Hi Hi NEW ZEALAND THE WAR. NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. WILLIAM SWAINSON, ESQ., FORMERLY ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR NEW ZEALAND, AUTHOE OP " NEW ZEALAND AND ITS COLONIZATION," ETC. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. M.DCCC.LXII. [ The right of Translation i* reserved.~\ CO NTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page Progress and Prospects of the Colony. The recent Gold Discovery. Increase of Population. The New Zealand Constitution. New Provinces. The Church Constitu- tion. Synodical Action. " Land Leagues." The Maori " King Movement." Policy of Sir George Grey . . 1 CHAPTER II. State of New Zealand at the time of the Outbreak. Political Status of the Native Race. Dangerous Consequences of a Collision foreseen. The Maori Tribal System. Maori Tenure of Land. Cause of the Insurrection . . .45 CHAPTER III. The Taranaki Settlement. The Waitara. The Native Title. The Waitara considered Essential to the Com- pleteness of the Settlement. Why valued by its Native Owners. Their Suspicion of the Settlers. Their early Determination not to sell the Land , 59 1331826 vi CONTENTS, CHAPTER IV. PHRB The Government urged to adopt a New System in the Purchase of Native Land. Declaration of the Governor on the Subject. Negotiations for the Purchase of the Waitara. Opposition to the Sale. Difficulty of com- pleting a Satisfactory Purchase. A Survey of the Land attempted. Martial Law proclaimed. The Land occupied by a Military Force . . . .77 CHAPTER V. Memorial warning the Governor not to proceed, and showing the Rights of the Native Occupants of the Land. Rank and Position of William King, the Principal Opponent of the Sale. Apprehension amongst the Natives excited by the forcible Occupation of the Wai- tara. Remonstrances of the Absentee Claimants and others. Their Petition to the Queen for the Governor's Recal 93 CHAPTER VI. Question of Title. Disastrous Consequences to theTaranaki Settlement from the forcible Occupation of the Waitara. Popularity of the Government Policy. Debates in the General Assembly. Sir William Martin's Pamphlet on the " Taranaki Question." " Notes by the Governor " . 116 CHAPTER VII. Military Operations. War risked without Preparation. Power of the Insurgents underrated. Repulse of the Troops at Puketekauere. The Outsettlers driven in. CONTENTS. Ml Page Women and Children sent away to the neighbouring Provinces for safety. The Taranaki Settlements vir- tually destroyed. Impracticable Character of the Taranaki Country for Military Operations. The Insur- gents continue to keep the Field. Embarrassing Position of the Governor. Sudden Cessation of Hostilities. Terms of Peace. Difficulty of Warfare in the Bush. Cost of the War. Change in Public Opinion. Waikato " King Movement." Change of Ministry. Sir George Grey appointed Governor. The Colony saved from a General War 139 CHAPTER VIII. Impolicy of risking a War at Taranaki. Policy of the Government as officially explained. Hostilities : by whom commenced. The Natives blamed for not appealing to the Law. Result of the War. Future Policv . .181 NEW ZEALAND. AND THE WAE. CHAPTER I. Progress and Prospects of the Colony. The recent Gold Dis- covery. Increase of Population. The New Zealand Constitu- tion. New Provinces. The Church Constitution. Synodical Action. "Land Leagues." The Maori "King Movement." Policy of Sir George Grey. VARIOUS and valuable as are its known produc- tions, the natural resources of NEW ZEALAND have as yet been very imperfectly developed ; but the estimate which was formed of its advan- tages as a field for British colonization has been verified in almost every particular: and when the confidence of the Natives shall be restored, and when the measures now being taken, under the able administration of Sir George Grey, for 1 2 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. establishing peace, order, and government amongst them, shall be completed, New Zealand will assuredly rank as the most attractive and im- portant of our possessions in the Southern Hemi- sphere. When the Colony was first founded, neither gold nor wool was counted amongst its probable productions : and the Southern Island was com- paratively unknown. But the discovery of a valuable gold-field in the Province of Otago, commencing about thirty or forty miles south- ward of Dunedin, already promises the most important consequences. In the course of a few weeks 10,000 persons, chiefly from the Australian Colonies, were attracted to the Province, and were engaged in the search for gold. Gold to the value of more than 100,000?. has for some weeks been carried by escort from the ground; in proportion to the numbers employed, the yield largely exceeds the richest of the Victoria gold- fields, and within less than three months the population of the Province was more than doubled. According to the Official Returns for the year 1860, the English population of New Zealand, amounting to upwards of eighty thousand, was INCREASE OF POPULATION. 3 distributed amongst the several Provinces as follows : NORTHERN ISLAND. English Maori Popula- Population. tion: 1857. Province of Auckland . . . 23,732 . . 38,269 Taranaki . . . 1,239* . . 3,015 Wellington . . 13,049 . . 8,099 Hawkes Bay . . 2,028 . . 3,673 SOUTHERN ISLAND. Nelson ( including Marlborough) . 10,178 . . 1,220 Canterbury . . 12,784 . . 638 Otago ( including Southland) . 12,691 . ' . 525 Stewart Island 200 Chatham Islands . . . . ' '. . . ' ' 510 But the Colony has now an English population, exclusive of the Native race, of more than 100,000 souls, nearly equally divided between the two Islands ; but if the Southern gold-fields shall prove, as they promise to be, not only rich but extensive and permanently productive, the Southern Island will soon have a large preponderance of popula- tion ; and an attempt will, no doubt, be made to * A large number of the wives and children of the Taranaki settlers had been temporarily removed from the province in conse- quence of the war. 12 4 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. have it erected into a separate and independent Colony. Previous to the recent gold discovery, wool was the great staple product of New Zealand. In the course of seven years the quantity pro- duced has increased sevenfold; and the value of the wool now annually exported from the Colony amounts to more than half a million sterling. It is grown chiefly on the grassy plains of the south ; but wool of superior quality is also grown on the cultivated pastures of the Province of Auckland. Sheep-farming, even on the grassy plains and rich pastures of New Zealand, is not without its vicis- situdes; but, under the eye of the master, and with ordinary care and attention, it is found to yield a profitable return for the capital employed in it. But nearly the whole of the crown-land available for pastoral purposes is already occupied by a few extensive run-holders, who have for some time been in the receipt of a very considerable income. A gold-field has for some time been worked in the Province of Nelson which produces a yield of about 50,0002. a year. Gold has also been discovered in the Northern Island; and permis- CLIMATE. 5 sion has recently been obtained from the Natives to search over the gold-bearing district of the North ; and the offer of a free grant of forty acres of land to each immigrant is again, since peace has been restored, attracting to the Province of Auckland a stream of valuable settlers. The other provinces, with the exception of Taranaki, are also making steady progress. In both Islands the soil and climate have been proved to be adapted to the growth of every description of farm produce. Of the thirty millions of acres of land which have been acquired from the Natives, almost 150,000 acres have been brought into cultivation ; and the colonists are already rich in live-stock of every description. More than 15,000 horses, 150,000 head of cattle, and upwards of two millions of sheep, are owned by the settlers alone. The country is liable neither to oppressive heat, severe frost, nor de- structive drought ; but the climate will disappoint those who expect perpetual sunshine and an atmosphere undisturbed by wind or rain. The weather is changeable, and the seasons are un- certain ; but the climate is mild and healthy, and better suited to the English constitution than that 6 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. of Canada, Australia, or the Cape of Good Hope. For those who are liable to pulmonary disease, there are districts in New Zealand which, as a place of residence, are hardly inferior to Madeira itself, and greatly superior to any part of Italy or the south of France. But in spite of all warning, numbers leave England for the Colonies who are utterly unfitted for a settler's life, not a few of whom find their way to New Zealand ; with these exceptions, the settlers who have been steady and industrious have bettered their condition, and the greater number have laid the foundation of an early independence. The form of Government best suited to the peculiar circumstances of the country is a problem which still remains to be solved. When the subject was under the consideration of Parliament it was obvious that, with its numerous and widely detached settlements, New Zealand could not be governed in detail by a single central authority ; and it was provided by the Constitution, that in addition to the general Legislature, six subor- dinate Provincial Councils should also be esta- NEW PROVINCES. 7 blishecl with large powers of legislation. Yet with all this legislative machinery, it was found that there was important districts still governed from a distance, and in which the inhabitants possessed little or no power of local self-government. Three of the most important of these outlying districts have, under the authority of an Act of the Assembly, been recently carved out of the original provinces ; and New Zealand is now divided into nine provinces of unequal extent ; Auckland, the largest, having an area of upwards of seventeen millions of acres ; and the smallest, Taranaki, having an area of between two and three millions only. In some respects the con- stitution of the three new provinces * differs from that of the provinces established by Parliament : instead of being elected by the people themselves, the Superintendent is chosen by the Council of the province; and an Act passed by any new province cannot come into operation until it shall have received the Governor's assent. But with this restriction, the legislative jurisdiction of the new provinces is equally extensive with that of the original provinces ; and there may now be as * Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, and Southland. 8 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. 5 many ns ilitee different laws in the same country on a variety of important subjects. It still re- mains to be discovered how the principal settle- ments, several hundred miles distant from the seat of Government, may have free scope for their development, and how the more thinly-peopled outlying districts may enjoy sufficient power of local self-government, yet in due subordination to a single central authority, and without encum- bering the Colony with an inconvenient multiplicity and diversity of laws. The Natives of New Zealand, like ourselves, appreciate the advantage of law and order; but, like ourselves, they also 'prefer self-government to being governed by a stranger. They say that it is not just that the Maories should be placed entirely in the power of the white man ; that salt water and fresh water do not mix well together ; and that if their affairs are to be put into the hands of any assembly, they should be placed in the hands of an assembly consisting of their own race. No one would have desired to see the whole of the Natives at once placed on the electoral roll ; but in the first instance, it was generally understood that the Natives, as THE CONSTITUTION. 9 well as the Colonists, if they were fee owners or the individual occupiers of lands or tenements of the value prescribed by the Constitution, would be qualified to vote at the election of Members of the Colonial Legislature ; and several of them claimed to be placed upon the electoral roll, and gave their votes at the election, but their claims to vote as owners or occupiers of land held under native tenure was soon called in question. The late Governor's advisers declared the opinion that it is just in itself, and a political necessity, that no electoral qualification should be derived from the tenure or occupation of lands or tenements which are not held under a Crown title; and in pur- suance of a Resolution of the House of Represen- tatives, the question was submitted to the Attorney and Solictor-General, whether the Natives can have such possession of any land that is used or occupied by them in common as tribes or communities, and not held under title derived from the Crown, as would qualify them to be- come electors. The opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown brought to light the fact that the Natives have hitherto been left as entirely without law or tribunal for the determination of questions 10 NETV ZEALAND AND THE WAR. relating to territorial rights, as they were before the discovery of the country by Captain Cook. " Suppose," say the Law Officers of the Crown, " in a district of Native land lying within the limits of an Electoral District, that one Native by consent of the rest is permitted to have exclusive possession of a piece of land, in which he builds a Native hut for his habitation, but is afterwards turned out or trespassed on by another Native : could he bring an action of ejectment or trespass in the Queen's Court in New Zealand ? Does the Queen's Court ever exercise any juris- diction over real property in a Native district? We presume," they say, " this question must be answered in the negative ; and it must of necessity therefore follow that the subjects of householding, occupancy and tenements, and their value in Native districts, are not matters capable of being recognized, ascertained, or regulated by English law." And on the question submitted to them they gave their opinion in the negative. And it has since been admitted by the Colonial Department that the New Zealand Constitution was framed in forgetfulness of the large Native Tribes within the dominions in which it was intended to apply. RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. 11 If a separation shall take place between the Northern and Southern Islands, the Constitution must of necessity be revised, and an opportunity will be afforded of reconsidering its provisions. But whatever may be its defects, it has proved generally acceptable at least to the English Colo- nists, and largely instrumental in promoting the progress of the several principal settlements. On leaving the Colony, Governor Browne had the satisfaction of receiving an address from the House of Representatives, assuring him of their apprecia- tion of his endeavours to facilitate the operation of responsible government in the Colony, and to fulfil the promises which he made prior to its introduction. So far also as relates to the Colo- nists themselves, the experiment of introducing the was to prepare a measure for the purpose. And it was provided that in future the General Synod THE CHUKCH CONSTITUTION. 13 should consist of the several Bishops for the time being; of eighteen Clerical Representatives, to be elected by the clergy ; and of twenty-nine Lay Representatives, to be elected by the laity : that every layman of the age of twenty-one years, or upwards, who shah 1 sign a declaration that he is a member of the United Church of England and Ireland, shall be entitled to vote at the election of Lay Representatives for the district in which he may reside ; and that every layman, being a communicant and qualified as an elector, shall be qualified to be elected as a Lay Representative. In addition to a General Synod for the whole Colony, it was provided by the Constitution that a Synod should be established in each diocese ; but it remained to be determined what should be the number of the members, their qualification, and the mode of their election ; and statutes were passed for the organization of Diocesan Synods and of Archdeaconry Boards ; for regulating the formation of parishes; for the appointment of pastors of parishes ; for delegating certain of the powers of the General Synod to a standing com- mission or executive body to act when the Synod itself shall not be in session; and for deciding 14 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. doubts in the interpretation of the statutes to be passed by the General and the several Diocesan Synods. A measure was also prepared, but left for .final consideration at a future session, on the subject of Church discipline ; and after a session extending over a period of twenty-eight days, the first General Synod brought their proceedings to a close. Within less than a year afterwards Synods were also called together in the several dioceses (excepting Waiapu), whose members devoted themselves with considerable zeal and interest to the task of completing the work of organization which the General Synod had begun. One of the most important of the measures of the first General Synod was the statute to provide for the appointment of pastors to parishes. When it was first mooted, the subject was entirely new to most of the members. As might be expected, opinions were various ; and, in the first instance, there was little prospect of unanimity. No ready- made plan was brought forward either by the Bishops, Clergy, or Lay Members. As the dis- cussion proceeded, points of agreement were gradually arrived at. The feeling was unanimous that rights of private patronage should not be THE CHURCH CONSTITUTION. 15 admitted. No one proposed that the Bishop of the diocese should be the sole and absolute patron ; nor, on the other hand, that pastors should be appointed by the parishioners at large. JBy degrees, the opinion gained ground, that it is impor- tant, not to the parish only, but to the Church at large, that a proper appointment should be made to every vacant cure ; and that every cure should, if possible, be filled by a clergyman acceptable to the congregation, yet without being directly chosen by themselves, and without being removed from a more extended sphere of usefulness. To secure these objects, it was finally determined that the trust of selecting a clergyman and nomi- nating him to the Bishop of the diocese for in- stitution to a vacant cure, should be vested in a Board of Nominators, to be appointed annually by the Diocesan Synod, and by the Vestry of each parish. But of what number the Board should consist, and in what proportion they should be elected respectively by the Synod and by the Vestry, was left to be determined by the Synod of each diocese. When the subject afterwards came to be con- sidered by the Synod of the Northern Diocese, 16 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. the question as to the proportion in which the members of the Board of Nominators should be elected by the Synod and by the parish was debated at considerable length ; a majority of the Lay Members inclining to the opinion that the members of the Board to be elected by the Vestry should exceed the number of members to be elected by the Synod; and it was ultimately determined that the Board of Nominators should consist of five members, two of whom should be elected each year by the Synod, and three by the Vestry of each parish. As not less than two- thirds of the members of the Board must concur in every nomination, no nomination can be made without the concurrence of four out of the five, and consequently no nomination can be made in opposition to the opinion of a majority of the members elected by the Vestry, nor, on the other hand, without the concurrence of one at least of the two members elected by the Synod. As a further safeguard against an improper nomination, the Bishop of the diocese, if not satisfied of the fitness of the party presented by the Board, may reject him ; and as a security against the exercise by the Bishop of his power CHURCH CONSTITUTION. 17 of rejection on arbitrary, frivolous, or vexatious grounds, the rejected nominee may appeal to the House of Bishops, who, if they think the Bishop's alleged grounds of objection insufficient, may over-rule them, and may direct institution to be given. The members are changed every year, so as always to represent the Synod and the Yestry for the time being ; but the Board is always in existence, and ready to act whenever a vacancy may occur, special care having been taken that the members of it shall not be elected for the purpose of nominating in any particular case. By means of the members elected by the Vestry, it is expected that the Board will be made acquainted with the condition and circumstances of the parish, and with the views and wishes of the parishioners; and by means of its diocesan members, that the Board will be made acquainted with the character, ability, and antecedents of the several candidates ; and that possessing this united knowledge, the Board of Nominators will be qualified to act in the character of a valuable council of advice to the Bishop in appointing the fittest person to the vacant cure. Experience alone can deter- 18 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. mine the value of the system which has been devised for securing this important object; but the statute passed by the General Synod, supple- mented by the Statute of the Diocesan Synod of Auckland for the appointment of a Board of Nominators, may be regarded as affording some test of the fitness of the Colonists for the work they have undertaken of organizing an eccle- siastical system for the Church of England in New Zealand. A Synod is about to be esta- blished in the Native Diocese of Waiapu, under the presidency of Bishop Williams ; several of the Clerical Members will be Native deacons ; the whole of the Lay Representatives will be Natives, and the proceedings will be con- ducted in the Maori language. Considering the time, the place, and the circumstances, the first meetings of the Synod of the Diocese of Waiapu will be one of the most remarkable events in the history of the Church. The recent disturbances in the Colony have compelled general attention to the necessity for reconsidering our relations with the Native race. LAND LEAGUES. 19 The Land Leagues which have been formed amongst them, and their connection with the "Maori King Movement," have been frequently misunderstood. In some instances the Natives, in forming a Land League, and in connecting them- selves with the King movement, neither intended disloyalty to the Crown, nor wholly to put a veto on the sale of Maori land ; their object in placing the land of the Tribe under the care of the King being to make him the arbitrator in case of disputes amongst themselves; to constitute him their mouthpiece as to the land which the tribe as a whole were or were not disposed to sell, so as to prevent the tribal property from being dealt with by individuals, or a fraction only ot the Tribe, and thus spare themselves from in- cessant and destructive feuds. In some cases no doubt the object of the Land League was to maintain their own power and influence by pre- venting any further alienation of territory; and it can hardly be surprising that a high-spirited people should look with suspicion and misgiving at the increasing numbers and the growing in- fluence of the colonizing race, or that some of their leading Chiefs, seeing a considerable portion 22 20 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. of the country already in the hands of the settlers, should have formed an agreement amongst them- selves to hold fast to the land which still remains to them. But unwise as it may be, this compact, so long as it is confined in its operation to those who are parties to it, is no more an offence against the law than an " eight-hours' movement " or a " tempe- rance league," nor is there any reason to fear that it will long be persisted in, or become a practical hindrance to the progress of British colonization. For more than twenty years land has been acquired from the Natives faster than it can be made use of by the Colonists. Nearly the whole of the Middle Island has already become by purchase the property of the Crown ; and in the Northern Island, where we have not yet 50,000 Colonists, we have acquired from the Natives seven millions of acres, of which but an insignificant portion has been brought into culti- vation. In fact there need be no real difficulty in acquiring the whole of the surplus land of the Natives as fast as we can use it. It is by no means essential to the successful colonization of the country, that the Crown should continue to LAND LEAGUES. 21 monopolize the right of purchasing Native land ; nor is there any reason why its owners should be virtually compelled to dispose of it at a price below its market value. Let the Government abandon its position as a land dealer. Let all unnecessary restrictions be removed which pre- vent the Native owner from disposing of his land in open market, and obtaining for it its real value,* and let the Colonists at the same time moderate their apparent eagerness to obtain possession, and the Natives generally will soon become as clamorous to dispose of their land, as some of them have for some time been determined to retain it. But under any circumstances land can always be acquired from the Natives much more quickly, and much more cheaply by fair purchase than by military force. Nor would any true friend dissuade them from parting with their land. Hitherto their rights have been * " And with regard to the alienation of land, might there not exist a well-founded distrust of a Government which, while it did not permit the sale of land to individuals, does, by holding out inducements which few savages are able to resist, acquire the article which the Maori has to sell at a very low rate (sixpence or a shilling an acre), which article is instantly retailed to the white man at ten shillings an acre ! " Sir William Denison to Governor Browne, 22 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. recognized and respected, and friendlj relations have until recently been maintained between the two races ; but if the dominant race, whose flocks and. herds are already numbered by the million, shall find themselves cramped for space, and if the progress of colonization shall be seriously impeded, the surplus lands of the Natives will become a bone of contention, with a result which the light of history renders it by no means difficult to foresee. The attempt has indeed already been made to induce the British Government to regard the conduct of the Natives in resisting what they believed to be an encroachment on their territorial rights, in joining the so-called " King Movement," and in forming a league to retain possession of their lands, as acts of rebellion against the British Crown justifying the confiscation of their land, and calling for the employment of the Queen's Troops at the cost of the Imperial Treasury ; but unless the statement officially reported by the late Governor be an unwarrantable libel upon the settlers, that they "are determined to enter in and possess the lands of the Natives, and that neither law nor equity will prevent them," and LAND LEAGUES. 23 if it be true, as stated by the late Native Minister, that a degraded portion of the newspaper press had teemed with menaces of this kind, and with scurrilous abuse of the Natives and of all who took an interest in their welfare,' there will always be danger of a Native insurrection, so long as it shall be understood that an extension of territory may be obtained by the forfeiture or confiscation of Native lands. The Native owners of the soil have already peaceably alienated more than half their territory on the most reasonable terms.* Yet although her Majesty has guaranteed * " It might not be generally known that a vast extent of the lands in the Middle Island was obtained from the Natives on certain conditions. The whole of the land commencing at Eaiapoi, and extending south to Molyneux, amounting to about twenty two million of acres, was acquired from the Natives by a payment of i,OOOZ., and an assurance given by the Commissioner (himself Mr. Mantel), on behalf of the Government, that they must not regard the 2,000/. as the principal payment, but the benefits they would acquire from schools erected for their education, from medical attendance, and the general hospitable care of the Government. Those lands passed to the Government, but the promises made had never to this day been properly fulfilled." Speech of the Native Minister (Mr. Mantel), House of Repre- sentatives. Nearly the whole of the land in the Province of Canterbury was purchased from the Natives for little more than a nominal sum; but the land reserved for them (not more than 7,000 acres), is now valued at upwards of 60.000/. 24 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. to them the undisturbed possession of their land, " so long as it is their wish and desire to retain it," their unwillingness to alienate the land which still remains to them has already been imputed to them as a public offence. If Great Britain would not be again called upon to take part in Native wars, it should be authoritatively declared that while the Imperial Government will be pre- pared to sanction any measures which may tend to facilitate the acquisition of land in New Zealand for the occupation of our enterprising countrymen, either by direct purchase or otherwise, on equit- able terms, they will not under any circumstances acquire or take possession of land in New Zealand by forfeiture, or confiscation, or without the free consent of all who, in accordance with the customs of the country, may be entitled to a voice in the disposal of it ; and that they will neither sanction nor permit any violation of that provision of the Treaty of Waitangi which guarantees to her Majesty's Native subjects the possession of their land " so long as it is their wish and desire to retain it." * * " There is no question that the common and ordinary mode of dealing with the differences between the white man and the Maori would be to treat the latter as a rebel, to pour in troops, MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 25 The attempt which has been made by certain of the Tribes to unite themselves under a King, whether for the purpose of maintaining their nationality, for consolidating their power, or of raising themselves from barbarism by means of laws and institutions to be made and administered by themselves, shows a remarkable feature in the character of the race. When the movement for setting up a Maori King first attracted attention, it was viewed by the local authorities not only without apprehension, but as offering, under wise guidance, an opening for good. " If the Govern- ment," wrote Governor Browne, " does not take regardless of expense, and eventually to sweep away a race which occupies land of which the white man professes to be in want> though he has millions of acres of which he can or does make no use. This, however, is a very costly mode of dealing with such a matter; to say nothing of its immorality and injustice. The Imperial Government will have to pay a high price for the land which, after having purchased it with its blood and treasure, it hands over to the Colonists to sell for their benefit.' Sir William Denison to Governor Browne. The nature of the territorial rights guaranteed to the Natives by treaty, has been officially defined by the Under Secretary of the Colonial Department (Mr. Merivale), who, in his evidence before a Committee of the House of Commons, declared " that it was considered that the New Zealand Tribes had a right of proprietorship over their lands ; not simply a general right of dominion, but a right of proprietorship like landlords of estates, for which the Crown was bound to pay them." 26 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. the lead and direction of the Native movement into its own hands, the time will pass when it will be possible to do so. * * * The influence of oratory, and, perhaps, evil counsel, aided by the actual excitement of the Natives, may incline them to make laws of their own at these meetings, and thus add to the present difficulty ; but they will probably refrain from doing so if they see that the Government is actually doing what they wish." But in the following year (1858), he entertained a different view. " I trust," he said, " that time and absolute indifference and neglect on the part of the Government will teach the Natives the folly of proceedings undertaken only at the promptings of vanity, and instigated by disappointed advisers." * And until a general * When the name of King was afterwards regarded almost as a public offence, the Committee appointed to report upon the finance accounts of the Colony appear to have been surprised to find that the founder of the dynasty, King Potatou, had been in receipt of a pension from the Government almost to the day of his death, and that he had been buried at the cost of the Colonial Treasury. " The Committee observe," says their Report, " that the pension to Te Whero Where was paid up to the 31st of March, 1860." They are informed that this is the Chief who was pro- claimed Maori King under the name of Potatou L, and that he died on the 25th of June, 1860. Out of the item, " Presents and Entertainments to Natives," amounting to 4 167. 9*. 6d., MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 27 feeling of apprehension had been excited in the Native mind by the military occupation of the Waitara, the movement had little or no vitality which, by prudent guidance, might not have been turned to valuable account. According to the Report of the Waikato Com- mittee, the object of a large section of the Natives was distinctly expressed at a great meeting in the Waikato, in April, 1857, at which the Governor was present, and at which it was under- stood by them that his Excellency promised to introduce amongst them institutions of law, founded on the principle of self-government, analogous to British institutions, and presided over by the British Government. " I was present," says the Rev. Mr. Ashwell, referring to that meeting, " when Te Wharepu, Paehia, with Potatou, asked the Governor for a Magistrate, Laws, and Runan- gas, which he assented to ; and some of the Natives took off their hats and cried, " Hurrah ! " "I want order and laws," were, in fact, the first words of the leading member of the movement for the Committee discovered that the sum of I/. 17s. was paid on the llth of November, 1860, for coffin furniture for Potatou. " The facts and dates," adds the Report, " appeared to the Com- mittee to be very remarkable." 28 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. establishing a Maori King. "The King would give us these better than the Governor, for the Governor has never done anything, except when a Pakeha was killed; he lets us kill each other and fight. A King would stop these evils." The two most active leaders of the movement may be taken as representative men of the new generation of Maori Chiefs. William Thompson is remarkably silent and reserved; he listens patiently to what is said, but thinks and decides for himself. He spends a great part of his time in writing; noting down everything remarkable he sees, hears, or reads; and he is engaged in constant correspondence with all parts of the country. He is well versed in Scripture History ; a fluent speaker and a formidable antagonist in debate. Though he is the son of a celebrated warrior, he prides himself on his character as a peacemaker. When several hundred armed Natives descended the Waikato River, in a state of dangerous excitement, to inquire into the violent death of one of their countrymen in the neigh- bourhood of Auckland, he himself formed one of the party for the purpose of restraining them, and he was largely influential in keeping them MAORI KING MO YEMENI. 29 from mischief. Several unruly and headstrong members of his Tribe went to Taranaki to the sup- port of William King, but it was without his sanction or authority ; and he himself afterwards proceeded to the seat of war, and succeeded, though not without great difficulty, in withdrawing them, and in bringing about a general cessation of hostilities. " I thought," he said, describing his own share in the movement, " about building a large house as a house of meeting for the Tribes who were living at variance in New Zealand, and who would not become united. That house was erected, and was called Babel. I then sent my thoughts to seek some plan by which the Maori Tribes should become united, that they should assemble together and the people become one, like the Pakehas. * * * Evil still manifested itself; the river of blood was not yet stopped. The ministers acted bravely, and so did I, but the flow of blood did not cease. When you came, the river of blood was still open, and I therefore sought for some thought to cause it to cease, as the ministers had long per- severed. I considered how this blood could be made to diminish in this Island. I looked into your books 30 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. where Israel cried to have a King for themselves, to be a judge over them, and I looked at the words of Moses in Deuteronomy xvii. 15, and in 1 Samuel viii. 4, and I kept these words in my memory through all the years ; the land feuds continuing all the time, and blood still being spilt, I still meditating upon the matters, when we arrived at the year 1857. Te Heu- heu called a meeting at Taupo. Twice 800 were assembled there, when the news of that meeting reached me. I said, I will consent to this, to assist my work, that the religion of those Tribes that had not yet united might have time to breathe. I commenced at those words in the Book of Samuel viii. 5 : 'Give us a King to judge us.' This was why I set up Potatau in the year 1857. On his being set up, the blood at once ceased, and has so remained up to the present year. The reason why I set up Potatau as a King for me was, he was a man of extended influence, and one who was respected by the Tribes of this Island. That, O friend I was why I set him up ; to put down my troubles, to hold the land of the slave, and to judge the offences of the chiefs. The King was set up ; the Runangas MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 31 were set up ; the Kai-whakawas were set up, and religion was set up. The works of my ancestors have ceased, they are diminishing at the present time ; what I say is, that the blood of the Maories has ceased to flow. I don't allude to this blood (lately shed). It was your hasty work caused that blood. I do not desire to cast the Queen from this Island, but from my piece of land. I am to be the person to overlook my piece." A similar account of the origin of the movement was given by Renata, another of its earliest and most influential supporters. After passing some- time in captivity in the North, where he received (in 1842-3) some teaching at the Waimate school, Renata returned to his own people in the Hawkes Bay district, where both with the settlers and the Natives he has established a high character for his ability and integrity. For several years he has been engaged in promoting the building of Native churches, schools, and flour-mills; for some time he employed at his own cost an English teacher to instruct the Native children. " It was my wrongs unredressed by you," he said, "that induced me to set about to work out an idea of my own ; that is, Waikato, the tribe who set it 32 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. going. They were in doubt whether to term Chief or Governor, and neither suited, and they established him as ' the Maori King ; ' it was tried experimentally, and proved as a means of redress for wrongs not settled by you, by the Govern- ment. The only wrongs you redressed were those against yourselves ; but as for those all over the breadth of the country, you left them unnoticed. Sir, the enemies he (the Maori King) had to fight with were the crimes of the Maori ; his murders, his thefts, his adulteries, his drunken- ness, his selling land by stealth. These were what he had to deal with. * * * Did I set up any King in secret? As I view it, Waikato wished that his authority should emanate from the Governor. And then it was that we tried to do the best we could for ourselves. When it was seen that evil was partly put down by the Runanga, and the stupid drunkards became men once more, then the work (the King move- ment) became general. " But is this (King movement) indeed to cause a division between us ? No, it will be caused by secret purchases of land, the thing which has been going on for years." And Renata was MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 33 careful to make it clear that the promoters of the movement had no intention to subvert the Queen's authority. " You say, * The Maories are not able to fight against the Queen of England, and kill (prevail against) her.' This is my answer. Sir, you know perfectly well that the Maori will be beaten ; though it be said that this war is for sovereignty, the fault of the Governor can never be concealed by that. Who is the Maori that is such a fool as to be mistaken about the sovereignty or supremacy of the Queen of England? Or who will throw himself away in fighting for such a cause ? No, it is for land ; for land has been the prime cause of war amongst the Maories from time immemorial down to the arrival of Pakehas in this island of ours. The Maori will not be daunted by his weakness, by his inferiority, or the smallness of his Tribe; he sees his land going, and will he sit still ? No ; but he will take himself off (to resist). The Queen's sovereignty has been acknowledged long ago: had it been to fight for supremacy, pro- bably every man in this island would have been up in arms; but in the present case the fighting is confined to the land which is being taken 3 34 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAB. possession of. There is a letter of William King's lying here, in which he says that if his land is evacuated, he will put a stop to the fighting. * * * * It was proposed to leave it to the Queen to judge between the Governor and William King: you witnessed the general assent of all to that proposal that the Queen should be the judge. Well, does this look in your opinion like a rebellious word in regard to the Queen, that you have left it out of sight, and taken up that word of your own invention about the Maori making war against the Queen? Sir, the Maori does not consider that he is fighting against the Queen; I beg therefore that you will cease to pervert words, and rather consent to our pro- posal that we should all join in writing a letter to the Governor (to propose) that the war may be stopped, and that it may be left for the Queen to decide in this quarrel; and then let us write a letter to the Queen (to pray) that she will send a Commissioner (Kainhakawa) to stand between us, and let us all join together in inquiring into this dispute. Cease (arbitration) by guns, and now let it be left to inquiry, that a remnant of men be left." MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 35 After a careful inquiry into the subject, a Committee of the House of Representatives, com- prising several of its leading members, reported their opinion (1860) that a great movement had been going on amongst the Native people, having for its main object the establishment of some settled authority amongst themselves; that such movement need not have been the subject of alarm ; that its objects were not necessarily in- consistent with the recognition of the Queen's supreme authority, or with the progress of colonization; and that it would have been from the first, and would then be, unwise to con- tradict it by positive resistance an opinion which has been confirmed by the leader of the present Ministry. " The great national move- ment," said Mr. Fox, "which has been seething in the Native mind for years past, is not, as the Duke of Newcastle has been taught to think it, based on a desire to get rid of British rule and British civilization ; but we recognize in it the desire of the Native race for self-elevation: we see in it an earnest longing for law and order, and an attempt (not feeble or ill-directed had it only been encouraged and guided,) to rise to 32 36 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. a social equality with ourselves ; and there is no doubt that if judiciously dealt with, this remarkable movement might have been turned to valuable account, and that few of the Chiefs who ever formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the Crown would ever have desired to establish a national independence.^ After the admission made by the Colonial Minister,* " that without the control of larger funds for Native purposes than have been placed at the disposal of the Governor, it has been im- possible to adopt such measures as would be effectual for the Government and civilization of the Maories," and after the admission of the Colonial Under-Secretary,t that " the Governor of New Zealand is obliged to act under a Constitu- tion which appears to have been framed in for- getfulness of the large Native Tribes within the dominions to which it was intended to apply," it is hardly surprising that an attempt should be made by the New Zealanders to find out some mode of government for themselves in their relations with each other. More than twenty years ago, the British Government, in assuming * The Duke of Newcastle. f Mr. Fortescue. MAORI KING MOVEMENT. 37 the sovereignty, undertook the responsibility of establishing law and order in the country. Yet the late Governor has declared that our Govern- ment in many places is almost unknown by the Natives ; that some of the most populous districts such as Hokianga and Kaipara have no magistrates resident arnong them ; and many such as Taupo, the Ngatiruanui, Taranaki, and the country about the East Cape have never been visited by an officer of the Government. " The residents in these districts have never felt that they are the subjects of the Queen of England, and have little reason to think that the Government of the Colony cares at all about their welfare." And yet, by the treaty of Waitangi, the Maori people were guaranteed all the rights and privileges of British subjects; but though they are taxed as subjects, they are not allowed to take part in making laws even for the Govern- ment of their own people ; in matters of a criminal nature, even when a Maori is concerned, they are allowed to take no part in the administration of the law ; and neither by the English laws, nor by laws specially made for them, has her Majesty's sovereignty been exercised to promote peace, 38 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAB. order, or law amongst the great bulk of the Maori people.* And until recently little or nothing has been done or attempted to take advantage of the desire of the Natives for law, and of their aptitude for self-government. But with the new Ministry, and under the administration of Sir George Grey, there is ground to hope that measures will be taken for establishing law and order amongst them on a sound and permanent footing. " The first great principle," said Mr. Fox, in his exposition of the policy of the new * " Yon have, now, as a fact, the establishment of something analogous to a general government among the Maories; a recog- nition on their part of the necessity of some paramount authority ; this is a" step in the right direction do not ignore it do not, on the ground that some evil may possibly spring from it, make the Natives suspicious of your motive by opposing it, but avail yourself of the opportunity to introduce some more of the elements of good government among them. Suggest to them the necessity of defining and limiting the power of the person who has been elected as the Chief or King (I should not quarrel with the name) ; of establishing some system of legislation, simple, of course, at first, but capable of being modified and improved; but do not attempt to introduce the complicated arrangements suited to a civilized and educated people, recognizing publicly and openly the Maories not merely as individual subjects of the Queen, but as a race a body whose interests you are bound to respect and promote, and then give to that body the means of deciding what their interests are, and of submitting them in a proper form for your consideration." Sir William Denison to Governor Browne. POLICY OF SIR G. GREY. 39 Government, " on which we base our policy is this, that the Maories are men of like passions and feelings, and to be acted on by the same motives, as ourselves. It may seem strange to be standing up to assert that the Natives are men. But it is necessary to assert it, for the theory of the Native Office and its practice have been to treat them, not as men, but as spoiled children. It is necessary also to assert that they are of like passions, and to be operated on by like motives, as ourselves; for there are those in this House, and out of it, who see in the dark skins of the Natives a warrant for dealing with them on principles different altogether from those on which we should deal with each other, who believe that because the New Zealander came from Asia, he must be governed differently from the Saxon race. * * * I do not hesitate to say that of all the races on the face of the earth, there is none that comes so near to the Anglo- Saxon in temperament, in mental capacity, and in habit of thought, as the Maori/* After failing to fulfil our own obligations, to attempt, by brute force, to stifle the instinctive yearning of a brave people for the preservation of their nationality, and for the introduction of order and law, would 40 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. be a reproach to civilization, and a disgrace to British ruleN Any fusion of the two races, however, into one system of government, it has been said, is not at present possible. The establishment of separate institutions for the Native race is the only alter- native ; and this is the very thing which they crave at our hands. And the measures which Sir George Grey is now engaged in bringing into operation are based upon the principle that the Maories themselves should, as far as practicable, make and enforce regulations suited to their own requirements, and have a share in the administra- tion of the government of their own country. It is proposed that the Native territory shall be divided into convenient districts, for the purpose of local self-government, that in each district there shall be an English Civil Commissioner, a Runanga or Native Council, consisting of the leading men of the district, who are to be paid, and to act also as Magistrates or Assessors; a small body of Native Police, an English medical man, and a Native clergyman, to act also as schoolmaster. The District Council is to be presided over by the Civil Commissioner, and to have the power of preparing POLICY OF SIR G. GREY. 41 bye-laws, to be brought into operation with the approval of the Governor in Council, on the subjects of fencing, cattle trespassing, the sup- pression of nuisances, for regulating the sale of spirits, &c., and other subjects prescribed by an Act passed some time ago by the General Assembly. It is intended that the Council shall also have the power of inspecting schools, erecting gaols and hospitals, and constructing roads (not being main lines of road) within the districts ; of deciding who may be the true owners of any Native lands within the districts, and of recommending the terms and conditions on which Crown grants may be issued to tribes, families, or individuals. It is also intended that the Civil Commissioner, resident Magistrates and Native Assessors shall periodically hold Courts within the district, and that in all cases in which the punishment awarded shall exceed a certain amount, their proceedings shall be submitted for review to a Judge of the Supreme Court: that Native offenders, instead of being taken to the gaols in the English settlements, shall be confined in the district prison, and tried by a jury of their countrymen in their own district and by a Judge of the Supreme Court on circuit. 42 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. It forms, also, an important feature in Sir George Grey's scheme of Native policy, to relax the restrictions by which the Natives have hitherto been prevented from disposing of their lands, excepting to the Crown ; and when the boundaries and ownership of land in any district shall have been ascertained in accordance with the regulations of the Native Council, the Native owners will be allowed to dispose of it by direct sale to any purchaser who may be approved of by the Govern- ment on the recommendation of the Council, on such conditions as may be agreed on between the sellers and the purchaser. The intending pur- chaser, however, must be a bond fide settler, and will not be entitled to a Crown grant of the land until he shall have been in personal occupation for at least three years. It is also intended that the Native owners shall be permitted to lease such lands upon terms to be decided on by the Govern- ment on consultation with the Council of the district. A lost confidence is not easily regained, but, by these means, Governor Grey is endeavour- ing to remove the causes of suspicion and irritation which exist amongst the Native people, in the expectation that before the proved and substantial POLICY OF SIR G. GREY. 43 benefits of the Queen's sovereignty the "King Movement " will die out. " In this way, the Government will have discharged its duty to this people : it will have become, for the first time, the Government of the Maori as well as of the Pakeha: and will have saved the Colony from the misery, and the mother country from the burden, of a protracted and costly war." * * An official notification recently published amongst the Natives concludes as follows: (Translated: ) "This, then, is what the Governor intends to do, to assist the Maori in the good work of esta- blishing law and order. These are the first things : the Runangas, the Assessors, the Policemen, the Schools, the Doctors, the Civil Commissioners to assist the Maories to govern themselves, to make good laws, and to protect the weak against the strong. There will be many more things to be planned and to be decided; but about such things the Runangas and the Commissioners will consult. This work will be a work of time, like the growing of a large tree at first there is the seed, then there is one trunk, then there are branches innumerable, and very many leaves: by- and-by, perhaps, there will be fruit also. But the growth of the tree is slow the branches, the leaves, and fruit did not appear all at once, when the seed was put in the ground: and so will it be with the good laws of the Runanga. This is the seed which the Governor desires to sow: the Runangas, the Asses- sors, the Commissioners, and the rest. By-and-by, perhaps, this seed will grow into a very great tree, which will bear good fruit on all its branches. The Maories, then, must assist in the planting of this tree, in the training of its branches, in cultivating the ground about its roots ; and, as the tree grows, the children of the Maori, also, will grow to be a rich, wise, and prosperous people, like the English and those other nations which long ago 44 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. began the work of making good laws, and obeying them. This will be the work of peace, on which the blessing of Providence will rest, which will make the storms to pass away from the sky, and all things become light between the Maori and the Pakeha; and the heart of the Queen will then be glad when she hears that the two races are living quietly together, as brothers, in the good and prosperous land of New Zealand." 45 CHAPTER II. State of New Zealand at the time of the Outbreak. Political Status of the Native Race. Dangerous Consequences of a Collision foreseen. The Maori Tribal System. Maori Tenure of Land. Cause of the Insurrection. OUR former wars with the Natives of New Zealand were almost inevitable; but they left no rankling feeling in the Native mind: and not only our gracious Sovereign, but the various Representatives of her Majesty * have, up to a * The Governor is commonly, but erroneously regarded as the " Representative " of the Crown. " Not in fact," says Lord Brougham; " he does not even represent the Sovereign generally, having only the functions delegated to him by his Commission; and being only the officer to execute the special powers with which the Commission clothes him." And the Maories have always been taught by authority to regard the Queen personally as their ruler and governor, who, though far away, is ever mind- ful of their interests; and to whom, if wronged, they are to appeal as one ever willing to listen to their words. Letter of Governor Grey to Te Whero Whero, dated 3lst of October, 1858. [After stating the gracious answer of the Queen to the memorial addressed to her by the Chiefs of Waikato, the Governor proceeds to say: ] 46 . NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. recent period, enjoyed the respect and confidence of the Maori race. Queen Victoria is still be- lieved by them to be the loving mother of her Native subjects ; but recently, and for the first time in the history of the Colony, many of them, for a time at least, became dissatisfied with our rule. Before the commencement of the Taranaki insurrection, New Zealand was in a state of profound peace. For a period of several years, friendly relations had been maintained between the settlers and the Natives, and the Colony had been making steady progress in agriculture, " My good Friends These are the words of the Queen to you. I add a few words of my own. Listen to them. You thought trouble was coming upon you, so you wrote your loving thoughts to the Queen, and disclosed your fear to her. The Queen was not deaf to your appeal, but attended to it imme- diately; and quickly came her letter to remove your anxiety. Quite full is her letter of words of love and kindness, in return for your love to her. "Learn from this, that though the Queen is far away, yet her love is nigh, and reaches you speedily. Her mindfulness of you is near at hand to protect you. If you shall think hereafter that you are trampled on by any person whomsoever be patient. Let not the heart in its ignorance be excited and led by wrath into wrong. On the contrary, write your thoughts to the Queen* for you see her willingness to listen to your words. " From your loving friend, " G. GKET " Governor-in- Chief." NEW ZEALAND BEFOEE THE OUTBREAK. 47 commerce, population, and wealth. Upwards of thirty millions of acres more than half the area of the whole of the islands had been obtained from the Native owners, for purposes of coloniza- tion; internal feuds had almost ceased; a growing desire for the establishment of law and order amongst themselves was showing itself amongst the Natives in all parts of the country : and with wise government and prudent conduct on the part of the settlers, there appeared to be a fair prospect of uninterrupted prosperity and peace. For several years after the Colony was founded, the Governor was advised by a Council appointed by and responsible to the Crown, and who held their offices by a permanent tenure : but his advisers are now responsible to the Colonists alone, and are liable to be frequently changed. When this important alteration in the form of Government was effected, it was proposed by the Governor that, as to Native affairs, both power and responsibility should continue with the Governor as before, but that the Ministers should have the right of tendering their advice. The risk of weakening the Governor's power, and of exposing him to be influenced by the 48 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. varying and irresponsible counsels of successive Administrations holding office at the popular will, was regarded by many as a serious danger; and it was foretold that the Chiefs, if neglected by the Head of the Government, and left to be dealt with by subordinates, would gradually secede from communication with the authorities, forming leagues and schemes of which the Govern- ment would have no cognizance : that they would thus become estranged, and that when they came to be feared and suspected, there would be the constant risk of the Governor being driven by the Ministers to use the Troops against them ; and that the country would not be safe for six months after the question of peace and war had been entrusted to a Ministry who had the com- mand of the Queen's Troops, but who were them- selves neither responsible to the Colonists nor to the Crown. In terms, at least, the New Zealand Con- stitution makes no distinction of race. The Natives are acknowledged to be the owners of the soil to have, in fact, a right of proprietor- ship like landlords of estates ; but it has been denied that they have such an interest in it NEW ZEALAND BEFORE THE OUTBREAK. 49 under the Native tenure as to entitle them, within the meaning of the Act, to vote at the election. In return for their cession of the sovereignty, we have undertaken to impart to them the rights and privileges of British sub- jects. Yet we have given them no voice in the Government of the country, while we tax them for its support. They are not entitled by law to act as jurors : and they are not tried by a jury of their peers if they offend against the law. Though acknowledged to be the owners of the soil, we have given them no constitutional tribunal by which conflicting claims to land may be judicially determined. If a Colonist resists a threatened injury to his person, or his property, he exercises a right common to every English subject of the Crown ; but when the Maories, to whom we have covenanted to impart these rights, attempted to assert and maintain them, they were denounced as rebels, and immediately subjected to the authority of military law. When it was urged in their behalf that before being subjected to martial law, they were entitled to have their claims considered and determined by the civil tribunals of the country, a doubt was raised 4 50 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. whether they are so far British subjects as to be entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject of the Crown; and those who attempted to aid them in obtaining justice were charged with disloyalty to the Sovereign, and their interference was declared by those who were then in authority to amount to a public danger. We are more scrupulous than the French in our professions of regard for the rights of the coloured races who may be subject to our rule; but we have given our French neighbours some ground to maintain that the difference between their system of colonization and our own, is in truth more theoretical than real. But the colonization of these Islands having been undertaken on the avowed principle that the rights of the Aborigines shall be carefully re- spected, the project has always been regarded as an experiment in which the national credit was at stake. The first Governor was instructed that the Native inhabitants should be the objects of his constant solicitude ; that there was no subject connected with New Zealand which the Queen, and every class of her Majesty's subjects, regarded with more earnest anxiety; that the POLITICAL STATUS OF THE NATIVES. 51 dread of exposing any part of the human race to the dangers which had commonly proved so for- midable to Native tribes when brought into con- tact with civilized men, was the motive which for a length of time dissuaded the occupation of New Zealand by the British Government; and it was enjoined upon the first Governor, that amongst the principal objects to be aimed at by him, was the protection of her Majesty's Native subjects from cruelty and wrong ; the establish- ment and maintenance of friendly relations with them ; and the prevention of the diminution of their numbers; and that to save them from the calamities of which the approach of civilized men to barbarous tribes had been the almost universal herald was a duty too serious and important to be neglected. Having been engaged for upwards of twenty years in this great experiment, and not without some prospect of success, it is humi- liating to have to record that a number of her Majesty's Maori subjects took up arms to defend themselves from what they believed to be the injustice of their rulers ; and that a demand was understood to have been made upon Great Britain by the Colonial Native Minister for an " indefinite 42 52 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. expenditure of blood and treasure," in order to subdue them. The late Governor had not been many months in the Colony before he discovered, and, like his predecessors, pointed out the danger of provoking a conflict with the Natives. " In any real trial of strength between the Natives and Europeans there can be no possible doubt," reported Governor Browne, " as to the result. But it is not less certain that pending its duration a- vast amount of life and property would be destroyed : numbers of thriving settlers would abandon their houses : immigration would entirely cease; and a great expense would be entailed on the mother country. In other words," he added, " the prosperity of the Colony would be annihilated for years after the termination of a struggle as successful as could be desired." It had been declared also by one of the numerous writers on New Zealand, referring especially to that part of the country which be- came the seat of war, that the land might have been wrested from the Natives, but that fighting, however successful, must have been attended with some deplorable result. The Natives might have been driven off, but their revengful feelings thus DANGEROUS RESULTS OF A COLLISION. 53 excited, who, in a scattered agricultural com- munity like this, was to ensure the remote settlers against the attack of some marauding band? Certainly not the soldiers. " Peaceful purchase, on the contrary," the writer adds, " is attended with many excellent results." Six years pre- viously the then Native Secretary had recorded his opinion, " that military operations in the Tar- anaki district would prove fatal to the prosperity of the settlement for some time to come, as the settlers would have to concentrate themselves in town, for the protection of their wives and families, and their properties in the meantime would go to ruin." And more recently, the late Governor had informed the Colonial Minister, " that the imme- diate consequences of any attempt to acquire Maori lands, without previously extinguishing the Native title to the satisfaction of all having an immediate interest in them, would be an universal outbreak, in which many innocent Europeans would perish, and colonization would be indefinitely retarded." Yet after having acquired more than thirty millions of acres of land under a system satisfactory, in the main, both to the buyer and the sellers, a " new policy " was believed by the 54 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. Natives to have been attempted, and the Province of Taranaki was plunged into a civil war, by an attempt to obtain possession, by military force, of Native land with a doubtful or disputed title. When we first became acquainted with New Zealand, the whole country from the North Cape to Stewart's Island was parcelled out by natural or other well-known landmarks amongst the nume- rous tribes and families who form the Maori race. Each community holds its land in common ; but every individual member, besides having a general interest in the Tribal property, may acquire by inheritance, by his own labour, or otherwise, a possessory or holding title to a specific portion, but he is not allowed to exercise a disposing power over it. " It is right," said an intelligent Chief, " that every individual should be free to sell his own bushel of wheat, potatoes, and corn, for they are produced by the labour of his hands ; but the land is an inheritance from our ancestors, the Father of us all." And so general is the Tribal system, that in the opinion of the Head of the Native Department (1856), "no Native can claim an individual title to land in the Northern Island. There is really no such thing as individual title MAORI TRIBAL SYSTEM. 55 that is not entangled with the general interest of the Tribe; and often with the claims of other Tribes, who may have emigrated from the locality." The common property is, in fact, the bond which binds together the members of the Tribe ; and it would be inconsistent with the Tribal system if an individual could alienate away from the Tribe any portion of territory ; for all the members have not only a present right in the uncultivated or unappropriated land, but also a reversionary interest in those portions of the land which have already been appropriated by other members of the Tribe ; and it would be fatal not only to the Tribal system, but to the existence of the Tribe itself, if individuals had the power of their own free will of alienating to a stranger any portion of the common land. Nor does the Chief himself hold land on any different tenure. In addition to a general interest in the common property, he has frequently, like some of the ordinary members of the Tribe, a possessory or holding title to some specific portion of it; but he is not recognized as having the power at his own individual will of separating it from the common stock, and selling it to a stranger. From 56 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. his superior ability and position, he exercises a powerful influence over their deliberations : he has also an influential voice as to the sale or disposal of the common land: yet if all were desirous that a portion of it should be sold, he would hardly have the power by virtue of his Chieftainship to put an absolute veto on the sale : nor could he, on the other hand, without the consent of the Tribe, undertake to dispose of any portion of the Tribal land; his duty being to act as the guardian of the common property, and to give expression to the common will. Early in the year 1860 an attempt to purchase land without obtaining the consent of all those who claimed to be entitled to a voice in the dis- posal of it, provoked the Natives of Taranaki to take up arms in defence of their territorial rights, and led to a formidable insurrection. Some years previously, a somewhat similar proceeding on the part of the American Government excited the apprehension of the Red Indians, who also held their lands in common. "In the year 1825 the United States Government," says the Abbe" Domenech,* " wishing to satisfy the State of * Seven Years' Residence, &c. TRIBAL SYSTEM. 57 Georgia, resolved to take possession of a large portion of land still occupied by the Creeks. Mclntosh and a few other members of the nation leaned towards the concession, but the great ma- jority would not hear of it. The Commissaries of the Georgian Legislature, knowing the state of feeling, hastily called an assembly of Chiefs on a spot named Indian Spring. In this important reunion one of the Chiefs arose, and addressing the Commissaries, said : ' We have already seen you at the Broken Arrow, and told you that we have no land to sell. Then, as now, I have heard no complaints against my nation. Called forth in haste, we have come to meet you, but do not consider the Chiefs here present as having autho- rity to treat with you. Mclntosh knows we are tied down by our laws, and that which is not resolved on in our public places, by our General Councils, does not bind the nation. I am obliged to repeat to you what I said to you at the Broken Arrow, we have no land to sell. There are here few members of our upper towns, and many of those of the lower towns are absent. Mclntosh knows that no portion of land can be sold without a Grand Council, and without the unanimous con- 58 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. sent of the whole nation ; and that if a part of the people wish to leave, they may go, but cannot sell their land, which in that case belongs to the nation. This is all I had to say to you, and now I return home.' The Commissaries did not, how- ever, give up the game : they told Mclntosh and his companions that the Creeks were sufficiently represented by them, and the idea of dividing among them the money that Government des- tined for the purchase, led the Indians to conclude with the Commissaries. Nineteen Chiefs only signed the concession ; the others, more or less, however, were of inferior rank, and contemptible characters. Thirty-six refused to sign. This treaty of the Indian Spring," continues the Abbe* Domenech, " spread uneasiness on every side." CHAPTER III. The Taranaki Settlement. The Waitara. The Native Title. The Waitara considered essential to the Completeness of the Settlement. Why valued by its Native Owners. Their Sus- picion of the Settlers. Their early determination not to sell the Land. THE Province in which the outbreak occurred is the smallest of the nine Provinces into which the Colony has been divided : but " no one can speak of the soil or scenery of New Zealand, till he has seen both the natural beauties and the ripening harvests of Taranaki, which by concurrent testi- mony is described as the garden of New Zealand." From the beginning of March, 1860, to the end of March in the following year, this beautiful district was visited by the scourge of war. Its once fruitful fields and pleasant homesteads were abandoned and laid waste ; the ploughshare was exchanged for the sword ; and the settlers, separated from their wives and families, and shut up in an entrenched camp, within sight of the 60 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAK. wasted labours of nearly twenty years, were for many months doing military duty under the iron despotism of martial law. With a seaboard of about 100 miles, of which Cape Egmont is the centre, the Province extends inland from twenty to forty miles; and it com- prises an area of about two millions of acres. With the exception of a narrow and irregular strip of open fern-land near the sea, the country is heavily timbered. At the commencement of the outbreak, the English population of the province amounted to 2,700 souls ; and the Native population was estimated to amount to about an equal number. But not having a harbour, being difficult of access, hemmed in between an open roadstead and a dense forest, and being almost impracticable for military operations, the Taranaki district, where the question of Native title has always been unusually complicated, was not well chosen, with all its natural beauties, for the site of an English settlement The New Zealand Company, acting with their usual precipitancy, and ignorant as to who were the real owners of the land, dealt with a few Natives who represented themselves to have the THE TARANAKI SETTLEMENT. 61 right to dispose of it, and hardly made the shadow of a purchase before the settlement was founded. The first difficulty with which the early settlers had to contend, as at Wellington and Nelson, was the want of a clear title to the land; and it was only by the exertions of the Government that the Native title to a few blocks of land of limited extent was afterwards extinguished, and the settlers, after a period of ruinous delay, were ultimately put into peaceable possession of their homesteads. The Waitara, a fertile, open district, watered by a small river, ten miles to the north of the town, and navigable at high water by small coasting craft, was the locality which in the first instance was fixed upon for the site of the settlement ; and it was represented by their surveyer to the New Plymouth Company, by whom the settlement was originally founded, that if they were deprived of that river, they would lose the only harbour in the neighbourhood, and the most valuable district for agriculture. But this much coveted spot was not to t>e obtained from its Native owners ; so the Company were compelled with great reluctance to lay out the town upon a much less eligible site ; 62 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. and for nearly twenty years the open land at the Waitara has with the Taranaki settlers been an object of almost passionate desire. When they first landed at Taranaki, the neigh- bouring country was almost uninhabited. Ten or twelve years previously, a large body of the Wai- tara Natives, led by Rere, the father of William King, the so-called rebel chief,* had formed an expedition to the south ; and taking advantage of their absence, their northern neighbours, the Waikatos, under Te Whero Whero (since better known as Potatou, the Maori King), made a raid upon Taranaki, attacked, defeated, and dispersed * The term rebel, in its legal meaning, is not generally under- stood. It was admitted by the Attorney-General (Sir John Campbell), in Frost's case, " that wherever there is a private revenge only to be gratified, a private grievance to be redressed, or a private object to be obtained, although force may be used, and although there may be an offence against the law, it does not amount to the crime of treason." And it was maintained by Sir Fitzroy Kelly that if Frost and his followers had conspired and combined by force of arms to go and burn down the gaol at Monmouth, for the purpose of liberating Vincent and the other three prisoners that were there; and if, in order to compass that design, they had massacred a large body of the Queen's troops, though it might have been murder, and though, at the least, the very attempt would have been a high misdemeanor generally punishable yet it would not have amounted to high treason ; because the crime of high treason consists in the com- passing of some general and universal object. RAID OF THE WAIKATOS. , 63 the remnant of the Natives, and having overrun the country and taken many prisoners, returned with them to the north. After the marauders had retired, a few of the original occupants of the country ventured to return and take possession of their houses ; and their captive relations, most of whom were afterwards released, gradually flocked back into the district, and again settled themselves upon the land. The Waikato raid greatly com- plicated the question of Native title, and the difficulty of providing for the unfortunate immi- grants, sent out by the Company before land had been procured for them, became daily more apparent. The Chief of the Waikatos claimed a certain right over the country by right of conquest; and so far as he took actual possession, his claim, according to Native usage, would be valid. It appeared, however, that he did not permanently occupy the soil ; but being a Chief of great influence, with might, if not right, on his side, it was deemed expedient by the Government to buy up his interest and satisfy his claim. The members of the Waitara tribe who happened to be in the south at the time of the Waikato invasion, maintained that they had not 64 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAS. forfeited their right to the land by their temporary absence. " The Europeans were wrong," said William King, and other Ngatiawa Chiefs, addressing Governor Fitzroy, in the year 1844, " in striving for this land, which was never sold by its owners, the men of Ngatiawa. Now when the Ngatiawa Tribe went to Kapiti, they left some men behind on our lands, who were surprised by the Waikatos, and led away captive, who, having arrived at Waikato, were afterwards returned to Waitara to dwell there. Others came back from Kapiti. We love the land of our ancestors. We did not receive any of the goods of Colonel Wakefield (the New Zealand Company's Agent). It was wrong to buy the land which belonged to other men. There are many Chiefs to whom the land belongs who are now at Waikanae and Arapoa. It was love for the lands of our fore- fathers that brought us back to those lands. Friend Governor, our thoughts are that the lands were never settled by the Waikatos." * And the claims of those members of the tribe, who were * According to Maori usage, the conquering tribe never claimed the land of the conquered, unless they took immediate possession, by exercising acts of ownership, such as living upon and cultivating the soil. THE NATIVE TITLE. 65 absent in the south when the Waikatos overran the country, and of those who had been carried away captive, and of the remnant who were left in the district (if they had ever been forfeited), according to the evidence given by the Native Secretary before the House of Representatives, were afterwards readmitted by the Government ; and the Tribe has since been recognized and dealt with as the owners of the soil. But amongst the Tribe itself, who appear to have had almost a passionate attachment to the district, the Waitara had many claimants, and it was not without difficulty that they could for a length of time be prevailed upon to alienate any part of it; and seeing the many disadvantages of the site fixed upon by the Company for their settlement, and seeing no peaceable solution of the difficulties by which the settlers were surrounded, the expediency of breaking up the settlement was seriously enter- tained by the authorities more than fifteen years before the commencement of the recent outbreak. As land for the purposes of the settlement had only been obtained in detached blocks, the settlers and the Natives were settled together in closer proximity at Taranaki than in any other of the 5 66 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. New Zealand settlements. Relieved from all fear of a second Waikato raid, and following the example of their English neighbours, the Natives of Taranaki soon became extensive cultivators of the soil, and the proprietors of a large amount of valuable farming stock and agricultural implements. Comparing the condition of the resident Natives with that of their countrymen in the north, the Bishop of New Zealand remarked that " the coasting craft and canoes of Auckland may here be represented by the almost innumerable carts which may be seen on market days coming from north and south into the settlement." William King and his people, then occupying the Waitara, alone possessed one hundred and fifty horses, three hundred head of cattle, forty carts, thirty-five ploughs, three winnowing machines, and twenty pairs of harrows; and in the year 1855 they exported agricultural produce to the amount of upwards of 8,OOOZ. ; but in the midst of the general prosperity the peace of the district was disturbed by Native feuds, and the district was soon studded over with numerous Native pahs. The earliest and most serious of these disturb- ances arose out of an attempt somewhat similar NATIVE FEUDS. 67 to that which led to the recent conflict an attempt to purchase land without the consent of all who claimed a voice in the disposal of it. Being exposed to a continual pressure from the settlers to acquire land from the Natives, the Taranaki Land Commissioner was always in danger of being urged into undue haste in conducting his nego- tiations. A piece of land was offered for sale to the then Local Commissioner (Cooper) by a Native Assessor named Rawiri ; but Katatore, a man of the same Tribe, and a near relation, had always expressed his intention to - retain it, and threatened to oppose any one who should offer it for sale. To test Rawiri's power to dispose of the land, the Commissioner desired him to cut the boundary line; and while he and his party were engaged in the work, Katatore and his followers cautioned them to desist; firing twice into the ground by way of warning to deter them. But they still persisted, until Katatore and his people aiming a deadly volley at them, shot Rawiri and six of his followers, and wounded several others. For a length of time afterwards the relations and followers of the contending parties were engaged in a deadly fued; and two years 52 68 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. afterwards Katatore himself was killed. Other causes of quarrel also arose amongst them; and for a period of two or three years their progress in industrial pursuits was brought entirely to a stand. Up to this time the settlement had never been occupied as a military post; and it is singular that, throughout those Native disturbances, the settlers suffered little direct or immediate injury ; but being closely intermixed with the resident Natives, who were all well armed, who occupied numerous defensible positions, and who were not unfrequently engaged in deadly strife, the settlers naturally felt their situation to be painfully in- secure ; and they made repeated and urgent appeals to the Colonial Government to garrison the settlement with troops. But it was believed by the authorities that the presence of a military force would excite a feeling of jealousy and irrita- tion in the mind of the Natives, and would tend to increase rather than to obviate the danger : and that so long as they exercised ordinary caution and forbearance, the settlers would remain iin- injured: while the presence of the small force then at the disposal of the Government would be MILITARY POSITION OF TARANAKI. 69 insufficient to overawe and preserve peace amongst the Natives, and be calculated to give a false confidence to the settlers, and lead them to be less careful to maintain peaceful relations with their Maori neighbours : and that military opera- tions once commenced would end in the total destruction of the settlement. This opinion was confirmed by the Native Secretary, who, being a military man, was commissioned to make a care- ful examination of the ground. "The country about New Plymouth," reported Major Nugent, " is very favourable for the desultory warfare of the Natives. With the exception of a narrow strip of land from one to five miles in breadth, extending along the coast, the country is a dense forest, intersected with numerous ravines: and, except on this strip of land, the country is most unsuited for the operation of English troops against a hostile Native force. The settlement extends along the coast for twenty miles ; some of the settlers have penetrated eight miles into the forest ; and a much larger force than Great Britain could spare for the whole Colony of New Zealand would be insufficient for the protection of the settlement : and in case of a collision be- 70 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. tween the troops and the Natives, the settlement would dwindle into a mere military post." The Executive Council of the Colony being at that time (1855) responsible to the Crown alone, advised that, looking to the unfavourable nature of that part of the country for military operations, every effort should be made to avoid the risk of hostilities with the Natives in the Taranaki dis- trict : and that as the then recent disturbances had their origin in the attempt to purchase land from the Natives with a disputed title, the Land Purchase Department should use great caution in entering into any negotiations for the purchase of land until the views of the various claimants should have been ascertained. Governor Browne soon afterwards arriving in the Colony, and having before him so significant an illustration of the danger of attempting to purchase land with a doubtful or disputed title, condemned the conduct of the Local Commissioner in com- mencing a survey before he was assured that all who had even a disputed claim to the land desired it should be sold : and he declined to make a demand for reparation, on the ground that "it could only be enforced at the expense of a THE WAITARA COMPLICATION. 71 general war, including sooner or later all the Tribes in the Northern Island. After the settlers had long been kept in a state of ruinous uncertainty, the Local Government succeeded in completing the purchase of detached blocks of land of considerable extent for their occupation. In one instance, thirty thousand acres were obtained at the rate of tenpence per acre. But the land being for the most part heavily timbered, the open country at the Waitara con- tinued to be regarded by the Taranaki settlers as essential to the extension of the settlement. This favoured spot, however, was highly valued by its original Native occupants, many of whom were at that time still absent in the South. " This also is the determination of our people," wrote William King to Governor Fitzroy. " Waitara shall not be given up, the men to whom it belongs will hold it for themselves ; the Ngatiawa are constantly returning to their land, on account of their attachment to the land of our birth the land which we have culti- vated, and which our ancestors marked out by boundaries and delivered to us. Friend Governor ! do not you love your land, England, the land of your fathers, as we also love our land at Waitara? 72 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. Friend, let your thought be good towards us. We desire not to strive with the Europeans; but at the same time we do not wish to have our land settled by them : let them be returned to the places which have been paid for by them, lest a root of quarrel remain between us and the Europeans." " There are thousands of others," says Mr. Clarke, referring to the Waikato raid, " who were not enslaved by their enemies, and who joined Rauparaha (in the South) and those of their tribe who had followed him. These parties have already returned to the possessions of their families, who claim the country by right of descent. Every acre of land there has been allotted by their ancestors to the heads of the different families, and subdivided into allotments for the different individuals : they are all marked out by natural or artificial boundaries, and each family knows what belongs to itself, and what to others. These Natives are returning to the place of their birth every day, and never will give up possession to the Europeans. One false step now must plunge us, sooner or later, into ruin perhaps bloodshed : the Natives never will give up tamely what they consider to be their just rights." " If the Government," he added, * are determined to put APPREHENSIONS OF THE NATIVES. 73 the settlers into possession of land which we cannot convince the Natives or ourselves, honestly, that they have alienated, they must do it at the point of the bayonet" It was not until further disturbance had occurred amongst the Natives of the District, that the Acting Governor (Wynyard) reluctantly gave way to the importunities of the settlers, and occupied Taranaki with a military force ; but, as appears to have been anticipated, the arrival of the troops in 1855, intended simply as a protection to the settlers, was regarded with suspicion by the Natives. Soon after Governor Browne's arrival in the Colony, the Government was informed that it was strongly apprehended by the Taranaki Tribe (not the Ngatiawa or Waitara) that Governor Browne would differ in his views and measures from Governor Wynyard, and that, in all proba- bility, ere long, his word would go forth to put the troops sent down here as a protecting force by the latter, into an aggressive motion, and that thus a war between the Europeans and the Aborigines would be commenced ; and being still continually urged to part with the land, the Waitara Natives were troubled by similar apprehensions, until they 74 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. were visited by the officer in command of the troops, who went amongst them for the purpose of explaining the reasons for which a military force had been stationed in the district. The Chief him- self appears even to have had some fear of being seized suddenly like Te Rauparaha. " I assured him," said Major Nugent, " that nothing was further from my intention than to seize him treacherously in the night. He complained much of false statements which had been made against huii in the local papers; and in proof that he had some ground for his complaints, I en- close copies of the last numbers of the Taranaki Herald, which do not disguise the wish of some of the writers in that paper to drive William King and his party away from the Waitara, Now, independently of the illegality of such a proceeding," adds Major Nugent, " the people of the Tribe have exported produce this year to the amount of between 8,OOOZ. and 9,000/., the greater part of the proceeds of which is spent in British manufactured goods; and consequently, indirectly, the Natives contribute a considerable sum to the revenue of the country. I have no hesitation in saying that these people, who in their position DISCONTENT OF THE SETTLERS. 75 are useful and beneficial occupiers of the soil, have been on the point of being driven to become our declared enemies, and compelled to take a position in the forest, where all the discontented and troublesome characters would have assembled, and from which it would have required consider- able force, and a large expenditure of money, to drive them. In the meantime the authorities would have been harassed by constant alarms, and New Plymouth might have been thrown back a genera- tion. I think that for the present the Natives are reassured : but I cannot answer for the continuance of tranquillity between the races, so long as such in- flammatory articles are published in the newspapers, in which people of much local influence do not dis- guise their wishes to seize upon the land of the Natives." These suspicions, however, still con- tinued, and Governor Browne, soon after his arrival in the Colony, reported that " various portions of land have been acquired by purchase, but there is still a deficiency : and although the greater part, and all the most respectable settlers, have abstained from expressing discontent, individuals have from time to time, by letters in the newspapers, and otherwise, shown a strong desire to expel the 76 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. Natives, and take possession of the lands to which they consider themselves entitled in right of the New Zealand Company's original purchase. Such antecedents are not likely to have laid the founda- tion of mutual confidence, and accordingly distrust, which in most other provinces has given place to better feelings, has not done so at New Plymouth ; and the old suspicion," he added, " had been revived amongst the Natives, that the Europeans would not rest until they had slain and taken possession of that which the Maories liken to Naboth's vineyard." 77 CHAPTER IV. The Government urged to adopt a New System in the Purchase of Native Land. Declaration of the Governor on the Subject. Negotiations for the Purchase of the Waitara. Opposition to the Sale. Difficulty of Completing a Satisfactory Purchase. A Survey of the Land Attempted. Martial Law Pro- claimed* The Waitara occupied by a Military Force. As it was found to be impossible to obtain the assent of all who had an interest in the Waitara, it was thought that some individual members, having a special interest in particular portions of the land, might be induced to sell ; and the Council of the Province presented a memorial to the General Assembly in the Session of 1858, in which they complained that the system commonly adopted by the Government of acquiring the assent of every claimant to any piece of land before a purchase is made, had been found to operate in- juriously to the settlement : and they urged the expediency of setting aside the Tribal right expressing their opinion that such of the Natives 78 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. as are willing to dispose of their proportion of any common land to the Government should be permitted to do so ; and that the Government should compel an equitable division of such com- mon land amongst the respective claimants on the petition of a certain proportion of them. And they added their opinion that " no danger of a war between the Government and the Natives need be apprehended from the prosecution of a vigorous policy, inasmuch as a large proportion of the Natives themselves would cordially support it, and the remainder would, from the smallness of their number, be incapable of offering an effectual resistance." But the suggestion received no countenance at that time, either from the Government or the Assembly. On the contrary, " I will never," wrote the Governor, " permit land to be taken without the consent of those to whom it belongs; nor will I interfere to compel an equitable division of common land amongst the respective claimants. This decision is not less one of expediency than of justice, for the whole of the Maori race maintain the right of the minority to prevent the sale of land held in common, with the utmost jealousy. Wi Kingi has no sort of THE GOVERNOR'S VISIT TO TARANAKI. 79 influence with me or the Colonial Government. We believe him to be an infamous character ; but I will not permit the purchase of land over which he has any right without his consent." Early in the following year (1859) the Governor paid a visit to the settlement ; and although the settlers had not cultivated more than 13,000 of the 43,000 acres of land then in their possession, and of the territory which had already been ceded by the Natives 20,000 acres of heavily timbered laud still remained in the hands of the Provincial Government open for selection, the Governor was again pressed by them to obtain additional land for the extension of the settlement. " I found them," wrote the Governor, " dissatisfied with the Government, and ill pleased with the Maories, who, although they possess large tracts of land which they cannot occupy, refuse to sell any part of it : and they complain," he added, " that they had not sufficient pasturage for their flocks, and that immigrants and capitalists are driven to seek in other provinces the accommodation which Taranaki could not under present circumstances afford." And he then made the declaration to the Natives, in which he was unfortunately under- 80 NEW ZEALAND AND THE WAR. stood by them to announce his intention to adopt a new policy in the purchase of Native land, viz., to treat with individual claimants, to disregard the influence of the Chiefs, and to set aside the Tribal right. At the meeting which the Governor had with the Natives, he said he never would consent to buy land without an undisputed title ; he would not permit any one to interfere in the sale of land unless he owned part of it : and, on the other hand, he would buy no man's land without his consent. A Native, described in a semi-official statement of the proceedings as " Te Teira, a Waitara Native," then stated that he was anxious to sell land belonging to him ; that he heard with satisfaction the declaration of the Governor refer- ring to individual claims, and the assurance of protection that would be afforded by his Excel- lency. He minutely defined the boundaries of his claim, repeated that he was anxious to sell, and that he was the owner of the land he offered for sale. He then repeatedly asked if the Go- vernor would buy his land. Mr. McLean, on behalf of his Excellency, replied that he would. Te Teira then placed a parawai (bordered mat) THE GOVERNOR'S YISIT TO TARANAKI. 81 at the Governor's feet, which his Excellency accepted. This ceremony, according to Native custom, virtually placed Teira's land at Waitara in the hands of the Governor. Paora then in- formed the Governor that Te Teira could not sell the land he had offered without the consent of Weteriki and himself, as they had a joint interest in a portion of it. Te Teira replied to him, and was immediately followed by William King, who, before addressing the Governor, said to his people, " I will only say a few words and then we will depart," to which they assented. He then said, " Listen, Governor, notwithstanding Teira's offer, I will not permit the sale of Waitara to the Pakeha. Waitara is in my hands ; I will not give it up, ekore, ekore, ekore (i. . Price 15s., elegantly bound in cloth, gilt edges. Indian Exchange Tables. By J. H. Roberts. 8vo. Second Edition, enlarged. 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