TARANAKI JUBILEE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 9123, 2 July 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

TARANAKI JUBILEE.

The fine contrast afforded by the sombre tinted forest at the base, and the dazzling snow nestling on the summit increases the spectator's admiration to the point of enthusiasm. . There is a peculiar charm diffused over a fine morning in Taranaki, which a writer some fifty years ago described as follows :—": — " On this occasion a succession of lines and tints imbued the aspect with an Italian loveliness, from the far spreading waves of evergreen foliage, grateful and refreshing odours delight the senses, with rich notes of multitudes of birds, mocked by the tui, filling the air with joyous melodies at times like silver bells, touched by a master hand and mellowing afar with a peculiar softness, till the bright rays of day spread over the scene, when the enchanting choir gently lapses into that of the songsters peculiar to the day." Was this the scene our great navigators looked upon from their ships ; and did they then picture to themselves that in less than a century the sturdy immigrant would be working out for himself and future generations estates untrammelled under the most genial of climates 7

he directed the course of his barque Endeavour northwards, and, sailing round Cape Maria Van Dieman, coasted along the western shores of the North Island. On Tuesday, January 9th, 1770, at 9 a.m., Captain Cook was off Raglan, for he says, "we were abreast of a point which rises with an easy ascent from the sea to a considerable height. This point I named Woody Head." At noon the same day he sighted another point, which he named Albatross Point. From here the captain first saw Mount Egmont, for he records that "at 7 p.m. Albatross Point bore N.E., distance nearly two leagues, and the southernmost land in sight bore S.S.W. £ W., being a very high mountain; and in appearance greatly resembles the Peak of Teneriffe." The next day, Wednesday, Captain Cook continued to steer S.W. and S.S.W., along the shore, and at seven in the evening he saw " the top of the peak of the mountain to the southward, above the clouds, which concealed it below. At noon on Thursday, January 12th," he writes, *' we were distant about three leagues from the shore which lies under

ascent. It lies near the sea, and is surrounded by a flat country of a pleasant appearance, being clothed witli verdure and wood, which renders it the more conspicuous, and the shore under it forms a large cape, which I have named Cape Egmont." The next mention of Taranaki is byCaptain Marion dv Fresne, who was in charge of a French exploring expedition, consisting of two ships, the Mascarine and Marquis de Castries. On Tuesday, March 24th, 1772, he sighted the Taranaki coast, and Captain Marion named the mountain " Le pic de Mascarine," after the ship he was in. From that time till the first settlers came and took possession of the land there is very little recorded of the district. John Marmon, who died a few years ago, in a narrative of his life, mentions that he visited Taranaki in 1824, in the barque Henrietta, Captain Kent, the object of calling being t« procure some flax plants from the natives for the Botanical Gardens in Sydney. They landed six: cases, which the Maoris filled. Marmon says, " When we landed there were afc least two thousand natives assembled,

EAELY HISTOEY OF THE DISTRICT. ARAUAKI was called by Governor Hobson, in one of his despatches to the Marquis of Normanby, " The Garden of New Zealand," and it is not to be wondered at that he '££. should thus designate a district which in its primeval condition must have been a perfect paradise. Even now, since the progressive hand of civilisation has removed the " wilderness of sweets, where nature wantoned as in her prime, and played at will her virgin fancies," there is a fascination about the place which attracts people to its shores. What could be more beautiful to greet the vision at sunrise than Mount Egmont ? Towering aloft in the clear blue sky, old Taranaki rears her stately snow-crowned head, blushing with rosy radiance beneath the golden kisses of the morning

sun, and, below the snow, dense foliage clothes the giant with a kingly robe of verdure. Later on in the day a belt of fleecy clouds hovers lovingly awhile about midway, until slowly ascending they melt away before the ardent breath of the noonday sun. The grandeur of Egmont is greatly enhanced by its being a solitary mountain standing alone in the vast plain which constitutes the better part of the district. Its graceful rounded form is strictly and symmetrically pyramidal from base to summit, and it is over 8,000 feet in height, The isolated position of the mountain adds enormously to the impression of great height— a distinctive feature often quite absent from the confused assemblage of lofty peaks which crowd the vast wilderness of mountains in the South Island.

Although the coast of Taranaki had probably been sighted by earlier navigators than Tasman, it is that Dutch captain who first makes a record of having seen Mount Egmont. It was on December 27th, 1642, when off the west coast of " Neu Zeeland," that Captain Abel Janszen Tasman refers in his log to having seen a " lofty snowclad mountain." Captain James Cook was the next who referred to this portion of New Zealand. Having visited Tahiti in 1769 to take observations during the passage of the planet Venus across the sun's disc, he afterwards sailed in the direction of New Zealand, and on Friday, October 6th, sighted land, anchoring in the Bay of Tauranga two days afterwards. In the beginning of the following year (1770)

the peak, but the peak itself was wholly concealed by the clouds. We judged it to bear about S.S.E. There were also some very remarkable peaked islands (the Sugar Loaves), which lay under the shore, and boreE.SJE., distant three or four leagues. At seven in the evening we sounded and had 42 fathoms, being distant from the shore about two or three leagues. We judged the peak to bear cast, and after dark saw fires upon the shore. At five o'clock on the morning of Saturday, January 13th, we for a few minutes saw the peak towering above the clouds, and covered with snow. It bore N.E., and lies in latitude 39 deg. 16 mm. S., longitude 185 deg. 15 mm. W., and I named it Mount Egmont, in honor of the Earl. It seems to have a large base, and rises with a gradual

all of whom were very quiet and civil."" With regard to the native race who came to this part of New Zealand, tradition states that the first canoe that reached these shores was named Mata— houra, and was commanded by a chief named Hiipe, who took possession of the country by namingall the mountains and rivers from Wanganui to Patea. The next canoe that arrived was called Aotea, and was commanded by the chief Turi, who gave names to all the rivers and mountains from Patea to Aotea. It is not known for certain what he called the mountain, but it has been called Pukehaupapa as well as Taranaki. The former word signifies an ice-clad hill. The ancestors of the Ngatiawa tribe are said to have come to New Zealand in a canoe called Tokomaru, commanded by

the chief Manaia, who, having murdered & number of men who had been working for him at Hawaii, one of the Sandwich Islands, felt it iocumbent on him to leave the island and seek some other place whore Tetribiitive justice would not overtake him. JManaia with his followers, in twenty canoes, made for the land first in the vicinity of the Bay of Islands, but he afterwards rounded the Cape, and worked his way with his followers along the west coast, eventually entering the Waitara river, where he and those with him tot k up their abode. The district, however, was at the time occupied by some natives culled Ngatimokotorea. They were not a warlike race, and therefore Manaia and his people soon cleared the district of them, those not killed making their way southwards. Mahoetahi, then called Ngapuketurua, situated on +he banks of the Waiongona river, was the most ancient settlement of the Ngdtiawa tribe, the apot being chosen because the hills afforded facilities for the creation of a number of fortified villages. As the Ngatiawa tribe increased in numbers, the young men, hearing of the exploits of their forefathers, were not satisfied to remain at home, so many of them migrated, some locating themselves in the Bay of Plenty, along the East Coast near the Thames river, and ultimately to the North Cape. Others took up their abode at places on both sides of Cook Strait, the natives previously there being driven away by these restless, marauding, and power) ul tribes of natives. The date of the Ngatiawas coining to Ise\v Zealand will never be known, but it must have been two or three hundred years before the Europeans began to visit this country, and several generations have passed away for the tribes to have increased in numbers as they had. In 1822, Ilongi, the first great Ngapuhi chief, having procured firearms, commenced his raid on the natives in the south. Tamati Waka Nene, his chief fighting man, it is said, came as far as Tamnaki, and on his way drove Rauparaha from Kawbia, that chief seeking refuge and taking up his position in the Wellington district. About 1830 this cliief induced some of the best warriors of the Ngatiuwas to join him in his raid on the natives living at the north of the Middle Island, ft was during this time that the Waikatos. headed by Te Wherowhero, came down and attacked Puke*"rangiora, on the banks of the Waitara river. Early in the summer of 1831, a canoe, with a party of Waikato natives, visited Ngamotu, professedly to procure a cargo of dried shark — which in those days was a great Maori delicacy. The strangers excused themselves by saying that the fish in question were scarce in their district. The party weie received in a friendly manner, their canoe, which was damaged, repaired, and the visitors sent back in peace, with a great quantity of fish. These men were spie«, and during their stay in the Ngatiawa village ascertained the strength of the hapu, and how they could be best conquered. In December — about a month after the visit — a taua (war) party, consisting of about four thousand Waikatos, came into the district, and the chief divided his men into sections round about Waitara. At first a few Ngatiawas were seized at Tikorangi, and these were sacrificed to the god of war and Wiro, the evil spirit. Then an unsuspecting party of twenty-five natives, returning from a distant village, were taken, slain, and devoured. The Ngatiawas were frightened, and made for their stronghold at Pukerangiora with such haste that they failed to store it with provisions for any lengthened siege. There were two or three white men living with the NgAtiawas at the time, and they, by their advice and skiil with firearms, gave confidence to the besieged. The enemy destroyed all the sacred places of the Ngatiawas, and in large numbers attacked the pah. For twelve successive days the enemy made repeated assaults, bat were as constantly repulsed, aud they lost in those attacks thirty-six men. Famine and exhaustion had reduced the little garrison to a state of: despondency, and in a panic they attempted to evacuate the pah during daylight. The scene that ensued was of the most horrible Tho enemy took advantage of the half famished wretches' position to commit the most frightful atrocities, and in their despair, mothers) threw their children over tho preoipic? to be dashed to pieces, and they themselves leaped into tho river in order to avoid a more dreadful fate at the hands of their sanguinary foe. A fearful slaughter ensued, Te Wherowhero killing fifty of the best tattooed men himself. Children and youths were roasted alive, and were afterwards eaten by the cannibals ; and so greedily did some of them feast that it is reported they died from the effects of their gluttony. Altogether five hundred perished, and with the exception of a few who escaped, the remainder were carried away into slavery. The Waikatoß next proceeded to the Sugar Loaves with the intention of attacking the Ngamotu (Moturoa) pah, the garrison of which consisted of eleven Europeans and 350 natives belonging to the Ngatiawa tribe. The pah was fortified with four small cannons, one of which is to be seen in tho Recreation Grounds. The

enemy were somewhat intimidated at thie, as well as from the fact that they knew the white men cou d make better use of : firearms than they could. However, at the break of day, on a morning in February, 1832, the enemy made an advance, going ( in disorderly manner along the beach, and i the besieged at once made every preparation for an attack. Provisions at hand were at once taken into the pah, the walls of the whares were made more secure with earth or sods, and the guns put into position. They had no ball or shot, so small pieces of iron and Btones were used to charge the cannons with. The enemy halted some distance from the pah, and made signal for a pirley. Then one of the Waikato chiefs advanced and met one of similar rank from the pah. A korero ensued, when the Waikato chief was asked what the Ngatiawas had done to provoke the anger of Te Wherowhero. No answer was given to this question: the wily chief suggesting that his people should be allowed to enter the pah " just to embrace as friends." This, of course, could not be agreed to; so within an hor the Waikato natives were dancing a war-dance in front of the pah, though out of range of the cannons; and after firing a volley from their guns, charged the pallisading, but were repulsed with great loss. The siege lasted three weeks, during which time there were several skirmishes between the two parties, and the Waikato chief on more than one ocoasion treacherously proffered expressions of the purest affection, and advised the besieged to surrender, promis ing if they did so, to withdraw his people immediately. It was with difficulty that the white men and some of the Ngatiawa chiefs could persuade the natives in the pah that these offers of friendship were only acts of treachery; and quarrelling ensued. One man, the son of a chief, threw himself into a fire in a fit of vexation; and two sisters quarrelled over the matter. The one who had confidence in the enemy I ran out of the pah to prove she was right in her belief, but was instantly seized and cut to pieces within sight of her friends, and her flesh thrown into the streamlet from which the besieged got their drinking water, tapuing it, so that they slioi.l 1 be prevented from using it. Then an assault was made, and bravely resisted ; then a sap commenced, but this was frustrated. Firebrands weic thrown into the pah, but owing to tho vigilance of the people no damage was sustained by them. One morning at about dawn an assault was made by the whole force of the enemy, when the besieged were taken by surprise — for before they were well awake a party, with a terrific yell, cut the fences, ami had entered the pih. The white men had somehow expected the attack, anil had kept an anxious watch, so they were prepared for any emergency, aud this brave little band, fighting with the energy of despair, managed successfully to cutoff the retreat of those natives who had entered the pah. The three cannons were fired with celerity and precision, the missiles telling with effect, inflicting hor rible wounds in tho bodies of their assailants. The enemy charged again and again, until at last a panic seized the ; Waikato natives, who retreated, an attempt being made to take the dead chiefs, but leaving the wounded ones on the ground. The beach and all around the pah presented a horrible spectacle, for over three hundred and fifty mutilated bodies lay scattered about. On the enemy retreating, the Ngatiawa rushed out of tho pah to wreak vengeance on the wounded. Some were burnt alive, and others tortured. The dead which had been buiied were exhumed and eaten, whilst the .dogs fed on human entrails, which were scattered about the beach. The Ngatiawas lost thirteen chiefs in this fight, who were buried with barbaric honors. This all occurred in 1832 — just fifty-nine years ago. Although there are records and information to be obtained respecting the northern part of New Zealand from the beginning of the present century, very little is known of the southern portion of the North Island previous to 1825, when whaling stations began to be established on tho south west coast, and in the Middle Island. Kapiti was a great rendezvous for whalers, and a rough kind of European settlement was formod there. Moturoa was another place, and it was here that Dicky Barrett, as he was familiarly called, lived, and had his whaling establishment. The natives traded with Europeans who visited Taranaki, scraped flux being one of the chief articles which they bartered for powder, shot, and blankets. Amongst the many vessels that trailed on this coast at that time was the barque Harriett, of which " Jack" Guard was the master. He first visited New Zealand about 1825, and soon became well known to many of the Maoris. Captain Guard, wh Ist coining from Port \ Nicholson (Wellington) to whale off the coast of Taranaki, got stranded on the beach about thirty-one miles south of New Plymouth on April 29th, 1834. There were on board the vessel Cap am and Mrs Guard and her two children and a crew of 28 men. They all got safely on shore, and from the sails of the vessel made tents to live in. After a while the natives living at

Te Narnu came to where the wrecked party were. They showed far from a friendly attitude, and wanted Guard to surrender his firearms and ammunition. This he refused to do, and after further parleying, the natives, on May 10, 1834, made an attack on the party. Many of the Maoris were shot down at the first encounter; but the others commenced to dig pits for shelter, and by trenching worked their way to where Guard's party had fortified themselves, and eventually the natives stormed the place. A terrific encounter ensued, the shipwrecked men fighting for their lives against an overwhelming number of natives, who, though not in possession of firearms, were not long in killing or wounding eleven of the party. Guard and eleven others managed to escape, but Mrs Guard was struck on the head and was left behind as dead. She remained insensible for a short time, but, reviving, saw the Maoris kili all the wounded mn. She and hor | children were taken prisoners and sent up to the pah. Guard then made his way to Sydney, and representing to the authorities there what had taken place, stating that the natives had his wife and j childr. n prisoners, Governor Bourke sent . H.M.S. Alligator, with a detachment of the 50th Regiment, to New Zealand to rescue the captives. This was successfully accomplished, but not without bloodshed, and it was the first actual encounter British soldiers and sailors had with the natives in New Zealand. EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE DISTRICT. Although at the Bay of Islands and other places in the North settlements of white people had been formed, it was not till 1839 that any attention was directed to this part of the colony. About that time New Zealand began to attract considerable attention in Great Britain and France, as presenting one of the finest fields in the | world for the formation of a colony. The Press took the matter up, and pressure was brought upon the British Government to annex New Zealand, in order that France might not get possession of the islands. A number of persons also formed themselves into a company, and having secured sufficient capital toinakethe necessary arrangement?, despatched a vessel to explore the colon}' and fix upon places for settlements to which British emigrants could be sent. On tho 12th May, 1839, about sixty years after Captain Cook had discovered New Zealand, the Tory, a vessel of 400 tons burden, having on board the pioneers of an exploring expedition, in charge of Colonel Wakefield, set sail from Plymouth for some unknown land in the Southern Hemisphere. The Tory sighted New Zealand on August lfith, 1839, nuking the land a little to the south of Cape Farewell, and finally anchored in Ship Cove, where the party remained making enquiries respecting the country till August 30th, when Colonel Wakelield made another start, going as far as Terawiti. Here some of the party landed and explored the country, when, having fixed on what was considered a suitable site for a settlement, at daybreak on September 20th the captain Jof the Tory was instructed to weigh ; anchor, and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon the vessel entered Port Nicholson. The new arrivals were charmed with the beauty of the scenery, and well they might be, for it would have been difficult to find a more romantic spot than that tine harbor was in those days, when the virgin forest was untouched. The natives then dwelt in pahs and navigated their picturesque canoes close to where the Parliament of New Zealand now sits and annually votes away millions of money. As we are only referring in our present article to Taranaki, it is unnecessary for us to dwell at great length on the progress of that part of the colony. It was in January, 1840, that a second colonising association was formed, under the title of " The Plymouth Company of New Zealand." This Society was under distinguished patronage, the Earl of Devon being governor, and gentlemen of high standing forming the directorate. It was connected partly with the New Zealand Colonisation Company, from which it was to make purchases of land, to be re-sold to capitalists, or to be leased to farmers who might be disposed to emigrate ; and Colonel Wakefield had accordingly been instructed to select suitable sites for the swarms of emigrants who about that time had left England or were preparing to take their departure for New Zealand. By the advice of Dicky Barrett, who was one of the first Colonel Wakefield, on his arrival in the colony, had made friends with, | the exploring ship Tory, on November 27, 1839, paid a visit to Taranaki. Richard Barrett had for years previously lived and whaled at Moturoa, close to where the harbour is now built. He thus possessed considerable knowledge of the district and its natural advantages as regards its fertile soil and salubrity of climate. Several of the exploring party lauded from the Tory, Dr Dieffenbach being amongst tho number, and he was the first white man to ascend Mount Egmont. The whole district of Taranaki was purchased on February 15th, 1840, when ; seventy-two Maoris signed the deed. Mr

F. A. Carrington, the Chief Surveyor |of the Plymouth Company, was sent round from Wellington in the brig Brougham to examine and report on the suitability o£ this site for settlement. A3 Mr Carrington's decision was favorable, and confirmed the provisional selection of the site already made, the surveys were at once commenced, although many of the natives protested against their being proceeded with, some, putting their arms around the trees and declaring they should not be cut down. Parties of natives, it is recorded, danced tho " war dance," and more than once some of them brought down their tomahawks in dangerous proximity to tho surveyors' heads. Mr F. A. Carrington's life was several times in danger, but ho proceeded with his difficult survey with great courage and good humour, assuring the troublesome natives that if they would have patience they should have ample j compensation for their lands, together with other good things, on the arrival of the " immigrants from England. Mr Carrington went to the Waitara, further north, but finding the depth of water was too ' slight to be of use for large ocean-going . vessels to enter the river, fixed upon the present site for the chief town of the district, although it had the disadvantage of an open roadstead. The first ship that left England for Taranaki was the William Bryan, which, after maav delays, sailed on the afternoon of November 19"th, 1840. There were 148 passengers, the steerage containing 141 " selected immigrante" (including 70 children) , who were sent out at the expense of the Company, the cabin containing the leaders of this embryo colony, amounting Jto seven in all. Their names were : — Mr George Cutfield, a naval architect, the Company's advance agent ; Dr Henry Weekes, the Company's surgeon ; Mr Richard Chilman, the Company's secretary, and Mrs Chilman ; Mr Thomas King, of London ; Mr Frederick Aubrey and Mr Alexander Aubrey, sons of Colonel Aubrey, of the Horse Guards. OE these, Mr Thomas King is still a resident of! New Plymouth. Dr Weekes is still alive, but is settled elsewhere ; the rest are dead. The following are the names of the other passengers by the William Bryan as far as we have been able to collect them : John French, T. Climo, H. Faull, J. Lye, J. Crocker, W. Harris, Peter Hoskin, William Cowling, Samuel Revel!, W. Henwood, R. Putt, 11. Gilbert, J. Shaw, — Daw, — Tucker, John Pearn, Sam Curtis, S. Fishleigh, Paul Inch, William Edgecombe,John James, J. and E.Nairn, E. Sarten, Alex. Ross, J. Jury, J. Pepperell. Most of these were married, and hud their families with them. Captain Henry King, R.N., the Chief Commissioner of the New Plymouth Company, with another party consisting of 187 emigrants, left Plymouth on March 25th, 1841, in the second ship, the Amelia Thompson, the other cabin passengers being Mrs King and her son Master Willie, Mr and Mrs Edwin Brown, Mr and Mrs Webster and three children, Miss Baker, Mr Wallace and son, Mr and Mrs C. Merchant, Messrs C. Brown, jun., W. Halse, H. Halse, Ibbotfron, Goodall, John Lewthwaite, G. St. George, Dr Evans, the ship surgeon, Captain Cooke, Captain Davy and son. The following were the other passengers by the Amelia Thompson :— J. Veale, sen., wife, three daughters, and son (T. Veale); T. Oxenham, wife and family; R. Rundle, wife and family; J. Medland and wife ; J. Newland, wife and family; w . Billing, wife and family: James Oliver, wife and family; G Giddy, wife and family; J. Perry, wife and family; J. T. Shaw, wife and family; T. Bayly, wife and family; W. Bayly, wife and family; J. Bayly, wife and family ; P. Elliot, wife and family; James Pearce, wife and family ; Arthur Hoskin, wife and family; Josias Eoskin and wife; J. Roberts, wife and family; H. Hunt, wife and family; W. Paynter, wife and family; R. Sec-combe, wife and family; R. Wood, wife and child; Mathew Jonas, wife and family; S. Matthew* and wife; C. Hamblyn, wife and family; W. Wallace, wife and family (went to Wellington afterwards); W. Bassett, Samuel Oliver; W. Lakeman and wife (went to Australia during the war); Shackson (wife died on board), and Dalby; J. Watson, Ist officer; W. Black, steward. Prior 111 1 the departure of the ships from the English chores, farewell dinners were given at Plymouth in honor of the occasion — the one to the emigrants by the William Bryan taking place on October 30th, 1840; and to the latter (the Amelia Thompson) on March 19th, 1841. The William Bryan arrived at Port Underwood on Saturday, March 20, 1840, and after remaining a week there, weighed anchor and sailed for Taranaki on Sunday,. March 28th. On the following Tuesday afternoon the Sugar Loaves were sighted, and the vessel in tho evening waa brought to an anchor to the eastward of the outer islani, and about a mile and a-half from the shore. On tho following morning the passengers were landed, as well as all the live stock that had been brought from England for propagation in the new country. Tents were erected for the immi-

grants on tho beach, but several whares, which had been erected for Barrett's family, were given over to the new comers. The weather was fine, as it usually is at that time of the year, and therefore the vessel was cleared of her cargo by Tuesday, April 6th, when she left for Port Hardy to take in ballast. Mr Outfield, who was in charge of the expedition, must have had a very trying time of it for some months after ho had landed with his party of immigrants, more than half of whom consisted of women and children. He landed them in a strange place, without house or habitation ready for their reception, and people 1 only by a savage race. No one can describe t u e desolate feeling that came over the women portion of the immigrants after leaving the ship. Huddled up altogether in the raupo whares belonging to Barrett, the old whaler, or in tents erected by the men — "rough," as Mr Cutfield remarks in his letter to the directors of the Company, " but better than being out of doors," was the way the " pilgrim fathers," with their families, passed the first night in this new and strange land. The weather was fine at the time, and mild; but the life was so strange, so different to what they had been used in England, or even on board the vessel they had only a few hours left, that many tears were shed, and expressions to the effect that death would be a happy release from their troubles were uttered. Daylight was welcomed by the whole party, and having much to do— the men assisting to unload the ship, and the women in looking around them in .mlc- to make themselves and children more comfortable for the night — the next day passed; and so days and weeks went on, till at last these people became accustomed to their new life and its associations. The country was covered with vegetation — fern and scrub — which extended down

to the beach. There were patches of bush, but it was not heavy, and here and there were to be seen " clearings" that had been made by the natives for cultivation. The site of the township had been fixed at a spot about two miles to the east of the Sugar Loaves, between the Huatoki and Henui rivers, and consequently the whole of the stores and baggage had to be conveyed thither. Whilst the ship was being unloaded, some of the new settlers went to New Plymouth to look for a level site to squat on, for the survey of the land had only just been commenced. A high level spot was found to the west of Mount Eliot, known at the present day as Devonport, and there tents were erected and raupo whares built by the Maoris, who received about £18 for each one they erected. As soon as Mr Culßeld had landed all the stores and goods from tho ship and despatched her away, he set the carpenters to work to build a storehouse an. l a bridge across the Huatoki river. The former took the men three weeks to accomplish, owing to the time taken in conveying the timber from Moturoa to the Huatoki, which was done by rafting it there. The store was built on a spot about a hundred yards to the east of the river, the same site being now used by Messrs Sole Bros., butchers. A bridge was next built by the men, who had to carry all the tffuber used in its construction a distance of two miles. It crossed the stream, which was then about 80 feet wide, near tho spot where a small bridge is now to be seen leading from Brougham-street into Cunie-s 1 reet ; and when finished it was strong enough for a horse and well-loaded cart to pass over. By the 29th April, the bridge being finished and the storehouse up, a start was made to move the stores from Moturoa to the town. Great difficulty was experienced in doing this, owing to the small means at

Mr Cutfield's disposal, for all the conveyances tho party possessed were one timber dray, two hand-carts, and six wheelbarrows. They had neither bullocks, horses, nor other quadruped to draw their vehicles; consequently the traction had to be manual, and as they had to bring the things along tho beach, the narrow wheels cutting deeply into the sand made the work very laborious. The survey of the land was, in the meanwhile, being carried on by Mr F. A. Carrington, but owing to the luxuriant vegetation which covered the land, it was a very difficult task, and lines had to be cut through the high fern and scrub, which found employment for the newly-arrived immigrants as well as a large number of natives. The wages in those days were 7s a day for mechanics and 5s a day for laborers. In less than a couple of months a blacksmith had erected a forge and a carpenter his workshop, and one or two woo 'en houses were also built. The first one put up is still standing, and is to be seen at the bottom of Currie-street, near the Powderham-street bridge. It was erected by Mr Octavius Carrington, and was for somo time occupied by him. Rats were very numerous in those days, and the settlers had great difficulty in keeping their provisions from being devoured by these pebta. There were not many natives in the district when tho settlers first landed, but they began to assemble afterwards, and at times were very bounceable and impudent. So days, weeks, and months passed, and the pioneers worked from dawn to sundown in clearing the land so as to be able to cultivite it. Mr Outfield was the first to sow somo English garden seeds, which he placed in the ground near the store, and they came up and throve well. The survey of the town took a long time to complete, and this somewhat disheartened the settlers, for it

was :i great drawback to them not to be able to get on their own land.

In the meantime the barque Amelia Thompson, which had left Plymouth on March 25th, 1841, for Now Zeal. in 1, was on her way with the Chief: Commissioner of the settlement, Captain Henry King, R.N. This vessel made for Port Underwood, arriving there on August 2nd, and then went on to Port Nicholson in order that Captain King might Hee Colonel WakeQeld, as there was some dissatisfaction about the choice of the site of the settlement. Matters having been arranged the captain of the Amelia Thompson was ordered to sail for the New Plymouth settlement, arriving there on September 3rd. As the Amelia Thompson was not large enough to take in all the cargo for New Plymouth, the schooner Regina, 174 tons, Captain Browse, was chartered to bring out what had been left, and she left Plymouth in April for New Zealand, arriving at Port Nicholson on August 31st, where she remained about a month, and then left for New Plymouth. She reached the roadstead on October 3rd, and anchored oft' the town. On November sth, about 2.30 a.m.. the cable of the Regina parted, and she drifted from hei anchorage opposite the town, on to what is known as the Long Reef. An attempt was made to float the schooner off by means of casks, but it proved a failure. On Monday, November 15th, a south-east gale sprang up, when the stern post of the vessel parted, and she was hove broadside on to the rocks, and the larboard aide of her bottom was entirely beaten in. About a week after the Regina had gone on the rocks, the third vessel with immigrants arrived. This was the ship Oriental, 506 tons, Captain Wilson,from Plymouth, on June 22nd. She had seventeen cabin pas-

sengers, and seventy-four in the steerage. Amongst the passengers by this vessel was Mr Charles Brown, sen. He died after seven months' residence in New Plymouth, and was buried on the brow of Marsland Hill, adjoining the graveyard of St. Mary's Church. Major Charles Brown, his son, is alive, and is a resident in the home of his adoption. The immigrants by the Amelia Thompson and Oriental squatted down on land near the beach at the foot of Mount Eliot, living in tents and raupo houses built by the Maoris. They remained here for more than six months, for it was November 4th before the survey of the town was completed. A promise had been made to the heads of families who came by the William Bryan that they shoul.l have a town section given then); but this was never carried out, although, after much pressing, the Company accorded them the privilege of selecting sections at £5 a piece on a reserve called, on the map, St. Michael's Square, which was accepted by some of the poorer settlers, and the spot has ever since borne the name of Poverty Flat. The ship Oriental arrived on November 19th, 1841. She originally had seventeen cabin and seventy-four steerage passengers. Hearing nuch a had account of Taranaki, all but one (Mr Chas. Brown, sen.) of the cabin passengers remained at Wellington. Capt. Liardet, who had been appointed resident agent at New Plymouth, and Mr Watson, first officer of the Amelia Thompson, returned in the Oriental with the intention of settling in New Plymouth. These two gentlemen, a few days after landing, when trying to clear the \ent of a small cannon recovered fiom the Regina, met with an accident, owing to the powder they were using exploding in their faces. They Loth happily recovered their sight, but Captain Liardet shortly afterwards 1 ft the colony for Sydney.

Owing to the difficulty experienced in getting vessels to communicate with the place, through the dangers an open roadstead exposed them to, great dissatisfaction was expressed by the settlers, and it was proposed that a memorial should be sent to Colonel Wakefield, informing him of their apparently ruinous situation. It was proposed to state in the memorial that the New Zealand Company had failed to fulfil their agreement with the settlers, as they had placed them on a part of the island and on a coast where it was impossible for any vessel to anchor with safety. A meeting was accordingly held on January 21st, 1842, in a little chapel that had been built, when petitions were sent to Colonel Hobson, to Colonel Wakefield, and to the New Zealand Company in England — in all of which the settlers asked that something might be done to relieve them from the dilemma they had been placed in. This was the state of the New Plymouth settlement at the end of the first year of its formation. FIRST TEN YEARS' PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT. The new arrivals soon began to make themselves comfortable, and tho settlement in a short time presented a thriving look. Tho people were mostly from Devonshire and Cornwall, and though unsophisticated in their habits they formed the nucleus of a hard working and industriouscommunity. Their occupation was purely v. rural one; and early and late they were to be seen at work either fencing or digging, or with their plough turning up the iich soil that filled their hearts with gladness; and, with a genial atmosphere to live in, and on on both sides of them broad expanses extending to the sea shore from the slopes of: the imposing Mount Egmont, with

numerous streams and rivers intersecting the land, supplying the new comers with the purest of water, they were the happiest of mortals. Bright, indeed, seemed the prospects of the settlers after the first year's soj6urn in " The Garden of New Zealand;" and many at that time expressed themselves as being truly thankful that their " lines had fallen in pleasant places." No native " land question " disturbed them, and no thought of such existed in their minds, for " had not the country been conquered " and virtually depopulated by the great Te Wherowhero of Waikato, and had he not sold it {con amove for £530) to the Imperial Government, with all its rights and titles ? and had not the New Zealand Company also bought the country of Taranaki from Te Rauparaha ? Devonshire families and relatives had answered to the call of the first adventurers by ship loads of smiling fa^es, and prosperity seemed to be in store for the settlement early in its career. The fifth "essel to arrive was the barqut Timandra, which anchored in the roadsteac on February 24th, 1842. She brought 212 passengers, and the moorings for the roadsttud, consistin of two sets of anchors, chain, and buoys. Captain Skinner laid one set at about two miles from the shore; the other was landed on the beach. Mr J. T. Wicksteed was appointed Resident Agent for New Plymouth in May of the same year, and from his monthly reports, which ho furnished to Colonel Wakefield, much of the early history of this district has been obtained. Amongst those who came by the Timandra were Messrs I. Pellew, J. Flight, Devenish, and Denninghum. The first anniversary of the arrival of the Amelia Thompson (September 30th, 1842) was celebrated in a most festive manner. Ihe day was observed as a holiday, when foot races, boat races, and

wrestling matches took)" place. Int the evening the first ball in the settlernentjwas held in a small imported building, which stood underthe Kawau Pah, intended] for a hospital. The day's festivities "concluded with a grand display of fireworks. The following is a description of tho town about eighteen months after the! settlers had landed from tho William Bryan :—: — "On the banks of the Huatoki River several wooden and cob houses had been built, and a new bridge had replaced tho temporary one erected just after the passengeis had landed. A lock-up, it seems, was thought to be necessary, but tho cost, we are told, had not been paid tor by the Government. Two public-houses, four large wholesale and retail stores kept respectively by Captain Davy, Mr Dorset, Mr Baine, and Mr Richard Brown ; and about 120 raupo and cob huts formed the centre of the Town of New Plymouth. At Devonport there was quite a cluster of immigrants' houses. The Henui River bad been bridged, and several houses had been erected on its banks. A cutting on the east side of the river had been made and a road formed to the Waiwakaiho River, which was crossed by a ferry boat. For about six miles from the town clearings had been made and houses erected by those who hid started farming. Messn Flight and Devenish, Pierce, Paynter. Edgecombe, the Bayly Brothers, Goodall, and several others had made a good show, for they worked early and late. Southward of the town Captain King and Mr Cntfield had had cleared between them about seventy acres and built a substantial house which was thatched. Mr Chilman had partly cleared and fenced a fifty acre section; and Mr Distin had a house and clearing close to him. "Across the Wai wakaiho," Bays the writer we have been quoting from, " Captain Davy and myself

are clearing and putting in crops, and added to all these clearings we have nearly forty acres of garden ground this year, and have established a Horticultural Society." This was in September, 1842. About October of the same year a cutter and surf boat were built by Messrs Brooking, Crocker, and Shaw ; the former vessel was sold to a Wellington firm, and the latter used to lighter the barque Blenheim, which arrived on November 19th, having left Plymouth July Ist. She brought Mr Parris and family, Mr Smart and family, Mr aud Mrs Murch, Miss Chilman (now Mrs Thos. King), and Messri George Duncan, Holroyde, and Turner ; altogether there were 159 immigrants on board her, amongst them being Messrs Grorge Dust, P. Moon, R. Langman, R. Julian, T. Rusden, Richards, Holloway, nnd Parker, with their wives and families ; Shield and wife ; Tuffin, and Hurford ; and Miss Ledenham (now Mrs Charlton, of Waitara). During the year (1842) New Plymouth was visited by a plague of rats. They came from the North in swarms. They remained on the spot for some days, eating up everything in the settlers' houses. Attempts were made to catch the vermin in traps, but the few that were killed were insignificant in comparison to the swarms about the place. After about a week the rats migrated, and their course along the beach could be noticed for miles.

The barque Essex, being the last vessel despatched from Plymouth under the auspices of the Plymouth Company, arrived on January 23rd, 1843, and brought two more of Colonel Aubrey's sons, .and

114 immigrants, making close on nine hundred men, women and children who had. loft the Plymouth in Great Britain to found a New Plymouth in the " Britain of the South." In April, 1843, Messrs E. Brown and Goodall erected a suspension bridge over the Waiwakaiho River, utilising forjthe purpose the chain cables of the Fifeshire, which had been wrecked at Nelson. Owing, however, to the pukatea piles used in the structure decaying, it became a complete wreck in five years' time. On May 29th, 1843, the barque Thomas Sparks arrived from London, via Nelson, bringing Messrs John and Charles Hprsthouse, Mr John Smith, and thoir families, and other passengers. Owing to the beauty of the landscape and the fascinating atmosphere, the place continued to attract persons to the spot, and ■Mr Edward Jerninghara Wakefield (nephew of Colonel Wakefield) in narrating in his journal his visit to New Plymouth about the middle of 1843, writes — " After all the beautiful spots and districts which I had already seen in New Zealand , I was struck with the surpassing beauty and luxuriant productiveness of the country hereabout. Just after entering the wood, ■which is at first like an immense shrubbery with occasional large trees, the abundance of the crops in tho existing native gardens, the rankness, and yet softness, of the grass, which had sprung up in the old deserted patches, surrounded with flowering shrubs, amidst which singing birds were chasing each other, all combined with the genial weather, although it was approaching to the middle of tho winter, to remind me touchingly of Shakespeare's

sweet picture of the perfection of agriculture. . . . Tbe population of New Plymouth seemed a particularly happy set of people. As they are little troubled with politics, I saw very few of them in tho town, which is a dull place, except to look at. but on going to their little farms, a mile off in one direction, and two in another, I found them hard at work, delighted at the fertility of the soil, which they were turning over, with hardly a complaint to make, and spending homely English evenings round a huge farmhouse chimney ; rising early, and not long out of their beds after their tea and pipes." The huge farm chimney Mr Wakefield refers to is still to be seen in Mr Newton King's residence at Brooklands. Tho wages of the labouring men, which had in March been reduced to sixteen shillings a week, was the following June further reduced to eight shillings, and even at that rate a portion of the money had to be taken out in produce. The barque Himalaya arrived on December 23, 1843, bringing as settlers Captain Creagh and Mrs Creagh and five children, two sons of Captain Davy, Messrs Thatcher, Watt, Low, Crooke, and several steerage passengers.

As the settlement took root it attracted the native fugitives who had settled in the Wellington district, and as the Waikatos had commenced the liberation of their slaves, the aboriginal population began every year to increase in numbers. Then a disposition began to show itself on the part of the Maoris to dispute the white man's possession of the land ; but as it had been announced that a Commissioner from England was expected to visit New

Plymouth to examine into the titles, the natives remained tolerably quiet for a time. At the beginning of 1844, however, the relationship between the two races was beginning to assume a very serious aspect, and this hastened Mr Commissioner Spain's visit to Taranaki, where he at once investigated the natives' claims to the lani. The settlers asserteJ their rights to 70,000 acres, but Mr Spain only awarded them 60,000, and when it is considered that under the New Zealand Company's original regulations one tenth of the soil had been reserved for the natives, making, in this instance 6000 acres, to which the Commissioner added all the native pahs, gardens, and burial places, whilst their actual cultivations did not amount to 150 acres, the future native wants were most liberally provided for. The Maoris, however, were not satisfied, and they showed a marked determination to stop the progress of cultivation, by driving the Europeans into narrower limits. The settlers then appealed to Governor Fitzroy for protection, and His Excellency visited Taranaki to see how matters stood. He arrived at the beginning of August, 1844, and on August 3rd held a large meeting of settlers and natives on Mount Eliot. Here ho informed them that he would not confirm Commissioner Spain's award. Blinded by maudlin sentimentality for the "oppressed slaves," he came to his decision in a spirit that soon stripped the unfortunate settlers of their lands, and which virtually dispossessed the Company of the finest territory they had ever acquired. Governor Fitzroy re -purchased a patch of land of 3800 acres without any

timber, and forced all the settlers into that limited area. He abandoned the remaining 56,000 acres to the natives, and, as he says in his despatch, " left New Plymouth perfectly quiet." True, it was quiet, for it was the quiet of death. The settlement was thus for a time crushed. A dangerous precedent was also established, which was likely to invalidate all past land sales; and a further proof afforded of that " truckling to savages" which ended in a long and tedious war between the two races.

A settlement thus compressed could but languish, and nothing saved it from being abandoned but the natural advantages which the place possessed. The Fitzroy Block was bounded by the Waiwakaiho river to the east, and to the west by a line running direct towards the south from Paritutu to Hokoari, or little beyond where Vogeltown now is; then easterly at the back of Mr Newton King's estate at Brooklands to where the Henui river crosses the Junction Road, and thenontotne Waiwakaiho river to the sea. Roughly described, the above is about the dimensions of the block which Governor Fitzroy bought, but many of the settlers who had taken up land at Mangaoraka were permitted to remain on it at the sufferance of the Puketapu hapu, but were eventually driven into the Fitzroy Block. In February, 1845, an excellent wheat crop was taken off the land at Brooklands, which yielded sixty bushels to the acre. Things, however, were dull, and money was very scarce. About this time a meeting of employers of labour was held, when it was agreed to pay farm labourers twe've shillings a week, partly in cash and partly in wheat, at six shillings a bushc '.

The colony under Captain Fitzroy's Governorship had drifted into a state of hostilities. Disturbances were taking place at the Bay of Islands, Wellington, and Wanganui during the two years that followed the events we have related, when, greatly to the relief, not to say joy, of the settlers, they learnt that Captain Fitzroy was recalled, and Captain George Grey, then Governor of South Australia, was appointed to take his place. By treating the natives with a judicious mixture of rigor and diplomacy, peace was restored with the natives in other parts of the colony. - In December, 1846, the police took a census of tho district, which showed the following result: — Population. — Males, 586 ; females, 502; total, 1,088 persons. Lmid in cultivation. — Wheat, 838£ acres; barley, 132 J- acres; maize, 1 acre; grass, 153 acres; flax, £ acre; fallow, 122^- acres; total, 1,515^ acres.

Live, Stock. — Horses, 22 ; mules, 2 ; horned cattle, 3(33; sheep, 571; pigs, 702; goats, 96: total, 1,696. Constabulary barracks were built in Courtenay-street, ancj Mr Donald McLean was appointed Inspector of Armed Police by the Governor. His force consisted of a sergeant, 13 European and 3 native policemen. Mr Ryan and family arrived in November, 1846, from Sydney, bringing a quantity of goods, with the intention of opening a store. On February 23rd, 1847, Mr Richard Barrett died at Moturoa.

The first steamship that visited New Plymouth was H.M.S. Inflexible, which arrived in the roadstead at 9 a.m. on

February 26th, 1847, having on board Sir George Grey, Colonel Wakelleld, Chief Te Ptini, and other natives from \A el ling ton. The object of the Governor's visit was for the purpose of trying by conciliatory measures to procure more land for the Europeans. After a great deal of diplomacy Sir George Grey succeeded in purcbasingfrom the natives about 10,000 acres of land surrounding the Fitzroy block, and 4,000 acres at Tataraimaka ; this was folKiwe 1 by the acquiring of the Omata block of 12,000 acres. After much difficulty, Mr (now Sir) F. Dillon Bell, who replaced Mr Wicksteed as the New Zealand Company's agent, purchased from the natives 2000 acres in tho heart of tho Mangaoraka district, and 1500 at the Hua, which bears to this day the name of "Bell Block."

In accordance with a promise made by Colonel Wakefield, thirty-four acres of land were allotted out of section 13, Omata Block, to the following old whalers :—: — John Wright, 10 acres ; Simon Crawley, 14 acres; William Bundy, 4 acres; Robert Sinclair, 4 acres ; James Bosworth, 4 acres ; and James Robinson, 4 acres. In November, 1847, Dr Wilson and Mr Hulke came from Wanganui, the latter having purchased the Union flour mill in Queenstreet. Mr Devenish also brought a number of cattle from Wellington, which he disposed of at high prices. Tho bullocks sold from £26 10s to £36 10s per pair, and the heifers from £10 10a to £17 10s each.

The Ngatiawa tribe, who had been residing at Waikanao since they had been driven from Taranaki by the Waikatos in 1832, took it into their heads to return to the Waitara, and in April, 1848, com-

menced to remove their belongings. There were 273 males, 195 females, and 119 children conveyed to the Waitara in boats, and twenty men and one woman travelled overland on horseback with their live stock. This migration caused considerable alarm, and the Government seriously thought of stopping the natives from going to Waitara, but Wellington influence was brought to bear on Sir George Grey, who, on getting the chief Wi Kingi to promise to settle on the east bank of the Waitara River, allowed them to move.

Mr Charles Hursthousa gives the following brief description of the settlement in a book published by him in 1849 :—: — •'The township contains a granite built church, handsomely fitted up ; another in rustic style at Te Henui ; a Wosleyan and Primitive Methodist Chapel, two taverns, a gaol, and police barracks ; and an elegant tnougli costly native hospital in course of erection. On the different streams running through the town there are three flour mills, two small breweries, and a tannery. At Moturoa there are two whaling establishments. A Court of Requests is held every month for recovery of debts as high as £20 between Europeans and £100 between natives and Europeans."

The Government officers were as follows : — Resident Magistrate and SubTreasurer, Commander flonry King, RN,; Sub-Collector of Customs, Harbourmaster, and Postmaster, James Webster, J.P.; Magistrate's Clerk, Thomas Standish ; Government Auctioneer, John Hursthouee; Acting Pilot and Beachmaster, John Watson; Gaoler, John Newland; Coxswain, Richard Cook; Resident Agent for tho

New Zealand Company's Establishment, William Halse, J.P. : Clerk, John Rogan. Magistracy: Captain King, George Cutheld, William Halse, John George Cooke, Jolm Tylston Wickateed, Jamea Webster, Donald McLean, Josiah Flight. Clergy: Re%\ 11. Govett. 8.A., Church of England; Rev. H. H. Turton, Wesleyan; Rev. R. Ward, Primitive Methodist. Professions— Medical, Dr. Wilson, Dr. G. St. George, Dr. R. Sherrif Low; Solicitors, William Turner, and Thomas Standish; Surveyors, Wellington Carrington, Edwin Harris, Charles and Edwin Davy. Mr Copps, who had been sent north on an exploring expedition, returned

about this time, and reported that sixteen miles up the Mokau River he had found two large veins of coal below the rapid, and another above it; also about forty miles up the river limestone was in abundance. The European population was estimated in 1849 at 1137, and natives at 729. The land in cultivation was 2103 acres ; and live stock consisted of 726 cattle, 48 horses, 898 sheep, over 1000 pigs, and 177 goats. The retail prices of some of the chief articles of food were:— Flour, l£d per lb; bread, 6d to 7d for 41b loaf; wheat, 4s to 5s per bushel; potatoes, 2s to 2s 6.1 per

cwt; mutton, 6d per lb; pork, by joint, 3d per lb; butter, Is per lb; eggs, 9d per dozen; cheese, la per lb; tea, 3s per lb; sugar, 4d to 6d per lb. The landing of goods from vessels cost from 5s to Gs per ton ; passage in a schooner for Manukau or Wellington, £2 to £3 ; freight to same places, £1 10s per ton. Agricultural labourers, 2s 6d per day ; mechanics, 5s per day. Beef was a scarce article for many years, and up to 1850 the butcher only killed nn ox at Christmas time, the settlers being content the rest of tho year with pork and mutton. The former, however, was the chief diet, and consisted of grizzly pig fed on fern roots.

The season of 1850 was a wet one, but the settlers who hud taken up land at Mangaorakn and Omata were by no means idle, all being actively engaged in clearing the bush, and getting it ready for their crops. HOW THE SETTLERS WERE INITIATED INTO POLITICS. The Maoris found that as the white people became more numerous feo did mortality increase amongst themse yes ; and this mortality they attributed to the work of evil spirits. Thon followed exorcisms, and the exorcists, who were supposed to possess the power of charming or

I driving away spirits, began to increase in number. Incantations were always being performed in old cemeteries, pnd pits wore dug in all sorts of places for the purpose of discovering the sources of the evil. This operation gained from the settlers the facetious term oE " devil digging." i Not only were the Maoris opposed to the ' pakeha, oung to a belief that they had brought the evil spirits to this country, but they also discovered thot the white man was lively to become independent of , them, or superior to the Maori in social position. The Waikalos, as fighting men, , had proved themselves more powerful

than the Ngatiawas, but now tho natives had been liberated from their slavery, and the fugitives bud come out from their hiding places, they found tho land rhev once owned was occupied by a, lot of peaceable West of England farmers, who knew nothing of fighting, and, therefore, were to be 'ooked down upon as inferior beings. Tho savage is a warrior by nature, and all peaceful avocations he, as (i rule, looks down on with supreme contempt. They could not put their opinions in writing, but in their grotesque carvings they satirise the object of their aversion. Accordingly, when tho Government opened Bell Block to settlers, Katatorc

opposed it, and had a pole carved, which he erected at the Waiwakaiho as a } standing protest agaiust the act, and I declared that the spot where the pole was placed should be the boundary of the pakeha's laud. This pole was there till within a few years ago, when if was I lowered, and we learn has been used by some pakeha vandal for firewood. This j polo was an exquisite piece of rough i Maori carving. Below, squat upon his I buttovks, with protruding tongue, was ;i Maori, tho image of scorn and deri>ion ; above was a figure representing the placid j pakeha, seemingly a at object to be kicked j out of the country ; or, if suffered to i

ri'imin. fit only to become the taurclarclca (slave) of the lordly Maoii. New Plymouth was very dull in those days, and money very short, and little in circulation. There' were a few small stores in the town, where the settlers bartered their farm produce for clothing and groceries. If Farmer Joe wanted <=omo seed whoat, he borrowed it from Farmer Harry, and paid for it in labor or in kind at harvest time. As business could not be entirely conducted in this way, some of the storekeepers issued promissory notes of a shilling each, payable in cash in Wellington or Au< kland. A

schooner from those places wouid occasionally arrive and bring supplies and take produce away; and so things continued till 1851. when" fresh settlers under the auspices of the New Zealand Company began to arrive. Most of them brought money, ami by employing labor for a time and paying cash, the pioneer settlers began to improve their condition. The discovery of gold in the Australian Colonies also caused a demand for farm produce, which tended to brighten up the business of tho place. Although in Auckland and Wellington considerable bitter feeling existed against the Government, which consisted of

nominee officials — New Zealand being a Crown Colony— in ]S T ew Plymouth, the ; people being engaged in their agricultural ' pursuit!?, with their little social affairs to : attend to, scarcely heeded the fierce fight 1 for liberty that was going on elsewhere. All the other settlements had newspapers, even Otago and Canterbury, which were | only started into existence in 1848 and 1850; and yet New Plymouth was without one. Settlers had often expressed a wish to have a newspaper, in which to ventilate i their grievances, but although there were | printers in the place, and gentlemen who ! could write fluently, the want of a printing ! piunt was the obstacle that stood in the

w.iv of the production of a newspaper. Mr U "W Woon, son of the late Rev. Mr Woon, who I ad been with the late Mr John Williamson, in the New Zealander office, A uckland. procured a small demy " Albion press and some type in that town, and brought it to New Plymouth, when, in conjunction with Mr W. Collins, now of ! Canterbury, he issued the first number ' of tho Taranaki Herald on (Wednesday, Au«'nst 4th, 1852. It was issued weekly on Wednesdays for many years, but on January Oth, 1856, the day of publication was changed to Saturday. It consisted of four pages about the eize of The Budget,

with a supplement occasionally. The first editors were Mr J. T. Wicksteed and Mr W. M. Crompton, but afterwards Mr Richard Pheney occupied the editorial chair for a considerable time. Mr Woon became sole proprietor on February Ist, 1854, and Mr Richard Brown became the editor. Tho late Mr W. Halse was also editor of the paper for some time. After tho defeat of Mr C. Brown as Superintendent in 1857, his friends started the News the late Mr R. Pheney taking the editorship. The Tabanaki Herald first saw the light in an old shed at the back of where the Bank of New South Wales now standß, at the corner of Devon and Curne

streets. The office was afterwards removed to a building on the site of where Mr John Gilmour's shop now stands. Mr Woon, in 18G5, took Mr A. S. Atkinson (brother of the late Premier, and now of Messrs Fell and Atkinson, solicitors, Nelson) as partner, and who also acted as editor. During the war, after an engagement with the Maoris, there was always a great rush for copies of the paper, and as it had to be printed off on a hand press, the supply was slow, which greatly taxed the patience of the military and civilians, who were anxious to see a detailed account of the fight and the names of the killed and wounded. For a whole day et a time would the " little Albion" be kept going ; and as the outer side of the sheet had to be printed before the news part was put on the press to back it, great was the displeasure of the crowd who besieged the office, and could hear the press at work, at not being able to get a copy, not understanding why they were kept waiting. Sixpence per copy was the price for the four pages, a sum not begrudged in those days for the record of the stirring events which were weekly given in the " Journal of Events " kept by Mr G. W. Woon, who, as one of the Rifle Volunteers, and being well acquainted with the natives, was in a position to keep a correct account of what was going on. Towards the end of 1867 Mr Woon sold the property to the present proprietor, Mr Henry Weston, and in 1868 Mr W. H. J. Seffern came from Auckland to edit the paper. From the first day the Taranaki Herald appeared until the. present time it has never ceased publication; although on one occasion (May 12, 1860) during the war Colonel Gold sent a file of soldiers to the office and confiscated all the copies printed, which had some obnoxious paragraph in it. The paragraph was lifted out, and the paper was issued with a blank space in its

Mr Henry Scotland does not appear to have been asked, but rushes into the political fray announcing that "far from desiring, as some supposed, to reduce the Government expenditure in this settlement, I would with pleasure see it raised to double its present amount." Mr Charles Brown gives r.s his reason for allowing himself to be nominated for the Town District, " that a non-resident has been brought forward as a candidate, and feeling that your interests could not be properly represented by a comparative stranger, I have acceded" to the wishes of my friends and supporters." The nonresident did not put in an appearance, so Mr C. Brown was returned for the Town of New Plymouth without opposition. The first electoral roll was published on August 11th, 1852, and the lists show that there were 105 voters in the Town of New Plymouth, and 175 in the Taranaki country districts.

August 30th was the nomination day, when, hustings having been erected adjoining the Police Court, which was then on the site where Messrs Sole Brothers' butchers' shop now stands, a large number of people assembled to hear the speeches of the candidates. Mr Hulke proposed Mr Charles Brown, and in the course of his speech said " that they must urge on their representative to demand universal suffrage, as by that alone are people represented, telling tiie Government that unless our just demands are attended to they will not be responsible for our remaining a British colony." We had ultra-Radicals in those clays as well as now, for the remarks of Mr Hulke, we are told, were cheered. Mr J. L. Newman seconded the nomination, and there being no other candidate, Mr C. Brown was declared duly elected, amidst much cheering.

is described in the Taranaki Herald of September Ist, 1852, as follows: — "Mr Flight took his place in the Courthouse on Tuesday morning (August 31st) at 9 o'clock, to receive the voting papers, and by one o'clock nearly all the electors had polled. A decided majority then appearing in favor of o-ie of the candidates, it was unanimously agreed between the parties to call upon the returning officer to close the poll. Shortly afterwards Mr Flight, surrounded by the candidates and their proposers and seconders, appeared on the hustings, and declared the state of the poll to be— Wicksteed, 108; Richmond, 30; Scotland, 6. He then stated that in consequence of the requisition of the candidates the polling was closed, and that J. T. Wicksteed, Esq., was duly elected member of the Provincial Council for New Ulster." Considering the Ordinance stated that the poll should be kept open till four o'clock, the election, it would appear, vas carried out a little irregularly by the returning officer by his closing the poll at " a little after one o'clock." The people were very primitive in those daj's, and, therefore, such a trifling breach of the law was thought nothing of. In describing the election, the Herald says :—": — " The first meeting of the settlers of Taranaki for the selection of representatives has passed oft: with sobriety of conduct and decision of purpose worthy of the occasion, accompanied with that good humour and fun, which divested it of all appearance of a solemn farce, which such a small instalment of a pure representative system would otherwise have been. Almost all the settlers were assembled in the town, with their wives and children; flags were flying, and the well-known hospitality of the townspeople rendered this day, which will ever be memorable in the annals of the settlement, a day of pleasure and friendly union."

into politics, soon found out they had grievances, which they have ever since been trying to rectify.