YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 847, 1 August 1866, Page 7

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

THE WAIKATO.

On Friday evening, Major Heaphy gave A most interesting and instructive lecture in these

rooms upon ihc Gcograpliicnl Position Politi cal Aspect and Resources of that portion of the Province o e Auckland known as the Waikatc country, more particularly that section of it ■which has been acquired by right of conquest. The Waikato river, said the lecturer, takes its rise at the active volcano Tongariro, flowing into the lake Taupo, like the Rhone, which passes through the lake of Geneva, taking its colour from the lake. The Taupo lake is a beautiful sheet of -water, 30 miles long by 19 miles wide, and is surrounded by a great number of boiling water craters or geysers. At one place the noise of these natural wonders is is like that of fifty steam engines at full work, and the ground pulsates with their force. A number of hills with extinct craters surround the lake, and a very singular appearance is as the slicing down into a section of one of these mountains, from another stream of hot water descends to the lake. The river descends by Karapiti and Orakikorako, where from one one spot as many as sixty jets of steam and hot water may bo counted. One of these is especially noticeable; emitting a jet of boiling water and steam at intervals of twenty to twentyfour hours to a height of fully fifty feet The Waikato proceeds through a beautiful and fertile valley. The district about Maungatautari and Kangifoto to Tc Awamutu was, perhaps, one of the most fertile in the world, but although there is a great deal of fertile land in the Waikato, so there is, according to the lecturer, a great deal of land of a very sterile c-haracter. ' A crrat deal of land was of a dull vellow elav. and a kind of pumice stone or sand. "The truth is," said Major Heaphy, "very little that was accurate was known of the Waikato country until the breaking out of the ivar. Its fertility was verv much over estimated, tourists who went to "the "Waikato country mostly ascended in a canoe, and were of course much'struck with the fertility of the soil on the immediate bank. 1 hev saw cultivation on either =ide. and when they ha'd got back into their canoe :hey had formed "an extraordinarily high estinate of the resources of the country; had :hev struck off a few miles laterally, they would lave seen much poor land But although there las been this over estimate, there is yet a great leal of very rich land in the "Waikato—indeed mite a su'fllcient amount of very rich land to support a vast population. The portion of the Waikato south of Orakan s yet occupied by natives. The fight of Orakau .vas one of the* most obstinate that had tnken place during the war. Much heroism had been iisplayed by the natives. It was here that the celebrated "cry ale ale (onit. —"we will fight 'or ever and for ever." But it was not all icroism that was displayed here. The Maories ired ou the bearer of the flag of truce that iflered them terms when surrounded, and the lest day, when utterly unable to prolong the resistance they thcms"elves hoisted a white flag n one angle of the plsee, to confuse the besiegers, while they issued forth in escape and ;omehow took second thought, for they ilmost immediately raised a flag of truce it one corner of the pa, while they decamped at he opposite corner. The whole of the distance letweeu Jsgaruawahia and the confiscated land it Orakau, just above Te Awamutu, was set ipart for military settlers. "We may here cite a passage of Major Heaphy's lecture which, although it has been already said frequently is yet deserving of ihe widest publicity in the 'ace of the incessant malignity that crops in !he shape of calumny of the motives and conluct of the Kw Zealand colonists. "As to this line of confiscation," said Major Heaphy Dointing to his diagram, •' I may here state that It was not formed either by Sir George Grey or dv the Government under the "Weld or any >ther Ministry. In truth, it was General Cameron's own act. At the council in which :he whole question of confiscation was considered, the Governor and the Government left :he whole matter in the hands of General Tameron, who at once fixed this line as the proper boundary of confiscation. This should be a sufficient answer to those who say that the Silent of land confiscated was in compliance with the craving of greedy colonists and land ■harks. (Cheers). The extent of land originally proclaimed and appropriated to military settlement had been 332,200 acres, but owing to a considerable portion of this being swampy, there was an extension of 125,500 acres making a total of -358,000 acres. We should mention hat the total area confiscated south of Waiicato Heads was 1,002,133 acres. Taking from this latter figure 458,000, there remain 544,135 acres remaining, out of which a very large portion will revert to natives who are stated to have remained friendly, and another portion will be required for the settlement of natives who have surrendered. The swamps in the Waikato confiscated block form, according to Major Heaphy. a very important item in the estimate of value which may be made of the Waikato lands. The swamps capable of easy drainage are 7S,GGO acres. Those of more difficult drainage, requiring sluice gates and lifting power, are 30,000 acres, and of deep swamps there are 9,014; making a total of 118,271 acres. As to the land itself as a source of wealth, it were little matter in whose possession it were, if it were only cultivated, says Major Heaphv, " but in any case it must be regarded as a very large addition to the agricultural wealth of the province of Auckland." 'car the western boundary of the "Waikato district is the Waipa, a river Very different in its character from the Waikato, being tortuous in its course, its waters turbid and dark, but having on either bank some beautiful land. The Waipa runs through the Jv gathnaniapoto country, the tribe of the famous Hewi. Major Heaphv told a very interesting anecdote apropos of the pumice sand, which appears to us to have an especial value for those who take an interest in agricultural chemistry. It was supposed, said the lecturer, that the pumice land would grow nothing ; but on one occasion the military had to throw up a parapet, which they succeeded in doing to a considerable height. It happened however, that there came a season of considerable drought; not a shower of rain had fallen for ten weeks, when in the drought season, lo ! a crop of beautiful white clover sprang up to the astonishment of everybody. 'J his brings us to the conclusion of one viery important section of the Major's lecture. STILITATiY SETTLEMENTS. The Military Settlements on the "Waikato, are Cambridge and Hamilton, Alexandra, Te Uori, on the "Waipa, besides llaripipi, Kihi Eihi, Tc Awamutu, N garuawahia. With the two last may be joined the Coalpits. The statistics of these settlements are well worthy of notice. We know by the experience of the last two years the real importance of these districts. The spirit of the military settlers has been decried, but with most insufficient reason. But the prospective importance of these districts is incalculable. The germ of a flourishing community has been sown here. We give from Major Heaphy's figures the following statistics:--Acres Supposed allotted population Cambridge 1142 1200 Alexandra 1378 1378 Hamilton 7-16 74f> Harapipi 104 304 Kilrikihi 228 250 Te Awamutu, Ngarnawabia oal pits .... 300 3598 5978

The Forest Bangers are settled at KiHkihi and Harapipi, two very fertile localities. One of the most interesting facts related by the lecturer was that the hanks of the "Waikatc were before the war studded with corn mills, but, to u"se Major Heaphy's words, " the king movement completely Unsettled the native mind, and these no longer exist.'* The military settlements are in a fair way of prosperity, unless, indeed, alarmists should bring about anything like distrust. Ngaruawahia is described us a most magnificent site for a town, and cannot fail to be a place of great importance at some not far distant date. The Waikato coal mines is a subject of immense importance. Major Heaphy's account of it is as follows ;—" In IS 10 some coal was discovered near Ng'aruawahia, and half a dozen merchants headed by Messrs. Connell and Hidings projected a company with the object to open these coal mines. There were about SO shareholders, and one of the conditions was that for each £5 share two tons of coal were to be delivered in Auckland. The coal was duly brought down the "Waikato to Waiuku, whero it was carted over the portage, brought in boats to Onehunga, and eventually delivered in Auckland. But the natives became jenlous of the abstraction of the coal, and refused to allow of any more being taken. The coal mine remained closed •until 1863 when Commodore Wiseman penetrated with his steamers to the spot, and the value of the mines became known. Upwards of 1,100 tons of coal have been taken from these mines. The river flows through a swampy country for some distance, and passes "Waikari, Bangiriri, and Merimere. The land about the Waikato Heads is for the most part fertile. But the district of most immediate importance is Pukekawa ; which, in the Major's opinion, Will be the great field of colonization the next year or two. It is a volcanic district of great fertility, and lying within one day's ride andferry from Auckland. The river is dotted with islands of exceeding beauty. One of these islands —covered with peaches—is called "Commodore's Island," in honor of Commodore Wiseman, who rcquently visited it; and another "Picnic Island," because the " land mokes" and " water mokes," as the Land and Water Transport men were affectionately termed,_ used here to refresh themselves, haying laid the Commissariat under contribution. Major Heaphv told some good stories about the expedients Tesorted to guago the military stores and officers' comforts. A midshipman had been instructed to escort with special care a cask of whiskey. Middy's promotion depended upon his vigilance. Day and night he slept upon the choice distilment. The '' mokes," however, understood that only something particularly nice could be so greatly eared for, and the honor of the corps was considered to be involved. So they traced the plank upon which the barrel rested, and with penetrating gimlet from the hold of the barge emptied the spirituous vessel into meaner measures. Major Heaphy told a story of one of the fights of Waikato which deserves to be preserved, as being most honourable to soldiers of, we believe, the 40th and 60th Eegiments. On a hot summer afternoon a fight had continued from two o'clock till sundown. The men were begrimed with smoke and powder, and not a drop of water could be had. The stream ran brightly about fifty feet below, but the Maories occupied its wooded margin and it was death to go down there to drink. There had been a kind of Maori outpost here, and a few ripe peaches were found. These the soldiers handed to the wounded, without distinction of colour, although the fight had commenced under circumstances of peculiar irritation from the natives. On one occasion, Major Heaphy had occasion to go to the General's tent, which was on the extreme edge of the cantonment near to a gully, and seemed exposed to the enemy's fire. "Are you not, sir. apprehensive of them firing into these tents r" he asked. " I should be but for one thing," said General Cameron. "Ihe Forest Hangers are down in that gully, like so many mice,and you would not see one of them till you could touch him." Major Heaphy paid the Forest Hangers a high and welldeserved compliment for their intelligence, energy, quickness, and discipline. "'i hey frequently mnde long night marches with the intention of reconnoitering or surprising the enemy ; and on such occasions not a whisper could be heard. Orders were conveyed by signals, nnd scouts would go out, and come in, unheard and almost unseen." The whole lecture, which lasted about an hour and a half .vas replete with interest. The lecturer concluded with following encouraging words : — " I have, for my own part, no misgivings as to the future prosperity of this province. The districts of Tauranga, Opotiki, and other districts northward, are fast becoming the centres of settlement, and the tourist who would visit these places and carefully observe what is going on, would not come back to Auckland with any depressed view of our prospects. When we think of the circumstances of the colony when the 58th left, and compare them with those ex- | isting, I see no reason for repining. When the ' 58th regiment left, Auckland was in a state of fair prosperity. What are our physical circumstances ? I hey are not less favourable than they were then. We have four times the population we had then, and I am certain we have four times the area of land to support that population. JS T ow, in these circumstances, is there any cause for depression? I think we have a prospect of great future success before us. iNotwithstanding our heavy debt, wc can look forward to a bright future for this Province, —a position unrivalled by any other Province of I' ew Zealand." (Loud cheers.) There is, we feel assured, no man in the colony more competent by general intelligence, by experience, by the nature of his profession, to form accurate observation, and we accept his prediction with confidence. A vote of thanks was passed to the lecturer by acclamation. —July 13.