' FROM ISLAND UNTO ISLAND: 337 



south of the Austral Group. In the columns of the Times, Mr. 

 Coutts Trotter, Mr. T. H. Haynes, and myself have called 

 attention to the rapid growth of French influence all over 

 Eastern Polynesia, but the words of warning have been as yet 

 unheeded. 



I next come to the Hervey Group, with its seven magnificent 

 islands, of which Rarotonga is chief. Rarotonga is about 3000 

 feet high, and is clothed to the very top of the mountains with 

 unsurpassed vegetation. It abounds in streams, sloping lands, 

 and alluvial valleys. The Rarotongans are in an advanced 

 state of civilisation. Their laws are just, and well adminis- 

 tered. Their houses are built of stone and lime ; they plant 

 coffee and cotton, and export great quantities of oranges, besides 

 carrying on manufactures by means of cotton gins which have 

 been introduced. Their only weakness is a liking for a mild 

 form of intoxicating drink, made from the juice of oranges and 

 crushed China bananas. 



In 1864 the inhabitants made a humble petition to Her 

 Majesty's Government, praying for either the protection of, or 

 annexation to, Great Britain, and there can be no doubt but 

 that they entertain the same feeling still. If this were gratified, 

 a new era of prosperity would dawn upon the Hervey Group. 

 Beche-de-mer and turtle are found in great quantities on Hervey 

 Island itself, which had very recently only one permanent in- 

 habitant an aged American beachcomber. Cocoa-nut trees 

 flourish to a great extent, and a friend told me that he noticed 

 400 nuts on one tree on Hervey Island. 



On the direct route between New Zealand and Tahiti, lie the 

 islands of Huon Kermadec, so-called after that unfortunate 

 French commander, who, in company with M. D'Entrecasteaux, 

 was despatched in search of La Perouse. There are three 

 islands Raoul, or Sunday, Island, Curtis, and Macaulay. The 



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