LETTER No. 3,

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 113, 8 May 1863, Page 2

LETTER No. 3,

Being a true and unvarnished narrative of the incidents and adventures which befel a trustworthy, truthful, and veracious traveller in his journeyings and discoveries in the unknown regions of Hawke’s Bay. Dear Sir, —No sooner did the light of day glorify the heavens than I was afoot, eager to satisfy my longing curiosity upon that subject of all others which most interested me, and which had occupied my thoughts while waking, and filled my dreams while sleeping for many a weary day and many a weary night. Behold, then, with me, if you can, the far-famed and as little known Mohaka Paver ! What a sight !! Yes ! there before me lay glistening in the early morning sunlight the waters of that river, to attain a view of which had led me to desert my quiet home and peaceful occupations, and to dare all the dangers of a prolonged and arduous journey. There, I repeat, lay the placid waters ; and there also, plainly discernible, lay the land bounding those waters. In short, I stood in full enjoyment of a perfectly unique scene. Opposite to me might be distinguished on the far bank a settlement of Aborigines, rendered conspicuous to the view by the cultivations of that particular kind of grain called “ corn ,; by the vulgar, but known amongst the virtuosi as “ Maize, ’’ and which plant had well nigh been the cause, though indirectly, of my being at this date, numbered not amongst the living, but amongst the dead, heroes.

Determined to ascertain for myself, it being part of my mission to verify as far as possible tbe bold assertion of the anointed No. 15, of whom before I bad occasion to speak, -and being, in common with the rest of that particular section of mankind, who are honored with the acquaintance of that portly and respectable person, anxious to bear tribute to the accuracy of his adventurous opinions, as touching the quality of the soil, and the many other beauties of this fine country. I, without further loss of time than was required to imbibe breakfast, and to swallow a mild but invigorating measure of real “Jamaica,” proceeded at once to scrutinize and examine those localities which had received from the mouth of the philosopher and profound thinker to whom I refer, such high encomiums upon their merits and importance.

How strange is the constitutional construction of the brain of man !! How wonderfully diverse are the ideas and opinions which we form ; and how extremely remarkable it is that two men of scientific attainments and eminent importance, like ray respectable friend and myself, should differ so entirely upon a point, about which one would be inclined to think there could be no twm opinions. But so it is, and I, as a faithful historian and traveller, and a most accurate observer of the works of Nature, am obliged to say that my amiable and learned friend is very ignorant of the real state of the case, and appears, notwithstanding his many virtues, to know nothing at all about the nature of soils. On the Crown Land side of the Mohaka river the soil is of a light, sandy, poor, and hungry description, with a substratum of gravel, and is, therefore, contrary to No. 15’s opinion,. of a very inferior nature. But, upon the Maori side, the eye of the seeker of the useful and beautiful is refreshed by a most delightful sight of fine land. The Native settlement presents to the delighted gaze of the traveller a most charming contrast to anything which, supposing he follows in my footsteps, he has yet met with. Seated in a horse-shoe valley, at the foot of which flows

the perennial waters of the mighty Mohaka, surrounded and sheltered on all sides by high terraced hills, with a clump of fine timber conveniently placed, and of sufficient quantity and quality to supply the limited requirements of its occupants ; this location is decidedly as choice a spot as any man living would wish to call his own. In extent this valley may he about 800 acres, and the soil is indisputably of the finest kind. But with the exception of this spot the flat lands to be found on either bank of this river, are at a considerable elevation above its bed, and are of inferior quality and of very limited extent.

The hospitality and welcome which I received from all my fellow-countrymen located on the banks of this river, was so perfectly genuine and kind, that it would be invidious to specially notice anything in particular of their homesteads or of themselves. Suffice it therefore to say that although I entirely differ with my highly accomplished friend No. 15, as to the nature of the soil, I was delighted beyond measure with the occupiers and cultivators of it, and I may safely say that what I saw of comfortable homesteads and pretty gardens convinced me that happiness may be found in the most unfruitful of spots, and that industry and perseverance will succeed in overcoming natural difficulties, even when super-added to those natural difficulties will be found all the obstacles raised up at every turn by an endless succession of weak and peurile Governments.

It is the intention of the Provincial Government by way of illustrating its paternal regard for, and desire to meet the most pressing wants of its beloved children, to provide my friends of Mohaka with a “ lock-up.” In connexion with this little matter of accommodation for the refractory, I cannot resist the opportunity of mentioning a truly refreshing little “ on dit” which I heard of the doings of the ‘ ‘ bench” of this part. It is told that a member of that learned fraternity has upon occasion been_ forcibly ejected from under the convivial roof tree, being just “ hearty,” and probably riotous, and has returned to the same place at a reasonable hour on the following morning to take his seat as Chairman of the Bench at the head of that very table from which it was found necessary in the interests of the quiet folks to precipitate him on the previous evening. It must be observed that the Court is held iu the long room of the only inn in the neighborhood—therefore the peculiarity of the circumstance. It is high time for the maintenance of the respect due to the authority of the Bench, and for the fair and impartial administration of Justice, that those Justices of the Peace who cannot conform to the decent usages of society and behave themselves iu a sober and discreet manner, befitting the dignity of their office and for the setting of a good example to their inferiors, be at once struck off the roll. What with the indiscriminate manner in which J.P.’s are made, and the total absence of any qualification for the office, that highly respected and ancient symbol of responsibility is fast degenerating into such contempt that few, if any men are really worthy of the distinction will be found to accept it, unless the ranks be weeded of those thistles and thorns which render the Bench, as at present constituted, a bye-word and a standing reproach. Having thus ascertained accurately the real state of matters in the valley of the Mohaka, and having so far discharged my duties to my fellow-creatures, I again turned the head of my invaluable Tobias in the direction of the yet distant Wairoa, and again your correspondent ventured forth upon unknown roads, and through unexplored and dreaded wilderness, home on the wings of research, and buoyed up by the reflection that nothing can equal the felicity of receiving an ovation, and being crowned with imperishrble laurels at the hands of your admiring and applauding Country, after the successful termination of an arduous and difficult undertaking. Actuated and sustained by this exciting and refreshing consideration, we proceeded cautiously with wary feet and light hearts over some new works lately begun in continuation of the Military Road before mentioned in the early numbers of my journal. A great work truly, and one deserving of record amongst the achievements of the Gods!

But here it will he necessary to halt; the difficulties and dangers are rapidly thickening around me. I must, therefore, stop a little, and refresh the inner and the outer man, so that I may be better able to surmount the obstacles which lie thickly strewn in my path, and gathering comfort from the celebrated words of the never-dying Burns, I shall he better able to give you on a future occasion some further information about the regions through which my road lies,

Come, firm Resolve, take thou the van, Thou stalk o’ carl-hemp in man! And let us mind, faint heart ne’er wan A lady fair: Wha does the utmost that he can, Will whyles do mair. and for the present I am, &c., The Modern Mercury.