PROCLAMATION.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume III, Issue III, 15 February 1845, Page 199

PROCLAMATION.

By his Excellency Robert Fitzßoy, Esquire, Captain in her Majesty's Royal Navy, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the colony of New Zealand, and Vice Admiral of the same, &c. &c. &c. Whereas an act of depredation has lately been committed at the Bay of Islands by the Kawakawa tribe, for which sufficient atonement has not been made by the aggressors ; And whereas a flagrant robbery, accompanied by personal violence, has been committed at Matakana by the Wangarei tribe ;

And whereas if such acts of lawlessness are not sufficiently checked, there will be no security for settlers at a distance from military protection ; I, the Governor, hereby proclaim and declare that, until all the property taken away from Mr. Hingaton, at the Bay of Islands, and from Mr. Millon and others, at Matakana, is restored to them, until sufficient compensation is made for the injuries sustained, and until the chiefs Parehoro, Mate, and Kokou are delivered up to justice, I will not consent to waive the Crown's right of pre-emption over any land belonging to the Kawakawa or Wangarei tribes, or to any tribe which may assist or harbour the said chiefs.

And I hereby proclaim that upon the delivery of the aforesaid chiefs, or either of them, into the custody of the Police Magistrate at Auckland, I will cause the sum of fifty pounds for each said chief, or one hundred and fifty pounds for all three chiefs to be immediately paid for his or their apprehension and delivery. I also hereby warn all persons, Europeans, and natives, that their assisting or harbouring the said chiefs or other persons concerned in perpetrating outrages, will render themselves liable to be proceeded against according to law. And I further proclaim that the strongest measures will be adopted ultimately, in the event of these methods being found insufficient. Given, &c, at Government House, Auckland, this eighth day of January, 1845. Robert Fitzßoy, Governor.

By command, Andrew Sinclair, Colonial Secretary. God save the Queen !