1861 - Bunbury, T. Reminiscences of a Veteran [New Zealand chapters] - CHAPTER II, p 60-91

"Paihia, April 29, 1840,

"Sir,

"Your very brief connection with New Zealand may render an apology unnecessary for entering on a short sketch of the progress of our connection with this country, and the constitution of those authorities with whom you will, in the execution of the duties you have undertaken, be called upon to carry on negociations.

"From the time of Cook's discovery to the year 1812, we had little connection with New Zealand. Whale ships occasionally called there, and Government appear to have directed their attention to the Formium Tenax, which here grows indigenous; but they never proceeded further than to transplant it from this, as it was then

considered inhospitable shore, to Norfolk Island, where it was supposed it might be profitably cultivated by convict labour, under the superintendence of some New Zealanders, who were inveigled, or forcibly carried there from their native country.

"In 1814, the attention of certain religious associations in England was aroused to the state of lamentable barbarism in which this very fine race of men were still existing; and they took steps for the establishment of a Mission, which owing to the ferocity of the natives, was not completely organized until the year 1823.

"The enthusiastic zeal of the Missionaries, who were of the Church Mission and Wesleyan Societies, enabled them to struggle with innumerable difficulties, and eventually so far to ameliorate the character of the New Zealanders, that intercourse between them and our countrymen met with little or no interruption. The facility of communication being once created, the adventurous and enterprising spirit of Britons soon produced its effect, in the establishment of commercial houses, and the occupation of the soil.

"In 1832 it was deemed right to appoint a representative of the British Government under the title of President, and the year following it, a declaration of independence was signed by the principal chiefs at the instance of the Government,

and formally recognised by King William. This was done with a view of forming a confederation for the purpose of making laws. A most foolish proceeding on the part of Mr. Busby, the resident; but the experiment failed, from causes which will be sufficiently obvious when I speak of the customs of the natives and their political condition.

"In the early part of 1838, public feeling in England was very generally directed to New Zealand, by the revival of a Land Company, which was originally formed in 1825, and of which Lord Durham was, and continued to be the chairman. A bill was brought into Parliament to colonize New Zealand, but failed from its details. Public feeling, however, once awakened, was not again likely to slumber. It was evident from all that had transpired, that Government, however unwilling, would be compelled to take some decisive measures in the case, and in consequence a vast number of speculators purchased land from the natives, and extensive unauthorized settlements were made.

"As was generally predicted, measures were adopted by Her Majesty to colonize this country, and I was appointed last year first to treat with the native chiefs for the sovereignty, and then to assume the Government.

"The political condition of the New Zealanders, if I may be permitted to apply the term to a

species of wild independence which acknowledges no control, is extremely inartificial; the whole community is split into innumerable petty tribes, and every free man enjoys equal rights--no tribe exercising any control over another, and no person, being vested with the power to command or direct the movements of the tribe. A principle, however, inherent in human nature gives some persons a considerable moral influence, and enables them with a little address to guide and direct their companions. When these gifted persons disagree, the tribe is divided into separate communities.

"In this state of society, formed of a vast number of petty democracies, without any union of purpose, or any acknowledged leader, it will be impossible to observe the usual formality of negociating a treaty. The mode I followed was in accordance with the native custom. I collected the chiefs by a circular notice, and when assembled addressed them on the subject I had to recommend for their consideration. For instance, I explained in the fullest manner the reason why Her Majesty had resolved, with their consent, to introduce civil institutions into this land. I showed that the unauthorized settlement of British subjects here had rendered such a measure very essential for their benefit, and I offered a solemn pledge that the most perfect good faith would be kept by Her Majesty's government, that their property, their

rights, and privileges should be most fully preserved. I then read the treaty, and explained such parts of it as might not be very intelligible to their untutored minds, and I invited the chiefs to offer any observations, or remarks, or to ask explanation of any part they did not clearly understand. In this way I satisfied myself I had complied with the spirit of my instructions. These Koraroes, as they are called, will be a great tax on your patience, for probably every one present will address you in a long speech full of angry opposition, and very little to the purpose; but to secure a favourable termination to the debate, you have only to obtain the friendship of one or two of the most influential chiefs, who will probably give a favorable turn to the meeting, and all present will very soon yield to your proposal.

"You will be under one advantage in treating with the southern chiefs, the tribes are larger, and the authority of the chiefs is better defined. In all cases you will find the Missionaries, both of the Church of England and Wesleyan Societies, perfectly ready to promote your views, and to assist you in collecting the chiefs.

"The distribution of presents requires much tact and caution, to avoid jealousy. If the Missionaries will undertake this part of the ceremony, you will be relieved from much embarrassment.

"I append a few observations from Mr. Wilson

of the Church Missionary Society, relative to the Bay of Plenty, and the locality of Tauranga, which may prove useful both to Captain Nias and yourself. The nautical remarks are rendered valuable by Mr. Wilson's knowledge of maritime affairs he having served some years in the navy.

"I have the honour to be,
"Your most obedient servant,
"W. HOBSON.
"Lieutenant-Governor."

"Downing Street, Aug. 14, 1839.

"Sir,

"Your appointment to the office of Her Majesty's Consul at New Zealand, having been signified to you by Viscount Palmerston, and his lordship having conveyed to you the usual instructions for your guidance in that character, it remains for me to address you on the duties which you will be called to discharge in a separate capacity, and under my own official superintendance.

"The acquaintance which your service in Her Majesty's navy has enabled you to obtain with the state of society in New Zealand, relieves me from the necessity of entering on any explanations on that head. It is sufficient that I should generally notice the fact that a very considerable body of Her Majesty's subjects have already established

their residence, and effected settlements there, and that many persons in this kingdom have formed themselves into a society, having for its object the acquisition of land, and the removal of emigrants to those Islands.

"Her Majesty's Government have watched the proceedings with attention and solicitude. They have not been insensible of the importance of New Zealand to the interests of Great Britain and Australia, nor unaware of the great natural resources by which that country is distinguished, or that its geographical position must in seasons of either peace or war enable it, in the hands of civilised men, to exercise a permanent influence in that quarter of the globe. There is probably no part in the east in which colonization could be effected with a greater or surer prospect of national advantage.

"On the other hand the Ministers of the Crown have been restrained by still higher motives from engaging in such an enterprise. They have deferred to the advice of the Committee appointed by the House of Commons in the year 1836, to enquire into the state of the aborigines, residing in the vicinity of our Colonial settlements, and have concurred with that Committee in thinking that the increase of national wealth and power promised by the acquisition of New Zealand, would be a most inadequate compensation for the

injury which must be inflicted on this kingdom itself, by embarking in a measure essentially unjust, and but too commonly fraught with calamity to a numerous and inoffensive people, whose title to the soil and to the sovereignty of New Zealand is indisputable, and has been solemnly recognized by the British Government. We retain these opinions in unimpaired force, and though circumstances entirely beyond our control, have at length compelled us to alter our course, I do not scruple to avow that we depart from it with extreme reluctance.

"The necessity for the interposition of Government, has, however, become too evident to admit of any further inaction. The reports which have reached this office within the last few months, establish the facts that about the commencement of the year 1838, a body of not less than 2000 British subjects had become permanent inhabitants of New Zealand, that amongst them were many persons of bad or doubtful character, convicts who had fled from our own Penal settlements or seamen who had deserted their ships, and that these people unrestrained by any law, and amenable to no tribunal, were alternately the authors and the victims of every species of crime and outrage. It further appears that extensive cessions of land have been obtained from the natives, and that several hundred persons have recently sailed from

this country to occupy and cultivate these lands. The spirit of adventure having thus been effectually roused, it can no longer be doubted that an extensive settlement of British subjects will be established rapidly in New Zealand, and that, unless protected and restrained by necessary laws and institutions, they will repeat unchecked, in that quarter of the globe, the same process of war and spoliation, under which savage tribes have almost invariably disappeared, as often as they have been brought into the immediate vicinity of emigrants from civilized countries. To mitigate, and if possible to avert these disasters, and to rescue the emigrants themselves from the evils of a lawless state of society, it has been resolved to adopt the most effective measures to establish amongst them a settled form of civil government. To accomplish this design is the principal object of your mission.

"I have already stated that we acknowledge New Zealand as a sovereign and independant state, so far at least as it is possible to make that acknowledgment in favour of a people composed of numerous dispersed and petty tribes, who possess few political relations to each other, and are incompetent to act or even to deliberate in concert. The Queen in common with Her Majesty's immediate predecessor, disclaims for herself and for her subjects every pretension to seize on the Islands of

New Zealand, or to govern them as a part of the dominions of Great Britain, unless the free intelligent consent of the natives, expressed according to their established usages, shall be first obtained. Believing, however, that their own welfare, would, under the circumstances I have mentioned, be best promoted by the surrender to Her Majesty of a right so precarious and little more than nominal, and persuaded that the benefits of British protection and laws administered by British judges, would far more than compensate for the sacrifice by the natives of a national independence which they are no longer able to maintain, Her Majesty's Government have resolved to authorize you to treat with the aborigines of New Zealand for the recognition of Her Majesty's sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those Islands which they may be willing to place under Her Majesty's dominion. I am not unaware of the difficulties by which such a treaty may be encountered. The motives by which it is recommended, are of course open to suspicion. The natives may probably regard with distrust a proposal which may carry on the face of it the appearance of humiliation on their side, of a formidable encroachment on ours; and their ignorance even of the technical terms in which such a proposition must be conveyed, may enhance their aversion to an arrangement of which they may not be able to

comprehend the exact meaning, or the probable results. These, however, are impediments to be gradually overcome, by the exercise on your part of mildness, justice and perfect sincerity in your intercourse with them. You will, I trust, find powerful auxiliaries amongst the Missionaries who have won and deserved their confidence, and amongst the older British residents who have studied their character and acquired their language.

"It is almost superfluous to say, that in selecting you for the discharge of this duty, I have been guided by a firm reliance on your uprightness and plain dealing. You will therefore frankly and unreservedly explain to the natives, or their chiefs, the reasons which should urge them to acquiesce in the proposals you will make to them. Especially you will point out to them the dangers to which they may be exposed, by the residence amongst them of settlers, amenable to no laws or tribunals of their own, and the impossibility of Her Majesty's extending to them any effectual protection, unless the Queen be acknowledged as the sovereign of their country, or at least of those districts within or adjacent to which Her Majesty's subjects may require lands or habitations. If it should be necessary to propitiate their consent by presents, or other pecuniary arrangements, you will be authorized to advance at once to a certain

extent in meeting such demands; and beyond these limits you will reserve and refer them for the decision of Her Majesty's Government.

"It is not, however, to the mere recognition of the sovereign authority of the Queen, that your endeavours are to be confined, or your negociation directed. It is further necessary that the chiefs should be induced, if possible, to contract with you, as representing Her Majesty, that henceforward no lands shall be ceded either gratuitously or otherwise, except to the Crown of Great Britain. Contemplating the future growth and extension of a British Colony in New Zealand, it is an object of the first importance that the alienation of unsettled lands within its limits should be conducted, from its commencement, upon that system of sale of which experience has proved the wisdom, and the disregard of which has been so fatal to the prosperity of other British settlements. With a view to those interests, it is obviously the same thing whether large tracts of land be acquired by the mere gift of the Government, or by purchases effected on mere nominal considerations from the aborigines. On either supposition, the Land Revenue must be wasted, the introduction of emigrants delayed or prevented, and the country parcelled out amongst large land-holders, whose possessions must long remain an unprofitable, or rather a pernicious waste. Indeed, in the com-

parison of the two methods of acquiring land gratuitously, that of grants from the Crown, mischievous as it is, would be less inconvenient, as such grants must be made with at least some kind of system, with some degree of responsibility, subject to some conditions, and recorded for general information. But in the case of purchases from the natives, even these securities against abuse must be omitted, and none could be substituted for them. You will therefore immediately on your arrival, announce by a Proclamation addressed to all the Queen's subjects in New Zealand, that Her Majesty will not acknowledge any title to land as valid, which either has been, or shall hereafter be acquired in that country, which is not either derived from, or confirmed by a grant to be made in Her Majesty's name, and in her behalf. You will, however, at the same time take care to dispel any apprehension which may be created in the minds of the settlers, that it is intended to dispossess the owners of any property which has been acquired on equitable conditions, and which is not upon a scale which must be prejudicial to the latent interests of the community.

"Extensive acquisitions of such lands have undoubtedly been already obtained, and it is probable that before your arrival great addition will have been made to them. The embarrassment occasioned by such claims will command your earliest and most careful attention.

"I shall in the sequel explain the relation in which the proposed colony will stand to the Government of New South Wales. From that relation I propose to derive the resources necessary for encountering the difficulties I have mentioned. The Governor of that Colony will, with the advice of the Legislative Council, be instructed to appoint a Legislative Commission to investigate and ascertain what are the lands in New Zealand held by British subjects, under grants from the natives; how far such grants were lawfully acquired and ought to be respected; and what may have been the price or other valuable consideration given for them. The Commissioners will make their report to the Governor, and it will then be decided by him how far the claimants, or any of them may be entitled to confirmatory grants from the Crown, and on what conditions such confirmations Ought to be made.

"The propriety of immediately subjecting to a small annual tax all uncultivated lands within the British settlements in New Zealand, will also immediately engage the attention of the Governor and Council of New South Wales. The forfeiture of all lands in respect of which the tax shall remain for a certain period in arrear, would probably before long restore to the demesne of the Crown, so much of the waste land as may be held, unprofitably to themselves and to the public, by the actual claimants.

"Having by these methods obviated the danger of the acquisition of large tracts of country by mere land jobbers, it will be your duty to obtain, by fair and equal contracts with the natives, the cession of such waste lands as may be progressively required for the occupation of settlers resorting to New Zealand. All such contracts should be made by yourself through the intervention of an officer appointed to watch over the interests of the aborigines as their protector. The re-sales of the first purchases that may be made, will provide the funds necessary for future acquisitions, and beyond the original investment of a comparatively small sum of money, no other resource will be necessary for this purpose. I thus assume that the price to be paid to the natives by the Local Government, will bear an exceedingly small proportion to the price for which the same lands will be re-sold by the Government to the settlers. Nor is there any real injustice in this inequality. To the natives, or the chiefs, much of the land of the country is of no actual use, and in their hands it possesses scarcely any exchangeable value. Much of it must long remain useless even in the hands of the British Government also, but its value in exchange will be first created, and then progressively increased by the introduction of capital, and of settlers from this country. In the benefits of that increase the natives themselves will gradually participate.

"All dealings with the aborigines for their lands must be conducted on the same principles of sincerity, justice, and good faith, as must govern your transactions with them for the recognition of Her Majesty's sovereignty in the Islands. Nor is this all. They must not be permitted to enter into any contracts in which they might be the ignorant and unintentional authors of injuries to themselves. You will not, for example, purchase from them any territory the retention of which by them would be essential, or highly conducive to their own comfort, safety, or subsistence. The acquisition of land by the Crown for the future settlement of British subjects, must be confined to such districts as the natives can alienate without distress or serious inconvenience to themselves. To secure the observance of this rule will be one of the first duties of their official protector.

"There are yet other duties owing to the aborigines of New Zealand, which may all be comprised in the comprehensive expression of promoting their civilization understanding by that term, whatever relates to the religious, intellectual, and social advancement of mankind. For their religious instruction, liberal provision has already been made by the zeal of the Missionaries and of the Missionary societies in this kingdom; and it will be at once the most important and the

most grateful of your duties to this ignorant race of men, to afford the utmost encouragement, protection, and support to their Christian teachers. I acknowledge the obligation of rendering to the Missions such pecuniary aid as the local government may be able to afford, and as their increased labours may reasonably entitle them to expect. The establishment of schools for the education of the aborigines in the elements of literature will be another object of your solicitude; and until they can be brought within the pale of civilized life, and trained to the adoption of its habits, they must be carefully defended in the observance of their own customs, so far as they are compatible with the universal maxims of humanity and morals. But the savage practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism must be promptly and decisively interdicted. Such atrocities, under whatever plea of religion they may take place, are not to be tolerated within any part of the dominions of the British Crown.

"It remains to be considered in what manner provision is to be made for carrying these provisions into effect, and for the establishment and exercise of your authority over Her Majesty's subjects who may settle in New Zealand, or who are already resident there. Numerous projects for the establishment of a constitution for the proposed colony have at different times been sug-

gested to myself and my immediate predecessor in office, and during the last session of Parliament a bill for the same purpose was introduced into the House of Commons, at the instance of some persons immediately connected with the emigration then contemplated. The same subject was carefully examined by a Committee of the House of Lords; but the common result of all inquiries both in this office and in either House of Parliament, all went to show the impracticability of the schemes proposed for adoption, and the extreme difficulty of establishing at New Zealand any institution legislative, judicial or fiscal, without some more effectual control than could be found amongst the settlers themselves in the infancy of their settlement. It has therefore been resolved to place whatever territories may be obtained in sovereignty by the Queen in New Zealand in the relation of a dependency to the Government of New South Wales. I am of course fully aware of the objections which may be reasonably urged against this measure; but after the most ample investigation I am convinced that for the present there is no other practicable course which would not be opposed by difficulties still more considerable, although I trust that the time is not distant when it may be proper to establish in New Zealand itself a local legislative authority. In New South Wales there is a Colonial government

possessing a comparatively long experience, sustained by a large revenue, and constituted in such a manner as is best adapted to enable the legislative and executive authorities to act with promptitude and decision. It presents the opportunity of bringing the internal economy of the proposed new colony under the constant revision of a power sufficiently near to obtain early and accurate intelligence, and sufficiently remote to be removed from the influence of the passions and prejudices by which the first colonists must in the commencement of their enterprise be agitated. It is impossible to confide to an indiscriminate body of persons, who have voluntarily settled themselves in the immediate vicinity of the numerous population of New Zealand, those large and irresponsible powers which belong to the representative system of Colonial government. Nor is that system adapted to a colony struggling with the first difficulties of their new situation. Whatever may be the ultimate form of Government to which the British settlers in New Zealand are to be subject, it is essential to their own welfare, not less than to that of the aborigines, that they should first be placed under a rule which is at once effective, and to a considerable degree external.

"The proposed connection with New South Wales will not, however, involve the extension to New Zealand of the character of a penal

settlement, every motive concurs in forbidding this, and it is to be understood as a fundamental principle of the new colony, that no convict is ever to be sent thither to undergo his punishment.

"The accompanying copy of my correspondence with the law officers of the Crown, will explain to you the grounds of law on which it is concluded, that by the annexation of New Zealand to New South Wales, the powers vested by the Parliament in the Governor and Legislative Council of the older settlement, might be exercised over the inhabitants of the new colony. The accompanying Commission under the Great Seal, will give effect to this arrangement, and the warrant I enclose under Her Majesty's sign manual, will constitute you Lieutenant-Governor of this part of the New South Wales Colony, which has been extended over the New Zealand Islands. These instruments you will deliver to Sir George Gipps, who, on your proceeding to New Zealand, will place them in your hands to be published there. You will then return it to him, to be deposited among the Articles of the New South Wales Government.

"In the event of your death or absence, the officer administering the Government of New South Wales, will provisionally, and until Her Majesty's pleasure can be known, appoint a Lieu-

tenant-Governor in your place, by an instrument under the public seal of his Government. It is not for the present proposed to appoint any subordinate officer for your assistance. That such appointments will be indispensable is not to be doubted, but I am unwilling at first to advance beyond the strict limits of the necessity, which alone induces the Ministers of the Crown to interfere at all on this subject. You will confer with Sir G. Gipps as to the number and the nature of the official appointments which should be made at the commencement of the undertaking, and as to proper rate of their emoluments. These must be fixed with the most anxious regard to frugality in the expenditure of the public resources. The selection of individuals by whom such offices are to be borne, must be made by yourself, from the colonists of New South Wales, or New Zealand; but upon the full and distinct understanding that their tenure of the offices which they are to hold, must be provisional, and dependent upon the future pleasure of the Crown. Amongst the offices thus to be created, the most evidently indispensable are those of a Judge, a Public Prosecutor, a Protector of Aborigines, a Colonial Secretary, a Treasurer, a Surveyor General of Lands, and a Superintendant of Police. Of these the Judge alone will require the enactment of a law to create and define his functions. The Act now pending in Parliament,

for the revival, with amendments, of the New South Wales Act, will, if passed into a law, enable the Governor and Legislative Council to make all necessary provisions for the establishment in New Zealand of a Court of Justice, and a judicial system, separate from and independent of the existing Supreme Court. The other functionaries I have mentioned, can be appointed by the Governor in the unaided exercise of the delegated prerogative of the Crown.

"Whatever laws may be required for the government of the new colony, will be enacted by the Governor and Legislative Council; it will be his duty to bring under their notice such recommendations as you may see cause to convey to him on subjects of this nature.

"The absolute necessity of a revenue being raised to defray the expenses of the Government of the proposed settlements in New Zealand, has not of course escaped my careful attention. Having consulted the Lords of the Treasury on this subject, I have arranged with their Lordships, that until the sources of such a revenue shall have been set in action, you should be authorized to draw on the Government of New South Wales for your unavoidable expenditure. Separate accounts will however be kept of the public revenue of New Zealand, and of the application of it, and whatever debt may be contracted to New South Wales, must

be repaid by the earliest opportunity possible. Duties of import on tobacco, spirits, wine, and sugar, will probably supersede the necessity for any other taxation; and such duties, except on spirits, will probably be of a very moderate amount. The system at present established in New South Wales regarding land, will be applied to all the waste lands which may be acquired by the Crown in New Zealand. Separate accounts must be kept of the land revenue, subject to the necessary deductions for the expense of surveys and management, and for the improvement by roads and otherwise of the unsold territory, and subject to any deduction which may be required to meet the indispensable exigencies of the Local Government. The surplus of the revenue will be applicable, as in New South Wales, to the charge of removing emigrants from this kingdom to the new colony.

"The system established in New South Wales, to provide for the religious instruction of the inhabitants, has so fully justified the policy by which it was dictated, that I could suggest no better means of providing for this all important object in New Zealand. It is, however, gratifying to know that the spiritual wants of the settlers will in the commencement of the undertaking be readily and amply provided for by the Missionaries of the Established Church of England, and of other

Christian communions, who have been so long settled in those Islands. It will not be difficult to secure for the European inhabitants some portion, of that time and attention which the Missionaries have hitherto devoted exclusively to the aborigines.

"I inclose for your information and guidance copies of a correspondence between this department and the Treasury, referring you to Sir G. Gipps for such additional instructions as may enable you to give full effect to the views of Her Majesty's Government on the subject of finance. You will observe that the general principle is that of maintaining in the proposed colony a system of revenue expenditure and account entirely separate from that of New South Wales, though corresponding with it as far as that correspondence can be maintained.

"The accompanying volume of rules and regulations for the colonial service, will place you in possession of many details for the guidance of your official conduct. You will, however, understand that so much of that volume as relates to correspondence with this department, will not be strictly applicable to your situation. Your correspondence with myself will, as far as may be practicable, be carried on through the Governor of New South Wales. You will, in fact, be one of the officers of that government, and you will apply to

the head of it for instructions, in all those cases in which he would himself address a similar reference to Her Majesty's Government in this country.

"This rule, however, is not to be so strictly construed, as to prevent your transmitting to me direct reports of every occurrence of which Her Majesty's Government should be informed, as often as opportunities may occur of communicating with this country, more rapidly than such communications could be made through Sydney; and whenever the occasion shall appear of sufficient importance to justify this deviation from the general rule. It will, however, be your duty to transmit to the Governor, copies of all despatches which you may thus address directly to this office. He also will convey to me transcripts of all his correspondence with you by the first opportunity which may present itself, after any branch of that correspondence has reached its close.

I have thus attempted to touch on all the topics on which it seems to me necessary to address you on your departure from this country. Many questions have been unavoidably passed over in silence, and others have been adverted to in a brief and cursory manner, because I am fully impressed with the conviction, that in such an undertaking as that in which you are about to engage, much must be left to your own discretion, and many

questions must occur which no foresight could anticipate, or properly resolve beforehand. Reposing the utmost confidence in your judgment, experience and zeal for Her Majesty's service, and remembering how powerful a coadjutor you will have in Sir George Gipps, I willingly leave for consultation between you many subjects on which I feel my own incompetency at this distance from the scene of action to form an opinion.

"I have the honour to be, Sir,
"Your most obedient, humble servant,
(Signed) "NORMANBY."
"To Captain Hobson, R.N. "

"Her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, regarding with her royal favour the native chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and anxious to protect their just rights and property, and to secure to them the enjoyment of peace and good order, has deemed it necessary, (in consequence of the great number of Her Majesty's subjects who have already settled in New Zealand, and the rapid extension of emigra-

tion both from Europe and Australia, which is still in progress) to constitute and appoint a functionary properly authorised to treat with the aborigines of New Zealand, for the recognition of Her Majesty's sovereign authority over the whole or any part of those islands.

"Her Majesty, therefore, being desirous to establish a settled form of civil government, with a view to avert the consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary laws and institutions alike to the native population and to her subjects, has been graciously pleased to authorize me, William Hobson, a Captain of Her Majesty's navy, Consul and Lieutenant-Governor of such parts of New Zealand as may be, or hereafter shall be, ceded to Her Majesty, to invite the confederated and independent chiefs of New Zealand to concur in the following articles and conditions.

Art. 1. --"The chiefs of the confederation of the united tribes of New Zealand, and the separate and independent chiefs who have not become members of the confederacy, cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolutely and without reservation, all the rights and powers of sovereignty, which the said confederation or individual chiefs respectively exercise or possess over their separate and respective territories, as the sole sovereign thereof."

Art. 2. --"Her Majesty the Queen of England, confirms and guarantees to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, and fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess, so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession.

"But the chiefs of the united tribes, and the individual chiefs, yield to Her Majesty the exclusive right of pre-emption over such lands, as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to alienate, at such prices as may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them on that behalf.

Art. 3. --"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, therefore, we, the chiefs of the confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in congress at Victoria, in Waitanghi, and we, the separate and independant 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 spirit and meaning thereof.

"In witness of which we have attached our signatures, or marks at the places and dates respectively specified.

"Done at Waitanghi this 5th day of February in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty."