CHAPTER V

IN SEARCH OF SIGNATURES

Although Captain Hobson had every reason to be gratified with the

result of his mission at Waitangi, it was perfectly obvious that the

signatures obtained there were only sufficient to give him jurisdiction

over a very circumscribed area of country. It was equally evident that

if the full intentions of the British Government were to be given

effect to, it would be necessary to put into practice the Mahomedan

principle and go to the mountain, since the mountain had failed to

come to him. He accordingly arranged a campaign by which the districts

north of the Bay of Islands would be visited, either by himself

personally, or by his duly accredited officers. Pursuant to this

arrangement on the morning of the 10th, the Lieutenant-Governor

(accompanied by Captain Nias) and his suite left the Bay of Islands

and rode over to the Mission station at Waimate, where on the 12th

they held a meeting and obtained the signatures of all the chiefs

present. With two of the Church Missionaries, Messrs. Taylor and

Clarke, added to his company, Captain Hobson left Waimate next day and

continued his journey to Hokianga, where it was anticipated a great

meeting would be held. On arriving at Waihou, a settlement on the

banks of the river about seven miles above the Wesleyan Mission

station,--for he was now within the Wesleyan sphere of influence,--the

Governor was met by the members of the Mission and all the principal

European settlers in the neighbourhood. Here he received, probably in

the form of an address, the warmest assurances of the settlers'

fidelity to the Queen, and the most hearty congratulations to himself

upon his selection as her representative.

From this point the journey was continued by boats supplied by the

settlers, and the progress down the river was marked by frequent

evidences of cordiality and even enthusiasm. On passing the settlement

at Hauraki a salute of thirteen guns was fired from a miniature fort

of European construction, and on arrival at the Mission station the

Governor was again the recipient of congratulations from the settlers

and the Missionaries.

In response to these graceful felicitations Captain Hobson delivered a

brief address, in which he expressed the high sense he entertained of

this earnest of their loyal zeal in forwarding the views of Her

Majesty's Government, and of the honour they had conferred upon him

personally by their flattering attention. At the same time Captain

Hobson took occasion to announce that in accordance with notices

already published, he proposed to hold a meeting of the chiefs there

next day, to which a cordial invitation was extended to the European

population of every class and nation.

The novelty of the occasion was not without its influence upon the

natives, and upon a careful estimate it is computed that there were

not less than 3000 at the station next morning, of whom between 400

and 500 were chiefs of varying rank and importance. Thus everything

promised well. But at the hour appointed for the assembly it was

observed that there was a great disinclination on the part of the

chiefs to associate themselves with the movement. Some were reticent,

others morose, more were openly hostile, and that to such an extent it

was manifest they were not approaching the subject with unprejudiced

minds, and it required no keen observer to detect that an unfavourable

spirit prevailed amongst them. By the exercise of a little judicious

manœuvring, however, they were at length induced to admit that

there could be nothing derogatory in at least hearing what message the

Governor had to deliver, and after some delay they were induced to

form into procession and march to the place of meeting.

The business of the day commenced in much the same manner as it had

done at Waitangi and Waimate, the Rev. Mr. Hobbs, of the Wesleyan

Mission, acting as interpreter. After a short address to the

Europeans, Captain Hobson entered into a full explanation to the

chiefs of the views and motives of Her Majesty in proposing to extend

to New Zealand her powerful protection. He then, as on previous

occasions, read the treaty, expounded its provisions, offered to

elucidate all doubtful points, and invited the freest discussion.

"This undisguised manner of proceeding," wrote Captain Hobson to Sir

George Gipps, "defeated much of the opposition, but did not, to the

extent of my wish or expectation, remove the predetermination to

oppose me that had already been manifested. The New Zealanders are

passionately fond of declamation, and they possess considerable

ingenuity in exciting the passions of the people. On this occasion all

the best orators were against me,[94] and every argument they could

devise was used to defeat my object."

The debate was opened by Aperahama Taonui, who rose and said: "We are

glad to see the Governor. Let him come to be a Governor to the

_Pakehas_. As for us we want no Governor; we will be our own

Governor. How do the _Pakehas_ behave to the black fellows at

Port Jackson? They treat them like dogs! See a _Pakeha_ kills a

pig; the black fellow comes to the door and eats the refuse."

"What is the Governor come for?" exclaimed Papahia. "He, indeed! He to

be high, very high, like Maungataniwha (a high hill near Hokianga) and

we low on the ground; nothing but little hills. No, no, no! Let us be

equal; why should one hill be high and another low? This is bad."

MOSES (Mohi Tawhai)--"How do you do, Mr. Governor? All we

think is that you come to deceive us. The _Pakehas_ tell us so,

and we believe what they say; what else?"

TAONUI--"We are not good (or willing) to give up our land. It

is from the earth we obtain all things. The land is our Father; the

land is our chieftainship; we will not give it up."

"No, no," cried Kaitoke; "no, Mr. Governor, you will not square out

our land and sell it. See there, you came to our country, looked at

us, stopped, came up the river, and what did we do? We gave you

potatoes, you gave us a fish-hook; that is all. We gave you land, you

gave us a pipe, that is all. We have been cheated, the _Pakehas_

are thieves. They tear a blanket, make two pieces of it, and sell it

for two blankets. They buy a pig for one pound in gold, and sell it

for three. They get a basket of potatoes for sixpence, sell it for two

shillings. This is all they do; steal from us, this is all."

Here the voluble Taonui again broke in upon the proceedings with some

observations which were so clearly not of native origin as to convince

Captain Hobson that he had not only the natural Maori ignorance and

suspicion to contend with, but powerful counter-influences originating

with the Europeans.

"Ha, ha, ha, this is the way you do," cried Taonui. "First your Queen

sends Missionaries to New Zealand to put things in order, gives them

£200 a year. Then she sends Mr. Busby to put up a flag, and gives him

£500 a year, and £200 to give to us natives. Now she sends a

Governor."[95]

"Speak your own sentiments, not what bad men have told you," retorted

Captain Hobson.

"I do," replied Taonui. "I have not been to Port Jackson, but I know

Governors have salaries."

The Governor again felt compelled to interpose, and accused the

speaker of being prompted by designing Europeans.

This fact Taonui frankly admitted, and, turning to the assembly,

called for his _Pakeha_ adviser to come forward and sustain his

allegations. "This call was reiterated by me," says Captain Hobson,

"when a person named Manning[96] presented himself. I asked him his

motive for endeavouring to defeat the benevolent object of Her

Majesty, whose desire it is to secure to these people their just

rights, and to the European settlers peace and civil Government."

Manning's reply was that he conscientiously believed that the natives

would be degraded under British rule and influence, and that therefore

he had advised them to resist the persuasions of the Governor and the

Missionaries in favour of the treaty, admitting at the same time that

the laws of England were requisite to restrain and protect British

subjects, but to British subjects alone should they be applicable.

"But are you not aware that English laws can only be exercised on

English soil?" asked Captain Hobson.

"I am not aware," replied Manning, "I am not a lawyer."

"Then that will do. Resume your seat," commanded Hobson.

The Lieutenant-Governor then proceeded to tell the chiefs that their

_Pakeha_ friend had given them advice in utter ignorance of the

most important principle that British laws could not be enforced on a

foreign soil, and that their only hope of protection against

unscrupulous Europeans was to become a party to the treaty.

"If you listen to such counsel," he continued, "and oppose me, you

will be stripped of all your lands by a worthless class of British

subject, who will consult no interest but their own, and who care not

how much they will trample upon your rights. I am sent here to control

such people, and to ask from you the authority to do so."

This spirited little speech was responded to by what Captain Hobson

has called "a song of applause." Several chiefs who had been silently

sympathetic with the Governor now sprang up actively in his support,

and by their championship changed the whole spirit of the debate.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome, Governor!" cried Ngaro. "Here are the

Missionaries; they come to the land, they bought and paid for it, else

I would not have them. Come, Come! I will have the Governor. No one

else perhaps will say 'Yes,' but I, Ngaro, I will have him. That is

all I say."

MOSES (Mohi Tawhai)--"Where does the Governor get his

authority? Is it from the Queen? Let him come; what power has he?

Well, let him come, let him stop all the lands from falling into the

hands of the _Pakehas_. Hear, all ye _Pakehas_! Perhaps you

are rum-drinkers, perhaps not; hear what is said by us. I want all to

hear. It is quite right for us to say what we think; it is right for

us to speak. Let the tongue of every one be free to speak; but what of

it? What will be the end? Our sayings will sink to the bottom like a

stone, but your sayings will float light, like the wood of the

Whau-tree, and always remain to be seen. Am I telling lies?"

Kaitoke, who had previously delivered a hostile speech, again openly

maintained his opposition by interjecting, "Let us choose our own

Governor."

These sentences, democratic though they were to the last degree, found

no sympathy with Rangatira Moetara, who followed with a brief speech.

"Welcome, Mr. Governor! How do you do? Who sold our land to the

_Pakehas_? It was we ourselves by our own free will; we let it

go, and it is gone, and what now? What good is there in throwing away

our words? Let the Governor sit for us."

MOSES (Mohi Tawhai)--"Suppose the land has been stolen from

us, will the Governor enquire about it? Perhaps he will, perhaps he

will not. If they have acquired the land by fair purchase, let them

have it."

Taonui, upon whom the refutation of Manning by the Governor had

evidently had a marked effect, again rose and said:

"Lo, now for the first time my heart has come near to your thoughts. I

approach you with my whole heart. You must watch over my children; let

them sit under your protection. There is my land too; you must take

care of it, but I do not wish to sell it. What of the land that is

sold? Can my children sit down on it? Can they--eh?"

Here the chiefs Waaka Nēne, his brother Patuone, Rangatira, and

Taonui stepped forward and chanted a song of welcome to the Governor,

after which Nēne made the following speech:

"Listen to me, Governor; all of you listen to me. This is my speech.

If the Baron de Thierry wishes to claim my land, why is he not here

to-day? No, no; it was never sold to him. Does he think he will have

it? No, no; he shall not have any of it. This is all I have to say."

A chief, Hone Kingi Raumati, whose baptismal name was John King, next

delivered a sympathetic address: "My speech is to the Governor. This

is what I have to say. It was my father, it was Muriwai, told me to

behave well to the _Pakehas_. Listen, this is mine; you came, you

found us poor and destitute. We on this side say, 'Stay and sit here.'

We say, 'Welcome, welcome'; let those on the other side say what they

like. This is ours to you. Stay in peace. Great has been your trade

with our land. What else do you come for but to trade? Here am I. I

who brought you on my shoulders.[97] I say come; you must direct us,

and keep us in order; that is all mine to you. If any one steal

anything now there will be payment for it. I have done my speech."

A chief whose name does not seem to have been preserved by the

chronicler of the meeting, but who had support for the Governor in his

words, said: "How do you do? Here am I, a poor man; and what is this

place? A poor place, but this is why you have come to speak to us

to-day. Let the _Pakehas_ come and I have not anything to say against

it. There is my place, it is good land; come and make it your

sitting-place--you must stay with me. That is all."

The last speech was that of Daniel Kahika: "What indeed!" he said in

indignant tones. "Do you think I will consent to other people selling

my land? No, truly. If my land is to be sold I will sell it myself.

But no, I will not sell my land. I do not like the _Pakehas_ to

tease me to sell my land. It is bad. I am quite sick with it. This is

my speech."

So closed the debate at Hokianga. Apologies were freely offered by the

opposing chiefs, the most prominent of whom at once came forward and

signed the treaty.

"When the example had once been shown," wrote Captain Hobson, "it was

with difficulty I could restrain those who were disentitled by their

rank from inserting their names. Upwards of fifty-six signatures were

given,[98] and at twelve o'clock at night the business closed. Before

the last of the party were dismissed it was intimated to me that the

chiefs were desirous I should attend their feast on the following

morning, and in order to gratify them I relinquished a visit I had

arranged to the lower part of the river. At ten o'clock on the 13th I

went by appointment to the Hauraki, and there 1000 as fine warriors

as were ever seen were collected in their best costume. The native

war-dance, accompanied by those terrific yells which are so well

qualified to exhibit the natural ferocity of the New Zealand

character, was exhibited for my amusement, the guns from a small

European battery were fired, and the natives discharged their muskets

and dispersed under three hearty cheers for my party. The feast which

I had ordered to be prepared, consisting of pigs, potatoes, rice, and

sugar, with a small portion of tobacco to every man, was partaken of

by all in perfect harmony. It was estimated that of men, women, and

children there were 3000 persons present. The influence against me

was entirely traceable to the foreign Bishop of the Roman Catholic

persuasion, and to a set of escaped convicts and other low ruffians

who have congregated on the river in considerable numbers. These

parties, though actuated by different motives, were united in their

proceedings, and many of the latter were agents of the former. Mr.

Manning, whom I have before mentioned, though not of a degraded

class, is an adventurer, who lives with a native woman, has

purchased a considerable portion of land, and being an Irish Catholic

is the active agent of the Bishop. Another person, altogether of a

lower description, known under the name of 'Jackey Marmon,' who is

married to a native woman, and has resided in this country since

1809, is also an agent of the Bishop. He assumes the native character

in its worst form--is a cannibal--and has been conspicuous in the

native wars and outrages for years past. Against such people I shall

have to contend in every quarter, but I do not despair of arranging

matters hereafter with comparative ease. The two points at which I

have already met the natives were the strongholds of our most violent

opponents, and notwithstanding the untiring efforts of the Bishop

Pompallier and the convicts, I have obtained the almost unanimous

assent of the chiefs. Of the whole of the Hokianga but two head

chiefs refused their consent, and even from their tribes many chiefs

have added their names to the treaty. On the morning of the 14th,

when preparing to return here, I regret to say that, notwithstanding

the universal good feeling which subsisted among the chiefs on the

previous day, two tribes of the Roman Catholic Communion requested

that their names might be withdrawn from the treaty. It is obvious

that the same mischievous influence I before complained of had been

exercised in this instance. I did not of course suffer the

alteration, but I regret that the credulity of the chiefs should

render them so susceptible of unfavourable impressions. I considered

that on the conclusion of the treaty at Waitangi the sovereignty of

Her Majesty over the whole of the northern district was complete. I

can now only add that the adherence of the Hokianga chiefs renders

the question beyond dispute. I therefore propose to issue a

Proclamation announcing that Her Majesty's dominions in New Zealand

extend from the North Cape to the 36th degree of longitude. As I

proceed southward and obtain the consent of the chiefs I shall extend

these limits by Proclamation until I can include the whole of the

Island."

On the day that Captain Hobson had first met the Rev. Henry Williams

on board the _Herald_ one of the many subjects they had discussed

was the purchasing of a site for the colonial Capital. In this respect

the Missionary's geographical knowledge of the north was invaluable,

and when asked for his opinion he immediately pronounced solidly

against the Bay of Islands where the land was too confined for a

potential city. He was, however, enthusiastic about the isthmus at the

Waitemata, as being unoccupied by natives, and possessing topographical

advantages far in excess of any other known site. It was, therefore,

for the dual purpose of inspecting this promising locality, and of

meeting the natives at Waitemata, that the Governor and Mr. Williams

left the Bay of Islands on February 21 in the _Herald_. A

considerable number of signatures were obtained at various points

along the coast of the Hauraki Gulf, and on reaching the mouth of the

Waitemata River in the Firth of Thames,[99] Mr. Williams was

despatched to Maraetai to communicate with and collect the natives in

that district. As he was returning to the ship four days later he met

Captain Nias coming to meet him in his boat. The Captain conveyed to

him the disquieting intelligence that on the previous Sunday (March 1)

Captain Hobson had been attacked by a violent illness--due to the

harassing nature of his duties and to long exposure to wet, resulting

in a paralytic seizure[100]--so severe as to disable him, and to cause

him to seriously contemplate his resignation and return to Sydney.

When the Missionary saw the invalid in his cabin he took a more

optimistic view of the situation, and strongly urged Captain Hobson

not to determine so hurriedly to relinquish his office as Governor. He

further offered to find him comfortable quarters at the Mission

station where he could rest and have every care it was possible to

provide under the circumstances. These persuasions induced the

Governor to fall in with the Missionary's views; the _Herald_

returned to the Bay of Islands, and the patient was conveyed to the

house of Mr. Richard Davis at Waimate, where he was attended by the

ship's surgeon, Dr. Alexander Lane, and was for several months nursed

with the utmost solicitude by the Missionary's family.

During this period of forced inactivity Captain Hobson displayed the

greatest anxiety that the interests of his mission should not suffer

because of his misfortune, and so far as his energies would permit he

daily laid his plans for the carrying on of the campaign which had

thus been suddenly interrupted so far as he was personally concerned.

Fortunately he was surrounded by a band of men who were loyal, and

enthusiastic in the cause he had come to espouse, and he had no

difficulty in enlisting the services of those who were prepared to

continue the work where he had been compelled to lay it down. In this

respect the Missionaries, confidently relying on the traditional

justice of the British Government,[101] were particularly zealous, and

to them more than to any one else does the ultimate success belong.

Had they so much as whispered hostility, the treaty and all its

professions would have been rejected and despised. So far from this,

they not only lent it the influence of their word, but at this

critical stage, when the Governor was lying a stricken man, they

became the harbingers of its promises and the apostles of its

principles.[102]

To the north went the Rev. Mr. Taylor with Mr. Shortland; to the east

the Rev. William Williams, each bearing an authenticated copy of the

treaty, and authorised to treat with the principal native chiefs, at

properly constituted gatherings, for their signatures and their

adherence to the provisions of the national compact.

The meeting in the north, which must rank next in importance to the

gatherings at Waitangi and Hokianga, was that conducted by Lieutenant

Shortland at Kaitaia. Indeed it is questionable whether in some

respects it has not achieved a greater celebrity, for it was here that

the eloquent chief Nopera (Noble) coined the phrase which has been

more often quoted than any other in connection with the history of the

treaty: "The shadow of the land goes to the Queen, but the substance

remains with us."

On April 27 Mr. Shortland, who had now become Colonial Secretary,

accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Taylor, Dr. Johnston, and Lieutenant Smart

of the mounted police embarked on board the little schooner _New

Zealander_, and steering for the far north, touched first at

Mangonui, where they obtained the services of a native pilot, and on

the following Saturday anchored in the Awanui River, fully sixteen

miles from their destination. Mr. Taylor and the Doctor at once left

the vessel, and pushed on to the Mission station, there to arrange the

preliminaries with Mr. Puckey, the resident Missionary. The Colonial

Secretary remained on board the schooner until the Monday, and then

with Lieutenant Smart and the members of his force proceeded up the

river to Kaitaia, where they were received with volleys of musketry,

and the fearsome evolutions of the war dance. From an early hour on

the following morning the chiefs and people were astir, busy with the

preparations for the meeting, their demeanour being marked by a

cordiality which had been so conspicuous by its absence at Waitangi

and Hokianga.

At 10 o'clock the people--a motley and vivacious crowd--assembled on a

large grass plot in front of Mr. Matthew's house, where they were

addressed by the Colonial Secretary, with a solemnity befitting the

occasion and a pomposity[103] which he deemed becoming his station.

The illness of the Governor was touchingly referred to as a reason for

the speaker's presence; the text of the treaty was read; the purpose

of the compact explained; the machinations of the Queen's opponents

were denounced, and a promise given that His Excellency would strictly

perform all the solemn engagements which the treaty imposed upon him

in the name of Her Majesty.

With this important difference, that there was but little opposition,

there were few features to distinguish the debate from its

predecessors. Several of the speakers boldly stated they had been told

that the treaty was nothing but a cunning device to enslave them.

There were also dark references to a Nga-Puhi plot to drive the

_Pakehas_ into the sea, but to which they unhesitatingly declared

they were not prepared to give their countenance,[104] the speeches as

a whole breathing deeply the influence of the Missionaries.

The first speaker was a chief who had accepted the baptismal name of

Taylor,[105] who appeared to scent trouble, but subsequently signed

the treaty under the name of Reihana Teira.

"This is my speech. We have always been gentlemen; we do not want a

shepherd. We will not be hindered getting wood; we formerly cleared

any spot of land we liked, burnt the wood; then some once came and

built a house on it, and then we quarrelled."

"The _Pakehas_ say the Governor comes to take the land,"

exclaimed a chief whose name has not been recorded. "This is the first

time I ever heard the _pukapuka_ (the treaty). The _Pakehas_

explained it differently. Some people say plenty of _Pakehas_ are

coming to buy our land, but not for our good. They say the soldiers

are come to shoot us, and that the Governor will not be a shepherd for

us.[106] They say Mr. Puckey and Mr. Matthew know what is to become

of us, but will not tell us. These are my sayings."

WILLIAM (Wiremu Wirihana)--"They tell us you are come to

murder all the Maoris, but if your works are good you will come to

preserve us. If you are like the Missionaries that will be good. We

fear the soldiers."

In clear and emphatic tones Te Rewiti, to whom has been given the

English name of Davis, exclaimed, "I say 'Yes,' I say 'Yes' for the

Queen. Although some men say 'No,' for the Governor, I say, 'Yes.' If

the Governor come to be our shepherd that is good; but if he come to

take our land I will not have him. If you say who makes me say, 'Yes,'

I say my own heart. Much land has been bought by the _Pakehas_.

Let it not be said it has been taken by the Governor. It has been

taken before. I have nothing more to say. If you have anything to say,

say it now, but do not go home and grumble."

"Let all our sayings be one, let none say 'No,'" was the counsel of

Forde. "The Governor has not taken our land, it was taken before. My

heart and my thoughts are with the Governor. I say, Yes, yes."

MARSDEN--"We shall not be slaves. Had we gone to other lands

we might have been slaves; they have come to protect us. Let not our

hearts be dark; let us not listen to words from afar; let us see

first. Is it not sin to murder and commit adultery; to tell lies. If

what we hear from our teachers is true then what we hear from the

Governor is not a lie."

"I have no land to give the Governor," said Toketau (Tokitahi). "We

were gentlemen before, we will be greater now. Now we have more

blankets, shirts, and trousers. Our houses were once made of rushes;

they are better now. I have made my speech."

BUSBY (Puhipi)--"Before the _Pakehas_ came we loved our

own people. We sometimes quarrelled and then made war; then we made

peace again and rubbed noses, then we had another battle. I am glad

you are come; let our hearts be one. If quarrels happen who will settle

them? You are so far off. Murder and theft may be suppressed, but what

shall be done with adultery? It is carried on privately; do not let it

be said that I hide anything."

PI (Pihere)--"It will be good to see all the adulterers

hanged in a row."

"Will a man be taken up if he walk in the night?" was the pertinent

question put by Matiu Tauhara (Mathew). "That is all I am afraid of.

If a man steal it is right to punish him. This is all I have to say:

Let all the Governors and _Pakehas_ be like the Missionaries,

that we be good. We have not been hurt by them."

"If your thoughts are as our thoughts in Christ, let us be one. We

believe your hearts to be good. The _Pakehas_ bought all our

land, and we have no more," were the words of Matiu Huhu.

The speech of Paratene Waiora (Broughton) concluded those of the minor

chiefs.

"There is only one great man," he said, "who cannot be killed, that is

the tongue; it often stirs up great wars. My father, Nopera, was

sitting in his house reading his Bible when they said he was gone to

the north to kill the people. I say send away Pikopo (Bishop

Pompallier). Send him back; he is the cause of strife amongst us."

Nopera Panakareao, the most powerful chief in the district, who had

accepted the not inappropriate baptismal name of Noble,[107] then rose

and delivered the great speech of the meeting--a speech if not the

most influential in guiding the native mind at a critical moment it is

at least so rich in worldly wisdom, so happy in poetic simile, so full

of fervent loyalty, that it has become one of the Maori classics, and

deserves to be preserved amongst the finest examples extant of

old-time native oratory:

"Here all of you _Pakehas_ and Maoris. This is my speech. My desire

is that we should be all of one heart. Speak your words openly; speak

as you mean to act; do not say one thing and mean another. I am at

your head. I wish you all to have the Governor. We are saved by this.

Let every one say 'Yes,' as I do. We have now some one to look up to.

Some say it will be the _Pakehas_ who will offend, I say no; it will

be the Maoris. My grandfather brought the _Pakehas_ to this very spot,

and the chiefs agreed with what my grandfather did. He went on board

the ship and got trade. He spread it through the land. Let us act

right as my ancestors did. The _Pakehas_ went to the Bay of Islands

and were murdered. Let us do them no harm. What has the Governor done

wrong? The shadow of the land goes to the Queen, but the substance

remains with us. We will go to the Governor and get payment for our

land as before. If the Nga-Puhi commit evil they will suffer. We have

always been friendly with the _Pakehas_. We never went in ships to

England or Port Jackson to buy arms to kill our countrymen. If you

want to be cut off, go and fight the Governor. Do not, like the chiefs

at Hokianga, wish to kill the Governor. Live peaceably with the

_Pakehas_. We have now a helmsman, one said, 'Let me steer,' and

another said, 'Let me steer,' and we never went straight. Be jealous:

look well into your own hearts and commit no evil. The natives did

wrong at the Bay and suffered. What man of sense would believe that

the Governor would take our goods, and only give us half of it? If you

have anything else to say, say it; but if not, finish, and all of you

say, 'Yes'--say 'Yes.'"

This oration swept away all vestige of possible opposition as chaff

before the wind. No one was bold enough to contend with the

redoubtable Nopera, to agree with him were superfluous. The debate

therefore abruptly closed with a general exclamation of "_Ae,

Ae_" ("Yes, yes") and the assent and signatures of sixty of the

principal chiefs were speedily obtained,[108] so that a few days

later Captain Hobson was able to write from his sick-room to the Chief

Secretary for the Colonies: "I am happy to report to your lordship

that Mr. Shortland succeeded to the fullest extent."

The Ambassador to the west was Captain Symonds,[109] an officer of the

British Army, who immediately on receipt of his instructions proceeded

to Manakau and there, aided by Mr. Hamlin, a Catechist of the Church

Missionary Society, summoned at short notice a meeting of the chiefs.

The Missionary explained to the assembled warriors the views of the

British Government, and solicited their adherence to the treaty, but

the opponents of the measure had been in advance of its advocates, and

prejudice was already in the air. Amongst the most active in his

hostility was the vacillating Rewa, who having reluctantly signed the

document at Waitangi, had speedily recanted.[110] He now sought to

make up for his apparent desertion from the ranks of the opponents by

the violence of his attacks upon the Government, and Captain Symonds

found the chief had been so successful in his misrepresentations that

he was not able to do more at the first meeting than to dispel some of

the doubts which the ingeniousness of Rewa had created in the minds of

all. A few days later the chiefs were again in council, when new

forces were gathered from the Waikato, Taranaki, and Taupo. With these

Rewa had less influence, with the result that some signatures, and

several promises were obtained from amongst the most influential men.

But now a new species of opposition was developed. The haughty Te

Wherowhero, the potential king of the Waikato, felt that he had been

slighted in not being bidden to consult with the _Pakeha_

Governor ere this. Why had he been left to this late hour, and who

were these who had been placed before him? His dignity was severely

wounded; his aristocratic soul rebelled against such scurvy treatment,

and in a fit of pique he wrapped his blanket about him and refused to

sign.

Feeling that he must be satisfied for the present with whatever

measure of success he had achieved, Captain Symonds left Manukau on

April 3, and hauling his boats across the portage which divides the

Manakau from the waters of the Waikato, he proceeded down the Awaroa

river to the Church Mission station at the Waikato Heads. Here he was

received with the utmost cordiality by the Rev. Mr. Maunsell[111] who

was waiting his coming with no small anxiety. Matters had almost

reached a crisis with the Missionary, who in the previous month had

taken advantage of a large gathering of natives for religious purposes

to introduce the subject of the treaty, a copy of which had already

been forwarded to him by the Lieutenant-Governor. The project had been

received by the natives in the most friendly spirit, and signatures

had been obtained with the utmost alacrity. One important feature,

unobserved at the time, had, however, been omitted. No presents had

been sent to the Missionary to distribute amongst the signatories.

Exception had not been taken to this apparent lack of hospitality at

the moment, but word had come into the settlement from the north that

all who had signed the treaty at the Bay of Islands, and at Hokianga

had been paid with the Governor's blanket. The insidious nature of

this treatment had just dawned upon them when Captain Symonds arrived.

The whole settlement was in a state of wildest excitement. Their

Missionary had deceived them; payment had been withheld; their

signatures had been wrongly obtained. To put matters right they loudly

demanded the return of the offending paper that they might tear it to

bits and scatter it to the winds. Symonds was, however, able to

quieten the tumult with timely explanations, and, what was more to the

purpose, distributed a number of blankets amongst the chiefs,

promising a similar gift to all others who would subscribe to the

terms of the treaty.

The expedition displayed by Mr. Maunsell, but which had come so

perilously near wrecking his own influence, proved an unexpected boon

to Captain Symonds, who on examination of the signatures thus obtained

discovered that with few exceptions all the influential chiefs as far

south as Mokau, had acknowledged the sovereignty of the Queen. These

few were resident in the districts of Aotea and Kawhia, and were

within the sphere wherein was labouring the Rev. John Whiteley,[112]

of the Wesleyan Mission. To him accordingly Captain Symonds wrote,

"being well assured of the disposition on the part of the Wesleyan

Mission to support the Government by every exertion in its power," and

confided to him the execution of that portion of his instructions

which he deemed could be more expeditiously carried out by the

Missionary than by himself.

On April 18 Captain Symonds returned to Manakau, and there obtained

seven more signatures. Te Wherowhero[113] was still obdurate, though

manifesting no ill-will towards the Government. His native pride had

been hurt, and time had not yet healed his injured spirit.

In these latter negotiations Captain Symonds laboured under the

considerable disadvantage that he was unable to procure the services

of a competent interpreter, Mr. Hamlin[114] being absent on duties

incidental to his station. The lack of all public ceremonial was also

to his disadvantage, the pageant of which ever appeals with persuasive

force to the impressionable mind of the savage; while the surroundings

were not altogether without the suggestion that the crozier was still

secretly opposing the Crown.

[Illustration: REV. HENRY WILLIAMS, C.M.S.]

For the purpose of preserving the consecutive nature of our narrative

it will be convenient at this point to digress for a moment, and in

that time discuss a debatable point which must ere now have occurred

to the reader, viz. what was Bishop Pompallier's attitude towards the

treaty? To aid our judgment in this connection two classes of evidence

are available,--that of the Protestant Missionaries and the official

despatches of those engaged in the promotion of the treaty, on the one

side, and the personal statement of his position by the Bishop on the

other. Bishop Pompallier had landed at Hokianga in 1838 for the

purpose of establishing a branch of the Roman Catholic Oceanic

Mission, of which he had been appointed Vicar Apostolic. We have his

assurance, which may be accepted without reservation, that he hoped to

labour in a part of the country where he would not come into conflict

with other Missions, and it came to him as a surprise, and probably as

a deep disappointment, when he discovered that the existing Missions

had so far covered the country that no such isolation was possible at

Hokianga, upon which he had determined as the centre of his operations.

But having come he decided to remain; and his advent was a bitter

trial to the representatives of the Protestant Missions, who foresaw

in it a serious interruption of their work by the introduction to the

Maori of doubts and controversies which, while disturbing, were not

essential either to their civilisation or to their soul's

salvation.[115] Exactly what they anticipated would occur, did occur,

with the result that the animosities of religious rivalry were kindled

in a way that had never been known between the Anglican and Wesleyan

Missions; and the absurdity was not infrequently witnessed of Maoris

confidently discussing matters of dogma which for centuries have

baffled solution at the hands of trained theologians. The effect of

this was to sow the seeds of bitterness in the hearts of the

Protestant Missionaries, and there is sometimes noticeable a dearth of

charity in their references to the Bishop which unfortunately is not

singular in Church history.

We may, therefore, discount on the grounds of prejudice their

accusations against the "Catholic Bishop" as much as we please, but we

have still to account for the awkward fact, to which Mr. Colenso has

drawn pointed attention, that the most violent opposition to the

treaty at Waitangi came from the chiefs living under the religious

guidance of Bishop Pompallier. The same circumstance was noted by

Captain Hobson at Hokianga, by Captain Symonds at Manakau, and by

Major Bunbury at Tauranga. Was, then, this widespread disaffection

amongst the Catholic converts merely a coincidence? or was it the

fruit of suggestion?

It has to be admitted that whatever feelings animated the Protestant

Missionaries, at least Captain Hobson was not the victim of religious

prejudice. From the first he adopted an attitude of most respectful

deference towards the Bishop, a partiality which the Frenchman was not

slow to observe and comment upon. When, therefore, the Lieutenant-Governor,

took the responsibility of stating in his despatch to Sir George Gipps

(February 17, 1840), "The influence against me was easily traceable to

the foreign Bishop of the Roman Catholic persuasion," he is at least

entitled to the credit--considering the character of the man--of our

believing that he would not have made so bold an assertion had he not

been fortified by the conviction that there was evidence to support

it. The same measure of confidence must be accorded to Captain

Symonds, a military officer of, so far as we can judge, the highest

integrity. In reporting the result of his mission at Manakau he

records the fact that "Rewa the principal follower of the Roman

Catholic Bishop, exerted all his influence against me," and that on

his return to this settlement from the Waikato Heads a few days later,

he was still unable to secure the signatures of certain chiefs, a

failure which he attributed "partly to the Bishop's influence." Again

bluff Major Bunbury tells us that when at the Otumoetai Pa, near

Tauranga, "Another chief expressed some indignation because the

Christian chiefs had not, as he said, met them. I presume he meant

those from the other _pa_ where Mr. Stack's influence was

supposed to extend more than his own, and where a Roman Catholic

Residency and the Catholic Bishop were supposed to have more

influence."

Whether this failure on the part of the Christian natives to

co-operate with the residents of Otumoetai in the consideration of the

treaty meant their active hostility, or merely a negative indifference

to the proposals of the Crown, is not clear, nor is it certain to

what extent the influence of the Missionary Bishop and his assistant

contributed to either of these conditions, if either existed. Certain

it is, however, that neither exerted themselves to aid the

consummation of the treaty. Of this fact Bishop Pompallier has made no

secret so far as he himself was concerned, and it is unlikely that his

clergy would adopt an attitude different to his own. Neutrality he

makes the buttress of his position, professing a total disregard for

politics; his whole concern being the spreading of the Church's

influence and the refutation of heresy. Of this, a perusal of the

Bishop's own statement is the least devious road to proof:

On January 1840 Captain Hobson arrived at the Bay of Islands with the

qualification of English Consul and Vice-Governor of New Zealand,

under the immediate control of the Governor of Sydney in New Holland.

The corvette, the _Herald_, brought Captain Hobson and all the

members of his approaching administration. The Protestant

Missionaries spread the report amongst the natives that this time the

Catholic Bishop was going to be taken out of the country by the

English man-o'-war which lay at anchor off the coast. They said also

that I would not dare to appear at the public meetings that the new

Governor was going to hold with the Maori chiefs and the whites, to

talk over with them his plans for the Colonial administration of New

Zealand. All the natives in the country were astonished both at the

arrival of a strange Governor, and at the strange reports that were

flying about. The day after his arrival, the Maori chiefs received

printed letters from Captain Hobson, inviting them to meet at a place

in the Bay called "Waitangi," where a treaty was to be read to them

in their own language, and afterwards signed by them. Many of the

Catholic chiefs came to consult me, above all the great chief Rewa.

They asked me what was to be done under the circumstances in which

their country was placed, and whether they ought or not to sign. I

answered them that these were political matters which were outside my

province. I was only in this country to pasture souls in the word of

God, and direct them in the faith, morality, and the Catholic

discipline, confer the sacraments of salvation on persons of

whatsoever nationality who should have recourse to my ministry in a

proper disposition, and that there ended my divine mission. It was

for them to determine what they might desire to do with their

national sovereignty; whether to keep it or to transfer it to a

foreign nation; they were therefore at liberty to sign or not, to

sign the treaty which was going to be put before them; that for

myself and my clergy we were prepared to exercise our ministry of

salvation for those who signed in the same manner as for those who

did not sign. In a word, we were prepared to instruct them in the

faith whether they continued to be New Zealanders or became English.

Now in this way I kept myself entirely aloof from politics, and the

people were at liberty to do as seemed best to them, with regard to

their social state of life, and I remained free in what concerned my

ministry for the spiritual and Christian life they had to follow in

the Catholic Church. I went dressed in my Episcopal cassock, to the

great meeting of the chiefs of the Bay of Islands with the whites,

over which Captain Hobson presided. His Excellency was surrounded by

the officers of the corvette and by a number of Protestant

Missionaries. My coming was a great surprise to the latter, and to

the natives who had heard that I should never dare to appear there.

Captain Hobson received me with much civility and respect, and caused

me to be put in a place of distinction. A political treaty which the

English Government wished to conclude with the Maoris was read and

explained to them. By virtue of this treaty the Maoris became English

subjects; they remained masters of their landed property, but they

were not allowed to sell, as formerly to private purchasers. If they

desired to sell any of their land they could only do so with the

consent of the Colonial Government.

While the speeches were being made on behalf of Captain Hobson and

the chiefs of the Maori tribes I remained silent; I had nothing to

say; they were simply about political matters. One question, however,

interested me deeply, it was that of religious freedom about which no

one in any way seemed to trouble themselves. Before the last meeting

broke up, and it became a question of signing the treaty I broke

silence. I addressed Captain Hobson, begging him to make known to all

the people the principles of European civilisation which obtain in

Great Britain, and which would guarantee free and equal protection to

the Catholics as to every other religion in New Zealand. My demand

was immediately acceded to by Captain Hobson, who made a formal

notification of it to all the assembled people, to the great

satisfaction of all the Catholic chiefs and tribes, who triumphed in

the fact of my presence in the face of the Protestant Missionaries,

and at the speedy compliance with the few words I had spoken. As to

the political treaty, was it or was it not understood by the natives?

That is a mystery difficult to solve. The result was that some chiefs

signed it and some did not. But the Catholic religion gained instead

of losing its dignity and its influence over the minds of the people.

When a certain number of natives had signed the treaty the

sovereignty of England over the whole of New Zealand was declared by

a salvo of artillery fired by the corvette _Herald_. The English

flag floated over the country, and Mr. Hobson took the title of

Vice-Governor of New Zealand. As for myself, I exercised my ministry

as freely as before over all parts of this large archipelago. The

Governor seemed to have a particular regard for the Catholic Bishop.

His Excellency promised that my future missionary vessel should be

free from all imposts, and that everything that came to me from

beyond the country for the purpose of my labours should be free from

duty. My position at this time disappointed not a little the ill-will

of those who had spread sinister reports about myself and my clergy,

some weeks before. The people became more and more confident in the

idea that Protestantism had always been deceiving them. They saw,

moreover, that we had come to New Zealand but for them and the ends

of salvation, in favour of every soul that lived in the country, not

troubling ourselves as to what national flag they belonged. They saw

in our hands but one standard, that of the cross that leads to

Heavenly glory. At one time they had said the Catholic had come to

seize upon the sovereignty of New Zealand, and they beheld him

remaining and working just as before, after possession had been

taken. Many natives in their uprightness said, "It was all very well

for the Protestant Ministers to tell us so much about the Catholic

Bishop taking our country, but on the contrary, it was themselves, in

their own nation who took it from us." From all these new

circumstances there resulted on the part of the people, English and

Maoris, but especially the latter, more esteem, more confidence, more

attention for the Bishop and the Catholic Clergy.[116]

The Bishop's publicly expressed views receive valuable confirmation

from Captain Lavaud, of the French frigate _L'Aube_ which reached

the Bay of Islands in July 1840. After paying his respects to the

Lieutenant-Governor, the Captain proceeded to the Bishop's house and

there had an interview with the prelate, the substance of which he

subsequently reported in the following terms to the French Minister of

Marine:

I arrived at the Bishop's only in the afternoon, so long is the

passage from Russell-town to Kororareka against contrary winds and

tide. I was curious and impatient to hear what he might have to

communicate to me. Still I was reassured as to the situation in which

he found himself placed with regard to the authorities, by the very

pleasing manner in which Mr. Hobson[117] had just spoken of him to

me: the feelings of esteem and consideration which he expressed; the

respect his name evoked from all those present, and the well-deserved

praise they gave to his character and his tolerance. Compared with

the Anglican Missionaries he was the real good man, the friend of the

poor and of the savages, having no other ambition than to call to the

Catholic faith and to civilisation the natives, to whose happiness he

consecrates his existence, hoping to receive in the other world a

reward which his adversaries prefer to taste in this one. Their

evangelic labours are thus always accompanied by schemes of

aggrandisement of luxury, and of riches, things in which they have

until now made considerable progress. To stop them nothing less was

necessary than the prohibition of the Queen (of England) forbidding

them henceforth to acquire land from the natives, and limiting the

holdings to 2500 acres. These gentlemen were indeed not slow to

notice that though they were occult instruments of British power in

New Zealand, they were its first victims. One must not, however,

believe that the Anglican, Wesleyan, Methodist, and other

Missionaries occupy themselves exclusively, and all of them, with

speculations and means of making their fortunes; they also occupy

themselves with the instruction of the people, but I shall have

opportunity later on of returning to this subject. On my arrival at

Bishop Pompallier's I received the marks of kindness which that

excellent pastor lavishes on all his fellow-countrymen. He thanked me

more than it was necessary for him to do for all my care and

attention towards the priests during the voyage, and he did not

conceal from me that this little increase of subjects sent out to him

by the Marist community had been so necessary for so long a time that

it was no longer by twos, but by tens and even twenties that priests

ought to be sent out to him to help him to save the people of New

Zealand, of whom 25,000 were already on the way to Catholicism. He

also told me how grateful he was to the French Government for the

protection it granted him, as well as to his mission in these seas.

He spoke to me of the acts of kindness of the King, of the Queen and

the Royal family, and principally of the interest H.R.H. Madam

Adelaide was taking in the success of his labours. I took great

pleasure in listening to Monsignor Pompallier on this subject, but I

had not lost sight of the fact that he must have other things whereof

to inform me. I, too, since I had seen Captain Hobson, was rather

eager for news, and curious to know the mission of the _Herald_. I

therefore profited by the first opportunity I had to ask the Bishop

to speak to me about the political events of this country, but

Monsignor is like they all are, he loves his Mission, his successes,

his hopes, and it was with difficulty he decided upon changing the

subject of conversation, but at last he did it most graciously. I

learned thus from him, that from the month of February 1839, Captain

Hobson, who had arrived some days previously in the Bay of Islands,

with the title of "Consul" had assumed the rank of Lieutenant-Governor

of the Islands of New Zealand conferred on him by the gracious will

of the Queen; that an assembly presided over by him, and attended by

most of the great chiefs of the North Island, as well as several

Europeans of distinction, Monsignor himself included, had taken

place, the aim of which was to make known to the New Zealand chiefs

that the Queen would grant her powerful protection to the New Zealand

tribes who had solicited it, only under the condition that the treaty

proposed to them would inform them that H.B.M. would extend her

sovereignty over the Islands of New Zealand only as far as these

chiefs would consent to sign it. I here transcribe this official

document, yet but little known, and so singularly reproduced by some

persons.[118]

It will be noticed that at the Assembly of which I have just spoken,

which was held in Busby's in Wai-Tanghi, there was not one single

Frenchman, except Monsignor. They thought by their absence (at least

that was their intention) to protest against what was taking place.

The Bishop who certainly was not obliged to inform me of the motives

that made him act differently, told me, however, that having received

a special invitation from Mr. Hobson, he thought he ought not to

refuse his presence, inasmuch as his Mission was quite a spiritual

one, and that his being an ecclesiast put him outside of all

politics, and that it was most necessary for the success of

Catholicism in this country that all should be convinced that in that

respect he was perfectly indifferent, that every day he was trying to

avoid giving his conduct the slightest doubt of the purity of his

intentions, that besides in the assembly Captain Hobson had in his

address to the New Zealand chiefs, of whom several were Catholics,

informed them that Bishop Pompallier, pointing him out, would remain

amongst them, that he would be protected there, as well as the

religion he preached, in the same manner as the British Missionaries

and their co-religionists. At this assembly the New Zealanders

appeared uneasy and anxious to know how the meeting would end,

during which several speeches were delivered by the chiefs, partly to

the Governor and partly to the New Zealanders themselves. At one

moment it was feared the treaty would be rejected. Several chiefs

spoke against it, and one of the most prominent, Rewa-Rewa, went as

far as to say, "Let us drive away the white chief. What does he come

here for? To take away from us the liberty you are enjoying. Do not

believe his words. Do you not see that, later on, he will use you to

break stones on the roads?"

This chief belonged to the Catholic religion, but his allocution was

opposed by two of the principal chiefs of the Island, and of the

district of Hokiangha, as well as by Pomare the nephew of the

celebrated chief of that name of Kawa-Kawa, in the Bay of Islands,

all partisans of the Williams Mission. This allocution (Rewa's) did

not have the success he expected for it, and the acceptance took

place, although without enthusiasm, by the majority of the members of

the assembly. Several gave their adhesion by signing the treaty,

others retired without signing, and already on the following day,

after a few small gifts, the sovereignty of H.M. the Queen of England

was proclaimed over the North Island of New Zealand. Eye-witnesses

report that this declared sovereignty is a conjuring trick on the

part of Captain Hobson, but in that case, at least we must admit that

the trick was played rapidly and skilfully enough. Other official

declarations were made on the same subject.

Here then are the facts--conflicting it is true--from which no doubt

conclusions equally conflicting will be drawn. Having regard to the

high character of the Bishop it is inconceivable that he would desire

to do anything but that which was right. It is, however, equally

possible that he experienced a difficulty in completely suppressing

his national feelings, and that he had unconsciously created for

himself the paradoxical position of being neutral as an ecclesiastic,

and yet hostile as a Frenchman.

Along the populous shores of the Bay of Plenty, and in the interior

behind Tauranga, Hobson had as his allies the Revs. Brown and Stack,

while William Williams[119] carried the treaty from _hapu_ to _hapu_

through the rugged country on the eastern coast between East Cape and

Ahuriri.[120] In a like manner upon Missionaries Chapman and Morgan

devolved the onerous task of bringing the turbulent Arawas at Rotorua

into line. The manner in which these minor envoys laboured, and the

extent to which they succeeded is modestly told in their letters to

the Lieutenant-Governor; but this much must in justice be said, that

though their proceedings were necessarily less picturesque in their

setting, and less sensational in their climax, they were equally

sincere with those who garnered in the wider fields, and who in

consequence have loomed more prominently in the historical

perspective.

A mission upon a more extensive scale and one fraught with more

important issues was entrusted to the Rev. Henry Williams. To this

virile Missionary was allotted the task of bearding the lion in his

den, for the Lieutenant-Governor had every reason to believe that the

officers of the New Zealand Company would use whatever influence they

possessed to prevent the consummation of a policy which in its

ultimate effects they surmised would be so prejudicial to their own.

For this assumption events proved there was only too much justification.

The Government had, however, put its hand to the plough; and in Mr.

Williams, Colonel Wakefield found a match both in determination and

diplomacy.

A small schooner, the _Ariel_, owned and sailed by Captain

Clayton, was chartered for the journey, and late in March they set

off, calling at Tauranga and Poverty Bay _en route_, leaving

copies of the treaty for local circulation as they went. The

_Ariel_ reached Port Nicholson late in April, her coming being by

no means a welcome circumstance to the principal agent of the Company.

The first meeting between Colonel Wakefield and the Missionary took

place on the Saturday after arrival, at the house of Mr. Hunter, and

was more animated than friendly. The former had either not yet

received--or chose to ignore--the private instructions of his

superiors in England, to afford Captain Hobson all the aid and

assistance in his power towards the attainment of British

sovereignty.[121]

For ten days the Colonel doggedly held on his course of opposition,

during which time there was a frequent clash of wordy weapons, the

soldier seeking to vindicate the independence of his settlement on the

ground that they had acquired their rights from the chiefs prior to

the intervention of the Crown; the missionary maintaining that no such

rights could be acquired by British subjects without the consent of

the Sovereign.

Whether or not the constitutional nature of this argument appealed to

the Colonel, it is impossible to say. In all probability it did not,

but there are ample reasons for concluding that the governing

influence in his conduct was a desire to obtain possession of a block

of forty acres of land in what was then the most valuable portion of

the infant settlement of Wellington, and to which Mr. Williams had

acquired an undoubted title. Wakefield's subsequent actions at least

indicate that his surrender did not carry with it his conversion to

the treaty, which he still strove to persuade himself could not affect

the purchases of the Company. But whatever the considerations that

influenced him, just as the Missionary was preparing to depart in

disgust, he at length[122] consented to withdraw his objections to

the chiefs considering the treaty, and retracting what Mr. Williams

has been pleased to designate as his "insolent" remarks.

The character of the terms in which the Colonel was likely to address

the Missionary may be judged from a paragraph in a letter indicted by

him to his directors on May 25, 1840, in which he declares: "I cannot

express to you the feelings of repugnance entertained by the

respectable colonists who came into contact with Mr. Williams, towards

him, on account of his selfish views, his hypocrisy, and unblushing

rapaciousness. He frequently said that finding I had been before him

in the purchase of land in the Strait without consulting him, he had

endeavoured to do the best for himself, and had disparaged the Company

and its settlers to the natives. On the whole, it was only by a great

effort, and in the hope of benefiting the colony that I could bring

myself to hold any terms with this worst of land-sharks."[123]

The hostility of the Company's principal agent once removed,

thirty-two of the chiefs signed the treaty readily enough on the 29th

of the month, the impression made on Mr. Williams's mind being "that

they were much gratified that protection was now afforded to them in

common with Her Majesty's subjects."

In his marked antipathy to Mr. Williams and all that he did Colonel

Wakefield has endeavoured to deprecate the value of these proceedings

in his report to his superiors, wherein he takes the responsibility of

saying, "The natives executed some paper, the purport of which they

were totally ignorant," and insinuates that the whole transaction took

place in an underhand way and had neither the countenance nor the

assistance of the colonists.

The _Ariel_ then crossed over to Queen Charlotte Sound, "where,"

says Mr. Williams in his Memoir, "we saw all who were to be seen

there. We crossed over to Kapiti, Waikanae, and Otaki the stations of

the Rev. O. Hadfield. The treaty was explained at all these places and

signed.[124] On this visit I saw in the Bank at Wellington a map of

New Zealand about six feet in length, and was told by the authorities

of the New Zealand Company that the coloured portion was the property

of the Company from the 38° to the 42° parallel of latitude. At this

time there was no one in connection with their Company who knew

anything of the language. A man named Barret could speak a few words

in the most ordinary form. This man alone was the medium of

communication between the Maoris and the Company in all their affairs,

and the deeds of purchase were drawn up in English, not one word of

which was understood by the Maoris."

It had been Mr. Williams's intention, after completing the collection

of the signatures in the vicinity of Cook Strait, to proceed to the

far South, soliciting the assent of the Ngai-Tahu tribe to the terms

of the treaty. To this end he had already entered into an arrangement

with Captain Clayton, who like the loyal sailor he was, readily agreed

to forgo his more lucrative coastal trade in order that his vessel

might remain at the disposal of the Government. Before this section of

the voyage could be undertaken, however, it was ascertained that the

Governor, deeming the mission worthy of some more ostentatious display

of power than could be effected by a schooner, had commissioned Major

Bunbury of the 80th Regiment to sail with Captain Nias in Her

Majesty's frigate _Herald_,[125] for the purpose of visiting the more

important Southern settlements.

On hearing of this, Mr. Williams returned with all expedition to his

duties at Waimate, which place he reached on June 10, bringing with

him the famous Ngati-Awa chief, Wiremu Kingi, whose anxiety to see the

Governor had induced him to travel all the roadless miles which lay

between Waikanae and the Bay of Islands.

On the submission of his report to the Governor, Mr. Williams was the

recipient of the most hearty congratulations from Captain Hobson, who

recognised in the service of the Missionary an arduous task well and

faithfully performed in the interests of the Crown.

On the morning of April 28 the _Herald_ left her anchorage in the

outer harbour of the Bay of Islands, carrying with her Major Bunbury,[126]

commissioned to accept the signatures of the Southern chiefs; Mr.

Edward Marsh Williams engaged to act as interpreter, and a small

company of marines whose presence it was thought would add somewhat to

the impressiveness of the occasion. Captain Nias was authorised "to

display the force of his ship along the coast," and Major Bunbury was

furnished with complete instructions for the governance of his conduct

in all his negotiations with the native people, which needless to say,

were to be continued along the strictly honourable lines which had

hitherto been observed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Pursuant to these

instructions the _Herald_ entered the Coromandel harbour next day

(30th), and Major Bunbury, accompanied by Mr. Williams, landed at the

house of Mr. Webster, an American whose claims to land in New Zealand

have since been the subject of searching enquiry by his own country.

The purpose of this visit was to arrange a time and place at which the

chiefs might be invited to a _korero_. Monday May 4, and Mr. Webster's

establishment were selected to fill these essentials, and messengers

were accordingly despatched to the various surrounding _pas_ to bid

the chiefs to the conference. Hearing that the Scottish exile, Captain

Stewart, the discoverer of the southern Island which bears his name,

was at Mercury Bay, a special messenger was hurried off to him

requesting that he would pilot the _Herald_ in these waters, and

likewise use his influence with the chiefs of Mercury Bay in the

direction of securing their presence at the meeting, to both of which

the sealer Captain gave a ready response.

"On the day appointed," so writes the Major, "Captain Nias, with

several officers of the ship, together with Mr. Williams and myself,

went on shore at 11 o'clock, but no native chiefs had at that hour

assembled. A considerable number of Europeans appeared, however, to

have been attracted by the report of the expected meeting.

Subsequently a number of natives did assemble with six chiefs of

different tribes. Mr. Williams explained the treaty; its object in

consequence of the increasing influx of strangers; and that the claim

for pre-emption on the part of the Crown was intended to check their

imprudently selling their lands without sufficiently benefiting

themselves or obtaining a fair equivalent. After a variety of

objections on the part of the chiefs we succeeded in obtaining the

signatures of four, one of these being the principal chief of the

district the celebrated Horeta,[127] of Bannin's Island notoriety. The

principal orator, an old chief named Piko, and another of inferior

note, refused to sign, alleging as a reason that they wanted more time

to assemble the different tribes of the Thames district, and to

consult with them, when they would also sign; but that he could, for

himself, see no necessity for placing himself under the dominion of

any prince or queen, as he was desirous of governing his own tribe."

This policy of procrastination was obviously induced by the

intelligence which had reached them of the arrest at the Bay of

Islands of a native, Kiti, for the murder of Mr. Williams's shepherd,

Patrick Macdonald, and of his trial and subsequent condemnation. They

did not complain of the injustice of the punishment, but the whole

proceeding was so novel in its character, and so dubious in its

ultimate result that they felt prudence warranted a deeper reflection

than the subject had yet received. They therefore hesitated before

committing themselves to a policy, the end whereof they could not see.

There was also a passing difficulty with those chiefs who signed the

treaty, for these gentlemen elected to entertain so exalted an idea of

the Queen's munificence that they deemed the homely blanket offered to

them as being altogether unworthy of so great a Sovereign's

generosity, and expressed a decided preference for forage caps and

scarlet cloaks. There was greater unanimity displayed over the feast

of pork and potatoes which Major Bunbury had thoughtfully provided for

their entertainment before he left.

After completing arrangements for securing the signatures of a few

eligible chiefs who were living near the Mission station of the Rev.

Mr. Preece, Major Bunbury, late in the evening of Friday the 8th, took

his departure from Coromandel in the schooner _Trent_, chartered

from Captain Bateman, and coasted round to Tauranga, a district where,

in consequence of a war with the Rotorua people, the claims of the

Crown had not been enthusiastically received. On Sunday, at nightfall,

the vessel arrived at the entrance of the harbour, but prudent

seamanship dictated the wisdom of remaining in the offing till the

morning, when the treaty party landed at the Mission station and were

welcomed by Mr. Stack.

"I was agreeably surprised," wrote Major Bunbury to Captain Hobson,

"to learn that most of the native chiefs in this neighbourhood had

already signed the treaty, the exception being the principal chief,

and one or two of his friends at the Omimoetoi (Otumoetai) _pa_. This

_pa_ we visited the same evening, accompanied by Mr. Stack. It was a

very extensive fortification, and appears to contain about one

thousand men. The chief who had declined signing is a very young man,

and his manner was timidly reserved and less prepossessing than most

of those I had before seen. On our taking leave he made the usual

remark, that he wanted to consult the other chiefs, and that he would

meet us with them at the Mission station on the morrow. On the

following day he did not speak until the close of the conference, and

then only in private to Mr. Williams--after Mr. Stack and I had left

them--to enquire how much he was to get for his signature.[128]

Another chief expressed some indignation because the Christian chiefs

had not--as he said--met them. I presume he meant those from the other

_pa_ where Mr. Stack's influence was supposed to extend more than to

his own, and where a Roman Catholic European residentiary and the

Catholic Bishop are supposed to have more influence."

A third chief, evidently of an enquiring mind, created some amusement

by his quaint method of arriving at a complete analysis of the

position. The debate had to all appearances closed--his own speech

being no small contribution to the oratory of the day--and he was

approached with a view to securing his signature, he firmly deprecated

everything in the nature of hurry, and calmly _taihoa-ed_[129]

the whole proceeding.

"Now first let us talk a little," he said. "Who was the first stranger

who visited our shores?"

On being told it was Captain Cook, he continued, "And who was Cook's

king, was he not Georgi?"

To this a reply was returned in the affirmative. "And who then," he

asked, "is this Queen?"

Major Bunbury took some trouble to explain to him that the King George

to whom he referred had been dead for some years, as also his two sons

George IV. and William IV., who had succeeded him on the throne, and

that the present Queen now reigned because she was the next in line to

these dead monarchs.

This modest little dissertation on the Royal genealogy appeared to

satisfy him on that point, for he immediately adverted to the native

wars, and more particularly to their own hostilities with the Rotorua

tribes. Major Bunbury assured him that one of the principal objects of

his mission was to persuade all the tribes at present at war to accept

the mediation of the Governor, and to induce them to abide by his

decision.

"If then your nation is so fond of peace, why have you introduced into

this country firearms and gunpowder?" was his pertinent rejoinder.

To this Major Bunbury replied that the effects of this traffic had

been much deplored by Her Majesty's Government, who were most anxious

to mitigate its consequences by substituting justice and a regular

form of government in their country for the anarchy which had

prevailed, but this could only be done by the surrender of the

sovereign rights to the Queen as asked for in the treaty.

His next enquiry was whether the Queen governed all the white nations?

"Not all," replied Major Bunbury, "but she is the Queen of the most

powerful white nation." The Major then went on to explain that Britain

had acknowledged the Maoris as an independent nation, but that

arrangement had proved abortive in consequence of the native wars and

their want of cohesion. To themselves alone therefore were to be

attributed the evils from which they suffered. As a corrective for

these political troubles the Government had not leagued themselves

with other white nations to force an unwelcome authority upon them,

but they had come direct to the Maoris themselves, and asked them as

a spontaneous gift to vest in Britain the power to avert the evils

which were assuredly accumulating round them; evils due to the

increasing influx of the _Pakeha_, and who must otherwise remain

subject to no law and amenable to no control.

"On being told," continues Major Bunbury's report, "that I was a chief

of a body of soldiers, and that I had served under the monarchs

already named, he enquired should his tribe, agreeable to my request,

abstain from making war upon the natives at Rotorua, would the

Governor send a portion of my force to protect them? I told them Your

Excellency desired rather to mediate between them, and only in cases

of extreme emergency would you be prevailed upon to act in any other

manner. If, however, your arbitration was applied for I had no doubt

the custom of their country would be complied with, by your insisting

on a compensation being made to the party injured, by the party

offending."

Major Bunbury then dwelt upon the sale of native lands, and the right

of pre-emption claimed for the Queen, explaining that this restriction

was intended equally for their benefit, and to encourage industrious

white men to settle amongst them to teach them arts, and how to

manufacture those articles which were so much sought after and admired

by them. This course, he pointed out, was preferable to leaving the

sale of large tracts of country to themselves, when they would almost

surely pass into the hands of men who would never come amongst them,

but would by their speculations hamper the industrious. The Government

being aware of the intentions of these men--many of whom had no doubt

counselled them against signing the treaty--would nevertheless

unceasingly exert themselves to mitigate the evils following in the

train of the speculators, by purchasing the land directly from the

natives at a more just valuation.

To this the Nestor of the tribe replied that there was but cold

comfort in that for them, as their lands had already gone to the white

men, but the land had been fairly sold and fairly bought.

[Illustration: MAJOR BUNBURY, K.T.S.]

Feeling that he had now said all that he could say of a nature likely

to influence the chiefs, and knowing the constitutional abhorrence on

the part of the Maori to hurry in such matters, Major Bunbury

intimated that he had still another _pa_ to visit, and departed,

leaving Mr. Williams to answer any new points which might be evolved

in the fertile brain of the men who spoke for the tribe. Their further

deliberations, however, took a pecuniary rather than a legal turn.

Presents were demanded, and when Mr. Williams indicated that Major

Bunbury would doubtless arrange that Mr. Stack should distribute his

gifts to those entitled to receive them the sceptical diplomat, who

believed in having his bird in the hand, was candid enough to remark

that he was not enamoured of prospects so remote.

Before leaving the district Major Bunbury visited the chiefs of the

Maungatapu _pa_, a stronghold of great strength, peopled by a

tribe of considerable importance. These men being well disposed

towards the Government had, with two exceptions, previously signed the

treaty, and their reception of the Governor's representative was most

cordial. The hospitality of his table was offered by Nuka, the

principal chief, whose engaging manners and admirable bearing so

impressed the visitor that he estimated his good-will as worth

securing at the cost of "some mark of distinction" if ever it came

within the policy of the Government to so honour the more discerning

of the chiefs.

"I have deemed it expedient to enter more fully into the detail of

this conference," wrote the Major to the Lieutenant-Governor in rebuke

of the disloyal speculators, "as one which not only shows fully the

general character of the natives, but also the nature of the obstacles

I may hereafter expect to meet when principles alien to the Government

have been instilled by interested Europeans into their minds, as

exemplified also at Coromandel Harbour. Neither will I disguise from

Your Excellency my regrets that men professing Christianity should, in

a country emerging from barbarity, whose inhabitants are scarcely able

to comprehend the simplest doctrines of the Christian religion,

endeavour to create distrust of its Ministers--of whatever

persuasion--Christianity in any shape, with these people being better

than the deplorable condition of many of them at present. It is not

the specious professions of a religion which asserts itself

unconnected with civil Government which should blind us to the

political disunion it creates, but rather its sincerity should be

tested by its acts and their effects whether it seeks to open a new

field of labour before uncultivated, or to paralyse the efforts of

those who have laboured to improve the soil by establishing themselves

upon it. The latter I conceive is incompatible with such professions,

while this country contains so vast a field untried, but still it is

to be hoped reclaimable."

At the conclusion of the Tauranga conference Major Bunbury resumed his

journey towards the south, the Missionaries being commissioned by him

to continue their negotiations for signatures as opportunity offered.

With the Arawa people at Rotorua, they had but poor success, for the

reason that the members of that tribe were not altogether free to

exercise their own will. Worsted in recent wars by Hongi and other

victorious chiefs, the Arawas had in self-defence sought an alliance

with the great Te Heuheu, of Taupo, whose protecting _mana_ was

at this time thrown over them, and fearful lest they might forfeit his

good-will should they adopt a course to which they had every reason to

believe their ally was hostile, they refused to subscribe to the

treaty until the voice of Te Heuheu had been heard. This leads us to a

point where it will be convenient to consider the attitude adopted

towards the treaty by this remarkable man.

Te Heuheu Tukino was the second chief of that name, and was a leader

endowed with exceptional power, being large of body and of brain. His

home was on the shores of Lake Taupo, and by claiming certain

geographical features as portions of his own body, he had thereby

rendered his domain sacred, and so limited the right to dispose of it

to himself. He was not amongst the chiefs present at Waitangi, for

under the limited notice given by Captain Hobson, that was not

possible. It is even within the bounds of probability that had the

messengers of the Lieutenant-Governor reached him he would have

dismissed them as they came, for of this he was firmly convinced--that

he was "a law unto himself," asserting his own _rangatiratanga_ as

sufficiently strong to rule his own people, for which he neither

needed nor desired foreign assistance. His first introduction to the

treaty came to him through his younger brother Iwikau, who, together

with another chief of Taupo, Te Korohiko, were at the then small

settlement which has now grown into the city of Auckland, when they

were met by Captain Hobson's messengers, and invited to Waitangi.

Iwikau and his companion was in charge of a company of Taupo natives

who had gone to the shores of Waitemata harbour for the purpose of

acquiring European goods. They had packed bundles of flax fibre on the

backs of their slaves, who had carried this medium of trade over

trackless miles to the coast in order that it might be exchanged for

guns and powder. While trafficking with the _Pakehas_ news came of the

projected meeting at Waitangi, and some of the Nga-Puhi chiefs--so we

are told--thus addressed Iwikau: "Go you to Waitangi, for you are the

fish of the stomach of the island.[130] The _mana_ of Queen Victoria

is about to be drawn as a cover over the island. All we chiefs of the

native people will pass under her and her _mana_, that we may not be

assailed by the other great nations of the world."

To this Iwikau answered: "I will not be able to attend that meeting if

such is its object, namely consenting to the _mana_ of Queen

Victoria being placed over us. The right man to consent to or reject

such a course is my elder brother, Te Heuheu, at Taupo; and any action

on my part might be condemned by him."

This objection was combated by the messengers from Nga-Puhi, who

replied: "By all means go, that you may acquire red blankets to take

back to your elder brother at Taupo."

Iwikau was still obdurate, feeling that he had no authority to

compromise his tribe in the absence of his superior chief, but the

vision of the red blankets was more than Te Korohiko could resist, and

he joined to those of the Nga-Puhi chiefs his own solicitations: "Oh,

let us go that we may acquire the red blankets."

This appeal finally broke down the resistance of Iwikau. They attended

the conference at Waitangi, and amongst others of influential rank

were invited to sign the treaty. Before signing, Iwikau remarked to

Captain Hobson, "I have heard the payment for the chiefs' consent to

the Queen's rule consists of blankets." To which the Queen's officer,

always anxious that his presents should not be misunderstood, replied,

"No, not exactly. The blankets are not payment, but a friendly gift to

you folks who have come from afar, and as a means of keeping you warm

on your home journey."

The point of distinction was evidently neither so wide nor so fine as

to cause Iwikau any alarm, and he signed the document with a portion

of his _moko_, his clan being Ngati-Turumakina. Te Korohiko also

signed, and when the gathering had broken up they returned to Taupo to

report their proceedings. They met Te Heuheu at Rangiahua, his

_pa_ at Te Rapa, where he stood in the midst of the assembled

people, a giant amongst men. When the self-constituted ambassadors had

concluded their explanations, and produced their blankets the storm

which Iwikau had secretly feared burst upon them.

"What amazing conduct is this of yours? Were you two, indeed, sent to

perform such acts? O say! O say! is it for you to place the _mana_

of Te Heuheu beneath the feet of a woman. I will not agree to the

_mana_ of a strange people being placed over this land. Though

every chief in the island consent to it, yet I will not. I will

consent to neither your acts nor your goods. As for these blankets,

burn them."

Thus did Te Heuheu assert his prerogative, and scorn the interference

of the stranger, but he was soon soothed into a more reasonable frame

of mind, by Iwikau, who urged his angry brother to await future

developments when he would himself see the treaty. "Be not so severe

and you can state your thoughts to the Queen's official yourself, for

he is travelling the islands of Ao-tea-roa and Wai-pounamu, seeking

you, the surviving chieftains, that you may agree to that

marking."[131]

Te Heuheu consented to wait, and the blankets were for the moment

preserved. At length news arrived that Parore, a Nga-Puhi chief, and

the Queen's official were on their way to Rotorua to bear the treaty

to the Arawa chiefs. Then Te Heuheu thus instructed his people: "When

the officer reaches the Arawa at Rotorua I shall attend. Let the tribe

accompany me, armed, as trouble may arise over my declining to accept

the Queen's rule."

There was much burnishing of rusty arms and snapping of fire-locks at

Taupo for the next few days, in anticipation of possible contingencies,

for these inland tribes had not yet fully realised the peaceful nature

of Britain's mission. Living as they did in the centre of the Island,

they were less corrupted by the influence of the degenerate whites,

and had neither seen nor felt the need for the interposition of a

correcting hand in the same way that the imperative necessity for a

change had appealed to the residents of the coastal districts.

Neither were the tribesmen of Te Heuheu being influenced by the same

considerations that were driving Nga-Puhi to accept the gospel from

the Missionaries and the treaty from the Government. For many years

the northerners had enjoyed almost a monopoly in the business of

procuring guns, and this superiority in weapons had enabled them to

levy a bloody toll upon their southern neighbours. With the increase

of traders and the enlarged enterprise of the tribes less favourably

situated, this advantage was rapidly receding. Others were securing

guns as well as they, and the leaders of Nga-Puhi saw that the day was

not far distant when their victims would retaliate, and they would

perhaps receive as good as they had given. They therefore welcomed the

gospel as a shield, and the intervention of British authority as a

bulwark that would stand between them and their enemies whenever they

should think fit to seek satisfaction for former injuries on something

like equal terms. Not so the Taupo tribes, who were less controlled by

such motives. Their position of greater isolation gave them the

confidence begotten of a sense of greater security; they felt that

they breathed the refreshing atmosphere of a wider independence, and

were less subjected to the force of external considerations.

Moreover, the ceding of authority by treaty was an innovation dangerous

in its novelty to a people who had known no method of acquiring or

foregoing rights so effectual as conquest, and, confident in their own

strength to maintain their position by the older method, they were

less disposed to dabble in the subtleties of negotiation. With war and

its consequences they were perfectly familiar. Diplomacy they did not

understand so well; and when to the uncertainty of the procedure was

added the supposed indignity of being asked to treat with a Queen, the

haughty spirit of Te Heuheu rebelled against such a demeaning

suggestion. To submit himself to the superior authority of a chief of

his own aristocratic lineage would have been indignity enough, but to

come under the dominion of a woman was beyond the limits of toleration.

In due course a messenger reached the _pa_ with the intelligence

that the Missionaries at Rotorua had received a copy of the treaty,

whereupon Te Heuheu set off with five hundred picked men, prepared to

resist to the uttermost should an attempt be made to compel his

submission to the Queen. On reaching the Papai-o-Uru _pa_ at

Ohinemutu, the discussion began, after the ceremonial of welcoming the

strangers had been concluded. The copy of the treaty which the Arawas

were being invited to sign, had been entrusted to Messrs. Morgan and

Chapman, the Church Missionaries, and to them Te Amohau and Te Haupapa

addressed themselves on behalf of their tribe: "The Arawa people have

nothing to say in regard to your object. The Arawa will await the

word of Te Heuheu Tukino, and will abide by what he says to you."

Te Heuheu arose with stately grace, and repeated an ancient chant,

revered amongst the sacred _karakia_ of the Maori, and known as

_Hiremai_. He repeated it to the end, all ears being strained to

detect an error, the commitment of which would have boded evil, but he

went on faultless to the finish. Leaping to their feet his warriors

then indulged in mock passages-at-arms, and when this form of revelry

had ended the great chief delivered his judgment upon the treaty:

"_Hau wahine e hoki i te hau o Tawhaki_. I will never consent to

the _mana_ of a woman resting upon these islands. I myself will

be a chief of these isles; therefore, begone! Heed this, O ye Arawa.

Here is your line of action, the line for the Arawa canoe. Do not

consent, or we will become slaves for this woman, Queen Victoria."

Te Pukuatua then rose and gave the final answer for his tribe:

"Listen, O Parore, you and your _Pakeha_ companions. The Arawa

have nothing to add to the words of Te Heuheu. His words denying the

_mana_ of the Queen are also our words. As he is not willing to

write his name upon your treaty, neither will the chiefs of the Arawa

come forward to sign."

Then turning to Te Heuheu he added: "Hear me, O Heu. The Arawas have

nothing to say, for you are the person of the Arawa canoe."

The blankets given to Iwikau, at Waitangi, were returned to the

Missionaries by Te Heuheu, with the remark: "I am not willing that

your blankets should be received as payment for my head and these

Islands," and with this embargo put upon their operations, the agents

of the Lieutenant-Governor were unable to secure a single Arawa

signature to the treaty.

The fiat of Te Heuheu went even far beyond the steaming waters of

Rotorua, for at Tauranga upon the coast there lived Tupaea, a chief of

the Ngai-te-Rangi, whom because of his influence the Missionaries were

particularly anxious to enlist as a subject of the Queen. He too hung

upon the words of Te Heuheu, and when he was approached he made answer

thus: "What did Te Heuheu say to you at Rotorua?"

The reply was: "Te Heuheu did not consent."

"And what of the Arawa chiefs?" asked Tupaea.

"They followed the word of Te Heuheu," replied the Missionaries.

"Then," said Tupaea, "I will not agree to the chiefs of Ngai-te-Rangi

signing the treaty of Waitangi," a decision from which neither he nor

his people could ever be induced to depart.[132]

In the meantime the _Herald_ had left the Auckland waters, and

made her way to the south, arriving off Banks's Peninsula during the

night of the 24th. Calms and storms alternately intercepted her

progress, and it was not until the 28th that Major Bunbury was able to

disembark at Akaroa, accompanied by Mr. Edward Williams and Captain

Stewart, whose personal acquaintance with the Southern chiefs and

their altered dialect[133] was destined to be of great service in

promoting a common understanding.

At Akaroa they found a native _pa_ in which lived a remnant of

the Ngai-Tahu people, broken by the last raid of Te Rauparaha, a

whaling station, and a cattle run,[134] established by a Captain

Lethart, who had arrived from Sydney as recently as the previous

November. The visitors were more favourably impressed with the

condition of Lethart's cattle than with the appearance of the

natives, who were so dejected by their misfortunes as to consider

themselves almost destitute of rights and without a name. The

signature of Iwikau, a brother of Tamiaharanui, the chief who was

conveyed captive by Te Rauparaha in the blood-stained _Elizabeth_, was

obtained, as well as that of John Love, another native less highly

born, but more richly endowed with intelligence. These two signatures

Major Bunbury conceived to be of considerable consequence to his

purpose, although from the diminished number of the tribe the men

themselves scarcely laid claim to the rank of chief.

Southward the frigate again sailed, and on June 4 cast anchor in

Zephyr Bay, a beautiful inlet at Southern Port, Stewart's Island.

Accompanied by Captain Stewart, who was now in latitudes peculiarly

his own, Major Bunbury landed next morning, and set out to visit a

station in the harbour, distant four or five miles, where for some

time Stewart had employed a number of boat-builders, and who, it was

hoped, might still be there. Vestiges of their former residence were

found but that was all. Their camp was deserted, their industry

abandoned, and no sound broke the stillness of the primeval forest

save the flick of a bird's wing, or the screech of the brightly

plumaged parrakeet.

Several excursions were made to other parts of the island, but no

natives were met with, either upon the shores of the sheltered coves,

or within the generous shade of the bush, and Major Bunbury returned

to the ship for the first time without having added a signature as a

trophy in the cause of the Queen's sovereignty.

Aided by his own experience, and fortified by the local knowledge of

Captain Stewart, Major Bunbury concluded that the prospect of meeting

with any chief in the apparently deserted island was so slight as not

to warrant the delay involved in the search. He therefore consulted

with Captain Nias, and together they agreed that it would be advisable

to proclaim without protraction the Queen's authority over a territory

that had impressed them both as being singularly beautiful.[135] For

this purpose, during the afternoon of the day after arrival, the

marines were landed with a party of officers from the ship which had

now been moved into Sylvan Bay. Here upon the apex of a small island

which becomes a peninsula at low water, the ceremonial forms usual to

such occasions were duly observed. The Union Jack was hoisted by

Captain Nias and saluted by the marines. A salute was also fired from

the guns of the _Herald_, and after the following declaration had been

read by Major Bunbury to the assembled sailors, Stewart's Island

became an outpost of the Empire.

DECLARATION OF SOVEREIGNTY OF THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND

OVER STEWART'S ISLAND

The Island called Stewart's Island, New Zealand, situated between the

meridian 167° and 168° east of Greenwich, and 46° and 48° south

parallel, with all the Bays, Rivers, Harbours, Creeks, etc., in and

on the islands lying off, were taken possession of in the name and in

the right (by the discovery of the late lamented Captain Cook) for

Her Most Excellent Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and

Ireland, and Her Majesty's colours were accordingly hoisted at Sylvan

Bay, Southern Port, on the 5th day of June 1840, by Captain Joseph

Nias, commanding Her Majesty's ship _Herald_, with a detachment

of Royal Marines, and by Major Thomas Bunbury, K.T.S., 80th Regiment,

who were commissioned for that purpose.

Done in the presence of us:

Peter Fisher, Lieutenant, H.M.S. _Herald_; C. Hewitt,

Lieutenant, Royal Marines, H.M.S. _Herald_; James Giles, Purser,

H.M.S. _Herald_; J. H. Shairp, Mate, H.M.S. _Herald_;

William Kelly, Gunner, H.M.S. _Herald_; John Caseley, Boatswain,

H.M.S. _Herald_; Fred. S. Grey, Volunteer, H.M.S. _Herald_.

_Witnesses._--Joseph Nias, Captain; Thomas Bunbury, Major 80th

Regiment (charged with a diplomatic Mission).

On the island eminence, where the sovereignty of the Queen had been

declared, the original of this document was buried, enclosed in a

bottle--a silent witness to be produced in the contingency of

international complications, which were then believed to be by no

means remote.

For three days the _Herald_ lay weather-bound, but on Tuesday the

9th the wind shifted to a more favourable quarter, enabling her to

leave her anchorage in Sylvan Bay and move over to Ruapuke Island, the

home of the greatest of all the Ngati-Tahu chiefs, Tu Hawaiki, more

widely known as "Bloody Jack."[136] On nearing the land a boat manned

by some natives and Europeans came off, and a Mr. Hesketh boarded the

_Herald_ and explained that they had been expecting her arrival

for some time. He represented himself as the resident agent of Jones &

Co., of Sydney, and being on intimate business relations with Tu

Hawaiki volunteered to go ashore and bring him off that evening,

leaving an English seaman, formerly in the employ of Captain Stewart,

to pilot the frigate to an anchorage. Here she lay in proximity to a

French and a Portuguese whaler, neither of which had enjoyed a

successful season:

The native village, being at some distance from an anchorage ground

Mr. Hesketh did not return until late in the evening. The chief

Tooiaki (Tu Hawaiki) came on board in the full dress staff

uniform[137] of a British aide-de-camp, with gold lace trousers,

cocked hat and plume, in which he looked extremely well, and his

behaviour at Captain Nias's table, when he took tea, showed that the

examples he had seen had not been lost upon him. He was also

accompanied by a native orderly-sergeant dressed in a corresponding

costume. The chief spoke a little English, and appeared to be aware

of the nature of the treaty, but which I thought it necessary to have

read and explained to him in the presence of Mr. Hesketh, and he

signed it without hesitation.[138]

He said he had at his village twenty men dressed and in training as

British soldiers, and was very anxious that Captain Nias should

permit them to come on board the following morning and see the

marines go through the manual and platoon exercise, which he (the

Captain) kindly acceded to. The chief then gave me a paper written in

English which he wished me to sign and affirm. It was a declaration

that the Island of Ruapuke was his property and that of his tribe, to

different individuals to whom he had allotted portions of it. Not

wishing that he should conceive that any deception was intended on

our part I wrote on the back of the document, "I have seen this paper

but am not prepared to give an opinion, or any information on the

purport of it. The treaty guarantees the full and exclusive

possession of their lands and other properties to the natives." No

mention having been made in this document to the title to the Middle

Island, although this chief styles himself the principal, I am

inclined to suppose it is claimed by some Europeans, I believe by a

Mr. Weller, of Sydney. On the chief taking leave, I told him I would

return his visit on the morrow, which I accordingly did, accompanied

by Lieutenant Hewitt, Royal Marines, and Captain Stewart, to whom the

chief was known, Mr. Williams, and an officer from the ship in charge

of the boats.

After being carried through the surf by some natives, we were

received by the chief in the same scarlet uniform he had worn the day

before, and by the sergeant who then accompanied him, at the head of

six soldiers dressed in British uniforms, without hats or shoes. The

chief took us to his cottage, a weatherboard hut, and offered us rum,

of which he appeared to have a good supply, but Mr. Hesketh, to their

credit, states that although they are not absolutely temperance men,

they seldom get drunk. I was afterwards introduced to his son, a fine

boy of about seven years of age, of whom he appears justly proud. The

child was dressed in a very becoming manner, and has six toes on each

of his feet, which his father seemed to exhibit with much

satisfaction. Rauparaha, who is a great warrior, and the mortal enemy

of this tribe, is similarly gifted with this unusual addition to his

feet. I also received from him a memorandum respecting the register

of a small craft between 25 and 30 tons, building at Mauraki (Moeraki),

which paper I beg herewith to forward.

I was very sorry to learn from the chief that a British subject,

named M'Gregor, who had been residing some years in this

neighbourhood, had suddenly disappeared with a small craft, taking

with him some of this chief's women and _kookis_ (slaves). The

vessel is without a name or register, and Captain Nias is in hopes we

may be able to meet with her. M'Gregor is reported to be a convict

escaped from Van Dieman's Land, and his conduct made the English

residing here for some time apprehensive that the chief might

retaliate on them and insist on a compensation. An Englishman, a

carpenter residing at Otakou (Otago) I hear has been shot by a native

when in a state of intoxication, but whether in connection with the

above affair or otherwise, I could not satisfactorily ascertain.

Knowing that Captain Nias was anxious to proceed on his voyage, we

were obliged to shorten our visit. The chief and his son came off

with us, and the sergeant and six of his soldiers, with two other

chiefs, came off in two whale boats, a third following with natives

bringing potatoes, etc., to the ship. The soldiers of the chief and

natives having arranged themselves on deck, the Marines went through

the manual and platoon exercise, as had been promised, and

afterwards, at my request, Captain Nias permitted a few sailors to go

through the sword exercise, which, as I had anticipated, pleased and

interested them very much, particularly the "attack" and "defence,"

the chief frequently calling to his followers to pay attention and

see how it was performed.

Whilst the ship was getting under way they took their departure, two

other chiefs[139] having also been permitted to sign at the request

of Tooiaki (Tu Hawaiki). This influential chief is one of the

individuals, who (similarly with Rauparaha in Cook Strait) have had

sufficient address to gain the ascendency over the chiefs of the

neighbouring tribes, without any claim from circumstance of birth.

Such is Major Bunbury's own account of his historic meeting with this

singular native, whom he left upon his lonely island in the midst of a

windy strait struggling between his native barbarism and an

inarticulate craving for civilisation. On the 13th the _Herald_

reached the Otago Heads, but so late in the evening that there was

only time to obtain the signatures of two chiefs who resided near the

entrance of the harbour.[140] Taiaroa was absent at Moeraki, and his

son was so far inaccessible that the limits of daylight would not

permit of his being reached. The boat, therefore, returned to the

ship, and on June 16 she dropped anchor in Cloudy Bay, then the most

important centre of European activity in the South Island.

Seven whalers were lying at anchor when the _Herald_ arrived, and

the strange admixture of humanity--the venturesome, quarrelsome,

quasi-criminal collection--which went to make up a whaling community

was forcibly impressed upon Major Bunbury when he landed at Guard's

Cove in the evening. The only chief of importance whom he met was old

Nohorua, the elder brother of Te Rauparaha, who had with him three

younger men, his nephews. Their reception of the Major was cordial

enough, but when the subject of the treaty was broached to them they

resolutely declined to attach their signatures to it, or to

countenance it in any way. This attitude was adopted under the

distinct impression that if they signed the document their lands would

be taken from them, and considering that their only experience of

deeds had been with the Sydney land sharks[141] the reservation was,

to put it mildly, a natural one.

Not having been successful in securing the immediate concurrence of

Nohorua, Major Bunbury left him in the hope that he would fulfil his

reluctant promise to visit the ship on the following day, by which

time he would have had the opportunity--dear to every Maori--of

holding a _korero_ upon the novel suggestion. Early next morning

the Major, Mr. Williams, and Captain Stewart set off for one of the

neighbouring coves, and here they met with greater success, the chiefs

signing without any hesitation when the principles of the treaty had

been explained to them. Amongst the various natives whom they

encountered was a young chief whom Major Bunbury has called Maui Pu,

who, having visited Hobart Town in the warship _Conway_, had

sufficient command of English to converse freely with the Europeans.

His sympathies were at once enlisted in support of the treaty, and

when the difficulties met with at Guard's Cove were mentioned he

expressed no surprise, as the natives had no conception of a deed that

did not mean the sacrifice of their land. He, however, offered to go

with them and assist at the second interview with Nohorua, and so

adroitly did he explain the purport of the second Article that the old

chief's objections were at length so far overcome that he agreed to

sign provided his signature was witnessed by his European son-in-law,

Joseph Toms,[142] a whaler who had interests both here and at Porirua.