108 
EXPLANATION OP THE MAP. 
lions. The rise of land at Wellington, in 1855, to an average 
height of three or four feet, over a great extent of coast, is 
familiar to every colonist. This rise of land, however, is not 
general over New Zealand; for there are many proofs that, 
while on the eastern side of the islands the level of the land is 
being raised, on the western side the land is sinking. An axis 
of equilibrium passes through the islands, on the western side 
of which the movement is downward, on the eastern side 
upwards. The same axis, curving round parallel to the 
Australian coastline, crosses the Pacific between New Cale¬ 
donia and the Loyalty group, and can be traced through the 
Solomon Islands to New G-uinea. 
Ladies and Gentlemen, —It now only remains for me to 
express my thanks to you for the attention with which you 
have followed my geological explanations. Much more still 
remains that I would wish to say, but I must now conclude. 
I feel well assured that the mineral wealth of Nelson is not 
confined to what I have to-day mentioned, but believe that, in 
addition to gold, copper, and coal, future times will develop 
other valuable substances among your mountains and forests, 
which cannot fail to prove a source of wealth and prosperity to 
the Province of Nelson. 
EXPLANATION OF THE MAP OF NELSON. 
By Dr. F. v. Hochstetter, 
MAP VI. 
THE PROVINCE OE NELSON, IN THE SOUTHERN ISLAND OP 
NEW ZEALAND. 
After a sojourn of seven months’ duration on the Northern 
Island of New Zealand, I availed myself of the kind invitation 
of the Superintendent to visit the Province of Nelson, and 
devoted the months of August and September, 1859, to a 
geological survey of that Province. On the Southern Island 
I trod on a new and, compared with the Northern Island, 
an entirely different geological field, most remarkable on 
account of the multiferous mineral treasures, such as copper, 
gold, and coal, which have procured to the Province of Nelson 
