THE GEOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND. 
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Much sulphureous gas also escaped, which, for a time, affected 
the health of the place. The movement seemed chiefly to 
follow the course of rivers, whose channels may be regarded 
as fissures on a large scale. 
The next alarming one took place about two o’clock on 
Monday morning, October 16th, 1848, when a series of heavy 
shocks were felt. This last visitation established one interest¬ 
ing fact, that the disturbing cause is not stationary: the quarter 
from which it proceeded had shifted since the year 1843 from 
W.N.W. to W.S.W.: it afterwards, however, returned to its 
former quarter. The shocks appeared to commence gradually, 
and were preceded by the usual loud rumble ; the principal 
one lasted full four minutes. The movement was very violent, 
and although the motion seemed to come from the west, the 
same as in all preceding ones, still it was more from the south 
than usual, and there was also a lateral vibration noticed in 
this as well. The shocks lasted near an hour. At Wanganui 
they cracked some chimneys, injured the baker’s oven, and 
shook down a few bricks and some plaster in the church; but, 
with those exceptions, they did very little injury there. This 
earthquake was followed by a disagreeable smell, and head- 
considerable damage to the little settlement, most of the brick chimneys in 
it were thrown down; part of the gable end of the church at Putiki, which is 
built of brick, fell, the bricks falling into the pulpit, and smashing its floor, 
this occurred during the time of evening prayer. Providentially, I was from 
home, or, in all probability, the consequences would have been very serious. 
So great was the shock, that the earth opened in fissures, the chief one being 
in the bed of the river, which was deepened several fathoms. These fissures 
were parallel to each other : they were of considerable length, and diminished 
in breadth as they receded from the river. One in the water, which was very 
visible when the tide was out, was about two feet wide, and the last one which 
I noticed was five inches across; they were several hundred feet long. The 
“ Columbine ,” a vessel of 70 tons, was laid down on a bank opposite the town, 
to have her keel repaired. The bank on which she laid dry sunk, and left 
five feet of water in its place. Large portions of the cliffs were thrown down ; 
and, at Rangitikei, a family residing under a cliff was overwhelmed with the 
house by a land-slip. The river was remarkably agitated with short waves, 
such as are seen where two currents meet, and the water overflowed the banks 
in several places. In my house, the pendulum of the time-piece was shaken 
out of its socket. This great shock was followed by many smaller ones, 
and during the succeeding month, there were, at least, fifty of them. 
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