THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Véritè sans peur.” Wanganui, October 25, 1860.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 214, 25 October 1860, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Véritè sans peur.” Wanganui, October 25, 1860.

The Wonga XFonga which "arrived'yesterday morning and came'up. the, noon brings us news from' Taranaki to the 23rd. 17p to that date nothing farther had been attempted against the- enemy. In' the three pas taken at Kailiihf a considerable quantity of wheat and potatoes was found, and nearly 500 sheep were, brought' back by the troops!. .. ■ j’•.« ; ‘ .? ■ - The Taranaki News observes r“ f * The result of this expedition has, then, been highly satisfactory, and ho' doubt will Be 1 a severe iresson 'to the rebel's V two or" three-' more such; further down the' coast—burning the pas, destroying the cultivations, breaking up ’tire canoes, ' will effectually -subdue the Taranaki tribes, who, up to the present time, .must, have. lost a great many' rrrerr,' and most of their leading, chiefs, indeed, it is already known that disaster and defeat are already sowing the seed's of disunion' amongst them, It is to; be hoped, too, that the savage- Ngatiruanui tribes further .South will have the ■same lesson taught them by and by, as they are supposed, by persons well capable, of Judging; to be worse than the others.” General Pratt has obtained great praise ■for his conduct in this expedition, and', the Taranaki * settlers seem to be-expecting that something wiTI now be done, . It is high time ; for by a private I fetter of the 23rd we learn 'that it was reported at Taranaki that sonve of the Nga Pulii tribe to the north of Auckland! had become disaffected, and that'one of their chiefs Mohi Tawae with 20 men- had 1 arrived at Waitara'. It was said that 1200 Waikatos had reached the same place-, and that they intended to occupy the disputed land, having with . them their women and children'. A friendly native who had visited the Waikatos says—that some of the iVgatihaua from Matamata, a Thames tribe are-among these Waikatos. The Cordelia arrived at Taranaki on the 15th, having left Mahukau on ther 14th. • Before'her departure it was. reported that a settler^had-befen: miirdered by the natives, at Waiuku, on the south shore of Manukau; and that the outsettlers would be called in. If this report is correct the natives there must have determined on war; but it requires authentication: -v-yv ‘ '. , The New Zealander, of October I.oth, . has the following aVcount of WaikatoJ:-e— “We*learn with regret that thsre exists a determination inorb or less amongst the native tribes of-‘the I7ppeir Waikato to proceed to Taranaki for the purpose ,of assisting Wiremu King. A considferable number of men have already set out, and others are J preparing to follow. The men of Kawhia had returned,; orswere.preparing, to - ' return to the scene of; their former exploits, with an appetite for plunder sharpened by their recent succekfttf raid. Some uneasiness as to their position is felt by, the settlers at Raglan, , as well as by William iVaylor andithe friendly Natives of that district.

I '“ We have been informed that, ; although a ■different course of proceeding was advocated by some, the natives have resolved to respect the tapu of the Waikato, and in no way .to interfere with the persons or property - of the white settlers in their neighbourhood, so long as they (the settlers) abstain from taking, np arms against them., If the ,cjuarrel : is to he fough t'out, with' aid itom Waikato, it that Taranaki should be made’ the battle-field ; but no one can cob template- Without sorrow for these ' misguided people, the- consequences of their present proceeding, or picture to himself the'disasters Which foolish and' boastful confidence in their prowess may bring upon them when, there ‘ •' ’

' More importantfsubjects havin'? taken up our editorial space for. tlie last • two weeks, we have been obliged to defer till to-day some! remarks we intended to make on the letter; • signed “ A Voice: from ■ the People,”- which appeared in our columns three weeks' ago Thedetter merits attention•; because the'writer professes to represent the opinions of a large of the electors of this district,” and to 'give the grounds .on which these opinions lhave been formed. These opinions, he says,wre based on facts, a few-of which he gives as a specimen of the whole. No doubt he has selected those, of the truth of which he was . most: assured, and which had been*, most in- . . .dfluential. in forming : the opiuions, of'himself *nd those he ; represents. If, then, it-is shown that these facts-are either open to doubt or to| denial, the opinions .founded on them must be incorrect, or some-etlier and better reasons ...,must .adduced for being held:: -Let «s proceed to examine them. i , • .One- -of ■'Gait’s diai , aCters,-“an .ironmonger beginning• business with' a'very small capital, —furnished his store by putting off its shelves a-ntfmber of bricks nearly, papered up, .and having in the front of each, one of the vatious articles in which he dealt., so that: a dozen •spoons did duty for a dozen parcels of spoons. Our correspondent has hit on the same happy contrivance in parcelling out his facts ; but he has been more ingenious still, Laurie Tod had no idea of merely painting a likeness of his wares on the'outside of Ids parcels; and ■thereby making a still more imposing appearance in the eye of ' the public. But our eor- • ; respondent"has showirgreat skill in this style •of art; and bis first four facts' are resolvable into one fiction. They refer to a sale of land, made in 1839, and * point triumphantly- to W. 1 Xirigi’s and his father’s names on the- deed of sale. Now, there is no doubt that there was ■ ■ sold to Colonel Wakefield,'at-that":time, the?whole of the north island, that lies south of a Sine stretching from . Mokaui oh the west coast to,the;, neighbourhood of . Castle JP oiijt on the •east coast—-that is, nearly the whole extent ol •country comprising, the present provinces of .’Taranaki and Wellington. But the bargain -wasnever implemented, deed, .was signed -on the promise,.; that ; in .addition to the two jtierces pf. tobacco. .and other, goods .that, had given, twe&tyffiye "double barrelled guns, /sho'.uid ’also 'be paid, which (as miiskets were /..yaiueTby.fhe natives at that time)' must have been worth more than «£SOQ* But the-.pay-mentjwas never made. Mr. Spain says, with reference to this even here something else remains to , bedone to perfect the trans-- ’ Action ' and hd recommends that £2oo.siioald be- set aside, to build an. hospital,, instead of, the . ,gUßs,oc/nwney VV* n S guns would iiave/exposed them to the..riskpfthe Waikato coming down, and taking. the.m. away, aiad probably using-.theni against their lives,” ' iindi a payment in "money would either “-have and construed. into an\ admission ibey had not sold any part of the Idnd, W; if accepted ~by those present, we . should Mvefhad .immediately hundreds of other claimants .from among the members, of. the • same tribes residing at, otlier places ” It is ' ' evident that the’ purchasers did not implement their part of the agreement,: and it is well known that this so-called purchase, has never

.been acted on. It ‘will be seen,, moreover, ’’ c from- " the, report of the proceedings in .the Chouse of representatives, that , the land ia'dis;pute at TFaiiarawas. not part of the purchaseThis,.then, disposes of the first four facts in the letter. jy-' The fifth and sixth, refer ,to a second purchase of the land at Taranaki made -from; 75 natives, part of the Puketapu and Ngamotu tribes, then resident there. Mr. sub-protector ; Clarke,, in a report dated 29th June, 1844, says, ..with respect to it, “ most of these affixed their signatures to the deed of conveyance. How far they may have .understood its contents, or the boundaries of the land professed to be conveyed, I eannot say, their statement being so contradictory j- but I fully believe that these boundaries, and the block chosen by the company, comprise lands that were never occupied by or belonged to them. They themselves clearly admit That they had no general claim over the district,, and that they eouid only rightly dispose of their own individual possessions.’* Hoes this sale, .then, possess enough of value as a. fact to.serve the purpose pf “a Voice ; from the : . People T’ Certainly not. It was indefinite, incomplete,-and, . because it professed ; incompetently to transfer ' rights over .the whole territory, transferred.no- , thing.whatever.... , . .. v; v.-i ’ ! The ninth and tenth facts relate To the sale made by theWaikato. Our correspondent says, —the British claimants, thus become owners, w:bether from such award (Mr. Spain’s) not meeting the- approbation of Governor Fitzroy, or from some other reason, took an opportunity (I think lit 1847) to conclude negotiations with the.'/Kaikato-people,” &c. Now, this sale was not made to the .British claimants, but to the Queen through Mr. Geo. Clarke, the native protector.. It was not made •in 1847, but in 1842. It was. not made after, but before, the award of Mr. Commissioner Spain, which was delivered at Taranaki on the Bth June, 1844. Consequently, it was not made because Mr. Spain’s award did not “ meet the approbation ofrGovernor Fitzroy.” It was;made, according .to* Governor Hobson, in his despatch. to the Secretary ef State of 13th/ Nov., 1841, ‘‘ because the TFaikatos threaten to. dislodge the,, settlers, as , they, did not huy tlie lanci from them, who claim, it .by of conquest.” tye can believe, that This series of.erroneous;,: statements . has been made through ignorance^ rioTstatti! whatlook piace, but what.be wished had . taken place. . a ,ne\y r way of writing history,hut custom has,not made it reputable, ' - The ‘ tats* staiemwii»

“ bought the right ttffiich %- native usage lag' solely ■in ‘.hem as. conquerors to: the block of land so conquered, and as a consequence to all privileges,” &e. is at least open to doubt.. In a “ Memorandum for his -Excellency the; Governor, showing that: -the New-.Zealanders do not forfeit their territorial rights by,being:car> ried into captivity or becoming captives,” Mr. Chief protector Clarke adduces several instances* .as a .specimen of many mere coming within his knowledge, in proof of this opinion. We have gone over these *tenfacts .seriatif# to .show their true value ; biit for,all practical purposes, salps,.cyen supposing themfaljtliat our cofrespbiident' could,, wish, .and-Mr. Spain’s award, on. .them, were, set .aside by Governor Fitz’roy, who, in a memorandum on the Taranaki land question, dated 2nd December, 1844, intimates, that he lni(J, bought 3500 acres “at and around the town”',for £350, and expresses the opinion, that in h few years the. whole Mock , of ; ,6p,000; may Be bought for £3006. ’ Horiiblbgatirig this settlement., .Sir. Geo. .Grey in 1847', instructe Mr. McLean to make .every/,.effort ’t6..Require the land awarded by Mr. Spain-~the price not to exceed Is (kl per acre. . With regard to the eleventh fact, we. quote from a memorandum of the' minister for Na tive affairs, dated 27th April, 18G0,—The settlement of New Zealand was. 1841 by the Plymouth; Company of New Z.ea> land, which subsequently merged, in the Nevv Zealand Company., There we,re at. that time scarcely' any natives ; in the district. Some had fled southward to Cook’s straits, to avoid the invading Wfoikatos. ;Mafoy others, who had been captured; on the-"storming of Pukerangiora, still remained slaves in the- Waikato, .country. Wi Kingi was one of tbe; Ngatiawa who had retired to Cook’s straits, whence lie returned "io : Thrana-ki in 1848.' Though a well known chiefs liis land claims are not considerable, and lie chiefly if- not wholly to the north of WaitarA. King’s stand is really kken upon his position as a chief | .and possibly, had the Ngatiawa not been, broken up-i and driven fron* their territory, or had the- cireujnstance of' King’s re-establishment 'at Waitara been different,: his birth might. have given him the command over, the-.tribe which, he. pretends to exercise.” Here is a very important'Admission of King’s original right as an apparently studious concealment-cf"the fact, that lie deft . Taranaki with 500 of liis tribe, at least four years before/Die Waikato eortquest'^'and of the ls ' difficult qnes--tion thence arising,' as to. whether King, hot having been conquered, and , not . havi.ng T been paid for his land, ever divested foiiffself of his riglifs as 'a ciiief; ' yiiis particular, qiiestibh; it must be remembered,' does nOt at; alLaffectthe point on which the. Government, so far. as We can . hasygone- to war* Government intends 'hericefortii to set aside- tribal right as vested in the chief ;- so that although /Ting’s right over the land as a. chief had been indisputable and allowed, .the course of the Government would have been the same. But this quotation from- Mr. Richmond,-and, the comments made on it, invalidate the eleventh of our correspondent’s first series-of facts. The next series requires less. comment. The correctness of the account of the Manawapo meeting is doubtful.. Here is another version of it, on which we place equal reliance. Probably some circumstances in both may be correct, but we 'would hesitate to adopt either until mora eyid.ence is"produced* . At Man&? wapo it was 'proposed to form a Land league; which was rejected," and it was decided .that each tribe, sbodld Be left to manage its own affoirs. • - What :-is - called; the Land league at Waitara was entirely of a local character,- and, in accordance with this decision, having no connection whatever with e the Ngatiruanui. Parotene te Kopara, in advocating the League at Manawapo, produced a hatchet, which was offered to the southern chiefs, and,-was placed before them for their acceptance, as a pledge that they would unite . in, supporting the League. There, were stated; to . have, been about 500 natives present, but not one of them received the hatchet., and it was returned .to its owner!” ~ . .. ; . •

The first three facts : o.f the second...series relate to Kingi’s adhering, to the “ land-hold* ing policy.” But, surely, our correspondent does hot consider this a crime, although,, with ourselves, he may deplore, it as aliksTnjurious to the Maories. and to .the . settlers.-. In-1847 Governor. Grey writes, that.' thffeyjjiigh&t price must be Is. 6d; r aad;;dn: 'Governor Browne .gives .20s. per acre .for. a part of |the same land. Is not this, the very thing to encourage the'natives To hold land ? There is no competition. There is plenty of to-be-bought elsewhere. at Is and "Is and- 'yet 20s is given for these 600 acres. Nothing could have been done more fitted to strengthen the Baud league.. And is it criminal for r a Maori, seeing that the Government is so foolish as to pay 20s. per acre for land which our correspondent asserts has already been thrice paid for, to endeavoured retain the land till it rises in value ?. It was perhaps unwise to recognise the rightcf the natiyestounoccupied land ; but seeing the right has been admitted, the natives canijot be acting criminally in taking advantage of it. , r W.e should like to see King punished, for his Insolence and turbulence ; but it is riot, consistent _ in . a .Governor to shake hands with one Maori, .:whos.d hand was scarcely cleansed from The blood of a foul murder, expressing the hope .that she would never *dd The': like- ttgain, as :bis Excels lency. did at Wanganui ; : and To punish another Maori because (tomse our, correspondent’s own wordspbe ‘‘ encouraged and'- 1 abetted” a murder. - .... The comments on the. 11th fact of: the firstare applicable To*.the ;fourth* of./the second.-v- - •- ■, \i t ,- -■:> ■■ • lii - jthe-filtlr'dwr'corresSoiJaeiit*: intakes: as-

Jsertion, which.we slfould/foe glad to see proved and acted oh, accordance with oiir own opinion, —“ this rebel lias Arrogantly attacked the sovereignty of her Majesty in'this colony.” But we find'Hlie' -Chief Justice, in his. place in tlie Legislative council, thus" hesitating on - this • point, Whether Kingi was originally a rebel'-in rei*sting the survey of that land, or merely took up arms at;that time to oppose an- armadyriOeupation ; of land, which he bona : fi3k -l)’Cli4Vb<t to-be his property; it. was 1 useless now to discuss. The dispute had- assumed the dimensfoife When a .person-in- .expresses a doubt there is room for hesitation.

.Perhaps .we - ought '-,to make an apology-for taking up so> much space with tiie consideration of this letter* But the ability displayed in. making so good' use of such materials, arid the, likelihood that our readers, not having Access to the' original documents, might receive ali. ifs .statements? as 4 .undo.ubted facts if;‘riot contradicted, have compelled us reluctantly to assunte the, office ! of:censer,Y-‘ But the whole question'. The Governor hasi.wndoubtediy commenced, a new system of- buying ...land, t.o which the prejudices . : cust.Qiiqs;of the natives are decidedly’opposed/-'Tlie' system may in itself b§.,good ;... hut is it practicable.?.That it is. riot/ without A 1 very large dbree to coerce', the resfilt .of tire. dfst attepapt mp,kes. Or, is it 'expedierit ? On; ' the one side, ’there is a general" war/ .with a '.eomp|Btq stoppage of \“pMgwdibri‘'/th'e loss ;of all/property-not iff town's,- the heayy expence." of.-rpamtainirig a sufficient force to. conqirer- 1 tfie/.eduntry : , an 6xpenc,e which would- be the- island? is worth the loss of" life on both sides that would-neoessarily take ap<|’ of th.e presenfc-.settlers.- - is peace, with ffvijfiietsteady extinguishment of native v |me^.pLjjricreps^4.' ■fibri, which' of native.; outbreaks a'^gradt/al /civilfzatiOn of th e n a-tives, which would ?c iffake .srieff 11 outbreaks less'probable every <i sffciSeedirig year; and a rapid development of Jhe resources of the country, that would ihsurffi'prosperity .to all itkirihabifcants. There can, with these consideratronssiri view, be little difficulty in deciding as- to the inexpediency of tire Governor’s PPPpAe,dings,at welly-meant thpy foriy .J^a.v.e.ibepn/ r ,45 ; - : '