Nearly the whole of the South Island had no human occupants.

Shut off by the Kaikoura mountains from the more dangerous tribes, the east and south-east of that island lay open to the first comer.

Moreover, the country there was not only fertile, but in large part treeless, and therefore singularly suited for rapid and profitable settlement.

It is quite easy to see now that had the New Zealand Company begun its first operations there, a host of failures and troubles would have been avoided.

The settlement of the North Island should not have been begun until after an understanding had been come to with the Imperial authorities and missionaries, and on a proper and legal system of land purchase.