The Early days of New Zealand.

One of the principal features of the nineteenth century has been the enormous strides made by Great Britain in the direction of colonisation, and the last fifty years has been specially remarkable as a colonial epoch. Without reference to the other great colonies of the Empire, fifty years ago the whole population of Australasia numbered only some 345,000; now it amounts to more than three and a-quarter millions. Even more extraordinary has been the increase in the trade, the revenue, the wealth of these colonies during the same period.

The seeds of this great era of progress are to be found in the immortal discoveries of Watt, Ark wright, the Stephensons, and other great discoverers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The use of steam in manufactures and locomotion, the textile revolution, the growth of the factory system; all these combined led up to a marvellous and sudden change in the material and external life of the people such as history affords no other example of. This result has been an enormous growth of population, vast expansion of sea-power, of commerce, of manufactures, all leading to the portentous growth of the Empire.

The most astonishing proof of this marvellous expanding power is afforded by this our colony of New Zealand, founded here fifty years ears ago, whose jubilee we lately celebrated, and the early history of which we here sketch for our readers.