The Rise and Progress of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. [New Zealand Chapters Only]

Daniel Puseley

First published by Warren Hall and Co in 1858

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

Epub © 2013 Early New Zealand Books Collection

ISBN 978-1-927288-23-8

[TITLE PAGES]

THE RISE AND PROGRESS
OF
AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA,
and
NEW ZEALAND.

IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND
A COLONIAL DIRECTORY;
INCREASE AND HABITS OF POPULATION;
TABLES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE:
COMMERCIAL GROWTH AND PRESENT POSITION OF EACH DEPENDENCY;
INTELLECTUAL, SOCIAL & MORAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE, &C,
GATHERED FROM
AUTHENTIC SOURCES, OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, AND PERSONAL OBSERVATION
IN EACH OF
THE COLONIES, CITIES, AND PROVINCES
ENUMERATED.

BY AN ENGLISHMAN.
[Daniel Puseley ]
AUTHOR OF "COMMERCIAL BEFORE MILITARY GLORY," "SKETCHES OF ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH SCENERY," "A TRAVELLER'S DIARY,", "FIVE DRAMAS," ETC., ETC.

LONDON:
SAUNDERS & OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET.
1857.

By the annual exclusion of old matter, and the introduction and description of every important event connected with, and every change caused by, the Progress of the Australian Colonies; and by perfecting, as nearly as possible, the Colonial Directory up to the time of publication, it is hoped that this may ultimately become a still more useful work of reference.

LONDON:

CAXTON STEAM PRINTING OFFICES, CAMDEN TOWN.

[DEDICATION]

DEDICATION.

TO THE GERMS OF NATIONAL GREATNESS –

TO GREAT BRITAIN'S FIRST CLASS MERCHANTS

This Work

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

BY

THE AUTHOR.

[Page 4 is blank]

[PREFACE]

PREFACE.

The production of the following pages may be attributed to one of those accidents in life, by which the future course of individuals is sometimes determined. The fate of some early poetical works failed to inspire the writer with any very elevated opinion of his own imaginative powers. In place of an expected bank draft, he found, with his unsold poems, a little of that disappointment which, at the time, made him resolve that, in the publication of a prose composition on which he was then engaged, he would make his last appearance before the public as an author – at least on his own account.

Success, it appears, may influence little minds as well as great ones. The demand

for the work alluded to having greatly exceeded both the merit of the composition and the author's expectation, a wider field for exertion has here been selected; and, instead of confining his pen to particular localities, the writer has attempted to embody entire colonies and communities. Had the difficulty of the task presented itself at the outset, the work would probably not have been undertaken. The accomplishment of such an undertaking, in countries where a traveller's best conveyance and his only assistant are to be found in the strength of his legs and the length of his purse, has been anything but an easy one. If, however, two voyages round the world in prosecution of the design, excessive toil and personal inconvenience in collecting materials for the same, and strict impartiality and a rigid adherence to truth in the execution thereof – if such features in the character of a work have any claim on public favor, the humble artist may reasonably anticipate some little return for his past labor.

During the last few years countless books on Australia have made their appearance before the British public. The merits or demerits of such publications are not becoming subjects for discussion here., This volume was composed and compiled for the purpose of supplying what the author believes has been, and still is required by the intending emigrant – not a voluminous history of the Colonies in the South Pacific from the period of their foundation, but a work of reference, in which the rise, progress, and present position of the respective settlements, together with the commercial, social, and moral habits of the people, may be ascertained and compared at a glance. Such was the original design of the work. The manner in which it has been executed is a subject for the consideration of others.

But as a long preface can neither add merit to a good work nor value to a bad one, it will only be necessary further to observe, that the following pages are entirely free from imaginary sketches, either of places or

persons. Each colony, city, or province, mentioned, has been personally inspected, although imperfectly described; and the habits and peculiarities of the inhabitants have been taken from actual observation, however feebly they may have been drawn. With regard to statistics – which necessitated a second voyage to the colonies, for the purpose of obtaining assistance from the respective governments, – the copy of a letter from the Colonial Office will satisfy the reader of accuracy on that head: –

DOWNING STREET,

29th Dec, 1854.

SIR,

I am directed by Sir George Grey to forward you the enclosed letters of introduction to the Governors of Victoria, New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand, in compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 19 th instant.

I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant, (Signed) SAM. WHITEHEAD.

To

D. P – – , Esq.

For the valuable aid rendered by Mr. Archer, the Registrar General of Victoria, and for the kind assistance afforded by gentlemen in other colonies, the writer's warmest thanks are due.

Finally, a sense of duty prompts the author to acknowledge, briefly but gratefully, the interest taken in this work by a large circle of subscribers – whose early orders, rather than any known merit in the composition ordered, will account for a considerable and immediate issue.

D. P.

[Page x is blank, pages xi and xii not found]

[CONTENTS]

GENERAL INDEX.

VICTORIA. page

First Impressions of Victoria..... 3
Melbourne in 1853 ...... 5
Wealth of the Colony – early effects of... 7
Land Mania....... 10
Sudden acquirement of wealth – effect of .. 12
Intellectual condition of Settlers.... 15
Colonial Magistrates and Civic honors... 20
Melbourne and Geelong – description of 25
Australian Climate....... 32
Unwholesome Literature – evil effects of 39
Influence of early example...... 52
English Casinos, &c....... 55
Betting – books and betting – practice of... 56
First Impressions – conclusion of... 60
Second Impressions of Victoria..... 63
Intemperance in the Colony – diminution of. 65
Universal Suffrage....... 68
High wages and high prices – effect of. 69
Orders from the Colonies – want of attention to.. 79
Improvements in Melbourne and Geelong.. 80
Former opinion of climate confirmed.... 81
Newspaper Press of Victoria..... 83
Chinese Immigration – speech of Quang Chew..92
Public reception of, and subsequent dislike to, the Governor.....98

Improvements in Gold Fields..... 103
Decrease of Native Population.... 104
Mrs. Emma Waller.......105
Official and Statistical information.... 106
Concluding remarks.......127
The Governor of Victoria.....130

NEW SOUTH WALES. ......135
Description of the Colony.....137
Sydney Mint........147
Society in New South Wales..... 152
Responsibilities of Sir William Denison... 154
Colonial Banks.......162
Actors and audiences...... 172
Disease through the use of ardent spirits.. 177
Statistical information......178
Australian debtors and English creditors.. 187
The Governor of New South Wales.... 191

TASMANIA (late Van Diemen's Land)... 193
Description of the Colony...... 197
Attack on the Governor by the English Press.. 203
Statistical Information...... 206
List of chief places...... 214
The Governor of Tasmania..... 221

NEW ZEALAND.......223
Introduction........225
The Governor's address......226
Introductory description of the Colony... 231

AUCKLAND, ........257
Town, district, climate, &c. – description of.. 259
Population of the Province..... 273
Native Flax of New Zealand..... 274
Taranaki, or New Plymouth..... 279
Land in the Colony – value of... 280
Mr. Earp's description of the Province... 283
Statistical Information...... 289

NELSON.. ....... 291
Climate of the Province – description of 292
Characteristic feature of inhabitants.. 293
Description and Statistics of Province... 297
Nelson Amateur Musical Society.... 301
Concluding Remarks....... 302
The Mineral Riches of New Zealand... 302
Black Ball Line of Packets from Liverpool to New Zealand – Liverpool Ships and Liverpool Merchants 310

WELLINGTON.........313
Characteristic feature of inhabitants... 313
Earthquakes – periodical shocks of ... 314
Society in the Province – description of... 317
Description and Statistics of Province... 318

CANTERBURY........ 329
Introductory description of Province.... 330
Capabilities of the land, &c, in New Zealand.. 332
Society in the Province – description of 342
Progress and Statistics of the Province.. 343
Akaroa – description of...... 348
Lyttelton Coast Directory..... 349

OTAGO.......... 351
Social condition of the Province.... 352
Progress and Statistics of the Settlement... 357
The Bluff........ 363
The Bishop of New Zealand..... 364
The Governor of New Zealand.... 367
Concluding remarks....... 368

New Zealand Import Duties..... 374
Ships, Shipowners, and Ship Agents.... 383
English Insurance Companies.... 393

COLONIAL DIRECTORY...... 417
Geelong Trade Directory..... 419
Melbourne Directory...... 425
Melbourne Imports, 1854-5 ..... 436
Sydney Directory....... 441

NEW ZEALAND DIRECTORY...... 447
Auckland........ 448
Wellington........ 456
Nelson........ 461
Canterbury........ 466

ENGLISH DIRECTORY – London... 473
........ Provincial.... 490

ADVERTISEMENTS...... 507

NEW ZEALAND

NEW ZEALAND.

[Page 224 is blank]

INTRODUCTION.

A longer residence in New Zealand might have made the author of the following sketches more familiar, not only with the natural capabilities of the country, but likewise with the political dissensions of the people – although a longer period for praise of the one, or censure of the other, would not have increased the writer's present high opinion either of the colony or its incomparable climate.

To the interest taken in the progress of New Zealand, may be attributed the reprehension of those local evils by which that progress is impeded.

In New Zealand, as in other colonies, may be found a swarm of political blue bottles, incapable of good themselves, although they seriously affect what has been or might be prepared and dispensed for the public weal. But these lilliputian statesmen, in attempting great characters, present the world with an unenviable picture of their own littleness.

With the exception, however, of a few of these provincial trumpeters, and certain members of the house of clamour and confusion, by which some of the provinces are misgoverned, and the commercial expansion of others retarded, the inhabitants are in every respect superior to those in either of the Australian settlements. And if asked to name the first colony in the southern hemisphere, as a desirable home for the intending emigrant, the writer, with the most impartial sincerity, would answer – NEW ZEALAND.

Of greater interest than a long editorial preface will be found the following pointed and sensible address of the new Governor; and if certain New Zealand politicians only profit by a gentle rebuke for past mischief, by following good advice for future action – if they will only evince a little more regard for the general welfare of the country than for private purposes or provincial squabbles – they will prove themselves more worthy of a colony which is indeed worthy of nature's noblest sons.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY. – LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

The fourth session of the General Assembly of New Zealand was opened on the 10th of April, by his Excellency the Governor, with the customary formalities. At two o'clock, his Excellency entered the Legislative Council, and the members of the House of Representatives having been sent for, his Excellency read the following address: –

"HONORABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATATIVES.

"Various causes prevented the last Assembly from legislating on many subjects materially affecting the welfare of the colony, and it has been reserved for you to undertake that important duty.

"Questions involving numerous conflicting interests remain for your consideration and adjustment, and in the solution of these difficulties an arduous task awaits you.

"To enable me to call to my Councils advisers possessing the confidence of the General Assembly, is naturally a subject which will engage your earliest attention. This may be considered the corner stone on which all other legislation should be built; and I now repeat in the most explicit terms the assurance which I gave on the prorogation of the last Assembly, that I would give my confidence to the gentlemen who possess that of the Legislature, and that whenever changes become necessary I would allow no personal feelings to influence my public conduct.

"I doubt not that the gentlemen who accept from you a responsibility conferring such an honorable distinction on themselves, will consign to forgetfulness all of the past which has no reference to the future; that they will arm themselves with a determination to disregard all private interests; and, devoting themselves heart and soul to those of New Zealand, they will declare what ought to be enacted for the welfare of the colony at large.

"Such conduct will ensure respect from opponents and the esteem of Englishmen, not only in this colony but throughout the empire; not only at the present time but in the future, when party feelings and local interests have been obliterated and forgotten, and history records the strength or weakness of those who guided the infant steps of a great country.

"If, on the contrary, the men chosen for this honorable trust should prove unequal to it, looking for the applause and preferring the interests of a party or a province to that of the colony at large, then will the power they are unable to wield remain but a moment in their nerveless grasp, and, once released, it will oscillate backward and forward until seized on by some statesmen worthy of their adopted country, strong in the rectitude and integrity of their intentions, and regardless of all considerations which can in any way hinder the progress of the public weal.

"Such are the men whose counsel I desire, and by whose advice I hope to be guided.

"I rely entirely on your patriotic aid, and feel assured that, however divided you may be by political or party feelings, your best efforts will always be directed to secure the interests of the inhabitants of this country, mindful that their welfare depends on our efficient and faithful exercise of the powers vested in us by the Imperial Government.

"My recent visit to the different provinces has enabled me to bear testimony to their general prosperity, and to the evident signs of progress and improvement in each and all of them.

"I have witnessed with great satisfaction the strong feelings of loyalty and attachment entertained throughout the colony to the throne and person of our gracious Sovereign; and I feel deeply grateful for the cordial reception everywhere accorded to myself as her Majesty's representative.

"Information has been prepared on various subjects, with a view to enable the gentlemen honored by your confidence to lay before you certain measures of importance: among them I may mention a proposal to extinguish the claim of the New Zealand Company, on terms which are therein explained; another for a uniform postal communication with the mother country; the improvement and extension of our own overland posts; and an alteration in the custom laws;

and I trust you will lose no time in authorising the formation of a commission, with full powers to settle the many vexed questions connected with land claims, and for the quieting of disputed titles.

"Another subject will, I trust, engage your early attention, namely, the propriety of adopting some plan of final audit for the accounts of the General Government which will be more satisfactory than the one at present in force.

"Gentlemen of the House of Representatives.

"The utmost economy has been practised in the expenditure of the funds placed at my disposal by the late House of Representatives. The fullest accounts shall be submitted for your approval, and the most complete information afforded to your inquiries.

"I have to request you to make an early provision for the repayment of £14,086 11s. 5d. advanced by the Union Bank of Australia, being part of a sum of thirty thousand pounds obtained under sanction of a resolution of the late House of Representatives.

"Gentlemen of the Assembly.

"Your deliberations will be viewed with interest in the mother country; for whether in Great Britain or the colonies, Englishmen watch the proceedings of their legislative bodies with the greatest attention.

"But the Legislature of this colony has no reason to shrink from such a scrutiny, for while adopting all that is good in the laws and usages of our native land, it has a cause for congratulation of which few other lands colonized by Europeans can boast.

"In order to form this flourishing and rapidly increasing colony, no property has been wrested from its native owners; no hospitality has been violated; no laws of humanity or justice have been trampled under foot. The land enriched

by the sweat of our brows has been honestly acquired and is rightfully enjoyed. Nor, when we consider that, in place of a dreadful form of idolatry, we have communicated to the natives a knowledge of the blessings of Christianity, and of the arts and appliances of civilization, can it be urged that the advantage has been exclusively on the side of those who gave money and received land alone in exchange for it.

"These are considerations which make England proud of her youngest colony – and she has reason to be so. Situated in the same relative position in the southern hemisphere; similar in size to Great Britain; like her, separated from other lands by broad seas; possessing the same natural advantages and colonized by the same hardy race – New Zealand cannot fail to become the Britain of Australasia.

"Free institutions, deeply graven in the hearts of Englishmen, the glory of the British nation, framed, amended, and maintained by the wisdom and perseverance of successive generations, have devolved on you as an inheritance. To them we owe much of that enterprise and independence which have been and are the characteristics of our nation in all parts of the world. They have been transplanted for you in their maturity, and their broad shadow spreads already over this favored land.

"The history of the growth of these institutions during a thousand years in our native country would be but a tale that is told, and the retrospect of the past but an idle dream, if they teach us no lessons of wisdom. May we profit by them; and when time has consigned all who now hear me to the stillness of the grave, and children's children have succeeded to the inheritance of their fathers, may those who will then review the acts of this Assembly feel for you that admiration and esteem which we cannot withhold from the time-honored men to whom we owe our origin and our laws.

"THOMAS GORE BROWNE.

"Auckland, April 15, 1856."

NEW ZEALAND.

"Though last, not least in our estimation." – HAMLET.

IN describing the Australian Colonies agreeably with a matured judgment, and with the painful conviction that our own feeble but impartial sketches would be in direct opposition, not only to the majority of accounts previously published by visitors and settlers, but likewise to impressions created by the fluent pens and imaginative pencils of absentee poets and painters, we availed ourselves of every opportunity, consistent with fairness, to qualify the unfavorable opinions formed from personal observations during a residence of twelve months in the golden region. The country, the climate, the social and intellectual condition of the people – Australia and all we beheld therein, save and except the precious metal, appeared so completely to negative everything we had either heard or read on the subject, that we paused for a time in penning a verdict

which might cover the recorder with colonial abuse. But as the united indignation of the entire population of Australia would have caused us less pain than that which would spring from the disguise of an honest opinion, we preferred the chance of a penalty from the least painful alternative, and entered our verdict accordingly.

We now find ourselves placed in another dilemma – although one of an opposite character. The hesitation caused by an unfavorable impression of Australia confronts our mind like the apparition of some condemned criminal, now that New Zealand compels us to furnish of this more favored land, a sketch the very reverse of that which forms the subject of the neighbouring colonies. If in a social point of view we reluctantly pronounced Australia to be the most objectionable of all British dependencies, and the inhabitants, as a body, to be the most depraved, immoral and reckless of any and every European country with which we are acquainted, we may possibly be accused of prejudice when we declare New Zealand to be the finest colony in the world, and the majority of its people to be equal in respectability, intelligence, temperance, and honesty, to those in a similar scale of society in any part of Europe. The fear however of reproach, or the false accusation of prejudice in no way influenced our judgment in the former case, and the certainty of either, or both, or of a more bitter censure

still, would be insufficient to check the expression of an honest opinion in the present instance. As stated in our prefatory remarks, we write neither for party nor party purposes, and being entirely independent of and uninfluenced by either, our simple motto is – truth.

We once either read a prediction or heard it predicted that "New Zealand would at no very remote period become the Great Britain of the southern hemisphere." Although we have but little faith in modern prophets and prophecies generally – least of all in those theological and political compounds of the Cumming creation – we confess ourselves sufficiently credulous to accept and believe in the above prediction as an exception to the rule.

Comparatively little known, as she is at present, New Zealand will, no doubt, some day become an important and populous country, if not a great nation. She possesses all the elements to warrant such an opinion and to justify such a belief. With a fine, if not the finest climate in the world, the colony has every corresponding advantage. The capabilities of the land are so great and the produce therefrom so astounding that a stranger and an eye witness is almost afraid to record what, to distant landowners, will naturally appear more like fiction than fact. But as no imaginary sketches – nothing but facts collected from and authenticated by the best authorities will find room in the

pages of this volume, the reader may be assured of dealing with truths, however strange or extraordinary may appear the matter they reveal.

Having visited and personally inspected each and all the provinces of New Zealand from Auckland to Otago, we intend, after a few general remarks on the colony, to transcribe our observations in the chronological order in which they were taken – supplying at the same time, through the kind assistance of the leading settlers, those valuable statistical and other records of the respective settlements which – without such aid – it would have been impossible to furnish after a hasty visit of barely six months.

The following brief but able description of the position, &c, of New Zealand (from "Chambers' Papers for the People") so completely accords with what we have gathered from personal observation and other authentic sources, that we will not vary or mystify so concise an account for the purpose of obtaining credit for originality: –

"New Zealand lies in the immense Austral Ocean between New Holland and Cape Horn. On the east that ocean rolls to South America, on the south to the Pole, on the west to Van Diemen's Land, and on the north it stretches boundlessly away to the Arctic Circle. The group is situated between 34 and 48 degrees south latitude, and between 160 and 179 degrees east longitude. It consists of two large islands – the North and the Middle, otherwise New Ulster and New Munster, with a lesser one called Stewart's, or New Leinster, and several scattered islets. The extreme

length from North to South Cape exceeds 1100 miles; its breadth varies from 300 to 1 mile, though 100 is the average. The larger islands are separated by Cook's Strait, and Stewart's is divided from the Middle Island by Fourneaux's Strait. The North Island contains, it has been computed, about 31,174,400 acres of area; the Middle 46,126,080; and Stewart's 1,000,000.

"To afford the reader an idea, by familiar comparison, of their extent, we may say that the North Island is about a thirty-second part less than England, exclusive of Scotland and Wales; that the Middle is about a ninth less; and that the whole group contains 78,300,480 acres, or not more than 50,000 acres less than the whole of Great Britain and Ireland with all the adjacent isles: consequently we have in New Zealand an extensive country, capable, in respect of its size, of accommodating 25,000,000 persons at the least. Its natural capabilities are by no means of inferior proportion. Tracts of barren hills, irreclaimable begs, naked sandflats, and considerable expanses of water-surface, there certainly are; but amply allowing for these, it appears no exaggeration to assert that at least two-thirds, or about 52,000,000 acres, are fitted for settlement, and might yield abundant sustenance to a population, whether by herds and flocks, or vintage and grain. New Zealand is most nearly of all countries the antipodes of Great Britain. It lies 1200 miles east of the mighty island of New Holland; and if we suppose an immense semicircle formed by the continents of Asia, Africa, and America, extending in a sweep from Cape Horn, by Behring's Strait, to the Cape of Good Hope, encompassing the Indian and Polynesian Archipelagos, and comprising the greatest oceans on the globe, New Zealand occupies nearly the centre.

New Zealand, like many other groups in the Southern Sea, is of volcanic origin. A chain of lofty hills, broken into high sharp peaks, runs along the Middle Island from

north to south, their summits towering in some instances to a height of 14,000 feet. The most elevated pinnacles are wrapped in a robe of everlasting snow; and during the winter season, when the whole ridge is clothed in this magnificent covering, its effect is beyond the power of art to describe. The mariner has compared it to a gigantic crest of foam rolled up by the billows of the Austral Ocean, and appearing ever ready to sink down and disperse over the waves. In the North Island the hills are lower and less distinctly connected; but a few of their isolated peaks invade the regions of perpetual snow. One of them, Mount Egmont, is an extinct volcano, reckoned to be 8840 feet high: it is situated at the South-West Cape, near Cook's Strait. The first person who ascended it was the intelligent traveller Dr. Dieffenbach in 1839. Tongarroo, a volcano still active, and Ruaperhue, whose fires have long been extinguished, stand in the centre of the island – one 6200, the other loftier, both crowned with perpetual snow, and forming, with two or three others, a magnificent group of mountains, reared in the middle of a more level but picturesque country. Mount Edgecombe is an extinct volcano near the Bay of Plenty. No one has ever been known, to ascend its summit, which is supposed to be about 7000 feet high. Hence the surface of the island north-east to Mount Egmont wears the traces of violent volcanic action, chiefly proceeding from the crater of Tongarroo. Boiling fountains break from the ground in many places, geysers spout up their foam, fumeroles emit columns of sulphury steam, solfataras shoot forth clouds of luminous vapour, and hot springs in constant ebullition spread over the district in an extended line. In White Island, lying in the Bay of Plenty, exists a low crater, with the rim composed of alloyed sulphur. A chain of lakes, closely connected with the volcanic agencies we have enumerated, gives additional proof of the formation of the region. Lake Tago, in the south-west, is the most

extensive. Of an irregular triangular shape, its greatest length is about thirty-six miles, its width twenty-five. Many little creeks indent its borders, and several streams feed it from the south; while the Waikato River, flowing away westward, bears to the sea the superabundant waters. Around spreads a broad level tract or table-land, beyond which the surface is depressed, and gradually formed into hills and valleys, where the drainage of the peaks, ranges, and plateaus, accumulated in the beds of streams, is carried to the ocean. Detached ridges, more or less elevated, diversify the aspect of New Zealand, lying almost invariably in one direction – from north to south – and dividing the low alluvial plains from the high table lands.

"As in most other countries presenting similar geographical features, New Zealand presents numerous indications of mineral wealth. Copper, silver, and iron, with coal, sulphur, and manganese, have been discovered, each in at least one spot, and worked with considerable success. They already form articles of exportation, and will probably furnish materials for manufacturing on a large scale. Lead-ore, tin-ore, and what is supposed to be nickel, have been detected, but not hitherto procured in any extraordinary abundance. Many other riches remain, doubtless, for further research to discover; but it will be well if what has been already brought to light is developed even to a moderate extent. Compared with the geological formation of the Andes, the ranges of New Zealand present very similar characteristics, and it is believed they may contain even the more costly metal which is found in the giant chain of South America.

"In these mountains are traced the sources of streams and rivers which flow into the sea at various points along the extensive coast-line. Some rise from many springs, play down the slopes in rivulets, accumulating and meeting until their associated waters form a river. Others gush

from copious fountains, and break into many brooks, which ramify until they shoot like threads of silver over the surface of the plains. Rising, as all the streams do, at a considerable elevation above the level of the sea, into which they discharge themselves after a very abrupt course, or long windings through a rugged country, they are not generally navigable for any great distance. Some, however, tortuous and broken as they are by falls and rapids, flow one, and even two hundred miles. The high peaks of the hills, intercepting masses of cloud formed by the congregated vapours of the surrounding ocean, bring them down in floods, which supply the rivers with a perennial flow, affording an exhaustless water-power in every hollow and valley of New Zealand. Advantageous as they would thus be were the region densely peopled in the more elevated tracts, they are in the lower provinces blessings to the population, spreading out wide alluvial flats, fertile beyond exaggeration, large spaces of which are now ready for the plough and the drill; while in others the axe of the woodman and the task of drainage still remain to render the land susceptible of cultivation.

"Few regions in the world – in comparison with the extent of coast-line, about three thousand miles – equal New Zealand in the excellence and abundance of their harbors. Here a commodious, safe, and central rendezvous is offered to the vast shipping trade of the Southern Seas, including myriads of islands, many of them the most fruitful in the world. It might form the entrepot of commerce between the Indian and Polynesian Archipelagoes; and will probably, when its affairs have been liberally settled, literally become, as many orators, writers, and economists have prophesied, another Great Britain in the Austral Ocean.

"To the British emigrant, however, one consideration is paramount above all views of profit. It is nothing to him that a region abounds in harbors, ports, and bays; that it

has a fertile soil, is rich in minerals, abounds with timber, and promises wealth to the industrious settler, unless its climate be genial to the European constitution. A mine of gold or an estate near Cape Coast Castle would not induce him to make his habitation there; the gold-washings of Borneo will not allure him to live amid its marshes; but in New Zealand soil and climate equally invite his enterprise. We have with respect to this subject heard many erroneous statements; but a careful examination of accounts by the most competent authorities imposes on us but one belief. We maintain without reserve that the climate of New Zealand is better adapted to the English constitution than that of any other British colony. The immense preponderance of water over land in those latitudes causes a less degree of average heat than in the northern regions, where the land greatly preponderates over the water. In temperature, therefore, New Zealand resembles that of the country between the south of Portugal and the central departments of France, or rather that which, from its insular character, Great Britain would enjoy if its centre lay twelve hundred miles to the west of Cape Finisterre."

Previous to a distinct review of each, locality, we will make a few general remarks – such as would naturally occur to the mind of a stranger or any one who has noted or may note the political and social atmosphere of New Zealand in visiting the respective provinces. In the first place (without inquiring into or suggesting a remedy for the cause of the disease or attributing blame to any particular class of persons) our honesty compels us to declare that politics, politicians, and petty jealousies, constitute the great if not the only

barrier to the rapid progress of the colony, and to the social and mental elevation and prosperity of the inhabitants. Although prosperity and material wealth are within the grasp of, and easily obtained in a few years by the humblest individual in New Zealand, it is to be regretted that such desirable acquirements are not more frequently accompanied with peace of mind to the owners and good will towards others. Men aspire to, or are elected to fill seats in the legislative assemblies who are in no respect qualified for the senatorial and (in the colony) anything but peaceful honor. But while these persons are not qualified for their position they obstruct others that are. It appears to us that many of these gentlemen would make a larger and more substantial provision for their families and a smaller number of enemies for themselves if they would attend to their private affairs instead of obstructing public ones. Without venturing a positive opinion on the subject, it appears to us not unreasonable to submit the question, whether the cause of this may not be traced to the form or forms of government provided by the mother country rather than to the colonists themselves; for where opportunities occur for petty statesmen to fill great parts in a little play, the farce will not fail for want of characters to represent it. With six local governments and a general assembly, in place of one efficient government for the entire colony, it is perhaps not to be

wondered at that the general good is sometimes retarded or sacrificed to the local or provincial elements of jealousy, malice, or ambition.

The contracted or selfish views of certain influential tradesmen or merchants will likewise strike a close observer, as something to be regretted, if not deserving of censure, as the want of favor or unity on the part of a few of the leading settlers in a province, has to our own knowledge often been the means of losing what would have advanced the general interests of the country. Suppose for instance an opportunity offers to benefit the colony by increased local or distant steam communication, on a plan proposed by Messrs. Patriot and Co.; Selfish, Brothers and Co. at once oppose the plan – of course on public grounds – because increased facilities for the passage of persons and goods from one place to another might at the same time have a prejudicial effect on periodical consignments received by Selfish, Brothers and Co. from a distant part of the world.

With the New Zealand provinces, as with jealous and ill-natured individuals, the same unfortunate rule is found to exist; and it would be easier to mix oil with water than to induce the spirits in one province to unite with those in another, although the want of unity might be injurious to all. These evils however are but trifles in a country where the advantages possessed by a settler are greater by tenfold than the

disadvantages; for while such impediments may obstruct for a time the rapid progress of small communities, they will gradually disappear as the districts become more thickly populated, and when the public voice for the public good grows too powerful to be suppressed by the influence of a few selfish and bigoted individuals.

Nothing but some unforeseen and dire calamity, emanating from a higher power than man, can check the gradual progress of the finest colony in the world, or prevent the immense resources of New Zealand from being more generally known, so soon as, through increased enterprise and additional manual and other appliances, her resources are more fully developed.

The internal and dormant riches of a country, like real sparks of genius in the retiring mind of man, may be obscured for a time by the smoke and steam of more imposing but less sterling objects, but flashes from concealed merit occasionally attract attention, till the strength of the flame dispels the surrounding vapour and finally obtains for its possessor the public recognition of true worth.

New Zealand is essentially a poor man's country, although there are but few poor in it. It is a country to which those of the working classes in England who have the means or intend to emigrate should direct their steps; for it is a colony in which nine out of every ten who land therein

rise in the course of a few years from poverty to affluence, or from a poor to a good position. With industry and sobriety, the artisan, or laborer, soon becomes his own master, landowner, or farmer; and the majority of the most wealthy men in the colony are those who landed a few years since without any capital beyond that which is most valuable in New Zealand – individual labor. At the present time the colonial government are trying, in vain, to obtain common laborers to work on the roads at eight shillings a day. A good mechanic can obtain treble that amount per diem. Indeed the laboring classes – even while laborers – may be termed the independent gentry of the colony. Their wives have never been waited on by servants in the mother country, and have not to experience that loss which is severely felt by those accustomed to good society, and who, owing to the difficulty of obtaining domestic servants, have frequently to undertake any and every menial office. We have known kind and considerate husbands – solicitors, merchants, and some of the leading men in a province – rise early in the morning, and as a singular prelude to their professional or commercial duties, open the business of the day by lighting the fire, washing the dishes, or scrubbing the floor for their amiable ladies. Servants are so scarce and so independent that the difficulty of obtaining them is exceeded by that of keeping them when obtained. We have more than once dined with

a family of respectability who have themselves cooked and served the dinner, presided at the dinner table, and afterwards favored us with a little instrumental or vocal music, or joined their friends in a polka or quadrille. To a few heavily taxed and good-natured husbands in the United Kingdom we take the liberty of suggesting that twelve months residence in New Zealand might prove of infinite service to those gentle partners whose fair features dare not enter their own kitchens, from the fear of being smoked or overheated. Yet strange to say, we have never in New Zealand met a well educated lady who was less the lady on account of having for a time to submit to social discomforts and privations, the very mention of which would make some of our English drawing-room dolls turn pale in disgust, or red with shame. A sensible lady not only submits with good grace to the requirements of an altered position, or the necessities of the moment, but she likewise retains her title and her dignity, even though circumstances compel her to become her own waiting-maid or cook.

With a working man in England a large family is not unfrequently regarded as a social calamity. In New Zealand a large family proves a source of ultimate wealth, as any lad of twelve or fourteen years of age can, in return for his services, readily obtain a comfortable home with a salary of £20 or £30 a year. On this subject there is one im-

portant fact, the knowledge of which may be found useful to or taken advantage of by a few married but childless individuals in the mother country. While many or most parts of the colony under consideration are highly favorable to agricultural or pastoral purposes, the invigorating effects of its delightful climate would appear to be equally favorable to a local increase in the population. We have met with settlers who for many years in England had despaired of ever becoming parents; but since their arrival in the colony they have been blessed with the parental title – a title without which man's estate, however bountifully supplied with the periodical riches of the land, would be still poor without those tender saplings which can alone perpetuate the seed of domestic bliss.

The newspaper press in New Zealand is certainly not calculated to lessen our unfavorable opinion of colonial periodicals and colonial literature in general. With two worthy, independent, and honorable exceptions, to which we will not more particularly allude, the New Zealand newspapers represent all those petty jealousies and political animosities with which so many of the inhabitants are infected, and which the residents of one province evince towards those in another. European intelligence and occasional extracts from the English papers comprise the leading matter of interest – or rather only that which is at all likely to interest any one unconnected with local squabbles.

Whatever is said or done by one party, or the leaders of a party, is sure to be disapproved or condemned by another. It occurs to us that these journals, which should rather endeavour to subdue than irritate the public mind on trifles, would prove of greater service to the colony and the settlers, if in their repeated attacks on persons and places they were to display less violence and more moderation – which would be news indeed.

Returning however to the advantages of New Zealand, as the most desirable home for those who are about to emigrate from the United Kingdom, we deem it desirable to be clearly understood on this point. While we are anxious to afford useful information to all intending emigrants, the entire worth of New Zealand would not (intentionally) induce us, in stating our own opinion, to allow anything to escape in the shape of praise which might either create a false impression in the minds of others, or justify some future colonists in saying (what thousands in Australia, who have been deluded by false representations, have had occasion to say) "that book deceived us."

If any poor but well educated families – and in England there are unfortunately hundreds of such families – who prefer the fascinations of polite society to the more substantial rewards of industry and social retirement – families, the male branches of which regard the interior of a billiard-room or a casino as indispensable margins on the page of

life, while the female members of such families would rob their craving stomachs of a good dinner for the latest fashion in the shape of a bonnet or a boot – if such, or any such persons would rather prolong their lives than die with melancholy we earnestly advise them to remain where they are.

For a colonial life, threadbare notions of refined gentility will be found useless appendages in an emigrant's outfit; and those who are still anxious for the display of such ornaments will do well to keep them and themselves away from a land where these things and a variety of conventional forms have no existence, or are of no avail. But if such persons can submit, without murmur and without regret, to hard work, and to the loss of artificial pleasures, they may then derive profit by a change which, without ready submission to the sacrifices enumerated, would otherwise lead to disappointment.

Well educated persons whose means enable them to live in moderate ease should likewise remain at home – presuming that home to be England. To people accustomed to good society and the independence arising from an experienced and attentive suite of servants, the discomforts of a colonial life will be found great and many. But, on the other hand, if those needy ladies and gentlemen whose brains are heavily taxed to keep up a respectable appearance on a hundred or a hundred and fifty pounds a year, derived from funded or

other property, are disposed to submit to a few inconveniences (many of them temporary ones) for a delightful climate and an increased revenue, by taking their three or four thousand pounds to, and residing in New Zealand, they may attain the summit of their desire; and at the expiration of a few years they may, if they choose, return to their native land with their capital doubled, or probably trebled.

In most, if not in all the provinces of New Zealand ample landed security can be obtained for money on loan at ten, twelve, and in some instances, fifteen, or even twenty per cent, per annum. The ultimate ruin of the borrowers may probably be predicted by those residing in a country where money is more abundant, and where people are unacquainted with the circumstances which justify so large a rate of interest. A few words will satisfy the reader that such a prediction would prove quite fallacious, and that the security named for loans at the rates quoted will be ample, while the interest is justifiable. For instance, the owner of a piece of land of the value of four or five hundred pounds may wish to purchase a few sheep. He has no ready money, but obtains on the security of his land three hundred pounds at fifteen per cent. The increase of his live stock will yield, on the smallest computation, from forty to fifty per cent., which would leave a surplus profit over and above the interest paid of from twenty-five to

thirty-five per cent. This will be yearly augmented by the compound increase in his stock, which in a few years will leave the owner thousands for hundreds, or in other words, a pound sterling for every two shillings previously invested. We are acquainted not with one only, but with many persons who at the present time are owners of ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand sheep, and who but five or six years since dated the commencement of their rise with an investment of fifty, one hundred, or a hundred and fifty pounds.

For making capital in New Zealand, by lending and borrowing money, various other modes might be instanced, but the cases above alluded to will be sufficient to prove that in one part of the world at least – though not in the United Kingdom – people may pay or receive a handsome income for a small investment, or give or take a high rate of interest without danger of ruin either to themselves or others.

Respectable society on a limited scale may, but good society – that which in England is termed good society – cannot be found in New Zealand. In speaking of society we must be understood to refer to the want of a sufficient number of persons in any particular district or community to constitute the society alluded to. To this there are of course many individual and family exceptions. But we speak of the rule not the exception; and

although, on certain occasions large numbers of the inhabitants are invited to Government House, the majority of such persons are regarded rather as favored visitors than friendly guests. Some of the provinces can boast of better society than can be found in others; but this and other social matters we leave for notice under the head of the respective localities.

This great preponderance both in the capital and in some of the provinces of uneducated or illiterate people will fully account for the absence of a refined taste with regard to anything of an intellectual character, either in the shape of amusement or instruction. As in Australia, a lecture on poetry or the fine arts would be alike unappreciated and unattended, or attended only by a select few – while a mountebank on the back of a horse would prove a source of attraction and delight for the multitude. Unless a public entertainment be of an exciting character, such as a farewell dinner to Tom Stiles or Harry Stokes – although neither of the honored guests would be allowed to utter half a dozen sentences without interruption – it would cease to be attractive. Professor Thimblerig can at all times insure a large audience, while Doctor Mental's classical dissertation commands an empty house. It is however the poorer classes – or rather the working classes, for there are no poor in New Zealand – by which amusements are chiefly patronised. The educated

portion of the community derive their pleasure in their own family circles. In addition to this, their minds and minutes are so entirely devoted to money-making, that their time appears to he entirely absorbed in this and this object only.

There is one rather remarkable fact respecting the movements of those who have resided a few years in New Zealand, and who during their residence therein have – like the majority of colonists – endeavoured to amass a large amount of money in a short space of time, for the purpose of returning to live in peace and plenty, if not in luxury, in their own native land. The fact alluded to, or rather the revelation therefrom, is simply this – those to whom it relates talk of going home for a considerable time before they actually go; and having gone, nine out of every ten, after a short absence, return again to the land of their adoption. Making allowance for the loss of friends and acquaintances, and many other unattractive features which might cloud the imagination on the emigrant's return, the simple fact of his having the means to procure every pleasure where every pleasure is procurable, and that he finally leaves all for a climate, friends and habits more in accordance with his feelings and his taste, furnishes a truth, the evidence from which, in favor of New Zealand, is stronger than any other we can adduce.

The Maori or native race of New Zealand are in every respect superior to any colored race with

which we are acquainted. Through the interest and attention of the present indefatigable Bishop, many schools have been established; and not only can a large number of natives at present read and write, but some of them have been ordained as ministers of the gospel. Though they want the industry and perseverance of the European, even the uncivilised portion of them are not deficient in honesty; and most of their evil propensities have been copied from their civilised but bad companions from the mother country. If honestly dealt by, the dealer may be sure of an equivalent in the transaction; but if treacherously dealt with, they will, if possible, retaliate. We have travelled amongst them (unarmed) into the interior, and would not hesitate to journey for any distance in any part of the colony, satisfied not only of hospitable treatment at the hands of the natives, but also of perfect security both with regard to life and property.

But like other native races in countries where Europeans have permanently settled, the New Zealanders are annually on the decrease, and will no doubt in the course of time – perhaps forty or fifty years, become nearly, if not entirely, extinct.

We will at present briefly observe – it being our intention to notice the subject more fully at a subsequent stage of our work – that an erroneous opinion prevails in England with regard to the earthquakes which periodically take place in one

part of the colony. It is generally supposed that the whole of New Zealand is subject to those convulsions of the earth, which in reality seriously affect one province only. The extreme provinces in which extinct volcanoes prove the complete exhaustion of internal commotion, may note, as the rumbling of distant thunder, or by a slight vibration from the effect of the shock, the periods at which the most violent convulsions take place, although, as we previously stated, their effects are chiefly confined to the locality in which they occur.

Although New Zealand cannot at present boast of rich gold fields fully developed, like those of Australia, a treasure more valuable and inexhaustible may be found in the periodical riches of her soil. The excessive draughts of Australia, by which thousands of sheep perish and whole crops decay, are totally unknown here. "Whether the coming season may or may not reward the Australian settler for his labor and his outlay is entirely a matter of speculation; while here the crops are as regular and as luxuriant as the seasons themselves. Rivulets and running streams of the purest water, unknown in Australia, are here everywhere to be found. The comparative condition of the cattle in the respective colonies is alone a sufficient proof of this. Poor and emaciated, like the aboriginal tribes in the golden region, the oxen of that country present a miserable spectacle. But here, through the

invigorating effects of a pure atmosphere, rich pasture, and an abundant supply of water, the cattle, like the Maori, or human native race, are everywhere healthy, robust, and in excellent condition. Of vegetable and other productions we shall speak in due course; and the English farmer will no doubt be somewhat surprised to hear of unmanured land producing fifty, sixty, and seventy bushels of wheat to the acre, not for one year only but for several years in succession. But these and all subjects relating to figures will be confirmed by the signatures of the respective and most competent authorities in each province.

Having thus given in a few prefatory and cursory remarks a rough and general outline of what will be embodied in detail in the progressive stages of the work, we will proceed with a description of the capital and the respective provinces.

But in penning the attractive and other features of New Zealand, it is not our intention to extend the description beyond the actual requirements of the subject, nor to tax the patience of the reader with a rigmarole of personal adventures, which are generally uninteresting and of little value to the public. We will merely furnish a simple record of facts, gathered from our own observation and corroborated by those whose experience is called on to attest their accuracy. And although we earnestly advise those industrious persons who are about to leave England for another home, and

who value health, sure advancement, and ultimate independence, to choose the colony above all others in which, with temperance and industry, a moderate hope of future success in life would be certain of realization, we will not recommend any particular province to the prejudice of another, but, after a distinct though brief description of each, we will leave those who may adopt our advice, in the selection of this fine colony for their future abode, to select the province they may deem the best adapted to their calling or their wants.

For the information of those who cannot afford the entire amount required for their passage to New Zealand, we may observe that resident London agents, as the representatives of some parts of the colony, are empowered to assist respectable and suitable applicants.

New Zealand is divided into six provinces, viz., Auckland, Taranaki (or New Plymouth), Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago. Each province is governed by a superintendent (elected by the local residents) and a provincial council. And each province contributes its proportionate share of members to the House of Representatives which legislates for the entire colony, the members of which meet annually for the purpose of general legislation.

With regard to the probable extent of the mineral riches of New Zealand, or the value of the recently discovered gold fields, it would, at present, be impossible for any one to venture more than a speculative opinion. But from all we saw and heard during our stay in the colony, as well as from private advices received since our return, we are inclined to think that not only gold, but likewise copper and other minerals will shortly be found and exported in considerable quantities – that is, so soon as a supply of labor will enable explorers and settlers to turn recent discoveries to the best advantage. It will however be unnecessary to do more than direct attention to a few brief but more general remarks on the subject, which will be found in our review of the province of Nelson.

New Zealand is open alike to foreigners of every nation without reference to country or creed. We merely revert to this subject for the purpose of supplying what we omitted to state elsewhere – that in the colony of Victoria a recent legislative enactment imposes a tax of £8 or £10 per head – the latter we believe – on all immigrants arriving from at least one country with which England has extensive commercial transactions. The reason for the Executive omitting from the "Victorian Tariff" this duty on human flesh is obvious.

AUCKLAND.

AUCKLAND.

IN the town of Auckland is at present the seat of government. We say at present, because the great bone of contention in the ensuing session will be an attempt to remove the same – Wellington and Nelson being the chief contentionists. We predict not only the failure of both, but likewise the usual waste of public time by the antagonists, and the natural result of the dispute – that the speakers, like the seat of government, will be just in the same position at the end as they were at the beginning of the debate.

In a commercial point of view, Auckland is at present the most important town in New Zealand; but whether or not she will long maintain that supremacy is a question rather for time than for us to determine. She is now indebted to traffic with the natives for the greater portion of her trade; and as the natives are gradually on the decrease, and as land in the province of Auckland, either in extent or fertility, will not bear com-

parison with that in the southern provinces, it appears to be a matter of considerable doubt – when some of the other districts have the benefit of an increased population, and additional steam communication, &c. – whether Auckland will still retain the position she now holds.

The military, government officers, and a few families excepted, the quality of society in Auckland, if such a term be applicable, is inferior to that in any other province in New Zealand. The majority of merchants and tradesmen here are exceedingly coarse both in manner and education, many of them being the dregs or sweepings of Sydney. This fact may justify the use of the doubtful term, as in the southern hemisphere there is no doubt whatever respecting the refuse of Sydney society.

Monthly steam communication with Australia – which is in course of formation, but not yet established by some of the other provinces – gives Auckland a great advantage over her neighbors, as it insures a periodical traffic between that port and New South Wales, although, as we before observed, some of the live stock from the last-named colony – cattle excepted – add to the quantity rather than to the quality of the inhabitants.

Making allowance for a natural leaning in favor of the province of Auckland, the reader will gather a tolerably correct idea of the town, district, climate, &c, of the northern settlement in the

following graphic sketch, from the pen (as we are informed) of a well-known and talented officer attached to the government of New Zealand. The want of a Government House, alluded to by the writer, will no longer be felt, as a very handsome building is now nearly if not quite complete, and will greatly surpass that which was destroyed by fire: –

"The Town of Auckland is built on the Northern side of the Isthmus which divides the Waitemata from the Manukau, and is bounded on the North by the shores of the former harbor. The site of the Town, as laid down on the Official Plan, has a frontage on the water of about a mile and a half, and extends inland to the distance of about a mile. At present, the greater number of the houses have been built near the water, in the bays and on the headlands with which it is indented. These bays are backed by small valleys which run inland to the distance of about half a mile, terminating in narrow gullies, and are separated from each other by spurs which run in the harbor and terminate in low headlands. The lower parts of the Town being thus separated, the roads which connect them with each other are somewhat steep and inconvenient.

"Seen from the Harbor, the Town makes a considerable appearance, and suggests the idea of expansiveness. St. Paul's Church, with its neat spire, occupying a prominent position on the centre headland is an ornamental feature. The Barracks, the Scotch Church, the Colonial Hospital, the Wesleyan Institution, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Windmill on the hill, with Mount Eden in the back ground are the most prominent objects. Approaching the shore, Official Bay, commanded by St. Paul's Church, and with its detached cottage-like houses built on a sheltered slope, each

snugly nestled in the luxuriant shrubbery of its surrounding garden, looks pretty and picturesque. Commercial Bay, seen from the water, presents the appearance of a large Town, having a mass of houses closely packed together. Mechanics' Bay is as yet but little built upon; a large rope-walk, a ship-builder's yard, a native hostelry, and a few small shops are the only buildings. This Bay is the principal place of encampment for the natives visiting Auckland in their canoes; here they land their native produce, in fine weather bivouacing in the open air, or under their sail-made tents; and, in bad weather, seeking shelter in the neighbouring hostelry. Freeman's Bay, to the westward of Commercial Bay, is occupied chiefly by saw-pits, brick-kilns, and boat-builders' yards.

"The principal streets are Princes Street, Shortland Crescent, Queen Street, and Wakefield Street. The first is a broad, straight, spacious, well-made street, on a gentle slope; St. Paul's Church, the Treasury and the Bank, and the Masonic Hotel are its principal buildings. Shortland Crescent, which connects Princes Street with Queen Street, is built on rather a steep ascent. It is less broad than Princes Street, but much longer. On one side it is almost wholly built upon; shops and stores are here to be found of every description, and of various forms and style. No attempt at uniformity has been made; every one has built according to his means, fancy, or the size and shape of his ground. The only approach to uniformity is in the material – with a few exceptions, all are of wood. The roadway of the street is an even Mc'Adamized surface; but no attempt has yet been made to form footpaths on a general level. Some of the shops would not disgrace a small provincial town in England; but taken altogether as a street, Shortland Crescent is irregular and unfinished. Queen Street is the least built upon, but in other respects it is the best and most considerable street in Auckland. It is about

half a mile long, nearly level, and almost straight, and terminates at its northern extremity in a pier or quay, which runs into the Harbor, and alongside of which small craft can land, on this stage, their cargoes. At its southern extremity it is overlooked by the Wesleyan Seminary, or Boarding-school for the education of the children of the missionaries in these seas – a spacious brick-built and substantial structure. The Gaol is badly situated, and is by no means a conspicuous building; but by a diligent search it may be found on the west side of Queen Street, partly screened from view by the Court-house and Police-office, which abut immediately upon the street. Several shops of superior description, two and three stories high, have recently been erected, and Queen Street, as well as being the longest, is certainly just now one of the most improving streets in Auckland. Wakefield Street ascends from its southern extremity until it joins the Cemetery Road; and is the newest and most increasing street in the town. Many of the houses are built of brick, and it already bears a considerable resemblance to a new street in the outskirts of a modern English town.

"The want of a Government House is a serious drawback. Even beyond the circle of the visiting world, the destruction of the Old House has been, in every respect a public loss. Few men possess in their own persons qualities of an order so commanding as to fit them to represent Majesty without the aid of its outward trappings. The want of a suitable residence, operates injuriously on society in many respects: it is a loss to the public, a detriment to the place, and heavy blow and great discouragement "to that dignity which ought to hedge about" the Queen's Vicegerent. The grounds on which the Old House stood, is planted with English oaks and other trees, which already afford both shade and shelter; the lawn and walks are neatly kept; the situation is pretty and convenient, commanding a view of

the Flag-staff, and of the entrance into the Harbor; it is close to the Town, too, without being of the town; and it excites in all who take an interest in the place a feeling of regret that it has not yet been restored to its legitimate purpose.

"The most considerable public buildings are the Britomart and Albert Barracks, having together accommodation for nearly 1000 men. The former are built on the extremity of the headland dividing Official from Commercial Bay, and form a conspicuous, but by no means an ornamental feature. The buildings are solid and substantial, mostly of scoria – a dark, grey, sombre colored stone – square, heavy-looking and unsightly. The Albert Barracks, the larger of the two, are built upon the same ridge, but about a quarter of a mile inland. The Stores, Hospital, Magazine, and Commissariat Offices are built of scoria. The rest of the buildings are of wood, plain in style, and of a sombre color. The various buildings, together with the parade-ground, occupy several acres, the whole of which is surrounded by a strong scoria wall, about ten or twelve feet high, loop-holed, and with flanking angles. The position of the Albert Barracks is healthy and cheerful, overlooking the Town and Harbor, and commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country; but being commanded by a rising ground within a few hundred yards, and being within view from ships in the Harbor, and within range of their shot and shell, the site, in a military point of view, is not happily chosen, Although much more extensive than those at Wellington, the Auckland Barracks have by no means the same neat, cheerful, and compact appearance. It is not probable however that so large a portion of almost level ground will for many years be allowed to be taken from the site of a town having too generally a broken and uneven surface.

"Seen from the neighbourhood of St. Paul's Church, the Harbor presents the appearance of a land-locked, lake-like,

sheet of water: the Flag-staff Hill, and North Head of mound-like form, hound it on the left. Over the low neck of land which connects them appears the rugged volcanic island of Rangitoto, with its triple peaks; in front are the islands of Motukoria and Waiheki, forming the middle distance, with the range of high land which divides the Gulf of the Thames from the open sea, and which terminates in Cape Colville, forming the back ground. On the right, the outline is broken by numerous little bays, and the low headlands which divide them; the Sentinel Rock forming at all times a conspicuous object,

"On the shore of the Harbor on which the Town is built, the water is shoal, and its several bays, at low water, are left uncovered. Except at high-water the landing generally along the shore is inconvenient. For several years, Auckland, in this respect, enjoyed a bad pre-eminence; but the reproach has at length been removed by the erection of a neat wooden jetty, five hundred feet in length, which affords a convenient boat landing-place at nearly all times of the tide. It also forms an ornamental feature in Official Bay, and affords to the public an agreeable promenade. At a short distance from the foot of the pier is a brick-built tank, supplied by a spring of excellent water. Pipes are laid on to the tank, and run along to the extremity of the pier, where water-casks can be filled and taken off to the shipping at all times of the tide. A quay or landing-place is also in course of construction in Commercial Bay, alongside of which vessels in the coasting trade will be able to land and to take in their cargoes. On the North Shore – across the harbor, opposite the town, distant somewhat less than a mile – the water deepens rapidly, the landing is good, and the shore is a dry, clear, shelly beach.

"There are no port charges, harbor dues, or taxes levied on shipping; and the harbor is open to all the world to enter and depart free of any charge. There is a pilot, but

it is optional with masters of vessels to employ him. If not employed, no pilotage is chargeable. The port is supplied with almost everything necessary for refitting and refreshing vessels – and both ships' stores and provisions can be obtained at a moderate price.

"The Suburban District comprises the rising ground by which the town is sheltered. Many of the choicest spots are already occupied by neat-looking private houses. Overlooking the town and the harbor – and commanding a view of the Gulf, with the "Great Barrier" and "Little Barrier" Islands in the far distance, and the nearer islands which give shelter to the Waitemata – these rising grounds possess numerous pretty sites. But generally speaking the scenery in this district is neither bold nor picturesque; and is altogether unlike the general character of New Zealand scenery – comparatively bare of trees, and distinguished only by the number of its volcanic hills. The surrounding country is open, undulating – intersected in all directions by the numerous creeks of the Waitemata and the Manukau, and easily available for agricultural purposes; but it presents few of the characteristics of a New Zealand landscape, and it has nothing to mark it as a foreign country. Nor should the scenery of New Zealand be hastily judged: for no comparison can properly be made of the scenery of countries occupying the opposite extremes of cultivation, except as to natural features. It would be unreasonable, for instance, to compare the jungle forests, the fern clad hills, and the swampy plains of a new and unsettled country, with the rich pastures, the green meadows, the forest glades, and the highly cultivated features of an English landscape. But in beauty of natural scenery I think New Zealand will bear comparison with England in most of its principal features-mountain, river, coast and harbor. There is nothing in England, for instance, to equal the snow-clad, silvery-peaked Mount Egmont – -or the Alpine ranges of the South-

ern Island. The lower part of the Waikato River – the upper reaches of the Thames – the scenery about the narrow pass of the Manawatu – and the wild grandeur of the Wanganui, fully equal in their natural beauty, any of the river scenery of England. The scenery of the West Coast, between Waikato and Mokou, and that of the Southern Island, in the neighbourhood of Milford Haven, will bear comparison with the finest views of the British Coast; while Monganui, the Bay of Islands, Port Nicholson, Queen Charlotte's Sound, and Akaroa, are unequalled in their natural features by the harbors of Great Britain. But in lake scenery, New Zealand must yield the palm. True, indeed, there are some pretty gem-like lakes in the district of Roturua, but there is nothing in New Zealand to equal the lake scenery of Westmoreland and Cumberland, combining so exquisitely as it does, the beauties of nature and art. It may be too much to say that the same degree of beauty will never be found in any part of this country: but at present, in its natural uncultivated state, New Zealand contains no such views as Grassmere, seen from Butter Crags, or Loughrigg Fell – Rydal, from Rydal Park – and the thousand beauties of Derwentwater, Barrowdale, and Langdale.

"Strangers, however, are frequently very unreasonably disappointed with the natural beauties of New Zealand. They are landed at some port which possesses, perhaps, no great natural beauty – they never travel twenty miles from home, and they conclude that the accounts which have been written of the country – so far, at least, as beauty of scenery is concerned – have been written in a spirit of gross exaggeration. A foreigner having heard much of English scenery, put down in Lincolnshire or Suffolk, and, not travelling beyond the borders of the county, would be equally disappointed, and with as much reason.

"The country in the neighbourhood of the town – com-

prising the isthmus which divides the two harbors, is much of it cultivated. Not a stump of a tree is left in the ground. Solid stone walls and quick-set hedges are generally taking the place of temporary wooden fences of posts and rails. The greater part of the land is laid down in permanent pasture. At Epsom, distant about two and a half-miles from the town, and in the Tamaki district, distant six miles, there are grass and clover paddocks, as large, as rich, as well laid down, and as substantially fenced as any grass land in England. Owing to the neat and uncolonial style of cultivation, and to the absence of trees having a foreign appearance, the country around Auckland presents the appearance of a home-like English landscape. One half of the road across the isthmus, from Auckland to Onehunga, has been MacAdamised, and the remaining half is good during the greater part of the year. With scarcely any exception, the whole of the land on each side of the road is already fenced and cultivated; and the traveller, as he passes along, is never out of sight of a house.

"The town and suburbs of Auckland extend across the isthmus for the greater part of a mile; and the Tillage of Onehunga, on the other side, spreads itself inland for nearly an equal distance: almost adjoining the suburbs of Auckland, too, is the Village of Newmarket, and the remainder of the road is studded here and there by wayside houses. At no very distant period there can be little doubt but that the opposite coasts of New Zealand will thus be connected by one continued line of street.

"Upwards of forty thousand acres of land within the Borough of Auckland are the property of private individuals, held under grants from the Crown. About ten thousand acres have been cultivated, of which the greater part is substantially fenced. The most noticeable feature of the country is the large quantity of cattle to be seen grazing in the district. Nearly five thousand head, besides horses and sheep are depastured on the isthmus alone.

"Immediately adjoining the boundary of the Borough, to the south-east, is the Papakura district, extending along the eastern shores by the Manukau Harbor for a distance of ten or twelve miles: this district is bounded on the west by the waters of the Manukau, which deeply indent it in various directions, with its numerous creeks. The centre of the district comprises a plain or flat valley, running inland, in an easterly direction, from the Papakura Pah, for many miles, until it reaches the Wairoa River. About one-half of this plain is densely timbered – the remaining portion being clear and open, but agreeably diversified with clumps and belts, which give it a park-like appearance. These belts and clumps consist of a rich variety of wood; the graceful tree-fern, and the deep-green, glittering-leafed karaka, clustering, in unusual profusion, around the tall stems of the statelier forest trees. Surrounded by these ornamental woods, melodious with the song of birds, are here and there clear open spots of ground of various size, sheltered from every wind – choice sites for homestead, park, or garden. The soil of the plain is of various character – a considerable portion, consisting of a light dry vegetable soil, well adapted for clover paddocks, or for the growth of barley; about an equal quantity is dark-colored, good, strong flax land, suitable for wheat and potatoes, the remainder being rich swampy land, for the most part, capable of drainage. On the north and on the south, the plain is bounded by rugged ridges, densely covered with kauri and other timber – and it is watered by a small, but never-failing, stream of excellent water. The plain of Papakura is best seen from the highest point of the southern ridge, about four miles to the south-east of the site of the old Pah. There may be seen on a bright sunny day, a panoramic view, than which, in the whole of New Zealand, there are few mere beautiful.

"The general salubrity of the climate of New Zealand has

now been established by the experience of years. For persons of delicate constitution, pre-disposed to disease of the lungs, it is unequalled, save by Madeira. Compared with that of Nice, one of the most celebrated continental climates, the climate of Auckland is more temperate in summer – milder in the winter – equally mild in the spring – but a little colder in the autumn: – with this advantage, too, over all the boasted continental climates, that it is not so liable to the very great variations of temperature common to them all from sudden shifts of wind. The climate of New Zealand is doubtless less charming and delightful than that of Italy and the South of France, but it is certainly more salubrious, and probably better suited to the English constitution, generally, than even the climate of Madeira. For although it has its share of wind, rain, and broken weather, it has the advantage over Italy and France, in being more limited in range of temperature – embracing a less oppressive summer heat, and less sudden changes of temperature during the twenty-four hours, and a more gradual change of temperature from month to month.

"Many of the Continental and Mediterranean climates are, during certain seasons of the year, finer, steadier, more agreeable than, and equally salubrious as, that of New Zealand, but their summer heat is in some cases too great; their autumn weather frequently unhealthy – winter, too cold – and spring objectionable from being liable to gusts of cold and chilling winds. By moving constantly about throughout the year – traversing continents and seas, it would no doubt be possible to be always in a fine and salubrious climate. But, as a fixed and permanent residence, there are probably few places to be found, in all respects, more suitable to the English constitution than New Zealand; and if that be so, then, few more suitable for persons of delicate chest or lungs; the true theory being, that for preventing the development of diseases of the chest, that is

the best climate which will admit of the greatest and most constant exposure to the open air, and which is at the same time best calculated to promote the general health; a tendency to disease of any kind being best warded off by keeping the bodily system in a vigorous tone of health.

"Compared with Great Britain, New Zealand, so far as its general salubrity can be ascertained, possesses a marked superiority. From the results of observations made by Dr. Thomson, of the 58th Regiment, for a period of two years, from April 1848, to April 1850, when the strength of the troops stationed in the colony amounted to nearly two thousand men, it appears from the following valuable Tables compiled by him, that, taking diseases generally, out of every thousand men, twice as many were admitted into hospital in England as were admitted into hospital in New Zealand. And the mortality, amongst equal numbers treated was about 8 1/2 in New Zealand to 14 in England.

"Cases of fever in New Zealand are rare. From the same Returns, it appears there are six cases of fever in Great Britain for one in New Zealand; and out of forty-seven cases in New Zealand there was but one death. Of diseases of the lungs, three cases were admitted into hospital in Great Britain to one in New Zealand; and out of an equal number treated, seven terminated fatally in Great Britain, and but four in New Zealand. Diseases of the stomach and bowels are more prevalent by half in Great Britain than in New Zealand. Diseases of the liver and brain are nearly the same in the two countries. The only class of cases in which the comparison is unfavorable to New Zealand are complaints of the eye, which are more than twice as numerous here as they are in Great Britain. Small-pox and measles are as yet unknown in New Zealand.

Classes of Disease.

[Thomson's statistics on diseases]

"Comparing New Zealand with the healthiest Foreign stations of the British army, it will appear from the following Table, compiled by the same authority, taking into account all classes of disease receiving hospital treatment, that the comparison is greatly in favor of this country. And with reference to pulmonary disease, there are in Malta two cases for one in New Zealand. In the Ionian Islands there are three cases to two in this country. At the Cape of Good Hope there are ten cases for six in New Zealand. In the Mauritius there are the fewest number of cases treated after New Zealand – the proportion being about eight in the Mauritius to six in New Zealand; but the mortality from pulmonary disease is twice as great in the Mauritius as it is in New Zealand. While in Australia there are twice as many cases of pectoral disease as in New Zealand, and the disease being, at the same time, twice as fatal: –

"In cases of Fever, there are at least five in Malta, the Cape, and in Australia, to one in New Zealand.

"Of Complaints of the Liver, there are two cases in the above-mentioned places to one in New Zealand.

"And of diseases of the Stomach and Bowels, there are more than two cases at each of the above-mentioned places for one in this country.

TABLE showing the Annual Ratio of Admissions and Deaths among 1000 Troops at the following Stations from the undermentioned Classes of Disease: –

* From seven years observation, ending March 1850, kindly furnished by Staff-Surgeon Shanks, Principal Medical Officer, New South Wales.

"But assuming the above Returns to show correctly the comparative healthiness of our troops in Great Britain, and at the various Foreign Stations, it does not necessarily follow that they correctly exhibit the comparative salubrity of the climates of the countries to which they relate, so far at least as regards the community at large – and for this reason, that our troops are for the most part lodged in barracks; and that the health of the men is influenced by the manner in which they are lodged, as well as by the climate of the country in which they may be stationed; and that barracks vary considerably in the several important particulars of size, ventilation, construction, and position. This result, therefore, might easily follow – that men stationed in a bad climate but lodged in barracks erected on a well chosen site, spacious, dry, well ventilated, well drained, and supplied with good water, may have fewer hospital cases and less mortality, than men stationed in a good climate,

but lodged in. barracks in a bad situation, close confined, ill drained, and badly constructed. But, making allowance for all such disturbing causes, there can be no doubt that the foregoing Tables afford satisfactory proof of the general salubrity of the country.

"Compared with an English summer, that of Auckland is but little warmer, though much longer. But the nights in New Zealand are always cool and refreshing, and rest is never lost from the warmth and closeness of the night. It is also much warmer here both in the spring and autumn; and the winter weather of England, from the middle of November to the middle of March, with its parching easterly winds, cold, fog, and snow, altogether unknown. Snow, indeed, is never seen here; ice, very thin and very rarely; and hail is neither common nor destructive. The winter, however, is very wet, but not colder than an English April or October. There is a greater prevalence of high winds, too, than is personally agreeable: but with less wind the climate would not be more healthy. There is most wind in the spring and autumn; rather less in the summer; and least of all in winter."

The European Population in the province of Auckland in 1853 was 11,033, and, so far as can he gathered from the imperfect returns recently made, the population of the entire province is at present about 13,000, or probably rather over than under that number. In 1851 the Revenue of the entire colony of New Zealand was only £78,495 8s. 8d. In 1854 the Revenue was £226,901 16s. 6d., and has since been, and still continues, rapidly on the increase, although the Government, owing to the difficulty (they say) of getting the

returns from the distant provinces cannot supply us with the figures for 1855. While it is our intention as we proceed to furnish the number of inhabitants residing in each province, as nearly as that number can be ascertained, at a rough calculation, we believe the European Population of the entire colony to be about 50,000. The number of the Aboriginal Tribes, we have heard variously computed, but we imagine it does not now exceed 40,000, and the number is rapidly decreasing.

The native flax of New Zealand is an article which ere long will be extensively cultivated, and exported from the colony in large quantities. Mr. Whytlaw, a most enterprising and intelligent gentleman, who favored us with the following explanatory letter, has devoted his time, talent, and capital to the subject for several years; and he is now, we believe, on the eve of being amply rewarded for his labor, by the complete success of his experiments. We personally inspected his numerous buildings and extensive domain, distant about thirty miles from Auckland, in the Matakana district. The beautiful machinery for the preparation of the flax prior to its exportation, which was completed after Mr. Whytlaw's design, is declared to be an excellent invention, and one in every way adapted for the completion of the designer's purpose on an extended scale. Other gentlemen are waiting the result of the experiment, in order (if successful) to take advantage of

the originator's plans, and embark in a similar undertaking. No less for the future interests of the colony than as a just return for the talented exertions of one of her spirited and upright citizens, we wish every success to Mr. Whytlaw and his noble enterprise: –

"The native flax of New Zealand (Phormium Tenax) of which there are several varieties, has always attracted much attention from those who have visited the country, as an article which ought to form a valuable colonial export. The beautiful samples which have frequently been prepared by the manipulation of the natives, show the great degree of fineness to which the fibre can be reduced, and its strength has been long considered as much greater than that of European flax.

"The chief, if not the only reason why it has not been more extensively used in British manufactures is, that the supplies of the raw material, as prepared by the natives, have been extremely limited and uncertain; affording no encouragement to the parties at home disposed to use it, to alter and adapt their machinery to the peculiar character of the article.

"The mode of preparing the flax by the natives, which has been often described, is very tedious, an expert hand not being able to produce, on an average, more than 10lbs. weight per day. The work is chiefly done by the women. A simple and efficient method of dressing the flax by machinery has, therefore, been long felt a desideratum, and numerous have been the efforts to supply this. Hitherto, none of these attempts have been productive of more than mere samples. With the stronger inducements of mercantile and agricultural pursuits to realize speedier returns for capital, few have had the courage to persevere in their

attempts to accomplish the important object. Of late, however, as the war in Europe has raised the value of flax so much, there is now the greatest encouragement to establish a trade in this article; and I am glad to say that one gentleman who has for many years past, devoted his attention to the subject, has recently brought out from England the materiel of a large factory, which is in process of erection at a short distance from this; and that his method of preparing the flax by machinery of his own invention, on an entirely novel principle, appears to be of the simplest and most efficient description. He expects to have his produce in the market in about a year from this date; a short time therefore, will prove whether his anticipations will be realized. If this establishment succeeds, doubtless many will follow the same course; and I do not despair of seeing this interesting and delightful country possessing in a short time, an export that may ultimately rival some of the most valuable of those of the neighbouring colonies.

"M. WHYTLAW.
"Auckland, 14th Nov., 1855."

CENSUS RETURN FOR THE PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND,
MARCH 31. 1855.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Children between 5 and 15.

In Day Schools.

In

Sunday Schools.

In Day and Sunday Schools.

6701

5218

11,919

1776

979

216

459

Two-thirds, or probably more, of the native or Maori race of the entire colony of New Zealand are to be found in this and the adjoining province

of Taranaki. In the province of Wellington there is a moderate number; in Nelson less; in Canterbury still less; and in Otago only about 500.

For the information of intending emigrants we will, as nearly as we can, give the relative distances (by water) between the respective provinces, commencing in the north, at Auckland, and proceeding southward in the order in which the settlements are described. But emigrants should endeavour, if possible, to secure their passage in a ship bound direct to a province in which they intend to settle; otherwise they will find the delay great, the opportunities few, and the expense considerable, in getting from one settlement to another.

Distance from Auckland to Taranaki, about 130 miles; Taranaki to Nelson, 160 miles; Nelson to Wellington, 120 miles; Wellington to Canterbury, 160 miles; Canterbury to Otago, 170 miles; Otago to the Bluff, or the newly-opened southern port of Invercargill, 120 miles.

With regard to vegetation in New Zealand, the remarks of those whose evidence is founded on considerable personal experience require from us but little in the way of confirmation. We will merely observe that whatever is grown in England may be grown in an equal, if not in a greater degree of perfection in the colony – where may be seen in full bloom flowers and plants which in any part of the United Kingdom would require from

the florist or botanist the most sedulous care, together with the artificial warmth of a hot-house.

Good fish is something that neither of the Australian settlements can boast of. True, the harbors and rivers both of Australia and New Zealand abound with fish of various sorts; but, with one or two exceptions, these sorts are either dry, insipid, or tasteless. There is nothing to compensate for the want of salmon, turbot, sole, cod, &c. Indeed, the best fish on the Australian or New Zealand coast is not equal, either in flavor or quality to the most inferior description peculiar to the British Isles. Of sharks there may be found an extraordinary quantity; and so daring and so plentiful are these monsters, that sea bathing is not unattended with considerable danger. On two occasions we have been near a bathing spot at a period when human life was sacrificed by the sea vipers.

TARANAKI OR NEW PLYMOUTH

TARANAKI,

OR

NEW PLYMOUTH.

NEW PLYMOUTH or Taranaki, the native name by which it is more generally known, is distant from Auckland – or rather from Manukau harbor, six miles from Auckland – about 130 miles, or from fifteen to twenty hours' sail. The journey may be taken overland, but as there is no public road, and as the task involves a considerable amount of labor and time, it is but seldom undertaken, except by the excursionist or those anxious to see the interior of the country.

During our short stay in the province we were much pleased with its appearance. The land is equal, if not superior, to that in any other part of New Zealand; but it is at the same time more circumscribed, New Plymouth being the smallest settlement in the colony. Here, as in Auckland, the price obtained for land near the township appears extravagantly high. That it has reached its maximum, and something more, many persons are disposed to believe. So long, however, as the

colony continues in its present nourishing condition, and districts become more thickly populated, money will continue to be made by speculation and investments in land in all parts of the country; and, strange as it may appear, there is not a province in New Zealand in which land may not be found near the townships – purchased a few years since for one, two, or three pounds an acre – which at this moment would find a ready sale at one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred pounds an acre. In some cases much larger amounts have been or might be realized. We may instance a case within our own knowledge in which a gentleman with whom we are acquainted (an absentee) came over from Melbourne, only two years since, and invested £600 in the purchase of twelve hundred acres of land in a district which gave promise of a future important township. The lucky purchaser has just now, for the first time since the purchase, visited his property, and finds that by dividing it into small sections, for building and other purposes, he can realize a sum of at least £3,000 over and above the original outlay. In two or three years hence, as the district becomes more thickly populated, the collective purchasers of these allotments will in all probability have to divide a much larger profit than that realized or about to be realized by the original owner. The property here referred to is in the neighbourhood of Whanganui, about 110 miles from Wellington.

The case itself is not an exceptional one; for, extravagant and artificial as the prices appear which are sometimes paid by the sub-purchasers of property, up to the present time we have not known nor heard of an instance of any one losing money by the purchase of land in New Zealand.

With reference to the facilities and opportunities for the purchase of land by strangers, a few words may not be out of place. Newly arrived immigrants are frequently most unreasonable in their wants and expectations on this subject. Landed at one of the ports in the colony, they expect to obtain any spot in any district at their own, or at merely a nominal price. On being told that all the land within a circuit of ten or fifteen miles of the spot on which they stand has been purchased, but that plenty of unpurchased land may be obtained in the interior, or in districts where new townships are contemplated, or are in course of formation, they declare themselves deceived, and rail at the Government and their imaginary deceivers accordingly. If they were only to look around them (as they ultimately do) and fix on some spot, of which there are scores in the colony, that gives promise of a future township, and embark their means in a judicious manner, a few years would enable them to exclaim with an air of exultation to other new comers – "Bide your time, and your turn will come as ours has done." It is totally unreasonable for new

hands to hope, without time and labor, for the benefits reaped by old ones.

In New Plymouth, as in all other parts of the colony, plenty and prosperity are everywhere visible. During the whole of our stay in New Zealand, we never saw nor heard of such a being as a beggar – a creature by no means a novelty in the United Kingdom.

Contrary to the opinion of Mr. Earp, an old colonist, from whose work we have extracted a sketch of this province, we consider the want of a harbor a serious barrier to the commercial progress of Taranaki. The author's remarks with reference to the assistance rendered by this to other parts of the colony were no doubt correct at the time they were penned, and when some of the southern districts, with regard to population, were yet in their infancy; but those provinces to which the observations apply not only at present yield fruits of the earth in greater abundance now than formerly, but considerably greater than is required for their own consumption; while large shipments of the surplus are made to the Australian colonies.

Society in New Plymouth is much superior to that in Auckland; and although the natives are rather numerous here, and are sometimes a little troublesome, the province is altogether a very delightful one, and would become a much more important one if it had the advantage of a good harbor.

The following is an extract from Mr. Earp's description of Taranaki: –

"The district of Taranaki, which comprises the country around Mount Egmont, has with justice been termed "the garden of New Zealand," and whether we regard the serenity of its climate, the fertility of its soil, or the extent of land available for the agriculturist, it is surpassed by no other locality in either island, though in extent alone, the New Plymouth district must yield to the huge plains which reach from Banks' Peninsula to the southern extremity of the Middle Island.

"The attention of the early settlers was first drawn to the Taranaki district by the lamentations of the Port Nicholson natives, who a few years only previous to the colonization of New Zealand, had been driven from their former homes by Te Whero Whero, the chief of the powerful Waikato tribes. By this chief, Taranaki was regarded as a hunting ground, whenever his propensities for cruelty and cannibalism urged him to harass the wretched inhabitants – his game being men instead of animals. Harassed by his constant incursions – for he never destroyed more than would satiate his bloodthirstiness, carefully preserving sufficient for the ensuing season's excursion – the natives were persuaded, with much difficulty, to evacuate their cherished locality and to fight their way southward, where they might find a locality beyond the power of their tormentor. Their adviser was Mr. Richard Barrett, who subsequently afforded efficient aid to Colonel Wakefield in the acquisition of the territory now in the possession of the New Zealand Company. Mr. Barrett having defeated Te Whero Whero in the last attack made by that chief, the latter retired for a short time to his own district, to recruit his forces, and to devise such means as should utterly annihilate the tribes from whom he had received a check so

unexpected. This interval was taken advantage of by Mr. Barrett to evacuate the place, and to make a rapid retreat southward; the retreating natives were, however, intercepted at Wanganui, another tight ensuing, in which Te Whero Whero was again defeated, and, after various vicissitudes, the fugitive tribes settled in Port Nicholson and its vicinity, the feeble inhabitants of which locality fled at the approach of their invaders, compelling the master of a vessel lying in their harbor to carry them to the Chatham Islands, where they in their turn hold the aborigines in abject slavery to this day. Such was the state of the native tribes previous to the colonization of the islands.

"The attention of Colonel Wakefield was speedily drawn by the Port Nicholson natives to the rich district from which they had been driven, numerous requests being made of him for a passage in his ship, that, to use their own expressions, "they might once more look upon the land of their fathers." This, of course, could not be complied with, but on visiting Taranaki, he found that the glowing accounts of the natives had not been exaggerated. The representations which he made home respecting the district led to a company being formed at Plymouth for the purpose of occupying Taranaki, and with such vigour were their measures carried out, that a considerable colony, composed for the most part of gentlemen from the south of England, with a numerous body of Devon and Cornish peasants, was speedily on its way to Taranaki, where, amidst all the past troubles of the colony, they have remained, prosperous and increasing, nor do we ever remember one single instance of complaint from any, whilst the commendations of both district and climate abound, from those of the humblest settler to the merited eulogiums of the Bishop of New Zealand.

"New Plymouth, though a small settlement in comparison with others, was the first in New Zealand, not only to feed itself, but to export its own produce. While the

commercial settlements of Wellington and Auckland were importing corn from Sidney and the West coast of South America, New Plymouth was exporting corn to both. Like Nelson, New Plymouth owed nothing to the expenditure caused by the troops, which have been so extensively employed in the other settlements; it was isolated from the disturbed districts, and not a single soldier was necessary for its defence. The inhabitants having no resources of this nature, and but few of a commercial kind beyond the export of their surplus produce, steadily applied themselves to agriculture and sheep-farming, and with such success that a poor or a disappointed man is scarcely to be found amongst them, every man literally living "under his own vine and fig-tree."

"The New Plymouth people are well aware of the productive powers of their own settlement. When the Canterbury Settlement was first projected, it was the recommendation of the Bishop that it should be located at New Plymouth, but the committee of the Canterbury Association decided otherwise. On this a New Plymouth settler shrewdly remarked – "It is no matter, wherever they may settle, we shall have the pleasure and the profit of feeding them till they can run alone, and thus find another market for our rapidly increasing surplus produce." And it is a fact that this, the least of the older settlements, has for many years past fed the larger, there being no limit to its productiveness, but want of small capitalists to reclaim new lands.

"Testimonies to the capabilities of this favored district are abundant – one or two will suffice, as carrying an authority not to be disputed. Sir George Grey, the present Governor of New Zealand, thus spoke of it in a despatch to the Government – "I have never, in any part of the world, seen such extensive tracts of fertile and unoccupied land as at New Plymouth." The Bishop, in his journal of 1848, states – "No one can speak of the soil or scenery of New

Zealand till he has seen both the natural beauties and the ripening harvest of Taranaki." Dieffenbach, in his travels, states – "The whole district of Taranaki, as far as I have seen, rivals any in the world in fertility, beauty, and fitness for becoming the dwelling-place of civilized European communities." And again – "In future times, this picturesque valley (Waiwakaio), as well as Mount Egmont and the smiling open land at its base, will become as celebrated for their beauty as the Bay of Naples, and will attract travellers from all parts of the globe." Mr. Fox, the successor of Colonel Wakefield, also thus writes to the New Zealand Company – "Of the capabilities of the district, in an agricultural point of view, it would be difficult to speak too highly. I was much struck with the fertility of the soil. Some idea of it may be formed from the fact that thirty-five acres of grass and white clover, during last year, carried nearly three hundred sheep for a twelvemonth in excellent condition – -a quantity, I believe, double to what the best pastures in England will carry."

"The drawback to the settlement is the want of a harbor, as usually understood by a land-locked bay. The roadstead is, however, an excellent one, though for three months in the year requiring a vessel to be ready for sea, in the event of a sudden north-west gale. At all other periods of the year the roadstead is as safe as are any of the harbors in the colony; whilst in the dangerous season, the opposite side of the Strait affords harbors of the finest description in abundance, a few hours sufficing to place a vessel in safety, the very gale which compelled them to quit their anchor becoming a fair wind for gaining a port of shelter; the southern shore of Cook's Strait forming a continuous chain of such harbors, the most easily approached being Port Hardy, and the far-famed series of havens forming Queen Charlotte's Sound.

"With this want of a land-locked harbor, it will be long

before New Plymouth becomes a place of any considerable commercial consequence, nor is it desirable that it should be so. The land is the true wealth of the colonists, and to this they have wisely and solely directed their attention, reaping their reward long before those settlements which have for the most part depended on commerce. Not that the roadstead of New Plymouth is unsuited to the purposes of commerce; on the contrary, there are many ports in the British dominions, which are of great commercial consequence, to which access is of tenfold more difficulty than the port of Taranaki. No one, for instance, who knows Madras, would for a moment take into account the difficulty of landing at New Plymouth. Neither would the seaman who has rode out a gale of wind at the Cape of Good Hope, where safety depends altogether on the strength of the ship's cables – escape, in the event of these failing, being next to impossible – make any difficulty of the worst position in which he could be placed at New Plymouth. When the settlement has attained that commercial standing to which its rapidly increasing exports will, at no distant date, entitle it, we shall hear no more of the drawbacks to what is, in reality, an excellent anchorage; and when it shall have become rich enough to improve the natural facilities for forming an artificial harbor at comparatively a trifling expense, there will be an end to the fancied difficulties of the Taranaki roadstead. Still, in the present state of the settlement, the settler will do well to bear in mind, that it would be unwise to form an establishment at New Plymouth for other than agricultural or pastoral purposes; and he may also bear in mind, that in no part of the colony will his reasonable expectations be more surely fulfilled, or his exertions more bountifully rewarded.

"Like Nelson, the society of New Plymouth is of a superior order. The commercial ports of any colony partake in no slight degree of too many of the characteristics of

Portsmouth, or Wapping: these are inseparable from them, and their evil influences extend, more or less, to no inconsiderable portion of the population. The party squabbles, too, which invariably characterise a mixed and heterogeneous population, such as is usually found in great colonial seaports, render them anything but desirable localities for the quiet agriculturist; and the better prices which he obtains, in consequence of his vicinity to a seaport, scarcely compensate for the interruptions to progress and the temptations to non-progress which so frequently beset him.

"Though the population of the New Plymouth settlement scarcely reaches 2,000, its social institutions are very excellent. The means for religious worship are ample and of great efficiency, as regards the various denominations of Christians, who here work together in a harmony not usually found amidst sectarianism. The educational resources of the place are equally excellent, and no man, other than wilfully, can complain that his children are out of the reach of instruction. The only useless social institution is the jail, which happily stands rather in terrorem than in usum; nor, judging from the character of the inhabitants, does it seem likely to be applied to any other use at present.

"The settlement, though in point of climate and soil, unquestionably the finest in New Zealand, has been much neglected. It was originally founded by a body of Devonshire and Cornish gentlemen, and to them it has been chiefly indebted for its present inhabitants. On the cessation of the Plymouth Company, it was turned over to the New Zealand Company, by whom it has been unaccountably neglected. One of their first measures was to raise the price of its waste lands, thus practically prohibiting emigration to it. A restoration of the original price – now that the power of this is in the hands of the Government – would be a boon to the settlement which would speedily produce a marked result. "

For the compilation of the following Returns we are indebted to one of the leading merchants in New Plymouth – Mr. Llewellyn Nash: –

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

Until July quarter of 1853, all our surplus produce went coastwise, and consequently swelled the returns of those ports, viz., Auckland and Wellington, when the goods were shipped out of the colony.

CUSTOMS REVENUE FOR THE FOLLOWING PERIODS.

CUSTOMS REVENUE FOR THE FOLLOWING PERIODS.

CONSUMPTION OF SPIRITS During the period from 1st January, 1851, to 31st March, 1856; duty paid at the port of New Plymouth.

CONSUMPTION OF SPIRITS

QUANTITIES AND VALUES OF SPIRITS Imported under Bond, during the period from the 1st January, 1851, to 31st March, 1856.

QUANTITIES AND VALUES OF SPIRITS Imported

Revenue and Expenditure of the Provincial Government of New Plymouth, for the Year ending the 31st December, 1855.

Total Revenue....................£10,981 9 10
Total Expenditure................ 9,107 8 10

POPULATION.

The Population Tables, now in course of compilation in this district, have not reached us in time for press; but we believe the entire European Population of this small and flourishing province to be about 3,000. There is room enough for ten times that number – with a fair prospect of an early fortune for each.

NELSON.

NELSON.

THAT which Torquay is considered in the West of England, Scarboro' in the north, Matlock in Derbyshire, Tunbridge Wells in Kent, Ventnor in the Isle of Wight, Inverary in Scotland, the Lakes of Killarney in Ireland, or Aberyswith in Wales, Nelson may be considered in New Zealand – the most charming spot in a charming country.

While we are familiar with nearly every part of the United Kingdom, and, for beauty of scenery, climate, and society, give the preference, as occasional visitors at the respective seasons, to the places enumerated above, if fortune decreed that we should select some part of New Zealand for our future residence, we would at once and without hesitation fix on Nelson as our permanent abode.

With a climate even superior to that in any other part of the colony, with respectable society, with a people infinitely more hospitable than any in the southern hemisphere, and with a smaller amount of political animosity and social strife than

may be found in any other province – apart from her commercial advantages and mineral wealth, and considered merely as a delightful retreat for those who would wish to live happily, and who can derive happiness themselves by seeing those around endeavouring to dispense it to others, Nelson above all other places south of the line, is a home where the honest heart will meet with kinsmen, kindness, and friendship, and where every good deed will find a responsive virtue.

Jealous as the provinces are of each other on most matters, the superiority of the climate of Nelson is a fact but seldom if ever questioned. It is so generally admitted, that the writer whom we previously quoted merely observes: –

"It is almost unnecessary to say anything of the climate of Nelson. The extreme salubrity and excellence of that of the whole colony is universally known and admitted. The test which King Charles applied to the English climate, that there were more days in the year when people could be in the open air than anywhere else, applies with considerably more force here. With a very great amount of sunshine, the heat is never excessive, or ever disagreeable; while, with an abundance of rain, there is no continual wet season. The only defect in any part of New Zealand is, that there is too much wind to be agreeable; not that it blows harder than it blows on the English coast at times, but it blows hard oftener. In this respect, however, Nelson is, I believe, the most favored place in the country. The wind, though for about three months in the spring and summer blows fresh for days together, is seldom violent

or tempestuous, and in the winter it blows very little indeed; days and even weeks almost perfectly calm, with brilliant sunshine by day, and magnificent moonlight at night, occurring at that season. In the other settlements of New Zealand, it is not unusual, in extraordinarily fine weather, to hear the observation – "This is Nelson weather," though their own is much above the average of English weather. Of the general mildness of the climate, an idea may be gathered from the fact that the flocks of sheep frequently lamb in mid-winter in the open country; and unless there happens to be an unusually heavy rain or severe frost at the very time of lambing, a very small per centage of losses – perhaps not above five to ten per cent – will occur. Geraniums, fuschias, aenotheras, picotees, and other summer flowers of England, continue to bloom in Nelson during the winter months. One peculiarity of the climate may be noticed, which is, that there are in fact only two seasons – the summer, and what we call winter. There are no transition seasons of spring and autumn, or at all events, hardly perceptible as such; and their absence is the more observed from the fact, that nearly all the indigenous trees are evergreen, so that there is no periodical fall or renewal of the leaf – a circumstance to be regretted by the admirer of the picturesque, were it not compensated by the fact that the forests maintain their usual verdure all the winter long."

From our own experience, we are enabled to remark on one striking feature by which the leading men of Nelson are distinguished from those in many other parts of the colony. The leaders and self-created patriots in some of the provinces – to whom we shall hereafter allude – make their professed patriotism and love of country

merely a vehicle for party or political purposes, while their amount of real interest in the welfare of the colony may be correctly ascertained by the extent of land they possess in their own locality, or by the political capital, in the shape of official revenue, which they derive therefrom. A claptrap speech of some half a dozen foolscap folios may secure for the sham professor a few of those scattered sweets of human "aye," which he places in his political garner to serve his own particular time and purpose. But ask such an one – as we have had occasion to do – for statistical or other information which might interest the British public, and prove of ultimate benefit to the colony, and the colonial gleaner politely declines a service from which there is no prospect either of present fame or future reward.

The very opposite of the selfish motives described inspire the principal residents of Nelson, each of whom would appear anxious to excel the other in a desire not only, by personal sacrifice, to render any and every assistance which might tend to benefit the province and its inhabitants, but in the still more disinterested wish to lend a helping hand, or to volunteer any aid that might be useful to the position, or grateful to the mind of a stranger.

We might instance a variety of remarkable acts of sympathetic hospitality peculiar to the province; but there came under our own immediate

notice one case which, we consider worthy of record. In the ports of New Zealand there are not at present any wharves or piers at which the depth of water is sufficient to enable passengers to disembark even from coasting vessels, without the aid of boats. On arriving in Nelson, after a tempestuous passage, from one of the southern settlements, we were soon on our way to the shore in a small boat, in company with a widow lady and her two children (one an infant), of whom we had seen nothing during the voyage, as the mother's strength had been completely prostrated from the effects of sea sickness. They were on their way to join their friends hi the North Island, but were compelled for a few days, to take up their quarters on shore till the time appointed for the steamer's departure for Taranaki. Presuming we were familiar with the people and locality, the disconsolate looking lady wished to know whether we could direct her to respectable apartments in the town. Having informed the lady that in the want of knowledge she sought might be found our own reason for not supplying it, we accompanied her through the town, and succeeded with the aid of the ship steward, who carried one of the children, in obtaining for herself and little ones apartments in the house of a humble but respectable family. Leaving our hotel on the following morning, we proceeded to inquire after the sea-sick voyagers; but we were not a

little surprised to learn from the domestic of the house in which they had passed the night, that after discharging the cost of their lodging, they accompanied a lady and gentleman by whom they were driven away in a chaise; but whither they went, or the names of the persons with whom they departed could neither be given nor ascertained; and we closed for ever, as we then imagined, our knowledge, if not our interest, in the domestic drama, with the word – mysterious.

A day or two after the period of the incident related, we happened to dine with a gentleman of note in the province. On taking our seat at the sumptuously supplied table of Mr. and Mrs. – – our surprise on the occasion was exceeded by gratification, on recognising as our vis-a-vis, the former disconsolate, but now cheerful looking widow, whose sudden disappearance from her lodgings, had, till now, been unaccounted for. We subsequently discovered that the worthy host and hostess had accidentally heard of the widow's arrival and friendless position, and having in early life had some slight knowledge of her deceased husband, they at once, and without ceremony waited on the lady, and insisted not only on conveying her to their house, but also on making that house a home for herself and children during their stay in Nelson.

This simple but truthful story requires no comment from us, beyond a hope that the spontaneous

act of hospitality it reveals, may open a way to the hearts of those of the human kind who need a lesson from a page of life, copied in its pure yet potent simplicity from nature's noble work of charity.

Except that her inhabitants are in a position rather to bestow than to receive alms, Nelson may be compared to an extensive circle of comfortable alms houses, in which, though strangers by birth, the inmates are all members of one family – the introduction to whom of any respectable new comer, will at once enable the stranger to participate in the ordinary fare and family festivities of those whose only kindred tie is that of faith with good fellowship.

For the following description and statistics of the province we are indebted to a local publication.

"The province of Nelson comprises all that part of the Middle Island which lies between Cook's Straits on the north, and the Mawera or Grey, in S. latitude, 42 deg. 32' and Hurunui rivers on the south; and contains about 18,000,000 of acres of very diversified character. On the west a range of lofty mountains of bold and rugged outline extends along the coast, here and there pierced by valleys of various width, through which several rivers and streams find an outlet to the sea. Of these the Wakapori, Haihai, Karamea, Buller, Ngawaipakiro, and Grey, are the principal. None of these rivers are navigable for vessels of any size, and the Buller and Grey are the only ones which have yet been entered by boats; nor is any harbor known to exist between Cape Farewell and the Grey, except at

West Wanganui, where there is a safe harbor for moderate-sized vessels. From the generally precipitous character of the coast range, the land available for tillage along the west coast is of comparatively small extent, and is contained within the limits of the several valleys which intersect the mountain chain. The valleys of the Karamea, the Buller, and the Grey, are the largest, and contain respectively about 10,000, 30,000, and 50,000 acres of fertile land, chiefly wooded. Towards the head of these and the parallel valleys the country, though rough and broken, is adapted for pasturage. From the head of the Grey, according to native report, there is a communication with the Port Cooper Plains. Along the western portion of the northern boundary of the province formed by Cook's Straits, is Massacre Bay, containing about 60,000 acres of level, or slightly undulating land, much of it, especially in the Aorere, Takaka, and Motupipi districts, of most fertile character, the soil on the banks of the rivers of the same name being alluvial, in many places covered with heavy timber of the most valuable kinds. Good anchorage for vessels of all sizes is found at the Tata Islands, and small vessels can lie at the mouth of the Motupipi, and Pakawau rivers. Coal has been found in various places in these districts, and at Pakawau and Motupipi it is regularly worked for domestic purposes and for the use of steamers. Limestone of very superior quality abounds at the Tata Islands, where it is easily conveyed away, and in the mountain range separating Massacre Bay from Blind Bay. At the southern extremity of the latter bay the town of Nelson is situated, where, and in the adjoining districts of the Waimea, Moutere, Motueka, and the smaller valleys bordering the bay, enjoying a delicious climate, the principal amount of the population of the province is settled. Here flourishing and productive farms, yearly increasing in number and extent, are fast taking the place of the natural wilderness,

and considerable quantities of surplus produce have for some years been exported thence to the neighboring colonies. A few miles from the town of Nelson is the Dun Mountain, where rich specimens of copper ore crop out on the surface, to work which a company has been formed and a preliminary staff of miners introduced from England. Copper ore also exists in the hills in the neighborhood of the bay.

"Inland, the valleys of the upper Motueka, Motupiko, and Lake Arthur districts, have long been occupied as stock runs. Eastward from Blind Bay, Port Hardy in D'Urville's Island, the Pelorus at the south end of Admiralty Bay, Port Gore, Queen Charlotte's Sound, and Port Underwood, all opening from the Straits, present with their numerous ramifications a continuous succession of noble harbors of great size, unrivalled for accessibility and safety.

"These harbors are surrounded by hills and mountain ranges, which are the spurs, modified in height, of the great central range, which, except where broken by various valleys and gorges, extends the whole length of the middle island from Cook's Straits to those of Foveaux. In many places, however, in the vicinity of the harbors, especially at the head of the Pelorus, and at the south west extremity of Queen Charlotte's Sound, are blocks of fertile land, the more valuable from the facility of access afforded by the deep bays along which they he. On the south east side of Queen Charlotte's Sound, is the harbor of Waitohi, or Newton Bay, where a township has been laid out as a port for the Wairau and Awatere, to which districts a road through a nearly level wooded valley of about twelve miles in length is now being formed by the local government.

"The plains and tributary valleys of the Wairau and Awatere, contain about 200,000 acres of land, and are bounded by the prolonged spurs of the Kaikora mountains and the central chain, which towards the coast sink into

low rounded hills, gradually rising thence as they extend southward. Both lower and higher hills are covered with rich natural pasture, and may contain about 400,000 acres occupied as stock runs, where already about 200,000 sheep, and from 8,000 to 9,000 cattle are depastured. From the Wairau and Awatere respectively, two passes (discovered by Mr. Weld,) through the mountain ranges admit of a communication with the Port Cooper Plains; – one by the head of the Awatere over 'Bearfell's Pass,' and crossing the valleys of the Acheron and the Clarence rivers, leads to the Wai-au-ua plain; the other along the Wairau by 'Turndale,' and thence to the Clarence, where it joins the former line. Both routes are easily traversed by stock, and when a track has been cut through about nine miles of comparatively open wood, the journey between the towns of Nelson and Christchurch may be made on horseback in four or five days.

"From the southern base of the Kaikoras to the Hurunui, which here forms the southern boundary of the province, is a tract of about 350,000 acres, within the limits of which are the Wai-au-ua and Hurunui plains, divided and surrounded by hills and mountains of more or less height. Much of the level portion of this country is fitted for tillage, while all of it, hills and plains alike, is covered naturally with grass, and is fast being occupied by stock.

"By the Census Returns for 1854 the population of the province amounted to 5,858 souls, of whom 3,186 were males, and 2,672 females. By the Returns of Immigration and Births, since the above were taken, upwards of 1000 souls have been added to the population, which thus amounts to about 7000 souls.

"The Agricultural Returns for 1854 showed 16,538 acres fenced; of which there were, besides other crops, in wheat, 2378 acres; oats, 1738 acres; barley, 809 acres; potatoes, 460 acres; garden and orchards, 514 acres.

"The Returns of Stock at the same period were as follows: – -horses, 1190; horned cattle, 10,559; sheep, 183,231; pigs, 4401; goats, 3005; mules, 10.

"Appropriation out of the revenue of the province £32,933 6s. 7d. for the service of the year, viz – £6,392 2s. 4d. for the charge of the civil government, and £26,541 14s. 3d. for public purposes."

From the performances of the "Nelson Amateur Musical Society" the public derive so much pleasure and intellectual enjoyment, that in sketching the social habits and tastes of the settlers in a colony where entertainment of a superior order is but seldom found, it may not be out of place to mention, that at. present no other part of New Zealand can boast of a body of gentlemen who possess, or at least display a tithe of the musical talent which the members of the class in question are masters of. Mr. Bonnington, their able composer and leader, is himself one of the most talented musicians, while he is certainly one of the most modest and unassuming men in the colony; and it is gratifying to know that the musical concord of sweet sounds, dispensed by the leader and his amateur friends for the delight of others, is symbolical of the social harmony by which the gentlemen of the society are themselves united. One or two of the most pleasant evenings we passed in New Zealand were those which were enlivened by dulcet strains from the agreeable and talented performances of the "Nelson Amateur Musical Society."

In bringing our remarks on the province to a close, we have only now to tender our warmest thanks to those gentlemen who kindly aided the prosecution of our work and rendered us other valuable assistance. To Doctor and Mrs. Renwick for affording us every facility for visiting as many parts of the interior as our limited stay enabled us to take advantage of, our grateful thanks are due. But for other individual acts of kindness and generosity, surpassing any within our experience as travellers, a private acknowledgment would be more suitable than a public one. And should we, at some future period, re-visit New Zealand – an event by no means improbable – for the purpose of recording the vast changes and improvements which a few years cannot fail to effect in her social, political, and commercial position, we should endeavour to prolong our stay in the Torquay, or model town, of the Antipodes – Nelson.

THE MINERAL RICHES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Gold, copper and other minerals have at present been found in New Zealand only in small quantities, and in particular localities. The search has hitherto been partial, and may account for the absence of more general and important information on a subject which we have reason to believe

will determine the future commercial position of the colony. Mineral treasures have not yet been secured here in large quantities – each discovery, for reasons hereafter assigned, having been postponed or abandoned almost as soon as made. In the like manner gold was previously found, and the discovery for a time neglected, in another region in the South Pacific. The fruitful working of the Californian mines, however, changed Australian apathy into action. In one of her Majesty's (then) comparatively unknown dependencies, a small but spirited band of adventurers was induced to prosecute, within the bowels of the earth, a search for the material portions of that treasure which had only been found in small quantities near the surface. The success of the enterprise soon became generally known. But the extraordinary commercial results to which the knowledge of the first and subsequent successes have given birth are already matters of history. The heads may be given in a few words.

In the brief space of six years about 300,000 human beings, chiefly from Great Britain, have been attracted to the colony of Victoria, in Australia. The magnet of attraction has been, as all the world knows, – gold. The effect of this, the greatest social event of modern times, has been truly wonderful. At the antipodes of England cities and towns have sprung up where none previously existed; and these cities and towns have

been peopled by European (chiefly British) subjects. In exchange for each ton weight of gold, received by the mother country, the colonial offspring has annually taken hundreds of tons of merchandise. In this manner, and in the space of time previously named – six years – England has received of the precious metal nearly £50,000,000 sterling, in or for a corresponding return of merchandise. So far as it goes, the following Table (compiled by Mr. Westgarth) will show the comparative yield of gold, and the extent of mercantile demand arising therefrom, of the two great gold producing countries, California and Victoria: –

Comparative Table of the product of Gold, Shipping Inwards, and Population of California and Victoria.

Comparative Table of the product of Gold, Shipping Inwards, and Population of California and Victoria.

* For the first six months only.

Of the important benefits derived and still likely to be derived by England and America through the commercial expanse indicated by the above figures we will not speak, as the figures speak for themselves. A chapter either on Australia or California would at present be out of

place. A simple reference to the rapid growth of these national dependencies, rather than to the value of the fruit arising therefrom, will be sufficient to illustrate our subject. And what other event of modern times would enable us to deal with realities whose vast proportions invest them with so fabulous an appearance. Jointly, Victoria and California may at the present time boast of a population of about one million. In that vast number there could not probably be found ten thousand persons who, ten years since, were familiar, even by report, with the respective regions they now inhabit. In the ordinary course of things, and without the aid of that great magnet of attraction which is decried by many yet worshipped by most, centuries would be required by new countries and colonies to accomplish, commercially, what has been achieved by California and Victoria in the brief space of a few years. By these comparatively new but mighty settlements the usual work of an age has been performed in a shorter space of time than is sometimes devoted to a youth's apprenticeship. Still, in this, as in all great or more gradual undertakings, one particular appliance has been found indispensable; and the rapid attainment of Californian and Victorian greatness may be traced to the additional application of that great vital power – labor. Without a supply of labor the golden countries would at this moment have been in a comparative state of

insignificance; and, without the gold discoveries, that labor would have still been wanting. This touches at once on the leading question with regard to the colony more immediately under consideration.

In New Zealand gold and other minerals have occasionally been, and still are found; but the want of labor has hitherto prevented anything like a systematic, or, indeed, more than a temporary prosecution of such discoveries. Until the supply of labor be sufficient to determine the probable value of her mineral resources, the simple question whether the colony will or will not become a great gold producing country must necessarily remain a matter for speculation. Presuming, however, the extravagant prophecies or gloomy forebodings of strangers to be somewhat more speculative than an opinion founded on the personal experience of those who have just returned from the colony, we may venture a few words, rather from our own knowledge of the past and present, than from vain predictions, either with regard to golden harvests or blighted hopes of the future. Founded on ocular demonstration in the country, and confirmed by advices just received, our humble opinion prompts us to declare that gold and other minerals are to be found not only in one but in many parts of New Zealand – although the province of Nelson is the only one in which professional mining operations have at

present commenced. The copper on the Dun Mountain, within nine miles of Nelson, is declared to be of the very best description, and promises a remunerative return for the investment of the fortunate individuals to. whom the property belongs, as also to any future body of shareholders who may turn such valuable property to the best account. However great may be the temporary successes or failures of a few individuals, or of a few hundreds, who dig to the extent of two or three feet and then abandon the search for other employment, we shall still indulge the belief that the mineral riches of New Zealand will ultimately prove of immeasurable value. Until the country has been scientifically and systematically explored, and the value of the mineral discoveries properly tested, there will continue to be, as there now exists, a variety of conflicting opinions on the subject. Until the test has been applied, which can alone dispel speculation, our own opinion will remain unchanged. But when, or in what manner, will the problem be solved? The manner of applying the test is well known; but the only power by which the application can be made is wanting. What is that power? Not capital; yet at the same time the great and only capital required for the undertaking – labor. At present, the entire population of the colony will not number more than about one-half the inhabitants located on a single gold field in Victoria, while the laboring

portion is not a tithe of what is required for agricultural or domestic purposes. Male servants, who can readily obtain 10s. or 12s. a day for a few hours easy employment, find a more agreeable way of making gold than by digging for it; and the settlers themselves, who at present make plenty of money by sending their vegetable productions to other golden regions, appear somewhat indifferent about obtaining a market and a return for their produce nearer home. With a little reflection, this indifference would surely disappear; for, as the time is already passed when some of the New Zealand provinces required assistance from others, the time will soon come when Australia will yield, in abundance, vegetable food for her population – be the increase of that population what it may. Socially, the presence of large numbers of gold diggers, with their attendant vices, may not add to the respectability of the (now) respectable inhabitants of New Zealand; but rich gold fields, with the appliance necessary to their immediate development, would (commercially) make the colony, in a few years, what, with or without other than her agricultural and pastoral gold fields, she ultimately will be – "the Great Britain of the southern hemisphere." But either in the rapid or gradual progress to that end, a large or moderate supply of labor is needed. Without the application of an extensive supply of labor, mineral treasures will remain concealed, even though their hiding places

be discovered; and without a moderate supply of labor, the more homely fruits of agriculture will be neglected, or will at least fail to extend and multiply. Whether, therefore, the mineral treasures of New Zealand be great or little – confined to particular localities, or extending to all – labor is still wanted, and is, indeed, the great and almost only want of the colony. Beyond this fact, there remains but one question – how is that labor to be supplied? We direct attention to the want, but cannot ourselves furnish it. The English press, however – capable of great things because worthy of great things – by calling public attention to the subject, may accomplish on an extended scale what we can only perform on a limited one. By the aid of the press the golden region of Victoria was first peopled; and by the same aid the still more golden region, because more favored climate of New Zealand may be populated. It requires some such power to direct the tide of emigration towards this comparatively unknown but incomparable colony. But any human power that may ultimately turn the tide in this direction will, if we mistake not, subsequently find itself powerless in stopping it. Labor is the only capital required by New Zealand. Assist her to this, and the boon will not remain unrequited, although your assistance will no longer be needed.

BLACK BALL LINE OF PACKETS FROM LIVERPOOL TO NEW ZEALAND.

Liverpool merchants appear to be living types of a progressive age. They are owners not only of a fine fleet of ships, but also of a most enterprising spirit; and if not actually in advance of the requirements of the time, they will assuredly not be found much in the rear. Certain lethargic old members of a fleeting class, who regard every innovation on ancient forms or exploded principles as a retrograde movement, may possibly view with amazement and horror these modern spirits of "express," and may condemn them as daring shoots of the fast, or Manchester school. Well; be the school in which they were tutored what it may, the graduates, by assisting to develop the resources of other countries, have tended in no small degree to the commercial advancement of their own. As pioneers, these gentlemen, with their floating palaces, have played an important part in conveying to the rich valleys and creeks of Victoria the innumerable actors who now figure on that golden region; and the announcement embodied at the head of these remarks is a visible sign that these same Liverpool merchants will not

direct the spirit of their enterprise exclusively to the supply of labor for one colony, when another cries aloud for aid. Let us, at least, hope that their own success has been, and may continue to be, equal to their desert. In leading countless debutants across their boards, as a preliminary step to fortune, the conductors or promoters of the movement deserve to be, if they have not been, suitably rewarded.

Acting for one of the Provincial Governments of New Zealand, the respectable firm of Gladstone, Morrison and Co., of London, have made arrangements with James Baines and Co. for the conveyance of one thousand emigrants. But we can state, on the best authority, that James Baines and Co., will continue to start (monthly) first class ships to all or nearly all the New Zealand settlements. Such a movement has been long wanted, and the want severely felt by the colony. Hitherto there has been no regular line, or rather no regular time of starting ships from England. Such or such a vessel is advertised to leave about such or such a date – which is no date at all. If the announcement has any definite meaning, it means when the vessel is full, or when the time of her departure may suit the convenience of the owners. To expatiate on the delay and uncertainty arising from this vicious system will be unnecessary, as the inconvenience thus caused both to shippers and passengers must be obvious.

James Baines and Co. are about to remedy the evil, as the regularity of their line will insure either punctuality or commercial extinction elsewhere.

NOTE. – For the benefit of intending emigrants, we intended to have given a statistical and detailed account of the rise and progress of the interesting province of Nelson; but in this, as in other provinces of New Zealand, we unfortunately trusted for local information to the volunteered services of others, instead of gleaning from various sources any scattered fragments of evidence for ourselves. The postal arrangements, however, between England and New Zealand are neither so expeditious nor so safe as to induce us to conclude, by the non-arrival of the expected papers, that such papers have not been sent. As there is room for doubt on the subject, our respected volunteers, rather than our readers, shall have the benefit of it.

WELLINGTON.

WELLINGTON.

THE province of Wellington has been so ably described, and the statistics of the settlement so recently compiled – although with a little of that partiality peculiar to this part of the colony – by a local government official, that, with the publication in this work of the leading features of the account, our own remarks will be few and brief: for while it would be impossible for us to furnish a more favorable picture of the province than the one in question, it will merely be necessary, for the information of our readers, to supply that sketch with one or two rather important omissions.

In a court of justice, an impartial judge may sometimes be heard informing a timid or reluctant witness that he is not bound to commit or criminate himself. In this respect, nations and provinces are no doubt entitled to a privilege possessed by the humblest of their citizens. It is therefore only right to suppose that the Wellington historian, whose account we shall publish, fairly

recorded the feelings and wishes of the community, by remaining silent on a subject the proclamation of which would have been regarded by the inhabitants of the town as a serious crime. And by such an error the public commissioner would have abused his trust and misrepresented his constituents, by saying too much, and by truly representing the city instead of the citizens.

On the subject under consideration, the employe performed his part with more discretion, if not with greater fairness than the employer. While the former remained silent on a disaster, the discussion of which might have proved injurious, to the interests of the province, the latter gave publicity to the matter in a way which, if not intended, was- certainly calculated not only to deceive strangers, but also to benefit Wellington at the expense of her neighbours, by leading foreigners to suppose the entire colony of New Zealand to be the victim of a periodical local disease, which, in reality, only seriously affects the province of Wellington.

Wellington is, and has been subject to severe shocks of earthquake, which occur with more or less severity at intervals of six or seven years. Slight shocks are frequently felt; and during our stay of six weeks in the province we experienced several of these gentle vibrations which, beyond a feeble or tremulous motion of the earth, in some instances scarcely perceptible, produce neither per-

sonal inconvenience nor alarm. We believe that life and even personal property would have been secure from the effects of the severest of these convulsions, if proper precaution had been adopted in erecting wooden instead of brick houses; for although the majority are built of the lighter material, it is only in the latter where the loss has been severely felt. The last severe shock, which took place on the 23rd of January, 1855, destroyed property in the town to the amount of £20,000. The original proprietor and landlord of the hotel at which we were located during our stay in Wellington was we believe the only life lost on this occasion, although one or two persons of delicate health subsequently died of fright arising from the effects of the shock. Between this and the preceding earthquake of any serious importance there was an interval of about seven years, the previous one having taken place in 1848.

Patent as the foregoing facts are to every person in New Zealand, it being well known that the province of Wellington is the only one in the colony seriously affected by these convulsions of the earth, the leading men of the place, in their published manifestos, modestly admit that "New Zealand is subject to periodical or occasional shocks of earthquake" – thereby leading foreigners to suppose the colony and all parts thereof to be equally liable to the visitation, although, in reality, the other five settlements are as free from the

clanger as Greenwich or Gravesend. It is for the purpose of correcting a false impression in the minds of some of our English friends that our duty enforces a prominent notice of the subject.

Unfortunately, it is not on this subject only, but on nearly every other, that the great men of Wellington, either by attempting to disguise a bad position or by assuming a false one, provoke the merited censure of their neighbours; while, by ill-feeling and want of unity amongst themselves, they do more than their worst enemies could effect to retard the advancement and prosperity of their own province.

In little, as in great things, the Wellingtonians find it impossible to conceal their proverbial desire to benefit themselves at the expense of their brother colonists. As one case out of many, we may instance the production of a local work from which that able description of the province, which will herein appear, was extracted. The work is named or rather misnamed "The New Zealand Almanack;" and any one unacquainted with the country would, on looking over the book, reasonably pronounce Wellington the metropolis of the colony. While, as may be seen by the extract, no point is left untouched which could place more prominently before the public the leading features of this province; and while the work gives a brief review of three other settlements – Auckland, the seat of government, and the capital of the colony,

and Taranaki, are thrown overboard altogether. Beyond giving the names of the officials, not a word is said about either of those provinces. Our readers can only imagine a parallel case, by supposing a work issued at St. Alban's, or some other third-rate town, entitled "The English Almanack and Gazetteer," giving a lengthy description of the town in which it is published, and a few others, but leaving London and Greenwich entirely out of the question.

The elements of respectable society are not wanting in this province, but those elements are divided and subdivided by so many under currents of "envy, hatred, and malice," that it would be next to impossible to find in any given number of the inhabitants that gentle concord and unity of action of which the atmosphere of good society and the key to social harmony are composed. The local press, which comprises a couple of newspapers, may be pronounced the worst conducted in the colony. Indeed the press and the acrimony of the people are typical of each other, while both are as bad as anything in a civilised country can be. The military, their friends, and a select few, are the only exceptions to the cross-grained group.

Apart from the terrestrial and social drawbacks we have enumerated, the province of Wellington shares in an equal degree the advantages of the other settlements. She possesses more and finer land than can be found in the province of Auck-

land; and although not to be compared with the last-named settlement in a commercial point of view, her imports and exports are considerable; and her laborers, mechanics, merchants, and landowners, make as much money as that made by the inhabitants of any other part of the colony.

The following account will enable our readers to form a tolerably correct idea of the extent and resources of the province: –

"Wellington was founded in January, 1840, the first emigrant ship, the Aurora, having arrived on the 22nd of that month. It was the first settlement in New Zealand.

"Port Nicholson, as fine a harbor as any in the world, and the most central in New Zealand, was most judiciously chosen as the site of the settlement; judiciously not so much with a view to immediate progress, as to its ultimate importance among the settlements of the colony. The neighborhood of the harbor is rugged, and heavily timbered, affording, except in detached valleys (of which the Hutt is the largest and best) little land suitable for either agriculture or pasture. But at the distance of about forty miles on the N. E., and sixty miles on the N. W., commence some of the finest districts for both purposes in the whole colony; the Wairarapa valley extending from the head of Palliser Bay for sixty miles inland, and thence by a series of fertile plains to Hawke's Bay and the boundaries of the Taupo country, some one hundred and fifty miles further in the first direction; the Manawatu, Ranghitikei, and Wanganui districts in the other, offer as fine fields for settlement as any that human industry has ever reclaimed. Port Nicholson is the commercial depot for these vast districts of many million acres of fertile land, with a coast

line of full four hundred miles. Its advantageous position in reference to the other settlements of the colony is apparent on a glance at the map. Its rapidly increasing revenue, imports, and exports, prove the impression which is being made on its back country, and foreshadow a future greatness for its commercial enterprise which will probably not be surpassed by that of any other port in the colony.

"The subsidiary settlement of Wanganui, within the province of Wellington, is fast growing into importance.

"Its fine river, navigable for good sized brigs and schooners, flowing through a tract of unbounded fertility, and now being connected with other districts of equal goodness, such as the Ranghitikei and Manawatu, by a government road, has already drawn a considerable population to it. The Wairarapa valley is fully occupied with sheep and cattle stations, and two small farm settlements have been established in this district, pioneers of the agricultural future of the valley. At Hawke's Bay, sheep stations are being rapidly formed, and the port town of Napier cannot fail before long to become a place of considerable importance

"As regards the Provincial Government of Wellington, everything has worked smoothly and well under the new Constitution. I. E. Featherston, Esq., M. D., who had earned the confidence of the public by a long and consistent political career, was elected Superintendent in July, 1853, without opposition. The elections for the Provincial Councils were held in August. On meeting the Council (which assembled on the 28th October), his Honor the Superintendent avowed his intention of adopting the principle of Responsible Government, and the gentlemen whom he appointed to his Executive Council were forthwith sent back to their constituents for re-election. The success of the experiment is admitted by all (even by those who

originally opposed it) to have been complete, and to have established beyond a doubt the feasibility of working the machinery of Government on the responsible principle in any community however small.

"The legislation of the Council was generally of a useful and practical character, and only one measure (the Superintendent's Absence Act) was vetoed by the officer administering the Government. To Wellington and to its first Superintendent will belong the credit in the history of the colony of having been the first to establish the principle of Ministerial Responsibility. The Council was prorogued on the 17th of February to meet again on the 21st of November, 1854.

"No better test of the efficiency of the free institutions bestowed on the colony can be appealed to than the expenditure of the revenue. To take 1849 and about the middle of Governor Grey's administration, as a fair average year, it appears that in the northern province, with an estimated revenue of £30,000, no less than £28,000 was appropriated to official departments; only the contemptible balance of £2,000 being expended on public works or undertakings, and nothing whatever on immigration. Under the new Constitution the provincial revenue of Auckland for 1854, was estimated at £28,000, of which no less than £13,000 was appropriated to public works. In the Southern Province in 1849, the revenue was estimated at £28,000, of which all but £4, 019 was expended on official departments. The provincial revenue of Wellington for 1854, under the new Constitution, was estimated at £18,000, and of this £8,950 was appropriated to public works and undertakings; and the revenue having greatly exceeded the estimates, nearly two-thirds of its amount have actually been expended on public works, or reserved to pay for the passages of assisted emigrants, of whom 280 have been sent for. During the latter years of absolute government all

public works bad ceased, or all but ceased in the colony. In the Wellington province alone, during last year, upwards of eleven miles of road, chiefly metalled, and for carriages were constructed; so forcible is the contrast between the results of self-government and colonial office rule."

STATISTICS.

"The following statistical information relative to the province of Wellington has been collected in part from the Census Returns of the province for the year 1855, as published, by direction of his honor the Superintendent, in the "Provincial Gazette" of the 26th September, 1855; and in part from other official documents to which the writer has been enabled to obtain access.

POPULATION.

"The total European population of the province of Wellington, exclusive of the military and their families, amounted, at the commencement of the present year, to 8,124 souls; of whom 4,504 were males, and 3,620 females. In 1845, five years after the foundation of the settlement, the total population was 4,383; in the next five years it increased to 5,911; so that the population is now nearly double what it was in 1845, and nearly fifty per cent, higher than it was in 1850; the last five years having made an addition to the population of 2,213 souls..

AGRICULTURE.

"In 1845 there were under crop in the several districts in the settlement 1,244 acres; in 1850 the number had

increased to 4,504 1/4 acres; and in 1855 to 10,530 1/2 acres. We gather from this, that the amount of cultivated land in the province is more than double what it was in 1850; and as the price of agricultural produce has, in that period, doubled also, the market value of the agricultural produce of the province has been multiplied fourfold. The two small farm settlements, situate in the Valley of the Wairarapa, and distant about sixty miles from Wellington, are progressing favorably; and when the high road is completed to them, which it is fully expected will be the case in the course of the present summer, the agricultural wealth of those districts, and, in consequence, of the province, will be rapidly augmented. Under the amended land regulations, which are now in force, ample and suitable reserves for the sites of agricultural and small farm settlements are to be made in every district, before the lands in such districts are thrown open to general purchase; and whenever any reserve has been made for the site of a small farm settlement, a block of the adjacent land, to the extent of one third of the reserve will be annexed to it as common land, upon which, as well as upon all unsold lands within the reserve, every resident occupier will have a right of pasturage for a limited period. The lands of the province will continue to be disposed of at the price of 10s. per acre; but no land in these reserved blocks is to be sold until it has been accurately surveyed, allotted, and mapped. Any individual is competent to purchase as small a quantity as forty acres; and no allotment is to exceed 320 acres, or half a square mile in extent. The great drawback to the agricultural progress of the province, is the want of roads to convey the produce to market; but as these are now in rapid process of formation, and as Wellington furnishes a good market for all the productions of the soil, there can be no doubt but that the agriculture of the province will be ere long greatly extended.

STOCK.

"In 1845 the total number of sheep in the settlement of Wellington was 12,002; in 1850 this number had increased to 42,652; and in 1855, the Returns give a total of 193,701; though there is reason to believe that this number has been considerably under-estimated. The Returns of Nelson, previous to those of the present year, always shewed that that province, in comparison with all others, possessed the largest number of sheep; but a reference to the Returns for the year 1855, of the number of sheep in the provinces of Nelson and Wellington respectively, will shew that there are in the latter province 10,380 more sheep than in that of the former. In 1845, the number of horned cattle in this province was 2,298; in 1850 they had increased to 8,068; and in 1855 to 18,400. The Nelson Returns give 10,599 cattle for the year 1855; but it will be seen that there are in this province nearly 8,000 more cattle than there are in that of Nelson. In 1845 Wellington possessed 260 horses; in 1850 they had increased to 909; and in 1855 the Europeans owned 1,608, exclusive of a very large number belonging to Maories. In 1845 the total live stock in the Wellington settlement amounted to 15,125; in 1850 to 52,828; in 1855 the total live stock belonging to Europeans alone amounted to 220,134, or exclusive of pigs, to 215,987. By far the largest number of sheep are in the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa districts; there being in the former 80,869, and in the latter 74,373. The Wairarapa and Wanganui-Ranghitikei districts possess the largest number of horned cattle. The Hutt and Wanganui the largest number of horses.

ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.

"The following table shows the total population, the resident qualified voters, the amount of live stock, and the quantity of land under crop in the five electoral districts of the province.

ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.

"The total number of voters on the Electoral Roll of the province amounts to 1858; the total number which appears on the printed roll for the year 1855-6 is 1896; but a number of persons whose names appear on the printed roll are either dead or have left the province. The difference between the number of persons resident in the several districts who are entitled to the franchise, and the number on the Electoral Roll, is owing in a great measure to one person in many cases being registered for several districts. The number of persons, however, who really possess the requisite qualification is much larger than is shewn by the above returns.

IMMIGRATION.

"The Harbor Master's Returns for the year 1854 give an excess of Immigration over Emigration of 523 souls. Nearly 500 persons were introduced into the province in the beginning of the year 1855, by the Provincial Government, partly under the loan, and partly under the bounty system. In the year 1854, 319 souls arrived at the port of Wellington from Great Britain, and 697 from Australia. The total number of Immigrants in 1854 was 1055; but owing to the arrangements made by the Provincial Government, there is reason to believe that the number this year will be much greater.

EDUCATION.

"The Returns give 2153 of the population as unable to read; 1176 who can read only; and 4705 who can read and write; but there can be no doubt that the number of this latter class has been considerably over-estimated. The total number unable to write is 3329, from which, if we deduct the population under seven years of age – 1998 – the total number above seven who are unable to write will be 1331; but this will be below the real amount by the number under seven who are able both to read and write. There is too much reason to fear, unless the Government vigorously takes up the matter, and meets in its efforts with the co-operation of the settlers, that while the returns will annually exhibit an enormous increase in the resources and material wealth of the province, the education of the people, and the educational establishments of the province, will be left miserably in the rear.

EXPORTS.

"The province of Wellington can now boast of three ports of entry, viz. – Wellington, Wanganui, and Napier. The following returns of exports of New Zealand produce are from the port of Wellington only, the approximate value of which last year was £78,494 2s. 6d. The wool exported from Wellington in the year 1854, was 622,384lbs., valued at £38,447 2s. 10d; potatoes, 1242 tons, valued at £13,645 19s.; sawn timber, 734,249 feet, valued at £4,734 5s.; flour, 111 tons, 9 cwt., valued at £3,617; butter, 70,262lbs., valued at £4,992 0s. 2d.; oil, 46 1/2 tuns, valued at £2,496; oats, 6454 bushels, valued at £2,652 16s.; rope and cordage, 47 tons, 16 cwt, valued at £2,664 10s.; and cheese, valued at £694 2s. 8d. The total estimated value of the exports from the province of Wellington in the year 1854, amounted to £83,547 2s. 5d. The total shipping entered outwards at the port of Wellington last year, amounted to sixty-three, of 15,021 tons, and 757 men. The far greater portion of the exports of Wellington are sent either to Sydney or Melbourne. Even in the article of wool little more than one third is sent from that port direct to London. The value of the exports of Wellington is now four times greater than it was in 1848.

THE LAND.

"The amount of the available land of the province, over which the native title has been already extinguished, may be estimated, in round numbers, at 3,000,000 acres; of which, in round numbers, 300,000 acres have been alienated; leaving 2,700,000 acres now available for pasturage

or agriculture. Under the original scheme of the Company, 120,900 acres of land were sold at Wellington and Wanganui, of which 92,900 acres were bought by absentees, and only 28,000 acres by residents. Scrip, in 1853, had been issued to absentees to the amount of 47,000 acres, and to residents to the amount of 46,000 acres. From June 1847, to the 4th March, 1853, there was scarcely any land disposed of in the province either by the company or the Crown. Since the new land regulations came into operation, which reduced the price to 10s. an acre, viz. – from the 4th March, 1853, to the 31st December, 1854, the total quantity of Crown lands sold amounted to 119,726 1/4 acres. That is, in the Wellington district 13,277 1/2 acres were sold. At Wanganui, 19,009 3/4. At Ranghitikei and Turakina 34,355. In the Wairarapa and East Coast 32, 234, exclusive of that sold by the Land Commissioner in the Hawke's Bay district. In these sales nearly £50,000 worth of scrip, representing 50,000 acres, were absorbed; and £38,793 received in cash by the Crown Land Commissioner.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

"The revenues of the province consist of Customs' Receipts, of the proceeds of the Land Sales, and of the incidental receipts, such as Licenses, Fees, &c, &c. Of the revenue derived from the two first mentioned sources the General and Provincial Governments each, under existing arrangements, receives half; the receipts from all other sources of revenue are paid into the provincial chest. The gross customs' receipts of the year 1855 may be estimated, in round numbers, at £30,000. The net customs' receipts were estimated by the Provincial Government at that amount; but the high prices which have been obtained for bread, meat, and fuel, and the other chief necessaries of

life, have diminished the funds which would have been otherwise expended in the purchase of duty paying articles. The total ordinary revenue of the province for the year 1855 will most probably amount to £30,000, and the territorial revenue to £8,000; the total income of the province for the year 1855 will thus be £38,000. The civil expenditure of the province for the current year will amount to about £12,000; leaving £26,000, or more than two-thirds of the whole revenue of the province, to be expended on immigration, roads, bridges, and other works of public utility."

There is stationed in Wellington a considerable detachment of H. M. 65th Regiment. The presence of this fine body of men (with an excellent band) occasionally enliven an otherwise exceedingly dull and uninteresting town.

Note. – To Mr. James Gray, of Melbourne, who has made himself acquainted with most parts of New Zealand, and who is the owner of no inconsiderable portion of land in the colony, we were indebted for a graphic and highly interesting sketch of Wanganui, the finest and most nourishing district in the Wellington province. But, by the unaccountable loss or absence of that paper, (with others) we are prevented for the present from placing the details before our readers.

CANTERBURY.

CANTERBURY.

HAD we to name one of the divisions of New Zealand in which to fix on some spot for our future home – next to Nelson, and as a settlement whose rapid and fruitful growth gives promise of early greatness, we should select the province of Canterbury.

The progress made here since the foundation of the settlement (about six years since) is truly surprising. In the infant stage of a settlement, and in the early development of rising importance, as an agricultural and pastoral district, no other part of the colony has displayed greater foresight, intelligence, and vigour, than Canterbury. Probably neither of the other settlements, on their formation, could boast of similar advantages with regard to capital, &c. At the same time, Canterbury has turned every point in her favor to the best account; and, like her well-educated and intelligent sons, she promises at no distant period to obtain and dispense some of those substantial

prizes peculiar to the colony, which will enable her children to cultivate elsewhere, if not here, that flower of the mind that may lead to fruitful prizes of a still higher order.

Lyttleton, which takes its name from its excellent harbor, is the seaport or commercial town of Canterbury, while Christchurch, the capital of the province, which is separated by a lofty range of hills, and at a distance of about seven miles from the port, is at present the chief or only town in an agricultural district, which altogether contains about 4,000,000 of acres, two-thirds of which are immediately available for agricultural and pastoral purposes.

Canterbury plains, in extent, differ from any other part of New Zealand. They comprise about 3,000,000 acres of level or nearly level land, nearly the whole of which is of the very best description. The plain is about 130 miles in length, and in some parts 40 miles in width. In 1853 the population of the province numbered about 4,000, and, judging by the increase of 704 immigrants for the year just ended, the population at present may be roughly estimated at six, or between six and seven thousand. But the difficulty we experienced in obtaining statistical information from the local authorities, proves a barrier to that exactness at which we have invariably endeavoured to arrive.

Had we been furnished with information re-

specting this province equal to our desire to obtain it, or to the facilities possessed by others for affording it; or had the promised assistance of volunteers reached us before our departure, it would have given us much pleasure in supplying our English friends with a more interesting and minute account of a settlement which, ere long, will rank with any in New Zealand. But on applying to the all-important superintendent of the province for statistical information, his honor majestically observed, – "I have not time to give the required information, nor am I in favor of any book on the colony by a stranger; but if a work were needed on the province of which I am the head, the superintendent himself is the only person qualified for its production." Such observations were not then considered, nor do we now deem them, worthy a reply – beyond wishing the settlers well of one whose persuasive eloquence and refined blarney induced a. majority of voters to repose, for a season, an important trust to a no less important individual.

Every word in the following interesting account – taken from "Chambers's Papers for the People" – with reference to the capabilities of the land, &c, in New Zealand, we, from our own personal observations, readily indorse. But without such attestation, the respectable source from whence the account originates is a sufficient guarantee for the truth thereof: –

"The fecundity of the earth is wonderful: it springs easily into cultivation. Some small tracts have only a slight layer of mould lying on a rocky, untractable substratum, but even here the verdure thrives thick and rank. Sandy fiats, which in regions less profusely irrigated would be naked and valueless, are here speedily overgrown, while the salt spray of the sea showering upon the green mantle that in some parts overlays the islands to the water's edge, does it no injury.

"In this mild and agreeable climate man attains old age without pain, nor is he compelled ever to be on his guard against the influences of the weather. During three-fourths of the year the settler in the neighbourhood of Cook's Strait may sleep with his bedroom window open; but when violent winds and showers prevail, a small fire is by no means a superfluous luxury, especially as the colonists' residences are very often no more than partially wind-and-watertight. With the exception of these intervals, occupation under the open sky is before all others the most healthy and pleasant. The luxuriant vegetation, the everlasting green of the trees and pastures, the atmosphere so transparent that objects can be discerned at an amazing distance, the varying tints of the sky, with the picturesque landscapes afforded by the harmonious mingling of hills, plains, lakes, and woods – all these delight the eye, and kindle the animal spirits. Herds and flocks may wander unhoused at all seasons of the year without excess of wet or bitter frosts to injure them.

"Every climate of course has its incidental diseases; and in New Zealand the humidity causes sometimes ulcers, boils, abscesses, and eruptive affections, which, however, never assume a malignant character, and disappear without medical aid. Among the natives, from various causes foreign to the climate, carbuncles occur. The Europeans, when acclimatised, may be all but sure of health. Inflammatory

complaints, strictly so called, are unknown; they almost always assume, when their symptoms do appear, the form of catarrh. No endemic disease exists. Influenza and croup occasionally appear as epidemics, and with careless people rheumatism is not uncommon. But, on the whole, no country on the earth is more salubrious. We do not find in it, as a traveller has observed, the bilious planter of the East or West Indies, or the aguish settler in the forests and on the river banks of South America. There are no epidemic or endemic fevers, as in the East and West Indies, and parts of the United States; no ague, no dreary winters, as in Canada; no hot winds, long droughts, conflagrations, snakes, and vermin, as in Australia. The pure air, continually in motion, invigorates the frame and buoys up the mind. Invalids rapidly recover. The thermal springs in the North Island indeed, with the attractive scenery and delightful atmosphere, present it as a healthy and picturesque place of sojourn for those who have worn down their constitution in the dangerous climates of the East.

"The value of New Zealand consists rather in its soil, its climate, its position, and its commercial capabilities, than in its natural productions. The indigenous fruits of the earth are few, and not important; while those that have been introduced render it one of the richest countries in the world. It does not yield, indeed, spices or camphor, or all the luscious delicacies of the Oriental orchard; but it affords the growths of Europe, and that which will purchase from the neighbouring East every rarity its inhabitants could desire to enjoy. Besides the mineral treasures we have noticed, it contains others most valuable to the English settler – abundance of water, timber, coal, lime, and stone of various kinds, the chief materials of industry. The soil is variously distributed over the surface of the country, supporting, as we have already remarked, various classes of indigenous vegetation. On the banks of streams

among the hilly tracts, a deep, rich, alluvial mould prevails, and in some of the valleys – that of the Hutt in Wellington District in particular – a pure black or brown sandy loam lies in a stratum so thick as to appear inexhaustible. Wherever dense forests exist, the same soil abounds. When the woods are cleared from parts covered only by a thin layer, this is often washed away by the rains, leaving nothing but a cold, clayey earth fit only for pasturage. To illustrate the effect, however, of climate or weather upon the soil, it may be mentioned that this, which is spread over the drier, hilly, and undulating districts, when well turned over, and subjected to the influence of the atmosphere, becomes extremely fertile. In other respects the same influence is remarkable. Sandy strips of land, which from their nature would in many other countries remain sterile and naked, are here by the natives planted with potatoes very successfully; stony hills, most impracticable in appearance, flourish with abundant crops of that nutritious vegetable.

"One great drawback, nevertheless, to the agricultural capabilities of New Zealand is the fact, that even in the richest valleys or plateaus, where the forests have been cleared, the waters wash away the upper soil, laying bare the less liberal clay; but an improved system of husbandry, with the judicious rotation of crops, the use of proper fertilising appliances, and, above all, the careful regulation of the water-flow by drainage, all such inconvenience can be remedied: such at least is the opinion of well- informed residents in the group. Industry can afford, however, to be vigorous in its exertions when the soil is so ready to reward it.

"We may now approach the subject of the natural and acquired wealth of the province, and here its peculiar character should be remembered. We shall find it possessing many of the characteristics which Adam Smith pointed out

with respect to England, and Sir Stamford Raffles, with modifications, in reference to Java. It is an agricultural, pastoral, and mineral country. First among the productions of the soil we may reckon timber, which in regions destined, as Lord John Russell once said, to give laws to a great part of the southern hemisphere, deserves to be considered as of great importance. The indigenous trees tower, many of them, to a prodigious height, producing timber in unequalled perfection – some close-grained, heavy, and durable, for domestic and public architecture; some lit for ship-building; others hard, light, of fine texture, and elegantly veined for cabinet-work, and others indeed for every variety of purpose: the white, yellow, and red pine – the last with leaves like ostrich plumes; the totara, a reddish wood, with roots that take a beautiful polish; and many others, not known in Europe, which it would be useless minutely to describe. Some of the timber-trees bear fruit; others rich clusters of flowers, like the purple honeysuckle; others leaves like the myrtle, and blossoms with crimson petals and golden stamina. One produces leaves, affording a fragrant beverage resembling tea. All are in immense variety and abundance, yielding materials for every kind of work. Beautiful furniture has been made in Edinburgh and London from some of these finely-grained, hard-textured, brilliantly-polished woods, several of which yield rich dyes, while others emit a grateful perfume. Among the trees which have been introduced are the oak, the ash, the horse-chestnut, the Spanish chestnut, the walnut, and several species of the mimosa. They appear to thrive well; but the experiment is not yet sufficiently mature to decide on the quality of the timber in its full development.

"Equally important with the timber is the native flax of New Zealand, a peculiar plant, of which ten or twelve varieties have been found – -some in the low marshes, others

on the surface of rich alluvial plains, others on hill-sides barren of everything else. The largest kind has leaves ten or twelve feet in height, and tapering from three or five inches to a point. These never lie open, but are folded in a graceful curve, like huge eccentric sea-shells. Bunches of flowers grow from the stem with purple chalices full to the brim of a delicious syrup. Though it grows wild everywhere, it must be planted and cultivated with care, to be made available for manufacturing purposes. Fifty or sixty fern-plants exist in New Zealand. Their roots once formed an important article of food with the natives; but since the settlement of Europeans, so many materials of subsistence superior to them have been introduced, that the lordly Maories have abandoned to the wild hogs this humble provision, together with the root of the bulrush. From an edible pulp contained in the stem of one variety the early colonists used to make a very respectable imitation of apple-tart. The fruit of one shrub, called tutu, affords the natives an insipid but harmless wine; the seeds, however, are poisonous, and at particular seasons the leaves highly injurious to cattle. A few indigenous grasses occur, all of them perennial; but the scrub-flax and fern occupy the wide plains and slopes, where myriads of sheep and cattle might find pasture. An indigenous anise-seed grows in many parts, greatly improving the flesh of the animals feeding on it. European grasses, however, spread rapidly, and the native species promise soon to be altogether extinguished.

"Like Australia, therefore, New Zealand is on the whole poor in natural vegetable growths. Only one indigenous fruit of any importance is known – the kiekie, a parasitical plant, bearing a cucumber-shaped fruit, said to come to perfection only once in three years. Poor as it is, however in this respect, the country now possesses almost every vegetable produced in Great Britain, with many others

transplanted from the exhaustless soil of the East. Captain Cook, it is believed introduced potatoes more than seventy years ago: new varieties have been added from time to time to improve the quality. The root now thrives in great perfection, and the natives subsist principally upon it. In the poorer soils two crops are annually obtained. During the prevalance of the California gold-fever, speculators in Wellington bought large quantities of this vegetable for £5 a ton, shipped them, and sold them at San Francisco with a profit of 700 per cent.! A small sweet potato is also grown, and a small but delicious yam, which some suppose was brought by the Maories when they came to New Zealand from their original country, undetermined by ethnographers, in Polynesia. Maize was introduced before the islands were systematically colonised, and flourishes in great abundance except near Wellington, and in some of the more southern districts, where there is scarcely sufficient hot weather to ripen it. Melons, pumpkins, gourds, and others of the same class, wild oats, yellow trefoil, and other grasses, now prevail plentifully, affording abundant subsistence to man and the creatures which minister to his necessities. Every sort of grain known in Europe, with its numerous varieties, has been introduced. Wheat from an Egyptian mummy has been sown with great increase, and the black-bearded wheat with solid straw, so plentiful in the south of Spain. The corn grown in the Valley of the Hutt is of a quality so fine that it might be exported with advantage even to England. Its straw is nearly six feet high, and it yields an average of from forty-five to fifty bushels per acre. The ordinary qualities thrive to rich perfection in the alluvial valleys, and along the borders of streams where a fine soil prevails.

"Oats are cultivated as much for the straw as the grain. Two crops of oaten straw are frequently cut in the course of a single year – the first yielding four tons and a half per acre. Hops and barley grow in great profusion, and if

industriously cultivated would prove of immense importance to the colony. Free as the climate is from injurious electrical phenomena, and abounding as the islands do with pure wholesome water, they might supply Australia, India, and South America with malt liquor, of which it is calculated more than 100,000 barrels are annually exported from England. The moderately rich soil on the hill slopes is best adapted to this description of husbandry. As we have already said, almost every grass in the pastures of Great Britain has been introduced into New Zealand. Twenty-five species mingle on the Hawkshead Plains in Wellington District, carpeting them with a soft, beautiful covering, where herds of sleek cattle and thickly-fleeced sheep fatten all the year. When the curing of flesh for exportation to the neighbouring regions is undertaken on a large scale, this branch of husbandry will prove of eminent importance, and every emigrant carrying out good seed will be a benefactor to the colony.

"Clover, saintfoin, trefoils of various kinds, vetches' tares, lupines, lucerns, beans, peas, buckwheat, lintseed, mustard, rapeseed, and mangel-wurzel thrive extremely well; and though coriander, caraway, and cress – which grow so abundantly on the fertile hundreds of Essex – have hitherto been neglected in New Zealand, they would no doubt afford an ample profit to the proprietors of land in the alluvial districts.

"In the vegetable garden we find peas, broad beans, French beans, cauliflowers, carrots, turnips, broccoli, potatoes, celery, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatos, radishes, lettuces, parsnips, beet-root, spinach, onions, asparagus, sea-kale, artichokes, cardoons, rhubarb, capsicums; indeed everything of the kind grown in Great Britain.

"Picottees, carnations, geraniums, polyanthuses, primroses, cowslips, crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, roses, pinks, pansies, dahlias, balsam, China asters, peonies, honeysuckle,

violets, and almost all other European flowers flourish richly; and in December no sight can be more beautiful than the bloom of a New Zealand garden.

"The orchard contains plums, apples, pears, figs, peaches, nectarines, grapes, currants, the common gooseberry, quinces, filberts, raspberries, apricots, cherries, and the Cape gooseberry – a wholesome, pleasant fruit, whether raw, cooked, or preserved, which thrives like a weed wherever it is introduced. The banana, and a few others of an Oriental character, form immense orchards. Many fruits which are annual in England are biennial, or even perennial, in New Zealand; while others which we delicately rear in the hothouse, grow there vigorously in the open air. If the flower-garden be managed well it will shew a fine bloom all the year round. Geraniums, as in Portugal, take the shape of shrubs; hedges even are formed of them; and if the varieties are judiciously mixed, this beautiful fence of verdure will throughout all the season be spangled with bright flowers. Considerable plantations of tobacco have been raised by the natives; but the manufacture of it, even for consumption among themselves, has not yet been attempted by the colonists.

"If Australia be poor in the animal creation, New Zealand is still more so. No beasts or reptiles native to its soil, except bats and lizards, are found upon it. In the neighbouring seas, however, abound those mammalia which crowd all parts of the Pacific Ocean – the sperm, the humpback, the fin-back, the pike-headed, the large-tipped, and the black whale, frequent its coasts, and their capture for the valuable oil and bone, afforded to the early colonists their most adventurous and profitable occupations. Seals of numerous kinds formerly abounded in Cook's Strait and off the shores of Middle Island, but the sealers since 1827 have nearly exterminated them: this has doubtless been through an inconsiderate plan of fishery; for by judicious arrange-

ments, leaving the seals in breeding seasons unmolested, this source of profit might have been perpetuated. The conger-eel, sole, plaice, and flounder, inhabit the waters, with an infinite variety of others unknown to Europe – a kind of shark or dog-fish, some like the cod, others the doree, others the mullet. Immense fisheries might be established, especially as salt is easily procured by evaporation; and a large and lucrative market is offered among the Roman Catholics of the west coast of America, of Manilla, and of Australia.

"Several kinds of birds are indigenous to the woods and neighbouring waters of New Zealand – among them a gigantic albatross, the oyster-catcher, the bittern, the kingfisher, cormorant, quail, wild-duck, mocking or parson bird, parrots, paroquets, woodhen, pigeon, and others; some of them with superb plumage. There have been introduced peafowl, pheasants, turkeys, geese, ducks, common fowl, Guinea-fowl, canaries, and bullfinches. The varieties kept in cages for their song are continually increased by the favorites which emigrant families carry out with them.

"A degenerate mongrel-breed of dogs exists in the islands. It was probably introduced by the early voyagers, and is used by the natives in the chase of the wild-hog. The skins of those with silky white hair are made into garments by some of the wilder Maorie tribes, and tufts from them adorn their spears. Bulldogs, kangaroo-dogs – a mixture of greyhound and mastiff – Scotch deer-hounds, German boar-hounds, Scotch colly sheep-dogs, Newfoundlands, terriers, and spaniels, thrive well, and are rapidly multiplying. It is remarkable that distemper and hydrophobia have been hitherto unknown among the dogs of New Zealand. Horses are already supplied in considerable numbers to New South Wales, and a swift, strong, hardy breed is furnished to the cavalry regiments in India. Cattle have been introduced from Australia and Van Diemen's Land, as

well as some Devon bulls and cows. Beef and pork might be cured in great quantities, to supply the whaling and trading ships. Goats are still few. Sheep will probably furnish at no distant time one of the most important articles of export. The country is peculiarly well adapted to them, even more so than the neighbouring pastures of New Holland. In New South Wales the average weight of a fleece is two pounds and a half; in New Zealand it is from three to four pounds. Few burrs exist, and the wool is silky, long, and fine. The annual increase is from 90 to 100 per cent. Cats, rats, mice, pigs, asses, mules, locusts, caterpillars, ants, centipedes, spiders, flies, mosquitos, and maggots, enter into the animal kingdom of New Zealand. In the native villages or pahs, where the people are dirty, vermin abound, as they do in all communities distinguished by habits of uncleanliness. Colonisation has introduced also besides some insects not particularly valuable, others extremely useful to the settlers; among the most important are bees. In New Zealand the months make little difference to this valuable insect. The bee-keeper is often overwhelmed by the multitude of swarms. The land may indeed be one day overstocked, but such is not yet the case, and the quantity of honey yielded is amazing. A single swarm was, in the summer of 1843-44, placed in a good situation, near an extensive flowery tract of woodland. In September 1844, it yielded 30 lbs. of honey; in 1845, 205 lbs.; in 1846, 721 lbs.; and in 1847, 1211 lbs.; or altogether, 2167 lbs. in four years. Hollow trees are very numerous in the woods: these are quickly occupied by the industrious little colonists whose industry is so beneficial to the country. With all these natural advantages, without extending our speculations to others still to be discovered, we may without hesitation assert that New Zealand possesses every qualification which it can require to become one of the most prosperous and noble provinces of the British empire."

In our description of Nelson, most of our remarks in reference to society in that charming province, may be applied with equal force to this settlement. The majority of the inhabitants here are exceedingly kind and hospitable, while in point of education and intelligence they are superior to those in every other part of New Zealand, the province of Nelson not excepted.

In civilised communities, nothing perhaps marks more strongly a distinction in the grade or scale of society, or denotes more immediately the amount of refinement of any particular class, than a taste for music, and the character of music for which that taste is displayed and cherished.

In Canterbury, as in Nelson, a refined taste for music is at once discernible. Although this young settlement cannot at present boast of a large number of instrumentalists – excepting, of course, the fair sex – the "Lyttelton Choral Society" is an honor to the pretty town whose name it bears, while the talented performances of the society confer equal honor on the able and indefatigable leader, to whose training, patience, and perseverance, the efficiency of the members may be attributed. We had the honor of being present, with the Governor and suite, at a performance given by the "Lyttelton Choral Society." At the conclusion of that performance, and as a just return for the pleasure it afforded those present, his Excellency personally and publicly compli-

merited Mr. McArthur on the proficiency and talent displayed by his fair pupils, the majority of whom, as our readers may suppose, were ladies.

Here also, as in Nelson, may be found another sure indication of a respectable community. "The press is a mirror by which the prominent features of a people are represented," says a modern writer. We have certainly obtained by our observations in New Zealand, a striking confirmation of this doctrine. "The Lyttelton Times," and "The Nelson Examiner," are the only respectably conducted newspapers in the entire colony; and the inhabitants of the provinces represented by those journals are unquestionably superior in every respect to those in the other settlements. There is, however, a newspaper published in Christchurch which must not be included in our general verdict, as our stay in that part of the Canterbury settlement did not enable us to form an opinion on the subject. But we may fairly presume, from the respectability of the inhabitants by which that journal is surrounded, that the honorable exceptions to which we have referred may be increased by the addition of one.

To Mr. Shrimpton, the talented editor and proprietor of "The Lyttelton Times," we are indebted for the following summary of events, published in his paper of December 29, 1855: –

"The fifth anniversary of the foundation of this settlement slipped away in the midst of the excitement of a general election, without affording us an opportunity of

noticing, as is our custom on such, occasions, the degree of progress made by the settlement during the preceeding year. All the principal occurrences are so fresh in the recollection of our readers that we need not allude to them at length; we will merely notice the prominent changes which have taken place.

"The important alteration in the constitution of the provincial legislature has been very successful. The enlarged Council of twenty-four members has met twice during the year, and has enacted several useful and necessary laws. It is not, of course, possible that twenty-four men could assemble anywhere, for any purpose, without wasting a considerable amount of time in useless talk. The Provincial Council has its share of talkers; but the general good sense of the House tends to discourage would-be-orators. The most important business transacted during the past year by the Council, has been the settlement of the affairs with the Canterbury Association, and the framing of a set of land regulations. We have so often enlarged upon the first of these questions when it was under discussion, that we need not do more than allude to it now. The manner in which accounts were closed between the Canterbury Association and the province must be gratifying to that body after the unscrupulous and undiscriminating attacks which have been made upon them. As to the latter question, there are few, we suppose, who do not look upon the land regulations as a make shift, in default of larger powers of dealing independently with the Crown lands for the benefit of the province. The first draft was disallowed by his Excellency; of the fate of the second, the province is now anxiously expecting to hear.

"With respect to the revenue, we are not able now to enter into particulars, as the financial year does not end until the 31st of March. Notwithstanding all the untoward circumstances which have tended to decrease the

balance available for the use of the province, we have nevertheless been very prosperous. Immigration and public works, the two great drains upon the treasury, have not been checked during the year. The prospect for the future is more doubtful; but we do not despair of seeing a satisfactory arrangement of the financial questions of the colony come to during the next session of the General Assembly. At the end of last year there was a balance of about £22,000 (in round numbers) in the provincial treasury; at the close of this month there will not be above £2,000 or £3,000. The difference has been spent for the most part on immigration and public works; the ordinary revenue having covered (in or about) the ordinary expenditure. We do not take the late payments from the Land Department into account, as they do not do much more than cover the advances which have been necessary to meet the first year's interest on the Canterbury Association's debentures.

"The total exports for eleven months of the year, being bona fide the produce of this province, amount to a value of £40,000. We give below a detailed account compiled from Custom House records.

"The Sumner road will soon be open from the Ferry to the Shag Bock; a banking has been cut the whole way into Lyttelton, such that a horseman need not dismount between Christchurch and Lyttelton on the track of the new road. Even the partial completion of the Sumner road will tend to improve the state of communication between the port and the plains.

"The arrival of a coasting steamer has done more towards inter-communication than anything else. We are glad to be able to state at the close of the year that the experience we have already had of the "Alma" leads us to look forward to the speedy establishment of a successful line of trading steamers between the port and the plains.

"The visit of the Bishop of New Zealand has gone far to

put Church affairs on a more satisfactory footing. His lordship expressed his confidence in the sufficient endowment of the bishopric of Christchurch, and we may hope that the petition of the churchmen in the province that the Rev. H. Harper may be at once appointed, will meet with immediate attention, backed as it is by the recommendation of Bishop Selwyn.

"Want of space compels us to conclude. We would willingly have enlarged upon several topics of interest – such as the change in the composition of the Executive Council; the local contributions to the Patriotic Fund; the survey of the bar by Captain Drury, of H. M. S. Pandora; the establishment of a Savings' Bank at Lyttelton; the large and steady increase in the cultivation on the plains and in the bays; and many other subjects immediately connected with the province. We may, however, congratulate our readers upon the fact, that every thing around us denotes prosperity, and that there is not an individual in the province, who has exerted himself in agriculture, sheep-farming, or in business, who is not far better off now than he was twelve months ago.

IMMIGRATION.

"The Returns give a total of 704 persons who have immigrated to this province during the past year, from the following places: –

From Great Britain.... 543
New South Wales......126
Van Dieman's Land.... 35
Total......704

"This number was classified as follows: – adult males, 358; adult females, 191; children, 155.

"Three vessels arrived in this province during the past year direct from England, viz., the Grasmere, with 107 immigrants; Caroline Agnes, with 186; and the Cashmere, with 146."

AN ACCOUNT SHEWING THE QUANTITIES AND ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE GOODS (BEING BONA FIDE THE PRODUCE OF THIS PROVINCE), EXPORTED
During the period from the 1st January, to the 30th November, 1855, (inclusive), distinguishing Goods sent Coastwise from those Exported to the Neighbouring Colonies.

[EXPORTS]
Ale and Beer, Bacon and hams, Butter, Carrots, Cheese, Corn and Grain viz. Barley, Bran, Sharps, Wheat, Grass Seed, Firewood, Flour, Oil, Onions, Plants, Potatoes, Stone, Timber sawn, Wool.

Compiled from Custom House Records.

Between the province of Canterbury and Otago, at a distance (by water) of about sixty miles from Lyttelton, and in the Canterbury settlement, is the beautiful harbor of Akaroa, at the inner part of which, and at the base of a lofty range of hills, the small town stands.

The inhabitants of Akaroa comprise only a few English and French families, some natives, and a solitary Russian. At, or before, the period when New Zealand was declared a British dependency, a French band of explorers landed here with the intention of taking possession of the island. But a duly commissioned English officer arrived just in time to proclaim his authority and defeat the intention of our (now) worthy allies.

In a commercial point of view, the place is of little importance, being completely cut off from the Canterbury plains by a continuous range of lofty mountains. The Governor of New Zealand, on his first trip (by steamer) round the colony, being anxious to see this place, we availed ourselves of an opportunity which but seldom occurs – of visiting a spot with which the communication from other parts is not of frequent occurrence.

The visitors, however, on this occasion, were amply rewarded for their trip. While the harbor is one of the finest and most romantic in the colony, the scenery around is beautiful in the extreme; and the luxuriant foliage of the various trees by which the surrounding gardens are

studded, together with the variegated flowers, and the great abundance and perfection of every kind of fruit, render the place one of the most charming retreats that could well be imagined. Were it possible to make a road hence to Christchurch, Akaroa would be to Canterbury what Brighton is to London – a delightful watering place.

LYTTELTON COAST DIRECTORY.

"PORT VICTORIA, OR PORT COOPER.

Latitude of Godley Head.... 43 deg. 35' 52" S.
Longitude ................ 172 deg. 48' 20" E.
Lat. of Well on Norwich Quay 43 deg. 36' 42" S.
Longitude ................ 172 deg. 45' 47" E.

High water F. and C, 4 hours 30 minutes. Springs rise 6 feet and a-half.

"This excellent harbor is situated in the north-west angle of Banks' Peninsula, having a common entrance with Port Levy or Albert.

"The entrance is about two miles wide, between Godley Head on the north-west and the south-east head.

"Adderley Head, between the two harbors, lies back from the other two.

"The course up Port Victoria is about south-west by west half-west by compass; the width between Adderley and Godfrey Heads is about a mile, with deep water close to on either hand, till within view of the town on the north shore, when vessels should anchor in three to three and a-half fathoms. There is good anchorage outside, in case

of calms or southerly weather, soundings from seven to ten fathoms, extending four or five miles from the shore.

"In approaching the harbor from the north, Mount Herbert, the highest peak of the peninsula, is a leading mark; Port Cooper lying to the westward or landward side of it. On a nearer approach, Mount Cavendish, the highest peak on the north side of the harbor is easily distinguished, being bluff towards the port, and sloping off gradually to the low land of the plain. It has a small signal staff on its summit, and a house in front of a patch of wood a little way down the north-east face. Under the peak, Godley Head is distinguished as a bluff cliff about 100 feet high. Cooper's Knobs, at the head of the harbor, are two or three remarkable round, wooded, over-hanging peaks, and form a good mark for steering up the harbor, with Ward's farmhouse on Quail Island under them.

"Vessels coming from the southward, after rounding the peninsula, should keep close along the land until they open out the two harbors, Port Cooper trending nearly due west, and Port Levy nearly due south. There are no dangers, except the reefs close to the different points.

"Immediately after entering, between Adderley and Godley Heads, the first bay to the south is Simeon Bay, or Little Port Cooper, a safe berth in case of too strong a south-west wind for beating up. The first houses seen on the north shore are in Gollan's Bay, one of the usual landing places for stock. Nearly opposite is Camp Bay, another place also used for landing stock, but with no houses. The other bays higher up are too shoal for any but small craft."

OTAGO.

OTAGO.

OTAGO is the most southerly settlement in New Zealand; and, including the Bluff, or port of Invercargill, (to which we shall presently allude) contains a larger quantity of land than any other province in the colony. The rain here being more frequent, and the cold greater, the climate in our opinion, is inferior to that of any of the other settlements. Such, however, may not be considered objections by those who have been accustomed to the bleak winds and drizzling rains of Scotland, from which country the majority of the Otago settlers have been drafted.

Within a large but inconvenient harbor, close to the small but unimportant village of Port Chalmers, all vessels of any importance are compelled to anchor, there not being a sufficient depth of water for them to approach nearer the town of Dunedin, the capital of the province. This town is nine miles from the port, and all goods have to be conveyed thither in small boats or lighters.

The social condition of Dunedin, the capital of Otago – to what shall we compare it? In the present civilized state of society, the inhabitants of that town puzzle us to find any class in any country with whom to institute a comparison. Of the human kind, we know of no body of a similar character; and, for want of a better simile, we will compare the town to a fenced inclosure or large ring, within which a number of unhappy and spiteful creatures are like so many strange cats, that constantly endeavour to tear out each other's eyes. To avoid the daily encounter of the antagonists, the few respectable wanderers and peaceably disposed of the group, who might have been unconsciously drawn into the social turmoil, have only one way of escape, viz. – to leap the barrier, and fly the province for another, or to go into the interior of their own till something approaching to harmony shall reign in the discontented city.

Seriously, the political, theological, and social animosities displayed by the inhabitants of Dunedin towards each other baffles description. Some years since when the unhappy differences arose in the Scotch Kirk, a tour through Scotland made us unwilling spectators of the agitated state of that part of the United Kingdom. But bad as it was, the virulence of the north was of a mild character compared with that by which the majority of the Otago settlers are at present incited – a

virulence that turns the sanctity of their professed Christianity into ridicule, and makes religion a subject of discussion for arousing the worst passions of man, instead of a consecrated medium for conveying evidence of a placid submission to the will of a superior Being.

By a few Scotchmen of contracted minds, possessing little beyond a local knowledge of one part of their own country, and less of mankind generally, the province of Otago was selected as a class settlement, i.e. – a settlement in which only those of the same country, and holding the same religious faith as the original settlers are admitted, or entitled to admittance on equal terms. But at the outset, and at the foundation of Otago, there was an attempt, as we are informed, to make the exclusive law still more stringent and exclusive; and the natives and immigrants from one part of Scotland only were to be deemed eligible for participation in the imaginary benefits which, in a free country, subject to British rule, a small band of sectarians supposed they had power to confer.

On the failure of an undertaking the projectors frequently attribute the want of success to other than the real cause. In a paper recently published in Otago, with a few statistics, &c, of the province (which we will copy without abridgment) the authorities state that " the object of the original association was not to confine colonization to any particular religious denomination." Unable to

effect their desired end, they deny having had any such end to effect, although their friends and others do not attempt to disguise the matter. Here is the first sentence descriptive of the province by Mr. Earp, whose work was published soon after the foundation of the settlement: –

"The Otago settlement, the most, southerly of those at present established in New Zealand, is the first of what have been termed "class settlements;" i.e., such as are composed, at the commencement at least, of men of the same country, holding the same religious faith, and observing similar social customs."

The failure of the undertaking has only tended to kindle that bitter and unconquerable spirit of ill will which the old hands invariably display both towards Englishmen and a few liberal minded Scotch settlers, who, on the principle of religious and commercial freedom, opposed from the first the proceedings of their narrow minded countrymen. We need not travel far for evidence of the party spirit alluded to, or the length to which it is sometimes carried. On our arrival in Dunedin, a letter, of which the following is a copy, was addressed and forwarded to the Superintendent of the province: –

"Royal Hotel, 14th January, 1856.

"SIR,

"I am at present compiling a work on the rise and progress of New Zealand; for confirmation of this fact, I beg to refer you to his excellency the Governor, to whom I

have been introduced by a letter from the English Government.

"If you will favour me with the name of some gentleman (for your own time will, no doubt, be fully occupied previous to the departure of the steamer), who can furnish me with any information that would be likely to interest the English public, and benefit the province of which you are the head, you will much oblige

"Your obedient servant,
" – –
(The writer's name in full.)
"His Honor the Superintendent."

Although this epistle was considered sufficiently deferential to merit some sort of notice, it failed to command a reply. The reason is obvious. The writer was an Englishman, and belonged to a country from which an importation of live stock was not deemed desirable, as it would not, as a matter of course, be found to amalgamate with, or add to the strength of the dominant party. Had the writer applied for information for a certain class of the Scotch instead of the English public, all the Mc'Neddies by whom a crotchetty superintendent and master – now in his dotage – is surrounded, would have responded to the call.

"We should indeed be sorry to confound the party spirit of those Sectarians who retard the advancement of their province, with the more enlightened and liberal policy of other settlers, who are evidently striving for the party liberation and

commercial expansion of an extensive and promising settlement. We have no prejudice either for country or creed. Some of our best and dearest friends are Scotchmen; and we consider the Scotch, as a people, equal in every respect to any other community. But there are certain hypocritical clanish bigots – the settlers in Otago to wit – who merit and receive from the liberal minded of their own country a more severe and unqualified condemnation than we have, through a sense of duty, been compelled to pronounce. Even Otago may boast of its public censors. On hearing a gentleman in that province condemn the proceedings of his own countrymen, we politely reminded him that he was himself a Scotchman. "Yes," returned our respondent, "but, thank God, not an Otago Scotchman!" Enough. In pity, not unmixed with contempt, we dismiss the Otago Scotchmen – but not their province.

Otago, as we previously stated, contains a larger quantity of land than any other settlement in New Zealand; and although the climate is not so mild and agreeable as the more northern parts of the colony, the province, as an agricultural and pastoral district, cannot eventually fail to become an important one. The following statistics and land regulations, from a paper recently published by the authorities, will furnish the present position of the province, while the succeeding review from

the local newspaper will show the progress made by the settlement since its foundation.

"The Scotch colony of Otago was founded in 1848 by the New Zealand Company, in conjunction with an Association of Lay Members of the Free Church of Scotland. Under the auspices of this association, the foundation has been laid of an orderly and industrious community. The object of the Association was not to confine its colonization to any one particular religious denomination, but to secure a careful selection of emigrants, and to provide for their religious and educational wants at the outset. The success of their efforts will be best understood on reference to the statistics annexed. The colony having now been fairly set a-going, the functions of the Association have ceased, as being no longer necessary.

"The province has a surface of above 16,000,000 acres – the whole of it acquired from the natives, whose number is only 633 souls (viz., 348 males, and 285 females,) and who, in small and widely separate parties, are in a state of peaceful progression upon lands that were reserved by themselves when they sold to the Crown, and which reserves amount in the whole province to about 16,000 acres.

"Land sales are fixed at the lowest price of 10s. per acre, but with conditions, for the purpose of excluding monopoly.

"All purchasers, from least to greatest, are on the same footing of right and freedom of choice.

"The low price of 10s. per acre leaving nothing for public improvements, roads will have to be made by means of an adequate land tax.

"Lands not otherwise required are appropriated for cattle runs upon leases of fourteen years.

"The whole administration of land is at the hands of a Waste Land Board, whose proceedings are open to the public.

"The province is governed, according to the New Zealand Constitution Act, by a Superintendent and Provincial Council – all of them elected by the people.

"The climate is temperate and remarkably healthy; free from draughts or anything like excessive summer heats.

"The following statistics of the Province of Otago, New Zealand, are taken from the Report of P. Proudfoot, Esq., Commissioner of Crown Lands:

"Area of province from 16,000,000 to 20,000,000 acres.

"Land sold, about 38, 222 acres.

"Runs for depasturing purposes, one hundred and twenty-four applications. Licenses granted for depasturage purposes, seventy-three applications.

"Estimated extent of country granted under above licenses, 1,190,360 acres."

EUROPEAN POPULATION OF THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO. – December 1854.

EUROPEAN POPULATION OF THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

[TEXT IN TABLE: Dunedin, Port Chalmers, Taieri Village and Waihola, Inch Clutha, Clutha River to Popotunoa, North of Port Chalmers,
Rev. Thomas Burns, of the Otago Presbytery. Rev. J. A. Fen ion, Church of England. N.B. – A second Minister in connection with the Otago Presbytery is expected Rev. William Will, of the Otago Presbytery, whose visits are received by all, and his ministrations accepted (Roman Catholics of course excepted, though in neighbourly harmony), and the funds are also contributed to in common with the mass of the people.
Rev. William Bannerman, of the Otago Presbytery, who preaches on consecutive Sundays in each of three districts. All receive his visits, and contribute in one shape or other to the expenses; and all attend his ministry, except the Roman Catholics, who are in neighbourly harmony with their fellow settlers
* Of this number 44 are half-castes. The families of this district, with nine exceptions, are squatters of old standing. A German Missionary (the Rev. J. F. H. Wohlers) is stationed at Ruapuke, having a general supervision of this district and Stewart's Island.
The people of these districts have applied to the Otago Presbytery for a Minister, and made satisfactory arrangement for his support. The Minister has been sent for accordingly. A Wesleyan Missionary (the Rev. W. Kirk) takes charge of natives only at Waikouaiti, Moeraki, Waitaki, Purakanui, and Otakou.]

RETURN OF CULTIVATIONS AND LIVE STOCK IN THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND,
December, 1854.

RETURN OF CULTIVATIONS AND LIVE STOCK IN THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO
[Wheat, Oats, Barley, Potatoes, Fallow, Hay, Pasturage, Gardens, Fenced but not cultivated, Horses, Horned cattle, Sheep, Goats, Rye Grass]

SEPTEMBER 25th, 1855. – 10,269 Acres have been taken up since April last under the new Regulations, by 257 several parties, all on the spot. Much of this land is now under the plough, and preliminary operations for the whole of it are. in full activity. Resident Colonists being thus supplied for the extension of their cultivations, the increase upon the above Return for 1854 is already large. But new Colonists (from Australia in the first place) are also beginning arrive and supply themselves on the same terms.

FROM THE "OTAGO WITNESS."

Dunedin, Saturday, March 29th, 1856.

"The eighth year of our existence as a colony has just closed, and many are the changes we have witnessed. In truth it does appear that the world progresses at a railroad pace, and even in this, the most remote portion of the British Empire, somewhat of the onward progress begins to be felt. We say begins, for during the first five years of our existence we seemed scarcely to advance at all. At a great distance from the home country, unsupported by Government aid, unassisted by powerful private patronage like our neighbours, almost unknown, neglected, if not despised – our earlier days were days of struggle. For the first two or three years Dunedin made rapid progress, and it was not unusual to hear exclamations of surprise from those who returned to the settlement after a brief absence. Since that period the town has been almost stationary, and the onward progress has been visible in the rural and pastoral districts. But notwithstanding the fact that the extent of the town has not greatly progressed, the amount of business done, and being done, in the town has augmented, and is augmenting, at a rapid pace, giving an unmistakeable evidence of the prosperity and extent of productive efforts in the real work of colonization – the subduing of the wilderness.

ABSTRACT OF THE VALUE OF THE IMPORTS, EXPORTS, AND CUSTOMS REVENUE FOR THE QUARTER ENDING 31ST MARCH, 1856.

Imports. Exports. Revenue.
£22,648 £8907 £1278

"The amount of shipping entered inwards and outwards has materially increased.

The subjoined table of the imports and exports for the last eight years, shews the gradual and satisfactory increase of trade: –

ABSTRACT OF THE VALUE OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, and of the CUSTOMS REVENUE, for the province of Otago, in each year, from the establishment of Customs in May, 1848, to 31st December, 1855.

[OTAGO: IMPORTS AND EXPORTS]

"The returns of immigration and emigration for the last year shew a balance of immigration of 223 souls, and for the first quarter of the present year, 275 souls, making an increase of the population from this source of 498 souls. Unfortunately we have no statistics of the extent of land under cultivation, or of the increase of stock since last year; but from the quantity of land sold during the last twelve months (since the reduction in price), amounting to about 16,000 acres, and which has been wholly purchased by bona fide colonists, we have every reason to believe that a very considerable breadth of land has been brought under cultivation.

"The amount of stock at the average rate of increase upon the ascertained quantity last year is about the numbers stated in the following table: –

Cattle, Sheep, Horses.

"From the foregoing statement it will appear that the progress of the province of Otago has been gradually acce-

lerating. The imports have greatly increased, and the exports have made strides during the last year exceeding the exports of the whole of the previous seven years; and when we take into consideration the amount of land sold, and the great extent of country we have yet for sale, we cannot but feel that there is a glorious future before us. "

THE BLUFF

Is a large district in a southerly direction, in the province of Otago. There is an excellent harbor here, and the port, which was publicly proclaimed during our stay in Otago, and named by the Governor "Invercargill," is about 120 miles south of Port Chalmers, or the town of Dunedin, the capital of Otago. We had not an opportunity of visiting this district, but we have good authority for stating that it contains a large tract of excellent land, available both for agricultural and pastoral purposes. When a township shall be formed near the port, and so soon as sheep owners and farmers become located here, and gather from the soil the periodical riches that await manual labor and commercial enterprise, this will no doubt become an important place in the southern part of New Zealand. It matters but little what part of the colony is selected by that immigrant who is determined to keep himself aloof from the political and social broils that agitate certain settlements; and we quite agree with the following closing sentence on the subject from "Chambers's Papers for the People": –

"Whether, therefore, he choose Wellington, Nelson, Otago, Auckland, or Canterbury as the field of his enterprise, the emigrant will find in New Zealand all the materials which industry can desire to work upon. He will enjoy a fine climate, a ready soil; a land where coal, iron, copper, stone, and wood are in abundance; where sweet, pure, wholesome water is plentiful; where corn, and all other kinds of grain, may easily be raised in splendid crops; where his labor may be well rewarded; where he will have few taxes to pay, and few of the unnatural restraints imposed by our old society to observe. Shortly, doubtless, he will be admitted to a share in those free institutions which are the peculiar pride of the British people; and thus, with every natural aid to his energies, he may enjoy independence in a region which of all others on the face of the earth, most nearly resembles his parent country."

THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND

As a noble, unselfish, and highly gifted member of the human race, is one of the most remarkable men not only in this, but in any other colony, country, or community. The versatility of his talent is only exceeded by the excessive toil, daily application, and personal endurance by which that talent is applied and regulated for the present and future welfare of his scattered flock. The zeal thus displayed in the constant exercise of his love for the benefit of others, makes him forgetful of his duty to himself; for by taxing his physical powers beyond their means of endurance, the

robust form, if not the health, of a fine constitution occasionally betrays symptoms of distress.

A biography of Bishop Selwyn, however, is alike out of our province and our power. But how can we refer to any human source from whence the colony has been benefitted, or to deeds by which good has been accomplished, without reference to the author? And never was more done to extinguish the savage customs, allay the bad passions, and improve the social, moral, and mental condition of a native race, than what has been accomplished among the Maori tribes of New Zealand by the individual exertions of the right reverend and learned divine in question. A man who refused the lucrative see of Sydney with no other hope or expectation than that his gratuitous and unrewarded labors might effect more good in a country where much had already been effected by him; – a prelate who travels on foot and unattended from one end of the colony to the other, penetrating uninhabited forests, swimming rivers, and preaching the Gospel to the local tribes in their own native tongue; – a man who not only advocates self denial in others, but who sets a noble example of it in himself; – such a man is surely worthy of note – note by a higher authority and by a more able pen than ours.

Should we not exceed our duty in referring to so grave a subject, we would suggest that a

page from the life of Bishop Selwyn might be copied, or perhaps studied, with profit, by a few right reverend prelates residing in a part of the world the opposite to that of New Zealand.

Conjointly with Bishop Selwyn, and as a worthy co-patriot in the public weal of New Zealand, may be named Chief Justice Martin, a gentleman whose varied knowledge and strict impartiality in his public character, and whose benevolence, gentle demeanor, and affability in private life, fully entitle him to the high rank he has obtained in the country, and to the highest honor man can obtain from his fellow men, viz. – public respect won by equity, and private love secured without favor. In a colony like New Zealand, where even families and friends are divided and subdivided by political elements, it is gratifying to learn that the Bishop and Chief Justice merit and possess the respect of all.

That his honor the Judge, with renewed strength and vigour, and accompanied by his amiable lady, may soon return to New Zealand, cannot fail to be the wish of all who have the well-being of the colony at heart.

THE GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND.

A celebrated writer once observed – "a momentary glance will enable me to take stock of an individual." Without arrogating to ourselves the knowledge or keen perception of the learned author in question, it will only be necessary to remark that we are favorably impressed with the appearance and manner of Colonel Gore Browne, K.C.B., the newly appointed Governor of New Zealand. As a gentleman, we can aver from our own personal knowledge, he is all that could be desired by the most critical observer. As a Governor, the eminent statesmen of the respective provinces will in due course pass judgment on him. Should he obtain a favorable verdict from so many contrary elements, he will add to the character of a gentleman that of a marvellous ruler – in having obtained under his administration a concord of sweet voices that never yet graced the most praiseworthy efforts of any predecessor. His task is not an easy one. We wish him well in the impartial exercise of a somewhat onerous duty; and with a hope that favorable appearances may lead to the enlightened policy which we imagine will be persued by his Excellency, we will merely say – esto quod esse videris.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

In closing the complex task imposed by our antipodal mission, a brief review of the feeble, but – to the extent of the writer's ability – faithful sketches in the preceding pages, affords confirmatory evidence of the difficulty, if not of the impossibility, of supplying in so limited a space, more than a mere outline of the subject treated therein. A retrospective and momentary glance at the vastness of the Australian continent, and the strange compound of mind and matter revealed in its early history, would appear again, as at first, almost to paralyze the pen and bewilder the imagination; while reflection on such mingled matter tends only to a confusion of ideas, symbolical of the varied difficulties encountered in our endeavour to render a vivid and condensed illustration – on a few sheets of paper – of a country and a community composed of so many elements, and pregnant with so much wealth and wickedness.

As a work of reference, however, in which a rough draft, rather than a highly-finished picture

of the places and people described, may afford useful information to the intending emigrant, this volume will represent, though somewhat crudely, the author's original design. It remains for the historian – a resident native, not a foreigner – to record the late extraordinary fleet of Australian events, and to present the public with a faithful and. minute exposition both of the cause and effects of the sudden rise and population of a country, for which the historical annals of British dependencies may be searched in vain for a parallel.

To a reflective mind what infinite matter for opposite emotions – for pain and pleasure, hope and despair – does this Australian drama of five years disclose! The scene, the action, and the actors, would have puzzled the learned philosopher, as they astonished the humble spectator. In knowledge of mankind we confess ourselves to have been merely in infancy previous to witnessing the representation of this great commercial yet, in other respects, fearful spectacle of the nineteenth century. Conscious of the vice and virtue to be found in settled and civilised communities – acquainted with the conventional forms of polite society, and aware of the coarse exhibitions peculiar to the opposite class, we were totally unprepared for those painful realities in human nature which the dawn of colonial wisdom presented to our astonished vision. If, as the moral tells us, "from evil good may arise," we will indulge the

hope that others, with ourselves, may profit by the light of colonial experience.

Without doubt, the primary cause of the concentration in one part of the Australian continent of so many bad characters, and the great amount of vice and immorality consequent thereon, may be traced to the gold discovery, which, in the words of a Reverend Divine, "has proved both a benefit and a curse to the country." We believe, however, that this, as every other great event or important change in the world, has been wisely ordered for some purpose beyond the knowledge or calculations of the human mind. The well-disposed and more respectable members of the Australian community will, no doubt, correct many of the monster crimes of the baser half, so soon as a more settled state of society, and just laws for the protection of commerce, shall aid the correction.

Some of the mercantile gamblers and commercial swindlers who have given a bad name to Australia have already found that their dishonest practices only serve them for a season, and that the actors, once known by their friends on the opposite side, are not again trusted.

Haters of hypocrisy or any and every outward show in which there is a want of sincerity, we at the same time entertain a sincere conviction that those persons who are utterly regardless of their duty to God and man cannot finally prosper – even in this world. The acquisition or retention of

wealth by dishonest means does not necessarily insure its enjoyment to the possessors. The frailty of human nature will occasionally give place to a consciousness of guilt that must assuredly keep from its bondmen that unalloyed enjoyment of life which is the very height and essence of prosperity. Let it not be supposed that we are qualified or wish to make a profession of honesty ourselves, or to define its rules of action for the guidance of others. Men may express a sincere regard for good qualities although they do not possess them. Shakspeare says, "assume a virtue if you have it not." That, however, is a piece of advice on the part of the great poet which we either misinterpret or disapprove. Sinful persons may inwardly regret what they are, without adding to their offences by outwardly assuming what they are not. Though far, very far, from what we ought to be, we nevertheless believe that true prosperity proceeds alone from the Great Giver of all good, and we pity rather than condemn those who hope for any real happiness without such faith.

In conclusion, however, we will venture a few words of advice, – not to colonial adepts, but to those of our young friends on our own side the globe, who are at present unskilled in the dark ways of the world – to those who in the spring of life may have been deprived of a father's aid, or a mother's care, and who contemplate leaving their own for a distant country, in the hope of improving

or making either a position or a fortune. In earnest and respectful sincerity, we advise such young persons not to follow the example of the majority of those who have preceded them, by regarding dishonesty as a virtue rather than as a vice. Be assured, young emigrants, before your departure from friends and home, that upright and fair dealing will finally prove triumphant, even in countries or colonies where the opposites prevail. In your commercial transactions, honesty will be found your best and most profitable bookkeeper, and will insure for you a balance on the right side of the ledger, even in your dealings with rogues. This is not a mere poetical fiction, but a palpable truth – a truth unaffected by the change and flight of ages, and confirmed by the history of nations as well as of men. Take this truth for your motto, and follow it, and you will prosper; disregard it, and failure, either in purse or peace of mind, will be the result. With faith for your bulwark, and truth for your guide, your bark will bear you with honor and in safety through the storms and calms of life –

Though anchored firmly on your native strand,
You seek for fortune in your father-land,
Or, in the writer's track, with sails unfurl'd,
You breast the waves and journey round the world; –
Whate'er your course – whatever storms attend, –
In honesty you'll find a faithful friend.

And whether on sea or on land, you will derive the great satisfaction of being able to reflect on

your past career without producing the pain which would arise from such reflection, by the adoption of an opposite course. And the pleasure thus derived from the past will stimulate you to increased exertion and higher honors in the future, in which you will enjoy, as the just reward of your own labors, that blossom of prosperity here that will ripen into the fruit of happiness hereafter.

Note. – The above remarks are only partially applicable to New Zealand, as there is probably less crime in that colony, by two-thirds, than either in Australia or Tasmania.

NEW ZEALAND IMPORT DUTIES.

FIXED JULY 3, 1851.

DUTY. £ s. d.

Agricultural Implements, not otherwise described, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Ale, Porter, and Beer of all sorts, in casks, per gallon. 0 0 4

In bottle, per dozen, of two gallons....0 1 0

Alkali-Pot and Pearl Ash, per cwt.........0 2 4

Soda, per cwt....................0 2 4

Alum, for every £100 value........10 0 0

Animals, (living) .....................Free.

Apothecary Wares, not otherwise described, for every £100 value...............10 0 0

Apparel, not otherwise described, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Arms and Ammunition –
Ordnance of brass or iron, Muskets, Fowling Pieces, Pistols, Gunpowder, and Percussion Caps, (importation prohibited, except under license from the Government,) for every £100 value........10 0 0

Arrowroot, per cwt..........0 3 6

Arsenic, for every £100 value..............10 0 0

Artificial Flowers, for every £100 value..........10 0 0

Bacon and Hams, per cwt.................0 2 0

Baggage of Passengers................Free.

Bags (empty)
Gunny bags, per dozen....................0 0 6

Corn Sacks, per dozen .......................0 1 0

Bark, for every £100 value......................10 0 0

Beef, salted –
" " per tierce.........................0 6 0

" " per barrel........................0 4 0

IMPORT DUTIES.

duty.

£ s. d.

Blankets (see Woollens)

Blacking, for every £100 value..............10 0 0

Blocks, for ships' rigging, and Dead Eyes .......Free.

Boats........................................Free.

Books, Printed, not being Account Books.........Free.

Account Books, for every £100 value..........10 0 0

Boots and Shoes –
Boots (Wellington and other long), per dozen pair..0 8 0

Half Boots, per dozen pair ...................0 4 0

Shoes, and Women's Boots and Shoes, per doz. pair...0 3 0

Children's Boots and Shoes, per dozen pair.......0 2 0

Bran and Pollard, per bushel ....................0 0 1

Brass Manufactures, of all sorts, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Bread and Biscuit .............................Free.

Bricks, Bath and Flanders, per 100................ 0 2 0

" Fire and other, per 1000 .................0 3 0

Bottles, Glass and Stone, (empty) per dozen.........0 0 1

" full....................................Free.

Butter, per lb................................0 0 1

Bullion....................................Free.

Cabinet and Upholstery Wares, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Cables.....................................Free.

Candles –
Cocoa Nut, Palm, Spermaceti, Stearine, and Wax, per cwt....................0 14 0

" Tallow, per cwt. ........................ 0 4 8

Canvas Duck, per bolt..........................0 3 0

Canes and Sticks, for every £100 value. ...........10 0 0

Caps –
Cloth, per dozen.......................0 2 0

Woollen, per dozen.....................0 0 8

Carpeting, (see Woollens)

Carraway Seeds, per lb.......................0 0 1

Carriages –
Carts and Waggons, for every £100 value.......10 0 0

Carriage Wheels of all sorts, for every £100 value..10 0 0

Casks (see Wood)

Cement, Roman, per barrel....................0 2 6

Chalk, per ton..............................0 2 0

Charcoal, Animal and Vegetable, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Cheese, per cwt...............................0 4 8

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Chocolate and Cocoa, per lb..................0 0 1

Cycler and Perry, in bottles, per dozen of two gallons...0 13

Clocks and Watches, for every £ 100 value........ 10 0 0

Coals.................................... Free.

Coal Pitch and Tar.........................Free.

Coin........................................Free,

Confectionery, for every £100 value............ 10 0 0

Copper and Composition, Sheathing, Nails and Bolts.. Free.

" Wrought of other sorts, per lb............. 0 0 1

Cordage and Cables............................. Free.

Coffee, per cwt...............................0 4 8

Corks, for bottling, per gross.................. 0 0 3

Corn, Grain, Meal, Flour –
Barley, per bushel............................ 0 0 4

" Hulled, (see Pearl and Scotch Barley)

Barley Meal................................ Free.

" Malt, per bushel...................... 0 0 8

Beans, per bushel............................. 0 0 8

Oats, per bushel.............................. 0 0 4

Oats, Hulled (see Groats or Grits)

Oatmeal .................................... Free.

Peas, per bushel.............................. 0 0 8

" Split, per bushel......................... 0 1 3

Eye........................................ Free.

Wheat..................................... Free.

" Flour .............................. Free.

Maize, per bushel ............................ 0 0 3

Cotton Manufactures –
Calicoes and Cottons, white or plain, over 36 inches wide, per yard .......................0 0 0 3/4

" 36 inches and under, per yard ............ 0 0 0 1/2

" Printed, checked, stained, or dyed, wide, per yard .... 0 0

" Narrow, per yard........................ 0 0 0 1/2

Dimities, Ginghams, Nankeens, Damasks, Diapers, Quilting, per yard.........0 0 1

Cotton Shawls and Handkerchiefs, for every £100 value ..............10 0 0

Muslins, Cambrics, Lawns, Laces, Gauzes, Crapes, Muslin Shawls and Handkerchiefs, for every £100 value ..........10 0 0

Velvets, velverets, Velveteens, and Cords, per yard... 0 0 2

IMPORT DUTIES.

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Fustians, Jeans, Jeanets, &c, per yard .......... 0 0 1

Counterpanes, each............................ 0 2 0

Bed Quilts, each............................. 0 0 6

Lace and Patent Net, for every £100 value........ 10 0 0

Hosiery, – Stockings, per dozen pair ............ 0 1 0

Of all sorts, for every £100 value...... 10 0 0

Tapes and Small Wares, for every £100 value...10 0 0

Cotton, for stitching or sewing, per lb............ 0 0 1 1/2

On Reels, per gross................... 0 0 1

Cotton Twist and Yarn, for every £100 value...... 10 0 0

Earthen and China Ware, for every £100 value.... 10 0 0

Engravings, for every £100 value................ 10 0 0

Fish, dried and pickled, per cwt................... 0 2 0

Fishing Tackle, including Nets, Lines, and Twines, for every £100 value .....10 0 0

Fruit, Apples, Apricots, Peaches, Pears, &c, fresh per bushel ........0 1 8

" Dried, per lb.................... 0 0 0 1/2

" Almonds, per lb...................... 0 0 O 1/2

" Shelled, per lb............................ 0 0 1 1/2

" Currants, Raisins, Dates, Nuts, Walnuts, Filberts, Figs, and Prunes, dried, per lb...... 0 0 1

" Oranges, Limes, and Lemons, fresh, per dozen. 0 0 2

Glass, Crown and Sheet, per 100 feet ............

Glasses, Looking and Mirrors, for every £100 value..10 0 0

Glue, per lb................................... 0 0 0 1/2

Groats, or Grits, per cwt......................... 0 2 4

Haberdashery & Millinery, not otherwise described, for every £100 value............10 0 0

Hardware and Cutlery, not otherwise described, for every £100 value.............10 0 0

Harrows...................................... Free.

Hats –
Beaver, Castor, and Silk, per dozen............. 0 12 0

Chip or Willow, Felt, Leather and Straw.......... 0 1 6

Hay, per ton................................... 0 8 0

Honey, per lb................................... 0 0 1

Hops, per lb................................... 0 0 1

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Iron, Bar, Bolt, Rod, Sheet, and Hoop, per ton ....1 0 0

Nails, per cwt.............................. 0 3 0

Anchors, Chains, and Chain Cables, for ships.... Free.

Chain, per ton ............................ 2 0 0

Holloware, per ton.......................... 2 0 0

Not otherwise described, for every £100 value.. 10 0 0

Jewellery, not otherwise described, for every £100 value ...................................... 10 0 0

Juice of Lemons and Limes, per gallon ............ 0 0 9

Junk ....................................... Free.

Lard, per lb................................... 0 0 0 1/2

Lead, manufactured, per cwt......................

Lead, black, red, and white, per cwt................ 0 3 0

Leather, sole, per cwt........................... 0 7 0

" Kip and calf, per lb...................... 0 0 1 1/2

" Basils, per dozen........................ 0 0 9

" Kangaroo,,, ........................ 0 3 0

" All other sorts, for every £100 value ...... 10 0 0

Linen Manufactures, White or Plain, per yard ...... 0 0 1

Checked, Striped, Printed, Stained, or Dyed, per yd. 0 0 1

Cambrics and Lawns, per yard.................. 0 0 2

Damask and Diaper, per yard.................. 0 0 1 1/2

Sail Cloth and Sails ......................... Free.

Linen Manufactures, Ticking, per yard ............ 0 0 Of

" Hosiery, – Stockings, per dozen pairs ........ 0 1 0

All other sorts, for every £100 value.......... 10 0 0

" Tape and small wares, for every £100 value – – 10 0 0

" Thread, for stitching or sewing, per lb......... 0 0 2

" Yarn, per lb.............................. 0 0 1

Litharge of Lead, per cwt........................ 0 3 0

Macaroni and Vermicelli, per lb.................. 0 0 2

Machines, Thrashing, Winnowing, and Draining – – Free.

Machinery for Mills ............................ Free.

Matches, Lucifer or Congreve, per gross.......... 0 0 8

" Vestas, per gross ...................... 0 1 6

Molasses, per cwt............................... 0 1 2

Musical Instruments, for every £100 value.......... 10 0 0

Mustard, bulk, per lb............................ 0 0 1

" in lib. bottles, per dozen ................ 0 1 6

" in fib bottles, per dozen ................ 0 0 9

IMPORT DUTIES.

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Mutton, salted, per cwt......................... 0 2 0

Oakum ...................................... Free.

Oil Cloth, per square yard.......................... 0 0 3

Oil, Cocoanut, Linseed, Rapeseed, Hempseed, Neats'-foot, per gallon.......0 0 4

Olive, Castor, and unenumerated vegetable, per gallon............ 0 2 0

" Blubber, and Bone, the produce of Fish, or creatures living in the sea ...........Free.

Oil of Turpentine, per gallon .................... 0 0 6

Paints, per cwt............................... 0 3 0

Painters' and Dyers' Colors and Materials, not otherwise described, for every £100 value ............ 10 0 0

Paper, Brown, Wrapping, or Blotting, per cwt....... 0 4 0

" Printing and Cartridge, per cwt............. 0 7 0

" Writing, per lb........................... 0 0 1

Paper Hangings, per dozen yards ................ 0 0 1

Parchment and Vellum, per skin.................. 0 0 2

Perfumery of all sorts, for every £100 value ........ 10 0 0

Perry, (see Cyder.)

Pickles and Sauces, in quart bottles, per dozen ...... 0 1 6

" " in pint bottles, per dozen........ 0 0 9

" in half-pint and smaller bottles, per dozen .................. 0 0 6

Pitch ..............................Free.

Plants, Bulbs, Trees, and Seeds ..............Free.

Ploughs ...................................... Free.

Pork, salted, per barrel.......................... 0 5 0

Rice, per cwt.................................. 0 2 0

Rosin, per barrel .............................. 0 2 0

Saddlery and Harness, for every £100 value ...... 10 0 0

Sago, per cwt................................... 0 3 6

Salt, Coarse, per ton ............................ 0 6 0

" Fine, per ton.............................. 0 10 0

Saltpetre, per cwt............................... 0 3 6

Silk Manufactures –

Silks and Satins, per yard................... 0 0 6

Hosiery – Stockings, per dozen pairs .......... 0 5 0

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Silk Manufactures – Not otherwise described, for every £100 value.. 10 0 0

Stuffs, Ribbons, Lace, Fringe, Trimmings, &c., for every £100 value.....10 0 0

Sewing Silk, per lb............................ 0 1 0

Twist and Yarn, per lb...................0 1 6

Stockings of Silk and Cotton, per dozen pairs ...... 0 2 0

" of Silk and Linen, per dozen pairs........ 0 2 0

of Silk and Worsted, per dozen pairs...... 0 2 0

Silk Velvet, at per yard.......................... 0 1 6

Slates, (see Stones) in frame, per dozen ............ 0 0 6

Slops – Trousers, Moleskin and Tweed, per pair...... 0 0 4

Shirts, blue and red serge, per dozen .............. 0 4 0

Regatta and Cotton, striped, per dozen ...... 0 1 6

" White, per dozen ........................ 0 2 0

Soap, common, per cwt........................... 0 3 0

" fancy, per cwt............................. 0 6 0

Spades and Shovels, per dozen .................... 0 3 0

Specimens illustrative of Natural History .......... Free.

Spices – Cassia, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, Pimento, and Nutmegs, per lb.......0 0 6

Ginger, per lb ............................... 0 0 1

Pepper, Red or Cayenne, per lb................. 0 0 1

Black and White, per lb................. 0 0 1

Spirits of Tar, per gallon........................ 0 0 6

" Turpentine, per gallon.................... 0 0 6

" Brandy, Gin, Rum, and Whiskey, not exceeding hydrometer proof, and so in proportion for Spirits of a greater strength. All Cordials, sweetened Spirits, and Liqueurs, being rated as proof Spirits, at the rate of for every gallon, imperial measure ................ 0 6 0

Scotch and Pearl Barley, per cwt.................. 0 2 4

Starch, per cwt................................. 0 4 8

Stationery, not otherwise described, for every £100 val...10 0 0

Steel, per cwt.................................. 0 4 8

Stones – Hearth, Flag, and Slab, per ton .......... 0 5 0

" Grindstones, per foot .................... 0 0 8

Slates – Ladies, per 1000 ........................ 0 10 0

" Countess and Duchess, per 1000 ............ 0 15 0

Stone Blue, per lb............................... 0 0 1

IMPORT DUTIES.

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Sugar – Refined, Loaf, Crushed, and Candy, per cwt.. 0 4 8

" Raw, per cwt............................ 0 2 4

Syrup, in bottles, per dozen ..................... 0. 1 6

Tapioca, per cwt............................... 0 4 0

Tar......................................... Free.

Tea, per lb..................................... 0 0 2

Tin, in plates, per cwt........................... 0 3 0

" Block, per lb............................... 0 0 1

" Ware, for every £100 value .................. 10 0 0

Tobacco, Cigars, and Snuffs, per lb. ................ 0 2 0

" Manufactured, per lb..................... 0 1 0

" Unmanufactured, per lb................... 0 0 9

Stems ................................ 0 0 9

Sheepwash........................... Free.

Tobacco Pipes, common clay, per gross ............ 0 0 4

" Other sorts, not described, for every £100 val...10 0 0

Tongues, per barrel ............................ 0 5 0

Toys, for every £100 value ...................... 10 0 0

Treacle, (see Molasses.) Turpentine, (see Oil or Spirits of.)

Twine, (except Sewing) .............. 0 0 1

Varnish, for every £100 value ................. 10 0 0

Vinegar, per gallon............................. 0 0 2

Watches, (see Clocks and Watches.)

Wines, in cask, per gallon........................ 0 1 G

" bottled, per dozen of two gallons............ 0 5 0

Wood, Board, Plank, and Scantling, per 100 feet.... 0 1 0

" Cedar, per 100 feet........................ 0 2 0

Casks, empty ............................ Free.

Handspikes, Masts, Yards, Bowsprits, Oars,

Trenails or Trunnels..................... Free.

Shingles and Laths, per 1000 .............. 0 1 0

" Palings, per 1000 ........................ 0 10 0

Wooden Ware, for every £100 value.............. 10 0 0

Wool, unmanufactured ......................... Free.

Woollen Manufactures –

Cloths, Broad, per yard........................ 0 1 3

Kerseymere, per yard....... .................. 0 0 8

Baizes of all sorts, per yard.................... 0 0 3

DUTY.

£ s. d.

Woollen Manufactures –

Pilot and Flushing, per yard.................. 0 0 4

Flannel, per yard ............................ 0 0 1

Tweeds, per yard ............................ 0 0 3

Blankets, per pair........................... 0 2 0

Blanketing, per yard.......................... 0 0 9

Carpets and Carpeting, per yard................. 0 0 3

Pugs or Coverlets for Beds, each................ 0 0 4

Stuffs, Woollen or Worsted, for every £100 value.. 10 0 0

Hosiery – Stockings, per dozen pairs ........... 0 1 0

" All other sorts, for every £100 value...... 10 0 0

Tapes and Smallwares, for every £100 value...... 10 0 0

Woollen or Worsted Yarn, per lb................ 0 0 0 1/2

Woolpacks, each................................. 0 0 6

Zinc, per cwt.................................. 0 3 6

All Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, not otherwise

enumerated, for every £100 value................ 10 0 0

*** The repeal of some, and the modification of other, of these Duties are subjects now under consideration with the New Zealand Government.

SHIPS, SHIP OWNERS,
AND
SHIP AGENTS.

As a supplementary subject, we purpose making a few brief remarks on the general management of passenger ships – their comparative comforts and inconveniences. We do this less on account of any pleasure or annoyance we have ourselves experienced on our numerous aquatic trips, than for the information of the public and benefit of those who may contemplate a long sea voyage.

A long voyage is either very delightful or the very opposite – conducive to the health, vigor, and enjoyment of the voyagers, or fraught with personal inconveniences and social discomforts that are bearable only because incurable. In a good ship, well provisioned, ably commanded, and peopled, but not overcrowded, with agreeable passengers, two or three months may be passed on the ocean as a charming summer of relaxation and

repose – a season to be envied by the merchant as by the mechanic, by a mind previously oppressed with care, or by a body enfeebled with exertion. By landsmen nature may at such a period be seen and enjoyed as she was never seen or enjoyed before. Withdrawn for a time from the excitement of city life, or freed from the formalities and vanities of the fashionable world, the mental faculties, turning to higher objects, will expand with the sublimity and grandeur of the surrounding scene, while the invigorated body strengthens the mind for its exalted reflection. True; the votaries of pleasure, the nightly frequenters of the opera or the ball-room, regard the poop or quarter-deck of a ship as altogether too circumscribed for their notions of enjoyment; and the ethereal and ever-changing elements, with the boundless space above and below, are scarcely deemed worthy of a thought – except with regard to personal inconveniences that occasionally arise therefrom. But to men of the world, sensible, thoughtful beings, the change from the busy mart to the placid or foaming ocean affords time both for pleasure and instruction. How can it be otherwise. With fresh air, wholesome food, and agreeable society by day, and refreshing repose at night, what so delightful or half so healthful as sailing for a couple of months on the expansive ocean. Here we pause. In journeying through life – in the commercial and social, as in the

natural world – there will be found fine pictures and fair seasons; but these fine pictures and fair seasons are unfortunately – or rather wisely for their just appreciation – alternated by others which are neither so fine nor so fair. These truths have not a partial but universal reference; they apply alike to all countries and all communities, and may be confirmed in any land or on any sea. A sea voyage, as we before observed, will be found to be something either very bright or very gloomy – a brilliant and fruitful summer, or a cheerless and hungry winter. With fresh air – for fresh air, except by day, is not obtainable in overcrowded ships – wholesome food, and genial society, nothing can be more delightful than an aquatic trip. Wanting these or any of these things, than a sea voyage nothing can be more objectionable. Experience both of the one and the other will enable us to say a few words descriptive of either. But every effect may be traced to a cause; and previous to a further description of the effects to which we have alluded, let us for a moment turn to the source from whence they spring.

Ships, ship-owners, and ship-agents, have in no small degree tended to establish, as they still tend to maintain England's pre-eminence as a mercantile nation. The owners and agents form a part, and no inconsiderable part, of Great Britain's first-class merchants. As a body their position and respectability are indisputable. It is, there-

fore, unnecessary to dwell on this part of the subject – a part composed of historical facts which are patent to every Englishman who knows anything of his own country. But, in one respect, ship-owners are like other great commercial bodies. They are not immaculate. Mighty as a whole, the body is not exempt from its connexion with mean or unworthy parts – and to these our observations are chiefly directed. Connected with the shipping interest may be found individuals – brokers, or agents, or whatever they may please to call themselves, – who, under a systematic plan of deception, would appear to ensnare and delude intending emigrants without the slightest compunction or fear. The snare they adopt is of the most seductive and frequently of the most heartless description; for the fair promises by which unsuspecting persons are seduced generally prove false when they are defenceless. The person who is induced by the plausible puff of a resident tradesman to enter his wareroom with the hope of obtaining a bargain, has a perceptible advantage over one who, by similar representations, is enticed and secured as passenger on board a ship. The one has the privilege of taking or declining the goods submitted to his notice, agreeably with his own inclination or judgment. The other can only inspect the apartment in which his fare is to be provided; and being at once compelled, by prepayment, to discharge his part of the contract, the

fulfilment of the other part, as also the quality of the articles to which he is entitled, are matters over which he has no control, and leave him entirely at the mercy of others – not a very tender mercy either we regret to say. Even in the case of purchase from a tradesman, the purchaser on discovering a fraud, and proving false representation, can obtain immediate redress. Not so the deluded passenger who has entered on a long voyage. He has first to bear in his own person the infliction of an injury, and to discover on the termination of the same that to attempt a remedy for the benefit of others would prove a more serious matter than that from which he has been released. On arriving in a distant land one is more disposed to look to future comfort than to review past grievances; besides which, one of the remarkable features of human nature goes to prove that privations and suffering, which provoke their victims to bitter lamentation and sad complaint at the time, are but seldom thought of when they are over. With a serious determination we vow – at the time – to bring to the bar of justice the poor cabman who has defrauded us of a threepenny piece; but the early dissolution of our intention, and the escape of the delinquent, are merely typical of events of greater moment. Nevertheless, it becomes the duty, as also the privilege, of one man to expose and endeavour to check all or any evil that may come under his notice – if only

for the benefit of others. And with regard to passenger's fare, &c., on board ship, we have ample materials for illustrating cases of premeditated and gross deception. Our object, however, in this as in other matters, is not to particularize, by supplying individual cases for illustration, but simply to direct the attention of intending emigrants and others to existing evils, and to suggest – if not a remedy – at least the mode by which such evils may be avoided or mitigated. For those who have the means to apply it, the remedy for the evil in question will be found simple enough, viz., in the selection of first-class ships, or ships belonging to, and sailing under the flags of first-class owners. As a rule, avoid chartered ships – ships chartered by cheap brokers and agents – those who, by tempting baits, solicit cabin passengers at half fares. The hook will be found – to the sorrow of those who take it – the only reality attached to the offer. Of our own knowledge we can aver that a second-class passenger in a ship owned by a first-class firm is better accommodated, better fed, and better attended to, than a first-class passenger in a second-class ship. The charges for accommodation, &c, in these vessels – like those in first and second-class hotels – will, of course, be found somewhat higher in the one than in the other; but the difference in this respect is by no means in proportion to the comfort and convenience obtainable in the one

over the filth and misery to be found in the other. In the cabin and at the head of the table in the one we have an agreeable and intelligent commander. Each meal is served by competent stewards, and in a manner that would not disgrace a first-class hotel. In the cabin and at the head of the table in the other we have a coarse ill-bred skipper, with everything else in keeping with the same. The chief repast is served by dirty cuddy boys, and the meal itself is composed of dishes and messes which, both with regard to the cooking and the matter, would disgrace a shilling ordinary. Again – in the one there will be order and attention during the week, and a proper mark of respect to distinguish the seventh from other days. In the other all will be confusion and riot, while little or no regard will be paid either to persons, days, or things. Indeed, were the reader suddenly to shift his quarters from a West-end club-house to an East-end pothouse, the contrast produced by the change would not be greater or more striking than that presented by these ships. And such is the contrast suggested by first and second-class ships – ships belonging to first and second-class merchants – that sail from the port of London. We cannot, from personal experience, speak of the numerous ships that sail from Liverpool and other ports; but we presume the case described to be applicable anywhere. The lowest in price is not always the

cheapest article, although necessity may compel its selection; but where a purchaser has the power or the privilege of choice, he will do well – either with regard to ships or anything else – to consider the value as well as the price of an article.

Those who have never made a long sea voyage have little idea of the good things, besides fresh air, that are to be found on board a liberally provisioned, ably commanded, and well conducted ship. The mere recital of our usual dinner-fare on board the Windsor (owned by Messrs. Green), by which we made a delightful passage from Sydney to London, may enlighten our readers on the subject. First course – mock turtle, ox tail, or other excellent soup, alternated by preserved salmon. Second course – fowls or clucks, or both, turkeys, geese, or a sucking pig occasionally, with sundry joints of roast and boiled (fresh) meat. Third course – a variety of puddings, tartlets, &c, which for quality could not be surpassed anywhere. Lastly, cheese, followed by an excellent dessert. In addition to bottled ale and stout, and the usual dinner wines daily, the table would be supplied with claret in warm weather, and champagne twice a week in all weathers.

Well, reader, would you, as a voyager, be disposed to grumble or frown at a dinner-fare similar to that comprised in the above list? Until we know you, or have made your acquaintance as a

fellow passenger, we beg leave to entertain considerable doubt on the subject. " It's not the world that's so strange, but the people that make it so, " said a celebrated writer. There are people who have just cause for complaint; those who have been deceived by others, in the manner described at the commencement of this article. There are others again, who will find fault with perfection itself – men who

"Wherever they may he,
On land or on the sea,

are never satisfied, but who are ever disposed to make themselves disagreeable to others, a plague to themselves, and objects of annoyance on all subjects and on all occasions. These persons are to be met with on sea as on land; although in the latter region they are sometimes compelled, through the dread of approaching shame and contempt, to restrain their natural foibles for a time, and to fall in with the views of those who insure their own comfort and enjoyment, by endeavouring to contribute to the amusement and happiness of others. Commanders of ships are frequently censured or condemned by over-exacting and troublesome passengers. True, commanders may not always be blameless; but the love of truth and justice compels us to say that in our humble opinion – an opinion founded on the experience of some half dozen long voyages – the passengers

in first-class ships have, in the majority of cases, only themselves to blame for the evils they complain of. To escape the unmerited censure of every passenger, a commander must be something more than mortal: he must be invested with the power to satisfy those who have never yet been satisfied with anything or anybody – but themselves. With kindness, combined with justice and independence he will please the majority – not all. In conclusion we will merely observe that the three great things to insure comfort on a sea voyage are as follow: – Firstly, good ships, owned by first-class men; secondly, able commanders; and thirdly, agreeable passengers. Good ships and good owners generally insure able commanders; but neither the one nor the other, nor both, will always insure agreeable passengers. Nevertheless, intending voyagers may deem our remarks worthy of some consideration; and those who really are agreeable, and who are anxious for everything on the voyage to be in unison with their own good qualities, have only to seek the primary objects after the manner and by the means suggested. Whether sailing from London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Southampton, Bristol, or elsewhere; or as first, second, or third-class passengers, our friends will find that first-class ships are the best; and, for a sea voyage, the best ships will be found the safest and quickest, consequently the cheapest.

ENGLISH INSURANCE COMPANIES.

Probably, a few of our English readers – disposed, through interested motives, rather to quarrel with us for the introduction of the subject than to discuss it – will say, what have English Insurance Companies to do with the "Rise and Progress of Australia?" Our reply in such a case would be definite and brief. While British institutions which involve a large amount of capital give rise to, influence, and regulate local ones or branches in British dependencies, the character and security of such institutions or associations become a matter of some, if not equal importance in the English colony as in the English capital; a great commercial crisis or monetary panic in the one, not failing in a greater or lesser degree to affect the other. Should the answer be deemed insufficient, we would claim an Englishman's privilege – that of fearlessly expressing an opinion on any public

matter, or directing attention to a subject, the neglect or calm consideration of which may seriously or beneficially affect the future of thousands.

Of late, there has been a growing disposition on the part of the public to effect life insurances, by which provision may be made for surviving friends, aged relatives, or rising branches of the present generation. Such a desire reveals a noble trait in the English character, and is worthy of encouragement; for the object is a laudable one, and the means of its accomplishment ample and just. But, unfortunately, the greatest blessings are open to the greatest abuses; and so soon as a ready disposition is evinced by the public to invest money in some substantial institution, or honorable undertaking, so soon will arise a number of gingerbread establishments and wily adventurers, each and all – so far as outward appearances go – fully equipped and prepared for legitimate action, although in reality, only ready with delusive schemes, plausible devices, and artificial baits to tempt the weak and mislead the unwary. Has this been the case, and to what extent, with regard to the so-called public institutions under review? Although the materials on which our opinion is founded may not at once determine the question, or dispose of a subject where secresy and mystified accounts are known to prevail, they may nevertheless assist those of our

readers who are personally but not officially interested in arriving at a correct conclusion.

In 1848 the number of Insurance Companies in London was 145; in 1851 the number had increased to 165; and in the present year (1856), there are 254 offices, which represent more than double the number that existed ten years since. Should the increase multiply at the same rate during the next twenty years, London in the year 1876 will contain more than one thousand Insurance Companies. The question suggested by such a table is simply this – has the late extraordinary increase in the number of companies to which the figures refer been justified by the requirements of the public? If so, it will be well for those, or the descendants of those whose faith on the subject is at present intact; if not, the ultimate fate of many, if not the majority of the institutions themselves – in which innocent subscribers will be the victims – must be obvious. If these naming establishments are only kept open and supported at the expense of the shareholders and a few luckless captives, the crash, though distant, will be great and certain. Of the action of public companies, as of private individuals, where the expenditure is greater than the income, the result may be anticipated with certainty, although time can alone determine the extent of the operations, or the period of their final development. A man whose sole capital is one hundred thousand

pounds in the funds, and who spends ten thousand a year, must in the course of a few years, or so soon as his capital and credit are exhausted, come to a stand; and the society, however rich, that may continue to expend forty thousand a year, while its income amounts to only one half that sum, will, sooner or later, find itself in a similar fix. It may be said, however, that these are only presumptive cases in which certain specified operations would lead to certain results, and that it is necessary to prove the existence of a cause before supplying evidence of the effect. Well. Without summoning to our aid the apparitions of departed Insurance Companies, in order to show the withering effect of previous baneful action on the part of deceased adventurers, we will deal only with objects that have still some lingering sparks of vitality; and without attempting in our examination to say or insinuate more than has been said by themselves, their own figures will, if we mistake not, clearly prove our proposition, viz. – that there are Insurance Companies at present in operation, both Fire and Life, as will be seen by the following statement from " The Times " of July 24th, which, by continuing in their past course, will eventually ensure their own ruin, if not the immediate poverty or future destitution of the subscribers or their descendants. It will, however, be gathered from their own plea, that the

past is not to be their future course of action; and that although one office has exceeded its income by the small sum of about £20,000 a year, its income in the course of time may be in excess of its expenditure. We will only say with "The Times," "it will be for the public to judge how far the argument is to be carried, and whether it will justify such figures as are now presented."

"The Return recently published of the accounts of Assurance Associations contains all the documents furnished to the Registrar of Joint-Stock Companies by the offices established since the Joint-Stock Companies Act of 1844, and which alone are required to prepare annual statements for public registration. Owing to the deficiencies of the Act, which provides neither the form of balance-sheet to be submitted, nor any proper means of enforcing compliance with its provisions, these accounts are in many instances of the most vague and unsatisfactory description. They give some leading figures, however, which are sufficient to indicate the general progress of each office, the extent to which its funds have been drawn upon, and the plans it has pursued in order to gain business. As regards fire insurance companies, these particulars will be found condensed in the following table. It shows the operation of nine offices for the specific periods over which their latest returns extend. In three cases – namely, the Royal, the Manchester, and the Lincolnshire – the transactions appear to have been of a perfectly satisfactory character, a surplus of profit being exhibited after the payment of dividends. In the six remaining cases – namely, the Equitable, the Lancashire, the Unity, the British Empire Mutual, the National Provincial, and the Times – the expenditure has been largely in excess of the receipts. This result is the most striking in the instance of the Unity, because the accounts of that company

extend over a longer period than those of the National Provincial and the Times, which would otherwise be still more remarkable. In three years, during which the receipts of the Unity have been £59,521, an expenditure has been incurred of £115,106, including £10,789 distributed in dividends. The plea for this system is, that by a large outlay for advertisements, agencies, &c, a connexion is formed which in future years will more than repay the money at first risked, and that the amount should consequently be placed under " preliminary expenses, " and be provided for by appropriations out of future profits through a long period. It will be for the public to judge how far the argument is to be carried, and whether it will justify such figures as are now presented. It is certain that if every other insurance office, in order to meet this kind of competition, were to pursue a similar course, they would all speedily be ruined.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE TRANSACTIONS OF SOME OF THE EXISTING FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES, Registered under the Joint-Stock Companies' Act, 7 and 8 Vic. c. 100, abstracted from the Parliamentary Return of Assurance Companies just issued.

TRANSACTIONS OF SOME OF THE EXISTING FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES

From the above tabular statement it appears that the total losses and expenses have averaged on the net premium receipts, &c., 96.41 per cent.; including dividends, 109.64 per cent.

"Annexed are the paid-up capital and funds of the above-named Fire Offices: –

"The following Fire Companies have not registered any accounts – viz.: –

"The Athenaeum (winding up in Chancery), the Emperor, the London Mercantile, and the Saxon."

"And the following have been dissolved – viz.: –

"The British; English and Cambrian; Halifax, Bradford, and Keighley; Legal and Commercial; National Guardian; National Mercantile; Preston and North Lancashire; Protestant; Sceptre; Star; and Times Fire and Property."

If the entire body of London Insurance Associations are fairly represented by the thirteen named in the foregoing statement, a similar classification would present the following results: –

Number of offices showing a profit over and above expenses....59

Number of offices showing the expenses to be greater than the profits ........118

Number of offices showing accounts in such manner that no distinct details can be given to the public...77

Total .......................... 254

After the perusal of accounts furnished by a few companies only, those persons who, without inquiry, may place faith in any and every newly established Assurance Association, will not, we think, deserve much sympathy on account of any future loss or disappointment they may experience through their own simplicity. The following brief account of an expiring body furnishes rather a cheerless prospect for those whose policies bear the stamp of some insolvent institution. It is but poor consolation for the surviving friends or relatives of one who insured his life, to find their single claim greater than the entire assets of the company in which the assurance was effected.

VICE CHANCELLOR'S COURT, July 12.

(Before Vice-Chancellor Wood.)

in the matter of the Athenaeum life assurance society.

Mr. Roxburgh (with whom was Mr. Daniel) appeared in support of a petition by the directors, praying that the

company might be wound up in chambers under the provisions of the Joint-Stock Companies' Winding-up Acts.

The company which had been formed in 1851 had incurred liabilities to the amount of £28,000, arising from policies and annuities granted by them, one of their heaviest losses being upon a policy for £13,000 upon the life of a gentleman, which was now due. The assets of the company were stated to be £10,000. A meeting of the shareholders had been held on the 27th of June last, at which it was resolved that the directors should be authorized to take such steps to wind up the company as should be deemed expedient. A meeting of the directors was held on the same day, at which it was agreed to wind up the company under the provisions of the Winding-up Acts.

Mr. Selwyn, on behalf of some of the shareholders, though he looked with the greatest suspicion upon any proposition coming from the directors, admitted that there was no possibility of the company being carried on with advantage, and was content that an order for winding up in chambers should be at once made. He asked that the costs should be reserved.

Mr. Willcock and Mr. Freeman, upon a similar petition by some of the shareholders, characterized in strong terms the reckless manner in which the business of the company had been conducted by the directors.

Mr. H. Stevens was instructed to oppose the petition on behalf of other shareholders.

The Vice-Chancellor made the order for winding up the company in chambers upon the two petitions, reserving the costs.

When, after so brief a career, symptoms of disorganisation, failure, and dissolution appear in the camp of the newly formed forces, what will

any disinterested person think of the remaining body, the heads of which – like certain of the Crimean heroes – have a special interest in declaring their own professional solvency and invincibility to the last. Secret associations are remarkable in this respect, and often succeed for a time in inducing a belief in their efficiency and power. But fortunately, as a general warning, occasionally internal commotions force some scattered fragments of their doings to the surface; and the Press, being the mirror through which these misgivings are reflected, conveys to the public a tolerably fair estimate of the body beneath. But with regard to Assurance Companies, our surprise is, not that so few of those recently established have come to a stand, but that any of them should so soon be compelled to declare themselves in such a position. With men of the world, even with those who have private property at stake and may sacrifice it in the struggle, there is generally a desire to prolong their commercial existence, although all reasonable hope of recovery may be extinct. But board-room gentlemen, or self-constituted directors and managers of public companies, who deal with public funds, are still more tenacious of life, and seldom finally retire from their well furnished official quarters – as a host of defunct societies have fully proved – while the balance at their bankers is considered sufficient to pay for – "another champagne lunch!"

Without consideration, it would therefore seem strange that any one of these recently formed associations should have expired so soon after birth. Such premature fatality might induce a stranger to inquire whether the numerous diseases incidental to babes and sucklings attack, without distinction of class or complexion, all newly formed bodies? Or is it that the innocent lives accepted by these large but lax bodies have, in too many instances, represented the feeble structures on which the promoters' hopes were founded, while the dissolution of the one has unexpectedly involved the other in a similar fate? Anxious for business and its immediate substantial reward, have they not accepted any life, from the puny infant to the, diseased and drooping centenarian? Hence the sudden stoppage of a few of the least wealthy of the establishments – see the case reported – in which the claim on a single policy is sometimes larger than the reputed assets of the company that granted it.

The public however feel more interest at present in the stability of existing institutions than in the defalcations of those which have ceased to exist. The doings and doom of the latter are no longer secrets, unless those who have paid or are paying the penalty of misplaced confidence wish to preserve them as such. But in the state of the former, the future position of thousands and tens of thousands of respectable families in this

country is staked; and the success or failure of the stake-holders will of course determine the fate of the subscribers – whether prize or blank, whether plenty or poverty is to be their future lot. Having, then, briefly noticed a few past events connected with this subject, let us for a moment consider whether the minor misgivings to which we have alluded are likely to be succeeded by a more healthy state of things, or whether they merely denote similar events of greater magnitude, or a crisis fraught with danger to the public at large. We have resided for a time in a country of volcanic origin, in which earthquakes are of periodical occurrence, and where a great convulsion is invariably preceded by minor indications of the coming calamity. We trust this fact may not influence our opinion, and induce us, unjustly, to institute a comparison between those terrestrial commotions and the commercial or monetary disasters which periodically take place in this country. No. Although there are certain precursory signs in these occurrences which resemble each other, our forebodings in the present instance are founded on something stronger than a mere recognition of such a resemblance. They spring from facts and figures, and from a reasonable presumption for the cause why facts and figures are so mystified as to be unintelligible to the public. Our premises are not shaped by private but public information;

and any of our readers have themselves equal opportunities for making their own deductions from official documents or occasional reports from our law courts. But Englishmen, as a body, seldom trouble themselves to inquire into the real state either of private debtors or public companies, in whom they may be personally interested, until the inquiry, as a precautionary measure, becomes unnecessary. When a great crash does take place, or a bubble suddenly explodes, then the dormant but sanguine creditor may be heard to exclaim, "ah! who'd a' thought it!" And have we not every reason to fear that, sooner or later, such will be the general exclamation with respect to a large number, if not the majority, of newly formed Assurance Societies? Do not past events and present statistics justify such a presumption with regard to the future? If not, all human calculations and predictions, as suggested by the commercial barometer, are unworthy of consideration or trust; and people have no right whatever either to foretell, guard against, or try to avoid a coming storm; but simply to dwell on mischiefs after they have taken place, or endeavour to repair damages that, with many, may be found to be irreparable-According to this doctrine, an Insurance Company or any other company whose expenditure may be in excess of its income by twenty thousand a year, cannot be questioned as to the

probable result of such a game so long as the game is not ended. The players may make fresh moves in favor of the shareholders or their supporters; and until the game be declared at an end, those of the public without the ring have no right to speculate as to the period or nature of its termination. The author of the following extract from an article on "New Speculations," a list of which appeared in "The Times" of July 4th, surely merited, if he has not received, severe reprehension for expressing, without reserve, his opinion on a subject of vital importance to the community.

"The fever of speculation now gradually commencing will he watched with anxiety by all who regard the permanent welfare of the country. Every one can see that with the influx of bullion, the demand for new investments will increase, that this demand will be met on all sides, and that the majority of the schemes introduced will call not merely for the surplus funds seeking employment at the moment, but will pledge the community to a continued outlay long after the tide may have turned. They can also recognize that the final result will be a crash such as was witnessed in 1825, 1836, and 1847, and which in this country may be looked for with absolute precision once every eleven years. The whole population will nevertheless go on, each man believing that he will pause in time, and that his neighbour is to be the person who must suffer. In such a state of affairs all warnings are useless since there is no difference of opinion as to the end. The only service that can be rendered is to remind the public from time to time of their actual position, so that if they increase

their commitments to an extravagant extent, they may at least do so with a full knowledge of what they are undertaking. Thus far no danger has been incurred, but a retrospect of the enterprises of the past half-year, will show that the amounts already engaged to be furnished are considerable, and that when these shall have been doubled or trebled – as will, perhaps, be the case during the next six months – they will make an aggregate sufficient to absorb the disposable means of England for three or four years thereafter. "

After furnishing a list of the companies introduced on the Stock Exchange since the 1st of January, 1856, the writer goes on to state the aggregate capital required by them to be £23, 490,000. But in a subsequent issue of the same paper an additional list is given, which augments the previous amount by about ten millions, making a total of £33, 490,000. A tolerably fair amount of English capital this – a large portion of it for the continent – arranged for by a few companies – independent of assurance associations – which have been formed during a period of little more than six months. These figures would appear large enough without being doubled or trebled, as predicted by "The Times" writer, to precipitate a crisis, which the brief space of a few years, or probably less, cannot fail to bring about.

With regard to some of the recently formed assurance associations, however unsound in construction, artificial in design, or reckless in action such institutions may be, the probability of an

immediate or general wreck is not so great as with delusive schemes of a different character. Yet, the more remote the period of a smash the greater the amount of the disaster. A man who subscribes for two or three years only to an undertaking that will yield him nothing in return, is clearly not so great a loser as he would be on continuing his subscription for a longer period with a similar result. And if any existing insurance office – like some departed relative – should keep open until its assets are not sufficient to cover the claim on one policy, what, we would ask, will be the share for others? Free at present – as Heaven grant this country may continue to be – from the cholera, or any such fatal malady, the large numbers of persons who have recently insured their lives are not, it is to be hoped, so near their exit from this world as to test the solidity of the institutions in question for the next few years. And during the lives of its valuable subscribers will any such office voluntarily close its doors against its unselfish and noble-minded directors and ingenious officials – and, above all, against the material matter on which the nobility of the one and the ingenuity of the other are found to thrive? Enough. Ten or fifteen years will disclose more than we have either said or intend to say on this subject. Of the manner in which some of the companies are formed, and of the character and doings of those by whom they are formed, our

readers may themselves judge by the following extracts from the examination of an ex-manager, who recently (August 7, 1856,) brought an action against the directors of a company at present in existence: –

"Plaintiff, cross-examined by Mr. James. – -Witness was not formerly connected with the Equitable Life-office, but with a fire-office of that name, and he travelled about the country as their agent. The directors who were appointed in March, 1856, to manage the offices of the Athenaeum Society were an entirely new set of gentlemen. Mr. Harris, one of the old board, by whom witness was appointed, was a solicitor. He had been insolvent. Did not know where he was now, but believed he was in some lunatic asylum. Mr. Howard, another of the old board was a surgeon. Did not know what had become of him. Mr. Carrington Jones, another director, he believed, was now engaged some way in the army, and he believed was at Malta. He was formerly secretary to the Athenaeum Life-office. Witness once had a promissory note from him for £257 10s. It was a security for money advanced to him by the society. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett and a person named Sutton were also directors of the society in 1853. Sutton, he believed, was the promoter of the company. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett lived at Fulham, but he did not know of his having any benefice. Witness was not to be paid his full salary until 2,000 preference shares were paid up. The society had no money until he found them some. Their revenue in 1853 was not more than £70 or £80. Sutton was what was called the "getter-up" of the company. He was formerly a clerk in an insurance-office. Soon after he was appointed the directors gave him shares to the amount of £1,000, and they lent him £750 from the funds of the society, to pay a deposit of 15s. upon each of the shares, and this was entered

in the books as a real transaction, and it was made to appear that he was the actual bolder of that number of shares, and that he had paid the deposit upon them. In point of fact he did not pay a single farthing.

The Chief Baron (to the witness) – Why, in point of fact, the "transaction" was all fudge, was it not?

Witness. Well, my Lord, it was very much like it. (A laugh.)

Cross-examination continued. – -The object of the proceeding undoubtedly was to make the public believe that the nominal capital of the company was larger than it really was. Did not think that the proceeding was adopted at his suggestion. There were only five directors at this time, and each of them bad £2,000 worth of shares given to him in the same manner, and the deposits were taken from the capital of the company, and none of them paid a farthing of their own money for the shares. These transactions were all entered in the books as though they had been genuine ones.

The witness was then further cross-examined by Mr. James. – He said that at the time he was appointed there were other shareholders than the five directors whose names he had mentioned. The directors and the shareholders were, in point of fact, one body. He was then questioned upon several money transactions, and be admitted that a sum of £250, which appeared on the books as having been lent to the Athenaeum Life-office was, in point of fact, advanced to Mr. Carrington Jones, one of the directors, who gave a promissory note as security, and he was to pay six per cent, interest. The same gentlemen who were directors of the fire-office, were also directors of the life department, and the money was entered as having been lent to that department. The entry was undoubtedly fictitious. He objected to the proceeding at the time, but the directors persisted on it, and he considered he was bound to obey their instructions.

Mr. James. – "Was any portion of this £250 ever repaid to the society? Witness. – No.

The Chief Baron asked what had become of Jones.

The witness said he did not know. The last time he heard of him he was serving in a foreign regiment at Malta.

A private ledger kept by the witness was here handed to him, and he was asked to explain how it was that the date appeared to have been altered in one of the entries, and September, 1855, substituted for June, 1853, in relation to a sum of £250. The witness said he knew nothing about it – the alteration had been made by the accountant of the company.

The Chief Baron said it appeared to him that there had been gross fraud, and that some of the persons concerned ought to have stood on the other side of the court.

The plaintiff, on further cross-examination, said that Jones was paid the dividends upon the shares that were placed in his name. The two offices – the Athenaeum Life, and the Athenaeum Fire were carried on in the same building. They were in the habit occasionally of borrowing money of each other. In May, 1853, there was a proposition for the fire-office to advance £400 to the life-office upon a deposit note at six per cent. The money was drawn on two checks, one for £300, which was crossed to the life company's bankers, and another for £100. The latter was not crossed, and it never came into the possession of the life company, and no one knew what had become of it. Field, the detective officer, was employed to investigate the matter, but no trace of the £100 check was ever discovered. He could not say why he did not cross the £100 check, but he supposed the board told him not to do so. Mr. Sutton, one of the directors, told him not to put the name of the Athenaeum Life Company's bankers on the

check, and to put his own hankers, the London and "Westminster, instead. The loss of the £100 check was very annoying, and he was told by Field that he had traced the notes that were paid for it to within twenty yards of the Athenaeum-office. He believed that Mr. Sutton was at present in London, and that he was engaged in getting up another company. (A laugh.) There was another entry on the books referring to a sum of £107 16s. 6d., which was represented to have been lent to the Athenaeum Life Company, and which was fictitious. In point of fact, this money was employed to pay a bill incurred by another society, called the Security Mutual, with which witness was connected. The money was employed to take up a bill, to which witness and Mr. Coyne, who was a director of the Athenaeum, were parties; but it was represented in the books that the money had been advanced to the Athenaeum Life-office.

The Chief Baron remarked that the operations of the company appeared to be very extraordinary. The same set of gentlemen appeared to be shuffling the money backwards and forwards to each other.

Mr. James. – The fact was, my Lord, that, whenever any of the directors wanted to borrow any money, they took it out of the funds of the company, and it was entered as a loan to the life-office. (A laugh.)

Cross-examination continued. – Witness was the projector of the Security Mutual-office. It was now in process of being wound-up. (A laugh.)

In answer to a question put by the jury, the witness said that several of the directors of the Athenaeum Life and Fire-office were also directors of the Security Mutual Company.

By Mr. James. – The Security Mutual gave him the same number of shares that he received in the Athenaeum, and it was also made to appear that he had paid up £750 upon

his snares. This was not at all an extraordinary proceeding, and the only thing that was remarkable about the transaction was the smallness of the amount. (A laugh.)

Will any sane person, after reading the statements in the preceding examination, be disposed, without the strictest scrutiny, to invest money in newly formed Insurance Companies? For our own part, we should -be very loth, as a commercial speculation, to give a shilling in the pound for the sole right to supposed sums that may hereafter become due on policies granted by the majority of life-offices of recent formation. Why? After the evidence, not ours, but of others, furnished in this brief review, can an answer be necessary?. Can any who attentively peruse that evidence have the slightest faith in the majority of recently formed life associations? Impossible. If, with us, our readers have no faith in the majority of such institutions, they might perhaps wish our information to extend a little further to enable them to learn the number and names of the minority. But however desirable such information might be for the future security of others, it is alike beyond our power and province to furnish. Having supplied what we deem a necessary caution on an important subject, we should exceed our duty by naming for public support particular objects from a large number recently established, without being able to distinguish from the general body those which

contribute to clangers that make this warning necessary. Where, however, there are no such doubts, there need be no such scruples; and for the information of those who may require it, we furnish the names of a few London and country establishments which – to use an expressive term of assurance where no doubt can possibly exist – we believe to be "as good as the Bank of England." Personally we are unacquainted with any one connected with such institutions. The simple fact that they have ever been and are still respectably conducted, while the majority if not all of them have been in existence for more than thirty years – some for more than a century – is our only inducement to name, as worthy the confidence of uninformed branches of the community, those institutions which experienced members of the public consider worthy of trust without our recommendation.

Royal Exchange, Fire, Life, Marine.
London Assurance, Fire, Life, Marine.
County and Provident, Fire, Life.
Atlas, Fire, Life.
Guardian, Fire, Life.
Westminster, Fire.
Equitable, Life.
London Life Association.
Pelican, Life.
Economic, Life.
Liverpool and London, Fire, Life.
Sun, Fire, Life.
Phoenix, Fire.

Imperial, Fire, Life.
Alliance, Fire, Life.
Globe, Fire, Life.
Union, Fire, Life.
Hand in Hand, Fire, Life.
Law, Life.
Law, Fire.
Hock, Life.
Amicable, Life.
North British, Fire, Life.
Manchester, Fire.
Norwich Union, Fire, Life.
Leeds and Yorkshire, Fire, Life.
National Mercantile, Life.
Scottish Union, Fire, Life.
Scottish Equitable, Life.
Scottish Provident, Life.
City of Glasgow, Life.
Edinburgh, Life.
Standard, Life.
Argus, Life.
Scottish Amicable, Life.
Scottish National, Life.
Alliance British and Foreign, Fire, Life.

There may be, as no doubt there are, offices of recent origin, the solidity and respectability of which entitle them to a place by side of the above. But how or by whom can such offices be named or. identified, when only three out of thirteen – as represented by their own accounts – have shown their revenue to be in excess of their expenditure? It may be said that all must

necessarily have a beginning, and that small beginnings often lead to great results. Very true. But such beginnings have generally a forward tendency. Had the above named institutions, like those of recent formation, commenced by a retrograde movement, such institutions would long since have ceased to exist.

But even as thoughtless children will, on the morrow, forget the timely advice or gentle admonition of to-day, the adult or more experienced part of the population would appear to be equally forgetful of, or to profit little by, the severe monetary lessons of the past. Were it otherwise, the recent failure of the Royal British Bank would furnish a lasting sign of the danger of placing much, if any, faith either in institutions or directors which are not well known to the public at large – such as occasionally become known to be found wanting in the only essentials necessary to their respective positions.

NEW ZEALAND DIRECTORY.

NEW ZEALAND DIRECTORY.

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NEW ZEALAND DIRECTORY.

AUCKLAND.

GENERAL GOVERNMENT. Governor and Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, C. B. Private Secretary & Clerk of the Executive Council – Capt. Steward. Aide-de-Camp – Lieut. William D. Shipley, 58th Regiment. Clerk – James Holt, Esq.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.

The Officer Commanding the Troops. The Honorable the Colonial Secretary. The Honorable the Attorney General. The Honorable the Colonial Treasurer.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Hon. W. Swainson, esq....... Auckland
– W. H. Kenny, esq. ...... Onehunga
– F. Whitaker, esq....... Auckland
– J. Salmon, esq........ Auckland
– J. A. Gilfillan, esq....... Auckland
– T. H. Bartley, esq....... Auckland
– Sir S. O. Gibbes, Bart...... Auckland
– H. Petre, esq......... Wellington
– H. St. Hill, esq........ Wellington

Hon. J. Y. Lloyd, esq........ New Plymouth
– R. Richardson, esq....... Nelson
– H. Seymour, esq........ Nelson
– M. Richmond, esq....... Nelson
– E. H. W. Bellairs, esq...... Otago
– P. D. Bell, esq........ Wellington
Speaker – Hon. William Swainson, esq., Auckland (absent) Do. Hon. F. Whitaker, esq., Auckland (acting)
Clerk – James J. Piercy, esq., Auckland.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND.

J. L. Campbell, esq. W. Lee, esq.
T. Beckham, esq. R. Graham, esq.
W. C. Daldy, esq. C. J. Taylor, esq.
F. W. Merriman, esq. J. Williamson, esq.
W. Brodie, esq. J. Greenwood, esq.
T. Henderson, esq. H. Carleton, esq.
Speaker – Clerk – F. E. Campbell, esq.

COLONIAL SECRETARYS DEPARTMENT.

Colonial Secretary – The Hon. Andrew Sinclair, esq. Commissioner of Crown Lands – William Gisborne, esq. First Clerk – G. E. Eliott, esq. Second Clerk – Mr. Alexander C. P. M'Donald.

LAW OFFICERS OF THE CROWN.

Attorney General – The Hon. W. Swainson, esq. (on leave) Do. The Hon. F. Whitaker, esq. (acting.)

TREASURY.

Colonial Treasurer – The Hon. Alexander Shepherd, esq. Clerk – James S. Baylis, esq.

AUDIT OFFICE.

Auditor General – Charles Knight, esq. Chief Clerk – W. Dover, esq. Second Clerk – Mr. G. E. Friend. Third Clerk – Mr. T. Godfrey.

'

LAND PURCHASE DEPARTMENT.

Principal Commissioner – Donald M'Lean, esq. District Commissioners – Bay of Islands: H. T. Kemp, esq. Whangarei: J. G. Johnson, esq. Waikato & Mokau: J. Rogan, esq. Hawkes Bay: G. S. Cooper, esq.

Senior Clerk – Mr. W. B. Baker. Junior Clerk – Mr. A. A. M'Innis.

CENTRAL BOARD OF VACCINATION FOR ABORIGINES.

Chairman – Rev. G. A. Kissling Medical Secretary – H. J. Andrews, esq.

NATIVE SECRETARY'S DEPARTMENT.

Secretary – D. M'Lean, esq. (acting) Inspector of Mills – Mr. H. Boyton Clerk and Translator – Mr. C. 0. Davis Editor of Native Newspaper – D. Burns, esq.

SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Surveyor General – Charles W. Ligar, esq. Deputy ditto – Reader Wood, esq. District Surveyor – Mahurangi: Charles Heaphy, esq.

Senior Draughtsman – James Baber, esq. Second Draughtsman – Charles H. McIntosh, esq. Clerk – Mr. A. Sinclair.

SUPREME COURT.

Chief Justice & Deputy Vice Admiral – W. Martin, esq. (on leave) Chief Justice of the Northern District (acting) – S. Stephen, esq. Chief Justice of the Southern District (acting) – D. Wakefield, esq. Registrar – Thomas Outhwaite, esq. Sheriff – Loughlin O'Brien, esq.

BANKS.

Government Bank of Issue – Princess-street, Manager – C. Knight, esq.

Union Bank of Australia – Office: Princess-street, Local Manager – Alexander Kennedy, esq.

Savings' Bank – Office: At the Colonial Bank of Issue, Accountant – Mr. Francis E. Stewart.

PLACES OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.

St. Paul's, Princes-street; Rev. J. F. Lloyd. St. Matthew's, Hobson-street; Rev. F. Thatchar. St. Barnabas, Parnell; Rev. G. A. Kissling. St. Barnabas, Parnell, Maori Services; Rev. G, A. Kissling. – Presbyterian, Waterloo Quadrant; Rev. D. Bruce. Wesley an, Victoria Quadrant; Rev. J. Fletcher. – Primitive Methodist, Edward-street; Rev. R. Ward. – Independent, High-street; Rev. A. Macdonald. – Independent, Albert-street; Rev. T. Hamer. – Baptist, Mechanics' Institute; Rev. E. Thomas. – St. Patrick's [Roman Catholic), Chapel-street.

AUCKLAND STREET DIRECTORY.

PRINCES STREET.

Lambert, W., printer & bookseller Hampton, R., tailor Sauerbier, J., baker Droz, P. H., watchmaker Rochfort, S., solicitor Cavanagh, J., shoemaker Brookfield, F., solicitor Gilbert, Mrs., grocer Hooker, J., grocer Waste Lands Board Office Andrews, H. J., surgeon Colonial Treasury Colonial Secretary's Office Audit Office

Claremont Boarding House

Union Bank of Australia

Survey Office

Masonic Hotel

Retreat Boarding House

SHORTLAND STREET.

Hadlow, H., grocer Mielatz, J. F., working jeweller Chisholm, A., butcher Southern Cross Office Coleman, J., ironmonger Winch, C, watchmaker Holmes, J., tailor Reading, J. W., tobacconist Young, J., butcher Fielding, J., confectioner Harking, P., dealer Joslin, C, hairdresser Magnusson, Mrs., dealer Budgman, J., draper Russell, H., dealer Rattray, W., draper Scheidel, F., dealer Bolous, J., tailor I Langford, J. A., merchant j Weston, T. & Co., auctioneers ' Henderson & Macfarlane, timber merchants Custom House Engine House Sims, J., grocer Smith, W. H. & F., shoemakers Bell, J., Homoeopathic Pharmacy Newman and Ewen, ironmongers Tattersall, W., painter & glazier Watt, J., jeweller Williamson and Wilson, printers, New Zealander Office Williamson, J., bookseller Webster, H., saddler Keiley, M., plumber Coleman, W., merchant Fletcher, F. W., flour factor

Melbourne Boarding House; Richardson, J., engraver; Wallis & Jackson, watchmakers; Dunne, W., ironmonger; Smith, H., baker; M'Pherson, A., tinplate worker; Webster, – , draper; Halyday, J., cabinet maker; Sewell, W., dealer; George, E., butcher; Hardington, H., Exchange Hotel; Lundon, P., grocer; Hansard, A. W., auctioneer; Gibson, T., saddler; Cummings, Mrs., grocer; Clark, A., draper; Cleveland, A. M., dealer; Brown, S., grocer; Ellis, H., draper; Brown & Campbell, merchants; Macready & Stirrat, watchmakers; Gibson & Mitchell, ironmongers; Hallamore, T. C, draper; George, J., baker; Keesing, A. and R., dealers; Matthews, R., chemist; Brighton, W., dealer; Asher, A., dealer; Keesing, H., jun., dealer; Nathan, D., auctioneer; Keven, T., bootmaker; Stitchbury, C, dealer; Levy, S. H., Russell Wine Vaults; Graham, D., draper; Collins, S., dealer;

QUEEN STREET.

Somerville, M., grocer Augustus, E., hairdresser Williams, T. J., draper Henderson, J. and W., drapers Boylan, J. T., ironmonger Rees, Mrs., butcher Wayte, E., dealer Patterson, R., draper Kirby, Mrs., milliner Somervell, H., shoemaker Short, T., draper Cameron, R., grocer; Robertson, P., baker; Otto, A., grocer; Walters, W., butcher; Dennet, W., innkeeper; Lundon, D., baker; Percy and Kennedy, saddlers; Shalders, R. B., draper; Petschler, C, merchant; Low and Motion, flour factors; Wood, M., storekeeper; Forsaith, T. S., draper; Young, Mrs., grocer; Rogers, T., boarding-house keeper; Morrin, W., grocer; Bunting, E., greengrocer and; dairyman Howes, G., cabinet maker Dinnin, M., grocer Thompson, R., Greyhound Inn Piatt, T., merchant Webster, A. S., merchant Stevenson, J., merchant Macfarlane, J. S., merchant-Odd Fellows' Hall Bourne and Dove, engineers Sims, F., Wheatsheaf Inn Somerville, A., grocer Westwood, J., cabinet maker Hobbs, R., draper Buller, E., tailor Hamilton, M., grocer Hannken, F., storekeeper Connell & Ridings, auctioneers Jones, A., draper M'Garvey, W., cooper Sheehan, D., Trafalgar Inn Waddel, W., baker Steel, R., shoemaker Jones, T., ropemaker Ward, R., grocer Miller, W., shoemaker Day, H., butcher Snodgrass, D., baker Robinson & Co., saddlers Neale, W. H., bootmaker Francis, J., tinman Scott, E., shoemaker Vaile, S. and J. R., drapers Hair, G. B., watchmaker

Hoop, J., bootmaker Andrews, K., butcher Levy, L. and J., library Levy, P., Union Hotel Somerville, T., corn merchant Brown, J., boarding-house keeper Sheddan, R., cooper Weston and Keightley, livery stables; Johnson, J., cabinet maker Ireland, G., turner M'Dowell, J., storekeeper Court House Tutty, S., White Hart

QUEEN STREET WHARF.

William Denny Hotel Woodhouse and Buchanan, merchants King, G., dealer Bruce, Mrs. draper Tonks, B. & Co., ironmongers Lorigan, P., dealer Bout, J., merchant Davis, C, merchant Macky, J., merchant Gilfillan, J. A. & Co., merchants Salmon, J., merchant Bain, J. W., merchant Bobbins, T. G., ship chandler Duke, C, commission agent Schultz, R. & Co., auctioneers Owen and Graham, merchants White and Rogers, merchants Roe, Street and Co., timber merchants; Coolahan and Canning, bakers Edmonds, S. J., dealer Combes and Daldy, merchants Macky, T. & Co., merchants Macky, H., carpenter Graham, G. S., merchant Williams, Hinckley & Co., merchants

WEST QUEEN STREET.

Beard, J., surgeon-dentist Temple and Russell, painters Allen, E., boarding-house keeper; Hemmings, T., cabinet maker Dillon, M., confectioner Grimley, J., dealer M'Ewan, I., baker Chapman, G. T., bookseller Courting, H., bootmaker Christopher, H., grocer Pilkington, W. J., Crown and; Anchor Doyle, T., dealer Purcell, P., bootmaker M'Carthy, E., boarding-house; keeper Mullens, P., cutler M'Carthy, J., butcher Gallagher, G., baker Dingwall, A., dealer Curtis, R., surgeon, Harp's bldgs.

VICTORIA LANE.

Phillips, J., painter and glazier Philips, P. A., dealer Barehard, A., outfitter Scott, W., Victoria Hotel

FORT STREET.

Wall, E., shipsmith Brewer, H. N., mastmaker Carr, J. W., boat builder Grahame, W. S. & Co., merchants Harris, C. A., ship chandler Robertson, J., ropemaker Brodie, W., commission agent Le Roy, E., sailmaker Lillewall and Rattray, ship; chandlers Reynolds, G., Caledonian Hotel Rich, E., agent Hunt, R. J., merchant Phillips, G. P., dealer

HIGH STREET.

Robottom, J., bootmaker Kelly, J., baker Crosbie, D., tailor Hair, J., dealer Letham, S., baker King, J. H., innkeeper Hanlen, M. F., grocer

Dunning, J., grocer Post Office; Stratford, S. J., surgeon Leech, J., carver and gilder Holdsworth, D., dealer Spalding, A., tinsmith Marston and George, solicitors Ogilvy, J., tailor Holmes, T., butcher Palmer, J., tailor M'Caul, W., tailor Rawson, J., dealer

WYNDHAM STREET.

Parte, J., grocer O'Donoghue, M. C., grocer Richardson, J., printer Sansom, T., grocer Merriman, F. W., solicitor Ormsby, A. S., civil engineer Lowson, Mrs., milliner Londergan, T., tailor Otto, Mrs., grocer

ALBERT STREET.

Dignan, P., Clanricarde Hotel Carson, J., baker Leighton, J. F., bookbinder Dingwall, J., bootmaker Lee, W., surgeon Williams, J., painter M'Leod, J., smith

DURHAM STREET.

Webb, J., hairdresser

WAKEFIELD STREET.

Brennan, P., bootmaker Halstead, L. D., veterinary surgeon; De Velle, B., butcher; Thorne, W., bootmaker Ansell, G., carpenter Bischoff, – , portrait painter Davies, W., surgeon Main, Mrs., milliner

CHAPEL STREET.

Cadman, J., carpenter & builder Culpan, J., turner Currie, W., Aurora Tavern Porter, E., storekeeper Hamilton, J., baker

VICTORIA STREET.

Combe, W. and Sons, builders Adams, A., shoemaker Haymes, T., shingler

PARNELL.

Smith, G. H., grocer Wells, J., corn dealer Law, C. E., general dealer George, W., butcher Mitchell, J., storekeeper Lawford, R., baker Johnson, T., New Windsor Castle Symes, S., baker

MECHANICS' BAY.

M'Nab & Co., steam saw mills Gillingham, It., storekeeper Hornby, J., ropemaker Grattan, A., slater Haydon, M., dealer Leech, G, storekeeper

OFFICIAL BAY.

Moffitt, C. H., surgeon-dentist

WELLINGTON DIRECTORY.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

Superintendent – His Honor Isaac E. Featherston, M. D. Clerk – Richard Wakelin. Provincial Secretary – William Fitzherbert. Clerk – H. S. Knowles. Provincial Treasurer – William Fox. Clerk – John Wallace. Provincial Solicitor and Crown Prosecutor – A de B. Brandon. Board of Audit – J. Kelham, C. J. Pharazyn, Jonas Woodward.

Members of the Executive Council – The Provincial Secretary, Treasurer, and Solicitor, with S. Revans, M. P. C., constitute His Honor's Executive Council, and hold office on the principle of Ministerial Responsibility.

Messenger – Sydney Mason.

MAGISTRATES FOR THE PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.

Col. A. McCleverty Alfred Domett, esq. Daniel Wakefield, esq. Lieut. Col. C. E. Gold F. Dillon Bell, esq. Stephen Carkeek, esq. Donald Mc Lean, esq. Henry St. Hill, esq.; D. S. Durie, esq. Robert R. Strang, esq. Major James Patience Charles Clifford, esq.; E. Daniel, esq. W. Swainson, esq. W. Hickson, esq. W. Fitzherbert, esq. A. Ludlam, esq.; A. Hort, esq.; J. C. Raymond, esq.; J. Johnston, esq.; W. McLeod Bannatyne, esq. G. Hunter, esq. G. Moore, esq. T. Kebble, esq.; F. Robinson, esq. J. King, esq.; M. Campbell, esq.; G. Rees, esq.; J. Kelham, esq. W. B. Rhodes, esq.; H. Churton, esq. A. Alexander, esq. E. S. Curling, esq. John Cameron, esq.; A. De Bathe Brandon, M. P. C.; John Dorset, M. P. C.; N. Levin, esq.; W. Lyon, M. P. C.; S. Revans, M. P. C.; C. J. Pharazyn, esq.

MAGISTRATES FOR THE ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND IN THE PROVINCE OF WELLINGTON.

A. Domett, esq. D. Wakefield, esq. Col. McCleverty Col. Gold P. D. Bell, esq.; S. Carkeek, esq. D. Mc Lean, esq. H. St. Hill, esq. D. S. Durie, esq. R. It. Strang, esq.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Speaker – Charles Clifford, esq., J. P. For town of Wellington – C Clifford, J. Dorset, W. Fitzherbert, W. Lyon, W. Fox, W. Hickson, J. Woodward.

For Hutt – G. Hart, A. Ludlam, A. Renall, E. G. Wakefield.

For Wellington Country District – -A. de B. Brandon, C. W. Schultze, W. Bromley.

For Wanganui – W. Watt.

For Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay – F. D. Bell, S. Revans. Clerk to Council – – H. S. Harrison. Serjeant-at-arms – – J. H. Marriott. John Robert Godley, esq., Political Agent for the Province in London.

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. Engineer of Roads – John Roy. Inspector of Roads – H. Stilling.

HARBOUR DEPARTMENT.

Harbour Master – C. Sharp. Pilot – D. Dougherty. Signal Station – M. France. Keeper of Lighthouse – M. Bennett. Resident Magistrate and Sheriff – H. St. Hill. Clerk to Bench – R. S. Cheesman. Native Interpreter – E. F. Harris. Serjeant of Police – W. Styles. Gaoler – R. Mills. Resident Magistrate – Wanganui: D. S. Durie.

Ditto Hawke's Bay: A. Domett.

Colonial Surgeon – Dr. Dorset. Coroner – Geo. D. Monteith. Inspector of Sheep – J. Webster. Registrar of Brands – J. H. Marriott. Post Master – John F. Hoggard. Clerk – J. Kirton. Trustees of College Reserves – Mr. Justice Stephen, Hon. H. Petre,; W. Fox, H. St. Hill, W. Fitzherbert. Trustees of Public Cemetery – W. Lyon, R. R. Strang, John May, G. Hart, E. Robert. Sexton – I. Fuller. Medical Board – John Dorset, President; C. France, Secretary.

Visitors of Lunatic Asylum, Karori – W. Hickson, J. P., W. Fox, J. C. Raymond, J. P. Visiting Justices of the Gaol – A. Hort, J. P., "W. Hickson, J. P., W. B. Rhodes, J. P.

MEDICAL PROFESSION.

John Dorset, Colonial Surgeon. G. D. Monteith, Manners Street, Coroner. T. S. Ralph, M. D., Wellington Terrace. Drs. Hayes and France, Willis Street. Drs. Knox, Welch, and Buck, Hutt.

LEGAL PROFESSION.

Daniel Wakefield, Judge for Southern District. R. R. Strang, esq., Registrar. A. de B. Brandon, M. P. C, Provincial Solicitor. C. R. D. Ward, Barrister-at-Law. Messrs. R. S. Cheesman, R. Hart, J. King, J. Pearce, J. E. Smith.

AUCTIONEERS.

W. Allen, P. M. Hervey, I. Smith, G. Hunter, J. Johnson, Wellington; J. Broughton, Powell and Co; J. Kells, Wanganui.

MILITARY. southern province. – new zealand,

Staff.

Colonel McCleverty, Commanding Troops. Brigade Major – Captain H. I. Coote. Brigade Office Clerk – Serjeant John Atkinson. Staff Surgeon – R. K. Prendergast. Staff Assistant Surgeon – H. F. Robertson.

65th Regiment.

Wellington – Colonel: C. E. Gold. Captains: D'Arcey and Blewit. Lieutenants: Turner and Buck. Ensigns: Lewis and Wrixon. Adjutant: Lieutenant Strange. Paymaster: J. W. Marshall. Quartermaster: E. Withers.

Wanganui – Lieutenant Colonel: Patience. Captains: Bazalgette and Paul. Lieutenants: Still, Priestly, and Wemyss.

The remainder of the Regiment is stationed on detachment at the Bay of Islands, Auckland and Taranaki.

COMMISSARIAT DEPARTMENT.

Assistant Commissary General – J. C. R. Wood, esq. Clerk – W. P. Pickering. Storekeeper – George Gray.

ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT.

Deputy Ordnance Storekeeper – J. O. Hamley, esq. Clerk – R. Lucas.

BARRACK DEPARTMENT.

Barrack Master – J. 0. Hamley, esq. Barrack Serjeant – R. Grigg. Wanganui: Acting Barrack Serjeant – John Crowder.

ENGINEER DEPARTMENT.

Clerk of Works – Mr. G. Single.

LIST OF OFFICIATING MINISTERS.

United Church of England and Ireland. – The Revds. Arthur Baker, and I. Hamlin; The Ven. Archdeacon Octavius Hadfield; Revds. Thos. B. Hutton, C. H. S. Nicholls, Samuel Poole, Arthur Stock, Richard Taylor, Edwin Wheeler, Samuel Williams; The Ven. Archdeacon William Williams.

Church of Scotland. – The Rev. W. Kirton. Roman Catholic Church.. – Revds. I. Forest, A. Gavin, Jos. Lampila, Very Rev. I. I. P. O'Reilly, Revds. I. B. Petit Jean, Stephen Pezant, E. Regnier, Jos. Seon, Right Rev. Bishop Viard.

Free Church of Scotland. – Revds. John Moir, W. Dron. Presbyterian Congregation. – Revds. David Hogg, James Duncan,

(Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland.) Wesleyan Methodist Society. – Revds. James Buller, Charles Creed, George Stannard, James Watkin, W. Woon. Congregational Independents. – Rev. Jonas Woodward. Primitive Methodist Society. – Rev. Henry Green.

OFFICERS OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

Judge for Southern District; – D. Wakefield. Registrar Supreme Court – R. R. Strang. Deputy Registrar – J. E. Smith. Crier – J. Spiers. Officer Commanding the Troops – Lieutenant Col. W. McCleverty.

CROWN LANDS DEPARTMENT.

Commissioner – Francis D. Bell. Chief Clerk – D. Lewis. Second Clerk – William Holmes.

SURVEY DEPARTMENT.

Surveyor in Charge – Wellington: R. Park. Assistant ditto – G. F. Swainson. Surveyor – Wanganui: D. Porter. Chief Surveyor – Wairarapa: Capt. W. M. Smith, R. A. Ditto – Ahuriri: M. Fitzgerald. Assistants – Mr. Bousfield.

CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT.

S. Carkeek, Collector. E. Catchpool, First Landing Waiter. C. Sharp, Tide Surveyor, (also Harbor Master). S. E. Grimstone, Collectors' Clerk and Accountant. E. E. Bannister, First Clerk and Warehousekeeper. F. Meier, Second Landing Waiter. T. W. Hoggard, Second Clerk. C. Ward, First Locker. C. H. Stutfield, Second Locker.; G. Hawkins, Weigher and Gauger.

WANGANUI.

Chas. C. de Veux, Sub-Collector, and Post Master.

AHURIRI.

W. Seed, esq., Sub-Collector, (also Deputy Post Master).

Post Master – Wellington: J. F. Hoggard.

Bank of Issue – Manager: H. St. Hill. Clerk: J. Partridge.

Commissioners of Crown Lands – F. D. Bell, Wellington: A. Lomett, Port Napier, Ahuriri.

WANGANUI.

Resident Magistrate – D. S. Durie. Collector of Customs' – Chas. C. de Veux. Commander of Troops, Her Majesty's 65th Regt. – Colonel Patience. Colonial Surgeon – Geo. Bees, M. D. J. P. Magistrates – Capt. M. Campbell, John Cameron, H. Churton, John Nixon.

Clergy – -Church of England – Rev. R. Taylor. Presbyterian – Rev. J. Hogg. Roman Catholic – Rev. Father Pesant.

LEADING MERCHANTS, ETC.

Messrs. Hervey, Smith and Co.; Bethune and Hunter; Bowler, Son and Co.; Johnston and Co.; Levin and Co.; R. J. Duncan and Co.; Jacob, Joseph and Co.; Worsley and Co.; W. M. Bannatyne and Co.; G. Crawford and Co. Schultz and Co. Waring Taylor John Varnham Jonas Woodward A. Hort, sen. J. Walden J. H. Wallace Stuart, Kinross and Co.

NELSON DIRECTORY.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

Superintendent – His Honor Edward William Stafford. Executive Council – Henry Adams, John Poynter.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Speaker – Donald Sinclair. For the town of Nelson – H. Adams, G. F. Bush, W. Hough, J. Poynter, T. Renwick, D. Sinclair. Suburban Districts – J. Ward, E. Wastney, W. Wells. Waimea East – J. W. Barnicoat, T. Butler, W. 0. Cautley, S. L. Muller.; Waimea South – E. Baigent, J. W. Saxton, A. Saunders. Waimea West – D. Monro. Motueka – F. Jacka, E. Fearon, C. Parker. Massacre Bay – J. P. Robinson. Wairau – C. Elliott, Jos. Ward. Amuri – G. L. Lee. Clerk to Council – G. White. Messenger – L. Nattrass. Provincial Secretary – S. L. Muller. Clerk to ditto – A. Greenfield. Provincial Solicitor – H. Adams. Provincial Treasurer – J. Poynter. Board of Audit – D. Sinclair, T. Renwick, J. Sharp. Commissioner of Public Works – A. Dobson. Assistants – C. Goulter, F. J. Clarke. Provincial Surgeon and Coroner – J. F. Wilson, Registrar of Deeds – J. Poynter. Clerk to ditto – B. 0. Hodgson. Sheriff – B. Walmsley. Gaoler – W. Rodgerson.; Serjeant Major of Police – J., Fagan. Harbor Master and Pilot – J. S. Cross. Resident Magistrate – J. Poynter. Ditto at Wairau – H. G. Gouland.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

M. Richmond; D. Sinclair; J. D. Greenwood; H. Bedborough N. G. Morse; Sir William Congreve, Bart. W. Collins R. Richardson J. H. Blundell; B. Walmsley; C. M. Gascoyne; H. Martin J. Mackay D. Sclanders G. Duppa; G. White; D. Monro; E. W. Stafford; F. Jollie; W. 0. Cautley C. B. Wither C. Thorp J. W. Saxton R. K. Newcome; H. Seymour; S. L. Muller; A. C. Clifford; E. D. Sweet; F. L. Wickerman; B. Woolcombe E. Jollie; G. L. Lee; Hon. J. S. Wortley; H. G. Gouland.; F. A. Weld

Clerk to the Bench – J. Sharp.

Native Interpreter – W. Jenkins. Trustees of Trust Fund – A. Fell, D. Sclanders, C. Elliott, D. Monro, W. Wells, J. W. Barnicoat. Auditors of Trust Fund – H. C. Daniel, H. Seymour. Education Commission – D. Monro, F. A. Weld, C. Elliott, J. D. Greenwood, W. Wells.

OFFICERS OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

Commissioner of Crown Lands – M. Richmond. Chief Clerk – H. C. Daniel. Assistant ditto – Y. Jones. Surveyor – -T. Brunner. Collector of Customs – E. H. E. Blackmore.

Landing Waiter – D. Johnston. Clerk – W. Cottow. Locker – -J. Percy. Tide Waiters – G. C. Lemming, H. B. Farquhar. Post Master – B. Walmsley. Deputy Registrar of Supreme Court – J. Sharp. Registrar of Marriages – J. Poynter. Ditto at Motueka – (vacant). Ditto Wairau – F. L. Vickerman. Ditto Amuri – E. Jollie.

Church of England – The Revds. R. B. Paul, Archdeacon of Waimea; H, T. Butt, T. L. Tudor, R. J. Lloyd, Meyrick Lally, G. Bagshawe.

Free Church of Scotland – The Rev. T. D. Nicholson.

OFFICIATING MINISTERS.

Wesleyan Methodist Society – Rev. J. Warren. Baptist – Rev. D. Dolamone. Church of Rome – Revds. A. M. Gavin, D. Moreau. German Lutheran – J. W. J. Heine.

SOCIETIES, ETC.

Literary and Scientific Institution, &c. – President: D. Sclanders. Vice President: C. Elliott. Hon. Secretary: H. Adams. Librarian: G. Jackson.

Nelson School Society – Secretary: W. M. Stanton. Horticultural Society – Secretary: H. Adams. Literary Debating Society – President: J. Rollison. Secretary: G. Jackson.

Amateur Musical Society – Secretary: W. M. Stanton. Total Abstinence Society – Secretary: B. Crisp. Chess Club – President: J. Elliott. Turf Club – Secretary: E. Elliot. Wairau Jockey Club – Secretary: F. L. Vickerman. Cook's Straits Mining Company – -Secretary: W. T. L. Travers. Working Man's Sheep Association – Secretary: C. Sewell. Nelson Mining Company – -Secretary: W. R. Nicholson. Nelson Coast Steam Navigation Company – Provisional Committee: W. R. Nicholson, G. Riding, E. Fearon, A. Le Grand Campbell, C. Parker, H. E. Curtis.

Independent Order of Odd Fellows, M. H. – Loyal Nelson Lodge, Odd Fellows' Hall, Nelson. Howard Lodge, Odd Fellows' Hall, Nelson. Travellers' Rest Lodge, Plough Inn, Richmond. Motueka Lodge, Motueka Hotel: P. G. M., William Jennings. P. C. S., R. Sutcliffe.

Ancient Order of Free Masons – Southern Star Lodge, Nelson. T. Sullivan, W. M.; J. Sharp, Secretary.

MANUFACTORIES, ETC.

Flour Mills – M. Campbell, G. F. Bush, Nelson; A Sanders, and W. White, The Union Flour Mill Company, Waimea; J. Mickee, Rewaka.

Saw Mills – H. Martin, Waimea South; E. Baigent, Glen Eti; J. P. Robinson, and Co., Massacre Bay; D. Frazer and Co., and J. D. Greenwood, Motueka.

Malthouses and Breweries – -C. Harley, Hooper and Dodson, Smith and Co., Nelson; T. Kidd, Stoke; H. Hubbard, Richmond.

Nelson Tannery – G. W. Lightband and Son.

Flax Dresser – E. Wastney, Suburban North.

Newspaper – The Nelson Examiner, published every Wednesday and Saturday.

HOTELS, ETC.

Town of Nelson-Trafalgar Hotel, G. Taylor; Wakatu, T. Sullivan; Commercial Hotel, J. Winterburn; Odd. Fellows' Arms, J. Miles; Royal Hotel, C. Gentry; Bakers' Arms, M. Simpson; Sir Charles Napier Inn, A. McGee; Ship Hotel, W. Crowther.; Stoke – Turf Hotel, I. Ingram.

Wakapuwaka – Black Horse, W. Wastney.

Richmond – Star and Garter, W. Dale; Plough Inn, W. Cleaver.

Waimea – Wakefield Arms, T. N. Trower; Waimea Inn, J. Palmer; Travellers' Rest, W. White; Holly Bush, T. Kinzett.

Motueka – Motueka Hotel, Shipley and McKenzie; Swan Inn, W. Harding; Ferry Inn, E. McNab.

TRADES, PROFESSIONS.

Aitken, Alexander, auctioneer,; bookseller, and stationer Appow, T., hairdresser Adams, H., legal practitioner Aitken, A., land and estate agent Askew, T., storekeeper Aitken, A., storekeeper Aikins, G., storekeeper Atkins, T., storekeeper; Bird, J., butcher Blythe, Mark, maltster Boyle, W., gardener Bush, G. F., medical practitioner Black, J. P., draper & cap maker Boardmen, T., painter, plumber, Banks, A., cooper Bachelor, T., storekeeper Batchelor, T., ironmonger Betts, A. G., storekeeper Batchelor, G., boot & shoe maker Blick, W., tanner Barret, J., carpenter and builder Burn, R., tin plate worker Bright, T., carpenter and builder Burns, D., carpenter and builder; Carter, Mrs., board and lodging house, Bridge st. Crowther, W., boat builder and shipwright, Calder; Carston, J., carpenter & builder Coleman, E., cabinet maker Creasy, R. J., land & estate agent Clarke, H. L., saddler, &c. Coates, G., watch & clock maker Curtis, Brothers, merchants; Drew, Mrs., milliner and dressmaker Dertnell, W., storekeeper; Elliot, C. & J., booksellers, stationers, printers, & publishers; Elliott, Mrs., board and lodging house, Trafalgar square; Epps, T., gardener; Fell, A. and Co., merchants Filby, F., medical practitioner Fell, A. and Co., auctioneers Fleming, R., tailor Freeman, T., boat builder and shipwright; Giblin, D., storekeeper Gorrie, J., carpenter and builder Gaukrodger, T., carpenter and builder; Gardiner, W., rope and twine spinner; Greenwood, J. D., medical practitioner

Griffin, J., baker Green, Mrs., milliner and dressmaker; Hargreaves, H., butcher Hargreaves, J., carpenter and; builder, and cabinet maker Hall, W., gardener Hill, J. M., ironmonger Hough, W., storekeeper Hunter and Son, watch and clock makers; Jennings, W. baker; Jacobsen, H., boatbuilder and shipwright Jones, W., saddler, &c. Jenkins, W., upholsterer; Laney, W., baker; Lloyd, R., boot and shoe maker; Lucas, C., boot and shoe maker,; and storekeeper Ladd, J., bricklayer & plasterer Lakin, T., medical practitioner Lonasson, J. T., painter, plumber, Lightband, G. W. & Son, tanners Lockhart, W. T., storekeeper; M'Gee, boot and shoe maker Macshane, C., chemist & druggist Morrison & Sclanders, merchants Moore, D. and Co., merchants M"Glashen, J. R., rope and twine; spinners Macshane, C, storekeeper M'Glashen, T., storekeeper M'Artney, A. and J., tin plate; workers M'Kenzie, J., tailor M'Donald, A. C, manager of the; Union Bank of Australia Morrison and Sclanders, bankers; – Union Bank of Australia; Nicholson, R. & Co., auctioneer Northwood, – painter, plumber,; Page, W., bricklayer & plasterer; Pratt, T., carpenter and builder Peddie, Lb, carpenter & builder Patterson, J., carpenter & builder Pritchard, E., chemist & druggist,; and storekeeper Pahl, W., cooper Poynter, J., legal practitioner Phillips, J. C, storekeeper Palmer, J., Waimea West; Hidings, G., auctioneer Ross, R., baker Eankin, A., baker Rollison, T., blacksmith Renwick, T., M.D., medical practitioner; Rule, .. M.H., medical practitioner Ridings, G., merchant; Stanton, W. M., storekeeper Stanton, W. M., bookseller and; stationer Steel, T., bricklayer & plasterer Schumaker,J., carpenter & buildr. Snow, E., tailor; Symonds, . ., ironmonger and; storekeeper Stamper, W., legal practitioner Sinclair, D., legal practitioner Stellard, H., painter, plumber, &c. Smith, E., storekeeper Stanton, W., storekeeper, Richmond; Taylor, Mrs., board and lodging house keeper, Selwyn place; Tarr, G., butcher; Taylor, Jos., cutler & gunsmith; Travers, W. T. L., legal practitioner; White, J., boot and shoemaker Wimsett, J., blacksmith Watson, J., blacksmith Wilson, J. T.,medical practitioner Wilkie, W., storekeeper Wilkie, J., storekeeper, Motueka Webb, James, tailor

CANTERBURY DIRECTORY.

Superintendent – His Honor Edward Fitz Gerald.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Speaker – Charles Bowen.

For Christchureh – S.Bealey, A.Packer, C.B.Fooks,R. Westenra, A. C. Barker, J. Brittan.; For Lyttelton – I. T. Cookson, C. E. Dampier, W. J. W. Hamilton, C. B. Blakiston, H. SeweU, W. Donald.; For Christchureh Country District; – C. Bowen, J. Hall, H. J. Tancred, J. Ollivier, J. E. Moore, J. Bealey, YV. B. Bray, W. Thomson.; For Akaroa – R. H. Rhodes, C. Ward, W. S. Moorhonse, R. Davis. Clerk to Council – G. A. E. Ross.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

Executive Council – H. J. Tancred, President; J. Brittan, W. J. W. Hamilton. Provincial Secretary – Joseph Brittan. Provincial Treasurer – Charles C. Bowen. Provincial Auditor – J. Marshman. Provincial Solicitor – H. B. Gresson. Provincial Engineer – C. E. Dobson. Resident Magistrate and Commissioner of Police – H. J. Tancred. Sheriff – H. J. Tancred. Returning Officer – C. C. Bowen. Registrar of Deeds – C. A. Calvert. Chief Clerk in Secretary's Office – T. B. Keele. Harbor Master, Immigration Agent, Tide Surveyor, &c. – J. Parsons. Colonial Surgeon and Coroner – W. Donald.

Keeper of the Public Records – H. J. Tancred. Clerk to the Bench at Lyttelton – D. Mundy. Under the Scab Ordinance – Inspectors of Sheep: Sir W. Con-greve, Bart., J. Rule, T. Meldrum.

Registrar of Brands – Sir W. Congreve.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

His Honor J. E. Fitz Gerald; H. J. Tancred; W. G. Brittan; E. J. Wakefield; J. Campbell; C. Bowen; M. Stoddart; R. Westenra; B. Woolcombe; W. J. W. Hamilton; H. Phillips; J. C. Watts Russell; R. H. Rhodes; Conway L. Rose; W. B. Bray; I. T. Cookson; J. Watson; C. H. Brown; C. R. Blakiston; John Hall; C. 0. Torlesse.

OFFICERS OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE PROVINCE.

Collector of Customs – W. J. W. Hamilton. Commissioner of Crown Lands – W. G. Brittan. Clerk and Warehouse Keeper in the Customs – C. E. Cooper. Landing Waiter – W. Eades. Post Master – Lyttelton : W. L. Howard. Sub-Post Master – Christchureh: C. W. Bishop. Surveyors – Thomas Cass, C. Davie. Deputy Registrar of Supreme Court – C. A. Calvert.

Resident Magistrate, Sub-Treasurer, Deputy Registrar of Births, &c, and Deputy Port Master – -J. Watson. Sub-Collector of Customs and Postmaster – B,obt. Greaves.

CLERGY OF THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT. Bisnop of the diocese – George Atjgtjsttjs Selwyn, D.D.,; Consecrated October 17, 1841. Archdeadon of Akaroa, and Commissary of the Lord Bishop of New Zealand – Venerable 0. Mathias.

OFFICIATING CLERGYMEN.

Christchureh – Yen. Archdeacon Mathias, B.A. Riccarton – -Yen. Archdeacon Mathias, B.A.

Papanui – Rev. C. Mackie, M.A.

Avonside – Rev. C. Mackie, M.A.

Upper Heathcote, or Lower Lincoln Road – Rev. W. W. Willock, M.A.

Lower Heathcote, or Christchurch Quay – Rev. J. Wilson, M.A.

Sumner and Governor's Bay – Rev. G. Cotterill, B.A.

Lyttelton – Rev. B. W. Dudley, M.A.

Port Levy, Pigeon Bay, and other Bays of Banks's Peninsula – To be served by a Cycle.

Akaroa, with Piraki – Rev. W. Aylmer, M.A.

Sheep Stations – Rev. W. W. Willock.

Sub-Warden of Christ's College, and Head Master of the Collegiate Grammar School – Rev. H. Jacobs, M.A. Catechist – Mr. F. Rnowles, Pigeon Bay.

Surrogates for granting Marriage Licenses – Ven. Archdeacon Mathias, Rev. B. W. Dudley, Rev. W. Aylmer, Rev. W. W. Willock, Rev. J. Raven.

Wesleyan Minister – Rev. John Aldred.

Christ's college, Canterbury,

Visitor – Metropolitan Bishop of the Province. Warden – The Bishop of the Diocese. Sub-Warden – Rev. H. Jacobs, M.A. Fellows – -Ven. Archdeacon Paul, M.A. ; Ven. Archdeacon 0. Mathias, B.A.; Rev. J. Wilson, M.A.; Rev. W. W. Willock, M.A.; His Honor J. E. Fitz Gerald, B.A. ; H. B. Gresson, Esq., B.A. ; J. Bealey, Esq., M.A.; W. J. W. Hamilton, Esq. ; C. R. Blakiston, Esq.

Watts Russell Professor of Divinity – Rev. H. Jacobs, M.A. Hulsean Chichele Professor of Modern History – Rev. J. Wilson, M.A. Rowley Scholar – B. T. Dudley. Christ's College Grammar School – Head Master : Rev. H. Jacobs, M.A. Assistant Master – Mr. F. Thompson. Christ's College Commercial School – Master : Mr. J. Bilton.

SOCIETIES, ETC.

Ancient Order of Freemasons – Lodge of Unanimity, Lyttelton : A. A. Dobbs, W.M., &c. St. Augustine's Lodge, Christchurch: C. B. Fooks, W.M., &c.

Christchurch Agricultural, Horticultural, and Botanical Society – W. G. Brittan, President; C. Davie, and C. B. Fooks, Hon. Sees.

Lyttelton and Port Victoria Horticultural Society – A. E. White, Hon. Secretary.

Christchurch Cricket Club – A. C. Croft and Crosbie Ward, Hon. Secretaries.

Lyttelton Colonists' Society – W. Donald, Chairman: J. Gr. Fyfe, Hon. Secretary.

Christchureh Colonists' Society – H. J. Tancred, Chairman; H. W. Packer, Hon. Secretary.

Lyttelton Loan Society – S. Gundry, Hon. Secretary.

Odd Fellows – Lyttelton: J. Stout, Secretary. Christchureh: T. Kent, Secretary.

Lyttelton Cboral Society – J. F. M'Cardell, Conductor; H. Allwright, Hon. Secretary.

Christchurch Harmonic Society – J. Bilton, Conductor ; Rev. J. Wilson, Hon. Secretary.

Canterbury Jockey Club – Hon. Secretary, T. Cass.

Lyttelton Chess Club – Hon. Secretary, F. E. Wright.

Lyttelton Savings' Bank – Hon. Actuary, C. W. Turner.

HOTELS, TAVERNS, ETC. Akaroa – James Bruce.

Christchureh – Royal Golden Fleece, White Hart, and Smart's Caversham House, (boarding house.)

Ferry Road – Heathcote Arms.

Hagley Park – Traveller's Home.

Kaiapoi Hotel – G. Hamlet.

Lyttelton – Mitre, Canterbury, Robin Hood, Universal Inn Steadfast, (board and lodging house.)

Papanui – Sawyers' Arms.

Pigeon Bay – Mrs. Knowles, (boarding house.)

Waikirikiri – A. C. Lake.

Waimakariri Ferry – Jackson and Baxter.

Waipara – Foulkes.

LYTTELTON DIRECTORY

Alport, A. J., auctioneer Allen, Messrs., boat builders Alport, A. J., merchant Allwright, H., painter, &c. Ashby, J., tailor, &c.; Bayfield, A., chemist Ballard, J. F., merchant; Campbell, F. Noble, auctioneer Collier, J.,baker, storekeeper, &c. Cryer, Moses, butcher Cookson, Bowler and Co., Messrs.,; merchants Campbell, N., and Co., merchants Cummins, W., painter, &c. Cameron, Mrs., storekeeper; Dimoxd, D., carter; Dimond, D., storekeeper & linen; draper Deny, Mrs., linen draper Donald, Dr., medical practitioner Dudley, Dr., medical practitioner Deny and Childs, smiths Dampier, E. C, solicitor; Eades, J. E., linen draper; Ford, Mrs., linen draper Fyfe, J. Gr., storekeeper; Genet, E., storekeeper, agent for the Canterbury Standard, &c. Glee and Co., bakers Grubb, Mr., boat builder Gee and Co., storekeepers; Hargreaves, E. A., auctioneer Hargreaves and Co., merchants Hutchinson, W., shoemaker Hare, J., tailor, &c. Harrison, W. W., tailor, &c.; Iles, A., shoemaker Josling, J., carpenter; Le Cren, J. and Latter, R., merchants; Leake and Tayler, storekeepers; McCardell, J. F., auctioneer Mason, F., baker, storekeeper, &c. Marshall, M., boat builder Mutton, J., carpenter Mollett, J., carpenter McCheane, Dr., medical practitioner; Nurse, E., carrier; Pearson, – ., carter Pepper, Gr., storekeeper; Rule, James, butcher Eutland, J., carpenter Rose, – ., hairdresser; Spowers, J., manager of the; Union Bank of Australia Scott, Mr., butcher Stout, J. B., carpenter Stone, Mr., carpenter Stout, J., carter Shalders, T., shoemaker Swinbourne, R., shoemaker Smeaton, R., smith; Taylor, R., carpenter Turnbull, J. F., storekeeper Thomson, W., auctioneer; Ward, – ., butcher Wheeler, J., carrier Willcox, J., carpenter Wheeler and Nurse, carters White and Co., A. E., merchants Wormald, R., solicitor

CHRISTCHURCH DIRECTORY

Anderson, – ., smith Ashby, – ., tailor Austin, – ., butcher Allen, – ., dairyman; Bailey, – ., butcher; Barker, A., medical practitioner; Bishop, C. W., storekeeper and; sub-post master Birmingham, Mr., carpenter Brittin and Jagger, brewers and; maltsters; Chapman, W., M.D. Cridland, H. J., architect & surveyor; Clarkson and Atkinson, linen drapers; Coxhead, – ., carpenter; Cosier and Adams, liqueur manufacturers; Clarke, – ., cabinet maker and paper hanger; Dorset, W., painter, &c. Dann, J., storekeeper Dorset, – ., paper hanger; Fisher, T., M.D., medical practitioner; Gosling, – ., smith Gresson,H.B.esq., barrister at law Gould and Miles, storekeepers Griffith, B., tin plate worker; Hilbourrne, E., chemist Hunter, – ., shoemaker Hobbs, – ., tailor Hicks, – ., carter; Inwood, – ., baker Inwood, D., storekeeper; Joyce, – ., butcher Johnson, – ., carpenter Jagger, – ., cooper; Elver, C, baker & storekeeper Kessal, W., saddler; Luck, T., agent for the Lyttelton Times; Longden, J., auctioneer Lewis, – ., butcher Lowther, H., storekeeper Luck, I., architect and surveyor Lowther, Mrs., milliner; Moore, J., shoemaker; Mountford, B. W., architect and surveyor Moure, – ., carpenter; Marley, – ., carpenter; Parkerson, B., medical practitioner; Prichard, C. E., esq., solicitor Packer, R., brewer and maltster; Bees, F. L., painter, &c. Reese, – ., carter Rees, – ., paper hanger; Stringer, – ., baker, &c. Skillikorn, Miss, linen draper Smart, Mr., carter Skillikorn, Miss, milliner; Thacker, J. E., storekeeper Thomson, W., accountant Thompson, W., hair dresser Thompson, – ., carpenter Tombs, – ., carpenter Tayler, R., brewer and maltster Tombs, – ., cooper Townshend, Mr., paper hanger; and cabinet maker Turner, butcher; Wilson, G., baker, &c. Wilson, W., nursery & seedsman Watson, – ., tailor Williams, Mrs., linen draper Wright, – ., carter

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