'MAORIS' MAGNA CHARTA'

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 31, 7 February 1928, Page 8

'MAORIS' MAGNA CHARTA'

(THE TREATY OF WAITANGI. ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. LEADERS' SPEECHES BROADCAST. I —— The eighty-eighth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitaugi was marked yesterday by addresses delivered by the political leaders of the European and Maori peoples. These addresses were broadcast by 2YA, the Wellington station, and re-broadcast by stations in other centres, including IYA, Auckland. The reception in Auckland in the early part of the evening was not good, partlv because of interference by '"howlers." but when darkness came the speeches were heard at very fair strength. "liiis week SS years ago was a momentous week for New Zealand," said Sir Maui Poraare, Acting-Minister of Internal Affairs. "It was, in fact, the most important period in our history. This is the anniversary of Captain Hobson's proclamation, at Korokrareka, of the assumption of the duties of the office of Lieutenant-Governor. The next steps was to present to the Maori chiefs the draft of the Treaty of Waitangi for their signature. Terms of the Treaty. "The treat}- provided, firstly, that the native chiefs should cede their sovereignty to the Queen of England; secondly, that the lands, forests, fisheries and food places of the natives should remain theirs inviolate, but that the right of pre-emptive purchase of their lands should vest in the Crown; and, thirdly, that in return for their concessions Her Majesty the Queen of England would afford the native race her Royal protection, and impart to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects. "On February G, 1840, 45 chiefs of Ngapuhi signed the treaty. Sheets of the treaty were taken from one end of the colony to the other, and so very nearly every chief of importance had a hand in its ratification. It was in this manner that New Zealand became a dependency of the British Empire. '"That piece of paper—the Treaty of W aitangi—is our New Zealand Maoris Magna C'harta; but let it always be remembered that it was a purely voluntary act, this handing over of the superior mana of New Zealand to the British Queen. The Maoris did not take that step without careful deliberation. They weighed every word. Some of the Ngapuhi were suspicious of the pakehas' intentions, and it was only through the efforts of two eminet men that they consented to accept the Queen's mana. The names of those two men should never be forgotten. One was the Ven. Archdeacon Henry Williams, a very gallant man, who before he gecame a missionary had been a British naval officer, and had served against the French and the Americans. The other champion of the treaty was Tamati Waka Nene, the great Ngapulii chief. "Our Troubles at an End." "One of the causes of the distrust among the Maoris, that led up to Hone Heke's war at the Bay of Islands in 1845, was the belief that the pakehas, so soon as they became strong enough, intended to seize the Maori lands. Tortunately, such a course of action was tot followed. "The treaty is as much the charter of Maori liberty, and nationalism as it was 80 years ago. To-day, we can eay that our troubles are at an end. The Maoris and Europeans are now as one, and we feel that the happy position the Maori occupies in this beautiful land of ours is due in a very great degree to that simple 'scrap of paper' signed by the grand old chiefs 88 years ago—the Treaty of Waitangi. Kia ora."

'•The amicable relations and .complete understanding now exiting between the Europeans and Maofs resident in this Dominion have been brought about by the Treaty of Waitangi," said the Prime Minister, tho Right Hon. J. G. Coates. "The continued recognition bv the various Governments of the moral rights reserved to the Maoris under that compact has been largely responsible for this fraternal union of the two peoples. Of this there can be no question. At no time has the legislature of New Zealand been callously unmindful, or even indifferent to, the true spirit of the treaty. Never has it been careless of the great trust imposed upon it, as the jguardian of native rights. Maoris' War Sacrifices. "This commendable endeavour to observe that justice which is the paramount interest of all men and all commonwealths has finally led to universals acceptance of the treaty by the native race, as the basis of their civil and political privileges. When, therefore, the Great War broke out, the Maori tribes throughout New Zealand, recognising their responsibilities as British subjects, by virtue of that treaty, without hesitation voluntarily offered the services of their sons to fight the common fee, in defence of the Empire. This wonderful response was their generous recognition in 1914 of the protection given them by Britain in IS4O. "The acceptance of their services on Gallipoli satisfied the intense desire of this Maori manhood to prove to his pakelia fellow-subjects that the moral tie which held them to the British Crown under the Treaty of Waitangi was not on© in name only. "Our Maori brethren have written the name of their race large on our scroll of fame, and it is fitting that we who escaped their glorious fate in defence of King and Empire should keep their memories green in our hearts and recollections, as their own people have done in tho touching lament, Tiko nei te Matenga' ('When Our Heads are Bowed yrith Woe')."