Page:Captain Cook's Journal during His First Voyage Round the World.djvu/310

232 and other of the canoes, are now borne by some of the great steamships that run to New Zealand.

Cook, in the voyage with which we have to deal, completely examined the whole group. His pertinacity and determination to follow the whole coast is a fine instance of his thoroughness in exploration. No weather nor delay daunted him, and the accuracy with which he depicted the main features of the outline of the islands is far beyond any of the similar work of other voyagers. It is true that he missed in the south island many of the fine harbours that have played such an important part in the prosperity of the Colony; but when we consider the narrowness of their entrances, and the enormous extent of the coast line which he laid down in such a short time, this is not astonishing.

His observations on the natives and on the country display great acuteness of observation, and had the settlers displayed the same spirit of fair treatment and respect for the customs of the natives, much of the bloody warfare that has stained the annals of the Colony might have been averted; though it is scarcely possible that with such a high-spirited race the occupation of the islands, especially the North island, where the majority of the Maoris were, could have taken place without some disturbances.

New Zealand now contains 630,000 Europeans, and 41,000 Maoris. Its exports are valued at £10,000,000, and the imports at £6,250,000. There are 2000 miles of railways open. Such is the result of fifty years of colonization in a fertile and rich island, the climate of which may be described as that of a genial England.