CORRESPONDENCE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 82, 8 April 1910, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

« MR. WRAGGE'S DISCOVERIES.

TO THB EDITOR. Sir, — I did surprised that so much notice should bo taken of rtio supposed discoveries of Mr. Wraggo in tho Far North of Auckland, where ho has been finding traces of sun worship, the work of man '"far anterior to the udvent of the Maori." In a previous issue you say that othor men are in tho same predicament, rthould it be that Mr. Wraggo is mistaken. Is that possibly intended as an otcujo for Mr. Wraggo? And then Mr. Trcgear tells us this ifl not a new story — that tho Maori did actually wpr •hip the sun, etc Who can deny it ? I havo not got the temerity, but this I will say, in the face of all who claim tha contrary, that no man has Been in Now Zealand anything like architectural orections in stono giving ovidonco that tho builders wcro acquainted with the dressing and plnoing of stono ho as to | form walls and pillars, even though they j be monoliths and arches, or, that any portions of thosa wero ornamented with crosses, triangle;, or cups, 01 had tbcuo | intoribod for ceremonial utility. If thcro i wore a shadow of truth in all this, is it likely that tho evidences would bo confined to a very limited district betweon i Kerikeri (Bay of Islands) and tho Kneo I Valley ? That which Mr. Wraggo contends for would imply a high degree of civilisation, and a correMponding 'enow ledgo of the mechanical art», such as the Maori does not appear to have possessed, and, consequently, ho attributes these works to a peoplo who occupied the district long anterior to tho coming of the | Maori. If all thib be true, why it this the only known instance of tho discovery of such remains, for, in order that this city or tcmplo should be, a iiumorous population occupy int oxtensivo territory is implied, and like traces elsewhere should have been discovorod. I think I am in a position to show (hut thero is no truth in Mi. Wraggo's statement that what ho hns discovered is tho prcduct of skilled labour , on tha iontrnry, it is wholly tho result of natural pioc-PM on a rock Hisceptibln of ansum ing the ' formh described. WII3. on tho recommendation of Mr. Humilton, examinations at considerable Cost wore made of these supposed works of art it is hard to understand. Sinoo oue of tho officers of the Geographical Department has within tho past two yi«ars mado a special survts) of the locality and surrounding district, and twice 1 bare examined tho same region, yet neither of us has discovered anything that would help Mr. Wraggo in his contention. Truly, the Treasury chest must bo full to overflowing' whon, on the bare assettion of one man, they venture on tho cost of a scientific expedition for such a purpose, end this in the fac« of prior evidence that no such remain* oxifrt, or, if they do, aro duo to quito other causes ] than those predicted. I ha\c seen no indication of the oxact locality of this discovery by Mr. Wracge, and I am not ouro that either Messrs. Hamilton or Stowell were on the spot, and saw any of tho individual things described Iby Mr. Wrngge. The only stones, I gather from Mr. Wragge's description, that havo bson omployod in theso oonstructions are immediately local. This is very suspicious, and goes a long way to confirm tho assumption that Mr 1 Wraggo is wrong. Such a thing h withj out parallel in the construction of extensive buildings ancient or modern. And now I ,havo to indioato how it is possible tho mistake may havo been made. Tho rock in question is one very prone to rapid decomposition, and its situation is such as exposes it to tho full j influence of atmospheric denudation. Jlenco, (hough subject to rapid decay, j tho rock always looks fresh, but great inroads havo beon mado on the* basaltic Stream, for such it is. Mention har- been \ made in many of tho letters of volcanic | bombs, etc. Thcro is no trace of ejected rock* in that part of tho Bay of Islands district. Like much basalt elsewhere, it has a tendency to_ assume a columnar structure Prismatic columns of basalt dolorites or andesito may bo found &t all angles between horizontal and vortical, therefore a single column standing" at 45 degrees is neither uncommon nor rare. Lot Mr. Wrrtgge visit some parts of Coromandel Peninsula, and he will discover many such temples, both in the andositcs and tho rhyolitic cocks of that district. In the Whitianga and Gumtown districts he will discover a perfect Egypt of like prehistoric remains. You have said, if mistaken, Mr. Wraggo is in good company. That is true, as tho following will show. When, after tho retirement of Sir James Hector, I filled the position of Government Geologist, some one Kent to Professor Hutton. in Christohuroh, a slab of stono on w,hich were somo strongo markings resembling tho imprint of a bird's foot, of such v siza that Professor Hutton doubted not that it waft tho imprint of a moa's foot. Ho wrote to tho Minister, or Un-der-Secrotarv for Mines, and an assistant was despatched to tho locality, but noiI ther at tho precise spot nor elsewhere could any rock bo discovered other than II metamorphio rock of dovinian age, and not a trace of other footmarks could bo found. I reported accordingly. Some timo afterwards I was in Christchurch. and saw tho specimen with tho supposed moa footprint. It was the same partlydecomposed schist that my assistant had so abundantly collected, but, curiously, it was crossed by three joints converging on each othor, and ouo wm prolonged to simulate a hind toe. Rapid erosion along these joints had dono the rest. If wo can forgivo Mr. Hutton we may easily forgivo Mr. Wraggo.— -I am, etc., ALEXANDER M'KAY. Wellington, 6th April, 1910. .