he beautiful and picturesque Province of Taranaki is situated on the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, being by sea 180 miles from Wellington, 120 from Auckland, and 1300 miles from the leading ports of Australia. The Mokau River forms the extreme northern boundary, and the Patea the southern, giving a continuous stretch of some hundred miles of coast line, offering but inefficient shelter for vessels. Southwards the Patea River will admit small craft, whilst Opunake, half way towards New Plymouth, has the anchorage of an open roadstead. Until recently the same remark would have held good of New Plymouth. The remedy for this state of affairs will presently appear. Passing northwards, some ten miles from New Plymouth, we reach the Waitara River, where determined and successful efforts have been made towards improving the navigation by means of a mole run out from the southern, bank. The Mokau and Urenui also admit of sea communication by means of small craft.

Although the province is mentioned as possessing 100 miles of sea coast, in 1860 the land held by the Europeans consisted only of some 74,000 acres, situated chiefly in close proximity to the sea. Reaching from the Jell Block some five miles northwards of New Plymouth, page 6 to a short distance beyond the Waireka Hill, about [unclear: f] miles to the south of the town; this with the isolate block of Tataraimaka, giving the Europeans a coast [unclear: lin] of only twelve miles. At this period the European population did not exceed 2500.

With these facts before us, we have but to [unclear: gs] around to find that, notwithstanding the many [unclear: drawbae] attendant on the war that have both directly and indirect hindered her, a comparison of the present with the [unclear: p] will evince progression in a most favourable point of view; and this success has solely resulted from [unclear: ti] soil coupled with an almost unsurpassed climate, [unclear: unailb] by the adventitious help of gold or other minerals.

In 1860 the Town of New Plymouth, with [unclear: t] villages of Bell and Omata, formed the only centres. 1885 the chief towns are: New Plymouth, Waitara, [unclear: Pa;] Hawera, with the smaller towns and villages, Bell [unclear: Blo.] Omata, Oakura, Okato, Warea, Parihaka, [unclear: Rah] Opunake, and Manaia. These are situated on the [unclear: c] By the inland line, Inglewood, Waipuku, [unclear: Midhi] Stratford, Eltham, and Normanby. These form so [unclear: mi] centres for the accumulation of the settlers' produce, [unclear: i'] as the country is gradually opened up, the business portance of each position will be greatly enhanced the course of a short time, by the inland route and continuation of our present railway, there will be [unclear: dir] communication with Wellington, Napier, &c., &c., [unclear: wh] the telegraph offers a means of communication with parts of the world.

Outside mere business matters, each centre has [unclear: provis] for secular as well as the religious instruction of people, almost every denomination possessing an [unclear: organi] ministry, with church and school accommodation Sunday scholars, added to which many neat and [unclear: co] modiously constructed halls have arisen, serving the [unclear: dot] page 7 purpose for social and public gatherings, and in some few instances well selected libraries of books have been established.