Читать книгу: «The Treaty of Waitangi; or, how New Zealand became a British Colony», страница 22
Parore te Awha.
MEMORIAL OF TAWHIAO AND OTHERS TO THE QUEEN
The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby to Sir W. F. D. Jervois
Downing Street, August 9, 1884.
Sir – I have the honour to transmit to you a copy of the memorial which has been presented to me by the Maori chiefs now in this country.
I understand that it is contended, in support of the action taken by the Maori chiefs in making this appeal to the Imperial Government, that the powers granted to the Queen by section 71 of the New Zealand Constitution Act, 15 and 16 Vict. cap. 72, are still in full force, and that Her Majesty may properly be invited to provide by letters patent that the laws enacted by the Legislature of the colony should not extend to the Native territory; and that the Native laws, customs, and usages, modified as might be thought desirable, should prevail therein, to the exclusion of all other laws.
I shall be glad to receive the observations of your Government on this point, and also any statements which they may desire to make respecting the matters referred to in the memorial. – I have, etc.
Derby.
Governor Sir W. Jervois, G.C.M.G., C.B., etc.
ENCLOSURE
(Confidential)
Salutations! – May the Queen and her family long live! May her Government and the people of England live! May God protect you!
This is an address from the Maori chiefs to the people of England. Strangers landed on a strange land:
We, the Maori chiefs of New Zealand, have come to this distant land into your presence, on account of the great disaster which has overtaken your Maori race, which is beloved by the Queen and the people of England. Accordingly we have now swum the Ocean of Kiwa, which lies between us, and have reached England in safety, the source and fountain of authority, to the place where the Queen lives, that she may redress the ills of the Maori race inflicted on them by the Government of New Zealand, who have not directed their attention to right those wrongs up to the present time, and those wrongs are still being committed; nor is it because the Maoris are adhering to evil practices, and so causing trouble between the two races; and therefore, owing to this continued inattention of the Government, this is presented as an appeal to the highest authority. And because there was a tender regard displayed by the Queen to her Maori race, as shown in the Treaty of Waitangi, therefore it is well that those contracts and these ills should be brought before you for your consideration.
Firstly, the words of the Queen were, that Victoria, Queen of England, in her kind regard to the chiefs and the tribes of New Zealand, secured that their rights of chieftainship and their lands should be established to them, and that peace should be made with them.
Secondly, that the Queen of England shall order and consent that the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand preserve their chieftainships, their lands, their villages, their forests, and their fisheries.
Thirdly, that the Government of the Queen shall consent and order that the Queen shall protect the Maoris of New Zealand, and shall give them her laws in like manner as they are given to the people of England.
But these contracts have been trampled upon by the Government without exception. The first case of the Government purchasing land was in the year 1855. They paid a deposit for lands to some tribes without knowing whether the lands belonged to them, and much land in the Waikato, Hawke's Bay, and other places was bought in this manner; and in consequence the Maoris drew a boundary at the Mangatawhiri River, to separate the ground still held by the Maoris, and set up a head, namely, Potatau197– of the Maori people, who should prevent disputes between the Natives who sold and those who retained their lands, always acknowledging the supremacy of the Queen; and this provision was made over all lands throughout Taranaki, Taupo, and other parts.
In the year 1858 the Government purchased Waitara from Te Teira, Wiremu Kingi, the paramount chief of that tribe, prohibiting the sale; but the Government sanctioned the purchase from Te Teira. Wiremu Kingi drove off the surveyors, and the Government waged war throughout Taranaki and confiscated the land.
In the year 1863 a proclamation was issued by the Government that all the Natives adhering to the resolve not to part with their lands should retire across the boundary-line at Mangatawhiri; they went and the Government followed them across the boundary and fought them. Another Proclamation from the Government declared that the Waikato chiefs adhering to the Queen should aid General Cameron, and that the Government would protect their persons, their lands, and their property. Te Wheoro and his tribe aided General Cameron up to the very last, but their lands (amounting to about 200,000 acres) and property were confiscated, and a very little portion of the land was returned; the bulk was sold by the Government to the English, and up to the present day no compensation has been made. For the property destroyed the Court ordered compensation to be made; but the Government refused to comply.
The question of the lands thus seized was laid before the Committee of Maori Affairs of the House of Parliament in the year 1879, and again in the years 1880 and 1881, and the unanimous reply was made that the Government should specially appoint a Commission to investigate that seizure; but the Government refused to accede to this proposal.
On the seizure of the lands at Taranaki in the year 1863, a law was made that seven years were to be allowed for the Government to place settlers on the land, but failing to do so within that time, that the land should revert to the Maoris. The year 1870 arrived, and the Government had failed to settle the land, and the land was returned by the Native Minister, Donald M'Lean, who said that the Government should purchase the land at 5s. or 7s. per acre; but the Government did not purchase it.
In the year 1879 the Government began to seize the land without any pretext, arrested Te Whiti and party in their homes, destroyed their houses, rooted up their crops, and removed their goods, surveyed the land, put it into the market, and it was bought by the English, and very small portions were returned to the Natives. For twelve months Te Whiti and party were imprisoned and were never tried; they were then released, but are still under some restraining law of the Government.
When the lands in the South Island were bought by a Commission from the Queen the Commission stipulated that, on the Maoris consenting to the conditions, the villages, the fisheries, and one acre in every ten should be reserved to the Maoris, and to this the Maoris agreed; but on the completion of the sale the conditions were and have been disallowed down to the present time. A Commission was instituted in the year 1879; but the Government was not pleased to give effect to its awards.
Respecting the land at Kawhia. Before the establishment of the Government some Europeans resided at Kawhia; the Maoris allowed their residence for the purpose of trade, and rent was paid to the Natives by these Europeans; the Maoris in ignorance signed their names, and, as they paid for the goods received, were unaware that their names were obtained for a purpose. On arrival of fresh Europeans the lands were sold to the new arrivals, and these demanded a Crown grant from the Government, which was granted, though the Maoris were kept in ignorance of the transaction: and thus the Government dealt with the ground and ultimately bought it for themselves, and not until it was being surveyed were the Maoris aware that their land was alienated. Nor did the Government enquire of the Maoris whether the claims of the Europeans were just, and the Maoris condemned the transaction.
The Government submitted a Bill to Parliament to authorise them to put the land into the market, and the Bill was passed by the Parliament, the Maori members dissenting, and submitting a letter to the Governor, asking him to withhold his consent to the Bill, and the letter was forwarded to the Queen. In the year 1883 the land was thrown into the market by the Government, and the Kawhia River was buoyed; the Maoris then gathered together to prevent this, and Tawhiao198 said to the Government, through the Native Minister, Mr. Bryce, "Let the staking of the river be done by him." But Mr. Bryce refused, and all the land was surveyed by the Government, and soldiers were placed on the land of the King, and works were pushed forward on the King's land, and the Government said that they, acting with Rewi and party, should decide the boundary of the King's land, to which Rewi and party agreed. When that was settled the Government commenced operations, not confining themselves to what was agreed upon, at which Rewi severed himself from any further connection with the operations of the Government, when he saw that the King party suffered loss; and this is an example of the conduct of the Government in all their transactions in Maori matters.
The Native Land Court was instituted in the year 1866 by the Government, and that measure for dealing with Maori lands was adopted in order to destroy the rights of the Maoris over their own land, rights secured to them by the Queen in the Treaty of Waitangi.
A fresh rule was thus established, by which the Court had full powers, its authority was entirely in European hands, and the Maoris were denied all authority. It was established that ten persons were to be allowed claims over any section of ground, the majority were to rest satisfied with no land to live on, and the lands were ultimately alienated by purchase. Another rule was set up by the Court, that if the claimants failed to present themselves to the Court the land should be handed over to others, and thus the lands were sold, including the lands, the homesteads, and the plantations, and the real owners of the land were left destitute. When the Maori race asked that they might be allowed to deal with their own lands by means of their own committees, the Government declined. In cases where Europeans purchased land from Maoris who received money for lands not theirs, the purchase thus made was established to the purchasers. Assessors were, indeed, appointed for the Court, but they had no power to say anything with regard to the lands dealt with by the Court. Te Wheoro was the first Assessor thus summoned in the year 1866; but when he saw these faults he left it in the year 1872.
The rights of the chiefs over their own lands were disallowed by the Government, and the positions of the chiefs, in accordance with their Maori customs, was swept away; for the chiefs had the power to secure the land for themselves and their tribes, lest the land and the persons should be lost (by other tribes seizing it) and their rights were reduced to an equality with ordinary persons, and their words were allowed no weight in retaining their land or in directing the affairs of their own tribes: but the Government gave the rights of ruling to all kinds of persons, and the ruling of these persons, possessing no tribal rights in the eyes of the race itself, was authorised, the Government merely regarding their own appointments in respect to these lands; and thus the Government were able to set aside and ignore the chiefs.
Maori Assessors were appointed by the Government to rule their own Maori race; only they had no powers. All powers of establishing and directing were retained by the Government, and even this is now being set aside.
Maori representatives were established by the Government, but a prohibitive rule was made by which the number of members were limited to four, and, though the Maoris demanded a representation proportionate to their numbers, this has been refused by the Government up to the present time; and these members have only nominal power and are unable to redress the Maori wrongs, and yet the Europeans have only an equal status with the Maoris. The commission charged by the Government on the monies paid for Maori lands, whether sold or leased, exceeds 25 per cent.
The payments arising from gold-bearing lands —i. e. 10s. per miner's right, and duties on goods – are taken by the Government, and none are returned to the Maori race, nor are the Maoris allowed any voice in directing these taxes; all are taken by the Government for the benefit of the Europeans, and the Maoris are left out of all consideration; and the result of all this is that the Government have taken the lands, the persons, and the rights of the Maori; the Maoris still lay claim to their rights, and this has been a cause of trouble, and troubles have also come on other Europeans, as happened at Marunui and other places throughout the whole Island, all from these acts of the Government. A Commission sat to investigate these wrongs at Napier. Te Wheoro, another Maori, and two Europeans sat, but the Europeans and the Maoris failed to agree, no decision was arrived at, and the lands were lost, and the Maoris, frightened at such dealings, retired to a remnant of the land of their ancestors in the King Country, and yet they are being even now pursued.
Te Wheoro rose in the Parliament of 1880, and, addressing the Government, asked them to give to the Maoris the office of Minister of Maori Affairs, then filled by Mr. Bryce, inasmuch as it was a post for the Maoris, and yet Europeans alone filled the office, though Maori names were mentioned for the office; and this is a wrong done to the Maoris, inasmuch as the Queen had given them rights. Mr. Bryce replied that the office should never belong to the Maoris.
Therefore we and our race have determined, and to us, the representatives of the tribes of New Zealand, has been assigned the work of crossing the ocean and of bringing our wrongs to the Queen and people of England, in whose hands lay the words of life and death, that they should send and give to the Maori race laws whereby they may live, like as our friends the Europeans who sent and asked to have a Parliament of their own, and which was agreed to by the Queen; the Maoris remaining in ignorance that their friends (the Europeans) had asked for a Parliament subsequent to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Therefore we pray for our Maori race that our Queen may cherish us, that she may accede to this our prayer, and grant to us, her Maori race, these humble requests. And firstly, that you will resolutely consent to grant a Government to your Maori subjects, to those who are living on their own lands or those of their ancestors, and within the limits of Maori territory, that they may have power to make laws regarding their own lands and race, lest they perish by the ills which have come upon them; that they may be empowered so to direct themselves and their own lands lest they be altogether destroyed by the practices of the Government, unknown and not evident to the Maoris; and that also the Maoris possessing lands contiguous to the Europeans should have those lands brought under the direction of the said Maori Government, for there are many tribes who thus own land, and which they will not long hold unless thus brought under Maori Government; and these Maoris are those who are suffering most at the present time, and they will be unable to save themselves unless some such means are taken for their preservation.
Secondly, that the Queen and her Government consent to the appointment of a Maori Commissioner, appointed by the Queen, one of the Maori race, one adhering to the Queen, an upright man, who shall act as mediator between the Maori and European races in matters touching the leasing and selling of the lands of your Maori subjects, who shall investigate the laws made by the Maori Government, make them feasible, and to write his opinion to your Governor and to you also for your confirmation, lest the Maori legislation be at variance with that of the Government, and lest the Maori should fail to carry out the laws of the Government respecting them.
Thirdly, that the greater portion of the taxes levied on your Maori subjects be returned to them, to enable them to carry on their Government, granted by you to your Maori subjects, in those parts which are Maori territory.
Fourthly, that the European Judges in the Native Land Court be superseded, and that your Maori race be then permitted to direct their own affairs in that Court; that they may be empowered to appoint their own Judges over their own lands, lest they be all lost by the present doings of the Court; that they may be able to deal with these lands in accordance with their own customs, apportioning to each tribe their share, and, having made all ready for leasing or selling, to submit all rulings to the Commissioner appointed by you, that he may look into the whole affair and see that no injurious effects come upon the Maori, and then he is to submit all to your Governor for confirmation.
Fifthly, that the lands wrongly obtained by the Government be returned to us. That all may be in accordance with the concessions made in the Waitangi Treaty and all other contracts made with your Maori subjects. That the Queen and her Government also appoint some person from England – a person independent of the Government of New Zealand – who shall carefully investigate those wrongs, and if he finds them in accordance with what we have now presented before you, that then he should decide whether the lands of your wronged subjects be returned or a compensation be made for part of it.
We, your Maori race, confidently rely on the Treaty of Waitangi, on its provisions and force, and we will be led by those provisions in these matters for which we have now swum the ocean of Kiwa, and we pray in the presence of the Queen that she will confirm her words given in that treaty, that it may not be trampled upon by the Government of New Zealand in anything they may do to annul that treaty.
Let the Queen live! Here we conclude. May God preserve you!
Tawhiao,
Wiremu te Wheoro,
Patara te Tuhi,
Topia Turoa,
Hori Ropihana.
I hereby certify that the above is a true translation of the petition, made by me this 15th day of July 1884.
Fred H. Spencer,Clerk in Holy Orders.
Sir W. F. D. Jervois to the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby
Government House, Wellington,March 28, 1885.
My Lord – With reference to Your Lordship's Despatch, No. 46, dated the 9th August last, concerning a memorial from Maori chiefs, I have the honour to transmit herewith a copy of a memorandum from my Ministers. I also enclose copies of the Acts of the Colonial Parliament referred to therein.
I regret that I have been unable to send Your Lordship an earlier reply. The delay, however, has been caused by the fact that the Native Minister desired to visit the Maori districts before my Government furnished me with a memorandum on the subject. Full reports of the several meetings held by him with the Natives will be forwarded by the next mail.
I beg to refer Your Lordship to my Despatch, No. 9, dated the 1st March 1884, in which I have stated my own views with regard to the position of the Native race in this colony. – I have, etc.
Wm. F. Drummond Jervois.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby.
MEMORANDUM FOR HIS EXCELLENCY
Ministers present their respectful compliments to the Governor, and beg to inform His Excellency that they have considered the memorial from Maori chiefs referred to in the despatch from Lord Derby, No. 46, of 9th August 1884.
Ministers are of opinion that they would least embarrass Her Majesty's Government by referring only to the period since 1865, when Her Majesty's troops were removed, when for the first time the colony was left to manage the Natives without interference by the representatives of Her Majesty in the colony. It is quite certain that since that period there has been no infraction of the Treaty of Waitangi. As it is clear that if there was an infraction previously Her Majesty's Government and Imperial funds would be liable for the same, Ministers deem it more respectful not to express an opinion on the subject, but to leave Her Majesty's Advisers in Great Britain to arrive at their own conclusions.
As to the provisions of section 71 of the Constitution Act (15 and 16 Vict. cap. 72), Ministers would remark that it appears from the very terms of the section that the Imperial Parliament contemplated that that section should only be used for a short time and under the then special circumstances of the colony. The words used in the section are, "It may be expedient," "Should for the present be maintained." So far as allowing the laws, customs, and usages of the Natives in all their relations to and dealings with each other to be maintained, Ministers would point out that this has been the policy of all the Native Land Acts. The Courts that have to deal with Native land – and it is the land that to the Natives seems the most important – decide according to Native customs or usages (vide "Native Land Courts Act, 1880," section 24; see also sections 5 and 6 of "The Native Lands Frauds Prevention Act, 1881," and section 6 of "The Native Land Laws Amendment Act, 1883").
Regarding the proclamation of Native districts the County of Waipa is practically a Native district, and if the Natives desired such a form of local government as the Counties Act affords, there would be no difficulty in granting their request by the Colonial Parliament. What, however, the petitioners desire is really the setting-up of a Parliament in certain parts of the North Island which would not be under the control of the General Assembly of New Zealand. Seeing that in the Legislative Council and the House of Representatives the Natives are represented by able chiefs, and that they have practically no local affairs to look after that cannot be done by their Committees – local bodies recognised by the Government – Ministers do not deem it necessary to point out the unreasonableness and absurdity of such a request.
Ministers have not deemed it necessary to go seriatim through the allegations of the petition and show their unsubstantiality. A former Premier, Sir Frederick Whitaker, specially dealt with a petition very similar to the one now under consideration (see memorandum, 12th December 1882, addressed to His Excellency the Governor, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, A-6, page 5); and a former Native Minister, Mr. Bryce, wrote a memorandum referring to the alleged ill-treatment of the Maoris (see memorandum for His Excellency, 11th January 1884, A-1, page 11, in Appendix, vol. i., 1884). The despatch of Your Excellency, No. 9, of the 1st March 1884, forwarding the memorandum of Mr. Bryce, also combated the statements of the Maori chiefs who had petitioned.
Ministers do not consider that there is any allegation in this petition that has not been before the Imperial Government, replied to by the colony, and dealt with before.
Robert Stout.
Wellington, March 12, 1885.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby to Sir W. F. D. Jervois
Downing Street, June 23, 1885.
Sir – I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 39, of the 28th of March, transmitting a memorandum from your Ministers in reference to the memorial of the Maori chiefs, which was presented on the occasion of the interview which took place at this office on the 23rd July 1884.
I request that you will inform Tawhiao and the other chiefs who signed the memorial that, as stated in the letter to them of the 13th August last, the attention of the Government of New Zealand was called to the representations which it contains, and that the reply of your Advisers – a copy of which I request you to transmit to them at the same time – has been received and considered by Her Majesty's Government.
The questions to which the memorial relates have also been discussed in the House of Commons with many expressions of sympathy for the Maori race, and of belief that their interests and their customs would be guarded and respected by the Government of New Zealand. The feeling, at the same time, appeared to be general that while the Government of the Queen in this country has no longer its former power and responsibility in regard to the internal affairs of New Zealand, it should use its good offices with the Colonial Government with the view of obtaining for the Natives all the consideration which can be given to them.
I trust that all who sympathise with and wish well to the Maoris will agree that it is most important for them to understand clearly that under the present Constitution of New Zealand the government of all Her Majesty's subjects in the islands is controlled by Ministers responsible to the General Assembly, in which the Natives are efficiently represented by persons of their own race, and that it is no longer possible to advise the Queen to interfere actively in the administration of Native affairs any more than in connection with other questions of internal government. I observe, however, with satisfaction that it is in contemplation to increase the number of the Native representatives.
Although, therefore, Her Majesty's Government cannot undertake to give you specific instructions as to the applicability at the present time of any particular stipulations of a treaty which it no longer rests with them to carry into effect, they are confident – as I request that you will intimate to your Ministers – that the Government of New Zealand will not fail to protect and to promote the welfare of the Natives by a just administration of the law, and by a generous consideration of all their reasonable representations. I cannot doubt that means will be found of maintaining to a sufficient extent the rights and institutions of the Maoris without injury to those other great interests which have grown up in the land, and of securing to them a fair share of that prosperity which has of necessity affected in many ways the conditions of their existence. – I have, etc.,
Derby.
Governor Sir W. F. D. Jervois, G.C.M.G., C.B., etc.
Sir W. F. D. Jervois to Tawhiao
Government House, Wellington,August 27, 1885.
To Tawhiao.
The Petition which was signed by you, Major Te Wheoro, Patara te Tuhi, Topia Turoa, and Hori Ropihana, and presented to the Secretary of State when you were in England was forwarded by him to me, accompanied by a letter asking for any statements which the Government of New Zealand might desire to make respecting the matter. I wrote back to the Secretary of State, and enclosed a memorandum from the Government of New Zealand. The Secretary of State has again written to me, and requested me to send to you copies of these letters. I therefore enclose translations.
You will see from the last letter of the Secretary of State that he says that the Government of all Her Majesty's subjects in New Zealand, Maori as well as European, is controlled by Ministers responsible to the Parliament at Wellington, in which there are Maori representatives, and that the Government in London cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the colony. – From your Friend,
Wm. F. Drummond Jervois.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby to Sir W. F. D. Jervois
Downing Street, September 11, 1884.
Sir – I have the honour to submit to you a copy of a letter addressed to me by Tawhiao, the Maori King, on his departure for New Zealand after his recent visit to this country.
You will be so good as to inform Tawhiao that I duly received and that I appreciate his friendly farewell salutations. – I have, etc.,
Derby.
Governor Sir W. F. D. Jervois, G.C.M.G., C.B., etc.
Tawhiao to the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby
Steamer "Potosi," August 20, 1884.
Friend – Salutations! Abide there with your friends, your fellow-nobles, your race, your land: I am returning to my people under the blessing of God. – From
Tawhiao.
Lord Derby.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby to Sir W. F. D. Jervois
Downing Street, February 3, 1885.
Sir – I have the honour to inform you that I have received from the chief Hori Ropiha a letter dated the 3rd December, expressing the satisfaction of his tribe – the Ngatikahungunu – at the principles laid down on the occasion of the interview between the chiefs and myself at this office, more especially in regard to uniformity of legislation.
I request that you will cause Hori Ropiha to be informed that his statements have given pleasure, and that I do not doubt that any well-founded complaints on the part of the Maoris will be dealt with fairly by the Government to which Her Majesty has given over the whole question. – I have, etc.,
Derby.
Governor Sir W. F. D. Jervois, G.C.M.G., C.B., etc.
The Under-Secretary, Native Department, to Hori Ropiha
Wellington, April 27, 1885.
To Hori Ropiha.
Greeting! – Lord Derby has written a despatch to the Governor of New Zealand acknowledging the receipt of your letter expressing the satisfaction of Ngatikahungunu at the principles laid down by you and Lord Derby in England. Lord Derby also says in his despatch that your statements have given pleasure, and he feels that the Government of New Zealand will deal fairly with the most important matters affecting the Maoris which Her Majesty has given to this Government to administer. Sufficient. – From
T. W. Lewis
Hori Ropiha to the Under-Secretary, Native Department
Waipawa, July 8, 1885.
Friend – Greeting! Greeting to you, and all the honourable members of the Parliament of the colony!
You have written to inform me of the receipt by the Government of New Zealand of a despatch from Lord Derby, in which he acknowledges the receipt of the letter expressing the satisfaction of the Ngatikahungunu at the principles laid down by us and Lord Derby in England.
Friend, I did send such a letter to Lord Derby, and the information contained in Lord Derby's despatch to you is correct – namely, that he does not doubt that any well-founded complaints on the part of the Maoris will be dealt with fairly by the Government of New Zealand, to which Her Majesty has given over the whole question.
Friend, I am greatly pleased at the receipt of your letter. I was absent at Mohaka, the Wairoa, and the Mahia, where I went to make known the principles laid down by us and Lord Derby, in order that my Maori tribes might hear my report of my visit to England. On my return from England I addressed the Maoris, and the people of my district were greatly pleased with what I told them. It is true that they have joined the Blue Ribbon Army,199 and keep it faithfully.
