522 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XIX. 
" afraid of him ! He would eat the frigate, Governor 
"and all!" 
I have already described what got to be called the 
" Government fever ;" which was almost inevitably 
comnmnicated to any person who helped to drain the 
purse of the Cook's Strait settlers through the Auck- 
land treasury. No matter how unprejudiced might be 
the mind of an Attorney-General or a Land Commis- 
sioner on his first arrival from England ; no matter 
how completely a less distinguished subordinate might 
have shared at one time the wholesome spirit and 
feelings of the " good colonists ;" it would be no less 
difficult than invidious to point out a single instance 
which surpassed the others in accepting the ** virus'* 
together with the quarter's salary and the town allot- 
ment. 
But it is disgusting to remark the purulent and 
contagious nature of the disease. In some cases direct 
private gain could hardly be assigned as the cause of 
the unmitigated infection of persons who were only 
connected with the officials in a casual and honorary 
capacity. It appeared as though the moral plague of 
aversion to the independent settlers was spread by the 
mere breath and odour of authority. 
Sir Everard Home, a Captain in the British Navy, 
had just deserved the honour of being made a Com- 
panion of the Bath for gallantly maintaining the dig- 
nity of Great Britain in the Chinese war, with his 
frigate. 
He bore a Governor and a suite of New Zealand 
officials about the coast for some months. 
He then pressed, with a friendly grasp, the hand of 
a man who had only six months before taken a leading 
part in the foul death of one of his brother-officers, 
most esteemed in the service, besides many more of his 
