Waitangi, February 6, 1840Kawiti.The leader with Heke of the rebellion in the North in 1845.Tirarau.The principal chief of Northern Wairoa.Pomare.Was detained on board H.M.S.North Starduring the Northern war.Kiore Heke, of the Matarahurahu tribe.Hori Kingi, Wharerahi.This chief accompanied Hongi to England.Tamati Pukututu.Fought with our troops against Kawiti, at Ruapekapeka.Hakiro.Son of Tareha.Wikitene (hikitene).Chief of Kapotai of Waikare.Pumuka.Was killed by Captain Robertson of H.M.S.Hazzardat the sack of Kororareka.Marupo.A noted warrior. Conquered Ngatimaru and Ngatipaoa.Te Tao.Rewiti Atuahaere.An uncle of Hone Heke.Wiremu Hau.Afterwards a native assessor. Fought for the British at Ohaeawai.Kaua.Tona.Mene.Tamati Waaka Nēne.The celebrated loyal chief of Nga-Puhi.Matu Huka.Kamera (Kaiteke).Warau.Ngere.Patuone Eruera Maihi.Brother of Tamati Waaka Nēne.Paora Nohomatangi.Ruhe.Father of Maketu, who was the first Maori hung for murder in New Zealand. Ruhe shot himself in 1865.Kaitara Wiremu Kingi.Taura.Killed at Mawhekairangi.Taurau.The younger brother of Te Tirarau.Te Roha.The younger brother of Te Tirarau.Rewa.Father of Huirau.Moka.A celebrated chief in the early days of the colony.Papahia.Chief of the Hokianga tribes. Father of Wi Tana.Takiri(Titore Nui, the Great). First commenced the felling of Kauri spars for the navy.Tako.Wiremu Tana.Son of Papahia.Tangata Kotahi.Son of Papahia.Te Tai.Son of Papahia.Toroihua.Te Keha.Kowao.Takurua.Hinaki.Manuta Wunu.Nga Manu (Hautokia).Hiro.Marama.Moe Ngaherehere.Mahu.Wiremu Wuna.Tawaewae.Whareumu.Killed at Waima.Makoware.Te Ahu.Son of Parore of Nga-Puhi.Tukupunga.Hara.Hakitara.Went to England to see King William IV.Hawaitu (Tamati).Matatahi.Rawiri Taiwhanga.Father of Hirini (Sydney) and Hemi. A very intelligent man.Paraara.Ana Hamu.Hira Pure.Iwi.Ngatirangi tribe, Te Waka.Whiorau.Wiremu Wahtipu.Piripi Haurangi.Pokai.Ngatirangi tribe. The celebrated Hone Heke. Leader of the rebellion of 1845.Kauwhata.Ngatiwai tribe.Tuirangi.Matarahurahu tribe.Hohepa Kingi Raumati.Tawakawaha.Ngaitawake tribe.Tawatanui.Rawhiti.Kuihanga (Maihi Paraone Kawiti).Paraka.Tahua Hori Kingi.Puka.Koroiko (Te Korohiko).A chief from Taupu.Iwikau Heuheu.Younger brother of the great Te Heuheu, of Taupo. He afterwards became an ardent Kingite.Witnesses.—James Busby; Henry Williams; Richard Taylor, M.A.; John Mason, of the Church Missionary Society; Samuel Ironside, Wesleyan Missionary Society; James Stuart Freeman, gentleman. Witness to the signature of Pomare—James R. Clendon.February 9, 1840Rewiti Irikoe.Te Kuta.Paora Kingi (?).Patu Matekoraha.Haupokia Ahuahu.A celebrated chief and priest. He was wounded in three places during the Northern war: twice through the chest.Mohi Tahua.Kame Kutu.Rangi Tuturau.Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Henry Williams, clerk.Hokianga, February 13, 1840Hake.Rewiri.Te Pana.Hone Makinaihunga.Pangari.Rangatira Pakanae (Rangatira Moetara).Tio.Te Karekare.Tukarawa.Paka.Wharekorero.Marupo.Ngatikorokoro tribe.Toto.Toko.Po.Piripi Ngaromutu.Wiremu Rauraka.Wiremu Patene.Son of Otene Pura.Manaihi.Paratene (Te Ripi).Te Hira.Turau.Te Keti.Kenana.Pero.Te Uruti.Witikama.Tira.Tipane.Matiu.Kaihu.Kaitoke (Te Whakawai).Hira.Kiri Kotiria.Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Willoughby Shortland; George Clarke, Church Missionary Society; William Woon, Wesleyan Mission Society; G. P. Russell, Kohukohu.Waimate, February 15, 1840Tamati Hapimana.Te Kekeao Paratene.Taonui Makoare.Daniel Kahika.Abraham Tautoru (Aperahama Taonui).Kaitoke Muriwai.Te Naihi.Tahua.Tuku.Ngaro.Rawiri Mutu.Wiremu Wahngaroa.Timoti Takare.Hamiora Matangi.Arama Hongi.Haimona Tauranga.Te Kura.Heremaia.Pi, Te Mahurehure.Of the Waima tribe. Killed at Otuihu. Father of Arama Karaka.Repa Mango.Maunga Rongo.Wire Manu.Takahorea.Wakanau.Mohi Tawhai.A loyal chief who fought for us at Ohaewai.Timoti Mito.Haimona Paikoraha.Huna Tuheka.Ngatipakau.Pero.Wiremu Kingi.Witness.—Richard Taylor, Church Missionary Society.Waitemata, March 4, 1840Wiremu Hoete.Chief of Ngatimaru.Hakopa.Te Awa.Father of Te Hira.Tapuru.Titaha.Killed by Heke at the battle of Ohaeawai.Kahukoti.Ruinga.Hori Pokai.Hohepa.Pouroto.Enoka.Hinaki.Kepa.Paora (Putu).Mohi Te Ahi-a-te-Ngu.Anaru.Waitangi, of Paroa.William Korokoro.Chief of Ngatiwai.Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Henry Williams; William Thomas Fairburn.Kaitaia, April 29, 1840Nopera Panakareao.Died April 1856 of erysipelas.Paora Ngarue.Wiremu Wirihana.Umu.Himiona Tangata.Died in 1860.Matenga Paerata.Died in 1862.Rapata Wakahotu.Hori Popata Waka.Died in 1862.Taua.Taitimu.Matiu Huhu.Tokitahi.Paratene Waiora.Rapiti Rehurehu.Koroneho Pupu.Piripi Raorao.Kopa.Meinata Hongi.Otopi.Paetai.Marama.Paratene Karuhuri.Tamati Pawau.Reihana Teira Mangonui.Watene Patonga.Wiremu Ngarae.Hohepa Poutama.Hare Matenga Kawa.Died in 1862.Kingi Kohuru.Matiu Tauhara.Hamiora Potaka.Huyatahi (Hetaraka).Marakai Mawai.Utika Hu.Hare Huru.Tamati Mutawa.Hauora.Tomo.Puhipi Te Ripa.Afterwards a native assessor.Ereonora.Wife of Nopera Panakareao. She died in 1847.Poari Te Mahanga.Rawiri.Kepa Waha.Koroniria Nua.Ngare (Riwai Haki Ngare).Hamiora Tawari.Whiti.Chief of Awanui.Ruanui.Haunui.Died in 1862.Kuri.Kawariki.Rawiri Awarua.Ru.Died in 1862 of typhoid fever.Papanui.Hakaraia Kohanga.Kawaheitiki.Pere Kamukamu.Karaka Kawau.Afterwards a native assessor.Paora Te Hoi.Died in 1862 of typhoid.Himiona Wharaora.Aperahama Otiru.Tara.Pihere, from Kawakawa. Ngatimanu tribe.Witnesses.—William Gilbert Puckey, Church Missionary Society; John Johnson, M.D.; H. D. Smart, 28th Regiment, New Zealand Mounted Police; Richard Taylor, M.A., Church Missionary Society; Willoughby Shortland, Colonial Secretary.THAMES NATIVES FROM WHAREKAWATamaki, July 9, 1840Te Ara Karamu.Kupenga.Ngahuka.Nga Manu.Raro Manu.Te Hangi.Witnesses.—David Rough; George Clarke, P.G.A.; John Johnson, M.D., Colonial Surgeon.Russell, August 5, 1840Hake (Urikapana).Kanawa.Haniwa.Witnesses.—George Clarke, Protector of Aborigines; James Coates, gentleman; James Stuart Freeman, gentleman.Coromandel Harbour, May 4, 1840Horeta te Taniwha.Father of Kitahi (Ngatiwhanaunga tribe).Kitahi.Puakanga.Hauauru.Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment.Mercury BayPunahi.Ngatimaru tribe.Ngataiepa,Rapupo.Witness.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald.AkaroaIwikau.Ngatirangiamoa tribe.John Love.Ngatikahukura tribe.Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; Edward Marsh Williams.Ruapuke, Foveaux StraitsJohn Touwaick (Tu Hawaiki).Taiaroa.Kaikoura.Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment.OtagoJohn Karitai.Korako.Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.Cloudy Bay, June 17, 1840Maui Pu.Eka Hare.Puke.Kaikoura.Joseph Toms.Son-in-law of Nohorua.Nohorua.Elder brother of Te Rauparaha.Waiti.Wi.Te Kanae.Pukeko.Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.Kapiti, June 19, 1840Te Rauparaha.Te Rangihaeata.Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.Hawkes Bay, June 23, 1840Te Hapuku.Waikato.Went to England with Hongi.Mahikai.Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; Edward M. Williams.Manukau, March 20, 1840Kawau (Apihai).Chief of Ngatiwhatua tribe.Tinana.Te Reweti (Wiremu Reweti).Witnesses.—W. C. Symonds; James Hamlin.Kawhia, April 28, May 25, June 15, August 27, September 3, 1840Rawiri.Te Kawana.Tariki.Haupokia.Te Waru (Hori).Taonui.Hone Waitere Aoturoa.Te Matena Te Whapu.Ngamotu.Wharekawa.Witnesses.—James Wallis; John Whiteley.Waikato Heads, April 11 and 26, 1840Paengahuru.Ngatitipa tribe.Kiwi Ngarae.Ngatitahinga tribe. Father of Apera Kiwi.Paki.Ngaungau tribe.Ngapaka.Ngatitipa tribe.Kukutai.Ngatitipa. Father of Waata Kukutai.Te Ngohi.Ngatimaniapoto from Kawhia.Muriwhenua.Ngatihaua from Aotea.Te Pakaru.Ngatimaniapoto from Kawhia.Nutone.Afterwards a pensioner.Te Waraki.Ngatimaniapoto from Kawhia.Te Roto Kiwi.Ngatimahuta from Kawhia.Paerata Ngatipou.Katipa Ngatipou.Father of Maihi, who was captured at Rangiriri.Maikuku.Ngatiteata tribe.Aperahama Ngakainga.Ngatiteata tribe.Hoana Riutoto.Ngatimahuta tribe.Wairakau.Ngatitetata tribe.Haki Aotea.Ngatituwehi tribe.Wiremu te Awaitaia (Wiremu Nero).The well-known loyal chief of Whaingaroa.Tunui Ngawaka.Ngatitahinga from Waikato.Kamura Wauroa.Pohepohe.Ngatihaua from Matamata.Pokawa Rawhirawhi.Ngatihaua from Matamata.Puata.Ngatiruru from Otawhao.Mokoroa.Ngatiruru from Otawhao.Pungarehu.Ngatiapakura from Tarawera.Pohotukia.Te Keha.Ngatinaho.Wharepu.Ngatiahine from Taupiri (Pene). Killed at Rangiriri.Kanawa.Ngatiahine from Taupiri (Kihiringi). Killed at Rangiriri.Whata.Ngatitipa from Whangaroa.Ngawaka te Ao (Te Ao-o-te-rangi).Ngatiwauroa from Putataka.Peehi.Ngatiruru from Otawhao.Wiremu Ngawaro.Hone Kingi.Te Tawa.Tamati.Rapata Waiti.Te Awarahi.Rehurehu.Witnesses.—R. Maunsell; B. Ashwell; W. C. Symonds.Opotiki, May 27 and 28, 1840†Tautoru.Takahi.Aporotanga.Killed by the wife of Tohi-Pekamu after the battle of Te Awa-a-te-Atua.Atua.Whakiia.†Rangimatanuku.†Rangihaerepo.Torere, June 11, 1840Putiki.Rangihuataki.Tekaha, June 14, 1840Haupururangi (Aopurangi).Hahiwaru.Haomarama.Wharau.Torere, June 14, 1840Taku.Tautari.Witnesses.—James W. Fredarb;[155]Papahia; Wiremu Maihi.Whakatane, June 16, 1840Mokai.Mata.Tarawatewate.Tunui.Taupiri.Haukakawa.Piariari.Matatetohia.Rewa.Tupara.Mokai.Te Uira.Ngatipou tribe.Ngahu.Rahiri.Ngatimaru tribe.Te Moke.Ngatitewehi tribe.Te Wera.Ngatimaru tribe.Witnesses.—J. W. Fredarb; R. Maunsell.Wellington (Port Nicholson), April 29, 1840Tuarau.Hiko-o-te-rangi.Chief of Mana Island.Tungia.Rake.Wharepouri.Matangi.Taringa Kuri.Whakakeho.Porutu.Attended the Kohimarama Conference, 1860.Whakatauranga.Hore.Pani.Rawi.Kopiri.Whanga.Ngapapa.Reihana Reweti.Ngatata.Father of Wi Tako.Puakawe.Napuna.Mohiroa.Tute.Ingo.Pakau.Patuhiki.Te Kahe.Grandmother of the Hon. Dr. Pomare, M.P.; and with Topeora, Rangihiata's sister, was the only woman permitted to sign the treaty.Kopeka.Rerewa.Te Puni (Te Honiana).Tuhoto.Pakewa.Popuka.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.Queen Charlotte's Sound, May 4 and 5, 1840Toheroa.Rewa.Whatimo.Te Tupe.Tiaho.Tikaukau.Orakaka.Tuterapouri.Tirarau.Ngaoranga.Huriwenua.Taukina.Iwikau.Punga.Rangowaka.Kirikiri.Potiki.Taraheke.Anaru.Pikau.Hone.(?)Ropoama te OneMana.Kaparangi.Tapotuku.Uapiki.Maru.Karaka.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.Rangitoto, May 11, 1840Te Whetu(The Star).Pari.Taropiko.Putete.Rangiahua.Tahanui.Orokaka.Toitoi.Te Mako.Ipukohu.Te Tihi.Huia.Nukumai.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.Kapiti, Otaki, Manawatu, May 14, 1840Te Rauparaha.Principal Chief of Cook's Strait.Katu.Te Whiwhi (Matene).Topeora.Mother of Matene Te Whiwhi.Te Ruru (Aperahama).Matia.Kehu.Hakeke.Father of Kawana Hunia.Taumaru.Mahi.Te Ota.Kiharoa.Te Puke.Toremi (Horomona).Te Ahoaho (Te Kingi).Tahurangi.Paturoa.Te Tohe.Te Whetu.Tauheke.Pakau.Whitiopai.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; Octavius Hadfield, Clerk.Waikanae, May 16, 1840Reretawhangawhanga.Father of Whiti.Whiti.the Celebrated Wiremu Kingi.Patukekeno.Ngaraurekau.Te Heke.Tuamane.Ngapuke.Patuka Kariki.Died At Taranaki.Ngakanae.Pukerangiora.Kukutai.Killed at Te Poutoko.Komaki.Raranga.Hohepa Matahau.Kiha.Hiangarere.Urerua.Killed at Waikanae.Te Wehi.Pehi.Ketetakere.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; Octavius Hadfield, Clerk.Motu Ngarara, June 4, 1840Te Rangihiroa.Te Ohu.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.Wanganui, May 23 and 31, 1840Anaua (Hori Kingi).Tawito (Kawana Paipai).Mawae.Rere.Te Tauri (Wiremu Eruera).Rore.Turoa.Taka.Kurawhatua.Rangiwhakarurua.Uripo.Hiko.Takaterangi.Pakoro.Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; O. Hadfield, Clerk.Tauranga, Poverty BayManutahi.Turuki.Kaingakiore.Eruera Wina.Takatua, from Waiapu.David Rangikati, from Waiapu.Tamawa Kamehua,from Tokomaru.Te Pakara, from Turanga.Pai-te-rangi.Tutapaturangi Taetangaware.Titirangi.Tawarau.Rangiuia Uawa (Nopera Rangihuia).Rangiwai, from Waiapu.Mimiopawa, from Waiapu.Kakatarau, from Waiapu.Awarau, from Waiapu.Tamitere, from Tokomaru.Mangare, from Turanga.Maronui, from Turanga.Tona (Tanamanaia), from Turanga.Ngatikareaho, from Wairoa.Tuhura.Te Hore, from Turanga.Whakahingatu, from Turanga.Ponekahika (Hori), from Uawa.Rangiwhakatatae, from Waiapu.Mokopuorongo (Paratene).Leader of the Kingites at Tokomaru.Pototi, from Turanga.Uiramaitai, from Turanga.Tawarakihi, from Turanga.Turoa, from Turanga.Mahuika, from Turanga.Te Panepane, from Turanga.Te Whareana, from Turanga.Te Eke (Rawiri), from Turanga. Father of Hirini.Te Tore, from Ahuriri.Tutaepa, from Waiapu.Kauru-o-te-rangi (Popata).Afterwards leader of the King party at Korauruterangi, from Waiapu.Te Potae (Enoka), from Tokomaru. Father of Henare Potae.Witnesses.—William Williams; Henry Williams, Junr.; G. Clarke, Junr.Tauranga (now Gisborne)Te Whanake.Hiutao.Tamaiwahia.Te Hui.Paetui.Te Kou.Reko.Tari.Matatahuna.Te Konikoni.Tauarumia.Nuka.Te Tutahi.Te Pohoi.Putarahi.Pikitia.Te Mako.Te Peika.Kapa.Te Haereroa.Hoani Aneta.Witnesses.—Hoani Aneta; James Stack; Henry Taylor.
Witnesses.—James Busby; Henry Williams; Richard Taylor, M.A.; John Mason, of the Church Missionary Society; Samuel Ironside, Wesleyan Missionary Society; James Stuart Freeman, gentleman. Witness to the signature of Pomare—James R. Clendon.
Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Henry Williams, clerk.
Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Willoughby Shortland; George Clarke, Church Missionary Society; William Woon, Wesleyan Mission Society; G. P. Russell, Kohukohu.
Witness.—Richard Taylor, Church Missionary Society.
Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Henry Williams; William Thomas Fairburn.
Witnesses.—William Gilbert Puckey, Church Missionary Society; John Johnson, M.D.; H. D. Smart, 28th Regiment, New Zealand Mounted Police; Richard Taylor, M.A., Church Missionary Society; Willoughby Shortland, Colonial Secretary.
THAMES NATIVES FROM WHAREKAWA
Witnesses.—David Rough; George Clarke, P.G.A.; John Johnson, M.D., Colonial Surgeon.
Witnesses.—George Clarke, Protector of Aborigines; James Coates, gentleman; James Stuart Freeman, gentleman.
Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment.
Witness.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald.
Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; Edward Marsh Williams.
Witnesses.—Joseph Nias, Captain H.M.S.Herald; Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment.
Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.
Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.
Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; W. Stewart.
Witnesses.—Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th Regiment; Edward M. Williams.
Witnesses.—W. C. Symonds; James Hamlin.
Witnesses.—James Wallis; John Whiteley.
Witnesses.—R. Maunsell; B. Ashwell; W. C. Symonds.
Witnesses.—James W. Fredarb;[155]Papahia; Wiremu Maihi.
Witnesses.—J. W. Fredarb; R. Maunsell.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; Octavius Hadfield, Clerk.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; Octavius Hadfield, Clerk.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; George Thomas Clayton, Merchant.
Witnesses.—Henry Williams, Clerk; O. Hadfield, Clerk.
Witnesses.—William Williams; Henry Williams, Junr.; G. Clarke, Junr.
Witnesses.—Hoani Aneta; James Stack; Henry Taylor.
FOOTNOTES[94]Although the Hokianga chiefs as a body were the most determined in their opposition to the treaty, it is worthy of note that they were afterwards the most faithful in their adherence to the Government, and fought gallantly under Waaka Nēne, Aperahama Taonui, and Mohi Tawhai against Heke and Kawiti, during the Northern war of 1845.[95]These speeches are reported from notes made at the time by Lieutenant Shortland. In Captain Hobson's despatch he makes it appear that it was Papa Haiga (Papahia) who made this statement, but from Mr. Shortland's notes it would appear to have been Taonui.[96]Afterwards Judge Manning of the Native Land Court, and author of that classicOld New Zealand.[97]Meaning one who has been favourable to the introduction of Europeans.[98]Altogether 120 signatures were obtained in the Hokianga district.[99]Captain Nias conducted the meeting at the Waitemata, and secured eight or ten signatures.[100]It is more than likely that at this date Captain Nias did not know the real nature of Captain Hobson's illness. Some correspondence which took place later in the month seems to suggest that there was a little friction between Dr. Lane, the ship's surgeon, and himself on the subject. On the arrival of theHeraldin Sydney, towards the end of March, Dr. Lane was sent for by Sir George Gipps, who requested that he be furnished with a written report on the state of Captain Hobson's health. Dr. Lane replied, ascribing the illness to an attack of paralysis hemiplegica. In forwarding this report to the Governor, Captain Nias stated that "it is in total contradiction of everything he has stated before to me on the subject."[101]The attitude of the Missionaries toward the treaty was well expressed by the Rev. Mr. Maunsell in a letter to the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Shortland, dated April 14, 1840.[102]These services were acknowledged in the most generous terms by Captain Hobson.[103]"The appointment of Police Magistrates was one of the first acts under the new order of things. Mr. Robert (?) Shortland, the first Police Magistrate, after the illness of Governor Hobson, styled himself Acting-Governor, and a more ridiculously pompous functionary could scarcely be imagined."—Commander Wilkes.[104]"A report prevails and not without foundation that a conspiracy against the Government and Military exists amongst many of the chiefs of this neighbourhood. I know the persons implicated and I will have them closely watched. If there really is any truth in the matter it may be ascribed to the mischievous stories that have been circulated by low, abandoned Europeans who try to persuade the natives that we only wait until we are strong enough, to take possession of the land, and sell it, irrespective of Native claims."—VideCaptain Hobson's Letter to Sir G. Gipps, May 5, 1840.[105]In many cases Mr. Shortland has used the baptismal name of the men who spoke, and in some instances, such as Forde and Marsden, it is now impossible to identify the men from their signatures on the treaty.[106]A reference to the misrepresentations of the Europeans.[107]"Our chief Noble has become quite a European in his habits. He has a neat little weather-boarded cottage, which is furnished with table and chairs like our own, and his food is much the same. He has purchased tea, sugar, and rice from the European settlers, and is as cleanly with his wife as any white person, and in all respects as comfortable. He assembles his servants and people about him, morning and evening for prayer, and all his concerns are conducted with the utmost order. His Excellency Governor Hobson has just visited this place. He, with his suite, supped at Noble's, and was vastly pleased with him."—Report of Mr. Puckey inMissionary Register, 1841.[108]The meeting concluded with a war dance, and general discharge of musketry, and a feast provided entirely at Nopera's expense. Not only did he refuse to accept any payment, but he added to his generosity by sending to the Governor a present of pigs and potatoes.[109]Captain William Cornwallis Symonds was the son of Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, and was Deputy Surveyor of New Zealand. He accompanied Dr. Dieffenbach on some of his exploring expeditions, and made maps of his observations. He was also an enthusiastic student of the native language, and collected a vocabulary of 3000 Maori words. He lost his life in 1841 through his canoe capsizing while crossing the Manakau Harbour.[110]Rewa had said at Waitangi that his opposition there had been inspired by the Bishop.[111]The Rev. Robert Maunsell (afterwards Archdeacon Maunsell) arrived in New Zealand in 1835. He was a "ripe and trained scholar," and after he had mastered the native language became, next to Mr. Henry Williams, the leader of the Missionary movement. He rendered an invaluable service to the cause of Christianity by his translations of the scriptures and prayer-book into the Maori tongue. In July 1843 his house was destroyed by fire, and with it were lost the MSS. of his dictionary, and his revisions of the translated Psalms and Old Testament. He however courageously set to work again almost before the burns upon his hands had healed. A fund of £200 subscribed in England provided him again with a library.[112]Afterwards massacred at the White Cliffs.[113]Neither Te Wherowhero nor his brother, Kati, appear to have signed the treaty.In the appendix to Kerry Nicholls'King Countryappears the following as a portion of the late King Tawhiao's autobiographical narrative: "I remember a European coming to ask Te Wherowhero (Tawhiao's father) to sign the treaty of Waitangi. That European was Mr. Maunsell. The Maori he had with him was Tipene Tahatika. Te Wherowhero said he would not sign. Mr. Maunsell remarked to Tipene, 'This ignorant old man, if he had signed, I would have given him a blanket.' Te Wherowhero was then at Awhitu. Te Wherowhero's name was afterwards put to the treaty, but it was written by Te Kahawai, and not by himself."[114]Mr. Hamlin, though laying no great pretensions to scholarship, was considered by the Maoris to be the most perfect speaker of their language in New Zealand.[115]"Here I may remark that it is impossible to view with unconcern the injurious tendency of religious dissensions among a people just emerging from paganism. Between the disciples of the Bishop and those who have embraced the doctrines of Protestantism there already exists a feeling which borders on hostility, and it is not unusual to hear the former taunted by their adversaries as worshippers of wood and stone, misguided unbelievers, devils, etc. To express sentiments of severe censure against the Roman Catholic Church and its followers is not the most efficient means of advancing the interests of the Protestant Church, and in reply to the illiberal language which is dealt forth so unsparingly on this subject, we may cite among innumerable other facts, the life and actions of Fénélon, the most blameless and virtuous of men, in proof that a Roman Catholic clergyman is not of necessity either a Jesuit or a hypocrite. But holding in view the admitted tendency of religious dissensions to unsettle and weaken the impression of Christianity in the minds of the natives of New Zealand, and at the same time to foster dissension and angry feeling it is certainly to be regretted that an attempt has been made to introduce the doctrines of Rome into a field already preoccupied by the active and zealous emissaries of the reformed Church."—Jameson.[116]"During my residence at the Bay of Islands, on this occasion, I derived much pleasure from the acquaintance and conversation of M. de Pompallier, the chief of the French Catholic Mission to the South Seas, and Bishop of Oceania, who was held in high esteem by every individual in the settlement, not only on account of his polished and courteous demeanour, but from his more important merits of learning, professional zeal, and practical benevolence. Whatever may be said of his persuasion, it is at least evident that no motives of a worldly or ambitious nature could have thus induced a man of rank and wealth to devote himself to the arduous and hazardous duties of a missionary in the Pacific."—Jameson.[117]Captain Lavaud mentions that during this interview he had always addressed the Lieutenant-Governor as "Captain," and not as His "Excellency." He explains, however, that he did so "more by instinct than with any intention of being discourteous."[118]The treaty is here transcribed in the Captain's Despatch.[119]The Rev. William Williams does not appear to have obtained the signatures of Te Kani-a-Takirau or Houkamau amongst the chiefs of Waiapu. It is unlikely that men of importance such as these were overlooked, and we may therefore conclude that they objected to sign. Mr. Williams reported that he would require sixty more blankets to complete the gifts to the chiefs in his district. Mr. Williams was afterwards first Bishop of Waiapu.[120]The district now surrounding Napier.[121]"I desire to impress upon you the anxious wish of the Directors that you, and all the servants of the Company, should do whatever may be in your power to promote the success of Captain Hobson's mission, and to accelerate as much as possible the time when it is to be hoped that he, as Her Majesty's representative may establish a British authority and the regular application of English law, not only in the Company's settlements, but throughout the Islands of New Zealand."—Extract from a letter written by Mr. John Ward, Secretary to the Company, to Colonel Wakefield, after the Company had been advised that its proceedings were illegal.[122]"On the Wednesday following, while preparing to take my departure—not being able to obtain the signatures required owing to the opposition of Colonel Wakefield and others, to the treaty between the chiefs and Her Majesty—Colonel Wakefield came to me, making a most ample apology, and expressed his regret that he should have given way to his hasty feelings on the previous Saturday, and hoped that I should not leave the port with unfavourable feelings, and that he was ready, if I wished, to make a public apology. The fact was that Colonel Wakefield wanted the land, and was willing to make any sacrifice confined to words."—Carleton'sLife of Henry Williams.[123]This letter, written subsequent to the Colonel's apology, was first made public through the columns of the London Times, and it was not for months afterwards that Mr. Williams heard of it. The history of the land transaction referred to, which excited the indignation (righteous or otherwise) of Colonel Wakefield, is fully told in that interesting book, Hugh Carleton'sLife of Henry Williams, vol. i. pp. 237-243, and should be read by all impartial students of the question.[124]Amongst others, by Te Rauparaha and his niece Topeora, the poetess, on May 14.[125]Immediately after his seizure, Captain Hobson had dispensed with the services of theHerald, on account of his personal differences with her Captain. She then returned to Sydney, but Sir George Gipps sent her back again, telling Captain Nias that "naval co-operation was essential to the enterprise at New Zealand, as the Queen's sovereignty was established over only a small portion of the Northern Island."[126]Major Bunbury, K.T.S., and a portion of his regiment (the 80th) were sent to New Zealand by Sir George Gipps in H.M.S.Buffalo, as the result of a request from Captain Hobson for some military support. They left Sydney just as the news of Captain Hobson's illness reached the seat of Government, and Major Bunbury was given a commission to act as Lieutenant-Governor in the event of Hobson's death or resignation.In hisReminiscencesthe Major states that Captain Hobson begged him to undertake this Southern mission in order to relieve him (Hobson) from the necessity of again sailing with Captain Nias, with whom he had several violent quarrels about the salutes he was to receive and other similar details. "It was," says the Major, "a grievous sacrifice to make, the troops not having yet landed or arrangements been made for their accommodation, but I could not prevail upon myself to refuse him."[127]Horeta te Taniwha, the celebrated chief known as "Hook-nose," who remembered Cook's visit to New Zealand.[128]This was what the natives called "making their hearts good." "Pay us first and we will write afterwards." "Put money in my left hand and I will write with my right hand," was how they often expressed it.[129]Taihoa= delay, postpone, put off, reserve for further consideration.[130]Meaning that he was the representative of the central district.[131]The writing of the treaty.[132]Major Bunbury left eight blankets with Mr. Stack for distribution amongst future signatories, but the Missionary mentions in a subsequent letter: "Several more may be wanting if Tupaea and his friends sign." Tupaea would not sign, either when approached by Mr. Stack, or later when he paid a visit to Manakau. The above discussion explains why.[133]The dialect spoken by the natives of the South Island of New Zealand differs in some important respects from that spoken in the North Island.[134]Major Bunbury was so impressed with the fertile appearance of Banks's Peninsula that he recommended it be surveyed as soon as possible and thrown open for settlement in allotments of convenient size, in order to put a stop to the "preposterous claims" which were being urged by the Sydney land speculators. Most of these claims of "doubtful origin" originated in sales contracted with Taiaroa, the Otago chief, who had an equally "doubtful" right to sell. Taiaroa went to Sydney in theDublin Packetin 1839.[135]"In some excursions I made I was much pleased with the fertile appearance of this beautiful island, and although the winter was so far advanced it was not so cold as I had anticipated from its being so far south. Indeed the number of parrakeets seen flying about give it rather the appearance of a tropical island.... The soil appears in general good, with plenty of timber. There are several varieties of pine. All the trees, however, appear to be evergreens."—Major Bunbury'sDespatch.[136]Major Bunbury mentions that by this time he had become ashamed of this sobriquet, which was given to him by the whalers, and disowned it, preferring to be called by his native name.[137]Tu Hawaiki had only returned in the previous month of March from Sydney, where he had been presented with these uniforms by Sir George Gipps. Shortly after this chief's repulse of Te Rauparaha at Lake Grassmere, on the coast of Marlborough, he boarded a British man-of-war, and on being asked who he was, proudly replied: "Me all the same the Duke of Wellington, Te Rauparaha all the same Napoleon."[138]Another chief named Taiaroa is also credited with signing. It is difficult to determine which chief this was, as the great Taiaroa was at Moeraki at the time. Possibly it was one of his sons.[139]These were Kaikoura and Taiaroa. The identity of this Taiaroa is not clear.[140]There were two American and two French whalers at the anchorage here at the time.[141]Major Bunbury mentions that some of these speculators had already sent a number of cattle over, but the natives resisted the occupation of their alleged purchases, and the persons who were placed in charge of the cattle "find themselves in rather an awkward predicament."[142]Popularly known amongst the whalers as "Jordy Bolts."[143]Major Bunbury mentions the eagerness manifested by the natives of Cloudy Bay for spelling-books and Testaments. On the table in his cabin was lying a Testament printed in the native language which had been given to him by Bishop Broughton. This was seen by some of the Maoris visiting the ship, who importuned him for it, with the result, he feared, that his refusal gave serious offence.[144]As theHeraldleft Cloudy Bay, the Kaikouras, clad in their winter snow, loomed up in the distance, and Major Bunbury was deeply impressed with what he calls their "bleak and savage appearance." The Major took his departure from the Middle Island fully convinced that it had been greatly underrated by the authorities both in regard to the fertility of its soil and the intelligence of its natives.[145]Te Rauparaha may have laid himself open to this charge of insincerity by afterwards making light of the fact that he had signed the treaty, and offering to sign again if they gave him another blanket. With Te Rangihaeata it was different. Savage that he was, he had the keenest sense of honour, and he would not have signed the treaty had he not approved it so far as he understood it. His subsequent rebellion was not a protest against the establishment of civil authority so much as it was active resistance towards what he believed to be the unfair if not the dishonest methods of land dealing adopted by the New Zealand Company, in whom he lost all confidence after their attempt to seize the Wairau Valley.[146]Before the first batch of the Company's emigrants sailed from the Thames, they were induced by the Directors to sign an agreement binding themselves to "submit in all things needful to peace and order until the establishment of a regular Government." This meant that if any of them committed a breach of the law of England, he should be punished according to the law of England. This agreement was brought under the notice of Lord John Russell who challenged the right of the Company to enforce such a provision. The Company took the opinion of Serjeant Wilde upon the point, and his advice, given on November 14, 1839, was that (1) the parties will not be justified by law in acting under the agreement, (2) that those acting under it were liable to prosecution for so doing, and (3) the agreement should be abandoned.[147]"Captain Pearson of the brigIntegritywas arrested to-day (April 14) under a warrant issued for illegal conduct towards his charterer, Mr. Wade, of Hobart Town, and brought before the District Magistrate, Major Baker. The prisoner refused to recognise the Court, and was accordingly committed. The ensuing day Captain Pearson made his escape, and an escape Warrant has accordingly been issued against him."—Extract fromNew Zealand Gazette(the first newspaper published in the Colony), April 18, 1840.[148]The proclamation itself does not make it clear on what grounds Hobson took possession of the "Island." Indeed it is so ambiguously worded that he seems to imply that he claimed it by right of cession. In his despatch to the Secretary for State, however, he made it clear that he intended to claim it "by right of discovery," a course which he had recommended to Lord Normanby before he left England.[149]"Captain" Cole as he was sometimes called, because he had been sailing in an East Indiaman, had been one of the early Wellington settlers, having come out in theAurora. On the arrival of Captain Hobson he removed to the Bay of Islands, and had succeeded in getting himself appointed chief constable at Port Nicholson, in which capacity he now appeared in the Southern settlement.[150]As sovereignty over only a small portion of the Colony had at this time been ceded to the Queen, Hobson was claiming a wider jurisdiction than he was entitled to in describing himself as "Lieutenant-GovernorofNew Zealand." He was only Lieutenant-GovernorinNew Zealand.[151]This also was a mistake. It should have been South, not North. On this error Sir George Grey once based the argument that New Zealand included New Guinea, and was entitled to claim control over it. The error was corrected and the boundaries so amended as to include the Chatham Islands.—Vide Letters Patent issued to Captain Hobson, April 4, 1842.[152]It had been reported that the settlers were starving, which was quite untrue.[153]While H.M.S.Britomart(Captain Stanley) was returning from her historic visit to Bank's Peninsula she put in to Port Nicholson and took Mr. Shortland on board, leaving Mr. Murphy to supply his place as the representative of the Government at the Southern settlement.[154]This number was subsequently increased to 546.[155]Mr. Fredarb, who was trading master of the schoonerMercury, added the following note to his copy of the treaty: "The chiefs at Opotiki expressed a wish to have it signified who were Pikopos (i.e.Roman Catholics) and who were not, the which I did by placing a crucifix † preceding the names of those who are, as above, and at which they seemed perfectly satisfied."
[94]Although the Hokianga chiefs as a body were the most determined in their opposition to the treaty, it is worthy of note that they were afterwards the most faithful in their adherence to the Government, and fought gallantly under Waaka Nēne, Aperahama Taonui, and Mohi Tawhai against Heke and Kawiti, during the Northern war of 1845.
[95]These speeches are reported from notes made at the time by Lieutenant Shortland. In Captain Hobson's despatch he makes it appear that it was Papa Haiga (Papahia) who made this statement, but from Mr. Shortland's notes it would appear to have been Taonui.
[96]Afterwards Judge Manning of the Native Land Court, and author of that classicOld New Zealand.
[97]Meaning one who has been favourable to the introduction of Europeans.
[98]Altogether 120 signatures were obtained in the Hokianga district.
[99]Captain Nias conducted the meeting at the Waitemata, and secured eight or ten signatures.
[100]It is more than likely that at this date Captain Nias did not know the real nature of Captain Hobson's illness. Some correspondence which took place later in the month seems to suggest that there was a little friction between Dr. Lane, the ship's surgeon, and himself on the subject. On the arrival of theHeraldin Sydney, towards the end of March, Dr. Lane was sent for by Sir George Gipps, who requested that he be furnished with a written report on the state of Captain Hobson's health. Dr. Lane replied, ascribing the illness to an attack of paralysis hemiplegica. In forwarding this report to the Governor, Captain Nias stated that "it is in total contradiction of everything he has stated before to me on the subject."
[101]The attitude of the Missionaries toward the treaty was well expressed by the Rev. Mr. Maunsell in a letter to the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Shortland, dated April 14, 1840.
[102]These services were acknowledged in the most generous terms by Captain Hobson.
[103]"The appointment of Police Magistrates was one of the first acts under the new order of things. Mr. Robert (?) Shortland, the first Police Magistrate, after the illness of Governor Hobson, styled himself Acting-Governor, and a more ridiculously pompous functionary could scarcely be imagined."—Commander Wilkes.
[104]"A report prevails and not without foundation that a conspiracy against the Government and Military exists amongst many of the chiefs of this neighbourhood. I know the persons implicated and I will have them closely watched. If there really is any truth in the matter it may be ascribed to the mischievous stories that have been circulated by low, abandoned Europeans who try to persuade the natives that we only wait until we are strong enough, to take possession of the land, and sell it, irrespective of Native claims."—VideCaptain Hobson's Letter to Sir G. Gipps, May 5, 1840.
[105]In many cases Mr. Shortland has used the baptismal name of the men who spoke, and in some instances, such as Forde and Marsden, it is now impossible to identify the men from their signatures on the treaty.
[106]A reference to the misrepresentations of the Europeans.
[107]"Our chief Noble has become quite a European in his habits. He has a neat little weather-boarded cottage, which is furnished with table and chairs like our own, and his food is much the same. He has purchased tea, sugar, and rice from the European settlers, and is as cleanly with his wife as any white person, and in all respects as comfortable. He assembles his servants and people about him, morning and evening for prayer, and all his concerns are conducted with the utmost order. His Excellency Governor Hobson has just visited this place. He, with his suite, supped at Noble's, and was vastly pleased with him."—Report of Mr. Puckey inMissionary Register, 1841.
[108]The meeting concluded with a war dance, and general discharge of musketry, and a feast provided entirely at Nopera's expense. Not only did he refuse to accept any payment, but he added to his generosity by sending to the Governor a present of pigs and potatoes.
[109]Captain William Cornwallis Symonds was the son of Sir William Symonds, Surveyor of the Navy, and was Deputy Surveyor of New Zealand. He accompanied Dr. Dieffenbach on some of his exploring expeditions, and made maps of his observations. He was also an enthusiastic student of the native language, and collected a vocabulary of 3000 Maori words. He lost his life in 1841 through his canoe capsizing while crossing the Manakau Harbour.
[110]Rewa had said at Waitangi that his opposition there had been inspired by the Bishop.
[111]The Rev. Robert Maunsell (afterwards Archdeacon Maunsell) arrived in New Zealand in 1835. He was a "ripe and trained scholar," and after he had mastered the native language became, next to Mr. Henry Williams, the leader of the Missionary movement. He rendered an invaluable service to the cause of Christianity by his translations of the scriptures and prayer-book into the Maori tongue. In July 1843 his house was destroyed by fire, and with it were lost the MSS. of his dictionary, and his revisions of the translated Psalms and Old Testament. He however courageously set to work again almost before the burns upon his hands had healed. A fund of £200 subscribed in England provided him again with a library.
[112]Afterwards massacred at the White Cliffs.
[113]Neither Te Wherowhero nor his brother, Kati, appear to have signed the treaty.
In the appendix to Kerry Nicholls'King Countryappears the following as a portion of the late King Tawhiao's autobiographical narrative: "I remember a European coming to ask Te Wherowhero (Tawhiao's father) to sign the treaty of Waitangi. That European was Mr. Maunsell. The Maori he had with him was Tipene Tahatika. Te Wherowhero said he would not sign. Mr. Maunsell remarked to Tipene, 'This ignorant old man, if he had signed, I would have given him a blanket.' Te Wherowhero was then at Awhitu. Te Wherowhero's name was afterwards put to the treaty, but it was written by Te Kahawai, and not by himself."
[114]Mr. Hamlin, though laying no great pretensions to scholarship, was considered by the Maoris to be the most perfect speaker of their language in New Zealand.
[115]"Here I may remark that it is impossible to view with unconcern the injurious tendency of religious dissensions among a people just emerging from paganism. Between the disciples of the Bishop and those who have embraced the doctrines of Protestantism there already exists a feeling which borders on hostility, and it is not unusual to hear the former taunted by their adversaries as worshippers of wood and stone, misguided unbelievers, devils, etc. To express sentiments of severe censure against the Roman Catholic Church and its followers is not the most efficient means of advancing the interests of the Protestant Church, and in reply to the illiberal language which is dealt forth so unsparingly on this subject, we may cite among innumerable other facts, the life and actions of Fénélon, the most blameless and virtuous of men, in proof that a Roman Catholic clergyman is not of necessity either a Jesuit or a hypocrite. But holding in view the admitted tendency of religious dissensions to unsettle and weaken the impression of Christianity in the minds of the natives of New Zealand, and at the same time to foster dissension and angry feeling it is certainly to be regretted that an attempt has been made to introduce the doctrines of Rome into a field already preoccupied by the active and zealous emissaries of the reformed Church."—Jameson.
[116]"During my residence at the Bay of Islands, on this occasion, I derived much pleasure from the acquaintance and conversation of M. de Pompallier, the chief of the French Catholic Mission to the South Seas, and Bishop of Oceania, who was held in high esteem by every individual in the settlement, not only on account of his polished and courteous demeanour, but from his more important merits of learning, professional zeal, and practical benevolence. Whatever may be said of his persuasion, it is at least evident that no motives of a worldly or ambitious nature could have thus induced a man of rank and wealth to devote himself to the arduous and hazardous duties of a missionary in the Pacific."—Jameson.
[117]Captain Lavaud mentions that during this interview he had always addressed the Lieutenant-Governor as "Captain," and not as His "Excellency." He explains, however, that he did so "more by instinct than with any intention of being discourteous."
[118]The treaty is here transcribed in the Captain's Despatch.
[119]The Rev. William Williams does not appear to have obtained the signatures of Te Kani-a-Takirau or Houkamau amongst the chiefs of Waiapu. It is unlikely that men of importance such as these were overlooked, and we may therefore conclude that they objected to sign. Mr. Williams reported that he would require sixty more blankets to complete the gifts to the chiefs in his district. Mr. Williams was afterwards first Bishop of Waiapu.
[120]The district now surrounding Napier.
[121]"I desire to impress upon you the anxious wish of the Directors that you, and all the servants of the Company, should do whatever may be in your power to promote the success of Captain Hobson's mission, and to accelerate as much as possible the time when it is to be hoped that he, as Her Majesty's representative may establish a British authority and the regular application of English law, not only in the Company's settlements, but throughout the Islands of New Zealand."—Extract from a letter written by Mr. John Ward, Secretary to the Company, to Colonel Wakefield, after the Company had been advised that its proceedings were illegal.
[122]"On the Wednesday following, while preparing to take my departure—not being able to obtain the signatures required owing to the opposition of Colonel Wakefield and others, to the treaty between the chiefs and Her Majesty—Colonel Wakefield came to me, making a most ample apology, and expressed his regret that he should have given way to his hasty feelings on the previous Saturday, and hoped that I should not leave the port with unfavourable feelings, and that he was ready, if I wished, to make a public apology. The fact was that Colonel Wakefield wanted the land, and was willing to make any sacrifice confined to words."—Carleton'sLife of Henry Williams.
[123]This letter, written subsequent to the Colonel's apology, was first made public through the columns of the London Times, and it was not for months afterwards that Mr. Williams heard of it. The history of the land transaction referred to, which excited the indignation (righteous or otherwise) of Colonel Wakefield, is fully told in that interesting book, Hugh Carleton'sLife of Henry Williams, vol. i. pp. 237-243, and should be read by all impartial students of the question.
[124]Amongst others, by Te Rauparaha and his niece Topeora, the poetess, on May 14.
[125]Immediately after his seizure, Captain Hobson had dispensed with the services of theHerald, on account of his personal differences with her Captain. She then returned to Sydney, but Sir George Gipps sent her back again, telling Captain Nias that "naval co-operation was essential to the enterprise at New Zealand, as the Queen's sovereignty was established over only a small portion of the Northern Island."
[126]Major Bunbury, K.T.S., and a portion of his regiment (the 80th) were sent to New Zealand by Sir George Gipps in H.M.S.Buffalo, as the result of a request from Captain Hobson for some military support. They left Sydney just as the news of Captain Hobson's illness reached the seat of Government, and Major Bunbury was given a commission to act as Lieutenant-Governor in the event of Hobson's death or resignation.
In hisReminiscencesthe Major states that Captain Hobson begged him to undertake this Southern mission in order to relieve him (Hobson) from the necessity of again sailing with Captain Nias, with whom he had several violent quarrels about the salutes he was to receive and other similar details. "It was," says the Major, "a grievous sacrifice to make, the troops not having yet landed or arrangements been made for their accommodation, but I could not prevail upon myself to refuse him."
[127]Horeta te Taniwha, the celebrated chief known as "Hook-nose," who remembered Cook's visit to New Zealand.
[128]This was what the natives called "making their hearts good." "Pay us first and we will write afterwards." "Put money in my left hand and I will write with my right hand," was how they often expressed it.
[129]Taihoa= delay, postpone, put off, reserve for further consideration.
[130]Meaning that he was the representative of the central district.
[131]The writing of the treaty.
[132]Major Bunbury left eight blankets with Mr. Stack for distribution amongst future signatories, but the Missionary mentions in a subsequent letter: "Several more may be wanting if Tupaea and his friends sign." Tupaea would not sign, either when approached by Mr. Stack, or later when he paid a visit to Manakau. The above discussion explains why.
[133]The dialect spoken by the natives of the South Island of New Zealand differs in some important respects from that spoken in the North Island.
[134]Major Bunbury was so impressed with the fertile appearance of Banks's Peninsula that he recommended it be surveyed as soon as possible and thrown open for settlement in allotments of convenient size, in order to put a stop to the "preposterous claims" which were being urged by the Sydney land speculators. Most of these claims of "doubtful origin" originated in sales contracted with Taiaroa, the Otago chief, who had an equally "doubtful" right to sell. Taiaroa went to Sydney in theDublin Packetin 1839.
[135]"In some excursions I made I was much pleased with the fertile appearance of this beautiful island, and although the winter was so far advanced it was not so cold as I had anticipated from its being so far south. Indeed the number of parrakeets seen flying about give it rather the appearance of a tropical island.... The soil appears in general good, with plenty of timber. There are several varieties of pine. All the trees, however, appear to be evergreens."—Major Bunbury'sDespatch.
[136]Major Bunbury mentions that by this time he had become ashamed of this sobriquet, which was given to him by the whalers, and disowned it, preferring to be called by his native name.
[137]Tu Hawaiki had only returned in the previous month of March from Sydney, where he had been presented with these uniforms by Sir George Gipps. Shortly after this chief's repulse of Te Rauparaha at Lake Grassmere, on the coast of Marlborough, he boarded a British man-of-war, and on being asked who he was, proudly replied: "Me all the same the Duke of Wellington, Te Rauparaha all the same Napoleon."
[138]Another chief named Taiaroa is also credited with signing. It is difficult to determine which chief this was, as the great Taiaroa was at Moeraki at the time. Possibly it was one of his sons.
[139]These were Kaikoura and Taiaroa. The identity of this Taiaroa is not clear.
[140]There were two American and two French whalers at the anchorage here at the time.
[141]Major Bunbury mentions that some of these speculators had already sent a number of cattle over, but the natives resisted the occupation of their alleged purchases, and the persons who were placed in charge of the cattle "find themselves in rather an awkward predicament."
[142]Popularly known amongst the whalers as "Jordy Bolts."
[143]Major Bunbury mentions the eagerness manifested by the natives of Cloudy Bay for spelling-books and Testaments. On the table in his cabin was lying a Testament printed in the native language which had been given to him by Bishop Broughton. This was seen by some of the Maoris visiting the ship, who importuned him for it, with the result, he feared, that his refusal gave serious offence.
[144]As theHeraldleft Cloudy Bay, the Kaikouras, clad in their winter snow, loomed up in the distance, and Major Bunbury was deeply impressed with what he calls their "bleak and savage appearance." The Major took his departure from the Middle Island fully convinced that it had been greatly underrated by the authorities both in regard to the fertility of its soil and the intelligence of its natives.
[145]Te Rauparaha may have laid himself open to this charge of insincerity by afterwards making light of the fact that he had signed the treaty, and offering to sign again if they gave him another blanket. With Te Rangihaeata it was different. Savage that he was, he had the keenest sense of honour, and he would not have signed the treaty had he not approved it so far as he understood it. His subsequent rebellion was not a protest against the establishment of civil authority so much as it was active resistance towards what he believed to be the unfair if not the dishonest methods of land dealing adopted by the New Zealand Company, in whom he lost all confidence after their attempt to seize the Wairau Valley.
[146]Before the first batch of the Company's emigrants sailed from the Thames, they were induced by the Directors to sign an agreement binding themselves to "submit in all things needful to peace and order until the establishment of a regular Government." This meant that if any of them committed a breach of the law of England, he should be punished according to the law of England. This agreement was brought under the notice of Lord John Russell who challenged the right of the Company to enforce such a provision. The Company took the opinion of Serjeant Wilde upon the point, and his advice, given on November 14, 1839, was that (1) the parties will not be justified by law in acting under the agreement, (2) that those acting under it were liable to prosecution for so doing, and (3) the agreement should be abandoned.
[147]"Captain Pearson of the brigIntegritywas arrested to-day (April 14) under a warrant issued for illegal conduct towards his charterer, Mr. Wade, of Hobart Town, and brought before the District Magistrate, Major Baker. The prisoner refused to recognise the Court, and was accordingly committed. The ensuing day Captain Pearson made his escape, and an escape Warrant has accordingly been issued against him."—Extract fromNew Zealand Gazette(the first newspaper published in the Colony), April 18, 1840.
[148]The proclamation itself does not make it clear on what grounds Hobson took possession of the "Island." Indeed it is so ambiguously worded that he seems to imply that he claimed it by right of cession. In his despatch to the Secretary for State, however, he made it clear that he intended to claim it "by right of discovery," a course which he had recommended to Lord Normanby before he left England.
[149]"Captain" Cole as he was sometimes called, because he had been sailing in an East Indiaman, had been one of the early Wellington settlers, having come out in theAurora. On the arrival of Captain Hobson he removed to the Bay of Islands, and had succeeded in getting himself appointed chief constable at Port Nicholson, in which capacity he now appeared in the Southern settlement.
[150]As sovereignty over only a small portion of the Colony had at this time been ceded to the Queen, Hobson was claiming a wider jurisdiction than he was entitled to in describing himself as "Lieutenant-GovernorofNew Zealand." He was only Lieutenant-GovernorinNew Zealand.
[151]This also was a mistake. It should have been South, not North. On this error Sir George Grey once based the argument that New Zealand included New Guinea, and was entitled to claim control over it. The error was corrected and the boundaries so amended as to include the Chatham Islands.—Vide Letters Patent issued to Captain Hobson, April 4, 1842.
[152]It had been reported that the settlers were starving, which was quite untrue.
[153]While H.M.S.Britomart(Captain Stanley) was returning from her historic visit to Bank's Peninsula she put in to Port Nicholson and took Mr. Shortland on board, leaving Mr. Murphy to supply his place as the representative of the Government at the Southern settlement.
[154]This number was subsequently increased to 546.
[155]Mr. Fredarb, who was trading master of the schoonerMercury, added the following note to his copy of the treaty: "The chiefs at Opotiki expressed a wish to have it signified who were Pikopos (i.e.Roman Catholics) and who were not, the which I did by placing a crucifix † preceding the names of those who are, as above, and at which they seemed perfectly satisfied."
Captain Hobsonhaving now by his own efforts and the agency of those who were associated with him completed his negotiations with the native chiefs, it remains for us to examine briefly the nature of the compact into which the Maori andPakehahad thus solemnly entered. The Treaty of Waitangi is a document of few clauses and precise terms. Yet under the conflicting interests which it was designed to harmonise few documents have been more generally misunderstood or more persistently misinterpreted. More than once in high places its utility has been denied, its simple contracts have been repudiated, and its existence has been ignored. Lawyers have repeatedly questioned its legality, courts have discussed its constitutional force, parliaments have debated its wisdom, but still it stands to-day—unaltered in text or spirit—the great charter of Maori rights. Its most virulent enemies have ever been the land speculators, and there are not wanting signs in these times of unsatisfied land hunger—of never-ceasing speculation—that the treaty has either been forgotten by those whose duty it is to remember it, or that its obligations have ceased to have their old-time moral value. Lest we forget that the treaty is still in force, and that native lands are not common plunder for the avariciousPakeha, let us briefly review the circumstances which made the compact between the two nations a political virtue, if not a political necessity.
It is a principle recognised by the civilised nations of the Earth that the discovery of a waste and uninhabitedland by a pioneering country confers on that country a right, as against all other civilised countries, to colonise its new discovery. In such a case the discovering nation may in fact go further, by immediately taking possession of the new-found territory, and assuming sovereignty over it. In this way Norfolk Island being found devoid of inhabitants by Captain Cook, his discovery of the sea-girt isle not only entitled Britain to colonise it, but automatically added it to the possessions of the Empire. This principle has thus been concisely stated by Vattel: "All men have an equal right to the things which have not yet fallen into the possession of any one; and these things appertain to the first occupant. Wherefore, when a nation finds a country uninhabited and without a master, it may lawfully seize upon the same, and after it has adequately denoted its will in this respect another cannot thereof despoil it. Thus navigators going on their voyages of discovery, provided with a commission from their sovereign, and falling in with desert islands, or other desert lands, have taken possession of them in the name of their nation, and commonly this title has been respected, provided that thereupon a real possession has closely followed."
It is equally an acknowledged maxim of the Law of Nations that should the newly discovered land not prove to be "waste and without a master," but that it should be inhabited and under government of any kind, then the mere fact of its discovery by a civilised nation confers upon the discoverer no title to the soil, but only the prior right to colonise as against other colonising nations. This is but the natural reward which belongs to the enterprise displayed in fitting out ships and expeditions destined to navigate unknown seas or to travel in unknown lands. Such prior right to colonise is, however, strictly limited by the important consideration that colonisation can only take place with the free will and consent of the savage or semi-civilised inhabitants of the newly discovered country. In no sense does the act of discovery confer the right of property in the land, or the right of sovereigntyover its people. That is to say, in the abstract, no nation whatever can under any pretext violate the rights of any other independent nation. This was clearly the principle which guided those British Governments to whose lot fell the establishment of the first colonies in America. In all these cases was the property of the Indian tribes respected, and no land was acquired save by purchase, or by some other equitable arrangement made with the aboriginal owners.[156]Hence in the celebrated case of the Cherokee tribe against the State of Georgia, tried in 1832, before the late Chief-Justice Marshall, that eminent judge was able to declare that as the United States had only inherited its rights from Great Britain after the War of Independence, the individual States could not assume rights greater than Britain had claimed to possess prior to that event. No right in Cherokee lands therefore vested in the State until the Indian title had been honourably extinguished.
This equitable principle has not always been observed between so-called civilised nations and semi-barbarous peoples, but that it has long held a place amongst the ideals of men is suggested to us by the Phoenician legend, that when the merchant princes of Tyre and Sidon resolved to establish a trading factory on the site upon which subsequently rose the city of Carthage, they fairly bought the land from the natives of Northern Africa, the area being determined by the length of the thongs cut from a bullock's hide. Such a story, coming down to us as it does through the hoary mists of time, may or may not appeal to our practical present-day minds, but the fact that it was commonly told and commonly accepted amongst the ancients is at least an indication that the principles which govern the conduct of modern nations towards their less fortunate brethren are founded upon and have the sanction of great antiquity.
When we come to apply these principles to New Zealand it is of course necessary to remember that the first European discoverer[157]of this Dominion was not Cook, but Abel Tasman. The Dutchman's association with the country was, however, so cursory, and his nation's subsequent interest in it so nominal, that to the sailor it appeared only as "a great land uplifted high," while to his countrymen it was known only as a vague scrawl upon the chart. That Tasman's discovery of 1642 gave the Dutch a right to colonise in New Zealand had they been so disposed is undoubted; but whatever rights they had thus acquired, such were clearly exhausted by Holland's failure to assert them during the long period of 135 years that elapsed before Cook came to make a reality of what to Tasman had only been a shadow.
With his characteristic thoroughness Cook left no weak link in the claim which he made on behalf of his nation. He landed on our shores, held intercourse with the natives, he surveyed our coasts, he took formal possession of both Islands "in the name, and for the use of His Majesty King George III."
"A philosopher perhaps might enquire on what ground Lieutenant Cook could take formal possession of this part of New Zealand in the name and for the use of the King of Great Britain, when the country was already inhabited, and of course belonged to those by whom it was inhabited, and whose ancestors might have resided in it for many preceding ages. To this the best answer seems to be that the Lieutenant in the ceremony performed by him had no reference to the original inhabitants, or any intention to deprive them of their national rights, but only to preclude the claims of further European navigators, who under the auspices and for the benefit of their respective States, or Kingdoms, might form pretensions to which they were not entitled by prior discovery."
So wrote one of the great explorer's most friendly biographers, and in his dispassionate review of the facts we have a correct summation of the rights which Cook'sdiscoveries did and did not confer upon our nation. Clearly New Zealand was not a country in which, or over which, Britain could, by Cook's act, acquire abona fidepossession, for it was inhabited by a strong and virile people, living under a system of government adequate in all respects for their social and military purposes.
In conferring upon New Zealand her charter of severance from New South Wales in 1840 Lord John Russell thus conveyed to Captain Hobson his view of the governmental state to which the Maori had risen: "They are not mere wanderers over an extended surface in search of a precarious existence; nor tribes of hunters, or of herdsmen, but a people among whom the arts of government have made some progress; who have established by their own customs a division and appropriation of the soil; who are not without some measure of agricultural skill, and a certain subordination of ranks, with usages having the character and authority of law." New Zealand then being an inhabited country and a country under a system of government at least so efficient as to subsequently induce the British authorities to recognise the Maori nation as an independent State, it becomes obvious that this could not be designated a land which could be lawfully seized upon by circumnavigators.
But such rights as Cook's discoveries did confer upon the nation, the Government of that day sought to conserve. Following upon his return to England with the accounts of his travels in strange waters, his contact with strange peoples, his finding of new lands, proclamations were issued which were not contested by other Powers. The Dutch title to these islands was thereby lawfully extinguished, and New Zealand, Van Dieman's Land, and Australia became for geographical and colonising purposes portions of the British Empire.
A laudable effort was made to render the claims of Britain even more explicit when in 1787 Captain Philip was appointed by Royal Commission Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the colony of New South Wales and its dependencies, which were claimed toinclude all the discoveries of Cook in the Southern Pacific. The territory over which the new Governor was authorised to exercise jurisdiction was described in his Commission as extending "from Cape York, the extremity of the coast to the northward in the latitude of 11° 37´ south, to the South Cape, the southern extremity of the coast in the latitude of 43° 30´ south, and inland to the westward as far as 135° of east longitude, comprehending all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean within the latitudes of the above-mentioned capes."
Unfortunately, owing doubtless to imperfect geographical knowledge on the part of those responsible, these boundaries were but loosely defined, for if they had been strictly adhered to, then Britain was setting up a claim not only to Cook's valuable discoveries, but to all the islands eastward of Australia, as far as the western coast of South America, embracing many Spanish discoveries; while on the other hand they excluded not only Stewart's Island, but all that part of the Southern Island of New Zealand south of Bank's Peninsula. Governor Philip's Commission was therefore faulty, because it asserted excessive rights in the one direction and made insufficient claims on the other.
It is true that in later years these boundaries were abandoned and the position made even more anomalous. During the Governorship of Sir Thomas Brisbane it was deemed expedient to separate Van Dieman's Land from New South Wales, and more circumscribed limits were assigned to the Mother State. In this readjustment, whether by accident or design it is impossible now to say, not only Van Dieman's Land but New Zealand were excluded from amongst the dependencies of New South Wales. Then it became an arguable point whether the word "adjacent" had ever covered Islands so far distant from the parent colony, and much legal acumen was expended in the effort to justify the contention that New Zealand had always been beyond the pale of the dependencies.