INTKODUCTION. 



xxxvn 



THE VALUE OE STATE PEOTECTTON. 



The Seddon Government, whatever it may have done or left undone, has at any rate 

 established this claim on the gratitude of posterity, that it has accomplished more than any other 

 Colonial Government, in New Zealand or elsewhere, in the way of conserving the native fauna 

 and flora. During their ten years or more of office, Ministers have taken several important 

 steps in that direction, culminating at last in the adoption of a- Parliamentary measure 

 (' The Scenery Preservation Act, 1903 ') providing for the conservation and maintenance 

 of native scenery, and appropriating £100,000 for the acquisition of land by the Crown 

 where necessary for that purpose. 



The first forward step was taken by my personal friend, the late Mr. John Ballance (the 

 then Premier), who, in 1892, responded promptly to the request of the Earl of Onslow, the 

 Governor of the Colony, that two suitable islands should be acquired by the Crown — the Little 

 Barrier in the North and Eesolution Island in the South — and set apart as public reserves 

 for the conservation of the indigenous fauna and flora.* His Excellency, in a Memorandum of 

 considerable length, which was afterwards laid before the local Parliament, directed the attention 

 of his Ministers to the fact that many of the native species, under the changed conditions of ex- 

 istence, were passing away ; that some had already disappeared, while others were verging on 

 extinction. He mentioned that many prominent writers on zoological science had urged the 

 importance of taking some steps for the preservation of New Zealand birds, and had pointed 

 out that it would be a lasting reproach to the present generation of colonists if no attempt was 

 made to save some — if only a remnant — of these expiring forms, for the student of the future. 

 After putting forward many cogent reasons, Lord Onslow concluded his argument in these words: 

 " Looking to the interests involved — the great loss to the scientific world implied in the 

 extermination of natural forms that do not exist elsewhere, and the importance there- 

 fore of saving them — it cannot be denied that a heavy responsibility rests on those who, 

 while there is yet time and opportunity, may neglect to take the necessary steps for their 

 preservation." 



The Hon. Mr. Ballance earned for himself the thanks of ornithologists everywhere by taking- 

 prompt action, on the Governor's recommendation, in setting apart the required island-reserves, 

 and in making arrangements for having them stocked with birds and plants from the mainland, 

 and placing them in charge of competent rangers. 



As His Excellency was good enough to honour me with his personal confidence during 

 the whole of this important negotiation, I may be permitted to quote the appeal contained in 

 that Memorandum, invoking the protection of Government for the Huia, our elegant Mountain 

 Starling : 



There is a bird famous in Maori history and poetry — remarkable for its singular beauty, and interesting 

 to naturalists on account of its aberrant generic characters — a species confined to a very limited portion of 

 the North Island, from which, owing to the eagerness of natural-history collectors and the inevitable progress 

 of settlement in its native woods, it is fast disappearing. I refer, of course, to the Huia (Heteralocha 

 acutirostris), a bird which is naturally confined within such narrow geographical boundaries that I may 

 describe its range as being limited to the Euahine, Tararua, and Kimutaka Mountain-ranges, with their 



* Some years ago steps were taken by the Seddon Goverment for acquiring from the Maoris the island of Kapiti, 

 in Cook's Strait, to serve as a central depot, and it is to be hoped that this plan will yet be carried into execution. The 

 island is admirably adapted for acclimatisation purposes, having on its surface a fair distribution of forest and fern-land,, 

 mountain and valley. Two species of native birds — the Bell-bird and the Whitehead — which for years have been prac- 

 tically extinct on the mainland, are still numerous on the wooded slopes of Kapiti, and it is very delightfu to 

 the casual visitor to hear their joyous notes immediately on landing. 



