THE NEW ZEALAND PRESS.
I must apologize for any omissions or inaccuracies that may be found to appear in the above list. The materials were not collected without considerable trouble, and every care has been taken to ensure fulness. The figures are derived from returns published according to the census and estimates of 1879 and 1880. Their incompleteness was unavoidable.
POPULATION OF NEW ZEALAND.
| European. In | 1844 | the total European population was | 13,128 |
| " | 1851 | " | 26,707 |
| " | 1856 | " | 45,540 |
| " | 1861 | " | 99,021 |
| " | 1866 | " | 204,114 |
| " | 1871 | " | 256,393 |
| " | 1874 | " | 299,684 |
| " | 1879-80 | " | 463,729 |
| Maori. In | 1820 | the total Maori population was | 100,000 (supposed). |
| " | 1874 | " | 46,016 |
| " | 1879-80 | " | 42,819 |
The present total population of all New Zealand, both of Europeans and Maoris, may be set down at 506,548.
POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
In 1876, the old provincial divisions, with all their cumbrous local governments and legislative machinery, were finally abolished. Politically speaking, therefore, the provinces of Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Westland no longer exist. The names are still retained to some extent in general use, but they will probably pass away as the new arrangement takes deeper hold. The colony is now divided into sixty-three counties, which are here enumerated, together with the three principal cities, towns, villages, or settlements comprised within each. The arrangement is from North to South.
PRONUNCIATION OF MAORI NAMES.
The letters of the Maori Alphabet are only fourteen in number. They are—a, e, h, i, k, m, n, ng, o, p, r, t, u, w. The vowels have an Italian sound.
| The Maori | a | is pronounced like | aw and ah. |
| " | e | " | a and eh. |
| " | i | " | ee. |
| " | o | " | o and oo (short). |
| " | u | " | oo (long). |
When two vowels come together in a syllable, both are pronounced in a single breath. Thus:—
| The Maori | au | becomes ow, as in cow. |
| " | ao | ao the same. |
| " | ae | ae becomes i, as in sigh. |
| " | ai | ai the same. |
| " | ei | ei becomes ee, as in keep. |
Ng always has a nasal sound, as in ringing. G is never hard.
In common use among colonists, many names are becoming corrupted, principally by the shortening of vowel sounds. Thus, Wakatipu, the proper pronunciation of which should be Waw-kah-tee´-poo, has become Wacky-tip. The elision of a final vowel in certain instances, is common among the Maori themselves.
The following examples, selected from names occurring in this book, may be of use. Chief stress is to be laid upon the syllable indicated by an accent mark.
THE END.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. S. & H.