CAPTAIN COOK AND 1769

Colonist, Volume XII, Issue 1254, 1 October 1869, Page 5

CAPTAIN COOK AND 1769

(From the Otago Daily Times, Sep. 20.) The hiyaidredtk anniversary of Captain Cook's dis|Cover|Tof New Zealand, (October Bth, 1769,) is close mpoa? us, and the question sugge.-^s itself whether mian' an event should be allowed to pass by unnoticed. Wwe were accustomed to seek a special meaning in ;joiife;Celebration3, ifc would seem strange that tha discovery of the land in which, we live should nevoi1 present itself as an event deserving some pubic commemoration. Of the few men whose deeds entitle them to the grateful recollection of successive generations, none is more worthy of honor than tha great navigator who discovered New Zealand. Even in New Zealand, however, his name is no spell to conjure with. The delightful records of his voyages, instead of being familiar to every child at school, are known to few ; and few consequently have any but the vaguest ideas with respect to his wonderful achievement?. Tho memory of Captain Cook has every title to public commemoration that worth can give ; but in these Colonies ifc has of course a peculiar title to such honors. But for his genius, and for the many admirable qualities which made up the character of the man, these tracts of country might have remained unknown for- many years after 1769. Ncw-a-days, when a voyage between the3e Colonies Europe has become almost a pleasure trip, it is a difficult matter to appreciate the labors which preceded their discovery. We are apt to overlook the innumerable forms in •which danger aad disaster attended every league of the memorable voyages in search of the Great Southern Land. The very success with which Cook conducted the enterprise entrusted to him blinds us to the enormous difficulties ha had to contend against. Any one can appreciate the services of Columbus ,• for the most meagre narrative of his voyages is sufficient to overwhelm the reader with admiration of the old^ Genoese who defied alike the threats of Kings, the dangers of the deep, the treachery of savages, and the mutinous insolence of hia orews. in his noble determination to discover new worlds and extend the sway of Christianity- The voyages in search of the Great Southern Land were undertaken under vastly more i favorable conditions. Ifc was not the work of a ! desperate man forced to rely upon the scantiest ; resources, and almost universally scoffed at by his contemporaries. It was a favored project of the Imperial Government. Captain Cook -was selected for ■ the purpose of carrying it to a successful \ issue * he was furnished with Admiralty instructions; '; his ships were carefully fitted out; distinguished : naturalists were sent -with him to assist in the coni- ; pletion of the enterprise. But no preparation* however- ample could have secured its success, had ifc | not been for the extraordinary capacity displayed by Cook. His readiness of resources, his attention to minute'details, his unwearied perseverance, his calm, yet resolute temper, served him in almost equal stead with, bis knowledge of science and his practical skill as a,|eaman. With all hia geniusj he would not havebeefa' able to discover this portion of the globe had he fjjSfc also been able- to preserve the health of lria ; and. that comparatively humbla achievement was owing to the exertion of qualities which might adorer a quarter-master in the eyes of the world, but which are not usually reckoned among the distinctions of an Admiral. The study of his life, indeed, compels us to admire the moral character of the man as earnestly and deeply as we admire his genius. A hundred years have rolled away since he—first of all white men —landed on the shores of New Zealand and opened a new world to the energy of Englishmen. Since that time, new communities have sprung up on these shores, and aro rapidly developing the germs of. a ijew empire. Within the last few months, a statute has been erected to tho memory of Cook at "Botany Bay." We hope that his services will not be forgotten in this country } and now, on the eve of the hundredth anniversary of its discovery, j we take tha liberty tp suggest that the event deserves commwior*ti«i throughout New Zealand.