NAPIER TO TAUPO.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 5, 25 February 1871, Page 5

NAPIER TO TAUPO.

[From the. special correspondent of the Hawke’s Bat Herald.] As a good deal has already been written about the road to Taupo, there os no occasion here to enter into a detailed description of it. .The main new feature of interest is the amount of road work that is going on. As far as Titiokura, that is, some thirty miles from Napier, drays already pass backwards and forwards without difficulty. The road is certainly not an unexceptionable one, as it runs for several miles along the bed of the Petane river, and crosses it about a dozen times. ■* The river is shallow, and there are no boulders, so that in summer, beyond the delay caused by continually passing through the water, there is no great objection to the route. It was thought, however, a week or two ago, that a better road might be found by branching off to the left along a pathway known as Marshall’s track, which joins the old road again near Pohui; but some objectidns to this route, which were not apparent at first, have been subsequently discovered, and it is given up. The main object of the Government in the meantime is to get a road which shall be by dfey means passable for drays; and, as the traffic extends, there is not much doubt about other improvements following. A few miles this side of Eunanga again, that is about sixty miles from Napier, the track opens out upon the Taupo plains, and there we have a road made with rery little expense or difficulty, which is already suitable for traffic. Drays go along it every day, and a coach has just been, sent up, which is to be used at present for the purpose of bringing butter, eggs, &c., to the posts along the line, for sale to the constabulary there. The owner, we believe, intends also to make use of it for the purpose of conveying tourists, as soon as any present themselves, from Tapuaeharuruj to the wonderful scenes in the neighborhood. I Between Titiokura and Eunanga, then, a distance of'about thirty miles, lies the tract of bushy and broken country which has hitherto presented the only engineering difficulty along the whole line between Napier and Auckland. In a very few months, this difficulty will be a thing of the past. A new line of road has been laid out by Mr Bold, the road and telegraph engineer. In some points it coincides with the old track, but in most it diverges from it. The old track, for the most part, naturally passes along the top of the ranges. The new road in general takes the gullies. It is not long sinco one had to pass over Kohioerakau to get to Waipawa, and getting there seemed as formidable a business in these days as getting to Taupo now does. Soon again the latter, will seem as little to be dreaded as the former. The road between Titiokura and Eunanga iB divided about equally between the constabulary and the natives. This, at least, is the general arrangement, though there may be exceptions. It happens, for the most part, that the posts are placed in the middle of a large space of clear ground; the roadwork that is being done by the constabulary does not, therefore, involve bush clearing to any .great extent. This falls almost entirely to the lot of the natives.

The first post on the line is Te Haroto ; ten miles ahead is Tarawera. The road between these two places has to pass through some four or five miles of dense forest. The old track was hero one of the worst parts of the road v , The traveller who went through it at night would come out of it with a pretty fair idea of what the Yalley of the Shadow of Death was like. He was in continual danger of tumbling headlong down some precipitous gully, or sidewards into some mud hole, or of being twisted up into the air, after the fashion of Absalom, by the overhanging vines and branches. Instead of this, we have now a clearing through the bush, a chain wide, with an easy gradient all the way, not more than one in eighteen in any part of it. The underwood is all taken away and the trees cut down to within two or three feet of the ground. This has been done by the natives within the last month or two for about half the money that it would have cost if it had been done by Europeans. The natives have now taken the contract so make a good road of it, rooting out all the stumps, levelling it, making culverts, &c\ None of this had been done at this place when we passed, as indeed the contract was at that time concluded, so that we had no opportunity of seeing how they managed this part of the work. But in another place there is a specimen of a bush road which has just been completed by native labour, that is at Motupuko, some twelve or fourteen miles beyond Taupo, where the natives of the place, under the superintendence of Mr. Maling, have ju:t finished a road, which passes in several places through some hundreds of yards of bush, and which may be pointed at unhesitatingly as really an excellent piece of work. If the road between Te Haroto and Tarawera is done as well, there will bo no more difficulty in driving it along the Te Aute road. Between Tarawera and Runanga the distance is about twelve miles. The old track is the only one passable as yet, though both the constabulary and the natives are busy on the new 1 . The contract has been more recently entered into than that for the clearing between Te Haroto and Tarawera, and the space to he cleared is much greater. Another month or two, however, will probably see it also finished. Near Runanga the road comes put on the laupo' plains, and thenceforward it is all plain sailing as for Taupo and fair beyond it, as far as Auckland indeed. It has been found necessary to bridge two of the rivers that flow through this district, the Waipunga and the Ragitaiki. The first of these rivers finds its way into Hawke’s Bay via the Mahaka, and the second finds its way in the, Bay of Plenty via the Whakataue, this district being “the watershed of the country. The bridges

are good substantial structures. It is unfortunate that the Mohafca, which one has to cross a few miles beyond Titokura, cannot also be bridged. The construction of a bridge over it would entail an expenditure which is beyond the resources of the Government at present. It will shortly present the only difficulty in the way of traffic that will still remain, and it will, of course, be only a difficulty in time of floods, not greater, perhaps, after all, than the crossing of the Tukituki at Waipukurau. The approach to it, which was one of the steepest pinches on the road, is about to be altered, and will reach the river by passing down the gully beside the waterfall on the left.

From Eunanga, past Opepe, to Tapuaeharuru, there is little to say about the roadwork. It does not appear to have presented great difficulty anywhere, and it has on the whole been excellently done. ' Beyond Tapuaeharuru the roadwork is being carried on by the Taupo natives. They have entered into a contract to make the road as far as Te Niho-o-te-Kiore, where a bridge will be laid across, the Waikato. The river, a short distance below the present ford, flows between two rocks, and is not more than twenty-five feet wide. About sixteen miles of this road, between Lake Taupo and the Waikato have been completed, and the remaining four will be shortly. Some little opposition was made to their construction by the Orakeikorako natives, but it haß now been withdrawn.

Once across the Waikato, we are in the Ngatiraukawa country. In the direction of Tauranga, a road is being made via Eotorua; the work on it will be done principally by the Arawa9. No road could be made through this country in the past, in the direction of .Auckland, because the Ngatiraukawas were staunch Kingites. They have now given up the King and all his works, so that this difficulty may as removed. When the road from Taupo has passed for some thirty or forty miles through the Ngatiraukawa country it will meet the road from Auckland some distance this side of Cambridge, and then the connection between Auckland and Napier will be complete.

We see thus that the two breaks in. our communication with Auckland are in a fair way of being closed up—the one break, caused by the badness of the road between Titiokura and Eunanga, will be closed up as soon as the new road is finished. With regard to the othetf break, caused by the opposition of the natives lying between Waikato and Cambridge, its healing up must be left to work itself out, which it will no doubt do within the next few months. The road to Wellington being then, in all probability, also finished, Napier will be on the high road between the*tvvo cities. We may, in a great measure, attribute the fact that we have secured the advantage of being on the great arterial line of the country to the energy of the Government Agent in pushing forward the road works, and to the tact and skill of the Native Officer for Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast in managing so successfully the natives within his extensive district.

The construction of a road between Tapuae* hararu and Tokano will bo an easy matter, as it is a clear level space all the way. Thc-con-tract for it has already been concluded, and the work will be commenced immediately. At Lake Eotoaire, near the base of Tongariro, this road will meet the road which is now being made from Wanganui to the Palea plains. Tapuaeharuru will then be a centre from which roads will branch out to every point of the compass, to Auckland, Tauranga,'Napier, and Wanganui, and to Wellington, either by Napier or Wanganui. NATIVE AFFAIRS. We arrived at Tapuaeharuru on the afternoon of Friday, the 17th ult. Next day we went on to Puketarata, a place some ten miles beyond it, in a northerly direction. We found Poihipi and the Taupo natives, who were engaged with the road works in the neighborhood, encamped there. From them we heard that the famous old kingite chief of the Ngatiraukawa tribe, Maihi te Ngaru, (famous at least among the natives, though his name has not very often got into European newspapers) also Hori Ngaware and several other quandom Hauhaus, were at Orakeikorako, ready to tender their submission to the Government as soon as Mr Locke should arrive to receive it, and that the feast, at which this business was to be consummated, was to take place in a day or two.

One section of the Ngatiraukawa tribe have, with their chief, Mafcene te Whiwhi, been all along loyal; another section, about equal in numbers, and possessing about an equal extent of territory, being under the influence of Maihi te Ngaru, were staunch supporters of the king; and, in the late troubles, even went further than the king in hostility to the Europeans, as they openly sided with Te Kooti. They appear, at the same time, always to have fought fairly, and were not concerned in any of the massacres.

On the first institution of the kingship, Maihi te Ngaru himself was one of the candidates for the throne, and ran such a fair chance of winning it, that the clique who supported Potatau only carried their point by hurrying through the election before Maihi’s supporters could arrive in sufficient force. The fact of his submission is the strongest evidence than we can have that thejking movement is rapidly verging towards extinction. It must, also be observed that its occurrence, at the present time, is an extremely opportune event. When we found that we had a good road all the way from Napier to the projected bridge over the Waikato at Te Niho-o-te-Kiore as will be the case in a month or two, and when we knew that there was another good road running southwards from Auckland as far as Cambridge, that is within thirty miles of Te Niho-o-te Kiore, as is the case already? when further we knew that the country between the terminations of the two

roads was clear and level, and presented no engineering difficulties whatever, we .should have felt an intolerable grievance that this break in our communication should be allowed to remain. Continual attempts would have been made to pass thrrugh such a small belt of hostile territory, and these attempts in all probability would have led to ever renewed complications. This difficulty, now that the natives have given in their submission, will no doubt quietly settle itself in a very short time.

For several months past, the Ngatiraukawa tribe have been putting out feelers to ascertain the temper of the Government towards them, and the terms they might expect it they submitted. The native officer for Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast had, on various occasions, received messages from them through the loyal natives, intimating a desire to come in. At this stage of the negotiations, very careful handling of ths business was needed ; any blunder, even such a blunder as a display of over-anxiety for their submission, would have put everything into confusion again. No blunder however was committed, and the result is, as we see, that the affair has been brought to a successful issue. On the occasion of Mr Locke’s last visit to Taupo, the last, that is, previous to the one with which we are at present concerned, several of the minor Ngatiraukawa chiefs visited him, and expressed their readiness, in the name of their tribe, to give in their submission. This was, so far, satisfactory; but in order that the business might be finally concluded, it was necessary that Maihi and Hori themselves should put in an appearance, and this they have done on the present occasion ; further, to make assurance doubly sure, Maihi intends paying a visit to Napier in a few days, to set everything right at head-quarters. It will be the first time that lie has seen Napier, and the first time, since the original outbreak of hostilities, that he has seen any European town, unless it may have been some little outsettlement with, perhaps, a public house and a store in it. The next day was Sunday. The meeting, as we now heard, would not take place till the following Monday. I made use of the interval to visit Orakeikorako, a place which contains some of the greatest wonders in the whole region. I will pass it over for the present, however, and go on to the native meeting which occurred on Monday, the 23rd ultimo. THE MEETING. The place of the meeting was Otuparahaki, a mile or two beyond Puketarata. The Taupo natives spent the morning in boiling their potatoes, baking their bread, and putting everything in readiness for a Maori banquet of the first order. About -eleven o’clock, the Hauhaus, as they called them—that is, the Orakeikorako natives, with Maihi, Hori, and the others who were about to come in—were to be seen deploying out of a valley some two or three miles to the north. They carried a flag in front, which, on a closer view, turned out to be the “ Union Jack.” They disposed themselves so as to make the most of their numbers, and presented rather an imposing appearance. There were about sixty or seventy in all, as we saw when they came up. When they arrived on the ground, they ranged themseves in line, opposite to a parallel line, about fifty yards off, formed by the Taupo natives. In the middle of the latter stood our solid and, for the nonce, solemnlooking friend Poihipi, a vast mountain of flesh, the gravity and dignity of bis aspect marking him out as the man who. bore the cares of the commonwealth on his Atlantean shoulders. One could easily have imagined that he had been transported to one of the valleys of the Scottish lowlauds, and was attending a conventicle of Covenanters; and when the dolorous monotone of the tangi began, with its dirge-like resemblance to one of their old psalm tunes, the illusion became so overpowering that we involuntarily refrained from laughing, and found ourselves almost in the act of taking off our hats. When the tangi was over, the speechmaking began. From two or three gentlemen who were sitting near me, who have a considerable knowledge of the Maori language, I gathered a good deal of information with regard to the proceedings. Most of the speeches were thickly interlarded with songs, proverbs, and all manner of enigmatical incomprehensibilities j so that the residuum of common sense was, in general, very small indeed. What there was of it was characterised at least by one admirable quality, straightforwardness. Indeed, for the most part, it consisted in lavish praise bestowed on the speaker by himself, and of violent abuse liberally supplied to the hon. gentlemen opposite. The abuse, however, did not seem to rouse the slightest indignation, but waa taken quite as a matter of course. The first speaker was Hohepa, Poihipi’s second in command —a big, raw-boned, roughlooking fellow. He said, “It is you who have brought all the trouble upon Taupo. You brought Te Kooti here. You did all you could to make the place desolate, but you did not succeed. That was owing to us. Now you come back because you have had a good sound thrashing. Welcome, all the same. Let us, in future, have but one coat, one shirt, one pair of breeches, and one pair of stockings.” (This meant, I was informed, let ua be in all respects one people). IThe honorable gentleman concluded with a song.

Poihipi rose next, hut not much was to be made of his oration, so full was it of songs, enigmas, and mere truisms. In practical matters he has the keenest and shrewdest of heads, but in his oratory he probably goes on the principle that the least said is the soonest mended, and so introduces as little as possible that could by any chance need mending. He began with a song ; then he said-—“ Come here old man (meaning.Maihi), and join us; another song. “ Come here, Tongariro,” referring to Tukorehu, a Ngatituwharetoe chief,

who lived in the neighborhood of the volcano ; he had joined' Te Kooti last year, and now came in with the others to submit. .“ We have been a long distance apart, not of late only.”—Song—“ Come and be enlightened. I did not 'keep Taupo shut up. That was you. Come, come,” &c. ad libitum. Tukoreliu, who was seated opposite, then rose, and his speech had really something, of nobleness and pathos about it. He said—- “ You have called to me, my younger brother (means to say, I belong to the elder branch), to come to you, and I, your elder brother, am coming. Mountains, lands, and peoples, I salute you. Let us speak our whole minds, and let nothing be hidden. It is your turn to boast to-day. It might hare been mine had things gone differently. I come back noW, but not holding the same position that I held when I went away. Talk on whatever you think proper. Eewiti te Kumi, anotherTaupo native, then rose and said—“ Welcome to Taupo, to the good land, that we have just been playing the very devil with” ; and a good deal more that was neither amusing nor interesting, concluding with a song, which was, in this instance, accompanied with a chorus. Hori Ngawahare, an old and influential warrior (too old to manage the journey to* Napier, I believe), and, next to Maihi, the most important man on the ground, next made a speech, containing the following observations, of which let any one make what htfJfcan : “ Why did you cut the rope that held us together? Let us mend it.”—Song*—Let us stop and cry for food like children.”—Another song.—“ Talk on, and we will listen to you,” &c.

Poria, a Taupo native, whose talents lie in the comic line . made some remarks, which were received with shouts of laughter. What the joke was, I could not make out. He sat down, and the speaker was no less an individual than Maihi himself.

If one had expected to see a gigantic, heroiclootilng chieftain rise to his feet he would have been signally disappointed. The speaker was the oddest-looking little figure conceivable; tatooed, of course, so that no spot in his face was its natural color, With a bunch of white downy, albatross feathers in one ear, and a large piece of greenstone hanging from the other. He was about five feet and a half in height, and, being bent, looked even smaller than he was. His ascendancy ‘among the Maoris is sufficient proof that it is not size and perfection of physique, but brains and energy, that carry the day among them, as among Europeans. As soon as he began to speak, it was clear that we had a genuine orator before us. To us his gesticulations might seem grotesque, and his cadences merely ridiculous, but they held his audience entranced, and they had, after all, their analogue in the graceful movements of a Chatham, and the rounded periods of a Burke. It is, of course, impossible to convey anj notion of his eloquence here. One sufficient reason is that very little of his speech was comprehensible to any of us, the number of songs introduced being more than usually large. He began by giving a list of half the tribes in the island worked up into a peculiar sort of chant; this he repeated two or three times, rushing forward and clawing the air in an alarming manner. Then he said, “ These all joined the king through my influence. As for you, you stuck by the Queen. That was for the sake of the food you got; because you thought only of your bellies. You were too lazy to make a living as your fora fathers had done (by eating your neighbors ?) That was not the way with me. I don’t come in for the sake of my belly. I come back with clean hands. I hereby peel the dirt off myself. (Thi3 was accompanied with the appropriate gesture). Haubauism, Kingism, &c, here it is. I cast it all from me. Poria, the last speaker, is a ,” something quite untranslateable, say an extremely contemptible old blackguard. (The gentleman alluded to evidently thought it a good joke). “ Dig your road. I won’t trouble you. No more stopping of the roads for me. I always fought fairly; I never was a murderer.” Pihipi again said—“ When the white men came here first I saw how things would go. I was not such a fool as to join the Hau Haus like you new people.” The last remark roused the wrath of Eakatoa, a returned Hauhau Ngatituwharetoa chief, who said; “ Don’t call the Ngartiraukawa new.” Then followed a song, with a chorus, which presumably had reference to their pedigree. “ Our return is a true one. We have been hll to blame. You two, Hohepa and Eewiti, are a pair «f double-faced rascals ; but you are my younger brothers.”

Mr Locke then addressed the meeting in the following words—“ Friends, I have listened to all your speeches, which appear to bo satisfactory. You say you have entirely abandoned the king party and Hauhauism; that is to say, you have abandoned that section of the people whose object is to obstruct the advancement of the country in peace and prosperity, which they might as well endeavor to do as to stop the flow of the Waikato with. a straw. All well thinking men will see the folly of such a course in time. I» tell you Maihi, Hori, and Ngatiraukawa, the same as I told those of your tribe who came to me on my last visit to Taupo, and the same as I told the people of this district when I first came up here on the part of the Government. I wish to see the troubles that have disturbed the land for years past at an end, that the people may prosper, I want to see the people act together for that purpose. At the same time I desire all parties to consider well before deciding. If you have not fully made up your minds t* settle down with singleness of purpose, go home again. It is better for you to be there than to comehere upsetting those wJios>e minds are fixed upon that object. When I came to Taupo it was not safe to. move about, and but few natives were with me, in whom I could trust, except my friend# Poihipi and Hare

Tiuteka. Now all Ngatituwbaretoa, all round ' the lake, have come in, for those at Tuhua will" be here next month. Ronds are now being made, of which the people see the benefit* for, by using drays and ploughs, the women will be saved from, carrying heavy ' loads and working like beasts, killing themselves and their children. They will be able to grow more food, and to take the spare produce to the coast towns or to the settlers m the district, and by that means purchase clothing and other goods cheaper, and the whole of the land will be enhanced in value. All thiß and more they see, and appreciate it. Now, if you had fully made up your minds to - assist me in these objects, and abandon your Present manner of living, act straightforwardly with me.”* After some more remarks in the same strain, he said-“ I should like you, Maihi, Hori, and a few others, to come with . me to Napier, and to communicate with the . Government there.” Maihi said he would be quite willing to do so. He is now on his road with about ten others. HoriNgaware was too old and infirm to undertake the journey. All then bad a drink, and afterwards adjourned, to lunch. That being concluded, the sederunt was re--BUHohepa, holding the flagstaff with the union jack flying, began: “The preliminaries being over,, let us go into the winding up, and see that we understand one another. -There are two questions we have to ask. Ist. it the King persists in protecting the murderers of Todd, will you back him up ?” Tukorehu answered, “ No, we have left the King and all bis doings. If you need to attack him we will not interfere. . . . Hip, hip,- hip, hurrah, was then given in true English style by both sides „ Hohepa— “Do you acknowledge this flag, (the union jack) ? Chorus of Ngatiraukawas —“ Yes.” (Hurrah again vociferously). § Rakatoa—“All east of the Waikato has submitted to the Queen. You see this stick I break it. This half is Te Kooti; this half is Tawhiao. I fling them both away from me (Hip, hip, hip, hurrah). # Maihi confirmed the sentiments to which his friend had given expression. _ _ Hohepa— “ The second question is about the roads. Do. you mean to keep them shut up in future?” , Maihi’s son, Rangihona, Tukorehu, and others said—No, there should be no more hindrance to road- making. . . Upon this there was more hurraing. , Poihipi remarked that everything was most satisfactory, and Hohepa begged to refer again to the remarks he had made about the desirableness of their all wearing one pair of breeches, &c.; and so the affair concluded. THE MILITARY POSTS. There are two or three things worth noticing along the line,.which I have not as yet alluded to. At Te Haroto, the first post, - there is the well, the only means of access to ■which is within the blockhouse, though the well itself is some distance off, and has to be reached by a subterraneous passage. The object of this, arrangement was, of course, to supply the place with water in case of a liege. Near Tarawera the natives say there is a hot spring, though few, if any, white peonle have seen it. This, if its medicinal qualities are equal, to those of the springs at laupo, will some day be very valuable, on account of its proximity to Napier, being, indeed, as near as Waipukurau. _ At Runabga there is the Literary Institute. It happens that among the detachment of the force stationed at this post, there are several men of education and ability- Some of them devoted their spare time to the construction of a building which might serve the purpose both of a reading room and a concert hall. Only a small building was required, and they were, on this account, all the more enabled to devote time and labor to its embellishment, so that they have made it a perfect gem in its way. The very shingles arranged in ornamental patterns, and every post and every pannel is finished with care. The building is an octagon, with two little wings branching off at opposite sides. Above the door is printed in gilt letters, on a bluish marble ground, « Literary Institute, MDCCCLXX ;” inside, above the entrance to each of the wings, are the inscriptions nunc est legenduvn , and Literis et artibus. On the table there is a very fair collection of reviews and newspapers of their own, with illustrations. The illustrations are the work of a gentleman whose artistic talents are well known in this province, and a good deal of the writing is evidently by a practised hand. On the walls there are one or two oil paintings, very prettily executed. . At Opepe there is also an Athenseum. Seen from the outside it is rather a rough looking place, but is extremely comfortable inside. The Opepe men are ambitious, however, not to be outdone by Runanga, and a more elegant edifice is in course of construction. At Tapuaeharuru, the difficulty of getting timber has hitherto prevented the erection, not only of an Athenseum, but even of houses for the men. A ‘commodious building, however, is now nearly finished, for this latter purpose, and the other may follow. Now that the roads are completed, the difficulty about the timber is . removed. It can be got at Opepe, about nine miles off, or at Oruanui, also about nine miles off, in the opposite direction.

TAPUAEHAETJBU, HOT SPBINGS, ETC. Having reached Tapuaeharuru, we have at last got fairly into wonderland. Leaving the redoubt, goinga mile or two along the eastern bank of the lake, we come to the place where the waters near the shore are at a temperature of about 70 deg. Here also, a hot stream debouches, forming near the bank of the lake a steaming cascade. Going a mile or two in the opposite direction, that is, down: the eastern bank of the Waikato, we oome to a groupe of Puias, one of

which at least, viz., that known as the “ crow’s nest,” is unique in'some of its characteristics; It is situated in the middle of a brook, which flows into the Waikato. Innumerable twigs and branches, that have been earried down by the brook, have been stopped beside it, and, being petrified by the silicious deposit, have arranged themselves evenly all round it, interlacing with each other, like the twigs of which a bird’s nest is constructed. That the resemblance may hold good, however, it would be necessary that the nest should be turned upside down. Perhaps an apter simile would be an enormous beehive, with a large aperture in the centre, in which the boiling water is continually bubbling up and down. Not far from this spot also is the hot waterfall, which, with the pool below it, is becoming the favorite bathing-place of Taupo tourists. A little higher up the same stream is another waterfall, where one can have his bath still hotter. ORAREIKORAKO. When we arrived at Puketarats on Saturday, the 21st ult., I had no idea that I was within a fpw miles of Orakeikorako, a place which Hochstetter’s artist represents as one of the most astonishing scenes in the universe. Each bank of the Waikato, in his picture, is studded as thickly with steam-holes, as if the ground 1 there were the dilapidated lid of a pot under which a large fire was roaring. I confess to have been rather disappointed with it at first sight; one might almost pass the place without noticing that there was anything remarkable about it. On inspection, hovrever, he would observe, that there were really a very large number of places from which a little steam was issuing, and the impression made by the view of it would no doubt have been more striking if it had been visited for the first time on a sharp frosty morning ; then the steam hangs about the banks of the river so as almost to hide them under a cloudy covering; so, possibly, after all, the artist was not exaggerating. The pa at Orakeikorako stands on an eminence two or three hundred feet above the river. Looking over at the opposite bank you see about half-a-dozen bare, barren spaces, from twenty to fifty feet wide, of a white or white and red color, alternating with the patches of dark green copse. Over these spaces, the waters from the hot springs that have gushed out of the bank a little higher up find their way down to the river. The whiteness is caused by the silicious deposit. The ground where it lies has the same feeling of crispness and brittleness as if. it had been newly frozen. When the deposit is first laid down it is of a reddish color, and of the consistency of a jelly ; this accounts for the red lines with which, the white spaces are interspersed. As it cools it becomes hard and white. On the left bank, just below the pa, there is also a large space of the description mentioned. In this place, close under the bank, there is an oval basin, of some twenty feet in length and twelve in breadth. In the middle of the basin is a mass of water, about a .couple of feet in diarheter, continually boiling* up to a height of two or three feet- above' the ground. A number of Maori women were engaged washing clothes there when I passed. A few yards nearer the bank of the river is the spring which gave the name to the whole district, its name having originally been Orakeikorako. My guide informed me that at one time it used to send out a spout of water a hundred feet high, though latterly it has been quite inactive. Still closer to the river bank is a third fountain, called Te-mi-aHoma-iterangi, which is a still active geyser. I was unfortunate enough not to see it in operation, bnt I was told that if I could have waited a little longer, it would have sent up for my benefit a column of boiling water about ten feet into the air. THE ALUM CAYE. There are geysers ann solfataras, and so on, to be seen at Tokano and other places, which are quite as wonderful or more so than those at Orakeikorako; but Orakeikorako contains one sight, which is not to be paralleled elsewhere —that is, the “Alum Cave,” so called because the stones that are there are covered with this substance. So far as I am aware, no account of this cave has as yet appeared in print. * It is on the right bank of the Waikato, almost directly opposite the pa. Even if one were across the river, however, it would be both a difficult and dangerous matter to reach it alone. In the first place, it would be almost impossible to find it; and, in the second, the path to it lies through a perfect network of boiling springs and mud-holes. The Maoris, however, at the pa will be only too happy to take the tourist across the river in a canoe and guide him to it, for a few shillings. After a good deal of clambering over precipitous ridges and tearing one’s way through a good deal of undergrowth (there is not so much of this as there was, as a track is beginning to be formed), one comes at last to a place half way up the right bank of the river, where he finds an almost perpendicular descent of some ten or twenty feet in front of him. Getting down it, however, is not a matter of much difficulty, as there are bushes all round that one can hold on by. Once down, he is in the middle of a cluster of tree ferns; making his way through them to the left, he finds himself, at last, at his destination. The scene is then one of a degree of beauty not to be paralleled out of Fairyland. The cave is about forty feet in length, and it slopes downwards from the entrance at an angle of thirty degrees. It has a high vaulted roof, colored with innumerable shades of green, varying from the deepest to the brightest. The ground is formed of sharply cut, brilliantly white stones. At the bottom there is a little water, hot, of a pale ultra-marine color. At the end of the cave, beyond the water, there is a large flat slab of rock, extending from the basement to the roof, on which the great painter, Nature, has laid a -hundred rainbow tints’ of green, pink, and purple, with a skill that a Raphael or a Reynolds would in vain have

attempted to emulate. Going down, to thewater and looking upwards towards the entrance, seeing the sunlight make the leaves of: the tree ferns into living gold, then fall in fantastic checker work, along the deep green roof, was a sight of yet more ravishing beauty. I was so struck with it that I could not re- ■ frain from pointing it out to my guide, forgetting for the moment that he had no boul ; he took it up that I considered the tree ferns were an annoyance, as they stopped up the mouth of the cave. He said accordingly that he would _ cut them down before I paid another visit. I implored him not to do so; then he said he would notr, and was probably rather puzzled altogether^what to make of it; I asked him what he supposed was the origin of the cave. He told me some yarn about one of bis ancestors having poured some water out of a calabash, which immediately made a largo hole in the ground, &c. I said, " of course you consider that all humbug.” He said, “ yes ; you and we know that it is all humbug. All the same as in the Bible, the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. Along time ago it was all right, and now it is all humbug.” Seeing that I did not approve of his sentiments, he proceeded to explain them in the following manner Sticking up his thumb he said. “ suppose this is God ;” then putting up his forefinger, “ suppose this is the pakeha,” his next finger, “ this is the Maori.” Closing the three together, “ this is the way they were a long time ago (both close to God) ; • 1 spreading them cut, “ this is how they are now (both far off).” One could not have expected to find so profound a philosopher amid the wilds of the Maori desert. Strange that sophistical absurdities should penetrate so much farther, even into the outlandish corners of the world, than truth and common sense. I ascertained afterwards that he was educated for the church. His education does not seem to have done him much good. the lake. On Tuesday, the 24th ult., we returned to Tapuaeharuru. We then found, that there would be an opportunity of making a trip to Takano, next day, in the Government boat, the Lady of the Lake, and gladly availed ourselves of it. Tapuaeharuru is situated at the northern end of an arm of the lake, some four or five miles in length, and about the same in breadth. It happened that when we started, the breeze, which was tolerably fresh was blowing from the south, and was, consequently, right in our teeth. By dint of. successive tacks we at last managed.to clear the promontory that bounds the bay on the western side, and were congratulating ourselves on the prospect of having unlimited sea room to make, our tacks in, when the wind ceased to blow altogether, and we found ourselves becalmed. V. MOTUTAIKO. We had only a couple of oars, and the boat is a heavy one, so that it was far on in the afternoon before we had got the length of.-,the island of Motutaiko* which is about half-way between the northern and southern ends of the Luke. Motutaiko is much larger than one would imagine, on looking at it from Tapuaeharuru. Passing along its western shore, we seemed to have gone almost half a mile before we reached its southern end. It is said to cover some eighty acres of ground. At the northern end, the sides rise sheer up from the Lake to a height of two or three hundred feet. They consist of a rock of a pale red color. Even at the very steepest parts, where there is not the slightest vestige of soil, there is mow or less of vegetation. The vegetation consists partly of manuka scrub, but chiefly of plants of the beautiful Pohutukaua tree, a sort of myrtle, nearly allied to the rata. Its foliage is of a dark glossy green, and it bears blossoms of a bright crimson. The blossoms are formed by clusters of crimson stamens, no petals whatever being attached to them. Some of these trees were still covered with blossoms when we passed, but iu most cases they had already lost them. The fact of the appearance ot the Pohutukaua at Taupo is . a somewhat singular phenomenon. It grows in abundance in many places near the sea coast, but it is found nowhere else inland except, I believe, at Mokoio,an island in Lake Rotorua. December is the month in which it is to be seen in blossom in-the greatest perfection; and, strangely enough, from this circumstance, we can tell that it must have been in December that the last cargo of Maoris arrived in New Zealand. Their chief, so the legend says, seeing an immense number of some red objects on the shore to which he was approaching, concluded that they were men wearing red head-dresses similar to that which he himself wore; he threw his own away accordingly, saying that he would soon provide himself with a better. When he landed, to his infinite disgust., he found that the red objects were merely|Pohutukaua blossoms. Those specimens of the tree which grow out of the face of the steep rocks, at the northern end of the island, are of course small and stunted; but, as we approach the southern end, the sides begin to slope down more gradually to the edge of the Lake, and the trees, having some soil to nourish them, develope into enormous gnarled and twisted trunks, about four or five feet in diameter, growing often straight out horizontally, and stretching their branches far over the water. Rounding the shore at the southern end, we come to a little cove, where it is possible to land. From this point it is an easy matter to climb up to the summit of the island ; however, there is not much to be seen when one gets there. About fifty yards from the shore is a ridge of rocks, which are generally covered with shags and seagulls. They were so when we passed. We went close up to them, thinking we might find some eggs there. There were no eggs, but we almost managed to get hold of some birds themselves. They were so tame, or rather so unaccustomed to destroyers of the human species, that they allowed us to come-within arm’s length of

them, and only flew off.when- we attempted to grasp them. ■ ~ • TOKANO. . ... This all occurred on our way back j on our journey thither we were, pressed for time, fearing that we should not arrive till after nightfall, and so lose our only chance of seeing the lions of Tokano, as business rendered it necessary that we should start for Tapuaeharuru as early as possible next morning. This would infallibly have been the case with us, had not a fresh breeze opportunely sprung up behind us, between four and five o’clock in the afternoon, and, carried us along at the rate of eight or nine knots an hour, till we arrived at Tokano between six and seven in the evening. Though one may be becalmed half a day on the Lake, he may calculate, I believe, with almost absolute certainty,, on getting a breeze towards the evening. The prevailing wind during the earlier part of the day is from the south, but in the evening it frequently blows from tbo north. As we neared Tokano, wo noticed that a promontory, jutting out on the eastern side of the Lake, formed a pleasant little harbor, in which the water was quite smooth, though a high,.sea wad running outside. Near the mouth of the harbor were some canoes, with natives in them, tossing about precariously among the crested waves. The natives, it appeared, were attending to their nets, from which, in the course of the evening, they brought to shore a large draught of TcoJcopu , on which we subsequently regaled ourselves. Once inside the harbor, we saw in front of us the graceful curve of the bay whose shores were fringed with a dense belt of raupo reeds, standing some five or six feet out of the water. Sailing across, and leaving on the shore to the left some natives who were busy scooping out a canoe, then rowing up a deadwater creek about twenty feet wide, whose intricate meanderings were not to be navigated without difficulty, we reached at last the pa where most of the Tokano natives now live. Their chief man, Hare Tauteka, with several of the others, was absent in Napier. A number of those that remained, however, came down to the bank of the creeelr, and made the most lively demonstrations of delight at Mr Locke’s arrival, dancing, and, at the same time, denuding themselves of the greater part of their scanty raiment, for the purpose of waving it over their heads. Among them we found Te Heuheu, a son of the now historic ehieftian, the stately and heroic Tukino to Heuheu, who, with some thirty or forty members of his tribe, was buried alive by a land slip at the base of the Kakaramea moutain, about a mile or two from the spot where we were standing. As we had only about an hour to spend before dark, we set out immediately in the direction of the springs, determined to see, at least, as many of them as were near enough to allow of being visited during the time at our disposal. There were several creeks to be crossed on our way, which are at present unbridged. Our Maori friends obligingly made themselves into horses, to save us from wetting our feet, They brought us apples, too, in abundance, which, with cherries, and other fruit, grow very plentifully in the neighborhood, as well aB at Various places along the edge of the Lake, such as Jerusalem, Samaria, Babylon, and the Rev. Mr Grace’s former residence—places, all of them, which were at one time flourishing settlements, but are now deserted. There is a good deal of low-lying flat land at Tokano, formed originally out of the soil carried down from the mountains by the Waikato riyer. It is of an excellent description, and bears crops abundantly. THE SPRINGS. The view I had of the Tokano Springs was necessarily a hasty and imperfect one, and the various objects that I saw are more or less jumbled up together in my mind. So far as I can remember, when we had gone about«haif a mile from the pah, we came to the two basins, between which, as Hochstetter says, a relation of exchange exists ; one of them being full to the brim, while the other sinks several feet below the surface, and the water in the first sinking as the water in the latter rises. The water in both of these is boiling j strangely enough, there is another smaller basin between the two, in which the water is tepid, and which is not in the least affected by their changes. The subterranean channel which connects the other two, evidently runs beneath the bed of this one.

A short distance to the right, is one of the branches through which the Waikato River debouches into the Lake. Beside the bank of this stream the natives showed us a spring’, boiling and bubbilng with great activity. They told us that when they killed a pig, they brought it here, scalded the hair off it in the boiling water, and then washed it in the cpld. A few yards higher up the stream we come to the great geyser Te Ariki (The Lord), otherwise called Big Ben. This geyser is very often to be seen sending up a column of water of two feet in diameter, ten or twelve feet into the air, and now and then, with a thunderous roar, it sends it up fifty or a hundred feet j while we were there it was quite, quiescent. The moon was up by this time, otherwise we would have been left in darkness. Before wo went home, however, we bathed in one of the large circular basins of hot water, of which there are several scattered here and there. The basin was about twenty feet in diameter, and the water in it was as hot as could be comfortably endured; it was too hot, indeed, for some of our party. After our bath we returned to the pa, where we found all the luxuries of, the season, in the shape of fish, and fruit, and vegetables awaiting us. Next morning we made an early start, and made our -way leisurely enough, partly by sails, and partly by oars, back to the other end of the Lake, stopping two or three hours at. the Island on our way, and arriving at Tapuaeharuru late in the afternoon. Next day (Friday) we started homewards, and made

Taraweraf and Saturday evening found uon Napier. ; htw-nttfiir- * -r.-:.- n-ii': ; ; . , . ... . CONCLUSION. . i The journey, even by the present track, can easily be done in two days. The traveller should, however, see that he' has his horse across the harbor the night previous to the day on which he intends to start, otherwise he may not be able to get away early enough to reach Tarawera the first night, his only alternative then being tc stay at Pohui, he will have to make a three days’ journey of it. We may soon expect to see this hindrance removed by the construction of the projected bridge or wire-tramway at the heads. The other difficulty, the badness of the roads, will probably by that time also be remedied ; and there is little doubt that, before twelve months are over, tourists will be flocking up to Taupo in scores; and no Hawke’s Bay man, with the slightest vestige of self-respect remaining in himj will venture to leave the province without having seen the wonders of that extraordinary region. . If a road should by that time also be opened up from Auckland, as it most likely will be, we shall perhaps see Cobbs’ coach running all the Way between the two toWns, makingTaupo a half-way stage. Roads also being made from Wanganui and Tauranga, pleasure seekers and invalids may pour into Taupo from all quarters. When we consider what numbers ' of tourists visit the frozen shores of Iceland to see the wonders there, it is clear that it is only necessary that the still greater marvels to be seen in New Zealand, should be made. known at home in order to bring still larger numbers of .tourists flocking to our own luxurious clime. The importance of this view of the case has, I think, in the past, been under estimated you will hear people say that we want settlers not transient visitors. A few stray visitors here and there would, no doubt, be of very little value to the trade of any country, but the fact of possessing a district, which stands some chance of becoming a fashionable resort of the wealthy and idle upper-classes of England and America, affords a prospect for us of no moderate brilliancy. Half of the population of the city of Borne, and of several of the Swiss Cantons, make their livelihood out of the English sight-seers. Besides this, many who came as sight-seers, being attracted by the agreeableness of the climate, and the fertility of the soil, might become settlers ; indeed, there is at present no aspect in our future which is one of greater promise than this. The wonders are there ; as to the means of access, now that the San Francisco line is opened, and that the new roads are in process of construction, there is no difficulty. All that the place needs is advertising, Not one person in England, I venture to say, out of a thousand, knows anything about it, and ten per cent, of the remainder think that it is still a haunt of rebels and cannibals. It seems very desirable that the colony should adopt Borne mode, perhaps one similar to the Yankee method of employing their consuls in every considerable town as •gents, in order to make its attractions gene- ; rally known in England. These attractions , consist not only in the wonderful character of ] its scenery, but also’inthe medicinal qualities, of its waters. The large and flourishing cities in every part of the world that have taken the first rise, from the fact of their possessing mineral springs, are to be counted by hundreds, —Aix-la-Qhapelle, Baden, Homburg, Bath, and Cheltenham, are a few of them; more latterly Saratoga, too, in the United States, which, not many years ago. was altogether unknown, and now has some 40,000 visitors •very season. These medicinal qualities, however, also need puffing ; and in regard to nothing conceivable would puffing be so effective. Every quack who takes the trouble to. din into the ears of the world sufficiently that his pills and boluses are calculated to remove all possible disease, succeeds in getting a sale for them. The invalid may not altogether believe in them, but, grasping like the drowning man at the straw, he thinks that he .cannot go wrong in giving them a trial; but if this is the way in the dry tree—to invert the scriptural simile—what will be the way. in the green. • In the case of the Taupo waters, it is not necessary that any lies should be invented ; it is: only necessary that some out of the scores and scores of instances in which they have, proved efficacious in removing rheumatism, gout, and cutaneous diseases,' of every description, should have publicity given to them, perhaps by letters from the individuals cured, or in some other way.. It would be desirable also that some qualified scientific man should report upon their therapeutic properties, pointing out what are the diseases to which each spring is best calculated to prove remedial; for there are all varieties in Taupo. Some of the eminent physicians at home might then begin to send their patients here, and, once that got itself started, the fortune of the place might be considered as made. It is a common thing for one physican to make a place in this manner.: Mentone, in Italy, for instance, has arisen, within the last few years, mainly from the - circumstance that Bennet in Edinburgh, sent his patients there. ■ The Hawke’s Bay people are not backward in getting up joint-stock companies when they see any prospect of securing reasonable . dividends. ;.. The very best speculation at present open to any company would be to build a tolerably large and commodious liofol at Tapuaehararu, (I mention Tapuaehararu because all the roads converge there, and most of the country are yrithin a day’s; ride of it); to get 4 a fpw boats on the , Lake, suitable for pleasure parties, and a few traps to take tourists to see the lions in the neighborhood ; then to. spend, say about a quarter of the sum in advertising that Professor Holloway spends annually in puffing his pills and ointment." One might venture to prophesy that, from the day the house was opened, it would never be otherwise than crowded with visitors from every part of l these colonies, and soon ftpip every other, part of the .world.; \v, ,

THORNDON BREWERY. 7 ; : ;> ' . j We are always pleased to notice any advance made in local industry, as. y/e feel assured it is equally a matter of interest to our readers as well as ourselves. Everyone must, feel that no more certain sign can be adduced of our steady progress than the efforts . .which are being put out in various directions, here and throughout the colony, to supply, our immediate wants without having recourse to the home manufacturer. Though these efforts may for the present be fitful and feeble, there is abundant evidence that no long time will, elapse, before we shall be independent of foreign markets in the supplying of many of our wants. The most successful step in this direction, and remarkable for its rapid growth, is the manufacture of colonial beer. It is some years, ago since we called-attention to,the first beer brewed in Wellington. At various times since we have chronicled each fresh adventure in the field, as well as the gradual extension of the different premises, and the introduction of improvements. It is now our pleasing task to notice an entirely hew brewery lately erected by Mr J. Staples ; and as becomes the most successful brewer in Wellington, everything has been done in first class style, arid in a scientific and liberal way that is far in ad* ; van.ee of anything we have yet had introduced in the brewing line. This step was rendered absolutely imperative, as Mr Staples found that his business bad completely outgrown the old establishment, which could no longer,; by any .possible amount of pressure or work, be got to supply the daily increasing demand for his beer. The hint was taken, and Mr Staples crossed the creek, arid built a new brewery, to which we paid a casual visit on Wednesday. •> THE BREWERY. The building' has that appearance about it which would lead the most casual observer to see that it had been built with a special object; and on viewing the internal arrangements, it will be seen that the design is completely carried.out, and with the greatest regard for economy of space, material, and labor. The fittings and appointments necessary to the brewing of beer are so coriipactly and conveniently placed that the employees, do not require to put one leg before the other unnecessarily. There is an intimate connection throughout the various departments of the establishment, in which unbroken chain even a profoundly deep well outside the building is included. Material for manufacture is deposited in the upper storey, and from there an almost continuous stream of beer percolates through the establishment, until it at length finds itself in the cellar barrelled off ready for the consumer. INSIDE. In order to give our readers some idea of the arrangements inside the brewery, and of the, manufacture of beer, as far as is per- ! ceptible to a stranger to the trade, it would be perhaps as well to let our description take the course of the beer itself. The brewery fronts on* Murphy street, and the first apartment contains all the motive power required throughout the building,excepting of course the manual assistance needed to distribute and control that .power. The first object which confronts the visitor is a 12 horse-power boiler. This boiler is adapted for ,a larger driving engine than the one in use, which is only eight horse; but it has the advantage of possessing greater capacity for steam, an article which is largely used in the economy of the establishment, while the power is ample to do everything required in which the aid of steam can be invoked. Attached to the engine is a force pump, which, both forces the water from the well to replenish the waste of the boiler; and from two large iron tanks kept constantly filled with the most beautiful water in Wellington, carted from a neighboring spring, it also forces a supply to the top of the building, and throughout the whole brewery, wherever required. The boiler and engine are so close together that the driver’s eye can command the whole at a glance. The boiler is fitted with the latest improvements towards the prevention of accidents.. ,In addition to the try-copks and glass guage, the crown of the furnace,has,let into it a large piece of lead. Should the water by any chance gets dangerously low, the piece of lead melts, and of course the fire is immediately inundated. UPPER ELOOR. Skipping the intermediate flat," and proceeding to the upper floor of the building, the inception of the brewing process may be seen. 1 There are the pockets of fragrant' hops in one corner, bags of malt in the other, alongside of which is a two wheeled concern,, which it appears is the grinding mill. One of the wheels showing all the polish got by friction is the driving wheel, while the other, much broader and larger, shows a face thickly indented, as if corroded, and,one is surprised to learn, that that roughness is entirely caused by the gravel and flint in the English baric}.' The malt,on; being ground, is thrown into an inverted poramidal box, penetrating the floor, with a, slide at the bottom for regulating the releasing ■ of the malt into the vat below. Alongside are two large iron tanks, kept partially full of water. In one the water is boiled dirept by the injection of steam from the boiler at the basement; and connected with this tank by a, pipe is another, in which the water is heated. by hot water pipes, they also receiving their i heat from below. J ' ' ' SECOND FLOOR. To see the next stage it is necessary to de- j scerid $ flat, where stand two large vats which ; would guage each.about twentylvhds. Immediately over one of the vats, which serves the t purpose of a mash tub, is the mouth, of the pyramidal .box. To this mouth is attached , a double-lined copper elbow,~that reminds j one of an elephant's trunk. At the back and , connected to it is a pipe, leading from the tanks of boiling water above. ■. Through the elephantine pipe rushes the crushed graip | frora' the -mbuth of the box ; but before if can

drop into the mash tun it is saturated by the heated writer forcing its way through minute perforations in the lining of the popper trunk, of which it ,is as fall as a colander so. that the grain falls into the tun of the consistency of mortar. But before the grain and water aie let in, a false bottom is placed in the tun, the under side of which is pierced with the smallest of holes; and through these the infusion has to make its way before it Is ready to be drawn off into the vat for the wort which stands alongside and a little beneath it. After, drawing< off the first liquor, there' Is still considerable saccharine matter left in.the grain. In order to extract this, an ingenious contrivance called a “ sparging” (also a laborsaving machine) is made use of. The sparging is a copper bucket which fits into the centre of the vat. From the bucket run two arms of copper pipe which cross the vat like an axle. These arms are perforated with a, row of small holes a little on one side. The copper trunk having been then' "unfastened from the mouth' of the malt' shoot, a pipe is laid , from the bucket to the elbow of the water pipe. The water being turned on, 1 rushes from the bucket into each arm with such an impetus that the arms are kept circling round the inside of the vat, while a uniform drip saturates the smoking grain below, • | The next operation is the boiling of the wort in a wooden vat. This is done by half a dozen coils of piping round the sides of the vat near the bottom, supplied of course by the boiler below. A thermometer stands convenient so that the exact temperature.can,be ascertained, while a turn or two to a small screw beside it regulates the temperature to a second. , i

The beer having been boiled sufficiently, a cock is turned and.il is run off boiling hot. Another ingenious contrivance, labor saving and speedy, is here brought into use, and before the boiling beer falls. six feet from the wooden pot it waß boiled in, it is as cold- a!s ice—the tedious process of cooling which, has to be gone through, in the brewery still at work on the opposite side of the creek requiring great room and fourteen or fifteen hours time, is done by the new plan in a few feet and in a couple of hours. It is in .fact drawn off boiling hot on the top floor, and is at the same time running in a cold stream into a rece.ptaole on the bottom floor, in which it undergoes fermentation before being drawn into barrels. This is effected by a contrivance fixed on the middle floor called THE REFRIGERATOR. This is composed of a series of cooper pipes, ranged horizontally in a frame, one above the other, each pipe having an open connection with its next pipe at one end, so as to admit of a stream of cold water being continually forced from one into the other. The pipes arc always full, and require something like 1600 gallons of water for the cooling of a brew. Depending from the centre of each pipe is a very narrow serrated plate of metal, resembling the teeth of a saw blade. On the top of the frame of piping, and running along the upper? most pipe, are placed two V shaped copper troughs to receive the boiling beer. A couple of inches from the bottom the inside trough is lined with a gauze-like, wire seive, through which the beer is strained into the outside trough, so that nothing but the most impalpable sediment can discharge with the hot liquid, while the enveloping trough has no outlet, save a very fine line of perforation in the Y bottom, through which the beer drips on to the first pipe full of cold water. Tne beer then finds it way down in the form of spray, becoming cooler and cooler as it leaves the surface of each pipe, until it drops into a shallow and broad wooden receiver at the bottom, and as cold as is required. THE ATTEMPERATOR. Only one more operation requires to be gone through before the beer is fit for barrelling; but that is marked by an ingenious appliance, and one of such inestimable value to a brewer that it is worthy of special mention. On leaving the wooden tray which receives the drip-, pings of the refrigerator, the beer is run into another of those mammoth contrivances of the cooper, in order to undergo ferinentatiori. As this is a delicate process and very much affected by the weather—cold weather retard-, ing fermentation, and hot weather nnduly, accelerating it-^-science jis brought to bear, and an equable fermentation goes on, unaf- ( fected by the heat or cold of the weather. This is effected by an attemperator, and is composed of water pipes. Indeed pipes are so largely used in the brewery that they meet one at every turn. A framework of concentric, pipes, looking not unlike inflated ribs of acrinoline, is dropped midway into the beer, and the requisite temperature for wholesome fermenta-. tion can be regulated with thermometrical exactness. At present, there is but 1 one of these fermentation tubs in use, but another twin monster is nearly ready to take the place which is prepared for it alongside the other. The, next process is comparatively, simple,; and merely consists in drawing off the beer; from the fermenter into the casks in \.

THE CELIAS by means of a piece of hose. Here the casks, ranged in tiers, with open bungs, and troughs beneath, remain for. a few days/ during which a slight fermentation is still going on. During the. last fermentation its has been always necessary to beep a man to look after the working casks, and to replenish the waste in spume until such time as fert mentation ceases. Mr Staples, however, is trying a plain of self-feeding to' dispense with this constant attendant on the froth, and the plants so simple.that we can’t see how it can fail. Inserted in each cask, which are already ranged in tiers, will be placed a pipe, the other end of which . curves into a wooden trough running parallel,and just raised slightly above the chimes. This conducts the spume thrown, off by., the, fermentation .into the trough. From the side of this pipe is a small branch pipewith a cock, which leads direct to hi 'm --M Tit*

the edge of the trough. By this means the froth of the bejjr is run haok into the cask as soon.as jt liquifies, thus completing the,process of self-feeding. The cellar is spacious,. arid as it is partly an excavation, with a brick floor and brick sides, eighteen inches In thickness, it is both cool and comfortable. As the'spot on which the brewery is built was deep and broken, and had a small wet weather stream running through it, some trouble, and expense had to be gone to in order to reclaim it. The floor of. the cellar dips, towards the centre where a grate is placed, while below the original little stream is built a brick drain, which carries away all the washings, of the cellar. . • GENERAL. Among the many purposes for which the steam power of the brewery is made available, and which we forgot to mention, is that of cask washing. This is. an ; important item t in the work of brewing, and,is one of those things where individual exertions stand no chance with steam power in the purging process ; arid on coming away Mr Staples drew our attention to an addition being erected as ;a: washing house, so that the men may be protected from the weather. Also in process of completion inside the building are several' large malt bins, in two of which a great quantity.of barley .was pne: of-them alone befog capable of holding 200 bushels. , . 1 THE OLD BREWERY \ ! was then, visited, but more out of 1 curiosity to note the contrast than to offer any remarks on the arrangements still in vogue in- > that dingy and ancient looking place, with its hanging Curtains of cobwebs in rivery direction; for doubtless some of our city readers Anjoy at least a superficial acquaintance with the did building. However, after remarking the wide gulf between the appliances of-both--*-the',con-venience and paying of labor in tbejaew with the inconvenience and waste of labor in the old—and recollecting how the world has hitherto prospered ' with Mr - Staples, we really can see nothing a-bead of him now but the pains incidental to a plus of wealth. . . ...