The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-22 00:00:00

2'111; PROPOSED N_EW CONVICT SET-
TLEMENT FOR

(FROM THE OVEELAND REGISTER.)
For fiCZDe time past the attention of her Mgjesty's
Gaverument 114 s been oeclipi-d in " looking out" for
:1 new penal settlement, and New CJledonie, in the
-S )utht!rn Archip,lage, as a fit and proper place, has
attracted attentiOn,

A finer country th=an that she has fixed her thoughts
upon far a new convict settlement can hardly be
bus fined. We have gained eowe iniormation re-
s!recting it from a party who has visited it several
times, traded with the natives, and travelled over a
large portion of it.
The seuthern extremity of New Cal, don:a is in
latitude 22 deg. 30 min. S., longitude 166 deg. 50
thin. E. The land is low, and not visible from the
southern part of the great reef that surrounds it ;
the southern extreme of the reef is in latitude 23 deg.
longitude 166 deg. 55 min. E. New Caledonia is
seldom more thmi 8 to 10 leagues in breadth, but the
chain of mountains which forms the exterior extends
N.W. and S.E. absut 80 leagues. Oa the south-west
side a coral reef extends along the whole coast, forming
a seep wall to seaward, level with the water's edge,
having no soundings within two ships' length of it,
with 150 fathoms line. There are several passages
through the reef admitting ships of the largest size,
with good anchorage inside in from 18 to 10 and 8
fathoms. The bottom is sandy near the reef, but
towards the shore changes to a blueish stiff mud. In
&ear weather, and the sun at an altitude of 20, a ship
may be (with a Lookout on the topsail yard) navi-
getel up aed down the coast inside the reef for
nearly 75 mi!es. Vessels should be kept nearer the
coast line than the reef, as, when the latter is ap-
proached, there ;ire many spits ofcoral which would not
he seen were the sun obscured, until the ship was close
upon them. The coast-line is mostly clear, and
there are few clangers but what are visible. In-
side the reef there are a number of islands of
considerable six-, situated about from three to four
miles from the mainland, forming most excellent
harbours, with a depth of water from eleven to three
fathoms. In fact, one, of these harbours, to
which there is a direct entrance through the reef,
is a natural wet do..k which could contain a
number of large vessels, and a more excellent
depot for the accommodation of steamers could
not perhaps he found in the world. Distant about
twelve or fourteen miles in a south-east direction,
fresh water may be obtained in many of the islands,
and an abundance of firewood. On the mainland fresh
water may always be procured, and in many places
boats can enter the small fresh water rivers and fill
from alongside. The N.E. side does not furnish more
than three good harbours,- and it requires great cau-
tion in approaching them, es there is a chain of reefs
fronting the whole length of the coast, with many de-
tached, diverging from one to nine miles from the
shore, with no anchorage inside of them until about
150 miles to the N.W., where the reef is continuous
for some time, and forms a good anchorage.
The whole coact of New G3ledorir, cr. both sides,
has at a distance a most uninviting appearance, ex-
cept about forty miles at the N.W. end, where the
laud is thickly covered with vegetation to the water's
edge. On entering the rivers a fine alluvial country
is found, and on the N.E. side, more particularly, the
scenery is grand beyond description. Most of the land
has evidently been formed from the washing down of
soil from the high lands for ages. In some places
the land is formed into small islands, with a good
boat channel between them, forming most picturesque
views seen from a height. In the valleys there are
many groves of the cowrie pine. growing large enough
to wake spars for vessels of 300 to 400 tons, and on
the island there are many other trees of large dimen-
sions, fit for shipbuilding and other purposes.
A stranger visiting this country would imagine it
was thickly populated, in cons: qucnce of the na-
tives (generally speaking, two or three friendly
tribes), assembling together whenever Europeans
make their appearance. That it bas been thickly
populated at some time there can be little doubt,
not only from the appearance of the neglected cul-
tivation, but from statements made by the elder
inhabitants. Captain Kent, :in her Majesty's ship
Buffalo, who discovered and named Port Saint Vin-
cent in 1803, mentioned that the natives were very
numerous there ; at 'the present time there are not
twenty natives to be found all round that file har-
bour. For many miles round the south end, and on
the coast W.N.W., fifty miles from Port Saint Vin-
cent, there is not a native establishment to be seen.
The natives are more numerous at the N.W. end of
the island, and there is a conderable number re-
siding on the adjacent islands inside the
reefs on the S.W. side, generally employed fishing,
who are all subject to the chiefs on the mainland. The
whole population of New Caledonia would probably
not be under-rated at 25,000, although the French
Roman Catholic missionaries have stated the popula-
tion to be 60,000, but these gentlemen reside in that
part of the island where the population is most nu-
merous, and have not travelled much into the interior.
There are now residing at Balade harbour eleven
French missionaries.

The traveller finds great inconvenience from the
many different dialects spoken by the inhabitants, dif-
fering considerably at places not more than twenty
miles distant from each other, yet the chiefs visit each
other from greater distances, and seem to converse
familiarly. The language does not seem to partake of
the Malayan, nor of the New Hollanders, nor of the
New Zealanders, and seems to be distinct from that of
any of the contiguous islands.
The climate is very salubrious, by reason of the
cool S.E. winds blowing from April to October.
There are frequent gales of winds from November to
March, accompanied with heavy rains from the N.E.,
the wind veering round to N.W. and S.W. When it
gets to the southward of S.W. the weather becomes
fine and serene, and the wind settles to the south-
ward and eastward, with moderate weather, until the
change of the moon, when an alteration takes place,
and the same expositions of winds are observed. In
the latter part of November, and nearly all De-
cember, there is much lightning and heavy thunder,
alhng the coast,s
and l
last
th vhaesytoqnudantthitiiretsy.osfixhours. At these periods,
rain, but these storms seldom
the water inside the reef on the S.W. side is
w deeplyashi etdi coloured
downotl
hoeunr efdr
dangerouso
mfr ot
hme
highthet
o lands
ngreatiov e all quantity
ship
of soil
1 p
unless the
cotnmander is particularly well acquainted with the
various channels. In Febrile'.
canes may be looked for,
the 14' '3' seldom rage with
the fury which they do at
swaintihee upto
point
te
of
fe i
tits.ng konoc7 .- uritius, which is in
the same parallel. Nor are they :a frequent as they
are at thae island, as sever l
They commence from the
but they and March hurri-
a years may pass over
At least, such has tlnseiv"
ce.,s as those at the Mauritius,
and there is about the
into moderate gales-
'ere interval of calm, but
they soon resolve th
three have occurred.
soars;
rienefee the
,ixbeen the character of those expe-
onlyl‘ 1 annoy
attributedo f the natduring which time only
mate,asthlive ton. ripe old age, which can
manyh e
privations
n s nature
from ofth
theire
im-
providencecli
g .nature .
h is most bountiful in
the crops, they do not think of storing food to supply
themselves during the winter months. When the
harvest is gathered in, each neighbouring friendly
tribe invites the other to feast with it, and in one
round of feasting the whole is consumed, their only
care being to reserve seed enough for the ensuing
season. During the rest of the year the natives live
upon the bark of trees, wild roots, and fish. The
several tribes are almost constantly engaged in
exterminating wars, which is the principal cause
of the falling off of the population. In thesa
wars many lives are lost, and the conquering
parties do not hesitate to make use of their
slain foes for food. So many men being killed in
;e they endure r
a itthvoeostu
these fights, the result is that the females greatly pre-
ponderate in number. These are made to perform
all the heavy work in cultivating the soil, cooking,
&c., and for the slightest offence are often put to
death. The men are generally tall, powerfully made,
and athletic, and when used in a kind manner by
European visitants, are harmless and inoffensive.
They are not subject to many diseases, and those
they do suffer from are generally of a cutaneous
nature; elephantiasis is somewhat common among
them. Like all other people in a savage state, they
have a belief in spirits, and use propitiary sacrifices
at harvest, death, and other times.
Beside the wood formerly noticed, the indigenous
productions of the island consist only of yams, tare,
sugar-cane, cocoa-nuts, and plantains.' Yawn kinds
of fish are found in abundance around the coast, wipe•
cially on the S.W. aide, where, in the shoal water, large
and fine mullet abound—so much so, that often at
night, when a boat is goieg.rapidly through the water,
great numbers will jump
in. There are found also
in the fresh water various kinds of fish, and amongst
them perch and carp.
; curlew and wild duck. Of
The lagoons are frequented
by large quantities of
four-footed animals indigenous to the island, there is
very small rat. Not one
only
is to
_ _
The
venemous rep-
tile is to be found- The sugar-cane grows very
luxuriantly ; the natives use it for
food, eating it in
its green state. No doubt, mostly all tropical plants
would flourish on the island, and not only so, but
from experiments which have been made, wheat, In-
dian corn, turnips, and such like vegetables, are found
to thrive. Cotton has also been tried, and is found to
grow luxuriantly,though short in the staple. We
have a sample '
We
have
been
it in our office.
een indebted for the above information
to Captain
of Hobart Edward
Woodio, of the barque Eleanor,
Tty , , Town, who further informs us that her
'-',,-Lsit'sty s ship Hav-rinall, under the command of
kittptLiii E k ' '
t sine, explored a considerable part of the
Country when lately in these seas, and by him a mi•
flute account of this magnificent island will have bees
doubtless banded to her Majesty's Government.