of doing which may greatly depend his own individual comfort and future success—indeed, that also of the whole settlement—for out of the aggregate of individual successes or failures will spring more or less the failure or success of the entire undertaking. The whole scheme has been nobly devised and ably set on foot by its authors. It remains that, as far as possible, it be carried out in its integrity; and it is for those who feel any interest in the success of an undertaking, which unquestionably commences a new era in the history of British Colonization, to do what may be in their power to this end. Our hope, in supplying here the smaller, yet not less necessary, appendages of the work will be, that they may in the end be made to tit together with the more solid parts in one harmonious whole; that our future community may prove, to our unspeakable comfort hereafter, to be built up like the sacred city of old, 'as a city that is at unity in itself'.
We will assume, then, that the preliminary matters connected with the general subject of emigration, and the true principles of colonization in the present day, have been duly studied and mastered by our intending colonists; and that that most serious, perhaps, of all questions, 'whether to emigrate, and whither?' has been finally and satisfactorily decided on by him in favour of the Canterbury Settlement. It is at this point his fellow-colonists are desirous to make his acquaintance; and taking him, as a fellow-traveller and future neighbour, by the hand, they would enter into earnest, familiar intercourse with him, compare their respective views and ideas, and endeavour to make such intercourse and exchange of thought productive of general benefit—in smoothing common difficulties, in the suggestion of practical advantages, and in promoting, by co-operation, schemes of utility and solid benefit for their future home. There are a multitude of little ways in which this may be done, that will at once suggest themselves to every practical mind. How many are the considerations that must, at this moment, occupy the mind of one who is making his preparations for the great epoch of his life, and on which he would desire counsel and advice, and to hear the opinion of others similarly situated. These collective ideas it will be our business to record here. The necessity of a clear understanding of how a man is going out, what he proposes doing, and how he can best adapt the necessary means to the end; the numberless contrivances and preparations for the voyage; and for the new sphere of existence; the supply of provision and labour, all considerations connected with the moral, social, and religious interests of the community; the library, museum, botanical garden, down to sheep, to sheep-dogs, and the most petty details affecting personal arrangements and individual comfort, will find an appropriate place here. The Colonists' Room, with its discussions on these topics, will thus be a continuing feature of the series.
