private static void checkDefaultsVersion(Configuration conf) {
    if (conf.getBoolean("hbase.defaults.for.version.skip", Boolean.FALSE)) return;
    String defaultsVersion = conf.get("hbase.defaults.for.version");
    String thisVersion = VersionInfo.getVersion();
    if (!thisVersion.equals(defaultsVersion)) {
      throw new RuntimeException(
        "hbase-default.xml file seems to be for an older version of HBase (" + defaultsVersion
          + "), this version is " + thisVersion);
    }
  }
Adds HBase configuration files to a Configuration
hbase-common/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HBaseConfiguration.java