THE GEOLOGY OE NEW ZEALAND. 
233 
September, 1847, states, that the hull of a vessel was lately 
discovered on the western coast, lying two hundred yards from 
high water mark, with a small tree growing through its bottom. 
would appear astonishing- to a person viewing the wreck of the houses, the 
mass of brick-work from the falling of the chimneys, the dislodgment of 
furniture, the fissures in the earth, the extraordinary rise of tide, the entire 
destruction of some tenements, the collapse of others, the universal sacrifice 
of property, and the natural terror and despair among the inhabitants, all 
tending- to far greater personal disaster than fortunately I have to narrate. 
And here I would especially dwell upon the benefit of the warning of 1848 to 
the inhabitants, which, under Divine Providence, by causing- them to occupy 
wooden houses, has been the salvation of many lives; and the hour, too, was 
favorable to the escape of adults, who seized the children from beneath the 
tottering chimneys, themselves not having generally retired to bed. 
Few, if any, since 1848, have been rash enough to build a brick house: the 
chimneys had generally been secured as well as possible by iron braces, &e. 
The most substantial two-storied house—Baron Alsdorf’s hotel—of lath and 
plaster, buried its owner in the partial ruins. Government House, had it been 
occupied, must have destroyed its inmates, for every room was a pile of brick¬ 
work, the chandeliers, &c., utterly destroyed. The guard had a wonderful 
escape from the Guard-room, and the gun at the flagstaff turned over. 
I have already mentioned the entire destruction of the Council Chamber, 
the upper story being completely severed from the lower; the Treasury strong¬ 
box, and the papers and documents apparently in irretrievable confusion. 
The elegant and substantial new building, the Union Bank, is, in its front, 
a perfect ruin; and I hear the damage within is not much less. Opposite this 
building, on the road, a considerable opening emitted slimy mud, and the main 
street was overflowed by inundation. The most substantially-built wooden 
houses of one story, with the exception of the chimneys, are mainly standing. 
Those of less substantial calibre (and I am sorry to say there are many), are 
in a state of collapse. There is an universal destruction of crockery, bottles, 
&c., and a pitiful loss of valuable ornaments, clocks, &c. Several stores are 
unapproachable, until neighbouring dangers are removed. 
The principal shock occurred at 9h. 11m. p.m., and it was far the most 
severe. During the night scarcely half an horn- elapsed without a lesser shock, 
more or less violent, accompanied by a deep hollow sound ; but all these sub¬ 
sequent ones were of much shorter duration ; and the first having levelled 
every portion of brickwork, in the lower part of the town, there was less to 
fear; but the inhabitants generally moved to the open ground, and the follow¬ 
ing day the streets and gardens were the scene of an involuntary pic-nic. 
From what we noticed, it appeared that the elemental wave proceeded from 
about W.N.W. to E.S.E., that its actual effect upon terra firraa was slight, 
and that the fissures were generally where the road was made, although the 
mud emitted from the crack at Te Aro must bo considered as subterraneous 
deposit, from what depth not easily decided. 
From close observations on the barometer, I have no reason to believe that 
