Violent rUc hi the H.lv of l»Und». 

 City at Victoria. 



KtTW VPAI tvn £|ii»cf.]ial .mt Ur-I.v.„.tiil«lnn».- Gram- , fl . 



suffered great damage. TheThom,nf Sag Harbour, 

 which mailed a few days before, bound homo, wan 

 obliged to [nit back, and in consequence of tlir- 

 damage received, was condemned as nnscaworthy, 

 .us was also tin: Tuscan, an English whaler, The 

 b;u'que Nitnrud arrived, having Itist lier topmast, 

 and leveriil coasters were inissinir, supposed to 

 have been lost. Most of the vessels lying off Koro- 

 rarika drained their anchors, but they em lb red less 

 from not being much ex|K)Hed; the Harriet was 

 driven ashore at Tipuona, a few roilcs to the east- 

 ward, m ar Point I'oeoek. This vessel parted her 

 t-.il.ii-- during thu night, and the next morning was 

 found a complete wreck. The cr^w barely escaped 

 •villi their lives. Beside* these disasters on the 

 water, those on the luiul were also great : fences 

 were carried away, house* deluged, grounds over- 

 flowed, wharves injured, and ihe extensive em- 

 bankment of the iuis.~i.mary establishment at I'ahia 

 nearly demolished. The tide rose six feet during 

 the night of Saturday, beyond its usual mark, 

 w hich caused most of (he damage. 



This gale xi an < Xpert diced at the Thames on 

 board IE. B. M. ship lb raid, one hundred ami forty 

 miles to the south; also by the Flying- Fi-.ri, oil" 

 Cooks Straits, and by the bark Achilles, to the 

 north. Mr. Hale was a passenger in the last-named 

 vessel, and took barometrical observations ami notes 

 during the continuance of the gale. 



From the observations, it appears that the change 

 took place at the two northern and two southern 

 positions, in opposite directions, proving that live 

 gale was a rotary one, and that its centre imu>t have 

 passed between the bay of Islands and the river 

 Thames. Thu greatest force of the gale was be- 

 tween the hours of 1 and 3 A.M., on the 1st of 

 March. At the Bay of Islands, a calm was ob- 

 served by Mr. Bnna and others, which lasted fifteen 

 minutes, after which the wind rapidly hauled round 

 to the westward, and blew with increased violence. 

 On board the Herald, the barometer fell to 28 75 hi-j 

 and from the fact of the gale having been expe- 

 rienced first to the northward and eastward, it is 

 certain that it came from that .|uarl. r, and p.— -1 

 over New Zealand ill a south-west direction : ihe 

 width of tin; truck was about five hundred miles). 



Foreign residents have established themselves in 

 many places, and on all the inlets or arms of the 

 Bay "of Islands lleir cottages are to be seen, oceu- 

 pving the |s>ints and coves. 



*0n the north, the British resident, Mr. Busby, 

 has built a large and commodious cottage, and 

 commenced laying out his grounds in town lots fur 

 the future city of Victoria, of which there was a 

 public sale previous to our arrival All the lots 

 were, I believe, purchased uii speculation, for after 

 seeing the locality, one must he convinced that it 

 offers no advantages fur more than a village, if in- 

 deed for that. More to the westward is situated 

 Pallia, the mission establishment. For commer- 

 cial purposes, the south or Kuronirika shore offers 

 the greatest advantages, having the deepest water, 

 and being the most sheltered from the stormy 

 winds. 



The extent to which npeculntioii has raised the 

 prices of land in this neighbourhood is almost 

 incredible. Maycw's Point, the first above Koru- 

 mrika Hay, has 'on il a few storehouses, which are 

 rented for sis. hundred pounds a year. 



Mr. CJendon, the American consul, for about 



three hundred and twenty-live acres, of which only 

 ft ft x are l.-vel, has received thirty thousand pounds 

 from the British government, reserving to himself 

 the remainder, one hundred acres. Ik- bought the 

 whole for a trifle a Jew years ago. The location in 

 a pretty one, on a hill about three hundred Icet 

 high, and is, perhaps, the most commanding spot 

 on theso waters. The neatness of his cottage and 

 of the grounds about it adds much to its pleasing 

 appearance. 



The introduction of a Sydney police at Korora- 

 rika has been of service to that place, for I hey have 

 dealt in a summary manner with the vagabonds 

 who formerly frequented it. 



A Roman Catholic bishop is established here, 

 who has a chapel, and it was said, was making 

 many converts; but it was supposed that the prin- 

 cipal inducement to conversion was the liberality 

 with w hich he and his associates bestowed gifts and 

 (.resents iqwn ihose who joined in their prayers 

 and received the cross. 



Besides the Episcopal mission, under the llev. 

 Mr. Williams, formerly a lieutenant in the British 

 navy, there is a Wesleyuu mission at llokianga, 

 which is highly spoken of. Many reports bftl I been 

 put in circulation by the evil disposed, in relation 

 to these missions; but as fur as my observations 

 went, they seemed exemplary in their duties; they 

 rtt.iv also occupied in farming, in which native la- 

 bourers were employed. Mr. Williams having a 

 large family growing up, many of them obtained 

 farms, and are now in the successful occupation of 

 them. There is no doubt the hue and cry against 

 the father, that the mission had obtained all the 

 best land from the natives, arose from this cause. 

 Some circumstances were remarked, from which it 

 was evident that the interests of the natives were 

 looked after by the missionaries, who protected 

 their lands and induced them not to sell to the emi- 

 grants, who would otherwise have found them uuly 

 too ready to [.art with them. 



It is true that the situation of these missionaries 

 of ihe Church of England is different from that of 

 any we had heretofore seen, and equally so that 

 they do not nppenr t-« have succeeded us well in 

 making proselytes ns those in tin* other Polynesian 

 islands ; but I am persuaded that they have done, 

 and are still endeavouring to tin, much good. They 

 are, however, separated, as it wviv, fcrni their 

 Hocks, and consequently, cannot have that control 

 over their behaviour that would be desirable. 

 Many scenes, therefore, take place at the pas or 

 strongholds, that might be prevented if the mission- 

 aries mingled more with their converts. 



Mr. Williams was kind enough to have divine 

 service at the house where our naturalists stayed, 

 — Mr. Tihbey's. I was not a little surprised when 

 I heard that' Mr. Williams had refused any oppor- 

 tunity to our philologist to inspect a grammar of 

 the New Zealand language, that was then going 

 through the press. 1 mention the circumstance 

 as remarkable, from being the only instance of the 

 kind that occurred to us during the cruise ; and it 

 cannot he easily imagined what could have been 

 the cause of his refusal, for a very short period 

 alter our departure it would be published, and 

 there could haw been no fear of his being fore- 

 stalled by us. 



Among the natives the taboo is yet law, though 

 endeavours are making to introduce other laws 



