The first authentic account of the discovery of New Zealand is that given by Abel Jansen Tasman, a Dutch navigator. He sailed from Batavia on the 14th August, 1642, in the yacht “Heemskirk,” accompanied by the “Zeehaen” (or “Sea-hen”) fly-boat. After having visited Mauritius and discovered Tasmania, named by him “Van Diemen's Land,” in honour of Anthony van Diemen, the Governor of the Dutch possessions in the East Indies, he sailed in an easterly direction, and on the 13th December of that year sighted the west coast of the Middle Island of New Zealand, described by him as “a high mountainous country, which is at present marked in the charts as New Zealand.”

It has been assumed as probable that the first European who visited New Zealand was Juan Fernandez, who, having started from one of the ports of the west coast of South America in 1576, after sailing for about a month in a south-westerly direction, reached a land described by him as fertile and pleasant, and inhabited by a race of white people, well made, and dressed in a kind of woven cloth. People of brown complexions were often described as white by the Spaniards; and, although there is no direct evidence that the land so discovered was New Zealand, yet no other seems to answer his description. It appears, however, certain that the country was visited before the date of Tasman's arrival in 1642, as the land he came to was shown in the Dutch chart used by him, and was named thereon “Zeland Nova,” William Bleau, a Dutchman, who died in 1638, having published an atlas in which a line of coast is indistinctly shown with the name against it, “Zelandia Nova.”

Tasman, under the belief that the land he saw formed part of a great polar continent, and was part of that country (subsequently found to be an island) discovered some years before by Schouten and Le Maire, to which the name of Staaten Land had been given, gave the same name of Staaten Land to New Zealand. Within about three months after this date Schouten's “Staaten Land” was found to be merely an inconsiderable island. Upon this discovery being announced, the country which Tasman had called by the same name received instead that of “New Zealand”—an evident restoration of the name previously given—by which name it has ever since been known. Tasman sailed along the coast to a bay, where he anchored. To this he gave the name of Murderers (now Massacre) Bay, on account of an unprovoked attack on a boat's crew by the natives, and the massacre of four white men. Thence he sailed along the west coast of the North Island, and gave the name of Cape Maria van Diemen to the north-western extremity thereof. After sighting the islands of the Three Kings he finally departed, not having set foot on the country.

There is no record of any visit to New Zealand after Tasman's departure until that of Captain Cook, who, after leaving the Society Islands, sailed in a southerly direction in search of a southern continent then believed to exist. He sighted land on the 6th October, 1769, and on the 8th of that month cast anchor in Poverty Bay. After having circumnavigated the North Island and the Middle and Stewart Islands—the latter having been considered as part of the Middle Island—he sailed from Cape Farewell on the 31st March, 1770, for Australia. He again visited New Zealand in 1773, in 1774, and in 1777.

M. de Surville, a French officer in command of the vessel “Saint Jean Baptiste,” being on a voyage of discovery, sighted the northeast coast of New Zealand on the 12th December, 1769, and remained for a short time. Another visit was soon after paid by a French officer, M. Marion du Fresne, who arrived on the west coast of New Zealand on the 24th March, 1772, but was treacherously murdered by the Natives on the 12th June following.

In 1793 the “Dædalus,” under the command of Lieutenant Hanson, was sent by the Government of New South Wales to New Zealand, and two chiefs were taken thence to Norfolk Island. There was after this an occasional intercourse between the islands of New Zealand and the English settlements in New South Wales.

In 1814 the first missionaries arrived in New Zealand—Messrs. Hall and Kendall—who had been sent as forerunners to Mr. Marsden. After a short stay they returned to New South Wales, and on the 19th November of that year again embarked, in company with Mr. Marsden, who preached his first sermon in New Zealand on Christmas Day, 1814, and returned to Sydney on the 23rd March, 1815. It was not until 1821 that the work of evangelization was put on a somewhat permanent basis; but the first station, established by Mr. Leigh, a Wesleyan missionary, and his wife, at the valley of the Kaeo, Whangaroa, was not taken possession of until the 10th June, 1823.

Prior to the discovery and colonisation of New Zealand by Europeans, the earliest navigators and explorers found a race of people already inhabiting both islands. Papers written in 1874 by Mr., now Sir, William Fox, and Sir Donald McLean, then Native Minister, state that at what time the discovery was made by the Maoris, or from what place they came, are matters which are lost in the obscurity enveloping the history of a people without letters. Nor is there anything on record respecting the origin of the Maori people themselves. Little more can now be gathered from their traditions than that they were immigrants, and that when they came there were probably no other inhabitants of the country. The tradition runs that, generations ago, the Maoris dwelt in a country named Hawaiiki, and that one of their chiefs was driven thence by a storm and, after a long voyage, fetched the northern island of New Zealand. Returning to his home with a flattering description of the country he had discovered, this chief, it is said, set on foot a scheme of emigration, whereupon a large fleet of double canoes started for the new land. The names of most of the canoes are still remembered, and each tribe agrees in its account of the doings of the people of the principal “canoes” after their arrival in New Zealand; and from these traditional accounts the descent of the numerous tribes has been traced. Calculations, based on the genealogical staves kept by the tohungas, or priests, indicate that about twenty-seven generations have passed since the migration, which would give for its date about the beginning of the fourteenth century. The position of Hawaiiki is not known, but there are several islands of this or a somewhat similar name. Similarity of language indicates a Polynesian origin, which would prove that the Maoris advanced to New Zealand through various groups of the Pacific islands, in which they left families of the same race, who to this day speak the same or nearly the same tongue. When Captain Cook first visited New Zealand, he availed himself of the assistance of a native from Tahiti, whose language proved to be almost identical with that of the New Zealanders, and through the medium of whose interpretation a good deal of information respecting the early history of the country and its inhabitants was obtained, which could not have been had without it.

A special article will be found further on dealing with the subject of the numbers and present condition of the Maoris.

The first attempt at colonisation was made in 1825 by a company formed in London. An expedition was sent out under the command of Captain Herd, who bought two islands in the Hauraki Gulf and a strip of land at Hokianga. The attempt, however, was a failure, owing to the savage character of the inhabitants. In consequence of frequent visits of numerous whaling-vessels to the Bay of Islands, a settlement grew up at Kororareka—now called Russell—and in 1833 Mr. Busby was appointed British Resident there. A number of Europeans—generally men of low character—gradually settled in different parts of the country, and married Native women.

In 1838 a colonisation company, known as the New Zealand Company, was formed to establish settlement on systematic principles. A preliminary expedition, under the command of Colonel William Wakefield, was despatched from England on the 12th May, 1839, and arrived in New Zealand in the following August. Having purchased land from the Natives, Colonel Wakefield selected the shore of Port Nicholson, in Cook Strait, as the site of the first settlement. On the 22nd January, 1840, the first body of immigrants arrived, and founded the town of Wellington. About the same time—namely, on the 29th January, 1840—Captain Hobson, R.N., arrived at the Bay of Islands, empowered, with the consent of the Natives, to proclaim the sovereignty of the Queen over the islands of New Zealand, and to assume the government thereof. A treaty called “The Treaty of Waitangi,” to which in less than six months five hundred and twelve names were affixed, was entered into, by which all rights and powers of sovereignty were ceded to the Queen, all territorial rights being secured to the chiefs and their tribes. New Zealand was then constituted a dependency of the Colony of New South Wales; but on the 3rd May, 1841, it was proclaimed a separate colony. The seat of Government had been previously established at Auckland, round which a settlement was formed.

The New Zealand Company having decided to form another settlement, to which the name of “Nelson” was to be given, despatched a preliminary expedition from England in April, 1841, for the purpose of selecting a site, which resulted in the establishment of the settlement at the head of Blind Bay. About the same time a settlement was commenced at New Plymouth, by the arrival, on the 31st March, 1841, of a body of immigrants despatched by the New Plymouth Company, an organization for purposes of colonisation that had been formed in England, and had purchased 50,000 acres of land from the New Zealand Company.

The next important event in the progress of colonisation was the arrival at Port Chalmers, in March, 1848, of two ships containing immigrants, despatched by the Otago Association for the foundation of a settlement in that part of the colony by persons who belonged to or were in sympathy with the Free Church of Scotland.

In 1849 the “Canterbury Association for founding a Settlement in New Zealand” was incorporated. On the 16th December, 1850, the first emigrant ship despatched by the association arrived at Port Cooper, and the settlement of the adjoining country was commenced in a systematic manner, the intention having been to establish a settlement complete in itself, and composed entirely of members of the then United Church of England and Ireland.

The Proclamation of Captain Hobson on the 30th January, 1840, gave as the boundaries of the colony the following degrees of latitude and longitude: On the north, 34° 30' S. lat.; on the south, 47° 10' S. lat.; on the east, 179° 0' E. long.; on the west, 166° 5' E. long. These limits excluded small portions of the extreme north of the North Island and of the extreme south of Stewart Island.

In April, 1842, by Royal Letters Patent, and again by the Imperial Act 26 and 27 Vict., c. 23 (1863), the boundaries of the colony were altered so as to extend from 33° to 53° of south latitude and from 162° of east longitude to 173° of west longitude. By Proclamation bearing date the 21st July, 1887, the Kermadec Islands, lying between the 29th and 32nd degrees of south latitude and the 177th and 180th degrees of west longitude, were declared to be annexed to and to become part of the Colony of New Zealand.

The following now constitute the Colony of New Zealand:-

The total area of the colony is thus about 104,471 square miles, of which the aggregate area of the outlying groups of islands that are practically useless for settlement amounts to about 438 square miles.

A protectorate is exercised by the Imperial Government over the Cook Islands (or Hervey Group) by Proclamation dated the 27th October, 1888. The British Resident* is appointed on the recommendation of the New Zealand Government. He acts for the colony as Government Agent in all matters of trade.

*Frederick J. Moss, Esq., late M.H.R., is now British Resident. His salary is paid by this colony.

The North Island extends over a little more than seven degrees of latitude—a distance in a direct line from north to south of 430 geographical or 498 statute miles; but, as the northern portion of the colony, which extends over more than three degrees of latitude, takes a north-westerly direction, the distance in a straight line from the North Cape to Cape Palliser, the extreme northerly and southerly points of the island, is about 515 statute miles.

This island is, as a whole, hilly, and, in parts, mountainous in character, but there are large areas of plain or comparatively level country, which either are now, or will be in the future when clear of forest and other indigenous vegetation, available for agricultural purposes. Of these, the principal are the plains in Hawke's Bay on the East Coast, the Wairarapa Plain in the Wellington District, and a strip of country along the West Coast extending from a point about thirty miles from the City of Wellington to a little north of New Plymouth, which is about 250 miles distant from Wellington. The largest plain in the North Island, Kaingaroa, extends from the shore of Lake Taupo in a north-north-easterly direction to the sea-coast in the Bay of Plenty; but a large portion is covered with pumice sand, and is unsuitable for tillage or pasture. There are several smaller plains and numerous valleys suitable for agriculture. The level or undulating country in this island suitable for or capable of being made fit for agriculture has been estimated roughly at 13,000,000 acres. This includes lands now covered with standing forest, and swamps that are capable of drainage; also considerable areas of clay-marl and pumice-covered land. The clay-marl in its natural state is cold and uninviting to the agriculturist, but under proper drainage and cultivation it can be brought to a high state of productiveness. This kind of land is generally neglected at the present time, as settlers prefer soils more rapidly remunerative and less costly to work. The larger portion of this island was originally covered with forest. Although the area of forest-covered land is still very great, yet year by year the amount is being reduced, chiefly to meet the requirements of settlement, the trees being cut down and burnt, and grass-seed being then sown on the ashes to create pasture. Hilly as the country is, yet from the nature of the climate it is especially suited for the growth of English grasses, and wherever there is any soil, however steep the land may be, grasses will flourish; consequently very little of the land is incapable of being made to supply food for cattle and sheep when treated as above or otherwise laid down in grass. The area of land in the North Island deemed purely pastoral or capable of being made so, being too steep for agricultural purposes, is estimated at 14,200,000 acres. In the centre of the island is a lake, about twenty miles across either way from the extreme points, called Taupo. A large area adjacent to the lake is at present worthless pumice-country. The Waikato River, the largest in the North Island, flows out of its north-eastern point, and trends thence in a north-westerly direction until it flows into the ocean a little distance south of the Manukau Harbour. This river is navigable for small steamers for about a hundred miles from its mouth. The Maori King country, occupied by Natives who for several years isolated themselves from the Europeans, lies between Lake Taupo and the western coast. The River Thames, or Waihou, having its sources north of Lake Taupo, flows northward into the Firth of Thames. It is navigable for small steamers only for about fifty miles. The other navigable rivers in this island are the Wanganui and Manawatu, which flow in a south-westerly direction into Cook Strait.

The mountains in the North Island are estimated to occupy about one-tenth of the surface, and do not exceed 4,000ft. in height, with the exception of a few volcanic mountains that are more lofty. Of these, the three following are the most important:—

It is estimated that the area of mountain-tops and barren country at too high an altitude for sheep, and therefore worthless for pastoral purposes, amounts, in the North Island, to 300,000 acres.

The most remarkable feature of the North Island is the numerous hot springs, which occur in hundreds from Tongariro, south of Lake Taupo, to Ohaoawai, situated at almost the extreme north of the colony—a distance of 300 miles. Clouds of sulphurous steam are seen rising at different places over this extensive area, but the principal seat of hydrothermal action appears to be in the neighbourhood of Lake Rotorua. The district is generally known as the Hot or Thermal-Springs District.

This district is situated about forty miles in a north-north-east direction from Lake Taupo. By the destruction of the famed Pink and White Terraces and of Lake Rotomahana on the occasion of the eruption of Mount Tarawera on the 10th June, 1886, the district has been deprived of attractions unique in character and of unrivalled beauty; but the natural features of the country—the lakes, geysers, and hot springs, the number of which is very great, and some of which possess remarkable curative properties for certain complaints—still afford considerable attraction for tourists and invalids. Recently the world-wide importance of conserving this region as a sanatorium for all time has been recognised by the Government, and it is now dedicated by Act of Parliament to that purpose. A very interesting account of the thermal springs of the North Island will be found further on.

Notwithstanding the length of coast-line, good harbours in the North Island are not numerous. Those on the west coast north of New Plymouth are bar-harbours, not suitable for large vessels. The principal harbours are the Waitemata Harbour, on which Auckland is situated—this is rather a deep estuary than a harbour; several excellent havens in the northern peninsula; and Port Nicholson, on the borders of which Wellington is situated. This is a landlocked harbour, about six miles across, having a comparatively narrow but deep entrance from the ocean. The water is deep nearly throughout.

Cook Strait separates the North and Middle Islands. It is about sixteen miles across at its narrowest part, but in the widest about ninety. The strait is invaluable for the purpose of traffic between different parts of the colony, and is constantly traversed by vessels of the magnificent line of coastal steamers that trade in New Zealand waters.

The extreme length of the Middle Island, from Port Jackson, in Cook Strait, to Puysegur Point, at the extreme south-west, is about 525 statute miles; the greatest distance across at any point is in Otago (the southern) District, being about 180 miles.

The Middle Island is intersected along almost its entire length by a mountainous range known as the Southern Alps. Some of the summits reach a height of from 10,000ft. to 12,000ft., Mount Cook, the highest peak, rising to 12,349ft.

In the south, in the neighbourhood of the sounds and Lake Te Anau, there are many magnificent peaks, which, though not of great height, are, owing to their southerly position, nearly all crowned with perpetual ice and snow. Further north the mountains increase in height—Mount Earnslaw, at Lake Wakatipu; and Mount Aspiring, which has aptly been termed the New Zealand Matterhorn, nearly 10,000ft. in height, at Lake Wanaka. Northward beyond this a fine chain of peaks runs as the backbone of the Middle Island to where Mount Cook, or Aorangi, towers majestic in the midst of the grandest scenes of the Southern Alps.

The scenery of the Southern Alps of New Zealand in many instances excels in beauty and grandeur that of the Alps of Switzerland, while in the Southern Alps there is also greater variety. In New Zealand no one has actually succeeded in making a complete ascent of any of the highest mountains. Many of the peaks and most of the glaciers are as yet unnamed; and there is, in parts of the Middle Island, still a fine field for exploration and discovery—geographical, geological, and botanical. The wonders of the Southern Alps are only beginning to be known; but the more they are known the more they are appreciated. The snow-line in New Zealand being so much lower than in Switzerland, the scenery, though the mountains are not quite so high, is of surpassing grandeur.

There are extensive glaciers on both sides of the range, those on the western side being of exceptional beauty, as, from the greater abruptness of the mountain-slopes on that side, they descend to within about 700ft. of the sea-level, and into the midst of the evergreen New Zealand forest vegetation. The largest glaciers on each side of the range are easily accessible.

The following gives the sizes of some of the glaciers on the eastern slope:—

The Alletsch Glacier in Switzerland, according to Ball, in the “Alpine Guide,” has an average width of one mile. It is in length and width inferior to the Tasman Glacier.

Numerous sounds or fiords penetrate the south-western coast. They are long, narrow, and deep (the depth of water at the upper part of Milford Sound is 1,270ft., although at the entrance only 130ft.), environed by giant mountains clothed with foliage to the snow-line, with waterfalls, glaciers, and snowfields at every turn. Some of the mountains rise almost precipitously from the water's edge to 5,000ft. and 10,000ft. above the sea. The great Sutherland waterfall, 1,904ft. high, is near Milford, the finest of these sounds.

The general surface of the northern portion of the Middle Island, comprising the Provincial Districts of Nelson and Marlborough, is mountainous, but the greater part is suitable for grazing purposes. There are some fine valleys and small plains suitable for agriculture, of which the Wairau Valley or Plain is the largest. Deep sounds, extending for many miles, break the coast-line abutting on Cook Strait. The City of Nelson is situated at the head of Blind Bay, which has a depth inwards from Cook Strait of about forty statute miles.

The Provincial District of Canterbury lies to the south of the Marlborough District, and on the eastern side of the island. Towards the north the land is undulating; then there is a stretch of almost perfectly level country extending in a south-westerly direction for 160 miles, after which, on the south, the country is undulating as far as the borders of the Otago District. On the east a block of hill-country rises abruptly from the plain and extends for some miles seaward. This is Banks Peninsula, containing several good harbours, the principal being Port Cooper, on the north, on which is situated Lyttelton, the chief port of the district: the harbour of Akaroa, considered one of the finest in the colony, is on the southern coast of this peninsula.

The southern district of Otago is, on the whole, mountainous, but has many fine plains and valleys suitable for agricultural purposes. The mountains, except towards the west coast, are generally destitute of timber, and are suitable for grazing sheep. There are gold-fields of considerable extent in the interior of this district. The interior lakes are very important features in Otago. Lake Wakatipu extends over fifty-four miles in length, but is not more than four miles at its greatest width. It is 1,070ft. above sea-level, and has a depth varying from 1,170ft. to 1,296ft. It covers an area of 114 square miles. Te Anau Lake is still larger, having an area of 132 square miles. These lakes are bounded on the west by broken, mountainous, and chiefly wooded country, extending to the ocean.

The chief harbours in the Otago District are those of Port Chalmers, at the head of which Dunedin is situated, and the Bluff Harbour, at the extreme south.

The District of Westland extending along the west coast of the Middle Island, abreast of the District of Canterbury, is more or less auriferous throughout. The western slopes of the central range of mountains are clothed with forest-trees to the snow-line; but on the eastern slopes timber is scarce, natural grasses covering the ground.

The rivers in the Middle Island are for the most part mountain-torrents, fed by glaciers in the principal mountain-ranges. When the snow melts they become of considerable size, and their beds, when not confined by rocky walls, extend over considerable areas, chiefly covered by enormous deposits of shingle. The largest river, as regards volume of water, in the colony is the Clutha. It is 154 miles in length, but is only navigable for boats or small river-steamers for about thirty miles. The rivers Buller, Grey, and Hokitika, on the West Coast, are navigable for a short distance from their mouths. They constitute the only ports in the Westland District. In their unimproved state they admitted, owing to the bars at their mouths, only vessels of small draught; but, in consequence of the importance of the Grey and Buller Rivers as the only ports available for the coal-export trade, large harbour-works have been undertaken, resulting in the deepening of the beds of these rivers, and giving a depth of from 18ft. to 24ft. of water on the bars.

The area of level or undulating land in the Middle Island that may be available for agriculture is estimated at about 15,000,000 acres. About 13,000,000 are suitable for pastoral purposes only, or may become so when cleared of forest and sown with grass-seed. The area of barren land and mountain-tops is estimated at about 8,000,000 acres.

Foveaux Strait separates the Middle from Stewart Island. This last island has an area of only 425,390 acres. It is mountainous in character, and chiefly covered with forest.

The outlying group of the Chatham Islands, 480 statute miles east-south-east from Wellington, and 536 miles eastward of Lyttelton, consists of two principal islands and several unimportant islets. The largest island contains about 222,490 acres, of which a large and irregularly-shaped lake or lagoon absorbs 45,960 acres. About one-quarter of the surface of the land is covered with forest, the rest with fern or grass. The hills nowhere rise to a great height. Pitt Island is the next in size; the area is 15,330 acres. The greater portion of both islands is occupied as sheep-runs.

The Kermadec group of islands, four in number, are situated between 29° 10' and 31° 30' south latitude, and between 177° 45' and 179° west longitude. They are named Raoul or Sunday Island, Macaulay Island, Curtis Island, and L'Espérance or French Rock. The principal island, Sunday, is 600 miles distant from Auckland. The islands are volcanic, and in two of them signs of activity are still to be seen. The rainfall is plentiful, but not excessive. The climate is mild and equable, and slightly warmer than the north of New Zealand. The following are the areas of the islands and islets of the group: Sunday Island, 7,200 acres; Herald group of islets, 85 acres; Macaulay Island, 764 acres; Curtis Islands, 128 acres and 19 acres; L'Espérance, 12 acres: total, 8,208 acres. Sunday Island is twenty miles in circumference, is roughly triangular in shape, and the highest point on it is 1,723ft. above the sea-level. It is rugged and broken over a very large extent of its surface, and, except in a few places, it is covered with forest. The soil everywhere on the island is very rich, being formed by the decomposition of a dark-coloured pumiceous tuff and a black andesitic lava, with which is closely mixed a fine vegetable mould. The great luxuriance and richness of the vegetation all bear witness to the excellence of the soil, which is everywhere—except where destroyed by the eruptions, and on the steep cliffs—the same rich loam. Want of water is one of the drawbacks. Three of the four lakes on the island are fresh, but so difficult of approach as to be practically useless.

The Auckland Islands are about 290 miles south of Bluff Harbour, their position being given on the Admiralty chart as latitude 50° 31' 29” S., and longitude 166° 19' 12” E. They have magnificent harbours. Port Ross, at the north end of the principal island, has been described by the eminent French commander, D'Urville, as one of the best harbours of refuge in the known world. At the southern end of the island there is a through passage extending from the east to the west coast. It has been variously named Adam's Strait or Carnley Harbour, and forms a splendid sheet of water. The largest of the islands is about twenty-seven miles long by about fifteen miles broad, and is very mountainous, the highest part being about 2,000ft. above the sea. The west coast is bold and precipitous, but the east coast has several inlets. The wood on the island is, owing to the strong prevailing wind, scrubby in character. The New Zealand Government maintains at this island a dépôt of provisions and clothing for the use of shipwrecked mariners. These have already been found of inestimable value by an unfortunate shipwrecked crew condemned to some months' residence on the island.

British sovereignty was proclaimed over New Zealand in January, 1840, and the country became a dependency of New South Wales until the 3rd May, 1841, when it was made a separate colony. The seat of Government was at Auckland, and the Executive comprised, with the Governor, three gentlemen, holding offices as Colonial Secretary, Attorney-General, and Colonial Treasurer.

In August, 1841; May, 1842; and January, 1844, three new members were nominated by Her Majesty as ex officio members of the Executive Council. They were not members of the General Assembly, opened for the first time on the 27th May, 1854, although they remained in office until the establishment of Responsible Government on the 7th May, 1856. Between the 14th June and the 2nd September, 1854, the Executive Council was variously constituted with three or four members of the House of Representatives and two Legislative Councillors, without portfolios.

The Government of the colony was at first vested in the Governor, who was responsible only to the Imperial Government; but in 1852 an Act was passed by the Imperial Legislature which granted representative institutions to the colony. Under it the constitution of a General Assembly for the whole colony was provided for, consisting of a Legislative Council, the members of which were to be nominated by the Governor, and an elective House of Representatives. The first session of the General Assembly was opened on the 27th May, 1854, but the members of the Executive were not responsible to Parliament. The first Ministers under a system of Responsible Government were appointed on the 18th April, 1856. By the Act of 1852 the colony was divided into six provinces, each to be presided over by an elective Superintendent, and to have an elective Provincial Council, empowered to legislate, except on certain specified subjects. The franchise practically amounted to household suffrage. In each case the election was for four years; but a dissolution of the Provincial Council by the Governor could take place at any time, necessitating a fresh election both of the Council and of the Superintendent. The Superintendent was chosen by the electors of the whole province; the members of the Provincial Council by those of the electoral districts. The Provincial Governments remained as integral parts of the Constitution of the colony until the 1st November, 1876, when they were abolished by an Act of the General Assembly, that body having been vested with the power of altering the Constitution Act. On the same day an Act of the General Assembly which subdivided the colony (exclusive of the areas included within municipalities) into counties, and established a system of local county government, came into operation.

The Governor is appointed by the Queen. His salary is £5,000 a year, and is provided by the colony.

Members of the Legislative Council hold their seats under writs of summons from the Governor. Till the year 1891 the appointments were for life; but in September of that year an Act was passed making such appointments after that time tenable for seven years only, though Councillors may be reappointed. In either case seats may be vacated by resignation or extended absence. Two members of the Council are aboriginal native chiefs.

The members of the House of Representatives are elected for three years from the time of each general election; but at any time the dissolution of Parliament by the Governor necessitates such general election. Four of the members are representatives of Native constituencies, three members for the Maori districts being aboriginal natives and one a half-caste. An Act was passed in 1887 which provided that, on the termination of the then General Assembly, the number of members to be thereafter elected to the House of Representatives should be seventy-four in all, of whom four were to be elected, under the provisions of the Maori Representation Acts, as representatives of Maori electors only. For the purposes of European representation the colony is divided into sixty-two electoral districts, four of which—the Cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin—return each three members, and all the other electorates one each. Members of the House of Representatives are chosen by the votes of the inhabitants in every electoral district appointed for that purpose.

In 1889 an amendment of the Representation Act was passed, which contained a provision prohibiting any elector from giving his vote in respect of more than one electorate at any election. This provision greatly increased the effective power of those voters who were registered for one electoral district only, and resulted in a considerable addition to the number of so-called labour members in the House of Representatives. Every man registered as an elector, and not coming within the meaning of section 2 of “The Public Offenders Disqualification Act, 1867,” is qualified to be elected a member of the House of Representatives for any electoral district. For European representation every adult male, if resident one year in the colony and six months in one electoral district, can be registered as an elector. Freehold property of the value of £25 held for six months preceding the day of registration also entitles a man to register, if not already registered under the residential qualification. Maoris possessing a £25 freehold under Crown title, or being on any ratepayers' roll, can also register. For Maori representation every adult Maori resident in any Maori electoral district (of which there are four only in the colony) can vote. Registration is not required in Native districts. The proportion of representation to population at the last general election for the House of Representatives, in December, 1890, was one European member to every 8,952 inhabitants, and one Maori member to every 10,413 Natives.

Up to the year 1865 the seat of Government of New Zealand was at Auckland. Several attempts were made by members of Parliament, by motions in the Legislative Council and House of Representatives, to have it removed to some more central place; but it was not until November, 1863, that Mr. Domett (the ex-Premier) was successful in carrying resolutions in the House of Representatives that steps should be taken for appointing some place in Cook Strait as the permanent seat of Government in the colony. The resolutions adopted were: “(1.) That it has become necessary that the seat of Government in the colony should be transferred to some suitable locality in Cook Strait. (2.) That, in order to promote the accomplishment of this object, it is desirable that the selection of the particular site in Cook Strait should be left to the arbitrament of an impartial tribunal. (3.) That, with this view, a Bill should be introduced to give effect to the above resolutions.” On the 25th November an address was presented to the Governor, Sir George Grey, K.C.B., by the Commons of New Zealand, requesting that the Governors of the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania might be asked to each appoint one Commissioner for the purpose of determining the best site in Cook Strait. Accordingly, the Hon. Joseph Docker, M.L.C., New South Wales; the Hon. Sir Francis Murphy, Speaker of the Legislative Council, Victoria; and R. C. Gunn, Esq., Tasmania, were appointed Commissioners.

These gentlemen, having made a personal inspection of all suitable places, arrived at the unanimous decision “that Wellington, in Port Nicholson, was the site upon the shores of Cook Strait which presented the greatest advantages for the administration of the government of the colony.”

The seat of Government was, therefore, in accordance with the recommendations of the Commissioners, removed to Wellington in February, 1865.

Nearly all the public works of New Zealand are in the hands of the Government of the colony, and in the early days they simply kept pace with the spread of settlement. In 1870, however, a great impetus was given to the progress of the whole country by the inauguration of the “Public Works and Immigration Policy,” which provided for carrying out works in advance of settlement. Railways, roads, and water-races were constructed, and immigration was conducted on a large scale. As a consequence, the population increased from 267,000 in 1871 to 501,000 in 1881, and 650,433 at the close of the year 1892, exclusive of Maoris.

W. B. Perceval, Esq., Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W. Secretary—Walter Kennaway, C.M.G.

New South Wales.—Sir Saul Samuel, K.C.M.G., C.B., Westminster Chambers, 9, Victoria Street, S.W. Secretary—S. Yardley, C.M.G.

Victoria.—, 15, Victoria Street, S.W. Secretary—C. H. Pearson.

South Australia.—Sir John Cox Bray, K.C.M.G., Victoria Chambers, 15, Victoria Street, S.W. Secretary—Samuel Deering.

Queensland.—Sir James F. Garrick, K.C.M.G., Q.C., Westminster Chambers, 1, Victoria Street, S.W. Secretary—Charles Shortt Dicken, C.M.G.

Western Australia.—Sir Malcolm Fraser, K.C.M.G., 15, Victoria Street, Westminster, W. Secretary—Reginald Hare.

Tasmania.—Sir Edward N. Coventry Braddon, K.C.M.G., Westminster Chambers, 5, Victoria Street, S.W.

Stating the Provincial District and the Date of Writ of Summons.

Speaker—The Hon. Henry John Miller.

Chairman of Committees—The Hon. William Douglas Hall Baillie.

Clerk of Parliaments, Clerk of the Legislative Council, and Examiner of Standing Orders upon Private Bills—Leonard Stowe.

Clerk-Assistant—Arthur Thomas Bothamley.

Second Clerk-Assistant—George Moore.

Interpreter—Henry S. Hadfield.

The number of members constituting the House of Representatives is seventy-four—seventy Europeans and four Maoris. This number was fixed by the Act of 1887, which came for the first time into practical operation at the general election of 1890. Previously (from 1881) the House consisted of ninety-five members—ninety-one Europeans and four Maoris. The North Island returns thirty European members, and the Middle Island forty. The cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin return each three members, and all other electoral districts one each. The elections are triennial, except in the case of a dissolution by the Governor. The qualification for membership is simply registration as an elector, and not coming within the meaning of section 2 of “The Public Offenders' Disqualification Act, 1867.” All contractors to the public service of New Zealand, when any public money above the sum of £50 is payable, directly or indirectly, to such person in any one financial year, and the Civil servants of the colony, are incapable of being elected as or of sitting or voting as members. The payment made to members of the House of Representatives is £20 per month, amounting to £240 per annum. Travelling expenses to and from Wellington are also allowed. This scale of payment came into force on the 1st January, 1892, under the provisions of “The Payment of Members Act, 1892.” Twenty members, exclusive of the Speaker, constitute a quorum. Unless otherwise ordered, the sitting-days of the House are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 2.30 to 5.30, resuming at 7.30 p.m. Order of admission to the Speaker's Gallery is by ticket to be obtained from the Speaker. The Strangers' Gallery is open free to the public.

Speaker—The Hon. William Jukes Steward.

Chairman of Committees—Arthur Robert Guinness.

Clerk of House of Representatives—G. Friend.
Sergeant-at-Arms—Lieut.-Colonel P. F. de Quincey.
Clerk of Writs—H. Pollen.
Deputy-Clerk of Writs—R. H. Govett.
Clerk-Assistant—H. Otterson.
Second Clerk-Assistant—A. J. Rutherfurd.
Reader and Clerk of Bills and Papers—E. D. O'Rorke.
Interpreters—FS. Hamlin and G. Mair.
Acting Librarian H. L. James, B.A.

The existing Parliament of New Zealand will expire by effluxion of time during the present year (1893). On the basis of the results of the census of 1891 the colony has, in accordance with the Representation Act Amendment Acts, 1887 and 1889, been divided afresh into sixty-two districts for purposes of European representation. The names and boundaries of these districts were duly proclaimed in the New Zealand Gazette on the 26th January, 1892. The method laid down in the Act of 1889 for computing, for the purposes of that Act, the population of the colony, is to add 28 per cent, to the population not contained in any city, borough, or town district having a population of over 2,000 persons. The total population of the colony (other than Maoris), with the addition aforesaid, having been ascertained, was then divided by the number of members (70), and the quotient thus obtained formed the quota. The four city electoral districts were so defined as to extent that the population should be three times the quota. Inasmuch as it would be impossible to divide the country into a given number of districts all having exactly the exact quota of population, the law permits the Commissioners to make an allowance of 750 persons by way of addition to or deduction from the population of rural districts, and 100 persons in case of city electorates; and due consideration is given to community of interest, facilities of communication, and topographical features, as far as possible, in forming the districts.

The following table shows the names of the electoral districts for the purposes of the coming general election, with the number of members returnable, the actual town and rural population as at the census of April, 1891, and the nominal population for each district:—

The North Island with its adjacent islands includes 27 electoral districts, having 31 members and an actual population of 281,446 persons. The Middle and Stewart Islands have 35 electoral districts, 39 members, and 344,913 persons actual population.

These 62 districts with 70 members are for purposes of European representation. The House of Representatives consists, however, of 74 members, 4 of whom represent Maori constituencies, under the Maori Representation Acts of 1867, 1872, and 1876, of which the Native population was ascertained by the Maori census of February, 1891, to be as under:—

No less than 7,086 Maoris out of the above number voted at the election in October, 1890.

The last general election for European members took place on the 5th December, 1890.

The Right Rev. William Garden Cowie, D.D., Auckland; appointed 1869.

The Right Rev. Edward Craig Stuart, D.D., Waiapu; appointed 1877.

The Most Rev. Octavius Hadfield,* Primate; Wellington; appointed 1870.

The Right Rev. Charles Oliver Mules, M.A., Nelson; appointed 1892.

Bishop Hadfield has given notice of his intention, by reason of the infirmity of age, of resigning his office as Bishop of Wellington on the 9th October, 1893.

The Right Rev. Churchill Julius, D.D., Christchurch; appointed 1890.

The Right Rev. Samuel Tarratt Nevill, D.D., Dunedin; appointed 1871.

The Bishop of Melanesia (Bishopric, June, 1893, vacant.)

The following shows the number of persons (exclusive of Maoris) belonging to the different religious denominations in New Zealand, and the number of churches and chapels, according to the census of April, 1891; also, the number of officiating ministers under “The Marriage Act, 1880,” on the 1st June, 1893.

The total number specified as to religion is 625,370 out of the number of adherents to the various Churches given above.

The following return shows the number of churches and chapels, schoolhouses, and other buildings used for public worship by the different religious denominations, in April, 1891; also the number of persons for whom there was accommodation, and the number usually attending, in each provincial district:—

The two islands (North and Middle) are divided into eleven districts, commanded by a Field Officer of Militia or Volunteers, with a competent staff of drill-sergeants.

This Force is divided into four batteries, which are stationed at Auckland, Wellington (head-quarters), Lyttelton, and Dunedin; their principal duties are to look after and take charge of all guns, stores, ammunition, and munitions of war at these four centres. The Force consists of three majors, two captains, one subaltern, with an establishment of 145 of all ranks.

This branch, like the Artillery, is divided amongst the four centres, for submarine and torpedo work, and consists of two captains, with a total of 64 of all ranks. They have charge of four torpedo-boats and four steam-launches, and all submarine-mining and torpedo-stores. They are likewise employed in blowing up rocks and wrecks, and generally improving harbours.

There are five troops of Cavalry, three in the North Island and two in the Middle Island. These corps are kept in a state of efficiency by going into camp for six days' training annually. The total strength of the five troops is 310 of all ranks.

There are ten corps of Mounted Rifles, seven in the North Island and three in the Middle Island, with a total strength of 529 of all ranks. The efficiency of these corps is, like the Cavalry, maintained by their going into camp for an annual training of six days.

There are seventeen batteries of this branch of the service, seven in the North Island and ten in the Middle Island, having a total strength of 1,089 of all ranks. These corps are divided into port and starboard watches, and one watch is trained to assist the Permanent Artillery in working the heavy ordnance, while the other watch is trained in submarine and torpedo work, as auxiliaries to the Torpedo Corps. These corps have cutters and other boats provided and kept up for them, and are instructed in rowing, knotting, splicing, signalling, and such-like duties.

There are eleven batteries of Field Artillery, three in the North Island and eight in the Middle Island, with a total of 580 of all ranks. They are armed with 6-, 9-, and 12-pounder Armstrong breech-loading rifled guns on field-carriages.

This branch consists of three corps, with a total of 169 of all ranks. There is one corps in the North Island and two corps in the Middle Island. Besides carrying rifles they are provided with entrenching tools and all appliances for blowing up bridges or laying land-mines.

In this branch of the service there are fifty-seven corps, eighteen being in the North Island, and thirty-nine in the Middle Island, with a total strength of 3,144 of all ranks, which includes garrison bands at places where four or more corps have their head-quarters.

There is a force of thirty-nine cadet corps—viz., eight in the North Island and thirty-one in the Middle Island, with a total strength of 2,012 of all ranks.

The armament at the forts of the four centres consists of 8in. 13-ton breech-loading rifled Elswick Ordnance Company's guns, with 6in. 5-ton of like pattern, and the whole mounted on hydropneumatic disappearing carriages; 7in. 7-ton muzzle-loading rifled guns, on traversing slides; 64-pounder rifled muzzle-loading converted 71cwt. guns, on garrison standing carriages and traversing slides; 64-pouuder rifled muzzle-loading 64cwt. guns on traversing slides; 6-pounder quick-firing Nordenfeldts, on garrison pillar mountings, and field-carriages; and Hotchkiss and Maxim quick-firing guns. The Volunteer Field Artillery are armed with 6-, 9-, and 12-pounder Armstrong breech-loading rifled guns, and the whole of the Force have carbines or rifles (short) of Snider pattern.

There is a large stock of Whitehead torpedoes, contact- and ground-mines, in charge of the Torpedo Corps, as well as four Thorneycroft torpedo-boats.

The Permanent Militia are enrolled for three years' service, and Volunteers for one year. The Permanent Militia is recruited from men who have one year's efficient service in the Volunteers; and after passing the gunnery course in the Permanent Militia men are eligible for transfer to police and prison service.

The Instructors for Permanent Artillery and Torpedo Corps are obtained from the School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness, and from the Royal Engineers, under a three years' engagement, on completion of which they return to the Royal Artillery or the Royal Engineers.

An annual capitation of £2 is granted to each efficient Volunteer, and a sum not exceeding £20 to each efficient cadet corps. One hundred rounds of Snider ball-cartridge are issued each year free to every efficient Volunteer, and twenty-five rounds to each efficient cadet over thirteen years of age.

The defence forces of New Zealand are administered under “The Defence Act, 1886.”

[By an Act passed in 1871 the pension system was abolished in New Zealand.]