addition to which they are prettily painted and papered; but notwithstanding these advantages, they are always liable to the evils of overcrowding.

Christchurch is by no means so pretty a town as Lyttelton; in fact, it is decidedly ugly. It is larger; but the houses being scattered over a wider space of ground, have a straggling and irregular appearance. The site is also very unfavourable to beauty, as it is situated on the vast plain which forms the principal portion of the Canterbury block. It is, however, a good situation in point of utility, which must always be the main consideration in the establishment of colonial towns; and I believe those only are displeased with it who, to use the expression of a leading colonist, consider the act of emigrating "merely as a protracted picnic, relieved with a little ornamental church architecture."

The town is placed on a dry and slightly elevated spot, situated as near to the ferry on the Lyttelton road as the swampy nature of the intervening ground will permit. The river Heathcote, which runs diagonally through it, ensures a plentiful supply of

D

exceedingly good water; and its vicinity to Riccarton and Papinui, the only remaining pieces of bush on that portion of the plains, distant respectively from two to three miles from the town, gives it a great advantage over any other site in the facility of procuring timber for building purposes. Leaving Christchurch we proceeded to Mr. Deans's station at Riccarton*, a spot with which the lovers of the picturesque must be pleased. It was the first station established in this part of the island, and dates back about ten years. It is now extremely valuable from the possession of one of the two pieces of bush already mentioned. The house is situated on the bank of a beautiful stream of very pure water. He has a considerable quantity of land in a state of cultivation, and the soil of the greater portion is very rich. Some part of it yielded sixty bushels per acre when first cropped with wheat. The general opinion in the colony is not, however, favourable to tillage as a speculation. The soil, though in some places fertile, is very irregular in its quality, whilst the expenses of working are enormous, and the greater part of the best

*Plate IV.

soil requires extensive drainage. Manure also is of course a very expensive article, and so are horses, whilst the hire of labourers is from four to seven shillings a day.

The most serious objection, however, is the want of a sufficient market. The parties favourable to tillage look to Australia to supply this want; but whether they will be able, at least in the present generation, to take advantage of this opening, is a doubtful as well as an important question, and the older settlers, who ought to possess the most experienced judgments, take an unfavourable view.

36

CHAPTER IV.

THE BUSH.

AFTER a short sojourn in the settlement, my friend Mr. Morice and myself determined upon a pedestrian excursion to the French settlement at Akaroa, lying at the eastern extremity of Banks's peninsula. We started early, intending to reach Port Levi to breakfast, rest there during the heat of the day, and proceed to Pigeon Bay in the evening. How far we succeeded I am now about to relate.

It was a lovely morning, and as we were crossing the harbour to Rhodes' Bay, anticipating a delightful walk, the boatman told us that by landing at a nearer point, we might considerably shorten the distance to Port Levi; and putting faith in his statement, we landed accordingly, and began to climb the hill in a straight line towards a remarkable rock called the Monument, hoping every moment to fall in with the promised path: no path was how

ever to be seen, and when at length we gained the summit of the hill, we found a steep precipice directly between us and the hill we had to cross to reach the Monument. It was evident that we had been imposed upon, and that the boatman had invented the short cut to save himself the trouble of rowing us to Rhodes' Bay. But there was no remedy, the boat was far out of hail, and, after a short consultation, we again set off, hoping to reach the Monument by following the range upon which we stood, and so skirting round the summit of the hill. But the task was more difficult than it appeared to be, for the clear atmosphere of New Zealand is most deceptive as to distances; and we found, moreover, that the ground was not only steep, but broken by precipitous ravines, through whose sides, clothed with thick bush, it was a matter of considerable difficulty to force our way.

We continued our walk for about two hours, until the sun rose high in the heaven and beat fiercely down upon the bare hill side. We suffered excessively from heat, but more from parching thirst, and it was not