[APPENDICES]
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APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX No. I.
TREATY OF WAITANGI.
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF TREATY OF WAITANGI.
HER Majesty Queen Victoria 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 emigration, 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 evil consequences which must result from the absence of the necessary laws and constitutions, alike to the native population and to her subjects, has been graciously pleased to empower and authorise me, William Hobson, a Captain in Her Majesty's Royal 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:--
Article 1st. --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 confederation, 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, or may be supposed to exercise or to possess, over their respective territories as the sole sovereigns thereof.
Article 2nd. --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
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APPENDIX No. I. TREATY OF WAITANGI.
LITERAL AND TRUE TRANSLATION OF TREATY OF WAITANGI.
THE Victoria the Queen of England by her kind remembrance to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and by her desire to preserve to them their chieftainship and their land and let peace ever remain to them and to live in quietness--she has thought it a right thing to send here one chief as an overlooker of the aboriginal men of New Zealand, that they, the native chiefs, may consent to the Kawanatanga 1 of the Queen in all places of the land and the islands, because a great many people of her tribe have settled in this land and are still coming. -- Now, that the Queen is desirous to explain the Kawanatanga, that no evil may result to the aborigines or to the Europeans living without law--now was good the Queen to let go me William Hobson he Kapitana i te Roiara Nawi 2 as Kawana 3 for all the places of New Zealand given up now and after to the Queen, saying she is to the chiefs of the assembly of the tribes of New Zealand and other chiefs besides these laws spoken.
Now the first, --The chiefs of the assembly, and also all the chiefs (who) have not joined the said assembly, concede absolutely to the Queen of England for ever the Kawanatanga all of their land.
Now the second, --Now the Queen of England explains, consents to the chiefs to all the people of New Zealand, the entire chieftainship of their land, of their settlements, and of all their property. But now the
chiefs
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possession of their lands and estates, forests, 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.
Article 3rd. --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.
(Signed) W. HOBSON, Lieut.-Governor.
Now, therefore, we, the chiefs of the confederation of the united tribes of New Zealand, being assembled in congress, at Victoria in 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 spirit and meaning thereof. In witness of which, we have attached our signatures or marks at the places and dates respectively specified.
Done at Waitangi, this 6th day of February, in the year of Our Lord 1840.
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chiefs of the assembly and all other chiefs give up to the Queen the buying of other land places please the person to whom the land belongs to the amount of the payment agreed upon by them, and the purchaser appointed by the Queen to buy for her.
Now the third, --This is the arrangement come to for the consenting of the Kawanatanga of the Queen, and the Queen of England protect will all the aborigines of New Zealand and give to them the whole laws exactly like her things to the people of England.
(Signed) W. HOBSON, Lieut. -Governor.
Hearken, That we, that the chiefs of the assembly of the tribes of New Zealand now collected at Waitangi, and we also the chiefs of New Zealand, to see the meaning of these words and take them, and we consent to them all--therefore we sign our names as a sign.
This is done at Waitangi on the 6th of the days of February in the year 1840 of Our Lord.
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APPENDIX No. II.
PROTEST.
We, the undersigned, subjects and citizens of Great Britain, France, and the United States of America, now residing in New Zealand, and holding property in land either directly by gift or purchase from the aboriginal inhabitants, or by grant or purchase from other European or American residents, having understood that an Act, entitled "An Act to empower the Governor of New South Wales to appoint Commissioners with certain powers to examine and report on claims to grants of land in New Zealand," has been passed by the Governor and Legislative Council of New South Wales, the object of which is to disannul our titles to such land, thereby despoiling us of our honestly and lawfully-acquired possessions, and altogether tending most disastrously to affect and injure our present and prospective prosperity, do hereby solemnly protest and appeal to our respective Governments against the pretended right and authority of the Governor; and Council of New South Wales to enact or enforce such an arbitrary and unjust measure, which equally violates our rights as private individuals, and as subjects of civilised. and enlightened Governments. We further protest and appeal against the right and authority of the said Governor and Council of New South Wales to interfere with or deprive us of any part or portion of our landed or other possessions in New Zealand, under any pretext or pretence whatsoever, on the following just and reasonable grounds, namely: --
I. That to interfere with or in any manner to dispossess us of the whole or any part of our landed or other possessions in New Zealand, would not only be an act of the grossest injustice and oppression as far as our rights as private individuals are concerned, but also, in a national point of view, an unprecedented infringement and breach of that faith and good feeling by which all nations and governments are bound to respect and regard one another; seeing that before and since we had acquired possession of and titles to land in New Zealand, its existence as an independent nation, and its political relations to other powers, had been distinctly and unequivocally recognised and fully understood by the Governments of Europe and America, but especially so by the Government of England, as will appear from the following facts, viz.: --
1. The recommendation of Mr. Busby by the British Government to the native chiefs of New Zealand as their accredited agent, and his residence for a long period among them in the capacity of British Resident and Consul.
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2. The recent appointment of Captain Hobson to succeed Mr. Busby as British Consul in New Zealand, prior to his appointment as Lieut.-Governor, and in the event of his not being able to succeed in securing from the native chiefs the cession of their national independence and sovereignty to the Crown of England.
3. The granting a national flag to New Zealand, as appears from a notification of the Governor of New South Wales, dated August the 17th, 1835, which states--
"For general information--that a despatch had been received from the Right Honourable the Secretary for the Colonies, convening His Majesty's approbation of an arrangement made by this Government for complying with the wishes of the chiefs of New Zealand to adopt a National Flag in their collective capacity."
In the same document, it is further notified, that
"The register of vessels built in New Zealand, and granted by the chiefs, and certified by the British Resident, shall be considered as valid instruments, and respected as such in the intercourse which these vessels may hold with British Possessions."
4. The imposition of a foreign tax or duty on all New Zealand goods or produce imported into British ports--a duty which we have on all occasions been compelled to pay.
5. The published instructions of the Marquis of Normanby, the late Secretary for the Colonies, to Captain Hobson, on his appointment as Consul to New Zealand, wherein he distinctly acknowledges that New Zealand was then regarded by England to be an independent nation, as will appear from the following extracts: --
"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 1838 to inquire 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 certainly 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 recognised by the British Government. We retain these opinions in unimpared 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."
"I have already stated that we acknowledge New Zealand as a sovereign and independent 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,
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and are incompetent to act or even to deliberate in concert. But the admission of their rights, though inevitably qualified by this consideration, is binding on the faith of the British Crown. The Queen, in common with her Majesty's immediate predecessor, disclaims for herself and 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 and intelligent consent of the natives, expressed according to their established usages, shall be first obtained."
II. That many of us who had not previously procured land from the aboriginal owners of the soil, were still induced to emigrate to New Zealand, and to invest large sums of money and other property in the purchase of land from the white population, not only in reliance upon the faith of the pledge given by the civilised Powers of Europe and America to uphold and maintain the national independence of this country, but, above all, by the promises made in the Proclamation issued in the name of the Queen of England, in the instructions of the Secretary of State to Captain Hobson, and by Captain Hobson himself, both on his arrival in New South Wales and in this country, that the rights of private individuals should be held inviolate; in proof of which, we adduce the following extract from the Marquis of Normanby's instructions already referred to: --
"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."
Thereby clearly declaring, that until and before the natives had engaged in that contract, it was lawful and just both for them to make sales and gifts of their lands, and for Europeans to purchase or otherwise receive titles to the same from them.
Again: --
"You will, however, at the same time, take care to dispel any apprehensions 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."
III. That it is still a matter of uncertainty what part, if any, of this country has been ceded in sovereignty to the Queen of England, as more than nineteen-twentieths of the most influential chiefs have either declined or never been requested to sign the treaty with the Queen of England--and that almost all those who have signed it now acknowledge and assert, that they did so in ignorance of the real circumstances of the case--never apprehending, that by becoming parties to such a contract, they were in the least degree compromising their own or their country's independence: moreover, that several of those who signed the treaty did shortly thereafter--on comprehending, in a measure, its nature and ob-
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ject--seriously and earnestly request to have their signatures erased from the same.
IV. That even if it were the case that all the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand had ceded the sovereignty and independence of their country to the Crown of England, we still maintain that no act of theirs or of the British Government could have a retrospective view, or could, in any way, disannul the pledge they had previously given, not only to surrender certain portions of their territory to European and American settlers, but also to defend and protect them in the peaceable possession of the same.
V. That this measure, if carried into effect, must inevitably lead to engender serious quarrels between the native population and any emigrants the Government of England may hereafter settle upon the lands we are thus threatened to be deprived of--as it is well known to every one conversant with the native character, that they are particularly jealous on this head, and feel that their individual character and the honour of their country are affected by the permission of a stranger to settle upon any land sold to Europeans without the consent and approbation of the original purchaser.
VI. That the Bill passed by the Governor and Legislative Council of New South Wales is not in accordance with any existing law of England, or founded upon any Act of the British Parliament -- but has been devised and framed by an irresponsible body of men who neither represent us, nor even the Colony which they legislate for--and whose interests are, in every respect, diametrically opposed to ours, and who have, on all occasions, manifested the utmost eagerness and anxiety to crush the rising energies of this country.
VII. That we are not conscious of having committed any offence whereby we have deserved to have our lawfully and honestly-acquired property confiscated by the Governor and irresponsible officers of one of Her Majesty the Queen of England's Penal Settlements for the punishment of the most abandoned and depraved of her subjects: and moreover, that we cannot help regarding it as a most grievous insult, that the land of our adoption should in any manner be connected with or made an appendage of a Colony so notorious as New South Wales.
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APPENDIX No. III.
PROPERTY-RATE ORDINANCE.
AN ORDINANCE FOR IMPOSING A RATE UPON PROPERTY, AND FOR REPEALING THE CUSTOMS' ORDINANCE, SESSION 1, NO. 3, AND THE CUSTOMS' ORDINANCE, SESSION 3, NO. 6.
(Passed the 28th day of September, 1844. )
Whereas an ordinance was enacted by the Governor of New Zealand, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, Session 1, No. 3, entitled An Ordinance to repeal within the said Colony of New Zealand an Act of the Governor and Council of New South Wales, passed in the third year of her present Majesty's reign, entitled An Act to repeal an Act relating to the Revenue of Customs in New South Wales, and to provide for the general regulation thereof; and also a certain other Act of the said Governor and Council of New South Wales, passed in the fourth year of the reign of her said present Majesty Queen Victoria, entitled An Act for increasing the Duties on Spirits, Wines, and other Goods and Merchandise, imported into the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependencies; and which said Acts of the Governor and Council of New South Wales were adopted and are now in force within the said Colony of New Zealand and its dependencies; and to make provision for the collection of certain duties on goods into and for the general regulation of the revenue of Customs in the Colony of New Zealand and its dependencies. And whereas an ordinance was enacted by the Governor of New Zealand, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, Session 3, No. 6, entitled An Ordinance to amend an Ordinance enacted by the Governor and Council of New Zealand, Session 1, No. 3, to repeal certain Acts of the Governor and Council of New South Wales to make provision for the collection of certain duties on goods imported into and for the general regulation of the revenue of Customs in the Colony of New Zealand and its dependencies. And whereas the commerce, agriculture, and general prosperity of New Zealand would be greatly promoted by removing all restrictions on the free intercourse of shipping with all its numerous ports and harbours; and to that end it is expedient that all duties imposed upon goods imported into the Colony, and all provision made for the regulation and protection of the Revenue of Customs, by the said recited ordinances, should be repealed; and that, in lieu of the said duties of
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APPENDIX. 369
customs, a revenue should be raised by rates upon property within the Colony. Be it therefore enacted, by the Governor of New Zealand, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows: --
1. On and after the first day of October in this present year, the said recited ordinance, Session 1, No. 3, and the said recited ordinance, Session 3, No. 6, shall be repealed; and all goods which shall have been warehoused under the provisions of the said recited ordinances, or either of them, and which shall be in bond on the said first day of October, shall be free from all duties which would have been payable thereon if the said recited ordinances had not been repealed.
2. On and after the first day of November next, there shall be raised, levied, and collected, and paid in manner hereinafter mentioned, in respect of all property and nett yearly income, within the Colony of New Zealand, a yearly rate, according to the scale in the schedule hereunto annexed.
3. Property liable to the rate hereby imposed, shall comprise every description of property, whether real or personal; and, for the purposes of this ordinance, the value of such property shall be taken to be the marketable value thereof at the date of the return hereby required to be made in respect thereof.
4. Income liable to this rate hereby imposed shall comprise the nett yearly profits of any trade, business, or profession; rents arising from real property, interest on money lent, pay, salaries, annuities, pensions, and every other description of income whencesoever or from whatever source the same respectively may be derived; and, for the purpose of this ordinance, the amount of such income shall be taken to be the probable amount thereof for the year following the date of such return.
5. In lieu of the rate hereby imposed, it shall be lawful for any person liable for the payment of the same, to make composition for such rate, by paying the yearly sum of £12.
6. Such rate or composition shall become payable in four equal quarterly payments, and be paid on the first day of November, the first day of February, the first day of May, and the first day of August in every year; and the first of such quarterly payments shall be made on the first day of November next. Provided always, that any person who may be liable to such rate or composition may pay the whole of such yearly rate or composition in advance.
7. On the first day of November in this and every succeeding year, every person resident within the Colony who shall be possessed of property of any nature or kind whatsoever, which, alone or together with any such clear yearly income as aforesaid, shall in the whole amount to the sum of £50 or upwards, shall deliver to the Collector of the District, or cause to be left at his office, a return in the form or to the
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effect in the schedule hereunto annexed, setting out in words at length the amount of the rate payable by him according to such scale as aforesaid in respect of the property and income for which the return shall be made.
8. The return hereby required to be made shall contain a declaration that the sum named therein is the highest rate payable by the person making the return, in respect of the property and income possessed by him.
9. When any person possessing property or income liable to the rate hereby imposed shall intend to make a composition in lieu of such rate, such person shall state his intention so to do upon the face of the return, instead of setting out in manner hereinafter required the precise amount of rate that would otherwise have been payable in respect of such property or income.
10. If any person shall knowingly and wilfully make an under-estimate of the amount of the rate payable by him in respect of such property or income, or both, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour.
11. If any person hereby required to make such return as aforesaid shall fail so to do for the space of one calendar month from the time appointed under the provisions of this ordinance for the making of such return (notice in writing of such default having been first personally served on such person), he shall, on conviction, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding £20, to be recovered in a summary way, on the information of the Collector of the District.
12. If the rate or composition payable on any of the aforesaid quarter-days shall remain in arrear for the space of one calendar month or upwards, such rate or composition shall thereupon and thereafter be increased by one-fourth part for every calendar month for which it shall have been in arrear.
13. If any such rate or composition as aforesaid shall at any time have been in arrear for the space of three calendar months, such sum, together with any further sum which may have become due in respect thereof by virtue of the last hereinbefore contained, shall be recoverable by summary proceedings against the person liable for the payment of the same, and shall be leviable by distress and sale.
14. At the expiration of one calendar month from the day on which returns are hereby required to be made, the Collector of the District shall cause a statement of all returns which shall have been made to be posted in some conspicuous place or places within the district, and shall forward a copy thereof to the Colonial Secretary for publication in the Government Gazette. Such statement shall contain the name and description of the person making the return, and the amount of the rate for which such person shall have declared his property and income to be liable under the provisions of this ordinance.
15. If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Collector of the District, on the evidence of two respectable householders, that in any return a
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true statement of the rate hereby imposed has not been made, the Collector in such case is hereby authorised to require from the person making such return a detailed statement in writing, setting forth a description and enumeration of the property and income in respect of which such return shall have been made, and of the estimated value thereof--or in any such statement shall have made an under-statement of the rate payable by him.
16. Any person who shall fail to make such statement as aforesaid for the space of one calendar month after receiving notice thereof in writing from the Collector of the District requiring him so to do, or in any such statement shall have made an under-estimate of the rate payable by him, shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding £25, to be recovered in a summary way.
17. When any property set forth in such detailed statement as aforesaid shall become the subject of any action or suit in which the person making such statement shall be a party, in which the value of such property shall be a national question, a copy of such statement, showing the value of the property as estimated by the person making the return, certified under the hand of the Collector of the District, may be given in evidence by the opposite party.
18. Any person making any payment under the requirements of this ordinance may demand a receipt for the same; and every collector or other person receiving such payment is hereby required, upon demand made, to give such receipt accordingly.
19. All monies by any collector or other person under authority of this ordinance shall be accounted for and paid over monthly to the Colonial Treasurer, or his agent, to the use of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, for the public uses of the Colony, and the support of the Government thereof.
20. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be held to extend to the property or income of any aboriginal native of the Colony.
21. It shall be lawful for His Excellency the Governor to appoint persons to act as collectors of rates leviable under this ordinance, subject to the approval of Her Majesty. Such collectors shall be removable, on reasonable cause, by His Excellency the Governor.
22. Be it further enacted, that there may be allowed to any collector or collectors who may be so appointed to collect the rates hereby imposed, for and in respect of all costs, charges, and trouble attending the collection thereof, any sum not exceeding five per cent, on the gross receipts of such collection; and that the sum so to be allowed may be deducted monthly by any such collectors from the gross proceeds of such collection.
23. All words in this ordinance denoting a male person shall be taken to include a female also.
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Property Rate.
Name. Date.
Place of Abode.
I hereby solemnly declare that the rate payable by me in respect of my property and income under the provisions of the "Property Rate Ordinance, Session 4, No. 2," and according to the scale in the schedule to the said ordinance annexed, does not exceed the sum of (the sum in words at length.)
(Signed.)
{Or, as the case may be,)
I hereby give notice that I intend to make a composition in lieu of the rate payable by me in respect of my property and income during the ensuing twelve months.
(Signed.)
When the property or income, or both taken together, of any person, shall not exceed
Rate.
£50 ...... £0
100 ...... 1
200 ...... 2
300 ...... 3
400 ...... 4
500 ...... 5
600 ...... 6
700 ...... 7
800 ...... 8
900 ...... 9
1000...... 10
Composition ...... 12
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APPENDIX No. III. *
ADDRESS TO THE GOVERNOR.
To His Excellency ROBERT FITZ ROY, ESQ., Captain in Her Majesty's Royal Navy, Governor and Commander-in-chief in and over the Colony of New Zealand, &c. &c, &c.
May it please Your Excellency,
IT is the custom of the people in almost every country, but especially in our native land, upon the occurrence of great events, to manifest their appreciation of the same by some public and united demonstration. We are desirous in that respect, although far removed from the land of our birth, to follow the example, and to convey to Your Excellency, as the Representative of our gracious and beloved Sovereign the Queen of Great Britain, our grateful approval and high appreciation of the measure recently passed by Your Excellency and Council for the amelioration of the condition of the people of this Colony. To yourself personally, we cannot help feeling and expressing that we consider it must be a matter of high satisfaction and cause of just pride to be the happy instrument of effecting in one of the remote Islands of the Pacific, by the establishment of free and liberal institutions, that which the wise and enlightened in England, of whatever party, seek so earnestly, so strenuously, but almost hopelessly, to accomplish.
The civilisation of the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands is so intimately connected with the great change which has taken place in this Colony, that we may certainly believe, that what must appear to every man as a matter of wise policy, will be regarded in a much higher light by all who are interested in the welfare and advancement of our race.
The improvement, even the preservation of the aboriginal inhabitants of recently-discovered countries, is still a matter of doubtful experiment. To the European inhabitants of New Zealand, and to Your Excellency in an especial manner, has been committed, under Divine Providence, the task-- we would rather say, the high and honoured trust, of carefully settling this important point, and of proving to the world that civilisation, properly so called, is the harbinger of safety, peace, love and happiness, and not the destroying demon which has hitherto too frequently assumed its name.
While we would therefore desire to convey to Your Excellency the
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full expression of our thanks for the boon conferred upon our Colony by the establishment of Free Trade, and our estimate of the civil, social, and political advantages thereby insured to us, we would also seek to elevate our conceptions and our feelings, and to believe, as we do hope, that New Zealand will be remarkable, not only as the first of England's Colonies which has almost in its infancy been governed in accordance with those principles, which, though universally acknowledged just, are still from circumstances difficult, if not impossible, to carry out in old and long-inhabited countries; but that she will also be eminently remarkable above all other European Colonies, in the fact that her aboriginal inhabitants form an exception to the unhappy fate in which such people have hitherto been involved through intercourse with civilised men.
With the fullest confidence in Your Excellency's sincerity, anxiety, and ability to carry out the high and benevolent scheme of extending to the innumerable inhabitants and Islands of the Pacific the blessings of that civil, social, and religious liberty which are now about being enjoyed by the people of this Colony, and in the hope that New Zealand may be deemed worthy to become the centre of the civilisation of this important part of our globe, we would conclude with the most fervent wishes for the continued health and happiness of Your Excellency, of Mrs. Fitz Roy, and of every other member of Your Excellency's family.
We have the honour to be, Your Excellency's most obedient and Most humble Servants, &c. &c. &c.
Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 1, 1844.
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APPENDIX No. IV.
PROCLAMATION.
By His Excellency ROBERT FITZ ROY, Esq., &c. &c.
WHEREAS by a proclamation, bearing date the 26th day of March, 1844, it was notified to the public, that the Crown's right of pre-emption would be waived over certain portions of land in New Zealand: And whereas the terms and conditions set forth in such proclamation, on which the right of pre-emption would be so waived, have in some cases been disregarded either by persons making purchases of land from the natives without first applying for and obtaining the Governor's consent to waive the right of pre-emption, or by much understating the quantity of land proposed to be purchased from the natives: And whereas certain persons have misrepresented the objects and intentions of Government in requiring that a fee should be paid on obtaining the Governor's consent to waive the right of pre-emption---on behalf of Her Majesty-- who, by the Treaty of Waitangi, undertook to protect the natives of New Zealand, and, in order to do so, has checked the purchase of their lands while their value was insufficiently known to their owners.
And whereas the evil consequences of misrepresenting the motives of Government, and asserting that to be a mark of oppression--even of slavery--which is in reality an effect of parental care--are already manifest, and are certain to increase seriously if the cause be not removed.
And whereas the natives of New Zealand have become perfectly aware of the full value of their lands, and are quite alive to their own interests, however indifferent at times to those of their children.
Now, therefore, I, the Governor, acting on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, do hereby proclaim and declare that from this day no fees will be demanded on consenting to waive the right of pre-emption; --that the fees payable on the issue of Crown grants, under the following regulations, will be at the rate of one penny per acre; and that, until otherwise ordered, I will consent, on behalf of Her Majesty, to waive the right of pre-emption over certain limited portions of land in New Zealand, on the following conditions: --
1. Application to be made in writing to the Governor, through the Colonial Secretary, to waive the Crown's right of pre-emption over a certain number of acres of land at or immediately adjoining a place dis-
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tinctly specified; such land being described as accurately as may be practicable.
2. The Governor will give or refuse his consent to waive the Crown's right of pre-emption, as His Excellency may judge best for the public welfare, rather than for the private interests of the applicant. He will fully consider the nature of the locality, the state of the neighbouring and resident natives, their abundance or deficiency of land, their disposition towards Europeans and towards Her Majesty's Government, and he will consult with the Protector of Aborigines, before consenting, in any case, to waive the right of pre-emption.
3. No Crown title will be given for any Pah, or native burying-ground, or land about either, however desirous the owners may now be to part with them: and, as a general rule, the right of pre-emption will not be waived over any land required by the aborigines for their own use; although they themselves may now be desirous that it should be alienated.
4. The Crown's right of pre-emption will not be waived over any of that land near Auckland which lies between the Tamaki road and the sea to the northward, or over any land reserved for the use of the aboriginal natives.
5. Of all lands purchased from the aborigines in consequence of the Crown's right of pre-emption being waived, one-tenth part, of fair average value, as to position and quality, is to be conveyed by the purchaser to Her Majesty, her heirs and successors, for public purposes, especially the future benefit of the aborigines.
6. All transactions with the sellers, all risks attendant on misunderstandings, on sales made improperly, or on incomplete purchases, must be undertaken by the buyers until their respective purchases have been allowed and confirmed by grants from the Crown.
7. As the Crown has no right of pre-emption over land already sold to any person not an aboriginal native of New Zealand, and whose claim is or may be acknowledged by a Commissioner of Land-Claims, no grant will be issued to any other than the original claimant, or his representative, whose claims have been or may be investigated by a Commissioner, and recommended by him to the Governor for a grant from the Crown.
8. Land so obtained is to be surveyed at the expense of the purchaser, by a competent surveyor, licensed or otherwise approved of by the Government, who will be required to declare to the accuracy of his work, to the best of his belief, and to deposit certified copies of the same at the Colonial Secretary's Office, previous to the preparation of a Crown grant,
9. Copies of the deed or deeds conveying such land are to be lodged at the Colonial Secretary's Office as soon as practicable, in order that the necessary inquiries may be made, and notice given in the Maori as well as the English Gazette, that a Crown title will be issued; --unless
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sufficient cause should be shown for its being withheld for a time, or altogether refused.
10. No Crown grants will be issued until, at least, twelve months after the receipt at the Colonial Secretary's Office of certified copies of the surveys and deeds of sale above-mentioned; and on the issue of grants, fees at the rate of one penny per acre will be required by Government.
11. The Government, on behalf of the Crown and the public, will reserve the right of making and constructing roads and bridges, for public purposes, through or in lands so granted; the owners being fairly compensated by other equivalent land, as settled by arbitration.
12. No Crown grants will be issued under the foregoing arrangements to any person or persons who may be found to have contravened any of these regulations; and the public are reminded, that no title to land in this Colony held or claimed by any person not an aboriginal native of the same is valid in the eye of the law, or otherwise than null and void, unless confirmed by a grant from the Crown.
Given. &c. this tenth day of October, 1844.
ROBERT FITZ ROY, GOVERNOR.
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APPENDIX No. V.
A TABLE of the Mean Temperature of the Air at Auckland during the Years 1840-41, 1841-42, 1842-43, and 1843-44.
A TABLE showing the Weather, enumerating the Showery, Rainy, and Dry Days in the Years 1840-41, 1841-42, 1842-43, and 1843-44.
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A TABLE of the Quantity of Rain that fell at Auckland from September 1843, to September 1841.
By making an allowance for absorption, as the rain gauge employed is made of painted wood, and also for evaporation, the quantity of rain that fell during twelve months may be estimated at 31-50 inches.
THE END.
LONDON: H.I. STEVENS, 8, PHILPOT LANE, FENCHURCH STREET, CITY.
