MAORILAND REMINISCENCES.

NZ Truth, Issue 73, 10 November 1906, Page 7

MAORILAND REMINISCENCES.

EARTH HUNGER.

Government as a Land Grabber.

DONALD McLEAN.

(By J.M.P.)

While legislation and the establishment of native laud courts checked the avarice of land grabbers from afar, a crowd of such. . indigenous -to the soil, soon appeared m New Zealand. The original owners appear to havo been viewed a« an »r>cuusbranse and an excrescence, and had they b*en as low m the human scale as the Australian natives there would have been no'r.eed of war and no need of land courts or land judges, native or British. To the "land-grabber" and the unholy desire to possess the soil of the Maoris must be attributed ALL THE WAR TROUBLE and the huge amount of money spent and, blood shed m gaining lSnglish ends m the land of tlie Moa. « * * While Mr. Spain, the Commissioner sent - out from England to inquire into the t*ln {ms of the several -companies or syndicates who under the cloak of immigration" and "settlement;" had acquired immense tracts of' country, was pursuing his duties, there arose a young man who was destined to make a mark upon the history m-.Maoriland. This wafl , ■ Mr. Donald McLean, who was the fourth eon of John McLean, of Kilmonalg. To. tee, Argyleshiro. and his wife Margaret was * daughter of Rev. D. McOoll.. "Donald was born m 1820, and at the age of 17 years emigrated , to New South Wa>les, and on landing entered the office of a mercbant m Sydney. LW» many wore who • graduated m the "Beautaul Bar bor," Master McLean CAST LONGING BYES TO MAORILAND. The whalers visiting Sydney were loud la tbeir praises of the new country, its fertility and its freedom, and many were enticed by th.c glowing accounts of the nhellbacks to. try their fortunes amenffßt the Maoris, Donald McLean being of tne number.

• « * The young Scotsman arrived m New Zealand m 1539, uneducated, and on arrival devotod himself to ordinary labor. Understanding Gaelic and venerating, «"> we are told, th« chiefs of old In his native land, ho saw m the Maori race a reproduction of the Gael. He haß t»e credit of having striven hard to educate himself, and after his day's labor was done, worked far into the night *«* his books. McLean became popular with, the Maoris, and m one of his HIGH FLIGHTS OF FANCY declared that the style of the heroeß* oil Osaian found an echo m the hearts ol the high-born chiefs amongst the Maoris, Having thoroughly mastered the Maori language, he was appointed Protector ol the Aborigines at Taranaki, and te bla good offices, the historian tells us, i»ay be partly ascribed the avoidance of a. war consequent on Mr. Spain's unjust decision, for Mr. Spain, as was anticipated, leaned to the land-grabber from outr ■icie. The Maoris, rankling under tho injustice of' the decision, were on the verge of an outbreak, which McLean s •diplomacy prevented. Notwithstanding this, the . colonists were struck wrta amazement when m after years „. GOVERNOR SIR GEORGE GREY appointed McLean Chief Commissioner to treat with the natives for land concessions. *

When Edward Gibbon Wakefield arrived fa N«w Zealand he foresaw Donald McLean's future. Tho groat emigration BChemer dubbod tb« Scotch youtii 0» was little,' <ma?os. at ;,tbo #Vfs) ; , -,;■■/■■ "THE GREAT MAORI MYSTERY ■■■■■' .;• - -MAN," ' ■ . :•

In tho early part «rf his career, Donald McLean did good work amongst the Maoris, and when m 1845, at the time pt H6ni Hake's' war, McLean, as Protector of Aborigines m the Western District, was on a visit to Lake Taupo, the great chief Heu-heu hospitably eptertaitted him, and to him Heu-heu praised, the patriotism of Heke m asserting "his country's freedom against the English,; who wore an insatiable people, for whom however, the Americans were a check.'* In IS4.S Mr. H. T. Kemp was. the Commissioner employed by the Government to purchase what waa smbstaatially ; the Middle Island, now known as the South Island, with the exception of \the Kaikoura and . East Coast land negotiated for with the Ngatitoa continuous block"from Nelson to Otagoi ' The payment was to be £4 0(^» * our e 9 ual in ~ •talmentS' Whaketipu Waltai— -Mfliord Sound — was particularly mentioned m the deed, which was, signed by Taiuroa and others, and which reserved "our places of residence and our cultivations for us and our children after us ,- and it shall be for the Governor hereafter to set apart some portion for us when, tho land is surveyed toy the surveyors." It was soon found that many of the owners had not been consulted, and m August,; 1848, a Commissioner for extinguishing native titles In the Middle Island was appointed. This Commissioner was Mr< Walter MaAteU. « « • This gentleman, whose full name waa WALTER BALDOCK DURRA2JT 11ANTELL (afterwards M.L.C.), was the son of Gideon Algernon Mantell, LL.D., I\Ri.S. (an eminent geologist, author of "Medals of Creation," " Atlas of Fossil Remedus"), •.nd Mary Woodhouse, his wife, and was horn m IS2O. la 1840 he emigrated to Wellington. ■As Commissioner for extinguishing native ' titles he, by promises of various concessions* schools, hospitals for the sick, and "m constant salixdiuda tor their welfare and protection." succeeded m buying out tho claim*) of the Maoris to

THIRTY MILLION ACRES OF LAND lor about £5000 m cash t Some scbool*tooy may sot to work and find out what traction of a penny per acre this amounts to". Greatly, however,, to Mi 1 , Mantell's disgust, the promises he had made on bebalf of tha Government were not fulfilled, and, being ia London m 1856, when some of the principal of them were being broken, he appealed to Mr. Liabouohere, tuon Secrattary of State for tho Colonies, to fatorfere m the matter < Mr. Labouehere would aot give him an interview, and finding hia written remonstrance sr'.tlioiit eJYect, he resigned his official posts as being out of harmony with the native policy of ta« Imperial and Colonial Governments. Mr. Man-tell became Native Mtrißtar m tie Fox Ministry and Postmaster-O'eneral and Secretary, for Lands under Mr. Domett. He also held offico under Mr. Weld, and wa3 for some time a member of the House of Representatives, and m 1856 was nominated to tha Ltftfisltitiv© Council. Some of the ttiost important meaafros pr.ssfd m the Interest of the wcro duo tc> Mr. VantcU'3 in.lt-ta.tivc, and he^nevp.r failed %o protcut ajjvainflfc measures which aavorr- '■/ iu justice to them.

The failure of tho Government to carry out Mr. Mantell's (.promises to the Maoris m tho matter of the purchase of the 80 millions of acres for £5000. "was," DonoU Mclxian said, "the enormous outh-.v which the fulfilment would entail. He 'Aid not' weigh tho enormous w'ron<r don? to those who. were defrauded." MantaU'H price was m all conscience low enough, but Donald McLean's appears to have b*en a "grab without compensation.

Mr, Ruedew sayt :— An iaJtruetlv* Cbat

mentary on his (McLean's) morality may be found m I THE PURCHASE OF STEWART ! ISLAND •In 1864 by Mr. H. T. Clarke. More than 30,000,000 acres had been obtained m the Middle Island, Stewart Island contained little more than 640*000 acres. But. the Maoris demanded for it. £6000, and Clarke reported that they rigidly insisted on certain provisions because "All promises of a like nature made by former Commissioners had never been fulfilled. . v These unredeemed obligations on the part of the Government have been made a great obstacle m my negotiations with the natives for the purchase of Stewart Island. They placed no faith m my prtrcnise of a like nature, and it was only by inserting the, several stipulations m the text of thr> deed of cession that I was able to overcome the difficulty. In conclusion, 3 would respectfully urge that the Government lose no time m giving full effect, by schools, protecting care, etc, to the promises, etc." Mr. Clarke was Colonial Secretary when Clarke's letter was received. He and his colleagues had tendered their resignation, but Fox left a memo m which he "admitted the great length of time during which faith had failed to be kept," and the large debts due. Fox" was Premier m 1869, and still did not pay the debts.

In September, 1553, TJonald Mcliean reported that over HALF A MILLION OF ACRES had been secured at Wairarapa, "His Excellency (Sir George Grey) himself taking an .active part m directing how the .negotiation should be carried on." In this connection Sir George Grey informed the Secretary of State of "his happiness m completing the arrangement, which had given the utmost satisfaction to all the inhabitants of the province. A considerable "European population had, m fact, already occupied the district, under agreements with the natives, illegal m themselves, and which were very likely to favor the cause of future disputes whjch might hereafter endanger the peace of the country." As. to the Maori titles m the Middle Island, for which he had agreed to pay £2000, m four annual instalments, Sir George remarked that "it was as large an amount as: they (the- Maoris) could profitably spend, or as was likely to be of any real benefit to them." Unfortunately, however, Sir George Grey did ' not exert himself to secure the ■

FULFILMENT OF THE PROMISES, which formed a part of the f consideration when trifling cash .payments were accepted from Messrs. Kemp and Maatell.

In March, 1847— t0 go back a bit— Sir George > Grey instructed , Donald McLean; as Commissioner, to make every effort to acquire for the European population "the whole of the land m; Mr. Spain's award wMch Governor Fitzroy had set aside." McLean wasV also" to carry out the proposals sent to the Secretary of State by Sir ueorge Grey m order "to evade m as far as practicable the difficulties" caused' by the fact 'that the Europeans clung to Spain's proposition, and the Maoris trusted to the Waitanga treaty and Fitzroy's decision. No time was to be lost. It was felt but not expressed that Te Rangitake might return (as he did) and his influence might defeat the project. The, Government was m possession of a letter from this chief to Governor Fitzroy m 1844. In this Te Rangitake said :— "Waitara shall not be given up. Friend Governor, do you not love your land— England, the land of your fathers— as we also love our land at Waitaxa." When Grey returned to Auckland he wrote urgently to Wellington. He had heard that E. Puni, always friendly to the British, was putting 1 together nine, large canoes capable of holding about. 60 people each. He considered it of the utmost importance i^that the Ngatiawo, tribe should aot be allowed to proceed for the present to Taranukk" E. Pfcni must be auked to

DISMANTLE THE/CANOES. If he should refuse there would be ground for suspicion. "The canoes should be seized by the Government, and either be retained m their possession until the land question at Taranaki is settled, or be destroyed, as may be thought moat advisable."

Major Richmond, Captain Laye, and Donald McLean labored hard to arrest the re^tnuaigration. Richmond met Te Rangitake At Waikanae m July, 1847. The chief said that he intended , remaining at Waitara, but repudiated the idea of doing so by stealth or before consulting the Governor." The Ngatiawa tribe had always bean friendly to the English, and wished to remaia so. In fact, the}' wished to . '

SELL THEIR WAIJCANAE, POSSES- •■•■/. SIGNS to the Government. On receiving ■ this hint. Governor Gray offered new terms. If the Ngatiawa residing on the south bank of the Waitara River would within three years remove to the north bank, and Te Rangitake and his friends would agree to settle on the north of the river, he wouid recognise their titles there (although m Spain's reversed; award land on the north was included as the company's property) without further inquiry, and would consent to purchase the proffered Waikanae lands "for such compensation as may bo agreed upon." All pretensions to the land on the south were to be given up by . the tribe. Donald McLean adopted the Governor's views. Rusden remarks : "He (McLean) seems to have been unable to comprehend the Maori law of postliniinium, and had probably never heard of its Roman precursor. ' Yet m 1844 the Chief Protector, Clarke, furnished a list of many instances to assure Governor Fitzrby that the return of the natives from captivity placed them m the position they held before their captivity." Donald McLean was therefore without excuse when, m after years, he declared before the House of Representatives "that the Ngatiawa title had been superseded by the right of the conquerors." In the same breath he admitted that some returning . Ngatiawa said lands at Taranaki, sending a portion of the price to tho Waikato tribe as h. tribute to their "Mana." m addition, a deed negotiated by Donald McLean m I April, 1949, purported to convey the rights of certain absentee natives to Governors I'Mtssroy and Grey, blocks at I TaranaU, and proved that at that date | neither McLean nor the Governor denied the rights of the absentees. Te ilangitake did not accept

SIR GEGBO-K GREY'S SEW PttOI POSALS. . The Government purchased for something like £300 what was known as the Grey block of nearly 10,000 acres, at Taranaki, before Donald McLean, hearing that the chief was m earnest, saw him at Kapiti, and told him that Waiiara was under offer to the Government. Years afterwards Donald McLean's account was that i Te Rangitake said, "l>et me return thither and I will consider the matter. When I get there one side of the river shall be yours, and the north side mine. WUen I can look out for the Wn.ikatos m c&s« that tribe should meditate an attack upon us." . He i was allowed to locate liraseif at Waitara, and nothing was smi<a about tiit .Wj*d; tberv no attempt

to press the matter hastily. He returned with his people ; the sanction of the Government to his doing so had been given, though tho act was on his part

ONE OF DEFIANCE. Te Rangitake denied the accuracy of Donald McLean's story, and, as Rusd«n observes, it is inconsistent with the chief's letter to Fitzroy iv 1844, with many other letters written by him, and with his plain statements on the spot to Sir George Grey and to Donald McLean m 1847.

Tho return of Te Rangitake took place m April, 1848. Donald McLean officially reported it. Some chiefs rode through the forest ; 49 canoes were employed ; 587 souls were thus settled ; 211 went to the north of the W.oitara : 764 settled at Waitara ; 41 fixed themselves between Waitara and the town of Tarantula ; and 71 on the south' side of the town. The historian m connection with this "return of the tribes" says : "It nray be feared that Governor Grey, who, *to prevent Te Rangitake's return m 1847, ordered

THIS UNLAWFUL DESTRUCTION OF CANOES, would, m 1848, have resorted to violence >f he had not been wincing under the arguments of the Bishop and the Chief Justice, about Earl Grey's instructions, and if he had not suspected tbat as the Waikato tribes consented to the return of Ngatiawa. he would offend his moat powerful Maori friends by wronging their countryman, who had been his trusted nnd useful ally." The Governor could not allord to be m arms against the Bishop, the Chief Justice, and every notable chief. If Te Whero Whero should side with l"c Rangitake, and Woke Nene should ad- j 'here to Whero Whero, the Government would be friendless. How the Ngotiawa i f completed their settlement, notwithstanding Donald McLean's attempted "land grab"- will be told next week. (To be Continued.)