EPIC OCCASION

Northern Advocate, 5 February 1934, Page 7

EPIC OCCASION

LOYAL ENTHUSIASM. HIS EXCELLENCY’S RESPONSE. FRATERNAL SPIRIT. Replying to the welcome extended to him at Waitangi this afternoon, His Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, made a characteristically eloquent speech. His Excellency prefaced his speech with the Maori phrase, “E TE IWI TENARA KOTOA. ” He said that he was deeply impressed and much touched by the loyal and enthusiastically cordial welcome which the great assemblage of Natives and Europeans had extended to Her- Excellency, and himself. That the Maori race should have signalised their modest ..gift to the people of New Zealand of the adjoining estate —the cradle of the nation—by these anniversary celebrations was characteristic of, their unswerving loyalty to . the British Crown, and was a gratifying testimony on their - part to the sincerity of British honour and integrity. Today the Maori was walking, confidently in step beside the Pakeha and the Pakeha was walking in friendship and comradeship beside the Maori. Moreover, in bringing together Maoris of different tribes and sub-tribes from all over this Dominion—from Te Reinga to Murihuku (from the North Cape to the Bluff) —the meeting was a proof that the Treaty of Waitangi had served to unify the Maori people. On the part of those who belonged, to the British race it afforded an op-, portnnity of renewing their obligation to the Maori people. •He hoped that Waitangi would bo to all a *‘Tatan Ponnamu” —a happy and precious closing of the door for ever upoq all war and strife between races and tribes in this country —the place where all erstwhile antagonists clasped hands of eternal friendship, Britain’s Pledge. It was well to remember on the present occasion that one hundred years ago the British statesmen wore confronted by problems originating on the shores of this very bay, problems which in their solution called for the pledge of national faith to the Maori people. That •pledge was given by Britain’s then responsible Ministers through the Treaty of Waitangi. Towards the beginning of the 19th century irregular British settlement nils taking place in New Zealand, Its wild injustice called aloud for reform, and its sporadic character for regulation. The onl} r remedy for this chaotic condition was the intervention of the British Crown. But tlie hands of the Crown were more than full with similar responsibilities elsewhere. Only the most tar-sighted statesmen saw any wisdom in maintaining outposts of Empire at the risk of international jealousies and national impoverishment. Fewer still could appreciate the wisdom of adding New Zealand to these colonial problems. But the claims of humanity and the clamant need for ordered government in this country became so insistent that they could not be ignored. The formidable difficulty facing Queen Victoria’s Ministers was the fact that New Zealand was a foreign country and outside their jurisdiction. The alternatives open to them wore conquest or negotiation. As conquest with all its horrors was repugnant to the British mind and conscience, Captain William Hobson, of the Royal Navy, Now Zealand’s first Governor, was invested with consular powers , and authorised to negotiate a -/treaty with the Native chiefs for the cession, upon equitable toms of their sovereignty to the British Queen. The honourable intentions of the British Government in this matter are fully and eloquently demonstrated in the instructions furnished to Captain Hobson by the Colonial (Secretary, Lord Normanby, before leaving England. Eminently just in spirit, broadly humanitarian in principle, they formed a document which any nation

might be proud to have,, enshrined within its archives. How/on this very spot, Captain Hobson carried out his instructions was well, known.

Inevitable Misunderstandings. Inevitably and admittedly the as-.-vi sumption of British authority, withthe advent of different ideals and an;'. entirely different code of ethics and of law, involved some misunderstandings and some heartburnings, but 'an impartial survey of the situation.-as it- ' exists after 94 years of actual experience disclosed the fact that the Maori people still believed that the Treaty • had a “mana” of its own, and still regarded it as the Magna Charta of • : their political rights, while the Euro- " pean population were resolved to fulfill faithfully their obligations ‘to : the • Maori people. Ninety-four years ago, • - the Maori people were grievously pUz'z-- ■ led and much agitated as to what course they should pursue. Should ; they yield up the sovereignty of the • country and come under the protect- ; ing wing of the Great White Queen? In the face of conflicting opinions and - conflicting advice, no one could* blamethem if they approached the issue with doubt and fear, with mistrust and mis- ■ • giving. Fortunately there was among the Maori chiefs ona man who thought' - with the mind of a sage, who saw with the eye of a seer, and who -spoke with r .the voice of a prophet. That man was'- - Tamati Waka Nene, who, after reasoning- with his own people that it was- : • ' now too late to turn the Pakeha away, • - and pleading with Captain Hobson to-" : remain “as a governor and a father” to them, delivered himself of the following magnificent declaration of his confidence in British honour:—-“I -am walking beside the Pakeha: I’ll sign - ; the puka puka,” a spontaneous expression of trust which carried to the’ minds of his colleagues the assurance of Britain’s good faith and British £ tegrity.* / . '

British Champions. . ' :i - r Among the European negotiators two ' men stood out as champions of Britishsovereignty—the Reverend Henry Wil- r ■ liams and Mr James Busby, -the Brit* ish Resident. What this country owed ' to the sterling patriotism of these two 1 - • men, coupled with the intimate acquaintance of the former with the language and, the, aspirations of the ,7 Maori race, was scarcely yet. appreci--ated. Taking their, courage in both V:; hands, they faced the opponents-of the . Treaty, answering argument with argu- ■'/ ment, and eventually carrying conviction not only by virtue of the strength : of their ease, but because of , their • transparent integrity and the confid-V ence which the natives reposed in their . ■ personal veracity. The Treaty was signed, and slowly the mists of uncer- . taiuty, the clouds of doubt which -con?.:; fused the issue in. 1840 had been, dis- :■. , , polled, iso that today they did not look askance at the Treaty or-view it with, -v mistrustful eyes. The most abiding.':; " impression which the present meeting was calculated to convey" was. the al- - most magical effect which the Treaty had had in unifying the Maori people. Just before systematic British colonisation took place, the Maori race seemed to be advancing towards self-ex- . tinction. The last inter-tribal battle was fought at Waikanae (Kuititanga), on the 16th October, 1889. Then came;- : the Treaty of Waitangi, bringing with - it British sovereignty, the majesty of . the law, together with the Pakeha sys- . tom of adjusting disputes, and fromthat day no tribal wars have taken place. • Inestimable Benefits. V Who could estimate that immense'■ benefit this respite from incessant ’ strife had conferred upon the Maori race or what the resulting -sense of ■ security had meant to a people Who wore essentially cultivators of the soil. Today all could sow their land in the sure and certain knowledge that tomorrow they would reap whatWaS theirs under the protection • the' : Treaty and that no one ..would dispHto their title. Gradually the barriets between the tribes had been broken down, until today they saw mihgling f *, together with courtly dignity men dnd* - : women who a century ago might hhv6 "■; been engaged in deadly MrfaH. f y