BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 7, Issue 2, 1 October 1974, Page 11

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

A. G. Bagnall

{ln belated resumption of series commenced March 1968 —Record Vol. 1 No. 3) Annie R. Butler’s Glimpses of Maori Land (1886) is scarcely a title of middle-ranking significance in the New Zealand rare book world, either in content or scarcity. For decades the regular sequence of copies at Bethune & Co’s auctions did little more than escape the ultimate scorn of ‘two bob’ prices, and hovering at about the 6/- or 7/- mark for many years recently reached into double figures. At the June 1973 sale the book received a double accolade, firstly in attaining a new inflationary level of eleven dollars and also a few words of muttered approval from a particularly discriminating observer beside me.

Impelled by this searchlight flash I shook the dust from my own copy to reconsider its status. Perhaps after all it deserved better of posterity. The book is simply an account of a visit to New Zealand in ‘IBB-’ of a few months’ duration by the author and a married couple, the author’s sister and brother-in-law who was ‘a tired clergyman, from one of our great Midland towns.’ Its tone is indicated by the name of the publisher, the Religious Tract Society, while Hocken’s bald annotation, ‘Visit amongst the missionaries and natives in the Wellington, Napier, and Auckland districts’ holds out little more promise. The religious preoccupations of the party certainly dominate the text and at first glance diminish its appeal to the prevalent scepticism of the mid-20th century. Nevertheless, more persistent dipping revealed the often quite shrewd observation and comment which enlivens the narrative. Social custom and data such as the cost of basic items, servants’ wages, clothes and schooling are facts of present-day concern.

Almost as a reward for a more just appraisal I realised for the first time the significance of a pencil note at the foot of page 1 on my copy which revealed the identity of the visiting clergyman:- ‘Revd George Tonge—Vicar of Christ Ch. Sparkbrook Birmingham’ who is simply ‘G’ in the text. With the encouragement of this clue came a wish to get behind Miss Butler’s coyness, not merely about the year of their visit, but, consistently with her wish to conceal, the name of the ship itself. At last, by page 52 fairly close reading gave the name as Eporem, a form repeated later, itself unknown, and after a moment’s reflection a possible anagram. If, however, the name is read backwards we recognise immediately a well-known sailing vessel of the 1870 s, the Merope. There was no reason to doubt Miss Butler’s statement that they arrived in July and that invaluable research aid Brett’s White Wings confirmed that the Merope did, in fact, reach Wellington on 16 July 1880 having left England in April 1 while the passenger list published a few days in ad-

vance of the vessel’s arrival 2 included in the list of saloon passengers the Rev. G. and Mrs Tonge and Miss Butler.

The party’s missionary dedication was displayed on the voyage out by a concern for the spiritual welfare of the steerage passengers and later by visits to leading Anglican clergymen throughout the North Island — Cook Strait was not hazarded. Wellington, not normally the subject for much tourist enthusiasm in books of the period, receives a good measure of attention. The boarding-house, the shopping facilities, basic costs, Mount Cook School —a ‘General Store’ for the children of M.P.’s, lawyers, doctors, workmen and sweeps, ‘Lyall’s Bay’ and even fair Kaiwarra, culminating in a visit to Parliament. The visitors listened to the Supply debate on a typical 1880 depression resolution to reduce the education vote and noted but did not name the Minister of Education ‘strikingly like Bonaparte in figure’ a guise in which the Hon. W. Rolleston might be recognized with difficulty. Miss Butler’s normal accuracy could be checked and established by her reference to an incident in the House the following day. A very sharp earthquake interrupted the speech of Major Te Wheoro who stood impassively until his frightened pakeha listeners regained their composure. 3

The Tonges and Miss Butler continued by sea to Wanganui which ‘has a name for drinking, and it cannot lose it’ (p. 98) Surely, after forty years the deeds of E. J. Wakefield should have been allowed to fade! There is much on Putiki, the Mission, and the church with its congregation now down to eleven faithful from the earlier total of often two hundred; and on the two Mrs Taylors, the widows of the Revs. Richard and Basil. From the reference to the store of missionary curiosities in Mrs. Richard Taylor’s home and ‘above all her hundreds of sketches with which Mr Richard Taylor illustrated his letters and journals’ (p. 99) it seems likely that they saw the Taylor sketch-book which 91 years later found its final resting-place in the Turnbull Library. ‘Bull’s Town’ and its evangelistic saviour Gordon Forlong receive honorable mention while a chapter describes a visit to an unidentified sheep run managed by a ‘Mr W.’ which a little research would tend to confirm as Heaton Park, then and for many years managed by Robert Wilson. A brief halt in Palmerston North with the temperance protagonist led on to Hawke’s Bay, Napier, Hukarere School and Te Aute, Wairoa, Gisborne and of course the Williams family in their several persons. In Auckland, time was spent with the Rev. B. Y. Ashwell and a succession of missionary widows, Mrs. Burrows, Mrs. Kissling, Mrs. Kempthorne and Mrs. White. Miss Butler gives a quite touching picture of the relics of an age which had tried in all conscience to do its best for the Maori as well as setting up a girls’ welfare institution, the Mildmay Association. The few illustrations engraved from Miss Butler’s sketches are in no way remarkable in

subject but there are hints of a sketch-book in which other less hackneyed themes would be interesting to us today. The situation which caused Annie Butler and her relations to visit New Zealand was often repeated in the 19th century but few writers of her background and standpoint have left such a graceful and occasionally significant series of vignettes of their stay.

Edward Wakefield’s New Zealand after fifty years, although written by a more famous name than Glimpses ... is in every sense less worthy. The most common edition with its cover displaying a period stereotype of a moa and an Indian-like Maori in front of an equally distorted nikau with a tent-like structure in the background is as physically unattractive as its text. The purpose of the book, according to the introduction, was to give readers a ‘correct idea’ of New Zealand’s origins and destiny. Hocken described it as ‘A sketchy account of the Colony’s present position’. However until Mr. J. H. Christie some years ago, when working in National Archives, drew my attention to the official file 4 dealing with the financial involvement of the Government of the day in its publication, all aspects of this process were quite unknown to me.

Edward Wakefield (1845-1924) was a son of the ill-starred Felix, a brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. After being brought to New Zealand at the age of six with his parents he was in due time taken back to England to complete his education. In 1863 he returned to New Zealand to join the Nelson. Examiner at the age of 18. After a brief apprenticeship he became a civil servant for about eight years under the patronage of Edward Stafford (an uncle by marriage) with whose support he returned to journalism in 1874 as editor of the Timaru Herald. Between 1875 and 1887 he represented Geraldine and later Selwyn in the House of Representatives for some nine years. Colonial Secretary for a whole six days in the short-lived 1884 Atkinson Ministry he seems to have possessed some of the less attractive Wakefield political virtues such as a certain deviousness without vision or real personal dedication. The writer has noted elsewhere Wakefield’s ironic dismissal of the Rev. W. S. Green’s epoch-making visit to the Alps on the doorstep of Timaru 4 and his action over the book now on the table before us seems to show a quotient of insensitiveness to the country’s public relations which ostensibly were his concern at the time.

The story in brief was that a book was intended for preparation jointly by Wakefield and a Count de Jouffroy D’Abbans for distribution initially in France at the Paris International Exhibition of 1889. The Count, a shadowy figure in Wellington Society in the 1880 s during part of which period at least he appears to have been French Consul, would repay a little study but there is no reason to doubt either his capacity to produce such a work or his quite disinterested intention to do so and so to help a country in which he had passed some years.

By December 1888 when the Agent General in London, Dillon Bell, received instructions that the Government was taking 1,000 copies with consequential distribution plans, the work seems to have been fairly far advanced. Bell in a letter written on Christmas Eve 5 noted that the Minister had agreed to take the copies of a handbook in the French language ‘if the work should be satisfactory’. He would be happy to report as soon as he received a copy ‘but from the interest which Count D’Abbans has always taken in the Colony, I can hardly doubt that his work will be of service in making our resources known in France ...’ An enthusiastic prospectus was issued: The Paris International Exhibition, 1889/ [rule]/ ‘New Zealand in 1889.’/ ‘After fifty years.’/ by/ Count Louis de Jouffroy D’Abbans/ and Edward Wakefield./

It was claimed that this important work was designed to furnish ‘a complete geographical, historical, political, social and commercial description of the Colony’ and would be illustrated by a large number of original plates, portraits and drawings reproduced by new processes by ‘Goupil and Cie’. A total of 70,000 copies of the book in English, French, German and Italian would be ready for the opening of the Exhibition on sth May, 1889. The first edition was guaranteed to consist of 30,000 in English, 20,000 in French, and 10,000 each in German and Italian. There was an advertising section at the end of the volume in which space could be obtained at £2O per page.

Two months later, in February 1889, G. F. Richardson as Minister of Lands authorised Bell to take in addition to the thousand copies in French at eighteen pence each a further thousand in English at half-a-crown a copy ‘if in your opinion the work is found to be satisfactory.’ One imagines in the interim much feverish activity and collaboration between the Count and Wakefield in preparing the manuscript with its multiple translations for publication and distribution. The Count at this period appears to have been in Paris waiting hopefully for Wakefield to appear. There was no doubt about Wakefield’s energy but it was to be expended on an effort of his own and not on a product of collaboration. In September, four months after the opening of the Exhibition, Wakefield wrote somewhat belatedly from New York to Bell to present him more or less with the fait accompli of his own work. \.. I was advised on many grounds to endeavour to get a publisher commanding the American field as well as the English, and with that object I came to New York in June last, intending to go speedily to London and Paris. A considerable delay, however, occurred ... Messrs Harper & Brother, who are considered the first publishers here, after keeping the M.S. for three weeks, offered to publish the book on fair terms, but declined to go to the expense of the illustrations, which I

deemed essential. I then called on Cassell & Go. ... and they ... agreed ... 30 plates—and in a very attractive form. I at once signed the Contract, and went to work, for Cassells made it a condition that I should see the book through the press myself ... This I have done. You know my capacity for work of old, but it has been taxed to the utmost here ... I hope to have the pleasure of sending you an advance copy in a week or two. I now write mainly to explain the delay, which vexed me extremely, but which was quite unavoidable. ... I may say that I have done the whole thing out of my own resources, which are scanty enough, and have laid out more than £4OO in the preparation and publication of the book; so that the £125 which the Government agreed to pay me for 1,000 copies is a matter of great importance . . .’ 6

Wakefield concluded by citing the U.S. periodicals for which he was writing articles on New Zealand and claimed to ‘have already taught the Americans more about New Zealand than they ever knew before.’ He looked forward to seeing Bell in London ‘about the end of the month’. Less than four weeks later, early in October 1889 the book appeared —according to Wakefield ‘with great eclat.’ He expressed obvious anxiety that the copy which he was sending would meet with Bell’s approval. The few errors in Maori names would be corrected ‘on the plates’ and Bell ‘would readily see’ that the author had ‘purposely and studiously avoided the handbook or encyclopaedic style ... I hope you will like the pictures. The selection may seem eccentric, but it is not without design, the object being to give a general idea of the condition of the Colony by suggestive illustrations, rather than to illustrate particular passages in the letter press’. If Bell approved he was asked to send authority to Cassells, New York to print the promised 1,000.

It was clear from Bell’s draft telegram that the Government were to get the 2s 6d. edition copies exactly as the copy supplied ‘only corrected in literals and printed on lighter paper and bound handsomely in paper instead of cloth.’ Perhaps the most significant revelation was Wakefield’s statement that he had himself drawn the design on the cover. 7 In his acknowledgment by letter Bell could not say ‘that I am not disappointed with the book’ but that mere disappointment would not justify him from withholding his formal approval. He nevertheless insisted on seeing a specimen copy before the whole was printed so that he could see the paper and binding and ‘especially how the illustrations are to be produced.’ He asked about progress on the French edition. ‘The Count told me in Paris that he was daily expecting to see or hear from you; but now the Exhibition is closed, and the object of the arrangement is therefore frustrated.’ 8 In a letter to the Minister, recapitulating the sorry history of Wakefield’s journalistic excesses, Bell said that the Count’s ver-

sion of the understanding was that Wakefield would assist him in the compilation of the work and was expected to arrive ‘almost immediately’. And in a later letter he again went over the Count’s position. His French edition ‘was long ago ready to be printed .. . [but] Mr Edward Wakefield who has engaged to assist him in bringing out the English edition, had asked him to wait until he (Mr. Wakefield) arrived in Europe before making any arrangement;’ Wakefield, however, had brought out the English language edition without any reference to Count D’Abbans, who had no profit in view in the matter ‘his only object being to give his countrymen a fair account of New Zealand.’ Had Bell known of the full circumstances he would certainly have made it a condition of the Crown’s acceptance of the thousand copies that ‘the Count should be free to bring out his French edition at any time and in any way he might think fit ...’

Among the many unanswered questions on this unfortunate publishing venture was the extent to which the Count’s work was original or a revised draft of an outline which Wakefield had possibly given him. In view of the apparent break-down in communication the stronger probability is that the draft by Count D’Abbans was his own, although were this so Cassell could have little ground for insisting on the prior issue of the American edition. One is tempted to wonder whether this condition had not been suggested or at least encouraged by Wakefield.

At the time of writing an insufficient number of copies has been examined to be dogmatic about the precise nature of each issue. There would appear to be at least four: the New York issue with the errors, no actual copy of which has been seen; the ‘first’ New York issue in red cloth which appears to have been followed by a similar binding in brown similarly illustrated as the ‘first’ but with a leaf of advts. before the title-page; one London issue in paper of which no firmly identifiable copy in original state has so far been seen and the ‘commercial’ London issue in plain blue cloth with cover-title: New Zealand of To-day which has at the end of the six leaves of advts, present in all other issues, a further eight which are ‘Selections from Cassell and Company’s Publications’. All issues seen, however, as the correspondence would indicate, are from the same type setting and carry on the back of the title-page the note: ‘Copyright, 1889, by O. M. Dunham . . . Press of W. L. Marshon & Co., Rahway, N. J. U.S.A.’

Some indication of the character of the Agent General’s issue may be seen from the advance copy in yellow paper covers on which the absurdities of Wakefield’s design are accentuated. Turnbull’s copy has his note: ‘This one of the advance copies sent from New York to Agent General in 1889 from whom I got it. The work was pub here (London) in 90’. The copy has the same preliminary leaf of advts. as the

New York copy in brown cloth. The inference is that the Agent General’s issue was not significantly different from the yellow-paper version. My own copy is a rebind, ex the Library of the Liverpool Geographical Society trimmed to the same size as the paper back specimen but regrettably without the original covers. It is a reasonable inference that it was from Bell’s embarrassing legacy. The best that the unfortunate Count D’Abbans could do at Paris was to distribute a French version of a leaflet or folder which under the title Les Merveilles de la Nouvelle Zelande, La Norvege des Antipodes, reflected, however inadequately, the current official standards of tourist promotion.

NOTES 1 Evening Post 16 Jul 1880 2 Ibid 13 Jul 1880 3 The earthquake and Te Wheoro’s reaction are mentioned in Evening Post 29 Jul 1880, the incident occurring on the 28th. The Supply Debate attended by the visitors was the preceding day, the 27th 4 NA File L9O/147. 5 Agent General to Minister for Immigration 24 Dec 1888 6 Edward Wakefield to Agent General 9 Sep 1889 7 Wakefield to Agent General 11 Oct 1889 8 Agent General to Wakefield 13 Nov 1889 9 Agent General to Minister of Lands 28 Feb and 2 Apr 1890