“EMPIRE ON WHICH THE SUN NEVER SETS”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 6956, 7 September 1883, Page 1 (Supplement)

“EMPIRE ON WHICH THE SUN NEVER SETS”

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HIS EXCELLENCY SIE WILLIAM DRUMMOND

JERYOIS,

GOVERNOR OE NEW ZEALAND.

Sin, —I have the honor to request your Excellency’s particular attention to the following, all of which I undertake to prove : That many years previous to the colonisation of New Zealand, certain tribes from the North—the Ngatitoa, led by Te Kauparaha, followed by the then numerous Ngatiawa, and afterwards joined by a section of Ngatiraukawa, invaded and took possession of all the country lying between the Waugaehu rivers and Wellington on the Northern Island, and the northern portions of the Middle Island, driving away or almost exterminating the original inhabitants. That Te Rauparaha afterwards invited the Ngatiraukawa to come and occupy a portion of the country they had conquered. That, in compliance with such invitation, the great body of Ngatiraukawa, led by their chief • Te Whatanui, abandoned their homes in the North and came down to Cook Strait to join Te Rauparaha at ICapiti. That Te Rauparaha, with the consent of the other chiefs, then handed over the whole of the country lying between the Kukutaueki stream south of Otaki and the Wangaehu rivers to Ngatiraukawa. The Ngatiawa and Ngatitoa retaining for themselves and and occupying all that country in the Northern Island between Waikauae and Wellington with the northern parts of the Middle Island. That Te Rauparaha urged Te Whatanui, the principal chief of Ngatiraukawa, to destroy all the remnants of the original inhabitants. That Te Whatanui declined to do this. That Ngatiraukawa took possession of and occupied the whole of the country given to them by Te Rauparaha and the other conquering chiefs from Kukutaueki to Wangaehu, of which they became from that time the acknowledged sole masters. That, whereas Ngatitoa and Ngatiawa drove the whole of the original inhabitants away from the country they occupied in the Northern Island, and almost exterminated and treated the remainder of the original inhabitants of the northern portion of the Middle Island with the greatest cruelty,—Ngatiraukawa when they camedownsparedtheremainder of the original inhabitants oftheoountry of which they took possession, and invited them to settle down peacably in their old homes in their midst, and protected them against their old enemies, the original inhabitants dwelling peacably among Ngatiraukawa, but in a state of complete subjection. Thus, the advent of Ngatiraukawa was a great boon than otherwise to the remnant of the original inhabitants, affording them safety with protection and peaceful occupation of their old homes. That, whereas Ngatitoa and Ngatiawa were able to deal as they pleased with their lands, of which they took possession in the Northern Island to sell or retain, and after selling the northern portions to sell in 1863, 8,000,000 acres of ihe Middle Island to the Government, the original inhabitants receiving but a small share of the purchase money, with very small reserves, the Ngatiraukawa, who spared and protected

the original inhabitants, and allowed them to settle peaceably in their midst in 1848 handed over to Ngatiapa one tribe of the original owners all the laud lying between tho Rangitikei and Wangaehu Rivers. In 1858, the Ngatiraukawa handed over to Rangitane another tribe of original owners a block of country south of the Manawatu River. These two blocks, amounting to some 500,000 acres. These two blocks were afterwards sold to Government by Ngatiapa and Rangitane, they reserving suflicient land for themselves. (Those two tribes, having other lands outside and beyond these two blocks to which they have been able to establish a good claim.) The Ngatiraukawa, retaining the lands lying between the Manawatu and Rangitikei Rivers for those sections of their tribe claiming and occupying the same. That in 1858 the Ngatiraukawa sold the smaller Awahou Block at Foxton, lying between the rivers, and part of the Mana-watu-Rangitikei Block to the Government, no other tribe interfering in the sale. That those of Ngatiraukawa who came to Cook Strait, by the subsequent judgment of the Lands Court, lost their lands in the North, because they abandoned them before 1840. The sequel will show how they fared with their lands, of which they became possessed in the South. That in 1863 the Ngatiapa, after selling the lands given to them by Ngatiraukawa for them to deal with as they pleased—more than, under the cirstances, they had a right to expect—laid claim to the lands which Ngatiraukawa had retained for themselves between the Rangitikei and Manawatu Rivers. That the Government being determined to purchase, recognised the claim of Ngatiapa, though none of them were resident on the block, and refused any investigation as to title, though asked by Ngatiraukawa to do so. That Ngatiraukawa alone at that time in 1863, occupied those lands, and had been for many years before 1840, and up to that time in sole and unquestioned possession. That, whereas the Rangitikei Block on tho northern side’ was sold in 1848 to the Government by the Ngatiapa tribe alone, after Ngatiraukawa had waived their claim, and tho Ahuoturanga B'oek on the southern side was sold in 1858 by the Rangitane alone, another tribe of the originial owners, after Ngatiraukawa had waived their claim, and the Awahou Block, part of the land lying between tho Manawatu and Rangitikei Rivers (land, no portion of which the Judges of the Land Court have since declared in their judgment was ever given by Te Rauparaha to Ngatiraukawa, he not having acquired the right to do so), was sold by the Ngatiraukawa alone in 1358—the Manawatu-Rangitikei Block, reserved by the Ngatiraukawa for themselves, adjoining, and lying between these several blocks, was purchased in 1866 from six tribes, and the money distributed among nine tribes, the Ngatiraukawa “being conspicuous by their absence,” and the Ngatiraukawa were told their land was “gone to the Queen.” That such purchase was a most fraudulent purchase; that the Government then obtained that block of land by fraud ; that the Ngatiraukawa people were then basely and impudently defrauded of their country by the Government of New Zealand in open and direct defiance of Her Majesty the Queen of England’s Treaty and Guarantee. That, with respect to the judgment delivered by Chief Judge Fenton, and Judge Manning in 1869 on the question of the Maori title to that block, subsequent to its having been so purchased by the Government, such judgment was a most base and false judgment, wholly at variance with facts. That it would be impossible to make use of the English language to convey a more erroneous or utterly false impression ta men’s minds than the following, which appears in such judgment : “And the Court finds, also, that the Ngatiraukawa tribe have not, as a tribe, acquired any right, title, interest, or authority in or over the block of land which has been the subject of this investigation.” That though the Manawatu-Rangitikei block of land has since been sold by the Government and occupied by the settlers, neither the Government, nor the settlers in occupation, have any just title to any portion of such block—that country being now as it was In 1840 by every rule of just law and right, the property of the Ngatiraukawa people, having been at that time in their possession, and then guaranteed to them by Her Majesty by and under Her Majesty’s Imperial Treaty of Waitangi. That the Ngatiraukawa people have been unable to take their case to Her Majesty’s Supreme Court, being prohibited by law from doing so. That Ngatiraukawa have repeatedly from time to time petitioned the General Assembly and the various Governors of New Zealand for further inquiry into their case. That they forwarded petitions to Her Majesty, and lately, again, to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies. That no notice has been taken of their petitions further than they were informed by the Secretary of State the subject of their complaint, the non-fulfil-ment or breach in their case of the conditions of Her Majesty’s Treaty of Waitangi, was a “ matter which belonged to the Government of the colony to deal with.” That the Government of the colony, when appealed to, have persistently called attention to the judgment delivered on their title by Chief Judge Fenton and Judge Manning, from which false judgment, following upon the unrighteous purchase of their lands by the Government, the Ngatiraukawa have not, nor never had, any appeal. Thus, whereas Ngatitoa and Ngatiawa by having exterminated or driven away the whole of the original inhabitants from the country of which they themselves took possession and occupied in the Northern Island, and having almost exterminated the original inhabitants of the northern portion of the Middle Island, treating the remainder with the utmost cruelty, (Mr Fox, who acted as counsel for the Crown, in his address at says:— “When Kauparaha chose to subjugate a tribe, he knew well enough how to do See how he treated the tribes on the other side of the Straits. Here is the description of a traveller there in 1840:— [ As we proceeded, we found a party ot aboriginal Natives ; they were made prisoners four or five years ago by Kauparaha and the Kawhia people. They have their residence at Titirangi, at the entrance of

Admiralty Bay, and are slaves to the Kawhia chiefs. These people received us with fear and trembling, holding their lives at the mercy of the chiefs, one of whom was witli us. AVe encamped near them at night, and found them very different from the free people we had seen. They are scarcely allowed to possess anything beyond the means of existence, and pay a heavy tribute yearly to their masters.’ (Wakefield’s Journal, Parliamentary Papers, 1844 Appendix.) “In 184 G, I myself had the fortune to see the last miserable remnant of these victims of Rauparaha’s strong arm when he chose to exert it. They were then reduced to some ten souls, who, haggard, starved, and miserable, crawled out of the bush to the camp fire of our travelling party.”)

obtained thereby a clear title to their lands the Ngatiraukawa, on the other hand, Te AVhatanui, and the other chiefs who accompanied him, having, when savages, and independent, and when the dominion of the country was in their own hands, spared and protected the helpless and the weak, having allowed them to settle peaceably in their old homes in their midst, and having since dealt with them with the utmost liberality is, in after years, brought against their children to their ruin in the Courts of Justice of their successor in such dominion, being India’s Christian Empress, England’s Christian Queen ! It is unnecessary forme to inform Your Excellency that in “Article second” of the Treaty of Waitangi :—“Her Majesty the Queen ot England confirms and guarantees to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, and fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or individually possess, so long as it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their possession.” That the Maori people are a colored race. That they are weak and looked down upon more than otherwise. That, unlike the great Powers of Europe and the Government of the United States of America, with whom Her Majesty’s Government have many and various treaties, which treaties Her Majesty’s Government are at all times desirous rigidly to observe, to respect, and to keep—the Ngatiraukawa are loyal and peaceable subjects of Her Majesty, though “ suffering and complaining,” still “peaceful and forbearing,” dwelling under the assurance of Her Majesty’s promised “Royal Rule,” “ Royal Guarantee,” and • “ Royal Protection,” with all the “ Rights and Privileges of British Subjects.” Every previous effort having signally failed, I have now the honor to demand that your Excellency should desire your Ministers and Advisers to have me arrested, and tried for having published what may prove only a false and scandalous libel on the Government of this country ; or that your Excellency should cease to consider yourself the Representative here in New Zealand of England’s Imperial Majesty, but the Representative rather of England’s Broken Treaty of England’s Bad Faith.

I have the honor to remain, Your Excellency’s Most Obedient Servant, Thos. C. Williams, Wellington, New Zealand, 28th June, 1883.

P.S.—I may add that the case of Te AVhatanui’s immediate descendants at Horowhenua, was even more glaring than the above. When Whatanui, shortly after his arrival had collected the remnant of Muaupoko and settled them down under his own immediate protection at Horowhenua, Rauparaha and tho other chiefs with him, sent a party to kill tho Muaupoko. They succeeded in killing three ; the others escaped. At this Whatanui was very wrath, and told them to go back and tell I e Rauparaha and the other chiefs if they wished to kill any more of the Muaupoko they must pass over his body. After this, again, being unable to kill the original inhabitants among Ngatiraukawa, they invited them to a feast at Waikanae. When, disregarding Te Whatanui’s caution to them not to attend, numbers ot Ngatiapa, Rangitane, and Muaupoko, thinking a great compliment was being paid to them, went down to Waikanae, where they were all—men, women, and children—slaughtered, and their bodies duly consigned to the ovens. The descendants of those saved are in after years incited by the decision given by the Lands Court on the Ngatiraukawa title to the ManawatuRangitikei Block, under the rule of Queen Victoria, with the assistance of Government rifles, ammunition, and Judges of the Lands Courts, and led by a man, a major in receipt of Government pay, enabled to crush and ruin the descendants of their saviour, (The Ngatiraukawa also lost moat of their land lying between the Manawatu-Rangitikei Block and the Ahuoturanga Block, handed over to Rangitane by Ngatiraukawa); the Ngatiraukawa remaining throughout the whole of these proceedings peaceful and forbearing.

T.O.W,