140 A MISSION TO VITI. 
178° 6’ 23” east, according to observation taken by Mr. 
Sedmond, master of H.M.S. Harrier, 17, Captain Sir 
Malcolm M‘Gregor. Tavuki is an open bay on tHe 
northern coast, with no deep water close to the shore, 
and at ebb tide one has to walk about half a mile 
over the coral reef before being able to reach the boats. 
The missionaries had endeavoured to make a pier, on 
which those whom the chiefs would wish to punish for 
any petty offences were made to work; but at the 
time of our visit little progress had been made, and one 
could almost have wished that a greater number of 
petty offences had been committed. 
The island of Kadavu, of which so little is known, 
and no accurate hydrographical survey exists, is highly 
cultivated, notwithstanding its being so hilly, and rising 
on its western extremity four thousand feet high. A 
strong belief has sprung up that there must be gold, 
and old gold-diggers from: the Australian colonies, judg- 
ing from the formation of the quartz rocks, maintain 
that the island is auriferous. Quite recently Kadavu 
has been examined by two miners from Melbourne, 
who certainly did find a quartz reef, but not the pre- 
cious metal they were in search of. The fact of the 
matter is, that neither of these parties had the means 
to provide themselves with proper tools for a thorough 
and final exploration. The discovery of gold has ac- 
tually been reported from Vanua Levu. The popula- 
tion of Kadavu, said to number about ten thousand, is 
a mixture between the Fijian and Tonguese races, all 
of whom, with the exception of seven individuals, have 
nominally become Christians. The island is twenty- 
