order, bustle, and industry it presented. Here were storehouses,
dwelling-houses, and various offices for the mechanics; and every
department seemed as well filled as it could have been in a civilised
country. To me the most interesting circumstance was to notice the great
delight of the natives, and the pleasure they seemed to take in observing
the progress of the various works. All were officious to "lend a hand,"
and each seemed eager to be employed. This feeling corresponds with my
idea of the best method of civilising a savage. Nothing can more
completely show the importance of the useful arts than a dockyard. In it
are practised nearly all the mechanical trades; and these present to the
busy enquiring mind of a New Zealander a practical encyclopaedia of
knowledge. When he sees the combined exertions of the smith and carpenter
create so huge a fabric as a ship, his mind is filled with wonder and
delight; and when he witnesses the moulding of iron at the anvil, it
excites his astonishment and emulation.

The people of the dockyard informed me that, although it was constantly
crowded with natives, scarcely anything had ever been stolen, and all the
chiefs in the neighbourhood took so great an interest in the work that
any annoyance offered to those employed would immediately be revenged as
a personal affront.




CHAPTER V.

JOURNEY OVERLAND TO BAY OF ISLANDS.