here the excellence of the land is equally attested by the luxuriant and verdant fern which overruns the depressed parts of the entire country. To the fortunate position of the New Zealand mountain ridges may, in a great measure, be attributed the excellent climate which is unanimously assigned to this country. Stretching north and south, their snow-clad summits lie out of the sun's course except when crossed by him. The land is, therefore, exempted from those terrible disruptions of snow, loosened by radiated or direct heat, which at times descend in overwhelming avalanches and torrents upon the lower regions of other mountain territories; while exhalations drawn from the boundless ocean on either side, by the east and west winds, are attracted to the high lands, which distribute them over the country in rains. Thus the southern districts of New Zealand, where the mountains are highest and most numerous, are described as being often subjected to heavy rains; while they fall upon the northern parts in refreshing and not too copious showers. The general temperature is even, the thermometer rarely descending below forty-five degrees in winter (which begins in May), and in summer (commencing in November) seldom rising above eighty-five. But in many situations the weather is extremely varied. West winds mostly prevail, and are sometimes at tended with heavy squalls*. North Island seems to possess the most genial climate. "I do not hesitate to affirm," says Nicholas, "that there is not a finer or more regular climate than this part (the Bay of Islands) of New Zealand +." In proof that one winter, at least, was not severe, Captain Cook, during his first visit to the country, sowed certain vegetables, and though they could not have survived a European winter, he found on his return that they had not only survived a New Zealand one, but were healthful and vigorous‡. Possessing such a soil and climate, a rich and useful variety of regetable productions may be looked for in New Zealand; and not in vain. The extensive forests we have before alluded to, chiefly composed of firs of different species (some of them unknown in Europe), might furnish a supply of valu- | able timber which the profusion of some ages to come would not be able to exhaust. That it is well calculated for ship-building has been long proved; many vessels having been built of it at the regularly established dockyard of E. O. Rackey, or Deptford §. Trees of inferior growth also abound, some of them of excellent quality, well adapted for ornamental work, of a fine grain, and susceptible of a high polish. Many, also, cannot be enumerated for want of other than native names; belonging, as they do, to species not met with in other parts of the globe. The most noticeable of these is a tree whose stem only produces leaves, the branches being bare. An infusion of these leaves is a good substitute for tea, having much of its flavour and all its medicinal properties. In high and exposed places the plant seldom rises above six feet; but in sheltered situations, to thirty or forty feet. Of shrubs the myrtle is most frequently mentioned by travellers; but the herbage appears to be scanty, on account of the rank luxuriance of trees whose impenetrable thickness deprives it of the sun's influence II. But in more favourable situations, the smaller vegetation gives to New Zealand a verdant and inviting aspect. Indigenous to it are wild celery, wild parsley, and flax ( Phormium tenax) an article, when cultivated, of excellent quality, and which has been already largely exported from this infant colony T. Grasses flourish in abundance, and no fewer than sixty different species of fern have been noticed by botanists**. The natives cultivate various edible plants, amongst which we find potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and the tacca, a species of yam. Fruits are scantily produced, and unpalatable to European tastes. *Polack, vol. i. pp. 277 and 281.-Hawkesworth, vol. i. p. 99. † Vol. ii. p. 234. Hawkesworth's Account of Cook's Southern Voyages, vol. i. p. 99. § Earle's Residence in New Zealand, p. 25. Nicholas, vol. ii. p. 245, 246.-Forster, vol. i. p. 176. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. ii, ** Polack, vol. 1. p. 293. The means of transporting the productions of nature from place to place, presented by the rivers of New Zealand, are not less serviceable than her numerous bays and harbours for shipping, that afford such facilities for export. The former meander through every part of the land; the most considerable of them being joined by innumerable smaller streams. The first river on the south-west coast is the Mukon. The Waikáto is supposed to be the most extensive; for eighty miles from the sea it forks into two noble currents, and many islets spring up from its bed. The Waltémeta falls into the ocean on the western side of North Island, flows within twenty-five miles of the Monukon, and very nearly adjoins the Thames, a large stream which, before it is disembogued into the Bay of Plenty, widens to form a broad frith, presenting a good roadstead. Several lakes and lagoons spread their waters over various parts of the island, particularly between East Cape and Hawke's Bay. The sea has hollowed out the eastern coast of North Island into a succession of bays and harbours, which offer great facilities for an extensive maritime trade. The harbour of Wangarou, or Long Bay, is entered by a space scarcely equal to eight ships' length, but inside it is wide, deep, entirely land-locked by high, verdant hills, and capable of affording shelter for a large fleet. The Bay of Islands is also furnished with many excellent anchorages, and is a favourite resort of whale-vessels. The harbour of Wangania, or Port Nicholson, on the west coast of North Island, has an extent of nine miles, and all the ships of Europe might conveniently anchor within it. The coast around South and Stewart's Island is not so inviting, abounding, as it does, in reefs of rock and dangerous shoals. The barren summits of mountains and precipices which, jutting over the sea, arrest large patches of snow, are here separated by deep ravines and tremendous gorges. Both Cook's and Forneaux Straits are of difficult navigation *. The varieties of animal life, of which New Zealand is the home, have been as yet but imperfectly enumerated. Man, existing here, till within a recent period, unknown to and unknowing the rest of the great family to which he belongs, presents a new chapter in human history; which, however, we have not space to open in this placet. Of the lower animals native to the soil, but imperfect accounts have as yet been furnished. Several useful species have been introduced; amongst which the Canis australis and pig appear to be most useful to man; of whom both are the constant companions, the latter being more completely domesticated in New Zealand than in any other country. Cattle, horses and asses have also become colonists. * Polack, vol. i. pp. 248-272, passim. The reader may refer with great advantage to a work on the New Zealanders, published in the Library of Entertaining Knowledge. THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE NEGROES. 11 A CHAPTER FOR THE YOUNG. Notwithstanding the immense and abundant forests, no large species of the feathered tribe have been noticed; though numerous, the birds are small, THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE NEGROES. and include the parrot, pigeons, cuckoos, the kingfisher, mocking-bird, &c. The European poultryyard has been introduced with great success. Fish abound in all the rivers; there are few reptiles, but obnoxious insects swarm in swampy situations*. On the whole, it appears, then, that New Zealand is a favoured country. If the rugged and Alpine character of her southern districts offer a field for the cultivator comparatively small in extent, and interrupted by wide intervals of intractable waste, this is repaid by the superiority of the land capable of tillage; if, for the most part, her western coast, bristling with precipices, or shallowed by sand-bars, repels the navigator, her eastern shores invite him to their deep and sheltered harbourage. "The huge glaciers and plains of snow which cover the higher regions," says a careful and accurate geographer; "the mighty torrents which pour down from them, forming stupendous cataracts; the lofty woods which crown their middle regions; the hills which wind along their feet, decked with the brightest vegetation; the bold cliffs and promontories which breast the might of their southern waves; the beautiful bays decked with numberless villages and canoes-all conspire to present a scene which even the rude eye of the navigator cannot behold without rapture +.” Possessing, then, such varied natural phenomena, with a general aspect whose constituents are seldom found congregated in so small a tract, thus presenting scenes of almost every clime, it is no poetical figure to call this unique land "the world's epitome." W. COMMERCE TENDS TO PREVENT WAR. THE DEPARTURE. THE children of the present and succeeding The pangs unutter'd thoughts create- Yes! He who moulded mortal clay, Hath colour'd, with a master's hand, Various and beautiful the race Of scatter'd man-He stamp'd no brand Nor were instances wanting of a far higher order of feeling than that which has just been expressed. To mention only one, which occurred about a hundred and fifty years ago :-A negro slave, on the Danish island of St. Thomas in the West Indies, though no man cared for his soul, frequently sat on the sea-shore after the toils of the day, and earnestly sighed for a knowledge of the gospel, of which he had caught an imperfect idea from the professions of Europeans. Sensible of want, he longed for relief which he thought might be found; as one acutely suffering, he pined for the only balm which could soothe and heal. THE commerce between different nations, which is both an effect and a cause of national wealth, tends to lessen their disposition to war, by making them mutually dependent. Many wars, indeed, have been occasioned by commercial jealousy; but it will be found that, in almost every instance, this has arisen, on one side, if not on both, from unsound views of political economy, which have occasioned the general interests of the community, to a very great amount, to be sacrificed, for a much smaller advantage, to a few individuals. The ruinous expensiveness also of war (which will never be adequately estimated till the spread of civilisation shall have gained general admission for just views of political economy), would alone, if fairly computed, be almost sufficient to banish war from the earth.-Archbishoping, he was taken by his master to Copenhagen; Whately. Polack, vol. i. chap. ix. passim. Hugh Murray's Encyclopædia of Geography, p. 1506. Not long after he had indulged this train of feel and here he heard "the glad tidings of great joy:" he embraced them "in simplicity and godly sincerity," and received at his baptism the name of Anthony. Here too he met with some pious companions of Count Zinzendorff, who had arrived at the court of Denmark, to attend the coronation of Christian VI. These persons belonged to an interesting body of Christians, who have now long been known under the name of Moravians, or United Brethren. They claim for themselves a high antiquity. They ascend up to the preaching of Paul and Titus, in Illyricum and Dalmatia. When the Sclavonians rent these provinces from the Greek empire, they soon adopted as their own the Christian religion which they found here. The clergy of this country made a stand in behalf of purity of worship; for they united with those of Lombardy, the native land of the Waldenses, in refusing to appear at the Sixth Council of Constantinople, on account of imageworship, which then obtained in the Greek church. So long since as the year 890, Bohemia and Mo- | ravia received the gospel from two Greek monks, who are supposed to have diffused the purer principles of the Sclavonians; for when Otho united Bohemia to his empire, and brought the Greek Christians under the see of Rome, they succeeded in obtaining for themselves a liturgy in their own tongue, and free from several popish corruptions. In 1176, the Waldenses arrived in Bohemia and contributed to preserve the purity of religion; but after having done so, and concealed themselves from the popish power for more than two hundred years, they were discovered and scattered by the fervid blast of persecution. In the fifteenth century they were again associated, attempted to form a closer union, and took the name of Fratres Legis Christi-Brethren of the Law of Christ. Perceiving, however, that they were thought to form one of the new orders of monks now springing up, they assumed the name of Brethren, and when joined with others from Bohemia, they took their present title of Unitas Fratrum-the Unity of the Brethren. From this period to the Reformation they were severely persecuted, but their bond of harmony was unbroken. After various trials and distresses during the seventeenth century, they became in a manner extinct; but about the year 1720 they appeared suddenly to awake to life and energy; and as free toleration was denied them in the country of their birth, they agreed to emigrate. It was with some of these people that Anthony enjoyed much delightful and profitable intercourse. Nor did he fail to exemplify the pure benevolence of true piety. He longed that others should participate the blessings which had so happily realised his own desires; but his soul especially yearned with affection and sympathy towards his sister, whom he had left a slave in the plantations of the west. On this subject he often conversed with the brethren whom he knew; he drew an affecting picture of the temporal and spiritual condition of the negroes, and assured them that if a mission | were established, there was good reason to expect success. Anthony was in consequence introduced to Count Zinzendorff, who, being a man of great kindness, and one who from his youth had cherished a hope of sending the gospel to the heathen, eagerly listened to his statements. The Count had lately become the patron of a small body of refugees from Moravia, the remains of the ancient church of the United Brethren, who had found on his estate in Lusatia, situated about fifty miles east of Dresden, an asylum from persecution. Here, in the midst of a forest, they had built a few humble dwellings wherein to worship God in peace, after the manner of their forefathers. On the Count's return to this settlement, called Herrnhut, a name meaning the Watch of the Lord, he mentioned to the little congregation, at their daily evening meeting in the chapel, what he had learned in his interview with the converted negro. While he yet spake, two of his hearers, Leonard Dober and Tobias Leopold, longed to be heralds of mercy to the slaves of the west. Though intimate friends, neither of them spake to the other on the subject that night, but they prayed and wept over their cherished desire till morning. Then their feelings were no longer restrained, and they found that, as face answereth to face in a glass, so did one heart accord with the other. Mutual communication increased the holy flame which had been enkindled. In the evening, while they and other young men of the congregation were returning from their usual walks in the forest, for spiritual converse and private prayer, the Count was standing at the door of his lodging in company with a pious clergyman, then on a visit at Herrnhut. As they passed two and two towards their homes, the former turned and said to the latter, "My dear friend, there are amongst these brethren messengers who will go forth to preach the gospel in the West Indies, Greenland, Lapland, and other heathen countries." This saying was remarkable, as no plan had yet been contemplated, nor indeed was one likely to be undertaken by Christian exiles and emigrants from various quarters, seeking liberty and rest in that solitary place. The two friends were, however, greatly encouraged by that declaration, to offer themselves for the work, first privately to the Count, and afterwards openly to the congregation. A few weeks elapsed, and Anthony arrived at Herrnhut. He now personally confirmed all that he had before stated of the wants of his oppressed countrymen in St. Thomas, and of their willingness to receive the gospel. He added to this representation another of no ordinary kind; for he distinctly declared that so long and so severely were the slaves of that island worked by their masters, that unless those who went to preach to them would consent to become slaves themselves, and actually to labour with them in the planta THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE NEGROES. tions, they would have but little opportunity for Christian instruction. Here, it must be admitted, was no ordinary trial. It would require a sacrifice on the part of these young men, to leave the asylum so mercifully opened to them and their companions, and to bear abroad the gospel; but what would it be to forego their liberty, to be treated as cruel masters do their beasts of burden, to toil amidst tropical heat to the full extent of their strength, and to sink at last, perhaps speedily, under the extremest pressure of want and suffering-for the sake of becoming Christian missionaries! To the honour of their principles be it recorded, that Dober and Leopold could abide this test. The intelligence they received did not in the smallest degree daunt these devoted young men ; they were both ready not merely to suffer, but to be bound and die as slaves, for the Lord Jesus. Such indeed was their strength of faith, that they were willing to make any sacrifice that might be required, if they might bear the tidings of salvation to Anthony's sister-if they might but win one soul to Christ. Difficulties as to the attempt now arose, and delay had also to be endured. At length Dober was set apart for the missionary enterprise, and Nitschman, who had first met with Anthony at Copenhagen, was invited and consented to be his companion. Little preparation was needed for their journey: their brethren and sisters had neither silver nor gold; the only outfit they could offer was their best counsel and their fervent prayers. But these prayers were precious, for they were the petitions of the righteous; and that counsel was the wisest, for it was literally this: "In all things remember to follow the guidance of the Spirit of Christ." The brethren began their pilgrimage on foot, each with his staff and his scrip, reminding us of the mission of the seventy disciples of the Redeemer. Count Zinzendorff accompanied them through the forest, and at the place of parting, having commended them to God and the word of his grace, he asked what money they had for the charges of the way. They produced three dollars; and he, whose whole income was spent in the cause of religion, and was therefore always kept low, added two ducats, making their whole stock about thirty-one shillings and sixpence. Such was the first missionary fund for preaching the gospel to the heathen, on the plan which in later times has so generally been adopted. 13 ment to hope for success in their future work. Often indeed serious doubts and difficulties were started. One devout lady, the Countess de Stolberg, at Werngerode, alone appeared to view their project with favour. Affected by their communications, she said, "Go your way; and should they even put you to death, the Lord Jesus is worthy that his servants should be ready to lay down their lives for Him." "These words," said Dober, writing to the same lady several years afterwards, "were a balsam to my heart, which before had been almost broken by the discouragement which others had thrown in my way." On arriving at Copenhagen, they had to encounter fresh trials. Their scheme was regarded by all with astonishment; and their idea of labouring in the plantations as slaves, especially, was condemned as the height of infatuation. Still they patiently persevered in applying for license to go to St. Thomas, and to obtain a passage by some vessel bound thither; but this was absolutely refused in any of the Danish West India Company's ships. Meanwhile Counsellor Pless, who had from their arrival treated them kindly, though unable to see how they could accomplish their design, told their errand to the Royal family; and the queen and the Princess Amelia condescended to desire an interview with them. The result was truly gratifying : they were dismissed with the most gracious assurances of the royal good-will and protection; the Princess afterwards sent them a sum of money, and another gift which was peculiarly seasonable-a large Dutch Bible. Prior to their departure too, several persons high in the Danish court became so much interested in them, that besides supplying the means of paying for their passage and procuring tools requisite for carrying on their respective handicrafts, the one being a carpenter and the other a potter, they dismissed them with these words, "Go, in the name of God. Our Saviour chose fishermen for preachers of the gospel; He himself was a carpenter, and called the Carpenter's son!" Our next Number shall describe their afterS. course. SALE OF CHILDREN. IN the Travels of Messrs. Moorcroft and Trebeck in the Himalayan Provinces, which have just issued from the press, it is said in reference to Tiri,—" There is no doubt that the population was always kept down by the practice which has immemorially prevailed in With these small means, they proceeded on their many of the mountain districts, of the sale of children journey to Copenhagen, a distance of 600 miles, by their own parents, in times of scarcity and distress. In some places, I was credibly informed, persons hoping on their arrival there to be allowed to work married more wives than they had the means of maintheir passage across the Atlantic in some merchant-taining, for the purpose of raising money by the sale man bound for the West Indies. On their way they were hospitably entertained by Christian friends to whom they had letters of recommendation, but from whom they received no encourage of their offspring; and although this may not be strictly true, yet the story itself proves that the people of these countries are accustomed to look to the disposal of their children as means of subsistence.” |