1863 - Scherzer, K. Narrative of the Circumnavigation... by the Austrian Frigate, Novara [Ch. XIX] - APPENDICES (PART OF)

       
E N Z B       
       Home   |  Browse  |  Search  |  Variant Spellings  |  Links  |  EPUB Downloads
Feedback  |  Conditions of Use      
  1863 - Scherzer, K. Narrative of the Circumnavigation... by the Austrian Frigate, Novara [Ch. XIX] - APPENDICES (PART OF)
 
Previous section | Next section      

APPENDICES (PART OF)

[Image of page 506]

APPENDIX II.

tive facility by passing from station to station. He adds that much of the country traversed by the expedition between the Darling and Cooper's Creek is already taken up, so that both sheep and cattle are now depastured within 25 miles of Bullo, stretching thence easterly along the Queensland boundary in an almost unbroken chain. These anticipations are fully confirmed by the report of Mr. Landsborough, the Queensland explorer. This gentleman, who has crossed the continent from Carpentaria to Melbourne, gives the most favourable account of the pastoral capabilities of the country which he traversed, and does not hesitate to express an opinion that within twelve months the whole of it will be taken up by settlers. We need not therefore hesitate to conclude, with Sir Henry Barkly, that ' the results attained by the expedition are of the very highest importance, both to geographical science and to the progress of civilization in Australia.'"

APPENDIX II. (p. 131.)

The following pathetic address, recently transmitted by H. E. Sir George Grey to the Duke of Newcastle, H. M. Secretary of State for the Colonies, for presentation to Her Majesty under her recent bereavement, also attests the deeply poetic vein that marks the Maori character.

Oh Victoria, our Mother!---We greet you! You, who are all that now remains to recall to our recollection Albert, the Prince Consort, who can never again be gazed upon by the people.

We, your Maori children, are now sighing in sorrow together with you, even with a sorrow like to yours. All we can now do is to weep together with you. Oh, our good mother, who hast nourished us, your ignorant children of this island, even to this day!

We have just heard the crash of the huge-headed forest tree which has untimely fallen, ere it had attained its full growth of greatness.

Oh, good lady, pray look with favour on our love. Although we may have been perverse children, we have ever loved you.

This is our lament.

[Image of page 507]

Great is the pain which preys on me for the loss of my beloved.

Ah, you will now lie buried among the other departed kings.

They will leave you with the other departed heroes of the land.

With the dead of the tribes of the multitude of 'Ti Mani.

Go fearless then, 0 Pango, my beloved, in the path of death; for no evil slanders can follow you.

Oh my very heart! Thou didst shelter me from the sorrows and ills of life.

Oh my pet bird, whose sweet voice welcomed my glad guests!

Oh my noble pet bird, caught in the forests of Rapaura!

Let, then, the body of my beloved be covered with royal purple robes!

Let it be covered with all-rare robes!

The great Rewa, my beloved, shall himself bind these round thee.

And my ear-ring of precious jasper shall be hung in thy ear.

For, oh! my most precious jewel, thou art now lost to me.

Yes, thou, the pillar that didst support my palace, hast been borne to the skies.

Oh, my beloved! you used to stand in the very prow of the war-canoe, inciting all others to noble deeds. Yes, in thy life-time thou wast great.

And now thou hast departed to the place where even all the mighty must at last go.

Where, 0 physicians, was the power of your remedies?

What, 0 priests, availed your prayers!

For I have lost my love; no more can he re-visit this world.

[Image of page 508]

APPENDIX III. (p. 172.)

COPY OF OFFICIAL LETTERS OF H. E. COL. SIR T. GORE BROWN, GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND TO COMMODORE VON WULLERSTORF-URBAIR, COMMANDER OF THE NOVARA EXPEDITION.

I.

Government House, Auckland, New Zealand, January 4th, 1859.

Sir,
I do myself the honour to express to you the gratification which the visit of His Imperial Majesty's frigate Novara has afforded to the inhabitants of Auckland and to myself.

I beg also to convey to you and to the officers of the scientific department of your Expedition my best thanks for the valuable information supplied by the investigations of these gentlemen.

It will be my agreeable duty to report to her Majesty's Government on the subject, and I am satisfied that her Majesty will receive the communication with pleasure, and will recognize the importance of the services rendered to one of her Dependencies.

Wishing you a prosperous voyage, and success in the interesting objects of your pursuit, I beg to subscribe myself, Your faithful servant,

THOMAS GORE BROWN, Col. H. M. S.,
Governor of New Zealand.

II.

Government House, Auckland, New Zealand, January 5th, 1859.

Sir,
Having already endeavoured to express my thanks to yourself and the officers of the scientific department of your Expedition for the valuable aid afforded to the Colony, I now venture to ask you to confer a still greater favour, by giving permission to Dr. Hochstetter to extend his researches for a few months longer.

In the event of your granting this permission, the means necessary to

[Image of page 509]

enable him to explore effectually will be provided at the expense of the Colony of New Zealand.

I feel less diffidence in making this request to you, as Representative of the Imperial Government, because Dr. Hochstetter's labours in this Colony may be made the means of furthering the objects, which his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Austria had in view, when he despatched the Expedition under your command.

I beg to add, that, should you feel it compatible with your duty to accede to the application I have now the honour to make, every assistance shall be afforded to Dr. Hochstetter, whilst engaged in this Colony, to enable him to make his scientific researches as valuable as possible to the Expedition of which he will remain a member, and care shall be taken to facilitate his return to Europe at the expense of this Colony by such route as he shall prefer.

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most faithful servant,
THOMAS GORE BROWN, Col. H. M. S.,
Governor of New Zealand.

APPENDIX IV. (p. 172.)

REPLY OF COMMODORE B. V. WULLERSTORF-URBAIR.

On Board H. I. R. M. Frigate Novara, Auckland Harbour,
January 5th, 1859.

Sir,
In reply to your official note, dated Government House, Auckland, January 5th, a. c. in which, as the Representative of the Imperial Government, you prefer the request, that I would give Dr. Hochstetter permission to extend his geological researches in this Colony for a few months longer, I am most happy to accede to your application, and to give Dr. Hochstetter, in his capacity as geologist of the Imperial Expedition, leave for that purpose, under the following conditions, which are nearly the same as those stated in your kind note:--

[Image of page 510]

1. That Dr. Hochstetter's sojourn in New Zealand may not exceed six months, and thus enable him to return to Europe nearly at the same period as the I. R. frigate is most likely to arrive there, namely, in November or December next.

2. That the Novara Expedition, of which Dr. Hochstetter still remains a member, may likewise enjoy the benefit of the observations, collections, and publications made by Dr. Hochstetter during his stay in New Zealand.

3. That the means necessary to enable Dr. Hochstetter to explore the country effectually shall be provided at the expense of the Government of New Zealand; that every assistance shall be afforded to this gentleman whilst engaged in these geological explorations, and that care shall be taken to facilitate his return to Europe (viz. Trieste), at the expense of the Government of New Zealand, by such route as he shall prefer.

Upon this understanding I shall not only consider it compatible with my duty to accede to your Excellency's application, and give Dr. Hochstetter permission to remain for the time stated in the Province of Auckland, but shall also feel quite certain, that the Imperial Austrian Government, as well as the Academy of Sciences whose delegate Dr. Hochstetter must be considered, will be highly gratified to learn that it was in the power of the first Austrian Exploring Expedition to become serviceable to a nation which has done so much for the advancement of science and the development of natural resources in almost all parts of the world.

With hope that the friendly arrangement thus entered into on this subject may create a lasting bond of union and communications between the scientific men of both countries,

I have the honour to subscribe,
Your faithful servant,
B. V. WULLERSTORF.

[Image of page 511]

APPENDIX V. (p. 188.)

ADDRESS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, TO THE GEOLOGIST OF THE NOVARA,

Dr. Hochstetter,
On the conclusion of your Geological Examination of a large and most interesting portion of this province of New Zealand, we--the assembled inhabitants of Auckland, representing every section of the community, and for the most part intimately connected with the Agriculture and Commerce of the province--desire to express our admiration of the eminently scientific manner and unwearied activity with which you have conducted your researches into the Geological Formations and Mineral Resources of Auckland. We have also to thank you for the valuable information upon these objects, which you have already placed in our possession in the public lecture delivered by you in this hall on the 24th of June, and in the reports you have forwarded to the General and Provincial Governments.

The report of a member of the Novara Expedition on the physical characteristics of this portion of New Zealand--of which so little has hitherto been known--will be acknowledged in Europe as both impartial and authentic.

To us, as a community, the information contained in that report and the maps you have constructed, together with those additional details we hope to receive from you after your return to Europe, will be of essential service in a material point of view. We also desire to convey to you our sense of the impartiality of your reports, which, whilst they lay open to our view those resources of the country that will eventually aid to its wealth and its general prosperity, in no way exaggerate their value or tend to lead to extravagant ideas or speculations that might only result in disappointment.

Arriving in Auckland a stranger, upon whose sympathies we had no claim, you have exerted all your energies to condense the results of your scientific exploration into practical forms, for the benefit of the people

[Image of page 512]

of the foreign country you visited for purely scientific purposes, or for the special advantage of your own country.

On all these accounts we feel that our warmest thanks are due to you for your disinterested exertions for the promotion of our welfare. As an enduring testimony thereof, we request the acceptance of this purse, the contents of which we beg you will devote to the purchase of some piece of plate that we trust may be regarded by your family and your countrymen, not only as a tribute of respect to your varied talents, but as a well-merited memento of the grateful acknowledgment by the people of the province of Auckland of the eminent scientific and practical services rendered to them by you.

We are desirous that the plate should bear the following inscription: "Presented to Dr. Hochstetter, Geologist attached to the Imperial Royal Austrian Scientific Expedition in the frigate Novara, by the inhabitants of the Province of Auckland, New Zealand, in testimony of the eminent services rendered to them by his researches into the Mineral and Agricultural resources of the Province."

Signed on behalf of the subscribers,

R. MOULD,
Colonel, commanding Royal Engineers,
Chairman of Committee
JOHN WILLIAMSON,
Superintendent,
Province of Auckland.
Auckland, 24th July, 1857.

APPENDIX VI. (p. 193.)

ADDRESS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE CITY AND PROVINCE OF NELSON TO THE GEOLOGIST OF THE NOVARA.

Dr. Hochstetter,
Before your departure from among us, we, the inhabitants of the Province and City of Kelson, beg to express to you our great obligations for the benefits which you have conferred upon us as a community.

Though we cannot but congratulate you upon your approaching return to your country and your family, we have strong personal reasons

[Image of page 513]

for looking upon it with regret. We feel that it has been no light or trifling advantage to have had among us one of that small class of men who conduct the great national expeditions by which the benefits of science are distributed over the world.

We know that such an one comes invested with the highest possible authority to speak decidedly on the subjects of his investigations, and are sure that we may place the most implicit confidence in his statements. It is the great characteristic of such scientific pursuits as you are engaged in, that though on the one hand they are joined to the deepest and inmost principles of nature, on the other they are linked to the daily wants and commonest necessities of life. We believe therefore that your visit here will not be barren of practical results. We believe that it will give us both a desire to develope, as far as possible, our share of the gifts of nature, and a knowledge how we may best do this.

We know that we have had no special claims on you for the interest you have taken in our welfare. The advantages which we have derived from it are, however, of such a kind that both those who give and those who receive may be proud of. We have had many opportunities of noticing how earnestly you pursue knowledge for its own sake, and are glad to find that those who do so are the most ready to employ for the benefit of others what they have acquired themselves. You have done this in our case with considerable personal exertion and discomfort, which have been cheerfully encountered by your diligence and activity.

We do not wish to do more than allude to considerations of a personal kind. But we must express our appreciation of your courteous and kind behaviour towards us, and assure you that few men could have been among us for so short a time and have acquired so much of the character of a personal friend.

We beg your acceptance of the accompanying Testimonial, the product of our Gold-fields, and we ask you to apply it to the purchase of a piece of plate, which may help to keep us in your remembrance, and on which we ask you to place the following inscription:--

"Presented to Dr. Ferdinand Hochstetter, Geologist to the Imperial Royal Austrian Scientific Expedition in the frigate Novara, by the inhabitants of the Province of Nelson, New Zealand, as a record of their appreciation of the great benefits conferred upon them and the Colony

[Image of page 514]

by his frank communication of the results of his zealous and able researches into the geological character and mineral resources of the Province."

"We earnestly hope that all good may go with you on your return to Europe, and that after a pleasant and speedy voyage you may reach in safety your home and friends. And with this wish we bid you heartily "Farewell."

Signed on behalf of the inhabitants of Nelson:

J. P. ROBINSON,
Superintendent of the Province of Nelson,
New Zealand.

APPENDIX VII.

New Granada has now taken the title of the United States of Colombia, as appears from the following document translated from the Spanish circular to the Diplomatic Officials and Consuls of the United States of Colombia.

Secretary of State and Foreign Affairs.

Sir,--
In order that you may be exactly acquainted with the situation of the country, the undersigned, Secretary of State, proposes to inform you every fortnight of the progress of the nation, setting forth fully and frankly all that has been done, neither misrepresenting nor omitting anything which, whether favourable or adverse to the new order of things in Colombia, may be worthy of your notice.

You are not ignorant that since July 18, 1861, when the Federal Government came into power in Bogota, the States of Cauca, Antioquia, Santander, and Tolima have continued in the hands of the Centralists. You are not ignorant that the decrees of "Tincion and Desamortizacion" of effects in mortmain, put forth during the days which followed the 18th of July, provoked the most violent discontent on the part of the ultramontane clergy; and that these clergy, exchanging piety for gain,


Previous section | Next section