The present total population of all New Zealand, both of Europeans and Maoris, may be set down at 506,548.
In 1876, the old provincial divisions, with all their cumbrous local governments and legislative machinery, were finally abolished. Politically speaking, therefore, the provinces of Auckland, Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Westland no longer exist. The names are still retained to some extent in general use, but they will probably pass away as the new arrangement takes deeper hold. The colony is now divided into sixty-three counties, which are here enumerated, together with the three principal cities, towns, villages, or settlements comprised within each. The arrangement is from North to South.
| County. | Towns or Settlements. |
| Mongonui | Mongonui, Whangaroa, Ahipara. |
| Hokianga | Hokianga, Whangape, Kaikohe. |
| Bay of Islands | Kororareka, Kawakawa, Waimate. |
| Whangarei | Whangarei, Mangapai, Waipu. |
| Hobson | Tokatoka, Aratapu, Pahi. |
| Rodney | Mangawai, Omaha, Mahurangi. |
| Waitemata | Helensville, Whangaparoa, Riverhead. |
| Eden | Auckland, Onehunga, Otahuhu. |
| Manukau | Waiuku, Papakura, Pukekohe. |
| Coromandel | Port Fitzroy, Kapanga, Tokatea. |
| Thames | Grahamstown, Tairua, Ohinemuri. |
| Waikato | Mercer, Hamilton, Cambridge. |
| Waipa | Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu, Alexandra. |
| Raglan | Raglan, Port Waikato. |
| Piako | Piako. |
| Tauranga | Tauranga, Maketu, Ohinemutu. |
| Kawhia | Kawhia, Aotea, Kuiti. |
| West Taupo | Orakau, Tokano. |
| East Taupo | Tapuaeharuru, Cox's. |
| Whakatane | Opotiki, Whakatane, Matata. |
| Cook | Gisborne, Ormond, Uawa. |
| Wairoa | Mahia, Clyde, Mohaka. |
| Hawke's Bay | Napier, Hastings, Havelock. |
| Wanganui | Wanganui, Makirikiri, Kai Iwi. |
| Taranaki | New Plymouth, Oakura, Raleigh. |
| Patea | Carlyle, Hawera, Normanby. |
| Rangitikei | Bulls, Marton, Turakina. |
| Manawatu | Foxton, Palmerston, Fielding. |
| Waipawa | Waipawa, Waipukerau, Wallingford. |
| Wairarapa East | Akiteo, Mataikuna, Whareama. |
| Wairarapa West | Featherston, Greytown, Masterton. |
| Hutt | Wellington, Hutt, Karori. |
| Collingwood | Collingwood, Clifton, Takaka. |
| Waimea | Nelson, Wakefield, Foxhill. |
| Sounds | Picton, Gore, Bulwer. |
| Marlborough | Blenheim, Renwick, Tuamarina. |
| Inangahua | Reefton, Howard, Hampden. |
| Buller | Westport, Charleston, Lyell. |
| Grey | Greymouth, Cobden, Ahaura. |
| Amuri | Waiau, Hanmer Bridge, Tarndale. |
| Kaikoura | Kaikoura, Hapuka, Clarence. |
| Cheviot | Cheviot, Hawkswood. |
| Ashley | Kaiapoi, Rangiora, West Oxford. |
| Akaroa | Wairewa, Akaroa. |
| Selwyn | Christchurch, Lyttelton, Selwyn. |
| Westland | Hokitika, Ross, Kumara. |
| Ashburton | Ashburton, Rangitata, Rakaia. |
| Geraldine | Timaru, Geraldine, Te Muka. |
| Waiemate | Waiemate, Makikihi, Waihoa. |
| Waitaki | Oamaru, Herbert, Moeraki. |
| Waikouaiti | Palmerston, Waikouaiti, Port Chalmers. |
| Peninsula | Calversham, Tairoa. |
| Taieri | Dunedin, Outram, Berwick. |
| Maniatoto | Naseby, St. Bathans, Hamilton. |
| Vincent | Clyde, Cromwell, Gladstone. |
| Lake | Queenstown, Arrowtown, Cardrona. |
| Fiord | (No settlement). |
| Wallace | Riverton, Wallace, Howells. |
| Southland | Invercargill, Dacre, Athol. |
| Tuapeka | Lawrence, Tapanui, Roxburgh. |
| Bruce | Milton, Kaitangata, Waihora. |
| Clutha | Balclutha, Clinton, Waipaheu. |
| Stewart Island | Paterson. |
The letters of the Maori Alphabet are only fourteen in number. They are—a, e, h, i, k, m, n, ng, o, p, r, t, u, w. The vowels have an Italian sound.
When two vowels come together in a syllable, both are pronounced in a single breath. Thus:—