The Evening Star MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1872.

Evening Star, Issue 3072, 23 December 1872, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1872.

Narratives of adventure by land and •sea bare always a eliarm about them, especially when associated with something remarkable. Even when there is but a slight substratum of truth, iu them, they are eagerly read when well told, and the impressions arc' retained even after the facts are ascertained. Who tlnifc has read Dk Fouls ” Robin,son Crusoe,” does not picture to himself Alexander (Selkirk. the exile of Juan Fernandez, as tiie veritable man who saved Friday s life, am) instructed him in Christian theology? The biicaneer sailor, lelt on shore by (be bibnnnni Sri; addmno. is altogether forgotten in tl,u- rnn-a-way lad From Hull, wrecked on an island/;) which the whereabouts is a myth ; and p*.(•!)’ lias a charm thrown around it that leads imaginative people to long hr solitude, notwithstanding the words put into Selkirks’s mouth by the poet; —

Oh Solitude ! where are Gi.c charms That sages have seen in thy face ? Better dwell in the midst of alarms Than reign in this horrible place. Similar interest is induced when distinguished persons travel. Their movements arc recorded, and curiosity is roused to know what happened to them, or what charm (here is in particular localities to lead them lo give preference k them as places of residence or frequent visits. Had it not been For Her Majesty’s hi tuy.VL\ visit to Balmoral, many persons would )j.?ve never beard there was sueli a plaee. Tim I4r of Wight, too. lias become a more Favored syot because of occasional .sojourn of .Royjty there. The reason is simple enough : public interest is /Htraded to the movements ol the leaders U society, and the public Press is called upop to furnish the required. information. VoJ.umes may have been written prior to sonic stilling incident. giving the most elaborate and accurate information respecting the geography, geology, and topography of a country ; and to (beJew who are students such works arc invaluable. Xbay are records

to be referred to again ami a«aio; books to lie upon (be shelves of libraries, and information to he stored up hy a( s fit school. Very useful are they helps to those lo whom minute i and accurate details are ol import- , anee. But there is something wanting | in them. Thev remind one ot asp eiutul : picture of the* llora of the earbouderous . period; there are the luxuiiaut to M!,(. | the tanked undergrowth. the giant crus. : the carved and tinted stems, the slouh ! creeping streams rank with reeds and rushes, "but no bnman lile is there. De j look, admire, and wonder, but we (fo not- | sympathise with a world peopled | monsters without a human attribute. We do not long to go back to a period m the world’s history that was but a step-ping-stone to man’s creation, dust so Pas it been with New Zealand, ilenty has been written about the country: artists have sketched its magniliecut landscapes, and now and then very graphic descriptions of coast scencrv have been P'iilishcd: the labors of Dr Hectok, and his West Coast adventures are known throughout New Zealand and to the scicntilic world at Home, but they have never obtained that publicity that leads the newspaper press at Homo to seize upon his narratives as something calculated to interest the people generally. Hitherto, notwithstanding the laborsyd immigration agents, private information leads us to think that very imper feet notions prevail regarding the Colony. Acw Zealand has become more celebrated for the romance of its wars, than for its being a most desirable country to live in. the names of Tito Kowaru and TV Kooti are better known than Dunedin or Christchurch. and very likely Poverty Pay is • supposed to he some desolate spot for hiding savages in, close by one of our Provincial metropolises, rather than a land that only requires labor to render it literally one of milk and honey. Put what art and science have failed to do. the ollicial despatch by Sir George Powen. transmitting to the Colonial Secretary an account of ins voyage in the Clio, is likely to effect. We have in our possession, to hand by the last mail, a number of the tirofminni, a paper circulating some eighty or ninety thousand copies daily, widen means tliat it is read by about three hundred thousand persons every day, in which a most admirable abstract of that despatch appears. It is written in a clear and popular stylo, and, from the graphic descriptions of the scenery, and the full information given of the geography, prospects, and products of the Middle Island, it is the most useful help to immigration that we have yet seen. _ The advantage of the reproduction of such a despatch is that it is ollicial, and therefore the must reliable information that can ho given. Criticism is disarmed so far as speculation regarding object is concerned. Had the same truths been published by a Provincial or General Government, the interesting account given of Milford Haven, of ll|o peculiar glacial formation of the West Coast harbors, of the noise of the thundering avalanches as, liberated from their frosty bonds, they rushed from their beds into the valleys Mow, of the rising prosperity of the towns on the Coast, and of the industrial products lying waiting to lie gathered and utilised, might have been pronounced colored or exaggerated for a purpose. Especially might it have been said so. at a time when all the Australasian Colonics arc bidding for population. But no such sinister motive can be attributed to his Excellency. It is flic narration of Up l incidents of an ollicial tour, which might or ipight not reach the public eye. Fortunately it bus been deemed 100 interesting to lie forgotten in U>e Blue Books in which it is bound, and proud set* to do good service to us in the Middle Island.by the inducements it puts forth to men and women of the right ! class to come and live amongst us.