22 NOVEMBER 1890, Page 28

Maori and Settler. By G. A. Henty. (Blackie and Son.)—It

must be allowed that there is a good deal of " padding" in this

story. We are nearly half-way through the book before Mr.

Renshaw and his family are permitted to land in New Zealand. And much of this prefatory matter is not very lively. There is, indeed, a fine free-fight when the islanders try to take possession of the ' Flying Scud' ; but we have seen more descriptions of this kind of thing than we can count, and they want novelty. New Zealand once reached, we find nothing to complain of. Mr. Henty does the justice that we should expect from him to the Maori case, and duly recognises the chivalry, almost unprecedented m such warfare, with which on more than one occasion the natives behaved to their opponents. It would not be easy, indeed, to match out of the history of civilised nations the sending of a supply of provisions to the hostile camp, as a practical carrying out of Christian rules of conduct.