*7?°- a great acquifition to England, where it would probably
■ Mtrc' ■ thrive with very little trouble, as it feems to be hardy, and
to affedt no particular foil; being found equally in hill and
valley; in the dried mould, and the deepeft bogs: the bog,
however, it feems rather to prefer, as near fuch places we
obferved it to be larger than elfewhere.
I have already obferved, that we found great plenty of
iron fand in Mercury Bay, and therefore that iron ore is
undoubtedly to be found at no great diftance. As to othef
metals we had fcarcely knowlege eiiough o f the country for
conje&ure.
If the fettling of this country ihould ever be thought an
objedt worthy the attention of Great Britain, the bed place
for eftablifhing a colony would be either on the banks of
the Thames, or in the country bordering upon the Bay of
Iflandsl In either place there would be the advantage of an
excellent harbour; and, by means of the river, fettlements
might be extended, and a communication eftablilhed with
the inland parts o f the country: vefiels might be built
of the fine timber which abounds in thefe parts, at very little
trouble and expence, fit for fuch a navigation as would an-
fwer the purpofe. I cannot indeed exactly affign the depth
of water which a vefiel intended to navigate this river, even
as far up as I went with the boat, Ihould draw, becaufe
this depends upon the depth of water that, is upon the bar,
or fiats, which lie before the narrow part of the river, for I
had no opportunity to make myfelf acquainted with'them;
but I am of opinion, that a yeifel which Ihould draw not
more than twelve feet would perfectly anfwer the purpofe.
People. When we, firft arrived upon the coaft of this- country; we
imagined it to be much better peopled than we- afterwards
found
R O U N D T H E WO R L D . 4t
found it, concluding that the inland parts were populous U7°-_
from the fmoke that we faw at a confiderable diftance from v—
the Ihore •, and perhaps that may really be the cafe with re-
fpedl to the country behind Poverty Bay, and the Bay of
Plenty, where the inhabitants appeared to be more numerous
than in other places. But we had reafon to believe,
that, in general, no part of the country but the fea coaft is
inhabited; and even there we found the people but thinly
fcattered, all the weftern coaft from Cape Maria Van Diemen
to Mount Egmont being totally defolate ; fo that upon the
whole the number of inhabitants bears no proportion to the
extent of country.
Vol. Ill, F C H A P .