recent discoveries of valuable coal has increased the importance of the place. Gold always, except in the case of quartz reefs, after a few years begins to fail, so that country which is merely auriferous is soon deserted. Moreover, the Westport coal seems to be of first-rate quality, especially valuable as it is nearly smokeless, quickly ignited, and burning almost free from ash. There is, also, at present, a minimum of difficulty in working it; the seams, which are thick, lying in a slanting, upward direction from the shore in the hill-sides, which are tunnelled without deep sinking. Besides this steam coal, the West Coast has abundance of other kinds, fit for household use, or the production of gas. In the long run coal will beat gold for value.
Wellington is situated at the southern extremity of the North Island, where Cook's Straits separate it from the Southern Island. It is now the seat of Government, which at first was at Auckland. The harbour is spacious, land-locked, but entered by a narrow passage, passing through some dangerous reefs, and with little waterway. Wellington has the reputation of being the home of all the winds, of which there is more than sufficient variety in New Zealand generally. The town lies upon the slopes of hills, in the form of an irregular crescent, bordered on the sea side by a narrow strip of flat land, which gives room for very few open spaces, or gardens; the houses crowded together, with but little attractive architecture at present; but it is a busy place, being the central port of New Zealand.
Maories, so seldom seen in the South Island, are much in evidence here; the men well dressed in English costume, the women also, but delighting in
