NEW ZEALAND HISTORICAL RECORDS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2164, 1 June 1914, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND HISTORICAL RECORDS.

Sir,—ln your issue of May 2, undor tho heading "personal Items," you stato, regarding Mr. Kobt. 11' Nab, lata Mil', for Mataura, that a certain university degree, to wit, a "Doctor of Literature," had been or was. about to be conferred on him. Ift virtue thereof "Murihiku" and the Now Zealand Historical Records are mentioned as having been submitted, by him, ha being author of the one and the alleged editor : of the other. What 1 wish to trouble you about is the grounds upon which tho .last-named assertion is based. As a matter of fact Mr. M'Nab had nothing whatever to do with! these records. I spent some months in Sydney, Hobart, etc., extracting tlieir data from the rccords, and ono way and another I must havo spent months in Stewart, Ruapuka, and other off-shore islands getting together the reliable information of the Maoris and half-castes versed on the subject. 1 made the arrangement with Sir Joseph Ward (then Prime Minister) to produce them as a Government, publication or rcferenco book. They were put through the prcsa> of tho "Otago Daily Times" office, and no ouo handled them for press purposes but myself. Mr. M'Nab could not even have Seen them cither in manuscript copy or proof sheets, or indeed in any other shape, until they appeared in print. Of course, lam well pleased to find tlioy arc deemed of sufficient merit to shunt Mr. M'Nab on to tho upper grado in literary fnmo, but 1 think you will agrco with me that it is scarcely fair ho should get nil tho kudos; seeing ho did absolutely none of tho work. You will please excuse mo troubling you, and j»3t let me add that sinco I came hero some months ago for health purposes I have scon enough to convince mo that as a newspaper The Dominion is a most acceptablo production, both here and throughout the district. —I am, etc., R. S. CARRICK. Nolson, May 14.