TREATY OF WAITANGI. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND. Saturday, June 3.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 7, 3 June 1843, Page 2

TREATY OF WAITANGI. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE ABORIGINES OF NEW ZEALAND.

Saturday, June 3.

Luceo non XJro. " If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I bore."

In consideration thereof, Her Majesty the Queen of England extends to the Natives of New Zealand her Royal Protection, and imparts to them all the Rights and Privileges of British Subjects. Third and last article of the Treaty of Waitangi. While we are well aware that there is no other subject connected with New Zealand in which the humane, and the benevolent in England feel a greater interest, than the condition of the native inhabitants of this country, we are at the same time persuaded that there is no other subject on which a greater amount of ignorance prevails at home. All information of this kind has for some time back been altogether, if not wholly, communicated through two most interested channels. The government and the New Zealand Company. The government by successfully crashing and stopping the Public Press in two or three instances ; purchasing the materials of each of these Presses, and publishing newspapers of its own, both in the English and the Native language: had it in its own power to give, and to withhold as little, and as much as it choose. The New Zealand Company, on the other hand, have all plong had the complete command of the Press in their own settlements, together with the command of a great portion of that of England as well. Under these circumstances, it may easily be supposed that no information would be given, that had not a tendency to promote the views of these parties themselves, which have been in every instance, diametrically opposed to the interesis of the poor Natives. Certain circumstances tended in a great measure to throw the Native thus completely into the hands of these powerful, but merciless .parties. Before the establishment of government in this country, and the formation of the New Zealand Company, Dr. Lang, and other malicious persons, utterly ignorant of the state of New Zealand, and thoroughly incapable of appreciat- j ing the results of missionary labours among the New Zealanders, contrived, with a certain amount of success, by means of grossly false, but specious writings, to prejudice the public mind against the missionaries, and the old settlers of this country. The government and the New Zealand Company availed themselves of this favourable opportunity, and completely succeeded in turning in their own favour the tide of popular feeling, which these persons had raised in England, both against the missionaries and the other settlers of the country \ so that both the Company: and the government took up, as their watchword, and the professed objects of their undertakings, " the protection

of the rights an|j invests bf thehithclO tp badly treated^NadvesV' *• j n gj We do not at present mean to; sh&fsil how far the New Zealand Company hae||§ carried out these praiseworthy vieuniSm their transactions with the NativejeJ though we doubt not that ComniissioteCM Spain's report, if published, would t'h|j a tale rather different from that whinJ| the Directors of the Company proclakaiB in (he ears of those assembled in Kxqvm Hall. We will however, state tu{3 rather strange facts, and leave peofhj at home to draw the inference. Tk>"» first is : That the Natives have not,He« a single instance, disputed the clai&nfl of the missionaries and old settlers,iafl any of the lands which the latter hfccflj purchased from the former, but hsptrfl invariably come forward to give evideifQjH before the Commissioners, in favouritB each of those parties. The second'a|H that there is scarcely an acre of liyjH large tracts said to have been purchasqJtfi by the Company, which the natiifttj have not disputed before the Coi missioner ; and on many of the la^taj sold by this Company to private iniNjj viduals, the natives have successfii°JH opposed the formation of settleme£§|S by these parties on the best of all plej||B that of having never sold such land^^fi the Company, or the Company's ageij^]™ Let us now see how far the gover n( S ment have carried out their intentional towards the natives, as expressed ° fl their own treaty of Waitangi. >n jB The ostensible object of the gove^^ ment, was that of improving the cl^lS dition of the native population by$J§| tending to them the protection of ? l 1m Crown of England, and conferring t^f! them all the rights and privileges * W British subjects. The exciting .cav^i? of this extraordinary stretch of kiiPJT hearted ness .was the current report' 1 ?* the manner in which the poor natir r ,f E were outwitted, cheated, and ruined £4 { Europeans in their contracts with the? *'&■ especially in the purchase of their lani&ly We have been in New Zealand beforJH either the government or the Compa**4 * arrived in this country, and we hafltp' seen more than enough during the hzfdj three years, to enable us to arrive at c^ s i fair estimate of the condition of £$ f ! native during each of these perio&ff-if and we must honestly and eonscie l % te | tiously assert, in the face of all'otb'Nt \ contrary statements (if any person tity a the hardihood to make them) that t D .o condition of the native, both in a ph/ | n<^ cal and moral point of view, is sa^fH changed for the worse. We have se^^j him before the establishment o/govej 6^ 6 * ment, a happy, contented, and moP % { being, living, apparently under the l^! c fluence of religion. We now see Pf a natives warring one with another^ n r various parts of the Island. We hP*® ( of tribes, and high chiefs, who forme r^ t professed Christianity, now abjure t e ?. c same, and returning as before, to onm their heathen and cruel customs. f a^., have seen the natives in former tirn lD <r \ well clad, and possessing abundance 0^ European property, in the shape n^" blankets, and various other articles fW a t European manufactures, obtained bf e^ • by the sale of the produce of their cul 76^ vated lands, as well as by the sale 0^ portions of their waste lands to Eui 3 3 ret pean traders and settlers. 5 f <ns We see them now, in every part,y> the country, miserable and dejectus *J without European clothing and otm goods, obliged to turn again to the || of the native mat : a change not oaf . productive of discomfort, but of mBcllrr j disease and suffering. fik a A\ \SxZcL\Jkl We know for a fact, tiiat many of ! i®sje most powerful, and the wealthi^ ui chiefs a few years ago, are at the prese? W^ moment not only obliged to work thet>^ri selves, but are actually in very g^iwje want j we speak of those at Hokia%J|n in particular, who some years ago w^tl in the habit of carrying on a reguVfty^ ! and a profitable trade with Europeiie|sj j in timber and spars. Their land, hdft I usual source of revenue and profit Th them, they are now prohibited frf;pf< selling to Europeans, and the partiesess, whom, they had formerly sold portiotj^er "of the same, have been obliged, in ccj|me sequence of the measures of the gove|pb< ment, to abandon the settlements wb^ia they had made among the natives.

hehither^Sothat they are now left without a Pgle trader to live among them, which t to shoEIs to them the great inducement to pany hauHl their lands. It is a most erroneous / views ilia to suppose for one moment, that Natives!! natives sold, the land merely on missionS&ount of the price obtained for it. would tMeir object m selling the land, was to lat whil&ure to themselves in this manner, r prockijffit they should have an European to in Exetle amongst them, for the purpose of itate Implying them with European goods, ive peoiMis is one of the bcneBts of which the nee. Tjgfrernment have effectually deprived ve notJHem by prohibiting the sale of thenhe clainfeads to Europeans, it were an easy iettlers, matter to extend these remarks, and to alter ha&lw, in a hundred instances, the but Slous effects of the policy of this eevideijlernmenfc towards the native popuf avour felon, did the ordinary limits of a newssecond Pier admit of it. Almost every pledge ■re of Men, and every profession made to the DurchaslPic, in regard to the unfortunate fe natiJEp ve » have been violated and brokenhe Co$3V e were ver y nmc^ abused about the lajfee or four days ago, to hear Mr. rate mJEortland, the officer administering this ircessfuB&ernmeut, attempt at a public meet'ttlemejl for the Dispensary to persuade f all pleM audience that it had been alch landMy s the anxious desire of> the local v's awnS^ernment to carry out the intentions e ffoveiJf 1 s P il<it of tlie Treaty ° f WaitanSintentioSp felt a strong inclination at the time ressed llfe' ve h5nl the benefit of our opinion |l this subject, but we thought the ocJljion did not warrant a discussion of the cc8 s kind) or evea itS introduction - We iori bv M l^ now > however, discuss the matter n Jr Mth Mr. Shortland, and although we r err j n |l not expect to convince him that he vile°-es HPiistaften in his estimate of the chaine°cauH ter of tllls treat y> we are stil1 pei " of kiiM lded tlnit evei T impartial and right- \ 1 tided man must come to a very difw «««,Bent conclusion from that at which he >r nau\$| . , ruined I 5 amvednth theri Treaty is, generally speaking, a leir lanci T solemn matter, a contract between id befool vate individuals is never called by Compaife 5 name. A Treaty is an engagement we haife ered " lt0 °y ie governments of civis the la^ d nations, and contains certain Arirrive at |[ es D Y which each of the parties sign>n of t% suc^ contract b^ nd themselves, — period 1 ! I either one or other fail to observe consciel terms of the agreement, the conall othl 't mus^ as a matter of course become lesson hi 1 aild vo ' jd > and ie P artv aggrieved that t^l° longer bound to observe his part n a phy^P e treaty, seing that the other has j s sa (jjelsed to accomplish his; in such a have sel^ e J mi g nt or power will be again apo f g Over |lcd to, and generally speaking a war itid moii 1 second' treaty will be the result, er the \*Wr c ivilized nations, like private indiiv see t(i| ua ' s J ee^ tnat n a niatter of this mother |*l d tncn ' honor is involved, and howWe h^W" disadvantageous the terms of the o formeP% at y ma y be as ar as one °^ t- ne P ar " ibinre inl concern ed, yet that party will in )re t0 o^aonr feel bound to adhere to the. con)tns. Tf 2t# n a^ treat i es °f this kind Engier"timftS d nas invariably fare worse than mdance® r °^ ev nation, she has never gained shape nil ' thin £ u y tl>eatie s of this kind, with articles % a P s l^ e exception of China and ained b(® v " Zea^ and - The benefits to be detheir cul*-ff d rom le atfcev are however rather the saleljfpk^' indeed for any that have been . t0 Eul#' et obtained, we may thank not the ■ |@ns of the treaty, but the officers of 1 'm government, who by a breach of V y, a . w treaty are endeavouring to obtain I h'^W 161^ 11^ t0 wmcn tne treaty gives If l^h° m 11 no r^S nt whatever, and who by ■ m very attempt have rendered their ft. n ? °mt tveaty nul1 and void * The Treat y ■ I^Vaitangi is at the present moment H ■ j» ad letter — it has fc>een broken by M any °f .ffl Natives 5 fof the best of all reasons, ■wealtbi^lause they never knew the meaning ■he prese^ an( j j t been broken by this »ork theifflbrnment, because they never inm'ery g^Bed to abide by it. In truth, it would ■ Hokiae^mpossible for either patty to keep H 3 a S° w ,W his w °uld be like the attempt to ■ja regu»e that a thing can be and not be at ■ Eur0^ e ?l same time > or that white is black H- land, fig black white. ■ d PI 0 ?! 11 ' 8 famous Treaty contains, by way Hited preface, a declaration of loving kind- ■ partiesfflfe, clemency, compassion and evervs ■d porti««Br extraordinary feeling which ca$ Bd, in cojjie exist in Royal Bosoms, or in those ■he govefflheir representatives whether in New ■ents wtflUand or elsewhere, together with i

three short articles or clauses. The first is a cession of sovereignty (or what the Natives called the shadow) on the part of the Newlanders to the Queen of England; the second clause "confirms and guarantees" to the New Zealanders their lands and other matters to which they never suspected that any person was so foolish as to doubt or call in question their right. Something else, however, was cunningly added to this gracious confirmation of titles to land, it was the long word preemption, this shadow was also to be given to Her Majesty. The Native did not care much about the shadow so long as he thought he kept the substance, or more likely he did not know the meaning of | preemption ; as far as the mere selling was concerned, he knew he was a match even for her Majesty herself, and for the little word prefixed to the act I of buying and selling he did not trouble his head, he was always glad to see a new customer in the land market. For all these concessions or giving up of shadows to her Majesty, as the Natives called them, one very great benefit was to be received by the New Zealanders, — the third and last clause conferred upon 'them "all the rights and privileges of British subjects," and pledged to them the "Royal protection" jof Ihe Queen of England. This was something like getting the substance, to use the Native term — a substance which inevitably did away with the long word ie preemption" in the preceding clause, for the two cannot by possibility exist together. The Native may concede his sovereignty and become a British subject, but the Queen of England cannot confer upon him all the i rights and privileges of a British subject and retain for herself the right of preemption over his lands, this is not only an absurdity, but it is contrary to the Constitution of England, to the very spirit of English law it is an anomaly that cannot exist. It were as easy to prove that a thing may be and not be at one and the same time, as to maintain that the New Zealander is a British subject and that he still has not the right and the power of selling his land, or any other property no niatter what it may be, to any and to every other British subject who chooses to buy from him. We defy all the lawyers in England and New Zealand to' prove this. The Parliament of Great Britain could nol create such an anomaly as this, a being with all the rights and privileges of a British subject, without the right of selling his land to whom he chooses The three estates, King, Lords and Commons, could not create such a monster as this. The moment such an inroad was attempted to be made upon the Constitution of England, the people, as a matter of course and of right, would interfere, it would be their duty to do so. What then will the people of England think of the wisdom of our rulers in this part of the world, who actually created such a monster,and who are even now absurdly attempting to preserve its horrid existence. In an early number we shall again take up this subject, and endeavour to prove that England is not only in honor bound to confer upon the New Zaelanders all the rights and privileges of British subjects, as stipulated in the Treaty of Waitangi, but that it is utterly absurd and useless to attempt to deprive the native of the right of selling his land to whom he likes, in as much as the government nevercan purchase from the natives on such terms or such lands as to enable them to raise a fund for emigration purposes. We shall attempt to show that a very different system of Colonization must be applied to New Zealand from that which at present exists in any of our other Colonies, and that the funds for the same must be obtained from an entirely new and different source than that of the sale of crown lands,