Page:Literature in New South Wales.djvu/10

 upon such a task. The difficulties encountered in its performance were greater than would be easily believed, and must form the writer's excuse for whatever errors or omissions may be discovered. It is not irrelevant to state what these difficulties were.

In the first place, it has not proved an easy matter to procure the necessary material. No collection, in the interest of the public, has yet been made of the widely scattered mass of books and papers which constitute our literature. Every one knows how rapidly these things are apt to disappear. Newspapers and magazines are thrown aside as soon as they are read. Books too often share the same fate. Thus it happens that, in the course of a few years, it becomes almost a hopeless task to recover these neglected treasures. However absurd it may seem to say so, it is nevertheless true that there is already a field for literary antiquarianism among us, and more than one antiquarian is vigorously at work. The collection made by the late Mr. Justice Wise, imperfect as it is, amply demonstrates this truth. Without the assistance of that collection, the facis gathered together in this work could never have been obtained. Much of our periodical literature has vanished. Portions of it may be found in dusty corners of public libraries, and other portions in the hands of private collectors. Were they thrown together, we should possess ample means for estimating our progress in letters, as well as a valuable source of information on our past history. It is to be hoped that this will be accomplished before it becomes too late to attempt it. Such a collection has already been made in Victoria, where the importance of local publications, as materials for History, is fully felt.

In the second place, there is some difficulty in determining what works come within the limits of our literature. As regards publications by native authors, there is, of course, no difficulty;