near the new township of Russell, where Pomare himself, the greatest chief of New Zealand, carried on the lucrative trade of grog selling, besides another of a still more dis creditable kind, for the convenience of his reckless cus tomers—French, English, and American. Here might be seen the curious spectacle of a still savage chief enrich ing himself at the expense of individuals who, although belonging to the most civilized and powerful nations of the world, were reduced to a lower degree of barbarism by the influence of their unbridled licentiousness. Hitherto no legal restraint upon crime or violence had existed in New Zealand. The authority of Mr. Busby, the British resident, was merely nominal. That gentleman lived on the opposite shore of the Bay, at the distance of five miles, and his visits to Kororadika were few and far between; but had he lived in the heart of the settlement, he could have exerted no authority either to punish of fenders or to settle disputes. The natives respected him as the representative of the British government; and among the Europeans he was rendered popular by his courteous and conciliatory deportment. His appointment, however, led in nowise to the maintenance of order, or the prevention of crime; and his interference in the affairs of individuals, without the power of enforcing his decisions, could have produced no satisfactory result. Yet crimes, misdemeanours, and larcenies, were of re markably rare occurrence; and in no part of the world were the persons or the property of individuals more secure than in this little settlement, within whose precincts no lawyer had ever yet shewn his face. The stores were full of merchandise, to the value of between twenty and thirty thousand pounds. The merchants and grog sellers