicholson were starving for want of herbage. There is not a word of truth in the statement. The cattle landed lean from on board ship became fat in a short time, without the least care on the part of the owners, as they are invariably turned loose to shift for themselves. Even the horses of the settlement are left to get their own living; they too manage some how or other to feed themselves into high condition; in short, it was a standing joke, at Port Nicholson, that the only raw-boned animal in the place was carefully fed upon hay and oats, and regularly groomed; whilst the other horses which were left to watch over their own interests, like true self-relying colonists, were, as I said before, invariably fat.

"It should be observed, moreover, that the oxen which worked all day, and were only turned loose at night, were in equally good condition. The weight of some oxen has reached 900 lb. and I know of no cases in which oxen have been fed artificially.

"I have not the least doubt that the feeding of stock will become a profitable occupation in New Zealand."

* * * * *

"A great number of sheep have also been imported from New South Wales and Van Dieman's Land, and they have thriven well. I learn that some New Zealand wool has already been sold in London, at prices about equal to those of Australian wool, and I have no doubt that considerable exports of wool will take place. Several persons in Port Nicholson are about to turn their attention to the keeping of flocks, and I cannot see any reason why it should not be a considerable source of prosperity, unless indeed more profitable occupations should take up the exclusive attention of the colonists.

"The business of establishing the settlement, the choosing of the town sections, and getting the population housed, have hitherto very much confined the agricultural operations of the colonists. Enough has been done, however, in the way of experiment to prove that agriculture will rank high among the resources of the Port Nicholson district. The wheat grown upon the banks of the Hutt, from seed obtained from the Cape of Good Hope, yielded well, and was of excellent quality; and barley grown from some seed which I brought from New South Wales, where it had been raised from Cape seed, also turned out remarkably well. Oats yield abundantly, and Indian corn or maize is universally cultivated by the natives. Potatoes are produced in great abundance, as the climate admits of two crops in the course of a year. The native potatoes are very good, but those which have been raised by the settlers are as fine as those of any part of the world.

"Potatoes have already been exported to New South Wales, and will become a very considerable article of exportation. The demand in the Australian colonies is at all times large, and there is no other convenient source of supply, with the exception of Van Dieman's Land. The same may be said of wheat. The average price of wheat in New South Wales is extremely

high, sufficiently so to give a profit to the New Zealand grower; but if, as I believe, the cultivation of flax should be still more profitable, it will not be worth while to raise wheat for exportation.

"The production which I think is likely to yield a larger profit than any other, and is therefore better calculated to engage the attention of the colonists, is the phormium tenax, or New Zealand flax.

"This plant grows in great abundance in every part of New Zealand. No soil seems to be unsuited to it; but as there are several varieties of this indigenous plant, it yet remains to be ascertained which is the best species, and on what soils it may be most beneficially grown. Formerly the phormium tenax was extensively cultivated by the natives; but at this time all that is gathered grows spontaneously. The best kinds flourish at Port Nicholson, at that part of the Taranaki district which has been chosen for the New Plymouth settlement, and, it is said, around Hawke's Bay. Taranaki formerly yielded the largest quantity for exportation; but the natives abandoned that part of the country some years since for Port Nicholson, where they occupied the place of the original inhabitants, who emigrated to the Chatham Islands. This I learned from Mr. Richard Barrett, who has resided many years in New Zealand, and who then lived with the natives of Taranaki. He has since lived at Port Nicholson, and has only lately returned to his former place of abode.

"The early trials of the New Zealand flax will most likely be made from the wild plant, but as soon as it becomes an article of exportation it will be cultivated. My reason for so thinking is, that the number and great difference of the sorts must cause a considerable mixture of inferior with the superior qualities. Hence it will be necessary to discourage the one, and encourage the other. At present it would require much ground to be tra-

velled over to collect the finest sorts only; by cultivation they would be always at hand, as none other would be worth the labor and expense."

There is little doubt that flax will be the great staple export of New Zealand, as wool is of Australasia. Produced at the price at which it appears probable that the colony will be able to export it, the markets of Europe would take an almost unlimited supply. Mr Petre quotes the following statement as having been drawn up by a gentleman at Wellington, who had made the subject his study for some time, and who, he believes, had been engaged in the growth of flax in Ireland. He adds that, though he had no means of verifying the calculations, as he himself had neither made, nor witnessed the making of, any experiments, he believes that such experiments have been conducted with care; and that, due allowance being made for the imperfect state of existing information, the statement is entitled to confidence.

"The native hemp, or phormium tenax, is the article of local produce which of all others can, with least delay and least capital, be rendered fit for export in large quantities. It can be procured in a state fit for making cordage within six months from the present time, if an adequate capital be immediately raised, and proper machinery be erected and set to work.

"It can be prepared in any required quantity at a price which would command an extensive and ready sale, and, at the same time, leave a large profit to those engaged in the trade of preparing it. As a rough estimate of the nature of this important article, I beg to submit the following calculations for consideration:

"Let it be supposed that, in a flax farm of 100 acres in extent, each plant should occupy a space of two square yards, or a square of nearly fifty-one inches in the side, the total number of such plants to an acre would be 2,420; take as an average each plant to yield 12 lb. of the fresh-cut green leaves per year, this would

give rather more than 2,900,000 lb., or about 1,296 tons, annually, of fresh-cut leaves, off a farm of 100 acres extent.

"I have prepared a small quantity of the fresh-cut leaves, by way of experiment, and the result enables me to state that about one-fifth of the gross weight of green leaves, prepared according to my plan, can be had of hemp, in a fit state for making good ropes or cordage; besides which, a quantity of coarse tow, equal to about half the weight of the fresh-cut leaves, is obtained in the operation of cleansing the hemp of short fibres and pulp. There would, therefore, be procurable from such a farm about 250 tons of hemp in a proper state for the ropemaker's use, and about 600 tons of a coarse tow, fit for making ropes of inferior quality, and coarse packing canvass.

"'This coarse tow would, if sold so low as £3 per ton, almost pay the whole first cost of the prepared hemp, including rent, expense of cultivating and procuring the raw leaves, and the wages of the operatives engaged in the preparation of it. The hemp, if sold even so low as £15 per ton, would be nearly all profit, as the cost of procuring it would be almost, or altogether covered by the value of the tow. A capital of no more than £5,000 would be sufficient to set on foot an establishment capable of turning out from 600 to 700 tons annually, and, in any case, would pay full 80 per cent, profit on the value of the hemp sold.'"

Mr. Petre comments upon this statement in the following terms: –

"This is certainly a brilliant promise; but although I will not venture to anticipate what profit the future cultivator of New Zealand flax is likely to realise, I have a very strong conviction that it will be our staple article of export; and that, like the wool of New South Wales, its profitableness will be such as to make it not worth while, for many years to come, to invest capital in any other exportable commodity. I ground my

opinion chiefly on the large European demand, and on the great variety of purposes to which our flax may be applied. It combines the qualities of hemp and flax, some samples having the strength of the former, and others having the fineness of the latter. Cordage and coarse sail-cloth are made from the strongest kinds, whilst some samples I have seen have been of a silky texture, and I believe that in France cambric has been made from it, of great delicacy and beauty. It has also been manufactured into paper of excellent quality, both in this country and in France."

Mr. Petre adds, – "there is no limit to the extent to which flax may be raised by means of cultivation."

On the important subject of coal, Mr. Petre states, –

"Of the mineral productions of New Zealand, very little is as yet known; indeed, many years must elapse before the resources of the country, in this as well as in other particulars, are even partially unfolded. Coal is an exception to this general statement, for it has been found in several places, and probably exists in most parts of both islands.

"I recollect, before I left England, a native who died in this country, distinctly and with great earnestness stated that coal was to be found on the southern island, and he pointed out the neighbourhood of Port Otago as its precise locality. Soon after the arrival of the Tory, coal was brought to Colonel Wakefield by some natives, and samples were sent to the New Zealand Company.

"In January last a cargo was imported into Port Nicholson from a place called Wanganui, in Blind Bay, and it was found to burn well. This coal was obtained by the crew of the vessel on the beach by means of crow-bars and pick-axes, requiring no mining operations, and accessible to everybody.

"Recent accounts state that coal has been found at Evans Bay, in Port Nicholson. To what extent it may exist there

has not been ascertained; but should it turn out to be both good and abundant, it will confer upon the place a high degree of importance as a steam-boat station."

Mr. Petre's testimony to the salubrity of the climate is most satisfactory. He states, –

"The climate of New Zealand is as salubrious as it is favourable to production. It has been stated in many of the settlers' letters which have been published from time to time, that, although exposed to wet for days together, they never experienced the slightest ill effects. I can confirm this statement to the letter; indeed the superiority of the climate is a fact upon which the settlers agree. I have been frequently exposed first in fresh water and then in the sea, and then again in fresh water, and have allowed my clothes to remain on, without the least inconvenience. For the first three months that I was in Port-Nicholson, I was incessantly occupied in the water, and yet I never had a cold. Then our tents and houses were not at first very well calculated to keep out the rain. In England the consequence of this would have been serious disease, and yet I heard of no case of illness from exposure."

The temperature throughout the year is stated to be "singularly equable;" as the following table, which exhibits the results of observations made at Port Nicholson by Mr. Revans, will evince.

STATE OF THE THERMOMETER AT PORT NICHOLSON, FROM APRIL, 1840, TO APRIL, 1841.

STATE OF THE THERMOMETER AT PORT NICHOLSON, FROM APRIL, 1840, TO APRIL, 1841.

The following extracts display Mr. Petre's opinion of the past proceedings of the Company, of the identity of its interests with those of the settlers and of the public, and of the capabilities and prospects of the colony.

"Of the utility of the Company, no one, as far as I am aware, entertains any doubt. The colonists feel that their own interests and those of the Company are so intimately connected that the one cannot be pursued without at the same time promoting the other. The Directors are bound to consult the interests of the shareholders in the first instance, but it is satisfactory to reflect that the best mode of so doing is to promote ours.

"The confidence of the colonists in the Company was never weakened, even at the most trying period. Somehow or other we always thought that the character of the Directors, and I may be permitted to add, that of the colonists, and the enterprising nature of their undertaking, would sooner or later have its due effect upon the Government, and incline them favourably towards us. The fulfilment of this expectation will strengthen the confidence of the colonists in the Company for the future; which confidence will also be extended to the Government."

"The country certainly possesses every natural capability for a series of rich and flourishing settlements. Of the singular excellence of the climate – of the richness of the soil – of the

great fecundity of animal life – of the abundance and variety of the resources of the islands, not a doubt is entertained by those whose opinions rest on experience. The mode of colonization adopted by the Government at home insures, if fairly carried out, a regular increase of labour in due proportion to the increase of capital and private property in land. For carrying out this system, the Government has adopted, as its principal instrument, a private Company, for whose prudence and energy the past furnishes a guarantee, and whose interests are identical with those of the colony itself. The revived spirit of English colonization seems to direct its chief force on the 'Britain of the South;' and it may be safely presumed that what has been already done in this work, remarkable as it is, considering the short time employed, will appear insignificant on being compared with the proceedings of the next few years. For my own part, I will conclude as I began, by saying that the best proof I can give of the sincerity of my opinion as to the bright prospects of New Zealand as a colony, is the fact of my being but a sojourner here, preparing to return to the place of my former residence in New Zealand."

Mr. Jameson, whose recent publication is well worthy of the perusal of all persons interested in the colonization of Australasia and New Zealand, 7 fully substantiates, as far as he has had means of judging, the evidence of Mr, Petre. Mr. Jameson did not visit Port Nicholson, and his personal knowledge is confined to the northern portion of the northern island; but his statements respecting the climate and soil of the districts which he visited are most satisfactory; and I shall presently give proof, from the testimony of a gentleman

who has travelled extensively in New Zealand, and from his botanical and other knowledge is well qualified to form a comparative estimate, that the country further south is at least equally favoured by nature. 8 "Regarding the agricultural capabilities of Port Nicholson," Mr. Jameson quotes what he calls "the cautious testimony of Mr. George Duppa" (a gentleman settled at Wellington), referring to ascertained facts, in the following words: – "I hope soon," he says, "to be able to prove that the soil and climate are such as I, very shortly after my arrival in the colony, stated them to be, viz., such as every English farmer would pray for; it is similar to that met with in Italy and the south of France. I then stated that two crops could be realized in the course of the year off the same piece of land; and a year's experience in the colony has merely strengthened this opinion; for some wheat, which was sown by Mr. Sinclair in May last, was reaped the following January, and he has at the present moment potatoes in his garden which were sown about the middle of February, and are now fit to come out of the ground. So that it is practically proved that a white crop and some succulent crop can be got off the same piece of land in the course of twelve months. But we may shortly expect to see a new style of farming introduced, and which, too, will only be second to the cotton-farming in the West Indies, – viz. the flax plant. We may hope soon to see large quantities of this valuable production shipped for the mother country, which will be another source of wealth, such as none of the sister colonies can boast of. A machine for the preparation of this plant is in the course of erection by our brother colonist, Mr. Earp, which I feel confident will prepare it at a paying rate; and I feel assured myself that, even should it not answer as a primary process, it certainly will as a secondary

one; and as soon as we can accomplish this one object, from that moment we may date the prosperity of the colony. It has been objected by many that there is no extent of land at Port Nicholson; let those persons start off on the Porirua road, and take a two days' walk towards Otaki, on the coast, and they will have some cause to change their opinions by their return; for finer country I never witnessed in the course of my life, or better fitted for the purposes of agriculture. The land in the immediate neighbourhood of Port Nicholson is certainly heavily timbered; but the expense of clearing it is not only made up for by the richness of the soil, which consists of little else than decayed vegetable matter, but its immediate vicinity to the town will enable the persons who cultivate it to send a variety of produce to market – poultry, eggs, butter, vegetables, &c. which will amply repay for any outlay incurred in the clearing of the land; and he who begins first will have the best market."

But the part of Mr. Jameson's work which relates to New Zealand is chiefly valuable on account of the well-coupled benevolence and candour with which he investigates the character and capabilities of the native population, and the apparent justice of his decided conclusion. "There exists in no part of the world," he says, "a more inviting field for the exercise of practical philanthropy than New Zealand; no where can we find a race more susceptible of improvement, if placed under the control of a wise and benevolent government, able to instruct, protect, and control." * * * * "That the New Zealanders are endowed with strong capacities is clearly indicated by the comparatively advanced state of civilization to which they have already attained. 9 I have elsewhere noticed

the large numbers of them that have learned to read and write, nor will they remain long ignorant of the secrets of money-making; in proof of which, a native of Port Nicholson, by his influence among his countrymen, obtained an absolute monopoly of pigs, potatoes, and agricultural produce, which he re-sold to the Company's settlers at his own price. One New Zealander has risen to the responsible situation of chief officer of a whaling ship; and has acquired the reputation of unusual skill and good conduct in the discharge of his duties. Colonel Wakefield, the Reverend Mr. Marsden, and other gentlemen of intelligence, have expressed a very favourable opinion regarding the natural intelligence of the New Zealanders, and of their becoming proficients in various departments of industry. Throughout these chapters, numerous instances are recorded from which the same conclusion will be derived. Not only, then, as the original inhabitants and owners of the soil, but as thinking and reasoning men, these people possess the strongest claims upon the attention and the protection of the British Government."

It is evident from the foregoing and other passages, that Mr. Jameson has far more apprehension that the English colonists will encroach upon and oppress the natives, than that the natives are likely to injure the colonists. That notion, indeed, he scouts throughout his work; and he speaks strongly of the benefits which the missionaries have conferred upon the native population, and of the progress in general knowledge and civilization, as well as in religion and morals, which the latter have made under the instruction of their Christian preceptors.

I make one more quotation from Mr. Jameson's book, with a view to show that, in the course of time, when they have been brought more closely and generally into contact with civilized men, and have learned from them the advantages of labor, as measured by what it will buy, the New Zealanders will become no inconsiderable customers for English manufactures.

"The costume of the natives whom we met indicated the strong and increasing taste of the New Zealanders for clothes of European manufacture. Some wore trousers and a Guernsey-frock, others were loosely enveloped in blankets. The native mat is now rarely used, and will doubtless soon be entirely superseded by the use of blankets or slop-clothing, which are so much more easily procured. At present it is calculated that the New Zealanders consume annually a hundred thousand pounds' worth of English manufactured goods, exclusive of the money which they lay out in fowling-pieces, powder, shot, and tobacco; and since not a day elapses without witnessing the creation of some want previously unknown amongst them, it may be anticipated that their consumption of British goods will in a few years exceed three times its present amount. To weave the native mat, or kakahoo, was the work of one individual, usually a female, for about two months; the same female's husband can now at any time procure for her a blanket by going into the bush and catching a few wild pigs, for which he will readily receive, in barter, the required articles from any of the English traders."

The deficiencies of Mr. Jameson's information, arising from his not having visited the country south of the river Thames, are supplied by Mr. Bidwill's "Rambles in New Zealand." That gentleman, after examining the northern and central districts of the northern island, in 1838, – penetrating to the great lake Taupo, – returned from Sydney last year, and "resided for some time at Port Nicholson and its neighbourhood." 10 After describing the great plain watered by the Waiho, or Thames, Mr. Bidwill proceeds: – "There is no doubt in time this will be a fine country, but I cannot help thinking the land around Port

Nicholson offers far greater advantages; it is true, round the valley of the Hutt, the land will cost labor to prepare it for cultivation, but it is undoubtedly very rich, and will make good and speedy return for the outlay upon it. Now the land on the Waiho, which will not cost much money to work, is not better, perhaps not so good, as the bare hills to the south of Port Nicholson, and the swampy lands of the Waiho will cost almost as much to drain as heavy timbered land to clear; and it is well known bogs do not immediately become useful land, but that several years must elapse after they are reclaimed, before they will bear crops of grain. 11

"The Waiho, although a much larger river, is not more useful than the Hutt, as it will only serve for the downward conveyance of produce, for which purpose the latter is equally capable; and in Port Nicholson the farmer has the advantage of his port-town close to him, whilst on the Thames he is from thirty to forty miles from it, and consequently from his market. The almost total absence of timber on the Thames will also be a serious difficulty to the farmer, as he will, in most instances, be obliged to bring his wood for all purposes from a distance, besides buying, instead of cutting it upon his own land.

"The only advantage the Thames has over the Hutt is its plain, admirably adapted for rearing herds of cattle without the labor of cultivation, and I have no doubt, in a few years, it will be so occupied from New South Wales, by persons accustomed to that kind of employment; but I apprehend few from this place would at present feel disposed to embark in such a speculation.

"I can say, moreover, from all I have seen or heard of the

different harbours of New Zealand, Port Nicholson is by far the best for the settlement of a new colony, not only from its geographical situation, but because the site of the town is much superior to any other that has yet been found in the country; and there is abundance of excellent land, sufficient for the employment of any amount of population there may be for twenty years to come.

"At the Bay of Islands it is almost impossible to find a place suitable for the site even of a moderate village, and the country is so rough and broken that there are no means of going from one part of the Bay to another by land; and the shores also of the Gulf of Hauraki are more mountainous even than those of the Bay of Islands.

"At Port Nicholson there is an excellent harbour; a navigable river, the Hutt; a great extent of very rich land; an admirable site for the town; with a population at present of between two and three thousand persons, among whom are many of high family connexions and respectability from England, who have brought considerable capital with them, and a consequent demand for labor: – most of which advantages are not to be found on the Thames, where there are as yet no emigrants, and where it is very certain none will be sent by Government, and where the population will be made up entirely from the emigration of doubtful characters from New South Wales, or of fickle, discontented spirits from this place. The natives on the Thames have always been known as a very bad set, and those who were here at the beginning of this settlement will understand what trouble an ill-disposed set of natives may give to a new-comer, who has every thing to do, and none but these to help him.

"Port Nicholson has been most wantonly cried down at Sidney by parties interested in other settlements; because they had land there and none here. I saw the other day, in 'The

Sidney Colonist,' a letter from a person they called their Kororarika correspondent: this veracious individual described Thorndon as "liable to be washed away by the floods from the hills after heavy rains;" which ridiculous nonsense would not be worth noticing, but from the danger of its being believed by persons having no means of learning the truth, for the situation of Thorndon is, of all others, one the most perfectly exempt from any danger from floods; and one hardly knows how sufficiently to admire the impudence of the person who could state as truth so visible an impossibility.

"I think it of little consequence what people in other parts of New Zealand say of this place, as I am satisfied no long period will elapse before it will become, as it deserves, the one of the greatest consequence in the country; its local advantages being greater, and its settlers 12 so much superior in character, education, property, and every requisite for the final success of a colony to those of the resident Europeans in other parts of New Zealand, that it cannot fail to prosper, if the colonists do not suffer themselves to be deceived and misled into new schemes for further emigration by interested parties, and which they may be sure will do them no good, and only throw them back to the state of discomfort naturally incident to a first arrival in any new settlement."

The statement annexed exhibits the number and tonnage of the vessels which have entered Port Nicholson from the date of the formation of the settlement to the 10th April 1841. The number and tonnage of those not chartered by the Company demonstrate that the infant settlement has already considerable commercial intercourse with the neighbouring colonies. The

latest letter which I have seen, dated in July last, states that the colonists were then expecting four vessels with cattle from Sydney.

The recent appointment of a zealous and enlightened Clergyman, as Bishop of New Zealand, and the measures which have been taken, in connexion with that arrangement, to supply the spiritual wants of the very large proportion of the settlers who are members of the Established Church, will contribute, essentially, to the well-being and prosperity of the colonists. The Bishop contemplates – with the co-operation of the Company – the establishment of a Seminary, at Wellington, upon the plan of the Poor Law Commissioners' school, at Norwood, for the education and general training of the children of the natives, in order that they may be enabled to march in an equal rank of knowledge and conduct with their cotemporaries in the corresponding classes of the emigrants. They will thus, it is hoped, be preserved from that collision which might otherwise take place, to the grievous loss and suffering of the weaker party, between the rude violence of the aboriginal tribes and the giant-strength of a civilized community. Other arrangements will be made to provide the congregations, at Wellington and Nelson, with clergymen. A due proportion of the funds which have been set apart in the latter settlement for religious uses and endowments, as stated at Page 7, of this pamphlet, will be immediately available to further the benevolent designs of the Bishop, and to afford to all the founders of the new community – whatever their several tenets – the opportunity, at least, of participating in the blessings of religious ordinances and ministrations.

A few words will be sufficient to wind up my remarks. I have stated that the benefit which those who leave Great Britain for Australasia, or New Zealand, confer upon this

country, is not limited to the diminution of the high-pressure competition in every branch of labor or employment of labor which distinguishes the times in which we live. Removed to the Antipodes, they are transformed from jealous competitors into the best of suppliers of raw produce, because the best of customers for our manufactures. This is no vain hyperbole. Whilst the millions of France and Russia purchased, in 1840, no more than £2,378,149, and £1,602,742 worth of our products respectively, the few thousands of our Australasian colonists consumed to the value of £2,004,385. The faster we can increase their numbers, the more rapidly we widen our market. They have English tastes, habits, and wants; the demand which obtains in this country for their wool and oil, supplies the means of gratifying them; and years must elapse before it can even appear to be their interest to imitate the absurdity into which rival nations have been betrayed, in following our false steps, in manufacturing dear and bad goods at home, instead of importing good and cheap articles from abroad. The only doubt which can arise, to qualify our calculations of corresponding benefits from New Zealand, is whether the settlers in those fertile islands will be able to raise, to a sufficient extent, any articles, the demand for which, in the markets of Europe, is adequate to the amount of their wants of British manufactures. It will not answer, of course, to clear their heavily-timbered lands with a view to compete in the production of wool with the vast natural sheep-walks of Australasia; and the character of many parts of New Zealand, doubtless, indicates that agriculture will be the most profitable employment of its inhabitants. But it seems equally clear that it has extensive plains upon which sheep might be depastured in great numbers; and it is probable that its superior fertility, and the far greater certainty of its seasons, will enable it to command much of the wool of its sister colonies in exchange for its corn, potatoes, and

cured pork, – the two latter of which have for some time been exported, in considerable quantities, both to Sydney and Port Philip. It is better suited for the whale-fishery, both as regards the present haunts of the animal and the homeward voyage, as well as for the cheap victualling of the vessels employed, than any of the colonies of Australasia. But, far beyond all these sources of probable profitable interchange of commodities with England, it seems to me as certain as any proposition not tested by experience can be, that it possesses in its vast indigenous growth of flax, – which may be increased, by cultivation, to an indefinite extent, and, doubtless, at the same time, improved, – an article for which there is already a great demand in this country, and which, when produced at the low price to which competition and better means of preparing it for the voyage are likely to bring it, will probably be applied here to many new uses, and, consequently, consumed in much larger quantities. Mr. Petre, indeed, supposes that the profits of growing flax will be so large as to prevent the investment of any considerable amount of capital in any other agricultural pursuit. However that may be, I cannot doubt, from all the evidence before the public, but especially from the fact of there having been, for some time past, a regular exportation to Sydney, that the more stimulating demand of a much larger market, acting upon the far higher intelligence and more abundant capital with which recent emigration has furnished the colony, will ensure the growth and preparation of an adequate supply of flax, at a price which, whilst it will afford an ample return to the producer, will induce an increased consumption of the staple of New Zealand in the manufactures of Europe.

THE END.

1 In some instances the land was not literally given away. In parts of British North America it was sold for a trifle, – too small to effect any of the good objects of a price, – and the petty proceeds were spent upon establishments for managing the Crown lands, or mixed up with the general revenue of the province. In no case was colonization effectually promoted by them.

2 These circumstances have been especially prevalent and mischievous throughout our North American colonies. One of the witnesses, examined by the Land Commission appointed by Lord Durham, deposed that upon one occasion he met a settler, with a waggon and three horses, in the midst of a trackless wilderness, returning to his home, after a journey of five or six days, with the proceeds of two or three quarters of wheat, which he had taken to the nearest mill to be ground.

3 Within the last week they have addressed the Colonial Department, offering to expend £1500 in sending out lights for a light-house, the erection of which, at the entrance of Port Nicholson, would materially add to the value of that harbour, and asking, in return, the bare re-payment of their outlay from the produce of future harbour-dues.

4 Of the vigor with which the principles on which the New Zealand Company have proceeded have enabled them to carry on their operations, the statement of their emigration, appended to this pamphlet, affords remarkable proof. During the brief period of the Company's existence, 555 cabin passengers, 92 intermediate passengers, and 5,725 steerage passengers, have sailed for their settlements: – all of the two former classes being more or less capitalists. Had more knowledge and confidence existed among the thousands of those classes to whom emigration, prudently undertaken, would be the greatest of blessings, the aggregate number of emigrants might have been greatly increased.

5 This Company is now merged in the New Zealand Company.

6 This account of the advance made by the natives in intelligence and civilization is abundantly borne out by information from other sources. A recently received number of the New Zealand Gazette, published it Wellington, states: – "It is but a few months since a British population made this port their home, and yet we find one of our merchants with sixty names of native families in his ledger, as regular customers. In examining the articles charged to their several accounts, we are happy to find them consist almost wholly of various articles of dress, and slates and pencils. The exceptions are pipes and tobacco a little powder, a few flasks, and guns."

7 New Zealand, South Australia, and New South Wales: – a record of recent travels in those colonics, with especial reference to emigration, and the advantageous employment of labor and capital, by R. G. Jameson, Esq – London: Smith, Elder, and Company.

8 See Mr. Bidwill's "Rambles in New Zealand."

9 Mr. Jameson states, in another place: – "That many of the chiefs are competent to judge correctly on many questions which would be submitted to their opinion, as jurymen, cannot be doubted."

10 "Rambles in New Zealand, by John Carne Bidwill (late of Exeter), Sydney New South Wales." – London: published by W. S. Orr and Company, Paternoster Row, 1841.

11 Fully one half of the plain of the Waiho is an impassable bog covered with high rushes, the largest remaining portion poor fern land; and there is a considerable portion of wet stony land covered with rank vegetation without bushes.

12 "I am at this moment residing with Mr. Molesworth, brother of Sir William Molesworth, Bart.; and among a host of respectable settlers, who give a high moral tone to society here, I may name Petre, son of Lord Petre; – – - Sinclair, brother or son of Sir George Sinclair; Dorset, Wakefield, Hopper, Partridge, Bruce, Scot, Hobson, Mantell, Hunter, Majoribanks, Biggs, Jones, Lloyd, &c. &c."

[Appendix]

TABLE OF SHIPPING

ARRIVED AT PORT NICHOLSON SINCE THE FORMATION OF THE SETTLEMENT TO THE 10th APRIL, 1841.

Tory, barque, Hokianga, schooner, Success, cutter, Aquilla, cutter, Cuba, barque, Elizabeth, brig, Aurora, barque, Susannah Anne, schooner, Eleanor, barque, Oriental, barque, Duke of Roxburgh, barque, Bengal Merchant, barque, Guide, brig, Lunar, brig, Atlas, brig, Cuba, barque, Adelaide, ship, Glenbervie, barque, Tory, barque, Lady Lilford, ship, Nimrod, brig, Earl Stanhope, ship, Hannah, schooner, Integrity, barque, Middlesex, ship, Cuba, barque, Ariel, schooner, Harriett, cutter, Bolton, barque, Sally Anne, schooner, Surprise, schooner, Justine, barque

Black Joke, schooner, Jewess, schooner, Bee, brig, Sally Anne, schooner, Martha, brig, Surprise, schooner, Integrity, barque, Speculator, brig, Hope, ship, Nimrod, brig, Lady Leith, brig, Hannah, schooner, Herald, H. M. S., Hannah, schooner, Brougham, barque, Martha, brig, Black Joke, schooner, Platina, barque, Eleanor, barque, Cuba, barque, Lady Leith, brig, Surprise, schooner, Sally Anne, schooner, Portenia, brig, Hannah, schooner, Jane, schooner, Success, schooner, Brougham, barque, Hannah, schooner, Black Joke, schooner, Kate, schooner, Jane, schooner, Cosmopolite, ship, Coromandel, ship, Britomart, H. M. S., Lady Leith, brig, Jewess, schooner, Eleanor, barque, Essington, schooner, Cheerful, schooner, Lunar, brig, Surprise, schooner, Jane, schooner

Hannah, schooner, Sally Anne, schooner, Elizabeth, schooner, Magnet, barque, Fair Barbadian, schooner, Essington, schooner, Africaine, barque, Hannah, schooner, Brougham, barque, Favorite, H. M. S., Emigrant, American brig, Susannah Anne, schooner, Elizabeth, schooner, Eleanor, barque, Martha Ridgway, ship, Sally Anne, schooner, Cheerful, schooner, Surprise, schooner, Royal George, schooner, Jane, schooner, Black Joke, schooner, Sally Anne, schooner, Morley, ship, Heron, Chilian brig, Cuba, barque, London, ship, Elizabeth, schooner, Patriot, brig, Jane, schooner, Emigrant, American brig, Kate, schooner, Jewess, schooner, Magnet, barque, St. Marie, brigantine, Blenheim, barque, Dolphin, schooner, Lord Sidmouth, barque, Surprise, schooner, Mary Taylor, brig, Elizabeth, schooner, Brougham, barque, Royal George, schooner, Slains Castle, barque

St. Marie, brigantine, Sisters, brigantine, Lapwing, schooner, Jane, schooner, Regia, barque, Chelydra, ship, Columbine, schooner, Sally Anne, schooner, Cheerful, schooner, Elizabeth, schooner, Dolphin, schooner, Curlew, schooner, Favorite, H. M. S., Surprise, schooner, Sand Fly, schooner, Ullswater, brig, Jewess, schooner, Black Joke, schooner, Jane, schooner, Dolphin, schooner, Lady Nugent, barque, Elizabeth, schooner, Eliza, schooner, Harriett, cutter, Sand Fly, schooner, – – – - Schooner, Lapwing, schooner, Surprise, schooner, Brougham, barque, Jewess, schooner, Eliza, schooner, Dolphin, schooner, James, barque, Bailey, schooner

Note. – Those marked * were owned or chartered by the Company.

A STATEMENT OF SHIPS DISPATCHED BY THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

A STATEMENT OF SHIPS DISPATCHED BY THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY

B. BENSLEY, PRINTER, WOKING.

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WORKS ON NEW ZEALAND.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY SMITH, ELDER AND CO., CORNHILL, LONDON.

On a large Imperial Folio sheet. Price 5s. coloured.

A COMPLETE PLAN OF THE TOWN OF WELLINGTON,

The First and Principal Settlement of the New Zealand Company.

By Captain W. M. SMITH, Surveyor-General.

"This is one of the most beautifully executed Plans of a Town we have ever seen, exhibiting the natural features of the surface, such as Hill and Dale. Every Town-Acre is marked with a double set of Figures shewing the original numbers in the Surveyor-General's Plan, and also the positions of the respective Allotments, selected in the order of choice as drawn at the ballot in England, by which Proprietors of Land in this favoured spot may see at a glance the exact position of their respective Locations, and also that of their friends.

"The extent of Land around the Town, reserved for Parks and Public purposes, with the Native and Church Reserves, are also distinguished."

In Imperial folio. Price 3s. plain, and 5s. coloured.

A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF

THE HARBOUR OF PORT NICHOLSON,

With its various Bays, Islands, and Soundings, shewing also the relative positions of the Town and Country Sections for several miles round tho Town of Wellington, and distinguishing the Rivers and state of the Soil, &c. throughout the respective districts.

By W. M. SMITH, Surveyor General.

"This is truly a comprehensive and highly interesting Map, and beautifully executed. The whole of the Allotments in this valuable and extensive tract of country are clearly pointed out and distinguished by Numbers which at once shew the Estates of the various proprietors."

Just published, price 3s. plain, and 5s. coloured, with a descriptive Key,

A LARGE VIEW OF

LAMBTON HARBOUR in PORT NICHOLSON,

New Zealand, comprehending the Water Frontage of the Town of Wellington; beautifully executed in Tinted Lithography, from the Original Drawing by C. Heaphy, Draughtsman to the New Zealand Company.

On a Large Royal Sheet. Price One Shilling.

THE NEW ZEALAND ALMANACK FOR 1842;

Containing, with the usual contents of an Ephemeris, complete Lists of the Directors, Officers and Agents, &c. of the New Zealand Company – Of the various Government Officers and Appointments in the Colony. A Summary of Regulations for Emigrants. The Terms of Purchasing Lands. Statements of Wages and Prices, &c. &c.

WORKS ON NEW ZEALAND.

Just published, price 3s. plain, and 5s. coloured.

A LARGE PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE

NEW PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT

In the Districts of Taranake, New Zealand, taken from the Anchorage Bay, shewing the range of the Houses recently Built by the Natives in anticipation of the Arrival of Emigrants. – From a Drawing taken on board the "Brougham," by Geo. Duppa, Esq.

Just published, price 1s. 6d. coloured, and 2s. 6d. in case,

A MAP OF NEW ZEALAND.

A complete Map of the Islands of New Zealand, brought down to the Present Time, from the Government and other recent Surveys, and including the various Settlements of the New Zealand Company.

In Demy 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. sewed.

NEW ZEALAND DESCRIBED.

A Series of Letters to the Right Hon. Earl Durham, late Governor of the New Zealand Land Company, &c. &c. on the Colonization of that Island, and on the Present Condition and Prospects of its Native Inhabitants. By John Dunmore Lang, D. D., Principal of the Australian College, and Senior Minister of the Church of Scotland in New South Wales.

"To persons who may have formed an idea of betaking themselves to this new asylum, we earnestly recommend Dr. Lang's Book, a seasonable, authentic, and highly useful pamphlet." – Times.

Recently published in Demy 8vo. Price 2s. sewed.

THE CLIMATE AND CAPABILITIES OF NEW ZEALAND,

Observations on the Climate of New Zealand, particularly with reference to its superior Sanative or Healthy Character, and its Congenial and Remedial effects on the English Constitution, with a general Account of the Island, its Animal and Vegetable Productions, its Agricultural Resources, and its Commercial Capabilities as a Residence for British Emigrants and Capitalists.

By WILLIAM SWAINSON, Esq.

"This is a clear and faithful resume of every thing relating to the climate of New Zealand, especially in reference to its influence on the Health of Europeans."

Now ready, in Post 8vo. with Maps and Plates. Price 8s. cloth,

NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AND NEW SOUTH WALES.

A Record of Recent Travels in these Colonies, with especial reference to Emigration, and the Advantageous employment of Labour and Capital. By R. G. JAMESON, Esq. Surgeon Superintendant of Emigrants to Australia, &c.

"One of the most intelligent accounts of New Zealand and Australia that has yet appeared." – Colonial Gazette.

WORKS ON NEW ZEALAND.

In Demy 8vo. with Plate. Price 6d.

INFORMATION RESPECTING

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW PLYMOUTH,

In New Zealand, from the testimony of Eye-witnesses. Together with the Terms of Purchase for Lands – Regulations for Labouring Emigrants, &c. &c. Compiled under the direction of the West of England Board of the New Zealand Company.

"This is a faithful Picture of New Plymouth from the testimony of eyewitnesses who could have no interest in misstating, many of them being Emigrants of the labouring class; we therefore confidently recommend this useful work to the notice of the public."

Small 8vo. Price 1s. stitched.

THE PRESENT STATE, RESOURCES, AND PROSPECTS OF NEW ZEALAND.

By EDWARD CAMPBELL.

"This is the best Tract that has yet appeared concerning these Settlements; it is short yet full of information, and written with the strictest impartiality. His picture of the Natives is extremely accurate and valuable." – Atlas.

Third Edition, Post 8vo. Price 4s. boards.

JOURNAL OF A RECENT VISIT TO

THE VINEYARDS OF SPAIN AND FRANCE;

Forming a Guide to the Profitable Culture of the Vine in New South Wales; and to the manufacture of the various Wines of Australia and New Zealand to rival those of France, Spain, and Portugal: also, Directions for the successful culture of the Olive; with useful remarks on the preparation of Raisins, Figs, Almonds, and other Dried Fruits, with an estimate of their Profits as articles of Merchandise. Forming a guide to the Australian and New Zealand Farmer, &c.

By JAMES BUSBY, Esq. of New South Wales.

In Demy 8vo. with 45 Botanical Plates. Price 21s.

THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST,

A Practical Treatise on the Cultivation and Management of various Productions suited to Tropical Climates, and capable of advantageous production in our Colonies, &c.

BY GEORGE RICHARDSON PORTER,

BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

THE NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF THE SUGAR CANE;

With Practical Directions for the Improvement of its Culture, and the Manufacture of its Products. With Plates, price 15s.

"These two valuable volumes open to Colonial Residents such a mine of hitherto concealed wealth, that every Proprietor, Emigrant, or person interested in the success of an Emigrant Friend ought to procure a Copy of each as their surest guide to fortune."

WORKS FOR NEW ZEALAND EMIGRANTS.

Published under the Patronage of the Aborigines Protection Society. 8vo. Price 1s.

NEW ZEALAND AND ITS NATIVE POPULATION.

By ERNEST DIEFFENBACK, M. D. Naturalist to the New Zealand Co.

Just Published in Demy 8vo. Price 1s.

A TREATISE ON BREEDING THE ALPACA;

OR, PERUVIAN SHEEP.

A Memoir addressed to Proprietors of Mountain and other Waste Lands, and Agriculturists, on the Naturalization of the Alpaca; or Peruvian Sheep. Recommended by the Natural History Society of Liverpool, as a New Breeding Stock not likely to interfere with Sheep Pasturage, and as being calculated to supply the Manufacturer with another Raw Material, applicable by its Fine Quality and Glossiness to the purposes of Silk; and thus not in the least intermeddling with the Growers of British Sheep's Wool, or Worsted Spinners and Woollen Manufacturers.

By WILLIAM WALTON.

Just published in Demy 8vo. Price 4s.

A TREATISE ON SHEEP,

Addressed to the Flock-masters of Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Africa, showing the means by which the Wool of these Colonies may be improved, and suggesting ideas for the introduction of other Lanigerous Animals, suited to the climate, and calculated to add to their Agricultural Resources.

By THOMAS SOUTHEY, Wool Broker.

In Post 8vo. Price 12s. in neat cloth binding,

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON BREWING,

Based on Chemical and Economical Principles; with Formulae for Public Brewers, and Instructions for Private Families.

By William Black, Brewer.

Second Edition, much enlarged and improved.

Revised by DR. BIRKBECK.

"This very useful work reappears with many valuable additions to its former instructions and information. The art of Brewing can no longer be a mystery or matter of difficulty; and neither the wholesale nor the private brewer should be without it." – Argus.

"The Second Edition of Mr. Black's Treatise on Brewing, is really worthy of attention, not only of private families, but of wholesale Brewers. The plain directions given for Brewing are highly advantageous." – Morning Advertiser.

"A very useful compendium of practical information on this important subject, and particularly calculated for the use of Emigrants to other Lands, as the plain directions are applicable to every Country and every Climate." Chronicle.

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