[TITLE PAGE]
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AN
EARNEST ADDRESS
TO
NEW ZEALAND COLONISTS,
WITH REFERENCE TO
THEIR INTERCOURSE WITH THE
NATIVE INHABITANTS.
BY
THE REV. MONTAGUE HAWTREY , M.A.
OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
HONOUR ALL MEN.--1 PETER, ii. 17.
LONDON:
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.
M.DCCC.XL.
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LONDON:
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
[PREFACE]
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IT will be seen that the following pages were written at different periods during the past year, having been begun shortly after the departure of the first portion of the colony, and continued at various intervals, and with many interruptions, till the present time.
Several causes have concurred to hinder their earlier completion; among these may be reckoned the necessity of attending to professional avocations, and the great difficulty and importance of the question considered,--a question so difficult that no one need be ashamed of having tried in vain to solve it, and so important that no one should withhold an idea which may possibly contribute to its solution.
In the mean time, much valuable information has been received from New Zealand, and it is extremely gratifying to observe that it has all tended to give authority and sanction to the principles which the writer has been most anxious to advocate.
The first detailed accounts of the arrival of the body of colonists which set sail last autumn have been just made public; and while, in their general purport, they give happy evidence of the capacity of the natives, and the goodwill with which they are regarded by the colonists, they contain much that indi-
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cates the necessity of powerful specific measures to secure their continued good treatment.
The more I have reflected upon this subject, and the more information I have received respecting it, the more I have been confirmed in the persuasion that the main requisite for their support and preservation is that JUSTICE should be done to them; and that if savage tribes have hitherto melted away before the white man, it is only because the white man takes so little trouble to discover what is justice, when he stands in the threefold character of judge, jury, and principal party in the suit.
In this awfully responsible situation the British colonists now stand with reference to the native inhabitants of New Zealand. I trust that they will be willing to receive, from whatever quarter it may come, any suggestion which may assist them in deciding how to act under such trying and difficult circumstances, and that they will prove by their own happy experience, that there is no surer way for promoting the best interests of a colony than to establish strict justice in dealing with the native tribes with which it comes in contact.
M. H.
LONDON,
September 8, 1840.
[CONTENTS]
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INTRODUCTORY LETTER - - - - - - 3
ADDRESS - - - - - - - - - - - - 7
Necessity of guarding against Antipathy for the Natives - 9
The Planting of Colonies an heroic work - - - - - - - - - 11
Importance of strict Honour in dealing with the Natives - 12
Importance to the Natives of the Principle of Concentration - 14
Importance to the New Zealanders of a due consideration for the Dignity of their Chiefs - - - - - - 17
Influence upon the Native Interests of Government
Regulations respecting the Acquisition of Land - - - - - 25
A serious Evil to he provided against - - - - - - - - - 27
Any Right which the Natives may be considered to hold in common, or prescriptively, should be gently dealt with - - - - - 28
Suggestions with reference to this subject - - - - - - - 29
How to act with reference to Land cultivated by Natives, and small Settlements of Natives, within the Company's Territory - 30
General Expedients for interesting the Natives in the progress of the Colony - - - - - - - - - - 33
Of the Wages that New Zealanders ought to receive - - - - - 36
An unrighteous and an equitable Mode of regulating Wages - - 41
Preservation of Native Life - - - - - - 50
Causes and Remedies of Native Depopulation - - - - - - 54
Of Laws and Civil Institutions for New Zealand - - - - - - 77
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Considerations to be kept in view in making Laws for the New Zealanders - - - - - - 79
Of Taboo and Utu - - - - - - 80
On the Institutions of Slavery and Polygamy - - 85
Of the more barbarous Practices of New Zealand - 86
Expedients to meet the Difficulties of the Case - 87
Amalgamation - - - - - - 93
Language - - - - - - 99
Religion - - - - - - 102
POSTSCRIPT - - - - - - 108
APPENDIX.
THOUGHTS ON THE FORMATION OF A CONSTITUTION FOR NEW ZEALAND - 119
