CHAPTER III.
[Image of page 36]
CHAPTER III.
IT would ill become a writer on New Zealand to pass by its early history without the usual and becoming introduction, as he might perhaps give an unmerited countenance to the Maori tradition of its emergence from the briny deep when its tutelary deities were trawling in the Pacific. Columbus and his successors, who discovered the American continent between the aboriginals of which and the New Zealander there are so many points in common, might justly complain of undeserved neglect were the narrative to pass on without even a bare word of their exploits. Posterity is, by common consent, acknowledged to be just; and as these luminaries were without honour in their own country and in their own age, let us at least encircle them with glory. But, seriously speaking, I am confident the reader will not be displeased at this formal introduction, were it only as a chronological memorandum; we will therefore commence at the very beginning.
Rather more than three and a half centuries have elapsed since Christopher Columbus, under the influence of an irrepressible enthusiasm, undertook that voyage which rewarded him by the discovery of the new world. He sighted land on the 11th of October, 1492, amid the
[Image of page 37]
most dispiriting circumstances, but supported by the assurance of approaching success, and on the following day, with the most fervent thanksgivings to Almighty God, he planted the cross on St, Salvador, one of the Bahama islands. Unaware that an ocean intervened between him and the Indian isles, to reach which by a westward route was the object of his expedition, he named these islands the West Indies. In less than thirteen and a half years, alternately courted, calumniated, and fettered, he died neglected on the 20th of May, 1506, after having made very considerable accessions to his original discovery. The distinction of giving his name to the new world was unjustly denied him, and awarded to Amerigo Vespucci, a companion of Alonza de Ogeda, in his voyage of 1499. Among the successors of Columbus was Vasco Nunez de Bilboa, who, on succeeding to the supreme command of a small settlement on the isthmus of Darien, longed to penetrate into the interior. Within a month from the commencement of the expedition, on reaching the summit of a lofty eminence, the noble waters of the Pacific appeared spread out before him: on his bended knees he thankfully recognized the hand which had led him to this important discovery, and, once again, was the Cross erected as a symbol of gratitude. Descending to the shore he awaited with his companions the approach of the tide, and, knee deep in its waves, with his sword in one hand and the standard of Castile in the other, he solemnly took possession of the seas and the adjacent countries in the names of Fernando and Isabel of Spain, on the 29th
[Image of page 38]
of September, 1513. Envy had, however, prepared her poisoned arrows, for he, like his noble predecessor, also fell a sacrifice: he was accused of treason, tried and executed. The credit of having discovered the extensive continent of Australia, and the islands of New Zealand, is accorded to Abel Jansen Tasman. He sighted the latter on the 13th September, 1642, while engaged in an exploring expedition from Batavia, one of the Dutch East India Settlements. It was not, however, till after the 6th of October, 1769, when New Zealand was rediscovered by our gallant countryman Captain Cook, that the discovery assumed any practical importance. By a strange coincidence the northern island was sighted on the I2th of December of the same year by a French exploring expedition, under the command of M. de Surville; and subsequently by M. Marion de Fresne, on the the 24th of March, 1792, when, after living amicably with the natives for some months, he was, with a boat's crew, from some unknown cause, murdered and eaten. Early in the commencement of the following year Captain Cook revisited New Zealand in the "Resolution," accompanied by Captain Furneaux in the "Adventure," and while the latter was in Queen Charlotte's Sound a boat's crew unfortunately fell a sacrifice to these merciless cannibals. This massacre was acknowledged in one of Captain Cook's following voyages, and ascribed to causes arising out of some individual misunderstanding. From this time New Zealand became the resort of many whaling vessels employed in the South Seas; and, occa-
[Image of page 39]
sionally, ships resorted thither for a supply of wood; while the natives, under the influence of a spirit of curiosity, engaged as seamen to the adjoining continent of Australia and to England, chiefs even serving as common sailors, The destruction of the Boyd of 500 tons, in 1808, which had put in for wood, and the massacre of the crew and passengers, with four exceptions, owing to the ill treatment of a chief engaged as a seaman, interrupted the intercourse for some time.
It was shortly resumed under happier auspices. We now arrive at that interesting period in which the country begins to assume an aspect of considerable importance arising out of its more intimate connection with European states. The formal assumption of the land by Captain Cook, in the name and on the behalf of the king, can only be regarded as securing its inhabitants from coercion by any foreign power; for, being already inhabited, and under a rude cultivation, no sovereignty could be claimed on the plea of discovery.
From its vicinity to New South Wales, and from the convenience afforded to those engaged in whale fisheries, it became, in course of time, the resort of escaped convicts, runaway sailors, and others. In 1814 Christianity was introduced into the Bay of Islands by the Rev. S. Marsden, who was succeeded by other Church missionaries, and some years afterward by the Wesleyans. The number of strangers increased, and it became a matter of some urgency that the lawless should be restrained. At an early period it had been considered necessary
[Image of page 40]
to act upon the right supposed to result from discovery, for, in 1787, Captain Phillips is nominated Captain General of New South Wales and New Zealand; and, afterwards, to appoint a Magistrate to apprehend offenders and forward them to the seat of Government, for, in 1819, we find Governor Macquarrie appointing a Justice of the Peace, who actually exercised the power with which he was invested. An Act of Parliament, in 1823, nullified the sovereignty assumed by the first of these appointments.
In 1833, the settlers and missionaries, supported by many of the chiefs of the northern island, solicited the protection of the British Crown; in consequence of which Mr. Bushby was sent as Resident; and, in the following year, a desire having been manifested by the native chieftains for a national flag, one of three submitted to them was selected, and with due ceremony was saluted with 21 guns by Her Majesty's ship Alligator, in token of promised protection, and as "a recognition of the independence of the chiefs." The salute did honour at once to its birth and burial, for after one transient flutter alongside the flag which has "braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze," it disappeared, and has never since been heard of. These proceedings were approved of by the Home Government, as signified in Lord Aberdeen's letter of the 21st of December, 1834.
More urgent solicitations, under the supposed influence of the missionaries, were made by 35 chiefs on the 28th of October, 1835, by which His Majesty was re-
[Image of page 41]
quested to guarantee the country "against all attempts upon its independence," and which resulted in the appointment of Captain Hobson as Consul. With increasing difficulties, arising principally from an increasing European population, it became necessary to enter into a closer political connection with the chiefs. Animated by the purest motives, and with an earnest desire to protect the natives, and avert the fearful results of a disorganized state of society, the British Government, in 1839, enjoined their Consul to obtain, if possible, the surrender of the sovereignty of the whole, or of a part, of the islands, disclaiming the power to seize the country or to govern the inhabitants "without their free and intelligent consent." Captain Hobson was to be appointed Lieutenant Governor of the territory acquired by such a treaty. Subsequently the instructions above recited, and the disclaimers put forth, were confined in their application to the northern island, where the great majority of the population resided, and with whom only any political intercourse had taken place. The sovereignty of the middle island was assumed from the sparseness of its population on the grounds of discovery. To confine at the same time the sale of land within reasonable bounds, the Crown asserted its sole right of extinguishing the native title; and while it promised to acknowledge all purchases hitherto effected on equitable terms, it annulled all made without its sanction.
In obedience to the above recited instructions, Captain Hobson called a meeting of the chiefs on the 5th Febru-
[Image of page 42]
ary at which he explained the articles of the treaty of Waitangi. By the first of these an absolute cession was made to the Queen, without reservation, by the confederate and independent chiefs, as "sole Sovereign," of all lands belonging to them: by the second, these lands were restored to the chiefs, and the possession of them guaranteed, a preemptive title being given to the Crown of any lands which the chiefs might wish to alienate: and by the third, protection and the rights and privileges of British subjects were accorded. This treaty bears date January 6th, 1840. After due deliberation it was ratified on the following day by 46 of the leading chiefs of the upper part of the northern island, in the presence of 500 of inferior note; and subsequently, on the 11th of February, 400 or 500 chiefs at Hokianga on the west coast appended their signatures, with only two dissentients several of whose subordinate chiefs acquiesced. Parties were sent to complete the ratification in other districts, and strange to say, also, in the middle and southern island, when the Governor, alarmed at the establishment of a separate Government by the lately arrived colonists at Port Nicholson in supposed ignorance of any existing authority, the election of a Council, of which Colonel Wakefield, the agent of the New Zealand Company which had been organized in 1839, was President, the establishment of laws, and more particularly by an intention of the French Government to form a penal settlement at Akarooa in the middle island, anticipated the acceptance of the treaty by proclaiming the sove-
[Image of page 43]
reignty over the islands generally on the 21st of May, 1840. The cession of the northern island was subsequently, to a somewhat doubtful extent, completed; that of the middle island was similarly obtained, and proclaimed on the 1st of June; and the sovereignty of the southern, or Stewart's Island, was assumed in the absence of natives on the ground of discovery, and proclaimed on the 5th of the same month.
Actuated by the laudable desire of preserving the land from falling into the hands of speculators, Government decided that it would recognize purchases by an individual, equitably effected, to the extent of 2560 acres, or four square miles only, and that all in excess of that should, by virtue of the Crown's sole title to grant land, become a Government demesne. This resolution was not adopted an hour too early, for already had a Sydney merchant obtained 20 millions of acres on an annual rental of £200. The purchases effected by the New Zealand Company were considered, according to Mr. Commissioner Spain, somewhat doubtful, including lands which the natives are never disposed to sell and the sale of which they disputed, such as villages, spots under cultivation, and burial grounds; and it was moreover alleged that the agreements were expressed in language not easily defined, in which they were said to differ from purchases by private individuals, the validity of which were generally acknowledged by the natives: but in receiving this statement, due allowance must be made for the active antagonism which existed between the Governor,
[Image of page 44]
said be under missionary influence opposed to colonization, and the Company. A successful attempt was made, as appears from Colonel Wakefield's letter of the 11th September, 1841, to the Secretary of the Company, to obtain from the Governor a favourable view against European claimants of the titles of all lands, the sale of which had already been effected by it, even though the extinguishment of the native title should not be conceded. The general claim of the New Zealand Company amounted to no less a sum than 20 millions of acres, founded on purchases made from independent chiefs; but failing in the attempt to obtain a recognition of this claim, it was relinquished, and the Company expressed its willingness to receive four acres for every pound sterling expended by it, viz. 540,000 acres at once, with a conditional ultimate award of 400,000 more. Government acceded to this proposal in so far as the Company was assured of a Crown grant of four acres for each pound of verified expenditure, to be selected from land claimed before the treaty of Waitangi, the claim, of course, to be substantiated before Commissioners appointed to adjudicate all disputed titles. This arrangement was thankfully accepted. In this promised grant, according to Lord Stanley, the "assumed validity of the Company's claims" was the basis on which the whole case rested. In the mean time emigrants continued to arrive, and in a prospectus issued by the Company a settlement was projected by them in "the best remaining site in New Zealand." In a letter from Lord John Rus-
[Image of page 45]
sel to Captain Hobson, dated the 22nd of April, 1841, the foregoing agreement was, in some measure, extended, and permission was given to the Company to select land, under the sanction of the Governor, beyond the former prescribed limits. The site chosen for the projected settlement, after some futile attempts to locate near Canterbury, was Nelson in Blind Bay, and the emigrants, who had purchased of the Company, arrived in September, 1841. To this selection Government opposed itself; the Agent directed the survey of Massacre Bay to the west, and of the Wairau plains to the east. In this latter survey the resident Christian natives offered opposition, but ineffectually. Meantime armed heathen natives, under Rauperaha and Ranghiatea, arrived from the opposite coast of Cook's Straits, and urged the suspension of the survey until the claim had been investigated by the Land Commissioner. This authority was disallowed by the Agent of the Company, who ordered the continuance of the survey, doubtless convinced of the justness of his proceedings, and urged to a speedy decision by the anxious emigrants. An attempt was made, on duly sworn informations before the magistrate, to seize the native chiefs, which unfortunately terminated in the death of the Agent and many others.
The illness from which Captain Hobson was suffering while negotiating the treaty of Waitangi terminated fatally in 1842: he was temporarily succeeded, until 1843, by the Colonial Secretary, Lieut. Shortland, who delivered over the Government to Captain Fitzroy, by whom it
[Image of page 46]
was held until his recall in 1845, when Captain Grey, the present Governor, succeeded to the vacancy.
In 1843 a dispute arose in the north between the Government and the natives respecting some land originally purchased by a Mr. Fairburn. The claim of that gentleman was only in part granted, and the Crown allowed a Mr. Terry to occupy the remainder. The natives argued that if the land was not Mr. Fairburn's, it was their's; the matter however was compromised for the time, but eventually all lands similarly circumstanced were assumed by Government. Disputes occurred at the same time at Port Nicholson, and the right of the natives to sell land to private parties on the purchaser paying 10s per acre was conceded by Governor Fitzroy; this proved unsatisfactory. Matters were finally brought to a crisis at the Bay of Islands, upon some dissension between the settlers and natives, when John Heki, a descendant of the ruthless E'Hongi, severed the gordian knot by cutting down the flag staff. Unity was shortly restored, after the arrival of some troops from Sydney, by the withdrawal of custom house restrictions, one of the most galling causes of misunderstanding; and by a proclamation, dated October 10th, 1844, a penny was fixed as the payment to be made to Government for each acre purchased, thus virtually destroying another cause of irritation. These conflicting arrangements paralysed the operations of the New Zealand Company, while the squatting system materially interfered with its either buying or selling land.
[Image of page 47]
On the recall of the Governor who had given dissatisfaction, or, what is worse in a Governor, had not succeeded in settling the country, the reins of administration were handed over to Captain Grey, who, uniting firmness with conciliation, succeeded, after some active measures, in pacifying the natives, reducing the land question into a more manageable shape, and assumed in his own person a power which should never have been dissociated from his office, the protectorate of the aboriginals. In 1847, two influential Chiefs on the southern coast of the northern Island, Te Rauperaha and Ranghiatea, after an interchange of martial salutes between them and the Government forces, received an adjusting payment for the grounds on both sides of Cook's Straits. The cooperation of the Company being deemed highly desirable by the Government, the preemptive right to purchase lands in the south was granted for three years in its favour, on condition of the Company giving up all claim to land about Auckland, and agreeing to receive the amount of its award elsewhere. To aid the Company in its operations and to enable it to meet its liabilities to settlers and others, Government advanced to the Company in 1846 a loan of £100,000, and subsequently an additional loan of £136,000. In case of the Company's failing in its operations Government agreed to assume its liabilities and to receive its assets, that is, its lands, valuing them at 5s an acre, with interest at 3 1/2 per cent, both principal and interest payable out of the proceeds of future land sales, after the necessary expen-
[Image of page 48]
ses for surveys and emigration had been deducted. The amount thus guaranteed was £268,371 for 1,073,483 acres. The wisdom of this arrangement has been justly questioned, the more so as it involved the remission of the original loan. Lord John Russell and Lord Stanley had, it appears, made the claim for land contingent on verified expenditure and substantiated purchase; but Lord Grey assumes these points as decided, and acts at once upon the decision. It has been said that the amount actually possessed and paid for by the Company, at the rate of 20s to 30s per acre including emigration expenditure, was 24,491 1/2 acres.
In July, 1850, the New Zealand Company closed its career by the surrender of its charter; and by the New Zealand Government Act of the 30th June, 1852, the sum of £268,371 with interest at 3 1/2 per cent is made payable to the Company out of the proceeds of the sale of the Crown demesne lands, one fourth of the proceeds of each sale to be paid to liquidate the debt. The sale of land is by the same act yielded to the local legislature subject to the above payment, and for the present at least, to those Acts of Parliament which regulate the price.
Various opinions, diametrically opposed to each other have been entertained of the New Zealand Company, the Missionaries, and the Government. After an impartial examination of the few documents to which I have had access, I infer that the exertions of the Company have been very beneficially exerted in behalf of the coun-
[Image of page 49]
try. Its proceedings at the settlement of Wellington appear to have been dictated by the considerations which influence reasonable men in such conjunctures, and acted as a healthy stimulus to the too lethargic operations of the Government. The nonfulfilment of the promises made to the Nelson settlers, which was the cause of so much suffering, arose from the active opposition of Government which interfered with the fair working of its scheme, and which precluded its obtaining possession of its supposed rightful property, an opposition which a subsequent Home Government appeared to think unjust, as evidenced by the remission of the loan of £236,000. It is impossible to visit the chief seat of the Company's operations without believing that its influence was salutary. From its organization in 1839 to its temporary suspension, from collisions with Government in 1843, it was the means of importing 9000 individuals, and since its resuscitation 3000 additional, while the Government have only introduced 1200 including pensioners; it originated the appropriation of a tithe as a native reserve; it countenanced and supported the investigations of scientific men: it made excellent roads and bridges; and, though exposed to the assertion of having only paid at the rate of 1/2 d per acre for the 20 millions it claimed, the mountainous character of the land purchased should be considered before judgment pronounces a censure. During the Shortland interregnum, the amount paid was only 3d the acre, and in the last purchase made by the Government in 1851, when the knowledge of the value
[Image of page 50]
of land had begun to dawn on the Maori mind, only 2 1/2 d is given, which was considered so liberal a rate, that in the enthusiasm of gratitude a block 20 miles by 2 is freely thrown into the bargain. The Company on closing its operations had liabilities to the amount of £300,000 to meet which the sale of its land at 5s an acre would produce £268,000.
The Missionaries, or rather some few of those formerly in connection with the Church of England, for the Wesleyans were not allowed to possess land, have drawn down upon themselves the severest reprehensions. I will merely submit a few considerations and leave the reader to form his own conclusions. It will be remembered that in 1814 the Missionaries were the first to throw themselves into the country at the imminent hazard of their lives, locating themselves in the Bay of Islands, the most northern and populous portion of New Zealand. The lowest registered claim made by any Missionary for land purchased from the natives shows that the land was obtained at the rate of 2d the acre: the highest at 5 shillings: and the average at 8 pence. Many claims were preferred even to whole districts, but were not regularly submitted to investigation. One authority arguing on Parliamentary returns fixes the average at 3 1/2 shillings the acre, and, that the claims, when reduced one half by the Commissioner, were at the rate of 243 acres for each child of a Missionary, while the Chaplains of New South Wales were gratuitously presented by Government with 1600 acres per child.
[Image of page 51]
Though the lands thus purchased have been represented by the natives as exhausted, still it must be remembered they are situated in the finest part of the Island. Great fault has also been found with the Missionaries for formerly engaging in trade, and for selling Testaments at an exorbitant price; this may or may not be true, perhaps, in the former case the edge of censure might be blunted by the reflection that Testaments are not the only articles that have been thus sold, and the missionaries not the only dealers; that the price received was probably paid into the Bible Society's treasury, and that the natives, paying liberally, were more likely to value the article purchased, many undesirable results often occurring from no value being attached by the giver to such presents. All this refers to the past, and it may reasonably be asked, then why revert to it? because the tale is repeated until it almost becomes an accepted truth, and sheds its baneful influence on the present. Another complaint not infrequently urged against them originates from an impression that they intrude their opinions on civil and political matters; they are represented as exerting their influence to prevent the sale of land. It is an unfortunate peculiarity of their anomalous position that, owing to the decadence of chieftainship and of priestly power, they have become endued with many of the offices which formerly appertained to others, and thus are consulted on all questions connected with the temporal as well as the spiritual interests of their flocks. Silent under such circumstances they dare not
[Image of page 52]
be; they doubtless advise conscientiously, and while vindicating our own freedom of opinion it would be more than unreasonable to debar them from the unfettered exercise of their judgments. For my part I would encourage the disposal of the native's lands, having first secured an ample provision of the best description for the existing race, obtaining the value usually affixed by Government, and endeavouring so to invest the capital as to ensure its increase. I believe that the resuscitation of the Maori, if practicable, mainly depends upon mental and physical exertion, and that few things would more materially retard this regeneration and be more opposed to the true interests of the Colony generally than a coloured race of landholders receiving the rental of districts which they are too indolent to cultivate; such a state of things would, moreover, prevent that aggregation and permanence of settlement which is essential to the efficacy of other means. When drawing a conclusion from the consideration of these points, let us also remember that the first missionary landed in 1814, the first convert was made in 1825, that in 1838 the cry for religious instruction became general, and that now more than one half the population is Christian, of whom a large proportion can read, cannibalism and internal wars have ceased, and that thousands of acres are under cultivation and providing occupation for numerous mills. After allowing the stimulus of self interest its due share of credit, we must thankfully acknowledge that the changed aspect of affairs has been chiefly effected by the self-denying
[Image of page 53]
efforts of the missionaries, of all denominations, who have devoted themselves to the Christian cause.
Until lately the Government has been in the position of a Maori lass, whose charms have attracted more than one suitor, and who is subjected to the dislocating operation termed epunurua, in which the strongest puller gains the day. It was difficult amidst so many conflicting interests to keep the via media. Foreign interference precipitated a decision, a powerfully organized Company were actually in treaty with the natives for the purchase of land; many a voracious land shark who had swallowed, or was about to swallow, some millions of acres purchased at scarcely a nominal value, stood at bay; the missionaries, despairing of keeping the country solely under their civil, political, and religious tuition, arranged themselves on the side of the aborigines, with a view to protect them; the natives themselves, bewildered at the effect produced by treaties with the Government and private individuals into which they had ignorantly entered, remonstrated; while the settlers, tormented with custom dues which they imagined could not stand a southern clime, harrassed by the restrictions on the purchase of land, and amazed at the devious course of the Government, complained and agitated: all these combined influences resulted in a course directed by the intensity of the last impulse. Custom dues were imposed and withdrawn; the Crown fee on lands fixed, altered, removed; squatting discouraged, threatened, and virtually sanctioned; the natives outraged, pacified, and succumbed to.
[Image of page 54]
However, these oscillations might have been overlooked had not the tacit permission of squatting paralyzed the operations of the New Zealand Company, who were unable to sell any land, or even to buy, while whole districts were obtainable at a nominal rent. There was a superabundance of good intention, but a deficiency of decision, arising, perhaps in a great measure, from the complicated state of things. The reins have lately been handled with more judgment, or, at least, with more success: valuable territory is being constantly obtained at reasonable rates; the natives are encouraged and assisted; in fact, affairs are progressing satisfactorily, even though many grievances exist; but life without a grievance would be intolerable. The reins have once more changed hands; the people are to drive themselves, and most sincerely do I wish them success. Difficult questions require attention, and no small amount of good common sense and good temper will be in demand.
