New Zealand
3 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for New Zealand. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)
2026 Editor's Note: This page uses language about other peoples, religions, or nationalities that was commonplace when the book was published and is offensive by today's standards. The text has been left exactly as it was printed, rather than cut or softened, so that the historical record — including how ordinary such language once was — is preserved. (Ed: ET 2026-07-22) Maori superstitions. Amidst the mythological personages of New Zealand "the spirits of the dead " ever play a very prominent part, and our chief interest in noticing the Maoris, lies in the fact, that belief in, and open communion with these spirits, still exist. The priests or Tohungas" are unmistakably Mediums," in the modern sense of the term. Sometimes they are born with their gift, and sometimes they are devoted to the priestly office by their parents and acquire their power after the fashion of Eastern ecstatics, by prayer, fasting and contemplation. That good prophets exist amongst the Maoris has been abundantly proved. During the time when Great Britain busied herself in colonizing New Zealand, her officials frequently wrote home, that the Maori would never be conquered wholly; information of the parties sent out to attack them; the very colour of the boats, and the hour when they would arrive; the number of the enemy, and all particulars essential to their safety, being invariably communicated to the tribes beforehand by their prophets or Tohungas. The best natural prophets and seers amongst the Maoris are of the female sex; and although the missionaries try to account for the marvellous powers they exhibit, above all for the sound of the Spirit voice, which is a common phase in their communion with the dead-on the hypothesis that the women who practise "the arts of sorcery," are ventriloquists-this attempted explanation rarely covers the ground of the intelligence which is received. New Zealand In his Old New Zealand General Cummings cites an interesting case of Tohungaism. A certain young chief had been appointed Registrar of births and deaths, when he suddenly came to a violent end. The book of registries was lost, and much inconvenience ensued. The man's relatives notified their intention of invoking his spirit, and invited General Cummings to be present at the ceremony, an invitation which he accepted. "The appointed time came. Fires were lit. The Tohunga repaired to the darkest corner of the room. All was silent, save the sobbing of the sisters of the deceased warrior-chief. There were thirty of us, sitting on the rush-strewn floor, the door shut and the fire now burning down to embers. Suddenly there came a voice out from the partial darkness, 'Salutation, salutation to my family, to my tribe, to you, pakeha, my friend!' Our feelings were taken by storm. The oldest sister screamed, and rushed with extended arms in the direction from whence the voice came. Her brother, seizing, restrained her by main force. Others exclaimed, 'Is it you? Truly it is you! aue! aue!' and fell quite insensible upon the floor. The older women and some of the aged men were not moved in the slightest degree, though believing it to be the spirit of the chief. "Whilst reflecting upon the novelty of the scene, the 'darkness visible' and the deep interest manifest, the spirit spoke again, 'Speak to me my family; speak to me, my tribe: speak to me, the pakeha!' At last the silence gave way, and the brother spoke : 'How is it with you? Is it well with you in that country?' The answer came, though not in the voice of the Tohunga-medium, but in strange sepulchral sounds : 'It is well with me; my place is a good place. I have seen our friends; they are all with me!' A woman from another part of the room now anxiously cried out, 'Have you seen my sister?' 'Yes, I have seen her; she is happy in our beautiful country.' Tell her my love so great for her will never cease.' 'Yes, I will bear the message.' Here the native woman burst into tears, and my own bosom swelled in sympathy. 66 6 6 The spirit speaking again, giving directions about property and keepsakes, I thought I would more thoroughly test the genuineness of all this: and I said, 'We cannot find your book with the registered names; where have you concealed it?' The answer came instantly, 'I concealed it between the tahuhu of my house, and the thatch; straight over you, as you go in at the door.' The brother rushed out to see. All was silence. In five minutes he came hurriedly back, with the book in his hand! It astonished me. "It was now late, and the spirit suddenly said, 'Farewell my family, farewell, my tribe; I go.' Those present breathed an impressive farewell, when the spirit cried out again, from high in the air, 'Farewell!' 66 This, though seemingly tragical, is in every respect literally true. But what is that? ventriloquism, the devil, or what!..." Mrs. Britten, in her Nineteenth Century Miracles says: "The author has herself had several proofs of the Mediumistic power possessed by these 'savages' but as her experiences may be deemed of too personal a character, we shall select our examples from other sources. One of these is furnished by a Mr. Marsden, a person who was well-known in the early days of New Zealand's colonial history, as a miner, who grew rich 'through spiritual communications.' Mr. Marsden was a gentleman who had spent much time amongst the Maoris, and who still keeps a residence in the King country,' that is the district of which they hold control. Mr. Marsden informed the author, that his success as a gold miner, was entirely due to a communication he had received through a native woman who claimed to have the power of bringing down spirits-the Maoris, be it remembered, always insisting that the spirits descend through the air to earth to visit mortals. Mr. Marsden had long been prospecting unsuccessfully in the gold regions. He had a friend in partnership with him, to whom he was much attached, but who had been accidentally killed by a fall from a cliff. The Spirit of this man came unsolicited, on an occasion when Mr. Marsden was consulting a native seeress, for the purpose of endeavouring to trace out what had become of a valuable watch which he had lost. The voice of the spirit was first heard in the air, apparently above the roof of the hut in which they sat, calling Mr. Marsden by his familiar name of 'Mars.' Greatly startled by these sounds, several times repeated, at the Medium 's command, he remained perfectly still until the voice of his friend speaking in his well-remembered Scotch accent sounded close to his ear, whilst a column of grey misty substance reared itself by his side. This apparition was plainly visible in the subdued light of the hut, to which there was only one open entrance, but no window. Though he was much startled by what he saw and heard, Mr. Marsden had presence of mind enough to gently put his hand through the misty column which remained intact, as if its substance offered no resistence to the touch. Being admonished by an earnest whisper from the Maori woman, who had fallen on her knees before the apparition, to keep still, he obeyed, when a voice-seemingly from an immense distance off-yet speaking unmistakably in his friend's Scotch accents, advised him to let the watch alone for it was irreparably gone-but to go to the stream on the banks of which they had last had a meal together trace it up for six miles and a half, and then, by following its course amidst the forest, he would come to a pile, which would make him rich, if he chose to remain so. Whilst he was waiting and listening breathlessly to hear more, Mr. Marsden was startled by a slight detonation at his side. Turning his head he observed that the column of mist was gone, and in its place, a quick flash, like the reflection of a candle, was all that he beheld. Here the séance ended, and the astonished miner left the hut, convinced that he had heard the Spirit of his friend talking to him. He added, that he followed the directions given implicitly, and came to a mass of surface gold lying on the stones at the bottom of the brook in the depth of the forest. This he gathered up, and though he prospected for several days in and about that spot, he never found another particle of this precious metal. That which he had secured he added, with a deep sigh, was indeed enough to have made him independent for life, had it not soon been squandered in fruitless speculations." So deeply has the Maori mind been saturated with ages of superstition that among the civilised, well-educated classes there may to-day be observed numerous expressions and actions which have their origin in an instinctive dread of the supernatural. Many degrees of superstition exist among the Maoris of the present day, says a writer in the Pall Mall Gazette. In the recesses of the Urewera country for example, diablerie has lost little of its early potency; the tohunga there remains a power in the land. Among the more enlightened natives a precautionary policy is generally followed; it is always wiser and safer, they say, to avoid conflict with the two mysterious powers tapu and makuta. Tapu is the less dangerous of the two; a house, an individual, or an article may be rendered tapu, or sacred, and if the tapu be disregarded harm will befall someone. But makuta is a powerful evil spell cast for the deliberate purpose of accomplishing harm, generally to bring about death. The tohunga is understood to be in alliance with the spirits of the dead. The Maori dreads death, and he fears the dead. Places of burial are seldom approached during the day, never at New Zealand night. The spirits of the dead are believed to linger sometimes near places of burial. Without going to experts in Maori lore, who have many and varied theories to set forth, a preferable course is to discover what the average Maori of to-day thinks and believes respecting the strange powers and influences he deems are at work in the world around him. A Maori of this type-who can read and write, is under forty years of age, and fairly intelligent was drawn into a lengthy conversation with the writer. He believed, magistrates notwithstanding, that tohungas, somehow, had far more power than ordinary men. He did not think they got that power from the "tiapo" (the devil?); they just were able to make themselves masters of men and of many things in the world. There are many degrees of Tohungaism. An ordinary man or woman was powerless against a tohunga, but one tohunga could overcome another. The speaker knew of an instance of one tohunga driving the tohunga power entirely out of a weaker rival. It was a fairly recent east coast occurrence. Three Maoris had accidentally permitted their pigs to trespass into the tohunga's potato paddock, and much damage and loss was the result. The tohunga was one of the dangerous type, and being very wroth, he makutued the three men, all of whom promptly died. Nobody was brave enough to charge the tohunga with causing the death of the men; they were all afraid of this terrible makuta. At length another tohunga was heard of, one of very great power. This oracle was consulted, and he agreed to deal effectively with tohunga number one, and punish him for killing the owner of the pigs. So, following his instructions, the first-mentioned individual was seized, and much against his will, was conveyed to the home of the greater magician. Many Maoris, it should be known, stand in awe of hot water, they will not handle it, even for purposes connected with cooking or cleaning. Into a large tub of hot water the minor tohunga struggling frantically, was placed, then he was given a page torn from a Bible, which he was ordered to chew and swallow. The hot water treatment, combined with the small portion of the white man's sacred volume, did the expected work; the man was no longer a tohunga, and fretting over his lost powers, he soon afterwards died." Spiritualism . Amongst the earliest investigators in Dunedin, was a Mr. John Logan. Before he had become publicly identified with the cause of Spiritualism, an association had been formed, the members of which steadily pursued their investigations in private circles and semipublic gatherings. One of the most marked events in connection with the early development of Spiritualism in Dunedin, however, was the arraignment and church trial of Mr. Logan, the circumstances of which may be briefly summed up as follows. This gentleman, although holding a high position in the first Presbyterian church of the city, had attended circles and witnessed Spiritualistic phenomena and it was currently reported that one of his own near relatives was a very remarkable Medium. On the 19th of March, 1873, Mr. Logan was summoned to appear before a Church Convocation, to be held for the purpose of trying his case, and if necessary, dealing with his "delinquency." Mr. Logan was in the event deprived of his church membership. In many of the principal towns besides Dunedin, circles held at first in mere idle curiosity, have produced their usual fruit of mediumistic power, and this again has extended into associative action, and organisation into local societies. For over a year, the Spiritualists and Liberalists of Dunedin secured the services of Mr. Charles Bright as their lecturer. This gentleman had once been attached to the editorial staff of the Melbourne Argus, and had obtained a good reputation as a capable writer, and liberal thinker. Mr. Bright's lectures in Dunedin were highly appreciated, and by their scholarly style and attractive manner, served to band together the liberal element in the city. In Auckland, the principal town of the North Island, the same good service was rendered to the cause of religious thought, by the addresses of the Rev. Mr. Edgar, a clergyman whose Spiritualistic doctrines, had tended to sever him from sectarian organisations, and draw around him, the Spiritualists of the town. Besides the good work effected by these gentlemen, the occasional visits of Messrs. Peebles, Walker, J. Tyerman, and the effect of the many private circles held in every portion of the islands, tended to promote a general, though quiet, diffusion of Spiritual thought and doctrine, throughout New Zealand.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a dominion of the British empire, consisting of a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, two large islands, called North and South (or Middle) Islands, and a third of comparatively insignificant size, Stewart Island; length of the group, N. to S., about 1,000 miles; area, 104,471 square miles. Pop. (1918) estimated 1,106,677, besides about 45,000 Maoris. Capital, Wellington, in North Island; other chief cities: Dunedin, Auckland, Christchurch. North Island, the N. one of the group, and separated from South Island by Cook's Strait, which, where narrowest, is about 23 miles wide, is very irregular in shape, and much broken by deep bays and projecting headlands. Its area is estimated at 44,468 square miles. The main body of the island, as well as its peninsulas, has for the most part an exceedingly rugged and mountainous surface; and besides being traversed from S. to N. by chains of mountains reaching a height of 6,000 feet, presents a number of lofty isolated volcanic peaks, among which the most conspicuous are Tongariro (6,500 feet) occasionally active, and Ruapehu (9,195 hu (9,195 feet), and Mount Egmont (8,300 feet), extinct volcanoes. The coast line of North Island contains many excellent natural harbors, especially those of Wellington on Cook's Strait, and of Auckland on the Isthmus of the N. projection. The chief indentations are Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty in the N. E.; Hawke's Bay in the E.; South Taranaki Bight in the S. W. The streams are extremely numerous, but are mostly mere torrents, which bring down immense deposits of shingle. The largest of the rivers are the Waikato (200 miles) and the Wanganui (about 120). Most of the streams have their sources in lakes embosomed among mountains covered with magnificent forests. The largest of all the lakes is Taupo, situated near the center of the island, about 36 miles long by 25 miles broad. To the N. E. occur a number of lakes, familiarly known as the "Hot Lakes," there being here hot springs and other volcanic phenomena. South Island is of a much more compact and regular form; area, about 58,- 525 square miles. With exception of the N. coast, the S. W. coast, and a remarkable spur on the E. coast called Bank's Peninsula, the coast line is very continuous. On the N. coast, from Cape Farewell to Cape Campbell, are numerous good harbors; in the S. W. are a series of narrow fiords. South Island is traversed from N. to S. by a lofty central mountain chain, which has an average height of about 8,000 feet; while Mount Cook, near the W. coast, the culminating point of New Zealand, is 13,200 feet high. Among these mountains are glaciers of great size, stretching down on the S. W. almost to the sea. Along the E. coast several extensive plains exist. The largest river is the Clutha, which has a course of 150 miles, and enters the sea near the S. E. angle of the island. The largest lakes are Wakatipu and Te Anau, covering 114 and 132 square miles respectively. Stewart Island is separated from South Island by Foveaux Strait, about 15 miles wide. It has an area of 665 square miles. A great number of smaller islands belong to the New Zealand group. The Chatham Islands and Kermadec Islands are outlying dependencies. Minerals and Natural Productions.- New Zealand is rich in minerals. Coal is abundant; iron, tin, silver, and copper are also found in various regions. Gold, discovered in 1861, is worked both in North and South Islands. The output in 1917 was valued at $165,299. The climate is very varied, though remarkably healthful. In temperature it resembles France and north Italy, but the humidity is considerably greater. Rapid changes are a notable feature of the weather. Among vegetable productions the most characteristic are the ferns (130 different species), which form almost the only vegetation over immense districts. Some of them are more than 30 feet high, and remarkable for the elegance of their forms. The flax plant furnishes an article of export. A number of the forest trees furnish valuable timber. Among others is the kauri or damar pine. Flowering plants are remarkably scarce, and there are no indigenous fruits. The colony produces every English grain, grass, fruit, and vegetable. In animals New Zealand is singularly deficient, only a sort of dog (now extinct), a rat, and two species of bats being indigenous. Rabbits have been introduced and have multiplied so as to become a perfect pest; pigs now run wild, as well as cats. Pheasants, partridges, quails, and red and fallow deer have also been successfully introduced. All the common European quadrupeds appear to be easily acclimatized. Pigeons and parrots are the most common native birds. Among others are the apteryx (a wingless bird), the huia or parson-bird, and the owl parrot. The gigantic moa is now extinct. The chief reptiles are a few lizards. The coast teems with fish, and seals are still numerous in some parts. The original natives of New Zealand, a people of Polynesian origin, are called Maoris. Their numbers have been so reduced by internecine feuds that they do not now exceed 40,000, all of whom, with the exception of a few hundreds, are located in the North Island. By missionary efforts a great part of them have been converted to Christianity. They have acquired in many instances considerable property in stock, cultivated lands, etc., and in the neighborhood of the settlements they are adopting European dress and habits. Government and Education. - By the constitution the crown appoints the governor; but the legislative power is vested in the General Assembly, or Parliament of two houses-a Legislative Council consisting of 43 members nominated by the crown for life; and a House of Representatives, which is made up of 80 members, elected by the people for three years. Women have the right of suffrage. The governor is aided and advised by a ministry comprising the chief of ficers of state, who are members of the General Assembly. By the act passed by the assembly in 1875, which abolished the provincial system, the powers previously exercised by superintendents and provincial officers were delegated to county councils or vested in the governor. The civil and criminal laws are the same as those of England. For colonial defense a number of volunteers have been enrolled (about 8,500); the chief ports are also being put in a state of defense. There is no State-aided Church, but most Christian sects are well provided for. The Church of England is most numerously represented. Elementary education is free, secular, and compulsory. Secondary education is provided for in numerous high schools, grammar schools, colleges, etc. At the head of the higher education is the University of New Zealand, an examining body empowered to grant honors, degrees, and scholarships. Affiliated to it are several colleges throughout the colony. There is also a separate university at Dunedin. There are training colleges for teachers, theological colleges, etc. Industry and Commerce. - Stock-rearing and agriculture are the most important industries, though mining is also an important occupation. There are about 30,000,000 sheep in the colony, and by far the most important export is wool ($60,000,000 annually). In 1917 the area planted with crops was 16,906,672 acres. There were raised in 1918, 6,761,000 bushels of wheat, 4,785,000 bushels of oats, 572,000 bushels of barley. During the progress of the World War New Zealand was prosperous industrially. The foreign trade in 1918 amounted to $256,500,761. The imports were $117,934,488 and the exports $138,566,273. The chief articles of export were wool, meat, cheese, an butter. In 1917, 543 vessels with a tonnage of 1,405,766 entered the ports of the dominion. Labor Legislation. -New Zealand was a pioneer state in exacting measures tending toward state socialism-e. g., income and unimproved land tax, 1891; subdivision of pastcral estates, 1893; compulsory conciliation and arbitration, 1894; old-age pensions, 1898. Widows, war veterans, and phthisical miners are also pensioned. History. New Zealand was discovered by Tasman in 1642, but little was known of it till the visits of Cook in 1769 and 1774. The first permanent settlement was made by missionaries in 1815. In 1833, a resident was appointed, with limited powers, and subordinate to the government of New South Wales. In 1840 New Zealand was erected into a colony; in 1841 it was formally separated from New South Wales and placed under its own independent governor; and in 1852 it received a constitution and responsible government. In 1865 the seat of government was removed from Auckland to Wellington. In 1873 the public works policy was inaugurated, and and large loans were raised for in immigration, harbors, railways, roads, etc. In 1876 the provinces were abolished; the colony was divided into 63 counties, and all government centralized at Wellington. New Zealand furnished over 100,00 men in the World War. Of these nearly 15,000 were killed. The total casualties were over 52,000. New Zealand troops distinguished themselves wherever they were engaged and took an especially prominent part in the operations in the Dardanelles, where, with the Australian troops, they were called Anzacs. Conscription was introduced in 1916. :
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
nu ze'land, a group of islands in the southern Pacific, 1,200 miles southeast of Australia. The chief islands are North Island and South Island. Both are traversed by elevated mountain ranges. Peaks rise to an altitude of several thousand feet. The loftiest is 9,195 feet high. These islands are about the size of Pennsylvania and New York respectively, and, from all accounts, they have much the same physical features as these states. Mountain, valley, and plain, gorges, rivers, lakes, and cascades are present on a large scale. The entire group occupies an oceanic region 200 miles wide and 1,000 miles in length, extending through eleven degrees of latitude. The highest peaks are snow-capped. The northern shores are in a southern latitude corresponding to that of Savannah, Georgia. The southern end of the group lies in south latitude corresponding to that of northern Maine. The climate found between these extremes of latitude and elevation is more like that of the British Isles, however, than that of the American coast. There is great diversity of soil and scenery. An extensive region--a veritable wonderland of volcanoes and geysers--has been set aside as a national park. Minerals, Forests, Etc. The minerals prized by man--iron, gold, silver, lead, zinc, antimony, and magnesium--are all present. About 12,000,000 acres are or were clothed with forests of trees, unknown in the north, but affording excellent timber for fencing, building, railroad ties, and cabinet work. There are almost a thousand flowering plants. Gigantic ferns are numerous. There are 30,000,000 acres suitable for grazing and half that area admirably adopted to the grains and vegetables of Great Britain and the United States . Animals. The ordinary domestic animals, including poultry, thrive. The native mammals are restricted to two bats and a rat. There are no snakes, few lizards, and but one kind of frog. Sand flies and mosquitoes are in evidence. There are four species of the wingless bird known as the apteryx or kiwi. Pigeons and parrots abound. English game birds--the pheasant, quails, and partridges--have been introduced. Rabbits, as in Australia, have been introduced and have become a pest. European deer have become perfectly at home. The grasses are said to be so nutritious that deer grow much larger than in England, but cows and horses are smaller. Native Population. The natives are known as Maoris. Some contend that they are a brown Polynesian race,--they are tall, well built, active; tillers of the soil, skillful canoe men, and fishers. When first known they possessed skill in wood carving, but none in metal work or in the making of pottery. They tattooed their faces and bodies in a striking manner. They were given to tribal wars and were addicted to cannibalism. There are still over 40,000 of them for the greater part settled in a half civilized way, largely through the efforts of missionaries. They adapt themselves to European ways readily, and make a kindly, self-respecting people. Historical. The first white man to visit New Zealand was the Dutch captain Tasman for whom Tasmania was named. This was in 1642. In 1769 over a century later, Captain Cook, the next European to see New Zealand, sailed completely around the group and mapped the islands. He left a number of pigs and fowls that multiplied and afforded the Maoris animal food. He also provided seed and taught the natives to raise potatoes, turnips, and cabbages. Missionaries and whalers were followed by traders who sought to exchange beads, guns, and cutlery for timber, flax, and curios. In 1840 New Zealand was made a British colony. The discovery of gold attracted miners. About $300,000,000 worth of this metal has been taken from the mountains or washed from the sands of the rivers. The wonderful adaptation of the soil to agriculture and grazing attracted settlers in great numbers. Population. There were, in 1901, 761,104 persons, chiefly of British descent, in New Zealand. Half a million of this population had seen no other country. At this date there were five towns with a population of over 10,000 each. Auckland, the largest, had 63,000, and Wellington 43,000 people. There are over 1,000 Protestant churches, 200 Catholic churches, 1,757 public primary schools, twenty-five high schools, four colleges, two normal schools, five art schools, four schools of mines, a school of agriculture, a school of engineering, numerous private schools, and a state university. There are also over 100 schools for Maori children. The estimated population in 1909 was 1,040,000. Commerce. In 1905 the colony exported, chiefly to Great Britain, wool, gold, grain and flour, fresh meats, tallow, hides, leather, feathers, live stock, butter, cheese, hams, bacon, timber, and minor articles to the value of $68,000,000. Fresh meats--3,000,000 carcasses a year--are frozen and shipped in refrigerator ships. Two million dollars worth of kauri gum, used in making varnish, is gathered for export annually. The leading imports are clothing, cutlery, machinery, sugar, tea, tobacco, fruit, oils, bags, paper, and books. Agriculture. Agriculture and stock raising are the leading industries. There are 85,000 farms and ranches, with room for many more. American reapers are to be seen in the wheat fields. In addition to all the usual field crops and vegetables, apples, plums, and peaches are of excellent quality. The sheep-shearing season begins at the north in September and advances southward with the season, closing in January at the very time when sheep in the northern hemisphere have greatest need of their fleeces. In like manner the harvest begins in December and ceases at the south in February. Rains are frequent and well distributed. Drouths are of rare occurrence. In winter, June to August, the snow line comes down to within 3,000 feet of the sea level. The climate is decidedly oceanic. The mean temperature for summer is about 63deg. F.; for winter 48deg. F. As in England, the winter is so mild that barns are not needed. The summers are too cool for Indian corn. Grapes are grown only under glass. Legislation. New Zealand has been settled by an unusually enterprising, intelligent population. Though on friendly terms with Australia and ready to help the mother country with men and money, the colony preferred not to enter the Australian Federation. In 1907 the colony was transformed into the Dominion of New Zealand. The country is governed by a local Parliament. Women vote. The Maoris have four members. No government in the world has taken greater pains to guard the interests of individuals and to care for the needy. The country is rich in natural resources; soil and climate are all that could be desired. An effort has been made to give all an equal chance and to prevent poverty. In the first place the wild lands are not sold to speculators. The government builds roads, railroads, and extends telegraph and telephone lines wherever they are deemed necessary. Street railways, gas, water, and electric plants are owned by the towns. Savings banks are operated by the postoffices. Life insurance is a government affair. Helpless old age is pensioned. Under civil service rules offices are held for life or during good behavior. Brewing is permitted. Distilling is prohibited. The government attends to the transfer of real estate and to the settling of estates. It also loans settlers money at low rates on mortgages. Taxes are levied on a sliding scale. The first thousand dollars pays less than the second; the second less than the third; so that wealth is taxed unmercifully. Every effort is made to give all an opportunity to become comfortable, and every obstacle is thrown in the way of amassing millions. Although far from the beaten paths of commerce, visited seldom by the mere traveler, New Zealand is one of the most thrifty and interesting countries on the globe. An effort is being made, and on a large scale, to profit by the world's experience and to escape some of the ills that have befallen older commonwealths. In all that contributes to advance civilization, in point of soil, weather, water, natural resources, and people, New Zealand has the elements of unbounded prosperity--a veritable empire. See Geysers; Kauri; Sheep. 2026 Editor's Note: New Zealand was the world's social laboratory — first country with women's suffrage (1893), pioneer of old-age pensions and arbitration, exactly as this era's reformers kept citing. See New Zealand's firsts . (Ed: BR 2026-07-02)