Mr Wakefield's Book.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5629, 26 November 1889, Page 4

Mr Wakefield's Book.

The Wellington Evening Press has received an advance copy of Mr E. Wakefield's book on New Zealand. The author has, like the Dutch painters of old, or our Wilkie, produced a series of delightful pictures of our homes and the incidents of our daily life ; statistics in his hands are analogous to the figures in one of Mr Gladstone's Budget speeches. No naturalist, or other than he of Selborne, could have told more clearly, yet with sucJi a charm of simple diction, the wonders of the " Aweeto,"or vegetable caterpillar ; no story can be better told than the story of Friar Tuck, the father of the agriculture of New Zealand, and the pioneer of its grain trade ; every New Zealander of experience will declare that the chapters on ' The colony as it is ' and ' The white population,' form the most exactly truthful and most intelligible, most complete, and yet charming account of what they profess to describe. "It is not our purpose to give our readers an analysis of the book, it is enough to say that the short history of the islands, and of the foundation of the colony ; the account of the Maori people, and the chapters on the fauna and flora ; on politics and laws— all show the same clear and discriminative apprehension of the salient facts which distinguishes the rest of the book. Mr Waketield throughout writes with the judgment and certainty of a man who has completely mastered the subjects upon which he discourses, and who has the ability and discernment to express an opinion which cannot be gainsaid. The book, which is printed and published by Cassell and Co. , is admirably got up, and the paper and typography are exceptionally good."

For several years past the newest of the Dutch colonies in New Guinea, Borneo, Java, etc., have ceased to yield any profits to their owners. As a consequence, the interest of the Dutch Government in these possessions, some of which are of considerable importance, has declined, the forces sent out to defend them have gradually fallen off, and the garrison often have all they can do to hold their own. As a colonial power, Holland is steadily losing ground, and the fame of her foreign possessions and maritime importance will aoon be all that will be left to her of her past greatness. A Chinese bride when putting on her wedding garments stands in a round, shallow basket. This is supposed to insure a placid, well-rounded life in her new home.