CHATHAM ISLANDS, a group in the Pacific, 560 miles east of New Zealand, lying between 43° 40' and 45° 20' S. lat., and between 176° 10' and 177° 20' W. long. It consists of three islands, a large one called Wari-Kauri, or Chatham Island, a smaller one, Rangi-Haute, or Pitt’s Island, and a third, Rangatira, or South-east Island. There are also several small rocky islets. Chatham Island, according to Dieffenbach, contains an area of 305,280 acres; of which, however, 57,600 acres are lakes and lagoons. In the centre is a large brackish lake called Tewanga, about 25 miles long and 6 or 7 broad, which at the southern end is separated from the sea by a sandbank only 150 yards wide, which it occasionally bursts through. The southern part of the island has an undulating surface, and is covered either with an open forest or with high ferns. In general the soil is extremely fertile, and where it is naturally drained, a rich vegetation of fern and flax (Phormium tenax) has sprung up, giving firmness to the soil and yielding a rich harvest to the planter. On the north-west are three or four conical hills of basalt, which are surrounded by oases of fertile soil. On the western side is Petre Bay, 40 miles across, on which, at the mouth of the River Mangatu, is Waitangi, the principal settlement. The country to the east of the great lagoon is quite flat, and is scarcely 50 feet above the sea-level. The climate is very mild, in winter varying only from 45° to 60°. The changes of temperature are less sudden than in New Zealand. The inhabitants cultivate potatoes, turnips, cabbages, taro (esculent arum), tobacco, and pumpkins. The trees and shrubs resemble those of New Zealand, but the former are of very small size. Horses and cattle are bred in considerable numbers for the New ...