ts to judge of the soil, and a scientific
man to report on the natural products. This vessel sailed away quietly
in May, 1839, hoping to reach New Zealand unnoticed. The English
Government heard of it however, informed the company that its action was
illegal, and immediately afterwards sent off Captain Hobson in the
_Druid_, as has been already described, to take possession on behalf of
the British nation. The New Zealand Company then apologised; said that
they would direct their agents who had gone out to New Zealand to obey
the Governor in all things, and promised that the new settlement should
abide by the law.

#8. Wellington.#--Meantime the _Tory_ was ploughing the deep on her way to
New Zealand. Her passengers first saw the new country on the west coast
of the South Island. They were then very much disappointed, for the
shore was high and wild, the mountains were close behind it, and their
lofty sides were gloomy and savage. The whole scene was grand, but did
not promise much land that would be suitable for farming. They turned
into Cook Strait, and anchored in Queen Charlotte Sound, a lovely
harbour, but surrounded by high hills clothed in dark and heavy forests.
When they landed, they were amazed at the depth and richness of the
black soil and the immense size to which the trees grew. Such a soil
could grow all sorts of produce in rich abundance, but it would cost
forty pounds an acre to clear it for ploughing. Boats were got out,
however, and parties rowed up into all the branches of the beautiful
harbour, but without seeing any sufficient extent of level or open land.
Then they crossed the strait, and sailing in by a narrow entrance,
viewed all the wide expanse of Port Nicholson. It was a great harbour
with a little wooded island in its middle; it opened out into quiet arms
all fringed with shelly beaches, and behind these rose range after range
of majestic mountains. The trouble was that here too the land which was
fairly level was too limited in extent to satisfy the colony's needs;
for already in England the company had sold 100,000 acres of farming
land, and the purchasers would soon be on their way to occupy it. After
examining the shores with care they chose the beach of the east side as
the site for their town. Behind it stretched the beautiful valley of the
Hutt River, enclosed by mountains, but with broad grassy meadows lying
between. Here they started to build a town which they called Britannia,
an