Preface.

This Handbook was first published in accordance with a resolution of the Royal Commissioners appointed by His Excellency the Governor of the Colony to carry out and devise the proper representation of New Zealand at the Sydney Exhibition of 1879; a second edition was published for distribution at the Melbourne Exhibition of 1882; a third edition was prepared by direction of the Hon. Thomas Dick, Colonial Secretary, and the present edition has been issued by direction of the Colonial Treasurer, the Hon. Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G.

The published literature bearing on New Zealand is very extensive. About eighty separate works have been quoted as published prior to the foundation of the colony in 1839, in which year the first number of the New Zealand Government Gazette was issued. Since that date the number of separate publications amounts to many hundreds, while the Parliamentary papers, both of the Provincial and General Governments, and the "Transactions of the New Zealand Institute," abound in valuable reports and memoirs that describe the history and resources of the country. Most of these works can, no doubt, be referred to at the great public libraries, and, to some extent, at the office of the Agent-General in London. Such research is, however, beyond the reach of most readers, and from the rapid disposal of former editions of this publication it is reasonable to infer that there is a demand for information of the kind now offered.

In the original preparation of this Handbook several previous works of a similar nature were largely drawn from, among which may be mentioned in particular the Jurors' Reports and Awards of the New Zealand Exhibition, 1865 (Dunedin, 1866); the admirable and exhaustive "Handbook of New Zealand" published by Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G. (London, 1875); and the Official Reports on the New Zealand Court in the Philadelphia Exhibition, 1876, by the writer (London, 1877). The records of the various Government departments have been also largely made use of, particularly the annual volumes of statistics issued by Mr. W. R. E. Brown, Registrar-General. I must also acknowledge the valuable services of my assistants, Mr. Bryce Bain, Mr. S. Herbert Cox, F.G.S., and Mr. A. T. Bothamley.

In elaborating the details and revising the press of the present edition I have been ably assisted by Mr. W. E. Vaux.