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them, stretching on the one side to the Waiavi river, and on the other to the 

 south of Otago, there is little in the general appearance of the country to 

 induce any high idea of its capacity for sustaining a large agricultural popula- 

 tion ; nor does the North Island present, at first sight, any better field, 

 although on the eastern side it also possesses plains, in the Hawke's Bay and 

 Wairarapa districts, and the country on the West Coast from Otaki to 

 the Manukau probably contains some of the most fertile land in the world. 

 The eastern sides of both islands, including the slopes of the mountain chains, 

 contain large tracts of grassy country available for pastoral purposes, but, as a 

 rule, the whole of the western sides are clothed with dense and, in many parts, 

 impenetrable forest. It is found, however, that the slopes of the mountain 

 chains contain excellent soil, and that when cleared of the forest growth, they 

 are capable, under proper cultivation, of being converted into valuable pasture 

 land. The whole country may be said to be well, and in many places, 

 profusely watered, and the native growth is usually luxuriant to a degree. 



It must be manifest that in islands having so large a range of latitude, 

 there must be a corresponding range in climate, and accordingly we find that 

 whilst in the extreme north the climate is sufficiently warm to ripen freely 

 many of the fruits of the tropics, and that, even in the neighboui-hood of 

 Auckland, the citron, the orange, and the guava mature their fruit, so, as we 

 pass to the South, we find it eminently suited to the production of all the 

 varied fruits and vegetables which make the luxury of temperate climates. It 

 would lead me too far (nor indeed is it necessary in addressing a New Zealand 

 audience), were I to attempt any very detailed description of the physical aspect 

 of the country or its climate, and the general outline I have given will be 

 sufficient for my purpose. To the first colonists it undoubtedly presented the 

 appearance of a country in an almost untouched condition, covered, in its forest 

 lands, with the growth of untold centuries, and in its open lands with grasses, 

 ferns, and swamp-loving plants to which their eyes were totally unused, and 

 which differed in all important respects from the wild growth of Europe. I had 

 intended to describe, in some detail, the organic natural productions of the 

 country, but I began to find that this lecture would stretch to an inconvenient 

 length, and I must leave your local knowledge on this point to fill up the void. 

 This is perhaps the less important, for with the exception of grasses, made 

 available in their uncultivated state for depasturing purposes, and of timber 

 used for building and farm purposes, it may be said, that little has been done 

 towards utilizing them, and still less towards ascertaining their properties and 

 value. Within the last two years the fibre of the Phormium tenax has been 

 prepared as an article of export, and, if properly managed, it will probably 

 yield an excellent return, but I know of no other natural vegetable production 

 of the country (unless we can give that name to Kauri gum) which has yet 

 been turned to account for purposes of foreign export. You are all aware that 

 the mineral resources of these islands are very lai'ge and very varied, but it is 

 clear that the natives had no knowledge which would enable them to turn those 

 resources to account, before the arrival of the Europeans, for we found them 

 still using stone and wooden weapons, similar to those which, in Europe, 

 characterize the middle epoch of the Neolithic age. 



Such, in brief, was the condition of the country when civilized man under the 

 impulses which ordinarily inspire modern colonists, was poured upon it — and 

 now how changed has it all become 1 Instead of the miserable " pahs " and 

 "kaingas" of an uncivilized and utterly barbarous race, we have, in most of 

 the great ports of the country, flourishing towns, each inhabited by thousands 

 of Europeans, and many of them possessing buildings which present all the 

 characters of wealth and durability. Instead of the solitary canoe of the native 

 fisherman, or the fleet of a war party intent upon murder and rapine, our 



