124 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



been edited and published in its entirety until so recently as 

 the year 1860, when Heer Jacob Swart, of Amsterdam, gave it 

 to the world in the original old Dutch, which not only differs 

 greatly from modern Dutch but is apparently a dialect. From 

 this edition this translation has been made, and I think it may 

 be truly said that it is the first full translation hitherto made. 

 It was with great pleasure I learnt a few weeks ago that the 

 firm of Heiurich Mliller, of Amsterdam, is now preparing to 

 publish a limited number of copies of the full text m English. 

 This will be as valuable as interesting. Then, as good things 

 sometimes come together, I saw recently a few sheets of what 

 apparently is to be the future New Zealand Eeader for use in 

 our primary schools. These sheets contained some parts of 

 Tasman's Journal, evidently translated from the Swart edition. 

 The portion relating to New Zealand ended, unfortunately, 

 with the massacre in Murderers' Bay. I do not know who the 

 translator is, but his work has been done in the most com- 

 petent and accomplished way, and it is to be hoped that he 

 will complete it. The translation is sometimes not quite 

 literal, and that in parts which would not be obscured by a 

 literal rendering. Nor do I understand the principle adopted 

 in giving the longitudes : these are not Tasman's, even with 

 the data for corrections above given, nor are they the true 

 longitudes. The distances run are given in English miles. 

 So, then, all the previous renderings of Tasman's Journal 

 prior to that of Jacob Swart in 1860 have been incorrect 

 in various particulars, the chief one being that of excessive 

 abridgment. As regards the bibliography of these, I cannot 

 do better than refer to my paper in the " Transactions of the 

 New Zealand Institute" for 1894, pages 619, 620. 



In his edition Jacob Swart prefixes to the Journal a pub- 

 lication of all the documents relating to it. These are of 

 considerable value and interest, and were discovered in the old 

 foliants and letter-books of the company, presumably at the 

 same time that the long-lost Journal was found and forwarded 

 from Batavia to x\msterdam. They consist — first, of a letter 

 from Governor Van Diemen and his Council to the Council of 

 Seventeen at Amsterdam, apprising them of Tasman's departure 

 on his important expedition ; second, of a Letter of Instruc- 

 tions to Tasman and his chief officers ; and, third, of other 

 letters and papers giving an account of previous discoveries and 

 directions, which it was no doubt thought important that Tas- 

 man should have with him. The Instructions are far too 

 lengthy to lay before yon here, but they testify most favourably 

 to the wisdom and foresight of Governor Van Diemen and his 

 Council in all matters relating to the geographical knowledge 

 of the time, in fitting out the ships, in suggesting suitable 

 measures in case of accident or failure, and generally in their 



