The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 44, 10 April 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1863.

To the genera! reader, stories of travel through hitherto unexplored regions j always possess great interest, and Australasian colonists have of late years been greatly favored in this respect. Scarcely lias the first vivid recollection of the exploits and lamentable death of Burke, in his gallant and successful march across the Australian Continent, begun to fade from the memory, than New Zealand furnishes to the history of exploration another chapter, which, though fortunately not chronic'iug so mucl> suffering or so miserable a termination as overtook the Victorian Expedition, will, in its final results, prove oi almost equal importance. The present )ear vviil form a remarkable epoch m the history of the .Middle Island. The long-vexed question £.s to how far the West Coast was available for colonization, would appear about to receive a satisfactory solution. A very lew weeks have elapsed since we presented our readers with the report of the expedition under Dr. Hector, from the pen of i M:'. Sullivan ; and in to-day's issue we publish Mr. Haast's account of his journey, undertaken with a like object, and also brought to a successful termination. Nor are these two gentlemen the onh ■ ones who have addressed themselves to this difficult and dangerous task. We learn from the pages of our Ota go contemporary that AJr Hartley . " has returned from a journey over the great western ranges ; and he, too, has hid to turn back whin wiihin a few miles of the coast." The result of the labors of these various exploring parties proves conclusively that a very considerable area of available lani lies on the Western side of ttie New Zealand Alps, and the old idea that the country beyond the mountains Was almost entirely composed of rocky fastnesses, is altogether exploded. But there is a point of importance which still remains to be cleared up, and that is, whether the newlv-d : covered districts will draw tln-ir populariou by direct immigration to the West Coast by sea, or whether settlers will ioc the most part travel to their new homes overland from the older settlements on the East. From what we can gather from the various accounts before us, none of the routes hitherto followed by explorers are practicable, or could ! by any means be made practicable, for traffic ; nor do we think th«re is much ground for the supposition (though it rinds favor with many) that there exists any break in l his huge mountain barrier which would hold out sufficient inducement — at all events, for many years to c.jinc — for constructing regular roads. Detached parties of adventurous men will doubtiess from time to time find their way across the ice-bound region so graphically described by the " Times Correspondent,' 1 or by the pass which Mr Ilaast was fortunate enough to discover ; but, viewed in relation to their commercial importance, we are inclined to think the settlements on the West Coast will be as far distant from the more settled parts of Canterbury, Otago, or Southland, as the ports of the North Island. If this be the case, it follows that colonization in that part of New Zealand must be from the western seaboard ; and there is little reason to doubt that a year or two at the farthest will find large tracts of country, which

l!>w^^^^MlllM»WJUHlw»^^.^.«wTWMUM»lJ^^aMia»■Bw l ««g^lm^^^^A■J but a short time ago were considered utterly valueless for settlement, dotted over by the homes of a thriving population. Already the good people of Victoria are looking forward to the great advantages they expect to derive from these late discoveries. The Age, in ■ discussing the probable results of Dr Hector's Expedition, says: — "If Jackson's Bay prove a safe port, and from that a useful route to the gold-yielding Lake districts be established, the glory of Dunedin must soon wane. A glance at the chart shows what an immense advantage, in time and distance, the trade of Victoria would derive from supplying the New Zealand gold-fields through a West Coast port.'' Our former remarks will show that as far as regards supplying the gold-fields which have been discovered up to the present time in New Zealand by a western port, we think Victoria will have very little chance, but her gain will, nevertheless. be considerable, and it appears by no means improbable that she may yet supply an army of diggers on the West Side Of tile mountains; for, although nei'her Haast or Hector made any actual gold discoveries, enough has been learned of the geological formation of some part at least, of the country explored, to make it likely that the miner may, before long, find there profitable occupation. Since the discovery ol the Otago goldfields, »reat has been the speculation as to what would he the result of prosp cting on the West Coast. Rumor has been busy wiih reports of "the metal' 7 being found by whalers long since, and hv Maories before the white man had settled in the island. ! The Wtst. Coast has been looked upon I by unnumbered disappointed diners as a Spot where treasure in any quantity lay concealed. Round many a camp fire, on many a \venry traui:>, the West Coast has furnished food i-ir eGuvers i tion, and raised hopjs for rhe f'utuiv. Ere long the digger will have his wish ; vessels will be laid on, and the count,-' prospected, in due course. Let us hope that, in the sequel it will not prove likt the golden mountain of the novel. There is another feature connecte ' with these lately discovered districts which bids fair lo make ibeir occupation of great importance to the colony. The gro.vth of munv of the best sorts of timber is sp.iken of as magnificent — probably the finest in the Middle Island — and not only will it become a staple article for export, but its presence will be the means of fostering another great branch of industry — nimelv, shipbuilding — should the harbors offer tne nece->s>ary faci ities. The letter of Mr Haas* — who, by-tlv^-bye. is a seasoned traveller amongst New Ze-i---land wilds — is well worthy of perusal, although it does not give a very detailed account of his expedition, nor contain such well-drawn pictures of the scenery through which he passed a; j that of the gentleman who accompanied ! D-. Hector. Mauri tradition sptaks of j a path across the mountains to the ' westward, but it appears that, after getting what in formation he could from one of the natives who pro'essed a knowledge of the subject, and following, up to a Ccr'ain point, the directions given, Mr. Ilaast, led by the appearance of the surrounding country, boldh struck out a course for himself, and hit upon the best, par !■ to the west known nn to the present time to the white man. Speculation on the subject is, perhaps, idle; but the track which the Maoii alluded to may yet be discovered, ami although the chances are that in its main features it will be found to resemble the one already traversed, it. mar/ be f.ir preferable. It would be a great point gained to get ti-c Maori «ho gave flic i information to accompany a p:uty, ami point out the line that the natives were formerly in the habit of taking. Atogeiher, the services render ;d b\ Messrs. Hector and Haast to the colon \ can scarcely be over-rated, and demand some substantial recognition from. Government. We had occasion recently to allude in strong terms to the statements made by the Southland correspondent of the Otar/o Daily Times in reference to the piiuting establishments in this town. The writer stated that he understood that the Provincial Government were unable; to get their work done qulcklv enough, and that he believed some of it had, in consequence, to be sent to Dunedin. We have, as far as this office is concerned, contradLtt-d the statement in tofo, and regret that a gentleman who has hail such good opportunities for judging, should have lent himself to the publication of such a fable. The Provincial Government of Southland up pears to possess the knuck of doing things in the most unsatisfactory mauner to all parties concerned, and by no means with a view to the interests of the public at lal'/e. As a specimen oi Governmental legerdemain, we would call our readers' attention to an adver tisemerit headed ll Extens : on of Time," which appears in another column. The norice sets forth that no tender having been received for the execution of the printing (as per specification), the time will be extended, Sec. When we state that up to the expiration of the time mentioned in the previous advertisement calling for tenders, no specifica tions were forthcoming, no one can wonder that there were no tenders for the work. We are, perhaps, giving it too much prominence, but, taken in connection with the statement of the Daily Times correspondent, the thing has a disagreeable appearance.