Haast.— Recent Earthquakes on Land and Sea. 158 
the mean between a quarter and half a minute, and add the eight seconds, 
we shall obtain as nearly as possible the results of the clocks, namely, half a 
minute. Dr. Hector, in his lecture upon the same subject, gives the exact time 
when the earthquake vibrations were experienced at all the different stations, 
and also the distance of some of them from each other. (See p.40). To the 
latter I have added a few more, in order to obtain more data for calculation. 
From the results obtained by other observers as to the velocity of the 
usual earthquake vibrations, which in the mean may be stated to be about 
1,800 feet per second, it will become evident, from my own calculations 
which I am going to give, that the New Zealand earthquake has had some 
unusual features. It will be seen that it moved, on the average, about five 
times as quick, and therefore we can neither call it a central nor a linear 
shock, the velocities of which we know with a moderate degree of certainty. 
It thus appears that the points most distant from each other at which 
the earthquake was felt were, Napier (9.55 a.m.) in the Northern, and 
Hokitika (9.58 a.m.) in the Southern Island, the distance being 402 miles, 
the difference of time three minutes, or, per second, 11,791 feet. 
NA to egens i 1$ minute. 
Distance, 367 miles, or 21, 530 feet per second. 
Wellington to Christchurch, 30 seconds. 
5 565 
Distance, 172 miles, or 33,455 feet per second. 
b oes dr to ovre i minute. 
.58 
Distanee, "n miles, or ^ 984 feet per second. 
Wellington to Nelson, 1 minute. 
9.56 9.57 
Distance, 76 miles, or 6,688 feet per second. 
I think these results are sufficiently clear to show, in the first instance, 
that these vibrations were not the result of a volcanic earthquake, either 
central or linear, because, irrespective of the question of direction, they 
travelled much quicker than the vibrations of those forms of earthquakes are 
usually propagated. 
It will be seen that the N.E. to S.W. direction is that in which the 
shocks were felt almost simultaneously along the whole line. Should we 
even adopt the east and west direction as more correct, the fact will appear 
at a glance that although more time elapsed between the shocks, also in 
that case the velocity of the shocks was far too high for such origin. 
Another point of importance not to be lost sight of is the absence of 
similar news from Auckland, and from Dunedin and the Bluff,so that we 
may fairly conclude that no shocks were experienced in the northern portion 
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