Page:History of Australia, Rusden 1897.djvu/15

 the case of Australia, as I can vouch, very powerfully and very interestingly."

After the publication of the first edition of this History the Government of New South Wales entered, officially, upon the task of preparing a history of that colony. The first volume appeared in 1889, and the second in 1894. The period covered by the two volumes was about seven years. Four bulky volumes of "Historical Records" of New South Wales (up to 1802) have also been published by the Government.

Such arsenals of past facts, though of great value to students, leave room for a history framed to embody the spirit of the time rather than to register every daily occurrence.

Amongst the "Historical Records" are numerous papers in the possession of the Hon. P. G. King, M.L.C., in New South Wales. They throw a flood of light upon the time with which they deal. The original MSS, lent to the author many years ago, justified him in the hope that he might present the "age and body of the time, its form and pressure," with the aid of the old Governor's manuscripts, which had been carefully preserved in a chest, until his grandson—their present owner—brought them to light, and placed them at the author's disposal.