NEW ZEALAND.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3961, 3 May 1870, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND.

i The famous line in Virgil, "Ft penitus toto diviaos orbe JBritannos," slightly modified, would be as faithful a description of New Zealand in the early part of the nine* teenth century as the original was of Britain in the time of Csesar, although nineteen centuries have elapsed since it vras written ; and the two countries are not only separated by a vast expanse of ocean, but are removed as far as possible from each other, and situated at the opposite extremities of the globe. The size and formation of the islands of the respective countries in some respects resemble each other. The Nevr Zealand group consists of two large islands, the North and South, with a lesser one called Stewarts, besides numerous scattered islets, being the nearest land to the antipodes of England, and its position on the globe alike favour*able as the British Isles for the development of trade and commerce. If reference is made to a map of the world, it will be ob erved that New Zealand occupies nearly the centre of the great semi-circle formed by the great continents of Asia, Africa, and America, sweeping from Cape Horn by Behring's Straits to the Cape of Good Hope, and is surrounded by the greatest ocean in the world. The importance of its situation in the centre of the great Pacific Ocean can hardly be overestimated; aud from its insular character and position it must be a country entirely dependent on the superiority of its nautical skill and| enterpriseoin order to acquire wealth and influence 1 ;; and New Zealand, like England, if destined to achieve greatness and become powerful, can only obtain it from her maritime superiority. On the one side, and at a distance of 1,000 miles from its coast line, is the great island of New Holland, whose population in » few years will be numbered in millions ; beyond that country towards the north are the numerous islands of the Indian Archipelago, rich in oriental productions, and conspicuous for their barbaric wealth and luxury. On the j otherside, and within easy access of its shores, j are the numberleasislanda of the South Seas, ! with their soft voluptuous climate, primitive fertility, and beauty. This great insular region of the South Seas, the most beautiful on the globe, will in a short time come under the commercial sway of New Zealand, if not into ita direct possession, when the remotest isles will be explored and cultivated, industry and enterprise introduced and encouraged, and the marks of a higher civilisation made visible on every shore. The precepts of inspired wisdom, the flights of artistic genius, and the light of science travelled westward from the regions of the morn, and will continue to travel, to the uttermost parts of the earth, until all be enlightened and civilised. The Mediterranean was the ancient seat of trade " and civilisation, the Atlantic ia now the great thoroughfare of nations, and it appears that the smooth waters of the Great Pacific are destined to be the future great highway of the world ; and it may be that those wild islands of the South Seas — those beautiful islands so luxuriantly fertile, so voluptuous in climate — those sunny sea 3 and coral isles — i instead of being as they are now, orwere lately, the abode of lawless men and roving buccanneers, will be peopled by a new race, living under the beneficent laws of Alfred, and i speaking the language of Shakspeare and Milton, a race strong in battle and wise in council, distinguished in arts and science, and celebrated for works of human polity and wisdom. A temperate climate, in many respects similar to that of England, although the result of opposite and different causes, prevails in New Zealand. The climate of England, from the heat of the great Gulf Stream, is rendered warmer by several degrees than it is entitled to be from its position on the globe ; while the climate of New Zealand, from the vast expanse of ocean which surrounds it, is many degrees colder than it is entitled to be from its latitude. The climate is neither- hot nor cold : the heat of summer does not scorch, the winter does not pinch with cold, and there is no day in the year, and no hour of the day, when one cannot work. Occasionally it is warmer in summer than it is in England, but there is little or no winter — only such weather as we have in England about the end of November ; and the presence of winter is only felt by the shortness of the days, and by more frequent rains and boisterous breezes whirling in fierce gusts over the hills, and sometimes sweeping the plains with tempestuous violence. In the South, during winter, the tops of the hills i are white with snow, and occasionally the plains are covered, but only for a few hours. Excessive cold is, however, never experienced in any part of the colony in any season. Although as much rain falls, the weather is less cloudy and foggy than in England, and the constant succession of rain, wind, aud sunshine, which, prevail in all seasons, keeps the earth cool, aud the streams flowing, the air pure and buoyant, the pastures fresh, and the meadows green, clothing the hills with the richest verdure, and covering the fertile plains with luxuriant vegetation. If there ia more sunshine in New Zealand than in England, as much rain falls in the one cduntry as in the other; aud visitors from Australia complain of its excessive humidity, in the same manner as the Americans complain of the humidity of the English climate. As a test, however, of the great salubrity of the New Zealand climate, it is universally admitted that the aboriginal natives, the Maoris, are physic illy and mentally inferior to no race in the world, and this circumstance may be adduced as a proof of its being extremely favourable to the full development and perfection of the human frame and intellect; and the great longevity attained by many of the Maoris is to be attributed to their spending so great a portion of their lives in the open air of such a fine climate. Charles 11. said that England invited men abroad more days in the year and more hours in the day than any other country; but New Zealand is not to be excelled in this respect, and inducements to remain abroad in the open air are much greater than in England, and a larger proportion of the inhabitants aro engaged in pastoral and agricultural pursuits than in any other country ; while the open-air sports, recreations, and amusements induced by the attractions of such a climate, and enjoyed by all, are calculated not only to give health to the cheeks and vigourto the limbs, but elasticity to the spirits. There is a singular perfection about the country ; it is a complete, distinct, and wellproportioned territory, and presents as it were an epitome of all the physical features by which different countries are distinguished in a greater degree for itB size than any other country on the globe ; and in variety of surface, in its landscapes, its hills, its valleys, and rivers and streams, New Zealaud is a miniature of all the great continents of the world. It has its elevated regions wrapped in robes of everlasting snows. A chain of mountains extends fromthecentre of the Northern Island to the southern extremity of the Southern, and one peak in this range (Mount Cook) is upwards of thirteen thousand feet high. It has its pleasant valleys, open plains, and elevated plateaux, as well as its rocky wildernesses and barren hills. There ar f e dismal swamps, and thousands and tens' of thousands of acres covered with the phormium tenax, or indigenous flax. In some places there are low rolling hills, sweeping down to the plains ; and long stretches of undulating and gloomy fern downs. Precipitous and impassable gorges detach some districts, and streams and watercourses intersect the country in every direction. It has magnificent forests, ornamental copses, evergreen plants and flowery thickets', including the graceful fern tree and cabbage palm, typical of eastern landscapes and tropical regions. There are splendid harbours, noble estuaries, large inland lakes, | and navigable rivers. The largest river, the Waikato, flows through Taupo in the same manner as the lake of Geneva is traversed by the Rhone, and as the Sea of Galilee is intersected by the waters of the Jordan. It has volcanic mountains; sulphur islands, and hot springs; it has beds of coal, and limestone, besides silver, tin, and iron,

In addition, there exist immense and inexhaustible stores of metallic wealth; and with this advantage, that it is available without exposure to the risks and vicissitudes incidental to a climate such as prevails in "Greenland's icy mountains," or "India's coral strand;" but in ft country with » climate superior to that of England. In this respect 'New Zealand is rich beyond the dreams of avarice, while her mineral pro* ductions far exceed in value what the fabulous stories have recorded respecting the marvellous wealth of "Ophir." In. the rocky wildernesses, in the sand on the se* shore, as well as under the soil of the fertile valleys, and amongst the' pebbles that line the margin of the crystal streams, there is to be found thegleamof thegold,and the flash of the diamond. It has iti gold-bearing quartz reefs, its rich alluvial goldfields, and its golden sand, carried down by the rivers to the sea, then thrown up by the force of the waves, and cast ashore high-and-dry, by the rising of every tide. — Extracts from Aistori' cal Sketches of New Zealand.