THE WAIKATO COMMITTEE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1350, 16 November 1860, Page 5

THE WAIKATO COMMITTEE.

Report oftM Select Committee appointed^ "enquire as' to the circumstances under which an jjtitempt was made in ihe year 1857, to introt^duce institutions of Civil Government amongst Natives of tfa Waikato district, tfte practical effects of ttie sams, and Hie causes which led to its discontinuance;" have considered the •matters to them referred, and I^dve agreed to tfte following. ' In consequence of the short time which remains before the termination of the present Session, Your Committee are able to do little more than lay before the House the evidence taken by them, and some general conclusions at ■which they have unanimously arrived. The evidence deserves serious attention, as relating to a subject of vital importance to the colony, and embracing, with few exceptions, the views of persons best qualified to form a judgment upon it. - Your Committee have adopted on the basis of their enquiry, Mr. Fenton's Keport and Journal of Proceedings as Resident Magistrate in the Waikato in the years 1857-8, printed amongst the Sessional papers of this Session. The general soundness of the views propounded in- this very able paper has not, in the judgment of Your Committee, been impeached. The following n is the Colonial Secretary's Official Minute upon^ : — " Referred to the Native Secretary on the 9th October (not returned till the 17th instant). This is a most valuable and interesting report; very unlike the dry bones, or at most reciiauffes, usually submitted. It demonstrates powerfully that the system jointly recommended by the Governor and the Responsible Advisers of the Crown in May last, is calculated to effect that great desideratum (if the Native race is to be preserved and the peace of the Country maintained) the elevation of the mere Maori into a resoning citizen. Mr. Fenton deserves the highest credit for^e judgment and prudence which he has displayed in carrying out His Excellency's t instructions communicated to him on the 10th of May lost. E. W. Stafford. November 18, 1857." Among other papers laid before them, Your ' Committee direct the attention of the House to the following as having a special bearing on the matter of their enquiry :—: — 1. Despatches of the Governor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, expressing his Excellency's views on the subject of the King movement; dated 9th May, 1857; 23rd September, 1857; 9th Nov., 1857; 17th June, 1858; 19th August, 1858 ; and 25th May, 1858 ; with their respective enclosures. 2. Memoranda by the Native Secretary, Mr. McLean, dated 7th September, and 16th November, 1857. 3. Memoranda by His Excellency's Ministers, dated 6th May, 1857, and 29th September, 1858. 4. A paper on the subject of Civil Institutions for the Natives, submitted by William Martin, late Chief Justice, to Governor Gore Browne in 1859. 5. Papers relating to a very interesting, but unsuccessful experiment, having for its object the encouragement of the Natives in Waikato in personal pursuits, by introducing grass seeds. These papers, with the official ministers, and Native Secretary's Department, deserve consideration as illustrating the general character of the relations between the two departments, and their method of transacting business. Your committee have also incorporated with the Evidence, in order to make their Keport as complete as possible, the very able Minutes of the Native Minister, Mr. Richmond, published in the Sessional papers of 1858 and of the present Session, so far as they relate to Native affairs. I Your Committee have examined the Minister for Native Aflkirs, Mr. Richmond ; the Native Secretary, Mr. McLean ; the Assistant Native Secretary^ Mr. Smith ; Mr. C. 0. Davis, •fete Interpreter in the Native Office ; and Mr. the late Resident Magistrate at Waikato ; the Bishop of New Zealand, Archdeacon Maunsell, the Rev, B. Y. Ashwell (Church of England) ; an instructive letter was received from the Rev. Mr. Morgan (Church of England), who was personally unable to attend ; the Rev. T. Buddie and the Rev. J. Hobbs, (Wesleyan). The Rev. Father Garivel (Roman Catholic) was requested to give evidence, but declined on ecclesiastical grounds. Your Committee also examined Sir William Martin, the late Chief Justice, whose long experience and intimate acquaintance with Native affairs, entitles his opinion to peculiar weight. Your Committee examined Wiremu Maehe, Hoani Takurua. ißfcVhero Haerehuka, Ruka Taurua, Rev. Heta Tarawhiti, Reihana, Hone Wetere, Mohi Te Rongomau, Te Horohau, Reweti, Taneti, and Hopa, all Chiefs of some importance. At Mr. yenton's suggestion, they examined Mr. Armitage, a European settler on the Waikato ; and Waatu Kukutai, one of the principal Chiefs of the tribes of the Waikato. At the instance of Mr. McLean they examined Tamati Ngapora, a very influential Chief, of excellent character, whose views are entitled to great consideration ; also Takerei Te Rau, one of the principal chiefs, of Waikato; and Captain Johnstone, Mj| Strauss, and Mr. Marshall, European settlers on the Waikato. Your Committe do not lay any stressjpn the evidence of these last three. * Your Committee have not been able minutely to analyze the valuable mass of evidence thus collected, but they have unanimously arrived at the*following conclusions :—: — They recognise as an undeniable fact, that of recent years, a great movement (attributalbe to a variety of causes) has been going on amongst the Native people, having for its main object the establishment of some settled ' authority amongst themselves. This movement is not, in the opinion of your Committee, a mere transactory agitation.' It proceeds from sources deeplyseated, and is likely to be of a permanent and growing characters, ■ Upon the proper direction of this movementflhe peace and progress of the Colony for years to come will greatly depend. Thbugli it does not appear to be absolutely identical with what is termed the King movement, it has become, and is 'now so closely connected wjth it, that the two c%nnot be made the subject of separate political treatment. The objects of a large section of the Natives were distinctly expressed at the great meetingatPaetai on the* 23rd April, 1857, at which the Governor was present, and at which it was- understood by *them that His Excellency promised to introduce amongst them Institutions of law founded on the 1 principle 'of .self-government, analogous to British' Institutions, and presided oyer by the British^ Government, ii';!' was present," says the Rev. Mr.^Ashwell referring to that Meeting,' "when Te Wharepii; "Paehia, f ;with'"Potatau,'

asked the Governor for a Ma^SSe7Xaws ? and Runangas,' which lie assented, to /and "some v of the Natives took off their hats and cried 'Hurrah.' ' • • ■ ' T• , ,/•<." Such a movement need not have been the subject of alarm. One of its'principal aims undoubtedly was to assert the distinct' nationality of the Maori race, and another to establish, by their own efforts, some organization on which to base a* system of law and order. These objects are not necessarily inconsistent with the recognition of, the Queen's supreme authority, or antagonistic to the European race or the progress of colonization. Accidental circumstances, it is true, might give, and probably have given, to it a new and more dangerous character : such, at present, appears to-be its tendency: but it would have been from the first ,and still would be unwise on that account to attempt to counteract it by positive resistance, and unsafe to leave it, by neglect and indifference, to follow its own course without attempting to guide it. For these reasons, your Committee beg to declare their entire concurrence in the views expressed by the Governor in Ms Despatch to the Duke of Newcastle of the dth May, 1857, and in the Memorandum accompanying the same. In this Despatch His Excellency writes thus with reference to the King movement and its true character :—": — " It was, however, clear that they (the Natives) did not understand the term ' King* in the sense in s which we use it ; but although they certainly professed loyalty to the Queen, attachment to myself, and a desire for the amalgamation of the races, they did mean to maintain separate nationality, and desired to have a Chief of their election, who should protect them from every possible encroachment on their rights, and uphold such of their customs as they were disinclined to relinquish. This was impressed upon me everywhere ; but only on one occasion, at Waipa, did any one presume to speak of their intended King as a Sovereign having similar rank and power with Her Majesty : and this speaker I cut short, leaving him in the midst of his oration." In the Memorandum accompanying this Despatch, His Excellency writes thus ; " The Governor approves the appointment of Mr. Fenton, and desires to urge on his Advisers the importance of giving i him insti actions without delay. The present moment is (as they observe) a critical one ; and if the Government does not take the lead and direction of the Native movement into its own hands, the time will pass when it will be possible to do so. The subject in question is probably much discussed at the meeting now going on at Eangiriri, and will be so again at the more important one expected to take place at Mangere. The influence of oratory and perhaps evil counsel, aided by the natural excitement of the natives, may induce them to frame laws at these meeting, and thus add to the present difficulty ; but they will probably refrain from doing so if they see that the Government is actually doing what they wish. Mr. Fenton's able Minute, which the Governor has perused with great satisfaction, confirms these views and opinions and enlarges on the danger of delay. The thanks of the Government expressed in strong terms should be conveyed to Mr. Fenton for his zeal and ability, and the value of his information." For the same reasons your Committee mubt respectfully state their inability to concur in the views expressed by the Governor in his Despatch to the Duke of Newcastle of the 19th August, 1858, in which he says : " I have the honor to forward for your Lordship's information the latest accounts which have reached me relative to the so-called kingdom established in certain Native districts, together with a report on the subject from the Native Secretary. These accounts are far from satisfactory, but I trust that time and absolute indifference and neglect on the part of the Government, will teach the natives the folly of proceedings undertaken only at the promptings of vanity and instigated by disappointed advisers." On similar grounds' your Committee must express their absolute dissent from the Memorandum of the Native Secretary (Mr. McLean) accompanying the Governor's Despatch on the 27th September, 1857, in which he says : "The present movement on the part of the Waikato Tribes to elect a King of their own, is not likely to be attended with any important or serious consequences, if the Government abstain from interfering in the matter. The course which I would recommend for the adoption of the Government in reference to the King Question, is decidedly one of non-interference, unless the movement assume more of a hostile character and tendency than it does at present." The whole tenour of this Memorandum appears to overlook the importance of the King movement " as an effort to obtain law and order, and in &o far to indicate an imperfect and unsound view of the movement itself, and an erroneous conception of the proper policy to be observed in reference to it. The view taken by Responsible Ministers in reference to the policy thus indicated, as expressed in their various official Memoranda and Minutes, appears to your Committee to have been the sound one. The course taken by His Excellency in 1857, under the advice of his Ministers, in introducing, or rather encouraging, the adoption of Civil institutions by the natives in the Waikato district was, they believe, a wise course. The selection of Mr. Fenton as a Resident Magistrate was in their opinion judicious. That gentleman appears to have been well qualified for the task, and to have possessed in a singular [degree, in addition to other qualifications of a high order, the earnestness which is indispensable for such work. Subject to a remark which your Committee hereafter make as regards the omission on his first circuit to visit the chief Potatau, his task seems to have been in all essential points executed with judgment. It was also attended on the whole with decided success. It no doubt contributed to stimulate the native mind, and so to produce excitement, but not (so far as appears to your Committee) of a' dangerous or unhealthy character. No such work was ever done without similar effects. It doubtless tended also to produce a more distinct demarcation of parties. This would necessarily be the case in any political counter-movement. But no choice seems to Have been open between suffering the whole people to be absorbed into the King party, or attempting to gain them over to allegiance to British .authority ; , 'an attempt to which some visible separation of parties, was an inevitable incident. Your Committee have felled to' discover that this separation of parties was attended with any actual or threatened disturbance of public order.' , ' Your Committee have given due' "weight ,to allegations intended to justify Mr.i Fenton's withdrawal, of want of discretion on Ma part in overlooking the proper claims of Chief? of high rank, and of over-zeal in encouraging '.these party divisions. . ,They do undoubtedly recognize as 'working in Mr. Fenton's mind,' and influencing in some'degree his course of action," a disposition! td rely,'jpossib}y qyermuch,,,ori thgi epj-operation of the .ypunger and more;/ energetic . men ; the result of which would tend to lessen

,the importance or* the ? ojder ( , Chiefs,, and, f 'unles£ counteracted by careful management ' on- tlii paf,tof the GkJVenimentjto excite their'jealousy. It has been said that' these' younger men "v^ere wanting in stability of character, and* could not be depended on.. Your Committee, however, do not understand that Mr. Fenton soughfr-foi his coadjutors, amongst the 4 ;mere youthjbut from men of sufficiently mature age and formed character upon whom reliance might reasonably be placed. One of them, Waata. Kukutai, a Chief of importance, who was- examined before your Committee, shewed great intelligence and earnestness of purpose. * ' ! ' l ' It must be remembered that the older Chiefs are passing away. Their real" influence 'over their people, though sensibly diminished of late years, is still very great: not, however, to the exclusion of t other ancl popular' influences;' It would be the duty of Government to secure their cordial assent by all legitimate means of conciliation and deference to their tribal position '; and there seems little doubt that, under judicious management on the part of Government, their willing co-operation might bo obtained. They are not, it is true, willing to surrender their tribal authority, or' substantial power ; but they seem disposed themselves to hand over to younger men of influence the active work, and to recognise what is an undeniable truth, that the social regeneration of the Maori race can only be effected by the agency of their rising men ; that class which in all communities is really powerful for good or evil. But in forming a judgment as to Mr. Fenton's proceedings, Your Committee cannot "after careful examination perceive faults of the nature imputed to him, in any of his practical operations, after his work in the district had commenced. If in the execution of a very difficult and delicate task faults of this" kind had" been committed, such a contingency lay in the very nature of the experiment. If demanded, therefore, on the part of the Government, whose agent he was, a watchful observation of his proceedings ; a constant readiness on their part to supply counsel and instructions, framed in a spirit of hearty co-operation. Without such conditions, it would be almost inevitable that a single individual, unaided and uncontrolled, would fall into occasional errors. To prevent and correct these would be, in the judgment of your Committee, the peculiar function of Government. At the time of Mr. Fenton's withdrawal there had sprung up in the minds of some of the older and more influential chiefs, Potatau in particular, a feeling of jealousy, perhaps of dislike, towards Mr. Fenton in his magisterial capacity. A risk of this kind, as it appears to your Committee, might have been anticipated from the first. Prudent precautions on the part of the Government, and a very discreet course of action on the part of the Magistrate, might have removed or mitigated the objections of the older Chiefs. The Missionaries describe their own work as having been attended with similar difficulties : and to "persuade the Native people to accept British law in lieu of their old customs, is, in truth, a Missionary enterprise. One circumstance has been mentioned as having roused Potatau's jealousy, namely, that when Mr. Fenton paid his first visit to the 'Waikato, he omitted to call on Potatau. This gave offence to the old Chief; and possibly contributed, with other causes, to estrange his sympathies from the Government. The omission was most unfortunate. To whom the blame is attributable, Your Committee do not pretend to say, whether to Mr. Fenton, the Native Minister, or the Native Department. But it is clear from the conversation between Mr. McLean and Potatau, stated in Mr. McLeans evidence, that the influences working in that Chiefs mind, and which induced him ultimately to accept the ostensible position of King, were of a deeper kind. Probably by tact and management his objections might have been removed : but Your Committee do not think that these objections of themselves were a sufficient ground for the Government withdrawing the magistrate from the district. The reasons which induced them to adopt that course are entitled to the utmost consideration. They are staled clearly in the evidence of Mr. McLean and Mr, Smith, who thought that Mr. Fenton's proceedings were causing a division among the Waikato tribes, which tended to strengthen and consolidate the King party, and to produce such irritation as might have resulted in a collision. Your Committee hesitate in expressing an absolute opinion on the question whether, looking to all the circumstances, his withdrawal was judicious or not. It depends on facts on which the Government alone could have the means of forming a judgment. But Your Committee, with the light of two years' experience since that time before them, do not perceive sufficient reasons for suspending the work in which Mr. Fenton was engaged. Without in any degree mitigating the real causes of agitation in the Native mind, his withdrawal disheartened a large and influential body of the Natives, especially in the Lower Waikato, including many influential' Chiefs who had associated themselves with him, and were actively engaged on the side of the Government They were disappointed and humiliated at the sudden abandonment of their undertaking. In the Maori phrase they felt tinihangatia; in plain English, "humbugged."* Many of them joined the King party, and this, amongst other causes, has tended to irritate ,and give a more malign aspect to the King movement itself. The appointment of Mr. Turton, after a long interval, and subsequently of Mr. Halse, as Magistrates in the district, does not appear to have been attended with any marked result. These gentlemen were confined merely to performance of the Magisterial duties, to the entire exclusion of those more important functions which it waa especially Mr. ( Fenton's mission to execute, "the organization of, the .Natives into a self-governing system, and their instruction in the elements of, law. The prominent objection urged by the Nativ Secretary, Mr. McLean, to Mr. Fenton's system is to that essential feature of it, the Kunangas or popular assemblies of the Natives. Mr. McLean apprehends from them danger to the peace of the Colony and social 'mischief to the Natives' ; at least from their distinct organization and too, frequent use.,* \But, apart from all general theories on the subject, this' sort of popular meeting is perfectly ,familiar. T to the Natiye mind ; is, in fad£ an old Maori custom ; has been and is, at this time, in constant and universal use^ though 'in', irregular forms' and; sometimes turned" tfr 1 dangerous puposes. /It' is, besides;* i%d J only Inadtie by which an improved system of social, institutions can be in-, troduced amongst 4he' Natives for their voluntary acceptance. Properly and placed under the control of Government, Your Committee" believe that the Runanga jvmild become a'greatinstrumentObf^civ&izatiOnj a powerful means of securing order, and' ,a' machinery for f^gmf? #«W9 ni»^diBseminating,n i»^di8seminating, tlieijjrinciplesot law. , „ v , ,. >, -. . „j •-'•'Your Conimltfe'e^ob'BeW 'thai towards 'the

■* ■ r .iii , . ■■ ■ i i u end o!f the .year 1857 a' change took place ii > arrangements,- by which Mr. Fen1 : ton was removed from the,control of Ministers arid placed'under the Native Secretary; betweer whfari.atidMr. Fenton there was,a wani of thai * ' spirit of cordial co-operation, which alone could Msure the success of his proceedings. In fact, thefe does not appear to have been correspondence of any kind from that time between Mr. 'Fenton and the Native office. As no fault has been attributed to Mr. Fenton, your Committee feel themselves bound, as far as in them lies, to relieve him from any unfavourable inference whibh might be drawn from this circumstance. His immediate appointment as Assistant Law Officer/ at a higher salary, is indirectly a testimony to this effect. But that most important defect in the arrangements which have been in force of late years for the administration of Native' affairs, becomes glaringly apparent in the circumstances attending his removal and the suspension of his operations :'namely, the entire want of harmonious action between the Ministry and the Department of the Native Secretary. The official minutes and memoranda, (amongst which, in particular, Your Committee direct attention to the memorandum of the Native Secretary recommending that Mr. Fenton should continue himself strictly to his magisterial duties and the memorandum of the Colonial Secretary thereon), exhibit, in a very striking light, not only fundamental differences of opinion on vital questions, but a state of interdepartmental conflict which would be fatal to the success of any administrative plans for ameliorating the condition of the Natives. Your Committee do not think they have exceeded the proper limits of their enquiry, in directing their attention to the question of attempting, at the present time, to re-introduce a system such as Mr. Fenton's. They believe that the only solution of our difficulties lies in meeting, directing, and effectuating the desire of the Natives for the establishment of law and order. The difficulties necessarily incidental to such a work are, as Your Committee admit, great in themselves, and are much increased by existing circumstances. There may be even some risk in the attempt. The impolicy of encouraging combinations, the risk of stirring up ill-blood and quarrels between parties or tribes, the diversion of the Native mind into channels of unhealthy excitement, and other arguments of a like character, are and will be urged in defence of a policy of mere sedatives. In the opinion of Your Committee, they are not sufficient to counteract the opposite considerations already noticed. In urging the necessity of providing some settled system of law and governmental authority amongst the natives, whenever and wherever practicable, Your Committee desire emphatically | to express their opinion, that what is wanted, ' is not merely to establish Magistrates to perform ordinary Magisterial duties, but to prosej cute vigorously and effectually the education and instruction of the natives, so as to fit and 1 accustom them, under European guidance, to , take part in the administration of law, with a view to incorporate them into our own system of Civil Instatutions, giving them the utmost 1 possible share in the work of their own government. The preponderance of testimony adduced, leads to the opinion that any such attempt would be hopeless whilst the war at Taranaki is pending ; but that special difficulty would principally exist in the case of tribes j actually involved in the war, and of tribes closely connected with them. It is said by some , witnesses of authority (though Your Committee J hesitate to express an opinion on the point) that in the Lower Waikato the attempt might even now be made with success ; and, if judiciously prosecuted, would be attended with beneficial results. This whole question, however, depends so much on circumstances and considerations with which Your Committee cannot pretend to intimate acquaintance, that they can only recommend the matter to the serious consideration of the Government. C. Hunter Brown, Chaw-man. House of Representatives, 31st Oct., 1860.