2 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. I. 
and took formal possession of the country, in jmrsuance 
of the following instructions : — " You are also, with 
** the consent of the natives, to take possession, in the 
" name of the King of Great Britain, of convenient 
*' situations in such countries as you may discover, that 
** have not already been discovered or visited by any 
" European power ; and to distribute among the inha- 
** bitants such things as will remain as traces and tes- 
" timonies of your having been there ; but if you find 
" that the countries so discovered are uninhabited, you 
"are to take possession of them for His Majesty, by 
*' setting up proper marks and inscriptions as first dis- 
" coverers and possessors." 
Cook suggested the regular colonization of New 
Zealand ; but no attempt was made to carry his recom- 
mendation into effect, though many schemes for the 
purpose were formed by various persons, including 
Dr. Franklin. 
In the Parliamentary debates which led to the es- 
tablishment of New South Wales in 1788, New Zea- 
land was mentioned as very suitable for an experiment 
of penal colonization, and narrowly escaped through a 
terror of its savage inhabitants and their cannibalism. 
In course of time, however, the frequent visits of 
whaling-ships to the coasts led to such intercourse be- 
tween Europeans and the natives, as suggested to the 
Rev. Samuel Marsden, Colonial Chaplain of New 
South Wales, the project of establishing at the Bay of 
Islands a mission of the Church Missionary Society. 
In 1814, this benevolent scheme was carried into effect 
by Mr. Marsden himself, under the sanction of the 
Governor of New South Wales, who issued a procla- 
mation on the occasion ; whereby he declared himself 
" equally solicitous to protect the natives of New Zea- 
" land and the Bay of Islands in all their just rights 
