CHAPTER I. THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND.
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CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND.
THE Maoris say that a chief named Turi was the first of their race who landed in New Zealand; that he came from Hawaike, an island in the Pacific, in a canoe named Aotea, and he it was who gave the names to the rivers and mountains in this part of the country; that he landed in a bay situate between Taranaki and Wanganui, named the Witikau; that soon after another or second canoe, named Tokomaru, arrived from the same island, commanded by a chief named Manaia, who had to fly his country on account of a murder he had committed; that they found New Zealand inhabited by a very unwarlike race called Morioris, whom they easily subdued, and took possession of the islands. In all the great migrations of races of which history informs us, the advancing race has had to fight its way against those already in possession of the land, whom we in our ignorance call aborigines, but who were probably only invaders of a region inhabited before their arrival. Of the movements of the first explorers we know literally nothing. As who, for instance, was the great leader who pushed out into what must then have seemed an infinite ocean, and planted the Maori race in New Zealand, and whence did he come? The vast continent of America, with its peculiar types of mankind, how was it reached and settled? By way of a connection with Asia or by way of the sunken continent of the Atlantic? The groups of islands in the vast Pacific, scattered widely and loosely over that boundless waste of waters, whence do they derive the human inhabitants whom we found settled there when our seamen made what we call voyages of discovery? Is it not in reality re-discovery of which history tells
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us, as the beginnings are inevitably lost in the deep darkness of the illimitable past?
Be it as it may, it would appear that some four hundred years ago a considerable number of savages or barbarians did find their way from the islands of Polynesia to the shores of New Zealand; that they arrived in canoes, the occupants of each canoe forming a numerous family with a common name and ancestry; that on reaching these shores they took possession of the soil in the immediate vicinity of their landing, driving the original inhabitants (the Morioris) into the interior of the island. Each tribe or canoe was independent of and often hostile towards each other, consequently the original tenure of land was simply occupation, and could only be maintained by a tribe so long as they were strong enough to prevent another tribe from depriving them of it. Therefore the right of occupation was always liable to be superseded by force, and acquisition of territory by conquest was recognised by all the tribes as right. Consequently, in speaking of the right of any one individual tribe to land, it simply meant their power of holding-possession. Chieftainship is merely a prestige accorded by a tribe to individuals, which gave its possessors an influence or control in proportion to the chicanery, gift of oratory, or respect they could command. There never was a general government or general intertribal polity among the Maori race. They had no common head, no common tribunal, no common interest.
Such was the state of affairs in New Zealand when Her Majesty took possession of these islands. The intertribal wars had so decimated their numbers that they were glad to cede the sovereignty to a power which could protect their immediate rights.
Thus Article 1 of the Treaty of Waitangi says, -- "That the chiefs of the tribes of New Zealand cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolute and without reservation, all the rights and powers of sovereignty which they possess, or may be supposed to exercise or possess over their respective territories, as the sole sovereign thereof."
Article 2 says, --
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"That Her Majesty the Queen of England guarantees to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands or properties so long as it is their will or desire to retain the same."
Article 3 goes on to say, --
"That in consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand her Royal protection, and imparts to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects."
Now, by the first Article it is certain the chiefs gave up such sovereign right as they did or were supposed to possess, otherwise they ceded nothing. Consequently any Maori hereafter assuming the title of King is a rebel against his lawful sovereign, as are all those who support him in his presumption.
Article 2 clearly contemplates the possession of lands by chiefs as chiefs, by tribes as tribes, by families as families, and by individuals as individuals, and such possession it guarantees and confirms.
Article 3 is an express recognition of what was implied, by the acceptance on the part of the Crown of the ceded sovereignty, the benefits of which were to the Natives, viz.:--
First. The general rights of British subjects;
Secondly. An express British title to the possession of the land as long as they chose to hold it.
These Articles were accepted in the following words, --
"Now, therefore, we, the chiefs of the confederation of the united tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in congress at Victoria, Waitangi, and we, the separate and independent chiefs of New Zealand claiming authority over the tribes and territories which are specified after our respective names, having been made fully to understand the provisions of the foregoing treaty, accept and enter into the same in the full meaning thereof. In witness whereof we have attached our signatures or marks at the places and dates respectively specified.
"Done at Waitangi, 6th February, 1840."
The Maoris being a very intelligent race were soon enabled
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to exercise their rights as British subjects, as also to acquire a knowledge of the value of their waste lands, which they began to dispose of. At first the more regular sales were effected by their chiefs, who claimed a high commission on the proceeds of any given sale. After a time each individual Maori did his own business, the Government giving a Crown grant to the purchaser after a due and satisfactory examination of the transaction.
