In attempting this comparison between the early colonisation of America and New Zealand, only certain outstanding features have been taken, and these of necessity have been treated in a general fashion. Two courses were open in the treatment of material. On the one hand, all the activities of the Thirteen American Colonies and of New Zealand could have been given in detail – a procedure which hardly lent itself to such a work as this. On the other hand, facts of American and New Zealand history as supplied by prominent historians could have been accepted, and nothing but a bare comparison made, all else being taken for granted.

I have aimed at steering a middle course, and have tried to give just sufficient detail to supply a background for comparisons between the two countries.