Preface

This book is primarily an account of New Zealand's present system of government. Its perspective is defined by the occasion for which it has been written —the Centennial of the proclamation of British sovereignty over New Zealand. That is, it is designed to show what modifications the New Zealand environment has produced in the British system of representative government and how New Zealand political institutions differ from corresponding political institutions in Great Britain and in other British Dominions. It is not, therefore, a work of reference but an essay which may help in the use of works of reference. A note on such works will be found at the close of the book.

Although the survey is one of an official series and although I have been helped by many government departments, the views expressed are my own.