SPIRIT OF SOUTHERN JOURNALS.

Auckland Examiner, Volume IV, Issue 273, 16 June 1860, Page 2

SPIRIT OF SOUTHERN JOURNALS.

MR. FOX’S LETTER AND THE WAITANGI <1 TREATY. (To the Editor of the Taranaki News.)-

Taranaki, June sth, 1860. Sir.—ln your paper o Thursday last you give an extract from the Wellington Independent about Mr. Fox’s letter, together with that letter in full. As you have favored us with no remarks thereon, perhaps you have left it to your correspondents to do so, and perhaps a few words from a tyro may not be inadmissable.

The Independent remarks on Mr. Fox’s letter, “ It sim.ply says, • I shall shortly be called upon to judge in this matter, and I wish to avoid committing, myself in any way beforehand ; to be free to decide on its merits alone.”’

Now, if Mr. Fox really had simply said this, and nothing more than simply this, I, for one, should have joined heartily in saying with the Independent, “ Even Mr. Fox’s most violent political opponents will be able to find no fault with him in this respeei.”

But Mr. Fox has not simply said this. These words are not found in his letter at all; but instead of this simply statement, his letter contains a compound of half truths, and errors ; official information and hearsay; opinions of natives, of missionaries, and of his own.

Now, as Mr. Fox has put, not the simple statement but this compound tiiis conglomeration in print, and sent it foith to the world, I suppose he has fairly counseled' himself thereto, and I don’t at all understand how his professions can possibly be fulfilled in practice where he says, “ My desire is to preserve my mind entirely unbiassed on these matters, that I may come to their consideration in the House of Representatives free from prejudice.” How can it be that he should go into 7 the House of Representatives free from prejudice after wriling such a letter, and publishing it to the world ? To me it seems to be in tbe nature of things that what he has thus written and sent,forth to the world, should be in a great measure the rule and guide by which he will be influenced when “called upon to judge in this matter.” In tbe meantime, let me ask, what becomes of the Waitangi Treaty ? Mr. Fox makes no mention of it; is it shelved ? is it abrogated ? is it repealed? Will Mr. Fox be allowed to repudiate it in the House of Representatives ? Will the General Assembly or the British Parliament cast it aside as waste paper ? Certainly not! N.o, that treaty, and not Mr. Fox’s pre-conceived and pre-published compound of ideas, will furnish the rule of law by which this case must be tried and decided, whether it be taken into tbe court of the General Assembly or into the court of the British Parliament. Let us look at this t eaty. 1. By the first article of the Waitangi treaty, “The chiefs (512) cede to Her Majesty the Queen of England, absolutely and without reservation all the rights and powers of sovereignty which the said -chiefs respectively exercise or possess over their respective territories as the sole sovereigns thereof.” Thus the sovereignty was ceded and the question arises, What does that sovereignty include ? NowSir, you give us a translation of a letter from the chiefs of the Thames, Taupo, Rotorua &c. in which they say—“ Our great custom rule or law in olden times, adopted by our ancestors, by the chiefs and the people, was, that the headship over the land, and over the people, centered in the principal chief, the authority was vested in him, he held the power over the land, over the people, over their decisions to hold on to the land, to make conquests, to go to war, &c.” Well, this I suppose was the chief’s sovereignty, and this “power or authority or influence ” of the chiefs, formerly “possessed and exercised over their respective territories as the sole sovereigns thereof," was, by the treaty, ceded and transferred to the Queen, and there was an end of this power, authority, and influence on the part of the chiefs. Consequently, not only are the Maori king movement and the great land-league (warleague it should be called)—not only are these combinations to be regarded as monstrous violations of the Waitangi treaty, but even the attempt of any individual chief to exercise such authority or influence over any one of his people to prevent the sale of land must also be regarded as a flagrant breach of that contract. If this was not the sovereignty ceded, I ask, What was the sovereignty ceded ? 1 know very well that, as Mr. Fox intimates, “ the principles on which other purchases from the natives have been affected” (effected) have recognised the chiefs, but this has been simply because tbe chiefs were joint settlers with the(people, or because, as matter of courtesy and policy, it was considered prudent to have the chief’s consent to the sale and signature to the deed. But anything and everything like this upstart Kingism, ov confedeiated control of territory, or right to make war, or power in any individual chief to prevent any one people

rom selling that which is his for ever annihilated by this fi rst “‘ terl J aoj B a.tangi treaty ; and tbe second is li \ 2. By the second article ” Hr,. oit - Queen of England confirms aud ‘h e chiefs and tribes, and to the resnt ?, - tee ’'»th. ‘hereof the full, exclusive, and sion (observe, not mana, not ra „ Po Ssei . kmgltanga not power, not manoria! M vereignty, but possession simply) of thei i’ 1 "Otioestates, forests, fisheries, and other m- r i““l s aiid they may collectively or individually n PMtieS ' rtic ll s -rve, individual po seasons are °l>though I know it is generally co ns d Anl King s friends have found it conve, • d ' antl W this specially upon Mr. Fox's at’enfl 111 n, 8e natives hold their lands in comma lllal the also that particular individuals can define' L*"! tain undisputed claim to particular lo e ®|-" d "»'»• in such cases the second article guarani 6! ’' ""d individuals “the full, exclusive® an, “, Io M possession ” of such localities \-esnt'"S’M long as it I 3 their wish and desire to S’f/' ''b in the,r possession. And then this s ‘Sue goes on to suppose that such individ” i. 0 *" 1 a «iele or desire to sell such localities, and , the chiefs of the united tribes nn? ares that chiefs yield to Her Majesty the evil '•‘"‘Hil pre-emption over such lands as tl Ve of thereof may be disposed to alienate" , as may be agreed upon between the’re P’-'etors and the persons appointed by S nV’&c. Why, sir, what could be plainer ? complete and conclusive ? The chipf ’ v|iat mor e up all control, and promise to abstain"?'®' Ve terference, but they absolutely enffa 2" fr ° m a| l in- ' prompters in the question of price iti" 01 t() acl m to be fixed by mutual agreement ppr i ce! pective proprietors on the one part iX ment officers on the other, and no chlAf " egWe "- the seller to ask for sixpence more . can Pr ompt interfere about the price, without “V breach of the Waitangi treaty. Now f n °rT“'" g ’ tive part. Ho v is this bargain to be ,?ls third article tells us. ' be Th e 3. “In consideration ”of these in order to secure tbe fulfilment thereof " jesty tbe Queen of England extends tec .on, andmipartsto all the natives al ? yal .P r »' and privileges of British subjects ” t en » ! "’ Does not that complete it? Here „ •, e llo ’-' vileges, protection 1 The Queen of Fnof' j P "' tects the natives in tbe enjoyment of f a"d.Prcand privileges on the above conditions tish Crown is pledged to the provisions of s tang, treaty, and every individual native Y n’ 1 ' every chief, is to be protected in the exe’r rightsand passessions just the same as British subject. dS an J ol “er I have thus, sir, endeavored to set foul, n meaning of the Waitangi treaty, f am „„ h llle and cannot use law terms. { know lam hn’T’ at this kind of thing ; but in the langnage ofi™ common sense I have endeavored to ' law of the case, that law by which Mr. L. " d I, other judges will have to adjudicate the case if fl comes before them at all. ase > >r it I Proceed to state the ease. I will do soasbrief: ; ly as I can ; but I fear you, Mr. Editor, willtbi t me tedious, for we know ft so well, and have had over and over again so often,, that it has become tu-esom-e. But I want to- enlighten the darknemf Mr. I ox. It would be a pity for him to go to t | le House of Representatives to adjudicate upon Hi ease with the confusion of ideas which his letter exhi bits. H e has been discussing the matter beforehand with others in the distance, and receiving, and recording, and publishing eaparte statements; and so now, if you will be kind enough to send him a copy of your paper (if you. think proper to insert this letter) I will fry to furnish him with a little I light on the Taranaki question from Taranaki itself.

But Mr. Fox will perhaps object at the outset that the Waitangi treaty does not apply toTaraua. ki, because the Taranaki chiefs never signed it. I answer, there were no Taranaki chiefs to sign. Th ir chieftainship was already extinguished by the Wai. katos, who had. driven them away into exile, orca** ried them offh.to slavery. 'Die VVaikatos, as conquerors, were the chiefs of Taranaki,.and the Waikatos signed the treaty. Not only did they sign the treaty, but they also sold their’right in the soil which, as conquerors, they claimed. Governor Hol* son paid them several hundred pounds, and all their rights and claims on Taranaki were thus transferred to the Crown. They allowed their slaves to return, and they advised the exiles to return; but they could not restore to them that which they no longer possessed, they could not give back to them those sovereign rights of which by conquest and slavery they had transferred to the Queen of England. The Government permitted and sanctioned this ; but it could only be simply as matter of occupancy or possession, not certainly to over-ride or set aside the Waitangi treaty. By what rule or law, then can the Taranaki chiefs assume a dignity which belongs to no other chiefs in the Colony? Sovereignty, or manorial right, or baronial authority, has been tranfferr d by thetieaty to the Queen, and the natives of Taranaki, whether they were a remnant, or exiles, or slaves, are now all here by sufferance of their conquerors, an by the good-will and protection of that Eower to whom the conquerors transferred their sovereign y and territorial rights. But W. King I as from tbe first aspired to something more, something higher, and greater. George Grey permitted him and Ins people tore from exile, but he prohibited his setthng »_>> south bank of Waitara. This, however i accord with his ambitious scheme. He ” and projects in connection with the lan S which made him wishful to locate hnnse “ south bank, though his land lay cbiefly oll ‘ side of the river; and in order to com . m ? n j ibis trance he covets a location on the south ca • ~ land belonged principally to Te 1 eira an > and their friends, who being of the same tri, returning under the same circumstances duced by the ambitious Wiremu Kingi o ) his suggestions to have one common res common pah, and this pah was put up a Head, on Teira’s land. The ambitions trived to increase his establishment ie , ( got three or four pahs all cr , oW ?. e , ~k|v sure 11“' on thatspot, as though to make it a ~ |, au ghly Waitara should be his for ever- An bearing has ever been in keeping wi no | tious views and this apparent success. toO ®ell go into particulars of his career, ' | iar ge»H e known. Onhim and his land-league a , in a great measure the b rea k' n |. np or3 ks, ment of the prosperous farms at i'D n o friends, ongana, &c., the butchery of RawiJ 1 a and the subsequent native war ant . ay o f retal' when Katatore, in his turn, and in . on tl ,a iation, was also butchered, then ait ' and* I pretext, urge on the war with all 1 j n o rd<-’ r fluence he could command agams f al -jr that, by the extermination of those ul)( ]isUid ,t able to the sale of land, he might ie D monarch of all he surveyed I - ia tions> But alas for his pretensions and a’ Pjjgj]ccai f had built his house upon the sand '. . no tliis » 1 "' himself, and built his pahs upon ■ o fTeir»> He did so by consent and suffe (tie , e ls Teira gives not up his right; he |jeie self as the rightful proprietor; butT c, ? r i a squatter and thinks to reign as ’ ate ns W led to contemplate a move wind the great man from 1113 a |] 1 others !>* J; ble him on a point on which conl iiii> most tenacious. Murders ba aIl e xtir»"” J brothers had been buta ‘ er - n 3 t those war had been threatened ag goV,' 111 venture to think of selling an tl>o 11 0 „ and King was beginning to exult.* land and mana, and P ossa [ s'° 5 '° ‘.. when [»’’Lil were all securable to him for ’ ' fr. hold! the very land on which l fw|n l 11l f resting place is about to sip j )is freart, I ira goes fo, th in the int,a o' Ling to p ! nlf n|slri cl I fers 8 tbe land rightly be W"%nd b i. l.i jointly occupied by him an examine I Commissioner is claims. Of course th his step’' . e ]y too k I cautiously and pondered J > sej f#li , I clearly the importance of ‘ ba . dii . c d by a #l t I care ihat it shou d not be bye t he G»v or hasty move ol ms- >

I ■ 'ted us, and a meeting of the natives was api:’l!l 1 f ol .’ mutual conversation. All were invited, I King and Teira were there. This was on ■’"‘L],'of March, 1859. The Governor’s address I 116 been published, and I need only refer to the I lia! nrinciples he lays down for guidance in the I K chase of land. Ist, He would buy no land the I '-i f which was matter of dispute among themI *'l 2nd He would allow no man to interfere to ■ ie ' eS nt the sale of any land by the rightful propriI These rules are certainly in accord- ■ with the Waitangi Tieaty, and by that Treaty ■ I Governor is bound as well as the aboriginal

■ " S Teira then got U P t 0 ° ffer I,is land aS 'Vaitara. I Wlb the boldness of conscious right he stated his I | Ims and described the boundaries. Piripi also I to offer another piece ; but this was “ pro'I against by Waka ; not, as Mr. Fox says, in I ,'he usual wav— by walking o/—but he called out— I I .'cease your talk Piripi about that piece, I claim I rhat as payment for my dead killed in fight ;” and I , iri pi was silenced and sat down. Waka thus proI .Led effectually, but he did not walk off the I round. But there was no voice of authority to siI fence Teira. He went on to urge the Governor to I cept his offer. The Chief Commissioner was I diere, and interpreted to the Governor all that TeI jra said, and of course he understood the merits of I the case; Teira called out—“ Give me your’word, I Governor. Accept my offer, Mr. McLean. Will I „otyou and the Governor consent?” And there I w asa pause[and silence; and the interpretation was oiren. But there was no voice called out, " GoverF nor, don’t consent.” And then McLean gave the | ffor 'd— "The Governor consents.’’ And then Teira I took out a mat from his satchel and laid it at the I Governor’s feet, as a symbol that the land was thus I | ian ded over to him. And there was no man of I ri’litful ownership in that land, to go and take up I that mat and say—“ Governor, this mat is my land. shall not part with it.” No, a letter from a Wai

p kato chief, who has himself espoused the cause of 1 the Maori King, and who therefore cannot be sup- [ posed to be prejudiced in favor of Teira, says — ' '‘One thing, if W. King had jumped up and taken I stray the mat that Teira gave to the Governor, then I had the Governor understood that the land might belong to W. King, and then there would have been |no quarrel.” The whole proceeding was of a character that stamped it with truthfulness, and the spectators said—” Waitara is gone.” The Gover par's word was pledged, the symbol was given and | reived, the Waitangi Treaty was honored, and the j jovernor was bound by that Treaty and by the principles which he had laid down, in accordance . with that Treaty, to protect Teira in the sale of that which was his own rightful property. Wiremu Kingi then got up, not to argue the question of claims, not to dispute Teira's right, but lossy that Waitara was bis, and that Government should have none of it; and then calling upon his people, they rose and walked off in a body, not in the way of honest objection, not in the way of honorable protest, as Mr. Fox supposes, but in the way of contemptuous scorn—in the way of insulting defiance—in the way of telling the Governor to do

. his best —to do his worst, but he should have no land at the Waitara. Commissioner McLean was tohavereturned from the South to complete the purchase, but illness pre- ' vented him, and the District Commissioner was | therefore instructed to proceed in the business. And be did so, cautiously, prudently, openly, honl estly, kindly, friendly. Again and again he urged King to be reasonable, to point out any parr of the block as belonging to him or his party, and it should | be excluded from the purchase, and when the first i instalment of £lOO was to be paid he invited King and his party to come up to town and be present. | At that meeting Teira again defended his claim, tThe Commissioner read a paper stating the boundaries, and King objected as before. The Commissioner asked him why he objected to the sale? He Isaid because his forefathers had charged him not to jpart with the land. He asked him if the land did j not belong to Teira? “ Yes, but as Teira is setting f it afloat, I seize upon it to prevent its drifting away ,to sea.” King reiterated the expression. “ Keep hour money, Harris, keep your money, you will get .nothingfor it," and in the one haughty in 1 defiant tvay as before abruptly left the meeting. The £lOO was paid to Teira and his friends, th document was signed, and the money was handed over to the par-

ity and bye Commissioner Parris was instructed Io proceed with the survey, and the completion of I the purchase. He informed King of his purpose, | and quietly and in a friendly way advised him not to offer any opposition. King had boasted largely that the chan should never be allowed tocomeupon •he land, and that the surveyors would be resisted and sent back. Against this he was cautioned, ard warned that military protection would be applied for if he prevented. The surveyors went at the appointed time, and were obliged to return. The officerin command of the troops was then applii d to ; he wrote a friendly letter of warning to King, gave

: a certain time for consideration, the answer was unI satisfactory, and Martial Law was proclaimed. All this time King was removing his property and the women and children from the place, getting : toady another place of residence some miles away in tie bush, and preparing to leave the land in question. He was visited, advised, cautioned, and warned; and a letter was sent to him signed by all the ministers of religion of the place, urging him not to push matters to a war with the government, but to yield. Such however was the spirit manifested, and such the treatenings expressed, that the officer in command wisely waited for reinforcement. Hie hope was entertained that a demonstration of tli'ength and decision would be sufficient. The . overnor came in person, and his first act on commg ashore was to send messengers to carry’ a "safe conduct” to King and invite him to an interview in . er that the matter might, if possible, be settled Whoat recourse to arms. He was hunted out, for 'eland in question he had entirely left, and his "cw place in the bush was difficult to find. The messengers advised and reasoned with him, and left W' 'linn the "safe conduct.” But he came not, so e Governor, having no other alternative, took steps ie military occupation and survey of the land. le previous advice and the prudent arrangements ere so far effectual that the troops met with no oplosition. Terrible things had been threatened by yug’s party, but they had all disappeared from the [ ,ce ’ ‘ ea '’ing their old pahs and huts to be des*he troops, and wisely kept out of the in ? } lO lleXt d a y> however, a small pah was put and the provision carts were threatened to be creepted; however, after being warned, the natnv an ‘l t' l ' 3 new P a h a ' so was deswitl • i C '' e ,roo P s - survey was proceeded withn't ° Ut °PP os ' t ' on ; day after day passed away rant i an y a PP earanc ° of hostilities , and we be..o lO P e B>at the wise arrangements of the Gov•vithnd ' )e effectual in warding off the danger been it 00t ' s ' le d; and perhaps this would have Ser - eC ‘? e ’ ,ut f° r foreign influence. A messenouttfiTk , f rom the South to King, and it leaked °ftlie S G i ° U^lt P rom * ses °f help from the tribes ’ wll0 > by the way, have no interest at ' Vait aiabut that of the land-league. '’csbuih i day t‘‘ fter ‘h' s ‘he first real fighting pah niolit „ King’s party. It was put up in the ver,, ’. rcclea on part of the surveyed land, and was gaiint|L° n ®' Ofeourse this was throwing down the block tl’ an “ as this pah was on the purchased "'Casar ' eie ' vas 110 alternative but that of active Pali w , eS ’- A letter was sent to the natives in the •o rccei V' em lo abat'd o " it; but they refused tl'owed'n l “ e 'otter, insulted the messenger, and all a ] lhG n'selves ready for battle. They had first to P ro f ess ed a determination not to be the courses 01l | menCe hostilities, but what was this? Of Dot bo UC »" n (, 99 ress ’'On —such a challenge —-could * r °yed shared, and the new pah must bodes-

d"R dee oc k a de was very strong. The natives had tl'otand’' i'u lna ß e covered galleries, so that the their fir S " ere to them almost harmless; while seriouY U P° n our * ro op s killed two of our men and night t/ Wou ."ded a third. In the darkness of the "'aids 1 ! liltlves sto| e "way, having, as they after•plinterQ 1 r°i" y s "ffered a few wounds from the '"creforp 0 1 16 Pohsttding, and nene killed. They hoist th e f V '; re . t '’ e hrst t 0 erect a fighting pah. and t° kill n, ® 'tmg flag, and they, too, were the first en ’ I mention these particulars to show to

M r. Fox’s friends, the natives, with whom he discus' ses these matters, that the amount ofnggression thus far very heavily preponderated on the part of the natives. They might have been pursued with vengeance, but this was not done. Forbearance from the first has characterized the Governor’s proceed-

■ng’. What then could be the pretext for the interference of the Southern tribes ? They came up shortly after this, and commenced their warlike devastations on the opposite side of the settlement, intending to make a clean sweep of us all ! Killing sheep and cattle, murdering in cold blood five of our unarmed settlers ; they meant to urge on their course of blood and triumph, destroying the town, butchering its inhabitants, and then on to Waitara to complete their conquest by annihilating Che troops and getting back the land which bad been sold by Teira to the Government! What infatuated madness 1 And we may still ask, in unsubsided amazement, What could be their pretext? The only answer the case admits of is this. They were actuated by the spirit of the land-league, that same spirit by which W. King is actuated in seeking, to prevent Teira from selling his land; that same spirit which says, no more land shall go to pakeha until it is flooded with blood and the natives are annihilated. Again I say the land-league is a war-league,a league of blood and death. And was it not high.time that this demon should be grappled with? surely it was; and the offer of Teira’s land furnished the Governor with a most providential opportunity for doing so ; and his Excellency has done right in availing himself of it. With this confidence, Isay, let the land leaguers come into the quarrel if they

will, let the Maori Kingites come into the quarrel if they will; —let those who would have the millions of useless acres of this fine country still left to be the idol and the curse of the Maories, —let such men condemn this quarrel if they will, I believe that God is in it, and- His purposes, to have this earth which He has made replenished and subdued and occupied, will, by this quarrel, be furthered and accomplished. I have said nothing about the relative rank or chieftainship of Teira end King, for I contend there is no oo rank or “mana” or memorial right or chieftainship, at all in the question, Teira has published his genealogical descent, but it is not to show his chieftainship but his title to the land he lias sold. That land is perhaps 600 or 700 acres ; there are 10 besides Teira who come

forward with him as sellers ; Teira's father is one, though Mr. Fox strangely says, “Teira’s father pretested against the sale; and is now fighting in King’s ranks.” No, no, Mr. Fox I Teira’s father is with Teira, in the ranks of the loyal natives, with the Queen’s troops at Waitara, defending the land which he and his son have sold to the Queen, against all leaguers and aggressors that may venture to interfere. Divide the block among these 11 sellers and it gives about 60 acres each, and if one man cannot be allowed to sell 60 acres of land out of the thousands of unoccupied acres that fall to his share in the common lot, without all this disturbance, it shows, I repeat it, that it was high time this demon- of the land-league was grappled with and cast ont, and sent back to the regions of discord from whence be came. 'lhose who protest against the saleof this land “the many more who are residing at Port Nicholson Queen Charlotte’ Sound and elsewhere;—these “absenttees” and the thousands of leaguers and Kingites at Waikato and elsewhere, who forsooth, have an interest in this land and object to its sale, do so object, not because this land is theirs, for it cannot be, but because they had made a god of the land ; land is the idol of their heart, the “three missionaries of 20 years experience,” and all other missionaries, know this as well as I do; and while they are teaching their natives that they •'should renounce the devil and ail his works,” I join heartily with them in the prayer. “lord save thy people and bless thine heritage. ” Let the devil be cast out, but let the Maories be saved. Having laid down the law of the Waitangi ‘Treaty, and stated the case which has to be tried by thatlaw, I must leave the rest to Mr Fox and the other learned judges, as being no part of the duty of Your humble servant. Typo.