A CHAPTER OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY. THE MAORI KING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2578, 12 August 1903, Page 70

A CHAPTER OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY. THE MAORI KING.

(Specially written fen* the Witness.)

By Robert Gilkisox.

It having recently been stated by Minis- I ters that the action of Mahuta in joining I his Majesty's Executive of New Zealand means the extinction of the King movement, it is at the jjresenl time an interesring study to consider the history of that extensive coalition of Maori tribes, to look , into what were the circumstances that led t y its inception, and "what were the results v. hich followed from it. i

In 1840, when Captain Hobson, on bs- ■ half of the Queen, arranged the Tieaty o* ' Waitangi with an assemblage of chiefs at the Bay cf Islands, no Maori King existed. 1 here was no central authority. Tlw Maoris were divided iiite trib?s, each with its orra chief, priests, xind lands. Some chiefs were greater nn3 more famous than others, Tmt there \\v.s no chief exercising or claiming sovereign power over New Ze.i-

land. Under the treaty, which was signed by most, but not by any means all the chiefs, • the Queen guaranteed to the Maoris tlu* full "chiefship and governorship" over thejr lands, and the chiefs yielded to the Quei^i the right of buying such lands as the corners might choose to sell, while they were given the full lights of British subjects. ,

Fourteen years after the making of that 1 treaty — that is to say, about the year 1854, began an agitation amongst tlis Maoris to ; elect a King for themselves. Local jca- j lousieh for a time retarded the movement, ! but at length in 1857 a few o? the chiefs in ■ the heart of the Waikato district agreed to elect Polatau Te Whero Whero to be

"KING OF NEW ZEALAND." The village of Ngaruawahia, at the junction of the Waipa with the Waikato River, being Potatau' s residence, became the < '"capital"' of the Kingites and the head and j centre- of the movement. Here assembled { his Council of Chiefs, and here were J gathered a body of men drilled as Maori i soldiers under the King Flag to uphold the I

dignity of King Potatau. i The object of the coalition appears to j have been twofold — first, to make some nr- ; 1 angements cr the proper administration of^Jaw in the Maori country ; aud secondly, \ to form a league of all the Maori tribes j against tihe sale of land to the uakeha. '

Taberei, a great chief, tlius described the objects of the King movement to a i parliamentary committee (Pail. Papers, j 1860, F. No. 3.1721):— i

"The people sought a protector for themselves similar to yours. You have a protector. They picposed to elect a King for themselves to protect them, to be a. 'inana' over them and their land. The idea was this — the Queen should be a j 'mana' over the nakeha and over the land I

which you have acquired. The same with respect to the Maori King. There should bs no interference with the portions of , land that have been acquired by the Queen, j but only with the land which was under ' the Maoris. A single individual should not presume to sell land, whether in the west or in the east, in the north or in the south. It should not be yielded to the control of one man. If the great Kunanga of the tribes consented, then only j would it be right ; Jjut for one man to sell ; would not be right ; although the land was his own, it should lie with the great Runanga to agree or object to the disposal of it. The reason for this was lesb trouble should arise in the midst of us Maoris and the pakehas. This is the law that has been laid down for the land held by the Maoris of New Zealand. This that I now make known to you is the thought of the people, that of all the Chiefs of Waikato, Ngatihaua, Ngatihinetu, Ngatiapakura, Ngathnaniapoto, Ngatituwharetoa, and Tauranga. This was the -causa of the Maori King being set up ; it was for a 'mana' over the people and the land."

The administration of law and justice in the Maori country had been admittedly neglected by the Biitish and colonial Governments Prior to ]857 there were no courts in these districts, and no way cf enforcing judgments. The Maori chiefs were left tc carry out a rough-and-ready justice amongst their own people. In case of a dispute betM'een a European and a Maori, the only chance of the white man getting redress was through the kindness of the Maori chiefs ; while the Native who thought himself wronged by a white man would generally try to settle the dispute by helping himself to a horse or cow of the Englishman.

One of the greatest grievances of the patriotic Maori chiefs in 1857 was the neglect of the Government to enforce the Native spirit laws. Hum was distributed in a wholesale fashion by uncouscienticua white traders amongst the Maoris, and the white man's law *.as utterly powerless to put a stop to the degrading traffic. The far-seeing chiefs knew that a continuation af such a policy would end in the destruction of their race.

As regards ths land, the Maoris -were sufficiently far-sighted to recognise that then- influence at tliat time depended largely on their possessing large areas of land. " Xhey saw that as their tribes parted with the possession year after year of new areas, their territories were gradually being reduced into smaller and feinaller compass, and they feared the time would come when the majority of their people would be landless, which meant without inana and without power.

It would appear clear, then, that the "Maoris' objects in desiring a chief or King

elected by themselves were first, that they might have him as chief judge over themselves as well as a centrepiece for the tribes and -a bond of unity for the nation, Ms maua protecting them against the encroachments of the AvJiite stranger and sheltering the groAvlng desire for a Maori nationality, and, secondly, that thus would be formed a league to protect the Natives' lands. The most burning question was undoubtedly ths slipping away of then- lands to the pakeha. This Avas looked on as the crucial point. The other grievances and objects were secondary. The main object of tha Kingito party wa«, in short, to form a' Maori Land League, with a King as president, all being pledged to each other not to sell land to ths European except- -with th» consent of a?J .the others. As an emblem of their desire, and the -nationality, a. few of ths agitators selected a King Flag, whit© with a red border, and having on.it two ; crosses and the legend "Potatau, King of New Zealand." The position Avhich at iirsb they desired to give this flag was side by side with the Union Jack. When first displayed it Avas tied to the British emblem. Objections to this were taken by some of the chiefs, who stated they wanted! no new flag. "If acknowledging that flag {tha Union Jack) make me a slave," said Wireniu Ncra — a staunch friend of tha British — "make me a slaA r e : I am a slave." Implacable ReAvi, hearing these objections, publicly pulled oloavu the King Flag and threV it at the foot of the Union Jack.

The King Flag, howeer, continued -to be looked to as the Maori national flag, and* a few days later it was toeing carried round to other tribes avliq Avere being requested to join the coalition. Although recognising their King and flag, it would appear that at that time the Maoris had no desjre to deny t>he Queen* sovereignty. The King was to be to <the Maoris Avhat the Governor was to the pakeha, and all Avere to "be under the Queen. This Avas the idea of tie chiefs. At the tims of the first hoisting- of the King Flag, and latex — even after the Taranaki Avar had bioken, out, — the Maoris would pray fervently for the^ Queen and even say "Aanen" to the petition that she might van-niish and overcome . all heir enamies.

Gudgeon etate." that at one time 'tlie ■Maori King League Avas practically accepted by all Ihe North' s ssland tribes except one. The organisation, however, Avas loose, and tribal jealousy soon asserted itself. It Avould appear, too, that while all the tribes agreed to the platform of selling no lane, ?ome refused to acknowledge the King, and some individuals ahvays stood out for the right to trade in land Avith the pakeha. Some tribes gave a passive consent only, and afterwards withdrew.

The result Avas that Avhen it came to be tested, only a few of the tribes held fast to the King, Avhile many powerful tribes, such as the Ara-AVi!.? and Lower Wanganui, took up .inns on the side of the British.

Had the coalition been secure, and had the Maori nation fought under one "King and one flag, it is hard to see Avith what hope of success the King Country could have been invaded or held by us. A force of at least 59,000 men would have been required for the ta«k.

How to treat the King movement was a complete puzzle to the Governor and Ministers, of the day. Seme pooh-poohed it, s>ome threatened it, but the movement Arent on. An experiment Avas made of a blanket and tea policy, and another of sending one or tAvo magistrates to administer laAv to the Maori,?, but nont of these were sufficient to weaken the desire of the Maoris for their Kinig or (."heir land league.

Governor Browne dared neither to forbid the recognition of the King jior to indict Potatau or his followers for treason. Indeed, the legal position was very doubtful. Totatau th# King, Wireinu Tamihana. /known as the king-maker), - and Te Waharoa, the three principal chiefs of tha Waikato district, had never signed' the treaty, though pressed to do so. By asking them to sign, and gettiu.g the other tribes to sign, we had admitted the necessity. The Maoris as a nation had never fought and been conquered. The position of the Governor AV-as therefore a peculiarly helpless one, and although he recognised that the cl r ction of a Maori King and fostering :>f t'ao Maori national movement would be extremely likely eventually to lead to war, he Avas unable to take any strong measures to stop the movement.

He did, however, prepare for the worst. He tried to stop further purchases of land surrounded by Maori territories, and to insist on a defensible frontier between the land occupied by the Maori and European-. The instructions, however, were too late., White settlers nad for so long held; lands intermixed with the Maoris that it was evident a war would mean great loss of life and wealth to outlying stragglers. The breaking out of war in Taranald in 1861 over the Waitara block had a most unfortunate effect on the King movement.. Wiremui Kingi, the claimant to the Waitara block, had not given his submission to Potatau, or joined the King coalition.There was, therefore, no necessity for Potatau to fight on Wiremu's behalf, and he and his council declined to take up arms against the British. Nevertheless, a large number of freelances from the Waikato, who were also Kingites, did go to Taranaki and take part in the fighting. The interference of these bands of Waikato Maoris resulted as generally does an invasion by a. foreign brigade. The Waikato war was the unharmy result. It was ~Tamihana, the king-maker, from Waikato, who, himself refusing to fighbi

eventually patched up a peace between the Taranaki tribes add the whites-; but he wa3 unable to prevent; the tide of war at last setting in against his own tribes.

Bnt still the King party was a puzzle to the Governor. In. September, 1861, Colonel Browne was relieved of his office, and Governor Grey assumed the reins of power. At a meeting of the King chiefs he was understood by the Maoris thus to announce his policy : — "I shall not fight against him (the King) with the sword, but I shall dig round' him till he falls of 'his own accord." In pursuance of this policy he proceeded to push on a military road to <the Waikato, he built redoubts/blockhouses, and barracks, and he threatened to place a steamer on the Waikato River. It is a remarkable fact that Sir George Grey afterwards denied that he had spoken as believed bj the Maoris. He averred his words had) been, "1 shall dig round him with kindness till he falls of his own accord." It is a matter for everlasting regret that the Governor's peaceable statements were thus, misunderstood.

rAU • these ■ steps were regarded by the Maoris as hostile ucts, intended to underurine their power, and to destroy the .isolation, which; had- hitherto -been their strength. There is little doubt that, as (between: civiiisecTcotmtries, theseactions of Sir G. Grey, would be considered, good cause for war by the; "threatened, side. A body of Maori youths was collected in barracks at Kohekohe, in the lower Waikato." Mr John Gorsfc was (sent as commissioner and magistrate to Te Awamutu, on a branch of -the Waipa River, in the 'heart of the King's country. There, too, a newspaper was published by Government, "The Sparrow That Sits Above on the House Top, ' to act as the organ of the Governor and the Government, and the critic of the King party, and to reply to the attacks of the Maori newspaper. * There, too r was founded a school where young Maoris- could not only be taught elementary reading and writing, but could also -be trained to mechanical work, and be taught European .trade*.

The founding of such technical schools and the appointment of suitable men as magistrates and' commissioners were two of the 'best steps ever 'taken by the -New -Zealand Government towards the Maoris. Unfortunately, it was too late. Had these institutes been commenced without fear or pressure, the result would have been roost beneficial. As it was, the Maoris consrdered the school was only one of Sir G. Grey's "spades" to dip round their King and cause him to fall.

In our dealing with the Maoris we have generally been just too late-; and we were also just too. late in discovering that the origin of the Taranaki war had been- a mistake from the first, and that Governor Browne had commenced hostilities without having . be&ri made aware of a fact bearing, on the title in dispute, which had the effect of putting." the Maoris in the right and ourselves -in the wrong. Ifc was -Air Dillon Bell who discovered this fact, and promptly informed Governor Grey about March, 1863. The Governor, having satisfied himself of its truth, announced that in consequence of this .he would give up that block about which so much fighting had teken place. Unfortunately, the •announcement was delayed through a dispute between the Governor and his advisers, and wa«* only made after further bloodshed at Oakura, the aegressors being the Maoris, mho coneidered themselves badly treated. It came, too, after relations with other tribes had been so strained that the -proclamation, 'nstead of being treated by the Maoris as a proof of the British desire to deal justly, •was considered a proof of weakness and an admission of wrongdoing. Matters became fTirtner* strained. Rewi expelled Mr Gorst, the Queen's Commiseioner, by force of arms, and took forcible possession of the Government p ranting press and captured the Maori Industrial Schcol at Le Awamutu on the grounds that it was being employed as barracks. Then the citizens of Auckland and the out-settlers became alarmed, and cried outfor an invasion of the Waikato to protect themselves. General Cameroa marched across the Mangatawhiri. The Waikato Natives, rallied to psoteci -their .lands against ihe stranger, and they raised tire King Flag above their heads' as the emWem of -their nationality. Before this old Potatau had died, and his sou, Matutaera Potatau, generally called Tawhiao. had been elected in his stead. The powers exercised by these potentates appear to have been extremely shadowy ; indeed, the acts of the tribes which had led to the Waikato war had not been authorised by the King at- all.

The first King Potaf.au was old when elected, and his "son, Matutaera Tawhiao, although a brave warrior, does not appear to have been a strong leader. It may bs said of both that they had greatness thrust upon them unsought. They were figurelieads only. Tlir strength of the movement d-me from the strong chiefs who upheld them, eminent~*among whom were the wise and brave Tamihana (the king-maker), the ferocious Rewi, and the violent Te Heu H?ii, chief of Taupo.

It is unnecessary here to trace the course of the Waikato "war. Suffice it tint General Cameron, with 20,000 troops, invaded the Waikato. and after much "bloodshed and "regrettable incidents'' not a- few, occupied portion of the district.

The rebel Maoris retreated to their fastnesses in the forest and hill, whence they cpuld nqt be dislodged. A large portion of their hinds in the Waikato was declared confiscated, and military settlers were placed upon them. Tawhiao, having- been driven from Ngaruawahia, made his new capital at Whatiwhatihoe, near Alexandra. The war died out, but the King and his followers remained in their wild King Country, which acted as an asylum for Te Kooti, Winiala and other- Natives on whose heads a price had been set. The King's iiat went forth tlat no European was to >be allowed to .enter the King Country.

Sir Donald M'Lean entered into negotiations with the King party for the open-

ing up of the King Country to Europeans, but failed. Nor did any better success attend the efforts of Sir G. Grey, who. when Premier in 1878 sought to reconcile the hostile tribes.

In 1882, Mr Bryce, as Native Minister, made fresh proposals to Tawhiao. He offered to restore a portion of the confiscated land on the west bank of the Rivers Waipa and Waikato, and to secure Tawhiao in all lands he could claim in the King Country, and to endeavour to get for him and his people a block of lard from the Ngatimaniapoto tribe ; and to Tawhiao himself Mr Bryce offered a salary from the Government, and a seat in the Upper House. These tempting offers, however, were not accepted. The old generation of Maori warriors was still too strong. It was thought by the King chiefs that theie acceptance by Tawhiao would mean his resignation of his kingly office. Two great meetings of chiefs were held in May and October, 1882 ; and an answer was given that the land would be gladly accepted — the tribes considered it their own by right -4>ut the Government pay and position the old King would refuse. *I shall persist in being the manager," said old Tawluao at the first meeting. "Wahanui Paora Tuhaere, Kerei Mongonui, Topia, and others -ill b~ "■nnninted to- heln *-- V

w ,c appoints^ .o- neip me. . . . ~«o one is to precede me." The speech was to the same effect at the later meeting. "Let me remain here at Aotearoa," hesaid; "I will direct- my people this veiy day as we sit here. I will not go off in any new direction, but will be as my ancestors were."

It was noted at these meetings that a change had come over the modes of holding them. The kingly pomp and ceremony at previous ones were laid aside. •No sentries stalked around ths camp, and uo armed escort attended the meeting. The usual Hauhau prayers, hitherto used several times a day, and always after a speech Tawhiao made, were entirely abandoned.

The outside influence of Europeans was beginning to be felt, but the feeling of the old meconcilable chiefs against opening up their lands was still too strong. A further step towards the breaking down of the barriers between the Taces was made when Te Kooti was amnestied about the same time. When, however, some years later that noted chief sought to leave the King Country on an expedition to Poverty Bay, he was stopped by order of a Justices' Court.

In 1883, the main trunk railway from Wellington to Auckland having been authorised, a surveyor — Mr Hursthouse — was sent to select the route. After ?ome slight opposition the chiefs mostly affectad conbanted to the survey proceeding, and ordered that no obstruction should take place. Notwithstanding t'hfise ordtrs, a b^dy of Maori fanatics, under Mahuki, stopped th.3 survey party, made them priFoners, and tied them up with chains. Fortunately Te Kooti had been amnestied tha previous month, and being desirous of showing his loyalty and peaceabkness, he marched with, the Ngatimaniapoto tribe, rescued Mr Hursthouse's party, and captured the wrongdoers.

The Hon. Mr Bryce, the Native Minister, and Mr Hursthouse then, went through the King Country, from Alexandra to Ne'.v Plymouth, accompanied by the Ngatimaniapoto tribe, thereby breaking down another barrier to the coming together of the races.

In March, 1883, Sir" Frederick Whitaker summed up the- position as under : — "The survey has been permitted to proceed without obstruction. Several causes have contributed to this result — partly that a number of the King Natives are tiled of isolation ; partly ths King movement has lost its. novelty, and Tawhiao has ceased to have much personal weight or influence ; and pnrtlv that tribal- jealousy has beau at work."

Further changes have now taken place. Old Tawhiao is dead ; so too is the fierce untamable Rewi. Tawhiao's successor, Mahnta, has yielded to the present Government in that he has condescended to take an appointment In the Upper House and a x)osition in the Executive, whioh gives him precedence over the' Chief Justice of tli3 colony. What will follow is, however, nofc yet clear. That- he considers himself a King is evident enough from the reports .of his speeches. He is going to the Upper House, he says, to look after tha. interests- of -the Maori. What are his views with reference to the old Land League founded by Iris grandfather Potatau has not been published. His own lands are of .small extent, his tribe's domains' having been mostly confiscated after the war. The questions to be answered are: Will he use his influence to induce the Maoris to recede from the position the old King Party took up, and offer their lands to the Government for sale? And, if be does, will bis influence with the tribes not be thereby .shattered?

The problems of the making and administration "of laAv for the King Country have both ere now been "wived. The land question remains. And whether the opinions of the Land League Natives who kissed the sdge of the tomarl.iwk in 1854 and swore to sell no more land to the pakeha are the opinions still held by that part}-, and whether their society will be broken up by the giving of place, presents, and power to their president, art the questions to which we bhall anxiously await an answer.

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