New Zealand, South Australia and New South Wales [Part]

R. G. Jameson

First published by Smith, Elder, and Co. in 1842

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

Epub © 2013 Early New Zealand Books Collection

ISBN 978-1-927279-43-4

[FRONTISPIECE]

PART OF LAMBTON HARBOUR, PORT NICHOLSON, NEW ZEALAND.
COMPREHENDING ABOUT ONE THIRD OF THE WATER FRONTAGE OF THE TOWN OF WELLINGTON.
Drawn by Chs. Heaphy.
Engraved by J. C. Armytage.

[TITLE PAGE]

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.
LATE SURGEON SUPERINTENDANT OF EMIGRANTS TO SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

"Ubi bene ibi Patria,"

LONDON:
SMITH, ELDER, AND CO.
CORN HILL.

[Page ii is blank]

[DEDICATION]

TO

A. B. SPARKE, ESQ.

OF TEMPE, NEW SOUTH 'WALES,

This Volume

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

AS A MARK OF

THE AUTHOR'S REGARD AND ESTEEM.

[Page iv is blank]

[PREFACE]

PREFACE.

THE author of this volume having enjoyed a favourable opportunity of acquiring useful and interesting intelligence respecting the colonies of Australasia, during his journeys and voyages in the Southern hemisphere, ventures to submit to the notice of the public a descriptive narrative of his experiences in that important quarter of the world. His chief object in this publication is to describe New Zealand, but he deems it essential to this purpose to give a comparative account of the neighbouring colonies visited by him, during the last three years.

Strongly impressed with a conviction that colonization is the natural remedy for that wide-spreading national distress which arises from great excess of labour over the means of employment, the author deems the present time very opportune for bringing these subjects before the public. The climate of Australasia, and the range of its productive capabilities, as well as the high commercial importance which its colonies have acquired, even in their infancy, stamp this region as superior, in present and prospective

importance, to every other that is accessible to the improving and creative powers of British industry and capital. To those whose means of subsistence is limited to the value of their own industry, and who have families to establish in life, the most interesting subject, perhaps, in a worldly sense, that can engage their attention, is Emigration; nor does the same question less powerfully affect the middle and educated classes of society, who are in this country overwhelmed by the pressure of competition.

Very important statements, and the evidence of strong statistical facts, are adduced in this volume, in the hope that the Government and Legislature will speedily direct their attention to the importance of these colonies and to their grievances.

It will, perhaps, be asked, why the author did not remain in the Southern hemisphere, since he reports so favourably regarding New Zealand and some parts of Australia? He has only to reply, that business called him to England for a time, and that he sees in the fine climates and growing importance of these colonies an attractive sphere of employment for himself as well as for others; not, he begs to observe, merely in the profession of medicine, – for that is everywhere overstocked, – but rather in the various and comparatively advantageous pursuits which are accessible, in every new country, to persons of limited means and ordinary capacity. In announcing the probability of his again crossing the equator in search of a home, the author follows the

example of a gentleman, whose rank and wealth indicate that his return to New Zealand, with the determination to become a colonist, is the result, not of necessity, but of inclination. Having just seen the pamphlet of the Hon. Mr. Petre, the author takes this opportunity of acknowledging that to it he is indebted for the important thermometrical observations made at Wellington, from April 1840 to April 1841. At the same time he begs to express a cordial admiration of that manliness of character which has induced this gentleman and others to exchange a life of luxury and ease for the more arduous but more useful career of colonization.

[CONTENTS]

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Departure from England – Objects of interest – Madeira – Emigrant ships – Daily routine – Surgeon superintendant's duties – Neptune Islands – Kangaroo Island – Indigenous mammalia of New Holland – Depredations of the dingo – St. Vincent's Gulf – Holdfast Bay – Landing of emigrants – Grog selling – South Australia – Wooden houses – An old colonist – Carrying out merchandise.................p1

CHAPTER II.

Road to Adelaide – Scenery – Town of Adelaide – Rival townships – Land jobbing – Town allotments – The small lot system – Society and politics................15

CHAPTER III.

Geography of South Australia – Nature of the soil – Aspect of the country – Mountains and rivers – Internal communications – Lake Torrens – The Murray river – Cultivable land – Plain of Adelaide – Vegetable wonders – The Glenelg.............23

CHAPTER IV.

Progress of the South Australian colony – Population and flocks – Imperfect survey – Compulsory idleness of the colonists – A prosperous settler – Disappointed emigrants – Causes of disappointment – Undue expectations – Who should emigrate – South Australian Company's farmers...............40

CHAPTER V.

Incidents in Adelaide – A dust storm – A native chief – King Jack – A native entertainment – Character of the New Hollanders – Native

marriages and duels – Treatment of the Aborigines – Appointment of protectors..........p55

CHAPTER VI.

An excursion by night – Cattle station – Acacias – Trees of Mount Lofty – Internal roads – Prices of building materials – Feathered tribes – The Angas – Sports of the bush – Grasses – Cattle company's station – Wages of servants – Mount Barker district............66

CHAPTER VII.

Port Adelaide – Sixteen Mile Creek – Mangroves and fish – Native guides – Intellect of the natives – Yorke's Peninsula – Traces of volcanic action – Salt lagoons – Natives of Yorke's Peninsula – Artificial irrigation.................79

CHAPTER VIII.

Australian fisheries – Sperm whales – Vessels employed in the whaling trade – Snapper fishery – Seals, and the mode of taking them – Propriety of restricting the seal fishery.................89

CHAPTER IX.

Indo-Australian commerce – Commerce of New South Wales – Articles of foreign countries consumed in the Australian colonies, &c. – Trade with New Zealand – Polynesia – Climate and productions – Prospects of colonization..............96

CHAPTER X.

Recent discoveries – Portland Bay – Harbour of Port Phillip – Gipps' Land – New harbour – Clarence River – Structure of the coast – Buildings, &c. – Sydney, Population and character of – The domain – Visiters – Sheep farmers – Expenses of living – Caution to emigrants – The Museum..........104

CHAPTER XI.

Society at Sydney – Luxuries and accomplishments – Social intercourse – Emancipists – A fete – Misrepresentations of the state of society in New South Wales – Report of Transportation Committee – Reformation of convicts – Value of convict labour – Norfolk island – Statistics at fault – Dr. Bland............118

CHAPTER XII.

Employment of capital and labour – The Australasian colonies – Trust companies – Banking – Joint stock companies – Value of land – Sheep farming – Value of sheep – Choice of pasturage – Horses-Horse racing – Cattle grazing – Dairy farming – Agriculture – Storing of grain – Value of land in Ilawarra – Wine – Tobacco – Market gardening – Trip to Paramatta – Culture of the orange – Australian gardening – Production of wool and silk – Manufactures..............132

CHAPTER XIII.

Grievances of New South Wales – Separation of Australia Felix – Emigration fund – Importance of the Australian colonies – Their consumption of the products of British industry..........169

CHAPTER XIV.

Purchase of lands in New Zealand – Immoderate acquisitions of land – Voyage to New Zealand – The Three Kings' rocks – A New Zealand conqueror – Sea round the North Cape – Manganui settlement – Character of the coast – Scenery – Massacre of the ship's crew – New Zealanders of the present day – Settlement of disputes – Recompence for insults and injuries – Similarity between the New Zealanders and the Irish.............173

CHAPTER XV.

The Bay of Islands – Magnificent marine view – Kororadika – The British resident – New Zealand law – European population – Catholic bishop – Metropolis of the northern tribes – Native wine – Tabooism – Colonel Wakefield.............187

CHAPTER XVI.

Return to Sydney – Governor of New Zealand – Colonial jealousy – Cession of the island to England – Importance of New Zealand – Alison on colonization – New Zealand Company – Principles of colonization – Wellington – New Plymouth – Allotments of land – Nelson colony – Agricultural prospects – Peace of the colony – Reservation of lands for the natives............201

CHAPTER XVII.

Second visit to New Zealand – Passengers on board – Changes at Kororadika – A native village – A native chief – Effects of colonization on the native character – Natural intelligence of New Zealanders..........227

CHAPTER XVIII.

Rumours of attacks by the natives – Projected township – Falls of the Wytangi – Mountains and rocks – Tradition of Mawe – Fertile district – Mineral springs – A tabooed woman – Education of white children – Religion of the natives – Lake Maupere – Native hospitality and cookery – Agricultural establishment – Kaori forest. – Rain and wind................239

CHAPTER XIX.

Dr. Lang's misrepresentations – Results of missionary labour – Landsharks – Influences of commerce – Rev. S. Marsden – Native village – Mission settlement..............258

CHAPTER XX.

War dance – The Tangi – A feast – An important event – Murder by a native – Judicial proceedings – Aywarre – Native and European intercourse – How to be regulated..............269

CHAPTER XXI. French Discovery squadron – Antarctic continent – French claims on New Zealand – Author's object – Perforated rocks – Mimi-Wangati – Tuttikokka – Sawing – Harbour of refuge – Maraetai – The Tamaki – Volcanic district – Wyheke – An island home – Coromandel harbour – Mr. Webster – Geological rambles – Native fortresses – Warlike trophy – A female corpse..............280

CHAPTER XXII.

Climate of New Zealand – Gales – Departure for the Thames River – Rangipukea – Coast of Shouraki – Volcano of Tongarido – Mouth of the Thames – Mr. M'Askall – Tribe of the Ngatimadous – A missionary chief – Excursion up the Thames – Mr. Bidwill – Tauranga – Rotorua – Boiling springs – Lake Taupo – Return to Coromandel harbour..............300

CHAPTER XXIII.

Tauranga – Formation of coal – Mr. Bidwill – Rotorua – Hot springs – Solfataras – Lake Taupo – Ascent of Tongarido – Eruption – Anecdote – Native sculptors – Names of the islands – Tavai-poenamoo – Akaroa – Harbours in Cook's Straits – Stewart's Island..............314

CHAPTER XXIV.

Cultivable productions of New Zealand – Vines – Kumeras – Potatoes – Maize – Clearing of land – Choice of seeds – New Zealand flax – Its utility – Timber – Feathered tribes – Absence of reptiles – Dog's – Wild pigs – Early migration of the New Zealanders – Colonial Cadetships.........323

APPENDIX.

No. I. – Australian Trust Company....341

No. II. – Free passage.........344

No. III. – Colonial revenue – Abstract of Port Phillip, for the years ending 1839 and 1840.........350

No. IV. – Colonial revenue of New South Wales, including land-sales, during the years 1839 and 1840.........351

No. V. – Despatch from Lord John Russell to Governor Hobson, shewing the arrangement finally entered into between the New Zealand Company and Her Majesty's Government. Dated March 10th, 1841........352

No. VI. – Second colony of New Zealand. – Correspondence between the members of the second colony and the New Zealand Company.............361

No. VII. – New Zealand Company.............369

[Page xiii is blank]

PART OF THE NEW PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT, IN THE DISTRICT OF TARANAKE, NEW ZEALAND.
SHEWING THE RANGE OF HOUSES RECENTLY BUILT BY THE NATIVES, IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ARRIVAL OF EMIGRANTS.
MOUNT EGMONT LYING[?] DISTANT
Engraved by J. C. Armytage.

CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XIV.

Departure for New Zealand – Voyage – Three Kings – A New Zealand conqueror – North Cape – Manganui – Coast scenery – Massacre at Wangaroa – Bay of Islands.

THE fertility of the soil of New Zealand, and its great advantages of climate being well known to the speculative classes of Australia and Van Dieman's Land, it was manifest to them that the active spirit of colonization, which has arisen out of the condition of the British empire in the present day, would soon invade these fertile islands, and confer on the land a high and marketable value. In their appreciation of early land purchases, as a means of rapidly acquiring wealth, these thriving colonists do not yield precedence even to the Americans. Hence the purchase of land from the chiefs, some years previous to the appointment of a governor, became a favourite speculation, and vessels were dispatched weekly from the ports of Australia to New Zealand, with cargoes of merchandise and numerous passengers. The return freight of these vessels usually consisted of maize, potatoes, flax, pork, and whale oil; and the captains seldom failed, on their arrival in the colonies, to exhibit scraps of paper, purporting to be the title-deeds of land acquired by purchase from the natives. Most of these purchases

IMMODERATE PURCHASES.

were of preposterous magnitude, and in numerous instances it was found, on the comparing of notes, that the same "estates" were claimed by several owners. Never did ambition more completely overleap itself than in these ridiculous transactions.

One company, consisting of four gentlemen, claimed the middle island, which is very nearly as large as Ireland, in consideration of giving the chiefs a few hundred pounds in money and merchandise, and a life annuity of 100l per annum. Another individual, representing a commercial firm in Sydney, laid claim to several hundred thousand acres, including the site of the township of Auckland, for which he gave one keg of gunpowder. These instances will illustrate the insatiable appetite for land which prevails in the Australian colonies. It merits even the name of what nosologists would call bulimia, that is, a depraved avidity for things that do not contribute to the individual's nutriment or well-being; for it is manifest that the possession of all New Holland, without labour and capital to render it productive, would in nowise contribute to the owner's real well-being. Among those who had purchased land on a gigantic scale in New Zealand, was Mr. Wentworth, a very able and distinguished lawyer, born in New South Wales. When the rights of the New Zealand landholders were under the consideration of the legislative council of New South Wales, this gentleman defended, with great dexterity, and force of illustration and argument, the legality of his purchase. He cited the history of the colonization of America, from which it appeared that the native Indians were recognised to be the original owners of the soil, and as such, had at various times ceded it to strangers in

DEPARTURE FOR NEW ZEALAND.

consideration of receiving money or goods, and that in virtue of such acts, the purchasers retained undisturbed possession. Sir George Gipps endeavoured, not very effectually, to combat Mr. Wentworth on the question of abstract right. It is needless to say, that a decision founded on the expediency of annulling immoderately large purchases had already been made in the council. Mr. Wentworth's practised eloquence was therefore unavailing, and he himself, browbeaten, but not abashed, was compelled to yield to the weighty influence of a "foregone conclusion." The well-known talents of Mr. Wentworth, his wealth, and his connexions, both in New South Wales and in England, would have enabled him to carry out the colonization of his lands, on the same principles as those pursued by the New Zealand Land Company; other proprietors of land could have done the same; but if the task of colonizing the finest lands in New Zealand be left to the feeble and ill-supported efforts of the New Zealand government, they must for many years continue uncultivated.

I was led by business, shortly after my arrival in New South Wales, to visit what was then the cynosure of all eyes, New Zealand, and one beautiful morning in November, 1839, I found myself on board of a small schooner, of eighty tons burden, which was to touch at the Bay of Islands, on her way to the Feejees, in search of tortoise-shell, sandal-wood, yams, and other articles of South Sea produce. After our vessel had been searched, with their usual rigour, by the water police, in order to prevent the escape of convicts or debtors, we were permitted to get under weigh; and bade adieu, for a brief space, to the shores of Port Jackson, bathed in the golden radiance of

an Australian morning. The water, thronged with myriads of medusae, was ruffled by the breath of the expiring land breeze, which blows throughout the night in these sunny latitudes; and, after an hour or two of calm, is succeeded by the sea breeze, which renders the atmosphere sufficiently cool and respirable throughout the day. This light air wafted us through the Heads, and ere the sea breeze set in strong, we had gained a sufficient offing.

Besides our crew, which consisted of seven or eight athletic fellows, accustomed to South Sea adventures, and to cope with the most formidable of the anthropophagi, whom they were about to visit, there were on board five passengers, including a retired officer of the army and his wife, a young lady of superior birth and education, who had recently arrived from England, This gentleman had already visited the Bay of Islands, and his return thither with his family might be viewed as an indication of the favourable sentiments which his former visit had led him to entertain regarding New Zealand.

Our vessel, called, in honour of the Australian fair sex, the "Currency Lass," proved, notwithstanding her tiny dimensions, an excellent sea boat, and on the ninth day from our departure, we sighted the Three Kings, a group of rocky islands situated about forty miles to the westward of the North Cape, and nearly twenty miles from the low and bleak promontory to which the adventurous Tasman gave a name seldom absent, it is said, from his thoughts, that of Maria Van Dieman.

The Three Kings are a cluster of conical and pinnacled rocks, whose bases one might suppose to lie far beneath the surface of the ocean. The largest of them is, or was

A NEW ZEALAND CONQUEROR.

recently, inhabited by a few families driven from the northern districts of the neighbouring mainland, by the wars of Shongi. This chief, the soi-disant Napoleon of New Zealand, returned from England strongly impressed with the splendid results, in the way of conquest and massacre, which would attend the introduction of muskets and gunpowder into the warlike operations of his countrymen; and being ambitious of power and distinction as a warrior, he resolved to turn his knowledge to advantage by cutting off, with the aid of gunpowder, those tribes against whom he entertained an hereditary enmity, and whose means of attack and defence were as yet limited to the use of the club and the patou patou. In fact, with motives intrinsically not less irrational than those which have led to the greatest and most lauded of European conquests, Shongi undertook to exterminate all the southern tribes, and establish the Ngapoui domination throughout the island, and by sudden and ferocious onslaughts on defenceless villages, he very nearly accomplished his ruthless purpose. He almost depopulated the Thames district, whose inhabitants were either slain, without distinction of age or sex, or forced to take refuge in Taranaki and the shores of Cook's Straits. An enemy armed with a power of destruction which rendered strength and courage of no avail, was too formidable to be encountered, and Shongi was left to the undisputed possession of the Waikatto country.

But this conqueror, as might be expected, found it impossible to retain possession of his acquired territories, by reason of the small number of his followers, who were soon reduced to a mere handful by the fatigues and privations of campaigning in an enemy's

NORTH CAPE.

country, with nothing to subsist upon but fern root. He returned to the Bay of Islands, after his successful expedition, and soon afterwards died of wounds which he had received. The traces of conquest are very speedily swept away from the face of the earth. The Waikatto tribes returned to their homes; their villages were rebuilt, and their ravaged plantations were again cultivated. Armed with muskets, they no longer fear the Ngapouis; and peace, if not amity, prevails throughout the island. On several occasions, moreover, the massacres of Shongi have been avenged; and the echo of his renown, like the memory of his atrocities, has already all but passed away. The presence of a few exiles on the Three Kings is one of the few circumstances which recal to mind his sanguinary career, and even these people would long since have returned to their homes, but for the inducement of trading in fish and potatoes with the whaling ships that frequent these waters. In rounding the North Cape, we encountered a singularly rough and irregular sea, caused by conflicting tides and currents, which were not unaptly compared by our captain to the boiling of a pot. A strong breeze set in with rainy squalls as the night came on, and ere we had brought the Cape to bear westward of us, it was necessary to crowd all possible canvas upon the little vessel, at the risk of carrying away her masts and yards. When we guessed, by dead reckoning, that we had no longer a rocky and dangerous coast close under our lee, I retired to rest. Extensive voyages, in various parts of the world, had rendered me inaccessible to the sense of danger when in the open ocean, although, perchance, thousands of miles from land; but no amount of experience will convince me

MANGANUI.

that a vessel's position is safe with a rocky shore three miles to leeward, and the masts bending under the force of what seamen denominate a gale of wind. On this occasion it was interesting to remark the strange phosphoric brilliancy of the waves. An imaginative genius might have compared the scene to that which Milton has described as the abode of the fallen angels; and when the sea broke in over the schooner's bows and ran aft, it appeared as if every part of the deck was enveloped in flames. The Currency Lass, however, carried us safely through our dangers, which partook in some measure of the nature both of Scylla and Charybdis; and the morning's dawn shewed to us, far astern, the promontory which had caused us so much uneasiness. We were abreast of a deep indentation of the coast called Sandy Bay, to the southward of which rises the lofty and isolated peak of Mount Camel.

Between the North Cape and the Bay of Islands there are only two localities of interest to the intending settler in New Zealand. The first of these is a spacious bay, called Manganui, in the native language, and Lauriston Bay, on some of the charts; the latter name having been given to it by Marion, a French navigator. The bay penetrates for eight or ten miles into the interior, and is bounded by a country less rugged in appearance than is generally to be seen along the coasts of New Zealand. It receives two streams; the largest of which, called the Oudu Oudu, is navigable for small vessels. The district is said to be extremely fertile; and its aspect appeared to us, as we surveyed it from the vessel's deck, to be of an undulating character, and not overburdened with timber. Whaling captains resort frequently to Manganui for re-

MANGANUI.

freshment, in preference to the Bay of Islands, having less to dread from the desertion of their crews; and although grog shops are less numerous than in the latter port, Manganui numbers among its sixty or seventy European settlers a fair proportion of individuals devoted to that profitable pursuit. In Manganui and its neighbourhood there is room for a township, and for a numerous agricultural population, who might, by the culture of grain, tobacco, vegetables, and fruits, including the fig, the vine, and perhaps the orange, surround themselves with a far greater share of substantial abundance and enjoyments, than the alternately frozen and scorched farmers of Canada. To this locality, one or two families from South Australia had bent their steps, attracted by a good harbour, abundance of level and cultivable land, and Kaori timber – objects of first-rate consequence in the eyes of a New Zealand settler. The other important locality, to which allusion has been made, is the harbour of Wangaroa, ten miles north of the Bay of Islands.

Between Manganui and Wangaroa the coast is rocky and elevated; and that part of the country which is visible from the sea consists of hills heavily timbered, and separated from each other by deep ravines. Along the coast, at the distance of one or two miles, there occur numerous rocks and islets, which are of trap formation, and usually assume the pinnacled or sugar-loaf shape; but several present the basaltic structure, with something of a castellated outline, like that seen in the rocks of Bass's Straits. Far inland we beheld several peaks, towering high above the surrounding country. In one part of the coast I observed an elevated plateau, of a very singular appearance, closely resembling a regular breast-

COAST SCENERY.

work or fortification, of vast dimensions, with sloping walls and angles. Whether this was a mass of elevated marine deposit, or a trap formation, it was not easy to determine, as rocks of both classes frequently present a terraced and mural outline.

The scenery of New Zealand in this part I found to be widely different from that which I had so much admired in New Holland. In vain I looked for grassy, open, and undulating plains, like those which in Australia constitute the fertile source of pastoral wealth and beauty. We now beheld a broken and rugged country, overspread with a most luxuriant but dark and sombre vegetation. The bright verdure of meadows and fields was nowhere to be seen; we could discern neither villages, smoke, nor the sign of a human habitation; nor did it appear that any part of this coast was, or ever had been, under cultivation. It seemed impossible to reconcile the idea of agriculture with a surface so rugged; and even Bruce or Park would have shrunk from exploring its dark and wooded ravines, and climbing its steep hills. Such is the aspect of the coast-line of New Zealand, generally; but where an estuary, a bay, or an inlet advances into the interior, we meet with undulating tracts, and sometimes with table lands of great extent, without a tree; the country being everywhere overspread with a low gregarious vegetation of ferns and myrtles. The scarcity of grasses amongst its indigenous vegetation is the grand defect of New Zealand. In Poverty Bay, and near the frith of the Thames, there is no scarcity of grass; in the district of Taranaki, which is possessed by the New Zealand Company, it is also said to be in sufficient abundance for the maintenance of cattle. Wheresoever the ground has

COAST SCENERY.

once been broken up for cultivation by the natives, and afterwards abandoned, I have always observed an abundant crop of a long, fine grass; but, in general, the traveller who visits Australia and New Zealand must be struck by the opposite character of their scenery, not only in the aspect of the vegetation, but in the appearance of the sky. Although not a cloud overhung the neighbouring sea, the land, as far as it was visible, from north to south, in New Zealand, was canopied by white and fleecy vapours, which enveloped the bases of the mountains, and showers of rain were seen falling over various parts of the interior. Finally, in the dense and magnificent forests, which clothed the valleys and hills in all directions, it was easy to perceive the effect of a climate permanently warm and humid.

Towards the afternoon we were off the harbour of Whangaroa, which, from a narrow entrance flanked by rocks of great height, opens into a spacious harbour, where the largest merchantmen have anchored. It is bounded by an amphitheatre of hills, where Kaori spars of the finest dimensions were at one time plentiful, but the best have been cut down. Wangaroa was the scene of a very tragical occurrence towards the year 1815. The ship "Boyd," on her way from Sydney to England, arrived in this harbour to take on board some spars. Besides a numerous crew, she had several passengers; and among the former was a young New Zealander, the son, it is said, of the principal chief of Wangaroa, who, during the voyage, had been most unadvisedly flogged by order of the captain. Shortly after the vessel had anchored, the natives being informed of the treatment which one of their number, and he a person of consideration, had received, dis-

WANGAR0A – MASSACRE.

sembled their resentment for the purpose of carrying more easily into effect a dire and sanguinary project. Whilst the crew and officers were separated through the wood, having been assisted in their preliminary operations by the natives, the chief accosted the captain, and pointing to the back of his son, which yet bore the marks of his punishment, inquired whether that was fit treatment for the son of a Rangatira; and before the captain could reply, he was struck to the earth by the stone hatchets of the savage and his adherents. This was the signal for a general massacre of the crew and passengers, who, being separated and unprepared, were overpowered by the savages without difficulty. One female only was spared to tell the tale. She lived for several years among the natives of Wangaroa, and is said to have been well and kindly treated, until through the influence of the missionaries who arrived in New Zealand some years after this event, she was restored to her surviving relatives in Sydney.

There is no reason to suppose that this massacre would have been committed had the captain abstained from an act of severity which, whether just or unjust, was in the highest degree impolitic under the circumstances.

The New Zealanders of the present day are far less cruel and treacherous than their forefathers. Their intercourse with Europeans, combined with the instructions of the missionaries, has so changed their character, that mildness, industry, and hospitality, have taken the place of that ruthless ferocity which distinguished them in former times. But even in the present day, they feel keenly all insults or attacks upon their personal dignity; and it is easy to account for the catastrophe of the "Boyd," at a

SETTLING A DISPUTE.

period when their minds had not as yet received a single ray of civilization. Their practice of demanding utu or payment for insults and injuries, as a salvo for the sense of wounded dignity, leaves room for the amicable adjustment of all differences; and it is only when such reasonable compensation is refused, a very rare event, that recourse is had to a personal conflict. A ready compliance in such cases is never deemed humiliating; and whether it is owing to the operation of this usage, or to a clear, intuitive perception of right and wrong, combined with a sense of dignity, it is certain that altercations and quarrels are of singularly rare occurrence among the New Zealanders. Nothing excites the ire of a native more readily than the abusive epithets and profane expressions in which Europeans too frequently give vent to their angry feelings. They have been taught by the missionaries to regard such expressions as the mark of low station and a depraved character. To frown at a New Zealander is by him reckoned an insult; but to swear and rail at him is an offence for which he will demand immediate payment.

A family, recently arrived from South Australia, had taken up their abode at the Frith of the Thames, and unfortunately a slight difference occurred one day between its head and an old and respectable chief named Kahukote. The settler, unadvisedly on this occasion, forgot himself so far as to make use of some unpolite expressions, and Kahukote, feeling his dignity sorely wounded, made the usual demand of utu. To this the latter would by no means consent, being ignorant of the nature of this usage, and unwilling besides to make any concessions to a native. Kahukote, unable peaceably to obtain the pound

SETTLING A DISPUTE.

of tobacco, or some such trifle, which would have been a sufficient atonement, took his departure in an angry mood, intimating that he would soon return.

This promise he fulfilled. Surrounding the house of the obdurate white man, he and his tribe proceeded very formally to plunder it. The precaution which he adopted rendered resistance on the part of the settlers so obviously unavailing, that they made no attempt to save their goods and chattels; and having loaded a good-sized canoe with male and female wearing apparel, pots, chairs, and other furniture, Kahukote took his departure. During these proceedings no personal violence was offered, even to the females of the household, who were both young and pretty.

Ultimately, almost every article taken on this occasion by the natives was surrendered to the family, at the instance of one or two ship captains, to whom the chief was known. I had myself the honour of Kahukote's acquaintance, and found him to possess, like many of his countrymen, much good sense, with that shrewdness and love of mirth, which is so common among the New Zealanders, as to have obtained for them, on some occasion, the appellation of the Irishmen of the southern hemisphere. In other respects, a resemblance to the common Irish has been observed in their attachment to potatoes and tobacco, in their extreme disregard of their personal comforts, and, in a more important point of view, in the nature of their feelings on religious subjects, which approaches to a species of enthusiasm. Nor will this comparison be reckoned derogatory to the countrymen of Wellington by those who are acquainted thoroughly with the character of the New Zealanders. But for one stigma

SINGULAR ROCKS.

which belongs to their past history, and from which the rising generation is entirely free, I would not hesitate to class this people among the noblest aboriginal races of the world.

Having passed the detached conical rock which seems to guard the broad entrance to the Bay of Islands, and has therefore been called the Sentinel, we beat our way to the anchorage of Kororadika, leaving on our right hand a range of remarkable black rocks, running perfectly horizontal, raised ten feet above the surface of the water, and presenting such an appearance as we might look for in a coral reef upheaved above its natural element.

CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XV.

Bay of Islands – The British resident – New Zealand law – Tarring and feathering – Its efficacy – M. de Pompallier and the Protestant missionaries – Boating – Extent of the Bay of Islands – A quarrel – Tabooism – Colonel Wakefield.

THE Bay of Islands will not require a lengthy description, since it has already been frequently described, and even exhibited to the British public by the panoramic skill of Mr. Burford. It consists, not of one, but of half-a-dozen harbours, formed by the spacious and winding inlets which it sends off from various parts of its circumference, in a manner which might be illustrated by the fingers of an extended hand. These inlets are separated from each other by bold promontories, very lightly timbered. Kororadika is situated on the left hand as we advance up the bay, and the mission settlement of Paihia, on the opposite shore is distant about three miles. Separated from Paihia by the embouchure of a small river, called the Wytangi, is the house of Mr. Busby, the British resident. From the heights overhanging Kororadika, which is situated upon a narrow, elongated peninsula, the eye ranges over one of the most magnificent marine views in the world, enlivened by a village, which is to be re-

THE BAY OF ISLANDS.

garded as a town in its infancy, and by numerous ships, which indicate that all-grasping commerce has already extended its dominion over New Zealand. From these heights, over which there streams continually a temperate and healthful breeze, the philosophic spectator might cast his eye downwards upon Kororadika, and, endeavouring to penetrate the veil of time, picture prophetically to himself the dimensions and the population of this growing settlement at the end of thirty years. If in the present day the necessity of colonization, as a means of relieving the distresses of an overgrown community, is becoming daily more urgent and more apparent in Great Britain, we may expect that the Bay of Islands, although by no means the most attractive part of New Zealand, will advance to the rank of a considerable seaport. At the period of my arrival it contained little more than fifty European dwellings, – white painted and verandahed cottages of wood; – a church of the same materials, but of larger dimensions; and a native pa-a, or village, consisting of about a hundred and fifty huts, enclosed by a high and strong fence. The presence of ten or twelve large ships, besides a fleet of small coasting craft, and open boats and canoes, plainly indicated that the place was already of some commercial importance, although as yet it recognised neither flag, law, nor government, and had neither a court of justice, a gaol, nor a custom-house.

Kororadika, in the beginning of 1840, contained about three hundred European inhabitants, of all ages and sexes, exclusive of the numerous sailors whose nightly revels constituted the only interruption to the peace and harmony which usually prevailed. These gentry resorted, also, in great numbers to Pomare's village, in the inner anchorage,

THE BRITISH RESIDENT.

near the new township of Russell, where Pomare himself, the greatest chief of New Zealand, carried on the lucrative trade of grog selling, besides another of a still more discreditable kind, for the convenience of his reckless customers – French, English, and American. Here might be seen the curious spectacle of a still savage chief enriching himself at the expense of individuals who, although belonging to the most civilized and powerful nations of the world, were reduced to a lower degree of barbarism by the influence of their unbridled licentiousness.

Hitherto no legal restraint upon crime or violence had existed in New Zealand. The authority of Mr. Busby, the British resident, was merely nominal. That gentleman lived on the opposite shore of the Bay, at the distance of five miles, and his visits to Kororadika were few and far between; but had he lived in the heart of the settlement, he could have exerted no authority either to punish offenders or to settle disputes. The natives respected him as the representative of the British government; and among the Europeans he was rendered popular by his courteous and conciliatory deportment. His appointment, however, led in nowise to the maintenance of order, or the prevention of crime; and his interference in the affairs of individuals, without the power of enforcing his decisions, could have produced no satisfactory result.

Yet crimes, misdemeanours, and larcenies, were of remarkably rare occurrence; and in no part of the world were the persons or the property of individuals more secure than in this little settlement, within whose precincts no lawyer had ever yet shewn his face. The stores were full of merchandise, to the value of between twenty and thirty thousand pounds. The merchants and grog sellers

NEW ZEALAND LAW.

were known to have in their possession large quantities of specie; nevertheless, the crimes of robbery and housebreaking were unknown and unfeared. Moreover, many commercial bills were in circulation, which were in every case duly honoured. In a word, no statements could be more widely at variance with truth than those which represented the Bay of Islands to be a nest of outlaws and criminals.

However ungenerous it may appear to throw a shadow of suspicion on this pleasing picture of primitive virtue and good conduct, yet it might, perhaps, be argued that the absence of crime and misdemeanours arose less from any aboriginal purity of heart and mind, than from the circumstance of the people being sensible that they were bound together by one common interest, and that the maintenance of social order was indispensable to the safety of their lives and property. Hence they effected this by the influence of a judicial Association, the members of which, dispensing with the tedious and expensive forms of justice, scrupled not to act as constables, and to apprehend summarily the culprits they were to try. If, after as complete an inquiry as the circumstances admitted of, the accused was condemned, they then passed immediate sentence upon him, and forthwith proceeded to put in execution the punishment of banishment, preceded by the more dreadful operation of tarring and feathering. Having been stripped, and covered with an enduring coat of the proper materials, the prisoner was led several times backwards and forwards along the beach, to the tune of the Rogue's March, and great was the joy with which the natives beheld this august ceremony. The culprit was then put into a canoe, and ordered to leave the beach of Koro-

EUROPEAN POPULATION.

radika, with the positive assurance that his re-appearance in the neighbourhood would entitle him to a repetition of the same process. Resistance to the mandates of this tribunal was useless, for its members could, if necessary, call in the ready and willing assistance of the natives. Mercantile operations, therefore, were carried on to a considerable extent and with implicit confidence, and debts paid with scrupulous regularity. It was correctly assumed, that since every able-bodied member of the community could obtain a good subsistence with very little labour, no indulgence or mercy could be properly extended to those who gave way to criminal propensities. Were we to judge by facts, we might suppose that the summary processes of this species of Lynch law were more efficacious than regular tribunals; for in a few months after Capt. Hobson had established his police court and petty sessions in the Bay of Islands, it was found that offences were committed, not only more frequently, but of a graver nature, than during the good old times.

The European population of the Bay of Islands was composed of traders, with their clerks, storekeepers, and artisans. Their business consisted in purchasing maize, potatoes, and pork, from the natives, chiefly for the supply of the colonial markets, and of the whaling ships which visited the Bay of Islands in great numbers, when in want of refreshments. There were seldom less than eight or ten large ships, French, American, and British, anchored off Kororadika, besides a large number in the inner anchorage; others resorted to a part of the Bay of Islands called Paroa Bay, or the anchorage off the Island of Muturoa. For the accommodation of the captains and officers of these ships there were two or three hotels, and,

THE CATHOLIC BISHOP.

what I did not expect to find in New Zealand, a billiard room. Several of the traders had acquired considerable wealth, which, for want of a bank, they usually hoarded up in strong boxes, or more frequently buried in the earth – one of the least hazardous modes of sinking money. On Sundays, divine service was performed in the church by one of the missionaries from Paihia, where these gentlemen lived in great comfort and tranquillity, surrounded by their families.

During my residence in the Bay of Islands, on this occasion, I derived much pleasure from the acquaintance and conversation of M. de Pompallier, the chief of the French Catholic mission to the South Seas, and Bishop of Oceania, who was held in high esteem by every individual in the settlement, not only on account of his polished and courteous demeanour, but from his more important merits of learning, professional zeal, and practical benevolence. Whatever may be said of his persuasion, it is at least evident that no motives of a worldly or ambitious nature could have thus induced a man of rank and wealth to devote himself to the arduous and hazardous duties of a missionary in the Pacific. He employed the large funds at his disposal in a manner highly consistent with the general objects of his mission. During the winter, he distributed blankets and clothing among the natives: he purchased a schooner, in which he undertook voyages to remote native settlements along the coast, and, from the natives of Kororadika, a desirable portion of land, which was to be held in trust and made over to them on a future occasion, when the possession of land would be of greater importance in their eyes than it was at that time.

THE CATHOLIC BISHOP.

But the most virtuous of human actions are liable to be misinterpreted and misjudged, and M. de Pompallier's liberality to the natives was uncharitably stigmatized as an attempt to bribe and lure them to the adoption of the catholic persuasion. This conduct was invidiously contrasted with that of the church of England and the Wesleyan missionaries, who deemed it a point of duty to hold out no temptation to the cupidity of the natives as an inducement for them to become Christians, and who, to encourage among them habits of regular industry, gave them nothing except in fair exchange for agricultural produce or for services performed. The protestant missionaries, as will afterwards be shewn, have laboured with great zeal and success among the New Zealanders. But in acknowledging their merits, we, in common justice, cannot condemn the motives of M. de Pompallier. Here I may remark, that it is impossible to view with unconcern the injurious tendency of religious dissensions among a people just emerging from paganism. Between the disciples of the bishop and those who have embraced the doctrines of protestantism there already exists a feeling which borders on hostility; and it is not unusual to hear the former taunted by their adversaries as worshippers of wood and stone, misguided unbelievers, devils, &c.

To express sentiments of severe censure against the Roman-catholic religion and its followers is not the most efficient means of advancing the interests of the protestant church; and in reply to the illiberal language which is dealt forth so unsparingly on this subject, we may cite, among innumerable other facts, the life and actions of Fenelon, the most blameless and virtuous of

THE CATHOLIC BISHOP.

men, in proof that a Roman-catholic clergyman is not of necessity either a Jesuit or a hypocrite. But holding in view the admitted tendency of religious dissensions to unsettle and weaken the impression of Christianity in the minds of the natives of New Zealand, and at the same time to foster dissension and angry feeling, it is certainly to be regretted that an attempt has been made to introduce the doctrines of Rome into a field already preoccupied by the active and zealous emissaries of the reformed church.

The deeply indented sea coast of New Zealand affords ample scope for those aquatic sports which are so congenial to our national temperament. It was impossible to reside many months in the Bay of Islands without acquiring some proficiency in the art of handling a boat, and since this tends not only to the preservation of health, but also, in common with other bodily exercise, to impart a degree of energy to the character, it deserves to be cherished among the favourite amusements of a sea-girt community.

It was not until I had visited, in my whale boat, manned by two sturdy natives, the remotest of the European dwellings scattered around the shores of the Bay of Islands, that I formed an adequate conception of the vastness of its dimensions, and the extent of safe and sheltered anchorage which it affords. At its head, situated on a commanding promontory, is seen Pomare's pa-a, which is reckoned the metropolis of the Napoui, or northern tribes. This village, which is fortified after the native fashion, is in itself an insignificant object, but the surrounding scenery is both imposing and romantic. Two inlets, to which the name of rivers is erroneously given, diverge from this point, each twice as broad as the Thames at London, and

NATIVE WINE.

of sufficient depth to float large vessels. The one which is named the Waikaddi, advances for ten miles in a southeasterly direction to within a short distance of the coast, forming, with the eastern coast of the Bay of Islands, a large peninsula, indented with many subordinate bays and peninsulas, on one of which is formed the settlement of Kororadika, and on another the site of a new township, which Governor Hobson founded some months afterwards, by the name of Russell. The other great arm, which is called the Kawa Kawa, runs for some miles into the interior, in a westerly direction. Its shores, like those of the Waikaddi are deeply indented with small bays and headlands, and its broad waters afford a capacious anchorage, land-locked on every side by an elevated country. Between every promontory there are spaces of level land covered with a dense vegetation, and furnishing an excellent and productive soil, when elevated above the reach of high tides. The slopes of the numerous hills are also loaded with a profuse and various vegetation, which, however, comprises but few trees. It consists principally of ferns, the young shoots of which are eaten by cattle; of the myrtle, or tea-tree, the manuka of the natives, and of a variety of shrubs, one of which, the tutu, produces pendent clusters of berries, from which the New Zealanders extract a species of wine, which has rather a soothing and narcotic effect, and strongly reminded me of elder-berry wine. I had an opportunity of witnessing the poisonous effects of the tutu berry upon the child of an inhabitant of Kororadika. The symptoms resembled those caused by an overdose of opium, affecting the nervous and muscular systems, and producing coma, or insensibility, with partial paralysis, dilated pupils, and convulsive twitches of the

TABOOISM.

limbs. In this case the symptoms were relieved by a smart emetic; a remedy which probably would not have been successful but for the short time the child had been under the influence of the poison.

The peace of the community was threatened, before I departed for Sydney, by a misunderstanding with regard to some lands purchased by a Frenchman from a chief residing on the banks of the Waikaddi. Since the sanguinary chastisement inflicted upon the natives of the Bay of Islands by the officers and crew of a French frigate, in revenge for the murder of their commander, Marion, the French have not been very popular among the New Zealanders; and it was seldom that the name of Wee wee (so the French were called from frequently making use of the words "Oui, oui,") was pronounced without some tinge of bitterness. M. de Pompallier had greatly diminished, by the influence of his actions and language, this animosity against his countrymen. The more respectable class of chiefs now entertained no dislike to the French, and were as willing to sell land to them as to the English or Americans. When we bear in mind the natural affinity which seems to exist between the lively Frenchman and the equally jocose New Zealander, it is manifest that amity would soon take the place of a mutual animosity, could the recollection of this old and sanguinary quarrel be set aside. The most uncivilized of the natives, however, still execrate the name of Marion; and among this class was Etu, whose delinquency I am about to narrate. From this turbulent personage, a thorough savage in aspect and demeanour, a French settler had purchased about two hundred acres, on the banks of the Waikaddi inlet, for which he had paid the stipulated price in blankets,

TABOOISM.

muskets, and tobacco, and was living in quiet possession of his domain, in a rapoo house, for the building of which Etu and his tribe had also been duly paid.

The chief, however, conceived the design of placing his customer under contribution a second time; and availed himself of the usual pretext – viz., that the bones of certain of his ancestors being buried upon the Frenchman's land, he was entitled, according to the recognised practice, to claim a second payment on that score. The Frenchman properly resisted this demand, which was unjust in itself, and urged in a rude and threatening manner.

"Wee, wee," said Etu, frowningly, "Homai te utu mo te tapu – Frenchman, pay me for the taboo."

"No," replied the latter, "I have no use for the bones of your ancestors – take them away!"

"But they are buried on the land, and the place is 'tapu' (sacred), therefore homai te utu."

The Frenchman persisted in his refusal; whereupon Etu, pronouncing judgment in his own favour, forthwith put an execution in the house; – in other words, he robbed it, with the assistance of some of his followers and slaves. The Frenchman's clothes, furniture, and utensils, were taken away, and he himself received some rough treatment personally.

On the following day he made his way to Kororadika, and represented the outrage which he had sustained. There were five or six large French whalers at that time anchored in the bay; and the captains, being informed of the circumstance, offered the assistance of their crews in obtaining redress for their countryman, and the restitution of his property. At the request of the French residents, a meeting of the inhabitants was called for the pur-

TABOOISM.

pose of obtaining the opinion of the most experienced settlers, with regard to the propriety of proceeding, by forcible measures, to punish Etu and his associates. It was unanimously resolved that a hostile collision with the natives, who had, with very few exceptions, lived on the most amicable terms with the Europeans, was by all possible means to be avoided; but, at the same time, it seemed due to the interests of the community that so flagrant an outrage should not be passed over without notice. In this emergency, it was proposed to request the mediation of M. de Pompallier, on the part of the French, and of the Chief Aywarre, on the side of the natives. Their negotiations were happily successful, and the affair was brought to a bloodless termination. But it is to be remarked, that there were few instances in which land was purchased from the natives and paid for by the purchaser without his being under the necessity of complying with secondary claims, set up on account of taboos. The influence of this old institution, which is falling rapidly into disuse, is common to the New Zealanders, and the natives of other islands in the Pacific, distant many thousands of miles, and therefore indicates a community of origin between races that are now scattered widely apart. It placed much power in the hands of a New Zealand chief, and was, perhaps, the most important bulwark of his authority. The privilege which it gave him of declaring any place, person, or object, to be sacred and unapproachable, carried with it the power of inflicting death or committing robbery on those who might, even inadvertently, break through his capricious and absurd interdictions. Those spots where the relics of the dead repose are held strictly sacred; and in one instance I was prevented from pro-

TABOOISM.

ceeding up a tributary of the Thames, which had been recently tabooed, in consequence of some persons having been drowned in it. I was, however, given to understand that a certain amount of "utu" would render the tabooed river once more passable. The desecration of taboos by a native was very recently a crime punished by death; but tobacco will do wonders in enabling a white man to go wheresoever he listeth, through the most sacred recesses. The objects that are considered to be tabooed by hereditary observance are numerous and varied: for instance, a chiefs head is tabooed; the waitapus, or storehouses for kumeras, are tabooed to all but the chief. Every married woman is tabooed, unless she happen to have been beaten by her husband; in which case it is lawful for any other man to deprive him of her company, either by force, or by the persuasive language of gallantry. A person who has touched a dead body is tabooed for a certain time; favourite pigs, canoes, and muskets are frequently tabooed; in short, there is no end to the absurdities connected with this antiquated, but now declining observance. The progress of change will leave, in six years from the present time, hardly a trace of this superstition among the New Zealanders; for this people, with all their faults, are not disposed to cling pertinaciously to customs manifestly absurd in themselves, and in opposition to the dictates of reason and the increasing knowledge which they derive from European intercourse.

Our Christmas festivities at Kororadika were enlivened by the presence of Colonel Wakefield, who, after having purchased, on account of the New Zealand Company, a territory of twenty millions of acres, including both coasts of Cook's Straits, and the districts of Taranaka and

COLONEL WAKEFIELD.

Kiapara, was shipwrecked at the last-named locality; and had, in consequence, walked overland from the Wairoa River to the Bay of Islands, for the purpose of chartering a small vessel to convey him to Port Nicholson, to meet the first detachment of the Company's emigrants. The colonel was accompanied by the son of the principal chief of Port Nicholson – a youth who had distinguished himself by rescuing from drowning a boy belonging to the ship "Tory." This young native was very intelligent, and conducted himself at table in a manner that would not have disgraced a pupil of Lord Chesterfield. Of the character of the New Zealanders generally, and their aptitude for improvement, the colonel expressed a very favourable opinion, and stated his impression that Port Nicholson would soon eclipse the Bay of Islands, as a resort for whalers – a prediction which has been partially verified.

CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVI.

Return to Sydney – Arrival of the Governor of New Zealand – His first measures – Native debates – Proclamations – General Observations on the colonization of New Zealand – The New Zealand Company – Errors of the Quarterly – Wellington – New Plymouth – Nelson – Agricultural pursuits – Peace of the colony.

AFTER this short and to me interesting sojourn in New Zealand, I returned to Sydney towards the end of January. Abundant rains had fallen throughout the colony during the period of my absence in New Zealand, causing inundations of the Hunter, the Nammoy, and all the great rivers which have their origin in the mountainous districts of the interior. The interest regarding New Zealand had been increased by the appearance of Captain Hobson, the lieutenant-governor, who had arrived from England, with powers to erect New Zealand into a British colony. The preliminary expenses of his government were to be defrayed by the treasury of New South Wales, from which Sir George Gipps wrung, with no small reluctance, it is said, the sum of 2000l. This proceeding excited clamours both loud and deep throughout the colony. That a rival colony (so New Zealand was erroneously called,) should be set up so near them was bad enough; but that the funds of New South Wales should be applied to that purpose was in the highest degree preposterous and unjust.

COLONIAL JEALOUSY.

It was perceived by some, and it is now known to all, that the establishment of an agricultural colony in the immediate vicinity of the Australian settlements, which would also create a new market for their surplus flocks and herds, their tobacco, and oranges, was an event most favourable to their prosperity. New Zealand was, however, regarded by many short-sighted politicians in Australia as a rival, to be put down by every possible means. To New Zealand was transferred a portion of the odium with which South Australia was regarded. It was forgotten that a great portion of the specie of South Australia had been transferred to the elder colonies, in exchange for sheep and cattle at enormously high prices, and that several cargoes of sheep, cattle, and horses, had been sent to New Zealand since the establishment of the New Zealand Land Company's township, at Port Nicholson. Self interest is said to sharpen the perceptive faculties of man; we may therefore hope that it will eventually become known to the colonists of New South Wales that every addition to the aggregate population of the Australian colonies, including New Zealand, is a benefit to each of them individually. It is a self-evident proposition, that in proportion to the amount of the population of the neighbouring countries, will be the demand for, and the price of, beef and mutton, and the other produce of New South Wales.

The first proceeding of Captain Hobson, on his arrival in the Bay of Islands, was to hoist the Union flag, in token that New Zealand was added to the British empire; he then read before the assembled settlers and natives of the Bay of Islands the proclamations of her Majesty, in which New Zealand was declared to be a British colony, and his

GOVERNOR'S ARRIVAL.

own commission as lieutenant-governor of these islands, in the name of her Majesty, Victoria I.

These documents being read, his Excellency adverted to reports which had been mischievously circulated among the natives, for the purpose of exciting their hostility against the government. It was not, he said, the intention of the government to rob the natives of their land, but to treat with them for it, and to obtain in the same manner the cession of the sovereignty of the islands to the British crown. He hoped, therefore, that every individual present would endeavour to disabuse their minds of the erroneous impressions which they had been led to entertain. He might have saved himself the trouble of making this request, as many of his listeners were old settlers, who entertained a prejudice against all regular governments, and deemed the old tarring and feathering system sufficient for all purposes of jurisdiction, whilst they feared that his Excellency would bring in his train a host of evils, in the shape of customs, excise, taxes, gaols, and police, unknown in the good old times of the republic. Never was a governor less efficiently or zealously supported in the outset of his career than Captain Hobson. His influence among the natives was secretly undermined, and there is no knowing what might have been the result of these seditious proceedings if one or two individuals, who were known to be very active in their endeavours to impede his measures, had not received warning that they were rendering themselves liable to a prosecution for high treason.

The next step of his Excellency was to obtain from the natives a formal cession to him, as her Majesty's servant and representative, of the sovereignty of New Zealand; to-

CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

gether with the exclusive privilege of purchasing their lands, in consideration of which they were to receive the protection of her Majesty, and enjoy the advantage of belonging to a civilized community. A proclamation to this effect was sent round to all parts of the coast, and it excited much disputation, – some being for and some against the proposed cession. When the chiefs of the Bay of Islands were assembled, Taria was loud in his opposition to the measure, and worked himself into a vehement excitement. This old gentleman was, however, left in a small minority; and, after a distribution of blankets and tobacco, the document was signed by nearly all present. Mr. Williams, the missionary, several gentlemen of local influence among the natives, including Captains Clayton, Symonds, and other respectable settlers, were appointed to conduct this important negotiation with the natives of their vicinity. His Excellency himself, although suffering from a severe illness, proceeded to Manganui, by the invitation of the principal chief of that district; and Major Bunbury, in the Herald sloop of war, visited the Thames district, that of Mercury Bay, and other localities to the southward.

It is not to be supposed that much difficulty was experienced in persuading the New Zealanders to divest themselves of a nominal sovereignty – a shadowy, unsubstantial something, of the nature of which they could form no idea, and of whose very name they had never before heard. When, therefore, the emissaries of the government had argued with the principal chiefs in the various districts the propriety of complying with the reasonable desires of the Queen, as set forth in the document (puka, puka) which awaited their signatures, the latter artfully set up a show of

CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

opposition, in order to call forth arguments more substantial and persuasive in their nature than mere korrero, or talk. Of these arguments – the most irresistible of which were blankets and tobacco – it was known that a goodly store was at hand, provided by the Queen, for conciliating the good wishes of her new subjects; and what better opportunity could be afforded than the present of "making their hearts good" towards so great and powerful a sovereign?

In a few months all the populous districts of New Zealand were visited, and the result of his Excellency's negotiations with the natives appeared in the following proclamations, – the first relating to the Northern Island, the second to the Middle and Southern Islands: –

PROCLAMATION I.

In the name of her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. By William Hobson, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.

Whereas by a treaty, bearing date the 5th day of February, in the year of our Lord 1840, made and executed by me, William Hobson, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Consul and Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, vested for this purpose with full powers by her Britannic Majesty, of the one part, and the Chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent Chiefs of New Zealand, not members of the Confederation, of the other, and further ratified and confirmed by the adherence of this island of New Zealand, commonly called "The Northern Island," all right and power of sovereignty oyer the said Northern Island were ceded to her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, absolutely and without reservation.

Now, therefore, I, William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, in the name and on the behalf of her Majesty, do hereby proclaim and declare to all men, that from and after the date of the

CESSION OF SOVEREIGNTY.

above-mentioned treaty, the full sovereignty of the Northern Island of New Zealand vests in her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors for ever.

Given under my hand at Government House, Russell, Bay of Islands, this 21st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1840.

(Signed) WILLIAM HOBSON, Lieutenant-Governor.

By his Excellency's command,

(Signed) WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND, Colonial Secretary.

PROCLAMATION II.

In the name of her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. By William Hobson, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand.

Whereas I have it in command from her Majesty Queen Victoria, through her principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, to assert the sovereign rights of her Majesty over the Southern Islands of New Zealand, commonly called "The Middle Island," and "Stewart's Island," and also the island commonly called "The Northern Island," the same having been ceded in sovereignty to her Majesty.

Now, therefore, I, William Hobson, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand, do hereby proclaim and declare to all men, that from and after the date of these presents, the full sovereignty of the islands of New Zealand, extending from 34 degrees 30 minutes north to 47 degrees 10 minutes south latitude, and between 166 degrees 5 minutes to 179 degrees of east longitude, vests in her Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs and successors for ever.

Given under my hand at Government House, Russell, Bay of Islands, this 21st day of May, in the year of our Lord 1840.

(Signed) WILLIAM HOBSON, Lieutenant-Governor.

By his Excellency's command,

(Signed) WILLOUGHBY SHORTLAND, Colonial Secretary.

Having thus established the sovereignty of Great Britain, without exciting the hostility of the natives, Captain Hobson has prepared New Zealand for the reception of

IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND.

an industrious and numerous population of emigrants from the mother country. He has complied to the letter with the instructions of the home government. An equitable basis has been established for settling all claims to the possession of land acquired by early purchasers from the natives, in terms of which these claims will be confirmed to the amount of four hundred acres for every hundred pounds expended in the purchase.

But it is not enough that all obstacles are removed to the location of emigrants in New Zealand. Separated from the mother country by a wide space of ocean, the influence of Captain Hobson's government can be exerted only feebly, and to little purpose, in furthering the colonization of these islands. It is only by the agency of the British government, in encouraging to the utmost of its power the emigration of the labouring classes, or by the application of private capital on a scale of sufficient magnitude, in the manner adopted by the New Zealand Company, that these islands can be colonized in an efficient and satisfactory manner.

Before we proceed to examine the available facilities that exist for the carrying through of this national undertaking, it will be proper to acquire clear and decided ideas on the following points: –

1st. The expediency, as regards the national interests of Great Britain, of creating in New Zealand a populous colony, and of rendering the possession of these islands subservient to the protection and advancement of our maritime and mercantile interests in the southern hemisphere.

2ndly. The probable results that are to be anticipated from the colonization of New Zealand as regards the

IMPORTANCE OF NEW ZEALAND.

prosperity of those individuals who may emigrate thither with their families.

Here will be the appropriate place to treat of the first of these subjects. Before we enter upon a consideration of the second, it will be proper to place before the reader an accurate picture of the country and of the climate, the nature of the soil, the geographical features, the indigenous productions, and the obvious and accessible resources that exist in New Zealand for the employment of capital and labour; for the acquisition of wealth by individuals, and of prosperity and commercial importance by the community.

To the question of the expediency, in a national sense, of colonizing New Zealand, (we apply this name to the Northern, the Middle, and the Southern Islands collectively,) we will limit our inquiry at present. The geographical situation of New Zealand, with relation to our Australian colonies, is of great and manifest importance. At the distance of a few days' sail from the coasts of Australia, a hostile power, established in any of the commodious harbours which indent the shores of these islands, would find at its mercy the whole of our colonies and commerce in the South Seas. During our last war with the United States, one of the first measures of that government was to dispatch a squadron, to "capture, sink, burn, and destroy" all our vessels engaged in the sperm whale fishery, or in the regular pursuits of commerce. If, at that early period in the history of our maritime and colonial interests in that quarter, they were deemed sufficiently important to attract an enemy's notice, how much more certain is it that they would now be visited with the whole weight of his hostility!

MR. SHERIFF ALISON.

Abounding in the materials of maritime strength, – in timber, coal, and iron, – possessing numerous fine harbours, and a climate peculiarly favourable to physical and mental energy, New Zealand offers an unconquerable position to a great maritime nation. On England, therefore, it seems incumbent to retain, with a firm grasp, this portion of her territories, to promote its colonization to the utmost of her power, or to remove every possible obstacle to the attainment of this national object through the agency of private capital.

Mr. Sheriff Alison, whose philosophical inquiries into the principles of population entitle his sentiments to universal respect, has expressed his opinion, that the improvements daily taking place in the application of steam and machinery, have a tendency, by reducing the demand for human labour, to effect the complete demoralization of our labouring community. At the same time he has clearly demonstrated the expediency of extending and fostering our colonial dependencies as the only means of saving from progressive decay the commercial interests, and consequently the maritime superiority of the empire. He has further pointed out the means of accomplishing these great ends at a moderate, or rather, at no expense to the nation.

At a meeting held at Glasgow in celebration of the colonization of New Zealand, his health having been proposed by the Lord Provost as a gentleman distinguished both as an historian and as a judge, Mr. Alison delivered an eloquent speech, the general purport of which will be gathered from the following passages: –

"Are we oppressed with a numerous and redundant population? Are we justly apprehensive that a mass of human beings, already

MR. SHERIFF ALISON.

consisting of five and twenty millions, and multiplying at the rate of a thousand souls a day, will ere long be unable to find subsistence within the narrow space of these islands? Let us turn to the colonies, and there we shall find boundless regions capable of maintaining ten times our present population in contentment and affluence, and which require only the surplus arms and mouths of the parent state to be converted into gigantic empires, which before a century has elapsed may overshadow the greatness of European renown. Are we justly fearful that the increasing manufacturing skill and growing commercial jealousy of the continental states may gradually shut us out from the European market, and that our millions of manufacturers may find their sources of foreign subsistence fail at a time when all home employments are filled up? Let us turn to the colonies, and there we shall see empires of gigantic strength rapidly rising to maturity, in which manufacturing establishments cannot for centuries take root, and in which the taste for British manufactures and the habits of British comfort are indelibly implanted on the British race. Are we overburdened with the weight of our poor rates and the multitude of our paupers, and trembling under the effect of the deep-rooted discontent produced in the attempt to withdraw public support from the maintenance of the adult and healthy labourer? Let us find the means of transporting these healthy workmen to our colonial settlements, and we will confer as great a blessing upon them as we will give a relief to the parent state. Are we disquieted by the rapid progress of corruption in our great towns, and alarmed at the enormous mass of female profligacy which, like a gangrene, infests these great marts of pleasure and opulence? Let us look to the colonies, and there we shall find states in which the population is advancing with incredible rapidity, but in which the greatest existing evil is the undue and frightful preponderance of the male sex, and all that is wanting to complete their means of increase is, that the proportion should be righted by the transfer to distant shores of part of the female population which now encumbers the British isles. Are the means to transport these numerous and indigent classes to these distant regions wanting; and has individual emigration hitherto been liable to the reproach, that it removes the better class of our citizens, who could do for themselves, and leaves the poorest, who encumber the land? The British navy lies between, and means exist of transporting, at

NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

hardly any expense to the parent state, all that can ever be required of our working population from that part of the empire which they overburden, to that to which they would prove a blessing. Gentlemen, I agree with my eloquent and esteemed friend, Mr. Macleod, that it is astonishing the attention of Government has not ere this been turned to this subject. And why, I would ask, may not part at least of the British navy be constantly employed in transporting emigrants of all classes to our colonial possessions? Why should two hundred vessels of different sizes, that are now in commission in the British navy, be employed only in useless parades, when hundreds of thousands on the British shores are pining for the means of transport across the seas, and millions of acres on the other side of the ocean, teeming with verdant fertility, await only their robust hands to be converted into a terrestrial paradise? Why should the British navy not be employed, like the Roman legions in time of peace, in works of public utility; and why should their efforts not construct causeways across the deep, which would bind together the immense circuit of the British colonial dominions, as strongly as the highways constructed by the legions cemented the fabric of their mighty empire?"

It has been deemed a maxim of good government to leave the formation of colonies to private enterprise; and, doubtless, this principle might have weight in any country but Great Britain, where the amount of distress seems too extensive to be effectually relieved by any other means than the direct agency of the State. To any proposition in favour of a national system of colonization, the answer would probably be "the expense." We can raise twenty millions for the emancipation of negroes; we have squandered hundreds of millions on wars of doubtful expediency; but we cannot muster ten or twelve millions in anticipation of colonial land-sales, although we know that the measure would free us from annual outlays in the shape of assessments and poor-rates, equivalent to more than half of the whole sum expended on emigration!

NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

Next to the influence of the State in promoting colonization, is the efficiency of a great corporate body like the New Zealand Company, consisting of men of wealth, rank, and practical judgment, whose proceedings are marked by deliberation, and who can exert the power of capital and influence in concentrating a community of individuals in a selected spot.

In founding a colony in a country which possesses, as New Zealand does, fertile land in abundance, the great object is so to proportion the amount of capital to the amount of labour, that there may be enough of capital for the profitable employment of all the labour, and enough of labour for the profitable employment of all the capital.

It is a nice thing, a thing probably unattainable, with precision to hit the point of adjustment, in this proportion especially, as it is impossible to prevent mere speculators residing in England and not purposing to leave it, from investing money in the purchase of land, in the expectation that the land so acquired will rise in value from the improvements of others. According to the plan of the Company, a considerable part of the money paid to them by such speculators, as well as by all other parties, for land, will be expended in sending out labour to New Zealand; but it is obvious that in the case stated there will be no corresponding transmission of capital, and that consequently, in proportion as this cause operates, there is a hazard of there being a superabundance of labour in the Company's settlement, which might shut the least eligible labourers out of employment.

But the manner in which the Company proposes to employ a portion of its capital will tend to obviate this danger. As soon as the several settlements of the

PRINCIPLE OF COLONIZATION.

Company shall have acquired a corporate character by charters from the Crown, and shall thus be enabled to borrow and give proper security for money, the Company will be prepared, as it is especially empowered to do by its charter, to advance loans to the community for public works, roads, bridges, and the like, by which means it will act the part of a great resident capitalist, and find employment for any supposable body of surplus labourers.

The value of land not depending merely on its situation or its productive qualities, but also, and in a much greater degree, on the amount of its population, or the number of mouths to be fed, it is an object in the formation of new colonies to sell the land at a price sufficiently high to admit of a large expenditure in emigration. By the practical application of this principle, it is manifest that an inducement is created for the emigration of the capitalist as well as of the labourer, since his own act of investing money in the purchase has already provided the means of sending out a proportionate amount of labour to swell the general mass and increase the demand for the productions of the earth. Such are the fundamental truths on which systematic colonization is founded, and, if we except the powers of Steam, there is no discovery of modern times calculated to affect society in a greater degree, or more beneficially. Even Steam must yield precedence in one respect to systematic colonization, for whilst the tendency of the former is to lower the value of human labour, the province of the latter is to open up new and advantageous fields of employment. On a recent public occasion, the undertaking of the New Zealand Company was justly described by a royal Duke as "benevolent and

WELLINGTON.

useful." That its plan is perfect in its details, it would be folly to assert, but of the beneficial tendency of its operations no one can entertain a doubt who is aware of the unparalleled ' distress which prevails throughout this country.

The first settlement or township of the Company, which has received the illustrious name of Wellington, stands on the shores of a large and sheltered inlet, and already contains three thousand inhabitants. The buildings are stated to have cost an aggregate sum of 18,000l., and the amount of merchandise and moveable property is estimated at 200,000l. It has a newspaper, one or two banks, a church, and a school; and its inhabitants appear, from all accounts, to be thoroughly imbued with the true colonial spirit of action, which is at once a source of happiness and of success. The country in the immediate neighbourhood of Wellington is of a hilly and broken character, with the exception of a plain, watered by the Hutt River, which contains about fifteen thousand acres of carse, or alluvial land, adequate to the maintenance of a population of five or six thousand individuals. It also appears that the hill country, where it is sufficiently level for the plough, is capable of producing good crops. The wheat grown in the valley of the Hutt is found to be of a very superior description; and, probably, the celebrated wheat of Van Dieman's Land would grow without deterioration in New Zealand.

But the finest district in the Company's territories, and which is surpassed, perhaps, by none in New Zealand, is that which surrounds the base of Taranake, or Mount Egmont, an inactive volcano, which rises to the height of ten thousand feet, in the shape of a vast cone. Much of

WELLINGTON.

the soil in this district, consisting of decomposed lava, is of an extremely fertile description. It is watered by the Wanganui River, which flows from the vicinity of Tongarido, and, like the Thames, which flows northwards from the same central source, carries down quantities of pumice-stone. The mouth of the Wanganui is accessible only to small vessels, of such a size as will be sufficient to convey to Port Nicholson flax, pork, maize, potatoes, and other agricultural produce suited for the neighbouring colonial markets. The phormium tenax grows abundantly in the district of Taranake, and its preparation will afford employment for much labour and capital.

The lands of the first settlement, consisting of one hundred and ten thousand acres, were sold in sections at the fixed uniform price of 20s. per acre. In return for his purchase money, the purchaser received an order on the Company's agents in the colony, which entitled the holder thereof, or his representative, to select one acre of town land and one hundred acres of rural land, in the order of priority, previously fixed by lot. Of the whole quantity of land, a tenth part, or one hundred and ten sections, was reserved for the natives; the Company therefore received for the lands of the first colony, 99,`990l, of which twenty-five per cent, was allotted to defray the expenses of management, and the remaining seventy-five per cent, employed as an emigration fund. Out of that fund an allowance of passage money was made to actual colonists to an amount equal to seventy-five per cent, of their purchase money, and the remainder expended in sending out to the colony young persons of the labouring class, and, as far as possible, in equal proportions of the two sexes.

WELLINGTON.

The whole of the sections having been sold, and the priority of choice determined by a lottery, held in July, 1839, the first body of colonists, to the number of one thousand one hundred and twenty-three, sailed in the same year, and arrived in New Zealand early in 1840. The sales of land have subsequently, as already stated, been adequate to the sending out of upwards of four thousand five hundred persons. During the brief period that has elapsed since their arrival in New Zealand, the colonists of Wellington have not been idle. Crops of wheat and potatoes have been raised, and a mechanical process has been discovered, by which the flax, or fibre, of the phormium tenax can be prepared for exportation with ease and celerity, and at a cost which will enable consignees to sell it in England for much less than Baltic hemp.

Perfect amity has prevailed between the settlers of Port Nicholson and the natives; and it is worthy of remark, that among the latter there are several who have deposited sums of money in the bank – a proof of intelligence and confidence, from which it is to be inferred that the intercourse between them and the settlers is marked by mutual good feeling.

That part of the Company's plan which relates to Reserves of land for the natives, has been critically condemned in an influential Review, as holding out a delusive show of liberality. But in expressing this opinion, the writer leaves out of consideration the increased value which these reserved lands must acquire from the establishment in their vicinity of a populous British colony, with its markets, its commerce, and its civilized intercourse. Possessing a comparatively small quantity of land in a colonized country, the natives are manifestly far

NEW PLYMOUTH.

wealthier than if they owned ten times the whole of New Zealand, under the old regime of barbarism. The critical sympathies of the reviewer are, therefore, in this particular instance, rather needlessly expended.

In the New Plymouth settlement, which was founded by an association of gentlemen in the West of England, subsequently incorporated with the New Zealand Company, the same general principles of colonization are acted upon, but each section consists of only fifty acres of agricultural, and a quarter of an acre of town land; the uniform price per acre being raised to 1l. 10s., in order to admit of the application of a larger sum to emigration purposes. The town land of New Plymouth comprises 2,200 sections of a quarter of an acre each, is equal to 550 acres, exclusive of all streets, squares, public places, parks and land, which may be rejected as unavailable; and the suburban lands comprise 209 sections of 50 acres each, and therefore equal to 57,500 acres, exclusive of roads and rejected land.

Two hundred of the town, and nineteen of the suburban sections have been allotted as native reserves, and it is intended to add a further quantity to the rural lands for disposition in a similar manner, so that a quantity equal to one-tenth of the whole settlement may be distributed among the native chiefs in the same manner as in the first settlement of Wellington, subject only to the regulations of Her Majesty's Government.

The Plymouth Company, previous to its merging in the New Zealand Company, had disposed of 1,000 sections of town land, and 54 sections of suburban land; the priority of choice for which respectively, together with the priority of choice for the sections reserved by the Plymouth Com-

NEW PLYMOUTH.

pany for the natives, was decided by a ballot, wherein the Company took equal chances with those who had purchased land orders from them. The Company had also disposed of 149 sections of rural land, the purchasers of which are entitled to make their choice according to the order in which they may present their land orders in New Plymouth.

All further sales of land will be effected, until further notice, to actual colonists, on the following terms:

1. With a view to distribute as generally as may be practicable the advantage to be derived from the possession of preliminary lands, no application from an individual colonist will be entertained for more than eight allotments of land, each allotment containing one section of town land, and one section of rural land.

2. Two hundred and fifty allotments are set apart for sale as above mentioned, at the price of 75l. for each allotment, and applications for the same are to be made in writing in the form annexed, which, if accompanied by a deposit of 10l in respect of each allotment, will entitle the applicant to receive separate land orders for each town and rural section, with such priorities and rights of selection as hereinafter mentioned, in exchange for the residue of the purchase money.

3. The numbers signifying the priority of choice for the town sections have been selected on a fair average from the 1000 numbers of choice which have fallen to the Company in the general ballot above referred to. These selected numbers (particulars of which may be obtained at the office in Plymouth, or at the New Zealand House, London,) are deposited in a wheel, from which the purchaser's numbers will be drawn, in the presence of

NEW PLYMOUTH.

three directors and of the applicant, if he shall think proper to attend either in person or by his agent.

The purchasers will be entitled to such town sections as may have been chosen by the Company's agents in virtue of the priority of choice signified by the number so respectively drawn. The purchasers will also be entitled to select the rural sections from any land in the Plymouth settlement, surveyed and declared open for choice as rural sections, at the time, and according to the order of presenting the land order in the colony, subject only to the regulations of the land office for preserving fairness and regularity of choice.

4. The sum of 50l. in respect to every 75l. received for each allotment as above, will be transferred to the Emigration Fund, and a purchaser to the extent of 300l will be entitled to an allowance from the said fund towards the passage of himself and family to the colony, at the rate of 25l. per cent, on the amount of his purchase money. Provided that no party will be entitled to a larger allowance on the above-mentioned account than will pay his own passage and that of his family (if any) according to the rates which will be issued from time to time by the Court of Directors. The residue of the fund will be expended in the conveyance of labouring emigrants to the settlement.

5. The residue of the land consisting of 750 town sections, 106 suburban sections, and at least 750 rural sections, will be sold by auction in the settlement, in such portions and at such upset prices, as will from time to time be declared by the Company's agents; the minimum price being in no case less than the uniform price required by the government for crown lands in New Zealand.

NEW PLYMOUTH.

6. It is the intention of the Company, in reference to the minimum price named in the last paragraph, that a portion of the purchase money obtained by means of auction sales, equal at the least to 15s. per acre, shall be set apart for the exclusive purposes of emigration to the settlement: but as it may reasonably be presumed that the sales by auction will produce a much larger average price per acre, if the lands are judiciously selected and offered for sale, the emigration fund will, in that case, be augmented; it being the confident opinion of the court, as expressed in the instructions which have been given to their officers, that the prosperity of the colony, no less than the interests of the Company, depend on the proportion per acre in which the appropriation of land as private property shall conduce to emigration.

7. Any person who may wish to proceed to the settlement with a view to purchase land by auction on his arrival, shall be entitled to a certificate from the court of directors stating the amount he may have paid for the passage-money of himself and his family, (not being money allowed under the preceding regulations,) and the party to whom such certificate may have been granted will be entitled to a drawback not exceeding 25 per cent, on whatever may be the price of land so bought by auction in the settlement, towards the repayment of the amount specified in the certificate.

8. Any intending purchaser who shall deposit with the Company in England a sum of money towards a purchase of land at auction in the settlement, will, if such purchase be completed within twelve months from the date of deposit, be allowed a drawback of 10 per cent, exclusive of the passage allowance before mentioned; and if such

NELSON.

purchase be not made, will be entitled to have the deposit-money returned without interest.

9. Any intending purchaser, making a deposit as last provided, will be allowed to nominate labourers and their families, who come within the Company's regulations, for a free passage to the settlement, in the proportion of three adults for every 100l. deposited.

The chief surveyor, with the first detachment of the surveying staff, sailed in August, 1840, instructions having been previously sent out to Colonel Wakefield to select the best site for New Plymouth, which has accordingly been chosen on the River Waitesa, in the Taranake district, opposite to the Sugar Loaf Islands; and since the establishment of the settlement, there have been sent out 308 male and 204 female colonists.

NELSON.

The second (or, reckoning New Plymouth, the third) settlement founded under the auspices of the New Zealand Company, has received the name of Nelson, a name peculiarly appropriate to a colony, which seems destined to perpetuate the maritime energy, as well as the persevering industry of our Anglo-Saxon race.

In the plan of the Nelson colony, the same principles are acted upon as have been already elucidated; but in its details it resembles the New Plymouth settlement rather than that of Wellington. The land is sold in sections of 201 acres, divided into

1 acre of town land. 50 acres of suburban land. 150 acres of agricultural land.

NELSON.

The uniform price of 30s. per acre. It consists of 201,000 acres, or 1000 allotments, to which is added a quantity of land, equal to one-tenth of the whole, as a native reserve. The sum of 300,000l, to be received by the Company in payment of these lands, is appropriated in a manner calculated to render the settlement "commodious and attractive." (See App. Nos. VI. and VII.)

The site of Nelson has not yet been chosen, but since the New Zealand Company is empowered by her Majesty's Government to select nearly a million of acres, in any portion of the northern, middle, or southern islands, it seems fair to presume that the selection made by those gentlemen, on whom the important duty has devolved, will prove satisfactory to all parties.

It is worthy of remark, that the formation of the Nelson colony was originally suggested by Mr. Bryan Duppa, of Hollingbourne, a gentleman of landed property in Kent, whose brother had previously proceeded to New Zealand with the intention of embarking in agricultural pursuits, for which he is well qualified by taste and education. Regarding the agricultural capabilities of the land at Port Nicholson, the cautious testimony of Mr. John Duppa, referring, as it does, to ascertained facts, will be read with interest: –

"I hope soon," he says, "to be able to prove that the soil and climate are such as I very shortly after 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

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.

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 in 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

PEACE OF THE COLONY.

a variety of produce to market, such as poultry, eggs, butter, vegetables, &c. &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."

The Quarterly Reviewer, already adverted to, deems it probable that hostilities will break out between the natives and the colonists of New Zealand. But this gentleman, in common with many others, seems to entertain a vague and exaggerated conception regarding the native, or, to use the term of our early voyager, the savage, character, which is inconsistent with the real attributes of human nature, even in its most uncultivated state. Man is not essentially a fighting animal, unless he has an object to achieve, and the New Zealand tau or fight being open to the contingencies of victory or defeat, with the concomitant circumstances of roasting and cooking, was too serious a matter to be entered into without mature deliberation. The natives, being an intelligent and inquiring race, are, moreover, not ignorant of the power and resources by which the government of Queen Victoria could quell and crush a few undisciplined tribes, should the latter insanely attempt to try their strength against the might of a great and civilized people.

But supposing them to be less prudent, and that, a consideration of their own fate having no influence upon their actions, they were openly and avowedly hostile. In that case it is manifest that they would be formidable in proportion to their numbers, their facility of movement and communication, their means of subsistence, and their supplies of arms and ammunition.

The numbers of the New Zealanders are estimated by the missionaries at 90,000, which is the extreme; by Dr.

PEACE OF THE SETTLEMENT.

Dieffienback, a considerate and systematic observer, at no more than 40,000. I am myself inclined to think, from having lived in the most populous districts, that the aggregate native population is between 60,000 and 70,000. The tribes of New Zealand, although speaking the same language, do not constitute a nation; they are dispersed so widely, that you may travel over hundreds of miles without seeing a human being, or a human abode, or a foot of ground in cultivation. The remains of abandoned villages shew that in former times whole districts were inhabited which are now desolate, and that the population was much more numerous than it is at present.

With the exception of four or five thousand people who inhabit the inland districts of Roturua, Taupo, and Matemata, the native population is dispersed at great intervals along the coast; and so wooded and impassable is the country bordering upon the sea shore, that no communication from one remote point of the coast to another can take place otherwise than by water. In endeavouring to concentrate themselves for a combined attack, not only would their villages and plantations be left defenceless, but their canoes, their only means of transport, would fall an easy prey to the smallest armed cutter. A single frigate could visit every village along the coast in succession, and, by burning the canoes, completely cut off all means of communication, whilst a very small expenditure of ammunition would suffice for the destruction of the strongest native fortress.

But the New Zealanders, furthermore, are divided amongst themselves into numerous tribes, each of which has its inveterate feuds and jealousies. The Ngapouis could never amalgamate for any warlike purpose with the

PEACE OF THE COLONY.

Wykattas, nor could the black natives of the East Cape fraternise with the brown or copper-coloured people who inhabit the rest of New Zealand. Between the people of Kiapara and those of the Bay of Islands, there exists an irreconcilable feud, and equally virulent is the enmity subsisting between the inland tribes of Roturua and Matemata. Time and barbarism have done the work of policy among the New Zealand tribes, and the old Roman maxim, "divide et impera," is completely anticipated.

Moreover, each tribe is divided against itself. The chief is jealous of his slaves, and the slaves correctly regard the colonization of their country as tantamount to their own emancipation. "Taishoa katoa rangatira," they say; "By and bye we will all be gentlemen." If, in addition to the preceding observations, we simply reflect that, although they possess muskets, they are very short of ammunition, and moreover completely unprovided with such means of subsistence as would enable them to take the field en masse, we shall be able to draw a definite inference regarding the extent to which the hostility of the natives is to be feared by the colonists of New Zealand. But there are also the influence of reciprocal utility, the kindness of familiar intercourse, and the power of humanity and common sense, – which would operate in combination, to repress the turbulent and sanguinary passions of either party.

In conclusion, it will suffice to remark that the plan of reserving lands for the natives, although made the object of a most irrational and illiberal sarcasm, is the first instance on record, in the whole history of colonization, of any consideration being given to the natural rights and interests of the aboriginal possessors of the soil.

CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVII.

Second visit to New Zealand – Passengers – New aspect of things at Kororadika – A native Village – Domestic habits – Principal chiefs of the Bay of Islands – Influence of colonization on the native character.

IN the March of 1840, I again visited New Zealand. At this time, vessels were dispatched there from the Australian colonies in greater numbers than at any previous period, freighted with merchandise, and in some cases with sheep and cattle, for the supply of the increasing population of the Bay of Islands and Port Nicholson. From the large number of cattle that was shipped for these ports, it appeared that the scarcity of natural pasture in New Zealand was unknown to the graziers and merchants of New South Wales. Owing, therefore, to the scarcity of grass in the immediate vicinity of Port Nicholson, many of the cattle which arrived there were driven to the Mount Egmont and Taranaki districts.

We had on board of the "Delhi" about seventy cabin and steerage passengers, including several very respectable families, a fair proportion of mechanics and labourers, and several young men of good education, proceeding to the new colony with indefinite views, such as the hope of

PASSENGERS.

obtaining situations as clerks or government employed; for which both Sir George Gipps and Captain Hobson were besieged with applications. Among the number of our passengers were some who had left South Australia: and as I felt a strong interest respecting that colony, I was naturally desirous to learn the motives which had induced individuals to leave it.

From one gentleman, whom I had known in South Australia as an eminent government surveyor, I learned that the state of his health did not permit of his encountering the fatigues and labours of his profession in that colony; and he calculated, justly as I thought, on being more amply remunerated as a private surveyor in New Zealand, than as a government surveyor in South Australia. He also looked forward to the enjoyment of better health, in the cool and temperate climate of New Zealand, as a sufficient inducement to leave South Australia, where the summer heats, like those of New South Wales, are certainly injurious to some constitutions, although I believe, in the great majority of instances, the Australian climate is beneficial to health, especially where there is a tendency to consumption.

In one important respect his opinion coincided with that which I have already stated – viz., that the extent of available pasturage in South Australia, as yet discovered, is too inconsiderable to admit of a great export of wool.

There were two French gentlemen on board, who had touched at South Australia, on their way from the Isle of France; but from this circumstance no inference for or against South Australia could be drawn. Among the steerage passengers were several carpenters and other artificers and their families, who, although gaining a good

CHANGES IN KORORADIKA.

livelihood in Adelaide, had, with the hope of still further improving their circumstances, resolved to emigrate to New Zealand; where, in truth, good mechanics of every description were very much in demand. After an agreeable passage of ten days, we reached the Bay of Islands, when the "Delhi," after discharging a part of her cargo and passengers, carried the remainder to the Frith of Thames, where it was now understood that Captain Hobson had resolved to plant the capital of the colony.

I found the aspect of Kororadika considerably altered since I left it, two months previously. The British ensign was hoisted on the beach; numerous tents pitched behind the town, and, in addition to the "old familiar faces," there were many new comers, whose presence gave to the little settlement an air of bustle and animation. To complete the metamorphosis, the appearance of policemen, sauntering along with an idle step, but with busy and searching eyes, indicated clearly that the occupation of the old tarring and feathering association was gone for ever. Moreover, the price of building allotments had more than doubled, and all the materials of building were in strong demand at exorbitant prices; circumstances strongly indicative of a prevailing impression that a numerous population would forthwith arrive in New Zealand. There was also an increased number of stores and shops. Bakehouses and butchers' stalls had been established, and regular ferry-boats plied between Kororadika and the neighbouring settlements of Pahia and Russell, a locality four miles distant, where, for the present, the government offices were established, on the premises of the American consul. And since progress is the characteristic of a new colony, I may here state, that two months after-

A NATIVE VILLAGE.

wards Kororadika had its bank, its newspapers, and its club.

Opposite the centre of the beach stands the native pa-a, or village, a square inclosure of fifteen or twenty acres, surrounded with a high palisade of rude construction, but sufficiently strong to resist the attacks of an enemy destitute of artillery. Many of the posts are surmounted by representations of the human face and form, carved out of the wood, and afterwards painted with ochre and pipeclay. Similar figure-heads, surmounted by a bunch of variegated feathers, usually adorn the sterns and stems of their canoes. In these rude yet still elaborate specimens of sculpture, which have been for the most part executed with stone instruments, the New Zealanders evince a strong relish for the grotesque and ludicrous; and it would even appear that they deem perfection in the art of statuary to consist in distortion and caricature. Entering within the precincts of the village, I beheld a number of small tenements constructed of rapoo, a species of reed, neatly bound together in bundles with shreds of the phormium tenax, and sometimes with the tendrils of the wild vine, and roofed with bundles of the myrtle fastened with the same sorts of ligature. These roofs and walls are woven or constructed upon upright posts, proportioned in strength to the size of the building, and connected together by a roof-plate and rafters of the same description; the use of nails being entirely superseded by binding every part of the structure firmly and closely together, so as effectually to exclude both cold and rain. In entering it is always necessary to stoop, and often to crawl on the hands and knees, and the roof is usually so low as scarcely to permit a man of the ordinary stature to stand upright.

NEW ZEALAND CHIEFS.

In front there is frequently a small verandah, supported upon five or six posts, which are frequently carved and ornamented. The furniture of a New Zealander's abode consists generally of a very small number of articles: – iron pot, for cooking potatoes and kumeras: a calabash, at once the water pitcher and a drinking cup of the household, and a few woven mats, on which the inmates repose, make up the inventory of indispensables. They regard the bedsteads, tables, and chairs of the pakehas as curious and complicated machines, the utility of which is not easily comprehended, and look upon the use of knives and forks as a fantastic and ridiculous practice, not altogether void of danger to the mouth and fingers.

In an inner apartment will be found the chief's most valued treasures: – his double-barrelled gun, with a supply of ammunition; his pipes and tobacco, without which his existence would be intolerable; and a small chest, containing one or two blankets, if he has been prudent enough to make such a provision for the approaching winter. Here, too, will be found the cherished blue surtout, with a gold-laced cap, trowsers and waistcoat to match, which he exhibits on Sundays or on particular occasions; the shoes alone being wanting to complete his holiday attire. All other articles of European costume the New Zealand chief will wear, more for the love of distinction than from any real liking to so tight and constrained an attire, but it is very seldom that he can be induced to encase his feet in shoes or boots; and no sooner does he cross his threshold than he puts off his uncomfortable finery, assumes the blanket, and stretched at his full length, or squatting on his heels, according to the practice of coloured people all over the world, resigns himself to indolence and his pipe.

NEW ZEALAND CHIEFS.

The native population resident at Kororadika, at this period, consisted of the chiefs Taria, Rivas, and Aywarre, with their subordinate freedmen and their slaves, in all about two hundred and fifty individuals. Between these and the white people there existed a very peaceful and amicable intercourse. Taria, who was an old man of gigantic stature, with a dull and somewhat forbidding aspect, regarded with much jealousy the encroachments which the foreigners and their innovations were daily making upon the good old habits which he and his countrymen had inherited from their ancestors. In his eyes, it was contrary to every dictate of reason and custom that a New Zealander should assume the white man's cloak or cap, or cease to make war upon his neighbours. Moko was considerably below the middle stature, but his erect carriage, and the expression of his countenance, betokened a resolute spirit, of which he had given many proofs during the wars of Shongi. For the present he had laid aside the sword, or rather the patou-patou, and was leading a very respectable and inoffensive life. Aywarre and Rivas were men of really superior character and intellect. The former was invariably appealed to as arbiter in the disputes of daily occurrence which were unavoidable in this little community; and if any white man complained of the loss of property, he would apply to Aywarre, with a tolerable certainty that through his interest and authority the missing articles, or some equivalent, would be speedily forthcoming. It was the chief's policy, on these occasions, to avoid the exposure of the offender, which he knew by long experience would be attended with very bad consequences. Aywarre was usually enveloped in an ample Spanish cloak, of very fine texture, for which he

NEW ZEALAND CHIEFS.

had given twelve sovereigns to the captain of a French whaler. Rivas was a tall, and portly personage, with a well formed and intelligent countenance. His ample shoulders and extremely muscular frame betokened an uncommon degree of strength; and although he had evidently attained his fiftieth year, he enjoyed the best of health. His conversation was sprightly and amusing; and he felt, or at least manifested, no jealousy or dislike towards the European residents. It was seldom that any of the more respectable of these met him without a friendly shake of the hand, a civility which he seemed to regard as his due. Rivas' sons and a daughter were also living on the beach; the latter had a somewhat dignified and melancholy aspect, very common among the wives and daughters of the higher class of chiefs. The younger of his two sons, by name Emminee, was a very fine and sprightly youth of twenty, very slightly tattooed. He spoke English with great fluency, seemed to delight in wearing the European dress, and in imitating the manners and habits of the more respectable of the English residents. Being informed by me of my intended return to England, he expressed a strong desire to accompany me.

The above-mentioned chiefs had recently sold a great part of their hereditary lands to the white people at much higher prices than they had obtained previously. Building allotments in Kororadika and its neighbourhood had now acquired a high value, and offers were daily made to the natives for the cession of the whole or part of their village, which, however, they would on no account consent to, although tempted with a hat half full of sovereigns, besides blankets, tobacco, muskets, and ammunition, to the value of several hundred pounds. It was expected,

EFFECTS OF COLONIZATION.

however, that when they had exhausted the large stock of tobacco which, with other goods, they had recently received in barter for land, they would be less tenacious respecting the pa-a. However large the payments made to them for land, – and in some instances they amounted to several hundred pounds sterling, – the chiefs individually were seldom enriched, since they divided the articles received among their relatives and dependents in a spirit of open-handed liberality which in England would have probably obtained from them the protection of a lunatic asylum.

The menials and slaves received their portions of tobacco, pipes, and blankets, as well as the chief and the members of his family. In general, the lands sold were the joint property of one or two tribes; and every individual having a right in the land, it was necessary, not only to satisfy the demand of the chief, but also those of his adherents and relatives of both sexes, and to have either their signatures or attested marks (moko) affixed to the deed of sale. Aywarre was the reputed owner of some specie, and Pomare was said to be possessed of a considerable amount, derived in part from the lucrative pursuit of grog selling at his pa-a, which is situated near another anchorage of the Bay of Islands, much resorted to by whaling ships. It has been estimated by the cashier of the bank at Port. Nicholson, that the natives of New Zealand collectively possess at least 150,000£. in specie; but in general the wealth of the chiefs was very limited, their previous experience having taught them to attach but little importance to the possession of property beyond that which was necessary for the necessities of the moment.

ON THE NATIVE CHARACTER.

The great changes that will be effected in the social condition of the New Zealanders by the colonization of their country will doubtless communicate to their minds by degrees a stronger love of the material comforts of civilization than they have hitherto known, and at the same time kindle among them the active and stimulating passions which are associated with the love of money. In former times, their flax fields, their potatoe and kumeras, their fishing gear, their shores abounding with excellent shell-fish, and the exhaustless resource of fern root, rendered them independent of the foreigner. But they are now irrecoverably enslaved by wants which were unfelt by their ancestors: they must have tobacco and gunpowder, slop-clothing and blankets, iron pots, agricultural implements, knives and muskets, and Manchester goods. When they can no longer obtain these articles by the sale of land or produce, they will be driven to labour as the only means of obtaining them; and, as a sure consequence, they will learn to appreciate the value of wealth, as the only safeguard against the necessity of working for their daily bread.

A question of high moral importance is suggested by the change now going on in the social condition of the New Zealanders: is it, with all its probable prospective advantages as regards them, to be considered an evil or a good? Many there are among them who foresee and lament the consequences that must arise from their increased and increasing wants. They predict that the ancient authority of their chiefs will be subverted by the mightier influence of the stranger's gold. "If these things go on," said one of them, in that forcible language which characterises the simplicity, and energy of the sacred

EFFECTS OF COLONIZATION

writings, "we shall all become the bondsmen of the Pakeha, his 'hewers of wood and drawers of water.'" They apprehend that, the white man's trade having sapped the foundations of their ancient and warlike independence, they will, from the highest to the lowest, become a nation of rikka rikkas, or slaves. But no remedy can now be of any avail; even the total expulsion of the white people from their shores, if it could be effected, would not check the tide of new and imperious wants which are rapidly effacing all their ancient and warlike customs, subverting the authority of their chiefs, lowering the freemen to the level of the slave, or making all equally free.

If these are to be looked upon as evils, what benefits will colonization bestow upon the New Zealanders, in compensation for the loss of their national independence, and the subversion of their hereditary customs? It will give them peace – which is undoubtedly the first of blessings, as it relates to nations and to individuals; it will protect equally the weak and the strong, and restrain the cruel propensities which were sanctioned and encouraged by the customs of their ancestors; it will communicate instruction to their minds, and render them alive to the ameliorating influence of mental enjoyments and occupations; it will subject them to the salutary discipline of industry; and, finally, will imbue them with the principles and precepts of Christianity – benefits which need no comment. Even taking into consideration the vices which colonization may engraft, or has already engrafted upon the native character, they do not constitute a sufficient reason for the abandonment of a project, the execution of which must be attended with so many moral advantages. If a certain extent of corruption has usually been found

ON THE NATIVE CHARACTER.

to mingle with the civilization of barbarous nations, that very circumstance will prove a source of good, provided it call forth the efforts of a wise and virtuous government for the suppression of intemperance, idleness, and other prolific sources of demoralization. There exists in no part of the world a more inviting field for the exercise of practical philanthropy than New Zealand; nowhere can we find a race more susceptible of improvement, if placed under the fostering care of a wise and benevolent government, able to instruct, protect, and control. Hitherto the annals of colonies have presented to us, in every age and in every region, the destruction of aboriginal inhabitants of the soil, by the sword, by persecution, or by the influence of vicious habits, introduced by their more enlightened and energetic conquerors. Are the same enormous and cruel consequences to be witnessed in New Zealand? Is the progress of modern colonization to be attended with the wars, the tyranny, and the extermination which history has shewn to have been inseparable from the hap-hazard colonization of our forefathers? On the English Government and the English colonists will devolve the duty of maintaining a peaceful intercourse with the natives, of providing them with the means of religious and moral instruction, of teaching them the various processes of mechanical and agricultural industry, of communicating to them a taste for the comforts and decencies of civilized life; and, finally, of extending towards them the same protection of person, property, and right, as is due to every British subject. Policy will dictate the propriety of supporting the moral ascendancy of the chiefs, and of cultivating their friendship, as the best means of ensuring, by peaceful means, the good behaviour

EFFECTS OF COLONIZATION, ETC.

of the tribes generally. These principles, if acted upon by the New Zealand government, and combined with a moderate but sufficient display of force, and with the speedy introduction of numerous bodies of settlers, will not fail to render New Zealand as prosperous and as peaceable as any portion of the British empire.

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. 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 resold 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.

CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XVIII.

Rumours of wars – Departure for Waimate – Projected townships – Falls of Wytangi – Mountains of New Zealand – Native tradition – Fertile district – Mineral springs – Native costume – Education of white children – Native religion – Cookery – Lake Maupere – Native labourers – Kaori forest – Rain.

SHORTLY after the arrival of the Governor, the tranquillity of Kororadika was disturbed by various unfounded rumours. It was whispered that the natives were laying out all their money in ammunition, furbishing up their arms, and holding korreros, or councils of war, all over the country. However groundless, these reports were calculated to shake the confidence of families and of strangers, who entertained opinions and apprehensions as to the native character completely at variance with truth and probability; and with the intention of exciting their fears, these reports were mischievously propagated by the old settlers, who enjoyed the somewhat ludicrous terrors displayed by the new comers.

It was reported that Pomare had been exerting his influence throughout the northern part of the island to induce the tribes to assemble on a fixed day and attack Kororadika; that Taria was bent upon nothing less than the extermination of the Pakehas; even Rivas, the

PROJECTED TOWNSHIPS.

personification of frank good nature, and the sedate Aywarre were enlisted into this terrible but imaginary complot.

However, as the weather was very fine, and had been so ever since my arrival, I determined upon an excursion into the interior, to Waimate, the head-quarters of the Church Mission, which is distant about twenty miles from Kororadika.

Accompanied by two gentlemen, who, like myself, entertained none of those fears which agitated the public, I set out on a beautiful morning, about the beginning of April, and crossed the Bay of Islands, in a boat, to the entrance of the Waitangi river, on the left bank of which, near its confluence with the bay, is the site of Mr. Busby's proposed city of Victoria. This township having been neatly laid out into squares and streets, with an exchange and other public buildings, has been sold, partly to Sydney capitalists and partly among the people of the Bay of Islands, at prices varying from 100l to 400l per acre. The advantages which Victoria possesses over Kororadika, and Russell, the "Proclamation" township of the Bay of Islands, consists in its being backed by an extensive district of level, or gently undulating land, totally free from trees, and which, therefore, may be supposed capable of being easily brought into cultivation. It affords an easy communication with the interior by way of the valley of the Waitangi and the shores of Lake Maupere, by which route a carriage road may very easily be made, all the way to Hokianga or the western coast.

Possessing these advantages, and being, moreover, pleasingly and healthfully situated, Victoria would cer-

FALLS OF THE WYTANGI.

tainly bear the palm over the rival townships, both of which are situated on promontories, and almost isolated from inland communication, but for one important defect – it has no anchorage for ships, except at a distance from the shore, which would render the landing of goods both expensive and hazardous, especially when exposed to such a surf as breaks on this part of the bay-coast during the strong south-easterly gales.

The landing-places, both at Kororadika and Russell, are, on the other hand, perfectly accessible and commodious for ships during the most tempestuous weather. If the undulating track of country in the neighbourhood of Victoria is of a fertile character, I have seen few sites in the world which would present a more pleasing aspect, when inhabited by a numerous agricultural population. Its extent, from the Waitangi to the Keri-Keri inlet, which also has its marginal flats and its sloping uplands, is not less than twenty thousand acres. Of the qualities of the soil it is impossible, from what is at present known regarding the general agricultural capabilities of New Zealand, to give a decided opinion. The rounded, lumpish formation of the eminences betokens an argillaceous character, to which the application of lime, after burning off the fern and tea tree scrub, would probably be beneficial. Passing the site of Victoria, we rowed up the Wytangi for several miles, until our further progress was arrested by the cascade. On each margin of the river there extends a narrow strip of alluvium, a great part of which is under native cultivation. We passed two small native settlements, and many isolated huts, the inmates of which saluted us in their usual joyous tones, and offered for sale a quantity of fish. The cascade precipitates itself, from

VALLEY OF WYTANGI.

a height of forty feet, over a ledge of rock, into a basin hemmed in by perpendicular walls, which present very distinctly, in some parts, the fluted and pillared appearance of the basaltic formation; and is said to bear a resemblance, on a reduced scale, to the cataract of Niagara, being in shape like a horseshoe. The igneous character was strongly impressed on every rock and stone, and the surrounding vegetation was in the highest degree luxuriant and varied.

Having with some difficulty climbed up the perpendicular cliff, to the higher level of the river, through fern and brushwood, without which the ascent would have been impracticable, we found ourselves at the commencement of a spacious valley, bounded on either side by hills of moderate elevation, and watered by the Waitangi, a succession of rapids, with a broken and pebbly channel. From each margin of the river the valley slopes gradually towards the bases of the hills. The soil in some parts seemed of a promising nature, but in general there was a subsoil of white plastic clay, covered by a very scanty stratum of mould, in which very little fertility could be expected.

The country, being overrun by ferns and myrtles, presented that sombre aspect which I have already noticed as characteristic of the scenery of New Zealand; and this, added to the total absence of trees, except on the more distant ridges, forcibly recalled to my recollection the moorland districts of Scotland, where the eye may roam over many thousand of acres equally destitute of grasses and trees. When compared to the verdant natural meadows of Australia, both the New Zealand fern and the Scotch heather present but a gloomy and cheerless aspect.

THE WYTANGI.

and although the appearance of fern does not, like that of heather, denote a thoroughly barren soil, it assuredly fails to impress a stranger with the same cheerful emotions that are excited by a fine pastoral landscape.

It will be the work of human industry, aided by a singularly fine climate, to cover with the verdure of fields and lawns many millions of acres in New Zealand, over which the fern and the myrtle at present hold undisputed sway; and this task accomplished, the scenery of New Zealand will be as rich and inviting as that of any country in the world.

The Wytangi, which rises in Lake Maupere, has a course of only thirty miles, but receiving in its progress the drainage of the hill-range on either side, it attains, before it reaches the cascade, a breadth of thirty yards. Pursuing its banks to Waimate, we crossed, within an hour, upwards of half a dozen rivulets, the smallest of which would have been reckoned of inestimable value in South Australia, and in many parts of New South Wales. Being shaded from the powerful sun by a thick overhanging foliage, their limpid waters were exquisitely cool and grateful, and as I stooped to drink, I thought the lines of Burns, in his well-known "Halloween," not inapplicable to these antipodean rivulets: –

"Whyles owre a lynn the burnie plays,
Whyles through a glen it wimples,
Whyles round a rocky scaur it strays,
Whyles in a wiel it dimples."

Although I have compared the aspect of the open plains and uplands in the interior of New Zealand to that which is presented by an extensive moorland landscape in Scotland, substituting the gregarious ferns and myrtles

MOUNTAINS.

for the fragrant heather of the Scotch moors, it is not to be inferred from this that New Zealand is capable of rivalling Scotland in the attribute of scenery. It is true that New Zealand is indented by fine arms of the sea, watered by large rivers, adorned by lakes, and towards her sea-coast covered with umbrageous forests; but on the other hand, her mountains are devoid of the marked and rugged outline which give so much wildness to the granitic or primitive chains of Scotland. In New Zealand there are some volcanic peaks which rise to a height of several thousand feet above that of Ben Nevis. The only volcano in action is Tongarido, at the southern extremity of the great valley of the Thames; its height is not less than seven thousand feet above the level of Lake Taupo, whose broad expanse constitutes a remarkable feature in the inland scenery of the Northern Island.

Without hazarding a geological theory, I should say that the scenic character of New Zealand is such as might be supposed to have resulted from the simultaneous upheaving, by volcanic force, of argillaceous and basaltic rocks and mountains, which have been subsequently disintegrated and rounded off by the action of the elements. The influence of a warm, moist, and genial climate has then fostered a profuse vegetation, which passes through countless varieties, from the kaori tree to the creeping liane and epyphite. Rocks of the primitive and secondary classes, including the carboniferous strata, are extensively found in some parts of New Zealand, and there is abundance of transition slate in the neighbourhood of Hokianga. Isolated masses of quartz and granite occur through the island, but the predominant structure and aspect of the rocks and mountains marks them as belong-

TRADITION OF MAWE.

ing to the igneous classes denominated trap, basalt, and greywacke.

Besides the principal peaks, all of which are, or have been, volcanic, there occur in all parts of New Zealand, but particularly about Waimate and the Frith of the Thames, numerous isolated eminences, each having its crater well defined; the monuments of a by-gone age, of intense igneous action, which has extensively changed the relative position of the sea and land throughout the southern hemisphere, and probably given birth to New Zealand itself. In the fires of Tongarido and Wakari, we perceive the surviving energies of that volcanic agency whose visible effects are attributed by the New Zealanders to the great Mawe, a mythological personage, (corresponding, in his fabled attributes, to the Jupiter of antiquity,) by whom they formerly imagined these islands to have been fished up from the bottom of the ocean. The intellect of the New Zealanders, in their wildest state, has been exercised in accounting for natural phenomena; and those beyond the range of human powers they have reasonably attributed to a superhuman, if not to a Divine, agency. The exuviae of ammonites and other marine shellfish have been found by some of the missionaries in the secondary calcareous strata, which are observed on the east coast, between Tauranga and East Cape; and elsewhere they will doubtless be found, when these islands are more minutely examined by geologists. I believe Voltaire could not account for the presence of testaceous fossils among the Alpine summits, otherwise than by supposing them to have been carried thither by pilgrims bound for the Holy Land; but the New Zealanders, observing

FERTILE DISTRICT.

the impressions and remains of marine productions, not only on their plains, but even on the brow of Ikorangi, adopted the more natural supposition that the land which contains in its rocky strata these instructive relics, had at some period been covered by the ocean.

After walking an hour and a half along the valley of Wytangi, we arrived at a part of it where a small rounded eminence rises to the view, totally isolated from the neighbouring hills. Here the vegetation assumed a richness and beauty that I had never as yet seen equalled in New Zealand; for a distance of several miles around, the soil rests on a bed of lava, and nourishes a most abundant vegetation, by the decay of which it is perpetually enriched. In the more volcanic districts of New Zealand, this species of soil is found in extensive tracts, and it is cultivated by the natives in preference even to their alluvial lands. Its superior fertility was sufficiently demonstrated by an abundance of herbaceous vegetation, by the greater variety and closeness of the shrubs and trees, and also by the superior magnitude of the myrtles and ferns. Here I saw in considerable quantity the phormium tenax, and the chamaerops humilis, the only representative in New Zealand of the great family of palms; also numerous peach trees, 1 which had sprung up from seed scattered at random, and now yielding abundance of fruit; and the native wine plant, tutu, whose qualities I have already

MINERAL SPRINGS.

described. Surrounded by clayey, fern-clad hills, this little district Puki Tuna had all the appearance of a garden. It is traversed in various directions by streamlets strongly impregnated with carbonate of iron; and in their channels we found numerous heavy and porous masses of a yellow colour, which I took to be a metallic sulphuret. From the light and porous structure of the lava, the ground under our footsteps was so resonant as to remind me of the noise made by walking over a wooden bridge or causeway.

After crossing a very fine stream, the banks of which were overshadowed by lofty trees, arborescent ferns, and cabbage palms, we passed a low ridge, from the summit of which we could discern, over an intervening plain, the two principal extinct volcanoes of the Waimate district – viz., Titirangi and Puki-roa. These hills were easily recognised by their isolated position and truncated form. In the neighbourhood of the former mountain, near its base, are several mineral springs, the mean temperature of which is 172 deg. Their waters contain sulphur in a state of oxygenation approximating to that of vitriol, and will gradually stain and burn a handkerchief. I derived these particulars from my friend Dr. Johnson, the colonial surgeon of New Zealand, who had analysed the waters of Titirangi. A chalybeate property, depending on the presence of iron, resides in all the streams of this district, (hence the name "Wai," water, "mate," sick or dead.) This property might render them beneficial in those cases of disease in which the use of mineral tonics is recommended. They are by no means unpleasant to the taste, nor does their habitual use cause any inconvenience to the inhabitants of the district, native or European. The

A TABOOED WOMAN.

latter, if I could judge from their appearance, enjoy the most robust health.

During our walk from the falls, we met with numerous natives, by all of whom we were cheerfully saluted, and from one group of five persons we received an invitation to partake of their meal, which consisted of roasted pigeons, kumeras, and fish, served up in baskets made of shreds of the phormium tenax; and attached to this party there was a female who ate by herself, without making use of her hands. Inquiring the cause of this singularity, I was informed that she was "tapu," having recently touched a dead body. I may here remark, that I have never met a group of natives at a meal without being invited to partake of it. 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,

EDUCATION OF WHITE CHILDREN.

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.

We were surprised by the number and size of the buildings of Waimate. The houses, consisting of wood, are of a commodious size and pleasing architecture, each having its verandah, with a lawn and a garden plot in front. They form a row about a mile in length, and are inclosed within a strong wooden fence, which, being tastefully interwoven with rose-bushes and creepers, constitutes a pleasing ornament. Within the limits of this inclosure, the ground unoccupied by buildings is laid out in gardens and rich clover paddocks. Besides the houses occupied by the missionaries and their families, there are numerous cottages belonging to sawyers, tradesmen, and agricultural labourers, attached to the mission, with their wives and children, and also a large but scattered native village. At one extremity of the settlement is the flour-mill, driven by water; and at the other the church, a small-sized building with a spire. The whole white population numbers about one hundred and fifty souls, an unusually large proportion of which consists of robust, healthy children, who are very carefully and religiously educated under the superintendence of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Surrounded by an open and undulating country, and by cultivated fields to the extent of three hundred acres, the settlement of Waimate presents the neat, secure, and comfortable aspect of an English village.

It was not without emotion that I beheld this focus of Christian civilization in the heart of New Zealand. Its very existence spoke strongly in favour of the native character, when its better principles are cultivated in a spirit

NATIVE RELIGION.

of benevolence. Here there was no evidence of fear, distrust, or animosity; but, on the contrary, the most convincing proofs that an amicable intercourse had subsisted for years between the natives and the missionaries. The horses and cattle of the latter grazed undisturbed in the open fields; and it appeared to me that in no part of the world could agriculture be carried on with more complete security than at Waimate. Between those who receive the advantages of instruction, and those who, as instructors, confer that blessing, it is reasonable to look for a feeling of gratitude on the one hand, and a species of paternal interest on the other; and such appeared to me, after an extensive practical observation amongst the New Zealanders, to be the kind of relationship which subsists between them and the missionaries, in all those situations where the native character has not been deteriorated and demoralized by the temptations to which they are too often exposed by European settlers.

Having risen early on the following morning, I walked through the lanes (streets I might almost call them) of Waimate. As the sun rose over the eastern ridges, the mists, which during the night had settled in the valleys, slowly disappeared. The grassy paddocks glittered with dew; the artisans of the mission had not yet risen to their daily labour; and the scene altogether was one of calmness, peace, and security. In such moments, he whose wayward fortunes have led him to the uttermost ends of the earth will sometimes fall into a train of thought and associations connected with other times and other scenes; and from such a musing mood I was aroused by a low and solemn sound, which I discovered, after advancing a little further, to proceed from a native hut. The inmates,

NATIVE HOSPITALITY.

members, as it appeared to me, of several families, with a reverential aspect, were singing their morning hymn. It did not appear that this was a mere observance of ritual and outward ceremony, such as too frequently, even in civilized assemblies, usurps the semblance of true religious feeling; but that the voice of praise uttered by these half enlightened New Zealanders was really expressive of a heartfelt sense of thanks and supplication to the great Atua, who had shed upon them the light of another day. Whilst I proceeded through the village, I heard the same devotional exercises almost everywhere; and subsequently ascertained, in my further travels through the country, that there is scarcely a village, even at a distance from any missionary settlement, whose inhabitants fail to perform their morning and evening devotions.

After breakfast, I set out to visit the mountain of Puki-roa, which is distant from Waimate about five miles. The road to Hokianga, after skirting the base of this hill, winds round the large inland lake of Maupere, from whence issue the sources of the Hokianga river. The traveller may thence continue his journey to Hokianga in a canoe, or on horseback, either of which means of conveyance he may hire from natives of the district. Puki-roa, like the other inactive volcanoes I have already adverted to as being numerous in New Zealand, is completely isolated. For several miles around its base, the soil formed by the decomposition of scoria is extremely fertile, and presents the same profusion of rich and elegant vegetation that I have already described as characteristic of the district round Pukituna.

Around the base of Puki-roa there are several native villages, the inhabitants of which cultivate small portions

LAKE MAUPERE.

of ground, not exceeding in all a hundred acres. Among other articles of produce, I observed three or four small stacks of wheat, which they had built upon posts encircled with pieces of wood inclined downwards; a contrivance which prevents the depredation of rats. On many of the trees, also, we observed small stages on which potatoes and kumeras were deposited, beyond the reach of these voracious animals. Having informed the good people who flocked around us of our intention to proceed to the summit of the hill, two men offered to accompany us, – not without inviting us, at the same time, to partake of their dinner after our descent; a proposal to which we willingly acceded. The sides of the hill, and the crateriform basin on the top, consist of scoria in loose masses, which, being rounded off and softened by the weather, constitutes a soil whose great fertility was indicated by the remarkable closeness and height of the vegetation through which we had to force our way.

After gaining the summit, our toil was well repaid by a very extensive and noble prospect, comprehending the whole breadth of the island, the heads of Hokianga harbour, on the west, and the Bay of Islands, on the east. The atmosphere being very clear, we could discern the ships at anchor in front of Kororadika through the telescope. On one side, almost beneath our feet, lay the beautiful lake of Maupere, nearly circular in form, surrounded by sloping and wooded hills, and bordered at some parts of its circumference by extensive tracts of level land, which might confidently be pronounced to be well adapted for the purposes of agriculture. The same remark seems applicable to a great portion of the level and undulating country which we beheld from our elevated

NATIVE COOKERY.

position. In every direction we perceived some object worthy of remark: on one hand, the lake, a sheet of silver, with some canoes gliding over its fairy surface; on the other, the native villages, and, further on the verandah'd cottages and church steeple of Waimate. Looking southward, we beheld the solitary mountain of Titirangi, overlooking extensive plains; and, to the north, a forest-clad ravine, bounded by the margin of an elevated table land, which terminated in an horizon as level as that of the ocean.

After descending, we fulfilled our promise of dining with our kind guides and companions. The meal, which was preceded and closed with a grace, consisted of kumeras, potatoes, and green maize cobs, cooked, or rather steamed, on hot stones. This mode of cooking, Which is practised by the islanders throughout the Pacific, consists in digging a round hole in the earth, about a foot in depth, in which a fire is lighted. Over the fire, when it has gained sufficient strength, a number of round stones and pebbles are placed, which soon acquire a sufficient heat; after which the fire is removed, and the fish, flesh, or vegetables, to be cooked, are laid upon the stones, with or without an intervening layer of green leaves, usually of the maize plant. The whole is then covered over with leaves, and cooked by the heat of the stones and the steam from the leaves. These operations were very neatly and systematically performed by the women, who laughed and talked the while with great volubility. The men smoked their pipes, examined, seemingly with great pleasure, some drawings which we shewed them, and the young children were eager candidates for a few cigars which we distributed. When we had done justice to the simple fare

NATIVE LABOURERS.

that was set before us, a young man rose, and running into a neighbouring thicket, returned with a basket full of Cape gooseberries – an excellent fruit, which, like the peach and the grape, have been introduced into New Zealand, and contribute greatly to the material comfort of the natives. These people, living in the interior, did not appear to be so robust and healthy as those who dwelt on the sea-coast, and have not only the produce of their cultivation to subsist upon, but also the inexhaustible resource of fish, which swarm in vast quantities in every bay and inlet of New Zealand.

I returned to Waimate, and in the evening, accompanied by Mr. Taylor, set out to visit a kaori forest in the neighbourhood of the settlement, which furnished the materials of which Waimate is constructed, and would constitute a property of great value if there existed any means of transporting by water the magnificent trees of which it consists. The average growth of full-grown kaori trees is twenty feet, but I found the stump of one cut down to be nine feet in diameter, consequently twenty-seven feet in circumference. Several European sawyers were employed by the mission, assisted by a number of natives, all fine young men, neatly dressed in English slop clothing, straw hats, check shirts, and duck trowsers. They seemed to work with great perseverance, but would frequently desist for the purpose of giving utterance to some jest, or the still more indispensable process of lighting their pipes. I was informed by Mr. Taylor, that they never looked for tobacco, blankets, or any other boon, without working for it; and that no labourers in any country could surpass them in cheerfulness and docility. No great merit is due to them for sobriety, since they had

AGRICULTURE AT WAIMATE.

but few opportunities of indulging in intemperance. Fortunately, they in general manifest a strong natural repugnance to ardent spirits; and such being the fact, we must regard all attempts to introduce among them so prolific a source of demoralization as in itself a crime worthy of severe reproof and punishment.

To Waimate, as an agricultural establishment, much interest attaches in the present day. But agriculture being, with the missionaries, an object of secondary importance, we cannot expect the same results as if their whole attention had been devoted to it. They have been successful in the cultivation of wheat, barley, and oats, and in the rearing of cattle and horses; and have killed sheep reared on the settlement, weighing 80lbs. Their gardens produce all kinds of English esculent vegetables and fruits, in remarkable perfection, and the clover on their paddocks grew close and strong. Among other ornamental plants, they have introduced, from New Holland, the cactus, the palma christi, or castor-oil plant, and the aloe. If their object had been merely to raise large crops, they could, doubtless, have done so with the means at their disposal; but having no market for surplus produce, and being, moreover, devoted to higher pursuits than those of gain, I believe they have never raised more grain than was necessary for their own consumption. To have done so would not have been consistent with the objects of their mission, even had any such temptation existed as a market. In rendering the natives of Waimate familiar with numerous processes of agricultural and mechanical industry, they have contributed towards their civilization to a degree which may be appreciated, without derogating from the beneficial effect of that religious in-

KAORI FOREST – RAIN.

struction which they and the Wesleyan missionaries have so zealously and industriously communicated.

The missionaries have selected for cultivation a species of soil of that clayey description which predominates in New Zealand, and is manifestly inferior to the carses or alluvial lands, and the dark loams which I have described as abounding in the neighbourhood of extinct volcanoes. To all appearance, contentment and abundance reigned at Waimate; and the children, although a sort of epidemic catarrh, resembling the influenza, had recently prevailed among them, were as ruddy and robust as any that I have ever seen in Britain, without any of the sickly paleness which distinguishes European children, born and bred in tropical climates. Waimate, as I was assured by a lady of the mission, had but one defect, viz., a superabundance of rain; but during my visit to the settlement the finest weather prevailed.

It is said, I believe with truth, that more rain falls in the neighbourhood of kaori forests than elsewhere. This fact depends probably on the elevation above the sea at which these forests are usually situated. They invariably occupy either the ridges or the sides of deep ravines, where the soil consists of light or ash coloured clays; and I am of opinion, that, like the fern, especially the arborescent fern, they attain the greatest magnitude in situations to which the sun's rays have but little access. In the present state of meteorological science it is impossible to determine what amount of influence the colder temperature of those shadowy forests exerts in causing, whether through electric action or otherwise, the precipitation of rain: that they do possess some such local influence seems to be well established. I have known long con-

KAORI FOREST – RAIN.

tinued showers to fall over a kaori forest, not six miles distant, causing the inundation of a river which traversed it; yet, where we were, during the same period, there fell not a drop of moisture. I was informed by Capt. Duke, a gentleman of whom mention has been made in Earle's account of New Zealand, that on one occasion he remained three months in the Bay of Islands, during which time there was a succession of fine days without rain; but that during the same period, he learned, by frequent communications from Hokianga, that the fall of rain was unintermitted on the west coast. In the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands there are no forests, and very few large trees: in that of Hokianga, on the contrary, there occur extensive forests of kaori. It is, however, to be recollected, that the west coast of New Zealand, like the west coast of Scotland, is exposed to a prevailing wind, which blows over a great extent of ocean – a circumstance which would give rise to a rainy climate, independently of other causes.

1 Mr. Cunningham, an excellent botanist of New South Wales, was in the habit of carrying peach stones in his pocket, for the purpose of planting them in favourable situations: were the colonists of New Zealand to adopt a similar practice, this fruit would, in eight or ten years, become sufficiently abundant to constitute an article of food for pigs.

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XIX.

The missionaries and Dr. Lang – Results of missionary labour – Vindication of the missionaries – Land-sharks – Influence of commerce – Return to the Bay – Rev. Mr. Marsden.

MY visit to Waimate completely dispelled the idea which I had formed, that the surface of New Zealand is too broken and rugged for agriculture. From the summit of Puki Roa I had surveyed a space comprising at least one hundred thousand acres, sufficiently level for the farmer's purposes, and at the same time sufficiently undulating to prevent the stagnation of water upon his fields.

I have also pleasure in stating that I took my departure with a higher opinion regarding the missionaries and their usefulness than I had previously entertained; an opinion shared, I believe, by every candid and intelligent observer in New Zealand. From my hospitable entertainer, Mr. Taylor, I had derived much information, of a kind which could only be communicated by a well educated man, accustomed to observe the varied aspects of nature, and view the works of the great Architect of the universe with the eye of a philosopher and a Christian. With the duties of a missionary, Mr. Taylor combined the congenial pursuits of science, which enable its votaries, in the beautiful language of Wordsworth, to

"Look on nature with a humble heart,
Self questioned where they do not understand,
And with a superstitious eye of love."

DR. LANG.

Like his brethren, he had achieved long journeys through the country, exposed to severe vicissitudes of the weather, with no resting place but the ground, and no roof but that of a canvass tent. Such are the realities of missionary enterprise. Differing in opinion from those who deem it allowable to publish gossiping details of domestic life, or to attack the character of individuals, who, by distance, or a thousand other circumstances, may be unable to ward off the far-aimed stroke of calumny, I will hazard a few observations regarding those sweeping accusations that have been brought against the New Zealand missionaries, by a host of declaimers and pamphleteers, among whom we recognise facile princeps in ability and personal note, the Rev. Dr. Lang. This gentleman, on his homeward voyage from New South Wales, touched for a few days at the Bay of Islands, and the information which he gathered from the traders and residents on the beach, afforded the materials of a pamphlet, the composition of which amused his leisure hours on the passage round Cape Horn. He could not rationally have expected to find, among the free and independent republicans of Kororadika, much liberality towards the missionaries, their opposites in many important respects, and separated from them by that gulf of jealousy with which the vulgar regard all whose pursuits are a little higher and more dignified than their own. The consequence was, that the reverend Doctor fulminated against the missionaries a pamphlet more replete with virulent censure than Christian charity, or that logical caution which takes care to support every bold assertion by facts of ascertained accuracy. Hence he has deeply wounded the feelings of men, the fathers of families, whose labours have been

RESULTS OF MISSIONARY LABOUR.

attended with splendid results in the already far advanced civilization of the New Zealanders, and whose lives have for many years been passed in the midst of danger and hardship.

In the early days of the New Zealand mission, the natives of these islands were ferocious cannibals, whose favourite occupation was the contrivance and the perpetration of massacre: they had no religious impressions but those of the darkest paganism: tyranny of the worst kind, that of brute strength, allied with the despotism of superstition, reigned throughout the land: the slave held no higher place in the estimation of his master than the dog or the pig, which are fattened for the knife and the feast. Such was the scene of moral darkness which the New Zealand missionaries found on their arrival, and such, but for their coming, would it have been even in the present day.

A period of fifteen years has elapsed since the first missionaries arrived in new Zealand. Of the nature and efficiency of their services during that time, in the propagation of Christianity and civilization, numerous proofs will be found throughout this volume. It will suffice at the present time to observe, that throughout the Northern island there is scarcely a village whose inhabitants, between the ages of ten and thirty, do not learn to read and write. In a remote settlement in the valley of the Thames, I found that nearly all the younger members of the community could write; and when asked to read a passage of the Testament translated into their language, and printed at the mission press, they did so with ease and fluency. At Matimata, a remote inland settlement, near the sources of the Thames and Wykatto rivers, and

RESULTS OF MISSIONARY LABOUR.

ninety miles from a mission station, it appeared that knowledge and civilization had made even greater progress than in those situations where the efforts of the missionaries are counteracted by the propinquity of the European grog-sellers, who abound in the coast settlements. The minds and actions of the New Zealanders, emancipated from the superstition of the Taboo, and no longer influenced by the recorded actions and example of their ancient divinity, Mawe, who practised every species of atrocity, have been so far changed, that we now hear, in every native settlement, at morning and evening, as I have elsewhere observed, the voice of praise and supplication offered up, according to the ritual, and I know not why I may not add the spirit, of the Christian church. On Sundays, the natives of the Thames district flock to the mission settlements of Maraetai and Kauirangi. Each of the inhabited bays and inlets of this estuary sends forth its canoes, filled with natives in their best attire; and among the natives assembled at Divine service, I have remarked as grave and correct deportment as a congregation of Scotch peasantry would exhibit, with something, too, of the reasoning and inquiring expression which denotes that the hearer both marks and inwardly digests the language that is addressed to him. Among the villages which are remote from the mission settlements, morning and evening service is performed by a native catechist, whose duties comprehend those of the village schoolmaster.

By the young of both sexes, reading and writing are acquired with great ease; and their favourite amusement is writing upon a slate, or sending letters on puka pukas to their friends. The style of their epistles is quaint,

RESULTS OF MISSIONARY LABOUR.

figurative, and full of repetitions and expressions of courtesy; but I have seen one addressed by a female catechist to the daughter of a missionary, which, in the correctness of its style and the propriety of its sentiments, would bear a comparison with any European letter. So generally diffused are these rudimentary branches of education, that not to have acquired them is deemed among the rising generation a mark of inferiority, against which their pride revolts. It was related to me by an individual who had passed some time in Mercury Bay, that some English sawyers had requested their employer to teach them reading and writing, being ashamed of their inferiority in these respects to the young New Zealanders, who were taunting them all day long with defects which they deemed wholly unpardonable in a white man.

Throughout New Zealand, four-fifths of the tribes have embraced Christianity, and attached themselves either to the Wesleyan or the Church of England Missionaries; but a considerable number at the Bay of Islands have lately ranged themselves under the banners of the French bishop. Those who have not adopted any form of Christianity are the comparatively savage and uncivilized tribes of Roturua. The old chiefs, whose minds have been moulded by the savage customs of their youth, are for the most part passive spectators of the changes that are daily going on; and although they maintain a friendly intercourse with the missionaries, they give themselves little trouble in studying and comprehending their doctrines. The unconverted tribes of the interior receive the appellation of devils. Their influence is very inconsiderable, and their numbers are daily decreasing.

RESULTS OF MISSIONARY LABOUR.

That the New Zealanders have now emerged from that low and debased condition of morals, intellect, and habits, to which we apply the epithet of savage, is unquestionable. During the first years of the mission, its members found unremitting occupation in preventing the murderous expeditions and conflicts that were then of daily occurrence. More than once have they conveyed information to a tribe threatened with a secret and treacherous attack, and frequently have they acted as mediators between parties assembled for hostile purposes. Their influence, aided perhaps by that equalization of strength which has been created by the use of fire-arms, has removed from the native character its ferocious and warlike propensities; and the sentiments of a religion which teaches benevolence and peace have gained over their minds a strong, and, it is to be hoped, a permanent, ascendancy. The circumstances under which a tract of country in the Thames' district came into the possession of Mr. Fairburn, of the church mission, who has been mentioned by Dr. Lang in very uncourteous terms, will confirm the favourable view which I have endeavoured to establish regarding the New Zealand missionaries. Seven years ago there subsisted a strong enmity between the Ngatipawas, a tribe of the Thames, and some natives belonging to the neighbouring Manukao country, respecting the possession of some lands on the banks of the Tamaki inlet. During several years the disputed territory was regarded by the chiefs of both parties as a cause of inconvenience and anxiety, to be settled, if possible, by amicable terms, without the sacrifice of honour on either side. It had not led to any violent proceedings; for the natives, since the introduction of fire-arms, have ceased to

A DISPUTED TERRITORY.

rush into combat inconsiderately. But it was obvious that the dispute, like that subsisting between Great Britain and the United States respecting the boundary line, would prove a source of irritation, and might ultimately lead to war. To remove all apprehension on this score, it was proposed, at a convocation of the tribes interested in the disputed territory, that Mr. Fairburn should be requested to purchase it, and a petition to this effect was soon afterwards conveyed to him by messengers representing both parties.

At this period there was no speculative inducement to lay out property in the purchase of land; and it was not until after he had consulted the head of the mission, and satisfied himself that there existed no other means of preventing a series of sanguinary conflicts, attended with a rekindling of the passions which were daily losing ground under the influence of continued peace and instruction, that Mr. Fairburn consented to the terms and propositions of the natives. In this manner was acquired the "princely estate" of which mention has been made in terms of rancour, perhaps not unassociated with envy, by the calumniators of the New Zealand Mission. The lands ceded by the natives on this occasion have subsequently acquired a considerable value, which could not have been foreseen in the year 1832.

Inhospitality, and an unconciliating demeanour, have been numbered among the offences of the calumniated missionaries. Very rarely, however, will this accusation be substantiated by those who have visited the mission settlements in person; and when we consider the numbers, character, and habits, of those who, in passing between the Bay of Islands and Hokianga, were in the

LANDSHARKS.

practice of taxing the hospitality of the mission at Waimate, we cannot wonder if the latter, being in every case fathers of families, should have found it a grievous inconvenience to keep open house for the accommodation of a very thankless set of guests.. Although supported by he Church of England Missionary Society, their abodes were not divested of the right of privacy; nor were they, in virtue of their office, to be regarded as the servants of the public, and bound in such capacity to entertain every sawyer or runaway sailor on his way across the island.

The missionaries have been stigmatized under the name of landsharks, a term of reproach in common use throughout the Australian colonies. In New South Wales and in Van Dieman's Land this appellation is applied to a class of individuals whose practice it was, and is, to attend auction sales of land, for the purpose of bidding up the price, and rendering it worth the while of a bona fide purchaser to conciliate their forbearance by a bribe. The practice, though not absolutely illegal, will be regarded as ineffably infamous; but the term landshark, in this sense, could not be applied to any individual in New Zealand, since no public sales of land had there taken place. In New Zealand, the flattering cognomen was bestowed on those who had purchased immense tracts of territory at a very cheap rate; it therefore designated another variety of the squalus family.

As government has properly cut down all purchases of land to an extent commensurate with the actual outlay of the purchaser, and with the true prospective interests of the community, it is obvious that the landsharks of New Zealand have no longer an existence. The princely estates of the early purchasers have been curtailed to

INFLUENCE OF COMMERCE.

more fair proportions; and New Zealand, instead of being portioned out among a small number of magnates, (land-sharks,) holds out to all a chance of obtaining a portion of the loaves and fishes of an infant colony. From the New Zealand missionaries, as well as from the dealers in tobacco and gunpowder, an opprobrious epithet has been removed; and the name itself, like the reality which it denoted, may be consigned to oblivion.

Of the merit of civilizing the New Zealanders, a large share has been frequently assigned to the intercourse of traders and the visits of ships. The influence of commerce in communicating to barbarous nations a knowledge of the arts and habits of civilized life is known: races of men far less gifted than the New Zealanders have derived the elements of improvement from this source. To the commerce of the Phoenicians we trace the first appearance of refinement among the primitive nations of Europe; and even our aboriginal fathers were rescued by their Roman conquerors from their native barbarism, which comprised cannibalism among its features, and from the influence of Druidical superstitions as "dark and sanguinary as those practised by the worshippers of Mawe." All this is true of commercial intercourse, in a general sense; nevertheless, from all that I have seen or heard respecting the fixed traders in New Zealand, or the casual visiters for the purpose of trade, it may be affirmed, in the most positive terms, that not one of them has ever attempted to teach a native to read and write, or to communicate to his mind one ray of Christian knowledge or of moral rectitude. With a few honourable exceptions, they have been, in their intercourse with the natives, guided by one ruling impulse –

REV. SAMUEL MARSDEN.

the love of gain. Their predominant aim has been to obtain the greatest possible quantity of pigs, potatoes, flax, maize, labour, or land, in exchange for the smallest possible amount of tobacco, ammunition, and piece goods. One art of civilization the natives have acquired from their commercial visiters – that of bargaining; and in this their proficiency is such as to render them able to cope with the keenest of their customers. By dint of experience, they have learned to judge accurately respecting the quality and value of every manufactured article in common use that can be submitted to their inspection. But it is to missionary labour only that we can justly attribute the abolition of infanticide, polygamy, and the atrocities of native warfare, which have disappeared before the dawn of Christianity. In connexion with the civilization of this people, we cannot withhold praise from the memory of the Rev. Samuel Marsden, the founder of the mission to New Zealand. This gentleman, in spite of age and infirmity, forsook the comforts of his home to visit these islands, when they were in a state of social chaos which would have disheartened and deterred the bravest spirit, but for the sustaining principle of a high and Christian purpose.

From Waimate I returned to the Bay of Islands by a different route, which led us, after leaving the open, fern country, which extends for many miles around the settlement, through a maze of wooded hills and ravines, not destitute of romantic beauty, but extremely unpleasant for pedestrian exercise. Our progress was interrupted by a deep river, on the opposite side of which there was a populous native settlement, surrounded by two hundred acres of flat, carse land, the greater part

A HALF-CASTE GIRL.

of which was under cultivation, and belonged to a chief named Kamura, who a few days afterwards distinguished himself at Kororadika. The villagers welcomed us with their usual vociferous merriment; and two sturdy fellows plunging into the river, swam across, and offered to carry my companion and myself to the other side. Balanced delicately on their shoulders, grasping their heads tightly between our knees, and holding on by their shaggy locks, we were borne safely across, whilst the water reached up to their necks; and it was with great satisfaction that we felt ourselves deposited, on all fours, on the opposite bank. Among the villagers who crowded around us was a half-caste girl of seventeen, of singular beauty, dressed in the loose gown usually worn by the native females of New Zealand. She spoke English well; and it was apparent, from the manner in which the other girls clustered around her, that she was a favourite with her tattooed kindred. Piloted by an active urchin, we clambered with difficulty over several steep and clayey ridges, the ground being very slippery from the rain which had been falling; and at length, from the last wooded summit which rises behind the mission settlement of Paihia, we beheld the expanse of the Bay of Islands. We soon reached the mission settlement, and, being unable to procure a boat to cross the Bay, we were hospitably and kindly received by Dr. Ford, the physician to the mission.

CHAPTER XX

CHAPTER XX.

War dance – The Tangi – A feast – An important event – Murder by a native – Judicial proceedings – Aywarre – Native and European intercourse – How to be regulated.

THE arrival of a southern tribe at Kororadika afforded us an opportunity of witnessing the New Zealand war dance, or haka, which seems to be practised on nearly the same occasions as the corrobory of the New Hollanders. On the meeting of friendly tribes, these performances are regarded as being of a complimentary character; but previously to hostile onsets they are intended to inspire the combatants with courage, and to appal the enemy. In the haka, the deepest and loudest shouts that human lungs are capable of emitting, alternate with a noise produced by forcibly impelling the breath through the compressed teeth, which is infinitely more hideous than the hiss, or whistle, of a locomotive engine; at the same time that the features wear a most formidable expression, and the whole frame seems to be instinct with an energy of hate and evil passions truly demoniacal. In the dance of the New Hollanders there is a strange mixture of the ludicrous. In passing over the moonlit plains of Australia, I could listen to the latter without uneasiness, but the ferocious shouts and hissing of a New Zealand war dance are of

THE TANGI.

such a character as to make the blood run cold. Yet this, like the corrobory, is intended in a great measure to operate upon the enemy's fears; and however terrible it may seem, it manifestly originates in cowardice – a weakness from which the New Zealanders are by no means exempt.

When the Haka was at an end, there took place salutations, of a very different and far more amiable character. To this species of greeting the name of Tangi, or weeping, is given; because it consists of long and silent embraces, interrupted only by sobs and tears. Two brothers, sisters, or lovers, thus meeting after a long absence, manifest their joy in a manner which we should consider as appropriate to the most mournful of all parting scenes. Encircling each other's necks, they will stand for half an hour uttering inarticulate sounds of lamentation, and seeming to realize a description common in the sacred writings. From the tears which are shed on such occasions, it seems certain that these pathetic demonstrations are indicative of a true, though, perhaps, not very profound emotion.

The Haka and the Tangi were followed by a feast of potatoes, coomrahs, and fish. About four hundred sat, or rather squatted down to dinner, after which many pounds of tobacco were consumed, amidst an infinitude of noise and merriment; even children of four years of age were seen smoking the strongest negrohead, and not a lady, old or young, was unprovided with a large-bowled pipe, which, when emptied, was usually thrust into a hole bored in the lobe of her ear, constituting an ornament not quite so pleasing in appearance as a pair of diamond earrings. Some of them had pretensions to beauty, with a mildness in the expression of the eye, and soft, feminine

AN IMPORTANT EVENT.

voices. In uttering the common salutation, "Tenei ra ko koe," literally, "This day to you," the females in New Zealand pronounce the words with a courteousness of intonation which seems to betoken a natural kindness of disposition. Perhaps it is in some measure owing to this circumstance that the native females acquire over the rude and reckless sailors and sawyers with whom they are connected an absolute dominion and ascendancy.

An incident had recently occurred which was regarded as of much importance, from its tendency to render the natives practically conversant with the forms and substance of British justice. It was also considered that it would afford them an opportunity and a pretext for displaying whatever sentiments hostile to the government they might have been mischievously led to entertain; and, finally, convince them, not only of its benevolence and rectitude, but also of its power to quell revolt.

The shepherd of the mission of Waimate, an Englishman, was murdered, and after some days of search, the murderer was discovered to be a young man of weak intellects, who belonged to a tribe of the East Cape. The natives were not ignorant of the light in which this crime is regarded by civilized nations, or of the expiation which the law requires for its perpetration. It was fresh in their recollection that several years ago a native of Hokianga had been deliberately – and after a due investigation, entered into at the instance of Mr. Busby – put to death by his own chief, for the murder of a white man. Accordingly, they were active in the search, and finally succeeded in arresting the criminal, and bringing him to Kororadika. He was a youth of seventeen, with a powerful frame, and a heavy and idiotic countenance.

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

Mr. Shortland, the chief magistrate, who was acting governor during the illness of his Excellency, resolved that the case should be considered as the murder of one British subject by another, and be tried accordingly. The body of the shepherd had been found buried near his hut, and the prisoner wore some articles of dress that had belonged to the deceased, which circumstances, combined with the fact of his having been discovered by the natives in concealment, and his evident prevarications in answer to the questions that were put to him, left but little doubt as to his guilt.

The news of this event rapidly spread over the country, and it was discussed by the natives in their korreros, as an affair of serious moment. It was universally admitted at these councils that the assassin deserved to suffer death; but they insisted upon their right to inflict the punishment, not deeming it, perhaps, prudent or honourable to surrender themselves and their countrymen all at once to the jurisdiction of the stranger. Accordingly, when a police party proceeded in search of a female witness, whose testimony was considered necessary to establish the prisoner's guilt, the people of the village in which she resided, on the opposite side of the Bay, refused to deliver her up.

On the day appointed for the trial, several preliminary investigations having taken place, a number of natives, in three large canoes, were seen making their way from the mouth of the Wytangi, towards the settlement of Kororadika. As usual, they had their muskets, and soon after landing, they proceeded to hold a korrero, at which an old chief, whose head was adorned with feathers, made a speech in a seemingly excited strain, and exhorted his

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

hearers to resist the power of the white man, and to assert their right to inflict punishment on the criminal. This violent harangue had but little effect in stimulating the courage of his companions, who evidently regarded the enterprise to which he was endeavouring to urge them as a very dangerous one. Among the followers of this chief, who was known in the Bay of Islands by the name of Kamura, was the female witness already mentioned. It appeared that no encouragement was given, openly, at least, to Kamura, by any of the chiefs residing at Kororadika or their adherents, who had invariably been on the best terms with the English ever since the arrival of his Excellency.

Before the appointed hour, the missionary chapel, where the trial was to take place, was crowded with natives and English. Among the former was Aywarre. When the magistrate, accompanied by the colonial surgeon, had taken his place, the prisoner was brought from the gaol under a guard of constables, and the proceedings commenced.

Several witnesses were sworn and examined, and their evidence was considered conclusive as to the prisoner's guilt; but it was requisite, in order that the chain of evidence should be complete, that the female witness before mentioned should be heard. When her name was called out, she was not forthcoming, and it was found necessary to suspend the proceedings for a time, whilst messengers were sent in search of her.

We had not waited long, when the messengers returned with the startling intelligence that the natives were advancing in a body to storm the church, and to take possession of the prisoner's person, with the determination, as

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

they avowed, of shooting him. Looking out, we observed a body of about eighty advancing in column, at double-quick time, with their arms sloped; at the same time all the natives rushed precipitately from the chapel. In truth, being cooped up, without means of defence, in a small wooden chapel, and surrounded by a mob of armed New Zealanders, "on hostile thoughts intent," was not the most enviable of positions. At this moment the chief magistrate rose, and requested all present to remain in their seats, asserting his determination to protect the prisoner, and carry the law into effect at all hazards.

The natives having assembled at the door, demanded the prisoner's person, with loud and vehement language; to which the chief magistrate replied, that on no account would he suffer a hair of the prisoner's head to be touched; that it was a maxim of the English law that every man was considered innocent until he was proved guilty, and that he would hold no further parley with armed men, who presumed to interfere with the course, of justice. This address being interpreted, the natives retired to a little distance to hold a consultation, after which they began to brandish their muskets, and utter loud shouts of defiance, which they seemed, however, little inclined to follow up. Advantage was taken of their absence, to send off a written dispatch to the Buffalo transport, which had luckily arrived from Sydney two days previously, with three companies of soldiers, under the command of Major Bunbury. At the same time messengers were dispatched to request all the settlers to arm themselves; and others were sent off to press, in the name of the Government, as many boats belonging to the ships in harbour as might be requisite for the immediate conveyance of the soldiers.

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

There being abundance, of fire-arms in Kororadika, in a very short time every man was armed. The command of this heterogeneous brigade, which was about two hundred strong, devolved upon Lieutenant Scott. One division was led by an auctioneer, whose professional witticisms and volubility excited a great deal of merriment: another part of the force was commanded by an old soldier, now converted into a peaceful and prosperous trader. The auctioneer's division proceeded to the beach, in order to cut off the communication of the natives with their canoes; the remainder took up a position in rear of the settlement, to act as a reserve, and to prevent the escape of the natives towards the hills. Never before had Kororadika witnessed so much of "the pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war."

By these proceedings the natives were overawed, and when the boats with the soldiers were seen rounding the promontory of Wahapu, many of them ran precipitately towards the heights, and the others seated themselves in a close circle upon the ground, in token of absolute submission, with an expression of extreme terror in their countenances.

The soldiers having landed, were drawn up in readiness for action within a little distance; and Mr. Shortland, accompanied by Major Bunbury, the rangatira of the dreaded hoyas, or soldiers, advanced and addressed them, through the interpreter, in terms of severe reproof, for their attempt to interfere with the course of justice. He intimated the firm determination of the Government to protect the lives and the property of all, without distinction, between the Tangata Maori or Tangata Pakeha, the native or the European. It was, he said, the duty and the determination

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

of the Government to punish every individual who should create disturbance, or attack, the persons or the property of others. With respect to the prisoner, if found guilty, he would certainly be punished as the law directed; or, if found innocent, he would be set at liberty; and as to the female witness, whom Kamura withheld, he was resolved to obtain possession of her person by force, if necessary, her testimony being absolutely required for the purposes of justice. Mr. Shortland then admonished the Wytangi chief, who had that day disturbed the peace of the settlement. Ignorance of the justice, the good intentions, and the power of a British government, would excuse this first offence; but a repetition of it, he declared, would meet with condign punishment. To this language Kamura and his adherents had not a word to reply: they sat mute and crest-fallen, and although the countenance of the former seemed formed for expressing the worst passions, he now bent his eyes on the ground, and occasionally threw them timidly over the surrounding armed groups of Europeans and the military. He was manifestly surprised and confounded by the rapidity with which a strong armed force had been collected in a moment of emergency; and whilst yet uncertain as to the fate impending over himself, it may be presumed that he heartily repented of his enterprise. When told that he was at liberty to depart, with all his people, he lost no time in moving off to his canoe; but before taking his departure, he was reproached by Aywarre, in a severe and sarcastic tone, with the presumption and folly of his conduct in offering resistance to the English government, after having signed the "puka-puka," referring to the document which had been signed by the chiefs, recognising the sovereignty of Her Majesty over

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

New Zealand. The demeanour of Aywarre throughout the day was worthy of remark. During the trial, he sat near the magistrate, enveloped in his cloak, and observed every step of the proceedings with respectful attention. At times he seemed lost in thought, and but for the high opinion which he is known to entertain regarding civilization as a means of improving the condition and character of his countrymen, it might have been supposed that he saw with regret, neither unnatural nor unbecoming, the ascendancy of the stranger's domination. The events of the day, thus happily and bloodlessly terminated, were universally regarded as in a high degree favourable to the future peace of the community. They had displayed to the natives the combined power, moderation, and justice of a British government, although yet in its infant state, and devoid of all the external trappings of dignity; to the turbulent and evil-disposed among the natives, (a very inconsiderable proportion,) it was made manifest that whatever evil designs they might harbour could not be carried into effect but at the most formidable risk; whilst, on the other hand, the proceedings which had taken place were calculated to create in the intelligent and peaceably-disposed a feeling of submission and confidence.

Subsequently, the trial which had given rise to these incidents was completed, and the prisoner's guilt fully established, but as the court was incompetent to pronounce sentence of death, a report of the proceedings was sent to Sydney, to undergo the revision of the chief justice. The fate of the prisoner had not been decided at the period of my departure in the October following.

It was probably in no small degree owing to the firm

NATIVE AND EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE.

attitude and the prompt measures adopted in relation to this affair that no disturbance of any kind took place during the remaining period of my residence on the island. As usual, intelligence of the event was rapidly spread throughout the country, and it formed a topic of frequent conversation among the natives of the Thames district, which I shortly afterwards visited; and an impression gained ground among them, from day to day, that the authority of "Wikitoria," so they denominated Her Majesty, was not to be trifled with. These salutary impressions were strengthened by the recollection of various instances, which demonstrated to them that it was the undeviating practice of the English government to punish with the utmost severity and rigour those who take away the lives of its subjects. The visit of the Alligator frigate to Taranaki, in the year 1836, and the slaughter of sixty or seventy natives of that district, for having massacred the crew of a shipwrecked whaler, was cited, among other proofs of the utter hopelessness of their entering into a contest against the English Government.

From these incidents we are led to consider to what extent it would be consistent with the interests of justice and policy to admit the New Zealand chiefs to a share in the administration of justice, to sit upon juries, or even to represent the interests of their countrymen in the general councils of the colony. 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; but whether the mass of the native population are so far advanced in civilization as to be qualified for the exercise of elective or political functions is questionable. The opinion has already been expressed, and

HOW TO BE REGULATED.

is here reiterated, that in order to maintain permanently amicable relations with the native population, it will be necessary to support the hereditary influence of the most respectable among the chiefs – by granting them small pensions, encouraging them to inhabit good houses, and fostering their growing taste for the comforts and conveniences of civilized life. It should be the aim of every colonist of New Zealand to induce the Rangatiras to adopt a clean style of dress, to which it might be advantageous to add distinctive marks, indicative of their rank as chiefs, and their right to be treated with a befitting degree of respect by every member of the community. Although many of the old chiefs would feel the irksomeness of these inroads on their aboriginal habits, it is certain that the young and rising generation would readily adopt every change that it is desirable to introduce into their manners and habits. At the same time, every facility and encouragement should be held out for their mental cultivation, and advantage be taken of their strong predilection for prints and engravings, to imbue them with a fondness for the arts of civilization. With these should be combined the constant efforts of the Government to maintain that standard of moral and religious feeling, for which a broad foundation has been laid in the native character by the missionaries. Thus we may hope that the colonization of New Zealand will be attended with a treatment of the native population diametrically opposite to that pursued throughout every stage of colonial history, from the conquest of Mexico to the recent exterminating expeditions of Van Dieman's Land.

CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXI.

French Discovery squadron – Antarctic continent – French claims on New Zealand – Author's object – Perforated rocks – Mimi-Wangati – Tuttikokka – Sawing – Harbour of refuge – Maraetai – The Tamaki – Volcanic district – Wyheke – An island home – Coromandel harbour – Mr. Webster – Geological rambles – Native fortresses – Warlike trophy – A female corpse.

TOWARDS the end of April, the Bay of Islands was visited by the French Discovery squadron, consisting of the "Astrolabe" and "Zelee," commanded by Commodore D'Urville, who, after exploring the ice-bound and uninhabitable region, visited about the same period by the American and British Discovery ships, was on his way to Europe. This long-anticipated discovery of a polar continent in the Pacific will be a monument to the rivalry of three great nations in the honourable field of science, but it seems obvious that a region presenting the contrast of burning volcanoes with perpetual ice and snow; with a climate, probably, too cold for the lowest cryptogamic forms of vegetable life – the moss and the lichen – can never become an object of national contention. The discovery of the south magnetic pole, by the commander of the "Erebus," at a point corresponding to the north magnetic pole, whose position was previously determined

FRENCH CLAIMS IN NEW ZEALAND.

by Sir John Ross, is an important addition to the records of science. At these opposite points in the earth's surface, the needle, declining gradually in approaching towards them, becomes perpendicular to the horizon, and is therefore useless in directing a ship's course.

The illness of Captain Hobson, when the French squadron arrived, prevented any interchange of compliments, but the officers were received with due respect and courtesy.

The arrival of Commodore D'Urville afforded to one or two French residents an opportunity of declaring their sentiments with respect to the colonization of New Zealand by the British government. From the operation of the Commission of Inquiry into the purchases of land, those persons not calling themselves British subjects considered themselves to be exempt. Commodore D'Urville is understood to have held out no grounds for believing that the French government would interfere in their behalf, and perhaps it would have been difficult for them to have pointed out any sufficient reason for such interference. It is probable that this officer, a man of intelligence and information, knew well that England is a colonizing country, and that France is not, and therefore abstained from the expression of any sentiments calculated to complicate the political relations existing between the two countries. France does not, like England, labour under the burden of national pauperism; nor are her middle classes harassed, like ours, by cares and anxiety, and ground down by an intensity of competition in every department of trade and industry; there is no crying necessity among her people for colonization; neither can she command the same abundance of capital, or the same

FRENCH CLAIMS IN NEW ZEALAND.

skill and experience in developing the resources of a new country. Besides, the French people are too strongly attached to their own soil and climate, and to their social enjoyments, to dream of colonizing a distant region.

Vague rumours were in circulation respecting the alleged intention of the French government to establish a footing in New Zealand; but these had no other foundation than the circumstance of a French whaling captain having made the purchase of the remarkable promontory of the Southern Island, named Banks' Peninsula. On his return to France, this gentleman found a small number of families, in all seventy individuals, willing to accompany him to New Zealand. Two obstacles present themselves to the establishment of a French colony in this locality: – in the first place, the sovereignty of England over the whole island was proclaimed seventy years ago, by the illustrious Cook; secondly, the identical land was claimed by British subjects, in right of prior purchases from the natives. It happened strangely that, two days before the arrival of the French emigrants, the Britomart had disembarked Mr. Murphy and another officer, who immediately hoisted the British ensign, and proclaimed the sovereignty of Her Majesty over the Middle Island by right of discovery. The French settlers, however, proceeded to build their houses, and to make arrangements for cultivating the soil; but it appears that Akaroa now contains more English than French inhabitants, and that, as a French colony, it is virtually at an end.

One of my chief objects in again visiting New Zealand was to examine and report concerning a tract of land near the estuary of the Thames which had been purchased a year previously, on account of an esteemed friend in New

AUTHOR'S OBJECTS.

South Wales. The expenses caused by the transaction had already been considerable, and it appeared to me desirable to obtain every information respecting the extent and nature of the soil and its capabilities, with a view to its being colonized on the same enlightened principles as those followed by the New Zealand Company. This information being obtained, it occurred to me that a body of agriculturists, to the number of two or three thousand, might be disposed to purchase or lease the land, at a rate which would be considered nominal, in comparison with the price of land or the amount of rent paid in Britain; and that by dividing the land into farms of forty, eighty, one hundred and sixty, and three hundred and twenty acres, or a whole square mile, according to the purchasers' means, and applying seventy-five per cent, of the proceeds to the purpose of conveying to the colony a number of select labourers, with their wives and children, a strong inducement would be held out to purchasers, and an additional impulse given to the colonization of New Zealand. In order to acquire satisfactory knowledge regarding the adaptation of these lands to the proposed purposes, I devoted several months of the winter of 1840.

The wise determination of the home government to cut down all large purchases to an extent proportioned to the real outlay of the purchaser, has of course rendered the objects then contemplated an impossibility. I have, however, no reason to regret the time which I devoted to the examination of the country, since, although exposed to constant vicissitudes of weather, and what many would consider hardships; living, for the most part, in a tent, sometimes sleeping in an open boat, or even on the beach,

COASTING VOYAGE – PERFORATED ROCKS.

I acquired a degree of health to which, I am persuaded, the temperate and bracing climate was very materially conducive.

I left the Bay of Islands for the Frith of the Thames on the 1st of May, 1840, on board the Matilda, a schooner of eight tons burden, not well adapted for beating offshore in the teeth of an easterly gale, but drawing so little water as to admit of her bringing up in various little nooks on the coast, should such a gale come on – an event which is to be looked for at least twice a month on this coast. Leaving the anchorage at Kororadika just as the guns of the French Discovery squadron were being fired in honour of Louis-Philippe's birthday, we shaped our course towards Cape Bren, skirting the range of lofty and uncultivable hills which bound the eastern shores of the Bay. Leaving on our right one or two splendid harbours, in which some whalers were lying at anchor, we passed close to the whale rock, which, although invisible in calm weather, was indicated on this occasion by the seas which broke over it. Cape Bren, a lofty pinnacle, separated from a high headland by a narrow channel, presents an example of the perforated rocks which are numerous along the coast of New Zealand. This natural archway has a length of eighty yards, and is said to be passable for a boat, but so great is the swell, even in calm weather, that I should deem the attempt to explore it very hazardous; and when the sea is driven through it by the force of an easterly gale, the spectacle must be terrific. The prevailing opinion, that these cavernous openings have been formed by the force of waves, may possibly be correct, since in the substance of many kinds of rocks there occur masses of a softer consistence, which are incapable

HARBOURS ON THE COAST.

of resisting the continued action of water. We passed through the narrow channel, between the perforated rock and the main land, but I would by no means recommend others to follow our example; for while exposed to the influence of a heavy swell, we were alternately becalmed and surprised by sudden eddies of wind, issuing from the ravines on either side, and causing the water to whirl round with much noise and spray, rendering the helm and canvas of no avail. The rocks rising perpendicularly out of deep water, and presenting no footing, a shipwreck would have been inevitably fatal to all on board.

Towards evening we brought up in a small, but well-sheltered harbour, named Mimi Wangati, where two of our passengers were located; and as we again set sail before daylight, I can give no account of the neighbouring country, but must not omit to record our hospitable reception, our supper of pork and potatoes, or the strong negro-head tobacco, which we were compelled to smoke as a safeguard against the musquitoes. Our entertainer had purchased a fine piece of level land, which he intended to clear, and plant with potatoes, expecting to realize a crop worth twenty or thirty pounds per acre. On the following morning we landed two more passengers at Tuttikokka, another small, but deep harbour, in which the Buffalo, of 800 tons, had lain the previous year while taking in a cargo of Kaori spars for Her Majesty's dockyards. The harbour is hemmed in by wooded hills, with scarcely twenty acres of land sufficiently level for cultivation; but we found here a sawing establishment, belonging to a gentleman from Invernesshire. The sawing of timber was, for the time being, a favourite and profitable

TIMBER TRADE.

pursuit, although the sawyers were paid at the rate of 12s. per hundred feet, and could earn, without difficulty, 4l. per week. But since there are so many situations in New Zealand in which the timber trade can be carried on, and numerous parties contemplated the establishment of saw mills, it seemed probable that deals would very speedily become a cheap article in the market. In rounding Bream Head we were assailed by a succession of severe squalls, which caused our crew, consisting of two men and a New Zealand boy, to be on the alert; ever and anon "luffing up," so as to expose the smallest possible quantity of canvas to the violence of these sudden gusts. Having passed the fine inlet of Wangari, we entered the Frith of the Thames, by the eastern channel, which separates the main land from a large island. This passage being very rocky, we deemed it prudent to come to an anchor under the lee of the island, in a small picturesque bay, where it was our fortune to be windbound for eight-and-forty hours. During this period, however, we did not lack amusement. The woods abounded with wild pigeons, the rocks were incrusted with oysters, and in an abandoned native plantation we found plenty of wild celery and spinach. From an elevated summit we obtained a view of the estuary of the Thames, with its numerous islands, skirted, on the one hand, by the mountainous peninsula of Shouraki, and on the other, by an undulating, fern-clad landscape, terminating in wooded ridges.

Our destination, after leaving our harbour of refuge, was the mission station of Maraetai, where we were received with much hospitality by Mr. Fairburn, who has

ISTHMUS OF MANUKAO.

lived with his family for twenty years among the natives of the Thames.

Maraetai is about seven miles distant from the Tamaki river or inlet, which extends from the frith, across the neck of land, nearly to the Bay of Manukao. A canal, three quarters of a mile in length, would here connect the eastern and western seas, and convert the Northern Island into two. Across this low isthmus the natives drag their canoes, and it seems probable, from a consideration of the geological formation of the district, that at one period a separation has here existed, and that a narrow neck has been interposed by the same elevating forces as are at work throughout the globe, in raising the floor of the sea to a higher level. The land bordering on the Tamaki inlet is totally devoid of trees, but it is covered with an abundant growth of underwood; and would present the aspect of a plain, but for a great number of small hills, all of which display the clearest indications of having been active volcanoes. From the summit of one of these I counted upwards of twenty of the same description, rising out of the plain; and several of the neighbouring islands, as Ranghitoto and Mututapu, I afterwards found to be extinct volcanoes. These hillocks are entirely isolated from each other, and are surrounded by sheets of lava, which has furnished, by its decomposition, a soil of uncommon fertility. The natives have not, from what I could learn, any traditions capable of leading us to positive conclusions respecting the age of the lava. The character of the substance itself, and the appearance which I noticed in the bed of the Tamaki, of the undecayed trunk of a tree which it had manifestly surrounded whilst yet in a state of fusion, cause me to be of

WYHEKE ISLAND.

opinion that the latest eruptive phenomena of this district have occurred at a comparatively recent period. At the head of the Tamaki, Mr. Fairburn had a fine piece of land under cultivation, and he informed me that the soil had produced an excellent crop of barley. The land appeared to me to be capable of being cleared at a very moderate cost, from the absence of all trees and inequalities of surface.

Leaving the mission settlement, we shaped our course across the channel, three miles in breadth, which separates the mainland from the Wyheke group of islands, some of which belong to the New Zealand Company. The largest of the group has a superficies of seven or eight thousand acres. Its coast line presents a succession of small sequestered bays, separated from each other by rocky promontories, crowned, like the greater part of its surface, with a dense vegetation, amid which we could recognise, in passing, the grey columnar stems of the Kaori. One of the three great harbours, and perhaps the best and safest in the Frith of the Thames, is enclosed between this island and a contiguous cluster. The fine expanse of water thus inclosed has been pronounced by very competent judges to constitute, in all respects, a noble harbour, in which a fleet of the largest merchantmen could ride in safety. Here we found the "Delhi," of three hundred tons, and the "Lady Lilford," of six hundred tons: the former taking on board timber for the Sydney market; the latter loading with firewood for Valparaiso, a cargo which it was expected would at least clear the vessel's expenses in the voyage thither. In loading these ships, upwards of a hundred natives, chiefly of the Ngatimatera tribe, were employed by Mr. Webster, at an expense, in

WYHEKE ISLAND.

blankets, printed goods, and tobacco, I was given to understand, of 1s. 6d. per day for each man. A singularly loud and echoing noise was heard as we neared the shore, which was caused by the operation of starting a Kaori tree down a declivity.

The importance of the island of Wyheke does not consist so much in its cultivable qualities, as in its local advantages. As a depot for the collection and export of New Zealand produce, in large vessels, it seems more advantageously situated than either the inlet of Waitemata or Coromandel harbour. Five-sixths of its surface is either densely covered with forest trees, or is too uneven to admit of any but spade cultivation. That portion of it which is at present available to the agriculturist, consists only of those level marginal spaces of from ten to twenty acres, which in this island, as in almost all other parts of New Zealand, are found contiguous to the small bays and inlets which occur so frequently along the coast. Of this kind of land the island of Wyheke contains probably two thousand acres. The best of its timber has been cut down, but what remains would give employment to hundreds of sawyers, boat and ship-builders, whilst the surrounding waters, teeming with fish and edible molluscae of various kinds, would afford an ample supply of food, in addition to agricultural productions.

During several weeks that I was subsequently detained on this island, I found ample amusement in pigeon-shooting, fishing, boating, and aiding in the construction of a fence, the digging up of a garden, and other little operations necessary to the establishment of every new colonist. We were frequently visited by parties of natives

A RESIDENCE ON

from the neighbouring coasts and islands, who came for the purpose of bartering potatoes, maize, and pigs, for the manufactured articles with which my hospitable entertainer was provided; and in almost every instance their conduct was peaceable and honest. They supplied our table with oysters, fish, and pigeons, for which they took in payment the merest trifles: they brought firewood, lighted our fires, cooked our potatoes, and assisted us in our gardening and building operations. For these services we were, I believe, indebted chiefly to the respect and friendly disposition which the chiefs Ruinga and Ngakete entertained towards Mr. and Mrs. H – – – , with whom I was residing. The small level space on which Mr. H. had located was bounded by a tranquil little bay in front, and by a thickly wooded hill range behind, of the height of three or four hundred feet. It comprised a space of about fifteen acres, clear of timber, with a bed of rich black mould, nine inches thick, reposing on clay. This is the species of soil usually cultivated by the natives, and if we except the volcanic loams, is perhaps the most productive of any in New Zealand. In their garden, which we fenced in and prepared in the short space of ten days, Mr. H. planted all the most common and useful varieties of kitchen vegetables and fruits, besides the seeds of the peach, the almond, the chesnut, &c, and a small quantity of wheat, as an experiment. It appeared to me that a cow, a few goats, and a supply of poultry, would complete the comforts of this little establishment, which had only been began a few months previously. The house was certainly of a primitive construction, having been built by the natives of their usual materials; but it was of European size and altitude, and divided into four

THE WYHEKE ISLAND.

compartments, with doors, which the tallest man could enter without stooping. A fireplace would have been dangerous in an edifice built of such materials; we had simply an opening in the wall, with small wooden gratings for windows, yet, although it was the winter season of New Zealand, we found that an iron pot, containing some hot embers, rendered the apartment comfortably warm. This sort of accommodation was certainly not, in appearance, very suitable for a lady who had been accustomed to the luxuries and comforts of England; yet Mrs. H. displayed, under the circumstances, the cheerfulness and fortitude, of which British ladies of sense and education possess a greater share than many who have never been reared in refinement or tenderness. The truth is, that what we call the hardships of colonial life will cease to merit that name, if we call to our aid a little philosophy, and regard temporary privations and difficulties at the onset, as steps only in our progress towards comfort and independence. Mr. H – – – had left South Australia, the climate of which colony he had found unfavourable to his health, and having now had some months' experience of New Zealand, he rejoiced in having adopted the seemingly bold and hazardous step of a secondary emigration.

The island of Wyheke consists of the common argillaceous rock, of New Zealand, and in some situations it assumes the appearance of an amygdaloidal trap, like that which is so abundant in Coromandel harbour. The neighbouring islets are all of the eruptive or volcanic class; and some of them assume that remarkable sugar-loaf shape which has elsewhere been noticed as a very frequent characteristic of that formation. On the side

COROMANDEL HARBOUR.

of the island which faces the coast of Maraetai, a mine of manganese has been discovered by Mr. Henry Taylor, a gentleman who has devoted himself to mineralogical observations in New Zealand.

The next part of the estuary to which we directed our course was Coromandel Harbour, so called in honour of the "Coromandel," a vessel of eight hundred tons, which lay there whilst taking on board a cargo of Kaori spars for the Admiralty.

This harbour is of ample extent, and land-locked on every side by lofty hills, one of which is surmounted by an enormous mass of basalt, which having a castellated outline, and being visible at a great distance, forms a landmark, called the Castle Hill, by which the situation of this harbour is indicated. Between the margin of the inlet and the foot of the surrounding hills, there is a space of some thousands of acres of level and cultivable soil. The aspect of the harbour, resembling a large lake surrounded by gloomy forests and steep hills, would present an attractive picture to those who love to contemplate the more picturesque and wild features of nature. But entertaining an utilitarian creed with regard to scenery, I would rather have beheld this fine harbour surrounded by level and cultivated plains.

It was towards dusk, and after a long and hard contest with wind and tide, in crossing in an open boat from Wyheke to Coromandel Harbour, that we first beheld the cheering aspect of Mr. Webster's settlement. This person has resided here for eight or ten years, and has, by dint of industry and perseverance, risen from the grade of a ship's carpenter to the ownership of one of the principal establishments in New Zealand. Having become a great

COROMANDEL HARB0UR.

favourite with the natives of the district, he has always been able to command a sufficiency of that element of all colonial success, labour. It has thus been in his power to supply, with much profit to himself, many cargoes of spars for the Admiralty and the Australian settlements. Besides the gangs of boys, (as the New Zealanders of all ages call themselves when in the service of Europeans,) whom he employed in dragging out timber, he kept, in constant employment, from fifteen to twenty European artisans, such as sawyers, boat and shipbuilders, pork and fish curers, coopers, blacksmiths, and carpenters. To this I will add, that he possesses the true spirit of colonial hospitality, and that, on the wild shores of Shouraki, we enjoyed under his roof all the substantial comforts of an European home.

The greatest difficulty that Mr. Webster had to contend against, consisted in the reckless and disorderly conduct of the Europeans in his employment, some of whom were the most persevering drunkards that it has ever been my fate to encounter. Their wages were so high, that a sawyer could earn from 15s. to 20s. a day, if sufficiently robust and hardy, but for several days during the week these people were incapable of working. To have withheld spirits from them would at once have determined them to seek another employer, consequently he was absolutely compelled to have in his establishment a supply of rum, and to pay his people a great portion of their wages in this (to them) irresistibly fascinating shape.

The natives and European dependents of Mr. Webster, inhabited a number of huts, constituting almost a little village. Each of the mechanics lived in a semi-connubial state with one, or perhaps two, native women, and around

GEOLOGICAL RAMBLES.

the doors were to be seen, amongst groups of dogs, poultry, and pigs, of all ages, a considerable number of half-caste children, full of health and vivacity.

The amusements of the several gentlemen here assembled were various. It may seem strange that people should seek for amusement in an infant colony; but for the time being, the proceedings of individuals were paralyzed by the unlooked-for and strange decisions of the Legislative Council of New South Wales; amusement was, therefore, the only means of killing time. Some employed themselves in shooting pigeons in the neighbouring woods, or in fishing, others in building boats. I devoted a good deal of my time to rambling along the shores, which presented some remarkable geological appearances.

That side of Coromandel Harbour which separates it from the sea, consists of a high and wooded island, with vast precipices of a concrete argillaceous rock, thickly-studded with balls or nodules of a ferruginous clay, varying from the size of a pebble or a hen's egg to that of masses nearly a foot in diameter. Of these nodules, several that I examined consisted of concentric layers, disposed like the coats of an onion. They appeared to have been rolled into their peculiar shape by the action of water, subsequently embedded in mud, and afterwards elevated, in a hardened state, by volcanic agency. To this rock, in describing the island of Wyheke, I have elsewhere applied the name of amygdaloidal trap, as more expressive of its geological character than the names of pudding stone or conglomerate. In another part of the harbour I observed clefts in this species of rock which contained quantities of a mineral substance resembling, externally, copper ore, which it was unhesitatingly pro-

NATIVE FORTRESSES.

nounced to be by a Liverpool shipmaster, who had carried cargoes of this substance from South America to England; and it seems very probable, if not thoroughly established, that to the other mineral productions of New Zealand, viz., iron, sulphur, manganese, fine ochre, bitumen, and coal, will be added that of native copper ore. These are, however, with the exception of coal, and perhaps sulphur, to be regarded as prospective resources, which cannot become available until New Zealand has grown into a populous colony. In one part of the coast of Coromandel Harbour there is a promontory, consisting of a rock resembling the Bath oolite, and said to be well adapted for building purposes. I picked up, within high-water mark, numerous ligneous fossils, with the jointed appearance characteristic of the palm, fern, and other monocotyledonous plants.

A gentleman had recently arrived, with the intention of building a vessel of two hundred tons, a size well adapted for the intercolonial and Polynesian trade, and at that time greatly in demand; but it was to be feared, that the scarcity and high price of mechanical labour would prove insurmountable obstacles to the accomplishment of his plan. The materials existed within his reach in inexhaustible abundance, and his meditated undertaking may be regarded as an additional indication of the dormant resources that are yet to be called forth, by the combined influence of labour and capital in New Zealand.

At three different points of Wyho (the native name of Coromandel Harbour) I observed the remains of old native fortresses. The number of these strong holds, even in parts of the country which are now uninhabited, denote that in former times the New Zealanders were much more

NATIVE FORTRESSES.

numerous and warlike than in the present day. In the choice of their positions for defence, these people displayed as much sagacity as our semi-barbarian ancestors. Bold promontories, projecting into the water, and connected with the mainland by narrow necks, were the localities usually selected. From such commanding positions, very abundantly met with along the shores of these islands, they could observe every hostile movement, whether by-land or water. Across the necks of their fortified peninsulas, they dug ditches of great depth, which are now choked up with rubbish and tangled brushwood. To attack such a fortification would have called forth, in the naked savage, a greater effort of valour than the exploits of our mailed warriors in the days of European barbarism. The only fortifications used by the New Zealanders in the present day are wooden palisades; and since the renowned Shongi, the guest of King George IV., strong in his newly acquired possession of fire-arms, carried extermination into the Wykatto country, their warlike propensities have subsided into a peaceable discretion. To be prepared for war is to maintain peace. Since the tribes from the North Cape to Cook's Straits have obtained muskets and ammunition in exchange for their pigs and maize, a damp seems to have been thrown upon the martial ardour of the Tangata Maori. Probably a similar result would attend the introduction of steam gunnery, or the projectile of Captain Warner, into the warfare of Europe.

One of the most cherished trophies of New Zealand warfare was pointed out to me during my residence at Wyho: it was a war canoe of enormous size, which had belonged to my friend Moko, a chief of the Bay of Islands, and was taken from him about ten years ago,

A WARLIKE TROPHY.

on which occasion some sixty of his companions were slaughtered, and he escaped almost miraculously. Whilst proceeding on a friendly excursion to the people of Tauranga, Moko landed on the Great Barrier Island. Several natives of the Thames country perceiving the arrival of a large war canoe from the northward, paddled with all speed to Wyho, and spread the alarming intelligence that the Ngapouis, their old enemies, were coming. Thereupon an expedition departed for the Barrier Island, headed by the principal chiefs of Wyho. The Ngapouis, fatigued with one or two day's paddling, fancied themselves secure in their resting place, and resigned themselves to slumber; from which they were awakened by the war shout of their enemies, and, after an ineffectual resistance, overpowered and slain. Moko, alone, a valiant and prudent warrior, contrived in the dusk to secrete himself, and remained for two days in the crevice of a rock; and at length, to his inexpressible satisfaction, he saw his ruthless enemies paddling towards Wyho, in what was no longer his own canoe. He then emerged from his place of concealment, and, having subsisted for a few days on clams and other marine productions, beheld the approach of an English boat, which he eagerly hailed, and learned from the two persons on board that they were on their way to the Bay of Islands. With them Moko escaped; but as a bonus for their generosity he was under the sad necessity of delivering up his double-barrelled gun.

The natives of Wyho have, with the exception of a few old men and women, adopted the tenets of Christianity; a change which is due to the zealous efforts of Mr. Preece, of the Church of England mission. This

DEAD BODY.

gentleman has resided with his family for many years in the neighbourhood of Kauiranga, which is said to be the largest native village in New Zealand, and contains about five hundred individuals. Mr. Preece invited me to be present at the marriage of about a dozen young couples, according to the forms of the church; an interesting exhibition, which I regretted being unable to attend.

Previous to my departure from Coromandel Harbour for the Thames river, an event occurred which is illustrative of that disregard of human life still to be observed among the natives, notwithstanding the manifest improvement which has of late years been brought about in their habits by their intercourse with the missionaries.

The dead body of a female was seen lying at the water's edge, near a small native settlement. Accompanied by Captain Herbert, of the "Delhi," and two other gentlemen, I repaired to the spot, in order to make inquiries concerning so unusual a circumstance. In answer to our questions, the natives informed us that the body was that of a woman who had been abandoned by her relatives, being, as they said, insane; and they supposed that she had died of sickness, or fallen down the precipice, at the foot of which we now saw her remains. Having expressed our indignation at the cruelty with which a fellow-being had been treated, we urged them to commit the body decently to the earth. "That is not our business," was the reply; "she does not belong to us; we are going to plant coomrahs, but if you will pay us, we will do what you request." So saying, they paddled away with the greatest unconcern.

A DEAD BODY.

Having procured a boat from the "Delhi," we had the body towed out into deep water, and sunk; but whether the tale told by the natives regarding the manner of her death was true or false, we never afterwards could ascertain.

CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXII.

Climate of New Zealand – Gales – Departure for the Thames River – Rangipukea – Coast of Shouraki – Volcano of Tongarido – Mouth of the Thames – Mr. M'Askall – Tribe of the Ngatimadous – A missionary chief – Excursion up the Thames – Mr. Bidwell – Tauranga – Roturua – Boiling springs – Lake Taupo – Return to Coromandel Harbour.

THE climate of New Zealand is, throughout the winter, temperate and bracing. From May till September, during which period I resided in the Thames district, the weather was fine and clear. In the morning, thin pellicles of ice and a little hoar frost were occasionally to be seen, the sure indication of a warm forenoon; and the nights were uncommonly brilliant and starry. Indeed, in no part of the world, if I except Port Jackson, have I beheld more beautiful moonlight nights than in New Zealand, both in summer and in winter. Once every twelve or fourteen days, however, the serenity of the climate was interrupted by a strong gale from the eastward, during the continuance of which, heavy masses of clouds were borne onwards with great velocity, and the sea rolled into the Frith of the Thames with violence, causing a magnificent and formidable surf at every exposed part of the coast. The coming on of these gales is known during the calmest

HALF-MONTHLY GALES.

weather to the natives, by indications of the sky, which are not perceptible to persons unacquainted with the peculiarities of the climate. Among other instances illustrative of the friendly disposition of the natives, it was related to me by Colonel Wakefield, that on one occasion, a chief of Cook's Straits travelled many miles to warn them that a gale would shortly set in, which would render the position of the ship a dangerous one, in consequence of which they stood out to sea time enough to escape its violence. These gales are usually accompanied with rain, and sometimes with thunder and lightning; and although most frequent and regular during the winter, they are said to accompany the changes of the moon throughout the year. They generally break up after forty-eight hours' continuance, the wind then hauling gradually round to the westward, whilst the sky resumes its serene and cloudless aspect.

After the cessation of a gale of this description, I resolved to start for the Aroha, a locality about forty miles up the Thames river, and consequently about ninety miles from Coromandel Harbour.

We in vain endeavoured to persuade a few natives to accompany us on this journey. They could not be tempted by the charms of blankets, or even of tobacco, to go so far from home; I was therefore under the necessity of departing in a whale-boat, accompanied only by Mr. McInnes, a young gentleman of a mechanical bent of mind, who was desirous of ascertaining the extent to which the Phormium is spontaneously produced in the plain of the Thames, having, as he supposed, hit upon a mechanical invention, by which he hoped to be able to clean the flax for exportation at a paying rate.

VOYAGE IN A WHALE-BOAT.

Having caulked up an old whale-boat, "rigged" two lug sails, and laid in a supply of potatoes, tea, sugar, tobacco, and pipes, the latter being intended as a means of procuring the assistance of the natives, besides a tent, an iron pot, an axe, and a few other utensils, we took our departure from Coromandel Harbour, and after contending for six hours against a head wind and tide, reached the little island of Rangipukea, precisely six miles distant from our starting place. It was evening – the sea outside of Rangipukea was rough, and the sky was gloomy. Moreover, a heavy swell and surf caused us to suspect that the gale was not yet over. We therefore determined to land upon this island, and tax the hospitality of its inhabitants for permission to sleep upon their beach, a more desirable bed, in our estimation, than the floor of a native hut, swarming with diminutive animalculae of various kinds.

The whole population of the island, (it was not above twenty acres in extent,) ran down to meet us, and the young of both sexes rushing into the water, hauled our whale boat far up upon the beach. We were soon surrounded by about sixty individuals, and whilst the old chief came up and saluted us, his tribe busied themselves in examining our goods and chattels; but when desired by my companion to refrain from touching anything, they complied, not without some reluctance, with his request. We were now joined by the chief's eldest son, a youth who spoke English, and was dressed in a new suit of clothing, comprising a round hat and a shooting jacket, in the ample pockets of which he ostentatiously rattled a few half-crowns. To him we explained that we had nothing to sell, and that we only required assistance in

A COVETOUS CHIEF.

erecting a tent with our boat sails upon the beach. This being communicated by the monarch to his subjects, they proceeded, with the utmost alacrity, to carry our wishes into effect. The tent was set up, the fire lighted, and the potatoes boiled in less than half an hour; and whilst we enjoyed our very frugal fare, the natives squatted round us, and the old chief, whose language I would not understand, expressed the great pleasure that he would experience in obtaining possession of my boat cloak. He offered sundry large pigs in exchange for this, to me, indispensable article; and although we could hear the little bell summoning the people to their evening devotions, truth compels me to say, that one proposal of the old chief, as a means of obtaining possession of the cloak, was by no means consistent with the strictest morality, although it proved the absolute dominion which he held over his female slaves; at length, having exhausted his inventive powers, he took his departure in very bad humour. After a few hours of repose, we awoke, and resolved to pursue our voyage; and having, with the assistance of our friends, launched the whale-boat, we bade adieu to the whole population, among whom we distributed a pound of tobacco.

After leaving Rangipukea, a heavy and irregular sea, caused by a strong weather-tide, rendered our situation by no means enviable for the first few hours; we were every moment exposed to the dangerous accident of broaching, to avoid which it was necessary to keep our boat's head accurately to the sea; this we contrived to effect, and with a strong wind urging us on, we went rapidly over the ground, and before sunset accomplished a distance of sixty miles.

COAST OF SHOURAKI.

From Cape Colville there runs, in a southerly direction, a range of hills, of the mean altitude of four thousand feet, forming, in the first ninety miles of its course, the eastern boundary of the Frith of the Thames, and in the second part, bounding one side of the great plain of the Thames, from Kaupo to the neighbourhood of the remarkable district of Roturua. There is something stern and imposing in the aspect of this mountainous peninsula, which consists of plutonic or trap rocks, covered from their crests downwards with a mantle of gloomy and stately forests. Close to the shore we saw numerous native villages, whose inhabitants cultivated the small level spaces interposed between the base of this precipitous range and the water's edge. We passed the embouchures of several streams, which have their origin in the inaccessible recesses of these mountains. There, vegetation, fostered by a climate and soil peculiarly favourable to its development, attains a magnitude and luxuriance rarely to be witnessed. Shut up in this inaccessible region, there are millions of pounds' worth of the finest timber, with, perhaps, mineral resources, the value of which cannot even be guessed at, but which, in all probability, can never be converted to any human use.

But if the aspect of the mountains is gloomy and desolate, that of the native settlements at their bases, surrounded by their plantations, and adorned by rich and varied foliage, are of a different character; and the stranger who lands at one of these sequestered villages will receive from its savage inhabitants, perhaps, a kindlier and more hospitable reception than he would meet with from those who entertain stronger pretensions to the virtues of civilization.

MOUTH OF THE THAMES.

The opposite shore of the estuary of the Thames differs widely in its aspect and geological structure from the shores of the peninsula of Shouraki. It presents to the waters of the frith a range of horizontal stratified rocks of a clayey sandstone, which seems to have been softened by the influence of humidity, and is, like the sandstone of Port Jackson, devoid of organic remains. It would be, probably, as hard and available for building purposes, were the climate of New Zealand as dry as that of New South Wales. From these cliffs, which are from fifty to a hundred feet high, there recede, either perfectly level plains, or a gently undulating country, containing many hundred thousand acres of land, seemingly available for the purposes of agriculture. Thus, between the eastern and western shores of the frith there is presented a striking contrast; and at its extremity, where it receives the waters of the Thames and Piako, we find the commencement of a plain, whose average breadth is twenty miles, and which runs nearly due south, between two elevated hill ranges, as far as Tongarido, the great central volcano of the Northern Island, a distance of upwards of one hundred and eighty miles.

The mouth of the Thames is crossed by a bar, with a channel impassable to vessels drawing more than twelve feet; but to small craft, or steamers, it is navigable for thirty miles. Following a winding course, like all those rivers which water alluvial plains, it has an average breadth of a hundred yards, and receives three considerable tributaries from the Arohan hill range. The Piako is the sister stream of the Thames, and although they water the same plain, they are entirely unconnected with each other.

A THUNDER STORM.

Passing successively the native villages of Kaupo on the left bank, and of Turua on the right, we continued our course rapidly, with a fair wind. Opposite the latter village, where the river is very broad, the natives hailed us with loud shouts, to which we paid no attention; consequently, in order, we suppose, to attract our notice more surely, they fired their muskets, loaded as usual with balls, one or two of which fell, we thought, a short distance astern of us. We, however, continued our progress, intending to stop at the settlement of Mr. M'Askall, who had expended a good deal of capital in the purchase of land, and was then erecting a saw mill on the banks of the Hikutaiah, on which we subsequently bestowed the name of the "Hobson," the first tributary which the Thames receives. Night was already fast closing in, the wind blew freshly, and with a rushing sound through the woods and swamps on either side; and we were from time to time startled by numerous wild ducks, which rose at every twenty yards. Rain, thunder, and lightning, soon contributed to our discomfort, and worse than all, it became so dark that we could discern nothing but the indistinct outline of the tall trees. Fortunately the wind was strong, and with the aid of our foresail, we stemmed the current – I steering, whilst my companion sat in the boat's bows, to guard against the risk of staving her crazy timbers against drift wood or snags.

At length we reached the junction of the Hikutaiah, and soon heard the voices of the natives, among whom Mr. M'Askall was living, and by the blaze of torches we effected a landing opposite to his abode.

A few days after my arrival at Mr. M'Askall's, there arrived a small schooner, of twenty tons burden, with

LANDING MACHINERY.

machinery for sawing timber; and on this occasion our party received accession in the person of Dr. Martin, who, in Sydney, had distinguished himself in pointing out the advantages that might be expected to attend the colonization of New Zealand. The natives were delighted and astonished by the strange array of wheels, cranks, and saws, which they now beheld, and their united strength was so efficaciously applied, that fifteen tons of cumbrous machinery were in less than an hour and a half landed, high and dry, upon the river's banks.

The quantities of pumice-stone that float down the Thames shew that in some part of its course it passes in close proximity to one of the numerous extinct volcanoes which occur in almost every part of the Northern Island. A lofty, isolated mountain, called the Aroha, half-way between Matimata and the embouchure of the river, is the source from whence this substance is derived. This mountain is seen in proceeding up the frith; its sides and base are clothed with lofty trees, and the sweep of the river, diverted from its straight course by the Aroha, constitutes, with the spreading plain, and the other features of the scene, a very imposing landscape. At the distance of ninety miles from its embouchure, a fine waterfall is met with, and from this point, in going towards Matimata, it is necessary to proceed overland.

Matimata is an inland district, the inhabitants of which are divided into two classes – the Christians, and those who have not adopted Christianity. The former have separated from the others, and live in a fortified village, in which they were, at the period of my visit to the Thames, engaged in erecting a church on a scale of magnitude unprecedented in the architecture of the New Zealanders.

A MISSIONARY CHIEF.

The converted population of Matimata was increasing daily; and Mr. Preece, the missionary, whom I met on his return from a visit to that district, informed me, that at an examination of the natives, which he had held preparatory to their being received as candidates for baptism, there were three hundred whom he considered to be sufficiently conversant with the principles of Christianity to undergo this solemn ceremony. Mr. Preece was accompanied by half a dozen natives of that district, including a young chief, whose demeanour, as he stood, enveloped in a mantle or kakahou, was very dignified. He was upwards of six feet in height, and finely proportioned; the beau-ideal, in short, of a first class Rangatira. A few months previously, he had made an overland journey to Cook's Straits, accompanied by ten of his tribe, for the sole purpose of diffusing among the tribes of the southern interior a knowledge of the principles of Christianity, and of establishing peaceful and amicable relations. He informed us that he passed the Great Lake and the Burning Mountain; that he had crossed eight or ten rivers, and followed the course of a large stream, called the Wanganui, which flows from the neighbourhood of Lake Taupo towards Cook's Straits. To our inquiry concerning the mode in which he crossed the rivers, he replied, "By making a raft of the manuka bush, with reeds and sticks, which we tied together with shreds of the flax plant. Give me these things," he added, "I will cross the largest river in New Zealand." So satisfactory had been the reception which he had met with on his journey through the interior, that he purposed undertaking another in the ensuing summer, with similar objects. This young man possessed a gift, by no means uncommon among the New

THE NGATIMADOUS.

Zealanders, that of copious eloquence. Previous to the hour of rest, he assembled the natives, read to them a chapter of the New Testament, in their own language, and concluded by pronouncing a short extempore discourse. This I could only imperfectly understand; but it appeared to me that the low and reverential intonation with which he spoke, and the unaffected and serious demeanour of his audience, would have done no discredit to any religious assemblage in the metropolis of England. Whatever may have been the language and the sentiments which he uttered, the external indications were assuredly those of sincerity and devotion.

Mr. M'Askall's establishment had led to the formation, in his immediate neighbourhood, of a small native settlement, inhabited by a tribe called the Ngatimadous, from whom he had purchased his lands. It was gratifying to witness the friendly intercourse which subsisted between him and his tattooed retainers. Their services were at all times at his command – in clearing, collecting firewood, digging saw-pits, and floating timber; and our evenings were enlivened by the narratives which Hawhenua, the chief, gave us, concerning the sufferings which he experienced during the lifetime of Shongi. Of war, its evils and crimes, this man spoke in a most rational and philosophical spirit, and his sentiments had all the rooted strength which springs from experience. His wife, a middle-aged woman, who had been, in her own right, the owner of the fine tract of country which Mr. M'Askall had purchased, performed with the utmost regularity all the domestic offices of cooking, washing, and keeping the house. She had no pretensions to beauty, but was exceedingly neat, and precise in all her operations; and

THE NGATIMADOUS.

nursed her husband, who was an invalid, in a most exemplary manner. Among the various individuals of this little tribe – men, women, and children – I remarked, during my three weeks' residence among them, the most perfect concord, with habits of regularity and industry. Like nearly all the Thames natives, they are converts to Christianity, and could, with only the exception of the children, read and write. I will venture to assert, that no country in the world could produce a class of individuals more cheerful and amicable in all respects than the individuals composing the small tribe of the Ngatimadous.

Having dispatched notice of my arrival to the several chiefs who claimed an interest in the lands which it was my intention to visit, I had the pleasure, after the lapse of a week, of seeing three large canoes paddling up the river, with about sixty natives – viz., the chief Ngatai, his two wives, and a number of his relatives and slaves. Ngatai himself would have cut a very respectable figure in Regent Street, being clad in a showy, undress uniform, with boots and a gold laced cap. A grave and expressive countenance, with a remarkable courteousness of demeanour, would have proclaimed him to be a Rangatira, without taking into consideration the deference paid to him by his numerous followers. It was evident that in maintaining an authority, resting upon no basis of real power, Ngatai was indebted in no small degree to his personal qualities, and to the possession of a certain tact common to the New Zealand chiefs, which consists in cautiously avoiding all occasions of dispute with any of their inferiors, and in maintaining a cheerful but guarded intercourse with every individual down to the lowest slave.

PLAIN OF THE THAMES.

Ngatai, having caused his tribe to fire a salute of about a hundred cartridges, landed, and accosted Mr. M'Askall and me with "Ehoa, tenei ra ko koe;" whilst some of his followers and the natives of the place indulged in the ceremony of rubbing or rather pressing noses, a practice common to two races so widely dissimilar as the New Zealanders and the Esquimaux.

It was then arranged that Ngatai should accompany me up the Thames, to the mouth of the Oheinemuri, or sacred river, so called from its being strictly tabooed. And as he wished to pass the night at a neighbouring village, he consented to leave one of his canoes behind, in which I was to follow with my tent and travelling furniture; on this excursion I was accompanied by Mr. M'Intosh, a practical farmer, from the north of Scotland, whose opinion I was desirous of ascertaining with respect to the quality of the soil.

In the lower part of the great plain of the Thames the soil is too little elevated above the mean level of the tides, and being of a clayey character, is in many parts swampy. But this defect gradually diminishes as we advance up the valley, and at the distance of thirty miles from the mouth of the river, the plain becomes dry, and in many places so unincumbered, as to be absolutely ready for the plough.

The composition of the soil throughout this extensive plain bears an affinity to the geological constitution of the elevated mountain ranges on either side, which consist of the unstratified classes of rocks that predominate throughout New Zealand – viz., greywacke, basalt, trap, and pumice. The decomposition of such rocks furnishes

PLAIN OF THE THAMES.

a clayey soil, extremely fertile, if we may judge from the abundant and various vegetation which covers every part of the valley. A deciduous vegetation would have caused the formation of a deep bed of mould, resembling the soil of a Canadian forest; but the vegetable kingdom in New Zealand being evergreen, the earth has not been enriched to the same degree by the annual decay of leaves, and consequently the superficial stratum seldom exceeds a foot in thickness. No inference against its productive character can, however, be deduced from this circumstance, since it is manifest that a land which nourishes the stateliest forests and the densest underwood in the world must be eminently fertile.

Throughout the lower part of the plain, the river is skirted by belts of wood, consisting chiefly of the Dacrydium Excelsum, or Kaikatea, interspersed with Puridi Rimu, and other hard woods of considerable value. These trees are of great size, and will, doubtless, in process of time, constitute an important resource to the inhabitants. The belts of wood alternate with extensive fields of the flax plant, growing so closely that it is impossible to force a passage through them; and with spaces, overgrown with ferns, myrtles, grasses, and cabbage palms, constituting a mixed brushwood, which offers but very little impediment to the plough, and in dry weather can be burnt down with ease. Such are the leading features of a vast plain, watered by two rivers of sufficient magnitude to admit of inland navigation by steam, to a distance of thirty miles from the coast. In many parts of the plain, formerly under native cultivation, we observed grass in considerable abundance; and there my friend Ngatai

PLAIN OF THE THAMES.

remarked that the soil was "kapai mo te wheat," meaning that it was very good for the production of that inestimable plant.

During this excursion the weather was very fine, although in a season of the year corresponding to our month of January. Towards nightfall, a dense fog usually settled over the river, and in the morning the ground was covered with a slight hoar frost; but in the evergreen woods around us there was no wintry bleakness. Wrapped in our cloaks, we enjoyed, on beds of dry fern, the sound and refreshing slumbers that are purchased by exercise; and though surrounded by hundreds of New Zealanders, we were as void of apprehension as if we had been in the centre of Cheapside.

Very little of the land throughout the plain of the Thames can be claimed by individuals, and it is to be hoped that the New Zealand Company will found one of its settlements in this district. Having completed my object, I returned to Coromandel; from whence I proceeded to the banks of the Wiete, on the opposite side of the estuary of the Thames, which derives some importance from its propinquity to the township of Auckland, on the banks of the inlet of Waitemata.

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIII.

Tauranga – Formation of coal – Mr. Bidwill – Roturua – Hot springs – Solfataras – Lake Taupo – Ascent of Tongarido – Eruption – Anecdote – Native sculptors – Names of the islands – Tavai-poenamoo – Akaroa – Harbours in Cook's Straits – Stewart's Island.

I MUCH regretted that urgent circumstances prevented me from visiting the interesting district of Taupo, and the volcano of Tongarido. An interesting account has very recently been given by Mr. Bidwill, of his journey from Tauranga to the lake and hot springs of Roturua, and from thence to Tongarido, to the summit of which he ascended.

Tauranga is the most southerly of the mission stations on the east coast. For ten miles inland the country is very level, and being covered with fern, its inhabitants are subjected to the great disadvantages of a scarcity of firewood. It has an easy land communication with the valley of the Thames, by way of the Oheinemuri. Here, according to Mr. Bidwill, is to be witnessed the actual formation of coal. It is in some places a foot in thickness, and quite recent, consisting of nothing but the leaves &c. of the living plants of the country. "It is regularly separated by layers of soft earth, of just the colour and

ROTURUA – BOILING SPRINGS.

appearance which the clayey strata of the coal measures present, although entirely formed of partially decomposed pumice."

Between Tauranga and Roturua the country is alternately forest and fern land. The forests contain trees of gigantic size, some of which are very valuable from the hardness of their timber, but too far inland to be available. Like all the New Zealand forests, they are rendered almost impenetrable by the number of lianis, or creepers, which hang from the branches in festoons, and, passing from tree to tree, envelope the traveller in a species of network. One of these, the smilax, or native vine, produces a species of berry; and its stems, split longitudinally, are used by the natives in fencing, and by Europeans in boat-building.

The Lake of Roturua is five or six miles in diameter, and has an island in the centre, on which there is a native village, surrounded by boiling springs, of a temperature sufficiently high to cook the shellfish and potatoes of the natives. From the temperature of the lake, it is evident that it also receives many hot springs; and in the surrounding district there are several mud craters and solfataras. The island in the centre of the lake is about a mile in length, and contains, probably, fifty acres sufficiently level for cultivation.

Like the hot springs already noticed as existing near Waimate, those of Roturua are strongly impregnated with sulphuric acid. Several of the springs contain sulphuret of iron, and it is singular that, notwithstanding this circumstance, and their high temperature, some plants are seen growing on the bottom. The ground about the village is full of springs and holes, which con-

CENTRAL DISTRICTS – LAKE TAUPO.

stantly emit steam, and some deaths have occurred from individuals sinking to the middle in boiling mud.

About four miles from the lake is the largest of the Solfataras, which has a diameter of one hundred and fifty yards, and from a muddy hollow in the centre it discharges a stream of hot water. Here, as throughout the district, there is a vast quantity of native sulphur, to whose presence, and the combustion or chemical union into which it enters with the oxygen of water and the atmosphere, these phenomena are to be attributed. Lake Roturua abounds in a species of crayfish of great size, which, with kumeras and maize, constitute the food of the inhabitants. If additional proof were required to rebut the accusations of inefficiency brought against the missionaries, it would be found in the circumstance, that in such a district as this, on the little island of Lake Roturua, and surrounded by a tribe of natives bearing the worst characters, we find a mission station, with a permanently resident missionary.

The central districts throughout New Zealand are almost destitute of forests, and are also much more level than the country bordering on the sea shore. In approaching Lake Taupo from Roturua, some grassy plains are met with, and the country is a species of table land, from the centre of which rises the snow-clad volcanic peak of Tonga Rido.

Lake Taupo is thirty-five miles in length and on an average of twenty in breadth; it is hemmed in by perpendicular cliffs, of the enormous altitude, in some places, of a thousand feet, and presenting the terraced outline characteristic of trap rocks. There are a few landing-places, and the lake receives only one stream, and gives

TONGARIDO – ERUPTION.

issue to another, which is the principal source of the Wykatto; the assertion that it also gives origin to the Thames and the Wanganui is without foundation.

At the northern extremity of Taupo there is a mountain, which Mr. Bidwill supposes to be five thousand feet in height. At its southern end rises Tongarido, which, although it appears, when viewed from the northward, to overhang the lake, is separated from it by a mountain, and another lake called Rotuiti. The country around Lake Taupo is thinly inhabited, owing to the scarcity of fuel; but the several pa's contain a population which is vaguely estimated at five thousand souls.

At the south-east end of Lake Taupo is the village of Koteropo, which, like Roturua, is surrounded by boiling springs, and from thence is seen the peak of Tongarido, which is generally enveloped in clouds, formed by the steamy vapours which escape from crevices in its sides.

Around the Lake of Rotuite the fern disappears, and is replaced by grass; of which more than twenty species were collected by Mr. Bidwill. The common plantain was found in abundance, as it is throughout New Zealand.

The sudden eruption of a column of smoke, whilst Mr. Bidwill was ascending towards the cone of cinders which crowns the mountain, caused the natives to regard his enterprise as one of those presumptuous exploits which, in the earlier ages of the world, were supposed to draw down upon men the wrath of a supreme being.

Having climbed over the loose scoriae which compose the cone, he stood upon the margin of the crater, which he describes as being a terrific abyss, vomiting forth a volume of steam so dense that it was impossible to see into it more than ten yards. There was abundance of

TONGARIDO – MOUNT EGMONT.

sulphur in all directions. The surrounding mountains were covered with snow, and the sea was not visible in any quarter; but the natives assured him that, from a neighbouring summit, Taranake and Cook's straits were distinguishable. Whilst he was descending, another eruption took place, with an accompanying noise; and the natives asserted that, during its continuance, the ground shook perceptibly. Familiar as we are with the accounts furnished by many travellers regarding volcanic phenomena, we cannot withhold from this gentleman the praise due to an enterprising and courageous spirit.

The ascent of Tongarido by Mr. Bidwill roused the anger of the chief of Taupo, which was, however, soon appeased by a very small present of tobacco.

From Tongarido Mount Egmont is distinctly visible, bearing west by south. Its distance from the plain of the Thames on the one hand, and from the fertile district of Taranake, near Mount Egmont, on the other, is so inconsiderable, that a visit to the summit of Tongarido will doubtless, on many future occasions, prove a stimulating enterprise to the colonists of New Zealand. The altitude of Mount Egmont was set down by Capt. Cook at thirteen thousand feet; but recent travellers, including Dr. Dieffenback, estimate it at only nine thousand. Towering in the form of a vast truncated cone (indicative of its volcanic character) over the wide plains of Taranake, it offers a very distinguishable landmark to vessels approaching Cook's Straits from England.

The northern island of New Zealand is called in the native language Ea-hei-no-Mawe, or the Child of Mawe; the southern, Tavai-poenamoo, or the Lake of Green Stone, from its furnishing the sacred talc stone which

NAMES OF THE ISLANDS.

the New Zealanders formerly fashioned into the small grotesque human images worn by them as charms or ornaments, and also used in making the stone hatchets, which played so formidable a part in the old warlike days. Before the introduction of axes and other iron instruments, they had no other tools wherewith to scoop out their canoes, and execute their grotesque but tasteful and elaborate sculpture. The chief aim of the native sculptors seems to have been to excite laughter, and it is certainly sometimes calculated to move the gravest features. Of their fondness for caricature an instance occurred in the Thames district, where a one-armed trader for some time resided. A few days after his arrival he perceived a grinning one-armed effigy of himself perched upon the highest of the village palisades, while the entire population shook with merriment. In the same district there occurred also (and I will here mention it for the sake of contrast) an instance of suicide, committed under the influence of shame. A native stole a blanket, and, when detected, retired to a little distance and shot himself.

Governor Hobson has recently given to the three islands of New Zealand the names of New Ulster, New Munster, and New Leinster; but as no reference is made in recent communications to these appellations, which are not very euphonious, and are certainly rather perplexing, from the similarity of their terminations, it would appear that they are not calculated to please the public taste.

Not knowing, or being able to remember, "which is which," according to their new nomenclature, I will describe the middle island under its native appellation, and the most southerly of the three under that of Stewart's Island.

TAVAI-POENAMOO.

Extending from Cook's to Favourite's, or more property Foveaux' Straits, is four hundred and fifty miles in length, and its average breadth is a fourth of its length, which will give it an area of about thirty millions of acres. Like the northern island, it possesses good harbours, the principal of which are, Cloudy Bay, a favourite whaling station in Cook's Straits, Akaroa, at Banks' Peninsula, the seat of the abortive French settlement; Port Otago, further south, where a Scotch colony has been founded; and Dusky Bay, at its south-western extremity. On the west coast of Tavai-poenamoo there are also some good harbours, one of which has received the name of Milford Haven; and near the junction of the coast with that of Cook's Straits there is a locality named Blind Bay, which displays a fine coal stratum, cropping out on the beach, and which is probably destined to be the Newcastle of New Zealand. The coal is described by Dr. Dieffenback as being of an excellent description, burning nearly without residuum, and some small cargoes of it have been already carried to Wellington. Tavai-poenamoo is traversed in its whole length by a range of mountains which are covered with perpetual snow. This circumstance indicates the great altitude of the mountains, but affords no indication of the climate on the sea coast, which is found to be so mild that the French settlers on Banks' Peninsula contemplate the culture of the vine. Of the interior of this great island we know nothing but from the vague oral descriptions of the few natives who inhabit its shores; and there is, perhaps, no region of the world which offers a newer and more interesting field of exploration to an

TAVAI-POENAMOO.

enterprising scientific traveller. Highly as we are accustomed to estimate the romantic scenery of Wales and Scotland, they will sink into tameness if compared with the snowy ranges, the forests, lakes, rivers, and cascades, of Tavai-poenamoo.

The most authentic and valuable information that has yet been furnished respecting the scenery, climate, and capabilities of this island, is contained in the report of Major Bunbury to Governor Hobson, dated 28th June, 1840. The first part of the coast visited by this gentleman was Akaroa, where he found a native village and some Europeans connected with a whaling establishment, besides a herd of thirty cattle, under the charge of two stockmen. The appearance of the herd led him to believe that the pasturage was much better than that of the Bay of Islands. "The harbour of Akaroa," says the report, "is an estuary forming a basin, which extends about eight miles into the Peninsula, and is surrounded by very high mountains, precipitous at the entrance, and very narrow; but as you advance, these mountains gradually slope into a succession of hills clothed with verdure and timber to their summits, and abounding in streams of excellent water. The country has a very picturesque and park-like aspect, and seems well adapted for farms where both arable and pasture lands are required, yielding a mixed produce."

Subsequently, Major Bunbury visited Port Otago, of which it is to be regretted that he does not give a more ample description; but before leaving the coast of Tavai-poenamoo, he was forcibly struck with the bleak and savage appearance of its chain of mountains, covered with perpetual snow, as viewed from the sea, and com-

TAVAI-POENAMOO.

pared with the real amenity of its climate and the fertility of the soil near the coast. "I am inclined to believe," he continues, "that the capabilities of this island for the purposes of agriculture have been much under-rated, to say nothing of its splendid harbours and mineralogical productions."

From Otago H. M. S. "Herald" proceeded to Southern, in Stewart's Island, where Major Bunbury proclaimed the sovereignty of Her Majesty; the marines and a party of officers having landed to perform the ceremonies usually practised on such occasions. The harbour of Southern Port, Major Bunbury describes as one of the finest he had ever seen. Of the climate and physical features of Stewart's Island he says, "In some excursions I was much pleased with the fertile appearance of this beautiful island; and although the winter was so far advanced, it was not so cold as I had anticipated, being so far to the south. Indeed, the number of paroquets seen flying about gave it all the appearance of a tropical island. The cassowary (Qy. Apteryx?) has been seen in different parts of the island, and I am told by Capt. Stewart that he has seldom found snow to lie here for any number of days, even in the depth of winter. The soil appears to be in general good, with plenty of timber; there are several varieties of pine: all the trees, however, appear to be evergreen. "They were piloted by a Mr. Hesketh, who had resided at Paterson's River," of which he gave a favourable account. The Europeans there employ themselves in boat-building, and in the culture of wheat and potatoes, with which they supply the whalers, as also with pigs and poultry.

CHAPTER XXIV

CHAPTER XXIV.

Cultivable productions of New Zealand – Vines – Kumeras – Potatoes – Maize – Clearing of land – Choice of Seeds – New Zealand flax – Its utility – Timber – Feathered tribes – Absence of Reptiles – Dogs – Wild pigs – Early migration of the New Zealanders – Colonial cadetships.

THE vine thrives well at the Bay of Islands, under the rude culture of the natives, and at Hokianga, bunches of grapes of great weight have been gathered, although its climate is proverbially moist. At Wellington, and other southern localities, there is not yet sufficient evidence to shew that it can arrive at the same perfection. Those who are experienced in its cultivation will form their own opinion from the fact, that the mean weekly temperature at Wellington, taken at 8 A. M. and 5 P. M., from April 1840 to April 1841, ranged between 42 deg. Fahrenheit in the end of July, and 72 deg. Fahrenheit in January; and that it never continued so low as 50 deg. throughout the day even in the depth of winter. It is said that the vines planted by the French settlers at Akaroa promise to succeed. North of the Bay of Islands, orange and fig trees have been reared; but it is doubtful whether their fruits can arrive at the same perfection as in New Holland. The aloe, the cactus, and the acacia, adorn the gardens of the missionaries; and the tobacco plant I have seen in flower on the island of Waiheke, in

CULTIVABLE PRODUCTIONS.

August, which is one of the winter months of New Zealand. The settler may, it is said, put green pease upon his table in ten months of the twelve. A crop of wheat and one of potatoes have been grown on the same piece of land at Port Nicholson within the year. Melons are cultivated by the natives in great abundance, and peach stones, scattered at random in various parts, have sprung up into groves, which are so prolific as to lead to the belief that were every colonist to adopt the rule of carrying the seed of this fruit in his pocket, for the purpose of sowing indiscriminately in the course of his rambles, peaches would in eight or ten years become sufficiently plentiful to constitute an article of food for pigs.

Among the vegetables the cultivation of which is to be strongly recommended to the colonists, is the kumera, or sweet potato, more difficult to rear, but far more nutritive and agreeable in flavour, than any kitchen vegetable grown in Europe. The taro, which is the tuberous root of a species of arum, is also worthy of attention as a useful and nutritious esculent; and the same remark is applicable to the large root called by the natives Kaipakea. The common potato, which is now the chief article of subsistence of the New Zealanders, becomes better and more farinaceous the further south it is cultivated. That we could seldom get good potatoes at the Bay of Islands, was partly, I believe, owing to the warmth of the climate, and partly to the careless cultivation of the natives, who, to save trouble, very commonly leave a portion of one crop in the ground as seed for an ensuing one. The potatoes of the Chatham Islands and those of Van Dieman's Land, being of a very superior description, should alone be planted by the colonists. With respect to turnips, carrots,

MAINTENANCE OF STOCK.

cauliflower, asparagus, pease, onions, and the whole range of garden esculents and fruits, it is only to be observed, that the settler who has not abundance and to spare of all these articles of food must either be very negligent, or have some more advantageous pursuits to occupy his time. Mangel wurzel, Cape barley, and maize (holcus indicus), will form principal objects of cultivation, being very valuable for the fattening of cattle, pigs, and poultry; and until grasses are laid down, maize must constitute the principal food of horses, where natural grass is scarce. It is a general opinion, that, in the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson, and in all those districts which are overgrown with fern, it is impossible to maintain sheep, cattle, and horses. To a certain extent, this opinion is true; the pasturage of fern land being too scanty to maintain these animals in great numbers, unless they are permitted to range widely. It appears, however, that the cattle and horses of Port Nicholson subsist and keep in good condition by ranging over the hills. At Port Nicholson, as elsewhere, grass will doubtless spring up as soon as the brushwood is burnt down; but it is observed that, in many parts of New Zealand, there is a species of plant which often proves fatal to cattle, and must be guarded against, and if possible eradicated in situations where herds are turned loose. In all parts of the country that I have visited, I have found that goats thrive well on the spontaneous vegetation; they are therefore, to a certain extent, calculated to supersede milch cows in contributing to the comfort of the settler; and poultry multiplies very rapidly when fed on maize. Much depends upon the quality of the seeds imported by the colonists; and it will be necessary, in every case, that they be new, packed

PHORMIUM TENAX.

properly, and not stowed in the ship's hold during the voyage. Colonial seeds will, in general, answer better than European, but emigrants should not trust exclusively to the chance of being able to procure in the colonies such seeds as they may require. Those seedsmen who have acquired experience and reputation in the various out-ports in making up parcels for exportation, should alone be dealt with. In the clearing of land, burning will nearly supersede the use of the axe, and where this is resorted to, the trees should be merely cut across within a few feet of the ground – stumped, to use the colonial phrase – and suffered to decay. It will be necessary to erect pig fences round every cultivated spot.

PHORMIUM TENAX.

The most important of the spontaneous productions of New Zealand, because it offers the most ample scope for the employment of capital, is the flax plant, which grows in all parts of the northern island in great abundance. The quality of the New Zealand flax, its strength of fibre and durability, are proved by the preference given to it by nautical men over any other material used in the manufacture of whale lines and running rigging, as also by the durability of the native mats and fishing nets. Its fibre has been found to sustain a greater weight than is sustained by an equal bulk of Russian hemp; and it is a fact not generally known, that, in France, it is converted, by peculiar processes, into tissues, resembling fine cambric, and also into textures imitative of silk. It is therefore adapted for a most extensive range of consumption, not only by its intrinsic merits as a material, but also by its

PHORMIUM TENAX.

great cheapness, for it can be sold in the English market at the low price of 3 1/2d. or 4d. per pound. A quantity of it has been sold in Leeds for the purpose of manufacture, but it does not appear that the French processes have as yet been equalled in England. It is impossible to take up a New Zealand mat of the finer sort without being struck by its silky gloss, its soft and pliant texture, and its strength, which would defy the efforts of several men to tear it asunder. This article, then, seems calculated to form a close commercial tie between New Zealand and the general markets of Europe.

Skill and experience in the preparation and packing of the New Zealand hemp have not yet been acquired; and much of it that has been sent to England has been more or less damaged, from not being sufficiently dried before shipment; nor has the best season for cutting it been ascertained. The process of tanning has been proposed with a view to remedy its only defect, which is, a liability to break in the knot. On the whole, the phormium tenax presents a fertile subject for the consideration of the ingenious, the industrious, and the speculative.

TIMBER.

The forests of New Zealand present an abundance of materials literally inexhaustible for the purposes of the builder, the shipwright, and the cabinet-maker. Upwards of sixty kinds of more or less valuable timber have been sent to England as specimens; and doubtless in the impenetrable recesses of these forests there are many trees whose existence is unknown to the botanist. In illustration of this remark, I will mention, that a missionary

TIMBER TREES.

shewed me a piece of wood, under the hands of an experienced cabinet-maker, which had been floated down the Kaweranga river, and which we all pronounced to be undistinguishable from mahogany. It was the first specimen of the wood that Mr. Preece had seen after a residence of many years in the district. A brief notice of the principal and most plentiful species will be interesting.

Kaori (erroneously pronounced Cowrie by Europeans) is the Dammara Australis of botanists. It is a gregarious tree, generally inhabiting the sides and declivities of clayey ranges, and attains the enormous altitude of from fifty to ninety feet without a branch, and a circumference of from fifteen to thirty feet near the base. The bark being of a silver grey colour, the stem resembles an enormous antique column. Round its base there accumulate large masses of the gum resin, which it exudes: it is a very clear and transparent substance, which burns freely with a black smoke, and tastes very resinous. It has been employed at the Bay of Islands as a varnish, and a good many tons of it have been carried to America, where it has been sold for 18l. a ton; being used, it is said, as a substitute for gum copal, or, more probably, in the adulteration of that substance.

The kaori tree, being very light in proportion to its strength and its noble dimensions, is used by the admiralty for the masts of men of war, and one or two cargoes, worth from 100l. to 200l each tree, are annually sent home to Her Majesty's dockyards. Its timber is as easily cut and wrought, and is therefore as well adapted for ship-building, as the white pine of Canada, or the larch, and it is more buoyant than the British oak and the Indian teak wood. Nearly all the coasting craft of New Zealand

TIMBER TREES.

is built of this wood; the largest vessel constructed of it as yet is the Sir George Murray, which was built at Hokianga. The kaori is limited to the country north of Tauranga.

The kaikatea (dacrydium excelsum) inhabits low wet soils, and is found extending in belts along the margins of rivers, as the Thames, the Hutt, the Piako, &c. Its great height and straightness would render this a valuable tree, but for the softness of its wood, which speedily decays when exposed to alternations of wet and dry weather.

The timber of the kaikatea, being subject to decay when exposed to alternate wet and dry weather, is only suited for inside work, and will doubtless be cheaper than the other kinds of timber, being found on the banks of rivers, and therefore very accessible. The kaikatea becomes less spongy in texture; towards the south and at Stewart's Island it is said to be nearly as durable as kaori.

Totara (taxus), a tree which inhabits rising grounds, and attains frequently a height of from fifty to sixty feet, without branches. The wood is reddish, splits well, and is very hard. Its general appearance is that of a yew.

Rimu, (dacrydium cupressimum,) an elegant tree with a very graceful bright foliage, which has been compared to that of the weeping willow, or to a cluster of ostrich feathers. Its wood is hard, dark, rather brittle, and emits a resinous odour. The diameter of its trunk, when full grown, seldom exceeds four feet.

Kawaka (dacrydium plumosum) has a very fine, hard grain, is well adapted for cabinet work, and said to resemble the tulip wood of Moreton Bay.

TIMBER TREES.

Puridi, (vitex littoralis,) called, from the hardness and durability of its timber, the New Zealand Oak, furnishes strong and durable timbers for ships, and ground plates for houses. It is dark, close grained, and takes a good polish, but is unfit to be sawn into boards, owing to its being much perforated by a large grub. Its stem is from twelve to twenty feet in circumference, and it grows to a height of thirty feet without branching.

Rewa-rewa, (knightia excelsa,) a slender tree, growing to the height of fifty or sixty feet, furnishes a brown wood, beautifully mottled with red. It is durable, and splits easily, and is therefore well adapted for fencing.

Mairi (podocarpus) attains a height of from forty to sixty feet, but its circumference never exceeds twelve feet. It furnishes a red, smooth-grained, and durable wood, of great weight.

Tanekaha (podocarpus asplenifolius) grows to the height of about forty-five feet, with only a girth of two feet. It furnishes excellent masts for small craft, posts, and floors for verandahs, and planks for the decks of vessels. Its wood is rather darker and more durable than that of kaori, and smells strongly of turpentine.

Miro, (podocarpus ferriginea,) of the same size as the preceding, furnishes a berry, the principal food of the wood-pigeon, which becomes very fat at this season. Its value as a timber is considerable, being the most durable of all the pines.

Towai, also a podocarpus, a tree similar in its dimensions to the preceding. It is said never to grow in the same forest with kaori.

Aki, a short, crooked tree, varying in the diameter of its stem from six inches to a foot. Its wood is finely marked

THE RATA – VEGETABLE GRUB.

and close grained, takes a most beautiful polish, and is therefore adapted for the finest fancy cabinet work. It is called the lignum vitae of New Zealand.

Pohutukana, (callistemon ellipticus,) a tree of great size, but of irregular form, with a dark and umbrageous foliage, resembling the ilex. Between December and January it assumes a splendid appearance, being covered with flowers of the richest purple. It always grows by the sea shore, on rocky precipices, almost destitute of soil, and gives much beauty to the sequestered bays and inlets of New Zealand. The wood, when polished, would form a good substitute for rosewood.

Hinau (dicera dentata) grows to a large size, and inhabits rich alluvial lands. Its bark furnishes a fine light-brown dye, which withstands washing. It is first pounded and then thrown into water, which holds its colouring matter in solution.

Rata, (metrosideros robustus,) a tree which attains a great size, with habits very peculiar, and as yet little understood. Its trunk and branches send down shoots to the ground, which sometimes become so massive as to support the old stem, having apparently exhausted its vitality. In fact, the rata is an enormous epiphyte, growing to, not from, the ground, which will explain the saying of the natives, that this tree is never young. Its timber is robust and durable, and its branches are well adapted for ship timbers. There is a remarkable circumstance, to which my attention was directed by Mr. Waterton, a brother of the celebrated naturalist of that name. At the base of the rata, and nowhere else, as the natives declare, is found a vegetable grub, or, to describe its appearance in two words, a wooden caterpillar. From

FEATHERED TRIBES.

its head there issues a long process, terminating in a point, closely resembling the fibrous root of a plant. As I had not an opportunity of inspecting the interior of this seemingly anomalous piece of nature's handiwork, I will not attempt to theorize on the subject, or to pronounce whether it is or is not a chrysalis.

Many of the smaller trees in the forests of New Zealand belong to the lauraceous order. Of these the most notable is the Tarairi (laurus macrophylla), which produces a berry resembling the damson in size and appearance, and is eaten by birds, but is noxious to man. The timber is valueless, but as a highly ornamental tree the tarairi deserves notice. The towai (also a lauraceous plant) produces berries of the shape of a small sloe, which are also noxious, but are sometimes eaten by the natives, who boil them previous to use. Of the New Zealand ferns fifty or sixty species have been collected, the most remarkable of which is the tree-fern, which arrives at perfection only in damp and shaded situations, to which the beautiful divergent form of its branches gives a tropical appearance. There is another variety of the fern-tree, (called by the natives the mother of the ferns,) the stem of which is eatable towards its root. In the plumelike disposition of its branches it bears a resemblance to the Cycas tribe of plants, which constitutes, like the palms and ferns, a principal feature of antediluvian or fossil vegetation.

FEATHERED TRIBES.

Of the birds of New Zealand, the most notable are wood-pigeons; parrots, and paroquets, which are far less numerous than in New Holland; owls, hawks, warblers

FEATHERED TRIBES.

(sylviae), and many small birds, different in plumage, but allied in form and habits, to the woodpeckers, sparrows, and wrens, of Europe. The shores are frequented by the kingfisher (alcedo), of a large size, by gulls, gannets, penguins, terns, and cormorants, (carbo cormorans.) The last-named bird, although webfooted, perches upon branches overhanging the creeks and rivers, from whence it can descry the fish on which it feeds. Of the aquatic tribes, the most remarkable is the snow-white frigate bird (trachipeles aquilus), which darts down upon its prey from a great height, causing a loud noise by the violence with which it strikes the water. The sandy beaches and muddy flats of rivers are frequented by flocks of plovers, and sandlarks (hymantopi), which feed upon marine insects. Many of the rivers are frequented by wild ducks in greater numbers than I have found them in any other part of the world, and the sedgy banks afford shelter to bitterns, as large as adolescent turkeys, which, like the water-fowl (rallus), and the singular apteryx, which inhabits the same localities, is very timid, – I believe, nocturnal in its habits, – and is rarely seen. It is said that quails are found in Taranaki, and although I have not seen them in the parts of the island that I have visited, their presence in the grassy districts seems very probable.

Of the apteryx, a bird of a very anomalous nature, there are said to be two varieties, but I have only seen one specimen, which was presented by Mr. Busby to the museum of Sydney. Its feathers approximate in texture and appearance to hair; it has no tail, and merely the imperfect rudiments of wings. The most amusing of the New Zealand birds is the Tui, or parson bird, so called from its black plumage and a white tuft hanging from

FISH.

the front of its neck. It is of the size of the English blackbird, and is remarkable for its vivacity and restlessness, and for its imitative powers, which it displays by learning whole sentences by rote. A naturalist of some note has observed that it is good eating, but few colonists, it is hoped, will condemn to the spit a creature of such beauty and sprightliness, unless under the pressure of stern necessity.

FISH.

Every writer on New Zealand mentions the abundance of its fish. Being on one occasion becalmed in the Frith of the Thames, over a snapper bank, we amused ourselves with the hook and line, and in half an hour caught many dozens of this fish, besides kawai or mackerel, barracoutas, and a young shark. The snapper, or bream, (abramis of Cuvier,) frequents the bays and estuaries in shoals, and, as it feeds at the bottom, is always caught with a bait. When split up the back, slightly salted, and smokedried, or even exposed to the sun, it forms a most palatable adjunct to the breakfast table. Besides the fishes above mentioned, there are rays, gurnards, mullet, soles, and a small fish of the herring or anchovy species, besides large eels, which abound in some of the rivers, and are highly prized by the natives. I have remarked the abundance of oysters in all situations where rocks occur between high and low water-mark, and the sandy beaches are everywhere strewed with cockles and muscles of a much larger size than we are accustomed to see in Europe. These shellfish constitute a favourite article of food for the numerous wild hogs that roam over New Zealand. Once a day, after the ebb

REPTILES.

of the tide, they emerge from the swamps and thickets, and occupy the time in crunching the helpless mollusks until the return of the tides drives them back to their exhaustless banquet of fern root and sow thistle. Lobsters of very large size are plentiful, as also are crayfish.

REPTILES AND INSECTS.

From poisonous reptiles, if we except a large spider of the Tarantula species, and a centipede, neither of which I have ever seen, New Zealand is happily free. The small and harmless lizard is plentiful, and a lizard of a larger size, resembling, it is said, the chameleon, was mentioned to me by a missionary as being known to the natives. Mention has been made of a large saurian reptile, like the cayman or gavial; but if ever this animal has existed in these islands, it has manifestly become extinct.

The most venemous insects of New Zealand are mosquitoes and sandflies, and among its vilest nuisances we must class a large brown fly, which, like the viviparous blue fly of Australia, deposits live maggots, and renders the use of wire-gauze dish covers indispensable in housekeeping.

DOGS AND WILD PIGS.

There are no indigenous animals in New Zealand; mice and rats have, however, been introduced, and now overspread the land. To whom the natives are indebted for the rat is not known, but they assign to the missionaries the credit of introducing mice. Dogs have been their companions, and in some measure their food, from remote

EARLY MIGRATION OF THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

antiquity; and one of the old distinctions of chiefdom was the privilege of wearing a dog's-skin garment. These animals are trained to hunt wild pigs, in which duty they display much tact, fastening resolutely upon the ear, until the enemy is captured, dead or alive.

There are many grown-up pigs, however, whose ears prove that the dog is not always successful in these attacks; indeed, the bush pig is frequently a formidable adversary, and it is decidedly dangerous to attack a young litter under the maternal eye. The natives have a practice of notching the ears of all pigs which they catch and intend to leave in the bush, and in doing so, they are sometimes severely injured, notwithstanding their dexterity. During my stay in the Thames district, a lad was killed by a bush pig. These animals, living in a state of wildness, contract the gregarious instinct of watchfulness, and a peculiar cry, uttered by some detached sentry, gives notice to the herd of the approach of danger.

Whence came the dog of New Zealand? is a question as difficult of solution as that relating to the origin of the New Zealanders themselves. The migrations of the human species from one country to another, by land, we may suppose to have been the result of pastoral extension, of wars, or even of the jealousies of families; but these causes will not explain the migration of races whom we find to people islands of the ocean far distant from any inhabited continent. We cannot suppose such migrations to have been voluntary; but it is not difficult to understand them as accidents. A number of families proceeding in rafts or canoes from one part of a coast to another, may have been driven out to sea, and carried, by a prevailing wind or current, to a distance of thousands of miles, until some

COLONIAL CADETSH1PS.

island received them, as the nucleus of a future population. In such a voyage, hunger would drive the stronger to subsist upon the weaker, as takes place even in our own day, and thus a few individuals of either sex would reach their future home, already familiarized with the fact, that the flesh of one human being will sustain the life of another, and thus cannibalism may have originated in these remote islands of the ocean, to which it has been chiefly, if not exclusively, confined. Judging from the form, complexion, and language, of the New Zealanders, it seems certain that they are originally of Malay origin, whilst many of their customs, especially the taboo and the practice of tattooing, are also common to the Polynesian races. I have even been given to understand by individuals well acquainted with their traditions, that there are obscure points of resemblance between these and some ancient mystical doctrines of Judaism. But this I only mention as a subject deserving a closer investigation.

COLONIAL CADETSHIPS.

In connexion with the subjects that have been treated of in the preceding pages, I will, in conclusion, advert to one which bears a very important relation to the colonization of New Zealand. It is impossible to look round us without being struck with the spectacle of thousands of young men, of good families and good education, who have no prospect before them but that of entering upon an arena of painful and, in most cases, of hopeless competition for the means of a genteel subsistence. To a young man of a superior spirit the con-

COLONIAL CADETSHIPS.

sciousness of being a burden upon his family must be attended with a keen sense of humiliation, yet such, unhappily, is the condition of three-fourths of that portion of the rising generation that is comprised in the educated middle class; and from this there is no better refuge than some paltry salary, which confines the faculties and the natural ambition of youth within the scope of a cheerless, unchanging, dependency. Another large section of our youth, after being converted by classical studies and college learning into a set of helpless pedants, are turned loose on the wide field of the world, with their education, forsooth, and their abilities, to rely upon. By that very education and those superior abilities, accompanied, as they usually are, with innate dignity of feeling and an abhorrence of all base expedients, they are unfitted to compete for bread with a host of more unscrupulous rivals, who pursue the paths of clerical sycophancy, or of medical quackery, or who fish in the troubled waters of the law. There are, doubtless, prizes which are awarded to real merit in the honourable and useful exercise of talent; but then, how countless are the competitors, and how incalculable the abundance of ability and merit that is hopelessly shut out from employment, because every field of employment is filled up.

But in a new colony, where the resources of an extensive territory are to be developed by the force of skill and industry, the evil of excessive competition is of necessity unfelt; and this is a proposition which cannot be too strongly insisted upon with regard to the welfare of the rising community of England, as comprised within the middling, or, as they have been aptly termed, the "uneasy" classes. The following extract will render further obser-

COLONIAL CADETSHIPS.

vations unnecessary: – "Scarcely a week passes in which we do not receive applications for advice from gentlemen of property, desirous of providing for younger sons in the career of colonization. * * * In colonizing, although the fashion of thus providing for younger sons has revived of late years, there is as yet nothing regular or fixed in the preparatory steps. As a desire for the means of regular education in the art of civil engineering has led to the formation of a college for civil engineers, so are we in want of a college for colonial cadets. The expense of providing for a son in the army, or the church, or at the bar, amounts to a sum amply sufficient for the capital of a leading colonist; and the more, because, in the colonial career, as soon as the decision was made, a portion of the destined funds might be invested in lands which would continually grow in value, while the future proprietor was learning how to manage them profitably. In connexion with the proposed college in this country, arrangements might be made, by which the Company should take charge, during his minority, of the landed property intended for a cadet, and should afterwards extend to him, in case he still required it, such aid as would amount to a friendly guardianship in his first proceedings as a settler. This is a mere outline of the plan. It has been submitted to very competent judges of such a question, and has met with the warm approval of so many eminent persons, that the directors have reason to hope it may be carried into effect without much difficulty. The only real difficulty, indeed, is the first outlay for a suitable establishment; since the periodical payments to the college on account of cadets during residence might

COLONIAL CADETSHIPS.

with propriety be made high enough to cover ordinary expenses."

Such are the means by which the influential association into whose hands the task of colonizing New Zealand has virtually been thrown, proposes to educate and protect the interests of its younger colonists.

[APPENDICES]

APPENDIX.

No. I.

AUSTRALIAN TRUST COMPANY.

INCORPORATED BY ROYAL CHARTER.

Capital £1,000,000, in 10,000 shares of £100 each, with power to increase the capital to £2,000, 000.

Directors:

James Evan Baillie, Esq. Henry Bainbridge, Esq. Hastings Elwin, Esq. Benjamin Greene, Esq. William Hart, Esq. Langford Lovell Hodge, Esq.

Robert How, Esq. Thomas Icely, Esq. John Innes, Esq. Francis Mowatt, Esq. Charles John Pearse, Esq. John Abel Smith, Esq., M. P.

Auditors Abel Lewis Gower, Esq., Sir Edward Parry, R. N., Nassau William Senior, Esq.

Bankers – Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths.

Solicitors – Messrs. Freshfield and Sons.

The company has been formed to carry out in Australia a principle which has been acted on with great success in the United States of America – namely, that of taking up money in this country, at a moderate rate of interest, on the credit of a large invested capital, and laying it out on undoubted freehold security, at a higher rate.

In the United States of America, the interest on mortgages on land is 7 per cent.; by borrowing at or under 5 per cent., and lending at 7 per cent., one of the Trust Companies in the United

States, established within these ten years, has been enabled to make very large returns to the shareholders; its prosperity has been steadily progressive, and its deposits, at the date of the last annual report, were more than quadruple the capital. To this prosperity British capital has largely contributed. The Australian Trust Company opens a more patriotic, safe, and profitable channel of investment.

Australia is a British possession; it is exempt from the risk of war, and the interest on the best mortgages is 10 per cent., being 3 per cent, higher than in the United States.

The operations of the company will, in the first instance, be principally, if not exclusively, in New South Wales, in which English law is established and ably and uprightly administered; there are register offices, by a reference to which, titles and incumbrances can be ascertained with peculiar facility, land having rarely changed hands in a colony so recently settled.

As New South Wales has ceased to be a penal settlement, a rapid amelioration in the character of the population may be anticipated; the stream of impurity being dried up, healthy and industrious emigrants from the mother country may be expected to flow into the colony. This, and many other desirable objects will, in all probability, soon be promoted by the establishment of steam communication between this country and Australia.

To exhibit the rapidity with which Australia is advancing in prosperity, it is only necessary to refer to the official tables of the Board of Trade, by which it appears that the staple production, wool, has increased from 512,758 lbs. in 1827, to 7,837,423 lbs. in 1838! This cheering increase, instead of being obtained at the sacrifice of quality, is actually accompanied by a marked improvement; indeed, the character of Australian wool ranks high in the English market.

So inadequate is the supply of wool from our own possessions, that the importation into this country from Germany alone, in the year 1838, was 27,506,282 lbs. In Australia, there is nearly an inexhaustible supply of land admirably calculated for rearing sheep; the returns are quicker than for almost any other outlay of capital, and the profits greatly exceed double the highest rate of interest.

Under these circumstances, it is conceived that there is a wide and lucrative field open for the operations of this company.

In framing the charter, it has been the endeavour of the directors, in which they hope they have been successful, to consult alike the interest of the shareholders and of the lenders; whilst it protects the shareholders against responsibility for more than the amount of shares held by them respectively, it amply provides for the safety of those who lend money to the company. It contains the following provisions: –

That the sums borrowed shall not exceed four times the amount of capital paid up and invested in this country.

That the whole capital of the company, and all the mortgages on which their money is lent, in Australia, shall constitute a security to the lenders of money to the company.

That the mortgages are to be on land, with the power of taking collateral security on stock, &c.

That every mortgage be registered – the register to contain such particulars as the governor of the colony may deem necessary.

That a copy of the register of the mortgages shall be kept at the office of the company, in London, for the information of the shareholders and lenders.

That an annual report be made to the Lords of the Treasury of all sums borrowed by the company, and of the appropriation of them,

That when half a million of the capital has been paid up (which would authorize the borrowing of two millions) further calls shall require the sanction of the Lords of the Treasury; this salutary provision, by bringing under the notice of government the progress of the company, increases the security of the lenders, and affords a guarantee of prudent management, that government may not object to enlarge the operations of the company.

There is also a provision that if, at any time, it shall be made to appear to the Lords of the Treasury that one-half of the paid-up capital has been lost, it shall be competent to the Lords of the Treasury to dissolve the company.

Calls are not to exceed £10 per share each, and no call to be made at a distance of less than three months from the preceding call.

Applications for shares to be addressed to the Directors of the Australian Trust Company, at the temporary offices of the Company, No. 85, King William-street.

London, October, 1840.

APPENDIX.

No. II.

FREE PASSAGE.

Conditions and Regulations of Messrs. Masson and Hoggins, Australian Emigration Agents, No. 5, Lime-street Square, London.

To the following class of persons, for whom a most urgent demand exists in the colonies, a free passage, if accompanied by their wives, will be granted: – Agricultural labourers of every class, shepherds, smiths, wheelwrights, carpenters, bricklayers, masons, of industrious and moral habits, and not exceeding 40, under the provisions of colonial bounty given for this purpose. The children of married persons, eligible for a free passage, will be taken on payment of £3 each.

Single men, from 18 to 30 years of age, of the above trades or callings, and of good health and character, will be allowed a passage, on approval, on payment of £5 each. In cases of single males accompanying a sister, or a single female, no relation, but under the care of married persons on board, they will be taken free.

Single females, accustomed to agricultural habits, and house servants, are much wanted, and to them a free passage will be granted, if they are not under 15 nor above 30 years of age; they must be of unexceptionable character, and go under the protection of a family on board. Married persons increase the facility of their getting free passages, by taking single females of good character under their care and protection. Every ship carries an experienced surgeon, and the utmost attention is paid to the comfort of all passengers during the voyage.

The general terms of passage, for all who are ineligible, or who may be desirous of paying their own passage, are as follows: –

Steerage, for every married couple.... £40

Do. for single males, adults.... 21

Do. for single females ......... 20

Do. for every child above four... 7

And £l additional for every year beyond.

Half to be paid on engaging, remainder on embarking; deposit to be forfeited if the parties do not proceed. These terms include bed-

ding, which will be put on board, and parties may provide their own sheets only; and sleeping apartments will be arranged with a strict regard to proper order and decorum.

Certificates of age, knowledge of pursuit, or calling, and of character, in the prescribed forms, duly certified, are indispensable, and all must join the ships at their own expense. On arriving at the colony, all will be free to engage their services to whom they please, the bounty being allowed to encourage emigration, as labour of every description is so much in demand.

Cleanliness will be enforced, and every steerage passenger will require to be furnished with at least eight shirts, or shifts, two flannel petticoats for females, six pairs of dark stockings, three towels, two pairs of shoes, two complete suits of clothing, a knife, fork, table and tea spoon, pewter or tin plate, tin pots, combs, soap, brushes, &c.

All passengers, whether proceeding under the bounty or paying their own passage, must conform to the regulations of the ship, which will be strictly put in practice, under the direction of the commander and surgeon-superintendant, and all under the bounty will be allowed to remain on board the ship, and be victualled at the expense of the ship, for one week after arrival, to give opportunities of engaging in service. The rates for cabin passage range from £70 to £100, or more, according to the position and size of cabins; a liberal table is provided, and intermediate passengers are accommodated for £40 each person. Passengers will be allowed room for luggage, free of expense, as follows: – Cabin passengers each one ton, in addition to what they place in their cabin; intermediate ditto, half a ton; steerage ditto, a quarter of a ton. But the packages must be small in size, for stowage.

Previous notice to be given of any additional luggage the passengers wish to take, for which freight will be charged, at 1s. 6d. per cubic foot, payable before embarkation.

Scale of victualling Steerage Passengers on the voyage from London to the Australian Colonies, for Adult Male Passengers.

Scale of victualling Steerage Passengers on the voyage from London to the Australian Colonies, for Adult Male Passengers.

Adult females receive two-thirds of this scale, and children supplied in ample proportions, according to their ages.

An abundant supply of medical comforts, of every description, placed under the charge of the Surgeon-Superinten-dant, for issue whenever necessary.

Intermediate Cabin Passengers,
Receive, in addition to the above scale, weekly, one pint of wine, half a pint of brandy or Hollands, three bottles of porter, and half a pound of cheese; and twice a week fresh provisions for dinner. They have to provide their own sleeping berths, bedding, linen, knives, forks, plates, and other necessary utensils.

Parties taking out funds with them, or wishing to remit to New South Wales, are informed that they can be furnished with letters of credit, or draft at thirty days sight, on the colony, on advantageous terms.

Goods and baggage shipped, insurances effected, and every information given, (if by letter, post-paid,) on applying to
MASSON & HOGGINS,
5, Lime-street Square, London,
Who despatch fine ships, with spacious accommodations, to all parts of the Australian colonies, in regular succession.

– – – – – – – – – – – – -

(COPY.)

Colonial Land and Emigration Office,
18th June, 1841.

GENTLEMEN, – I am directed by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners to acknowledge your letter of the 14th instant, reporting some change in your dietary for emigrants, and to state that the alterations appear to the Commissioners judicious, and quite unexceptionable, and that they readily affix their approval to this scheme of victualling.

I am, Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) S. WALCOTT, Secretary.

Messrs. Masson and Hoggins,
Lime-street square, London.

– – – – – – – – – – – – -

The attention of the labouring classes is requested to the subjoined statements, from undeniable authority, regarding the prospects which await the sober and industrious emigrant to the flourishing colonies of New South Wales and Port Phillip: –

No. 1. Extract from Colonial Journals recently received in England.

The following is a list of wages at present paid at Sydney to tradesmen, and, notwithstanding the depression in the money market, masters consider it a good bargain if they can procure the

services of workmen at the wages subjoined; we may also state that the list of rates annexed have been affirmed upon oath within the last four months, before the magistrates, the Commissioners of Requests, the chairman of Quarter Sessions, the judges of the Supreme Court, or from the lips of the workmen, and may therefore be depended upon.

Boat-builders, per diem, 10s. to 15s. – By piecework, 12s. to 18s. do.

Brick-makers " 10s. to 15s. – " 10s. to 16s. "

Bricklayers " 8s. to 10s. – " 10s. to 16s. "

Blacksmiths " 35s. to 3l. per week.

Chair-makers " 30s. to 2l. 10s. per week.

Ship-carpenters " 50s. to 60s. per week.

Caulkers " 9s. to 12s. per diem.

Coopers " 6s. to 11s. per diem.

Compositors " 8s. per diem, and 1s. per hour overtime.

Cabinet-makers and Upholsterers, 6s. to 8s. per diem, or 50s. per week.

Cooks for lodging-houses, taverns, &c, 7s. to 15s. per week.

Dairy women, 12l. and 20l., found.

Engineers, boiler-makers, and engine-men, 3l. 10s. per week.

Those employed in the steamers receive rations, and 30s. to 50s. per week. Farriers, 30s. to 50s. per week; those on their own account, along the roads, make 3l. to 6l. per week. Fencers, on piece work, 3s. to 4s. per rod, earning 50s. per week. Field labourers, 2s. 9d. to 5s. per diem, and found. Gardeners, 25l. to 70l per ann., with rations. Glaziers, 8s. to 9s. per diem.

Shipwrights, 8s. to 12s. per diem – piecework, 12s. to 20s. per diem.

Sailmakers, 1l. to 1l. 10s. per 100 yards – piece work, 20s. per diem.

Shoemakers, 6s. to 8s. per diem, earning, by home work, 10s. and 1l. per day.

Sailors, coasting trade, 3l. to 3l. 10s. per month; ditto, foreign trade, 3l. 5s. and 3l. 15s. per month.

Smiths, 8s. to 10s. per diem, general work. Stone setters, 7s. to 9s. 6d. per diem.

Tailors, 8s. to 10s. per diem – piece work, earning 25s. for coats, 8s. 6d. for trowsers, and 5s. for vests.

Turners, 6s. to 8s. 6d. per diem.

Vine-dressers, 25l. to 35l. per annum, and found.

Wheelwrights, 25l. to 50l "

Shepherds, 20l to 35l. " "

No. 2. Extract from an Official Report from his Excellency the Governor of New South Wales, to Lord John Russell. Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, (9th March, 1841.)

"I would beg to refer your lordship to the evidence of the accountant of the Savings' Bank, that during the year 1839 (the year of the greatest scarcity ever known in the colony) the Bank opened 100 new accounts; and that during the present year (1840), the average number of new depositors is 150 per month; that nineteen depositors out of every twenty belong to the labouring classes; and the present amount of deposits (exclusive of convicts) is £127,000. I hesitate not confidently to assert, that there is no country in which labourers living in equal comfort can put by so large a portion of their wages."

APPENDIX.

No. III.

COLONIAL REVENUE – ABSTRACT OF PORT PHILLIP,
For the years ending 1839 and 1840.

SHEWING THE INCREASE IN TWELVE MONTHS.

COLONIAL REVENUE OF NEW SOUTH WALES,
Including Land-Sales, during the years 1839 and 1840.
SHEWING THE INCREASE IN TWELVE MONTHS.

APPENDIX.

No. V.

DESPATCH FROM LORD JOHN RUSSELL TO GOVERNOR HOBSON,

Shewing the arrangement finally entered into between the New Zealand Company and Her Majesty's Government. Dated March 10th, 1841.

Downing-street, 18th Nov. 1840

SIR – I transmit to you herewith, for your information and guidance, copies of a correspondence between this department and the New Zealand Company, in which you will find the terms of an arrangement into which Her Majesty's Government have entered with that Company, and the conditions on which it has been agreed to grant them a charter of incorporation. I also inclose a copy of that charter. This correspondence will apprise you of everything of importance that has transpired in the negotiations with the company up to the present time, and I shall not fail to inform you of any further arrangements which may be made with that body.

I am, &c,
(Signed) JOHN RUSSELL.

The arrangements to be entered into between Her Majesty's Government and the association who have been hitherto acting under the title of the "New Zealand Company," may be arranged under the following heads: –

I. The adjustment retrospectively of the claims which the company has established to favourable consideration for themselves and for the emigrants whom they have sent to New Zealand.

II. The incorporation of the company, with a view to future operations.

III. The powers which will be vested in the incorporated body, and the terms on which the Government will deal with them in regard to Crown lands in New Zealand.

I. First, then, with regard to the retrospective adjustment of the claims of the company.

1. It being understood that the company have invested large sums of money in the purchase of lands in New Zealand, from the native chiefs and others; in the taking up, chartering, and despatching ships for the conveyance of emigrants thither; in the maintenance of such emigrants before and during the outward voyage; in the

purchase and transmission of stores for the public use of the settlers collectively on their arrival; in surveys; in the erection of buildings, or the execution of other works dedicated exclusively to the public service of the settlement; and in other heads of expenditure or absolute liabilities unavoidably required, or reasonably incurred, for the before-mentioned purposes; it is agreed that an estimate be forthwith made of this outlay, under the different heads thus enumerated. In making that estimate, no item shall be admitted which shall not be found to have been just, and moderate in amount, and fairly demanded by the exigencies of the service to be performed.

2. The above-mentioned estimate shall be made by one or more accountants, to be named by Lord John Russell, and to be paid by the company. His lordship would propose for this purpose Mr. James Pennington, who should be assisted by such clerks and copyists as he might have occasion to employ.

3. If necessary, Lord John Russell will also nominate an accountant to execute, on the same terms, the corresponding duty within the colony itself, in reference to such parts of the above-mentioned expenditure as can be correctly ascertained and calculated there only.

4. When the amount of the above-mentioned expenditure shall have been ascertained, the company shall be secured by a grant from the Crown to them, under the public seal of the colony, of as many acres of land as shall be equal to four times the number of pounds sterling which they shall be found to have expended in the manner and for the purposes above mentioned; such expenditure, so far as it may have been incurred in this country, to be calculated down to the date of the present agreement; and so far as it may have been incurred in the colony, to be calculated down to the time of the receipt by the governor of a copy of the agreement.

5. The lands so to be assigned to the company shall be taken by them in that part of the colony of New Zealand at which their settlement has been formed, and to which they have laid claim in virtue of contracts made by them with the natives or others, antecedently to the arrival of Captain Hobson, as her Majesty's Lieutenant-governor at New Zealand. Within those local limits the company shall select the lands so to be granted to them. The selection is to be made within six months after the receipt by the governor of a copy of the agreement.

6. The lands so to be selected by the company as last aforesaid shall comprise all tracts to which any persons have derived title through them, provided that such tracts be situate at or in the neighbourhood of Port Nicholson, or at or in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth, and also provided that such tracts shall not collectively amount to more than 160,000 acres, and provided further that no such tracts shall be such as, regard being had to the general interests of the colonists at large, ought to be reserved and appropriated for any purposes of public utility, convenience, or recreation. With the exception of the before-mentioned tracts, the land to be selected by the company as aforesaid shall be taken by them in one or more blocks. Of such blocks, any number not exceeding six may be of the size of not less than 5000 acres each, and the rest of the size of not less than 30,000 acres each. Every such block shall be one continuous tract. Each block shall be bounded, as far as may be possible, by the natural landmarks of the country. As far as such natural landmarks may admit, each block shall be as nearly as possible a solid parallelogram, of which no one side shall be more than twice the length of any other side.

7. It is, however, to be distinctly understood, that if, previously to the receipt of a copy of this agreement by the Governor of New Zealand, any tracts of land to which any persons derive title through the company, should by the local government have been lawfully entered upon and resumed on behalf of Her Majesty, and should have been lawfully granted or located to any other person or persons, nothing herein contained shall be construed as defeating the rights of any such new grantees or locatees, or as binding the Government to a specific restitution of such lands, to make compensation to the persons so dispossessed for the loss of them.

8. The Government will complete the survey of the external lines of every block of land assigned to the company, but will not effect the interior survey or subdivision of it. The company will be allowed, in account with the Government, credit for the amount saved to the Government by leaving the interior survey of the before-mentioned blocks unmade. For the amount of the credit which may so accrue to the company, they shall be entitled to demand from the Government payment in land at the price at which, at the time of making any such demand, the waste-lands of the Crown shall be selling in New Zealand.

Provided always that the credit so to accrue to the company for the amount saved to the Government as aforesaid, shall be estimated according to a general scale hereafter to be settled, in which scale the average price of the surveys of lands shall be fixed and determined. That scale shall be drawn up by arbitrators, of whom two shall be chosen by the Government, and two by the company, the majority of whom shall have power to determine the average price of surveying for every 1,000 acres. If the four arbitrators should be equally divided in opinion as to what ought to be allowed for such average price, they shall appoint an umpire, whose decision on the question in dispute shall be final.

9. The lands thus to be granted to the company are to be held by them subject to all such general laws and regulations as are, or at any time shall be, in force in New Zealand, in reference to other lands granted to private persons there; and especially to all laws having for their object the opening of public roads, wharves, quays, or other such like works, and securing to the public at large free access to, and the free use of, all sea-ports, landing-places, and navigable rivers.

10. All public works and buildings included in the above-mentioned estimate are to vest in and become the property of the Crown, in trust for the public uses of the colony, should the governor require them for such purpose.

11. The company forego and disclaim all title, or pretence of title, to any lands purchased or acquired by them in New Zealand, other than the lands so to be granted to them as aforesaid, and other than any lands which may hereafter be purchased or acquired by them from the Crown, or from persons deriving their title from the Crown.

12. The company having sold, or contracted to sell, lands to various persons, Her Majesty's Government disclaim all liability for making good any such sales or contracts; it being nevertheless understood that the company will, from the lands so to be granted to them as aforesaid, fulfil and carry into effect all such their sales or contracts.

13. It being also understood that the company have entered into engagements for the reservation of certain lands for the benefit of the natives, it is agreed that, in respect of all the lands so to be granted to the company as aforesaid, reservation of such lands shall be

made for the benefit of the natives by Her Majesty's Government, in fulfilment of, and according to, the tenour of such stipulations; the Government reserving to themselves, in respect of all other lands, to make such arrangements as to them shall seem just and expedient for the benefit of the natives.

II. With regard to the incorporation of the company.

1. Her Majesty will be advised to grant a charter of incorporation to the company.

2. The charter will contain all such conditions as may appear to Her Majesty's Government to be necessary for the good government of the company, and for the security of the public at large in dealing with them.

3. The charter will be granted for the term of forty years, and will contain provisions enabling the Crown within that term to resume the charter, and to purchase the lands and other property of the company on just and equitable terms, if the public interest should require such a resumption and purchase.

4. The objects of the incorporation will be declared to be the purchase, sale, settlement, and cultivation of lands in New Zealand, and the advancement of money on the security of lands situate there, for promoting the cultivation of such lands.

As incidental to these main objects, the company will be authorized to purchase and hire ships, and to engage with emigrants for their passage to the colony; it being expressly stipulated that all such ships and emigrants shall be under the superintendence of, and approved by, the Government, or its officers in this country and in the colony.

The capital will be fixed at , with an express prohibition on the company against their engaging in banking or any other commercial undertakings.

III. With regard to the powers of the company, and the terms on which the Government will hereafter deal with them.

1. The company may acquire by purchase, except from the natives, any lands in New Zealand which they may think proper to buy.

2. If the company shall at any one time purchase from the Government 50,000 acres of land, and pay for the same in ready money, a

discount of per cent., together with allowance for surveys, shall be allowed on every such payment.

3. All lands sold to the company shall be so sold and taken by them subject to all the general rules, on the subject of surveys and otherwise, as shall be in force in regard to any other purchaser.

4. For the present, Her Majesty's Government engage that all sums of money which shall be paid by the company for the purchase of land in New Zealand, shall, whenever such money shall be paid in this country, be laid out in the removal of emigrants to New Zealand; it being left to the company, from time to time, to determine whether such money shall be so laid out by the Commissioners of Colonial Lands and Emigration, or by the company themselves, under the superintendence, and with the concurrence and sanction, of those commissioners.

Finally, Lord John Russell will instruct the Governor of New Zealand to recommend to the local legislature the enactment of a law, having for its object to incorporate as a municipal body, with the usual powers, the settlers who have, at the charge of the company, resorted to Port Nicholson, and settled themselves there, or in that vicinity.

– – – – – – – – – – -

(2.) New Zealand House, Broad-street Buildings, 19th Nov. 1840.

MY LORD, – I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of a letter, dated the 18th instant, from Mr. Vernon Smith, enclosing, by your lordship's directions, the draft of the arrangement proposed by your lordship.

These have been laid before the court of directors at its meeting this day; and I have great pleasure in being able to assure your lordship, in their name, as well as my own, that the terms are not only such as we have no hesitation in accepting, but that in the liberal and judicious principles on which they are framed we see ample ground for the fullest confidence in the spirit in which Her Majesty's Government is prepared to execute them.

The court of directors has given instructions for preparing, without delay, the draft of a charter of incorporation, which will, I trust, in a few days, be submitted for your lordship's approval.

I am also desired by the court to acknowledge, with gratitude, the intimation contained in Mr. Vernon Smith's letter, of your lordship's intention of communicating the information which was requested, respecting the general principles by which the Crown proposes to be guided in its measures for the government and colonization of New Zealand, I have, &c,

(Signed) JOSEPH SOMES, Governor.
The Right Hon. Lord John Russell, &c. &c. &c.

– – – – – – – – – – -

(3.)

Downing-street, 2nd December, 1840.

SIR, – I am directed by Lord John Russell to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th ultimo, in which you signify to his lordship the acceptance, by the New Zealand Company, of the arrangements proposed in my letter of the 18th ultimo. In fulfilment of the promise contained in that letter, Lord John Russell further directs me now to state to you, for the information of the company, what are the general principles by which the Crown proposes to be guided in its measures for the government and colonization of New Zealand.

In the first place, Lord John Russell wishes that it may be distinctly understood, that in explaining the general course of the policy which the Queen, on the recommendation of Her Majesty's confidential advisers, has been pleased to adopt in reference to New Zealand, his lordship enters into no pledge, either express or implied, for the continuance of that policy, if at any future time it should be thought right to change or to abandon it. Reserving to the ministers of the Crown the most unfettered discretion as to the advice which they shall, from time to time, tender to Her Majesty on this subject, Lord John Russell is happy to make such a disclosure of his present views as may assist the company in the prosecution of the undertaking in which they are engaged.

The instruments for erecting New Zealand into a colony entirely separate from, and independent of, New South Wales, have been completed, and will be forwarded by the earliest opportunity to Captain Hobson.

In pursuance of the powers vested in the Crown by an act passed in the last session of parliament, the Queen has been pleased, by a charter under the great seal, to constitute a local legislature authorized to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of Her Majesty's subjects in New Zealand. That legislature is for the present composed of the chief officers of the local government, associated with some of the principal inhabitants of the colony.

With regard to all lands in the colony acquired under any other title that that of grants made in the name and on the behalf of Her Majesty, it is proposed that the titles of the claimants should be subjected to the investigation of a commission to be constituted for that purpose. The basis of that inquiry will be, the assertion on behalf of the Crown of a title to all lands situate in New Zealand which have heretofore been granted by the chiefs of those islands according to the customs of the country, and in return for some adequate consideration. Lord John Russell is not aware that any exception can arise to this general principle; but if so, every such exception will be considered on its own merits, and dealt with accordingly.

It is proposed to apply to all other British subjects the rule to which the New Zealand Company will be subject in respect of the lands claimed by them within the colony – that is, all other persons claiming lands there will have confirmed to them, by grants under the public seal, as many acres as shall be equal to four times the number of pounds sterling invested by them in the manner mentioned in the arrangements with the New Zealand Company. This advantage, however, will be offered only to those whose lands were acquired before the 5th day of January, 1840, the date of the proclamation issued by Sir George Gipps on the subject.

Her Majesty has, in the most decided terms, withheld from the Governor of New Zealand the power to grant any land in that colony, gratuitously, to any person whatever. This prohibition does not, of course, apply to the case of grants of land which it may occasionally be convenient to make to persons, in trust for the public, of tracts or pieces of land which may be found convenient to dedicate to purposes of general utility; as, for example, roads, fortifications, public pleasure grounds, cemeteries, and the like.

It is proposed, that with the exception of lands reserved or granted in trust for the purposes before mentioned, all the lands of

the colony shall be sold progressively, as surveys shall be completed, at one uniform price, which for the present is fixed at twenty shillings per acre. The mode of effecting such sales, and whatever else relates to the conduct of that service, will at all times be explained to parties applying for such information by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners.

It is proposed that at least fifty per cent, of the proceeds of such sales shall be applied towards the introduction of emigrants; the remaining fifty per cent, being regarded as chargeable with the expenses of surveys, with the protection of the aborigines, and with those indispensable expenses of the local government for which it may be impracticable otherwise to provide.

I am, &c,
(Signed) R. VERNON SMITH.
Joseph Somes, Esq.

– – – – – – – – – – -

(4.) New Zealand House, Broad-street Buildings, 4th Dec. 1840

MY LORD, – I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Vernon Smith's letter of the 2nd instant, communicating, by your lordship's direction, the general principles by which the Crown proposes to be guided in its measures for the government and colonization of New Zealand.

On behalf of my colleagues, the directors of the New Zealand Company, and myself, I beg to return our thanks for the gratifying information with which your lordship has been pleased to favour us.

I have, &c,
(Signed) Joseph Somes.
The Right Hon. Lord John Russell, &c. &c. &c.

No. VI.

SECOND COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND.

Correspondence between the Members of the Second Colony and the New Zealand Company.

LETTER FROM MR. DUPPA TO MR. WARD.

Colonists' Room, New Zealand House, February 3, 1841.

SIR, – On behalf of a body of gentlemen who contemplate the formation of a new settlement in New Zealand on the plan of the first colony which emigrated under the auspices of the company in 1839, I am requested to submit our views to the Court of Directors, and respectfully to beg that they may be taken into early consideration.

Several of us have a considerable personal interest in the prosperity of the first colony, either directly by holding land there, or indirectly through relatives and friends who are there established. Such of us as have this interest would naturally be indisposed to take part in any new enterprise that was calculated to operate injuriously on the settlers at Wellington; and we are all, moreover, decidedly of opinion that the men who braved the hardships and risks of planting the first colony in New Zealand under very unfavourable circumstances, have a claim on the consideration of the company, which should preclude the court from encouraging any new enterprise of a rival character. We have, however, satisfied ourselves that a new settlement established under the auspices of the company would be, not the rival, but the helpmate of the first colony. It may be well that we should state briefly the considerations on which this opinion is founded.

The form and character of New Zealand are such as to prevent the colonization of the country from one point, according to the method pursued in wider regions, where the progress of settlement has usually been directed by the course of a navigable river. In New Zealand there are no navigable rivers properly speaking; but, on the other hand, the narrowness of the islands, and their division into two equal parts by Cook's Strait, render the extent of sea coast singularly large in proportion to the rest of the country. Facilities

of intercommunication by water are thus provided for the future inhabitants of a long, not to say wide, region of land. The intersection of the country lengthwise by ranges of high mountains, together with the number and excellence of the harbours, further points out that the natural course of colonization in New Zealand is by planting distinct settlements on the coast, and leaving the interior as well as the coast line to be filled up when all these most convenient places shall be sufficiently peopled. The physical geography of New Zealand so far resembles that of Sicily as to suggest the probability of its being colonized as that island was, by the early establishment of towns on the coast, such as Syracuse, Augusta, Catana, Messina, Palermo, Marsala, &c, without any large town in the interior. This, we believe, will be the character of the progress of settlement in New Zealand, whatever may be the course adopted by the company. If the company should not establish distinct settlements on the coast, other people will do so; and therefore, whatever the first colony may have to fear from the rivalry of other settlements, the danger is wholly independent of the proceedings of the company. But, for our part, we perceive nothing like danger for the first colony, but, on the contrary, great advantage, in the establishment of other colonies. The very plan of a new colony, with its selected site, its town and accommodation lands, its combination of energy and wealth for a common object, and its prospect of soon placing a community of emigrants in a condition of social maturity, has a tendency to attract to New Zealand numbers who would not otherwise think of emigrating at all. The progress of general colonization in New Zealand will therefore, we think, depend on the number of plans of this sort that may be successfully carried into effect; while it is plain to us, that, as the excellent position of Port Nicholson will secure to the inhabitants of the shores of that harbour a large portion of general commerce, the first colony will prosper, through the increase of its trade, and the value of its lands, just in proportion to the number and greatness of the settlements that may be formed in other places. Although from the peculiar nature of the islands, and the more active present inclination to settle in a country which has become British territory, other colonies may equal or even surpass the first in numbers, wealth, and progress, yet we are convinced that each of them will contribute to the progress of the one that is in the centre

of them all. Even though, as is by no means improbable, the settlement at Port Nicholson should not be the greatest, it will be greater than it would have been if no new settlements had been formed; though its relative advancement should be less than that of other settlements, its positive advancement will be in proportion to theirs. It is partly with a view, therefore, to the advantage of the first colony, that we now propose to form another; as we ourselves hope to be in a position two years hence to rejoice in hearing that a third colony is projected.

We understand that by the terms of the arrangement which Her Majesty's Government has made with the company, and according to the system which Lord John Russell has laid down for the general disposal of Crown lands in New Zealand, the company is at liberty to obtain land in any part of the islands that may be at the disposal of the Crown. At the same time we think that it would be inexpedient to determine beforehand in this country the seat of the second colony. We think that this important question should be determined on the spot, as it was for the first colony, in this case by the agents of the company in concert with the colonial government, whose local knowledge would enable them to make the very best choice out of the many eligible spots that present themselves even to those who know the country only by report. We beg leave, therefore, to propose that the seat of the second colony should not be fixed at present.

After much reflection on the subject, we are desirous that the scale of the second colony should be considerably larger than that of the first. It appears to us that, with sufficient precaution on the part of the founders of a colony, it is hardly possible that its scale should be too large. We utterly repudiate the old fashion of colonizing, according to which a small and feeble society was content, for several generations, to adopt the primitive mode of life, and to pursue a rude husbandry which produced only food for their own subsistence. By the system of colonization which the company has adopted, land is made comparatively dear, and labour plentiful, so that the enterprise of founding a colony attracts a mass of capital, which the plan of its subscription causes to be used methodically in combination for general purposes; and hence it follows, that the new community may be so established on the new land as to resemble a small portion of the old society from which it has emanated;

not retrograding towards the rude and primitive state, but preserving in the new place the combination of labour, the division of employments, and the productive power of an advanced civilization. Under such a plan, it appears to us that the scale of operations cannot well be too large, if foresight and a regard to due proportion among the elements of the undertaking direct every step of the founders. The greater a new colony, the more assured will be its prospect of early success, provided that everything is cared for beforehand in accordance with the magnitude of the enterprise. Such are the considerations which lead us to wish that the court may feel justified, by the present strong position of the company, and the greatly improved prospects of any who may now emigrate under its auspices, in sanctioning for the second colony a larger scale of proceedings than was deemed sufficient in the former case, when every movement was impeded by doubt and insecurity. We therefore propose –

I. That the company shall submit for sale in this country, but without yet determining the seat of the new colony, 201,000 acres of land, at the price of 1l. 10s. per acre.

II. That the land shall be sold in 1000 allotments, each of which shall consist of three sections; one section of 150 acres of rural land, one of 50 acres of accommodation land, or land affording the prospect of a rapid increase of value from its proximity to the town, and one of a single acre of town land.

III. That the land thus offered for sale shall be so selected by the company as to comprise the 201,000 acres of the greatest value in the settlement with respect to fertility and position.

IV. That in awarding their allotments to purchasers, the priority of choice shall be determined by lot, as in the case of the first colony.

V. That in respect of the 1000 allotments there shall be added a quantity of land equal to one-tenth of the whole, or 100 allotments of three sections each, as reserves for the benefit of the principal native families in the settlement, according to the plan of native reserves adopted in the first colony.

VI. That the sum of £300,000 received by the company in payment for such lands shall be appropriated as follows: –

First, £150,000 for the exclusive purpose of emigration to the settlement.

Secondly, £50,000 for the expenses irrecoverably incurred by the company in selecting the site, and otherwise promoting the safe and orderly establishment of the colony; any residue of this fund which may not be so expended to merge in the fund created by the next article.

Thirdly, £50,000, together with any other sum which may accrue as residue of the last-mentioned fund, for certain public purposes of the second colony, of which the object shall be to render the settlement commodious and attractive.

Fourthly, £50,000 for the company itself, as profit on the use of its capital.

In proposing the price of 30s. per acre instead of 20s., which was paid by the members of the first colony, we are decidedly of opinion that we suggest a valuable improvement, being convinced that the outlay of £50,000 in the methodical settlement of the colony, over and above what the company may contribute to that purpose, and of £50,000 in rendering the settlement commodious and attractive, will have the immediate effect of giving to the aggregate of the land a greater increase of value than the additional sum of £100,000 produced by the 10s. per acre. Ten shillings per acre more or less as the price of selected land on which £150,000 will be rapidly expended for emigration, is a matter of little consequence to the purchaser; but the outlay of ten shillings per acre in respect of all the land, for collective purposes, calculated to render the settlement commodious and attractive, will produce results of far higher pecuniary value to every land-owner than his contribution to the sum so expended.

The objects to which, as it appears to us, it would be most desirable to appropriate the £50,000 devoted for purposes of collective advantage, are as follows: –

1st. That inasmuch as nothing is more conducive to the emigration of persons of all classes than an assurance that the emigrants will be provided in their new abode with the religious ordinances to which they have been accustomed at home, the company shall contribute £15,000 towards religious endowments for settlers in the new colony, of every denomination of Christians, in due proportion to the number of emigrants of each denomination who may apply for such assistance, and either towards the passage and mainly

tenance of clergymen, the building of churches, or the endowments of bishoprics, as may seem most expedient to the company.

2nd. That £15,000 shall be contributed by the company towards the foundation of a college in the new settlement.

3rd. That the remaining £20,000 shall be expended by the company in giving encouragement to steam navigation in the settlement, by way of bounty.

We submit this plan to the court in general terms, as an outline which requires much filling up. Our immediate object is to ascertain whether the principles of the plan meet with the approbation of the court. If that should be the case, we shall be ready to proceed to the consideration of details. Meanwhile it behoves us to express our own confidence in the practicability of the measure. Such have been the judgment, energy, and public spirit of the company, and such their constant observance of the engagements into which they have entered with the public, that we are sure the purchasers of land in the new settlement would readily confide to the directors the expenditure of the £250,000 which it is proposed to lay out in the establishment of this colony; and we are clearly of opinion, after long and careful inquiry on the subject, that our intentions and those of our friends with respect to the purchase of land, together with the high popularity of New Zealand as an emigration field, and of the company as an administrative body, warrant us in believing that the whole of the land will be disposed of in a short space of time, and that a more numerous and wealthy body of capitalists will be ready to emigrate than ever left the shores of this country to establish a colony. If our project should be adopted by the company, we shall engage personally in the enterprise, with a confident hope of being able to surmount the difficulties that necessarily attend on the plantation of a new colony, and of being instrumental, through the success of our improved plan, to the still further progress of the colonizing spirit which has so signally revived in our time.

I have the honour to be, sir,
Your obedient humble servant,
BRYAN EDWARD DUPPA.
To John Ward, Esq.,
Secretary of the New Zealand Company.

LETTER FROM MR. WARD TO MR. DUPPA.

New Zealand House, 9, Broad-street Buildings, 10th Feb., 1841.

SIR, – The court of directors of the New Zealand Company has taken into its consideration your letter of the 3rd instant, written on behalf of yourself and other gentlemen contemplating emigration, and containing proposals for the establishment of a second settlement under the direction of the New Zealand Company.

I am now commanded by the court to offer you its thanks for this valuable communication, and to inform you that the court approves of the plan of a second colony thus brought before it, subject to some slight modifications which I am about to mention. The directors, far from apprehending any injury to their first settlement from the establishment of a second, are, on the contrary, of opinion that the interests of the settlers at Port Nicholson will be very materially promoted by the formation of a new settlement within a moderate distance, which might be the means of creating commercial intercourse between the two places, and of adding a fresh stimulus to the energies of the Port Nicholson colonists. The directors always contemplated the establishment of other settlements in due time, after their first and principal settlement should have been founded on a secure and permanent basis; and they think the time has now arrived when they may co-operate in the plan of a second colony, not only without the possibility of injuring, but with the confident hope of benefiting all persons interested in the prosperity of the Port Nicholson district.

Entertaining such views, the directors have not hesitated to act promptly upon your suggestions, and have drawn up land regulations for a second settlement, which will be published immediately, and which the directors trust will meet the wishes of intended colonists. The directors will not shrink from the heavy responsibility which they incur by becoming trustees of the large sums of money which it will be their duty to expend for the benefit of the new settlement in the manner proposed, because the experience of the past satisfies them that the settlers emigrating under the sanction of the company will confide in the rectitude of its purposes, and the good faith of its administration; and it will be ever the anxious care of the directors to continue to merit the confidence so liberally reposed in them by the colonists and the public.

The directors have slightly varied the terms proposed by you, by fixing the price at £300 for each allotment containing three sections – viz., one hundred and fifty acres of rural land, fifty acres of suburban land, and one town acre. They are also of opinion that the second colonists are entitled to participate, to a limited extent, in the benefits of cabin passage allowance enjoyed by the first colonists. It is therefore intended, on the present occasion, to apply a portion, not exceeding £20,000, of the emigration-fund, towards the cabin passage allowances to purchasers, under proper regulations. Reserves of land for the natives will be made, subject to an arrangement with, and the approval of, Her Majesty's Government; and the company will reserve the right of purchasing, on its own account, a quantity not exceeding one-tenth of the lands offered for sale, upon the same terms in every respect as other purchasers. Subject to these variations, you will perceive that your suggestions have been followed by the directors in their new land regulations.

Having thus adopted the proposal of a second settlement, the directors desire me to convey to you their assurance, that they are prepared to carry forward the project without any delay, and with the same vigour and energy with which they endeavoured to promote the objects of the first colonists. The directors are anxious to fulfil, to the best of their ability, the purposes for which large powers have been committed to them by the Crown, and to prove to the public and to Her Majesty's Government that the royal favour has not been extended to the company in vain.

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
JOHN WARD, Sec.
To Bryan Edward Duppa, Esq.

No. VII.

NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

Governor – Joseph Somes, Esq.
Deputy-Governor – Hon. Francis Baring.

Directors:

Viscount Ingestre, M. P.
Lord Petre.
Henry A. Aglionby, Esq., M. P.
John Ellerker Boulcott, Esq.
John William Buckle, Esq.
William Taylor Copeland, Esq.,Alderman, M. P.
Russell Ellice, Esq.
James Robert Gowen, Esq.
John Hine, Esq.
William Hutt, Esq., M. P.
Ross Donnelly Mangles, Esq., M. P.
Stewart Marjoribanks, Esq., M. P.
Sir William Molesworth, Bart.
Alexander Nairne, Esq.
John Pirie, Esq., Alderman.
Sir George Sinclair, Bart.
John Abel Smith, Esq., M. P.
William Thompson, Esq., Alderman, M. P.
Hon. Frederick James Tollemache, M. P.
Edward G. Wakefield, Esq.
Arthur Willis, Esq.
George Frederick Young, Esq.

TERMS FOR PURCHASE OF LANDS IN THE SECOND SETTLEMENT.

1. The company has determined upon the formation of a second settlement upon its territories in New Zealand, the site of which will be selected by an expedition to be forthwith despatched for that purpose. It is intended that the site chosen shall be the best that may be available at the time of the selection being made, and that the position with reference to Port Nicholson and the rest of New Zealand shall be such, that the lands may reasonably be expected to advance in value with the utmost rapidity. The company, therefore, hereby offers for sale 201,000 acres of land in the proposed second settlement, upon the following terms; –

2. The lands are offered in 1000 allotments of 201 acres each. Each allotment will consist of three sections – viz., one hundred and fifty acres of rural land, fifty acres of accommodation land in the immediate proximity of the town, and one town acre. The town

will therefore comprise 1000 acres, exclusive of reserves for public objects, such as streets, squares, churches, cemeteries, markets, and public gardens or parks.

3. The price of each allotment of 201 acres will be 300l.

4. A deposit of 30l. on each allotment must be paid to the company's bankers, Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths, and the bankers' receipt produced and filed previous to any application being registered at the Company's House. The residue of the purchase-money will be required on a day of which public notice will be given. In case of default in payment of such residue by the day appointed, the deposit will thereupon become forfeited to the company, together with all claim of the applicant to the land applied for.

5. On payment of his full purchase money, each purchaser will receive for each 300l so paid, three separate land-orders – viz., for the 150 acres of rural land, the 50 acres of accommodation land, and the town acre respectively. These lands are to be severally selected according to priority of choice, to be determined by lot, as hereinafter mentioned.

6. Three several ballots for priority of choice of the rural sections, accommodation sections, and town sections, in manner to be arranged by the directors, will take place at the Company's House in London, in the presence of the directors, and of such purchasers, or their agents, as may attend, on days, of which public notice will be given. The choice of the allotments, of which priority shall have been so determined, will take place in the settlement as soon after the arrival of the first body of colonists as the requisite surveys and plans shall have been completed, and under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the company's agent duly authorized in that behalf. Neglect or refusal to comply with such regulations in regard to any section shall occasion a forfeiture of the purchaser's right of choice, and vest it in the company's officer on behalf of such purchaser.

7. The company engages, subject to an arrangement with Her Majesty's Government, to add to the 201,000 acres offered for sale a quantity equal to one-tenth thereof as native reserves, so that the quantity of land to be appropriated will, in fact, consist of 221,100 acres, and the town of 1100 acres. The plan of the native reserves in the first settlement will be followed, unless the regulations of Her Majesty's Government, or any unforeseen difficulty, should prevent its adoption.

8. The company reserves the right of purchasing a number, not exceeding 100 of the 1000 lots offered for sale, for its own benefit, at the same price, and subject to the same terms, in every respect, as other purchasers.

9. The sum of £300,000, to be received by the company as the purchase-monies of the lands now offered, will be appropriated in the following manner – viz.:

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

£50,000 to defray the company's expenses in selecting the site and establishing the settlement. Any surplus of this fund to be applied to the public purposes next mentioned.

£50,000 to public purposes, for rendering the settlement commodious and attractive. As such purposes, 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 towards the encouragement of steam navigation, for the benefit of the settlement, by way of bounty.

£50,000 to the company, for its expenses, and profit on the use of its capital.

Total.. £300,000

The company undertakes to apply the purchase-monies in the proportions stated, or as nearly so as may be practicable, to the several objects previously specified.

10. The whole of the emigration-fund, with the exception of £20,000, will be expended in conveying to the new settlement labouring persons eligible according to the regulations now in force with reference to the first settlement. The £20,000 will be reserved as a special fund, out of which, and to that extent only, allowances will be made to purchasers, towards the cost of cabin-passages for themselves, their families, and servants, to the settlement. The amount of the allowance will in no case exceed £25 per cent, of the purchase-money paid by the colonists; and, the fund being limited as above mentioned, preference will be given to the applicants for

the allowance, in the order of their respective applications for the same. Particular regulations, relative to the mode of obtaining cabin-passage allowances, will be hereafter issued; but it is to be distinctly understood, that the directors reserve the power of granting, withholding, or adjusting the same, according to the merits of each particular case, and that no application for the allowance will be entertained, under any circumstances, after the expiration of the present year.

11. The directors reserve a discretionary power of suspending the sales to the public generally, in case they should find it necessary to reserve any number of allotments for sale to actual colonists.

12. The register of applications will be opened on Monday, the first of March next, until which day no applications will be noticed. Written applications for allotments will thenceforth be received and registered by the secretary of the company, until a day, of which public notice will be given, when the land-orders will be awarded strictly according to priority in the register of applications and to the result of the ballots, and all deposits received will be returned, in case, by reason of the above rule of priority, or from any other cause, the directors shall be unable to award the required land-orders to the whole of the applicants.

By order of the Court,
JOHN WARD, Sec.
New Zealand House,
Broad-street Buildings, 15th February, 1841.

THE END.

Printed by T. C. Savill, 107, St. Martin's Lane.

[MAP]

MAP OF THE COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND
From Official Documents
LONDON, PUBLISHED BY SMITH, ELDER & CO. CORNHILL.

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