The New Zealand Reader
Preface
Preface
It was at first intended to make this a book of unabridged and unaltered extracts dealing with aspects of life and nature peculiar to New Zealand, and illustrative of its brief history. But in the process of selection it was found that very interesting matter would have to be rejected, unless some liberties were taken with its literary form, and also that there were some gaps that could with advantage be filled up with original articles. A portion of Tasman's journal has been translated from the antiquated Dutch of the original.
Manifest inaccuracies have been either silently corrected, or indicated by foot-notes. Editorial notes are distinguished from authors' notes by being put in brackets. In extracts from early works the author's own spelling of a Maori word has usually been retained, the correct form being given in a note.