NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 36, 30 September 1871, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE.

ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS.

Delivered on 23rd September, by His Excellency the Governor, Sis G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., Peesident.'. Gentlemen,— It is witb great pleasure that I now proceed to open, with the usual anniversary address, the session for 1871 of the New Zealand institute. # This is the fourth occasion on which we have assembled for the purpose of reviewing the progress achieved by literature and science in this country, and especially the efforts made by our own association for their advancement. From the report recently laid before the Legislature, it will be seen that there is ample ground for congratulation, in the continued success of the scheme under which we are organised. During the last twelve months our numbers have been increased by the accession of above two hundred new members ; while the society recently formed at Nelson " for the promotion of science and industry" has been affiliated. The connection of all the chief provinces and cities of the colony with this central body has thus been completed. Nor is it less gratifying to observe that our transactions have been very favorably reviewed by many high authorities, both in England and on the continent of Europe, and that strong opinions have been expressed to the effect that a similar institute for the systematic organisation of the various literary and scientific societies is urgently required in the mother country. The progress and popularity of the New Zealand Institute may be regarded as a not unimportant evidence of the condition of intellectual studies and tastes in this community. And here I may be permitted to allude to what seems the prominent characteristic of public opinion at the present day; I mean the active interest that has been awakened in everything which tends to the diffusion of sound education, and to the better qualification of the youth of the colony for fulfilling their duty and privileges of self-government. The measures adopted last year by the Parliament for the foundation of a Colonial University, and the actual establishment in the vigorous province of Otago (in this as in other respects a true offshoot of Scotland)* of a University which is already in operation, are striking proofs of the general desire for education of the highest class. At the same time, the bill introduced by the Government, and now under the earnest consideration of the legislature, shows that primary and secondary education will also be zealously fostered by the State. The recent arrival of several accomplished and learned professors to occupy the chairs of the Otago University is an epoch in the history of New Zealand which may probably hereafter be more prominent in the annals of this country, and may exercise more enduring influence than many events to which greater present importance has been attached. The proposed system \of affiliated colleges on the basis of local examinations, is in accordance with the direction in which the English Universities are now tending. Like the constitution of our own society, this appears to be the system best adapted to the geographical position of New Zealand. For, while it does not preclude the most successful college in whatsoever province from proving and maintaining its pre-eminence, it encourages rather than limits that emulation by which alone a high state of efficiency in educational establishments can be secured.

In connection with this subject, I wish to make one remark —of course, in my capacity, not of Governor of the colony, but of President of the Institute. It is this :—ln common with the joint committee of both Houses of the legislature, and of most of those who have given full attention to the point, I think it very desirable that some well-considered and equitable arrangement should be made whereby the two existing University Councils may be amalgamated—by which our available resources may be economised, and there may be thus erected, on the foundations already so carefully laid, one great and truly national University of Ne w Zealand. Turning to the question of technical and scientific education, to which I drew attention in my address of last year, I have much pleasure in announcing that the scheme for establishing a course of practical instruction in connection with the Colonial Museum has been already so far carried into effect that the laboratory has been adapted for the reception of a certain number of students.

It would bo improper, on this occasion, to omit mention of che Museum which has been opened during the past year at Ohristchurch. That institution is an eminent proof of the recognition which the claims of science receive in the Province of Canterbury, and of the admirable manner in which the liberal Bupport granted by the Provincial Government has been applied. I will now proceed to refer briefly to the annual volume in which the proceedings of the several affiliated societies are published. Our third volume, that for 1870, fully keeps up the charßcter of its predecessors; and has been received with greater interest from the fact that the large amount of carefully selected matter which it contains is more amply illustrated by drawings and figures than either of the volumes previously issued. The name of Mr Walter Buller, eminent among those of the contributors to the Zoology of New Zealand, appears at the head of several excellent papers—all interesting and valuable, as might be expected from so accomplished an observer in this branch of soience, and especially in his own favorite

* " In almost all the periods of the history of Scotland, whatever documents deal with the social condition of the country reveal a machinery for education always abundant."— Burton's History of Scotland, chap, 39.

department of ornithology. I would recommend particular attention to Mr Buller's description of the huia (Jieteralocha gouldi), that rare and beautiful bird held sacred by the Maoris, which can be known in its native state to few colonists, but of which very perfect specimens are preserved in the Colonial Museum. Worthy also of especial notice and careful study is the conclusion of Mr Potts's elaborate essay on the birds of New Zealand, the commencement of which appeared in the volume of our Transactions for 1869. There are other contributors to zoology in the volume now before us, whose distinguished names would alone vouch for the value of their remarks. Foremost among these is the name of Dr F. J. Knox, who remains devoted to the natural history of the Cetacea, and who has furnished some important papers on this and on other subjects. Moreover, it is gratifying to find among the contributors to this section of our Transactions, Dr J. E. Gray, of the British Museum. This gentleman, so eminent in the scientific societies of Europe, has supplied a description of a new species of whale discovered in the seas around New Zealand. It may here be mentioned that during my visit in last February, in H.M.S. Clio, to Milford Sound, I was myself so fortunate as to shoot three seals, which appear to belong to a species that has hitherto escaped accurate notice.

Among those to whom this colony is most indebted for fresh investigations of its botany, Mr Kirk occupies a high place as a writer on this engaging and practically useful branch of study. It will be seen that nearly all his papers are confined to the Province of Auckland j and it is to be regretted that we do not receive from other parts of the colony more frequent communications on the same subject. Mr Kirk's botanical researches have led him to the conclusion that while many native trees and plants are much more rare than formerly, and are confined to smaller areas, none have become extinct.

In connection with this portion of my address, I should draw attention to the exhibition now open in the Colonial Museum of numerous and well-arranged specimens of the New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). As I have remarked in previous addresses, it cannot be too often repeated that the main object of Parliament in founding and endowing the Institute and Museum was to furnish practical assistance in the development and utilisation of th 9 rich natural resources of these islands. Now, this flax exhibition is an excellent illustration of the value of the method of conveying instruction through the eye, by means of classified specimens; and this kind of education is one of our fundamental and necessary functions. The present collection will form a good basis for future reference; and it is to be hoped that it may prove the means of rendering permanent an industry, the importance of to New Zealand can hardly be exagge: ated, if only a satisfactory solution of the diffiybuties involved in the process of manufacture ytrere discovered. The experience in this respect Already acquired has been somewhat dearly purchased; but even a cursory inspection of the exhibition is sufficient to show that much progress has been made, and that a large amount of accurate information respecting this entire subject has been collected. All will admire the varied and beautiful specimens of the manner in which the Maoris have adapted this indigenous fibre to almost every purpose of domestic economy. Several of the articles of native manufacture show at once thought in contrivance, taste in design, and skill in execution. There is a very important and practical application of science, regarding which I must here say a few words. I refer to the formation of botanic gardens and nurseries for the rearing of useful and ornamental trees and shrubs'. Planting is now generally recognised as an essential step towards the future prosperity of every new country. The character of the climate, the comfort of life, and the beauty of the scenery, all depend, in no slight degree, on this work. Satisfactory progress has already been achieved in this respect throughout these islands. During the past year I have derived great satisfaction from witnessing the efforts made at all the principal centres of population. Each province has its own peculiar advantages; but on this occasion I wish to allude especially to that garden which forms an essential adjunct to our Institute. It is now a little more than a year since the Botanic Reserve was placed under the management of the Board of Governors, and there is good reason to be satisfied with the advance already secured. Not only has the luxury of a pleasant recreation ground been conferred on the inhabitants of Wellington, and on the numerous visitors who reside here during the sessions of the Colonial Parliament, but a field has also been provided for interesting experiments in practical botany. The preservation of the beautiful patches of native forest, which still survive in the ravines, and the affixing the names of the various trees and shrubs, has created, at a small expense, a Botanical Garden of the most useful kind. Visitors are thus enabled to render themselves familar with the indigenous vegetation of this country, with its scientific classification, and with the beauty and value of the flora of this and other lands.

In the department of chemistry, nearly all the papers are by Mr Skey, the analyst to the Geological Survey of New Zealand ; and the Institute is fortunate in possessing among its members a gentleman so well qualified to handle this branch of science.

We must all deplore the loss by drowning, while in the zealous discharge of his duty, of another officer of the Government Survey— Mr E. H. Davis —to whom our Transactions owe several instructive geological papers. On the above, and on a variety of miscellaneous subjects, we have a number of interesting contributions by Dr Hector, Dr Haast, Mr Travers, Captain Hutton, and others of our leading associates. The last, but by no

means the least important, paper in the third volume of our Transactions is the opportune lecture by Mr Justice Chapman, on the "Political Economy of Railways ;" which will excite the more interest from the fact that the colony is now about to undertake extensive public works, such as those of which the learned Judge has so ably treated. On the whole, it may be safely affirmed that the Institute has no reason to be dissatisfied with the amount of work which it has accomplished during the first three years of its existence ; and, if we look to the large accession to its numbers during the past year, and to the interest which its labors have excited, alike in this and in the neighboring colonies and in the mother country, we may confidently regard the progress already made a 9 only the germ and infant promise of a far greater development and success in the future. After this brief and imperfect sketch of the recent transactions and present position of the Institute, I will proceed—so far as time will allow, and in accordance with a request addressed to me —to give a short account of my official visits during the past yearto two of the most remarkable regions to be found in this, or in any other country of the world. I allude, in the first place, to the great volcanic zone in the North Island, stretching for nearly 150 miles from the ever-steaming crater of Whakari (or White Island), in the Bay of Plenty, to Lake Taupo and the burning mountain of Tongariro. Here the traveller admires, under an Italian sky and in an Italian climate, a long succession of panoramas of hot lakes and boiling springs, far surpassing in variety, beauty, and curiosity, the famed geysers of Iceland. In the second place, I refer to Milford Sound and to those other grand and wondrous inlets of the south-west coast of the Middle Island, which, rarely visited by civilised man, and shrouded in almost constant mist and storm, combine the snowy peaks and glaciers of Switzerland with the gloomy forests, deep seas, and winding channels of the fiords of Norway. My visit to the hot lakes was made in company with the Duke of Edinburgh and several officers of H.M.S. Galatea. Leaving Auckland by sea, on the 12th of last December, we landed on the following morning at Tauranga, where the " son of Queen" (te tamaiti o te Kuini), as His Royal Highness is styled by the Maoris, was enthusiastically welcomed by seven hundred chiefs and clansmen of the tribes of the Arawas and of the Ngniterangis. It will be remembered that the last named clan fought bravely against the British troops at the Gate Pa, * and elsewhere in 1864; but they soon afterwards made peace with the Government, and now at the korero held to greet the Duke of Edinburgh they vied with our faithful friends the Arawas in expressions of loyalty to the Queen, and of good will to the English settlers. At the conclusion of his speech, F,\i6ka te Whamaka, a chief foremost among our during the late war, said, " It is true that/1 fought against the Queen at the Gate Pa; ujut I have repented of this evil, and am now living under the shadow of her laws. As for this Tawhiao, who styles himself the ' King of the Maoris,' let him be brought hither as a footstool for the son of our Queen, whom we welcome among us this day." From Tauranga we procee3ed to Maketu, the principle kainga, or settlement, of the Arawas, and celebrated in their traditions as the spot where their forefathers, some twenty generations back, first landed in New Zealand. No Europeans have as yet settled in the inland districts of this portion of the North Island; but the " Queen's Son " was as safe among the Arawas in their own country, as he would be among the Gordons in Aberdeenshire. We were, however, attended by a guard of honor, consisting of an escort of the clansmen in arms for the Queen. The Duke of Edinburgh and his officers were much interested by the many striking scenes and incidents of life in a Maori camp, especially by the war-songs chanted by the Arawas around the watchfires which they kindled each night in front of our tents. On the other hand, the native warriors were delighted by His Royal Highness's power of enduring fatigue ; by his good horsemanship and swimming ; by the skill and vigor with which he paddled his canoe across their lakes ; and, above all, perhaps, by his constantly wearing the kilt, which is the favorite garb of the Maori as well as of the Scotch Highlanders. On the 14th December we rode a distance of fifty miles, from Maketu to Ohinemutu, the principal inland settlement of the Arawas. It is situated at the north-western extremity of, the beautiful lake of Rotorua, with in front the lofty islet of Mokoia, famous for the legend of Hniemoa,the Hero, and of her lover, the Leander of the Maoris. The road from Maketu to Ohinemutu, winding along the shores of Rotoiti and Rotorua, presents a succession of lovely prospects. It was spontaneously commenced by the Arawas, the chiefs and clansmen laboring together, for the use of the Duke of Edinburgh when his visit was first expected in 1868.

Ohinemutu still exhibits most of the features and scenes of a Maori pa and kainga of the olden time. The dwellings of the chiefs are surrounded with stockades, while many of them are adorned with grotesque woodcarvings, and are curious specimens of native architecture. The boiling springs—sure signs of the volcanic fires smouldering below—seethe, bubble, and steam on every side; among the houses, where they form excellent natural cooking places; and in the tepid waters of the neighboring lake, in which the natives swim, each morning and evening, as in a vast natural bath. On Sunday, the 18th December, a missionary clergyman, the Eev

* This pa was three miles from Tauranga, and was so named because it commanded the approach to the inland districts, at a point where the road passes along a narrow tract of firm ground between two extensive swamps.

S. Spencer, who had accompanied our party from Maketu, read the service of the Church of England in the open air on the!shore of Lake Botorua. It was a, calm, clear, and sunny day, and the scene was highly picturesque and suggestive, with the little knot of Englishmen surrounding the " son of the Queen," and the large congregation of Maoris repeating the responses and chanting the hymns in their own sonorous language, amid some of the finest prospects of lake and mountain, and near some of the most wonderful natural phenomena in the world : in the very heart, moreover, of the native districts of New Zealand and of the country most renowned in Maori song and legend, and on a spot where, in the memory of men still living, human victims were sacrificed and cannibal feasts were held.

From Ohinemutu we visited the neighboring geysers and solfatars of Whakarewarewa, which at intervals throw high into the air columns of water, with whirling clouds of steam and showers of pumice stone. Thence we rode over the hills, skirting the deep blue lakes of Tikitapu and Rotokakaki, —both embosomed in overhanging forests and craggy cliffs, —to Tarawera, which surpasses in wild grandeur of scenery all its rival lakes. On the following morning we crossed Lake Tarawera in native canoes, and encamped for the night by the side of one of the famous terrace-fountains* of Lake Rotomahana, —the most striking marvels in this region of wonders, and of which no verbal description can convey any -adequate idea. They have been likened to cascades of bright and sparkling water, gently falling from blue basins of turquoise over a succession of natural shelves, and suddenly turned, as they fall, into terraces of white marble,f streaked with soft lines of pink. Many rare and delicate ferns, and other plants usually found only in the Tropics, climb in green clusters from the snow-white margin of the fountains, and flourish in luxuriant growth in the warm and dank air.

From Rotomahana we rode back in two days to Maketu, and thence returned by sea to Auckland. Thus it will be seen that the chief points in the district of the hot lakes are even now being visited by active horsemen in an excursion of a week or ten days. The natives alone have hitherto made practical use, for the cure of various diseases, of the healing properties of these waters. But when, through the progress of colonisation, these springs, truly described by Hochstetter as the " grandest in the world," shall have become more accessible, it cannot be doubted that, as multitudes of summer tourists from the cities of the old world now resort to the warm baths of Germany, and to the mountains of Switzerland, so thousands will hereafter flock from Australia, and from all parts of the Southern Hemisphere, to those regions of New Zealand where Nature displays many of her most remarkable beauties and wonders in the genial and healthy of climates. I shall not trespass on your time and patience by dwelling at greater length on this ! part of my subject. The Lake district of the North Island has been fully described in the well-known and elaborate work of Dr Hochstetter, and by other writers more competent than myself. Let it suffice on the present occasion to say that all the authorities agree that the solfaturus, geysers, and fumaroles alike owe their origin to water sinking through natural fissures into the caverns of the earth, where it becomes heated by ever-burning volcanic fires. High-pressure steam is thus generated, which, accompanied by volcanic gases, forces its way up towards the cooler surface, and is there condensed into hot water. It has been further remarked that even the legends of the Maoris correctly ascribe the origin of the hot lakes and springs to the com • bined agency of fire and water, in connection with the still active craters of Whakari and of Tongariro. The traditions of the Arawas relate that among the chiefs who led their ancestors from Hawaiki to New Zealand was Ngatiroirangi, whose name being interpreted signifies "the messenger of Heaven." He landed at Maketu,. whence he set forth with his slave Ngauruhoe to explore the new found land. Ab they journeyed onward they at length beheld, towards the south, the lofty snow-clad mountain of Tongariro (literally, " towards the south"). Climbing to the highest peak to gain a wider view of the surrounding country, they were benumbed with the cold, when the chief shouted to his sisters, who had remained upon Whakari, to send him fire. The sisters heard his call, and sent him the sacred fire brought from Hawaiki. It was borne in the hands of two taniwhas, or waterspirits, dwelling in the caverns of the earth and ocean, from Whakari, through a subterranean passage, to the top of Tongariro. The fire arrived just in time to save the life of the chief, but the slave was already dead ; and so the crater of Tongariro is called to this day by the name of Ngauruhoe; and the sacred fire still blazes throughout the underground zone through which it was carried by the taniwhwas. It burns under the lakes of Rotoiti, Rotorua, Rotomahana—under the thousand hot springs which burst forth between Whakari and Tongariro. Dr Hochstetter (New Zealand, chapter 18) remarks that " this legend affords a remarkable instance of the accurate observations of the natives, who have thus indicated the true line of the chief volcanic action in the North Island."

I now proceed to give a short sketch of my visit during the months of February and March, in the present year, to the magnificent, but hitherto little known, sounds on the south-west coast of the Middle Island, whither Commodore Stirling conveyed me in H.M.S. Clio. Dr Hector accompanied us; and, had

it not been for. the disaster which befell us in Bligh Sound, we expected to have been enabled to collect much practical information respecting that part of the colony ; and also to furnish fresh and reliable notices to the Geographical, Geological, and Zoological Societies of London. It may here be mentioned that the best general descriptions of the south-west coast of the Middle Island which have hitherto been published, will be found in the " New Zealand Pilot," compiled chiefly by an honorary member of our Institute, Admiral Kichards, F.R.S., the present Hydrographer to the Admiralty; and in a paper by Dr Hector, printed in the 34th volume (for 1864) of the Journals of the Royal Geographical Society. The notes which, I shall now read to you were written while the Olio lay disabled in Bligh Sound, and have been partly embodied in my descriptions to the Imperial Government. We left Wellington on the 4th of last February, but the Olio was much delayed at first by baffling winds, and afterwards by a strong contrary gale with a heavy sea. We reached Milford Sound on the 11th, and remained there thoroughly examining that extraordinary inlet until the 17th February. Admiral Richards has observed* that the only harbors of shelter for large ships along the West Coast of the Middle Island of New Zealand—a distance of five hundred miles—are the thirteen sounds or inlets which penetrate its south-western shore between the parallels of 44 deg and 46 deg south latitude, including a space of little more than one hundred miles. They are/ counting from the north, and according to the names given chiefly by the adventurous whalers, who alone have frequented these inhospitable regions, as follows :—l, Milford Sound ; 2, Bligh Sound ; 3, George Sound; 4, Caswell Sound ; 5, Charles Sound ; 6, Nancy Sound ; 7, Thomson Sound; 8, Doubtful Inlet; 9, Bagg's Sound; 10, Breaksea Sound; 11, Dusky Bay; 12, Chalky, or Dark Cloud Inlet; 13, Preservation Inlet. As I wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, these arms of the Great Southern Ocean, cleaving their way through the massive sea wall of steep and rugged cliffs, reach far into the wild solitudes of the lofty mountains which form the cordillera, or "dividing range," of the Middle Island. These mountains attain their highest elevation further north, in Mount Cook, a snowy peak rising 13,200 feet above the sea level, and visible in clear weather at a distance of more than a hundred miles to the mariner approaching New Zealand; thus forming a noble monument of the illustrious navigator who first recommended the planting of an English settlement in this country. Though Milford Sound far surpasses the others in wild magnificence of scenery, these inlets have many features in common. To qnote Admiral Richards:—"A view of the surrounding country from the summit of one of the mountains bordering the coast, of from 4000 to 5000 feet in elevation, is perhaps one of the most grand and magnificent spectacles it is possible to imagine ; and standing on such an elevation rising over the south side of Caswell's Sound, Cook's description of this region was forcibly called to mind. He says : —' A prospect more rude and craggy is rarely to be met with, for inland appeared nothing but the summits of mountains of a stupendous height, and consisting of rocks that are totally barren and naked, except where they are covered with snow.' We could only compare the scene around us as far as the eye could reach, north to Milford Haven, south to Dusky Bay, and eastward inland for a distance of sixty miles, to a vast sea of mountains of every possible variety of shape and ruggedness; the clouds and mist floated far beneath us, and the harbor appeared no more than an insignificant stream. The prospect was most bewildering ; and even to a practised eye, the possibility of recognising any particular mountain, as a point of the survey from a future itation, seemed almost hopeless." The following extract from Dr Hector's account of Milford Sound shows the probable mode of its formation : —" Three miles from the entrance of the sound it becomes contracted to the width of half a mile, and its sides rise perpendicularly from the water's edge, sometimes for 2000 feet, and then slope at a high angle to the peaks that are covered with perpetual snow. The scenery is quite equal to the finest that can be enjoyed by the most difficult and toilsome journeys into the Alps of the interior; and the effect is greatly enhanced, as tfell as the access made more easy, by the incursion of the sea, as it were, into their alpine solitudes. The sea, in fact, now occupies a chasm that was in pasi ages ploughed by an immense glacier; and it is through the natural progress of events by which the mountain mass has been reduced in alritude, that tlie ice stream has been replaced by the waters of the ocean. The evidence of this change may be seen at a glance. The lateral valleys join the main one at various elevations, but are all sharply cut off by the precipitous wall of the sound, the erosion of which was no doubt continued by a great central glacier long after the subordinate and tributary glaciers had ceased to exist. The precipices exhibit the marks of ice-action with great distinctness/and descend quite abruptly to a depth of 800 to 1200 feet below the water level. Towards its head the sound becomes more expanded, and receives several large valleys that preserve the same character, but radiate in different directions into the highest ranges.* At the time that these valleys were filled with glaciers, a great ' ice lake* must have existed in the upper and expanded portion of the sound, from which the only outlet would be through the chasm which forms its lower part."

On account of the great depth of water in these inlets, and of the sudden storms of wind, rushing down from the mountains above, vessels •re generally obliged also to moor to trees or

pinnacles of rock, whenever they reach a cove in which an anchor can be dropped. Accordingly while we were in Milford Sound the Clio lay at anchor in Harrison's Cove, only a few yards from the shore, and moored head and stern to huge trunks of tree 3. Immediately above rose Pembroke Peak to the height of nearly 7000 feet, covered with perpetual snow, and with a glacier reaching down to within 2000 feet of the sea. The lower slopes of the mountains around are covered with fine trees, and with the luxuriant and evergreen foliage of the tree-fern and the other beautiful undergrowth of the New Zealand forests. Two permanent waterfalls, one 700 and the other 540 feet in add picturesque beauty to the gloomy and desolate grandeur of the upper part of Milford Sound. During a storm of wind and rain, mingled with snow and sleet, which, though it was the middle of summer, raged during three days of our stay, avalanches were often heard thundering down, with a roar as of distant artillery, from the snow fields above; while a multitude of foaming cascades poured over the face of the lower precipices, hurling with them into the sea masses of rock and trunks of trees. On the other hand, nothing could exceed the charm of the few fine days which we enjoyed during our voyage. In bis work, entitled " Greater Britain," (Part 11., chap. 2), Sir Charles Dilke has truly observed "that the peculiarity which makes the New Zealand West Coast scenery the most beautiful in the world is that here alone you can find semitropieal vegetation growing close up to the eternal snows. The latitude, and the great moisture of the climate, bring the glaciers very low into the valleys; . . . . and cause the growth of palm like ferns on the ice-river's very edge. The glaciers of Mount Cook are the largest in the world, except those at the sources of the Indus; but close about them have been found tree-ferns of thirty and forty feet in height. It is not till you enter the mountains that you escape the moisture of the coast, and quit for the scenery of the Alps, the scenery of fairy land." Again, Sir C. Dilke's description of the view from Hokitika at sunrise would apply also to the same view from many other points on the West Coast: "A hundred miles of the Southern Alps stood out upon a pale blue sky in curves of gloomy white that were just beginning to blush with pink, but ended to the southward in a cone of fire that stood up from the ocean ; it was the snow-dome of Mount Cook struck by the rising sun. The evergreen bush, flaming with the crimson of the rata-blooms, hung upon the mountain-side, and covered the plain to the very margin of the narrow sands with a dense jungle. It was one of those sights that haunt men for years." The neighborhood of the sea, and the semitropical magnificence of the foliage, are features in which the New Zealand Alps surpass the highest mountain ranges in Europe. As members of the Alpine Club of England have already scaled the peaks of the Caucasus, it is hoped that they will ere long explore the glaciers and summits of Mount Cook, together with the elsewhere unrivalled scenery of the neighboring fiords. Mount Cook (as has been already said) rises to 13,200 feet above the sealevel ; that is, it surpasses all but Mount Blanc, and one or two others of the highest of the Alps of Europe. But the exploration of this giant of the Southern Hemisphere probably presents no unwonted difficulty to practised mountaineers ; while it could not fail to add largely to the general stock of scientific knowledge. The present Secretary of State for the colonies (the Earl of Kiinberley) has, at my instance, invited the attention of the Royal Geographical Society to this subject. I have also to announce that the Admiralty, in consequence of my representations, intends to publish new and corrected charts, on an enlarged scale, of the West Coast of New Zealand.

The Clio left Milford Sound on the morning of the 17th February, and on the same afternoon struck on her port bow upon a sunken rock, unnoticed in the existing charts, near the middle of the second reach of Bligh Sound. Had the accident occurred amidships, she would probably have at once gone down with all on board. As it was, the ship made water so fast through the leak on the port bow that she was immediately put back, and anchored in Bounty Haven, at the head of Bligh Sound. The pumps kept the water down ; while the divers, with two of whom the Clio was fortunately furnished, examined, and the carpenters stopped the leak. I was very glad to be of some service in this emergency, by pointing out, from my knowledge of their foliage, the best timber trees in the forests covering the slopes of the mountains around this harbor. A party of seamen and marines was sent on shore to procure sufficient wood for such repairs as enabled the CJio to put to sea again in the course of a fortnight. Meanwhile, we were absolutely cut off from all communication with the rest of the world ; for the repeated attempts made to discover a pass leading directly from the settlements in the Province of Otago to the sounds on its southwestern coatt, have hitherto completely failed, owing to the inaccessible chai'acter of the intervening forests and mountains. In 1863, Dr Hector, hoping to discover some mode of communication with the inhabited districts on the east of the dividing range, forced his way up the valley of the Cleddau Biver, which flows into the head of Milford Sound. After a toilsome scramble of two days, his further progress was barred by almost perpendicular cliffs of some five thousand feet in height, with snowy peaks rising.several thousand feet higher. However, Dr Hector afterwards found his way by a rugged and circuitous path from Martin's Bay (nearly forty miles north ol Bligh Sound,) to Queenstown on Lake Wakatipu j aud he now volunteered to attempt the same route again, with messages from myselt to the Colonial Government, and from Commodore Stirling to the officer commanding H.M.S. Virago at Wellington. Accordingly,

on the night of our disaster, ho sailed in the launch of the Clio ; which returned, after an absence of five days, and reported that Dr Hector, with two seamen, sent by the Commodore to attend him, had been safely landed on the 19th at Martin's Bay, and had set out forthwith on their journey across the mountains. It may here be mentioned that a river named the Kaduku (or Hollyford), with a difficult bar at its mouth, runs into Martin's Bay from Lake -M'Kerrow (or Kakapo) ; on the northern shore of which a few adventurous settlers from Otago have lately planted themselves.

On the 27th February we were agreeably surprised by the arrival in Bligh Sound of a small steamer, the Stormbird, despatched to our assistance by the Colonial Government, with fifty sheep and other provisions for the officers and crew, so soon as Dr Hector had reached the nearest settlement and made our situation known by telegraph. Shortly afterwards the Virago also arrived to the aid of the Clio. Commodore Stirling then determined to take his ship to be docked at Sydney ; so, on the morning of the Ist March, I left Bligh Sound in the Stormbird for Invercargill. After passing successively the entrances to George, Caswell, Charles, and Nancy Sounds, we anchored at sunset in the secure harbor of Dea's Cove, about three miles from the entrance of Thomson Sound. On the following morning we started at daybreak, steamed up Thomson Sound, and returned to the open sea by Doubtful Inlet. After passing the entrance to Dagg's Sound, we entered Breaksea Sound, and regained the sea by Dusky Bay, in which Captain Cook remained for several weeks in 1773, and which he has described with his usual graphic accuracy. Afterwards we passed the entrances to Chalky and Preservation Inlets, and then proceeded to the Solander Islets, at the west end of Foveaux Straits. It had been reported that some seamen had been cast away there from a recent wreck; but, after a careful examination, no trace of any visitors could be found on these desolate rocks, so we bore up for Invercargill, wher,e I landed on the 3rd March. Here began an official tour of great interest through the Middle Island, where I was received by the provincial authorities and by all classes of the community with a warmth of courtesy and hospitality for which I shall ever feel grateful. Although Milford Sound, at the extreme north of the thirteen inlets of the West Coast, surpasses the rest in wild grandeur and awful solitude, they all have many features in common. They are everywhere deep and narrow ; subject to violent winds and strong tides and currents, and with few safe and sheltered anchorages. A tumbled sea of mountains looks down from above on the long swell of the Southern Ocean breaking in clouds of snow-white foam on craggy cliffs rising abruptly from the shore ; while glaciers and snowy peaks; slopes covered with noble forest trees; gloomy valleys and glittering waterfalls, —all combinb to present an eter-varying succession of sublime pictures. / The official fyours of a Governor may be made practically useful, for they enable him to point out, from personal knowledge and in an authoritative shape, the resources and capabilities of the several districts of the colony over which he presides, and the advantages which they afford for immigration and for the investment of capital. I have learned from several quarters that the published reports of my visits to all parts of New Zealand have awakened much interest in the mother country. Time will not permit me, on the present occasion to discuss the futnre prospects of settlement on the sounds of the West Coast; I have attempted a general description. It has been proposed to place some Norwegian emigrants on one or movejiords ; but any scheme of this nature will require careful consideration There are nownoinhabitants whatsoever, either European or Maori —the hvr families of natives seen in Dusky Bay in 1773, by Captain Cook, appear to have become extinct—and the tales related by the old whalers of thirty years ago, concerning a tribe of wild men haunting these desolate shores, have probably as little foundation as the stories of flocks of moas having been seen within living memory, stalking over the neighboring mountains. Nor can I trespass on your patience any longer with remarks upon the fauna and flora of this part of New Zealand. The supply of timber seems almost inexhaustible. Ducks and other wild fowl are numerous. Whales and seals abound, as. well as excellent fish of various kinds. We were tolerably successful in shooting and fishing. I may enliven this part of my address by reading Dr Hector's animated account of one of our seal-hunts, in which, however, we were not fortunate. " On one occasion," he states, " the chase of five seals with the steam pinnace of the Clio in the waters of Milford Sound, afforded a most exciting and novel sport. The seals, startled by the snorting of the little high-pressure engine, instead of taking their usual dignified plunge from the rocks into deep water, and suddenly vanishing out of sight, went off at full speed, diving and reappearing in order to get a glimpse of the strange monster that pursued them so closely. The utmost speed that we could make barely kept us up with them, until they began to show signs of distress, and, one by one, doubled and dived under the pinnace. Two of the seals held out for a run of three miles, and succeeded at length in getting into safety among the rocks on the opposite shore of the sound. From the experience of this run, the force at which seals can go through the water would seem to be not less than six or seven miles an hour." On the occasion to which Dr Hector here refers we unfortunately had nob our rifles with us; but on subsequent days, as was stated above, 1 shot several large seals, in addition to a number of wild ducks and other water-fowl.

In conclusion, gentlemen, I beg to thank

you for the indulgence with which you have listened to this somewhat desultory address. I am fully sensible that these imperfect remarks on rarely-visited regions of this colony can claim little merit beyond their fidelity. My original notes were written in full sight of those wonders of nature which have left so deep and lasting an impression on the memories of all who have had the good fortune to behold them.