Decisive Days of Negotiation and Signature

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23560, 22 January 1940, Page 25 (Supplement)

Decisive Days of Negotiation and Signature

THERE is no more momentous day in New Zealand history than February 5, 1840 Upon tho result,, of Captain Hobson's negotiations that day with the northern chiefs, most of them Nga-pulii, practically everything for which ho had come depended critically His task was beset by grave hazards of failure' The. British Government had earlier abandoned all claim to sovereignty in New Zealand, had deliberately thrown away tho advantage of Cook's proclamation. Busby was here on sufferance and without a vestige of legal power. Until the treaty of cession was voluntarily accepted by the leading chiefs, Hobson's commissions were formal only. Ho had to watch his step. This'was the more necessary by reason of influences known to be hostile to tho advent of British law. He came through with colours flying. With dignity yet speed he took his course. 'There were moments when ho faced tho imminent end of his hopes* but with splendid self-command and impressive poise he won his way. How he viewed the task can be distinctly 6ceu in the two letters he sent on January 29 from H.M.S. Herald to Mr. (afterwards Reverend) Charles Baker, then acting-head of the principal Church Mission station at Pai-hia in th;j absence of the Reverond Henry Williams. Happily it is possible to quote exactly, at first hand, from the originals of these letters. The first of them was as follows: , H.M. Ship Herald 29 Jany. 1840 My dear Sir, Mr Busby will send you a draft of an invitation to the Native Chiefs which I shall feel very much obliged if you will have printed as quickly as possible. I am desirous to meet the chiefs with the least possible delay and shall thank you to provide as many messengers to' convey these notices as may be required. Whatever you deem proper shall be paid to them. I am sorry I did not see you before you went on slioro but I hope j'ou will favor mo with a conference tomorrow. I should like if possible to have some conversation with the most influential gentlemen here and at Hokianga but I cannot with propriety leave the ship until I appear in my proper character. It is an eventful moment for this Country, and I feel assured •that the Public Interest will be best consulted by Union of Purpose. I hopo to see Mr. Williams as soon as possible. J ; Ever j r our very Humble and obedient Servt. W Hobson Later that day another letter was sent to Mr. Baker. Here it is, precisely: ~ ■■ ... Herald . . 329 Jany My dear Sir, . . U I have resolved to read Her Majesty's Commissions tomorrow & to issue my proclamations at once. There are cogent reasons for prompt movements. . I have sent the drafts of the Proclamations for the Printer. Pray hasten their execution. I shall I fear trespass a good deal on 3*our establishment, but I hope with God's assistance that our measures will ensure prosperity to this lovely Country. May. 1 hope you will use your influence to procure a full attendance at Kororareka tomorrow at two. As this will not be delivered before the morng. don't mistako the day. If I can have the use of your Church it is there I should most like to read these important documents. Yours ever W Hobson In this letter Captain Hobson underlined the request "don't mistake tho day," his anxiety to be understood being occasioned by the fear that Mr. Baker might, on receipt of the letter on

the 30th, imagine that the following day was intended.' The significance of this is, incidentaiiy,; to indicate that in Captain Hobson's own opinion ins actions on January 29 had no official value, whereas those on January 30 were to be, in every respect, of profound official importance: From these letters comes a spotlight on the question as to whether Anniversary Day, as loyally observed in the Auckland Province, should remain January 29 or be changed to January 30. These things, however, are not so relevant to Hobson's task as is the obvious care he devoted to preparations for negotiation of the treaty of cession.

The' great day, February 5, came so speedily that doubt might well be entertained whether this business could be successfully transacted. However, the native mind had been prepared; the notifications of the meeting, which were in Maori and followed one form, had all gone out; and on the critical day there 1 gathered at "Wai-tangi an unusually large assemblage of native chiefs. From the account "of an eye-witness the scene can be vividly recalled. At a very early hour the natives began to arrive. The Bay was soon alive with canoes hastening from every "direction to the place of meeting. Their dipEin": paddles flashed in the rilliant sunshine of a particularly bright day. Zest for speed was manifest. Upright in each canoe," urging his men on, was a kai-tuki, to >- .whose rhythmic movements "and, chanting the paddles dropped and swung with quick precision. V There were boats conveying settlers from most points in the Bay, and boats also from all vessels at anchor. Every ship was gay with bunting. " On the lawn, in;front of Busby's house was ;a'spacious marquee bedecked with flags, above them. all the Union Jack. In this tent the momentous business of the day was to be done, and about it whites and natives were gathered. About nine o'clock the Lieutenant - Governor carrie ashore and was soon deep in i conversation with Williams .. " and Busby. Still whites and natives, officers and lookers- , on, "all and sundry in the. Bay, were - arriving, ' the .whites chatting about the meaning of this strange day, and the natives squatting in groups , according to,, their tribes. They, too, were full _of talk. ... ... . ;i '. '' ■, At a signal those most prominently concerned went in procession, from a levee in the Residency, to the marquee. In the centre of a little platform were the Lieuten-

TAM ATI WAAKA

ant-Governor and Captain Nias of the Herald, both in naval uniform. On Hobson's left were Busby and the Roman Catholic prelate (Bishop Pompallier), the latter in his episcopal cassock. On the right were the members of the Church of England Mission, clad in severe black. Officers of tho man-of-war and members of the LieutenantGovernor's staff were in close attendance, somo on the platform, some immediately in front. Nearest of the natives to the platform were notable chiefs, many clothed with dog-skin "mats," striped alternately black and white, and others in splendid woollen-cloaks of foreign make, crimson, blue,' brown and plaid. Not far

from them, standing just where the sunlight coming through the top of the tent made his long, silky-wlnte kai-taka cape conspicuous, was Haki-tara, the tall chief of the Rarawa. Hero and there a hani or taiaha, the chief's staff of rank, with its white and_ crimson decoration, added further touches of colour to the striking scene. Around tho sides of the tent were many whites, and behind them the multi-coloured bunting provided a gay background. Captain Hobson rose and spoke briefly to the Europeans, explaining the intention of the treaty. To them ho read it in English. Turning to the natives, with Mr. Williams as interpreter, he then informed them of tho British Government's goodwill, and called < on Mr. Williams to read the treaty in Maori. In the course of his reading, Mr. Williams explained the purport of each clause. Just what "Mr. Williams read and expounded in Maori can best be understood, by those knowing only English, from the following literal translation of the treaty, rendered without regard for style: HERE'S VICTORIA, QUEEN OF ENGLAND, in her gracious remembrance towards the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand and in her desire that their Chieftainship and their land should be secured to them and that obedience . also should be held by them and the peaceful State also, has considered it # as a just thing to send here some chief person to arrange with the native men of New Zealand that the Governorship "of the Queen may be assented to by the native Chiefs in all places of the land • and of the because so many together arc the men of her people who . have sat down in this land and are coming hither. • ,"' ; ; - Now it is the Queen who desires that the Governorship., may be arranged that evils may hot come to the native men, to the white men who dwell lawless. There! Now the Queen has been good that I should be sent, WILLIAM HOB- ' SON, a Captain' of the Royal Navy, a Governor for all the places in New Zeac - land that are yielded now or hereafter to the Queen. She offers to the Chiefs . of the Confederation of the Tribes of New Zealand, and other Chiefs besides , these, laws which shall he spoken now. ' 1 Here's the first: Here's the Chiefs of the Confederation,, and all the Chiefs also who have not joined the Confederation mentioned, cede to the utmost to the Queen of England for ever continually, to tho utmost of the whole .K . Governorship of their land. > [ Here's the second: Here's the Queen of England arranges and confirms to the Chiefs, to all the men of New Zealand,

the entire chieftainship of their lands, their villages and all their property. But here's the Chiefs of the Confederation and all the Chiefs besides, yield to the Queen the buying of those places of land whero the man whose land it is shall bo good to-the arrangement of the payment which the buyer shall arrange to them, who is told by the Queen to buy for her. Here's the third: This too is an arrangement in return for the assent of the Governorship to the Queen. Tho Queen of England will protect all the native men or New Zealand. She yields to them all the rights one and the same as her doings to the men of England. Now here's we: Hero's the Chiefs of the Confederation of the Tribes of New Zealand who are congregated' at Waitangi. Here's we too: Here's the Chiefs of New Zealand who see the meaning of these words, we accept, we entirely agree to all. Truly we do mark our names and marks. This is done at Waitangi on the six of the days of February in the year one thousand eight hundred and four tens of our Lord. When Mr. Williams had finished, it was the chiefs' turn. They- used it with due decorum, after tho fashion of their oratorical feats on the courtyard of tho native village, but their excitement could not be hidden. Back and forth among them tho question was unhurriedly, tossed. Another influence than that of the missionaries had been at work. The Herald had not been twelve hours at anchor before many of tho riff-raff of Korora-reka had set to work to poison the minds of the natives, for the coming of British rule would, they saw, bring unwelcome restrictions on their own licentious way of life. The country, they said, would now go to the Queen from the natives, who would all become tau-reka-reka (slaves). This fear, insidiously planted, had expression in the speeches of some of the chiefs.' Others were all for the treaty.

This Maori speech-making was profuse, untrammelled, conflicting. Several of the early speakers were critical of the proposed new order, and it was not until the arrival, late in the day, of a considerable body of Maori chiefs from the Hokia-nga area, that much / in favour of acceptance of the British offer was prevailingly heard.

Notably important and. influential was the speech of Tamati Waaka Nene, eminent among tho Nga-puhi on the other coast —he was chief of the Ngati-hao branch, a man great in war and counsel. His countrymen needed no constraint to pay him heed. With vigour and eloquence he described tho evil prevalence of iuter-tribal wars; in peace was the only salvation of the Maori, and to gain that peace, since the Maori had no common authority to which to appeal", it was essential to accept the offer made by the British Government.

Then he turned to Captain Hobson. "O Governor!" he said, in pleading, simply-pictured terms, "sit. I, Tarnati Waaka, say to thee, sit. Do not thou go away from us; remain for us—a father, a judge, a peacemaker. Yes, it is good, it is straight. Sit thou here; dwell in our midst. Remain; do not go away." It was the turningpoint in the debate. He lent the support of his undoubted mana to the treaty. He was supported by his elder brother, Eruera_Maihi Eatuone. The case for the treaty was virtually won. But there was no haste in so great a decision. From the first it had been intended that the chiefs should take time to consider before deciding to sign; so at the end of the first day'a proceedings it was announced that the conference would be resumed two days later. This, however, did not altogether coincide with the mind of the natives. A virtually decisive result had been reached, but a contributory factor was the inroad being made on supplies of food by the presence of so large a gathering as the guests" of the Nga-puhi, ,who were in danger of being > eaten out of house and home. Consequently it. was agreed to send to Captain Hobson, who had returned to H.M.S. Herald, a request that the proceedings should be renewed next morning. In the meantime, working through the night, the Rev. Richard Taylor, of the Church Missionary Society, made an official copy of_ tho treaty from the text that had been submitted and explained by Henry Williams. This was itself in Maori, but a copy on parchment was deemed essential for the purpose of signature., On Hobson's staff was a Mr. Freeman, personal secretary, and he was a highly competent penman; but the task was committed to Mr. Taylor because he had knowledge of Maori. ~ All was ready when, dawn broke on the 6th, and soon there was a second gathering of chiefs in front of Mr. Busby's house. The hour of meeting passed, however, without Hobson making his appearance. Soon afterwards a boat w;as seen coming from. the Herald,-; yet its occupants proved to be minor members of the staff who knew nothing of the arrangement to meet that day. The message, to Hobson had evidently miscarried. The 'boat returned to the Herald post haste, and Hobson came ashore, not on this occasion in full uniform; the only .thing distinguishing him :was his wearing of his cocked hat, put on in haste»as he entered the boat to come ashore.

In spite of this •,unpromising 'beginning the day passed most successfully, a significant incident being that the first to sign the treaty was Hone Heke, who in the previous day's discussion had been' anything but enthusiastic about it. Seeing that feeling had gone against him, he was characteristically eager to take a position of prominence- More .than forty signatures of leading chiefs were.'attached that day. - / , Some of tho'chiefs were able to write their names—an accomplishment: V betokening .their profit fn some things from the work of tho missionaries—others made a mark after tho manner :of unlettered Englishmen, and yet others, reproduced the pattern of their faco tattoofWhen each chief had signed, tho Governor shook him by the hand, saying—in use, no 'doubt/ of the first lesson in Maori Mr. Williams had given him—"He iwi tahi tatou" (We are ono people) . This, says Colenso, who has placed on record a vivid first-hand story of all that happened on these two wonderful das», greatljj pleased the natives.