THE NATIVE QUESTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 481, 16 February 1861, Page 9

THE NATIVE QUESTION.

(From the Nelson Examiner.)

The endeavour to place before our readers, in a concise form, the principal arguments : on' both sides in this much disputed native question, renders it inevitable that we should omit" much that is hoth-.it'terestinjr aud cOnpbora^ 1 tivc. But this necessity' weakens the, defence in au especial manner; as it is 'much more ea<»y to give a general' view of a' connected series of propositions, such as those Jaid.down in Sir William Martin's pamphlet, than to do justice to a reply, whose chief strength lies }n the number of opinions and facts it can bring forward in contradiction. Thus, whilst we could give the ex Judge's dictum concernintf " tribal rights" in comparatively a lew words" when he declared it to be " established by a singular concurrence of the best evidence," we were compelled by our limits to omit much good evidence to the contrary, and to take only a few decisive sentences from the witnesses we did quote. Thus, for instance, we entirely left out the testimony of Mr. M'Lean, who stands by general consent at the head of our authorities on native affairs. He declares that, " The natives have no fixed rule. THe custom varies in different districts ; " and again, when asked as to any fixed rule, affirms that " The exception is the wider." But the most conclusive summing up of the whole is that ofthe present Chief Justice in the Legislative Council. He saj's, "I have carefully] examined the whole of those printed papers ■ ■ " "I have found mu ch inconsistency and coii"tfadiefioh, but no novelty;' and have derived from their perusal this consolation, namety. of reflecting that little as I know of the native title, ofthe (so called)/ Maori law ofreaLproperty,' the, generality *of people,, even ofthe learned, the periti, know little more." This is at all events sufficient to relieve us from the i charge of presumption, in declaring that Sir William Martin has not established his first proposition, and that there is no such "singular concurrence of evidence" in his favour" as he has stated to exist. In other words, he has failed to prove that " tribal right ; " " Maori custom," and " mere force," instead of being opposed to each other, seem to mean almost the same thing.

We will now proceed to thi W.Vtara pnrchase. Sir William Martin states thai, up to the year 1827, the Wtitara valley, and considerable tracts both north and south of it. were held in undisputed possession by the Ngatiawa tribe. In 1827 part of them migrated to Cook's Strait, Ike, for trading' pur-, poses, under William King's lather. About 1830 the Waikatos invaded Waitara :• large numbers of natives were slaughtered, fifty or sixty found refuge on the Sugar Loaf. rocks,' the rest joined their brethren to' the south. But "it is quite certain"'* tliftt the invaders did not occupy or cultivate the land; n'opirtition was made among the conquering chiefs, and no boundaries were marked, In 1841, or eleven years after, New. Plymouth was planted; Mr. Carrington treated with the re- | sident aboriginal natives, the only people then occupying the country, and paid them in part for it. The Waikatos heard of this, made a descent and claimed the hnd as thfir own, and Governor Hobson purchased all their rights. The fear of invasion .being now removed, the refugees began to come back, and disputes arose between them and the settlers Commissioner Spain investigated the native claims, and decided that the enslaved or fugitive members of the Ngatiawa had lost all j claim to the land. Governor Fitzroy refused to confirm the Commissioner's award; bought 3500 acres, and recognised the right of the ancient owners to all, the rest of the district , In' 1846 William King led on.* native, allies' against Rangihaeata ; in 1848 he returned to: the Waitara. Efforts have been repeatedly 1 made to bpy this part, the^only available har-j hour for New Plymouth, but without effect.' At last, in March, 1859, Teira offered the south side of Wuitara to the Governor :. William King opposed the sale. • The Governor accepted Teira's offer, if he made good 'his title, pn proceeding to a survey, William King resisted it, and the war be^an.

The Government, according to Sir William Martin, here opened " a new policy," viz>, the right of individual cultivators and occupiers of land to make a title without the consent of the tribe or chief. Wiremu King! is stated to

have opposed their purchase on two grounds : first, as the chief of the Ngatiawa tribe, which, through h;^i, refused to allow of the sale; and next, as both having private rights himself, and as acting for other individuals who^e claims hnd not been property examined or inquired into. It is asserted "that no such inquiry as was due from the Government to the subject was ever made;" that the officers employed were agents of. the Executive Go vernment for the purchase of land ; that, being agents for the purchaser, they were not fit persons to decide on the validity of objections; and that they possefsi j d none of the powers requisite for conducting such an inquiry. These objections did not apply so long as force was not resorted to ; but when it was, " those sulijects of the Queen against whom force was to be used had a right to the protection ofthe Queen's Courts before force was resorted to "

In answer to this, it is declared that the "new policy" consisted in the Governor's declaration, that he would no longer allow the savage internecine feuds of the Ngatiawas at New Plymouth to go on, nor suffer murder to be committed with impunity. But, so far as the right of individuals and groups of families to sell their land was concerned, the policy was not new. For even assuming the general "tribal right" to exist, it belonged to the Waikatos by right of conquest, and was pur chased of them hy Governor Hobson. This vijjht was not given up by Captain Fttzroy when he refused to confirm Mr. Spain's? award ; all he did was to allow the individual claims of the Nga tin was. In bis published speech in the Maori Gazette, " lie advised them each to be careful to sell his own property, in order that he might receive the payment himself; and expressly pledged himself to purchase any .individual rights when they should be offered on reasonable terms.'* But even this was disapproved of by the Home tiovernment. Mr. Gladstone, in a despatch to Sir George Grey, expressed his " great surprise and regret at not having been placed by Captain Fiizroj' in posse;- sion of a full report of the course which lie pursued in this case, and of his reasons for thnt course;" and fuit her hopes that Sir G. Grey might still be "in a condition to give effect to Mr. Spain's award." Sir G Grey's answer shows clearly the view then taken of the case. "My predecessor," he says, "set aside the award, because .the claims of certain absentee native proprietors had not been extinguished at the time the oiiginal payment was made ; " but I cannot think," he adds, " that he intended that the original purchase should be pet aside." He goes on to say, that " various individuals" had come ud to share in the payments; and ''every separate family of the tribe had been sending up some persons to look after their interests." "These individuals have been quarrelling amongst themsclv'es regarding their respective claims," their inability to adjust these being the chief reiison of their being unwilling to allow the land to be sold at all. Sir George then states the arrangement which "our isolated and weak position" compels him to adopt, viz., to make ample reserves for the natives, and resume the remaining | ortion for the Crown, assessing its value in its wild and defenceless state by a Commissioner, and then inquiring into the native titles to the whole or part otit, to fulfil his predecessor's promise, "that those natives who established valid claims to any parts of it should receive the corresponding portions of the payment." lie considers that in so acting he "inflicts no injury on her Majesty's subjects of the native race," although, if they thought themselves strong enough, he fears that their cupidity might induce them to resist it by force of arms.

The whole of Governor Grey's proceedings are passed ovor by Sir Wiiliim M.rtin without notice. But it seems cltar that neither he nor Captain Fitzroy recognised the tribal right of the Ngatiawas ; and they, had no idea them selves of possessing such a right. For at the time of the treaty of Waitangi the}' had been completely dnpos^e^sed and driven out, and prevented fioin returning by fear of their conquerors ; and this», s^ys. Commissioner Spain, '■by native custom', throughout the length and breadth of this land," involved the complete forfeiture of the laud. It was not only conquered, but partly occupied and settled. Mr. M'Lean states that " many acts of ownership over the soil had been exercised by the Waikatos." The land was divided, flags and posts set up to mark the boundaries. I know, says the Rev. Mr. Buddie, that a large party of the Waikato people went to Waitara, and cleared a large piece of land there for cultivation, in order to exercise their rights. The Rev. Mr. j Whiteley says, "Archdeacon Hadfield is wrong, and Mr. M'Lean is right. Certainly the Xgatunaniopotos (Waikato) came to Waitara, and had a kainga and cultivations there." '• The land is ours," said the Waikato chiefs hi 1844, " by right of conquest, and some part by possession ." Part of the Ngatiawa tribe had indeed left three years before, but it was to join Rauparaha in his conquest of the south ;. and Wi lUm King himself left, only i'ju'st before the slaughter of Pukerangiora, to „s,eek refuge at Kapiti with hia^kiusfolk. „ But -the real state- of the case, according to native ideas, is best told in their own language; in the letter of lhaia and Tamati to the settlers of New Plymouth. They write thus : —

Friends :— Formerly we, the- Maories,- alone lived in this New Zealand ; we did wrong one to another, made war on one another, we ate one another, we exterminated one another. Some had deserted the land, some were enslaved, the remnant that was spared went to seek other lands.

Now this was the arrangement of this (Ngatiawa) land. Mokau was the boundary on the North, Nga Motu (the Sugar Loaves) the boundary on the South ; beyond were Taranaki aud Ngntiruanui.

All was quite deserted : the land, the sea, the streams and lakes, the forest, the rocks, were deserted : the food, the property, the work was deserted : the dead a.nd the sick were deserted : the land marks (or divisions of property) were deserted. Then came the Pakoha hither by sea from other dwellings,, they enme to this land and the Maories allowed them, they came by chance to 'this place, they came to a place whose inhabitants had left it. There were few men here, the men were a remnant, a handful returned from slavery. ; -And the palcehal as'ked "Where are the men of "t/hfr place," and they answered " They have been idriven away by, war ; we have come back from andlher land." And the pakeha said " Are you willing' to sell us this land?" and they replied " Wo are willing to sell it that it may not be merely barren ; presently our enemies will come, and our places will be *aken quite from ua." So payment was made : it was not said,' " let the place be simply taken," although the men were few : the pakehas did not say, '.' let it be taken," but the land was quietly paid for. Now the pakeha thoroughly, occupied the purchase made with their money ; and the Maories living in the house of bondage-, and those that had fled, heard of it ; they heard that the land had bean occupied and they said : " Ah ! ah ! the land has 'revived; the men hare revived, let us return to the land." So they returned. Their return was in a friendly manner. The thought of the pakeha was " let us dwell together, let us work together." The Maories began to dispute with the pakeha. When the Governor saw it,* he removed the pakeha to one spot to dwell. . Afterwards the pakeha made a second payment for the land, and -afttfrwards a third ) then I said : "Ah ! ah ! VeVy* great indeed is the goodness of the pakeha,he has not said the payment ceases at the fiittt 'time/- - - ' • My friends the pakoha, , wholly through you this land and the men of this land have become independent ; ' do not say that I have seen ,this your goodness to-day foi; the first time, I knew it formerly, Little can be added to tins simple, plain, but singularly forcible statement ; strong in what it describes as the utterly deserted and miserable atate of' the country at our arrival ; and especially strong in its absence of any allusion •to, and ita apparent ignorance of, any such tribal right as ib now contended for, If the' existence of any nuch right is capable of fceiug

asserted elsewhere, it breaks- down utterly at Taranaki, whether as allowed by the English Government, or as claimed by the natives themselves. In both cases the weight of evidence is clearly adverse to such a j reposition.